#so that when you make the square base the color is on the outside

[origami-fleur]

Sprig

Leaves instructions.

[mellosdrawings]

Sorry for the inconvenience but could you make a tutorial on how to draw Kalim please?

Alright, time for a Kalim tuto!

I'm gonna do a bit differently compared to the usual, because there is something interesting about Kalim and Jamil.

They are, quite literally, polar opposite even in design.

Long straight dark hair vs short fluffy white hair

Little dark eyes vs big soft eyes

Red and dark colors vs light and blueish colors

Fire motif vs water magic

Apart from the eyes, those are all things they have control over too. Things they can't decide for themselves (skin color, size) are similar, but things that partake in choices (hairstyles, colors) are completely opposite.

Think about it when you draw either of them. You might want to draw them with that opposition in mind.

I'm going to keep coming back to Jamil's design (since I draw him all the time he is my base reference when I draw Kalim. You can find Jamil's tuto HERE if you wanna compare)

0. Face's general shape

Not pictured here coz it's not as obvious seen facing, but I like to give Kalim a heart shaped face. High yet round cheeks and pointy chin. That's what gives him a cute side and makes him approachable (unlike Jamil who would be straighter and thinner).

1. Turban part 1

Unlike with other characters, we're gonna start with the main accessory here since it changes the shape of his hair. For that I suggest that you draw the ears first. His turban doesn't actually touch them, so place the vague shape slightly above it. Don't make it symmetrical, the left side should be higher than the left.

2. Turban part 2

Here you add the little left over from his turban. Make it go slightly further than the middle line to make it more natural. Once more, no symmetry. Keep the distinct left-right for Jamil, Kalim is more natural and imperfect.

3. Hair

Kalim has short fluffy hair coming from a point to the left. They all go toward the same direction. Keep your lines flowing, make soft waves. They tend to fork outwards at the end.

4. Turban part 3

I only close the turbans here, otherwise I tend to put the edges too close to his head. There is matter here between his hair and the actual turban, so keep it in mind. Don't draw the edges with straight lines. Remember: natural and imperfect. Add a little wave to make it look like a fold.

5. Bangs

Kalim's bangs can be separated in three parts, two framing his face and one at the center going right. His bangs are short. Just like for the top hair, keep it fluffy and cute.

6. Turban part 4, the bow

Yes, the turban is half of Kalim's design so we're still not done with it. Kalim has a cute bow to the side, so seen from the front you only see one loop and one end of the fabric. Make two vaguely squared shapes and add a little curve at the bottom of the upper square to shape the loop of the bow.

7. Feathers

We're almost done with the turban! Where Jamil had on feather to the right of his face, Kalim has two. They come almost from the ear, behind the bow, and reach slightly lower than his chin. Try not to draw them completely parallel (natural and imperfect!)

8. Eyes

Once more going to reference Jamil, but they actually have the same eye shape, with round lower lids and straighter high lids. The difference is that Jamil has lazy eyes (meaning his eyes aren't opened fully) while Kalim's eyes are more open. It gives him bigger, softer eyes.

The pupils are also huge, once more in complete opposition to Jamil's little pupils.

As for the eyebrows, Kalim's are very short but a bit wide. Make it about the side of his pupils, lower inside and higher outside.

9. Earrings

His earrings are 6 shaped with three chains falling from it. They're actually pretty long, going down to his chin. You can keep it simple.

10. Finish the face

Make him smile. Seriously, Kalim is smiling more often than he is not (while Jamil is scowling more than he is not). I make his smile all round, once more to accentuate the cute side. Most everything is round in Kalim's design, so don't hesitate to lean toward it. (Remember, he's based on the Sultan, a character whose character design can be surmised in one word: round)

Once more not visible from the front, but I give him a hooked nose just like Jamil.

11. Correct details and finish

Kalim doesn't have much hair at the neck but I give him a few strands just to finish framing his face. Add flourishes to the turban. You're done!

[beannary]

I colored your comic again!

Q1: I headcanon that his bowtie is actually his ninja mask but is worn different, is that true?

Q2: SQUARE GLASSES!! Can we see him in some please?

Q3: What eye color do you think they should have? I made April's blue like her 2012 counterpart.

Q4: Are you going to make it say SPECIFICALLY that Leo and Don are twins when they talk to Splinter?

Q5: Have you heard of 'Family Jewels by Marina and the Diamonds?' I think it suits your Donnie.

Q6: What about how Big Mama and Splinter were ex-engaged?

(Love this series a lot and can't wait for next part.)

oh wow!! it looks so good and you were so quick!!!!

Q1: Donnie's bow tie is not his mask! Splinter is going to make Donnie his own bandana (not that Donnie is going to wear it very often) but Donnie really doesn't want to keep any of the stuff that he wore when he was living with Big Mama since he really doesn't want to keep any of his stuff from that era of his life.

Q2: Yeah! I think he'll wear square glasses once he moves in with the Hamatos so whenever I draw him post-Big Mama he'll be wearing square glasses.

Q3: When I first made TLP I wanted Leo and Donnie to have matching heterochromatic eyes, one being red and one being blue so that's their eye colors in this au but outside of the au I think their eye color would be brown. I also think April would have brown eyes. I'm just basing that off of how like its common for people of color to have brown eyes.

Q4: Yup! Well its going to be weird because Leo and Donnie don't have the same birthday but they are the same age and Donnie does become the closest with Leo so they are twins they just also decide to celebrate their birthdays on two days

Q5: I have and it does suit Donnie!

Q6: Big Mama and Splinter's relationship will come up just not for a while since none of the turtles know about it yet. I mean Donnie does know that Big Mama dated Lou Jitsu and that he broke her heart but he doesn't know that Splinter is Lou Jitsu.

[thedeviltohisangel]

All The Things I Did (2): It's All Around, It's All The Time

a/n: wanted to end with angst but i'll save it. send in blrub reqests for these idiots falling in love

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. All he had to do was ask. He had asked plenty of girls and women out on the town before. All of them had blushed and giggled and obliged with a twirl of their hair and a bat of their lashes. But this one. Cass. She was something else entirely. 

John didn’t ever think about deploying overseas resulting in him standing outside the mess hall, hat in hand and a bouquet of flowers sweatily gripped in his hand, pacing and muttering self-encouragement under his breath. You’ve done this a million times. You just ask. So what if she says no? There are a million girls trotting around here you’ve already charmed.

“Major Egan?” Shit. He had thought she was already in there, now he looked panicked and not at all manly. “Am I late?” She checked the watch on her wrist, knowing she would never not be on time down to the minute.

“No I thought you’d be early so I was out here talking myself into asking you to dinner.” There was no better way to say it than to just say it. He expected her to look shocked or abhorred. Anything but the look on her face that made it seem that is exactly what she was expecting. 

“Are those supposed to go with the offer?” she asked as she motioned to the grouping of wildflowers he had tasked the children who followed Lemmons around to help him pick. He held them out sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as she lifted them to her nose.

“They’re not much-”

“They’re lovely.” She smiled, a real smile, and he felt a weight lift off his chest and his own smile spread across his face in kind. “Is dinner here or somewhere else?”

“Was thinking somewhere off base. Show you the John Egan worth knowing.”

“You’ll pick me up?” He nodded emphatically. “Then I will see you at 6.” That would give her enough time to finish her work day and get physically and psychologically prepared for whatever John Egan had in store.

“I’ll see you then,” he spoke with a hint of reverence in his tone, unable to even blink as she held the flowers to her nose again and damn near floated past him into the mess hall. Yes. Something else entirely.

----

She was nervous and she hated it. Hated that she was fretting over a fly away piece of hair only visible if the sun hit it just right. Hated that she only had two tubes of lipstick to choose from and neither of them were the right color. Hated that she had only reconciled breaking the rules to sneak out in anything other than her uniform to avoid Major Egan looking at any other girl in a pretty dress.

“Lieutenant Cooper, Major Egan is here for you.”

“Thank you, Mary.” Cass squared her shoulders and took one last steadying breath. She had faced down much worse. German border guards. Handsy bankers. Her mother when she enlisted instead of marrying Sidney Landry.

“You’re out of regulation,” were the first words out of his mouth when she finally stepped outside. 

“Astute.” He opened the Jeep door for her, helping her in before rushing to his side.

“You look lovely.” He meant it sincerely. One of the most beautiful sights he had seen even before the war. And he was sure she would be even for long after.

The ride to a local pub was pleasant enough, John laughing at her earnest attempts to keep her hair in place in the breeze, making her laugh with her whole heart as he sang along to something on the radio. Sang or yelled, the verb was up for debate. He was a perfect gentleman, opening doors and pulling out her chair. 

“You’ve given me plenty of grief over my debutante manners all in the hopes of covering up your own,” she mused as he returned from the bar top to their table with a couple of glasses. Coca-Cola for her, a pint for him.

“I’m not a neanderthal,” he quipped back. John went to raise his glass to his lips when he stopped, her hand resting lightly against his wrist.

“Not before a toast.” She cleared her throat. “To kicking Hitler’s ass and looking damn good while doing it.” The beer almost couldn’t get between the lips of his smile. 

“You’re very surprising.” Cass hummed in acknowledgment. “I like it.”

“Like it? You like an ice cream flavor over another or you like the color of the tie your parents buy you for Christmas.”

“Well, love is a bit presumptuous, Lieutenant, but if you’re that taken-”

“Smitten. Tell me you’re smitten with me.” There was a dare behind her eyes. Daring him to dip his toes into shark-infested waters. 

“I’m smitten with you,” he relented. John thinks she blushed. But before he could tease her about it, a pile of fish and chips was being placed between them.

“Miss Cooper, I wasn’t expecting you tonight! I got a fresh batch of my sponge in the back. Make sure you save room.” 

“I will, Patricia, thank you.” John smiled at the interaction, enjoying this version of Spook. She was much more free off base. Captured the attention of everyone she came into contact with. He could only assume these were natural attributes for her job. Alleged job.

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?” she asked with a pop of a chip into her mouth. 

“Wrap everyone around your finger in an instant.” He reached for her hand halfway across the table, Cass offering it instantly, filling the gaps in between her fingers with his own to emphasize the point. 

“I could give you the same answer I told an empty suit in Washington a few years ago but the answer you want, it’s something I think you have to answer yourself, Major Egan-”

“John, please, Cass.” He was drowning in whatever this was. Needed her to give him an inch just to stay above water.

“John.” He brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles one by one.

“Again.” She swallowed, mouth running dry and eyelids feeling heavy.

“John.” He could feel her pulse in her wrist. Flickering quicker ever so slightly. He thinks he could lose himself in this game. Willingly go insane if it meant having her look at him like this. “I’m smitten with you, too.”

----

Somewhere between the fish and the chips and the sponge and the more than a few pints, John had decided those two bikes out front were going to be his. And they weren’t for sale. So he had to earn them. Why not have some fun in the process?

“Aren’t you going to tell him he doesn’t have to do this?” Cass had thought about it but enjoyed the look on Bucky-no that was too much-John’s face to stamp out the fire.

“Major Egan, it’s just a stupid bet,” one of the British soldiers tried to reason with him. 

“I have to do it now. Can’t look like a man who doesn’t follow through on his word in front of my girl.” My girl. That had slipped out when he was refilling his pint glass two or three pours ago. She was still tingling with the warmth it had provided. 

“Who’s it gonna be then, Major?” Everyone echoed the call. 

“I’ve played everyone,” he paused to hiccup, “and you Irish are about as good as hitting that bullseye as you are hammering your nails.” He pointed at a gentleman named Tommy and called him the best darts slinger in all of East Anglia, grabbing the apple to ready himself for the shot. Cass had resigned herself to the corner, content with watching John from afar. 

“You two have been so cute together all night! Why don’t you go give him a good luck kiss?” A group of girls, around her age, had been at the pub either with their own soldier or hoping to find one. They had been longingly admiring the interactions between Cass and John. Like they were in their own little world in the corner of that pub. 

“I don’t want to distract him,” Cass protested but she was already rising from her chair and smoothing her skirt. 

“I’m sure he will find it a worthy distraction.” The cacophony of giggles followed her to her Major, Cass plucking the apple from his hand purposefully. 

“Don’t go losing an eye,” she whispered. 

“Fond of them already?” Her lips pressed together to block her words of agreement from slipping out. “Tell you what. I win those bikes from him but I want a kiss from you.”

