#like sometimes the art looks like it was obviously drawn by a 14 year old

[yardsards]

every time u draw a canonically fat character as skinny an angel loses their wings

[calyxaomphalos]

The Ghosts of Windy Ridge

Day three, afternoon, four components

location #2 - Timmy's Diner (4) neighbor #13 - Dani - human all in black (6), young, non-binary, Leo item #12 - item I'm unsure what it's for event #2 - unexpected visitor, roll neighbor! neighbor #14 - spirit of someone who recently died (3) - the old Pastor, who was Dani's grandpa. Libra

3 April 2022, Sunday Afternoon

I was loathe to head back to Timmy's Diner, but that would seem to be the place to try to meet people on a Sunday afternoon. Somehow I didn't think I'd see Suzy the waitress. The cross she was wearing suggested she was a church-going type. Perhaps the S. Dermer listed on the church sign as the Sunday school teacher was her for all I knew.

The diner was mostly empty with one group of people in a booth in the corner, and a lone young person all dressed in black sitting at the counter. It was the line cook who called out, "Sit anywhere ya like, I'll get to ya when I can." I took a stool one over from the goth. She-they?-really looked the part. Black clothes from head to toe, the latter of which were covered in some very heavy-looking platform boots. Their hair was a bit of a rat's nest of tangles, and obviously dyed black. Black makeup on their lips had amazingly enough not come off onto the white coffee mug in front of them. Plenty of thick, black eyeliner had been drawn on with an almost ancient Egyptian style.

I could almost feel them cringe when I sat down, but after they stole a glance at me and caught my bright blue hair, they turned to me with a smile. "Hey," they said. "Cool hair."

"Nice eyeliner. Inspired by ancient Egyptian art?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Serren, staying in Windy Ridge for the month," I offered.

"Good to meetcha. I'm Dani, born here, probably gonna die here. What on earth could you possibly want in Windy Ridge?"

"I had a good friend who lived here, died about four years ago. I always regretted not visiting, and some recent signs suggested it would be worth my while to come anyway," I said, figuring the death of a friend would probably be a topic that'd appeal to Dani.

"Signs. Like what?"

I pulled out my pouch of Tarot cards and said, "I read Tarot, sometimes talk to spirits."

Dani's eyes went wide. "Could you read for me? Could we talk to my granpa?"

We relocated to a booth to talk more privately. The cook saw us move and gave us a nod.

As we approached the booth, I tucked in on one bench so my left arm was against the wall with an open seat to my right. Dani was about to sit down across from me, but I said, "You need to sit next to me, so you see the cards the same way I see them, OK?"

"OK, yeah, that makes sense, I guess," Dani said, sliding onto the bench with me.

I had the deck out of its pouch and had started shuffling. "Tell me about your grandpa. I take it he's passed on? How long ago was that?"

"Right, OK. Granpa was the Pastor at the First Baptist here in town -"

I nearly lost my riffle then and interrupted, "So young Pastor Mitchelson is new here?"

"Yeah, yeah. The Baptists sent us the new Pastor about a month after Granpa died. He left us just before last Halloween. The Christmas service was the first time I tried going to church..." Dani drifted off in quiet sobs. I put my arm across their shoulders.

"That's great, Dani, that's all I need to know. Take a moment to re-center yourself and when you're ready, we'll read."

Dani sniffled a bit and then took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly. "Poor Suzy," she said.

"Suzy who works as a waitress here Saturday mornings? What about 'poor Suzy'?" I asked, trying not to sound too eager for the answer.

"Yeah, Suzy Dermer. She's the Deacon. Works here most of the time, but for Sundays and the Tuesday Bible study, she's at the church. Granpa was her idol, the type of Pastor she wants to be someday, if the church lets her get that far. And now that Pastor Dick is here, those roadblocks are going up fast."

The way she said "Pastor Dick" had me wondering, so I went ahead and asked, "The 'R.' stands for 'Richard', then?"

Dani grinned. "You got that right. He hates it when people call him 'Dick' though. We're supposed to call him 'Pastor Rick'. I've heard at least one other person call him 'Pastor Jerk'."

I cut the deck into three piles and then said to Dani, "Pick one."

They indicated the center pile. I restacked the deck with the center pile on top and then turned over the first card. I took a deep breath as I heard Dani gasp next to me.

"The Tower here represents your grandpa's passing, the way it turned the world upside down and broke things," I said, looking at the shattered obelisk portrayed on the card. My vision blurred a bit and then I could feel the old Pastor's presence. He was disappointed. In Dani, for falling for a Tarot reading. I wondered if he'd enjoy the irony in me telling Dani just that.

"He's disappointed," I started.

"Because I've strayed from the path of the Lord," Dani stated, more than asked.

"Something like that," I replied. I sensed the disappointment grow, it wasn't just in Dani, but a sadness for the church and some anger. "He never met Pastor Dick in person, your grandpa, did he," I stated.

"No."

"Well, I don't think he likes him all that much," I said, and put down another card. "The nine of pentacles is a reminder that there is wealth and value all around you, you just need to recognize it when it is offered."

"Am I going to need to pay you for this?" Dani asked, sounding worried.

"Not unless you feel like you have to give me something for it, no. You've already helped me in ways I'm not sure I could even explain," I answered. The spirit of the old Pastor bristled a bit, but I could tell he was softening up to me. "You ready for one more card?"

Dani nodded. I turned over a third card. "The knight of cups says to take action and follow your heart." I took a quick peek at the card on the bottom face of the deck and put the stack with that face up onto the table. "The Chariot here at the base of things says that only you can drive your path through life."

A look of resolve passed across Dani's face. They reached into a pocket and pulled out an oddly shaped piece of shiny metal, maybe not quite three inches long and no bigger around than a phone charging cord. It was almost a straight rod, with a slight bend, almost a full round, with flattened places, and a hole drilled in one end. "This is kind of a good luck charm, I want you to have it."

"Thank you very much!"

Dani got up out of the booth and said, "I need to go now. Thank you for the reading. Maybe I'll see you around."

"I hope so," I added. The spirit of the old Pastor had left as well. I settled up my tab and headed back to my cabin.

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 17 - With Him

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, how will it go in the end?, 4.8k

@trevor-wilson-covington is the bestie who makes these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16

One finger tapped on the strap of his fanny pack as Alex listened for the right bus stop to be called. If all those months since he’d seen Willie had been long, this past week had been longer. Especially since the news about Caleb had hit hard and every minute in the studio now felt like the band was precariously teetering on the edge of a cliff. He was going to try not to let any of that get in his way today, though. He’d made it to Saturday and Willie was only a few streets away, and he didn’t care what happened for the rest of the day - it was going to be good.

Finally he heard the next stop announced for where he needed to get off and he pulled the cord that told the driver to make a stop. Stepping onto the sidewalk, his heart bounced around in its chamber like the Tazmanian devil from Looney Tunes. He was glad that Willie lived in the basement of the apartment building he occupied because it would’ve been the worst if Alex forgot which room he was in and spent hours frantically knocking doors.

It was hard to tell if he was moving quickly or if his mind was just racing, but in either case, he eventually found himself at the door. For a second, he simply took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair, trying to get a visual of Willie immediately pouncing on him the moment the door opened out of his head. It wouldn’t exactly be unwelcome, but Alex was realizing how desperate he was to be with him and was amazed at how it affected his imagination.

Lifting a hand, he made sure he knocked loudly. Soon after, the door opened, and Alex was greeted with shining brown eyes, silky, gorgeous brown hair styled into two braids, and a smile he could make home in. Willie.

“Hey, come on in!” Willie was saying, standing to the side and gesturing for him to enter. Crossing the threshold, Alex gazed at the humble space, taking in the details with heightened interest. “This is mi casa!” He began showing Alex around. “We’ve got the main living space, very cozy. The kitchen to your left, but no dining room so it’s all criss-cross applesauce on the floor - makes it extra chill. Bathroom through the back. The sink and shower handles will sometimes shock you, so don’t mind all the electrical tape.”

It was surprisingly accommodating for a dingy basement, and Willie had already made little additions that spoke volumes about him without words. A king size mattress sat in the corner of the ‘main living space’ on the floor with a small bookshelf beside it. The bookshelf only had a handful of cassette tapes and a Walkman lying on top, with a few sketchbooks on the middle shelf. Next to that, the dresser had a small collection of vintage soda bottles and a camera sitting on its surface. Glow-in-the-dark star stickers covered the ceiling above the bed. Even a couple cat toys could be spotted on the floor. Immediately, Alex approached the area where Willie’s desk sat surrounded by sketches hung on the wall.

“So these are your drawings?” he asked, although the answer was obvious. They were so good. Willie followed him over, the squinty smile still in his eyes.

“Yeah. Some are new. Most of them are attempts to recover what Caleb tore up.”

Alex looked at Willie apologetically, even though the loss of Willie’s previous work wasn’t his fault. Without warning, a pressure on his leg and the sound of loud purring announced Sheldon’s presence. The cat looked up at him and blinked slowly, already begging for attention. Heart melting, Alex bent down to pet him.

“Hey, Sheldon,” he said. “I forgot how cute you were!” He smiled as Sheldon rubbed his head against his hand with more affection that he’d likely seen from any other creature on the planet. Well...maybe there was one other that matched it. Alex had heard about how pets could take on the temperament of their owners, and suspected this was a clear example. “He’s gotten so big since I last saw him.”

“Yeah, he’s supposed to be almost two years old, if Escobar guessed his age right.”

Standing again as Sheldon pattered off, Alex returned his attention to the wall of art, looking at the pieces more closely.

“So which one is your dad?” he mused.

Willie untacked one of them and held it out for Alex to examine. “This one.”

Holding the edges carefully, Alex gazed in amazement at the detail Willie had caught. The edges were certainly less defined, but the scene inside the truck was so easy to visualize that Alex could almost feel the leather of the seats and the windchill from the window. He wasn’t sure what began burning in his chest as he peered down at the image, but it was profound and complex.

“I’ve thought about seeing if I could find him, but I think with my memory it’s kind of impossible,” Willie told him.

“He looks so happy here. I don’t get why you would end up as a foster kid.”

“Yeah, I wondered that too. Maybe he didn’t have a choice?”

Alex looked at Willie’s face, and he could tell half of him was lost in a world of what-ifs and other questions. He was always trying to seem so easy-going, and to an extent he truly was, but he couldn’t hide the constant sense of upheaval that rested on his shoulders. At least, Alex was picking up on it more, now that he knew the things he did. He may have been biased, but he couldn’t imagine anyone not fighting their hardest to keep Willie.

Suddenly his gaze was drawn to the unfinished work on the desk, and recognized it as a portrait of himself.

“Wow.” The word fell out of his mouth.

“Oh,” Willie started with a hint of shyness. “Obviously that one isn’t done, so…” He reached to put it away.

“You got that far off of memory, though,” Alex said. “I’m impressed. And you make me look good.” He offered an encouraging smile. “Maybe some time today I could be a model for you?”

Willie cocked his eyebrow, surprise and playfulness making an adorable combination on his face. It made Alex’s smile grow wider.

“Well, we’ve got a whole day ahead,” Willie said. “Your wish is my command.”

“Okay,” Alex said, leaning onto his back foot casually, one side of his lip curling with intrigue. “Well, I wanna see where you go around here. You seem to have a knack for finding the best spots. We can play it by ear.”

“What’s that one song with the one phrase?” Willie asked. “‘Any way the wind blows?’” He sang shyly, clearly playing down what Alex could tell was a nice voice.

“Bohemian Rhapsody,” Alex smiled. Willie’s job at the record store was at least giving him a good taste in music. “Don’t worry, you’ll know everything about the classics once you hang out with me enough.”

An emotion flashed in Willie’s eyes and after a moment Alex realized what those words were actually saying. He held his gaze, hoping he could communicate his intentions clearly, unlike the last time they’d seen each other. Willie swallowed, and his expression remained excited as he loaded his backpack and led them out the door, board in  hand. Alex followed him, deciding not to question which direction they were going.

First, they made a stop to buy a bunch of apples. In classic Willie fashion, he went to a bodega, and this time he communicated with the cashier in rough Spanish. Alex knew he was showing off, and smirked at the notion that Willie enjoyed impressing him.

“So what do we need these for?” Alex wondered as they left the bodega. “Besides a ton of apples for lunch.”

Willie’s secretive smile made Alex raise an eyebrow.

“It’s a surprise.”

A little while later, they stood before the most unlikely place in all of Los Angeles: a horse barn. Staring at the building as if it loomed fifty feet above him, hands in his pockets, Alex gulped and a lump of dread landed in the pit of his stomach.

“Oh no,” he muttered apprehensively.

“Oh yeah,” Willie said, turning to him with a thrilled grin on his face.

Alex wasn’t exactly afraid of horses...he just had no idea what to do around them and therefore was not sure what to expect from them. Also, he would’ve worn different pants if he’d known this was on the agenda.

“I promise, they’ve got some really chill horses,” Willie tried to ease his nerves. “I’ve gone on this trail enough times. Don’t worry, you’ll know everything about riding once you hang out with me enough.” He winked as he threw back Alex’s line with a sly smile.

Unable to argue, Alex shook his head and used the hand in his pocket to gesture forward, signaling to Willie he was up to the challenge. He watched him practically skip inside and he had to jog to keep up after him. They signed in and then were led to two stalls.

Willie immediately gravitated toward a tall golden-colored mustang stallion with a dark mane, apparently both already familiar and happy to see each other. Alex watched him gently greet and essentially coo at it while comfortably stroking its nose and then feeding it an apple. He longed to have that sort of talent with other creatures, and simultaneously realized that he yearned to receive that same tenderness.

Once the horses were tacked up and one of the instructors had given Alex some brief pointers on how to ride, he found himself following Willie on a trail while mounted on a painted mare. The only philosophy he could adopt out here was to be gentle and not get lost.

“Not so bad, your majesty,” Willie called over to him.

An extremely nervous laugh elicited from Alex’s throat involuntarily, only making Willie laugh in return. Alex rode a little closer so they were nearly side by side on the trail.

“I’ve been here once,” he said. “I think I was about twelve? My mom thought that it would make me change my mind about taking ballet classes. We rode for maybe fifteen minutes before I got so nervous we had to turn back around and go home. Never made it through the full trail.”

“Man, that sucks,” Willie commented. “I didn’t know you did ballet.”

“Yeah, that and a few other types of dance. I was forced to quit a little couple years ago. That’s about when we got serious as a band, so I just found something else to bother my parents with.”

He could see the gears click into place as Willie came to a few conclusions about his parents and gave an emphatic nod.

“Well, I’ve always wanted to learn how to dance. That was the one thing Caleb had promised to teach me. He’s the worst, but he definitely knows how to dance.”

Suddenly, Alex remembered watching Caleb’s movements when he’d served him and the boys at the diner. Of course he could dance; everything had been fluid and smooth. All he could say to that thought was “huh,” at first. Then after a few moments: “I’ll have to teach you one of these days then.”

Willie’s eyes crinkled at the corners, happy at the prospect.

“Yeah, okay! Add that to our to-do list.”

Alex chuckled. They had a to-do list now. He bit his lip as he continued following Willie along the trail. It was a gorgeous day and in this area the sky was so clear compared to further inside the city. Greatly contrasting his experience from years ago, Alex felt himself become much more at ease and felt confident enough to take greater control of his horse. Willie pulled out his camera and snapped a few scenic photos every once in a while.

