#Monochrome colored plain white and so forth

[nymphrasis]

Ok now I should eep xD. Have been working on drawing out one of the asks for the Kuruna blog ouo. Not quite done just yet.

I haven't been too focus and actually been feeling tired all day, so my mind hasn't plan out any asks to have Kuruna be sent out yet xD. And note that by tired, I just meant very sleepy. My fault for not being too well rested ( I forgot to take the doggo out to pee last night and she kind of woke me up at 4am. Which I did took hee out to do her business. But I couldn't go back to sleep c.c . I did took a nap at around... 5:30PM 🤔? It was for two hours. But I didn't feel too well rested because I've wanted more xD. But I shouldn't nap too long, as I don't wanna miss out on dinner qwq.

That's when I've started working on art for one of Kuruna's asks qwp. I do want to see if I can do art of most of them pwp. Which btw, thank you for the many favs, reblogs, and asks QWQ! There was a lot more peeps than I've thought <3! I let out a sleepy cheer, out of giddiness pwp.

Thank you, really!

I hope that, after I have rested, I would come up with some questions or at least silly interactions to send Kuruna out to others blogs!

Ps. I want to try to update my kofi stuff for a change and, well... I did had the idea of just posting some rough and completed Kuruna art stuff on there qwp. Since normally, the only progress art I really upload is on a private Discord ( Only very, very rarely do I post progress art publicly ) >w<. So maybe Kofi would be a good idea to try qwq/. Potential chance that I may forget about it somewhere down the road. Not sure yet tho. I say this because sometimes I forget to upload on Instagram and Bluesky, as I am not really super active on either medias xD.

[musubiki]

Hello!! I've followed you on twitter for a while for your pokemon stuff, but stayed for your cute ocs and art style! I really adore your comics, and I was wondering if it's okay to share some tips or tutorials on how you make them (panels/expression/dialogue)? Or maybe just your general process!! I also want to improve on drawing comics and you have been a big inspiration 💕

AAAA THANK U SO MUCH!!! 😭💖💖💖 IM JUS GONNA PUT SOME TIPS CUZ DOING A WHOLE TUTORIAL WOULD TAKE TOO MUCH TIME I THINK,,,these are just newbie tips cuz i dont rly know what im doing so far either 😭😭😭

- i always do the script for a comic first!!! and i usually wait a while between doing the script and actually drawing it since i usually end up changing/thinking up new ideas after a few days!!

- ive read that a good way to break panels is “one panel per emotion”!! so dont try to fit like 3 different emotions into one panel!! (BUT ive seen official mangas like GSNK bend that rule and they end up putting normal tone at the beginning of one panel and ending it with an angry tone without the characters face changing!! that also can work!!)

- i just put one tone over the whole page and set it to overlay. my stupid ass is too tired to give each hair/article of clothing a different tone (unless you wanna make ur character stand out a bit more, like all my characters right now are just gonna have normal toned hair but i wanna give taffy sandpaper toned hair)

- i try not to break up my script into pages, but instead i open a canvas, and make boxes according to how i picture it in my head!! before i used to pre-break the script into pages just to find out the pacing was weird/off and found its better to go back and forth between your script and your comic page so you can make boxes as you go if that makes sense????

- like sometimes you might wanna add an extra pause panel because one wasnt enough, or something like that, its better to just add it instead of having to go back and re-seperate your whole script again

- Clip studio has a lot of manga panel/page resources but i am too lazy to figure it all out so i just use the grid and put boxes how i want using the grid as a guide!!

- gotta decide which colors classify into which monochrome color 👁👁 mine is a little funky cuz obviously pastel pink is lighter than the orange of limes hair, yet limes hair is white in my comic and the pastel pink is a light gray..,,.,,just gotta work with your colors to make sure theres not too many similar grays right next to each other or else it gets confusing/hard to see 😭

- BIG TIP: if a panel is ugly, just accept it. dont spend 5+ hours trying to make it absolutely perfect cuz lemme tell you, you can draw a whole ass mona lisa of a panel and 90% of people will spend 2 seconds on it reading the dialouge and will just move on and forget about it cuz theyre trying to read the story. no one will notice or care it looks a little off (unless its one of those PAGE LONG panels AND/OR the pic is the main focus of the panel then yknow,,,,obviously u gotta make it nice. but if its just “i need a picture for this dialouge panel” dont worry too much. it ees what it ees.)

- figure out what process works best for you!! whether its “i sketch all my pages, then line all my pages, then color all my pages, etc” or “i do one whole page at a time and dont move on until its fully colored and texted up” or “i skip around depending on what panels i want to draw more” (me)!!! 

- its a learning process!! for me too!!! im sure in a month or a year you’ll know a lot more about comic making if you make more comics!!! first page is gonna look bad anyway. just gotta power through pages like a steamboat and not look back at them and hopefully you’ll eventually get to a point where you can read your own comics without cringing (im not there yet shdhdjdjd)

- for me, making comics is just a continuous process of “this panel is ugly” and “i hope im conveying the right emotion” and “i hope the read understands this part”, and the whole time youre doing it just repeating “its fine, its fine, its fine,” over and over again until your comic is finished

- EDIT: ONE MORE!!!!!! you only need a minimum of one background panel per page just to remind the reader of the environment!!!! no need to have background on every panel!!! have some pattern/plain backgrounds too!!!

[lucidpantone]

Visitations: The Ending Explained

So @gele-gordijnen asked me a really interesting question and I think am finally ready to answer it. She asked can you tell me if Visitations is or isn’t a happy ending?

So here it goes.... (if you want the ending you imagined to stay intact don’t expand)

So in the most long winded way possible yes it is a happy ending but the ending really doesn’t matter in away because it’s what its trying to communicate to the reader about themselves and the way they treat or don’t treat those they love.

It’s very clear that Robbe and Sander never fell out of love but their love became unmanageable. It was way to potent that it hijack all other parts of their lives. Robbe loved Sander so much he was to scared to tell him he wanted to pursue the idea of leaving Belgium. He would rather push aside his own desires then to lose Sander or jeopardize their relationship with a dramatic change in dynamic. The issue here tho is relationships always change and evolve. Trying to ward off change only causes more conflict and Sander was right to doubt his intention in away because Robbe didn’t have faith that they were strong enough to survive change. But at the same time doubt and fear of change is only human. We all make decisions out of fear and doubt at points in our lives and we come back to this same moment again in the car scene where Robbe is trying to decide his future and its so hard for him because at this point fear and doubt have consumed his entire being and he is trying to break this inherit pattern of decision making he has established. But this is how Robbe has operated for so long I mean look at what he did to Lucas in the car. The moment Amsterdam became real to him he lashed out in the most extreme way out of fear and Luc shouldn't have said what he said but wouldn't you feel like you’re deserving of an explanation after being so open and honest? They had clearly had several conversations about Sander and Robbe clearly said there was nothing there which we know was a lie and deep down so did Robbe.  Sander to put it plain and simple loves Robbe too much. Robbe is not in the state of mind to have a healthy honest relationship with him. He clearly loves him but he is so weighed down by the past. Those years of back and forth happened because Robbe wasn’t ready to admit to himself that he maybe made a mistake. Sander was absolutely wrong for what he did but people make mistakes. Love is not a black and white situation. Good people sometimes make bad decisions out of anger and resentment. Sander makes the same mistake at the night of the gallery open when Robbe is trying to open up to him. Its clear in that moment wants to ask for forgiveness but Sander is so angry that he punishes him as Robbe has punished Sander so many times.What’s that saying? sometimes you harm the ones you love the most. If you haven't caught on every scene that plays out in present day is taking place in the metaphorical grey space the place before the event horizon where the skyline is the color yellow to signify the grey place may be hazardous to sobbe. They have been there too long they need aid to get out. The grey place also represents reflection all over the fic there is symbolism towards mirroring or self reflection. The butterflies are a clear indication that we are somewhere in the life cycle of rebirth. Sometimes sobbe is the butterfly and other times they are the caterpillar, the egg or in chrysalis.Thats why the story takes place in flashbacks we are somewhere in their life cycle. In the fic death is not a bad thing because caterpillars die and turn into butterflies so if we are dying we are really just being reborn again and sobbe does metaphorically die as the caterpillar a couple of times. 

The end is happy because they finally chose each other. They jump the crevasse they run towards the event horizon but we know from science we dont know if a human can survive an event horizon. The likelihood is they cannot it will probably kill them but thats not the point sobbe made it out of the grey place the sky turned pink and the floor underneath them turned monochrome. And what did I say before death is not a bad thing in the fic because it usually indicates rebirth and it isn't a coincidence that sobbe is part of a universe that can exist in different timelines. BTW if you read carefully all the evaks are seen for a split second in some form in the story and Joana sorta of explains the ending. When Robbe asks her how does he find her? She tells him he doesn’t but that she’ll be waiting for him and since we the reader know Robbe is Isak and Joana is Even we know that they do indeed do find one another in the other universe. So yes, Sobbe and everything they mean always survives. Do they literally survive? Maybe...because you know who does survive? Bowie. Plus I don’t think that matters honestly because am not really sure this story was ever really about sobbe in the first place but about how love is a metamorphosis or better yet a journey.

[elexica]

Always Tomorrow

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26433880

A gift from a while back to @alectoperdita​; part of my AU-Gust 2020 Project; and it’s about time I cross posted it to Tumblr. Summary:  Joey is a tattoo artist who specializes in Duel Monsters and scar coverage. Kaiba is a walk-in client. Tags and Trigger Warnings:  Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, AU-gust 2020, ygocollablove, Scars, lot of talking about scars, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, BUT only about the scars, Pre-Slash, but there is SO much yearning, Hurt/Comfort, but honestly mostly comfort, oops all comfort Full fic under the cut:

. . .

“Tell me something. You ever felt this way? The burdens of this life, they've really got a way of dragging you real far down to the ground.”

-          “Master of My Own Mind” by Best Coast

. . .

“We don’t take walk-ins,” Joey said.  His shirt was rolled up to the elbow, revealing intricate tattoo sleeves.  A Red-Eyes Black Dragon screamed around his forearm, moving back and forth as he handled the cash register system.  Kaiba’s eyes lingered on the smooth lines of the wings paired with the sharp forms of the scales.  And that wasn’t the only eye-catching ink that Joey was sporting—Kaiba was entranced by a series of watercolor scapegoats and kanji trailed down his neck and disappeared into the plain black shirt that read “Eat, Sleep, Duel Monsters.”  

Kaiba’s eyes widened. “But this is a tattoo parlor.  And I saw your picture on the website, you’re Joey Wheeler.  I like your work.  Is there anything that would prevent you from completing a tattoo at this time?”

“Company policy,” Joey shrugged, revealing the tip of Flame Swordsman’s flaming sword, poking out from under his collar.  “We can’t just drop everything for everyone who wanders in.  There’s a system.” It must be a very large piece, Kaiba reasoned, given the size of the flame.  He wanted desperately to see more of it.

