#border tutorial on its way

[windvexer]

Look you guys, I didn't totally abandon the idea!

[joemama-2]

𓇼° last verse of summer || chap. 1°𓇼

pairing: gojo x fem reader

synopsis: after the death of your mother, your younger brother and you move back to your small, beachside hometown to stay with your estranged father—one you haven’t seen in over a decade—for the summer before your brother officially turns 18. you’re determined to keep your brother safe, even if it means facing the painful past you thought you’d left behind, aka, your dad. however, the real surprise comes in the form of satoru gojo, the local handyman and swim instructor, whose unexpected presence stirs something deep within you. not to mention, your father seems to be closer to him than his own children.

wc: 9.6k

tags/warnings: angst, slow burn, romance, drama, grief, medical talk, mentions of cancer, fluff, small town, smut, alcohol, trauma, slow healing, music, family drama, sibling relationship, parental death, anxiety, family conflict/tension, emotional breakdowns, drowning, strangers to (one-sided) enemies to lovers, modern au, slight age gap between reader and gojo, gentle romance, takes slight inspo after The Last Song, dividers by @/bernardsbendystraws

series masterlist < next chapter

“I said I could do it—!”

“And I said I got it!”

Riley huffs in annoyance, dropping the lug nut wrench unceremoniously to the ground. You curse him, having just finished putting the car jack under the rear side of the driver’s side of your old, 1980 Chevrolet C/K pickup truck. The body is painted in a glossy baby pink, a bold yet playful color that instantly sets it apart from the usual classic truck crowd. Running along the length of the truck’s sides is a wide, beige horizontal stripe, bordered with thin black pinstriping, adding a retro two-tone contrast that hints at its original styling.

She’s your baby. 

But your very old baby. 

Hence why you’ve grown accustomed to the frustrating task of changing one of her tires after a flat. 

It just so had to have happened again on the way to your dad’s. With your annoying little brother hovering over your shoulder like a stupid shadow who swears he knows anything about everything. You try not to hold it against him too much, he is only seventeen years old—just a few months from the big one-eight. 

Grabbing the wrench he tossed to the ground, he officially gave up trying to help you change the flattened tire. 

You wipe the back of your hand across your forehead, smearing sweat and maybe a little axle grease across your brow. The sun beats down on the asphalt, making heat shimmer just above the road, and your tank top is starting to cling in all the worst places.

Riley flops down on the grass beside the ditch like he’s just run a marathon. “You’re being dramatic,” he mutters, picking at a weed. “I could have done it.”

“You couldn’t even hold the damn wrench right,” you shoot back, crouching to start loosening the lug nuts. “You were turning it clockwise.”

He rolls his eyes. “You act like I’ve never seen a YouTube tutorial.”

“Well, maybe next time you should watch one before trying to strip the bolts on my baby,” you grumble, giving the wrench a practiced crank. It creaks��old metal groaning beneath newer tension—but it moves. You feel a small twinge of pride. You might’ve left your spark behind when you left the city, but at least you could still do this.

“You talk about that truck like it’s a person,” Riley says, flopping onto his back, arms behind his head. “It’s weird.”

“She is a person,” you reply flatly. “And she’s more dependable than half the people I’ve met.”

“You need friends.”

“I had friends,” you snap, too quickly. The words hang there, suspended between the two of you in the thick, humid air.

Riley says nothing, rolling his eyes childishly and looking off into the distance. You roll your own back, focusing on changing the affected tire, replacing it with the new one. 

The silence stretches between you both, sticky and loud, broken only by the occasional buzz of cicadas and the metallic clank of the wrench. You work methodically—lug nut by lug nut, careful not to strip anything else. Your hands are dirty. Your patience is thinner than the layer of sweat on your neck.

It’s been like this with Riley since the funeral. Short fuses and longer silences. Neither of you really says what you mean, not since your mom died. You’re not sure whether either of you knows how. But it has only been three months. 

The tire slips into place with a little grunt of effort, and you start bolting it on, bracing your foot against the rubber as you crank down the wrench. The smell of hot asphalt and metal fills your lungs. Riley lets out a sigh, louder than necessary, and you shoot him a look.

“What?” he asks, not looking at you.

You don’t answer. Just twist the last lug nut tight and give the wheel a nudge with your palm to check for wobble.

Nothing. Solid.

You sit back on your heels and exhale, letting your shoulders drop. “Done.”

“Finally,” Riley mutters, already getting to his feet and brushing off his shorts. “At this rate, we’ll get there by Christmas.”

“Don’t push me, Ry,” you warn, your tone sharper than you meant it to be. But you’re tired. You’re sore. And this return to Magnolia Bay has been nothing but a string of emotional landmines.

“I’m just saying—Dad’s probably wondering where we are.”

That makes you pause. Not because he’s wrong, but because the word still doesn’t sit right in your mouth. Benjamin, what you’d rather call him. Or dad, but you haven’t called him that in years. Not out loud.

You glance up the road. The sun is just a tad bit lower now, casting long shadows across the cracked two-lane road that winds into town. Somewhere, just over that tree line, is the old house with peeling paint and a porch you haven’t stood on since you were seventeen.

“You know you don’t have to hate him forever,” Riley says, quieter now. Almost careful. “Mom didn’t want that.”

You squint up at him, jaw ticking at the fact that your baby brother is…taller than you. “I don’t hate him.”

He snorts. “Yeah, okay.”

“I don’t.” You stand, dusting off your hands on your shorts. “I just don’t forget.”

Riley kicks a rock into the ditch. “Maybe if you tried—”

“Maybe if he hadn’t walked out.”

The words come out before you can stop them, too raw, too bitter. Riley flinches, and you instantly regret it. Because he doesn’t remember it the way you do. He was a kid, only five after all. He didn’t hear the door slam, didn’t see the way your mom collapsed in the hallway after.

He’s learned about your dad through your mom, Charlotte. She’s told him the more positive side of things, shining everything in an optimistic light that makes you scowl at the thought. And all Riley has been told by your mother is that your father and she divorced in a mutual agreement. Still, you let things slip sometimes. 

You drag a hand through your hair, your heart beating too hard for such a hot, quiet day. “Sorry,” you mutter, barely audible.

Riley doesn’t say anything this time. Just walks around the back of the truck and climbs into the passenger side without looking at you.

You mentally facepalm, closing the toolbox and tossing it into the truck bed. You lower the jack, throwing it in right after. The sound echoes louder than it should.

You climb in behind the wheel, start the engine, and pull back onto the road.

And there it is again—that silence. Full of things neither of you is ready to say.

Just the hum of the road beneath you, and the pale, pastel rooftops of Magnolia Bay slowly coming into view through the heat-hazed horizon. You tighten your grip on the steering wheel.

It’s going to be a long summer.

Magnolia Bay. A small, southern beach town where you were born and raised, up until your mom left with you and Riley after another one of your parents’ huge fights. You still never told Riley what they fought about that truly ended it. 

You’re not sure if it’s worth it anymore. 

Magnolia Bay stretches out before you like a half-forgotten dream—a place where time seemed to move slower, like the lazy tides that rolled in and out of the calm bay. The salty air carried a mixture of blooming magnolia blossoms and sea breeze, a scent that always tangled with the memory of your childhood.

Weathered wooden piers jutted into the water, their boards sun-bleached and worn smooth by years of fishermen’s boots and barefoot wanderers. Painted signs advertising fresh catch and shrimp boils hung crooked on peeling storefronts. The narrow main street was lined with quaint shops, their windows fogged with salt and stories: a dusty old bookstore with cracked leather covers stacked inside, a cozy diner where the coffee never ran out, and a tiny music shop that still played vinyl records on lazy summer afternoons.

The beach itself was a stretch of pale, soft sand that warmed under the sun’s relentless gaze, dotted with crabbing traps and driftwood forts built by generations of kids like you and Riley. Old oak trees, heavy with moss and memories, leaned toward the shore as if trying to catch whispers from the waves.

And beyond the bay, the low hills rolled into thick pine forests, hiding secrets and childhood adventures beneath their shadowed boughs.

Magnolia Bay was beautiful and bruised, like a faded photograph with edges curling, its colors softened but still vivid enough to pull you back. It was home. You had left once before, running from the ghosts your parents left behind, but now you and Riley were back. For better or worse, this little town was the place where your story was always meant to continue.

“You didn’t have to come with me, you know,” Riley hums, his temple pressed up against the window. “I could stay with Dad on my own without you down my neck every five seconds.”

Your fingers tighten around the dark leather of the wheel, forcing yourself not to respond with a retort of your own. Be the bigger person. “I wanted to come, I told you,” you start, “I don’t want you staying alone with him before you go to college. Plus, he was fine with it in the letter he wrote back to us.”

“He’s our dad, Y/N.”

“I don’t trust him.” 

“Do you ever trust anyone?” He peeks at you.

You inhale sharply through your nose, eyes fixed on the road like it might offer an escape from the conversation spiraling in the passenger seat. The tires hum against the pavement, Magnolia Bay creeping closer with every passing telephone pole.

“That’s not fair,” you say finally, the words quiet but weighted. “I trusted Mom.”

Silence again. This time it feels heavier. Riley shifts in his seat, no longer lounging. You don’t look at him, but you can feel the tension that suddenly cuts through the air-conditioned cab like a knife.

“She trusted him once too,” you add, more bitterly than you meant to. “Look how that turned out.”

Riley scoffs under his breath. “People change.”

“Not everyone.”

The conversation stalls, but the mood doesn’t lift. Riley goes quiet again, slouching deeper into the seat, his head to the window once more as the truck rounds a bend. That’s when the familiar welcome sign of this small town comes into view—whitewashed wood with peeling gold letters framed by two crepe myrtle trees in full bloom.

“Welcome to Magnolia Bay — Where Memories Wash Ashore.”

You almost laugh. Or cry. You’re not sure which.

The truck rattles slightly as you take the old turnoff onto Shoreline Road. Immediately, the world changes. Brick buildings give way to clusters of pastel-painted homes, their porches wide and shaded by hanging ferns. Some still fly faded flags from holidays past, others have wind chimes dancing in the breeze.

It hasn’t changed much. The town always smelled faintly of salt and lemon oil, a mix of sea and sunbaked porches, and the air still had that sleepy feel to it—like everyone was moving just a few seconds behind.

You pass The Sand Dollar Café, where Miss Greta used to sneak you extra whipped cream on your milkshake. Duke’s Bait & Tackle sits beside it, with its signature wooden pelican out front, beak chipped and weathered. And just across the street is Lottie’s Music Hall, long boarded-up but still standing, paint flaking, the marquee reading “LIVE JAZZ THURSDAYS” like the band never stopped playing.

Your eyes linger on it. On the ghosts stitched into the wood.

“You really think he’s still the same guy from back then?” Riley asks suddenly, softer this time. “From before?”

You exhale, heart stuttering a little as the ocean glints just beyond the row of homes.

“I don’t know,” you admit. “But I don’t want you to find out the hard way.”

The truck bumps over the gravel as you turn onto the long, winding drive that leads to your father’s house—white and weathered and waiting at the edge of the bay.

For a split second, distant memories of your childhood flash before your eyes. Scraping your knee on the wooden porch after running up the steps from watching the waves, or like the time you carved Riley’s and your initials just at the edge of the railing when he was only a year old. You shake your head, putting the truck into park. 

The place—home—it feels almost like a recurring nightmare. One you’re forced to face head-on. 

You unbuckle, and so does Riley, opening the door and stepping your feet out onto the sand that holds a trillion memories. 

The house stands exactly as you remember it—and yet, somehow smaller.

A two-story craftsman tucked into a nest of overgrown sea grass and aging magnolia trees, its once-white siding now faded to a weathered gray, like the bones of driftwood. The porch wraps around the front like a tired smile, wide and slanted slightly on one end, the railing chipped and peeling from too many summers soaked in salt and heat.

The front door is still painted the same stubborn shade of turquoise your mom picked out—one of the few things she ever won a fight over—and it sits slightly crooked in the frame, like it’s leaning away from the weight of its history. Wind chimes hang from a rusted hook near the porch light, clinking softly in the breeze, their sound thin and haunting. Familiar.

Two rocking chairs sit side by side on the porch, one newer than the other. The older one—the one your dad always sat in during storms—is missing a slat in the back. You half-expect to see his tall frame hunched over a book, or nursing a drink, or watching the tide roll in like he used to when he was too angry to speak.

