#edit: I SCREWED UP THE COLOURS DON'T LOOK

[detroitbecomeonline]

[adobe-outdesign]

Could you review the ixi?

Briefly limited edition for a very short period after their release, Ixi are mostly just goats, and there's really nothing fancy about them beyond being goats (unless you want to count the collars). They are pretty nicely designed goats though, with distinct eye shapes, lots of black accents on the hooves, eyebrows, and horns, and some nice markings around the face and muzzle that really help to break up the body.

I also like the personality Ixis have, being mischievous and sort of sassy. This was more obvious in their old circle art, but you still get it a bit from the converted version as well. It's fun and helps make them stand out.

This might be a controversial Hot Take(TM), but I'd argue that Ixis mostly benefited from customization. The old art was just a bit janky all around—the circle pose mostly looks good, but the default happy poses could look kind of off. The converted version cleans up a lot of that, removing things like the second fur tuft on the head that's too close to the horn to be noticeable, the unpleasant lines around the mouth, the shaggy fur lines, etc.

It also refines some aspects, like giving the lighter tail tip an outline to match the rest of the lighter areas and fixing the hind torso, which was all kinds of screwed up on the original art. It also improves the eyes so they're closer to being the same size (it still looks a smidge off to me, but it's at least better). The shading is also less messy (what was up with that pink reflective light on the tail?), the eyebrows have been thickened to match the other black areas more, and it's easier to make out aspects of the design.

Another benefit is that the collars can be removed. I do think Ixi collars look better than Aisha collars (mostly because they can be interpreted as chokers when anthropomorphized, and they at least match the color of the eyes), but it's nice to have the option to remove it if one wants to.

However, there were a few things that don't look as good—namely, the head is both a bit too big and too wide compared to the original, giving it a weird rectangle shape that doesn't quite feel right. Here's a super quick edit of the converted version to try to get the point across:

Also, for some reason the chest fur also stops below the collar instead of under it, and the red Ixi's mouth is no longer the lighter shade like it is on every other Ixi. The sideways hair ruffle at the top is also weird due to them adding a line underneath. So overall an improvement—but not perfect.

Favorite Colours:

Mutant: What a great color! It's just messed up enough to look properly mutant-y, with the fangs, mismatched horns and ears, bipedal stance, spots, and a long, drooping tail. The color palette is subtle and muted, and it's detailed but still completely coherent as a whole. This design also didn't change with customization at all, so it's still as enjoyable as it ever was.

Grey: I already covered this one a bit in my grey color review so I won't get into it much here, but this color is great. The customized version is so-so (good as a neutral base, but the eyes look a bit weird due to lack of top lids), but the UC version is beautiful with its forlorned expression, huge droppy ears, and pretty dull red accents. Even the collar is drooping!

Robot: Converted robot Ixis unfortunately aren't very good—yes, they have to proportionally match the default base, but the chunky round legs, overly large head ridge, and completely botched shading look pretty bad. It looks weirdly rubbery in a really unpleasant way. On the plus side, the unclothed version is terrifying, so it has that much going for it.

However, the UC version is fantastic! It has a super sleek design that manages to look unusually elegant and cute for a robot pet, with a subtle dark green and black palette and high-contrast red eyes. There are lots of good details in there too, like how the neck matches the legs and ears.

[jmflowers]

Pls talk abt the diffs between st19 and GA. Would love to read your TV production nerd language!

Well, only took me 10 days to finally find time to get to this… my apologies, anon! I hope you're still interested.

I took notes during episodes 20x02 and 7x02 of Grey's Anatomy and Station 19 respectively to formulate my answer to this, but I should disclose that I have not been an avid watcher of Grey's Anatomy in about a decade. Despite my education in technical film and television production, anything stated here is my own opinion. Art is subjective and I absolutely do not have all the answers.

Let's start with Grey's…

So, from when Grey's first premiered in 2005 until the 10th season, the show was shot on film. That fact lends a lot to the stylistic formula of the show, which is not something you ever really want to change. (Fans arrive for a certain feel, thus a production bible is created that is adhered to for - hopefully - the entirety of a piece of work.)

I think it's most obvious in the coverage of scenes; shots are long and flowing, often moving around subjects as they converse with each other. By shooting this way, they would've protected themselves from needing to reset as frequently and it makes the editing process a lot more seamless. Also, in my experience, it just makes it easier to translate a director’s vision from set into the editing room.

(In film school, a lot of people will take a million different angles of a scene, all in little snippets, because it guarantees you'll have what you need for an interesting edit. However, if you work a bunch of continuous shots of the scene, actors get the opportunity to really immerse themselves in it - resulting in better performance - and the final edit has fewer possible iterations of what it could look like. Why don't students do this? Firstly, it's harder - more risk of having something in the background that will screw things up, more challenging to cut together if you have to remove a singular moment, harder to keep steady if you're not comfortable with stabilizing equipment or don't have any. Secondly, professors don't often encourage it because a lot of people are really terrible at camera operation if they're not trained properly.)

Anyways, all that to stay is Grey’s has this really fluid style to how they shoot. Nearly every shot is moving in some way, whether it’s a dolly, a pan, a tilt, etc. Let it be said that they are really, really good at this formula.

Another component of this is wider angle shots so that the characters can be continuously moving – think of those classic hallway walking scenes as a prime example. Allowing the actors to really move in a space helps to build tension without needing a bunch of little cuts and camera angles. This means there are some scenes in the show that only have one camera angle present before it moves onto the next scene, which isn’t super common in my experience.

Not to say that they don’t utilize closeups – Grey’s is a drama so it’d be kind of weird to not make use of closeup shots for the showing of emotion. However, the closeups seem to predominantly occur in the OR. My guess as to why that is would be in helping the audience differentiate who is who (as well as what they’re feeling), since part of their faces have to be covered during operations, but that’s pure speculation on my part.

And beyond all of that, Grey’s is visually still a drama. A lot of moments occur at night. Scenes are often darker, with more focus on backlighting than clear illumination of character faces. I find their blacks a lot stronger, which is probably something to do with their colouring.

There’s also just fewer action-packed moments, since the story often takes place with people just talking, so there doesn’t appear to be as much of an editing technique called “cutting on the action”. Which, honestly, makes sense if they’re filming longer takes. (Shoutout to my prof who constantly gave triple-take homework and made me completely ridiculous about cutting. on. action. You broke me, my dude.)

Conversely, Station 19 has a very different formula…

As an action drama, that was never shot on film, S19 adheres to a completely different bible. One that they rewrote after season 2 (I think? When did the voiceover intros stop?), you’ll probably notice, when they decided to veer a little further away from their identity as a Grey’s Anatomy spinoff.

The first thing I always notice is that a lot more of S19 scenes happen during the day, since the unspoken law of most episodes is that they begin as the team is coming onto their shift first thing in the morning and then stretches through their 24-hour. Scenes are just brighter and more illuminated – more of the sunlight streaming in windows and less of the visible nighttime cityscape you’ll notice in Grey’s. I also really love that they usually begin this time period with the characters at home, whereas Grey’s seems to have episodes finish with that.

Light is also obvious in how things are coloured on S19. Their blacks don’t seem as dark in the final colouring, which may have something to do with the navy blue of their uniforms. It also just feels like there’s more white present on their sets? But that can’t possibly be true because Grey’s literally takes place in a hospital.

Anyways, S19 fully subscribes to the shooting and editing style of an action production. Scenes have lots of coverage (they utilize over-the-shoulder shots which don’t happen as often in Grey’s), there are lots of quick cuts in the edit, and their shots are overall steadier or static with less of the flowy movement that Grey’s has. They also use a lot more closeup and tighter framing, focusing on cowboy and up – unlike the Grey’s formula of a full-body shot. (A cowboy shot covers from the middle of the thigh to the top of the head, ie. you would be able to see the cowboy’s gun in its holster… anything above that is a tighter framing.)

And S19 loves a montage. I can’t say for certain whether Grey’s still uses those, or if they ever really did, but S19 leans into a zero-dialogue montage edit for storytelling. Which I don’t find super common, as I think some people believe it’s a little too artsy or stylistic, but I think is a really effective way to get a plot point across sometimes. Do we really need to know exactly what they said or is it enough to see that they were smiling when it happened? Film and television are visual medias and fanfic writers everywhere are grateful for the gaps in the story that they get to fill in with their own headcanons. (I said what I said.)

I’m sure there’s lots more things I could probably point out on why Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 complement each other while looking like they could be from completely different universes, but that’s all I wrote down while watching them both live. Hopefully my film theory professor and my screenwriting professor are proud of me for this analysis.

Thanks for the question, anon! Always here to answer and talk nerdy if anyone ever has any more.

[profound-bouquetbird]

you don't have to write this, just a request so yk,

if possible could you write Alador Blight x Reader smut?

specifically that Alador and Reader have been friends since hexside and at some point reader maybe suggests Alador take a break from work?

honestly it makes me a bit red to request but it's similar to "say no to this" from Hamilton

So yea :') take creative liberty if you wanna write this, you don't have to tho

have a nice timezone writer !!

Well damn- of course i will write this! Thanks for the lovely request anon!