Eventually, they stopped at an outlook and Alex had to take in an awed breath. The view was clear for miles all around them. Green hills spanned the landscape in every direction with patches of city speckled in between. Even the ocean line was visible from there. How did Willie know how to find these?

“Hey, Alex!” Willie called, lifting his camera. “Say cheese!”

Turning to face him, Alex flashed a genuine smile as Willie captured him atop his horse against the scenery. He was usually pretty camera shy, but this time he really didn’t mind. Keeping memories like this actually felt important to him, unlike the many times he’d been forced to pose with his family at functions he’d also been made to attend. Those occasions had always felt so insincere - less about enjoying the memory and more about trying to prove their status as the polished, functional family everyone aspired to.

He saw Willie dismount for a moment and stretch his legs. Gripping the reins and looking around in uncertainty, Alex realized he’d gotten on before ensuring he could properly get off. Thankfully, Willie noticed and came up to him, hands raised.

“Okay, so just...carefully lift your foot out of the stirrup and swing your leg over toward me,” he instructed. Sucking in a breath hesitantly, Alex did as he said. “Alright, then...here.” Willie offered a hand for Alex to grab so he could slide off with ease. Landing on the ground, he leaned into Willie to gain his balance, and felt a congratulatory pat on his back. It took more restraint than Alex anticipated to not simply wrap his arms around him and sit like that for an indefinite amount of time. They had all day ahead of them; he didn’t need the sudden fear of losing him to derail things out of nowhere.

“Sorry if I look like a wimp about all this,” he said, letting go of his hand.

“Nah, don’t sweat it,” Willie assured him, shaking his head. “This is...this is new.”

His eyes seemed to take Alex in from head to toe and Alex could’ve sworn the charge in the air between them would buzz if they got closer, spark if they made contact. It was almost like that moment in front of Willie’s door the week before. For a few seconds they remained locked in that trance before Willie took hold of the horse’s reins and handed them to Alex.

“Technically this trail could take hours, but I’m guessing this isn’t all you’re interested in today,” he said. “What do you say we stretch our legs a bit and then ride back?”

Looking from the reins in his hand back to Willie, Alex nodded.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

Opening his backpack, Willie handed him an apple and then bit down into one of his own. Taking a bite, it was one of the most refreshing apples Alex ever eaten. They walked the horses a little ways and tried to get good pictures of the different views around them. Alex asked to try his hand with the camera and get a few good shots of Willie. He didn’t consider himself a photographer, but he doubted when the photos got developed that they would turn out badly. The way Willie smiled made him seem like he was made of sunlight from the inside out.

As they rode back to the barn, Alex kept replaying those moments where he’d refrained from making a move over in his head. This had been strike two. If he continued on like this, he was going to hate himself for the rest of eternity, he was pretty sure. Was it some weird kind of side effect of the whole ‘Willie come back to life’ thing? Watching him affectionately say goodbye to his horse once they were ready to leave, Alex looked at his own horse and raised a tentative hand up to her nose.

The mare gazed back, patience gleaming in her eyes. He finally set his hand down on her nose and gently rubbed it up and down, smiling a little to himself. This wasn’t so bad. He could do this - it was just a matter of getting through all the barriers he made for himself in his head. Moving his hands from the horse’s nose, he stroked along her neck, and caught Willie smiling at him from the corner of his eye.

“You wanna try feeding her an apple?” he asked.

Thinking for a few seconds, Alex nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

Pulling one out of his backpack, Willie placed it in Alex’s palm.

“Alright, so hold it out in front of you like this…” He positioned Alex to offer the apple. “And keep your palm flat.”

Alex uncurled his fingers and after sniffing at it a little the mare ate it out of his hand. He could ignore the sensation of her mouth touching him because Willie still had his arm around his shoulder to hold him steady. They looked at each other, and Alex wished he could get a proper shot at Willie’s face at that angle with the camera.

“Looks like you’re gonna get the hang of this,” Willie commended.

Alex looked back up at the horse, a little bit of pride swelling in his chest. “Yeah, I think I will.”

Later, they went to the beach at Alex’s suggestion. He was perched on the surface of a picnic table, posed as if he were looking off into the distance. Willie sketched with great concentration, having taken his hair out of his braids so he could run his hand through it. The late afternoon sun brought out all the best color contrasts in their surroundings - one of the things Alex loved about coming to the beach at this time of day.

“So I have a question,” Alex started, trying not to move too much. His tendency to talk with his hands kept getting him in trouble.

“Shoot,” Willie prompted him, not looking up.

“Did Caleb let you go to school or anything? Or did he provide any sort of education at all?”

Squinting, Willie looked thoughtful for a moment.

“So, after the accident, he told me that I’d had to be taken out of school,” he began, continuing to sketch. “Which makes sense, I guess, if I forgot everything. I remember some basic things, like math wasn’t hard to pick up again. Once I was recovered enough to go places, he just let me go to the public library and find whatever I wanted to read. But he always insisted on not having reminders of who I was before and said it was supposed to be helping me ‘become my own person’. He got rid of things like my school yearbooks and old journals and things. I didn’t think anything of it at first because he’d just called it useless clutter and I believed him. As soon as he decided I was fit enough to work in the diner and help out at the hotel, he told me to forget about school. Anything else I picked up was from watching TV, or listening to the radio, or something. Sometimes I’ll just remember I know something after hearing about it and it’s like it was just always there.”

Listening intently, Alex marveled at the whole thing. The fact that Caleb was not only negligent, but actively discouraging Willie from knowing anything, made him wish he could take down the man’s whole career. However, he figured Willie probably had a lot of his intelligence still untapped. If he’d been able to get away from Caleb and somehow create a life for himself in the span of a few months, Alex wondered what else he was capable of.

“What’s something you remember?” he wondered.

“I guess I used to be really obsessed with space. Just planets and stars and all that. I can spout off facts about Jupiter’s moons and stuff like that. Did you know that the moon Europa has a saltwater ocean under a layer of ice?”

Alex shook his head. “No, I didn’t. That sounds really cool though.” He thought of the stickers on Willie’s ceiling and smirked a little before reassuming his pose.

“I sort of wish I could remember being in school,” Willie was saying. “Everyone else seems to just share all of those memories and understand each other that way.”

Alex saw his brow furrow, and could tell he felt left out. He pondered on his own experience growing up in public school. There was almost no other way he would’ve met Luke, Bobby and Reggie if they hadn’t all attended the same schools. While he could easily critique and complain about it to no end, he knew it was a privilege.

“School is definitely hard,” he told Willie. “But I did get my friends out of it, and I guess that makes up for it. If it’s any consolation, you could just complain about Caleb like he was your horrible English teacher who thought he knew more about the subject of your essay, but you cited all of your sources and they proved him completely wrong.”

Willie laughed. “Why? Did that happen to you?”

Alex bobbed his head from side to side and feigned looking thoughtful . “Maybe.”

“I kind of like reducing him to a loser English teacher. He just sounds petty and sad.”

“That’s high school,” Alex confirmed.

Leaning back from his work for a minute to take it all in, Willie brushed a hand through his hair.

“Here, you wanna take a look at it?” he said. Alex hopped off the table and went to stand over Willie’s shoulder at the drawing and was immediately rendered speechless. The detail was impeccable, but Alex was more impressed by the feeling he got looking at it. Willie had managed to make him appear...handsome, and pensive, and fascinating, like anyone else could look at him and create a million unique ideas of who he was. However, it wasn’t anyone else looking at him, it was Willie, and what he’d captured felt like the truth. Alex couldn’t really explain what that meant, only that it was an honest representation.

“Okay, I know I said the one back at your place made me look good, but this is...this is unreal.”

He could see Willie trying to be modest, but the corners of his lips couldn’t stay down. Funny enough, he appeared even more unable to find words, and simply beamed as he looked back and forth between his sketch and Alex’s face.

A sudden impulse came over Alex, and he kicked off his shoes and pulled his shirt over his head, dropping it on top of Willie’s skateboard and backpack. Willie sat looking flustered for a moment.

“Wanna swim?” Alex nodded toward the waves, bidding Willie to follow. He didn’t wait for him to catch up as he immediately began running into the waves up to his knees. Alex knew his pants would be even more ruined the second he hit the salty water, but he didn’t care. Now the sun was beginning to set and the chill of the waves was refreshing, and he couldn’t express what he felt just then in any other way.

Willie tackled him from behind, climbing onto his back and nearly knocking him over into the shallow tide. Clambering back to his feet, Alex splashed water at him. They began a playful water fight back and forth, until they were both drenched. Eventually, Alex tried to catch hold of both Willie’s hands in an attempt to prevent being splashed anymore. He had the advantage of longer arms, but before he could get a tight hold of the second arm Willie’s leg swept under his and they both fell just as a large wave washed over them.

As the water pulled back, they sat in the sand in a tangle, laughing. All Alex could think of was how pretty Willie was in this light, hair swept back off his face with tendrils resting over his shoulders, sun gleaming in his eyes and constantly shining from the inside out. The laughter died between them and he caught a look in Willie’s eye that made him wonder if he appeared to him to be just as perfect in that moment.

This time his mind and body worked in sync as he lifted a hand and gently pulled Willie into a short, tender kiss. All the self-flagellation from earlier was washed away in one pure moment, and exhilaration moved into its place. It felt soft and sweet, just the way he expected it should. Just as quickly as he’d let go, Willie went in for another one, a little longer and a little deeper. One hand remained caressing his cheek while the other wrapped around his upper back. Alex couldn’t help smiling into another kiss; he was too happy to care about anything else. Hardly a week ago, this had been impossible.

As they let go, their hands came together and they looked into each other's eyes, both releasing a relieved chuckle. Willie looked at the rest of the beach behind them and Alex’s eyes followed, but at this hour there were too few people around and no one paying attention to them. Turning back to Alex, Willie sighed and shook his head with a smile.

“Wow,” was all he said, biting his lip.

“Yeah, I’d definitely do that again,” Alex smirked, until the joy in his chest converted it into a full grin.

A wave washed over them again and they both stood, shaking out their hair and trying to wipe off whatever sand they could. Heading back up the beach, Willie grabbed Alex’s hand so they could make their way up together. The sun was nearly set but Alex was sure it had just gone into his chest, bursting with excitement. Once they reached the picnic table, they gathered their things and Willie offered to carry Alex’s shirt inside his backpack on the way home. Thank goodness there were a few patches of grass so Alex could try to get a little more sand off his feet before putting his shoes back on.

“So how long have you been sitting on that?” Willie teased as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and they left the beach.

“Shut up,” Alex laughed, knowing he was being called out.

“No, really!” Willie bumped his side jokingly. “I want to know!”

Tilting his head back to try to remember, it didn’t take Alex long to give him the answer.

“Since day one,” he told him.

Surprise swept over Willie’s face as he looked at Alex.

“Seriously?” he asked.

Alex nodded.

“Me too.”

It was Alex’s turn to look surprised. Without saying another word, he took Willie’s hand in his and then kissed it before continuing back toward his place. The whole way they talked about all the different things they needed to do together in the future. Riding on more horse trails, dancing lessons, skating lessons, art modeling sessions, going to band practices and gigs, visiting the record store while Willie wasn’t working, etc. They both agreed that the entire day technically counted as a date, and all further plans would as well. Alex was reminded once again that he didn’t have a notebook to write things down in, and vowed to have one for the next time he saw Willie. Once they reached Willie’s door, they had already put their shirts back on and it was completely dark outside.

“Are you free any time next week?” Willie asked, still holding onto Alex’s hand.

“I wish I could say yes, but probably not. And as much as I’d love to give you my number, it’s really not the best idea.”

“Well, I could give you mine,” Willie said.

Alex shot him a confused look. Holding up a finger, Willie dug into his backpack until he found his sketchbook and tore off the corner of a page, quickly scribbling one down and handing it to Alex.

“It’s actually the one for work,” he said. “But if it’s what we can do for now, I’ll do it. Kyle won’t care.”

Looking at it for a minute and then stashing it in his now-dry pocket, Alex took hold of Willie’s chin and went to kiss him again. It was really hard to stop, but they soon broke apart.

“I gotta go,” Alex murmured.

Willie only nodded, squeezing his hand before letting go and slipping his own into his pocket.

“I’ll call you.”

“Okay.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Once again heading up the short set of stairs to the sidewalk, Alex rubbed his lips together, relishing in the taste of what he and Willie had just done. He couldn’t imagine anything sweeter.

[fallout-lou-begas]

@casualcatastrophesincorporated asked me over DM: at what size do I draw my comics?

The answer may surprise you! To answer you quickly, all of my comic book pages are currently drawn two-per-sheet on 9in x 12in paper. Each page is 13cm x 21cm, or roughly 6 3/4in x 10 3/4 in; I do all of my comic work in cm just because it’s easier to do the math required for dividing a page into panels in centimeters.

Still...I figure I’ll take this ask and run with it to show off some of my materials and production process so you can see just how and why the art gets put on the paper at that size.

This black sketchbook is my current one. It’s 9in x 12in, or roughly 23cm x 30.5cm, and it’s just a very plain thing I bought from Target (along with all my other supplies). And the stickers of Envy are from @/plumbiart!

Every comic is drawn with just these tools: my ruler, my knead erasers, 0.5mm mechanical pencils, and Fine and Extra Fine Pilot Precise pens for inking. My inking style is extremely simplistic, requiring very little more than outlining over my own pencils. More complex ink effects I handle in digital post-production (corrections, alignment, coloring, lettering, etc.), for which I use GIMP after scanning my own art.

Here’s a few random pages from my sketchbook to show you the kind of scale I work with. On these pages you can see some random character art and practice, plus the rough thumbnails for IKROAH #13 (you can see that the long tall panel of the Forecaster was a late addition, just because I realizedI didn’t need the whole width of the page for that dialogue and wanted to spice it up). There’s also a small unposted comic about my companion dying of radiation poisoning while I get lost in Vault 34.

On these pages you can see some inks for IKROAH #12, plus practice pencils and references for IKROAH #14 and more assorted Agneses. My hand for scale.

However, this isn’t my only sketchbook. Up until IKROAH #12, I actually drew my comic in this brown one, which dates back to high school (!!!) for me. For perspective, I’m almost 26 years old. There’s some OLD art in this one. It’s the same size as my black one.

Here’s some random art from the brown sketchbook, including some Fullmetal Alchemist fanart and the inks for IKROAH #5. As you can see, I tried coloring it myself with colored pencils as an experiment, but ultimately didn’t like it enough to try doing tactile coloring on a whole issue.

When I know that I’ll have a guest artist on a comic, I tend to make detailed thumbnails at half-size so that I can convey to my collaborator the layout of the comic in detail. These, for example, are the original sketches of IKROAH #8 and #11, which were guest inked and colored by @/worthlesssix and guest drawn by @/yesjejunus respectively. Again, hand for scale, and the original pencils are scanned in high-resolution with the issues themselves.

But before I drew in even my brown sketchbook, I drew on plain 8.5in x 11in computer printer paper. The origin of my page size is twofold: before I got my scanner, I needed a page size that was proportionate to the pictures that were taken by my phone camera, and I needed a page size that could at least fit twice on any given sheet of paper I had around me. Additionally, I work two pagers per sheet instead of one page per sheet because the smaller each page is, the less work it is to make, which means the less time it takes to get new issues out. Simple as that, lol.

And I did draw on any paper I could get my hands on, including the backs print-outs I still had saved from college. I didn’t start drawing in my sketchbook until IKROAH #5, and you can see the original inks for IKROAH #4 here.

