#They consider her an arts and crafts project gotten loose :) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dancingazaleas · 3 years

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jean kirstein | primrose

i love him so much

y’all can’t see it but i am crying

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL HIMBO

note: this is unedited

warnings/notes: artist!jean, college au!, gardener!reader, cursing, jean’s in love, nsfw, smut, praise, fingering, soft sex, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, squirting, flower language.

jean wouldn’t say he was popular by any means.

everyone knew of him, but it’s not like they actively tried to befriend him or get to know him. he only really talked to the people in his friend group, and even then it was quite spread out. meaning, there were friend groups inside the friend group. jean doesn’t necessarily understand, but he’ll take what he can get.

jean mostly stayed alone on campus, none of his friends were artists. sasha was in a florist course—or something, jean never hears her speak about it—marco was majoring in nursing along with psychology, and connie was... well... connie? jean knew that connie had classes, but he didn’t even know what they were along with his major.

this meant that jean had no friends in his art classes. he wasn’t upset about it though, he always preferred to keep in his bubble. it only really got annoying whenever the professors would give them group projects.

jean’s sighing while he checks his phone, a text message from sasha that says she’s at the campus’s greenhouse finishing up an assignment. jean and sasha usually hang out until three together, waiting for connie and marco to get out of their own classes.

he grunts as he sets off to the greenhouse, not looking forward to the humidity that awaits him outside of the building. the professor made them work in the sprinkling rain?

jean pulls out an umbrella whenever he gets outside. shivering at the almost dramatic temperature drop whenever he steps outside. he trudges through the soggy grass, ignoring the squelching of his shoes and the water.

“where are you,” he asks whenever he steps inside of the greenhouse, closing his umbrella and inhaling the different smells.

the greenhouse is empty besides one person, sitting on their knees as they fill a hole with soil gently.

“huh? did you need something,” you ask as you pull your gaze away from the plant, eyebrows furrowed.

jean feels his face flush, “oh! i’m sorry... my friend said she was here but you’re the only one who’s here.”

you blink and stare, which makes jean sweat. you light up with realization, “you’re talking about sasha right? if so, she’s here still, just needed to use the bathroom in the next building over.”

he utters a thanks while you get back to your work, awkwardly loitering by the door as a way to wait for his friend.

“wh-what’s your name,” he stutters to you, cringing at how his voice echoes against the glass of the building.

“i’m (name) (last name). you?”

“j..jean kirstein. nice to meet you,” he nods with a gulp.

“not to be offensive, and even if i say that, it might be, but you don’t exactly look like a horticultural major. what are you majoring in,” you’ve not looked up from the plant you’re caring for.

“i’m an art major,” he spits out.

you pause your movements and look up to the window for a moment, relaxed smile on your face.

“funny,” you shrug and go back to your task, “i don’t think i’ve ever painted before.”

he relaxes his tense shoulders, shock written all over his pretty face, “you’ve never painted?!”

“nope.”

“what about when you were a kid?”

“no, my parents didn’t approve of messes along with anything that wasn’t proven to meet their standards,” your bottom lip juts out from concentration.

“i see,” he hums, but he really doesn’t. his mother’s always been so supportive of him and whatever he’s chose to do with his life, and still he treated her horribly when he was younger.

“what’s this project even about,” he asks, walking closer to observe your craft.

“sasha and i have to try and grow strawberries on their own... it may not seem too difficult, but strawberries are an absolute pain to maintain care for,” you sigh with disappointment, “but i’m not working on that for right now, i’m just planting for now.”

“what are you planting?” jean’s sure that you’re becoming annoyed with him and all of the questions he’s asking.

you smile a bit, “lilac.”

jean can’t see exactly how that makes you happy or flustered, but considering you’re the expert and he isn’t, he’s not gonna ask. he goes to open his mouth once more, but the greenhouse door creaking open interrupts him.

“sorry jean! there was this long line in the girl’s bathroom,” sasha blurts as she shuffles into the room and shakes the rain off of her shoes.

“it’s fine, don’t worry,” he holds up a hand snd shakes his head.

“oh! (name), you’re still here,” she asks whenever she steps closer.

“yea, just felt like gardening,” you place the pot down gently and look up to her from your place on the floor.

“what’re you plantin’?”

“lilac,” jean answers for her and is once again struck by confusion whenever sasha’s cheeks light up as a smile stretches across her face.

he looks back to you to find you glaring at sasha with a secret knowledge.

“what? what’s so weird about it,” he asks, looking between you two.

“nothing nothing, jeanie boy! c’mon, i want a burger,” she giggles as she waves her hand up and down, turning around to go out of the door.

“didn’t niccolo feed you earlier,” he scoffs, following behind.

“yeah! he made me lobster. anyways, bye (name)!” she grins as she opens the door after taking jean’s umbrella.

jean fusses over her lack of care as he snatches his umbrella back from her and puts it over the both of them. briefly, his mind wonders back to you.

————

next time jean sees you, you’re looking quite frustrated and upset as you shovel dirt into a an empty pot. sasha is, once again, going to the bathroom in the building over.

“are you alright,” he’s hesitant.

you jump up, not even noticing him once he’d walked in. you relax while you sigh, eyebrows bunching up in frustration.

“i’m okay,” it seems you’re telling yourself this more than you tell jean, “my parents are just being upsetting.”

jean gets a text from sasha, telling him that she’s going to go to the bathroom in the main building since the line was too long. he doesn’t care for some reason, instead taking a seat beside you on the ground.

“wanna talk about it,” he asks, his body warm next to your’s.

you sigh for the umpteenth time, “we’ve only met once and i’d feel as if i would be dumping this onto you.”

“i don’t mind. if you don’t want to speak about it, i won’t force you,” he shrugs.

“well,” you start with reluctance, “my family’s always been judgmental of how i should be allowed to spend my time. not only that, but careers, interests, and friends.”

“and i assume they’ve said something about your major,” he assumes, slightly sad as you nod.

“bingo. they don’t think it’s sophisticated enough for me, but i’m not too sophisticated myself. i’m barely an adult, i’ve just turned 19. why they won’t let me be a kid is beyond me,” you gently lay the seed into the soil of the pot.

“i’ve never had this issue, so i can’t say that i completely understand or that what i say will help. however, good parents shouldn’t treat their child like that. you’re your own person, they shouldn’t be trying to limit you and your experiences. it’s not fair to you,” he says, “you’re parents are ignorant.”

you stifle a laugh, “thank you, jean. i appreciate it, genuinely.”

his cheeks flush as he nods, telling you that it was just something a friend would do for another.

“what’s your instagram,” you ask, swiftly pulling your phone from your pocket and pulling up the app.

he tells you nervously, three dings emitting from his phone in his pocket. one follow, one like, and one message.

jean finds himself texting you at nine pm.

————

jean finds himself giddy a few months later. he’s talked to you nonstop ever since he’s gotten your instagram, easily falling for you as he learns more about you.

he’s teaching you how to paint today. or, not really teach, but just helping you get started.

he sits on his couch while he waits, opting to watch some k-drama that connie recommend to him. he tells you that you can just walk in since the door’s unlocked, but jean has a feeling you would’ve just walked in anyways.

he hugs you excitedly whenever you walk in, leading you over to one of the easel and canvases he’s set up for you. he looks at your outfit.

“you’re wearing that?” he asks, not really thinking before he speaks.

“yea...? gotta problem with it,” you’re immediately defensive, and it has jean bouncing back with realization.

“oh my god, i meant you’re wearing that to paint? you’re outfit looks good on you! it’s cute! n-not to say that you’re cute or anything! er—i don’t mean that you’re not cute!” jean flushes, “i am... going to stop talking..”

you giggle at him, “it’s okay jean, i know what you mean.”

“o-okay,” he relaxes, “do you need to borrow any clothes? i don’t want your shirt to get dirtied.”

“just a shirt, your pants wouldn’t fit me,” you ask while you untuck your loose white button up from your jeans.

he scurries off to find you a shirt, slapping himself on the forehead in embarrassment. he grabs you a light grey shirt with paint splotches scattered on it, which he’s once painted a mural in.

he turns his back to you whenever he gives you the shirt, instead focusing on the collection of painting supplies he’s set out on his work tray. he’s chosen acrylics for you, claiming that they’re the easiest to do if you’re a beginner. you have a feeling that he’s lying, especially since he’s an art major.

“are we painting anything specific,” you ask and sit down on the stool provided for you.

“actually, i was thinking of letting you choose. maybe some flowers or plants since they help you relax,” he contemplates aloud, hand pressed to his chin.

“let’s paint a sunflower,” you say reluctantly, “they should be easy enough to paint.”

he nods, starting put small spurts of paint onto his pallet. you mimic his actions, carefully stroking the canvas with your paintbrush.

“relax your shoulders,” he suggests, noticing just how stiff you are, “if you’re too stiff then the painting will be too. this is about relaxing.”

“i just don’t want to make any mistakes.”

“hey, like bob ross always says; there are no mistakes, just happy accidents,” jean gives a lazy smile as he continues to paint.

you laugh at him, finally relaxing your body and brushing the brush across the canvas. you both chat absentmindedly as you paint, finding comfort in one another’s voice and movements. you’re both playing 20 questions, if you can call a conversation that.

“the most embarrassing thing... probably walking in on my friends having sex,” he briefly remembers his friend, bertholdt, on top of reiner, “it’s how they came out to me.”

you cackle, “oh my god!! they must’ve been mortified!!”

“they were, i felt so bad for walking in on them. now, it’s a funny joke since they’re both out to everyone,” he snickers, “now, where’s your favorite place on earth that you’ve been to?”

“a amusement park over in marley. snuck off with my first ever boyfriend there,” you stroke your brush once more, “or maybe the swimming pool in my parents house. anywhere that i can feel weightless.”

he hums in acknowledgment, “mine’s out in the forest probably. i like it quiet.”

“quiet is always nice. so, jean, have you ever had a girlfriend,” you laugh at jean’s face scrunch up from a childish question.

“yeah, i’ve had one. it went really well at first but it turns out that she likes girls. it hurt at first, cause i loved her, but i got over it. i’ve got no hard feelings against her, she can’t help liking girls. her and i are just really close friends now,” he has a fond smile on his face as he thinks of mikasa.

“i’m glad the two of you are still friends, and i’m sure that she appreciates your kindness to her,” you reciprocate a smile.

“me too. anyways, since you want to dive into my love life, let’s dive into your’s. have you ever been in love?”

you face heats up while you pause your movements, “y-yeah. not until recently though.”

jean’s eyes widen as his own cheeks flush a bright red, and for once he prays.

he prays that it’s him you’re in love with.

————

a month later and you still have the painting of a sunflower that jean did. it makes you embarrassed every time you look at it, even though jean didn’t know the meaning behind the flower.

you sit on the floor of the greenhouse, ignoring how the rain thumps gently on the glass roof. jean’s sitting beside you, leaning all of his weight on your body, which makes you laugh.

“you never told me what you’re planting,” he points out while adding more of his weight onto you.

you laugh while you shove him off of you, “i can’t with you on me like that.”

“well, now i’m not on you so,” he grins cockily, and you want to smack it off of him.

“okay, okay! i’m planting a primrose,” you say while you gently plant a seed into the soil.

“what’s the occasion?”

“what do you mean,” you raise a questioning eyebrow.

“my dad always got my mom those flowers on valentine’s day or for their anniversary. now, my mom puts them on his grave. it means ‘i can’t live without you’ or symbolizes young love,” he explains, “who’re they for?”

embarrassment hits you like truck. you were planting these for jean. whenever they were blooming, you were going to give them to him. thank god you didn’t.

you laugh nervously, “no one! i just felt like planting them! they’re pretty flowers.”

“whatever you say,” jean shrugs, heart tingling with pain.

whenever the flowers had bloomed, you stood at jean’s doorstep with the pot in your hands. your cheeks were hot as you stared at your feet, hoping to god that jean felt the same way towards you.

when jean opens his door, he doesn’t expect to see you holding the potted plant. you’d told him that it wasn’t for anyone and it wasn’t for him, so why’d you have it. did you want him to take care of it or something?

“for you,” you stumble over your words a bit while you thrust the pot against his chest.

it’s his turn to be embarrassed, these are for him! the flower is so pretty, full bloom and showing itself off towards the sun. jean hurries to place the pot on his living room coffee table, then he pounces.

his arms wrap around you and hold you close, his face is emitting a heat when he pulls away to look at you.

“me too,” you look at him confused, “i love you too.”

you feel like crying, for some reason this means the absolute world to you. you wrap your arms around his neck, not able to hold back the tears forming in your eyes.

“why didn’t you tell me sooner,” he laughs while squeezing you tight.

“i did,” your laughter is muffled until he pulls away.

“when?”

“since we met. granted, i didn’t expect to meet you that day. lilac means the start of a new love. and then i told you again when you painted the sunflower again. sunflowers mean pure love,” you wipe away tears as jean pulls you inside his house by your hand.

“i’m such an idiot,” he smacks a palm to his forehead, “that’s what you and sasha were laughing about when we met, wasn’t it?”

“yea,” you watch him lead you to his bedroom, somewhere that you’ve been to on many occasions.

he crawls into bed beside you, pulling you closer to him—if it were even possible. he’s littering your face with soft kisses that tickle your skin and make you giggle.

“what are you doing?!”

“i’ve been wanting to do this since i’ve met you, give me a break,” he mumbles against your skin, lips finally making contact with your’s.

the kiss is sweet like candy, and you almost can’t take it. you deepen the kiss without hesitation, surprising jean, who obviously reciprocates. you whimper against jean’s mouth whenever you grant him access to explore your own.

he pulls away, a shy look in his eyes that tells you exactly what he’s thinking.

“yes, jean. as long as you’re gentle,” you put a hand on top his cheek, stroking it gently.

he smiles before asking his next question shyly, “could we... do a different position? one that isn’t missionary.”

“jean, i’ve only had sex a few times. all were in missionary and were hookups. as long as it’s with you, i don’t mind what we do,” you reassure, scooting closer to him.

he’s surprised that his face doesn’t burst into flames, at this point.

