#Soft Skills Improvement

[strategiadvizo]

Elevating Employability: Short-Term Course Suggestions for College Students

Empower your future with our latest blog on short-term courses for college students! 🚀 Enhance your employability and unlock new opportunities. Dive in to discover courses that fit your passion and career goals. #EmpowermentThroughEducation #SkillUp

“विद्या ददाति विनयं, विनयाद् याति पात्रताम्।” “Education bestows humility, humility leads to worthiness.” In a world that’s constantly evolving, the importance of education—especially for students from lesser-known colleges in India—cannot be overstated. Education not only paves the way for personal growth but also significantly boosts employability in today’s competitive job market. Here are…

[thesophistiicate]

essential soft skills for personal excellence

+ emotional intelligence: the ability to understand emotions (yours + others) with empathy and how they impact behaviour. without it you are liable to be defensive, self-centred, and experience a feeling of disconnection (from self + others).

+ resilience: how well you react when something bad happens. do you fall apart or can you navigate challenges without setting yourself back?

+ critical thinking: the ability to slow down and approach ideas with rational intelligence so that you can make thoughtful, considered decisions instead of impulsive, reactive ones.

+ adaptability: remaining flexible to the circumstances and cultivating the ability to deal with change (see also: resilience). can be more difficult if neurodivergent; they key is to be gentle + forgiving with yourself.

+ (healthy) self-discipline: doing what you need to do regardless of whether you 'feel like it' (see also: emotional intelligence, so that you're not ruled by your emotional state). remember that you can cultivate healthy discipline with gentle nurture that builds confidence over time, rather than toxic discipline that uses shame, fear, and punishment.

+ self worth: continuously building the foundational idea that you are worthy of the good life. without self worth, most attempts at self-improvement start with grandiose ideas of huge change and result in broken promises, difficulty sticking to goals, and a spiralling shame cycle.

[theusernameiwantisntavailable]

*through gritted teeth* boy do I love having crises' about my art!

[goofyonthecouch]

WHAT IS A SOFT SKILL AND WHY IT MATTERS TO YOUR PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS

What Is a Soft Skill and Why It Matters to Your Professional Success Soft skills are an essential part of any professional’s toolkit. They are non-technical abilities that help you to better interact and work with others. Strong soft skills can help you stand out in the workplace, advance in your career, and get ahead of the competition. In this blog post, we’ll cover soft skills, examples of soft skills, the importance of soft skills, tips for developing your soft skills, and how to demonstrate them in your professional life. Introduction to Soft Skills Soft skills are a set of personal characteristics that enable you to interact with others effectively. They include traits such as communication, problem-solving, empathy, and teamwork. Unlike hard skills, which are job-specific abilities, soft skills are transferable skills that can be used in any job setting. Examples of soft skills include communication, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence. Soft skills are essential in today's increasingly competitive and globalized job market. Employers are looking for employees who can think critically, problem-solve, and adapt quickly to changing environments. Having strong soft skills will give you an edge over other job applicants and enable you to stand out in the job market. Examples of Soft Skills

Soft skills are the qualities and abilities that allow you to interact and work with others. They include traits such as communication, problem-solving, empathy, and teamwork. Below are a few examples of soft skills:  Communication: The ability to communicate effectively with others is communication. This includes verbal and written communication, as well as active listening.  Problem Solving: This is the ability to identify problems, develop solutions, and implement them.  Leadership: This is the ability to guide, motivate, and inspire others.  Teamwork: This is the ability to work together collaboratively and effectively.  Critical Thinking: This is the ability to evaluate information and make informed decisions.  Emotional Intelligence: This is the ability to recognize & manage your own emotions and as well as the emotions of others.  Motivation: This is the ability to get the desired result from a person or a team through positive actions or strategies. Giving away rewards, benefits & recognition for getting the desired results is also a part of the motivation.  Time Management: Managing your own time and the time of others efficiently is time management. Working effectively while making use of the optimal time available to get the desired results are traits of efficient time management. The Importance of Soft Skills Soft skills are essential for success in today's job market. They are the qualities and abilities that employers are looking for in their employees. Soft skills enable you to work collaboratively, think critically, and communicate effectively. They make you more attractive to employers and can help you to stand out in the job market. Soft skills are also essential for career advancement. They can help you to develop relationships, manage projects, and take on new responsibilities. Employers are looking for employees who can think critically, problem-solve, and adapt quickly to changing environments. Having strong soft skills gives you an edge over other job applicants. Developing Soft Skills Developing your soft skills is essential for success in the workplace. Below are some tips for developing your soft skills:  Take Classes: Taking classes on topics such as communication, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence can help you to hone your soft skills.  Practice: Practicing your soft skills can help you to become more comfortable with them. Try role-playing scenarios or take on new challenges at work.  Get Feedback: Ask for feedback from your colleagues and supervisors on your soft skills which will help to identify those areas that need improvement.  Ask Questions: Ask questions of your colleagues and supervisors to gain insight into different ways of thinking.  Network: Networking with other professionals can help you to develop your soft skills. Attend conferences or join professional organizations to meet new people and learn new skills. How to Demonstrate Soft Skills in Your Professional Life Demonstrating your soft skills is essential for success in the workplace. Here are some tips for demonstrating your soft skills in your professional life:

 Listen Actively: Actively listening to what your colleagues and supervisors are saying shows that you are engaged and interested in the conversation.  Ask Questions: Asking questions demonstrates that you are curious and eager to learn.  Show Empathy: Showing empathy towards your colleagues and supervisors demonstrates that you are understanding and considerate.  Adapt: Being able to adapt to changing circumstances shows that you are flexible and willing to learn.  Be Proactive: Taking initiative and going the extra mile shows that you are motivated and willing to take on new challenges. Understanding Soft Skills in the Workplace Soft skills are essential in the workplace. They are the qualities and abilities that enable you to interact and work with others effectively. Understanding soft skills can help you to stand out in the job market, advance in your career, and get ahead of the competition. Soft skills are transferable skills that can be used in any job setting. Examples of soft skills include communication, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence. Having strong soft skills can help you to develop relationships, manage projects, and take on new responsibilities. The Benefits of Soft Skills for Your Career Strong soft skills can help you stand out in the job market, advance in your career, and get ahead of the competition. Soft skills are essential for success in today's job market. They enable you to work collaboratively, think critically, and communicate effectively. Soft skills are also essential for career advancement. They can help you to develop relationships, manage projects, and take on new responsibilities. Employers are looking for employees who can think critically, problem-solve, and adapt quickly to changing environments. Having strong soft skills gives you an edge over other job applicants. Tips for Improving Your Soft Skills Improving your soft skills is essential for success in the workplace. Here are some tips for improving your soft skills:

How to Assess Your Soft Skills

Assessing your soft skills is essential for success in the workplace. Here are some tips for assessing your soft skills:  Take An Online Assessment: Taking an online assessment can help you to identify your strengths and weaknesses.  Ask For Feedback: Asking for feedback from your colleagues and supervisors about your soft skills will help you to identify those areas that need improvement.  Make A List: Make a list of the soft skills you have and the ones you need to improve.  Practice: Practicing your soft skills can help you to become more comfortable with them. Try role-playing scenarios or take on new challenges at work.  Reflect: Take time to reflect on how you are using your soft skills in the workplace.

