#I love the super saturated red looks awesome

[hp-hcs]

Yandere Theo & Enzo x male muggle reader

Where they both go out one night to see what the outside of the wizarding world is like and bump into a muggle (the reader) who lets them stay at his house and shows them around, thinking they’re tourists.

But they fall madly in love with him and now when they have to go back to hogwarts they kidnap him and take him with them.

The reader is stuck in their room, a spell cast where he can’t leave and he’s freaking out.

+ can they be like super touchy with him and affectionate and possessive and he’s just thinking that it’s like a normal thing from “whatever country they’re from”

T h a n k s (:

OH i wish i had a tenth of the imagination y’all have i mean cmon y’all be out here bringing the most well thought out ideas and my fics are all just like “l i ght hu ose 👍🥰👍”

oh also i don’t speak italian so if i fucked up that’s why lmfao i took fucking latin in high school, not anything actually useful 🥲

requests open!

BIC — yandere! enzo berkshire x male! muggle! reader x yandere! theodore nott

warnings: kidnapping/abduction, infatuation (?), implied tobacco use

(also ik they wouldn’t be using US dollars but shhhh)

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“Oh, Merlin, my father is going to kill me-”

“Relax,” Theo rolled his eyes, a bit winded from Apparating. “Think of it as just a… fifteen minute excursion. Tops.”

“Right, tops,” Enzo mumbled anxiously, rubbing his freezing hands together as another gust of snow blew past.

As he stamped his feet in an attempt to get feeling back into his frigid lower limbs, Enzo looked through the windows of the damned store Theo just had to show him. (There’s this one boy there, Enz, and he’s just gorgeous. You gotta see him.)

Large posters dominated most of the windows, advertising things Enzo had never heard of before, like whatever a ‘Monster Java’ and ‘Geekvape’ was. Stacked outside the store was an entire shelving unit of something called ‘propane’.

Through the windows, Enz could see rows upon rows of candy, chips, snacks, sodas, all in obnoxiously saturated colored packaging. A buzzing neon sign that hurt to look at flashed the word OPEN in blue and red.

This store was awesome.

Lorenzo looked up at the half burnt-out sign above the door that proclaimed this magically wonderful place to be the shop of ‘Jacksons’.

A small bell chimed when Theo pulled open the door, startling Enzo. He followed his much more confident friend inside the store, looking around with wide eyes.

Theodore stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, leaning in to whisper into his ear.

“Okay, the guy I was telling you about? He’s kind of under the impression that I’m like, a tourist from out of the country, and that’s why we’re so unfamiliar with their wares. If he asks, we’re Italian exchange students and only speak shitty English, got it?”

Enzo nodded. As if on cue, a ‘Jacksons’ employee popped up out of seemingly nowhere, startling the fuck out of him.

“Hiya, Theodore!”

The employee—a boy around their age, maybe seventeen at the most—was unusually chipper for 10PM on a Sunday.

This must be the guy.

“Who’s your friend here, Theodore?” You asked, smiling.

“Hello, Y/N! This is Lorenzo.”

“Hello,” Enzo greeted softly, his cheeks flushed pink from the snowstorm outside (and that’s the only reason, Theo, stop laughing.)

“Can I help you boys find anything or’re y’all just looking around?”

Enzo couldn’t look away from you. How small you seemed in comparison to his awkwardly lanky height, the way the harsh fluorescents cast dramatic shadows of your eyelashes across your cheekbones, the light blush on the tips of your ears as you looked at Theodore.

Theodore.

He’d said your name. You’d said his name. You knew each other?

How often does he fucking come here? Enzo wondered, a sharp stab of jealousy running through him.

“Cigarettes,” Theo said immediately, exaggerating his usually undetectable accent to an honestly ridiculous amount. Enzo bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at his friend’s ridiculousness.

You just smiled and ducked behind the counter. “Same as last time, or’re you trying something new?”

“Same, please. And un accendino, please,” Theo made a clicking motion with his thumb, indicating a lighter.

You nod, easily pulling down a pack of Marlboro Red without a second thought.

How often does he come here? Enzo wondered for a second time. Enough that you know his favorite kind of cigarette.

“Cheap lighter or d’you wanna go fancy?”

“Cheap, please.”

“Alrighty, one BIC lighter coming up for ya,” you grabbed a lighter off the back wall behind the counter, setting it down by the cash register.

Enzo couldn’t help himself as he stared at the bright blue chunk of… what did Muggles call it again? Plastic.

“Bic?”

You glanced up at his timid voice, shooting him a grin that was just a bit friendlier than the classic customer-service smile. “BIC. It’s just the brand. They make cheap lighters and also pens, for some reason.”

Enzo wanted to ask what a ‘pen’ was, but he had a feeling that that was a terrible idea.

“$7.98. Cash, I assume?”

Theo, for the first time, genuinely faltered, cringing apologetically as he laid down the mess of all-identical green papers on the countertop.

You smiled patiently, plucking one paper out of the spread and pushing a few buttons on the cash register, then returning two papers and a handful of coins to a baffled Theo.

Fucking Muggles, with their impossible-to-memorize currency.

“Damn. It’s really coming down out there,” you shook your head as you peered out the front window of the store, waiting for the long white piece of paper to stop moving from the odd humming machine that sat next to the cash register. “Where’re y’all staying? I don’t think you guys should try to drive home in this.”

They follow your gaze, eyes widening when they see how high the snow has risen. The storm had gotten much, much worse.

“Hey- where is your car, anyway? The parking lot’s empty,” your eyebrows furrowed as you turned back to them with a quizzical face.

Enzo mentally panicked. He knew the word ‘car’—he probably heard it while only half-paying attention in Muggle Studies—but he couldn’t for the life of him remember what a ‘car’ was.

“We walked,” Theo said quickly, jumping in and taking hold of the conversation.

“You walked?” You asked, clearly horrified. “No, no. I can’t in good conscience let you two walk back in this. Haven’t you seen the weather? It’s supposed to be like, nearly a blizzard! Worst snowstorm of the decade!”

Lorenzo’s eyes widened.

Muggles could predict the weather? Holy Salazar, his parents might’ve been wrong about Muggles’ intelligence.

You misinterpreted the way his eyes widened. “Listen, this sounds crazy, but would you guys like, consider crashing at my apartment? Just for the night? Maybe the snow’ll clear up overnight.”

Theo opened his mouth to protest, no, really, we couldn’t take advantage of such hospitality, Y/N, but Lorenzo interrupted.

“We would much like that,” he said firmly. “If it is no problem for you.”

Staying at this hot guy’s apartment for the night? Duh, that’s an obvious yes.

“It’s no problem,” you wave off his concern. “‘sides, wouldn’t want a pair of pretty boys such as yourselves to freeze to death, now would I?”

Theo stiffened and blushed bright red at that, a dopey smile spreading across his face.

Oh Merlin, were you two flirting with each other? Enzo felt that sharp spark of jealousy flare up again in his chest, dampered only by the fact that it was Theo, and not anyone else.

“It’s just right across the street. Lemme close up shop for the night, and we can make a run for it,” you say with finality, ignore Theo’s weak protests.

They watched as you lock the cash register and counter with the practiced ease of someone who had done so many, many times.

You pulled the grate down over the cigarette shelves on the back wall, flicking off the overhead lights and tugging a tiny metal string that made the painfully bright OPEN sign go dark.

“Alright, let’s go,” you said, shooing them out onto the sidewalk, buttoning up your heavy winter coat, and locking the front door.

As you stuffed the keys back into your jeans pocket, Theodore rested his hand on the small of your back.

“Lead the way, bello,” he said with a charming grin. You nodded, smiling at the difference in cultures, wow! and motioning for them to follow you.

The boys followed you in a comfortable silence, shoulders hunched up as they braced themselves against the furiously icy wind.

You all crossed the street, Theodore and Enzo both baffled when a tiny light that looked like a person indicated it was safe to cross.

Your boots clanged on the shaky metal stairs up to the third floor of your apartment building, and your boys followed resolutely.

When they reached the landing, they were met by the image of your rather quaint front door, a tiny, clearly homemade wreath hanging on the center.

“This is it. Not much, I’m afraid,” you sighed, your freezing fingers fumbling with the key as you twisted it in the lock, opening the door for them. You flicked on the lights, illuminating the interior of the small apartment. “Do you guys want tea? Hot chocolate? Coffee, if y’all are psychopaths?”

“Perhaps it is a bit late for coffee,” Theo snickered at your dry humor as he stepped inside. “Tea, if it is not a hassle?”

“‘Course not. Make yourselves at home. My mother won’t be back for hours,” you chatted happily, setting a kettle of water on the stove to boil.

Theodore tentatively sat down at one of the kitchen chairs, looking around the small apartment in surprise. At your reassuring smile, Enzo sat down too, drumming his fingers against the table anxiously.

The kettle whistled after a few minutes, and you poured three mugs of tea, setting them on the table and settling down in one of the empty seats.

Theo reached for one, purposefully brushing his fingers against yours.

