#I’m not the fastest artist. I’m still learning

[babygray-dam]

Sketches of baby Toshi and little Gin.

[scribblemakes]

[ID: A collection of black and white sketches showing everyday objects that are haunted by little creatures. These creatures fill in gaps with black space and white dots for eyes /End ID]

As some of you might’ve seen: I’m no longer posting art on Twitter, so Tumblr is now the only social media I’ll be consistently posting art to. However: I’ll also be posting it to my website and possibly other social media platforms in the future.

I also post monthly sketch pages to my Patreon (April’s is on this post) with early access for Patrons, and I’m hoping to add more things to it soon!

Thanks everyone for your support (your tags mean a lot to me!) and I’ve put more of my thoughts in the tags.

[eggwishing]

hello … what are your best tips for improving your art? i want to study and learn more but i’m lost on where to begin!!!!! big fan of your work by the way it’s a big inspiration to me! ☀️ i hope this isn’t a bothersome ask!!!!

My biggest tip is to learn first and foremost how to enjoy the learning process. When you do that you’re pretty much set for everything else. The biggest roadblock i and a lot of other artists seem to encounter is not Not knowing how to draw something, it’s not being able to make yourself get up and tackle learning how to head on. A lot of it is just your self talk or mindset when you broach it. viewing improvement as a chore or unachievable makes you reaally not want to do it, so you end up delaying it and just avoiding it altogether. I’ve done that a few times. You basically just have to hype yourself up, even if you don’t fully believe any of what you’re saying, it’ll still influence you in the same way self-deprecative humor can influence someone’s self esteem. And give yourself a treat every time you try :) build up that positive association! It’s tough early on, and it can feel like pulling teeth, but teeth don’t just get pulled for no reason. You’re making a step forward! Decide small goals for yourself. Saying you want to just “improve” is pretty vague, and most of all daunting. It doesn’t happen all at once in that way. You need to build up the bases. If you want to improve, be specific, say you want to get better at composition, color, lighting, anatomy (which must be further broken down to learning how to draw things like arms, legs, hands, because anatomy is a whole thing in and of itself lol.)

and that brings you to actually learning. My suggestion is to draw from life whenever you can. There’s no faster way to understanding three dimensional forms than having a subject right in front of you. This is something i do very often, whenever I go out i bring a little sketchbook and draw friends, surroundings, etc, and it’s what has helped me improve the fastest. Use contour lines to your advantage! Draw a form and try to find its dimensions. It’s mindless and gets much easier the more you do it, while also still being very informative. When you understand the dimensions of something, shading becomes easier too. and ofc study art that you like, deconstruct why you like it and try to apply it to what you draw. Watch speedpaints and pay attention, try to pick apart the process of the artist! I recommend yt channels like ethan becker and sycra for composition and anatomy/design lessons.

thanks for the ask! I really appreciate it and your kind words. Good luck!! You can do it! ^_^

[lefarte]

How would funger characters react to having a cocky and sarcastic eader who is a professional at anything? Like they are a professional at diving, magic, swinging swords, etc etc while they also do lots and lots of gymnastics and yoga which makes them very flexibal.

Btw i like ur fanfictions ♥︎

Omg I’m sorry this took so long I have a huge backlog of requests to get to from those days when I was out of it but thank you 🩷💕

Also idk if you wanted funger 1 or 2 so I just did 2, I hope that’s okay

Characters: O’saa, Olivia, Henryk, Tanaka (a little angst in Olivia’s part)

O’saa

Having traveled all across the world, there is a part of Osaa that is always genuinely excited to meet other magic users. It’s a remnant from his past, when he used to be so naïve and inexperience with no others to talk to about his passion.

Nowadays he is jaded. That said, he still enjoys having stimulating discussions with others, and the chance to meet a peer is extremely rare. Meeting someone he considers his better is maybe one in a million, or even one in a billion.

Having someone to keep up with him is refreshing, and in some ways agitating, but he never lets it show. Even if you’re undeniably a prodigy he’d claim “well, I have wisdom that you don’t 😒”

Hearing you brag is annoying, and Nas’rah taunting him doesn’t make it any better. If you show off too much, he will take any chance to tease you.

Think that you’re showing off to your other party members while your back is turned, and he does something petty like dropping an ice cube down your back. This kind of thing would happen regularly if you don’t learn to be humble. (Or at least, don’t brag in front of him).

Overall, he is not the MOST jealous character, but he would definitely be displeased that the spotlight is no longer on him and takes pot shots at you. This includes flirting with you brazenly in public with a completely serious face to fluster you.

Despite your attitude clashing with his, in some ways having a partner that can keep up with him is an ideal for Osaa that attracts him. He enjoys the little banter between you two very much. Having a partner that is docile and agrees with everything he says is good for his ego, but not his mind. And of the two he values his mind more.

Henryk

He’s just outright annoying about it.

If you’re better at cooking, he’d always find something to nitpick, like “these spices are off” or “the meat is not tender”. When people go for your food over his, he’d grit his teeth and try to bottle up his jealousy.

He denies it fervently. “Why would I be jealous of you? I’m perfectly capable on my own, thanks.” But it’s obvious to everyone around him.

Your artistic abilities compared to the shoddy little things he calls painting make him bawk in embarrassment. It makes him wonder why he even tried to get into art at all.

He critiques your form on just about everything, even things he knows nothing about like magic or sword fighting. The only time he’s quiet is when you’re doing yoga or gymnastics. He actually quite likes that…

It’s undeniable that you’re quite the looker, and he feels he has no chance with you, not after acting like such an ass. So he gives up on pursuing you as a lover almost immediately. You should probably be with someone who’s not such a lout.

The best and fastest way to bond is cooking together.

At first he is hesitant. He doesn’t like people ‘cramping his style’ per se, but since you’re basically a goddamn professional, he decides to give it a go. But he won’t take orders from you.

The resulting dish is a masterpiece. Even with such threadbare ingredients, it’s the best thing both you and him have ever made. It’s a huge hit with the other contestants, immediately putting everyone in a brighter mood. Even those who rarely smile (like Levi or Osaa) seem pleased. The atmosphere is lively and cheerful for once. It’s better than anything you two could have done alone.

So, when you look at him with such a big happy grin by the firelight, he realizes that you’re not so bad after all. And maybe you like him the way you like him too?

Tanaka

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tanaka is completely supportive.

Your brash personality and his calm, polite demeanor make a great duo. He helps bridge the gap between you and the others, while you help him… not die.

It’s not like he never gets a little jealous, but he’s long since accepted that he’s a pretty ordinary guy. He never really had much motivation to step outside of the box. He never made real friends or thought about romance. He lived his whole life, thirty whole years, bored out of his mind. He never even knew how much his life meant to him until it was almost taken.

The funny thing is that he’s not as ordinary as he thinks. He’s an extremely fast learner and can match your wit. He admires you so much that he takes it upon himself to learn the things that you’re passionate about. It only takes a day until he’s able to wield a sword - not masterfully, but well.

There’s so many things he admires about you. Your bravery, your confidence, how you’re able to let loose and have fun in a way that he could never imagine doing. He’s never afraid to tell you how proud of you he is, in complete earnestness. It’s very sweet, but his enthusiasm can be a little embarassing.

He’s like your cheerleader sometimes.

Olivia

She would already be jealous of you from the beginning.

The way you move so freely and gracefully while she can’t even walk, the way you’re so proud and happy with yourself and she’s a lonely bookworm, it’s all enough to drive her nearly to tears. Seeing you just reminds her of everything she lost and the life she could have had, if her parents only cared enough to take care of her.

She is haunted by you and the memories she felt with Reila. On the outside, she would cheer and clap when you preform so elegantly, but on the inside she feels sick.

Your friendship would blossom by chatting about plants, of course. And she would like your company, truly. Chatting with you is fun. You make her laugh, you’re cute and silly. You’d pick edible mushrooms with her, and even some non-edible ones too, maybe go to the lakebed and just talk about dumb stuff.

In fact, she finds your confidence and your boisterous laughter attractive. But inside, she can’t help but feel like you’re only friends with her out of pity.

If you’re better at botany? She would despise you. And herself for hating you so much. You never really did anything wrong, so why does she have these awful thoughts?

I genuinely believe that as the festival goes on she would have thoughts about killing you. She’d be disgusted and ashamed, going into fits of chills and making herself nauseous with self-hatred. She shouldn’t think about this. It’s horrible.

In the end, she can’t keep her feeling bottled up anymore. She would confess everything to you - all the crying and the anger and how alone she feels.

Overall, she is probably either the worst or the best partner, depending on your actions. If you hold her and let her cry on your shoulder, you could reconciliate and be friends again, or even more. But if it descends into an argument, well, she will never want to talk to you again. Both for the sake of you and her…

[kimeoshi]

‘Twas both 👁👁, but yeah honestly I’m very interested cause damn- (sorry if I seem awkward I’m not good with online interaction 😭😭 LMAO)

NAH no worries you're doing fine!!

It's a pretty wide array of topics but touching the surface of it, I'll go into my art process.

Here's a short thread where I went into this similarly!

I pretty much follow the steps of what I mentioned there, but it varies a little bit based on the style I go for too: painting whole illustrations or design or more simple fun things.

I could describe what I did in each frame of my process gifs which I've posted before but I would need some time. With big pieces, the steps I go by (read slowly, it's a pretty dense text):

thumbnailing -> sketching with bigger shapes to get the line of action/feel (that is, I'm just blocking out the composition) -> refine that a bit -> hide BG, draw the characters (lineart) and add the base colors of them. (then merge & rasterize a copy of it for later) -> put them back in the environment (unhide BG), make them grey -> add shading in greyscale style (multiply layers, glow dodge layers, you name it) -> get that previous rasterized layer back and put it on color mode -> those characteristic shiny parts get a new layer with overly saturated + high brightness colors -> color BG with a new color layer -> then rendering/refining for concerning amounts of time -> add effects and change color/brightness/contrast curves + gradient map -> profit???

For software, I generally use Paint Tool SAI (I adore blending/painting here), I use Clip Studio Paint for the 3D posing library/sketching/lineart, and Photoshop for final effects. (Update: I mostly do all things in CSP now)

(if you have CSP, try out this brush... it saved my life)

As for improvement:

I experiment, watch a lot of youtube videos (I personally like the ones which analyse an artist). I suggest thoroughly understanding how something moves and works (for anatomy I can recommend the book 'Anatomy for Sculptors'), I also study and jot down important pieces of advice or insights to a collective document, rather than saving them to my device where it is highly likely to be forgotten.

I believe if you put great importance on colors and composition, that can cause the most noticeable, 'fastest' improvement, at least if you view it from the lens of social media. (While online environments provide significant reassurance, it must be engaged with in moderation, as it is easy to fall into a lot of negative mindsets, taking the enjoyment out by perfectionism, comparison, or seeking validation, etc.)

Another improvement technique you can try is to slow down a speedpaint video of your choice and follow along with the artist. Extremely useful, I recommend, put your artist under a microscope.

Of course I don't do all of these things every single waking hour, it's just a side hobby to my unrelated studies in real life. Even if you don't actively draw your visual library and knowledge can improve passively, I find that so fascinating. I don't touch a paper for months and there's a sudden jump, like damn what. (Not saying you should do this, active learning is still better ofc) Either way my point with that is, that improving does and did take a lot of time for me as well.

Apologies if this goes all over the place, I tried to touch upon every subject that came to mind at the moment, in not too much in detail, overall I hope it makes sense

If you have any specific questions related, feel free to ask! Or if there's any specific problem you'd like to tackle but find yourself lost, same applies!

[lycanthrope6221]

Sucide Squad: Kill the Justice League

Character Rant

Hi there here’s my thoughts on all the current operatives in Sucide Squad: Kill the Justice League. I’ll probably do another one of these for the Joker when he releases next month

Disclaimer, I’m a artist not a writer I suck I at writing and I really just wanted to get my thoughts down and put them out there also I’m writing this a after playing the game last night and my memory isn’t 100% I might have missed some things but oh well.

Spoilers!!! mostly just for gameplay I don’t really bring up the story.

Tw: Guns and violence

Harley Quinn:

Character-Loving her dialogue right now. Her voice fits well(duh it’s Tara strong), she has funny dialogue and unhinged dialogue she doesn’t feel forced or anything. I’m happy she’s moved on from the Joker and is trying to live her best life despite the bomb planted into her skull.

Movement- I’m going to be completely honest and say I think I might need to redo the tutorial for the bat grapple gun. All I do is fall…. Beside that it’s fun to swing around and grapple to building my brain keeps defaulting to Spider-Man 2 controls lol.

Combat- I know you can equip any weapon for any character but I’m just sticking to the type of gun they started with so my Harley’s only getting SMG’s and revolvers. I like beating aliens to a bloody pulp with Harley’s bat and I love revolvers in games like there so much fun to use.

Deadshot:

Character- So far it looks like Floyd is basically the voice of reason for the team. He has prior experience to mercenary work and it shows in the way he communicates with Waller i think this is a nice detail. He brings up his daughter sometimes and I really hope he gets to see her preferably not in alien invaded metropolis.

Movement- at first I struggled with the jet pack but after a couple stressful missions I finally got used to it. I don’t really have much to say about it, it’s a jetpack. Blast off woo hoo.

Combat- My Deadshot currently has a a sniper rifle and assault rifle. I’m so happy that the sniper rifles in this game aren’t heavy snipers and don’t take 10 years to reload cause I would be so so dead. I just got my first notorious weapon and it’s Black Mask sniper rifle and the floating back skulls were a jump-scare at first but honestly it gives the gun character.