Edit: I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS TOOK ME SO LONG I FORGOT I HAD IT IN MY DRAFTS 😭 😭 😭

I have never written smut in my life, i just read it so this shall be interesting

Here are some words that you my need for this fanfic: y/t = your track, h/c = hair colour

Alador Blight x afab!reader (they/them pronouns)

Warnings: smut

Contains: oral (m receiving), a bit of hair pulling, afab reader

Minors dni

Enjoy

It all started with two young Hexside students, one was in the abomination track, a kid named Alador, and the other in y/t, A kid named y/n, they were good friends, maybe even had crushes on one another, but both of them were too shy to ask the other out

Alador soon cought feeling for another girl and in the future they got married and had three children, but his love for y/n never seemed to disappear, and that created deep regrets

When the collector showed up and changed everything, he got to see his first lover again upon teaming up with Edalyn

"hey Alador! We accidentally broke one of your abomination creation, can you fix it?" Eda said as she walked in to the base

"of course Edalyn." Alador said as he went towards the entrance and picked up the broken abomination

"oh and before i forget y/n wanted to talk to ya." Eda said as she walked away, Alador seemed to not hear what she said and walked over to his workshop

He dragged the abomination in to the workshop and slammed the door behind him, locking it so that no one would bother him

"uhh, hello." A voice was heard behind him, he quickly turned to see y/n sitting on the desk

"y/n? What're you doing here?" He asked as he walked over to you, the tips of his ears turning a light pink

"just wanted to check in on you, you seemed kind of distant lately." They said as they got off of the desk

"I've just been busy." He states as he walked over towards the desk, pulling the brocken abomination creation with him

"with what?" They asked

"things." He answered

"well i could help you with those things." Y/n said as they looked at Alador, wiggling their eyebrows. Alador turned bright red as his pants seemed to be tighter than before

"so what can I do?" They asked as they pulled a chair next to Alador and sat down

"well for started you can screw these bolts on to this metal chest plate." He said as he took the chest plate off of the abomination and gave it to you

"that's not the only thing I can screw." Y/n mumbled, but Alador heard it, his pants tightened even more

They worked together on the chest plate, but Alador's pants never seemed to loosen up

"you good there?" Y/n asked, seeming to notice Alador's sweating

"yup- just fine." He breathed out

Y/n raised their eyebrow but shrugged it off and continued to work

Soon y/n was done with their part of the chest plate and they decided to check out Alador, i mean who wouldn't?

Untill they spotted it

Alador had a tent in his pants, they smirked

"oh so that's why you're sweating." Y/n said, Alador's face turned red as he just ignored y/n ad continued to work, thinking they would drop it

"well you could have just asked for my help." Y/n said s she got up from the chair and kneeled down in front of Alador

His eyes widened as he looked down to see you smiling innocently at him

"may i?" They asked

"please do." Alador breathed out

Y/n smirked and started to unzip his pants and pull his underwear down

Alador gasped as his length sprung up

Y/n grabbed his length as she started to pump him, he panted as y/n's movements quickened, they put their lips on his tip and slowly circled it with their tongue

Alador grabbed the table tightly as he bit the sleeve of his coat as to not make any noise to alert the others

Y/n slowly started to push his length down thier throat as alador bit harder on his sleeve, panting heavily

Y/n giggled seeing his reaction and that sent vibrations up his shaft as he groaned and grabbed y/n's hair and pushed them down his dick

They gagged but continued their motions, Alador's hand still in between their h/c hair

Alador felt as if he was going to explode, his dick pulsating in y/n's throat, but before he could finish y/n pulled away from him

"w-why'd you stop?" Alador panted as his and left their hair

Without a word y/n stood up and sat on Alador's lap, catching him by surprise

"though I'd try something else, but i have to have your consent of course." They claimed, smiling innocently

Alador rolled his eyes as he stood up and put y/n on his work desk, y/n's eyes widened as he tugged at their pants/ skirt/ whatever you're comfortable with, looking lustfully in their eyes

They smiled lightly as they nodded and alador quickly took their pants/ skirt/ whatever you're comfortable with off withe their underwear

"well someone's needy." They teased, propping themselves on their elbow's, alador groaned as he slowly started to insert himself inside of y/n' wet heat

They moaned as alador put a hand over their mouth

"Quiet they might hear us." Alador whispered, they nodded as they grabbed a clean cloth near them and tied it to heir mouth, bitting on it, getting alador a bit more turned on, but he wasn't going ti admit that of course

As he slid himself all the way in he gave y/n time to adjust before rocking them back and forth at a snow pace

Y/n's needy moans were muffled my the cloth as they barely mumbled something and pulled at Alador's coat, signaling him to go faster

He sighed and went a bit faster as their muffled moans became more frequent

Alador being lost in pleasure began to speed up a little more ad he quietly moaned and groaned in to y/n's ear, they squeezed his coat as their tight heat tightened even more around him, slowly but surely y/n was feeling a knot tighten in their stomach, they released with a moan as Alador groaned he thrusted harder in to them, making them whimper and moan as they grabbed on to Alador, feeling weak after their orgasm

Alador's thrusts became more sloppy, y/n knew he was about to finish and with one final thrust alador pulled out and came on their stomach

They both planted as alador reached and untied the cloth around y/n's mouth

"we better clean up before anyone sees us like this." Alador stated as he pulled away from y/n's grasp

"I'll get you a towel and clean clothes." Alador said as he out his pants on and unlocked the door to his workshop, leaving it and closing an locking the door behind him

"seems like you had a fun time." A voice was heard, he turned to see Eda

"Edalyn! Were you listening in on us?!' he panicked

"yeah thought you were gonna talk crap about me or something but instead i got free porn audio that i will use to blackmail you." Eda said as she waved a scroll around that showed a voice recording

"Edalyn, don't. you. dear." He said

"catch me if you can!" She yelled as she got on owlbert ad flew away

"Edalyn."

Hope you liked this story sorry if it is a bit cringe, i mean it is my first time writing smut sooo

But again hope you like it and i hope you have a great rest of your day

Byeeeeeee

[plantcrazy]

Lost Children Progress Update 17/4/24

It's been a little while since I did one of these. I've been giving small updates here and there, but a big one once in a while is nice, and I enjoy sharing my progress. It's sort of motivating. You know? To look and see, 'Oh wow, I did a lot' or 'wow, I didn't accomplish a lot, but I'm proud of what I did do!' (Some chapters take their time to come together, other the ideas just flow on to the paper).

ANYWAY! You don't care about this. You want to know how long till the next chapter comes out, right????

So, will start with the elephant in the room: Ch.19. It's only 8 pages, which is why, despite the first 3 technically done (anything at 90% is just to digitalise & add text), I haven't uploaded anything.

It's about done. I'm just stuck on page 5 (and two panels of page 4). They're a flashback. A god-damned nightmare of a flashback to draw and... I don't want to do it TT , but for effect and impact, the story needs it >>

Otherwise:

(That should be 20/22 chapters done :P )

Part 1 is coming together swimmingly! With the recent addition of 2 new chapters and, I think, this is as big as part 1 will be getting. I'm finishing off tidying up how I want Part 1 to end at the minute, and then we'll have a small time skip to part 2.

(And maaaaaaybe I'll go back to the start and add an intro chapter to give more info on what the heck happened in the Triple Threat Ending to make Henry think screwing up the timelines and making a new one was a great idea. IDK. Still on the hedge about where to put this info)

Also! The poll I'm running looks like everything in one fic will win, for how it gets uploaded on A03. In two days time once the poll is finished I'll work on implementing those changes (, unless the poll swings back the other way again :P ).

Part 2:

The order of the first 9 chapters, take with a grain of salt. I'm still finalizing the order.

For the most part it's just detailed ideas of what I want to happen in each part + 4 chapters finished, 2 being edited.

'Standing on the Ledge' came out FANTASTIC. I cannot wait to upload that one. Personal favourite of the part so far. 2nd place going to 'Stuck With You'.

And what is that at the bottom? A familiar chapter name! Yes! We're getting back to the Wall. Slowly but surly our characters will be reunited with their frozen prisons, well-

Those who I haven't/ don't kill off~

*eViL lAuGhInG! >:D*

jk.

Or am I?

Anyway,

Part 3:

Part 3 is mostly a butt-ton of editing. It looks like most of the new chapters will land in part 2 (asides from 4), so part 3 will be similar to the original version, but not, given all the minor changes you're about to witness snowball into avalanche sized consequences!

^^;

Anyway, I've edited 4 so far dated them since it's going to be a while till we get to Part 3. That being said, given it's 85%ish editing, it should hopefully just be rapid fire chapter uploading when we do get there :)

I think that's about all I've got to say?

Er... you guys should be aware by now of the 'I'm in uni, chapters are as I have time/wrist able' disclaimer. So...

OH! Also, this is all going up on A03 (once the poll is done), so I can keep the readers over there who don't follow this Tumblr up-to-date with what's going on. So when you see a new chapter update in your inbox, don't get too excited ^^;

And finally, for you.

My dear read.

Who has read through my long waffle and sporadic episodes of evil laughter and fun!

I have an... 'opportunity'

*Snots* I sound like a Mafia boss with Liam Neelson's voice reading this allowed.

I left my colour coding in Part 2 (as I couldn't be bothered to remove it ^^; ), so... will have some fun with this.

Whoever can figure out who's POV are colours blue or green will get a free half or full body drawing of one character (SFW), of their choice (mine, oc, stickmin or another fandom (at my discretion)).

