#I’m sorry it’s not fully coloured and shaded

[jasper-dracona-art]

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[zeichannnnn]

⚠️ In regards to the natlan controversy (and Sumeru by proxy)

Do NOT accuse people of being racist just because your skin colour cannot be found in a game. Learn to know that people don't live in the same situation as you.

Please read this fully for the reality of things I'm sorry for getting political, skip if you don't want to interact

I’m kinda sad at the fact that a lot of people are quick to hate, judge, and scrutinise Hoyo without understanding the situation.

With recent teaser of Natlan characters, people are rightfully upset at the fact that the characters shown to hail from Natlan… don’t exactly look the part. With characters lighter than my own skin tone (I’m a Chinese Southeast Asian by the way, heya) people are calling hoyo bullshit and accusing them of being a racist for failing time and time again at giving us characters with POC shades of skin. Now I’m not here to defend Mihoyo for their actions, or to tell you to stop being mad at the situation being the way they are. No, I’m here to shed you some light of how life is as a game company under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Xin Jin Ping (XJP cause I won’t be bothered to type his whole ass name)

I've highlighted points of each section

Any pages that requires translations, I recommend using DeepL instead of google translate because you can check the meanings of specific words and it's translation are better (imo)

Skip to the last part if you just want a summarised version

Before we get into the nitty gritty that is Genshin drama, I'll give you a run-down on what and how China works.

check the part "In relation to Genshin's design choices and how China's beauty standard influences it" if you want to go straight on to the point

People’s Republic of China

is a Unitary Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist republic. This means that China is under a one-party (Chinese Communist Party) rule with communism ideology on how they rule and govern the country and socialist standards for how they manage their economy and everything else. [.]

The CCP holds a very nationalistic view

[.] which is commonly used as propaganda [.] for them to garner either sympathy or control over the people of China. These nationalistic view, in its raw and most rudest form, simply states that Chinese people are pure by upholding traditional Chinese culture (that's not even traditionally Chinese, more or less more catered towards communism and the CCP's ideologies which are that they're great and everyone else is wrong) and not mixing themselves or tainting themselves with things that are not pure (i.e. anything that isn't Chinese, from China, belongs to China) This nationalistic views, which glorifies China and detests anything foreign (i.e. culture, language, people, etc.) have led to a lot of xenophobia being built and nurtured inside of China's society [1] [2] [3]

Aside from the CCP's nationalistic views,

China's society is very censored and monitored by the CCP

[.] Google, YouTube, or more specifically, the internet itself is heavily banned by the government, electing the people to use the CCP's private internet that allows them to be monitored 24/7 through IP location and private information. [1] [2] [3] [4] Aside from heavily monitored and controlled internet access, people in the real world are also actively being watched and monitored through CCTV with facial recognition features and an AI that can predict people's action (yes, exactly like the akasha, and yes, Sumeru arc is based on reality, I won't talk about it here but feel free to read between the lines and compare it with the sources and news articles I'm about to drop on you) [1] [2. Behind paywall] [3] [4] [5]

With its censorship in mind, let us talk about what brings us all here:

the gaming censorship in China.

In order for a game to be published in China, whether it's made by an indie or a multi-billion dollar company, the game has to go through a complicated preliminary test made and assigned by the CCP to play, test, and go through your game before publishing it anywhere in Chinese media [.] This test includes you company's paperwork, your game's paperwork, the things you're displaying in your game, and the story it's trying to tell. There are not that many rules on what should and should not appear inside of your game, such as: polyamory, the undead (in both graphic and non-graphic manner), etc. That should be considered tame and should cause no problem, however, we do have a problem with one of the rule given which is: Emphasizing Cultural Sensitivity.

Emphasizing Cultural Sensitivity

in the article I've mentioned before, describes it as "Games should impart “correct” information on politics, law, and history, as interpreted by the authorizing agency." Now what does "correct" information entail? Who fucking knows because truth is relative. Facts, when in the eyes of the CCP, are relative to what they believe is to be right and what they want us to believe is right.

Now with that out of the way, let us get into the main deal.

MiHoYo

(not to be confused with Hoyoverse/Cognosphere which is their international branch) is a is a Chinese video game development and publishing company, founded by three classmates from university Cai Haoyu, Liu Wei, and Luo Yuhao [.] That means that Genshin Impact's development, ever since it was at its infancy, first-established days, and updates until the near future, are all subjected onto that game censorship law that I mentioned earlier. Now you might all be wondering, what does all of those rules have to do with genshin characters having dark skins? To that I point you towards the fact that MiHoYo and the CCP are and have been actively working together ever since around September 2021. [1] [2]

Cooperation between MiHoYo and the CCP

Ever since Genshin Impact's massive hit both nationally and internationally, its massive fanbase has hit the internet no one has ever seen before. It is the first ever Chinese game that has gotten world wide acclaim and with that, new eyes begin to look upon China. It is no surprise to anyone that Genshin is very particular about showing and promoting Chinese culture to the outside world. Genshin has somehow become the face to Chinese culture in just a year, with limited events such as Lantern Rite and Moonchase festival to showcase China's cultural beauty. With world-wide acclaim comes a price, wherein the CCP no longer treats Genshin as "another game" but a tool that they can use to promote and advertise themselves into the global population.

Begin the censorship and micro-manipulation of things in Genshin

New gaming censorship dropped after the Genshin Impact became a hit in the industry, with even Venti and Gorou as examples of characters that should not appear in media published in China (effeminate man) [.] In additional to the list I've linked in the "the gaming censorship in China" section, a lot more additional rules have been added to that list, such as: queer representation, morally grey character, but I what I want you to look at more is the section where "historical elements, including characters, maps and clothing, should conform with mainstream accounts." in addition to that, a self-regulation pact was made between game companies and the CCP that bans any and all content that is deemed "politically harmful" and "historically nihilistic." Now focus more onto that "historically nihilistic" point, what does that mean?

Historical nihilism

is a term used by the CCP and many Chinese scholars to describe research or discussions deemed to contradict an official state version of history in a manner perceived to question or challenge the legitimacy of the CCP [.] TLDR; it's a term used for when what you're saying clashes or goes against what the CCP said. Why is this important you may ask? It's because that now, at this point, if anything Genshin does something—whether that'd be plotline, design etc.—that the CCP thinks shouldn't exist or be represented, they have the lawful right to block or stop it from reaching the final product. Now this, this is what happened to Genshin's Sumeru and Natlan cast.

In relation to Genshin's design choices and how China's beauty standard influences it

white has always been a predominant part of modern Chinese beauty culture, for some reason (I don't know and I'm not going to go that deep into it, research it on your own if you're curious) In fact, it's not only China but also Asian culture in general. White skin has always been hailed as pure and beautiful here in Asia, where the line "as pale as the moon" is a common compliment to give to someone. Skin colour that are tan or even darker are connected to being dirty or stinky. Despite the younger generation not really adhering to that view, the older generation (calling out the CCP here) upholds that standard till this day. Pin straight hair, round eyes, pale white skin, and a thin figure are the standards put upon those born as female. Their male counterpart are not that different, with lean and fit being the preferred body type rather than big muscles or bulky forms.

The reason behind why this is the case is because of Asia's strict social code in rules and appearances. We must appear prim and clean, that means no dyed hair, no tattoos, no piercings, and minimal make-up. Anyone that goes against those rules are regarded as delinquents or deviants that usually break the rules and do criminal activities (despite it not being the case) Having a bulky stature also applies to that list, regardless of what gender you are, and especially for men. You're regarded as dangerous, criminal, bad influence if you look like that in public (this is why we don't have that much bulky characters gang and why we were robbed of heavy muscles Itto orz) (he deffo was very bulky in the original design, probably similar to the Nobushi but it got nerfed in final product)

Given all of that in mind, it's no wonder that Sumeru's and and Natlan's casts are mostly white... but were they always that way?

The original skin colour design for Natlan cast might've been darker than what we have in the final product.

As a lot of people have mentioned (especially with the many beautiful edits I'm very fond of) the character designs for Natlan's new up-coming rosters looks better with darker skin tone. Take for examples this edit right here:

taken from @ rarepairz on twitter [source]

Their designs (with darker skin tones) seem to pop more, giving highlights onto their clothes and accessories in comparison to the original design. Here are more examples of this happening:

taken from @ Wabs_nabs on twitter [source]

It is especially clear to anyone with basic colour theory that the colour used for designing the clothes and accessories and highlights in the hair look better with darker skin colour. There is *intent* on making it this way in comparison to woeful ignorance of making them look white as hell. If they were to intentionally to make the characters look white, they would've chosen a better colour for the clothes, less bolder ones and eye-popping ones to contrast with the already luminescent light that's emitting from the skin.

