#Finding a balance of colours was a bit tricky for this one

[arabellas]

hi :) i hope it's okay to ask, i love your colorings especially on your the bear gifs, would you consider making a tutorial for how you colour the kitchen scenes in the show, like the scenes that have a lot of white in the background and are quite bright? i find them really hard to color without making everyone's skin look muddy and i'd love to know how you make yours look so good. no worries if not though!

hellooo! sure, here's a quick tutorial on bright scenes :)

i would recommend checking out my general coloring tutorial here where i talk more in depth about my process as i'm just gonna go through it briefly here. here's my gif right after sharpening:

it's a pretty bright scene with lots of white and it can be tricky to color it properly and not make the skintones washed out. i like my gifs to be crispy and have a lot of contrast, so here's what works best for me:

i always start with layers and curves, they're the most helpful guide for me when it comes to working with literally any scene ever. i explained how i do it in my previous tutorial, so you can check it out, but i basically pick the brightest and darkest parts of the scene with the pipette tool which helps to neutralize the overpowering color if there is one and just makes the scene more natural (e.g. if it's too yellow, it will automatically tone down the yellow). in this case, the scene has a little bit of a blue tint, so it reduces the appearance of the overall blue tone (i really hope it makes sense lol). i usually set the opacity to around 50-30%. here's the result of just two layers: levels and curves:

it's a subtle change but it deepens the shadows and it's always so much easier for me to color after i do this step, so i never skip it lol.

next up, i use a gradient map to bring out the shadows even more just because i think it looks better (especially on the bear scenes, i noticed! or any 4k footage tbh). so i just add a gradient map layer, black to white, set it to soft light and set the fill to 10%:

and since this makes the gif just a little bit darker, sometimes i want to bring back the brightness a little bit because i looove contrast! here are my exposure layer settings:

and here's what we've got:

looking pretty good but sydney's skintone is looking a little bit too orange at this point and we don't want that! there are some wonderful tutorials how not to orange wash poc and i highly recommend checking a couple of them out to see which method works best for you, but i personally like using selective color and toning down the warmth of reds and yellows in the scene. for example, these are my settings for the red color, the opacity of this layer is set to 23%:

i do a similar thing with yellow, just messing around with the settings and seeing what looks best.

and then i add some additional layers like color balance and hue/saturation to bring it all together and that's it!

i put this together pretty quickly but hopefully i was able to help out! let me know if you have any questions, i'd be more than happy to help/ recommend something :)

[batsplat]

OOH do you have any old motogp forum recs?? I would love to see what fans were saying in like the early 2000s, but I have no idea where to look

lemme check my bookmarks... r1-forum I've gone through a fair bit, threads dating back to early 2004. motogpforum goes back to early 2005. motorsportsforum picks up late 2006-ish, that one I've gone through in its entirety for the early alien era. motorradonline24 is admittedly in german but has the BIG selling point that it goes all the way back to 2001. apriliaforum also goes pretty far back but it takes a little longer for discussion of actual racing to get going. there's definitely more I've checked out - I might make a proper list at some point, but just to start you off

the thing about these forums is that it's undoubtedly interesting and useful to get some context of fan opinions (good mix of actual nuance/worthwhile discussion and just slagging off a bunch of riders)... but if anything they're even more precious as a record of actual *news* that has otherwise been scrubbed from the internet. there's a lot of drama and controversies and anecdotes that only exist on these forums

which... tbh there's been quite a few that I haven't included in my posts just because I'm not entirely sure they quite pass the burden of proof requirements. but man, so many of them are so interesting. it's a tricky balance. just as an example - one particularly nasty thing casey allegedly said about jorge that IF TRUE does feel like it would add something to my understanding of casey. but the article only exists on forum pages... still, it made it to three different forums I can find and is written in the usual tone of the author, so I feel fairly confident the original article existed. but then again, the article itself is just an anecdotal conversation relayed by one bloke. on the other hand, this is a reputable enough commentator you wouldn't expect to COMPLETELY make it up - and funnily enough I have even found a photo of him talking to casey that specific weekend. on the other other hand, it's a colourful anecdote that might have been exaggerated for effect. then again, I can kinda see casey saying it - not least because casey confirmed in his autobiography years later that he was pissed off at jorge that specific weekend. but it does feel like the sort of thing that should have caused a controversy... like if jorge saw what casey allegedly said you'd expect there to be nuclear winter, and there's no further trace of it. hm

so what do you do with that kind of thing, share it or not? the further you go back with this stuff the worse it gets, where I keep finding - plus am being sent - increasingly wild quotes from early noughties motogp. at least most of those are from news sites, some of them of dubious quality, but generally you'd really like to find at least one other source backing up the quotes. which often you won't get!! so yeah, it's all interesting context and gossip, but as ever I'd advise being wary of the specific stories. even the funny ones. especially the funny one

anyway, all that being said. this ask was sent in relation to a post about laguna 2008, so I'm going to take this excuse to actually share some discussion of laguna 2008

so. taking u through the fan chat of the weekend from one specific forum with select commentary... here's the thread starter

reminder that dani was injured at the sachsenring and would eventually opt against racing (effectively ending his title bid, but michelin was useless anyway that weekend)

relatively good reason to believe in english-speaker (and in particular american) overperformance at the track. obviously hayden won there the first two years, edwards even beat valentino to second in 2005 which has got to be the only time that year he finished ahead of vale. often more familiar with the track, or it just suits their riding style better. and ofc vermeulen did bag a distant third. still. valentino in the trenches if people thing edwards will beat him icl

have to say. the idea of the 125/250 riders going down that corkscrew fills me with a visceral sense of horror

'marco' btw as in marco melandri, in the middle of his ducati season from hell

dovi super popular in 2008 fyi, darling of the posters. everyone was obsessed with his rookie season

plenty of solid foreshadowing happening here you have to say

it is very motogp rider behaviour, and also very valentino behaviour, to look at the corkscrew, go 'hm i don't think this is even safe to WALK down', and then fucking hurl yourself at the other guy into that very same corner as you're both travelling at horrifying speeds on a motorcycle. going tentatively through that bit of the track during practise and then in the race he's making his bike go bounce bounce like a trampoline

wow!

*stares at camera*

still nasty work to say this, he repeated it in several interviews I think

okay, no forum posts during the race itself so now we skip to the post-race discussion

which is what the tone from a lot of posters was like

narrator: casey had not calmed down

(if you watch the podium ceremony and see some of the photos without context, you WOULD think they're having a laff. it's just that they're having a laff while casey is telling valentino that he's lost respect for him and valentino is delighted)

two australians on the podium btw

jorge highside cameo

a lot of people were whinging about a lot of 800cc races being boring because a lot of them were. you can copy and paste much of what people are saying about racing these days, if you want to get an idea of the tone

casey fan writes in

again. cannot be stressed enough how casey very much had not calmed down. but that's the fun thing about that rivalry, like they will ALWAYS have a tonal mismatch between their face-to-face interactions and whatever out of pocket things are being said in the press. casey also really big on the pissed off smile which helps

'not even sure that the riders even touched at any point' is. pushing it

yeah the no handshake thing really didn't get a positive response (casey did ofc eventually shake valentino's hand on the podium)

is it really a clean battle if you think someone will fall off

don't want to say that it's a lost cause because casey DID get smarter about this stuff, but ducati certainly aren't doing shit

so much of laguna and its legacy is about both of them threatening each other lol, please allow him

again, podium chat categorically not a friendly conversation. otherwise qualified casey defence

likewise

thought this was interesting in terms of discussion of actual rules - valentino said a few years ago the move wouldn't be allowed anymore and he thinks that's a good thing

“It needs rules,” he said. .”Because the situation with the overtaking manoeuvers and everything is much more extreme now than it was in Laguna Seca in 2008. The routes have changed a lot, now there is no more grass next to the slope, but the green stripe.  “That was done for safety. Because if you catch the grass at that speed, you'll fly away. The asphalt, on the other hand, is less dangerous. In my opinion, however, you have to make a rule and say that you shouldn't touch the green at all - see it as if there were still grass there. “At the level we have reached today, which is extreme in many respects, everyone goes over the curbs and is all green if you don't have a clear rule. I think that's the right thing to do.”

