#also idk what is going on w the coloring in gif 2. the lighting of that scene is horrid

[lesbianmaxevans]

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN 2024 ⤷ Day 9: Aaliyah as Akasha in Queen of the Damned (2002)

[fairyfuyu]

strawberry kiss | yuuji itadori

paring: yuuji itadori x gn!reader

wc: 1.4k

summary: this is my submission for @lacheri's moonlight muse collab ! reader and itadori go out to a midnight showing of a classic horror movie :) slice of life, implied childhood best friends to lovers ? idk itadori is just a lil cutie

cw: none ! purely soft itadori and fluff

a/n: inspired by true events aka i miss going to midnight showings w my friends :( i recommend listening to the song chapstick by hippo campus :) a freaking banger but also it just fits the story so well slkcjxi i promise

Your eyes scanned along the shelves packed with brightly colored packaging, looking for the specific candy you were craving tonight. Growing saddened the longer you looked, you heard the voice of your best friend from one aisle over.

“___! They make sour gummy worms now?!” He exclaimed excitedly, instantly grabbing a bag.

You chuckled, seeing his smile over the top of the shelf, directly opposite you. “Pretty sure they’ve always made sour gummy worms, Itadori.”

He scoffed, making his way to join you on your side. “Well, excuse me for not having a sugar addiction like you.” You just rolled your eyes, turning back to resume your search for the seemingly elusive candy. He followed your gaze. “Whatcha looking for?”

“Those fruity candies I got last time; can’t remember the name for the life of me, but they were pretty good.” You explained, strolling down the aisle and making sure to thoroughly examine either side.

“Just get some sour gummy worms like me.” He offered, holding out the rainbow packaging for you to see.

You shook your head. “Not in the mood for sour candy.” Deciding that your search was pointless, you decided on snatching up a pack of strawberry licorice.

Yuuji scrunched his face in disgust. “You’re gonna get strawberry when there’s cherry staring right at you?”

“What, don’t tell me you don’t like the taste of strawberries?” He remained tight lipped, trailing behind you up to the counter to pay, earning an exasperated laugh from you. “You have to be the only person that doesn’t like strawberries.”

“I know for a fact that’s not true.’ He laughed, placing his candy and drink on the counter.

Once the two of you paid for your things (and subsequently shoved them into your tote bag to sneak into your next destination because the prices of snacks in theaters should truly be illegal), you stumbled out into the dark, empty street. The midnight air was crisp, undoubtedly autumn for sure. Dim streetlamps did a pretty shitty job of illuminating the sidewalk you and your friend wandered down; if it weren’t for the presence of Yuuji, you wouldn’t even think about strolling down a street like this one at this hour.

The two of you have known each other since you were in diapers practically, living two houses apart and taking on your schooling experiences together. However with university, you ended up in two different cities - although they weren’t too far from each other thankfully. This has become a weekly affair since the semester started; with you still in your hometown, Yuuji would drive the hour it took to meet you, and the two of you would go to the old dollar theater on the other side of town to see whatever midnight showing they had on Fridays.

And so, here you were, eyes lighting up at the sight of the theater marquee. The neon cast a pretty purple sheen on the two of you as you walked up to the ticket booth outside. Yuuji made sure to be right by your side in order to try and conceal the obviously stuffed bag you were carrying. “Two for the midnight showing of Nightmare on Elm Street, please.” He sang sweetly.

The disinterested teen didn’t even look up from his phone while he grabbed the bills from Yuuji’s hand. He placed the small tickets in front of him. “Theater 2.”

You and your friend eagerly entered the dingy lobby, averting your gaze from the girl behind the concessions counter, who appeared just as bored as the ticket guy. The theater’s interior was astonishingly sad; the beige paint covering the walls was definitely not the best pairing to the stained carpet beneath your feet, but for some reason you and Yuuji found this place incredibly charming. The movies were cheap, the theaters were always empty...it was as if this was your own little secret getaway, and you were so glad to have a friend like him willing to drive out every week to make sure you didn’t lose touch like many people do when they begin college.

As always, you found your way into the empty theater, heading straight for the same pair of seats you two occupy week after week, right in the center of the sea of deserted seats.

“Hurry up, I wanna try those sour gummy worms since apparently I’m so behind on my candy lore.” Yuuji impatiently said as you took your seat.

“Patience is a virtue, Itadori.” You replied in mock seriousness, easily finding his candy and drink in your bag. He eagerly tore open the bag, throwing a couple of the multi-colored gummies in his mouth. You gave him a quizzical look. "Verdict?"

"Happily satisfied." He replied cheerily, eating another.

By the time the two of you got settled, snacks splayed out across your laps, the movie had started. That nostalgic dull hum of the film reel was barely present in the background, and the entirety of your time there was spent commentating on the 80’s cinematography and how cheesy it was. It was hilarious to both of you; despite the movie intending on being a horror flick, you couldn’t help but belly laugh at the overdramatic sound effects and ridiculous zoom-ins for no reason whatsoever.

“You think I could pull off a crop top better than Johnny Depp?” Yuuji asked, popping another candy into his mouth.

You couldn’t help the boisterous laugh you let out at his question. “Well, they do say to speak what you want into existence.”

“Oh do they now?” He teased, nudging your shoulder.

“They do.” You replied, biting back a smile. Doing so made you realize just how chapped your lips had become from the chilly air outside. You were fairly sure you had some chapstick in your bag, always on you just in case.

Rummaging through the bag, you had a difficult time finding it due to the dim lighting in the theater.

Yuuji caught on to your struggle, and asked, “What are you looking for?”

“My lips are chapped as hell; I’m sure I have lip balm in here somewhere.” He immediately pulled out his phone, turning on the flashlight and holding it up to offer some assistance. You smiled softly up at him. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Your search was successful with the help of the extra light, finding a tube of strawberry chapstick at the very bottom of your tote. Quickly applying it, you turned your attention back to the movie. You were at the point in the movie where Johnny Depp’s character was about to get killed. “Yeah, you could definitely pull off a crop top, though I’m not sure if you’d look better than him…”

He shot you a playful glare for your teasing. “Do I need to wear a crop top next week just to prove you wrong? Because you know I will if that’s what it takes.”