And we'll say... 2 guesses a person (either two on one colour, or one guess for each colour) to make it fair. (It shouldn't be too hard, there's only 12 POV's, and you've met them all but one coming in at Part 3.

OH!

And there will be three winners in total.

Good luck :)

(btw, I'm going to bed now, so first people with the right answers are the winners in case you all rush in here with your answers over the next... 10 ish hours...

Unless... you're the only person to read this far >> )

[creative-soul-22]

15 questions, 15 mutuals

@moon-arts02 had this on her blog and I wanted to do it, too so here we go...

1. Are you named after anyone?

Yes. My paternal Grandmother. Just like 2 of my female cousins. I'm not kidding.

2. When was the last time you cried?

I actually don't cry a lot. I mean of course I sometimes tear up when a movie or a song really touches me deep inside (it's still new to me since this didn't happen in my earlier days) but actually crying? Like lying in bed crying a river? I don't remember.

I think it was in September when I was at Disneyland Paris. Seeing the Disney D-Light and the Disney Illumination show for the first time was so beautiful I got overwhelmed and cried like a fool. Just because it was so beautiful.

3. Do you have kids?

No. And I don't want to have kids. All that Relationship/family stuff is scary to me as I'm afraid I might screw it up. I'm not good at these things.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Well, I haven't thought about it yet. Do I? I don't use it like all the time but whenever I feel like it or when I'm really pissed off by somebody. I think that's when my sarcasm gets me. When I'm pissed.

5. What sports do you play/have played?

- running to the train station to catch the train

- running to the tram station to catch the tram

- walking up and down the stairs in the library

- stretching as far as I can to reach the top shelf

- walking up and down the library ladder

- walking around the library in general

- lifting big heavy books on my head

- try to keep the books on the shelf from falling with one hand while putting another book on the shelf with the other hand

- walking from one corner in my office to another

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

I don't know. With every person it's something different. I like to look at people as a whole, their overall appearance, not just their eyes or their hair, etc. I literally look at people from top to bottom. And the first thing I notice is possibly something remarkable. But what I always look at first is their faces so I guess that's what I notice first.

7. What's your eye colour?

Brown-green

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

I'm a DISNEY GIRL so ALWAYS AND FOREVER happy endings!😅

No, just kidding. I don't really like scary movies because they are - SPOILER! - scary and I have way to much fantasy and imagination to not be scared after a scary movie. Although during my last holiday I wanted to watch scary movies and watched almost all of the Conjuring Universe movies and wasn't scared. Don't know what was wrong with me that made wanna watch them but I have to admit it was pretty inspiring. Guess I had a little 1 week dark phase 😅

So I lean more to happy endings. But you know what's better than happy endings? Happy lives. Happy beginnings.

9. Any special talents?

Writing. Reading. Acting. Editing. Designing. Probably dancing?

Are these special talents?

But I'm not like a sword swallower, if that's what you mean.

10. Where were you born?

Munich!

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing. Reading. Editing. Dancing. Watching movies and TV-shows. Going to the cinema. Simping on stuff I love. Talking to people I like about things I like.

12. Do you have pets?

No. My father used to have a dog in Sicily called Baronetto. That's the closest I ever got to having pet (my father is Sicillian btw).

13. How tall are you?

1,50m in the tallest, I guess?

14. Favorite subject in school?

Oh, I LOVED my music classes in 8th/9th grade! My ex music teacher is so adorable and lovely and we're still in touch meeting from time to time. We just have tea and cookies then and talk about this and that. And we both relie on those conversations.

15. Dream job?

Author or actress, of course!

But I already found a very good job in a library. And I already live out my dreams so I don't necessarily have to be an author or an actress to make them come true.

But then again I'm still young so who knows? What is not yet can always come (or however the saying goes).

So, who's up next?

Feel free to do it when you want!

@moon-arts02 Wanna do a Melissa McCarthy/Ursula/Sookie version?

[eziojensenthe3rd]

Midnight Gaming: Yoshi the Vore Dino

So last night I played Super Mario World past midnight, checked socials later to find... Annapurna Interactive staff resign en masse over troubles from negotiations.

So Annapurna Interactive was the small time publisher behind several indie titles such as Outer Wilds, What remains of Edith Finch and Kentucky Zero. The company did well for itself with some hits, so its quite the shock to find the staff have all quit, due to complications in negotiations with its main source of funding.

Im gonna link the pcgamer article that covers it, the bloomberg article especially does go into greater detail over why it happened, but its bloomberg soo....

So continuing with this Nintendo Journey, I've decided to cover Super Mario World for todays edition of Midnight Gaming.

So this was a game I have personal history with, as its one of my favourite 2d mario games. A family that my family were friends with at the time, their kids had an old SNES with World on it and I played that with them at the time, even beat bowser on it. Most of my time with the game though was on the GBA port Super Mario Advance 2. It really was an easy thing for nintendo to port a lot of their snes games onto gba, ok it wasnt a simple process but in terms of risk vs reward, it was probably a no brainer.

So Super Mario World, I just love how colourful this game, vibrant greens and blues, the backgrounds and characters were just fun to look at. Given that it was a pack-in title for the Super Nintendo, you'd better believe making it look good was a real priority for Nintendo at the time, especially with upcoming competition on the horizon.

Actually, that could also explain another thing about the game and its that its the hardest to actually game over in. Its fairly easy to gain 1-ups in this game from either grabbing enough of those dragon coins or even the bonus game you get when you reach 100 stars from touching the bar at the end goal. Also if you know where to find the secret exit in donut ghost house you gain acess to the Top Secret Area where you can get a yoshi, powerups and can even farm 1ups there anytime.

Speaking of yoshi, I love the little guy. Something I realised is that he's kinda similar to the rings from the sonic series in that you're effectively immortal so long as you get them back. Yoshis basically a handy guy that lets you deal with enemies effectively, outright voring them. Everyone needs a gluttonous friend with a built in ejector seat.

Something else I appreciate from Super Mario World is the secrets you could find in a lot of levels that'll open up different paths, either letting you skip a lot of levels or straight up leads you to the star road which has its own levels and of course, its own secrets.

I don't have lot of bad things to say about this game, this is unfortunatly a pretty biased opinion but I genuinly adore this game. So yeah, it rocks, screw you. Thanks for reading this Midnight Gaming. Feel free to leave feedback or game suggestions. Anons are currently on, I've some things I need to work on so I'll see you all later.

[chrisbissette]

Edited Portra 400 before/after

I spent a couple of hours looking through all the rolls of film I've shot since I started last year, and I realised that a lot of the photos I'd previously discarded as being shit weren't actually that bad. They just needed a bit of an edit to make them sing a bit more.

So this afternoon I've been through my scans, pulled out all the images I thought had some potential, and tried to edit them into something I feel happy posting. In some cases they're just not salvageable but in most cases I've got something cool out of them, which is nice.

Editing photos I've shot on film feels a little like cheating, and I much prefer to be able to post them as they came out of the camera. It's a lot more satisfying to nail the shot at the moment of taking it, and that's still the attitude I'm taking into shooting when I go out with my camera. I don't really enjoy photo editing and I don't want to have to fix it in post. I also think one of the joys of shooting film is seeing the unique ways that different stocks reproduce colour, and if you start editing things heavily you sort of defeat the point of having shot film in the first place. But it's also nice to be able to salvage shots that weren't quite there.

The editing process also taught me that I really prefer images to be slightly underexposed and full of dark shadows and heavy contrast, which is interesting. Next time I go out with my camera I'm going to see if I can shoot a roll in the sort of style I've ended up editing a lot of these into.

Anyway. Here's one of the photos I edited today in a handy before and after. This is Portra 400 shot on my Canon EOS 500N with the Canon EF 28–105 mm f/3.5–4.5 USM. The edit is basically what I saw when I made the exposure, but I completely screwed up metering/setting exposure and it came out really flat and lifeless. Looking at them side by side now I think I went a bit heavy on the colour grading - I should have left some of those greens in the ground rather than browning everything up. But the sky actually looks like sky now instead of bright grey nothing, so I'll count that as a win.

[corvidaenightcrawler]

My Demon!Shane headcanons because I saw somebody else do it lmao

His height is an illusion. He can make himself look as much as a foot to 3 metres taller than any being, but on camera he will always appear 6'4, and no matter how you measure him, he will alter reality so the ruler reads as 6'4.

His skin turns a sickly grey colour when in his true form.

He's not actually all that powerful, but he has powers that make him appear much scarier and bigger than he is.

He's an average-ranking demon, slightly above Annabelle

His true form's height visually is between 7 and 8 feet tall.

Black eyes fo-sho, they don't reflect light.

His ears stick out flat and pointy like elf ears.

His legs are like the legs of a goat, but slimmer and bonier like a wolf's, and covered in short, matted, black fur.

His forearms and chest have some scruffier black fur as well.

His tail is as long as his body and covered in diamond-shaped black scales with a thin strip of fur down the base, tipped with a sharp spear-tip.

His face has some scattered similar black scales.

His tail is prehensile and strong enough to pick up Ryan effortlessly.

His feet are clawed and animal-like.

His fingertips look burnt or charred and fade into sharp, hooked, black claws made of stiff keratin.

The air around him is cold and smells like matches and copper.

His tongue is blue and pointy, like a lizard's without the forked tip.