The windows are all cracked open slightly to let in the breeze, lace curtains dancing lazily inside. You can see the faint silhouette of your reflection in the glass, and for a heartbeat, you think it might be your mother standing there instead—young, weary, full of hope that never panned out.

You hesitate. Your hand rests on the edge of the open truck door, knuckles white.

Behind you, Riley kicks a shell across the driveway, his sneakers crunching in the sand and gravel. “Looks… the same,” he mutters.

You nod slowly. “Yeah. That’s the problem.”

The scent hits you next—brine and old wood, a faint trace of lemon cleaner, and maybe something cooking inside. You’re not sure if your stomach turns from nerves or hunger.

The house doesn’t scream welcome.

But it doesn’t scream stay away either.

It just waits. Quiet and withered and full of ghosts you swore you’d never come back for. You close the door to the truck and take your first step forward, the sand swallowing your foot as you cross the distance to the porch. Riley lingers behind for a moment before following, quieter now. You reach the steps and pause, your eyes flick to the far-right corner of the railing, where, just barely, you can still see the faded carving from years ago.

Y/N + R

200—

The rest is too worn to read.

You drag your fingers over it before climbing the steps.

Some things, you guess, really do stay.

The dreaded knock doesn’t call for anyone. You almost feel stupid, and that familiar sense of resentment starts bubbling in your gut at the fact that he’s not even opening the door for his kids. You glance back, noting how his truck is parked. 

He’s here. 

So then why the hell isn’t he answering?

Riley knocks when he feels your growing anger, sighing when he gets the same, non-verbal answer. 

“Maybe he’s sleeping,” he tries to concede. 

“Or ignoring us,” you grumble, walking down the porch and along its bend towards the back of the house. The back door was usually left open when the front wasn’t. 

Hint: usually. 

But as you turn the corner, the last thing you expect to find is a shirtless man, hammering away at the wood that surrounds the aged door. You pause in confusion, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Who the hell is this guy?

Some white-haired freak who thinks people just want to see him shirtless. Well, he does kind of look like he has a nice six-pack. Not that you’re looking. He’s crouched down, loose, blue jeans hanging comfortably on his hips. The black band of his Michael Kors boxers peeked out just slightly below his navel. Sweat glistens on his forehead, he wipes it with his shoulder before continuing his work. 

He doesn’t look over at you both. 

“Um…hello?” You decide to speak out after receiving a silent elbow nudge from your brother. He looks over finally, and your arms cross with skepticism. “Who are you?”

The man doesn’t flinch at your voice—just finishes driving the nail in with one clean, practiced hit before slowly standing. The hammer drops to his side, and he brushes his palms on the back of his jeans, the motion casual, almost lazy.

Then he turns to face you fully.

And for a second, you almost forget what you were going to say.

He’s tall—obnoxiously tall—and his build is just lean enough to still be boyish beneath the sun-sculpted muscle. His jawline is sharp, and there’s a thin scar that runs beneath his right cheekbone like a half-finished sentence. But it’s his eyes—icy, amused, and far too perceptive—that really stop you in your tracks.

“Well,” he drawls, voice smooth like aged bourbon. He smiles, eyes crinkling into crescents as they turn soft. You hate the way the smile shows off his seemingly perfect set of white teeth.  “You must be the welcoming committee. Looking for Ben?”

You bristle immediately, narrowing your eyes even further. This stranger calling your dad by a name you’ve only ever heard leave your mother’s and your lips feels unsettling. Riley mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like damn, and now you elbow him without taking your eyes off the stranger. “Benjamin. Yeah, we are.”

The man notices the action and grins. “Feisty. Good. Your dad said you’d be a handful.”

That name alone—the weight of your dad—lands like a slap.

Your arms tighten across your chest. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

“I’m Satoru. Or Gojo, whatever you wanna call me,” he says easily, picking his hammer back up and resting it on his shoulder. “I’m renting the back unit.”

“What unit?” you bite out. “This isn’t a duplex.”

“It is now.”

You blink. “Excuse me?”

He shrugs, completely unaffected by your rising hostility. “Your dad converted the back of the house into a rental a while back. Guesthouse, technically—but I’ve been helping him fix it up.”

You look past him to the door he was repairing. Sure enough, there’s new wood nailed around the frame, the smell of fresh paint faint in the humid air. Flowering jasmine curls up one of the support beams, still wild and untrimmed. The back corner of the house—once storage and your father’s old workshop—now has a second address stenciled discreetly on a new mailbox post: 34 B.

What the fuck. “You’re telling me my dad has been shacking up strangers in his backyard?”

He chuckles. “Sure has.”

“And where is he now?” Riley asks. 

As if on cue, your father emerges from the house, using the inside of the back door this Satoru man was just working on. His attention is first drawn to him. “Wood’s sounding good, Satoru. No more mold?”

“No more, Ben.”

The tension thickens in the air as your father steps fully into view. A man weathered by years but still carrying the stubborn pride of the South in every line of his face. His salt-and-pepper hair is combed back with the same careless ease as always, and his eyes flick between you and Riley, a quiet wariness underneath the gruff exterior.

“Y/N,” he says, voice low but steady, as if rehearsed in anticipation of this moment, “Riley.” His gaze lingers on you a little longer than it does on your brother.

You swallow hard, keeping your arms crossed tight around yourself, feeling the walls of this house pressing in like old ghosts. “Where have you been? Why didn’t you answer the door?”

He sighs, running a hand through his hair, eyes darting briefly to Satoru, who’s now leaning casually against the doorframe, hands shoved in his pockets, watching with that smile that still unsettles you.

“Been busy. Fixing things up. Getting the place ready for you kids, as I told you in the letter.”

You glance at Riley, who shrugs, but the knot in your stomach tightens. Riley steps forward first, albeit cautiously. Your father smiles, lines creasing at the edge of his lips before opening his arms up wide and welcoming your brother into a familial hug. 

“Riley,” he breathes in, tightening his arms. “You’ve…grown so big.”

You hover back, body frozen in place. You almost feel like an outsider as you watch your brother and dad hug it out like they’ve been needing this hug for years now. In a way, maybe they have. But you don’t want to admit that to yourself just yet. 

Your eyes flicker to the man standing behind them, leaned against the railing. You make eye contact with him before he looks away, pretending to dust away something from his hammer. As you look back at Riley and Ben, they step back from each other. Riley’s eyes glaze over with what you can only assume are tears. 

That sight breaks Benjamin a little bit. His hand reaches out, hovering over Riley’s shoulder before patting. It looks like he’s holding back his own tears, as well. 

Then, finally, your father looks at you. 

It’s silent for a moment before he clears his throat. “Y/N,” he greets, fingers twitching by his sides. “You’ve…you’ve grown too.”

No shit, is what you want to say. Instead, you murmur out a small “yeah”. 

He steps forward, arms held out in the same way they did with Riley. Except this time, his child doesn’t reciprocate. 

You step back, body tensing up. 

Benjamin’s smile falters just a fraction, the warmth draining from his eyes as he watches you recoil. For a heartbeat, his mouth opens as if to argue, to coax you forward, but then he closes it again, swallowing whatever words might have come out.

“I get it,” he finally speaks, voice low, rougher now, like the years apart had worn the softness off him. “You’re not the same little girl I remember.”

Your chest tightens. No, you’re not. Far from it. 

The scent of the sea drifts through the air, mingling with the faint aroma of fresh wood and jasmine. Satoru shifts his weight behind Benjamin, but he says nothing. You glance at Riley, who’s watching the exchange silently, tension coiled in his shoulders like a spring.

Benjamin exhales heavily and plasters on a smile that looks much more forced. “Well—I—uh—why don’t we all step inside? It’s getting dark soon, and I want to catch up with you both. Maybe show you the changes I’ve made.”

The three of you follow Benjamin inside. 

“Oh! And this is Satoru. He’s—”

“Taking up space,” you complete. 

Benjamin bites the inside of his cheek before shaking his head. “No, he’s living out of the guesthouse. He helps me around the house and town. He also teaches swimming lessons.”

“Surf, too,” Satoru perks up, walking over to the kitchen and opening the fridge for a glass of water. Your jaw creaks from how hard you’re gritting your teeth. 

“Surf?” Riley asks, a small gasp escaping. “You surf?”

Satoru nods as he lifts a glass of water to his lips. “Grew up near the coast, came to MB just a few years ago. Been surfing since I was younger than you. There’s some good breaks just past the jetty here if you know when to go.”

“That’s so cool,” Riley says, glancing at you for approval before quickly looking away again when he doesn’t find it. “I’ve always wanted to learn. Mom never really let us—she thought it was too dangerous.”

Satoru lowers the glass and leans back against the counter. “Well, your mom’s not wrong. Ocean doesn’t play fair. But I teach safe. Wetsuit, leash, reading tides. No one goes in without knowing what they’re doing. Your dad even joined me once. Guy’s still got decent balance for someone pushing sixty.”

Benjamin chuckles lightly, that same old laugh that used to echo through the house when you were young. “Decent, huh? You told me I looked like a drunk flamingo.”

“That was decent. For you.”

The three males in the house laugh as if nothing is wrong with the current situation. As if they don’t read your silence and frowning face. They probably do and are choosing not to comment on it—not like you’re trying to hide it. You’re not here to laugh. Not yet, at least. Not when your father has barely been back in your life longer than five minutes.

The house smells different. Not the lemon cleaner your mom used, or the coconut shampoo she washed your hair with when you were a kid. It’s all sawdust and aftershave now, with a lingering trace of sea salt. There’s a dull ache in your chest as your eyes sweep across the familiar, changed space.

The couch is new. The old woven rug is gone. The chipped family photo that used to hang crooked over the fireplace is nowhere in sight.

“Kitchen’s still the same,” you mumble, more to yourself than anyone else.

Benjamin hears anyway. “Thought about changing it too, but… I figured some things should stay put.”

You don’t respond.

Riley plops down at the dinner table like he’s been here every summer since you left. He starts flipping through a stack of local flyers sitting near the placemats—surf competitions, crab boils, a community open mic. His world is already expanding. Opening up.

You? You feel like the walls are inching closer.

Benjamin gestures toward the small hallway. “Figured you could take your old room again, Y/N. Cleaned it out a bit. Still have a few boxes in there I didn’t know what to do with—thought you might want to go through them yourself.”

“And me?” Riley asks, hopeful.

“The room across from hers,” your father replies. “Used to be the storage room, but I finished it off. Fresh paint, new bedframe, and the window faces the water.”

Riley beams, and the pride on your father’s face is unmistakable. You hate the jealousy that rises in your throat. It’s not Riley’s fault. It’s not even really Ben’s—not entirely.

“You kids settle in,” your father says after a moment. “Dinner’s on me tonight. Figured I’d take you down to Dockside—still do fish fry Fridays.”

You nod stiffly, trying not to let the warmth of nostalgia soften you.

Satoru finishes his water and sets the glass down gently, eyes on you as he speaks again. “You’ll like Dockside. Their Hush Puppies are better than I’ve had anywhere else.”

I’ve been there before, idiot. “I’m not here for the food,” you say flatly, brushing past him on your way to the hallway. “I’m here for my brother.”

They all watch you go, silently. 

The sunset evening of MB feels safer than the presence of your father. At least Satoru didn’t come. 

The three of you are walking down the boardwalk of the waterfront. You pass by locals, new faces you don’t remember from twelve years ago. Everyone must’ve had a brain and decided to get out of this place. Those who stayed, however few of them, are still holding onto the past. Just like your dad. 

“Y/N, do you want that chocolate ice cream cone you used to love from—”

“No,” you interrupt, continuing your stride to Dockside without sparing a glance back at the same dampened expression on your father’s face. 

He doesn’t say anything after that. Just slows his steps a little, whether from age or your rejection, you don’t care to figure out. The scent of grilled fish and fried batter starts to fill the air the closer you get to Dockside. It’s almost identical to how you remember. 

The dock creaks beneath your sandals, weathered wood groaning under the rhythm of your steps. The lights strung along the awning of the restaurant flicker softly in the dimming amber of sunset. Couples and families gather around picnic tables, kids run barefoot past the wooden posts, and the world spins on like it hasn’t missed you at all.