And here’s some more random art from this computer paper era, including the first never-posted attempt at a reference sheet for Agnes Sands, which I drew sometime in either May or early June 2020 (nearly a year ago!!). Her design wasn’t quite solidified yet (she doesn’t carry the Ratslayer in IKROAH, most obviously) and I’ve also gotten a lot better at drawing in general since a lot of these loose drawings and early comics.

And finally, as an extra treat, here’s my first ever attempt at a comic layout for IKROAH #2, the issue in which Doc Mitchell explains the extent of Agnes’ injuires to her. The actual drawing was my first pass at Agnes tearfully asking if he knew anything about the men who shot her, and the layout to the right of it shows that i originally had a much different layout in mind before ultimately deciding to focus on a perfect grid pattern, alternating between Doc Mitchell’s expressions and her recuperation.

I hope you enjoy this look behind the scenes of my art!

[justdyingslowly]

1. Name justdyingslowly obviously come on

2. Nationality Australian

3. Age 22

4. Birthday nnnah dont feel like it

5. Zodiac sign (or your primal zodiac sign) Libra/Scorpio cusp

6. Gender wamon

7. Sexuality very very hetero

8. Your looks (add a picture or describe yourself) androgenous

9. What do you/did you study? Psychology (focus on sexology) and art.

10. What’s your current job like?/What job would you like to have? I am disabled you think I can work ha sexologist would be awesome. When I was a kid I wanted to be a fireman but Australias always burning

-

11. Your birth order head first

12. How many siblings do you have? 1

13. Do you have good relations with your family? yeah dads finally out of his abusive relationship, nearing age 70 and his emotions and his sexuality are finally opening up for the first time and that makes me SO happy.

14. How many friends do you have? what kind of fucked up question is this.

15. Your relationship status relationshipped. Fiance? got the marriage papers in a drawer somewhere with the car rego but can’t be fucked filling them?

16. What do you look for in a SO? empathetic, mature, calm. Always open to discussion. Prefers to be blunt rather than secretive. Emotional age over 14 (incredibly fucking rare apparently). Puts an importance on context and understanding other views above all else.

17. Do you have a crush? Hellll yeah Crush on my partner and got a crush on a mutual friend of ours who don’t even know hes cute af hehe one day partners gonna accidentally spill the beans and embarrass me coz hes shit with secrets RIP me.

18. When did you have your first kiss? You think I can remember this bullshit? Its not that big a deal

19. Do you prefer serious and meaningful relationships or casual dating/one night stands? One night stand sex almost exclusively sucks. Just. SUCKS. Because neither of you know what the other likes and it ends up being an awkward mix of trying to please yourself while trying to also be considerate.

20. What are your deal breakers? Plugging your ears to anything that feels gross, uncomfortable or disagrees with you. How can you grow as a person without introspection? How can you mold what you think and believe without taking in other arguments and comparing them to your beliefs to see how they stack up? Its pathetic.

-

21. How was your day? cute mutual friend had a fall this morning and were both worried about him. His back is bad and he’s getting a little older, he can’t be getting dizzy and having falls like that. other than that im anxious about seeing my gastro. He’s lovely but... specialists are specialists. Good at knowing what they know but not always great at listening.

22. Favourite food & drink you think im allowed to eat or drink? water and... foods a touchy subject.

23. What position do you sleep in? Usually on my side with a body pillow to grip so I don’t end up choking my partner in his sleep.

24. What was your last dream about? uuhhh...going to italy and being unable to get into this tiny basket boat properly.

25. Your fears does PTSD to medical shit count haha

26. Your dreams ... going to italy and being unable to get into a tiny basket boat thingy?

27. Your goals - get some sort of diagnosis eventually. Its been 3 years of trying and im tired. - get back to studying art part time for my bachelors. - pass JLPT N3. - go back to university for psychology. - do the dishes when I get home.

28. Any pets? two budgies. we also take care of any orphaned or injured birds.

29. What are your hobbies? feeling nauseous drawing writing a little bit im making a little gameboy game in C atm too

30. Any cool places in your area? i live next to a national park with waterfalls and koalas and emus and stuff

31. What was your last awkward situation? mutual friend made a comment on his chest i playfully smacked it (related to the comment) it was surprisingly hard “O-oh wow, thats... I didnt expect that” my partner laughed at me. it was awful.

32. What is your last regret? getting embarrassed at friends pecs stop making me think about it 33. Language/s you can speak english. N4 Japanese.

34. Do you believe in astrological stuff? (Zodiac, tarot, etc.) of course not what the fuck

35. Have any quirks? Quirkless. I do wiggle when im happy though apparently.

36. Your pet peeves open doors.

37. Ideal vacation spend a months chilling in an old japanese house in autumn hokkaido oooooof that sounds nice

38. Any scars? internal? yes

39. What does your last text message say? peepee poopoo ustinky

40. Last 5 things from your search history how do i find this

41. What’s your [device] background? Sam Porter Bridges walkin around Sam Porter Bridges cuddling BB-28 Louise while he sleeps my chicken

42. What do you daydream about? all might

43. Describe your dream home an old japanese house in autumn hokkaido oooooof that sounds nice

44. What’s your religion/Your thought about religion its a comforting thought having a parent-figure who cares about you and looks after all the big things you can’t manage yourself, but institutionalizing it runs a severe risk of becoming harmful cults. And it often does.

45. Your personality type me

46. The most dangerous thing you’ve done i saw the lost bunny that was on all the posters in the neighbourhood looked thin and patchy so i grabbed him to take him home. im allergic. sent me to hospital and I almost died.

47. Are you happy with your current life? feeling sick sucks and partners having a depressive episode but things are pretty good

48. Some things you’ve tried in your life living

-

49. What does your wardrobe consist of? blacks, reds, whites and pinks

50. Favourite colour to wear? at the moment pink. Red is always comforting though.

51. How would you describe your style? mix between lazy alternative punk, teenager with band shirts and harajuku peach kawaii uwu

52. Are you happy with your current looks? kinda wish i was a bit shorter but what can you do

53. If you could change/add something to your appearance - impossible or not - what would it be? bit shorter

54. Any tattoos or piercings? lol no PTSD

55. Do you get complimented often? by who? partner constantly, family haha are you kidding im australian so a friend’s version of showing affection is calling you a cunt and slapping your ass in public

56. Favourite aesthetic? all might

57. A popular trend that you dislike blocking because you disagree or find them distasteful. Ignoring all context to opposing thoughts and arguments. taking a personal feeling of disgust to mean something is evil. Blocking your ears to anything that isn’t a circlejerk of what you already think - and trying to isolate anyone who even just listens to something other then the noise of your sloppy dicks to have a thought of their own.

-

58. Songs you’re currently obsessed with? The Machine by Low Roar

59. Song you normally wouldn’t admit you like. why wouldnt i admit i like a song

60. Favourite genre? probably enka haha

61. Favourite artist/band/genre? probably enka haha oh and tatsuro yamashita

62. Hated popular songs/artists? why the hell would I hate something like a song? I hate aspects of the music industry as a whole I guess?

63. Put your music on shuffle and list first 5 which playlist they aren’t all together in one place

64. Can you sing or play any instruments? piano, saxophone... uh... partners good at making music and playing shakuhachi

65. Do you like karaoke? no.

66. Own any albums? yes? many?

67. Do you listen to radio? What stations? no. but triple J, ABC Jazz and Classical. sometimes they even play final fantasy and JRPG music on classical which is pretty neat. -

68. Favourite movie/series? can i make this about games because then the answer is Metal Gear Solid

69. Favourite genre of movies/books/etc ...shounen?

70. Your fictional crush/es if they’re over 40yrs old, male and happy and bubbily or grumpy and sad then there’s a big ol fat chance I wanna bone. Solid Snake from MGS4, All Might and pretty much anyone drawn by Tarou Madoromi.

71. Which fictional character is you? uh

72. Are you a shipper? List your otps, if so what does this even mean what language is this

73. Favourite greek god? idk hades seems chill

74. A legend from where you live that you like the story of Tjilbruke is funny and good. all Kaurna stories are good.

75. Do you like art? What’s your favourite work or artist? im in a big egon schiele mood atm.

76. Can you share your other social media? no i am incapable

77. Favourite youtubers? many

78. Favourite platform? not too high up. actually i like being a little lower than ground level in corners.

79. How much time do you spend on the internet? too much

80. What video games have you played? Which one’s your favourite? look i just want to say that MGS4 is the best one in the series and Death Stranding is phenomenally engaging.

81. Your favourite books (manga also counts) these are all so goddamn definitive how can I pick? Oh wait the answer is One Piece

82. Do you play board/card games? I play DnD atm and know 15 yr old rules to Yugioh

83. Have you ever been to a night marathon in cinema? that shit dosn’t happen here

84. Favourite holiday golden week coz its a week also easter because thats when all the glucose based sweets come back

85. Are you into dramas? what kind

-

86. Would you use death note, if you had one? no. thats called being a murderer.

87. What changes would you make in the world, no matter how impossible, if you had the power to? chill people out a bit. when people feel unsafe they get really depenfive and territorial and block their ears to everything, making in-and-out groups for themsevles that end up putting them in more harm.

88. Could you survive a zombie apocalypse? im disabled with a disabled partner. we arent funny sure we can survive normal everyday life when society is angled so sharply against us.

89. If you had to be turned into a paranormal being, what would it be? id like to be a mimi spirit

90. What would you want to happen to you after your death? spooky time

91. If you had to change your name, what would be your pick? toshinori yagi

92. Who would you switch your life with for a week? anyone healthy

93. Pick an emoji to be your tattoo that cursed one with the intense eyes and the hand

94. Write 3 things about yourself - only one of them must be true im me im not me im pee

-

95. Cold or hot? cold.

96. Be a hero or be a villain? both are distasteful ideas in reality

97. Sing everything you want to say or rhyme? i can’t do either partner speak sin bad puns and its hell, these both sound about equal

98. Shapeshifting or controlling time? shapeshifting. controlling time is eithe rmanipulative or lonely. shapeshifing is every other superpower at once.

99. Be immortal or be immune to everything aside from natural death? both are deeply upsetting ideas

100. ….. or …..? jiji or ossan? generally Jiji, but ossans can be lovely too.

[crqstalite]

( GLOW UP )

So unlike the rest of you, I’m 14. Meaning I was four at the beginning of the decade. I don’t have drawings from then and honestly the stuff I made years ago I can’t find. Instead, I had to go rifling through my old accounts to find my VERY old DeviantArt account (ConfectionalyYours for anyone curious enough to go looking at an old account I thankfully took everything down from when I moved accounts, and then starr-lani for anyone who wants to see pre-tumblr starr.), and this is what I found during my treasure hunt I deemed safe for my eyes and yours.

Explanation beneath the cut, but the dates for these pictures are: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2018 (later), early 2019, late 2019.

First off, my first actual drawing that I can find. Or paint-over. Obviously a base was used here and it’s for an old next-gen Percy Jackson fanfiction that actually did have over four poorly written books on Wattpad. It was...surprisingly popular if I can remember correctly. The black haired girl was supposed to be a daughter of Hades (Nico and Thalia’s specifically...I hate myself for this honestly), and the orange haired was a daughter of Hephasteus (Leo and Calypso, but Calypso was dead in this fic apparently? I’m not even sure why.). First LGBT couple I ever had though, so good on ten year old me.

Second one was from actually two years ago today. For a Voltron fanfiction that garnered some popularity on Wattpad and Archive of Our Own (if you’re curious, here’s the account it’s posted on >> euphoria_starrs). Honestly, it’s bad and I haven’t touched it in literal years only to crosspost it on AO3 sometime in 2018. According to me, here’s her profile:

“Name: Megan Cordellia Age: 17 Gender: Demigirl Species: Pureblood Galra Height: 5"6 Weight: 121 _______________ Paladin of: former paladin of the blue lion Bayard: sniper rifle (she shares this in common with Lance) Preffered weapon: staff Relationships: New paladins (friends), Alleria (sister of a sort), Sydney (half-brother), Sombrina (friend), Zarkon (past friend; new enemy) Megan, like in the original series, is a Galra female who stayed with the alteans after the death of her mother, father and sisters. However, Megan is outspoken and ready to fight for what she believes in, and will not hesitate to call you out. She can be rash and often not as understanding as you may believe, however she is a Blade of Marmora, and has gone through extensive training and conditioning to the battlefield and results of it. She has a hard time empathizing with people, and that makes her unlikable at times. Unlike Alleria, she has been awake from stasis for two years now, and was a major part of Keith's training, even if he didn't know exactly who she was, and Megan was still conditioning herself to being in a new era. Kolivan and the other Blades do not know she is from another era, however.”

I’m personally horrified, but take that as you will.

The third picture is of the three characters I wrote about from the second picture, from my Next Generation Voltron AU. All Klance kids (I was a horrid person back then, I’m being honest here). The anatomy was so bad, not to say I can’t improve from my most recent works, but I cringed trying to even pick which picture to use from that year that wasn’t going to burn your eyes inside out. 

Honestly these characters had like no character development, and years later trying to pick apart this mess, I cry knowing that I’ve improved tremendously in my writing.

The fourth picture is of the second princess of Altea? Another Voltron OC (I was addicted to it as soon as it came out), named Alleria (so bright, I know). I think she was supposed to be connected to the second character somehow, but the details of this AU allude me so badly. I hate that I deleted so many stories and left myself without even a basic explanation of who these characters even were. I didn’t even write much in the description, other than that it was a redraw of something. Of what, I don’t know.

The fifth picture is a very long story. Short answer is that they were fusions of my friends when i was really into Steven Universe. There are three versions of it, if you’re brave you can look at the first two, 1 , 2  . I personally despise it, and I’m not even friends with some of the people included anymore. Honestly, I had improved quite a bit since the first one was designed though.

The sixth picture is the most recent thing I’ve done. Khaak and Lana, you’ve probably already seen it today. But now I’m even more proud of it looking back at everything else I’ve drawn in the past few years. Obviously my anatomy, shading and coloring has improved (though I have so far to go to even compare to a few of my favorite artists in the SWTOR community here) and so has my storytelling. I don’t know what my roaring 20s will bring for me, but I proud of how far I’ve come art-wise, as a writer and as a person. A happy 2020 to you all!

[henrvkas]

alice crouch — whatever it takes,

isn’t that ALICE CROUCH (LONGBOTTOM)? yeah that is HER, sitting there at the HUFFLEPUFF table with those other SEVENTH years and i think i heard sybill saying they look like NATASHA LIU BORDIZZO… whoever that is! when she looks into her crystal ball she sees piling marshmallows into hot chocolate, colour-coded notes with a rainbow of highlighters, pressed flowers in history books, a girl willing to get her hands dirty, the smell of a coming storm, & smudged eyeliner and last nights mascara. anyway i’ve heard they’re pretty EAGER, METICULOUS, and INSECURE. apparently they’re a PUREBLOOD but i’m sure that’s not related. —— [ mhairi : gmt : 19 : she/her ]

→ NAME: henrika alice crouch → NICKNAMES: alice, ally, rika → AGE / D.O.B.: 18 / 21st september 1958 → SPECIES: pureblood witch → GENDER / PRONOUNS: cisfemale / she&her → SEXUALITY:  heterosexual  closet bisexual

FAMILY → PARENTS: bartemius crouch snr. 46, head of magical law enforcement. henrika jörgensdóttir, 42, writes a weekly opinion column in the daily prophet. → SIBLINGS: bartemius crouch jnr. 18. elsie crouch, 13. → PETS: freyja, barn owl she got for her seventeenth birthday. thór, a toad she got for starting hogwarts.