“A kiss? That’s hardly a prize. Last I counted, you’ve kissed me plenty.” It was true. When she hadn’t rebuked his lips against her knuckles, he had moved to her palms and her wrists and had taken on the habit of kissing the top of her head every time he stood to refill their drinks. God, he had even allowed himself a sinful press of his lips to her forehead when they had swayed to the record playing in the corner only a handful of moments ago.

“A real, proper sweep you off your feet and make your head spin kind of kiss.”

“Then I guess that is worth playing for.” She handed him the apple and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek either way. 

“Alright, Tommy, just not the eye.” Cass held her breath as the dart sailed through the air and let it go once it lodged neatly into the apple on John Egan’s head. The whole place erupted and she watched with a smile and a shake of her head as he hoisted Tommy into the air. He caught her eye and smiled like a champion, straightening his jacket before walking towards her. Her arm extended to hit his chest once he was within reach. 

“Outside.” The air inside was suffocating, especially under John’s lovestruck gaze. Her head already felt like it was spinning and he hadn’t even tried to kiss her yet. 

“This seems sturdy enough,” he said with a wave of his hand towards a stone wall lining the road.

“Sturdy enough for-” she gasped as his hands grabbed her waist and lifted her on top of it. Their height leveled within a few inches. Instinctually, her fingertips found the hair at the nape of his neck and found purchase. He leaned forward until there was no moonlight between them.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered. She chased his question with her own answer, her lips meeting his and a symphony echoing in her head. John met her in kind, cupping her cheek in the palm of his hand and stroking his thumb once, twice, three times. 

“John.” It was a near moan. She wanted more, more, more. Her shoes fell off her stockinged feet, heels digging into his back to bring him closer. 

“You’re going to be the fucking death of me.” He said all the words with one breath to minimize the interruption to the havoc her lips were wreaking on his heart. His arms wrapped tighter around her waist, lifting and turning so he was on the wall and she was on his lap. Cass relished the change in position. Mewling when his hands slid up from her ankles to her thighs and settled at the hem of her dress.

“I need to catch my breath.” She pulled away slightly and pressed a teasing kiss to the tip of John’s nose. 

“That feels nice.” She giggled and kissed him again. “You all caught up on your breath?” Cass nodded and with a smirk, she crashed against him over and over again. And if he whispered again how he was smitten with her. And if she rubbed her nose against his with something more than smitten in her intention. And if John Egan looked back on that night from the confines of a POW camp in Germany, that was just between them, the moon and the stars.

[wiltedkyinn]

his favorite girl (Mason Thames x f! reader)

warning; mention of weed(everytime i write celeb! reader i have to make them a stoner), mentions sex jokes, motorcycle mason !!, cliffhanger😭

will have a part two !!

world count; 1k.

synopsis; when you and your boyfriend, mason. Who's a fellow actor on How to train your dragon, get caught on a date by fans. How are you going to answer to the question at the premiere?

•

Me and Mase are finally going out. We see each other almost 24/7 already, due to working on the same movie. While we spend an ample amount of time, it doesn't feel the same as going out. When we're alone, its the most happiest times of my life. Seeing his shy smile every time i look at him for what he deems too long,(i dont think i could never look at him just for a couple seconds, his beauty would take me hours to see and understand it fully.) The way he holds on to me, such passion that makes me believe that that would be the last time we hold eachother. His eyes glints when his talking about his next scene he's doing. The way his ears turn a blush red when i make a suggestive joke. i cant ever get enough. he's like my addiction, feeling an all time high with him.

While we agreed to go out, we couldn't dress up much. not trying to bring more attention then we have already. i opted out for a off the shoulder neckline crop top , with a deep red base color with black skulls on the front. for my pants are black men cargo pants. pairing the outfit i wore my black air force 1's with five bracelets and two dainty one on the other hand. I also layered a (f/c) necklace it had a M carved in it, gave by mason on my birthday, put together with a sun necklace. Glueing on my lashes and doing a simple black smokey eye, i brushed on a small amount of primer,foundation, concealer and bronzer to add warmth. i heard my music quiet down with a quick ding! i looked over at my phone to see a message notification, loml👩‍❤️‍👨.

--

loml👩‍❤️‍👨

Outside ml, u ready?

read at 9:48 pm.

me

ab to be

come inside, its fine

read at 9:49 pm.

--

i heard the front door open, i turned down my music to hear his footsteps better. i soon heard him open the room's door. i quickly saw his blonde curls and his dorky smile. "hey my gorgeous girl," he walked towards me and planted a kiss on my head. i hooked my hands on the back of his neck and look up. more then happy to give him a semi-proper kiss. "hey handsome." i look lovingly in his eyes. he kisses my nose, "you look amazing (name)" he smiles and pulls away. i finally take an actual look at him. he wore a red hoodie and his black cargo pants.

"i think you stole my outfits" i playfully narrow my eyes at him. "hm? but im the one ready, so you stole my outfit." he chuckled at the end. Jesus he is so gorgeous, he's more than perfect. beyond it, in all actuality. he noticed you staring at him more then needed. his shy smile took place of his equally as handsome square smile. "what? do i have something on my face?" his voice was squeaky, pointing more to the fact he has nervous. i giggled at him, i would never get tired of him.

"so wheres everybody?" he asked, he didnt really see my family a whole lot. "ma and my stepmom are out on a date or something, my brother is with my grandma. so its just me and the cats and dogs" i shrugged. "they left you alone?" he quirked an eyebrow. i got up and rummaged my bed. "yeah it's whatever" i found it, the slim black battery that has shango labeled on it, on-top a cartridge fulled with wax. i sat back down a took a hit. i pulled out my hand and silently asked if he wanted to hit it. he thought about it then took it. "mase you dont have too." feeling scared of pressuring him. he coughed after exhaling the last bit of smoke, "its okay, im a big boy" he joked.

i brushed my hair one last time before being happy with the results. "okay im all done." getting up once again and stretching my back to pop it. i grabbed the cart again and inhaled a big amount. exhaling it and coughing a little. mase thought this was funny. i didn't. "girl" i put up my hand and give him a "mean girl" look. he did the same, "girl.." swinging his hip. i grabbed his hand and started to walk out of the room. him complying easily, letting me lead and guide.

i grabbed the keys and locked the door before returning my hands back into his. in full veiw i saw his jet black glittery motorcycle. he handed me a helmet. a light pink with hello kitty sticker and he put his on, a vibrant red with a spider man sticker on the side. he gripped your hands on his waist keeping a semi slight grip on him. he giggled and held your hands before revving and soon riding the roads with winds whipping against the helmet. you ease your grip and lay your head on his shoulder. feeling contempt and safe with him.

he soon stopped by the park, step one to his plan. He had made chocolate strawberries, a small bouquet of flowers, and a bowl of your favorite fruits. you look at the set up breathless, then turned the attention to mason. i pull him into a hug while giving more then generous sum of kisses everywhere on his face. "mason this is so thoughtful, i cant describe how grateful i am," you say into the side of neck. nuzzling more into him, suddenly wanting to smell him.

"its the least i can do for my favorite girl" he says back, kissing the side and top of your head.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Who is Mew Anyway?

I realized we are over halfway through Only Friends now, and that I have only talked about Mew once in my write ups. Which…makes sense for me, all things considered, until now he’s kind of been a blah character in my eyes. And I am leaning in to and really appreciating how intentional that is beginning to feel on behalf of Jojo and co. 

When you think about it, until literally halfway through the show we have known almost nothing about Mew besides the fact that he is the table keeper for his friends, he is a hotel management student, and he’s a virgin. If you asked me to list any other facts about Mew’s life or his role in life, I would not have been able to answer much of anything. 

And that’s because Mew isn’t really anything. Personally, I feel like Mew thinks he has a strong sense of self and the second that something comes along to question that, all those illusions he has of himself start crumbling. When I look at Mew’s character, and I mean start getting in to the nitty gritty of Mew’s character, I don’t think Mew has any idea who he is. Which, for a show about college students is fucking brilliant. I thought I knew who I was in college, and then I graduated and promptly became queer and trans. I thought I knew what career I wanted, and then I ended up going to grad school for something outside of my initial plans. I know @waitmyturtles mentioned something similar about trying on different personalities in college in her Episode 7 Review. 

Think about Mew’s apartment, it was his mother’s old place. He took it over after she moved out. He didn’t choose this place, we can’t be certain this is the type of apartment or the location that Mew would actively decide to be in. When he brings Top home the first night they meet, Top comments on the place:

“Your room is nice, it suits you” 

To which Mew replies ‘It’s my Mom’s old room. I decorated it using ideas from the internet” 

Which says to me that Mew’s own personality, his own interests weren’t even involved in the creation of his own personal space. He decorated it based on inspiration from what other people had done to their own places. And Mew’s apartment fascinates me further, as a color-coder in BL kinda person. Because Mew’s apartment is all over the place in its decoration. 

On one wall we have striped wallpaper, in orange hues.

On another we have light blue walls with white and golden patterning. A yellow couch, a blue bookshelf. 

In his room he has a wall that is painted a solid green

And I can’t quite get a good image of it, but the opposite wall in his room is painted a dark turquoise with white patterning, which is different from Ray’s house, but still evokes a similar visual point of comparison.

Even Mew himself, when we first meet him is alllllll over the place with his colors. He has lines all over his shirt, with squares of different colors. His second look of the show is a solid light blue shirt over top of a striped shirt with orange, green, yellow.

His bed sheets are similarly stripes with dark gray, green, yellow, and orange.

Which is to say, at the beginning of our time with Mew, it is hard to pin down who he is as a person. He doesn’t have a color, he doesn’t have a pattern, to associate with his character. He fluctuates between rich, saturated colors and light, washed out pastels. 

When I think of Mew, I think of all the outfits he’s worn that have a strong green tint to them, but honestly, looking back through his wardrobe, Mew has a broad range of colors he chooses from. 

(Now, I recognize that all of this could be because the costuming department does not actually care about color coding, and that the eclectic styling of Mew’s apartment was just how it already was. And that’s fine, but I’m here so I’m gonna overanalyze it.)

All this to say that, Mew’s colors, Mews home, Mew’s pattern choices are all very disparate. All this to say that as a result I am now assuming that Mew does not know who he is, and neither do we. He could go any number of ways. Mew could go orange, yellow, green, blue. He could be complicated (with complex patterns) or straight forward (with solid colors). But none of us know at the beginning of this show quite where he will go. 

Truthfully, the only aspect of Mew that I have seen be steadfast throughout the show, is Mew’s moral superiority complex. Everything else is mutable. Mew has throughout most of the show, regarded himself as a good person. He doesn’t drink much, he doesn’t dance much, he doesn’t sleep around at all, and that somehow in his mind, grants Mew the opportunity to talk down to his friends. 

He’s not an alcoholic like Ray who he has no problem lecturing in the bathroom about how he is  going to be dead by 30, despite knowing that Ray is/was suicidal. He’s not a slut like Boston, who is far too obsessed with Mew’s virginity, etc. etc. etc. Mew fucks with Top, deciding that he is going to wait to have sex with him for awhile. And that is his right, but Mew doesn’t say he’s waiting because he isn’t comfortable with sex. He tells Boston and Cheum that he is waiting to have sex with Top to make sure that Top is serious about their relationship. Because if Top is serious about dating Mew without sex being involved, that means that Mew is worthy of the top tier because he is top tier, and not because he is an easy lay that Top can use for bragging rights (bagging a virgin). 

And I would have previously entertained a conversation around whether or not that is true, but unfortunately for any dissenters to my read of Mew, now that Mew has decided to #embracethenasty, there is no convincing me out of my observation that Mew does not know who he is. 

Why? Because the second that Mew starts retaliating against Top, the second he decides to ruin Top’s life, to stoop low, to be the lesser person…Mew starts dressing like Ray. I am certainly not the first person to notice this, it has been circulating in multiple different forms across my tumblr page, but.

Gif from @firstmix

Mew doesn’t know who he is, Mew doesn’t know how he fits in to the world now that he has decided to make Top’s life a living hell. I am not convinced Mew is capable of seeing himself as a bad person, because he isn’t a slut or an addict or a cheater. [As an aside here, this is Mew’s thinking, not my own personal beliefs on what makes someone a good or bad person]. So, of course, if he wanted to become a bad person. If he wanted to play at being as toxic and terrible as the people around him, it makes sense Mew would don the wardrobe of his “best friend”, Ray. Ray, who Mew looks down on for being an alcoholic, for not valuing his life. Who Mew has told time and time again to love himself, and to quit drinking and doing drugs, as if that is going to cure Ray’s addiction. And who in under five minutes just took a blowtorch to everyone’s relationships. 