Riley walks just behind you, hands shoved in his pockets, clearly unsure of where to put himself. He keeps glancing between you and your dad like he’s afraid one of you might explode.

The hostess—a girl who looks barely out of high school and smells like bubblegum—greets you all with a perky smile. “Table for three?”

“Four,” Benjamin corrects automatically, then clears his throat. “Three. Right. Three.”

You tense again.

No one comments on the slip.

The table is small, round, and too damn intimate for your liking. You take the farthest seat from Benjamin without thinking, forcing Riley to sit between you both. The menu hasn’t changed. You don’t even open it.

“I’ll get the fried shrimp platter,” you mutter when the waitress approaches. “With a sweet tea.”

“Same,” Riley adds quickly.

Benjamin orders last, a little quieter. “Catfish plate. No fries. Just slaw. And an order of Hush Puppies.”

Silence stretches between the three of you as the waitress disappears. Outside the screen windows, the sun dips lower, bleeding shades of crimson and pink across the water. Seagulls call in the distance. Laughter rises from another table. Someone plays an acoustic guitar nearby, out of tune but still earnest.

“So,” Benjamin finally says, grasping for a thread of conversation. “The guesthouse didn’t used to look like much, but Satoru’s been fixing it up pretty good. You should see what he did with the porch lights. Installed them himself.”

You stab your straw into your drink. “Maybe you two should get married.”

Riley chokes on his tea.

Benjamin’s mouth parts like he’s about to scold you, almost like he has the right, but then he just leans back in his chair, jaw tight. “That wasn’t called for.”

“Neither was you leaving.”

“Y/N,” Riley tugs at your elbow. “Stop it.”

It feels almost degrading to have a teenager scold you like this. Especially in public, especially in front of your father. And it’s even more embarrassing when you actually listen. 

“…so,” your father speaks up after you get your drinks served first. He sips from his complimentary cup of water, swirling the ice cubes inside the blue cup. He looks between Riley and you, deciding to try his luck with the former first. “Your mother sent me your graduation photos. Valedictorian, too. I’m very proud of you, Riley.”

His son smiles, chuckling quietly as he ruffles the back of his hair. “Ah, yeah. Thanks. It was hard, but I did it, somehow.”

“You were always a bright boy. You even knew all the names of the planets by just four.”

“So I was GOATED even from a young age.”

“Hm? What’s that mean?” Benjamin tilts his head in such a gen-x way. You almost feel tempted to snort at that. 

Riley simply shakes his head, mumbling something about how he’ll tell him later. The food soon comes, and he begins to chew one of the Hush Puppies from the plate in the middle. 

You feel your father’s eyes glance at you, as if silently willing you to just look his way for more than five seconds for once. You don’t. 

He munches on his catfish platter, tuning his voice into a friendly manner. “Your mother told me you were thinking of getting back into the piano. I didn’t know you stopped.”

You pick at the breading of your shrimp, watching flecks of golden brown fall back onto your plate. You still don’t look at him. “I didn’t stop,” you respond flatly. “I just stopped sharing it with people.”

It’s quiet again. Even Riley hesitates, eyes darting between you both with a tension so thick you could carve through it with your butter knife.

Your father swallows, clears his throat. “You know, the old hall by the church still keeps a grand piano in the back. Dusty, but good bones. I could help—”

“I don’t need your help.”

It comes out sharper than you meant it to. Your fork clinks a little too hard against your plate. Riley flinches.

Benjamin pauses, that forced friendliness cracking around the edges. “I just meant if you needed somewhere to play, I could talk to Pastor Jim—”

“I said I don’t need anything from you.” You finally look up. Your voice isn’t loud, but it slices through the soft noise of the dock like glass against a throat. “Not a piano. Not approval. And definitely not small talk about a life you weren’t in.”

His face shifts—hurt, maybe, or guilt—but you don’t care to study it. You go back to your food like you didn’t just suck all the air from the table.

The Hush Puppies don’t taste the same.

Riley takes a slow sip of his tea, murmuring to himself, “This is nice. Really love eating in World War III.”

You huff out something that might be a laugh, bitter and short-lived. Benjamin doesn’t respond. You don’t say anything else. None of you do.

The sun’s dipped almost entirely below the horizon now. Outside the screen, the water gleams a dull pink-orange, and the wind picks up, carrying the salt and sounds of gulls with it. You feel the kind of tired that’s more emotional than physical, the kind that hits behind your eyes and settles into your lungs.

You’re done pretending. Done making this easier for him. If he wants forgiveness, he’s going to have to sit in the mess he made for a while longer.

And maybe you’ll let him.

Eventually.

But not tonight.

You walk ahead of the father and son duo who hold ice cream cones in their hands—chocolate. Heading into the house, you feel weird calling home, even if it is temporary, you storm to your old room like a teenager who just got caught sneaking out for the first time. 

The walls, an embarrassing shade of purple and pink—you’d been indecisive as a young girl. Even after all the years, everything is how you remember. As if frozen in place. 

The bookshelf still leans slightly to the right, weighed down with outdated paperbacks and dust-blanketed trophies from spelling bees and school science fairs. Your twin bed, small and low to the ground, is tucked beneath the window with the same star-patterned sheets you left behind. There’s even a stuffed animal—your old bunny, Olive—perched at the head of the bed, one ear flopped down, the other stiff like it’s still waiting for you to come back and tell her where you went. Plus, the bay window you’d use to look out of after a particularly hard day. 

You stare at Olive, heart thrumming too loudly in your ears. The air smells like dried lavender and the ocean. Like the kind of childhood you used to hold onto like a rope—until it burned your palms. You sit on the edge of the bed and let the silence collapse over you like a weighted blanket. You’re not sure if you want to scream or cry. Maybe both.

Down the hall, you can hear faint murmurs of Riley’s voice, soft and laughing. Your dad chuckles low in return. That sound—that ease between them—only twists the knife deeper.

You remember the abrupt leave you, Riley, and your mother made. You didn’t have much time to take any valuables, as you can see. Just essentials. 

You hear another muffled laugh from Riley and your father. Before you know it, your eyes sting. Looking down at your lap, small tears stain pieces of your shorts a darker blue. 

Your hands raise to dig into your skull, pulling at the roots of your hair with a frustrated vigor. 

A part of you feels left out, jealous, angered, and downright anxious. 

There’s a sinking feeling in your stomach that seems endless, one that makes you stand up and pace the room. There’s no more creaking floorboards anymore—either your father or that white-haired bastard changed that part, too. Just that little memory almost makes you nauseous. 

A knock makes you flinch. 

You think it’s your father, striding over to the door and swinging it open. But your eyebrows raise into your hairline when you notice it’s the bastard you were just cussing out in your brain. 

He smiles again, the same one that makes it feel like you’re lifelong friends. 

“What?” You snap. 

But that doesn’t deter him, pointing a thumb down the hall. “We’re gonna make some s’mores, your dad wants to know if you want some.”

Gojo’s tone is as light as his smile, but there’s something else behind it—something studying you. You blink at him. You don’t move. Your arms cross instinctively over your chest, not because you’re cold, but because you feel exposed.

“I’m good,” you mutter, already moving to shut the door.

But he wedges his palm between it and the frame like it’s muscle memory. “You sure? Because I’m not gonna lie, I burn marshmallows better than anyone in this entire town. I’ve got proof. Scientific proof.”

You narrow your eyes. “I said I’m good.”

He tilts his head, still blocking the door, unbothered. “I’m not saying you have to hold hands and sing Kumbaya out there.”

Your jaw clenches, hands twitching at your sides. For a moment, you hate that he sees it. That he sees you.

You take a step back. “Look, I don’t know whatever bond my dad and you share or whatever the hell he’s told you. But the last thing I want to do is play roommate with some random guy for the summer. As long as my brother and I are here, I’d appreciate it if you don’t butt into our family business.”

His head tilts down slightly at you, his smile perking up slightly, which makes it seem like he’s holding back an amused smirk. “Who said I’m butting into anything?”

You glare at him. His confidence is infuriating—so casual, so steady, like he’s standing on solid ground while you’re still trying to keep your footing on shifting sand. “You’re literally in my doorway,” you hiss, voice taut. “That kind of counts.”

Gojo finally lifts his hand from the frame, palms up like he’s surrendering. “Fair. I’ll back off,” he says, taking one easy step back—but not far enough to make you feel like you’ve won. “But for the record, your dad hasn’t told me much. Just that you were coming back and that I should try not to scare you off.”

You scoff. “Too late.”

That earns a laugh—light, genuine, and it hits a nerve you didn’t know was still exposed.

“Listen,” he says after a beat, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m not trying to be the ‘fun step-uncle’ or some shit, alright? I just figured you looked like you could use something sweet. Or at least, you know, a break from staring at that creepy stuffed bunny like it owes you money.”

You blink. “Her name’s Olive.”

“Of course it is.”

He moves to turn like he’s going to leave you alone for real this time, but pauses at the threshold. Gojo meets your eyes, staring for a few seconds. And there’s something quiet in the bright pair of blues he has, like he’s internally breaking down and storing away every bit of information about yourself that doesn’t meet the normal eye. 

Finally, he nods casually, lips slipping into that calm smile of his like he didn't just try staring into your soul, and starts down the hallway. “I’ll leave a s’more on the counter in case you change your mind. But I’m warning you—if it disappears mysteriously in the middle of the night, I will assume you broke.”

You slam the door shut before he can get the last word in, your pulse thudding against your ribs. And for some reason, your stupid legs don’t carry you back to the bed. They carry you to the bay window, where you sit and watch the sky burn into twilight—stars blinking one by one into life, like soft reminders that time hasn’t stopped, even if your world did.

Olive stares at you from the bed.

You flip her off and barely get any sleep. 

The next day, you wake up at the beautiful, perfectly ripe time of two in the afternoon. While everyone has already started their day hours before you even woke up, yours is just beginning. Still, you know you didn’t get a good night's sleep when you wake up groggy. 

The sunlight peeking through your shades momentarily blinds you, causing your eyes to squint up. It’s warm inside your room, and you can only imagine it’s even warmer outside. 

Your body is sore from falling asleep sitting up by the bay window, sore and cracking, and with a couple of stretches, you do. Throwing on a simple pair of blue denim shorts, black sandals, and a simple black t-shirt, you pad out your room and down the hall to brush your teeth and wash your face. 

You haven’t unpacked yet, not that you want to. You remind yourself to maybe do so later in the day. Once you’re done in the bathroom, you take note of how quiet the house is. It’s almost unsettling, you can tell you’re the only one home. Not that it surprises you, considering it’s the afternoon, but you can't help wondering where Riley went off to and if he's lost. You shoot him a simple text, asking him where he’s at. 

When you look up, your dad enters through the back door, wiping his carpenter pants free of the sawdust. When he notices you, he pauses, then nods. “Hey, kiddo. Finally up.”

He walks past you into the kitchen for a cool glass of water. “Satoru made some pancakes for us in the morning, I saved you some. They’re in the fridge.”

You don’t bother replying, watching him rinse his hands from the kitchen faucet before wiping them dry on his stained white t-shirt. Your eyes flick to a ceramic plate in the middle of the kitchen counter. 

A s’more left untouched and undoubtedly stale. 

“Where’s Riley?” Is what you ask first, scratching at your elbow. 

“He’s out by the waterfront.”

“With who?”

“Satoru took him.”

“Doing what?” You’re already moving towards the front door. 

Your dad doesn’t answer right away. He glances toward you as he sips his water, then places the glass in the sink with a little more force than necessary. “They’re just hanging out. Said they were going to walk the shore, maybe grab a bite.”

You stop at the door, hand poised on the knob. “You let some guy take your kid without telling me?”

Benjamin sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. “Satoru’s not some guy, Y/N. I trust him. Riley seems to like him. That’s more than I can say for how he usually acted around strangers.”

Your jaw tightens. “He’s not family.”

“I never said that.”

“You don’t need to.”

Benjamin sighs, scratching at his bushy, brown eyebrow. Auburn eyes fixated on his daughter’s form. He pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue before moving over to the circular table. “He’s fine, Y/N. Besides, while he’s out, maybe we can talk.”

The word talk almost makes you scoff out loud. You lean your shoulder against the doorframe, arms folded tight over your chest. “Talk? About what? The weather?”

Your dad doesn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he pulls out a chair and gestures loosely to the one across from him. “No. About you. About us. About what happened.”