You looked at your best friend, pressing your lips into a grin. “I’d be glad to give you one of mine.”

The two of you held eye contact for a moment, his deep brown eyes stealing a glance at your lips, now satiny from the chapstick you applied. Your breathing hitched in your throat when he brought a hand up to cup your cheek, running a thumb over your flesh. Not another word was spoken before his lips were on yours. Soft. Smooth. Most likely from the chapstick, but neither of you were complaining.

Especially not Yuuji.

He’s dreamt of this moment, literally his entire life. The two of you have always been so close, he was beginning to think you thought of him more as a brother. That’s what’s kept him from ever making a move like this - he didn’t wanna ruin what you two had if you didn’t feel the same. Ultimately, though, that was a risk he was willing to take.

It seems like the risk was worth it.

The kiss was passionate, though it didn’t last long before you disconnected. He rest his forehead against yours, the tips of your noses touching innocently.

You looked into his eyes, a light chuckle falling from your lips. “Still hate the taste of strawberries?”

He laughed in response. “Absolutely not.” He said, before connecting your lips once more.

[verved]

Some people were asking about my process for this last piece so I did a little process gif of it which goes:

1. Sketch (flip canvas 100000 times now so you can get any weird jankiness out here and not later on when it’s harder to correct)

2. Lines/corrections. (also a lot of canvas flipping)

3. Flats, all set on a clipping mask to the base color.

4. Shading, done separately on each flat layer color with the “lock” setting on. I mostly color picked by eye for this, but for the subtle reflected colors I used a mix of color dodge and color burn with a low opacity brush.

5. Added the light from the secondary light source, his biolights, using color dodge.

6. The background was worked on from here on with minor changes going up til the last step, but in this gif it’s completed. I blurred it slightly to keep the focus on the subject/add depth.

7. Painted over some of the lines (now set to multiply w a dark blue color), added the autobot brand, and rendered more reflections on his hands with color dodge again.

8. Painted the energon, with four separate layers: the bottom one (darkest color) being set to normal or multiply on a medium opacity, the second (base color) on normal mode at a medium opacity, the third (highlights) on normal mode at 100%, and the last being a bit of gradient for glow on a layer set to “lighten”.

9. More lighting effects on a few separate layers consisting of multiply, color burn, and color dodge. The multiply and color burn layers were there the entire time, but I kept switching them on and off periodically so I could shade better, and only towards the end did they stay on mostly. I had them there from the start and worked on the shading underneath them while taking into account how everything would look once those layers were permanent. I also had the main light source set right from the beginning and based the shading on that.

10. Some more finishing touches and rendering, again using a lot of color dodge for the highlights.

11. The finished piece, after some minimal tweaking in Camera Raw Filter (the image needs to be flattened). If you’ve been thinking hard about color you shouldn’t need to do much here, but I also like to add some grain using Camera Raw.

** When using a color dodge layer I LOVE to do this in the layer settings bc it makes everything pop so much more:

* Camera Raw Filter is specific to Photoshop, so idk if there is an equivalent for other programs, but it’s not necessary, just nice to have if you need to fix values and stuff.

* These layer modes may look different in other programs so fiddle with what works.

* Using a slightly textured brush makes any errors or shaky lines a lot less obvious, and adds nice effects when shading using color modes.

* Liquefy tool is your best friend if something looks off, even at the last stage you can mush things around a bit to look marginally better. Sometimes you don’t see errors till it’s almost done. 

I am by no means a professional, this is just what I’ve learned myself over the years.

[nicolebonnet]

🌻 a gif tutorial by: me! 🌻

i know there are so so many WONDERFUL tutorials out there, but i can’t say no to a very kind anon so!!!  here we go.  hopefully this is helpful for someone out there!  if anyone doesn’t do well with picture tutorials and would find it more helpful for me to do a video, i would also be happy to try that too!!

this is definitely not the fastest way to do it, i’m sure, just the way i’ve always done it and i’m bad at learning new things so ldkjfoiw also i’m using photoshop cc 2021 (tho this method should work for any version of photoshop i think) and i use video frames to layers to gif just as an fyi

step 1: get whatever media you’re giffing!  i use torrents and direct downloads.  that’s how i’ve always giffed, i’ve never tried capping so i can’t help with that.  sorry!

step 2: make clips of the scenes your fc is in!  i have a folder dedicated to the character the fc is playing and keep all my clips in there.  when i do movies, i typically only do about 12 clips at a time because it just feels less overwhelming for me.  when i do a show, i only clip one episode at a time for the same reason.  i use quicktime to clip, but i know some people use VLC and i’m sure there are other options out there to try, too!  again, this is just what i’ve always used so i’m comfortable with it and know how it works.

when i clip, i try to start the clip a few seconds before the scene my subject is in and a few seconds after just to make sure i’m getting every single frame.

step 3: import video frames to layers!  so once you have photoshop open, go to file > import > import video frames to layers

then go to your folder where you have all your clips saved and choose the one you want.  i took this one out of my trash because the rest of the gifs i have to do in this episode are in the dark and that was gonna be too annoying to me lkdjfkslofw so i’m just re-making one i already did a few days ago.  i’m giffing sofia carson and you can see that my clip starts on someone else’s face so i can make sure i have every frame of hers!

step 4: select the range for your gif!  just like with clipping, i try to get a few frames before and a few frames after of the fc i’m working on so that i don’t miss anything.  if you aren’t interested in giffing them in every single second (which is totally fine, i know a lot of people prefer not to!) then you don’t need to be as concerned with it

because i’m using a direct download, i’m not going to limit my frames to every 2.  it’ll be really fast and choppy.  if you screen recorded, i would suggest limited to every 2 frames and then going through and deleting each duplicate frame (when i giffed via screen recording, i found that every 6 frames or so was a duplicate).  this will make sure your gif is smooth and exactly the same as one made from a direct download.  it IS time consuming though, so i recommend doing a direct download/torrent if possible!  if you ever need help finding downloads or need something torrented and converted for you, please feel free to message me and i’ll be happy to help!!

