#This is 4 different layers of paint already

[theblehthatbloos]

I apologize that I have not shown the girls glammed out, it was a lack of forethought and follow through on my part. I'll post the ladies new look and the remaining entourage in the future.

Girls night

[trans-xianxian]

want to finish this project so bad but don't want to paint a bajillion panels worth of black hanfu 😭

[meirimerens]

You probably have already made a post about this (in which case I apologize for bothering you) however I really love how you render and color! Do you have any tips?

Hiiii so I probably indeed already answered something like that but it’s probably time for an #update + realized i can put pictures and it would probably help actually. Slay okay.

THE BASICS: have brushes you like. I have my faves, they’re in my #brushes tag (click below), you might also see them on the screen of my paintings in wip lol. Typically i thicken them up for rendering AND, now this is integral to my liking of rendering these days + the look: COLOR JITTERING. In procreate that’s tap brush -> color dynamics and i adjust the stamp & stroke jitter in the « hue » category. I have my fave brushes quadruplicated as thicker No Hue, 3% color jitter, 5%, 13% depending on the desired look. What this does is give intrinsic interest, variation and depth to your colors, and that way you can have more fun when colorpicking. This will come back again later.

STEP 1: a lineart you like. Doesn’t have to be clean tbh some of my fave linearts from current works were quite messy. ALWAYS colored.

STEP 2: on a layer underneath the lineart, put down flat colors. See what % of color jittering brings you the most #joy. I will do flat colors or i will sometimes already define some areas of light and shadows.

^ you can see the subtle color jitter in the « white » of the shirt and the green of that first image. Second is to show the already defined areas; if i know i want a different hue on here. something else for some pizzazz: tint a color with an adjacent one. not really visible in these screenshots but in matador, at some point, i added an orange tint to burakh's sleeve, the one closest to the red cape.

STEP 3: the shadows. On the same layer as above (you can duplicate it before this so you can always come back to it later if you need to redo), put down your shadows; the trick: COLORPICK FROM A PIXEL WHERE THE COLOR OF YOUR LINEART AND THE COLOR OF YOUR FLATS INTERSECT. You might have to recolor your lineart (use the « alpha lock » feature of your layer or something of the sorts) until you’re satisfied; i typically redden it in the face and hands.

STEP 4: put down the highlight. I typically do highlights the complimentary color as the shadow: if shadow bluer, the highlight is redder (-> pinker), etc.

STEP 5: now this is the scary part. Before proceeding if you’re #scared, group your lineart and colors, duplicate the group and merge one of them so you can always come back to them unmerged. MERGE YOUR LAYERS. You heard me. Merge lineart and color. From then on…

STEP 6: render. Render, render… PATIENCE… est mère de sûreté bien sûr. Here’s my secret: I NEVER BLEND. I ALWAYS COLORPICK. COLORPICK where two colors meet and you’ll have the perfect transition color.

tip: always have an all-black layer set to color mode above all layers that you can toggle on and off to check your values.

This is more of a fun thing i like to do even if i haven’t done it often: use some hints of a geometric brush to add interest when using an « organic » brush (or vice-versa, I’d guess, but i rarely render with geometric brushes). Exemples again:

And well Das Preddy Much It… Your Turn Now….. and because i realize a short demonstration is better than a long speech, have a speepvideo of the two pieces I’ve used as exemples one after the other (matador first to 44 seconds in, moschophoros second). the very beginnings are cut because we’re focusing on the above steps.

Your turn……. To play.

[indestinatus]

The silent art of gif making

The gif above has 32 layers plus 6 that aren't shown because this is part of a larger edit. I wanted to share it to give everyone a glimpse of the art of gif making and how long it usually takes for me to make something like this. This one took me about an hour and a half but only because I couldn't get the shade of blue right.

I use Adobe Photoshop 2021 and my computer doesn't have a large memory space (I don't know what to call it) so usually most of psds get deleted because I'm too lazy to get a hard drive. It doesn't really bother me that much because I like the art so when it's done, it's done. Off to somewhere else it goes.

Here are the layers:

Everything is neat and organized in folders because I like it that way. I prefer to edit it in timeline but others edit each frame. There's a layer not shown (Layer 4 is not visible) and it's the vector art. Here it is:

Now it is visible. I don't plan to make this a tutorial, but if you're interested I'd love to share a few tricks about it. I'm pretty new to the colors in gifmaking but the rest is simple to understand. Here, I just want to show how much work it takes to make it.

I opened Group 2 and here's the base gif. I already sharpened and sized it correctly but that's about it. Let's open the base coloring next.

Yay! Now it looks pretty! The edits are in Portuguese but it doesn't matter. There's a silent art of adding layers depending on how you want the gif to look but you get used to it. The order matters and you can add multiple layers of the same thing (for eg. multiple layers of levels or curves or exposure).

This was pretty much my first experiment with coloring so I don't know what I'm doing (this happens a lot with any art form but gifmaking exceeds in DIYing your way to the finished product) but I didn't want to mess up his hair, that's why the blue color is like that. Blue is easy to work with because there's little on the skin (different from red and yellow but that's color theory). I painted the layers like that and put it on screen, now let's correct how the rest looks.

I was stuck trying to get the right teal shade of blue so yes, those are 10 layers of selective color mostly on cyan blue. We fixed his hair (yay!) we could've probably fixed the blue on his neck too but I was lazy. This is close to what I wanted so let's roll with that.

BUT I wanted his freckles to show, so let's edit a little bit more. Now his hair is more vibrant and his skin has red tones, which accentuates the blues and his eyes (exactly what I wanted!). That lost Layer 2 was me trying to fix some shadows in the background but in the end, it didn't make such a difference.

This was part of an edit, so let's add the graphics and also edit them so they're the right shade of blue and the correct size. A few gradient maps and a dozen font tests later, it appears to be done! Here it is:

Please reblog gifsets on tumblr. We gifmakers really enjoy doing what we do (otherwise we wouldn't be here) but it takes so long, you wouldn't imagine. Tumblr is the main website used for gif making and honestly, we have nowhere to go but share our art here. This was only to show how long it takes but if you're new and want to get into the art of gif making, there are a lot of really cool resource blogs in here. And my ask box is always open! Sending gifmakers all my love.

[thriftedtchotchkes]

here in the garden [prologue]

pairing: peeta mellark x f!reader

summary: nearly a week into your unique alliance, you and peeta take a quiet bath after a colorful training session. 8 days remain until the games.

warnings: 18+ MDNI, catching fire era, older victor!reader (4 years), aged-up peeta, secret relationship, platonic!katniss/peeta, sneaking around, fluff, smut, grinding, brief accidental piv, mentions of virginity

word count: 2.5k

series masterlist | a/n: a little taste before we rewind to day 1

Today, it’s shades of green.

Some deep and dark like shadowed leaves in a forest, and others bright and mixed with yellow to mimic sun-spotted blades of grass. It takes a decent amount of scrubbing to remove, and by the time you're finished, Peeta's arms are rosy red to match the flush spreading across his chest.

Paint swirls on the water's surface like an abstract portrait. It's as beautiful staining the walls of the porcelain tub you're bathing in as it was on his skin and just as fleeting.

If it weren't for the sweet boy beneath you, you'd allow that thought to linger. You'd dwell on the shortness of life and lament the brief time you have together before your short lives end. But for so many reasons you never expected to find in this hopeless place, you don't.

Instead, you pretend what you’ve found with Peeta is real and hold it close. You sneak around and find quiet moments away from prying Capitol eyes, seeking solace in private suites and fancy bathrooms just like this.

Here, you're not tributes in the 75th Hunger Games. He's not a star-crossed lover from District 12, and you're not breaking up a relationship that was never real to begin with. There's no one else here to convince. It's just you and Peeta.

For over a week, it's been just you and Peeta, falling asleep in each other's arms and stealing slow kisses in the dark. And though your time is dwindling, he still moves cautiously and with intention. Even now, settled between your legs in this bathtub, he's waiting for permission he was already granted.

He looks up at you, heavy-lidded and content, and you know what he's about to ask. It's been a while since he felt the need to, but today is different.

"Can I touch you?" he asks softly, his hands frozen in place on either side of your waist. He's nervous.

This is the first time he's seeing you naked. Bare skin on bare skin where there's only ever been layers of fabric between you. His cheeks are dusted pink, and you know it's not just the heat and steam in the air.

"Of course. Always," you reply, smiling as you lean in to kiss him. But you hesitate, too. "Can I?"

"Always," he breathes out.

Peeta's the one to close the gap, and his kiss is soft but firm. His lips move deliberately against yours with a hint of that tempered hunger you see in his eyes whenever he looks at you. He coaxes your mouth open eagerly, and when his tongue meets yours, he lets out a sigh of relief and finally allows himself to explore your body.

It's so much more intense than you expected. His hands begin to roam your exposed skin, newfound territory for him to map and memorize, and leave a trail of blazing fire in their wake. Settling under your breasts, he teases the undersides until you're whining into his mouth and swallows the sound proudly.

Because he earned it. He spent the last week acquainting himself with your pleasure, guiding you across his lap or thigh until you came apart in his arms. Discovering where to suck and stroke to make you so wet, you soaked right through your underwear and into his.

Your clothes always stayed on as an extra precaution to avoid getting caught, but you have a sneaking suspicion that wasn't the only reason. Something in his eyes and the careful way he handled you seemed too cautious, maybe even a little shy. But it's obvious now that something's shifted. He needs more. You both do.

He smiles against your lips, cataloging your reaction as he shifts higher and above the water's surface to swipe over your nipples. They're already pebbling from the cooling air temperature, so he tweaks one and swallows that moan, too.

