#the background is fully just easy to draw and quick

[sleepymccoy]

Aziraphale comes around to change very slowly, you know. Even if he likes the change, he's slow to accept it. There's a lot of change going very fast right now...

[deathblacksmoke]

Together: Nick Ruffilo

pairing: nick ruffilo x f!reader

cw: mutual masturbation, friends to lovers

word count: 2.1K

author’s note: a little group project done with my buds @circle-with-me, @darksigns-exe, and @malice-ov-mercy <3 i hope y’all are enjoying!

read the others here: folio | noah | jolly

dividers by @saradika-graphics 🌷

The television drones on in the background as you feel your body fully relax. You can hardly remember what movie you’d decided to watch tonight, and you haven’t been paying attention.

You’re bone-tired, not much on your mind besides the sleep you so desperately need. You’ve never missed a movie night with Nick before, though, and he seemed especially excited to see you this week. It’s not in your heart to let him down, and you’re happy to relax with him, sprawl your legs across his lap and maybe have a nap on his sofa while the movie plays. It’s better than an early night alone, you reason.

You’re about to accept the draw of sleep, allowing your eyes to slip closed when you feel his hand inching up your leg. It’s an innocent touch, you think, but you burn all the same.

Suddenly, the room is all too warm.

Judging by the look on his face, gaze steadfast on the television, you’re sure he isn’t even aware of what he’s doing. Your stomach twists, though, at the feeling of his callouses dragging across your exposed skin, his fingertips grazing your shin and sending chills over your body.

It’s never like this with Nick, always purely platonic. There’s admittedly always been a bubbling something in your gut for him, but you haven’t pushed it. It’s been easy to bury thus far, but something is different tonight. Perhaps there was something in his disappointed, almost whiny tone when he could tell you were going to try to cancel. Maybe that gave you hope that this might not be out of the question.

As you move to sit up,  your foot grazes over him, decidedly not soft in his jeans. Your mind draws blank and you freeze before settling back down to your previous position.

Seemingly unaware of the chaos going on in your head—the painful, piercing ringing in your ears—his hand finds its way back to your leg.

“Nick,” you say, choked. He looks at you, and it’s that sweet gaze, that soft smile you’ve come to love so much. You’re positive you’ll lose your nerve.

His gaze shifts from you, down to his hand, and back up to your face. He slowly removes his hand from your leg, putting it at his side, embarrassment clear in his expression. 

“I’m sorry,” he says, and you’re quick to shake your head. “Was that not okay?”

“No, no, it’s okay,” you respond, and his hand is back on you in a moment. You burn from the inside out. His touch on your bare skin has never felt so much before. “It’s just—”

You gain some bravery when you shift your position again, the sole of your foot grazing the zipper of his jeans. His eyes shoot open, wide when they meet yours.

“I didn’t mean to,” he speaks again. He’s so painfully shy that you find yourself wanting to burrow into him. The nerves that had kicked up in you are almost gone as you pass your foot over him again. “You’re just so… I’m sorry.”

“I’m so what?” you press. He pulls his lip between his teeth, his face twisting with contemplation.

“Warm,” he mutters. His hand has stilled on your leg, but the grip has tightened. You can feel his fingers trembling. “You’re so warm. And close.”

It’s a line you can’t uncross with him. Maybe you’re delirious from your own lack of sleep, but you feel wide awake now. You can’t uncross the line, but you find you want to cross it if he does.

“Do you want me to go somewhere, you know, so you can…” you start, unsure of how exactly to phrase it. A piece of you hopes he’ll say no, he doesn’t want you to go anywhere. You want to stay right where you are. “So you can take care of it.”

He looks to be considering it, and your heart drops, thinking he’ll send you home or get up and excuse himself to his bedroom. Finally, he shakes his head and you settle.

“It’s okay,” he says. “It’ll go away.”

With all the bravery you can muster, you make one final pass with your foot. There’s a look in his eyes when his gaze meets yours that tells you he wants this too. You want to cross this line with him. Maybe you always have.

“Or you could—” you start. You sit up, not to put distance between the two of you, but to get yourself a better view in the hopes that he says yes. “You could show me.”

You’ve long prided yourself in your ability to read people well and Nick has been no exception. As you look at him now, though, you find his expression unreadable. His hand rests on his own leg and you can see it shaking, his eyes are blank. There’s the faintest pink tinge to his cheeks, but you suddenly can’t remember if they’re always like that.

You’re the one who has to be brave and hope he wants to follow you down.

“I can show you, too,” you offer, and his gaze shifts to something you’ve seen before. It’s the same look you’ve seen time and time again, a look you’re now recognizing as hope. He gives you the faintest nod and you smile back at him, overcome with a nervous excitement, a bubbling undercurrent of relief.

“We can’t go back after this,” he says, an edge of fear left in his tone. He’s right—you can’t—you hope that he won’t want to, either. If you allow yourself time to think about it, you’ve wanted this for a long time. “Are you okay with that?”

“I’m okay with that,” you respond, nerves kicking back up momentarily when it doesn’t seem to soothe him. You’ll have to be a little braver. You reach out for him, hand unsteady as it rests over his own on his thigh.

“It’s an unconventional way to start this, but I think I’ve wanted you for a long time, Nicky,” you start, trying your best not to lose your nerve when everything is screaming at you to back down. “Haven’t you?”

For the first time, you find yourself considering that maybe he hasn’t. Maybe he hasn’t wanted this like you have, that it isn’t worth ruining your friendship. 

He lifts his hand from his thigh, hesitantly wrapping it around your hip, his trembling fingers kicking against your skin.

“Come here,” he says, gently tugging you closer. You’re more than happy to scramble into his lap. It’s the closest you’ve ever been to him, a fire burning beneath your skin, hyper-aware of every point your bodies are touching. “I need to kiss you first. Can I?”

His hand is already cradling your face and it’s barely a question. Your lips slot together so perfectly that everything blurs. Your skin heats beneath his palm.

You kiss for so long that you almost forget what the plan had been, lost in the feeling of his hand on your face and his lips on yours, kissing across your face. 

You know you’ll never be able to help yourself if you let yourself stay this close to him. You want to start it this way—you want to see how he likes it. He makes a weak sound of protest when you separate, taking your spot at the other end of the sofa again.

“Nicky,” you mutter, nudging his leg with your toes. You can see that his situation hasn’t improved, straining against his zipper. Your mouth runs dry, stopping yourself from licking your lips as your eyes glaze over. “Will you let me see you?”

Everything slows as he undoes his jeans and your eyes land on him. He’s bigger than you thought he’d be and you almost want to change the plan, scramble back closer and get your hands on him, your mouth, anything. The sound of his shocked little gasp, his hoarse groan when he wraps his hand around himself brings you back into the moment, into your why, your need to see all of him.

You feel you disappear as you watch him lose himself to his own pleasure, head thrown back against the couch cushion, soft lips parted prettily as he works himself over. He always is, but you think he’s especially gorgeous like this, so open and vulnerable, grip tightening, loosening, tightening around himself, unabashed in the chase for his own high.

A gasp of your name sends shivers straight through you, your gaze shifting from his hand on his cock to his face, his eyes heavily-lidded and boring into you. 

“Your turn,” he utters, his hand speeding up momentarily before the pace curtails itself back to a slow drag. It’s teasing and too much at once, to be given the privilege of seeing what he does when he’s alone, desperate in his bunk on the bus or a venue bathroom or late at night in his bedroom. His hand wraps around your ankle and pulls your leg to one side. You burn from the inside out, unsure whether you need to back away or get impossibly closer. “Come on, you said I could see you, too.”

Your hands tremble, filled with a mix of dread and anxious excitement as you pull your bottoms down your legs. The first touch of your hand to your bare skin sends nervous energy shooting through you. As you slide your hand between your legs to graze your clit, your instinct is to close your legs and hide yourself from him; his hand shifting up to your knee to hold your leg in place stops you, looking up at him to find his gaze not on your center, but on your face. The drag of his hand along his cock has sped up, the thrusts into his fists making you feel dizzied and desperate.

You let your eyes slip closed, hoping to quell some of the overwhelm brought on by his warm hand on your skin and his eyes on you. You drag a finger through your slick, focusing back on your clit and you can’t help the gasp of his name, electricity shooting through every inch of your body.

Seeing him is too much, as you allow yourself to open your eyes to him, finding his gaze still not on your center but wholly focused on your face. You itch to be closer, to have his body blanket yours, but you hold out. Something for next time. His thrusts go quicker, sloppy, and you need for it to be this, to have this full view when he cums.

“You look so beautiful,” he says, a little winded as he speaks. It’s so soft, such a lovely contrast to the situation you’ve found yourself in that you find yourself closer and closer to tumbling over. “Keep your eyes on me. I wanna see you when I cum.”

You don’t dare to close your eyes, to shift your gaze away from his. There’s a desperation as you increase the speed of your own end, chasing your high to follow him over the edge. His stare is intense, pretty little gasps tumbling from his mouth as he stills, spilling over his own hand. You let your eyes shift at the last moment, watching as the last of his release trickles over his tattooed fingers and onto the exposed skin of his tummy.

You allow yourself to close your eyes again, a little past the point of controlling the movement of your hips, the desperate trembling of your hand as you let yourself come undone for him. His hand, warm on your leg, grounds you. There’s barely a moment to recover, keeping your eyes closed as you feel the sofa shift beneath your weight and Nick is crawling over you, blanketing your body with his own just like you wanted.

His fingers glide through your hair, bringing your lips to his, and it’s all so different. You feel the draw of sleep again, somehow more content than you thought you’d be with how different it all actually is. You need a shower, you need sleep, and you need to know that he’s on the same page, okay with the change and the inevitability of it all.

“Is this still okay?” you ask, still half-expecting it to burst the bubble and ruin everything. “Everything is going to be different now.”

Same as it’s always been, his gentle nod and the smile that spreads across his face soothe your every worry.

“I like different.”

tagging: @circle-with-me @darksigns-exe @concretenoah @ladyveronikawrites @baddestomens

@broken0mens @somebodyels3 @sitkowski @cookiesupplier @collapsedglasshouses

@abiomens @agravemisstake @bngurngheart @iknownothingpeople @anameunmusical

@itsafullmoon

let me know if you'd like to be tagged in future fics!

[trashisstillhere]

Some Ninja Randy related art I just wanted to post right now. But it’s not just the og, but some different versions of him that I had made long time ago and decided to try drawing again today!

Oh boy, I haven’t thought of these guys in a very long time until now. Some of you who has seen some art from both my old account and the old ones in this account may know of them (expect for Bad Ending!Randy, I never really showed him, I think). And yes, I will kinda explain each one of them since the rest of you probably don’t know about them at all so here we go.

1. Evil! Randy

an evil version of Randy, with all the chaos pearls in his disposal now that the sorcerer is fully gone. And no, not in the way like in the season 2 finale but like…well.. let’s just say, he’s still trapped.

staying in the now abandoned norrisville high school (what happen to everyone in there? No body knows), Evil! Randy is mostly alone by himself, plotting and thinking about what to do next now that everything with him has changed.

If he ever does get a visitor in the school, he seems quite calm and wise towards them, showing them around and even asking them for favours to help him a little around the place, give him company as he haven’t had some in so long…..but don’t be fooled. Remember, those green orbs corrupts whoever has them and this Randy is no different.

Howard’s and the Nomicons whereabouts in this au? currently unknown.