Captain Boomerang-

Character- As a Tim drake fan I apologize for what I’m about to say. He’s slowly becoming harder and harder to hate. The voice actor and writers are just doing to good of a job also shot out to the animators whoever did facial animations for this game deserves double pay. He’s a dick and he sucks but in a funny way. Like ok Boomer rang why would you put a bomb into a child’s head? Yes that child is an omega level Metahuman but still! I would push him down a flight of stairs but I would also throw him down a granola bar.

Movement- When I first saw the trailer I thought this was “just revived from darkest night and now I have powers” Boomerang but no its some speed force copy cat gauntlet I think this was a good decision. I don’t hate his traversal it’s honestly pretty fun to throw boomerangs and go fast. Gotta go fast…

Combat- I love Boomerangs melee attack I love smacking people with a boomerang. I have a sniper rifle and a shotgun equipped. Shotguns are so much fun in this and doing the quick time thingys is really fun with them 10/10 shotgun lover 4lifers.

King Shark:

Character: King shark is such a neat humanoid shark. At first I thought he was just MCU Drax the destroyer in a different font but even though they both share a lot of tropes King Sharks love for learning reminds me more of Strong from fallout. I really like his design too, we don’t see a lot of 3d humanoid sharks out there and they nailed it.

Movement: King Shark uses his claws and glowing shark powers to jump high and run fast. I can’t really tell but I think he may be the fastest character. It might just be how easy he is to use but I don’t really notice any limitations like the others/its not screaming in my face like with dead shots jetpack over heating or Harley’s bat drone having a cool down. It’s also very cool to run around as a giant shark jumping off builds and plowing through crowds of aliens.

Combat- My King Shark is currently equipped with a heavy machine gun and a shotgun. The heavy gun is fine and kinda fun to use it pairs really well with his melee. King sharks melee attack is his 2 daggers that can cut through people and launch them into the sky so you can riddle them with bullets. That’s my favorite combo and you can do that with every character but King Sharks just seems cooler.

[effiedraws08]

AI

Today I got a really harsh reminder about the state of things with AI image generation technology. Long story short, Dall-E generated images were used as part of a marketing and rebranding campaign at my workplace. Not only that, the images were generated not by a string of descriptions that someone just composed and typed in---rather, they used very rich descriptions of a scene generated by another AI service for text generation. This produced a very accurate set of images depicting exactly what they wanted. As far as I’m aware, it cost them nothing, and likely took only seconds to do.

I recalled a tweet that my mutual shared before, mentioning how people who argue that "there will always be a market for non-AI art" are grossly underestimating how often someone will prioritize cost and efficiency when making decisions. Some may cry, “Fearmongering!,” at how this technology is replacing artists, but it’s already happening. It happened right before my eyes, and it shook me to the point that I couldn’t even raise my voice about it as they marveled over how amazing the technology was. 

In a way I felt hopeless, because even if I go on about the ethical issues surrounding this tech, at the end of the day, they needed some nice pictures, and as a company, it’s only logical to choose the fastest, and cheapest way to get those nice pictures. If I may paraphrase someone from my workplace, “Back then I would have to hire an artist to do this, but that would take like what, weeks? A month?”

I was reminded of how technology can so easily devalue a craft and the people who spent years honing it. After all, why would someone want to wait days or weeks to receive a product when they can get it in a matter of seconds? What value would someone see in something “authentic” and carefully inspected, when they can get something similar of acceptable quality for less, or even free? 

Apparently now, anyone can make what an artist can make. They don’t need to learn what lines and marks you need to make to depict a recognizable image on a canvas. They don’t need to study the technicalities of light and shadow, or color theory. They don’t need to devote months or years of constant study to develop and evolve a unique style. 

They don’t need to do any of this to turn their ideas into something tangible in an instant, even if it means using the hard work of millions of others without their permission or due compensation. Unfortunately, it seems a lot of people just see absolutely nothing wrong with that, or even if they do, the benefits seem to outweigh whatever guilt they feel in their conscience. As with other crafts that have been phased out (or are currently being phased out) by machines, in the name of the “greater good”, this is just viewed as a step forward.

However, I still want to continue doing what I do. I want to continue sharing my work with others, and feel the small, but precious tinge of joy that I get when I see how they react to my work, and how it colors their lives---even if by just a tiny bit.

I want to be able to continue doing this, without the fear that someone will just steal my hard work and use it to benefit the very piece of tech that’s further devaluing what I do.

To those who continue to support the development of this tech and patronize its use, and to those who have the power to make and enforce regulations about it, I urge you to please reconsider the implications of this technology on not just an artists who make a living out of the craft, but on society’s perception of art and artists in general.

Until then, we have to remind people that the credit for the pictures made this way should not go to those who used the tech, nor to the technology that was used to make them. More importantly, we have to remind people that any benefit or improvement to their quality of life that was derived from this technology---any form of satisfaction, pleasure, or wave of emotions induced upon them by these AI generated images---was all thanks to the countless works of individuals that practiced the craft, and dared to share their works with the world. 

It was already hard enough to deal with art theft even before this technology was a thing. For all that they do and contribute to society, artists deserve so much better.

[damailbox]

Disney Adventures AOL Auditorium

November 1993

Here’s an interesting piece of DA history I recently rediscovered in my “archives”. It’s a transcript for a moderated group chat room with Disney Imagineers, apparently on the day (or the day after) Disney’s America was announced for Virginia. This was still on Disney’s website when I printed it out around 1997.

It’s interesting to read what topics fans were obsessing over, and the sometimes candid responses from Imagineers, at a time when people were still new to chat rooms and virtual reality seemed to encapsulate the future of entertainment.

They mention several upcoming attractions like Tower of Terror, Alien Encounter, WESTCOT, Blizzard Beach, Discovery Mountain, Animal Kingdom and others. To save you from the headache of trying to decipher eight pages of unformatted text, I’ve scanned it in and fixed mistimed comments and stuff. Enjoy!