“okay... could you... turn around,” your face twists into confusion, “you’ll find out.”

it sounds ominous, but since it’s jean, you don’t mind. you turn your back to him, shivering whenever his lips kiss at the nape of your neck. his chest presses against your back and he slips one of his arms under the arm against the bed.

his lips bite on your neck while his hands sliver their way up to your boobs. you sit up for a moment, pulling the loose shirt you were wearing off of your body. you shimmy your pants off while you’re at it, easily flopping back into jean’s arms.

god, he’s so close to fainting just from seeing you without clothes. especially when he realizes that you’re not wearing a bra.

his hands grope at your chest, rolling your nipples through his nimble fingers. you whimper shyly, hand coming up to grab at his own.

“cute,” he smiles whenever you look over your shoulder, the same hand drifting from your tit to the waistline of your panties.

his hand reaches inside your hand plain underwear as you willingly spread your legs open, something you’re secretly embarrassed about, but you decide to ignore it anyways. with hesitance, his fingertip comes in contact with your clit. you flinch at the contact and let out a gasp, once again squeezing at his hand.

“spread your legs wider for me, love,” he murmurs in your ear, nudging his wrist against your thigh.

you oblige silently, hooking your foot around the back of jean’s knee.

“good girl,” he smiles, two fingers gently pressing against your clit after he’s wet them with his spit.

you moan out whenever jean starts rubbing lazy circles into your clit and his other hand gropes at your tit. your hips buck forward on instinct, which has you biting your lip from embarrassment.

“can you try to keep your hips still for me,” he kisses at your earlobe, stubble scratching against your neck.

you nod to him, even if you both know that you won’t uphold that promise.

whenever his fingers move up a speed, so does the volume of your moans.

“jean,” you whimper, “i’m gonna cum.”

“it’s okay, you’ve been so good for me, my pretty girl. go ahead and cum,” he smiles against your skin, once again speeding up his tempo.

your nails are biting into his wrist as your hips start to buck almost uncontrollably. your head is thrown back while you open your mouth in a silent scream and your eyes roll back. jean slows his pace, helping you ride out your orgasm.

his smile stretches wider when he holds his fingers up to the light, admiring how the digits glistened in against the early morning sun peeking through the curtains. he also manages to take off your panties.

he puts the two fingers in your mouth once he’s done admiring them, cooing praises in your ear. a string of salvia is connect to his fingertips whenever he pulls them out of your mouth, making you whine in embarrassment. he chuckles and reaches his warm hand back down to your wet cunt.

you gasp at the coldness of your spit coming into contact with your heated entrance. his fingers enter you slowly and cautiously and it takes your breath away.

“you’re so tight,” still smiling, “when’s the last time you’ve gotten laid, pretty girl?”

“f-fuck... maybe like... six months ago,” you pant like a dog in heat.

“it’s good thing you’ve got me now, huh? gonna take care of you now.”

you’re squeezing your pretty eyes closed while you adjust to the feeling of two fingers inside of you. jean feels himself memorizes the look on your face in his brain whenever he gives a shallow thrust with his fingers. you wiggle your hips a bit, whining out for jean to give you more.

he does exactly that.

he starts to finger you slowly, eventually speeding up the speed as you get more and more used to the feeling. his fingers curl against your sweet spot that has you bucking your hips once again.

“there! there,” you buck again when he continues to brush over it.

angling his fingers just right, he starts to thrust and curl his fingers inside of you at the perfect speed.

“fuck! fuck! fuck!” you gasp whenever your toes start to curl.

“are you gonna cum again? it’s okay. go ahead and cum on my fingers, pretty girl,” he reassures while pecking at your neck lazily.

you come once again after a few seconds pass, legs shaking when jean doesn’t slow down his speed.

“can’t...! i can’t cum again,” you whimper while arching your back against jeans torso.

“i know you can,” he whispers, “gotta prepare you for my cock, remember?”

his filthy words make you mewl as you feel yourself already approaching another orgasm quickly. you scream whenever you orgasm again, hips jerking back and forth wildly as his other hand starts rubbing on your puffy little clit.

you’re crying from the intensity. you’re sure that if you’d be able to take all of this if you had fucked anyone these past six months.

instead of slowing down, jean actually speeds up his movements again. you know that you’re mascara might be smearing, you can’t remember if it’s waterproof, tear proof—what the fuck ever.

your legs convulse when jean manages to work you up to another mind blowing orgasm. but this time, you squirt all over jean’s hand and the insides of your plump thighs.

“there we go,” he praises, “that’s what i needed.”

he’s finally slowing his fingers down, and you wonder if they’re aching at the moment.

“thank you, thank you, thank you,” you babble as your nails scratch at his wrist.

“such a sweet girl, thanking me when i haven’t even trained you.”

your chest is heaving up and down while jean pulls his cock out of his pants, a moment’s rest.

you gulp whenever you see his dick. you didn’t believe sasha’s jokes whenever she said jean not only had a horse face but also a horse cock. how she knew, you didn’t ask, but either way she was right. you’d have to apologize to sasha for not heeding her warnings after this.

“don’t be scared, love. i’ll take care of you,” he comforts you while pulling your leg up a bit.

his fingers squeeze at the soft flesh that’s the back of your thigh, instructing you on how to insert himself in your tight little pussy.

after guiding jean’s cock in you, you sob out from just how much he fills you up already. you don’t take a pause, too eager to feel jean inside of you.

noticing this, jean hooks his arm around your thigh and grabs your hand. the angle has his hitting spots that he hadn’t before, pussy fluttering around his cock in effect.

“be patient,” he demands in a soft tone, his hand guiding your own, “i don’t want to hurt you.”

“don’t care, need you so bad,” you sniffle and wiggle your hips once more, ignoring the slight burn.

sighing, jean carefully thrusts the rest of his cock inside of you. you sob out in both pleasure and pain, hand now going back to scratching at his wrist.

“i told you, sweet girl,” you look at him from over your shoulder, “you gotta listen to me.”

“‘m sorry,” you whimper while jean kisses away a tear.

“t’s okay, now just wait until your comfortable,” he advises, unhooking his arm from your thigh and holding it with his hand.

it takes a minute or two, but jean is nothing but attentive during this. thumb stroking your thigh, lips kissing your neck and cheek, whispering quietly in your ear that you’re doing so well.

when you’re ready, he thrusts into you softly. he doesn’t want to hurt you, even when his dick hurts from not cumming. after seeing you’re alright with it, he thrusts more vigorously. with your skin slapping against one another’s tenderly and tits bouncing jean is groaning in your ear.

the hand not holding your thigh holds onto your boob, pinching your nipple and then rolling it in between his fingers again. the kisses he’s pressing against your shoulder feels so hot and sweet against your sweaty skin.

your whines and moans are so cute, begging for jean to cum at the same time you do and for him to come inside.

“you want my cum in you,” he pants, “anything you want since you’ve asked so nicely.”

he speeds his hips up just a bit, guttural groans coming from his throat as your pussy grips him like a vise.

“gonna cum, gonna cum,” you’re mewling almost makes jean black out.

“i’m right behind you, go ahead, love,” his eyebrows bunch together as he nears his orgasm.

after two more thrusts, the both of you are coming. jean’s groans are surprisingly starting to turn into soft moans, which is something you’ll try to get out of him another time.

after you both come down from your high, jean’s pulling his softening dick out of you. he lays on his backside, pulling your weak body on top of his chest with ease.

“love you,” he smiles and gives you a kiss.

“primrose love,” you smile goofily at him.

“primrose love.”

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #snk #aot fanfiction #snk fanfiction #aot jean #snk jean #jean aot #jean kirschstein #jean kirstein x you #jean kirstein x reader #jean kirstein #jean smut #aot fluff #aot smut

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surveys-at-your-service · 4 years

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Survey #259

"i went straight to heaven, but i kept on knockin’.”