The only new thing about him right now are those few green glowing cracks on his suit and all, I thought those would look cool on him.

——

2. Horror! Randy

Now you can easily find this guys story and first drawings of him on my account. Just click on the Rc9gn tag while staying on my account, scroll far down and you’ll find it. Easy peasy. But if you’re too lazy, I’ll give you a short(er) and quick version.

This Randy’s story takes place back in season 1, right after he just became the ninja and a few days passed. He meets some evil spirit who takes a form of a ninja and tricks him into thinking that it’s from the nomicon and that there’s people who are monsters in disguise’s that he has to ‘get rid of’. Because of this along with illusions from the spirit to make it more believable, he ends up killing lots of innocents, even Howard which he immediately feels tons of regret and guilt for.

At the end, Randy becomes a lonely mess, a lost cause, a paranoid psycho ninja who now can’t tell the difference between an actual monster and a human thanks to the manipulation of the fake ninja spirit who is now suddenly gone along with the illusions.

Basically, this is a fucked up Randy who suffers a lot and is very lonely. He does kill though.

—-

3. Disbelief! Randy

This Randy is kinda based on and inspired by the disbelief Papyrus Undertale Au. But instead of Papyrus with Sans jacket on, it’s the poor ninja boy with Howard’s. Most of this one is just Randy wearing the only thing he has left of his dead friend, trying to avenge him. Who or what got Howard killed? From what I remember (I never wrote any of these guys stories down) it was Mcfist and Viceroy, it was an accident with a robot of theirs. They never meant to have it kill the guy but it just…happen.

Damn, I have two au’s where Howard is dead. Good lord-

—-

4. Bad Ending! Randy

One I have never shown here before.

This was first a ‘what if’ thing. Like what if at the season 2 finale, in the battle between the sorcerer and Randy, it ended up terribly wrong? With Julian and Howard coming in too late, The sorcerer successfully stabs Randy deeply in the chest, making him be the one to lose and slowly die. The last things he got to see and hear at the end is a concerned Julian, a devastated crying Howard and the laughter of his enemy in the background.

After dying with one last breath, Randy ends up in a void. A blank, white, empty void with no one else but him, who is now mostly black and white, expect for the bleeding wound on his chest, a painful reminder of his defeat. Well, the nomicon is with him. However, he can’t communicate with it anymore.

Why? Because the book, that is also lost of color like the boy, seems to be corrupted. Not like evil corruption but just some kind of corruption that keeps it shut and quiet, no glowing, no beeps, nothing, having this sort of ink all over the cover that never stops dripping and keeps its pages sticky and shut tight.

Randy doesn’t understand this and the place he is stuck in but all he does know is he can’t get help anymore and he can’t even get to see what is going on in his home right now, though he assumes that it’s now slowly turning into a chaotic wasteland thanks to the sorcerer. All he can do now is cry and cry, mumbling to himself and getting mad at himself for losing so easily like that, probably even developing self hatred in the process.

There is actually some continuation i made for this with a good ending, where Randy somehow is able to fix the Nomicon, get out of the endless white void, get revived, reunite with Howard along with many others and finally defeat the sorcerer once and for all. Though that one never got finished and from what I remember, it’s not really canon and not a true ending to this au so….oops.

——————

But yeah, these are my Randy Au’s. There is kinda a few more but not really.

[raewritesfiction]

Wanna Find Out? [Alexander Skarsgard]

A/N: fleshing out a quick idea. Sorry for the formatting, I’m on mobile.

Plot: getting drunk with good friend Alex and a question arises.

Pairing: Alexander Skarsgard X Female!Reader

Warnings: Smut. Oral (M & F receiving), Unprotected sex (always use a condom!), Alcohol

[[ Lemme know if you wanna be added or removed from tags; no questions asked ♥️ likes are amazing however I really appreciate Reblogs to help spread my writing further! Thank you 🌈😘]]

Tag List: @thegreatlarryfisherman @iraniq @snewsome756 @vikkikrash @amelia-in-w0nderland @pandaliciouz @crispyimagines17 @marie-is-blogging @bonniebird @nutinanutshell @louise-buchan @differentcatcat @madsadgenius @sycochick @ravenmoore14 @heywhatssgood @purplerain85 @rockifresa @askarslibrary @1-800-imagines @venusbabysblog

—

Your day had been shitty but your evening was going much better as you had steadily gotten a little happy drunk with your friend Alex, relaxing on his sofa with random bad movies playing in the background as you set the world to rights and talked absolute bullshit.

Alex shuffles and sinks down, his head resting on the sofa back as you watched another horror with predictable teens getting drunk, fucking and then murdered before anyone could do anything. You could swear you’d seen it before but it could just be it was so similar to the previous one.

You tilt your head as a full frontal of a man comes on screen and you raise an eyebrow. “No way is that real… gotta be prosthetic.”

Alex chuckles and swigs his beer “maybe…. Dunno. He could just be an elephant.”

You laugh and finish your drink “….so what about you? I’ve seen Big Little Lies… was yours a prosthetic?” You pour another glass and can feel Alex’s eyes on your back but you don’t turn to look at him as you lean back.

“You wanna find out?” He raises an eyebrow and looks over to you.

Your glass rests on your lip as you blink and turn to meet his gaze “oh? That easy? I just had to ask?”

“Yup…” he nods and swigs his beer, finishing the bottle.

“Okay.. okay then.” You down your whiskey “whip it out..”

Alex puts his bottle down and pushes down his sweatpants to free himself. Apparently he had forgone underwear for comfort. Your eyes wander down from his face to his cock and you can’t help but let out a gasp “oh… no… no prosthetic needed.” You lick your lips at the sight and shuffle to face him.

“Nope…” he shakes his head and smirks “never needed one… though I will say it was damn cold in True Blood!” He goes to pull his sweats back up but you stop him, “no need to cover up so soon…”

“Oh..?” He raises an eyebrow and watches you shuffle to face him and lean down, dragging your tongue down his length. “Oh!”

You hum, wrapping your hand around him and lick the tip into your mouth, sucking lightly and feeling him harden under your touch. Alex groans quietly and moves his hips to your mouth as you slowly take him deeper into your mouth until he couldn’t go any further. Deepthroating was not your forte so your hand would have to make do for what your mouth couldn’t take.

He doesn’t seem to mind as you bob your head and swirl your tongue around him making him moan louder, a hand threading into your hair while the other grips the armrest of the sofa. You look up under your lashes and watch his chest rise and fall with each heavy breath he takes, a moan on every exhale. You massage his balls with your other hand and draw out a low low growl from him, his hips bucking into your mouth and almost making you choke. Almost. He settles his hips again and pants heavily as your mouth works along his length, around the head and your tongue teases the slit.

You moan around him, barely able to open your mouth wide enough to take him you pull away briefly and pant before sucking around the head and jerking his length with your hand. He stutters and groans pulling you away fully “god fuck, not yet…”

You wipe the corners of your mouth and watch him crawl over you, pinning you down to the sofa and kissing you passionately. His lips move over your jaw and neck while he pulls at your strap top, freeing your tits for his teasing amusement. Just as Alex had gone sans underwear, your idea of comfort didn’t include a bra.

Massaging and kneading while he kisses and sucks on your nipples, his teeth scraping lightly and his fingers pinching just enough for that pleasurable pain that makes you gasp and whine. Heat fires through you down to your core and you wish you could squeeze your thighs together but Alex’s hips hold them apart.

Once he was satisfied with the nip and bite marks on your tits he moves lower and undoes your jeans, pulling them roughly down over your hips and legs until he can throw them aside to the floor. His large hand immediately moves to your pussy; his thumb circling your clit as his fingers tease your entrance. “So wet for me…”

You whine in answer and nod “I’ve thought about this a lot…”

“Me too.” He moves your leg to lay over his shoulder and kisses your calf, pushing two fingers into you slowly with ease, drawing out a mewl of pleasure from your lips. He thrusts slowly and watches your hips move to the same rhythm before dipping down and flicking his tongue quickly over your clit. You gasp and moan his name, your hands in his hair as you rock your hips to his fingers and tongue. His scissors and thrusts, curls and stretches you out while his tongue works on your sensitive and hardened nub.

You feel a flutter pulsing through you, making you whimper and arch “oh god..”

Alex chuckles against you and slowly pulls away, withdrawing his fingers from you and holding them up to your mouth to clean him off and humming “that’s my good girl…” licking his lips as he watches your tongue swirl around his fingers. He soon resumes his previous position and lays your leg over his shoulder, lining up his cock with your entrance and pushing into you, watching your pussy stretch to accommodate his size.

You arch off the sofa as you feel him deep inside you, the head of his cock neatly against your cervix when fully inside you. He kisses your ankle and calf again, settling to let you get adjusted before pulling out and rolling his hips. You gasp and grip onto his wrist as his cock fills you out in ways you hadn’t experienced before; hitting all the right spots on every thrust and roll of his hips. You moan loudly into the room and lift your hips to his movements, another pleasurable pain as he stretches you out to take him fully.

Once accustomed to his size you rock your hips a little faster, watching his face as he grips your hip and thigh, pulling you onto his thrusts.

“I can take it..” you pant and groan needily. “Please!”

Alex growls low and speeds up; his hips piston into you, pushing deep and hard making you writhe and arch on the sofa with his name falling from your lips like a mantra. His eyes move from his cock stretching you to your blissful face to your tits, moving on every thrust of his hips.

“You feel so good…” he groans and grinds his hips into you making you bend double against him. His arm moves around your back and holds you as he leans his forehead against yours. “Let go for me… cum over my cock…”

You pant and whine, unable to make a sentence as his cock drives into you relentlessly.

“Good girl…”

You moan and drop your head back “fffuuuuuuuuck!!!” Arching suddenly against Alex as you cum; your muscles tightening in pulses and pulling him over the edge with you.

Alex lets out a long moan as your pussy milks him, his eyes on your heaving chest as you both relax onto the sofa after release.

He lays your leg to the side and then himself behind you, moving carefully and not pulling out of you yet. His arm holds you close while he whispers sweet things in Swedish close to your ear, against your neck and jaw where he leaves trails of kisses.

You close your eyes and turn your head to catch his kisses, stroking his face and whispering back how good he felt.

“Never been fucked like that..” you kiss him slowly, your tongue exploring his mouth.

He hums and nips you a little “gonna have to make sure I do it again some time then.”

“How about once we’ve recovered before breakfast…?” You chuckle and keep kissing him.

“Gimme ten minutes and I’ll make your legs stop working.” He smiles and rocks his hips playfully, making you gasp.

“Deal…”

-fin-

[fanged-cotl]

Haunted House - Narinder PMV

↓Process below!!↓

So this project was inspired by a warrior cats YCH animation to the same song I saw on twitter while having a panic attack, A BIT WILD of an inspiration but like- the song resonates with me, and calmed me down. I ALSO LOVE CENTAUR WORLD. Listening to the voice and lyrics I was like oh Nari NEEDS to sing this. I knew I wasn't cut out for fully animating just yet so I decided to storyboard a PMV.

Then I created color-guides so I had something to color-pick, and reference for outfits:

I quickly designed Narinder's bishop outfit based off of one of his follower outfits. He's unaffected by the chains in this design, so he has no scars, his arms are not rotting, his black skin isn't fading, and his eyes aren't worn with tiredness. I then edited the colors a bit to match the tone (with a filter, lazy I know but idk color theory)

I took each frame from the PMV and started a re-enforced sketch.