but yeah tbh... I know casey disagrees but I feel like the move WAS probably fine by standards of back then

some more rules chat

and more

"will be hearing big footsteps every time he is in front"

and here we are then. not much that's groundbreaking, but I do find it interesting!! this is a pretty pro-casey audience... most of these forums were generally pretty positive about him. english language speakers were way more hostile towards dani and later jorge for various reasons - you'll also find at least some distaste for valentino in these spaces alongside the usual adulation. so that's the yardstick... this is probably close to as casey-friendly as discussion of the race got among the wider fanbase. it was always going to be a tough sell to air his grievances about this race until a few years had passed. the general reaction was that the racing had been hard but fine, an extremely welcome contrast to the general quality of racing at the time. and almost nobody thought casey should have reacted as he did in parc fermé. interesting contrast with jerez 2005 actually (though admittedly sete not particularly popular in most forums) - sete was low key seen as having a more legitimate grievance than casey. anyway, obviously this blog's stance is that sportsmanship is overrated, but that's how you end up getting the poor bloke apologising in brno

[chasingshadowsblog]

Review: Unicorns - Heart and Soul

Title: Unicorns Directed by: Sally El-Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd Written by: James Krishna Floyd Starring: Jason Patel and Ben Hardy Director of photography: David Raedecker Production designer: Robert Wischhusen-Hayes Art director: Chris Evans-Wilson Costume designer: Nirage Mirage Year: 2023

Unicorns is a story of worlds colliding and others forced to skirt around each other; Luke, a straight, white mechanic from Essex stumbles accidentally into the world of British-Muslim drag queen Aysha. After their first fateful meeting, they step tentatively into each other's lives, finding comfort and friendship in each other's company while being painfully aware of the outer world and how it affects them and their relationship.

As Aysha, Jason Patel balances an endearing confidence with a grim awareness of the world and her place in it. Aysha navigates her life with an uncompromising sense of self-preservation that stems from a desire to be safe in the world, presenting and identifying as her true self, but knowing that the world isn't safe for her to be in yet. Luke, a heretofore straight, single father, kisses Aysha the night they meet, but runs away when he realises that she is not the cis-woman he thought she was. After this night, Aysha and Luke become inextricably linked, each wholly fascinated by the other and any time one tries to pull away, the other won't let them do so. As a queer Muslim, Aysha is living a double life; she’s kept Aysha a secret from her conservative parents in Manchester while trying to keep Ashiq at a distance from Luke who is still coming to terms with his evolving sexuality. Luke invites Aysha into his family through his young son, but struggles with the traditional views of masculinity that are still evident in his environment and the people he spends time with. Ben Hardy is electric in the role, keeping his emotions caged, as he grows accustomed to Aysha's world and a new understanding of his identity, but always simmering underneath the surface ready to burst. Their chemistry is organic and honest and makes real a situation that might be unusual to many people, but is, ultimately, about trying to live your life.

Unicorns explores everything from sexual identity and gender roles to cultural identity, but it is, at heart, a love story between two unlikely people. Bearing in mind those tricky subjects, that love is never easy for Aysha and Luke even when the dynamic between the two actors makes it seem like the easiest thing in the world.

Other bits:

I'm trying to incorporate more crew into these reviews depending on what stood out to me, for Unicorns it was a lot of the aesthetic/visual elements

the colour schemes throughout the film are gorgeous, even when it's grey and brown and dull it's still so powerful and effective

I love how the film allows time for Luke and Aysha to connect to each other after their initial meeting; their attraction to each other is always simmering underneath but they don't act on it prematurely instead they get to actually enjoy each other's company before pursuing a physical relationship

as much as I loved the build-up of their relationship, I was left wondering about the connotations of Luke's attraction to Aysha as opposed to Ashiq and how Aysha/Ashiq actually identifies; at the end Aysha seems to embrace Ashiq somewhat more but I wasn't sure how Luke played into that and would have been interested to explore this part of their dynamic more (Unicorns 2 is what I'm saying)

the way they get physically closer to each other as they grow more comfortable in each other's presence - all of the visual cues in this film are amazing

PSA: if I've incorrectly labelled Aysha or there's an issue with me referring to her as Aysha/Ashiq please let me know and I'll edit, any mistakes are made out of well-meaning ignorance and I'd love to be educated on the matter if I'm incorrect! (I'd also love to be complimented if I've done well, just sayin' 😉)

[dailyrandomwriter]

Day 723

An act of kindness reminded me I still have a long way to go in being a functioning adult.

I’m pretty proud of the changes I’ve managed to make in the past year. It’s taken a lot of trial and error, but I can say I’m in a better place now than when I was a year ago. In fact I came home and immediately began to put dishes into the dishwasher (including the cat’s stuff) in preparation of the other cleaning that has to be done today.

However, because of poor everyday memory, the fact no one had explicitly told me this had to be done or because it just never occurred to me, there are things I don’t do, and I should.

For example, my Pilates instructor used to sell shoes before he became an instructor. I think he did a lot of other things, probably majored in dance at some point. He’s one of those older generations that just did a lot of things because it was easier to do so back then. He’s also, in the whole time I’ve known him, been very, very mindful of my own abilities.

Including, allowing me to keep my shoes on and taking the extra time to help clean the soles so I don’t leave footprints in his studio. This is because I have a leg difference, by 2.5 cm or an inch, which makes some balancing exercises a bit tricky. So he’s always been aware of my shoes, my custom leather shoes because between the leg difference and the ankle-foot orthotic, I was never going to be able to modify off the shelf shoes to fit comfortably.

Especially not with wide, small feet, a combination that was a nightmare to shoe shop for growing up.

Despite having worn leather shoes for over a decade, I forgot you need to care for your leather shoes. The black ones I had more or less gotten away with just wiping them (when I remembered to), but the newer brown ones were getting kind of scuffed. This was probably a combination of a different type of leather and the fact I was going out a lot more into the community. One of those outings is that I make a point to walk to my Pilates’ instructor’s studio.

While it always meant I was early for lessons, it was a good ten minute walk that allowed me to practice moving up hills and being on uneven sidewalks. Today, when I showed up early for lessons, my instructor asked me an odd question. Was my mother going to pick me up at the usual time? And by usual time, it meant that even if I was early to a lesson I would have to hang around for a bit because I wasn’t leaving any sooner unless I took myself home.

I told him yes, thinking that maybe he had another appointment he had to keep when he excused himself to go get something. He comes back a few minutes later with a shoe box with shoe polish in it. Excitedly, he told me that he and his wife visited the big city and came across a shoe repair shop which had a wider range of colours than what you’d find locally, including polish that was somewhat closer to the brown my shoes were. He then offered to polish my shoes, assuring me that he was perfectly fine doing so.

And so for the first time in a very long time, I got my shoes polished and realized… I needed to come up with a routine to take better care of my shoes.

And shoe polish…

And probably something to weatherproof the winter boots.

[voids-colourful-creations]

Into a Lighter Dream - A Diana [Zero Escape] Fic

[Read on Ao3!]

Rated: M (16+) Zero Escape/Zero Time Dilemma Diana/Sigma (not the focus) Content Warnings: Standard Zero Time Dilemma Content Warning, Suicide Attempt, Suicide, Death of Children. Words: 2.5k

Summary: So the twins have been teleported. And then what of the four left behind? There is no one coming to save them. There is no hope of escape. They'll come to their own end, by their own hand, then.

A look into the after math of The Hope of Two ending.

–

It’s somewhat tricky, balancing a baby in one arm and holding a pencil in the other, but somehow Diana manages. Somehow Diana manages, she thinks, sums up most of her life pretty well. Somehow she manages her way through a marriage and a divorce, somehow she manages her way through a death game, and barely she manages the aftermath thereof. It’s strange though, because somehow it’s the waiting that’s the hardest. Those long 10 months, where the inky threads of death just streamed into the corners of her vision ever slightly more with each passing day. And yet, in some way, it was the most blissful she’d ever been. The first indulgence she’d truly had in an age, a love that felt sturdy when everything was rocking.

Musing on this, idly, Diana leans down and presses a gentle kiss to Phi’s forehead. She spares a moment of thought for her other daughter, the Phi sent back in time. And then again, to her son.

“Let them be safe. Let them find their happiness.” Diana whispers in her own head. It’s the same words she’s repeated to herself ever since she sent her children back, whisked away into a corner of space and time she’d never see.

But the Phi in her arms is the one who remained, still left behind. The only Phi left in this world, with her namesake having vanished. Again, Diana takes a moment to wish for that Phi’s happiness and safety, though the ache in her chest reminds her it’s fruitless.

Somewhere though, there must be a Phi living something different. Somewhere, Diana believes, she is living happily. Diana, Sigma, Phi and Delta, all peacefully in one place. No turmoil, no games, just the picture of a normal family.