What's something that makes you feel more creative? Music. What are the last three nail polish colors you wore? Wow, idk the last time I wore nail polish, but probably black or maroon. What's the last thing you binge watched? Avatar: The Last Airbender w/ Sara. Do you watch youtube videos or tv shows more? YouTube is essentially my TV. Quite literally - I don't have a television in my room because I never watch it. What's a DIY project that you don't think actually works? Oh dude, plenty. I have DIY-obsessed friends online as well as a Pinterest, I know this shit, lmao. I can name one though with total certainty because I was with a friend when she tried that disgusting "YOU CAN MAKE cuPCAkES IN A C uP!!!!!" crap. It's the most eggy shit you'll ever try. Do you collect Mason jars to use for crafts? No, but I think those crafts are generally super cute. Have you ever gotten rid of something and then regretted it? If so, what? (or what's one thing?) Oh yeah, one of my biggest being my senior prom pictures, but not for the reason you'd expect (save for two pictures of us that're just REALLY fuckin cute): I want them back because goddamn I was pretty ok and I miss that now that I hate my body every waking moment of every day. :^) What color is the zip-up hoodie you wear the most? Don't have one w/ a zipper, they're ugly. Do you live in an apartment that has inspections? No. Do you hate taking naps during the day? Nooo I love naps and usually take one a day. I tend to feel really tired all over again a few hours or so after I wake up. Who in your immediate family has the best natural hair? MEEEEEEEEEEEE. Would you ever audition for American Idol? Hell no. Do you know anyone who thinks they're more talented than they are? Lol wow, this is mean. I don't think so. Do you buy gum? Rarely, even though I like it. What's your favorite dollar store? I don’t have a favorite, I'd say? But I think we normally go to Dollar General. How many cell phones have you had in your lifetime? Maybe like, six? Have you ever been inside a Victorian mansion? BITCH I WISH!!!!!!!!!!!! I would kill to get married in one, omfGGGGGGGGGGG. What was the most boring field trip you ever want on? I don't remember a bad one. I loved going on field trips. The last time you went, what were your favorite rides at Cedar Point? I’ve never been. Which country would you most like to visit? Eeeeek idk, but probably South Africa. What are your favorite types of videos to watch on YouTube? What I watch on YouTube has become pretty diverse, but I know my favorites are easily Mark's actual big projects w/ egos 'n shit alksjdflk;w gOOD SHIT MY FRIENDS. I still love let's plays, of course! Are you a hoarder? No. Is there a guy (or girl) that you wish things had worked out with? Yes. If you were to start a collection, what would it be? I'd loooove Shadow of the Colossus stuff, particularly the amazing figures they used to have only in Japan. And World of Warcraft stuff; all I have rn is an Illidan poster and a fae dragon plushy hanging from my ceiling that Jason got me. If you were rich, what things would you get done cosmetically? Mother of god, a lot. #1, make me skinny again for the love of fuck. Which would result in loose skin being taken off and probably a breast lift because being overweight ruined my comfort with them laskdjfw. Whiten my teeth and give me laser hair removal surgery on my legs, please. Are your parents too controlling? Not at all. Who is your favorite fictitious redhead? VOL'JIN Blizzard what the FUCK give him BACK What shows have you seen on Broadway? None. Who is the prettiest Asian YouTuber that you can think of? Bitch Mark is Korean and he's gorgeous as fuck goddamn it ain't fair. But this is a weird question. What is the best news you've heard lately? When my mom got a follow-up blood test, things looked good!! She especially needed to level out her sugar, which she did well on. She also didn't lose or gain any weight, so that's wonderful. Have you ever flown first class? Hunny I am v poor. Have you ever had food SO bad in a restaurant that you sent it back? I don't believe so, anyway. Do you talk in your sleep? Very regularly now. Have you ever locked yourself out of your house? OOF, yes. Are you the type of person who can shake insults off easily, or do they tend to stick around in your brain & bother you? They stick with me for a long, long time. At least two I remember from years upon years ago. Who was the last person you cut out of your life intentionally? My old therapist that I trusted and loved when I fucking shouldn't have. Where were you raised? By who? Eastern NC, by my parents. What were your first words? "Dada." What were some of your favorite things when you were young? DINOSAURS, Webkinz, Pokemon, and Spyro, to name a few. What did you grow up listening to? Mostly country and pop music. What games did you play in the past? Spyro was my obsession, and I also loved hunting games (ironic, as irl I would never even consider it???) as well as fishing ones, plus Crash Bandicoot. What was the best birthday party you ever had? I'm not sure. How about the best vacation? I'm unsure; I haven't really been on a lot. Do you have any secrets you never intend to tell? Yup. What memory would you like to disappear from your mind forever? A nightmare I had about my dad. If you were someone else, would you be friends with the person you are now? Yeah. Do you consider yourself a smart person? No. What friend in your life has been the greatest influence to you? I don't know. Where is the scariest place you’ve ever been? What made it so terrifying? I shared a bedroom with an EXTREMELY volatile, violent woman once in the mental hospital. As in she had to go in solitary when she had a violent episode, during which she became very destructive to her surroundings, so as you could guess, I was worried about my own wellbeing. She was eventually moved because I was that uncomfortable. Did you celebrate Easter? Are there any holidays you are more inclined to celebrate than others? If so, which? Well, Easter hasn't come yet, but we'll probably go to my sister's house for the kids. We'll celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving without fail. We don't pay much attention to others. I'd LOVE to do something for Halloween, we just never have anywhere to go/anything to do. What was the last thing you deleted? Pictures. What colors make up the majority of your wardrobe? Is there any color you like, but don’t wear often? There's black there. Oh, there's s'more black. What's that???? More bLACK????? MAN, I wish I could pull off pink. When was the last time you were in any amount of pain? I had a pretty intense headache yesterday. Who was the last person to hug you? Do you hug this person often? My niece, and yeah, every time I visit. What are you most likely to argue or debate about? The fact I almost never leave my pajamas lmao. What was the last show you watched? Have you seen it before, or is it something you’re watching for the first time? A few days back, I was reeeaaally bored and actually watched TV deliberately, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?????? It was The Witcher; wasn't bad. I'd be willing to watch more. How would you describe your taste in clothing? What would a dream outfit look like to you? uuuuuggggGHHHHHHHH let me be GOTH. Give me a corsette if they weren't notoriously uncomf with plenty of chains 'n stuff. BIG, SPIKY BOOTS. SKINNY LEATHER PANTS. UUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHH. Have you ever tried snowboarding? No. What’s your favorite planet besides Earth? Saturn is dope. Would you ever be a coach for any sport? Nope. What color of eyes do you have? Blue. Do you like tacos? NOOOOOOOOO. White or red wine? Wine is gross. Do you prefer foxes or wolves? Foxes. What’s the youngest you would consider dating? No younger than 21. Do you think suits are sexy? mmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Did you go to high school with your current best friend? No. What is your boss’ (or school prinicpal’s) name? N/A Were you a fan of Michael Jackson before he died? I was never really a fan. Respected him immensely as a musician, I just didn't care much about his music. Turkey or ham for Thanksgiving? Ham. Turkey is always too dry and stringy. Do you look good in hats? I wouldn't know, I haven't worn one in forever. Never with short hair. Colons or equal signs for your smiley face's eyes? Colons. Do you like architecture? If so, do you have a favourite style or structure that you’d like to make note? Yes, and I should really have an answer for this, as architecture was a big part in Art History... Ummm Etruscan stands out, and of course Roman/Greek (even after the class I don't remember their differences well...). I love Middle Eastern architecture, too. What is one of your favorite words, in any language, and why? I just love the sound of "serendipity," as well as uhhhh "sakura" in Japanese and "kanji" in Chinese. I'm trying to think of a German one, as there certainly are some, but they're evading me right now. Where is the farthest you’ve travelled on foot? JESUS FUCK probably going to get Sara's brother from school, mother of all that is holy. But it might just feel like it because it was during the peak of my muscle atrophy in my legs. Are there any songs that you perhaps like but avoid because it makes you sad when heard? A good number. Do you like the area that you live in? What do you like or dislike about the area? NO. There's not shit to do and it's not aesthetically pleasing at all. Do you have a memory of when you really thought that you have lucked out on something? If so, what was it? Uhhhhh. A handful, I guess? Oh, uh, the suicide attempt to name one and probably the biggest. I took way too many of those pills to experience almost zero symptoms of an overdose; I did look up what "too many" was, because I wanted that. I'd say I was pretty fuckin lucky. If you have apps on your mobile phone, which one do you use the most? Facebook. Which do you like better: fantasy or science fiction novels? Why? FANTASY!!! I think it allows more creativity and possibilities of something magically "making sense" because yeah, it's fantasy. Science fiction has more "realness" to it, more, obviously, scientific elements versus make-believe. Do you like opossums? Do you think it is ethically right for others to keep opossums as pets? OPOSSUMS!!!!!!!!! ARE!!!!!!!!!! FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They're my second-favorite animals kdsja;lkdjaw. BUT ANYWAY, no, unless it's for rescue reasons. When was the last time someone asked you a huge favor or advice? Do you get asked often by this person? Oh I have no idea. Probably my mom? And no, definitely not. She hates asking for help. What are your thoughts on nihilism? I definitely get it, but it's not my personal outlook. Do you like the snow? More like love. What are your thoughts and feelings towards work/jobs in general? I don't know? I've never even had a real, steady job, so it's hard to really answer... I've only had bad experiences. It's kinda weird to me how you have to work your ass off (usually) to get a job you enjoy, as well as slave for some stupid green paper until the day you die just to stay alive and healthy. But at the same time, it offers a sense of fulfilment and is as well something productive and beneficial to the masses to do. Civilization would be very, very different and unadvanced if we were without them, so I guess it is a necessary thing. Humans gotta work together to keep where we're at. Do you believe in astrology? I've never actually elaborated why I don't believe in it so there ya go: not in the slightest. All it does is offer extremely broad characteristics that, in some light, almost anyone can relate to so they feel included in something. We naturally want to "belong" within something as social creatures, and astrology is an easy one with it being so vast. It gives equally indirect advice that can be applied to a multitude of situations, so people just mold what they read to fit their world. Don't base your goddamn life choices on the random positioning of shit in space. What is something that you’ve made/created? Do you take pride in your creations? Well, way way way too many OCs that I do indeed love a hell of a lot. If you have a Tumblr account, do you have any followers that you wish would not follow you? Well I'm sure there are bots. What kind of books do you generally enjoy to read? Fantasy stuff, mostly. But I also love novels with deep meaning, particularly about life in general. A good plot is mandatory. Does the quality of a video, on YouTube or a television, matter to you? I mean of course in some situations, like if I'm watching something educational/something to gain visual knowledge from. What is one situation that may cause you to become shy (if there is any)? Don't don't don't don't don't point out that my serious interests/things I massively love are "weird" like it's been years and I can still barely explain why my biggest tattoo is a tribute to some fuckface on the Internet lmao. When one is depressed, what can a friend do about it? Do you find that there is a good method to approach people in helping them combat depression? It is SO important to, first, ask them what they want. Do they want advice, an ear to just listen, just your presence, to be alone? As for combating depression, that greatly depends on the origin (if any) of theirs. There are so many factors in answering this question, but what I mentioned should, imo, always be the start. Do you tend to listen to music that embraces your mood or does music dictate your mood? Is it a little bit of both? Definitely both. When I'm sad though, I'm almost definitely listening to somber music too. Do you find yourself to be generally a forgiving person? I'm too goddamn forgiving. Do you have an embarrassing memory that you now look back at and can laugh? If so and if you’re comfortable, could you share one here? Omg I have a Bible-length collection of those suckers. I'd prefer not to. What is one skill that you have worked hard to develop? Is there still room for improvement on that skill? Damn, anxiety-coping mechanisms and actually trusting them to help me through attacks. I used to be convinced that they were useless because it just wouldn't work and weren't immediately effective, but you've gooooooot to trust the process, friends. What do you consider to be your main passion(s) and how did they come about? Spreading awareness of the seriousness of mental health and the comfort of knowing there's hope. You can never stop pushing. My own experience with mental health struggles is definitely the deeeep roots of that. Who do you think influenced you the most in your life so far? Why? Jason changed my life in many ways. Trauma does that. He taught me a lot about the necessity of having faith in yourself to survive on your own, a shitload about love and how it's not some fairy tale, and that people change, even those you least expect to. What is something that you have overheard people talk about that really bothered you? I could name more than a few things about race stuff, living where I do. What do you normally say or how do you normally act in response to a compliment? I usually do this shy laugh and say "thank you" with too much enthusiasm. How many books do you own? Do you have more physical books than electronic books? I've no clue where a lot of my old ones are. I have no electronic ones; I strongly prefer to read a physical book. What are your thoughts on higher education? Is it really necessary? In your opinion, what changes can be made? Depending on your aspiring career, it can be necessary, but just as easily, it can be unnecessary. I know for a fucking fact it should not be NEARLY as expensive as it is. Maybe even free, but I have no idea what monetary concerns that could cause with whoever runs the place. Have you ever received a heartfelt compliment from a stranger? Probably at some point. How many people would you consider to be extremely close to you? "Extremely"... like three lmao. Maybe one more or so. When was the last time you had to speak to a crowd? How well did that go? When I was taking pictures at a wedding last. It went okay. How would you describe your general outlook towards humanity? We by no means deserve to be the apex predator and Earth would be a shitload better without us. How long do you think you could last without any contact with your significant other, best friend, or a person whom you consider would be the closest to you? I'll use my mom here, in which case idk. I don't particularly want to find out. I talk to her at LEAST by text daily. Every day now that she can't work/is always home with me. Have you ever realised that someone was lying, but it was too late to confront them? Nope. Eventually speaking up is how I lost her, but.

#survey #quiz #questions

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barbex · 6 years

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Writer interview thing

I was tagged by @gothkimmyschmidt. Thank you so much for stroking my ego! This was fun!

Q: What is your coffee order? Black and very ungermanly weak. I drink my coffee like the americans, this may be considered treason in this country.

Q: What is the coolest thing you’ve ever done? It's not like I have done much but I did have one adventure. When I traveled in Mexico, we visited the pyramids in Uxmal, which is a minor tourist spot. Took the public bus there and intended to take the bus back. This place is surounded by wilderness, one road crossing the area and one expensive hotel that none of us backpackers could afford. After visiting the site, we waited for the bus going back to the village, where we could switch to the next bus. Me and my german friend, one american we dragged along and I think two french students. We waited and waited. I got suspicious when only us tourists were left at the bus stop, waiting. So I went into the hotel (I was apperently the only one in our group who spoke a bit of spanish) and asked one of the staff when the bus would come and her answer was "no hoy", not today. And the pueblo proxima was quite far away. While we debated how to go from here, the bus from the village came, going in the opposite direction. Then we learned why our bus didn't come: the rebels were angry about the results of the last election and had blocked the road. The bus driver then offered to take us to the barricade (it was getting dark) and he would turn around and drive back to the village. We got into the bus and the driver drove up to the barricade of burning tires, left us alone in the bus and escorted his passengers through the barricade. And then he managed to turn this huge bus around on this strip of loose asphalt, barley wide enough for a car. He took us to the next village, where the bus broke down and we tourists were the higlight entertainment for the people because we had to push the bus to start it again. In the village after that, our connecting bus was already gone but a guy in a VW beetle offered to take us to Merida for a few pesos. He was a bull fighter and told us stories. That was honestly my coolest adventure.

Q: Who has been your biggest mentor? I don't think I have one. I'm my own mentor.

Q: What has been your most memorable writing project? That first fanfic. How I just decided, at age 43, that I can write bad porn like everyone else too and wrote down that first chapter in 3 days. And then people liked it! It was such a rush to get comments on it. I owe everything to those first commenters.

Q: What does your writing path look like, from the earliest days until now? I know that I wanted to be a writer at some point as a child and I remember typing out horse stories on a mechanical typewriter. But as I got older and more rational (I was so very rational) I realized that the chances of getting published in Germany with the kind of things I liked, scifi and fantasy, were close to nil. I remember looking at the shelf of fantasy in a bookstore and every single book was translated, not one was by a german author. So I gave that idea up and didn't pick it up again until many years later when I wrote my first Mass Effect porn.

Q: What is your favorite part about writing? To see it how it grows, to plant that seed and then watching the characters grow with the story. To foreshadow something that looks insignificant at first an then becomes important.

Q: What does a typical day look like for you? On my work days, I don't get any writing done in the morning. After having kicked out the family, I can eat my own breakfast and then I have to get ready for work. But on my off days and on the weekend, I try to get as much writing done as possible, with varying success. I should learn to write first thing in the morning but I just love to scroll tumblr and chat instead.

Q: What does your writing process look like? I have a scene, an idea, a character moment and then I start. If I have ideas that don't fit yet, I put them in a scrap file for later. I try to keep a simple list of bullet points to know where the story will go but if I outline too extensively, I get bored by the story. I'm a discovery writer. I just write and see what happens.

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve gotten? Focus on the characters. The characters make the story.

Q: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned? Good enough. It's good enough.

Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to start writing? Learn about structure. Use every free lesson you can find to learn about the craft. Write often, try things out. Learn the art of good enough. Learn to say "fuck it, it's good enough".

Tagging: @storybookhawke, @seigephoenix, @gremlinquisitor, @lucyrne, @aban-asaara, @hollyand-writes and whoever else wants to do this!

#writer interview

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clonerightsagenda · 7 years

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These keep getting longer

I think it’s evident at this point that I consider my duty to the prompt filled if the words are mentioned in passing or even implied

tuesjade prompt: art supplies

Jade isn't in the greenhouse or napping in the common room (or even halfway up a tree, which is where you found her last time you went looking) so you check her bedroom, which maybe you should have done first. There she is, flat on her back and flicking pennies at the ceiling. Instead of dropping back down onto her pillow, they settle into orbit around her head like a glittering halo. When you walk in, they fall in a copper shower around her shoulders.

"Jake!” she says from beneath a pile of loose change. “Do you need something?"

"Not need, exactly." You hover at the doorway until she motions for you to come in. "It's more that I'm here to ask you something. You see, Calliope and I have been working on a comic together."

"Oh, is that what you two have been hiding away to work on? We were wondering what you were up to." She sits up and pats the bed. Stray pennies clink and shift. "Can I see it?"

"As a matter of fact, I did bring some samples along." You're a little shy, but if you can't show your fumbling attempts at artwork to your grandmother, who can you trust? Calliope took the reins for most of the first booklet anyway. "Behold!” You hold out the hand-stapled collection of pages with a flourish. “The brand new adventures of our enterprising heroes."

She pages through your first issue, complimenting the art and laughing aloud at your cornier jokes. “My grandpa used to make that exact pun, you know," she says, tapping one speech bubble you were proud of.

"That stroke of genius must be hereditary."

She smiles down at the panel for a moment before turning the page. "Guess so."

“It’s funny,” you say. “Speech bubbles feel so… constrictive, for some reason. I know it’s a function of the medium, but you just can’t fit that many words in. You’d think I’d be used to it, since I’ve read my fair share of the funnies. But I keep thinking, how can they say everything they need to? They have to be so terse. It makes for a lot of revising.”

“You’ll get it with practice,” she promises. “And then we’ll all notice you’re sending us monosyllabic texts!”

When she reaches the end, you clear your throat. "I wanted to ask if you'd like to be a guest artist. We're trying to get as many people as we can for different issues, so it can be a group project." Calliope took a while to sell you on that. Some of your friends are actual artists. Their work will make your scribbles look pitiful. Still, you saw her point in the end. These things are more fun done together. And she's promised to stab people with pencils if they laugh.

"That sounds like a lot of fun. I haven't drawn in..." She shakes her head. "I don't know. A long while! I'm not great at it, but it was a nice way to pass the time."

"Oh grandma, you're being modest. You were always the best at arts and crafts.” Once you’d gotten into some old paints and left a trail of child-sized handprints on the wall. Instead of yelling, your grandmother had handed you a brush, and the two of you had covered the plain surface with a mural of swirling colors and flowers. It was one of the things you missed most when your house exploded. “The things you could do with a magazine collage were sheer magic."

"I don't know about your version of me, but this me is no Picasso." She waves her hands, and a sketchbook appears between them. You’d expect something with glitter or drawings of flowers – Jade is no stranger to the stereotypically “girly” end of accessorizing, even with the deconstructed guts of appliances and a few odds and ends of weaponry stacked up in the corner of her room - but the leather binding is plain and worn. "Here are some things I did before the game."

You open the book to the first page and blink. You know that handwriting. “Is this… mine?”

“Oh, that’s right.” She reaches over you and turns over a big chunk of pages. “This used to be one of my grandfather’s journals. He drew schematics for inventions or sketches of wildlife he’d discovered on his explorations. Sometimes he’d take me out on an “expedition”. He’d take field notes, and I’d imitate him by trying to draw what I saw. That’s how I got started doing art, actually. After he died, I kept it up. Maybe using his book was disrespectful, but…” She shrugs, reaching a page where no more of your – your other self’s – writing is visible. “I always thought he wouldn’t mind.”

