#colored entirely by pencil‚ colored pen‚ and highlighter

[existencebringsonlypain]

drew a krisk delt a roon on Tuesday. cut it out cuz I liked it. only just now regained the spoons to get out and take a photo

[webslingingslasher]

hi j! what are cherry and peter doing right now??

comfortable silence.

peter's studying for an upcoming test and you're honed in on your current romance read. the main lead is cute, but nothing can top your peter parker fantasies.

'cherry?'

you finish your paragraph before looking at him, he's smiling a little too hard. 'you're so pretty.' you softly grin, feeling your lips curve up. 'and so is your handwriting.'

your eyebrows furrow at the odd compliment, you'll still accept it. 'thank you, lover.' peter clicks his pen a few times before finally coming clean. 'can you do me a favor? a really giant favor?'

you look down at your book and count the pages until the next chapter, you inwardly sigh and mentally commit before you bargain with him. peter's taught you there's give and take with love.

'can it wait three pages?' peter nods once, 'it can wait.' you give him a thumbs up and read a little faster for him, shutting the book with a satisfied smile once you reach chapter sixteen.

'what's the favor?'

peter turns back around, he looks guilty. he feels bad for asking. he holds up a blank piece of paper, you look at him for more context. 'we're allowed to use a cheat sheet for the test, one page only, front and back. i was wondering if you could do it for me?'

you pull a face, 'i don't know anything about what you're studying.' peter smiles and scrambles to pick up his notebook. 'no, no, i have it all highlighted. i just want you to copy it, i can't write that small and have it be legible.'

the task seems much more daunting than you expected. 'how much is there?' peter flips through the pages and lets out a deep breath, 'um, not much. just... basically everything?'

'oh boy.' peter took your boyfriend virginity and your real virginity, you can make a cheat sheet for him. it seems equal. 'pass it over, let me look at it.' once you have it in your hands you skim the highlighted areas, it would take some time and a dedication to splitting the sections to make it easier to read. you're already thinking of layouts.

'can i use my glitter pens?'

'absolutely.' the job just got easier. you nod confidently and agree to the ask. 'i can do that for you, petey. can i take it with me or do you need your book?'

peter rubs his lips together, he's staring at the holy grail that is super advanced something chemistry. he doesn't want you to take it but he's asking you for a favor so he's not sure how or if he can form the word no.

you do it for him. you're winning all the girlfriend awards today.

'nevermind, we'll keep it here.' peter visibly relaxes. 'but i need some markers, we're about to get real arts and crafty up in this bitch.' peter starts digging in his desk drawers, a box of markers tossed on the bed and a random textbook to follow as a makeshift table.

'i bet no one else's girlfriend is making their boyfriend's cheat sheet.' you start at the beginning and ask for more supplies. 'i need a ruler and a pencil. and the same color highlighters you used. oh, and that pen i like.'

peter's already collecting the tools, looking around his room for your bag. 'are your glitter pens in your bag?' you forgot you had them with you, the entire pencil case would be a savor right now. 'yes, but i left it downstairs.'

to peter, you're doing the biggest favor he's ever asked. he's willing to hunt and gather the supplies you need to make his life easier. 'on it. stay here and look pretty.' he's moving quick, you call out to him as he passes through the door. 'can you bring the whole thing, please?'

he doesn't respond but he comes right back up, pink bag in hand. 'where they at?' you point at the big pocket, your cherry printed pencil bag is handed over. (a gift from peter.)

'anything else? you want a coke, or a snack, or something?' you shake your head and start a header title for the first section, you're locked in. 'i'm okay.'

you highlight the title, there's another want brewing in your mind. 'actually...' peter perks right up, 'yes?' you pucker and tap your lips, your boyfriend is at your side and leaning down in seconds. three soft pecks, each one feels like an 'i love you.'

'you're sure there's nothing else you need?' he feels bad, it's a big ask. you've caught on and you're pushing him away gently. 'do you want me to do this or not?' peter nods quick and takes a large step back. 'i do, i just feel bad.'

'well, don't. and while i'm working on this you better keep revising, because you're going to bed at a decent time tonight, mister. and because you know how much i love the sound of your keyboard when you type.'

it's true, you've fallen asleep to the quiet clicking more than a few times.

peter bites back a smile. 'yes, ma'am.' you blow a kiss, 'good boy.'

peter revised, went to bed on time, and smugly showed off your work the following tuesday in class. 'see how organized this is, isn't my girl the best?'

peter passed with flying colors, he swears it's because of your cheat sheet and color coding. you tell him not to discredit his brain, he tells you not to discredit your work.

you compromise and accept the passing score with him because he swears it was built on teamwork. you think it's so you'll make him another the next time he asks.

and next time you'll be prepared with glitter glue. 

[selyeji]

little changes

pablo gavi x reader

summary : exchanging of words, despite he’s an athlete and you’re more reserved. you interpret life similarly. (uni au)

warnings : none

neatly gathering your pens, slowly dropping them into your pencil case, zipping it. closing your neat, thin notebook, waiting for the professor to wrap up the lecture.

you scan the room, the light brown haired boy at the corner of your eye. he sat straight and proper, focusing on the board. he was indeed good-looking, curls perfectly combed, well dressed. it wasn’t a question why he was so well known. snapping from your thoughts when he turns his head around.

lecture was over, stacking your scattered notebooks on the table, slipping it onto your messenger bag. placing it over your shoulder but rested at your opposite hip. you walked around the campus, deciding what to do to pass the time.

it ends in the same destination, the library. it was your comfort space, everyone respected each others privacy, the air conditioning cools the entire place and it was quiet. sitting 2 seats away from the window, to avoid sunlight.

grabbing your notebooks, reviewing the lecture from earlier. your notes were neatly done, thin letters from the mechanical pencil you used, neutral color highlighters to bring attention to important details. spinning the pen your finger, rereading until an hour passed by. you could barely focus, you couldn’t point your finger on why. deciding to take a walk around, to refresh your mind.

the campus was big, greenery covered most of it. you continued to walk around, you were too familiar of the continuous routes you take everyday. until you were met with something unexpected, not in your routine.

there kneeled pablo gavi, on the grass, teeth gritting, brows furrowed. he had a scar on his shins, really bad, the blood gathered up, reddening the skin. the keychains on your bag stop while he continued to groan. walking up to him, pulling out your arm before doubting yourself whether to help directly him or not. pablo noticed you before you could even do anything.

“y/n… im glad you’re here. could you help me go to the clinic?” his expression immediately softened from his aching face when he faced you. “yes of course.” you said in a firm but soft voice, almost like writing with a pencil.

continuing the walk to the clinic, you pondered how he knew your name. you two never talked before, your lives never clashed together. pablo couldn’t talk much, he was still aching from the pain.

entering the door, the cool air hits your face, the smell of hospital alcohol filled your nostrils. the front desk was empty, deciding to leave pablo on the beds to find a staff. you look around, still no one to be found. slowly walking back to the bed where pablo sat at the edge at, showing clear discomfort in his face.

you knew the infection would get worse, staring at his wound. you had no choice but to help him yourself. grabbing the alcohol and cotton balls from a shelf, you sat on the sit next to the bed, facing him. “stay still, i’ll help cover it up. it will sting a bit.” you softly said, looking up at him. the window next to the bed reflected sunlight at his face.

his features became more defined. the properly combed curls from earlier was faded, strand of hair stuck to his face from sweat. the light glowed his eyes, brown hazel pearls gleaming through his dark long lashes. thick brows making his face more masculine.

you continued applying the alcohol, cleaning up the blood. he spoke up, asking about various things, whether they were related or not. it moved from how he got hurt, sports, activities, food, anything. no matter the topic was, it felt like it would never end, talking forever.

you wrapped up the wound tape around tightly. he smiled from above, thanking you. you packed up your things until pablo stopped you before leaving.