But this time, it's not enough to muffle the sound, and it echoes a little too loudly for the precarious situation you're in. Still toying with a sensitive bud, he pulls away and fixes you with a stern, yet tender look. His lips are distractingly kiss-swollen as he speaks, and you're torn between feeling thoroughly chastised and unbearably turned on.

"Hey, we have to be quiet, okay?" he gently hushes you, kissing your cheek, then the shell of your ear apologetically. "You sound so pretty and I don't want you to stop, but it's too risky."

"But you feel so good," you murmur, cupping his cheeks to bring his lips back to yours. He gives in briefly before parting to rest his forehead on yours.

"I know," he mumbles, nosing into your cheek. "But we can't draw attention to ourselves right now. It's just until we get back to my floor. Be patient."

You pout without meaning to and it makes you feel like a petulant child. "I suck at that and you know it. Let's just go now," you sulk. It's an unfortunate new habit you picked up from one of your stylists, and Peeta entertains it. Usually.

He raises an eyebrow, looking pointedly at the dirt and ash still sprinkled across your forearms and caked under your fingernails. Earlier at the training center, you chose to practice fire starting while he picked camouflage, and now it's coming back to bite you in the ass.

"I don't know whose bed you think you're getting into like that, but it sure isn't mine," he jokes, but you can tell he's dead serious. Eyeing him mischievously, you run your fingers along the bath water and swipe a green line across his cheek.

"Mm, then maybe I should see what Johanna's up to tonight. I bet she likes it a little dirty," you tease him, and he rolls his eyes.

"Hilarious," he deadpans, but the subtle quirk of his lips betrays him. He knows as well as you do that she'd probably take you up on the offer, but tonight, like all the others, you're his. If only you could come to an agreement.

"Okay well, we're clearly at an impasse, so unless you can think of a really great plan to soundproof this bathroom—," you inch forward to tease his cock between your folds, and he sucks in a harsh breath. "—we'll have to sit through an entire bath like this."

"Kiss me," he blurts out, tightening his grasp on your waist to hold you in place. "Whenever it—," you cut him off with a tempting swivel of your hips, and he clenches his jaw, unable to stop himself from bucking into you. "—whenever it feels like that, just kiss me. I'll keep you quiet."

You eye him dubiously. If that didn't work before, what makes him think it'll be any more effective now? Before you can question him, he leans forward and kisses you so deeply, it makes you dizzy.

"Do you trust me?" he asks softly as he cups your cheek, and you nod. Of course, you do. What you don't trust are the paper-thin walls of this bathroom and the Capitolites walking the halls, just waiting to rip all of this away. But him? With your life.

He gives you another lingering kiss in gratitude before replacing his mouth with his thumb, gently swiping across your bottom lip. "It doesn't have to be here," he tells you.

His thumb unexpectedly slips into your mouth and gently presses down on your tongue, encouraging you to suck. You both bite back a moan when you comply without hesitation, and his cock jerks violently against your thigh, but you force yourself to ignore it—for now.

"You can kiss me here," he continues breathily, ducking down to trail open-mouthed kisses along the underside of your jaw, then moves lower to dip his tongue into the hollow of your throat. "And here."

He pulls his thumb free and returns to teasing your nipple, circling the bud tenderly as he continues his path downward. The longer he persists, the more it becomes clear how badly he wants this. How badly he wants you. And he's so convincing, you're starting to believe his solution might actually work.

"I've been waiting to get you alone all day," he mumbles into your skin, and the longing in his voice makes your heart ache. "Please don't make me wait anymore."

Your breath hitches as he nips at your collarbone, leaving a faint mark he knows will fade by morning. But the thought of being marked as Peeta's, even for a short while, solidifies your decision.

"You'll keep me quiet?"

"Yeah, I'll keep you quiet," he agrees breathlessly, meeting your gaze.

"And I can be as loud as I want later?"

His hazel eyes darken enough to make you shiver in his warm embrace. He nods slowly, and there's a glimmer of promise in the darkness.

"You're going to be the death of me, Peeta Mellark," you whisper.

His expression falters. The statement is more dire than either of you are ready to accept. Or maybe you, at least, already have.

"God, I hope not," he replies too honestly.

God, you hope so.

Before that thought can fester, you lurch forward and crush his body into yours, choosing to savor this moment instead. Soon enough, you're lost in how incredible he feels against your lips and chest, heavy and searing hot against your core.

The frantic, needy way his body responds to yours is intoxicating. He kisses you with renewed fervor, gasping softly into your mouth every time you rock into him, caressing and squeezing all of the places he knows you like.

You're already starting to quake in his arms, and it only worsens when he shifts your hips higher to reach where you want him most. Without breaking your increasingly heated kiss, he slides his hands under your ass and positions you so every slide between your folds allows the head of his cock to nudge your clit.

The first thrust sends a jolt straight up your spine. Something loud and desperate threatens to escape you, so you quickly bury your face in the crook of his neck to kiss him like he told you to. But in your panic, you bite him.

It sends Peeta reeling. To his credit, he manages to grit his teeth through the shock, turning his head to groan as quietly as he can into your hair, but the rest of his body isn't as easy to control. His heart rate kicks up, strong enough to feel it pulsing in his cock, and the careful self-restraint he tried so hard to maintain begins to crumble. And that sends you reeling.

No one's ever made you feel like this before. Wet and needy, ravenous with a hunger only he can sate. It's hard to believe he's even real, that you didn't dream him up to cope with your terrible fate.

How is he so perfect? Every part of him, from the thick fingers tensed to their limits at your sides to the flushed-pink apples of his cheeks—he's the most beautiful person you've ever seen.

If you had more time to overthink, you'd probably feel insecure being touched so intimately by a boy like Peeta. But you don't. You just feel lucky.

He's been rock hard from the moment your training gear hit the floor, and now he's grinding into your heat like it's all he's thought about for days. He makes you feel wanted. That's a new feeling, too.

Soft whimpers pass his lips, displacing the steam in the air, and you lean in to capture them in a kiss. Threading your fingers through his hair, you tug him closer, hoping to convey everything you're too afraid to say out loud.

Your tongue tangles with his, and it means you're grateful. Your blunt nails scratch lightly against his scalp, and it means you don't want to let him go. You grind onto him harder, willing him to understand.

His hips stutter in response, but as he whines into your mouth, you realize his movements are getting less and less coordinated. Colorful water torrents over the lip of the tub and crashes onto the floor, giving your mosaic an entirely new canvas.

Matching his erratic pace, you inch up his thighs for more friction, but the new angle throws him off. On his next thrust, he accidentally snags on your entrance, and the head of his cock slips inside you.

Stars burst behind your eyelids. With your last remaining shred of lucidity, you hope his lips are enough to muffle your startled moan because you couldn't have stopped it even if you'd tried.

He jerks back, letting out something guttural before he frantically readjusts, almost like he's trying to avoid letting it happen again. Except, now you know what it feels like to be stretched around him and you want more.

"Peeta," you murmur to get his attention. His eyes meet yours, glassy and unfocused. "I want you to fuck me."

It takes a second to sink in, but when it does, his back goes ramrod straight, and not for the reasons you'd hoped for. He doesn't bury himself inside you like you so desperately wanted. Instead, a barrier is raised, and he looks more conflicted than you think you've ever seen him. You wait for him to explain, fighting not to feel hurt and utterly rejected.

"I haven't—," he starts, then stops, thinking better of it. He shakes his head, still panting as he struggles to collect his thoughts, but curiosity is already beginning to eat away at you. You can't help but wonder what he was about to say and why he chose to keep it from you. When he tries again, his voice is softer, imploring.

"I don't want us to have sex for the first time in a bathroom. You deserve a bed," he says gently, brushing his knuckles across your cheek. "To not be covered in dirt and paint."

The sentiment is sweet and earnest enough to relieve some of your apprehension, but something still feels off. He's not being completely honest with you, and you both know it. But you also know he'll tell you when he's ready, so you don't push him.

After a long moment, he continues, but his words are tinged with sadness and something else you can't quite define.

"We don't...," he hesitates again, and you lean into his touch, letting the warmth of his fingers soothe you. It seems to relax him, too. "We don't have a lot of time left. If this is one of the last good things I'll ever get to experience, I want it to be meaningful. No sneaking around, no worrying about getting caught. Just you and me, making the most of the rest of our lives."

Just you and Peeta.

You feel incredibly lucky again. You don't deserve a boy like Peeta Mellark, but you kiss him anyway, deeply and unhurriedly just like he asked. Because he's right.

Because he's been nothing but kind and generous in the six short days you've known him, and you only have eight short days left. Despite the ticking clock, you haven't felt peace like this since your childhood in 11 before it was stolen away from you.

Peeta gives you that. So, you'll give him this.

He deserves it.

thanks for reading! chapter one coming soon <3 divider by @saradika-graphics

[heli-writes]

Marriage of Convenience, part 10: settling.

Pairing: Yoriichi x you

Summary: Yoriichi's friends think that Yoriichi is too lonely and needs a wife and family to take care of him. They propose a marriage of convenience to a woman who's in need of a husband. The arrangement of the marriage is simple: both parties live their lives as before, y/n takes care of Yoriichi as a wife and Yoriichi keeps unwanted men (and demons) away. Love is not required, friendship is appreciated. However, how detached can one be when living so close to each other?

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11

Series Masterlist

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The safe house is hidden behind multiple layers of wisteria trees. When Yoriichi told her the demon slayers would provide a safe house for them, (y/n) assumed it would be exactly that, a house. She did not expect to find a mansion upon arrival. (Y/n) gapes at the 'house' with an open mouth. 

(Y/s/n) pulls her kimono since Yoriichi already started walking ahead. (Y/n) takes the boy's hand and quickly hurries after her husband. An elderly woman and a young girl greet the small family of three at the entrance. They bow deeply in front of Yoriichi. "Yoriichi-sama. It's a pleasure to have you as our guest.", the elderly woman says before introducing herself and her granddaughter as Rai and Okimi Ubuyashiki. 