“Name the price.  I can pay upfront.”

Joey shrugged again. “I’ve got a schedule, man.”

Kaiba removed his credit card, placing the heavy material on the glass countertop.  The glossy black card opened many doors for him.  An assortment of rings for various piercings were posed in black velvet in the case beneath.

“You are clearly not busy.”  

Joey looked offended and went back to logging inventory.

Kaiba was not a man who was skillful in pleading—but he was more than capable at negotiation.  The card clicked threateningly on the counter as Kaiba impatiently tapped it.  

“Fine.  Are you available for a consultation?”

Joey smiled warmly, recognizing his own victory.  “Now we’re talkin’, c’mon back.”

Kaiba followed obediently, gawking over the large sigil of the millennium eye that all but glowed at the nape of his neck.  The longer blond strands of his hair brushed against the icon’s upper eyelid.  

The hallway turned into an actual, honest-to-god office, which was the last thing Kaiba expected. Joey pulled out a sketchbook as he leaned against his black desk.  Joey waved one hand for Kaiba to sit, a swirling monochrome haze behind the image of the cartoon time wizard with his little scepter.

“So, what are you thinking? You’re tall as hell, so there’s plenty of canvas!” Joey laughed, all sunshine and shiny white teeth.  

Kaiba’s cheeks burned as he drummed up the will to answer the question.  “In my research, you have something of a specialty in scar cover-ups.” Kaiba was not a man who would cower in his own shame.  But the thought of baring himself completely, his secrets and those eternal marks of his loss, for this stranger… it stung at his dignity.  He needed to do something today, or he would lose the will.

Joey’s smile dimmed compassionately.  This was not going to be a routine intake appointment.  He prided himself on careful and clever scar coverage, but those appointments usually took on a different tenor.  Few people have scars from positive experiences, and the raw intensity of Joey’s client gave the clear impression that it would hardly be a routine appointment.

“I do,” Joey swallowed, “So, what are we working with?”

It was such a simple question.  Kaiba adjusted the cufflinks on his wrists nervously.  He had promised himself he wouldn’t be ashamed.  There was nothing that he had done wrong.

He wished Mokuba had come with him.  It was his idea in the first place.

Joey was suddenly very close, just inches away.  “Hey, it’s alright.  Take a breath.”

Kaiba did not want to obey his command, but he couldn’t resist a sharp intake of breath.  He released it slowly, as if to prove a point. He wasn’t freaking out.  

“For a lotta people, tattoos that cover scars transform a person’s relationship to their body, and to what happened to ‘em.  It can be part of the healing process,” Joey said, slowly.  The sheer volume of his empathy weighed down his words and made them linger in Kaiba’s mind.

Transform.  Happened. Healing.

Kaiba continued to take long, intentional breaths.  The scars burned at the back of his neck and across his back.

Joey reached out a hand towards Kaiba’s face before thinking better of making contact.  The hand froze there, suspended close to his cheekbone. It was then that Kaiba realized his eyes were leaking tears.  Joey had moved to wipe them away.

This whole event was too humiliating, Kaiba thought.  And he couldn’t do it.  

“This was a bad idea,” Kaiba said, sucking in enough air to straighten his back.  He bore a hole in the wall with his eyes, trying to absorb any collateral moisture.  

“Hey, for a lotta people, it’s a part of reclaiming your body, after something hard,” Joey curled his fingers around the hem of his shirt and revealed a gnarly scar just above his right hip.  It was composed of a lot of smaller cuts, webbed together in a semi-circle. The raised skin had been left exposed, with dashes of black woven in to create the swirl at the center of the “Polymerization” card.  The only colors were those of the orange dragons swimming around the vortex in their own lazy waves.  “It was for me.  My friend Yugi did this one.”

Joey reached out, and slowly took Kaiba’s hand.  

“It doesn’t have to cover the whole thing, if you don’t want it too.  See!”

He drew Kaiba’s hand in, softly bringing Kaiba’s fingertips to his skin.  Kaiba’s arm was entirely tense, and he could have pulled back at any time.  But he couldn’t resist—the curiosity bubbled within him.  The pads of his fingers skimmed over the scar tissue in its randomness, and the disciplined smooth black stripes emanating from the twisted center.  Kaiba was almost shocked at how warm Joey’s skin was.  He wanted desperately to touch more, but when Joey dropped his hand, Kaiba withdrew it.  

“Alright, I showed you mine.  You feelin’ up to showing me yours?”  Joey’s grin was so painfully warm.

Kaiba couldn’t help but nod. He began to unbutton his shirt. Button by button, Kaiba kept his breathing steady by force of will.  The rise and fall of his chest felt especially vulnerable with his buttons undone. He moved to his cufflinks.

“Ah, shirt’s fine, but ya gotta warn me if the pants are comin’ off too!” Joey said with a gentle laugh. Joey’s eyes were undeniably glued to Kaiba’s abs, which made Kaiba’s breathing even more fragile.

Kaiba paused, fingers fumbling with the cufflink on his right hand.  “It… just my shirt.”  Kaiba spent his life speaking in eloquent sentences that drove investors to throw money at any idea that so must as sparked in his mind.  He gave talks at industry conventions that brought the consumer electronics world to its knees.  And he couldn’t force out a full sentence in front of this man.

“It’s okay,” Joey reassured. It didn’t feel practiced or put on. It almost felt like talking to a therapist.

Kaiba tugged off his shirt in one smooth move.  

Finally, it was Joey’s turn to have the wind knocked out of him.  

Kaiba braced for the inevitable questions.  Those long, deep, even lines across his back scorched under the other man’s stare. And the little lines at the nape of his neck seared.  The best lie that Kaiba had brainstormed on his way over was that it was a very bizarre car accident.  Kaiba stressed internally that perhaps Joey thought Kaiba had done this on purpose, though the mechanics would have been infeasible.

But, like a professional, Joey didn’t ask any questions.  He didn’t gasp.  He didn’t even gawk for a significant amount of time.

“Alright!” Joey said, perhaps a touch too upbeat.  “So, what’re we talkin’?”

Kaiba inhaled very slowly and began to replace his light blue Oxford shirt.  “You, clearly, appreciate Duel Monsters.”

“Ha!  Appreciate is a diplomatic way ta put it!  I’m one a’ the greatest duelists that Domino has eva seen!” Joey’s smile was back to beaming at full wattage, like he hadn’t just witnessed Kaiba’s secret torture.

Kaiba was determined not to highlight his position in Kaiba Corp.  The last thing he needed was this man to know everything—or make any educated guesses.  He was already trying to slough off the sensation of being pitied.  Still, he’d have to put this amateur in his place.  “I have been called the Prince of Cards, and was National Champion, but now is hardly the time—”

Joey put down the Duel Disk he had grabbed from a drawer in his desk.  “Yeah, not the time.”

Kaiba failed to suppress a smirk.  It was jarring how quickly this man could bring him back to himself.  “Anyway, I thought I could cover the… damage on the back with the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon.”

Joey nodded.  “That sounds super sick!! But that is going to take a lot of planning.  And you want—”

“Nothing to show through. I was sort of imagining it in the style of a Yakuza boss.  Just very powerful.”

Joey looked up, imagining it in his mind’s eye.  “Alright, I can take down the information and draw up some sketches.  That would be a very expensive piece, and pretty time consuming for both of us.”

“Money is no object,” Kaiba stated, ice cold and prideful.

“Is there anything else you’re thinking of?” Joey asked.

Kaiba’s hand flew to the back of his neck.  “A very small piece of code.  I’ll write it down.”  

The pad was heavier than Kaiba had anticipated, and Kaiba almost trembled as he wrote out the phrase: “pid_t pid = fork();”.

“I have never done a tattoo like that!” Joey remarked. “This won’t fully cover the scar.”

Kaiba nodded sternly. “That’s fine.  It actually should go between the lines.  It’s a very specific piece of code: it’s the basic invocation of a ‘fork,’ which is how a program splits itself and spawns new programs. It’s critical to the function of any Linux system, anywhere.  One process starts when you boot up, and then it’s all forks from there.”

“Uh, ok.  And what does that have to do with you, exactly?” Joey raised an eyebrow, affecting a serious “thinking” face.

“I don’t believe in fate. I make my choices and I live with them. For me, it means that I am always at a new decision point, and I build my life on these decision points.  No one else builds it for me,” Kaiba looked directly into Joey’s attentive caramel eyes.  “And my past does not define me.  I am one fork away from a new program.  The next challenge.  A new life.”  

The explanation spread a smile across Joey’s face. “That would take me maybe, thirty minutes?  I could do it now, if you’d like.  In that spot, it would hurt like a bitch, but something tells me—”

“Pain is no object.”

“Yeah, right, so, if you’re still determined to walk out of here with a tatt, we can do that,” Joey said.

Kaiba smiled, just a tiny bit.  “I’d like that.”

 FIN

 . . .

“For me there's always tomorrow, even when I'm drowning in my sorrows. I gotta focus, gotta rewind, gotta stay the master of my own mind.”

-          Best Coast “Master of My Own Mind”

  The whole fic is really inspired by a difficult time in my life, and this really great Best Coast song, “Master of My Own Mind,” which everyone should listen to, because it’s very compelling.

Credit to my irl boy Jack for the coding tattoo idea that I don’t *think* has been done before! Without him, this would be “hello world” lol!

Like the boys with tattoos? You'd love Alecto's work, "A Fool's Puzzle" (https://archiveofourown.org/works/23464288).

Image credit:  Photo by Sebastian Voortman from Pexels Edits by me.  

[camomills]

Title: Stars of Soot Relationships: Silica/Sinon Fandom: Sword Art Online Word Count: 3083 Summary: Sinon shows off GGO to Silica as a date, at Silica's request. As she experiences the different sensations of such a hardy world, Silica wonders why this world means so much to the other girl. Notes: Made for SAO Pride Week 2020 - Day 2: Stargazing. This one wasn't beta read because I was a bit pressed for time, so please forgive me for any glaring errors. It's been a while since I wrote Silica/Sinon! It was quite fun to revisit the ship. As per usual for me, this wound up as a weird mix of fluff and character study.

AO3 Link

-

The air in Gun Gale Online smells like gasoline and gunpowder, but Silica doesn’t mind… much. Not when she clings to Sinon’s back as they speed down the highway on a rental buggy, pigtails fluttering in the wind as her cheek finds rest in-between her girlfriend’s shoulder blades.

“I still can’t believe you want to try out this game,” Sinon says, the metallic hairpins on the sides of her face clinking lightly. She’s still not that used to driving, in the game or otherwise, so she keeps her eyes on the road instead of turning her head back as she talks. Vehicular collisions are not particularly romantic.

I just want to know what you see in it , Silica replies in her mind, raising her head.

She understands that, for all the time they spent together in ALO ’s fairy realm, that wasn’t Shino’s ‘world’, not in the way this place is. When she doesn’t bury herself in the curve of Sinon's back, the gas and soot is more apparent to all of her virtual senses, and even though it was her own proposition, she has to ask, why? Why choose colorless tiles and cracked pavement over the boundless hues of fantasy?