There it is. The invisible landmine you knew was buried somewhere in this trip—just waiting for your foot to find it. You shake your head, huffing. “It’s a little late for that.”

He nods slowly, like he expected that answer. “Maybe. But we never really talked about it, did we? Not really. One day I was watching you at piano practice, and the next, your mom was driving off in the middle of the night like I didn’t exist.”

You bite down hard on the inside of your cheek, eyes narrowing. “Don’t put this on her.”

“I’m not,” he says, holding up a hand. “I just want to know how you felt. I never got to ask.”

“I felt like I was seventeen and my dad let the whole family fall apart. I felt like I wasn’t enough to make things work. That about cover it?”

Silence stretches between you like barbed wire.

He leans forward, elbows on the table, his voice a low rasp. “I never wanted to leave you. That fight with your mom… it got bad. Worse than I ever thought it would. But I never meant to walk out on you.”

You exhale slowly through your nose. Your knuckles have gone white from clenching your arms so tightly. “You walked out on her, and by default, you walked out on me. Don’t act like it wasn’t a choice.”

His mouth opens, but you cut him off before he can get another word in.

“And don’t act like you came looking for us either.”

“I wanted to, Y/N,” he protests, a look of exasperation on his face. “But things between your mother and me were rough. She didn’t want me seeing you both and having it bring up bad memories.”

You scoff. Loudly. “Bad memories? Is that what we were to you? A reminder of all your fuckups?”

“That’s not what I said,” Benjamin says firmly, standing now. Not towering, not intimidating, just there. Steady. “I never stopped loving you, and you know that. I still called. I still sent gifts. I showed up at your damn recitals—”

“You sat in the back,” you snapped, heart pounding, voice cracking. “Like you didn’t want anyone to see you. You came like you were a ghost. You never stayed after, never came up to me. You just…watched. Like a stranger.”

There’s that silence again. But this time, it doesn’t stretch like barbed wire. It sinks, heavy and slow.

“I didn’t think you wanted to see me,” he admits, quieter now. “And maybe I was too much of a coward to find out if I was right.”

You look away, jaw working. Because part of you wants to say you were right. Part of you wants to scream that he should’ve fought harder. That he should’ve chased after the car that night. That he should’ve come to get you. But another part—the part that still remembers the smell of sawdust on his clothes and the way he used to hum old rock songs while making Sunday breakfast—just aches.

“Riley doesn’t even remember what it was like,” you murmur bitterly, eyes fixed on the floorboards. “He gets to start fresh. He gets to like you again without having to forgive you.”

Benjamin sits down again. Slowly and carefully.

“You don’t have to forgive me,” he says. “I just want the chance to know you again. As you are now. Not the kid I left behind.”

Your throat tightens, a lump forming like it’s been there for the last twelve years and is only now rising to choke you. You stare at him for a long moment. At the lines around his eyes that didn’t used to be there. At the callouses still rough on his hands. At the regret that seems too big for his frame.

“You don’t know me anymore,” you say softly.

He nods once. “Then let me try.”

“Like I said,” you turn back to the door, opening it and stepping a foot out without looking over your shoulder again. “It’s too late.”

The door slams shut behind you. 

And Benjamin stays still, watching your retreating figure through the kitchen window with a familiar ache in his chest. He didn’t assume gaining your trust, love, and affection would be easy. But he wouldn’t be lying if the naive part of him hoped and prayed that it wouldn’t be as difficult as this. 

“Fuck,” he grunts to himself, running a hand through his hair and leaning back in his chair. 

The sand divots under your sandals as you walk above it like a wobbly blanket. Eyes darting around in search of your brother and that freak. There’s people playing frisbee, an intense volleyball match to the right with shirtless hunks that you try hard not to stare at. A few people tanning, others building sandcastles. The boardwalk, filled with those little shops, has people going in and out of them. There’s a few older people going on a run and even a few gym bros lifting weights. 

Of course, people are swimming, too. 

You scan the beach, hand raised to block the worst of the sun’s glare. You’re not sure who you’re more irritated with—your father, for trusting some near-stranger with your brother, or Gojo, for once again inserting himself where he doesn’t belong. 

Still no sign of Riley. Your jaw tightens.

Then, finally, you spot him.

Riley. Barefoot and knee-deep in the shallows, his jeans rolled up. And just a few feet away—of course—is Gojo. He’s crouched in the surf, gesturing excitedly toward something in the water, his white hair glinting like a beacon under the sun. You can hear Riley’s laugh, faint but unmistakable, and it hits you square in the chest.

Something about it—a carefree kind of happiness you hadn’t heard in weeks—makes you pause, brewing with a storm of jealousy you don’t want to admit to yourself. 

Gojo’s got his sandals slung over one shoulder, wet up to the shins, and a ridiculous pair of sunglasses perched on his nose like he’s some celebrity trying to lay low. His tan practically glowing under the afternoon sun in a dangerously sexy way. He splashes a bit of water toward Riley and says something that makes your brother double over laughing.

You hate how easy it looks. How natural. Like he belongs here. Riley just fucking met him for crying out loud. 

You cross your arms and start making your way toward them, each step heavier than the last.

When you get closer, Riley and Satoru’s laughter is clearer, still having no damn clue as to what is exactly so funny. You stop just when the waves hit your toes. “Riley.” Your voice cuts through the sound of the surf.

Both heads turn.

Riley straightens up fast, like a kid caught doing something he’s not supposed to—though he hasn’t done anything wrong. His hands are tucked into the pockets of his damp jeans, eyes sheepish but bright. “Hey,” he says, blinking up at you. “Didn’t think you were awake yet.”

“Clearly,” you reply, gaze sliding over to the man beside him.

Gojo doesn’t move at first. He’s crouched down like he was mid-thought, mid-story, like he wasn’t expecting you to come storming in and change the weather.

Then he stands. All slow, easy swagger. Sunglasses still on. Dripping wet. “Hey, sunshine,” he says, flashing a smile. “Sleep well?”

You don’t dignify that with a response. Instead, you focus on your brother. “You didn’t text me back,” you say, voice flatter now, and more controlled.

Riley shrugs. “Didn’t hear it buzz.”

Gojo cocks his head. “My fault. I kinda stole him for a few hours. Should’ve run it by you, huh?”

You cross your arms. “Yeah, maybe you should’ve.”

There’s a beat of silence. The tide pulls back, leaving thin foam around your ankles.

Riley looks between the two of you, picking up on the tension. “We were just talking, that’s all,” he says quickly. “He was showing me how to look for sand dollars.”

Gojo grins. “Found two, actually. Your brother’s got good eyes.”

You ignore him.

“Riley,” you say gently, trying not to snap. “Go rinse off. I’ll walk with you back.”

He hesitates.

“Now,” you add, softer, but firmer.

Riley frowns, clearly disappointed, but doesn’t argue. He starts toward the rinsing station a few yards up the beach, leaving you and Gojo alone. For a moment, neither of you says anything. The sun beats down between you.

“You gonna yell at me now?” Gojo asks, tipping his head. “Or save it for the walk back home?”

“I asked you to stay out of things.”

“You said that last night. About your dad,” he replies calmly. “Didn’t realize that included Riley.”

You step closer, words cold enough to slice between them. “It includes everything.”

Something shifts behind his sunglasses. He doesn’t smile this time.

“He was bored,” he says simply. “I saw him walking alone and asked if he wanted company. He said yes.” You open your mouth, but he cuts in first. “It’s really not a big deal. Your brother is old enough to make his own decisions. Besides, it’s just MB, not much can happen.”

You snort. “He can drown, for one. He’s spent more time in the city than some shithole like this.”

“Shithole?” Satoru raises his brows, perking his sunglasses up until they hold the front of his hair back. Damn, he looks good. “MB’s not a shithole. And he can learn to swim. He wants to learn. And I’m down to teach him.”

Your jaw clenches. “That’s not your job.”

Gojo’s gaze doesn’t waver. “I didn’t say it was. I’m just saying—he asked. What was I supposed to do? Tell him no because his sister has some stick up her ass about me?”

You blink. Once. Twice. “Excuse me?”

He exhales through his nose, shaking his head like he’s already regretting opening his mouth. “Forget it. Look—I’m not trying to fight with you.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“Y/N.” Your name rolls off his tongue softer now, like he’s trying to hit the brakes. “I’m not the enemy here.”

“No?” You laugh once, but it’s humorless. “Then what are you, exactly? My dad’s new best friend? My brother’s personal swim coach? What next—moving into the guest room? We all play happy family until summer ends?”

He looks away then, jaw ticking as he stares at the ocean like it’ll offer him something better than your anger. “That what you think this is?”

“I don’t know what this is, nor do I care enough.”

“You obviously do.”

“No, all I care about is you keeping your big, stupid head away from my brother and me.”

Gojo’s eyes flick back to yours then—calm, unreadable, but no longer smiling. His hands hang loose at his sides, fingers twitching once like he wants to say something else, but reins it in. You recognize the look; it’s the same one your dad wore in the kitchen. That same tired tension, like he’s holding back more than he’s saying. He tilts his head, tone quiet now. “You know… for someone who says she doesn’t care, you sure spend a lot of energy making sure I know exactly how much you don’t.”

You open your mouth, but he doesn’t give you the chance.

“I’m not trying to worm my way into your life, Y/N. I just met you yesterday, Riley, too. I don’t have an issue with you, really. But let the kid live.”

Your fingers twitch in your palms. “I am letting him live.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he throws your own retort back into your face. 

You step forward, and his eyebrows raise. Just as you’re about to speak another hurdling insult, Riley comes back. 

“Y/N,” he says, a knowing tilt to his tone. You look over your shoulder, yet again, you receive the same look Satoru and your father gave you within the span of thirty minutes. Your stomach clenches, and you quietly back off Satoru, approaching your brother. 

“Let’s go,” is all you say before making your trek back home. 

Riley, pursing his lips into a hidden frown, looks back at Satoru. The white-haired man simply smiles, nodding his head and waving his hand in a don’t worry, you go motion. Riley’s shoulders slump, waving back before following after you. 

Satoru sees Riley jogging up to your side, saying something to you that his ears can’t make out. You must’ve said something back because now it looks like Riley is arguing with you. He sighs to himself, whatever sibling issues you both have going on is not something he wants to poke in on. 

Hell, when Ben told him his kids would be coming for the summer, firstly, he didn’t expect his daughter would be…hot as fuck. Secondly, he didn’t anticipate how prickly you’d be. Definitely didn’t expect you to come at him like you’re armed for war. All sharp edges and cold glares and unsaid things pressing behind your eyes. 

 He genuinely wonders when the last time you got laid was. Maybe you just need a good dick-down. 

Your brother’s cool, though. Bright kid. 

But like he said before, he doesn’t want to intrude on your family. He knows just as much as Ben told him and won’t push further.  Ben’s been good to him. That’s what matters. The rest? Not his business.

He makes a mental note to stay in the backhouse more. Stay out of the way. 

And maybe—just maybe—try not to want things that were never meant for him. That includes beautiful women with resting bitch faces aimed directly at him for no reason. 

taglist: @tbzzluvr @yesdere @lilychan176 @forever-war @thecutestaaakawaii

@yashiroxzz @simplymygojo @jlandersen01 @eudaimooniavrk @satowuuu

@surethingmoto @nariminsstuff @serendippindots @gypsiegoop @chich1ookie

@tsuma-senju @atsushirolll @lavendherhaze @bottomlesschaps @miss-dior

@se-phi-roth @panpantak @yoriichitsugikunii @jules-ray @zoeyflower

@sypnasis @yvesdoee @mikkmmmii @j3yn @starlightoru-gojo

@datshittuebrat @yesiimorada22 @satorawr @m1gota @aelita-sucks

@sukuxna0 @shyampyari @kidd3ath @lalalandincraz @thikcems

@kunikuzushis-darling @anyaswlrd @vicky19vcm @satorugirlie @fairyflorasworld

@chuuood @aeeliy

[oathsfarewell]

Graphics Tutorial

I've gotten asked a few times on discord how I make graphics (since I primarily share my works there), so this is a lil' tutorial post :p

╳  This is the way I make graphics. Others might do it differently and thats okay.

Images provided!!!

Here's what we'll make for the tutorial:

Okay so, I use ibisPaint X, and my canvas size is usually 1960x1340.