"We've already prepared your living quarters for you and your family.", Mrs. Ubuyashiki says as she leads the three of them through the house. 

"We've chosen a place in the East Wing for you. Most rooms there are empty most of the time and only used for injured slayers from time to time. This way you have some more privacy.", Mrs Ubuyashiki explains. 

She slides a door open and leads the three of them inside. It's a spacious room. On one side three futons were laid next to each other. On the other side, there is a small table and some cushions. The walls are decorated with some calligraphy paintings and there are some fresh flowers in a vase on the table. 

"I hope you find this sufficient.", Mrs. Ubuyashiki tells them. 

"It's more than sufficient, it is lovely.", (y/n) tells her. "We're very grateful for your hospitality.", she adds and the three of them bow their heads to Mrs. Ubuyashiki. The woman nods contently and says: "I'll leave you to get settled. Okimi comes back in a while for dinner". The old woman disappears behind the sliding door and (y/s/n) immediately throws himself on one of the futons with a squeak. 

"Don't do that. It's rude.", (y/n) tells him and the boy looks up to her with a guilty look on his face as he wants to say sorry. Yoriichi puts down their luggage and puts the bags in the opposite corner of the futons. 

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door and Okimi brings in a tray with steaming tea and some biscuits. She doesn't say much, just puts down the tray and bows politely. She gives (y/s/n) a small smile when she slides the door closed. 

Yoriichi and (y/n) take a seat at the table and Yoriichi pours some tea for the both of them. Meanwhile, (y/s/n) found the door to the porch and started examining the surroundings of their room. 

"Don't wander off too far," (y/n) warns him, "and don't bother any of our hosts". She looks after him in concern. 

"Don't worry about the boy", Yoriichi comforts her, "the people around here are nice and like children". (Y/n) rubs her temple. 

"They might not be so nice if he makes trouble.", she tells him and picks up her tea cup. 

"(Y/s/n) is not the type of child to create trouble around him.", Yoriichi says softly. (Y/n) takes a sip of the tea. It's way too hot. She wonders if Okimi made it herself, which she finds rather endearing. 

"I know, he's a good and quiet child. But with him not speaking, most people treat him differently and he quickly... Actually, I don't know how to describe it. People are often rude to him because his muteness unsettles them. It's like they push him away because he's different.", she tries to explain. 

Yoriichi nods understandingly. He knows exactly what (y/n) means. He experienced it in his own childhood. "Are you worried about him not speaking?", he suddenly asks her. (Y/n) looks into her steaming teacup. 

"Of course, it worries me he doesn't speak. I mean, clearly, he isn't deaf or mentally disabled. I'm scared it's something medical that eventually affects more than just his voice. I'm even more scared that it's the trauma he experienced when his parents died. ", she says furrowing her brows. 

"Is that possible? That children don't speak because of trauma?", Yoriichi asks. 

(Y/n) hesitates, then carefully says: "I think. So far I've seen only traumatised adults. Sometimes they temporarily don't speak due to shock. Usually, when the shock wears off, they slowly start speaking again and other trauma symptoms become prevalent." Yoriichi bobs his head in thought. 

"Do you want him to speak?", he asks her. (Y/n) shrugs. 

"I mean it would make communicating with him simpler. He could tell us exactly what he wants and thinks. But it's not like I don't understand him. It's the others that don't understand him.", she tells him. 

"You're his mother, you know him best. It's sometimes hard to understand other people even though they speak if you don't know them well enough.", Yoriichi replies. (Y/n) warms her hand on her teacup. 

"Exactly. What if something happens to me? Or you? Then nobody will really understand him. What then?", she asks and the sound of desperation lies thick underneath her voice. Yoriichi puts a hand on her shoulder and rubs it carefully. 

"Don't think like that. We're safe here. Nothing will happen.", he says. Suddenly he has a bad consciousness for bringing up (y/s/n)'s muteness. He was only interested in her opinion. He didn't know such deep feelings were connected to it. (Y/n) wipes her eyes. 

"That's now. But what about in 20 or 30 years? I won't be around forever to be his outside voice for him.", she sniffs. Yoriichi shifts closer to her and wraps an arm around her. (Y/n) thankfully accepts his embrace. 

"He'll find his outside voice.", he reassures her. 

"How can you be so sure about that?", (y/n) asks back. 

"Because I found mine.", he replies softly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Life at the safe house is slow. (Y/n) tries to help with chores and tasks as well as she can but Mrs. Ubuyashiki is being a good host and does not let (y/n) work too much. Being used to work, y/n finds her days quite empty. She uses the time to teach (y/s/n) reading and writing. But soon the boy gets bored by the endless repetitions of the same letters. He much rather play with Okimi. The two children get along well. Okimi doesn't seem to care much about (y/s/n)'s muteness and (y/n) likes to watch them fondly while they play in the garden.

Yoriichi isn't much around. It seems as if demon activity did not only rise around their little cottage but all over the place. Most nights he's away slaying demons and (y/n) is left alone in the dark. She finds herself wishing that Yoriichi was around more often. Actually, she has to admit that she misses him. Some nights she wishes she could hear him breathe in the darkness. During particularly lonely nights, she wished she could sneak into his futon and rest her head against his chest so that she could feel his warmth and soft skin under her hands. 

She knows it's a bit silly. Sure, things have shifted between them. She'll probably won't forget how his soft lips grazed hers. Still, Yoriichi never mentioned that night since it happened. She's not sure if it's due to his stoic nature or because he feels uncomfortable to talk about it. Or maybe he regrets it, a nasty voice in her head keeps saying. That alone is another silly thought. Everyone who knows Yoriichi knows that he doesn't act rashly or in the spur of the moment. Yoriichi always acts with intent, calm and determined. There's no doubt Yoriichi knew exactly what he was doing when he told her these things and kissed her.

(Y/n) lets out a deep sigh as she finishes folding the laundry. (Y/s/n) looks over to his mother curiously. (Y/n) waves him towards her and makes him put away the fresh laundry. The sun has just set and Yoriichi left some time ago. After dinner, most residents retired to their own rooms. (Y/n) just finished tidying up a bit as (y/s/n) played with some toys in the other part of the room. After the boy puts away the laundry, (y/n) tucks him into his futon and bids him good night before laying to rest as well. She lays awake in the dark for some time before finally drifting off to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Loud voices and yelling disturb her slumber. People are running up and down the hallway. (Y/n) sitting straight upward within seconds. She almost headbutts (y/s/n) when she shoots up. The boy was sitting by her side clutching her bed sheet in his hands. He must've gotten up before (y/n) and tried to alert her. If (y/n) wasn't so distracted by the commotion outside, she'd worry over the panic-stricken eyes of her son.

Within seconds, (y/n) quickly pulled a kimono over her shoulders, letting it hang loosely over her sleepwear. On her bare feet, she grabs her son's arm and pulls him towards the door. For a moment, she hesitates. There are no sounds of fighting, so it must be safe to put her head out of the door.

When (y/n) peers through the door, two kakushi run past it and (y/n) catches a glimpse of an injured demon slayer on a stretcher. Okimi rushes after them, but (y/n) is quick to get a hold of the girl.

„What's going on here?“, she presses the girl for answers.

„A big demon attack“, Okimi pants, „Many slayers got injured.“

„I've got a medical education. Tell me where to go.“, (y/n) immediately says and Okimi points her towards the hall at the end of the floor where they are piling up the injured in a makeshift hospital ward. When Okimi wants to run off in the same direction, (y/n) stops her again. 

„I need you to look after (y/s/n). Please stay in our room with him.“, she tells Okimi sternly. The girl almost immediately protests, but (y/n) quickly adds: „You're a bit older than him. I trust you are taking this responsibility seriously.“

On her way to the hall, (y/n) thinks of the slayer she saw earlier. It's not a sight for children. She understands that Okimi wants to help but it is better to let the adults handle this. Sights like this will haunt you in your nightmares. (Y/n) knows what she's talking about.

 At the makeshift hospital ward, (y/n) gets in touch with the leading healer. It doesn't take long until she's in a white gown treating patients. However, she refrains from stitching wounds or other surgical tasks. She's not a doctor and knows what lies outside of her competence. Instead, she's quick to clean wounds with antiseptic, applying salves and handing out anti-inflammatory medicines.

That is until the first poison victims start to come in. Convulsing victims with purple skin are brought in and laid upon empty futons. She can see the desperation on the other healers's and nurses's faces. A poison can only be treated with a precise antitoxin. If the poison is a neurotoxin, things look bad. The neurosystem can shut down within minutes. (Y/n) hands her tasks over to a younger nurse and rushes towards the poison victims. She takes quick notes on the symptoms they are experiencing and narrows down to what kind of poison they are dealing with. While taking in the sight, she makes her way to the head healer.

„Where do you make your medicine around here? And how well are you stocked?“, (y/n) asks quickly. The head healer looks are her irritatedly. 

„We don't have time to make more medicine. Can't you see what we're dealing with here?“, the woman exclaims. 

„I know exactly what we are dealing with here and if you want to give these men a fighting chance, you better put me to work. There are four different antidotes we can try out with a poison like this, but they won't do anything if the men are already dead.“, (y/n) tells her harshly. 

Usually, she would've been a bit friendlier but the pressure is getting to her. The woman's eyes widen and she starts barking orders around. Within minutes y/n is standing in a pharmacist's workshop with two kakushis subordinated to her. They get to work immediately and (y/n) keeps shouting orders at the kakushi while working on two different things at the same time. (Y/n)'s brain and hands are performing at absolute excellence tonight. It's the responsibilities of these men's lives that keep her focused and her mind from wandering off to Yoriichi who is still fighting somewhere in the dark of night.