step 5: delete the frames you don’t need!  this is the time to delete any extra frames at the beginning, end, and any duplicates

step 6: set your speed!  you can do this later if you want, but i like to do it as soon as all my extra frames are deleted.  my personal preference is typically .06 seconds for most of my gifs.  if they’re on the shorter side (under 35 frames), i’ll do .07-.09.  i know some people have very strong feelings on gif speed lskdfjpwe i do not.  it’s all about what feels best for you!  .06 is where i feel my gifs feel the best, but there are plenty of beautiful gifs that are slower or faster!

step 7: crop it!  as you can see above, i set my W x H ratio to 268px x 170px.  this is a size i really like, but you can make yours smaller or larger.  i do suggest using the W x H ratio setting to set it to your specific pixel measurements because it cuts out having to resize after cropping.

also, i have a few hundred frames in this one particular gif that i’m going to cut down in the next step.  however, i know that she remains pretty much in the same place throughout the frames which is why i’m cropping them all at once.  if it’s a gif where you get a few hundred frames that you’re going to turn into multiple gifs and the person moves around a lot, definitely only crop one gif at a time!

step 8: delete the frames you aren’t using!  everyone has a different way of deciding how many frames their gifs are.  for me, if they’re talking, i actually go and watch the segment i’m giffing to see what they’re saying, read their lips as i go through each frame, and crop it there.  it’s a little more time consuming i guess but i feel like it gives me the best results.  totally optional, though!  if the person is NOT talking, then i typically just try to make it between 60-80ish frames and base it on facial expressions or body language.  sometimes it’s more, sometimes it’s less!  again just comes down to what your preference is.

step 9: convert to timeline!  basically just press that lil highlighted button down there next to the “forever” and convert to timeline.  pretty self explanatory

step 10: sharpening!  this is where i use my sharpening action which is linked right here.  i’ve been using it for a while now and i really love it!  i’ve tried other sharpening actions since i made it and they just don’t make me as happy as this one lol

hit play on your action:

for my action, i get this popup twice and just hit “continue” and it keeps going through the steps with no problem

step 11: COLORING!!!  get your psd and slap it on!  i have different one base psd that i use for almost everything and will edit it to fit whatever scene/show/movie i’m working on.  i’ll also save different versions of it based on the media i’m giffing.  for example, the lighting on liv & maddie is SUUUUUPER different from the writing on pll: the perfectionists.  so i have a “liv” psd and a “loralie” (name of my char that i use sofia for, idk why i named the first psd after liv and not my char but whatever ldkfjsoi) psd.  same base, same layers, just different levels.  i also will often combine psds!  i’ll put my base down and then add layers from other psds or create new ones to fit whatever scene i have going!

step 12: save your gif!  go to file > export > save for web (legacy)...

people use different settings for saving their gifs, too.  these are my personal settings.  i really like them and feel they work for my gifs.  feel free to copy them or play around with your own settings!  just make sure it’s always on the 256 colors

step 13 (optional): preview!  i like to hit the preview button just to make sure i like my gif before i save it.  if i don’t like it (coloring looks off, too fast/too slow, feels like it cuts off in a weird place) i’ll hit cancel and undo everything until i’m back to wherever i need to fix it.

step 14: save your gif, yay!!  YOU DID IT!!!!  save that beautiful gif and feel so proud of yourself!!

step 15 (optional): if you’re making multiple gifs from the segment you imported, go back and cntrl/cmmnd + z everything until you’re back to having allllll the frames again.  delete the frames of the gif you just made (in this case, it would be 52) and start again from step 8!

i hope this made sense and was helpful for anyone!  please let me know if there’s anything you need clarification on!!

[ayzrules]

✶ 𝐇𝐗𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒: 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 & 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒, 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 & 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍   Long story short, I have been thinking about this for wayyyyy too long now and wanted to get some ~thoughts~ & analysis written down! This post is going to be...fairly long, lol. Apologies in advance :D

  Also, if you can’t see the last gif (the one for ‘holy’), click here. Tumblr keeps fucking up the image when i try to upload it :////

  This post is probably going to be about 2/3 yorknew & phantom troupe/kurapika focused, 1/3 chimera ants, maybe with some references to other arcs (including manga-only arcs) mixed in. so, ofc, tons of spoilers ahead! also, i realize that my blog theme is hard to read (and i’m p sure clicking ‘keep reading’ sends you to the og post itself), so i’m linking the post w/ full text copy/pasted in on my art backup side blog (which has a more legible font) here. 

✶ 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇   I’m sure absolutely nobody is surprised with me starting here - there is just. SO. MUCH. DEATH. in hxh. & right from the start, one thing I noticed that togashi really emphasized was the #4 and its connection to death. in japanese, chinese, and im p sure some other asian cultures the number 4 is pronounced like the word for death so it’s associated with death in general, and boy oh boy does the ‘deadly number 4′ thing show up E V E R Y W H E R E. we get to the hunter exam, and hisoka is applicant #44. kurapika is #404. i didn’t notice it at first, but this was so intentional holy shit. togashi is NOT SUBTLE.

  So pika & hisoka are, right off the bat, associated with death. okay. and then there are even more clues to drive the point home: hisoka is member #4 in the phantom troupe, kurapika’s birthday is april 4th (aka 4/4). 100% not a coincidence (!!). with hisoka, it’s pretty obvious why togashi’s throwing all this death 444444 stuff around - dude is a psycho murder pedo clown, literally gets off on killing people (and there’s also the fact that judas sits 4th from the left in the last supper painting, and he’s sort of the judas equivalent for the phantom troupe). with kurapika, though, it’s a bit more subtle and woven deeper into his characterization, which i LOVE. togashi puts the mans in blue & gold & white (traditionally ‘pure’ or ‘heavenly’ colors), makes him so fucking kind & so good-hearted.....when he’s not relentlessly pursuing his revenge, ofc. more on this in the next section, but pika = death. togashi has made that v v v clear.