“wait y/n… i was wondering if… we could meetup again. tomorrow. just by the lake where you found me, on the benches.” his joy radiating through his words. you quietly agreed, smiling back at him. walking back to your dorm.

23 hours passed since the incident, you walk up to the meeting spot. pablo was already there, sitting one of the benches awaiting for your arrival. you quietly sat down next to him, turning his head to face yours and gave a soft smile. “why did you want to meet up?” you went straight to the point, “just wanted to be your friend, when we talked yesterday. the words spilled out my mouth, im usually cautious of what i spoke. but with you, i was comfortable. it’s like we can talk for hours without an end. despite us being opposites.” pablo said, hint of embarrassment from what he said.

from then on, you met up everyday, occasionally visiting the football practice with him. he was the universities star in football, he brought that title with him throughout the entire school. popularity was something he could not avoid. a boy approached you during the practices, it was one of pablos teammates.

fermin, one of the more popular players within the school. he was charming, smart, well known with the girls. you never exchanged words before until he often saw you in the field. approaching you mid practice, cleats still covered with cuts of grass. he was being flirtatious with you, but still soft.

feeling the gaze of gavi on the field. no matter the distance nor the height of grass, his eyes were on you, leaving a trail of touches even though he doesn’t use his hands. before you knew it training was over, helping pablo pack his things.

this was a daily routine now, walking alongside gavi back to dorms, talking about your day. “right, i forgot to mention. fermin asked to meet me tomorrow by the coffee shop down the street. you know why?” you ask pablo. the keychains hanging from your bag still jangling while walking. his heart mentally frozed but his feet still kept going forward, not stopping his steps. “i’m not sure… sorry…” his tone was quiet, gavi knew exactly what would happen.

fermin would confess his love to you, he unfortunate knew the result. you would say yes. who wouldn’t? he was a great friend and a guy. he reached your dorm as you went inside, thanking him for accompanying you. pablo went to his dorm, rushingly opening the lock. laying on the lower bunkbed, staring which was met with the mattress on top.

it was foolish he would’ve thought you two would be together. your dreams were widely different from his, but your soft personality was different from everyone else. gavi always offered a jacket when the rain splashes down from the ashy sky, carrying you back to your bed whenever you slept, always gentle to you. his spot in your life would be taken and replaced.

afternoon came around, everything was a haze. fermin just confessed feelings you cannot give back, your heart was set for someone else. he was disappointed indeed, but he respected you, your decision before leaving the cafe. you sat alone, chatter spilling out your ear to the other in the cafes busy hours. deciding to go to a nearby bridge.

the sound of footsteps of your leather shoes taps the ground, repetitively until you saw him. pablo with his navy blue hoodie, covering his brown hair. you continue going up to him, standing next to him to view the river. the sky was a gloomy but comfortable blue, insisting the rain about to pour.

you two both stare at each other for a while, takin in each others presence. “what happened back there?” gavi asked about fermin and you. he thought that only confirmation would help him let go of you. you folded your hands on the railing, using it as a pillow for your chin.

“he confessed his feelings to me, but i rejected him.” you said, more in a coldly tone. gavi was confused, why would you? “but why? he’s a great guy, smarter than me, better at football, a gentleman too. wouldn’t you want someone like that?” he asked, his brow curving.

“but i have you.” you say softly. silence, only the honking of cars could be heard behind you. your heart fluttered, there was nothing you could do to turn back. “i mean… sure you view him better than you, but i don’t love him like i do with you.” he couldn’t say anything, the words stuck to his chest, not even reaching his throat.

you never said anything out of impulse, always giving it a long thought but this one was different. your heart throbbing in your ears thinking you made him uncomfortable, unable to receive back those feelings. “im sorry, i don’t know how to keep silent, especially when my heart is speaking.” you said quietly, removing your head and hand from the railing. wanting to flee the scene before the tears catch up to the rain.

knuckles were softly held and pulled by pablo. not wanting for you to leave. the small drops of rain trickle down, felt by your hands. “y/n please stay.” he said hurriedly before words spilled out his tongue. “the day when we started talking, the memory stood by my chest even until now. i want to be a part of your life y/n. no matter what situation it is i will be there.” his voice was pleading.

the rain got heavier by the second, but it wasn’t as important than what stood in front of you. his hands gripped onto your shoulders to face him. slowly bringing your hand up to his flustered cheek, circling your thumb around. gazing into his eyes, almost seeing yourself in them.

his soft lips meet yours, wet from the rain. hugging your arms around his neck, not caring who would pass by. your lips separate from each other, you hid your head onto the crook of his neck. “let’s just go home.” you softly said, your lashes fluttering could be felt on his neck.

daily click to help palestine

a/n: got writing block while doing the reqs ermm sorry… that fermin or joao felix fic coming up though

[mizusnose]

MORE COMPETENT MIZU FICS PLSSS

Tutor Mizu x Reader

okay okay okay SO: competent, a little mean and degrading Mizu who is top of her class and is the TA for organic chemistry with a side gig of private tutoring for money.

Summary: You’re failing orgo, so you decide to hire a tutor—little do you know it’s your class TA who you happen to have a massive crush on.

1.1k words, Slightly NSFW

Mizu arrives to your apartment five minutes late, and you lay down your hair and fix your sweater before you open the door. She’s tall against the backdrop of your hallway, a loosely slung bag around her broad shoulders sits against her waffle-knocked thermal, the golden chains around her neck dance in the light.

You invite her in, ask if she’d like some water, she accepts and you both eventually make it to your desk in the corner of your room.

She deftly sets up next to your laptop and notebook, her fingertips pink and long against the wood of the desk. You force yourself to look away, a thundering in your throat.

You never thought you’d be such a cliché: crushing on your TA. Yet, as Mizu wraps her palm around the glass of water and takes gulps of water, you can’t help but trace the movement: your eyes entranced and distant.

“Okay, aldol condensations.” She grunts against the wet of her mouth, wipes it off on her wrist, the cloth of her long sleeve, “What did you get on the last exam, and what’s your current grade.”

“Getting right into it.” You joke, crossing your legs and picking at the edge of your paper: your nerves apparent.

“I’m efficient.” Mizu says tartly, pushing her curled bang away from her face with the eraser end of her pencil.

You tell her your grade and your last exam results. The look on her face reveals nothing but you can feel a sense of something there. You wait as she starts writing something on her own notebook.

“My email, my number. If you have any questions outside of class or tutoring—I’ll respond within the hour.” She tears the paper and sets it in front of you. Her hands almost fit against the entire page, very nearly.

You nod, taking the paper and watch as she bends over to grab highlighters and colored pens from her bag. A stretch of skin above her hip is revealed before it’s covered as quickly as it appeared.

Mizu doesn’t ask about your flushed face, instead starts on the mechanisms behind carbonyls and electrophiles. You keep up as best as you can, and when you ask for a recap on certain parts, Mizu backs up easily, explains it slower and asks follow up questions. She’s a good tutor, and you think how steadfast she is.

Even in lecture, she comes over to you after and lets you ask her questions about that day’s concepts, draws the mechanisms out on your notebook so you can reference it later. In those moments, she’s pressed above you, a pillar you can rely on, someone you’d do anything for: including getting a good grade on your next exam.

Mizu has made it clear throughout the tutoring sessions: you’ve gotta do fairly well on the next exam to pass.

So, the days leading up to the exam, she’d accepted your invites for extra sessions. You’d convinced her to come over more often and stay longer with the prospect of a meal.

Take-out of her choice since you couldn’t cook. You were getting the hang of it all fortunately, and Mizu was the happiest you’d ever seen her as she ate. It was nice, nearly domestic, almost.

