#can i also request a blunt be added into this rotation?

[a03heralding]

Bg3 blunt rotation headcanons:

Karlach: does not stop fucking laughing. She’s def wheezing at a joke she overheard in a lesbian bar three and a half years ago while in the middle of a sentence. The type who starts a story and ends up laughing so hard she can’t finish it.

Halsin: mellow as hell, is always encouraging the group to go for a nice walk somewhere while stoned to shit. Will he pass out or will he be caressing the flowers in his backyard? No one knows.

Shadowheart: Sis is asleep after a joint or a few hits from the bong. Is likely sleeping on Lae’zel’s shoulder with a blanket around her. We love her for that tho bc she looks so cute.

Jaheira: she is forreal trying to tell you that we’re all living in someone’s sims save or how aliens made the pyramids. Also always pulls up to the session at the most random times.

Lae’zel: when she does smoke she usually ends up tripping the fuck out and is staring at the wall like a dog that’s accidentally eaten an edible. Doesn’t partake anymore but will come and chill and act as Shart’s personal resting post.

Astarion: the one who is chatting the most shit, probably has the joint in a cigarette holder like curella de’vil. The main source of Karlach’s laughter. Is also constantly asking for Nicki Minaj songs to be added to the Spotify queue.

Wyll: straight up vibes, is probably hogging the snacks to himself tho but he’s busting jokes and laughing with Karlach about stupid shit

Gale: the person in charge of the playlist and the only one who can actually roll. He is very particular about the music bc he believes it sets the mood for the high. Is constantly denying Astarion’s request to play Chun li but puts on random shit like khazakstani jazz

Minthara: enabling Astarion’s shit talking and spilling the piping hot tea. The least faded out of all of them (except lae). Has a screenshot folder that she shows astarion so they can be shady.

Aylin: she’s productive when she’s stoned, is likely cooking something or has gone for a jog/ doing a task while wearing her socks/ Birkenstock combo

Isobel: the mom friend who is making sure everyone is drinking water and is getting fresh air while fried.

Withers: the za dealer. You have to go to his house and he only sells a min of 6gs at a time. Usually chilling and trying to hide his weed plants from the cops bc his neighbours are snitches ngl

Minsc and boo (sry I be forgetting): Brings his hamster to the function bc he doesn't want him to be lonely and believes that his best bud deserves a toke as well. Boo is a literal fucking menace and bites those who object to giving him any. There is literally always an argument bc of this but Minsc is ready to fight for his child.

[writing-in-april]

Good in Red 

Spencer Reid x Female Reader

Summary: Spencer loves the color of your lips

A/N: I definitely wrote this cause my favorite color is red lmao... I also wrote this all today cause I was feeling super inspired to write this all of a sudden- so extra extra bonuses today for my 1000 follower celebration!! This was also supposed to be a blurb but it was at like 900 words when I finished so I just decided to make it a little bit longer. Thanks for reading and requests are open!

Warnings: 18+, sub spencer, red lipstick, marking with lipstick, oral sex (M receiving), unprotected sex

Main Masterlist Word count: 1.1k

Red was without a doubt, your favorite color. You often wore it to work, having a nice rotation of skirts, cardigans, blazers, and every other article of clothing any woman could own in your favorite color.

Today however, you went with something a little more subtle, but simultaneously it was more bold than any of the other red pieces you had worn in the office beforehand.

This time the only red that was on your body was the color that decorated your lips. Your pout was a bright bold red today, standing out strikingly against the rest of your ensemble that was made up of black. You had gotten a bunch of compliments about your bold lip color as soon as you had made your way into the office this morning, namely from Penelope who wanted to know exactly what color and brand you had used.

The one person who had been oddly silent this morning was Spencer, you had even heard from Hotch who was usually stuck up in his office on a paperwork day like today. Your eyes shifted in question over to the desk that Spencer inhabited, he hadn’t spoken a peep to you besides a squeaked out good morning. When your eyes fell on his lanky frame and cute face you noticed that he was already staring at you. Well, actually he was staring at your lips.

