#as usual my moodboard skills are terrible

[arachnexdragoon]

Our hearts are dynamite and we're here to blow this (shit) up - of thunder and explosions - a playlist for an unlikely partnership (and maybe more) featuring Aranea (@arachnexdragoon) & Loqi (@loqis)

Fitz and The Tantrums - Spark  /  Franz Ferdinand - The Dark of the Matinée  /   土屋 アンナ - knock down  /  Kaiser Chiefs - Good Clean Fun  /  Nickelback - Bottoms Up  /  MONORAL - Casbah  /  Panic! at the Disco - Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time  /  The Strokes - I'll Try Anything Once  /  Sia - Move Your Body  /  Maroon 5 - My Lucky Strike

[the-upper-shelf]

I love your posing! Have any tips for how you decide on a pose?

Thank you so much! ❤

i was trying to type this down but i realized i explain myself very badly sooo i arranged a small....process you could say?

SO! usually when i have an idea for a drawing it’s there but not quite- so i head over to pinterest. If i have no idea of what i want to draw i just scroll until i see something that catches my eye If i know already i type a keyword of what i’m planning to draw. Here i wanted to draw Cerva dancing so i typed “ballerina” in seach of the aesthetic i wanted. Note that in this phase i’m not necessarely searching for a pose- sometimes i find it other times i take inspiration by just a moodboard!

now that i have my image i try to put on paper what i had in mind real quick! i don’t pick the pose first because i tend to make the character stiff  (this is all from personal experience, you could have a different method and that would be absolutely fine! there are no rules in your process....only on anatomy and all that fun stuff...)

what am i doing here? i don’t know. having fun i guess lol i make a bunch of weird lines until i find the “flow” i want for my drawing. I don’t really pay attention to anatomy here and i never use the eraser, this is very important because your ideas will be going off at high speed and a quick pause to erase a part will be enough to stop your thinking process, i promise! Make a lot of experiments: what if the head was up? down? to the side? what if i put the leg like this and so on. Now the boring part...finding the pose lol Pinterest can take away a lot of your time if you’re not being careful, you want the perfect pose i know- but it can be very hard! especially if so far we’ve been drawing without one. There’s a change you can find it but there’s also the chance you won’t...so what now? i personally try to find different poses and merge them all togheter in my mind: maybe a pose has the right arm position, maybe another has the right bust position so i take them all, i place them beside my canvas and start drawing! remember to always lower the opacity of the first sketch! How much? i don’t know, just make sure you’re seeing more of what you’re drawing rather than what’s under it.

for this one i was lucky enough and needed only three pics but sometimes my folders become a real mess, i swear. now for clip studio users! there’s a little box you can use to see your reference while you’re working go to WINDOW>SUB VIEW enable sub view and you should be able to see this:

you can make the frame bigger but i like to keep it small and zoom in when i need to check a detail :) ANATOMY TIME BABYYY

i hate it. i really do. Of course i can’t explain here how my “skeleton”works...not only it would take too long but also i have no idea of  how to explain that. The basic idea is to compose the body with geometrical forms, there are some tutorials on youtube and even pinterest itself! anatomy is important kids, it’s a pain in the butt- but it’s still important! and as we speak i’m still learning it myself...

and here it is! for the final sketch i find it extremely important to build the anatomy while still thinking about the fluency of the pose. Your drawing will inevitably stiffen a bit, that’s normal but instead of drawing little sausages think geometrically (god i can’t explain this properly i’m so sorry) here’s a visual example of what i’m trying to explain:

and remember: this takes time and pratice. I’m still praticing myself, i haven’t “mastered” the technique or anything check different tutorials, work daily on your skills and most importantly FINISH YOUR DRAWINGS you have no idea how much this last thing helps lol alright, that’s it! sorry for my terrible english i hope it helps! somehow.

[babyjeep]

Back with another part of the Teen Wolf Hogwarts AU! It’s based on the Hogwarts house moodboards that scilessweetheart made! But all of her moodboards are amazing.

This is part 3B and it’s called Two Roads Diverged

Make sure you read the other parts first! Intro, part 1, part 2, part 3A

Twice Stiles had nearly slipped down the set of stone stairs that spun around the outside of the tower. The closer he got to the top, the more unsettled he felt. Not only was he nervous about following Malia Hale, but he also didn’t want to be near the hundreds of birds that lived at the top of the Owlery. Birds had always terrified Stiles a little bit, but birds in the magical world? Those were freaky as hell. Lydia had explained it to him a few times, but he still didn’t understand how they knew where to take the letters just by the name you wrote on the top.

What made these birds different from Muggle birds? How did they understand English? How did they deliver messages to insanely exact locations? Once over summer, Lydia had sent him a letter and the bird flew through his open bedroom window to drop it in his lap. Then, the bird waited for him so that it could return to Lydia with his response. It had glared at him and squawked creepily until he got the hint and wrote his response.

As soon as he rounded the corner on the last step, he ran into something, or rather- someone.

“Are you following me?”

“Ah! Jesus-“ Stiles put a hand over his heart. “Were you- were you just waiting around the corner to scare me?”

“Answer the question,” Malia said darkly.

“N-no! I wasn’t following you!”

“Then what were you doing?”

“I’m. . Sending a letter, obviously. What else would I be doing?”

Finally, Malia stepped out of the way to let Stiles into the Owlery and out of the pouring rain. The boy flinched when a bird swooped close to him. There was an obvious discomfort on his scrunched up face as he scanned the room in search for the right bird.

“Where’s you friend McCall? Wasn’t he with you?” Malia glared out the doorway toward the bridge. There was not another student in sight. The rain did stop most people from venturing out of the castle, but usually a few crazy students were out slinging mud at each other, usually Gryffindors that would later muddy up the halls and loose points for themselves.

“Scott? He’s walking Kira back to the castle. Just me out here sending a letter. . in the middle of a storm. Ah, there you are!” Stiles waved to a particularly stoic bird who didn’t seem too happy he had noticed her. It was taking Stiles an awful long time to find the paper he intended on sending. Then, he got out his quill and ink and started writing.

Malia found that oddly suspicious. “You didn’t have it written before coming here?”