So when you messed up on a fairly simple reaction, the cold of Mizu’s eyes opened a wide feeling in your belly, in your gut.

“This is clearly wrong.” She’d say, the pencil marks smeared against her fingers, “You’re smarter than this.”

And you’d nod, and you’d apologize, your legs rubbing together. A heat boiling.

The next time Mizu came over, you’d bought a bottle of wine for the occasion: the last session before the exam.

“Oh?” Mizu’s hands wrapped around the neck of the bottle, an easy grip, hold steady and warm. Your jaw went slack, nearly noticeable had you not looked away and hummed a yup!

You didn’t drink often, so you made sure to get a sweet flavored red wine. Mizu’s mouth was a dark wipe of sangria, her stained lips a near perfect sight in your bedroom—against your desk.

“This is wrong.” She’d grunt.

And oh, you’d think, her voice.

“I thought that—“

“This is a primary alcohol. It reacts with an acyl halide, to form a..?”

And she’d look at you. Her eyes dilated and her cheeks and jaw flushed, a strand of fair sticking to her forehead.

“A..um, a carboxylic acid?”

And she’d frown, a cute scrunched up thing, and you’d stutter an apology, head light and mouth heavy.

“Wrong.” It was mean, the way she said it. An annoyed thing that pushed out of her easily, you shivered at it all “You know I didn’t tutor you all this time for you to fail.”

She pressed her hand against your forehead then, your cheek, your neck, the curve of your shoulder.

“Are you that drunk you’d forget everything I’ve taught you?”

Her touch was a heated weight, and you shook your head and she grabbed your chin, directed your gaze at her: an anger flared in her eyes, one barely veiled behind the alcohol.

“Hm?”

You kissed her then. It was easy, the way you leaned in and tasted her. The wine on her lips was still there and you wondered if her tongue was stained in it too—wanted to find out desperately suddenly. So you opened your mouth, and found yourself shocked as Mizu followed, her breath a hot push into your mouth, the roof of it.

She pressed you against your chair, into the bend of the back and straddled you.

“Hah.” Her lips were puffy, a faint velvet. You watched as she observed your face, a hesitance there that dissolved when you let your jaw fall, mouth open, “fuck.”

She kissed you this time, an insistence that made you press your knees together and squirm. The kisses only became heavier, longer, then quick, then slow again.

By the time you’d both calmed down, Mizu’s dress shirt was ripped open, the bones of her chest exposed. A faint mole visible beneath her collarbone. You kissed it and left a mark.

“This isn’t very helpful for you right now.” Mizu commented. Her lips wet and dark. You wanted more, “Your exam..”

“‘ts okay.” You reassure, holding the small of her back in your palm.

She rolled her eyes, set both her hands on either side of your head and gave you a glare, “You better not fucking fail.”

You grinned, a dopey, kiss-happy one.

“Okay.” you whisper, kissing her once more.

The day your exam results arrive, you get the highest score, and Mizu eats you out as a reward.

———

So this was very long, but i kinda got really into it at the end so.. thanks for the ask!

[chaosduckies]

Friends In Small Places (Chapter 1)

The size shifter story is finally here! This is more of a slightly sad piece, even though this first chapter isn’t really all that gloomy and monochrome, I actually have this entire plot line planned out and everything, and whew is the ending going to be something.

But I hope you enjoy! (this chapter is mainly just for introductions so I’m sorry if there really isn’t anything interesting TwT)

Word Count: 4.2k

CW: Depression, major anxiety, slight gore warning? (Though nothing actually happens)

1-Liam

Today the main hall was bustling with people crowding the board that had all of the activities and clubs posted on. Most of the time people didn’t care all too much about it, only the people who were actually in those clubs, but today was different for some reason. Fitting in between the seemingly hundreds of people, I saw what the commotion was all about. The psychology classes were all being called to a meeting at four. Which was when most classes ended, but still. It’s rare that this school ever calls meetings. It just so happens that I was taking psychology though. 

I sighed, moving back on the free sidewalk get to the library. A friend was waiting for me to help her study for a test she had in just a few hours. I thought I might as well help seeing that I’ve already taken the course. I used to think that college was extremely strict from how my old high school teachers described it, but in reality it’s not that hard when you just take the time to study and take a few practice tests the day before one. It was just two-and-a-half years before I major in psychology and become a therapist. Well, that was my dream anyways. In this world, it was a lot harder given that most therapists get assigned to a size shifter. That was something I didn’t want to do. Well, maybe if it was one who could only shrink, but that’s maybe it. It freaks me out knowing that there are some shifters who could be as tall as a small skyscraper, and some even bigger. A shiver ran down my spine even thinking about it. But that won’t happen. 

Among the few people sitting at the quiet tables lines with pencils, a few pieces of notebook paper, and a lamp that barely even worked, there was a girl waving her arms around aimlessly trying to gain my attention. I laughed softly before walking and sitting down next to her. It seemed she had been here for hours with how she kept her space. Papers spewed all across with scribbled down notes that was barely even legible, colored pens in a mixed mess with her other writing supplies. It made you wonder how she had even made it to college. 

“I see you’ve been hard at work, Rhya.” I set my slightly heavy bag down and started attempting to clean up the vast sums of paper all over the desk and try to keep her notes in order. 

“Yeah well, not everyone can be all neat and tidy as you are.” She lightly elbowed me before grabbing the stack of papers in my hand and shoving them in a folder. I guess she was going to re-do them after all. Either that or she didn’t need them. Despite this being primarily a nursing and health school, Rhya was in the art department. Of course she had to take the core classes along with her own elective, but she plans on becoming a graphic designer. 

“It’s not my fault I know how to study and you don’t.” I joked around, watching her pull out her computer and grab a few empty pages on notebook paper and her calculus book. 

“And it’s not my fault you don’t know how to have any fun.” She stuck her tongue out playfully before pulling up a practice test. 

“Hey I know how to have fun, just not when I know I have better things to worry about.” She solved the first problem right, pumping her fist up in the air as she wrote down the question and highlighted everything she needed to do. I’m also guessing she planned to study whatever notes she was making. 

“I guess you have a point. How’s that psychology major coming along?” She had asked, writing down the problem and attempting to solve it. I sighed, pointing to the number she was missing, “You square root that,” Rhya groaned, “It’s going good. We have some kind of weird meeting later today though.” 

“Oh? Do you know what about?” Rhya asked, but I could tell she was hiding something from me. She knew something. 

“No. Do you?” I skeptically looked at her, earning a side eye right back as she had paused her writing for a moment. 

“Would you believe me if I said no?” She grumbled, I shook my head, a slight smile forming on my face. She knew I would win this argument. 

“Okay well, this might not be true, but I heard that a few psychology students were chosen to have a training. Like, the real deal kind of thing. Size shifter and all. That the ones chosen were supposed to act like one of those special therapists.” My heart nearly skipped a beat at the news. Where did she even hear this from in the first place? There’s no way that’s even real. 

“You’re kidding, right?” I laughed nervously. Even if it was true, I doubt they’d choose a sophomore. I’ve only really had a few practices and I still have a couple more years until I become the real deal. 

“Would I lie to you?” She turned to me, a worried look on her face. Did she think I would have to go through with that? I sincerely doubt it. There was no way they’d put me on whatever list they have going on. Maybe my upperclassman though. They could choose Chelsey, she was really good with everyone and a senior. They’d most likely choose her. Maybe even Ryan since he was really experienced. Actually, he was a size shifter himself, but he’s so good at controlling his emotions that he doesn’t even need to worry about accidentally shooting up a couple feet. 