After that, it all goes blank.

~~~

Your eyes slowly cracked open, your head pounding and your stomach twisting and turning. You blinked away sleep, rubbing your eyes and yawning as you sat up in bed.

What happened last night?

You startled when your brain finally registers that you’re not in your apartment.

You sat up in a panic, looking around horrified when you don’t recognize your surroundings. The room itself was decorated with an honestly abhorrent amount of green and shiny silver. There were three other beds, identical to the one you were laying in, set up intermittently around the room.

A dorm? You wondered.

A huge window dominated the wall adjacent to the bed you were in, the view on the other side of it oddly distorted and warped.

You leaned in closer, confused, when a tiny yellow fish swam by.

You gasped, and put your hand on the glass to peer out even further.

Were you underwater?

Your amazement was interrupted by a large unidentifiable shadow filling the window. You frowned, your hand drawing back from the glass, when the shadowy shape moved, opening.

A giant fucking eye.

“Jesus fucking-”

You scrambled backwards, falling off of the bed with a yelp. While you fought with the blankets that seemed hell-bent on getting tangled around your legs, the giant eye slowly blinked before the shadowy form started moving again.

A giant squid, you thought with astonishment. There was a giant fucking squid outside of this dorm room’s window.

Finally wrenching yourself free of your blanket prison, you scrambled to your feet and sprinted towards the only door in the room. You jiggled the handle, cursing when it didn’t open.

There wasn’t even a lock, a keyhole, nothing.

How the hell was this door so firmly locked shut then?

Something tacked to the door- actually, there wasn’t a tack either. How was it stuck there?

But what caught your eye was a small scrap of… paper? Parchment? It looked like the paper your art teacher once showed you how to stain with tea.

Who the fuck still writes on parchment? You wondered, scrunching your eyebrows up in confusion as you examined the perfect swoops of calligraphy on the page.

Darling – We’re really sorry for taking you with us (please don’t hate us) and we'll be back here around noon Xoxo, Theo & Enzo (those actually are our real names we promise!!)

((we also might’ve made your mother forget about your existence so she doesn’t try to find you. you’re safe though, don’t worry!))

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

wow! people actually like my stuff enough that i now have a taglist??? (some of y’all weren’t showing up, so lmk if i need to troubleshoot 😭)

@gayaristocrat @slytherinboysappreciation @lemonaderiddle @h-------n @yournogoodalone @knave-hearts @schaebickel @lexacantsleep @big-brother-problems @darkcharmx @cyberbl4de @amandajonhsson @megannxn @catz-80 @ghostiesen @fruityfrog505 @coysa @fruitypebblesstuff @mildlyuninformative @glittervame @cayaevans1 @lizeylavender @cloudydaysinmydreams @ironickarkatlover @ahead-fullofdreams @tachyon-girl @jaythes1mp @lovelyfandomqueen @ashisgreedy

[tiptapricot]

Moon Knight City of the Dead Issue 1… why…?

So. New MK side run has begun, the hyped up full on debut of Layla/new Scarlet Scarab in the comics, with a premise that most writers would twist into an epic and breathtaking journey.

We don’t get that here.

And I have a lot of thoughts on why and how I feel so frustrated with what we got. There’s pieces of something awesome, potential to go to some really fascinating places, and yet it is held back in almost every aspect, creating something messy and clunky that makes me mad to read.

(This is long btw)

First off though, some things I did enjoy!

I really love the art and coloring of this issue. The anatomy and movement and shadows, the stylization of character’s faces and costumes, the sprawling city with its deep reds and blues that feel saturated and weighty. It’s great. Besides a few moments that it comes out of left field with some bad stuff (Layla’s whole face at the end or the MK mask w teeth during the memory slideshow like whaTtt is that), it’s super solid and made for a very enjoyable looking comic.

It was also really fun to see Badr for a little. I think it would’ve been cool to get more, and the pacing of things as I’ll get to later sapped his importance in the story for me some, making him feel more like a prop or a plot device to get it going, but overall it was lovely to see him again. And it was cool to see him being a doctor as well, as we haven’t seen that as recently in MacKay! Always a joy my dear sir please come back soon.

The story in concept. Going to the underworld, detaching a headmate supernaturally to journey to a different plane of reality to save one life, and meeting a dead ally along the way is fascinating stuff, an idea that inspires me to want to explore it myself.

Because (and now it’s time to get into the stuff I didn’t like) the writing doesn’t do this idea justice at all.

This is not the worst MK comic ever rn, not their worst writing. It’s not as violently ableist or antisemitic as things like Bemis or making a joke out of MK like some others, but it’s just stupid, and what it glosses over or gets wrong is weird and uncomfortable and harmful in its own right.

To start this isn’t my Marc. His guilt is not one of punishment for penance, of believing he’s sinned and needs to be washed clean by pain. He is a man stuck in bad coping mechanisms and trying to pretend he’s not. He’s a man who hates himself and uses violence as what I would describe as a form of self harm. But it is not with the goal of erasing his past.

Yes, he runs from the person of Marc Spector, he runs from the idea and the responsibility, but Marc doesn’t try to forget. He holds onto things with a vice grip and never lets himself drop it. He believes in his own mythos and is grappling with his complicated and traumatized history to remember he can love and care and trust people again, that the work of making his life better is not solely on his shoulders. That’s what MacKay’s been dealing with.

MacKay Marc is guilty and self flagellating but in a way he tries not to think about, that he brushes over. He puts on an air of confident collectedness and has more hate for Marc as a concept then specifically his actions, and he’s still able to move forward and find a type of momentum and bravado in the MK suit.

Or in simpler terms: yes Marc has guilt. He does not have this kind of guilt.

The first few pages read so strangely, just this over dramatic spiel that feels more like daredevil than moon knight, like a rehashed dramatic intro to a moody sad 90s comic. And not in a good way. It’s not deep it’s just annoying and tedious and the prose is clunky and again, extremely off in its vibes and message. I think it could’ve been alright, if some of the talk of his guilt had been shifted and the narration hadn’t continued constantly throughout the rest of the issue (which I’ll get to later), but as is in its full context it’s just… weird.

In addition to the weird guilt vibes, there’s further issues with the Khonshu religiosity in this.

Khonshu isn’t something Marc worships, he’s something he uses for his own means. He’ll call on him or talk about being the priest of the mission, but that’s because Khonshu doesn’t have oversight, he’s a tool and form of direction and theming, and at the story’s core Marc is the priest for his mission, not this god’s.

At points in this issue he genuinely sounds dedicated though, and it shifts the flavor of earlier pieces more in line with his usual monologuing to seeming more like strange spiritual devotion. Especially calling Khonshu the greatest of great gods, or saying that him being in the underworld is Khonshu’s mission. It changes his actions from that of Marc to that of a real Khonshu follower and its…. Just weird. It’s all just weird and very ooc.

On top of that, there’s no mention or interrogation or even presence of discussing Judaism alongside all of this. I’m not Jewish myself but have had multiple convos around the topic w those who are n who have made their own posts discussing it and can add on more nuance n info to this should they like (bc more thoughts for discussion are always awesome), but just on a surface level it’s strange. It’s strange to have a plot revolving around going to another belief system’s afterlife and not at all bringing up how it clashes or relates to Jewish beliefs. Yes Marc isn’t really actively practicing anymore but I’d hazard Jake probably is, and Marc has still talked about his connection to his faith and how it’s impacted his time as moon knight and serving Khonshu.

The text treats the Egyptian pantheon belief system as the True and Accepted default here, with Marc not even discussing anything about going to an afterlife he doesn’t belong in (and shouldn’t even have) as a Jewish man, or even thinking about how Badr discussing Ka conflicts with Jewish beliefs on the soul and how Neshamah differ.

And yes, Marc works regularly with the very real Egyptian pantheon and mystical systems but it’s in a different way, and under a different context and understanding by readers of his acceptance of it.

A whole other layer of depth, conflict, and exploration could’ve been added by really digging into the theological implications of this plot, of a Jewish soul in the Egyptian afterlife, and yet it’s not brought up at all, not referenced or mentioned and it makes it all feel weirdly out of place, or like stuff is being glossed over.

That, on top of Jake and Steven (not to mention the entire rest of the main mission cast) being completely absent in mention, consultation, presence, or anything just feeds into this strange sense of Pepose wanting Marc to be the idea he has of him in his head, this guilty, sad, and violent merc serving a moon god with not a ton else. And yes again those are all aspects of Marc, but there is nuance to each of those aspects and treating him as a singlet with no thoughts on the conflicts in faith of his present is… just weird.

I don’t know if he’ll be treated as a singlet the whole run, but the fact that the body’s soul being sent into the afterlife has not already brought in any system conflict at all is an issue. Is it their collective soul? Is it just Marc’s? How does this comic understand alter soul distinction? Has it thought about it at all? I mean the answer is no but the thing is it should’ve.

That’s where so many of my issues with this come from though: choices just being… not good. Not thought out or in line with the characters and world. The writing is off and out of place and gOD THE CONSTANT NARRATION IS GRATING!!

I don’t know why it was chosen for Marc to novel write his thoughts and observations the whole issue but it’s bad. It goes past introducing plots or observations that can’t be shown in text to either:

1. Filling space that doesn’t need to be filled

2. Restating what has just been said or shown in a panel (“we have the power of the four horsemen” “wow they just got the power of the four horsemen”)

3. At worst, telling us stuff that was not indicated at all by anything else (“oh I know something is wrong here even though I have not been given enough reason to pique that suspicion” “oh I reunite with Layla and hold her and take her in but haha you don’t see that ig”)

It’s annoying and makes reading things difficult because he’s blabbering on the whole time in places he DOESNT NEED TO!! And it makes the action and emotional movement feel awkward and forced. I don’t need to know every second of Marc’s thoughts Pepose I can parse out things with my eyes I promise you that. Also can he stop talking about penance for TWO SECONDS!!!

The worst part is narration works when done well! When it highlights things that can’t be shown in art or gives some bits of exploration into feelings or exposition, but we don’t need it in every panel. It actually confused some parts of where to look for me by telling me what was about to happen before it did. Stop being like “I thought it was over but—“ JUST LET US SEE ITS NOT OVER!!

Another moment (similar ish to the start) where the narration would’ve worked for me (if it was not surrounded by just more constant narrating monologue) is when Marc first arrives in the Duat. The prose is pretty, it’s vibrant, it describes things the audience wouldn’t be able to pick up from static pictures and helps to set the scene. The only issue is that it doesn’t stand on its own, it’s not an interjection of observations and thoughts, it’s another entry in the never ending cycle of Marc just talking. And it loses some of its luster because of that.

There’s also just a handful of pieces of either dialogue or thoughts that (in the context of Steven and Jake being absent at the moment despite not being absent at the point in time this should be taking place) make me feel very uncomfortable with Pepose’s vibes on their mental health. Some lines that rubbed me the wrong way in context include “The rage fills within me—and suddenly I have a plan. That said, it would help if my plan wasn’t dangerously insane.” “You know me Badr, mental discipline is my middle name.” And a few similar ones I don’t want to reread again for.

They’re just unnecessary man. We don’t need vaguely or directly ableist vibes in words with MK anymore. It works if it feels like it’s coming from Marc’s internalized ableism IE when he was talking about being called crazy during the discussion with Steven and Jake and Jake called him out for it, but when it’s obvious it’s just how the author sees things it sucks!

Stop using insane, stop using crazy, stop being like “oh I’m so good at keeping myself in check,” WE DONT NEED IT!! ALSO THEY R AT A GENERAL POINT OF SYSTEM COMMUNICATION N HARMONY RN!!

Which also just… man this feels like it’s trying to introduce MK instead of continuing an already established and well under way arc. Yea, this isn’t MacKay writing it, but it’s still in the continuity and set up for his run and like… sorry not sorry but I think you should take that context into account if you’re going to be working within it???

Instead the story props itself up by trying to introduce everything at once and Marc feels like he’s starting from the bottom of development.

And speaking of introducing everything at once! Oh boy the pacing!

No one besides Badr is consulted before Marc goes into the Duat, Badr just. Sends him there. There’s no real build up for why there’s a need go that far, for what the threat is or why Marc would go to these lengths so suddenly. Like yeah I know he wants to save a kid who’s a traveler of the night, but like… Others have died or almost died on his watch and he’s never gone to this point before, even though it seems like it’s always something they’ve had as an option. Like… ok ig if Soldier hadn’t been vamped he would just be dead lmao (though also hey! Why and how do souls end up in this afterlife? Do they have to believe in the gods? Do they have to be in some way tied to the pantheon? Is it just where souls go if they’re near moon knight lmaO? If you want to have your afterlife plot you have to do the worldbuilding for it)

And while yes, a lot of this is because This Plot Wasnt Thought Up During Earlier Parts Of Mackay, it also isn’t introduced in a way that feels natural or makes sense.

Events just Happen. Mysteries or drives are just Said without a good basis for why they’re there. Again, this cult was talked about as just kinda a sadistic gang but then they’re a big deal? And oh the kid is dying and oh he’s worth going to the afterlife for and OH WERE JUST HERE NOW and “oh there’s a conspiracy I’ve decided with no real evidence” and HEY FOUND THE GUY and—Suddenly a whole lot of what is happening. God heart full on cult horsemen of the apocalypse memory flashback and BOMBS NOW APPARENTLY and LAYLA and MK BIG PAST BADDIES BOSS FIGHT INCOMING!!

Like ohhhh my god stuff is so rushed and happens so inorganically and with no time to really understand what’s happening. It’s a type of story where my suspension of disbelief isn’t there and it fully just feels like seeing the writer trying to get to the end goal of what they want to write about (moon knight fighting old villains) as quickly as possible. And it SUCKS! Like this genuinely should’ve been more than one issue, there should’ve been at least sOme more build up to gEtting to the city of the dead in the first place, no matter additionally uncovering a plot of some sort happening and Layla turning up.

It’s just…. It’s so rushed and strange and forced and it didn’t have to be and IT MAKES ME MAD IT IS and it’s just not enjoyable to read. It all feels so shallow and stilted and weird, all while having this underlying idea with so much weight, some generally gorgeous art, some moments that could’ve been really awesome, and last but not least…. Literally a good reference to doing a Duat plot well.

This whole mini run is for MCU synergy, bringing Layla in, exploring the Duat and it’s lore, and again yes, the run isn’t done, but it just…. Compared to the MCU plot for the Duat this feels so…. GraaggHhggh. Especially when it comes to system interaction and exploring different painful memories that effect headmates in different ways.

It’s just. It was an extremely frustrating read from both a technical writing standpoint and a character exploration standpoint, and it worries me and doesn’t excite me at all for future issues. Like we’ll sEe but goddamn this is not a good start no matter how it plays out and it doesn’t give me confidence if it turns out I have to read several more issues of this kind of stuff.

Petty nitpicks speed run because there wasn’t enough enjoyable padding for them to not stand out!

I don’t know if Pepose could’ve specified or not but Marc’s not drinking vodka in the opening scene, it looks more like whiskey or something similar by the bottle, again nailing home how strangely off this Marc is from the Marc he’s meant to be with how Mackay has built him up.

Why do they use Duat and City of the Dead like they’re interchangeable titles it’s just the Duat like I get calling it “the city of the dead” since it is that but like. Let that just b the run title they shouldn’t be calling it that like it’s a final name.

They misspell Dr. Alraune’s name lmao

How did the kid get… hurt..? The only point in the opening fight I can think he maybe got hit was with the gunfire but it didn’t seem like that was aimed towards him and there wasn’t any moment of having a detail in the background showing him get injured. And he wasn’t lethally injured at the start so ???

What… is the continuity between the Hydra vs Karnak Cowboys fight we see in MacKay and the flashback here. They were on an empty road there when they crashed? And now they’re in the heart of the city? AlsO bOMBS???

Anyway all I’ll wrap it up with is when the only thing I genuinely smile at is the cameo and namedrop of Apocalypse you know something is wrong with your story lmaO

[cozroid]

in love with your art. your art style is entrancing. i love how it draws me in. how do you choose/edit colors & backgrounds & shading? what program(s) do you use?

First off - thanks so much!! ;;

I’ll try my best to answer your question even tho my process is pretty random/inconsistent sometimes lol. When I’m ready to color I sometimes make the bg color a darker color instead of white - this just helps me decide what I want for highlights bc a lot of colors look darker to my eyes in comparison to all the white on the screen. I love using mostly muted colors and contrasting those with more bright/saturated colors on things I want to make pop more like the eyes or hair. (I’ll try to do most colors on separate layers so I can use the hue/saturation sliders to adjust individually as I go).

Since I can get carried away with colors, to tie them in together a bit more I’ll add some color overlays - I use a solid super bright color like red or magenta and just have fun with the blending modes and opacity until it’s to my liking. I do all this in Procreate btw, but when I’m done I’ll import into Photoshop to play with colors even more lol (the selective color tool is awesome). Secret tip: it’s fun to use the “color lookup” option in PS and try out the different filters there - sometimes they make the colors even more interesting (I’m all about experimenting with all the tools available lol).