Conclusion

Soft skills are an essential part of any professional’s toolkit. Having strong soft skills can help you to stand out in the workplace, advance in your career, and get ahead of the competition. In this blog post, we’ve covered what is a soft skill, examples of soft skills, the importance of soft skills, tips for developing your soft skills, how to demonstrate them in your professional life, understanding soft skills in the workplace, the benefits of soft skills for your career, tips for improving your soft skills, and how to assess your soft skills. are essential for success in the workplace. They are the qualities and abilities that enable you to interact and work with others effectively. Understanding soft skills can help you to stand out in the job market, advance in your career, and get ahead of the competition. Developing your soft skills is essential for success in the workplace. Taking classes, practicing your soft skills, getting feedback, asking questions, and networking are all great ways to develop your soft skills. Assessing your soft skills is also essential for success in the workplace. Taking an online assessment, asking for feedback, making a list, practicing your soft skills, and reflecting on how you are using your soft skills in the workplace are all great ways to assess your soft skills.

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[natasha-in-space]

Cmc info sheet p.2: Chaewon Lee

Additional info:

Home country: South Korea;

Gender identity/preferred pronouns: demigirl, she/they;

Sexual orientation: Lesbian;

Occupation: Second in command of Magenta's Monitoring unit, Rika's private bodyguard. Used to work as a registered nurse before being recruited into Mint Eye.

Physical appearance: Probably the first thing you'll notice about Chaewon is her height and exceptionally athletic build. She is no stranger to getting some side looks from other passerbys simply because of how tall and broad shouldered she is. You may not notice just how muscular she really is at first, but she'll gladly use that to her advantage to flip you onto your back with practiced ease. Chaewon adores proving others wrong, especially if they make a point of disrespecting her or threatening the safety of Magenta in any way. She works hard day and night to keep her physical form as agile and sturdy as she possible can. After all, her job is just too important for her to mess up. It's one thing to displace some papers or send a wrong line of code, but it's completely another when someone you have to protect might get seriously hurt as a result of your failure.

Now, the next thing you'll take notice of is the way that her bangs cover one side of her face, effectively hiding her right eye beneath her bleached white hair. It's a bit of an odd fashion choice, considering just how important it is for her to always be completely aware of her surroundings. Still, her status rarely allows anyone to ask about this out loud, be it out of their respect for her or fear of being personally 'taken care of'. If she trusts you enough to let you get up close to her, you'll notice an outline of an eye patch under the white strands of hair. See, Chaewon is missing her right eye. She has a brown prosthetic eye hidden under the eye patch, but after being initiated into Mind Eye, she has decided to keep it safely hidden under an eye patch she wears today, growing out her bangs for further comfort. This is merely an aesthetic choice for her, as she does not like seeing that brown color contrasting so sharply with her other eye that has turned bright mint with time. She does not mention this much, but she's not ashamed of talking about it, contrary to popular belief between the believers. Once she gets out of Mint Eye and starts her recovery, she discards her eye patch entirely and cuts her bangs, making her brown prosthetic eye visible to everyone around once more. Her line of sight is limited due to her only using one eye, but it hardly creates any complications for her when it comes to close combat. She knows her strengths and weaknesses alike and works around them with impressive grace.

She also has a small visible scar on the right side of her cheek, but it's hard to see from afar because of her long bangs. Due to her dangerous line of work, it's a common occurrence to see Chaewon with bandages covering her skin here and there. They never bother her too much, and most of the times she doesn't even notice they're there till they get peeled off and cause a minor annoyance to her.

When it comes to her sense of style, well... She doesn't really care much for clothes. She will wear what she's given, and, as long as it's comfortable enough to not put any constraints on her movements, she will not complain. Usually, you'll see her walking down the hall in a sharp black suit, which she will occasionally change up with a pair of comfy jeans and a hoodie whenever she needs to get her hands dirty for a specific task. The only time she will ever bother to make herself look visually appealing, is whenever there is a party going on. On this special occasion, you might actually see her wearing an elegant black dress, standing loyally by her Savior's side and chatting with her about this and that. She takes her job very seriously, though, which means that she wants her dress to be as practical as possible, just in case she'll need to move fast, if some emergency suddenly occurs. Does this mean she carries a dagger on her thigh under her dress? That's a secret no one really knows...

Background: Chaewon comes from a close-knit family of four, consisting of her father, mother, and her little brother who's three years younger than her. Her childhood was spent in downtown Busan, where her family has built a cozy and spacious home for their kids to enjoy plenty of space for themselves. Her younger years were relatively happy, filled with countless joyful memories with both of her parents and her little brother. She has always been an active kid, preferring to run around outside and explore the woods, rather than stay at home and play with toys. Though, her love for origami comes from her brother - Doyun - who was the one that first taught her that passive activities can be pretty fun too. They had a small shared chest filled with all kinds of supplies with which they'd mess around for hours on end. Chaewon still keeps that chest in her personal belongings, often taking it out whenever she feels overwhelmed and needs something to ground herself with. Her family is a huge comfort to her up to this day, despite her affiliation with the Mint Eye.

Things kind of began going south for her around the time she first started school. She comes from an upper class family in terms of finances, which is how she found herself in a relatively prestigious private school. And while her grades kept her parents pretty happy with their daughter, she was not enjoying her time there whatsoever. The only times she felt like all this hard work was actually worth it, was during her weekly basketball practice. Chaewon fell in love with this sport, and it kept her sane throughout her school years. She even wanted to pursue a career in sports, but, after getting into a bad accident during one of her practices that has unfortunately cost Chaewon her right eye... her father heavily discouraged her from associating her life so closely with sports. So, she instead set her efforts on becoming a nurse. That was a career choice her little brother has made for himself after spending many hours by his sister's side during her recovery, and a part of her wanted to follow in his footsteps, so that she didn't have to be alone in the future, even if it meant waiting a couple of years for them to start studying together. Truth is, she was feeling unsure and lost after loosing her initial life goal in such a horrible way. Still, she put her all into her studies once she returned back to high school, and, after successfully getting her diploma, she got accepted into Seoul National University.

Her university years were relatively peaceful when compared to her overwhelming time in school. Once she started university, she found herself even somewhat enjoying her studies, although the pressure was as high as always. She still had her basketball practice to blow off some steam at the end of the day, despite what her father had said about her involving herself in sports. In addition, it was during her last year of university, when she first discovered her sexuality. Before she knew it, Chaewon found herself crushing head over heels on her basketball team's captain after winning a few intense matches by her side. Unfortunately, her first crush never really went anywhere due to her feeling extremely confused and taken aback by all these new feelings clouding her mind. It took her a whole year to process everything that happened and eventually come to accept this part of herself. The first person she came out to was her brother, who supported her unconditionally. Thankfully, her parents never put any pressure on her when it comes to dating, so she didn't need to deal with intrusive questions concerning her love life.

Chaewon has met Rika on the first day of her full time job as a registered nurse, quite literally bumping into her in the hall and making her drop a cup of coffee she was holding. As an apology, she insisted to pay for Rika's brunch in the cafeteria, and that's how their long lasted relationship slowly began to develop. Chaewon has never met anyone like Rika before. Someone so bright and yet, someone so thoughtful and mysterious. Rika's peculiar way of looking at life got her intrigued from the very first talk they shared at their brunch, and her good looks certainly caught her attention as well. Chaewon was the one who asked for Rika's number at the end of their 'date', awkwardly blurting it out without even thinking twice about it. Before she could apologize, though, Rika accepted her request, to her utter shock. They've become close friends over the year, sharing long and meaningful conversation over this and that through the phone. Though, Chaewon never really acted on her affections, since it wasn't long until she found out that the reason Rika has been visiting this specific hospital was in her childhood friend staying there in a very dangerous condition. It just didn't feel right for her to do that when her new friend was clearly going through a hard time.