“I’d be lying if I said I… particularly get it,” Silica admits. “But this world is important to you, right?”

“Yeah,” Sinon replies. “ GGO might be an acquired taste, though. This game is gritty.”

She rolls her shoulders, leaning further back onto Silica.

Excluding Silica, Sinon has never been one for bubbly and cute, so GGO would always be a better fit for her. But this virtual world was made with inhospitality in mind, so not exactly the perfect dating spot. The fact that she’s here for one surprises her more than it does anyone else.

“Well,” Silica says, “good thing you’re here, then! Having a tour guide to show around should be a huge help.”

Sinon wheezes. “So I’m your tour guide, now?”

“Yes!” Silica proudly proclaims.

The sniper smirks. “Okay, then.”

Sinon twists the handlebars, and the bugey roars as it peels through the road. She can’t help but smile as Silica’s high-pitched yell reaches her ears, just barely audible over the revving of the engine.

*

The howling of gunfire can’t be heard as much within GGO ’s hub city, but the loud advertisements that echo from the bright signs serve as a fitting substitute, volume-wise.

Silica’s only knowledge of this game comes from watching Sinon and Kirito fight for their lives, real and virtual, through a tournament broadcast. The fact that Sinon still logs in daily to Gun Gale even after that incident would be odd to anyone other than people like the beast tamer and her friends, who are all VR addicts despite their time in Aincrad.

The two years in the floating castle, despite the pain it caused her, was where Silica grew the most. She’d never openly say that there’s a part of her that misses the days after the one year mark, when she’d settled into her reputation in those lower floors and tried to forget the outside world so much that she succeeded. None of her friends would. It’s a silent understanding and an untold promise; not to admit missing those days, so they don’t have to, either.

What does GGO, a medley of grit, greys and metal, mean to Sinon?

Their circumstances are different, but the scars they bear stain their skins in similar ways. The masks offered by virtual worlds, Silica knew, gave one the opportunity to confront themselves in ways one couldn’t anywhere else. There was something to the kind of place one chose to do so that Silica found important to know.

Sinon got to see New Aincrad, walk over the same plains wherein the beast tamer had met Pina, bask under the same electronic sunlight she experienced for two years.

It’s not fair if only one of them gets to do it, is it?

**

The sun sets while they stroll through the city, and Silica understands more of the acquired taste Sinon had mentioned. The approaching dusk was somewhat nice on itself, but the place was still a palette of monochrome then, all steel on sand, black on white. Once it’s officially night time in game, 6:00 PM sharp, however, everything changes. The dark of night makes the huge, floating billboards pop, neons of purple and blue scattered through the cyber landscape. The virtual city night lights become luminous streaks in her vision while they dash on the way here on the buggy, not unlike how she imagines speeding through one of Tokyo’s nightlife districts in a motorcycle would feel like. It’s movielike, but not fantastical or unreal, but maybe that’s the point; she doesn’t think she’d have the guts to go at such high speeds with her flesh-and-bone body, nor would Shino have the confidence Sinon presents.

There are things from real life that one can only do in a game like this.

***

They stop by an equipment shop at the center of the now-luminous city. Unlike the last time she was here with someone else, Sinon has no tournament sign-in to get to after shopping, so they can take their time.

Sinon is surprised when Silica picks an overall sensible combat outfit; a tactical green and black leather outfit with red accents, along with a dark, moss-colored poncho. We kind of match! Silica beams as she presents herself, pointing back and forth between her and Sinon’s outfit colors. She frames her face delicately and comically she does so, her eyes shining like a cartoon fawn’s. Sinon knows it’s on purpose, this over-the-top display of sweetness, but it makes her smile anyway.

Of course Silica found a way to make this cute.

It’s also cute, albeit in a different way, when Silica’s eyes look away from the armor section of the store and widen as she takes notice of a display of combat knives. They’re military-grade blades, absolutely indistinguishable from the real-world articles. Unlike just a moment ago, the shine in her eyes is unfeigned.

“Oh yeah, this game has these!” Silica exclaims.

Sinon turns to her with a quizzical look.

“... You’re interested in the knives?” That makes it two for two, the times she’s taken someone new here and they thoroughly ignored guns. Are all fantasy game players like this?

“Of course I do!” Silica exclaims, like it’s obvious. Her look all but says, I spent years fighting with daggers, remember?

Silica takes one of the knives from the demo display. It looks comically large in her hands, and yet it pales in comparison to the ones she’s grown used to in fantasy games. She spins the handle in-between her fingers, resting it on her knuckles. The hand flourish when she bumps the blade upwards, sending the knife spinning high, and then catches it from the air with her open palm is almost too fast to see. She gleefully changes the grip a few times before finally settling it in a simple reverse grip.

“They have such a better feel than those bulky daggers!” Silica exclaims in glee.

“ Impressive,” Sinon mutters under her breath. She can’t help but be hit with a sense of deja vu .

There’s a sensible distance one can gain when looking at someone brandishing a bright sword that looks more like a cosplay prop, or a fantasy dagger coated in filigrees. But there’s no distancing from seeing Silica, in all of her titanic five feet of height, doing knife tricks one would expect of a special forces soldier, or perhaps a movie greaser, when the blade is so realistic.

Sinon would be lying if she said she doesn’t find the display at least somewhat attractive.

Sinon heads over to a small menu in front of the knife section as she selects the same blade Silica had in hand. Soon after she goes through the proper transaction steps, holding Silica’s hand and laying it over the holographic display, one of the store robots scoots over to hand Silica her item.

Silica’s smile makes the credits Sinon spends all worth it.

… Is a knife a weird gift to give your girlfriend? Sinon thought, but that was a bridge already crossed. Then, she remembers the real reason they came here.

“I know you’re mostly here to look around, but you’ll still need some sort of main weapon if you’re to experience the game.  Pick whatever gun you’d like to test out and we can go to a shooting range.”

****

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am absolutely serious!”

Instead of the shooting range, the two find themselves by a station near the edge of the city, connected to the game’s starter fields.

The vehicle’s mounted weapon protrudes from a hatch on top. Its long, steely frame glimmers as it reflects the sun’s harsh light.  The heavy machine gun could be mistaken as some sort of cannon for the uninitiated in the ballistic arts, with its bulky, long barrel, but it’s a high-RPM, lightning-fast automatic weapon, nothing short of a reinforced harbinger of death.

“You said I could pick any weapon,” Silica reminded the other girl. “I’m picking this mounted gatling gun.”

Machine gun, actually, Sinon thought of correcting. Other than the regular shooting ranges in GGO, there were also training grounds for driving by the outskirts of the city, by the game’s starting area - it had been where Sinon had trained her bugey skills, in fact - but the knowledge of that, or of the existence of mounted weapons, is the sort of knowledge most newbies wouldn’t have.

Silica did her research for sure... and was probably planning this.

Sinon’s original plan was to simply show Silica around the game, so buying an expensive armored vehicle sounds unwise, especially when there’s only two people.

The sniper squints her eyes at the shorter girl.  Noticing Sinon’s glare, Silica fans her eyelashes pleadingly, and Sinon’s resolve falters.

… I guess I was thinking of getting everyone else to convert and help me out, anyway?

“... Fine,” Sinon concedes. “But you better help me convince everyone else to hop on here for the PKer problem, then.”

Silica immediately jumps in excitement. The humvee’s engine purrs to life as Sinon turns the engine key, and the newbie gunner excitedly hops to the top hatch.

*****

Silica is small, but she doesn’t feel so when she holds onto the trigger in the huge weapon’s handlebars, the generated mobs in the starting fields shattering into red sparks. She loudly laughs in excitement as the high speed vehicle traverses the shifting sands.

The ride is a feeling unlike her other experiences with virtual worlds. It might be due to what Sinon earlier described as a “commitment to grittiness,” but the game still replicates hints of discomfort; her small frame vibrates from the gun’s recoil, her fingertips feel a bit too warm, and she has to ask Sinon to stop every so often because of dizziness.

It’s annoying at first, but it grows on her.

Silica wonders if this is part of what draws Sinon to this world.

******

Silica finds the pink hue that covers GGO ’s desert sands endearing.

She gets a good vantage point to admire the landscape as she’s wrapped in one of Sinon’s arms and they zip up a rocky structure. The grappling hook’s line is taut with their combined weight.

Despite the pleasure found in their proximity, as her hand holds Silica’s body close to her by the waist, Sinon does so primarily out of practicality, as Silica doesn’t possess a grappling hook of her own.

Silica, however, finds herself smitten by the situation. Being carried in the arms of a cool girl as she takes in the sights of a foreign world, the warmth of her body providing solace in the cold, simulated night, is a scene befitting a dream she’d have long ago if she’d known she liked girls sooner.

Silica sighs in disappointment as they reach the summit, going from dream to simulated reality. As she looks at Sinon, she’s glad this reality, virtual as it is, is still dreamy aplenty.

The plateau atop the rock formations, where monsters couldn’t reach, was the perfect stargazing spot. It allows them to wind down after spending an entire day driving, shooting, and in Silica’s case, shouting in excitement. Sinon is not exactly the romantic type, far from it, but even she recognizes what the beauty of GGO’s night sky can do to one’s heart. She’s glad she gets to watch it with someone else now, instead of only her sniper rifle for company.

Sinon sits herself by a boulder on the plateau that she manages to find snug. The wordless invitation she gives Silica, as the spot to her side seems like it would fit her perfectly, beckons the younger girl, who hasn’t acquired the same grit to be truly comfortable on the hard surface. Thankfully, Sinon’s shoulder is softer than the rocks.

“So, what did you think?” Sinon asks. “Was I a good tour guide?”

“Yes,” Silica answers. “I give you five stars!” She nuzzles closer onto Sinon’s side.

They stare out at the sky. The moon is hidden behind drifting clouds.

“I have a confession to make,” Silica admits, in a tone that sits between jokey and serious. “I didn’t want to try this game only to shoot guns.”

“Oh?” Sinon’s surprise is clearly feigned. Even she would be able to understand that Silica’s request to see this game was a date proposition. There was a reason she decided to cap the night off with stargazing.

“Yeah. I guess I figured… playing this game would make me feel closer to you.”

“Oh.” Sinon’s surprise this time is genuine. “Well… do you?”

“Hmm.” Silica looks at them, sitting side by side, sharing warmth, and yes seems like the obvious answer here. “I mean, yes. But I suppose I was looking for an answer.”

“An answer… did you find it?”

“I’m not sure I did. I think I found… something,” Silica says. Her grip on Sinon’s arm tightens, a mix of affection and nervousness. “I think there is something important about virtual worlds, and why we’re drawn to them. I... now that I think about it, maybe I could’ve just asked you from the beginning.”

Her heels pitter-patter on the rocky surface.

“What does this… What does GGO mean to you?”

Sinon looks at Silica, a bit puzzled.