Your lips puckered a bit in realization, you were trying not to break out in a wide smile as to not tip him off that you noticed his eyes trained on your painted lips. Deciding to play a slight little game with him you picked up your white coffee cup. You pressed your lips delicately on the rim of the cup and only took a slight sip of the coffee held within. When you pulled away a perfect mark of crimson sat on the rim of the pristine white mug. Looking back up at Spencer, his eyes were going back and forth from the edge of the mug to your red stained lips. He still hadn’t noticed that you were looking at him, so you spoke up to get his attention, “Spencer?”

Once his eyes met yours his face flashed a similar color to the one on your lips. Your eyebrow twitched up in question towards him, but he would not meet your gaze again.

It was no secret to yourself that you wanted Spencer, but you had been struggling with ideas with how to approach him about it. You had tried to do it the subtle way, unfortunately each of the flirts flew over his head each time. Maybe being blunt with him would help him understand just how much you wanted him.

“Spencer, why were you staring at my lips?” He looked startled in response to your blunt questioning. He squirmed a little in the desk chair making it sway a little back and forth.

When you arch your eyebrow up in question a second time to prompt him he finally gave you the answer you were looking for, “Y-you look good in red.” His cheeks were about as red as your lips as he admitted the reason that he was staring so intently at your lips. Deciding to finally enact on what you wanted you moved towards his desk with a seductive sway in your hips, then leaning over so your lips were resting close to his crimson tinged ears.

“You can see me in something else red if you come to my apartment tonight, at 11.” You whispered in his ear before sauntering away, making sure that a hint of your lipstick hit the edge of his ear, marking him subtly as yours.

——-

When you heard the hesitant knock at your door after work you knew exactly who it was. Spencer was here.

“Come in.” Your voice was demanding with a hint of seduction reeling in Spencer further. When he finally opened the door all the way and he got a good look at what you were wearing his jaw dropped wide open. You were decked out in a set of red lingerie that matched perfectly to the lipstick that adorned your lips, with a robe to match of course.

“Close your mouth, you’ll catch flies.” You brought your manicured nails up to shut his jaw. He gulped hard as you gripped his jaw with your fingers, forcing his eyes to look at you even though he squirmed under your gaze. You could tell he wanted to say something else so you prompted him,“Come on speak up, pretty boy. What do you want to say?”

“Y-you look good in that red too.” The stutter in his voice mirroring the one earlier in the day, with his red cheeks to match.

Blinking up at him with coy doe eyes, you bit your lip a little in anticipation,“Thank you for the compliments today, Spencer. Can I show you how thankful I am?”

You made sure to fully show Spencer how thankful you were, taking his cock as far down your throat as possible with your ruby red lips. He whined and begged the whole time, wanting to feel you cum around his cock right before he came instead of cumming in your mouth. The only reason you obliged his request was because he had been such a good boy for you, but if there was ever a next time (Which you were sure there would be) you would make sure you got to taste his cum on your tongue.

As you bounced up and down on Spencer’s cock, your once pristine crimson lipstick smeared from kissing him passionately. His own lips were stained with the evidence; his bottom lip all puffy and pouty from the way you bit it earlier in the night. As you swirl your hips Spencer brought his fingers to rub at your clit to help you finish together. Once your highs washed over the both of you with a cry of thank you, you leaned down to lick up the evidence of his release that coated his stomach, making the lipstick spread even more. As you leaned up to look at the fucked out masterpiece that was Spencer Reid you realized something.

He looked good in red too.

—

Tag list (message me if you want to be added):

All works:

@shotarosleftpinky

Spencer Reid/CM:

@calm-and-doctor @destiny-tsukino @safertokiss

Sub Spencer:

@thatsonezesty13 @pastathighs @virtualpeanutartisanjudge @calm-and-doctor

[recreancyrpg]

Welcome to Recreancy, Sav!

