#couple of disclaimers here in tags so my basis are all covered

[creetchure]

Saw a take on TikTok that irked me a bit so I'm talking about this here too. Yes, pretty much ever pannel of Bruce ever hitting his kids is either extremely ooc or entirely out of context. I won't deny that. But the way some of y'all talk about it as some irrefutable proof that Bruce can't be abusive is genuinely pretty fucking worrying. "Oh but Bruce loves his kids and wants what's best for them, he can't possibly be abusive" do you wanna bet the percentage of y'all's parents that you're reading found family for also think like that? Abuse doesn't need malicious intent. It really doesn't. Trying, and loving your kids doesn't automatically make you a good parent. And honestly taking away the fact that Bruce is sort of shit at being a parent makes the batfam dynamic way duller in my opinion, at least in canon

[mercuryonparklane]

I seriously debated keeping this one in the drafts...

Okay, I felt compelled to analyze the timeline of all of Taylor’s rumored/alleged boyfriends (barring any that she supposedly dated pre-fame) and why I believe they could have been fake/pr setups...

Disclaimer: this is all speculative and is just my opinion. No one has to agree... we don’t all have to agree because really the only people who know the truth are Taylor and those she has shared it with. I do have a very skeptical view of the entertainment industry and pr, so that is a bias I will own up to. I especially think Taylor, for a very long time, was willing to play along with the pr side of things, but eventually reached a breaking point (as any normal human under that amount of pressure and scrutiny likely would). Whether that means she has faked all of her public relationships or some of them or just aspects of them... I can’t really, truly know that. So, just keep in mind that this is one little, insignificant person’s view of Taylor’s public relationships and that I do not personally know any of the people involved...

Don’t take this too seriously, peeps... I’ll even tag it as crack theory...

Joe J.: June/July-September/October 2008

If nothing else this feels like a typical pr setup of two young stars. He had Camp Rock, a Jonas Bros’ album and a tour and concert film to promote. Camp Rock came out on 6/20/2008. The Jonas Bros’ third album, A Little Bit Longer, was released on 8/12/2008. In August, Taylor joined the band on stage during the filming for a concert movie that would be released in February 2009. 

Taylor had an album that was released just weeks after their alleged breakup. An album which contained a few songs that would be attributed to Joe J. due to the publicity surrounding their relationship. Hmm... what a great way to drum up interest in an album that includes quite a few heartbreak songs. Not saying I know that is the case, but they both had a lot to promote between June and November 2008.

Lucas T.: March-April/May 2009

He was in the Hannah Montana movie, which was released 4/10/2009. Taylor had a cameo in that movie and also wrote a song for the soundtrack. Lucas also played Taylor’s love interest in the mv for YBWM, which premiered 5/2/2009 on CMT. He was in one of her Myspace vlogs in April 2009. IMO, this was a setup to promote the Hannah Montana movie and the YBWM mv, but it didn’t really take off. Lucas later said they dated briefly, but he realized that he just saw her as a friend...

Taylor L.: August-December 2009

 They played a couple in Valentine’s Day. In September, just days after the VMAs where KW interrupted Taylor on stage as Taylor L. stood a few feet away, Taylor went to an Owl City concert at the Bowery Ballroom where she met the man who would supposedly inspire “Enchanted”. Umm... “please don’t be in love with someone else”... even though I am currently dating Taylor L. and he is my forever crush, but like, I am totally crushing on you actually. I have no clue if any Swifties have ever picked up on that discrepancy.  

Oh, and Taylor L. also “dated” Selena in early 2009 and I doubt Taylor would go there, even if they ended on good terms. I mean, it’s possible, but idk it seems unlikely to me. 

John M.: December 2009-February 2010

I think Taylor admired him as a musician (this seems to have been mutual with John praising her talent multiple times) and she may have seen him as a mentor at first. I do not believe that anything happened between them beyond that. I think he was so thrown off by “Dear John” because of that. He was already tweeting in the spring of 2009, hinting at wanting to collaborate with Taylor. The album their duet was on came out in November 2009, right before they started “dating”. Although it wasn’t released as a single until June 2010.

Besides, Liz (friend or otherwise) has remained a fan of John and even went to his concert a few years back. So, either she didn’t care that he screwed one of her supposed good friends over or it didn’t go down how people were led to believe it did.

Jake G.: October 2010-December/January 2011

Unless this relationship started much earlier than everyone has been led to believe, it is very unlikely that ATW is about him. It certainly seems to have been written prior to the maple latte/scarf/sister’s house articles that were abundant after that pap walk. Either Taylor used him as a scapegoat for a song that wasn’t about him or he was a willing participant in a pr scheme to make sure people thought the song was about him. 

He couldn’t have been setup with his costar, Anne H., because she was already in a long term, committed relationship. At the time Taylor was still good pr since she was still known as a kind of girl next door, all American type with genuine talent. 

I’m not saying I know for a fact it was fake. I’m saying there are plenty of reasons why I think it was. Everyone has different perspectives... mine is that this was purely a pr setup.

Will A.: sometime in 2010 and/or mid or fall 2011-January 2012 or May (?) 2012

They were likely just friends, but people did think they were dating back then. The songs that people think he wrote about Taylor (”White Dress” and “Kiss Me Slowly”) were recorded in 2010. So, if she started dating him in September 2011, which people think because the dress she wore to his May 2012 birthday party was the one she is wearing on the “Begin Again” cover art, then those songs aren’t about her. About the party dress...  Sarah B., who took the picture, was also friends with the Parchute guys, so maybe the photoshoot that the picture on that cover art came from happened earlier that day. 

He was friends with Liz’s ex Jason and one of his best friends is still to this day very close friends with Liz, so that’s probably how he met Taylor. I think Taylor hung out with that crew a bit back then. AND those times Will and Taylor were seen hanging out in late fall/early winter 2011, Jason and/or the other friend were there. Yes, I am saying that Taylor was hanging out with Jason in November/December 2011, just a few months after he and Liz supposedly broke up. She was also still hanging out with Liz a lot at that time and after, though, so I think it was all good.

Conor K.: July 2012-September/October 2012

This was Taylor’s worst pr. If it was a real relationship... it is borderline predatory. If it is fake... still a big yikes... I don’t have much to say about this one. I think it was fake and an attempt at making him the muse for “Starlight” (how cute, this song she wrote about his grandparents sort of became about them), “Begin Again” (nevermind that the copyright record say the song was written in 2011), and EHC (nevermind that the song was written in May 2012). It would have been great pr, though, if he was a couple years older. Taylor should have fired Paula after this one... (because the public should have never known about it, real or fake).

Harry S.: November 2012-January 2013

Similar to all the others before (and after), there were “random” sightings, including a birthday trip to “the lakes” and blatant pr (go on and wear that fox sweater and paper airplane necklace, Taylor...). That NYE kiss, though...

Calvin: February 2015-May/June 2016

Taylor finally dropped her old publicist and brought on Tree. First step, was to erase the “boy crazy”/“man eater” label (and possibly the “professional beard” label) and become an independent woman who just wants to have fun with her gal pals. It got a bit gayer than expected (whether Kaylor was really a thing to some degree or not is irrelevant to the point). The gay rumors were actually catching on even faster and people were like “oh, that’s why she couldn’t keep a man” (sexist/homophobic as all of this is/was, ofc). 

Enter Calvin... a playboy DJ who some might deem “tall and handsome as hell” (peeps, I am not really the best judge of a man’s attractiveness, so this is just how I think people see him). He seems sooo straight. I don’t know how else to say it. All of her other supposed boyfriends had gay rumors, whether or not those rumors were just people gossiping or had some basis in reality... I think he is the only one that doesn’t have them, that I know of anyway. 

I know a lot of people think they were really together, but I think this was an attempt to have her in a more serious, long term relationship to counteract both the gay rumors (not necessarily as a cover for a woman because I don’t think all of the guys have been or need to have been covers for a secret relationship with a woman, it’s about appearing straight) and the “can’t keep a man” narrative that had followed her around. Even if they were in some sort of situationship (not what I think, just theorizing here), it wouldn’t have been a steady thing and they seemed to not like each other very much when all was said and done.

I still laugh that he said Taylor was the opposite of his type (and specified that he likes brunettes) in November 2014 and then he allegedly dated her for almost a year and a half, starting literally a few months after he made that comment. If that was a real relationship, he was either playing it cool when he said that or he misjudged her or Taylor was determined to date him because it was a challenge.

Either way, it seems like her team controlled the public narrative and maybe Calvin was okay with that at first, but over time it seemed like he wasn’t a big fan of that. Maybe that visit to the strip mall massage parlor was a bit of a rebellion... 

At least they both got some royalties out of it...

Joe A.: September 2016-Present

Taylor’s team absolutely has control of the public narrative and he seems okay with that. He is a literal mirrorball. He is whatever Taylor supposedly says he is in her songs/whatever Swifties want him to be.

He likes to drop fun facts like how his family jumps into a freezing pond at Christmas or that he worked at a yogurt shop as a teenager. Whether they are real or not... he seems to be playing into the pr. Dropping little bits of information that will tie him to her songs... it is very “maple latte”/“paper airplane necklace”/dark jeans and Nikes... OR Taylor is just taking the few facts people know about him and using it to pin songs on him.

If he is a beard (which imo he likely is), I think he gets along with Taylor and doesn’t mind the minimal pr of it all.

I don’t think he is WB, either way...

Again this is just my view of things. This has no bearing on which women Taylor may have dated. I could do a separate post on what I think that timeline might look like.

One point I will reiterate is that I do not think that a beard would always be a cover for a secret relationship with a woman. I think it sometimes is, but it can be more of a general cover for someone who is gay. So many people think Taylor is the straightest person who has ever lived simply because of her public dating record. I mean, heteronormativity and homophobia also play a big part in that...

Edit: I completely skipped Tom lol. I just don’t buy that one either. Maybe he thought it would be good publicity or maybe he was led on to think it was more real than it was or maybe he was just having fun. Idk. All kinds of articles written about them at the time included some caveat about how they seemed fake or were maybe filming something...

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

(Prompts with boxes have been taken, highlighted have been written)

Requests for this card are closed, thank you to anyone who sent in requests! If you don’t want to see these you can block the tag #false bthb. As always shoot me an ask if you wanna be tagged in future stories, whether it be for bad things happen bingo or any of the other series, one shots or in general!

I’ve been picking at this particular request since early December as the person who requested it had a lot of details they wanted put in making the writing process a bit more challenging. As a disclaimer, note that the chapter is split between present time and the past; with Logan recalling things in his past in an attempt to make the details requested for the story flow better. I received this request from AO3.