Why? Because Mew is so self-righteous that he looks down on others around him. Mew isn’t ready or willing to look at and acknowledge the nasty, flawed parts of himself, so he adorns the nasty, flawed parts of others, to abstract himself from his own behavior. He uses Ray’s clothing, Nick’s methodology, and Boston’s personality to retaliate at the people he feels wronged by. 

Mew uses Boston against himself, wielding Boston’s sexual prowess, his willingness to fuck, his Hunter charm to get himself in to Gap’s apartment. He uses Nick’s methodology to steal the video of Boston and lords the knowledge over Boston’s head (like Nick did to Top), and again, he is wearing Ray’s clothing. But while Mew is trying to be a chameleon in his behavior, his appearance, his strategy to get back at Top, Mew’s own flavor of flaw starts becoming ever more clear. 

Mew has a superiority complex.

It is absolutely, unbelievable shitty and vile to threaten to out Boston to his father. To treat Boston’s privacy and safety with such disdain. Boston records others and he keeps those images as evidence, so Mew steals Boston’s MO. Mew takes the recording of Boston, looks Boston in the eye, and makes Boston think that he is going to hold on to that for evidence.

Now, right before this, Mew does actually draw a comparison point between himself and Boston. 

“You and I have something in common.” he says

“We’re both gullible” 

Mew makes Boston beg. And after he has made Boston sweat sufficiently, he throws the flashdrive on the ground. He says: “I’m kidding. No matter how much I hate you, I won’t do it. Because I don’t betray my friend like you did. 

“Then I’d be just as filthy as you are.”

While Mew is able to identify a potential flaw of his own, being gullible isn’t a fundamental aspect of Mew’s personality or character, being gullible isn’t who Mew is. It’s a flaw that he is pointing out only because he is still reeling from allowing himself to be fooled by Top and Boston. It’s a flaw that he is point out so that he can weaponize his superiority complex. 

In other words: “You and I have something in common, but I am better than you because I don’t betray my friends”  As if he didn’t just threaten to publicize Boston’s sex life to his father, the implications of which could have a national impact.

And while it is ultimately unsurprising that Mew channels Ray in doing all of this, it is interesting. Interesting because Mew is using Ray. Mew not only knows that Ray is capable of fucking up his own life, and the lives of the people around him, he also knows that Ray is the least liked by both Boston and Top. Boston’s distaste for Ray is subtle, as his obsession with Top and Mew has been more at the forefront of his interactions with his friends. But we have seen from the very beginning of this show that Boston does nothing to care for Ray. Boston is assigned to take care of Ray and make sure he is safe when he’s been drinking too much. Boston literally never once helps Ray when he’s drunk. Boston sees Ray and Sand crossed, cuddling, and generally having a good time, and Boston goes and airs Ray’s dirty laundry. Ray is the first person to confront Boston about cuckolding Mew. 

So wearing clothing that is reminiscent of Ray when Mew goes to Boston’s house to threaten him is a flavorful undertone for how Mew is hoping Boston will see him. 

At the points in which Top and Mew interact during the episode, Mew is not dressed like Ray, but he sure as shit does lord Ray over Top just to fuck with him. When Top comes to apologize to Mew, Mew asks Ray to find a new designer, literally asking Ray to replace Top. When Ray helps treat Mew’s injury after the group fight, Mew decides to use Ray as a rebound. To use Ray’s feelings for him as a way to experiment, once again, with the type of person he wants to be and the type of person he wants to be with. We end the episode with Ray and Mew dancing together at the bar, Mew dressed in a very Ray style

Because Mew is trying Ray on for size, trying his fashion, his company, his lifestyle (as we see from the promo for next week) and that is prone to make RayMew crash and burn, because Ray is self-destructive enough as is, and I don’t think Mew is going to do well with treating himself with Ray’s level of self-care.

Mew doesn’t know who he is, Mew doesn’t know what he wants, the only thing Mew knows is that he’s better than everyone around him, and he can only stoop as low as them is by pretending he is them, rather than facing the fact that he's just as terribly human as the rest of the group.

[buttercupjosh]

Nothing to Be Scared Of

(Gif credit to @corbincarroll)

Word count: 2,594

Genres: strangers to friends to lovers, fluff

Warnings: none

A/N: This story is based off of the songs “Nothing To Be Scared Of" by Kacey Musgraves (which is where the title came from) and I make references to "Dinner With Friends" by Kacey Musgraves, and "Anime Eyes" by Kacey Musgraves. I highly recommend listening to these songs before reading my story. It’s not set at a specific moment in time (It’s taking place in a fictional future but you could also say that it’s set this upcoming season. However, the 2024-25 season hasn't happened yet and anything can happen or change so don’t hold me to what occurs in the fic and if things do change in real life, I’m not going to update this fic to reflect that). It’s written with a female reader in mind because I’m a female of color but the reader doesn’t specifically have to be a POC or a woman and there’s little dialogue. As always, I’m open to any and all feedback, comments or questions; just put them in my inbox or dm me. Thank you so much in advance for reading, I appreciate it😌

(P.S. I have other stories (linked here) that I have written for other players as well if you want to check it out)

“Please don’t let me regret opening up that part of myself that I’ve been scared to give again. Be good to me and I’ll be good to you but please don’t be too good to be true.” -Too Good To Be True by Kacey Musgraves

Romantic love was one of those things that had never been on your side. Throughout life, you always had unrequited crushes that never worked out and it was very rare that someone else had a crush on you. The one time you actually dated someone and opened up your heart to them romantically, it ended up failing. On the outside, your ex was a decent guy on paper but behind the scenes, he was someone who shifted into a very toxic person. The final straw came when he got a job offer that moved him away and he broke up with you because he didn’t want to be with you anymore. Since that experience, your heart had been wrapped in bubble wrap, filled with the fear that someone was going to break it again.

As expected, you had your walls up about falling in love with someone new but that started to change when you met Jamie. Your job as a realtor is what connected you to him; you were unofficially known as the team realtor for the Phillies, Flyers, and Eagles since most of your client base consisted of players and their families from those teams and you were one of the few realtors who was licensed in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. After his first partial season in Philadelphia, Jamie was looking for a new place to live so you helped him find his new home. The reason why Jamie was moving was because Cam wanted his long-term girlfriend to move in with him and Jamie wasn’t interested in living with Joel and Morgan at their place either. Due to his age, he didn’t want to live with an older veteran on the team and their family or to reside in the suburbs. Jamie also felt like he needed a change during this new chapter of his life so he decided to live alone for the first time in his entire life. 

On a Saturday afternoon before the season started, you met up with Jamie to show him one of the places you found. The penthouse was very nice and in a neighborhood he liked but Jamie didn’t like the kitchen layout so your quest to find him the best place to live continued. You kept in a lot of contact with Jamie, trying to match his preferences the best you could and also show him places where he could compromise on certain things. After lots of meetings and searching, you found the perfect place for him in the Rittenhouse Square area. Jamie was very thankful for your services and with the time you spent together, he became very appreciative of who you are as a person. You rarely saw your clients again after helping them out but you would see Jamie again sooner than expected.

————————————————————

One evening, your phone rang in the middle of the night and surprisingly, it was Jamie calling. You picked up and his voice sounded different. Of course, Jamie knew what he was getting into when choosing to live alone but it still didn’t make the feeling of loneliness on his first night by himself at his new place go away. He couldn’t sleep at all because his mind was racing and he just needed someone to talk to; Jamie could have called his parents or his brother, Charlie, or one of his teammates or old friends back home but instead, he chose you. Listening to Jamie on the phone made your heart ache a little and you just wanted to hug him to calm him down so you took the last SEPTA train to go comfort him at his apartment. He didn’t ask you to come over but you went over there out of the kindness of your heart. Once you arrived, you engulfed Jamie in that much-needed hug and all of that anxiety that was plaguing him at the moment began to slowly wash away. Neither of you could sleep so you talked to each other for hours about different things, learning more and more about each other, until you fell asleep on his couch. Instead of leaving you sleeping on his couch, Jamie tenderly picked you up and placed you into his bed. You woke up the following morning in a bed that wasn’t yours and found Jamie sleeping on the couch.

As time went on, you developed a friendship together and your hearts were quietly growing fond of each other. You spent a lot of time together, going back and forth from each other’s places and hanging out in public. On nights that he couldn’t sleep, Jamie would sometimes call you and you would have deep conversations that would go on way into the night, most of the time falling asleep on the phone together. Sure, those calls would leave you both exhausted the following day but that was your special thing and you would always pick up whenever he called. You trusted each other; Jamie told you about his past relationships in California and back in Canada and you opened up about your previous relationship but your past hurt made you very guarded with Jamie. It was almost like you were always waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under you about him or waiting for Jamie to switch up the good guy act on you like how your ex did but that never happened.

————————————————————

Your birthday happened to land on a Flyers game day and thankfully, that game was a matinee game so you had plenty of time to enjoy the rest of your special day. As a gift, Jamie got you and a friend glass tickets to watch the game. During one of the media timeouts, you noticed that your name was on the scoreboard, wishing you a happy birthday; it was a nice birthday surprise. The rest of the game went nicely and the Flyers won.

To celebrate your birthday, you had an amazing dinner with some of your friends at Fiorella and Jamie offered to bring the cake. All Jamie told you was that you had to trust him and he showed up at the restaurant with a large pink cake that was covered in layers and ruffles of your favorite color. He also revealed to you that he was behind the scoreboard message. You knew that Jamie was a kind guy but the kindness he showed to you definitely took the cake.

After your birthday, Jamie’s 200th career game was approaching and you pulled out all of the stops to celebrate this milestone for him. It wasn’t a huge moment to some but it had taken a lot to get to that point. You snuck into Jamie’s apartment and decorated the place with balloons and streamers while he was away at morning skate. When Jamie returned to his apartment, you were gone but he knew in his heart that you were the only one who could have done this for him. To add to the surprises, you showed up at the game with a handmade sign, acknowledging his accomplishment. Jamie’s heart warmed when he saw you, banging on the glass to get his attention to look at what you made and he tossed you a puck. Jamie texted you to not throw away the sign because it was special to him and he wanted to keep it. After the game, you went back to Jamie’s apartment and shared a small cake with him; it didn’t matter that Torts would bag skate him if he found out that Jamie was eating sweets during the season but all that mattered was that he was sharing it with you.

————————————————————

Not long after his 200th game, it was that time of the year for the building where Jamie lived to do their seasonal pest control. He needed to be out of his apartment for a few hours for the work to be done and for the smell to dissipate so you suggested going out mini golfing at Puttshack. The game combined mini golf and trivia; Jamie was good at the golfing part and you were good at the trivia part. The game itself was way more fun because Jamie would get certain trivia questions wrong but you weren’t the best at putting the golf ball and you both jokingly teased each other about your skill sets during the game.

After Puttshack, you both wanted your time together to continue so you invited Jamie over to your place to continue hanging out. As usual, you ordered food and talked. The conversation somehow shifted to movies and you found out that Jamie had never seen a Studio Ghibli movie before so you ended up showing him some of your favorite films. While observing Howl and Sophie’s relationship dynamic, Jamie realized something very important. On one end of the sofa, you were captivated watching the movie but on the other side, Jamie wasn’t focused on what was going on, on the screen. He was too busy looking over at you through his anime eyes and a million little stars started to burst in his heart. You didn’t know it then but you would learn that he had always looked at you that way. He couldn’t say it out loud yet but Jamie was in love.

————————————————————

In a series of extremely convenient events, your mom came to Philly for a week-long work conference and Jamie’s mother, Tina, was also in town for the Flyers’ annual Mom’s Trip. Both of your moms got to observe your friendship firsthand. You liked Tina and Jamie liked your mom and both of your moms liked each other. While they were away, Tina and Jamie talked about you and she encouraged her son to pursue you. Jamie knew about your past relationship pain and it made him uncertain about whether or not to tell you his true feelings. Meanwhile, you took your mom to the airport after her conference concluded and before leaving, she imparted some motherly wisdom onto you.