Her indecisiveness is something she berates herself for up to this day. Since, maybe, just maybe, if she was a bit braver... Rika wouldn't have ended up with someone like V. Back then, she merely stood aside and supported her friend, brushing aside any weird thoughts and suspicions about the nature of their relationship. While Rika did not open up to her as much as she did to V about her inner struggles, she did tell her enough for Chaewon to know that her friend has suffered through a lot in her lifetime.

And who was she to go and take away such happiness from Rika? She may not understand her strange relationship with V... But, if she's happy, that's what matters, right?

Although Rika did offer for Chaewon to join the RFA, she refused, partly due to her busy work schedule at the hospital, and party due to her not being a very social person overall. Though, she did get to meet V, Jumin and Yoosung face to face, and while her interactions with Jumin and Yoosung were quite brief, her and V will go on to share a story of their own. Needles to say... She does not like V much. Her views are pretty biased in nature, especially once she becomes a part of Mint Eye. Chaewon blames V wholeheartedly for all the pain Rika has gone through, and she will do whatever it takes to keep them apart from each other, leading to many conflicts down the line.

Chaewon was one of the first members being recruited into Mint Eye, becoming a member even before Saeran. Her memories get pretty hazy when it comes to this particular time period of her life, as the elixir she had to take on the day of her initiation is a bit different in its contents from the one that believers take today. She doesn't remember how exactly it happened. All she knows is that she followed Rika, just like she always did from the moment they first met. And, if she was to be completely honest with herself... She never really believed into her friend's idea of eternal paradise. Her main reason for following along is quite simple: she didn't want Rika to bear such a heavy burden all alone. Chaewon has no idea that the core inspiration for Mint Eye was first planted into her friend's head by someone else, someone who only wanted to use her.

If she knew, she'd never make the choices she has made.

Chaewon was the one who took young Ray under her wing right after his initiation ceremony, making sure that he was following their Savior's orders loyaly and did not stray from their shared path to eternal happiness. Her relationship with Ray and Saeran is a warm, almost familial one that has eventually turned sour for all parties involved. In fact, she was the one that first suggested for him to dye his hair white, just as she once did, after she took notice of just how much of a hard time he was having with his appearance that resembled someone he hates with every fiber of his being. She looked after him and helped him grow accustomed to his new way of life, quickly forming a soft spot for their Savior's new right hand. However, this attachment did not last for long. See, Ray reminded her of her own little brother. Almost a bit too much at times, especially whenever he would suggest for them to visit Magenta's freshly started garden and talk about other things rather than work. The thought of returning home to your family is a forbidden one inside Magenta's walls... Especially if you're as close with the Savior as Chaewon is. So, to keep her priorities in check, she had to eventually distance herself from the young hacker, essentially putting a rift between them, as she never communicated about any of her issues.

She has dyed her black hair white, symbolizing a new rebirth for her as a believer of Mint Eye, and Rika's loyal follower. From then on, she kept to her now 'Savior's' side, keeping her safe from any danger coming her way and hoping that she'll get to see her smile happily one day.

Relationships:

Dislike (displays clear hostility towards them, will actively work against them and is not above using some very sharp words to get her point across): Jihyun, Saeyoung.

Indifference (prefers to keep her distance, occasional snarky remarks are a pretty regular thing): Natasha, Ray/Saeran/Unknown, Vanderwood.

Neutral (respects them, but will act pretty coldly in their company): Zen, Jaehee.

Friendly (shares a personal history with them or can relate to their personal struggles, will treat them quite warmly and welcoming): Jumin, Yoosung.

Romantic interest: Rika.

[educationaldm]

Dungeons & Dragons skills in the workplace?

Helps me all the time.

[poddar123]

How to Progress ahead with Mathematics?

[exceptionalquotes]

When you are CHALLENGED

How do you respond with CONFIDENCE?

COMPETENCE & CONFIDENCE cannot be faked, it is formed within you through Hardship & Perseverance.

[pseudowho]

"So, you go against the hairs...that's right...and then with the hairs..."

"...is-- is this right?"

"Mmm. Now, clean your blade..."

You pretended to tidy the bedroom, sneaking glances up to Kento, and Yuuji, stood shirtless at the bathroom sink. Both had thickly lathered faces, and sharp razors, examining their faces in the mirror with absolute precision.

Sshhhhick. Swshswshswsh. Shhhhick-ck-ck. Swshswshswsh.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Peach fuzz.

"...and so anyway, I said to Fushiguro, shadows are great but sometimes you gotta just hit a guy..."

Kento listened, quiet, his mind always calculating several threads while mentoring Yuuji; yet, he was distracted. The old school corridor bathed in orange evening light, setting Yuuji's hair aflame, to coral in rocks. With Yuuji's nattering profile illuminated, the edges of his cheeks blurred from their usual sharp relief.

Fuzzy.

"...like, Kugisaki gets it, but she's like, just a bit feral and..."

Kento wondered if Yuuji had noticed. Kento recalled he only noticed, when his grandfather brushed his jaw with one clawed-over old hand, softly mocking Kento's furry scowl in lilting Danish. Kento's eyes lowered to the floor, counting his own steps and thinking in one, two, three and thoughtful on four, five, six.

"...Gojo's great but it's hard to learn from a guy who's that far out of my league, y'know? So--"

"Itadori-kun."

Kento had stopped, straightening his glasses, looking out onto suburban skyline. Yuuji stopped with him, inquisitive. A train rattled through, distant, splitting through the sunset. Kento looked back to Yuuji.

"It's important to look tidy, at work. Professional."

Yuuji raised his eyebrows, elbows rounded as he held his arms out, looking down at himself. He shot Kento a bashful smile, rubbing the back of his head.

Fuzzy peach.

"...ah-- yeah...guess I've always been a bit scruffy, huh? My grandad used to tell me I'd never get a job with hair like this."

Kento hummed. He stepped forwards, and raised one long-fingered, broad hand to gently grasp Yuuji's jaw, tilting it back and forth in the amber glow. Yuuji's bottom lip drew up, his eyes wide in surprise.

"...Nanamin?"

"Has anyone taught you how to shave, Yuuji?"

Yuuji blushed, his eyes flicking away from Kento in a mortified little scowl, his jaw still clasped. Kento released him, clearing his throat and checking his watch.

"I think we're finished up, here. Do you have any evening plans, Itadori-kun?"

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"If you need to go over an area again, get more shaving foam-- not that much-- and repeat the steps..."

"...this is...tricky..."

"With regular practice, you can improve any skill, Itadori-kun. Unless you'd like a beard, which still needs management, you'll be shaving every few days, or more."

"...you always...look so tidy..." swshswshswsh.

"It takes effort." Shhhick. Swsh.

"Yeah right. I bet you wake up like that. Tie and all."

A deep, rumbling laugh. Yuuji's foamy, surprised face, looking so boyish.

You slid past the bathroom. You pulled your phone out, surreptitiously clicking a photo. Kento and Yuuji, leaning over the sink while Kento steadfastly instructed him, became your new phone background, and stayed as such for a full year.

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"Took a lot of portions to send him to bed with a full tummy."

Kento chuckled at you, his hair mussed and soft. Legs crossed in bed, with a book on his lap, he read to the sound of soft snores in the guest bedroom next door. The lamplight, low and warm, illuminated Kento's face in the gloom.

Stubbly.

You reached a hand out, brushing across his jaw, feeling its sandpaper rasp across your fingers.

