#ok here's 1 more shadow tip I have

[lavend-ler]

how do I make Norma's dialogue in character? I wanna write a Normaler fanfic. ik that we have different head cannons but her main personality is the same, right?

Thank you rysothy AO3!

hello hello! dang I gotta tell u, I've been thinking abt this for a long time, trying to pinpoint it down and give u substential tips on this. however there's a big problem - english is not my first language and everything I've learnt abt english is via my own perception and listening to others talk. it's how I carry my fics, I listen and observe and that's the best tip I can give you - be perceptive. there are lots of behaviors that equal another thing so I'd start with listing Norma's traits!

Norma is a very headstrong person. her dialogue should portray the fact that she's assertive, gets what she wants and is often stubborn in her actions

however, Norma is also very playful! think of the fact that when she wanted to convince Helen to let it go so Ted could go forward, she isn't demanding but instead she's sneaky. I think she has a great sense of humor, so her dialogue should insist of lots of teasing, jokes and just not treating lots of things seriously

coming back to her headstrongness, when u write Norma dealing with people she hates I think she would be more malicious. being sarcastic and more blunt with her criticism

but in general, Norma is a very easygoing person. her dialogue should be sth casual, not using many fancy words, very down to Earth but also funny and bright. she loves life! so she should be optimistic and encouraging

also remember that scene when Norma talks to Ted abt where to get the seed. she puts on the whole show. Norma isn't a person who talks the same all the time, she modulates her voice, she plays around, talking with her would be tons of fun, not only for her jokes but her way to carry a story and be secretive

that's another good point - Norma can keep a secret and is good at acting. she shouldn't stammer around when she is lying unless she wants someone to learn the truth from context clues

ok another point I wanna hammer home - Norma isn't shy. she doesn't stutter, she doesn't hide away. if u wanna write her flustered, she's a person to more draw out her words and get lost in them instead of tripping over them and starting the sentence anew

and at the end, one of my fave Norma moments and traits that it shows - do u remember the tone of voice she uses when she's talking abt the sprouting seed? she's so thoughtful and gentle. I think despite her trickster demeanor, she can very much so be soft, nostalgic and appreciative. Norma is someone who wants the best for those she can see potential in. she has a golden heart and wants to see the world a better place cause she simply loves it

I think that's all the tips, tricks and suggestions I have. observe, analize, be perceptive, and now go and write a fic with Norma in it! 💛

[starrysharks]

OK heres zeno coloring tutorial 2.0 !!!! i'm gonna do it kind of in chapters i guess?

chapter 1: choosing base colors

when i'm choosing base colors i always pick everything based on a specific off-white! my 'default' off-white is this kind of very light cyan color but i change it regularly based on character designs/environment/lighting whatever,, examples here!

for callie in this piece, i based everything off of this pinkish color! her skin tone, tentacles, outfit etc are all chosen to harmonise/contrast with the pink color

and with this piece, i used a slightly darker blueish color as they're in space but there's still a lot of light... and the lighter colors in the background (the explosion) make a sense of depth i guess? i used that blue color and chose similar cool colors to harmonise with it!

so i more or less base the tone of the colors in the piece off the off-white! warm off-white = warmer colors (like the nova valentine's day art) and cold off white = cooler colors (like the explosion nova and paro art). but i switch up this formula often !!

chapter 2: coloring specific things

here i'll go over some specific textures and stuff like skin and hair ... skin first !!

for skin, i like to use a variety of tones! there are different ways to draw cooler and warmer skintones that other people have gone over way better than i have but basically for skin i use this part of the color wheel and pick the darker tones of oranges/reds/pinks etc. (for darker skintones, i go to the middle of the color square thingy, and for lighter tones, i usually slide down the upper-right side)

when it comes to shading skintones, it's pretty straightforward, just a darkish-purple and a pinkish color on 100% multiply, and i always add a little shadow on the nose and blush becuz i think it's cute

(also i like to add reflective spots on darker skin tones sometimes because 1. darker skin tones reflect in real life and 2. it's fun)

next up is hair... this is very specific to my artstyle but i like to add 3-6 long oval line thingies to the hair to mimic reflection ! it looks cool, it's a good way to show off different colors in the design and i like to switch it up sometimes based on a character's personality!! (like how the frye pic above has a lighting bolt shaped hair thing, or how my teto design has a wing shaped hair thing to mimic her wings in her chimera form!) (note: it doesn't always need to be lighter than the actually hair color and it usually isn't)

for other materials like metal, screens, etc etc... i just add random X marks lol... and reflections!!!

(also, just a general thing, but adding little saturated lines to shading really adds depth and color imo!!)

i would put more tips with refs but tumbles only allows 10 images per post ;w; so i will simply close off by saying don't be afraid to add overlays and filters to your art!! overlays can really help harmonise colors and filters like brightness and contrast can help colors pop... try not to completely rely on them for color choice tho!!

and that's basically it !!! this is not a definitive 'how to draw/color' post... i am not a color theorist... i just wanted to show people how i choose colors cuz a lot of people say they like my color choices! honestly i don't know much myself but i hope that this and the philosophy of 'do what looks good' will help you all o_ob thank you and goodbye

[kuroiyuki96-art]

Heya, it's me (the person that's still struggling to make those Shadow doodles). My questions are:

1; What are the brushes you use called?

2; Can you give a vid tutorial on those weighted brushes you use?

Finally, 3; Who inspired you to make art like this?

Ok! I’ve answered some of these before but will do it again since they are nicely structured here!

1. Main brush I use is felt tip pen (hard)! It has a great max size and it’s smooth enough for me! If I want to go for a rougher look (see Blaze in Shadow’s palette) I’ll use the genius pen!

2. Again my brushes are not weighted since it’s not convenient to use those while drawing with your fingers! As in a video I included a speed paint of one of my recent works so I hope that’s sufficient!

As you can see in the video, I firstly add normal strokes then I add weight or take it out of them with the eraser as necessary! I also try out the color combination before fully coloring to see if it works outside of my head!

3. When I first started yuzu394 and key_999 were the ones that made me switch to a more simpler and colorful style! It took time before my drawings took a shape of their own so again I’d suggest you doodle a few times and try stuff from your favorite artists to see what works for you! While doing that put in mind that it’s better not to make the style look identical so try to add elements of your own as some artists will not take kindly to people taking inspo from their drawings (I myself don’t mind it so please have fun while you’re at it)

Thank you for asking and hope this was helpful! If you have anything else please let me know and I’ll try my best in answering ✨✨

[saintjosie]

Ok from a transfemme to a trans woman - how do you makeup? I've been wanting to get into it for so long but the first time I tried was an absolute disaster, and I can't find any tutorials that go through the absolute beginner basics

tbh, you have to just keep on doing it even though it’s a complete disaster. i started my transition in 2020 but i was doing makeup and “cross dressing” for nearly 8 years before i considered myself to be trans. and it was years before i was able to do makeup to the point where i felt good about the way that i looked every time i did it.

that being said, there’s no guide that’s gonna be able to tell you everything you need to know but i’ll try to give as many tips and jumping points i can in order for you to try out things and figure out what to look up.

- make up is different for everyone - everyone has a different face shape, eye shape, cheekbones, jawline, complexion, etc. and the way to do makeup that looks good for you specifically is going to vary a shit ton based on those things. when you look up stuff, look up how to do makeup for a certain set of features. figure out what face shape you have, skin types for foundation, etc.

- there’s no one right way to do it - i do a bunch of things that are “technically incorrect” because i’ve tried it the “right” way and it just didn’t work for me. so i figured out something that i liked instead and make that a technique i used regularly. also even though people will say you’re supposed to do certain things, a different technique might yield a different result. as an example, conventional wisdom will say use primer, foundation, then a translucent or setting powder, then a setting spray. recently a very popular technique has been using moisturizer, then setting powder, then setting spray, THEN putting on all your other makeup and supposedly it lasts longer. there’s literally no “correct” way, it’s just whatever works.

- blend the shit out of everything. this is the one technique which pretty much applies for everyone. blend blend blend blend. i like using a beauty sponge. run it under the tap for a second (literally a second, you want it moist not wet) to wet the sponge and then use dabbing motions to blend your makeup.

- asking for help at makeup stores helps A LOT. i’ve had really really good experiences asking for help at makeup stores even though i was super uncomfortable with the idea at first. i found that a lot of people were judgement free and even very gender affirming even when i was presenting masc. and i live in the south!

okay now to more granular stuff - here’s the basics of what i would consider to go into a “full face” makeup routine - primer, foundation, concealer, highlight/contour, setting. eye makeup would add additional things - eyeliner, mascara/lashes, eyeshadow. lips add additional things as well - lipstick, lipliner. ill try to go through the entire process and add my fav products or two. (i should probably make this into a video series tbh)

1) primer - it protects your skin and makes your makeup stay longer and look better. use it.