  Backtracking a bit to hisoka, though, I also just wanted to point out the 4 is death symbolism in the fortunes too (GOD i love the fortunes): in one translation, he’s the false fourth moon, and in the og japanese (i think), he’s the false hare (4th in the lunar zodiac or w/e it’s called. i don’t know the japanese cultural influences here, but in the chinese legend that established the zodiac animals, they race across the heavenly river & the top 12 animals got zodiac slots. the hare finished 4th, so it’s #4 in the cycle). 

  And just as a final note, Tserriednich is the fourth prince of the kakin empire, and also another dude who has a hard-on for murder & other gory shit. again: togashi is not subtle with this, lmfao

✶ 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘, 𝐔𝐍𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘   As probably everyone who’s gotten to yorknew knows, togashi is so 0 fucks given when he wants to be. I mean there’s the whole thing where he just. took New York and decided, Yorknew. LMFAO, but also, he made the main antag of that arc be named chrollo lucilfer, sit around in a ruined church, have a reversed cross coat, pale & dark-haired/dark-eyed, generally dressed in dark colors, very terrible murder guy. liiiike......chrollo x devil symbolism game is 1000/10 at this point lmaooo

  And i know absolutely nothing about christianity in general, but pt/kurapika & yorknew arc is just so full of christian imagery/symbolism! one thing that i L O O O O O O V E though is how togashi really blurs the traditional christian-coded good/evil, holy/damned boundaries.

  Back to kurapika: he wears gold and blue, his coloring is very stereotypically ‘angelic’, he’s precious and good and kind. his chains are all about ~judgment~ and ~healing~ - some of the chains are also in literal cross shapes, aren’t they? And the chain dagger in his own heart...the imagery is very startlingly similar to the immaculate heart of mary, where the swords stabbing thru the heart apparently represent seven sorrows. IDK much about this stuff other than the visual similarities; literally had to google ‘daggers through heart christianity?’ to even get the name of that thing LOL. anyway, at first, it seems like togashi establishes him as the ‘angel’, the ‘good’, the ‘holy’ in the angel/devil, good/evil, holy/damned dichotomy between him and chrollo.

  But that’s not the end of the story. his entire storyline is driven by a huuuuuuuge giant desire for vengeance, first of all, and then there’s the scarlet eyes, which canonically are seen as demonic/cursed/what have you (according to one of the movies or smth? where they show pika as a 10 y/o?), and then we also have red eyes in modern culture being associated w pretty much the same thing (vampires, anyone?). the fight scene with uvo has everything in b&w besides the blood on his face & his red eyes & the moon (<<< more fortune foreshadowing & symbolism, i love to see it), and there are tonssss of scenes where he has to suppress his rage. so all of that is obviously not very angelic of him i would say LOL. in fact, what i find super interesting is that the scarlet/red eyes (which are ‘demonic’) is actually the driving factor behind his super powerful nen abilities; this ties in so well with the fortunes & death associations imo! the fortunes call him the ‘death-bringer’ in one translation, or ‘half-angel, half-death’, so that’s one side of pika = red eyes = death, but there’s also the fact that emperor time is literally draining his life force. so pika = death for both himself and others namely the pt, question mark?

  Now for chrollo: togashi’s devil symbolism is EXTREMELY overt with him, but i love the subtler jesus references too. the church thing, obviously, and the st. peters cross which is cuz st peter respected jesus too much & didn’t think he was worthy to die in the same way as him (or something like that, i am the most atheist person in the world & hxh is literally my entire christian education pls) but is also used as an anti-christianity symbol these days. bandit’s secret looks like a bible, lbr, and mans has a cross tattoo.

  Other things beyond visuals - 12 spiders, 12 apostles; hisoka’s betrayal, where member #4 can be thought to correspond to judas sitting 4th from left at last supper. and this miiiiight be a bit of a stretch, but i think the meteor city being the place of origin may also play into the blurred line between angel/devil and holy/damned here; meteors are defined as space rocks that are in earth’s atmosphere, becoming incandescent in the process. meteorites are for the kinds that actually reach the ground. and idk, lucifer was cast out of heaven / sky too right? so i think there might be some subtle fallen angel imagery/symbolism playing into the pt as well

✶ 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 (𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒)   Last section yay! i don’t have as much to say about this, besides when i was making chimera ant arc edits & realized that there might have been some subtle gon/meruem parallels???

  So obviously, everyone knows that line killua says to gon - “you are light” - and then i was just remembering that meruem’s name means.... “light that illuminates all” (!!!!). maybe it’s a coincidence, but knowing togashi, i’m leaning towards nahhhh. there HAS TO be some kinda meaning there (!!).

  Going back to the events of the chimera ant arc....ooh boy. let’s see: gon is optimistic & hopeful even in the face of kite potentially being dead, killua says he’s light, they find kite & dude is fucked up, gon is pissed. gets all angry & ~dark~, especially during the palace invasion when he’s staring pitou down as she fixes up komugi. then the actual fight against pitou: more darkness, more anger, but through it all there’s still light, namely his jajanken being very orange & fiery lookin.....and that final sequence, where he puts all his possible nen he’d ever have into his ~final form~ or wahtever & turns into a male version of true form!bisky but dressed in a crop top & short-shorts (i am SCARRED, btw. s c a r r e d !). there’s just huuuge flashes of light as that’s going on, and it reminded me of supernovas or dying stars when i was thinking about it, where the star is like, collapsing under its own weight? & burning thru its own fuel, until there’s nothing left except a dwarf or black hole or what have you. one final, extremely deadly burst of light & energy before death.

  On the meruem side of things: born into a dark cave, exhibits a traditionally evil/cruel/wicked/whatever personality/traits so that has ppl associating him with darkness. then he gets to know komugi, starts to appreciate other aspects of humanity, seems like he could have actually turned into a decent person who doesn’t want to eat everyone - so that’s a ‘path to light’, maybe? - and then the extermination team yeets themselves into the palace, netero takes him out to bumfuck nowhere, they fight. netero’s fighting is just ALL light, from his giant ass golden 100-type guanyin bodhisattva to the poor man’s rose. again, there’s the sense of finality to it all, in a similar vein to dying stars: netero comes in determined to kill meruem no matter what, and we all know netero doesn’t flake. then we see netero get destroyed after the zero hand, and he triggers the rose, and everything is burning & on fire before the flames are put out and all turns dark again.