“Honey, Jamie is a really nice guy and I like him for you. I know you were scarred by He Who Shall Not Be Named but you should think about opening your heart again to love”, your mother said to you.

You respectfully brushed aside her words. Jamie was a really good friend and person that anyone else would be grateful to have in their lives and you were happy that he was a part of yours. Over time, people speculated that you and Jamie were dating because of how you treated each other and the amount of time you spent together but he never formally asked you out and you weren’t sure if he had liked you romantically or just as a friend. Despite how things appeared, you remained cautious about being in love again so you strictly kept your boundaries with Jamie as friends. However, that was all going to change.

————————————————————

One early morning after spending the night on the air mattress that Jamie bought for you to sleep on whenever you slept over, you woke up early without trying and couldn’t fall back asleep so you decided to watch the sunrise. As you gazed at the Philadelphia skyline from the rooftop, it hit you; you were in love with Jamie.

It was the shape of Jamie’s blue eyes and the shape of his nose. It was the cute way he mispronounced certain words the Canadian way and also the smell of his clothes that filled your nose whenever you hugged him. It was the shape of Jamie’s heart and his kindness. It was the familiarity of taking your shoes off and leaving them by the door every time you went to his apartment. Jamie loved you in all of the ways that you never felt love before.

You were so uneasy about falling in love again because you didn’t want to get hurt again but with Jamie, something just felt so different. He was the only one you wanted to give your love to and Jamie taught you there was nothing to be scared of about being in love. You could drop your baggage of hurt and he would help you unpack them and you would do the same for him. You were so consumed by emotion and a familiar voice startled you to ask if you were okay.

“Yeah, I’m fine but how did you know that I was up here? I thought you were asleep”, you replied.

“I got up to use the bathroom and every time I do whenever you sleep over, I always check on you. I knew you were here because I come up here sometimes to watch the sunrise or the sunset and I know that you love those colors”, Jamie said as he poked your side.

Hearing Jamie say the word love made your heart beat faster and faster. He looked over at you and could sense a shift in you.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Do you want to go back inside?” Jamie concernedly asked. 

“Jamie, I have something to tell you and promise me that you won’t freak out”, you told him.

“What are you going to say that you’re in love with me? If so, I’m in love too with the beautiful person right in front of me”, Jamie confessed with a cheesy smile and the biggest blush on his face.

He took the words right out of your mouth but that didn’t make the anxiety you felt go away.

“Jamie, I love you too but I’m scared. What if we don’t work out? What if you fall out of love with me? What if this is all too good to be true? What if -?” you rambled.

“Y/n, honestly, I’ve been scared this whole time too. When I got traded from Anaheim to here, I was super terrified of this massive change. I didn’t plan on falling in love when I moved here because my future’s so uncertain at the moment and I swore I was going to be single until my next contract but then I met you. You’ve added so much to my life and I’m thankful to have you as a part of it. I know you’re afraid but Y/n, if it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out. All that matters is that I love you right now and I’ll love you for as long as I can. Would you be willing to take that risk with me?”, Jamie asked.

Before meeting Jamie, you almost gave up on romantic love for good but he showed you how to love without having to try so hard because he loved you for being yourself. Jamie was like a train that was only meant for you and he wouldn’t leave the station without you. That bubble wrap that was wrapped around your heart was peeling off and you just had to continue to trust that it was all going to be okay. Even if things were to change, like all things in life, you would learn from it. You had both believed that you were placed into each other’s lives for a reason. If being in love with each other was what dreams were made of, neither of you wanted to wake up. Wrapped in a tender embrace with his arms around you and sharing a sweet kiss, the two of you watched the sun fully rise together. It was officially the start of a brand new sunny day and also the start of a new romantic relationship between you and Jamie.

[wolfes]

[Caption: a yellow and green gif of Alina from Shadow and Bone; the first gif of her looking away from Mal fades into her crying over him. End caption.]

TRANSITION TUTORIAL by v @shangs

I got some questions about how I did the glitch effect in this set, and I think because the glitch sets with green and magenta/red and cyan protrusions like this one are more complex that the effect seems like it’s hard, but it’s deceptively simple! I’ll show you how to do transitions like this with an effect buffer in between, whether it’s a glitch effect or a light leak or anything else. 

What you’ll need:

Photoshop with timeline (I use 2022)

A transition video for the effect 

Preferably, a good knowledge of how to use the timeline for gifs

Two or more gifs

Tutorial under the cut!

I start out with my two gifs, sharpened, colored, on separate documents, and in timeline mode. The first thing you’re going to do is convert both of your gifs into Smart Objects, so that we don’t have to worry about all the coloring layers. Just select everything you have in the timeline, right click, and convert to Smart Object. 

Now, right click on one of the gifs, select Duplicate Layer, and transfer it to the other gif’s PSD. Then just click File > Save as Copy, save the new PSD wherever you like, and close the first two PSDS, then open the copy. I recommend not saving your work in the first two PSDS with the single gifs so that if you have something you want to change, your gif isn’t locked into Smart Object Mode and you can go back to edit things.

Now, you have both your gifs on the same canvas in the same PSD. The timeline should look like this:

[Caption: A picture of the Photoshop timeline so the gifs’ boxes are in a stacked line.]

Now, drag the gif you want to go second or to ‘fade in,’ so to speak, onto the row of the first. Your gifs will automatically form a Video Group and the timeline will look like this:

[Caption: A picture of the timeline with the gifs’ boxes side-by-side.]

Now your gifs will play sequentially! I’m lucky and for some reason this almost 80 frame gif didn’t even hit 10mb, but you may need to trim some frames off the ends later if the gif is too big. 

Let’s switch gears and look at this unassuming little box in the corner of the timeline. The box with the white filled in triangle on the bottom holds Photoshop’s premade transition effects. You can do things like fade to black, crossfade, just fade between two gifs, and more. 

[Caption: A photo of the square on the timeline that has Photoshop’s transition effects.]

I like using the Cross Fade effect for my gifs with this method, but it’s entirely up to you what effects you apply! Some transitions may even work better without an effect. Experimentation is key.

[Caption: A photo of the timeline with the triangles denoting the cross fade effect put between the gif boxes.]

I went ahead and applied the cross fade effect to my gif, and this is what it looks like on the timeline.

Now to add the gif effect! Make the gif however you would like. For this one I actually recommend just opening the video with File > Open as long as it’s small enough, and it’ll open as a blue box on the timeline and if you right click it you can change the speed. Regardless, what I do is just make the gif, sharpen and trim to my liking, then duplicate that layer onto my timeline (just make sure that, when you click the three lines on the timeline menu and go to Set Timeline Frame Rate, that the rate of this video is the same as the rate of your two gifs from before, or you might get some choppy frames). I then place the gif around the middle, where the transition happens - you have to scrub around to find the perfect place to put it but I like to have it so that the gif covers both ends of the transition.

To put it visually, here’s the timeline:

[Caption: A photo of the Photoshop timeline with the effect overlay stacked on top of the base gif.]

Your overlay gif should be outside the video group of your base gif.

I set the overlay to Screen and change the opacity. You can also add some color overlays - I actually went in with a gradient on top of the overlay, clipped it to the transition, and set it to Color so it wasn’t too bright of a white on my gif.

Save and export as normal - I like to take it back to frames mode before I save so I can keep the frame rate at 0.05 - and that’s all! A really simple way to get a sophisticated-looking transition.

Happy giffing!

[genericpuff]

hello! i'm not sure if you remember me, a while ago i asked about digital art and if it's possible to do on an ipad or something similar. i was really grateful for your response and i got an ipad over christmas! i didn't realize how expensive the pencils were though and was only able to get one recently. now that i have all of that, i download the first art program i saw (ibispaint x, i don't know how good that is) and feel super overwhelmed by everything, all the tools and brushes and i have no idea where to begin. i know this is a super broad topic, but i don't know if you have any advice for a beginner hoping to become a digital artist? or know of any resources? thank you so much in advance and no worries if this topic is too broad to really get into properly!

Oh hey!! Congrats on getting an iPad! And yeah, shopping for the pens is a big pain in the butt, but I'm glad you finally got it all setup!

So most of the advice I'm gonna give you is very basic, starter advice that can apply to virtually any digital art software, as the vast majority of them are built with the exact same base tools, they just vary in their intended purposes which means they may differ in more advanced settings and what they offer beyond the basics (ex. Photoshop has more colors than Clip Studio because it's built for editing high quality photos whereas Clip Studio is meant to emulate comic art, but Clip Studio offers more in the way of comic-creating tools such as specialized rulers, 3D material support, built-in screentoning, etc. and all of the software available will tend to have different brush engines, meaning it doesn't always 'feel' the same to draw in one software as it does in another).

Your bestest friends:

Layers! This is the biggest pro to going digital, because now you can work with layers! So anything you draw on each layer is preserved and can't touch or affect whatever's on the other ones :3 You can find the layers tab in Ibis Paint X in the bottom right, don't be afraid to make a bunch of them and mess around with what you can do. Play around with the different blending mode settings (in Ibis Paint it's the menu that's labelled 'Normal' in the layers popup) especially Multiply, Color Dodge, and Overlay, as those three are the most commonly used to make coloring more efficient and give your art some extra pop.

Lasso/marquee/magic wand tools! These are basic selection tools that allow you to select an area within the layer you're working on, so that whatever you paint won't travel outside of that area. The Lasso is a free draw tool, the marquee tool is typically 4 sides by default (so squares/rectangles) and the magic wand detects and selects a closed area with one click! (just note that by default it's only on the layer you're on, so if you use it on a layer that has nothing, it will typically select the entire canvas).

Alpha locking! This is a simple button setting you can click to 'lock' the layer you're working on, which basically means that whatever you've drawn on that layer, anything you add can't travel outside of that drawing. So if you want to quickly shade something without going outside the lines, alpha locking is your solution!

Clipping groups/layers! This is a bit more advanced but is basically an even better version of alpha locking that you can use in conjunction with it. Clipping layers are basically additional layers that , when you click the 'clipping group' button, 'attaches' that new layer to the layer that's below it. It performs the same function as the alpha lock by preventing whatever you draw on that layer from travelling outside of it, HOWEVER it comes with the added benefit that it's on an entirely different layer, meaning you can erase and mess with whatever's on that new layer as much as you like and it won't hurt the base layer. It kinda follows the same logic as animation cels !

Masking! Y'know when you're doing a traditional painting, and you put down tape to cover the area so you can paint over it and later remove the tape and everything underneath is untouched? That's basically what masking is! Once you put down a layer mask, using the erase tool on it will 'erase' whatever the mask is applied to, and using the brush will make it magically return! This may sound silly at first, but I find masking is especially helpful if you want to erase something on the layer you're working on without it disappearing forever! It's also really helpful for comic work because you can mask whatever's outside of the panels and voila, nothing you draw will travel outside of those panels!

Stabilization! I don't know how extensive Ibis Paint X is with offering stabilization tools, but many digital art software comes with it and it's a LIFE SAVER for new digital artists adjusting to the feel of digital art. It essentially 'slows down' the output of the ink on the canvas which helps a lot with getting cleaner lines in fewer tries. It's not quite as big of a deal when drawing on iPads because obviously you have more control by default by drawing directly on the screen, but it can still be really helpful when you need to pace your hand ahead of the actual drawing tool to pull cleaner lines!

That's pretty much all I can think of for now! But here are some other commonly asked questions:

1.) There are so many brushes to choose from, which one do I use?

The round brush is small but mighty. Virtually anything can be painted with it, it's simple, but malleable, especially when you start messing around with the hardness and opacity settings. Don't get too lost in the sauce with the brushes that are available to you, it can be very easy to get overwhelmed by all the options and variety. Some artists still work purely with just round brushes, some artists have custom brushes they like to use to speed up their drawing process or achieve certain textures. Play around with them, but don't get too stressed about which one you use because there's no wrong answer, the right brush to use is the one that gets the job done ! <3

2.) What canvas size should I use?

It depends on a variety of factors such as whether or not you're planning to print, where you're going to be posting it, etc. By default I like to work on 8.5 x 11 inch canvases (standard printer paper size) at 350 dpi, which if you want to make that canvas in Ibis Paint X, means you just have to make a canvas with a pixel ratio of 2975 x 3850 pixels! Just note that the lower you go in either pixel count or dpi, the lower the resolution, so it's typically encouraged you work at a minimum of 300 dpi (but you usually don't have to go any higher than 600) to ensure you don't wind up with any blurry low res JPG's/PNG's.

