#i also tried a bit of pose referencing here..

[thefayecoven]

OKOK double post before I disappear for a bit,, Willow redesign to match w Gus! I doodled her today in Gov and a design just HIT ME

pose referenced from Dana Terrace ofc!

Ok so headcanon from the last post applies here too + will apply to all my designs <3 she developed branch-like ears but that was about it other than some temporary staining caused from growth of foliage, plants, grass, and flowers on her arms, legs, stomach, etc. when she uses her magic.

For this I included two forms of hers: spring/summer and fall/winter as I thought it would be really cool if her form changed with the seasons. Spring/summer adopts a lighter palette with more tendency to grow foliage on her body due to the sun and photosynthesis or whatever, perfect plant environment. During winter, her tree branch ears thin out to look like a dead tree during winter, and her body grows more grass than anything else during power usage to keep warm. Her skin also has a deeper dark brown tint with little brown spots on her shoulders!

I hate the doodle on the left but I’d been working for so long by that point that I stopped trying to make it look good and just rushed it to get the concept across </3

extrasss:

She grows vines from her hair when she’s mad lol

I tried to make her look more like her dads like every single redesign of Willow ever does. Blasian Willow truther!

Also here is the doodle I did during class that sparked this lol

[cheapsweets]

The Recondite Haesorog

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge from @maniculum

Now, I actually have a suspicion what this creature might be - I wasn't deliberately trying to work it out, but when I was throwing around concepts for the drawing, something clicked... If it is what I think it is, it's at the same time a really cool description, with some bits which are wildly out... I didn't pursue that particular line of thinking with my piece this week, but I'm going to be interested to see what this one turns out to be :D

Jinhao shark fountain pen with a fine, hooded nib, with Monteverde Raven Noir ink, over initial pencil sketch. I'm going to do some experimenting with the brush pen and the fude-nib in future pictures again; I appreciate the consistency of the lines that this pen is giving me, but I suspect those other pens would give a little more character to the lines.

As an aside, I'd genuinely encourage anyone looking at these challenges to give it a try; its given me a bit of focus to get back into something I used to enjoy, without too much pressure (both in terms of the time and also this mostly being about fun!)

As ever, reasoning under the cut…

"Ethiopia is the home of a creature called the Haesorog, as large as an ox, with the footprints of an ibis, branching horns, the head of a stag, the colouring of a bear and the same thick coat."

Okay! For such a short description, we've actually got a fairly good amount of detail. Of course, some of it doesn't really make sense together - bird feet with horns and a bear's thick coat? What could be going on here?

I figured that, rather than trying to work out something realistic, I'd actually treat the description at face value as much as possible. As such, we have an ox-sized, deer-headed creature with long, bird legs and feet, covered in shaggy hair! I actually tried to put a bit of deer anatomy into the legs, but they were primarily referenced from ibis photos - I'd set myself on that particular pose, but it was impossible to find a front-facing picture of an ibis with its leg raised (not perfect, but turned out better than I was fearing!)

The horns gave me cause for thought - horns don't tend to branch, but they're very distinct from antlers (antlers being bone, and shed yearly, while horns are covered in a keratin sheath which is not generally shed). In the end, and given the description of it having a deer's head, I went with antlers, specifically taking inspiration from the wapiti (American/Asian elk) and red deer for the grand, branching antlers rather than palmate antlers of the fallow deer I'm most familiar with. I did give them a little texture, as a nod to the horn though.

Charles Knight's Animal drawing was really useful here - the short essays in that book made me consider more carefully some aspects that I wouldn't have just looking at the drawings, including things like ear position, and the general vibe of the animals I was referencing.

Still experimenting with plants and trees for the background - some came out better than others, but I've learned a few more things from this about what does and doesn't work well!

I'm now kinda wishing I'd drawn a fuzzy horned dinosaur for this, but I'm still happy with the directionI went 😅🦖

"It is said that the Haesorog changes its appearance when it is afraid and, when it hides itself, takes on the likeness of whatever is near — a white stone or a green bush or whatever other shape it prefers."

Well, this is cool; an ox-sized animal that is also a master of disguise. You can see my nod to this in the background where a hunting party (plus dog) are walking straight past a Haesorog disguised as a tree...

I did a little look into medieval costume (and dog breeds) from Ethiopia; I know that this is a bit of a catchall term for Sub-Saharan Africa, but it gave me a place to start. Turns out that the figures were too tiny to put in any detail of the clothing (or to make the Ethiopian Highland Dog) distinct, but the history there is fascinating (including Ethiopian delegates to Florence in 1441 being frustrated about the Europeans constantly referring to their kind as 'Prester John' 😆

This seeming magical power of disguise also gave me a couple of extra influences in the style - the forest god from Princess Mononoke, and the goats from that film and from the Nausicaä manga. Not sure how much it came across!

[clowndotgay]

hello!! quick question - do you know of any guides for putting together toon models from the clash files in blender? i tried on my own, referencing your guide for the cogs, and it seeems a lot more complex :'0

okay i DON'T have a guide for that but i'll make a short one here (because it is kind of messy)

How to get a toon model looking Alright in Blender

bit of a messy / long one so its under the cut. this extra guide is just presuming you went through & understood the guide on how to get general models / cog models (u can read that here), because if i need to explain everything i explained in that one again this would take sixty times longer! but i promise this is pretty simple, it's just a little annoying. worth it tho.

so a toon model consists of a head, a torso, and a pair of legs. the torso includes the arms, hands and pants/skirt. the first step is to find the files that fit the toon you're assembling (all toon model files should be in either phase 3 or phase 3.5, i cannot recall at the moment) and slap them all into one blender file.

you'll immediately notice that the toon head looks super messy - that's because each species head file includes all of the versions of the head - i.e. the larger dog head and the smaller dog head. it also includes all of the different mouths used for facial expressions. just hide all of those until you need them. from this point on its really similar to cogs, where you have to get the head onto the body, except you need to get the torso onto the legs and the head onto the torso. go into pose mode on the torsos rig and select the bottommost bone (named "root") and add a "Child Of" bone constraint. make the target the legs, and the bone "joint_hips". if you do that, the torso will be on the legs!

you have to do the same thing to get the head onto the torso, except the head has no bones, so just select the head armature (which again, has no bones) in the top right and add a "Child Of" object constraint. target will be the torso armature, bone will be a bone named "def_head".

last thing that i can help with is the toons fur colour. if you look at the shading nodes for pretty much anything importer by the .egg blender importer, it'll look like this:

to colour a toon properly, delete the "attribute" and set the A colour in the Multiply node to the colour of the toon. here's an example for a bright cyan toon:

so uhh. uhh. uhh. i feel like i'm leaving out something but i'm not sure what...? toon rigs are kind of incomprehensible, so you will probably want to either modify the game one heavily or make one from the ground up, entirely up to you. using the game one is still possible, just a little annoying.

you're done assembling your toon! try and rig it properly, import animation files from the game, modify the model, give it accessories, do what you will. hope this helped! if it didn't, send me another ask/DM and let me know what i wasn't clear enough on, or what problem you have. always happy to help :o)

also since you read to the end take a look at my recent attempt to make a toon have rubberhose-y limbs since its always kind of weirded me that they have a single elbow joint and it doesn't bend in the slightest:

👍

[finn-silvers-draws]

So once again I am a little bit late to this but anyway! Seeing Across the Spiderverse (marvelous marvelous movie by the way) got me thinking about my old spidersona Spider-Fan! So here is a more realized version of him!

Context: Bailey Parker (he/they) is a tenth grader who lives in a world where Spider-Man is merely a work of fiction. Their world is quite close to our own, though a bit more fantastical just by nature of it still being fictional. Regardless, Spider-Man is one of their absolute favorite things and they absolutely adored Into the Spiderverse and Across the Spiderverse! Using his encyclopedic knowledge and skill with technology he fashions himself some equipment to replicate the usual spider powers. He makes himself a pair of sticky shoes, sticky gloves, and a tough but lightweight body suit that he wears under his clothes in order to protect himself. He also modifies a set of toy we shooters to make them much sturdier and shoot real webs.

They go by both Spider-Fan and Spider-Boy (though Spider-Fan is by far their more popular alias). They’ve been doing this for about a year.

I love the idea of him eventually finding out about the actual Spiderverse and just absolutely freaking out! “All my favorite characters are real?!!”

(The pose for this piece was referenced from the Spider-Man PS4 loading screens. I like to imagine that Bailey tries to imitate some of them as he swings around :])

[lord-shitbox]

part 2 of this ask

📝Process for hurt mezu drawing 

here are the steps i dug out of an art server's wips channel lol

1. initial sketch

2. refine sketch. thats lines now babey. (omitted "the sleeves are KILLING ME WAHHH" stage that led to this)

3. grayscale, to use with gradient map (this is a more polished grayscale than I started with, i dug the working file out to get better images)

4. find nice gradient map (ended up being the same one I'd used for the piece i made right before. the goal is to make what's essentially an underpainting, not to color the whole thing with one map)

5. tweak and add colors that arent in the map with hard light layers & also sneak in a layer for special effect and atmospheric/ scenic perspective while you're at it

6. shading & more finishing effects. pretty much all of the shading was done with hard light layers! the only non-hard light layers I used for the shading were the particle effect layers & like one faint glow layer to fix some values. blood was done with linear burn

✨Inspiration for hurt mezu drawing 

the coloring method (grayscale -> saturated gradient map underpainting -> additive color adjustments) is something I tried out with the piece i'd made right before (the one where gozu is holding mezu from behind) & turned out really well, so I wanted to keep going with it

I also wanted to draw them angstily again because it'd been a very long time. like half a year at least. angsting them is very enriching for my soul so I try to do it regularly, this one was overdue

subconsciously referenced the poses in the initial sketch from this old thing (feb 2021). i love doing this. all my for-fun works recycle old elements in some way. my favorite game is "what old art reminds me of what im doing rn" im so good at digging stuff out of my archives for it. everyone loves when i do this

the gangi-kozou panel also

i went through a "shade in bold red-orange & dark blue with hard light layers" phase in like..april/may of 2021. i still like that stuff a lot so I wanted to revisit it

💚Things you like about hurt mezu drawing

repasting the link there but the sixth image in the process is essentially the final so you can just look at that

the colors are nice!! I'm real happy with using more saturated colors n I think the warm vs cool balance works really well

the sleeves (man being dramatic on the sand meme)

no like fr look at the 2021 piece's kimono sleeves vs the one I just did 2.5 years later. so satisfying

Gozu's expression came out nice

i think the claws and flash lines successfully added Emphasis to Gozu's expression & the piece overall

the poses … the drama …. the brush textures are also good

⏳Things you’d do differently with hurt mezu drawing

add in a liiitle more contrast...aka use a wider range of values. Some lighter lights and darker darks. I miss my 2021 hard neon lighting

a bit more distinction between the characters and the background also

the composition isn't bad but it could be better. Should've thought more about the way the eye would flow around the image in the drafting stage (solid b&w color block thumbnails are good for this)

Moar Sparkles. (I put a solid amount of large & low opacity light bubbles in there & some finer brighter dots especially around the claw stems, but I think more clusters of tiny bright lights on the characters themselves would've gone hard)

💌Some favourite feedback on art

as the wise man Austin Kleon once said: keep a "praise file" of all the positive feedback you get (if you've never read "Steal Like an Artist," you must). so. i am prepared for this question hold on

tastes like sugar glass

multiple people have told me my art is soft & dreamlike

jayce you reblogged my touchstarved art with nice tags on april 10th ive got that saved love uou

umm theres a lot...anytime someone keysmashes or feels emotional because of my art i get happy ,,, lys messaged me about the hurt mezu piece that made me happy also,,,,,there is so much joy in the world

[harethere-is-art]

Process post for [An Evening Walk in Cyber City]

Hi! ^ ^ Someone had asked me to elaborate on my art process for a recent piece and honestly I have wanted to share it so this is a good excuse!