And this is not the case for only Natlan, by the way! The same thing happened when the Sumeru cast was first leaked. Case in point this:

taken from @ animuswonder on twitter [source]

and my personal art of Cyno and Nari:

Look at how much contrast there is between their colour palette or how much resonance there is, with Cyno his more cold-colour attire and hair, in comparison to his deep dark warm skin or Tighnari that's the epitome of a "spring girl" like come on man. There's INTENT in those designs, to have more darker shades than they are in the game. Sadly, they just can't do it due to censorships. Why? Because, as I have mentioned before, darker shades of skin are represented as dirt here in Asia as we glorify pale skin more.

The representation of uniqueness and differences in Chinese game is not common due the fact that most Asian countries are homogenous, which means they prefer everyone and everything to be the same, to look the same, and follow and do the same things. They do not advocate for uniqueness, they do not advocate for individuality, they advocate for us to conform and to follow like a sheep in a herd. Because of that, most people spend their whole life trying to whiten up their skin, keeping them light, and those who are darker than most are shown prejudiced and scrutinised.

Mentioning again the fact that MiHoYo and the CCP are working closely together, Genshin Impact is currently being used as a cultural weapon by the government. With MiHoYo showing numerous time that they've donate and support Chinese cultural heritage, the CCP is using that fact and holding control over Genshin as a way to promote and advertise sympathy towards Chinese culture and the Communist regime by proxy. It's like how your parents are getting you to eat broccoli brownies in hopes that you'd eat normal broccolis and other vegetables by proxy. Everything and anything that Genshin shows in its game are now under close inspections of the CCP and colourism especially will not fly-by their radar.

In conclusion

Your anger and hatred towards the new characters’ designs are justified, however the person you aim those anger and hatred should not be towards Mihoyo, or Liu Wei, or any of the staff members but towards the situation and the laws and the local government MiHoYo has to adhere to.

We're already lucky to have MiHoYo even wanting to represent and shpw different cultures from different parts of the world, telling us engaging stories, and incentivising us to think more and to be be more of us instead of following the crowd and to judge those in power (if you are literate and have the ability of a 6th grader, you know the theme Genshin Impact is showing in its story). In a world where they aren't able to live as freely as people outside of mainland do, they shouldn't have to put their life at risk by creating a game that goes against the CCP's laws that will lead to a deduction to their social points (yes, those actually exist, WAKE UP). Yet they do, they update every month, telling stories, creating characters with many characteristics that goes against Chinese gaming laws, just for us to enjoy.

Do NOT accuse people of being racist just because your skin colour cannot be found in a game. Learn to know that people don't live in the same situation as you.

You are right to be mad, you are right to be upset, but do not condemn them for something they hold no power to. It's between their lives and your fantasies and if you choose to value your delusion over their livelihood then that just shows what kind of a person you are.

Where's this conviction towards other game companies aside from MiHoYo? Where's the rightful air when it comes to companies that breathe much fresher air? Do they not have the same responsibility? Or is it because you actually do not care and merely want to point your unbridled emotions towards something or someone? If so, you're pointing at the wrong person.

[hellothisisangle]

I found your Tumblr recently and omg I love your art style., it's so inspiring :D I just subscribed to your patreon because I need more haha.

I was wondering if you have any tips for colouring your artwork?

Thanks so much for the extra support! I’ll go into rendering a face with a reference pic below (because I think that’s what people practice/look at the most) with an absolutely quick and dirty breakdown

I already incorporate the heaviest shadows into my lineart a lot of the time, but I still have to think about shading where the light hits when coloring happens

Since this is coming from top right, the left half of his face will also be heavily shadowed. Understanding 3d planes and how it affects a shadow assists with getting lighting down correctly. I’ve outlined the obvious quadrants that I’ll typically shade with the darkest color. But before that you have to lay down a flat, a color I grabbed from the front of Gortie’s cheek- I think this is a very mid tone. Using a mid tone first is how I think most everyone colors/shades. I can’t say this is how I always do it, sometimes I like to work dark to light, sometimes I start coloring from the top or bottom or side, it depends on what feels good and I get distracted very easily. If I rewatch my timelapses I can see where I got bored of an area for a while and jump somewhere else/come back later

If I know I want to fully render something I don’t bother with cell shading. Not saying this is a good practice, in fact don’t do this until you have lighting practice under your belt.

Colors- go with the reference picture and grab colors from the areas of the face that you’re shading, but increase or decrease the saturation as needed

Forehead- I darken the hairline and add shadows for the loose strands of hair. This is something simple I’ve found elevates the 3d aspect

Eyes- look at eye makeup tutorials, no joke. It’ll show you where to add highlights to make the eyes pop. This is a stylistic choice, but I like my characters looking like they walked out of Sephora. I’ll give them eyeshadow and add a highlight to the upper lid and the inner tear trough. For the actual iris I shade really simply just making the lower part brighter than the top

Nose- bring the bridge forward with the lightest color, add a shine to the tip, darken the side and carry that to the cheek

Lips- upper lip dark, lower lip not, add a shine, I dunno what else to say about this sorry 💧

Chin- shade under the lip and bring the shadow down in a crescent shape

Everything else is sticking to the personal character’s features, like shading his cheekbone and laugh line. I also add a blush tone over the cheeks and nose (again stylistic)

Link to Timelapse: https://youtube.com/shorts/q7E-g05W0m4?si=shZFpHQwNuyO6Qt1

I’ll try to do an actual infographic later when I have time because I keep getting asked about coloring. Just know that I’m still learning new stuff every day and these things should be taken as a “this is what I’m doing now” sort of thing!

[s0uth3park]

Some of my random SP headcanons:

This is a long one.

Pt 2

Cartman just will never learn how to drive. Ever. He knows he has other people to ferry him around.

In a similar vein, when that time rolls around (teenhood), Kenny legally can’t drive but he can drive. He just doesn’t have a licence. This persists until much later in life when he can financially support himself.

Stan begged/bribed Cartman to not harass Red for being a daywalker to keep the peace in his and Wendy’s relationship.

Whenever Wendy and Cartman need to sit down to talk out some sort of dispute, they do it over a pack of Oreo’s. They call this Oreo Time.

Kenny and Cartman play GTA together a lot.

Heidi is part Jewish on her mother’s side.

Cartman’s natural eye colour is brown. He has blue eyes, now.

Cartman is short by the time he’s fully grown (probably because of his weight), and has naturally brown hair and blue eyes. Kenny is the opposite, with blond hair and blue eyes, and is naturally Cartman’s favourite.

Cartman’s coat is plain red flannel (it’s the closest thing to fuzzy felt we can get), Stan’s is canvas, Kyle’s is tarpoon cloth, and Kenny’s is synthetic material (it’s like that smooth thin material that makes a high pitched whirry noise when you scratch it?? Cannot find the specific name for the life of me).

Tweek and Butters are cousins. Either through both of their mothers or through Butters’ dad and Tweek’s mom. Let me know which one you prefer.

Craig and Cartman’s hats are from the same store / brand.

Cartman and Kyle wear opposite colours on opposite pieces of clothing (is this a headcanon or observation? Who knows, I just want to point it out). Kyle has a green hat, contrasting Cartman’s red coat. Cartman has a (primarily) blue hat, contrasting Kyle’s orange coat. Kyle’s original gold-yellow t-shirt also compliments Cartman’s blue t-shirt, and pairs with Cartman’s yellow puff, brim, and gloves.

Cartman sometimes hums the Dreidal song to himself. Rarely will he sing it.

Carol and Stuart put Kenny in a separate room to Kevin because they didn’t anticipate a third kid. When Karen came along, they didn’t bother to displace one of them, so just stuck her in with one of them (Kevin) at random.

Kenny carries the gene for red hair.

Either (or both) Laura and Thomas have brown eyes. This is why Craig has black hair. (Relying on a quick google search for this one).

If Stan looks a lot like Randy as he gets older, right down to the eyes, Shelley looks like Sharon, but with Randy’s eyes.

Stan sometimes feels like the outsider in the group because not only do the other three hold biological keepsakes of the others (Kenny’s eyes –> Cartman; Cartman’s kidney –> Kyle), Kyle and Kenny (K’s) both wear the same shade of orange, and all three are called by unvoiced guttural (“kuh”) vocatives. He’s just Stan. He and Kenny have the same last initial, though.

Out of all the moms, Mrs. Tweek has the biggest tits. I’m sorry I don’t make these rules.