After making this I was unsure if I wanted to go line-less, colored sketch, or fully lined art. I ended up really liking the line-less art I did for the color guides (which was made with the selection tool) and started coloring underneath all my sketches.

Here I made the quick decision to merge the sketch layer ontop of his rotted arms, so they would have more depth. Especially since each arm is colliding with the other, I wanted the limbs to stand out as their own individual 3D objects and not become a giant black mass. Then i added some atmospheric gradients after coloring.

You see, gradients don't render very well on videos. It wasn't too bad in one of my test renders, but I wasn't going to risk extra youtube compression or anything else ruining the art quality. That's why you see all the texture in the final. It's just me lightly running along the drawings with textured smudge brushes and a little bit of spray brush.

The backgrounds ALL had this texture with Overlay layer setting on it to tie things together. (I made this texture with the same brushes I blend with)

I made the sparks move by layering transparent pngs together, [sparks > narinder > more sparks behind him > bakcground] and made like, 2 keyframes on the sparks in order to make them slide around. (To those who don't know adobe premiere: WHAT I DID LOT EASIER THAN U THINK, LIKE VERY EASY LOL)

And lastly, for those who want to make projects like these, I recommend you make a folder for it. I just hate doing it for some reason and then my desktop screen looks like this xD

[cal-kestis]

Hi, Nik! I hope you are doing well! If it's okay with you, I have a question about your Pedro birthday edit.How did you get pictures to overlay with the gifs? I'm familiar with gif overlay efect, but this is the first time I've seen an image and gif overlay. It looks so cool. Best wishes.

hi there! getting this effect is super easy! you're simply adding an image layer above your gif and its adjustment layers. since you're familiar with gif overlays, I'm going to assume you're asking how to create a cutout (aka erase the image's background) in order to make that image appear as though it's on top of the gif like this:

there are a few methods for creating an image cutout (click and zoom for a better view). more info below the cut:

in the tool bar, the lasso and selection tools are the 3rd and 4th, and they're nested (so you have to right click the tools to see the other options):

first, let me say: the image you choose will greatly determine how simple or annoying it is to cut the subject. if you find a high-quality image with a solid, high-contrast background, making a cutout will be a breeze. if the background is busy and the edges are fuzzy, it'll be a bit more challenging.

my personal fav tool in most cases is the Quick Selection tool because I find it's, well, quick. you just click a bunch of times until everything you want is outlined by the dotted line. and it works well for both images with solid backgrounds and busy backgrounds. but here's a short explanation of each tool:

Magic Wand: automatically detects a portion of your image using "machine learning" to approximate a selection (a bit too finicky for detailed images or ones with low contrast between the subject and background for me)

Object Selection: allows you to draw a rectangle or ellipse around the subject and automatically detects the selection (I've only used this once, but you can see in the image above, it did a pretty good job! that was just one click)

Quick Selection: my fav! you can adjust the brush size and continually click your subject until the dotted line is outlining it fully

Magnetic Lasso: haphazardly draw a line around your subject and this tool will smart-detect the edges and "snap" anchor points around your subject like a magnet. it's relatively accurate except around finer details like hair

Polygonal Lasso: the most manual and, therefore, my least favorite of the options (hence why I didn't finish it in the example above lol). you have to click all around the subject to connect the dots. not fun for subjects with lots of curves and crevices (at least not for me)

whatever option you choose, the most important part for perfecting the selection is the "Select and Mask..." tool in the upper toolbar:

this tool opens a new panel where you can refine the selection and see the effects in real time. I don't have any go-to numbers for this, it's all about tinkering with the sliders until you're happy with it. but I usually play with everything except Feather because I want sharp edges.

in the gif below, I used the Refine Hair tool (which refines the selection around the hair automatically), moved the sliders very minimally because my selection using Quick Selection was already pretty decent. then, I'm showing you the effects of Shift Edge. increasing it pushes the selection outward, creating a sort of buffer. this could be good if you want to go in later with a layer mask and manually erase some parts yourself. decreasing Shift Edge pulls the selection in tighter. I wouldn't recommend decreasing too much as this can cut off too much of your subject:

once you're happy, click OK and you'll come back to your normal screen with the dotted lines. simply use the Command+J shortcut to duplicate your selection — leaving you with the original image and a layer with only the cutout. from there, you can add a black and white background to check if you missed any bits, and then use a layer mask and black brush to erase them:

then, just like you would if you were overlaying a gif, add the image layer ABOVE your gif and adjustment layers, and color the image separately if needed. you can also choose to add the image above or below your text layers if you have any. in my case, the image is above the text:

sorry this isn't as organized as my usual tutorials, but I hope it answers your question and helps nonetheless! :)

[senditcolton]

You Should Come & See Me

summary: what you and Chris had was casual; no strings attached. that’s what worked the best for the both of you. and when the stress of the holiday’s comes around, you know just who to call to help you unwind. 

songs: x x x word count: 7.5k (+ edit)  warnings: smut! unprotected, oral (m+f receiving), and creampie/cum play

You sigh, pushing through the door of your apartment, your feet starting to ache in your heels. Dropping your purse onto the island, you walk to your bedroom, already beginning to remove the bobby pins that had been faithfully holding your hair in its intricate updo.

Your company’s holiday party had ended moments ago and while you loved to dress up and mingle, you were also glad that you could relax and maybe drink a glass of quality wine. Having a high paying job in the beautiful city of New York was something that you never took for granted but God, the bigwigs who ran the company had no taste when it came to alcohol. Thankfully, there was still a bottle of Chardonnay left over from the last time Chris Kreider visited your apartment.

You were open with your life but Chris was one of your dirty little secrets. No one knew that you were hooking up with the star left winger of the New York Rangers, not even your best friend and roommate.

It wasn’t like you were trying to hide your relationship because… there was no relationship. It was just sex. That may sound callous but it was worked best for both of you. Chris was at the height of his hockey career and you were too busy focusing on furthering your own career to even entertain the thought of a serious relationship. But everyone has needs and you weren’t about to turn down the easy opportunity of amazing sex. And Chris was amazing in bed.

The first time you met him was by complete happenstance. You were both out for the night and ended up in the same bar. He was extremely attractive to you; he felt the same way. And after a few drinks and some flirting, you found yourself falling into bed with him.

Chris was attentive, never once leaving you unsatisfied, focusing his attention on you: your desires, your needs. Sex with Chris was addictive and soon you both realized there was no reason to go back to the way things were before. That is how you two came to this arrangement.

If there was ever a need, each of you could contact the other. There was no pressure, no guilt if one refused; the communication between you two was open and honest. You both ended up sexually satisfied without the messy distractions that came with a public relationship. It worked.

Once in your bedroom, you kick off your heels and turn on the TV. You quickly locate the Rangers game, turning it on for some background noise while you got ready for bed. You found yourself watching hockey more since you met Chris and although you still didn’t fully understand the intricacies of the game, that was alright because the only reason you really watched it was to catch a glimpse of Chris.

You wiggle out of your dress, letting the fabric fall to floor before hanging it on the hook by your door to get it dry-cleaned the next day. You had started to walk towards the bathroom when Chris’ name sounded from the tv, drawing your attention.

“A big hit from Kreider on Hughes!” You turn and sit down on the edge of your bed, your eyes now focused onto the screen. “And now here comes Severson, getting into Kreider face. He did not like that hit. And the gloves have been dropped!”

You watch as Chris spins around the ice, Severson’s jersey firmly grasped in one hand as the other curls into a fist. The roar of Madison Square Garden is deafening even from the speakers on your tv. Suddenly, Chris lands a quick succession of punches and avoids Severson’s retaliation. After a few more swings, Chris manages to pull Severson down onto the ice and the officials pull the two apart. You watch Chris as he is lead to the penalty box, the crowd’s cheers humming in your ears. A familiar warmth ignites in your lower stomach as you take in Chris post-fight.

He has that intense look on his face and a cocky glint in his eyes. A look that was oh so reminiscent of the one he would often wear while he was on top of you, his chain dangling in your face as he pounded into you, turning you into a moaning mess. You cross your legs, trying to relieve the tension now curled in your body.

You fall back onto your bed with a sigh, debating whether you should message Chris as you stare up at the ceiling. It had been a few weeks since you last saw each other and you loved Chris after a game. The passion, intensity, and focus that he had on the ice still lingered in his body for a while after the final whistle and he channeled it so beautifully into the bedroom.

Fuck it, you thought, lifting yourself up from the bed and padding into the kitchen. Pouring a glass of wine and grabbing your phone from your purse, you make your way back to the bedroom. After shimmying out of your underwear, you lay across your bed, snapping a few pictures: you needed Chris to know how much you wanted him.

But it had to wait until the game ended so afterwards, you lean back against the headboard and impatiently sip your wine, eager to hear the final buzzer sound.

~~~

A deep breath falls from Chris as he settles into his locker room stall. It was a hard-fought game and while he was happy it ended with a Rangers win, he was ready to go home and let the energy still running through his body slowly drift off. At least, that was the plan, until he saw your name across his phone screen.

i saw you fight tonight Message received Monday, December 5th at 9:38pm

Chris smirked, knowing you too well to realize that there was something more that you wanted. Something that you wanted from him.

Oh yeah? Message sent Monday, December 5th at 10:01pm

yep you are so fucking sexy when you fight Message received Monday, December 5th at 10:05pm

Chris is about to reply when he sees the three little gray dots pop up on the screen. He waits until your next message comes through. And nearly chokes when the picture pops up on his screen.

It was you curled up on the bed, artfully posed so that nothing was completely exposed but it revealed to him that you were completely naked. Your hair was still slightly curled and fell over your shoulders beautifully. You were flashing a small smile at the camera at Chris noted the cherry red lipstick painting your lips.

have any more of that stamina left for me? Message received Monday, December 5th at 10:06pm

Chris curses under his breath, trying to compose himself so none of his teammates noticed how much you affected him.

Fuck baby, you’re going to be the death of me. I’ll be over as soon as I can. You better still be wearing nothing when I get there. Message sent Monday, December 5th at 10:07pm

Chris watches as the gray dots once again flashed across the screen before another picture pops up. This time it’s a close up of your face, you playfully biting your finger and Chris could see the diamond earrings he gave you dripping from your ears.

do I have to take these off too? Message received Monday, December 5th at 10:09pm

No. Those stay on. Message sent Monday, December 5th at 10:09pm

~~~

The sound of a knock on your door echoing around your apartment causes your heart to start beating faster. You pull the robe you threw on a little tighter around your body before unlocking the door and swinging it open. The instant your eyes connect to the body now standing in front of you, you feel yourself go slightly weak in the knees.

He looked good, but then again, he always looked good. Your eyes danced over his frame; his muscles hidden by the coat he was wearing to fight off the December chill. His hair was a little unruly, no longer styled and you fought off the urge to immediately bury your fingers into his curls. Your eyes finally connect to his and you notice his own eyes dancing over your body in the exact same way. He locks his gaze with yours and a cool smirk appears on his face.

“I thought we agreed that only the diamonds would stay on,” he questioned, the dark tone settling itself deep in your stomach.

“Did you really think I would open my front door completely naked?” you quip back, an equally devilish grin appearing on your face. “I don’t think so, baby.”