After all, who would want to spend twenty minutes writing a letter against a stone slab that was littered in bird poo? The cacophony of chirping made it hard to even have this conversation at all, let alone focus long enough to write a letter.

“I. . Couldn’t risk anyone seeing what I wrote.” Stiles regretted the excuse as soon as he said it because that opened him up to being asked-

“Why?”

“It’s just. . Embarrassing.” Oh god, the cover story that came to his mind was not a good one. Surely he was going to regret this later, “I’m sending it to Lydia.”

Oh, Lydia Martin. Malia knew of her. They were in the same year. In fact, she and Lydia had been keeping a close eye on each other since first year when Lydia confronted her with the theory that Malia was a werewolf. Lydia was right, of course, Lydia is always right. That’s why she was the Ravenclaw Prefect and rumored to be their Headgirl for their final year.

Malia also knew that ever since they met on the train at age eleven, Stiles Stilinski had been in love with Lydia. Through the years, everyone watched his numerous failed attempts at trying to get her to go on a date with him. Just when it seemed like Lydia might finally be leaning towards having a crush on him as well, Stiles would do something terribly awful like throw a dungbomb into a classroom and unknowingly demolish the small sliver of hope he had.

It was almost painful to watch, but everyone was invested now. If they weren’t together by the end of their seventh year, surely they would be by the time they had a class reunion.

“You must really like her if you can’t even risk McCall knowing about your letter.” Malia rarely saw the pair of boys without each other. Actually, this might have been the first time she was ever having a one-on-one with Stilinski. McCall had said hello to her a few times in passing, but they had never said much.

“Yeah well, I do kinda have this five year plan going, and time is sort of running out. But hey- this year has just begun and there’s always next year.” Stiles seemed satisfied with his answer as he rolled up the letter to attach to the owl. Once he sent it off, he shoved his hands in his pockets and asked, “So. . What are you doing here?”

Malia blinked a couple times and wondered, what the hell was she still doing here? Why was she standing around, watching some dork send a love letter to a girl who would never give him the time of day?

Her morning wasn’t exactly the greatest. The news of her bio parents threw off everything. She had no idea how she was supposed to react to learning that, or how others wanted her to see her react. Some people acted like they were walking on eggshells around her. Others were slightly more excited than they should have been about it. Before the article came out, everyone generally tried to avoid her because of her condition, but now people were coming out of the shadows to ask her how she was. Some even tried to act like they had been friendly before even though Malia didn’t even know their name.

“I was sending a letter. What else would I be doing?”

Stiles scratched behind his ear awkwardly. “Yeah, that’s, yeah. No duh, right? Ha. Anyway, with everything going on, did you want to walk back to the castle together? Safer in numbers and all that.”

“I don’t need protection,” Malia insisted.

“Then why did you wait for me to finish writing my letter?”

“I. .” Shit. Malia didn’t have an answer for that. “I just was hoping the rain would let up a bit.”

“Well, lucky for you-“ Stiles pulled a textbook and his want out of his book bag. “-I happen to have an umbrella.”

And with a quickly wave of his wand, the book he was holding really did turn into an umbrella. Malia’s lips parted in shock. Ravenclaws were notoriously bright, but she hadn’t known Stiles was able to apply his book smart skills for practical use. Transfiguration was one of the hardest forms of magic.

One look at the sky and Malia reluctantly decided to take Stiles up on his offer to walk her back. They had to huddle rather close to stay under the umbrella, close than most people dared to get to Malia. It seemed like the other students were afraid of her randomly shifting into the beast they imagined her as. In reality, Malia had not shifted a single time since going to Hogwarts. Her Potions professor gave her a monthly dose of wolfsbane to help stop the transformation.

When they made it to the covered bridge, Stiles shook as much water as he could off of the umbrella then turned it back into his Herbology book. Surprisingly, Malia was waiting for him to do that instead of running off now that she was safe from the rain.

He decided to try his luck again and played off his questioning like he was teasing, “So, I told you about my embarrassing letter. Who were you urgently writing to in a storm like this? A crush?”

Malia made a face of disgust. “Definitely not. I was just telling my parents what happened. They are muggles, so. . They don’t know much about this world. Dumbledore promised me he would send someone to protect and watch over them from afar so that they wouldn’t freak out.”

Stiles felt his heart fall to his stomach. He hadn’t even thought of how Malia’s adoptive family could be affected by all of this. If Dumbledore sent someone to look after them, did he assume they were in danger? Would Malia’s bio parents target her new family to get to her? Was it safe enough for her to go home for winter break?

The possibly of losing a family member is scary. Stiles knew that first hand. He wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

His eyes were a bit glossed over when he whispered, “I hope they’ll be okay.”

Malia studied his vulnerable expression then looked down at her feet. Suddenly this conversation felt like it was just. . too much. Never in a million years did she think she’d be having a heart to heart with the notorious trouble maker and prankster extraordinaire, Stiles Stilinski.

“Me too,” she mumbled.

Once they got to the tower, Malia put her hand on the door to yank it open, but she found herself pausing and looking over her shoulder at the boy. Out of everyone she had spoken to that day, he was the only one who hadn’t asked a single question about her bio parents.

Stiles caught her intense gaze and quickly went red. His hand flew up to fix the front of his hair, worried it had started drying funny from the rain or something. Why else would she be looking at him like that?

“Is it my hair? Is it messed up?”

“No, it looks good,” she said casually.

Stiles swallowed thickly and somehow went even redder than before. Probably because there was a mandrake leaf now caught in his throat. He tried to clear it and swallowed again, losing the leaf. This had to be a new personal record for how fast he wasted one. All he could manage out was, “Oh. Thanks.”

“Thank you for walking me back,” Malia said quickly before disappearing inside.