/rant over, hope this is somewhat useful!

[minominq]

Love your coloring and art style 💖 can I ask you a question how you get better at drawing? I'm new (year 2) and struggling with digital art off and on. It's only been two years I'm drawing digitally but I just want to draw better. Like even better. If you have advice or tips, that's awesome. Hopefully it doesn't come off the wrong way. But thanks in advance.

not me forgetting that I had asks on 😭 if you're still interested, here's the (extremely) late response (again, super sorry 😭)

In terms of coloring, there isn't a lot I can say (being a learner as well), but I think seeing how others color can be really interesting! Do they use reddish hues or blueish hues for shades? Or do they use both? I personally use a slightly desaturated salmon pink-ish color with a low opacity (also desaturated) sky-blue. It can help to try out a variety and finding what works for you!

example: (this is an old piece of mine and I used red and blue as my tools for shading)

The same can be said for base colors. For those, I recommend color-studies and seeing how relative colors can influence how you perceive the entire piece. Rather than focus on the colors as separate entities (blue as blue, yellow as yellow), it's really helpful to instead look at it instead as something meant to intermingle with (if that makes any sense 🥲).

In a blue-prevalent piece, straight-up grey might look reddish or even pink. In a purple piece, the skin-tone might look like light-magenta than a peachy color. Yet, when you look at the piece as a whole, it definitely looks like a skin-tone.

example: you can tell that the skin looks like a skin tone, but when you actually pull it out and look at it in comparison to a peachy tone, it's purple! And this is because of the idea of relative colors. Against a white background, a color might seem saturated and dark, but against a dark background, the same color might seem super light.

For lineart (if you do them at all), it might help to experiment with brushes and thickness of lines! Do you prefer boxy lines? Smooth lines? Thick or thin lines? It might seem redundant, but you'll eventually find yourself a style that fits you the best, even if it doesn't seem that way ^^

Another tip I have is that if you have a bunch of artists you really like (whether that be their composition, style, coloring, etc), examine what exactly you like about them and try to imitate it and see how well it works for you! If it doesn't, then that's fine, but if it does, then thats even better!

If you have artist mutuals, do the 'friends' artstyle challenge'! You might learn something interesting that might take your fancy and at the worst, you'll just have more experience under your belt when it comes to style :D

Though it may seem like everyone's saying this and it feels of little use, studies (whether that be pose or coloring) will help a lot! Also, try tracing over those free dynamic pose photos if you want to improve in the aspect of anatomy! Try see where limbs are placed and how they work. It's sort of like seeing the answers to a math question: once you know the answer, you can work backwards to see how to get it :D

Sorry for the delay and super sorry if this isn't of any help at all 😭 Honestly, I don't really know how to do the stuff I do at all, either. Half of the time, I'm just winging it and tweaking stuff until it looks decent, but I hope this helped!

(Also, really really sorry for not replying 😭)

[the-pigeon-queen]

I just binged like 3/4 of your comic (slowed my roll to save some serotonin for later) and. Oh my god?? The art style is absolutely delightful! So warm and clean and emotive!! The characters are all so unique and likable!! I have never met these characters before today but I would protect them with my life. The most wholesome, aesthetically pleasing, delightfully anti-authority thing I’ve ever read. I genuinely can’t think of a comic that I’ve been more instantly hooked on. I wanna see Fleet climb a mountain and live their best life with all their friends 🥺 Do you have any advice on learning how to draw?? I’d love to be able to create something half this awesome some day! Thank you so so much for creating this and sharing it with the world :D

:']!! That's so very kind of you to say!! And I'm super happy that you like my comic so much! Rectify has been one big experiment for me, in both art and story telling, so I'm really happy to hear that it's been an enjoyable read :'']!

I hope you like how the story continues! ^-^

Sorry I've answered this ask a little late, I was legit trying to think of art tips ^^;; I only took an art class in high school, and I've kind of winged it ever since. I don't think I'm the best at giving art advice, and I don't just want to reiterate the things everyone always says.

I don't know how new you are to art, so these may or may not be all that helpful ^^;; There's a lot of specific advice that can be given about learning how to draw specific things, but if you've just started learning, the best place to start are basics!

*** Disclaimer: I'm not an expert or even trained in art :'] But if you want to see what I came up with, the advice is under the cut

Just keep drawing

I know that's the piece of advice everyone gives, but it really is the most important. It's so easy to try drawing once and give up when a drawing doesn't turn out the way you envision it. Getting discouraged is easy, but you have to tell yourself that there is a right combination of lines that will produce the image you want to make - you just have to keep trying to find it.

Drawing is both 'making your hand good at shapes' and half 'your brain learning the way shapes should be made'

There's definitely a technical aspect to drawing. Your hand will get more used to making lines and shapes.

But a big part of learning to draw is learning how shapes come together to create something bigger.

The more you look at art, the more you make art, the more your brain will understand how things come together.

Art is something you learn, so it's something you'll get better at :]! Even a week's worth of practice will show improvement.

Draw from a reference if you're teaching yourself how to draw something!

Using a ref is NOT cheating! I use refs! I've googled 'man throwing baseball' or 'person running' or 'hand holding a mug' so many times

There is never any shame in using a ref

If you're learning, you should only be using refs

It gets you used to drawing in perspective, without you specifically practicing perspective

Basic Shapes!

Everything can be broken into basic shapes. Even people are just a collection of boxes and spheres.

So if you've never drawn, draw some basic shapes and familiarize yourself with their 3D aspects

Then try breaking down an object into it's basic shapes!

Basic Color Stuff

The color wheel

Again, not sure how new you are to art, so I'm sorry if this is super redundant

complimentary colors like each other. The big ones are blue=orange, red=green, yellow=purple. Every color has a 'compliment': Blueish greens like orangish reds. Purpleish reds like yellowish oranges.

Experiment with color! You'll naturally like some combinations more than others and the more you experiment, the more you'll find things you like

Hue = the specific color

Saturation = how intense the hue is. Don't make every color super saturated, or it might be too overwhelming.

So, gonna get more specific here.

If you want to draw people, and you are just starting out, I would recommend starting here.

Find an image of a person

Break that person down into boxes and circles. Circles for joints, and boxes for the rest.

Draw lines down the front of the person to help you orient them

This will get you used to how a body comes together.

These two examples used came from https://twitter.com/JookpubStock on twitter. I highly recommend checking out their catalogue!

Now, I traced these. Tracing is a tool used to learn.

(( This may not be applicable to you, but if anyone's actually reading this, here are the tracing no-no's I follow:

Don't trace another artist's artwork.

Don't claim a trace as your own original work***

Don't sell a trace***

If you trace an explicitly free photo or model (like above) drop a credit or link to the original

*** unless you traced a photograph or work that you yourself personally made or took )))

Tracing a pose can help you learn how basic shapes come together to form a pose. The goal is to eventually create your own poses!

Once you're comfortable with that, try drawing the pose without tracing.

The other most helpful thing I did in art class was gesture drawing! You don't trace these - you just find an image and you give your best quick attempt at it. You capture the gesture. There's no limit to how much time you can spend on a gesture drawing, but the idea is to make them quick and loose!

I hope these have been at least a little helpful :]! Art is such a wide field there is so much general advice to give. The most important advice I can give is just keep drawing and don't be afraid to try new things ^^ Don't restrain yourself to one style. Just make what you feel like making in the moment!

[punz4lyfe]

Pokemon Journeys Episode 95 Review

Pokemon Journeys Episode 95. Let’s review:

While just barely close to perfect, this was a fantastic episode.

I’ll start off this review by talking about Butch and Cassidy, and omg, do I ADORE their appearances in this episode. I’ve discussed before on how I adore Journeys in showing many other past characters have progressed since Ash last traveled with them, and with the exception of Dawn, I feel every single return has done the characters justice. The same can be said for Butch and Cassidy. It was super awesome seeing them again and being genuinely happy for once, now that they’ve both left Team Rocket. They’re so much better off, that they even treated their old rivals with respect and hospitality. That’s freakin’ awesome!

I do wish a little more could’ve been done with them. Considering Jessie’s longtime rivalry with Cassidy, it would’ve been nice to have the two some final scene together, like before Jessie leaves, she and Cassidy shake hands and declare to put their past tension behind them due to the latter’s friendly hospitality. Also wished James’ flashbacks of bonding with Cassidy and his reasons of leaving her were animated, as it would’ve made things a bit more impactful and believable. Additionally, it would’ve been nice for Butch to ask Jessie and Meowth on James’ whereabouts and how Cassidy’s doing when Jessie states they already learned they left TR from her. He definitely could’ve had more screen time as well, possibly in Meowth’s flashback where he waves goodbye to him. Wish there was at least one mention of Dr. Namba too. I did REALLY enjoy the little detail of Cassidy’s wood carvings all Pokemon she’s had in the past, even the ones only seen on Pokemon Chronicles. Nice touch!

After how poor their comradery has been portrayed in episode 72, it was super relieving to see some proper respect here. While their departure scenes are admittedly kinda rushed, it’s still satisfying to them care for each other, but want the rest in the world for them. They love each other and couldn’t imagine life without any one of them existing. And no matter what, they will always have each other’s backs. THIS is the Team Rocket quad! Not the one shown in ep. 72 where Meowth makes one mistake and omg we all hate each other oh look there’s a girl on the side i oppose please let me join you instead becuz my frens suck. And for Pelipper, it was nice to get more character from them and see how caring it truly is for Team Rocket. (Is it ironic that TR’s Pelipper is a WAY more interesting character than Cerise and Red?) I do wish they caught the Chatot they freed from the Wailord, though. Not only would’ve been a cool generational parallel to Morpeko (TR having mons from Galar and Sinnoh, the two main regions of Generation 8), but it would just make sense since they saved the dude from a fate worse than death.

Anyways, I’d give this episode a 9/10. Great and proper character displays for Team Rocket, good use of Butch and Cassidy, and it’s also not too heavily saturated with comedic moments, with the only things holding it back from a 10 being some minor hiccups. (and Morpeko) And for next time, another return in the form Sophocles! Yeah, not much to say for that yet.

[aenslem]

Challenge: From your creations, choose GIFs and do a split of before and after adding colouring!

tagged by @uuuhshiny . i have done these things before, here and here.  but okay, i’ll do one more :D though, since i don’t gif recently i just found my old gif psds that i have not removed yet, and just resaved them, so sorry for the speed on the gifs, i did not really paid attention lmao the point is coloring anyway, right?? 

tagging @comicbookvillain​ @tennant​ @arthurpendragonns @rory-amy and whoever wants to do it :D

i love changing colors, i love when they are vibrant, i am also the kind of person who will turn everything into purple, but if the scene is purple i will try my best to make it look normal af and remove all the purple lmao idk why tho

changing colors is fun, like i did that on my pink Doctor Who gifset, and my golden Missy gifset

turning blue into pink or gold? im here for that :D but i rarely did it before, but i was challenged to do it, so i did :D and i think i did good.

if i see a kinda red hair, i will make it as vibrant as possible :D i also love when on gifs lips are red, idk why.

doctor who is a super hard to color, especially when you color doctor and the master, because i feel like show runners hate thoschei shippers considering all of doctor/master scenes are like this or worse

???

??????????

moffat what the heck?????? 

i mean, look at my doctor and master gifsets, i have a lot of them, those are all super edited because original scenes are the pain in the a$$ to color! they are either super dark blue or horrible yellow/red. 

i have not used this gif in a set, wanted to but it was extra so have it :D maybe one day i will make a gifset with yellow/blue combo and use it :D and i do love those two color combinations, like there are other colors too, but i make those two colors stand out so it looks nice. like the gif with miranda otto above, that color combination is really pretty 

also, i love making michelle gomez eyes really blue, or anyone’s lmao like if there are blue eyes consider me making them as vibrant as possible :D

not the best example, but it was not the best quality video and i did what i could. sometimes i make it with selective colors and hue and saturation, but sometimes i draw blue color over the gif. yeah, sometimes i love torturing myself and color each layer or a few layers and just move the layer where i need lmao

like previous insta videos of her i edited and made blue stand out, i did like that :/ but i would do more for that woman :D

my colorings are not super complicated, i usually upload those colorings i don’t use on my psd account @creationsofthedark​ so check it out, there are my first colorings i ever did, and the latest. you will not find channel mixer there tho, but it’s my fav tool now. i stopped updating the blog since... well, there was an incident where the person started doing what i asked to not to do, don’t copy me. i posted a gifsets with these colorings so why would you crop it the same way and color it with my coloring and post, the same scene??? after asking me sharpening settings also?? like, those were so similar i thought it is a repost tbh that’s why i stopped posting psds i use, and well, i use channel mixer mostly for correcting colors and it never works on 99% of the scenes, and i don’t wanna share coloring for one scene i already giffed, what is the point? so somebody could gif the same scene with the same coloring? nope. anyway, channel mixer as you see on previous creator tag games i did is really good when you need to correct colors, such as super red colors or yellow. unfortunately idk how to edit tHAT Doctor and Master scene from doctor falls, it’s the worst scene ever and i will not touch it again lmao, i tried I TRIED but... usual colorings which work fine on more than few scenes are uploaded on sideblog. and you may see there that i don’t do anything extraordinary, same settings almost everywhere, curves, levels if needed, selective colors and color balance are mostly used by me. and i always avoided using masks when i started giffing, but honestly that’s so good, don’t be scared to use them, they are really awesome when you need to correct part of the gif only. i also love using color fills, to change color of the background or a specific object, using blending modes, if the object does not move it is easy but sometimes it does not... like with the eyes, you have to draw over each layer or move the layer for each frame :D sometimes i use textures, but i usually blur them as on the first DW gif here. idk what else to say... :D

[itawonka-creates]

Seabourne Burnouts: Chapter 12 - Low Tide

A Maribat! On Deck AU  

I’m so sorry for the wait. I was terribly sick. Thank @battysorciere and @particularlygeeky for being awesome beta readers! 

Start [Here] [Part 11]  [Part 13] -OR- [AO3] 

“Why am I getting dressed up again?”

“Because Damian got some leads and those leads are all going to the VIP dinner tonight.” Jason pulled at his collar like a dog pulling at a leash. Tim rolled his eyes as he fixed her cuffs, “Just be lucky it’s not black-tie formal, as long as we show up in a nice shirt and dress pants then we’ll be fine.”

Dick checked himself out for the fourth time in the mirror, “I like having a reason to fix myself up. I look great in these kinds of outfits.” He took a quick photo of himself and texted it to Kory, a smile on his face as he anticipated her response.

Damian stepped out of the bathroom and straightened out his shirt. He shook his head, finally noticing Dick in front of the mirror. “Move.” He bumped Dick out of the way and examined himself. After a brief moment, he nodded and felt satisfied with his current look. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Wait, Damian! Your hair.” Dick walked up and grabbed some hair gel off the dresser, “Seriously, you can’t just-”

“Leave it.” Damian watched as all three of his brothers tensed and turned to him, “What?”

“Okay. I know you found love and crap, but first you told her you’re Robin, then about the Titans, and now you aren’t going to style your hair?” Jason hit the side of his head, a small ‘bonk’ could be heard, as if he was trying to make sure he was really there. “You never go outside without looking like a weird midget businessman.”

“Don’t say that. Alfred lectured us about that word. He’s going to find out.”

“Right! Right. Sorry.” Jason scratched his chin and shuddered, “Never mind. He knows.”

Tim watched his brother as his paranoia set in, “Oh yeah?”

“Shut up, that old man knows everything. He knows, I can feel it.” Jason shook his head and sighed, “A lecture is waiting for me back in Gotham. I just know it.”

Damian pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned, “You’re hopeless.”

Tim laughed and nudged Jason. He sighed and turned back to Damian, “Seriously though, what gives? We’ve been trying to get you to change your hair for forever.”

Damian smirked, “Hey Dick, text Marinette to mentally prepare herself to meet us at the dinner. She’ll know what I mean.”

“He finally gets a girlfriend and now thinks he’s hot sh-”

“Alfred.”

Jason shuddered and rushed to the door, “I didn’t say anything! Nope! Nothing!” Dick and Tim laughed at their brother currently pleading to nothing in particular to have mercy. They made their way to an upper deck and looked around the dining hall. It’s the same hall from the award dinner, but the tables were set up nicer with both speakers and some musicians for a variation of music. “Why the quartet?”

“Because George is here.” Dick motioned for the old man, easily in his 80s, in a wheelchair rolled around by one of his granddaughters. “He’s one of Bruce’s dad’s old acquaintances and stockholders. The dude is ancient and super old school. He’s only supposed to be here for tonight’s dinner to speak to Bruce for their quarterly check-in.”