- my fav: the ordinary - high fluidity primer

2) color correcting concealer - an optional step for transfemmes like me with darker colored facial hair. using a reddish or orangish color correcting concealer or lipstick over the areas where your facial hair shows through the skin will neutralize the shadow that shows through foundation. add a little bit, sparingly, blend with a sponge.

- my fav: la girl color correcting concealer orange

(the best one of these is made by dragun beauty who is a trans woman…but who did blackface…so don’t buy her shit)

3) foundation - figuring out your color is hard. look up a guide, ask in store, try a bunch of different ones. there’s a difference in coverages. full coverage means its made to cover everything. buildable means you need to apply and blend a few times and is good for if you don’t want heavy coverage everywhere. don’t use too much otherwise you’ll look like a plastic doll. unless you want to look like that then go nuts. blend the shit out of it so that it doesn’t cake up.

- my fav: juvias place bc it’s full coverage and actually has my skin tone as an asian person

4) concealer - this is different from color corrector and i usually do this after foundation. this is just a touch up for any blemishes, dark spots under eyes, pimples, shit like that. just use a tiny tiny dab and blend. this is also hard to get your color right so get help if you can.

- my fav: colourpop concealer, or nars concealer if you’re a fancy bitch

5) blush - i don’t really use blush much but blush is one of those things where you should look up a guide for how your face is shaped. positioning blush in different ways will help shape your face in different ways.

6) contouring - okay this is the hard one. i can’t tell you how to contour your face because this is one that varies a shit ton from person to person. the basic gist of it tho is that you are using a contouring stick, bronzer, or palette to add shadows to your face. when you put on foundation it makes everything an even color and makes you look flat, so contouring is basically drawing those shadows back in to contour your face. you can do this in so many ways even for your own face so imo, you experiment and see how you like it. typical places for contour to go will be under my cheekbones, on my nose bridge, sometimes under my jaw to slim the face.

- my fav: i can’t remember i’ll come back to this one

also i drew this diagram a long time ago to help myself get the idea of where i wanted to put it on my own face and i went from there. the brown was contour and the other color was highlight. i don’t do it like this at all anymore but it helped to get the basic idea at first.

7) highlight - the opposite of contour where you’re making certain parts of your face brighter to contrast the darker parts. typically goes on your cheekbones and nose.

- my fav: watts up by benefit

8) translucent powder/setting powder - okay so this one can either go after foundation, before blush, contour, highlighter, or here. basically it’s a powder that goes evenly over your whole face to help your makeup stay where it is. personally i usually do it after foundation instead of here but either works. basically you take a powder brush (the big floofy ones) and then put it all over lightly.

- my fav: nyx hd finishing powder

9) setting spray - it’s a spray that you put on last to help your makeup stay where it is. shake up the bottle real good and just mist it all over.

- my fav: tarte shape tape stay spray

okay i’m tired now and that’s plenty for now. i’ll update with lip and eye stuff later.

[adelarsims]

Hi, you are more than welcome to ignore especially if you have answered before and I missed it/it's elsewhere on your blog but can I please just ask how you get your CAS photos to look so incredibly clean? Especially around the edges, they're so smooth it's incredible. Thank you in advance, I really appreciate it! You inspire me so much tbh, everything you post is so beautiful. (Also also also the eyebags you released recently are my new gold standard and I use them for everything now tysm for sharing them) 🖤

thank you!

ok so here are a few tips, you don’t need to follow all of them, but if you like exactly my cas style, maybe some of them will help

1. edge smoothing. sorry for being obvious, but use either in-game anti-aliasing, or a smaa shader if you’re a reshade/gshade user, or you’ll get a pixelated staircase for the edges that will be hard to fix. if your PC doesn’t handle high graphics well and you play without edge smoothing, you can toggle it on temporarily just for taking a few good cas pictures and then turn it back off.

2. use MXAO. if you use reshades, use mxao shader for pictures, it's really a life changer. though i don't use it during the regular gameplay and only turn it on when i take pictures, because moving a lot with it slows down your game and is a visual overload for me.

3. but don’t overdo it with MXAO. seriously, don’t go all out with mxao. for a cleaner look shadows need to be delicate, just to overline shapes and give your sim more dimension. every time i tweaked my reshade presets, i made mxao even more thin and gentle and realized that it only got better.

4. background makes a huge difference. solid colors. in my personal opinion, grey gives the "cleanest" look (i said while still using my old dirty yellowish that i'm too lazy to find a replacement for). also, if i want to use black or white background, i make it a little darker than white and a little lighter than black, they look pretty much the same but will attack your eyes less (especially the white one).

5. CAS lighting makes a huge difference. maxis light isn't that bad, but cc lighting definitely give you more clean, crisp image. my personal favorite neutral one that i use by default is v2 by helgatisha. sometimes i use lightings with side highlights for more “rendered” look, but they aren’t always comfortable for everyday use and i only use them for specific pictures and then get back to my default neutral one.

6. shadow overlays. i mean cc that imitates shadows on sim's face, it gives sim's face so much dimension. there are spotlight v1 and v2 by simandy and lighting overlay v1 and v2 by joshseoh. i'd say josh's overlays are for fancy portrait pictures (they imitate a very strong light source from different angles, very cool for sim photographers but not for regular gameplay), and simandy's are more neutral and are very gameplay-friendly on lower opacity. personally, i only use v2 by simandy now, it's my holy grail and i don't take sim's pictures without it.

7. SRWE. it's a program that emulates having a bigger display resolution than your monitor can afford, meaning much better screenshot quality and cleanliness for small details. srwe can be a bit of a hassle to use for a lot of pics and most of the time i’m too lazy to use it and just take my regular small pixelated screenshots, but sometimes i want just one, but extra clean picture.

8. Topaz Clean 3 (photoshop). i don't usually edit my pictures and just drop them like whatever, mostly because i don't know how to do it, but sometimes i make them sharper and cleaner with a gentle touch of topaz on very low strength.

[sky-kiss]

Eeeee Shadow Raphael anon here! I'm so happy you're inspired by it! I have two options you can choose from.

1) platonic - them having a chess match and it just being a wity banter off and them enjoying riffing off of each other so much. Maybe this is at the inn/brothel lobby so other people can be there if you'd like.

Or

2) Them having a one night. I don't really have specifics but my brain is barking and screeching because I'd imagine anything explored via your writing will be so good and so much to chew on so I'm up for ANYTHING really!

Thank youuuu!

A/N: Ok, so this is so rushed, and I’m sorry about that. I want to do stuff with these two SO BADLY. Anyway, Dark Justiciar Shadowheart. Post game. Raphael received the crown. 

Shadowheart/Raphael: Meetup

"Raphael—I'm not surprised to find you here."

The half-elf slides into the seat across from him, lips turned up a charmingly self-satisfied smirk. It takes Raphael a moment to recall her name—she is, in truth, only tangentially referenced in his mental library, one of Tav's many delinquent compatriots. He leans back, humming, before he says, "Astutely observed, my dear, though perhaps less impressive than you hope. The Caress is nothing if not my home away from home." 

"I've no interest in impressing you, devil. 

"No, only in interrupting my meal, it seems," his voice dips to a velvety purr, cataloging the minute shift in the Sharran's posture. She arches a brow, gaze flicking to the empty table. Raphael indicates the crowded hall around them. "My hunting grounds, my meals, priestess. Every moment you linger is an opportunity wasted."  

Shadowheart scoffs, drumming her fingers on the table between them. The pretty creature tips her head to the side, regarding him through artfully lowered lashes. "You were more civil before." 

"Your intrepid leader had something I wanted—and our business has long since concluded." The cambion clucks his tongue. "Where is my Mouse these days?" 

She stiffens. "I wouldn't know. Tav…she took her leave some time ago." 

"Oh?" 

"I've no need to explain myself to you."

"None at all. But you were a precious little pair, weren't you? Haarlep does so regret being unable to…collect you both." Raphael lifts his right hand, inspecting his nails. "One fair turn for another…tell me the truth of your parting, and I will hear your request." 

Shar's Chosen regards him coldly. "My Dark Lady demands the whole of my heart." 

"How selfish. I almost admire her." Oh, but he likes that flush of color in her cheeks. Power radiates off her, different, colder than many of the god's chosen toys. Shar has given this one a shocking amount of play, provided she remained a loyal little dog. No slipping her leash. "Tell me what you need, my dear." 

"An enemy of Lady Shar has gone to ground. I'd have him found." 