You have been accepted for the role of ALASTOR MOODY, with the age change request to 40 years old! 

He's rather no-nonsense about it all, and believes he is above companionship (until he isn't, but that's another matter entirely). There are far too many things he'd rather not drag another person through with his job as an Auror, so he simply doesn't.

Please take a look at the new member checklist and send in your account within 24 hours!

OUT OF CHARACTER:

NAME & PRONOUNS: Sav, she/her/hers

AGE: 25 baby ✌?

TIMEZONE: PST

ACTIVITY LEVEL: I've just gotten to summer break (I'm normally a middle school teacher). However, I'm also a full-time grad student working on my thesis, so I'll be balancing that with planning for next year and writing in two other groups, one which I also admin. That being said, I can comfortably rotate between these things, so my activity could fluctuate between a 5 and a 7 out of 10. 

ANYTHING ELSE: Creepy clowns weird me out, as does creepy music, but I can just blacklist any tag with it. 

CHARACTER DETAILS:

NAME: Alastor Moody

AGE: 40 years old (Oscar FC) 

GENDER, PRONOUNS, and SEXUALITY: Cismale, He/Him/His, Bisexual

Alastor has never felt inclined to broadcast his preferences to the larger wizarding world. However, he has sought out wizards and witches for companionship in equal measure from his schoolboy days. He's rather no-nonsense about it all, and believes he is above companionship (until he isn't, but that's another matter entirely). There are far too many things he'd rather not drag another person through with his job as an Auror, so he simply doesn't.

That being said, he knows that he enjoys the company of both men and women and will be affectionate to both in equal measure behind closed doors. Politics are messy and he'd rather not drag someone through the mud of it, regardless of whether they'd want to or not. 

BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood

HOUSE ALUMNI: Ravenclaw 

ANY CHANGES: It was such a hard time choosing between Oscar and my other choices, but Oscar in Dune with that beard gives me the opportunity for Moody to shave it and look 10x younger and make everyone go o.O while he shifts around uncomfortably and then starts gruffly asking what they're staring at so no changes besides aging him up to be a little bit closer to Oscar's RL age.

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:

PERSONALITY: 

Alastor is a smooth talker when he needs to be professionally. Personally, however, he is a bit of a disaster. He can be seen as gruff and antagonistic, but there's a soft center beneath that hard exterior. It doesn't take much to get to if you really know how to dig, but the war has created a sense of paranoia around who can and cannot get too close. 

As an Auror, Alastor is no-nonsense and a bit of a task master, but he has his reasons, and he does everything for a reason. There is never any little thing that isn't accounted for. Alastor is always looking at a battle or a situation or even a Witch or wizard from every angle. Naturally, this makes him suspicious of newcomers, and if there are new people added to his unit or into the Order, Moody is the first to rake them over the coals. 

As for his weaknesses, Moody is harsh and incredibly blunt. He doesn't mince his words. He has absolutely made new Aurors cry, and has made others quit. He doesn't do it out of a mean spirited drive, but that's the reputation that he's been saddled with. His motto, "constant vigilance," makes people think he's paranoid and that he's starting to fracture, and he might be, but there are also pieces of Alastor that use that underestimating as a ruse. 

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FAMILY: 

Growing up under the thumb of a prominent Curse Breaker and a homemaker, Alastor Moody had a certain way his life was meant to go. As a pureblood wizard, Alastor was meant to use that to open doors, to pave his way through life. His father taught him to value what he knew, his mother taught him to value that which came to him naturally. What came naturally was a deep well of curiosity, and a need to understand the world around him. 

 Despite the fact that his family is made up of pureblood witches and wizards, Alastor was never one to be driven to prejudice or bias. Though his family was a "traditional" one, in the sense of his mother being expected to raise children and his father to go to work, Alastor's mother was never one to drive the point home that they were better than. Perhaps they had more potential than the Maggie's and the muggleborn, but that in no way meant they were any different in the broadest scheme of things. 