3.) Should I export my final drawing as JPG or PNG?

This is usually just up to personal preference, but like the canvas size, it depends on what you're using the image for. You can always export as both, the biggest difference between them is that PNG is lossless meaning you won't experience image compression like you will with JPG, BUT you're also going to have much larger image sizes. JPG is often fine for any standard posting, PNG is typically recommended if you want to have a drawing with a transparent background for printing (as JPG can't do transparent backgrounds) or if you just want to have a really high res image file for sharing outside of social media sites (as social media sites like FB/IG/etc. will typically compress the hell out of your images anyways)

Here are some other super helpful resources as well if you need some visual and/or audio guides:

Sinix Design - How to Learn Digital Painting (Beginners)

Marc Brunet - The Beginner's Guide to Digital Art

Skynix Art - 50 Digital Art Tips in 5 Minutes

One thing I also like to do is watch speedpaints of digital artists as it can really help pull back the curtain on what they're doing (or at least, it can help you see what they start with which can help you better picture the process of turning a blank canvas into a finished work of art!) And though I don't do it as often, if there's an artist whose work I REALLY like, I'll try and find their actual work files (many bigger artists sell them on their crowdfunding sites/Gumroad/etc.) so that I can actually break the drawings apart layer by layer for the purpose of analysis. Of course, all that is something that you'll grasp better over time as you learn the tools and learn to recognize what artists are doing in their own workflow, so don't worry if you don't glean a whole lot of info from the "big guys" right away, you should always be referencing artists who are higher along the skill ceiling from you but not too high that they're using techniques and tools that are outside of your realm of understanding.

Other than that, just try to have fun, don't stress too much about it, and save often!!! Part of creating art is learning to be at peace with the process, so don't stress too much if it takes you a while to get adjusted to the layouts and tools - at the end of the day, digital art is another medium entirely, so it's not uncommon at all for traditional artists to need a lot of practice to 'switch' to digital, because they both utilize different tools and techniques. Be patient with yourself, always be on the hunt for new resources and guides and references, and don't be afraid to experiment and make mistakes (the best part about digital art? Mistakes don't cost you any paint or materials!)

Good luck!! And congrats again! 🥰

[perfectpaperbluebirds]

I was desperate for OC art and the wonderful @mimikusu agreed to an art trade. Here is the fic I wrote for Simon and Niko, based on this prompt they posted around Christmas last year. This was a treat to write and such a fun exchange. Thank you Mimi, and I hope you enjoy your fic!!

All The Way Home I'll Be Warm

“I don’t know why I put up with you, Nikolai,” Simon grumbled to himself as he threw his bags down in the hotel room he had just checked into. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth, I swear.” He huffed to the window and glared at the snowflakes drifting down, scrubbing angrily at his dripping nose. The town below was already bustling with life as the Christmas market prepared to open. Colored lights, pine boughs, red and green decorations, and what looked like hundreds of merchant stalls spread out as far as the eye could see. Simon rubbed his eye, behind which a headache was already forming. He groaned, coughed, and tried to blow his nose, but it was stopped tight with congestion. 

“I hate these damn festivals,” Simon growled. “Why the hell Niko loves them so much I’ll never know. God, I wish I could cancel. I already feel like shit. But he would think I’m just making excuses. Ugh.”

He let his head fall into his hand as he continued to glare out the window. He missed Niko so much, and that was the only reason he was here right now. Simon had been traveling for work nearly all of December, and it seemed like he had hardly seen his boyfriend. In a few days they would leave to see their families for the holidays, so this was their only chance to spend time together. Niko had been begging to go to this damn Christmas market for months, and Simon had finally caved and booked the hotel and flights, though he made sure to complain the whole time about the expense, and how foolish these markets were. It made Niko so unbelievably happy, though, and that was what Simon wanted in the end. 

However, Simon hadn’t accounted for catching a cold at the end of his last business trip. The weeks of travel and little sleep had caught up with him, and this was shaping up to be a monster of a cold. He already had a sinus headache and a nasty sore throat, and the buzzing high up in his nose told him he would be sneezing his brains out in no time. Walking around outside in the cold, surrounded by thousands of people and bright lights and smells sounded like absolute hell. Yet Niko would be arriving any moment, ready for a weekend of Christmas cheer, and Simon couldn’t bear to disappoint him now, though he would rather do just about anything else. 

“God, I’m so tired,” Simon yawned, thinking of the exhausting night ahead. “I could fall asleep here on the floor. I truly don’t know how I’m going to survive tonight.” 

Yet he knew he would have to find a way. If nothing else, he wouldn’t let the expense of this trip be wasted by getting sick. This was Niko’s Christmas present, and he would get his money’s worth, everything else be damned. With a heavy sigh, Simon went to change out of his traveling clothes and into warm things suitable for a night outside. When he bent over his suitcase, though, the itch in his nose flared up into the need to sneeze. He just barely had time to press a tissue to his nose before: “HA’ISSHIEW! Hihh–HIPSHH! hhe–ESHIEW!! Ugh, that’s disgusting,” Simon groaned, trying not to look at the mess in the tissue. His nose wanted to keep sneezing, but he roughly pinched and rubbed it until the urge subsided. Just as he threw away the used square, his phone dinged with a text from Niko saying he was waiting in the lobby. Simon quickly finished changing, then went down to meet him, fiercely scrubbing at his nose to quell the itch that was already building up again. 

Niko was practically dancing with excitement in the lobby, dressed in a gaudy Christmas sweater and ridiculous hat that made him look adorable. 

“Oh Simon, it's so beautiful outside! I can’t wait for you to see it. It’s just magical! Oh I’m so happy to be here with you! Come on let’s go, there’s so much we have to see!”

“Don’t you want to drop your bag off in the room first?” Simon grunted, trying to hide the congestion and hoarseness in his voice.