General taglist: @im-an-anxious-wreck

Experimental Socialization

Summary: Logan was raised by the government to be nothing more than an experiment and a weapon, utilizing his unique abilities as a mutant. When he finally escapes things are much different than he imagined they’d be but thankfully finds others like him willing to help guide him right where he needs to be.(Happy Ending)

Warnings: allusions to abuse, physical punishment and human experimentation, tw for weapons and fire, panic attack. If there are more please let me know

Prompt; Not Used To Freedom (requested by AngstyEmoGal on AO3)

Ships: Intrulogical, Logan x Remus

WC: 3432

“You just gotta breathe, Logan. In four, hold seven, out eight remember? You’re doing great, just keep going.”

Logan felt himself slowly coming back to reality as his breathing evening out, the raw panic that had gripped his chest easing slightly as Virgili continued coaxing him through the exercise. He felt the other slowly rub up and down his arm in a slow, steady beat that helped ground him further in reality and he smiled up at his friend gratefully and nodded to let xem know he was okay. Gripping his knees as Virgil’s voice trailed off he squeezed his eyes shut tightly and let out one last calming breath.

“Thank you, Virgil. I-” He struggled to find words, gesturing flippantly in the air making Virgil grin.

“It’s okay. Take your time, L.”

Logan puffed his cheeks out in frustration, thoughts swirling too quickly for him to comprehend anything but the apprehensive fear he held for the plans Remus had made for them later that evening. “I am- not used to being outside. Given my history and the threat I pose as a potential compromise to our place of hiding I fail to understand Remus’ reasoning for going out when we could just as easily celebrate our relationship here.”

“Hm.” Virgil leaned back on xyr hands and looked up at the low ceiling of their underground paradise. “Can’t really see the stars from here, no matter how many stickers Princey finds and puts up it can't really be compared to the real thing.”

Logan had made the mistake of going on a tirade of space facts a few months into his stay in the hideout, Remus patiently listening to the extensive infodump of constellation facts and space physics and planetary rotation. Having a limited amount of books to entertain oneself with for extended periods of time meant memorizing entire books on one subject, which Logan had used all too happily as a figurative escape from his situation in the past until he had actually managed to escape when he was 16. Hearing Logan speak so passionately about the subject had apparently made his mind up that he was taking Logan outside for their first “official” date to view the stars, which had then landed Logan in his current state of panic as he realized that date was today and he was decidedly not ready for what might lay in store outside of safety of the hideout.

“I can stay close by if you want. I won’t spy or anything and Remus won’t have to know.” Logan looked over as his thoughts were interrupted by the offer, Virgil turning invisible and reappearing a couple seconds later to emphasize xyr point. Smiling Logan shook his head, knowing the other derived as much joy from going outside as Logan felt about going himself.

“Thank you for the offer though, you’re very kind.” Letting his thoughts drift again he idly wondered when Virgil had discovered xe could disappear and reappear at will and if xyr parents had tried to hide it before the government had found out. His own parents-

-----

“Logan?” A very small Logan turned at his mother’s voice, losing his concentration which made the hidden jar of Crofters fall from its suspended place in the air and smash to the floor. His parents hadn’t known he possessed any sort of powers, and even as small as he was he still understood the position he’d put them in if they ever found out. Fearfully his hands dropped to his sides as his mother covered her mouth in shock, tears rolling down her cheeks as she took a step back.

Men in suits and long coats were there just a few hours later, speaking in hushed voices while both of his parents cried and he was ushered out the door and into an unmarked car, quiet as he understood yelling and crying would do him no good now. What’s done was done, all he could do was be compliant and hope to be treated gently.

-----

The room suddenly brightening with a flickering light brought him back out of his thoughts, Roman entering with his signature bright flame held proudly in his hand. The image of him in his rather scrapped together Princely outfit posing subconsciously in the doorway was almost enough to make Logan roll his eyes but he didn’t want Virgil to think it was because of xem so he managed to restrain himself.

“My dearest brother has been pacing in the same spot for two hours now and I haven't been able to calm him down soooo I thought to check on our resident nerd.” Roman declared with his usual flare. Logan actually did roll his eyes this time but Virgil did as well so he figured it was fine.

“The ‘resident nerd’ is doing fine, Roman. Though it's concerning to hear Remus is nervous as well considering he’s the one who suggested the date.”

Roman waved his hand at Logan dismissively. “He’s just a sap- moreso than me surprisingly. He doesn’t want to do anything to put you in danger but he wants to do something nice, so he’s worried that’s all. Remus is an idiot but I trust him with my life; believe me when I say you have nothing to worry about except his terrible sense of humor.”

Logan merely hummed in response, staring at the way the flame moved around as Roman gestured with his words.

-----

He panted as he rolled out of the way of another flamethrower, singeing the tips of his hair in the process but he couldn’t afford to slow down enough to worry about that. Years of training with different fighting styles had earned him incredibly fast reflexes but a good portion of his accuracy in knowing where to step and when was owed to him working even harder to focus his powers. Thoughts from others constantly surrounded him on a regular basis, getting more and more prevalent the older he grew. Learning to block out the constant string of stimuli was a useful skill to keep him sane but learning to hone in on specific thoughts to predict actions was what had kept him alive.

He ducked below another bullet and brought up his leg in the same motion, kicking a throwing knife to the side and sending it to clatter harmlessly between one of his assailants feet. A twirl to the side and a tilt of the head let another bought of flame boil the air beside him while another knife just barely brushed his ear. The constant bang of bullets and roar of flames and whistling of knives was overwhelming and made the air so thick he could barely draw a breath and it was becoming a struggle to concentrate the way he needed to and-

A high pitched alarm sounded one, twice, three times- a blaring flash accompanying it that left him blinking painfully. His shoulders slumped as the barrage finally ended, another successful training day completed. He watched as everyone began putting their weapons away, laughing and congratulating each other, clapping themselves on the back and discussing whatever they had planned after this. No one even spared the thing they had been firing at seconds before a spare glance, save for the director of the branch, who took long steps forward to stand in front of him only to snap his fingers and motion forward no doubt to see him back to his room until dinner. Absorbing the sounds around him he drank in as much praise as he could that wasn’t his and would never be for him; people rarely congratulated weapons after all.

-----

“Is this where we all decided to hide today?” Logan looked up to see Patton sitting cross legged on one one of the beams in the ceiling, grinning happily down at them even as their fluffy ears twitched nervously and even fluffier tail whipped back and forth in agitation. They must have come back from trying to calm Remus as well, Logan mused; Patton had never done well being in the same room as Remus who tended to voice his thoughts abruptly and without much care to how they might sound to others which always managed to set Patton on edge no matter how hard they tried not to show it.

Patton was a rare mutant in that as opposed to being born with abnormal traits or abilities they had been a science experiment from the start- an effort to create super soldiers rather than stealing them away from families and training them. Even rarer was the fact that the DNA splicing had taken extraordinarily well by pure chance as Patton was born with a mutation that left their DNA incredibly malleable- a mutation that never would have been discovered had cellular manipulation not been the reason for them being in the experimental branch that they were. They had tried cloning Patton at first to see if their power could be duplicated but when that failed to work they began trying to combine them with different animals to see if desirable traits would come forward. By manipulating them on a physical and anatomical level they were able to change some parts of them to be more cat like, intending, Patton had guessed, to turn them into a kind of stealth soldier but they got away before they completed it, leaving them with heightened agility and surgically coaxed cat ears and a tail. They were only a child when the lab had done this but somehow they were never bitter, simply preferring to leave their past alone and embrace whatever future they could make- a trait Logan greatly admired them for even if their unending optimism could be somewhat grating at times.

“Did Janus brush your tail out Pat? It looks fluffier today.” Patton preened at Virgil's compliment, their tail beginning to wave in a more relaxed manner as their mind was distracted from whatever it was Remus had been ranting about.

“He did! He found a cat brush and got it for me so I could finally get the undercoat out!” Jumping down and landing lightly on their feet they posed a little and flashed another wide grin.

“Beautiful as always, Patton.” Roman said genuinely as he lowered his hand into a barrel to light up the paper scraps and wood in it for the night, the dim sunlight that had filtered through the grated having long since died. The home was a modified branch of a sewer system, thankfully the part most removed from the city where it flowed without the stench and was sealed off inconspicuously enough that in the ten years Janus and Remus had been using it no worker had ever found it.

-----

It had been Janus and Remus who had found him, beaten and bloody from an escape attempt he had made just days before his real one. He had made a weak attempt to coax the scientists into a false sense of security, holding back the full scoop of his powers during training for a year in anticipation for his final escape. He had punished severely but had simply thrown him in his regular cell, assuming he wasn’t strong enough to do any more damage than they had seen him do already and trusting that they had beaten him down enough that it would be a while before he tried again- if he ever did. Not six days later the mangled metal of the front of his cell was tossed into a group of guards, walls torn apart in a straight line to the exit and the huge buzzing gates leading to the outside world thrown open wide and stuck there with varying amounts of heavy debris.

The outside world, as it turns out, was a lot bigger and louder and downright terrifying when you weren’t being sent out as a personal assassin or field missions or training sessions- all controlled on some level to keep him from being killed and compromised. Without the begrudged protection from the labs and moreover having to hide from said lab was another story entirely. The times they searched for him and how closely they came to his spots were random and made it incredibly hard for him to pick out their thoughts from anyone else’s in the city and figure out how close they were. On more than one occasion they passed right by him crouched under piles of garbage or laying low under a hedge, his breath held as he tried desperately to keep himself as still and quiet as possible, thoughts of what they would to him once they found him pounding against his head and making him squeeze his eyes shut to keep his terrified tears from falling.

That was how Remus had found him. It had been dark and hours had passed since the searchers had left that park he had been hiding in. He had still been hiccuping down his sobs as he rolled out from under the hedge that he hadn’t bothered to scope the area for anyone’s close by thoughts, having shut out as much as he could after they had left to try and block out any other hate fueled thoughts that may send him spiraling again. His heart had leapt in his throat so high his breath caught painfully, immediately shifting to offense as he tensed, ready to fight as long and hard as he could. He couldn’t go back- he wouldn’t. No matter what they did or promised him or punished him with; he’d go down fighting or not at all.

But Remus had only raised his hands in the air in a motion of peace, eyes widening as he locked onto the government issued bracelet that marked him as an experimental mutant. He had grinned impossibly wide then Logan remembered, briefly disappearing from his sight and reappearing a moment later, setting him even more on edge but curious nonetheless.

“I’m like you.” Remus had said quietly. “Basically I run real fast and the government hasn’t figured out how to get me yet.”