Theres many different ways you can "frame" your graphics (see my [The Herta] and [Acheron] graphics) but I usually use a divider on the top and bottom.

╳ You can find dividers under various tags on tumblr, and there are many Rentrys/Carrds with resources that have dividers (I LOVE the blogs [lavendergalactic], [selysie], [laylaplush], and [lucentmaiden], and the rentries [lavender-resources] and [border]).

Then, get your character render - Theres tumblr blogs and other social media accounts that do primarily make and post renders of characters (Like [hoyo-transparents] I LOVE THEM SO MUCH they are also where I got the Yanagi render from for this example), you can even look around online for renders by search, but sometimes you WILL have to erase and cut renders out yourself (I usually use the background removal tool, then I go in and erase the closer parts myself)).

╳  If your character has any accessories on their head that make it hard to fit them on the canvas, you can change the height or width dimensions of the canvas to have them pop out of it more (See my [Miku] and [Nicole Demara] graphics).

Now, duplicate the render and put the dupe under the dividers.

(Optional in some cases) - Hide the top render, and erase parts of the bottom render that are showing underneath the renders.

Go back to the top render and erase the lower part so the bottom divider appears to be in front of the render (As if it was a 3d space).

╳  If the render has (a) body part(s) going over the dividers that you'd like to keep, you can erase around it (See my [Agaela] and [Yae Miko] graphics).

Time to add background elements (if you want)!!! I usually add patterns(?) in the background (I also usually merge them and make them all the same color but you can do whatever you wish).

OR you can add pngs! Its the same way to find dividers I mentioned earlier, I love the ones [adjpngs], [suturical], and [pngblog] post, but I usually search up keywords like "flower png" on tumblr to find some.

╳  You can also get pngs off of Pinterest and remove the backgrounds either manually, through ibisPaint X's "Clear White" functions (Three dots on the lower right when in Layers tab), or through background remover websites (of which there are MANY).

╳  You can also put pngs over the render or on the dividers, they don't just have to be background elements.

OOOR you can mash them together (And thats what we'll be doing with our example graphic)!

Now… COLORING!!!!!! Move EVERY part of the graphic into the folder (make sure to keep every layer in the same place).

╳  You do not have to do this step, but I usually press "Add layer from folder", which mashes everything in the folder together in a NEW layer- so you have everything on one layer, but still have all your other layers in the folder. then, I hide the folder. I do this to keep things clean AND in case I want to change anything.

╳  This is also an optional step, but I usually use the "Grayscale" filter on our "almost-finished-product". Some colors might clash or not work with the filters and colors I'm trying to use, so I grayscale it all so I dont have to deal with that. BUT, you can absolutely keep things in color and still be able to work with it (See my [Mulani] graphic)!

Now, we want COLOR! there are many ways to do this, but I usually use the Overlay/Lighten/Screen blending modes.

╳  There is a Gradient Map filter in ibisPaint X but I don't use it since I don't have premium. I've heard of a few websites (Including Photopea) having gradient maps and whatever else, but they're confusing for me to use so I don't know how to use them- theres probably tutorials out there for those programs though. Photoshop probably also has a gradient map but I don't actually know I don't have it.

╳  Theres also some users out there who make color combos for ibisPaint X that you can use (I don't have any recommendations though)!

You'll definitely want to explore and mess with colors to see what you want.

I chose this:

Now, textures. OOO DO I LOVE TEXTURES. Usually I use textures through overlays, but ibisPaint X has an ENTIRE PAGE dedicated to patterns, textures, and presets. I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS FUNCTION!!!

I usually use the paper/old paper textures when I use ibisPaint X's materials, but you can scroll around and use what you find!

╳  An optional step I do is duplicate the grayscaled layer, blur it, and make it a clipping layer- then adjust the opacity to my liking. It makes the graphic look a little fuzzy and I love it.

I ended up with this:

(I also realized midway at this point that I did not color the background patterns so I went and did that)

Last step is to add your watermark. I HIGHLY. HIIIIGHLY recommend watermarking your works, because there are snatchers everywhere on the internet. Too many times I have seen people steal other peoples stuff. You do not have to watermark your stuff, but its probably recommended by every version of artist there is on our Earth. Plus, people will probably want to know who made the work! I add my watermark by putting the grayscaled layer in a folder, making a new layer IN the folder, and putting my watermark in there- somewhere on the graphic. This makes it so both the watermark and the graphic are affected by the clipping layers (But you can always merge the watermark and graphic together. I usually don't incase I want to move the watermark elsewhere).

Then, we have our finished product!

(Remember to enable "Transparent" when you download it!)

[princemick]

can you share a tutorial on how to make a sticker sheet? it’s an amazing idea!! you’re very good at what you do :-)

Yeah ofc! It's a pretty simple process but I'm gonna explain how to get from this.

to this!

all you're gonna need is a pic you wanna stickerfye and photoshop!

step 1:

cut that puppy out!

(I like using the polygonal lasso most of the time bc I like the handcut vibe but if u have ps2024 u can use the build in cut out feature or any other way to cut it out on older versions w round stuff I tend to mix polygoal lasso and magic wand to select the pic I want)

now mask it n ur layers shud look like this

and then convert it back into a smart object (right click n 'vonvert to smart object) now if u delete ur background layer, ur file shud look like this

n ur layers like this

step 2:

now that u have ur sticker cut out we're gonna throw a little filter on it to make it a little sharper and ass noise to get it ready for the filter effect!

this is the smart filter settings I use for pictures which you get to by going to filter -> sharpen -> smart sharpen

and then I add a 10% noise amount to the pic. the difference shouldn't be to different but it is gonna make an impact on the filter we're adding to it! but this is what it looks like now!

Step 3:

now we're gonna make sure our colours are what we want the sticker to be down at the bottom of your workspace right there

for the valentines day look I'm gonna use pink BUT for this effect make sure ur darkest colour is on top. my colours are gonna look like this!

(important for this is that for your bottom light colour you can go lighter! so make sure you dont use direct white or anything to close to it!)

NOW. we're gonna make sure we have the layer with picture we wanna make into a sticker selected and go to filter -> filter gallery

now your thing is probably gonna look smth like this SO

where you're gonna go is to the tab with 'sketch' and select the halftone pattern

and then this is the settings I'm gonna use for that but you gotta play around w it how you like

and then you're gonna click the little plus at the bottom right here

and then select in again, the sketch folder. torn edges.

these are the settings I'm using but again, play around w it until it looks good to you!

and then you click OK, it's gonna load a little and now you're pic shud look like this and your layer like that!

Step 4:

we're gonna convert this layer into a smart filter again. now to make it look like a sticker we're gonna double click to layer and go into the layer style. we're gonna go to stroke and add a border around it like this

make sure it's lighter then the lightest colour you used for your filter effect

then we're gonna click on the little plus on the left side and add another stroke layer

which is gonna look like this! make sure it's a very very thin light grey line. this is the thing that's gonna make it look like it can be picked off and work as a sticker!

then we're gonna add ONE more stroke layer

you're going to make this last bottom layer the same colour as the light border colour you used in the first layer!

which is gonna look something like this!

your graphic in your preview is gonna look smth like this now!

we're gonna click OK again. and basically. you're basically all done now!

Step 5:

we're gonna make it look kinda printed/paper esc now!

we're gonna start by converting our layer into a smart object again so we flatten our image.

we're first gonna go into filter -> blur -> box blur. and we're gonna box blur by 2

then. we're gonna go into filter -> stylize -> diffuse -> darken only

and lastly. filter -> noise -> add noise by 7%

and ok that is your last step. your sticker is done!

extra step 6:

how to make it look like its on a sheet in plastic. basically you add a little box at the back which is gonna be a lil darker then your stroke layers like this

we're gonna add the same blur -> diffuse -> noise layers as we just added to the sticker to the box

then I'm gonna use this pic to overlay

just add it overtop ur sticker and box. make sure its the same size as the box you just made and then make that a linear burn layer which means it's gonna look like this

we're gonna copy the plastic layer put that under your linear burn layer and make it a hard light layer and get the opacity down a little which means its gonna look like this now

and that's it. ur done. you can add a bunch of adjustment layers until you like the shadow/colour etc. you can add more effect layers or add a little drop shadow to ur paper whatver u vibe w but this is the basic stuff! that's how ya make it look like a lil sticker!

[letomills]

Elaboration on my past shameful cc hair practices (I have learned the error of my ways)

Context over there. This here post is an answer to an inquiry by @sillysoraya.

This whole time since I started trying my hand at Sims 2 cc hair recoloring/retexturing, this had been my process: find recolors by a creator whose textures I want to use as a base, export said textures from their recolors via simPE, modify and/or recolor them in GIMP, then make fresh recolor files in bodyshop, reimport them immediately, close bodyshop, promptly delete everything that was generated in the Projects folder, take the new recolor files out of the SavedSims folder, and put my edited textures onto my them by building DTX in simPE.

When I say “textures”, I mean textures that look like this, you know, the ones you see in simPE with the transparent background:

[↑ that's evannamari's DBrown retexture of Newsea Miles Away]

That's how I do it for clothing, so why wouldn't it work for hair, I told myself naively in my immense hubris.

Well turns out there's a reason why the tutorials (such as this one by DeeDee) tell you to apply the textures not in simPE but in bodyshop. You’re supposed to put your textures in the Project folder - this kind of texture, that covers more than just the alpha:

[↑ the texture on the left / the alpha on the right ↑]

And only then you reimport and let bodyshop do its thing. The alpha will do its job carving out the texture properly (or whatever kind of sorcery happens in there).

Because if you give your recolors the already alpha’d out textures with the transparent background, what I believe happens is as the transparent background gets floodfilled with black during bodyshop’s file creation process, all the parts of the texture that had some wispy half-transparent hairs on them now have a layer of black underneath. Or at least what I know for sure is that those wipsy sections don't turn out looking nice but weirdly wire-y, especially on light recolors. Many hairs don’t have wispy strands and therefore are very forgiving (which is why I didn’t see a problem when I did the Rosesims hairs for example) but others have plenty of them, like the Newsea hairs. On those, it makes a clear difference. In game, it shows most as you zoom out, for instance in CAS from a face close-up view to a full-body view. It’s the same principle as this seam problem I had a while ago (and several times since), with clothing texture that was floodfilled with white too close to the borders of the texture mapping. When you zoomed out, the white would start showing.

Anyway, this is definitely stuff that creators in the community have known for 20 years and it’s 100% my fault for not following a hair tutorial and instead relying on prior knowledge of clothing-making that turned out not to be applicable 1:1.

I’m sure I still have a lot to learn on hair retexturing even after figuring this out. I was working on Newsea Yesenia when I had the realization that I was doing things wrong, but before I upload anything else, I’m gonna go back and look at all of the hairs I’ve done so far, fix them up when needed, learn more. Fortunately I think all of the Fakeblood gender conversions are fine but I’ll check and get back to you on that, there’s something I need to investigate. Edit: yes, all the gender conversions and copy-pasta of other people's unedited textures are completely fine, thank god.

Seems like as long as the texture didn't go through GIMP's import-export, it's fine, even if I didn't apply it via the Projects folder.

[ryanthecomic]

ZONA: THE PAFL RPG

For the past few months me and my brother were working on a tabletop rpg system based on Parties are For Losers, just for fun, and then we started trying out some graphic design adjustments, putting some cool images from the PaFL MVs and then boom, holy crap, we had an decent looking book, turns out that came out some time ago and i never did make a tumblr post on it, so here we go!

A Tabletop RPG system based on already popular RPGs such as Call of Cthullu and Ordem Paranormal, we made ZONA share a lot of horror adventure mechanics from CoCthu, such as the six-sided die being the only you need to actually play the game, any proficiency just means you get yet another die, some threats are not supposed to be brawled through, like the anomalies. Anomalies, Mutants, Powers, Artifacts and everything that you could find in the Zone is possible in your adventure, the book has only been tested in quick 3 session campaigns which is when this system works best, since there is no way to progress your character without artifacts and/or special equipment. Zona is the type of book you pick up when you want to play spontaneously with your group of friends, but if you wish to add a very rudimentary sense of character power progression, there is a "Level Up?" section in the book where you can adopt to your campaign, making your characters *just a tiny bit* stronger!