“Ah, it doesn’t matter. I doubt they choose someone with barely any experience. Don't’ worry about it.” I smiled, pointing back to Rhya’s computer to tell her that she needed to get to studying and stop worrying about me. Seriously, she really needed to study otherwise she was going to fail. I can almost guarantee that she’ll be crying to me later when she fails her test. Not my fault she doesn’t study. 

——————

The gym was a large space, but our entire class only took up one tiny portion of the bleacher space as our instructor and several other people dressed up in fancy suits were talking on the ground. I sat next to Ryan, who was playing with the green-colored band on his wrist, showing that he was in one of the five classes of size shifters. Purple represented that they could shrink down to an inch or maybe even smaller if their emotions had the better of them. Blue represented that they could shrink too, but not as much as the one’s with a purple wrist. Green represented that they could both shrink and grow, but only to a certain height. Yellow meant that the shifter could grow to be the size of about a small building, or maybe even a little more depending on how they’re feeling. Red was by far the worst one. To me at least. The shifter’s with a red band can grow to heights you could only dream of. Which was why all shifters with a red band were all forced to be with a specialized therapist for only them. Because if they lose control of their emotions, it could end pretty badly.  

“I’m glad you all saw the announcement on the board. I’m a little surprised really.” Mr. Smith shoved his hands in his front pant pockets, taking a look at all of us before his eyes laid on me, smiling warmly. Why? Something was up. 

“These two gentlemen here are the head of the SSU. Also known as the company that helps size shifters in need. Recently, there has been a shortage of individuals that are willing to work with shifters in helping them control themselves. These two are on the look for candidates-in-training to help fill those missing spots.” 

The two men in suits walked to the front, holding out a clipboard. Those had whoever was going to be picked for this. But why this school? There was another college not too far from here. They could choose from them. Unless they were, and the “tiny” shortage was actually a big one. Or… no. They wouldn’t do that, right? It’s the SSU, they’ve literally helped the world become safer for decades. They wouldn’t be doing an experiment, would they? 

“It’s wonderful to see all sixty-two of you young scholars gathered here today. As your professor already said, we are both from the head office at SSU looking for the best of the best to fill in those empty spots, regardless if you do or don’t have any experience.” That last part made a shiver run down my spine. Ryan turned his head to me, patting me on the back. There was no way they’d choose a nobody like me. No way in hell. 

“This list contains twenty of you who will be taking part in this. You will be in charge of taking care of your designated partner until we can find a professional replacement suited well enough to take over. If I call your name, please stay behind after we dismiss everyone.” The tall man smiled, looking down at the clipboard and calling several names. The anxiety pricked my skin like icicle shards, it had almost seemed like the man reading off names was speaking in slow motion. A few deep breaths, and it was back to normal. 

“Ryan Wright.” He smiled while earning several compliments and congratulations from his fellow classmates. 

“Chelsey Torres.” She giggled a few seats away from us. 

“And Liam Rover.” 

My muscles tensed up at the mention of my name. I couldn’t tell if my heart had stopped or if it was just beating horrifyingly fast. I could tell people were trying to praise me, but I couldn’t hear, their appraisal only reaching my ears in a muffled and slow manner. I managed the most sincere smile I could while trying to hide how much I was trembling. Maybe this would be okay? Maybe I’ll be lucky and not be paired up with a shifter who could potentially crush me between two if their fingers if they really wished to. Was the room cold or was it just me? 

“Everyone else may head to their dorms. Thank you for coming.” 

After everyone had filed out of the empty gym, the other shorter man dressed in an identical suit as the taller one started calling out our names all over again, handing them a red folder with presumedly the shifter we’ll be assigned. Was this how it was when you’re actually a professional? You just get assigned to one? You don’t get to know them or anything? 

Once I was handed my folder, I dreaded every single second of opening it. Please let it be easy, please let it be easy, please let it be eas-

Oh. 

It was only a picture of who we were partnered up with and anything that might be worth mentioning about them. Wow was I overreacting. Then again, that didn’t exactly smoothen out the anxiety that was still pricking at my skin. Though, this shifter didn’t seem so bad. If anything, he actually looked pretty nice. The only thing I had noticed was that he was diagnosed with depression. He kind of looked like it too if I were being honest. It seemed hard for him to smile for the picture. Why did I also get the hint that he wasn’t feeling very good either? I guess I’ll find out when we officially meet. 

“Inside you’ll find who your partner will be for the foreseeable future. You’ll still be coming to your classes, which was why we mainly wanted to stick with the upperclassmen, and afterward go back to where we are currently housing your designated shifter. You have three days to pack everything you need and want, and you’ll soon be living off campus. Just think of it was having a roommate that needs constant supervision.” 

Okay, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. I’m almost entirely confident that this shifter won’t really be a big deal. I mean, he looks about a year or two younger than me. So he just graduated high school? Agh, I have no idea. I’m just jumping to conclusions. But, hopefully they won’t make me handle anything crazy. That I can’t do. 

——————

They were driving me across the city to go meet up with the shifter I’ll be taking care of for however long. For all I know it could be a few days or weeks. I would think someone would want to step up for the job instead of letting students do this, but I guess not. Chelsey and Ryan have texted me a few times that they were getting settled in already while I was still heading over. It was already around thirty minutes just to get across the place, so that means I’ll have to take a bus almost everyday just to make it to my classes. That’s just great, but I’m in no position to complain. I actually tried talking with Professor Smith about it, but he told me that he had no say in the matter at all, which was weird. I doubt he would want his younger students to even take part in this. 

Along the streets were the many, many buildings that both accommodated for humans and their much larger or smaller companions. Although I’ve only ever been around Ryan about twice when he’s giant, it really wasn’t that bad. He can only grow till someone was like the height if his entire hand so it really wasn’t even that bad. Of course it’s still nerve-racking, but I trust him. Plus, we were at a small party with our little friend group. I doubt he could even bring himself to hurt someone. So really I wasn’t too worried. The only other shifter I’ve been around is an old high school friend of mine, but she goes to a different college now. 

Hundred of houses passed by us as we drove into a little neighborhood. What really made me worried was that the driver wasn’t exactly stopping at the normal-sized houses. Where was he going? I watched grimly as some of the huge houses we passed by came to a halt to one on the very end of one of the many streets. This one wasn’t as big as the other one’s down the street, but it wasn’t exactly small either. At least to me. So… I was paired up with a shifter who could only grow. That’s great. Just… great. 

I grabbed my bag and the small suitcase I had brought with me that was just full of my clothes and some stuff for school. Well if I’m supposed to stay here almost all of the time now I have to find something to keep me busy. And apparently from the immense size difference that will be between my new roommate and I. Of course I was terrified! If he really is diagnosed with depression and was a shifter who grew that only made matters worse for me. I hope whoever plans to take over for me does it soon. 

It took me and the driver to reach the doorstep, but eventually the driver gave it a knock. I swear I could hear some mumbling coming from the other side, but I didn’t dwell too much on that. Most.y because the extremely large door started to open slowly, but I saw no one on the other side. Maybe he was shy? 

“Well I may take my leave, though I have been ordered to tell you that a bus comes in the morning at around 6 just down the street from here, and another will take you back here around 5 and 8. Also, if anything goes wrong, to call this number on your phone.” He handed me a folded slip of paper, then took his leave. I shoved the slip in my pocket, hesitantly taking a few steps into the huge house. 

It was neatly cleaned around the place, though I couldn’t really see from my view on the ground. Everything around me was huge. I mean I’ve been to one of the rooms on the bigger side of the campus, but those rooms were smaller. It’s not an entire house filled with furniture. 

As I took a few steps out more, I jumped when the door had lightly closed behind me. My eyes trailed up and up, finding the face of the person I had seen in the picture. His eyes grew wide when I met his gaze, then bit the bottom of his lip before sliding his back against the wall behind him. 