His wings are like a bird's, feathery with tawny feathers near where they connect to his shoulders, because for a demon he's basically a baby.

He's almost 200 years old.

He feeds off of Ryan's fear, and he says it tastes like pancakes.

The wings have layers of black, brown, and white feathers, and his wingspan in 20 feet.

He has the horns of a giant sable antelope that curve far behind his head and are a light brown, like the colour of toffee.

He sits like a cat sometimes.

If you took an X-ray of him, you'd see a large, mangled raggedy-ann doll (Annabelle) stuffed into his chest cavity, and there is a long scar down his torso where he dissected himself and shoved the demon into his ribs.

Moths and spiders are very attracted to him.

His voice is distorted in his true form, three different pitches layered on top of eachother.

He protects Ryan, while also screwing with him.

When he came out to Ryan as a demon, Ryan tried to shoot him with holy water. It didn't do anything. Ryan came to accept it, eventually.

Ryan scribbles pentagrams sometimes just for the sake of bothering him, since it usually creates a buzzing in his head.

Shane's main power is necromancy, he can raise the dead and have him do his bidding. He once slow-danced with the reanimated skeleton of Lizzie Borden.

He loves to mess with camera equipment and throw in little supernatural occurrences on film. The worst he's ever scared Ryan is when he came up behind him and opened his mouth, to which hundreds of moths came flying out.

He heals very quickly!

Being in his human form is very tiring, one time he accidentally turned into his true form while sleeping and ripped his sleeping bag. Ryan had to edit that entire video himself just so that none of the crew found out about Shane's secret.

Sara is the only other person who knows about his demonhood.

[dreamgirledward]

top 5 favorite usages of music in film or tv, can be needledrops or diegetic sourcing or whatever! 🤪

spider-man into the spider-verse: "what's up danger" in the leap of faith scene. seeing that in theatres for the first time was the first time in a LONG time i actually Felt Something because of a needledrop mixed with how phenomenal the editing is throughout the scene (spider-verse's editing is generally phenomenal but that scene specifically still makes me go crazy)

lord of the rings return of the king: "edge of night" sung by pippin during the battle of osgiliath. this is probably. my favourite use of diegetic music in any film. like of all time. seeing this scene for the first time as a child actually altered my brain chemistry. any lotr fan knows exactly what i mean when i say i still hold my breath every single time i rewatch it. the sound design is INSANE. the reverb on billy boyd's voice actually makes me scream. the editing is NUTS and by nuts i mean it's so clean and EFFECTIVE and timed ABSOLUTELY PERFECTLY. there is so much conveyed without any exposition. the lyrics (implied by pippin to not have anything to do with war, violence or death) are so insanely eerie as you watch faramir ride to what looks like a needless death paired with the animalistic way denethor eats. i could literally write a 10 page paper on this scene ALONE. it's horrifying. it's beautiful. it's haunting. it's perfect.

inside llewyn davis: "fare thee well" scene. i very rarely feel anything when an entire song in a movie (yes even if the movie's a biopic about a musician!) is just performed diegetically without intercutting of anything else but oscar isaac's voice and how intimate the performance feels is so simple and beautiful i think i actually cried the first time i saw it. it really felt like you were in the audience watching him on that little stage. the first time i saw chuck singing it in spn 11x20, i immediately thought of THIS scene and all i wanted to do was rewatch the film just to experience the magic of oscar's performance again.

shrek 2: "funkytown" in the far far away scene. you probably thought i was going to mention all star at some point! syke! and yes, all star IS one of the most iconic needledrops of all time but i wanted to change this up a little because though i grew up in a household that celebrated a huge array of genres, particularly disco and funk thanks to my parents, i am physically incapable of hearing funkytown and not perfectly visualizing this entire scene despite my ability to enjoy music without fully relying on film and tv to discover it 🥲

supernatural: "renegade" in nightshifter. im sorry but i am going to have to be that bitch because this scene! is so hot!!!!! the buildup is SO SATISFYING because the writing in this ep is just THAT good - you dont know exactly what's going to happen when the fbi agents find the boys and the next time you see them, they're knocked out and their uniforms are missing and that alone would have been cool enough if you DIDNT ALSO KNOW THE AGENTS IN THE BACKGROUND SLINKING AROUND THE CORNER TO 'CHECK IF THE COAST IS CLEAR' ARE SAM AND DEAN MAKING THEIR GETAWAY. like if youre seeing nightshifter for the first time you CANT catch it but then something clicks when the music starts up and you see them making their way up the parking lot stairs and it's just SO GOOD. there's just no dialogue until dean lets out a breath and goes "we are so screwed" and then BAM, in comes in the punchy first verse. sexy. perfect. literally who is doing it like the kripke era needledrops

im cheating! but!! HONOURABLE MENTIONS bc i thought of more in the car: "never too late" in spn 13x5 (ep ending), "hoist the colours" potc: at world's end (opening), "when i kissed the teacher" in mamma mia: here we go again (graduation scene), "free bird" in kingsman (church massacre), "rocketman" in rocketman (pool scene), "epiphany" in sweeney todd, "immigrant song" in thor ragnarok (final battle), "you don't own me" in first wives club (both the ending and the scene when diane keaton gets embarrassed and like screams lolol), and lastly a tie between "our prayer" and "high on a rocky ledge" in ofmd bc i cant stop thinking about both those needledrops, which are very small moments but are still sticking with me !

put “top 5” anything in my ask and i will answer ok go

[satrangee-ray]

The Snack of a Lifetime

Book: Open Heart 3 and beyond.

Pairing(s): Ethan × NB!MC {Dr Inara Hepburn (she/they)}.

Rating: Teen+

Summary: Inara barges into the DT room with some obnoxious snacks to force Ethan into taking a break. But is that all they have in mind, or will their brilliant plan saved for later take him by pleasant surprise?

Category: Fluff, banter, life decisions and celebrations 🎉😁✌.

Trope: Weddings and Proposals.

Warning(s): one or two swear words, mention of a sex act.

Writer's note: By the time this starts, Ethan and MC have already said their 'I love you's, are in a committed relationship, and more or less everyone knows about it. In my original HC for Inara and Ethan they don't get married this early, so this is kind of an AU cause I really wanted to write a proposal fic. Also the whole lawsuit drama didn't happen, cause I said so, and most sane people would agree.

Ethan wasn't used to receiving.

It was apparent in the way he interacted with the world, immediately getting suspicious of anyone who would remotely extend some sort of courtesy towards him. 

He knew if he ever wanted to have something for himself, no one but he would have to take initiative to go get it. And for two-way processes like relationships, he had no belief whatsoever on the legitimacy of such things.

That was until Inara waltzed into his life, and amazed him with the possibility that he could be on the receiving end of good things without having to worry about any strings attached. Be it love, or a blowjob, or "care", as he previously liked to call it– the best things life ever had to offer were simply falling into his lap, and he couldn't find himself complaining.

Inara cared, in the truest sense of the word.

She cared enough to take off his glasses and cover him up in warm blankets, whenever he would fall asleep with an open medical journal in his hands. She cared enough to know just how he liked his coffee, or to school his scotch habits whenever they would get a little out of hand. And presently, she cared enough to let him work overtime, by agreeing to grab lunch with Tobias instead.

Ethan couldn't afford to take breaks. These days, he had to work even in between shifts, to finish editing his second medical book decently before it's approaching release date.

.

.

(One month before Inara's board exams)

.

The diagnostics office sat deserted, except for one doctor. A wooden desk, with papers sprawled all around. Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose, as he kept his glasses aside.

Suddenly the office door swung open, and three figures strolled in. Two practically tumbled, giggling overenthusiastically. The third one was Harper, who calmly walked in holding a tray, and shook her head with an amused expression.

Ethan looked up, and saw Tobias and Inara, each triumphantly holding up all their 10 fingers at him.

"Ring Chips!" Inara squealed, running towards Ethan. "Si baked these last night, and brought them as extra snacks for her fourteen hour shift today, but of course, we managed to hog some. So dig in!"

Ethan cautiously eyed the bright yellow crisps looped through Inara's fingers, and said, "you're not expecting me to eat those atrocities, are you?"

"Did you just call Sienna's baked goods an atrocity? That's wrong on so many levels E, lemme just get her on the phone..."

"NO", Ethan replied on high alert.

"That's what I thought. Cause bold words for someone who struggles even with a pancake."

Tobias and Harper chuckled, struggling in vain to stifle it.

"Fine, give me one here", Ethan said, extending his hand towards Harper's tray which contained the particular baked snacks.

"Nope, that's not the way", Inara stopped him, slapping his hand. "If you're doing this, you gotta do it right."

A loud exhale escaped Ethan. "What now, Rookie?"

"E, you can't just pick one chip and eat it, okay? You gotta slip it through your finger, and try to grab it with your mouth, the childhood nostalgia way. Like this."

Inara brought their hand to their mouth, and swallowed one whole finger, sucking on it until the chip looped through it flew backwards into their mouth. They proceeded to chew on it, staring straight into Ethan's eyes. 

He was so screwed. 

Turning away from Inara's gaze with tremendous effort, he wordlessly picked up a chip loop from the tray and tried to slip it into his finger.

"Too small", Tobias remarked, and handed him another. "Try a bigger one."

This time the ring effortlessly slipped through his finger, sitting perfectly at it's base. Ethan stared at it, perplexed, for a few moments.