So first of all references I had set up my laptop at the general angle I knew I wanted, got up on a chair and took a few photos adusting a bit here and there to get the clearest pose. (Yes I may or may not had fallen once or twice) Unfortunately since I didn’t have an umbrella I ended up using a reference from pintererest adjusting the arm to match.

Then after I had finished the sketch I gathered up colors from both swatch’s sprite as well as the sprites used in the cyber city pixel art and did a loose painting of what I wanted the color composition to be like.

Then,,,, the perspective this,, took me a long time. this is all of the attempts combined but I originally tried out a fishbowl perspective using an image from online but it did NOT work out. The mistake I had made here is not taking the perspective of the reference in mind, which was utilizing 3-point perspective. Once I used the 3-point perspective it all fell into place and I could use the vector layers on Clip Studio to efficiently draw in and erase stray lines.

(After this point the screenshots are less consistent) Once I had gotten the grid down I took a screenshot and returned it to the original canvas and put it underneath Swatch’s layer and drew in the outlines of the buildings as well as did some shading.

The windows were also a challenge, I had heard of plenty of resources and brushes to help with windows in digital art but when I tried again and again to download said brushes, it just wouldn’t work. So out of frustration I created my Assets of Spite so I could line it up to the perspective and use the enclose and fill tool to create the windows. Granted I had to tweak and manually draw much of it since it would get to small to fill at times.

But then the buildings were too flat so I returned to the perspecive lines I had drawn and took inspiration from art pieces as well as real buildings to build more interest. I also used the clipping layer (which I had already been using for the windows) and add color.

Then I heavily referenced the ads used in ch2 to modify alternative ads and going so far as to trace the individual dots of the borders for accuracy sake. For the lighting effects I used Add and Add(glow) layers for much of the luminescent bits of the city. I also used custom rain brushes to add the rain and a bit of grain/texture to the buildings.

 Then once it was finally down to Swatch I had taken a big pause until I gained back motivation. I referenced ms.paint for the little window tab swatch is drawing on. There isn’t much to say here other than I use the round mixing brush religiously and used multiple layer settings and experimented to get the effect I wanted.

But overall this has been such a great challenge! I had felt I had been restricting myself and tackling something like this has been great. The overall takeaways I’ld grab from this is use multiple references as well as shooting some yourself, and experiment, experiment, experiment. Use new methods, explore your drawing program, mess around with different values and colors. Go nuts!

I hope this was helpful in anyway it is now 12:40am (I am not a very smart person) so I apologize if this is a bit rambly.

[mleelunsford]

Darkstalkers Redesign Thoughts Part 4 & 5

The final rounds! I was really getting worn and burnt out, so I don’t think a lot of these last ones were my best. Here are my thoughts anyway.

Part 4

Q. Bee: Q. Bee is the scariest Darkstalker for me. I hate insects to start off, if not a genuine phobia then very close. Secondly just the idea that the “humanoid” part of her is all a façade formed to lure people in creeps me out. I tried to make her body look more like it was formed organically rather than she’s wearing clothes, gave her some  extra limbs to be a bit more bug like. My favorite part is the pose though, the hand could either be seen as for her lower face searching, or for her “true” face, covering her mouth while she laughs.

 Lilith: Another difficult one! All of Lillith’s backstory is about her being Morrigan’s sealed off energy trying to return to her. Which is why she has matching outfits with Morrigan in the original. I wanted to reflect this by having her form an outfit that resembles the Morrigan redesign I did in shapes, but doesn’t quite get it right, and doesn’t look like real clothing someone would buy. With floating bits showing the whole thing as being formed mystically.

Huitzil: Originally Huitzil was based on Japanese  dogū figurines. My only idea was to bring back more of the detail and designs of those figurines to add a bit more flare. Also I read that the designs on some of them showed signs of being painted in vermillion, so I  added some of that coloring.

Bishamon: Two big things I changed here: I wanted to make him less like a solid blue man and more ghostly. Secondly I wanted to make the chest piece of the armor more of a face to pull him away from being another stomach mouthed monster like Lord Raptor. I referenced Samurai masked and Oni depictions. I saw some Samurai masks had mustaches and thought hat would be a way to make him stand out more. I also shadowed his “human” face a bit to pull focus from it. Making the armor’s face the one you are drawn to.

Part 5 

Demitri: I just wanted to give the boy some decent clothes. Who told him a skin tight body suit and a frilly jabot was suitable for every day life? Just gave him a fun layered suit and a Dracula trophy.

Jedah Domah: I’ve never liked how Jedah looks. Striking to be sure, and works great as a sprite, but in drawings I always thought he looked a little lackluster and a bit confusing. I tried to keep some basic shapes from his original look while making him a bit more intimidating (at least to me) and grim-reaper-like.

Pyron: Not much to do there with the battle-loving fire alien, but I suppose I realized I never liked his horns. I made some horn-like shapes formed by fire instead, and mostly kept him the same otherwise. There’s something charming about his original simplicity and I didn’t want to mess with it too much.

Marionette: Never a full character, just a mirror match style mode (like Shadow, who I neglected to redesign as he’s kind of just some sludge). I just tried to give her a more interesting cosutme, and made her look more like she is the puppet master than being a puppet herself. Also, not important, but a little behind the scenes thing: I have a big 20 inch Spider-Man action figure from the Toby McGuire movies, I used it as reference for how to draw the joints on Marionette here.

And that’s all! hope you enjoyed these. I thought about doing some Midnight Bliss versions down the line, but I need some rest from these now. Thanks for reading!

[moonlight-fan2008]

Back on my Moonlight BS lol

Things I would have liked to see happen in season two (had we got a second season):

Btw: yes I know they had ideas for season 2 but I’m ignoring it (or most of it at least) since I think they were just ideas/drafts and not anything concrete. Plus it’s not like they ever came to fruition in the end anyway.

P.s: this turned out longer than I thought. I’m sorry 🙂

So here is my list in no particular order, sometimes with a reasoning:

1. What happens after the door closes or at least the morning after

2. A.d.a Talbot “interrogating” (so to speak) Guillermo the next day after getting the list of vampires names, Guillermo works in the coroner’s office so it won’t be too out of the ordinary for an A.D.A to be asking a technician questions which turn to personal chit chat questions.

3. As a result we get more information about Guillermo and he gets to be fleshed out a bit more and he’s also the first to suspect something is off about Talbot.

4. More human/vampire relationships that isn’t about drinking blood.

5. Even though Emma and Jackson were killed we still see vampires leaving L.A

6. More vampires that hate being vampires

7. Coraline returns (and not as a flashback), I like Shannyn Sossamon and I feel like there’s more that can be done about Coraline’s story

8. What is so special (in universe) about Beth and Coraline’s rare blood type

9. Have Coraline reveal why she choose to kidnap Beth

10. Lance returns, (yes he’s a bastard but I would like to see him help the L.A vampires even if it’s only for his own survival and not for any vampire solidarity)

11. A pregnancy scare or maybe Beth actually is pregnant (why? because I like drama that’s why) and it’s interesting on re-watch that even from the first episode, family and children are referenced quite a bit especially with episode “What’s left behind”

12. Beth freaks out about the pregnancy scare because she doesn’t know how far along she is it may be Josh’s baby but it looks more like it can be Mick’s baby

13. Talbot “invites” Mick to more and more crime scenes and now Mick is starting to suspect something is off about Talbot.

14. Somehow “The Cleaners” find out about the list Talbot has and immediately suspect Beth and Mick tries to defend her but they won’t listen because Mick and Beth are a couple, but Josef comes to her rescue and reveals she put a hit out on Dean Foster (the gross paparazzi from the episode Click) and the vampires back off Beth.

15. There’s drama about that reveal but Mick can’t be mad for long and he comes clean about killing Tejada (from episode love last forever)

16. A holiday episode nothing cheesy or anything, maybe there’s murders happening around Halloween and the killer is dressed like a vampire or something like that but this time it’s an actual vampire and not a human posing as a vampire like in episode one.

17. Vampires start disappearing because of the list people (I think the creators had intended to call them “The Legion” but that sounds more like a vampire cult than a group of people who hunt vampires. At least to me)

18. Mick finds out about the pregnancy scare/Beth being pregnant and gets worried about the response from the vampire community.

19. Return of the mortal cure

20. So I have two possible ideas for Det. Carl

A. He is part of “The Legion” and that’s a season finale reveal but at the start of season two and as season two progresses he acts more and more odd (Why? Drama and to give him more characterization)

B. He’s in a relationship with a vampire (I think it would be interesting and maybe he and Mick won’t be so hostile to each other and maybe they can go on double dates with Mick/Beth) and it would give the vampires an ally (this would be a mid-season finale reveal)

21. Beth has a baby and we get to see first time dad (and overprotective) Mick

22. Vampires who are stuck in some weird half-human/half-vampire existence (sort of like this vampire named Vladimir Tod in his series called The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod)

23. Something happens with Sarah Whitely

24. Beth and Mick move in together, I think it will more convenient for Beth to move in with Mick, just became his apartment is a little more secure and has all his vampire things hidden away in their secret compartments. 

25. More background information about Logan

26. Vampires going after Talbot

Are some of these ideas dumb? Maybe. Would they be good episodes? Idk probably not, lol but i don’t care. I just got bored and wanted to put my ideas out there

Was this a waste of time? Yes but I don’t care lol

[just-a-cup-of-anxietea]

Three characters to describe yourself with

Tagged by the marvelous @the---hermit ! Thank you!!

Preface: Listen. Listen. I have been waiting for precisely this kind of tag for AGES. THANK YOU FOR THIS TAG. I have a multi page spreadsheet with MANY colorful charts about this because I am a nerd that is DEEPLY invested in personality systems.** (A few characters already mentioned here and here)

Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

Okay, I was HIGHLY tempted to put Annabeth here instead (bc of the obvious sustainable design architecture connection) but I think Rachel is the funnier option of the two bc of my history with it. If you were here about two years ago, you might recall the initial Rachel Elizabeth Dare comparisons (referenced here and here). It is my great pleasure to inform you all that I have firmly crossed over from Blonde territory into Redhead territory due to the passage of time and the insanity that is hair color genetics. My hair also gets puffy and curly now, just because it really wanted to commit to the Rachel Elizabeth Dare bit. I don't know how this happened, honestly, but strangers now refer to me as a redhead, and I'm fairly certain it is through the power of manifestation of all the mutuals who called me Rachel. Well done friends. You are all magical beings who have cast Become Rachel spell on me so consistently and for so long that it WORKED. I was always decently Artsy + Environmental Justice-y, but I am especially so nowadays, mostly by virtue of being involved directly in both fields as a sustainable design, marine science, and bio-systems design student. There’s just a lot of environmental stuff happening in those, but it all has a distinct artsy side to it bc it’s heavily design oriented. So. Yea. Redhead, artsy environmentalist with,, ahem,, relatively loud opinions. Oh, I also own a blue hairbrush!