You turn away from him, leaving the door open in a silent invitation, one he quickly understands. You register the sound of the door closing and locking behind you as Chris enters your apartment. Before you can take another step, you’re stopped by a pair of hands landing on your hips and pulling you back. Your body connects with Chris’ and you can’t help the soft moan that escapes you as you feel him pressed against your backside. A shiver runs down your spine as one of his hands traces up, playing with the edges of the robe pulled over your chest, teasingly dancing along the fabric that you knew he was holding back from tearing away.

“Are you testing me?” he breathes into your hair. “I’ve had a very long day and a very tough game.”

“Aw, you poor thing,” you coo, turning yourself around in his arms, being sure to keep your body pressed against him. “Well, if you’re tired, we don’t have to do anything and you can just go home.”

“Why do you always have to be such a goddamn tease?”

You don’t reply, instead choosing to lift a hand and brush the hair back from his forehead. You can see Chris visibly relax as your fingers tangle deeper, his eyelids slightly fluttering as he continues to look down at you. The same smirk you were wearing when you answered the door creeps back onto your face as your grip tightens around his curls, Chris’ breath hitching as you tug his lips closer to yours until they were barely touching. Your empty hand traces down his chest, ducking underneath his open coat before settling on his erection, straining against the material of his dress pants. You relish the low groan that rumbles deep from his chest as you gently palm him.

“That’s why,” you whisper, your lips just scarcely brushing against his.

The next sound that comes from Chris is one that would best be described as growl as his hands reach down to grasp the back of your thighs, lifting you off the floor. He swallows your gasp, pressing your lips against his and your legs instinctively lock themselves around him. In a split second, you are pressed against the nearest wall, Chris’ hips grinding deeply into yours.

“Is your roommate expected to be home anytime soon?” he asks in between kisses.

“She’s visiting her family for the entire weekend,” you reply, still somewhat breathless from his actions.

“Thank god.”

Not even a second after those words were uttered, you feel Chris’ fingers grip the edges of your robe and pulls, or perhaps more accurately rips, it open. You don’t have any time to react as Chris pulls you back in for another desperate kiss and you can feel his hands running across your newly exposed body, pushing the remaining fabric away from your form until your robe is hanging in the crooks of your elbows. You kiss him back with a fervor as both of your hands now tangle in his hair, tugging him closer to you even though there was hardly any space between your two bodies.

Chris tears his lips away from yours, pressing them across your jawline and down your neck, pausing only to suck hickeys into your skin, marking you the way he always did when you two were together. Your pulse jumps underneath his lips and a quiet gasp escapes you as you feel his hands trace up your ribcage and land on your breasts, cupping them in his palms. You are certain he can feel your heartbeat and you moan as his fingers move slightly, now teasing your nipples, sending jolts of electricity down your spine and straight to your core. You pull his head away from your neck in order to crash his lips back to yours and he gladly swallows all your noises.

You tear your hands from his hair and start to trace them down his neck, across his broad shoulders. They sneak under the collar of his heavy winter coat only to hit the collar of his suit jacket and you can feel the soft cotton of his dress shirt underneath that. You whimper out of desperation, wanting to get your hands onto his skin.  Your hands find his tie and with practiced fingers, undo the knot before practically ripping it from him. You feel Chris’ chuckle against your lips but you are past the point of caring as your fingers return to his chest and start to undo the buttons of his shirt. You manage to unbutton at least five before your desire becomes too much and you sneak your hands underneath the fabric, finally feeling his warm skin beneath your fingertips.

You take your time, your hands dancing across the planes of Chris’ chest, sneaking down to feel his abs clenched both in the effort of supporting you and in response to your gentle touches. You start to hastily tug his shirt out of his pants until your fingers dip lower, hooking through his front belt loops. With a sharp tug, you pull his hips forward, lifting yours to meet his and Chris breaks away from your lips with a moan as he feels your bare center grind against him. Your legs tighten around him as your hands return to his shoulders and his lips return to your neck. Your fingers grip the collar of his coat as you attempt to push the fabric away from his frame, if only to lessen the number of layers between the two of you. But you are too impatient, his coat is too heavy, and with a sharp huff, you realize how unfair this situation is: you almost completely naked and he still fully dressed.

A small chuckle escapes Chris and you can feel him smile against your skin at your frustration. He pulls away, locking your eyes with his as he smirks down at you.

“Having trouble sweetheart?” he laughs, his condescending tone both infuriating you and turning you on, a combination you never thought would work together.

“You’re wearing too many clothes.”

“Well, I could say the same thing to you, since I clearly remember asking you to be naked when I came over. So, consider this payback,” he shoots back at you, his lips returning to their spot on your neck. Another whine escapes you as Chris continues to kiss your skin and a shudder runs through you as his teeth just barely scrape over your pulse point.

“How about this,” he whispers, breaking away and making eye contact once more. “I’ll forget about your mistake if you head to the bedroom and wait for me, exactly how I expected to find you. And in return, I’ll get rid of some of my clothing on the way to meet you. What do you think?”

You lean your head back against the wall, pretending to think over his proposition before you glance back at him with a smirk.

“I think I’ll take you up on that deal, Kreids,” you reply and laugh at the frown that appears on his face at the use of the nickname. He pulls your lips into his and you can feel his annoyance at your incessant teasing poured into the kiss. You kiss him back as he pulls your legs from around him, keeping a hold of the back of your thighs until your feet finally hit the floor.

The two of you break away from each other and even though neither of you wanted to spend any time without your bodies pressed against one another, you both knew that you would end up tangled together soon enough. You start to turn away and wander down the hall when you hear the heavy fabric of Chris’ winter coat being shucked off. You glance back to see him place the material over the back of your couch, his hands going to grip his suit jacket next. He notices you watching him and he freezes, raising one of his eyebrows at you, silently telling you that he wasn’t going to continue until you held up your end of the bargain.

You sigh, playfully rolling your eyes as you turn back around and continue your journey to the bedroom. You can still feel Chris’ eyes on you so you decide to tease him once again as you tug at the ribbon around your waist, unraveling the knot that was just barely holding your robe onto your body. You shrug the material off, letting it fall to the floor and you can hear the quietest of moans sound from behind you. You flip your hair as you look back at him, his eyes now dancing up and down your naked figure. When they finally connect to yours, you shoot him a playful wink and let your giggle be the last thing he hears before you disappear around the corner into your bedroom.

After pushing the door closed behind you, you wander into the comforting four walls, eyes dancing over the slightly rumpled sheets on your bed.

“Wait for me exactly how I expected to find you.”

Those were his parting words before he sent you here. And you knew exactly what image Chris had in his mind: you seductively laid across the bed, bare and exposed to him, like the pictures you had sent less than an hour ago.

However, while that might be what was dancing through his head, you knew what he really wanted. The two of you found yourself in this situation too often to pretend. That was the truth. And the truth felt – tasted – sweeter than any fiction.

After finding the center of the open space in your bedroom, you lower your body down, knees sinking into the plush carpet. You adjust so your legs are spread, resting back on your heels as you wait, facing the door, listening intently for the sound of footsteps.

They come quicker than expected and you perk up, arching your back to put your chest on display, hands resting delicately on your thighs. You feel your heartbeat pulse as your eyes follow the movement of the door handle being pushed down before the door swings open, revealing Chris.

And his reaction to seeing you on your knees before him was worth the wait.

You blink up at him, your best doe eyes tracing his broad frame. He was still clothed but at the very least, there was only one layer now separating his skin from you. The winter coat and suit jacket were gone, leaving him only in his slacks and white dress shirt, still rumpled and partially unbuttoned from your earlier actions.

The initial shock fades from his face, relaxing into that quiet confidence that attracted him to you in the first place. He waltzes over to you and you have to stop your body from raising up to meet him, instead letting your eyes stay locked to his as he stops mere inches in front of you.

Chris’ hand reaches down, tracing over your jawline and you preen under his delicate attention, eyes fluttering close.

“This… wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” he mutters, fingers still stroking your skin. Your eyes open, your eyelids hooded as you glance up at him, a slight smirk threatening to appear on your lips.

“You don’t have to lie to me, baby,” you reply, letting your words flow like the wine you had been drinking, crisp and buttery as your hands reach out to his legs, trailing up his thighs. “I know all you were thinking of on the drive here was my cherry lips wrapped around your cock.”

Your heart trills at the sound of the half hiss, half groan that falls from Chris as your hand finds the familiar place on his groin, adding the barest amount of pressure against his length, feeling him hard and wanting. Chris’ thumb moves from your jawline to your lips, tracing your red pout, slightly pulling at your bottom lip.

“Such vulgar words coming from such a pretty mouth.”

“Maybe you should fuck those words right out of this pretty mouth.”

“Is that what you want me to do?”

“I want my mouth on you, one way or another,” you reply.

“Well darling, it’s right there waiting for you.”

Chris smirks down at you, a smirk which you return and with his concession, your hand glides over his bulge once, lifting to wrap around his belt. With a quick sequence of movements, you manage to unbuckle the leather, slipping it out of the silken loops and discarding it to the floor without care. You hear Chris chuckle above you, a half-muttered impatient falling from his lips but you don’t bother to quip back, too focused on undoing the button and zipper of his pants.

And yes, perhaps you were a little impatient. But not impatient enough to not tease him back.

The movements of your fingers shift directions, moving from the silky material of his dress pants to the soft cotton of his shirt, undoing the last few buttons before sliding your hands up his abdomen, feeling his muscles tense underneath your fingertips. You reverse your movements, hands descending and as soon as you hit the waistband of his boxers, you hook your fingers underneath and pull them down along with his slacks, finally exposing his length to you.

Chris was beautiful. Every single part of him. But you swore that his cock was one of the prettiest you had ever seen; tall and hard and it was all because of you.

You feel Chris card one of his hands through your hair, placing it at the base of your skull as a gentle guide, a quiet encouragement. It is easy to give in, leaning forward to messily press a line of kisses along the length of him, some of the scarlet paint from your lips transferring to his skin. The soft groan he makes spurs you on as you come to the head, giving it a small lick, collecting the salty taste of his precum onto your tongue before you envelop him.

The moan that falls from Chris’ lips is anything but quiet as you take more of him, hollowing your cheeks around him, your tongue tracing the map of the veins that you had familiarized yourself with ages ago. The noises that come rumbling from Chris’ chest echo around the room and make you desperate as you continue your motions. You pull off him, moving to press more kisses into his skin, one of your hands keeping the steady rhythm against him as the other moves to cup his balls.

“Fuck, baby, I need your mouth back on me.”

“Now who’s impatient?” you laugh.

As soon as your words register, you feel the quiet hand that had been resting at the back of you head tighten, fingers tangling in your hair. A gasp is all you manage when Chris pulls you back, directing your gaze up to him, his eyes blown dark.

“Do you want to repeat that, sweetheart?” he asks, his voice low and you can’t stop the shiver that runs through you at how easily the power was able to jump and shift between you two.

“Maybe you were right,” he continues, his voice smooth with an edge of condescension that just makes you keen more. “Maybe I should fuck those smug words right out of that pretty mouth of yours. Would you like that?”

The response you give isn’t verbal but is eager nonetheless as your mouth immediately drops open, eyes wide and needy looking up at him. A chuckle rumbles through Chris at your reaction. You soon feel the incessant press of his hand guiding you forward and you don’t waste any time before wrapping your lips around him again. Chris gives you a slight moment before pushing you further and you relax your jaw to accommodate him.

“Ready?” he asks and you eagerly moan around him in confirmation, your hands coming to rest on the back of his thighs. “You look so pretty like this,” Chris muses as he starts to thrust into your mouth, gently at first but slowly increases his speed.