“He’s still alive?”

“Jason!” Tim smacked the back of Jason’s head before walking up the old man. “Hello, George. Do you remember us? We’re Bruce’s sons.” The old man didn’t react and his granddaughter sent a sympathetic smile.

“Hey, grandpa? Look. It’s the Wayne boys.” The old man finally reacted and smiled at the girl before turning to the boys. He gave a polite wave before staring off into space again. She sighed, “I’m sorry. The older he gets, the more he does this. Don’t be fooled though, he loves seeing your dad.” She held out her hand, “How are you guys?”

Dick chuckled, “We’re fine Ciara. It’s good to see you again. How’s the fiancé?”

Ciara smiled brightly, “She’s great! She’s currently showing off her art in a Chicago art gallery.” She giggled, “Once we figure out the date, you’ll all get invitations.”

“We’ll hold you to that doll face.” Ciara pushed Jason playfully and Jason smirked, “Glad to see you’re doing well.”

Ciara nodded and turned to Damian, who continuously looked around the room throughout the conversation, “Damian? I didn’t even recognize you with your hair is like that! You look a little like Dick when he was younger.”

Damian sighed, “Why does everyone say that?” Damian smiled politely at the girl, “Still, good to see you. Glad things are going well for you.” Ciara nodded and Damian turned his attention back at the various entrances. His brothers noticed him visibly perk up and turned to the main entrance to see Marinette walk in with a gaggle of girls alongside Adrien and Nino.

Alya and Alix weren’t in dresses, choosing a nice blouse and dress pants. The other girls wore dresses and pushed a resistant Marinette forward. She was yelling something over her shoulder, her cheeks red and expression desperate, as they egged her on. Her dress was less formal, but the way she wore it was just as elegant. Simple pink dress, hair down, light make up that brought out her fair features, all tying together in a nice little bow similar to the one on the side of her waist.

Adrien laughed, turned her head to the four brothers, and pointed at Damian. The two made eye contact, staring at each other for a brief moment before Damian’s face held a light pink tint and Marinette’s red face became even more saturated in color. Marinette turned on her heel and tried to leave, but the group locked her in. She turned back, her body rigid as she made her way over to the boys.

Ciara nudged Damian, “Oh my god, you fancy her don’t you?”

Damian sent her a small glare before bracing himself. The others were wondering why he became so stiff until Marinette reached up for his hair and he held her arms away. Looking at the two, you could tell they were struggling against each other and Damian sighed, “Marinette, we have to stop this. We’re in a VIP dinner.”

“You-”

“I warned you didn’t I?”

She growled and yanked her arms back, “Fine!” She stared at him for a few moments before she shook her head, “Nope! Nope! No! I can’t get used to it!”

Jason smirked and nudged the youngest, “So that’s why you didn’t fix up your hair! You sly dog!” Damian glared at his snickering brothers. Jason waved him off and turned to Marinette, “You look adorable.”

Marinette blinked and started hitting his chest playfully, “You can’t start too! I’m already embarrassed as it is!” She held her fists to her sides and she huffed, color never fading from her face.

Dick laughed, “Oh my god! Is that supposed to be intimidating?”

“Watch it Grayson! I will throw you overboard!”

The boys all blinked and Tim glared at Damian, “You corrupted her.”

Damian smiled in pride and put his arm around Marinette, “I did no such thing.” He grinned at her and she just looked annoyed, “You do look cute, though. Did you make that dress too?” She gulped and looked away. She nodded and he praised her, “It’s very well made.”

Tim pulled Marinette out of Damian’s grip, “Okay. Okay. You’re going to kill the girl. I mean, if any more of her blood rushes to her head she’ll need to be placed in the infirmary.”

Adrien waved to most of the girls as they left, leaving him to lead Nino, Alya, and Chloe over to Marinette. He continued laughing at his poor friend. “You seem to be doing well.”

“I will not hesitate, Adrien.”

“Oh, we know.” Alya nudged Damian, “Marinette told me you looked good with your hair down, but dang dude! Nino, you’re in trouble!”

Nino waved her off and motioned to Adrien, “I have an actual model in my court. You ain’t got nothing on me.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and looked over the boys, “I forgot you could clean up well. Seriously, why don’t you dress like this more often?”

Jason groaned, “And feel as stiff as I look? No thank you, Chloe.”

Ciara giggled, “Friends of yours?”

Dick nodded and motioned to the group, “These are kids from the French class who got the spot on the trip. The one who caught Damian’s eye is Marinette, the winner.”

Ciara motioned to the group and spoke to her grandfather, “Look, grandpa, it’s the kids Bruce chose!” The old man looked up and smiled at the group. The girls all lurched forward and crouched in front of him, doting on the old man.

“He’s so cute!”

“You’re British or something? What’s your name, sir?”

“And how do you know Bruce?”

Ciara blinked in surprise and laughed, “He may not respond. He has a habit of spacing o-”

“George.” The group turned to the old man as he held out his shaking hand, “Nice to meet you.” Marinette gentle took it and smiled sweetly at him.

“My name’s Marinette, George. This is Alya and Chloe. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The old man seemed to have a long-forgotten glimmer in his eyes as he smiled back at the girls. Ciara laughed in disbelief, “That’s the most he’s said to anyone outside the family who isn’t Bruce!” She walked over and hugged Marinette, “You’re a miracle, aren’t you?”

Marinette giggled, “No, I’m just Marinette. You are?”

“Ciara. My grandpa here has known Bruce for ages. We’re here to visit him.”

“And I’m here to see him too.” The group turned to Bruce as he walked up and crouched down to George’s level. “Nice to see you again.”

George’s smile grew, “Bruce! I met your daughter! She’s very sweet.”

“My daughter?” George motioned to Marinette and Bruce laughed, “She’s not my-”

Alya snorted, “I mean, in-laws count don’t they?”

Damian and Marinette tensed and scolded the girl, “Alya!”

Bruce rolled his eyes, “Let’s go talk, George.” Bruce and Ciara rolled George away, leaving the kids to their own devices.

Jason and Alya high-fived, “That was awesome!”

“I keep telling people, I’m hilarious!”

“You’re annoying!” Marinette let out an exasperated sighed and rubbed her temples, “And in front of Bruce too. You’re the worst.”

Alya laughed as her best friend whined, making the others in the group laugh with her. Nino took a second to listen to the song played and smiled, “Hey! It’s your song, dudes!” While the boys were confused, Adrien and Marinette paused and looked at each other.

“When was the last time we heard this song?”

“It’s been years!” The two laughed as they remembered the teddy bear themed Akuma of that night. Marinette turned to Damian, “The first time we danced together was to this song. It’s been one of my favorites ever since!”

“Wasn’t that at my party?”

“Yes. Yes, it was. It was the same party I pulled possibly the BEST wing-woman move in history!”

Nino snickered, “We both did that, Alya.”

Adrien held out his arm and winked at Marinette, “Wanna dance for nostalgia?”

Marinette was about to agree before pulling back and stepping next to Damian, “I’ll pass. You should ask someone else to dance. I’m sure no one is going to pass you up.”

Adrien blinked before realizing her reasoning, “Oh yeah! Sorry Damian, complete forgot for a second.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously while Damian jaw tensed.

Damian felt a tinge of jealousy as soon as Nino brought up the fact that it was ‘their song’. However, seeing the way Marinette move towards him and knowing Adrien’s apology was genuine made him relax. He sighed and nudged Marinette, “Go ahead. I’ll take the next dance.”

“You dance? Since when?” Damian glared at Tim who just held his hands up in surrender.

Marinette and Adrien looked at each other for a second before turning to Damian, “Seriously, it’s fine. We don’t-”

“No. Go dance with Adrien, Marinette. It’ll be fun.” He gently pushes her forward and smiled politely at the two. Marinette and Adrien sent him an unsure look before the hesitantly walked onto the dance floor.

Alya nudged Damian, “That was nice of you, but you know you can say if you are uncomfortable with them dancing. You don’t have to be okay with everything she wants to do just because you’re dating.”

“I’m not in charge of her.”

“I’m not saying you are. If you try to control her, that’s different. That’s telling her she can’t dance with anyone other than you or people you approve of. You saying ‘I think I’d feel weird seeing my first girlfriend dance with an old crush’ is completely understandable.” Alya sighed and smiled at the boy in pity, “You usually have no filter. You have it bad for her, don’t you?”

Damian watched as the two danced around the room. A simplified ballroom waltz, nothing inappropriate and completely platonic. He could’ve relaxed except the looks on their faces as they talked were incredibly serious. Damian sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, “I don’t know how any of this works.”

Dick watched his brother in pity, “You have us to help you out, you know?”

Damian let his shoulders fall, “I don’t like feeling like this.”

Nino chuckled, “Love can be awesome and love can suck. I will say this, you won’t find someone better to love than Marinette.”

Chloe hummed in approval, “He’s right. That girl’s heart is too big for her own good and she’s so loyal. You never have to worry about that one.”

Jason smiled at his brother, “Sounds like you couldn’t have picked them better, baby bird.”

Tim snickered, “Only the best for Damian Wayne.”

Damian glared at his brother before turning back to Marinette and Adrien. Marinette happened to look over and noticed him, sending him a loving smile his way. Damian felt himself relax and smiled back. Dick sighed, “You’ve got it bad.”

“So bad.”

“It’s ridiculous.”

“It’s sickening.”

“It’s hilarious.”

“I swear if you all don’t-”

“She’s coming over here.” Damian turned his attention back to the two to see Marinette and Adrien walk back.

Adrien grinned, “That was fun. She’s all yours, Damian. Thanks for letting us dance to that song again.”

Before Damian could say anything, the speakers turned off and the quartet began playing some ballroom music. Marinette grabbed Damian’s hand and pulled him to the dance floor. Adrien turned to the three oldest of the group, “Does he even know how to dance?”

“Luckily, only to this type of music because of Bruce. He made us learn for galas and stuff like that.” Tim watched as his brother gently guided Marinette through a dance she was unfamiliar with. He smiled and took a picture, “This is so weird.”

“It’s sweet. I haven’t seen her this excited for anything in such a long time.” Alya’s smile fell and hugged herself, “I should’ve-”

“Alya, you have to forgive yourself some time. You didn’t know. She didn’t want you to know.” Chloe huffed and turned to Adrien, hand out. “Let’s just dance and enjoy the night before tomorrow. There’s sure to be a fight.” Adrien nodded and took her hand, leading her out onto the floor.

Alya sighed and turned to Dick, “Marinette said you’re good with feelings. Help.”

Dick blinked, “Why’d she say that?”

Alya shrugged, “She didn’t tell me how she knows that and I have a feeling you won’t either.”

Dick snorted, “Damn right I won’t.” He nudged her, “You’re a good friend Alya. You look out for her the same way I look out for these idiots.”

“Rude.”

“True.”

“As I was saying,” Dick placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze, “I don’t think she holds anything against you. I know you feel terrible. You feel like you betrayed her and you let her down and now you’re wondering if she should even be friends with you. If you’re having all those thoughts then I’d say you’re still being a great best friend. You’re looking out for her, you feel bad for hurting her. You’re trying to make up for it.”

Alya’s eye began to water and Jason jumped in, “Alya, you’re a good kid. Smart, too. Marinette is lucky to have you. Just like you’re lucky to have her. Still, that guilt will stay with you until you talk to her about it. Marinette and you need to take care of that unfinished business because, let’s face it, you did hurt her. But, she still loves you. That counts for a lot.”

Alya wiped her eyes and turned her attention back to her best friend. Marinette and Damian glided across the room and she looked like she was in a fairytale. It put a smile back on her face and she sniffed, “Now I know why Marinette came to trust you guys so quickly.” She laughed, “Not that I don’t trust you guys, but she trusted you all almost immediately. She was always a good judge of character.” Nino nudged her and Alya smiled gratefully, knowing he was letting her know he was there for support.

Tim smiled at the two before sighing, “Guys, remember, we’re here to do a job too. Michael Aaron is standing by the west entrance with his wife. Darius Azreth is sitting at table 8 with some colleagues.”

Alya nodded curtly, going back into a reporter persona. Nino was used to her split-second changes, but the other boys were taken aback for a second seeing the quick change. Alya looked over her options, “We’ll take Aaron. It’ll be easier to start talking to a guy and his wife than a board meeting.” Tim nodded in agreement and they all separated, the boys taking Azreth and the couple taking Aaron.

Meanwhile, Marinette and Damian continued to be in their own little world. “You know I’m still tempted to ask Dick to give me his hair gel right now.”

“Still not used to it?”

“No, not at all.” She hummed, “You know if you don’t want me to dan-”

“I don’t control you. If you want to have fun with your guy friends, then I can’t stop you.”

Marinette smiled softly and leaned towards him, “You know you’re important to me too, right? I want to know what you think and how you feel. It’s a two-way street, Damian.”

He smiled and spun her around. She laughed before they came back to face each other. Damian sighed, “I’m not good at this. I’m not used to any of this. I don’t know how this works or how it’s supposed to work. My mother was a terrible role model when it comes to healthy relationships. I don’t exactly watch my father closely for dating tips and Grayson has been in a relationship for a long time. I can’t exactly use him and Kory as a way to model my first, new relationship with someone.”

“Who said we needed a model?” She watched Damian for a reaction as she continued, “Damian, there’s not one way this is supposed to work. Otherwise, everyone would find love and divorce wouldn’t even exist. As long as we talk things through and make sure we keep each other’s best interests at heart along with our own, I think we should be okay.” She stopped and squeezed his hand, “If it helps, I’m scared too. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do or how this is supposed to work, I’m just playing this by ear.”

Damian’s lips pressed into a hard line, “I’m am too, but I’m worried.”

“About?” The music’s tune changed into something a bit darker, a melody that oozed gothic romanticism, and Damian began leading them into a new waltz. She felt like she was stepping into foreign waters, “This is new.”

He listened closely, recognizing the crescendo and surprised the musicians were so bold to attempt the piece. He noted how more people came to play this specific song, making their own small symphony, and he knew why. “This is called the ‘Waltz of the Damned’. An intense piece for sure. You think you can keep up?”

“As long as you take the lead and catch me if I fall.”

Damian smirked and started leading her through more fluid turns and steps. Marinette struggled to keep up but he kept her attention. “Just keep looking at me. I’m not going to let you fall.” Marinette nodded and relaxed as he led the dance. “I’m worried about us. Our other lives.”

She bit her lip, “I’m worried about that too. While Hawkmoth is still on the loose, I have to stay in Paris.”

“The Titans need a Robin too.” Another turn and he caught a glimpse of his father watching them proudly. Damian sighed, he knew it was meant to be taken positively but it only served to be an ominous presence forever lingering over him. Lots of things lingered when it came to him. “I have a lot of baggage, Marinette.”

The ensemble started to play a darker tone and Marinette felt something in her gut. “I figured.”

“Lots of sins I need to atone for.”

“You already told me that before. Am I supposed to run?”

“Marinette-”

“Damian, whatever you did-”

“No, Marinette, you should know.” She stopped talking and he bit his lip, “Marinette, my mother and grandfather were part of a very elite group. That group hurt people. A lot of people.” While she didn’t outwardly react, her eyes were looking for any sign of lying. She didn’t find it. He leaned forward and he lowered his voice, “Marinette, my family killed people. I killed people.”

Her brows furrowed as she processed the meaning of the words, “But how-” The music suddenly got more intense and instinctually Damian guided her through this more aggressive part of the dance. Hours of lessons forced upon by Bruce hammered in dances like this until they became muscle memory. Marinette couldn’t register everything going on around her and she felt dizzy. The more they span the more overwhelmed she felt as the gravity of his situation really hit her. He didn’t say anything, fearing he was one word away from her turning heel and bolting away.

A few sudden moments of Forte in the song, a few sudden movements in the dance, a dip to top it off and Marinette really couldn’t tell what was real anymore. He brought her back up and the music went back to a slower, slightly more playful tune. His expression never changed, neither did hers as she continued to be shocked by his confession. She felt her mouth go dry, unwilling to respond as the music picked up again, gentler this time around as the piece was coming to a close but a crescendo nonetheless. New thoughts filling her head as she realized what this meant for her.

The eye contact never faded and neither did the tension. If it wasn’t for the fact that the music was already conveying the chaos inside her head she would’ve screamed. A few more steps, a few more turns, and one last pose. The waltz ended and while the room around them erupted in applause, they continued staring at each other unaware of the world around them. It wasn’t until Adrien came up and placed a hand on Marinette’s shoulder that she finally looked away.

“You guys, that was incredible! I’ve never seen anyone dance to that!”

Chloe nodded beside him, “Very impressive. I honestly would’ve thought you’d lose your footing and fall somewhere along the line.”

Marinette just licked her lips and forced a smile on her face, “Thanks Chloe.”

Adrien walked over to Damian and put an arm over his shoulder, “We’re going to go get something to drink. You want anything?”

Chloe grabbed Marinette’s arm, “No, no, you boys have fun.”

Adrien started to drag Damian away. Damian protested, “Wait, we-”

“Let’s go, Wayne.” Damian’s attention was immediately switched over to the blond on his arm and felt a menacing presence in the place of the otherwise happy model. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Chloe had already dragged Marinette away. He wondered if a part of him was trying to scare her off. As far as he could tell, it probably worked.

They got to a more secluded part of the room and Adrien spoke, “What did you say to her?”

Damian could feel himself get defensive, “None of your business, Agreste.”

“The only time I’ve ever seen Marinette make that face before was when I told her something that made her mad at me for days.” In reality, he saw that face plenty of times before as Aspik. Whenever he tried to confess his identity to her, she would make the same shocked face. Her eyebrows furrowed, her pupils constricted, and her face contorted. She was so expressive, everything that she could do to convey something was wrong she did. Every little muscle, every little wrinkle, everything screamed “NO”. He hoped he’d never have to see that face again, but when she realized his identity he saw it again. It infuriated him that he caused that reaction. It infuriated him more that she was having this reaction now. “Now, what did you do?”