[rosesisupposes]

Moodboard: Remy Dormions & Damon McLeggan

Part of Another Goddamn Hero Story

D.R.E.A.M. Index #337397 Classification: Z.2.ii [Secondary tier, foreseeable threat, acquired powers] Name: Moonshadow Status: ACTIVE Civilian Name: [CLEARANCE: CONFIDENTIAL] Remy Dormions Threat Status: Foreseeable threat Partners/Sidekicks: DI#337500 - The Viper Primary Foes:  DI#A-4894 - Team Left Brain; Powers: Short-term memory manipulation;  //It appears to be entirely within their control, with no reported incidences of inadvertent ‘blinking’; Short-term covers on average 10 minutes, and any memories past that don’t disappear unless they concentrate particularly hard Costume: Leather jacket, sunglasses Age: 26 Height: 6′5″ Pronouns: They/Them H.E.A.R.T.S. Class of ‘15 Notes: They actually objected strongly to be called not a threat. And despite DI#337500′s best efforts, they keep sneaking off to steal things they think are pretty.

D.R.E.A.M. Index #337500 Classification: M.3.ii [Tertiary tier, no foreseeable threat, acquired powers] Name: The Viper Status: ACTIVE Civilian Name: [CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] Damon McLeggan Threat Status: Not a foreseeable threat Partners/Sidekicks: DI#337397 - Moonshadow Primary Foes: N/A Powers: Shape-shifting [reptile forms only]; Poison secretion //While shifting to animalian forms can happen almost instantly, some quirk of the mutation means the shift back takes much more time. He’s experienced a lag of over 24 hours after a shift, depending on how long he was in the form. Costume: Black and yellow suit, bowler hat with attached mask Age: 24 Height: 5′7″ Pronouns: He/him H.E.A.R.T.S. Class of ‘12 Notes: He’s technically on call, but only in the sense that he usually finds Remy before anyone else does. Inciting incident: bitten by a snake that had been genetically manipulated by DI#265333 - The Mystic Magician; Rescued in the raid on MM’s lab, but sustained severe burn scars from MM’s attempt to blow the lab as the heroes invaded.

How they met? Well, there’s the versions they’ve told people - Damon makes fun of his partner by telling people they tried to ask him out multiple times but kept feeling like it was dramatic enough, so they blinked him and tried again and again. 

Remy tells people that Damon sought them out after forgetting them once but remembering an impression of a “devilishly handsome person winking at him.”

But the actual story was much more than that.

Damon had a rough transition into HEARTS after the disaster at the Mystic Magician’s lab. He and Valerie were in an intensive care unit along with the other survivors of MM’s terrible experiments - and they were the lucky ones, in that they recovered enough to leave. Something in Valerie cracked, but didn’t make itself known until her school years when she kept disappearing from the premises and reappearing with new scars. Damon followed her, at first, still trying to take care of her. They fell in with a gang of young people causing mischief around the city. He didn’t care too much for the petty crimes, but he did pick up some skills, becoming a very talented pickpocket. He mostly used it to take away weapons that Valerie acquired, to keep her from using them on others or herself. But, he was still a young teen. As her condition deteriorated and her bouts of paranoia grew more intense, he followed her less and less, feeling useless to help and scared of her turning on him. She left school completely at 11 years old, when he was only 13, and they drifted further apart, though never lost contact completely.

Remy and Damon overlapped in their time at HEARTS, but it’s unclear if Remy ever actually attended classes, or if they just convinced teachers they’d just forgotten seeing them. Damon certainly doesn’t remember meeting them at school if they ever did.

After Damon graduated, he dropped off the radar for the most part. He was sighted with Valerie several times but never implicated in any of her attacks or crimes. But apparently, Remy remembered him as a face they’d seen in school. They robbed him and blinked him one summer night. Unnoticed, Damon picked their pocket and took his wallet back, and took a pocket watch they’d swiped from a pawn shop while he was at it.

When they next encountered each other, though, Damon remembered Remy. He offered to buy him a coffee, and they accepted automatically. While walking through the park, Damon said, “Oh, by the way, I think this is yours,” and flashed the pocket watch. Remy hadn’t even noticed they’d lost it, and was both impressed and touched that Damon remembered them.

Damon’s worst fear is that he’ll get stuck in reptilian form someday, and won’t be able to transition back at all.

Remy’s worst fear is that they’ll blink Damon by accident and he’ll forget everything about them.

Appearance notes: Remy is a incredibly tall and lanky. If they weren’t so smooth and flirtatious, they’d seem angular and gawky. They’re mixed, but won’t talk about their family, so it’s unclear what they are besides self-proclaimed “brown.” Their eyes are pure white, with no visible iris or pupil, but they can see without any trouble. They are aware, however, the effect their eyes have on people, thus the sunglasses, even if it’s dark or inside.

Damon is of East Asian descent, but that’s all he knows. He was adopted by an Irish widow, which is where he got his last name, but she died when he was too young to remember her as anything more than a fuzzy smile, and was sent to the foster home. He jokes that he solved any self-consciousness about his height by dating the tallest person alive so that everyone feels short in comparison, not just him. He has burn scars along a lot of his left side, and those parts are the slowest to transition back from reptilian form. He usually tells people who ask that the scales are tattoos if they ask.

Moodboard photo credits, via unsplash: green and gold throne || man in dark glasses || asian cobra || back portrait || stockholm moma statue || moon in my hand || black-headed python || lit hallway || circlet || barbed wire || yellow and white scales || gold glitter || buchenwald gate || chameleon || bonfire night

and of course, Remy on their throne is unforgettable by @blinksinbewilderment

[leightoningstrike]

Yonverinos Appreciation Week

March 3rd

Today are celebrating: @vociferrari

Who is Vociferrari?

According to the astronomy app Co-Star Voci is my one true love, my soulmate, the one I should be dating instead of my dusty old husband. And I agree!

She is hilarious. For starters; she is the funniest pervert who ever graced my DMs. When I see something slightly horny I think "got to send this to Voci" except usually I am seeing it because it is already on her blog.

I can rant about the most boring things in our chat and she is just like "one minute I have a meme for this"

We would be terrible at dinner parties because we are just 17 inside jokes in a trench coat.

Clams

Cabbages

Frogs are gossips

Pisse Prophecies

Mendo Magic

Can turtles be subs?

Being a slut for gothic stuff

Don't think about Penis hats

The omen bleeds

Just this gif

The list goes on. Probably Dramatic Pajamas™

She is my muse. I have done some of my best writing from her prompts. I truly truly care for her as one of my friends.