"I think you were so busy teaching Yuuji," you whispered, scratching Kento's chin as he crumpled his lower lip up, "that you missed some patches yourself. C'mere."

You stood, walking to the bathroom and sitting on the counter, grabbing a razor and shaving foam. Kento's eyes twinkled at you, feigning annoyance. He walked to you at the sink, looking straight into the bones of you. He grasped your thighs, pushing them apart before settling between them, chuckling again as you lathered his face.

Shhhhick. Swshswshswsh. Shhhick-ck-ck. Swshswshswsh.

You felt a growing pressure between your legs as you focused on shaving Kento's jaw. Kento fidgeted, pyjamas tight and tenting. You bit your lip, smirking.

"...Mr.Nanami. I am trying to concentrate."

"Mmm, so am I, but it's...hard."

"Yes. I can feel that."

Another deep rumble of a laugh. Kento grasped your thighs tighter, pressing forwards into you. You gasped, taking the razor from his face as Kento nuzzled shaving foam into your giggling neck.

"Don't stop." He whispered, a crooked smile on his lathered face. "Concentrate, please, Mrs.Nanami."

[journeytoleadership]

5 Essential Skills To Seek Discomfort

Seeking discomfort is leaving beyond the limits of your comfort zone and what you are familiar with… Leaders who seek discomfort are seeking a challenge, opportunities for change, overcoming fears, for personal growth and improvement. Below are five essentials skills for leaders to acquire to seek discomfort. Hope that I’ve helped you get it together on your way to leadership! Don’t forget to…

[vetyr]

hi, i ireally love your work and i don't know if you've answered this before but, what kinds of studies do you do or how did you learn color theory? i wanna get better at rendering and anatomy but im having trouble TT TT

Hi! Long answer alert. Once a chatterbox, always a chatterbox.

When I started actively learning how to draw about 10 1/2 years ago, I exclusively did graphite studies in sketchbooks. Here's a few examples—I mostly stuck to doing line drawings to drill basic shapes/contours and proportions into my brain. The more rendered sketches helped me practice edge control & basic values, and they were REALLY good for learning the actual 3D structure behind what I was drawing.

I'd use reference images that I grabbed from fitness forums, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and some NSFW places, but you could find adequate ref material from figure drawing sites like Line of Action. LoA has refs for people (you can filter by clothed/unclothed, age, & gender), animals, expressions, hands/feet, and a few other useful things as well. Love them.

Learning how to render digitally was a similar story; it helped a lot that I had a pretty strong foundation for value/anatomy going in. I basically didn't touch color at all for ~2 years (except for a few attempts at bad digital or acrylic paint studies), which may not have been the best idea. I learned color from a lot of trial and error, honestly, and I'm pretty sure this process involved a lot of imitation—there were a number of digital/traditional painters whose styles I really wanted to emulate (notably their edge control, color choices, value distributions, and shape design), so I kiiind of did a mixture of that + my own experimentation.

For example, I really found Benjamin Björklund's style appealing, especially his softened/lost edges & vibrant pops of saturated color, so here's a study I did from some photograph that I'm *pretty* sure was painted with him in mind.

Learning how to detail was definitely a slow process, and like all the aforementioned things (anatomy/color/edge control/values/etc.) I'm still figuring it out. Focusing on edge control first (that is, deciding on where to place hard/soft edges for emphasizing/de-emphasizing certain areas of the image) is super useful, because you can honestly fool a viewer into thinking there's more detail in a piece than there actually is if you're very economical about where you place your hard edges.

The most important part, to me, is probably just doing this stuff over and over again. You're likely not going to see improvement in a few weeks or even a few months, so don't fret about not getting the exact results you want and just keep studying + making art. I like to think about learning art as a process where you *need* to fail and make crappy art/studies—there's literally no way around it—so you might as well fail right now. See, by making bad art you're actually moving forward—isn't that a fun prospect!!

It's useful to have a folder with art you admire, especially if you can dissect the pieces and understand why you like them so much. You can study those aspects (like, you can redraw or repaint that person's work) and break down whether this is art that you just like to look at, or if it's the kind of art that you want to *make.* There's a LOT of art out there that I love looking at, probably tens of thousands of styles/mediums, but there's a very narrow range that I want to make myself.

I've mentioned it in some ask reply in the past, but I really do think looking at other artist's work is such a cheat code for improving your own skills—the other artist does the work to filter reality/ideas for you, and this sort of allows you to contact the subject matter more directly. I can think of so many examples where an artist I admired exaggerated, like, the way sunlight rested on a face and created that orange fringe around its edge, or the greys/dull blues in a wheat field, or the bright indigo in a cast shadow, or the red along the outside of a person's eye, and it just clicked for me that this was a very available & observable aspect of reality, which had up until that point gone completely unnoticed! If you're really perceptive about the art you look at, it's shocking how much it can teach you about how to see the world (in this particular case I mean this literally, in that the art I looked at fully changed the way I visually processed the world, but of course it has had a strong effect on my worldviews/relationships/beliefs).

Thanks so much for sending in a question (& for reading, if you got this far)! I read every single ask I receive, including the kind words & compliments, which I genuinely always appreciate. Best of luck with learning, my friend :)

[rafesgfs]

just a friend

he’s just a friend … but.

He’s just a friend, but he sleeps over almost every night. Whether you’re begging him to stay the night because you need a pillow or angry with him for insulting your friends, he’s there on your bed, substituting as a body pillow. No matter what position you fall asleep in, you always wake up draped across his chest, face nuzzled against the crook of his neck.

He’s just a friend, but he spoils you constantly. He gifts you a diamond tennis bracelet when your cat dies, hoping to cheer you up. He buys a convertible when you finally get your driver’s license, grinning when he sees your gleeful face. He showers you with your favorite flowers when get into your dream college. He buys whatever you look at when you take him shopping, repaying him with a kiss on the cheek, and it’s enough for him.

He’s just a friend, but you’re his only soft spot. Everyone else walks on eggshells around him, worried about being in his warpath. Even his own family wasn’t an exception to his hostility, especially after he stopped trying to win his dad’s approval. He does everything you want him to because why wouldn’t he? Hold your bag? No problem. Pick you up from a party? His pleasure. Stop being a rich, egotistical asshole? For you and you only.

He’s just a friend, but he’s your date to every formal and informal function. It’s just easier that way, you both explain to your friends. Midsummer’s preparation goes smoother when you already have a date, someone who will dance with you without complaint, someone who’ll make fun of whatever headpiece Rose is wearing, and someone who’ll sneak out early to drive their dad’s boat to another island.

He’s just a friend, but he knows everything about you. He comes with you to the doctor, dentist, and gyno visits for moral support, sometimes going in the room when needed. You had brought up being codependent but he quickly waves it off. He’s stocked a drawer in his bathroom with tampons and pads, and a few bottles of Tylenol in case you get your period on the nights you stay at Tanneyhill. He carries a cooler filled with water in his car because he knows you hate the intense heat. He wears an extra pair of sunglasses tucked in his shirt for you when you both go to the beach because you always manage to forget yours.

He’s just a friend, but his family thinks you’re dating. Sarah keeps asking you if you are, hoping to drag the truth out. You tell your friend no, laughing at the thought. Ward sits him down to talk after catching him admiring you during breakfast. He stays silent. Rose questions you about what she should give Rafe for his birthday, thinking the same as her husband. You laugh again at the thought, not noticing the way his jaw clenches when you make fun of the idea.