She and Richard fuck like rabbits too I think

While there’s a massive gap between how Stan is viewed and how Cartman is viewed, but out of Stan’s Gang, Stan is held in the lowest esteem just after Cartman. Wendy and his looks boost his popularity a bit, but it’s still rather low.

Kenny is held in the highest esteem by the way, because people know he just joins the guys and doesn’t really instigate.

Craig has alexithymia.

Clyde picked up some mannerisms, like speaking with little affect, from Craig.

Clyde was a mommy’s boy, but Betsy was always rather eccentric and pedantic.

I’m not sold on this but I have thought about Betsy having PCOS.

Maybe I’m biased but I like to think that if Clyde outright said the words “I don’t like Janice and I don’t want her in this house” / “I’m not ready for a stepmom”, I think Roger would adhere. Probably just me being biased.

Sharon hates being filmed, and if she sees either a video or photo of her she will immediately pat her hair and say “oh look at my hair there” or touch her face and go “oh my, I look godawful in that”.

Cartman flexes his ability to eat bacon on Kyle a lot.

Craig has a fear of dressing Stripe up in costumes. Tweek has suggested it, but Craig shot it down immediately.

Wonder Tweek’s costume is from Craig’s closet, and the reason his is shit is because he was too busy helping Tweek’s with his because Tweek found organising his own costume too stressful.

Randy taught Kenny how to swim in Kyle’s backyard blow up paddling pool.

Cartman is a weak ass swimmer.

[koji-haru]

Freckles

[Sorry it took so long, but here's the first part of your request @inubaki! I hope you don't mind that I mixed the two into one 🙇‍♀️

Think of this as an extra scene for the Time Travel AU]

It was yet another perfect day in the idyllic garden of Eden. It was just as perfect as Adam had remembered it more than 10,000 years ago. Warm sunny rays that gently kissed his skin, baby blue skies that livened up the atmosphere, a refreshing breeze that sang serenity throughout his entire being. Everything was just as he had always wanted back then, except with a new addition. An angel friend. No, not Lucifer, but his much more tolerable brother, Michael. 

Today, the two were sitting on top of a gentle hill, taking shade from the midday’s rays under the canopy of a large beech tree, its broad foliage a beautiful purple-copper shade. Michael had brought some materials for bringing images to life; canvases, papers, pencils and paint. It was after he had caught sight of Adam creating a sketch of a gigantic moose using charcoal and a thin piece of a tree’s bark. Apparently, Adam had some sort of talent for it, and wanting to hone, Michael had brought down materials for Adam to try.

So now, here he was, sitting across Michael, trying to capture the angel’s very image onto paper. Michael himself seemed to be rather busy gliding his paintbrush across the canvas; a harmony of blues, green, yellows and whites with a dash of purples and pinks, the image of a distant lake was slowly, but meticulously being immortalised onto the canvas. 

As opposed to Michael’s vibrant depiction of Eden, Adam himself had resorted to using coal, slowly etching the heavenly being’s likeness onto a simple piece of paper. Adam’s hand moved slowly and carefully as he gently curved the coal on the paper, using his thumb to shade and fade it out a little, as he tried to draw the angel’s wavy locks; trying to capture the way it shined under the sun, how gently it flowed, and the softness of its texture. Then, he shifted his focus on Michael’s face. The eternal youthfulness of his face, his cool blue eyes that currently held a certain kind of softness to it, and then small little stars that surrounded them. Huh. Adam never really paid much attention to Michael before, but now that he was really looking at him, those little stars actually looked a little like freckles on his face. It looked quite nice, really.

“Hey, Michael,” Adam suddenly called out. “Are those freckles?,” he asked, pointing to his face. 

Michael put down his brush and palette as he turned to Adam, distracted from his painting. “Hmm? What do you mean?”

“The little sparkles under and around your eyes,” Adam clarified, putting down his coal and paper as he leaned forward to press a finger across Michael’s cheeks. “Oh, they even shine a bit!,” Adam added, surprised, as he then fully grabbed the angel’s face and brushed some of his hair behind his ear, running a thumb across the sparkly stars across Michael’s face. 

Michael could feel his face heating up, a yellow flush gradually blossoming on his pale face as his calm heart began to drum loudly within his chest. What was Adam doing? Why was he suddenly so close to him holding his face like that? If he didn’t know any better, it was almost like…

“Pfft!,” Adam laughed. “What’s with that look? I won’t bite you. I’m just taking a more thorough look at your face,” he clarified, grabbing the paper off the grass and showing it to Michael.

It was a surprisingly detailed image of the angel. Capturing details about him from the most obvious to the most fine details. It was almost like looking in a mirror. He had noticed then that it was unfinished, a start of a scribble present on his image’s face, just under the eyes. 

“Oh,” Michael muttered, mainly to himself. He couldn’t help but keep staring at his portrait, the care and detail poured into it. The warmth from earlier came back, filling his heart, but this time more gently, like colourful butterflies playing in the meadow. It spilt from within him and out onto his face in the form of a soft smile, glistening eyes and a tinge of yellow spreading across his cheeks. 

“Hellooo?” Adam waved a hand in front of his face.

“They’re not freckles,” he finally said after a moment. “They’re markings on my face, similar to how Lucifer has his red cheeks.”

Adam leaned closer forward again, invading the flustered angel’s space. “Oh, so they are little gold stars,” he remarked. “They’re quite pretty huh,” he muttered, though Michael heard it, as he leaned back again and returned his focus back on his unfinished drawing. “Kinda like faintly glowing stars at dusk, hmm…,” he muttered some more as he scratched his head trying to plan how to depict that onto paper.

“I wonder if those are the only markings he has. His robes are pretty loose fitting…,” Adam murmured, letting his thoughts unintentionally flow out.

“T-those are my only markings..!,” Michael clarified as he pulled the collar of his robe higher up to hide his flustered face, suddenly feeling very exposed under Adam’s scrutinising gaze. Ironic, considering he wasn’t the naked one.

“Hmm, but you know I can’t really continue drawing you if you hide your face like that,” Adam commented nonchalantly. 

That…was a fair point. And so, while he didn’t really want to, Michael pulled his robe back down and away from his face. “Better?”

“Better, thanks!”

After a while, Michael’s nerves finally returned to their prior calm state as his focus returned to his unfinished painting. His skillful hands brought the sun’s shine onto the painted lake’s surface, glistening like a million jewels strewn all over the body of water, almost ringing like thousands of little bells. The colours evoked a sense of calm and peace that only Eden could ever have, a gentle lullaby and a sweet goodnight kiss. 

Minutes passed like this, with just the whispers of the leaves in the wind and the occasional singing of the birds between the two. Both absorbed by the image they were trying to immortalise. 

Finally, Adam sat straighter up, holding his paper up and a proud look adorning his face. “Done!”

“Oh, may I see it?,” Michael asked, curious at what the final product looked like, especially if it already looked amazing when it was unfinished.

“Here.” Adam handed the drawing to Michael, chest puffed out, hands on his waist and a very proud look on his face. 

If the portrait before amazed him, then this final product took Michael’s breath away. Somehow, Adam had not only captured his very image, but also heightened it. Just the picture itself emitted such ethereal aura that Michael himself wasn’t sure any angel in Heaven had. The feelings it evoked within him was…indescribable. Like something more than the perfection of either Heaven or Eden. Every line and detail, every shadow and shading, all were created and etched onto the paper with such fine delicacy.

“Oh, this is…just breathtaking,” Michael whispered. 

“I know, I know,” Adam grinned even wider, happy to have his ego stroked. 

He even put so much detail on my markings. Michael’s fingers ghosted over the markings on his portrait's face. He had never seen it depicted so beautifully before…

Adam glanced back over at Michael, eyeing the markings on his face. While he didn’t particularly pay too close of an attention to others appearances, he was pretty sure that not all angels, even Heavenborn ones, had some sort of face markings. 

“Maybe it’s a genetic thing…,” he mumbled. 

“Hm?” Michael turned to Adam, putting the portrait down.

 “I wonder if your kids would have the same marks under their eyes,” Adam asked. It would make sense, Lucifer’s brat, Charlie was it?, also had the same red cheeks as her father did. Honestly, Charlie was almost a carbon copy of Lucifer, barely any Lilith in her, well, except for the height obviously. 

Kids? Michael with kids?? Adam’s words put a certain image in Michael’s head. If, somehow, he had kids, what would they look like? Michael imagined them to, yes, have the same markings as he did, a skin as pale as his, oh, or maybe the other would have lovely sun kissed skin. They could have his light golden hair, maybe darker, teetering between brown and gold, and then maybe they could have the same eyes as him, but a lovely gold would also be nice.