This world is far far from that ideal. Diana feels a bit like an animal, laying down wounded. There’s a sense of peace washing over she recognizes as acceptance.

In a few hours, she will sleep. Following which, she does not expect to wake up.

Diana frowns down at the paper doily. It’s not exactly the best suicide note, but it’s not exactly a suicide note either. Everything’s half done here, half a life lived, half a romance she shares. What’s the point in worrying about it any more?

With the end so close, Diana finds her fears washed away. After living so much of her life in a constant drone of worry, it’s almost startling how still she can find herself.

Acceptance, even of her inevitable demise, can be a beautiful thing. The fading of her colours becomes a soft pastel, so it’s still beautiful, isn’t it?

Her pains have become nothing but a dull ache in the back of her mind. Yes, her stomach gnaws away at herself even as she tries to satiate it with water. She hasn’t eaten in a week, it’s unsurprising. But what had felt like her organs being pulled into a black hole at first has faded now. Not because she isn’t hungry, but because there’s nothing left she can do about it.

It’s just acceptance now. It’s all washing away.

The pencil slips out of Diana’s grasp as she finishes the note, rolling right off the table and onto the floor. There’s no reason to pick it up, so she leaves it. Let the lounge feel a bit lived in. Let there be prove she had lived for once in her life, even if only for a short time.

Diana slumps back against the couch, tucking Phi in closer to her chest. The baby stares back at her, bright wide eyes, taking in everything about her mother’s face. Diana smiles, giving her daughter another kiss on the head. She deserves so many more than Diana can give her. She deserves so much more than this.

They all do.

She’s too tired to mourn anymore. After the mania and madness of the past 10 months, it’s just… going to end. And it’s a strange feeling, because in some ways this had been the primary thought in her mind ever since Sigma had told her about the food supplies. Even with everything, the fights, the sex, her own children- every thought she had was accompanied by a shadow, a reminder that soon, it would all go away.

If there���s one comfort Diana can take, beyond knowing that Sigma will be there with her, is that they’re taking it into their own hands. Agency is a comfort, particularly in a place like this.

(In the back of her mind, she knows she never had any true agency. She knows everything, each step she takes, the precise positioning of each molecule of her body holds the exact space in time someone had calculated for. It makes her feel like each of those atoms are scratching up against each other, buzzing with an urge to lurch, to send reality spinning out of place, if only to be free for a fraction of a second.)

Phi fusses in Diana’s arms, somewhat restless. She’s not fussy, not usually, though Diana supposes she doesn’t have much ground to stand on with that claim. Phi is merely days old. Still, Diana just knows. She’s her baby, of course she knows. For everything she’d studied, for all the scientific data she’d memorized in college, for every dissertation she’d read, nothing compared to really holding her own daughter in her arms and knowing the power of a mother’s love was both real and magic.

She’s being far too idealistic than she has any right to be, but she’s earned the right to have a little misguided optimism by now.

A mother’s love is real. A mother’s love is magic. And with her magic, Diana rocks side to side, rocking Phi with her, and whispers her spell.

“Let them be safe. Let them find their happiness.”

Maybe she spends a few minutes in that daze, a murmured half lullaby, maybe longer.

It’s only when Sigma sits down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her in a touch closer, that she’s pulled out of reverie.

Once it would’ve startled her, but there’s something about Sigma’s embrace that she finds herself relaxing into without even thinking about it. If Diana ever mentioned it to Sigma, she’s sure he’d explain it as the morphogenetic field, her body remembering the other lives they’d had together, or such and so. And perhaps that is the case. Diana won’t rule it out. Personally, however, she’d pinpoint the cause as something simpler.

Sigma makes her feel safe. That’s all.

“Everything’s set up,” Sigma murmurs, pressing his words to the crown of Diana’s head. “If you’re ready.”

How do you ready yourself for something like this? No matter how much she’d been preparing for this, mentally or physically, she’d never be ready.

But the note she’d been writing was finished, and that was all that was left to complete, so in that sense…

“Mmhm.”

She can’t get the words out, but she nods anyway, humming in affirmative.

Sigma squeezes her a little tighter.

“We’re going together. Don’t worry.”

The worry has long since bled out of Diana, pooled at her feet and spilled across the floor. So she won’t worry. She won’t.

She stands, slowly so as not to disturb Phi too much. Sigma follows, bringing his arm down to help support Delta, carried on his right shoulder. It’s probably not the safest way to hold him, but it won’t matter soon.

They walk out slowly, Diana casting glances around each part of the room as she bids it farewell. It’s not exactly like she’ll miss this place, after everything she’s been through here, but in someways, she supposes she will. Contradictions like that only make sense in a place like this.

“It was a good letter.” Sigma whispers, in lieu of a farewell to the space. “You did good.”

Diana nods. She’s appreciative, and flattered, but it’s getting difficult to express it.

And slowly, step by step, they make their way through the halls until finally. The last room. The relaxation room.

Diana steps in carefully, minding the large box-shaped contraption set up on the floor. It resembles a fog machine, in fact most of it was a fog machine, but with the modifications Sigma has made… it couldn’t be called that anymore. It’s function had changed, the weight of it’s worth was altered. No going back from that.

A long black cord runs out from it, up towards one of the beds in the corner. A chunky “on/off” switch breaks off the clean line of the cable, sitting right at the foot of the bed.

Diana tries not to think about it yet. Not quite yet. She turns her attention to the dial on the wall.

“What environment would you like?” She asks, though they have already had this conversation several times, and settled on an answer long ago.

“The sky pattern.” Sigma answers, though Diana’s fingers have already begun to twist the knob. It clicks, clicks, and the walls, floor, and ceiling all distort around them until finally coming to the sky pattern. Diana’s favourite, even now.

The clouds soar past them, off into a non-existent distance. Freedom that has never been, and never will be.

“Perfect.” Diana murmurs.  “Shall we go, then?”

Sigma nods.

Carefully across the room now, Diana keeps away from the walls though she knows the sky is only fake, the drop off into the sky unreal.

(She’d tried it once, less than a month into confinement and in a drunken haze. Turned the pattern to clouds and stood near the edges. Closed her eyes and let herself tilt, teeter forward. Willed herself, begged for something to just slip. Slammed her head against the wall and sunk to the ground, sobbing. Hits her head against it again. Again. Maybe this time something will change. But it doesn’t, it never does. Until Sigma had found her, and simply carried her back to the lounge, lying her to rest on the couch. He’d been so gentle. So warm. She’d almost considered doing it again just to feel that kind of embrace.)

Sigma passes Delta over to Diana, and she settles into the hold. She clutches both her children to her chest, feeling the miniscule sound; their hearts beating in sync.

“Let them be safe. Let them find their happiness.” She thinks without even trying, even when she knows it’s got to be too late.

Sigma settles down onto the relaxation room bed, taking a moment to position himself comfortably. Carefully, he keeps the “on/off” switch tucked into his right hand, but doesn’t hit the switch just yet.

“Join me,” He says once he’s settled, “Love.” He finishes, and Diana’s heart could just break in two when he talks like that. It’s enough to make her want to slap him, try and claw her way out just a little more.

But… Diana is so tired. And so hungry.

Gently, Diana positions herself tucked into Sigma’s body, pressed so close they might as well have been one person. Her head rests on his shoulder, positioned so that she could look into his eyes. Phi lies against her chest, and Delta is shuffled over so most of his body lies on Sigma’s.

Sigma’s embrace is warm and tight, as he reaches his left arm around his family. Diana feels, if just for a moment, that everything was worth it if she got to hold this second within herself.

“Ready?”

“One second…”

Diana tucks her hand into her shirt, pulling out the necklace she’d kept tucked away. Her fingers are shaking a bit, so it takes a bit of effort, but she manages. Slowly, clumsily, Diana turns the key for the bluebird music box. And turns. And turns. She turns until the box cannot possibly take anymore, and the springs inside the device whine in protest. Then, she releases it, and tinny music notes begin to fill the room.

Sigma smiles quietly.

“Needed a bit of mood music?”

“Ha ha.” Diana deadpans, but she’s smiling at him, “I just… wanted to listen to it one more time.”

“I know.”

There’s a moment of silence, or rather, the quiet melody of a music box filling such. Phi’s eyes widen a bit as the tune goes through, seemingly enamoured by the sound.

“I’m ready.” Diana whispers, before she can change her mind. So before anyone can say anything else, Sigma flicks the switch from “off” to “on”, and the room begins to fill with Soporil B.

“This’ll keep us out for… how long?” Diana whispers, voice nestling in between the melody and the quiet fssshh of the Soporil smoke machine.