"Yes! Now consume it with your mouth", Inara's excited cheers continued.

Harper couldn't hold in a scoff, while the youngest doctor in the room remained blissfully unaware of the implications of their phrase.

Ethan's mouth opened in protest, but he realized it's futility immediately and decided to close it. Scrunching up his entire face, in disbelief that he was actually doing this, he lowered his head, and slowly raised his hand to his face.

When his finger holding the chip was well within his reach, he opened his mouth once again to grab it. But just when he was about to take the bite, Inara acted quickly and slipped the chip out of his finger, causing Ethan to bite into his own skin instead. 

"Aahh, Nars what the hell! Are you nuts?"

The three other doctors in the room unabashedly cracked up now, not bothering to hide their glee in Ethan being tortured like that.

Inara began stroking his beard softly, before leaving a quick kiss on his cheek.

Shades of light pink took over it in response.

"You should have acted faster, honey", Inara said, taking his hands into theirs. Another gentle peck landed on his lips.

"Now I'm already running late, there's this patient I have to check on, gotta yeet. But you better finish the rest of those snacks, along with the real food we brought you for lunch, and for God's sake, please look up from those damn papers for five minutes, and take a freakin' chill pill!" 

The last words were shouted as they rushed out the door.

Ethan and Tobias sighed.

"They're the best thing that has ever happened to you"

"Indeed", Ethan said in earnest. "I'll be very inclined to agree."

.

.

(Four months after Inara's board exams)

.

The gorgeous venue sparkled with chandeliers and boujee people in expensive suits. Small round tables, aesthetic chairs, congratulations in order everywhere. No, it wasn't the medical industry's 'it' couple getting married, it was the 'it' doctor, and the chief of medicine's second book getting launched instead. 

Ethan had walked into the Edenbrook atrium that morning like it was a war zone. His expression still spelt terror, as he uneasily shifted his glance between some of his guests, shooting small, forced smiles their way.

"Why do we always have to do this?", he had asked Naveen. "Why couldn't we just release the damn book in stores? Why host a useless social gathering with forty thousand rich snobs who are only any good at showing off and draining your energy?"

Naveen had shook his head and hit him with an assertive "it's necessary."

So currently, Ethan stood awkward to his bones, in the middle of this necessary evil. Until, a certain presence near the door cued him to look up.

It was them.

Pantsuit in a sinful vermillion, the colour glowing bright against their skin. Red bottom wedges, that only aided their boss status. Brunette locks framing their face, so impeccably contrasting the emerald eyes looking affectionately back at him. Those, which never failed to take his breath away.

Inara Hepburn.

His giver, his lover, his Rookie.

And Ethan couldn't be more mesmerized, or reassured.

"Need some help picking your jaw off the floor, Ramsey?" Inara quipped, as they strode towards Ethan, torturously slow.

"I– well…", he stammered, before clearing his throat. "Is that look the reason why you chose to arrive 'fashionably late', and drive separately to my book launch from our own apartment?"

"Yeah, definitely the look, but I daresay some other things as well", they said, placing a playful hand on Ethan's chest. "You'll soon find out."

He smiled warmly at them. "Is that a challenge?"

"Have you ever backed down from one?"

A reckless mistake of letting his eyes slip to their lips, and Ethan couldn't wait any longer. He wrapped his arms around their waist, kissing them hard and deep. Drinking in their mouth, their warmth, their sensations. Aching to draw as much energy as he could to power through this event, from his greatest source of confidence, his only constant supporter. 

"I love you so much, Rookie", he panted, after the kiss broke off.

"Some brand new information there", teased Inara, bumping their nose into his. "You know I love you too, E. Now tell me what's bothering you."

Ethan pulled back swiftly at that, and stared at them in astonishment.

"What?"

"What 'what'? It was all over your face when I entered, and you still don't look quite alright. What's wrong, love? I don't recall you being afraid of public speaking!"

"I'd address an audience in my dreams! I just don't understand what's up with these people who come up individually to congratulate me, and purposefully try to expand those two lines into a whole one-on-one conversation. Scandalous!"

Inara nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Such a mood, b*tch, such a mood."

Peels of laughter were shared again, at their effortless mutual understanding, and at the usage of Inara's all time favourite nickname.

"All the best", they wished, shaking him by the lapels of his coat. "Get out there, and kill it!"

.

.

.

About an hour later, applause sounded from every corner of the atrium. Ethan beamed, as he finished reading the last line of a snippet about his latest research from his book.

Clapping proudly from the crowds was Inara, a lover on a mission.

"Thank you everyone, for joining me here today", Ethan said, amongst cheers and buzzing words of encouragement from fellow doctors and other esteemed medical personalities. "I hope I will be able to add value to patient-care through my efforts behind this book. There are some people I would like to specifically thank for being of immense help on my journey till here, so let's begin. Dad, thank you so much for coming to support me. Means a lot. Maybe because of my personal outlook, I could never comprehend your brand of unconditional love, which you so freely offer without actively needing me to work for it. I know now how valuable and rare that is, and how it has helped me grow into the man I am today. For that I will always be grateful. Naveen, thank you so much. You know if I start listing 'what for', I won't finish."

A lighthearted chuckle spread among the crowd.

"You always keep saying my success is my own, but I firmly believe there was no way I would have been the doctor I am without your help and guidance. Thank you for being the excellent mentor and leader by example that you are, you still motivate me to become better everyday. And, last but not the least… Inara."

All eyes in the audience shifted towards one young attending, who was clutching her glass out of giddiness.

"I really want to say thank you, but those two words will never be able to express the amount of gratitude I hold towards you. Before you, my life was only ever about blacks and whites. Giving my everything into medicine, working late nights and coming back to an empty apartment with scotch in my hand, I thought I was doing it all right. But when I met you, got to know you, I… you left me in utter awe of who you are, both as a professional and as a person. I couldn't stop myself from falling in love, and in respect, with your brain, your mind, and your soul. I am so glad you were patient with me while I was busy trying to deny it. You continued to show that patience even until recently, when I was all cranky with writer's block. Now I know the great Dr. Inara Hepburn is also a published novel writer, so of course that bit might have come out of empathy, but nonetheless, I'm thankful for it. Today, I'm about to release a book I put my all into, the information in which might hopefully change the face of what I'm most passionate about – public healthcare, for the better. And I'd rather not share this moment with anyone else. So Inara, would you please honour me by coming up on stage to receive the first ever copy of 'Prognosis and Evaluation'?"

Inara couldn't speak, stunned into silence for a bit. They had no idea Ethan would be the one for emotional public speeches, and here they were, utterly moved, in for another surprise. So would he be, soon, they reasoned in their head, and gathered themselves. Keeping their drink aside on a table, they strode towards the stage, eyes shining with pride, love, and determination.

Determination to get this right.

Ethan took their hand as soon as they stepped on the first stair, and led them upstage. 

A copy of the book, new and shining, was lying, all theirs to hold.

'Prognosis and Evaluation: A comprehensive study.'

Their heart swelled at the words written on the first page of the book.

Typical Ethan's handwriting, somehow neat and gibberish at the same time.

'My love, my north star, I promise to never let you down' - Dr Ramsey Ethan <3.

Tears. Instantly, a whole lot of them rolled down their cheeks. They clutched the book hard and hugged it to their chest, holding on tight. Ethan held them in turn, locking their shaking frame in his embrace, as the crowd broke into a unanimous applause.

"E, I don't know what to say", Inara began, on being handed over the mic. "Si would have cried so much if she were present here, Naveen's already crying."

Their grandmentor smiled back at them through his tears.

"The thing is, I love success. I love standing in the spotlight, having my own life, and earning my own achievements. Despite that, there is always a deeper warmth in standing next to someone you love, when they accomplish great things, and shouting "my person!" Today, you've given me that opportunity, and I'm so grateful to you for it. I'm proud of you for believing in yourself, and speaking your voice not as a "mechanism of coping with the means of this corrupt world", but as a means to bring genuine change because you believe you can. I've always seen you try so hard to never let your loved ones down, and that effort is what I'm so here for. People like you are rare, and I'm glad I got one to myself, to constantly cheerlead for, now and as long as you'll have me. I'll never leave your side, Ethan. I'd love us to forever be each other's hype person. Not just in practice, but also… officially."

Three distinct gasps were heard in the room.

Alan, Naveen and Tobias let their pinkies lock into each other.

Ethan's eyes widened, as he took in the meaning behind their words, starting to sense what might be coming.

Doubt. Disbelief. Shock. Anticipation.

In the next moment, they were down on one knee.

"Ethan Jonah freaking Ramsey, will you marry me?"

Dead silence in the entire room, everyone taking in what just happened.

Ethan's hands flew to his mouth.

Minutes passed.

One… two… and five...

No one said a word.

Eventually, the entire audience burst into cheers and jubilation. Even in such a formal event as that, quite a few wayward whistles were heard.

And then there was the man of the hour, standing centre stage, shell shocked. Still trying to process everything.

"Inara... Rookie, I–"

He couldn't. Form words or coherent sentences. His entire focus was on the person and the tiny blue box in front of him.

"There's a ring in there for real?"

'Shit', he cursed internally. What a ridiculous question.

Of course this was real. Their love was real, they were real. He was to get married. What? Wow. Really?