Silica doesn’t know how fair of a question it is, really. Could she explain what drew her to virtual worlds? Why thinking of Aincrad, her former prison, makes her feel homesick? But she’s nothing if not sincere, and she wants to know. She figures Sinon, introspective as she is, thinks about those things more than she does.

“GGO is, you know.” Sinon makes a meaningless hand gesture. She thought obsessively before about this question - her objective, her growth, her path towards becoming stronger , she called it. She doesn’t know how to distill it in a sensible way, is all.

A place to face my fears?  

Where I met Kirito, thus, how I met you?  

“ Home?” Sinon says without registering.

Oh.

It’s under this night sky, beneath a red moon, that Sinon realizes this is the first time she got to enjoy this world with someone she truly cared for, life-or-death situations notwithstanding. This place, with its odd smells, rattling sounds, and even unpleasant sensations, has been one of the few places of respite she had from… everything. Others. The world. Herself. It’s more evident now, with someone to share it.

“I came to this world because I wanted to surpass who I was. I wanted to become stronger,” Sinon explains, unsure of whether she sounds pretentious. Sinon’s jaw clenches, and Silica gives her a reassuring squeeze. “When I first came here, there was nothing I wanted more than to erase my real self with this- this stronger version of me. This better version of me.”

The image of Hecate II, her sniper rifle, her companion, comes to mind. She’d thought before, at times, what was she without its weight on her back, other than a fragile girl who can’t help but retch at the sight of gun replicas? Without burnt fingertips and trembling shoulders from gun recoil, how could she call the strength she built here real?

This place is home because it was under this same carmine moon that she realized Asada Shino, the high-schooler, was just as much of a warrior as Sinon, the elite sniper. Under this virtual sky, nothing but code threads woven into a reality, was where she accepted who she was.

She fidgets with her fingerless gloves as she continues. “It’s hard to give a simple answer,” she concedes. “But if I had to try, I’d say… this is the place that showed me it was okay for me to be myself. To recognize my strength, to connect with others. Back then, before this game, I never thought I’d get to have... this, I guess.”  Sinon nudges Silica’s shoulder with hers, playfully. “Who knows. Maybe I just wanted to be proven wrong.”

Silica’s heart tightens. She moves a hand to Sinon’s cheek.

“I’m glad you were proven wrong, then.”

In what Silica is pretty sure is the first time, Sinon is the one approaching her for a kiss.

It’s quick and sweet. Sinon’s thin lips press onto Silica’s lightly. It’s easy to forget they’re in the virtual world then, with their eyes closed the way they are, the waves of warmth  radiating through their faces as the only signal their AmuSpheres send to their brains.

*******

The night goes by quietly as they stare to the sky, save for the distant sounds of underground monsters shifting the sands and Silica’s occasional comment of how she’s sure she can tell the constellations even through the thick clouds. They have little time before GGO’s short day cycle robs them of this sight.

That sky, this world, are virtual, and they know that. It’s hard to tell, though, when it shares stars with the real one, when it shares warmth with the real one, when the strength they gain, the bonds they deepen, the sights they see, carry over to the real one.

The air in Gun Gale Online smells like gasoline and gunpowder, but Silica doesn’t mind… at all, really, when it grants them the opportunity to be so frank and close, so near when they’re so far.

When it grants them the opportunity to be themselves more than anywhere else.

[kekekentyuh]

Try and Try

I wrote this short story-type thing as a way of ushering my twentieth birthday in quarantine, since I have none but the company of words by my side as I reach this new milestone. But, as always, it managed to Margot Roth Spiegelman its way in my drafts (please get this reference) and I’ve only had the nerve to finish it, if not uninspringly, today. I hope you’re a little bit more gentle with this, as it’s not really a big post; it’s just to celebrate my own day. Thanks and have fun reading!

“I like your boots.”

I looked at him no longer than a second before looking down at my own feet, at the pair of black leather boots I was wearing. I didn’t know if there was something to them that made him like them, since they weren’t particularly new, with their peeling tips, worn-out soles and lackluster surfaces due to months of not bothering to shine them, nor whether or not he was bluffing, since I wasn’t so sure if seven year-olds already had motives to bluff, but the gleam in his eyes as he was staring at them like they were the fanciest thing he’d seen in a catalog was enough to prove me significantly wrong, and it made me smile.

“Thanks,” I replied, looking at him again. “I like yours, too.”

He turned his wide-eyed gaze at the pair of brown, faux-suede boots at his own two feet, which had alternating black and yellow shoelaces too perfectly tied – Mom could have very well tied them for his own sake – and decorated with small tiger patches sewn at the back. He made the same smile, only goofier, and looked at me, his eyes twinkling.

“Thanks!” And I could not bring myself not to smile back.

He was sitting beside me as the sun was setting at the playground we were in, warming the bright pastel hues of the play area to a saturated orange, muting them to a perfect tinge of monochrome, making me look around in awe and open my eyes wider than they actually went, but I figured, at that moment, there was nothing more of a spectacle than the small boy beside me, just a few inches away. He was barely past my stomach, wearing a plaid button down neatly tucked in his bright blue denim jeans, with his boots, and a Power Ranger watch slapped against his tiny left wrist. He looked so much better than me, I figured, with my plain white shirt and not-so-skinny jeans (which were what I liked to think my staple for a day at the university) looking like I had all the color in me sucked out, leaving myself gray and defeated.

I heard an “Are you okay?” before I turned to him and nodded again, even though I was entirely unsure of that answer, this time taking the time to look at him properly for the first time since we saw each other.

His smile had melted, replaced with a look I couldn’t easily read, prompting me to look back at him, and it felt so much like what it actually was: a mirror through time, like I was looking back into the reflection I forgot I had thirteen years ago. I saw him clearly for the first time: he had the same scruffy eyebrows that pointed at the end, and the same thick, dark hair, sticking out in different directions, with a bit in the center stuck together (which, I knew, was an adorable attempt at a fake Mohawk with gel bought from the corner store), had the same dark, chocolate skin and the same dark eyes that shimmered brown in the sunlight, but brooded dark and black as he closed them to blink. The expression on his face was almost neutral, as opposed to the wide smile he had merely moments ago, like he didn’t know what to feel about this strange adult in front of him, but it was almost curious, as if he wanted to know why he was there – and I knew for sure that he was curious, because I was him, thirteen years ago.

We sat there, in complete silence, as he turned away to look at down at his boots once more, swinging his feet back and forth, nothing but the whispering gentle breeze brushing through the tips of our hair, just staring at each other, not knowing what to say. I never was one to start a conversation with anyone, but to start a conversation with my seven year old self is something I never imagined I would even be doing, and I sure as hell did not know how to deal with that.

But given the circumstances I never knew would bring me here, I wouldn’t know if I’ll ever get to a chance to meet him again, or see him again. This wasn’t just something that happens to a person at some point in their lives – if anything, this may be the only chance I could get to spend time with him, and the only way time I had to utter a word to him that will last in this lifetime. I knew in myself – my current self – that I had to make this count.

“So,” I said, dragging it in probably the most hushed voice I didn’t know I had, in an attempt to pierce the deafening silence, “how’s everything at home?”

He turned to me doe-eyed before answering, “Home’s okay.” His voice lingered in my head like a mirage, the silent tapping of the tips of his feet on the pavement making up for the distinct hush of our surroundings. “Home is still...home.” 

“Home is home,” I agreed, nodding along. “It’s the best place in the world, isn’t it?” He nodded again, this time in a more rapid pace, making me smile again as I stifled a small, genuine laugh.

I blinked and noticed how I never cut my gaze from him, seemingly fixated on the way he sat and swung his legs endlessly, the tips of his boots brushing against the pavement. “How about Mama? How is she doing? And Papa?” He looked at me doe-eyed, his attention seemingly caught, as he locked his eyes in mine. "They're still picking you up from school, right?"

"Mama picks me up from school," he replied. "She always comes late after we finish, but it's okay, I have time to play."

“You guys still take the commute home?”

He nodded again. “Papa needs the motorcycle so we can’t ride in it. He comes home at night.” He kept staring at his two feet, as if he were willing them to sway with his mind. “He comes home much later than we do.” And I vividly remember it, because it was a sound I had become accustomed to, I sound I grew to learn and be familiar with: the gates opening, the motorcycle engine dying, the sound of keys jingling and the door closing from behind.

“Is he doing okay?”

“He’s always tired, he just scratches my head when he gets home and tells me good night,” he replied. “But Papa is okay.”

I don’t know how my parents did it – both working regular eight hour days, my mom being a full-time caretaker for two children just beginning to grasp the concept of school, my dad taking classes immediately as he leaves his job in the morning in order to pursue a law degree, coming home just as tired as the moon was. But somehow, they did it, and they did a magnificent job at it, and I couldn’t help but remember what must have gone through my mind at that time, because it was probably all there was to it: Mama and Papa are very busy. And they’re tired, so they need to rest.

“How about Lolo? And Lola? ” I felt my voice tremble at the question I barely had the strength to speak out; it felt like it’d been a while since I’ve said those words, and it felt so distant, so alienated, even though they had once been so familiar, that I never thought I would have brought myself to say it again. “They’re doing good too?”

And I saw the same unprecedented shimmer in his eyes, the way a child usually does when they are prompted to talk about something that they love. And for moment, I envied him; I’ve never felt like that for so long. “They’re doing okay, too.” He started nodding to himself again, probably because he knew for a fact that they were. I did too, even though I also knew how much had changed. 

“What have they been up to?”

“Lolo’s still walking a lot, he wakes up when it’s still dark and walk and walk until the sun comes up.” The image became so strikingly clear in my mind – a built 60 year-old in a red sweatshirt and blue sweatpants, walking in strong strides in the cold morning breeze, cane in one hand and a a clenched fist in the other. “He always brings us bread to eat for breakfast when we wake up.” So he did, until the day he couldn’t bring himself to walk anymore.

“And Lola still comes over a lot. But she likes to talk to the neighbors and water her plants.” That’s right – the barren, moss-green walls of the terrace used to be filled with striking purples and pinks, orchids hanging from above and tons of hibiscus blooming from below. My Lola saw life like she saw her flowers: ethereal, majestic, and worth the work. But they stopped blooming the moment her heart stopped beating.

“Does she still borrow your books?” I asked, in an attempt to mask the sadness in my expression, although ultimately proclaiming it through my voice. “And make you meryenda every single afternoon?”

“Yeah, she always comes to borrow my books so I can’t read much anymore,” he replied. The way he attempted to make it look like he was annoyed but was really happy, I knew, that she would come over to visit, even if it were just for the books, made me smile yet again. “And she always makes me sandwiches. I love her sandwiches.”

I heard another “Are you okay?” before noticing that he was looking at me again with his big doe eyes. I didn’t even realize the tears had already begun falling down the sides of my face, for I was too immersed in the images that had already been playing in my head, all of them feeling like distant memories unlocked unwillingly, but so much more real and concrete because of the little boy in front of me, yet here they were – warm and unstoppable, painful with every blink of the eye like daggers through the heart.