You whine against him and the additional sensation causes Chris to move deeper, the head of him hitting the back of your throat, making you to sputter around him. Chris pauses for a moment, letting you catch your breath before you move against him, a quiet encouragement for him to continue.

The glide of him in your mouth, the weight of him against your tongue, all of it was heavenly and you made sure to savor every feeling. You moan again as Chris’ speed increases, becoming rougher and more desperate, tears pricking in the corners of your eyes as you keep your eyes locked on him, the praise falling freely from his mouth.

“Fuck, you are so perfect for me. So goddamn perfect, taking me down your fucking throat. Fucking hell sweetheart.”

You whine again, desperate to make him cum, tears falling down your cheeks as Chris continues his brutal pace. It only takes a few more moments before Chris’ hips still and you gag slightly when you feel the stream of hot cum hit the back of your throat. But you breathe through it, greedily swallowing all he gives you, tongue still working around him as his body goes lax.

Eventually, Chris’ pulls you back and guides you off him, his hand moving from the base of your skull back across your jawline until his thumb finally presses against your bottom lip, swollen and slick.

“So beautiful,” he hums and you gently suckle his fingertip for a moment before pulling away with a smile. Chris’ eyes darken and before you can blink, he is pulling you off the floor before crashing his lips into yours.

You moan eagerly into his mouth, arms wrapping around his shoulders as Chris pulls you closer, deepening the kiss before walking forwards. You let him blindly guide you until you feel the back of your legs hit the edge of your bed. Chris is gentle in laying you down, keeping a strong grip on you as he lowers you onto the sheets.

He removes his hands from your body and lifts himself up, shrugging off his shirt; the last of the material clinging to his body, finally making him bare as you. The two of you silently appraise each other until you finally break the silence.

“Is this more of what you were expecting to see when you came over?” you tease, a blatant reference to the photos that were the catalyst for this entire night.

“One of the few positions I pictured you in,” Chris murmurs.

“What else did you picture?” you ask, the building anticipation making you breathless. Chris’ only response is a smirk, one that had your heart fluttering in your chest.

This time, it is Chris that drops to his knees and it isn’t long until you feel the heat of his palms seeping into the delicate skin of your knees. The strong press of his hands makes your legs fall open, even though he wasn’t met with much resistance on your part. As soon as his eyes connect with your soaked cunt, another groan rumbles through him as his hands move upward to grip your thighs.

You sigh, head falling back against the sheets as you feel Chris’ lips press against your inner thighs, his kisses trailing higher and higher, closer to where you needed him the most. A gasp rips from your chest when he throws your legs over his muscular shoulders, his grip on your hips pulling you down closer to him.

“Do you want to know what I thought about on the way here?” he asks, knowing his question would be rhetorical as you were too wound tight with anticipation to give a coherent response. “I thought about doing this.”

The instant those words were spoken, Chris moves forward, his mouth finally connecting to your core. A loud moan escapes you as you feel his tongue glide in a bold stripe up your slit, hips bucking up involuntarily.

“God, you’re so fucking wet for me,” Chris murmurs, removing his mouth from you, much to your displeasure. “Did sucking me off get you this turned on, sweetheart? Did you like having my cock in that pretty, perfect mouth of yours?”

“I like it better when it’s inside of me.”

“All in good time,” he replies, his mouth reattaching to your center. You throw your head back, a hand reaching down to tangle in his curls. You can feel Chris all over you, tongue delving into your folds, lips attaching to your clit as your hips roll to aide him in his movements.  Chris moans as he continues his ministrations against your core, the vibrating hum pulling even louder moans from you in response. The breaths you take are short, staccato, the space in between them filled with whines and whimpers as Chris continues to work you over, the only other noise echoing around the room was the obscene sound of Chris eating you out like a man starved. Which, considering the amount of time since you last saw him, might be true.

He craved you as much as you craved him. But still, you needed more.

You tighten your fingers in his curls, pulling them a little harsher than before, tugging him upwards. Chris is reluctant, moving only a centimeter or two to focus his attention on your clit, tongue flicking over the sensitive bundle of nerves and you swear if he stayed there a single moment longer, you would fall apart. And as tempting as that sounded, you wanted to feel him seated deep inside of you first.

“Chris, stop. Stop,” you whine, tugging his hair again and Chris finally removes himself from your core, his chocolate eyes glancing up at you, the glimmer of concern reflected in his pupils. You silence that worry with a smile, pulling him up the length of your body to capture your lips in a desperate kiss. Your tongues clash and you can’t stop the moan at the taste of yourself. Chris pulls away, his face hovering over yours, the doubt gone from his eyes but a silent question still there.

“I didn’t invite you over just so you could spend the night with your head between my thighs,” you say, the wicked smirk still pulled across your lips.

“You seemed to be enjoying it,” Chris laughs, returning your grin with one of his own.

Instead of responding to him, you pull him down to your lips again, slightly catching him off guard as you kiss him deeply. Chris gives in, letting you take the lead and it is then that you hook a leg over his hip and using all your strength, flip him over.

His back hits your sheets as a surprised huff escapes him, his curls haloing out around his head. You lift your torso up, straddling him, the power once more in your hands.

“I’m going to enjoy this even more,” you quip with a roll of your hips. The feeling of your soaked folds gliding over his cock causes a simultaneous moan to be released from both of you. You circle your hips a few more times, content to tease Chris again. You know it’s working when you feel his hands come up to grasp your hips in an attempt to coax you into sinking down on him.

A small giggle escapes you at his desperation but you don’t let him suffer for long. You lift yourself up just enough to reach between your thighs, gripping Chris’ length and moving your hand in a few languid strokes until you line him up with your center and finally sliding him into you.

You moan as you feel your walls stretch around him, accommodating his length and size and you can feel Chris’ hands tighten on your hips as he responds similarly. It didn’t matter how many times you did this, how many nights you spent with your bodies intertwined, this moment always felt like heaven.

There’s a momentary pause after he is fully sheathed inside of you, your head falling back as a gentle sigh falls from your parted lips. Your eyes finally open to glance down, connecting back to Chris’ eyes to find him smiling up at you, his own eyes staring up at you with such awe, as if you were the most exquisite creation in this world. One made just for him.

“Sweetheart,” Chris whispers, his hands pulling your hips forward to grind against him. “I need you to start moving. Please.”

His honeyed voice is music to your ears, a melody twinged with that yearning that always made you feel powerful. And who were you to not follow the request of someone who desired you that deeply?

You plant your hands on the expanse of his strong chest, using him to steady yourself as you lift yourself up almost entirely off him before lowering yourself back down, feeling the vibrations of Chris’ groan rumble in his chest at the sensation of your tight walls around him. You continue your movements, settling into a rhythm that has you moaning as you circle your hips, Chris’ palms warm against you skin as an encouraging guide.

Soon, you feel one of his hands disappear from the place on your hip and reach up, his elegant fingers tracing over your collarbones, up your neck, before cupping your jaw. His thumb stretches to press against your plush bottom lip, smearing the remnants of the cherry red lipstick around your mouth before his hand moves again. He caresses your jawbone, moving back until his fingers hit the waterfall of diamonds still dangling from your ears, the jewel-encrusted strands slipping against his calloused skin.

“I need to buy you more jewelry if this is where it gets me,” he muses, his sentence a little stuttered at the feeling of your hips still rolling against him.

“I wouldn’t mind a necklace,” you tease but the chirp quickly dies when Chris’ hand falls downward to wrap around your throat with a gentle squeeze.

“Careful what you wish for,” he hums and you want to laugh again, wanting to tell him that his hand was exactly the necklace you had imagined. But any retort was silenced as Chris’ hand tightens around you as you feel him shift, moving his hips upward to thrust into you. He continues, pulling the most exquisite sounds from your lips as the two of you move in tandem, your release beginning to build at an almost excruciatingly slow pace. But you still need more.

And as always, Chris seems able to read your mind.

“Lean back for me sweetheart,” he whispers, the tone of his voice changing into something darker and you knew the dynamic had switched once again. You weren’t complaining though as you tilt your body backwards, your hands reaching behind you to find purchase on his thighs in order to prop yourself up.

You hear a deep groan fall from Chris as your core is exposed to him, the angle of your body giving him a perfect filthy view of where the two of you are connected. You swear you can feel your skin ignite from the heat of his gaze on you and that fire only increases when he thrusts upward once more, this new position making him hit that spot within you that had made your body weak.

“Fuck, baby,” he moans, his eyes still glued to your center, watching as your cunt swallows every last inch of him. “You look so good like this. Look so good taking my cock in that tight little pussy.”

You have no response except for more moans, your whines heightening in pitch as Chris continues his movements, your desperation causing you to move your hips to match his thrusts, that release that you were chasing promising to come crashing over you soon.

Chris’ hand falls from its place on your neck to trail down the front of your chest, following the path between your breasts, stopping momentarily to tease your nipples pebbled in the low lamplight of your bedroom. You whimper, the sound high and tight in your throat as you feel his fingers continue their descent, tracing every curve.

“Oh fuck,” you cry out as his fingers connect with your clit, adding the barest amount of pressure but just enough to make you clench around him, causing an almost animalistic growl to be pulled from Chris’ chest. He doesn’t stop his actions, his skilled fingers continuing to rub against you, aided by your own slickness, your hips faltering as that tightness in your stomach builds and builds.

“Are you going to cum, sweetheart?” Chris grunts as he feels your walls flutter around him. “Come on, I want to feel you fall apart around me.”

It doesn’t take any more coaxing from him for your orgasm to hit, the waves of pleasure crashing over you almost violently as your body stills, a cry falling from your lips. Chris continues the pressure on your clit, prolonging your release as your entire body trembles above him before removing his hands from your center.

Both of his hands fall to grip the inside of your knees and using all his strength in a maneuver that even you can’t wrap your head around, you feel yourself falling backwards until your spine connects with the sheets. Chris is quick to come hover over you again, placing your legs around his hips before pressing his length against you once more, the feeling of him easily sinking into you taking whatever remaining breath you had out of your lungs.

“Fuck, Chris,” you whine as he begins to move his hips, falling into a forceful rhythm that renders you speechless, helpless to do anything else but lie back and let him take what he needs, which you do gladly. The feeling of him pounding into you coupled with the lingering sensitivity of your previous orgasm makes your walls pulsate around him, driving him closer to his own release.

Somehow, you find enough strength to lift your arms to tangle your hands into his curls once more, pulling his face towards you until your foreheads are resting against each other, your eyes connecting.

“Please baby,” you whisper, “please cum. I want it, I want to feel your cum inside me.”

Your gentle pleas are what finally pushes him over the edge and the two of you let out mutual moan at the feeling of his cock throbbing, the warmth of his release spilling deep into you. There is a pause as the two of you catch your breath before Chris plants his hands next to you, lifting himself off you, a small whimper being pulled from your chest as his length slips out of your oversensitive folds.

You feel his body weight disappear from the mattress and your legs instinctively close, collapsing together to one side. You think that’s the end of it – it’s how your nights together usually end, the both of you feeling satiated and satisfied.

At least, that’s your belief until you feel one of Chris’ hands grasp the back of your knee once again.

You feel him pull your body towards the edge of the bed, your heavy eyelids opening to see him standing in front of you.