He’s just a friend, but he hates it when guys flirt with you. You’re too pretty to be entertaining guys who are far below you. He strains a muscle from resisting the temptation to punch the man standing too close to you, bicep veins popping out from the resistance. He drags you away when the guy tries to cage you against the wall, making up an excuse, needing help with containing a drunk Wheezie.

He’s just a friend, but he can’t go a minute without thinking about you. When life separates you, despite Rafe’s plans to be at your side twenty-four-seven, he texts you. He ignores Topper and Kelce’s snickers as he pulls his phone out during a round of golf, taking a picture of the sunset to send to you. His friends’ teasing is worth it when you text him back, telling him how much you like his improving photography skills.

He’s just a friend, but he can’t fight the urge to attack the guy kissing you. He blacks out, rage consuming every cell in his body as he breaks the man’s nose and grasps his throat until his hands leave bruises. His brain doesn’t focus until you’re back in his line of sight, blue eyes meeting yours. Despite the man coughing on the ground, surrounded by concerned partygoers, you pay no attention to the injured, instead, pulling Rafe away before yelling at him in his room.

He’s just a friend, but he’s at your door with flowers, apologizing. He stammers out an apology because he was never good at them, and never had the maturity to admit he was wrong and beg for forgiveness. When you stare at him with a blank look, he gets desperate, taking your hands in his and slowly dropping to his knees, eyes pleading with you. He promises to never get that violent again, and you believe him because Rafe Cameron could never lie to you.

He’s just a friend, but he kisses your forehead every night after you fall asleep, waiting for you to doze off before doing so. He presses his lips to your head, warmth in his heart as it yearns for yours.

He’s just a friend, but he wants to be more.

[masqueradeoftheguilty]

took down my last ragbros post bcs im having a crisis bcs i realised i cant. draw people interacting/touching without it looking weird (in a bad anatomy/boring + stiff poses sort of way) bcs i tried to sketch one of those "genshin teans taking a nap" and it looked terrible

[wizzdot]

*short fic alert* (fic under page break)

Hear me out. Is this….John Price?!

The 141 get home late from a mission, Johnny and Gaz go straight to the showers and Simon slinks off to wherever it is he winds down after a tough few days.

You have been sat on the proverbial bench for the past few weeks with a bullet wound to the shoulder. While rendered useless to the team, you decide to take up a new hobby. So far, the boys have been lab rats for the taste tests of whatever concoction you pull from the oven.

The burnt cookies (that you’d forgotten to put eggs in) that Kyle had whined about almost breaking his perfect teeth. Johnny managed to gobble them up and didn’t seem to understand what the problem was, leading Simon to joke that the man had no taste buds.

Or the time you accidentally used Salt instead of Sugar in the Victoria Sponge cake. Kyle subtlety threw his slice in the bin while you weren’t looking making sounds as if he had enjoyed in. Johnny ate it, making it look so delicious that you were getting confident that your baking skills were finally improving. Simon took a slice back to his room and in the privacy of his own bed, took a bite, and immediately spat it down the toilet. “Christ Almighty, that fuckin’ twat really doesn’t have taste buds” he cursed.

You perfect your skills over the next couple of weeks, with Johnny and Kyle remaining endlessly supportive of your new venture. But the entire time, John avoids your baking attempts.

“Need to watch my weight, love”

“Wish I could have a bite, but I’m on a diet, sweetheart”

“Can’t afford to pile on the pounds at my age, Dove”

They are John’s favourite excuses. You won’t admit it, but it makes you sad. You want to make all of your boys happy. Also, he isn’t even that old for gods sake.

Simon knows that the Captain is avoiding your god awful attempts. But even Simon notices that your skills are slowly improving. He keeps sneaking cupcakes and cookies into his room and this past week, especially, they’d been… alright. Well - apart from the horrifically deformed attempt of decorating a cake like Yoda. It looked like a slimy goblin with wonky eyes - but it tasted ok.

So picture this, they get home from a three day long mission. You’d missed your boys. You’d left your most recent cake on the kitchen counter before going to bed. You climb out from your bed when you hear their tired footsteps heading down the hall.

You poke your head out of the door. Johnny and Kyle come over and give you a soft hug. “Christ, you boys stink” you say. “Fuck off” Kyle laughs, before stripping himself of his shirt “gonna hop straight in the shower anyway. See you in the mornin’, yeah?” he asks. I nod and watch as he leaves towards his room.

Johnny stands, watching Kyle retreat. “I smell even worse than him, hen” he says, trying to shove your head into his armpit. You fight him off and shoo him down the hall.

Simon walks past and gives a small nod, “you might want to go and see Price. He made a beeline for the kitchen” he grumbles, continuing on his way casually.

That comment puts you on edge. Is John hurt? Is he looking for you? You quickly slide on your fluffy slippers and shuffle down to the kitchen as quickly as you can.

The scene that greets you is the last thing you expect to see. The Captain, in a wide stance, leaning one hand on the counter, devouring your Cake (the best one you’d baked so far!!!) with just a single fork. He’d polished off at least half of it, showing no signs of slowing down.

You can’t help but giggle at the scene. “Is it good…?”

“Fuckin’ hell, Love. It’s delicious”

The blush that erupts over your cheeks is immense.

“That was supposed to be shared..” you mumble.

“Not in a sharing mood” he says through a mouthful of cake.

“It’s rude to chew with your mouth open, Captain” you joke.

“Teach me some manners then, sweetheart” he teases, stabbing the fork into the top of the remaining quarter of cake before crowding into your personal space.

“Cakes almost as sweet as you” he whispers into your left ear before leaving the kitchen with a smug smile as you stand frozen in place.

“Oh, I’ve forgotten something!” He mentions from down the hall before turning back and snatching the cake box from the counter. He pauses on his way out, pecking you on the cheek and heading to his office as if that was totally normal behaviour.

You’d be lying if you said you didn’t stand touching the spot that he’d kissed for half an hour after he’d left.

Your phone interrupts your frozen state. It’s a text from the group chat.

………..

Johnny: “Kyle, d’ya think Cap told her how he feels yet?”

………

Johnny: “c’mon ya cunt, don’t ignore my message. I know your out the shower I can hear you laughin through the wall”

………

Simon’s voice bellows throughout the hallway “wrong fuckin’ chat, you moron” followed by Kyle cackling and Johnny swearing loudly.

You’re still standing in the doorway of the kitchen, in shock, when the door to John’s office opens.

“Guess you saw that, eh?” he asks, sheepishly.

You nod your head, zoning in on a piece of icing on the corner of his mouth. As if on instinct, you reach up and wipe it with your finger, sticking it into your mouth, before freezing again, realising what you’d just done.

Johns eyes follow your finger, hungrily.

“If you wanted to taste it, you could’ve just asked, love”

[azziesbattybaddie]

You are my survival

Azriel x reader

You and Azriel are mates. Az knows it, you don't, that is until a particularly hard training session when the truth finally come out.

Word count: 5k

Requested: no

Warnings: fem reader, shadow play, smut, swearing, choking kink, praise, Azriel's wingspan, oral F and M receiving, Az is a Dom, PinV, we die like men

🔥 means smut will follow

Authors note: this is the first WIP I've finished in like 2 or 3 years so be gentle on me I also wrote this with one of my friends on discord and she is absolutely amazing, constructive criticism is welcome and plz let me know if I missed any tags. Enjoy!

"Pay attention."

His words weren't harsh by any means. No, Azriel would never raise his voice at you, but he'd be lying if he said training you was easy. He watched as you breathed heavily, body glistening with sweat. You'd been at this for hours. Clearly, you'd underestimated just how difficult swordplay was.