As he grew, Alastor recognized that his ideals didn't align with the rest of the purebloods. In fact, he didn't even match their preferred house. His mum and dad had never cared about that rubbish, so neither had he thought there was always the niggling sense that they wanted more from their only son, their only surviving child. 

OCCUPATION: He's an Auror through and through. However, at a very young age, Alastor wanted to be a Curse Breaker like his father.

LIVING SITUATION: Alastor Moody is what one would call a confirmed bachelor. He owns a flat near the Ministry, which he uses sparsely with his work, and is the one listed as his permanent address. However, Alastor was also passed a sweet little countryside cottage outside of the hustle and bustle of wizarding London. Few people know of the small, countryside home and if they do they're sworn to secrecy about it. 

ORDER OF THE PHOENIX: 

So the only way I can describe Alastor is a tank. He takes the big hits, draws attention to himself to get people to safety. He's always willing to draw the big, Dark Magic. As a consequence, he's always in and out of St. Mungo's. He's become a bit jaded as the war has gone on, but it's more a tiredness than anything. Moody's willingness to protect those under his care and charge is what drives him, no matter if it comes to his own health or well-being. With the Order being illegal and Moody being of a high rank in the Aurors department, he does use that to his advantage and will protect those that he works closely with as best he can with that advantage. He has long since stopped wringing his hands about it all. This is war, so it's survival. 

RELATIONSHIPS: 

John Dawlish - Alastor's feelings about John are complicated. He has potential, he's just self-righteous. Sometimes self-righteousness has its place, sometimes not. In a war, it doesn't. Alastor hopes that John understands that, and quickly, because if he doesn't he is afraid the younger man will drown in the tide of the war. Perhaps Moody's own methods were unorthodox, but they kept people alive. He and John might have row upon row about how they do things, how Moody gets his people home, but that's all he cares about. Alastor wants to be able to see John float, not sink, and he'll push him into it - even if that means making John hate him. 

Remus Lupin - Alastor is intrigued by the werewolf, despite the fact that people have told him to leave well enough alone. While they aren't necessarily friends, Alastor doesn't intend to let Remus get hurt for being what he is, something he cannot control, and fights to give him a place in the Order irregardless of if Remus knows it or not. 

Mundungus Fletcher - Dung is, for lack of better words, an idiot. Alastor likes him well enough, but he's reckless and he's going to get someone hurt or, more permanently, killed. Alastor doesn't want that to happen, including to Mundungus himself. So, yes, he's arrested his fellow Order member. Yes, there may be some bitterness, but it's for his own good…so why can't Fletcher see that? 

Alice Longbottom - A little spitfire, Alastor had many things planned for Alice Longbottom. He thinks she could play an integral role in the Order and within the war itself. However, he fears for her, too, and has to walk a fine line between their Order, their jobs, and their families. Alastor understands having family lines drawn and coming out on the wrong side of those lines. He just hopes he can prepare her, protect her, with the knowledge he has gained through his career. 

OOC EXPLORATION:

SHIPS/ANTI-SHIPS: So I ship Alastor/Chemistry tbh. I'm always game to see what can become of a character eith their connections. However, I've had some weird experiences with people shipping Mary/Moody, which had just made me uncomfortable for how they handled it personally. I'd be open to it, but it would need to be very specific parameters (though I believe that Mary has died here, so perhaps not something we'd run into, just wanted to put it out, though, just in case.) I am also very intrigued by how exactly he can antagonize Dawlish and in what manner that presents hehe

INTERPERSONAL STRUGGLES: 

Oh this war is going to mess with Alastor royally, to put it mildly. There are a lot of things he takes on as a personal offense, guilt and heartaches that weigh him down. He tries not to let the outer world see it all, tries to remain unruffled, but the truth is that Alastor Moody has a heart and it bleeds for all the wizards and witches he sees hurt by this so-called Dark Lord and his dark magic. 