By the end of the night, the small team manages to produce a variety of antitoxins. Unfortunately, by then almost half of the men who got poisoned had already passed. The remaining men however could be stabilized thanks to (y/n)'s antidotes. While the kakushis and nurses in the room sigh in relief when one of (y/n)'s productions starts to take effect, it doesn't feel like a win to (y/n). If she would've been able to take her supplies with her, this could've been avoided. As a poison brewer, one always keeps the most necessary supplies for antitoxins around. 

(Y/n) is utterly exhausted when the sun finally shows its first rays beyond the horizon. She slumps against a door frame sitting outside on the porch. The soft sunlight tickles her skin but she feels too numb to enjoy it. She knew being a demon slayer was dangerous – of course, she saw what demons were capable of firsthand. Still, seeing all these injuries and seeing so many people pass left an impact on her. 

(Y/n) sighs and massage her own neck. She's exhausted and drained – both physically and emotionally. (Y/s/n) is probably already waiting for her. She's sure he didn't fall asleep tonight. (Y/n) stretches her face towards the rising sun. The soft sunrays prick her skin. 

She wonders where Yoriichi is at the moment. Most likely, he's still on the battlefield. Fighting these monsters until they flee the very sun that caresses her skin so softly. (Y/n) crunches her eyebrows. Hopefully, he isn't injured. Since he wasn't brought here tonight he's probably fine. Well, at least he doesn't have any life threatening injuries.

(Y/n) stays in the sun for a few more moments before getting up. Her limbs feel heavy and stiff. She really needs some sleep. As she drags herself back to their room, she listens intently. The buzz of the night has slowed down. There are still some healers taking care of patients, but many others try to get some rest. Those slayers who didn't make it through the night were put down outside the main house. Those who did survive most likely are sleeping in a drugged slumber right now.

When (y/n) arrives at their room, she carefully slides the door open in hopes that the two kids are sound asleep inside. That turns out to be partly true. Okimi lies spread out on (y/s/n)'s futon with closed eyes. She looks as if she tossed and turned until sleep took her. (Y/s/n) lays next to her burying his face into the pig plushie Yoriichi won for him. The moment the door slides open, (y/s/n) raises his head, looking expectantly at the entrance of the room. 

After (y/n) entered the room and slid the door shut, the boy gets up and finds his way to her. He clings to her leg. (Y/n) pats his head and crunches down to him. 

„You can't sleep, (y/s/n)?“, she asks the boy while softly touching his cheek. (Y/s/n) finds his way into his mother's arms. (Y/n) strokes over his back and leads him back to the futon. Quickly, she pulls out her own futon and changes clothes. She slides under the blanket and lets her son slide into the futon with her. 

(Y/n) doesn't bother to tell (y/s/n) good night, she's too tired to hold any kind of conversation right now. Sleep overtakes her within seconds. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When y/n wakes up again, the sun is already high in the sky. (Y/s/n) is awake but still cuddled into her side. Okimi is nowhere to be found. (Y/n) yawns and stretches. I guess she must've already woken up and left, she thinks.

Slowly, (y/n) gets up as well. She feels groggy and hungry. (Y/s/n) slides out of the blankets as well. (Y/n) gets some fresh water for them to clean up. Once she's dressed properly, she starts looking for fresh clothes for (y/s/n). While she's helping (y/s/n) into the fresh clothes, there is a knock on the door. After (y/n) called for the visitor to come in, the door slides open. She half-expected Yoriichi to enter the room, but she's mistaken. 

It is Rai Ubuyashiki entering the room alongside a younger woman who also wears clothes with the Ubuyashiki crest. Y/n guesses that it is the wife of Master Ubuyashiki himself. She hasn't met the Master or his wife yet even though they reside in this mansion as well. Yoriichi told her that the Master is very sick and only participates in important meetings. His wife Yuko always sticks by his side tending to him. 

(Y/n) quickly gets up and greets them in a deep bow.

„Good morning, Mrs. Tsugikuni.“, the younger woman greets her. (Y/n) almost blushes upon hearing her call her by Yoriichi's name. It's true that it's now her own name as well but it still sounds foreign to her.

„Good morning, Mrs. Ubuyashiki. What brings you here on this sad morning?“, (y/n) asks. The woman gives her s restrained smile. She understands what (y/n) is implying. What is she doing here talking to (y/n) when there are probably a lot more important people to talk to after the tragedy of tonight?

„I won't take up much of your time.“, Yuko says, „I'm only here to deliver a message.“

(Y/n)'s ears perk up at that. A message? To her? Is it about Yoriichi? Sweat starts to form at the back of her neck.

„My husband wishes to speak to you. He invites you to have tea with him this afternoon.“

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

[Please comment beneath the last update if you'd like to be tagged in future chapters]

[syaolaurant]

I couldn't sleep last night my head hurts 🥲 (no I'm not stressed just drank too much milk tea yesterday haha...BUT I LOVE MILK TEA DAMN IT!)

So here you are my watercolor process for "Sun Light" as promised ~~

1 - Sketches: This is already the clean sketch. Before that I need to take in-game screenshots ⬇️⬇️ & brainstorm the characters and their poses in a separate sketchbook. I mostly use colored mechanical pencils for clean sketches because don't smudge much compared to graphite ones.

2 - Color the base: I started with painting a base color layer, using wet-on-wet technique and mixed a generous amount of water with yellow for the large area, light blue for the serpent and green for Seb & Omi uniform. Here I also use less paint for the sun light area. 3 - Use more color on darker areas: When painting I always try to think how the light source interacts with the characters and objects, and use thicker/darker color on areas that not exposed to the light. I have to wait for the first layer to be completely dry, and from now I use wet-on-dry technique otherwise the color will be blended everywhere.

4 - Add more layers: Here I just added more layers, with intense colors for details, pattern and shadows. I think the basic of watercolor is "applying layers" (sounds like digital but kinda different haha).

Step 4: finish all the details and lines.

5 - Line works : Once I am finished with the color I moved on to lining. I used my 0.5 brush with black color for the window (since the frame is also black in game) and other details with matching color but darker tone.

6 - Finishing touch: Here I'm almost done with everything, for the finishing touch I decided to add more highlights using white watercolor (white gel pen is also ok) on small areas where the light touches the characters.

.

I think I'll have to make another painting process sharing since this was done in a rush and the photos I took were terrible 😭😭 If anyone have any tips please feel free to share I WOULD BE VERY HAPPY TO KNOW oh and my ask box is still open 😭❤️❤️

[kokushibosbestie]

Meet タチマリ・ヤスオ, Tengen's Son ☁︎

A/N: I LOVE YASUO SO MUCH ALREADY IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY. But seriously, this oc is everything I wish I could be. This is an oc that was solely created to be an s/o for @matthew-knyshait's oc, but I've grown so attached. `(*>﹏<*)′

• Full name: Yasuo Tachimari / タチマリ・ヤスオ • Gender Identity: Cis male, femboy ? - Pronouns: He / Him • Romantic Preferences / Sexuality: Gay / Homosexual - Ship / Romantic Interest: Maitsu Gahamoki (@matthew-knyshait's oc) - Species: Human • Birthday: December 14 - Zodiac Sign: Capricorn -------------------- • Age: 14 y/o -------------------- • Personality Traits: Understanding // Kind // Loving // Cheerful // Lovable // Caring // Extrovert // Tanjiro Type (reference to S.4) -------------------- • Appearance: Darkly colored skin, four pupils with two in each eye, light blue hair, painted nails - Hight: 5'2" - Weight: 124 lbs. (56.2455 kgs) - Body Type: short, small -------------------- • Hair Color: Light blue || #ace4fa - Hair Length: Short, side swept - Hair Condition: Sharp looking, soft -------------------- • Ocular Color ( Eye Hue ): Light pink || #FFB6C1 || Brown || #300418 -------------------- • Usual Style / Outfit: Work - Demon Slayer Uniform // An altered white male uniform top, dark bluish-purple puffy shorts + large bow tied in back + beltish thing around hips || dark blush-purple sailor style scarf with yellow tied bow + golden purple gem earrings + bow hachimaki headpiece + tan boots with white lacing || Haori is placed over shoulders and has two layers consisting of the top layer, a large dark bluish-purple drape with golden accents that falls just to the upper calf in back but only to the upper thighs in front + the lower drape, a smaller grey drape with Japanese Text in gold accents all over it • Ranking: Kinoe - Breathing Style: Cloud Breathing -------------------- • Activity / Hobbies: Doing really anything with Maitsu involved. Hanging out with his stepmothers, Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma. Ex: Letting Suma do different hairstyles and makeup looks on him / Making food with Hina / Training with Makio. - Pet(s): Kasugai crow named "Yaoi" • Extra Information: He was adopted by Tengen before S.2.

Official Appearance:

Taisho Era Secret: Yasuo used to have a crush on Muichiro because Tengen introduced Yasuo to all the Hashira. Though, Muichiro never showed much interest in being Yasuo's friend, so he naturally stopped liking him.

BONUS: Yasuo is cis male, but does like girly things and is currently trying to grow out his hair. Tengen doesn't know this yet, but Makio does. (I'll explain how this happens later on!)

AHHHHHHHHHH @matthew-knyshait I LOVE THIS SO MUCH! LET ME KNOW HOW YOU LIKE HIMM!!!! <3333

@ayunakatsukiwolfhashira @stellapuffs @kitkat-moon @mitsuriswingwoman @giyuus-little-helper @giyuuswifey @larz-barz This is NOT proofread, please forgive any grammatical errors I may have. DISCLAIMER: NONE OF THE ART / PICTURES USED ARE MINE. ALL CREDITS GO TO RIGHTFUL OWNERS.

[annawayne]

TOP 10 favourite AA fanfics?