“I’m okay,” I replied, without nodding, wiping my wet cheeks with the palms of my hands, then with the collar of my shirt, looking worse than I ought to have let myself seem. I’ve always been sensitive at the thought of my grandparents coming over to skip in my mind, but I never felt anything more intense than what I was feeling at that moment. I couldn’t fully describe what it was, but I knew what I was feeling; I wanted to be him so badly. I wanted to be a child again, to have nothing else to worry about but the day ending and smiling again when another one begins, to run around freely into the arms of my Lolo and my Lola, kiss them like it was the last time I would ever do so, and keep them closer in my heart and lock them there forever, where they won’t be able to leave me again.

“Are you sure?” He asked, turning his body to me, focused at the small droplets landing on the front of my shirt, forming beads of emotion on the surface. “Did I say something bad?” My head snapped in his direction at those words. Something in me never wanted to hear a child say that out loud. 

A faint “No” was all I could muster, followed by a “I just wish I could stay like you forever. Or, you know, maybe even just for a little while longer.” 

“Why?”

“Dreams are free when you’re still a child,” I said. “It’s so much easier than when you’re an adult like me.”

His face scrunched up as he tilted his head towards his shoulder in a confused expression. “Well, I want to be like you,” he said in a matter-of-fact-ly manner after a split moment of silence, dropping his gaze to his feet once more. I turned to him as he replied, feeling the heavy spheres of teardrops covering my eyelashes as I blinked at him. “I want to grow up.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“I don’t like being a kid,” he said, pouting his lips as he talked. “I don’t really like myself.”

“And why’s that?”

“I’m not like the other kids,” he replied, tilting his head to the side. “I’m short, dark, and they all think I’m weird because I speak like the cartoons on TV.” He grimaced at himself, and I understood why; the neighborhood kids had always found it strange that one could have more knowledge of English than Filipino, and I couldn’t change that completely about myself, even if I wanted to. The voice inside my head was in English.

“I don’t like playing sports, and I don’t like to fight the other kids. And they all get mad at me when I point out that something’s wrong with what we’re playing,” he added, a thin texture of sadness engulfing his voice. “I’m just, different.”

“I see.” And I did; somehow, blending in, being part of a group or adhering to something has always been kind of a struggle for me. In a way, I’ve always known that I was different, that I looked different, and that I liked different things. I was more content with a book in my hands than riding a bike outside and more content with telling stories rather than catching bugs or climbing trees. But what was difficult was accepting that I was the yellow pea in the pod, that fitting in was always going to be an issue for me. And in a way, the feeling never really went away.

“I wish I was like you,” he managed to blurt out as I fixated my gaze on him once more, more surprised at his words than anything else. “You’re smarter, you do more awesome things than me, and you’re stronger than me.” Except I wish I was. “The kids here would love you.” I’m not so sure about that, either.

“What? Really?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You’re a scientist, studying in a university now, right? You’re studying animals and plants and why the chemicals change color when they are mixed together. You’re making great discoveries everyday!” He didn’t even pause to look at the confused expression on my face. “And you’re a writer! You write stories and people around the world have read them, right? Books with tons of words and magic like Harry Potter and the Hardy Boys?”

A few more words shot out of his mouth before I could even open my lips to respond, “And you’re doing work to help the people around you! You’re helping the farmers and making big decisions that will help the kids at the schools who need books, just like Mama tells me.” He looked at me again with his big, doe eyes in small crescents, smiling. “You’re a hero. They’d love you.”

It never really dawned to me that tomorrow was such a big thing for me; I have so many things I want to achieve, so many things I want to come my way that I’ve built up the highest expectations for myself because I saw no other option but to see myself cross those goals out. That’s why I always felt like my time was running out – I have so many things in my life that I want to pursue that sitting down is such a luxury in my head.

“I’m not so sure about that,” I replied, without a single bit of hesitation in my voice. No point in lying to myself, I figured.

“Why do you say that?”

“I’m not really any of those things just yet,” I confessed, trying to usher in a smile to make it look like I wasn’t any more sad than I actually was. “I’m just a regular university student.” I wasn't a brilliant student-scientist, I was dragging myself in between classes bullying myself over topics I have yet to study. I wasn't a well-known writer, I was a hobby artist forcing myself to write despite the lack of inspiration. And I couldn’t stand up for my people – I could barely stand up for myself. “I try so hard, but I’m not any of those things. I’m not a hero.”

And we sat there in still silence, letting the slight breeze whip across us gently once again. I had so many things running through my mind that I couldn’t bring myself to look at him even if I wanted to, because it would only kill me to see the disappointed look on his small face the moment I did. I wasn’t anywhere near anything I wanted myself to be when I was young, nowhere near grasping any of the achievements I used to dream I would have at this point in my life. I wasn’t doing great things like I told myself I would. And it wasn’t because I was too short of chances to do those great things, either, because I’ve spent so much time looking for myself, figuring things out even if they didn’t need figuring out, and neglecting what I thought was best, that I didn’t have much attention for the things that truly mattered in the end. I’ve wasted so much time being someone I wasn’t, and I wasn’t proving myself any more capable of doing all those things either, because in all honesty, I wasn’t all that great. I was just regular, old me, and I was too afraid of what he’d think of me now.

I felt him shift across the bench to just a few inches beside me, too shy to look at me directly but sensitive enough, I felt, to want to make sure that I still felt him around me. “That’s okay,” he managed, swinging his legs again, this time looking at the playground in front of us. 

“It is?” I croaked, looking at him in dumb disbelief. 

He nodded. “Sometimes, we don’t really get the best of what we want. You know, like you don’t get to ride the nicer swings most of the time or play with the toys you want since the bigger kids always get them first. And sometimes, you’re too afraid to climb up the slide and go down because you’ll fall on your knees, and your knees will hurt.” He looked up at me, and looked at my eyes for the first time since he first spoke. “But that is not important, because the hurting will stop. What matters is you try your best to get there, no matter how many times you scrape your knees.”

I smiled genuinely, the mixed feeling of relief, happiness, and content washing over me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect him to say something else, or ignore me completely. “I guess so.”

“You’re still studying to become a great scientist, right?” I nodded. “And you’re still writing stories and saving them for everyone to read?” I nodded again. “And you’re still working to help others?” I nodded once more, and he smiled at me. “Then you are a hero. Heroes try and try until they succeed. And if they fall on their butts, they keep fighting, don’t they?”

I smiled at him. I didn’t ever think that I’d be proud of myself for lacking so much, but then again, it turns out someone was proud of me. I couldn’t help but chuckle at him as I ruffled his hair and put an arm around his shoulders. “You know, the thing about us is we weren’t made to be heroes. We’re not built like them, and we don’t want to act like them.” He nodded at me, agreeing completely. “But we try and try until we get what we want, because we don’t like seeing our dreams remain dreams.” I looked at the playground, with the burning hues intensified by the sun, and smiled at the sight. “And that’s probably more than what the Spidey Senses can offer.”

He smiled as he swung his legs again, wrapping an arm around my waist, shifting even closer than he had a few moments ago.”

“Heroes don’t tell themselves they’re heroes, because we don’t do what truly matters because we want to be recognized by them. We do things that matter because they matter, regardless of how great it will make us.” I looked down at him as he looked up to me, both of us smiling until the end of our ears. “And that makes us even greater than we could ever imagine, won’t it?”

“It sure will!” he replied enthusiastically, making me laugh as another single tear dripped down the side of my cheek. I’ve never felt any happier than with any other living human being in this planet; I didn’t want this to end any time soon.

“Tell you what,” I said, releasing him from our semi-embrace, looking at him with a soft gaze, “You keep reading, and writing, and doing the things that make you happy. Do them all and don’t think of what others will look at you or even laugh at you for. I keep trying if you keep trying. No stopping, and no giving up. Crying is allowed, but we keep strong after that.” I smiled. “What do you say?”

He smiled again at me, and this time, I knew he was even more happy than he was before. “Deal.”

He took my hand and shook it vigorously, which felt like nothing more than a jiggly wave in my arm as he turned towards the playground, before looking at me with that same mischievous smile.

“Race you to the slide?”

“I’m going to win.”

“Try and catch up, old man.”

[flyingthecoup]

Yes. I’m going there.

Get an Instagram account and never stop looking at women and men that look better than you and are doing better in their lives than you are.

Forget that social media rarely ever show the full picture, and you only see what they want to you to see.

Start buying all of the makeup brands that they endorse or front and fail miserably trying to contour and highlight and whatever they tell you to do in those one-minute videos

Give up on Insta and start a Pinterest.

Incessantly pin ‘How-To’s’ and ‘Make Your Own’ that amount to ridiculous amounts of money being spent on mason jars and Wasi-tape then utterly fail at those ‘easy’ DIY projects…

 Then ask randos on the Internet what they think about how you look and act through Twitter, Reddit and YouTube and any other Internet based chat room.

Develop a self-deprecating outlook when those randos say you look ugly or slutty because they stay online everyday with you.

Give up and try a new aesthetic that’s sustainable.

Aesthetics are hard. They require so much effort that at times it seems like it’s not worth the time because most of us are messy and lazy. However, we need to be honest with ourselves: whether we’d like to admit it or not, the way we present ourselves to the world is the way we will be treated. Do you want to be treated like a businesswoman? A feminist? Non-binary? When it comes to our own upkeep, and one of the facets of personal self-esteem is a personalized aesthetic.

What is an aesthetic? It used to be a bougie word used to describe a visual scene that was typical of a certain culture, region, or place that had distinct color swatches, furniture, paintings, and so on and so forth. But now it’s basic girl vocab for like, your personal style. Why we needed to make personal style sound more bougie, I will never know but for now, it’s really big on most visual social media, as aesthetic not only describes the makeup of your house, or place of living but also to an extent your personal clothing style and personality.

And for girls, that means Kardashians, pastel filters, duck face and ughhhhh the dreaded motivational quotes on landscape images. Ugh, those are the stuff of nightmares. Quotes from aesthetics like “I have missed classes because I couldn’t decide what I wanted to wear.” are the reason why more tomboyish and just plain lazy girls like me avoid making a signature style. Most definitely, but they have started to lack in their individuality because of how over saturated they’ve become in media. Don’t get me wrong, they’re cute. Having a personal style is integral to having an identity:

Whatever your flavor, figuring it out can be difficult in your first couple of years of college. Believe me, I’m still trying to figure out my own style.

Questions to Ask before you begin

Who are you, personally? Too deep, too fast too soon? Then…

What’s important to you? What’s the most important thing you’re looking forward to in this stage of your life? Take for example college; are you there for the academics or for the guys?

What do you think compliments the most important thing right now? An organized planner, a cute and flirty manner, a calm demeanor?

How will you present this important detail in your life to other people?

After the questions….