  But wait!!! pouf & youpi revive meruem and all he does is play gungi with komugi, even with the poison of the rose. he eventually dies, and the gungi pieces in that final shot of them together (i am BAWLING just thinking about it holy shit) has one that’s all white, one that’s a black ring and white inside. i assume all white is for komugi, who has never done ANYTHING wrong in her LIFE, so i like to think that the 2nd one is for meruem - born “into darkness”, literally & figuratively, but he turns something like ‘good’ by the end. it’s interesting how togashi has sort of gone for a bit of a subversion here: the hero going from light to darkness, and the main antag from darkness to light.

✶ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍   AahhhhHHHHHhhh so if you read all the way down here through my LONG rambles, tysm! i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear what other people think about all this, and i’ve FOR SURE missed tons and tons of stuff - chimera ants is just. SO MUCH. and i don’t know it as well as yorknew eeek.

  I’m not sure if i’m really ~knowledgeable~ in any other areas relating to hxh, so this might be the only one of these that i do, but i definitely think about some of this - esp all the religious symbolism & #4 stuff - a ton! so in the meantime, if it’s of any interest, i’m just going to shamelessly plug my hxh x religious beliefs/superstitions edit series :D lots of love to all!!!

[gingerteaonthetardis]

☕️ time! Thoughts on (any or all!)

1. Catherine Hardwicke’s iconique blue tint/the general vibe of twilight vs the other three (ugh, fine, the other four)

2. A film/tv show where the soundtrack made the film/tv show what it was (not really an opinion but I don’t make the rules I just don’t follow them)

3. Tentoo! I remember reading a while back (I think it was you? If not VERY awkward and I only ask forgiveness) that something about Tentoo didn’t settle with you bc it felt like a plot device and I HARD agreed and always wanted to hear a little more about your thoughts

But no pressure to answer all of these or even any ones in particular! Enjoy your caffeine

oh man, you've opened the floodgates, loup!! i'm gonna put my answers below the cut, just for the sake of everyone's dashes.

clown time!!!

☕ listen, i love the blue tint!!! i love the blue tint, it activates my nostalgia in such a profound way that when i look outside on greyish blueish days, i feel inexpressibly cozy. i think it is one of those iconic and super fun things that makes people remember the color correction in twilight more strongly than the other films.

but!! my hot take is that new moon also has a completely lovely palette that really reflects bella's entry into the beauty of the more human world... the shots of her driving to la push, with the flash of her sunset orange truck against the verdant green? her and jacob in endless coordinating earth tones?? the hazy golden light around them as they ride their bikes?? the fact that all the wolves look so fluffy and warm that i literally do not care if they have sharp teeth, i will be cuddling them at the first available opportunity?????

(the series is seriously lacking on wolf cuddling. it annoys me on a number of levels. affection for my wolfpack, please!!!!!!!)

idk, i think the color story of new moon is really powerful and lovely. it begins a general trend toward warming the series up, which... is a little bit frustrating, considering the narrative. it means they chose to warm the cullens up, in order to make them more appealing and less obviously Dead, when i appreciated the contrast between her world with edward—blue and cold and beautiful in a way you flinch back from but yearn for—and her world with jacob—a world with life, growth, warmth.

(i've decided that every time i ramble about twilight, i have to donate a dollar to the quileute move to higher ground campaign. think i'm up to $5 for the month.)

☕ oh my god, please don't judge me, but i the first example that jumps to my mind is the freaking......... vampire diaries???? the cw has this ability to choose these outrageous songs to go along with these poignant emotional moments, songs that you will one day hear in a department store and that will make you randomly start flushing, because so-and-so had their first kiss to this song!! or this was the song they played when so-and-so got into that fight that almost destroyed their relationship with so-and-so!!

it's one of those shows where the music choices aren't necessarily good, but they are incredibly impactful, and i still listen to a lot of those songs to this day just because of the way they make me feel!

☕ yeah, so, tentoo has definitely never sat right with me. that isn't to say that i don't see what rtd was doing with him as a narrative tool (i do), that i don't enjoy writing him (i do), or that i can't comprehend other people liking him and being satisfied with rose's ending (i totally do). it's more like... for me, he is both a frustratingly convoluted and incredibly easy answer to what should have been a more weighted question: how do you move on when the love of your life is in a different universe, living day after day without you? how do you move on from the doctor?

the answer we were ultimately given was, "well, you don't. you marry his biological metacrisis who conveniently has the same lifespan as you." which feels like a disservice. it feels like a band-aid over a bullet wound. i want, "maybe you never do, and you learn to grow around the hole in your chest, because that's what life is. life is having regrets and hurts and still moving forward." or i want, "one step at a time. you learn to love again someday, maybe differently than before, but just as good." or i want, "you don't. you don't move on. you search for what you truly want, all the way to the ends of every universe, because you don't just give up. you don't just let things happen. you make a stand. you say 'no.' you have the guts to do what's right, when everyone else just runs away."

tentoo can be used well in stories by fantastic writers who move me to actual tears, yes. and i can appreciate that people love him. but i find his narrative existence—'a copy of the doctor, just for rose'—a lazy answer to an important question.