"Simple enough—hardly requiring my talents. Or worth incurring my cost." Raphael smiles with teeth, curiosity piqued. "Who is this erstwhile quarry?" 

She paints him a picture: one of Selune's most beloved champions, a lycanthrope, long fled from the city. His trail and his scent had long since gone cold. The damned creature had very likely fled to a different plane. 

The devil considers the offer, taking in her appearance again: beautiful, dark. Some trace hint of Tav's scent still lingers on, perhaps in spirit rather than reality. It's intoxicating. Her eyes glitter with dreadful ambition and determination—it calls to an echoing spirit festering in his own breast. 

"No contract," Raphael drawls, tracing the rim of his glass. He has ordered wine for them, richer, deep, and red. "Let us consider this…a favor between friends."

"Very generous of you. Suspiciously so."

 "Is it? I've always found it most advantageous to conduct my business in a more...relaxed fashion than your dear Lady. The first taste, as they say, is free." He raises his glass in a toast. Shar's Chosen returns the gesture in kind, lips turning in dark satisfaction. 

~~~~~~

She comes to him months later. 

“The first taste was free,” Shadowheart grumbles, leaning back. “So, name your cost.” 

He scoffs. “My dear, where is your flair for the dramatic? Tease out the tension! Savor the give and take, bargain…” 

“...you make it sound like seduction, devil.” The Justiciar’s tongue flicks out to wet her lower lip, so sweetly, ignorantly satisfied. Oh, but she is young. All her power, violence, and inexperience still hang about her like stray traces of baby fat in a youth’s cheeks. 

“If you like. I prefer to think of it as a dance—coming together, stepping apart, together…all to our mutual satisfaction.” 

Shadowheart’s eyes glitter in the half-light, intrigued. 

~~~~~~

She comes to him again. 

And again. 

Again. 