“Chris, what are you –”

The question dies on your tongue as Chris drops to his knees on the floor and throws you legs over his shoulders and the feeling of déjà vu is entirely justified as you find yourself in the exact same position as you earlier this night.

Chris moves forward, his broad shoulders forcing your thighs to fall open even more and your whimper when you feel his breath hit your glistening center.

“I finish what I started,” he mutters before pressing a hot open-mouthed kiss to your core. The feeling of his tongue against you has your body tensing, a strangled gasp coming from your chest. Chris pulls away for a moment, his hands running soothingly over your thighs.

“Is this too much?” he asks and you shake your head, the absence of him somehow worse than the sensitivity of him moving against your ruined cunt. “Words, darling. I need to hear you.”

“No. No, it feels so good, please keep going Chris,” you manage to whine out. You see the flash of a small smile before Chris is connecting his lips to you once again.

“Fuck baby, we taste so good together,” he hums, his tongue delving into your folds as another moan falls from you as Chris’ tongue traces every crevice of your pussy. “Do you want a taste?”

You breathe an affirmative and whine as you feel Chris collect a mouthful of your combined cum before he lifts himself up. He crashes his lips into yours and you moan into his mouth as the tang of the mixture glides across your tongue. You swallow every drop, licking your lips when Chris pulls away, causing a chuckle to rumble through Chris at your actions before he falls back to his position between your thighs.

Always the attentive lover, you can tell Chris is being a little gentler in his movements as you are still sensitive from your previous activities but it doesn’t really matter because that very same sensitivity heightens every sensation he makes against your folds and before you know it you feel the band in your stomach tightening once again.

“Chris, please,” you beg, not entirely sure what for, his mouth moving sinfully over your soaked folds.

“Come on baby, give me one more. I know you got one more for me,” he whispers against you, lips closing around your clit, his tongue flicking in that exquisite way that made your second orgasm of the night come swiftly, practically slamming into your body. Your legs tighten around Chris’ head as rock against his mouth with a loud moan, your cunt clenching and forcing more remnants of his cum from your spent pussy. Chris’ only response is to place a muscular arm across your hips, pinning you down as he gladly laps up your release, slowing his tongue to draw out your high for as long as he could.

Your body finally relaxes and Chris presses one last small kiss against your core before lifting himself up to hover over you again, kissing you deeply. Your hands blindly tangle into his hair and hold him close to you, a few more whimpers being pulled from your chest until Chris breaks the kiss.

“Do you need anything?” he asks, hand brushing the hairs clinging to your skin away from your face.

“No,” you reply, fingers playing with his curls. “I’m good. Thank you.”

“Thank you,” he says, kissing your forehead before untangling himself from your grasp and disappearing from the bed.

You lay back against the sheets for a moment, catching your breath before you roll over, eyes finding Chris as he wanders around your room, gathering the clothes that were scattered in every direction.

“Can’t stay the night?” you ask, knowing it was never really part of your arrangement but never seen as a taboo thing between the two of you.

“Have to get ready for a road trip tomorrow,” he replies, slowly redressing, his warm skin vanishing from your sight once more. You only hum in acknowledgement, lifting your body up to sit on the edge of the bed, your sore muscles protesting every movement.

You reach up, gently removing the backings from one of your diamond earrings and placing it down on your nightstand as you begin to ready yourself for bed. You repeat the process on the other side and out of the corner of your eye, you see Chris standing there, his eyes attached to you.

“What?”

“Do you really want a necklace?” he asks and you can’t stop the breathy laugh that falls from you.

“I mean, if you’re offering” you reply, a teasing smile pulling at your lips. “Although, I will let you know that your hands do make the prettiest necklace.” Your smile widens as you see Chris’ look falter for a moment before he is returning your grin.

“I figured you’d like that.”

“I did. But,” you continue, your tone remaining at that playful pitch, “can’t have your hands around my throat all the time so, jewelry is a good second.”

“How about gold?”

“I could work with that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

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[dracothedeatheatingcupcake-ao3]

Hey everybody!! Here’s a drawing I did for the wonderful @bogglle, as part of an art trade! I wasn’t sure when I’d get the time to draw it, since I’ve been so busy lately, but I had all of Sunday free, so I just decided to crank this out, finishing after about seven-eight straight (or not straight 😉) hours of drawing. I did some touch ups yesterday, and while I’m still not fully happy with it, I think it’s as good as it’s gonna get, ha.

My description of my process ended up much longer than intended (what else is new??) so I’ll put it in a Read More to prevent it from clogging up dashboards. :-)

The prompt I was given was that either Mondo or Taka was supposed to be learning an instrument of my choice. I immediately decided that I wanted one of them teaching the instrument to the other, and of course I decided to go with guitar for it, since it’s one of the best to force two people close together, the instructor’s arm wrapped around the learner to try and “help them understand the chords better.” 😉😉😉

Ha. But yeah, that was my thought process. I also like the idea of Mondo knowing how to play guitar, Daiya helping him learn to try and control his anger issues or something. It’s just a cute head canon to me that I’ve now officially adopted into my head canon repertoire.

Also, I hadn’t originally set out to make it a semi-realistic drawing; I just wanted to experiment with having less lines, wanting lines in some areas but not others. But the more I went along, the more detail I added, and the more lines I removed. Until suddenly my whole drawing was line less except the face, and I was like “… well, why not just make it a completely line-less, semi-realistic drawing now??” So… I did, ha. I still have the original drawing with Taka and Mondo’s cartoony faces on the realistic bodies and it’s, uh… very uncanny valley 😅😅😅 Maybe if people ask nicely I’ll release the forbidden art.

Anyway, I hope y’all like it! Maybe I’ll do more drawings in this style, since I honestly kinda like it. The faces gave me so much trouble, since they were a game time change that I wasn’t really prepared for. And while I love realistic art, I usually need a reference to make it look super realistic, and I didn’t have one here. I just winged it, which might be clear, ha.

Oh! And since I’m terrible with perspective, if it’s not clear they’re supposed to be sitting on Mondo’s bed!! I didn’t want to spend ages on the background, so it was a real quick and easy draw, but my perspective drawing skills suck (my brain does not compute perspective when I’m drawing, no matter how hard I try, unfortunately) so it turned out a bit questionable.

Finally, I may write something based on the same prompt, since that was part of the trade Bogglle and I have, but I have no idea when I’ll be able to do it. I’m currently writing a long fic for another fandom, and it’s taking up a lot of my time. I have this week off of work and internship since my dad has COVID and he’s my ride to and from both, and I have next week off thanks to Spring Break, but still. This fic is turning into a beast (literally, since it’s a Beauty and the Beast AU fic) so it may take me a while to finish it. So… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a great day!

[blackjackkent]

OK, I've wandered over in what I think must be the direction of the Main Plot because it is literally the only place I haven't scoured in this area. And the view is...upsetting.

Creepy. The camera angle doesn't make it easy to look towards but when I passed by here earlier, Hector commented that there was a Big Fleet of Nautiloids just kind of chilling out there in the cavern. Flycam gives us a slightly better view:

Concerning!

There's a Neural Apparatus in here to interact with, which seems to take us down towards the green area, as well as, thank all the gods, a long-rest-in-a-box.

We haven't seen one of these since the original nautiloid but goddamn did we need it. Everyone is fully tanked up now, phew.

Time to press ahead.

"Is anyone else's tadpole squirming around a lot more than usual?" Hector asks as they start to descend.

"Mine too," Karlach replies. "It's... excited by something down here."

That seems like it can't be good.

Another quick walk down a large, fleshy, mucus-filled hallway towards a large flesh-wrought door...

Narrator: No longer a background murmur, the presence in your mind builds to a roar.

Gods, his head hurts. Like a hammer pounding inside his skull, the voice grows in volume with every step he takes. It's blurring the corners of his vision, making his fingers tremble and his jaw ache with clenching. The smell of blood and viscera is nauseating. His boots stick in the fleshy ground with every step.

The creature, the Absolute - its presence is all around him, as it was when he communed with it through the walls above. It is watching him, seeing every part of him. He feels naked and terrified.

"We've found it," the Prism guardian whispers in his mind, a barely-audible counterpoint to the thunderous voice of the false god. "The Absolute is behind this door."

Hector is able to dimly form the thought that he is glad Gale is not with them at present. If this is indeed the heart of the Absolute, would he simply charge through the door and detonate himself, and that be the end of it?

On the other hand, with the way his head is aching, the idea sounds almost preferable.

Karlach's hand slips into his, and he feels the noise recede just a little.

"No way out but through, Soldier," she mutters, her lips brushing against his ear. "You ready?"

"Not a bit of it," he whispers hoarsely. "You?"

"Hell no," she answers.

He glances at the others. Shadowheart's expression holds the same rigid grief that has marked her ever since the Shadowfell; she does not look at him, but eyes the door as if it is responsible for all her problems. Wyll's eyes are half-shut, as if listening to the voice of the monster ahead of them like a symphony; feeling Hector's gaze on him, he opens his eyes and looks back steadily, drawing his rapier.

"Today we end that thing," the Blade says firmly.

Hector nods, draws a breath and squares his shoulders. For a moment, he concentrates inward, forcing aside the fear, the pain, all of it. Selune... I pray you see me in this hateful place. I pray you show me the path.

Enter.

[ashtoberr]

ASHUTA IS SO COOL OHHH MYYY GODDD •□•!!!!!

Hi hi I loveeee your csm oc / insert ♡♡ THEYRE SO COOL Her lore is so interesting 💭💭 At least. The lore that I've seen so far is so interesting. AND HER DESIGN IS SO CUTE I ADORE IT SM 🏂🏾🏂🏾🏂🏾

I always love it when ocs break the "norm" of their universe (idk if that makes sense but her being a vampire when most, if not all of the supernatural entities are devils/Devil adjacent is so swag and cool and based I LOVE SEEING CHARACTERS LIKE THAT 🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽)

Her and Aki seem so cute too :3cc I don't think you understand how STOKED I was to see them in the selfship tag. Saw it and ran around my room screaming (in spirit not in action) because YES !!! FINALLY!!! IM STARTING TO SEE MORE PEOPLE W/ CSM SELF SHIPS / OC X CC SHIPS !!!!

I wanna know all ur thoughts about Ashuta 💭💭 She genuinely seems like such a cool character they're so epic and awesome n cool n swag ((o(^∇^)o))

OMG HI!!!! IM SORRY I JUST SAW THIS Ahhh thank you so much!!! It's super exciting to met another CSM selfshipper!!!! :DDD I'd love to hear abt ur self insert omg I'm so glad you like her!!!!!!! It actually means a lot, she makes me really happy to work on :D

And trust me I will provide on Ashuta lore >:3 Here is The Food For Today. I didn't include art this time bc I have been eepy. I have ideas for long after this, but this is the general gist. I plan to eventually draw a lot (if not all) of this out. Here's her concept for her first appearance and mission (Chapters 14 to 20, or up to episode 7 in the anime):

So, after being found by Makima:

She is added to the team briefly after Denji and Power. I'm currently undecided at which point she should enter the story; I'm thinking about prior to Chapter 14.

Makima helps her find a place (up until this point, she's been homeless since becoming a vampire) near Aki's apartment, encouraging her to make friends. She suggests Denji could use a friend since he's similar to her (not fully human, rough background).

Ashuta believes that since she'll be on a team of devils and humans, she would be more likely to make friends since they should be more accepting, right? She shows up to the Hayakawa apartment with some food, trying to introduce herself as a new member of the team (and not disclosing herself as a vampire yet- Power can tell, but doesn't care enough to point it out).