RACHEL’S PERSONALITY DATA:  ENFP - 4w3 - sx/so - 478 - EIE - SLUAI - EFVL - Sanguine [Dominant]

COMMONALITIES: Ne-dom (ENxP), 3 feature (4w3 to my 613), SXXAI (SLUAI vs. SCOAI), E1 V3 (EFVL vs ELVF), Sanguine feature (Sanguine vs Choleric-Sanguine)

Mark Watney

This one is also admittedly here partially for the joke. If you’ve been following me for awhile, you might have noticed that I seem to be allergic to a lot of things. Like way too many things. A concerning amount of things. But fret not friends, because I, like Mark Watney, have the ever reliable Irish staple that is the potato to keep me from dying! For whatever reason this food has been consistently pretty kind to me, even when everything else tries to kill me a little bit. Which is great! And just,, really weird. Anyway Mark and I both seem to inhabit a world that constantly poses threats, a world that no one else experiences but that they still try to understand and support us through. And we don’t have a lot of food options, but we both have the potato. Blessed be la pomme de terre. Honestly any character in a hostile environment is one I immediately and irrevocably pack-bond with (see also: Katniss Everdeen, Robyn Davidson (a real person!!), Pi Patel, Steven Callahan. (also a real person!!)…), but I ESPECIALLY identify with Mark for his commitment to levity. I love that he is a relentless problem-solving optimist, quick with a joke, but also expressive of other emotions too. My identification with Mark is more,, aspirational than of Rachel. Mark is me at my best, and I hope to become more like him with time. Also, he’s into botany and mechanical engineering which is just the COOLEST. I love both of those things but haven’t made a career out of them (though I’m not ruling it out!).

MARK’S PERSONALITY DATA: ENTP 6w7 so/sx, 638, SCUEI, phlegmatic-sanguine (I’d argue for sang-chol, but phleg-sang is PDB’s verdict.)

COMMONALITIES: ENTP, 6 primary type, 36x (3 and 6 feature in tritype, 6 lead), SCxxI (SCUEI vs SCOAI), sanguine component

Ariadne from Inception

I tried to pick characters that I haven’t already expressed an instant pack bond with, so here I am with my last choice: Ariadne. First I would like to plainly state that Ariadne is, like, way cooler and more fashionable than me. This comparison will not be one of THOSE metrics bc she and I are just,, very different in those regards. HOWEVER, these other two characters don’t quite carry themselves with the seriousness that (I have been repeatedly told) I do. Ariadne is a dreamer, a visual thinker, and a creative soul, but she’s rather less sanguine about it than Rachel or Mark. She knows her goals, she sets her sites on them, and she pursues them without hesitation but WITH consideration for how her actions might ripple out and effect change. I really admire her deep consideration of things, her ability to think abstractly, and her willingness to just Go Try New Things. I might not be quite on her level in those regards, but I’ve been told I SEEM like her at least, and I do actively try to be embody those traits. So, like Mark, her character is one I generally aspire towards. On the flip side though, Ariadne can get a little lost in her head and can become pulled into things that she’d probably be better off leaving alone, which I completely understand and relate to. Curiosity and cats and whatnot. Also, she’s an architect, so there’s that. Similar training!

ARIADNE’S PERSONALITY DATA: INTP, 5w4, so/sx, 514, FLEV, melancholic-dominant

COMMONALITIES: xNTP (NeTi as primary and auxiliary), tritype featuring 1 (also 2nd placement), 2L & non-dialogic F

ALSO, while we’re on the topic of characters and personality, I am once again imploring all of you to take the open psychometrics character personality quiz. It’s SO COOL.

**if I receive any asks about it I will very much share chart data. It’s also a whole standalone system, so if you provide a list of characters you identify with, I can run the system for your specific characters based on Personality Database data (with optional alterations provided by yours truly for data gaps)!

No pressure tagging: @daydreaming-optimist @sweetlikehoneysteve @oh-toasty @willowstea and anyone else who wants to! (The personality data stuff was just a thing I added. I promise you guys don’t have to do that.)

[vykko]

Animation using industry software is never glitchy ever + funny poses by accident

Blue’s hand disappeared, how sad now you can see her fingers joints/rotation thingys

blue now has 2 hands again because sometimes the reference editor glitched and made double of something or everything. And at least 1 per 4hrs of animation the controls doubled (easy fix)

Fun tip don’t try and see if your tree is scaled well by using your model that is not parented and has no controls, by selecting all the parts and moving it

At the very start of me animating, I couldn’t fix this one I had to make another reference in the editor because it would not fix it self when I closed and opened.

Did you finish all the controls for pink, well that’s too bad buddy file it’s now only showing up in the reference editor, and after crying once as it was the day of your second assignment needing your model to have controls. You get the teacher to help you and it took like 10 minutes to be able to get the model file being referenced to be apart of a new file threw seer will and I forgot the how he did it but it was hard. T-T

other glitches that happened that I don’t have photos of include that I remember + other annoying things

The camera: you’d think that 360is the max number for the camera to rotate in the info bit thingy, NOPE!!. After I could set Poe’s my way out of it I went and tried to find the issue, quick context setting keys is how 3D animation is done so it goes from pose A to pose B, SOME HOW THE POSE A WAS AT 2647 Y ROTATION, HOW THE FUCK DOES THAT HAPPEN AND WHY WAS IT ONLY AT THE NEAR THE END OF WGAT I NEEDED TO DO 😭

the basket glitching

Not a glitch but, you can’t see it but blue has a single green face in her torso (green happens when it’s basically say “there are no colours or textures here, even tho I had just coloured her because fuck me I guess)

They can’t bend with out clipping through them selves because I didn’t model my robots well enough for them to have bending privileges

You can’t see in my animation as I edited it out but the camera freaks out between shots

also not seeable due to editing, pinks arm freaks out for a 2 frames because again fuck me

———————————————————————————

funny poses

right: me setting all the controls to 0 and moving blue into position to be animated, but it looks like that one meme

left:setting keys between 2 keys (basically the model will move point a to point b in the (only in the computer’s mind, it’s why my camera freaks out between secnes) most straightforward way and and I have to do the middle part as no other moves going forward but it accidentally collided with pink

I stopped unfortunately taking pics whenever funny stuff happened because i was stressed and had a deadline but I’m doing another cert in February

so except more

if people like this I can talk about annoying things that happened during animating that took either a little or a lot of time to fix etc where one I almost missed and it would of just been in the video

Also the animation if you would like to watch it, I’d really appreciate if you do so :D

also please ignore the name in the video it’s not important as I just realised ITS IN THERE IM NOT PANICING AT ALL BECAUSE I SHOWED IT TO PEOPLE BEFORE OHHHHH GOD OH FUCK

also I have done google searches Theres a lot of people with my deadname and last name so I’m in the clear, it’s fine I just need to not accidentally show my face till I’m 18 then I don’t need to care much anymore it’s ok

[itscelestefromnm3217]

Final Project

For our final project, I decided to go with Self-Identity, and attempted to develop my own personal brand. 

We were told to approach the project with a specific career in mind; since I’m quite active in my art-making, I chose to market myself as an artist, with ‘Kahlieste’ being my art brand/ pseudonym that I’ve used for a while now.

Ideation Process

I began by running a few of my existing works through a color scheme generator, just to see if there were any common threads that could help me develop a brand genuinely representative of my identity as an artist.

Generally speaking, a good number of my art is red, black, greyish, and cream, with something creeping up the characters, or blood dripping. Which was a problem, because I don’t exactly want potential employers to perceive me as broody or creepy. The somewhat more positive works had elements of galaxies or the night sky, but also mainly used dark colors as a backdrop. Thus, I chose to preserve these elements: darkness and night, in my final. 

I was particularly drawn to the color scheme at the bottom right, the gold, cream, and black. My classmates also liked that choice, and commented that the colors would complement each other well. 

With these ideas in mind, I took inspiration from tarot cards, and astronomy symbols. This was my moodboard: 

For one of our tutorials, we were told to come up with a Word Cloud, which was 6 words describing our concept. Here are some ideas that I wanted my brand to reflect:

1. Unique/ distinct

2. Dark/ominous

3. Shadows/ night

4. Elegant/ sophisticated

5. Classic/ornate

6. Bold/edgy

7. Strange/eccentric

(yep, it’s a lot more than 6 words) 

I also referenced Ivy Lane’s brand style guide, which is an alternative/ bougie wedding planning company. Ivy Lane used many of the same themes as I intended to, so it was very helpful and interesting to observe the way they presented their brand. I was especially drawn to their brand because of their golden skull logo (pictured below), above a black background. This was generally along the lines of what I was going for, so it was cool. (I didn’t rip them off though, here’s their link you can check: https://issuu.com/corinnealexandra/docs/ile-brandguide) 

Primary Logo Sketches: 

Original Logo Designs:

I was determined to retain the image of a hand in my logo; most of my art is about people, or it has human figures in it, so this was a way for me to preserve that element. Also, hands are commonly seen in tarot card designs, so this stayed consistent with the theme. I subsequently had the idea to have the moon phases ‘drip’ from the hands, or sprout from the hand through vines. I thought this was consistent with the theme of my works, but communicated it more subtly than with red or blood. I also considered the hand’s pose, and decided on the logo on the right - the composition seemed more balanced, and was comfortably spaced with the bottom border, unlike the one on the left. 

Primary Name Card Drafts: 

Font Choices:

I downloaded and experimented with a lot of fonts, before deciding on the best ones. 

I wanted my brand to have a classic feel, but I also didn’t want it to look dated. I tried some serif fonts, but they didn’t seem to complement my logo, which was very geometric in nature. More ‘vintage’, ‘theatrical’ fonts also seemed a bit too overpowering. Ultimately, I decided that the san serif fonts made my logo look more modern and clean, and settled on De Valencia for the Titles and Headings, with Courier New for the subheadings (in all caps), and the body text (sentence case.) 

For context, “Sphinx of Black Quartz, Judge my Vow” is just an edgier, more pretentious version of “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”

(Some of my rejected fonts tried out on my original name card draft) 

I also considered the sizing of by brand name, and how cohesive it would look within the design. 

Original Color Scheme:

Original Name Card: 

Critique: 

Following critique from class, I redesigned the name card such that the information on the back would also be in portrait orientation, for consistency. I also added in a secondary ‘light’ version - my dad commented that printing on black is expensive, and I thought it was good to have an alternative. 

My primary concern was about legibility, and that the gold wasn’t as contrasting against the white/cream color as it was against the black. During critique, my classmates commented that the gold was still clearly legible, but it was true that the contrast was weakened. In response, I added another shade of gold to the color scheme, to be used against the white.  

Here’s the before and after: 

Updated Color Scheme: 

Also, instead of purely using the new, darker gold against the white, I also used it in my brand guide for some of the subheadings, in order to contrast with the body text. I thought that the extra color added some depth to the guide, and made the text more readable. (Personally, I hate reading big chunks of text, so this made it less overwhelming.)

