#i had no plans for this just choose a color palette and started making shapes

[moomoorare]

A wife to death, rebirth and mutilation. The axe's blade comes down and down again, a nightmare done, gone and then the light throws you on the dirt of a new world, fighting for your life and victor's cup yet again. Will you win?

Reblogs <3 are my best friends

[hollycircling]

would you consider dropping some tips on how you color? your art always has such a nice feeling to it

Thank you so much, and yes, absolutely! 

So... I have been agonizing over how to answer this question for over a week because I tend to make a lot of my major decisions based on what looks and feels good to me in the moment. It’s sort of hard to explain. Then I started getting philosophical with it (“how does one color? How do I explain aesthetic?”), and I started rambling, and had to cut the answer way, way, way down lol.

But here’s what I can help with right now. I think the most important part of how I color is my tools and what they allow me to do. These are currently my favorite brushes to use: 

From top to bottom, I use Kyle T’s Gouache for just about everything. A lot of my recent pieces are done entirely in that– I love the chunky texture and how the pressure mimics traditional gouache. It’s great for children’s book illustrations, and filling linework, and realistic portraits. She is my soft wife and I love her. 

I practically never use the default hard round. Ignore that. 

The roller brush is another one I use for painting. It was my go-to before KT’s gouache, so you’ll find it a lot in my older work (and as a big texture thing in my current works). The “Sampled Tip” below that one I usually use for children’s book styled illustrations. It’s like a really dense, waxy crayon, so it’s fun for textured lines and details.

I always paint in my own shadows and highlights, but I like to use the soft round if I want to blow the shadow or highlight out. It’s for extra large areas.

And finally my pencil. I use it for sketching as well as linework, if I plan on doing a linework-centric piece. I don’t think there’s much of a difference between the two there… one is probably smoother than the other. 

______________

The reason why I like textured, pressure-sensitive brushes so much is because they’re important to how I paint. When I blend, I don’t use a blender brush or a smudge tool. What I do is layer two colors– lightly– then use the eyedropper to select the color between them and continue painting with it. That’s probably the key to most of my work. I’ve gotten pretty fast at it, so I’m constantly selecting colors from the painting and reusing it throughout my painting. 

I still use the color-wheel to hand-pick what I think will look best, though. This is probably going to be a really frustrating answer, but I choose color palettes based on basic color/lighting theory combined with personal aesthetic preference. It can take some studying (of both theory and other artists’ work). If you’re ever looking for a really great reference on the former subjects, I highly recommend Color and Light by James Gurny. Even if you’re not into watercolor or dinosaurs or realism, the guy is a master at explaining all that different stuff in depth. 

Shape and negative space are also pretty important to me, but that's a whole other thing. And as a side-note, I recommend following more children’s book illustrators. Their work may look simple, but a lot of intention goes into how they use color, shape, space, and texture. 

Also, on texture, I hand-draw most of mine. I love to add little scratches and drops and splashes when the painting is almost over. It's one of my favorite things to do :')

____

Now, the other most important tip:

Once I’m happy with the sketch/linework, and once I’ve laid down the basic colors of my piece, I do a Really Terrible Thing. I become a graphic designer’s worst nightmare and collapse everything onto one layer. 

Then I paint directly on top of it, linework and all.

I do this for a lot of reasons, but mostly because 1) my tiny brain is overwhelmed by the clutter of too many layers, and 2) it forces me to approach a piece as if it was traditional media– a process which I find a lot more comfortable and rewarding. I paint right on top of the base colors, and right on top of the linework, effectively redoing and cleaning up what I already have there. Even if I'm working with a blank background, I'll paint a new blank one on top because it gives the feeling of a more unified piece, if that makes sense.

Basically, I approach my drawings as if I’m using traditional media. I like chunky brushes, utilizing (what I personally think are) interesting color combinations and textures, and smashing everything down onto one page so I can just paint. 

Anyway, please let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like me to go into detail on, any pieces of mine you’d like to know how exactly I went about it, etc etc etc. I’m happy to answer ^^

[caspira-writes-fanfiction]

Finding Family (Fizz's Found Family)-Chapter 4 pt. 1

Fizzarolli didn’t have many outfits to choose from. If he was meeting with Lust and Greed tomorrow, he should likely be in one of his uniforms. None of his personal clothes were really appropriate anyway: mostly pajamas, shorts, and crop tops. The choice of uniform was obvious, too. He only had two of them. Fizzarolli was trying to market himself as a clown, not as a brand baby for LooLoo Land. His Little Top costume it was, then. That one was colorful, entertaining, somewhat creative. His other uniform was also distinctly clown, but remained red and white, with accents of green for when he ran games or concessions.

Barbie stayed up after Fizzarolli went to sleep and managed to make a few patches for the threadbare pieces of his costume with scraps of fabric she managed to steal off tourists from wealthier rings. She made three diamond shaped patches to stay on brand with Mammon and one heart for good luck.

She really wanted this for Fizzarolli.

Barb painted Fizzarolli’s face with the limited supplies left in his Mammon Branded Clown Cake palette that had been issued to Fizzarolli when he accepted the job. Only one per year unless he wanted another one to be taken out of his salary at double the retail rate, so they had to be frugal with it. Thankfully, with his neck ruffle, most of Fizzarolli’s natural red pigmentation was covered. He didn’t need to cake his face with white to give off his clown appearance, he simply needed to cover up discolored gray spots. Barbie added purple to his eyelids, lining one eye with green and the other with blue.

“Are you sure?” Fizz asked, as if he could stop her.

“You’re going to Lust. That’s all about confidence. And don’t tell me you don’t want to be wearing more colors. You always did like more than just the black and white.” Barb booped Fizz’s nose, just to annoy him.

“I don’t want a full color clown face.”

“I’m touching up your white and doing your eyes. Calm down, princess.” Barb put her brush down and held up her compact mirror for Fizzarolli to see.

It was actually quite nice. The purple was diluted enough that it was sort of a light lavender, which complemented his uniform in the way that it also used to be a deeper shade but had faded. The two toned eyeliner was an interesting touch, it complimented the new patches that had appeared on his suit overnight.

“You sure this will give a good first impression?” Barb looked him over carefully, taking much consideration in it. She pursed her lips and shook her head.

“Fuck no. You need glitter.”

The First Meeting

Lust is all about confidence. Back straight, head high. Deep breath, you can do this.

Fizzarolli had only ever been through the Lust ring to get to Sloth before, he’d never actually stayed. He liked the blue skies, much like the pink skies of Sloth he found them calming. The rain alarmed him at first, he worried about the ache that would start to settle in his bones the longer he was here, but he found when he got out that it was relatively warm and comfortable. Interesting.

Asmodeus’s palace was huge. The ceilings taller than any of Mammon’s spaces that weren’t practice locations or stages. It was cleaner and well taken care of. All of the Lust ring seemed to be. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but it definitely wasn’t to feel so….comfortable. The waiting area outside of Asmodeus’s office was haunting. If he were alone, he might have worried that the room could swallow him whole. Mammon sat beside him babbling on about his own ideas on….Fizz didn’t know, he’d stopped paying attention. He tuned back in when he realized Mamm’s babbling was about him again.

“And the fucking glitter, interesting touch. What are you planning to do, Fizzy? You want to fuck him?”

The large double doors opened and save Fizzarolli from having to reply.

“Mammon” The deep voice carries crystal clear through the large room. Fizzarolli had never seen Lust himself, he hadn’t considered what to expect until this moment. He was huge, just as large as Mammon if not bigger. He was styled. Fizzarolli couldn’t help but admire how his outfit complimented his natural colors. He realized that the ram and bull’s head on the double doors were actually in his image, their colors complimenting his outfit and general color scheme. The heart at the base of Lust’s jacket mirrored the hand stitched patch over his own shoulder. Fizz realized what Barb meant when she told him it was for good luck now.

Asmodeus was commanding of a room, he had Fizz’s full attention. So much so that he hadn’t realized he was supposed to stand up and walk inside the office until Mammon was kicking him in his spot. He stumbled, but was thankfully able to catch himself. He didn’t catch the concerned glance that the Ram’s head gave when they noticed what had happened.

The office was even larger than the waiting room had been. Blue flames taller than Fizzarolli roared in the fireplace. He nearly made it to the sitting area without stumbling. He’d promised Barbie that if he stumbled more than twice he’d use the collapsible cane he had tucked away in his jacket. He’d now stumbled twice, even if the first time wasn’t entirely fair, and decided that he’d use it if he stumbled again.

Mammon sat in the large, velvet backed chair opposite Asmodeus’s seat, leaving Fizzarolli to lean awkwardly against the coffee table. He wouldn’t admit to being in a flair because he could still walk, but he was pushing it after yesterday. Fizzarolli’s eyes widened as he watched a chair appear next to Mammon’s. It wasn’t outrageously large, either, it was something Fizzarolli could climb into relatively easily. When he did, he couldn’t help but laugh as the chair grew in size so that he was more or less on an equal playing field with the other two. It was the closest he’d felt to flying in a long time.

“So, Mammon. Yesterday when we spoke you said this was urgent. Seeing as you’ve come out of Greed to meet with me, this must be important to you. What’s going on?” Asmodeus addressed Mammon directly, but the bull and the ram are looking at Fizzarolli. He isn’t sure how to feel about that.

“Yeah, mate. Well, look at him. You think he has much fucking time? Hit the lights, Oz”

Fizz shrunk as he saw the faces staring at him grow in concern. He fucking hates pity. The blue flames dim with a clap of the sin’s hands and Fizz soon realizes what Mammon’s approach to this pitch was going to be.

A screen appears from Mammon’s phone and projects into the air for all of them to see. The music starts, Fizzarolli hides his head in his hands but only for a few moments. By the time the emcee in the video speaks, Fizzarolli is back to sitting upright and forgetting about the video that was about to explain his entire history to the King of Lust.

“Introducing The Buckzo Family Circus’s own Fizarolli!” The familiar tune began to play. A young Fizzarolli stands on the high platform with a rope in his hand. He jumps off the platform easily, flying around the big top and making it look like anyone could fly if they just smiled big enough. The screen cut and changes to Fizzarolli balancing on the big ball, Fizz making balloon animals, Fizz uni-cycling and juggling flaming clubs, acrobatics on horses, more trapeze, some pantomime, a cream pie or two. “What couldn’t this little clown do? Dedicated, talented, destined for stardom. Raised by the Buckzo family as an orphan, he was the family’s pride and joy…...until..” Photos of Fizzarolli and Blitzo appear on the screen. Silent clips of Blitzo faltering at a routine and Fizzarolli saving him were scattered in-between. “Jealous by the talent and fame, Fizzarolli’s life went up in flames…” The newspaper page with the pictures of the accident flashed across the screen. Tents on fire, horses running to escape, fire crews getting there entirely too late. Photos of Fizzarolli in the hospital came next. Nothing but bandages, tubes, and wires. Headlines reading “We Thought He Was Dead” and Circus Star Medical Miracle. Video clips of Blitzo and Fizzarolli playing as children replace the images of damage and destruction. The emcee becomes vicious. His best friend turned enemy…….The Great Fizzarolli has lost everything: his family, his home, his livelihood but not…”

“Is this necessary?” Asmodeus hadn’t agreed to this meeting to watch tacky, exploitative, inspiration porn. Especially when he’d looked over at the jester and noticed the hollow, glazed over look in his eyes. How many times had he had to watch this video already? “What was it you came here to ask?”

Lust was angry. Fizzarolli could pick up on the tone, it’s what brought him back into the moment. The video had stopped playing before Fizzarolli’s cue. Mammon looked pissed. Fizzarolli’s heartbeat picked up pace. This was his only chance, he hadn’t even been here fifteen minutes and he was going to lose it.

“I-I came here to ask, Sir.” Fizzarolli interrupted. He wasn’t sure if it was rude or not, he hadn’t been given an etiquette lesson before coming here. Confidence Fizzarolli reminded himself. Lust is about confidence. If there’s anything Fizzarolli knows how to do, it’s fake confidence. He just needs to get himself into the right headspace. He needs to get into clownspace. It’s harder to do than usual when there’s two deadly sins staring at him, waiting for him to make the pitch that will save his life, hopefully get him some mobility again. One deep breath, and then another.

Asmodeus leaned back in his chair. He’s given the floor to Fizzarolli.

“I’ve always been a performer.” Decent start, Fizz. Keep going. “And I always will be one.” His contract with Mammon ensures that but Fizzarolli doesn’t feel that’s an important detail to bring up right now. Mammon doesn’t seem to be Lust’s favorite subject. “I used to be good, Sir. I’m sure you could see that from the video.” Granted, Fizz was much younger in many of those clips. A lot of the stunts he’d been seen doing were likely ones he’d never get to perform again. He was hoping Asmodeus wouldn’t know that, or wouldn’t care. One deep breath.

“It has been my dream since I was five to perform. To inspire others, to bring smiles to people, to make things better in the only way I know how.” Asmodeus’s eyebrow flicked up in amusement. Fizzarolli kept going. “I still try. I do 50 shows a week. One an hour, down at LooLoo Land? But…..I want more than that.” Breathe, Fizzy. “I want to be the best performer in Hell. I want to win Mammon’s contest. In order to do that, I need to be able to do more than sit on a stool and crack jokes.” The anger that he had yesterday wasn’t present. Fizzarolli had the feeling that Asmodeus wouldn’t take too well to anger, and Fizzarolli wasn’t feeling spiteful. The anxiety was there, yes, but he didn’t feel the need to fight his way out of it quite like he did with Mammon. Things felt calmer.

“Mamm told me you had ideas…..” Fizzarolli can’t tell if Lust is curious or cautious. Maybe he’s bored? Perhaps it was best to not try and read tone right now, he was letting Fizzarolli continue.

“Well, King Asmodeus, Sir. I know you have your deal with Mammon. About the customizable-”

“Robots, yes” There’s definitely annoyance in his tone. Shit. Breathe, Fizzarolli. The show isn’t over yet.

“They’re very advanced. Excellent design work, from what I hear. Water resistant, fully articulated, and smooth. I’ve seen the advertisements, there’s very little they can’t seem to do.” Fizzarolli wasn’t sure who’s ego he was stroking more, but if nothing more it served as a nice distraction and a good segway. “I was wondering, Sir. What the possibility would be of…..re-purposing some of the robot limbs into prosthetics?”

The room is silent, but not hollow. Asmodeus is thinking. Fizzarolli’s eyes are locked on the other’s face, studying each micro expression he can catch between the three faces.

“I’ve never thought about using the technology in that way….” That wasn’t a no. “It’s an interesting concept. I’m not sure how it would be done.”

“I have ideas for that, too, Sir.” Fizzarolli is desperate. He doesn’t have blueprints or sketches written down, his ideas are all theoretical. He doesn’t have the engineering background that he assumes Asmodeus or his team does, he’s never even taken a science class. But his ideas have gotten him places before. He didn’t have to have the solution to be part of it.

The room is silent again for a moment. Mammon won’t stop staring at the two of them. Lust is examining Fizzarolli. He could understand why Mammon had arranged for this meeting. Fizzarolli was something special, there was no denying it. Creative, resilient, hard working and dedicated…..Asmodeus wasn’t sure he could fulfill this imps dreams, but he was interested in hearing more about them at the very least.

“I’d like to hear those ideas.”

Fizzarolli’s eyes went wide. Did he manage to win over Asmodeus? No, no of course not. But this is good. This isn’t a no.

“Does this mean we have a deal, Oz?” Mammon takes the opportunity to butt in. He leaned in with his pointed grin and stretched a hand out to shake with Ozzie. Asmodeus does not take his hand.

“It means it might be possible.” Asmodeus glared at Mammon, then turned his attention back to Fizzarolli. “Do you have time this afternoon? The sooner we can go over your ideas, the sooner I’ll have an idea on what I can do to help.”

Fizzarolli wanted to say yes, but he’d taken on a shift at the milk rings stand at the theme park this afternoon. He’s not sure if Mammon knows or cares, but his attention shifts to his boss. “I-I’m supposed to work games tonight, Sir.”

“So be back tonight, Fizzy. Shit. What’s the big deal?” Fizzarolli swallowed and nodded. That isn’t an unreasonable ask. Hopefully it’ll be a slow night at the park, moving might be hard by the end of his shift.

“As long as I can get back to Greed by 4:00.”

Asmodeus nods. “I’ll clear my lunch.”

Asmodeus didn’t really have to clear anything. He hated mid-afternoon meetings and often blocked out an hour or two to be unavailable in the middle of the day. He usually spent that time finding something entertaining to do between the routine monotony that his day could become. He felt blocking out his afternoon to be with the jester would be more entertaining than anything else he’d planned on doing today.

“Are you hungry?” Asmodeus asked. Mammon had since left to go back to Greed but not before telling Fizzarolli that he better make this work on time or else his wages would be docked for the day. Fizzarolli wasn’t sure what would be waiting for him if he couldn’t convince Asmodeus that they could pull this off.

“Oh, I ah…..” Starving he wanted to say. The pizza he’d had last night was all they had in the house that hadn’t gotten raided by vermin or spoiled in the broken fridge. But he didn’t have money for food, there was no way he could pay for anything in this ring. It was all too nice. “No, I’m. I’m okay. I’ll have some popcorn when I’m back at work.”

Asmodeus’s eyes narrowed in confusion. It took him a moment to remember that Fizz was from Greed. His expectations were probably much different.

“You won’t have to pay for it. I’m offering.” Now it’s Fizzarolli’s turn to be confused.

“Mammon…”

“Mammon isn’t involved in this. I’m the ruler of this ring, I am more than allowed to offer my guests lunch. I’m keeping you during lunch hour, it’s the least I can do.” His voice was firm, but not controlling. And Fizzarolli couldn’t really argue with a single thing he had to say. Asmodeus repeated one more time. “Are you hungry? Because I could eat.”

There was no menu, Fizzarolli was told he could order whatever he wanted and it would be brought up to them. This had to be some sort of test, but what Asmodeus was testing, Fizzarolli had yet to understand. So he decided to test Asmodeus back and call his bluff.