Denji thinks at first she's friendly, but a bit too polite and wonders how someone like her got chosen by Makima. Power doesn't initially feel strongly about her either way, though she's delighted to meet Meowy.

Aki thinks she's polite (and finally someone easy for him to get along with on his squad), but questions why she became a devil hunter after a couple hours of them hanging out. She briefly explains that she's a vampire, and that her life was ruined by the Vampire Devil. Aki's tone quickly changes knowing she's not human, and the night is sort of abruptly ended.

CHAPTER 14:

She's integrated into the group with Chapter 14's mission in the hotel being her first (could be retconned later.)

She's a bit hurt with the talk of Aki and Arai not trusting "non-humans" and saying they don't have human rights, so she's quick to become very quiet since she assumed Makima's team of devils and humans meant she was more likely to be accepted.

Himeno can quickly tell that she looks upset and comes over to strike up a conversation, and the two make small talk throughout the mission. She tells her to not mind Aki, that he's just had bad experiences with devils. Ashuta protests that she's not a devil, but a devil makes an appearance before Himeno can respond.

Himeno discusses with Aki later in the mission that she's surprised Ashuta is so conscientious for a vampire- Aki shrugs and believes it's her being deceptive. Himeno goes to suggest he give Ashuta a chance.

CHAPTER 15:

Ashuta does bond a bit with Denji over the mission, both of them asking each other questions about their respective species ("So are you allergic to garlic?" and "Does it hurt when your chainsaws come out?")

CHAPTER 16:

In hopes of winning Aki's approval, Ashuta offers to help Aki hunt for the devil. She explains that since vampires don't really need to sleep much, she could help him all he wants.

Aki, unimpressed, asks why she's so hellbent on trying to please him when he doesn't care about wether she lives or dies as a non-human.

CHAPTER 18:

In the hysteria of facing the eternity devil, Ashuta finally snaps at Kobeni after trying to keep everyone calm the entire mission, telling her she's going to be a shit devil hunter if she freaks out at the slightest inconvenience. Kobeni yells back that it was easy for her to say, that she'd been calm and collected the entire mission because she can't die. Ashuta yells at her that pussying out and turning on her teammates made it more likely for all of them to die, and to shut the fuck up and help if she was going to stay a devil hunter. It certainly doesn't make Kobeni like her, but it shuts her up.

CHAPTER 20:

Ashuta joins the newbie welcome party. Denji questions how she can eat if she's a vampire, and she shrugs and explains that it's the same way devils eat- the only difference is human food isn't of nutritional substance to her and she doesn't retain any energy from it, she eats it for nostalgia purposes and the taste.

Ashuta lightens up when Makima joins the party, glad to see someone familiar- she considers Makima a friend, being the first person who was nice to her.

During the party, Makima asks Aki how Ashuta's first mission was, and wether she had done satisfactory. Aki admits that she did well, and Ashuta can't help but be a little happy at his approval.

As the night progresses, she gets drunk enough where she feels less afraid to approach Aki again. The two actually end up talking some. While drunk, Aki apologizes for the way that he had regarded her earlier in the night, and that she handled her first mission well, remaining composed in such a stressful situation .

Ashuta shrugs, and says it's fine- when she was turned into a vampire, she'd been shunned by everyone she once knew. She explains she still considers herself the same person she was before, but she fears rejection from humans more than she fears injuries from devils. He suggests she come stop by their apartment again sometime (more out of drunken guilt than actual like for her, but it's a start to them becoming friends).

[bafflement]

Ozqrow Week - Day 5 - Sparring

“Well, if you’re certain, Qrow? I have rather missed sparring with you. Just keep in mind that I’m rather shorter than you are right now?” Oz sounded amused even as he got into a combat stance opposite Qrow.

Qrow rolled his eyes, grinning ruefully. “Yeah yeah, pocketsized, I’ll remember you’re a kid at the moment.” It wasn’t really like Qrow could forget, really. The feelings they had for each other were still there, but Oz was eleven… there was no way either of them could act on it. Depending on who Oz would have woken up as later, it might almost have been better had things gone the way they were supposed to. Qrow closed his eyes, shutting out the thought. The fact that Tip was still here at all was enough of a miracle. Who knew, maybe, one day, there might even be a fix for this. Oh, who was he kidding? With his luck? He growled and got into a combat stance opposite Oz, drawing Harbinger.

Oz hesitated for half a second before drawing his rapier over the cane. He needed more practice with the sword, since it was his main cover story. Nobody expected him to use a sword, after all… and if it came down to it, people would expect Winter Schnee to use one. Every little bit helped Salem to avoid realising that he was Oz for just a little while longer.

He lashed out with his sword, Qrow blocking it with a grin.

“Too predictable, pocketsized, try again. I know you’re not too used to using a sword, but still, try to be a little bit of a challenge?”

Oz grinned back, making several quick jabbing motions. He was aware that he was treating Old Regrets like he would The Long Memory, but then he had chosen a similar weapon for a reason. He glanced at the dust reserves, weighing up if using them would be cheating, before shrugging and firing a lightning dust charge at Qrow at point blank range.

Qrow squawked in alarm, bending at an almost impossible angle in an attempt to get out of range. He didn’t entirely succeed and winced as his aura took the hit. He’d forgotten that Oz’s new sword could do that. Glancing at it briefly, he noted the reserves that were still dust filled and sighed. Time to stop playing nice Qrow.

He blocked the next few blows, grin getting wider and wider. Oz was right, though, it was rather different trying to fight someone as short as he currently was. Even most Grimm weren’t as short as Oz was at the moment. Blinking at the big eyes Oz shot him after the latest block, he shook his head. Oz was adorable right now, but he was still Oz. Still the most dangerous man Qrow had ever met. He snarled, not quite managing to fully jump over the latest swipe. Was this what others felt like, fighting him? He suddenly felt vaguely sorry for them.

The kids were cheering in the background, and he was almost certain he could see Yang making bets, He rolled his eyes again, if there came a time when he could be beaten by an eleven year old, even this one, then that was the day he would hand in his huntsman’s license.

He ducked and swung, ducked and swung. The rhythm was familiar enough he could lose himself in it after all. It was easy enough to lose himself in it, in fact, that for a second he could see Oz’s adult self instead of Tip. For that one second, everything was as it should be. Everything was perfect. That image, though, broke his concentration enough that Oz got another hit in, still grinning broadly. He swung back, but Oz blurred out of the way and he sighed. The agreement had been no holds barred, but did Oz really need to use his semblance that blatantly? He blinked and he’d moved again, dancing out of the way of Qrow’s swings.

Oz fired off another burst of dust, ducking and weaving out of Qrow’s range, feeling alive for the first time in a long while. This was what a spar was meant to be, something where both opponents were actively trying to knock out the other. The sparring between his and his students was always rather lacking in that area. They tended to hesitate, blinded by the fact that Oz was so much smaller, so much younger than they were. All they saw was the fragility of his form, but after this fight, they might have gotten over that. It couldn’t come too soon, after all, the more they underestimated their opponents, the more likely they were to suffer for it. It was unlikely they would ever face an actual child, but then again semblances could produce some very strange effects. There had been that one time at Beacon that neither he nor Glynda ever spoke about, after all.

He could see that Qrow was getting tired, though he wasn’t exactly in the best of condition himself after this. The fight had gone on for long enough that he could feel his body start to shake in sheer exhaustion, his vision blurring slightly at the edges. He ruthlessly suppressed a yawn, but knew that Qrow was observant enough he had probably noticed the pause in his movements, the increasing heaviness of his limbs.

Qrow had stopped, staring at Oz in real concern. He had forgotten just how low his stamina was at this age and both had been working themselves hard. He could feel himself drooping slightly, but Oz was actually shaking with the effort of keeping his weapon aloft. It was time to call a draw, regardless of what that did to Yang’s impromptu betting pool.

“That’s enough, I think. Need any help, pocketsized?”

“I’ll be just fine, Qrow. That was fun, we’ll need to do it again at some point soon.” The disappointed murmurs from the kids died down as they noticed just how much Oz was trembling and Oscar let out a yelp of concern. Oz shot a tired smile at his brother, it really had been fun but he was rather glad it had ended. There was no real guarantee how much longer he could have pushed himself, but at least Qrow had noticed.

Brothers, but he loved Qrow so much, especially at times like this.

[purewater100]

death note microsoft solitaire ( collection ) headcanons bcuz i have a problem

starting w ryuk first ♡ plays on random mode exclusively, likely 2 lose interest half-way through and leave the game unfinished - if he wasn't constantly using light's account his level would likely still be in 1 or 2; his cards backing is set to a custom realistic apple theme and yes he has been so apple deprived that he tried to eat the computer— isn't aware you can change the card draw

SPEAKING OF LIGHT THOUGH... during surveillance or when he's playing infront of someone he only picks grandmaster ( and may or may not pretend to run out of time / get distracted so no one knows he can't beat the level ) - when alone though, he either leaves it on random due 2 ryuk, or switches between hard & expert mode — he uses standard draw3,+ the lvl 100 freecell card backing ( he only played freecell for the crown / king theme . ) around level 100+ on solitaire as well, he has 2 much free time.

L plays grandmaster, next question. no but – he's aware that Light is unable 2 beat it, so when around him ( esp in yotsuba arc ) every chance he gets he plays grandmaster, and wins. when on his own though, he tends 2 mainly play random as they have a higher chance of being unbeatable ( which in a way, is much more fun 4 him . ) never bothered changing the backing so it's stuck on classic - has far more free time then light and is often multitasking, lvl500+ in solitaire with 300misc lvls in the other collection card games; switches card draw when bored ( usually sticks with misc-draw3 though )

Mello only ever bothers playing with Matt, often trading places when the other gets bored just to make it through one match. Matt prefers easy / normal mode as he doesn't take it that seriously nor does he care much for leveling up, while Mello sets it to grandmaster every time ( only to then rage quit 5 seconds in because he keeps refreshing the match and losing each time . ) Mello insists on using standard draw3 but Matt changes it back to draw1 every time... low level due to rage quitting & apathy towards the game – retro card backing.

Near thinks its a bit pointless, but has moments of boredom where he gives in nonetheless, the most basic of settings ( doesn't change anything literally set on the classic / default options ), interchanges between collection games and plays on random always— prefers spider over solitaire, low level but could be higher if the effort was put in.