Hello!

Thank you for asking me too, since I saw the answers from the dear comrades in AA fandom, and I'm very touched you also asked me. Thank you!

As for TOP, it's going to be my subjective taste and, sorry, more than 10, so without further do, in no particular order:

The whole AruAni in Fort Salta, with the leading role of Village By The End of The World by @moonspirit. The true treasure for the AruAni fandom, but, in my opinion, even for the whole AoT fandom as an incredible and impressive post-canon tale.

Phenomenally written with complex, layered narration and excellent character analysis and exploration of various topics - outside and inside, past and present, and the sheer beauty of human lives with all the struggles, traumas and nightmares, tangled with the incredible moments of mundane and peaceful life. This story makes you love this life and see the beauty in the smallest of things - both the characters and the readers.

(but honestly, read all Moon's works)

Black Water and the whole collection by @distortedclouds

A very precise dive into Annie's (and Armin's) relationships through the lens of the family - Annie's father and the one Armin and Annie try to build on their own. It's a fresh and solid exploration with a fantastic character analysis without any restrictions - raw and honest, in all glory. Fantastic style, impressive depths, and a story that leaves a huge impact.

Little Bird by @aquietjune is, perhaps, one of the best Annie-centric fics ever written with a unique post-canon setting and a very sharp, in the most wonderful ways, writing style, that immediately steals you away from this world, and you're caught hostage by June's imagination and mysteries.

Legends by @mimiwrites2000 is an impressive, emotional rollercoaster of canon-divergence with heart-wrenching twists and a beautiful writing style that makes you feel longing for something that you don't even know a name. I would describe this fic as "bittersweet nostalgia".

(just like with Clouds and Moon, go and read everything, honestly)

By Each Crime and Kindness (I'm bound to you) by @aruanimess, in my opinion, is one of the best Cadets AruAni stories I've ever read - the story holds the tense melancholy of the canon with the bittersweet moments of adolescence which was forced to live and to love in their cruel world. But the world is also beautiful, and, I suppose, this is exactly what this story is about.

on the path that led me to you by @the-last-thread-of-my-sanity is another perfect example of one of the best Cadest AruAni fics, in my opinion. Very honest, and fragile, just like the first love and the first leaves in the spring, story, that, however, holds a very deep analysis of AruAni moments during their time as Cadets - and what lies beneath the surface.

The Difference Between Us by @/BreakingSanity - maybe, the most unique AruAni fic ever written. I mean, where else would you find Human!Annie and... Tiny!Annie 4 inches tall romance with unique, complex story-building and universe, plot twists and a lot, a lot of emotions? The story hooked you just from the very first chapter.

Wait By The Ocean by @/SirCookieton is absolutely stellar exploration of the grief and denial, love and hope, that is already doomed from the start, but the sheer longing, the raw emotions that etched every word through the course of the story, leave huge scars in your heart as a reminder that, sometimes, the most difficult part is accepting the inevitable.

Nothing Sweeter Than You, A Perfect Love by @dude-why-3 are my personal favourites and the stories that are very dear to my heart. This is a magical tale of star-crossed lovers in a Romanian village, set in the 1950's, and these stories are a wonderful example of how to write romance stories in general. But let me also mention Who painted the sky? - a story that granted me an experience I never had, but it's so well-written, that it feels like I experienced something like this. It feels like a memory from a summer.

A Force To Be Reckoned by @luciensdefenseattorney a solid historical AU, with mysteries, tension and great background stories! And as for the similar vibe, I would also mention The Viscount and His Silent Ballerina by @/cherriesinmoonlight

These City Lights by @annieleonhardt was one of the first AruAni fics I ever read, and it's still one of my favourites, even if it's not finished. Silent movie director Armin and silent movie actress Annie, set in the early 1920's? Yes, please.

Tater Tots & Heavy Thoughts by Anonymous is still one of the most honest, of the most delicate stories I've ever read, written with a lot of care, attention and love for the details. This story had a huge impact on me, and it still has, so if you want to dive into a fantastic character study through the perspective of some very heavy topics which are explored with a lot of care - this story is exactly for this.

Coveted by @/honeyriot is a majestically written exploration of intimacy and how two ruined souls find solace in each other embrace. 11 chapters of sensuality, honesty, bravery and vulnerability.

On freer seas by @/astralcrow is a very solid Pirate AU, with incredible and stunning world-building, great character analysis and development, and the tension that don't leave you several weeks after you finish this mind-blowing story.

And, some incredible oneshots I really liked a lot:

Tangerine Skies and Muffled Cries by @midnightraine131

A River, An Ocean by @yourmaejesty

Dawn by @/aikrm

okay by @lunamoon1233

Deep Cuts by @dude-why-3

A glimpse of us. by @/Decoii

invisible strings by @diam-etrical

If our love is tragedy why are you my remedy? by @aruxani

But let me summarize that eveyone who creates in AA fandom is incredible, and I'm forever grateful for all the content we have in fandom.

You all are wonderful and thank you a lot!

[kookienooki]

Melodies of Seduction | Ch. 4

❀ summary: With platinum albums and millions of adoring fans, Yeon-jin thought she knew exactly where her music career was headed. But when her manager drops an unexpected bombshell—BTS' golden maknae Jungkook wants to collaborate on an R&B album—her carefully planned world spins into beautiful chaos.

Between late-night recording sessions, stolen glances across the studio, and harmonies that seem to sync with more than just their voices, Yeon-jin finds herself composing a different kind of song altogether. One that could either launch her to new heights of stardom or leave her heart in free fall.

The question is: in an industry where every move is scrutinized and romance is taboo, can two of K-pop's brightest stars risk it all for a love that wasn't part of the production plan?

❀ pairing : idol!Jungkook x idol!oc

❀ genre: idol AU, romance, angst, fluff, eventual smut, im not sure what else

❀ rating: 18+

❀ word count: 2,314

Previous Chapter • Next Chapter

Chapter 4: Beneath the Surface

The morning sun painted Seoul's skyline in shades of amber and rose as Yeon-jin made her way to BigHit's headquarters. The familiar weight of her laptop bag and the thermal mug of green tea in her hand had become part of her daily ritual over the past few weeks. She found herself arriving earlier each day, anticipating the creative energy that seemed to fill the studio whenever she and Jungkook worked together.

They had developed a routine. Morning sessions at BigHit, afternoon sessions at her studio. The schedule hadn't been planned—it had evolved naturally, like everything else about their collaboration. The corporate polish of BigHit's facilities contrasted sharply with the lived-in comfort of her personal workspace, but somehow, they managed to draw inspiration from both environments.

Today, like every other morning, Jungkook was already there when she arrived. He sat cross-legged on the studio floor, acoustic guitar in his lap, humming softly as his fingers danced across the strings. His hair was slightly disheveled, as if he'd been running his hands through it while working out a particularly challenging progression. A half-empty americano sat forgotten beside him, probably cold by now.

Yeon-jin had discovered early on that Jungkook was a morning person, arriving with an energy that both impressed and exhausted her. The contrast between their natural rhythms had become something of an inside joke—she'd often tease him about being disgustingly cheerful before sunrise, while he'd mock-complain about her dependence on caffeine to function before noon.

"You're here early," she said, setting her things down and settling into her usual spot on the comfortable leather couch that occupied one corner of the studio.

He looked up, that characteristic bright smile lighting up his features. "Couldn't sleep. Had this melody stuck in my head." He played a few bars, a haunting progression that somehow managed to sound both melancholic and hopeful. "What do you think?"

Yeon-jin closed her eyes, letting the music wash over her. Already, her mind was filling in harmonies, layering possibilities. "Play it again," she requested, reaching for her notebook.

This was how their best work usually started—with these organic moments of inspiration that they'd build on together. Jungkook would bounce between instruments—guitar, piano, even the drums occasionally—humming new melodies and scribbling lyrics in his worn notebook. His creativity was infectious, pushing her to explore new vocal techniques she'd never considered before.

"Try it with more of that pansori technique," he'd suggest, eyes lighting up when she'd add traditional flourishes to modern R&B runs. "That's it! Now let me try to match that..." He'd immediately start adjusting his own vocal approach, finding ways to complement her style while maintaining his own distinctive sound.

The hours would slip by as they worked, their different approaches creating a dynamic that somehow just clicked. Yeon-jin was methodical, wanting to perfect each section before moving forward. She'd spend hours fine-tuning a single phrase, adjusting the melody until it felt exactly right. Jungkook, on the other hand, preferred to capture the raw emotion first, arguing that too much polish early on could strip away the authenticity of a piece.

"But don't you want it to be perfect?" she'd asked him once, after he'd insisted on keeping a slightly rough note in one of their recordings.

"Perfect isn't always better," he'd replied, rewinding the track to the moment in question. "Listen to that slight crack in your voice there—it tells a story. It makes the listener feel something. Sometimes the imperfections are what make a song real."

Their contrasting styles created a perfect balance, though it sometimes led to passionate debates. Today was one of those days. They'd been working on the bridge of their latest song for hours, and frustration was starting to creep in.

"The bridge needs something more," Jungkook insisted, running his hands through his hair in a gesture she'd come to recognize as a sign of his creative restlessness. He moved to the piano for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon.

"It's already complex enough," Yeon-jin argued, massaging her temples. "Sometimes simple is better. We don't want to overwhelm the listener."

"But it doesn't feel complete." His fingers found the keys again, playing the section with subtle variations. "It needs... I don't know. Something that speaks to both our styles. Something that bridges the gap between traditional and modern, just like our voices do."

She watched him work through variations, struck by how different he was from his public image. Here, there was no perfectly polished idol, no carefully managed superstar. His designer clothes were replaced with comfortable hoodies and worn jeans, his carefully styled hair often messy from hours of concentrated work. Here, he was just an artist, vulnerable in his pursuit of perfection.