I am a grandma so I can't link but check out my dash as I reblog the beautiful moodboards she has made for me. She has a skill for capturing aesthetic™

Works Written for Vociferrari

Eve

The Wraith

The Dragon and the Star

The Night Before Yonversmas

What is Yonverinos Appreciation Week?

Reblog some love for our Yonverino Fam! Or use the tags below.

[nikatyler]

Felt like doing some replies the ~ old fashioned ~ way. I should be packing, but I don’t wanna. One good thing about this semester is that I don’t have classes on Monday morning, which means I don’t have to go to Prague on Sunday. But I’ll be once again going home late on Friday -_- Oh well. Maybe I could skip the lecture every once in a while to go home on Thursday afternoon.

I’m scared. Not really of what I’ll have to learn because I know that even if it’s difficult, I’ll probably get it in my brain in the end. Somehow. I’m more scared that once again, I’ll be left alone. I haven’t really found a stable friend group. I mean, I talk to some people sometimes, but I wouldn’t call it a friendship. One friend that I thought I could rely on doesn’t even bother saying hello to me anymore. I don’t know what I did to him, he just stopped talking to me. But maybe it’s for the best. Even when we still talked, I couldn’t believe how judgemental he was, and I often wondered if he talks about me like that too when I can’t hear it. He probably did. Oh well, I’ll see what I can do. I hope I’ll run into someone who is kinda like my best friend from high school.

As for sims stuff, I know I still owe some things to some people and I feel bad about it. You’ll get it eventually. I’m actually looking forward to doing it too. Makeovers are fun. I’d also like to release some more sims, I have one more sim dump and then some old legacy characters I want to share, plus some BC contestants that didn’t make it. They like to get eliminated in the first rounds.

Also, thanks for the comments on my mental health update post. I’ll see how this turns out and if it doesn’t get any better (I’m kinda hoping that better weather brings better mood, it worked before), I’ll start looking for a therapist or something. No offense to my parents but talking to them about this didn’t help in a slightest. They just don’t get it. And I swear I’m not reverting back to the “I’m an edgy misunderstood teenager” phase. Even though “edgy misunderstood teenager” is an aesthetic I still live for. Whatever that means.

And thanks for the tips on the laptop post. I’ll keep them in mind and I’ll probably ask again when the time comes and I actually buy a new one.

Ahh...I guess that’s it? Replies under the cut. As per usual, they’ll probably be the shorter part of this post, but oh well.

abysims  replied to your photoset  “Let’s find Lilith Vatore some love! In my game, I’ve had Lilith in a...”

Honestly Cassandra and Lilith would be amazing (... In my Glimmerbrook Academy story Cass is actually gonna have a huge crush on Lilith so I'm voting for that, yas!)

Ooooh that sounds great! Also, I’ll have a post announcing the results of the post coming up later, either today or tomorrow, but...spoiler alert: Cassandra might have won ;)

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your post “Simmer - Get to Know”

Lol this thing with Mermaids made me remember that when my friend and I were like 12 years old, a 6-year-old made her a "proposal" and we answered him that she'll marry him when he buys her a house by the sea in Prague

Omg sea in Prague sounds kinda cool, my faculty would be so close to the beach *-* Haha but at the same time it’s kinda terrifying, where would the sea come from? From the north? From the south? Would that mean my home doesn’t exist? Or, actually, considering my town was built on a big hill, would that mean I live on an island? And which part of Prague would be under the sea and which one would stay?

Sorry, I got distracted thinking of this AU where my country actually has access to the sea :D But we used to have it, back in like I think 12th or 13th century. We’re wayyyy smaller now.

amuhav replied to your post “Me, looking up some specs of my current laptop: you're...you're...”

If it's anything like me with my first 'gaming' laptop, the store clerk basically straight up lied to me about how good it was, and I was too young and naive to know better �� sims 3 almost burnt that thing to a crisp ������

Lmao I have a similar story with my first laptop, we were told that it has this super amazing graphic card...and it wasn’t amazing at all, as I later learned when my laptop broke.

amuhav replied to your photoset “Sims Moodboard Challenge I was tagged by @blurrypxls,...”

Oh no... don't make me want to go back to pinterest and do more of these �� They're ADDICTIVE

THEY ARE! I haven’t done much today, but I’ve spent a lot of time there all through this last week.

amuhav replied to your photo “I need to stop. This is more addictive than scrolling through memes....”

Pssst, not to enable or anything, but Picasa 3 has this nice feature where you can take a bunch of pics and it makes them into a nice collage. That's how I made mine, and then used them as my desktop backgrounds ��

I think I’ll use Photoshop, like I do for everything else, but thanks for giving me an idea for my new background! I used to have my sims or some other characters set as a background, but now that I take my laptop to school I feel a bit uncomfortable with that, so since October I’ve had this kinda boring background and I’ve been meaning to change it into something nicer, I just didn’t know what to put there. Now I do.

fataleromeo replied to your photoset “Sunset: “How dare you pretend you’re Father Winter?” Father Winter:...”

Holy crap, Sunset is a lot more buff than I ever realized. Those arms! ��

Yup. That’s because she has to get her Athletic skill higher for work. I think her muscle slider might be at max, actually!

fataleromeo replied to your photoset “Father Winter: “That’s it! You’re going on my Naughty List. Your...”

How could she not with with muscles like that?? Damn his Christmas magic!

Next time we should just call Caleb. I mean, he defeated Grim Reaper with no problem, surely Father Winter won’t be any more difficult for him!

fataleromeo replied to your photoset “Sunset: “Okay, cool. You won’t give us gifts but I have a special one...”

Lmaoooooo, get him, Sunset! ������

He deserves it

asplashofsims replied to your photo “~ daylight”

Cute picture! ♡ I hope you feel better soon and omgg winx club, it's my guilty pleasure for sure hahah all the childhood memories��

I love Winx Club so much. It’s a little ridiculous and the plot holes are terrible (and don’t let me talk about anything after season 4, those are not my Winx D:), but I can’t let it go.

blubrich replied to your post “I forgot how traumatizing Toy Story 3 was ��”

Especially the ending! ��

YES. I remember the whole cinema was crying.