They work surprisingly well together. And her goddess turns a blind eye. 

~~~~~~

“How sweet,” he purrs, sucking her lower lip between his teeth. They’ve recently started conducting their business in the Den rather than the common room, and the added privacy has led to this. Shadowheart walks him backward, hands already at his belt. The half-elf whimpers against his lips, the delicacy of the noise contrasting with the natural authority she carries. “You still taste like her, pet.” 

She chuckles, flicking her tongue along the seam of his lips. “You never tasted her.”

“No, but…” Raphael’s grip is bruising on her hips—she fails to so much as flinch. “Haarlep is so eager to indulge me—I wager I’ve had her more frequently than you.” 

“Ah—a poor man’s imitation.” She stands on the tips of her toes, tracing his nose with hers. The half-elf leans back, smirking. “We should compare someday…see how your counterfeit compares to reality.” 

He laughs despite himself. “It could be arranged." He presses his lips to the shell of her ear, pleased at the way shiver. "I’d quite like to watch them fuck you.” 

“I’d like it too. But for now…” she pushes Raphael back on the mattress, crawling over him. “I shall have to be content with you.”

[st4rstudent]

tips on how to draw cogs?

truth be told, I haven't drawn many cogs (mainly just one or two), but I will try to answer this as generally as I can!

This is a long post so I'll post this under the cut.

my biggest tip, as well as for anything, is to break down the shapes. If you try to look at everything at once it becomes really easy to overwhelm yourself. Examples will be drawn sketchy, but hopefully the point gets across.

Our first test subject is mouthpiece which I've never actually drawn before [marketable plushies post doesnt count]. as you can see, I tried to break down a lot of the shapes into much more simpler ones. A lot of cogs seem to share some very obvious shapes, probably because a lot of them are object-related (normal cogs included- first that comes to mind are pencil pushers).

You can do this with really ANY character. Here's our second test subject DOPA for another example.

now these are mainly references from the pictures themselves, which are great as a starting point. my other big tip is just to practice. you don't have to do big full pieces every day, but even just little doodles will help you. i think its very rare for anyone do to super good their first time and this goes with anything, even if you're a highly skilled artist.

you've probably also noticed but I've left out details in my examples, such as the little dots on mouthpiece's eye borders. If you feel that adding all the small details would overcrowd your drawing or just not help it, then I think it's fine to leave them out (of course there are always exceptions to this but as a general rule, its ok).

along with removing details, i think adding details also cannot hurt [to an extent]. if there's something you think would look nice then add it. who cares its your drawing have fun. As an example I'll use prethinker. I always add the little line in the middle, which his model doesn't have. But this is also based off of the 1.3 promotional art as well. Another example could be that when I draw misty, I add a line that connects their eyebrows to their eye. idk just feels more robotic to me and i like it

and again as you notice, my drawings are not model accurate. your style is most likely not going to be exactly like the game and that's completely fine. adjust to your liking, interpret as you will. enjoy the process of creation.

And finally, I'll add my little tip for metal coloring. One thing about metal is that usually the lightest highlight is next to the darkest shadow

The gif goes as base -> shadow 1 -> shadow 2 -> highlight 1 -> highlight 2 -> cleanup + extra

I like to add a few light marks to indicate scratches. although if you wanted more depth, you'd take the darkest shadow and lightest highlight and put them together like this

often the metallic parts are not the focus of my works so I leave it without. As for the random black marks on the lineart, that just also gives it more depth.

And finally, look at other peoples art. Look at the way they draw and pick out bits and pieces of what you like and try to interpret that in your own style.

ok I think that's all. Hopefully this helped!

[simandy]

Express Tutorial: How to fix some weird Dirty Blonde textures made by EA or making Dirty Blonde from any texture ever (for recolors)

Hello, so I was asked questions about how to gradient the 13th swatch of the EAXIS palette for hairs to make the recoloring process easier. Therefore here I am with one more specific-ass thing for you to learn.

This tutorial will teach you: Photoshop Gradients Maping and how to disrespect EA color choices properly

Tutorial under the cut ♥

Ok lesgo

Step 1: Get your weird texture. Mine is this one, from the Island Living EP:

I despise it. ANYWAY, as you can see, the colors are a bit off, the highlights are white and there’s a kind of a “halo” around them that is pretty saturated for no reason. This can make your recolor look weird. So let’s fix that.

Step 2: Open it in Photoshop. Mine is Photoshop CC with a .dds plugin (which makes it easier to work with gradients and not care about the white backgrounds. But if you’re used to the .png files and not flattening your layers, it will work normally.)

Step 3: GRADIENT MAP TIME, BABE. Find it here:

So this nice cute layer will be created for you in some color (will vary depending on what color you have selected at the moment, don’t panic):

Step 4: The Gradient messing up step. So now you have this big window open in your photoshop because you clicked the gradient in the previous step. What now?

Well, now is when the fun begins. You have two sliders there: far left and far right. Far left is your darkest color, the shadows of your hair texture. Far right is the lightest point, the highlights. We still have only two shades, but we will need FOUR. To insert more color shades into your gradient map, simply click somewhere in the map, like this:

Ok, make it to four and you will have this nonsense here:

You can mess up with the slider positions as you please!

Step 5: Colors! So now you have a gradient map ready to use, all you have to do is to change it’s colors to your preferred tones. To change a slider color, you click it’s little box twice and the color selector will open for you. It’s this easy. Keep in mind that left is darker and right is brighter.

I have my values ready so you can copy and paste in the # section to the color selection:

Deep shadows (far left - value 1): 2e1b15 

Shadows (left - value 2): 523830 

Base color (middle - value 3): b08d68 

Highlights (right - value 4): fff3bd

After you put in your values, you will get this:

“But Ellen!!! This is dark as hell and not even close to dirty blonde!!” I know dear, that’s why the sliders are for! You can change their positions so if you bring the lighter colors more to the left, the shadows will get lighter! (Notice the extra tip)

Cleaner dirty blonde!!! Look how soft and pretty it is compared to the EA one:

Step 6: Save it. No for real that’s all! Join the layers for png or flatten for dds (don’t forget the mipmap check) and save it as “base” of you’re here because you use my actions. Here’s a sims4studio comparison:

See how it looks easier on the eye? It’s because now the colors are a perfect gradient of each other and they mix up well!

The best part if this, is that now you can grab any texture and turn it to dirty blonde by messing up with the gradient sliders! This makes everything easier, even recoloring clothes or build mode stuff if you want your favorite hair color palette in other parts of the game, assuming they all use dirty blonde as a base. Here’s an example using the teal hair swatch:

Another tip: Don’t forget to save your new gradient for when you need it again!

♥

That’s about it! Now go on with your recolors! See you in the next tutorial, xoxo

[thalunalovegood]

About the necklace

So, I know that the necklace Az gave to Gwyn was originally for someone else(and I know that this detail could be a problem in the future, though I hope not), but that is a few things that I keep thinking.

1. First is something I read here on Tumblr( I don't remember where, *sad face*), it said that: when Clotho said "She deserves something as beautiful as this.", she could be referencing Az, since she didn't saw the necklace, she didn't open the box. Maybe Clotho can see through the box, but I like to think that she meant Az by saying something beautiful. 

2. Another think that I read, it was the Sarah used the description of the necklace "A thing of secret, lovely beauty", to describe as well the "Buried the image down deep, where it glowed quietly". Sarah don't do things without some further purpose, and I'm curious to see what is behind all of this.

3. The bonus scene happens during ACOSF, but after that, we didn't saw Nesta or Cass saying anything about Gwyn wearing the necklace, so I'm curious to know, did Gwyn wear it under her clothes? did she not wear it at all? I need more info, or theories.

4. Four and one of my favorite thoughts on this necklace thing. Why did Az give it to Gwyn? Because of the other one gave it back? Some people might think that the "reuse" of the gift it was a bad thing, and in some ways I think it is, but, Why give it to Gwyn? Az wanted get rid of it, and even said that Clotho could give to any priestess who might like, but, his first thought was Gwyn, maybe because when he went to bed, one of the last thoughts were about how Gwyn's eyes might light? And I think that she was on her mind during the day, his intention was to return the necklace to the shop, but as he came back, he went to the library, so something made he change his intention, maybe this something is what is glowing quietly inside of him.

5. Not related to the necklace, but I love how after the solstice there are more interactions between Az and Gwyn.

One more point but this one is just my hope.

6.In my dreams( let me dream ok?!), after the solstice they had private lessons at night that Nesta, Cass and the other don't know about, and that is the reason during the rite, Gwyn could watch and learn the beast habits, Az said to her a few things about spying, and she used his tips. Another dream? Az's shadows somehow talk to Gwyn, I don't know if is possible, but I'd love to see it, can you imagined a conversation between Gwyn and the shadows, and Az completely curious about it?

If you read this, and you have good theories about CC3, Gwynriel, ACOTAR 5, please share, I would love to read it :)

# sorry for any English errors, Portuguese is my native language.

[obstinaterixatrix]

1) yea 2) ‘typically’ IT’S STILL THE CASE!!! DON’T TELL ME THE SHADOW FORM BEING ERI WAS A PRODUCT OF GOD’S INTERFERENCE, ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? THE IMPLICATIONS ARE SOOOO TASTY YOU CAN’T LAY OUT A FEAST RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND THEN SHOVE IT INTO THE TRASH CAN!!!! RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!!!! it’s like. ok. shadow toshiro framing it like toshiro’s cursed with carrying a piece of eri, shadow toshiro transforming into a distortion of eri, the piece of eri that toshiro carried being toshiro’s persona, it’s so COHESIVE!! TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN!!! like, we’ll go with the ‘conquer’ framework instead of the ‘acceptance’ framework because that’s the angle tactica’s going for, it’s conquering the rejection of eri’s ideals and it’s conquering the last vestiges of himself clinging to complacency and status quo. AND THEN YOU KEEP SAYING IT’S GOD???? head in hands. HIS SHADOW IS LITERALLY ERI!!! I LEGIT THINK THAT’S REALLY COOL!!!! DON’T WALK BACK ON THAT YOU COWARDS. see, what *could* have been really cool is if this was framed as the incongruous occurrence of a shadow and a persona existing at the same time, which isn’t supposed to happen, the transformation from shadow to persona is instantaneous, so here—where I would accept god’s interference—it could’ve been trapping toshiro in his mind at the exact moment his persona would’ve formed (except with toshiro being just some guy in the real world, he wouldn’t have *actually* gotten a persona, he would’ve just tipped the scales of his resolve and taken action) thus completely scrambling his psyche and resulting in the mess of the kingdom situation as his mind tries to right itself, and in the process, trapping him more in ambivalence (as manifested through the failing rebellion) until the phantom thieves come in. DUH??? GOD DOESN’T HAVE TO TAKE SUCH AN ACTIVE ROLE