Logan had watched as he jiggled his wrists a bit for emphasis, bare save for colored chords that he assumed didn’t associate him with any government branch since they didn’t look official.

“Are you okay?” Remus had asked next and mutely Logan nodded, unsure of how to react to this fellow mutant who had never been caught by any sort of lab, apparently living as free as one could when you were as different as they were. He stepped back as another man appeared behind him, Janus he later learned.

“Liar.” Janus had hissed, making Remus reach around and smack the back of his head.

“It was a polite thing to ask that he tried to dismiss Jan. Let the adults speak for a second.”

Logan had noted the faint pout on Janus’ face though he was still trying very hard to look intimidating. And then all at once his eyes had turned cold as his attention was once again focused on Logan, glaring menacingly from beneath a black bowler hat. “I’m younger than you and yet I’m the one that has to put my foot down. He’s being chased clearly; we are not bringing him back with us.”

Remus has turned, Logan seemingly forgotten for the moment. “That’s not how it works! He needs help and we’re not leaving him to starve or be found in the middle of a park! What would Patton say?”

“Patton is a soft fool who needs to figure out where their morals stand. I myself am choosing not to compromise our place of hiding and three other people that you know those power hungry idiots would love nothing more than to get their hands on!”

Remus rolled his eyes so hard his head had lolled with it, face going pale as he watched something in the sky. It was then that Logan heard the telling sound of a helicopter flying low and getting closer but he had barely tensed before he found himself gripped around the middle and held vertically with the ground flying underneath him. They stopped abruptly and he was set down, blinking in rapid confusion as Remus grinned sheepishly at him.

“Welcome to the hideout?”

Logan’s eyes had widened and his breath had caught yet again, chest tightening as he shook his head vehemently. “You can’t- I need to go back! They’ll do anything to get me back-!”

He was stopped from going forward with a finger to his chest, his blue eyes locking with beautiful brown as Remus held his gaze. “And we will do everything to keep you safe.”

Safe. With that one word Logan was his. He hadn’t known why and he still didn’t quite understand it but he had trusted Remus with everything he had- and he still did. Even as Janus had stalked off grumbling and Virgil and Roman had kept their distance at first Remus had kept him close and showed him how much better his life could be, even if they were living in a modified sewer system.

Back in the present he looked up as a hand was thrust under his chin, smiling softly as he took Remus’ hand and let himself be led away from the others’ idle chatter. He counted himself extremely lucky in the end that Janus had eventually come around to him, seeing how happy he made Remus and how Remus made Logan feel it had been him to finally talk to Logan about it and get the two to officially talk about how they felt, going on about the being “hopeless gay idiots” when they had finally started to date officially. Logan wasn’t sure what he’d do without Remus at this point, just a year later and he was so attached to their small group of hideaways he wouldn’t trade for the world.

They approached the exit to the sewers, Remus swinging their hands between them. Logan held his breath right before they crossed the threshold, closing his eyes and letting it out slowly as his feet met grass and he opened his eyes to the darkened field. There were a few tunnels that lead out to different places depending on where they needed to go and this, Remus had told him, was his favorite because of how empty it was. The city lay far in the distance so there was almost no light pollution to block out the sky. Soft grass and flowers brushed his ankles as he scanned the area carefully, seeing nothing but trees lining the far end of the field with a road so far away he could barely, make it out in the darkness. Remus tugged his hand softly to get his attention, searching his eyes for any hint of discomfort.

“Is this okay?’

Logan took another breath and let it out, the last of his nerves fading away as he took in the quiet. “It’s perfect Remus.”

The other grinned and tugged a little harder this time, walking fast to the middle of the field where he stopped suddenly and raised Logan’s arm up to lead him into an impromptu twirl. Logan laughed quietly and then louder as he was dipped, secure in Remus’ strong hold as he reached up to grip the back of his neck. He was safe. He was free and safe and happy finally with someone who truly loved and cared for him. His breath caught in his throat again but this time in awe, Remus chuckling as he was laid down carefully tucked into his side, till with his arms around his neck.

The stars shone bright and winked lazily while swirls of color dusted faintly behind them. The moon was waning, a barely there light that let the beauty behind it show fully as the wind whisked away any clouds that dared to try and cover it. It was everything Logan had ever hoped it would be and more, excitement thrumming through him as he squeezed Remus tightly in an attempt to convey it. He felt Remus grin against his scalp where his face was buried in his hair.

“It’s beautiful isn't it?”

Logan looked back at him, light from the stars reflected in his eyes and wild brown hair framing his face. He leaned up slightly and kissed him, a faint brush of their lips that left them both grinning like the idiots they were. Placing a hand on Remus’ cheek Logan smiled at him, thumb brushing over his cheek in adoration.

“Absolutely stunning.”

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[its-a-novelist-girl]

Never Have I Ever

Summary: A virgin, 20-year-old Damian with too many trust issues to let a girl get too close is constantly teased by his brothers for spending so much time with his female best friend, Y/N. During a game of never have I ever, Y/n is shocked to find that her incredibly good looking best friend has never had more than a brief kiss. Y/n starts to think and she might have a proposition that Damian can’t say no to. 

(Disclaimer/Notes): I own nothing of DC characters. This will be partly comic cannon and partly my own. I have never posted like this on here so please be patient with me as I learn. 

(Tags): @theyellowfeverexperience​, @ginevraxrogers​, @lilsxtan​, @idkmanicantenglish​, I’m sorry if I missed anyone! 

Rules to Never Have I Ever. A person says something they have never done or experienced, if the other players have done it they put a finger down, if they have also not done the thing they leave their fingers up. 

It was Tuesday night at Gotham public library, and your group was slowly but surely losing all focus at the task at hand. A small thud took your tired eyes from your book, to look across from you where the sound had come from. Alex, one of your project partners, had his head face down in an open book, and groaned loudly. 

“Ok my brain is at max capacity, I can’t do it anymore,” his voice came out slightly muffled by the book pressed to his face. You chuckled and shook your head, but you had to agree with him, you had all been there for four hours and desperately needed a break. You stretched and slumped back into your chair to look over at your best friend Damian, who was intensely focusing on his book.  

You met when you transferred to Gotham prep a few years ago and when Damian figured out you could care less about his money and fame, he, of course, a bit reluctantly, took the opportunity to make a friend that might actually genuinely like him for who he was. Spoiler alert you did like him and you quickly became best friends. After you graduated you both enrolled in Gotham University, taking whatever classes you could together, which lead to this mind-numbing project. 

“Let’s play never have I ever,” Tina suggested from her place in the chair next to Alex. Alex’s head shot up at that and responded, “Alright, put em up.” 

Three hands shot up, elbows resting on the table, fingers up. You looked over to Damian, and when he still didn’t look up from his book, you asked 

“Dami, don’t you want to play?” 

He took a deep sigh, one you knew was just to be dramatic, and raised his hand but refused to stop reading, and honestly, you called it a win. 

“Never have I ever fell from a tree.” You and Damian both put a finger down and you ignored the flicker of his eyes from his book to you in shock.

 Everyone took turns and after a few games, eventually, it was left with Tina with three fingers up, Damian with two, and you and Alex each had one. Tina was trying to think of one that would knock you both out of the game, and you raised an eyebrow at her when she grinned suddenly. 

“Never have I ever had sex,” She said smugly, and you threw a paper wad at her as Alex groaned, “Oh come on, not fair.”

You laughed and glanced over at Damian’s hand, which still had two fingers up. 

Suddenly he met your gaze, closed his hand into a fist, and said: “Come on Y/N, it’s late and we should both be getting home.” With that, he stood with a grace you envied and started packing his bag. You did the same and after saying farewell to your other partners, headed to his car. 

---------- 

You leaned back against the comfortable leather seats as you watched Gotham’s streets pass out the window. Damian, of course, was driving you home from the study session. You turned your head to look at him, studying how the light from the dash illuminated his features. How it casts shadows on his face that makes him look like the Son of the Demon he was trained to be. 

You had found out about Damian’s secret identity a year ago when he rescued you from getting mugged walking home one night. It was his eyes that gave him away in the end. He looked at you straight in the eyes and you could see the flicker of panic as he then checked you over for injures before his masked expression fell back into place. You asked him to walk you home, pulled him inside, and demanded to know if Robin was Damian Wayne. He had laughed and hugged you saying how grateful he was that you figured it out and he wouldn’t have to lie to you anymore. Since then you had spent more time at the manor, befriending his family and spending times with his brothers (much to Damian’s dismay). Damian even opened up a little about his childhood over a bottle of far too expensive wine he had stolen from a gala.  

Your mind wandered back to the library. Could it really be possible that the gorgeous man beside you had never had sex?  

“Can I help you, Y/N ?” he asked not looking away from the road and the corners of his mouth twitched up when you jumped a little in your seat. 

“Have you actually never had sex?” you blurted out before you lost your nerve. 

Damian whipped his head to look at you to make sure he had actually heard you right, eyes wide in surprise. He gapped at you before turning his attention back to the road, breathing deeply before saying 

“No, if you must know I have never had more than a brief kiss from a teenage socialite at a gala I was forced to attend,” he muttered, trying to sound intimidating so you’ll drop the subject. He looked back at you and your shock must have shown. 

“Why is that so shocking to you?” he demanded, switching between looking at your face and the road, his cheeks reddening under your constant gaze. Still, you could see past the wall he was trying to place up, he was embarrassed. This was something you were not expecting, you made Damian “I don’t have feelings” Wayne embarrassed. 

“Oh come on! Have you seen yourself!” The words pour out of your mouth before you could stop them, and suddenly it was your cheeks turning red. You turned to look at the road as you both let the silence take over, as soon as you were sure Damian wouldn’t comment on what you said you heard him whisper into the silent dark night. 

“I don’t trust anyone enough to ever be that vulnerable with them.” 

Now that was something you had never considered as you turned to look at him again. Damian was always incredibly private and while he had let down a few of his walls around you, you knew that had taken a long time. He was strong and could be scarier than Batman if he wanted to be, so knowing that being vulnerable terrifies him shocked you. You knew that his life with his mom wasn’t great and that he wasn’t incredibly close to his dad, so it made sense that he wasn’t used to being vulnerable with anyone. And yet here is this car with you, he talked to you about something that embarrassed him without fear you would tease him about it. Its how your friendship worked, you never expected anything more from Damian than to just be himself. 

“But you trust me, don’t you?” You couldn’t stop yourself from asking in a whisper that matched his own. 

He chuckled lowly and said, “You’re the exception, Y/N, not the rule.”. He pulled in front of your apartment building. He got out of the car to walk you to your door, something he has always insisted on doing because “come on Y/N this is Gotham.”. You both walked to your door in silence, only speaking to thank him for the ride and to ensure he text you when he got home. After he left you got ready for bed, crawled under your covers and stared up at the ceiling in thought. 