Also, Toy Story always unpacks this weird guilt in me haha. Because as a child, naturally I was like “I would NEVER abandon my toys, I’ll keep them forever!”. And now...they’re in boxes...under my bed and in the basement...some of them I gave away or to my younger sister, who then also gave some away because she’s fifteen now. I still have my plushies and teddy bears in my bed though, it would be too empty without them :D

silverspringsimmer replied to your audio post “(via...”

I love Within Temptation and they got me into heavier music later, too!

I don’t even remember how I found them. I was just bored of the music I was listening to all the time back then, so I clicked through playlists and stuff on Spotify and somehow I landed on their page, I guess. And I immediately fell in love.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your audio post “(via...”

Oh this song was the first song of this bad which I heard! It was also 5-6 years ago.though I do not listen to them often these days.

I think the first song I heard was What Have You Done, which I liked and still like very much, but then I heard this one and went kinda crazy because it just sounded so epic and exactly what my poor slightly depressed fifteen years old soul needed. In one day, I completely switched from pop to metal and it took me a few years to appreciate my old favourite music again. (I know that I say all the time that I’m a Taylor Swift stan, but actually I only really started LOVING her music again last year.)

I’ve always thought that it’s kinda funny that in my Music class, for the first semester I prepared a project about Taylor Swift. In the second semester, that changed, the old pop loving Ronnie was dead, and my new project was about Within Temptation :D But I remember that I was actually upset that day, I chose to show my classmates the video of What About Us and they didn’t appreciate it. And then after me, my other classmate had a project about some singer who had this weird song about getting high. They wanted to replay it. I was so bitter, in my head I was like “this song that I showed you has an interesting meaningful message and you’d rather listen to a song about drugs, how dare you?! You’re absolutely terrible!”

Yeah. I mean, I get it today, but I was so, so bitter.

amuhav replied to your audio post “(via...”

I recently found out they had a new album out (and Nightwish had a new single out too ��) and early 2000s emo teenage me immediately surfaced and threw money at my screen!

Ahhhh I’ve basically had Noise on repeat since it came out, I love it so much! And the video is cool too. I can’t wait to hear the whole album. Nightwish never disappoints, I hope I’ll one day get to see them live. I’ve had a few chances but then it never worked out.

[drmazel]

Genevieve, 8, 35, and 92 for the number ask meme!!

o fuk you mean i gotta actually develop my characters??

8. What are their good and bad traits?

Good traits: She’s empathetic and patient. She embraces her own emotions and the emotions of others. She has few friends, but the ones she does have know that they can count on her to listen when they need it, or offer sympathy/advice when they want it. Also she’s a good singer, but that’s a secret.

Bad traits: I know I just said she’s patient and kind but she’s also a terrible hot-head. She won’t tolerate an ounce of disrespect, and for someone that can draw a sword in 0.05 seconds, that’s usually a recipe for disaster. She also carries her burdens alone, and with a single whiff of someone she cares for being put at risk because of her, she will try to run away to save them.

35. Do they own a plant?

Travel too much, nowhere to put a plant, usually. She’ll never turn down a flower though, and will care for it until it naturally wilts away due to being plucked away from its roots. It deserves that much.

92. What was their childhood like?

Fucked up dude.

On the second moodboard post I had the quote she’ll say about being a “child of surprise thrice over.” That’s some crazy shit. I’ll list out the three instances.

1. Her mother and her mother’s husband tried and tried and tried and failed to have children. Her mother’s husband died from disease, and her mother was now a widow and completely unable to even attempt to have any children. Now with nothing to lose, her mother took desperate measures to try to make it happen. Best case scenario, something would work. Worst case scenario, she would die alone, which was going to happen anyway. 

But soon after her mother thought she had given up hope, she returned home from the market to find the means through which her wish could be granted. That was the first surprise.

2. A classic child of surprise story: Her mother was fairly far along in her pregnancy with Genevieve, and while out in the fields collecting berries for food and flowers for selling at the market, a forktail caught her by surprise. She had absolutely no skill or means to protect herself and absolutely would have died if not for the incredible luck of a witcher from the School of the Fox being in very close proximity. But she was penniless, so in return for the witcher’s services, she was asked to pay with the first thing she encountered at home that she did not expect. 

And since fate likes to play cruel jokes, nearly the instant Genevieve’s mother crossed the threshold into her home, she felt the unmistakable sensation of a child preparing itself to enter the world a month and a half too early. That was the second surprise.

3. Finally, when Genevieve was 14, after 8 years of training and preparation, she was deemed fit to undergo the trials and mutations to become a full-fledged witcher. She, of course, survived, but only, of course, just barely. After she recovered from the physical torment of the trials, Genevieve knew she had to see her mother and assure her she was alright. She hadn’t seen her mother in years, and she knew her mother had to be sick with worry knowing she was now old enough to undergo the trials that only had a 40% survival rate. 

She could not have possibly known, however, that just that morning her mother had encountered the one who had brought Genevieve into existence, claiming it was now time to pay back her due. Knowing her mother was destitute, this individual decided to revel in the beauty of irony, and ask for that unexpected encounter once again. And thus when Genevieve’s mother walked into her home and saw her daughter, now teetering on the brink of humanhood yet alive, Genevieve was not met with elation and embraces as she had hoped. 

Instead, she was met with a quiet acknowledgement of, “I didn’t expect to see you here.” And then her hand felt as though it was on fire. That was the third surprise.

[ia21136melly]

SUBMISSIONS

The above were my original submission designs, although my work have been ready to submit a few weeks before the extended deadline my gut told me to wait until closer to the deadline in case a spark comes back. I had become exhausted and ‘done’ with the project, riddled with self-doubt and exhaustion I believed this was the best I could produce. My tutor messaged me on Monday the week of the deadline, stating I could still submit my work for feedback. I was not going to bother but decided too anyway and did. In the end I am so glad as I did, my feedback was not what I was expecting and it helped to create a drive which was just what I needed to get past the hump. 