“The canister I found in the transporter room had approximately… 25 litres in it, give or take, and the machine is set to run at steady intervals to prevent it from burning out the supply.” Sigma replied, whispering the explanation in Diana’s ear, “As we are already exhausted mentally and physically, and none of us have eaten or drank in the past few days, it should knock us out pretty hard.”

It’s not the Soporil that does the killing, Diana knows. It’s the starvation, and primarily, dehydration they’re banking on. Collapse the internal organs, let heart failure kick in. Sleep through all of it. That had been the plan ever since Sigma had managed to find the canister of Soporil in the transporter room, tucked in a lower cabinet. It was strange how they hadn’t noticed it before. Almost as if it had been placed there deliberately after it had been clear there was no chance of complete survival. Even when the plan had been to transport themselves, not their children, they’d worked to set this up for those left behind.

If it was deliberate, just Zero cleaning up close ends, then Diana supposes she’s grateful it’s something cleaner like this. Slow, maybe, and even in a haze of drugged-up dreams, she’s sure the pain won’t completely vanish… but it’s better this way. Better to go together, to dream anything, and simply slip further into that dream until nothing remains.

Diana blinks.

It’s a slower thing than she’s used to, the weight of her eyelids grows stronger with each moment.

“Ss-Sigma.” Diana says, words starting to slur slightly, “I love you.”

Sigma just hums quietly, for a moment. Then,

“I love you too, Diana.”

“I love you.” Diana repeats. “I love you. I love you. I wantta be the last- last thing… I say. You… and Delta and Phi, I- I love you. I love you.”

It’s such a messy love. She’d call it broken, but that would imply there was ever a time that what they held wasn’t tattered. It’s always been like this. A bit charred and melting. Like a moment frozen in time, like a snow globe, like a bird in a cage, the sort of love captured in this bubble. But it’s really love. The details are blurring away in the Soporil fog.

The music box notes distort and shift, they twirl into birds songs on the breeze. Diana doesn’t feel the weight of Sigma’s arms, of Phi lying on her chest. Her body dissolves along with them, until they’re all nothingness together.

Maybe she’s dead now. Maybe she’s still dying. It’s all a fog. It’s all fog.

The play is over now. The story is done.

It was all for nothing, and yet it was so integral, to everything.

The actors have bowed; said their goodnights. The lights on the stage have all shut off.

One day, Diana thinks, someone might find them. Four bodies in a state of decay, find their bones all on top of each other and not be able to tell who is who.

But for now, for the rest of her life, Diana listens to that music box. To the sound of her family breathing.

Her thoughts don’t make sense anymore. Her mind is a cloud, the room is a cloud, it’s all a harmony of abstractions.

It’s a field of white.

It’s the absence of anything.

It’s over now.

…

Goodnight.

[End]

[mellitte]

Twitter is glitching and I'm still annoyed enough about this that I've decided I'm making a long post about it like it's 2010 or something. So much rambling about fashion and styling below!

All of these pieces are from AMI's 2023 collection, which is a privilege I assume they're paying TXT and Bighit many dollars for, so the styling team is starting at a bit of disadvantage. But I do think there was a better way of doing this, so here I am!

Setting Yeonjun aside for now, let's look at the other 4's looks. I can see where the basic shape of their look started: casual pant + button up + jacket + dress shoe isn't going to blow anyone's mind, but it's a classic for a reason. It is, as per usual, the details that fuck this up. (I grabbed these photos on Twitter from stylebytxt and included the links to each post)

I'll start with Taehyun because his look was pulled from the runway with a couple of key differences and his look was the most egregiously bad at first glance.

This look has a striped blazer, chambray shirt, mesh shirt, neck kerchief, and black coated denim, which is a pretty busy look that I don't love but don't hate. But if you're going for the casual pant + button up + jacket + dress shoe look for everyone, a chambray shirt is not a great base layer, unless it's styled properly! It's a stiffer fabric so putting a blazer, which is also a stiffer fabric, on top can be tricky. The AMI look understood this and kept the shirt unbuttoned so that the blazer and shirt are both loose and draping, with a close fitting shirt underneath. By buttoning up the shirt, it makes things look weirdly boxy and lifeless because of the way chambray sits under a blazer; it's not bending the way a regular button up shirt would. It also unbalances the look because now it's visually crowded around his upper body. I don't love the neck kerchief on the model but it does look more balanced since we have the flat, empty expanse that's only covered by the low white mesh shirt, vs. a blue, stiff, collared shirt. He's also the only one of the 4 wearing black coated denim, and those jeans are so huge on him. Coated denim is an edgier look, and without the mesh shirt to break things up, doesn't go well with the rest of the look. The pants also make Taehyun stick out in a bad way.

(Sorry for the weird crop but I wanted these two photos next to each other lol)

Kai's tall and broader than Soobin, so he is pulling off the trench coat better here. A blue shirt, dark grey pants and black belt all work fine with the coat. The problem is that those are the only things he's wearing - there's a reason why the model was styled with a neck kerchief. So another case of boring but fine, except that being the only one in dress pants is also making him stick out from the others.

This look was created completely by the stylists, and it's another case of the individual pieces are fine, it's the way it was put together. He's tall enough that a trench coat complements it nicely! But they somehow managed to find one that's a bit too big on him, and bless his heart, he's always slouching so he ends up looking like he's drowning in it a bit. This isn't helped by the fact that the coat and jeans are almost the same colour, and the jeans are a wide flare. It's a lot of dark blue fabric that's kind of drowning out the white shirt, even for someone of Soobin's stature. Accessories are a good way of breaking up baggy, monochrome fabric, but for some reason the kerchief they chose is tied so super low that I honestly thought this was a third shirt at first. Which leads me to me last complaint: why the hell is he wearing a mesh shirt under there when the vibe so far is young professional on casual Friday (boring but fine)? I know it's because they stole from Taehyun's look, but Taehyun's has an edgier vibe, so it clashes here.

Beomgyu was also styled completely from scratch, and it's also not great! First off, was this blazer meant for Soobin or Kai? I don't care that baggy is trendy again, this is potato sack territory. The cuffs almost completely cover his hands, which looks sloppy. A white dress shirt and light wash jeans aren't bad, but they're also way too big for him, so we end up with the same problem of a lot fabric and not a ton else going on. Also those jeans are big that they're puddling around his ankles, while Kai, Soobin, and Yeonjun's hems were the right length, so it looks extra huge on Beomgyu.

So thus far we have 4 looks that have similar enough building blocks, just clashing vibes.

And then there's Yeonjun. There's nothing inherently wrong with a baggy, plain white suit with no shirt. But it does need some styling to make work, and there is absolutely nothing happening here. It's like they slapped that suit on him, gave him some dress shoes, and shoved him out the door. Yes, white is going to draw the eye, but there still needs to be layers of visual interest, and they gave him zero (0) accessories! Were they worried that accessories would make the suit Too Much? Because that ship has sailed. The vibes are not business casual adjacent like the other 4. Give me a brooch, some necklaces (especially since he's not wearing a shirt!), some rings, some earrings. Anything! Which is why the model at least has a neck kerchief and mesh shirt on. But they removed those elements from Yeonjun's look and didn't replace them with anything.

Which actually brings me to my next complaint, for all of them: the hair and makeup is sooooo boring. This is probably to give them a blank canvas for the performance but it's literally just the same fucking too pale foundation with their hair down. And some good makeup or slicked back hair is another thing that could have made Yeonjun's look more interesting! Or changed up the other 4's looks to make it more cohesive with Yeonjun's!

Finally, they all seem to be wearing the same black patent leather dress shoe which doesn't really go with all their looks but also is inoffensive enough that whatever. Sure. Put them all in the same shoes. Who cares anymore. It's not like shoes can be an integral element in styling or anything. Or that having them all wear the same shoe actually highlights how disparate the rest of their looks are.

I will say that I don't necessarily think these looks are terrible. They're messy but mostly fine! They just follow a pattern of not terrible but falls apart in the details and makes them lack cohesiveness. And the pattern is what I find so infuriating. I would like to look at TXT and just think 'wow, they look good!', and those moments have been few and far in between.

[firespirited]

random updates:

***i'm getting vaxxed for covid on Thursday, it'll be a little tricky as i'll be in the middle of my night (current sleep cycle is 4am-4pm) but i've been on the waiting list for a month and don't want to put it off. Flu vax done in November - bit of a hefty one with proper flu like symptoms after, for two days-.