…

Oh. 

Michael quickly looked away from Adam. He could feel that certain kind of warmth returning to his skin, dyeing his cheeks as golden as the Eden’s sun, though it definitely wasn’t because of the midday heat.

[aernx]

⌕ CUPID’S REFLECTION ✶ 종성

[ 09 ]﹒₊﹒almost as if we're meant to be

m.list % prev | next

Jay stopped on his tracks as he saw your figure against the door. You were yet to notice him, your eyes linger on the cellphone you held, seemingly typing something on your phone, focus fully averted.

Jay took a second to admire his said enemy. With your eyebrows forming a small crouch and the way your finger settled on your lips made it look like you were thinking.

A light breeze was like a soft blow to your hair, displaying your cheeks to the sunlight as he noticed the peachy colour of the blush you wore.

Maybe Jay would never admit it but, he always seem to notice every little thing about you. You wear a different liptint? He notices. You use a pinker shade of blush? He sees the way it compliments your visage.

Sure you were his enemy and vice versa. But that doesn’t mean he can’t admire your beauty right?

But still your beauty seemed to irk him. Gosh, why were you so pretty? Hating you would be easier if you were at least a bit ugly.

Jay considered himself as a smart student, sure not smarter than Jake but he could solve complex mathematical equations with no issue. But why was it when it comes to you, the answer always remain blurry, as if covered by a thick fog.

Maybe Jake was right. Maybe he was secretly falling deeper. Nah he wasn’t. It’s just that he’s weirdly attracted to you that’s all. You’re just pretty, yeah that’s it.

But for a second, Jay let himself get lost in your view before snapping out of his daze, clearing his throat, making his presence known.

Your head snapped towards the vibration that rung on your eardrums, a sight of Jay ahead of you opt you to lock your phone down before putting it inside your shoulder bag.

“So why’d you call me here?”

“Are you dumb or dummer? If you haven’t notice, Jjongsaengie. Our two friends are awfully head over heels for each other.” You paused before continuing, your hand pointing between you and him.

“So it’s our job to leave the two alone.”

Jay wasn’t dumb, of course he wasn’t. In fact he was one of the top students. The present scowl gracing his lips only made you let out a little chuckle. “You’re not very good at this aren’t you?”

Your words triggered Jay to roll his eyes. “You know you ruin that pretty face of yours with your foul mouth. You should try this thing called shutting up.”

“Really, you think so?” You tilted your head, feigning a little pout. “Other guys seem to really like my mouth, though.”

A bush of roses bloom on the apple of Jay’s cheeks, his eyes shot up, clearly not expecting those words of yours.

A small smile crawled to the end of your lips, curving it upwards. Cute.

“Uh-uhm so.” Flustered, he cleared his throat, attempting to change the topic. “When did you realize that I was getting them together too?”

“Ah that.” You squinted your eyes, thinking of a response.

“At first i didn’t know why you wanted to talk to Karina, but then i see the way Heeseung is literally all heart eyes around her and I see the way your always there pushing him to do something about it.”

Jay hummed at your response before saying, “Ah, always the observant Jeon Yn. So I’m guessing that’s also the reason why you wanted to talk to Hee?”

You nodded your head slightly, letting go a little ‘mhm’

“Well, I’m sorry I broke one of your cupid arrows.” A small apologetic smile kissed the tip of his lips.

“Nah it’s don’t worry about it.” You waved your hand in a dismissive way before continuing, “I’m just getting started, baby.”

Hell yeah you were. You were determined to get Heeseung and Karina together no matter what. It was clear that they both held infatuation towards the other and she did not want to let go of such a golden opportunity.

“Oh and I’m not sorry I slapped you by the way.”

A laugh erupted from his throat. “Ah typical lotus.”

Lotus? It has been years since Jay had referred you with that. A flower you’ve always dreaded. You hate lotuses and Jay knew that very well.

But right now at this moment, why does that nickname triggered the smile instead of a frown on your lips. Maybe you missed the way he called you that. Sure you said you hated it, you really do. But you can’t help but notice that it had grew on you just a little bit.

“Same for you right? Seems like I’ve been a hindrance for you to get a chance too.” You joked a little.

“Since when are you not a hindrance? Last time I checked you’ve always been a hindrance to me.” Jay raised one of his eyebrows, his expression telling you that he was just playing.

It’s been a long time since the two of you got to talk like this. Just talk, no war between words. It would be embarrassing to admit it but maybe, you did kinda liked it.

“Anyways we need a plan.” Jay started causing you to tilt your head, motioning for him to continue.

“We need a plan to get Heeseung and Karina together.” As you can tell they are so dense.” He said, emphasizing on the ‘so’.

You placed your finger on your chin, wondering. “Aren’t you famous for failing at cupid, Jongseong?”

But that doesn’t bring him down. “Aren’t you famous for getting people together by accident? Isn’t that perfect, Yn? It’s almost as if we’re made for each other.”

You knew he was joking in the last part he said. It worked, you were now giggling at his words. “Wow if I didn’t hate you so much I would’ve swooned on your last sentence.”

“Who knows maybe you might soon enough, after all I’m just getting started, baby.” Now you didn’t know who this was or what happened to your Jongseong. Was he seriously flirting with you right now?

“What’s with this 180 degrees shift of personality? You’ve always been an ass around me.” You squinted your eyes, suspicion looming behind those ireses.

And with that Jay was back to serious mode. “It’s true, I still don’t like you. But I love Heeseung more than I hate you, you know? I want him to be happy. And if being with Karina makes him happy, then I’m willing to do anything to get them together.”

You relate with what he said and actually put his words in your thoughts. It’s true, you and Jay were never in good terms. But for now, for Karina, you would do it.

“So, what do you say?” He offered once more.

You look up into his dilated pupils, looking through them for a few seconds before saying. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

m.list % prev | next

AERINOTES ⟡ we’re finally on to the main plot 😗 also jay n yn’s rivalry aren’t that deep. It’s actually kinda funny now that I think about it. Well this smau isn’t that srs so i hope u guys aren’t dissatisfied hehe (bc it’s js all 4 giggles am i rite)

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[phoenixisobsessed]

I saw this in a repost from @potatoes-n-stuff and I thought I’d make a lil response hehehaha sorry not sorry I’m using this as an excuse to yap

Step 1. Sketch!

I make some pretty clean lineart at first, and ofc remember to add the light source’s location and direction. I made a lil silly shape to demonstrate but also added the empurata!prowl lineart for character as reference.

Step 2. Colour

This may be a procreate specific thing, since everybody else seems bewildered that the lasso tool works like this BUT!! I can basically just build lil shapes by tapping at each corner of the thing I want to colour and then it’ll colour fill it for me + create perfectly straight lines :D

Then I have the colours under a lower opacity layer of the lineart so I can still see the shapes for now.

Step 3. Shading (aka where the magic happens)

Here I use some specific colours tbh. I have this lil method that whenever I want to shade an area I use the same colour but slightly darker and more blue, and when I want to highlight an area I’ll make the colour slightly lighter and more yellow!

Then I use the same lasso tool method to block the shapes so they’re all visible even without lineart :D (I’m not gonna fully do it to the Prowl one but yk) I usually do this on a layer over the lineart this time so I can easily see what I’ve already shaped out.

Usually I’ll try as hard as I can to have each plane of a shape just one singular colour, but sometimes I need to use highlights to define the shapes and that’s fiine.

That’s basically it though! I’ve been wanting to talk about it ngl because the process is SO satisfying.

[paris-in-space]

Hey, I was wondering how you chose colors for the Dracula cast! (I love Arthur's red jacket.)

Hi! I am so sorry I only just saw this ask today, but I’ll answer it now, hopefully it was worth the wait (at least with the drawing asks I have the excuse of not having had time to draw things).

Okay so, a lot of the decisions I made when it comes to the colours was on instinct, but I can still try and explain.

Jonathan wears brown, with a hint of red in his tie, and has brown hair and eyes, I wanted his colours to be relatively unassuming, the little bit of red is for visual interest but also maybe hints that he’s not just an average guy, but his design is intentionally quite plain.

When I first designed Mina it was actually for an English Lit A Level class where I had to make a character sheet about her, so I actually googled her for inspiration and took some from her look in the 1992 film (I now hate that film although it does have gorgeous visuals) and I think the green from her outfits in that film stuck in my head. Initially in my mind I didn’t imagine her as a redhead however when it came to actually putting colour on her it felt like a good decision to make, and offers some nice contrast to the green. Her earrings are meant to be like drops of blood because symbolism.