Other critique was about the finer details, like improving the pdf quality and consistently arranging the elements on the brand guide itself, both of which have been corrected before the final submission. 

How Adobe was used:

In this project, I primarily used Adobe Illustrator to create the logo, the name cards, and really most of the deliverables. 

An example would be how I created the moon phase pattern on my final slide. Same process as usual, ellipse tool, line tool, direct selection - change line and fill colour. But an exciting new thing I learnt (should’ve learnt earlier) was using the scissors tool to cut the circles in half. I used to just create a rectangle and put it over half the circle, but I’m smarter now. This way’s way easier. 

Same goes for how I created the logo grid and the zone of exclusion. I used a combination of the rectangle and the line tools, and changed the lines into dotted lines on the properties panel > stroke > dashed line. This was really fun for me. I was about to DIY my dotted lines by making like.. 1000 little rectangles. Good thing I googled it first, you know.  For the zone of exclusion, I copied and pasted the middle moon into the 4 corners, then lowered their transparency. Fun times. 

These elements and more were saved, and as required, InDesign was used to assemble the final pdf:

It was fun! Ok it was really challenging, but I did enjoy the process. Thanks for the semester, I had a good time. 

[purplealmonds]

ACON3D reached out to me for a collaboration, and I used it as an excuse to draw my and @eggdrawsthings​‘ Star Wars OCs! I’ve been chipping away at this for the better part of a month, and despite the struggles, I’m pretty happy with how it came out! ^_^

Having used SketchUp for both my professional and personal work, I’m a HUGE advocate of using 3D to streamline my workflow. Utilizing pre-made models instead of making them from scratch is a game-changer! 

Extensive notes on my process below the cut.

Default 3D Model:

For this collab, I was to use one of the many 3D model resources sold by ACON3D to create an illustration. I chose the Joseon Dynasty - Thatched House by Team Truffle. The render below is just a fragment of the lovingly crafted set design - I recommend searching it up! (I’d provide a link, but Tumblr’s external link policy might nuke this post from search results if I do)

Customizing the Model:

Modified and added some props to make the scene more thematically Star Wars. 

From top left to right:

Building Column - Altered the shape and added motifs inspired by Mandalorian architecture. Mythosaur skull mounted on top is also modeled from scratch!

Uj Cake - Surprisingly few images of this snack despite it being mentioned in many fanworks - I think I used a photo off of Wookiepedia as reference for this.

Cutting Board - Pretty straightforward - a cutting board for the cake to sit on top of. It’s not visible in the final render, but I leveraged the kar’ta motif as a fancy inlaid pattern.

Vibroblade - Basically a replica of Din Djarin’s, though much of its design isn’t visible in the final render.

Buy’ce - This was my first time modeling a helmet in SketchUp, much less a buy’ce. Geometry is a hot mess, but it got the job done.

Xing’s Beskad - Referencing my Mando OC’s weapon of choice. Overall design’s taken straight from the beskad’s blade shape, guard, and grip – though I tried to give it more of a katana-like aesthetic.

Tooka - Or rather, a limb-less and tail-less tooka. By far the most primitive of the models, but I just needed it as a placeholder which I would draw details on top of.

Voorpak - This space chinchilla was...hmm. There were discrepancies between the creature’s original concept in The Wildlife of Star Wars: A field guide (small and 8-legged) and its first appearance in The Bad Batch (dog-sized and 6-legged). Needless to say, I was a tad irritated to find out I modeled and posed two extra legs before realizing they were extraneous.

Phong’s Saber Staff - Probably one of the more complex props in this spread, but Jamie’s detailed reference sheet sped up the modeling process considerably.

Vent Covers - Replacing some of the floor boards in the foreground to give this set a more sci-fi vibe.

Door - Once again, customized the screen design and panel patterning after Mandalorian motifs. This and the column will be the two biggest alterations to the set, so I took extra care to get the designs just right.

And this is what the props look like on set. Colors turned off so the lighting (which I later scrapped) is clearly defined.

Sketch:

Now’s the bit that I finally add the characters and creatures into the composition! For this one, I did have a vague idea of what I wanted out of it story-wise – some kind of low key scene with Phong and Xing hanging out at the latter’s dwelling. To help sell the casual vibes, I had Xing dressed only in his cuirass and blacks. Definitely not because I was struggling to draw his armor. Perish the thought!

Ink:

Ah yes, the cleanup stage. Arguably the most crucial, time-consuming, boring, yet satisfying part of this process.  While much of this work is retracing what’s already been drawn, the concise line art eliminates much guesswork in the next steps. The goal here is to have a clean blueprint, so I don’t have dedicate bandwidth to fixing errors in anatomy, prop position, etc. 

I try to keep element of this comp well organized. For instance, Phong’s face alone has layers for their eyelash, iris, bottom eyelid, eyebrow, nose, mouth, bangs, braid, ponytail, hair ties, ear, and face - all clustered into a group, which is then clustered within a bigger group containing the remaining parts of their body. Definitely overkill, but I like running a tight ship for pieces I can take my time with!

Color Flats:

Full disclosure: the color flats shown here are a lie. I didn’t land on these colors on my first try; it took innumerable rounds of trial and error. Color palette iterations ran the full gamut from monotonously drab to eye-searingly vibrant then back again. Lighting changed from high noon to overcast to night time in quick succession. Certain elements were individually altered to pop out more, then on second viewing, dialed back because they popped out too much. The colors you see below a grudging compromise of all the directions which it was pulled: 

This GIF below is a more honest depiction of the utter chaos which was the evolution of this illustration’s identity crisis:

Shading:

I suppose after that GIF showing these next steps is bit of a moot point, but here we are anyways! I used Brightness/Contrast adjustment layers to start lighting the color flats. I start out with the polygonal lasso tool to block out the big shadow shapes, then go back with a textured brush to soften edges where necessary.

At this point, my layer count was going upwards of 900+ and file size at over 1GB. If I so much as turned off a layer, my computer threatens to have a meltdown. So consolidated these lighting layers by making them universal - one layer for darks, another for contact shadows, etc. 

Final Render:

I guess this is where the magic happens? Textures, material renders, secondary & tertiary lights, atmosphere, etc. all kind of just happen at once. It’s a lot of stuff to describe in blow-by-blow accounts, and I’ve rewritten this several times already because Tumblr keeps prematurely closing out my unsaved drafts, so I’m gonna leave it at that!

[nolanell]

At The Museum Headcannons

The awesome @max--phillips made the meme below, and being an History of Art graduate, I wrote some headcannons for it.

For this piece, Oberyn is Modern!Oberyn / Pero is Modern!Pero / Din Djarin is SecurityGuard!Din

Lots of clickable links in this as I have linked to the artists and artworks referenced. Big thank you to @getlostbobby for an amazing idea for Max Phillips!

Dave York: You were surprised at how receptive to the idea he was. You had honestly thought he'd encourage you to go, but without him. And yet here he was, with you. He was looking at the techniques used, marveling over feathery paint strokes Rembrandt used for hair, the dramatic light and shadow of Caravaggio, and the paint application of Courbet. Dave seems to appreciate anything where a noticeable technique has been used, and he is particularly taken with anything that shows off the skill of the painter. He surprises you even further when he starts talking readily about symbolism in art and the conventions he sees in different artworks. As you're leaving, he tells you that he loves 'The Ambassadors' by Holbein and would like to come back as he could stare at it for hours.

Marcus Pike: He was so excited when you asked him to come with you. He'd been wanting to go for ages, but didn't want you to think he was asking you on a date that was 'something he wanted to do' or that he was going and you were there just to tag along. He was genuinely interested in everything that was in the collection, but was equally as interested in what you thought about each piece. He never got annoyed at any of your questions and was eager to have a conversation about art with you. He noted he thought you had an interesting perspective on a lot of the pieces that he hadn't thought of, and he excitedly explained you had given him some insight that had never occurred to him. As you queued up in the gift shop you asked what his favourite piece was, and he laughed and said he couldn't pick just one.

Ezra: He was more than happy to go with you, mainly for your company and in the hope he might find something to captivate his imagination. You and he got a fit of giggles over a nude sculpture and for a good half an hour you had to stifle giggles as you walked around together, seeing more and more of them. You calmed down quicker than he did, but you did find it adorable that he found such joy in something so childish. What did catch you off guard though, was the way he fell in love with the dreamy, hazy Monets. He sank onto one of the benches and just stared at it for what felt to you like an eternity. When you sat next to him, you listened intently to how he spoke of their ethereal, dream-like beauty. He was truly captivated by them and you promised you would let him know if there was ever a special Monet exhibition at the museum. He particularly liked the 'Houses of Parliament' paintings, and was happy to hear they were part of the permanent collection.

Jack Daniels: He giggled with you at the nude figures, but explained he thought the contrast between nudity in art (and how it is highly regarded) and modern censorship of nudity was bizarre. He was then totally hooked on art as social commentary and this dictated how he viewed a lot of the collection. His natural pace around the museum is quite quick, but he was more than happy to go at your pace and stop at anything you wanted to take your time over. He would listen to what you had to say and offer his own opinion. In terms of anything he actually liked, rather than found interesting alone, he mentioned he really liked Van Gogh's 'Wheatfield with Cypresses' series. They felt like home, he said.

Max Lord: He very matter of factly told you he would only come with you if there was a special exhibition he was interested in, and he wouldn't bother with the permanent collection. He was happy to come to the Andy Warhol special exhibition but would only go at his own pace, and was done in an hour. He went straight to the café afterward to wait for you, though did get drunk on the overpriced wine while doing so. You asked what he liked best, and he said 'Triple Elvis' by Andy Warhol, but refused to elaborate.

Oberyn Martell: He loved recreating poses of the pieces you looked at, particularly if it was the dramatic retelling of a myth. He made you join in with him, explaining that it wasn't as fun on his own, and it was the best way to enjoy the storytelling. He did, however, ask you to pose on your own by 'Girl With A Pearl Earring' by Johannes Vermeer, as he felt you could recreate it perfectly, and took a photo on his phone. Overall he prefers visiting the permanent collection as there is so much he wants to look at, and feels he could spend hours upon hours looking at everything on multiple visits. Most of all, he loves sitting in the café with you once you're finished looking around together, discussing what you'd looked at over a bottle of wine. On one visit, he buys a print of 'Judith Slaying Holofernes' by Artemisia Gentileschi as he thinks both art and artist is a strong female piece for his daughters.

Frankie Morales: He was a bit nervous about going with you, thinking you were so much smarter than him, and that it would all go over his head. He was happy to go around with you, asking about what you found interesting and looking at anything you pointed out. However, he was surprised to find that he really liked the pieces that showed everyday people doing normal, day to day things. He was particularly interested in the ones that showed what people did for fun, like 'A Concert' by Lorenzo Costa. He found it really cool that the mouths were painted in a shape that showed it matched what sound they were actually singing, based on the music score in the painting. He was really excited by 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte' by Georges Seurat. He loved seeing the dogs in the painting, which is what made him look, but he also loved the 'slice of life' feel to it.