“Are you sure you’re not from gluttony? That’s damn near Bee’s order and she’s four times your size, at least.” There wasn’t a hint of frustration or anger in Lust’s voice. Curiosity, confusion perhaps, but not anger. Fizz took that as enough of a sign that he was passing, he could continue on how he was.

“You told me to order whatever I want. If asking for robotic limbs wasn’t enough of a clue, I have expensive taste.”

“An interesting idea” Asmodeus guides the conversation back to business while his kitchens go on and prepare a feast. “I’d like to hear more about your ideas. Where did you get the inspiration?”

“I mean, you market these bots as the most advanced sex toy in the seven rings. What can’t it do?” Fizz started reciting Mammon’s commercial for the clown robots in a horrible accent. “Sixteen different positions and a customizable amount of holes! These freaky fucks can get you off standing up, laying down, while running! Program your bot to do anything you can do! Fully articulated fingers allow for extra pleasure for any type of sick fuck!….”

“That’s enough” Asmodeus commanded. Fizzarolli stilled immediately. They sat in silence for a few moments before Fizzarolli decided to speak.

“I figured if these robots could do anything you can do….why couldn’t I? I mean, I don’t even have fingers, Sir. Your robots already have an advantage.”

The silence that follows this statement isn’t tense but Fizzarolli felt his chest tighten regardless. The air in the room was cool despite the fire roaring on beside them. Each of Asmodeus’s faces appear to be thinking something different. This wasn’t the perfect pitch he’d imagined. He hadn’t even prepared a perfect pitch, he’d had so little energy in the time he’d been given. Had he fucked it up with the accent? Maybe pretending to be Mammon was a little bit too far. What was his deal with Mammon anyway?

“You make a very good point” When Fizzarolli only looked at Asmodeus in response, the sin continued on. “Now, you said you had ideas for logistics?”

Asmodeus listened. He was agreeable to this. Fizz considered this a win. Asmodeus was agreeable to it. The hardest part was over. Now they just had to figure out how to get his plans to work.

“I think the biggest problem would be the power source.” Fizzarolli started, to which Asmodeus nodded in agreement. “I don’t mind having to charge at night if that’s necessary” That was a weird sentence “But I’d like to be able to get through a day without having to be connected. Especially if I’m going to be a performer.”

“A reasonable request. The bots have a battery life averaging 30 hours…”

“But.....there’s a catch?” Fizzarolli caught on to his tone easily.

“The battery is large. It’s stored in the chest cavity.” Where Fizzarolli was made of flesh and a battery very much couldn’t go.

Fizz stuck his tongue out in a moment of contemplation. “Any chance you could make it slimmer? If you could sew it up in some cloth and make it a back brace I’d marry you.”

Asmodeus’s cracked a smile at the demon sitting across from him. He considered the idea. It wasn’t horrible, though he wasn’t entirely keen on him having to keep a battery that close to him, or having to keep a battery at all.

“And I’ve heard you have these crystals? What are they for?” The sin chuckled to himself “What I mean is, could they harness energy?”

“You really did come with ideas” Asmodeus mused. “Do you have any sketches or plans?”

Fizzarolli paused. He didn’t, he wasn’t that prepared. Confidence. “No, sir. But give me a pen and paper and I can draw up some sketches.”

The sin leaned back in his seat and nodded. Fizzarolli wondered what he was thinking.

“Alright. Would you like to see my workshop?”

[alexsamcurren]

Advanced Photoshop Techniques Revealed

Ghosting is ideal for pix regarding subjects in motion, taken while the digicam and the background are strong (now not transferring) and the subjects flow through, around, or across the body. I have had tremendous fulfillment using this impact while photographing human beings transferring about an ancient website online or youngsters as they scamper over rocks. I have also used this impact for weddings and sports activities shoots. Example: In one wedding picture, the groom stood still at the bottom of stone steps to a historical living, his hand extended in the direction of his bride, who slowly moved down the steps toward her groom. My six planned 'clicks' of the shutter created an airy, surreal picture of the wedding couple. Depending on the velocity of the moving topics, the shutter can be held down in fast hearth mode or each publicity can be meticulously choreographed: 1) every challenge deliberately located inside the body, 2) one 'click' of the shutter, and 3) repeat steps 1 and a pair of to the full wide variety of multiple exposures you put on your digital camera.

There are numerous advantages of the usage of any of the outcomes for the rims on actual photographs. One is that it reduces interference between steps or elements and the halos from different, nearby steps. Another factor, the mild or dark halos make other functions of the picture stand out better from the historical past. Start doing this effect to your photographs using Photoshop by using the following numerous methods: 1st step is reproduction the layer keeping the photograph; the second step - follow the traditional unsharp mask; 3rd step - set the layer blending mode to "Darken" or "Lighten".

Photoshop Brush Palette is a series of all Brush Shape Presets that can help you create a new brush, load, store, or modify brush length, brush shape and brush dynamic in one unmarried palette. The primary advantage of the Brushes palette is that you could define your brush shapes and regulate numerous thrilling dynamics. Whether you're using a mouse or a pen and tablet, every tool behaves in another way primarily based on the size and form of your cursor (the brush tip), and brush hints are available in many specific patterns (known as brush shapes, or usually just brushes). A big, round brush paints in huge strokes; a small, elliptical brush paints in thin, hairline strokes. Of path, there are lots of extra taking place in Photoshop than simply large, small, spherical, or elliptical.

You may be searching at a photo you took on your last vacation of the crystal blue waters on the ocean, but all Photoshop sees is a gray ocean. Did you manipulate to snap a photograph of a rainbow arching across the sky after a summertime evening storm? Photoshop sees it as a stunning collection of sun shades of gray. And that famous pot of gold on the give up of it? To Photoshop, it is a huge ol' pot of grey. Don't sense sorry for Photoshop even though. It's perfectly happy in its colorless world. In reality, the most effective motive it indicates us our pictures in color in any respect is due to the fact we as humans expect to look at them in coloration. We wouldn't understand what to suppose if the entirety was appearing in black and white. But no longer Photoshop. To it, lifestyles simply couldn't be sweeter than in black, white, and gray.

Creating actions is fun and easy. All you have to have is a group of photos and then file them altogether, start via clicking on Record and the button beneath will flip purple. Any movement you perform in Photoshop could be recorded. With the Record mode on, begin enhancing your image. In our case, shall we resize the photo? Choose Image -> Image Size, enter 450 for width (or every other sizes), click Ok. Click on the file button to turn the Record mode off. Testing the action Now that you have a motion recorded, shall we open up any other photo that desires to be resized. This time, we will simply hit the shortcut key Shift F2, or click on the Play selection button. You must be able to resize in just one click. To work out the use of Photoshop Actions, you can strive to record greater complex actions. Mastering actions will assist you to perform a whole lot of recurring Photoshop duties in a shorter time. Laugh.

New capabilities in Photoshop CS2 make it simpler to composite pics in a couple of layers. In earlier versions, it changed into essential to pick a required layer in the Layers palette. But now it is feasible to pick out multiple layers using a marquee device. The Show Transform Controls function allows objects to be reshaped quicker than ever before, and it works across a couple of layers. Smart Guides is some other innovation that makes it easier to align gadgets, even supposing they're on distinct layers. 

People who learn on their own sometimes discover the first-class way to do matters, however, generally, they find out the wrong manner to do matters, which causes routine frustration and limits their capability to go on mastering new matters. The time and money you invest nowadays in your Photoshop education will reward you with approaches that you can't even start to consider.

[mandalorewhore]

Two Steps Ahead

PART THREE OF HUNTER (formerly hunter and prey)

gif by @princessxkenobi

Rating: Explicit Content Warnings: SMUT, Fighting as Foreplay, Rough Sex, Penetrative Sex(PIV), Unprotected Sex, Dirty talk, Praise kink, Size kink, Big Dick Mando, Top Mando, Sub/Dom elements, Very slight Pain Kink, possible CNC elements although I didn’t write that I also want to warn anyone who doesn’t want to read about rough sex with physical fighting as foreplay Words: 6.9k AO3 LINK

Summary: Reader and Mando start tracking their first bounty together

A/N: i believe things are happening...interesting

***

 “I feel like you have a distinct advantage here.” A bead of sweat drips over your brow as you mop at your sweltering forehead in irritation. Your temple throbs as you press on it, pain shooting down your neck at the pressure.

       It’s so fucking humid here. You’re tracking one of Mando’s bail jumpers in the middle of a boggy swamp planet that you never caught the name of and you’ve been walking through the forest for at least 24 hours, only stopping for water and ration breaks. Based on the holo-map you’re currently staring at, this entire planet is one big swamp, with no escape from the damp, sticky environment.

 The thing barely makes sense, a jumble of colors and shapes that worsens your headache the longer you try to figure it out. You had borrowed a thin shirt from Mando before setting out, but it does little to protect you from the buzzing swarms of insects, while at the same time it reflects just enough heat to have you sweltering.

 Mando acts unbothered under all that padding and armor, trekking through the trees without any visible sign of struggle. You don’t understand how he can stay awake for so long without caf, yourself being covered in caf-patches to keep from passing out. It’s probably somewhat dangerous to have so much of the stimulant coursing through your veins, but oh well. If my heart gives out then at least I’ll escape the bugs.  

       “Footprints aren’t the only way to track a quarry.” He returns mildly, moving swiftly over tangled tree-roots to avoid the pools of murky water that litter the forest floor. You move with less grace behind him, trying to climb slippery wood and juggle the holo at the same time. The twisted trees of this planet seem to reach inward to point at the forest floor, giving you the impression of being trapped within their clutches. The eerie feeling isn’t helped by the distinct lack of light, odd lichen tendrils drape between branches to create a blanket that absorbs most natural light from the sky. A faint glow emanates from the tendrils, basking the forest with ghostly illumination. You scramble to the top of the particularly tall root he’s perched on then plop down to catch your breath.

       “No, it’s not the only way,” you pause to take a swig from your water skin, dabbing off the spilled drops from your chin with your sleeve, “but the footprints      you    track are apparently all glowy and red. I get to look with my naked eyes for shit like depressions in the ground, which is so fun considering the only paths here are solid wood.”

       Mando rolls his helmet on his shoulders, the effect similar to someone rolling their eyes. When he speaks it’s short and gruff, annoyed by your attitude. Which is… appropriate. The hours you’ve spent walking in this heat together is starting to snap both of your tempers. “Stop complaining.”

 He’s not wrong about the footprints. You’re mostly annoyed because of how useless you feel, more like you’re tagging along than assisting him on the hunt. Drawing your eyebrows together you try to come up with a plan. Most of those mercenary skills you talked up for Karga don’t apply here, this naturalistic setting is too messy and... wild. Unpredictable. You’re used to the structure that comes with starships and cities, places engineered and civilized.

 Tracking people isn’t very hard, you’ve done it plenty of times before. The only issue is that all of your practice came from environments where they left clear signs of direction, displaced gravel indicating a shoe-print, broken branches, a trail in sand. It also helps that your targets didn’t know they were being stalked. The only path here is over hard wooden tree roots, with nothing to indicate direction, not even moss grows over the foot trail for traveling feet to mark. You take in a deep breath and hold it for several seconds before letting out all your air in one huge swoop.

       “I’m sorry, “ you tell him sincerely, “I want to help you -and not just for a bigger cut. Is there anything I can do?” You truly do feel bad for snapping at him even if you know you’re right about his advantage. Just because you don’t have fancy thermal settings and footprint tracking doesn’t mean you’re useless. The Mandalorian settles his hands on his hips and surveys the area, looking for a task to assign you. His helmet tilts up and lingers on the trees, and you’re already two steps ahead before he can voice his idea.

       “I can climb,” you interject, standing up swiftly and moving. “Trees can’t be more slippery than a spacecraft.”

       He nods in acknowledgment. “Find something and your cut goes up by five percent.”

       “Ten percent.” You grin at him cheekily, wanting to tease him even if he won’t give it to you.

       “Eight, if you find somewhere to camp.”

       “Deal.” You return, already halfway to the widest tree you can reach without getting your feet wet. The trunk is covered in knots and twisted vines, ugly but providing fantastic handholds for your hands and feet. Grabbing hold of a sturdy looking ledge you begin your ascent.

 The climb is fairly easy even with the woods damp surface, and you reach the forest canopy with minimal effort. Carefully squirreling around the thin top-most branches you attempt to find a break-through point, the wood beneath you bowing a little from your weight.

 When you finally poke your head through and see the sky you gasp, taken aback by the sight. You hadn’t hung around in the cockpit during landing, instead choosing to pack the bags while Mando skillfully piloted his ship. The forest floor is all you’ve seen of the planet and apparently you’ve missed a lot.

       The sky here is beautiful, a color palette that is completely opposite from the dark, damp underbelly of the forest ground. Swirling aquamarine clouds float lazily in the sky, speckling the orange hued atmosphere above you. There are at least 6 pale moons lined up on the horizon from edge to edge, stars twinkling around each orb as if drawn to their orbit. You drink in the sight greedily, the ache in your head lessening in the natural light. This is      so     much better than the cold stark metal of space stations that you’re used to living on.

 It’s hard to tell the time based on the sky alone, the moons must be constantly present in the sky no matter the time of day and you can’t find a single sun. Maybe this planet lives off the light and heat from each moon, reflected from a distant star? The thought is lovely but you don’t think it’s possible. You file the image away for your daydreams then divert your eyes back to the thick forest, searching for anything useful to tell Mando.

       The line of trees is unbroken, a sea of dark green leaves and glowing lichen. An orange sky helps to warm up the pale glow from the lichen but it’s eeriness still sends a shiver through you. Everything on the horizon is of even height, betraying nothing within its depths. It isn’t ideal. You gnaw your lip anxiously, dreading to return to Mando without any information especially on your first hunt together. Eyes flitting around desperately, you try to analyze any possible breaks in the natural pattern of trees.

     Could that be a settlement there? You think, looking at a slightly thinner section of forest that might roughly be three miles away. You aren’t sure about the planet’s curvature and how flat the terrain is so you double check the holo, looking for the information.

 Something catches your eye as you’re pulling up the data, just substantial enough in your peripheral version that you stop what you’re doing. There is a mist rising from that thinned area, far enough away that you mistook it as some sort of lighting effect from the overwhelming color palette here. That has to be steam right? It’s too thick to be naturally occurring from the bog. There must be machinery over there. A settlement hopefully.

 You’re about to climb down when you pause, looking at the still lit holo with renewed curiosity. Something about the map visually paired with your clear view of the forest allows the pieces to fall in place. When you compare the shape of the map to the trees you’re finally able to make sense of what you previously thought was a topographical mess. A built pathway lies here, a body of water there. And clearings. Several clearings not too far from where you are now, the perfect size to settle down in. Hopefully they’re dry.

 Either the caf-patches are finally sending you into cardiac arrest or you’re manically happy to finally be of help to your hunting partner, but either way, you’re grinning so widely that your teeth clatter together.

 “Hey Mando! Guess what you owe me?” You shout down at the ground, beginning to descend. You’re so excited that you practically slide down the vines, jumping to the ground when you’re several feet high in the air, sore muscles creaking at the impact. The Mandalorian is sitting now, resting with his elbow propped on his knee while he waited for you to come back. There’s a soft pang in your chest and you wonder if he’s tired. You brush it off, feeling as though you’re just projecting, and instead grin widely at him in triumph. “7 percent increase for me!”

 He lifts his helmet and looks you up and down. “What did you find?”

 You reply chirpily, hands grasped behind your back and shit-eating grin still plastered on your face. “There is a settlement of some kind roughly three miles that way,” you point in the direction where you saw the steam, “and several clearings nearby suitable to camp in, if we don’t want to head in right away. Oh, also we aren’t on the actual path used by locals here, the asset must be making an effort to hide.”

 “That isn’t very smart of them,” Din observes, shaking his head at the concept. “Busy path hides more prints.”

 “Hm…” You take that in, wondering what other techniques a quarry may use to shake its hunter.

 It occurs to you that there is a lot you could learn from the Mandalorian, since so far hunting someone has been notably different from your mercenary missions. You’ll find a moment to ask questions later once you’re settled down for the night, wherever that’ll be. “Do you want to camp or find the maybe-settlement?”

 “We should camp,” he responds immediately, rising from his seated position and walking closer to you, “we don’t know what we’ll face there. You can choose the area, since you climbed the tree.”

 You pull up the holo-map again and zoom in on the different options, feeling far more energized now that you actually know what you’re doing. There are two spots that seem encouraging, both a short hike away from where you are now but removed enough to grant you some privacy. You’ll still need to set up a watch to prevent ambush or stray travelers from finding you but it’ll be easier if you make an effort to hide. One of the clearings seems to have a running water source, you hope it’s cleaner than the still-water you’re currently surrounded by. Maybe you can bathe there too.

 “Lets go here,” you pull up the coordinates for Mando, “that looks like a stream, right?”

 He leans into your body for a closer look, broad chest just brushing against you in a way that sends flutters through your tummy. You know he can zoom in with his visor, there is no reason he needs to be so close to you except for your benefit. He seems to enjoy messing with you like this, throwing you off with unexpected touches, looks, and gestures. It’s like a game he plays and you’d be far more annoyed by his teases if it wasn’t so exciting.

 “Looks good,” he rumbles low in his chest. “Fresh water would be nice.”

 Your heart quickens, but you tried to hide your reaction by teasing him back, tapping your fingers on his helm and stepping away. “I was hoping to clean myself up, actually…”

 Mando straightens up at this, visor locked on your face.

 “Lead the way.” He returns quietly, giving away nothing. Trying not to smile, you start off in the direction of the clearing, for once moving faster than your armored companion.

 Your goal isn’t very far, only about 3 miles north of your previous position and a mile adjacent to the settlement you’ll pay a visit to tomorrow. Large, fuzzy fronds of an alien fern droop down the sides of the hollow clearing, providing a barrier between the forest and empty space in between. The trees still tangle above the open area, blocking out part of the beautiful sky, save a few of the large moons, and old pieces of charcoal are ground into the sandy earth here, a sight that makes you a little anxious. This spot must be used by others, you’ll have to be more careful with setting up the watch than expected.