***I had an accident Monday night: went to grab some bicarbonate of sodium from its twee cardboard pouring box in the bathroom cabinet above the washing machine and grabbed carbonate of sodium from a very similar twee pouring box, put it in a glass of water and threw that down my gullet instead.

Thankfully my body responded immediately and violently, so all I have is a mild chemical burn to the throat and a reverse-sunglasses-tan-looking wine coloured petechiae around the eyes. I had activated charcoal on hand and waited 30 minutes for any signs of shock.

I blame the packaging on the washing soda being cottage core "all natural" nonsense with no warning symbols as well as extreme exhaustion from non-stop acid reflux for the past week. I'll be picking up omeprazole from my vax appointment at the chemist on Thursday.

***Current walks for Lily are carefully timed with the sun going down above the hills but not out long after dark because there's an added complication: Lily gets blinded by car headlights. A little tricky to avoid the main road once the sun sets but doable.

She remains happy as ever despite losing some weight and back leg balance. She's slowed down slightly but I wouldn't be surprised if she was still enthusiastic about walks even in six months: I refashioned a toddler's coat to fit her and she's been fine about cold weather since but she'll defiantly refuse to walk if it's raining.

*** Sis is allowed to put weight on her triple fractured once twisted foot (now with a plate and 8 screws) but only lightly. This effectively means moving from a wheelchair to crutches to a walker which means access to more places in the flat.

There's a neat trick where she places the foot on a weight measure balance to find how much pressure is possible before pain kicks in. She's wiped but hopeful.

[jaybeckstore]

How to Choose the Best Denim Fabric Online in Nigeria

Denim fabric is a versatile and timeless material, often used for making jeans, skirts, jackets, and more. With the rise of online shopping, purchasing denim fabric online in Nigeria has become more convenient. However, selecting the best denim fabric online can be tricky, as there are many factors to consider. This guide will help you navigate the process of choosing the perfect denim fabric for your project.

Know Your Denim Types

Denim comes in various styles and weights, so it’s important to understand the different types before making a purchase:

Lightweight Denim: This type is softer and more flexible, making it ideal for making shirts, skirts, or light jackets. It's breathable and comfortable for warmer climates.

Mid-weight Denim: A balance between lightweight and heavyweight, mid-weight denim is perfect for making jeans, dresses, and casual jackets. It offers both durability and comfort.

Heavyweight Denim: Often used for jeans and workwear, heavyweight denim is thick, durable, and sturdy. It’s a great choice for making garments that require extra durability and structure.

Stretch Denim: For a more comfortable fit, stretch denim is blended with a small percentage of spandex or elastane. This type of denim has more flexibility and is ideal for making fitted clothing like skinny jeans or leggings.

Understanding the type of denim fabric you need will help you make an informed decision based on your project requirements.

Check the Fabric Composition

Denim fabric is typically made from cotton, but many variants are blended with other fibres to alter their texture and functionality. Common blends include:

Cotton and Polyester: This combination increases durability and wrinkle resistance.

Cotton and Spandex: As mentioned, this blend provides stretch and is ideal for clothing that needs a bit of flexibility, like jeans or fitted skirts.

Pure Cotton: Pure cotton denim is breathable and soft, ideal for garments that need to be comfortable and natural.

Make sure to check the fabric composition listed on the online store to ensure it matches your desired qualities for the project.

Consider the Color and Wash

Denim comes in various colours, from classic indigo to lighter washes and even coloured denim. Consider the look you're going for:

Indigo or Raw Denim: This is the traditional, dark blue denim that fades over time and gives your garments a unique patina.

Washed Denim: Lighter and softer, washed denim is treated to give it a faded look and feel. It’s great for creating a relaxed, casual appearance.

Coloured Denim: Available in a variety of colours, coloured denim is perfect for those looking to create something more vibrant and eye-catching.

When shopping online, ensure that the colour and wash of the denim fabric meet your expectations by reviewing product photos and descriptions.

Check the Fabric’s Durability and Quality

Denim quality can vary significantly from one supplier to another. Pay close attention to the fabric’s weight and texture to gauge its durability. A heavier weight indicates a stronger fabric, while a lighter weight might be more suitable for casual wear.

Make sure to read product reviews and ratings if available, as they can provide insights into the fabric’s quality and whether it matches the description provided by the seller.

Understand the Price Range

Denim fabric prices vary based on the quality, type, and supplier. While you may find affordable options, be wary of extremely low-priced denim, as it might be of inferior quality. If you’re working on a large project, it’s worth investing in higher-quality denim to ensure longevity and a professional finish.

Choosing the best denim fabric online in Nigeria requires careful consideration of the fabric type, composition, colour, durability, and price. By understanding these factors and doing thorough research, you can make an informed decision to buy from JayBecks Store and ensure that your denim project turns out beautifully. With the right fabric in hand, you can create stylish and durable garments that are sure to impress. Call 0908 146 6711 to place your order.

[onlinegoldjdewellery]

How to Style Your Outfits with Gold Jewellery

Gold jewellery is a timeless accessory that adds a touch of elegance to any outfit. Whether you're dressing up for a special occasion or simply want to elevate your everyday look, gold jewellery can make a big difference.

Matching jewellery with your outfit can be tricky, but with the right tips, it's easy! Choose pieces that complement your clothing's colour and style. Mix and match to create balance and avoid over-accessorising. Remember, the right jewellery can make your outfit shine and highlight your personal style effortlessly.

Here’s how you can style your outfits with gold jewellery, making the most of some of the best pieces from Hazoorilal Jewellers’ e-shop, one of the best online gold jewelry stores.

Keep It Simple with Gold Earrings

Gold earrings are versatile and can be worn with almost any outfit. Whether you prefer studs, hoops, or danglers, you can buy gold earrings online from Hazoorilal Jewellers’ e-shop. For a casual day out, pair simple gold studs with jeans and a cute top. If you're heading to a formal event, choose elegant danglers or hoops to complement your dress. Remember, gold earrings can add a subtle sparkle that enhances your natural beauty.

Elevate Your Look with Gold Bangles

Gold bangles are perfect for adding a bit of glamour to your wrists. When you're doing gold bangles online shopping, look for designs that match your personal style. For everyday wear, opt for thin, simple bangles that can be stacked together. Gold bangles can be paired with both traditional and modern outfits, making them a versatile accessory in your jewellery collection.

Make a Statement with a Gold Necklace

A gold necklace can be the main attraction of your attire. When you buy a gold necklace set online from Hazoorilal Jewellers’ e-shop, you have many beautiful designs to choose from. For a chic look, wear a delicate gold chain with a small pendant.

Layering for a Trendy Look

Layering is a popular trend that can add depth and interest to your outfit. Start with a simple gold necklace and add longer chains with different pendants. This technique works well with both casual and formal outfits. When layering, make sure each piece of jewellery is visible and contributes to the overall look.

Final Thoughts

Gold jewellery is a must-have in any wardrobe. It’s versatile, elegant, and timeless. By shopping at Hazoorilal Jewellers’ e-shop, one of the best online gold jewelry stores, you can find the perfect pieces to enhance your style. Start styling your outfits with beautiful gold jewellery today and shine with confidence!

[prismaticstreams]

Finding your voice and style as an artist

There's a great deal of advice out there about how to find your voice and style as an artist, but it doesn't necessarily address the why question.

If you primarily create art as a passion, finding a recognisable style doesn't really matter that much. You are free to explore and experiment as much as you want! However, if you want to turn you art into a business and make an income, then developing a consistent brand is more likely to be successful.

Of course, some people want a consistent style for other reasons - for example, they want to become well known and recognisable, but aren't particularly interested in creating an income. Also, specialising in one style or medium can give you the opportunity to excel and build your skill set. Sometimes focusing on one thing can be more fulfilling and rewarding. Everyone is different!

Many artists do a bit of both. They might have one or two art styles that they create primarily for income, and then experiment with others in their spare time. Often they will use separate social media accounts with different names to distinguish them.

There are even successful artists who create in more than one style, such as The Naked Pastor who creates comics about religion and politics, but also paints delicate watercolour landscapes. While choosing only one style is often simpler for marketing purposes, you don't have to limit yourself.

So before you go any further, you have to find your why.

The tricky thing about finding your voice and style is that it needs to be narrow enough to be consistent and recognisable. Yet it also needs to be expansive enough to allow for growth, variety and experimentation. Finding this balance is easier said than done, for most of us. We don't want to get bored and stuck just making the exact same thing over and over!