Style Journal

Ex. Good-girl Tomboy

I am a college student who’s studious and likes the quiet. I came to Wellesley for its academics point-blank. Although it’s beautiful scenery and the generous financial package had something to do with it, I’m in college to get a degree and then head off to medical school.

That means precision, time management, and cutthroat to the point attitude. But something also important to me is looking like my parents’ daughter; you know the church girl that always has a positive testimony to present, even when everyone else’s life is falling apart? I’m that girl. Sadly.

But even with those clear goody-two shoe characteristics I have, I am lazy af. Maybe that’s because I have traditionally boyish tastes; I like superheroes and comics, sci-fi and science. I like calculation. I like my sweats more than my dresses, and makeup for me consists of chapstick and mascara if I’m lucky. I’m frugal, and it shows in my makeup collection.

The only place it skips a beat is my family and my hair. Although I’ve been natural for quite some time, it’s only recently that I’ve begun learning how to treat and care for my hair outside of protective styles. It’s been challenging, but I love it. Inspirations: Ella Fitzgerald, Strategos Six, The Natural Hair Movement

The Baes of my Aesthetic

Color Scheme: Navies, black, white, transparent and clear, dashes of monochrome color here and there.

A messy mind, a messy room.

Accents: Mason jars from Dollar Tree, post-its stolen from your dad’s office, thrift shop goods from sustainability sales and Primark, the cheapest basic girl store on the planet. I only get staples, denim jackets.

    Developing a College Aesthetic, the Basic Girl Way Yes. I'm going there.

[fredrickarbon]

Which container plants you should decorate in-front of door?

Orange Crush

For a late-summer container that steals the show, make bold foliage the focal point. This easy-care, end-of-season planter uses vibrant 'Rustic Orange' coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides), identified by its rusty-hued leaves that will last until the first frost. The filler in this space-saving pot is 'Compact Hot Coral' SunPatiens (Impatiens sp.), which has tiny tangerine blooms and dark, shiny leaves that contrast nicely with the bronze-toned coleus. Finally, 'Yellow Moon' wishbone flower (Torenia sp.) adds even more lush greenery to the arrangement and offers petite yellow petals with purple throats. This is a thirsty container, so you'll need to make sure it stays well watered. Place it in full sun or partial shade.

Made for Shade

A simple-to-follow formula is all you need to create drama in a container. Here, it takes only four plants to convey the sweeping illusion of a floor-length gown. The key to pulling this off is starting with an elevated planter so the vibrant 'Celebration' and 'Florida Sweetheart' caladiums pop at eye level. Clusters of white wishbone flower fill the empty spaces between the caladium stems and also conceal the actual container, which means you can use just about any freestanding vessel. The final attention grabber is the graceful creeping Jenny spilling over the sides. Position this planter in the shade and water regularly for a gorgeous, easy-to-maintain display.

Traditional Freestanding Container

These porch-step containers begin with bright pink and yellow zinnias—think 'Zowie! Yellow Flame' or 'Magellan Salmon'—which are one of our favorite flowers for their beautiful, round shape. Cooler 'filler' flowers, such as purple verbenas and blue calibrachoas are added to create contrast with texture and color. To make this container garden even simpler, opt for inexpensive plastic planters that are weatherproof and easy to move around. Grouping your containers in a tight space can help to create a homey, mini-garden vibe. Plus, when placed side by side, all of these incredible colors intensify. You’ll love to walk up to these bright wonders.

Gardening Tool Set for Mom http://www.homegardeningplans.com/choosing-the-best-gardening-tool-set-for-mom

Traditional Hanging Container

This woven wicker basket is a natural way to decorate a bare wall in an outdoor space, and it will look just as beautiful whether you set it against brick, timber, or concrete. Pink zinnias and yellow tuberous begonias are the focal points or 'thrillers'. You’ll love the variation between the tighter, round zinnias and the softer, open petals of the begonias. Blue Cape plumbago and golden lantana add an extra hint of drama—think of these as the 'fillers'. Finally, English ivy, with its delicate, well-known shape, cascades over the side—that is the 'spiller', which gives this beautiful hanging container a sense of movement.

Traditional Tabletop Container

If you need proof that a plain and simple planter has the power to brighten up what could be a dull backyard side table then look right here. This container’s copper sheen complements, rather than competes with, the fuchsia zinnias. Yellow calibrachoas—which look like little petunias—spill over the container’s edge. Then, subtle splashes from purple verbenas create another unexpected yet robust focal point in this outdoor garden conversation space. If you would like your planter to have this beautiful feeling of flow, be sure to select a 'trailing' calibrachoa for this container because it grows lower than the mounding version.

Modern Freestanding Container

A planter in a faux-lead finish is a timeless choice, but the cylindrical shape of these tall fiberclay urns gives them a distinctly modern and clean, geometric feel. This type of styling can work well in any décor because it focuses on familiar forms. Choosing a neutral tone or texture for your container helps bring out the unique natural beauty from the color of the flowers and foliage pop. Here, string of pearls creates plenty of architectural drama through their unique shape, while purple calibrachoa and blue ageratum add just the right dose of brightness to add depth to this subtle arrangement.

Modern Hanging Container

Hanging containers are a simple way to bring gardens to limited spaces, or to add beauty to your space in simple yet unexpected ways. For this unique design, a mix of structural succulents gives the arrangement a bold internal architecture, and takes center stage in a simple hanging fiberclay planter. Purple fan flower punctuates the lush greenery. Fan flower is unique because all its blossoms have their segments on one side. In the Tropical South, these plants can also be evergreen. Given their bold, bright color, they offer a refreshing contrast to the deep, dark container suspended in the air.

shallow microgreen trays http://www.homegardeningplans.com/shallow-germination-trays-microgreen-trays-growing-your-own-vegetable-confetti-heaven

Modern Tabletop Container

This ingenious organic look comes from contrasting the strong, stark lines of a modern container with the soft, ripple-in-the breeze movement of natural plants. A carefully curated selection of beautiful containers embody the warm, rich metal tones in this well-designed outdoor oasis. The handsome planter on the mantel has a slate-like finish and blends various succulents with the pink plumes of 'Joey' ptilotus, a bottlebrush plant that is native to Australia. Large-leaved kalanchoes and dwarf golden arborvitaes form the base of this masterpiece, which can grace this mantel just as easily as it could highlight the center of a backyard dining table.

Rustic Freestanding Container

This sturdy galvanized-metal washtub—a flea market gem—is filled to an overflowing beauty with a hearty mix of lantanas and impatiens. Arranged with maroon Joseph’s coat, green coleus, and yellow creeping Jenny, this dense container was designed to highlight a back porch, or greet guests with its sense of joy and happiness on the front porch just as easily. Coleus varieties were first introduced into Europe in the 1700s, and their popularity remains high today. Given their tropical history, they are not particularly cold hardy, so don’t plan to make them a part of this container too early in the spring.

Rustic Hanging Container

The most important key to this rustic aesthetic is being sure not to overplant the container. You are sure to love the look of this arrangement when you give the flowers space to breathe. This weathered, rusty metal bucket—another incredible flea market find—is studded with periwinkles, the profusely blooming Rieger begonias, coleus, and other annuals. But what it is not is overcrowded, which could keep the plants from getting adequate light. For even more rustic, Southern-inspired charm, try suspending this arrangement on a branch. This will add to the casual, easy-does-it feeling.

How to Revive An Air Plant http://www.homegardeningplans.com/how-to-revive-an-air-plant

Rustic Tabletop Container

A simple galvanized-metal toolbox is an unexpected container-gardening vessel that fits into an all-natural springtime setup. Here, it showcases a classic arrangement of bright green spearmint, red geraniums, and white sweet alyssums, for a container that feels both light and fresh. You’ll also love how easy it is to move this around the garden thanks to the built-in handle. What you’ll love the most, though, is the rustic charm of the weathered metal contrasting with the soft and subtle colors of the flowers. This is a beautiful study in hard and soft elements in container garden design.

Romantic Freestanding Container

Sit back and imagine this classic cast-metal urn in a dreamy garden or on a light-filled screened porch. The urn itself is styled with classic Victorian lines, giving it a romantic element, but it is the arrangement that truly makes it magical. The key to designing this look is combining contrasting textures. Here, grassy cordyline, puffy pink dianthus, sweeping ‘Ace of Spades’ sweet potato vine, dainty blue lobelia, and spires of pink angelonia all come together in a cascade and crescendo of bright color and loud celebration. Set against the beautiful shape, but simple monochrome tone, of the vase, this creates a show-stopping container for your home garden.

Romantic Hanging Container

This romantic container garden captures the feelings of magic and mystery through its bright colors and beautiful sense of movement. To achieve these effects, you’ll want to try varying the scale of flowers and greenery to produce the wildly untamed, 'growing in a garden' feel that keeps this basket relaxed. Beginning by selecting this sphagnum moss-lined metal hanging basket, larger dianthus then blend with smaller petunias, while variegated English ivy and tiny baby’s tears dangle over the sides. The effect is the sense of beauty in bloom, bursting forth in wonder from this colorful basket.

Romantic Tabletop Container

Planting in layers is an integral part of putting together this stunning container. Though the handmade bowl that makes up the centerpiece of this gorgeous arrangement may look delicate, it’s made of concrete and recycled materials. Its wide shape accommodates many of the same flowers and plants used in the other two 'Romantic Containers,' just in a more whimsical container display that looks like a flourishing flower arrangement. If you select flowers like dianthus, you will certainly be starting this Romantic Tabletop Container with the right colors, tones, and shapes. Its impact will be elegant, and entirely beautiful. Settle in at the table for an evening drink, or a casual conversation, and let the romance blossom.

Romantic Wall Swag Container

This abundantly rich and vibrant design puts the flowers in the spotlight. These will literally and figuratively be a beautiful sight. Perched atop a painted brick wall, the sleek container is covered by the overflowing blooms, which include sweeping pink petunias, super-delicate baby’s tears, and rounded clusters of rose-pink dianthus. For this arrangement, the focus is entirely on the flowers. In fact, the hidden pot is merely here to offer grounding support. Depending on your design, you may even wish to consider a series of these containers as a way to highlight a garden wall and bring color and emphasis to something you might have always wished to ignore. You won’t have to imagine the beauty—it will be right in front of you.

container plant ideas front door http://www.homegardeningplans.com/6-gorgeous-container-plant-ideas-for-front-door

Geraniums Built for the South

Southerners used to have to choose between geraniums that could handle high temperatures and humidity and those that produced lots of flowers. But this sad state of either-or is no more since Calliope-series geraniums were developed to offer the best of both worlds. This one's called 'Dark Red,' and it forms the centerpiece of a container filled to bursting with bright color and subtle greenery. Here, the filler forms a backdrop to the bold geraniums, and bring height, while the weathered container gives a sense of contrast against the masonry-and-mortar design elements of the courtyard. Let these geraniums burst forth with color in your Southern garden—temperature and humidity are no problem at all!