Damian Wayne, son of the biggest flirt in Gotham, has never had more than a kiss. The knowledge shocked you. He was gorgeous, build like a Greek god, with green eyes that could melt panties for miles. If you were completely honest you had admired his body more than once. Had thought of what it would feel like to run your fingers through his black hair, to feel his biceps that were bigger than your head. He has popped up in your dreams a couple of times; how could he not? Best friend or not, Damian Wayne was hot. 

Then another thought popped into your head. You were the only girl Damian trusted outside of his sisters. Now that you thought about it you realized how true that was, he had never allowed another girl to get very close to him. You were the only girl that you knew of that was allowed to hug him on a regular basis. You were the only one allowed to call him Dami. Another thought popped into your head. If you were the only girl he trusted, maybe you could help your best friend out? 

----------

Damian was getting ready for bed, after checking in on his father and Tim patrolling and making sure his assistance wasn’t required. Tim had made a snide remark about his study date with you, calling you his girlfriend for the millionth time. After the boys had met you, the teasing only got worse. Sometimes having older brothers sucked, he thought to himself as he remembered the countless times every one of his older brothers gave him crap about having you as his best friend. Tim and Jason were the most vocal but Dick tended to tease him when they were alone. Although none of them ever teased him in front of you. It was an unspoken rule amongst everyone because they knew how much your friendship meant to him. 

Damian settled into his bed with a book he had been meaning to read and tried not to think of how he embarrassed himself in front of you today. He had been hoping that you wouldn’t catch that he hadn’t put his finger down but of course you noticed. How was he exposed to explain to you that he was terrified of letting his guard down? That being naked in front of another person in such an intimate way was something that he wasn’t sure he would ever let himself relax enough to enjoy. He was trained as a child to not show weakness, to not let anyone be able to get the upper hand. He knew his mother seduced men to kill them before, so what would stop anyone else from trying it. Getting him in an exposed and vulnerable position to exploit. 

If he was being honest with himself though, the only girl he truly found fascinating was you. He loved the way you moved, clumsily compared to his trained gracefulness. He loved that you didn’t care his father was famous. He loved that you were smart enough to realize he was Robin and never once judged him about the questionable things he has done in his past. Not to mention you were beautiful and that his mind had wandered many times before he gets control of himself. He wondered what your bottom lip would feel like under his thumb. He wondered if all your skin was as soft as your hands. He wondered what it would feel like to hold you close and nuzzle his face into your neck. 

A buzzing sound next to him drew his attention away from his book. He put the bookmark in place before closing it next to him and picking up his phone. In all of his life, Damian has had many shocking things happen. He would count this in his top five.

[kutemouse]

Hey! Can i have vampire au with jimin please? No smut just fluffy :*

Hey ARMY, listen up! See this??? ⬇️👇 ⬇️👇 ⬇️👇 ⬇️👇 ⬇️👇 ⬇️

I made and edited this gif. In fact, I make and/or edit a lot of the gifs I use myself. You may have noticed that I use the tag #btsgif in some of my posts, even if they contain writing. That’s because I want ARMY to see all of my creations, including the gif I make as a header. Therefore, I think the tag is relevant.

In addition, not only do I want ARMY to see my gifs, I want to encourage ARMY to use them. Yep, that’s right! Feel free to steal this gif, I just ask you give me credit for the edit. After all, it’s not even my content I make/edit the gifs from, it’s obviously the property of BigHit and BTS.

However, in the future, I will be sure to be very specific in my posts, and post a disclaimer that I’m not just using the tag for clout, I’m using it so ARMY can find the gif I made and use it however they like. It’ll look something like this:

Disclaimer: This gif was made and/or edited by me, kutemouse. That is why I’ve posted this under the tag #btsgif. Feel free to use this gif however you want, just give me credit for the edit.

Hopefully this way, the 🚨tumblr police🚨 will leave my kute ass alone. Okies? Everyone happy? Good.

And with that out of the way, let’s continue on to this request. When it came in, it made me a tad apprehensive because it gave me a CHALLENGE, kutie anon. I mean, fluffy vampires? Fluffy JIMIN vampire? I’ve only written brooding, mysterious, playboy Jimin vamp in my book “Cursed,” so I had to take a couple days and really think about how I could make this work. I hope you like what came out of my brain. Much 💜 to you for challenging me in new ways, therefore improving my writing 😊

Disclaimer: Beauty and the Beast belongs to Disney, just in case 😉

Age Recommendation: 16+

Warnings: Swearz for dayz. A bit of angst. Vamp Jimin being extra. Soobin from TxT magically appears. A little bit o’ flirting.

Word Count: 2,845

Summary: You’re an artist trying to obtain a university degree. One day, you get the strangest phone call asking you for the strangest commission you’ve ever had: Come live with this rich recluse and paint his portrait all summer. What could go wrong?

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Summer Portraits (Jimin One-Shot, Fluff, Vampire) Part One

You looked up at the large house, a feeling of intimidation creeping over you. It just looked dark, even in the bright sunlight, and most, if not all, of the windows were covered. What kind of person lived here of all places? In the middle of nowhere? Seems pretty sketch.

You’d gotten the call last week. “We’ll pay you a handsome commission,” the smooth voice said. “And we’ll cover the costs of travel.”

You pressed the phone closer to your ear. “That sounds great, Mr. Choi, but… it’s still a strange request.”

The voice on the other end chuckled. “Yes, well… Mr. Park is the very definition of strange, Miss L/n.”

Mr. Choi was very clear in his proposal. You’d spend the three months of your summer with this man, living in his house, to paint a series of portraits for him. As many as you could get done in three months. You initially found the request absolutely ridiculous. Give up your entire summer? No way. You already had plans to see friends and family, and were keen to get away from the stresses that University brought. However, the request became more interesting as Mr. Choi described how you would have to sign a non-disclosure agreement and not tell anyone where you were going or what you were doing. That piqued your interest. Who was it? A celebrity? A famous CEO? An idol?

Looking at the large, foreboding mansion, you couldn’t see any of those three living here. The place reeked of old money. This estate had probably been passed down through the generations, and now someone, likely a young heir, was keen to stretch the limits of what ridiculous things their money could buy.

Sighing, you stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell. It clanged through the house loudly and you cringed, thinking maybe you should’ve knocked. A tall guy dressed in a suit and tie cracked it open. “L/n Y/n?” he asked.

“That’s me,” you said.

He stepped out onto the porch. “I’m Choi Soobin,” he said, bowing. “Please, come inside. I’ll show you to your room.”

“Thanks.”

Soobin was much younger than you imagined. He couldn’t be more than nineteen, at the most. Yet he acted well beyond his years, more refined, more mature. It was disconcerting to say the least. Soobin picked up your bags and led the way up the curving staircase. You both went down a hall, then turned right, then down another hall before he stopped at the third door on his left. “Here we are,” he murmured, pushing it open.

Your mouth fell open. The room was large, spacious, gorgeous, and surprisingly modern. The walls were painted a soothing lavender, your favorite color, and the king-size bed was covered in a matching coverlet and pillows. There was even a couch and television, and a large bay window filled with pillows that looked out onto the grounds. A perfect reading nook. “This is your closet and bathroom,” Soobin said, opening a set of double doors. The closet was humongous and chic, with plenty room for your clothes and then some, and the bathroom looked more like a full-out spa. It was like something you’d only seen on TV.

Soobin strode over to the other side of your bedroom and opened another door. “This leads to your studio,” he said. Your mouth fell open once more as you walked through. The space was open and had so much light, you had to squint from the sudden brightness. There were shelves upon shelves of supplies, everything you’d ever need, stacks of blank canvases, and a large, wooden easel. It was like an artist’s wet dream.

“This is amazing,” you breathed.

Soobin grinned. “It is, isn’t it? Mr. Park wanted to make sure you’d have everything you need. If you run out of supplies, please let me know, I’ll order more. Feel free to make a mess. The floors are a cheap vinyl flooring only made to look like wood. We’ll rip it out and put carpet back in once you depart.”

You nodded, amazed at the way Soobin said that so casually. Not everyone could afford to re-carpet on a whim. Did your benefactor really have that much money? “Dinner’s at seven every evening,” Soobin continued. “Don’t be late, and dress in something other than jeans, please. For your other two meals, you may have them whenever you like, just give me ample time to prepare them. There’s plenty of food in the kitchen, feel free to help yourself to a snack. You may go wherever you like in the house, except the west wing. Mr. Park lives on that side and spends most of his time there, and unless you are specifically invited, I’d prefer you not disturb him.”

“S-Sounds good,” you stuttered. Who was this guy anyways, the Beast?

“Now, Mr. Park is waiting for you in his study. You’ll probably paint a few of his portraits there, is that alright? Or do you need to work in your studio?”

“I can work anywhere,” you replied.

“Perfect. Let’s go.”

Soobin led the way through the various hallways until you stopped at a set of dark wooden doors with intricate carvings in them. He knocked and pushed one open. “Jimin hyung?” he asked. “She’s here.”

A chair behind a desk turned to reveal the most handsome man you’d ever seen. Like Soobin, he was much younger than you’d imagined. His skin was pale, making his dark hair stand out in stark contrast. It was parted on the right, and his bangs hung over his left eye giving him a mischievously sultry look. He wore a bright jacket with a pattern of palm trees over a black dress shirt, dark ripped jeans, and black boots. His full, rosy lips were too perfect to be true, and his tawny eyes smoldered as they looked you over.

“Welcome!” he said brightly, holding out his hands and grinning. His eyes disappeared into cute crescent-moon slits. “I’m Park Jimin, but you can just call me Jimin. I’ve been waiting so long for this day, Y/n.”

Your mouth parted in surprise. Well, that’s not at all what you were expecting. And you were already on first-name basis…?

“Shall we get started?” he asked eagerly.

You closed your mouth and nodded. “Uh, sure. But I’ll need my supplies…?”

“Of course, of course. Come, I’ll sit in your studio for today.”

He wrapped your fingers in his and led you back down the hall to your studio, swinging your hands as you went. “What the hell?” you thought. To say Jimin was the opposite of what you were expecting was an understatement. The house screamed dark and brooding, as did his weird butler/servant person, and the mysterious circumstances under which you were brought. Yet Jimin was nothing but smiles and sunshine.

“Ah, here we are,” he said, pushing the door open to your studio. He got a stool from the corner and sat on it. You set everything up, placing a blank canvas on the easel and choosing a couple different colors of paint from the shelves. Soobin slipped through the door, hands behind his back, silently watching.