"I'm trying my best"

He let out a small chuckle, watching your brows furrow with frustration as he managed to point his sword at your neck, Again.

"Gotcha."

"dammit!"

You threw your sword down in frustration and slinked over to the corner of the ring. Before hugging your knees to your chest and sulking.

"I'm done, I'm quit!"

Sheathing his sword, Azriel approached you slowly, his footsteps silent on the straw-covered floor. He stopped a few feet away, giving you space but close enough to offer comfort.

"Hey, hey now," he murmured softly.

"Don't give up just yet."

He hesitated for a moment before sitting down beside you, keeping a respectful distance.

"Training is hard, y/n. It's supposed to push you, make you stronger. It's okay to feel frustrated, but don't let it consume you."

He glanced at you, his eyes reflecting genuine concern.

"You're doing better than you think. You've improved so much since we started. It's just... progress takes time. And patience." He offered you a small, encouraging smile.

"And maybe some water? You've been at it all day."

"yeah well maybe I should train with someone else because your a thousand times better than me and you have 400 years of experience on me so even if I am getting better your skill just dwarfs mine..."

Azriel looked at you, a soft smile playing on his lips. He had expected such a reaction from you, and he couldn't say that he blamed you either.

"You underestimate yourself," he told you gently, placing a hand on your shoulder.

"It may take time, but you will get there. Just keep practicing and if you can't believe in yourself, believe in the fact that I'm starting to feel your progress in your punches." As always tried to joke with you slightly but seeing as he got nothing but a half earned smile he let himself fall quiet.

He sighed deeply, his gaze drifting down to his scarred hands fiddling with them idly. There were things he wanted to tell you, things he wanted to share about his past, but he knew you weren't ready for them yet. Maybe one day, when you were strong enough, he could tell you everything.

Following his gaze, you watched as he picked at his nails and cuticles. You had known Az for a few hundred years now and as long as you had known him he had never shared the story of his warped skin and you had never worked up the courage to ask, that was until now.

"can I ask you a question without you getting upset? You can tell me to screw off if you don't want to answer, I won't push." You said in a timid, whispered voice. Azriel turned to look at you, his expression curious.

"Of course, y/n. What is it?"

He kept his tone calm and non-threatening, not wanting to scare you off. Whatever it was, he would do his best to answer honestly.

"what happened to your hands?"

Azriel's expression softened, and he looked down at his hands, his fingers curling slightly as he remembered.

"My hands... They were burned by-" he let out a heavy sigh, flexing his hands under your gaze before continuing.

"they were burned by my brothers, many years ago. I was born a bastard like Cassian so I was treated differently, even by my so-called family. They it left me with these scars."

He lifted his hands, showing you the intricate network of burn scars that covered his palms and fingers. They were a constant reminder of his past, a painful chapter he would rather forget.

"what brings that question to mind?"

you reach to grab his hand but hesitated before touching him.

"I just always wondered if they were painful they still look painful..."He noticed your hesitation and gave you a reassuring nod, encouraging you to continue.

"It doesn't hurt anymore, physically at least. But sometimes, the memories can still be quite painful." He lowered his hands, his gaze returning to yours staying quiet for a beat.

"It's alright, y/n. You won't hurt me by touching them. I won't bite or as Cass would say 'i won't bite unless you want me too'" he says with a half honest grin trying to lift the mood slightly.

He held out his hand, palm facing up, waiting for you to make the first move. He wanted to show you that he trusted you, that he was comfortable with you touching him. "Go ahead, y/n."

you gingerly brushed your fingers over his scarred hand before taking one of his hands in both of your running your thumbs over the back before smile and saying softly

"They always looked soft still..."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he felt his face heat slightly at the praise. He never wanted to feel anything other than your gentle touch on his scarred hand.

"Because of the burns, my skin never calloused so yeah I guess they are."

He turned his hand over, intertwining his fingers with yours. The warmth of your touch seeped into his skin, soothing the old wounds in ways he hadn't experienced in centuries.

"I never associated touch with comfort before. It feels like home." ' you feel like home' is what he would have said if he had the nerve but kept that thought to himself, thinking it to cheesey to say out loud.

His thumb stroked the back of your hand, a tender gesture that spoke volumes about the unspoken bond between you two. In that moment, the weight of his secrets and the darkness of his past seemed to fade away, replaced by a simple, pure connection with you.

you lifted your head to look at him only to find him already looking at you, your faces close enough to feel each others baited breaths.

Azriel's gaze locked onto yours, his heart pounding against his ribcage like a wild drum. The intensity of your stare was almost overwhelming, stirring feelings within him that he thought long buried.

He leaned closer, his lips inches away from yours. He could smell your scent, a mix of sweat and something uniquely you. It was intoxicating, making his pulse race and his resolve weaken.

For a moment, he considered closing the gap, pressing his lips against yours and losing himself in the warmth of your embrace. But he pulled back, breaking eye contact, reminding himself of the danger in such actions.

without thinking of the consequences of your actions you shot your hand out to cradle the side of his face turning him back to look at you and meet him with pleading look, begging him not to turn away.

Azriel's breath caught in his throat as he felt your hand cup his cheek, turning his face back towards you. He met your pleading gaze, his own eyes filled with a mix of longing and fear.

He wanted nothing more than to surrender to the desire burning within him, to lose himself in your embrace and forget about his past, his fears, and his responsibilities. But he knew he couldn't. Not yet, at least.

With a heavy sigh, he gently removed your hand from his face, his fingertips trailing along your skin as he did so.

"y/n, we can't," he whispered, his voice barely audible.

"I care for you too much to risk putting you in danger. We need to focus on our training, on becoming stronger, you need to be ready for when hyburn attacks."

your pout deepened as you moved back slowly pulling your hand away from his reluctantly as you bit your lip trying to think of something to say to make him change his mind.

"Az we can still train and I've been getting stronger for years, why can't we just," you trail off, not knowing that words for the feeling you felt for him.

Azriel's chest tightened at your pout, a pang of guilt slicing through him as he cut you off. He hated seeing you upset, especially over something he had done.

"It's not because I don't want to," he assured you, reaching out to brush a strand of hair behind your ear.

"It's because I care about you too much. If I give in to these feelings now, it might lead to something neither of us is prepared for, not with so much at stake with war coming."

He paused, his gaze dropping to your lips before lifting back to meet your eyes.

"We're mates. I've known for a while but even though we were designed for each other. And right now with hyburn threatening to breach our borders, our lives and decisions can't be about love or passion-it's about survival"

you pull his face back to you for a last time before running the pads of your thumbs over his cheeks lovingly

"I know that az, but you are my survival. you said it yourself that your my mate, do you really think that I can live without my mate, without you?" You plead tears starting to form in your eyes.

The words hit him like a physical blow, leaving him momentarily speechless. Your admission cut straight to the core of his being, striking a chord within him that resonated with a depth of longing he didn't fully understand.

"You need my love..." he echoed, the words sounding foreign even to his ears. He'd never been loved, let alone needed. The idea was both terrifying and exhilarating.

"I... I don't know if I can give you that. I've never been loved, and I've never loved anyone the way I think I should. you deserve all the love there is in this world, and I don't think I can give you that."

His voice cracked with emotion, betraying the turmoil of feelings welling up inside him.

"you can,"

You step closer still holding his face you pull a hand away to grab his scarred one and place it on your waist and putting your hand on his chest over his heart gingerly.