[amateurwind]

Chapter 3

Tim’s Pov

Night in Gotham.

There was nothing as liberating as grappling over the towers of Gotham. The freedom of the wind. The adrenalin of the chase. No, there was nothing quite like it.

Hopping the roofs Tim reveled in the sensation. This was the type of night you could sense the darkness of the city. Where everyone and their mother felt the danger and walked the other way. The type of night that reminded him why he loved Gotham.

Tim detached his line and took off over the rooftops. This was exactly what he needed after the day he had. From all the meetings to Bruce ambushing him, he needed to fly.

His thoughts drift back to his early days as nostalgia flows through him. The first time shooting a grapple across the expanse and flying through the night. The feeling of pride when he took down his first thug. It had all been so new back then. Red Robin runs across the rooftops of Gotham. Using his staff to volt over objects and expanses. Flying through the night with intent and purpose, he's on the prowl.

He intercepted a tip earlier. Marconi was going to make his move tonight. 200lbs of various illegal substances were going to be smuggled onto Gotham. He had managed to track down the drug ring’s home base. The shipment was coming in tonight. He wasn't going to allow them to get away from him again. He was ending this tonight.

Jumping from the roof he catches a fire escape on his way down, before dropping into the alleyway below. Holding to the shadows he maneuvers just outside the appointed warehouse. There was a truck pulling up to the warehouse now.

Melding into the shadows Tim circles the back of the building. He counts about 8 goons around the truck. Slipping in a side window Tim ducks behind some crates. Keeping low he takes in the scene. In addition to the 8 goons outside, there are another 4 inside all armed to the teeth.

Ok, great. Analyzing… There were 12 or so thugs, 7 armed, and a few loadings the merchandise. Scoping out the building it seemed that this may have been some sort of a layover site. The blueprints Tim had been able to dig up had shown an underground storehouse chamber. He watched and waited. Binding his time till the opportune moment. He needed to make sure the head of the ring was here.

Colt, Marconi’s second in command and personal bodyguard stood over by the door. So, if he was he was here Marconi had to be around here somewhere.

Examining the hired guns, he kept an eye peeled for his target. There! Just outside the loading bay. Falco Marconi. Tim had been hunting him for a long time now. This guy is a slippery character. Tim couldn't count the number of times he was supposed to oversee an opp only to conveniently not show up. Tim would make sure that Marconi wasn't walking away from this one. At least not on two legs. ‘Wow Red, don’t go all Hood on them’.

Ah, great the exhaustion was talking again. Chugging a canned Coffee Tim lamented that this may be his last one. He would have to pick up more when he made his weekly grocery run. Tim feels the stimulant flood his system. This was gonna be good.

The evidence compiled over the last few run-ins with Marconi he would make sure the mobster wouldn't be working the streets for a long time. It was time to clean up the scum of Gotham. He waits and listens.

“Be careful with those crates!” Tim sees Marconi yelling at the thugs.

“Sorry boss, these things are heavy.” He hears the thug answer. Tim will just call him idiot #1.

“I don’t want your excuses if any of the inventory is tainted I’ll deduct it from your pay.”

“But you don't pay us, Boss.” Idiot #2 responded.

“Then I’ll deduct it from your hide, now get moving.”

A chorus of ‘yes sir’s sounded only for a crash to follow shortly after that. Tim winced. Welp this shouldn’t be too hard, always nice to know Gotham had a special brand of idiot.

He needed to move, now. Keeping an eye on the rotation of the patrolling goons Tim sneaks over to the breaker. He would have to make this fast. Keep to the shadows picking them off one by one.

He cuts the power, drops several smoke bombs, and begins the takedown of each goon in less time than it takes to breathe. One… three…five. He is a blur dancing in and out of the smoke. Several quick jabs to the torso before kicking off that one and laying out the one who came from behind to help his friend. Deployment of a taser charge, and restraining ropes. His movements are swift, methodical, and precise.

The thugs don't have any idea what’s happening. Shouting at each other and firing around blindly. He disarms and knocks out three more lackeys in quick succession before catching movement to the side.

“Mike? Is that you?” He asks the guy shaking off to the side.

“Ahhh crap, Heeey Red.” The thug sighs.

Red stalks toward the man shaking his head, “ Carol is gonna be disappointed. How are the kids?”

“Aww come on man, can’t you cut me a break?” Mikey begs. Trying to press himself into the crate behind him. Red Robin just continues to move forward twirling his Bo.

“Now see this is out of my hands your actions have consequences Mikey.” Red says stopping a few steps from the thug. “Now what would you say you use more, your leg or arm?”

“I- I don’t want to answer that.” Mike whines, looking at Red. Seeing the vigilante isn’t budging he gives in. “The Leg.”

Tim nods and strikes the man’s arm with his bow, then his head scarcely giving the man time to cry out. Mike drops to the ground.

“All right. Now, where’s your leader?” The smoke had faded providing a clear view around the room. Most of the goons were on the ground, either unconscious or restrained. ‘Huh, where did the two idiots get to?’ A movement interrupted his musings.

Marconi was making a break for it. Separating from his protection, the drug lord was running to an SUV just outside the exit. Finishing off the remaining goons Tim, using his bo staff vaults over to the exit and kicks Marconi. The kick sends him through the exit crashing hard, just outside of the warehouse. Tim standing to full height stalks toward him as the man reaches for his weapon.

“Oh you blasted piece of… I’ll kill ya!” The drug lord says as he whips out a pistol.

Dodging the bullets Red knocks the gun from his hands. Lifting his leg and introducing his knee to the crook's face. It’s gratifying to see a few teeth missing, as he handcuffs Marconi to the car door.

“Now, now, no need for that, wouldn't want to add any more charges to your rap sheet, would we? Well then again, with what I've uncovered about you and your family you’re never gonna work these streets again.”

A quick nerve attack and Marconi slumps over unconscious. He sends the pickup location to Gotham’s finest, then takes a step back to admire his work. It was over. Finally, he could end this stupid case. It was embarrassing how long Tim had been working on this. Pulling a hand through his hair he savors the moment.

He just needed some pictures for his case files then he could deliver the file to the GCPD and give Batman his report. It was convenient that none of the others caught wind of this bust. Tim could only hope Lady Luck remained generous. Turning toward the truck Tim heads to finalize this opp.

What was that?!

Only taking a few steps before he stiffens. The sense that has been cultivated by endless training, ambushes, and paranoia. He was being watched.

No, observed.

He’s geared to strike or defend if necessary. His eyes subtly flew all over his surroundings. Where? And who?

Readying a few bird-a-rangs Tim tries to spot his unknown observer. He hears a rustle in the ally behind him. Hardly waiting a second before he whips around throws the Bird-a-range and delivers several blows to the would-be assailant.

“Hey! Gawdangit Replacement! What is your major malfunction!”

You’ve got to be kidding, this can not be happening. He jinxed himself.

“Hood!? What the heck are you doing!”

“No see, I should be asking you that. There I was, minding my own business, Beating the crap out of some muggers when I get a call from O saying you needed backup!”

Looking around Tim finds the security camera, and gives it a glare that would stop superman’s heart. He hadn’t asked for backup. He hadn’t even tapped into the bats' secure channel. Tim didn't need this right now! Where did Barbara get off messing with him? He thought at least out of all the Bats she would be the least likely to screw with him. So much for loyalty.

“Yo, Hey replacement! You even hearing a word I'm saying right now.”

Oh yeah, Jason.

“Look Hood, I don’t have time for this I need to finish up so you can clear off whenever you feel like it.” Tim supplied turning back to the truck. It was best to keep all interactions with Hood short. You never knew what would set him off. Tim had learned that the hard way.

“ Oh Yeah, you had everything handled. Apart from these guys slipping out the back door”!

Tim looks down and notes idiots one and two at Jason’s feet. Huh. He wondered where they went. Giving Jason a slight nod he turns back to the truck to wrap things up. Trying to ignore the awkwardness hanging in the air.

Why did it have to be Jason of all people? How had he pissed O off to warrant Hood being his backup? Sweet Diana, the world hated him. No, he needed to focus. He didn't have time to wallow. ‘Just get the evidence, sort it out later’.

“Thanks, Jay for cleaning up my mess!” A sarcastic drawl sounds from behind him.

“No names, Hood.” Is all Tim says. Taking satisfaction in the string of colorful curses that follow. He could picture the look of annoyance under the other's helmet. But the glee soon dies as he spots the barest tensing of hoods posture. ‘Shut up Tim. You're gonna piss him off.’

Pushing aside his spike of fear he continues cataloging the evidence as he hears the tell tail sound of sirens in the distance. ‘Took them a while.’ He thinks while securing his camera. Welp his work here is done.

Figuring he has wasted enough time he grapples to the roof of the adjacent building; Just as the Squad cars come into view.

Glancing down from his perch he watches the cops collect the mobsters and drug lord in cold satisfaction. Finally. This is why he becomes Red Robin every night.

“Finally, I was getting tired of waiting around for you.” Came a callused voice just off to his left.

Barely keeping down a flinch Tim's head whips to Hood. He was still here? Was he waiting for Tim? Tim feels the blood drain from his face. Having Jason wait for him was never good, that could only mean he wanted something from him. Stiffening slightly Tim turns to face Hood fully.

A steadying stream of fear flowed through him. He and Hood may have brokered some form of truce, but that didn’t mean Tim would willingly show the Crime Lord his back. No thank you. He had learned that lesson once before and he wasn't in any hurry to learn it again. He needed to be careful.