The sketchbook feels different in your hands now that you know your alternate self once held it. Heavier. You try to put it out of your mind. You have drawings from the Jade who is right here. Her lines are thick and defined, like a child's crayon drawings. Of course, she would have been a child then. Here's a doodle of a school classroom, with Jade and Bec behind a desk. The other students... They’re not pretty, but one of them has clunky square glasses. Another wears a headband. "Are those John and Rose?"

She laughs. "Yes. They hadn't sent me pictures yet, but I'd seen them in the clouds. I liked hearing about school, even when they complained. They never understood why I pestered them for so many details, but I wanted to imagine myself going too. Maybe they’re right and I wouldn’t have liked it, but I hated having to wait until they came home to tell them something."

Her human faces are clumsy and cartoonish, but she has an eye for rendering detailed objects in perspective. Students like flat paper dolls sit behind three-dimensional desks. "You could be an architect," you say.

"I had a Pictionary modus, so I had to be accurate," she explains. "I was never as good at people. I didn't have anyone to practice with."

You nod, flipping further. "Going off a picture just isn't the same." Here's something different. She's drawn a figure fast asleep. The lines are sketchier and more uncertain, with a realistic softness the other drawings are missing. This time, you’re confident assessing their identity. “You drew John?”

"I tried to get a good look at him while I was dreaming on Prospit," she says. "Then I drew him from memory afterward. I thought about asking him to pose a few times once we were on the battleship, but I couldn't think of a way to ask that wouldn't sound silly."

"So you resorted to candids, did you?" The last few pages of the sketchbook are populated with quick doodles built from lighter lines. The jointed fingers of a carapacian. John with his long windsock hood, gesturing broadly with his hands. Dave, no, it would be Davesprite, hiding a half-smile with one hand. An echidna curled in a tight ball with its tongue poking out. It would set your behind ablaze to say any of them are photorealistic, but you can tell what they're supposed to be.

After those you find renderings of the innards of the battleship, a mess of interlocking pipes and conduits. Now these you'd believe were ripped out of a user's manual. The rest of the pages are blank. "Did they catch on?"

She snatches the sketchbook back. "No, they don't know about it, so don't show them."

"Have you been sketching me at all?" You strike a pose, lifting your chin in the air. "How’s my profile?"

"Stop teasing, I haven't drawn anything in years." The book vanishes, and she puts her hands on her hips. "So you see, I'm not sure I'd be very good at it."

"I'm much worse than you, and I'm one of our lead storyboarders. Calliope insisted she wasn't doing all the visual components. Apparently I'm supposed to "learn" and "grow"." You tug at her elbow until she drops her arms. "Don't you want to learn and grow, Jade? Isn't that what you Space players are all for?"

She puffs out her cheeks. "Fiiiine. I guess I can pick up some colored pencils again."

"There's just one thing..." Oh rats, you hadn't thought of how this would come across. "Our guest artists... policy is that they do the villains. To keep the heroes consistent and all that. Is that ok?" You hurry on. "You could be a werewolf, or a mad professor who gets turned into some creature after exposure to magical radiation. You know, something fun."

She blows her cheeks back out. "Radiation sickness isn't much fun. I might prefer a well-intentioned extremist. Maybe I destroy corporations for harming the environment."

"But..." You hesitate. "Is that a heroic thing to do, when you boil it down? Greater good, and all that. It might be more of an anti-hero occupation, so to speak."

"Not when you're hurting the employees."

"We could convince you to let them go first... No." You shake your head. "It doesn't fit our profile to become anarchists. We'll have to save that for our gritty reboot in a few decades."

"I'll go with something more ethically simple."

"So it's ok with you?"

She pats your hand. "I'm not going to get offended about it. I know I was the bad guy for a while. Pretending to do it again won't hurt me."

"I know I wouldn't want to relive it."

"It was different for you.” She looks down at her hands, and you wonder if she’s remembering them ashen gray. “I didn't have a bunch of people living in my head. After the first moment, it was just me, the worst bits. It's not like you wanted to rip anybody's heart out."

You shudder. Caliborn had shoved you to the back of your mind, where you kept company with a bunch of silly green men and a spooky clown, but you'd caught flashes of the outside world. He was happy leaving you to feel your body's pain. Human hands weren't meant to take that kind of punishment, but the vision-blurring impact hadn't prevented you from seeing one of your best friends die. "Can we talk about something more cheerful?"

Her ears pull back slightly. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"And here I was worried about upsetting *you*.” You laugh. “I guess we know which of us is made of sterner stuff."

"You're pretty tough," she says, poking you in the shoulder. "You're our adventure guy."

"Mostly in comics. My alter ego is much braver than I ever was."

She shakes her head. "They're just made up. You're the real deal. And you made it through the worst a bored comic book writer could ever throw at you."

You tap the cover of your comic book thoughtfully. "We *are* the grittier reboot."

She laughs. “That’s right. We are! So now you can enjoy your… less gritty reboot, if that’s a thing comics do.”

“We could have a beach episode.”

“Name a day, and I’ll take us back over to the island. We’ll make a vacation out of it.”

How will it feel to revisit the place where you grew up? Will it feel like coming home, or more like visiting an old prison cell? Which memories win out – the fond ones or the terrible ones? At least you’d have your grandmother at your side. Maybe that way you won’t keep expecting her to pop out from behind every tree and boulder. “There’s an idea. Your character could be a Captain Nemo type. He had a mysterious island and everything.”

“I have in the past piloted something somewhat like a cool submarine,” she agrees.

“Let’s doodle you a nifty uniform,” you say, and she grins and picks up a pen.

#tuesjade #homestuck/#kat writes fic #they'll get shorter as my list leads me to characters i'm not as familiar with #or... will my lack of confidence w/ their voices make me lean on narration #thus generating more words?#i will have to analyze the data as it is created

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endowrites · 7 years

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WIP Day #1

WIP Week: Day 1 - Your Oldest WIP

Title: Timeless (how’s that for a fitting name) Fandom: Naruto Rating: T Characters: Minato

Start Date: 10 July 2016 Last Touched: 19 March 2017 Word Count: 3.8K

It’s not technically my oldest WIP, but it’s definitely the oldest writing project I’ve got that I’m still planning on finishing and publishing someday.

The tl;dr of this fic was that it was an attempt to give Minato’s Hiriashin some introduction and background. Essentially, I turned it into a time loop jutsu, because I hate every time loop fic in this fandom but still thought it was a cool concept. It’s also canon compliant, which is a feat unto itself.

Here you can find a more detailed description I wrote up of the idea that eventually became this WIP. I modeled it after those “Twenty Times” style fics you’ve probably seen out and about (most famously this one), so that’s why it reads the way it does.

I’m just going to dump the whole thing, because it’s long and difficult to split into pieces and maybe by having a majority of it up on the web I’ll finally get the motivation to finish it. Enjoy!

Timeless

The first loop Minato didn’t consider a loop at all. It was his prologue - the beginning of his beginning.

Minato became a soldier in the first loop, as was expected of him. Dull wooden kunai were replaced by their sharp, deadly, real equivalents. Childhood was replaced by reality. Art was replaced by war.

But more often than not, Minato found himself daydreaming about new jutsu and seals and the almost magical properties of a well timed technique, rather than brute force and physical strength.

Minato was just as much a creative as he was a fighter. It was just his luck, then, that there existed the perfect combination of the two.

All of the studying, all of the work, all of the sleepless nights - Minato tucked them away under the veil of the first loop - the loop of life.

The loop that started it all.

The second loop was short, confusing, and sent Minato half into a tree.

He wasn’t aware at that time why they should have been called loops, however, so he simply referred to them as various failed experiments. Because that’s what they were - failures.

Failures in a never-ending struggle to tame time, no less, but still failures. No one ever accused Minato Namikaze of being anything less than ambitious.

The Second Hokage was a genius: a truly gifted shinobi. His ideas, however, were loose and scattered - much like the leaflets of paper filled with bizarre jutsu he penned (and then subsequently shoved into drawers that Minato later found in the Hokage’s library, after pestering the Third about it for so long that the man gave up and handed him the key).

Minato supposed, in hindsight, that it took one to know one.

Perhaps that was why the Hiraishin jutsu stood out to him above all the others. It was a technique that was so close to being something, that Minato could not rest until it was.

And that, after several months of endless experimentation, was why Minato found himself lodged in a dense patch of foliage.

He had overshot the calibration, and wound up freezing time for all of three seconds. Just enough time to trip, fall forward, and end up with a leg pierced on a stalk of sheared bamboo.

Kushina had not been happy about that incident.

Minato spent the brief period of time after the second loop tweaking his adjustments to the Hiraishin even further, perfecting what the Second Hokage had deemed imperfectible.

Time travel itself was impossible, that much had been proven to him by Tobirama’s extensive notes on the subject, but Minato wasn’t interested in time travel.

No. Instead, he found himself pouring hours of his time into the study of time dilation - the means by which to stop time, rather than wrestling with it. It was the path of least resistance, and still yielded the same effect: allowing him to move about in a bubble, out of phase from the rest of the world. Vast distances could be travelled in mere fractions of a second. Enemies could be struck down effortlessly, as if frozen in solid ice, and would die before ever seeing their killer. The world would pause for him, and wait at his beck and call.

He would be a god.

But it was all still theory. An impossible feat, for certain, but not impossible enough for Minato Namikaze.

The long, sleepless nights between loops Two and Three were spent under the quiet embrace of a desk lamp aside a pile of weathered old books from the Third Hokage’s personal library, and copious amounts of lukewarm tea.

As with all things Minato pursued, he found what he was looking for.

The next loop awaited him.

Loop Three proved to be just as much a failure as Loop Two, but no less important.

Having determined that simple concentration wasn’t enough to prevent himself from disengaging from the Hiraishin’s effects, Minato found himself locked in a bubble of space-time for nearly thirty-six hours. He sat alone, waiting for the jutsu to expire, the world around him frozen in motion. He had gotten so bored, in fact, that he had begun to count the leaves in the trees - and from that point on, Kushina bragged about the fact her boyfriend was fast enough to count entire trees worth of leaves in what seemed like a split second to anyone that would hear it. “That’s the power of the Hiraishin,” she’d brag.

Minato let her. They didn’t need to know the hows or the whys.

Loop Four was frustratingly similar to the one previous. Minato had managed to reduce the offset by a considerable amount - but that meant he still was forced to sit in a sphere of frozen time with nothing but himself, the pebbles at his feet, and his own unpleasant thoughts for nearly three hours.

The next time, he would bring a book. Or, at the very least, a stick to draw in the dirt with.

Loops Five and Six experimented with the diameter of the sphere. He still found himself stuck in what was, essentially, an isolation chamber for a far too long amount of time, but now he could stretch and move a bit - at least, as much as he was able to before chakra exhaustion began to eat away at his senses, eventually knocking him out the farther he pushed.

He woke up after Loop Five with a concerned Kushina shaking him to death, and woke up after Loop Six to an enraged Kushina shaking him to death. There was no middle ground.

He promised, rather half-heartedly, he would “be careful”; but he suspected Kushina saw through the ruse as soon as the muttered, sheepish promise slipped past his lips.

The way she shook her head and looked at him told him just as much.

Loop Seven tested the boundaries of the sphere. He purposefully left the diameter up to as much as ‘winging it’ would suffice, and began walking.

He found that he could move the sphere with him as he went, but it was very draining. Many factors, it seemed, cut away at his chakra reserves, almost to the point only a jinchuuriki would be a worthy wielder of the technique.

Minato realized soon after that Tobirama wasn’t being ignorant in dropping the project and focusing on his library of others with far more potential. Instead, he was simply being economical.

Minato was anything but. He had his heart set on the Hiraishin, could feel the potential power coursing underneath the lines of each page in Tobirama’s notebook.

No, Minato wasn’t economical. But he was determined.

Loops Eight through Fifteen proved fruitless, and it was only in Loop Sixteen that Minato discovered the missing link.

Kushina.

After several consecutive days of coming home tired and exhausted, Kushina demanded to observe Minato as he trained.

She watched him as he activated the Hiraishin, only the slight tilt in her eyebrow showing she was impressed. Once firmly settled in the cockles of near-frozen time, Minato had the chance to simply watch her - frozen in place, eyes bright as diamonds, her posture ragged and daring.

Minato bent over and plucked a small yellow flower from a bush to his right, feeling the tug of his jutsu extending to the flower’s space in the universe. His chakra encapsulated it in the grasp of the Hiraishin, moving it along through time parallel with Minato.

He reached over and tucked the knotweed between Kushina’s hair and her ear, smiling for a moment, before he disengaged the jutsu.

After he came back from under the influence of the space-time technique, the redhead clucked her tongue and waggled her finger at him.

“Seals,” was all she had said. “You need to focus your chakra so you don’t waste it all? Use seals. That’s what they’re there for, y’know.”

Minato’s eyes widened. Was it really so simple? Seals?

She blinked, reaching into her hair to grasp at something that wasn’t there before. She lowered the knotweed, smiled, looked up at Minato in surprise. “Wait, when did you do that?”

Minato was already gone.

Loop Seventeen was long delayed. Seals were the key, Minato realized that now.

The Second had used a basic seal when he first created the Hiraishin, that was certain, but Minato had dismissed the idea almost without a second thought. But he may have thrown the baby out with the bathwater in doing so.

Minato sat in the library at the desk that all but bore his name at this point, pouring over scroll after scroll, detail after detail - anything and everything he could get his hands on regarding seals, sealing arts, and just how he might be able to pull something off.

He started with Tobirama’s seal, attempting to decipher the strange, cryptographic means by which the man had crafted his art. He truly was a visionary, Minato had to admit, but the Second Hokage had many neurotic tendencies that made using his notes as reference next to impossible.

And then when Minato returned home that evening, angry and disappointed in himself, it was Kushina (again) that brought him out of his slump.

“What is it, exactly, that you’re trying to do?” she sighed with an eyeroll, murmuring ‘do I have to do everything around here’ under her breath as she dragged him to his study, an inkwell and brush finding their way into her hands almost by means of magic. “Look, it’s not that hard. All you have to do is use your brain a little.”