Lucy wears pink because I think of her as being pretty and feminine, the choice to have multiple shades of pink in her outfit was just to make it more interesting although the ribbon she wears in her hair matches with Arthur’s tie. Her hair is a warm blonde because of the sunny ripples line in the book, and her eyes are brown to keep things warm.

Arthur is the character whose design has changed the most since the first time I ever drew him, and I’m glad of it. (My original design of him was incredibly boring) although since first adding colour it has changed very little. The choice of red both looks nice next to Lucy and fits in with the other suitors whilst still being distinctly different. Choosing Arthur’s colours was very much a case of seeing what felt right rather than thinking too much about it in depth. (Also thank you for the compliment on his jacket.)

Jack spends a lot of time being sad so a cold colour palette made sense for him, I think the green has some medical connotations, and still allows for him to have some colour in his design without being too bright. Aside from brown shoes which sort of balance out his hair, any other clothing than his waistcoat and tie are grey because I don’t think he’s the sort to wear much colour. He also has the palest skin of the lot because he spends a lot of time inside.

Quincey on the other hand has such a warm presence as a character that his colour palette is full of warm tones. His mustard yellow waistcoat is the most memorable thing to me but it isn’t his only defining colour, I mostly just wanted him to have a very warm presence without venturing too close to Arthur’s red. I am also fully on board with the idea of Quincey being a person of colour.

Renfield is very grey all around with almost purple undertones. His clothes are very much inspired by the 1931 film which was of course black and white, and are also simple enough that many other colour choices wouldn’t make much sense for him. His hair reflects his age, and his complexion is somewhat unnatural (definitely unhealthy) to sort of separate him as a link between Dracula and the human world whilst also not really being a part of either.

I have barely drawn Van Helsing in colour so I don’t think I can really do a colour analysis on him yet, I need to get into the habit of drawing him and actually design him an everyday outfit, I’m pretty sure the only time I’ve done him in colour he was wearing black because of Lucy’s death.

Dracula himself is a mysterious black shadow with red eyes, mostly because I like the idea of depicting his menacing presence and dangerous vibe without specific details, I also really like the idea of a Dracula adaptation where you don’t actually see Dracula, and just have the mystery that the characters face and whilst drawing him this way isn’t exactly doing that, I think knowing this might make the design make more sense.

I hope this makes sense and was worth waiting so long.

(I had to re type a bunch of this a few times because I accidentally clicked off without saving more than once, having typed out multiple paragraphs)

[milk-ly]

Okay I am so confused about some details I noticed in Double and I want to hear more opinions. I saw someone else also post something similar so I thought I’d throw this out there.

Genuinely can not tell if I’m just being stupid but feel free to answer if you’ve got any ideas!

So first of all, the shade of the windows is meant to represent who exactly we’re looking at right?

White represents Mikoto.

Black represents John.

But like. Wtf does this scene mean then???

Why is the background of the first scene where Mikoto is killing white, and the second black?

Did they both kill???

I mean I guess the white background doesn’t fully look like it’s from the window’s of the train, it looks like the same background as when Mikoto was answering his mom’s call.

But that makes it more suspicious- why would they choose to colour the background white when it’s been clearly established that Mikoto represents white and John represents black?

I’m not saying I 100% believe they’re both the killers but just something to look out for.

And another thing, these two scenes confuse tf out of me.

First of all, they’re mirrored images of each other, the only difference being the colour of the windows.

But if you look closely, even though John literally swings his bat in the second scene and blood splatters inside the train, the broken mannequin parts are OUTSIDE the train.

I have NO idea what this means.

I feel like this specific “kill” is probably a metaphor then right? What would the train mean in that context then? What would John be doing? Idk man, I feel like there’s something missing about my understanding of the train’s role as a metaphor.

Man… I feel like the more I look into the mv, the more I’m left scratching my head.

Anyway sorry if I am just missing something and my points are actually just dumb lmao

[ghouldump]

idk if she apologised on Twitter but she posted a fuckass apology on TikTok from her notes app and it’s so fucking dumb, lemme post it here. Not even a video apology, A FUCKING NOTES APP APOLOGY.

Firstly, I want to apologise that my initial response was lacking and not fully taking real accountability. When I took a figurine that is a White slave owner to a plantation and treated it as another filming location and tourist attraction, I blatantly ignored and erased the unimaginable suffering experienced by the enslaved Black people at both these plantations. It was disrespectful, insensitive and racist. I reduced the important context of this character and the real life atrocities that continue to affect the Black community to this day.

I wanted to attend these tours to further learn about the history of slavery that is entrenched across the US, and especially New Orleans. But had I actually taken the time to research these sites at all, I would've realised that they operate as for-profit plantations and further profit off slavery and exploit Black trauma. I should've known better rather than rely on people - especially the Black community - to even point this out to me.

When someone did attempt to explain this to me, I was dismissive and defensive and ignored the valid criticism from the Black community and others that were affected by what I did. In an attempt to address my actions immediately, I failed to acknowledge the people I hurt or directly own up for what I did.

I don't expect this to explain or undo the pain and disappointment I caused. But I wanted to address this properly and with more thought and again to say I'm sorry. It is clear that I need to use this trip to really take the time to come to terms with the reality of my racist actions. Being a person of colour doesn't exclude me from participating in racist behaviour.

Unfortunately, someone will defend her, but I can’t even continue with this, it’s ridiculous. Sure, she’s apologizing, but where was it when people first found it unfunny. Actually, what was the possible thought process behind the whole thing…probably racism.

Also…to the anons who assumed my race, I’ve never stated what I am. The only thing I’ve shared before was that I am from New Orleans and general information. I am just as anonymous as the asks that I receive. Memes that I post, the why that I write, has nothing to do with what I may or may not be. What I will say about myself since people make assumptions, I am an empathetic person, who knows that racism is wrong. There is a time and place for everything, I’ve always been told. I am a New Orleans native, who survived Hurricane Katrina — who has experienced a melting pot of amazing people who have come in all sorts of shades, and different backgrounds.

This situation probably isn’t going to be bothersome to most, but like most from here, I love my city and the people from my city, so that is why I am going hard behind this, because as a resident, I found this tourist weird af and I don’t give a damn about her weak ass apology.

Case closed, I’m done with it 💋 I will be posting tomorrow guys stay tuned 🩷

[alpydk]

The Circling Sky

Be aware of the TW - Non/Con (Going to preface is not violent or even coercive but it's still there.) - Also the smut is in this chapter...

“My dear, get some sleep.” He pulled himself away, but she held on to him, giving him a smile, warm and trusting, her thoughts dampened by the cloud of sleep she didn’t fully want to wake from. He sat himself close to her, allowing her hand to run up his arm, beckoning him to lie with her, and slowly he did. “Lissa- “ She interrupted his words by bringing herself close to him, placing a light kiss upon his lips. “Gale…”

Ao3 Link

Lissa closed her eyes trying to block the nausea that had been plaguing her for the last hour or so. The cart was jutting along, and the smell of her father’s breath kept entering her nostrils. He’d noticed how her face had grown pale and clammy and was now using it as an excuse to make slight jokes at her expense. “Lis’, do you remember that time I got sick, and you yelled at me?” He put on a faux high-class voice trying to imitate her. “Oh papa, please be quieter. I’m trying to sleep.”

She could remember the night well, how he had again been drinking and come home in such a state that he could barely hold down the water she had tried to give him; How he had spent the night retching until even the pillow over her head had been unable to block out the sounds. She’d gotten angry and for that one line spoken, she had spent the next years being reminded of the moment.

He leaned into her and nudged her. “You remember, don’t you?”

Her stomach turned and she banged the wall to climb off the cart, her nausea no longer willing to be contained.

***

Gale watched as he saw her jump from the wagon and vomit onto the verge, her father laughing and making little effort to see if she was okay. He approached and placed his hand around her hair to hold it back, the ashen strands moving revealing the small fingerprint bruises on the back of her neck, a remnant of a few days’ past. Eventually, she stood trying to breathe in the cool air around her. “Feel a little better?” He asked quietly.

She rubbed at her face to remove the tension that had built up and nodded. “Yes...sorry,” Gale observed her colour and frowned, standing with her as they watched the caravan slowly continue into the distance.

“Don’t be sorry, my dear. Come, sit with me a moment. I might have something in my pack that can alleviate your discomfort.” He walked to a nearby rock and sat, searching through his belongings.

She slowly walked towards him. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. It’s probably just something I ate.”

“Nonsense. Ah, here.” Gale pulled from his bag a small potion. “Just a simple antidote. I always keep some on my person in case of such events.” He could see the hesitance in her as he offered it. “Don’t worry. It’s quite safe.”