The sunlight streaming through the studio windows caught the dust motes dancing in the air, creating a ethereal atmosphere that matched the intimate nature of their work. Yeon-jin found herself studying his profile as he played, noting the intense concentration in his expression, the way his brow furrowed slightly when he hit a chord that didn't quite match his internal vision.

"What if..." she began, moving to sit beside him on the piano bench. Their shoulders brushed as she reached for the keys, playing a modified version of his progression. "What if we took that traditional element you mentioned earlier, but instead of making it obvious, we wove it through the background?"

Her fingers demonstrated what she meant, adding subtle flourishes that echoed traditional Korean music while maintaining the modern structure they'd established. Jungkook's eyes widened as he caught her vision, and soon his hands joined hers on the keys, building on her idea.

They worked like that for another hour, so absorbed in the music that they didn't notice the shadows lengthening across the studio floor. It was only when Jungkook's stomach growled loudly that they realized they'd worked through lunch again.

"We should probably take a break," Yeon-jin suggested, trying to ignore the way her skin tingled where their arms had been touching. "There's that new fusion place around the corner we've been talking about trying."

During their breaks, they talked. About everything and nothing. These conversations had become as important to their creative process as the actual music-making. He told her about his dreams beyond music—his interest in photography, his desire to direct someday. His eyes would light up when he talked about the music videos he wanted to create, the stories he wanted to tell through visual media.

"I've been taking classes online," he admitted as they settled into a corner booth at the restaurant. "Film theory, directing, that sort of thing. The members tease me about it, but..." He shrugged, a slightly self-conscious gesture that reminded Yeon-jin that despite his massive success, he was still young, still finding his way.

"That's amazing," she said sincerely, watching him relax at her words. "It takes courage to pursue new dreams when you're already successful in one area. People expect you to stay in your lane."

"Exactly!" His enthusiasm was infectious. "But why should we limit ourselves? Music, visual art, performance—it's all connected, isn't it? It's all about telling stories, making people feel something."

She shared stories about her early days in the industry, the struggles and triumphs that had shaped her. She told him about the tiny apartment she'd shared with three other trainees, about practicing in stairwells because they couldn't afford to rent proper rehearsal spaces.

"I actually saw you perform once," he admitted later that evening, back in her studio where they'd relocated for their afternoon session. "You were doing a university festival in Busan."

"Really?" Yeon-jin tried to remember that period of her career. It felt like a lifetime ago, when she was still trying to find her voice, still figuring out who she wanted to be as an artist. "That must have been... what, 2015?"

"2016. Spring." His memory was surprisingly specific. "You sang that ballad about the lighthouse. I was in the back of the crowd, but I remember thinking your voice was unlike anything I'd heard before. The way you mixed traditional techniques with contemporary pop... it was revolutionary."

The detail touched her unexpectedly. "That song almost didn't make it onto the album. The company thought it was too traditional-sounding." She smiled at the memory. "I had to fight for it."

"That's what made it special." He looked at her intently, and something in his gaze made her heart skip. "You've always pushed boundaries, even back then. You never let anyone put you in a box."

These moments of connection became more frequent as the weeks passed. They discovered they had the same favorite restaurant in Busan, a tiny place near Gwangalli Beach that served the best dwaeji gukbap in the city. They both loved horror movies but couldn't watch them alone. They shared the same peculiar habit of writing lyrics from bottom to top when stuck on a particular verse.

"We probably crossed paths a hundred times," he mused one evening, both of them sprawled on the studio floor, surrounded by crumpled paper and half-empty water bottles. The sun had set hours ago, painting the room in soft shadows. A demo of their latest song played softly through the speakers, their harmonized voices creating an intimate atmosphere.

"And now here we are," she replied, not quite meeting his eyes. The air felt charged somehow, heavy with unspoken words. She was acutely aware of how close they were sitting, how the late hour and the darkness seemed to create a world that existed only for them.

"Do you believe in fate?" he asked suddenly, turning to face her. His expression was unusually serious. "Like, all those near-misses over the years... were they leading to this moment?"

The question hung between them, weighted with possibility. Yeon-jin thought about all the choices that had brought them here—every decision, every setback, every triumph. She thought about the young boy who'd watched her perform in Busan, and the accomplished artist sitting beside her now. "I believe in music," she said finally. "It has its own way of bringing people together."

He smiled at that, a soft, genuine expression that made her heart skip. "That's a very songwriter answer."

"Well, I am a songwriter."

"You're more than that." His voice was quiet but intense. "You're... you're someone who understands. Not just music, but..." He trailed off, searching for words. "Sometimes I feel like I've known you for years, even though we've only been working together for a few months. Is that crazy?"

The honesty in his voice made her breath catch. "No," she said softly. "It's not crazy at all."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, letting their latest recording play through. The song they'd been working on all day was about missed connections and second chances, about two people who kept orbiting each other until the timing was finally right. Yeon-jin couldn't help but wonder if they'd been unconsciously writing their own story.

"We should probably call it a night," she said finally, her voice not quite steady. The intensity of the moment was becoming overwhelming, and she needed space to think, to process the emotions that were becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Jungkook nodded, but neither of them moved immediately. The last notes of their recording faded into silence, leaving only the soft hum of the studio equipment and the distant sounds of the city outside.

Finally, he stood, offering her his hand. The contact was brief but electric, sending tingles up her arm. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Same time tomorrow," she confirmed, trying to ignore the way her palm tingled where he'd touched it.

As she watched him leave, Yeon-jin realized something was shifting between them, something that couldn't be explained away by creative chemistry or professional collaboration. The music they were creating was starting to tell a story neither of them had planned—a story about two people who found each other across years and circumstances, brought together by melody and harmony.

That night, she wrote lyrics until dawn, words flowing faster than she could capture them. The verses spoke of fate and timing, of voices meant to find each other, of moments that seemed predestined yet somehow surprised you when they arrived. She wrote about the way certain harmonies felt like coming home, about the space between notes where truth lived, about the courage it takes to let music lead you somewhere unexpected.

When Na Ra arrived in the morning, she found Yeon-jin still at her desk, surrounded by pages of verses. Her friend took one look at her—tired eyes, messy hair, the kind of smile that couldn't be hidden—and raised an eyebrow.

"You want to talk about it?" Na Ra asked, setting down two cups of coffee.

Yeon-jin looked at the lyrics spread across her desk, at the melody notations in the margins, at the words that seemed to have poured straight from her heart onto the page. "I think," she said slowly, "I'm in trouble."

Na Ra picked up one of the pages, scanning the lyrics with knowing eyes. "Honey," she said gently, "I think you've been in trouble since the day he walked into your studio."

Yeon-jin couldn't argue with that. Instead, she reached for her phone to send their usual morning message—a simple "See you at 9?" that somehow felt weighted with new meaning.

His reply came almost instantly: "Already here. Brought breakfast. Think I figured out that bridge we were stuck on."

She smiled, gathering her things for another day at BigHit. Whatever was happening between them, whatever story they were writing together, the music would show them the way. It always did.

The morning sun was painting Seoul's skyline again as she stepped out into the day, her heart beating in time with a melody only she could hear. A melody that, somehow, sounded exactly like his voice harmonizing with hers.

❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。✯¸.•'*¨'*•✿(◕‿◕)✿ •*'¨*'•.¸✯❀。• *₊°。 ❀° ❀

A/N: okayyyy im releasing this chapter a day early because i will be busy friday. I also want more time to edit chapter 5. 

I hope y’all are liking the book so far i’m really trying my best! 😖

Comment if you would like to be added to the taglist!

taglist: @jkxlvrr

[ruanbaijie]

我会保护你，保护你一辈子。无论是你的一辈子，还是我的一辈子。 ARCS OF THE SPIREALM 致命游戏 (2024) [in/sp]

@userdramas event 15 something new: a new show from 2024 @asiandramanet mar creator bingo board ⎈ typography ➻ notes for translations and motifs (spoilers!) used below the cut

Arc 1: 雪村 Snow Village

Quote: 一人不如庙，二人不观井，三人不抱树，独自莫凭栏 One person shall not enter the temple, two people shall not look into the well, three people shall not hug a tree, one shall not lean against the balustrade alone. - the death rules of this door

Motifs: a circle meant to represent the well, split into two to represent (what are assumed to be) the "real world" (top half) and "virtual world" (bottom half). note where rnz is placed

Arc 2: 菲尔夏鸟 Fitcher's Bird

Quote: 小老鼠搬鸡蛋，鸡蛋太大怎么办？一只老鼠地上躺，紧紧抱住大鸡蛋。一只老鼠拉尾巴，拉呀拉呀拉回家。小老鼠搬鸡蛋，鸡蛋太大怎么办？一只老鼠地上跑，紧紧抱住大鸡蛋。一只老鼠拉尾巴，拉呀拉呀拉回家。Little Mouse, carrying an egg, what shall it do if the egg is too big? Little Mouse, lying on the ground, tightly hugging the big egg. Little Mouse, pulling its tail, pulling and pulling and pulling it home. Little Mouse, carrying an egg, what shall it do if the egg is too big? Little Mouse, running on the ground, tightly hugging the big egg. Little Mouse, pulling its tail, pulling and pulling and pulling it home. - the creepy as hell nursery rhyme recited by the three girls

Motifs: broken egg, clock ticking backwards that's formed by the staircase that's rotating clockwise (which I realised was a neat little trick to hint that they were travelling forward in time) and the cut birthday cake

Arc 3: 阿姐鼓 Sister Drum

Quote: 她不见了，找不到她了 She's gone, I can't find her - the words written by the older sister in her diary

Motifs: top view of a Chinese drum, bamboo

Arc 4: 佐子 Zuozi

Quote: 我的腿没有了，你的给我好吗？My leg is gone, can you give me yours? - the death line of this door