I found this perspective from Michelle Gaugy very insightful:

"Ultimately, you must decide what kind of career you wish to have. It takes many years to develop a mature style and many years to get that style presented to and accepted by a demanding public. Simultaneously, you must continue to grow artistically. The tightrope you must walk is how to maintain your artistic integrity and growth and still have a recognizable style that meets the needs of your collectors. This is a very difficult and tricky thing to accomplish.

There is great risk involved. Greater risk can result in greater payoff - but it can also result in failure. The art world is littered with the bones of failed artists. Only you can develop the acute sensitivity required to determine “how much risk” and “how much change” will work for you at any given time. But I will suggest to you that you must always do this in the context of the larger question: What is it that you wish from your art career in total?"

Here are some tips which have helped me with this. I will freely admit, I haven't got it all figured out yet! I'm still learning and growing as an artist myself.

One: If you're a student or beginner, don't worry about finding your style. This is the time to experiment and explore, and it will stifle your creativity if you try to narrow it down prematurely. Often your style will unfold organically over time, as you find what you enjoy most. Be playful and have fun with it!

Two: I would recommend working in a series, for example a series of 10-15 works base on a particular theme or idea. This can help tie your work together. Creating in a series also works well if you want to put on an exhibition.

Try sticking with one medium and a consistent colour palette for a while, as this will tie your work together visually. Or if you prefer to change your colour palette, try a consistent subject matter, e.g. landscapes, nudes, animals, etc.

Alternatively, you could tie your work together thematically, by focusing on a particular idea or concept such as climate change, indigenous rights, etc.

Three: Look at your favourite artists for inspiration and ideas. Find 3-5 artists you admire, and write down what elements you like best in their work. For example, do you like the colour? The texture? The linework? What emotional impact does it have? You can combine these elements in a new and unique way as you cultivate your own style and voice.

Four: What kind of process do you enjoy the most? Many of us focus on what kind of art appeals to us aesthetically, and what we prefer to look at. That's an important consideration to begin with. Yet I find it more helpful to consider, what actually feels good to make? What processes do I enjoy? If you enjoy the actual creative process, it will be far more sustainable.

Five: My final and most important piece of advice is to be patient with yourself. It's normal to feel lost, confused and unsure on your artistic journey. You don't have to figure everything out immediately! So if you have no idea what your style and voice is, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Trust and have faith that it will unfold and become clearer with time. Always give yourself compassion.

Further Resources:

Find Your Artistic Voice by Lisa Congdon

How to Find Your Style: A Guide for Artists

How Do I Find My Art Style? Artprof

[nineventures3]

What are the challenges faced when you go with bespoke products

With the increasing necessity to be seen and remembered, the need for creating distinctive and bespoke wares is on the rise. Bespoke products are the key to offering a unique experience for HORECA guests and help your hospitality establishment stand apart from the competition.

But going bespoke presents its own set of challenges. In this blog, we list the most prominent among those challenges and the means to overcome them.

Challenges faced when you go with Bespoke products

Design

Designing the product is the first challenge when you choose to go bespoke. Conceptualising the product, adding unique touches that make it bespoke while keeping the utility and ease-of-use value high can be a bit tricky. Also, material selection and finish also have a direct bearing upon the durability of the product.

The right decor and tableware partner can make a difference here. They will work with you right from the initial stages of product planning, through to the manufacture, delivery and even offer after sales support! Your feedback is solicited at all stages and together with their knowledge and expertise, the right product for the right application is developed. It is a team effort all through.

Nine Ventures offers bespoke products in various designs and styles. The finish of the product is optional and the products can be created in various colours and sizes. Be it size, shape, colour, finish or design – anything and everything can be customised to align with the theme and design requirements of the customers. We work hard with our partners to come up with designs that are unique to individual clients and help you gain an edge over the competition. Our product development department will work with you and based on your suggestions and inputs we will suggest and supply your project with customised accessories that will help you improve the efficiency of your hotel or restaurant.

Order Quantity

Another challenge that faces you when you go bespoke is the minimum order quantity that is needed to create a unique product. In most cases, though the cost might seem reasonable, you will be left with a ton of products that you will never find a use for! While this may seem like an unreasonable condition, it is not without reason. Most bespoke products’ manufacturers insist on a minimum order quantity, in order to absorb the costs involved in the design and manufacture process. But the minimum order quantity might be just too much for your requirement.

One way to overcome this restriction is to look for a bespoke product developer who offers an optimum balance between costs and quantity. At Nine Ventures, no order is too big or too small for us. Be it tens, hundreds or thousands, we are ready to service your requirement.  

Managing Spares

Managing spares is a big headache when you go niche. Suppose your order is a one-time design and in the course of regular wear and tear, your hospitality establishment needs a few spares to replace the product. What do you do? Process another big order?

You can overcome this challenge by factoring in spares during the initial product order. That way, when you need a few spares, you will have them ready. Another idea is to minimise the amount of customisation, so that when the need for a spare arises, you can run a small batch and be done with it.

Nine Ventures is a bespoke solution provider. Our relationship with you does not end with the delivery of the products. It only begins there. It is not just products that we deliver, but also after sales support which make Nine Ventures a very unique bespoke hotel supply company.

Cost

Cost is a major limiter when you go bespoke. Cost escalation happens due to time and effort involved in designing, R&D, prototyping, manufacturing and testing. It is an inevitable part of customisation.

The long term benefits that you gain from going bespoke far outweigh the initial investment. Customisation is not cost – it must be viewed as an investment. It works as your brand’s advertiser.

Why Nine Ventures?

The hospitality sector all over the world has embraced customisation. Though product customisation offers instant brand impression advantage, it is also challenging and difficult for implementation – if you do not have the right partner.

At Nine Ventures, we understand that guests are the driving force behind your hospitality establishment. Their happiness and satisfaction is the prime focus of your hotel or restaurant. As a bespoke accessories and amenities supplier, we develop innovative, bespoke products that increase the convenience of stay and create a memorable experience for your guests. If you are in the mood to upgrade the ambience of your hotel or restaurant, your search ends at Nine Ventures. Our cost-effective solutions enable you to improve the efficiency of your hotel or restaurant. There is no limit to the quantity of products ordered either – no order is too small for us. We approach our clients like a solutions provider rather than a supplier. We work closely with you to meet and exceed your expected requirements. Quality has always been, and will always be our prime focus. We know that we are representing the reputation of your brand. We therefore have stringent quality standards and inspections in place, under which all products need to go through before being dispatched.

To know more: https://www.nineventures.ae/what-are-the-challenges-faced-when-you-go-with-bespoke-products/

[iacomary97]

Being your first attempt is really good, but since it was asked I could add something to the table.

One suggestion I could make is on the color choice. The line that surrounds each feature should be imho or in black, or if you prefer it being in color, I'd get a way darker color on the same or similar hue of what the line encloses it...

I'll share some examples down...

I would never correct someone's art because each artist gives something original in each piece they do. So I did it in my style while using the colours in the picture above.

Then I'd work a bit on the lines. It's something that you will improve naturally while drawing a lot in this style, but the lines can be made more fluid. On the hair contour line you did a very good job. The shoulder lines and lapels on the jacket could be improved.

Also, the colours you chose for the outline are very colourful, fun, and nice, i see what you wanted to do there, but when used on the outline it becomes risky and very tricky. You have to find a nice balance between fun and colourful, without losing in legibility in the picture, and too wide color hue contrasts. So I personally would try and use the color inside the lines instead of outside. But art is creative, so maybe there is a solution where you could actually use them in the outline without creating weird contrasts.

Hope this helps.

Also, as you can see I placed down a palette. It really helps visualize how all the colours work together and it's really fast to fix them in case, while you work. (I mean it depends what app/program you're using too)

I would like a game in pixel art about Doctor Who too 🥰

I'm not saying I'd like to see doctor who as this style of game, but I'm actually saying I'd like to see doctor who as this style of game :3

Also i have next to nothing in terms of experience w pixel art, so constructive critisism is always welcome

( Inspired by that one SNES doctor who theme on youtube! :] )

[stormflute]

I've been having a bit of art block lately so I figured a small drawing would do me some good. Thus, I took a gander at older Flora ^.^

[daphnedauphinoise]

A while back there were some tumblr discussions on the nuances/differences of discrimination between us vs the uk (and really everywhere else) and I really appreciated your takes/insights on it. As an American born-raised desi, would it be alright to ask what the experience is like in Britain? Also, is there a lot of difference being Afghani vs Indian vs Pakistani vs Nepali etc in how women are perceived in social or work spaces? I was considering studying/working abroad and wondered where my blind spots were, to make balanced and thoughtful choices. If you'd prefer a dm convo or this isn't an ask you're feeling then no worries. Much respect on individual space and privacy. Thanks for reading 💕 💕 (ps. how is LOLITA?!?!? anybody's favorite novel?!?! not acceptable/deeply troubling)

Hi hi

Obvi I haven't lived in America so I can't do a thorough unbiased report back but I can say that I have been exposed to enough variety of American media to get a grasp of what it is like there. So with that disclaimer in mind, let's rock and roll.