Everything in my body told me to run, but if I did then I would only get scolded for it later. This isn’t even what I wanted to be! I wanted to be a normal therapist that helps regular adults and kids feel better. Not a human who could easily trap me in a fist and just kill me. I would have been fine if they could only shrink, but this was much worse. 

I faced down, taking a few deep breaths that barely even help me in this situation. I had to take care of someone fifty times my own size? How was that even possible? There weren’t even any smaller sized things around this place. Nothing that could help me get around easier either! 

I guess I could attempt to get his name. I mean, nothing could go wrong then, right? Just maybe from a distance… even if he could, at any point in time, just grab me whenever he so wanted. I felt sick just thinking about being held. Wouldn’t I have to be though? I can’t exactly just climb everywhere I want to go. 

“H-hi. Um, I’m Liam.” I forced myself to walk closer, even under his gaze, but I stopped walking closer when he moved himself further in the corner, looking a bit saddened. He probably knew I was scared. Maybe. I hope I’m some-what hiding it well enough. Though, I’ve never really been that good at it. 

“Oh, um, C-Casper. You can call me Cas if you want.” He kept his voice to a very quiet whisper. So he knew that if he talked too loud it would hurt my ears. At least he’s self-aware. Though, I couldn’t help but feel bad. I may be utterly terrified of him, but I mean he hasn’t really given me a reason to be truly scared, yet. 

“Nice to m-meet you, Cas.” I put on my best fake genuine smile. What? Have to find some way to convince him I wasn’t scared. Even if my body was trembling like crazy and my heart threatened to just come right out of my mouth. 

“Y-you too, sir.” His hand slightly twitched, but he just shook his head, giving me a sad look. ‘Sir?’ Why did he call me that? I didn’t dwell on it. Instead, I turned to look at the place, not finding a place to put my stuff. I sighed, hurrying to place it up against the wall opposite of Cas. This would be fine. Yeah, yeah. 

Casper, overall, seemed pretty nice. He had a black, messy hair that complimented his light-brown eyes. He wore a baggy long-sleeve shirt with a pair of jeans I have no idea why he was just wearing jeans in his own house, but it’s whatever he wants to do. Not my place to comment. The only real thing that caught my attention were the light bags in his eyes. Has he been sleeping? 

“Did you want to come here? Like, willingly?” He had asked, slightly leaning a little closer to my spot in the middle of the floor. I admit, it made me a little uneasy, but I don’t think he realized it. It just made it really hard to answer his question when all I could think about was how easily he could kill me right now. He wouldn’t do that, right? He seems so nice. Even if I’m barely two inches to him and I could easily just be crushed or accidentally killed if he wasn’t being too mindful. I shuddered at the thought, but forced my voice to work with me. 

“I-I’m just a student at a college. They just told us we were going to help out shifters, for like, real-world training I guess.” I started speaking a little fast and I could hear my voice slowly get quieter the more Cas seemed to lower his body to me. I felt so small compared to him. It’s overwhelming really, but it’s not like I can just back out. I already asked and they said if I did then I wasn’t cut out to stay in the classes. Seriously, all I wanted was to either be a therapist or a social worker. Not take on these huge responsibilities of making sure an entire living being is doing okay and doesn’t have any malicious intent to just… Aghhhh. 

“Oh. Well, I’m not exactly the best person to be paired up with.” He laughed sadly, holding up his wrist and revealing a red band. A little squeak left my mouth as I stood in place, practically frozen in fear. Why did they pair me up with him? They gave me more than I can handle. There was no way I could do this. I bit the side of my cheek, struggling to keep my composure. 

Cas caught onto my fear, scooting as far away from me as he could while making sure I wouldn’t freak out. Why did he move away? I was going to be fine. I think- But I was okay. Just as long as I keep a certain distance from him for a while. It takes me a long time to adjust to new things, and this might take me a while, but I couldn’t just do nothing. It was obvious to me that Cas was afraid of something, I just couldn’t figure out what just yet. 

“I’m fine, Cas, I promise.” I nervously smiled, hiding how terrified I was. Shifters with a red band can grow to heights you could only dream of. Great. Seriously, what have they done? They think I can handle someone who already looks like he’s struggling to keep himself together just by meeting me? I didn’t really want to find out what would happen if he doesn’t contain his emotions. Was there a person partnered up with him before? I knew I wasn’t going to be getting any answers, but there was no harm in asking them. 

“O-Okay,” He whispered, getting in a more comfortable sitting position, “Are you sure though? I don’t mind giving you an hour or two to get used to… everything.” He looked away for a second, and I could tell something was on his mind. Along with the constant moving away every time I had tried to walk closer, or when he knew I was scared of him, I would think to say that he’s scared of himself. Or, at least hurting other people. It makes sense actually. I’ve heard stories that a lot of shifters realize that they can really hurt people and just try their hardest not to interact with people smaller than themselves. It’s like they collapse on themselves since they don’t want to hurt anyone. I guess Cas and I weren’t so different. 

“Okay, look, it’s obvious that you’re more afraid of yourself than I am of you,” Cas’s eyes widened, “How about we both try to help each other out? I’ll keep trying if you do.” I held out my hand without thinking. A compromise between the two of us. I know we both met like five minutes ago, but I’m pretty sharp for people my age with little experience. But, honestly, maybe this wasn’t so bad. I think all that Cas wanted was the relief that he won’t hurt people. Or something like that. 

“You’d go through with all that? I’m not exactly mentally stable.” I could tell that he was worried, but I just nodded my head, a genuine smile on my face that I hoped he could see. 

He eyed my hand for a while, and I still hadn’t realized what was wrong until he lightly pinched my hand between the tip of his pointer and thumb, barely even lifting it up and down for my own sake. Oh he has no idea how scared I was right now, but he didn’t have to know that. Just a little more pressure and he could just yank my arm right off-I shook that thought away. Don’t think about that right now. It would be okay. Just as long as I get an idea of what to do when he does eventually lose control or something. I had zero idea. I think the thought that stuck in the back of my mind was making me more worried than anything really. I’m just a stress toy for him. But I’ll just have to get over my fear. There was no way I would let this stop me from graduating. Not in a million years.

——————

Sorry for a slightly boring chapter! I did a LOT of world building for this one, and had to map out almost every single interaction through the course of the entire story plot. There also wasn’t much g/t but again, it’s just an introduction chapter. (I’m doing what I love and no one can stop me hehehe-)

But I hope you enjoyed reading! I promise the second chapter will have a much, much better g/t interaction. (Oh trust me it will >:3) I hope you all have a great day/night!

[stickynotebirds]

Do you only use color pencils?

I'm so glad you asked me this anon because now I can ramble about my art supplies! (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

So when I started this challenge I thought it would be fun to only work with cheap office supplies (yes, I consider dollar store colored pencils an office supply). You see, limiting your art supplies is fun because it forces you to be creative and experiment with different looks. And the texture of colored pencils works really well to imitate the texture of feathers.

However! Using only cheap colored pencils gets kind of boring if you have to do a challenge for an entire year. So after around 50 birds I started slowly adding to my arsenal:

Higher quality colored pencils

Some birds have bright vibrant colors which are impossible to achieve with bad colored pencils. Which is why I added some slightly better quality pencils to the mix.

I still don't have a good green pencil which is why it took me so long to draw a kakapo and why I still haven't drawn a kea...

Highlighters in different colors

You might not think that highlights are a very useful art supply but they have been very useful in this challenge for two reasons: 1) They are great for creating the shiny iridescent quality of some feathers (see my drawings of hummingbirds for examples) 2) how the f do you show the difference between yellow and white when working on yellow paper?? Yellow highlighter!

Black fineliners

The texture of pencils does not work well if you want to draw something that's fully black. This is especially important to me because my favorite birds, coots, are black.