Motifs: ripped pieces of paper, handwriting, slowly appearing words

Arc 5: 威福利山疗养院 Waverly Hills Sanatorium

Quote: 已经过了八点了，你们为什么不睡觉？It's already past 8pm, why are you still not asleep? - what the nurse says right before she starts chasing after the players who are outside their rooms

Motifs: room 502, overlapping but non-concentric circles representing a Russian doll

Arc 6: 雨中女郎 Woman in the Rain

Quote: 总不能是你一直保护我们吧 It can't always be you protecting us - what lqs says to convince rnz to let him go into the painting world

Motifs: picture frames shifting from scenes of the players to scenes of the door god and painting world, and back again

Arc 7: 哭儿郎 Crying Baby

Quote: 天惶惶，地惶惶，我家有个哭儿郎，过往恩客念三遍，一觉睡到大天光 Panic in the skies, panic on the earth, I have a crying baby at home, when the kind guest who passes by recites three times, they will sleep till the next morning - the line that will save you in this door. Interesting to note that there's actually a similar line that exists, except one of the changes is instead of 恩客 (ēn kè "kind guest"), it's 君子 (jūn zǐ "gentleman"), and while I translated 恩客 literally as "kind guest" here (what each of the individual characters means), the word itself actually in the past, used to refer to "benefactors" - the customers whom prostitutes fell in love with

Motifs: a lamp with lqs as the flames (vague hint at what rnz always tells lqs) and rnz as the base (note the orientation and negative colours), swirls meant to mimic water as in the book, this door was slightly more strongly related to the river god

Arc 8: 扫晴娘 Rain Doll

Quote: 如果这样，明天还是阴沉下雨的话，我就砍掉你的头 If it's still gloomy and rainy tomorrow, I will chop off your head - the line to recite in this door in order to make it rain

Motifs: umbrellas in the corners, a window (there's this one beautifully framed scene in this arc where they both open the windows of their room at the same time) showing the iconic nanqiu umbrella scene (each of them coloured differently on purpose) vs. the outside of the window with the rain dolls and additional rain overlay layer

Arc 9: 箱妖 Box Demon

Quote: 别看那个箱子，看我 Don't look at that box, look at me - what lqs tells rnz when he gets "hypnotised" to open the box

Motifs: diamonds forming 3d boxes

Full list of scenes used since this gif moves too quickly: rnz waking up from his "hypnosis", rnz and lqs staring at each other after rnz returns from his "death", cyx turning around to look at lqs when they thought rnz was dead, cql being pulled into the box, juxtaposition of rnz (upright) and ybl (upside down) in front of the stained glass windows, one of the box people in the box rnz nearly opened when he was "hypnotised", rnz being full of shit in front of everyone else (as usual)

Arc 10: 无解 Insoluble

Quote: 二人去一人归 Two people go, one person returns - the hint that appears consistently for the 11th door

Motifs: kaleidoscope of the final scene before rnz walks away

I put the two final doors (百鬼夜行 "Night Parade of Hundreds of Ghosts" and the "real" "12th" door) together because I really like how the hint applies for both the 11th door as well as the ending of the show

I also used 无解 "unsolvable" (the original name of the final chapter in the novel) for the name of this arc because of how short and simple it is, but also how it just summarises the 意难平 (idrk how to translate this, but sort of like the bittersweet feelings, being unable to let go of the past) of this arc and the entire show. Just like how there was no way to solve the 11th door with a happy ending for both people (assuming only two people went in lol), there was no way to solve the 12th door and the entire game with a happy ending for both rnz and lqs

However, instead of translating 无解 as "unsolvable", I used "insoluble" instead as it sounds just a little more poetic and is more symmetrical, and also hints at how lqs's memories of and feelings for rnz, whether his whole experience was a dream or otherwise, never dissolved with time 🥲

[tommykinard]

Hi! Very embarrassing gif-making question, feel free to ignore if it's too complicated, but how do you layer two gifs on top of each other like that? Whenever I try, one of them always freezes

Hi anon! Not embarrassing at all, I'm happy to show you how I layer two gifs on top of each other. I'll be using this gif from my recent ineffable husbands set as an example:

You'll need a basic knowledge of gifmaking and photoshop, and I'll put the rest of this under the cut in case it gets long.

Creating your gifs

So to start off, you want to create both your gifs in separate documents. Most of my gifmaking process happens in timeline mode, and you want to make sure that both your gifs are smart objects.

I like to have both gifs open side by side in windows so that I can make sure that my colouring is consistent and that both scenes have a similar brightness when I'm done colouring. This is important because to overlay/blend gifs, they need to have similar lighting for best results. (If your photoshop opens up the gifs as tabs, just click on where the file name is and drag the tab anywhere outside of the top bar so that it opens up as a window).

This is how my gifs look before colouring, and how each of the layers panels look (I've already added my sharpening, which is why each gif has two smart object layers).

And this is how my gifs look after I add my base colouring + the yellow for this gifset:

2. Making groups

Now from here on it's fairly simple. First we want to put all our gif layers in a group so that it's easier to transfer them to the same canvas while still keeping them easy to edit in case we need to make adjustments afterwards.

So select all your gif layers by holding the shift key and clicking on your first and last layer.

Then to make a group you can either use the command + g keys (ctrl + g on windows) while all the layers are selected, or you can click on the little folder icon at the bottom of the layers panel.

You can then double click on the group that was created and rename it. I like to put a word or phrase that describes the scene, so I've named these 'bandstand' for the gif on the left and 'car' for the gif on the right. At this point, your gifs are still in separate documents.

3. Overlaying the two gifs

Now all you have to do is copy and paste one of the groups onto the other gif's canvas. For me, it doesn't matter which group I copy, so for this I'm going to copy the 'car' group by selecting the group in the layers panel and using the command + c keys (ctrl + c).

I then click over to the other gif's canvas (you should see the other folder name in the layers panel, so in this case I'll see it say 'bandstand'). To paste, you just need to use command + shift + v (ctrl + shift + v). The shift key ensures that the positioning of your gif stays the same.

So now you should only see your second gif on the canvas, and both your groups in the layers panel, like so.

Making sure your top group is selected, change the blending mode of the group to either 'screen' or 'lighten' depending on your preferences (if you're working with really bright scenes, it might also be worth trying out 'multiply'). Your gifs should then overlay on top of each other, and play simultaneously when you scrub through the timeline and save the gif.

And this is how the gif looks when saved:

4. Final touches

If you're not happy with how the overlay looks, you can do a bunch of things to make it appear the way you want. I use a combination of resizing, layer masks, and painted layers to hide/show different portions of the gifs. You can also modify the colourings at this point, add text/overlays, adjust the brightness, and add painted colour layers. At the end, just convert back to frames and adjust the speed.

After all this, I end up with the final result which is this. As you can see, I darkened the side of his face in the smaller gif and made the brighter part stand out more clearly. I also adjusted the shade of yellow using an extra hue/sat layer.

I hope this helps anon! Please let me know if you still have questions or if you run into any trouble!

Here are some other blending/gif overlay tutorials that I found very helpful as well: 1, 2, 3

[shouldhavestayedawayfromhere]

Documenting your practice (a step-by-step guide)

When I started doing spells and rituals regularly, I saw a post where someone said you should write everything down in a designated notebook. It's been the absolutely best advice I've gotten on how to evolve my practice, so I wanted to share what I write down and how I do it in case anyone else wants to try it.

1. Pick out a notebook only for this purpose

Do not use your book of shadows or grimore for this, as it will get too full too fast. This is not the same as your book of shadows. That's only where information and spells go. In this notebook, you will document your actual workings. It will have it's own categories.

2. Personalize the notebook

This is optional, obviously, but it really adds a layer of connection to personalize it. I like to paint it and put stickers on it and I also add some sigils of deities who help me on my spiritual journey and whom I want to watch over this book. I also add my own sigil to it, so if you have one, feel free.

3. Index

Make a little content index in the beginning where you list the different kinds of entries you will be making. You can color code them or use other methods to identify them. Here are mine:

I used to have a category for dreams, too, but I didn't use it frequently enough so I'd put that under new information/insights or notes. You can add any category you like, though, it's completely up to you.

4. Making layouts

Each of these entries will have it's own layout. While ideas, notes, new information and prayer may just be a single text that you write down and that's it, a formal ritual, book notes, meditations/invocations or readings will be a bit more elaborate.

For your ritual layout, find out how much guidance you need. Are you very familiar with rituals? Then you might do with a simple

Ritual purpose

Ingredients

Ritual body

Results

If you are farely new to rituals or just someone who likes or needs some more elaborate guidelines, I recommend something like this:

Ritual purpose

Deities invoked

Objects/herbs needed

Ritual space

Ritual body

Thoughts/feelings before

Thoughts/feelings after

Write down for every of these topics what applies to your ritual. Especially the reflection in the end can be really helpful. Write down any and every thought you have about the ritual you held and what you'd do again or do differently next time. This is a huge resource for building your own practice over time. It allows you to look back and see how far you've come, which can be really helpful for growing in your craft.

For book or video notes, you can use a simple layout. It's important that you know where you got your information from. My layout looks like this:

[Name of the book] [date]

by: [name of Author]

P.xy [chapter title]

Then you take your notes. This way you'll find exactly where you read something. Apply the same to videos if you watch any documentaries or video essays etc. on a topic.

Something I also did when I began taking book notes was to write down my intention when first starting to read the book. Why are you reading this book? What are you hoping to learn or find out? What perspective are you reading this book from? Is there a bias that you have that influences how you interpret the information in this book? You can add this too.