[kimjoongs-main]

dream seller au - renjun {1}

» type: bullet scenario

» warning(s): n/a

» dia’s note: this started out fluffy.....idk what happened....also...there will be a part 2 bc this plot was a lot longer than i thought it was going to be

you’ve heard stories about the infamous “dreamer” who resides in the depths of the forest

people say he’s the creator of dreams, the one responsible for the visual images that occur during deep slumber

many residents in your village, mostly the elderly, claimed that the dreamer was an immortal being who lived to provide dreams for mortals

others have claimed that they’ve physically seen the dreamer and described him as a young boy adorned in ragged fabric, hair as dark as the night sky and facial features which looked to be carved from smooth marble

it was also said that if you were to stumble upon the dreamer, you would have the opportunity to ask him to create a dream specifically for you

it could be anything from your wildest fantasies to your simplest desires, he would provide that for you

your mother first told you this story when you were just a child, curious as to why you were experiencing these images while you were asleep

as a child, you were intrigued by the idea and sought out more stories about the dreamer

other children in your village, however, weren’t as intrigued and quite honestly found the story to be nothing but a mindless fantasy

because of this, you were often the subject of teasing and it became hard for you to make friends

so you often found yourself wandering around the village all alone

sometimes, you’d wander as far as the edge of the village, the border which separated your cozy little town from the vast forest that lay on the other side

a few times you were tempted to cross over, to venture thru the trees and see for yourself if the myth was true, however you were always stopped by a villager who warned you to never explore the forest on your own

for the next few years, you adhered to the villager’s warning, but the same time, your curiosity continued to cultivate and eventually, you couldn’t wait anymore

you had to know if the myth was actually true or not...so one night when the entire village succumbed to a deep slumber, you carefully snuck out of your home

you left a note for your mother saying you went for a walk in case you didn’t return by daybreak

you were adorned in a black cape, completely invisible even underneath the light of the full moon

armed with only a small torch and a pick axe, you pushed past the dense thicket and ventured into the heart of the forest

from the stories you’ve been told, the dreamer’s cottage was supposedly located at the other end of the forest, past the river and at the bottom of the mountain

you continued your journey for a few more minutes, but when you finally reached the other side of the forest, all you were met w was the steep, rocky slope of the mountain.....no cottage and no dreamer in sight

feeling defeated, you plopped down on a nearby stone, deciding to rest your feet for a moment before you made the joir ey back home

“guess it was just a myth after all” you muttered to yourself, leaning back on the tree

once you saw the sky changing from a midnight blue to a warm orange, you stood back up and grabbed your stuff, getting ready to trudge back home

however, as soon as you turned around, you noticed a faint cloud of white smoke billowing out from behind a ridge in the mountain

the logical side of you screamed to just keep walking, but ofc the curious side if you told you to check it out...and of course....you did

you gingerly walked closer to where the smoke was coming from and peeked around the ridge

and there, settled comfortably at the base of the mountain, was a small stone cottage, the source of the smoke coming from the tiny chimney at the side of the roof

you let out a small gasp, heart pounding in your chest......this couldn’t be it, right?? there’s no way you actually managed to find it—

your thoughts were interrupted by the door to the cottage suddenly flying open, and a hooded figure stepped out, carrying a small woven basket

the figure looked to be a young boy around the same age as you, with glowing cheeks and soft strands of obsidian hair

his description matched the stories, but you didn’t want to assume anything just yet, so you kept watching silently.......or at least you tried to

leaning forward to get a better look, you quickly lost your balance and stumbled forward, falling flat on your face

the figure jumped at the sound and he quickly stepped back, looking at your fallen form w wide eyes

you immediately scrambled to get up and were about to leave when a quiet, but firm voice stopped you in your tracks

“wait! who are you? what are you doing here?” you reluctantly looked over your shoulder, making eye contact w the hooded figure

you slowly put your hands up to show that you meant no harm “i’m sorry, i was just wandering around the forest, i didn’t mean to scare you”

at your words, the boy scoffed and rolled his eyes before setting the basket down on a nearby tree trunk “i’ve heard that excuse before, let me guess...you’re a villager? from the small town just north of here?”

you nodded, not sure where he was going w all of this

“i should’ve known...you people just don’t know when to quit don’t you?” you furrowed eyebrows at him, asking him what he meant by that

the boy sighed and picked up his basket again, walking past you and gesturing for you to follow him...which you obliged

he led you into the forest once again, stopping occasionally to pick a few leaves, twigs, mushrooms, and flowers from the ground

as you quietly trailed behind him, he began to speak again

“i’m sure your people have told you stories about me, the one who creates dreams, the ‘dreamer’ if you will...and i’m sure your reason for finding me was to obtain a dream from me, yes?”

you opened your mouth to protest, but he cut you off again

“well, let me tell you what those stories have wrong, a minor detail they forgot to put in. i do sell dreams to people who find me, yes, but it comes at a price. in order to—“

“actually...i didn’t come for that reason” you interjected softly

the boy froze and looked over his shoulder at you, raising his eyebrows skeptically “oh? then why have you sought me out then, my dear? why risk your life?”

you hung your head sheepishly, rubbing your boots against the damp soil “i...just wanted to see if the stories about you were true..that’s all”

there was a beat of silence, the only sound you could hear was the chirping of the songbirds as the morning star made it’s ascent in the sky...and then a burst of laughter

you looked up in shock to see the boy w his hood down, bent over a field of grass, hands on his knees, and melodies of laughter coming out of his mouth, probably the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard in your life

“so..you mean to tell me that you risked your life wandering through the forest, searching for me just so you could see if i was real?” he burst out laughing again, and you could only blush w embarrassment

after he calmed down a bit, the young boy straightened back up again, reaching out towards you and placing his hand on your shoulder “i like you, you’re funny” was all he said before he walked past you again back to his cottage

you were frozen in your spot, brain still in the process of registering what just happened

“hey, are you coming inside or what?” he called out to you

you shook yourself out of your stupor and turned around, following the boy inside

the inside of his cottage felt very warm and homey, he had a small hearth in the corner of the room, a kitchen, a dining table, and a wooden bench

it all looked very normal to you.....except for the fact that there was a huge cauldron sitting in the middle of the room, which you assumed to be where he creates his dreams

“by the way, i never got your name” he said, taking off his hood and hanging it on the back of a nearby chair “my name’s renjun....and before you say anything yes i have an actual name, i don’t refer to myself as ‘the dreamer’ or however your people say it”