FEED BACK

Prior to a message I received from my tutor reminding us we could submit our work for feedback (something I forgot) I had given up and my work would be “good enough”. I did not think the idea was that spectacular. I was confused by what concept boards were supposed to be (all the examples seemed to be on one page). So I went for that with a storyboard. It was not until I received my feedback that I realized that putting in a little more effort would be worth it, as my idea was not as terrible as I thought it was. I have now left it too late to achieve what I wanted too but I gave it my best shot. I also did not see the message until Wednesday night as I was finishing off other bits of work ready for submission. I found the balancing act a little tricky but persisted. I am aware that I lack the technical skills to do things I wanted to do, using my newly gained 3D skills I went to use Adobe Dimension with full confidence. My previous photography skills came in handy when it came to setting up the lighting. I found it really simple to follow, it was a case of designing the designs. Because I didn’t have time to sketch ideas ahead of time I did it on the spot, which I know is not the best way to work. On Wednesday night I stayed up a little later than normal to get my storyboard drawn out. I hated it but told myself it was better than nothing and I could expand in the morning. (3rd image). I also created a paper ad design which I was also not happy with (4th image).

I decided I would re-do my main concept page and based it off some of my favorite magazine layout style which is usually used more in collage style. That wouldn’t work with the Durex brand so I used it to make quotes around some images I found. I decided I would add a moodboard of the type of feel I was going for. I read to add texture for the design but I honestly had no idea what that meant and no time to discuss with with my tutor. Once again I found finding diverse images difficult, I mostly found white, female’s in wheel chairs. I am aware there are more disabilities than this and the disability community is fed up of being represented by a wheelchair. It is an even bigger issue in the POC (people of colour) community, in which they have even less representation. To get around this I looked for fashion editorials and looked up gay/black figures that was sat down. That way it was easier to pass off as a hidden disability. Even though you are still able to stand up with one. It was a tricky line to balance.  

Unless I was to do an all night and risk not finishing other work adjustments, I ran out of time to make the pop-up shop, so I choose not to place this in. I have a rough design but I wanted to do more to it. (image 5) It was a difficult choice, but I knew deep down to pull it off I needed to be more experienced with 3D modelling than I was. Although the shapes would have been simple, I know myself enough to know that I would have spent additional time trying to make it right. This is something I will be developing over summer as I am wanting to expand a project I have been working on for another module.  I am feeling happier with my outcome. It is better than it was and although it is not where I want it to be, I am working hard to be compassionate towards myself. University has been the first time I have touched any digital tools. And reflecting I have achieved an awful lot in the 2 years of learning, within those 2 years I have not been able to consistently work on each program either as I was usually working on other project. What this experience has been doing is helping me see what skills I need to develop and which areas I enjoy. For example, I have (to my surprise) discovered that I love working with 3D in Maya. I much prefer Illustrator to photoshop. And I am a fan of video edition and creating. As much as I love to look at typography I have a hard time creating it. With this task it really felt like I was needing to wear multiple hats as I was an art director, designer, graphic maker, creator, idea generator and more. All the things I know people typically do working in a team (which is much better, easier and quicker). This experience has also reminded me how important it is for me to be more proactive with getting my work accessed and adjusting quickly to continue the cycle until it is ready or okay to abandon. I achieved this with a different module this semester and as a result I have produced some work I am incredibly proud of. I will be using that experienced paired this the consequences of this one, to help continue to develop my design process for future projects. 

POSTER BACKGROUND REFLECTION

When it came to setting up a backdrop I went to look back at previous Durex posters. It was there that I was reminded about their emoji campaign and that is what inspired me to use the peach and aubergine for the poster. I thought a simple poster with these items in the background could promote all kinds of fun poses for the younger side of the target audience. Especially the ones who are social media users. Many countries have strict laws on advertising condoms, especially when children are involved. By using emojis I am reaching a very particular type of audience who are aware of emojis and able to read them, they are the same group of people most likely to take selfies and share on social media. In terms of tackling the audience in the older range my TV advert was designed with them mostly in mind as these are the ones less likely to use hastags or take selfies to share. They are also the ones more likely to have grown-up during a time when racism, sexism and other forms of oppression was viewed as okay. They are the groups that may be struggling to adjust to a more equal society that we are working towards. By having my advert show a more delicate, human side, followed by the excitement and joy of connection/sex, I hope for the audience to be engaged. This will also help the disability community feel included, understood and represented as they are given a platform to succeed on. For additional inclusion I paired the image up with the same (e.g. peach and peach). I envious couples finding their representation and going up to it in excitement to take a pose. Additional reference is the emojis helps to show body sizes, slim and tall, wide, and short and all in between. Body diversity is another issue I wanted to touch on with this camping but not make it the center, as it is more of a cousin issue to disability. Using the emoji code felt the most diverse way to hit all my target audience group in a safe way. Even though my brief was surrounding disability, it felt important to me to acknowledge inclusion of others as disabilities can impact anyone, regardless of your gender, race, or sexuality.  When it came to decide on a paper advert, I knew I wanted it to be interactive. The first thing that came to mind was making some kind of game with it. That triggered a memory I have at college were I would play exquisite corpse. It did not seem like too much of a stretch to create a page to do this. It would encourage others to communicate together and hopefully people would be interested in what the hashtag is all about. Sharing online is something people love to do and can be a great way to connect to a community. With it being a body related game it fitted in with the tag line of “sex for every body”. Grab people to play with. Tear out this page, fold on the black lines. Then take turns to draw in secret the head, body and legs. Take a snapshot and share on social media at #gotyoucovered.      

[kwibu]

That's exactly what I'm talking about! I mean I know newer edition but Heroes III was the one. Hard to not love it when u spent half of your childhood with this game and second one with the sims lmao. Ohhh that's understandable, watching streamers often looks like that. I don't play Overwatch but some of my friends do and seeing this screen... I have no idea what's going on and I'm pretty good at keeping focus, sigh.

Blue Totoro didn’t look so bad so I guess it was fine! Ohhhh I’m curious now. My skills end on drawing and baking tho… And yes I did watch Laputa and I really like it (didn’t expect anything other from ghibli lmao). About that show tho! It’ll be called Wandavision I’m sure u can google it. It was announced ~2 weeks ago with Marvel’s 4th phase, so 100% confirmed. Colour of Magic is really fun, so! You definitely won’t regret it.