Misa is another one who prefers something other then solitaire, mainly choosing to play spider or freecell, doesn't have much time to play due to modeling and surveillance but post-timeskip when she's left alone for most if not the entire day, she doesn't really have much of a choice. mostly plays normal mode, level is in the low 30s as she is another one who doesn't care much for leveling up and is just looking for a quick game, around lvl9 on solitaire due 2 lack of playing — uses the kitten themed card backings:)

MATSUDA!!!! he's almost always pushed around n treated as the intern so oftentimes when they're not making him do coffee runs he's playing solitaire on his 'puter!! mainly plays normal / hard, but every now n then plays a few games up in expert <3 completes almost all of his daily / weekly challenges and due 2 the exp boosts they give he's reached a higher level then light ( being up in the lvl200s via sheer will & boredom alone lmfao ). doesn't really understand most of the other games 'how 2 play' rules so exclusively plays solitaire, literally the only one out of all of them that has a fully customized layout. i'm talking western background, puppy card backings with the autumn deck, and ofc he has the leaves effect ( although sometimes he changes it 2 the fireworks when he's feeling down... )

[popdesign-vent]

even if this blog isnt really active, god bless yall. i swear im tired of going to service reviews and seeing 'PSA: pedo/zoophile' and its just of a buncha pixels. when TH users say x user is a pedo i dont even know whether they mean an actual living breathing victim or a fictional character whose age is so arbitary you can change it anytime.

anyways @ that $100 white boy........... What (and just for that chibi sketch..........??? 😀) and here i am getting $60 for a fully rendered full-size FB with background to boot like 😭switch lives button when, i want to earn easy quick bucks too

thank you for ur nice message!!! We r absolutely exhausted by the "x person is a CREEP for DRAWING a DOG" like. it's so funny man.

and!! PSA!!! COMMISSION SMALL ARTISTS!! you get SO much more for a reasonable amount of money, you'll likely have a kind interaction with someone who genuinely cares about their work and clients, and you'll get a unique and beautiful character/piece <333

[runfast-runfar]

Daily things ~holiday edition~

12/29/22

✨ dog sat for a quick night for my favorite boy Finn!! So so happy I got to see him!

✨ I ended up getting the new switch OLED and it’s amazinggg!!! The differences are minor but they make the biggest difference!!

✨ haven’t been running in a month now which makes me so so sad and frustrated but I try to go out and walk in the neighborhood to get the light exercise still. I am doing the peloton daily now which is amazingggg!! But missing my runs and the fresh air with working out so so much. Hopefully my back will get figured out soon and can be resolved easily!! 🤞

✨ I am obsessed with platforms shoes now lol!!! I have platform converse, and then I also got my first pair of Nike airforce 1s 😭

In love with both!!

And then I just bought myself a pair of Oxford platform Doc Marten’s 😅 This year I spent SO much money…. So I need to go back to saving!! Lots to save for this year! My brother and I are moving early next year (YAY!!!) and that needs lots of saving, I have a Disneyland trip over the summer with a friend, going to NYC next year during the winter, spending money for Taylor swift concert next year, etc! Plus just saving in general! :)

✨ the biggest thing I bought myself for a holiday treat was a quest 2 VR system!!!!! That is getting delivered today!!!!! I am SO freaking excited!!!!! I have really gotten into gaming since being essentially on bed rest and it helps pass the time… but it’s also become a genuine hobby! I am loving Pokémon violet and then I got Pokémon shield and have been playing the two. And then I wanted the virtual reality system bc getting to be fully immersed in the games is amazing and escaping entirely to a new world… I need that right now lol

✨ I bought thea a new hammock since her old one broke way earlier this year. She got upgraded to a double decker lol

✨ on an iced coffee kick and not complaining about it!! I am trying to make coffee at home versus buying Starbucks to save money, and one of my New Year’s resolutions is to only get Starbucks twice a week! And then make coffee every other day! And these iced coffee nespresso pods are making that easy to happen lol!

✨ spending some time doodling my own little cute anime-esque characters; meet Kipper haha

✨ the day after Christmas I came down with the flu and so I’ve been in bed most of the day for the past two days now. But tbh I’ve needed the rest, I’m just bummed I feel shitty during it. But at least today I’m feeling better than yesterday!

✨ I’m going to a friends beach house tomorrow for the weekend in celebration of New Years. I’m chugging DayQuil like it’s water (haha jk.. sorta) and hopefully I only feel better as each day comes! 🤞

✨ ordered myself some sushi for lunch since my throat isn’t on fire like it was yesterday, thank god!! And then all I’ve done today is play the switch, draw, have the show Wednesday on in the background (last episode is playing now… sooo that’s seven hours later lol 😅) and began reading my new book “Remarkably Bright Creatures” which is so good so far but I can tell it’s going to be a sad one 💔

✨ Well, I hope you’re all doing good, that you had a nice holiday and the new year is good to you!!!

[emcscared-whumps]

we gettin on the sweat tonight lads

i'm sick without really feeling sick (test results pending lol), so tonight, we're gonna see just how fast i can bust out a finished piece >:)

there will be no consequences! because i wont be infecting my client at work tomorrow!! :D

im talking a bust portrait of a character with a simple face angle, simple expression, simple lighting, that otherwise fully rendered and polished

and im going to log-- (OH GOD I SPELT LOG WRONG WHAT THE FUCK)-- the *actual* time i spend on the piece because i found out that clip studio can tell me how long ive had the canvas open, but i'm sure that i leave canvases open for entire days without touching them, so... that is not accurate enough for me

anyways; the reason? a friend and i were talking about art commission pricing and the habits we've noticed in the art community, and i got curious: what would *i* price my stuff if i were to hypothetically sell it?

through some basic maths and reasoning between us, i have discovered that the key to making a good rate is skill at speed

(it's not as bad as it looks, my american friends, i am using aud :) currently, 1usd = 1.50aud, 50aud = 33.28usd)

we talked about how much is a fair price for the product vs how long it takes to make, and i discovered that if you're quick at making a character bust lineart of moderate quality for $15, and can do one in 30 minutes, accounting for *only* time spent drawing, you'd be making $30 an hour, which is pretty cool considering it'd only be bust lineart. ($20 for bust lineart would yield $40/hr, but i'd only charge that of my skills and precision were reliable and en pointe. it could even be pushed to $25, but i wouldnt go more than $30 unless some super complex shit was happening and i happened to be very very good. at which point you still want to be as fast as physically possible)

there was a plot twist though: rendering times.

hypothetically, if i charged $20 for bust lineart, extra $10 for flats, extra $10 for shadibg, and extra ($5 to) $10 for extra finishing details (little backgrounds etc), that would be $50 total for a fully rendered bust. if i took 4 hours to do it (which i think is reasonable time (for me) to do most things by hand), all of a sudden, that's made my $30-40/hr into $12.50/hr.... which is kinda (very) shit lmao

with this in mind, i have one question: just how fast can i make stuff, and what quality will it be? what would i theoretically be paid for my fully rendered bust pieces?

i usually an very VERY slow partly coz i cannot stay focused on a piece for long enough chunks at a time, or, if i can, i will stop halfway through and leave it for several weeks or months, leading to a turnaround that is at such a leisurely pace even *snails* would be envious

ALTHOUGH. last year, my friend (same as above) alerted me to a built-in time-lapse feature in clip studio. i was intensely curious. for whumptober that year, i had a very clear vision of a piece i wanted to do for one of the prompts, so i used that to test the feature. i sat down at about 1700, stopped only for dinner, and had the whole thing exported and posted to tumblr at around 0100, about 7 hours. i have a sneaking suspicion that was the fabled beast called hyperfocus lmao. the [piece] was a roughly rendered full-body shot with a dynamic pose, both hands exposed, and a more complex expression, not bad considering that my pride piece took 10 months :)

bust portraits are my most comfortable style of piece, so i will experiment with those, especially since my character profiles need them, and also i want them all to look cohesive, which means i will re-draw all of my current ones (rip pete, timmy, and kate lol)

(hm, if i took 3 hours instead of 4, that'd be $16.70, if i took 2, it'd be $25... still not even close to that tasty tasty $30-$40/hr... so the solution would be to up the price of rendering since flats are easy. extra $20 (instead of $10) for rendering, since it's as complex as anatomy with lineart, bumping the total price to $60 (which is starting to *really* push the envelope of what i think people would pay for my art). so if i took 4 hours at that price, that'd be $15/hr, 3 hours would be $20/hr, which is better but still kinda shit for all that extra work, and any faster might reduce the quality to a point where it isnt worth that extra $10...)

......... i'll let u guys know the results lol

[gertlushgaming]

Trine 5 A Clockwork Conspiracy Review (PlayStation 5)

For this Trine 5 A Clockwork Conspiracy Review, The Trine series is back with its biggest adventure! In their fifth outing, the Heroes of Trine are pitted against dastardly and duplicitous villains, who will stop at nothing to seize control of the kingdom. The clock is ticking to save the world of Trine!

Trine 5 A Clockwork Conspiracy Review Pros:

- Gorgeous graphics. - 15.05GB download size. - Platinum trophy. - You get the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 versions of the game. - Puzzle platformer gameplay. - Can rebind controls. - Accessibility options include - subtitles, letterbox for subtitles, letterbox opacity, and speaker name. - Can set levitate to hold or toggle. - Collectibles - letters, tidbits, and fashion. - Supports both online and offline Co-op. - Two ways to play - unlimited (any combo of heroes including dupes) or classic (only 1 of each character). - Four difficulties - Easy, normal, hard, and custom. - Custom difficulty lets you tweak puzzle difficulty (normal/hard), resurrection cost (free to lose everything), and damage (enemy health/enemy damage). - Customizable characters - name color, outfit color, clothing accessory, and hat. - Fast loading times. - Excellent narration that is once again performed by the same voice guy. - The game is presented like a storybook. - Cutscenes are a mix of in-game and rendered scenes. - The bow settings - aim assist strength, firing method, and use of the unmodified right stick. - Some of the best lighting in the business. - A 2D side scroller with fully animated 3D backdrops amd animated foregrounds. - A real visual treat. - Brilliant soundtrack. - Familiar controls. - Solo play has just one character on screen at a time. - When playing solo you can swap between characters with a button press. - Headphone mode option. - Can turn the audio to mono. - Constant checkpoints. - The movement is tight and fluid, the best it has felt in the series. - Much more in-depth and clever traversal tricks at play. - Physics at work and feel realistic whether it be a cube falling on a plank or cutting a piece of rope and momentum taking over. - There will be parts where a scene is playing out and you are in the background moving around. - Emote/quick chat wheel. - Can customize any character in the pause menu. - You can use your hooks to swing around but also pull crates and even tether objects together. - Finally feels like they have nailed the bow feel and usage as it's really quick and accurate. - Quick selection option to make tethering and selecting a target a lot easier, it's just a button press. - You can skip cutscenes. - Full voice work for each character. - Despite all being 2D the game does an amazing job of making it look and feel like a 3D game. - The whole game loop is that you have a band of characters each with unique abilities Amadeus is a wizard so he can levitate objects and conjure up blocks and planks. Pontius can use a shield to block projectiles and break crates, whereas Zoya has a bow and can jump high. - Postcard quality vistas. - Boss-like encounters. - Pontius has abilities making him more versatile like being able to charge and slam the ground. - Amadeus can conjure items with a button press. (In the older games you had to draw the shape) - So many different ways to solve a puzzle. - There are five acts to play though. - You can replay levels and each one shows how many exp potions you have left to collect. - So much fun to play. - Hard to put down. - The main menu has a space where you can practice with characters and just mess around. - Grand checkpoints let you transfer all earned exp potions and turn them into skill points. - Each character has their own skill tree, abilities are unlocked through progress but all can be upgraded. - The combat initially is very hack-and-slash but later on, you can get abilities to add more spice and variety including making other characters able to hold their own. Trine 5 A Clockwork Conspiracy Review Cons: - In Single Player, I couldn't edit each character individually. - No colorblind support. - The font can be hard to make out and there is no setting to change it. - Re uses a lot of puzzles from previous games. - Starts the same as all the other games in that you are introduced to each character one by one. - Tedious little sections that feel like filler. - The camera is not always ideal, especially with out-of-sight Collectibles. Related Post: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Review (Steam) Trine 5 A Clockwork Conspiracy: Official website. Developer: Frozenbyte Publisher: THQ Nordic Store Links -  PlayStation Read the full article