“How do you want me to pose?” Jimin asked, crossing his legs. “And smiling, not smiling?”

“Well, that depends on how you want the portrait to turn out,” you replied. “So just pose… however you want.”

“Better do not smiling,” he said. “For the first one at least. I want a range of my facial expressions, seeing as how I haven’t seen them for over thirty years now.”

“Sir,” Soobin said, a tone of warning in his voice.

Jimin waved him off. “Please, she’s signed a non-disclosure agreement. She’s fine.”

You were taken aback by the strange exchange, but shook your head, brushing it off. Whatever they were talking about didn’t concern you. You were here to do a job, get paid, and move back home without incident. Nothing more, nothing less.

You cleared your throat as you took a drawing pencil and started sketching out what you wanted to paint. What you really desired was to capture the way his hair swept over his eyes, the mischievous look he wore, and those gorgeous lips turned up in a smirk.

“You can feel free to move a little if you’re uncomfortable,” you said to Jimin who sat as rigid as a statue.

“Oh, don’t worry, dear. I can sit still for quite a long time. Years, in fact. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

“Right, years,” you muttered as you continued sketching. This guy could really exaggerate.

You found you were enjoying yourself as you continued doing what you loved. This was why you became an art major. The bright, airy light, the way your pencil slid across the canvas, the only sound being that of your breathing as you inhaled and exhaled. It was perfect.

“So, how old are you?”

You blinked in surprise. “Twenty-three, almost twenty-four.”

“I expected as much. I look twenty-four, but I’m actually nearing my two-hundredth birthday.”

You scoffed a little at Jimin’s proclamation. “What, are you some kind of immortal?” you asked.

“Actually, yes,” he answered, actually serious.

You moved out from behind the canvas to give him an incredulous look. “Oh, I see. The scary mansion, the brooding butler… I get it.”

Jimin tossed a smile at you, biting his lip as he did so. “You do? Oh, I’m glad. I’m so tired of having to hide what I am.”

You snorted and kept sketching, trying to capture that irksome smirk he was giving you. “Whatever, dude. If you wanna pretend you’re immortal or some sort of metaphor, I say go for it. I’m just here to paint and get paid.”

Jimin tilted his head. “It’s not a metaphor,” he said, a trace of hurt in his voice.

“Sure it’s not,” you muttered. You were beginning to see why your commission was so high. You were sketching Jimin’s torso now, trying to capture the lines of his toned waist and the palm trees embedded on his jacket. He certainly chose an interesting outfit for his first portrait sitting.

“I’ve seen your work online,” Jimin said, still trying to make small talk. You rolled your eyes. You kind of wished he wouldn’t. Part of the magic of painting was the silence it brought. The most sound you allowed while you worked was a bit of soft music in the background.

He continued even though you didn’t answer. “It’s very good. That’s why I chose you, you know.”

“Well, I appreciate it,” you said. “It’s hard trying to be an artist and make a living, unfortunately.”

“I understand that. I knew Da Vinci back in the day, and he always said-”

“Done,” you said loudly, interrupting him. You could flesh out the colors with paint later. Right now, all you wanted to do was get away from this insanity.

“Already?” Jimin said, pouting.

“Yes. I mean, it’s not all finished of course. I can do the rest later. I just need to take a photo real quick.”

Jimin chuckled. “You can try.”

Rolling your eyes, you pulled out your phone and aimed your camera at him still posing on the stool. “Alright, I’ll get-”

You stopped short as your finger hovered over the screen. There was the stool placed in front of the window, but Jimin was missing from it. “The hell…?” you muttered. You closed your camera app and reopened it.

Once again, there was the window, the stool, the floor, everything in the background that was supposed to be there… but no Jimin. “You see, Y/n,” Jimin said, standing up and walking slowly towards you. “That’s precisely why I brought you here. As a vampire, I don’t show up in photos, or even in mirrors. I haven’t seen what my face looks like in nearly thirty years. That was the last time I had my portrait done.”

You backed away from him until your back hit some shelves behind you. Jimin reached out and tenderly wrapped a strand of your hair between his fingers. “Don’t be afraid,” he murmured, his eyes hooded and dark.

You, however, were fucking terrified. In all your years of artwork, you’ve obviously never, ever encountered someone, no, something, like Park Jimin. “Wh-What the fuck are you?” you stuttered.

Jimin sighed, grasping the shelf behind you. “I told you, Y/n, I’m a vampire.”

“N-No, that’s not possible, they don’t exis-”

“Exist? Am I not proof to the contrary?”

“Please,” you whispered, a tear leaking out of the corner of your eye.

“Shhhhh,” Jimin said. He stroked your cheek, wiping the tear away, and you shut your eyes, tensing up at his touch. “I’m not going to hurt you. That’s not why you’re here.”

“And will I be allowed to leave when I’m done?”

Jimin frowned. “Of course. Y/n, I think you misunderstand my intentions. I don’t want to drink your blood or keep you prisoner or anything. Besides, even if you did go home and tell people, who would believe you?”

You considered his words. What he said was true. Even your closest friends and family members would think you were crazy. That thought, however, didn’t help you feel any less frightened.

What did ease your feelings was the tender gaze Jimin was giving you. He didn’t look like he intended to hurt you, although his close proximity was making you uncomfortable. You stepped out of his grasp and held up your hands. “I just… I need a moment,” you said.

“Of course.”

Soobin bowed as you exited the room and ran down the hall, holding a hand over your mouth to keep the screams from coming out. Was it possible? Was every nightmare you had, every scary story, real? You stopped once you reached the top of the stairs, bending over and panting.

You sat on the stairs and curled your knees up to your chest. What the hell were you thinking? You should just run out the door and never look back. Still, something was stopping you. Maybe it was sheer curiosity, or maybe it was how you couldn’t get the way he looked at you out of your brain. Either way, it couldn’t lead to anything but disaster.

“If you want to leave, you may,” a voice said. You looked up to see Jimin walking towards you.

“I’ll think about it,” you muttered, turning away from him.

“Please don’t hate me,” he begged, reaching out. You shied away from him, and he withdrew his hand, closing it into a fist. “Once people find out what I am, they just stereotype and assume. All I want, all I’ve ever wanted, is for someone to accept me.”

You let out a shaky breath and finally looked at him, into those smoldering tawny eyes. “I’ll stay and paint your portraits… but on my terms. Don’t touch me, don’t come near me, and I need some guarantee of protection.”

Jimin thought for a moment, pressing a finger to his chin, before pulling something out of his pocket. It was a small velvet bag that clinked as he brought it out. “Here.” He grabbed your hand and turned it so your palm was upright. He dumped what was in the bag in your hand.

You stared incredulously at the coins in your hand. “The hell is this?”

“Protection,” Jimin replied seriously, his eyes wide as they looked at you. “Silver. It burns me.”

Your mouth dropped open before you laughed out loud, completely overwhelmed by the entirety of the situation. The corners of Jimin’s mouth went up, but he looked mostly confused as he watched you laugh, arms folded over your stomach. You laughed until you cried, wiping your tears away and sniffing once your giggles had subsided.

“Are you done?” he asked pointedly.

“Yes,” you muttered, realizing how unhinged you looked. “Thank you for the coins.”

Jimin rolled his eyes and slung an arm over your shoulders. “Now, come on. You’ve got a painting to finish.”

Somehow, you found yourself not minding his touch very much, if at all. He didn’t seem so scary, even if he was a monster straight out of the movies. “Is Soobin a vampire too?” you asked suddenly as you walked back to your studio.

Jimin hummed in response, nodding. “I’ll need more coins then,” you joked.

“Oh, don’t worry. He’s on the bag diet, just like me.”

“Bag diet?”

“Yeah, you know, blood bags? We steal them from hospitals and such.”

You furrowed your brow. “That’s not cool, Jimin.”

He sighed. “I know… but it’s better than the alternative, right?”

You had to agree with that. Both of you reached your studio, and Jimin sat back on the stool as you started to paint. Soobin brought you a sandwich as the afternoon turned into evening and you started to lose light. For obvious reasons, neither he nor Jimin ate.

It was disconcerting, for sure, being stuck in a large mansion with two vampires, but one thing was for certain: this summer would be the most interesting one you’d ever have.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

As I said above, I hope you like this, kutie anon! Also, yes, I made a Part Two in which Y/n reflects back on the summer she had with Jimin and there is def more fluffy romance in that. Much 💜, as Taehyung would say, I purple you!

[mittensmorgul]

Hey, mittens do you think John will meet Cas? in the photos Cas is away, not in the bunker! I will be so sad if they don't trade some words!

Hi there! I think my best reply here is gonna be a series of disclaimers:

1. I don’t like speculating on this sort of stuff, because it’s almost always entirely unfounded.

2. PR for this episode in particular is even less reliable than it is for “regular” episodes. This is The Very Special Episode of s14, for obvious reasons. This is the one they are going all out on with the PR, and have been all season. They are hyping this episode to the stratosphere, capitalizing on the fact that this is the 300th episode, which is a milestone that hardly any tv shows ever even HOPE to reach, and this lil show just keeps chugging along. The entire production crew is THRILLED to have achieved this incredible feat, you know? This is a huge reason to celebrate, for all of them. So, they are pushing the PR hard, hoping to entice new viewers, hoping to get the GA worked up and excited about watching this specific episode, and also hoping to lure back viewers that may have stopped watching over the last few years with A Very Special Episode, you know? All that PR, even more than usual, is directed toward THEM, and not toward the close-watching meta fandom viewers. Or even really toward the loyal viewing fandom folks, It is a PR STUNT in that respect, and for anyone who follows the show closely, it’s important to keep that in mind.

I mean, look at this list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-running_scripted_U.S._primetime_television_series 

Supernatural is now in the top 20 longest running US shows of all time, when sorted by number of seasons. 11 of the shows higher up the list aren’t even airing anymore, and if SPN is renewed for s15 (as most of us expect at this point), that will bump it up into the top 15 longest running shows of all time. When sorted by number of episodes, it’s 25th, and this is including several “outlier” shows that aired 100+ episodes per year, or even Gunsmoke that averaged 30+ episodes a year for 20 years... (and SPN will move into 24th place after 14.15 airs). So this is DEFINITELY something I totally support our guys milking for everything it’s worth, PR-wise, you know?