Javier Peña: He agreed without hesitation to come with you, but once he got there, he felt so out of place that he headed straight for the café to wait for you. He insisted you take as long as you wanted and to not worry about him. He didn't get far, though, and pulled you over to 'At the Theatre' by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. He very quietly told you that while he thought you were much more beautiful than the girl in the foreground, he said it reminded him so much of the first time you met. He'd seen you across the crowded entrance to the embassy, and he felt like the face of the man in the background, desperate to meet the beautiful girl across the room.

Comandante Veracruz: He only agreed to come with you because you swore you'd be out before closing time, and because you promised that when you were done, you'd have dinner at the restaurant he'd been eyeing up for weeks. He went straight to the café, mumbling 'before closing' as he went. True to your word, you came to find him with a good couple of hours to spare. He melted a little bit when he saw how happy you were at having spent most of the day surrounded by art, and promised he would come with you again and try and look at some of the exhibits.

Pero Tovar: He only went because you promised you wouldn't mind if he spent the whole time in the café. He said he would wait until he got bored, then you were on your own. You were almost as surprised as he was, though, when he stopped by 'The Battle of San Romano' by Paolo Uccello and was genuinely interested in it. He actually asked you questions about it, and asked why it was so important in how artists approached perspective in painting. He also spent a lot of time looking at 'Whistlejacket' by George Stubbs and marveled at the accuracy. He did eventually go to the café, but was there for much less time than he thought. And he asked you to get him a print of 'Whistlejacket' from the gift shop when you were done.

Max Phillips: You regretted asking him to come as soon as the words left your mouth, but you weren't sure why. You knew he would do something ridiculous, this is Max you were talking about; you just couldn't figure out what. 'Licking a painting' was not on your bingo card of Max shenanigans, but here you were in the museum, staring intently at whatever exhibit was on the other side of the room as Max was escorted out. Once you knew he was gone, you turned around to check where he had been, and had to stifle your laughter. For all the embarrassment, knowing Max was thrown out for licking 'Saturn Devouring His Son' by Francisco Goya was possibly the funniest thing in the world, and you had to hide your laughter for the remainder of the visit.

Din Djarin: You had started talking to the quiet security guard after he apologised for disturbing you. Some guy had tried to lick a Goya in one of the other rooms, and the guard had bumped into you as he led the guy out. As he was apologising, he noticed you were looking at a piece by Kazimir Malevich and made an incredibly insightful comment. It hadn't occurred to you before, and from then on you always made an effort to seek him out when you visited. It turned out he was really into Piet Mondrian and the Constructivist movement, which explained the Malevich comment. He doesn't have a particular favourite piece, rather more interested as the movement as a whole, and how it develops. He takes you by surprise when he is very excited to tell you about an exhibition coming to the museum on astral photography (he later explained he had wanted to apply to work at NASA as a kid). Your heart melts when he shyly asks if you'd be interested in coming with him on his day off.

[hes-writer]

All Too Well

Summary: right person, wrong time

Warning: sweet fluff and angst

Word Count: 4519 words

A/N: listen to ‘All Too Well’ by Taylor Swift first as there are some references throughout the fic. I also added time stamps as this occurs over the course of one year. I’m sorry if it’s confused—I tried my best to make it as coherent as possible ❤️

also, covid doesn’t exist in this au!

‘~~~’ = flashback, ‘—‘ = cut scene

November 2020

Y/N scrambled through the many articles of clothing sprawled in her drawer. The fabrics mingling with each other into a giant mess. It didn’t even include the pile of clothes sitting on the mattress and dripping on the floor.

That was the thing with Y/N. She had a habit of keeping things she didn’t need. She wasn’t a hoarder—although, Y/N did keep more things in favour of their sentimental value. It was her thing.

The fact that she could cradle a t-shirt in her palms and tell someone exactly what happened on a day that moulded the story of that specific shirt was her skill. Y/N liked to think that you could tell a lot about a person on what kind of clothes they wore—whether they were seeking affection or isolating, but not lonely.

In fact, her clothes didn’t just hold meaning for herself—it catered pieces of places she went to wearing the outfit. The things she thought of while adorning it, the emotions that she felt as it covered or—barely—shielded her skin. It was especially important to her to remember the people she spent it with.

Like that oversized, knee-length coat hung near the back of her closet. Y/N barely wore it now but seeing it beneath the splayed doors of the wardrobe, she could see flashes in her head about the last time she had worn it.

The way the pea coat flowed behind her as she twirled in a gentle circle, twisting the fabric slightly and catching tiny drops of littered snow. Y/N could picture the bulbous hat she wore on her head. A tiny pompom weighing every which way with the direction of her head. Her hands were in warm mittens that rendered her fingerless. The snow boots on her feet were crunching with every step of the crisp white snow beneath her feet.

It was truly a winter wonderland when the white weather sprinkled down on her—on them.

Y/N could just about feel the same large grin replicating her face when she snapped out her memory. The ghost of the hung overcoat literally hunted her as it rested in the shadows of her closet.

Y/N blinked twice, slouching her shoulders as she stayed frozen on her knees. The carpet wasn’t doing much to protect her taut skin, but she was in search of something and intended to find it. Except, she couldn’t find it anywhere.

She was sure that there was absolutely no way that she could lose it. It was a loud patterned scarf that frayed at the edges. It was, quite possibly, the ugliest design Y/N had laid her eyes upon. Though, a certain someone had reassured her that she looked beautiful regardless. Besides, the air was way too chilly to think about fashion choices that day.

~~~

December 2019

“Why don’t you pose for me, love?” Harry suggested, holding his phone tightly in one hand. That same hand was pulled free of the warm confines of his leather gloves as he insisted on capturing a few photos of his girl.

“You got it, mister,” Y/N replied, bending down to ball a glob of snow in her mitten-covered hand. She could just barely feel the iciness radiating off the protective layer. “Mind if I add some props?”

She lifted her hand, a raised brow quirking up her knit beanie.

Harry chuckles, “Go right ahead,”

He tilted his phone, ignoring the way his fingers lost feeling at the fingertips in favour of watching the woman of his dreams throw the patch of snow in the air. He captured the picture, admiring the way her back looked. Y/N really was beautiful from all angles. It was kind of counterintuitive, really, since it was snowing after all. But Harry was way too enamoured to question the questionable actions of his lover.

Besides, the gleaming smile on her face was enough to wipe his mind clean of anything other than her.

“Great! Why don’t you turn around?”

The woman looked over her shoulder was a subtle roll of her eyes, “No way,”

“C’mon, love. ‘S not even tha’ ugly,” Harry urged, commenting about the scarf wrapped around her neck.

She scoffed, “The fact that you have to reassure me is proof that it is ugly,”

Y/N played with the thin ends of the fabric, smiling to herself as she heard Harry groan loudly behind her. They were staying at Gemma’s house for the holidays and Y/N had purchased the first scarf she had seen at the store. She had nearly forgotten it if it weren’t for Harry calling her the night before to ensure that she would be warm during their stay. Not only was it cold, but the chilliness was just a tad too crisp to leave the cozy home without some sort of neck protection.

So, here she was dressed all cute from head-to-toe except her shoulders. It was a bit stupid to care so much about an ugly scarf design but Y/N guessed it had something to do with wanting everything to be perfect.

“I don’t think it’s ugly,” Harry quipped, sounding much closer than he had before. “‘Think it’s really nice. Especially the cutie who’s wearing it. Mind if I borrow it some time?”

Y/N couldn’t help the appearance of her love-struck eyes, smiling again when she felt his bundled arms snaked around her waist. Harry was warm, as usual, and he was sturdy as a rock both literally and metaphorically. Standing still in the snow gave her a bit of a shiver but having Harry’s body close was a breath of relief.

He cradled her between his arms, resting his own scarf-covered chin on her shoulder. Y/N knew that he must’ve been bending at the knees to reach that height. She clutched his naked hand between her mittens, directing it to a pocket in the confines of her coat to keep warm.

“Are you talking about me or the scarf?”

“How about both? Make it a two-for-one deal, yeah?” Harry’s voice was a bit hazy.

He felt as though he was captivated in a trance, watching the snowflakes rest gently on the slope of Y/N’s lashes. Her eyes glancing at their joined, mittened and gloved, hands.

She sighed, “Why not?”

Harry gave a silent cheer, leaning little ways into peck her cold cheek with his lips.

“Alright, now why don’t ya’ twirl for me, Y/N?” He instructed, taking cautious steps back in the snow.

“Like this?”

Harry nodded, thumbing the red button on his phone to press ‘record’. He watched as Y/N gracefully spun in a circle. Her pea coat flailed just at knee-level. Her boots squelched the starch white snow.

She did a full 360 before fully facing him with a bright grin. Harry couldn’t be sure how much his heart could take. He switched the setting to capture a photo.

“Exactly like that,”

He wanted to remember this.

~~~

Upon realization that Y/N would not get hold of that specific scarf—at least not for a while—because it was at Gemma’s home miles away from her, Y/N forced herself to clean up the mess she had made. Maybe it was the sudden strike of sensitivity coursing through her but Y/N felt much more emotional than she did before.

Perhaps it was the match-strike ignition of burning memories that flickered through her brain because once she started; she couldn’t stop.

It started with the frosty memory of twirling in the deep snow. Then, it was the flashback of driving from the grocery store to pick up ingredients before heading back to Gemma’s.

Y/N couldn’t deny the butterflies she felt playing that particular memory back because it was one of the moments that cemented a deep-rooted emotion in her.

The feeling of being beautiful—captivating, charming and alluring that Harry failed to notice the red traffic light switching to a reflective green. (‘Oi! Eyes on the road’)

She could still see the blush on his pale skin, realizing that he had been caught staring. And, by the way, the car behind them honked when Harry failed to move through the intersection. (‘Sorry, got distracted’).

And Y/N didn’t want to say anything but she could feel his tiny glances over her when Harry thought that she wasn’t paying attention.

———

November 2020

It has been nearly a year now.

Only a few more weeks until the dreaded date looped around to a full year passing. This time, Harry wasn’t around to celebrate the festivities with her and that ugly scarf was an article that Y/N had desperately missed. Ironically.

