#every time I do these scenes again I end up with better photos because my skills keep improving 😂

[astrandofgold]

through the pale atmospheric glow / and the oxygen’s getting low / sing a song that we used to know / one last round before we go

[ikroah]

A girl can get somewhere in spite of stringy hair or even just a bit bowed at the knees if she can show a faultless…personality! —“Personality,” Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers (1946)

It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin’ #26 - Ring-a-Ding-Ding V

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Read IKROAH on Archive of Our Own

Notes / Original Pencils / Transcript:

Notes:

ohhhhh my god why did i make this script so long my hand hurts this took forever aaaaagh

Welcome to the Lucky 38! This is a script that has remained basically the same for a long time but went through COUNTLESS extremely small rewrites over the course of production just to really nail Mr. House's dialogue. He's a long-winded guy, this whole issue is basically just him doing monologues, and I wanted to make sure it was all interesting and non-repetitive. I think I took out at least three uses of "merely" from the first draft.

One of the biggest production decisions of this issue was whether or not to cut the scene with Agnes and Cass and Victor, which immediately follows the end of the previous issue. The reason to include it was because it very necessarily established the change in location from the Vegas Strip to the Lucky 38 penthouse, which would have been jarring otherwise; the reason to exclude it was that it the issue was already extremely long and I thought opening right on Mr. House would have been more impactful. Ultimately, I did keep it, which was a good decision, but only because of the literally issue-saving idea to convey it as closed-circuit television footage instead of actual panels. Every single attempt at overlaying them with the lead-in to Mr. House was way too busy, but that idea really tied the page together like a nice rug.

And lastly, the framing device of the tarantula and the tarantula hawk was actually an extremely late addition to the comic. I had already finished the first three pages when I thought of it. My problem was that Mr. House's constant monologuing and Agnes' sad expressions got pretty repetitive. I needed something to break the action up while adding thematic heft and artistic variety. I've become a real enthusiast for wasps and tarantulas over the last couple months, so this one really was just a stroke of luck. It took only minimal revisions to make room for the framing device, with the most dramatic change being the complete replacement of the last page (which was originally just a splash page of the Lucky 38 in Vegas; bookending the first and last pages is so much better). So you see, the only reason for weaving a scene into this issue of a skittish desert-wanderer getting paralyzed and dragged toward a certain demise by a predator almost perfectly evolved to destroy it was just that I like bugs a lot. That's the only reason, yep.

Original Pencils:

Due to all of the photo-collage in the final version of the comic, there's a lot of panels and details that I (thankfully!) didn't have to draw myself. Sorry that the pencil isn't blue on the last three pages, I've been on the move for the holidays so they got scanned in grayscale by accident.

I did experiment with drawing the tarantula framing device myself, but ultimately went with the photo-collage method because the artistic juxtaposition actually made it much more readable when interspersed with the proceedings in the Lucky 38.

Transcript:

EXT. DESERT OUTSIDE OF NEW VEGAS. The city glitters in the distance, nestled between the shadows of mountains, with the spire of the LUCKY 38 towering above all else.

In the wilderness, a TARANTULA emerges from its burrow.

EXT. THE NEW VEGAS STRIP. On closed-circuit television monitors, a SECURITRON ROBOT approaches AGNES SANDS and ROSE OF SHARON CASSIDY, saying

VICTOR: Well howdy, partner! Fancy meetin' again here in Vegas!

CASS: What the fuck?

AGNES: Victor?

Unlike the usual police units, VICTOR's robotic "face" is that of a cowboy.

VICTOR: And heck, ya clean up nice! Sure lookin' a lot better now than when I rustled ya outta the bone orchard back in Goodsprings*--

CAP: *As was explained to Agnes way back in IKROAH #2. --Lou

VICTOR: --so how's about ol' Vic skips the rigamarole, huh? 'Fore all my yappin' makes ya want to go back, heh-heh-heh! I'm the welcome wagon, see. I'm to come and collect ya.

CASS: Agnes--

VICTOR: Boss wants t'see you, is what I'm sayin'.

AGNES: Boss?

VICTOR: Only of all of Vegas, friend!

CASS: Agnes.

MEANWHILE, the TARANTULA crawls beneath the starlight.

VICTOR: So why don't we mosey on over to the Lucky 38? And your good pal can come along, too!

CASS: I need to know what the fuck is going on, right now.

AGNES: I...I don't know.