3. Because we know that PR is not showrunning, and can manage our expectations accordingly, we need to be aware that these sorts of PR photos generally give us vague-to-unhelpful glimpses at a couple of specific scenes, and not actual useful spoilers of the Big Plot Moments, you know? I mean, remember the PR photo set from 14.11? Sam and Dean with a box, Dean standing by the Impala holding a gun:

http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/182279163210/jensenackles-daily-damaged-goods-original

That was everything important that happened in the episode, right? even when you toss in these additional photos of Mary apparently grocery shopping, murdering pumpkins, and Nick being creepy:

http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/182017479745/justanotheridijiton-supernatural-damaged

or even less helpful, the photos for 14.10:

http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/181813279785/sammyhale-supernatural-episode-14x10-nihilism

Where, without explanation, we have Michael chained up in the Bunker. I mean, we had no information yet to understand that scene at all, and yet I remember a number of disappointed speculation posts that clearly the writers had no idea what they were doing because they didn’t even care about their own story’s continuity if they were just “forgetting” the scenario we were left with at the end of 14.09. And just... WHY WOULD PEOPLE JUST ASSUME THIS FROM A COLLECTION OF DELIBERATELY VAGUE PROMO PHOTOS?!

Sorry, *deep breaths mittens you can do this*. I’m just... tired. I’m 100% here for any and all wild speculation, because it CAN be fun to engage in it. As long as that speculation is understood to have no basis in reality, you know? I mean, I wrote crack fic/speculation for 14.12 based on the end of 14.11 and the 20 second promo video, and it’s HILARIOUS. But do I expect that’s how 14.12 will actually go: http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/182333868540/complete-crack-spec-based-on-the-promo-for-1412

I mean, over the last few weeks since we got the EW Cover Spread stuff (all included in my spn 300 tag here: http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/tagged/spn-300), I’ve seen people upset that it seems we aren’t getting the “how the townspeople of Lebanon see the Winchesters” episode we thought we’d been promised, because none of that stuff was included in the promo photo sets. And I mean... no? Even in the deliberately vague PR interviews, we know that there will be some scenes in the town of Lebanon. And heck, the episode is TITLED “Lebanon,” which speaks volumes about what the episode might be focusing on, you know?

But who is this EW article primarily for? For luring in fans of JDM who may never have seen Supernatural, and hoping to draw in a much larger audience than usual. For fans who may have stopped watching SPN a while back and would be intrigued about this strange return of John Winchester enough to tune in. While yes, us fans who follow the show and the fandom closely aren’t going to be getting huge spoilers from this info, nor from these photo shoots. Yeah, we have Sam, Dean, and Cas covers, but I actually saw that some people were upset that Cas wasn’t included in the “Winchester Family Portrait” cover, and just... no. Okay? Cas got HIS OWN COVER. John did not. I mean, on a meta-level, this is doubly hilarious because JDM wasn’t even there in person when they shot the Jensen-Jared-Sam portion of the photo. He’s literally photoshopped in after the fact. So... I’m taking that as my humorous wink-wink-nudge-nudge on that.

So... all that said, I am *personally* sticking to my standard policy of “heck this might be a fun episode!” and not trying to pre-convince myself to hate it via wild, baseless speculation.

Sorry if some of this comes across as bitter, but I am tired. I’m tired of folks speculating on stuff and working themselves up into a lather before episodes even air.

I am INCREDIBLY EXCITED for this episode, and would honestly prefer not to guess what we may or may not expect from it.

That said, I would not personally be disappointed if Cas and John don’t even meet in this episode. They’ve never “met” before in canon, even in the two episodes where Cas transported Dean to the past specifically to interact with young!John. I’m honestly more interested in what the show is going to use this apparently “past version” of Cas for. I am far more interested in the comparisons they’ll invite us to draw about how far Cas has come, and how this might affect him going forward. I am far less interested in what a “first meeting” between Cas and an “alternate version” of John might look like, you know?

From everything I’ve heard about this episode, from all the PR, it seems like the episode is going to be reaching into the past in search of a smidgen of closure and catharsis for all of the characters as individuals. And I am totally here for that.

Any further speculation I’m just gonna sit on my hands for. I get people enjoy engaging in it, but I find it’s far too easy to slip into negativity which gets carried through into the actual episode, regardless of if the speculation just set the bar far higher than the show ever intended, or so low that folks simply refuse to reach up for where the bar actually is. I’m not interested in poisoning the well two weeks before the episode even airs.

[anthonykrierion]

Demystifying the Design Process with Sketch

For non-designers, there is often a level of mysticism around the way we work. In your job, it may well be your responsibility to brief a designer, but as for what happens in between that stage and finally seeing the fruits of their labour – well, this may be rather alien. While it’s not necessarily important to know the ins and outs of this (in a similar way that I can’t claim much knowledge for what our developers do code-side), this post aims to demystify the process and shed light on one of my favourite design programs at the moment, and equip you with good reason to convince any digital or web designer you work with to pick it up if they don’t use it already. Not to mention that having a top-level overview of design software makes it a whole lot easier to communicate with those that do use it.

If the above doesn’t quite apply to you, don’t click off just yet; there is still value to be had if you are:

A designer – learn how this program and accompanying tools can improve the way you work.

A jack-of-all-trades – discover how you can improve the design aspect of your role

A manager – as if by magic  find out how to streamline your team and processes

Still here? Great, let’s begin.

Disclaimer: This is not an advertorial.

While it would be nice to have been sponsored to write this post, it’s worth clarifying first of all that any hints of sales chatter that may ensue should just be read as pure enthusiasm for the product.

So, to cut to the chase, my most-recommended piece of design software at the moment is Sketch. It’s my partner in design if you will. I started using it around two years ago and haven’t looked back since. Before getting on to the ‘why?’  and ‘how?’ though, let’s briefly touch upon what it actually is (and isn’t)  for those in the dark.

Sketch? What’s that?

On paper Sketch is a ‘proprietary vector graphics editor’. From a user perspective though, it’s essentially a blank canvas in which you can design and create anything from a macro website right down to the nitty-gritty aspects of a user-interface.

Rather than just rattle through more points about what Sketch is and what it’s capable of, I want to throw in a quick lowdown as to what it isn’t:

It isn’t anything to do with SketchUp (which happens to be a 3D graphics modelling programme) so best not to get them confused.

It isn’t an illustration, photomanipulation or text-setting tool – these are best left to Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, respectively.

It isn’t going to work in Windows/Linux etc. – sorry! It’s an Apple macOS-only program; though the benefit of this being that it’s incredibly well-designed and intuitive for Mac users.

It isn’t going to break the bank! Sure, it was the free trial that roped me in to give it a go, but it was the very reasonable price tag that converted me to a paying user.

Life before Sketch

Before Sketch came along, my go-to design programme had always been Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator and I go way back, to my teen years, before I ever thought of myself as a designer. Over the years I’ve built up a bank of knowledge and can convincingly say that I now have a pretty good understanding of its features, and am more than happy to sing its praises over the likes of Photoshop. Similarly, when I joined Distilled, the other designers here were also keen advocates of Illustrator, and so it never occurred to me to question the process. Until one day I was chatting with a designer from another company, and on finding out our process, looked at me with incredulity and asked: “You use Illustrator for web build design?!” To be fair to us, there are plenty of designers who did, and still, do this. But importantly, this set the wheels in motion for me to look beyond our tried and tested tools. After some research it seemed a lot of people in the design community were raving about Sketch – this relative ‘new kid on the block’; so I set myself the task of using it for the next project I was assigned to.

I was immediately sold; and here are three reasons why you should be too.

1. Designed for digital, with a kickass online community to match

Unlike Illustrator, Sketch is designed for digital-first use cases in mind. With that comes an understanding that us digital folk want things done fast, we want them now. The time it took for me to go from deciding to try it out, to downloading, installing and opening the app, was less than five minutes. Anyone who has ever tried to get Illustrator on their machine before can relate to how amazed I was at the speed. That’s not a surprise, considering the app itself comes in only at 45.2mb, in comparison to Illustrator CS6 at 259.8mb.

Sketch’s UI is laid out in a clean, modular fashion, with no potential for toolbars to become unwieldy and disparate  (which I’m definitely guilty of in Illustrator), and this ease of use if further reflected in the way the programme operates:

No matter how intuitive a tool is, questions are bound to crop up when you start doing more complex things. Luckily I quickly learnt what a great online community Sketch has fostered. My favourite forum is sketchtalk.io where you can generally expect pretty fast response rates.

Not only is this community great in sharing knowledge on a case-by-case basis, there are also those who eagerly contribute by writing plugins (often open source and free to use) which enhance the capabilities of Sketch. For example, just the other day I came across AnimateMate, allowing users to create simple animations. This is just one example amongst many. Usually, if I know something I specifically want to do that isn’t natively built into Sketch, I’ll consult Google – ‘[blank]  plugin for Sketch’. Or, I might occasionally browse directories like this and this to discover new goodies.

All in all, the payback far outweighs the minimal learning curve of familiarising yourself with slightly different keyboard shortcuts.

2. Save time (and money) by streamlining the route from design to development

Prior to Sketch, my process from taking a design into development typically looked like this:

Create layouts in Illustrator.

Write up a detailed spec document for the developer, including aspects such as font weights and sizing, and hex code colours to name but a few.

Export a series of flat image or PDF from Illustrator for the dev and manually save any assets they might need, e.g. icons, images or logos.

Dev then goes away and uses the above to code and build by eye to match the design.

Expect a few feedback rounds on getting sizings, padding etc spot on.

Instead, my process is cut pretty much in half and now consists of just three steps:

Create layouts in Sketch.

Export layouts into Zeplin (third party plugin) project.

Invite developer to the Zeplin project (which literally just takes seconds).

Zeplin is my second most favoured tool when it comes to design. Its saved me hours by eliminating the need to do a write up a spec, manually export assets and cuts down the back and forth with developers by a mile. In fact, it almost deserves another post all to itself, but in the meantime, they’ve got the ground covered in a couple of quick overviews as to how Zeplin is good for designers and also developers.

If I still haven’t convinced you yet, just know that a lot of these new time-saving tools only support Sketch and not Illustrator ;-)

3. Work with a tool that’s as agile and iterative as you

Sketch is an app that’s constantly improving and pushing out updates. There’s even a part of their site dedicated to showcasing the latest changes. From a user perspective, I love this – it shows that I’m getting a product that’s at the forefront of technologies. And of course, it’s not cumbersome to update, no machine restarts etc.  The majority of them are done in the time it takes to go make a brew. Given that there’s not a single day in which the digital landscape isn’t changing, it’s great to know that the tool you’re working with is also changing and improving with it.

In fact, as much as it is about delivering the best user offering, it is a market as competitive as any other. As well as die-hard Illustrator and Photoshop fans to try and lure away, there are others trying to steal market share, for example, Adobe XD and soon-to-be InVision Studio. The Sketch folk know they can’t rest on their laurels, and I’m looking forward to another year of great updates fuelled by a dose of healthy competition.