LIFESTYLE → BORN: glasgow, scotland → RAISED: jordanhill, glasgow, scotland → CURRENT RESIDENCE: hogwarts castle / jordanhill → NATIONALITY: scottish & icelandic → SPOKEN LANGUAGES: english, mandarin and a little icelandic → OCCUPATION: student, prefect, leader of ‘for the light’ → DRINK | SMOKE | DRUGS: occasionally, occasionally, no → RELIGION: raised catholic

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES → FACE CLAIM: natasha liu bordizzo → ETHNICITY: icelandic & chinese → HEIGHT: 5ft. 5in. → WEIGHT: 110bs → BUILD:  medium height and well built → HAIR: long black hair falling to her chest → EYE COLOR: brown → DOMINANT HAND: ambidextrous - preference for writing with her right and wand work with her left → SCENT: aqua manda perfume - mandarin, ginger, lavender, patchouly, cinnamon, juniper berry → ACCENT: thinks she speaks without an accent but it’s fairly obvious she’s from glasgow unless she’s trying to hide it but even then she’s obviously scottish - has an unbeatable connery impression → NERVOUS HABITS: talks to herself when stressed to try and calm down

CHARACTER → MORAL ALIGNMENT: neutral good → MBTI: esfj → WESTERN ZODIAC: virgo sun, capricorn moon, leo rising → CHINESE ZODIAC: dog → TAROT CARD: the high priestess → ARCHETYPE: the caregiver → SONG: short change hero - the heavy

MAGIC → WAND: blackthorn, dragon heart string, 14 ¾", feisty → PATRONUS: dove → BOGGART:  fear of failure can sometimes be a hard thing to have a physical manifestation of. unluckily for alice, with the specific expectations her parents have of her it has many options. Normally her boggart takes the form of a NEWT grades certificate with all failing grades, a riddikulus charm changes the neat “Crouch, H.” to “Crouch, B.”.  → OWLS: alice sat nine OWLs in her fifth year getting three poor’s, one acceptable, two exceeds expectations, and three oustanding’s. Astronomy, P. Care of Magical Creatures, P. Charms, E. Defence Against the Dark Arts, O. Herbology, O. History of Magic, A. Ancient Runes, O. Potions, E. Transfiguration, O. → NEWTS:  now in her seventh year, alice is sitting five NEWTs getting four exceeds expectations and one outstanding in her end of year exams. Charms, E. Defence Against the Dark Arts, O. Herbology, E. Potions, E. Transfiguration, E. she had been sitting a NEWT in ancient ruins but was asked to drop the class over the summer.

BIO

Born in the early hours of the morning on monday the 21st of september 1958 and shortly followed by Barty, Alice spent her whole life in the younger boys shadow.

But it wasn’t just Alice and Barty for long as within a few years Henrika and Barty Snr had adopted a new addition to the family, a tiny halfblood baby named Elsie. From the moment Alice laid eyes on the girl she adored her sister in a way she never would quite her brother.

Srn and Henrika were far from the best parents but in many ways they always tried... or at least Snr did. It didn’t take long for Henrika to grow cold, even hateful to Elsie and then Alice when she stood up for her younger sister.

You see Elsie was the daughter of Henrika late best friend, adopted after the women's untimely demise. Elspeth Hare had been a link to the society Aurelia had missed ever since her marriage, a link to the society her husband fought against. But Elspeth Hare had a secret, one Barty Snr kept too, one that Henrika only found out after baby Elsie had been adopted. Elsie was Snr’s biological daughter, a fact no one but Aurelia and Snr currently know.

Life in the Crouch household was life with strict expectations; you should always be on your best behaviour, always do as your told, never be a nuisance, and always strive for academic excellence. But it was only Henrika that strictly held everyone to those standards, Snr. not minding so much if his daughters couldn’t, after all they weren’t his son and heir.

It’s always been that last point Alice has faltered with, never having been the smartest. Trying to counteract this with hard work she always failed to meet her parents expectations, never mind the fact the expectations were too high. But again Snr. never minded to much… after all Alice was only a daughter not the son and heir but he found her efforts endearing if futile.

As soon as Alice was old enough to realise the different treatment she and Elsie got compared to their brother, Alice took it upon herself to look out for the younger girl, acting almost as the mother Aurelia had never been to them.

Alice slotted into her own place in Hogwarts, a bit of an over achiever but with a good heart she was a shoo-in for prefect since her third year and everyone thought she’d be head girl.

She’s never given up the idea of impressing her parents, even when she failed some OWLs, she kept trying. Even when Barty met every unrealistic expectation she failed at, she kept trying. But when little perfect Barty the family Wizengamot seat on the day they both turned 17 something in her broke. It didn’t help Barty had just got 12 Outstandings the month before.

She gave up in a sense. Gave up trying to impress her parents, gave up trying to win their approval, gave up being a pawn in their games.Dedicating herself to a cause, to fight evil. And in giving up she’s almost got what she’s wanted, showing her father she’s more like him than her brother ever could be.

But in doing so she’s also drawn her mother’s ire, something that materialised itself in a betrothal.

Post Hogwarts her dream career is Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, she’s a spectacular dueller, maybe the best hufflepuff house has ever produced, and an excellent teacher already tutoring a few students. And she’s not afraid of a curse. But with the war brewing it doesn’t feel right not doing something so she’s aiming to become an auror. She can teach once the wars won.

[ahouseoflies]

The Best Films of 2018, Part III

Parts I and II are here and here.

GOOD MOVIES

70. Mid90s (Jonah Hill)- I usually applaud filmmakers for letting visuals tell the story instead of spelling everything out, but Mid90s needs to spell some more stuff out, especially at the truncated end. His brother brought him an orange juice, so all of the abuse is forgotten? I need a bit more there.

I was always going to be in the tank for this though, having been the same age as the protagonist at the time, owning some of the same shirts as him and hanging some of the same posters on my wall. Despite the "My First Screenplay" beef I had up top, each supporting character gets something to do. Hill shows promise as a director (and the fingerprints of his influences) by being able to shift between poles of emotions in a matter of seconds.

69. McQueen (Ian Bonhote)- Although it waits too long to get into McQueen's depression, this documentary does an adequate job of showing the ups and downs of his life. It was great seeing things I've only read about, like the Voss show.

Here's the thing though: I'm not a genius, but if I were, I would hope that my closest friends and advisers would be able to articulate what made me great. A little less "We were working sixteen-hour days." A little more "He changed art forever."

68. Beautiful Boy (Felix Van Groeningen)- For better and worse, this portrait of a parent's worst nightmare is unrelenting. Surprisingly, the toughest moment is when Nic is fierce with pride, clean for fourteen months. Because when you pause and see that there's an hour left in the movie, you shudder at how low he might end up going.

Van Groeningen's sort of french braid of past and present hasn't changed for his English-language debut, but things worked best for me when he locked in on Timothee Chalamet's mannered but touching performance. I wish the movie had a proper ending.

67. The Kindergarten Teacher (Sara Colangelo)- This takes a little while to get sick and twisted, but I liked it once it did. Part of why it works is Gyllenhaal's commitment to the role. As dark as the character gets--and the film does seem hell-bent on establishing her as a failure when I'm not sure that's true--Gyllenhaal never judges her. It's probably her best performance since SherryBaby.

As for Gael Garcia Bernal, who plays a poetry professor who kisses people and then apologizes and says that he misread the moment and acts all bashful, are we sure about him? Are we sure he's good at acting?

66. The Spy Who Dumped Me (Susanna Fogel)- The spywork of the last half-hour is way too convoluted, but the comedy is fast and loose in service of a sweet female friendship. We're at the stage with the genius of Kate McKinnon in which I just assume that she came up with anything funny on the spot. For example, there's an off-hand joke that her character went to camp with Edward Snowden and was surprised that the news didn't mention how "into ska" he was. It's so bizarre that it had to be improv. Later, when Edward Snowden shows up as a character, I had to admit that the movie was tightly written. But I assumed it was McKinnon first. 65. Ready Player One (Steven Spielberg)- Halfway through Ready Player One, there's a sequence that takes place inside The Overlook Hotel of The Shining. The characters are walking through a photorealistic recreation of that setting, down to the smallest details, but it has been repurposed with different angles for this film. Not only have I literally never seen something like this in a movie, but I never imagined the possibility of such a thing existing. And somehow...it's corny and derivative.

So goes Ready Player One. It takes the simple pleasures of a Chosen One narrative with a killer villain, loads every corner of the frame with Ryu or Beetlejuice or a Goldie Wilson campaign poster, and punishes you with maximalism. Each piece reliably contributes to the whole, sometimes in thrilling and amusing fashion, but no matter when you check your watch, forty-five minutes are left.

When imdb came out, Steven Spielberg was one of the first people I looked up. What shocked me was how many projects I attributed to his direction when he had only produced them. In my kid brain, Spielberg had directed Gremlins or Goonies or An American Tail. They had his imprimatur of whimsy and wonder and childhood identification even if they were, you know, a bit more conventional and less purposeful than the movies he directed. Well, not since Tintin has there been a Steven Spielberg-directed film that feels more Spielberg-produced.

My favorite reference was the Battletoads. Or more accurately, imagining the seventy-two-year-old filmmaker going, "Oh, you know I gotta get the 'Toads up in this bih!"

64. Ben Is Back (Peter Hedges)- Despite a little bit of note-card screenwriting--"Get a line about how insurance doesn't care about drug addiction in there!"--The first two-thirds take their time revealing information to the viewer, dropping bread crumbs of the family history quite gracefully. Roberts and Hedges play off each other well, and their charisma powers the first half. She, of course, has an ample bag of Movie Star tricks, but, surprisingly, he already does too. You can see, in the confrontation at the mall, for example, how the mother's dissembling and conniving would pass down to him.

So it's a real bummer when the final third decides to separate the leads and rushes to a baffling conclusion. It falls apart like few movies in recent memory.

63. Avengers: Infinity War (Anthony Russo, Joe Russo)- Whatever. I admire the skill that it must have taken to balance the revolving wheel of characters--even if it does feel like check-ins half the time. The movie is exhausting in a bad way until it's exhausting in a good way. More importantly, here are my power rankings. (Their power in my own heart. Thanos is obviously the most powerful.)

1. Rocket 2. Hawkeye (Renner Season even when it isn't.) 3. The Collector 4. Black Panther 5. Thanos 6. Iron Man 7. Ned 8. Nick Fury 9. Star Lord 10. Thor (His scene with Rocket is the best one in the film.) 11. Gamora 12. Hulk (Your boy is so earnest in this. "They KNEW!") 13. Spider-Man 14. Wong 15. Okoye 16. Doctor Strange (Way cooler in this than his own movie.) 17. Captain America (His hair was beautiful.) 18. Drax 19. Pepper Potts 20. Falcon 21. Groot 22. Black Widow 23. Winter Soldier 24. Loki (Is he alive? Was he alive before this? Can he impersonate people or whatever even if he's dead? What's his deal?) 25. Scarlet Witch (Her first line is, getting out of bed, "Vis, is it the stone again?") 26. Gamora's Sister (No, you look it up.) 27. War Machine (Do you think Cheadle forgets that he's in these? Like, he misses a day of shooting just because he forgot?) 28. Vision 29. Whatever Peter Dinklage Was

62. The Old Man & the Gun (David Lowery)- Sissy Spacek's character explains, on a tour of her house, that she pulled up some wallpaper and found a signature from 1881 underneath, which is so unique that--ugly as it is--she couldn't bear to cover it. The movie is sort of about that. Does a way of life from a long time ago matter now?

Does it matter how you present yourself? How much does intention cancel out action?

The questions play themselves out in a way that is formally interesting--Lowery swish-pans and advances the scenes in a way that he hasn't since Ain't Them Bodies Saints--but informally pretty dull. Redford is engaging as possible, but I feel like I maxed out on my concern for a person who refuses to change.

I've had the Sean Penn "on one" scale for a long time, but I'm introducing the "off one" scale for Casey Affleck, who is so purposefully muted that he seems like he's going to pass out in some scenes. Keep doing you, Case. As far as acting goes.

61. Disobedience (Sebastian Lelio)- I admired how little the film spelled out about the setting and the characters' pasts. The beginning is cautious without being slow, and the women seem drawn to each other with a sort of magnetism that is difficult to pull off. While the triangle of people at the center is realistic and fair, the picture is ultimately a bit staid. I don't want melodrama out of the story either, but I do think it would work better if the characters were more passionate about anything, even the religion that makes them lack passion. 60. Crazy Rich Asians (Jon M. Chu)- This movie is sweet, and it nails the rom-com fulcrum scenes that it has to. Hear me out though: Both of the leads are winning, and Henry Golding's charm keeps us from acknowledging that his character is a psycho. Here is a list of things that, over the course of a year, he does not bother to tell his girlfriend:

a. That his family is the wealthiest in Singapore. Or wealthy at all. But more notably, he tells Rachel no details at all about his family, such as his brothers' and sisters' names. b. That he skipped an important trip home a few months ago, which caused a rift in his family. c. How to pack or dress for their trip to visit his family. d. That his mother did not want them sleeping together at her house, not that he "wants her all to himself." e. That his family wants him to take over their business, which would necessitate a permanent move to Singapore. f. That he went out with one of the women attending the bachelorette party, and that this woman has very good reason to sabotage Rachel and Nick's current relationship. g. That the wedding they're attending is also a super-rich affair that will be covered by international media. h. That the wedding party they're attending the night before is a formal affair with hundreds of guests, not the "family party" that he presents it as. By the way, this is one of the two times that he not only doesn't accompany her to an event, expecting her to meet him there and find him, but he doesn't even send a car. i. That he's thinking about proposing to her. "We haven't even talked about that stuff," Rachel tells her mother.

Communication is key, Nick.

59. Lean on Pete (Andrew Haigh)- I liked the first half and its patient doling out of information. Haigh sews quite a few credible threads to show why the gruff Dell would take a liking to Charley. When the film diverges into a drifter story, I got frustrated with it. To me, drifter characters aren't interesting because they take unpredictable actions, what enliven films, and make them predictable. A dine-and-dash is a dangerous, exciting thing to happen in a movie, but when this scared kid has already done so much similar running, it dulls that edge. This is Haigh's least successful film, but it's still empathetic and sensitive.

58. Hereditary (Ari Aster)- The first third of Hereditary is when it is at its most intimate and compact as a story of grief. And with the bridge of a genuinely shocking event, it becomes less Don’t Look Back and more of a hellish explainer.

Ari Aster is a master craftsman already, investing every element with intention, down to “Why are clocks so present in the frame?” That craft extends to Toni Collette, who is even better than she normally is. But in refusing to be mysterious and small, the film didn't connect with me on a level beyond admiration..

57. Gringo (Nash Edgerton)- The expository information about the company comes too late, the ending is too tidy, and I'm not sure what my girl Mandy Seyfried is doing in this. But it's funny overall, in large part because Theron and Edgerton bounce off each other beautifully, projecting a very specific brand of nouveau riche awful. She says, "Fat people are...hilarious," and he wears too many accessories in his pick-up basketball game, for which there's a running clock.

Many of these crime comedies fail because all of the characters are painted with the same cynical brush, but Oyelowo is so likable here as a frazzled guy in over his head, playing against the type of simmering dignity he inhabited as someone like Martin Luther King. I'm glad that he's getting at-bats with something this different.