OnlineHost Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Auditorium and this special Disney Adventures conference. Today we're going to talk with some of the dreamers and doers from Walt Disney Imagineering and learn about some of their exciting new projects. OnlineHost The Imagineering team of more than 1,500 people includes such talents as: artists, writers, engineers, architects, filmmakers, audio and visual specialists, animators, manufacturing groups, computer programmers, land planners, and ride system designers. OnlineHost The sun never sets on Disney Imagineering. These folks are making magic around the world with parks in Southern California, Florida, Japan, and France. OnlineHost Today, on central stage, in fact, all in one room in Glendale, California — are a number of Imagineers who would love to answer questions about the Disney Theme Parks they know so well. CHIEFofDA Hi everyone..Thanks for coming to Disney Adventures first auditorium CHIEFofDA My name is Tommi Lewis and I'm the eidotr in Chief CHIEFofDA For those of you not familiar with us, we're the kids magazine aimed at kids CHIEFofDA we cover everything from entertainment to sports to adventure CHIEFofDA We just celebrated our 3rd Anniversary and have been the fastest growinb magazine in America CHIEFOfDA the past two years. RWWeis Kids, theres a lot of kids older than 14 CHIEFofDA One of our features is a column called COOL JOBS...we think Walt Disney Imagineers have the CHIEFofDA coolest jobs of them all! They are the people who create the Disney magic CHIEFofDA So Disney Adventures is proud to welcome Walt Disney Imagineers. RWWeis We're proud to be here too, Julia Here is some brief biographical info on the Imagineers: OnlineHost Yoshi Akiyamall Executive Producer/Designer Tokyo Disneyland OnlineHost Tony Baxter Senior Vice President Euro Disneyland, Disneyland & WESTCOT Center OnlineHost Barry Braverman Executive Producer EPCOT Center at the Walt Disney World Resort OnlineHost Don Carson Senior Show Designer Creative direction of Disney Theme Park attractions from concept to installation OnlineHost Chris Brown Concept Engineer Technical direction of shows and rides during conceptual development OnlineHost Chris Brown Concept Engineer Technical direction of shows and rides during conceptual development OnlineHost George Gerball Senior Concept Designer Conceptual development OnlineHost Tony Hatch Director of Communications Internal and external communications for Imagineering OnlineHost Eric Jacobson Executive Designer Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park, Magic Kingdom, River Country, Typhoon Lagoon, Pleasure Island and Blizzard Beach at the Walt Disney World Resort OnlineHost Joe Kilanowski Principle Concept Architect Architectual design and production OnlineHost Steve Kirko Concept Design Director Conceptual development OnlineHost Nancy Martin Concept Designer Conceptual development OnlineHost Steve Miller Project Director, Creative Development Creative Administration OnlineHost Katie Poole Senior Analyst, Creative Computing Center Interactive technology department OnlineHost Chick Russell Show Writer Script and story development for Disney Theme Park Attractions OnlineHost Michael Sprout Show Writer Script and story development for Disney Theme Park Attractions OnlineHost Bob Weis Senior Vice President Magic Kingdom and Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park at the Walt Disney World Resort and proposed new Theme Parks in the U.S. and Japan RWWeis and smart aleck OnlineHost Doris Woodward Senior Show Producer WESTCOT Center — a proposed Disney Theme Park for Anaheim, California. Eugene Koh We have with us at our headquarters in Vienna, VA Bob Weis, who would now Eugene Koh like to say a few words… RWWeis Welcome—we’re a little punchy from spending the day announcing Disney’s America RWWeis But we’re really glad everyone logged on! Welcome! Eugene Koh Thanks, Bob! We welcome everyone in the audience to send in their questions and comments to the extraordinary group we have assembled tonight. Eugene Koh Simply use your “Interact with Host” button! One caveat, however (the following) comes to us from legal-types but need to be heard, at least once, anyway :) OnlineHost The following interactive forum is intended for informational purposes only. Theme park plans, designs and concepts or other business suggestions will not be reviewed or considered. Eugene Koh That said, let’s begin! Eugene Koh Our first question comes to us from MarcF7747: Question How will the new theme park be oriented to public? Eugene Koh Would one of the Imagineers in Glendale, CA like to address this? RWWeis I’m having trouble understanding the question, we hope like our others they will come, buy a ticket and enjoy the day RWWeis It will be considerably more cognitive than the others Eugene Koh Thanks, Bob! Our next question has to do with theme park rides, I believe… Eugene Koh …and comes to us from Acid Funk: Question When are you going to make something with a loop in it. Eugene Koh A very practical question :) ImagineerB From Bruce, Indiana Jones, Temple of Peril, looping coaster is open at Euro Disneyland. RWWeis Industrial Revolution at Disney’s America will too Eugene Koh Our next question comes to us from Brisco CJ: Question Will Disney be doing anything with Virtual Reality Simulations? ImagineerB Yes. RWWeis Yes, lots of work on this, but pretty secret now Eugene Koh A question about designs at the new Disney park comes to us from Max 100: Question Are you doing the designs for Disney’s America theme park? I live right next to it. :) RWWeis We are, it will be exciting, and we plan to be good neighbors. Where’s your house? Eugene Koh LOL, Bob…what town will the new park be in? RWWeis The park will be insulated by a lot of green space. Its at route 66 and 15, in Prince William county, near Haymarket. Eugene Koh Keep sending those questions in, folks! Our next question comes to us from Geographer: Question How does one become an imagineer? RWWeis Lots of ways, artist, designer, architect, writer, engineer, a good imagination and a love for lots of hard work ImagineerB Tenacity. RWWeis it helps if you don’t care about making money Eugene Koh Our next question has to do with one of the Imagineers: Eugene Koh Gunstar asks, Question Is Bob Baranick still working on the Indy Adventure for Disneyland? ImagineerB No, Skip Lange and Susan Bonds are running that show. Eugene Koh Tigger01 asks: Question What is going to happen to Tomorrowland at Disneyland in California. RWWeis Tomorrowland in Fla is under construction. There will be a new show in Mission to Mars, Circlevision, and all new architecture. RWWeis Opens in FLA in 1994. Sorry everyone will miss Mission to Mars, but Alien Encounter will be a winner Eugene Koh A question from Nickle736: Question Are there any animators here? Imagineer B No. Eugene Koh BrianJosh asks a pertinent question: Question Can I ask a Imagineer a question? RWWeis sure Eugene Koh Yes, you can…if you have any questions directed specifically toward an Imagineer, ask away.. we have over a dozen of ‘em here, live! RWWeis come on Brian Eugene Koh Our next question comes from PDC Marku: Question What is the Twilight Zone attraction ride going to be like? RWWeis Mike Sprout is the concept designer and writer for the show ImagineerB From Michael Sprout, It is a high speed thrill ride that will drop you through the 5th dimension. Eugene Koh A question about roller coasters from Drrobotni: Question I read about the Temple of Doom ride at Euro disney i.e. coaster with loops . Any chance of that ride or similar coming to America for that matter, any new rollercoaster type rides at Disneyland or disney world? ImagineerB From Bruce, yes WESTCOT Center in Anaheim, California. RWWeis There will be two roller coasters in Disney’s America Eugene Koh Our next question has to do with animal theme parks: from CongoCrai, Question I’d like to ask about the upcoming animal theme park Disney is planning for FL. RWWeis OK RWWeis Do you have a question about it, or just want some info RWWeis It’s huge, will have lots of great animal interactive attractions. It will really be one of our best parks yet. Lots of thrills, and lots of unique environments. RWWeis There will be an Asia and an Africa safari, as well as lots of rides. Eugene Koh A question about Epcot from Owings: Question What are the new communications plans for Epcot? RWWeis Barry Braverman is in charge of EPCOT ImagineerB From Barry, In December of ’94, we’ll be opening a renovated Spaceship Earth Ride and new interactive communications post show. Eugene Koh A question from GaryR1207 Question In the Disneyland Haunted house, how do you get the statues to talk ? And the doors to breath ? ImagineerB From Tony, it’s not done with holograms. ImagineerB We use traditional magic and film special techniques. Eugene Koh A question about hotels from Stephen63: Question what kind of new hotels at wdw RWWeis Everything from luxury, to budget, heavy theme like Grand Floridian, to contemporary theme ImagineerB From Tony, Wilderness Lodge will be the highlight next to Fort Wilderness Campground in November. RWWeis Fort Wilderness has small trailers if you like a camping experience. Eugene Koh A question about the Muppets from DolphinTa: Question What are the plans involving the Muppets? ImagineerB No current plans. Eugene Koh A question from Lennarz: Question Is a “virtual on-line” Disney in the plans!? RWWeis wow, did you read our minds? Eugene Koh A comment from Red Rose: Comment Thanks for making your parks handicapped accessible!! RWWeis It’s pretty important—essential in fact ImagineerB We try very hard to make our parks accessible to everyone. Eugene Koh A question from IHS Greg: Question I was also wondering how the plans for Celebration are coming along. I’m a dentist and I would love to be a “Disney Dentist”. When will Celebration become a reality? ImagineerB That’s being designed by Disney Development, which is a different division of the company. Eugene Koh A question for Tony Baxter: Question This question is for Tony Baxter. Who is currently heading up the Indiana Jones Adventure for Disneyland? ImagineerB I am. Eugene Koh A question from EnigamLin: Question So What’s the first new ride to be opening at Disneyland (CA) and when? ImagineerB From Tony, Roger Rabbit’s Spin-Around, in January ’94. Followed by Indiana Jones in ’95. Eugene Koh A question from Atlanta99: Question What are some of the jobs available at WDI and what type of schooling is needed? ImagineerB Engineering, architecture, design, art, writing, illustration… Eugene Koh Our next question is from Rio Niki: Question OK so how many theme parks are there around teh world and where are they? Wich one is the biggest? ImagineerB Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo, Paris and soon Virginia. ImagineerB EPCOT Center is the largest. But Disneyland has the most rides. Eugene Koh Seems that a lot of you are asking for more info about Disney’s America. Any comments, Imagineers? Eugene Koh For example, MikkyMous asks: Question Tell us all you can about Disney America! RWWeis It’s a new idea. RWWeis It will be fun, but also educational, and tied to your visit to Washington, There is a folder you can download that has today’s press release RWWeis After you go to museums in Washington, you come to Disney’s America to live history, to play roles in government etc. RWWeis It will open in 1998 Eugene Koh Bongo7690 asks: Question what is going on with westcot? ImagineerB From Tony, WESTCOT is currently being designed for opening near the end of the decade. Eugene Koh A question from R Raymond: Question What’s the story on a Russia pavilion at EPCOT? ImagineerB From Barry, we’ve done some preliminary designs, but the project is on the back burner at the moment…as is Russia at the moment. Eugene Koh An interesting question from Tix36: Question Do you think that these new expansions will prove to be more profitable than the EuroDisney? ImagineerB We hope so. Eugene Koh A question about Typhoon Lagoon from TTSschorr: Question Mr. Jacobson, in Typhoon Lagoon you enter the wave pool from the beach, how do you manage to keep the water from being full of sand? Imagineer B Big filters. ImagineerB The wave doesn’t terminate on loose sand. It terminates on concrete. Eugene Koh A question about the environment from IHS Greg: Question Are there plans to preserve some of the unspoiled land around WDW for wildlife & native Florida flora, or will most of the land be developed? RWWeis We hope not—we need green spaced and forest too. ImagineerB There is an 8,000 acre preserve. ImagineerB It is being managed by the Nature Conservancy. Eugene Koh A question from Roys Teet about Disney’s America: Question Do you think that the virginian park will wipe out nearby colonial Williamsburg? RWWeis I think it will help them, we hope to cooperate with them and bring more people to the area ImagineerB We feel the two will complement each other. Eugene Koh A question from RachelF69: Question Any new rides in disney world? ImagineerB Tower of Terror opens at the Disney-MGM Studios in summer of ’94. RWWeis Tower of Terror (a thrill ride) 1994 Eugene Koh A question about international Disney parks from BGH LA878: Question When you move an attraction to a foreign country, What modifications are the most difficult? ImagineerB Keeping the jokes funny. ImagineerB There’s also different building codes, food service, languages and fire protection. Eugene Koh A question from Mnotaur: Question My 5 year old daughter would like to know when WestCot will be opening… ImagineerB The end of the decade. When she is 13. Eugene Koh A question from Waltopia: Question Tony Baxter- Can you tell us what is being built in Discoveryland? ImagineerB Discovery Mountain, the biggest and fastest Disney roller coaster of all time with three loops and the guest are fired out of a cannon. Eugene Koh A question from JaneEyre2: Question I heard that all the presidents in the hall of Pres. are robots—except Reagan, who actually plays himself, and enjoys the work—that so? RWWeis true ImagineerB Yes, that’s correct. RWWeis He likes the food at WDW ImagineerB Bill Clinton has recorded a speech that will open November 18. ImagineerB In Walt Disney World, Magic Kingdom. Eugene Koh A question from Bushwackr: Question How did you all get involved with Disney? ImagineerB We love the product. RWWeis I came after college, and worked on Tokyo Eugene Koh A question from JBMahoney: Question Is Disney planning on using any type of virtual reality in their present or future parks? ImagineerB Yes, in New Tomorrowland at Disneyland. RWWeis Yes, lots of projects under consideration Eugene Koh A lot of you have been asking about opportunities for work. Bergland asks: Question Where would someone interested in working in a creative capacity for Disney write to call to inquire about job ImagineerB Contact our personnel department. (818) 544-6543 Eugene Koh A question about Disney Adventures: Eugene Koh CharlesW9 asks: Question Can we get the magazine online? ImagineerB Yes CHIEFofDA Sure can! CHIEFofDA We put each month issue on line before it hits the newsstands just look up the section you want to read in our main menu Eugene Koh Explore the Disney Adventures area online for more info. Next, A question from JohnC4142: Question I’d like to hear more about Blizzard Beach ImagineerB Third waterpark at Walt Disney World featuring a blizzard in Florida ImagineerB It will feature the highest speed slide. ImagineerB Opens early 1995. RWWeis About the size of Typhoon Lagoon Eugene Koh A question about statues at the parks from Tigger01: Question The hub in Disneyland now has a few statues…What will be put on the pad in the very center of the flower bed…if anything? ImagineerB From Tony, Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse on Mickey’s 65th birthday, November 18. Eugene Koh Another question about Disney’s America: Question Is there going to be a new group of Imagineers for Disney’s America in Virginia, or is everything going to be designed from existing locations? ImagineerB No, that’s why we’re currently developing WESTCOT to focus attention in California ImagineerB Also, Roger Rabbit, Indiana Jones, and a whole new Tomorrowland. Eugene Koh A question about EuroDisney from JDavid94: Question with the losses at EuroDisney, what is Disney going to do to shore up this venture, and did you not consider the cultural setting in France, i.e. jingoistic? ImagineerB From Tony, yes we considered the culture. More people have visited Euro Disney in its first year than any other theme park in Disney’s history. RWWeis Europe is in the worst recession since WWII RWWeis And that is hurting Euro Disney Eugene Koh A question from Shelli: Question I heard that Star Tours at MGM is Supposed to be changing, Is this ture? I love this ride and I hope it only gets better! ImagineerB We are considering a new show for the 20th anniversary of the Star Wars films in 1997. Eugene Koh A more specific question about virtual reality from REarly: Question I heard they will have VR type stuff. Will it be large simulators like Body Wars, or will it be Head Mount Displays, or what…..? RWWeis Both, but we have some great head mounted displays ImagineerB We can’t disclose the details of this highly confidential project. RWWeis But its great Eugene Koh A question about the historical perspective at America from Roys Teet: Question With the civil war theme, how will the issue of slavery be adressed: from a northern or southern perspective? RWWeis The nature of the park is that it will present history accurately, good and bad Eugene Koh A question about America from Seg: Question Will the new Theme Park be anything like Epcot? RWWeis Smaller, more American in the sense that it deals with American issues not international. Will have more thrill rides, and a little less emphasis on the future Eugene Koh A question about Euro from MikeS2361: Question What types of P/R activities are you undertaking in Europe to help boost park attendance ? ImagineerB We opened 10 new attractions and more emphasis on the activities in the park and not so much on Mickey Eugene Koh A question about the work of Imagineers… I think LindsayE is looking for look at day-to-day life: Question What does an Imagineer do? It is the most beautiful job title I’ve ever heard. ImagineerB We make the dreams come true … Eugene Koh A question from Eric310: Question What is the progress on the new Disneyland Resort plan? What hurdles still need to be cleared? What are some of the ideas for that park? ImagineerB All of the governmental issues are resolved, the question is whether it makes sense economically. ImagineerB Similar to EPCOT, it has Four Corners of the World instead of the World Showcase ImagineerB and you can live in the park. Eugene Koh A question from Geographer:
 Question When will “Cartoon Spin” in Toon Town open and are there any “Sneak previews” planned prior to its opening? ImagineerB It was sneak previewed to people who attended the Disneyana convention last month and opens for everyone in January. Eugene Koh A question about the types of computers used from The Lazer: Question Do you use Macintosh or IbM computers in helping to run, Or Build the rids ImagineerB Both. Eugene Koh What sorts of computers do the Imagineers use? ImagineerB Creative uses lots of Macintoshes. Silicon Graphics work stations ImagineerB The engineering groups use IBMs. ImagineerB And four people use Newtons. Eugene Koh A question fro Kealii: Question Please tell us about the amazing “skin” used on animatronic figure - material, how long it lasts, how applied, and so on ImagineerB It’s a flexible latex alloy called hot melt. ImagineerB It’s injection molded and wrapped around an inner supporting form. ImagineerB Don’t try this at home. Eugene Koh Our final question comes from FlatCat. We have received hundreds of questions over the past hour, and unfortunately weren’t able to address all of them here. However, if your question hasn’t been answered tonight, you can send e-mail directly to Bob Weis, a senior executive at Disney who spoke tonight, at screenname RWWeis. RWWeis I’ll do my best, it was great having everyone here tonight Eugene Koh FlatCat asks: Question Eric Jacobsen - you seem to have the longest title - out of all the projects you are working on, which is the most fun? ImagineerB Blizzard Beach. Eugene Koh Perhaps you all can address this, not just Eric. ImagineerB Whatever’s funded. RWWeis Tower of Terror! AaaaaAAaAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ImagineeerB Thanks to everyone for all their questions. Eugene Koh Great! Well we want to thank all of the Imagineers for coming tonight, and again, if any of your questions haven’t been answered, explore the Disney Adventures area online for the latest info direct from Disney! CHIEFofDA Thanks for coming to D.A.’s first auditorium…look for future events in the Disney Adventures area. CHIEFofDA You can even chat with us live every M-W-F at 7 pm EST RWWeis Thanks Eugene, thanks AOL, and all our guests. CHIEFofDA Thanks to the folks at Disney Imagineering for being here tonight Eugene Koh Thanks to everyone in the audience for your great participation! Your questions and comments make our live conferences fly. Thanks again to our Disney Imagineers! ImagineerB we really had fun CHIEFofDA and, as always…..ADVENTURE ON!

[introverted-scribblings]

Hello! Hope I'm not too late! You deserve all the best, even the small things!!!

Name/Aliases: Hunny, Hun, Ice (irl)

Zodiacs: Aries sun / Virgo moon / Leo rising / Year of the snake (2001)

Personality Type: INFP - A

Pronouns: She/Her

Orientation: Aegosexual / Homoromantic (wlw)

I am 21! I am 5’6-5’7ish, and 99lbs last I checked. Still not the best weight, but I’m working on it. I’m very skinny and lanky with a defined waist, but I’m trying to grow a bit of muscle. I have long dark/black hair that I have no idea how to style; it’s fine and high porosity so it tangles and gets damaged easily. My eyes are brown, but can appear black in the shade and golden in sunlight. I have a lot of dark marks over my body from acne and so many bruises on my legs from work. I prefer being comfortable most of the time (like, if i could be naked all the time, that’d be great), but there are a lot of aesthetics that interest me!

So there’s probably a lot to say about who I am, but I’ll try and keep it brief. The things that line up between all of my zodiacs and personality type is that I’m very introverted and empathetic. I don’t have a lot of close-close friends, and the ones I do have are kind of opposite reflections of who I am. They’re loud and excitable and perhaps a little unkempt with amazing style, while I am usually quiet, and extra polite with a heavy focus on my hygiene since my style sucks. I live vicariously through my friends’ drama as the mom/therapist friend and I’m constantly on top of making sure everyone’s okay. My love languages are quality time and words of affirmation.

I deeply enjoy the little beautiful details of life and observe the world around me in an artistic lens. I love photography in the way you can quickly capture the fun shape of a cloud or the way snow glistens when it first sticks to the ground. I adore those small moments of intimacy, like a coffee already made for you in the exact way you like it or the heartbeat you feel even being just pressed up into their side. I love writing in which I can truly show the reverence and love of these moments.

On the other hand, I am also extremely intelligent despite my emotional exaggeration. I’ve always found science interesting and math is easy when it’s present and practiced on. And psychology is a very close topic to my heart, so I learn anything I can about it. And on this topic: FUCK FREUD!!! Literally setting the psychology movement 1000 years back by destroying his studies. Disgraceful.