Bring On the Sun

Here it comes—a beautiful container in the sun, that is. This high-drama, low-maintenance container spotlights 'Variegated Spreading Salmon' SunPatiens, but leaves room for a foxtail asparagus fern and a 6-inch pot of 'Neon' pothos. Everything is set in a glazed-ceramic container, its bright green finish complementing the natural colors of the plantings. This is a beautiful example of the keeping it simple container-garden aesthetic. Let the SunPatiens—a strain that resulted from a cross between a New Guinea hybrids and a wild species—be the bright, central focus of this arrangement. Then, let everything else simply help them shine.

[gardeninghowto-blog]

Decorate your door fronts with container plants

10 Tips To Prepare A Garden Bed For Flowers To ThriveOrange Crush

For a late-summer container that steals the show, make bold foliage the focal point. This easy-care, end-of-season planter uses vibrant ‘Rustic Orange’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides), identified by its rusty-hued leaves that will last until the first frost. The filler in this space-saving pot is ‘Compact Hot Coral’ SunPatiens (Impatiens sp.), which has tiny tangerine blooms and dark, shiny leaves that contrast nicely with the bronze-toned coleus. Finally, ‘Yellow Moon’ wishbone flower (Torenia sp.) adds even more lush greenery to the arrangement and offers petite yellow petals with purple throats. This is a thirsty container, so you’ll need to make sure it stays well watered. Place it in full sun or partial shade.

Made for Shade

A simple-to-follow formula is all you need to create drama in a container. Here, it takes only four plants to convey the sweeping illusion of a floor-length gown. The key to pulling this off is starting with an elevated planter so the vibrant ‘Celebration’ and ‘Florida Sweetheart’ caladiums pop at eye level. Clusters of white wishbone flower fill the empty spaces between the caladium stems and also conceal the actual container, which means you can use just about any freestanding vessel. The final attention grabber is the graceful creeping Jenny spilling over the sides. Position this planter in the shade and water regularly for a gorgeous, easy-to-maintain display.

Traditional Freestanding Container

These porch-step containers begin with bright pink and yellow zinnias—think ‘Zowie! Yellow Flame’ or ‘Magellan Salmon’—which are one of our favorite flowers for their beautiful, round shape. Cooler ‘filler’ flowers, such as purple verbenas and blue calibrachoas are added to create contrast with texture and color. To make this container garden even simpler, opt for inexpensive plastic planters that are weatherproof and easy to move around. Grouping your containers in a tight space can help to create a homey, mini-garden vibe. Plus, when placed side by side, all of these incredible colors intensify. You’ll love to walk up to these bright wonders.

Traditional Hanging Container

This woven wicker basket is a natural way to decorate a bare wall in an outdoor space, and it will look just as beautiful whether you set it against brick, timber, or concrete. Pink zinnias and yellow tuberous begonias are the focal points or ‘thrillers’. You’ll love the variation between the tighter, round zinnias and the softer, open petals of the begonias. Blue Cape plumbago and golden lantana add an extra hint of drama—think of these as the ‘fillers’. Finally, English ivy, with its delicate, well-known shape, cascades over the side—that is the ‘spiller’, which gives this beautiful hanging container a sense of movement.

Traditional Tabletop Container

If you need proof that a plain and simple planter has the power to brighten up what could be a dull backyard side table then look right here. This container’s copper sheen complements, rather than competes with, the fuchsia zinnias. Yellow calibrachoas—which look like little petunias—spill over the container’s edge. Then, subtle splashes from purple verbenas create another unexpected yet robust focal point in this outdoor garden conversation space. If you would like your planter to have this beautiful feeling of flow, be sure to select a ‘trailing’ calibrachoa for this container because it grows lower than the mounding version.

More facts - https://www.justhomegardening.com

Modern Freestanding Container

A planter in a faux-lead finish is a timeless choice, but the cylindrical shape of these tall fiberclay urns gives them a distinctly modern and clean, geometric feel. This type of styling can work well in any décor because it focuses on familiar forms. Choosing a neutral tone or texture for your container helps bring out the unique natural beauty from the color of the flowers and foliage pop. Here, string of pearls creates plenty of architectural drama through their unique shape, while purple calibrachoa and blue ageratum add just the right dose of brightness to add depth to this subtle arrangement.

Modern Hanging Container

Hanging containers are a simple way to bring gardens to limited spaces, or to add beauty to your space in simple yet unexpected ways. For this unique design, a mix of structural succulents gives the arrangement a bold internal architecture, and takes center stage in a simple hanging fiberclay planter. Purple fan flower punctuates the lush greenery. Fan flower is unique because all its blossoms have their segments on one side. In the Tropical South, these plants can also be evergreen. Given their bold, bright color, they offer a refreshing contrast to the deep, dark container suspended in the air.

Modern Tabletop Container

This ingenious organic look comes from contrasting the strong, stark lines of a modern container with the soft, ripple-in-the breeze movement of natural plants. A carefully curated selection of beautiful containers embody the warm, rich metal tones in this well-designed outdoor oasis. The handsome planter on the mantel has a slate-like finish and blends various succulents with the pink plumes of ‘Joey’ ptilotus, a bottlebrush plant that is native to Australia. Large-leaved kalanchoes and dwarf golden arborvitaes form the base of this masterpiece, which can grace this mantel just as easily as it could highlight the center of a backyard dining table.

Tips For Growing Cherry Tomatoes In Pots

Rustic Freestanding Container

This sturdy galvanized-metal washtub—a flea market gem—is filled to an overflowing beauty with a hearty mix of lantanas and impatiens. Arranged with maroon Joseph’s coat, green coleus, and yellow creeping Jenny, this dense container was designed to highlight a back porch, or greet guests with its sense of joy and happiness on the front porch just as easily. Coleus varieties were first introduced into Europe in the 1700s, and their popularity remains high today. Given their tropical history, they are not particularly cold hardy, so don’t plan to make them a part of this container too early in the spring. Rustic Hanging Container

The most important key to this rustic aesthetic is being sure not to overplant the container. You are sure to love the look of this arrangement when you give the flowers space to breathe. This weathered, rusty metal bucket—another incredible flea market find—is studded with periwinkles, the profusely blooming Rieger begonias, coleus, and other annuals. But what it is not is overcrowded, which could keep the plants from getting adequate light. For even more rustic, Southern-inspired charm, try suspending this arrangement on a branch. This will add to the casual, easy-does-it feeling.

Tips To Starting Your Own Home Compost Project

Rustic Tabletop Container

A simple galvanized-metal toolbox is an unexpected container-gardening vessel that fits into an all-natural springtime setup. Here, it showcases a classic arrangement of bright green spearmint, red geraniums, and white sweet alyssums, for a container that feels both light and fresh. You’ll also love how easy it is to move this around the garden thanks to the built-in handle. What you’ll love the most, though, is the rustic charm of the weathered metal contrasting with the soft and subtle colors of the flowers. This is a beautiful study in hard and soft elements in container garden design.

Romantic Freestanding Container

Sit back and imagine this classic cast-metal urn in a dreamy garden or on a light-filled screened porch. The urn itself is styled with classic Victorian lines, giving it a romantic element, but it is the arrangement that truly makes it magical. The key to designing this look is combining contrasting textures. Here, grassy cordyline, puffy pink dianthus, sweeping ‘Ace of Spades’ sweet potato vine, dainty blue lobelia, and spires of pink angelonia all come together in a cascade and crescendo of bright color and loud celebration. Set against the beautiful shape, but simple monochrome tone, of the vase, this creates a show-stopping container for your home garden.

Romantic Hanging Container

This romantic container garden captures the feelings of magic and mystery through its bright colors and beautiful sense of movement. To achieve these effects, you’ll want to try varying the scale of flowers and greenery to produce the wildly untamed, ‘growing in a garden’ feel that keeps this basket relaxed. Beginning by selecting this sphagnum moss-lined metal hanging basket, larger dianthus then blend with smaller petunias, while variegated English ivy and tiny baby’s tears dangle over the sides. The effect is the sense of beauty in bloom, bursting forth in wonder from this colorful basket.

Tips To Growing Tomatoes From Seeds At Home

Romantic Tabletop Container

Planting in layers is an integral part of putting together this stunning container. Though the handmade bowl that makes up the centerpiece of this gorgeous arrangement may look delicate, it’s made of concrete and recycled materials. Its wide shape accommodates many of the same flowers and plants used in the other two ‘Romantic Containers,’ just in a more whimsical container display that looks like a flourishing flower arrangement. If you select flowers like dianthus, you will certainly be starting this Romantic Tabletop Container with the right colors, tones, and shapes. Its impact will be elegant, and entirely beautiful. Settle in at the table for an evening drink, or a casual conversation, and let the romance blossom.

Romantic Wall Swag Container

This abundantly rich and vibrant design puts the flowers in the spotlight. These will literally and figuratively be a beautiful sight. Perched atop a painted brick wall, the sleek container is covered by the overflowing blooms, which include sweeping pink petunias, super-delicate baby’s tears, and rounded clusters of rose-pink dianthus. For this arrangement, the focus is entirely on the flowers. In fact, the hidden pot is merely here to offer grounding support. Depending on your design, you may even wish to consider a series of these containers as a way to highlight a garden wall and bring color and emphasis to something you might have always wished to ignore. You won’t have to imagine the beauty—it will be right in front of you.

10 Tips To Prepare A Garden Bed For Flowers To Thrive

Geraniums Built for the South

Southerners used to have to choose between geraniums that could handle high temperatures and humidity and those that produced lots of flowers. But this sad state of either-or is no more since Calliope-series geraniums were developed to offer the best of both worlds. This one’s called ‘Dark Red,’ and it forms the centerpiece of a container filled to bursting with bright color and subtle greenery. Here, the filler forms a backdrop to the bold geraniums, and bring height, while the weathered container gives a sense of contrast against the masonry-and-mortar design elements of the courtyard. Let these geraniums burst forth with color in your Southern garden—temperature and humidity are no problem at all!

Bring On the Sun

Here it comes—a beautiful container in the sun, that is. This high-drama, low-maintenance container spotlights ‘Variegated Spreading Salmon’ SunPatiens, but leaves room for a foxtail asparagus fern and a 6-inch pot of ‘Neon’ pothos. Everything is set in a glazed-ceramic container, its bright green finish complementing the natural colors of the plantings. This is a beautiful example of the keeping it simple container-garden aesthetic. Let the SunPatiens—a strain that resulted from a cross between a New Guinea hybrids and a wild species—be the bright, central focus of this arrangement. Then, let everything else simply help them shine.

[outfittrends]

Women's Neutral Outfits-15 Best Ways to Wear Neutral Colours Outfit Trends - Ideas How to Wear & What to Wear

New Post has been published on https://www.outfittrends.com/women-neutral-outfits/

Women's Neutral Outfits-15 Best Ways to Wear Neutral Colours

Women’s Neutral Outfits– Neutrals play the role of backbone in any functional wardrobe. Charcoal, taupe, grey, icy pink, peach, navy blue, beige, khaki coral, cognac and salmon. Don’t you think these colors are pleasant to eyes and relaxing enough to see when you are tired?