“Oh, right. I guess we can do that really quickly. But let’s not waste any time!” Niko ran back up the stairs that Simon had just come down, not even waiting to hear the room number. With a tired groan, Simon turned to follow. It was going to be a long night.

~~~

It was exactly as miserable as Simon predicted. The cold air made his nose start dripping immediately, and it didn’t stop the whole night, so he was perpetually wiping his nose every time Niko’s back was turned, and his upper lip was raw and stinging in no time. The cold air seemed to pierce through all his layers, and he found himself shivering right away, though he kept his arms locked by his sides so Niko wouldn’t notice. The noise of the crowds and cheering and music made him want to curl up on the ground and cover his ears. The flashing, twinkling, spinning lights reflecting off of everything felt like daggers going through his eyes straight to his brain. Worst of all were the smells, though. Food, perfume, smoke, pine, candles, feathers, dust, animals, incense– everywhere he turned, something else was assaulting his nose and making his breath hitch into almost-sneezes every other moment. Many times the irritation was too much, and he was forced to stifle the resulting expulsion into his scarf, hoping Niko didn’t notice. If his partner was far enough away, Simon would allow himself to sneeze messily into the sleeve of his coat, hoping for some small relief, but with each sneeze he felt worse, not better. 

Predictably, Niko wanted to stop at nearly every booth, even if it was exactly the same as the five booths they had just visited. The postman delighted over every trinket and costume and overpriced souvenir as if he had never seen one like it, and Simon had to refrain from rolling his eyes constantly, mainly because rolling his eyes made his headache worse. The only thing that helped was the mulled wine and hot spiked cider. These were the only stalls Simon asked to stop at, and from the beginning, Niko was puzzled. 

“You’re having wine? I thought you said it gives you a bad hangover?”

“I’m trying to get into the holiday spirit like you’ve been insisting, Niko!” he snapped. “Tonight I’d like a hot drink, and I think wine sounds nice. Do you have a problem with that?”

“Not at all. I just think you’re very confusing sometimes,” Niko said, shaking his head with a smile. 

As soon as he would finish one mug, Simon would order another, desperate for the warmth in his hands and stomach, and he quickly lost count of how much he drank. It helped the shivering though, and numbed some of the other miseries, and he was glad for it. By the middle of the evening the exhaustion from travel and illness finally faded into comfortable drunkenness. He was happy enough to watch Niko run around and exclaim and delight over everything, like a butterfly between flowers. The postman spent far too much money, and soon he was laden down with shopping bags, but he said again and again that this was the perfect night, so Simon let him have his fun, just happy to be with him. In spite of himself, Simon had to admit the night was pretty, with the snow gently falling and the tangible Christmas cheer. He could see why some people enjoyed such things. 

As the evening waned, Simon’s nose couldn’t take any more stifling, or else he was too drunk to care anymore, so he began to sneeze more openly. At first Niko laughed and thought it was cute. 

“hihhgg’KIHPTCHoo! Kih’IHT’CHOO!”

“Bless you, Simon! Are you feeling alright? That’s your third sneeze in as many minutes,” Niko chuckled, running a thumb under his partner’s eye to catch a stray tear. 

“I’mb fine,” Simon croaked. “It’s all the incense and cold air. And someone is smoking hookah nearby I think.” He coughed to accentuate his point. 

“If you’re sure. Then let’s go over to the figurines instead to get away from the incense.”

Soon, though, Niko began to realize something was amiss. 

“EhhHEHTCHHoo! Ehh–EHHIXTCHOO!!”

“God, Simon, that sounded awful. Are you coming down with something? Your nose is as red as a Christmas bulb.”

“Maybe I’m allergic to Christmas. I told you coming here was a bad idea.”

“No one is allergic to Christmas, crabby grinch. There is a lot of smoke around here, though. Maybe that’s your trouble. Let’s go over here. I think you should eat something anyway, to go along with all the wine.” 

“If you insist, nurse,” Simon mumbled, unable to care about anything at this point. He allowed Niko to seat him at a filthy wooden table and place a huge plate of food in front of him, far more than he could ever eat even on his best day. He gamely munched on a few bites of everything, though he was the opposite of hungry. He was unable to taste anything, and had to take small bites because he couldn’t breathe through his nose, but seeing him eat made Niko smile, and that was all Simon cared about. 

While Simon was still “eating” (mostly just pushing the food around on his plate), Niko excused himself to the restroom. Simon immediately put down his fork and laid his head on his arms, telling himself he would rest for just a moment and give his aching eyes a break. 

He woke some time later to Niko shaking his shoulder. 

“Simon, dear, wake up. Poor thing, you really are exhausted aren’t you? Why didn’t you say something earlier? Come on, let’s go back to the hotel. We can always see more tomorrow.”

“If you’re sure,” Simon croaked. He wanted to tell Niko that they could stay out as long as he liked, but in truth he was near collapse and going back to the hotel to curl up in bed with his boyfriend was the only thing he wanted now. As they meandered their way back to the hotel through crowds of strangers, Niko slipped his hand into Simon’s. Because he needed the extra stability, and because no one was close enough to see them, for once Simon didn’t pull away. However, he was caught in an awkward situation, because just as their steps fell into sync, Simon knew he had to sneeze. His tissues were in the pocket of the hand holding Niko’s, so Simon was forced to press his palm to his nose to catch the messy fit that followed:

“Kihht’CHOO! Err’IZZSOO! hihh–HihhEHTCHOO! EHHTTCHOO!! Hhh– hehhh– HehhEHHTCHOOOO!!”

Simon hastily wiped his hand on his pants, thankful it was too dark to see much as he mumbled an apology to Niko. 

“Bless you, Simon! You need to get out of the night air, I think. I’m worried you’re coming down with something.” 

“I’ll be fine when we get back inside,” Simon said with a cough. His chest hurt from stifling so many sneezes all night, and coughing made it sear with pain, even though he hadn’t had a cigarette all night. 

“You’re taking a hot shower as well. I can feel you shivering,” Niko scolded. “You should have told me you were cold. You’re so stubborn.”

“Not as stubborn as you. Anyway, you were having fun. I didn’t want to spoil the evening.”

“As long as I’m with you, I don’t care what else we’re doing. So let’s get you warm and in bed where I can take care of you properly.”

“Is that a threat?” Simon asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. 

“Only if you want it to be,” Niko said with a wicked look of his own. 

As it turned out, Simon wasn’t up for anything after he took a shower. As soon as he stepped out of the hot water he started shivering and couldn’t stop, even when Niko wrapped him in a robe, then a blanket. He also had a splitting headache, no doubt the beginning of the wine hangover he sensed was coming. As he lay groaning in bed, with plenty of sniffling and coughing on top of it all, he felt Niko come to stand behind him and press a hand to his forehead. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a fever?” Niko tutted, placing a cold rag on Simon’s forehead before crawling in beside him and pulling the other man against his chest.

“I didn’t know I was,” Simon muttered. “It must have started recently. The cold from hell is turning into the flu I guess.” He felt warmer right away with Niko in the bed, and slowly his shivers subsided. He didn’t even realize he had accidentally admitted his illness until the other man replied: 

“I was a fool to let you stay out when I knew you were sick. You never sneeze so much unless you have a cold, and you were sneezing almost every minute. Not to mention all the wine. Though I think you’re already regretting that,” he added as Simon shifted the rag from his forehead to cover his eyes instead with a moan. 

“I was just trying to give you what you wanted. I don’t want to hear any more about it,” Simon snapped. “I’m only sorry this damn flu ruined our trip. All that time and money for nothing.” 

“Nothing is ruined,” Niko soothed, tucking the blanket closer around them both. “We’re still together aren’t we? All alone in a hotel room for three days. There’s nothing more I could hope for.”

“I’m going to get you sick for the holidays though,” Simon spat. “You’d be better off to leave now and save yourself.”

“I’m not going anywhere, crabby. Someone has to take care of you.” He began to run his fingers through Simon’s hair, and Simon relaxed, immediately forgetting what they were arguing about under the haze of fever, exhaustion and alcohol. His heavy eyes fell closed and in moments he was nearly asleep in Niko’s warm embrace. 

“That’s right, go to sleep. I’ll be right here,” Niko whispered. The last thing Simon felt before he slept was the press of gentle lips to his hair and a warm hand rubbing the aches from his chest. 

[waywardtigersandwich]

Starting to feel like astrology is a bunch of bullshit to excuse people for charging you an arm and a leg for "interpretations".

Imagine chalking up your life with the way a planet you've never lived on had moved the day you were born.

Oh your Venus is in something called Capricorn and everything in this house effects part of your life because some man said so and now others regurgitate it years later and barely try to improve or update anything about said teachings.

Ask an astrologer a question that requires deep digging into the mentality of a placement and watch them crumble. Ask them about the nodes (south and north) and they'll leave you on read because you're asking the right questions.

People with Jupiter in 8th house are not spiritual. They will not marry a husband of wealth. All of the benefits they say you get in the 8th house is really the 2nd house. Jupiter in 8th might just mean that you're into sexual discussions and stuff (imo).

Synastry is bullshit. Too many men I have witnessed will marry on the basis of their physical preference when their charts show limited connection. So that minuses out everything. I weep for people paying 50 to 150 dollars for that. Sorry Jenny, your charts look good but your hair ain't the right color and your thighs spread when you sit down. Derek doesn't like that. No matter how many astrologers take your money to prove that he's supposed to be over heels with you. Yes, I believe that he shows chemistry to the chubby girls but all he dates are the slimmies. Look at reality sis. Don't let astrologers jerk you around by telling you there's no perfect synastry to there's certain synastrys that they look for to synastrys aren't everything. They are fucking with you and us lol

Paying for Astro cartography chart readings that say your most potential for love or money making can be found in an entire different country but your astrology natal chart shows limited interaction with foreign travels.

Telling people that they are magnetic and attractive based on some squares or trines or conjuncts when those people get no romantic interests is so mean lol. No one asks them out.

One minute you need 5 or more placements to indicate something but you have 1 placement in your chart, then all of a suddenly all the issues you're having in that area of life is because of that placement. :/

The use of fear mongering is rampant in astrology. Vedic is the biggest abuser of the two but western is the most passive aggressive bitch.

Continuing from my last point, western is the most passive aggressive because they'll tell you that there's no bad chart or bad placements but just difficult ones. Then they'll give your chart a reading and say that this and that may or may not happen and then leave you to your own devices to figure out where to go from there. Afflicted, debilitated etc etc are used in astrology for a reason...why means bad, slow or hardly returning until later. Stop sugar coating shit because you want more clients.

Vedic uses the most oldest remedies that people outside of India don't even do. No offense. How many of us are near a cow right now? How many of us are near some rare mineral or near some spiritual statues that did not originate from our country? How can we use things to remedy us when we aren't familiar with them and they are not within our possible reach?

Capricorns are Taurus and Taurus are capricorns.

Scorpios are the cancers and the cancers are scorpios.

Pisces are the Aquarius's and the Aquarius's are Piscean people.

Leos are libras and libras are Leo's.

Geminis are Sagittariuses and vice versa.

Using Neptune and Uranus as indicators of mental illness and confusion while also using them as indicators of psychics and mediums for the spiritual world is nasty work lmfao.

Stop telling people that you don't read illness and health concerns in a chart yet allocating illness and health issues in houses on a chart. It's bullshit .

The fact that you have 50-11 persona charts within a natal chart shows that your overall existence in the astrological world is stupid. All of it is stupid. All of it means that you will have different outcomes in life because why the fuck not. It shows that astrology is unreliable. How can you draw proper conclusions when each chart displays a different energy?!

Oh and your perceived attractiveness and/or experiences might just be affecting your dating life. Not saying you're ugly or whatever but the places or people you're around just may not like you. Don't let astrologers tell you that the reason you can't get a proper long term relationship is because the stars want you to love yourself ...even though you already love yourself. Think about how often you spend time actually dating. If you spend most of your life single then quite naturally you will have a hard time because you don't know how to date lol. Less applications means less job experiences.

I feel like the only things astrology has gotten right is that I do like art and my father has never had a close relationship to me, and that my mom can be a lot emotionally, and yes, I do spend lots of time on my own.

Asks 5 astrologers your career in a chart and watch how none of the answers match :/ . I was told in one chart that I would be an astrologer guru, one would be a teacher of the arts, one said I would be or needed to be in IT and the other said that I could be a physical representation for medical promotion to communities. Another said I should be a surgeon and not a nurse because I'm too hotheaded to be bossed around. Yes. Let me just get up and sign for medical school . :)

[badbatchposts]

Quiet Corners of the Galaxy, Ch. 21

Fic Teaser: While on a routine mission for Cid, the Bad Batch encounter a woman fleeing from the Empire. Crosshair suspects her seemingly free-spirited, nomadic existence is actually a cover for something else, but struggles to keep his attraction toward her in check as their personalities and ideals clash.

Relevant tags/content warnings: Crosshair/Original Female Character, Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Periodic Smut, Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use

Read the full fic so far on AO3

Read previous chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 l Ch. 2 l Ch. 3 l Ch. 4 l Ch. 5 l Ch. 6 l Ch. 7 l Ch. 8 l Ch. 9 l Ch. 10 l Ch. 11 l Ch. 12 l Ch. 13 l Ch. 14 l Ch. 15 l Ch. 16 l Ch. 17 l Ch. 18 l Ch. 19 l Ch. 20

Chapter 21 summary: Omega encounters a stranger on Rex's base, and the clones get some answers.

Omega was finally content again.

Sure, she loved being on Pabu, and—for the first time ever—had even chosen to stay behind while her brothers went on a job for Cid. It had disappointed her when Hunter holoed to say that they would have to be away a while longer, but still, she was doing fine, enjoying her time with her friends, keeping up with her training.

But when they called and said they still wouldn’t be coming back for her—and that they were even planning on going to Rex’s base without her, which was unfathomable—she decided she had had enough.

Her brothers really underestimated her sometimes. Yes, she was a kid, and she was still learning. But it hadn’t been hard at all to make it here on her own.

Of course, they weren’t too happy about how she’d done it.

But even then, Rex could always use a new ship, and hers—yes, hers, she’d won it fair and square, but she was happy to loan it to the Captain, since she already had the Marauder—was a beauty. That pirate captain had even been rather nice, he was funny. But terrible at sabacc. Even when he was cheating.

Hunter and Echo had given her a scolding when they arrived, which was undermined almost immediately by Wrecker and Tech’s eagerness to hear the story and all of their happiness at finally being together again. And now she was excitedly exploring the base while the others spoke worriedly with Rex. She would find out what was going on later, whatever it was that had kept Crosshair back at the Marauder. Sometimes Hunter liked to protect her from the things they were concerned over, but she knew they would eventually tell her all about it. They would need her advice, after all.