Additionally, Moody's status as a pureblood is something I'd love for him to use as an advantage. He sees it as something that doesn't mean anything. He wasn't raised to, but he's also very aware of what being a pureblood wizard gets you during these times, and he will use it to every advantage of it means those he cares about will get out unscathed, or as unscathed as possible. The same can be said for his position as a higher ranked Auror. 

It's going to be a constant push and pull for Alastor and I'm very excited to see how he navigates it all while still staying afloat. 

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? Well, I've wanted to play Moody in a group for a while, but I never could find the right one that fit. However, once I read the app Nat sent over (love yah Natty!) I was like oh…oh yeah I could get behind this. It has a really cool premise, and I'm looking forward to diving into the depths of the group. 

PLOT DROP IDEAS (OPTIONAL): Character-specific plot drops are definitely around Moody losing his eye and having his major injuries, and just slowly watching as he takes on the burden of all of the people in his life who have died. He takes it personally, and he carries the weight of that guilt his entire life, but I don't want that to be his only defining factor. So, another plot would be for him to really break out of that and learn to let people care about him. As for across the entire rp, I would really love to see the fallout of major battles happening, and how that continues to affect the Order. 

ANYTHING ELSE? Not at the moment, because I wanted to send this in, but I will be posting a self para or a link to a GDoc, more likely, on the dash for Moody & his reaction to Benjy's death because I have Feelings about it. 

[automaticpostinfluencer]

‘Where Is Dr. Fauci?’ Key Expert Missing From Coronavirus Briefing For Second Day

Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s touchstones for scientific wisdom amid the spread of COVID-19, was absent from the White House’s daily briefing for the second day in a row on Monday, prompting many to wonder where the nation’s top infectious disease expert was as the nation reels from the rising pandemic.

President Donald Trump spoke about the administration’s efforts to rein in the outbreak and provide personal protective equipment to some hospitals already straining under an influx of sick patients. But while the president repeated platitudes about the country soon being “stronger than ever before,” there was limited medical advice given.

Fauci, who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has for many become a beacon of truth and straight talk as coronavirus continues to spread around the country, often walking back unfounded claims made by the president (the timeline of a coronavirus vaccine, for example, or the growth rate of infections).

“I was just with him for a long time,” President Trump says when asked about Dr. Anthony Fauci’s absence at today’s briefing.

“He’s a good man. I like Dr. Fauci a lot,” Trump says, adding that Fauci is at a coronavirus task force meeting. https://t.co/Ug3layjLmo pic.twitter.com/HgNaKPc5pH

— ABC News (@ABC) March 23, 2020

But Fauci’s microphone has also reportedly drawn the president’s ire. The New York Times reported Monday that Trump has become frustrated with Fauci’s blunt manner and his contradicting of White House statements.

The National Institutes of Health said Monday that Fauci was still a regular part of the White House briefing schedule.

“He has been at the White House today, in fact,” a spokesperson for the NIH told HuffPost. “They are doing a rotating cast for the briefings.”

When asked about reports that Trump had become frustrated with Fauci’s no-nonsense approach to his warnings about the threat of coronavirus, the NIH directed questions to the White House.

The Trump administration did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Fauci’s appearances.

Alex Brandon/ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus as Attorney General William Barr and Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, listen.

Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, spoke about the infection rates in states around the country, saying each state would have its own disease curve to deal with. But she declined to answer repeated questions on if she agreed with Trump’s assessments that the country could soon go back to business as usual or about what kind of timeline for a return to normality that Americans should expect.

“What the president has asked us to do is assemble all the data and give us our best medical recommendation,” she said. “We’re pulling all of the data pieces right now. I will never speculate on data. I will have to see that data.”

Fauci gave an in-depth interview to Science this weekend and addressed how he had managed to remain at the White House when many, many others who have stood in Trump’s path have been fired for disagreements.

“Even though we disagree on some things, he listens,” Fauci told the scientific journal. “He goes his own way. He has his own style. But on substantive issues, he does listen to what I say.”