It would be just under a year when Harry had taken Y/N to his childhood home—now Gemma’s house as Anne had moved to a smaller place. It was where he excitedly showed her his room—the posters on his walls. The comics he used to read and the CD’s he used to listen to piled on his desk.

~~~

December 2019

“Quite an improvement,” Y/N commented, sitting on the edge of his twin-sized bed. She was referring to his King-sized bed from when she had slept over a couple of times.

“I’d say,” Harry agreed. The wood creaked under his weight as he sat beside her.

They both stared at the wall in front of them, feeling a sense of intimacy as Harry shared the remnants of his life to her.

The day continued when Anne had called the both of them down for hot cocoa, paired with a striped red, green and white candy cane dipped in the mug.

This was the part that hurt Y/N the most. It was almost too painful to remember—to reminisce because it was proof that the couple were so close to making a future together.

It didn’t happen, though.

Despite Anne and Gemma’s stories about a once upon a time, dorky Harry in his glasses (‘He still is’)—his family couldn’t stop referencing Y/N as his future.

“Hope your kids don’t take after his naked habit”

“Maybe your garden will have wild roses”

“Reckon you guys will get a small home?”

It made Y/N’s cheeks heat up. His family already thought of her as part of their family. And one sneaky look at Harry ensured her that Anne and Gemma weren’t the only ones thinking of their future because Harry caught her gaze long enough to give her the answer she was subconsciously searching for.

And when salutations had to be said, Harry and Y/N said goodbye to Gemma and Anne as they were to return to their respective London homes.

It was also the day that Harry had asked Y/N to move in with him.

——

It was exciting, to say the least. Moving in with your significant other was a big step in any relationship. The fact that Harry was a world-renowned superstar almost disappeared from Y/N’s mind because even though his home was a million times larger than her tiny flat—it immediately felt like home.

Harry wasn’t one to dwell too much on changes. In fact, he often referred to it as a sign that things were moving forward. There was no use being stuck in the same place when the universe had so much to offer. So, he was quite glad when Y/N made herself comfortable in his—their—home.

She managed to make the large place feel cozy. The decorations and tiny trinkets she had placed all over the house were really just pieces of her heart sprinkled in a home in which they’d build a life together. He would look at a pastel-coloured tea kettle and question when he had gotten the appliance before realizing that it was Y/N’s. Harry would use the tea kettle to boil water instead of using his Keurig.

___

Their schedules wouldn’t always line up. But Harry and Y/N were too loved-up to care how little time they spent with each other. There was no use in complaining when they could use that time to appreciate each other—for sticking around. For being the same when things moved too fast. For being the rock that both of them needed when times get rough.

Harry’s late studio sessions ran through the early morning when Y/N would be cooped up in their shared bedroom. Fast asleep and hugging his scented pillow. Sometimes he would find her bundled with a blanket on the living room couch. The soft glow of the television highlighting Y/N’s beautiful features. One look at her was enough to release Harry of the tension he felt on his joints and shoulders.

Y/N’s night shifts were the same too. She would return to a quiet house because Harry had fallen asleep. Despite his attempts to stay awake, he was not a night owl at all. Not only to stay up past ten in the evening unless he was out to do work. She had reassured him countless times that she would be okay on the drive home and that he should sleep when his body grew tired.

Harry tried to stay awake. He really did. And Y/N could tell because as soon as she crawls to her side of the bed, Harry’s right arm immediately pats the cold sheets for her as if sensing that she was nearby. He would mumble a quiet murmur of her name, “Y/N? Tha’ you?”

He would receive no verbal response, nor would Harry be able to see his love in the dark of the night even because Y/N hadn’t bothered to switch her bedside lamp on. Y/N was aware of Harry’s sensitivity to light, especially if he was in the dark for a long period of time. Despite that, Harry would hum in satisfaction when Y/N’s body would etch perfectly against his in a silent greeting that yes it is her.

They would fall fast asleep cuddled into one another.

If they managed to stay awake or if sleep failed to come, Y/N and Harry would trudge down the stairs for a midnight snack, squealing loudly as one playfully chased the other down the staircase.

Sometimes it was Y/N walking in on Harry munching on a few biscuits (‘Not such a health nut anymore, huh?’). Sometimes it was Harry catching Y/N making a fruit salad—an array of fruits and vegetables laying on the counter (‘I take credit for this’, he would say.)

But it would always end the same.

With both of them dancing goofily with each other. The refrigerator light was the only source of illumination because neither would be bothered to turn on an actual light. Not when the fridge served as a light source and a container of a variety of edible choices.

One night would end with Y/N slow dancing in Harry’s arms. His hands-on her waist, grazing her skin when her pyjamas too lifted. Their bodies would rest against each other like a stacked jigsaw. Harry’s chin on her head, hers on his broad shoulder. A pair of their hands clasped tightly on one another while the other found purchase with their bodies.

Harry would hum a light tune or sing softly so that they can find their rhythm. They would sway across the kitchen—slowly—crying out in pain and laughter when one would bump their hip on the marble counter. Y/N would listen to his heartbeat thrumming beneath his chest and even though she could only see a bit of him—it was enough.

One night would end with Y/N and Harry goofily flailing their limbs every which way. Boisterous laughter filling the room as Harry practically wheezed at Y/N’s admittance of performing a mean Dougie.

And with the fridge light catching the bits of it, Harry would slap his palm on the counter to catch himself before his knees gave out below him (‘There’s jus’ no way you’re that good’). She proved him wrong.

Neither of them knew when it would be the last time these moments occurred. Until they stopped completely.

——

It was the small changes that brought them closer together. And what would inevitably drive them apart.

It was the fact that even though the couple didn’t see each other much, they still cherished the time they had together because that was enough.

The relationship was built off of mutual trust, respect and honesty. Time was essential but Harry and Y/N didn’t necessarily need a lot of it. They just needed the reassurance of ‘always’. That no matter what happens, however far away they were from each other physically, however, the time they spent apart—that Harry would always come back to her and Y/N would always run home to him.

——

It was late-August when they broke up.

Leading up to it, Y/N had been promoted at her workplace and Harry was no longer spending late nights at the studio. He was sleeping in the studio instead of coming home.

Y/N was understanding. He was on a time-crunch since his second album was due to be released at the end of that year. She wanted to be as supportive as she had always been—if not, more. Harry didn’t need more pressure from her—his partner—who was supposed to be his solid ground in a cracking centre.

It was okay. It was okay. It was okay.

It was fine that they were spending less time than they normally would—not that it was a lot in the first place.

He was still trying. She was still trying. Messages, video calls—hell, even emails were there. The rare times when their schedule would actually coincide were spent peacefully sleeping on the bed. It wasn’t much, but it was enough.

Then, Y/N got promoted. More responsibilities. Training her colleagues. Interviewing assistants. Typing detailed emails. Double-checking spreadsheets.

At the same time that Harry was being pulled left and right to make decision after decision. Finalizing next year’s tour dates. Promos. TV shows. Modelling campaigns. Photoshoots. Interviews.

And like any other, answering later turned into a message left on ‘read’. A missed call manifested into an unopened voicemail. A desperate-measures email was only one of the many in each others’ inbox.

Harry wanted Y/N to come with him on tour the following year but it was a stretch waiting to be snapped.

She couldn’t.

Y/N was starting to build her life, building her career and she wasn’t going to give that up for him just yet. He could go on tour and she could visit when time allows. They knew that. Harry would buy her a ticket and she would be off to see him—when she can.

~~~~

June 2020

“I can’t go. You know that,” Y/N sighed, rubbing a palm over her face.

Harry leaned his shoulder against the doorframe of the bathroom. “I knew that. ‘Was worth a try though,”

They shared a comforting smile with each other. A hint of reassurance when uneasiness prevailed. There was something about the shift from spring to summer that simmered in their chests.

“Promise you’ll come to visit?”