But until then, she had plenty of time for enthusiastically running across the bridges that linked the base’s many interconnected, covered platforms, gazing into the shallow water of the grassy wetlands below and spotting the brightly colored flying fish that alternated between diving beneath the surface and flapping through the air. Omega slowed as she crossed one bridge and approached an open-sided platform hosting a brightly lit communications array at the center, where a silver-haired woman was tapping away.

“You’re not a clone,” Omega observed. She had never seen a non-clone working with Rex and the others outside of Senator Chuchi and her guards on Coruscant. “What are you doing?”

The woman glanced up. She looked the young girl over for a moment before turning back to her work calmly.

“You must be Omega,” the woman replied.

“Yes. What’s your name?” Omega asked.

“Dara.” The woman wasn’t very chatty, but not in an altogether unfriendly way. She just seemed focused on what she was doing, like Tech at his datapad.

“Hello, Dara. So, what are you doing?” Omega repeated brightly.

“Sending a message.”

Omega scrunched her nose a little at the succinct reply. Maybe it was less that this woman was focused like Tech, and more that she was quiet and solitary like Crosshair. The young girl peered over Dara’s shoulder curiously, trying to make out what she was up to for herself.  

“But you’re not saying anything,” she pointed out.

Dara looked up again, raising an eyebrow at Omega with amusement. Tenacious thing, isn’t she, she thought.

“Not exactly,” she explained as she continued to work. “Instead of sending text or words, I’m sending sounds over the line. They’ll just seem like interference so no one will be able to tell it’s a message if it’s intercepted.”

Omega was instantly fascinated. “Ohhhh. Well, how does the person you’re sending it to understand it?”

“The combinations of sounds all stand for something. They know the key, so they can decode it.” Dara finished sending her message. She crossed her arms and leaned back on the array, turning her full attention to Omega, who looked calculating.

“What if the wrong person figures out the pattern?” Not just tenacious, the kid was smart, too, thinking through all the possibilities. Dara was impressed, and happy enough now to satisfy Omega’s interest. She was in no rush.

“It won’t matter. The message is in a language that very few other people understand anymore.” Dara, in fact, had known one of the only recognized experts in the galaxy on this ancient language. He was dead now.

“But…what if someone identifies it?” Omega countered. It was like a game for the girl, considering all the contingencies. It reminded Dara of herself. She wished that it didn’t.

Dara smiled, a little sadly. “It still won’t matter. The content is coded too. The message seems like something normal. It might say that I’m excited because I’m going on a trip soon. But the person I’m contacting will know that means something different. Like, I won’t be able to make a rendezvous.”

Omega was suitably impressed. “Wow. That’s pretty cool. And complicated.”

The woman nodded knowingly. “The more layers the harder it is to crack, and the more likely it’ll be overlooked by the Empire.”

“Neat!”

“Indeed. That is quite clever. Unfortunately, your unauthorized access of our communications system did trigger an alert.” Tech was approaching from one end of the platform, pistols drawn. Dara didn’t have to look around to know that Wrecker and Hunter would be similarly cutting off her access to the other bridges. But then, she wasn’t interested in escaping—not before she had the chance to chat with Rex. If she had been, she would be long gone already.

Sure enough, Dara heard the Sergeant’s gravelly voice coming from behind her. “Omega. Get away from her. Now,” Hunter barked.

Omega looked back and forth from Dara to Hunter, the confusion on her face quickly turning to suspicion. The woman gestured with her chin. “Go on, kid. Go to your—dads? Brothers? Honestly, I still haven’t worked out whatever this is.”

The girl backed away quickly towards Wrecker, who had advanced from a third direction. He moved to position his sister behind him, putting his body between her and Dara.

“What’s going on?” Omega demanded.

“She’s been spying on us,” Hunter replied darkly. “That’s why we were gone longer than we expected. We thought it was too risky for her to find out about you. And we were right.”

Dara snickered. “I’m a risk? Do you even have any idea how many innocent people Crosshair has killed?”

Tech frowned. “Dara, where is Crosshair? What did you do?”

“Less than he deserved.” Dara’s eyes were glinting, but they softened when she noticed Omega peer with distress around Wrecker. She sighed and shook her head. With one hand held out in front of her, she unholstered her blaster slowly and let it clatter to the floor a few feet away. “He’s fine. Go ahead, I know when I’m beat.”

Dara held her wrists out in front of her and allowed Hunter to clamp binders around them yet again. Omega was still examining her curiously as they led her away.

***

Crosshair had a splitting headache. He supposed he should be grateful that Dara had only stunned him, rather than cutting his throat, but it was a small consolation. A slightly bigger consolation was the fact that at least she hadn’t escaped. When he awoke to Tech’s concerned expression as his brother held a medical scanner irritatingly close to his face, he had been certain that Dara was long gone, and was surprised to learn that they had intercepted her so easily. He could only speculate as to why.

Now he was watching from a perch atop a pile of crates in the corner as Rex prepared to question her, worrying a toothpick and scowling at anyone that looked at him. Scowling at anyone, that is, except for Omega, who scrambled up the crates to take a seat next to him before Rex got started.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Terrible,” he griped.

She grinned and gave him an affectionate pat on the arm. “Mad that she got the drop on you?” she replied knowingly.

The sniper grumbled. In fact, he was mad—at himself, for underestimating Dara. After all that time suspecting her, he’d almost let himself believe he was wrong. And then, seeing her in the cargo hold, hands bound behind her back and looking up at him with fury etched into every line of her face—he’d let himself get distracted by how badly he still wanted her anyway. Even as she looked back at him with every bit of the disgust that he deserved.

But he couldn’t tell Omega that. Instead, he ignored her teasing and changed the subject. “Heard you got up to some fun without us, kid.”

Omega rolled her eyes. “I already got a lecture.”

“You won’t hear one from me. I know you’re the most capable member of the squad.” Crosshair mussed up her hair, earning an even bigger grin. He had missed her.

Omega furrowed her brow thoughtfully, gazing at Dara, who was leaning back in her chair and had her feet up on the table as Rex approached, her nonchalance and familiarity belying the seriousness of the situation. After so long observing her expressions and characteristics while she was undercover, Crosshair was now struggling to read her; she was still controlled, but somehow harsher, more commanding, her every move more transparently calculated. If they had known Dara the free-spirited nomad, this was now Dara the rebel spy—and though this version was closer to the truth, the Dara he had been seeking to draw out still seemed to lay buried beneath who knows how many layers.

As he watched, she directed a quick wink to Howzer, shrugging, unbothered, when the reg scowled back. Gregor, however, who was seated next to Howzer, sent his own cheeky wink back, making Dara smirk with amusement. Crosshair clenched his fists.

“So, what’s going on with her?” Omega asked. “Echo said she’s not with the Empire, so why was she spying on the squad?”

Crosshair frowned. “We rescued her from Imperials. She was using us to hide out from them and reporting back on us to her rebel faction.”

“Huh.”

Omega looked like she was going to say more, but the sniper was grateful to be saved from further questions by the beginning of Rex’s interrogation, which they both leaned forward eagerly to see. The rest of the Batch were seated elsewhere around the platform, similarly interested in hearing what Rex came up with in the face of Dara’s usual restraint.

The Captain seated himself across the table from Dara and nodded in greeting. “Hello again, Keranji.”

Dara smiled crookedly. “Thought maybe you’d forgotten me, Captain. But I don’t go by that name anymore.”

No wonder Tech hadn’t found anything about her; she’d changed identities since the Clone Wars. Crosshair could see his brother tapping furiously at his datapad, no doubt already using the new information to search for more background.

Rex smiled back. “Dara, then. Your hair used to be darker.”

“I used to be younger.” Dara cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders, as if to suggest that she could feel the tension of the years building up bodily. Maybe she could.

“We all did,” Rex acknowledged. “Still, I don’t usually forget a face.”

“I used to laugh more too.”

She seemed weary. It was strange to look at her now, when only a few rotations earlier she would have made every effort to disguise that bone-deep exhaustion. Crosshair tried to imagine her as a hopeful, fresh-faced insurgent learning from Rex and the Jedi how to fight back against the Separatists that had taken over her planet. It was a difficult image to conjure up. Instead, all he could think of was her grief from the night of the bar fight—the devastation that made it look like she might shatter at any moment.

That night, had she been thinking of her friend—the one he’d killed? No—he remembered what day that was on the standard calendar, and that wasn’t the anniversary. She must have been thinking of another dead friend. Another one of many, a number he had only added to.

“We all did,” Rex agreed with her softly. The Captain paused a moment, let them sit with their shared loss, before he continued. “Still palling around with Saw, then?”

Dara shrugged. “Took a bit of a sabbatical after we liberated Onderon, but couldn’t stay away I guess.”

“Not tired of fighting?”

The rebel slowly removed her feet from the table, planted her boots firmly on the floor, and leveled a steady gaze at him. “All of us are tired. Hasn’t stopped us yet, has it?”

Rex chuckled. “I guess not.” Crosshair began to get the sense that this was no longer an interrogation—if it ever had been. It was a negotiation. “I have to say,” the Captain continued, “I wish you would’ve reached out directly instead of spying on us.”

Dara, hands still clasped in binders, drummed her fingers against the table thoughtfully. “I’m sure you understand the need for caution. Trust isn’t a currency I trade in much these days. I thought it was too risky until I knew more. I apologize.”

Crosshair raised an eyebrow. She had wanted to trust them, to forge an alliance, but Saw had ordered her not to. She made no move to clarify further, and he quickly realized that she wouldn’t. Dara had said “I,” not “we.” She was owning the decision, like it had been her decision all along.

Rex tilted his head, considering her words. The Captain had heard the audio recording of Dara’s call with Saw—Tech had passed it along while they were still in hyperspace. Crosshair wondered what Rex would make of the discrepancy.

He would probably think it showed loyalty.

“Before we caught you, you got a message out to Saw. Should we expect him here soon?” Rex inquired slowly.

Dara pursed her lips. “No. You’re stuck with me.”

“Why is that?” he pressed.

“Against protocol to attempt a rescue.”

“Ah.” Rex stood, radiating an easy authority from his perfect military posture. “Well, I would like him to come. I understand you don’t trust us. And I understand why. But it’s clear that we’re working on parallel missions, and we’re willing to extend our own trust. Enough to have him and a few of your people on base, and to see if we can work towards some sort of cooperation.”

Dara regarded him seriously, then glanced around at the other members of the Batch watching the conversation, although she studiously avoided looking at Crosshair’s corner. “I may be able to arrange that.”

“Come on, then.” Rex removed her binders and led her to a holoprojector nearby. Stretching and rubbing her wrists a little, Dara entered the information to call Gerrera.

When Gerrera’s image popped up, his arms were crossed, and his gaze was smoldering. “Rex. It’s good to see you’re alive. I trust you’re treating Dara well.”

The Captain nodded. “Nice to see you, too, Saw. I wish the circumstances were better, but Dara and I have come to something of an agreement.”

“Uh-huh.” Gerrera still looked severe, and he was eyeing Dara closely, as though checking that she was uninjured. “I hope the terms of that agreement don’t involve holding my head of intelligence hostage.”

Now that was some useful information. Crosshair thought he could see Dara grinding her teeth. If he’d learned anything about her at all, he was willing to bet that she had hoped she could keep them thinking she was nothing more than an everyday operative, still holding back information even as they took a step toward trust. Paranoid, indeed.

A lesser man than Rex would have rolled his eyes at Gerrera’s accusation, but the Captain only stiffened a little. “Dara is free to go whenever she likes. What we want is to invite you here, to see if we can find a way to collaborate,” he countered.

Dara spoke up, not giving Saw the chance to reject the idea outright again. “I think it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement. Both our groups could do with some intelligence sharing and joint strategizing, and—if Rex’s people are willing—I’d like to learn from some of their tactics and receive training for a few of my specialists. Their encryption skills in particular far surpass our own capabilities. By working together and sharing information like that, we can all get stronger.”

This seemed to convince the rebel leader. Where he had been unwilling to consider Dara’s arguments before, he now had to acknowledge that the ruse was over. Their only options left were to cooperate or to walk away. Hesitating only a little—though looking no less intense—Gerrera accepted the proposal.

“Okay. We can talk about it. But it’s going to be at least ten rotations before I can make it.”

Dara nodded. “I’d like to discuss with Rex the possibility of conducting a small, joint operation before then. Something to demonstrate the potential of the alliance.”

“I’m sure we can find something,” Rex agreed.

“Good. Dara, keep me up to speed. Rex, I’m looking forward to seeing you in person again. It’s been a long time.” Gerrera’s holoprojection blinked out.

Rex visibly relaxed, clapping Dara on the shoulder. “Well done. I think he’s well on his way to being convinced. Much more amenable to it than during your earlier call.”

Dara shook her head, equal parts annoyed and amused. “ I should’ve known better than to talk to him directly. It only takes one time being sloppy to get caught.”

“That was him being amenable?” Echo murmured.

Dara turned and grinned at him, a real, toothy, un-curated smile that broke through her barriers. This was what she actually looked like, Crosshair realized, when she was happy. When her guard was down for a moment.

She shrugged. “You should see what he’s like usually.”

Tag list: @stardusthuntress @skellymom @megmegalodondon @somewhere-on-kamino @morerandombullshit @zahmaddog

Thanks again to @cloneflo99 for the amazing banner!!!

Author's note: SMUT IS FINALLY COMING NEXT CHAPTER! Which should be posted next week!

Next chapter

[mchlgayser]

✮ the first meet ft jobe bellingham

synopsis: Tired of video calling and online messages? Try to book a flight to London, England, and meet your boyfriend.

─── ୨୧ warning: none

─── ୨୧ notes: this is based on this, this, and this request. I try doing this request as best as I could (I swear) might not be as good as anybody out there but I try. I said this once, and I will say it twice, I'm a sucker for Jobe Samuel Patrick Bellingham so much I think I needed a therapist. Anything includes him in my writing, I'll do it twice difficult 🤞🏼

Your phone sat on the nightstand table beside your bed, your friends on the other line waiting and choosing dresses for you to wear because you simply could not decide. You throw them to pair of different crop tops, the first one is a simple puff sleeve crop top of your favorite color, it has square neck line allowing you to decorate yourself with a much more prominent accessories whilst the other one is a black floral print frill trim with sweetheart neck and bishop sleeve crop blouse.

You show them the top two of your choices and they picked the black one as they said; easy to match. You wore your high waist black jeans and your sash. You put on your top decorating your collar with eggshell white pearl necklaces, a pair of piercing, and even the matching bracelet your boyfriend got you.