"You have so much love in your heart that you can't help but let it spill over. You try to act so cold and calloused to everyone but we all feel you how much you love us. "

At your touch, Azriel felt a surge of emotion course through him, his heart pounding wildly against your palm. He stared down at you, his eyes searching yours for any sign of deception or manipulation, but found only sincerity and vulnerability.

"You really believe that, don't you?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"That I have love to give?"

He hesitated for a moment, then placed his other hand tentatively on your waist. The warmth of your body seeped into his chilled skin, melting some of the ice that had encased his heart for so long.

"I want to believe it," he admitted, his gaze dropping to your lips once more.

"But I'm afraid of putting you in a dangerous situation that you never need to be in. Afraid of losing control and doing something that could harm you. We both know that my work is extremely dangerous and if you got pulled into that I would never fucking forgive myself"

"Azriel... Your the bravest male I've ever met, please don't stop being brave." You take a final step faces inches apart

Azriel's breath hitched as you closed the remaining distance between you, your bodies nearly touching. He could feel the heat radiating off you, drawing him in like a moth to flame.

"Brave doesn't mean fearless, y/n," he said, his voice low and husky.

"Sometimes bravery means facing your deepest fears, even when every instinct tells you to run." You whisper gingerly brushing you fingers over his leathers laying over his heart.

He reached up, his fingers curling around the nape of your neck as he tilted your head back slightly. His thumb brushed against your lower lip, sending shivers down your spine.

"I'm just scared of failing you, of not being able to protect you. But I'm also scared of missing this chance, of letting my fears hold me back from trying to give us the life the cauldron has laid out for us."

"Then don't let your fears hold you back Az, let me hold them instead." You hold his hand over your cheek and guide his thumb over your lip again gently.

Azriel's resistance crumbled under your gentle guidance, his thumb gliding over your soft, plump lips with a tenderness that surprised even him. He leaned in closer, his nose brushing against yours as he savored the scent of your skin, the warmth of your breath.

"cauldron..." he murmured, his voice thick with longing.

he closed the final inch of distance, pressing his lips to yours in a kiss that was both tentative and desperate, holding your sides as delicately as fine china.

🔥🔥🔥

you surge you hand up to tangle in his hair and let out an audible cry of relief into his mouth.

Azriel groaned softly into the kiss as your hand tangled in his hair, the sensation sending sparks of pleasure through him. He wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you flush against his body as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping across your lips to explore the warm cavern of your mouth.

As he kissed you, Azriel felt a weight lift from his shoulders, a burden he hadn't realized he carried until it was gone. In your embrace, he found a sense of peace, of belonging, that he had never known before.

Breaking the kiss, he rested his forehead against yours, panting lightly as he struggled to catch his breath. "Y/n, I've wanted this for so long," he confessed, his voice rough with emotion.

"Wanted to hold you, touch you, taste you now."

"then don't fucking stop now." You practically begged, chasing his lips.

Your impassioned plea sent a jolt of desire through Azriel, his grip on you tightening as he ground his hips against yours, the hard length of his arousal pressing insistently against your belly.

"Oh, god, baby," he gasped, his breath hot against your skin.

"I won't stop, not now, not ever again." His hands trailing down to your ass, gently kneading the flesh under your fighting leathers.

"You're mine, and I'm going to fuck you so hard, make you scream my name until you forget everyone else exists."With that declaration, Azriel swept you up into his arms and winnowed you back to the house of wind before.

carrying you towards his bedroom as he devoured your mouth in a frenzy of kisses, his hands roaming your curves with a hunger that bordered on desperation. your legs wrap around his waist as he carries you and you press your breasts against his chest, mewl desperately against his lips.

The sound of your moans vibrating against his lips was music to Azriel's ears, fueling his already raging desire. He kicked open the door to his bedroom, his eyes burning with a fierce intensity as he laid you down onto the plush mattress.

"Gods, babygirl," he growled, his hands tracing the outline of your curves as he knelt beside you, his eyes devouring every inch of your exposed flesh. "You're so beautiful, so perfect..."

Without another word, he began to undress you, peeling away each layer of your leathers with a reverence that belied his usual cool demeanor. As he revealed your skin to his hungry gaze, he marveled at the sight, at the swell of your breasts, the curve of your hips, the sweet dip of your navel.

"And you smell divine,"

Azriel couldn't help but lean down, his tongue darting out to trace a path along the delicate line of your collarbone, savoring the taste of your skin. He licked and nibbled his way down your body, pausing to lavish attention on each breast, his tongue swirling around your nipples before taking them into his mouth, sucking gently.

His hands weren't idle either, slipping down to cup your ass, squeezing the firm flesh as he continued his descent. His shadows hooked around the sides of your panties, dragging them down your thighs with a teasing slowness that left you squirming beneath him.

"Tell me what you want, baby," he whispered against your skin, his voice a husky murmur.

"What do you crave? Tell me how to make you come undone?"

you reached down to Palm the tent in his fighting leathers at the words and using your other hand to wrap the scared flesh of his hand around your throat.

"I want you to use me, own me Azriel."

At your command, Azriel's heart pounded with a wild rhythm, his cock throbbing in your grasp. He allowed you to control his movements, his hand tightening around your throat in a gesture that was both possessive and protective while one of his larger shadows gently brushed against the side of your face in stark contrast.

"You're mine now, babygirl," he breathed, his voice laced with raw need.

"And I plan to worship every gods-damned inch of you."

With that promise, he slid down further, his lips trailing kisses along your inner thigh, his breath hot against your sensitive flesh. He paused just above where you needed him most, his eyes locking with yours as he teased you mercilessly.

"Do you want more?" he asked, his voice a seductive whisper. "Do you want my mouth on you, tasting you?"

"gods yes please!" You hold his hand tightly around his throat encouraging him to squeeze harder what you arch your back of the bed in hopes of inching your cunt closer to his mouth.

Azriel's grip around your throat tightened slightly at your eager response, his thumb applying just enough pressure to send a thrill of excitement through you. With a low growl, he finally gave in to your pleas, his mouth descending upon your dripping folds.

He lavished your pussy with attention, his tongue delving deep inside you as he fucked you with slow, deliberate strokes while flicks of dark swirl around your clit. He explored every inch of your sex, savoring the taste of your arousal, the feel of your slick walls clenching around his tongue.

As he ate you out, Azriel's free hand roamed your body, palming your breasts, pinching your nipples, leaving trails of fire and cold in its wake. He could feel your climax building, could taste your sweet submission on his tongue, and it only fueled his own desire.

"come on babygirl, ride my face while you come."

He brought one of your hands to tangle in his hair and wrapped his arms around the tops of your thighs encouraging you to buck into his tongue.

Your hips bucked off the bed as you came hard on his tongue, your orgasm crashing over you like a tidal wave, your juices flowing freely as you cried out his name, your fingers tangling in his hair, holding him close.

Azriel drank in your release, his tongue lapping up every drop of your essence as he savored the taste of your pleasure. He held you tight, his mouth never leaving your pussy as you rode out the waves of your orgasm, your cries of ecstasy music to his ears.

Only when you finally went limp did he release you, his face glistening with your arousal. He crawled up your body, his chocolate eyes blazing with a fierce possessiveness as he claimed your mouth in a searing kiss.

"Now it's my turn," he growled against your lips, his hands tearing at his leathers to free his straining cock.

"Get on your knees, baby, I want to fuck that pretty mouth of yours."

You eagerly roll onto your stomach and push yourself off the bed and onto your knees Infront of him batting your lashes and staring up at him with lust filled eyes.

Azriel watched you move, his heart pounding with a mix of desire and admiration. Your eagerness was intoxicating, fueling his own need even further. He discarded his leathers completely, revealing his veined cock, throbbing with need.