Closing thoughts

To summarise, Sketch has revolutionised the way I approach design, forcing me to think more about the power of automation and in turn benefiting from that with shortcuts that don’t compromise on quality. I urge anyone working with designers to get them to give it a go. And with a one-month free trial, there’s really no excuse.

Demystifying the Design Process with Sketch was originally posted by Video And Blog Marketing

[davidrsmithlove]

Demystifying the Design Process with Sketch

For non-designers, there is often a level of mysticism around the way we work. In your job, it may well be your responsibility to brief a designer, but as for what happens in between that stage and finally seeing the fruits of their labour – well, this may be rather alien. While it’s not necessarily important to know the ins and outs of this (in a similar way that I can’t claim much knowledge for what our developers do code-side), this post aims to demystify the process and shed light on one of my favourite design programs at the moment, and equip you with good reason to convince any digital or web designer you work with to pick it up if they don’t use it already. Not to mention that having a top-level overview of design software makes it a whole lot easier to communicate with those that do use it.

If the above doesn’t quite apply to you, don’t click off just yet; there is still value to be had if you are:

A designer – learn how this program and accompanying tools can improve the way you work.

A jack-of-all-trades – discover how you can improve the design aspect of your role

A manager – as if by magic  find out how to streamline your team and processes

Still here? Great, let’s begin.

Disclaimer: This is not an advertorial.

While it would be nice to have been sponsored to write this post, it’s worth clarifying first of all that any hints of sales chatter that may ensue should just be read as pure enthusiasm for the product.

So, to cut to the chase, my most-recommended piece of design software at the moment is Sketch. It’s my partner in design if you will. I started using it around two years ago and haven’t looked back since. Before getting on to the ‘why?’  and ‘how?’ though, let’s briefly touch upon what it actually is (and isn’t)  for those in the dark.

Sketch? What’s that?

On paper Sketch is a ‘proprietary vector graphics editor’. From a user perspective though, it’s essentially a blank canvas in which you can design and create anything from a macro website right down to the nitty-gritty aspects of a user-interface.

Rather than just rattle through more points about what Sketch is and what it’s capable of, I want to throw in a quick lowdown as to what it isn’t:

It isn’t anything to do with SketchUp (which happens to be a 3D graphics modelling programme) so best not to get them confused.

It isn’t an illustration, photomanipulation or text-setting tool – these are best left to Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, respectively.

It isn’t going to work in Windows/Linux etc. – sorry! It’s an Apple macOS-only program; though the benefit of this being that it’s incredibly well-designed and intuitive for Mac users.

It isn’t going to break the bank! Sure, it was the free trial that roped me in to give it a go, but it was the very reasonable price tag that converted me to a paying user.

Life before Sketch

Before Sketch came along, my go-to design programme had always been Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator and I go way back, to my teen years, before I ever thought of myself as a designer. Over the years I’ve built up a bank of knowledge and can convincingly say that I now have a pretty good understanding of its features, and am more than happy to sing its praises over the likes of Photoshop. Similarly, when I joined Distilled, the other designers here were also keen advocates of Illustrator, and so it never occurred to me to question the process. Until one day I was chatting with a designer from another company, and on finding out our process, looked at me with incredulity and asked: “You use Illustrator for web build design?!” To be fair to us, there are plenty of designers who did, and still, do this. But importantly, this set the wheels in motion for me to look beyond our tried and tested tools. After some research it seemed a lot of people in the design community were raving about Sketch – this relative ‘new kid on the block’; so I set myself the task of using it for the next project I was assigned to.

I was immediately sold; and here are three reasons why you should be too.

1. Designed for digital, with a kickass online community to match

Unlike Illustrator, Sketch is designed for digital-first use cases in mind. With that comes an understanding that us digital folk want things done fast, we want them now. The time it took for me to go from deciding to try it out, to downloading, installing and opening the app, was less than five minutes. Anyone who has ever tried to get Illustrator on their machine before can relate to how amazed I was at the speed. That’s not a surprise, considering the app itself comes in only at 45.2mb, in comparison to Illustrator CS6 at 259.8mb.

Sketch’s UI is laid out in a clean, modular fashion, with no potential for toolbars to become unwieldy and disparate  (which I’m definitely guilty of in Illustrator), and this ease of use if further reflected in the way the programme operates:

No matter how intuitive a tool is, questions are bound to crop up when you start doing more complex things. Luckily I quickly learnt what a great online community Sketch has fostered. My favourite forum is sketchtalk.io where you can generally expect pretty fast response rates.

Not only is this community great in sharing knowledge on a case-by-case basis, there are also those who eagerly contribute by writing plugins (often open source and free to use) which enhance the capabilities of Sketch. For example, just the other day I came across AnimateMate, allowing users to create simple animations. This is just one example amongst many. Usually, if I know something I specifically want to do that isn’t natively built into Sketch, I’ll consult Google – ‘[blank]  plugin for Sketch’. Or, I might occasionally browse directories like this and this to discover new goodies.

All in all, the payback far outweighs the minimal learning curve of familiarising yourself with slightly different keyboard shortcuts.

2. Save time (and money) by streamlining the route from design to development

Prior to Sketch, my process from taking a design into development typically looked like this:

Create layouts in Illustrator.

Write up a detailed spec document for the developer, including aspects such as font weights and sizing, and hex code colours to name but a few.

Export a series of flat image or PDF from Illustrator for the dev and manually save any assets they might need, e.g. icons, images or logos.

Dev then goes away and uses the above to code and build by eye to match the design.

Expect a few feedback rounds on getting sizings, padding etc spot on.

Instead, my process is cut pretty much in half and now consists of just three steps:

Create layouts in Sketch.

Export layouts into Zeplin (third party plugin) project.

Invite developer to the Zeplin project (which literally just takes seconds).

Zeplin is my second most favoured tool when it comes to design. Its saved me hours by eliminating the need to do a write up a spec, manually export assets and cuts down the back and forth with developers by a mile. In fact, it almost deserves another post all to itself, but in the meantime, they’ve got the ground covered in a couple of quick overviews as to how Zeplin is good for designers and also developers.

If I still haven’t convinced you yet, just know that a lot of these new time-saving tools only support Sketch and not Illustrator ;-)

3. Work with a tool that’s as agile and iterative as you

Sketch is an app that’s constantly improving and pushing out updates. There’s even a part of their site dedicated to showcasing the latest changes. From a user perspective, I love this – it shows that I’m getting a product that’s at the forefront of technologies. And of course, it’s not cumbersome to update, no machine restarts etc.  The majority of them are done in the time it takes to go make a brew. Given that there’s not a single day in which the digital landscape isn’t changing, it’s great to know that the tool you’re working with is also changing and improving with it.

In fact, as much as it is about delivering the best user offering, it is a market as competitive as any other. As well as die-hard Illustrator and Photoshop fans to try and lure away, there are others trying to steal market share, for example, Adobe XD and soon-to-be InVision Studio. The Sketch folk know they can’t rest on their laurels, and I’m looking forward to another year of great updates fuelled by a dose of healthy competition.

Closing thoughts

To summarise, Sketch has revolutionised the way I approach design, forcing me to think more about the power of automation and in turn benefiting from that with shortcuts that don’t compromise on quality. I urge anyone working with designers to get them to give it a go. And with a one-month free trial, there’s really no excuse.

[ronijashworth]

Demystifying the Design Process with Sketch

For non-designers, there is often a level of mysticism around the way we work. In your job, it may well be your responsibility to brief a designer, but as for what happens in between that stage and finally seeing the fruits of their labour – well, this may be rather alien. While it’s not necessarily important to know the ins and outs of this (in a similar way that I can’t claim much knowledge for what our developers do code-side), this post aims to demystify the process and shed light on one of my favourite design programs at the moment, and equip you with good reason to convince any digital or web designer you work with to pick it up if they don’t use it already. Not to mention that having a top-level overview of design software makes it a whole lot easier to communicate with those that do use it.

If the above doesn’t quite apply to you, don’t click off just yet; there is still value to be had if you are:

A designer – learn how this program and accompanying tools can improve the way you work.

A jack-of-all-trades – discover how you can improve the design aspect of your role

A manager – as if by magic  find out how to streamline your team and processes

Still here? Great, let’s begin.

Disclaimer: This is not an advertorial.

While it would be nice to have been sponsored to write this post, it’s worth clarifying first of all that any hints of sales chatter that may ensue should just be read as pure enthusiasm for the product.

So, to cut to the chase, my most-recommended piece of design software at the moment is Sketch. It’s my partner in design if you will. I started using it around two years ago and haven’t looked back since. Before getting on to the ‘why?’  and ‘how?’ though, let’s briefly touch upon what it actually is (and isn’t)  for those in the dark.

Sketch? What’s that?

On paper Sketch is a ‘proprietary vector graphics editor’. From a user perspective though, it’s essentially a blank canvas in which you can design and create anything from a macro website right down to the nitty-gritty aspects of a user-interface.

Rather than just rattle through more points about what Sketch is and what it’s capable of, I want to throw in a quick lowdown as to what it isn’t:

It isn’t anything to do with SketchUp (which happens to be a 3D graphics modelling programme) so best not to get them confused.

It isn’t an illustration, photomanipulation or text-setting tool – these are best left to Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, respectively.

It isn’t going to work in Windows/Linux etc. – sorry! It’s an Apple macOS-only program; though the benefit of this being that it’s incredibly well-designed and intuitive for Mac users.

It isn’t going to break the bank! Sure, it was the free trial that roped me in to give it a go, but it was the very reasonable price tag that converted me to a paying user.

Life before Sketch

Before Sketch came along, my go-to design programme had always been Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator and I go way back, to my teen years, before I ever thought of myself as a designer. Over the years I’ve built up a bank of knowledge and can convincingly say that I now have a pretty good understanding of its features, and am more than happy to sing its praises over the likes of Photoshop. Similarly, when I joined Distilled, the other designers here were also keen advocates of Illustrator, and so it never occurred to me to question the process. Until one day I was chatting with a designer from another company, and on finding out our process, looked at me with incredulity and asked: “You use Illustrator for web build design?!” To be fair to us, there are plenty of designers who did, and still, do this. But importantly, this set the wheels in motion for me to look beyond our tried and tested tools. After some research it seemed a lot of people in the design community were raving about Sketch – this relative ‘new kid on the block’; so I set myself the task of using it for the next project I was assigned to.

I was immediately sold; and here are three reasons why you should be too.