Damian glared back at Adrien, “I told her something. Something about myself that I won’t tell anyone else.”

“Must’ve been a doozy of a secret to get her to make that face.”

“Watch it.”

“No, you watch it.” He ran his finger through his hair and looked over to Chloe. They made eye contact and he watched as her eyes relayed uncertainty and worry. “Look, Marinette is a really good person. The best. Out of anyone and everyone, she chose you. That means a lot. Whatever you told her, fix it.”

“How the hell am I supposed to do that?”

“I don’t know. Not my problem. Just know that she’s good friends with both Ladybug and Cat Noir and Cat Noir’s Cataclysm can destroy anything.”

He narrowed his eyes at Adrien, “Is that a threat?”

Adrien didn’t falter, “Depends on what you do next, Wayne.” Adrien looked over Damian’s shoulders and saw Jason coming up, “Careful, you’re going to get interrogated again.”

“What are you-” He suddenly felt his collar tighten as he was dragged away towards a nearby exit. Adrien sending daggers all the while until turning to get drinks for the girls. Damian huffed as he saw Dick and Tim also make their way over. Jason dragged him outside and to a private area outside the dining hall and slammed him against the wall. “Well, hello to you too.”

The three looked around, making sure they were alone, before turning back to their interrogation. Jason’s eyes narrowed at the teen, “Don’t get cute with me. What the hell did you say to her?”

Damian chose to stay silent and Dick frowned, “Please tell me you didn’t-”

“Shut up.”

“You can’t tell someone that right off the bat Damian! Jesus, no wonder she looks terrified!”

Tim groaned, “I know you’re clueless at this, but you aren’t stupid Damian. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking she probably deserved to know.”

“Oh yeah, great first date topic. ‘Hi, I’m Damian. My family is head of the League of Assassins. Also, my favorite color is black. Tell me about yourself.’” Jason’s face deadpanned, “Seriously?”

Damian rolled his eyes, “Look, she was going to find out sooner or later-”

“Yeah, a few months into dating when you guys are ready to talk about these things. Not one day into dating! That’s like proposing on the first date!” Tim groaned, “Look, its good and all that you feel comfortable enough to share with her but oversharing is bad to do. Especially just starting out.”

“Yeah, Damian. You guys are at a point where you guys are testing the waters. You read into the relationship and slowly make your way into the deep end. Dumping that info on her is like throwing her into 9 feet of water without a life jacket, not knowing if she could even swim.” Dick pinched his nose and muttered something to himself.

Damian just growled, “I didn’t tell her that to share, I told her that to warn her.” He sighed, “You guys know as well as I do that I’ve done some bad things. I have a lot of things hanging over my head and lots of things that may or may not come back to bite me.” He frowned, “She should know what she’s signing up for.”

Jason groaned and let go of the teen’s collar, “I mean good point, but also you don’t tell her that now. There’s a time and a place and this isn’t it, man. If you were really worried about that then you tell her in private where you guys can talk about it. Not in a crowded party, in the middle of a dance floor, doing some crazy ass waltz. She was probably really overwhelmed.”

Damian grit his teeth, “Look, if I’m causing so many problems maybe I should just head back. The Titans probably need me anyways.” He tried walking away but Tim blocked his path, “Move.”

“No.” Tim rubbed his temples, “Best and worst part about being in the open waters? You can’t run from your problems.”

“Watch me.”

“Damian, you’re sabotaging yourself.”

“I am not!”

“Oh really?” Dick started to list off things, “You told her you were a hero. You told her about the league. You argue with her when you can. It sounds to me like you’re trying to scare her off. Why?”

Damian growled, “Because I’m not like her! I’m not like any of them! I’m not normal or happy or anything like them!” He panted and leaned against the wall, “She’s going to get seriously hurt around me. I just know it. There’s no way I can logically make this work without ruining her chance at something normal. Something safe.”

The boys stood there for a few moments in silence before Dick groaned and smacked Damian upside the head. “You idiot!”

Damian snapped, “I will rip your arm off!”

“Seriously Damian, if she cared about that kind of stuff she would’ve ran when she found out about you being Gotham’s little baby bird.” Tim grabbed Damian by the shoulders, “She is probably one of the best things to happen to you and you just chased her off.”

Damian shoved his brother off, but before he could do anything he was forcefully turned around. He caught a girl’s wrist before her palm could make contact. She glared at him and he heard himself gulp, “What on earth did you say to her? Seriously, I leave for five minutes and she’s catatonic! I thought we had a moment there about healthy relationships and you do this?” She smacked her forehead and groaned, “You are giving me migraines, Wayne.”

Damian blinked, “Alya?”

“Yes, Alya, me, Marinette’s best friend, and the one you need to beg for forgiveness so you can even look at her.” Alya tucked some hair behind her ear before sighing, “Now tell me what you did.”

Jason stepped forward, “He told her something about his past that was not appropriate whatsoever.”

Alya blinked and gulped, “Something about your past?” Damian opened his mouth to answer, but ended up holding his tongue. The lack of an answer gave her some possibilities she would rather not think about. She pushed the thoughts out of her head, “I mean, I’m sorry for whatever happened. That sucks, but he’s right. You can’t just drop that on someone. She isn’t your counselor. She’s your girlfriend!”

Alya paused for a second before she shook her head, “Backtrack. It’s okay to tell your partner secrets about you and to trust them, but trust takes time. You work up to it. Throwing that kind of baggage on someone right away isn’t a healthy sign, Damian.”

Damian’s eye twitched, “Oh and you’re a couple’s counselor now?”

Alya huffed, “If a reason a person was akumatized goes public, we talk about it and try to prevent it from happening again. An Akuma due to bullying, we learn about prevention and intervention. An Akuma due to a panic attack, we learn about anxiety and things to do in a crisis. An Akuma because of an abusive relationship, we learn about the signs of abuse and about co-dependency. Over-sharing right away is a sign of co-dependency.”

Damian rolled his eyes. He knew about the subject. He made himself learn after a particularly bothering case where he couldn’t figure out why the man kept going back to his crazy fiancé. He checked in on him every week to make sure he was okay until the guy finally built up the courage to leave the crazy woman. He thought for a moment and realized that, to anyone else not knowing the context, his over-sharing might be considered manipulative. He was reminded of the sob stories or the intimidation tactics that woman used to use on the guy to test his loyalty and keep him in her corner. Unintentionally comparing himself to her made him shudder. Damian sighed, “I was just telling her about some of the consequences of dating me might bring. Let’s just say I have some enemies.”

Alya’s expression showed him that she didn’t entirely believe him, but she didn’t press. “Damian, are you trying to scare her off?”

“That’s what I said!”

“Grayson!” Damian turned back to Alya, “Look, Alya-”

Alya wrapped her arms around the boy and Damian tensed in her hold. He didn’t reciprocate, something inside reminding him that she wasn’t the one he wanted to hold. Alya pulled away and rubbed her eyes, giving him a look of pity. “You know, you need to talk about what’s bothering you. I can tell you’re holding in a lot.” She snorted, “And while Marinette is a great person to talk to, your timing is a bit off. Besides, you’re rich enough to buy your own private counseling center if you wanted to.”

Damian narrowed his eyes at her and she remained unfazed much to his annoyance. Damian was unnerved that these kids could read things about him. He never met a group of kids who could call him out the way they did, not in such a short amount of time at least. No magic, no shared trauma, no long hours of living and training together, they just could tell. He’d never admit it made him both anxious and oddly reassured.

Alya grabbed his arm and gently led him away from his brothers. Damian looked over his shoulder to his brothers, unsure of what to do, but found all their expressions unreadable. Dick just called out, “We’re going to continue what we were doing. You fix this.” Jason looked between his two brothers and Damian and ran to catch up to the youngest.

“What are you-”

“Shut up. You’re going to need help.”

Damian ground his teeth, he’s never felt this lack of control in anything. He’s always lead the group and never let anyone push him around, not even his father. Yet, right now, he was being yanked around by this group of French students and his brothers. How many times has this happened within the last 20 minutes? Four? Damian could feel his frustration rise and resisted the urge to shove her off.

Alya led him to Marinette’s room, outside the door stood their other friends. Chloe glared at him, but before she could say anything Alya shook her head. This gesture forced Chloe to stand down and step aside. She knocked on the door and yelled through it, “Marinette, I have your boyfriend here! Open up! You need to talk to him!” The lack of a response hurt more than he would like to admit. “Marinette, I’m throwing him in!”

“Wait, what?” She pulled out a keycard and unlocked the door, throwing him and Jason in and shutting it behind them. “Alya!”

“Fix this, Damian! Otherwise, I will get Ladybug and Cat Noir to personally obliterate you!”

He slammed his fist on the door and sighed. “Idiots.” He turned back to the room and looked around.

“Empty. Marinette?” Jason walked around and noted that while the bathroom door was open, the den door was not. He knocked, “Marinette?”

No answer but they heard some rustling from inside. Damian frowned and sat down in front of the door. He groaned and leaned his head against the door frame, “Marinette, we need to talk about this.”

Jason frowned at the sight of his brother, in his own way this was groveling. He knocked again, “Marinette?” Again, the two were met with silence. Jason groaned and sat down next to Damian, “Damian, why’d you tell her that?”

“I keep telling you, she should know!” He ran his fingers through his hair and he huffed, “Look, I’m not a good person-”

“Shut up.” Damian snapped his head up and faced Jason. Jason held a steady glare aimed at Damian, “Shut the hell up. You aren’t a bad person.”

“How the hell are you going to tell me that?”

“Because in this family, I’m the bad person. Not you, Damian.”

“Jason-”

“No! Listen to me!” Jason examined Damian for a second before letting his shoulders fall. Frowning, he proceeded with caution, “Damian, you are not a bad person. You were just a kid put into a bad situation. I should know.”

Damian wiped his nose against his sleeve, “Stop trying to make me feel better, Todd.”

“I’m trying to get you to see that you’re wrong, dumbass.” Jason’s expression softened slightly, “I didn’t realize you thought of yourself like that.” He paused to ponder over his next words, “Damian, you were unlucky enough to be born to a psycho bitch and her murderous, power-hungry father. You didn’t go up to God and demand he make you Talia’s baby, you just happened to be hers.” He stopped and narrowed his eyes, “Although I can actually see you doing that.”

Damian put all of his energy into killing the laugh that was ready to pop out in response to his comment. Instead, he rolled his eyes, “Get to the point.”

“When I think about the league, I don’t think of you. I think of all the bad stuff you were put through, but never you as a person.” Jason ran his fingers through his hair, “My point is that you didn’t know any better. You did what you did because you were taught to get on your mother’s and grandfather’s good sides no matter what. You didn’t know anything else but the league, so you can’t keep holding that against yourself.”

Damian pursed his lips together, letting the words sink in for a second before shaking his head, “No, I-”

“Tell me something, have you killed anyone out of spite since getting out of the league?”

“No.”

“Did you, or did you not, actively try to be better and follow Batman’s no-killing policy?”

“I did.”

“Damian, you’re a good kid.” Jason placed a hand on Damian’s shoulder, “You’re a good person. The only way any of that would really matter to who you are is if you knew better.” Jason looked away and frowned, “That’s why I’m the bad one in the family. Everything I’ve done, I knew better. I was old enough, I’ve seen enough, I knew enough to know there was another way. A better way. Still, I chose to do all that bad stuff and I can’t ever take that back. Everything you did, you did before you were ten and while you were being groomed by Talia and Ra’s.”

Damian licked his lips before forcing himself to smirk and respond, “And when did you get so wise?”

“Dick’s not the only one good with this emotional stuff. I’ve been through enough crap to learn a thing or two.” Jason sent his brother a comforting smile, “You were the one good thing that came out of that place. You should be proud of that, Damian.”  

The silence was deafening and he could feel his heart squeeze in a way it never had before. He didn’t know what these feelings were, but they were overwhelming. He wanted to scream, he was afraid of opening his mouth in case he did just that. He suspected Jason could feel the hurricane developing inside him because Jason knocked on the door again, “Marinette? Please, open up.”

Damian couldn’t keep sitting there, he was going to explode. He reached for the doorknob and, to their surprise, it was unlocked. He jumped up and slowly opened the door. Inside, the room was in dismay and he saw her purse thrown onto the floor. “Marinette?” The two began looking around, confused and growing a sense of dread neither wanted to address. Damian knelt down and looked inside the purse, he saw Kaalki’s box, but Tikki wasn’t there at all.

“Did you find anything?”

Damian pressed his lips together in a fine line, “She took her miraculous.”

Jason sighed in relief, “Okay, so she probably just left or something.”

Damian let his brother bask in his ‘realization’, but Damian’s tension only grew. “Why is the room a mess then?”

“I mean, when I freak out I can get destructive.”

“And you really think she’s like that?”

“I’m guessing here, man. I don’t know.”

A crash interrupted any response Damian was about to give to Jason and the two froze. Both boys sprang into action, sprinting out the door and through the hallways. Sounds of a struggle louder and soon the two met up with some familiar faces. “Adrien? Nino?”

Adrien looked around, frantic and panting, “Marinette isn’t with you?”

Jason shook his head, “She wasn’t even in the room. We’re guessing she took her miraculous and left.”

Adrien and Nino looked at each other before shaking their heads. Nino adjusted his hat, “No way, dude. Marinette wouldn’t use the miraculous like that. She wouldn’t abandon the ship if she thought Hawkmoth was on the ship.” Another crash demanded the four boys’ attention and they continued their search for its origin. More running passengers and crewmembers caused the tension to rise and awful feelings stir in their guts.

Adrien yelled at the other three, “It has to be an Akuma!”

Jason jaw tensed, “Where the hell is Marinette?”

“Adrien!” The four skid to a stop and they saw a small group of girls running up to them, against the crowd. Lila came to the front and panted, “We think Marinette caused an Akuma. She was talking with that redhead crew member and next thing we knew, everyone was running.”

Before any of the boys could say anything, mainly things to try to dissect what they assumed was a lie, Alix nodded. She gulped, “We all saw it. Marinette bumped into her and made her drop her clipboard. To be fair, Lila thinks the lady was already upset but she wasn’t akumatized until Marinette knocked into her.”

Lila nodded and frowned, “Marinette was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Rose sent Lila a look that Nino and Adrien have never seen cross her face before, “Lila, Marinette would never cause an Akuma on purpose!”

Juleka nodded, “She probably just fell. She’s clumsy.”

“I never said she did it on purpose!”

Damian growled and grabbed Rose by the shoulders, “I don’t have time for this! Where is she now?”

Rose blinked and her brows furrowed. With a shaky hand, she pointed down a hallway that was now bare of people. Most of them already hiding in their room or running into a different part of the ship thankfully giving them less resistance. Damian let go and started running, leaving Nino to thank the girls before following.

Running towards an open area of the ship and they caught a glimpse of a girl, in a familiar dress, being held by the said Akuma. A chorus of boys yelling could be heard echoing in the adjacent hallways, “Marinette!”

The Akuma turned around, revealing to be a woman wearing neutral colors. Her hair’s saturation was dulled down as well and she just looked numb. However, her eyes were cold and calculating. She narrowed her eyes at the boys and frowned. Marinette looked between the boys and the Akuma and shook her head, terror clear in her face. Before any of the boys made it out of the hallway, the entrance to the main atrium was suddenly attacked. Years of fighting and dodging kicked in and the boys all did what they could to avoid the impact of whatever was throwing the punch. The floor cracked under the pressure and Jason was the first to get a good look at the attacker.

He yelled, exasperated, “Another one?”

The second Akuma was an almost perfect mirror to the first one. It was clearly the same person, no differences in their physical features, however, the aesthetics were opposites of each other. This one was vibrant in her colors, the clothes changing and swirling with different hues of red and orange reminiscent of the fire in her hair. Her rage seeped through every pore and her snarl was front and center.

Adrien shook his head, “No, the same one. Different version.” He pushed himself off the floor and looked behind the woman in front of him to get a better look at his partner, “Marinette!”

Marinette tried to shake her arm free from the Akuma, but her grip was too strong. Marinette called back, “Just go! Get Ladybug!”

Jason and Damian circled the more colorful of the two Akumas carefully. Jason growled, “We can’t you took the miraculous!”

She looked confused for a moment, but Damian maneuvered his way around the Akuma and kicked her in the back. The Akuma stumbled forward and Jason punched the woman, effectively knocking her down. The one holding Marinette frowned, her voice stayed monotone but threatening, “You’ll pay for that.” A flash of panic passed over Marinette’s face and she threw herself onto the Akuma, grabbing somewhere along the woman’s collar. The woman scowled and threw Marinette to the side, the extra strength the akumatization provided caused the girl to fly across the room and the crash of the impact caused almost everyone in the room to freeze.

“Marinette!” Damian made a b-line to the limp body on the other side of the atrium, but he was intercepted by the Akuma. Damian scowled at the woman’s speed and got into a defensive stance. He could hear some struggles behind him, meaning the other one must’ve picked herself back off the ground. “Marinette, answer us!” While the silence in the suite hurt, the silence here could’ve been enough to kill him. His eyes locked onto the woman’s before him and he threatened through clenched teeth, “Let me through.”