I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and never treated for it, but my home life was always rather adhd friendly. A lot of my symptoms include the inattentive type, but I’m hyperactive in some strange ways. I’ll move and shift a lot, but I’m constantly hyper aware of what’s going on around me and I hyperfocus on a task/topic until I eventually burnout. I’m impulsive in the way of “how can I solve this problem in the fastest way possible” (so like climbing things I’m not supposed to in order to reach something, or picking the skin off my lips cause they’re dry and bothering me, etc). I do have auditory and memory processing issues, so I may need a moment in between being asked questions. I do have RSD which is mainly triggered by my schooling/academics, so I try to avoid talking about it if I can.

I have been emotionally hurt a lot by people I thought were friends, and I’ve grown more confident than I ever have been in my boundaries of how I let people treat me.

I think this is everything… Yeah, it should be. I can’t wait to see who I’m matched with and I hope your week gets better! “Remember to lead with kindness, because at some point you’ll have to stop being kind. Then show them no mercy.” <3

You were actually the first matchup request I received so you're perfectly on time lol. I did see your second ask and I'm more than happy to give you an OHSHC matchup! You're such a sweetheart btw

I hope you enjoy what I've come up with!!

I match you with...

~Tamaki~

Hear me out…

He might’ve started out flirting with you, but once you explain your orientation to him, he backs off and respects it 100%

However, platonically, I think you two are a great match!

He would be the best friend you could ask for because he cares for you so much!

He balances out your introvertedness and enjoys helping you out of your comfort zone a bit.

He wouldn’t pressure you though, and if you were uncomfortable he’d ease up.

You say your love languages are quality time and words of affirmation? This man checks both of those boxes.

He loves spending time with you, he feels truly relaxed around you and makes sure to tell you that!

Your friendship (like all good friendships imo) is built on communication.

Whatever boundaries you set with him, he’ll respect. And you do the same for him.

He also views the world with a very romantic eye, appreciating the beauty in the world. Though he’s a lot more flamboyant about it I’m assuming.

You should definitely show him whatever photos you take! He’s so on board with your hobbies.

He probably jokes that you should take pictures of him because you’d capture his beauty perfectly.

He (Kyoya) suggests that you take pictures for the Host Club considering you have a good photography eye.

He might also be looking for an excuse to have you at the host club.

He wants to spend time with you!

You two would remember the little things about each other. How you like your tea/coffee, what your favorite movies are, your favorite type of music, etc.

He’s a master at giving gifts due to this fact.

I think you two would have a friendship playlist on Spotify or something. Just a mix of music that reminds you of each other.

He absolutely applauds your intelligence!

His best friend is so smart and he’s so proud!

Probably goes to you with questions because Kyoya can be mean sometimes.

He feels horrible that you were treated poorly by “friends” in the past and, either consciously or unconsciously, is trying to make up for that.

He wants to be your best friend, he wants to be someone you can trust and rely on.

He just cares about you a lot, you’re very dear to him as his close, if not closest, friend.

Due to your therapeutic/motherly nature, he opens up to you a lot more than other people.

Overall, you make him happy, and he’ll do his best to make you happy too!!

The song I pick for you two is:

“Kaleidoscope” by A Great Big World

[chudleycanonficfest]

Washing Machine Heart

Day 22, Story #2 is by @rosequartzstarswrites​

Title: Washing Machine Heart Author/Artist: rosequartzstars - @rosequartzstarswrites (Because of Tumblr settings, this is posting from my main blog, but it’s me!) Pairing: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley (and background Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger) Prompt: 5+1 Rating: T (only for some strong language and non-explicit insinuations) Trigger Warning(s) (if any): none apply! 

“I can’t believe I’m going through with this,” huffed Hermione, struggling to keep up the brisk pace Ron was marking on the sidewalk.

“You never believed you’d have to, did you?” Ron said gleefully, seemingly unaware of just how hard his long-legged strides were to keep up with.

“You never told me you were that good at chess!”

“No, more like you never thought anyone could be better than you at anything!”

Despite only having been friends, close friends, with them for a semester, Harry had already become accustomed to the constant bickering between Ron and Hermione, to the point even of endearment. Coming from the Dursleys’, arguments and rebukes were something he was used to, but the undertone of friendship with which Ron and Hermione faced off was a welcome change (and a very entertaining one). Still, he tended to side quietly with Ron, and this particular time was no exception: part of him was delighted at the prospect of seeing Hermione get a tattoo.

This had all started from a ridiculous bet, born of boredom in the lounge of their dorm building. Ron had eyed the communal chessboard, battered and chipped from years of usage, and challenged Hermione to a match.

Hermione had scoffed: “Only if you want to lose, Ron.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Ron had said, exchanging a look with Harry as a sly smile crept onto his lips.

“I’m completely certain.”

“Certain enough to bet?” Ron had prodded her.

The competitiveness that, before becoming friends, was all Harry had known of Hermione had flared up in her eyes. “I’m listening.”

“When you lose—”

“If I lose, and I won't—”

“When you lose,” Ron had reiterated, “you have to get a tattoo of my choosing.”

Hermione had smirked. “Game on.”

In Hermione’s defense, Harry thought, she hadn’t ever considered she might lose. There really was no way of expecting how good Ron had turned out to be at chess, especially since —Harry thought— Hermione had based her certainty on how abysmal his grades were, against her own straight A’s, in their proofs-based mathematics class, which relied entirely on strength of reasoning. But, as it turned out, Ron was actually a master logician, if only somewhat lazy at his math classes, and this he had proved by absolutely obliterating Hermione with the fastest checkmate Harry had ever borne witness to.

And that is how they had come to find themselves out on the streets of their little college town that night, wrapped in their scarves and their winter coats to battle the first of the December chill, walking to a tattoo parlor Ron knew in the area so Hermione could be forever reminded of her loss by a tattoo Ron would choose. And if Harry knew Ron well, and knew how much he relished teasing Hermione, the reminder would be a strong one.

“I didn’t even want a tattoo,” Hermione was mumbling, more to herself than at either of them. “I never wanted one— did you know that you might not be eligible to donate blood if you have a tattoo? I mean, not that it’s impossible, but it’s a factor against you, like your weight and your age. And my family has a history of needing transfusions— oh, God, what if my grandfather needs a donation, like, tomorrow? The three-month period of eligibility won’t have elapsed, and my father can’t donate, and– and–” She froze in the middle of the sidewalk. “Oh, God, have I killed my grandfather?”

“Relax, Hermione,” Ron said, throwing a fraternal arm around her shoulders and squeezing her half in an attempt to get her walking again. “You’re halfway across the country from home. You wouldn’t be able to fly out on such short notice anyway.”

Harry had to stifle a laugh at how Hermione gaped at Ron then, a billion other dire possibilities to worry about racing through her head now. Ron, however, was less successful at keeping down a chuckle. “I’m kidding, Hermione. Besides, a tattoo will make you look badass.”

“I don’t want to look badass!” Hermione squeaked shrilly. “I’ve never been remotely interested in looking badass!”

“Well, interested or not,” Ron said as they came up to a dark brick building with a neon sign reading LOVEGOOD’S flickering above the door, “it seems like you don’t have much of a choice, because we’re here.”

Hermione let out a noise that sounded somewhere between a gasp and a whine as she looked up at the storefront that, to her, was synonymous not only with her doom but apparently that of her grandfather.

“Ron, please?” she said meekly.

Ron, however, looked gleeful and would not be deterred. “A bet’s a bet,” he declared, grabbing her wrist and beginning to march her up the three or so stairs that led up to the door of the tattoo parlor from the sidewalk. Harry lingered behind for an instant, watching the backs of his two friends as they waddled up the stairs, smiling as he listened to Ron debate whether he would make Hermione get a skull or a sailor’s “Mom” arrow-pierced heart, and Hermione pleading shrilly with him not to do either of those things. Watching them, Harry’s smile widened. He was lucky to have them as friends, that much he knew, despite the short time he’d spent knowing them. Why he hadn’t found them his freshman year was beyond him— but now, now that he had these wacky outings and constant bickering to enjoy, he felt overwhelmingly lucky that they had found him.

“Harry, are you coming in or what?” Ron beckoned him. He had stopped on the topmost step and was still gripping Hermione, whose face was a mask of pure, crystallized terror.

“Absolutely,” Harry said, hurrying up the steps with a little hop. “This I’ve got to see.”

Ron pushed open the door to the parlor with a little too much gusto, and Hermione cringed at the metallic sound of the chimes above the door as they tinkled with the announcement of their entrance. The front of the shop, sealing off the rest with a counter that had seen better days, was empty, the backroom separated by a beaded curtain.

“Hellooo?” Ron called into the backroom, marching right up to the counter. “Is anybody here? We bring a very eager customer!”

Hermione began to protest, but just as she did, an employee came out of the backroom to stand behind the counter. Catching a glimpse of her, Harry felt as if the wind had been knocked out of his chest: she was stunning. She was tall and slender, her toned arms visible through the ripped-off sleeves of her vintage Hole tee, with a curtain of straight orange hair pulled back into a long high ponytail. Her bright brown eyes glimmered atop a button-like nose that matched her small, round mouth perfectly, the pale fine face finished by a spattering of freckles. Even before she had spoken a single word, Harry felt the confidence coming off of her in waves, simply by how she propped her elbows up on the counter and eyed their party somewhat playfully. He was frozen to his place with the sight of her, hoping his jaw hadn’t dropped as low as it had felt in the wake of his awe.

Upon seeing her, however, Ron had had exactly the opposite reaction. “Ginny?” he said incredulously.

“What are you doing here?” the woman —Ginny— said without any greeting, returning Ron’s frown.

“I thought you weren’t working today!”

“I’m covering a shift for Demelza, she had a gyn appointment today.”

“Well, if I knew that, I wouldn’t have come in,” grumbled Ron. The tips of his ears were beginning to pink, a sign Harry had learned to recognize as a hint of extreme emotion in his friend.

“Well, you’re here now, so… what can I do for you?” Ginny said. “I mean, you can’t possibly be the one getting inked, Ron. You’re too much of a wimp.”

“Shut up, or I’m telling mom you got your helix pierced. That’ll make for a fun Christmas greeting when we’re back home, I’ll wager.”

Then the similarity became apparent to Harry: the freckles, the aggressive red of their hair, the same glint in their eyes… Ginny was Ron’s sister. Somehow, he didn’t know whether that was something he should feel good or bad about.

“Tattletale,” Ginny said, swatting at him. “And it’s called an industrial piercing. Not that you’d know.” Only then did she seem to remark on the rest of the party.

“Harry Potter,” she said, and Harry gulped as she crossed her muscular arms over her chest and leaned back, surveying him. “Come to get a sixth tattoo?”

“A sixth— how do you know?” Harry said, befuddled. Out of all the opening lines he would’ve expected her to use, this had not been one of them.

“You can credit the rumor mill at school,” Ginny shrugged, still eyeing him with interest. “You’re a topic of interest. Or at least among the soccer teams.”

“Oh, am I?”

“Romilda swore you had a griffin tattooed on your chest, but I told her I’d heard it was a dragon. Much more macho, I thought.”

“Thanks,” Harry said dully. What else was he supposed to say?

“Don’t mention it,” Ginny gave him a conspiratorial wink. “And if I were you, I’d find out who on the boys’ team has been giving you the eye in the shower enough to count your tats. I bet it’s Ron.”

“It’s not!” Ron said angrily, the red from his ears bleeding out onto his cheeks.

“I bet it is,” Ginny mouthed to Harry, giving him another wink. “But it’s not you?”

“Pardon?” said Harry, for whom the ‘it-is-it’s-not’ exchange had grown somewhat confusing.

“For the tattoo?” Ginny said, and Harry felt like an idiot. “It’s not you who’s getting it?”

“No, ah, actually— it’s Hermione,” Harry was knocked back into his senses as he gestured toward Hermione, who had stood, utterly baffled, throughout that whole exchange.

“Hermione Granger?” Ginny said, and Harry was almost glad when she turned her gaze away from him and toward Hermione. “As in, Scamander Fellow Hermione Granger?”

“The one and only,” Ron declared proudly, happy to be back off a topic that bothered him (teasing Ron) and back on a topic that delighted him (teasing Hermione).

“I wouldn’t have chalked you up to the tattoo type,” Ginny said.

“Oh, she’s not,” Ron said, his face lighting up as if Christmas had come early.

Ginny’s eyes darted between the dismal face of Hermione and the cheerful face of Ron, her eyebrows rising as she took it in. “Okay, I’m not going to ask about whatever this is. What am I doing on you?”

“I’m designing it,” Ron said brightly. And if Harry had thought that Hermione’s face couldn’t get more desolated, he’d been wrong.

“Christ, Hermione, what has he got on you?” Ginny said, already opening a drawer on the counter to pull out a sketchpad and a pen.

“I’m such an idiot,” Hermione grumbled.

Ron pored over the sketchpad, shielding the paper from Hermione’s eyes as he sketched. When he was done, he handed it to Ginny with a quick flick of the wrist that, much to Hermione’s dismay, ensured she couldn’t even catch a glimpse of what was on it. Ginny looked over whatever it was Ron had drawn and then looked up at her brother with a frown.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay, then,” Ginny shrugged. She lifted the counter to open a gap through which Hermione could walk. “Follow me.”

Looking like a lamb led to the slaughter, Hermione looked up to heaven as if making one last, futile plea before scrunching up her nose and following Ginny through the beaded curtain to the backroom. Because yes, she hated the idea of getting a tattoo, but she hated the idea of letting Ron hold one over her even more.