“But I don’t have anything I can pay you with.”

He laughed. “Pay me? Lissa, I would never accept payment for something such as this. Here, take it.” He placed the bottle lightly in her hands. “If you must give some type of payment, then consider simply your company enough.”

She removed the lid of the bottle and drank the sickly concoction, forcing her body to swallow and accept it despite its objections. Gale tugged at her hand, guiding her to sit next to him until she felt a little better. “Thank you,” she managed to mumble quietly.

“There is no need to thank me.” He watched as the colour slowly came back to her features, her cheeks becoming their subtle shade of blue again, her eyes a little brighter. “If you’re ever feeling unwell again, do not hesitate to come to me. I’ll help in whichever way I can.”

He watched the familiar tapping of the fingers begin again as she looked at the cart moving away. “We should probably catch up.”

He stood with her, and they began to walk, not really to catch up but to at least not lose sight of it. Gale enjoyed these quiet moments they had started to have together, liking how Lissa had begun to question her father’s commands. She’d gone from dropping everything when he called to sometimes purposefully ignoring him. She’d begun to speak a little more about her upbringing and he would nod trying to understand the situations she had found herself in. Some topics reminded him of Tav, others of Wyll and his relationship with his father, and some unfortunate topics were closer to Astarion’s past and his longing for freedom. With each word, he had listened as Tav used to with him, sometimes offering advice, other times just being someone she could be open with. As he knew all too well, a lifetime of trauma could not be fixed in one short journey.

***

She hated how easy it had become to talk to him, this silly wizard from the library with his unkempt hair and soft eyes. The staff back at the library had been correct; he did look better with the beard, but she wouldn’t tell him this. At times he was a little arrogant, too charismatic, too charming for his own good. He often spoke of magic and poetry, and everything to him was beautiful in some way. From the way the shadows danced beneath the trees, to the sounds of the brook they walked beside, and though he talked a lot, he also listened when needed, taking in her words and being the person she’d never had.

“Thank you again...” She was feeling better, unsure of how to react in a situation such as this. She’d always been forced to be independent, ignoring illnesses unless she was bedbound and even then, preferring to be alone so as not to be a burden to anyone. If you’re not screaming in pain, then you’re fine, but don’t scream, because that will just draw attention. Her father’s conditioning of how to handle illness, another lesson she needed to unlearn. She remembered as a child getting sick and him sleeping through it, shouting at her the next morning when he discovered the mess; That one night when she believed she was going to die, scarred into her brain, affecting so many moments later. No one would come, no one would help her.

“I’ve said there is no need. You were ill and you needed help. You would have done the same for me had our roles been reversed.”

She wondered if she would have. Her sympathy for others was rather limited at times; if she was able to handle things by herself, then why couldn’t they? But for Gale, maybe an exception could be made. She decided a change of subject was better. “It won’t be long until we reach the city. How are you feeling about it?”

He kicked a few rocks ahead of him. “Honestly, a little apprehensive. There’s something comforting for once about not having all the information. That maybe Tav is still among the living.”

“What will you do if they are...well if they’re dead.”

He sighed. “I’m not entirely sure. Despite everything that has occurred in my life, I’ve been rather fortunate in not having to experience the death of anyone close to me.”

She nodded in understanding and pondered over saying the words that entered her mind. “You could always come and find me.”

Gale smiled at her and slowly took her hand in his. She felt the softness of his palm, the delicate tracing of his fingers on the back of her hand. “Or you could just continue onwards with me from the beginning.”

“I really wish I could.” She genuinely meant the words she spoke; if only she could leave her father, if only she could be free and not have to worry about him.

***

There was a week left of their journey as they reached the Singing Wind Inn. Lissa had spent the last few days mostly walking next to the cart rather than sitting next to her father. She’d heard his multiple objections, even the disparaging comments he’d made about her, and yet rather than rise to it or become upset, she’d simply grown cold to it. That by not reacting at all, she was drawing the most emotion from him. When she ignored him, he would begin to shout only to remember the people around them. He wouldn’t raise a hand to her so long as Gale was close by and very slowly, she was realising that in the relationship she did actually have some power and control. Gale’s words played over in her head, to just have some faith in herself, that she was deserving of love. The last part near impossible to believe; how could anyone ever love someone like her, an embarrassment, someone as stupid as her? Her father’s words, yet again...

She sat at the bar trying to keep herself awake. The hours had passed, and her father had drunk his fill before leaving for the tiny room he had booked for them both using the spoils of their earlier deception. She didn’t want to sleep in that space with him, listening to his snores and the quiet thoughts in her head of resentment she held towards him. She rested her face into her arms on the counter, allowing her eyes to close momentarily, giving herself some respite.

“Come on, you can’t sleep here. It’s murder on the joints.” She heard the gentle voice and the feeling of an arm wrapping around her and she stirred softly seeing the face of Gale.

He led her slowly to his own room and closed the door quietly behind them before placing her down on the bed. As he removed his arm from her, she placed a hand on him, an invitation for him to join her.

“My dear, get some sleep.” He pulled himself away, but she held on to him, giving him a smile, warm and trusting, her thoughts dampened by the cloud of sleep she didn’t fully want to wake from. He sat himself close to her, allowing her hand to run up his arm, beckoning him to lie with her, and slowly he did. “Lissa- “

She interrupted his words by bringing herself close to him, placing a light kiss upon his lips. “Gale...”

The tenderness in which she kissed him sparked the fire within him and he pressed himself into her. She felt as he moved ever so slightly, his hand resting on the top of her hip. They lay side by side, and she brought her mouth to his again, not wanting to waste another moment, her kisses growing deeper, more yearning than anything else.

As their lips parted Gale breathed a few words into the crook of her neck. “Are you sure you want this?”

She had never been surer of anything. She arched her head back, giving him better access and whispered out the word he needed to hear. “Yes.”

Her acceptance gave him the push he needed to continue, kissing her neck, suckling lightly on her skin, a small bite accompanied by the sweet sound of a gasped moan. She tugged at his shirt drawing him back up, longing for his tongue entwined with hers, the sweet taste of wine prickling at her senses.

She pressed a hand into his shoulder causing him to roll back, her own body moving with the momentum until she was on top of him, a leg straddled over his body. She could feel the pressure of his erection and purposely rubbed her inner thigh against it, listening for the sigh he tried to hold back. His hand came up around her waist holding her tightly trying to reposition her until she was across him completely, her hips aligned with his and he ground up lightly into her, giving her permission to go as far as she wished.

Lissa released her kisses from him, bringing herself down his body; a subtle kiss to his neck, the slow unbuttoning of his shirt, the spread of the fabric revealing the mesh of chest hair. She smiled and proceeded to run her tongue lightly down the centre of his abdomen, his breaths growing in intensity. “You don’t have to do this...” he whispered between her touches.

“I want to do this.” Another kiss as she reached the hem of his trousers. She slowly untied the laces, running the soft pads of her fingertips along the edge. She could feel his hand on her shoulder trying to gain hold of her, not to move her but to feel her there, to have something to ground him in the reality he was losing hold of.

As the laces came undone, she placed her hand beneath the leather, feeling his length, hard in her grasp. He bucked at her hold giving her access to pull his trousers releasing him in full. She ran her tongue along her lips, moistening them in preparation for what was to come, one last quick kiss to his navel before she took him in between her parted lips.

He let out a moan as he felt the massaging rhythm of her tongue upon his shaft. It had been so long since someone had done this to him, his years spent giving and giving to another, his most recent year alone. His heart raced and he felt his composure go completely at her touch, his muscles tightening with each caress. Each swirl of her tongue brought him a new wave of pleasure and he looked down making eye contact with her.

“Lis’,” he murmured. “I want to have you.”

She stopped her movements and lifted herself upon him, her subtle smile now one with a hint of uncertainty. He tried to let his mind find calm, taking in the sight of her, the way her hair hung down over her face, the shine of her eyes in the candlelight. “Lissa?”

“It’s nothing.” She pushed away the doubts, her yes becoming a longing to stop, to say no to him, but she began to strip from her own clothes, revealing herself entirely to him, before placing herself above him. “Do you want me?”

Gale took in the sight of her, letting a hand stroke her side. “I need you.”

She lowered herself on top of him feeling her body spread to accept him. She didn’t come down completely, instead teasing him slightly, needed to have complete control of the situation. She could feel the throb of him inside her, the aching hunger he had for her. He grabbed at her hips to pull her down onto him, but she resisted, holding herself steady until she was willing, before finally drawing him in slowly.  