 The water source turns out to be a small spring set on the edge of a cliff at the far end of the clearing, a sizable waterfall cascading down the side and gathering in a crystalline pool. Skipping ahead of Mando to the edge of the pool you crouch and dip your fingers in the cool water, sighing in relief as it relieves some of the warmth in your overheated body.

 You’re unable to hear Mando’s approach - how he is so stealthy under 50 pounds of metal escapes you, but you feel him behind you. You smirk. Arching your back as you rise, you turn around slowly and begin to make eyes in his direction however, when you actually see what he's doing, you cringe at yourself in embarrassment. He’s not looking like you assumed, instead he is surveying the clearing skeptically, body-language imbued with disapproval. Your heart simultaneously sinks to your stomach and contracts in frustration. You thought you had finally done something right.

 “What? Is something wrong?” You ask him tightly, subtly shrinking in on yourself in disappointment. You try to hide this by fiddling idly with a stray thread on your tunic, stubbornly keeping your head lifted high despite wishing you could disappear. He doesn’t respond right away, instead turning and walking the length of the clearing then back, stopping just in front of you sharply. You meet his visor with your eyes, holding the look until you feel like you’re burning up in shame from the pressure of it.

 “It’s too… open,” he finally says, voice halting as he tries to find the correct words. “Anyone could walk into our camp.”

 “I figured we’d set up a watch. There’s only one entrance-”

 He interrupts you. “One ground entrance. Anyone can climb down from the trees.”

 “Maybe, but this planet isn’t supposed to be dangerous, is it? Practically abandoned,” You huff out, fists clenching at your sides as you argue with him. “Besides. It’s… pretty here.”

 The Mandalorian sighs, pinching the helmet just below the visor where his nose bridge would be. “Fine. I’ll take the first watch. No fire.”

 Nodding in response, you cross the clearing and set your bag down on a log, letting out a sigh in relief. That’s fine by you, you don’t need the extra warmth and the glowing lichen provides enough light to get by. You really did not want to hike again after moving for 24 hours straight. Mando mirrors your movements, leaning his rifle next to your pack before settling on the sandy earth. A loaded pause passes between you, earlier implications at the forefront of your minds.

 Letting out a shuddering breath you crouch down and pull your old tunic from your bag, slinging it over your shoulder before making your way back to the small pond. The water is completely clear, an inviting sight after the marshy puddles that made up the forest ground on your way here. You’re facing the water now but you’re still well aware of the man behind you, the intensity of his gaze burning even through the impassive visor. The invitation is clear. Take it off.  

 But you aren’t sure if you want to give him that yet. The exhaustion from today has wrung you dry, small bickerings between you and your work partner dampening the sweet mood leftover from Nevarro. Apologizing with sex isn’t really your thing. You’d rather stoke the mutual respect between you as allies instead of start up a pattern of fighting then making up.

 You crouch at the water's edge, peering into the depths for a moment before splashing your face with cold water, fresh scar throbbing as blood rushes to the surface of your face. The spare tunic you grabbed just brushes the surface of the water, sending ripples throughout your reflection. Curious, you lean over and observe the way the mirror-like pond breaks off into fragments, bits of you here and there mixing in with the moons that lay on russet sky.

     Like a painting. You think in awe, having only seen a couple of the artifacts in person. The richest target you were assigned to owned two pieces of art, real paintings on real paper, encased in transparisteel viewing cases before you smashed open the backing to wonder at them. You close your eyes and try to recall the texture of the paint before the rest of your memory catches up and sours the whole thing. The man's home had to be burned in order to erase evidence, his paintings too large to smuggle out of the city.

 When you open your eyes the pond has settled with your reflection only- you’re not alone.

 “Maker!” You jump at the sight of the Mandalorians gleaming helmet appearing in the reflection. “What the fuck, you sneak.”

 He just chuckles in response and offers you a hand, which you take firmly while rolling your eyes and standing. He leads you back to sit with him on the sandy earth, taking ration bars out of his pack- not yours, and breaking them evenly between you. The gesture is surprisingly tender and none too appreciated what with your stomach growling audibly at the bland meal. All at once, you are reminded by the spattering of caf-patches on your limbs, the jitteriness becoming more apparent now that you’re finally still. You’re shaking. Mando notices as well.

 “You may explode.” He remarks, prompting you to start pulling off the stimulant, crumpling each piece and setting them neatly in a pile at your knee.

 “Good, let me explode. You’re too bossy to work with.” You return with a smirk, hoping your sarcasm lands. He hums in response, pulling one of the patches off of your forearm and flicking it in your direction for you to catch.

 Tutting, you roll the patch into a ball and set it at the top of your pile. “Don’t leave a mess, this forest is ugly but at least it’s untouched,” you tell him firmly. Mando just nods.

 The ration bars are hardly a delicacy but you shove them in your mouth all the same, appreciating the engineering behind them. They are so calorie rich that a piece the size of your palm can keep you going for hours. However, your body can’t seem to relax despite the food lining your belly- perhaps you actually overdid the caf. You should be tired right now. Staying awake for more than a day isn’t exactly the average schedule but your knee bounces uncontrollably in a frantic pattern, stirring up puffs of sand between you and the warrior.

 “You need to tire.” Mando mutters, firmly placing a glove on your thigh and holding the limb down. “Stop that.”

 “Sorry,” you reply, trying to freeze yourself and sit as still as he does. Mando always exists so sagely, like a monk. Completely calm when he wants to be before exploding into action, no warm-up necessary. You wonder if he had some sort of meditation training to achieve that. Is that why he sits like that in the cockpit, his back rod straight like a statue? Weirdo.

 “Hey…” The palm at your thigh presses again and you suck in a sharp breath. You didn’t even realize you were twitching again. “Do I have to hold you down?” He growls.

 You gulp. “Tempting. But no.” Your words come out steadier than you feel. The caf becomes all too much in that moment so you lurch to your feet, his gleaming helmet following your body as it rises jerkily. You feel far too energetic, needing to get the energy out somehow so you can finally pass out. Your idea leaves your mouth before you can truly think it over.

 “Wanna fight?”

 “...What?” Mando sounds truly surprised even if his body betrays nothing.

 “You heard me,” you’re bouncing on the balls of your feet, swaying back and forth like a green sailor on the oceans of Mon Cala. “Let's practice our combat, I rarely get to do that.”

 He’s standing before you can blink causing you to jerk back, startled by his speed. The Mandalorian poses right in front of you, too close to not be a challenge with his weight settled on one leg breezily.

 “Okay. Hit me.”

     What a taunting mother fu-  You swing your left hand out as if aiming for the unarmored spot on his ribs, which he blocks with ease… leaving his throat open for your right fist to sharply jab.

 The bounty hunter doubles over, coughing and clutching his neck with one hand.

 “O-Oh shit! I’m sorry, I- I didn’t mean, let me-” You scramble with lost movements, trying and failing to help him straighten upright. It leaves you awkwardly placing your palms on his back while the crown of his helmet presses into your belly. “I, um… Mando?”

 His arms wrap around your middle in a flash, pulling you tightly against his chest and throwing both your bodies to the ground. It happens so fast that you can’t even shriek before the air is knocked out of you, hitting the sand hard enough to throw it into the air around you. Gasping, you smack full force at the Mandalorian on top of you, his arms still crushing you against him while your legs lock straight together with his knees on either side. It’s sexy, but you’d really like to breathe. He lets up just barely.

 “Nice punch,” he rasps, throat clearly affected by the hit. “Don’t think I’ll hold back after that though.”

 “Don’t… want… you to…” You shoot back at him, sharp as you can manage while wheezing. Mandos visor raises ever so slowly and pins you, hidden eyes holding you down more effectively than his body. After a drawn out moment of this, your head spinning as you calculate your escape strategy, he crawls up your body to prop himself above you, locking your wrists in one large hand with the other presses against your chest, shoving your back into the earth. It is just enough pressure to squeeze some air out of your lungs and it is then when you know he isn’t kidding about not holding back.

 You’re so fucking happy that he isn’t letting you win.

 In other instances, you’d panic at the hopeless feeling of being trapped like this, by someone twice your size and clad in the galaxy’s most powerful steel. But the way he spars with you now, full force and not playing easy... it has implied respect for your skill. He knows you can fight and doesn’t spare you the opportunity to prove it.

 Only a second or two has passed since he fully immobilized you and you’re still locked in your flattened position. When he motions to stand, pulling your wrists as if to drag you, you know you must make your move now or it will be too late. The only spot he has open on his body right now is… well, right between his legs. The first thing a smaller fighter learns about combating larger foes is to fight dirty and there is no reason you should hold back if Mando isn’t. Your legs had been pinned tightly together before he moved to drag you but now there is just enough room to swing a knee up and hit him between the legs.

 Mando doesn’t wear a full codpiece but luckily for you, the padding on his groin isn’t enough to block your kick. A choked sound rips out of his throat and he falls to one knee, the fingers encircling your wrists loosening slightly while he struggles to fight his body’s natural pain response. You wrench one hand free and use it to grip his cowled neckline, planting your feet against his cuirass and swinging yourself into a hanging position before his grip tightens again. He's steady but you try to dig your feet in to throw him forward, hoping to twist around and land on his back with his face down. He totters for one frozen second, both your bodies on the precipice of falling but unfortunately, he manages to wrench himself backwards and land heavily on his back with you on top.

 You’re both gasping and groaning at the shock of hitting the ground so hard, and for one breathless moment all you do is stare heatedly at each other on the forest floor, eyes locking through his visor and somehow you know he is grinning.

 His smile mirrors on your face when you feel his hands rip at your clothes, wrenching the thin pants off of you down to your thighs forcefully enough to knock your legs together with a dull thud.

 “Did I not just kick you in the dick, Mando?” You laugh, working at his belt at the same time. He palms your ass through your underwear greedily, squeezing so hard that you know finger shaped bruises will blossom there.

 “You missed.”

 “Must’ve hurt either way…” You mutter, finally managing to reach under his thick layers and wrap your hand around his length, producing a low growl from the man beneath you. “Maybe, it's good I missed.”

 The only response you get is his hands pulling both your hands to lay on his chest plate then traveling back down your body to tug aside your underwear and grind you down onto his hips, rubbing your now bare slit against his bulge. You vaguely remember deciding against coming onto him as a form of apology, but for some reason, since he started first that all ceases to matter. It feels like a game you’ve begun to play with each other, playing with the tension between you and the Mandalorian until you find out what breaks your resolve. Maybe it started even before you entered this forest, perhaps back on Nevarro or even on the station.

 You can’t tell but you don’t want to question it either.

 A moan falls from your throat, your hands moving on their own volition to try and remove his belt entirely, or at least enough to pull his cock out. Mando’s glove flashes up again to circle your wrists, immobilizing them and harshly pinning you down with his vambrace lain across your back.

 “You yield?” He asks, voice dripping with a sickly triumph. A chill runs down your back and you feel as if he just dunked you into the pond.

 “W-What?”

 “You yield… I win?”

 “Wha- No!” You cry out indignantly, struggling against his iron grip. “I didn’t realize we were still sparring!”

 He laughs, fully bodied and dark with some emotion that swirls deep within your core, and you can’t put your finger on it exactly but you know you’ll have to do something before you’re swept up entirely. “Oh, but we are. What shall the winner gain?” He asks, so quietly that it is almost lost in the warped modulator, barely a question and more so a crackling of static.

 Fuck, you’re so wet.

 You lick your lips and shakily respond. “I am not one to give up, however-”

 “Then don’t. Keep fighting.”

 Oh, and you love what he implies. There is no reason to argue further and less time to act, so you immediately struggle hard with the upper half of your body, wrenching your wrists to try and distract him from the way your legs are free to swing into his ribs. But Mando doesn’t fall for your feint a second time. In fact, he seems to have expected it, his leg is more than prepared to hook around the back of your knees and hold you against his body, rolling to the side to throw you underneath him.

 You’re pinned on your back with nearly his full weight, unable to do more than weakly punch at what you can reach- unfortunately for you all you can reach is armor. Your cry of anger is cut short when Mando flips onto your front, your chest pressed roughly to the floor of the forest.

 The helmet appears over your shoulder, his ragged breathing right by your ear. “T-This okay? You want this?” You can’t find your words to respond with the way you're held so tightly against the earth, so you nod as best you can with one cheek pressed into the ground. Mando snarls something furiously, one hand leaving your back to fumble with his pants and pull his cock out, lining himself up at your soaking entrance and running the head through your folds.

 His helmet drops back down to your shoulder, the visor turning and burying itself into the line of your neck and you know that if he weren’t bound by his creed then he would be kissing dark bruises there.

  “You know this means I win,” he hisses, pressing his cock to breach your tight opening ever so slightly.

 “I-I know.” You whimper weakly.

 With that, he fully pushes himself into you and if you weren’t so wet you know his size would be unbearably painful. Instead, the stretch is pure bliss, a slow burning sensation that has a hint of sting to it, his dominance lending to complete submission and all you can do is lay there and take it. There is still the strain you grew to know from when he allowed you to use his body on Nevarro, but something about Mando topping you encourages you to open yourself for him with more ease.

 He quickly bottoms out then holds himself till, allowing you to adjust to his size. You’re writhing as much as possible under the way he crushes you to the floor, knees carving grooves in the soft sandy earth.

 “Fuck,” Mando grits, teeth clenched together so hard that you swear you can hear the grinding in his jaw. “You’re so fucking tight, fuck.”  

 The position is hard to maintain on the soft ground, his hands keep sliding ever so slightly on either side of you forcing him to adjust every few seconds. His patience breaks after the third time this happens, a growl crackling through the helmet as he settles his hands on your lower back and hoists his body up, knees planted on either side of your thighs, crushing them together with intense pressure on your clit. Your body is locked tight, pussy clenching harder around his cock when he rises into an upright position.

 You let out a genuine scream when he draws back then thrusts sharply into you, pain mixing with pleasure in a manner far more biting than on his ship, when he had let you take control entirely, never even doing so much as to thrust into you. It is almost too much for you but even while you struggle to take his cock, you don’t      dare    tell him to stop, nor do you want him to stop. You’re so blinded by the stretch that you don’t realize he is speaking until you miss several, distorted words.

 “Fuck, why did I wait, why did I wait? I should’ve fuck-fucked you back on the station, approached you in that hangar and made myself fucking clear-”    Each gritted word is accentuated by a mean thrust, his dick is so big that he has to shove himself inside of you rather than glide, breaking you open in a way that burns so sweetly. Your legs are held together, knees locked and straight, which doesn’t help how tight you are but you can’t budge at all to open yourself to Mando, his hands pressing down at your lower back so heavily that you’re short of breath.

 A garbled moan is forced out of you when Mando grinds his length into your pussy as deep as he can possibly reach, hips smashing against your ass while he pulses inside of you and for a second you think he's cumming. But no- he draws himself from your depths and starts to rut his cock between your cheeks, head resting on your upper back and hands by your head.

 A powerful hand wraps under your side and settles at your sternum, pulling you back against his cuirass and lifting so that you end up seated together, fitting against him without even an inch of space between your bodies. His hand lifts your hips, other appendage snaking around to position his cock back at your entrance before allowing gravity to do the work, your legs spreading to rest on either side of his thighs as you sink down on him to the hilt.

 Once settled, Mando starts to work you on his cock, lifting you like you weigh no more than a pebble then letting go. The head of his cock slams full force into your pussy with the weight of your entire body, each brutal pounding sending sparks of pleasure up your spine. Lungs free and no longer crushed to the floor, you’re unable to stay quiet, broken sobs and moans puffing from gritted teeth as he takes what he denied himself on his ship, the memory a thousand miles away as your processing center is fucked stupid.

 You can’t say how long this goes on for, maybe minutes, maybe hours, but the next thing you know is that your cheek is back on the sand, burning from the way it chaffs against the floor with each rhythmic thrust that claps against your thighs. You’re don’t even know if you’ve cum yet but it doesn’t matter, not with the way he is fucking the life out of you here in the wilderness. Mando is still talking, still uttering filth and praise through the helmet and all you can think about is how badly you want to hear his real voice speaking that way to you, you’re so close to asking him to take it off but you can’t find the words, you can’t think, you can’t-

 Abruptly, he grinds to a halt at the deepest point in your body then pulls himself free, pushing your shirt up lighting fast before cumming across your back with a choked exclamation. You’re both still for a second before your knees collapse, landing flat on your belly and gasping desperately. There is a shuffling noise behind you, accompanied with heavy breaths from the bounty hunter. It sounds like he’s rummaging through something then, yeah- your train of thought is confirmed when a wet cloth wipes his pleasure from your skin, gently trailing along your spine and ass.

 You reach behind you and hold his wrist, feeling the fluttering pulse there. “I’ll win next time…” You whisper, drawing his hand along the soreness on your bottom, the area he bruised, you suspect. He laughs- or pants you can’t really tell, but either way his touch becomes more gentle on your body, smoothing out the tense muscles and cleaning you up. Today's travels with the man have suddenly caught up to you and you might pass out right here, half clothed and dirty.

 “Come on, get up. Don’t sleep here.” Mando firmly states, helping you up and guiding you across the clearing after you pull your leggings up from where they gathered at your ankle. You’re trembling like a leaf, fragile in your spent state but glowing all the same. Mando sets you down on a log and brings you a canteen of water which you gulp down thankfully. He chuckles. “Wait up or I’ll have to drink from the spring.”

 That gives you pause, reminding you of something he said while you lay beneath him. You’re slightly nervous to ask but you do it anyway, warm and satisfied on your perch while he cares for you. “You.. When you were, um- fucking me. Well, you said something about how you shouldn’t have waited. Does that mean what I think it means?”

 He nods, “I noticed you for other reasons too, burc’ya.”