VICTOR: And y'know, boss ain't ever let a soul inside before, least for not as long as I've been rollin' around on my spurs, so this ain't just an everyday social call, mind...

On the closed-circuit television monitors, VICTOR escorts AGNES and CASS to the entryway of the LUCKY 38.

VICTOR: ...but heck, I reckon ya'll oughta get along like franks on a fire! So come on! Lift's in the lobby here, and up to the top floor--and we can get the formalities out of the way before ya'll get [cut off]

INT. THE LUCKY 38 PENTHOUSE.

AGNES stands awestruck, looking upward, bathed in electronic green light. With horror, she ekes out a single question.

AGNES: ...what are you?

???: A "Hello" would have been preferable, but it'll take more than a crude faux pas to tarnish this moment. Who I am, Agnes--

What AGNES is looking at is a gigantic SUPERCOMPUTER and terminal, flanked by closed-circuit television monitors and guarded on both sides by SECURITRON police units. On the supercomputer's massive screen is the green-lit image of a face. The face

MR. HOUSE: --is ROBERT EDWIN HOUSE. The President, CEO, and sole proprietor of New Vegas--and more to the point, the intended recipient of a long delayed package.

AGNES: Oh, you...you mean the platinum chip?

MR. HOUSE: Correct. It's a...very precious artifact of the old world.

MR. HOUSE: My world, once.

In the back of the room, beyond AGNES, is an oil painting of MR. HOUSE, standing outside in front of what must have been a very large robot.

MR. HOUSE: In that world, I was the founder of RobCo Industries--a titan of innovation. We created a litany of robotic solutions for diverse markets, such as the Securitrons that you see here, and even a line of consumer-grade devices like the wrist-mounted Pip-Boy. But the platinum chip was, more than any other, my design. It was my vision.

MR. HOUSE: But it never left the factory in which it was originally made. Before it could even cool off from its assembly...we had the Great War. An international, thermonuclear bombardment of unimaginable power that annihilated the world in all of two hours.

MR. HOUSE: But not the entire world. Not Vegas. Not my Paradise. From my fortress of the Lucky 38, I saw to that. But as for the rest of the world, and my platinum chip--it took generations.

MR. HOUSE: First for the scarce remnants of humanity to crawl out from under their rocks, and for the world to at least resemble a functioning society again in which to do trade. And then for the work itself--of countless scavengers, treasure-seekers, and the like, all contracted to comb over the wreckage of Sunnyvale. It cost millions of caps, and later, New California dollars. And a not insignificant piece of my pre-war fortune as well. I, quite literally, moved mountains.

MR. HOUSE: I do not believe in providence, Agnes, but I do believe in destiny. How else to explain it? It was pristine when it was found. Neither the bombs nor the passage of time had so much as scuffed its sheen. But still...its value far transcended the mere market price of pure platinum.

MR. HOUSE: Amusingly, despite the discovery, I was still only as close to acquiring the chip as I had been originally in 2077. A final ordeal remained for me: how to ensure the safety of the platinum chip en route to its destination, from Sunnyvale to Vegas, without broadcasting its preciousness to thieves, armies, and raiders--or worse, to heavily armed fetishists for pre-war technology like the Brotherhood of Steel?

MR. HOUSE: Misdirection. Through a network of anonymous liaisons, I contracted the Mojave Express for a batch of deliveries, all superficially similar knick-knacks, to various intermediaries of myself. All but one of the orders were totally worthless decoys. But your identity as the carrier of the one genuine item was somehow compromised, leading to you getting attacked, and to the second disappearance of the chip.

MR. HOUSE: But look around you. Look where you are. You've made it, haven't you?

AGNES, still staring up at the visage of MR. HOUSE on-screen, doesn't respond. She frowns, nervous. The SECURITRONS guarding MR. HOUSE observe her stoically.

MR. HOUSE: Let me clarify: I had nothing to do with Benny's ambush. Heavens no! It goes completely against my interests. It would have been a perfectly quotidian day's work for you if not for his, and I stress, unexpected involvement. The platinum chip...belies its significance. For Benny to have not only discovered its delivery route but possibly enough of that significance to motivate such an act, this constituted a very troubling breach of my security. And I had been looking into it...but in a way, the issue seems to have resolved itself. Hm?

MR. HOUSE: A wild card. Now removed from the deck.

AGNES' gaze sinks to the floor.

MEANWHILE, a small shadow blots out the starlight in the desert outside of Vegas. It flies over the exploring TARANTULA.