The Akuma didn’t flinch and her Irish accent bled through as she spoke, “What a poor crature. Your emotions are clouding your judgment.” When she intercepted his route to Marinette, he made the mistake of thinking that was her top speed. He didn’t even see her make the final few steps into his personal space. Instead, he blinked and she placed two fingers on his forehead. Things went white as she whispered into his ear, “Separate.”

“Damian!”

Nino was accustomed to his normalcy. His calm demeanor didn’t alert people to enemies for the most part and he used the distractions to make his way to Marinette. Adrien was relieved that one of them could make it over to his lady, but didn’t know who to help first. He wondered briefly if he should transform, but knowing Marinette was still here he had no alibi. Their identities were compromised enough, if only to each other, but they valued their secrets. He knew better than to jeopardize it on an impulse. Adrien watched as Nino turned Marinette onto her back, but it unnerved him to see her move like a rag doll.

Jason tried to watch the girl in front of him. Her colors mixed around like a lava lamp in her clothes, making her hard to look at. He noted the flash of light and looked past the Akuma’s shoulder and noticed two boys slumped on the floor. “Damian?”

The two boys stirred and looked back, one of them examined the room and the situation with an unreadable face and the other looked around confused before snarling back at the woman. “What the hell did you do to me?”

The unfazed one looked around before sighing, “I get it now. She divided us into two beings, the logical one and the emotional one.”

Nino put his hand in front of her nose, relief coming in waves when he could feel her soft breaths against the back of his hand. Nino looked over at Adrien and nodded, making the tension in his shoulders dissipate. Adrien called out to Damian, “Hey, she’s still not waking up!”

The two boys tensed and looked behind the uninterested Akuma who was now setting their sights on Jason. Both had their brows furrow and eyes widen at the sight, but the emotional Damian was the one to yell out her name and make another run for it. The Akuma allowed this and made her way over to a struggling Jason. Adrien ran to Jason’s side and got into a defensive stance, ready to fight alongside him.

Meanwhile, the two Damians skid to a stop and dropped to their knees in front of the body. A loud grunt and subsequent bang made the three look back. Nightwing, Red Robin, and Batman all stood between Jason, Adrien, and the Akumas. Nino sighed in relief, “Perfect. Let’s get her out of here.” The emotional Damian didn’t hesitate to try to pick Marinette up. Normally, he wouldn’t break a sweat. Now, he was winded before he even brought himself to his feet. The analytic Damian watched his counterpart struggle and yelled over at the vigilantes, “Don’t let them touch you! If she splits you, you’ll weaken in power! The neutral one is speed-oriented!”

The masked men all nodded as Adrien and Jason made their over to Marinette. Adrien picked her up with ease and they all started running away and down the hallway. “Why isn’t she waking up?”

“No clue, but let’s take her to one of the lounges to lay her down. We can watch over her and you guys can go find the girls.” A silent agreement passed over them as they adjusted their route to the nearest lounge. Adrien laid her down carefully on one of the sofas and frowned before Nino pulled his friend away and out the door.

Jason put a hand on the emotional Damian’s shoulder, “Hey, how are you-”

The analytical Damian cut in, “Go change into Red Hood and help. We’ll stay here.” Jason hesitated for a moment, but ultimately nodded and ran off.

Left alone, one half pet the girl’s head down while the other paced. The emotional one frowned, “Marinette, wake up. Come on, we need you.” He groaned and felt the exhaustion from the day hit him, “It’s not even 6.”

One completely ignored the other as they continued to ponder, “Where’s Tikki?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why was her room a mess?”

“I don’t-”

“Why isn’t she waking up?”

“It was a hard throw!”

“Not hard for her. She’s been through worse, we’ve seen worse.”

He flinched thinking about all the hits he’s seen her take in the recent Akuma attacks. “That was when she had magic.”

“Even so, she shouldn’t have been knocked out.” A few beats passed and he snapped his fingers, “Unless, she’s like us.”

“Like us?”

“Split.” Both boys looked at the door and a tired, stern-looking Marinette stood in the doorway. She looked at herself laying practically lifeless on the couch and didn’t react. Instead, she walked over and looked over the body. “Tikki?”

The red kwami flew out from under the girl’s skirt, “I’m sorry Marinette, it was the only place to hide after you threw the purse.”

“You’re fine. Just tell me if I can still become Ladybug.” The red kwami nodded and the girl nodded back with a newfound determination.

“You can’t fight!” Marinette turned to the boy doting over her counterpart and the emotional Damian continued, “We’re weaker in this state!”

“I know. I’m hoping the miraculous will counteract that.”

The other Damian turned to her and hummed, “You really think that’ll work?”

“Can’t afford not to try.”

The boy by the couch looked over the unconscious girl and Damian frowned, “Can you at least come up with a plan first? So you don’t end up like her.”

Marinette looked at the analytical Damian and narrowed her eyes, “Fine.” She pointed at the body and addressed the emotional half, “You look over the body.” She turned back to the analytical half, “You need to fill me in.” He nodded and motioned for them to walk back towards the Akuma as they discussed.

He filled her in on what he saw, which included her other half being thrown against the wall and the Akuma’s power. They walked at a brisk pace, knowing that they were needed but hesitant to throw themselves in. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I need to see what the situation is and get Cat Noir.”

“How are you going to do that? You left Kaalki in the den.”

She didn’t show any outward reaction, but her voice held a new sense of tension, “I’ll figure it out.”

“He’s on the ship then?”

She stopped and turned to face him, “Damian, I don’t think now is the time to play detective.”

“I’m just trying to help you work out your plan.”

She didn’t change in expression, “Between your brothers and Cat Noir, we can overwhelm her and use my lucky charm. She shouldn’t be too bad. She doesn’t seem to be trying to take revenge against someone, she seems to just be having a bad day.” She hummed, “She also isn’t talking to Hawkmoth.”

He watched her thoughts become overtaken with thoughts of the villain and snapped his fingers in front of her, “We have to figure out this Akuma first Marinette.”

She nodded, “Like I said, we’ll be fine.”

“Will we?”

She examined his expression, neutral in nature but his question was a double-edged sword. “I think I can beat Tess. I doubt she’ll be the one who finally beats me.”

Damian nodded and paused for a moment before asking, “Marinette, are we going to be okay?”

“I don’t know.” She looked up at the ceiling as she thought, “I never thought I’d hear that from you. From anyone. I was scared. To be honest, I’m a bit scared of you now.”

He nodded, “Understandable.”

“Logically, I should run. I know that.”

“So why aren’t you running?”

Her neutral expression hid uncertainty, “You know what it’s like when your mind is screaming one thing and your heart is pulling you somewhere else? It’s infuriating.”

“Where was your heart pulling you?”

“Back to you.” The silence was sweet for a moment, if only to her because she didn’t have to go into further detail, and she turned back to Tikki. “Are you ready?”

The kwami blinked, almost forgetting the urgency of the situation and jarred by how open the two were without their emotions. Tikki nodded, “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Spots on.” The transformation consumed her and she felt normal. She felt like she had the same amount of energy she usually had as Marinette, but not the same level of energy she normally had as Ladybug. She knew this was going to be tricky, but she sent Cat Noir a quick message and got ready to take off. She figured as soon as he saw her, Adrien would transform and see it.

“Wait.” She turned back to Damian, both still stone-faced, “You’re telling Marinette to run, the girl on the couch is telling Marinette to stay, what exactly is Marinette going to do when we’re back to normal?”

Ladybug’s eyes darted around the room as she pondered the question, “I think the reason this is so hard is that I can tell you aren’t a bad person. Knowing that you did that is hard for me.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Probably because I don’t have one for you yet.” She licked her lips, “I need to think about it more. You have to admit, that’s a lot to process.”

Damian gave her a curt nod and made some steps forward until he came face to face with the heroine. She examined his every move as she waited for his reaction. He simply leaned down and placed a kiss gently on her cheek. His monotone voice broke through the heavy air suddenly engulfing them, “I only told you that because I’m worried. I don’t want my bad karma to affect you too. I didn’t want anything to happen to you and I want to give you an out before you got too attached.” When he pulled away, neither showed any outward signs of affection or embarrassment, able to only examine the other.

Ladybug didn’t react, she couldn’t without her other half, but she knew as soon as she was whole she’d become even more conflicted. “You’re going to give me whiplash.”

“But you’re still here.”

Ladybug didn’t say anything in response. She just stepped back, the two having a few moments of eye contact as if to supplement the lack of communication, and Ladybug ran towards the direction of the main atrium. Damian just watched her run off, knowing he really couldn’t help her in this state and waited until she was out of sight to walk back to the lounge. He had a lot to think about.

*******************************************************************************************

ALSO: There is a new thing about tags for this ship and Maribat au in general! Please read this [post]! I have added the new tags suggested here and will continue to not use the names of the characters and the shows/franchises! Please REBLOG and Thank You!

To those who want more Seabourne Burnouts content, @itawonka-creates is specifically dedicated to my writing (which is just this story rn) so you can just follow the blog and set it up to be notified just in case the tags do not work!

Tag List (Bitch I have a tag list whAT!?!?!):

@maribat-archive @ozmav @thornangelic727@imfreakingmagical@constancetruggle @chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay@someone-ev   @zazzlejazzle @tinybrie @mewwitch @rhub4rb@saphiraazure2708 @never-neverland @unholykrow @slytherinhquinn @literallytryingmybestbutok @redscarlet95 @grimmhallow31 @fandomkitten9653 @myriad-of-passionate-pettiness @fanboy7794 @mystifiedgal @shizukiryuu @ vixen-uchiha @resignedcatservant @mystery-5-5 @miraculousl4dybug @blackcanary13 @origamieater @moonlitarchangels @mochinek0 @imfreakingmagical @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @derpingrainbow @unabashedbookworm @skyel0ve @northernbluetongue @cadencehood @sizzling-fairy-oil @crazylittlemunchkin @saphiraazure2708 @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @ginamarie1512 @kae690 @ivette0712 @zalladane @ellerahs @auradonfairy @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @scribblinggraveyard @nyctamaximoff @snow-swordswoman @maude-zarella @thebookwormfairy @melicmusicmagic @zalladane @ivette0712 @ginamarie1512  @bookreader20003 @silvergold-swirl @celestiacq @themcclan @amethyst-starr5 @tamoni112 @lunar-wolf-warrior @alexzandria-747 @nataladriana9 @moonlitarchangels @iglowinggemma28 @hunter-shyreen @mermaidofthelost @jessigurl-design @vgirl-10123 @lunar-wolf-warrior @casual-darkness @xxmadamjinxx @normal-piece-of-shit @tinyterror333 @romanoff-queen @schrodingers25 @alessialeone6997 @mindfulmagics @slytherin-heartthrob @da-tasuky @asianfrustration13 @eliza-bich @kuhakuanon @my-name-is-michell @theatreandcomicfreak @interobanginyourmom @starry-bi-sky @etheralentity @creator-josie @kurogaya913 @st0rmy-w1th1n @casual-darkness @vgirl-10123 @poshplumcot

Let me know if I missed anyone and message me! I’ll be sure to see it then!

[flying-elliska]

Next up on "i am becoming a movie review blog" : Emma (2020)

I absolutely adored this movie. Now tbh I haven't read the book or watched any other adaptations so this was very new for me. And it was absolutely delightful. Exactly what I needed in those trying times.

First of all, the aesthetics were incredible, this movie is a feast for the eyes. But it's not gratuitous. The deliberate moments of color saturation and overaestheticisation, the symmetry accompanied by impertinent music, all gives it a slightly staged, over the top feeling that serves all sorts of narrative purposes. At points it underlines the protagonists's boredom with a world of convenance, at others it makes a sort of cover/lid on top of the bubbling human feelings underneath. At some points it feels very "ooh drama", like the red capes of the boarding school girls or the very staged entrance shots. It also casts a slightly wry and amused look on the proceedings as if we shouldn't take them as seriously as the heroine sometimes takes herself. It fits the tone of the movie really well, this humorous, frothy, lusty, a bit mean - but with a heart, story. I read somewhere that the director said that color was used to indicate privilege so it wasn't random that Emma was often dressed in the brightest colors. Anyway I live for aesthetics that also serve the story, it was a great springtime vibe.

The characters themselves were great. I had some moments of confusion as to who knew whom in parts, but nbd. Emma is just so interesting and it's refreshing to see a period protagonist that is so independent. The first scene is a perfect introduction : here she is picking flowers righe before dawn in her beautiful glasshouse, free to do as she pleases and looking like a picture. She has servants waiting on her and picking the flowers for her : she is a priviledged brat. At the same time we then see the purpose of it - it was done for a friend on the morning of her wedding. So we can see she is also sweet, caring - and lonely, which is the mixture that leads her to meddle in other people's lives for matchmaking. That mix of caring and being slightly too full of herself which leads to her pushing her friend to refuse a man she clearly loves to make a more socially advantageous match. I feel like period stories are full of tales of "headstrong women being humbled" and I hate those, but arc didn't feel like that. First of all, she is at times genuinely mean, snobbish and spiky, and she clearly needs to grow from that. She has privilege that has to come with responsibilities - otherwise she would be cruel and she has to come to terms with that. She's a queen bee but not vain or vapid, she clearly has this sharp mind that needs to be used, she has a furious drive to her that is awesome to see and makes her immensely relatable. Also the narrative clearly recognizes her qualities as well, her wit and smarts and caring, and lets her grow and gives her a man that abandons his own house and lonesome ways to be with her. Also watching her scheme was just plain funny, and everyone around her was a little ridiculous too - and I love how her friendship with Harriet became a lot more genuine and caring and she almost refused her own happiness out of friendship for a girl she at the start treated like little more than an amusing past time.

I loved her thing with Knightley - the trope of "bickering childhood friends who sorta hate each other but not really and aren't afraid to be honest with each other" is just quality. I feel like the amazing thing about Austen is that at a time when gender inequality was the law, she managed to create partnerships of equals that felt super credible too and it's especially true here. They obviously recognize something in each other and admire each other. I loved the bits where they are sort of duelling with each other to see who Harriet is going to end up with and it accidentally turns into miscomprehensions and them becoming jealous and etc...this begs to be turned into a fanfic AU honestly it's so juicy. Also the chemistry between the actors is oof seriously the sexual tension and yearning are off the charts.

One of my new favorite things is period movies that don't take themselves too seriously and don't make the past appear all wan and washed out and boring because of some misplaced idea of what those times ought to be like. No matter the social conventions people have always been people, messy and lusty and funny and full of contradicting emotions, and there is something so joyful in recognizing that.

[isa-ghost]

Today’s Fire Notes (5/24/19)

Yes hello I am VERY late with these but I got super detailed with Observation’s End notes, so here ya go, both uploads.

FNAF VR PART 2 NOTES:

17:22 - “Is it gonna be a new dad?” Dad jokes are always squinty given how many last Mayhem had.

21:12 - GLITCHING END CARD.

FOR THE SAKE OF EVERYONE’S POOR FUCKING SCROLLING THUMBS, THE OBSERVATION ENDING NOTES ARE UNDER THE CUT!!

I got really into depth with all the end glitches. ^-^;;

OBSERVATION PART 4 (END) NOTES:

Thumbnail is primarily red and blue, classic Mayhem hint that there’s Some Fuckery(tm) in the video.

Title “There’s No Going Back Now!” concerns me given the previous three titles have all sounded like a conversation, even more concerning given the egos had some kind of a conversation “somewhere” (not a literal Discord channel) in Jack’s official server. Personally not ready to theorize for that entire thing yet, so I dunno what to make of all this atm. But food for thought and all that...

The facecam slid in, like it slid out in part 3. Interesting considering in part 1(?) the cam glitched out and part 2(?) it glitched in.

Half of Sean’s (for the sake of not knowing if this is Chase or someone else, lets just say Sean’s) face is faintly lit up red. This is a HUGE classic Mayhem thing, a LOT of suspicious videos were trademarked with a half-red lit facecam, and the red light grew stronger as May went on. If we’re only just now able to recognize the light difference clearly now, my guess is (if Sean continues this pattern) that it’ll get more intense over time just like last time!

1:23:00 - Facecam glitch. I personally think it’s strange it happens specifically when Emma says “This is every attempt coming together. Where we are... Its not one place. [Glitch happens] Its all of them compressed.”  Noooo idea where to even start with how this could apply to the ego storyline, but I feel like the glitches might be some kinda indicator to pay attention to that concept maybe? Maybe it’s totally random, I dunno. For now, I’m not gonna theorize with it, but the spontaneous glitch struck me as odd.

1:36:00-ish - I noticed through Sean’s arm shadow, his red light IS on, so he DOES have a red light on his face. Now its just a matter of seeing if the redness gets more intense/saturated over time like it did during Mayhem 2018 (if you want examples of how bright/saturated it was, look at Exiles or TIE for examples).

1:39:45 - “I love scif-fi, I love supernatural stuff, I love time travel stuff, I love time-warping stuff, interdimensional shit. All of that stuff is exactly what I love. If I was to write something myself, it would be based around that.” My fellow theorist friends, I think we know what kind of stuff to expect. (I’m going to post this quote in a separate post too.)

1:40:15 - LOTS OF END GLITCHES. We’re gonna go through them a few at a time because BOY are some of these interesting. For starters--

The intro is clearly visible for ONE frame. Interesting... And then these glitches follow:

Casually gonna mention here- not just this video but all glitchy videos we’ve had in the last 4 days -notice how that all the glitches (when gone frame by frame on YouTube using “, and .”) have been 4 frames. Not any significant meaning, I’m simply picking up on that these glitches are usually all about the same length! Which is cool considering how kinda different they’ve all seemed. :O Awesome job on Robin’s part! (Or Sean, because I’m pretty sure he said he edits his longer series himself?)

ANYWAY, back to this entire glitchy outro-

1:40:18 - “Maybe I could be completely wrong.” It’s not this statement that’s suspicious. It’s that his voice stutters on “wrong.” Is that significant? I doubt it, but it stutters on that word only, and then things glitch more, frames alternating between glitching and not--

1:40:19 - Screen cuts to black, aaaand-

For a few seconds, this glitches onto the screen. Clever fucking bastard.

1:40:24ish - Static, then...

The intro frame again? This time for, what do you know, 4 frames, like I pointed out earlier. Huh...

1:40:26 - Two more glitchy intro frames.

1:40:27 - The intro actually comes in? But it’s not actually the start of part 4. It’s the start of the entire series, the start of part 1. It glitches out again, and then the video is eerily silent to the end, focused on the station from the game.

[argetnallison]

the long awaited updated icon tutorial in which i will show you how i make all of the different icons that i make. (it’s a bit long so... you have been warned)

for this icon tutorial you will need:

a screencap

an icon psd

doodles / textures / templates

i. BASICS

okay, so you open your image on photoshop, here's Mera (the love of my life)

next, what i do is i duplicate the layer by right clicking on Mera and selecting duplicate

and i do this until i have three copied layers and my original

then i select the first layer and add auto tone

for the second layer i add auto contrast

and for the third layer i add auto color

and i select those three layers and lower the opacity to 25% - i do this because it balance's the picture's look.

sometimes if the picture is too blue, the auto color will bring it back to its original color. in those cases, i use the fixed image as the "base" and set the blue image to 25% opacity. 

andf finally, i like to crop my picture. (you can crop it again later if you don't like the results, i simply like getting an idea of what my icon will look like)

finally, i merge my layers together

ii. COLORING

the first thing i do for coloring is add my icon psd. you can color your icon any way you like, but if you want to use my psd i will show you the basics of how to edit it so it looks good on any icon.

the first thing you need to do is open the folder. and take the visibility off all of the layers it contains, like so

now, i do my editing in pieces, so first i look at brightness layers

most likely, your picture will be too bright like mine. what you need to do is add another brightness / contrast layer and lower the brightness a bit

then i look at the saturation layers. and what i want to check is if my image is too yellow, or too red, or too much of a color.

and if so, i fix it with a color balance layer. 

next i add all the selective color and the color fill.

the selective color should work for all fandoms (it has for me), but the color fill will need to be modified depending on the brightness of your image.

you can now add all the layers up to the gradient map.

you will need to lower the opacity of the gradient map depending on what you think looks best in your image

at the end, i have two vibrance layers. you will not need both, so check each one to see which one looks better and delete the other one

we are pretty much done with the icon psd

i like to edit the skin a bit, to make it look smoother. this is optional so you can skip this part if you don't wanna do it.

anyway, i add a new layer and chose a skin tone. (i used #ebcdc9)

i set the layer to COLOR and i paint over Mera's skin

then all you do is adjust the opacity. somewhere between 10 and 50% should be okay.

i add another layer, and i paint over her skin with pink (#ce2c64), i set it to SOFT LIGHT and lower the opacity to somewhere between 10 and 50%

i am all done with her skin

then i add another layer, set to SOFT LIGHT and paint over Mera's cheeks and lips with a pink or red color. (i used #ce2c64). 

i lowered the opacity to 26% but this is optional

next i edit the eyes

i add a new layer set to COLOR and use a small brush to color over her eyes with white.

then i duplicate the layer and set it to SOFT LIGHT

in that same layer, i color over her iris with green (´cause her eyes are green, but you could use any color you wanted)

then i use a very small brush to paint around her eyes (sort of like eye-liner) with black or dark brown

i think it looks bad, so i add some gaussian blur

with these settings:

i zoom out

i add a new layer set to COLOR and i use an orange color (#d96932) to paint over Mera's hair. after, i lower the opacity to whatever i think looks good.

i duplicate the layer, set it to SOFT LIGHT and change the opacity again.

this step is also optional

when i color over her clothes i usually chose whatever color i want, paint over her clothes, set the layer to COLOR or SOFT LIGHT

but, i will show you a trick i use, so instead, paint over her clothes with white and set the layer to COLOR

when you are done, duplicate the layer and hide it from view for now.

merge your image again, but make sure you merge the visible layers so your clothes layer doesn't get deleted!

  iii. CUTTING OUT

at this point i like to add my background. i use pre-made gradients made by me (you can learn how to make them here). but you can use a normal color fill background or you can find gradient packs to use.

that layer goes behind Mera

now we have to cut out our icon. if you guys have a preffered method, you can go ahead and use that. i have some methods here. but i will show you what i like to do

we're going to add a layer mask on our image

i select the eraser tool, with a small brush, and 90% hardness

i zoom in and i paint an outline around Mera. 

when you are done, you should have something like this:

note: the outline's thickness doesn't matter much, but the thicker it is, the easier it will be to do the next step

we change the size of the brush

and paint over the rest of the image

we will duplicate the Mera layer

and drag the layer mask to our clothes layer

now we add a color fill layer

set to black (#000000)

then we merge the black color fill layer with the clothes layer

(you select both of them, right click and select merge)

next, click on CHANNELS and then click on the dotted circle at the bottom, this will select the white in your image (but it only works if the image is black and white).

then go back to layers and clik on the layer mask

finally, i duplicate my background drag it on top of Mera and add the layer mask we just created, like so:

note: you can set that layer to SOFT LIGHT or COLOR depending on what you think looks best, and you can adjust the opacity as well.

now back to our Mera layer.

i like to convert it to smart filter

and i duplicate the Mera layer

then, i add vibrance to the duplicated layer

i add all of the vibrance

next, i add gaussian blur

you should chose the settings

i usually go for 15px, but it depends on your image.

and i adjust the opacity

at this point, the icon is pretty much done.

i like adding a few final touches. first, i add a gradient map layer

then, i add a new layer set to SOFT LIGHT

then, add a gradient

next, you will get a pop up.

you can select the same color as your background if you like

but, i like for my gradient to be black and white, so...

then, once you chose your color, you can change the angle here

and the last step is adjusting the opacity

we are done! the last step is to merge your layers.

  iv. SAVING

to have the best quality, you need to save your icons for web.

these are the settings i use:

v. CHANGING COLORS

now you might be thinking. "Michell,  why the hell did you make me do all that stuff for her clothes? Like, what's the point?" well... having that layer mask makes it so easy to change the colors

all you have to do is add a new background, duplicate it, and drag the clothes layer mask to the duplicated background layer

vi. TEXTURES

there are two ways to add textures

the first one is if the texture is the same color as your background. all you do is set it to SOFT LIGHT or SCREEN or whatever else you want and you are done! like this:

and the second one is if you want to use a texture that is a different color than your icon, like this:

what i do is, i select that layer and go IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS > VIBRANCE

and i get rid off all the vibrance

and now i can set it to SOFT LIGHT (or anything else i want) and it will look awesome!

note: here are some of my favorite textures and here are some of my textures

vii. DOODLES

adding doodles is super easy. all you need to do is drag them over your icon, change the size and maybe rotate them a bit

you can leave them as they are, or set them to SOFT LIGHT or SCREEN

note: i don't use doodles much, but you can find some here

viii. TEXT TEXTURES

for text/lyrics textures are very easy to use. i mostly set them to SCREEN. and as you can see above there's a bunch of different styles you can do, which i really like

for these, the most important thing is the size. remember you can make the textures smaller or larger to fit your image

ix. SHAPE ICONS

these icons are really easy to make. all you need to do is add a layer mask

you add your template over the icon

you click SELECT > ALL and once the image is selected press  CTRL+C to copy the layer

then press ALT and click the white square on the layer mask

press CTRL+V to paste your template

finally, convert your image for smart filters

note: here's a template psd i made 

p.s. here's a full tutorial in case you need more help

x. CIRCLE OUTLINE ICONS

these icons are really easy as well! first, you need to make a circle icon (with the tutorial above) and you will need some circle outlines or flower crowns. (i googled them to find the ones i used)

anyway, you place it on top of your icon like so

then we go to CHANNELS and click the dotted circle

go back to LAYERS

next add a color fill layer, with whichever color you want (i use white always)

and then you get this.

(you might need to re-size your circle icon a bit, just press CTRL + T and change it in the squares at the top)

that's all!

if you have any more questions my askbox is open! 

[shametheshadow]

Lair Review for Kaial

@pumpkin-bread (No payment necessary, I tend to get carried away)

Okay, so in general, your “The Wanderers/Refugees” tab is already my aesthetic~ I’m going to try and not make this all about them and choose my favorite out of each clan, so just know that I adore each of them! (Adariana is especially gorgeous! And Idylla’s WINGS oMG!!!)

Okay, so I love everything about this dude. His colors remind me of a sunset or like... warm firelight glowing against the night sky. A knowledge seeker, a trinket collector, and ... potentially unhappily betrothed???? Excuse me, more please! Have you ever seen the anime Snow White with Red Hair? It isn’t super similar, but he gives me the same feel as the main character. Someone who just wants to learn things and meet people but keeps getting sucked into marriages and court drama. But Moon’s theme is Andromeda so... he kinda just wins.

Dis boi deserves it all BI All of it. Keep an eye out for an upcoming message from Clan Safe Haven. He bootiful. He precious. He’s got fae lore and I loves me some fae lore. I can’t wait to see the theme you choose for him. Tortured artists are the best kind of artist.

I find that female imps are kind of difficult to dress without looking a bit too cluttered, so I almost passed this one up... but then I checked out her bio. Seeing the art really helped me focus on the dragon itself. I really like the starmap on this and even the facet with the accented edges... but let’s be honest... the lore is the main course. Celestial shapeshifter who harms those she gets close to? Hell yes. Has it become obvious that I love whimsy with a touch of suffering? And Astral Gardener is one of the best titles ever.

Okay, so originally I was going to leave the Beach House Dragons to honorable mentions because none of them are visually my kind of thing (Though Dram nails that Surfer boy look in every way!) but I knew Kismet especially was a special dragon for you. I just wanted to say that it’s really amazing how you made some really awesome lore out of a really heartbreaking ordeal. 10/10 Would vacation at this lovely’s beach house.

This gal is so purdy. I’m not partial to guardians, but I do think they wear glimmer the best out of any of the dragon breeds, and this girl is no exception. The light blues play well off of the white and orange body, and then you get the same effect on the wings with the dark blues against the black and orange. She has a lot of small parts that are nice to look at, that makes a really great whole picture. Which is furthered by her counterpart curse and her Black/Purple/Yellow contrasting image. Being a good witch brought in to bring balance is also interesting lore and I just love how the look of the dragons really sell that point. I kind of wonder how she would react and handle a witch who toes the line between good and evil, who could fall to either side at any moment.

I saved Amberspire for last because just... so... many... dragons. I don’t look at every one, but I have trouble picking only a few, and more dragons means more choices. However, I think I picked a good one. I think a couple times now I’ve made references to anime or wanting to see things as a cartoon, but I really do wish I could see this princess’s story in moving picture form! She’s pleasing to look at in both dragon and anthromorphic form and I’ve just sat here imagining a Tangled Series-esque adventure of this traveling princess dragging a Pallbearer around on crazy adventures. The black to red, semi-transparent smoke from her candle apparel along with the same look on the sylvan dress make a nice image. The reds on the whole play well with the light purples and then brilliant golden yellows. 

I very nearly did not chose this buddy because I thought he was kind of plain looking from afar, but I’m glad I gave him a closer look. I really love all the touches of blue, but then I scrolled down and saw him naked... and ho boi those wings add such a cool dimension! I wish I could see more of them. I really like how he’s a quiet, softspoken guy... who also is the most prone to throwing himself into danger. It isn’t often you see that combo and have the danger be an intentional thing they walk into xD

Honorable Mentions:

Cassis: Ooooooh~ Fallen, powerful fae lord? Tell me more!

Tronada: He’s got a really interesting look. Mostly the wings, but the lightning colored accents are a great touch. The bio blurb intrigues me.

The Beach House: Okay, so while Dram, in particular, struck my interest in both looks and the inverting surfer boy trope, this whole gang makes me want a cartoon about them. A cartoon simply because I think it needs those amazing saturated colors for a style.

Cavalier: My unicorn knight Nico (Who is also entirely devoted to his love) finds this one very interesting. He would like to meet Cav and maybe have a friendly sparring match one day. Cavalier’s current life is pretty much Goals for him.

Enrialla: PREEEEEETYYYYYY~! I love how the accent works on her.

Zerid: Also really awesome accent. I didn’t even notice at first, I thought it was just the dragon’s natural colors/genes and apparel giving him that look. The effect is subtle and eye catching at the same time. I had her and Lytra open in different tabs at the same time and the contrast between them was interesting. Like Lytra was early fall sort of colors and then Zerid reminded me of the very end of fall in contrast. 

Ivol and Ushi: I’d love to see some human art of them just being loud hippy minstrels in the middle of a mess hall.

Leviahna: Purple is my favorite color, and this gal does purple soooo right. If we could code our own pages I’d be really interested to see what environment you’d have her presented in because everything else is working so well together.

Archibald: Has anyone made it past Archibald? He seems like a magnet for some really scatterbrained, persistent sort of character to pester... setting off a zany adventure of him trying to keep them away and them somehow finding their way past him.

Ylva: Nearly chose her instead of Trina. I love her colors and lore! And the different bird species based skydancer is a neat look.

Asimov: Puuuuuuurdy!!

Magni: This guy looks really cool and I like how his familiar kind of matches.

I know this is a Pot calling Kettle situation, but dammit. MOAR LORE!

[wlwhyuck]

i was tagged by miss arya @ethnicgf to list my 9 most listened to albums in 2018 !! thank u ily !! and now in no particular order:

1. iridescence by brockhampton 

this is probably my favorite album by them tbh. don’t get me wrong - i absolutely loved their saturation albums but this one really topped them all. i loved bumping this in my car on the way to work with my volume way up and getting dirty looks from the white ppl in the cars next to me hehe. my fav tracks are probably berlin and j’ouvert

2. love me / love me not by honne

i saw them live in september !! i listened to this album (and their first album) a lot before the concert so id b Prepared. ive been listening to them since mybe 2016? their music is So good and this album was a lot more upbeat than the first one (which had more of a late night in the rain by the window kind of feeling) this one had more of a happy vibe and i really enjoyed it tbh!! favorite tracks were day 1 and crying over you

3. head in the clouds by 88rising

i went to the head in the clouds festival hosted by 88rising the same week i saw honne sdklfjslkj....such a good festival tbh and a good ass album!! i found out higher brothers’ music was a lil different from what i thought it was through this album lol...its still very yuh yuh but theyve got some funky instrumentals that i really like too...and miss niki omg.....my fav tracks were midsummer madness, head in the clouds, red rubies, and warpaint !!

4. coexist by the xx (+ intro from xx)

i think the xx are one of my favorite bands of all time tbh? ive been listening to them since i was 13 or 14 and i still love their music so much...i always find myself going back to coexist bc there is not one bad song on that album...Not One....its one of my life goals i think to see them in concert and hear intro live...one of the most iconic indie rock/indie pop songs imo tbh? this album is pretty melancholy and simpy but i love it to Death. probably my top 10 albums of all time. favorite tracks are angel, chained, tides, and swept away 

5. boy by offonoff

i love krnb !! its one of my most listened to genres recently i lovelovelove offonoff’s music it’s so chill and mellow and relaxing to listen to, and idk what to even say this album is just so good idk theres no bad songs every song is !! also theres a dean feature and a miso feature i mean hello ??? favorite songs are photograph, cigarette, and moon 12:04am

6. mass manipulation by rezz

im also super into edm this year, mostly bc of my best friend lol..we influence each other a lot when it comes to music and one of my fav artists she’s gotten me into is rezz...tbh rezz has a very distinct sound and not many people make music like her!! i just love the vibe of this whole album is so fucking cool and haunting and i can imagine it being the soundtrack to a cyberpunk film or something it’s so fucking awesome. favorite songs are premonition, drugs!, purple gusher (this one isn’t actually on the album but it was released as a single leading up to the album release), livid, basically all the songs tbh skdfhslkj

7. about time by sabrina claudio

her voice is. so fucking beautiful i cannot put it into words i love her music !! so much !! there’s just something so comforting and relaxing about her sound and i love this album so much tbh...i like to listen to this at night on my drive home from work...it helps me wind down and all that. my favorite songs are unravel me, stand still, and frozen !!