He was desperate for her, her relaxed pace driving him wild, giving him more and more time to lose himself in her. He could hear her whimpers with each thrust, feel the clenching of her inner walls around him and his grasp tightened around her, his nails digging slightly into the suppleness of her skin. He couldn’t hold back for much longer as her back arched causing her to push herself further onto him. He was nearing his precipice, but he wanted to see, wanted to hear her release first. He brought one of his hands down between them both, her position giving space for him to trace the outline of her swollen clit; a delicate circle traced around it giving him the building whine he longed for.  

With each touch of his finger, she felt her body convulse that little bit more until suddenly she found herself coming undone, her body instinctively jolting into his, her moans growing into one sensuous yell. With it, she felt Gale follow in tow, his release as powerful as hers, a carnal howl of pleasure that she never thought was capable of emerging from those poetic lips of his.

She took a moment before sliding her body off his, lying her trembling muscles on the bed. Her heart rate calmed as her mind caught up with what had just happened. She pressed herself up next to him, feeling the cool sweat of his skin and nestled her face in the side of his neck, burying herself from his view. She could hear his breathing slowing down, could smell the scent of sandalwood on him, and as he pulled the warm blanket over them both she fought back the disgusted feeling that began to creep into her mind.

***

I am but an open book, and you are the pen that writes.

Your ink flows along my pages. I shiver with expectation, But these are words not meant for me.

The rhymes that I will never read, always will I just be penned upon.

Ripped and torn. Mistakes erased. Kept together by a seam of your creation.

Always will I be bound to you, And you alone will write the words.

For I am nothing but an open book, and you are the pen that writes.

[stxrshxpxd]

❀ spring morning ❀

pairing: aragorn x reader

word count: 370

warnings: none

prompt: reader wakes up on a warm spring morning under the arm of friend aragorn

* * *

A few lazy bumble bees had awakened in the spring morning warmth. I watched them hover around a couple flowers through half closed eyes, feeling grateful that the strong sun wasn’t directly hitting my face. It made it easier for my eyes to adjust to the light. 

My body was strangely warm and just as I went to turn over on my back I realised why. Aragorn’s arm was fully draped over my shoulder and I was immediately aware of the sound of his soft breaths right behind my neck. I could feel his foot as well, nestled in between my two calves. I was fully awake in an instant, caught in a state of mild panic.

The night before had been cold and apparently our large fur cover ups weren’t enough to keep the warmth in. I was suddenly reminded of half a moment I’d nearly come out of my sleep in the middle of the night when Aragorn had seemingly buried his cold nose in the back of my hair.

For a few moments my body was frozen still, anticipating his waking up. I contemplated if I should pretend to stay asleep until he wakes up and play blissfully unaware. But then the very loud shrieking of a bird from the tree crown just above us startled us both. Aragorn was awake in a heartbeat and he saw I was awake and he still had his arm around me. I had begun sweating slightly under the weight of the fur, the sun and the situation.

“I’m sorry.” Aragorn muttered in a cracked, deep voice. He had removed his arm now and scooched back an arm's length away from me.

“Don’t worry about it.” I was quick to reply with and I half sat up, supporting myself with my hands on the soft ground underneath us.

Aragorn’s eyes were the same colour as the sky behind him and his cheeks matched the shade of the apples I imagined might grow on the tree above us. His embarrassed look made me blush as well. There was nothing to say, but we both wanted to say something. Then the bird shrieked again and we were startled and the moment had gone.

[tedlebred]

if youre comfortable sharing, whats your rendering process? what are some ways you learned? your art is very yummy

HSHSHHSHS hello!!!!!!!!!! first off omg,,,, thank you so much,,,,🤭🤭

secondly!!!! heres my attempt at a rendering process explanation. uhm. warning ive never really been asked to explain it before please bare with me

BUT. here goes. this'll probably be ungodly long apologies

so when i render my biggest rule is basically Do Not Blend Ever. what i do is do my sketch, then flats, then basic placement of blush/shadows+darkest parts/etc and then i go in and just colourpick the inbetweens+place them between colours in small strokes until the changes in colour don't look too sharp/jarring

here's some examples of the process;;;

(still a wip but HSHSHHS) so i work on 3 layers primarily (sometimes i do the hair+items that cover the face on another layer, too, though they might end up getting merged):

^ with just the sketch layer n flats / and then with the render layer added

i go in with a bigger brush to block in colour variation on the face on the flats layer and then paint over that, as well as over the sketch, with smaller strokes on a render layer- i never do lineart lol, and any "lineart" thats visible is just the sketch peeking through. I try to rely on colour and shadow to create shapes and boundaries instead of lines though this isn’t a hard and fast rule.

i also try to stick to the same pallette the entire drawing- once the flats and shadows are first roughly blocked in all the other tones/midshades/colours are basically just inbetweens picked directly from the drawing. Just me zooming in real close till I can see the pixels and colour picking where they sort of mix. (any smaller shifts in hue/tones are just colours with saturation slightly turned up or down, usually) im also not sure if this helps but i use the Sol brush from the clip studio assets store for literally everything from sketch to render, which is basically just a slightly soft opacity brush which ive deluded myself into thinking helps give my art a softer look. idfk if it does or not.:)

I like to use really saturated blush and for shadows I usually use two base colours; a warmer one and a colder one- a warmer one for smaller shadows and shadows near light and then colder ones for planes more in darkness. Also, usually, at the very end of the drawing I’ll add a layer that’s just fully yellow with colour burn or linear burn or multiply turned on and the opacity turned low just to make everything warmer. (a little thing I like doing for shadows sometimes is never making them reach the edge of the plane; the actual edge is usually a slightly lighter shade and it sort of looks like stylised bounce light that would probably not be there but anyhoo)

but yeah,,,, Never Blend But Make It Look Almost Blended. I’ve been doing it forever,,,,,, and I really like the almost shiny feeling it gives things:)))

And where did I learn. Ough. A lot of what I do I figured out through trial and error and just drawing a bunch (IM SORRY THATS REALLY NOT HELPFUL) but some sources I looked towards were sinix design and bluebiscuits on YouTube!!!!! Sinix has a really good video on rendering skin which is where I sort of took my principles from and ran. And bluebiscuits was a huge inspiration for me when I started trying to render things beyond flats!!!!!!! They’re also where I found the sol brush, lol. Also just,,, the impressionist movement as a whole is a massive inspiration. The use of light and shapes to create form is just,,, omg. Especially Claude Monet in particular. (and for the basics of drawing I learnt from my aunt!)

and honestly, just observing people. A lot of the time when I’m watching a movie or on a walk or even just talking with someone I tend to start looking at their face, and the different planes, how light hits it and how shadow interacts with it, where the shadows are harsher/softer……….people are wild man

I really hope that made sense!!!!!! I’ve never tried explaining it before and honestly, I’m not even really sure how I do it. I just sorta. Switch off and start drawing, yk? BUT I HOPE IT HELPED!!!!🫶🫶💞💖

in case that was all utter nonsense here’s a speedpaint that’ll hopefully demonstrate my process;;

I also have straight up screen recordings of me drawing but. I don’t think anyone wants to sit though that

thank you for the ask!!!!!have a nice day/night and SORRY THAT ENDED UP THAT LONG

[lesbicosmos]

happy first day of @chrisginnyweek !!!!

day 1 prompt: colours

my interpretation: makeup. this is entirely based on That One lesbian photo on pinterest

summary: ginny wants her makeup done for the play but can't seem to get it right on her own, so chris does it for her

this is also on ao3 if you wanna read it over there :))

ive got some colour back, she thinks so too

It was their weekly sleepover at Chris’s house, a time both of them treasured over almost every other time, especially since their friendship developed into something more. They’d been spending even more time together since Chris and Chet had broken up a few months ago, and Chris seemed so much happier. She’d originally felt bad that she’d been more focused on Ginny’s brother than her for so long, but she ensured Ginny it was nothing to do with her, she had just felt like she couldn’t fully be herself with Chet like she was with Ginny, and it was rare that she was at Ginny’s place not to see him.

Then the breakup had happened, then the confession to Ginny. And now, Chris was lying with her head in her girlfriend’s lap, Ginny gently stroking her blonde hair, which seemed even brighter than usual in the glow of the beginnings of sunset.

“Chris, can I ask you something?” Ginny asked, breaking the comfortable silence the two of them had created.

“Yeah, Gin?” Chris replied, looking up at her.

“So you know how I’ve got a dress rehearsal for the play tomorrow?”

Chris nodded. Ginny had gotten the part of Hermia in her school’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and she’d been ecstatic about it for weeks.