The Asian British Experience is something different to the American experience. Straight off the bat, the main difference in America the term Desi only includes Pakistani Indian and Bengali dispora whereas in the UK, Desi includes Nepal and Sri Lanka. There is a big more of the good old subcontinent togetherness here vs in America. If you are South Asian you are South Asian, there isn't any nitpicking.

The UK is tiny compared and when you look at just many South Asian we have compared to the general population, it is a lot a lot. Our culture is very integrated here in the UK. You average Brit knows a decent bit about South Asia and South Asian culture/history. South Asians are regarded the model minority. We aren't going to go into the whole model minority minority myth thing here but I am not going to lie, it does work in our favour. For example, schools here work on catchment or exam sitting. And back when I lived in England there was a huge problem of South Asian students being picked over Black students to be in certain better schools. As a south asian, along with other Asians we were definitely treated different to other poc in terms of the ease of which subjects we were allowed to pick, who got sent to competitions simply because we are Asians.

Do we have colourism and racism within the South Asian society?

Ye lol. But like I always say the UK, unlike America has the problem of classim. So rich south asian treat poorer south asian far worse than I have seen white people treat south asians.

North Indians, here, have a bad rep for being rude to other south asians which is something every Desi will agree on lol

Colourism is slightly tricky. That will take more explanation.

Working as a Desi in the UK?

All south asians get lumped as one. This isn't necessarily because people just see us as one ( which people do but we are all neighbours and it isnt wrong to say our cultures are similar). Again the model minority thing comes to play and we have those advantages over other poc.

I cant speak too much on work life because I havent had a office job yet but I did have ask my sisters And this is what she said.

'When people find out you are South Asian, there is an automatic pressure of being perceived as highly skilled. You are expected to the best at your job and mistakes are frowned upon because you are south asian, you are smart'

I am still waiting for a response from my other sister who arguably has a better insight because she has worked at a top job in one of the biggest companies.

Off topic but my other sister from another mister pointed out that as a highly educated South Asian women, dating becomes incredibly harder. Your dating pool gets smaller and people become more intimated by you.

I could go on and on about being South Asian in the UK. Being British South Asian vs being a FOB South Asian. The expectations. Our impact on culture here.

But the UK is a brilliant place for South Asians. We have enough of our own people for you here lol. No but genuinely, all it will take for you to settle well here is to make friends with one South Asian and the rest will come easy. There is mutual rule of 'support other south asians' that Desis follow here so you will be fine here. We have people in high places everywhere here so networking is easy peasy.

Feel free to dm me if you want i dont mind,

Much Love

Daphne

Edit : READ the comments.

My mutual @sweetsop has raised very good point there. I realised I didnt include the Hindu vs Muslim thing. Racism between Hindus and Muslims is most definitely a thing but in this day and age it is mostly just the older generation and FOB ( fresh of the boat aka immigrants ). My generation is quite good with the religious differences, like ten years ago Hindus and Muslims would not have been friends and there was so much shit between the two groups.

I should also add, it isn't sushine and rainbows here. You will experience racism here but that comes with being a minority anywhere. POC against POC racism is quite prominent. White people are racist here too but depending on where you live, its whatever. I have heard far worse from POC than from white people.

( I am also slightly tipsy rn so please pardon whatever this sporadic mess is )

[steveroger]

Colouring rainbow gifs

The lovely @buckiecap​ and @djarsdin​​ requested a tutorial of some gifs from this TFATWS rainbow set.

My colouring process is kinda chaotic and it always depends on the gif itself. These three gifs will highlight the similarities and differences in how I colour my rainbow gifs.

You’ll need some understanding of basic gif making and adjustments. I use Photoshop 2021 but I imagine these processes will still work in other versions.

Some basic tips:

When doing rainbow sets, once I've got my base gif ready, I always make a hue/saturation layer on saturation +100 so I can see what colours I'm working with. I just keep it hidden so i can check how my colours are doing throughout the editing process.

Also something to stick at the back of your mind: you want your final gif to be as “monochromatic” as possible - make sure your final palette will be only black + shades of whatever colour you're targeting. This is not only to make the gif as colour-focussed as possible, but it also helps with saving your gif under 10mb. That saturation +100 layer I always keep hidden at the bottom of my gif so I can keep an eye on what colours are present.

It’s also helpful to understand how RGB and CMYK colours work and what to add/subtract when you want to bring out a certain colour. A good example of this is with Colour Balance:

You’ll notice the colours on the left are Cyan, Magenta and Yellow (CMYK), while the other side is Red, Green and Blue (RBG). So if you want more cyan in your image, you’d push the bar towards cyan, but then you’re compromising the reds. In Selective Colour adjustments, the panel is reversed.

This knowledge is absolutely necessary when you’re doing any adjustment, so keep this in the back of your mind as I work through the tutorial.

Green gif - Eli's door

So I start with my hue/saturation on saturation +100 to check what I’m working with here. This gif of Isaiah's grandson opening the door has green, yellow and red as the dominant colours, and I can see a bit of cyan on the right. I’ll keep that hue/saturation layer hidden as a reference.

Normally when I make gifs I start with a curve or levels layer to get any unwanted hues or create a more visible scene. But in this gif, I'm pretty happy with the colours, so I'm just using a simple curves adjustment, because I want to have whatever is behind the door as the ‘background’ and the door frame is the ‘foreground’, so only a slight adjustment is needed here.

Since the colours are already prominent, I'm going to make the green more visible and vibrant. I do this by using selective colour in the green colour to make the green stand out. When thinking of CMYK adjustments, you might think that Magenta -100 would work, as that normally pushes the greens, but I find that this makes things grainy and patchy looking, as you can see here:

Instead, I’m enhancing cyans and yellows, and only pushing the magenta back just a little bit towards green. I’m not sure why green specifically does this, but it’s useful to know this when you’re colouring.

With the yellows, I want to push those more as well, since the amount of yellow usually influences the green-ness of the gif.. I'm also going to max yellow too since that will also make the green pop, but I also have to be careful not to distort the skin colour too much. I also want to balance the skin tone with a little redness so he doesn’t look like he has jaundice (skin tone will be explored later in the gif process)

I've added another selective colour layer on top of that, only adjusting the greens just to make it pop a little more. Don’t be afraid to use more than one selective layer, this can really bring out vibrant colours if you use it right.

Just to get some more depth, I add a colour balance layer, again just subtly pushing the cyan and yellow up and not playing with the green too much. Then my usual last layers are with a vibrance and brightness/contrast - I’m usually quite generous with contrast so I can bring out the different shades and it makes things a little more vibrant too.

This next step is really important when colouring people with dark skin - you want to lower the redness from their skin so they don't look unnaturally orange, as you can see here:

There is a fantastic tutorial here about colouring dark skin tones and avoiding the orange-washed look, and I recommend all gif makers to take note! It's difficult especially when doing rainbow gifs, and it takes some practice. I do this with a hue/saturation layer, and specifically targeting red and yellow and reducing saturation. I might need to play with selective colour or colour balance to get it right. Luckily Eli doesn’t move around too much, so I can use a mask to adjust only his face. 

And that’s the end product! now just ignore me as I re-upload the green gif in my set so you don’t see such a horrible jaudiced skin tone sldkfjsldkf

Yellow gif - Karli vs Sam

I'm gonna be completely honest here - this gif was very tricky to do. I actually have about three different versions of it. At first I thought "this is the yellow gif so I'm only going to have yellow tones", and did selective colour to get rid of any traces of green AND red, because I didn't want any orange at all. It ended up looking quite dull:

I mean.. yeah it’s yellow........... but it’s kinda boring. So I deleted all adjustments and watched the raw gif, and noted the orange light contrasting with the pale light. The raw gif itself already had some beautiful lighting - why get rid of it? It depends on what you want, but I like my rainbow gifs to have a different colour there to contrast with the main colour. 

Starting off with a hue/saturation layer with saturation 100+, I can see there are clearly yellows and reds and a bit of green on the ceiling. 

I thought the contrast of the orange and pale lighting was too good to mess up so I started with that. My first layers are vibrance and brightness/contrast to exaggerate the silhouettes and bring out the colours that are already there. 