 “Maybe you should’ve fucked me back then.” Taking another gulp then handing the canteen back, you stretch then slide down to sit on the ground with him, back against the log. “You said that word before, ber-borshaw?”

 “Burc’ya.”He corrects,“It means friend in Mando’a.”

 “Oh.”You cheeks heat, feeling silly and rude for not recognizing the use of his people’s tongue, also noting that he used it to refer to you twice now, endearingly. It is an honor, one that makes you nervous. You feel like you should apologize, somehow. “Y-You speak Mando’a? I’ve never heard you use it before.”

 Mando settles against the log, leaning his broad shoulders to rest against the wood near your side. A few moments pass before he responds, “I chose to not use it around the others. Didn’t trust them.”

 “Oh, so you trust me?” You giggle, tapping the side of his helmet with your elbow. Questions burn within you and you may as well ask now, in the quiet afterglow of sex where everything is warm and slow. “Why didn’t you trust them if you started the company with Ran? How am I any different?”

 “You aren’t ruthless,” he surprises you by answering immediately, and you can’t decide whether you're insulted or not before he continues. “Ruthless and cruel is all that group ended up being, and it didn’t start out that way. We weren’t just mercenaries, we had a      code.    In the early days, attacking a slave ship would’ve been out of the question. Ran wasn’t always so full of greed.”

 Silence falls after he speaks, letting you mull over his explanation for a while while the waterfall rumbles in the background. Really, his perspective confuses you when you think back on your actions as a mercenary. Desperate to climb the ranks, to make a name for yourself, to earn credits and reputation. You suppose you conducted yourself with empathy, avoiding selection for hits that targeted innocent people if you could help it. You never had much choice in the area but it seems your actions spoke louder than realized. So much energy spent to avoid seeming weak and you never considered that your aversion doubled as strength.

 “Friend…” You whisper, not of your own accord. The word floats on your tongue, a specter within your vocabulary. In your adulthood you’ve had allies, you’ve had teammates, you’ve had acquaintances, but to have a friend… it terrifies you as much as it warms your heart. You considered yourself partnered professionally with the Mandalorian and didn’t      dare    to consider yourself lovers, no matter how much you privately hoped. But a friend is a luxury you didn’t hold close, mainly out of fear. You lost too many as a child. For a faceless man he manages to strike areas that are quite intimate.

 You decide that you’ll enjoy being his friend, a bit surprised that you aren’t too hurt by what is essentially a romantic rejection of the crush you held for so long. Probably because this is      real    , solid and built within reality instead of the silly fantasies you built prior.

     This is better than lovers, you tell yourself, the slight ache in your heart melting into the background of your desires, behind lock and key for another world.

 “I’ll take ‘friend’, Mando.” You grin, extending a hand to him cheekily. He stares for a second before taking it and shaking, helmet tilting in a respectful nod.

 His next words send an unexpected pang throughout your chest, taking all the careful walls you worked hard to set up and throwing them into a blazing inferno.

 “Let’s see where it goes.”

  Fuck.  

   ----------------

   Leather boots prance lightly through thick branches high in the trees, footfalls landing silently with all the grace of an athlete. Through the delicate glasses perched on the pursuers nose, a red glow blooms on the shadowy floor of the swamp, two sets of footprints lighting up to reveal a steady path made by the travelers. A musical giggle bubbles out of the darkly dressed woman as she pulls a small holo-watch from her bag and straps it onto her wrist, pale light mixing with her lavender skin, transforming it into a sickly grey.

 Xi’an claps a hand over her mouth to prevent her cackle from ringing through the trees as her plan takes form.

***

TAG LIST (working on it slowly, message if you want)

@velia27 @shrekscoochiehair @tbhitisdbh @sparklingwitches @lazyonasunday @peach-child @leah-halliwell92 @riot-sounds

[unproduciblesmackdown]

thank you teresa and soph for tagging me for 2020 Creator Wrap: Favorite Works

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread love and link each other to awesome works!

no particular order lol. wait also i didn’t quite follow “favorite” i suppose, i like, judged by Significance. but in a way that was still plenty subjective, so

tayston kiss on the Mouth - self-explanatory like of course it was crucial to draw a Tayston Kiss and i finally got around to it. also when i opened it now it was like “oh nice that’s cuter than i was remembering it even” lol. rly enjoy taylor here too like them in a tee and i like that they’re leaning back a bit but w/drawing their forearms/hands where i did it feels like they’re pulling winston in and i’m just overall like “nice that turned out well” @ drawing them here. i also personally enjoy the Blush Patch drawn in one linear stroke between them. it’s fun to try to have that essential detail be both Soft enough but also have some geometry to it b/c i’m always On That

riawin kiss on the Mouth - same thing all over again lol of course i had to draw it. and it started with several different failed attempts which was annoying but then i got this one in one night and it works well enough. also has a fun clothing detail in rian w/a hoodie (of winston’s) and once again i draw the hand-on-jaw l’intimacy and i think it Works Well again b/c why wouldn’t it, classic. also i’d been intending to draw the Lines detailing rian’s hair curls rather than silhouette and that was pretty fun to just jump into. oh i did the same thing with the Blush also, s/o to that. and the fact that there Is that height diff as depicted here....hopefully artistically successful in having you Think About It

tayston embrayston Cuddling - i think the first proper Fanart Of Fic? so that’s crucial. helping put the essential tayston ideas into the world and hopefully helping put People into Reading Said Fic, i’m glad this turned out to have enough of a relaxed vibe to do the concept’s written execution some justice....this was also just a success of “the colors i put down originally managed to be really Incongruous palette-wise” and i had to wrangle that situation with some added Layers lol but now they’re soft and nice i think, a much more Congruous pink-purple and i’m now remembering i struggled a lot picking a Solid Bg Color even though now a pale yellow seems like an obvious choice, s/o to the little border highlight around them i like that too....things turned out solidly here....enjoying the Geometry going on re: winston’s sleeve lol

agtikbi reprise - again i think it was Important to have done something for this absolutely iconic bit of media, thank you so much obcr for including this track. did a bunch of coloring for it (ft. many purple overlays as usual lol but that was always the plan) and the lineart i knocked out pretty fast w/o worrying about editing it super hard but it turned out solidly which is always a gift. really this was one of those “yeah it takes a while but i make pretty consistent progress and just knock it out in a couple of days” works ft. a decent amount of detail and that’s always an Epic Win and again i love agtikbi reprise so much so it was Very Good to have officially done something for it. also i’d been meaning to draw jeremy again for eons so that accomplished that goal too

monthlong riawinning - the opposite experience but also I Guess its own kind of win, where drawing is not quite as cooperative and one thing takes me A Month where it’s v much not consistent progress and i Do edit a lot which has pros (looks kinda fancy i guess) and cons (sweating details unnecessarily / overthinking or second guessing stuff / forest for trees or whatever / it takes ages and was it worth it....) like when i started with the Lineart Layer i was like “uh oh i’ve Cleaned This Up a lot but there’s already stuff i like too much to Restart this even though i’m not even close to halfway done yet” and yeah it took me ages to finish with lineart that’s been entirely Cleaned Up but then hey, you get this one thing with Completely Exhaustively Edited Lineart....i’m very Particular about like these self-imposed geometry rules re: lineart / shapes according to my own ~aesthetic sensibilities~ and stuff so like, it’s not even just a matter of Are The Lines Fairly Uniform Width / erasing stray marks / making sure the lines are all Closed and stuff, and even w/ the finished product it’s like “oh i could’ve connected some lines in rian’s hair for more Flow or moved this thing over by a few pixels or w/e,” isn’t that always the way though....it’s fun to have 1 Thing from this year v polished though. and i like the riawin contribution of “what if winston went down on rian and then there was this Snapshot Of Affection afterwards ft. an embrace and a kiss and the love language of tenderly feeling him up in the process” i was like “is this all Obvious or am i being too coy” and i was being too coy but here come opportunities like this one right here to make the meaning clearer i hope. that’s part of this pic’s Importance as well lmfao. the content of it and all

(everyone is tagged i think lol)

[theincompetentgenius]

Headcanons with S/O Who Hid Their Birthday (Jonah, Luka, Edgar)

anon:  Can I have Jonah, Luka and Edgar headcanons with an s/o who hid their birthday, or didn’t bother to be vocal about it, and they had to find out through other means?

Here you go and I hope you enjoy them!

Jonah Clemence

Jonah finds out from Edgar, who casually brings up the topic as they’re training. He realizes that Edgar learned about his lover’s birthday before he did, which flares his temper. He drives the blade a little too close to the Jack’s ear and ends the duel. For the next hour, Jonah interrogates Edgar on how he found this information.

Initially, Jonah is confused (even hurt) that his S/O didn’t tell him about their birthday. Did he do something to them that they wouldn’t talk about their birthday? Why wouldn’t they want to talk about the day they were brought to life? It takes some time and reflection that his S/O has their reasons.

He pulls himself together and plans for an extravagant party almost a month in advance. The Queen of Hearts calls all the Red Army officials and assigns each officer a role for the birthday. Kyle and Zero get tasked with decorating the entire palace, Edgar has to plan all the activities, and Lancelot has to gather all the supplies. If you’re wondering, Jonah buys all the gifts, creates all the food, creates/gives out invitations, and is involved in the other officers’ tasks. 

On the day of their birthday, Jonah takes his lover to dress shopping. He tells them to pick their favorite dress, jewelry, and shoes. They spend the whole morning at the fitting room as the couple nit-pick through the articles of clothing. Although his S/O is slightly confused about Jonah’s obsession with picking the “right dress”, they assume it’s just Jonah’s way of taking them out for the day. After the Queen of Hearts manages to convince his S/O to keep the dress on for the entire day, they head to the Red Army Headquarters. 

When they arrive at the palace, his S/O notices that the castle is decorated in their favorite color. They tell Jonah how much they like decoration, who simply smirks and asks “I wonder who put all that effort in making the castle look so gorgeous?”

He’ll take their hand as they climb up the stairs. When his S/O opens the doors, they are greeted to heaven on the Cradle. The center of the room has a 5-layered vanilla-strawberry swirl cake with buttercream frosting (made by Jonah and the chefs) with desserts such as raspberry macaroons, millie-feuille, chocolate fondue, and puff pastries neatly lined up on tables at the side of the room. Jonah’s S/O spends more time eating at the party than anything else.

There are sparklers, balloons, crystals, exotic flowers, silk table cloths, and so much more. As if the throne room wasn’t already something straight out of a fairytale, Jonah only made it even more lavish than before.

Jonah ushers his lover to sit on the throne, claiming that today the get to be royalty. As soon as they take a seat, the entire Red Army pops out to sing Happy Birthday! The fireworks go off as Jonah turns to his S/O and pulls them into a long kiss, wishing them a happy birthday.

Luka Clemence

Luka found out when he came to your room, looking for you to tell you about his next mission (where he’ll be out for a week). Instead, he entered an empty room, so Luka decided to leave a note on his S/O’s table about his sudden departure. When placing the note, he noticed that there were a few other things on their desk, including some form of identification with their DOB.

The Jack of Spades doesn’t think much about it as he leaves the room to attend his other duties. Later in the day, the birthday issue pops into his head again. He thinks about it more seriously this time, but he assumes that his S/O wasn’t a birthday person. Perhaps it slipped their mind since a birthday only comes once every year.

Nevertheless, Luka begins to daydream about all the adorable birthday plans they could make together. He knew his S/O didn’t want anything too flashy, but he had to do something special for them. As he fell deeper in his thoughts, he realized that Jonah would be able to create the perfect party (but he’d never ask that pompous brat). All Luka could think of was making a nice dinner. 

He asks Seth for a little help because Seth is the Black Army’s unofficial party planner after all. The 7 of Spades squeals with glee, being more than happy to help Luka with his plans. 

The two prepare a cozy, candle-lit dinner. The decorations are simple and rustic, but Luka manages to hang his S/O’s favorite works of art and plays their favorite music in the background. Although Seth always wants to add more to the scene, Luka is exhausted. Besides, he didn’t want to go over-the-top since his S/O barely talked about their birthday.

Also, the Jack of Spades wanted his food to be the main decoration. For the main dish, he whips up a gourmet roasted chicken marinated in a savory and spicy sauce with sauteed vegetables and buttered rice. He also bakes his S/O’s favorite cake in a heart shape. The best part is that the cake has cake pops sticking out with the candles on top.

When the day finally arrives, Luka is very nervous. He doesn’t make any reference to his S/O’s birthday throughout the day. Luka doesn’t want to upset his S/O for making plans without them or somehow triggering a painful memory on their birthday. It takes a lot of breathing exercises and pep talks from Seth to calm him down.

Once it is dinner time, Seth ushers Luka’s S/O to a private room that is rarely used by the Black Army. When they enter the room, they are greeted with soft, glowing lights that spell “Happy Birthday!”. Luka appears from the back and gives them a long hug, letting them know how much they mean to him.

Once the lights are turned off, Luka lights the candles and tells their S/O to make a wish. They take a few seconds and blow out the candles. Luka can’t help but ask, “What did you wish for?”

“If I told you, then it wouldn’t come true.” And with that, the couple sits down and starts eating. The meal is so good that his lover nearly cries and asks for four servings. Somehow they have space for the cake too.

Edgar Bright

Let’s be real, Edgar knew about his S/O’s birthday a long time ago. He came across the auspicious date when going through a bunch of legal documents for everyone in the Red Army. He was hesitant to place his S/O’s documents with the other officers’ papers, but he felt that it made more sense than to place it with the information on the soldiers. As he went over his S/O’s documents, he found a line that listed their birthday. At that moment, Edgar realized that his lover never talked about their birthday.

Edgar doesn’t know why his lover would want to hide their birthday, but he understands it because he does the same thing. However, he doesn’t want them to spend their birthday alone either. So he’ll go around looking for clues for the perfect birthday surprise by asking his S/O seemingly-innocent questions. Although he doesn’t have much room for specific questions, Edgar gets all the information that he needs.

He spends the next week preparing for the event. It’s nothing too crazy, but he buys a few gifts and decorations for the occasion. Edgar also has Jonah teach him how to make some of his S/O’s favorite sweets and snacks. Jonah is both surprised and irritated that the Jack of Hearts is able to a great job at his first try, claiming that it was all thanks to his teaching.

The special day has arrived! He’ll act normal throughout the day, dropping a few hints here and there. It’s not until the sky has a tint of pink that Edgar asks his S/O to take a walk with him. He’ll cover their eyes as they walk to their destination.

Once they arrive, Edgar removes his hands and reveals a picnic next to the river. He kisses your hand, wishing his lover a very happy birthday. Immediately, the Creek family appears from a nearby tree and run to his S/O. They jump up and down, squawking with delight. It’s their way of saying “Happy Birthday!”

He has his S/O sit down while he unpacks all the delicious treats from the basket that he brought with him. There are some macaroons, sandwiches, and garlic bread. 

Edgar also has two gifts for the occasion. First, he pulls out a yellow box with a gold ribbon. Inside are the rarest jellybean flavors in the entire Cradle (he’s made sure the flavors are suited for his lover’s palette). The present was him trying to return a fraction of the sweetness that his lover brought into his life. 

The second gift is a lavender box, which has a beautiful necklace with three golden pendants: the initial of both of their first names and duck. He got this present to give his S/O something that will help them remember Edgar and the Creeks, no matter where they go.

The couple spends their time by the river for the rest of the evening. The Jack of Hearts will lay his head on his lover’s shoulder, letting them know that he’s always willing to lend an ear if they choose to tell him why they hide their birthday.

[jimherries]

How can you choose a purpose for your map if you don’t understand the data yet?

At work, as a project is considered (or after we’ve been volun-told for a project) we often discuss the relationship between a map’s purpose, and the map maker’s understanding of the data. Our most successful maps are those which we’ve been allowed to seek and choose a purpose for each map.

Every great map serves a purpose.  A map that doesn’t serve a purpose is just data slapped onto a map backdrop. What confuses people is that they think once they slap data onto a map backdrop, and set some symbols and colors, they’re done.  

That’s kind of like slapping a bunch of facts about yourself, your eduction, job history, interests and skills down on paper and calling that jumbled result “a resume.” 

Putting data onto a map is only a beginning. At that moment, your map map has no purpose, only data. A map gains purpose as the map maker begins to understand the data, explores it, asks questions of it, and modifies the map based on answers to those questions.

Initial map of VIIRS fire hotspots. Getting the data onto a map is only a starting point. 

In planning for an upcoming tutorial about making maps better, the question above in the title of this blog entry came up:  

“How can you choose a purpose for your map if you don’t understand the data yet?” 

It’s a great question. It reminds me of the “chicken and the egg” question.

So many demos and presentations about map making seem to infer that a map’s outcome is never in doubt. It makes sense -- we tend to listen to experts, and experts want to show you their latest/greatest examples. In the enthusiasm to share a map’s best qualities, the presenter can inadvertently make it seem like the map’s fate was never in doubt. You, too, may one day have enough cartographic skill to make such maps, is the inference.

I’m guilty of giving such presentations too in the past. At work, I’ve been accused of “just knowing” what kinds of maps to make. I’ve been identified as someone who “a wizard” with the data and maps, making the connections between what the data has to offer and what the mapping technology can reveal. There’s nothing mysterious, at all, about how I create maps. I seek a purpose for each map.

I think my early background in journalism wired my brain to constantly seek ways to connect story with facts derived from data. GIS just makes it more fun, in that finding a spatial aspect to the story is endlessly interesting, to me.

It was my boss, Sean Breyer, who identified that I was practicing what he and others already know: every great map starts with a purpose. Oh, some may blunder into a great map from time to time, but for the most part, the person who starts out with purpose is far more likely to succeed in making great maps, useful maps, maps that make a difference. 

So, why wouldn’t I reveal what others have shared with me over the years, with regard to finding a map’s purpose?

Start with Questions

For most of us, every map’s fate is in doubt, at the start anyway. I’m here to tell you that this is not only OK, it’s actually to your advantage. Why?