Minato watched her work, memorizing every minute detail as she laid brush to tapestry.

Loop Seventeen happened three days later.

After the thirty-second loop, Minato felt the Hiraishin was complete enough for an exhibition.

He had done all the testing - the seals did a fine job of localizing the sphere of the Hiraishin’s influence to an area on its own, and a small bit of flourish Kushina had taught him as he was completing it allowed for the bubble to extend to his location regardless of where he was, pulling upon little to no chakra in doing so.

It was around the time that he demonstrated the technique to both his sensei and the Hokage himself that Minato truly realized the extent of what he had accomplished.

“Tobirama was an inventor,” Sarutobi had mused that afternoon, from between lips gripping a pipe. “But you, Minato, are an innovator. Far too few shinobi have this skill. And it is one that will carry you far indeed.”

“Sensei’s right, kid,” Jiraiya smiled, crossing his arms across his chest. “You managed the unthinkable. The Second created more jutsu that is probably natural in his lifetime, and I’d be hard pressed to call any of them, save for maybe the Shadow Clone jutsu, complete.”

He was right. Minato had reduced the chakra costs from astronomical to hardly a drop, made a somewhat inconsistent technique that relied on the caster’s concentration and chakra potency into something based around seals and numbers, and created something that had the potential to devastate. Destroy.

Minato only nodded. “I certainly hope the Hiraishin’s complete. At least, complete now.”

Jiraiya let out a barking laugh. “Brat, you’ve spent more time researching for that technique than I did for any one of novels. Hell, all of my novels. I’ve seen what you can do with it. If it’s not finished, I’ll eat Gamabunta.”

Minato paled at the proclamation, but before he could respond in some sort of timid manner, the Third spoke up.

“I have a mission for you,” Hiruzen hummed, plucking a sheet of paper from his desk and sliding it forward. “Well, rather, a mission for your certain subset of skills. You say the Hiraishin allows you to… stop time?”

“Slow it,” Minato corrected. “And it requires a base. Tobirama used force of will, but that was far too unpredictable, and nearly impossible to use in battle. Not to mention how draining it can be. Instead of that, I’m using seals. But that means--”

“We get it, Minato,” Jiraiya interrupted, waving him on. “Spit it out.”

“I… yes. But only around markers I’ve already placed.”

Hiruzen paused, uncertain.

Jiraiya spoke again. “What about kunai?”

“Kunai?” Minato asked. “What about them?”

Jiraiya shrugged. “I dunno. Can’t you attach your seals to kunai and throw them?”

Once again, Minato found himself back at the drawing board.

Loops Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine, Forty, and Forty-One were forgotten in the heat of battle.

Minato swerved to the right, slashed his kunai at a shadowed figure, and ducked back as the foggy forest swallowed him.

He had just assassinated the military commander of the Hidden Mist. It was understandable that they would send their best men to return the favor.

Minato ducked, rolled, and slammed his elbow behind him as the hunter-nin stumbled forward. The movement carried Minato forward, and he dove out of the way of an explosive blast that rattled the surrounding clearing like glass in a windowframe.

He saw the blade before the shinobi that held it, tucked aside like an afterthought, forgotten in the heat of battle.

His body moved faster than his mind did, flaring chakra, molding it in a way that had become something short of second nature to him.

Time slowed. Flickered. Stopped.

Minato blinked again, his own body caught in the technique. He was hung in the air like a cloud, dangled above .

But he was safe.

He could have used a shunshin, or even a kawarimi. But instead, for some inexplicable reason, his body moved first - and here he was, caught in the throes of life-threatening battle, his most imperfect, most unrefined jutsu keeping him alive.

He smiled. Fitting.

Minato landed on the ground with catlike grace, his neck angling upwards, analyzing the battlefield. He leaned forward, grabbed the kunai from midair, and used it to slice the Mist ninja’s throat in two, quickly and without emotion.

He froze for a moment when the blood didn’t come pouring out. But then he remembered: time dilation. For some bizarre reason, the sensation of killing without blood sickened him. It made the job more... surgical, almost.

He plucked a basic kunai from his pouch, a seal - temporary - tied around the handle with thin white string, and launched it across the clearing, watching as it pierced the bubble of the Hiraishin’s influence and trailed its own path through time. The blade landed, and the two points connected.

The bubble expanded, grew like a small pocket of air trapped underwater, and Minato vaulted across the clearing to the other Mist ninja.

Another bloodless murder, and Minato disengaged the technique.

The job was done.

Minato took two steps forward, listening with a grimace as his actions out of time began to catch up with him, and the two ninja gurgled and moaned as they bled out.

Another step.

This time, he heard another sound.

It took him a heartbeat, then another to realize it was coming from his own mouth.

He looked down at himself, at the blade of the kunai that was piercing through his chest like a tumor, and the way blood, black as coal, began to trickle past his flak jacket and seep into the earth.

His heart seized.

“Heh,” the third Mist ninja said from behind him, cockiness bleeding into his words, “you may be fast enough for those two, but you’ll never be fast enough for me.”

He didn’t remember why he did it - why he felt compelled to use the Hiraishin. Perhaps Minato wanted a moment to kill his killer before the man could watch his death, or perhaps he wanted a moment of carefree silence to mourn himself… for the life he was undoubtedly about to give up from simple inattentiveness.

An image of Kushina flashed through his mind, bedecked in white and surrounded by the vibrance and beauty of color and marriage and love--

He roared, enraged. The jutsu flared, bubbling up past his skin like boiling water, flickering through the air, far more powerful than any time Minato had used it before.

The forty-second loop was the loop where Minato died.

But it was also the first loop - the first real loop. The first loop where time really did go back on itself, change itself, become anew.

He watched with disbelieving eyes as the blood spilled on the grass between his feet began to move, travelling up his body until nested within his chest once again. He watched as the kunai dislodged itself from his chest, and watched the fabric in his jacket stitch itself back together. He watched the leaves in the trees, as they retraced their steps in time and danced a familiar dance.

The bubble expanded past his skin, chasing time away like a skittish animal, until it returned to the way it was every other time - a shimmering sphere of impossibility, hovering just outside of his reach.

Minato turned, and saw red. The red of blood, the red of anger and rage… the red of the hair of his wife on the wedding day he so nearly missed.

Hiraishin had given him another chance, and he wasn’t about to soil it. The forty-second loop was where Minato died, but was also the loop where Minato was reborn.

The previous forty-one times Minato had used the Hiriashin, he realized later that month, were all loops. Every single one of them.

Sure, he hadn’t noticed it at first. But calling the forty-second ‘loop’ the first of its kind wasn’t accurate.

The Hiraishin twisted time more than just by freezing it. That was merrily because Minato hadn’t been pushing it as far as it could go, for fear of depleting chakra reserves and leaving him stranded, locked out of time.

In the heat of the moment, death on his doorstep, Minato had thrown any and all caution from his mind. He pushed everything he had into the technique, and it had delivered.

Minato could cheat time. He could cheat death.

“No shinobi, regardless of title, has ever held within them the power of a god - the true power of a god,” Sarutobi had said one lazy afternoon, after Minato had revealed his discovery, chest still heaving from returning to the village following another round of tests. The Hokage twiddled with his beard a little, staring out past the tall, imposing pillars that adorned the top of the Hokage’s Tower and down into the village he oversaw.

He turned, looked at Minato’s wide-eyed face, and gave him a look of fierce honesty - of expectation. “But you, Minato, are the first to truly wield it.”

Minato could cheat life. He could cheat chance, and reason, and calculation.

He turned, leapt from the rooftop, ran all the way home. His hands shook as he landed in front of his doorstep. A mix between terror and gratitude, adrenaline-bolstered fear locked them in place above the handle to the front door, and Minato just stood there.

He stood, and quivered.

Kushina had jumped when she opened the door to come looking for him an hour later, only to find him inches away. She pulled his shellshocked body inside, held him as he took massive gulps of air, rubbed the tension in his shoulders away with the soft pads of her fingertips.

“You’re alright,” she whispered to him as he stared, dazed, out the window into the fading light of early dusk. “You’re fine.”

Minato could cheat life, cheat death, cheat time. He had become a god, wielding that which had never before been wielded by man alone.

But Minato could not cheat the weight of the world on his shoulders, pinning him to the earth like the mortal he was.

“You should try teaching,” Jiraiya told him over dinner, two weeks after loop number one hundred and fifty-two. “It suits you.”

Minato froze. “Sensei?”

“Exactly,” Jiraiya winked, leaning his forearm across the table. “You’d be a fantastic sensei, kid. You’ve always had a knack for explaining the unexplainable. You would be a fantastic role model.”

“He’s right, you know,” Kushina said with a sly smile as she walked by, a bowl of ice cream in her hands. She slid into the seat in between the two men, and watched with a cocky grin as Minato floundered under their combined scrutiny. “What’ve you got to lose?”

He met Kakashi, Rin, and Obito three weeks later.

War followed not much longer after that.

He remembered the four hundred and ninety-sixth loop very well.

Everything was routine. Everything was supposed to be routine.

But war was war, and not even Team Minato, led by a god, could survive unscathed.

Minato had used the Hiraishin, just as he had many times before, as a means of traveling across continents - and the four hundred and ninety-sixth loop was no different in that regard.

But Minato quickly realized just how wrong he was, and how life changing Loop Four Hundred and Ninety-Six would become.

After Obito’s death, Minato receded into his jounin shell. Life dulled, drifted past his glazed eyes like beads of water dripping down stained glass.

He failed as a teacher. He failed as a shinobi. All of his uncertainty came flooding back, and more often than not Minato found himself marching towards the Hokage Tower, hands clenched into fists, to hand in his resignation. It was Kushina, only Kushina, that held him back, reminding him of his obligations.

But then Rin died too.

Kakashi took it harder than Minato did at first, but Kakashi’s pain fed into his own. He felt like a father would, struggling to stay strong for someone when he needed someone strong himself.

But still he powered onwards, simply because he had no alternative. Minato was a logical man by nature, and he knew his own strengths and weaknesses. He knew how his mind coped with loss.

So he buried himself in his research, studying seal after complex seal, mastering the art in a manner that few before him had ever accomplished.

He discovered the Reaper Death Seal after Loop Five Hundred and Twelve by accident.

He poured through several old Uzumaki tomes that Kushina had dragged up from the basement, long forgotten. He pieced together the archaic technique after weeks of backbreaking, exhausting research, and in the end, even after testing the jutsu’s less lethal components with rigorous valor, Minato still wasn’t certain the jutsu would work.

And then he became Hokage.

And his life went from stressful to chaotic with the snap of the Third Hokage’s fingers.

Loop Five Hundred and Thirty was a simple trip to the Hokage Tower - a summons.

“So you say this jutsu allows you to split… souls?” Hiruzen asked, scanning through the large ream of paper Minato had composed on the Reaper Death Seal.

“Well… yes.”

“Teach me,” the Third said, and his eyes were steeled and resolute.

Thanks for reading! It definitely is a bit rusty and reads more like my old style than my new, but I still really like it and the concepts it introduces.

I’m gonna cheat and use this as my response to the WIP Meme I was tagged in last night by @blackkatmagic (because otherwise I won’t have enough WIPs to use for this week!). the first line is:

The first loop Minato didn’t consider a loop at all.

...which is 10 words long. I don’t really know that many people here that write regularly, so instead I’m leaving this as an open tag to anyone that wants to participate themselves! And join WIP Week - it’s super fun and has done a great job of reminding me of projects I had completely forgotten about!

#WIP Week #WIPWeek #EndoplasmicPanda #my writing #writing #fanfiction #naruto #naruto fanfiction #tag meme #blackkatmagic #Minato #Kushina #Sarutobi #Hiruzen

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mfmagazine · 6 years

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Gina La Piana

Article by Lauren Weigle

Photo by Steve Kay Photography

Gina La Piana is definitely a fierce force of nature. Armed with a gorgeous singing voice, a sultry image, and an amazing acting ability, this woman knows how to work the entertainment circuit. Making appearances on popular shows like Bones, Everybody Hates Chris, The Mentalist, and many others; her main passion is her craft as an actress. Although she loves to sing and has success with it, acting is where her heart truly lies… This is why we’ve taken the time to sit down with her and delve a little deeper into what Gina is truly all about… who she is, where she wants to go with her career, and what she really wants in life.

So, acting and singing. I want to hear about both. How about we start with the singing? Can you tell me a little bit about yourself as an artist?

I consider myself an edgy voice for women, as well as a storyteller. My tendency is to write my music as a journal. I’m most inspired when I’m in relationships, good or bad. I’ve written most of my successful pieces from painful experiences. There was one relationship that is most predominant, which I call the ‘Gray Period’. That’s when I wrote my most popular material. A lot of women can relate to and connect with my "agony' so to speak. (She laughs.) But, that's kind of a universal theme. I get thank you notes from people around the world saying they connected to the themes and messages in the music. It makes me realize just how much “art imitates life” and how we truly want the same things. To be understood, loved, and cherished. I’ve only done original work. I’ve never been a cover song artist. I don’t know how to be. So, a show like American Idol could have never been a platform for me because it’s important to sing what’s in my heart and what sprung from my truth - the good, bad, and the ugly.

Okay, so you thrive on being original. What would you say is your signature aesthetic when it comes to your own music?

I am a divine dichotomy of sorts, in that what I do in the US market tends to be more edgy, pop rock, geared towards films and television, while what I do overseas as "Gina Martina" is darker, sexy electronic dance music. I’ve been called the Jenna Jameson of electronica! (She happily exclaims.) They are all roles for me really, getting to play different characters, and aspects of my personality set to beats.

Well, you’ve been a part of several movie soundtracks. Would you like to talk about some of your contributions in that area?

I love the collaboration involved when working on a soundtrack. I love working in a room full of people where we’re all working towards the same visual-auditory goals. I am a very visual person, so it’s exciting to see a piece of film in front of me, visualizing the story and literally seeing and feeling the music that is poured into the film. It’s moving art. It always comes back to storytelling for me. It’s by far some of my favorite work and I look forward to doing a lot more in the future! I am such a huge fan of guys like Danny Elfman, and Hans Zimmer. What a gift these guys have! To someday be able to work in the same room with them would be a life altering experience for me.

Oh, I’m sure! With just singing or acting as well? Do you prefer acting to singing or are the two pretty equal?