Ron watched her leave delightedly, relishing in the jangle the beaded curtain made as it swallowed Ginny and Hermione into the backroom. “This is going to be good,” he said, rubbing his palms together. “Oh, this is going to be so good.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a sister?” Harry blurted out all of a sudden. He startled himself as much as Ron when he said it, though he was glad he’d been able to pare down the question from what was actually swirling around in his head: Why didn’t you tell me you had a sister that looked like THAT?

Ron looked at him and shrugged. “I don’t know. It never came up.”

“You told me about every other one of your five brothers, but not the sister.”

“Nope.”

“Not the sister that seems to be about our age.”

“Nope.”

“Not the sister that seems to be about our age and plays soccer.“ And is hot.

"Nope.” Ron paused and frowned. “She’s a year below us, anyway.”

“Oh, then that explains it,” Harry said sarcastically.

“It seemed like more of a second-semester-of-friendship revelation.”

“I see.”

Harry held the silence between them for a few moments more before he allowed the next question out. “She plays soccer?”

“One more of the long line of Weasleys that get athletic scholarships to Hogwarts College. Except for Percy— no, he was a disgrace, he got in on an academic grant.”

“The family disappointment, truly.”

Harry wanted to ask more about Ginny, but he held his tongue. His friendship with Ron was the most precious thing his sophomore year of college had yielded him, and he didn’t want to jeopardize it by prying further or making it seem like he had the hots for his sister. Even though he did. He suffocated that small voice at the back of his mind: he hadn’t even spoken properly to Ginny, just stood there like an idiot and let her quip freely about his tattoos— which, mind him, apparently were fodder for locker talk back at Hogwarts.

The buzz of the needle in the backroom as it started up brought Harry out of his thoughts, just in time to see a shit-eating grin appear on Ron’s face.

“I wish I could see her face right now,” he said gleefully, and Harry let himself stop thinking about Ginny to join Ron in picturing what Hermione Granger must look like seated in a tattoo parlor chair.

“It really wasn’t so bad,” admitted Hermione as they exited the tattoo parlor and went down the little steps back onto the sidewalk.

Despite his pretensions of malice, Ron’s nobility (which had never been in question, even despite his teasing) had shone through and yielded a considerably modest tattoo: a small, capital “R” in his own handwriting. Hermione, who had almost cried with relief after Ginny showed her the design, had chosen to get it on her left thigh, on the side and at the very top, right under her hipbone.

“Why did you get it there?” Harry asked as they resumed their brisk walk back to campus.

“It’s not a place you usually show. That means if a sleeve shifts or an interviewer sees, I don’t know, my ankle or something, they won’t notice it.”

“As if a tiny ‘R’ would disqualify anyone from a job, let alone you,” snorted Ron.

“Professionalism is a virtue, Ronald,” Hermione huffed, though her cheeks had gone red. “Besides, since that part of me is always covered, I’ll save myself from having to explain the story behind it to anyone that spots it.”

“Yeah, except the bloke that eventually undresses you and sees you in your panties. Try explaining what that 'R’ means to him,” said Ron. But Harry suspected Hermione wouldn’t have to: from how Ron’s eyes had widened and his gaze had lingered when Hermione had pulled down the side of her jeans ever so slightly to show them the finished product, exposing a sliver of her underwear, Harry could almost wager that Ron would be the bloke in question.

They walked in animated chatter for the rest of the way, the tattoo forgotten until Ron made a quip about Hermione now having crossed the gateway to joining a biker gang and Hermione going positively beet-red in the face with outrage. Then Harry, his hands in his pockets, simply smirked to himself and resigned himself to their bickering for the rest of the walk, knowing he was no longer needed in their exchange. Instead, he let his mind drift to Ginny. She hadn’t really spoken to him again, merely ducking out from the beaded curtain backroom and instructing Hermione on how to take care of her tattoo, saying only a general goodbye to the three of them as they exited the shop. There had been nothing in Ginny’s manner to suggest that she might be thinking of him as strongly, as irremediably, as he was of her, and yet there he was.

The main quad was mostly deserted, except for a few scattered groups of late-night library frequenters or sneaking couples, as the three of them crossed it to get to their dorm. Ron and Hermione didn’t stop arguing as they climbed the four flights up to their floor (the elevator, as usual, was broken), and only broke it off because Hermione reached her room before the boys reached theirs, slipping inside it and shutting the door before Ron had a chance to get the last word in.

“Well, that went well,” Ron shrugged as he and Harry kept walking down the hall to their room.

“You actually got her to get a tattoo,” Harry said with some admiration as they reached their door.

Ron grinned as he swiped the key card. “I may drive her crazy, but if anyone was going to get her to do something like that, it was going to be me.”

Ron pushed the door open and let them into their dorm room. He closed the door and, without taking off his coat, immediately flopped onto his bed— or, well, what could be seen of the bed under mountains of dirty or otherwise discarded clothes. Away from his mother’s chore-mongering for the first time, Ron had let himself go wild and go to the other extreme, but even Harry had to admit that the army of socks draped over the foot of his bed was beginning to smell a little stale.

“So,” Ron said, propping his head up, “no parties tonight?”

“Well, it’s a Wednesday,” Harry said.

“So what? There’s no party spirit around here?”

“Ron, it’s the last Wednesday before final exams. People are studying.”

“I wasn’t aware I was rooming with Hermione,” Ron grumbled. Harry had to admit she might have gotten to him a little. However, Ron’s irritation was short-lived, a grin appearing on his face again. “Wait, but we’re not people. We’re not studying.”

Harry surveyed the room and, despite his desire to throw in the towel for the night and have fun with Ron, felt a pang of dismay at just how much grosser it would be if they caved and did that (last time they had, they’d had a Pringle-eating contest, with devastating results for their sheets, which still had some crumbs). “No, Ron. We’re doing laundry.”

Ron groaned. “Jeez, now I’m rooming with my mother.”

“Okay, fine, you don’t have to do the laundry. I’ll do it for the both of us.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, go hang out with Dean and Seamus or whatever, see if you can get Hermione to do her second wild-card act of the day and make her stop studying to hang out with the guys.”

“Now I’m a man with a mission,” Ron said, perking up in delight at the prospect of teasing Hermione, or even seeing her once more that night.

“Just shove your clothes in the laundry bag before you go, won’t you? I don’t want to touch your nasty briefs more than I have to.”

Ron obliged, tossing all the clothes on and around his bed into his orange laundry bag and pulling the drawstring to close it. “I’ll update you on the Hermione thing,” he said cheerfully, hurrying out of the room and down the hall to the left to the room they’d left Hermione in.

Harry laughed to himself, wondering how long it was going to take Ron to realize why exactly he always seemed so eager to do anything Hermione-related, as he too threw his dirty clothes into a checkered drawstring laundry bag. Then, he hoisted one sack over each of his shoulders and opened the door using his ankle and leg to let himself out, his hands full with the laundry bags. He stifled a smirk as he passed Hermione’s room and heard the familiar bubbling sound of she and Ron rowing. If Harry knew her at all, he knew however much she might argue she’d be out of that room in an hour tops.

He groaned as he looked down the stairs, and rued the day he had been placed in the dorm with the shittiest elevator on campus. Resigning himself, he began to walk slowly down the poorly-lit stairs to the basement, where the laundry room was. However inconvenient this descent was, Harry was at least comforted with the knowledge that the laundry room would not be crowded, which would be the greater inconvenience once the elevator was fixed.

The basement was even dimmer, the white lights flickering and buzzing with electricity as Harry walked to the laundry room almost at the end of the hall. Sure enough, the laundry room was deserted, oddly quiet with none of the familiar hum and rattle of the machines as they worked. Harry knelt in front of a washing machine and began unloading the contents of the laundry bags into it, cramming them in so they’d fit because he sure as hell wasn’t shelling out quarters for two washers. When he’d made it all fit (which had involved the use of force to jam the door shut), he went to the shelf that held the communal detergent and poured it into the soap compartment. With that done, he dug out eight quarters from his pocket and inserted them into the washer’s slot, pressing the “Start Cycle” button when he heard the clink that let him know his quarters had been accepted. The washer rumbled slowly to life, jets of water trickling out as it began to spin in one direction and then the other, and it was a couple minutes before it was spinning at a hearty pace.

Rising from his crouch (he had always liked to watch the washing machine as it booted up to wash in earnest), Harry took the laundry bags and turned to head back upstairs, already thinking of what he might do to pass the time in the hour he had before he had to switch the clothes to the dryer.

He was so caught up in thinking of this that he didn’t see the person entering the laundry room at the same time as he was exiting, which ended in an awkward clash between them.

“I’m so sorry,” Harry blurted.

“No, it’s fine, I’m sorry too— Harry?”

Only then did Harry realize who he had bumped into, and only because she kept standing there did he believe it. “Ginny?”

She still wore her Hole shirt, but had discarded the ripped jeans, combat boots, and round-the-waist flannel he’d seen at the tattoo parlor. Instead, she wore frayed gray sweatpants and flip-flops, her hair pulled up from the long ponytail into a messy bun. She, however, somehow still managed to look almost unbearably beautiful. What’s happening to me?

“What are you doing here?” he asked, the only thing he could think of right that second. Spotting the laundry basket she was cradling, he added: “No laundry in your dorm?”

“No, yeah, there is one, but it’s always too crowded, it being a freshman dorm and all.” Harry nodded: his first year, he too had done entirely more laundry than he had to, and was thankful by the quarters he saved just by realizing he could wear a pair of pants more than once before they were dirty. “So I use the one here. Much quieter. I know Ron’s ID and password—”

“You do?”

“He gave it to me once so I could pick up his books from the library. And my memory’s great.” She gave him a half smile and looked beyond him at the laundry room. “Doing laundry?”

“No, I just like the ambience down here. The shitty lighting and bleach smell are really my style,” said Harry. Ginny laughed, and Harry felt a rush of pride at what was probably the first witty thing he’d ever said to her. “Need a hand?”

“I’d appreciate one, sure,” Ginny said, again smiling at him. Harry moved so she could walk into the laundry room, and watched her pick one of the washing machines that lined the wall. When she’d settled on one, he crouched down next to her and help her lob the clothes into the maw of the machine.

“Tattoo parlor let out early?” he asked as they placed the clothes inside.

“More like you guys came in really late. You were my last customers— I just cleaned up and closed after you left.”

“And you work there?”

“Sure beats a regular work-study, doesn’t it?” Ginny grinned. She tossed in a Tide pod that was left at the bottom of the basket, closed the door to the machine, and rose to find the quarters needed to activate it. “Oh, shoot, I left my wallet in my other pants—”

“I got you,” said Harry, digging for eight more quarters in his pocket. For once, he was glad of his bad habit of carrying an excess of loose change in his jeans, something Hermione already got on to him about (sometimes, like when she’d gifted him a money purse, not too subtly).

“Thanks,” Ginny said, picking the laundry basket up from the ground.

Harry listened for the telling clink and then pressed the button. The washing machine whirred to a start, but for once, Harry didn’t feel compelled to watch it boot up: instead, he turned to Ginny. “So how did you come to work there?”

“At the tat shop?” Ginny asked, hopping to sit on the top of the washer where her clothes were spinning. “My friend Luna’s dad, Xenophilius—”

“Gesundheit.”

“Shut up,” Ginny said, but the hint of a laugh was (to Harry’s satisfaction) visible on her lips again. “Anyway, Xenophilius owns the place. He set up in a college town because he knows college is the first time kids are truly free to make rash, impulse decisions.”

“Like getting a tattoo?”

“Exactly. And besides, all the college students love his New Age bullshit, they think it’s very 70s, so his shop is always full. He got a big boost after he started placing crystals in the shop windows.”

“He’s in with the kids, then?”

“Don’t tell him that, he’ll be mortified. But he’s great, really. A little eccentric, but great. He knows me from when Luna and I took an art class together in 10th grade, and he’s always complimented my art, so he helped me get my tattoo artist license as soon as I turned 18 and hired me.”

“Is Luna the girl with the shaggy blond hair and the weird glasses?”

“That’s her. Though I’m surprised you didn’t know her by her bottlecap necklaces. That’s usually what people comment on.”

“Does she work there too?”

“Yeah, though not as an inker, she’s useless with a needle. She designs a big chunk of the tattoos, though, both original designs and commissions or requests.”

“That’s awesome,” Harry said. He realized that was the first time through the whole conversation that he had stopped. He’d never hesitated on what to say next: conversation with Ginny had flowed easily, naturally, and he hadn’t had to think too hard to keep it going. Still, he was a little disappointed that it had stopped. Ginny, however, seemed to share in this, because rather than say goodbye and take her leave, she opened up a new topic.

“So how long have you and Ron been friends?”

“Er– since the start of this school year, actually.”

“Really? You’d think from how he talks about you, he’d known you forever.” Harry felt a flush of happiness at hearing that Ron talked about him.

“Well, I got him for a roommate this year, and we just clicked. Then it turned out we had a lot of the same classes. And we’re both on the soccer team, so it just got better from there.”

“It seems strange that you never crossed paths your freshman year.”

Harry shrugged. “I mean, freshman year is weird for everyone. I certainly felt like I was just bouncing from one place to another. I still hang out with a lot of the guys from last year, but my friends have changed. It makes sense— the first year, everyone is trying to meet as many people as possible, as if it’s a race, but by sophomore year you know more of what you want and what you’re looking for. In a way, I’m glad I met Ron now that I’m in a more stable place, now that I know my way around the college and have a better grip on things. I have a feeling he’s a friend I’m gonna keep.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re sticking around the Weasleys,” Ginny said, and Harry felt a tingle run up his spine. Was she… flirting with him? “And Hermione?”

“Oh, Hermione’s great, Ron and I would be dead by now if not for her— I don’t know how I got through a full year without her.”