They don’t even pinch in your eyes as bright colors do. It’s time to add these trendsetting colors to your wardrobe to look decent and stylish without the fear of looking boring and dull.

Everything You Need To Know About Wearing Neutrals

Buy less, chose well. Make it Last. Quality, not Quantity. Neutrals! You can create endless outfits with minimum pieces. We know that neutrals are building blocks of anyone’s wardrobe and they either help you create a fashion statement or just become a total disaster and you surely don’t want any massive destruction. So here is the complete guide on how to pair up perfect neutral with anything for any occasion.

know the color palate

know the undertones and complementary colors

know your skin tone.

don’t forget color coordination

know the choice of correct accessories

avoid getting dull

Understanding Your Skin Tone And Hair Color

Wearing neutral is becoming our new favorite. Want to wear neutral without looking dull, boring or sick? Here is what you need to know first! Figure out your skin tone and hair color in order to match the perfect neutral and look effortlessly beautiful and graceful. People with cool skin tone really look good in neutrals like pink, blue and peach as it helps their complexion not to look pale. If you have a medium skin tone brown, grey, khaki and navy are definitely your colors. If you have dark skin and want to ace neutrals go with white, black, dark brown or silver. This is the first basic thing and we don’t want you to fail in the very beginning.

Moreover dressing according to your hair color is also a tremendous idea. If you have platinum, blonde, red, or gold hair the best fit will be to go with pastel shades and jewel tones. Wearing olive, mustard or blue will be a really great choice if you have golden, caramel, ash brown or dark brown hair. And if you have jet black, espresso or honey blonde hair the best idea is to dress up in white or ruby.

↓ 15 – Building A Neutral Capsule Wardrobe

In the building of a basic wardrobe, we can not go wrong if we strive for simplicity and perfect fitting. Just in case you are on your way to creating a neutral capsule wardrobe you need to get some plaid shirts in all neutral colors. They can be used as your base for every outfit. Get yourself some wide leg pants, straight pant, trousers, and jeans. Moreover get blazers, sweaters, long coats and dusters in all basic light and dark shades of neutrals. A few neutral footwears in black, white and skin. And if you are a skirt person get some of them and pair them up with anything in your neutral wardrobe and create your own style. And your wardrobe will be forever incomplete without belts, bags, purses, and of course jewelry. And to further help you out, here are 18 Cutest Outfits with Camel Coat.

Do well, live well & dress really well.

↓ 14 – Wearing All Neutrals

I have always believed that fashion was not only to make women more beautiful but also to reassure them, give them confidence. And the more confident you are in what you are wearing, the better you look. We often think that wearing all neutral is really a boring choice but this is absolutely wrong! Going all neutral is so decent and elegant. You can go on wearing a neutral jumpsuit, shirt with your favorite pants or a long maxi. Any color choice can be great if you are planning on wearing an all neutral. White, black, grey whatever you like! You can add the dark accessories, bold color shoes and dark lips to complete your look. This can be the best idea for any age group.

↓ 13 – Monochromatic Style

Ladies, Make it simple, but significant. Wearing neutral is trending a lot. For the last few years, we are encountering many fashion changes and we’ve noticed that people have started to prefer neutral over dark and bright shades. The biggest plus point is that you can create a versatile wardrobe with just a few pieces. Wear neutral with an undertone. Make your one piece of a lighter shade and the other of a darker shade having the same base. To enhance your look you can add a belt to your dress or use any other accessory of your choice. You can go for monochromatic outfits in any shade of your choice like beige, cream, camel or grey and remember, this is one of the fashion blogger’s most recommended way of making a simple outfit look like its way more expensive, making it perfect for fancy dinners or meetings.

↓ 12 – Neutral With A Tint Of Texture

Keep on adding texture. The more the texture the better. Plain neutral might not be your favorite thing to do. Why not add some texture in any piece? It will brighten up your look. You can wear neutral textured sweaters, pants, hoods, scarfs. The best option is to add at least one textured piece in your complete outfit. It will prevent your outfit from getting boring. If you are planning monochrome tint of texture will be the perfect fit. It will be all voguish and chic.

And if you’re bold enough, you can always go with an oversized furry sweater.

And plaid colors, of course, are a timeless addition for your wardrobe:

↓ 11 – Neutral With A Bold Pop Of Colours

Time to add bold colors to neutral to create a completely new style statement. Who says you can’t wear neutral with popping colors. Get yourself some great bold pieces and match them with your neutral capsule. Any season can be a great choice for bold popping colors with neutral. If you don’t want much of bold color in your outfit you can go on wearing a fluffy scarf. Accent colors like cognac, coral and berry are usually considered favorite.

↓ 10 – Neutral With High Shine For Party Wear

A style is a way to say who you are without having to speak. So, let us get splashy and spiffy. It’s time to add high shine to your neutral line. One of the best match with neutral is to add a glimpse of glitter to it. We always have many ways of wearing any outfit. You can wear an all neutral dress with beadwork or just shimmer or you can go on wearing a gleaming top or skirt. Being shiny and sparky never goes out of fashion and here is your chance. If you’re into shiny and metallic outfits, you wouldn’t want to miss out these 26 Best Ideas on How To Wear Metallic Outfits For Girls.

↓ 9 – Neutral With Denim For Casual Wear

Neutral With Denim? Our favorite casual wear. But where does it get difficult? Of course in color coordination. But don’t worry your neutral wardrobe is your go-to place. Open your wardrobe and style up any neutral with denim. You can wear denim jeans with neutral Tees, oversized sweaters or tops. A denim jacket can be styled with neutral skirts. Or denim tops with pants. It’s your choice whatever you like better.

↓ 8 – Classy Pairing With White

Pairing any Neutral With White White is a go-to color! Most favorite color and a perfect fit for every outfit. You can use white shirts as inners and add other neutral over it. Or a dark neutral as a base and white blazer or coat over it. White jeans or pants can be best paired up with a top of any color. And white footwear: favorite for any season. You can wear white sneakers, heels, and flats with any outfit. Just have every type of white in your wardrobe and you don’t need to worry about the of rest colors. You don’t have enough time? Are you in n hurry? Just pick up white with anything while eyes closed and you won’t regret your choice. That’s a promise! Here’s our earlier post with some fab ideas on How to Wear White Wide Leg Pants.

↓ 7 – Layering Neutrals For Winters

Go forth & be fabulous! Why not mix some colors and do layering and create a completely new look? Layer a midi dress over wide leg trouser and complete the look with oversized blazers. Oversized blazers, coats, and dusters are usually best for layering. you can go on wearing dresses with fitting underneath them. And don’t forget some texturing and of course the monochrome ideas. You are all set the dapper and dashing.

We love the idea of adding in an army hat with your neutral winter outfit to mix things up.

↓ 6 – Flower Power

Why not add a glimpse of floral power to your neutral wardrobe? Floral prints are great for spring and summer season. They can add life to your neutral appearance. You can wear neutral with floral blazers and coats. Another option is to wear floral pants or skirts with a neutral base. Here is another idea! Why not allow floral frock to peep coyly from under a white cape with some sneakers. Stun anyone and everyone.

↓ 5 – Neutral For Weddings

Tired of seeing brides wearing bright colors like red and maroon? You don’t want to follow the typical tradition of wearing a red dress at your wedding? Want a change? Want to create your own style statement on your big day? Neutral is a great option without any doubt. Pick up your favorite neutral with shine and glimmer. All glamorous! Neutrals look great with embroidery. You can style up your big days wearing neutral and be the center of attention without going bold.

↓ 4 – Celebrities Rocking Neutral

Neutral outfits are the perfect fit for any occasion and we are witnessing that celebrities are loving the neutral trend. Meghan, Gigi, Kim, and Kendel are often seen wearing neutral sometimes with a tint of texture, sometimes with layering. Celebrities are rocking neutrals on every occasion. They’ve been seen wearing neutral capsule on movie premier, promotion, award function on the ramp and even on red carpet. Following celebrities is one of our favorite thing to do and dressing gets so easy because they become our inspiration and we can have some great ideas from them. And hence we conclude that neutrals are not for one occasion but for every occasion.

↓ 3 – All Black Swag

Most people consider only nude shades or browns as neutrals and they forget our favorite old friend, black. Black is such a classy color and it never fails to impress. We love this simple outfit in all black that’s perfect for work, just a casual day at home or running errands in style. We’ve already done many posts on wearing all black outfits but you should definitely check out our favorite one on 25 Celebrities All Black outfits Styles to Copy.

↓ 2 – All White

The freshest outfit for your mornings, an all-white look.

↓ 1 – Perfect Travel Style

Neutrals are all you need for your next vacation as they help you take the perfect insta-worthy pictures and its so easy to mix n match them up that you won’t have to carry a lot of baggage with you.

Makeup With Neutral

Neutrals may seem a little dull or boring at times or you might feel like your complexion is fading away. To look fresh you can wear some natural pink makeup with a blush on, lip tint, mascara, and some highlighter. A completely fresh look will really compliment your dress. Or a light overall makeup with bright eyes or bright lips will definitely look great and can be a great option if you are wearing neutral to a wedding or any other function. You can always play with colors but the right choice will be to go with dark lips or eyes so that you don’t look boring but elegant! Makeup is the finishing touch, the final accessory. If you’re looking to buy neutral makeup or want some new additions in your palette, we highly recommend checking out blogger Julia’s amazing post on her favorite neutral makeup picks.

Must-Have Neutral Footwears

You can never take too much care over the choice of your shoes. Too many women think that they are unimportant, but the real proof of an elegant woman is what is on her feet. Neutral footwears are a must have! You must have every sort of neutral, from flats to heels and from boots to sneakers. White, black and skin are three basic colors that will match with any dress that you are planning to wear, be it a neutral dress or any other dress. Neutral footwears can be rocked on any event and any time whether it’s a day time function or a nighttime function. It doesn’t even matter if it’s a formal or a casual occasional. By wearing neutral you’ll be stepping stylish 24/7 and giving people some major style goals.

Must-Have Accessories

Any outfit is incomplete until and unless you use the right accessories with it. Make sure the accessories you use compliments your outfit really well because the right choice can enhance your whole appearance and the wrong one can ruin it all for you. As for wearing neutrals might seem dull and boring but you can always brighten up your look by fixing a belt of comparatively dark shade or even some glamor and glitter will work. Pairing up your neutral outfit with a dark bold bag will be a great choice, be it a shade of dark pink, black, navy blue or a darker tone of your dress. And don’t forget to wear jewelry. You can go with a heavy necklace or heavy earrings or just light chain, studs and some rings. Another option is to go with some hand bands of bright colors. But never forget to wear the most valuable accessory that is your smile. And your look is complete!

Thank you for reading! We hope this blog was useful for you and now you’ll be able to create your own neutral wardrobe. Also, do let us know what neutral color is your favorite?