56. Bad Times at the El Royale (Drew Goddard)- If you like table-setting (and I do), then this is going to be a fun time. Each room at the motel gets a two-sided mirror, each character is two-faced, many events are presented from two perspectives, and there's even a double in the title. It's hard not to share in Goddard's delight as he patiently lays out all of the Tarantinian pieces.

Once he has to start declaring things though, somewhere halfway in the meandering two and a half hours, the film doesn't end up having much to say. I'm not sure I wanted another Cabin in the Woods ending, but I did want it to add up to more than the modest pleasures that it does. Kudos to Chris Hemsworth and his dialect coach for finally piecing together a serviceable American accent.

55. Thunder Road (Jim Cummings)- As far as calling card movies go, this one is a pretty smart character study. It centers on how the things we find important, the impact of words in this case, can often be the things we struggle with the most, through dyslexia and spoonerisms and messed-up jokes in this case. That being said, no offense, the film would be 25% better with a more capable lead actor. 54. Annihilation (Alex Garland)- Much like Sunshine, another Alex Garland script, this story handles the mystery elegantly, with jolts of real horror, until we get where we're going, which doesn't live up to the promise. I do appreciate that it respects the viewer's intelligence--withholding answers to questions, sometimes never answering questions. I'm grateful that it exists. 53. BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee)- Like Chi-Raq and Red Hook Summer, BlacKKKlansman would make for a hell of a YouTube compilation if you cut together its best moments. It's sharp and vital when it's at its best, which is pretty much any time it's commenting on the present, through "Now more than ever" Nixon campaign posters, mentions of how David Duke's policies might show up in Republican platforms, or the searing epilogue that brings back one of Lee's oldest tricks.

Like a lot of his recent work though, it's a mess tonally, and basic stuff like the timing of the cuts seems amateurish. I also think Lee's relationship with Terence Blanchard is hurting him at this point; the music doesn't match what's going on at all. I wish it hung together better than it does.

52. Widows (Steve McQueen)- This is the messiest film that Steve McQueen has made, which is its biggest strength and its biggest weakness. That loose quality allows for some expressive moves, such as when the alderman candidate takes a real-time two-minute ride from the poor area where he's campaigning to the tony area where he lives, in the same district. This is a film with admirable ambition to go with its cheap thrills.

But that same messiness produces as many bad performances (Farrell, Neeson, and, yes, Duvall) as it does good ones (Debicki, Henry, Kaluuya), and it elides so many moments near the end that I have lingering questions about whether a major plot point was even resolved. This is definitely the type of movie that has a three-hour cut that is better, and I still hope that director's cut doesn't waste five scenes on Debicki's prostitute relationship with Lukas Haas. (Where is his sliver of a face on the poster?)

51. The Death of Stalin (Armando Iannucci)- I feel as if I have to adjust to the astringency of any Iannucci property, and when I do, I laugh a lot. This movie is hilarious, and I'll save you from a list of the jokes that work the best.

Iannucci and his collaborators take one of the most violent, tyrannical periods of history and expose its perpetrators as sniveling, feckless children who might accidentally spit in their own faces as they're trying to spit on someone else's. Destabilizing those in power--in this case de-memorializing them--and portraying them as lost, scared humans is the goal of satire. So even though he does it so well, part of me wonders, "Is that it?" Bureaucracy is dumb? Isn't this an easy target? For what it's worth, I felt the same way about In the Loop, despite everyone else's praise. I'm waiting for Iannucci to find a weapon sharper than the middle finger.

50. Tully (Jason Reitman)- In a way, it's refreshing for a screenwriter to be bad at writing men. The outdated, clueless, manchild dad is the biggest weakness of the script, especially since everything else is pitched with such realism. There's also one scene that I hate but probably shouldn't spoil.

Put aside that character though, and this is a movie with wit, verisimilitude, and even a bit of visual agility. The protagonist--Marlo, a Diablo Cody name if there ever was one--has a special needs son, and I appreciated the honest way that Marlo's frustration with him sometimes outweighed her understanding.

49. Fahrenheit 11/9 (Michael Moore)- Fahrenheit 11/9 is diffuse, but it's effective enough to be in the top half of Moore's work. He stays out of it mostly (besides that familiar narration, as gentle as it is ashamed), but his heart is clearly in the searing Flint section. In fact, I wish he had made a documentary that focused only on that American travesty, not all of them.

He has the same challenge that many of us do--pointing out the crimes and perversions of Trump while keeping the high ground--and he doesn't always avoid the low-hanging fruit. Dubbing Trump's voice over Hitler's is the type of shit that people hate him for. At most turns, however, Moore's choices make sense. A long diversion into the Parkland kids, even though I find them kind of tiring personally, serves as an inspirational peak to the valley of any people of a generation or two earlier than them.

48. Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson)- Many Wes Anderson movies are flippant about death and disease. When the effect works, it's refreshing and disorienting. When it doesn't, like in this movie, it feels cold, as if he's moving dolls around in a playhouse.

But in every other way, the sweet and wry Isle of Dogs benefits as a manicured chamber piece. The details are obvious (the tactile fur on all of the dog puppets), less obvious (a translation provides the legend "very sad funeral" to accompany a news story), and even less obvious (more than one joke about how many syllables should be in a haiku). If the narrative--jaded stray finds redemption through guileless child--doesn't offer much in the way of re-invention for the director, then I'm glad the large canvas does.

47. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsey)- I wanted an artsy crime film, and I got an artsy crime film. I have no idea if I liked it. It's bleak and groady, more of a violence movie than an action movie, concerned with the cycle of abuse and the oily spread of vengeance. It begins twenty minutes after most films of its type might choose to, and it begins in earnest at the hour mark. The atonal Jonny Greenwood score is a perfect approximation of whatever kind of dark clouds are floating in the protagonist's head.

Even when it doesn't work, the film is a reminder that Lynne Ramsey is a real artist. Although this doesn't come close to the catharsis and real-world relevance of We Need to Talk About Kevin, it reveals a focused point of view. Whether it's depicting a sequence through only surveillance footage or cutting to a half-second of flashback, she includes exactly what she wants to.

46. The Commuter (Jaume Collet-Sera)- I gave Non-Stop two-and-a-half stars, and this is a much more elegant version of Non-Stop. Even though it succumbs to gross CGI and outsized conspiracy, the class-conscious table setting is non-pareil, and it lets Neeson act his age.

45. Vice (Adam McKay)- Vice is a difficult film to evaluate because its greatest strength, the resolute, partisan, experimental point of view, is also its greatest weakness, the hand-holding, pedantic, antic point of view. There are moments in this film--the menu scene, the fake-ending--that are more inventive than anything else this year. And credit to McKay for a sui generis structure that covers thirty years in the first hour and two years in the second hour; if nothing else, he has the talent to make unitary executive theory fun.

It's a big, angry, auteurist, '70s swing, so it also takes a lot of chances that don't work and, quite obviously, it wields poetic license in the way that Ron Burgundy swished around a glass of scotch. Sometimes it doesn't know when to trust the viewer, like when it freeze frames and flashes "George H.W. Bush, President, 1989-1993" over a Bush-looking guy talking about "Barbara and I" as his son misbehaves in the background. Through no fault of McKay's, the story feels anti-climactic as well. Although I felt more distance than I expected from events that I consider recent history, the dominoes are still falling in the world that Cheney shaped.

One thing that is less debatable is Christian Bale's transformation into Cheney. That word "transformation" is used any time a famous person wears a wig. This performance, which spans decades and is not directly related to any of Bale's other work, is different. The portrait of Cheney is one of monolithic evil, which Bale suggests, but it's also grounded in reticent, clenched jaw micro-movements. Cheney, who is four inches shorter than Bale, seems like the smallest and biggest man in any room. At this point, if you told me Bale was playing Grendel, I wouldn't bat an eye. In fact, his Grendel might look a lot like Dick Cheney.

[deliciousandfunthing]

#30dayswritingchallenge

Day 18. Post 30 facts about yourself

Let's say I'm basically an open book. Many people can be sure of who I am, but the truth is many of them also don't really know me. I always show my interest and do the things I like openly without a doubt, but I hide my deeper feelings and opinions. Sometimes I rather just listen in silence with no opinion or questions cause I don't want to bother having a drama over something not trivial enough to make a difference in either me or the other person's life. Therefore, fact is most people know me but I still am hiding from them too. I guess everyone does the same, don't you think?

So, let's see the list of things people may or may not know about me..

1. I love food a little too much!

I actually have a strange taste some people may add because there's nothing bad in my food dictionary. Everything is either good, very good, or beyond yhis world HAHA.

2. I hate deep water.

Can't swim, scared of the unknown underwater world

3. But, I love fishes (?)

I hate water yet I love fishes. Aquarium is my comfort place. Always feel at peace and hyped in there.

4. Succulent/cactuses are my soul plant

I can't live without having them around. I feel overly attached to them and actually emotionally invested thinking that I'm kinda similar in character with the plant. Why? I believe cactus looks strong at the outside and can definitely managed living on its own but they long for care and love too.

5. I love cooking but not necessarily good at it.

I love to cook, but I have no confidence cooking for others cause what I thought are good sometimes mediocre or even bad for others. So yeah.. I just enjoy cooking for me.

6. I am passionate for arts and crafts.

Well, again not good at it, just happened to be easily drawn to it

7. A hopeless romantic.

I daydream a lot. Literally every day without any miss and I tend to wish for some kind or fairy tale happy ending. Life's not like that tho so yeah whatever

8. Obsessed with handwritten notes/letter

Always love writing to express my feelings whatever that is. It's a cheesy thing to do, many people would disagree of how this means a lot more than just usual exchange of words, but that's me for real.

9. More insecure than confident extrovert

Most people around me will see a very confident person who won't be afraid to take the lead, ask whatever questions, be noticeable in public, etc. But deep down that's me trying to prove myself to no one cause I have never been content with myself.

10. Oblivious to the core

I am insensitive af lol. I have no idea how I managed to get people open up to me and share their thoughts when most of the time I couldn't figure out what's going on with them.

11. Friendship is my top priority

Nothing comes before friends. I would put them first over anything and this is both a good and bad thing about me.

12. Hate hate hate ants

Somehow they always follow me everywhere

13. Should start taking more care of myself

Both emotionally and physically. I have been neglecting me too much

14. Always have a thing for astronomy

Mostly the stars and planets but love all about the space and its beings

15. Can't ride a bike..

Let's just say walking is already tough

16. Always fall or trip with no reason

This happen all the time. Like seriously all the time

17. In huge obsession for watermelon

In love with everything with it and about it. Just the best fruit in the whole wide world

18. Believe that relationship with God isn't about religion.

This is kinda deep and hard to understand by most people. I don't think I can understand it myself yet. But honestly, I love God and I am trying in my own way to keep building my relationship with Him. Yet, my ways may not be that common so, I always avoid conversation about religion.

19. Trying so hard to reach my life goals

Sometimes I thought to myself that maybe I tried too hard and forgot how it is to live my life

20. Wishing for what seems like a too perfect love life

As I said, I am a hopeless romantic. Honestly tho, my love life hasn't been straightforward and that's just exactly what I am wishing to get. A straightforward love, easy relationship with someone I and people around me can love. I'm so done with the complicated ones, but always ended up with one. I have no idea whether a straightforward love is an impossible wish or I just haven't had the right to find one.

21. Feel a little too childish for my age

I think I should be more mature at this age, yet I have no idea what it is to be mature

22. So in love with dancing

I always find my joy in dancing, whether it's just to let loose or actually doing it seriously. It's actually part of a dream future I have

23. Flowers attract me

A deep interest in flowers has always been in me. Somehow I feel like it's what connect me with my grandmother, but I also want to have my own garden to take care and share with my family in the future

24. Traveling to nature is the best quality time

I can say I had a quality time with people or even myself if we've shared a moment in nature and appreciating it together. Always worked up for a roadtrip to secluded beautiful places

25. I'll be 25 this year and it's nervewracking

I have no idea why but I kinda don't want to have a birthday this year. I want to stay 24 cause I don't want to be old

26. I'm scared of marriage, pregnancy, parenting, and all that follows

This is the truth I've been denying myself and hiding inside my head. I want to get married, have children, build a family, buy a house and all those adult stuff. But honestly I'm sh*t scared of it. Seeing many of my friends are already in that stages of life, I kinda don't want it. I don't feel ready or probably just simply terrified. I'm scared that I won't be able to handle all those things. I don't know ...

27. I may have live my life based on the current

Don't get me wrong I always tried my best in everything I do, I just haven't been able to see the point. I have goals and I want to achieve them. I dreamt and I live on track to realise them. Yet somehow I feel empty not knowing why I am pushing myself so much for these things.

28. I want to be recognised

Words of affirmation is my love language. I always long for an appreciation and recognition. I don't let it bother me or obviously showing it so people were tricked to saying nice things about me, but deep down I just know that I'd do everything to hear that I've done well and is helpful to people around me.

29. I'm selfish and obnoxious

There's no denying I tend to put my ego first and boast about how I have worked so hard to be the person I am. There are traits I like about me and I make sure people heard it

30. I still am trying to know me, the world, and whatever this life is

I may have said 29 things I thought I know about me, but it's keep on changing from time to time. Well, some do stay the same. Whether it's me from the past, me in the future or the current me, I just know that they all trying their best for each other. I may be a damsel in distress, a denial b*tch, a princess wannabe, a loving little woman, a nerdy chubby girl, some kind of overtime worker, weird obsessive foodie, or anything I am from any point of view, but I try and try and try to be true to myself to be a good person for most and to waste no time living in this indescribable world.

I am just me for who I am and who God says I am

[leftnipsdoodles]

almost got ‘em all! thanks everyone for asking! answers are below~

1. What age did you begin getting into art? Why did you get into it? hmmmmm im gonna try to answer this as interestingly as i can. so ive been drawing all my life and i think it was just bc a) there was always art supplies lying around and b) i just had so many things in my head and wanted a way to express them or just get them out. like when i played with my toys i was always completely quiet bc i was imagining everything in my head. sound/speech/words just weren’t as interesting to me as a way to put my thoughts out there as visuals were. also i rly liked ranma 1/2 and wanted to draw it.

4. Do you make merchandise? Favorite kind of merch to make? i don’t. i did think about making charms once, even if just for myself. you know, those cute, chibi-esque ones everybody makes? then i remembered i couldn’t draw sth cute if you put a gun to my head.

5. Who/what are your art inspirations? I listed some of my favorite artists the last time i answered questions like this so i guess this time i’ll go with the ‘what’ rather than the ‘who’. to me, the most inspiring thing are atmospheres. it could be a garbage container with 1000 stickers stuck and half-way teared down on it. the way the colors and rips in the stickers look and how it adds to the mood of the location. or sometimes it’s listening to a certain song at a certain time in a certain place that creates a unique mood and inspires you. but looking at art has never been an inspiration. so there’s that.

6. What is something (a technique, behaviorism, etc.) that you do with drawing that you think is unique to you?

ok but in seriousness, i don’t think there’s anything. any uniqueness comes from a lack of skill and knowledge so i don’t think it’s worth mentioning. like what do you even want me to say?? that i edit pictures i drew in clip studio in ms paint?? bc i do.

7. Describe your style. What would you change? neither here nor there. i feel like you can tell i’m a bit scatterbrained bc my drawings always look like they were done without any kind of direction lmao.. in general, i’d like to draw more realistically. i’d like to look at my own drawings and think ‘this pose looks rly natural, the way the clothes fit, the way the face looks, the perspective, the way this character interacts with the environment; it all looks right’. i’d also like to be able to use colors better but it’s hard when you struggle to name more than 3.