“Of course,”

~~~

London may be Harry and Y/N’s home but LA was calling for him. Hence, why he spent the summer on the other side of the world. On another continent, across the pond, as some people might say.

It’s just a few months. He’ll be back before you know it, Y/N thought.

Harry will be home for the holidays and they would drive up north to spend it with Anne and Gemma as they did the previous year. The year when Y/N had met them for the first time and despite that, attained their approval to build a future with Harry.

Just a few months and then Harry will be back with her. The same Harry who will gently loop an ugly scarf around her neck. Teasing her about its hideousness before reassuring her that it was ‘as stunning as the woman wearing it’. . .or something. Harry always complimented her.

Yet, Harry never came home a few weeks shy before their scheduled road trip as they had planned. And Y/N did not visit him like she had promised to do.

Though, none of them blamed the other because they were too busy with their own lives to keep up with each other. What once was a loving and caring relationship was not a liability pushed to the back burner.

One might say that Harry and Y/N’s love was a case of wrong timing. They were perfect for each other—but just not now.

Because Y/N had a lot of things going for her and expanding her career. Harry was becoming more and more popular and successful by the minute. It wasn’t like they meant to ignore each other or be oblivious that they were still very much in a relationship with each other. Both Harry and Y/N just had a lot on their plate to even think twice about a relationship.

It wasn’t anybody’s fault—really. Even though their phone call says otherwise.

——-

August 2020

“Y-you what? Y/N, love,” Harry spoke through the phone.

Y/N’s breath hitched at the sound of the beloved nickname. It had been a while since she had heard it.

“I want to break up,” She repeated.

“Why?”

The woman picked at her fingernails, distracting herself from going back to the spreadsheet in front of her. She was in the middle of a break up yet her body urged to continue working.

“What do you mean why?” Y/N sighed exasperatedly. “It’s been months since we’ve seen each other, Harry. You said you’ll be home before Christmas so we can see Anne and Gemma but—,”

“We don’t have to see them! Y’can fly out here and spend it with me,”

“You know, I can’t,”

Upon letting those slip past her lips, Y/N was starting to question if Harry had disconnected because of the eeriness over the phone.

And as he said that night months ago with the alteration of Y/N’s word, “‘Know y’cant. You promised, though.”

Harry’s voice cracked and Y/N wondered if he was gnawing on his lip like he usually would when tears overflowed the ducts of his eyes. In the distance, Y/N heard a door close shut and she wondered if he had been working—the same as her—before she had decided to call and he had decided to answer.

A knife pierced into Y/N’s chest, guilt seeping in her veins as she recalled the words she had uttered to him. A promise that she would visit if he gave her the ticket. But that was then and this is now.

She wasn’t the head of her department then. Y/N had a lot more responsibilities now and she couldn’t just up and leave whenever she wanted to.

“And you promised to come back. Did you?”

He didn’t.

“Look, can we talk about this later? ‘M in the middle of recording and—“

“When are you not?” Y/N cut him off absentmindedly, splitting her attention on the Excel sheet in front of her.

“Excuse me?” Harry quipped, faintly hearing the clacks of a keyboard. “I know I work a lot but y’do too. Barely even respond to my texts anymo’”

“Says the one who doesn’t answer my calls,” Y/N scoffed, rolling her eyes.

And there it was again. The defeat of silence that proved no matter how much they retaliated against one another—neither of them would win because both of them were at fault.

“I was busy,”

“I am, too,”

“Y/N—“

“What?”

“I-I don’t want to lose you. . .”

The ache in Y/N’s chest grew tenfold. Her fingers momentarily paused over the keys of her laptop board. There was nothing to lose. Not when they’ve already thrown it away.

“I don’t want to either, H. But don’t you think breaking up is better than waiting for something that will never happen?”

“What won’t?” He asked, genuinely curious.

Y/N pushed her chair back, staring at the view of the city from her office.

“Us. Our future. It won’t happen because you’re busy and I’m busy. There’s no right time for us to start, Harry.”

“Who says there has to be a right time, huh?”

“Says, everybody! How are we supposed to build our relationship further when there is no relationship to work on?”

The waves of emotion came crashing down. For months, Y/N had suppressed the feeling of loneliness inside of her. She missed Harry so badly that it hurt her to admit so she went with the temporary bliss of balling it up until it became too much.

“We just need time, Y/N. We don’t need to do it at the right time. Y’know that,” Harry whispered, wishing so badly that this conversation didn’t take place over the phone where he was currently locked in a bathroom stall.

He continued, “You were there, weren’t you? Barely saw you but y’were there. You know how I feel about you and I know you feel about me. We jus’ need time,”

Time.

Because time is when Harry and Y/N  would slow dance in the kitchen at god-knows-hour of the morning.

Because time is when Harry and Y/N blissfully spent their time in the cold, watching her throw the bundle of snow in the air as if it was in slow-motion.

Because time is when Harry would look at Y/N and swear that it has stopped because nothing else mattered except her.

“You know it, you know it,” Harry gulped, breath hitching over the phone. Was he crying?

“All too well,” Y/N responded underneath her breath. She knew that he was right—that all they needed was a chance to reconnect and rekindle the flame put out by distance.

She hated how familiar every memory was to her. She hated how easily she was brought back to the moment it all happened with just the breath of his whisper.

There was no denying the emotion she felt wearing his hoodie and red and black plaid pyjamas at three in the morning. The affection she received wearing those pieces of clothing from the man who owned them. Her sock feet glided against the cold floor. Everything came flashing back to Y/N and it hurt because there was no way she could grant his wish.

“You’re asking for too much, Harry. I-I can’t give you that. You can’t give me—us—that,”

“W-what are you saying, love?” He whimpered, clutching the device in his hand as a last resort to hold onto something that was drifting away.

He knew that she was right. Y/N couldn’t give him that and he certainly couldn’t either.

“We can’t be together. At least, not now. We’re not the same anymore. We want the same things but we’re headed on different paths,”

“But we’ll meet again, won’t we?” Harry’s hoarse voice exemplified that he was—indeed—been crying. And Y/N’s wet cheeks were proof that she was as well.

“Always,”

_____

[lovesgonnabe]

Love Is Worth It - Mini Episode I: Happy Mothers Day

Characters: Chris Evans x Maya Alonso-Evans (Black OFC)

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, cursing,daddy kink, fake IG Post.

Word Count: IDK Yet(Soon)

Summary: What happens when there is a surprise on the Horizon?

AN/Disclaimer: There’s only slight edits so there may be errors. Also if you haven’t noticed this series will have many time jump things referenced here may make more sense later on in the series when new episodes come out so please bear with me.

Taglist: @thesecretlifeofdaydreamss, @canadian-girl87, @i-just-like-fanfics, @omg-mymelaninisbeautiful​ if you would like to join the taglist let me know.

Please leave a note and tell me what you think!

May 9th, 2021

Boston was moving from chilly too warm with still more cold days than not. Boston at this time was beautiful even The Evans home was littered with flowers. The beginning of 2021 has been eventful for the Evans Family.

Chris's A Starting Point has taken off like no one had expected, doing incredible number in educating a whole generation on one of Chris’s passions politics and the world.

While Maya within the few months has launched her skincare line Lavish Lilah Skin, and has been able to open back up her dermatology offices with the slowing down of the current devastating pandemic.

This Mothers Day for the family of 3 was different but the same at the same time.

Maya's Birthday has just passed, Chris filming schedule will pick up in the Summer and for the last year Delilah has been homeschooled.

With work picking up for the couple May 9th was a beautiful day for the Evans to just relax and be together as a family.

Its 9 am and Maya was sprawled in the middle of their California King Bed as Chris and Delilah were in the downstairs getting Maya's Mothers Day Gift ready.

"Ok Lilah you've got mommy's gifts and I've got the food you ready?" Chris asked with the tray in his hand.

Delilah nodded and they headed up the steps to the master bedroom the 5 year old ran up too the room first leaving Chris in her dust.

"Mom wake up its Mommy Day" Delilah said trying to climb the large bed.

Maya began to stir awake with a smirk on her face when she heard her baby girl struggle to to get up on the bed.

Delilah hooped on the outerman at the front of the bed and climbed to her mom laying up on Chris's said of the bed.

Delilah began to play with Maya's face.

"mommy get up me and daddy have gifs" Delilah said trying to open Maya's eyes with her little fingers.

Maya breaks out into a laugh now completely awake and pulling Delilah into a big hug kissing her all over the face.

When Chris walked in his two favorite girls were both laughing their heads off the sunlight in the room glowed on their golden skin as their smiling faces brought a bright smile to his.

"Are you two having fun without me" Chris asked as he walked to Maya's side of the bed.

Chris lays the tray on the night stand, pecking Maya on the lips mumbling a sweet Happy Mothers Day against her lips as he pulls her into a deeper kiss just enjoying the taste of her sinful lips.

When they pull away Maya moves over to make room for Chris in their large bed.

Delilah and Chris handed over the gifts to Maya, it wasn't a lot just some small things a card made by Maya from her zoom arts class, a mini breakfast in bed and more flowers *like she needed anymore*.

"Sweetheart I told you that you didn't have to do anything for me for Mothers Day especially everything you have done for me recently" Maya said taking sip from her coffee mug.

Chris chuckles thinking about the last few months, and he has been what you would call a rockstar husband.

With the pandemic Chris has been home a lot more he dropped a film he planned to star in and went full throttle on ASP which kept him home a lot making him kind of a stay home dad.

Chris did everything from some cooking to cleaning to school with Delilah. Him staying home was not only for him to do ASP and spend more time with his family but to let Maya work and bring her employess back so she can get her dermotobly practice back to as close to 100% as she can during a pandemic.

Not only that Chris hosted a surprise launch party/brithday party for Maya's new skincare venture in early April that was a small get together with all there closest friends and family (that were vaccinated). Even flying her parents who they haven’t seen in a year out to see them. (who were still in town and staying out in their guest home)

The three were still sitting in bed watching cartoons.

"My love if you thought today would go by and I would not celebrate you then you are out of your mind" Chris said kissing Maya's head.

The last four months have really shown Chris how much he admires Maya because everything he has been doing is what Maya has been doing since Dede was born.

So at least for today Chris was pulling out the red carpet for love of his life, after an hour of just lazying around Chris grabbed a now napping Delilah and told maya that she need to be dressed and ready to leave the house by 1pm which was 2 hours from the current time.

When 1pm hit the Evans and the Alonsos were out of the house and all in Maya's Truck.

They drove the 3 hours to the Alonso Family Estate in Martha's Vineyard and with Maya having absolutely no idea where they were going she grew antsy because unbeknownst to everyone in the car except her mother Maya was now Pregnant with her and Chris's second child and she was afraid she was going to have an accident in the car.

Maya was about 16 weeks how she has hide being pregnant from Chris for that long is a surprise and a miracle on its own.

However she just wanted to wait until she was absolutly sure that she could carry a complete trimester before telling anyone but her mom because her and Chris have tried 5 times after Delilah and has miscarred everytime.

All that faliure takes a toll not only on your body but on your psyche and she didn’t want to keep getting Chris's hopes up to keep failing him.

Even though he has been there through it all to hold her when she cries thinking about it or pick her up from the pool of blood in the middle of the night he was there holding her hand, but the of how many more times will he be able to do this with her still creeps in the back of Maya's mind.

Her mom's reassuring smile kept her calm while Chris and Maya held hands the entire ride up as they rolled up around 5pm to the estate that had multiply cars in the driveway.

When they walked in Maya's Brothers were both there along with Chris's parents, siblings and their kids.

Chris explained to Maya that with the kids out of school they all decided to being summer vacation a bit early.

As the night went on the all talked, laughed, ate good food and enjoyed each others company as one huge blended family.

It was coming up around 7pm it was golden hour outside and Maya knew for some reason it was time to tell Chris.

As Maya walked outside closet to the horses her mom followed.

"May baby cakes its time you can't live in fear forever" handing the ultrasound she kept in her purse and walking back into the house Maya took a deep breath as she sipped on her water and looked at sun hint the vinyard in the most majestic way.

"Maya you ok your mom wanted me to come and check in on you" Chris asked walking next to Maya who bit her lip which she did whenever she was nervous.

"Babe whats wrong" Chris knew something wasn't right the her body langague was and Chris could read his wife.

Maya tightly gripped the ultrasoud and turned toward Chris looking into his ocean blue eyes made her weak at the knees but she needed to focus.

She handed him the photo

"For the last 16 weeks or so I haven't found a way to tell that we are pregant and I guess this is it I am sorry I waited so long" Maya Says.

She smirks trying to keep it light hearted and Chris Smiles not even taking enough time to really process the new information with tears in his eye picking up Maya who squeals as he spins her around.

"I hope you know I knew already” he says putting her down leaving his arms around her waist.

"What do you mean you knew" Maya asked as her eyebrows frowned as she looked up at him.

"You underestimate how well I know your body" Chris says rubbing his hands up and down the curves of her body till her reached her ass giving it a good squeeze.

"Also you definitely did not hide this ultrasound that well so when I did first have hunch you had already confirmed it to me without even knowing it" Chris said.

He gave Maya his trademark smile and kissed his wife like his life depended on it.

"why didn’t you tell me you knew" she asked breaking the sweet embrace of the two lovers.

"the same reason you didn't I know that with you even though I hate it, some times I need to just watch from the sideline before you can put me in coach, but next time please do wait this long" Chris said.

Maya eyebrow raised "who said there will be a next time you better be lucky you are even getting 2 out of me sir" she said.

Chris laughs "thats what your mouth is saying now we will see what it says later when you riding papi's cock" He said kissing her lips even harder as they fought for domanice.

They knew both of there families were inside and thats why they stopped and just stood enjoying each others company.

"lets take a picture babe for memories" Chris said.

They pulled apart and Maya laughed .

"Chris look at you trying to take flicks for the gram" Maya said posing next to her favorite horse.

Chris took the picture and put it on his instagram along with a picture of Maya when she was pregnant with Delilah.

Chris laughed grapped her hand and they walked inside and told everyone the good news.

This will definaly be a Mothers Day they would never forget!

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Quarantine: A Love Story: {That Fourth Of July👀}

Chris Evans x Reader

Warning: Cursing, Lite Angst, Plot, Stand Alone/Addition Chapter, Flirting, Slow Burn, Tease

Words: 2.7k

Note: This is a standalone/addition chapter. I wanted to give you guys a glimpse of what Fourth Of July was for Chris and Reader as it is referenced a lot and does hold significance for both of them. This is where it all began.

I hope you guys enjoy this. If you enjoyed this LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG.

As always, thank you for reading!!! ❤️❤️

***Loosely Edited/Proofread***

***Slightly Interactive***

Previous Chapters:  Q1 |  Q2 |  Q3 |  Q4 |  Q5 |  Q6 |  Q7 |  Q8 |  Q9 | Q10 | Q11 | Q12 | Q13 | Q14 | Q15 | Q16 | Q17 | Q18  | Q19 | Q20 | Q21 | Q22 | Q23 | Q24 | Q25 | 

~~~~~~~~~~~

-Fourth Of July, 2017- 

“I can’t believe you said that to him,” Tara said as everyone around you busted out laughing.

 You did your best to stifle yours, but it was difficult. You took another swig from your beer bottle and leaned back to brace your elbows on the lounger behind you. Your elbows bumped into someone, making you tilt your head backward to see Scott sitting there. He winked at you before he took a sip from his bottle, and you did the same.

 “What was I supposed to say? Hey, I like the way your swim trunks look on you?”

 “I think that would have been better than you’d look a lot better with them off,” you replied.

 Snickers followed.

 “Okay, Ms., I always know the right thing to say,” Scott began. “Let’s say you approached whoever it is that you’ve been eying all night. What would your opening line be?”

 “Oh no, you will not drag me into this,” you objected.

 “No, no. I think that’s a good question. What would you say?”

 You sighed and guzzled from your beer bottle, trying not to answer.