Fineliners are the markers I have found that gives me the least texture for the ideal slick black bird look.

White Posca pen

For making white details. I use it most often for making eyes and feathers look shiny but sometimes also for larger details.

So there you have it! The semi-complete list of art supplies I use! (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

Since I only have around 50 birds left to draw I probably won't be adding anything new before the challenge is over (unless I find a good green pencil lol)

[emillyverse]

Production stages of the Fan Comic of "The Wish Kingdom" !!!

(written by @annymation)

And as promised, here is the "schedule" I said I was putting together for the Comic fic production process.

In the end, this isn't really a "timeline", it's more like a list of what I'll do to build the comic. I want to make all the processes very clear and described to give you an idea of how it will be done and a small idea of how long it will take.

Remembering that I am a human being, not an AI to do things quickly, I have another life beyond networks and this project.

Besides the fact that none of us are being paid to do this comic (although I really wanted to, I'm not going to lie), all of this is being done on the basis of love, affection, positivity and adoration for the initial concepts dispensed by Disney, their classic films that really made that company grow and the main messages conveyed by Walt Disney while he was still alive: "If you can dream something, you can make it happen!" and "It's fun to do the impossible!"

So please be patient and kind to me and the entire team! I already love, adore and thank everyone willing to follow our project.

<3

Well… Let's get started!

1- Rereading and Separating the text:

Starting today (02/26/2024) I will be re-reading Anny's fanfic, separating all of her text into scenes, highlighting the following points:

Atmosphere

Characters (designs made by @uva124)

Speeches and facial expressions - the message

Thus defining "who says what, how and in which place?"

Since I will be doing the setting art myself, as the story progresses, I would really appreciate a little help. I'm guessing if you're reading this you've probably already read The Kingdom of Wishes and consequently imagined the scenarios! If you find any images online that remind you of the locations of the scenes in your mind, you can send them to me as a reference! I'm always open to references for drawings!

2- Make the "Thumbnails"

I don't know what term foreigners use to define the thumbnails that make up the first drafts of comics, but here in Brazil, we call them "Doll", in reference to the fact that the sketches are a "test doll" for the comic strip .

Anyway, I digress! It is at this stage that I define the composition of the scenes through sketches. This is where I define what appears or not in the scene, what the scene will be focused on, how I will guide the reader's eye by the meaning of reading the scene, where the lines, the characters, their movements and others will be located… It's a planning phase on how to portray the scenes; the most complex I would say.

3- Review

Here I take a break for two days or three days at most, to relax and forget about the project for a bit. I come back with new energy and review everything that was done, ask for opinions and suggestions from the team, in short, I give a great evaluation and improvement in everything!

4 - Finalization and Publication

In this last step, I transform the sketches into final artwork using graphite pencils, colored pencils and pens that I have available.

When they are all finished, I will publish the comics here and on all my social networks!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally....

I would like to say that yes, I will be posting spoilers for all these stages, watch them at your own risk!

Remembering that English is not my native language, so I really hope everything was understandable! But if you have any questions, you can send questions to me or any member of the team!

And if you want to know a little more about my arts, you can check out my Instagram!

Kisses full of light and stars!

Let's work!!

[creatingblackcharacters]

Hi! I'm an artist, and I'm doing a project working in pen and ink, in black and white, and I am struggling to draw darker skin tones in this medium. I know to focus on the features and making sure the features are consistent with what a black person looks like and not just a white guy 'painted brown', but what I'm struggling with is drawing the skin itself in comparison with my white characters, whose skin I do not color in. My instinct is cross-hatching, but in this style it looks really bad on faces. How can I show the actual tone of my character's skin in this medium? If you have any resources on this I would really appreciate it <3

So I looked, and I found this example on YouTube. While I don't think the piece itself is the greatest- and she's using pencil- she gets across what my advice is, which is to shade and blend with the ink. You can paint certain parts of the face darker, leaving room for highlights on the skin- remember, lighting loves brown skin! If the features on the portrait are accurate, we don't need the entire face to be crosshatched. We can tell from the features, shading, and highlights that you've drawn a person with dark skin.

Here's a better example from Proko- again with pencil, sorry lol. Notice how I can tell this is a Black man without the entire piece being "black", both bc of his features and bc of the shading. I would think that pen and ink would work the same way, though with more precision and practice bc theyre not erasable.

If anyone else has any advice, please!

[retro-with-a-twist]

¡WARNING!: VERY long post ahead!

I was recently asked to do a tutorial for two friends, and I figured I’d share it here! It’s on how I personally use markers and colored pencils for portraits, so if that’s something you’re interested in then this is for you!

I must preface by saying this is my first tutorial/guide thingy and I’m no professional, but hopefully it helps some! This is only one way of going about it, don’t worry if it’s not your way!

Without further ado, let’s do this! And remember: Trust the process!!!

First, the angelic (😏) reference:

Now, we all see tones differently. I also am using the Art Alternatives Portrait Set, which is limited in tones. So, this won’t be completely picture accurate- which is okay! Essence over accuracy!

Alright! Here we go!

Step One: the sketch!

Typically I do the sketch in the person’s undertone, usually pinks or purples. However, for whatever reason I was compelled to try blue on this one, and hey- what is art if not random attempts at creating beauty?

And just like the color scheme, the sketch isn’t 100% accurate. But again, it’s all good!

But anyways, the reason I do my sketches in colored pencil is because it doesn’t smudge like graphite does, and it actually blends into the marker. I feel it’s smoother, and it provides some undertones as you start layering with marker.

Step Two: base tones

This is where you wonder if you just destroyed the entire drawing. I promise you that you didn’t! Basically what I do here is I put pinks down wherever I see pinks in the reference and lay down where the skin is the darkest. I find that it blends better when it’s underneath the base layer.

Step Three: the base layer

Here, all you do is throw down the skintone over the entirety of where it goes, in this case the face. I typically try to leave out highlights, but sometimes the marker bleeds and covers things I didn’t ask it to. In this case, that was the eyes. Oh well!

One thing to notice here is how you can still see the colored pencil beneath the sketch. That’s a very useful guide for when you begin detailing.

Step 3.5: uh

This isn’t necessarily a marker step, it’s just me letting the ink dry and working on other spots with pen and colored pencil. Also, I do like to go over the pink areas a few times to make them less stark.

Step Four: beginning detailing

Now, black is a tricky color on the face, because it can either smudge on everything and turn it gray, or work really well. I used a colored pencil here, and began going over the blue colored pencil spots and lines that were visible under the marked, which started to bring out his face. I also covered the highlight on the nose that had been left alone thus far.

Step Five: THE™️ details

If there’s anything I’ve learned in my five years of drawing, it’s that the highlights and darkest points are what really make the piece. Pure white, bright highlights (like the ones in the eyes) are awesome, but lately I like smudging them out a little bit so that they’re gentler.

If there’s anything you want to hit, it’s the whites of the eyes with the white gel pen, and the pupils + nostrils with the black fineliner.

I have shaky hands, but I use them to my advantage in stippling the darkest part of the eyebrows and in the line of the lips with the fineliner- it just adds a little bit more depth :)

Hair is its own thing, I just sort of wing it. Black hair especially is not the easiest for me, just because I find it difficult to bring out the shades in it. It’s not done at this step as I was trying to figure out how I was going to finish it.

I will also blend things out with both the skintone marker and a pink colored pencil just to get stuff to be smoother. If you’re going for semi realism/realism like me, I highly recommend taking a reddish brown to do some freckles/skin texture with. You can’t see it too much in this picture, and I didn’t want to overdo it since Cas/Misha doesn’t have that many freckles as far as I can see, but it does make a difference.

Step Six: everything else

I did the jacket in colored pencil as well as the fake id!

If you have any questions let me know, I’m happy to help!