And h5 on that, I wasn’t able to focus on books for last year? I was too busy with everything else, uni especially. 40C god… It’s around 35C here this summer and I’m ready to cry I truly hate this weather from the bottom of my heart.I was actualy thinking about putting my sign’s flower! But I don’t think pansies look pretty enough. Violets are lovely tho, I’m still thinking about it because I need to choose different studio (they asked 750$ for like 5cm long thing and I died inside).

I love your moodboard, it’s so pretty! Thank you so much. I never tried to put flowers in my Carat Bong and now I’m thinking about it again… My bias line includes hyung line in overall so you don’t have to worry about changing it! Wonwoo looks great there. But Jeonghan is the very first one for me. NO CHARACTER LIMIT WOULD BE HELPFUL HERE but let’s never go back to smaller gifs… as you see I’m being a little late with answering too, but it’s fine! Answer whenever you feel like it!

Right! Sometimes the older versions are just better. I often feel like new version are either overcomplicated or oversimplified, sometimes one of the old versions just has that perfect balance and it’s sad when they fail to replicate that in a newer version. Like, Sims 3 went overcomplicated and AoE III went oversimplified. Still, it’s good they’re trying out new things so they can improve in the next version?

Yeahh Overwatch is a FPS too and those are just terrible to watch lmao. That and battle royale games. Simpler games can be fun to watch, but usually I’m too impatient. I prefer to play the games myself. 

Hold on, I’ll take photos for you.

Here’s Jiji:

And here’s the Totoro I’m working on:

Ohh you draw too? (Wait, did I know this?) What do you like to draw, and digitally or traditionally? Please show me some of your stuff after the reveal :D Lately I’m trying out digital drawing. I did Ten from NCT and am working on Prince Jun (of whom I did the sketch traditionally because that’s easier for me).

I used to sketch a lot with pencil and I love working with ink too but I haven’t done that in ages rip.

Ohh gosh I can’t believe my babies are getting their own show omg!! Thank u for telling me this!! The other series they’re making also look super fun. I think it was a good decision to make them series and not movies.

Let’s run away and go live somewhere cooler together. We can get a lil cottage and draw, embroider, bake and game in peace!

I think pansies are rly cute tbh, but of course the choice is up to you! Holy crap, 750?? For 5cm?? Dang. Yeah, might be better to find a different studio, tho at the same time if you really really like their designs it might be worth it to go anyway. (tho 750 is a lot)

I’m glad you liked it bb! ♥ Ohh you have a carat bong, nice! I bought one earlier this week after they announced the new ones. I thought I’d better get one before the prices go up because they won’t be manufactured anymore. And yeah, decorating it with flowers is so cute! Carats are so creative with them! What do you think of the new carat bong btw? Personally I prefer the first one, it was very clean and lovely and simple, but I know I’ll end up buying the new one too rip.

Ahh Jeonghan! Our mischievous angel! Did I ever tell you how much I love his voice?? It’s so unique and has such a lovely character, idk how to describe it. I really love his voice lots! And he’s so sneaky but at the same time so thoughtful! Also his broad shoulders *wheeze*

That’s okay! I love talking to you but I also understand if you don’t have the time or energy to send anything because I’m just the same (: I hope your weeks been lovely! ♥

(also i’ll have to take a look at the other missions but one mission every 3 days is so much omg)

[haledamage]

So my free time has evaporated, but I still want to finish the MEA Countdown thing, so here’s all the ones left that I haven’t done, including the ones that haven’t come up yet, so I can make sure I get them done :)

19 Days: Where would Ryder fall in the classic Paragon/Renegade morality system? What would their D&D alignment be? If you know their personality type in any personality typing systems (such as MBTI and Enneagram - you can find various type descriptions and tests using Google), feel free to add and discuss them here.

Lottie is very strongly paragon, unless you fuck with her brother or her friends, in which case she is not above kicking you out a window. She’d probably be neutral/chaotic good; she’s a good person through and through, but she’s not above sowing a little chaos if the mood strikes, and she can be positively ruthless to enemies.

18 Days: What qualities does Ryder like and dislike in other people? Are there any things they particularly appreciate or can’t stand?

She likes empathy and curiosity. She likes people who care, basically, whether that be about knowledge or experiences or other people, she likes when people care about something. The worst thing a person can be, in her opinion, is apathetic.

17 Days: List some of Ryder’s favorite things - colors, food, music, etc. Is there anything of this nature that they hate? Do they have any hobbies or skills outside of combat?

Lottie loves music, and usually has something playing on her private channel on her com. She also tends to hum to herself, which I imagine would annoy SAM to no end if he’s capable of annoyance. Her favorite color is sea green, and she has a terrible sweet tooth; her favorite foods are mostly desserts, her most favorite being ice cream.

Outside of combat, she’s a tinker. She likes to build little things, or work on cars. She also makes some really nice jewelry, when the mood strikes.

16 Days: How would Ryder define their sexuality?

Pansexual. She cares more about forming connections with people, and it doesn’t really matter to her their gender or species.

15 Days: Delve into the Ryder family background - how is/was their relationship with their father, sibling and mother? Do they get along, hero worship, close twin connection, sibling rivalry, was it strained, was it distant, etc.

Scotty and Lottie have always been very close. Scott is her best friend. Mom and Dad both worked a lot, but tried their best, which Lottie understands, though she sometimes wishes they’d been closer.

14 Days: Describe some important or formative events in Ryder’s history. How did these impact and shape them?

When her biotics developed was pretty important, obviously. The fact that she's a biotic while her twin brother isn't was interesting to a lot of scientists, so she spent a lot of time in labs and hospitals “under observation.” It awakened a curiosity in her about how the world works, though, and she went to college for anthropology. It also awoke her wanderlust, as she learned she really didn't like sitting around all day.

13 Days: Why did Ryder join the Alliance military? Later on, what were Ryder’s reasons for signing up to the Andromeda Initiative? Were they seeking adventure (or glory, or a challenge), wanting a new start, running from something, following their family, trying to secure a future for humanity, did they simply feel railroaded into it, etc.

She joined the Alliance to see the galaxy, and because they'd pay for college. The Andromeda Initiative was a no-brainer. Lottie and Scott were both excited about it as soon as Dad told them about it; wanderlust is a family trait, and the Ryders were all very much on board to boldly go.