Anyone can drop some data onto a map and share it out. The Interwebs are full of maps like that. Don’t be that person. Ask more of the data. Ask more of yourself. 

It’s to your advantage to start out as if you know nothing about the data. Even if you do know a lot about the data, treat it as something new that needs to earn your trust. 

That should encourage you to ask lots of questions. What is it? How is it collected? When was it collected? How often is it updated? Who trusts it? Why? What are known limitations with this data. And, the single most important question about data:

How is this data used, by whom, to make decisions?

Answers to these questions will help start to shape a map’s purpose. But, if you don’t have those answers yet, or you prefer to start with the data, that’s fine. Read on to understand why the map maker’s time is best served by starting with purpose, even if everyone else prefers to “just” start mapping the data.

Step 1: Start looking for a purpose. 

If you ask me to work on a map, and it’s clear you don’t have a stated purpose for that map yet, that’s OK. We can start by getting data onto the map. If nothing else, we both agree that needs to happen at some point, so why not? It just means that I’m going to turn to the data to see what it has to say, and I consider myself free to seek out any purpose I can find among the data. 

Oh, and if I am given a stated purpose, I still give myself permission to seek and define any purpose I can find. Good map makers look at everything (but always deliver the map you were asked to deliver; plus any additional maps you also find useful/interesting). 

Why? Well, if you went to the doctor to talk about your sore elbow, you’d want them to bring up the oddly shaped and dark mole on your biceps if there were one there, right? You’d expect a doctor to keep their eyes out for any kind of issue, not just what you asked them to evaluate.

I don’t expect people to ask me to make a map and give me a stated purpose for that map. When people ask me to make a map, in their mind, of course the map would have a purpose. That’s why they’re asking “the expert” to make the map -- they count on us as map makers to find a purpose for each map we deliver. 

Step 2: Open the data. 

Drop it onto a map. Use any symbols or colors you like. If mapping a numeric attribute value, use a rainbow color palette to really spread out the data values in terms of color. All is fair in data exploration. You’re looking to find your level of trust in this data.

Until you look at the data, you have no trust in it. You don’t know how many records it has. You don’t know what attribute fields it has. You don’t know any statistics about those attributes’ values, like min/max or average. You don’t know how many records have actual data for the fields you are interested in mapping. 

Exploring the data to answer all those questions is how you begin to build a level of trust in it. With a minimal level of trust comes curiosity and willingness to try to map the data.

What if you find flaws in the data? Limits? Errors? Well, think about it in terms of any relationship: do you completely toss people from your life if you discover flaws in them? Or, do you note the flaws and adjust your behavior accordingly? 

It’s the same with data. When you find a level of trust in the data, for what it is, your map making can take that into account. (And, yes, sometimes the best move is to break off the relationship if you simply cannot find anything worthwhile in the data).

Step 3: Determine what part of the data is interesting

When people hand you data to work with, there is no guarantee that the data is interesting. When varying a symbol’s size or color based on a numeric attribute, you need a standard of comparison if your map is to reveal anything interesting.

Every useful measure needs a standard of comparison. For human body temperature, Fahrenheit is one scale used, and 98.6 degrees F is an important standard of comparison. That’s the average body temperature for humans. If you have a 99 degree F temperature, your parent may have allowed you to stay home from school. Maybe. Another standard of comparison is 103 degrees F, which is the point at which a serious fever requiring significant and immediate intervention. 

Imagine mapping a room full of people at a wedding sitting at tables. Wouldn’t you want your map to make it very clear which people had normal body temperatures, which were above normal, and which were at 103 degrees? The map maker would be smart to ensure their choice of symbol and colors made the story of this data very clear. That’s how useful maps are born - from the stories learned from / shared by subject matter experts and the map maker’s application of that knowledge to the map’s symbols and patterns.

So, step 3 for me is always to ask lots of questions and do research about the standard of comparison for the measure I’m mapping. If that doesn’t produce some significant values I can build a map’s purpose around, I’ll next turn to the statistics of the data itself, to find what the average value is, min/max values, look at how the data varies over time if possible... anything to find a “hook” on which I can build a map’s purpose.  

An example

I recently was working on wildfire maps, and the data includes something called VIIRS points, which are point locations with various attributes. One of the attributes is called Fire Radiative Power (FRP). 

In order to map something, you need to understand its data’s definitions and meanings. FRP has a definition - it measures the heat output of a a fire at the point of measurement taken. Most point locations vary from 1 - 1200 or so megawatts of measured energy. Think of each VIIRS point as a snapshot of how much energy was being given off at that particular moment in time, in that single location. A minute later, it was probably a similar value at that point. An hour later, it probably was similar, unless it was a very high value (e.g. a large oak tree burning as the edge of the fire burned through an area). The tree continues to burn long afterwards, but perhaps at a lower level.

Interestingly, I could not find any discussion of what a significant value or standard of comparison was for FRP. I learned that it ranges in values from 1 megawatt to 1200 megawatts or higher, and that larger values tend to be present for brief periods of time, and as the edge of the fire moves on, the value for a given location falls back to a background value. Eventually it falls to 0, long after the edge of the fire has moved on.

So, I know what the definition of FRP is, but I don’t yet have a standard of comparison or knowledge of any significant values.

I could not find any information on whether 10 megawatts is a meaningful value, or 100 megawatts, or 1000 megawatts... "At what point do I care?” is the question I often ask of a subject matter expert when they are only explaining the range of values and not the meaning or use of significant values. 

So far, I cannot find a subject matter expert who has assigned an inherent meaning (e.g. “900 megawatts kills all life above and below ground in that area”) or use of the data (e.g. “when we see 750 megawatts, we usually pull back any hand crews near that area.”)

Why insist on mapping the meaning of these numbers?  When you know what’s important in the data, that guides your choices for symbology, color, and other visual variables, so that you can emphasize what’s important and de-emphasize what’s less important. That’s how maps fulfill a purpose - the editorial choices made, based on knowledge gained and applied to the map’s message.

If I were to be told that FRP values above 750 megawatts indicate an area where firefighter safety is of heightened concern, now I know how to give purpose to a map. I need to call out anything near 750 megawatts or higher.

Would I classify the data, using the 750 figure as a class break? What about the values at 740 megawatts? They are 98.7% of 750, and likely well within the margin of error of the measurements. Classification might give them a symbol size that is much smaller, simply because they “missed” the threshold by 1.3%.  That seems like an unfortunate and unnecessary consequence of classification. 

I’ve seen a lot of good maps become great maps simply by adding more classes or using unclassed symbology. Both approaches let the data “breathe,” as it were, and force the map maker to ask better questions of the data. 

For VIIRS, I would classify the data using Jenks at first, then modify those classes based on analysis of the data and discussions with subject matter experts. I’d also try a version with an unclassed symbology. If 750 megawatts were identified as a significant value, I would ensure data points at or near 750 megawatts are clearly called out on the map, using size and color, diminishing both as FRP values fall away from 750. Unclassed lets this happen automatically, while classifications forces the mapmaker to justify each break in their classification. 

In the VIIRS example, I’m still stalking the data and talking to people to find significant values. The map below is by Emily Meriam, a colleague who has a successful history of mapping fires in California. It uses 5 classes and uses size to de-emphasize lower values and emphasize larger FRP values. 

I’m excited about the possibilities of this map, because it’s already a really good and useful map, and once significant values are identified, that will open the door to additional maps, each with their own purpose (firefighter safety, smoke prediction, fire intensity, etc).

Every map maker should understand that turning data into a purposeful map is a journey, not an event. Making one good map ought to lead to better questions, which lead to other good maps. It’s a virtuous cycle, once you tune in to how to participate in it. 

VIIRS data, using several classes, where the largest symbols are 750 megawatts or higher. Why 750? Well, until we can find other values to “hook” our map’s purpose on, that’s a value near what a Jenks classification suggests.

“How did you know to do that?”

That’s a fair question to anyone presenting their map. Every map maker has their own talents and abilities, but everyone learns cartography the same way: by trying things out and sharing the results with others. Every setting in their map is fair game for this question.

As much as I enjoy seeing a great demo or presentation on how to make maps, I know I’d benefit from seeing many more presentations where map makers show some failures, admit where they got stuck, acknowledge what they feared, credit the SMEs or others who opened their eyes, and share how they overcame issues with data, methodology, color, medium, people and process.

On my team, and on projects we’re asked to contribute to, we welcome the challenges present when we don’t know the data and we are unsure what the map’s purpose might be, just yet. 

Every great map serves a purpose.  A map that doesn’t serve a purpose is just data slapped onto a map backdrop. A map gains purpose as the map maker begins to understand the data, explores it, asks questions of it, and modifies the map based on answers to those questions. I hope you begin to see that it doesn’t really matter if you start with purpose, or start with the data. Your role is to seek and validate what the data appears to be saying, after establishing a level of confidence that embraces imperfection.

[whereistheonepiece]

The Colors of You

Note: Have a Lusona, feat. the rest of the Straw Hats because this crew interacting and being friends makes me happy. 

And let me just take a moment to get all sentimental on you guys, ‘kay? I remember being hesitant to talk about this polyamorous ship at first because I didn’t think I’d get much support for it, but the reception’s been surprising and warm, just like the rest of this blog. And it just means a lot to me.

-

“Hey, Usopp.”

“Yes, Nami?”

Nami glanced at Usopp over her shoulder, smiling gently as she saw the practiced movements of his pencil gliding across his sketchbook in the corner of her eye. They were taking advantage of a peaceful day on the Grand Line, sitting back to back in the sun. Usopp was sketching a shell he’d picked up on the beach of the island the ship had most recently visited and Nami was reading a book Robin had loaned her.

She leaned her head back against his, looking up at the sky. “Tell me something,” she continued.

“Sure, Nami,” Usopp responded. Even if she couldn’t see his face, she could hear the smile in his voice.

“What’s something you’ve always wanted to do?”

Usopp hesitated, sitting up straighter against her. Nami marked her place and shut her book, waiting for Usopp to speak. His hesitation told her that this was something he’d spent some time thinking about and that made his interest all the more personal, which made it all the more important for her to hear.

“Well, it’s... You know... It’s kind of silly,” Usopp stammered. 

Nami set her book down and repositioned herself so she was sitting directly next to him, taking one of his hands in both of hers. He looked at her, uncertainty furrowing his brow, and she smiled patiently at him. “Go on,” she said softly, rubbing her thumb against the back of his hand. “You know you can tell me anything.”

Usopp stared off into the distance, his back hunched. “Do you remember that festival we attended a few islands back?”

“Mm.”

“Well.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Right around the time you and Robin and Chopper wandered off, Luffy and I saw these performers who had paint all over their bodies. And it got me thinking...”

“You want to try it yourself?” Nami asked, prompting him to elaborate.

He smiled sheepishly. “I asked them where I could buy some paint and, well... What do you think? Is it something you’d ever like to try? I-I thought it might be something you, Luffy, and I could try together.”

“What kind of paint job are we talking about?” Nami asked, wanting to encourage him to speak more about something that had clearly interested him. Given that he’d held onto the paint without saying anything about it, maybe he needed that extra push. 

Nami loved the way Usopp’s face lit up when he told her about his personal projects, whether that was looking after his garden, getting a new invention to work, or the notebook stuffed full of poems and sonnets he held close to his chest, afraid to show anyone else other than her and sometimes Luffy. She remembered the relief and then elation on Usopp’s face when he first showed her one of his poems and he saw that she was moved by his words. Now she wanted to encourage this artistic endeavor. Usopp had displayed an artistic flair with his sketches and had recently taken up painting with Robin, and this simply was just a different kind of canvas.

“W-well...” He rubbed the back of his neck. “These performers were doing something that was more complicated than what I had in mind. I was just...thinking about how it would be fun to paint something on someone’s back.”

“I think it sounds lovely, Usopp.”

Usopp finally looked at her, his lips curling in a nervous smile. “You mean that, Nami?”

“Of course I do,” Nami said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

Usopp shot up and threw his arms around her, his sketchbook and pencil falling out of his lap. He hummed in delight as he squeezed her, lightly rocking her in his arms. Nami laughed softly as she hugged him, rubbing small circles on his back. Usopp pulled back, hands clasping her shoulders. “Did you have any plans this evening?” he asked her. “We could probably do it after dinner.”

“That works for me.”

“Great!” He hurriedly got his feet. “Don’t go anywhere; I’m just going to find Luffy and let him know.”

Nami giggled, nodding at him.

“I–I think Luffy’s only going to sit still long enough to get his face done,” he muttered, talking to himself as much as he was to her.

“Yeah,” she agreed, picking up her book and opening it back up to where she’d left off. “You can probably paint his face like a tiger and he’ll be happy.”

Usopp laughed, rubbing the back of his head, eyes closed in contentment. Nami smiled up at him, her heart warm to see him so happy. “Yeah,” Usopp agreed. “Yeah, you got that right.”

-

Usopp went all out after dinner, setting out a tarp for the three of them to spread out on, setting it up with the supplies they’d need. He caught the attention of the rest of the crew, who wanted to know what he planned on doing on Sunny’s lawn.

“Usopp, Nami, and I are going to paint each other!” Luffy responded, answering for Usopp.

“You’re going to paint each other’s portraits?” Robin asked, blue eyes glittering with interest.

“Nope!” Luffy laughed. 

“We’re literally painting on each other, Robin,” Nami explained. “Body art.”

“Usopp got the idea from a festival!” Luffy continued, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “He’s gonna paint my face!”

“You’re actually interested in this, Nami-san?” Sanji asked, plucking his cigarette out of his mouth, a hint of disbelief in his tone.

“Yep,” Nami confirmed. “Usopp’s really excited.”

“Well, I think it’s a SUPER idea!” Franky said, giving them a thumbs up.

“You guys wanna join?” Luffy asked.

Usopp looked up from his task, peering nervously at the rest of the crew.

“I’ll go grab some more paintbrushes,” Robin said, walking off and taking Franky with her.

“Put on something you don’t mind getting dirty,” Nami called after her, sending Usopp a reassuring smile.

Sanji smirked at Zoro impishly. “What do you think, Marimo? Would you let me paint on you?”

“I don’t trust you not to draw something stupid on my back, shit-cook,” Zoro said bluntly, crossing his arms.

Sanji snickered and slipped his hands into his pockets, not disputing Zoro’s accusation.

“What about you, Chopper, Brook?” Luffy asked, eager to get more people in on the fun.

“Ah, I’m afraid I don’t have enough skin for you to work on, Luffy-san. Because I don’t have any.” Brook laughed. “But I’m happy to provide mood music,” he said, pulling out his violin and settling down in the grass.

“I have fur, Luffy!” Chopper grumbled. He toddled over to Usopp, asking him if he was using paints safe for human skin, to which Usopp vehemently replied that he’d triple checked at the store that it was the same kind of paint the performers used.

Nami watched the crew while they waited. Robin and Franky came back with more paintbrushes, cups of water to clean said brushes, extra towels, and an extra tarp. Brook played a pleasant melody, filling the late afternoon with his music. Sanji excused himself and came back with sake to keep Zoro occupied and wine for the rest of them, insisting that it was the proper drink for an activity such as painting. Chopper and Luffy wrestled nearby while Usopp started mixing paints. Usopp and Nami’s eyes met. They smiled at each other.

Robin and Franky paired up, the first to start, Robin’s job of painting on Franky’s enormous back made easier by her Fruit. “Make it SUPER, Robin!”

“Of course, Franky.”

Nami watched the two lovebirds, watching Robin’s picture begin to take shape until she heard Usopp’s exasperated voice: “Hold still, Luffy!”

Nami looked and saw Usopp pushing forcefully on Luffy’s shoulders, willing his boyfriend to remain seated. Luffy, his hair pulled back with some of Nami’s hair ties, squeezed his closed eyes tighter and pouted. “At least tell me what you’re painting!”

“Luffy, don’t you want it to be a surprise?” Usopp asked enticingly, coating Luffy’s face with white paint.

“Hmmm...” Luffy paused, seeming to actually weigh his options between delayed and instant gratification. “Okay...”

Nami scooted closer to Usopp, laying her head against his shoulder. “Are you going to tell me what you’re going to paint on me, Usopp?” she asked, using the sweet voice she used on him and Sanji when she wanted to get her way.

He turned his head only slightly, just enough to look at her out of the corner of his eye. “You’re just going to have to wait like Luffy, Nami,” he said cheerfully.

“Yeah!” Luffy agreed. “If I have to wait, you do, too!”

Nami chuckled. “Fine. Fine.” She sat up straight, considering Usopp’s back. “Do you think I could get started on you, Usopp?”

He paused. “If you don’t mind working with a little movement,” he replied.

“I don’t,” she replied, grabbing a paintbrush and a cup of water.

“Okay,” Usopp said, pausing his work on Luffy to pull off his t-shirt, tossing it to the side. Luffy cracked his eyes open. “Eyes closed, Luffy!”

“It’s not like I can see what you’re doing on my face!”

“No, but you can reach for that mirror over there!”

Luffy grumbled but complied.

Usopp moved the palette closer to Nami and she set to work. Paint was not a medium she dabbled in like Robin and Usopp, so she’d keep it simple. Her first instinct was to draw the ocean on a sunny, peaceful day, much like the one she and Usopp had enjoyed, given Usopp’s dreams of becoming a brave warrior of the sea, but they were pirates: they spent almost all day, every day surrounded by the ocean.

Nami watched Usopp as he painted Luffy’s face, his own set in concentration. She hadn’t even begun painting and still he was trying his best to keep still for her. He was so considerate, it filled her with warmth.

Warmth. 

Home.

Nami began mixing paint, trying to find the right shade before she could begin. Just as she put the paintbrush to his back, Usopp spoke. “Okay, Luffy. Now you can look.”

Luffy stretched his arm out across the tarp to where the nearest hand mirror lay, pulling it to him with a snap. He grinned as soon as he saw himself, face painted like a white tiger. Luffy laughed joyfully, scrambling to his feet and running to each crew member, demanding that each of them look and see what a good job Usopp had done.