Trump did say Monday that he had “learned a lot” from Fauci and Birx.

“I can say I’m a student, you’re a student, we’re all in this together,” Trump said. “I’ve learned a lot from Deborah, I’ve learned a lot from Tony, from a lot of people.”

When pressed about where Fauci was on Monday, the president pledged he would be “back up very soon.”

“I was just with him for a long time,” Trump said. “He understand this is a tremendous test to our country. It was nobody’s fault; it just happened. This horrible virus came from nowhere. He fully understands that.”

“He’s a good man” the president continued. “I like Dr. Fauci a lot.”

Trump said repeatedly he was hoping to “open up” the country and its foundering economy “a lot sooner” than people were expecting. The Washington Post reported Monday that the White House was weighing calls from GOP lawmakers and advisers to scale back social distancing steps in order to kickstart the financial markets despite warnings from public health officials.

When asked what public health officials thought of the plan, including Fauci, Trump said they didn’t disagree with him, but he also alluded that measures called for by the medical community were at odds with what he considers best for the economy.

“If it were up to the doctors, they’d say let’s shut down the entire world,” Trump said, noting earlier: “I’m not looking at months. We’re going to be opening up our country. … You can’t keep it closed for years. OK? This is going away. We’re going to win the battle.”

Calling all HuffPost superfans!

Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost’s next chapter

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[theartgearguide]

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencil Review

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencil Review

I have to look at this review in a slightly different way to the vast majority of my other reviews, I really don't think there is anything I can say about the Prismacolor Premier pencils that hasn't already been said by many fine colored pencil artists. So I am going to try my best and offer a different perspective and try to put to bed any issues surrounding Prismacolor over the past few years or so. 

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My Prismacolor Experience 

Over the past year or so I have been pretty critical of Prismacolor Premier pencils and this is the reason why. When I first got into colored pencils, the vast majority of the YouTube videos about spoke mainly of Prismacolor and so they were the pencils I wanted to get. 

My first set was a 72 set, which at the time was the first time in my life that I had spent more than £5 of any type of art supplies. I was so excited when I first opened the set and seen all the amazing colors, I had never seen anything like it before. As you all know, when you get your first set of colored pencils, they are all blunt and need sharpened, so I got right on to sharpening my new Prismacolor pencils. 

The very first pencil I sharpened kept breaking and I had to stop sharpening as half the pencil had gone before so much as making a mark with it. The same thing happened to the next pencil and the next and the next and on it went. Of the 72 set, approximately ten of them sharpened without breaking, needless to say I was devastated. 

To begin with I put this all down to shipping, perhaps the pencils had been knocked about during transit and the cores had been shattered. A while later I purchased a second 72 set, hoping that I was right about the first set and that it was just one of those things; unfortunately this was not the case and the second set was a little bit better than the first but not by much.

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Moving Forward With Prismacolor

I have been reviewing pencils for a year or two now and so I decided that after all I have learnt regarding looking after colored pencils, using the right sharpeners, the correct paper etc, I would come back to Prismacolor and give them one final go. I can't say another review as I have never actually reviewed Prismacolor Premier on The Art Gear Guide or my YouTube Channel 

However, before taking a fresh look at an old and well respected colored pencil, lets look over some of the more traditional aspects of colored pencil reviews.

Prismacolor Sets

Perhaps one of the most attractive things about Prismacolor Premier colored pencils right now is the the amazing price they are being sold for. Long before I became involved in colored pencils, Prismacolor Premier pencils were very much the preferred pencil of choice for colored pencil artists in America, but back in Prismacolor's hay day they were considerably more pricy than we can get them now. 

The sets currently available are a set of 12, a 24 set, a 36 set, 48 set, the awesome 72 set, 132 set and most recently included is the outstanding 150 set. In 2011 Prismacolor bumped their 132 set up to 150 with a few additional colors along with one or two colors previously dropped but requested back by popular demand. 