“Why are you still here Hood?” It was a legitimate question. Tim couldn’t figure out why he would even come to help him in the first place. Regardless of what Barbara had said. But waiting for him to finish? Absolutely not! Hood was up to something.

Jason stood just a few feet from Tim leaning against a water tower. Decked out in full garb. Sporting his heavy-duty steel-toed combat boots with military-grade gun holsters and ammo mounts complete with his signature leather jacket. The red bat is visible over his crossed arms. Tim tried not to let unease show as he watched the other man. He was ready to defend or bolt at any given moment. He stood his ground because, despite the urge to flee, he was curious. Tim was so going to regret this.

“ What, am I not allowed to be here, has there been some law about me sticking around that I don’t know about?”

“I don't have the patience for this. So either tell me what you want or leave me alone.” Tim huffs, the frustration finally getting to him. Just spit it out. Tim could have been home by now. And he would take a hot cup of coffee over talking with Hood any day. Well to be that last one went for any of his family.

“Well maybe if you weren’t such a screw-up, I wouldn’t need to babysit ya.”

‘Jerk’. Tim doesn’t bother dignifying that with an answer, just gives Hood a pointed look. Seriously Tim was too tired for this. He had spent months going out of his way to avoid the bats' patrol route (especially Hood’s) only to have that sabotaged by Oracle. Which Tim would waste time panicking about later. But the question still remained, Why? Now of seemed that everyone was acting OC.

A few more moments of silence before Hood sighs pushing himself off the tower and walking over to the ledge near Tim. Tim stiffens and brings his weapon closer, giving a clear message of ‘Keep back’. He knows his message is received when Hood sighs. Holding up his hands in a non-threading way.

“Look Replacement I don't want anything from ya. I just came cuz O said you may need help.”

Tim tensed further. A likely story.

“Sure because you have always been so concerned about my well-being before.” The words were out before he could stop them. He really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut.

“Screw you! Next time I won't waste my time.” The man growls. That was fine with Tim. It’s not like he even asked Hood to come in the first place.

“Honestly though Red. Going in solo with no backup? You didn’t ask anyone to shadow just in case. You should count yourself lucky O was watching.”

Was Hood worried? Oh no. Nuh-uh. Nope, he was out. What the heck was wrong with everyone today. Bruce trying to get him to come to movie night, Dick supposedly giving a crap and now hood lecturing him on safety. Is he on a parallel Earth? He turned and stared down at the now deserted wear house.

“What are you, my mother? I’m not a child I can take care of myself.”

“Sure, famous last words.”

“I wasn’t going to bring anyone else in on this and risk jeopardizing the mission. Explaining the details to a separate party would have been nothing but aggravating and a waste of time so I took care of it myself. This is my case so obviously, I’d know more about it that anyone else. Satisfied?”

Feeling his irritation spike he quickly turns away.

“I'm a big boy Hood, I can take care of Myself. I haven’t needed help from any of you in months and don’t need it now.”

Tim waited expecting a quick reply. When he didn’t get one he looked over to where Hood was standing. He froze. At some point Jason had removed the hood, revealing the myriad of emotions on his face. Shock, regret, and even resignation were visible on his face. But the one Tim saw first was Anger. Jason’s eyes were glowing a bright green. Lazarus Green.

Welp that’s Tim’s queue. Time to go. A hurt Tim always followed angry Jason. He unhooked to Grapple gun and positioned it to take off. Hoping for a quick getaway.

“Wait! Rep- Tim! Wait.”

Tim paused. Confused. Jason sounded flustered just then. He glanced back. Jason still had a hand on the ledge but his body was tense his other hand was clenched in a fist. His whole posture looked as if he was wrestling with himself. He watched as Hood just continued to collect himself. Tim didn’t know if he should encourage the man or run. So he just decided to remain silent.

“Look I get it I'm the last person you want to be around.” He huffs a frustrated sigh. “The others just wanted me to tell you to stop by the cave sometime. Something about you haven’t been by or something like that. Not like I care about your sorry carcass but I can't take the golden boy’s nagging so just stop by to get him off my back.”

Tim stares at Jason for a split second. His brain trying to comprehend what he had just heard. It almost sounded like Hood was making an effort to be friendly. This was weird. He didn’t let himself hope. Everything was happening too fast. He didn’t know why everyone had decided to notice him now but he didn’t trust it. He couldn’t.

“I'll keep that in mind. So long Hood.” And off Tim went. His mood was ruined. His body barely even felt the chill of the wind as he made his way back to his perch.

What was going on with everyone today? No contact for months and then all of a sudden everyone is aware he exists. Tim tries to tamper down the bitterness gripping his heart. What did they want? Why are they pretending they cared now? Inviting him to the manor. Asking him to stop by the cave.

What were they playing at?

Months. He had spent months waiting for them to just acknowledge his existence. To offer a hand of acceptance, but it never came. And each time he had dared to hope only to be disappointed he had felt a little of himself die each time. Now for some reason, he was back on their radar and they were trying to act like the last year never happened. The conversation with Bruce hinted that they all believed he was the problem. It was typical. He bows and sacrifices, but in the end, he still messed things up somehow.

Bitter anger boiled in his gut. He had been their perfect soldier. Followed every order, and completed every project. Yet he had been tossed aside. abandoned. They were all just like Jack and Janet. He had made himself useful. But then his use came to an end. The free trial had ended and no one was willing to commit to the subscription.

His eyes screw up as he thinks about his parents and the night he overheard their plans. He thinks about the time he went to Grayson and begged him to come back to keep batman in line. He thought about the first training session he had; had with batman when he had beaten Tim unconscious. The constant comparison to Jason. Jason returning. Damian’s hatred. He thought about losing his friends, and his mentor. How he begged all his friends to believe him when he said Bruce was alive.

He thought about how Dick threatened him with Arkham. How Barbara locked him out of the system. Damian cutting his line. Everything he had to do and what he has sacrificed just to bring his father home. His word hadn’t been enough. He hadn’t been enough.

yeah, maybe he was crazy. Crazy for believing he’d ever be more than a foot soldier. Crazy for wishing he could experience the family he had witnessed between Bruce and his brothers. He evolved his behavior to cater to whoever was in authority. He did that to his parents the to Bruce, and finally, he used it for his brothers. All of which pushed him aside. Yeah doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome. That was the very definition of insanity.

Passing over allies and walkways Red Robin ran. Ran as if he could outrun the feelings of hopelessness, and bitterness. As if he could run from the pain. Run from his mistakes. From himself.

________________________________

He doesn't know, nor care what time it is when he finally makes it to his apartment. Punching in the passcode for his security he climbs through the window. His body finally registers his bone-deep chill, and exhaustion when faced with the warmth of the apartment. Eyes glistening with unshed tears. Gosh dang, it! He was fine! He had been fine! Screw Bruce and Jason for toying with him. He had finally accepted his situation. He had come to terms with the fact he wasn’t welcome. How dare they try to pretend now!

Tim doesn't have the energy to move. He curls up right there under the window and breathes. The burning ache of his heart of hearts. The buzz of pins and needles beginning to set into all his limbs he doubts he could move if he wanted to.

___________________________

He comes back from nowhere with a jerk. He doesn't know how long he’s been on the floor or when the feeling came back to his hands and the soreness in all his extremities. Quickly glancing at the clock, he sees the time 3:30 am.

Well crap. He still needed to Update those files and send them to Bruce before he went to work. “I'm going to IV caffeine straight into my vein, and no one can stop me”. Tim mutters to himself. Heading straight for the coffee machine, grabbing his favorite mug before hitting start.

Wiping away the evidence of his … well whatever that was. He pours himself a cup. He brought the steaming mug of liquid gold to his lips. Taking a deep draft from the mug he cherishes the mantra written the side, ‘I can do all things through Coffee which Anchors me’.

Humming in contentment at the caffeine flooding his system and the words of wisdom. Taking another sip he heads toward his desk on the other side of his bed.— His bed.

Tim stares down at his bed. Or more specifically, the envelope sitting on top of his bed.

Dashing over to his computer Tim checks all his security settings and systems. Nothing was amiss. He couldn’t understand. Everything was in perfect order. No code was out of place and nothing had been tampered with. So how had that envelope gotten on his bed?

Standing Tim moves to the bed. Eyes fixed on the black envelope resting amongst the blankets. The card was black with burgundy marbling. The ink used to address the card was a brilliant Gold. The embellished calligraphy on the card spells out its intended. ‘To Timothy Jackson Drake’. Carefully picking up the unknown paper Tim turns it over in his hands...

Apart from the custom coloring, there aren’t any other clues of where it came from. No watermark, or a seal. Tim carefully rips the top off retrieving the letter inside. What is this? Why was it left for him? And Who was able to get through his security to leave it?

Bewilderment drowns him as he looks over the letter. Everything, the whole message seems to be written backwards. Tim grips his coffee mug tighter. What could this possibly mean? Steadying himself he comes to one conclusion. ‘There’s only one way to find out’.

He walks to the restroom. Flicking on the lights he holds the letter up to see the reflection. Cold dread fills him as the contents of the letter are exposed.

‘Hello little owlet, it's been a while hasn’t it? I hope you haven't forgotten what I told you all those years ago. The Court of Owls is always watching. And we will come to collect.’

Fear grips his heart as his eyes land on the stamp at the bottom of the paper, reminiscent of the mask the strange man wore that horrible night. The image of an owl. Tim feels his heart leap into his throat and his heartbeat fills his head. Along with the sound of his heartbeat pounding in his ears, Tim hears a voice. A familiar accented voice echoes in his mind.

“It has begun, Little Owlet’

A sharp pain flares up, He feels as if his mind is being ripped in two. Then knows no more.

[fantomette22]

QUICK!! LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR FIC CAINHURST OCS SO WE CAN INVITE THEM TO ME AND BIMBOM’S OC TEA PARTY AND WATCH THEM ALL FIGHT!!

OH OK Ok !!!

So i will keep it to my main fic « OCs »because if i add the 3 version of Maria family tree or smt it’s never gonna be over 😂