1. Designed for digital, with a kickass online community to match

Unlike Illustrator, Sketch is designed for digital-first use cases in mind. With that comes an understanding that us digital folk want things done fast, we want them now. The time it took for me to go from deciding to try it out, to downloading, installing and opening the app, was less than five minutes. Anyone who has ever tried to get Illustrator on their machine before can relate to how amazed I was at the speed. That’s not a surprise, considering the app itself comes in only at 45.2mb, in comparison to Illustrator CS6 at 259.8mb.

Sketch’s UI is laid out in a clean, modular fashion, with no potential for toolbars to become unwieldy and disparate  (which I’m definitely guilty of in Illustrator), and this ease of use if further reflected in the way the programme operates:

No matter how intuitive a tool is, questions are bound to crop up when you start doing more complex things. Luckily I quickly learnt what a great online community Sketch has fostered. My favourite forum is sketchtalk.io where you can generally expect pretty fast response rates.

Not only is this community great in sharing knowledge on a case-by-case basis, there are also those who eagerly contribute by writing plugins (often open source and free to use) which enhance the capabilities of Sketch. For example, just the other day I came across AnimateMate, allowing users to create simple animations. This is just one example amongst many. Usually, if I know something I specifically want to do that isn’t natively built into Sketch, I’ll consult Google – ‘[blank]  plugin for Sketch’. Or, I might occasionally browse directories like this and this to discover new goodies.

All in all, the payback far outweighs the minimal learning curve of familiarising yourself with slightly different keyboard shortcuts.

2. Save time (and money) by streamlining the route from design to development

Prior to Sketch, my process from taking a design into development typically looked like this:

Create layouts in Illustrator.

Write up a detailed spec document for the developer, including aspects such as font weights and sizing, and hex code colours to name but a few.

Export a series of flat image or PDF from Illustrator for the dev and manually save any assets they might need, e.g. icons, images or logos.

Dev then goes away and uses the above to code and build by eye to match the design.

Expect a few feedback rounds on getting sizings, padding etc spot on.

Instead, my process is cut pretty much in half and now consists of just three steps:

Create layouts in Sketch.

Export layouts into Zeplin (third party plugin) project.

Invite developer to the Zeplin project (which literally just takes seconds).

Zeplin is my second most favoured tool when it comes to design. Its saved me hours by eliminating the need to do a write up a spec, manually export assets and cuts down the back and forth with developers by a mile. In fact, it almost deserves another post all to itself, but in the meantime, they’ve got the ground covered in a couple of quick overviews as to how Zeplin is good for designers and also developers.

If I still haven’t convinced you yet, just know that a lot of these new time-saving tools only support Sketch and not Illustrator ;-)

3. Work with a tool that’s as agile and iterative as you

Sketch is an app that’s constantly improving and pushing out updates. There’s even a part of their site dedicated to showcasing the latest changes. From a user perspective, I love this – it shows that I’m getting a product that’s at the forefront of technologies. And of course, it’s not cumbersome to update, no machine restarts etc.  The majority of them are done in the time it takes to go make a brew. Given that there’s not a single day in which the digital landscape isn’t changing, it’s great to know that the tool you’re working with is also changing and improving with it.

In fact, as much as it is about delivering the best user offering, it is a market as competitive as any other. As well as die-hard Illustrator and Photoshop fans to try and lure away, there are others trying to steal market share, for example, Adobe XD and soon-to-be InVision Studio. The Sketch folk know they can’t rest on their laurels, and I’m looking forward to another year of great updates fuelled by a dose of healthy competition.

Closing thoughts

To summarise, Sketch has revolutionised the way I approach design, forcing me to think more about the power of automation and in turn benefiting from that with shortcuts that don’t compromise on quality. I urge anyone working with designers to get them to give it a go. And with a one-month free trial, there’s really no excuse.

from Digital Marketing https://www.distilled.net/resources/demystifying-design-with-sketch/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[davidrsmithlove]

Demystifying the Design Process with Sketch

For non-designers, there is often a level of mysticism around the way we work. In your job, it may well be your responsibility to brief a designer, but as for what happens in between that stage and finally seeing the fruits of their labour – well, this may be rather alien. While it’s not necessarily important to know the ins and outs of this (in a similar way that I can’t claim much knowledge for what our developers do code-side), this post aims to demystify the process and shed light on one of my favourite design programs at the moment, and equip you with good reason to convince any digital or web designer you work with to pick it up if they don’t use it already. Not to mention that having a top-level overview of design software makes it a whole lot easier to communicate with those that do use it.

If the above doesn’t quite apply to you, don’t click off just yet; there is still value to be had if you are:

A designer – learn how this program and accompanying tools can improve the way you work.

A jack-of-all-trades – discover how you can improve the design aspect of your role

A manager – as if by magic  find out how to streamline your team and processes

Still here? Great, let’s begin.

Disclaimer: This is not an advertorial.

While it would be nice to have been sponsored to write this post, it’s worth clarifying first of all that any hints of sales chatter that may ensue should just be read as pure enthusiasm for the product.

So, to cut to the chase, my most-recommended piece of design software at the moment is Sketch. It’s my partner in design if you will. I started using it around two years ago and haven’t looked back since. Before getting on to the ‘why?’  and ‘how?’ though, let’s briefly touch upon what it actually is (and isn’t)  for those in the dark.

Sketch? What’s that?

On paper Sketch is a ‘proprietary vector graphics editor’. From a user perspective though, it’s essentially a blank canvas in which you can design and create anything from a macro website right down to the nitty-gritty aspects of a user-interface.

Rather than just rattle through more points about what Sketch is and what it’s capable of, I want to throw in a quick lowdown as to what it isn’t:

It isn’t anything to do with SketchUp (which happens to be a 3D graphics modelling programme) so best not to get them confused.

It isn’t an illustration, photomanipulation or text-setting tool – these are best left to Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, respectively.

It isn’t going to work in Windows/Linux etc. – sorry! It’s an Apple macOS-only program; though the benefit of this being that it’s incredibly well-designed and intuitive for Mac users.

It isn’t going to break the bank! Sure, it was the free trial that roped me in to give it a go, but it was the very reasonable price tag that converted me to a paying user.

Life before Sketch

Before Sketch came along, my go-to design programme had always been Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator and I go way back, to my teen years, before I ever thought of myself as a designer. Over the years I’ve built up a bank of knowledge and can convincingly say that I now have a pretty good understanding of its features, and am more than happy to sing its praises over the likes of Photoshop. Similarly, when I joined Distilled, the other designers here were also keen advocates of Illustrator, and so it never occurred to me to question the process. Until one day I was chatting with a designer from another company, and on finding out our process, looked at me with incredulity and asked: “You use Illustrator for web build design?!” To be fair to us, there are plenty of designers who did, and still, do this. But importantly, this set the wheels in motion for me to look beyond our tried and tested tools. After some research it seemed a lot of people in the design community were raving about Sketch – this relative ‘new kid on the block’; so I set myself the task of using it for the next project I was assigned to.

I was immediately sold; and here are three reasons why you should be too.

1. Designed for digital, with a kickass online community to match

Unlike Illustrator, Sketch is designed for digital-first use cases in mind. With that comes an understanding that us digital folk want things done fast, we want them now. The time it took for me to go from deciding to try it out, to downloading, installing and opening the app, was less than five minutes. Anyone who has ever tried to get Illustrator on their machine before can relate to how amazed I was at the speed. That’s not a surprise, considering the app itself comes in only at 45.2mb, in comparison to Illustrator CS6 at 259.8mb.

Sketch’s UI is laid out in a clean, modular fashion, with no potential for toolbars to become unwieldy and disparate  (which I’m definitely guilty of in Illustrator), and this ease of use if further reflected in the way the programme operates:

No matter how intuitive a tool is, questions are bound to crop up when you start doing more complex things. Luckily I quickly learnt what a great online community Sketch has fostered. My favourite forum is sketchtalk.io where you can generally expect pretty fast response rates.

Not only is this community great in sharing knowledge on a case-by-case basis, there are also those who eagerly contribute by writing plugins (often open source and free to use) which enhance the capabilities of Sketch. For example, just the other day I came across AnimateMate, allowing users to create simple animations. This is just one example amongst many. Usually, if I know something I specifically want to do that isn’t natively built into Sketch, I’ll consult Google – ‘[blank]  plugin for Sketch’. Or, I might occasionally browse directories like this and this to discover new goodies.

All in all, the payback far outweighs the minimal learning curve of familiarising yourself with slightly different keyboard shortcuts.

2. Save time (and money) by streamlining the route from design to development

Prior to Sketch, my process from taking a design into development typically looked like this:

Create layouts in Illustrator.

Write up a detailed spec document for the developer, including aspects such as font weights and sizing, and hex code colours to name but a few.

Export a series of flat image or PDF from Illustrator for the dev and manually save any assets they might need, e.g. icons, images or logos.

Dev then goes away and uses the above to code and build by eye to match the design.

Expect a few feedback rounds on getting sizings, padding etc spot on.

Instead, my process is cut pretty much in half and now consists of just three steps:

Create layouts in Sketch.

Export layouts into Zeplin (third party plugin) project.

Invite developer to the Zeplin project (which literally just takes seconds).

Zeplin is my second most favoured tool when it comes to design. Its saved me hours by eliminating the need to do a write up a spec, manually export assets and cuts down the back and forth with developers by a mile. In fact, it almost deserves another post all to itself, but in the meantime, they’ve got the ground covered in a couple of quick overviews as to how Zeplin is good for designers and also developers.

If I still haven’t convinced you yet, just know that a lot of these new time-saving tools only support Sketch and not Illustrator ;-)

3. Work with a tool that’s as agile and iterative as you

Sketch is an app that’s constantly improving and pushing out updates. There’s even a part of their site dedicated to showcasing the latest changes. From a user perspective, I love this – it shows that I’m getting a product that’s at the forefront of technologies. And of course, it’s not cumbersome to update, no machine restarts etc.  The majority of them are done in the time it takes to go make a brew. Given that there’s not a single day in which the digital landscape isn’t changing, it’s great to know that the tool you’re working with is also changing and improving with it.

In fact, as much as it is about delivering the best user offering, it is a market as competitive as any other. As well as die-hard Illustrator and Photoshop fans to try and lure away, there are others trying to steal market share, for example, Adobe XD and soon-to-be InVision Studio. The Sketch folk know they can’t rest on their laurels, and I’m looking forward to another year of great updates fuelled by a dose of healthy competition.

Closing thoughts

To summarise, Sketch has revolutionised the way I approach design, forcing me to think more about the power of automation and in turn benefiting from that with shortcuts that don’t compromise on quality. I urge anyone working with designers to get them to give it a go. And with a one-month free trial, there’s really no excuse.