AGNES looks back up at MR. HOUSE.

AGNES: I killed him.

HOUSE: So you did. I only wish that we could have spoken before you went rogue on my former protégé: if this story breaks, I can grant you amnesty, but not without controversy. And your infamy as an assassin could make our further arrangements quite difficult.

AGNES: Um...I didn't think there would be more to it than delivering the--

MR. HOUSE: Oh! Of course, of course! My apologies. Two hundred years of anticipation and yet I'm still getting ahead of myself. Well--would you mind? I've been waiting a long time for my mail.

The SECURITRON closest to AGNES wheels forward with its claw outstretched. AGNES reaches her fingers into a pocket beneath the belt of her dress to produce it: the PLATINUM CHIP. She holds it in her hand for a brief moment.

MEANWHILE, the shadow descends; the TARANTULA HAWK engages the TARANTULA.

AGNES relinquishes the PLATINUM CHIP to the SECURITRON.

MR. HOUSE: Thank you--it's a relief to pay for this chip for the final time.

The SECURITRON inserts the PLATINUM CHIP into a slot in MR. HOUSE'S supercomputer, feeding it into the drive with a CLIK.

MEANWHILE, the TARANTULA is fighting the TARANTULA HAWK.

From behind AGNES, another SECURITRON presents her with a stack of NEW CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC DOLLARS, which she gingerly takes in her hand and looks over.

MR. HOUSE: And I trust that you're satisfied with the agreed-upon compensation from the delivery contract, yes?

AGNES: Yeah, it's...it's fine...I'll be going now. Thanks.

MR. HOUSE: Oh? But you've only just arrived. I insist that you make yourself at home.

SFX: KZZSZZZTTT

The faces on the screens of the SECURITRONS in MR. HOUSE'S penthouse suddenly change from policemen to soldiers. AGNES recoils and tries to step away.

AGNES: H-hey, uh--

MEANWHILE, the TARANTULA HAWK pierces the underbelly of the TARANTULA with its stinger.

SECURITRONS surround AGNES.

MR. HOUSE: You are the first guest ever through the doors of the Lucky 38, you know. Nobody has so much as checked a coat inside since the war, so this meeting confers you a significant level of privilege...and inevitable celebrity. The people of Vegas have always gossiped, after all. Many have even clawed at the door desperately with dreams of being where you now stand. Surely you can comprehend how this compulsion to leave after such a deliberate and remarkable invitation risks considerable insult--to both myself and my citizenry? And very deliberate this invitation was. Don't you realize: if handing off my package was all for which you were needed, why wouldn't I have just had Victor relieve you of the chip outside? No, no, you see, as necessary as its acquisition was, the chip is ultimately just a key, for unlocking a new frontier...of possibilities.

MR. HOUSE: Possibilities for prosperity, peace, and technological advancement that haven't been seen in two hundred years. Possibilities greater than anything the New California Republic or Caesar's Legion could dream of, let alone achieve, by playing pretend in the clothes of their forebearers and convincing everyone else that it's statecraft. Possibilities--which if they key is turned by human hands--become certainties.

AGNES (a whisper): Are you not human?

MR. HOUSE: Don't let the video screens and computer terminals fool you: I am a living human. No less so than you. I just live with a particular set of, well...handicaps.

AGNES: You said you'd waited hundreds of years to--

MR. HOUSE: One could argue that the world has been waiting hundreds of years for this moment. Waiting for me. For the chip. For the long-dormant doors of the Lucky 38 to finally open, to a single and specially ordained individual: you, Agnes. And there are tremendous things waiting for us, waiting for us to accomplish them, together. I certainly couldn't do them with Benny. What do you say?

MEANWHILE, the TARANTULA has become completely paralyzed by the TARANTULA HAWK'S venom. The TARANTULA HAWK seizes its prey.

AGNES: ...no.

MR. HOUSE: I'm sorry--"No?"

AGNES: Yes--I mean, no. No! I don't want to help you! I...

Tears well in AGNES' eye.

AGNES: ...I just want to go back home.

MR. HOUSE: ...I see. Hmm.

MR. HOUSE: How do I put this in a way you'll understand?

MR. HOUSE: The die is cast.

AGNES, crying, looks up at MR. HOUSE again. Fear bulges on her face.

MR. HOUSE: Throughout the long delivery of this chip, several precise plans and fortuitous coincidences have aligned in just such a way as to make you, you specifically at this exact juncture, an irreplaceable asset in the ongoing endeavor of this wounded world's recovery from otherwise hopeless ruin.