Of course there would be a ring for real.

"Depends", Inara said with a wink. "On whether or not you say yes."

"Come on Ethan!" 

Encouragements burst from his acquaintances in the crowd, imploring him to say yes. His three musketeers, however, were heard the loudest.

'Yes', Ethan thought to himself. 'Yes.'

He had to say it.

"Yes", he tried whispering under his breath.

A first time, then a second.

"Yes. YES OF COURSE I’LL MARRY YOU!"

He exclaimed those words in ecstacy before dropping down on his knees as well, and pulled his lover in against him. He engulfed her in his arms, holding her so tight, it could knock the breath out of his chest. 

"Yes Inara, it would mean the world to me if I could marry you", he whispered again into her ear.

"Good thing I asked then, E", Inara whispered back, before squeezing him one last time and pulling away. 

"Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!", the crowd chanted.

The widest smile ever was shot their way, as Inara once again took hold of the navy box. She waited for both of them to steady themselves, and Ethan found himself holding his breath. 

At last, the cover of the ring case slowly lifted, to reveal… 

A bright yellow ring chip sitting right into the slit of the fabric in the case. 

Confused noises of varying degrees filled the room. Only Naveen, Tobias and Alan watched the whole scene unfold with a twinkle in their eye.

Meanwhile, Ethan's expression progressed from utter cluelessness to gradual realization.

Oh! That ring.

"Wait, how did– how come that snack didn't rot in all these days?"

"Of course it did, love. Our original measuring tape probably decomposed long ago in some trash bin outside a gold shop, after having done its job. This is merely a replica, but you can call it a token."

"Nars… what do you mean?"

"I mean…", Inara said, inserting her hand into her suit pocket, to pull out a sparkling golden band, complete with five little diamonds on top. "May I have your hand?"

"Readily, Rookie… you already have my heart. Always, for as long as you'll have me."

Ethan placed his shivering palm on Inara's steady hand, and she took the opportunity to slip the golden band through his ring finger.

A perfect fit. 

With tears in his eyes, Ethan agreed.

"I'm getting married to you."

"I'm getting married to you!"

Inara squealed at the prospect, and Ethan decided on sealing their joyous sentiment by crashing his lips onto hers in a searing kiss.

The audience went wild, but they were all forgotten in the minds of the lovebirds.

"I can't believe I get to call you fiancé", Ethan wondered in amazement.

"Me neither", said Inara, joining their foreheads together. 

"Say what, we should ask Sienna to bake our wedding cake. Three tier, with a big old fondant ring chip on top."

"What? Ethan Ramsey wants a huge a** fondant snack on the top of his wedding cake! Are you sure he's okay?"

"Yes, he is, and he would do anything for his fiancé!"

With moist eyes and full hearts, they buried themselves again in each other's holds.

This time, with a mutual promise of a forever.

F I N.

Oukay so this happened. I kinda posted it. Shh, I need to breathe.

Thank you so much for reading, if you've made it this far. I hope I haven't damaged too many of your braincells.

Thank you @gaeipsstuff for naming Ethan's book. I would have never, seriously! Thanks for proofreading and giving a detailed analysis, it came extremely handy during the my edit sessions. Thank you @adiehardfan, @jeetushmannfeelz, you know if it wasn't for the both of you, this wouldn't be up on my Tumblr.

This is my first proper OH fic, with an actual story and shenanigans, so I've been super apprehensive about this. Hence, it would mean a real lot to me if you could tell me how you found it. Stay safe, do what you love, stan pixelated characters, and take hugs. Peace✌.

Tagging: @adiehardfan @irisofpurple @barbean

Others kindly let me know if you wanna be tagged!

[fanfic-reading-challenge]

I have zero clue how it escaped my notice for 3 frickin' months, but for whatever reason I screwed up when I linked the blank copy of the Fic Reading Log that I've been using to keep track of my reading and other associated stats and comments and info (with all the equations already plugged in to the spreadsheet -- though it may need a bit of maintenance if you add more squares than the equation accounts for).

In that time, I've changed my own log so that it's a lot more streamlined and pretty to look at, easier to use, colour-coded, etc. So I figured I'd link you a blank copy with the colour examples and everything else that I added to make my fic logging that much easier!

Just click 'File > Make a copy' in Google Sheets (or similar in Microsoft Excel or other programs) and then edit and add and obsessively track to your heart's content! (It makes me very happy, personally. ;) )

Copy of Blank Fic Reading Log.

Juulna's Fic Reading Log.

^ I'm also, again, including a link to my own personal log so people can (silently, don't be rude :P) judge my poor life decisions, see how I put things together, what I'm currently reading, how I organize things, and also shake their head at the truly ridiculous amount of fics that I have on my list. Current number? 2,381. And growing.

I'm ridiculous.

And only 136 of those have been read this year (not counting fics I listed as re-reads)! But I've also been reading regular books, too, which provides for a much more well-balanced state of mental health. :) I'm happy.

Anyway! My apologies for the ridiculous mix-up with the links that took so long to figure out. Everything should be just fine, now! Let me know if there are any issues, however. <3

[sumire-bride]

sumire route part 1 (alrighty time to finally write these)

???- my my kyoufu you made such a beautiful child,

i'm pleased to say that you did me well after many tries you succeed to make my plan real

kyoufu- yes.. she is my beautiful daughter, i will make sure she is raised inside the safety of my home away from anyone and everyone, to keep her beauty from being tainted by this ugly world..! i'll make sure she is ready for your plan

???- fufu well i do not care how you raise this child but please make sure she does not die

kyoufu- i understand, then i will raise her how i please then..

???- good.. you may take your leave may we meet again, i thank you for your corporation

kyoufu- ... yes... may we meet again.. *the man leaves with his daughter in arms*

???- which one of you will be the one to taint the white orchids beauty.. i truly wonder.. i guess i'll have to wait and see in times due

a man of six sons said smiling

---------------------------------

sumire was exported into the mansion by a butler only to be left alone outside for the first time

sumire- .... (this place is much bigger then my house... my goodness... oh father why.. why did you send me here..? i want to leave i do not know what to do...)

(... no.. you must trust father and his idea's... father is always right... there must be a reason for this... i just.. do not know what to do now... i'm in front of a door but... what do i do....)

*the door opens she is meet with a servant of the manner*

servant- ah i am guessing that you are miss kanashi! please do not stand outside i am sure you had a long trip, please come inside and sit down.. i will have someone to come talk to you soon please follow me

sumire- ....oh..! (a person opened the door....) i understand...

*sumire is taken to the living space are*

servant- please stay here i will have someone with right away

*the servant leaves*

sumire- ... (..is that a... servant...? mm... they have brown hair... that is the first time i have seen someone with brown hair.... oh father.. i am sorry but i feel stressed.. this goes against your wishes... but this is a vampires home.... so maybe he will not be upset...)

reiji- hello, i believe my father sent you? you are sumire kanashi am i right?

sumire- ... (this man has... almost a black hair colour... but... he has red eyes.... how come they are red...) yes... i am sumire...

reiji- i see, well it's a pleasure to meet you kanashi-san i am reiji sakamaki, the second eldest

sumire- .... (... the way he talks makes me think of nii-san...)

reiji- ...hm.. well come with me i'll show you to your room and discuss the rules you will follow while under this roof understand?

sumire- ...yes... (very... stern.. oh goodness i can sense such a bad presence in this home... well that might be because they are... vampires..)

ayato- haha.. lookie here so this is the girl ya said would be living with us!

reiji- haah... ayato must you make such a ruckus when you enter rooms?

ayato- ahh..? ore-sama is aloud to do what he pleases!

sumire- ....! (that... boy has.. red hair.. it's red..! but his eyes are the same colour as mine... but the hair is.. red.. i have not seen this before goodness.. how strange..)

*sumire goes and touches ayato's hair

ayato- oi! what the hell do you think you doing touching ore-sama's hair?! who gave you permission?

sumire- ...! it is real... your hair is real...

ayato- well of course it's real what did you think it was? dumbass

sumire- ...thank you for calling me a dumbass... i accept your compliment..!

ayato- ...

reiji- ...

ayato- the hell? that wasn't a compliment idiot!

sumire- thank you... i am happy you think of me as this thing called "idiot"...

ayato- huh..? this girl is screwed reiji she's like really messed in the head

reiji- haah.... *he adjusts his glasses* good grief.. ayato do not go and pester her.. pardon him that ayato the third son of our family

sumire- ...oh... hello i am sumire (...this red haired man is very loud...)

ayato- tch.. whatever.. *he looks at sumire's chest* huh not bad melons.. but you got one stupid head what a epic turn off

sumire- ...hm...? i do not see melons anywhere..

reiji- ayato it is rude to look at a womens chest..! leave now or you'll be punished

ayato- whatever i already leaving! *he leaves*

reiji- haah.. now then come with me and i'll show you your room

*scene is in sumire's room*

reiji- so that is all please follow the rules i set out to you, besides that you are free to do what you would like starting now, just please don't start a ruckus okay?

sumire- i will not be loud....

reiji- good *he's about to leave the room but stops and stares and sumire for a moment and speaks*

say... you are aware we are vampires right? if so you don't look afraid, how come?

sumire- ... (i am... scared... but mother would yell at me if she saw me scared... and then father would not be please...)

i am aware... but it does not scare me to much.... *she looks down*

reiji- you really are a bad liar

sumire- hm...?

reiji- were vampires.. we can sense fear.. i just smell it all over you..

don't try to deny it either it's no use.. well no matter, please make yourself at home, if you break a rule remember you'll be punished.. do i make myself clear?

sumire- ....yes...

reiji- good *he leaves*

sumire looks around

sumire- ...how unpleasant... (i do not want to be here... i want to go home.... father will be mad if he saw my state right now... oh goodness... haah.. i need to walk)

*she gets up and opens the door and starts walking around the hallways then she trips*

sumire- argh...! (ow... how did i trip...?)