'So, how do I look?' You told them as you turn around from left to the right to give them better access to your full fit 'Try and push your hair back a little..' You did as said when you heard 'Okay, stop!' Your hand froze on top of your head but slowly began to remove it 'Gorgeous! Perfect! Chef kiss!' You laugh at their exaggerated statement, picking up your phone and adjusting it to the bathroom to let them accompany you while you do touch up on your makeup.

'What time will you leave?' You glance at your wrist, 'Four I think? His practice starts at five.' You put on some more lip gloss and puck your lips out 'Good?' They all nod showing you massive thumb-ups 'I will leave now, see you later!' You throw them a flying kiss before you abruptly ended the call.

You stepped outside of the elevator straight to the lobby entrance seeing the Uber you picked had arrived and is parked just in front of the automatic sliding door. You entered the car, greeting the driver in the process before you inform them of the address to the place. It wasn't a long ride but it wasn't short either, you manage to exchange quick talks with them, they asked you what you were doing in London and how's the experience so far. You told them that it was good and that you are here to meet your six months year old boyfriend.

The car halted right at the venue's main gate allowing you to get out easily and pass through, you thank and tip the person before you stroll inside the auditorium. You make a quick call with a friend whom friend with your boyfriend and notified them that you've had arrived. It was a three minutes wait before they arrived, panting hard.

'He's in the changing room,' You both rush to the team locker room, on your way there, proceeding to greet each person you came across and stop right in front of the door.

Jobe on the other hand had just completed changing his garment to his practice attire. All the while he was changing, his other hand is practically inside his palm, easy for him to be sure you had reply to his text this morning.

Belly Ham

Mornin' 😽

Had your breakfast yet?

delivered

But to no avail, you hadn't replied to him, you might have activated the app once or twice after the texts but he never gets a reply back, like you were avoiding him. He sighs in defeat plopping the phone inside his duffel back and wearing his glove. A knock on the door infuriates him because the other person keeps knocking constantly, he was sure he didn't look at the door and sure he didn't. It was unlocked but the person on the other side just had to ruined his already wrecked mood.

'What-' His voice stuck from the back of his throat because right in front of him, no screen separating - is his girlfriend.

You watch him in amusement, his ears grew red maybe from the cold? His eyes shimmer on yours without no words spoken for the other minutes and suddenly your body collided against his into a bone-crush hug. His hands snake around your back pressing your body closer to his. Your hands at both of his sides clutching on his jersey.

'Surprise...' You said, voice croaking at the end feeling overwhelmed with emotions, he went to snoop you in his arms once more and chuckle 'I can't believe you are here! I never thought I could meet you so fast!' He beams and went to separate the hug to examine your face.

'At last.' He confessed, temple lightly brushing against yours, his eyes glimmering with stars and heart 'I will cherish this moment forever with you..' He whisper, leaving a soft kiss at the crown of your head.

'That's enough, continue your lovey-dovey section after the practice. Jobe, stop being so cringe for God's sake!' They joke earning a playful scowl from your boyfriend.

You are delighted. You know this time in London will the best memories you've ever had. All thanks to one particular person.

[draagu]

Teach me the ways of the dragu art

yeah I'll use what I'm currently drawing for this hold on

really long tutorial on how I draw below

step one: sketch

my sketches usually start with a circle for the head and I build from there! generally I just use the circle if I'm familiar with the character and the pose, but it is always good to use more shapes for the rest of the body!

sketches are also a good phase to play around with proportions, the nice part of digital art is that it's really easy to erase or select and stretch/move parts that look funky. play around till it looks right, don't be afraid to use references

step 2: lineart

linearts my worst enemy sometimes, so occasionally I just resort to cleaning up the switch or just making the lineart really sketchy and messy

here though I just follow the sketch to the best of my ability, i don't always do it but I shade in shadows sometimes

also on spots that are like folds or something, I make the lines gradually thinner the farther away from the edge they get. if that makes sense

step 3: color (which is incomplete rn my bad)

I unno what to really say for this one uh

easy trick to coloring everything fast, and if your art program lets you, make a giant square that covers everything behind the lineart, erase or fill any openings in the lineart, select the outside part of the colored square with the wand tool or wtv, and erase/delete. then boom you got a filled color base to go off of, go you!

otherwise if the wand tool doesn't exist, I just draw around the insides of the lineart and fill

step 4: shading

im not planning to shade this drawing so i have to scrounge up old stuff now ouh

shading ! is fun sometimes

i start by picking a bright color that fits nicely with the rest of the art, n choose any spots that would be blocked from the light (i cannot explain this m sorry)

then i put the blending setting on the layer to multiply, set the opacity down until it looks fine

and congrats you've shaded

sometimes i also add a slight blur or like every so slightly softening lines which i do not have an example of right now. i just do this on the ends of the shadows because i think it looks nice

the rest of the art is up to you, color the lines, add a gradient over everything, go crazy.

the best way to get 'better' is practice! doodle whenever ya can, i doodle on homework and notes all the time. find your own little strategies and tidbits to add to your art! just have fun with it in the end!

also when in doubt: add more fluff /j

(my old nightcat design compared to the new)

[sleeplesssmoll]

Schneider Snippets from the Atlas

Vertin’s responses to the narrator are in italics. Let me know if I missed anything. This is a long post and it looked nicer in my Google Docs. If anyone has suggestions on how to format this into a way that's easier to read, I am all ears. Spoilers for Ch 2 & 3. My dumb little notes are in purple and are not part of the main text.

The Opportunist and the Sticky Gum

Source: 2-1 Wretched Brats

Now those little brats are knocked out. You Notice that old gum is sticking to the bottom of their shoes, like crushed leeches.

What happened to the gum?

Tragedy. A sympathetic encounter. It has fulfilled its mission cautiously and conscientiously. But clearly no one cares. 

I dare say it's the most popular mint gum now. When the Chicagoans lost their rights to get drunk, they could only turn to this nasty upstart stuff. The sales champion is the bubble gum near Wrigley Field. The old gum from the kid's soles also comes from there. 

Some gravel mixed into the squeezed gum base. The off-white sand. The synthetic waxed elastic fiber. In the South Bank, there is only one place where such a politically symbolic floor is laid–St. Pavlov Foundation.

It's very lively here in the square, just like every day in the past. Speculators, who advocate mankind supremacy, are trying to get the attention of the Foundation through demonstrations. They are on the same side as the Foundation, but the Foundation has no intention to treat these protestors as allies they want. They even sent a little girl to go through the motions as a perfunctory response. (this “little girl” is Sonetto.)

Little girls? An excellent topic. (Vertin, this is not how we behave.)

Yes. Yes. No one will ignore them. They are honey colored. They are the morning sun in California. They are the dazzling spot on the doe that you'll never catch. For those hypocritical politicians the little girls are the delicacies that they would drool over (ew). Luckily, this little girl is not one of their prey. She is nervous but not panicked. She doesn't seem to be good at dealing with these slick politicians. The mission capsule of the Foundation grew hot in her tightly clutched fist.

And on the other side of the square, another little girl in a black suit is looking gloomily over here. She stood by the Foundation's air outlet, the best place for her. The position is too marginal to be marginalized. That's the best portrayal of the second generation immigrants in the 20th century. (This is Schneider.)

Who is the girl in the black suit?

She's someone you will know in the future. Now she shudders and shivers like a cricket desperate for shelter. She's looking for an eave or piece of rubble in the Storm.

Her figure might be frail, but her eyes are filled with cold anger. Maybe she had been rejected just now or even insulted. She walked up to the square center with a firm step, like a warrior.

This snippet in the beginning foreshadows so much of the story it's insane looking back.

From One Castle to Another

Source: 2-9 Security Carnival

Mrs. Greco puts down the phone. She is now as calm as any Italian mother you've ever met. You know, they're usually making a yummy pie before they pull out their guns.

There are enough people in black outside, enough to prevent any eavesdropping or violent conflict.

Mrs. Greco glanced blandly over the one, two, three, four ... nine, ten, eleven children in front of her. This is a big family, and it has grown bigger and

bigger over the past few years because of Schneider.

Who are they?

They're Schneider's sisters. It's hard for the Grecos to tell them apart. But Schneider is different. She was born in an earthquake, all covered in blood, and didn't let out her first cry until two hours later. It wasn't until she was one year old that her father noticed that she had never been baptized.

The Grecos are not good at dealing with gang affairs. They can't even figure out when their daughter has grown-- grown into the backbone of the whole family.

When Schneider took out 500 dollars from her pocket and put them on the table, they were completely shocked, and that's just the beginning. Schneider... Schneider, the youngest daughter they seldom cared about. It's impossible to keep every child well-fed. Schneider could not even get a piece of bread in the Eucharist.

 But a good daughter would not let anyone worry about her. She sat on the bench outside the church and hummed. She found a way out for herself. She walked to the underground market, fascinated by what she saw ...She announced her "new identity" one day.

What "new identity"?

The identity you know now. In the process, she lost something old but gained something new, no matter if she wished for it or not.

"Now," Mrs. Greco said, "we live, or we die. If Schneider comes back safely tonight... we will leave when the moon rises. The doors are closing in front of us, one after another. But the benevolent Maria will give us the ultimate shelter. My children, remember today forever." Her words speak for her status. But Mrs. Greco's eyes never moved away from that small Madonna on the table. The hem of her clothes were soaked in tears. 4 p.m. A family is determined to start a new journey.

Unnamed Poem

Source: 2-13 Rattenfanger (This is the chapter where the “eave or the rubble” line comes from)

Surrounded by imposing barriers, Epics never sing of those about to die. Look up, keep looking up, A broken tile is the only shelter in the tempest. People always knew how they took the wrong path, So they regret the unregrettable nights, laugh at the laughable fools. At the bottom of the cliff, a river always flows.

An Unpopular Children's Song 😭

Source: 3-3 Green Oranges Who killed the Snowy Dove? I, said the cricket. With my heart and musket I killed the Snowy Dove. Who saw her die? I, said the owner of the suitcase, With my vision and sight, I saw her die. Who dug her grave? I, said the cricket. With my pick and spade, I dug her grave. Who'll make her shroud? I, said the owner of the suitcase, With my little suitcase, I'll make her shroud.

Long Night Trip (I left out the first bit since its the Narrator being…himself. The man loves to hear himself talk.)

Source: 3-8 Popular Literature

Trust me, you won't regret listening to this story.

Fine. Let's start the bullshit. 

I will never be offended by your humor. Okay. The past is waiting for us to look back. It's winter in the early 20th century. The gloomy rain never stops. The square on West Jackson Avenue is alive with people. There is an Italian Renaissance-styled basilica. You rarely see so many people get together without making a sound. This is a black requiem mass. The priest is chanting the requiem, and the people mark a cross on their chests.

He must be respectable.

"He was a father. He dedicated to a sinner of ... Lord shall give him eternal peace." A woman in a black robe turns to you and whispers. She turns back. Explaining this makes her unpleased. More and more people are queuing for the funeral. The square is alive with chants here and there. The Grecos are among them. They're covered by the dark cloud of long- handled umbrellas. Soon, their voices are replaced by whimpers. You can hardly tell whether they are pleased or sorrowful. But you can't find Schneider. (This part in purple was written like that in the Atlas. Its clunky as heck. Idk what they were trying to say.)

Where is she?

Look in the direction of Mr. Greco's broken left palm. Yes. Look from the bandage-wrapped end at his cuff. 3390 feet away from the crowd, in the shadow of the church, stands the girl you want to see. She is pale and thin, as if she has just recovered from a serious, long illness. But her fist clenches, her eyes burn, and her figure is an open defiance of the ubiquitous chants. You don't know why she looks so-so furious. Is she... what, 11 years old? And the mass is about to usher in the ultimate climax. It rains heavier. The priest opens his arms to embrace the sky, "The Lord be with you."

"And also with you." Schneider responds in a voice that could hardly be heard. She puts her hand on her heart. This is the first time she responds to the Lord. And it will be the last.

[were--ralph]

Hey ralph im new to art and im slowly learning lots of stuff but a thing I really struggle is making hair on things. (or fur) do you have any tricks for that

oh baby this is my home

OR IT WAS BUT I CAN'T FIND MY OLD PSDS but i'll try to explain it anyway without them

Lets do an experiment!

image 1:

and now 2

you can tell it's hair in both images despite it being blurry, right? Well here's why and this is the most helpful tip i can give you.

When you're drawing hair/fur you're not actually painting every strand, you're painting the effect of hair/fur. Your eyes and brain will fill in the gaps, you don't need every strand/clump. Here's what I mean. I'll break it down into the main four parts: Base, Flow, Rendering, and details

Base: its just a color base that's it

Flow: Hair and fur grows in specific patterns and directions. You want to mimic it and like. sure panthers with rippling abs don't normally exist but still you can assume the fur will grow downwards, so mimic what feels natural. Also don't be afraid to draw the lines out on a new layer i still do it sometimes.

Rendering: think of this as lighting and the MOST basic details

you can get a general idea of it feeling like fur without detailing. There are parts where it's almost all one color (near the nipple for example) where you still assume its fur despite it being nearly one color. Think of this as the most basic lighting you can think of. just like. general lighting.

and now details:

once again, you don't want to over detail (i do because I'm an idiot) and let the mind fill in the gaps in areas. Something EXTREMELY important to keep in mind when detailing: not all areas will have the same amount of detail. darker areas generally receive much less detail than lighter areas. refer to the hair pic from earlier. the darkest parts you can't see each strand, but the shiny and light parts you can!

I'll do another one.

keep in mind of the flow and when painting please god do not use a "fur brush". this was all chalk and default round brush. Remember! the brushes don't matter so much as your grasp on the thing you're painting. Get a simple chalk, round, square, etc brush and paint in the direction you want.

refine your lighting and add your detail in the lightest/shiniest areas, the darkest areas are generally fine outside of reflected light. Also important!

when lighting realistically, the edges almost always stand out due to rim lighting and just how light interacts with fur/hair. adding details on the edges will make it feel more realistic

However! there is more! Fur comes in MANY shapes, you can play with the shapes and rendering once you're more comfortable!

Last thing i should have said earlier is fur generally lives in clumps whereas straight hair is just strand by strand

hope this helps!