To be completely honest with myself, I’d love to do more acting. Music pays the bills, but my dream is to do series television. In an ideal world, I would meld both of these facets. And maybe run the whole shebang, Sandra Bullock style.

Aside from your life as a performer, what else do you enjoy?

Eating good food, reading a great book, making love, fun with friends, investing in stock, supporting in the Bella Sera Organization, and travel, travel, travel!!! I am also what you call a spa whore…I love to spa!

Do you have much spare time to let loose and indulge in these things… like your Spa fetish?

I have quite a bit of time to myself; it’s how I set my life up. I created and built my own music company so I can let other people do the heavy lifting and I can take the credit, which allows me the space and time to enjoy my life much more.

Let’s talk about your character on Days of Our Lives. How did you first land your role on the soap series?

I went in like any other normal casting. I was hired originally by the lovely Fran Bascom, working at separate times in two smaller characters, (a flight attendant named Daphne and a Nurse called Rosy), whom they found memorable. They eventually brought me in as a more substantial recurring character. Yes, I played three characters in total while on Days of Our Lives.

Wow. So multiple personalities. (I joke.) What else?

I have both good and bad things to say about working on a soap opera. The good: it’s akin to boot camp for actors. You have to learn so much dialogue so quickly. Every day you have pages and pages of text to memorize and you must be spot on! They will not accept anything less. It is like doing theatre on television if that makes sense. You can make far bigger choices than you could normally in either regular TV or film outside of comedy. The bad: I have never worked a job where women were more downright catty and mean.

Wow, that’s horrible. I guess even soap operas have those catty co-workers.

Yeah, I literally was written off my show because a few of the girls I was working with made me miserable. I couldn’t continue to subject myself to that much negative energy. No amount of money on Earth is worth the stress to me, and I sincerely mean that.

Well, soap operas have been such classic constants throughout television history. What are your thoughts on the recent cancellations of the long-running soaps All My Children and One Life to Live?

In my opinion, I think it’s time to move on, because we are living in a different time in history than the era they debuted in. I mean no disrespect, but these shows have been around since way before I was a gleam in my Father's eye, and we have since progressed in our outlook of entertainment. Viewers are much more sophisticated and looking for more cohesive story lines.

I got ya. Okay, I’m going to take my cue from you and move on as well. (I laugh.) Since your days as Gabby Ortiz and even before then, you’ve made appearances on so many popular television shows. Any memorable ones that stick out in your mind?

Hands down, my favorite experience was on Studio 60. I got to combine my 3 strengths. I scored the episode, sang 2 of my original songs on stage, and acted opposite Matthew Perry, and all the while working for the brilliant and gifted Aaron Sorkin. Not to mention, I was directed by the ingenious Tommy Schlamme. That job just couldn’t have gotten any better!

Okay, tell me about your most recent project Audrey. What’s the story?

Audrey is a very unique and very funny female-driven comedy. Taking place in real-time, the story takes us through a little over an hour and a half of a young woman's day as she waits and waits and waits in a restaurant for Gene, her date, to arrive for their critical third date. As the clock ticks away and Gene is nowhere to be found, 34-year-old Audrey is swept up into a journey through her life as her insecurities and inner demons comically wreak havoc on her. Forced to face her deepest fears by circumstance — both real and unreal —Audrey finds the strength and courage she never imagined she had.

I understand you produced the film? What made you cross over from actress to producer?

I realized things were changing in the film industry. More and more celebrities are taking on Television roles, which leaves less work for newer or up and coming actors. I felt I needed to create more vehicles for myself if I want to work in this business. I like to be in control of my career and not just sit around waiting for the next audition to come. I wanted to create more vehicles and opportunities to show my strengths. Hence, I'm playing the quirky impassioned best friend to "Audrey".

What first drew you to the project?

A friend whom I deeply respect and admired brought the project to me. He was very excited about it, so I came on board.

Well, that’s simple enough. Any other projects coming up that we should know about?

I’m producing and starring in a film that I wrote called Brit and Brazil. It’s an independent drama-comedy feature that will give me the opportunity to play a grittier character who turns things around in her life. I’m most inspired by these types of stories, the underdog, who eventually triumphs and succeeds. I’m also producing two artists signed to Warner Bros., ages 13 and 15. The albums couldn’t be more different - One is a rock-electronic record and the other is in the urban-hip hop genre. I like to keep it crazy, the nuttier the better in my opinion. Colorful is key!

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homedesign9 · 5 years

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Interior Decorating, Home Design, Room Ideas: October 2012

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Check out these collection of bathroom ideas by Italian company Cerasa. With in-floor bathtubs and deluxe furniture the circumstances they carry about is akin to those gotten in spas. Clearly most of the ideas do need many room and we expect any of these would get room in a special apartment setting. Delpha brings a collection of ultra stylish bathroom interiors for you. The designs are inspired by nature, pop culture, baroque and urban interiors.

Each bath area runs on a central theme where the fixtures and accessories are thoughtfully arranged. Most of the designs sport brightly coloured walls with rich use of textures. Some walls have mosaic tiles which are like jewels studded in a luxurious haven of purity. Going by the images, it looks as though this Delpha collection is targeting the luxury end of the market meant for people willing to pay the extra dollar.

Browse through for more inspiration.

I have a huge style crush on Hans Blomquist, stylist, art director, and author.Whether he’s being moody or lighthearted, masculine or feminine, I get him. Right down to the soles of my feet. I discovered him slowly, as I found myself drawn to images from various sources, all connected by one name – his. Infatuation. Then I ordered his book, The Natural Home, and…love. Admittedly, his book will not be for everyone. If it’s color and contemporary design that move you, his is not the book for you. But if you love the moody, patinaed, textured, quirky and eclectic, with a distinctly European style, this book is most definitely for you. What can I say? He’s everything I hope for in a stylist. Personalize your little ones play and sleeping areas with their favorite theme, without the need for time consuming painting or costly wallpaper. In a shared room situation, emblazoning your children’s names above, or on, toy chests and beds provides individuality, and establishing clear zones may help to avoid sibling squabbles. Using stickers to add color and fun to key pieces of furniture could even make an old wardrobe, or plain crafting table, into a child friendly piece. Fill a plain wall with a special nursery rhyme, or highlight a cherished item with a sweet spray of flowers.

Get creative by allowing sticky characters to interact with elements of the room, make a headboard into a perch under a line of cute birds, or balance creatures above door fames, skirting boards and light switches. Try making your own artwork by applying them to card stock and framing, and let matching elements loose on the surrounding wall for a ‘picture come to life’ effect. Wipe clean stickers that emulate note pads are perfect for a teen’s room, they can jot down homework notes, or doodle love notes, and simply wipe clean for next week!

Designing a child’s bedroom can be very challenging considering the fast pace in which kids are growing up these days. It’s hard enough keeping up with endless influx of technological gadgets before finding ways to store all of these “next best things”. But alas, there are fun innovative storage solutions disguised by splashes of color that would make any room look like a three dimensional Picasso! In these beautifully designed rooms below, the perfect balance of practicality and creativity has been achieved and will easily appeals to parents and children alike.

There are many good furniture designs, a lot of different materials that compose a beautiful desk. Some of them save space in the room because a designer created a functional design that would not only deal with your problem of having too little room for a desk but also look incredible in that small space. Some of the desks are suited only for large rooms that accentuate their gorgeous shape. And then there are those desks that can transform from a small, one-man workstation to a large, conferential table. It all depends on your taste and needs.

White is a Royal color – it’s the color of purity and beauty. This amazing color combines with almost any other, with it you can create any interior – from minimalist to a vintage romantic one. A white bedroom looks relaxing, inviting and calm, it’s like sleeping on a cloud. You may use not only pure white, add some colorful accents to make the space more dramatic. Don’t hesitate to use beige – that’s a one more classical color, or dark furniture to highlight that everything is white. Vintage furniture, shabby nightstands and crocheted bedspreads will give a romantic shabby chic touch to the interior. Floor tiles, impressive futuristic furniture and modern accessories give your bedroom a minimalist look. Choose your style, fill the room according to your dreams and enjoy your white paradise!

Chocolate appears to be dripping down the walls at this cafe in Opole, Poland, by interior designers Bro.Kat. With its stunning pool and impeccable style, The Sotogrande House is fit for a celebrity. The credit for its design goes to Spanish architectural firm A-cero. The design is fresh and exciting and you can’t stop but admire how serene the whole home looks. White dominates throughout and except for this minor(?) challenge of keeping it that way we really can’t find anything else to crib about this fabulous home.

This is a gray and white apartment interior designed by Lanciano Design. This apartment has modern design with dark gray and white as the main color theme. The white color used for the walls, ceilings and some furniture, give a clean and modern expression for the interior. The dark gray color is used for floors and some other furnitures. This color give an elegant expression on this apartment. This apartment designed with great views through the big windows, allowing the occupants to enjoy the surrounding view and also let natural light to go inside the apartment. White and Gray Apartment Interior Design In India ink, acrylic, pencil and plywood Jennie Ekström creates a fantasy world of her own where children, strange birds and middle aged women reside in an overgrown fairytale garden. Jennie lives in Enskede where she is working as an Illustrator and artist. The exhibition takes place at Linnman Gallery. Don’t miss it if you’re in the neighbourhood.

I really like the decent color scheme used in this lovely apartment decorated by Mood House. There is a nice combination of old and new decor all over the place and also some very clever styling ideas. Highlight here is for sure the living room with the very cool pendant lights and variable shelving unit but also the work area is very nicely decorated with all the small details like artwork or work tools on wall. Lovely apartment decorated by Mood House

I am very excited and impressed with DaVinci project House of tayone. Delve into the detail unique designs, each decorated in industrial style chic. Look closely to find an array of ideas to add character and whimsy to a blank canvas of space.

I love the brown in these types of rooms! I think it’s like the little bit of yummy sugar in the tea. If you want to minimize brown in your home, what about using rustic woods (woods that are so worn they are almost bluish-gray) as a compromise? That would get you closer to graphite, I had a very hard time picking out just a few of the photos, but I hope you enjoy the massive picture bomb! It sure adds a lot of warmth to the interiors, and that is always nice in the colder months.

Louise Poulsen, the company making lights designed by such a great names as Arne Jacobsen or Poul Henningsen recently presented a new promo shots that were taken in a house of artist Tenka Gammelgaard. And as you can imagine, it looked great! These lamps really fits her style, and as Tenka said herself, she wouldn’t have said no to keeping them all. You can see a behind the scenes story on Tenka’s blog here. If you are in Copenhagen in the coming month, make sure to pop over to Louis Poulsen’s showroom to check out Tenka’s exhibition there, together with more photos of her home.

Today we are featuring Modern stylish kitchen design – An Excellent collection of modern Kitchen design ideas from Italian company Dada. This model is elegant without being affected, and is truly designer-oriented right down to the smallest details of everyday objects.The bedroom is one of those places that takes time to decorate. You can always improve it because you always get bedroom ideas. This time it’s Hulsta to get our inspiration from. We are immensely impressed with their bedroom concepts. Clean shapes, amazing eye-friendly colors and designed for those who need their room to be either beautiful and able to store all their stuff. Would you put something like this in your bedroom? Which one do you like the most?

Your work environment directly influences your mood and ability to generate inspiration and creativity. Creative workplaces usually have interesting and visually stimulating elements throughout the space. Featured here are 10 creative workplaces that would succeed at inspiring any designer.

This 130 square meters large apartment in Helsinki have a really nice and cozy atmosphere – almost country like. All the wood and natural materials are providing warmth in the otherwise mostly white minimalistic space. Big dining table, fireplace and stacked wood piles – what a great place!

Another example of how cool can the small place be, this little beach house belonging to Belgian/South African couple is very sweet! It certainly have the scandinavian feel – white floors, white walls, very clean and full of light, this combined with nicely selected furniture (those wooden chairs are great) creates wonderful atmosphere as made for summer relaxing.

Today HomeDesign9.com introduce to you are some very sweet pics from the stylist Aaron Hom.I love all the decors and furniture he uses, Eames, Jacobsen, Nelson, Saarinen… there is everything. My fave is the first one – white room with wooden wall unit, but all other places are gorgeous as well!

Happy Monday lovelies I hope you had a fulfilling weekend!. One of the last projects of the wonderful photographer Petra Bindel are these fantastic photos from the new catalogue of the Dutch company Muuto. I really like the nice pastel pink, yellow & turquoise colors that they are using for the line and the styling is so beautiful! Let’s come with me to Barcelona, Spain, today and take a peek into this beautiful home. The neutral toned color scheme and the high ceilings and windows give this apartment an airy and spacious look. The clean lined place is decorated with modern furniture but the wooden accessories and several rugs give warmth to the various rooms. Can you believe that this lovely apartment in Malmö, Sweden, measures less than 50 square meters? The white walls, high ceilings and white washed gives this apartment (which is for sale by the way) a spacious feel.

This beautiful Mas (a country house or farm in the South of France, usually made of stone) is located in Uzès, right in the heart of the Provence. The house is beautifully renovated and decorated with materials such as wood, stone and metal. I think this is a perfect combination of modern elements and traditional features.

Moroccan riads are always a great source of inspiration. Ryad Sharai is one of the biggest riads in Marrakech. It is hidden behind a weather-beaten door in a narrow street in the Bab Tharzout quarter. A riad is a house with a patio and this gorgeous riad has quite a large patio. It has seven bedrooms, all situated around the patio and the pool. Behind the labyrinth of rooms there is a staircase leading to the terraces. From there you have a magnificent view of the city and the Atlas mountains. The cosy cushions make this place very inviting! Grey can be a bit boring but this color will warm up with a touch of soft pink. These beautiful images are shot by photographer Line Klein. The lovely pink lamps in the image above are from Studio Snowpuppe.

Today some dark colored interiors. I think the dark hues fit the wet and gloomy weather here in The Netherlands. I like these images but I do prefer a bit of color here and there. How do you feel about using darker colors in your home?

I love a beautiful exposed wall. These brick walls give an industrial character to a space. Here some example of an exposed wall in a kitchen, living room and even a bathroom.