MR. HOUSE: Your cooperation going forward is not merely crucial to this endeavor's success, but it's utterly non-negotiable. Should you entertain the moral issue of what's at stake, it's obligatory, even. It's why your refusal comes as such a...genuine surprise. Can't you see?

MR. HOUSE: I'm not a fascist, Agnes--I would never force you. But given the circumstances, I'm entitled, wouldn't you agree, to at least a brief demonstration of my vision? The vision that the platinum chip promises? Victor has surely seen your companion to the presidential suite by now--my other Securitrons can escort you to the basement, where I'm sure you can make a...properly informed decision.

The SECURITRONS close in on AGNES, who screams in protest.

AGNES: No! I said no! I already delivered your chip, I--I killed Benny! I-- I-- ...what do you want with me!?

MR. HOUSE: Haven't you been listening? I want what's best for you--for us. I know it's a lot, but bear with me for one moment longer, and I can assure you--that this is the beginning of something very incredible.

MEANWHILE, the TARANTULA HAWK has dragged the paralyzed TARANTULA back to the entrance of its own burrow.

The TARANTULA HAWK shoves its helpless prey into the hole, and then crawls in after it.

The TARANTULA is not seen again.

[ingravinoveritas]

So I just wanna ask u just does this look like a real happy healthy relationship and in love with each or just put on for show for the fans and why do I feel like she making it all about her again and reminded everyone who she with it feels micheal was forced in the pictures taking with her the red carpet photo she looked bored and annoyed cos michael not paying any attention he just look miserable but I bet if it was David standing there instead of anna his face would be beaming like the one Georgia posted of them 4 together micheal face is electric and see how he lean toward David that best friend goals and I just love seeing them together cos that when he at his most happiness place

Also I find it strange that Anna was left out in staged scene but David wife gerogia made appearance doesn't that strike u as odd and gerogia brought the plus one date a girl could have and it wasnt anna yet they call each other wife clearly not as close etc then David and Michael are it seems.

And did u notice in the scene with David and Tom hiddleson about the dog sitter initially could present as benign and then he and the dog get up to all kinds of hijinks and ultimately disrupt stuffy old Michael sheen boring life but for the better like why put that in the script maybe his life with anna is boring and only staying cos he feels he needs too for the young children what do u think of all this

From @amata-haan along with a screenshot of the group photo:

(Grouping all of these together since it seems we've got a bit to talk about here.)

So, the biggest point of discussion seems to be the group pic that Georgia posted, and I will put up a larger size of that for us to discuss:

When I saw that Georgia had posted this in an Insta story, of course my first thought was "Finally a picture of Michael and David together!" I think that was what we were all hoping for all night, to where it was almost glaring that we hadn't gotten one when the event ended (until Georgia's post, that is).

The second thing that came to mind is what you alluded to @moriarty-sisters, about this being a near repeat of what we've seen a few times before (first at the NTAs in 2021, and then the group photo Georgia posted on Michael's birthday, that appears to have been taken after Michael went to see Macbeth):

Every time, Georgia is on the right. Every time, she and Anna have the same tight smiles while Michael and David have huge grins on their faces. At this point, it feels intentional, because twice might be a coincidence, but three times is a plan. There are slight differences to the vibes in each picture--although Georgia looks like she knows a secret and Michael and David look like a very happy couple in every one of them--but last night's group pic was...something.

Which takes me to your comment @phantomstars24 about how Michael is holding AL. I was under the impression that he had his hand on her waist, but if he is touching her breast, I'm perplexed at that being her reaction. She looks stiff and like a deer caught in the headlights, and regardless of where Michael's hand is, it doesn't seem like that's a great way to look when your own boyfriend is touching you. Adding to the strange optics is the fact that Michael is actually leaning toward David in the picture and away from her. It looks like his arm/shoulder is pressing into David and there isn't a millimeter of space between them, yet he seems to be a mile away from Anna despite having an arm around her.

(And none of this is even touching on Georgia using the theme song from Friends in the Insta story for the group pic, which she had to know we would all notice...)

So yes, a lot of thoughts on the group pic, but overall delighted to see Michael and David looking so happy next to each other. Especially Michael, in stark contrast to how he looked in some of the other pictures.