For meditation and invocation, I have a quite flexible layout. I usually write down what deity I am contacting at the top. Then, if accessible, the deity's sigil and enn. If I don't know the deity yet or have never contacted them before, I also gather some information about them. You can write down anything you find, these are just some examples:

History of the deity

Domain(s)

Rank/family

Associations

Offerings they might like

Then, you make your invocation. If you already know this deity, you probably have a reason for why you want to invoke them. Write that down. Write down what they're telling you. What you feel, what all your senses are picking up on.

Sometimes, this quality time between you and your deity can turn into a divination session. So let's talk about that layout next.

When doing a reading with your deity, or any kind of divination, really, you can be pretty free with how to start. Maybe you had a thought that you wanted to talk about with your deity, then you write that thought down. Or maybe you came with a specific question.

Personally, I write down my readings like a Q&A. I write down Q: [my question] and then A: [all the cards I pulled]. Then, I interpret the cards and write down my interpretation.

I know that sounds like a lot of work and writing to do. If that doesn't sound like you, you can find a different way to document your readings. Maybe only note your questions and the cards and the interpretation stays only in your head.

I just found that this helps me think more organized during readings and remember them better. I tend to forget things that my deities told me easily, so it's helpful to me, but it might not be for everyone.

These are some examples on how to document your practice. I started mine in the beginning of the year (literally 01.01.2024) and have already filled about 1½ notebooks by now. I love writing, so that might be a lot for some people, but even if you only take a few notes every time you make a reading, a meditation, or a ritual, you will soon be able to look back at your process.

You'll probably learn a lot over the course of time and look back at your first entries in awe one day. At least that's what I tell myself. So I hope this is useful for some of you.

Remember that everyone's craft looks different, there's no "right" or "wrong" way to practice magic, and it's for you to enjoy and explore on your own accord. That being said, happy witching!

Ave Lucifer <3

[ryuuka-balaen]

Here she is!!!

HIERODULE HAS ENTERED THE BATTLEFIELD

with both Scything Talons and twin Bio-Cannons to bring to bear, the Hierodule Bio-Titan is a walking nightmare, whether it's the Barbed or Scythed variant.

I used 12 paints to colour this model, starting with a spray primer similar to Vallejo Bloody Red.

I tried to basically liveblog the process of painting this model, but for anyone interested anyway, here's some

~Paint Recipes~

okay so those were a lot of fun to make but obviously i don't paint each separate part fully before i move on to the next, my process looks more something like this;

1- RED with a spray primer. i bought the "Bloody Red" bottle i have because it's close to the primer colour i have which i bought from michael's.

2- Mechanicus Standard Grey all the shell bits

3- Yriel Yellow all gun bits and mouth parts, often twice if it needs it since that's a Layer paint, not a Base paint, so it's less pigmented.

4- Two coats Fuegan Orange in the mouth area to really get it lookin squishy and gross

5- Corvus Black talons, teeth, hooves, spikes, etc.

6- Hexwraith Flame the gunparts, may need a drybrush of Yriel Yellow again after to keep it yellow enough, since green is a cold colour and doesn't compliment the reds and oranges in this colour scheme

7- NULN OIL EVERYTHING. THE WHOLE MODEL. ALL AT ONCE. not including the mouthparts, that's already sufficiently shaded by the Fuegan Orange and wouldn't benefit from a black shade.

8- Drybrush Warplock Bronze over all the red parts. I'm kinda on the fence on whether this step and colour are really a good addition, it adds some variation and shine/highlighting to the colours of the carapace that i think improves it?, while also darkening the overall colour in a way that I like.

I took a photo of this step while I was doing it because I had the thought of that nobody not actually holding the model would really be able to tell the difference

front half without bronzing, back half with.

9- model's done! basing time~ For this base, I started with a coating of Leather Brown, because that's what would be showing through the cracks of the Crackle Paint

10- I experimented with using both my technicals on this one, so I started with applying two Mud Puddles of the Stirland Battlemire

11- after the battlemire mud dried, the rest got covered in a very generous coating of Agrellan Earth, so it would crackle nicely.

12- Stirland Battlemire and Agrellan Earth are... very different shades of brown. to even them out, I painted over the mire with Leather Brown, and drybrushed the earth with the same.

13- the final step of any model that I paint, and what i use to signify to myself that the model is done, is the base band! i like to use Corvus Black because its nice and neutral, but for my models that I have multiple with different loadouts such as tyranid warriors, I've been considering adding coloured stripes to the base bands to help identify individuals more easily.

[oddygaul]

Quick Hits #3 - Wendell & Wild, Triangle, Summertime Rendering

Wendell & Wild

Boy, what a weird movie. Look, it’s gorgeous, the animation was incredible, great character designs, the soundtrack fucking rules.

But there’s just so much going on here that it feels overstuffed. It’s like Wendell & Wild has 3 or 4 different A plots that they tried to shove into one movie, and the result is that none of the individual arcs feel fully cooked to me. There’s movies that handle this well, with certain elements left more subsidiary and subtle worldbuilding filling in the blanks, but that wasn’t that – there’s just straight up not enough screentime for all these different plots to land.

this was too funny. also I really love the flat, stylized faces W&W have in the underworld

Wendell & Wild themselves are charming, but their world is left fairly unclear – is that all of hell, or is it really just a roadside attraction they want to give a fresh coat of paint? Also, why are the humans so excited that the pair gets to renovate their torture chamber at the end? Are we just that supportive of our friend’s goals? Manberg and Helley were fully baffling, and we never seemed to get much of an explanation for how the two met, the origin of Helley’s powers, or why all the faculty seem to see her shadow walking around the school & not care one bit. While the prison folks are sufficiently evil, and we certainly see them killing off competitors or obstacles to their plans, it’s weird that we never see any of their prisons. It's such a missed opportunity for a show don’t tell moment – instead, Siobhan literally explains it to the viewer with a diagram. Similarly, Kat’s struggles in the foster system seem weirdly passed over. The villain’s schemes and the (intended) themes of the movie are meant to be about a corrupt criminal justice system and the school-to-prison pipeline, but all we really get to see is a 10-second flashback giving us the roughest outline of what happened to her. Hell, more time is spent on the city council vote getting rigged than is spent on the actual justice system.

honestly one of the hardest character feats I've ever seen

I dunno, I’m excited to rewatch this one day and maybe gel with it more… on first blush it just came across overwhelming and slapdash structurally.

Triangle

Man, worst first date ever.

This one really came around for me; I was pretty burnt out with the loops on the boat, but as soon as Jess makes it back to the mainland, holy shit… what a flawless final act. The way the conclusion immediately ties together all of the unanswered questions that have been stewing in your mind since the beginning, the immediate perspective shift we get on Jess as a character, the simple confidence of straight up repeating all the shots from the first act, and their totally different meaning now that we know the context… good shit.

It makes Jess a much more interesting, layered character: one that doesn’t fall neatly under categories of good or bad, just a flawed, stressed-out mother who made one mistake too many, unable to accept that it’ll be her final legacy and pass on. We see her good sides, her determination, her regret for her mistakes, but we also see the darker side in her temper and quickness to violence. Truly, as the movie alludes to many times, a modern Greek tragedy with a deeply flawed hero.

Hey, why was Heather in this movie, though?

Summer Time Rendering

I noped outta this one pretty quick. Things were already looking dicey when we got both a classic anime Oops Accidentally Bumped My Whole Face Into Your Boobs and a gratuitous panty shot by minute 3, and then it turns out this is a time loop story, and those are our time loop building block events, meaning every loop will start with the boob thing. Then, in loop #3, MC prevents his friend from crashing her bike – the event that leads to the panty shot – and we get the exact same panty shot anyway from her diving into the water?? nah fuck off

Anyway, normally I don’t record any thoughts for things I drop, but I kinda just wanted an excuse to post this exchange lol

[theonevoice]

Mini painting process breakdown

I'm really bad at explaining my mostly-winged-it process, but since a couple of people asked here's a mini-breakdown of what I have been doing on my journey to this pseudo-painterly style:

Disclaimer: I have no formal art training of any kind, I'm guessing my way through this artsy season of my life that just restarted last October; this is merely a general description of what I am doing these days, not a tutorial or a guide to tell anyone what they should do. Anyone has a different process and I am a strong believer in doing whatever works for you, no matter what "The Rules" or other people say.

0. Before I even start drawing, I collect a bazillion reference pictures for every single thing that I plan to represent, from Michael Sheen's face to gold embroidery texture on 1800s extant garments;

1. (undocumented because when I said that I'm bad at this I meant it and sure enough I forgot to grab a screenshot of this step) I establish the general background color and draw a very loose sketch of the character;

2. I switch to a basic hard round brush and free-hand some color blobs to establish the position, general shape and values of the character, using the colors that are already in the background to make sure that the charater "belongs" in that space (tip: if I need to introduce new colors I pick a shade that seems close to what I want, put it on a separate layer, and then lower the opacity of that layer until the background color bleeds through and harmonizes the new shade);

3. I divide the character into smaller bits (face, hand, jacket, sash...) and apply clipping masks to bring the color blobs into reasonable shapes, in this case a left hand (I found that I can fine-tune the shapes at any moment by playing with highlights and deep shadows on the edges);

4. I then switch to an equally basic airbrush for the main rendering, using the color picker tool to blend midtones and highlights/shadows until my shape starts looking 3Dish (this part can be quick or take forever depending on a variety of factors that I honestly cannot explain);

5. I bring down the airbrush size to add finer details that can sell the illusion (here still in progress);

6. (eventually) I add a ton of adjustment layers to make sure that the completed part is consistent with the rest of the image (tip: if there are more bits of the same "family", e.g. skintones, I use the color picker tool to grab the midtones that already exist instead of mixing them ex novo).

That's it, I believe, unless I am forgetting something. Feel free to ask if there is something more specific that you'd like to know!