 “There are many variables. With you, you probably just wanted to get your tip wet,” you blurted out.

 “Okay, let’s say you also wanted what I wanted, the same thing. What would this opening line be?”

 You thought for a few moments staring down the beach at nothing in particular. After a few moments, Chris’s face came into focus as he walked toward the group of you from the direction you’d been looking. Of their own accord, your eyes roamed over him, taking in every detail the dwindling daylight allowed. His khaki shorts fit his frame perfectly, clinging to the right places. You could tell he was slim but also that he had plenty of muscle mass. When your eyes took in the unbuttoned salmon color short-sleeve button-down he wore that showed his white undershirt, it gave you full sight of the muscles he was still sporting thanks to Marvel.

 He was a good looking man. There was no denying that Scott’s brother was a good looking man. It was clear with how many conquests he’d had and how many women lusted after him. You sunk your teeth into your bottom lip and traced the spout of the bottle along your mouth, completely unaware of what you were doing. As he got closer, your eyes met, and Chris’s eyes zeroed in on your mouth.

 “You look like you were made for sin, and I have a long list of ways we can do it together. The list begins with suck, but there is no end to what I want to do to you,” you said as you stared at Chris.

 No one around you spoke, but you wouldn't have known if they had. All you saw was Chris. The way he looked at you made you feel--plain and simply feel, and you hated it. Over the last few months, you’d taken notice of this lingering thing between you. Whenever you looked at each other, spoke to one another, or even hung out together, it was present. You didn’t know how to explain what it was, but just because something couldn’t be explained didn’t mean it wasn’t present, no matter how you wished it wasn’t so.

 Everyone around you erupted with applause forcing you to look away from Chris’s eyes.

 “Impressive,” Tara complimented.

 “Shiit, I’d take you up on that offer,” Scott added, making you giggle.

 “No end, huh.”

 Embarrassment filled you, but something else entirely brought your eyes to Chris, who was still looking at you, and the way he was doing it made a slow tingle journey up your spine.

 “What about a game of football before we lose the light?”

 With that, everyone began to scatter to make it down the beach to begin a friendly game of football. Only this was not a friendly game of football. It was a teasing one. You and Chris were cast on opposite teams. After one play, it was clear to see that everyone was either drunk or very tipsy because no one made a touchdown or even came close to it. All anyone accomplished was stumbling over their own feet, bumping into each other, and nearly losing the ball to the water. It was a mess, but a fun mess.

 Play after play resulted in absolutely nothing but a face full of sand, or your legs tangled with someone else’s and plenty of laughter. Halfway through the game, in a play that Scott formulated, he thought it was a good idea to throw you the ball expecting you to cross the volleyball net being used as the goal point. With the ball in hand and several beers and glasses filled of dark and light liquor in your system, you attempted to run for the goal. You heard the loud cheering of those around you and dodged everyone who was coming at you. You felt like you were Tebow, Romo, or even Sanders. It didn’t take you long to start feeling yourself and begin imitating the Heisman pose every chance you got. Everyone erupted with laughter at your antics. When you thought you were home free, someone threw you over their shoulder and ran you to the water, then threw you in.

 Your scream was loud as you sputtered from the water in your mouth and the sheer shock of the temperature of the water. When you stood, you saw Chris standing there with the football under his arm.

 “Cool off.”

 You couldn’t help but laugh, as did everyone around you. Taking the opportunity of Chris being distracted, you ran to him then tackled him sending him back into the water as an incoming wave crashed over the two of you. When you came up, you saw everyone running to the water shouting as they began flinging water everywhere.

 Chris had a smile on his face watching you stand. “Ha, you cool down!”

 He laughed but then charged you, making you take off down the shore as if you could outrun him. Within a few seconds, Chris managed to throw you over his shoulder again and began wadding out to the open sea. Your laughs melded together until he tossed you over again. The two of you remained in the water playing together, laughing and just enjoying each others company.

 By the time you returned to the sand, you were soaked, and because you hadn’t gotten to take off your clothes before being mercilessly thrown into the water, your clothes were also drenched. In the bathroom, you thought of your options. You could always just walk around in your bikini. It wouldn’t be inappropriate because you were at the beach after all. It may draw eyes to you, though, you thought. You began to regret your bikini choice, mainly the bottoms that left very little to nothing to the imagination.

 As you dried off, you peeled off your clothes off of your body and examined yourself. After contemplating your options for a few minutes, you heard a knock at the door. When you opened it you saw Chris standing there, shirtless. His eyes looked over your body twice before you realized you’d fully opened the door rather than cracked it. Fixing your mistake, you left your head poking out.

 “Hi.”

 Chris cleared his throat, then dipped his head before he spoke. “Em, since it’s my fault, here you go.”

 He held out the shirt he’d been wearing earlier. Just looking at it, you knew it was going to be oversized on you.

 “Uh,” you began while slowly reaching for it.

 “Take it as a peace offering,” Chris added flicking a lopsided grin on his face, a grin you met with rolled eyes.

 “You’re lucky this is my only option, but don’t you think this makes up for what you did,” you teased, taking the shirt

 “Oh really. What do I have to do to make it up to you then?”

 The way he asked had you meeting his eyes, and that was where they stayed. You bit your bottom lip then looked away. “I’m sure you can figure something out with all your—experience.”

 You smiled, then held up his shirt. “Thanks.”

 You closed the door, then threw on the shirt and tried to find a way to rock it without it looking like it wasn’t a planned look. It took you longer than you liked, but when you finally made it out of the bathroom and back to your friends, you were comfortable with how you looked. Everyone was now around a bonfire broken off in their own conversations as a movie played on the projected screen. You didn’t see Scott right away, so after getting your phone, you found a free blanket and laid down, getting comfortable.

 About ten or so minutes, Scott joined you, filling you in on his quick sexcapade. As you listened to him, you thought, of course he’d disappeared for a little fun. You didn’t knock him for it; hell, it wasn’t a bad way to enjoy the Fourth of July. By the time he finished giving you all the details, everyone had begun making their way to the beach to watch the fireworks that would blast out over the water. You told Scott to go ahead and save your spot so you could grab another beer.

 At the back of the lawn, where there was a makeshift bar set up, you rummaged through the bucket searching for the beer you wanted, but you couldn’t find not even one.

 “I think I took the last one,” a familiar voice said.

 You turned and saw Chris standing there in a tank that showed off some of his tattoos and your favorite beer in hand.

 “Seems you did.”

 “If I gave this to you, would I then have made it up to you?”

 You smiled and stepped closer to him, close enough to take the beer with no resistance. “Nope.”

 Chris smiled while staring down at you. You didn’t move and decided you wanted to see what he would do. The way he’d been looking at you all night had finally had your curiosity overflowing. You’d heard the rumors and stories of the conquests Scott’s brother had and how he enjoyed one night stands. You were not above them, especially if the man was good looking and not an asshole. Chris licked his lips, then spoke.

 “So what do I have to do?”

 “I think what you have to do might be the same as what you want to do. If that’s the case, try it.”

Long moments stretched with the two of you gawking at each other, both waiting for the other to make their move. You decided that if he made a move, you wouldn’t reject him, but you would not be the one to make a move. The first thunder of fireworks exploded across the sky, lighting up the lawn with bright red light. Everyone at the shore erupted with applause and cheers, but you and Chris still held each other’s gaze.

 He lifted his hand, hesitated, then lowered it to your cheek. He then slid his thumb across your skin. You didn’t know if he were wiping something away or just touching you because he wanted to.

 “What do you want, Y/N? hmm?”

 He looked lost in your skin as his fingers continued to enjoy its suppleness.

 “For you to take what you want,” you slid in, walking away from him toward the shore.

 Every few steps, you looked back at him only to turn back around in a teasing way. You were teasing him and hoped he took the bait.

  -Chris-

He wanted to take the bait more than anything. He had been watching you all night, and he had seen you staring right at him with what you’d said about your chosen pick up line. He wondered if you were gearing it to him. he wondered about it so much that it drove him crazy the whole day. He purposely threw you in the water, knowing you hadn’t brought a spare change of clothes. It was slightly manipulative, but the part of him who decided was not the logic-driven Chris. It was the desire-driven one.

 From the day he’d met you, he knew you would be a problem. He knew you would tempt him in a way he hadn’t been before, a way that made him uncomfortable and went past wanting to stake a claim sexually. For months, your intellect tempted him. The mental sparring that was so natural with you was attractive as hell. Then the whole night peeks of your body tempted him coupled with your wit and charisma, which made it incredibly difficult to resist you.

 Earlier in the bathroom, he didn’t know if you’d opened the door so widely on purpose or if it was unintentional. He’d imagined pushing you back until your ass collided with the sink, then he imagined hoisting you up and kicking apart your thighs. He’d wanted to push those skimpy bikini bottoms to the side so badly. He’d suppressed the urge, but the sight of you in his shirt didn’t help matters. You looked like his. As he approached the crowd at the shore, he decided he’d claim it because possession was nine-tenths of the law, after all.

 “Oh my god, it’s beautiful,” you said with a gasp as you gaped at the sky in awe.

 The colors that light up your face had him even more hypnotized with you. The wind blew, and the hem of his shirt lofted enough for him to see the almost thong cut of the bikini bottoms you wore, and he moved before he even thought not to. He rested his hand at your pelvis and waited. It took a few seconds, but you placed yours over his and made a swirling “s” along his skin toward his forearm.

 “Fuck,” he whispered.

 The hushed word brought the eyes of Scott and Tara. They both looked at him quizzically, silently asking him what was wrong. That was all it took for him to remember his promise to Scott. When Scott looked away, Tara’s eyes remained on him. They seemed to be sorting through his layers until they found what they wanted. She lifted her hand and tapped his temple, then turned back to the fireworks. Fuck, he thought.

 No matter how badly he wanted you, he couldn’t have you. The facts were simple—you weren’t his. You can’t possess that which isn’t yours and that which does not want to be possessed. Softly he sighed and lowered his hand from your body. You didn’t let it fall, though. Instead, you hooked your fingers with his and held him. His eyes lowered to your entwined fingers, and he hesitated for longer than he should have. When he glanced back up, your eyes were on him, but your lip clenched between your teeth.

 Another crack of fireworks lit up the sky, but your attention was on him rather than the green in the sky. Every color was your color, he thought, then wondered if these colors would still look good glowing off of your naked body. Recognizing his thoughts, wants, and desires were dangerous, he released your hand the minute you directed your attention to something Scott was saying. You kept your hand out, waiting for him to take it again, but he didn’t. Instead, he took several steps back.

 He stood there debating with himself, going back and forth, telling himself to take your hand, but the second he even moved a muscle, he chastised himself, telling him to resist. This was the process for several agonizing minutes. With his eyes glued to your ass and the skin that taunted him every time the breeze blew, he fought the urges that came over him one by one. When he looked up, he found your eyes on him. You looked so good, as if you were the child of two pure angels. There was an innocence about you that he didn’t understand, and something that radiated off of you that had him coming to one final realization. You deserved better than this. He saw you held our hand out to him, but the only thing he knew he should do was walk away. So, he backed away, all the while staring into your eyes. The confusion he found there, he understood. He was confused too. The hurt was what took him by surprise. Unable to stomach it, he turned and walked away from you, the colors and the light you brought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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