Usopp carefully looked at Nami over his shoulder, smiling at her. She smiled back, pausing her work to lean close and place a kiss on his cheek. “I’m glad you got me to do this, Nami,” he said, turning his head back. “Luffy’s so happy. And it looks like everyone else is having a good time.”

“It was a good idea, Usopp,” Nami replied. “I’m happy you shared it with me.”

Luffy ran back to where Usopp and Nami sat, plopping himself down next to him. “Usopp! You gotta let me do your face next!”

“Sure, Luffy,” Usopp said, in that gentle tone of voice that Nami loved so much. “Why don’t we wait until after Nami is done?”

“‘Kay.” Luffy turned his attention to Nami. “Can I do your face, too, Nami?”

Nami considered the grin on Luffy’s face, the mischievous gleam in his eye. She didn’t trust it. “I don’t think so,” she said tersely. Knowing Luffy, he’d paint her face so she looked like a circus clown.

Luffy wilted. “Please, Nami?” he whined. “I’ll do something cute.”

“No.”

Usopp laughed. “Come on, Nami,” he coaxed, glancing over his shoulder. He winked at her. “A cute painting for a cute girl.”

“I am pretty cute,” Nami agreed. They both continued to stare at her until she relented. “Fine, fine. But you make sure he doesn’t pull anything.”

“You have my word,” Usopp said, saluting her.

-

Nami stared at herself in the mirror, holding her hand under chin and smoldering seductively at her reflection. She didn’t know what it was, but there was something appealing about the pink hearts on her cheeks. “I have to hand it to Luffy,” she said, looking into the eyes of Usopp’s reflection next to hers. “He meant it when he said he’d do something cute.”

Usopp laughed, his face done up like Sogeking’s. “Well, you make anything cute, Nami.”

Smiling still, Nami turned and stared at her back in the mirror, holding her arms up like she was about to flex them. It had taken Usopp a long time, but he’d painted a multitude of feathers on her upper back and triceps. A dazzling array of oranges, reds, yellows, and a couple spots of brilliant blue, green, and purple. It reminded her of the exotic birds they’d seen on a jungle island once. She felt like a creature out of mythology: powerful, beautiful, and deadly. She felt sorry that she would have to wash it off eventually.

“This is beautiful, Usopp,” she said, admiring his work. “You make me feel bad about my painting.”

“Aw, shucks, Nami,” he said, turning and staring at his back in the mirror. She’d painted a tangerine tree on his back, a small slingshot that resembled his older model leaning against its trunk. “I love what you painted for me.”

“You really mean it?” she asked softly, turning so she faced him properly. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’re not just saying that because I’m your girlfriend?”

He pulled her close, placing his hands on her waist. “I love it because it comes from you,” he explained. “I’m honored that you would choose to paint something so precious to you on me.”

Nami wondered if the pink hearts did anything to hide the blush blooming on her face. At a loss for words, she simply chose to kiss him, letting her actions speak for her.

[nihilnovisubsole]

My fashion queen, incredibly important question: How would one go about figuring out fashion *style* for characters? I've noticed your OCs always have a Look(TM), and I've gathered from your blog (and fics) that you've got an eye for aestethics - please, could you give me advice at least where to *start*. I'm completely unaware of fashion and, frankly, completely overwhelmed at the prospect of just starting..

Ah! Previous Anon again - forgot to add a more specific question about fashion (I’m squeezing in 2 quesiton in one xD). Do you have fashion advice for sleek/distant female character’s clothing that doesn’t hinge on formal dresses? (as is discernable, I have literally NO idea what a Grown Ass, Self Respecting Woman would wear)

wow. that’s high praise. when i got this yesterday morning, i knew i wanted to give it the answer it deserved. this is over 1500 words long, so apologies to anyone on mobile, but i wasn’t letting go until i’d really sunk my teeth into it.

unfortunately, since you’re anon, i don’t know enough about your character to suggest anything specific. instead, i want to take a step back and see if we can solve the root of the problem - “where do i start?”

when i was a teenager, an english teacher told me this: “the biggest constraint in writing is no constraint at all.” when you have the whole spectrum of something - in this case, clothes - to pick from, it is overwhelming. the natural human instinct is to freeze up. so while it may sound strange, if you’re just starting out, you might feel better if you have some constraints to work within.

with that in mind, you can treat finding a ‘signature look’ for your character like solving a murder mystery. you eliminate all the suspects that don’t fit until you know enough to narrow it down to the one that does. that’s going to involve something else you’ll recognize from murder mysteries: you’re going to have to interrogate the character. open them up and get to know them - their background, their likes and dislikes, their quirks, the role they play in the world around them. every answer will give you clues and weed other things out, and eventually, you’ll get a box small enough that you feel comfortable working in it.

now, i love fashion, and i love using clothes to send messages about a character’s personality. so as someone who’s had that interest for my whole life, i work from the other end. the constraints happen, in large part, without me thinking about them. i tend to zoom right to a certain aesthetic or item of clothing, say, “okay, what outfit can i build with this,” and go from there. but since you’ve said you’re “unaware” of fashion and it’s intimidating to you, i’ll try to ease you in through a different route and see whether that helps.

so, if we’re going to pick your character apart, let’s think about some practical questions first:

what setting does your character live in?

if you’ve narrowed your setting down to a historical decade, you’ll find most of the style questions already - firmly! - answered for you. for example, a victorian woman would, by default, wear skirts. if the character is contemporary, you’ve got a lot more wiggle room. if you want to mess with historical fashion rules for symbolic or story purposes, awesome, but i think that’s probably more advanced than you’re looking for right now.

if the setting is fantasy or sci-fi, what’s its dominant aesthetic? is it cyberpunk? sleek ~apple~ sci-fi? or is it more like star wars? is it medieval fantasy? woodsy faerie fantasy? JRPG-style fantasy? you get the idea.

what does your character do?

speaks for itself. what’s their job?

what is your character like, just in general?

this is where everything you know about their personality goes. if they’re a fussy courtier who’s worried about their reputation and appearance, they’re probably not going to be comfortable in plain, casual clothes.

what can your character afford to wear?

again, speaks for itself. do they buy designer brands? are they trying their best with what they have? or are they super strapped for cash and just have to get the job done?

does their social scene have an easily-identifiable aesthetic that you could work with?

does your character wear urban/street fashion or preppy rich-kid clothes? are they part of a subculture that dresses in a certain way, like teddy boys? do they have the desire or freedom to go all-in with that style, or do they have to play it down, like being corporate goth?

do they need to wear something they could travel, do hard work, or fight in?

goes with the job question above. do they need some kind of outerwear or accessory where they can hide weapons? do they always need to be ready, or is it situational?

basically, where does the character’s aesthetic need to sit on a chart of form vs. function?

what do other characters who are similar to your character wear?

look at your favorite movies, games, and TV shows and see what professional designers are doing with characters like yours. what colors and cuts are they using? what other elements do they choose? do you like them? if you don’t like them, what would you change? sometimes you can learn more from what you hate than what you love.

hopefully, you’ve already culled a huge swath of fashion ideas that you Know You’re Not Going To Do. you may still not know what you do want to do, either! that’s fine. let’s move onto some more artsy questions:

are there any colors your character would prefer or avoid?

it sounds silly. it’s not. a limited color palette will go a long way toward making a character’s outfits look unified and purposeful. obviously, in real life, most people don’t restrict themselves as much as fictional characters do. but if you were a costume designer, you’d want to have some guideposts to work with.

are there any motifs you associate with your character?

animals, elements, religious or cultural symbols, plants - you can sneak all these into their clothes’ details. maybe their dress has beading in the shape of a peacock, or rose earrings, or icy sparkles, or a bear pelt for a cloak.

have fun with meanings! moon motifs for mysteriousness, poisonous flowers, etc. let your inner lit major out.

do you want your character to have a certain silhouette?

this may seem odd if you’re just going to be writing your character and not drawing them, but think about it anyway. do you want to emphasize that your character is tall? is everything they wear skintight? do they have a large, unique hat?

a great example of this is maleficent. not only does she have a horn-shaped headdress, her huge, flowing robe tells us there’s a much bigger power in her than her body would suggest.

is there a certain ethos you want their clothes to project? what, in their world, would do that? what in our world would do that?

let’s say you want your character to look very powerful, to the point where people would find their looks alone intimidating. should they wear sharp, simple, severe clothes, maybe in dark colors? or should they wear very embellished clothes, like royalty? what are your setting’s ideas about beauty? modesty? does your character play by the rules, or do you want them to stand out?

what colors, shapes, and styles appeal to you personally?

for all the time i’ve spent talking about restrictions and guidelines, it’s important not to lose the fun of it, either. use your favorite color! give them clothes you’d want to wear in real life! character style is a playground where you can let wish fulfillment run wild.

at any time, feel free to turn to google or wikipedia if you’re not sure how to answer one of these questions. if you see an interesting idea, pick it up and follow it - what you’re doing here is training your eye, and that’s how you’ll learn. that said, if you’re already intimidated, i wouldn’t dive too deep into couture/aesthetic blogs until i had a more solid grip on how i wanted the character to look. it comes back to what i said earlier - there is such a thing as too much to choose from, especially when you’re not sure what you should be looking for yet.

there’s one other thing i want to mention that can help bring a character’s wardrobe together: repetition. if you’re planning several outfits for a character instead of just one, echo some of the motifs, shapes, or colors from one to the next. they don’t all have to be identical takes on the same thing, but if they have certain traits in common, they’ll feel less like separate outfits and more like a matched set. they could all be in members of the same color family or have similar patterns on them. maybe your character has a certain accessory that they wear with everything. you get the idea.

while i may not be able to plan your character’s wardrobe outright, i hope this makes the whole process seem more straightforward. or that it gives you some ideas to work with, or any other kind of help you might take away from it. this post is getting unfathomably long, so i’ll wrap it up, but i’d be happy to put any of my own characters through a “question test” like this one if you’d like to see how it works in practice.

finally, if you can find an interview with an artist or costume designer who worked on something you like, those things are worth their weight in gold. i read an interview with colleen atwood when i was in middle school, and it revolutionized the way i thought about fashion and storytelling. and when i say “revolutionized,” i mean “i owe basically everything i just told you to that article.” dig into them and see how they think and talk about their art! they’re more qualified to teach you than i ever will be.

[kernigkrafts123]

HOW TO DESIGN A CAFÉ

Since I was a child I have wanted to own a café. I would often visualise how I would make it. Right from the chairs and cuisine to the complimentary cookies I planned to serve with coffee, I had thought of every detail in my head!

I am partial to cafés the way I am partial to armchairs. Coffeehouses like armchairs are warm and cushy, and time flies when you are in one!

If you are about to actualize your dream of opening a coffee shop, read on for some really useful tips, tricks and advice that will help you, not just plan but also execute your café design smoothly.

1. Pick one thing that you feel passionate about

Whether it’s a cuisine that you enjoy making or eating, a theme that mesmerises you or if you are simply a coffee lover who wants to make delicious coffee for people, focusing on one attribute makes it fairly easy to define the others.

For example, if you feel strongly about Italian food, you can plan your food menu and decor around it. It will give you a great starting point! I’d recommend doing thorough market research to make sure that there is a lucrative market for your chosen cuisine in your city. No matter how much you fancy something, if there is no demand for it you are bound to fail.

You can also choose to open something classic, like a patisserie or a sandwich bar. If you are absolutely sure you want to open a coffee shop then you can plan a small food menu that includes accompaniments from your local cuisine while keeping the focus on different types of coffee.

It is always a good idea to keep a variety of food items that fall within your choice of cuisine, in the beginning because you will eventually find out what your customers love and come to your coffeehouse for. You will definitely be tweaking the menu as you come to realise what your best-sellers are!

2. Choose your decoration style wisely

It is easy to fall prey to trends, they look inviting and are easy to follow since they are everywhere but trends come and go. For example, Farmhouse Style and Shabby Chic are having a moment now but so was  Industrial, a style people are now getting bored of, visually. Classic style of decoration never goes out of fashion but it can seem basic.

To keep the look balanced, I’d suggest furnishing your coffee shop with a theme that goes with your cuisine while considering your target customers. The theme does not have to be directly related to it, people often associate pizza with movies, so with Italian cuisine on the menu you could style your restaurant with the classic Hollywood theme!

There is no limit to decoration themes as there are plenty to choose from so weigh in your budget before you choose. A decorative style like Shabby Chic could be more expensive as compared to a simpler style like Modern. Size matters too. Smaller spaces can feel cramped if there is too much going on or there are a lot of items kept for ornamental purpose. It will also cut down on the sitting space. Some themes I personally like for cafés are Rustic, Scandinavian, Contemporary and Classic.

You cannot beat a Rustic style coffeehouse. Exposed bricks, wooden floor and solid wood furniture with a touch of color in the form of upholstery, Rustic style evokes nostalgia that creates the perfect coffee drinking atmosphere, whether you want to get creative or catch up with friends.

Scandinavian and contemporary are great no-nonsense decorating styles that you can’t go wrong with. Scandinavian style complements smaller spaces well as it is a clean and minimal look with the right amount of color. Splashes of bright color in this style will keep your space from looking boring without overwhelming it! You can also go for a mix of two themes such as Rustic and Classic.

3. Choose quality furniture that will last

Solid wood furniture is definitely more expensive than other kinds available but it looks classy and lasts a really long time. The elegance that good quality furniture creates cannot be matched by Chinese quality furniture.

Make sure your furniture designs complement your space and style of decoration. If you have chosen Rustic style you can go for classic furniture. Rustic finish on tables, chairs and stools with leather upholstery looks extremely chic. The warm color palette automatically creates a welcoming atmosphere for customers. Have you ever noticed why you always gravitate towards cafes styled in Rustic-Classic interiors? This is exactly why! The earthy colors draw you in.

To take it up a notch, you can get Chesterfield sofas and sofa chairs. Since people love to sit in coffee shops for long durations it is advisable to use comfortable chairs and sofas with cushioning and upholstery. No one wants to go to a cafe and come back with their backside hurting. Also, leather contrasts with the rustic look beautifully creating an appealing visual space. Wicker is another popular style these days and could be a great addition to your chairs and stools. Wicker is a good choice for outdoor furniture as well, if you have some outdoor sitting as a part of your cafe do consider it!  

If you want something more fun that caters to a younger crowd, you can go for patterned upholstery. But stick to pastel or medium tones for Rustic style. Sofas and chair sofas are a must if your space is medium to large. People always choose them first. Small coffee shops can keep upholstered stools and chairs with simple designs. Large spaces can do a combination of styles such as bar stools, stools, chairs, sofas and matching sofa chairs (like in the image above). It makes the space more interesting and gives the customers more options to sit.

4. Make the space warm and welcoming

People often have their favourite coffee shops that they regularly go to. Most preferred coffeehouses are those that are friendly and hospitable. Small things can make a big difference and help you achieve this effortlessly.

Flowers, small potted plants or even candles on individual tables add a nice artsy touch. You can also keep some magazines and books for people to read. A lot of people come alone for coffee, especially if they want to work, reading a magazine would be a nice break for them. People who love to read adore places that house books and it also shows that you are thoughtful and are willing to take an extra step to make them happy. You can also keep a few board games for people who come in groups!

To store and display the books and games, you can get a sideboard or display unit. A high and narrow display unit will take less space and store more.

Another thing you can do for your customers is keeping indoor plants. Potted plants, plants hung in baskets suspended from the ceiling, on tables or on a separate buffet, the possibilities are endless! Research shows that nature can increase social interaction, reduce stress and enrich mental health! Adding plants to your cafe is an easy and environment friendly way to spread cheer and happiness in your coffee shop.

Lights play an important role too. Harsh lights can be blinding and make people uncomfortable whereas dim lights can cause inconvenience. I'd suggest designing your cafe in a way that brings maximum sunlight into it during the day. You can also use pretty lanterns and pendant lights too! Glass pendant lights with geometric shapes are really popular these days. Yellow light is warmer than white and hence recommended for coffee shops.

Something I’d strongly recommend is to do an informal feedback session before you officially open your cafe. A few trustworthy friends and family members is all it takes. Invite them over and take feedback on what could be done better. A good idea is to do this when you have some time left to make some changes. There will be certain things that you won’t be able to do anything about but it would be worth it if even one or two suggestions strike you as interesting and useful.

For more ideas and suggestions about creating your perfect coffee house write to me at info@kernigkrafts.com and to see custom made, handcrafted cafe furniture click here.

[missweber]

@lardo-week

For Day 5 of Lardo Weed- “Epiphany”

(Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4) 

(chapters can all be read as stand-alones if you prefer)

conversations in silence

If anything, Jack's playoffs run felt like an extension of their time at Samwell. There weren't any classes or exams, but the core of the SMH crew was still together and being loud the way only they could be.

And when Jack won the Cup, it was like the kegster to end all kegsters. Plus, you know, all the drama about him coming out in the most over-the-top way possible.

"Only you, Jack," she told him, rolling her eyes and sighing. They had grabbed a moment of peace out on his balcony while the others recovered from their post-parade hangovers.

He laughed the way he usually did: two flat, awkward syllables. 

"Worth it," he said, sing-song. 

This was followed by the kind of quiet she knew better than to interrupt. That was one of the reasons the two of them were such good friends—they understood that silence was its own kind of speech.

(And how ironic was it that both of them had ended up with people who could be so fucking loud?)

Jack leaned on the railing, not looking at her or at anything in particular.

"Six years ago, if you told me I wouldn't win my first Cup until I was almost twenty-five..." He shook his head. "By the time my father was twenty-two, he had won four Cups with the Habs. Boom-boom-boom-boom, four wins in a row right out of the gate."

"Huh."

"Exactly."

She thought it over for a moment. "Well, your dad is kind of extra, y'know?"

The sharp bark of startled laughter was nothing like his usual haha.

"Oh, boy. Yeah, he really is. He really, really is." Another quiet laugh, and he fell back into silence for a little while before speaking again. "I hate when commentators say that the last several years were a 'waste.' They weren't."