“But she’s very different from you guys, isn’t she?”

“Well— on the surface, sure, but not in the things that matter. The fact that she went through with the tattoo tonight when she could’ve kicked up a fuss and bailed out tells you all you need to know.”

“So what I’m hearing is that Scamander Fellow Hermione Granger is as much of a bonehead as my brother at heart?”

“Stubborn, is the word I’d use. And only when Ron’s involved, actually.”

Ginny smirked. “Idiots. They haven’t even realized it.”

Harry knew exactly what she meant. “You think it too?”

“Oh, I’d bet on it. Ten bucks says they’re together by the end of the year.”

“Hey, did our visit by the parlor today teach you nothing about bets? They can be dangerous.”

“But I’m betting against you, aren’t I?” The way she said you made Harry’s heart skip a beat. “Fine, not ten bucks. But I’ll bet you a load of laundry, how’s that?”

“Deal,” said Harry, taking Ginny’s extended hand to shake it. The touch of her palm, with its long, slender fingers, sent warmth coursing down from his hand and the length of his arm. They let go and dropped hands, and perhaps it was just wishful thinking, but Harry thought he detected a certain reluctance in Ginny as they did.

Harry leaned against the washer, his propped elbow almost brushing up against her thigh. “How about you? How’s your first year going so far?”

Ginny winced. “As well as you’d expect, I suppose. Lots of people still behave like it’s an extension of high school, and I’m very much over that. But as things go, I’m having a blast. Being on the soccer team certainly helps.”

“Congratulations on that scholarship, by the way.”

“Thank you,” Ginny said, her wide smile revealing a row of perfect, square white teeth. “You’re on a scholarship too, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. My aunt and uncle would’ve never paid a single cent for me to go to college, so it was the only way. But I’m sure they were glad to be rid of me anyway.”

“They sound like lovely people,” Ginny said sarcastically.

“I should introduce them to this Xenophilius sometime. My uncle Vernon would have a stroke just walking into that shop.”

“Well, if you ever swing by, you have an insider contact,” Ginny offered, and Harry loved the implication of something, even something as simple as an 'insider contact’, between just the two of them. “I’d be happy to arrange a meeting, especially for such esteemed patrons.”

“I might take you up on that, if I ever planned on seeing them again,” Harry said. The words came out a bit more harshly than he’d expected, and the second silence in their talk set in, brought on by the darker implications of his family situation. Desperate to break it, Harry cleared his throat and geared up to talk again: “So, do you have any tattoos?”

He was relieved to see the smile, that coy, almost lopsided smile, appear on Ginny’s face again. “Actually, no, not a single one.”

“Do you think you’d ever get one?”

Ginny thought for a second. “I might, if something meaningful enough came around. And only if I was 200% sure. But really, I feel like one tattoo would lead to another, and then I’d never stop and run out of room on my skin. So it’s more of a containment mechanism, really.”

Harry smirked. “Hm. Interesting.”

Ginny broke out onto a full grin as she watched him. “What?” she asked, but when Harry’s smirk only deepened, she shoved him playfully, her touch on his shoulders eliciting the same warm sensation as the handshake. “What, Potter, tell me! Why is it interesting?”

“I mean, since you work at a tattoo shop, and you’re wearing a Hole t-shirt, I just thought you might be the type—”

“The Hole tee? Oh, don’t tell me you’re gonna gatekeep it, like you’re the type of guy who’d be like 'name three songs'—”

“No, not at all. As a matter of fact, I don’t know a lot of music by Hole. I really only know who they are because of that one Fall Out Boy song Courtney Love was featured in—”

Ginny winced. “Not Fall Out Boy, please.”

“Why? What’s wrong with Fall Out Boy?”

“Harry—”

“I know they get a lot of shit, but really, their first albums are pretty good—”

“Harry, you’ve gotta stop right here, or you’re going to make me stop finding you so attractive.”

And just like that, there it was, out in the open. Harry felt stun: he felt his mouth open to offer a witty retort, but no words came out. Because the girlish grin had evaporated from Ginny’s face and turned into a different, more mature look, her eyes smoldering slightly and her mouth slightly pouted.

“What about you?” she asked, her words slower, as if she was choosing each one individually. “If the soccer team gossip is true, I know you have five tattoos.”

“Yeah,” Harry said, his voice having dropped as well. “Yeah, there were a few tat shops around my neighborhood where the rules were pretty lax.”

“What are they?” Ginny asked.

“The tattoos? Well, the first ones I ever got were my mom and dad’s birth and death dates, on my wrist,” Harry said, rolling up the sleeve of his shirt to display two small lines of numbers, in plain black ink, on his forearm.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ginny said softly.

“Don’t be, I was really small when it happened. But I still wanted to pay them homage. Anyway, I’ll not bore you with my family history right now.”

“But tell me sometime?”

Harry was ecstatic at the implication that Ginny wanted to spend even more time with him. “Yeah,” he said, smiling at her. “Yeah, I will.” He moved on to the second tattoo, shifting the other sleeve up a bit to show Ginny a small black paw print in the center of his wrist. “This was my third one. My godfather was the only person my aunt and uncle would let me see while I was growing up, and even then only because he threatened them. And he had this huge, black shaggy dog, I think it was a Newfoundland, that looked almost like a bear, named Padfoot. I loved that dog, and every time I think of the happiest moments growing up, Padfoot’s in a lot of them. So when he died when I was sixteen, I got this to remember him by. It seems like a tribute to my godfather, too, so I like it doubly.”

He didn’t need encouragement from Ginny to keep going. He raised his left leg and propped it up on the washing machine by where Ginny’s legs hung, rolling his sock down a bit to show a green, line-art tuft of grass snaking above his ankle. “I got this when I got the soccer scholarship to come here. I wanted something to commemorate soccer, seeing as it’s not only, y'know, my passion, but also what got me out of that damn house for good. But I thought something like a soccer ball or a net or even the pitch outline would be too cheesy, so I got a bit of grass, y'know, as in the field…”

“Tasteful,” Ginny nodded her approval, and Harry felt newfound appreciation for that tattoo. “That’s three down, Potter.”

“I’m getting there.” Harry brought his leg down from the washer and turned his back to Ginny, taking his hand up to the nape of his neck and using it to shift the hair there upward to reveal the back of his neck where it turned into his back. “Can you see it?”

“The little lightning bolt?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s the story of that?”

“That was my second one. To be honest, I was a little ink-happy after my first one, so a couple of weeks after I got it I went back and got this.”

“But why a lightning bolt?”

“I don’t know,” Harry admitted, turning back around to face her. “I guess it was just cool.”

“Oh, very,” Ginny said, and the edge in her voice let him know she was teasing him. “That leaves us with one, then. The emblematic chest tattoo.” Again, the playfulness disappeared from her face and was replaced by that strange look, the one Harry couldn’t really decipher but really, really liked. “Tell me, then, Harry— is Romilda Vane right?”

It was only because of the suggestiveness in Ginny’s voice and the permanence of that look on her face that Harry did what he did next. His movements slow, he pulled his shirt off over his head, setting it on the washing machine right by where Ginny sat. He heard Ginny draw in a breath and it hitch in her throat as she saw him, her eyes moving over his bare skin to spot the ink blot that had brought this all on. Curled above his right pec was a small, S-shaped dragon, colored in red and gold.

“I win,” Ginny said, her voice still husky, as she extended her left hand to touch the dragon with her fingertips.

“Are you going to tell Romilda?” Harry said, his own right hand settling lightly on Ginny’s thigh.

“No, actually,” Ginny said, her palm now coming down flat on Harry’s chest. Her other hand had also drifted to him, and she had placed it on Harry’s left side, right below his ribcage, as if to hold the side of his torso. “I think I’d rather keep this moment to myself.”

And then she was leaning in and kissing him, touching her lips to his first with tentative softness that turned into a stronger, more determined fire as the kiss deepened. With both of Ginny’s hands on Harry, and one of Harry’s on Ginny’s thigh and the other supporting the weight of the kiss against the solidity of the washer, they leaned into one another. Harry’s mouth sought out Ginny’s eagerly, overcome by the fiery feeling pooling in his stomach and rising up to his throat through his chest, by the fact that everything he’d thought about on their walk back from Lovegood’s was coming true much sooner (and much better) than he’d expected. He felt Ginny’s tongue nudge at his lips and opened his mouth to let her in, engulfing more of her lips with his as he did so. Ginny kissed passionately, her tongue meeting Harry’s even as her teeth dug lightly into Harry’s lower lip, making him kiss her more deeply. With her this close, he was invaded by the flowery smell of her hair, by the soft feel of her skin, by the low humming sound she made as she kissed him. And everything was coming together, making the fire in his chest grow, and it was a good kind of burn, better than whiskey, better than anything—

The loud ding of the washer as it announced it had concluded its cycle startled them, and they pulled back from the kiss looking a little dazed, that one upbeat chime having been all they needed to bring them reluctantly back into the real world. Still Ginny didn’t take her hands off Harry, and Harry felt less than inclined to move his from her leg.

“I should, uh, switch to the dryer,” he said, the only thing that popped into his mind there.

Ginny tightened her hold around his middle and moved her hand from his chest, wrapping it around his upper back to draw him closer. “Oh, let it wait,” she said, and then she was kissing him again, and Harry was finding that the dryer could wait for hell to freeze for all he cared.

The sleepy sound of the chimes above the door didn’t even make Ginny raise her gaze from her stats study guide, which she’d pulled out to make the best of the not-too-busy lull at Lovegood’s. “We’re almost closed,” she announced to whoever had come in.

“You can’t make room for one last customer?” a familiar voice said, and only then did Ginny perk up immediately.

“Harry!” she said brightly, shutting the stats book as it became all-but-forgotten. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to add one more tattoo to the five I’ve already got,” said Harry. “Think you can give me my sixth?”

Ginny didn’t even need to say yes, just opened up the lift-up counter door and disappeared through the beaded curtain. “Flip the door sign to 'closed’ before you come through, will you?”

Harry obliged and flipped the sign before following Ginny to the backroom. He sat patiently on the tattoo chair as Ginny milled about, getting the supplies ready.

“Y'know, you never did tell me the story behind your dragon tattoo,” Ginny commented as she went through the sterilization procedure for the needles. “Seeing as we were, um, otherwise occupied…”

The memory of the kiss flooded through Harry with the same fire that he’d held in his chest ever since, the flame growing to engulf his whole body just hearing Ginny mention it. “Should I tell you now?”

“I’d like to hear it.”

“I got it as a tribute to my old headmaster back home, Albus Dumbledore. Funny old man, and incredibly cryptic, but he’s the one that first gave me the idea of applying for the scholarship and helped me get all my grades and papers in order so I could make it here. We were very close, and he had this saying that he used to tell me whenever I ended up in his office for getting into trouble— 'never tickle a sleeping dragon’, he’d say.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

Harry laughed briefly and shrugged. “Hell if I know. But it was his catchphrase. So after I graduated, I wanted to get something to commemorate him, so I got the dragon from his favorite saying. He came with me and got it too.”

Ginny turned to him and eyed him quizzically. “Your headmaster got the tattoo along with you?”

“I told you he was a funny old man.”

Ginny pulled a pair of black latex gloves over her hands and rolled a wheeled office chair over to Harry, the needle in hand. “So by what I’m hearing, you only ever get tattoos of things that are extremely meaningful to you, right?”

“That’s right,” said Harry.

“So, Mr. Meaning, what’ll it be this time?”

Harry smiled. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it slightly upward, just enough to uncover his lower trunk. He pointed to a spot on the left side of his torso, right under his ribcage— right where Ginny’s hand had been, where her touch had been burned into his skin. “Right here,” he said. “I’d like a little washing machine.”

[keepingupwithlinmanuel]

They Fought to Make ‘In the Heights’ Both Dreamlike and Authentic

An important change is the decision to make the character of Nina, the elite student played by Leslie Grace, an Afro-Latina woman. She even refers to herself as a trigueña, which implies this was more than just a random casting choice.

HUDES One thing I’ve learned is if you want to make a nontraditional or strong casting choice, you actually have to write it into the dialogue or else it’s so easy for the production to get away from that. So a word like trigueña gets put in there for that reason. I wanted to consciously make Nina Afro-Latina in this version of “In the Heights.” Since we opened the show on Broadway, this national conversation has happened around microaggressions and really interesting stuff that I feel like would be applicable to Nina’s situation.

Was there a number that any of you felt was a deal-breaker and needed to stay?

HUDES At some point, for various artistic or budget reasons, many of the numbers were up for being potentially cut. You really had to make a strong argument for why the film needed them. Because the piragüero [who sells the Puerto Rican-style shaved-ice dessert] is a peripheral character, at one point the “Piragua” song was up for cutting. I tried to talk to Lin gently about this. He was really heartbroken and I was like, “I have one idea for how the studio would let us keep that song.” So I pitched him on playing [him]. That’s how that one stayed.

Lin, why did you feel that the piragüero was so significant to the story?

MIRANDA That song is maybe the fastest song I ever wrote. Although, I don’t know that I wrote it. I think I just caught it. The metaphor of the entire musical is inside that song. Piragüero is every character in this movie. They’re doing their best against impossible odds. They take a breath, then they keep scraping by. It’s a minute-and-45-second song, but somehow the DNA of the entire show is in that minute and 45 seconds. I was very proud that that kernel got to stay. My performance was a testament to my grandfather. He passed away the week after “In the Heights” opened on Broadway. He’s the one member of my family who did not get to see everything that came after that opening night. So I have his espejuelos [reading glasses] around my neck. I have his [Marcial Lafuente] Estefanía cowboy novels in my pocket. I’m wearing my socks up to my tabs and the same kind of shirt he had to wear. I’m really cosplaying as my abuelo.