Potential lil spoilers for my fic too ahah (but I didn’t put any big spoils!) Also some are complete Ocs but other are based on the portrait or even fit in the lore and could be more of an oc with a prompt /interpretation. And funny things to note but literally more than half of my bloodborne ocs are from Cainhurst 😂

Ok let’s begin with Vledemyr!

The young newest addition to the royal guard. Maria & Annalise cousin & friend, future head of the royal guard of Annalise (and one of the most powerful vileblood one day). In my notes I said he is 4y older than Maria and 1y older than Annalise. That guy is like the mvp of cainhurst. Best inhabitant of Cain after Maria probably. I already talk about him I think ( I love him so much). Ok he would do anything for Annalise yeah but Maria too. Always here to watch over her like an older brother. He’s a bit overprotective of the girls when they were young yeah. Really a great support character, the ideal knight ! He’s not annoying like the rest of the typical cainhurst nobles too. His only default is maybe to be too loyal and obey order without contradicted them. Oh and he’s the one who take care of the crows & raven of the castle. (He’s the best that’s why you need to know)

Lady Sveta/ Svetta smt (kinda place holder name)

she’s a young noble lady from Cainhurst, similar age to Annalise and a close friend of her, Vledemyr, Maria etc She’s a calm & thoughtful lady who managed to become quite influential over the years at Cainhurst despite her young age. She’s not a knight but like most aristocratic cainhurst ladies she was taught how to weld a dagger at least. (Vled taught her quite a few extra tips too!)

Charles : What can I tell about him without telling too much🤔 He’s Maria, Annalise & Vledemyr childhood friend. His family don’t live at Cainhurst anymore and he’s not a super high class noble. The executioner gloves came from his family yep. He was a students at Byrgenwerth too. He begin his course 1y before Maria (1 year older). As a kid the 2 were really the inseparable little trouble makers of Cainhurst 😂 He grew more mature since but could cause troubles if he wish XD (a bit like Laurence, when told them NO and they say YES.) Yeah he’s a lil bastard basically but I love him.

He hope one to impress the noble from Cainhurst and have an important place one day. And you know help restore the great strength Cainhurst lost over time (it’s the shadow of it’s former glory)

He could have quite a decisive role at some point…

Richard, he’s the precedent king consort of cainhurst and Annalise’s father. Poor guy, so much stuff is going on in front of his salad and he can’t do anything about it xD. Yeah he’s not really the one in charge the old ladies of their council don’t even consult him every time ;-; but he’s trying his best and dream of a day where Cainhurst would be xxx again! Of course he’s not perfect but he tried. For exemple he’s really compatissant with Maria wanting to go study far from cainhurst and travel when she’s supposed to become a royal guard. And he prepared Annalise as best as he could and preferred to take pressure on himself than on his dear daughter. Still, sometimes (bc it’s his right) he’s wearing one of the most precious tresor of cainhurst. One of the crown of illusion. Said to diccipe & create illusion in the ancient times. The 2nd crown was lost century ago far into the plumerias labyrinth and all it’s just a normal crown now. All it’s mystic power seems to have disappear long ago…

Well there’s the late queen I guess. (Don’t have a name yet sorry) she was loved by her subject and yeah typical queen too. She was actually the one to try to begin expedition to pthumerians underground again. After decades/centuries of nothing because cainhurst was to salty at the war their loose against their cousins

The ex body guard of the queen (I don’t have a name yet 😐). Will be relevant at some point… He was originally a mercenary hiring by Cainhurst to go to Loran. One of the only person who came back and they made him knight for his exploit. He even become the Queen’s personal bodyguard. He mysteriously disappeared some times after the Queen passed away…

The Royal guard captain? Or at least one of the head of the knights (when Maria was a student at Byrgenwerth). He’s an asshole. Other instructors are much sympthetic but this guy omg… you will understand when the time come. He’s really strict, almost abusive and doesn’t support when you contradict him or try to insult him to his face 😬

3 squires : future royal guards in training about Maria’s age. The 4 of them are supposed to become the next royal guards & Annalise personal guard.

(Maria is on the right & Vledemyr supervise them. It’s a meme too xD)

There’s a young woman (chikage and Evelyn) and two young men, one really strong with 2 chikages and the other one wielding a reiterpallasch and an Evelyn)

I need names too. And I can’t tell you really much more for now.

The next 3 are inspired by a song my friend made.

Twins musician : 2 of the most incredible musicians of Cainhurst. They both can play a clavecin in sync for exemple. And really fast

The master of dance/maestro : He teach the young noble how to spar & dance. And is a bit crazy really XD he often wear a knight helmet with a black suit.

Oh I almost forgot but the chiefs cook ! They come from the same country as Yamamura. If you do shit with their food or tried to cook one of their signature dishes horribly they will fight you.

Then I guess there’s Maria’s close family & other relatives ? You know her parents, the other nobles (but not really ocs more like background character you know) and her annoying grand aunts… 🤣 « But Annalise you can’t stand grand aunt Suzanne either ! »

The birds (crows mostly), horses and dogs don’t count I guess rip 💔 (I’m looking for names too. Yes they are important and relevant background characters)

I know Bloody Crow is not an OC but does baby Bloody Crow (when he was a baby/kid/teens) aka Voron count ? 🥺 No? ok. All I will say for now is that Maria is his godmother.

Ok so Leo don’t count either I guess so not for today. I don’t think his half siblings : Lupin & sister count either XD they are not noble and from Hemwick so (also in the family of my dear hunter)

There’s one last cainhurst oc I have… I think… but hm i can’t really talk about it (a lil secret kinda) I will only say that this oc was a young and sweet little girl who loved flowers and her family. She is deeply missed.

Anyway can’t wait see a hell of a typical Cainhurst duel on the table 👀 oh I mean tea party sorry x)

[elsaedelweiss]

Zora headcannons

Ok, I am officially adding Zora to my list of favourites... I am not one for vengeance but after the bounties..

To kick off her official addition to my list of favourites... Here are my headcannons regarding this grim, determined... Yet ultimately vulnerable Bounty Hunter!

1. She loves all things sweet that's true... But she also loves things that have a sour tang. At first she didn't enjoy the sour taste when mixed with sweets but well... Over time she acquired a taste.

2. As her last bounty shows she's a no nonsense person... But that doesn't mean she can't laugh at silly things like comedies such as Down Periscope! In fact she wouldn't tell anyone besides Stewart her teacher... But she and the rest of the bounty hunters gather at least once a month to watch comedies and laugh!

3. When she gifted the ship that finds its safe harbour... What wasn't shown was that she spent days working on the model herself knowing that her teacher loves such models!

4. She loves bunnies... But also horses! In fact one of the things that helped Stewart understand her was their shared riding sessions. He would take her to the stables close to Gyrate and teach her how to ride and they would talk afterwards. Often while feeding treats to the adult horses... And the foals!

5. She adores playing games like Stray or other animal/cartoon games... But she will never tell anyone besides Xiao Zin... Who "conveniently" leaves his game console on when he knows she returns from a mission or has time to kill!

6. She learned from Black Turtle how to sew and now regularly makes surprise gifts... Only she never discloses it's her when asked. The others pretend they don't "know" who is their mysterious gifter.

7. She and Triki share more or less a father/daughter relationship even though either will ever admit that! Each for their own reasons of course...

8. She may harbour a deep hatred for the Shadow Decree... But she will always go out of her way to help the Union! Including if they are endangered by the Decree or Miramon... She will either attack and defend them or give them a tip-off. The Union pretends to not know who is their mysterious "saviour".

9. But when her birthday rolls around... All chip in to get her a gift using "anonymous" tips from Triki which is then given to Eira by Stewart and in turn given to Triki with the request he does not disclose the "gifters". He happily obliges.

10. This trend is also followed by the rest of the Bounty Hunter Guild of Graywater.

[theallenshorefangirl]

After the Tapes AU Chapter 1

My Name is Desmond Wales.I was found in my appartmemt after the events of me looking for answers from my patients tapes and fighting some kind of shadow form versions of them.Lucas Cole an ex military man found me on the floor of my office room in the appartments.He took me back to where he was in hiding trying to find out more info from Mayer,the company who created the rainbow chemical.But as of now I know of another who could possibly help us.But I don't know if something bad has happend to him or not.He's Allen Shore,Lighthouse keeper of Icarus Point Lighthouse.He claims he seen the men in black taking pictures of his house and I believe him and Lucas does too.We might need his help but he's at the Never Loose Hope Hospital,how me and Lucas sees it he's being held in his coma state by the chemical being tested on like a animal."So Any plan" Lucas said his silver and half green dyed hair gleamed in the bunker light."Well security is tight around the building,and we can't get in their,they would definitely know the both of us!" Desmond said with shaving nicks on his face from where he shaved."Do you need help? And why are you shaving?" Lucas crossed his arms,tilting his head."Well it's better than anything else besides why are you saying that? You dyed half your hair green!?" Desmond gave him a look of confusion."Well I wanted to look hip,cool,modern....you know." He gave a nervous grin to Desmond."I mean I kinda wanted to get the tips of my hair dyed white....for Tonia I mean." Desmond placed his glasses back on,flopping down onto one of the armchairs."Yeah,I know you miss poor Tonia,I mean you miss your other patients too Virginia and Max,I mean Rosemary was my key to half the info I got from her and well Mayer got to her before I could save her." He lays his rifle on the stand,sitting down in the armchair near Desmond's seat."But one thing at a time Des,We need to think of a plan to get Allen before something heavily bad happends to him." He placed his hand on Desmond's shoulder,exchanging a worried look on his face."Do some of those breathing exercises you do,calm yourself down before you have one of your mental breakdowns,and we can think of a plan later or maybe get some sleep....Ok?" Desmond nodded as he stood up to go to his room in the bunker.It was painted white with painted framed art of the shadow forms of his patients.On his dresser he had group photo of him with his patients "The photo had Virginia with a smile on her face,Allen was half asleep and leaning on Desmond's shoulder,Max had a smug yet playful look on his face and Lucas had his arms crossed with a happy smirk,Desmond wore a blue vest in the photo along with blue tinted glasses and a small smile" instead of his iconic green vest and yellow tint glasses.He layed down on the bed.The bedside table had a photo of Tonia and written on it was "Patients amd Grace." He turns the lamp off before pulling the thin green diamond pattern blanket over him.