Today Japan is known for its minimalism and simplicity because of their Zen culture. But how to make a Zen-home in a girlish style? How to combine calmness and little sweet details? Here is a nice example how to do it. The interior is done in a truly Japanese way: with cherry blossoms, traditional colors, natural wood and simple shapes, nothing bizarre. Despite of it, there are many nice girlish details like pastel colors, beautiful accessories and lots of flowers everywhere. I love the decoration of the wall with hooks. It looks natural and is very functional – you can place shelves or hang some things on them. This interior is an amazing example of exquisite and functional combination of styles.

Teenagers are hard to please, but this gallery of goodies is bound to put a smile on their face; gorgeous spaces for girls, and cool lad pads full of fresh ideas and new colorways. The attention grabbing storage shelves flank every available space, keeping teenage clutter off the floor and schoolbooks at hand when studying.Unfortunately, teenage life can’t always be about going out with friends and having fun, these crucial years are also a time to shape future careers and hone a craft; so here is a wealth of teen workspaces to inspire those developing minds! Via Alex GoreThis laid-back attic space utilizes space up to the rafters to house an extensive selection of literature and reference books, with the desk situated to take full advantage of the largest source of natural light. Ideas for teen rooms are something young people looking to refurbish their rooms seek. We had a request at home-designing and we hope this post would help such people out. This cheerful home design, rendered by Denis Khramov, is littered with colorful hits throughout its pure white decor. Carefully placed base notes of black ground the airy scheme whilst still keeping the overall look refreshing and youthful. Large edgy artwork adorns the gallery white walls, picking up on the homes colorful accessories, such as an extensive book collection and a rainbow of scatter cushions on the sofa. ‘Island Views‘ is an inviting Caribbean villa overlooking a calm ocean scene, and filled with fresh and simple décor, African sapele wood ceilings and artistic lighting.

Add wow factor to your plain walls with these set of tips on creating unusual wall art ideas and altogether unconventional ways to fill up your blank spaces. Via Cream Bikes and ThingsA huge frame makes a masterpiece out of your old bicycle, or a very arty storage space for your current one! Looking as though a half crazed artist has just stormed out of this building in a creative frenzy, this hipster loft from B&B Italia is brimming with colorful imagination and eccentric flair. This clever example of interior layout, by the team at Fertility Design, experiments with the introduction of retractable glass doors within the heart of a home, to divide off rooms for quiet and privacy at certain times of the day, whilst still providing the opportunity of creating a free flowing open plan space when desired. The sliding doors in this example provide a barrier around the home office area for times when total concentration is needed away from the hubbub of the rest of the family home. Born in France and raised in London, stylist Marietta Beasley’s current loft in Atlanta, Georgia blends European style with New York ’70s art colony cool — when she acquired her space 15 years ago she was the first person to get a certificate of occupancy in the downtown area. Now it’s both home and studio, with an every changing collection of inspirating pieces from all over the world.

Designed by architectural trio Mårten Claesson, Eero Koivisto and Ola Rune, Widlund House, located on the Swedish island of Öland in the Baltic sea, looks out onto a mesmerizing vista of everchanging blue sky and water. Built to withstand the often fierce weather — fogs and storms are common here — the house takes full advantage of the view while being a snug retreat when it clouds over. Inside, decor is minimal, keeping the focus firmly on the atmospheric surroundings. A Finnish graphic design couple show that having great taste doesn’t preclude having a mischievous sense of humour as well — their stylish home has a playful touches everywhere. So fun — that plaster hippo head is especially awesome.

Love this gorgeous Stockholm home on the Swedish Fantastic Frankproperty site — unsurprisingly it’s sold, but happily we can still admire these lovely photos.

Built in 1862 in the village of Vedbaek, a port located about 20 kilometres from Copenhagen, this former fishing shack is now a peaceful home for a couple who have opted to raise their children away from the city where they work, so they can enjoy a quieter home life. They commissioned Danish architect Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen, founder of the agency Norms Architect Copenhagen, to expand and modernize their tiny home, with an emphasis on light as a major component of the redesign. The extensive use of white, clever storage, minimal furniture and open spaces makes their house feel far larger than it actually is — even on the greyest days it feels light and airy. Lovely.

With its striking design and easy flow between indoor and outdoor spaces, the Bali, Indonesia home of Valentina Audrito and Abhishake Kumbhat and their two children showcases their work perfectly — in 2005 Valentina and Abhishake founded the Word of Mouth design group, where they create objects, clothes and accessories as well as designing commercial spaces (Valentina is an architect too). Fascinating mix of glam, traditional and modern.

I’m loving Sylvie Rochon’s cheerful Montreal apartment, furnished with great vintage finds — particularly mid century modern pieces (something Sylvie has a real eye for, as the owner of Spoutnik, a vintage furniture shop there). With its crisp white background and fantastic use of colour accessories, her space has a fresh and contemporary feel — it all feels very modern, even when you know almost everything in it is vintage. Lovely.

Artist Carouschka Streijiffert is a Stockholm-based artist who works in a variety of media — painting, sculpture, collage and carpets. When it came to finding a space where she could both work and live, she chose what was originally a series of attic lofts at the top of an early 20th century building — one where the pigeons had taken up residence. After having her application to create roof openings approved, a skylight for the studio and small round windows were installed, while (due to the aging structure of the building) steel beams and poles were put for support and a birch and concrete floor added. When it came to decorating her home, Carouschka chose to play up the industrial style of her space and highlight its interesting architecture. The entire renovation was a lot of work and headaches, but the final result, a lovely, light-filled home that looks out over the rooftops of old Stockholm on the Baltic Sea and Lake Mälaren, is more than worth it.

Love the fantastic use of colour in this bright Victorian end-of-terrace villa in north London — just amazing.

Love this pretty cottage in Mousehole, Cornwall — a converted net loft built in the 1800s on 17th-century foundations. Beautiful soft tones and textures, all with details that reflect the home’s seaside location.

I admire the long term view of Dutch felt artist Paula Leen and her partner Kees Middendorp in the province of Friesland, 80 miles north of Amsterdam — they lived in their home for 16 years before they finally purchased and renovated it. The results are poetic and beautiful.Swedish cinematographer Bengan Widell’s rustic cabin on Gotland is a peaceful retreat from his fast paced career in film — days here are spent either in happy solitude watching nesting eagles and spectacular thunderstorms over the bay, or more socially with visits from his five daughters. His cabin is an old fisherman’s shack, over 100 years old and — after some necessary renovations to replace dilapidated wood walls and ceilings — kept in a simple state. There’s no electricity, as Bengan prefers the soft glow of kerosene lamps at night, and a gas fridge and an old wood burner are the only appliances. Surrounding by stunning scenery, Bengan finds it to be the perfect antidote to a busy life filled with travel and people.

The post Interior Decorating, Home Design, Room Ideas: October 2012 appeared first on Home Design.

from Home Design https://homedesign9.com/interior-design/2012_10_01_archive/

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robertsmonaghan12-blog · 6 years

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The Quintessential Guide to Tubular Fabric

Your piece is going to have the strength of a piece knitted employing a thicker wire, but you'll have gotten there in a more pleasant way! The mold has to be made in two pieces so the original model can be gotten rid of and so that the mold can be full of clay and unmolded. Create a little hole in the upper layer of fabric. A History of Tubular Fabric Refuted Needles aren't shown actual size! Plastic lace doesn't cost much and it's worth buying plenty if you will be braiding lanyards as you will need several inches of plastic lace to make a single inch of braided lanyard and you are able to experiment with unique colours. There are many sorts of knits. If you find a washing machine icon then it is more inclined to be a modern garment. If you're molding a totally symmetrical object, you can set only one alignment key in every corner. Many kinds of bead weaving incorporate geometry to attain the desired effect. The Rise of Tubular Fabric All needles will bend over time, but this may be an asset when seeking to thread through awkward to achieve beads. You are making a circular base for the remainder of the stuffing so the pillow will be tubular. If just a couple of stones were loose, just concentrate on them. Vital Pieces of Tubular Fabric These applications aren't just restricted to clothing eithertechnical textiles are now able to be found in bandages that have enhanced antibacterial properties to minimize the probability of post-operative infections. Happily, there's some flexibility within this, so this desirable mid-ground does still cover a wide array of tensions. The present disclosure provides a battery separator that can be incorporated on all sorts of separator technology. 3D FABRICS 'll need round and flat nose pliers and wire cutters. If you employ the thread just as it is, it is going to affect your tension. When creating a ring, you can set a bead on the tatting needle. Import of Carbon fabrics is now a history. Wood is quite a versatile material that could be painted, dyed, stained, cut and carved to make a wide range of beads to be applied in jewellery making projects. Jewellery making is a varied craft that frequently involves stringing beads and other products. The purchase price tag of the beads just enjoy that of clothes isn't embedded on them. I don't mean to suggest you need to only use certain sorts of beads or thread. Regarding the beads themselves, consider the shape. The Truth About Tubular Fabric Putting this together can be done in several ways. This will allow you to determine the manner of teaching that is suitable for you, and what sort of projects interest you. Mixed Media Art Today, a wide selection of materials can be used to make stunning artwork. Wooden beads are made and used all around the world throughout history. Building a pirate bandana is a powerful approach to boost a pirate costume for a masquerade party. Any material which you can think of and imagine can grow to be a portion of the artwork. Coin dealer is an excellent choice. Beading is a rather common pastime for many men and women. Near Net Shape Preforms enhanced her value for a homemaker. The Advantages of Tubular Fabric Modern-day cellini spirals are created with bold and opaque colours, when compared with the organic translucent themes utilized in earlier decades. Creating something beautiful can be quite therapeutic. While shopping for beads there are specific considerations you should make so that you may wind up getting the perfect kind that will complement your look. Get the Scoop on Tubular Fabric Before You're Too Late All materials it's possible to see in our online shop with fast and trouble-free shipping and tracking system. If you are interested in an amazing place to shop but want an outstanding deal on the merchandise then look no more! The cable provider knows whenever your box is inactive. Furthermore, sizing also varies in various countries like a US size 12 differs from a UK size 12. Length, form and pliability are also considerations and many artists will have preferences. Some colors might be peaceful, while some could be dynamic. With this kind of a number of patterns, these basic hints will open up a completely different world of bead crochet to you! Track down the pattern you prefer to use. It's possible to discover all my absolutely free crochet patterns utilizing flip flops here. Who Else Wants to Learn About Tubular Fabric? Then it's going to be essential to put the design under the hood. Vittoria bike tires are among them. On the other hand, they can also be a nuisance because they may allow the chair to move as you're trying to pull a tray off, or as you put your baby in.

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aureus-ignis · 7 years

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When I was young, I fell in love with the Pokemon series. I loved the RBY and GSC games, I watched the anime on TV every weekend, bought the movies, played the TCG, and collected the PokeSpe manga zealously. But as the years went by, the newer Pokemon games failed to hold my interest, and I soon stopped following Pokemon entirely. Last year, the generation of Alola was announced, and after watching a few trailers, I found myself drawn to the music. The adorable Rowlet also caught my eye, and on top of that, it seemed like the story was going to be interesting. A conservation society full of nice people dressed in white that looked strangely sinister at times? Hell yesssss. So I decided to buy the game... and then I fell deeply in love. Once again I was in Pokemon heaven (or hell).

So when Mei asked me if there was any series we could cos together that'd be fun and simple to do, I suggested Gladion and Lillie, since their costumes are fairly simple (c o u g h). She agreed, and that was the beginning of it all.

I started working on stuff around mid-June this year. People who know me know that accuracy is pretty high on my list of priorities, and I was determined to get the not-very-logical hair of Lillie and Gladion as good as I possibly could. Lillie's problem, of course, was the thickness. She has two insanely fat braids that had to be made up of almost all the hair on a normal human head, yet somehow still has a thick wide mane of loose hair behind her. So I had to spend time wefting as many extra rows of fibre into the wig, and then crafting removable bases for the braids from batting and more wefts.

Testing!

Batting base WIP HAHAHA

And the final result was worth it <3 <3

Next was Gladion. When it comes to the subject of pulled back hair, I've gotten to the point where I can ONLY accept lacefront. Anything else is too fake for me. For me, cosplay has always been about portraying the characters as if they were real, no matter how zany and strange their designs may be. I wanted the hair to look almost as though it grew on me. I ripped out almost the whole front to get rid of the fringe, and sewed in longer wefts, adjusting the direction of the hair to the left so that they would comb back naturally. Then ventilating hell began

Darkness, my old friend, we meet again. ;___; My hooking skills have improved since I first started ventilating, but it's still a long, tedious process. School started before I could finish, and I had to work on everything else too...

The realization that his uncut wig looks like Mercy from Overwatch HAHAHA

But as with Lillie, the final result was worth it <3 <3 <3

With regards to his costume, I'd actually had the hoodie and pants tailored because I ran out of time. I'd wanted just the base made so I can do the rest of the details myself, but the tailor forgot and did everything for me... and ended up messing up the accuracy. It was a disappointment, so much so that after STGCC was over, and we planned to have a shoot at the end of the year... I decided to remake everything from scratch. I'm terrible at patterning, really, and Gladion's biggest problem was THE STUPID GRAVITY DEFYING HOOD. Ultimately I couldn't get it to look exactly like the original (because I didn't want extra seams and all, but it was close enough. And the second time round, all of the holes were in the correct areas HAHAHA.

I'd made his first waistpouch myself, but for some reason, despite my careful measurements, the size turned out far too large the first time. So I had to remake the whole thing a second time. The hardest part is sewing the damn thing together, because I'd had to put two layers of hard inferfacing for each piece and sometimes the needle just wouldn't. Go. Through. OTL In version 2, I had more time, so I paid more attention to getting the shape accurate. The stupid thing tapers towards the bottom and has a curved side. Even more stupid, the strap goes from FAT TO THIN TO FAT for some reason. But I succeeded!

New VS Old

Next was the Z-ring. Gladion's official art doesn't have one, but he obviously wears one in-game. I felt that it was important, because Nanu gave it to him. So I had to dig out references from the game screenshots 8D;;

This is how a lot of my prop drafts look like. ALGEBRA IS MY FRIEND.

Also crafted the Z-crystal thanks to Pythagoras' theorem 8D; I used liquid quartz to glue the clear acrylic sheet together without leaving traces.