8. How do you get out of an art block? well, usually, I don’t. i’m pretty sure i’ve been in one for the past 3 years or so lmao (lamenting my anguish online) but i’ve been told that just working through it is the best way to go. just drawing. even if you hate everything. future you will thank you for it, bc you’ll probably be learning things while doing so, even if you can’t see it at that moment.

9. Does your style reflect who you are visually or your personality? both tbh. if you saw a pic of myself next to a drawing of proto danny you’d definitely see a resemblance in a way. (things like the clothes i draw him in are a given i think. ive probably drawn 90% of my wardrobe at this point) but my personality too. the things i spend more time on while drawing, the colors i choose, the mood in my drawings. that’s all a part of me. im pretty sure my oc tags are fairly accurate documentation of my mood swings and general attitude towards life throughout time lmao also, this thing i summed up in my tags a few years ago

10. What do you find easiest about drawing? getting the ideas for it

11. What do you find hardest about drawing? actually drawing said ideas. look, the moment i sketch the idea down it’s already 50% worse than i imagined it, then when i go to actually draw the thing it turns into sth so bad that i can’t even come up with a forced joke about the scenario. but anyway, lately the thing that scares me the most about drawing (and why i can hardly do it) is heads. heads heads heads. faces faces faces. i just cant do it man lmao

12. Is art part of your career or a hobby? What is your goal with art in life? my goal is to get a better hobby and to never have to return to drawing ever again. but that’s wishful thinking. i guess it’ll always stay my biggest hobby but i’d consider my life a failure if it ever turned into a career.

13. Advice to give to beginning artists? draw your ideas. never limit your creativity bc you don’t have the skill to express it to its full extent. a crappily drawn picture that conveys a cool idea or creates a cool atmosphere is just as good as an expertly crafted painting that has a lame subject. there’s a reason ppl admire the mona lisa but would rather read 90s manga than stare at that portrait all day. god. i guess motivational speaker is another career that’s out of the question lmao but you get what i mean!!

14. Advice to give to your artist peers?

also don’t take advice from me.

15. What have you drawn recently that you are proud of? ‘recent’ is relative, and so is ‘proud’, but i still rly like how this pic turned out. i just feel like it looks very decided, like i knew what i wanted to do and did it (i didn’t)

16. Show something you drew in the past that shows your improvement. 2017 - 2011

ahh tbh.. looking at this i don’t feel like i’ve improved a lot at all lmao..

17. Show something you drew in the past you’re still proud of. this pic might just be one of my favorites i’ve ever drawn. it’s still alright art-wise and it’s probably the most from-the-heart thing i’ve drawn so obviously, i have a soft spot for it lmao but i also just found this again and i still love it, even tho it’s ugly. also this bone which, infamously, is my crowning achievement

you know what i find funny rn? that it’s hard for me to decide which pic to choose for this question. i mean i went through my old art and cringed a LOT but there’s so many pics that im rly fond of, now that i’ve gained some distance to them. i wonder if it’ll be like that with the stuff i draw now, too.

19. Share a tutorial or reference that helped you. nothing concrete but i’ll mention ‘blind drawing’ again. it helped me get a different feel for the lines i’m drawing and, theoretically, would have made me better at drawing from life too

20. Plug time! Where else can followers find you? in the woods around 3am. don’t make eye contact.

[mrepstein]

Chapter on Brian Epstein from ‘The Beatles: The Fabulous Story of John, Paul, George and Ringo’ by Robert Burt & Jeremy Pascall [1975] 

The Beatle-Maker

On thinking back to the Beatles’ beginnings, or come to that the beginnings of British pop music, a name that inevitably springs to mind is that of Brian Epstein. It was he who was without any doubt the finest manipulator of groups either before, during, or since the rise of the Beatles. His untimely death occurred in August 1967, and in many ways from that point on the Beatles started a slow down-hill slide.

Brian was born on September 19th, 1934, in Rodney Street, Liverpool - an exclusive area well known for its concentration of doctors. The grandson of a Polish immigrant, Brian was the first of two children born to Queenie and Harry Epstein. At the age of four he attended kindergarten, which seems to have been one of the very few, if not only, schools that he ever came to terms with. When the war broke out Liverpool became a prime bombing target because of the docks, and along with hundreds of other children, Brian was evacuated to Southport, a West Coast resort now better known for convalescing. He was sent to Southport College where he carried on, after a fashion, his schooling.

In 1943 the bombing seemed to have stopped, and the Epstein family returned to Childwall, a suburb of Liverpool. Obviously the move meant Brian would have to leave Southport College, and after an interview with the headmaster of Liverpool College he was admitted as a scholar. His stay was not a very long or rewarding one for after a short period he was expelled. Brian once said: “One feature of life which I experienced there and at other schools and even sometimes now, was anti-semitism. Even now it lurks around the corner in some guise or other, and though it doesn’t matter to me any more, it did when I was younger.”

Harry Epstein was wondering whether his son and heir was ever going to find a school which he enjoyed, and the thought of having a totally un-educated son was worrying both him and his wife. Between them they decided, as a result of Brian’s anti-semitic claims, to send him to a Jewish prep school, ‘Beaconsfield’, near Tunbridge Wells in Kent. Brian stayed at this prep school for the longest period of time that he stayed at any school, and when he was approaching the age of 13 he sat the examinations that would determine whether he would go forward to public school. Needless to say, the outcome was... failure.

To say at this time Harry and Queenie were immensely worried about their son’s future would be a gross understatement. However, they found a private school for their son in Dorset. At this school, if nothing else, he was allowed to express his flair for art, and remembers it as being the only thing that he was remotely good at. Back in Liverpool at this time, Harry Epstein was trying hard to find a good school for Brian before it was too late. His hard work bore fruit, for in the autumn of 1948, just as Brian had turned 14, he was notified that his son was to attend Wrekin College, in Shropshire.

At Wrekin, Brian discovered that he had another talent besides art. He took part in school plays and found that his performances were being praised by the teachers. It must have been the only thing young Epstein was praised for, and before he had the opportunity to sit any examinations he decided he wanted to leave school and become a dress designer. Brian might have wanted to become a dress designer but his parents had other ideas, and on September 10th, 1950, aged very nearly 16, he started his first job as a sales assistant at the family’s local furniture store.

He started work at £5 a week, which really wasn’t a bad wage at that time, and slowly but surely built up some kind of interest in his work. His parents were pleased as this was the first time in his life that he had shown concern for anything. Mr. and Mrs. Epstein were satisfied and happy with their eldest son. Things were on the up and up for Brian.

On December 9th, 1952, as though he hadn’t gone through enough discipline of one sort or another, a buff envelope arrived through the door notifying him that he was to attend a National Service medical. (In those days National Service was compulsory). He passed his medical as an A.1., the only A.1. achievement he had ever received. And so he began his two years’ service as a clerk in the Royal Army Service Corps.

Secure Businessman

Within 10 months of joining the army his nerves became seriously upset. He reported to the barrack doctor, and after a thorough examination he was passed on to a psychiatrist. After four psychiatric opinions they came to the conclusion that Private Epstein was just not fit for military service - and discharged him.

He arrived back in Liverpool prepared to work very hard at the furniture trade. This he did, and seemed to settle into some kind of routine way of life. His parents were happy. For no apparent reason at this time Brian’s old love for acting returned, and he regularly attended the Liverpool Playhouse. He began to meet the actors socially, and started toying with the idea of acting as a profession. With the encouragement of the professionals Brian got himself an audition at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and after reading two pieces, excerpts from ‘Confidential Clerk’ and ‘Macbeth’, he was accepted to begin studies as from the next term. So at 22, although a secure and aspiring businessman, he submitted himself once again to the rigours of community life, and became a student at R.A.D.A. It didn’t take Brian too long to realise that studying just wasn’t his forte, and he went back, once again, to the furniture business - where it now seemed that he was going to spend the rest of his working life.

The Epstein’s store was at this time expanding, and they opened another branch in the city centre. Included in this branch was a record department which Brian took charge of. Anne Shelton opened the store, and from that first day it began to flourish. Although most of the records Brian sold were pop, his real interest lay in classical and his favourite composer was Sibelius.

In 1959 the Epstein’s opened yet another store, this time in the heart of Liverpool’s shopping centre and opened by Anthony Newley. By autumn 1962 Brian’s store, for he was in complete charge of the city centre branch, was running to absolute perfection.

The Beatles 

At about 3 o’clock on Saturday October 28th, 1961, a young customer came into the store, dressed in the usual costume of the time - black leather jacket and denim jeans - he said: “There’s a record I want. It’s ‘My Bonnie’, and it was made in Germany. Have you got it?” Brian knew his stock inside out and gave a negative nod: but the old policy of keeping the customer satisfied was now to pay handsome dividends. “Who is it by?” asked Brian. “You won’t have heard of them” said the young customer, “it’s a group called the Beatles...” He learned that they had just returned from Hamburg, Germany, and were currently playing a residency at the local Cavern club.

Curiosity overtook Brian, and he decided to visit this cellar club and find out what it was about this group that made the locals react as they did.

He wasn’t too impressed with what he heard, although he found their personalities magnetic and for this reason he stayed until they completed their set. When they left the stage he was taken to the band room to meet them, but merely for the purpose of asking them about their record. George was the first to speak to him. He shook Brian by the hand and said: “What brings Mr. Epstein here?” They obviously knew of him from the record store. Brian went ahead and explained the situation about the several requests he had had for their record. George called over John, Paul and Pete Best - and said “this man would like to hear our disc”. They played it to him, and on hearing it Brian asked the four young lads to visit his office a few days later. Their first meeting was set for December 3rd, 1961.

Brian, even if he was thinking about it, had as much idea of artist/management as he had about flying to the Moon, but something inside was burning to get these four scruffy kids under his ruling. The four of them arrived at his office as arranged, although Paul was a little late. They passingly discussed the future and contracts and then moved on to other topics of conversation. They drank a lot of coffee and arranged another meeting for the following Wednesday. In between time Brian paid a visit to the family solicitor, Rex Makin, to discuss what an artist/management contract consisted of. On asking him this question and then explaining the reasons for asking it, Makin added dryly, “Oh, yes, another Epstein idea. How long before you lose interest in this one?”

Signed, Sealed And Settled

The second meeting took place as arranged, and with all members sitting in his rather plush office Brian said: “You need a manager, would you like me to do it?” There was a pregnant silence, and then John looked up and said “Yes.” The others all agreed, and John again said: “Right then Brian. Manage us, now. Where’s the contract? I’ll sign it.” Brian had very little idea what a contract looked like, let alone could he produce one. But within a week Makin had drawn one up, and the following Wednesday it was ready for all to sign. John, Paul, George and Pete Best all put their signatures to the contract, and all were counter-signed by witness Alastair Taylor, Brian’s assistant. The only signature that was always conspicuous by it’s absence was that of Brian Epstein.

First Audition

Brian felt that the first task of a manager was to secure for his artists a recording contract. He managed to lure Mike Smith of Decca to the Cavern to see and hear the Beatles at work, and what Mr. Smith heard knocked him out. He went back to Decca and arranged for the four lads to attend an audition at the famous Decca Record Company. The boys plus Brian arrived in London on New Year’s Eve, 1961, and the following morning, with Brian at their sides, went to the recording studio for their first audition.

They played several numbers which were duly recorded, and having completed their task returned to Liverpool to await the voices from the hierarchy of Decca. In March 1962, three long months later, Brian was summoned to the Decca offices to meet Dick Rowe and Beecher Stevens, two important executives. On arrival he was shown into their suite of offices and asked to sit down. Dick Rowe was spokesman: “Not to mince words Mr. Epstein, we don’t like your boys’ sound. Groups of guitarists are on the way out.” Brian tried to hide his immense disappointment and replied: “You must be out of your minds. These boys are going to explode. I am completely confident that one day they will be bigger than Elvis Presley.” Dick Rowe was rather taken aback and, thinking it was Brian that was going out of his mind, said: “The boys won’t go, Mr Epstein. We know these things. You have a good business in Liverpool. Stick to that!”

Thus ended the Decca saga. Brian, however, was determined that someone somewhere was going to like his Beatles. Pye, Philips, Columbia and countless others all rejected Brian’s tapes. ‘There’s nothing there’ they all said in their voices of authority.

As a final resort Brian was going to have an all-or-nothing raid on London. If nothing happened this time he would call it a day. He hadn’t any idea where he was going to take the tapes, but he was determined to secure a contract. Through a string of coincidences Epstein met up with a gentleman named Syd Coleman, who was a music publisher looking for songs. Brian played him the boys’ tapes and Coleman liked what he heard. He would, however, like a gentleman called George Martin to hear them, and would Brian take them along to a company called Parlophone (part of the EMI group) and play them to him? This Brian did, and Martin hearing the tapes and having nothing to lose invited them along for an audition.

A few weeks after the boys had completed their second audition Martin wrote to Epstein and offered him a recording contract. That elusive sheet of parchment was at last reality. The only bad side to the audition was the fact that George Martin didn’t consider Pete Best’s drumming suitable for the band. The other three were also appealing to Brian to ask Ringo Starr, the drummer to join the group. Brian was reluctant, but George Martin’s hint made him realise something must be done, and so one afternoon he broke the bad news to Pete Best. He didn’t want to do it, but he realised it would be best for the Beatles.

On their first actual recording session the boys put down two songs of their own: ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘P.S. I Love You’. On October 4th, 1962 the record was unleashed upon the world, and within a matter of weeks ‘Love Me Do’ had reached the no. 17 position in the British charts. George Martin, who quite honestly was amazed at the progress of this record, realised the need to bring out another single quickly, and almost immediately did another session with the boys. About this time he introduced Brian to an old friend of his, Dick James.

Brian went along to meet Dick James, who at that time occupied a one-roomed office in the Charing Cross Road. Dick asked him to sit down, and takes up the story from there:

“He had with him a rough acetate of a session he had just completed with George Martin. I put it on my record player and I heard this song ‘Please Please Me’, and I just hit the ceiling. He asked what I thought, and I said ‘I think it’s a no. 1.’, I picked up the telephone and called a friend of mine, Philip Jones, who at that time was a light entertainment producer at ABC TV, and he was just starting a new show called Thank Your Lucky Stars. The breaks started to come virtually from that moment.”

The Midas Touch

Brian was suitably impressed, and agreed to let Dick have the publishing to both sides of the forthcoming disc. As it turned out Dick was right and the record did make no. 1.

The song that George Martin wanted to follow ‘Love Me Do’ with was in fact given to him by Dick James. A song written by an up-and-coming writer called Mitch Murray, it was entitled ‘How Do You Do It?’, but the Beatles couldn’t get into the song so they dropped it. Brian had realised the potential of this song though, and asked the only-too-pleased Dick James if he could have it for another Liverpudlian group that he had just signed. Dick agreed, and Gerry and the Pacemakers certainly did do justice to the song and took it right up the charts to the no. 1 spot. 

And so the hits went on and on and on. Everything Brian touched turned to gold. He signed Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, and they too wallowed in hits. Cilla Black, the Fourmost, the Big Three, the Merseybeats and many others followed. He formed an empire and called it NEMS (North East Music Stores), which he named after his record shop in Liverpool. Brian went on to shape the Beatles in such a way that they were shortly to have no. 1 records with everything that they released. Last but not least, they were to ultimately conquer the world.