12 Days: How will Ryder feel upon waking up from cryo? Relieved, excited, scared, impatient to get going, lost, etc.

All of those, yes. Lottie first felt relieved that she actually woke up, then overwhelmed as the full weight of what they were undertaking settled over her. The excitement of exploring the unknown won her over fairly quickly, though.

11 Days: Once in Andromeda, what are Ryder’s goals? What drives them?

Pursuit of knowledge. Finding a safe place for her people to live. Finding her place in Andromeda.

10 Days: Will Ryder ever miss the Milky Way? What things and places will they miss most?

She does sometimes. She misses her old Alliance friends, and her apartment in the Citadel wards. She misses takeout food and microbrew beer and other little things that she never thought about until they were 600 years behind her.

9 Days: Did Ryder have any notable friends or connections in the Milky Way? How about past relationships? Which friendship or relationship was the most significant to them?

She doesn't have any really close friends she left behind. She was a rambler, and never stayed in one place long enough to form close friendships. She's friendly and open, though, so she made friends easily enough. Her closest friend has always been her brother.

8 Days: How does Ryder feel about aliens? Are they uncomfortable, wary, intrigued, curious, intimidated, not bothered, etc? In the Milky Way, where did they stand on humanity’s place in galactic society - Earth first, Terra Firma, human superiority, peaceful cooperation, pro-galactic integration & unity, etc? How will they feel upon discovering that there are sentient alien races in Andromeda?

Lottie is curious of aliens and other cultures. She loves to learn about other people's perspectives and try and understand their way of life. She is very pro-galactic integration, and wants to take that same approach to any alien races she meets in Andromeda. She believes that we're stronger together than apart.

7 Days: Ryder’s father gave the twins informal N7 training in the past. How did Ryder feel about this (pressured, resentful, grateful, motivated, overworked, excited, etc)? What are their feelings on “N7” as a symbol? How do they relate to it, if at all?

She recognized it as what it was: her dad trying to connect with his kids. It wasn't something she was really interested in, but she wanted to know her dad better and that was a way to do it. N7 never really meant much to her, and it was never something she aspired to, but she recognizes that it means a lot to her father, and that's enough for her.

6 Days: Does your Ryder know your Shepard? What do they think of Shepard? Would they get along? What would Shepard think of Ryder?

Lottie knows of Alexi Shepard, of course. Everyone knows of Shepard, but they've never met. She appreciates what the Commander does for humanity's relationship with the other Council races. I think they'd get along, though. Both are people who put others before themselves, and I think they'd find a lot of common ground there.

5 Days: Out of the squadmates, Tempest crewmembers and other characters shown so far, who do you think Ryder will get along well with? Who do you think they will get along best with? Why?

Lottie and Peebee will bond over the joy of exploration, and she and Suvi over a love of science. I don't think there's anyone she won't get along with. She and Liam will get along best, though. Both are idealists and proud space cowboys, and that along with the bonding power of fighting side by side will make them nearly inseparable.

4 Days: Out of the squadmates, Tempest crewmembers and other characters shown so far, is there anyone you think Ryder won’t gel so greatly with, dislike or otherwise come into conflict with? Why?

She'll probably get along with everyone, as least to be polite to, but she and Cora may butt heads a little. Cora knew Alec better than Lottie every did, and she'll always be a little jealous of that; Lottie ended up in a job that should have been Cora's, though, and that'll she'll always be a little jealous of that. They'll be friends, but I think that wedge will always be between them. She and Drack may have trouble seeing eye to eye, as well, as she prefers diplomacy as the answer and he much prefers to punch his way out of an argument; she'd wholeheartedly trust him at her back, though.

3 Days: Do you plan on romancing anyone with Ryder? If so, who? Why? What qualities would Ryder find attractive in a partner (if applicable)?

Lottie will either romance Liam, Peebee, or Vetra. I love all of them a lot and I don't know who I'll choose until it happens. She'd be very attacted to Vetra's intensity, Peebee's curiosity, and Liam's optimism (and to their faces, because they're all beautiful). I think Liam may end up edging out the ladies and winning Lottie's heart, just because they go through a lot of shit together before they ever meet Vetra and Peebee, and his support and compassion when she needed it most is something she would never forget.

2 Days: Provide a “famous quote” from Ryder that sums them up as a character (like the ones for the squadmates in their official character profiles).

“We're like the Enterprise, Scotty! Boldly going where no one has gone before!” (maybe I'll eventually finish and post the thing I wrote in which she says this lol)

1 Day: Which song/songs would be “theme songs” for Ryder? Are there any symbols you associate with Ryder? If you’ve created a moodboard for them, share it here. If not, what sorts of things would be on their moodboard? Describe their aesthetic. What Hogwarts house would they be sorted into? If you’ve written fanfic involving Ryder already, share it here. [you don’t need to do all of these, they’re merely intended as creative exercises]

“Born for This” - Paramore, “Wherever I Roam” - Metallica. Her aesthetic is cups of coffee and half-built machines, long walks under the stars and notebooks full to bursting and piles of photographs, blue and pink and black. She's probably a Griffindor, maybe a Ravenclaw?

1 Day too long: In Citadel space, AIs are illegal. How does Ryder feel about Artificial Intelligence? Are they wary or afraid, are they pro-AI, do they consider AIs to have personhood, etc? How does Ryder feel about SAM and their constant connection to it? Are they glad for the upgrade, do they find it invasive, have mixed feelings, etc?

She doesn't have a problem with AI. I don't know if she considers them all like people, because there are different levels of AI, but she thinks they have the capacity to become person-like. She loves SAM, she loves its bad attempts at humor and the way it always reminds her to eat and makes sure she doesn't overwork herself.

2 Days too long: How does Ryder feel about being thrust into the role of humanity’s Pathfinder (burdened, honored, rewarded, excited, etc)? Are they confident or unsure about this? How will they cope?

She is terrified, but wouldn't admit it even under torture. Pathfinder isn't a role that was meant for her, not really, and the fact that she's now burdened with the literal survival of the human race, maybe even the whole Initiative, is terrifying. She's her father's daughter, though, and knows that nothing was ever accomplished by giving up, so she does the best she can and trusts in her team and her friends. She's not alone, and that's what really keeps her going.