Choose between 3 classes for your character, each with certain strengths and weaknesses, there is a tutorial along the book that will teach you how to make your character! If you choose to be a mutant, you will have access to a whole new feature called powers, your character has 6 points they can spend to make a power for themselves, that they'll use in the campaing, this power can either be an offensive power that deals damage and effects to enemies or an utility power that grants you bonuses when rolling for checks, healing people or even creating structres like ice walls or earth structures. Lets explain powers a bit more in this post, since the book will teach you how to make a Mundane Character.

These 6 points will be spent this way: Dmitry uses 4 points to make a 004 mutation called "Maximum Output Teleknysis", an offensive mutation that deals 1d6+4 paranormal damage to up to 5 creatures, and moves them in a direction he chooses until they hit a wall or get out of sight (very strong i know, but that is the point.) since its a 004 degree mutation, when using this power, Dmitry spends 4 humanity points (Read the book to understand this better!) Due to choosing a 004 power, dmitry also gains a mutation trick, which is Teleknysis, he can lift objects as if he could reach them with his hand, but since it's a trick, he wont be able to lift anything that he normally couldn't with his body strength alone. That leaves him with 2 points, which he will spend to make new uses for these powers of his.

If Dmitry exerts himself too much and goes beyond humanity's border, he will start to go insane, all the effects on the insanity table is made with the solely intention of retiring your character from the campaign, either making them crazy or just plain right losing them to the GM.

Thank you to everyone involved in the making of this book and making their drawings and assets available, you can download ZONA and check out the people who made this work possible in this link: https://ryanthecomic.itch.io/zona

Glad to be of use once again for the PaFL fandom!

[kradeelav]

I've been using a mix of Krita and Paint tool SAI. I'd appreciate resources for Krita specifically too. Thank you for answering by the way. ♥️

Of course!

So! Here's my guide to making comics with Krita, down to the details such as layer setup, borders, speech bubbles, and SFX.

preface: it took me at least a year to figure this process out; but once when you've figured out the system & a template, it's smooth sailing. let's use this finished spread from the selfship comic last year to go through the process:

i'm going to assume a certian level of digital program proficiency (knowing what layers are, having a general idea of what vector vs raster graphics are, etc) since otherwise this post would be a book lol.

(if the read more does not work: the static permanent link for the full tutorial is on my website here: https://kradeelav.com/diary/tegalog.cgi?postid=312&1740096282

rest of the post under the cut; this one's going to be a long one as is.

let's start with talking about the layers for a single page of the above comic image.

(ignore the "orbs" and "titania bubble" layers - those were oddities for this specific spread.) Going from the top downwards:

SFX - sound effects. this is an optional layer to have if you don't have a lot of sound effects. you can use either render the sound effects by drawing them out (raster) or vector SFX; whatever you're most comfortable with. more on that below.

frame - this is the comic page borders.

speech bubbles - self explanatory. contains both the text inside the bubble and the bubbles themselves.

ink - main lineart & drawing layer; self explanatory.

tone - the shading layer.

(deleted) ruff/sketch - this is the sketchy thumbnail layer that is imported when i first start working on each spread, and naturally gets deleted when the lineart starts looking good on its own.

so!

there's two types of digital rendering krita can do: raster (most similar to drawing with a pencil or tablet) and vector (computer draws mathematical lines and shapes and text that you can manipulate). a lot of programs fully specialize in one or the other but the killer feature of krita is it can do both on a single page; you just need separate layers depending on the rendering..

that's what this "fx" symbol stands for by the way - these are the vector layers....

... and the symbols circled in purple clue you in that they're raster layers (ink, tone, sketch) where you do the actual drawing. with me so far?

speaking of those:

borders/frame

here's what the borders layer looks like + (the print layout layer above everything in black/yellow). the print layout layer is really only useful if you're physically printing this comic (it's basically bleed/trim if you've heard of those terms, ignore this otherwise).

i really struggled with doing borders in krita until finding this tutorial:

- since the thing is i make a lot of last minute changes. i need to be able to move and edit borders around easily if a panel's not working for me. so the method above makes it incredibly flexible to just ... up and move one, or to make a gutter wider.

i also really need to be able to see what's behind the borders while i'm drawing it to check anatomy sometimes -- the beautiful thing is you can simply turn the layer style to "multiply" and it's effectively transparent with one click.

like this, voila!

lettering

here's the lettering layer(s) with one bubble's text selected.

fair warning: krita is absolute ass with the text tool. it's the biggest failing but in newer versions i do believe they're slowly working on improvements. thankfully this program can do just enough to letter bubbles.

essentially, i use the same trick as the frames shown in the video above. if you slap a "layer style > stroke" on the whole "bubbles" layer, that's where that 2px black border comes from, and that layer-style-as-a-border "follows" every bubble so it's consistent.

(rule of thumb aesthetics-wise is speech bubble borders should be slightly thinner than frame borders, and on average about as wide as your lineart.)

SFX (sound effects)

technically you can hand-ink all of your SFX if vector art scares you or if you don't intend on doing much, but the vast majority of pros use vector work for efficiency. hentai/erotic work also has a lot of SFX versus other (non-NSFW) genres for the immersion factor with bodily functions.

the spread above didn't need a lot, though.

as you can see it's mostly the inorganic orb clinks and then the big SHING. (i put my for-the-web-kradeelav.com signature on the same layer for laziness).

here's part of my current sfx library below just to show you what i start with for erotic strips; usually i start with some base fonts and start moving the letters around individually.

(a lot of these are redone for every project; there's some in here that are already "outdated" in my eyes.)

miscellaneous

my favorite inking brushes are from this free resource pack. my favorite halftone (shading) brushes are from this (also free). thanks for reading!

[quantomeno]

My Age of Empire: Age of Kings for DS: Strategy

Following this strategy, I manage to win pretty much any empire map battle against the CPU and most missions (except the more unique ones).

It all begins with what I like to call The Two Thirds Rule: If a player has control of two thirds of the map, they are almost guaranteed to win unless their opponent makes a massive blunder.

The key though is in the word 'control': it's not enough to just have units stationed across two thirds of the map or have cut off your opponent from two thirds, you need to actually have mills, farms and mines on a large portion of that area. Your income will start to outstrip your enemy and they won't be able to increase theirs without taking resources you already control. Attacking is resource-intensive and so once they are stuck and you have a larger army funded by all your extra resources, they have no hope of breaking free.

Expand fast, build backwards

So, the goal is to get to owning two thirds of the map. This means that every map is a sprint to getting the most territory. The computer is bad at this and will muddle around trying to build up resources in its small area and will maybe send out a few units to harass you which will eventually build into a proper siege. You need to build a border quickly. With a few strong units, you find a good place to defend, ideally a bridge or a mountain range. If there's no way but through you, the enemy will be slowed down and unable to expand. While you block any invading fighter, you bring a villager down, and start building mills and mines near the border. Ideally you make a castle at a chokepoint, but that's expensive and only possible after the castle age. A town centre is a cheaper and more versatile alternative, but it takes more time to set up and the villagers are more liable to get killed before they finish building up the town properly.

With this border secure, even only temporarily, you can take this opportunity to build on the land between your original TC, your border and anywhere else the enemy can't get to. After this, it is only a matter of time before the tide of battle turns in your favour.

The game's tutorial suggests waiting back and building up a proper army is the best choice, but I think that's not typically true. Some missions require it (Yashima is a clear example), but that's often because it's a constrained map. Empire Expansion, for example, is incredibly easy if you simply block off the central crossroads and then just build on the entire southern territory that no one else is using. You literally have two thirds of the map on your side of the river. In constrained maps, there just isn't enough freedom for you to take over two thirds quickly, especially if you have a lot of enemies.

The slow build is best if you are outnumbered significantly or are already pretty boxed-in (Yashima, Supreme Ruler, All in the Family Part 2, Rising to Power Part 1, etc.), because you lack the forces to charge ahead. In these cases you just have to hold the line and build back, hoping your enemy is slower at developing than you are. It's also good if, like Yashima, your territory is hard for the enemy to access. The main risk of waiting to attack is the enemy hounding you and preventing you from actually doing any building.

Attack early, but don't siege early

You need to keep your enemy occupied, but don't pick fights you can't win. A siege on a castle with two units will do nothing but give your opponent those veteran flags that boost their attack/defence. If you prey on villagers, mines, mills etc, you will slow their development.

There are some occasions where sieging quickly is good, like when it's just to slow down your enemy's growth when you're severely underdeveloped relative to them. An example of this is Reclaiming Jerusalem (the Saladin mission), but it needs to be very quickly backed up with more significant support (e.g. in the Saladin mission, I like to build a castle as close as I can to the towns). A siege is unit-intensive, both defending and attacking, so don't do it unless you have the resources to replenish your forces.

Breaking stalemates

You're stuck. You've blockaded a bridge and you're sieging the enemy castle across the river but it's right next to a town so every unit of theirs you kill they replace almost instantly. You can't get a step forward. You're in a stalemate. How do you get out?

One simple way is to invest in ranged units. Archers/longbows are ideal because they can move forward, so if you make a gain you can keep up the offence. Crossbows, onagers and scorpions etc are stronger despite their inability to move and attack, so depending on the strength of the opponent it may be worth it. The point of ranged units is that if your opponent has wedged themselves into a spot with only one space they can be attacked from, ranged units let you attack more than once.

The alternative is a bit more difficult and not always feasible. You can attack from a second front and force the enemy to divert their army to defend it. This is useful in missions like Yashima, where the south road is relatively unused by the enemy and the main attack route is a veritable hive of enemy units. This strategy is ill-advised if you have less/weaker units than the opponent, because by opening the second front you might just be giving them a new front they can win on. It could still work if the front is quite far away from the main force and so you can wreak some damage before they get to you.

Another key thing is to focus on weakening their economy first. This is like how you win Acre: the enemy will keep building units unless you get rid of their mines quickly. They will still outnumber you, but with a bit of whittling away, they'll start to struggle to replenish as fast as they did before and eventually you'll gain the upper hand.

Formations

I've read guides online where people describe formations they use to attack with that lead to good results. Personally, I find trying to keep a formation with a sizable force just gets too difficult and slow. I don't ever really bother except for the basic principle of keeping precious/weak units protected when possible. Also, in sieges you obviously put the short-range units up front and ranged at the back but that's a given.

Damage Calculation

I did some tests and determined the following equation is used to calculate damage:

Damage = (Health)x(Attack)/(2x(Defence))

Where Health and Attack refer to the stats of the unit initiating attack, while defence is for the unit being attacked.

Counter attack damage is calculated the same way, but the Health is of that remaining for the defender after they've been attacked (and obviously the unit roles get reversed). For Viking Bezerkers, the full health is used instead, thanks to their ability.

Interestingly enough, I think I also found out that Joan of Arc's defence lowering hero power (Blinding Faith) doesn't actually do anything. I'm not sure what's up with that and I did the test a while ago so I'd want to double check, but I'm pretty confident it's true.

I've played the game for so long that I can usually just guess by eye how much damage a unit will take, but this can be useful to take out some of the guesswork, especially if you're contemplating attacking a villager before they finish building a castle or sending a strong unit to take on a monk (which could convert you if it still has any health by the next turn).

[pumpkinhcad]

HAMMY'S POSTING. Okay I was working on replies (I got two down and will post them soon, yay) but MY FRIEND GIINBEAN JUST FINISHED THIS DRAWING!! 🥺🥺 This is literally their dynamic in a nutshell (not like Susie would ever say it out loud, hehe). And, y'know, because I haven't written them in some time now, I'm going to add some stuff me and @atechalk have discussed for the SM/DR AU under the Read More. 👀👀 No spoilers, I'll write something about Chapters 3 and 4 later on.

The TL;DR as to how we got here is in our first thread! It takes place before the events of Chapter 1, and Pump just pulls an SMT III Nocturne and becomes Susie's* friend... WITHOUT her input. This after trying to blow himself and her to bits with a firecracker, but it was justified because she had picked on Skid first. Pump becomes a bit of a shadow in Susie's life to the point that he ends up growing on her soon enough but, in-line with her character at the time, she REFUSES to admit it because she has a reputation to keep intact and the twerp could ruin it.