Hope this is a decent guide :)

[arcadekitten]

Hello Arcadekitten!!! I read the Stellamb wedding post(s) and it got me wondering about how Stella’s wedding dress would look like… I absolutely love Sweet No Death, so I knew I had to make some artwork of it!! And, because I absolutely suck at explaining things through text, here is my interpretation of Stella’s wedding outfit in traditional art! ✨💫🌟

Materials Used: Mixed Media Paper, Ink Fineliner Pens, Alcohol Markers Gel Pens, Paint Pens, Highlighter and Mechanical Pencil

Time Took: 1 week

I don’t know if you’re okay with people sending fanarts and stuff to you, but I absolutely love your work and well, I’m quite proud of this piece (even if I probably shouldn’t be lol) as I worked extremely hard on this and wanted to share it with you! I hope that’s okay ❤️

A little artist “#Deep Dive tm” because I put WAY too much effort into the tiniest details and I am NOT gonna let them get overlooked 😤 /jk

-Stella’s dress is made with her signature colors rather than white, because I felt that with her being a Star Witch and all, a species that mostly has extravagantly colorful clothes (in my humble opinion) she felt that just going with plain white on what is possibly the most important day of her life would feel… well, a bit redundant, so she opted for a more ‘colored’ ballgown, with lacy gloves and a pearled veil and all. The local tailor and dressmaker is a bit confused, but Lambchop is definitely not complaining! ;) 💕💓

-(Well, that, and I also felt that the color blended WAY too much with her skin tone and changed it, but that’s my little secret hehe 👀😉)

-In my mind, Stella can make her hair look like it has a small galaxy within it! With actual moving stars and little twinkling lights. ✨💫✨⭐️🌟I think that she usually saves it for special, grandiose occasions, buuut since she’s not the kind of person who would THROW a grand, special occasion, she never unveiled it before her wedding day! (Poor Lambchop’s heart nearly gave out on the spot right then and there! 😭❤️)

-I didn’t add her usual Star hair clip because she already has like… 10 stars in her design already lmao /lh ⭐️

-As you can see, her bouquet’s… cloth? Fabric? I’m not sure what to call it… thing? The stuff that her flowers are wrapped in are Lambchop’s colors! Thought that it would be a neat visual detail… also, I can totally imagine Stella requesting that specific color scheme from the local florist! 💐🌷🌸

-Speaking of flowers… I decided to color in one of the moon daisies a little bit… differently hehe ;) It’s a small reference to the beginning of the game, where we see Stella change the color of the one rebellious moon daisy, from orange to lavender, except this time… she keeps it and uses it in her bouquet! 💖💗

-I like to think that it symbolizes Lambchop versus the rest of the townspeople… and Stella’s way of acknowledging him as a “real person”, at least compared to the others… one who is different, one who is unique… the one that she’s going to marry 💍🩷

-(it’s so absolutely sappy when she tells him so that he just couldn’t resist kissing her right then and there)

-And finally… (this is the last one I promise) I cut out the entire drawing to make it look like a potion bottle, partially because Stella is a witch, and partially because I had this cute lil idea that she stores all of her happiest memories into a magical bottle and takes it out whenever she feels sad, so that she can ‘experience’ it again and feel happier. Of course, with Lambchop by her side, she never really has to use it!💞🩷💗

-And yes, I also made the bottle have Lambchop colors as well 🐏 Just a nice little thing tying em together more visually… ❤️

…And I am SO SORRY for ranting!!! I worked incredibly hard on this piece (traditional art is NOT my strong suit, lol) but I wanted to make something special for one of my favorite games and one of my favorite game devs! So here it is, and I hope that you like it! 🤞❤️😁

(P.S: Any ideas for Lambchop’s wedding design?)

Oh my goodness this is BEAUTIFUL!! The artwork itself is just stunning!! You took so much time on it and it really shows, especially with all your attention to detail in it(and I LOVE hearing your explanations for some of the choices you made!! They're just so darling!) Everything about this is stellar and I'm in love with it, thank you so much!! ♡ ♡ ♡

Also I TOTALLY AGREE Stella would not wear white for her wedding!! Color all the way!! ♡

As for Lambchop's outfit...I think I've got it envisioned in my head but I haven't quite drawn anything for it yet! Top hat, definitely. I think his suit isn't black. Probably brown! Bowtie on the neck. His pants are more like shorts and are cut juuuuust above the knee! Still wearing long socks with garters. He looks incredibly dapper--as he should!! It's his wedding!

Hopefully he at least looks good for the photos before he decides to get any mysterious red stains on his outfit. (It's fine. Stella could clean them with the snap of her fingers, but still!)

[bittersword]

my amazon study essentials

this is a long post!! but hopefully it will help anyone looking for a refresher on their supplies :)

FIOVER Gel Pens: These pens have a good flow and a good grip! These look so nice and feel very satisfying to hold.

Transparent sticky notes: Good for copying diagrams down into your own notebooks!

Desk organizer: This does come a bit smaller than expected, but still holds a good amount of pens, pencils, and smaller office supplies.

Desk pad: like a mousepad, but for both the mouse and the computer! is also waterproof!

EMSHOI Spiral notebooks: These notebooks are good quality and look very fancy! The pages come with a spot to put dates and are a nice cream color.

Dual tip patterned highlighters: A marker and a patterned highlighter in one. Has patterns like dashed lines, rows of flowers, and squiggly lines.

GOTIDEAL pastel highlighters: These are SO cute and the turnout is very easy on the eyes. They are anti-bleed and don't stick out more than the actual text you're highlighting.

Amasrich book stand: A book stand with a 360 degree rotation!

if you're reading this, thank you for coming this far! this isn't my entire list so i'm likely to do a part 2, but that's dependent on interest!!

[shiverflakes]

Little Journals!

I love journaling- especially when little! In this post, I'm going to detail how one might journal if they want to :3

Finding a Journal

This is obviously the most important part! Finding the right journal for you is very important. It depends on a lot of factors; are you out of the toybox? what materials do you plan on using? what's your budget?

i personally find that dollar stores have a lot of composition notebooks with cute patterns. those are your cheapest choice, unless you already have a notebook lying around. these are also easy to hide; they're inconspicuous and you can tell anyone who asks that its for school (if you're in school)

places like target and walmart have a lot more options for a little bit more money. those run about $5-10, depending on the quality

my parents know about my regression, so i have a very obvious journal. i also changed it up with fabric, ribbon, beads, colored paper, and more! The outside is entirely customized to what i wanted at the time.

some people can't have obvious little journals. in this case, i would recommend leaving the outside plain.

i won't be going over it here, but digital journals are also an option! im going to eventually make a notion template for a little journal.

Gathering Materials

Journaling is so much more fun with cool supplies! below is a list of materials you could use!

markers

crayons

colored pencils

gel pens

stickers (bonus points for texture!!)

washi tape

colored paper

glitter/glitter glue

ribbon

pressed flowers/plants

sticky notes

felt

highlighters

newspaper

stamps

paint

anything else you have laying around that you wanna use!

Okay, so we have a journal and materials. now what? below are a bunch of ideas for your journal! I'll update this with more links as i find them

https://www.tumblr.com/shiverflakes/742338472728313856/1-about-me-page-2-likes-and-dislikes-3-yummy?source=share

[beast-feast]

Hey idk if you've answered this but what is your art process and what do you use for traditional and digital art?

Honestly I don't even know but at the same time I know the processes are very similar. I'll try and do my best HSNFKAH

Digitally I like to just Do Whatever Feels Good so it's a very "trust the process" kind of thing. Mainly when I draw digitally though I'll start with this.

Basically just making rough shapes and then the details on different layers while changing the opacity.