Unfortunately, with the success coming at the phenomenal rate Brian was getting it, the pressures began to grow. He started working a 25-hour day, eight days a week. He was careful not to lavish too much attention on any one act, and tried (unsuccessfully) to share his devotions. He was devoted to his artists, and saw more of them than he did of his family. One can’t help feeling though, and if Brian were alive today he would probably clarify this, that the Beatles were his first love - not because they were the most successful, but because they had an affinity that Brian had never experienced before. He gave these four suburban lads the world, and gave us all the Beatles, Nobody could ask a bigger favour of anyone than that.

Sad Death

A few years later, when the Beatles were in Bangor studying meditation under the Maharishi Yogi, Brian was found dead in bed in his Mayfair house. The coroner pronounced the death as accidental, due to the cumulative effect of bromide in a drug known as Carbitol. Brian had been taking this for some time because of the ever increasing pressures, which in turn led to insomnia. The world had lost a man whose foresight was greater than any music personality before or since. The Beatles had lost more than they could have possibly imagined. Brian Epstein was a fifth Beatle. He was as much a part of them as they were of him. Words can’t adequately describe the loss of a man of his stature, but perhaps the last words should come from his long time secretary Joanne Newfield:

“A lot of people seem to forget and they say ‘oh he didn’t do that much’, but if you look at the record since his death it makes you wonder. A lot of people say that the Beatles made Brian Epstein; I don’t think Brian Epstein made the Beatles, but I think he did a great deal more than he is given credit for. A lot of managers could have found a group like them and completely messed them up. It wasn’t just their talent alone, it was their talent plus a very creative person behind them. Maybe business-wise he wasn’t the greatest, but creatively he was a genius.”

[girlonthenet-xo-blog]

20 facts about me

1. I love food…who doesn’t! My favorite starter on a meal out to the pub would have to be either tempura king prawns or garlic mushrooms, my main would have to be either sausage and mash with gravy and loaaaaads of veg or a bacon and cheese burger with chips, and my dessert would have to be a waffle with chocolate sauce and ice cream or apple crumble and custard.

2. I am a musician. I love singing and writing my own music it fills me with a sense of enjoyment that I can get my feelings down on a page and get all my points across however, I hardly ever sing these songs to people because in my opinion they’re really bad!

3. I am currently studying my A-Levels and sixth form and my god is it difficult! “You only have one academic subject!” the teachers keep saying but what they just don’t understand is that art and music has a lot of effort needed to be put in as well if not more than English Language at the minute.

4. I have the most amazing online friend! He is literally the best, I can talk to him about absolutely anything that I’m worried about and it’s just great having him being there for me whenever I need him. He is one of those friends that you just cannot go a day without speaking to and maybe that is a little odd but do I care? Nope.

5. I have two dogs. Although this is something that is cliche to some people my puppas are my life! They just make me so happy. I love having them there when I walk through the door and they start greeting me and I just think, it’s nice to be so appreciated by pets. 

6. I love nature. My favorite colour is green and I love anything green! I love trees, I love leaves, I love being in the great outdoors! Being in the woods is amazing because you hear so many sounds and sometimes when everything is quiet except the leaves beneath your feet or the trees blowing in the wind it is just so peaceful. 

7. My favorite season is Autumn. The season of pumpkin spice and all things nice! I love when the leaves turn orange and brown and go crisp on the pavements crunching beneath your feet. 

8. Sometimes I get low. I mean doesn’t everyone? I don’t mean get low as in dancing I mean really low, emotionally low. Sometimes it’s hard to talk about but I think this is one of the things I am going to push on my blog. I think people are so unaware of things going on in peoples minds and it’s time to start speaking out! 

9. I love Halloween. It is my favorite celebration although for some strange reason it hasn’t really been a big influence in my families lives, we have never decorated the house on Hallows Eve which is something I intend to do when I am older and I have children of my own. It isn’t just Christmas that spreads joy! So does spook ghouls.

10. I love interior. Although I haven’t done much with it I love designing furniture and layouts on multiple apps that I use. If you’d like to know those apps just ask away! I visited a University where I looked at different types of art and design and although my kind of art is illustration I was drawn to the interior section of the building.

11. I love coffee. It is like my savior…without coffee my day is literally hell on earth. I feel groggy and I can’t wake up so yeah coffee is my fave drink ever. Not to mention the wonderful different types! Before I started my diet I had to have two sugars in my coffee which sweetened it now I have no sugar and the taste of coffee is much much better. I love caramel lattes too and gingerbread lattes from costa!!! And let’s not forget to mention the oh so famous caramel frappe from McDonald’s and Starbucks…yep heaven!! 

12. I love my best friend and he knows and that’s good because he loves me too apparently. Which brings me into the fact that I am a very cheesy person…without intention sometimes…okay so I know it can be annoying when someone is nagging but apparently I nag too but I’m only human guys! 

13. When I was 13 years old I went through a really tough life experience which I know many teenagers battle. And I’m not going to go and self diagnose myself with depression or anxiety but I do have depressive episodes and most of the time I don’t know why however when I was 13 it was at its height and I’m always in fear that another one will soon come back around just as bad as the one those many long four years ago. Although I have had a few that have been minimal I have still had what I call low depressive episodes and it is so hard to explain to somebody why I get them. Part of the reason I’m doing this blog is for that reason just as a reminder that I can let these things out and that’s partly why I like the idea of being anonymous. I can be myself. And I know it’s wrong to say that and not show myself but it’s my way of coping with it and hopefully, if I get any readers, you will understand but I may just be talking to myself right now and that’s fine too because I know deep down it’s helping. 

14. I write way too much…as you can see I wrote quite a lot in the last point that is a tendency I do a lot!! Especially in word counted essays…I am very bad at word counts. 

15. I love special effects makeup. Okay so fun fact about me I love makeup, any type of makeup will do but I love sfx makeup and doing it for others or for myself and so I hope to be sharing that on here with people or with myself obviously but hey ho! Life goes on. 

16. I love quotes…I have a thing about quotes I’ll probably post quite a lot on here, the only thing with quotes is I like them to be personal and meaningful to me otherwise they don’t hold meaning however they might to others and that’s fine. 

17. I still sleep with a teddy bear. Yep you heard me, 17 and Dogsby (weird name but I love him) still sleeps with me. Only if I’m on my own. If I’m sleeping in the same room as someone else I no longer need him but he’s always there to help me out when I’m alone in the dark which is another thing I am terrified of the dark! 

18. I have a phobia of clowns and dolls. By clowns I don’t mean IT 2017 I mean IT 1990. The classic clowns. Ronald McDonald and all that jazz. Despite my love for chicken McNuggets and ketchup Ronald McDonald is the biggest fear of my entire life…if there’s a McDonald’s with a statue of him I will not go in. Absolutely not. And as for dolls well why the hell would anyone want an Annabelle sitting in their bedroom? Honestly…I don’t just mean conjuring style dolls but any china doll in general. No. They just can’t be near me at any given time. 

19. I originally wanted to be a music journalist and I was told if I wanted to do journalism I had to first start blogging about the topics I liked/loved. So you could say this also has influenced me to set up a blog account.

20. I love the sound of rain! It is just so calming and whenever it’s raining outside I seem to have a much better sleep when it’s raining. I also like listening to it during revision time because it helps me concentrate more.

[baereaved]

All of the odd-numbered OC asks!! >:3c

u devil~ thank u for all the asks omg

send me some oc questions~

1. Your first OC ever?

kairos. i think. probably.well in all honesty i had plenty of self-inserts before him OTL OTL OTL but i think  he was the first proper oc i madei might just think he was first bc he was the first one i hallucinated, but eh. he’s been around a good while

3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else?

i haven’t omgstraight up didn’t know that was even, like, a thingsomeone let me adopt ur child

5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be?

screamsmorgan, probablyi mean u can’t rlly know morgan w/o knowing the other dozen ppl in his universe anyways sOplus he’s adorable and important to me, so who better, reallyi feel like he’d be the one i’d write about if i was gonna, like, make a book or webcomic or smth

7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories?

in the sense that i’ve made them up, then yesand in the sense that some of them are ocs for other actual stories, then also yesin the sense that i’ve ever written anything for them, absolutely noti’m way too lazy to write OTL OTL OTL

9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else?

i mean someone can take catboy if they really want them like they were a Mistakebut for the most part i quite like having them all to myself lolololol

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”?

jesúswhich makes sense, considering his namesakein my mind when i made him i was like “if ur gonna name him jesus u can’t be givin him all the perfect traits like he still needs flaws and things” and then that just. didn’t happenhe is sweet and gentle and quiet and kindand also he’s traumatized and terrified of acting out and he screams in his sleepbc i’m a terrible person and i love to torment my smol kids

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs?

god, all of themcielle, notably, since she will fuck u up and also. winters. she’s literally my dgm oc whose general is winters and they get along terrifyingly well, so. yes.also katrina and benji and dessa and hendrik and reese and rien and nyla and listen, i could go on

15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people?

yes, absolutelyi also enjoy it when ppl tell me abt their ocs, mostly so i can grill them for oc info lololol

17. Any OC OTPs?

jesús and luc, dessa and shiv, olivia and ekundayo, rien and the sweet embrace of deathi rlly need more couples so, like, subject to change

the rest are under the cut~

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

i don’t think i even could pick oneumi haven’t mentioned enlil yet, i suppose, and i mean? he’s not very developed, but he brings me an indescribable amount of peace when i talk/think about him, soi’m not actually sure if it’s okay for me to use that name, but eh. if not people can yell at me and i’ll change it. names are hard sometimesbut anyways i don’t have much of anything on him? he’s deaf. generally pretty calm and relaxed. like shiv, except actually a good personidk what it is abt him, he just?? puts me at peace? makes me feel good? like i only made him last year but he’s like, the personification of what nostalgia feels likeso he’s really important to me just bc of how comforting he is. like just thinking abt him could probably get me out of an anxiety attack

21. Your most artistic OC

santa is my nameless oc (as in, the game. he clearly has a name) so 1. he is art and 2. he is an artist himself lol, mostly a painterhelena is pretty artistic too, and is a sculptor

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

already answered~

25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?)

listen okay all of them started out as self-inserts. all of them. they’re all at least partially based off me.i’ve been thinkin abt this for an hour and i still can’t come up with anything OTL i’m p similar in different ways to all of them, so i’ll have to leave it at that lol

27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song?

already answered~

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going?

nyla, for fun, and benji, bc he’s Cool and Edgy and mr. survivalist who would probably be an actual detective if he wasn’t, like, 14

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really)

i was gonna talk abt my bae rosaire here but he’d be a youtuber, somona is my edgy 13 yr old bab who would probably have a blog full of anarchist shit and different alternative rock lyric postsalso, she’d be part of that shoplifting side of tumblr

33. Your shyest OC?

rosetta nicoletteshe’s the softest and purest and everyone needs to protect her

35. Any sibling characters?

pollux and isabela……i think that’s it. i need more siblings asap

37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human

santa’s a doll. dessa and shiv are a demon and angel, respectively. i have a couple other angel charas too that don’t have names yet but are gorgeous, so |D also all my space charas aren’t human. opluxx is an ogre. i think. catboy is self-explanatory.

39. Introduce any character you want

ekundayo is my beautiful bab and also olivia’s long-distance gfi haven’t done a ton of development on her but i love her bc listen they’re one of those relationships where olivia is literally the most stoic intense fucker around who will kill u and ekundayo is the purest and softest around everyone but then u see them together and olivia’s obviously happy and totally whipped by her sweet but also unexpectedly dom gf and i love them, okay

41. Has anyone drawn fanart of your OCs? If yes, maybe show a picture or two here (remember sources & permissions!)

well. yes, but we had a falling out since then, so i feel it’d be wrong to post it herei’d love to see some more fanart of my ocs~ i should commission smth from someome sometime

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confess

already answered~

45. A character you no longer use?

o'malley johnson, valentia, kiriko and akumukiriko and akumu were my old bleach ocs, o'malley johnson was just a kickass dude, and valentia was my stereotypical yandere childsimce i don’t care for bleach anymore and i don’t have universes for valentia or o'malley johnson, i haven’t done much w/ them, but i still like the last two

47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child?

i don’t think so? maybe. hmu

49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memes

god, rienrien would be the worst anti-sjw shitty memelord and i ha te

[foggyfenmonster]

1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24!

[from this list!]

thanks so much for the questions!!!

17, 21, and 24 you can find here!

1. When did you get into art?

i’m basically a kid who never stopped drawing; i was interested in art from a very young age! on my birthday i always wanted to go to the art museum, and when my elementary school had an art festival i would coerce my parents into taking me lol :’D

i started drawing in a “serious” way at around… 10 years old? perhaps a little earlier… that’s when i started to share my art with others online! i also went around asking for tips and critique, studying anatomy, practicing my observation skills, exploring new mediums… basically, i started looking to improve, rather than just drawing to not be bored like you do as a child? that’s how i define me “getting into art,” anyway!

2. What art-related sites have you ever signed up for?

strictly art-related: deviantART, Art Fightused for posting art: tumblr, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Toyhouse

6. What levels of artistic education have you had?

i have taken high school art classes and drawing college courses - i’m currently majoring in graphic design, so my journey ends not here…!!

9. What is your least favourite piece that you have done?

i’m going to limit myself to 3 years old at the most (so, 2015-2018 art) and finished pieces only, because hating your old art and digging scrapped doodles out of the trash are both way too easy 

……..with that in mind, this one sucks 

10. What do you like most about your art?

one of my drawing professors said my art has a very personal feel to it, that i capture the physical feel of the human body in the character of my linework, and honestly that’s glowing praise that i can only hope to claim but i do agree my ability to capture people emotionally is pretty strong! i think there’s something deep inside me that just knows the small ways that people seem to behave and it leads people to be able to tell a lot about my subjects just by looking at them

11. What do you like least about your art?

stylistically, it borrows from a lot of style traditions, so i get people who call it “cartoon” and people who call it “anime” in equal numbers annnd i never know what to tell them because i don’t think it fits neatly into either??? :’D 

i also picked up on a lot of ~~~tumblr sjw~~~ art trends by accident and i constantly worry that people think i like steven universe because i like animal crossing noses and draw fat people sometimes

12. Have you ever considered taking commissions?

yes! i want to open them this year…

13. Are you looking to pursue a career in art?

Perhaps… i am studying graphic design obviously but who knows if i’ll actually get a job in that or if i’ll be happy baking bread the rest of my life

14. What do you like drawing the most?

my OCs obviously of course, mostly human creatures, long curly hair, loose fitting clothes, birds, wings/feathers, faces, legs

15. What do you like drawing the least?

animals that are not birds, anthro animals, straight hair, furniture, lace

16. Do you draw more fanart or original art? If fanart, what fandom do you draw the most of?

i draw mostly original art! i don’t know what fandom i’ve drawn the most for even is, honestly… it’s probably between kirby and pokemon?

18. What is your purpose for drawing?

drawing is fun and i like it

i want to tell good stories, i want to make people happy, i want to make people laugh, i want people to have hope for themselves and believe that things will get better for them, and by making art, i strive to improve others’ lives in the same way that art improves my life!

19. What medium/program do you use the most in your art?

digitally, i use a wacom bamboo tablet from 2012, gimp 2.8, and win7 mspaint 

traditionally, i use mechanical pencil and acrylic paint the most! but i have dabbled in stuff like crayons, colored pencils, soft pastels, and polymer clay

interesting fact: a majority of my traditional paintings are done with my left hand and my fingers!