Final result! I'm pretty happy with it =>

Before STGCC, there was one more segment that I worked really hard on. After we'd decided to do SuMo together, I thought of making a Nebby plushie for Mei to carry. Yes, Pokemon Center had already released their Nebby plush by then, but... For one, it's smaller than life-size. For another, the shape looks more like a sunflower than a starry cloud. I didn't want it to look like Lillie was just carrying a toy; I wanted to give the impression that Mei had an adorable, soft, beautiful real-life Cosmog. But how on earth would someone with very terrible patterning skills make a 3D cloud plushie that could be dyed for Nebby's distinctive gradient colouring, and still be nice and soft to hug?

The answer is, I struggled.

Set up a spraying booth to airbrush the gradient on. Due to a problem with shipping, I couldn't get my compressor in time, so I ended up having to splurge on compressed air cans, which were horrendously expensive oTL.

BUT LOOK AT THE FINAL RESULT. LOOK AT HIM. <3 <3 <3

Let it also be known that I tested to make sure he could fit inside Mei's bag the moment I finished the base HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-----

So that was part 1 of Project Alola! We went to STGCC together and met lots of Pokemon fans (quite a lot of people were very happy to see Nebby, in particular XD), and Laki offered to come shoot with us as Moon since she already had the costume. We then planned to have our shoot at the end of the year during my holidays.

As mentioned, I'd already planned to remake my entire costume and waistpouch, but aside from that... I had the mad idea that I wanted to make a Silvally prop. It's something I'd considered for STGCC too, but I was really short on time then, and Mei told me to FINISH EVERYTHING ELSE FIRST THEN DO IT IF YOU HAVE TIME.

The problem is... Silvally's official size in the Pokedex is 2.4m. That's 80cm taller than myself. )o) Sure, I could scale him down, make a tiny lap plushie like all the other cosplayers, but what would be the point? Although I'd never cosplayed from the Pokemon series before, I'd always thought that if I were to do so, I'd want to make life-size Pokemon so that it'd look like I actually have a Pokemon partner, and not just a Pokemon toy. But I'd thought then that my projects would be starters like Pikachu or Charmander or Cyndaquil, or maybe one of the Eeveelutions. Not a giant horse-dog like Silvally ^^;;;

I had to consider the fact that my house isn't very big and I'd have barely any space to keep him. I had to consider how I'd be able to transport him, and how to construct him so that I could take him apart. I also had to consider the amount of money I'd be spending on him, because honestly, cosplay is not a cheap hobby. Materials in Singapore are especially expensive. As an unemployed student, I'd be splurging a lot if I decided to go ahead with this crazy project. When I told this to Mei during one of our dinners out, she suggested just making his head and taking halfbody shots so no one can tell that he has nobody. Like a hobby horse, except it's a hobby Silvally.

Good idea.

So when school finished, I started drafting him out, and the basic paper draft itself took like three giant sheets of patterning paper taped together HAHAHA.

The base

Honestly, even though I had an idea of how I'd make him, I wasn't completely sure if it would work. As I've said repeatedly I really, really suck at patterning. I can never seem to envision where to cut darts in a piece of EVA foam to get the shape I want, so half the time I was just taping drafting paper on and folding and taping excess parts off, then that that up for a trial-and-error pattern.

With paper mache and paper draft pattern for the mouth.

That's how large the whole thing is 8D'

Apart from the making of Silvally, I'd also spent time searching for reference pictures and sketching storyboard ideas for our shoot. I went to check out the our shoot location (Sentosa Island) a few weekends back, so that we could decide where exactly we wanted to shoot. In hindsight, there were a lot more shots I could have planned to bring out the personality of our characters more, but oh well ;w;

The shoot itself went pretty well, for the sun was quite kind to us, and hid under clouds for most of the day. Sei's working style is quite different from mine, but she was very gracious and did everything I asked of her. Sakami and Greg were wonderful helpers, and some of my best memories from the day include our hilarious videos, and the shenanigans with the Pokemon.

I've already thanked my wonderful team mates, helpers and photographer in another post, so I won't go into details here. But everyone was very kind and obliging, and listened to all my ambitious plans, allowing me to be a bossy director. I'm very, very grateful to all of them.

So now, a bit of reflection on Silvally, and the whole project.

The patterns for Silvally weren't perfect, and I messed up a lot. The final result was definitely far from what I had hoped for. Most noticeably, the top of the head is bumpy holey because I ran out of gesso to fill and sand. But the proportions also came out a bit off, and the neck piece patterning failed on the right side. But when I finished painting... I felt very, very happy. I'd gotten some small bouts of joy when I finished each stage of the crafting process, when I looked at what I'd done, but looking at the final product was just.... incredible. It wasn't as beautiful as it could have been, and I still regret all the imperfections that are so obvious to my eyes, but....I was so excited. I couldn't wait for the shoot.

Perhaps it was partly because I hadn't really been sure if I'd be able to make things work, so the success tastes that much sweeter. Some of my friends had told me I was crazy. I kept asking myself if I were crazy. All that money and time and pain sunk into a project that I'm not even getting paid for, with a success rate that seemed really low. My mom telling me straight out that I was 'too ambitious'. Was it worth it? Would it have been better to make a smaller, much more perfect prop, than an actual sized, flawed one, with half the effort and money? Cosplay is already an indulgence, but had I crossed the line into foolish waste zone?

When I looked at my completed Silvally, the answer didn't hit me like Mjolnir. I still don't know if it was the right thing to do, or if I was an irresponsible child wasting the money that could have gone into feeding me better food.

But it made me happy. So happy. I nearly cried as I stood there for a few minutes staring at him. He was truly a labour of love. I spent hours spraying gesso and paint because I love Silvally. I spent days sanding until my arms want to fall off and my eyes are dying from dust because I love Gladion. I spent hours cortorted in weird positions with a paintbrush trying desperately to stay within the pencil lines, sweat dripping into my eyes, because I love this art. Sure, the process itself was often painful; I suffered multiple burns from hot glue and a hot iron and cut my fingers open way too many times. I still hate hand-sanding with a burning passion because it's tiring as hell and I get blisters on my oversensitive skin. But the thought that all of the suffering helps to build the final piece of art that I envision makes me grit my teeth and soldier on.

Cosplay is my art, something that I would put 500% of me into. Whether the crafting of insanely large props, or the preparations for the shoot, or the styling of my entire team's wigs, or the endless sewing adventures on plushies.

Because I love it.

#pokemon #my journals

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kireigin-blog · 7 years

Text

Broke Student Art Supply Tips

Are you broke or on a low budget and want to develop your art skills? If the answer is yes, then this blog post and future posts on this topic are for you. This post is collaborative in nature with Jody- Ann Rene. She is a lovely homo-sapien whose vlog and blog posts highlight the struggles of inner city youths. If you are unfamiliar with the term “inner city youth” as most of the students at our college were; it is a rather loose term to refer to youths who live in ghettos or the projects or areas where most families are in mid-level middle class to lower class economic brackes. These groups tend to have tight budgets at times. I had a lengthy conversation with her regarding the fact that there are many artistic youths in these areas. Many of whom like photography and digital arts.

As someone who comes from a mid-level middle class family myself I am no stranger to financial dry spells. In this post I have identified some ways in which someone in this situation, a student or someone who is a bit frugal can develop their art skills on a low budget. Please note that some of my suggestions mainly applies to The Republic of Trinidad & Tobago because this is where I live but at the core they may apply to where ever you live.

As a student, I rarely have enough dinero to drop for high quality art products to develop my skills with and when I do my heart and wallet shrieks out of sheer horror. So there are four core points which apply to the suggestions in this post that I need to get out of the way:

You do not need high quality art supplies to develop your skills.

Make use of more affordable or free substitutes.

Sometimes it is not what you are buying but rather where you are buy it.

Don’t have something? Make your own!

Digital Arts/ Graphic Design

Vector Graphics- There are many cheap and free vector graphic programs out there. But if you are on a really tight budget you may want to consider Gravit Designer. This is a browser and desktop based vector graphic program. So you do not have to install it since there is a browser version, you just need an account and you can access your cloud and art anywhere in the world on most computers. So, if you are between computers, you can use computers at the library, school or even at an Internet Cafe to create your art. I do suggest you invest in a flash drive, so if the internet drops you can easily save your work to the flash. If you have a computer even better for you, you can download the desktop version and use that. I have personally used this program for the past four months and it has saved me a few times. Here is a list of some free vector graphic programs that I have come across:

Gravit Designer (can be used online)

Vectr (can be used online)

InkScape

SVG-edit

Boxy SVG Editor

Image manipulation- Unfortunately I have not been able to locate a browser based , free image manipulation app. Granted these programs cannot compare in performance and features to Adobe and Corel programs they can work well enough while you are learning. Here are some alternatives to photoshop that I have come across.

Gimp

Pixlr

SumoPaint (online editor)

Photoshop Express

Lunapic

iPiccy

FotoFlexer

Digital paintings- Applications like Corel Painter allows persons to paint digitally. So here are some free or affordable alternatives.

Krita

PaintTool SAI

Artweaver

FireAlpaca

YouiDraw (can be used online)

MyPaint

Sketchpad (can be used online)

Photography

You do not need a DSLR to learn & practice the core elements and principles of photography. A “point & shoot”camera, smartphone or tablet can work. When it comes to photography you need to know, understand and practice the principles and elements of photography so you do not need a fancy DSLR to get started. For the practicality of today the easiest device to obtain and use while being cost effective might just be a smartphone. Mind you it doesn’t have to be an expensive brand. There are Blu, Alcatel and Huawei models with good cameras and software. Just keep an open mind in your search and you will find something that works for you.

Tablets

These are not necessary since you can draw on paper and either take a photo of your work or scan it and then redraw/ colour using software and/or your mouse to create digital art. If you really want a tablet however you can start with lower end models like the Wacom Bamboo(pad tablet). Also contrary to popular belief Wacom is not the only good tablet brand there are many other good and more affordable brands (depending on the model) such as:

Huion

Gaomon

Ugee

Xp-pen

iskn

Also did you know you can use a regular tablet as a screen tablet? There are many people opting to purchase an iPad Pro as opposed to expensive screen tablets. Also others like Microsoft Surface, Lenovo Yoga Book and Samsung Galaxy Tablets can be used as screen tablet alternative. Once again keep and open mind, do some research and consider things you normally wouldn’t consider.

Traditional Art

As stated previously you do not need professional grade materials to get started. In Trinidad and Tobago in particular professional grade or higher end brands can torch your wallet, from $60 Acrylic Paint to $1000+ Prismacolor coloured pencils. Here you really have to hunt to find affordable supplies. I will try to help you out in that endeavor as much as I can if you wish. If this aspect of the topic is interesting to you let me know and I will do dedicated posts to art supply hunting in Trinidad. For now I will include a list of some places I go to for affordable supplies and a couple tips to save some cash regarding buying supplies.

Some Places I have gotten some decent quality supplies that didn’t murder my wallet are:

Knowledge Zone ( I kid you not! You need to check these people out)

Charran’s Bookstore

Naipaul’s Bookstore

Arnim’s Framing & Art Supplies

Craft Creators

Art & more

Please Note: While I got affordable things at these stores it does not mean that everything in these stores will be very affordable. It depends on what you are buying and where you are buying it.

Buy in “bulk”

Instead of paying almost $5 per B type pencil ( like 2b - 8b), consider buying them by the box. At Naipaul’s bookstore in Arima I have gotten 12 pencils in a box for just under $20. I tend to buy somethings in bulk like this since my younger relatives also do art and sharing is caring. You can band together with friends or classmates and buy your supplies in bulk and split the times up among each other. My classmates and myself put together and purchased large sheets of illustration board and then divide it among each other also, Mr Arnim was kind enough to cut the board up for us.

Consider mid - low quality supplies

For initial practice avoid buying expensive paints use low to mid quality ones instead. I have seen people online use crayola washable watercolours and do pretty good work. The cheapest watercolour cake set I have come across locally is Winners brand which was just under $10, at Food Basket. I have also seen decent quality Acrylics at Knowledge Zone and Craft Creators (Trincity Mall) for around $40, also I know there are significantly cheaper Acrylic brands but I have not personally tried them yet.

Invest in the long term

Invest in a few good brushes. Yes, the idea is to save money and investing in a few good brushes which can last you almost a lifetime is better than having to constantly buy new brushes. Visit are stores like Art & More and Arnim’s to get good quality brushes. They have friendly staff who will surely help you out.

Brands do not always matter

Instead of always buying high end brand paper pads consider lower end ones. Watercolour paper pads can run you a good bit but you can get a decent quality watercolour pad (160gsm, acid free, A4 sized, 24 sheets) for just $30 at Charran's Bookstore. In the past couple years I have noticed that Charran’s has been carrying more Asian brands in art supplies and stationery which tend to be cheaper than most other brands you see on the market here and they work very well. Also if you want a thick medium sized sketchbook consider Knowledge Zone because you can get those for $50 as opposed to $80 and up that I have seen at art supply stores.

Use art quality when necessary

Do not use art quality supplies unless you have to. For daily practice like gesture studies or observation ( in some cases) you can use a composition book or plain copy paper. If you want something with a little texture or bit thicker consider card stock or even bristol board. Now, I have only personally seen card stock in Excellent Stores and Naipaul’s Bookstore. At Excellent Stores it was under $30 (if I remember correctly) and there was a decent amount of pages for the price. I will double check the price and amount if I spot it again. Also you can use HB pencils and ballpoint pens for practice, both of which you can buy by the box easily.

Make your own supplies

If you don’t have tool sometimes you can just make one. If you are doing pottery you can dig for clay and prepare it. I once that an individual make their own dip pen from plastic bottles and the you-tuber PeterDraws used it in one of his videos. In terms of simpler items like sketchbooks you can make your own easily. There are many tutorials on youtube and other websites for DIY supplies. I personally made my own ink last month based on tutorials on how to make walnut ink. It most definitely was not what I expected but I had fun doing it and I am going to make as many pieces as I can using it.

Education

I am going to stop you right there. Since you are reading this blog post you are aware of the Internet. There are a multitude of free tutorials and open source education resources. So make use of that google and youtube. You can do free courses from recognized universites to develop your skills via online open learning platforms like coursera or the local site knowledge.tt from the University of Trinidad & Tobago.

So you see guys, where there is a will there's a way. Use those big beautiful brains and imaginations of yours, be optimistic and find a way. Heck, if can make my own ink, I am sure you can make something amazing. Until take care and have fun trying new things.

#broke student #affordable art

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