Quiara, how did you come into the role of producer and why did you decide to take on that responsibility?

HUDES It was a lot of little things that happened organically. When we went to Warner Bros. and Jon came on board, they weren’t saying, “Where are the pages?” They were saying, “What do the pages mean?” I loved having those conversations and saying, “I don’t want to see stiletto heels on any of the salon workers. They’re women on their feet for eight or nine hours a day. Put them in tennis shoes.” Then Jon started asking me, “What would the food look like?” And I was like, “Can we also talk about the pots?” Then I started talking to the choreographer Chris Scott about the dance casting call. I don’t know much about dance, but I did know that at Abuela’s house and out on the street, you’re going to see elderly people dancing and they are going to be schooling the young’uns. At some point I said, “I want to be a producer on this. I’m not just writing words on a page.”

The choice of shooting on location is really compelling, especially when some locations would have been much easier to conceive on a soundstage. Tell me about shooting in Washington Heights and what that adds to the experience.

MIRANDA On paper it’s risky, right? It’s expensive to shoot in New York. It’s hard to shoot on location. It’s harder to shoot in Washington Heights in the summer when we all live outside for a few months a year. But the advantage is you get a million authenticity checks every day because your neighborhood is rolling up with folding chairs to watch this movie you’re going to make about them. Your characters better be dressed like the folks who are on the side, your food better be right. Everything you’re putting in the frame should be an honest reflection of the surrounding everything that’s outside of the frame. I give Jon so much credit for leaning in and listening and finding these corners of the neighborhood that have additional layers of meaning for those of us like Quiara and myself, who still live in the neighborhood.

The concept of the dream, or sueñito, is different for each character. The musical seems to say that you can attain your aspirations without losing who you are to assimilation. That’s a profound notion for immigrants and their children.

MIRANDA It’s that simple and it’s that complicated. You’re talking to first-generation writers whose parents were born on the island of Puerto Rico. You grow up with the “Sliding Doors” thinking: “What if they’d stayed? Who would I be if I grew up in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico?” The nuance that we always fought for is to say, “I can accept the sacrifice of my ancestors. I can accept the responsibility that bestows upon me and still find my own way in the world.” It’s not an either-or, it’s not about, “Forget your dreams. It’s my dreams.” It’s thinking, “I accept the incredible journey you had to take for me to even be standing here and still my job is to make my own way in the world and define home for what it is for me.”

[1ddotdhq]

Thurs 22 Apr '21

Harry, my beloved! Or…Gucci’s beloved?? Something like that. ANYWAYS what I’m TRYING to say is that we finally got Harry’s sketch for Gucci’s Beloved campaign. He was dressed in the gay aunt outfit we’ve been seeing him in, complete with the peace ring , the dick banana, and a small black purse that GQ would go on to write a full article about. Harry played himself - a pop star named Harry Styles - being interviewed by a talk show host named James Corden, played by the man himself. They are great “friends” when the camera is on (“do you want me to tell that story about the time I found you…behind the, uh…d-diner??” “You WOULDN’T!”), only for it to be revealed that they didn’t know each other at all behind the scenes, and could only make awkward but pleasant small talk. And honestly?? I have THINGS to say about this sketch and you ALL HAVE TO LISTEN MWAHAHAHA.

I’ll start with a gentle reminder that while this is definitely a commentary on Hollywood relationships and even though it’s meant to be a satirical sketch nudge-winking about the fact that (real) James and Harry ARE meant to be friends, this is still acting and has no reflection upon Harry’s ACTUAL relationship with James Corden, which is fully his business! And then there are the details that I loved and hated: the first is that I found it deeply sad and empty in the way that PR stunts are, which is not new, but also I do not think that having a closeted artist pointing out that PR stunts are a ~thing is the gotcha Gucci thinks it is. It just made me sad for them, which might be what the mood was meant to be, which, mission accomplished! I would also like to point out that the theme of the whole campaign is that Hollywood is Awkward and Fake, but uh. Gucci. Your banana necklace is $400, and you’re partnering with some of the BIGGEST names in Hollywood, you’re ABSOLUTELY part of the problem in maintaining these celebrity facades. All those clothes and not a STITCH of self-awareness anywhere. Anyways, Harry was funny, charming, and awkward in all the right places, and if that’s the kind of acting we’re gonna see going forward YES PLEASE. The whole skit is two minutes and you should all watch it and see what you think!

We also got a clip of long-haired Liam talking at Collision Con 2021 ( "North America's fastest-growing tech conference”, according to their website), and he talked about his work on Tik Tok, saying that he one of the things that HE liked about that work was that he was able to “play some other people for once”, and I think that it’s super nice that he’s getting recognized for the absolute mountain of work he did to expand his platform on Tik Tok, which, as he noted, was “an opportunity that was there for everyone”, but that he grabbed with both hands and ran with, AS HE SHOULD! BUT THEN, he went on Twitter and made an Earth Day tweet where he said he was “excited to learn more about the environment and what I can do to reduce my footprint on it”. NO SELF AWARENESS ANYWHERE TODAY, APPARENTLY!

Niall went out of this world today as Black and White made it to astronauts “Drive to the Launchpad Playlist”, he (Niall) commented, “love ya man! Safe flight”, before heading to Twitter to say “We live on a beautiful planet. Let’s take care of it. #EarthDay”. Which, oh yeah, it’s Earth Day! Hope everyone got the chance to go out and enjoy a bit of the world :).

[feyda-forever]

Hello! Thanks for doing this in return! You deserve all the best, even the small things!!!

Name/Aliases: Hunny, Hun, Ice (irl)

Zodiacs: Aries sun / Virgo moon / Leo rising / Year of the snake (2001)

Personality Type: INFP - A

Pronouns: She/Her

Orientation: Aegosexual / Homoromantic (wlw)

I am 20, going 21 this april! I am 5’6-5’7ish, and 99lbs last I checked. Still not the best weight, but I’m working on it. I’m very skinny and lanky with a defined waist, but I’m trying to grow a bit of muscle. I have long dark/black hair that I have no idea how to style; it’s fine and high porosity so it tangles and gets damaged easily. My eyes are brown, but can appear black in the shade and golden in sunlight. I have a lot of dark marks over my body from acne and so many bruises on my legs from work. I prefer being comfortable most of the time (like, if i could be naked all the time, that’d be great), but there are a lot of aesthetics that interest me!

So there’s probably a lot to say about who I am, but I’ll try and keep it brief. The things that line up between all of my zodiacs and personality type is that I’m very introverted and empathetic. I don’t have a lot of close-close friends, and the ones I do have are kind of opposite reflections of who I am. They’re loud and excitable and perhaps a little unkempt with amazing style, while I am usually quiet, and extra polite with a heavy focus on my hygiene since my style sucks. I live vicariously through my friends’ drama as the mom/therapist friend and I’m constantly on top of making sure everyone’s okay. My love languages are quality time and words of affirmation.

I deeply enjoy the little beautiful details of life and observe the world around me in an artistic lens. I love photography in the way you can quickly capture the fun shape of a cloud or the way snow glistens when it first sticks to the ground. I adore those small moments of intimacy, like a coffee already made for you in the exact way you like it or the heartbeat you feel even being just pressed up into their side. I love writing in which I can truly show the reverence and love of these moments.

On the other hand, I am also extremely intelligent despite my emotional exaggeration. I’ve always found science interesting and math is easy when it’s present and practiced on. And psychology is a very close topic to my heart, so I learn anything I can about it. And on this topic: FUCK FREUD!!! Literally setting the psychology movement 1000 years back by destroying his studies. Disgraceful.

I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and never treated for it, but my home life was always rather adhd friendly. A lot of my symptoms include the inattentive type, but I’m hyperactive in some strange ways. I’ll move and shift a lot, but I’m constantly hyper aware of what’s going on around me and I hyperfocus on a task/topic until I eventually burnout. I’m impulsive in the way of “how can I solve this problem in the fastest way possible” (so like climbing things I’m not supposed to in order to reach something, or picking the skin off my lips cause they’re dry and bothering me, etc). I do have auditory and memory processing issues, so I may need a moment in between being asked questions. I do have RSD which is mainly triggered by my schooling/academics, so I try to avoid talking about it if I can.

I have been emotionally hurt a lot by people I thought were friends, and I’ve grown more confident than I ever have been in my boundaries of how I let people treat me.

I think this is everything… Yeah, it should be. I can’t wait to see who I’m matched with and I hope your week gets better! “Remember to lead with kindness, because at some point you’ll have to stop being kind. Then show them no mercy.” <3

OMG (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`) jwjxpbynxuwlcirsvkwl

Even tho this is not first time I'm doing a matchup exchange I'm still so excited.

And of course everyone such as you deserve the best <3

I match you with.....

Bloody painter

When i was reading the lovely paragraph you wrote, i couldn't think of anyone else tbh.

I don't see him as a person who'll shows his love language by words, in my AU i HC him as someone who likes to write his thoughts and when he can't find the correct words and sentences he'll paint them. Afterall there's a reason that he's an artist.

Even if he let out his words out loud, it'll be very soundless and its hard to figure them out. I mean you know he's whispering something but can't understand what is it.

Let me explain how exactly is your relationship, imagine a white empty room without Windows but a simple white door, helen standing in middle of it, he has a black pen in his hands as he walk up to a wall and start drawing objects that should be in a room, he's almost done till he hears knocking on the door... suddenly you step in and with every step take you add a new color to those drawing, you get what i mean?

The thing that I'm trying to say is that, you give him a new meaning of what exactly is life and a different view of life that he did not thoughts of seeing one day, and it's confusing him so much that he'll spent minutes, hours, days and even weeks to figure it out, what is this feelings and why does he likes these so much.

After talking to his one and only trusted friend 'the puppeteer' he finally gets it, it's love. Tho he do not wanna except it.

But then, after a long time that you get to know him not him cause.....basically he knows everything about you XD You guys start with friendship.

And when you guys finally get in a relationship you'll become the most important person in the world to him

He doesn't have any problem with being in a platonic relationship, so yeah, he'll respect your sexuality.

But i have to mention, he has a dark side that might appear any time, so you might wanna be careful.

One of the best duos in my opinion.

- I miss your voice.

- I'll call you in a little, okay?

- Honey

- Are you awake?

- yeah

- Perfect. do you wanna go on an adventure?

- Sure.

- 3am small talks on rooftop and I'll bring blanket <3

This is the fastest matchup I've ever made and i hope you liked it :)

[Please send me feedback if you don't mind]

[runby2]

To anyone who feels like even the slightest bit of fame for their work is hopeless on this site (or on the internet in general,)

I’ve accumulated over 3,000 non-bot followers for just posting informational posts about topics I’m passionate about, stupid content, and my artwork. This was over a span of the two years I have had this blog.

I’m not different or special from other blogs that do the same thing. I’m in a horrible living situation in real life, and I struggle with severe mental illness.

Regardless, exposure for my projects did happen. People do like what I make. You CAN reach goals like this if it’s what you desire, and I’m going to try to give some advice here on how to spread your work.

———

1) DO NOT START MAKING A BRAND AT A YOUNG AGE - Posting your art is fine, but by the time you are an adult you WILL change in every way. I’ve gone through 5 different brands. People claim starting young is the only way to get your work out there. THIS IS A LIE - Some of my old brands I deeply regret, because as a traumatized child I thought that the only way to gain attention was by acting like I knew everything. That is not the way to go about a brand especially if you are a minor. Start reading into how to source things appropriately if you’re an informational blog, find out who wrote the information that you spread in your work, learn how to detect out of date information. ADD SOURCES. ENCOURAGE AUDIENCE-BASED FACT CHECKING. This is the first thing they’ll teach you in college. If you gain a following based on rude / reckless behavior and never admitting your mistakes, you’ll get nowhere. Start your brand in early adulthood if you want to be taken seriously. You’ll have a lot of dirt to be dug up on you otherwise, and the internet is not loving or understanding.

2) YOUR FANS ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY - Want to make a brand now that you’re a decent age? State your boundaries as a content creator, and treat fans kindly. They look up to your work, and you are trying to make a brand. Don’t like reblog spam? Don’t make a brand. Don’t enjoy Like Spams? Don’t make a brand. Don’t hate on people who enjoy your work by claiming their support is a burden. You’ll look like a dick, and there’s no faster way to lose support than by acting like you’ll have it no matter how you behave. Hateful / Rude comments will happen, and don’t make responding to them into a whole thing every single time. The bad energy will get overwhelming and it will get in the way of your content. You can reply once if it’s dire and you want to make them look stupid, but believe me when I say ignoring them is more fun. (I once got hate anons left and right. After deleting them all for two days, the same anon actually sent me “respond to me already” and I’ve never felt more accomplished.) Keep in mind these people will never know if you read something they say, and don’t ever feel obligated to respond.

3) FANART IS YOUR SAVIOR - Are you an artist? Do you have 0 followers? Make fanart of media that is currently popular. It will spread your work to a large audience, and you WILL get reblogs and likes. People may even stick around for your original content. This is a well known advantage, but just in case some of you were unaware. Fanart is the fastest and best way to get people invested in your brand. Among Us fanart is the only reason why I have my current following for my OCs and Original Work.

4) DON’T ENCOURAGE HATE, OR SPREAD BIGOTRY - Wanna Speedrun being cancelled? Be my guest. If you want to make a following rooted in hatred and internet tough guy behavior, you’re digging your own grave. If you ever want to be a better person, your whole brand will collapse and you’ll have to start from scratch. Plus, half the fans you could have are most likely who you are oppressing. You’re missing out on a huge chunk of kind and loving individuals who love to spread work. You’ll not even get the Furry Community support - and as stupid as it aounds, that’s not even a joke. You’ll need that if you want those sweet Reblogs.