Speaking of which...I briefly talked about Michael and AL at the BAFTAs yesterday here and here, so I will try not to repeat myself too much in this part of my answer. But what I think we are seeing is two things: Anna's fantasy of what she thinks her and Michael's relationship is, and the reality of what we saw at the BAFTAs.

I think in AL's mind, she and Michael were like Georgia and David. But if we are going to say that Georgia and David were very loving and sweet together on the red carpet yesterday--which they absolutely were, with the kiss they shared and David comforting Georgia when she was experiencing anxiety--then there is no way you can look at the pictures of Michael and Anna and see the same thing. Even without bringing GT/DT into it, there is a massive, marked difference between pictures of Michael with AL vs. pictures of him with literally anyone else (such as this pic with Hannah Waddingham).

Looking at Anna's pictures that she posted, every one of them seems to be about ownership, right down to the Insta story with the #mine hashtag (which again seems to be her copying Georgia, also on the night of an award ceremony). The vibe that I got was of a teenager who'd won a date with her favorite celebrity and took him to the prom. Ultimately, though, she looked out of place, and he looked uncomfortable with her, both of which are a remarkable feat after five years of a relationship.

The pictures also repeated themes we've seen before (AL has previously posted a picture of her kissing Michael's cheek where he looks equally withdrawn; the photo in the car on the way to the event is a copy of pictures Georgia has posted of her and David in the car on the way to events) and speak to that idea of pushing a certain narrative, despite neither one of them appearing to sell it very well.

To that end, and to your comments @lepqueen and @turquoisedata, I would agree with you that it looks like AL is trying to mark her territory. The problem is that Michael had more chemistry just talking with David in that opening BAFTAs sketch than he did with Anna the entire night, and she was frequently left looking like she had no idea what she was doing or why she was there. Another example of this is an Insta story she posted earlier today that again demonstrated her main interest in the relationship:

What's particularly noteworthy is the follow up Insta story on the right, which I couldn't believe she actually posted. I think that if you are fine and happy with the narrative you've put out, you are not going to be bothered by or salty about a comment like that, and AL clearly was. And all of this then casts at least some doubt that the pictures she posted are really telling the whole story. Just a recap of what we do know about last night (and if I am forgetting anything, someone please let me know):

- Anna was the only principal member of the cast who was not in the Staged-themed opening sketch, despite being in all three seasons of the show. - Anna was not seated next to Michael during the in person part of the opening sketch, despite there being no reason the producers couldn't have put her next to him even as a seat filler. - Georgia brought her friend Daisy Aitkens as a +1 and sat with her instead of Anna, leaving us with the above picture of AL sitting alone and staring straight ahead while in the background of a Michael J. Fox picture (that she is acting like is a picture of her with him, instead of her photobombing a picture of MJF with his wife). - During the show, the camera repeatedly cut to Michael in the audience when there was no reason to do so, but did not show Anna on camera once.

So yes, I think that if last night at the BAFTAs was somehow AL's attempt to mark her territory/assert her place in the UK acting industry, it did not seem to go over well. I think David and Georgia's relationship and Michael and David's relationship emerged even stronger than before, and unfortunately AL and Michael's relationship did not and does not compare.

My apologies for rambling on, as I never intended for this to get so long. As I've said before, this is all just my opinion, and I know I could be completely wrong, so I'm glad as always to hear from my followers with your thoughts. Thanks for writing in! x

[spacebarbarianweird]

Hi! Love your writing and I wanted to give you some food for thought, see if it interests you perhaps 🤭 Astarion×Tav is usually about someone smaller in size and maybe a druid or healer, but my character is a tiefling berserk barbarian... with a bigger body size... horns and tail in all their glory... if you are interested I'd love to hear if you'd got some headcanons for a character like this? 💕🙏🏻

Hi! When imagining a bigger f!Tav with Astarion, I can't stop thinking about Gwendolyn Christie (aka Brienne of Tarth) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (aka Jaime Lannister). Look at the photos of them, especially when Gwen wears high-heels (and she also has a husband who is much shorter than her but sews all her dresses to make her the most fabulous 6.3 ft tall woman)

Also, Neil Newbon plays a bigger druid, Tav. He was shocked that she picked Astarion in the first sex scene ^-^

NSFW Version

Masterlist

Headcanons

Astarion x F!BulkyTav

When you hug, Astarion's face is right up against your chest, and he can hear your heartbeat.

Which is soothing to him.

The running water problem is solved! You lift Astarion "bridal style" and put him onto your shoulders to cross the river.

Astarion is grumpy about it every time.