*It is worth noting The Two Susies Issue as early as I can. Not only because I will never let the jokes down, but because Pump has two ✌�� TWO Susies in his life: his big sister and his new monster friend. So, because calling them Human Susie and Monster Susie respectively would be a mouthful, the nickname "Big Susie" for the latter emerged. No, she does not mind it. It makes her sound EVEN SCARIER than she already is. I do not need to use the nickname here but I wanted to mention it regardless.

After Chapter 1, and having met Lancer, Susie has picked on all the similarities the Darkner and Pump have, but cannot do anything other than lament having to keep the Dark Worlds a secret alongside Kris and all of that stuff. That is, of course, until she finds out about the Dark World inside Pump's toybox* straight from the horse's mouth. And she does not get the opportunity to get Kris to come because she is practically dragged to the kid's house to "come see it" upon trying to verify if it was ACTUALLY a Dark World or some make-believe game.

Surprise, surprise, the Toybox Dark World is very real, and these two kids have somehow managed to keep it sealed shut in Pump's room without causing much of a fuss. And so, off these two go!

*For all intents and purposes, this event takes place in-between Chapters 1 and 2. Cannot do much about Chapters 2 and 3 being connected and all.

From a first glance, this Dark World resembles a cross between a pumpkin patch and a playground, where everything borders on being scary, on a first impression, only to have a childish twist behind it. For example, one of the first things these two come across is a tree with two nooses hanging from its branches, turning out to be a swing set. And whether they have a cute swing set moment or not will be left to the reader's imagination. Things in this world simply look spookier than they should be.

This comes most to play upon encountering a Darkner and battling it. It takes place in a very dark place, and its silhouette makes it look like a very freaky gigantic centipede. Of course, after sparing it, it is revealed that it was nothing more than a harmless sock puppet creature. In this Dark World, everything is a children's toy! And no wonder, because children are very good at turning their toys into different things.

Only other thing worth highlighting from this brief adventure, because she has to go get Kris if they do not want doomsday to happen, is that Susie decides to teach Pump how to battle HER OWN WAY. Because, well, that first battle might as well have been a 1v1. This kid carries a hammer with him yet knows NOTHING about battling. Cue Susie's version of a tutorial battle where, in her own words, "if Pump REALLY wants to be her friend, then he has to impress her by getting a hit on her". They are friends already, she just wants to tease the little tyke lol. It is pretty similar to Ralsei's tutorial battle with Kris, except that Susie ACTUALLY likes to spar and drop all the cool villain lines just to be encouraging.

This tutorial sends the point across EXCEPT on the whole "get a hit on Susie" bit. She just does not make it easy through normal means, you know! So what does Pump do when things seem to get difficult? He ACTs and does a little MAGICTRICK on Susie... with a twist: instead of pulling a coin from behind her ear, he just playfully bonks her in the head for a single point of damage.

And that is how this little prologue ends. Sure, they might not have made it far into this world, and leaving the Dark Fountain unaddressed might cause the end of the world, but Pump technically got a hit on Susie, and so TECHNICALLY became even more friends! Yay!!

And so, they get out, close the toybox once again, and Susie promises to come back with Kris so they can get all of Skid and Pump's toys back. That IS the idea, at least, and what kickstarts the actual chapter afterwards. If only she knew of the one truly scary Darkner lurking in the shadows of that world.

[mikelogan]

Hi, I love your blog and your edits. I was wondering if you could do a tutorial on how you combine multiple gifs into one in the first gif of yours MIKELOGAN’s 5K FOLLOWER CELEBRATION || GET TO KNOW ME MEMEFAVORITE ACTORS [2/10]Colin Firth (September 10, 1960) set? Thank you for reading this and helping me.

thank you so much, that's so kind!! this is the post in question (which was inspired by this gorgeous set) and i'll break down how to do it step by step below the cut!

i ended up saving this gif as a psd because i remember it taking me so long and being really frustrating, i just wasn't sure why. for reference, i posted that set back in september, just over four months ago. looking at the psd, i can see just how far i've grown as a gifmaker bc that thing is a hot mess. i made it about 3x more complicated than it needed to be, so let's do this the right way lol note: i was still using 0.07 frame rate at this point. i have since switched to 0.05 for smoother, quicker gifs.

what we're going to do is create all of these gifs separately and put them together at the end. in total, there are 6 individual gifs. let's start with harry.

i gif by importing video frames to layers, but if you prefer to screencap, load those in instead. because this ends up being a pretty large gif, both in size and length, i kept it to 20 frames per clip.

once you're satisfied with the frames you've chosen, crop your canvas to 540px x 540px. this is what i'm left with

this is when i sharpen my gifs. everyone's process is a little different. i created my own sharpening action, which converts my frames to video timeline and then sharpens.

the next step is to color your gif. if you're going for the overall look in mine, here were my layers:

a brightness/contrast layer with brightness set to 31 and contrast to 5. this will depend on the scene you're working with

a levels layer using the black and white eyedroppers. the top one is your black eyedropper. to use it, click it and select the blackest part of your gif. do the same with the white eyedropper and select the lightest part of your gif. you may need to play around with selecting different points depending on your scene and the original coloring

finally, a simple black & white gradient map layer on top

now we're going to add the thin rectangular border in the middle of the gif. i use the rectangle shape tool for this (press U on your keyboard) and these are my settings (x and y coordinates don't matter):

to center it perfectly, i use ctrl+T and drag it until it snaps into place with both the vertical and horizontal guides.

next, let's add the "choose your gentleman" text that goes at the top of the border. here is the font i chose and its settings:

once again, press ctrl+t and drag this to the vertical center of your gif and to the center of the top of the border. you should feel and see it snap into place. this is what we have now:

now, we're going to use a layer mask on the border so we can read the text. select the rectangle layer and click the layer mask button

with the layer mask selected (as shown in the second image), use the rectangular marquee tool (M on your keyboard) to draw a rectangle around your text, taking care to keep it just a little larger

as you can see, you'll know when you're perfectly centered through your text layer and vertically on the entire canvas. select your brush tool without deselecting this rectangle (B on your keyboard) and paint the selection with a black brush. this masks that part of the border!

let's add the small square gif that goes at the bottom of the border now. i think the easiest way of doing this is to use the rectangular shape tool (U) again. the size of this gif is 110x110, so create a black square of that size with no stroke. Use ctrl+T to drag it to the center of the bottom of the border (the x and y coordinates don't matter):

now duplicate your original gif layer (ctrl+J) and drag it to the top of the layer panel. right click on it and create clipping mask. this will make it so the gif only appears within the confines of the square we just created. resize your gif by using ctrl+T and, making sure the proportions are locked, drag the corners to the edges of the square.

this gif is not colored at all as we only duplicated the gif itself and not the coloring layers. i duplicated those as well and dragged them on top of our small gif, but it's important to make sure those are using the clipping mask as well. you can click this on the properties layer of each adjustment layer to make sure they do.

you'll know you've been successful when you see the small arrow next to each of your coloring layers. this keeps them from affecting the coloring of the larger, main gif.

we're going to change the gradient map adjustment layer from black & white to black & lime green (or the color of your choosing). click on that layer and then on the map. this will bring up the gradient editor. click on the small white color stop at the far right end of the gradient and then on the color picker, choose a new color.

the hex code i used for the lime green is #00ff0c

our last steps are the angle brackets on either side of the gif and harry's name in the center. here are the settings i used for those (angle brackets on the left and harry on the right):

the layer styles for harry's name (double click on the text layer to call up this menu OR right click > blending options):

and for the angle brackets:

by now, you know how to utilize ctrl+T to move these layers where you'd like them. harry's name is centered horizontally and vertically and rotated at a bit of an angle and the angle brackets are centered horizontally and i just eyeballed where to put them in relation to the space between the border and the edge of the gif.

this is the complete first gif. what i would do for your own sanity since you have two more of these two create is 1) save it as a psd just in case something crashes and 2) don't convert it to a smart object until you have all 3 gifs completed and are ready to put them together.

the nice part about having the first one done is you've ultimately done the hard part. create your two other gifs, but you'll be using at least roughly the same coloring and all the same text, just with the colors adjusted, so you can drag those layers from your completed first gif to your others as you work on them.

once you have all 3 gifs completed and still on 3 separate canvases (and saved as psds bc this is adobe friggin photoshop and shit breaks all the time), convert all layers on all the gifs to smart objects. this will simplify the final gif and make things much easier.

then, bring gif #2 and gif #3 both onto gif #1's canvas. this is what it will look like at first on the timeline and in your layer panel:

(full disclosure, i'm not making the other two lmao, i'm lazy and i already did it once in a way harder way 😂)

to get the gifs to play after one another rather than simultaneously, you just have to drag them after one another on the timeline!

a little bit hard to show the actual process, but you're just clicking the bertie layer and dragging it down to harry's line after the harry layer. then do the same with the jamie layer, dragging it down to the harry layer after bertie. when you're done, it should look like this:

btw, the little slider i circled is what enlarges or shrinks the timeline view, so if you need to see something broken down a bit more/slower, drag it to the right. if you need to zoom out, drag it to the left.

and that's it! export and save your gif!

if you have any questions or anything is at all unclear about this, please let me know! i'm happy to help!

[describe-things]

Hello do you have any guides/tips for writing image descriptions, I’m always at a loss of how much/little to include

Here's a post I made a bit ago going over the basics for what and what not to do.

Here's a tutorial showing different levels of detail.

I usually will include first, what is the medium? A photo? Digital painting? A traditional painting? (in which case I'll usually just say 'painting')

Here's another little tutorial for this post, showing images of increasing detail, and descriptions to match, which will hopefully help.

The main thing is to make sure you describe everything that's important in the image.

A good way to learn is to follow a lot of blogs that do image descriptions, so you can see how different people describe different things.

A new tutorial for April 2024:

simplest:

[ID: An MS Paint drawing of a grey square on a blank white background, saying, "Hello from Flatland". There is a simple black border around the image. End ID.]

a bit more detail:

Note that there's nothing inherent in the image to tell you this character's gender, but because I, the describer know it, I can simply use the correct pronouns and convey it that way.

If you're describing people whose genders you don't know, it's best not to assume.

[ID: An MS Paint drawing of a grey square on a blank white background, saying, "Hello from Flatland". He has a simple eye drawn on the upper right corner where his dialogue is, and has a pink heart and a brain represented by a circle with squiggle lines inside his body. There is a simple black border around the image. End ID.]

Some more detail:

[ID: An MS Paint drawing of a square on a blank white background, saying, "Hello from Flatland". He has a grey outer layer, with his insides purple, with a small eye just inside an opening on the corner where his dialogue is, with the corners appearing almost like a beak. He has a pink heart and a brain represented by a circle with squiggle lines inside his body. There is a simple black border around the image. End ID.]

Yet more detail:

[ID: An MS Paint drawing of a square against a blank white background, saying, "Hello from Flatland". He has a grey outer layer, with purple insides, and various blob-shaped internal organs in different shades of pink and purple to reddish-purple, with all of them general blob shapes except the purple heart, which is in a simple heart shape. There is a simple black border around the image. End ID.]

Ooh look at this:

[ID: A digital drawing A green sphere, which says in matching green text, "Hello from Spaceland". The sphere and its dialogue both cast shadows on the white ground below, where a square, tilted at an angle as though lying flat on the ground while we view him from an angle, says "Hello from Flatland". The square has a grey outer layer, with purple insides, and various blob-shaped internal organs in different shades of pink and purple to reddish-purple, with all of them general blob shapes except the purple heart, which is in a simple heart shape. End ID.]

I'm too lazy at the moment to twist my brain to draw a tesseract so you'll all have to use your imagination for the image that would come next lol...

Hopefully this helped demonstrate a bit!

[felixcloud6288]

Metaphor Re:Fantazio 6/4

We get the tutorial to select a map destination and we select the Northern Border Fort.

And that's it. Day over.

Hopefully this won't happen often, but when it does, I guess I'll go over some entries in the Memorandum so the post isn't a waste of time.

But first, how about I tell you about the dumb setup I'm using for this playthrough.

I'm playing the game on a PS5. But I figured that using its screenshot and screen recording features would be too much hassle cause then I'd have to manually transfer them over. So instead, I have the PS5's output going through a capture card connected to my PC and I'm playing and recording the game through OBS.

If you're wondering why I'm doing this instead of just playing and recording on PC directly, it's because I had a PS5 and Metaphor before I had a gaming-capable PC. And I'm not shelling out money to buy a second copy of the game that I'll have to completely play through again just so I can show what New Game+ is like.