I added a channel mixer layer to narrow down the colours. I wanted to fill the white bits with yellow, and with channel mixer I’m able to manipulate colours into something else while still looking natural and blended. I won’t be doing too much colour manipulating here so the settings are very minimal. I don’t know how to explain it but it just takes a little fiddling to figure out what works for your gif. You’ll notice the white reflections on the ceiling are now a solid yellow colour:

Next is a colour balance layer. I'm basically trying to bring out the yellow out. This is really just trial and error. I added a bit of magenta to bring the depth of the orange colours in the darker shades:

Now for selective colour. I'm often adjusting all of these while hiding/showing the hue/saturation layer I have kept at the bottom. This time, I’m aiming to subtract the reds and bring it down to a warm orange, and I do that by bringing it towards cyan/away from red, and away from magenta/towards green. 

Then I max out the yellows so it becomes the most dominant colour. I've also manipulated the green to make sure it is excluded from the gif - again, checking with the hue/saturation layer at the bottom, while keeping my eye on the ceiling and other places where I’ve noticed green lurking about. I don’t want any unwanted shades ending up in the final colour table.

Finally, I finish with yet another vibrance and brightness/contrast layer, just because I like things bright and vibrant!

And there it is! The orange is still there and adds a contrast, but you can tell that the main colour is the yellow. This gif seems very straightforward but I assure you, it took me quite a while to get this one right. This gif was a joy to work on because Sam was so very extra in this fight sequence lolll

Pink gif - suspicious mechanical grenade? idk

While this gif may look simple, it actually took a couple of tries before I got the colouring right. You'll notice when the ball activates, there is a bright green light that highlights the gas released and it reflects on the chair legs and carpet.

At first I tried this with the above mentioned selective colour method - which I thought turned out okay but it didn't sit with me right. Notice the reflection of the blue light on the carpet - it definitely isn't blue and more like a green-orangey kinda colour, and it doesn't look natural at all.

So I re-started from the beginning and had a look at what I’m working with, starting with hue/saturation at saturation +100. I can see that the original gif has red and green as the dominant colours, with yellow bits blending the two on the carpet. That’s what I was having issues with the selective colour - so I’ll be doing it differently. 

Enter: channel mixer. I’m gonna be honest............. I have ZERO idea how the channel mixer really works! It’s all a matter of trial and error, but I’ll try and explain my process step by step. 

I normally start in the blue channel (again - no idea why, it just works for me). I start with the reds, and I know if I go over 0, it will push the reds towards cyan, which will get it more purple-y:

Ooooh looking good!!! then I want to push the greens towards magenta, so that needs to go over 0 as well:

Woohoo! It’s already starting to look good. The green light and the way it blends into the red/pinks have all been completely changed into the cyan hues, so there’s a perfect reflection you can see on the carpet! Yay! I had a fiddle with the green and red channels but nothing too drastic. Here are the settings:

Even with just the single adjustment, I was already pretty happy with it and only did a few touch ups: I added a selective colour layer to bring out a more pinky-purpley colour, then a levels layer to brighten things up. It might seem very backwards to add a brightening tool at the end, but I didn’t want to mess up the original colour shades because I liked having the dark shadows lit up by the ball’s light.

And that’s it! Only three adjustment layers, but it took some time to play with the different adjustments and what worked best. Channel mixer can be really intimidating but it works like a charm when you manage to figure it out.

the end!

Finally I have to give credit to some amazing content creators and their brilliant colouring tutorials that have made such a huge impact in the way I edit. Some brilliant guides include:

this colouring tutorial by @favreaus​​ 

this colouring tutorial by @inejz-ghafa​​ 

this colouring tutorial by @meliorn​​

​I hope this tutorial has been helpful! I’ve tried to explain myself as best I can, but let me know if you’d like any clarification or have any questions. I’m still learning how to do things, and honestly most times it’s just randomly clicking things until something works out! 

[iztarshi]

Identity and Hua Cheng

I’ve been trying to write this one for a while only to be stymied by the fact that Hua Cheng deliberately obscures his identity to such an extent that it’s difficult for readers to get a solid grip on. Hua Cheng’s identity, as he presents it to the world, is smoke and mirrors. He’s a shapeshifter who doesn’t use his true form, all his names are equally false, and his insincere smile and presentation of himself as acting on a whim obscures what he actually means seriously. Hua Cheng is a butterfly trying to hide that he was ever a caterpillar and to that end anything that relates to his past in any way comes with layers of misdirection.

What he hides, though, is who Hua Cheng is, not that he is Hua Cheng. His symbols and colours are consistent enough that everyone meeting him usually knows who he is. For instance, in the gambling hall they’ve never seen his true skin before but find it unremarkable he’s wearing a new one. Nor does it give them any difficulty in recognising him.

It’s only around Xie Lian that he actually tries to disguise himself and even then it doesn’t seem as if he’s trying very hard. He’s just trying to be non-threatening and that’s tricky if you present yourself as a ghost king.

*

Xie Lian

Hua Cheng’s love for Xie Lian is at the core of who he is. As a ghost it’s his driving obsession, even as a human it shaped him. Xie Lian once told Hua Cheng “live for me” and Hua Cheng took him precisely at his word.

It’s not something Hua Cheng advertises, though, at least not before Xie Lian himself is back in the picture. If he decided to make it obvious then, given his general level of subtlety, everyone in the three realms would know. It’s not that he’s ashamed to love Xie Lian, although he might feel like Xie Lian should be ashamed to be loved by him. Mostly, I think, it’s just too close and vulnerable a thing for Hua Cheng to let other people near. He Xuan and Yin Yu seem to know, but before Xie Lian’s visit to ghost city (where Hua Cheng was not subtle at all) that seems to be it.

Despite keeping it to himself Hua Cheng does surround himself with symbols that evoke Xie Lian in ways discernable only to him. The coral pearl. The butterflies for someone seeking a flower-crowned god. The scimitar because Xie Lian said he should use one. The red umbrella because Xie Lian once gave him one.

He also acts on Xie Lian’s words - perhaps because they had so few interactions he tends to put a lot of weight on every one of them before getting to know Xie Lian as more of a person. Someone else’s meta suggested that Ghost City is at least partly a reaction to Xie Lian saying that things like the ghost lanterns should be sold in a specialised place to people who know what they’re getting - and Ghost City very much runs on those lines. Hua Cheng’s approach to the 33 gods he challenged was likely not just revenge but because Xie Lian said they were bullies who didn’t deserve to be gods.

*

Maio Heritage

There isn’t much attention drawn to this in the book - I think MXTX was worried about the implications? - but Hua Cheng’s use of silver jewellery points to this. Some of the motifs he uses, like the butterflies, have roots in maio culture as well as symbolic connections to Xie Lian.

It’s a shame we don’t get more of this, because it’s implies a choice on Hua Cheng’s part to reclaim a heritage he seems to have lost his connection to as a human. The jewellery is part of his ghost king persona, part of the self he crafted and chose to be.

*

Red

An important colour for Hua Cheng and one he seems to have reclaimed after people reviled him for his red eye. The eye itself is turned into a weapon, its curse into something under his control (... somewhat, E-ming is a wilful sword). The colour is worn almost as a warning, reclaiming the implications as well as the colour itself. Yes, seeing him probably is going to fuck you over. Yes, he is evil and demonic. He’s a ghost king! What are you going to do about it?

*

Wealth and Beauty

Hua Cheng is rich. He has a ridiculous amount of things which he doesn’t seem to care about at all beyond having.

Hua Cheng’s forms are always beautiful, to the point he’s referred to as appearing as “a seductive woman” despite having zero intention of ever seducing anyone except Xie Lian.

These are also the things he lacked as a child. Things he was ashamed of lacking - he hates the ugly, wretched child he used to be.

*

Lone Wolf?

This is one where he says he is but he is not. He grew up with no one on his side, ostracised by everyone, and it’s made him determinedly self-sufficient. He won’t let anyone have power over him and he keeps people at a careful distance, but he doesn’t actually like being alone.

With the ghosts of ghost city his bark is decidedly not worse than his bite but he does always bark before biting. They can mess around with him as much as they like up until he says “scram” - and then they are gone.

Having He Xuan in his debt seems like a way to keep the power balance on his side in a relationship that’s a bit more friendly than he intended to let it get. I strongly suspect he’s not getting paid back.

While Xie Lian’s not snarly about it, he’s also inclined to claim he’s fine on his own when he actually doesn’t like being alone at all. Put them together and no wonder they’re incredibly clingy.