8. as long as you’re okay by slchld

this actually an ep thing and it’s only got 2 songs on it but theyre. so good i listened to those two songs on repeat for weeks sdkfjslkj...say whats on your mind was my simp song for like a week i played it all day every day so fucking loud especially in my car i still love both songs to Death. i’d say that say whats on your mind is one of my top 10 fav songs of all time tbh! i recommend listening to that and i’d be sad if you were gone !!

9. don’t you by wet

STORY TIME: i was introduced to wet by this girl i had a crush on in high school during my sophomore year ?? god she was so cute and i complimented her shirt which was apparently wet’s merch and she asked me if i listened to them and i was like o. no. and she was like u should theyre really good !! n bc i was in love with her i went home and listened to the album and fell in love with the band...that was four years ago and i still love this album to this day and this yr i listened to it a fuckton idk why ksjhfskjhd. favorite songs are def deadwater, don’t wanna be your girl, all the ways, and it’s all in vain

tbh i really enjoyed writing my commentary on these albums lol !! if anyone wants to check out my spotify i make playlists all the time nd i put a lot of effort into them n theyre v cute hehe

im tagging @5unwoo @deckthehwalls @j-onehunnit @slutual @mansaes @myfirstandlast @nctlife @7xiaojun @1ongride @jis1ng @sunsolo @cupidhwang @godoyoung @gayoongi and anyone else who wants to do this !!

[ad-drew]

WIP Tag Game

Was tagged by @mania-junkie-writes thank you! Super enjoyed answering these questions.

1. When starting something new, how much do you know about the story before you start writing?

I know a general overview of what the plot might be, but it lacks any details. I'll usually come up with a setting, a few characters, and the general kind of story I want to tell. Any kind of character interactions or plot points all come later. In rare cases I might have a vision for one specific awesome moment I want to work in, but that's about it. I require a lot of thought and planning before I sit down to start writing something new. 2. What draws you to your WIP(s)? Why did you choose to write that/those over anything else?

The characters, the lore, and the monsters. I've grown so desensitized to the over-saturated monsters like vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, angels, demons, etc. I really wanted to work on something that gets into a whole host of different and interesting creatures. So I went with yōkai, which I've always been fascinated with, and built a unique lore around them, threw my characters into the mix, and I'm having a blast fleshing it all out. 3. Favorite writing spot? Why?

In bed, wrapped up in blankets. It's warm, cozy, and usually dark since I don't turn on the lights. Perfect way to lose myself to my writing. 4. Share your favorite line of what you’ve written so far!

Oof, well I don't have a favorite single line, really. Or I just can't remember since there's so many lines. Especially going back through all my works... I'll just keep it limited to my current WIP. And, they're more whole paragraphs than single lines, but eh. Sue me, I guess?

First, something from an emotional scene:

Her words cut out in a quiet squeak of air, as Christine’s arms wrapped tight around her with all the warmth and reassurance of a security blanket. The jittering in her stomach settled. In a single instant she wasn’t Jessica Palmer anymore, frightened and sobbing. She was Xena, Warrior Princess, with the strength and courage to triumph over anything. But why did she get that from a hug? Why did sitting there, held tight in Christine’s embrace, send her heart racing into her throat? And what was that scent?

Jessica breathed deep through her nose, inhaling a puff of peppermint and strawberry. Her heart raced faster. Was that Christine’s hair? She inhaled a second time, and the peppermint-strawberry mix danced across the back of her throat, almost able to taste it. Oh God, it was wonderful.

And something more action-y:

Scorching gouts of red and blue flames erupted from her fingertips. The fire spread, towered, shooting forth as would a geyser into Doru’s face and beyond. Half the worship chamber sparked into inferno. Burning plumes erupted skyward, filling the vaulted ceiling above with churning, cataclysmic waves of heat so powerful Rei thought her own hair might ignite. Swarms of kappa raced to escape the hellfire, but they’d nowhere to go. One by one they fell from the walls, scaled bodies charred and blackened, consumed by conflagration. Their gurgling death wails echoed through the church.

Keeping in mind these are excerpts from an incomplete rough draft, I actually enjoy them. The second one is bit flowery and will probably change, but something about describing fire (especially the destructive kind) is quite enjoyable.

5. If you had to choose one oc to bring to life as an actual person, which one would it be and why?

Christine! She's not the main character, but she's just so pure, and kind, and genuine, and bubbly, and would the best friend to have. She deserves all the happiness and joy.

6. Are you looking to get published? If so, do you hope to make it a career?

I am, and I do hope to make it a career. I know how difficult that will be, though, and it might never happen, but I'm not going to stop working towards it. Even if it doesn't happen, I won't stop writing. I enjoy it too much.

7. What’s something you would read but would never write (or the other way around)? Any reason?

Sci-fi. I'm not huge into the genre, but I have read a few stories that I absolutely loved. Getting into it, though, I don't think it's something I would ever enjoy or be good at writing the way I am with more fantasy-inspired works.

8. What’s something you are most proud of about your work so far?

The sheer progress I've made since I started. If you've ever heard the classic writing advice to go back and read your old work, but never done it, well, go do it. You'll be amazed. Reading through my current WIP and stuff I wrote 6 years ago is like night and day when it comes to the quality. 9. Badly describe your WIP(s) in one sentence.

Angsty delinquent high school girl gets her ass kicked by monsters but somehow still saves the day. 10. Why did you want to be a writer?

Because I remember the feeling I had as a kid when I lost myself in a book. I remember the rush of excitement diving into a unique world, falling in love with characters. I remember my heart pounding as I turned the pages, desperate to find out what happened next. I remember the joy, the laughter, the sadness, the epicness. I remember how those stories made me feel, and I want to make other people feel the same way with the stories I write.

If you’re feeling up for it, have at it! @writebruh @lovelymusings97 @booksandsass @starlitesymphony @seraphilth @sillyliterature @unicornaffair

Feel free to pass as always!

[girlieinterns]

An Interview with Gigi Rowe

The interns had the chance to chat with singer and Girlie client, Gigi Rowe. Here’s what she had to say about her music, her influences, and her favorite moments as a musician. 

J: What was the first show you went to?

G: I feel like there were some really iconic artists that I saw when I was young, like an artist named Anne Murray. She was one of my grandmother’s favorite singers, a Canadian singer, and she had this song called “Could I Have This Dance?” which when I was like five, my grandmother had me learn and I would sing it at family dinners. Then my grandparents took me to her show when I was really little. I grew up in New Jersey and she came through at the Garden State Arts Center.

O: How do you craft your aesthetic and persona?

G: So I grew up in New Jersey, in and out of New York City all the time and I feel like I have kind of my real story and then part of the reason I think that I created Gigi Rowe was that I was like “You know, what I don’t have to be boxed in.” Gigi Rowe isn’t this girl from New Jersey; Gigi Rowe is of the future and the past, and was an orphan at birth found wrapped in a blanket on an enchanted island. And so Gigi Rowe is a character that exists in her own fantasy world and I get to be the earthly Gigi Rowe.

C: What upcoming projects have you been working on?

G: I’ve been in the studio a lot recently. There’s a universe I come from of being a singer songwriter and then over time your creative vision gets bigger and bigger. But lately I’ve just been working with so many different writers and producers and having so many cool opportunities to work with people that I’ve always looked up to in the industry and then people that are super young and now getting chased by all the labels, so it’s fun to meet so many people and work with people at all different levels. I wrote a song with someone in Nashville that recently people are like “I really like that.” It's kind of getting into a Kate Bush meets The 1975 vibe. Also, I’m recording next week with a young producer, NATIIVE, out in LA. He’s someone I’ve been working with for the past year and doing some really fun work. It’s kind of like when you have your photograph taken by different people, you’re going to look different. The same person can be super indie and edgy, dark and black and white, or saturated and pop. I’ve definitely been on that sort of exploration. When I first met the Girlie team, it was very much a bubblegum moment because I had my music featured on the Just Dance video games. That’s been this cool ride, but it’s only a small part of the big picture. I just did a song with Brian Kennedy, he was the one behind “Disturbia” by Rihanna and Kelly Clarkson’s “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger.” At his core, he’s an incredible piano player, so we did this beautiful raw piano track.

J: What impact do you want to make with your music?

G: I think I just want to take people on a ride and inspire people. I mean ultimately I’d love to inspire myself, which isn’t always easy. I think when you’re super creative and have tons of ideas, you can run through those quickly or you kind of feel like you can’t keep up with yourself. I think that that’s always a challenge.

J: So far in your music career what do you think is your biggest accomplishment?

G: Performing at Rock in Rio was amazing. I’ve never been to Brazil or South America, it was where the Olympics took place. Justin Timberlake was headlining and I got this opportunity to be on an arena stage for the first time and to walk out and perform my songs that were featured on Just Dance and have people singing every word in a country I’ve never been to. And to have people lined up to get pictures and autographs, it’s in that moment where it becomes very real. It’s amazing when you can see that impact.

C: Who are some of your influences?

G: I’m more like a Cyndi Lauper style performer. I come from being more of a rock and roll girl. Cyndi’s such a badass and I think her whole message and who she is is amazing. I just wrote a brand new song called “Color Outside The Lines” and I feel like it’s very “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” meets “True Colors.” That’s a really cool space to be in and I love that comparison. I saw her open up for Cher and in that moment I could really connect and be like, “Oh these are my people.” I love those iconic women where they’re larger than life and their personas are so much apart of their art.

O: Who would you like to collaborate with in the future? Who is your ultimate dream collab?

G: Wow so many thoughts in my head. I think Cyndi and Cher. And to be able to do something like be in a movie, like Cher was just in “Mama Mia” and did this whole soundtrack. To be able to be on screen with someone like Cher or Cyndi and be able to collaborate on the soundtrack would be amazing. I’ve always loved epic iconic artists like Bono or Bruce Springsteen so doing something with them would be awesome. I’m a go big or go home girl.

C: Where’s your favorite place to visit?

G: Now I’m just thinking about food. That question turned into “Where do you like to eat?” Well, I always love coming back to New York City because I feel like it’s home but at the same time always fresh and new. I feel like I romanticize cities, but Paris definitely has this allure for me. I think it’s something growing up with American pop culture and movies that the idea of Paris is very romanticized. I love so many places. I’ve been enjoying this kind of Miami, Nashville, LA, New York rotation because they’re so different but compliment each other.

O: If you could be any cupcake flavor, what would you be?

G: Such a good question. I would be a rainbow cupcake. I’ll show you a picture to illustrate. Actually, I’d like to be a cake. This place recently came on my radar, it’s called Flour Shop. I haven’t gone yet but I have to go. Okay are you ready for this? That’s me as a cake. Pop some pink champagne with that and you have Gigi Rowe!

C: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what one album would you want with you?

G: I’ve actually thought about this. Billy Joel’s “River of Dreams.” “Lullabye” is on there for his daughter and I used to loop that to go to sleep. That was what just came to mind right when you asked that.

O: What sort of music did you listen to growing up?

G: I grew up going to a lot of musical theatre. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen “Cats.” I think that seeing these dramatic family operas had me totally immersed. I can definitely see where that feeds into this universe that I’m inspired to create. Being taken to a lot of those shows made an impact.

C: What is one thing you can’t live without?

G: Coffee. Wow a one word answer!

O: If you had to be a Disney character in your next life, who would you be?

G: I’ve always loved Sleeping Beauty. I was kind of obsessed with her when I was little. But it would be fun to be Ariel. I want that red hair, that voice, and that prince. It would be fun to say something like Flounder, like something really random.

J: Do you have a pre-show ritual?

G: I’m still dialing that in. I wouldn’t say I’m superstitious, but I like to feel spiritually. Energy definitely means something to me. I think as I do more shows, I’m excited to get in this next incarnation of what the Gigi Rowe live experience is like.

J: What advice can you offer new musicians?

G: Run! Just kidding. Lionel Richie gave me the best advice when I met him. He told me “Just keep going.” There’s little in life that that doesn’t apply to.

Thanks again to Gigi for taking the time to chat with us here at Girlie Action. Make sure to check out her music on her website and follow her Instagram for updates! 

[warp6]

How do you do your moodbeards?

Thanks so much for asking! This was an exciting ask to get (and a great study break! :) I love talking about the process of...anything, so this may be a lot more rambling on about more parts of this process than what you were asking about, but I hope something in here is helpful to you!

cc0 images

A billion years ago, I was trying to figure out how to find cc0 images for photo edits, and the wonderful @klingonne wrote me out this AWESOME reply giving tips and recommendations that I still use to this day.

I’ve gotten into the habit of mostly using Pixabay and LibreStock, but it depends on what you’re looking for...her post is definitely worth a read, and there are “ten places to find cc0 images...” type lists floating around google too.

cc0 (Creative Commons Zero) images can be used and modified for any personal (or even commercial!) use without credit to the original image author. In other words you do not, legally and morally speaking, have to worry about linking to or otherwise crediting the images’ sources when using the images.

I like to use cc0 images for moodboards and other Tumblr edits so that I don’t have to worry about where to credit the image authors on the post. I’ve seen moodboards where the person links the sources of all the images at the bottom of the post in a square mimicking the moodboard, like this:(x) (x) (x)(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) which I think is a really clever way to give credit without distracting from the post’s look(TM) ! But there are so many great sources of cc0 images that work for my purposes that I use them to just sidestep the need for credit entirely.

editing images + creating quotes

I use pixlr.com, which is basically a free online photoshop equivalent, for editing. It works for everything I want to do, like flipping images and adjusting color, lightness, and saturation. It’s pretty wonderful.

I don’t edit all the images I use beyond cropping; the ones I do edit, I’m adjusting the lightness/saturation to jive better with the rest of the board, flipping or rotating so that they’ll look okay in a given position, or changing the color to match or contrast appropriately with the other images.

arranging

The main things I think about when arranging are...

1) ...Balance. I want good color and lightness/darkness balance--I don’t want all the paler images, reddish images, etc on one side of the moodboard.

2) ...Adjacent edges. Often (not always) it doesn’t look good to have two images next to each other where both have a lot of detail in the edges that border each other, and looks cleaner to border complicated edges with smoother ones.

3) ...Position. Certain images look better in certain positions, like an open road in the center of Harry’s moodboard, or coffee beans spilling from one side of an image on the side of Janeway’s moodboard.

Finally (and this, more than the above, is just a me thing), in the character moodboards I’ve made/am working on, I like to have a bit of a chronological thread--not quite story, but thread--when scanning the images in the order one reads in written English, left to right along each row, starting at the top. The most literal way I’ve done this is by having a quote across two squares in descending ‘order’ in Harry’s moodboard, but I like to have the images in the ‘right’ place chronologically too--the toast square is in the bottom row of Harry’s moodboard since his toast scene takes place at the end of his arc on the show, and Georgiou’s moodboard moves roughly from images representing childhood and young adulthood to images representing the current character we know.

moodboard (versus aesthetic)

I was initially super confused when moodboards became a thing on Tumblr a year or two (?) ago, but once I’d seen several I got the idea--the idea being that the name was the definition! The images don’t have to be literally related to the person/idea/thing in question, but rather convey the mood, feel, or essence of that thing. Which I LOVE, because I love metaphors, but also tend to feel compelled to be literal when creating imagesets or the like. So getting to go, “You mean I can just pick the images that ~I feel~ represent this character’s essence? I don’t have to, like, ~justify~ each one?” was delightful!

IIRC, aesthetics predate moodboards significantly when it comes to widespread use on Tumblr (turns out moodboards are originally a thing from the professional design world! who knew) and I find the similarities/differences between the two art forms really interesting. Most Tumblr moodboards are nine square images forming a square, while Tumblr aesthetics vary a lot more, but I think there are content differences as well. I suspect that if you asked twenty fandom people the difference between aesthetics and moodboards, you’d get eleven different answers...ten people with different distinctions, and the other ten people saying “they’re synonymous.” XD To me, the distinction is in the names--a moodboard is about feel while an aesthetic is about look. So, for example, I have a square in my Janeway moodboard of a mother holding a baby, representing the maternal part of her personality; if I’d been making an aesthetic, that square might instead be taken up by a swirl of red fabric or an elegant bathtub with flowers in it.

But that’s just my take, and I think a lot of people who create aesthetics are conveying a feel/mood as much or more than a look, and vice versa. So the nature of a given moodboard/aesthetic definitely depends on what the creator is bringing to it. :)