Allen's dream Poem

He stands atop the lighthouse tower,and not sunken in the pit,his wings was gifted by the Savior, who helped him from his shaded form,They gleamed so bright they was the light for all of them to see,he thought he seen the ghostly lady and the bullheaded bull,along with a beauty who was blue she had wings almost like me,and then the giant radio tower waving and playing a tune,I was also accompanied by a small white cat,her purring brought me joy,I feel like I'm free as a bird,But I still feel caged for everyone to see,Trapped within the darkness for the monster to swallow me whole once again.....

The heart monitor was more lively as Allen huffed,his uncover half of his faces eye slowly opened in the red lit room.He could feel half his left hand clutch in anger like a lit flame of a candle.(If I could I would scream at the top of my lungs,the men in black they took me here?What if they want to do something horrible to me I can't let them know I'm waking up!? What if they can hear my thoughts!?Wait if I panic now who knows what they would do!Calm yourself Shore...Desmond if your out there please come and help me) Allen did breathing exercises to calm himself down,if it wasn't for Desmond's words of wisdom he would have been caught.He managed to calm himself down before a Doctor came in with a dirty look on his face and shutting the door.Allen heard him muffle something about "heavier dose of some more chemical for him?"Allen was terrified.

[volfoss]

Doll faceup under cut (word heavy lmao)

I picked up this Dollzone Mo for pretty cheap because he was VERY old and yellowed (made in 2010 so he's very old!!) And the more that i thought about the direction I wanted to go with him, the more I realized I really wanted to reshell (basically same oc but in a different doll sculpt) one of my old dolls that i got rid of years ago. I had sent the original doll off to get his faceup done by a friend but had unfortunately deleted all the pics of this doll so all I had to go off was memory and not a muscle memory of doing the faceups years ago or pictures. He's not the same sculpt but he has a lot of the same features, ie the pouty lips, nose, and eye shape so I was pretty happy that when I got him yesterday, I could FEEL that it was gonna be the right doll to reshell Theo (old dolls name) into. The faceup was definitely a more complicated matter as Theo had a very natural looking faceup which um. Not my strong suit, I love doing big dramatic makeup but I was trying to recapture the same vibes i had from my old doll. With how yellowed he was, I also had to work with that when I was blushing as to not make the head TOO yellow or red. Thankfully I work on yellowed resin a lot so I was moderately confident that I'd be ok.

^ blank sculpt (isn't he so cute 🥺) and the first coat of pastels (hard to see there but they are there promise)

I did something a TINY bit different than my normal order of how I do a faceup and moved right onto acrylics. He has freckles all over his face so I figured doing them very early on would make it look the most natural under any other makeup I was doing. I used a toothbrush, dipped it in a warm brown-orange paint, and flicked it all over the face, cleaning up with a wet and dry q tip, purposefully leaving behind spots of pigmentation on the skin as it's something that I have under my freckles so I wanted to give Theo that too. While I was at it, I used a cool toned brown pretty close to the skin tone to add a bit of an eyeliner (in the way that it'll actually pop a bit with the eyes in place versus looking unfinished) and a waterline using a peachy pink color.

The freckles do NOT photograph super well but they look really good so I'm happy with how they turned out! I then return to the pastels to add more face shading and start on his eyebrows

The eyebrows were VERY hard to do and very scary. 1. I'm VERY bad at eyebrow symmetry. 2. The pastels weren't working so i had to only use a pencil (which I've done w a few faceups now but it was very scary). It was overall very frightening but I think I'm definitely getting a bit better at eyebrows in general :) lip blushing was started which I'll probably do a few more coats of pastel on them and then draw the lines on and be done. Really outside of that I'm nearly done :) natural faceups are a bit easier but they just are NOT what I'm used to so it's a bit of a learning curve to get it looking like a human face instead of whatever silly vibes I'm going for if I'm doing a more dramatic look

The sealant is wet here (forgot to take a pic before i sealed lol) but i just did small little darkening in some areas, I think my next coat will be adding some more shadows to the eyes and lips then I'll be done 👍)

I added some lashes as well as darkening the eyeliner and adding lip lines (hard to see in the pic but they're there 👍) and added some shadows but I finished minus the gloss! For how small he is and how I haven't done a natural faceup in 2 years, I'm pretty happy with it!

And one rq pic of him with an eye in :) I'm really happy with it and I'll have to make him a wig soonish but I'm really glad to have done my own faceup for this doll 👍

[portalaway]

@vldldarkwood

Replying in a post just bc a reply is not enough room. sorry late reply also because this is...long. you dont have to read it or reply lol

I feel ya on that, sometimes i can get caught up with describing when i realize that it just goes on for too long. or nothing seems to happen and it just reads dull. Heres some tips you didnt ask for!! sorry i just like talking

So one thing i do, is i go through the paragraphs and look at the sentences. You dont have to count the words, but look at the length of the sentences. Sometimes ill find ones that mess up the voice/tone/flow of the paragraph by being too long, too short, or repeat a word said 1 or 2 sentences ago.

I go through those sentences and try and figure out how else i can word it. This is where a thesaurus comes in handy.

You could say bland short sentence like:

The hot sun burned his arm, making him yell in pain. As he looked outside, the sun blinded him, making him rub his eyes. "This is why i only go out at night" he said annoyed. He shuts the door and locks it for the day.

Or better ways to say it:

The sun raged on as it heated the air and dried the land. The rays singed the skin it touched, creating a growing red hue on his forearms. Yelping in pain, he quickly brings his arms back into the shadows and gently places his palm on the seething wound. As he peeked outside, he found himself instantly blinded. He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "This is why I only go out at night" he grumbled to himself. Sarcastically and with theatrics, he smacked the door closed and pushed down the flimsly lock. The door WILL NOT BE USED for the rest of the day

(I wrote these segments out of order, the one below should have been first)

Now every writer has their own voice, so i cant tell you what it SHOULD sound like. BUT, the typical writing style will have a mix of long sentences, short sentences, etc.

So a paragraph like this:

This is a paragraph written to show an example. Is this example helpful? I don't know. But thinking of an example to write is actually kind of hard. And now this paragraph is finished.

is better than

This is a second paragraph. Its worse than the first. Not varied at all. I don't like this paragraph. It's just too boring.

Both have 5 sentences, but each have different flow. First one is like a river, the second is like...squirting a spray bottle.

--

Ok so theres the rough draft, getting the idea out there, throwing all the info on the table and arranging it where you want it

Then you go in and tweak some sentences and paragraphs. And gotta fix things like a blooming flower

So you go to the first paragraph, a chunk out of the story. You break up the sentences to look at their lengths and the flow. Is it choppy or is there a rhythm of sorts. Then open up the sentences and inspect the words. are they repeated? are you using a good combination of thesaurus words and ghost words (idk the name, but thesaurus words as in not extremely common, and ghost words kind of blend in the sentence. Like the word 'said').

What purpose does your paragraph have? Is the whole paragraph there to describe a scene? Is it a lead in to a scene?

The only time a paragraph can stay stagnant and not move the story forward is if you are describing something important.

A paragraph describing JUST how hot the sun is? not great. Because you can get your point across in 1-2 sentences. Is it describing how hot and bright it is? Better, because theres more depth to your sun now.

Is the paragraph describing the affect your sun has on its enviroment? Or on a character? Even better, because you can get a lot of info from that and a better picture. And your paragraph is richer.

Paragraphs can have a beginning middle and end, and they can be part of a beginning middle and end (BME)with the next few paragraphs.

Paragraph with BME:

This first paragraph introduces an object, like a rat that is sniffing around a dusty bookshelf. This second paragraph expands on the rat, telling us that suddenly the rat stops. The room is quiet. This sentence breaks the silence by informing us that a fork is now stuck in the wood of the bookcase, having nearly impaled the rat dead if he were not as nimble. The conclusion of this paragraph wraps up with the rat scurring off into one of the many holes in the walls. Lastly, we end it with a transition into the next paragraph by mentioning that a dark figure snaps their fingers and the fork flies right back into their hand, as they then use it to continue eating.

3 Paragraphs; Beginning Middle End:

This is the beginning paragraph. It can have the same structure as a regular paragraph, like the one above. But this takes more time to set up the beginning, and to set up a transition into the middle paragraph. So focus on the echos of the rats nails scratching against old wood. The worn books smelling like mildew. And even seeing slivers of light shine in through the shuttered windows, illuminating the dust in the air. The rats ear twitches towards the middle of the room.

Suddenly we are in the middle paragraph, which should be seen as the climax. But that doesnt mean it has to be exciting. You can drive in how silent the room is. Its deafining. But the sound of splitting wood was louder. For in front of the rat, a fork stood sideways stuck into the rotting wood. The rat took this as a sign to hide, and disappeared into one of the many holes in the walls. This is now settling into a transition into the ending paragraph.

Once again the room was quiet, save for the sound of snapped fingers and an old fork once again flying through the air. The shrouded figure, whom is sitting in a chair far too big, gracefully catches the utensil between their fingers. Now we end this scene with the figure continueing to eat. These 3 paragraphs set up a mystery figure, a location, emotions.

While the first single BME paragraph, sets up a mystery figure, a location, and emotions, but it paints a different feeling when reading it.

---

Theres so many other ways to spice up your writing, these are just things i do.

And always remember that you should be enjoying yourself. And to not be hard on yourself. Look at your creativity and be a parent who puts it up on the fridge. Find your art (writing is art) endearing.

Be proud of your stuff, even if youre faking the pride.