“oh..my name’s y/n....” renjun took a second to process your name, then he nodded and pressed his lips together in a thin line “nice to meet you, y/n. i have a feeling i’ll be seeing you around often”

and...he was right

after your initial meeting, you would venture into the forest late at night and arrive at renjun’s cottage early in the morning

it became a routine for you: sneak out after everyone’s gone to bed, travel through the forest, arrive at renjun’s for breakfast, and then return home before noon

your mother questioned you on your whereabouts, asking why you were never there in the morning

you didn’t want to lie to her, but you also made a promise to renjun the first day you two met: that you would never tell anyone you saw him or know where he was

you didn’t ask him why and didn’t dare to, you figured it was something he’d rather keep to himself

but during your visits to renjun’s humble abode, he would show you how dreams are made and how he distributes them

he mixes the ingredients he collects from the forest in the cauldron, turning them into a liquid and placing them into small vials

each liquid had a different color, and those colors indicated what kind of dream a person would have

red indicates a dream about love, green for adventure, yellow for happiness, blue for sadness

when the dreams were ready to be sent out, renjun takes the vials he needs and places them over a small fire outside, the liquids evaporate, turn into a gas, and drift off to find their person

“how do the dreams know where to go?” you asked one day, renjun just smiled softly as he watched the rainbow of gases flow thru the air “they know...”

as you watched him concoct different kinds of dreams, you noticed that there were small vials filled w a black liquid resting on a shelf

“hey renjun?” “mm?” “why do you never use those dreams?”

his eyes followed your hand, and when they landed on what you were pointing at, he froze

“those...those aren’t dreams y/n....they’re nightmares” “.....oh”

renjun sighed and set down the vials he was working on “i..don’t use those very often. i did once and...it didn’t end very well. after that experience, i vowed to never use a nightmare ever again”

you nodded silently, listening and never prying further, renjun would explain the rest to you when he was ready

for the next few weeks, you made your daily visits to renjun’s cottage, watching him make dreams, or occasionally you two would walk over to the river and talk about random things

thru these talks you learned three things: 1) renjun was, in fact, immortal, he would sometimes tell you stories from past history and 2) the dreams he made had the capacity to come true, but very rarely and 3) renjun never stayed in the same place for very long, he usually moved once he felt that his time was spent

after hearing the last one, you tried very hard not to show your disappointment, but renjun saw right thru you

he scoffed and leaned over, poking your cheeks “stop pouting dummy, i’m not leaving this place for a long time”

you swatted his hand away, but couldn’t help the small smile from tugging at the corner of your mouth “really? why? is there something you like about this place?”

renjun coughs and turns away from you, but you swore you saw a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks, and his next words made your stomach do a flip “...yes...there is”

after that day, your visits to renjun’s cottage started to become less frequent, mostly due to the fact that your mother fell ill and you had to work the shop while simultaneously taking care of her at the same time

you were worried bc you didn’t have the chance to tell renjun why you haven’t been showing up anymore and hoped that he’d understand the next time you saw him

however...one night, as you were sleeping soundly next to your mother, you started seeing these horrid images flash before your eyes, images that would forever haunt your memory

you shuffled around the bed, arms flailing every which way, soft whimpers leaving your lips and tears streaming down the side of your face

your suffering only lasted for a moment bc you woke up to see your mother’s concerned face hovering above yours

you laid in bed, chest heaving rapidly, eyes blinking away the tears

was that...a nightmare? no, it couldn’t be..renjun said he never used nightmares, so why did i..?

you flew out of bed and, without even explaining anything to your mother, you ran out the door and straight into the forest

you had to get to renjun, you didn’t what it was, but you just felt that something was off

you ran and ran, not even taking a break, you practically sprinted thru the forest, but...when you reached the bottom of the mountain and went around the ridge...

renjun’s cottage was nowhere to be seen

[attina-the-responsible]

Attina Monroe Triton - Character Sheet

all these couples are kissing / and i can't stand the heat / i lost my shoes and left the party / i wander in the street

i put my feet into the fountain / the statues' all asleep / no use wishing on the water / it grants you no relief...

Archetype — The Caregiver Birthday — June 22, 1991 Zodiac Sign — Cancer MBTI — ENFJ Enneagram — 2, the Helper Temperament — Melancholic Hogwarts House — Hufflepuff (burned) Moral Alignment — Neutral Good Primary Vice — Envy/Lust Primary Virtue — Charity Element — Water   

Overview:

Mother — Athena Triton (nee Oceana) (deceased) Father — Jeffery Triton Mother’s Occupation — Homemaker Father’s Occupation — CEO of Triton Industries (they fund coral reef preservation and ocean clean up) Family Finances — Wealthy (from shipwrecked goods) Birth Order — Oldest Brothers —  None Sisters — Andrina (Anna Kendrick FC, Birthday: February 7, 1992), Adella (Tara Lynn FC, Birthday: March 14, 1993), Arista (Lily James FC, Birthday: March 22, 1994), Aquata (Brianne Hildebrand FC, Birthday: September 20, 1995), Alana (Grace Phipps FC, Birthday: September 23, 1997), Ariel (Sophia Lillis FC, Birthday: December 4, 2002) Other Close Family — Melody (cousin, Lily Collins FC, September 2, 1994), see family tree here. Best Friend — Nala Calame Other Friends — I’m sure she has them. Her sisters. Enemies — Guys that have broken her heart or fucked w her sisters. Pets — None. Home Life During Childhood — Happy, though, had to keep being a mermaid a secret and that was rough. Town or City Name(s) — The Ocean, Boscombe Reef. Swynlake, England. What Did His or Her Bedroom Look Like — Shared with Andrina. Was constantly picking up after her. Had bright colors--yellows and oranges and reds. Any Sports or Clubs — Band/Orchestra. (Harpist/keyboard.) Favorite Toy or Game — She totally has a little blanket that she’s had ever since she was a baby and it’s all ragged but she lowkey keeps it in her purse. Schooling — Swynlake Secondary. Favorite Subject — Biology! Popular or Loner — Popular Important Experiences or Events — First time a guy broke her heart (16? Same year mom died.) Health Problems — OCD Culture — Mermaid culture. Religion and beliefs — Uhhh?? They believe in the ocean???