______________

part 1- part two

((alright so i am starting to write sumire's route now and i'm npt sure who i would like to pick for sumire to do one of the diaboys routes with, i think i'll do it by age so we'll start with shuu after part two is done, and then go to reiji ayato ect i'm guessing you all know what i mean, but i hope you all liked this writing of mine ^-^ i'm re reading the game and such so i can a better idea on how to write these so i'm trying to make things similar to the game while also changing things for my oc as well, i will be drawing things for this once i am able to draw digitally so i'll edit these a bit later in the future ^-^

[couldnt-think-of-a-better-name]

The Promised Neverland Art Foreshadowing?!

Ok, so I normally don't post myself just lurk, so excuse me if I screw this up, buuuut... I had to share this. If you are anime-only there will be some manga SPOILERS ahead, so read at your own risk!

I recently got hooked to The Promised Neverland, and even got hard copies of the manga, which is very rare for me.

So as I was appreciating my shiny, newly arrived volume one, and promptly started re-reading, this comment by the author stuck out to me:

What did he mean? I thought it was something that must have been revealed by now, so I was thinking I must be able to figure it out, and I wracked my brain. But my only suspects were the sketch on the next page where Emma stands on the wall, or the fact that there is a glimpse of the demons wearing a mask over their mouths (it wasn’t obvious to me they wore masks until it was revealed later).

Neither of those seemed like that great of a foreshadowing, so I felt disappointed... until I started examining the cover art for hints, and suddenly it clicked and HOT DAMN, I think I am on to something!

So the cover art of volume 1 is a nice artistic composition with the kids standing on some funky boxes with books in the front in neat bookshelves and Grace Field in the back. Very nice and spazzy, nothing strange, right? So am I talking about the titles on those books you can sometimes barely read? Saying stuff, like NUMBER, RUN, HURRY UP! ?

WRONG

Oh boy, no it's not the small details, LOOK AGAIN, at the BIG PICTURE. What can you see? Ok, I will help by pointing out a couple of things in red:

Do you see these children standing on a set of STAIRS leading down into a HOLE UNDERNEATH Gracefield House?!?!??!

It's a bit difficult to see in the colour edition, but the inside of the volume cover also includes a sketch version where you can see that the hole isn't just lined by books, but there are also cogs, and what looks like some old, broken columns... which could be ancient artefacts?

Here, I took a picture of my copy since I couldn't find this art online with a quick search:

So I thought, could it be that ever since volume FRIGGIN one we had been staring at the tunnel that leads to the human world at Gracefield that we now know about? Also, if that's the case, it's implied the kids will go through it...

Well, knowing these mangakas, I wouldn't put such a ballsy and far reaching foreshadowing move past them, after all, they have showcased some God-tier foreshadowing game throughout the manga in my opinion.

But what REALLY got me thinking that I might be onto something was a quick google search when I was looking for a decent quality pic of this volume art, and then I found these...

Those are the chapter covers of chapter 10 and 32. Any of you seeing a pattern yet? Regarding a hole in the ground at Gracefield with stairs that the kids all ho through?!?!? Yeah, at this point I don't think it's a coincidence... it would be hard to swallow if it was.

Mind you, if others have already noticed, then please forgive me for this ignorance, but I haven't seen any post on this yet.

A couple other things I circled or pointed at in those chapter arts: Chapter 10's spiral staircase has books again (I wonder if this foreshadows that the secret passage starts in the library? though I guess Plant 3's library would have burned down), and Gracefield is at the bottom, rather than the top. But notice that Gilda is upside down, so I wonder if the world gets switched upside down when you go over to the human world?

I think chapter 32's art supports this, since this one right behind Emma has a gate at the bottom of the whole, which seems to be upside down.

Sooo what do you all think? Has anyone else noticed these details before?

(Also, I can't believe again how great and brave the mangakas are at foreshadowing, true respect to them! They really have their stuff together!)

EDIT: Actuaaaaally, an even wilder thought has occurred to me: could we have been staring at the ENDGAME of the series since VOLUME ONE?!?!

We know we are in the final arc, but so far we have been led to believe that the children has no intention of going to the human world, and right now the only options SEEM to be REFORGING the PROMISE or DESTROYING all the FARMS.

But Author-san has said before that he likes to fool readers. So what if he has planned all along that they would go to the human world in the end, all together (notice how Norman is there with them in all the images), and they had the balls to foreshadow right from the start!

As far as I know Author-san has already written 300 pages script before the illustrations began, so yeah, I think they could have pulled this off!

Or maybe this is too wild a theory? They could just go to the human world temporarily or just for help... but maaan, would it be cool if they had us staring at the ending since right from the beginning!

[skyfarerdraws]

For my followers on Twitter

As with most things I post, it began as a humble scribble.

The eyes were the only thing I kept from my first draft. Mostly because I screwed them up after that, and couldn't figure out where I'd gone wrong. I've found that it's often easier to start over than to try to fix something that has a less obvious problem.

Draw, redraw, digitize in ArtRage, edit some things, then dissolve the sketch layer to reduce (in)accuracies, and colour over it with transparency before drawing final lines over the colour layer.

Not sure if that's how it should be done; I'm far from learned in the field of art, let alone digital art, which I have very limited exposure to. I was pretty handy with GIMP in highschool, but from what I read about it online, it's one of the least used programs for painting and illustrations. I guess that's why dedicated art programs like ArtRage survive; they serve a purpose.

I've actually never used ArtRage 6 before, and the last time I used it at all was windows XP, IIRC. This was a learning experience, but the program is pretty straight forward, mostly because the UI is well laid out. Unfortunately, there's a lot of finicky design choices, at least when you don't have keyboard shortcuts on hand.

Partial video from the digital process (only because ArtRage hates me):

Worth mentioning that I'm drawing on a pen display from xp-pen, while sitting on the couch, so I have no other input devices; just the pen on the screen. Hardly ideal, but I don't have space for a proper setup at the moment.

I'm actually waiting on a stylus for a windows tablet that I bought recently, so that's gonna liberate me as much as a pen and paper can, but with the full horsepower of clip studio, or whatever else I end up downloading. Looking forward to trying it, hopefully it's a comfortable experience.

Final:

Other scribbles from earlier today:

I should actually do more studies and practice pages like above. I actually really enjoy starting the same picture over a few times in a row - it gave me the chance to avoid mistakes I'd made previously, rather than just trying to edit them out. Builds better habits, I think.

[charmingstrangeness]

Rating: Teen

Characters: Hashida Kanshichirou, Sakata Gintoki

Word count: 2105

Summary:

In which Hashida Kanshichirou seeks an escape from the weight of his new responsibilities as an adult - only to find a charismatic and suspiciously familiar silver-haired drunk instead.

[ao3 cross-post]

This idea was rolling around in my head since my first watch of the show, and a zine felt like the perfect opportunity to finally write it out. And so, here it is - my contribution to Samurai Heart: A Gintama Fanzine. You can (and should) check out the zine at @gintamazine  on both tumblr and twitter!

Huge thanks to everyone involved with the zine - it was a lot of fun and i'm super proud to have worked alongside such a talented group of people! Extra thanks to the zine mod, who put in a ton of work to make sure everything sailed smoothly, and extra extra thanks to the other fic contributors (Liatheus, UnidentifiedPie, corvidity and jackopancake) for your beta reading, edits, comments, and general conversation <333

Enjoy!

One foot in front of the other.

He tries to lose himself in the act of running – the sharp breaths that come as gasps more than anything else, the burning ache in his leg muscles, the way his surroundings blur and fly past him – until an errant rock connects with his foot, and suddenly Hashida Kanshichirou is sprawled in the dirt, panting hard and no further from escaping his own spiral of anxieties than he’d been when he began his desperate flight.

Now that he’s still, tendrils of the conversation he’d been trying to outrun take root in his mind – you’re an adult now, Kanshichirou, it’s time for us to talk about you taking over the family business.

Gritting his teeth, he picks himself up from the road. The fact of the matter is, he’s only sev— eighteen years old. An adult? He feels like a child still – a child being thrown into a lifelong responsibility before he’s ready to handle it. Kanshichirou snorts derisively; thinking of the Hashida corporation as a mere “family business” is laughable on its own, and his grandfather wants him to be in charge of it already? Kanshichirou isn’t ready for that yet. He’s not even ready to think about it. And he doubts he’ll ever be ready to give up his morals, either; he knows what kind of ethically dubious things his grandfather does to keep the Hashidaya going. Taking over from his grandfather, going against his own conscience for the sake of profits… That’s not the kind of life he wants.