Again, Lardo said nothing, because what Jack wasn't saying was so damned obvious. If he had gone into the NHL back in 2009, things would be so different for him, and not necessarily a better kind of different.

"I think some of my favorite memories of Samwell—other than the ones about Bits, of course—are from when I was working on my thesis."

"Freak."

He gave her a gentle hip check. A friendly one, not the kind that could send a defenseman into the boards. "You know what I mean. Anyhow, I don't know if I ever thanked you enough for letting me hide in your studio while I was finishing it up."

She didn't know if he had actually said it, or if it was one of those things that was just known in silence. That was what she remembered about those times when he came to her studio. The silence.

It was so quiet she could hear the scrape of her brush on canvas as she finished the last piece for her Junior Show, and the taka-taka-taka of Jack typing away on his laptop. The other art students knew better than to bother her, and none of Jack's fans and no wanna-be puck bunnies would think to look for him in Koetter.

She didn't often like to paint in front of other people. 

Shitty was an exception, because he was Shitty, not that she knew what that meant until much too recently. 

Jack was another exception, because when he did choose to watch instead of write, he got just as lost in the process as she did. He also had a decent eye for composition (but not for color, oh hell no), and was as good at giving feedback when she asked for it as he was at taking the feedback she gave him on his photos.

"I think that's why I bought that painting at your Junior show."

Oh, God. The painting. She always had to force herself not to cringe whenever she saw it in his living room.

"Whenever I look at it, I remember watching you paint it." A long pause. "I mean, it was neat, seeing that. How you worked."

Oh.

It came back to her in a flash, those afternoons at Koetter. The silky slide of paint as she laid glazes of blue upon blue upon blue on a canvas that was as wide as she was tall. The soft scratching when she did dry-brush and palette knife work. The never-ending but oh-so-satisfying tweaking and adjusting of light and shape in her abstract sky-scape and then having to tweak another section of canvas, because if you changed one thing in a painting, everything else changed in response.

Losing time and self and worry in the flow of creativity and the contentment of simple companionship.

"It makes me happy, having it. You know?"

"Don't you dare make me cry, Zimmermann. Don't you fucking dare!"

He chuckled as she elbowed him in the ribs, and he pulled her into a hug.

Jack-hugs were the best. They felt super-solid and super-safe.

"No crying," he ordered, giving her a little shake.

She felt like shit for assuming that he had made a pity-purchase. Well, she knew better now.

She cleared her throat and pulled away. "Well, not only were the last few years super not a waste, you also got a Cup before Ovechkin did, so yay."

Jack laughed so hard, she was half-worried he was going to give himself a hernia or something.

"I dare you to say that at your next presser," she taunted.

"Ha ha. No. I don't want to be stabbed with a skate blade the next time we play the Caps."

"Eh, whatever." 

They returned to their comfortable silence, looking out over the Providence skyline. She heard the noises of grumpy awakening from behind them in the apartment. Loud and dramatic disgruntlement from Holster, which was rivaled by Tater's Slavic plaints of grievous injury and dire lack of pie. She heard Bitty's gentle scolding, and Ransom's extravagant yawns which she recognized after four years of roadies.

She let her thoughts wander where they would, and a realization slowly took shape. It was a gentle and completely unremarkable sort of epiphany, gradual like the layering of color on color on color.

Jack hadn't wasted the last five or six years, even if other people said he had or for a little while he believed he had.

Ransom hadn't shitcanned his plans of becoming a doctor, no matter what his family apparently thought.

Just because she was out of college didn't mean she had to go right into being a struggling artist or give up and sell her soul to the corporate overlords and do something practical.

Jack had still played hockey during those 'wasted' years, and had done a lot of things that weren't hockey. Just the other day, she and Ransom had talked about how taking a year or two off before med school would not only help him save up some money, there were a lot of ways it might make him a better doctor in the end.

Basically, what she realized was this: she had time. Time to figure things out. Time to maybe try a few new things. Experiment. Learn. 

Time to enjoy living with the boys and hanging out with Jack and Bitty.

Time to just fucking breathe for the first time since her last semester started in January.

Delay was not the same thing as failure. She supposed she had known that before, but that wasn't the same as knowing it.

Yeah, the idea of failing to make it as an artist was still scary as hell, but at least the idea no longer had a countdown clock and a detonator strapped to its chest.

"Feeling better?" Jack asked, understanding what she had not been saying over the past few months.

Another moment of quiet, and then:

"Yeah. I am."

[priisakilljoy]

Now that May, Myself and I is over I’d like to reflect on this month a little bit. This project was super interesting to me so i��ll talk about every day 

Day one (running) had to be a homage to Carrie Hope Fletcher, it was my only idea and felt like the right way to kick off the month

Day 2 (star) might just be my least favorite of all, not only because I was not super exited but also bc the execution is not great. I would normally never post it but the fun thing about this kind of project it that I can push myself

Day 3 (donuts) came with the conclusion that I like to draw. Was that obvious to anyone else? Not to me lmao. I just had so much fun with the white donut and I don’t even like donuts so that was exciting. Feels like something big, I was wondering for a wile and now I finally have an answer

Day 4 (red lips) isis one of my favorites and I didn’t even plan it a lot, it just happened. I usually have a very clear idea of what I want the end result to look like but this one happened very organically

Day 5 (eggs) is cute as hell imo. i was really excited when i had this idea 

For Day 6 (weight) I just had to make some Luther fan art because that’s one of my favorite choices of character design. He is a big guy who carries the word on his shoulders, it’s a lot of weight

Day 7 (salty) freaked me out a bit tbh because I only had the mermaid idea but I felt like I couldn’t do it justice. I almost didn’t post it but again, it’s about putting myself out there

Day 8 (pranks) was easy and felt right to make some fan content about the Weasley twins again, trow back to my 2012 fic lmao

Day 9 (umbrella) just had to be about TUA, but the idea to do the totoro rain scene came later. I wasn’t expecting to do two fan arts of Luther but he is big and five is small so it fits and I love how it turned out. It was also fun to explore the comics style, I love Gabriel Ba’s work

Day 10 (bodies) is about my own relationship with body hair, so that was a obvious choice. I’m in a very happy place with my body at the moment and feel like I’m finally caring for it for the first time ever, but the body hair is still a struggle and I’m exploring with it. This day was also part of this exploration

Day 11 (sunflowers) is the most personal of them all. It’s my cousin who I love a lot and she planted a sunflower earlier this year so it fit perfectly

Day 12 (storms) looks cool, I struggled with the video colors so had to change a bit and I’m happy with how Kirstin turned out

Day 13 (little) was so funny to me and I feel like is seriously underrated lmao. It’s moomin! It’s John mulaney! Y’all are supposed to love that shit

Day 14 (curtains) was hard. I was so uninspired and it looks rough

Day 15 (black and white) looks cute. Every time I read the prompt list the song started playing in my had so it had to be

Day 16 (conscience) was also very personal because it carries a lot o weight to me and basically shaped who I am so there’s that. I like the end result

Day 17 (luck) was bad lol. I only had the idea very late and was not feeling so good, but it looks cool! The background was from another danger days fan art I did earlier this year and it was my first time mixing media like this

Day 18 (sparkles) was easy to choose and I like it

Day 19 (Myself) was a challenge! I wasn’t sure where I was going with it tbh but feels right

Day 20 (mundane) is honestly one of my favorites. I just love Mitch so much and he is anything but mundane so I wanted to play with it. The color palette came from his horny demon tattoo and I wanted to do some supernatural stuff but subtle, so mostly on the shadow. It looks really good in my humble opinion lol

Day 21 (space) is another one that I love. I wasn’t sure what to do with this prompt because my first idea was something that I still relate a lot with my ex and I’m not quite there yet to reclaim and not think about him. Lucky I couldn’t stop listening to thank u, next and ari gave me some inspiration. The color palette of this one is the nasa logo

Day 22 (bloom) was maybe the first idea I had for this month lol. I just love the album in general and this song in particular and it looks exactly how I hoped it would

Day 23 (kindness) was terrible, probably because I’m very unkind to myself. I make bulbasaur because he makes me happy and he is great but honestly it was a bad day

For Day 24 (letters) I was going to be sappy and write a letter to myself instead of drawing something but Sza saved me and I did her supermodel look instead. I still listen to this album a lot and it hits home for me

Day 25 (moon) was also easy. I love avatar, I love Yue, it looks just how I wanted it to look

Day 26 (Jekyll and Hyde) was challenging bc I’m not super familiar with it and I was going to read the novel but was not in the mood lol. I did listen to the musical tho and confrontation reminded of left brain right brain By bo burnham. What. is one of my favorite stand ups of all time so I used this as an excuse to watch it again. It fits tho, I’m happy with it

Day 27 (circles) is basically a redraw of one of my inktober posts. I was not feeling inspired but it looks better than the first one so there’s that

Day 28 (chaos) is all about my mental health and I think it translated it well. The colors are not the ones I usually reach for but that was cool and different. I think this one really stands out

Day 29 (praise) is the one day I skipped. I was feeling bad and had nothing, zero ideas. So I didn’t push it. It was a day to remind myself that this is a challenge but it’s supposed to be fun, it’s something I’m doing for myself

On Day 30 (apologies) I woke up feeling terrible and scared so I decided to listen to some soft music to calm down. That did Not work lmao, so I listened to my chemical romance and the used instead. This empty with you quote was on my IM messenger for a long time and it fit with both the prompt and my mood

Day 31 (Hope) I came full circle and made another Carrie Hope fletcher fan art. I talked a lot already about how I look up to Carrie, so that was a perfect way to finish this month

[thenarcolepticone]

Phantasm

by TheNarcolepticOne

Day 2 + Day 5: Spooky Colors ( @aphfallfandomweek )

AO3

Summary: Lovino was the relative in the family that no one particularly liked to visit. And wasn’t because he was crude: this was a misconception developed from the in-laws of the family who wanted to steal some of the family’s rich heritage. Rather, Lovino was just a different kind of Vargas. Or at least, Feliciano liked to think that his brother was.

Characters: APH Italy, APH South Italy, APH Spain.

Warnings: None. But it's spooky I guess? If you don't like spooks.

A/N: I... put two concepts into one story again -- I'm SORRY it's just very addicting to try and put them all together because it forces me to try and creatively shove them together. I hope it's not too clunky though... I've not actually posted any stories online with Feliciano or Lovino. Not yet anyway. It's not meant to be anything hard to look into, actually, so don't look too hard into this story.

##

Lovino was the relative in the family that no one particularly liked to visit. And wasn’t because he was crude: this was a misconception developed from the in-laws of the family who wanted to steal some of the family’s rich heritage. Rather, Lovino was just a different kind of Vargas. Or at least, Feliciano liked to think that his brother was.

Lovino liked to spend a lot of his days alone too and occupied the spare room of Feliciano’s paint studio when he came back from a long day from working at the pastry shop. Feliciano had given the space to him out of sympathy, as no one else in his family seemed to put an effort into knowing his brother beyond just his strange behaviors. Except for him and his Grandfather of course, but Romulus had passed away some time ago, leaving only Feliciano to be the sole caretaker of his brother.

Calloused hands and flour dusted fingers from folding dough and wheat did nothing to dissuade Lovino from coming over in the evenings to continue his work in his project room. Lovino always mentioned finishing the same painting that he started two months ago and had never let Feliciano see it since he bought his brother the easel.

Now, Lovino was one of the best water color artists that Feliciano had ever know. It deviated a lot with his own style, but not in a bad way. Feliciano often liked the crispness of oil-based paints in its raw form upon a canvas while Lovino once told him that he enjoyed the medium of water because he felt the transparency of the paint reflect a sort of ‘ambiguity’. He liked an image of a color that wasn’t quite solid and wasn’t too minimalist either, which made Feliciano very empathetic to his art pieces most of the time.

Lovino was a schizophrenic, part-time freelance artist.

It wasn’t a very pretty title, but it was because of this stigma that Lovino often told people of his condition first, like a warning, before accepting any commissions from any eager client. Lovino didn’t enjoy the idea of people giving him sympathy and especially disliked being compared to van Gogh in any way, shape or form.

Rather, he preferred patrons that were honest with him. And it was a trait that Feliciano envied; having interactions between others without that sense of superficiality to it.

Lovino was more grounded to the realities of people more than Feliciano ever was. And that, alone, was the reason why Feliciano loved his brother dearly. And the same reason why he had even given him the room in the first place.

Though, just because Lovino got commissions didn’t mean that he received a lot of them. The man would often burst into Feliciano’s small business building without a word and retreat his secret sanctuary in silence. But Feliciano never minded it; his brother’s business was his own.

That was, until one day Feliciano heard his brother talking alone inside of his room one night after washing all of his brushes. Feliciano had planned to leave early, as he had a scheduled 8:30 AM appointment with his next model soon. But the sounds of his brother speaking was what drawn him to stop and listen.

“Hang on,” Lovino was heard groaning on the other side of the door. “I’ll finish this part soon. Stop giving me that look, won’t you? It’s intimidating, and you’ll make me rush it.”

Feliciano quietly set his used brushes from earlier that day into a bucket nearby. And, watching his feet to ensure he did not step on anything, Feliciano leaned against the thin white door to eavesdrop.

“Yes, Toni. I know you like red. But I’ve already painted enough leaves around you. Any more of them and I’m sure you’ll look like you’re in front of a volcano!”

Feliciano bit his lip. A quick suspicion made Feliciano assume that Lovino snuck a male model into the room. But looking at the base of the door, he saw some movement of shadows.

But he could not distinguish if this was his brother’s movements or not.

“There. See?” Lovino murmured. “It was the green that was missing. Not the red. Red wouldn’t make much sense to add on to you. It’s like wearing a red shirt, red pants, red shoes and red socks: it doesn’t match.”

Feliciano moved away from the door now, perhaps realizing that Lovino wasn’t quite... himself. Lovino often had episodes of these, but ever since he had been on medication, he hadn’t fallen into the habit of babbling to himself until now. 

But he didn’t want to be too straightforward with Lovino either. Pointing out his strange behavior would only strain their relationship as his only caring family relative and the last thing Feliciano wanted to do was to make his brother annoyed with him because wasn’t caring enough to shut up appropriately.

Choosing instead to promptly ignore the conversation in the other room, Feliciano began pack his things, set his coat on and retreat home to sleep. He and Lovino did not live in the same places, so he was never really sure about what time his brother went home.

But as Feliciano attempted to sleep, he couldn’t help but start to wonder about Lovino again. The way he talked behind that door and the emotion in Lovino’s voice that really almost sounded like he was speaking to his painting... the curiosity had burrowed itself into Feliciano’s brain enough to the point of making him unable to sleep. And months of secrecy on Lovino’s end was enough to draw Feliciano back into his car and drive right back to the studio.

It was just quarter past two in the morning when Feliciano arrived, fall air breezing through his hair. His keys clinked as he opened the door, and he turned the lights on, immediately heading for the forbidden room.

He swung the door open gently, turning on the lights.

The room was an absolute chaotic mess, as if someone had ransacked the place. It scared Feliciano a minute to think that the perpetrator would be somewhere nearby, but Feliciano did a quick sweep around the perimeter of the room.

No one.

The only object that was the most preserved in the mess was an easel and canvas in the center of the room, draped by a tattered blanket.

Feliciano frowned, feeling his chest compress. He felt like was violating his brother’s trust by peeking into his personal work. It wasn’t as if he was planning to do anything bad, right? Just looking.

Feliciano took a breath, going up to the painting and removing the cloth.

It was the portrait of a man that Feliciano had never seen before. The paint that was included in the picture was layered upon each other, blending a lot more smoothly into indescribable mixes of color; the paint’s opacity made it a hard to tell the difference if the color was in between red, yellow or green. The brush strokes that framed the man’s clothing were cleverly blended with the darker colors to contour the light more to the man’s chest, rather than the shoulders and overcoat. It curved at the exact angles that highlighted the physique under the painting’s clothing, and it caused Feliciano to realize that he had been holding his breath when he finished examining it.

Lovino really did pull reality from his imagination. The only thing that made the painting appear unrealistic was the white edges of the unfinished background and unpainted pencil-etched leaves. The picture was meant to fully depict a Spaniard of the 1600’s in the middle of the fall leaves, posing right before his voyage over the Atlantic. The portrait man gazed back at Feliciano, looking soft in his features but held a sense of power behind his gaze. The eyes were a piercing green, and it made Feliciano feel like he was being watched. They also looked like they were following him when he moved around even more, causing Feliciano to be completely unsettled by the eye movement. It was enough to make Feliciano want to leave.

It’s then that Feliciano grabbed the cloth, pulling it over the painting’s gaze as he retreated out back to the parking lot, heart beating from almost practically sprinting out of the building. He locked the door twice for good measure and checked it before starting his car.

##

The next morning hadn’t been too unusual after that. Feliciano had fought the evening’s events out of his brain when his patron showed up; a man who looked entirely ready for his own portrait by dressing in outrageous clothing. Feliciano could deal with outrageous.

He had spent the day avoiding the room when he was doing his own work and waited patiently for his brother to return after work.

Eventually, Lovino did come through the door. But not before Feliciano stopped him. His model had long gone at that point, giving Feliciano more time to speak to him.

“Fratello,” he called to his brother, causing Lovino to turn his head to him with tired attentiveness. “What are you painting in that room? I’ve always been meaning to ask.”

Lovino gave Feliciano an incredulous expression. But not before just sighing. “I’m actually almost done with it anyway. I suppose you could look at it.”

Feliciano practically jumped at this opportunity to be with his brother, dropping his palette onto a nearby table as he grabbed a towel to wipe his hands off on the way to follow Lovino back into the room.

But by the time his brother had opened the door, he felt himself freeze.

The room was practically spotless. Or at least, there wasn’t a place out of order like it had been last night. It looked as if someone had cleaned it, though Feliciano was 400% sure he had locked the door that evening and had not touched anything else in the room. Especially after seeing the gaze of that frightening man under the blanket on the canvas. He couldn’t stay after that!

When Lovino uncovered the painting, Feliciano had to bite his tongue.