5) DO NOT EVER HAVE A “BEST FRIEND” ONLINE CONNECTION CHILDREN. ESPECIALLY IF THEY CALL THEMSELVES A FAN - Wanna Speedrun being cancelled part 2? The slightest slip up in how you act around them will result in a p/do accusation. Boom, whole reputation gone. Plus, now that you’re an adult, making other adult friends is IMPORTANT. Children are children, no matter if they’re ‘about to turn 18.’ You can have a casual chat every now and then, but don’t let them depend on you. They are still growing, and the most of a relationship you should have with them is a mentor or brother/sister bond. Keep kids safe, let them be kids and not have to engage with adults for validation. It’s also super dangerous if they start trusting any internet adult in a ‘friend’ way - you might be the start of this habit. Keep a filter on, never emotionally depend on a child/teen. You’re an adult, act like it.

6) ENGAGE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY - Make a Discord (With proper roles that keep minors out of adult spaces if it’s an all age Discord) with some strict safety rules. Respond to comments. Reblog and encourage fanart. Livestream. Take criticism and advice fondly (only respond to constructive criticism though. If it’s harsh or hate fueled, just think about what their point is and change your actions if you think it’s worth it.) Don’t watch critique videos though, that community is drama and hate filled and trust me, you don’t want to engage with them if you get a drama video made on your brand. Engaging with fans helps them feel seen, and can be a fun experience for both of you. Keep in mind though that you are still a brand to them, and there is a power dynamic you’ll need to be conscious of. Set up boundaries if a fan ever tries to engage in full on friend behavior.

7) LASTLY, MAKE SURE YOU’VE GOT SOME ORIGINALITY - Are you blogging about what everyone else blogs about? Consider making your brand character act different. Make yourself stand out. Act ecstatic, nervous, goofy, or whatever you feel fits how you want to be seen. Make sure people know what you’re about! Make a mascot that stands out among every other generic mascot.

———

That’s all for now, and it’s what I’ve learned. It’s working well for me, and I hope it will help you all out as well.

[Image source: http://rebloggy.com/post/gif-animals-dragon-salamander-axolotl-water-dragon-my-friend-has-a-pet-axolotl-a/30540230890]

See ya! ✨

[ayellowbirds]

Today being my birthday, i had the time and energy to finally do some drawing after ages of neither time nor drive. So, i spent that on sketching out some headshots of the recurring characters of 33 Usher Street, my 1920s (and beyond?) vampire hunters story. Meet the employees, management, friends, and nuisances of the Usher Street House of Antiquities and Curios, an estate management company specializing in settling the affairs of the unusually deceased. This is both a source of income and a cover for their real calling: the elimination of dangerous vampires and other hostile undead. 

Solomon “Sol” Szombathy (gay intersex man), a Jewish dhampir of Romanian-American extraction (late of Pittsburgh, Vandalia) has arrived at the USHAC with his guardian in tow, after both of them got involved in a vampire attack. Sol’s ability to see the invisible and the surges of supernatural strength he gets when battling the undead are especially useful, as is the hawthorn-wood cane he uses to deal with the chronic pain he feels the rest of the time. 

James “Jim” Cullock III (asexual cisgender man) is a Scottish immigrant who helped co-found the USHAC as the assistant of a longtime vampire hunter; his love of gardening has given him many potent botanical weapons against vampires, including especially hardy and richly-scented roses that repel most bloodsuckers. He’s taken to maintaining a backstage role for the most part, as his lifelong issues with visual hallucinations have gotten worse with age.

The Reverend Doctor Matteus J. Hammer (transgender man of no particular sexuality) is an aging monster hunter of no small repute, his experience having brought him briefly as a boarder to the Szombathy house. His recommendation brought Sol to Usher Street, but can the perspective of this eccentric wandering hero be relied upon?

Randolph Carter (in-denial bisexual cis man) was once an author of minor repute with a fondness for the strange and occult, but encounters with the genuinely supernatural have mellowed his previously bigoted worldview. While he still struggles to be a halfway decent person in a reality that is at odds with his beliefs, his expertise with languages, obscure subject matters, and research makes him at least a useful jackass when it comes to spending time among his books.

Pluton is a very good judge of character, for a one-eyed cat. And oddly skilled at making his way out of dangerous situations, to the point that one might almost think he has more than the usual nine lives. It’s no wonder that the USHAC often bring the cat along.

Constance “Connie” Wright (pansexual cis woman) is a former orphan with the miraculous talent to ‘chew’ raw materials into new shapes, a skill she most often uses to create nails for sealing up coffins and the like. Naturally, the rail-thin Connie’s favorite weapon is a heavily weighted steel sledgehammer, when she can’t just do some slugging with a sturdy baseball bat.

Dorotheea “Dotty” Szombathy (transgender lesbian) is a golem that once served as Sol’s guardian, and is now happily living as his adopted sister. Her ability to reshape her naturally earthen clay body pairs well with her immunity to most forms of vampiric attack, as an artificial being. Prone to switching between having difficulty speaking at all and being effusively loquacious, she finds it easiest to focus when she has something to occupy her hands and mind.

Marie Bosley (bisexual cis woman) was and is the greatest vampire hunter in the United States, even if these days she prefers to stay at home and listen to music. Her unmatched knowledge of apotropaic magic allows her to create boundaries and barriers that no vampiric influence can pass, and lets her open the way for her proteges.

Esther "Essie” Levi (asexual cis woman) is the self-proclaimed ‘fastest knot-tier east of the Rockies’, and an unmatched expert in knotting string, yarn, thread, and cord to achieve magical effects. Paired with a gift for strategic thinking and an eye for symptoms of vampirism, she can easily weave a web that no bloodsucker is going to get through.

Aleister “Al” Jones (gay cis man) is a multilingual expert in stealth, infiltration, and charm whose gentlemanly demeanor is in no way at odds with his fondness for boxing. Unfortunately for opponents that would see him as unarmed except for a disarming smile, he’s also the bearer of a pair of gloves lined with the relics of a Catholic saint invoked against vampires.

Wilhemina “Will” Fawkes (lesbian cis woman) is the USHAC’s resident machinery buff, with cutting-edge expertise in automobiles, radios, firearms, and more. Her fondness for artifice means that the only thing that can distract her from something shiny and new is an animated short at the nearest theater, and her love of testing the limits of machinery means that her allies often find she’s made unexpected ‘upgrades’ to important equipment.

Adriaen ten Boom (bisexual cis man) is the most senior of the employees of the USHAC, a skilled actor whose pyrokinetic gift makes his good looks more than just smoldering. In spite of these charms, he’s actually fairly naïve when it comes to romance, and is prone to charming his way into entanglements he didn’t mean to get into.

Smith the Mechanical Heel (just a real dick) is a World’s Fair experiment gone wrong, and now runs the criminal underworld in Jackson, Massachusetts—which puts him at odds with the USHAC, since that’s where their home base is. He sees most of the employees as potentially useful additions to his crew, but he’s especially interested in learning more about Dotty’s magically-constructed nature, in the hopes of making himself more lifelike. He’s not above getting involved in things that involve the undead....

The Ghosts of Madeline and Roderick Usher (cis lesbian and cis gay man) are the former owners of the land on which the USHAC was built, and haven’t moved on since the new tenants turned up. Freed of mortal concerns, they’re fond of teasing the living staff members, and serve as a second line of defense after Marie’s wards and magical traps. Roderick is absolutely certain that he’s going to get his ectoplasm all up on Randolph one of these days, and nobody feels up to questioning his taste in men; Madeline is the company gossip fiend and the best source of information on comings and goings at 33 Usher Street.

Dr. Joaquín de la Garza (closeted nonbinary queer) is a local physician who has a close working relationship with the USHAC, and is very fond of the mysteries and excitement they bring to his life. Exactly what brought a medical expert of Zapotec and Spanish heritage all the way up east is uncertain, but the good doctor seems to know a lot more about the supernatural than one might expect from just his familiarity with the secrets of the Usher Street staff.

Phoebe Khrysos (???) is a remarkably pristine ancient automaton, whose actual provenance is uncertain. Resembling a child made of silver, glass, and gold, she has a mischievous mystery about her that makes her more like a mechanical fairy than a precious relic. What motivates her and how she sees the living and the undead remain to be seen....

Zuleika Dobson (pansexual cis woman) is a a con artist, thief, and scammer who has broken many hearts and far more bank accounts; her lack of concern about what she leaves in her wake may have finally caught up with her when she targets some valuable goods in a city with a vampire problem. Can someone so untrustworthy be relied upon when there’s undeath to deal with, or will her self interest put her in the way of both bloodsuckers and the USHAC alike?

33 Usher Street leans heavily on the public domain, and will do so much more than just in the few characters here that originated elsewhere. Some of these designs are likely to change as the story develops, but i’m just so happy to finally get them on paper!

[constantsvariables]

꧁  B I O S H O C K  STARTERS ≪ PT. 2 ≫ ꧂ 

An extensive collection of dialogue from the video game Bioshock to be used as rp starters / prompts. Feel free to change pronouns and details as needed. trigger warning for : violence , death , injury , foul language. 

" She WON'T . STAY . STILL ! "

" I want to make them beautiful , but they always turn out wrong ! "

" Look at you ! HIDEOUS ! "

" You alright ? It was time somebody took care of that sick bastard . "

" We'll get there soon enough . "

" Welcome to Rapture : The world's fastest growing pile of junk . "

" Stay away from her or it is you who will be shot next ! "

" I'll not have him hurt my little ones ! "

" It's okay , lad . That's not a child , not anymore it ain't . "

" Do not hurt her ! Have you no heart ? "

" That's a pretty sermon coming from the ghoul who cooked up them creatures in the first place . "

" Listen to me . You won't survive without the ADAM those … things … are carryin' . "

" I'll make it worth your while … somehow . "

" The path of the righteous is not always easy . "

" ___ ' s playing you for a sap . "

"  Whichever way you slice it , good men died . "

" My friend , you are fucked ! "

" Just remember sonny friend ; I smell an ounce of Fontaine on you, and I'll have you in a box ! "

" Atlas gives you the vouch , but I'm not turning my eye just on his say so . "

" Grown man jumpin' at ghosts . "

" Fontaine's dead and everybody knows it . In the ground for months and half the place's still jumping at his shadow . "

" He seems a decent enough sort . No doubt he'll wait until AFTER you've run his errands to stick a shiv in your belly . " 

" Help me get them to safety and I'll be in your debt for life . "

" She's a pain in the neck , but she's a beauty and she means the world to me . "

" Can't help but feel like God's punishing me for bringing them to this place . " 

" I thought this would be a better life for us . Can you imagine a bigger fool than that  ? "

" You got something for me and my crew , or are you just looking to get criticized ? "

" You've had your fun , but enough is enough . " 

" You'll learn what it means to truly be my enemy . "

" If only your friend could look up and see you … maybe you could warn him … if only you could do something - anything - except just stand here … and watch him die . "

" They're everywhere ! "

" You ooze in like an assassin and then you try to sneak out like a thief . "

" Who are you ?! Why have you come here ?! "

" There's two ways to deal with a mystery : uncover it … or eliminate it . " 

" We'll find the bastard . We'll find him , and we'll tear his heart out ! "

" What are you waiting for , silly ? It's beautiful ! "

" Even in the gathering dark , you light a candle . "

" Damn city's built to not let anyone out in the event of this kind of emergency . "

" You might hear things about me , see my name about . Think what you will . "

" There was a time I cared about politics … but it's just an excuse men use to kill one another . I'm done with all that . "

" I just want to see the sunlight again . "

" What are you waiting for , an engraved invitation ? "

" Everytime we get a yard ahead , Ryan moves the goal line down to the other side of the field . "

" Why do they wear those masks ? "

" Maybe there's a part of them that remembers how they used to be , how they used to look . And they're ashamed . "

" Don't fight the inevitable . "

" It seems ___'s death didn't provide a clear enough lesson to you . "

" Why are you so resistant to the traditional methods of separating a man from his soul ? "

" Cohen's an artist , says some . He's a Section Eight , says I . "

" I've seen all kinds of cutthroats , freaks , and hard cases in my life … but Cohen , he's a real lunatic . A dyed - in - the - wool psychopath . "

" Atlas , Ryan , Atlas , Ryan . Time was you could get something decent on the radio ."

" The artist has a duty to seduce the ear and delight the spirit . "

" Now , I haven't seen a sign of real life down here in months . "

" Let's see if you're just another johnny - come - lately … or … maybe …  something more delicious . "

" I test all my disciples . Some shine like galaxies , and some … some burn like a moth at the flame . "

" Nobody allowed backstage prior to showtime ! Fidgety , fidgety … "

" Could you possibly think I would meet with my public NOW ? While I'm preparing ? Unbelievable ! "

" I'm trying … please … "

" Life . Death . The burden of the artist is to … capture . "

" It seems you've got the eye of the shutterbug . "

" My muse is a fickle bitch with a very short attention span . "

" When I am dust , this is what they'll point to . My masterpiece . "

" You give them hope . And for this , I am grateful . "

" You don't doubt me , do you ? I could never stomach doubters . "

" I thought you'd forgotten about poor ___ . I'm so glad you didn't . "

" He was a lout , but he was vigorous . "

" You flutter all around , taking life as you go . " 

" What's that look ? You don't like it , do you ? "

" I don't need to be judged by you ! By anyone ! "

" Screw you ! "