20. How would you rank your art? (poor, mediocre, good, etc.)

my art is Good

23. What do you think you could stand to improve on?

a lot of my techniques could be optimized; as of right now it takes me a really long time to complete anything

subject variety has been a problem of mine for years and years because forcing myself to draw new things is really hard 

[lexxikitty-blog1]

Soul Unique by Gun Brooke Read: February 2016 Rating: 4.75 Stars

My first book by this author.  Truth be told, I had actually been interested in this specific book for a while now, but two things kept me away.  I think, and I could be wrong here, but I think I had briefly tried one of the author’s other books and couldn’t get into it.  It was a science fiction book, and if she hasn’t written anything like that, then I’m obviously thinking of someone else.  (I looked it up, I am thinking of and indirectly referring to <i>Protector of the Realm</i>, the first book in a science fiction series by this author – mind you, there’s a reason it isn’t on a DNF, or paused shelf – I’d read the sample, not attempted to read the book).

The second reason for my hesitation is something that I would normally not allow to influence me.  The cover.  The cover with two fake looking 3d avatars.  I’m the kind of person, who is sometimes drawn to off-ball covers, but something about 3d avatar covers pushes me away, and so, I was pushed away because of the cover.

Characters One point of view – that of Greer Landon. Greer Landon - art gallery owner (a network of galleries, not just one), has a big reputation in the art community.  Her age, if given, isn’t clear.  She’s apparently older than Hayden, though I’m not sure how much older.  Several comments, which would lead one to think ‘much older’ could also be ‘much more experienced’ type comments, which can be made regardless of age.   She is also wealthy.  Whether from her own efforts or family money is unclear.

Hayden Rowe - 25(?) – from an old family with lots of money.  Aspergers’ syndrome.  Very bad relationship with mother and father who, apparently, have no ability to deal with the facts involving their daughter (more the mother who can’t handle it, and a father who doesn’t help the situation, but still, both).  Has good/close relationship with grandmother, though grandmother had a stroke a year ago.  Book opens with Hayden living in an art school, in one wing of it, on a cot.  Art school owned by her mother.  The same mother who treats her daughter like a stupid retarded (I use that specific word on purpose) moron.

Others: India and Erica – India is Greer’s assistant, and Erica is India’s partner.  If it isn’t clear, everyone in this sentence is a lesbian.  

Hayden’s mother, Leyla Rowe, – bitchy small woman, who is in her late 50s, who wants her art school to be endorsed by Landon.  Bitter over losing control of her daughter when daughter was around 14, but sees her as a thing, a broken thing.

Hayden’s grandmother, Isabella Calthorpe Rowe, – sharp witted woman who is currently in a rich-person’s nursing home like place.  The Calthorpe part is important – that’s the name of the family from the dawn of time (or something like that).  

Penelope Moore – a neighbor of Greer’s who Hayden paints.   Famous author.

Romance Hayden and Greer’s romance started slowly.  They have something of an instant connect (at least as far as I can tell from only Greer’s point of view; and her insight into Hayden’s feelings).   At times I worried that things might lean a little too far into a certain icky territory.  It depended on how much Greer saw Hayden as an independent woman with her own thoughts and desires.  Instead of, say, the way Leyla Rowe saw her daughter – as someone incapable of caring for themselves, and probably needs to be locked away from the public.  There were times when Greer almost tipped into that direction, but she kept on the ‘sane’ side of the line.  

Because of Hayden’s ‘condition’, aspergers, Greer wanted to take things slow, to really make sure everyone knew what was happening and agreed with everything. Her attraction to Hayden, though, made things hard for Greer. And, at times, Hayden pressed/pushed Greer on the issue.

Despite, or because of this, their relationship and romance grew somewhat naturally – and was something of a treat to read.  Bah, I looked up how to spell aspergers and treat came from me seeing ‘treatment’ out of the corner of my eye. Hehe.  I don’t know what “Chronic: can last for years or be lifelong” means.  

Sex As I’m sure some want to know, yes there is graphic sex in this book.  Eventually.  Other than kissing and the like, the ‘heavy’ stuff starts with something like 80% of the book already over.   It was descriptive, graphic, and I liked it.  I have nothing more to say on the subject.

Location Most of the book takes place in Boston.  I have a strong sense of Leyla Rowe’s art school, particularly Hayden’s wing of it; a strong sense of Greer’s home, an unexpected strong sense of the grandmother Rowe’s place.  But if it wasn’t for the fact that the word Boston was used at some point, I would have no idea I was in Boston.  Not exactly a negative, just an FYI, don’t read this as something like a travel guide to Boston (for that: look at a travel guide, or if you want fiction, pick up a book by Robert B. Parker, especially one of the Spenser ones that doesn’t mention heading off to some other location).

Some part of the action takes place in Chicago as well.  Briefly.

Plot A person with a high level of acclaim in the art community is asked by an art school person to come by her place and potentially ‘endorse’ the school.   That person of influence being Greer Landon, and the person with the art school being Leyla Rowe.  I do not know Landon’s background, though the area she lives in, and vague hints left here and there indicate that she comes from some form of money and the like.  Which I mention, because one of the things I wanted to say, in reaction to the first sentences I had written, involved how Leyla came from the kind of money and family background that is very deep and ancient.  And Greer . . ..  So having things being flipped like this . . . .

But then I recalled that the ‘old family’ was Leyla’s husband, daughter, and mother-in-law.  I don’t actually know Leyla’s background.  Plus, everything seemed to indicate that Greer didn’t exactly spring up out of nowhere.   Though there are indications that Leyla was something of a ‘social climber’.

So then.  Rowe kept very strongly more or less begging Greer Landon and her assistant India, to have Greer stop by.  To make her stop, Greer finally agrees.  

She finds a bitchy short woman who is full of herself once Greer arrived at Rowe’s school.  That being Rowe herself.  She then is introduced to the ‘advanced class’ being taught by some ‘maestro’ from Italy.  Whose name is instantly recognized by Greer.  But not in a good way.  Greer was one of the people instrumental in getting this fraudster to flee Italy.  He isn’t a good painter and isn’t a good teacher.

Before Greer could relay any of this information, she overhears someone basically saying just that.  A young woman who is instantly attacked by this ‘maestro’, and by Leyla Rowe.  I have to stop just calling Leyla by the name of Rowe, because the young woman also has that name.  Hayden Rowe, being Leyla’s daughter, makes her comment then leaves (though after Greer says that Hayden is correct).

Leyla and maestro talk in a corner.  Greer looks over the students’ easels and says something about leaving, but they say they have some stuff set up in a gallery, so Greer decides to look at it.  She isn’t exactly ‘blown away’ by any of it until she rounds a corner and is.  Deeply impacted emotionally by gazing upon a painting hanging on the wall.  She demands to know who did that painting.  Turns out that it was Hayden’s work.

Somewhere along the way, Hayden’s wing of the school is visited by Greer.  She sees more brilliant artwork.  Etc. Etc.

For various reasons, Greer agrees to endorse the school but only if Hayden assists, and that ‘maestro’ guy is terminated.

Greer Landon feels protective of Hayden, and as the book progresses, they grow closer.

Overall As the saying goes, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (see, I can have a review where I express something in the beginning, then follow it up in the end).  That works for books and people.  If you let a label like ‘Aspergers’ syndrome’ get in your way, to guide your actions and reactions to someone, to allow you to use it as a screen to block the real live person beneath then you will miss out on life, love, happiness.  You can, of course, put anything in that label section.  Race, creed, nationality, gender, socio-economic class, political affiliation, anything.  Heh, that reminds me of a particular segment on a British show I loved (the show I loved, not specifically the segment) – ‘I can’t date him! He’s a Tory!’ (not exact quote, I don’t recall exact quote, though ‘but he has a massively large penis’ might be in there as well).

My point about all that, of course, was more directed at myself instead of anything in the book itself (though that mother sure did seem hung up on that ‘condition’ her daughter had).  Myself in that the cover kind of threw me and made me question whether I should try this book.

Glad I got passed that, eh?  Or had someone pick the book for me to read for a challenge and therefore ‘push’ me into reading it.  Because I rather loved the book.  And I’m not saying that lightly.   This is both the first day of February, and the first time this year that I felt a book was so good that it broke the scale (or, in other words, is one I’d put on my relatively smallish 5.5 shelf).

Review Writen: February 1 2016

[nerdyskeleton]

ALL of the author asks

all right, you anonymous rogue, let’s do this. under the read more for length. I’m answering this instead of doing my accounting homework mua ha ha. But thanks in advance for asking for these it made me feel really nice and it was so fun!!!

1) is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?

Ah I mean not really? I have a bunch of ideas bouncing around, but I don’t have the time or the energy to sit down and start another multichap really. Still recovering from the last one haha. Plus I need to have the main story planned out before I start writing, as well as most of the big details, so I don’t want to start something without knowing where I want to ehh vaguely end up.

2) what work of yours, if any, are you the most embarrassed about existing?

oh my god. Everything that’s on ff.net. I wrote SUCH garbage from like 13-16(?) it’s just all such a disaster. But there’s quite a few multichaps there that are complete so I’m proud of little me completing those haha. But it’s all SO cringe-worthy.

3) what order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

(lol “““““book”““““) I do write from beginning to end! Sometimes if there’s a scene I suddenly have a really good idea for I will sit down and get most of it out, or at least jot down some notes for what I want to happen. But I try to write in the order of the story so that I can update consistently! And I try really hard to write ahead, like I didn’t start posting School Daze until I had a few chapters as back up, so I could work on the future ones as I updated weekly, like a bad ass.

4) favorite character you’ve written

I LOVE writing Trucy. She’s one of my favorite characters in the whole AA series - she’s just so fun and lovely. Plus it’s fine to like write a regular person instead of prissy ass Edgeworth or Blackquill.

5) character you were most surprised to end up writing

I mean I personally never expected to go as hard with Blackmadhi as I did and in such a short time span either!! I’ve written 80k of Blackmadhi in 2 months like girl can you cool it for a minute? Also I didn’t like Blackquill AT ALL while playing DD so the fact that I’m such a thirsty bitch for him is surprising to me. Here we are though.

6) something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change now

7) when asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

tbh I don’t tell anyone really! Well, not people who are already confirmed dorks like me. Mostly because I don’t want to get into the “oh what do you write?” conversation hahaha. “uh…..gay lawyer fanfic?”

8) favorite genre to write

Hmm…….I mean I’ll go for angst and hurt/comfort all day long, because there’s nothing more satisfying to me when I do something terrible to the characters, everyone gets mad at me for it, and then I fix it later on with a happy little scene of pure love and compassion between the characters.

9) what, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

Hm. I’ll normally put on some Disney music, because that has been my go-to inspiring music for a very long time. Sometimes I’ll go back and reread some parts of whatever I have written recently to be like “Look! You actually like this part! Write more so you can keep feeling this way!” Or I’ll read the last bits of the last update to remember where I was even going with the plot line LMAO

10) write in silence or with background noise? with people or alone?

I like to write with music! It has to be very specific music though. Being with people who are also writing/being productive helps, so then I feel obligated to get stuff done too haha.

11) what aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?

??? man I have no clue. I guess I’m pretty good with like……not sweating the little stuff. If I feel like I don’t have much sentence variation in one paragraph, I leave it, because it’s okay. Not everything has to be poetic (literally NOTHING I write is poetic). I feel like I make up for it later on with a paragraph with better flow. I hope. Idk these things, friends.

12) your weaknesses as an author

I guess like……descriptions?? Both like physical background descriptions like where they are, because I feel like knowing the scenery can be pretty important. but also like facial and behavioral descriptions too? Like sometimes I’m too lazy to find the exact word I want so I just pick a generic one and move on. I love getting things done, so sometimes the quality isn’t what it could be because I just like finishing things hahaha.

13) your strengths as an author

I’m pretty good with writing things out the way I want them the first time, because if I’m going to write I want it to be right (hehe). Obviously I go back and edit things to tweak it, but if I’m sitting down to write something, I don’t want to half-ass it and come back to it later. I HATE finally finishing some huge ass 12k chapter and then remembering I left a scene unfinished because then that means I’m NOT DONE AHHH.

14) do you make playlists for your current wips?

Not really! Mostly because I can never just like listen to whatever music I want. I listened to Hozier for a month straight as I finished up School Daze because for some reason that smooth hipster really did it for me.

15) why did you start writing?

Who knows man!! But it’s fun!! I got super into a book series called Skulduggery Pleasant like it was my first HARDCORE FANDOM that I wrote for. My ff.net is under the same name if anyone wants so suffer through it. Let me know if you do because it’s all disgusting and I want to laugh about it. But ALSO it’s all really problematic so please don’t judge 13 year old me okay thanks.

16) are there any characters who haunt you?

LMAO WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THIS.

17) if you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?

oh man…..keep on sticking with it man. I’m glad you are writing (even if present me thinks it’s god awful) because you made so many friends and really learned a lot, actually. Good on you for doing what you want to do. Maybe also stop thinking of yourself as the greatest fanfic writer of all time I mean just maybe, girl.

18) were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? what were they?

Yeah, Skulduggery Pleasant again! The author, Derek Landy, writes so sarcastically and I guess kind of simple (not like bad simple haha). I would just crack up every few minutes reading the series so I wanted to be that funny author with clever little deadpan lines like him. idk if I succeeded haha.

19) when it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

I have a separate document where everything is planned out. Well, not everything, but the majority of stuff. For School Daze, I always wanted to have the next two chapters planned out from where I was currently. I just always gotta know where I’m headed so I don’t get anything mixed up or forget anything.

20) do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?

It depends! Both usually just depending on the time. I write for a looong time on weekends like a loser with nothing else to do, but if I have like twenty minutes to kill between stuff I’ll think up some lines or finish planning out a scene.

21) what do you think when you read over your older work?

I literally cannot stop laughing at it. I guess it’s not BAD like my grammar was always good and I tried really hard but just like…….I know I thought I was the fanfic SHIT back then so I’m just like “Laura like how could you ever let other people see this???? it makes no sense!!!!!!”

22) are there any subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?

I guess kind of the usual suspects…..No non-con, incest, underage stuff. I don’t write it, so I’m never uncomfortable with it!

23) any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?

Hmm not really?? Not too obscure, but I took a looong break from writing mostly because I fell out of that Skulduggery Pleasant fandom and I got super depressed in high school. So now that I’m way better, I really enjoy writing again because I remembered the old feelings of being SO happy when I got a review on ff.net. Makes me feel 13 again, which is actually pretty regrettable.

24) have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

Ah not really! I don’t write too much stuff that needs expertise (and also tbh I haven’t written that much like idk what I’m doing here) but also I’m just a lazy shit and will look up the minimum required information for what I need to get done hahaha.

25) copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of“Meaning, Miles concluded, that she expressed a very high level of care and compassion for nearly everything in her life. Soon, her thousands of questions in class made sense, because she just wanted to understand the information to the highest degree. And now that Miles was witnessing nearly a private glimpse into the art teacher’s collage project, he saw the same level of attention that Trucy bestowed on her own projects in Phoenix, as well.With this knowledge, Miles assumed, logically, that Phoenix had been the one to impart this trait into her. And from their date, he now knew the man had taken her in unexpectedly and still managed to raise her right.Phoenix Wright was clearly not only an amazing father and art teacher, but also a wonderfully kind, considerate, and determined individual. How could Miles not be drawn physically and mentally to the man?” I really liked this paragraph, because this was a part of the first time that I had written as Miles Edgeworth and had taken a very long chunk of time to go into some gay-ass introspection. Thought it turned out pretty well???