The man that had stared at him last night was turned away from the viewer’s perspective, head turning to look back at the autumn scenery behind him. It caused Feliciano to rub his eyes, trying to understand how his brain was playing tricks on him.

He can’t have just imagined last night all on his own. Could he?

“Like it?” Lovino said, having not noticed Feliciano at all since he had also been staring at his own work and criticizing it himself. “It’s... not quite there yet. I’m missing a lot of the edges and leaves. But I think one more week would finally get this done.”

“W-Who is that?” Feliciano fought his voice to remain calm as possible, which clearly wasn’t working too well. “In the picture?”

“Someone I keep running into in my dreams,” Lovino sighed. “You know. Those dreams.”

Feliciano turned his gaze back to Lovino, who now appeared much quieter and more reserved after admitting that clause. Feliciano frowned at that. Lovino was trying to hide his hallucinations again. And fighting the urge to reveal the reason behind his own state of panic, Feliciano noticed that he began to say something else as well.

“I’m jealous, Lovino,” Feliciano replied. “I don’t think I’ve ever been able to really... do the same as you when it comes to painting in water color. It’s strange because it looks so real. Like it can move on its own.”

Lovino laughed at that. “You’re the only one who can see the reality of everything, Feli. I’ll admit it; sometimes I see the painting move all the time. And I think I can say that this one of my best works.” Lovino felt his smile soften when he stared at his masterpiece. “Antonio. That’s what I call it. It’s a name in Spanish that means something of value and praise.”

“I... didn’t take you for the type to be researching on name meanings, Lovi.”

“Shut up. Just because the names of your pieces are long doesn’t mean that mine have to be.”

Feliciano relaxed at that. “It’s beautiful, fratello.”

“It’s not finished yet,” Lovino murmured. “I’ll get it done soon. But I’d like to be alone, if that’s okay.”

“Of course.” Feliciano went to the door, letting him the space. And with a smile, he closed the door again.

But the second the door clicked shut, Feliciano’s expression that he had been keeping up had dropped. And fear poured into his heart as he dared to open the door once more.

“Lovino?”

The room was empty, with a gust of wind blowing into the room with the faintest smell of wet grass and undergrowth.

Feliciano stared at the picture that was revealed to him.

There, amid all of the colors of the fall within the canvas, was Lovino. And next to him was the man he had seen in the piercing green eyes, smiling right at Feliciano as he had an arm around his shoulders.

Feliciano only stared for a few moments before feeling himself drawn into the room. And with a final examination, grabbed the cloth again to cover the painting up as he picked it up into his arms to take home.

[lydiaandarry]

{How To Dress Similarly To Your Favorite Cartoon Characters (Using Five Examples!)}

Hello there!

My name is Arabella but you can call me Arry, if it’s easier. I don’t know about you but I basically grew up on cartoons. I watched Cartoon Network all day and I used to get so much inspiration from cartoon characters that probably followed me into my older years. Personality and fashion-wise. Have you ever wanted to dress similar to one of your favorite cartoon characters yet not wanting to look like a cosplay or costume? Well, you’ve come to the right gal because that is exactly what I am going to be helping you with but before I get onto the five examples, we must go over some basic knowledge. Fashion can say a lot about a character, especially in cartoons where the clothes rarely change. It has to be iconic yet true to the personality being demonstrated in some sense. Five things go into analyzing and copying a cartoon characters style: 1) Color Palette 2) Aesthetic 3) Overall Impression 4) Fashion Items 5) How It Shapes Their Personality? These are five things we are going to keep in mind during our five examples. Let’s invade this topic.

(Daria Morgendorffer)

    Ah yes, Daria Morgendorffer. My sarcastic twin. I started with Daria because this character is one of the more easier ones to analyze and recreate. In fact, it has been quite common for fangirls of the television show to recreate Daria and Jane’s styles but I wanted to do Daria’s over Jane’s because I relate to Daria more. Starting with the first thing to think about when recreating a style of any cartoon character, color palette. A color palette is quite important especially when it comes to cartoon characters because these colors can be forever associated with this character. It’s like, if you see someone who usually wears all black with hints of red. That is a color palette, it’s something that you can associate with them subconsciously. Daria’s color palette includes green, yellow, black and brown if you include her hair. Now, you can become simple and see it just like that. Green, yellow, black and brown. But if you want to complicate it a bit and be more precise. Then her color palette would be dark greens (olives, forests, and dartmouth green). Dark yellow similar to mustard or occasionally an orange yellow. Chestnut brown or a reddish brown. You can limit your options to specific colors that will be more precise. The second thing to consider is her aesthetic, now Daria has a very laid-back aesthetic. Her whole running gag in the show is about how Daria doesn’t fall down to society’s standards when it comes to beauty as she doesn’t smile (unless there’s a special moment) and she doesn’t take as much time in her outfits as her younger and more popular sister, Quinn. Daria is very minimalistic as she isn’t one to horde a lot of clothing. She doesn’t wear makeup. Her aesthetic is being natural and effortless. The third thing to consider is the overall impression of their clothes to the world around them. Now this may seem odd but this is worth consideration because it depends on how you want to be taken. As people judge upon appearances and your clothes can say a lot about you. Daria’s fashion choices are usually attacked by her parents who think she could do a bit more effort and Quinn seeing her as outdated yet Daria doesn’t get a lot of criticism. Nor does she really face any backlash on how she dresses. It makes people not really want to be around her but she isn’t hated nor scorned. It’s a pretty simple style that is just there. The fourth thing to consider is fashion items, unless you are planning on copying Daria’s style piece by piece. It is great to really observe it and take pieces of it that may fit into her character yet is good for everyday use and not a cosplay. Remember, it’s all about inspiration. With Daria, I recommend oversized (possibly fit and flare) jackets or oversized, buttoned up cardigans. For tops, sweaters, short-sleeved mock necks, and graphic tee shirt dresses. For bottoms, mini skater skirts, skinny jeans, and culottes. For shoes, never forget the Doc Martens or chunky boots similar. And last but not least, the fifth thing to consider is how does her clothes shape her personality? The best way to answer this question is to look into Daria’s personality deeper, she doesn’t really care about small things and sees the world through different eyes. With this, she has priorities and standards, herself. Fashion is a lower priority compared to her wanting to make the right choice and choosing the right career. It’s a way to present herself but doesn’t make her stand out too much as she prefers to be known for her brains than her fashion. The clothes do not wear Daria, Daria wears the clothes. It’s just her.

(Rogue)

     I decided to go for something a bit more tricky next character and what’s more trickier than a comic book character who has been around since the 80’s? That’s right, you called it. Rogue from the X-Men. My Superhero twin. Brown hair, green eyes and all. It is no lie that recreating Rogue’s style would be great in those cold winters where I always dress wrong and is freezing my arse off. And since it is February, I thought why not include her. Although I will add some cooler alternatives if you live somewhere where it isn’t snowing. Comic Book Characters are fun to recreate their style because you can kind of cosplay yet it’s not cosplaying. I also love seeing fanart of people who draw comic book characters in casual clothes. It’s amazing to see that. I recommend looking at those fanart drawings if you are having a hard time. Rogue’s color palette includes green, yellow, brown, black and white. Now the colors kind of depend on what Rogue you are going for as 90’s Animated Rogue had a completely different vibe from X-Men Evolution Rogue. But I recommend going for similar greens (possibly ones similar used for Daria) for both vibe, yet feel free to go darker for X-Men Evolution Rogue. You can also try to incorporate yellow into X-Men Evolution Rogue’s vibe if you wish to but if not, get rid of it completely. Rogue’s aesthetic is hard to detect since she is a comic book character who has been in two very different cartoons but it is okay if you cannot detect an aesthetic with a character. I feel like X-Men Evolution Rogue fits into the more edgy, even potentially Goth aesthetic while 90’s Rogue is more sporty and slightly punk. It’s hard to detect because unlike X-Men Evolution Rogue, Rogue is rarely seen out of costume in the 90’s show. Similar to Daria, Rogue’s outfits don’t really leave an overall impression in the world she is living in as being a mutant is much more likely to give you backlash in her world. I think the only thing I can really get from Rogue is that her style is more likely to get you a sexy, devil-eyed hunk who speaks with French accent and is named Gambit. And who doesn’t want a Gambit? Now onto the fun part, choosing out similar fashion items. For 90’s Rogue, I recommend for jackets, they end at the waist and is faux leather (this is where you can add the brown). For tops, fitted sweaters, tee shirt dresses and mock necks. For bottoms, sporty shorts and fitted jeans and for shoes, sneakers and knee high boots. Don’t forget a fabulous headband. For X-Men Evolution Rogue, I recommend a longer dark jacket (maybe a denim jacket as well). For tops, fitted shirts, mock-necks, sheer tops with a cropped cami underneath, band tee shirts. With bottoms, ripped jeans with perhaps fishnets underneath, leather skirts, leather shorts. And for shoes, Mary-Janes or Doc Martens. Other than that, they go hand to hand with gloves, circle sunglasses, knee high socks. It is all about how you feel as the character. I mean, Rogue’s style basically shapes her personality as being reserved and not wanting to be touched. She wears a lot of layers and keeps covered yet keeps it fitted and sexy. She also has an edge that is shown a lot through her comic book appearances. Rogue’s style shows that you can be completely covered up and still be a babe. That you don’t have to show a lot of skin to be sexy but I mean she can’t show a lot of skin to be sexy because one touch and someone may die. But, if you don’t feel comfortable showing a lot of skin then Rogue is the rad gal for you.

(Velma Dinkley)

    Okay, now let’s say that you aren’t a loner or the sort of edgy type. I see you. Velma Dinkley has been one of my favorite characters since I was a young girl. She showed that you could be intelligent and be an equal to the leader. She had brains and was witty as hell. Now I may have grown up to be a bit more like Daphne in terms of fashion-mindset and clumsiness. My Velma comes out every once and then. Yet her colors are a bit harder to incorporate (wink, wink) into everyday basis because her color palette is red, orange and black if you include her glasses. I don’t see a lot of people wearing orange and red but it’s not that bad of a color combination. It mostly depends on what fashion item you are having red or orange in your outfit. If you are being precise, Velma’s color palette is a medium orange (slightly burnt at times) and crimson red. Like a cherry red, not too dark but not too light either. And with the glasses adding some black into her color palette, you can find ways to split the two with some basic black items in there as well, if it would make you more comfortable. Velma’s aesthetic is a nerd, she’s the bookworm, the brain of the group. She’s a nerd. Which ties into a lot of her aesthetic and how you can help it fit more together. Her aesthetic actually comes in handy because she’s very analytical and organized, meaning her clothes are probably going to be more neat and practical. Velma’s overall impression of her clothing by the world around her has changed throughout the years. It is rarely touched on until like the 2000’s where in the first two live action films, Velma is noted as being the less pretty out of the two of her and Daphne. Daphne continuously gives her advice on clothes or even once goes, “It’s never too late to learn how to use makeup”. And when Fred gets defensive when Velma notes how he has always somewhat favored Daphne over her, he goes, “Dorky chicks like you turn me on too!”. Noting how Velma is seen as poorly dressed. This mostly gives Velma’s character some depth as in the 2004 film “Monsters Unleashed”, when Velma develops a crush on museum owner Patrick Wisely, she becomes shy and scared of intimacy. Daphne’s solution to this is to give Velma a makeover that results in her feeling more uncomfortable and less sexy as it is more like Daphne than Velma. This scene is recreated in the 2008 film Mystery Begins where the Gang goes undercover in high school with different looks and Velma is yet again the uncomfortable sexy girl. Yet this never breaks Velma’s spirit and she always goes back to her natural look. For fashion items, Velma is a bit more simple as you can basically wear almost anything as long as it fits into her aesthetic and color-palette. For jackets, I recommend wearing fitted long jackets or maybe blazers if you feel more comfortable with a more professional, sleek look. Cardigans that are buttoned-up will also be an amazing choice for Velma. For tops, knitted sweaters, short-sleeved mock necks, mock knock sweatshirts, collared shirts. For bottoms, mini skirts, high-waisted flared jeans and potential overalls. For accessories, berets would be nice, knee high socks, and gloves. And for shoes, mary-janes or sneakers like Converse and Vans. How does Velma’s fashion shape her personality? Well, as talked about earlier, Velma has never felt the need to change or be someone she’s not. She is very comfortable in her own skin and her clothes. It shows that Velma can be comfortable and practical while holding an important part in the group. Her style shows never to judge someone by their clothing as there is always something more underneath.

(Sibella Count)

      Yes, another Scooby Doo character, forgive me. Sibella Count is a female character in the Scooby Doo film “Ghoul School”. Now let’s say that the character you want to recreate fashion off of is a lesser known, underdeveloped character who has only appeared in one film. Like Sibella. Well, then you have a lot of options! It is always good to take a character and remember the five things to consider. Sibella’s color palette is very diverse with a wide range of purples, reds, and some blues. You can throw some pinks in there if they have purple hues. Like a berry pink. Her aesthetic is the fact that she is Dracula’s daughter and a vampire so you can really play up the spook factor here yet keeping it sweet. You can also go very vintage with Sibella ranging from the 60’s to the 80’s as her style can be formatted into multiple different eras. Even the 50’s could be an option. Don’t forget that Sibella is also athletic so 50’s workout inspiration (as seen on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) would be great for Sibella if you do not like the sporty trends of the 80’s. As she is a volleyball player and dancer. The overall impression of Sibella’s clothing is mostly outsiders feeling that she is weird. Shaggy and Scooby are terrified of her at first because she’s obviously a vampire and they fear anything that’s not human. And the Calloway Cadets see her as weird and off-putting. Yet she usually wins people over with her kind-heart and outgoing personality. Fashion items are the trickiest for characters like this because she is only seen in two outfits and one is for exercise so I am going to give you a mixture of both. For jackets, I recommend knee length jackets that can hug in at the waist for shape if needed. For tops, long-sleeved mock necks, short sleeved mock-necks, crop tops, v-shaped tops with bell-sleeves. For dresses, I recommend a-lines with bell-sleeves or even ankle length, body hugging dresses similar to those who would be worn by Morticia Addams or Vampira and for more casual wear,  pinafores would be also be a great option. And perhaps a short-sleeved, v-shaped dress. For bottoms, cotton high-waisted shorts, sporty shorts, mini skirts. For accessories, anything red basically, red headbands, red belts, red scarves around the neck, a red bat backpack or satchel would be nice. Anything with bats would be great for Sibella. Knee high socks. For shoes, red mary-janes, red knee high boots, red sneakers. For that pop of glam. How does Sibella’s fashion shape her personality? Well, it’s very vampy which she is as she is the daughter of Dracula. It is also mature which fits Sibella as she is usually shown as being more mature out of the group and she is very confident.  She’s another case of “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. Sibella is unfortunately underdeveloped in personality due to only one appearance but this allows you to just have fun with it.

(Poison Ivy)

    And last but not least, Poison Ivy. Probably the hardest character to recreate clothing from as she is rarely seen actual clothing which is why color palettes are so important. This is also why I chose Poison Ivy over Harley Quinn due to her complexity of choosing fashion items that will recreate her style (although Birds of Prey have shown that they cannot dress Harley Quinn despite this). Let’s not waste any time and get onto this. Poison Ivy’s color palette is red, green, and black. Her color palette isn’t really the hardest thing about her, it’s more so her overall aesthetic and impression. Poison Ivy can fit into two major aesthetics, the glam of the 50’s/60’s. And the hippie era of the 70’s. 50’s/60’s can give you the much-needed shape and sexiness yet still keeping it classy while the 70’s can have you reveal more skin and be more flower-child like. I will be choosing fashion items for both aesthetics. The overall impression to Poison Ivy by the world is that she is well-dressed, sexy woman who has confidence and a lot of power. She is a very devious Batman villain who will do anything to rescue plants and sees herself as mother nature. This is a great way to incorporate flowers into your outfits. With Poison Ivy, it’s all about the shape. Onto fashion items. For the 50’s/60’s aesthetic, I recommend fitted jackets with straight jackets that end meet right at the hips to hug them. I also recommend that they have a V-Shaped opening. Cardigans are also great for this and do fit the time era. For tops, I recommend mock-neck tops that are fitted, bodysuits, fitted long-sleeved tops, these could all be one solid color or even have some patterns into them (stripes would be good). For bottoms, mini-skirts, knee length skirts, high-waisted shorts, and fitted trousers. For accessories, glasses would be cute if you wear them, sunglasses, berets, gloves, knee high socks and a bit of flowers in jacket pockets. For shoes, high-heels, knee high boots, and mary-janes will be fitting but you can always walk around the house barefooted. An odd suggestion for me is that I think you can really play around with lingerie when dressing like Poison Ivy, even if you’re single. Wear it for you. It will perhaps make you feel more confident and sexy. For 70’s, Jackets will probably be a bit more oversized and not as form-fitting. For tops, crop-tops, fitted sweaters, mock-necks, tied tops, cropped camis. For bottoms, high-waisted shorts, fitted skirts, flared skirts, bell-bottoms. For accessories, scarves in hair, flowers in hair, scarves around neck, knee high socks, floppy-hats. For shoes, platform heels or barefooted. And hell, if you want to be entirely 70’s, just go nude and paint flowers on your body. That’s very Ivy like. How does her clothes shape her personality? Ivy is very confident and independent and chic, with a dangerous layer. Her clothes show off that confidence and fierceness. It’s all about the shape, no matter how you want to dress it. And the hints of red will be great as red nail polish or red lipstick. She’s a very sexy character and her clothes show off that, even if she didn’t have her alluring abilities. She’s a great, powerful female character. And I am sure you will feel comfortable dressing up as her.

      Okay, that was five examples used on how to dress similarly or inspired by your favorite cartoon characters. I really hope that you enjoyed the post and if you did, feel free to follow our blog. I post a blog post on every Wednesday and Saturday. Also feel free to like and reblog! And remember fashion is all about having fun and trying new things, it shouldn’t be stressful. I’ll see you on Saturday. Peace out!