Now onto some Memorandum notes.

The section on Magic Igniters goes into a lot of detail on ownership, access, and how to use them. Non-military use and ownership requires a permit to use and their costs are on par with buying a house.

The Crown Theocracy and Magic Association have exclusive production rights. While I understand dangerous weapons needing strict production regulation, we've seen there is corruption within the church and there's no way they aren't abusing having a near monopoly on these things.

The memorandum also says they're easier to use when standing still. Should be easy for a turn-based RPG.

Gauntlet Runners are such a funny concept. They're this world's solution to the problem of creating a vehicle capable of moving through extremely uneven terrain. But instead of making tank-treads, they attached giant legs to their vehicles.

The section on the Royal Sceptre says that magical aptitude is the most important requirement to inheriting the crown. It doesn't specify the normal heritage structure so I'm assuming primogeniture. But if the normal heir cannot wield the Royal magic, then someone who can will become king instead.

Euchronia refers both to the union of three kingdoms and one of those kingdoms specifically. The first king of the united kingdom is King Hythlodaeus. The recently killed king was Hythlodaeus V. Hythlodaeus V also made Sanctism the state religion.

The Elda are noted as "the ninth tribe" and the Sanctist church condemns them for "inheriting a dangerous magic heretical to the teachings of the Church".

The Clemar have horns and are the most populous tribe. Their description makes them the closest to the standard "human" race in a fantasy setting.

They're also a bunch of nosy busybodies based on the section about their general demeanor.

The Roussainte have pointed ears. Despite them looking like elves, they are the exact opposite in strength as they are typically much stronger than other tribes.

The section on their general demeanor makes them seem like violent thugs.

Paripus have animal ears and tails. They're nearly as populous and Clemar and Roussainte, but are are fairly downtrodden due to stereotypes that they're all drunken hedonists.

The Prince's section says he was originally being treated in the castle and then was spirited away somewhere along with his closest aides. Not even the king knows what happened.

back

[irlmaeda]

Hiya! I found your blog through your neocities website! I was wondering if there’s any tips or things you read/watched that help you make your site. (Im heavily considering making one of my own neocities site it just seems fun)

hihi welcome !! i have quite a few pieces of advice, but the tldr is you should come up with an idea for what you want to make beforehand, and look up how to do each piece! your knowledge will start to fill in along the way :]

(this is probably gonna be long as hell so under the cut is all of the fun stuff /silly)

the way i personally started off was by sketching out what i wanted my site to look like! if you know what you want before you begin, you'll know where to look to figure out what you need to do. html+ css are extremely easy languages to read/write once you know what to look for!

^ this was the original sketch for my site, where i planned out everything i wanted to include. it's a bit different from what actually ended up on the site, but that's alright! it's just about having an outline to work from. i think of it like outlining before you write, it feels like such a pain in the ass because u just wanna start working NOW but u will thank yourself later for taking the time to plan.

once you know what you want to make, start looking for tutorials and resources to make it easier! the grid for my homepage and some of my other subpages was made using a css grid generator, since its one of the more confusing bits of css. you can make grids without it, but its a very easy way to make a more asymmetrical design if ur using the generator!

thats linked here, it gives you some css to put in your head or css sheet, and then the html for the different boxes to slap in your main document. it can be easier to understand what itll look like if you give each one a border while you work, even if its just temporary!

when looking for information about css and html, w3schools is your best friend. its a pretty comprehensive database of every little piece of html + css you could ever need, with examples you can play with yourself to understand what each variable does! it's been a lifesaver for me, ive watched basically zero video tutorials because everything on there is explained so well and you can find basically Anything.

they even have code snippets for things that take more than one or two lines of code, which you can use and adapt yourself! (the tooltips on the official art + my art sections on the hinata shrine were adapted from a tutorial on there!)

in general, having a plan and working from there will make ur life so much easier. the pages that ive sketched out beforehand or ive had a very clear vision for have been WAYY easier to code than the ones i tried to come up with on the fly, and ive been much happier with how they've turned out as well. though i do also have some smaller, rapidfire tips as well that ill go thru now!!

— inline css (the style="" tag) seems so so useful but really should only be used when you're resizing images like buttons. when u keep all of your css in the head or in a seperate document, its way easier to debug and read later. i cleaned up my homepage recently by removing all of the inline css and looking at the code stresses me out WAY less because i can actually read it LOLOL ... plus cutting the css out and putting it in its own document made me realize that id accidentally wrote some really weird code in some places

— this is very much 'do as i say, not as i do,' but use an external editor (like visual studio code) instead of editing live on neocities! you can set up a live preview, and generally wont be pushing out 100 updates every single time you change or add something. i tend to code directly on neocities but its a bad habit and i want to break it eventually v_v

— if you really like an effect someone else has on their site, you can peek using inspect element i promise the coding police won't get you !! dont steal code line for line, but you can figure out what theyre doing and put your own spin on it. things like border images can be really cool, and i only figured out about them because i looked at what someone else was doing and figured out how to adapt it for my own site! check linkbooks and credit sections as well, a lot of people will include links to any effect they didnt make themself or got help with. (including me! the credits section of the linkbook has a ton of little things i got from other places, including a really neat little music player, the rss feed for my status cafe, and the wobbly text on the homepage!)

— most stuff in html and css basically just... says what it does in the tag. so looking stuff up for it is extremely easy! if you've used carrd before you honestly probably already know more abt html than u'd think just intuitively. when ur adjusting the margins or padding in carrd, you're adjusting the margin: and padding: properties in the css of the website it's outputting!

this is getting way too long but!! my best advice is to just get started. you'll never be able to learn without trying, and it genuinely is so fun to have something that's truly your own!

(if u have any specific questions im happy to answer anytime as well! i love talking abt neocities, its a super fun hobby and way easier to pick up than u would think!)

[b1adie]

would it be possible for u to make a tutorial for the glitters? 👉👈

sure but i feel like there HAS to be an easier way to do all this so if anyone has a better glitter gif tutorial feel free to let me know

first part is optional, adding a filter to the image in picsart. this just kinda makes the colors look neater together or gives it a certain vibe.

then. open image in procreate (phone art app), duplicate the layer, turn the duplicated layer completely white, gaussion blur 1.7%, duplicate that layer at least 12 times. this is to give it a thicker white border (and some older emotes don’t have a white border already) thats easier + more fun to glitter

make transparent background some color that isnt present in the emote. if its transparent the glitter site will just flood the whole bg but making it something contrasting to the img makes it easier to remove later, like a green screen

open it in online-image-editor dot com, use the ‘add glitter’ tool under the animation tab, add glitter until satisfied. takes a while messing with fuzz and colors and fill vs replace. save it

open gif in procreate again and use select tool to remove background from every frame. theres usually only 3 frames so its not that bad. export layers as animated gif with 9fps. post to tumblr dot com.

like seriously if anyone has an easier way to do this you are so welcome to let me know LOL but thats why i cant do these too fast, it takes me a loooong time to do One of them. but i like them

[cupcakestreets]

Fren wants more ask game emojis??? Okay.

☕️ and 🎼 plus 📚

Yeah, dynamism is a bitch, so I don't blame you at all for getting nervous about it. Of course, the biggest change you can make is foreshortening and perspective, but that takes finding a source that can teach you in a way you understand, a lot of studying, and then trial and error. Which is worth doing, we (I'm saying this to myself too) really should study that. And it's a nightmare because first, you gotta find a source that explains the material in a way that makes sense to you, then you have to find a way to make the studying more fun and worst of all, you have to actually commit and do it. With foreshortening and dynamic posing in particular, the study can take a long while to complete because it does demand an understanding of anatomy, breaking the body down into simple volumes, applying perspective to each piece then knowing how to shade each volume correctly. So, depending on where you are with all those components, you may have to backtrack further.

So, what little changes can be made to increase dynamism in the interim? A pretty easy one is Rim Lighting, pure white is common, and so is really dropping the color values paired with a vibrant colored rim light (red, cyan, magenta are popular). Pushing the shading a bit more will help accentuate bent limbs, rotated torso's, overlapping body parts without having to go ham on foreshortening. Exaggeration of shapes like how Sonic uses big ass hands and big ass feet. Or the Big Pant Big Jackt meme and its variants from Twitter/X. You can try making frames and having feet, limbs, weapons or the top of the character's head extending past the border (typically the more, the better because if it's too little, it reads as a mistake than a choice). Line weight variation is pretty easy (thicker lines towards the shadows, thinner towards light source). Or extending certain lines past the outline and into the shape to create a more 3D look. While the whole trend of "fixing" other artist's art is controversial, one good thing I've learned from watching a few vids is the idea of using the Liquify tool on a finished piece to exaggerate the line of action on something a bit too static.

I hope you don't mind the ramble. If you're interested, I can send you a link to some vids or my playlist of tutorials I've saved.

Spice.

☕ Do you do warmup sketches before drawing? (Bonus: do you have any to share?)

No I do not do warm up sketches i just get straight into it usually. So no bonus sketches but he's a doodle page of my robot oc L-11AC

🎼 Your favorite music to draw to right now?

Future Funk music! It keeps me awake and i can groove~

📚 How many layers do you typically use?

Max i use is 50 layers, but i think i use 20-30 layers daily

Also thank you for comments too! These are literally all the things i think about. Still i do try to teach myself new stuff when i can

[transhuman-priestess]

would you happen to have a flight sim recommendation? Ive seen you post about using them and wondered which one you thought would be best

Depends what you're looking for.

The two big players are Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane.

MSFS is very pretty, it has some decent tutorials built-in, and there's a huge array of content for it, but, at least on my computer, it runs somewhat unstably. It's also very accessible, bordering on hand-holding, which can be good if you're new to flight sims but can also get very old very quickly once you know what you're doing. It's also designed for a gamepad primarily, and you can play it on Xbox. I think its a a little over-designed actually. There's a ton of aftermarket planes available, mostly thru the in-game browser. There might be freeware, i haven't really looked into it.

X-Plane is less pretty, the graphics are maybe a tiny bit more dated, you don't get the photorealistic scenery, but the flight dynamics are much, much more realistic. The difference is hard to explain succinctly but the long and short of it is that, on average, a well designed aircraft for X-Plane will feel "more real" than one in MSFS. X-Plane is also usable on Windows, Mac, and Linux. There's a lot of aftermarket content for it, but less than MSFS, although last i checked there's a larger portion of freeware. It's also a little more persnickty vis-a-vis installation and management. X-Plane also comes with a utility to help you make airplanes for it, though you have to provide the 3D modeling software (like blender) yourself.

Overally, it really boils down to what you want in your flight simulator

MSFS

Pros:

Photorealistic Scenery

Wide variety of assistance

Highly accessible tutorials

Lots of aftermarket content

Available on Windows and Xbox

Cons:

Less realistic flight dynamics

Pretty graphics means higher system requirements

Can be overbearing if you're experienced with flight sims

Designed for a gamepad first and foremost, feels somewhat awkward with the old fashioned joystick, mouse, and keyboard

X-Plane

Pros:

More realistic Flight Dynamics

Built-in plane maker utility

Runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac

Slightly more generous system requirements

Takes up waaaaaaaaaay less space (my install, which has a shitload of aftermarket content in it, takes up 30gb less than my vanilla MSFS install)

Great if you're familiar with flight sims or flying in general

Cons:

Finicky installation and content management compared to MSFS. If you're used to digging in folders and installing mods that way, you won't have any trouble with it, but if you're not experienced with that its got a bit of a learning curve (and you should learn that! it's a great skill!)

Scenery is more generic than MSFS, particularly outside of major cities

Requires a computer, not available on PS5 or Xbox (Imo this is a pro, not a con, but if you don't have a gaming computer its obviously a problem)

Less aftermarket content available

Requires a bit of manual configuration to get going right

Fewer tutorials

Now, I understand it sounds like MSFS is "better" but i really feel that X-Plane is the better choice if you're going to get seriously into this stuff. That being said, i have both, and I play both, but I play X-Plane a whole lot more. If you're brand-new at flight simming, i'd recommend getting MSFS, but don't splurge for the super-deluxe editions. If you've simmed before, i can't recommend X-Plane enough.

TL;DR: MSFS is good for beginners, X-Plane is better for anyone beyond beginner level.