Kanshichirou kicks at the rock that brought him down and watches it skitter down the road. He’s not entirely sure where he is – some seedy part of town, by the looks of it. The street is lined with bars and cabaret clubs, their colourful signs flashing beacons of hope in the night for those weary of their problems and looking for an escape. To his left, soft light spills through the doorway of a pub. The warm glow is inviting, beckoning even, and Kanshichirou shrugs. Eh, what the hell. He may still be two years short of legal drinking age, but according to his grandfather he’s enough of an adult to run a goddamn conglomerate, so why not? How else do adults deal with their problems beyond trying to drink themselves into oblivion, anyways?

The bar stool is a hair too tall for him; Kanshichirou feels awkward hopping up onto it, and he slips off gracelessly and has to try again. He tries to get comfortable, but no matter how much he adjusts himself on the poorly padded seat, it’s just not possible. Swallowing nervously, he silently thanks the heavens that no one seems to be paying attention to him, lest they immediately spot the fact that he really doesn’t belong—

“And what’ll it be today, sir?”

Kanshichirou jumps in his seat, one knee smacking painfully into the underside of the bar. Across the counter, the bartender stares at him expectantly.

What do people even order at bars? For a brief second, Kanshichirou forgets everything he’s ever known about alcohol or adulthood or life as a whole, and he blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

“S-saké, please?” The quaver in his voice is unmistakable; surely the bartender is going to throw him out—

But no, the man only nods, and turns to the shelf of liquor behind him.

Kanshichirou exhales the smallest sigh of relief as the adrenaline begins to drain from his system. He’s passed the test – no one here will question him now. Satisfied, Kanshichirou leans his elbows onto the bar.

“Oi, aren’t you a little young to be drinking saké?”

Kanshichirou jumps a little less this time. He turns to the speaker, ready to defend his position as a proper adult of legal drinking age, and is promptly halted in his tracks by an overwhelming sense of familiarity; Kanshichirou thinks of framed photographs, in his own house and in his grandfather’s estate, of a different man – a man with a gleeful grin and sparkling eyes and the same wild, silver hair as the man sitting two barstools to his right in the present moment.

But Kanshichirou’s father is dead, and has been since before he was even born; he knows this, has always known this. And the man beside him shares no resemblance to the man in the photographs beyond that wavy silver hair, either – the face is wrong, and those eyes are lifeless, like a dead fish…

Kanshichirou shakes his head to clear out his thoughts. “I’m an adult, I’m allowed to be here,” he snaps. He didn’t come here to be plagued by memories, or to be belittled by strangers. He came here to drink, dammit – to drink and be properly irresponsible about his duties. Just like any other responsible adult.

The man snorts. “An adult? Barely. You sound like you still need to grow some hair between your legs, kid.” His face is flushed, and his words are a touch slurred.

Kanshichirou rolls his eyes. “Who are you to tell me where I still need to grow hair? Besides, the bartender is already serving me anyways.”

“Damn Kabukichou bartenders never check for I.D.,” the man mutters. “Irresponsible, really. I swear, I’m the only human being alive in this universe who actually gives half a shit about keeping our image family-friendly…” He trails off into indiscernible mumbles, glaring angrily into his cup.

What strange man, Kanshichirou thinks as he turns back to the bar, just as the bartender places a cup and a small flask of saké in front of him.

“Thank you,” he says with confidence. The bartender only nods before wandering off.

Some of that confidence immediately wanes, however, as he looks down at the saké. He knows it’s supposed to poured into the cup but… How much? And is there some secret pouring technique that only true adults know? What if he does it so incorrectly that everyone realizes he’s not supposed to be here?

“Never poured your own saké before, huh?”

Kanshichirou looks up – the man is smirking, and god Kanshichirou wants nothing more than to wipe that shit-eating grin off his face.

“Screw off, old man. Tend to your own drink.”

“Hey, who’re you calling a shitty old geezer?!” The man frowns. “Kids these days. What are you even doing here, anyways?”

“Having a drink, obviously,” Kanshichirou rolls his eyes.

“Damn you, you know what I meant. Why are you here, you shitty brat? Explain it in thirty words or less!” He gestures dramatically towards Kanshichirou, alcohol sloshing over the rim of the cup in his hand.

“I told you, I’m here to have a drink.” Kanshichirou’s voice falters a bit, and he glances towards the ground. “You know… to deal with stuff. That’s what adults do, right? They drink to fix their problems.”

The man raises an eyebrow. “Oh, do they now? Now there’s a mark of your age if I ever heard one.”

Kanshichirou frowns. “What, you think that just because I’m young I can’t have problems?”

“Nah, I just think that you’re naïve for believing that alcohol will fix them.”

The man’s words drive through Kanshichirou’s body like a nail. He’s right, of course; Kanshichirou knows he’s right (but he doesn’t want him to be right).

“What kind of problems are you running away from that have you looking to get drunk at a seedy bar, anyways?” The stranger shifts over a seat so he’s sitting right beside Kanshichirou. “Aren’t you too young to be doing this kind of thing?”

Kanshichirou winces. “It’s… a big responsibility. I don’t want to deal with it right now.”

“How big?”

“Really big… It’s, well. It’s kind of deciding on my future, you know?” Kanshichirou’s brow wrinkles. “I’m being pressured to make a big career choice, but I’m not really ready to make it yet.”

“Ah, I see.” The man nods sagely. “Who is it, your mom? Your dad?”

“My grandfather,” Kanshichirou corrects. “He wants me to take over the family business, now that I’m finally eighteen, and he wants me to start right away.”

“So what, you’ve got a steady career and some kind of fortune lined up from day one? Doesn’t sound so bad to me. Do you know how many people would kill to be in your position?”

“It’s a good opportunity, I guess, but it’s not what I want.”

“So what do you want?”

“I want…” Kanshichirou furrows his brow. “I want to make choices I can be happy with? I want… an enjoyable life, I guess.”

“Like a cherry blossom?”

Kanshichirou blinks in surprise. He’s heard that phrase before – according to his mother, it was something his father used to be fond of saying, back when he was alive.

I want to live like a cherry blossom.

It wasn’t something that had ever made sense, but… hearing it now… Kanshichirou feels like he finally understands the sentiment behind those words.

“Yeah… like a cherry blossom, I guess.”

The stranger takes a slow sip from his drink in response. Kanshichirou waits, expectantly.

“You know, kid… It’s true that sometimes, the things other people value aren’t always important. Being filthy rich, or living long enough to meet your great-great-grandchildren, or any of that. But even then… life is full of responsibilities, and you can’t just ignore them.” The man turns to face Kanshichirou. There’s something in his eyes, but Kanshichirou can’t tell what it is – it’s not motivation, but it isn’t defeat, either. “Maybe the way your grandfather lives his life doesn’t appeal to you, and that’s okay. But taking over the family business doesn’t mean following in his footsteps, you know?”

Kanshichirou cocks his head. “I… guess? I don’t know what you mean, exactly.”

“I mean, if you’ve got your own code, your own brand of bushido, you can still follow that. You can take over the company, but then run it the way you want to.” He gulps back the rest of his drink and slams the cup on the counter. “You don’t have to run from your responsibilities. You can meet them head on, and make the choices you want to make, and still live a happy life.”

Kanshichirou stares into his cup of saké and considers the stranger’s words. While the thought of following his grandfather’s legacy is certainly terrifying, the thought of changing that legacy…

Maybe I could…

A rustle to his right breaks Kanshichirou out of his thoughts – the man is standing up.

“Ah, wait! Are you going so soon?” There’s a silent plea in his words – please stay, you make me feel better about this, I want to keep talking to you.

“Sorry, kid. I’ve got my own responsibilities to deal with.”

“Oh…” Kanshichirou scratches the back of his head awkwardly and gazes at the ground. “Well… thanks for the advice. It helped.”

The stranger smiles. “Any time, kid.” He takes a few steps away from the bar, then stops and looks over his shoulder. “Listen, Kanshichirou—”

Kanshichirou’s head snaps back up.

We never—

“—in a couple years when you’re actually old enough to drink, come find me, okay? And we’ll share a drink for real.” He turns and walks away.

“W-wait!” Kanshichirou jumps off the bar stool. “Who are you? How do you know my name??”

The man raises his hand in a sort of farewell wave. “It’s a promise, okay? Remember, a samurai doesn’t make a promise he can’t keep.”

For a second, Kanshichirou sees it – sees the same man, walking away from him, only this time he’s walking away from a park bench, into a quiet spring night… Then he’s back in the bar, and the man is disappearing out the door, and Kanshichirou’s knees are buckling at the sudden memory.

Who…

“Hey, take responsibility for your tab before you leave!”

Kanshichirou spins around. The bartender is glaring at him from across the counter.

“S-sorry!” he practically squeaks, and stumbles back to the bar. “Here, let me get my money.”

“And I’m assuming you’ll be paying for your dad’s, too?”

Kanshichirou starts. “My dad?!”

“Yeah, that guy you were with? The one who just left without paying his bill.”

“He’s, uh, he’s not my dad.”

“Oh really? You too look exactly alike, you know.”

Kanshichirou laughs. “Yeah, that’s fair. And heck, I’ll pay his bill anyways. Just tell me who he is.”

“That’s Yorozuya Gin-chan. He runs the odd jobs place a few blocks from here.”

Yorozuya Gin-chan, huh? Kanshichirou can’t help but smile as he digs for his wallet.

I’ll find you again, Gin-san, he thinks. It’s a promise.