“Well I was thinking, I want to try and do some makeup to match my costume. I’ve been trying to do it for a few days now, but I just can’t get it to look any good,” she said sadly.

“You want me to do your makeup for you?”

“Would you?”

“Of course!”

Chris jumped up from Ginny’s lap, almost scaring her with how fast she moved.

“Your costume’s pink isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“I have the perfect eyeshadow, hold on.”

Chris raced over to her dresser, opening a drawer, and rummaged through it for a few seconds before pulling out a small golden pallete. Then, she leaned over to the hand-painted pots on her dresser and took two differently sized brushes.

“Where should I sit?” Ginny asked.

“Right there on the bed will be fine.”

Chris returned to the bed, sitting beside Ginny.

“This is probably the most gorgeous eyeshadow I own,” Chris remarked proudly, opening up the golden lid to reveal several small circles filled with compacted powder, all in different shades of pinks and oranges. Fitting, Ginny thought. It perfectly matched the sunset just outside the window.

Chris took a few minutes of silent contemplation, deciding exactly what she was going to do with her girlfriend’s eyes. Ginny was becoming overwhelmed by the way Chris was looking at her…so intense but so loving.

“Okay, I have an idea,” Chris said at last, looking away from Ginny to instead look at the palette in her hand

“Sorry, before you start, can I kiss you?”

That got Chris to look up at her again, slightly confused but completely welcoming the suggestion, she nodded, and Ginny crashed their lips together. It was short, but passionate.

“Sorry, just…the way you were looking at me then, I couldn’t not.”

Chris laughed softly, then took one of the makeup brushes and dipped it into one of the light orange eyeshadows, picking up the pigment.

“Close your eyes for me?”

Ginny closed her eyes as Chris gently took her chin in her hands. She couldn’t help the soft giggle that escaped her throat as the brush touched her eyelid.

“God, you’re so ticklish,” Chris said playfully, trying to get her brush in the place on Ginny’s lids that she had mentally planned.

Suddenly, Ginny felt the absence of the brush touching her skin, and she hesitantly opened them.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, just…the lighting isn’t great. I can’t fully see what I’m doing.”

“Oh.”

“I have an idea, though. Lie down.”

Ginny was confused as to how lying down on the bed would solve the lighting problem, but she did so nonetheless, expecting Chris to simply move closer to her to do her makeup like that. Chris, however, had other ideas. She stood up, then climbed up onto the bed so that her legs were either side of Ginny’s waist, straddling her. Ginny’s breath hitched.

“Is this alright? If it’s not I can-“

“No, it’s fine. More than fine,” Ginny replied, smiling up at Chris in what could only be awe.

Chris leaned down so that her face and Ginny’s were only inches apart, pallet in one hand and brush in the other, staying stable with only her core strength.

Ginny felt the brush on her eyelid once more and seemed to zone out from reality, relaxing under Chris’s gentle touch as she painted the gorgeous summery colours onto her eyes.

After a few minutes, Ginny felt Chris shift and she opened her eyes.

“You’re all done,” Chris said sweetly, looking down at her work.

She leaned over to her bedside table and grabbed a small compact mirror that sat beside her lamp.

“Here,” she said, handing it to Ginny.

Ginny carefully opened the small pink mirror, looking at her reflection.

The makeup was done beautifully. Orange in the inner corners of her eyelids perfectly blended into pink on the outside. The colours were perfect, subtle: not too bright that it seemed glaringly obvious she was wearing makeup, but just pigmented enough to be picked up by the stage lights tomorrow.

“Holt shit…Chris, I love it. I love it so much, it’s so pretty!”

“You’re so pretty.”

Ginny could feel her heart skip a beat at the compliment.

“Those are absolutely your colours. They really bring out your eyes. And your eyes are gorgeous anyway.”

“My colours? Have you seen those colours on you? You look like an actual angel, like all of the time."

Ginny slowly sat up from the position she was originally in, Chris not moving from on top of her so by the time Ginny was upright, her girlfriend was straddling her lap instead. She could see how Chris visibly blushed from her statement, her cheeks growing slightly pinker. She looked beautiful. See! Ginny thought. Pink! It’s your colour! She silently made a promise to herself to make Chris blush more often, just to see that soft colour rise in her cheeks that suited her so well.

“Okay, one thing,” Ginny said, lifting the mirror to her face once again.

“Yeah?” replied Chris, seeming to become more fidgety, as if nervous Ginny was going to say something was wrong.

“I’m not entirely convinced the ‘lighting’ was a problem, y’know.”

Chris relaxed, a playful grin growing on her face in place of the subtle worry.

“Are you complaining?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Absolutely not,” Ginny sighed in response, taking Chris’s face in her hands and pulling her in for a kiss, this one longer and deeper than before, their hands quickly coming up to tangle in each other’s hair.

Chris’s cheeks were pink again already.

[kaijukat-art]

Hello! I was wondering if you could a small tutorial on how you render your pieces?? They’re all super pretty btw!! I love your art :D!!

Ahh thank you sm!! <3 0: i’m not very good at explaining my process, and it changes depending on what I’m drawing as well, but I’ll try my best to explain it!

imma use the choso panel redraw since it’s a pretty simple portrait (done in Procreate, but most of this can be applied to CSP too)

once i’ve got a decently refined sketch, i fill in a basic starting skin colour for the character. i start some shading once i have a basic idea of where i want lighting. colour-wise, i usually go a bit darker & warmer for the first pass. (i use a brush that’s a basic airbrush settings but i replace the shape source with a reuleaux triangle) besides where shadows will fall, ill also focus on making the colour more dense on the ears, fingers, around the eyes, and sometimes the blush area. (also let it be known i use Liquify a lot, and constantly flip my canvas. as you render you’ll often start noticing lil adjustments that need to be done)

ill build up passes of colour, going darker & more saturated as i do. as the colours darken, they’ll be in the more receded/hidden areas of the face (like under brows, under chin, inner ear, unless the lighting calls for otherwise) in this case though, he’s also kinda beat up, so i added more colour under the eyes/on the cheekbones to add to the bruise vibes

for the nose/brow/shoulder highlights, i made a new layer & set it to Add. it’s a handy way to get a highlight colour and brighten your hot spots for lighting. this is usually when ill mess with the sketch/linework, sometimes i switch the layer mode to Multiply if i know i want to fully paint over it. in this case i think i just Alpha Locked the layer and painted in the hair/eyeliner since i wanted them darker. once the linework is thoroughly fukt with, i make a new layer and start painting over. usually involves a lot of colour picking & making some adjustments, playing around with levels of colour. I also swap between the reuleaux and a funky dense rectangle thing for rendering, sometimes little sketch pens for smaller details too.

(technically the blue-tinge reflective lighting wasn’t very accurate for the bg/scene colour i chose, but i got carried away and didn’t wanna change it lol)

hair rendering is fun sometimesssss. i make a new layer, choose a slightly brighter colour, and messily block in where i want the highlights. idk how else to explain it besides like, think about using H-adjacent shapes when you’re erasing/refining the highlights. for the last step, i make a new layer, set it to Add, and paint inside the highlights for the sharper look.

When it’s getting to a place i kinda like, (added some blood/cuts on this one before moving on) ill usually start messing with some overlay effects. this usually involves picking a random colour, filling in a new layer, and seeing how it lays over the piece. depending on the vibe im going for it can change a lot, but i find myself usually liking Exclusion & Subtract a lot. (sometimes ill throw a Noise + Overlay layer on top as well, but didn’t for this piece)

i hope that makes some sense??😭 im sorry if anything isn’t clear, i can try my best to answer specifics if needed.

it’s not my most thoroughly rendered portrait but it’s one i got a decent amount of wip screenshots for.. my style in general is still a wip, and i change it up a bit every time. i encourage experimentation always!!! it’s helped me a lot. i’ll see about making a more thorough tutorial for a properly rendered piece soon too!

[robo-milky]

Oooohhhh!!!! That makes sense thank you for explaining it!! Sorry for assuming you whitewashed him!

[Context]

😭 Ahh thank you for understanding-

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only artist who does this where they’d only use the skin tone for shading but NOT colouring the whole thing-?? Cause if you look closely- both have the same treatment and different skin tones- (though with Cloche it is mistaken to be normal since the lighter tone blends in- please- I don’t literally colour them pure white in illusts ((fully coloured)) )

I’m really sorry if this is mistaken as whitewashing- With doodle styles, I’m more inclined to skip steps like colouring skin but adding blush, but I’ll put the effort to colour the skin in for all if you want ;u; *please I swear this is not some subconscious whitewashing/colourist agenda but I’m just lazy*