In the case of traditional it's a LOT more casual and I really don't have a good explanation for it? Basically skipping the rough detail layer and instead going to a sort of rough sketchy look (which is what I've been doing traditionally mostly these days.)

Digital linework is where I correct my mistakes (most of the time, if it's something Not Serious like this it'll be a lot looser looking!) And most of the time that's actually kind of where it ends lol, most of the digital stuff you see from me nowadays is only finished stuff I put effort into.

But when I finish lineart I tend to delete the sketch layer entirely so I don't mistake it for something else, and then color under the lineart layer.

And in this case I decided to give you a rough idea of how I do my shadows+highlights? I don't do it All The Time but I put them on separate layers and play with the layer settings !!! Genuinely cannot advise this enough it's really nice and fun to just see what looks best. In this case though I used a basic multiply layer for the shadows and then on a layer above it placed a few highlights where a general light source would be coming from.

Something I highly suggest is doing what feels right to you in the moment. If you're itching for something that you haven't drawn before, look at photos of what you want and then try and memorize as much of the look as you can! It's a neat little exercise for stylization I've found out, but it's also super useful for when you need references too. Don't ever be afraid of them.

Going back to trad. art though. When I'm not working with very quick sketches with pen/pencil it can come in two ways: clean pencil drawing or something made with pen+marker.

I use mainly Sharpies for colored traditional pieces, and my secret is that if you're limited on colors, LAYER IT ON!!! One shade of a green can give you a decent shadow!!! I use Micron pens for lineart and a white gel pen to sneak in a few little highlights here and there. On paper I don't put much emphasis on light and instead focus on the shadow part (mainly because it's hard for me to figure out a good lighter color for things HAHSHSJAH)

But genuinely whatever you do I don't think having a "style" is perfectly fine. It's a fluid thing that's ever-changing for some and if you fall under that category it doesn't mean that you're not skilled! Play around, have fun, generally just see what looks cool and cooler :)

[exitpursuedbyavulcan]

do you have plans for the vulcan!aemond story or the michael gavey one or more of the ettore one?

I do! I go back to them fairly often and write a few paragraphs, but I haven't been able to really sit down and focus on them for an extended period of time. It's the curse of being a mood writer. But to make it up to y'all, here's some info to tide you over:

Vulcan!Aemond is an academic rivals to academic rivals with benefits to professional rivals with benefits to lovers fic with literally SO many Star Trek references in it (from TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, and STO).

Ettore part 2 is entitled "Serpents in the Flowers."

And a sneak peek of The Girl at the Table:

Now that actual instruction had started, most of the students at Oxford began to at least pretend they were studying. How long that would last was unknown, but likely not very long at all. Each library was packed, and each table was fully occupied. Except one. In the Laudian Library, Michael Gavey sat at a table by himself – just the way he liked it. Or so he told himself. To his peers, he was unpleasant enough that no one wanted to sit with him. A fair amount of it was intentional, but not all. Though he didn’t mind the solitude too much. Over the years, he’d come to see it as one of the few perks of being so drastically different from most people. The peace it brought was far better than any of the ridicule or derision he faced when he tried to associate with others. So, he spread out his study materials across half the table. Not that he needed to. He just liked to. He worked better when he had ample space. And it was his way of staking his claim on the territory like a pissing dog. It kept the wolves away. That was how his days always went. After his classes, he came to the library, filling the table with a disorganized mess of books, papers, and discarded Crunchie wrappers. No one ever sat at his table. Not even Oliver, the one friend he’d managed to make. Oliver always sat somewhere else, forcing Michael to search for him. It was tedious, but if he could have his quirks, so could Oliver. Then, one day, someone did sit at his table. Some girl he vaguely remembered seeing around campus. He was fairly confident she was in his year. They might have even been in lectures together. She was entirely unremarkable - she didn’t hang out with anyone that he’d noticed, didn’t speak much, and had never done anything to suggest her intelligence was anywhere near his. In any other situation, Michael wouldn’t give her a second thought – he hadn’t, until now. Because she sat at his table. She claimed the seat diagonal to him, hanging her canvas tote on the chair opposite Michael. Then, after carefully setting out a single textbook and a cheap, bright blue spiral notebook so densely covered with various stickers that it took him a moment to discern its true color, she retrieved one pen and one highlighter from an old pink pencil bag and began studying. It was only after Michael had been staring at her for a minute that she finally seemed to sense that he was watching her or even there. He anticipated some expression of pity or disgust, but she just smiled at him – timid and friendly. What the fuck?

Hope this tides y'all over for a little bit!

[rachaelmayo]

Spotlight on: Lapis Lazuli Breeze from the Stone Dragon series.

Of the earliest members of the Stone Dragons, this one is one of my favorites. I like blue. I like almost all the blues. In spite of the absurd level of detailing for this piece, it seems like it went by in, well, a breeze.

There are three or four blues, plus black, that make up the entire color scheme. That's all Prismacolor pencil. The detailing is silver paint pen. There's just a little Photoshop retouching in the highlights.

[draconicdeityarts]

Hey there! I love you’re semi realistic, semi cartoonish art style bro! I hope you don’t mind me asking but what software/mediums do you use? I am trying to work on my lighting and shadows and textures but I have no clue how artists like you achieve such detail

First off- thank you so much! I truly appreciate it. And second- oh my goodness I am so sorry for how long this ask has sat in my inbox! I hope some of this can still help you :’D

As far as software goes, I’m almost exclusively working in procreate as of late. There’s plenty of great programs- if you need something free and desktop based, I highly recommend Krita. I have a few brushes from different packs that I often default to. You can see them all and links to said packs through this answer I gave to someone asking about my brushes earlier:

As far as detail in my work goes, that’s just through a loooot of practice and doodles and drawings. I’ve been drawing since I could pick up a pencil, so I’ve had a lot of time to figure out the way I like to do things- but even then I have so much to learn!

I do, however, work in many traditional forms of media as well! I haven’t done so as much lately since digital doesn’t require cleanup, but I honestly believe that working in traditional for my entire life up until 5 or so years ago has a hand in how I approach things digitally as well. I’ve done pen and marker illustration, pencil and colored pencil, acrylic painting, as well as 3D work. I’ve worked in a lot of media and I want to get around to trying as much as I can when I have the energy to! If you have questions specifically about what traditional media I use or work with let me know!

When it comes to improving on rendering, doing small studies of images you really like the lighting in helps a lot for me. Learning how to break light in a photo down to simple, blocky shapes helps to figure out getting an initial layer down to refine later when doing full pieces! When rendering a character, especially if drawing something that isn’t in a scene, I always recommend marking out the direction the light is coming from as well as color of the light before even starting, so that you can determine where highlights and shadows would be placed in an initial blockout. Keep in mind there’s different kinds of light in a piece- I would recommend looking into tutorials about direct light, indirect light, reflected light, etc to get a better feel for how it works- while I do my best, I don’t think I am quite skilled enough to explain those nuances.

When approaching most textures, especially unfamiliar ones, references are my best friend always. It might be a good idea to just do test sheets/practice making the textures that would be useful to you on occasion! And in the end, textures also tie into lighting as well, since a lot of what makes textures super distinct is how light hits them, especially when it comes to things like metal. It may be a bit of a hot take, but in a lot of cases I tend to avoid a lot of digital texture/object brushes, especially those meant to simulate natural textures like leaves, and I do those textures manually instead. I just personally like having more control over those shapes and feel it looks better when each texture is made intentionally by hand! Sometimes I do use texture brushes especially for backgrounds, abstract work or subtle layers, especially if I’m working on something very fast, but it’s not my first choice. However I do know there’s plenty of artists who use texture brushes in ways that look great, so that’s just personal preference. :)

I do apologize it took me so long to respond! But if you have any specific questions, my dms are open and I want to start replying to y’all more!