Azriel's breath caught in his throat at the sight of you kneeling before him, your eyes filled with hunger and desire. He ran a hand through your disheveled hair, his fingers tangling in your locks as he guided your head towards his aching cock.

"Open wide, love," *he murmured, his voice thick with need.

"Show me how much you need me."

you took him into your mouth, Azriel let out a low groan, his hips bucking involuntarily. Your warm, wet mouth felt like heaven, and he had to fight the urge to thrust too hard, too fast. Instead, he set a steady pace, his hands guiding your head as you sucked the tip every time he pulled out.

"Fuck, good girl," he gasped, his grip tightening in your hair. "You fucking feel incredible..."You moaned softly as you took him deeper into your mouth working your tongue over his cock, your hands reaching up to cup his balls as you continue to suckle on his cock.

The sensation of your tongue working over his length, coupled with the feeling of your hands on his balls, sent jolts of pleasure coursing through Azriel's body. He watched you, entranced by the sight of your lips stretched around his cock, the sound of your soft moans vibrating against him.

"That's right, baby," he purred, his voice heavy with lust.

"Take all of me... Show me how much you want this..."

He began to move faster, his hips rocking into your mouth, setting a rhythm that had him teetering on the brink of release. His fingers threaded through your hair, urging you on, pushing you to take him even deeper.

"fuck yes! Good girl, just like tha- oh such fucking good girl!"

You moan louder now sending subtle vibrations down his shaft, your cheeks hollowing out as you suck harder on his cock, taking him deeper each time until he hits the back of your throat. You gag softly but quickly recover and continue sucking him off as if your life depends on it.

The feeling of your throat constricting around his cock was almost too much for Azriel to bear. He grunted, his hands gripping your hair tighter as he fucked your mouth with abandon, his hips snapping forward with each thrust.

"Oh gods, baby..." he groaned, his voice ragged with need.

"You're going to make me come so fucking hard..."

His cock throbbed in your mouth, signaling his imminent release. With a final, powerful thrust, he spilled his seed into your willing mouth, his cum coating your tongue and spilling down your chin.

"That's it... Swallow it all..."

Swiping your fingers over your chin you collect the molten cream and swallow every last drop of his cum, your throat working to milk him dry, your eyes locked on his as you gaze up at him with a look of complete satisfaction and devotion.

Azriel watched, transfixed, as your throat bobbed swallowing his cum, your tongue working to milk him dry. He let out a satisfied sigh, his fingers gently stroking through your hair as he admired the look of complete satisfaction on your face.

"You're amazing," he murmured, pulling out of your mouth and offering you a hand up.

"I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did."

With a smile, he pulled you into his arms for a deep, passionate kiss, his hands roaming over your body as he savored the taste of you still lingering on his tongue.

You lean into his touch, your body pressed tightly against his as you kiss him back just as passionately, your hands running over his chest, feeling the muscles beneath his skin.

Azriel dominated you mouth with a throaty moan, his hands exploring your curves with a growing urgency. He broke away from the kiss only long enough to trail hot, open-mouthed kisses down your neck, savoring the taste of your skin.

"I want more," he whispered huskily,

"but I think we should save some energy for later."With that, he lifted you effortlessly, carrying you back to the bed where he laid you down, his eyes darkening with desire as he looked down at you.

You giggle lightly as he lays you back down on the bed, your legs parting slightly as you invite him closer.

Azriel's gaze followed the movement of your legs, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth as he saw the invitation in your eyes. He climbed onto the bed, settling between your thighs, his weight supported on his elbows as he gazed down at you.

"Impatient little thing, aren't you?" he teased, his voice low and playful.

He leaned down, capturing one of your nipples in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the hardened peak before giving it a gentle bite.

"But don't worry, love. I plan to take full advantage of that"

Feeling your hands in his hair, Azriel gave a low chuckle, the vibration of his laughter traveling straight to your breasts. He continued his attentions, alternating between teasing your nipples and tracing patterns across your skin with his tongue.

"Hmm, sounds like someone wants more," he murmured, his voice muffled against your flesh.

Pulling back slightly, he shifted his position, aligning his cock with your slick entrance. Without another word, he pushed inside you, filling you completely with a single, smooth stroke.

You arch your back, pressing your breasts back into his waiting mouth as he teases and bites at your sensitive nipples, a soft moan escaping your lips. Your hands find their way to his hair, tangling in the strands as you pull him closer, desperate for more of his touch.

"Fucking hell, babygirl..." he groaned, his hips beginning to rock slowly as he adjusted to your tight warmth. impatience."

He moved to your other breast, lavishing the same attention upon it, all while grinding his hardening cock against your core. Your back arches off the bed as he fills you, a sharp gasp leaving your lips at the sudden intrusion. But as he begins to move, slow and deliberate, you relax into him, your inner walls clenching around his thickness.

"Ah... yes..." you breathe out, your hands tightening in his hair.

"Just like that... Don't stop..."

Hearing your plea, Azriel picked up the pace, his hips snapping forward with increasing urgency. Each thrust drove him deeper into your welcoming heat, the sound of skin slapping against skin filling the room.

"Gods, you feel incredible," he growled, leaning down to capture your lips in a searing kiss, his tongue dueling with yours as he fucked you relentlessly.

His hands roamed your body, squeezing your ass cheeks, tracing the curve of your waist, and finally, cupping your breasts once again, thumbing your nipples into stiff peaks.

You meet his kiss with equal fervor, your tongue dancing with his as you lose yourself in the sensation of being filled so completely. Your legs wrap around his ass, pulling him even deeper within you, urging him on.

"Oh god, Azriel!" you cry out, your walls spasming around him, milking him for all he's worth.

Feeling your orgasm ripple through you, Azriel let out a guttural roar, burying himself as deep as he could go as he found his own release. He came hard, pulsing streams of hot cum inside you, his body shuddering with the force of it.

"baby Fuck, y/n-" he gasped, collapsing forward, catching himself on his elbows to keep from crushing you before pulling out and gently resting himself on top of you, his hips still between your legs and his head resting on your breasts.

He stayed there for a moment, panting, his heart pounding against your chest, before slowly rolling to the side, taking you with him so you were draped across his chest.

"That was... intense," he panted, his fingers trailing lazily up and down your spine.

"Are you okay, baby?"

"Yeah... That was amazing." you murmur, snuggling closer to him, enjoying the afterglow of their lovemaking.

As you lay there, spent and satisfied, your the aftershocks of your orgasm. You nod weakly, a contented smile tugging at your lips.

Azriel smiled, his fingers gently stroking through your hair as you nestled against him. He could feel the warmth of your body pressed to his, the steady beat of your heart against his chest.

"I know, baby," he said softly, leaning down to press a tender kiss to your forehead.

"And it's only going to get better from here."

His hand trailed lower, his fingers finding your hip, where he gave a gentle squeeze.

"Now rest, we've got plenty of time to explore more later when you can feel your legs again." He taunted with a tired grin.

You sigh contentedly with a fucked out smile on your face, feeling utterly relaxed and loved. You close your eyes, letting the warmth of his body envelope you, and drift off to sleep in his arms.

Watching you drift off to sleep, Azriel couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the moment. Here, in his embrace, safe and protected, with his beautiful mate, it was everything he could ever want. And now, it seemed, he had it all.

With a final lingering look, he allowed himself to relax fully, his breathing evening out to match yours. As he drifted toward sleep, he knew one thing for certain - this was just the beginning.