Physical Appearance:

Face Claim —  Sarah Drew Complexion — Pale Hair Colour — Red Eye Colour — Green Height — 5’4 Build — Petite Tattoos — a whale tail on her finger. Piercings — ear piercings Common Hairstyle — lots of various styles, attina loves to mess with her hair Clothing Style — brightly colored, trendy Mannerisms — talks with her hands, laughs awkwardly a lot Usual Expression —

Health:

Overall (do they get sick easily)? — Not really. Physical Ailments — None. Neurological Conditions — Anxiety, Depression, OCD. Allergies —  Seasonal Grooming Habits — Attina does it all--face masks, pedicures, bubble baths. She loves it all! Sleeping Habits — A pretty good sleeper, but a light sleeper. Eating Habits — Can skip meals when stressed. Probably eats more sweets than she should. Exercise Habits —  Does yoga sometimes. Emotional Stability — 5 out of 10. Tina has a lot of anxiety and her OCD can make her really hard to function sometimes, she is quick to panic and quick to anger and quick to tears. Sociability — So. Friendly. Too friendly. Body Temperature — Runs a little cold to the touch, but isn’t actually cold Addictions — none Drug Use — recreational Alcohol Use — all the time.

Your Character’s Character:

Bad Habits — she’s ocd so there is a plethora to choose from Good Habits — always diligent lmao she locks doors like 15 times Best Characteristic — so caring, so sweet Worst Characteristic — sooooo nosy and lowkey desperate Worst Memory — learning that her mother had died Best Memory — each time her sisters were born. Also her first kiss (even if the guy was a dick) Proud of — her degree and her sisters Embarrassed by — pfft everything?? She gets so easily flustered, mostly bc she overshares Driving Style — Doesn’t drive. Strong Points — fiercely loyal and fiercely kind Temperament — bubbly but self-deprecating Attitude — optimist but also a pessimist about her own life Weakness — uhhh so many things? Her desperateness for love she could be easily used if someone tells her they love her Fears — unlovable; something happening to her sisters Phobias — well--OCD is kind of a phobia of disorder Secrets — she’s a mermaid, lol. Also, she got a job at the great barrier reef she turned down Regrets — turning down the job offer (but not really, she’d do it again) Feels Vulnerable When — she likes someone; when her sisters tease her about being overbearing Pet Peeves — when her sisters DONT LISTEN TO HER; messy people (aka all her sisters) Conflicts — wants to live her own life but feels a duty to her fam Motivation — her fam Short Term Goals and Hopes — keep everyone safe Long Term Goals and Hopes — get married. Have a family. (have a job she likes) **disclaimer: she’s given up on all of these Sexuality — Straight Exercise Routine  — she goes when andrina drags her, otherwise she swims and walks a lot. Day or Night Person — Day. Introvert or Extrovert — Extrovert. Optimist or Pessimist — Optimist.

Likes and Styles:

Music — she likes lots of pop; megan trainor lana del ray katy perry. Basic bitches. Also movie soundtracks Books — anything romantic. Literally. Anything. She reads those 10 cent novels you buy at the grocery store that literally no one reads Magazines — vogue def. Probably whatever the british equivalent of People is (the Sun??) Foods — she’s a pescatarian. She lovesss fresh fish. But also fruits and veggies. Lovesss smoothies. Drinks — Smoothies. Also drinks lots of water or she’ll start looking like she’s dying Animals — starfish are her fave but she loves all sea critters. Especially coral reef dwellers bc she’s actually spoken with them Sports — uhhh does marching band count? Social Issues — magicks rights/a kinda skewed feminism/she’s p socially aware Favorite Saying — a boat is safe at shore, but that’s not what it was built for. Color — orange! Like her tail! Clothing — she dresses kinda like vintage but cute Jewelry — she wears like pearl earrings every day as a staple and different necklaces. Her mother’s stuff on special occasions. Games — uhh?? None rly. Tho im sure she’d loves those like shoot ‘em up games idk Halo? skyrim? Websites — tumblr def. Facebook def. Insta DEF TV Shows — god she loves trash reality. Movies — likes gore. Likes romance. Loves when ppl die. Greatest Want — to keep her family safe Greatest Need — to take charge of her destiny

Where and How Does Your Character Live Now:

Home — She lives in Castle Suites, in a three bedroom apartment with her sister Andrina. (The third bedroom has two sets of bunkbeds and probably a futon in it so hypothetically all the sisters could stay the night.) Household furnishings — Pretty modern and always, always organized and clean. Her house always looks like it is getting ready for a photoshoot, though she has to get on Andrina for putting things away. Favorite Possession — Anything that was her mother’s, or that her mother gave her. Most Cherished Possession — A handwritten letter from her mother that Athena gave her the day her tail “popped” Married Before — Nope. Significant Other Before — Jason Madison (only serious boyfriend, they dated for nine months when she was 15-16). Children — Nope. Relationship with Family — She’s very close to all her sisters and keeps in touch with the cousins (on land) the best that she can. She’s the Perfect Daughter. Car — N/a. Career — Clerk at Whosits and Whatsits Dream Career — She wants to preserve the coral reefs in the world. Dream Life — Travel the world, but then, settle down and have a family. (Preferably have a partner during her worldly travels) Love Life — She dates around. She says “non-existent” Hobbies — Trashy reality television. Hanging out with her sisters. Knitting (bc she’s an old lady.) Watching documentaries. Hanging out in nature. Guilty Pleasure — Chocolate. Attina is always trying the newest diet craze, but when she sad chocolate is her go to. Sports or Clubs — She was in the chess club as a secondary student. She was also the favorite for student body president but she didn’t run during her upper sixth years. Talents or Skills — Attina is a talented piano player, harpist, and singer, though she hasn’t practiced any of these in quite a while. Intelligence Level — Attina is very bright, but she definitely dumbs herself down for boys. Smh. Finances — Her family is rich, but she makes a pretty meager salary at the shoppe.