Heres were the serious temptation comes into play, even if you know that pencils are going to break, barrels are going to be shattered and cores simply drop out from the centre. Here in the UK for 72 Prismacolor Premier pencils you will pay only £32 and for the same set in the US $24. When you go to the top of the line and get the 150 set which is the set I purchased, again in the UK it will cost £88 and in the US $79, which no matter which way you cut it, for 150 colored pencils these are attractive prices. 

Prismacolor Characteristics

As always I have made a YouTube video for you where I complete my testing without all this information, however I have added it here just incase there are those of you perhaps new to Prismacolor. I did it this way simply because so many people have reviewed Prismacolor and their issues have been well documented and debated. 

The pencil itself sports a round barrel and a relatively slim barrel at that, 7mm barrel and a 3..8mm core. The core consists of the softest wax, giving Prismacolor that incredibly renowned creamy buttery lay down that we all love so much about the pencils and the seamless blending. 

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Along the barrel is printed in silver print, "Prismacolor" followed by the pencil brand which is "Premier". After this is the color name in English and then the color is printed in a second language. Finally toward the very end of the pencil is a number prefixed with the letters PC, this is simply for open stock reference should you wish to purchase pencils in this style. 

My Own Prismacolor Test 

As I have already mentioned, I wanted to try an create a test that would help people and also be a little bit different from all the other reviews on Prismacolor. The vast majority of the problems debated about these pencils is the constant breakage and that is what I hope to address here. 

It is vital that no matter what pencil you use, but especially soft wax based pencils, that you use a sharp sharpener. I know this may sound daft, but how many of you actually change the blades in your sharpeners? Using a blunt sharpener is only going to snag on the wood or the core and create problems, we will look at the four sharpeners I used in this test soon. 

Before I started the testing I checked every single pencil barrel for splits and crack and much to my surprise there was not a single damaged barrel out of 150 pencils. Next I checked the pencil cores. A major contributing factor to pencil breakage is if the pencil cores and not central in the barrel, this has been a major complaint from many Prismacolor users over the years. There were quite a few off centre but nothing too drastic.

I did see a few were the cores looked like they had not been filled in the barrel correctly, almost as if air bubbles got into the drying process. I have no idea whether or not this affects the performance of the pencil however, take a look for yourself and see what I mean and if you have experienced a similar issue. 

Sharpeners Used 

As I have mentioned, the sharpener is vital, it doesn't have to be the most expensive sharpener in the world but it does need to be very sharp. Have you ever tried to cut a nice ripe tomato with a blunt knife? if you have you will know that you end up with a pulp of mess, this is the same for pencil sharpening. The four sharpeners I have used in this test are the Brass M&R handheld, a German made sharpener, the KUM handheld sharpener, the Derwent Superpoint Hand Crank and another M&R Hand Crank Sharpener. 

In my opinion the hand crank sharpeners are the best because the pencil is kept completely still, teeth in the hand crank sharpener grab hold of the pencil and keep it in place while the blade rotates around the pencil. When we use a handheld sharpener, the pencil is twisted and the blade is kept still, it is this twisting action, combined with the off centred core that causes pressure on the core, causing it to snap. 

To best see this demonstration check out the YouTube video, however I have also added images below, showing the results from each of the sharpeners. 

Conclusion 

On this occasion I did not of course sharpen all 150 pencils, however I picked a random selection from the trays. I was so happy with the results, 100% better than my experience with both 72 sets I had purchased in the past. So was it me that was causing the problems? was it my lack of experience that caused all those pencils to break? I have to say that I think it has played a major part in the results. 

I can think of nothing else other than my inexperience during the first two sets when I was very new to colored pencil art. On this occasion I knew to have a good sharp pencil sharpener, I knew to protect my pencils and ensure that non of them had been dropped or knocked and I knew to take my time with the hand held sharpeners and not rush through it otherwise accentuating the twisting motion.

I am really pleased that I gave Prismacolor another go and I really hope that this test has helped you. Thank you so much for your support.