But deep inside, he enjoys it.

Need a better view to aim? Well, you are right here in all your barbarian 6.3 ft. glory!

Astarion can't take his eyes off how graciously you walk with a two-handed ax on your shoulders.

And once you both return to the civilized world, he will get you a dress and high heels.

Because with high heels and a dress, you will look like a gods damn goddess of war!

Is he intimidated by the fact you are taller? Never. You are his big and powerful wife, and he's proud of everything you do!

You are a big spoon, of course. And being wrapped in your hands makes Astarion feel warm and safe.

When in rage, you don't feel pain, and it hurts him to see you wounded and with broken bones

He puts your head on his lap and strokes your hair to soothe you after the battle.

Once, Astarion was caught off guard by vampire hunters who beat him and left him helpless in the sunrise.

You managed to get there right in time to crack the hunters' skulls.

And quickly carry Astarion to the safety and darkness.

Unfortunately, the merciless sun burnt him enough to slow vampire regeneration, and it took Astarion a month to fully recover.

All this time, you nurtured and fed him, telling him stories and legends of your people and only leaving him once you needed to fetch some food for yourself.

Seeing him being able to walk again was the happiest moment of your life.

When he drinks your blood, it's him sitting on your lap.

"You are a messy eater, you know that?" you ask, seeing him covered in your blood.

"You are a terribly messy eater, I hope you know that?" he comments, looking at you eating a boar's leg.

He laughs at you being not so discreet in the wilderness and attracting all sorts of enemies in your journey.

"Darling, you are loud like an ork and have the manners of a giant!"

Once you got so drunk in a feast after killing a dragon, you came to Astarion and started talking different sweet nonsense.

"I want to have silver-curled babies with you. Imagine how fierce they will be!"

Indeed, you are strong and fierce, wearing the heavy armor set, but you are still a woman, a woman Astarion loves and takes care of.

"Wear a helmet, Tav! Last time we had a quest, our half-ork companion used your head as a battering ram! Get the fucking helmet!"

Once, the enemy was too strong, and you ended up severely wounded. The most challenging thing for Astarion was to get rid of the heavy armor on your broken body to carry you to a safe place.

The view of you in pain and agony traumatized him so much he didn't dare to leave your side until you fully recovered.

You want to die in a glorious battle and bards to make songs about you.

Astarion promises you not to step into the sun once you die this glorious death but to make sure every bard and storyteller knows about your deeds and adventures.

But until then...

You have plenty of things to kill!

Hope you enjoyed it!

[crystalreydraws]

Hello hi I just found out you're the artist of my favorite pic of Jamil from all time 🥹 I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEE SO MUUUUCH his bday art from 2020!! It's my favorite one from every art and he looks so pretty and hot and cool and like he's in a music clip and about to drop a fire verse!! I LOVE your painting style so much, as a baby artist, would you one day show us how you color? I'm sure you put so much blood, sweat and tears into your hard work and it would great to get a little bit of that wisdom. Please keep drawing, keep doing what you love because it makes the world a better place to live!

Sketched my sleepy and tired oc to do a very quick demonstration but it covers how I color when i render things:

Start with rough greyscale first, it's a good start to roughly decide light direction and value of your overall work. Especially if you have no idea on your shading.

Next, apply base color to greyscale. I'll use gradient map if I want to keep the details of my greyscale. But if not, I'll just start with a flat base color, and try whatever I can to apply color.

Rendering phase. Add layers and just paint on top to refine it. Merge all layers if it's too messy. Then add layers again. My rendering really depends on how much time taken because it's just a loop of paint over and refining. Thats why i do more simple fanart cuz I sometimes get bored of rendering Also at this stage when doing lineless style, I merge lineart with layers and cover up the lines.

Final touch. Merge all layers and use [filter gallery > paint daubs (brush size 1, sharpness 2)]. It will sharpen your work and look detailed. Or add some very fine noise texture, it will look detailed too.

Another very rough demonstration on how i apply color mood. This will be after step 2. And same will be more refining and even paint over to ensure the colors look ok.

Other tips:

Add warm and cool colors especially on skin.

Use pinterest. Always find more than one reference for a subject if you want to draw better than yesterday. Pure ref is a nice tool to gather reference on your pc. When i draw a single hand I had a lot of ref. (pose, color temperature, lighting, photos, artwork, all diff ref)

Color theory is so important I still struggle a lot. I highly recommend beginners start from practicing Marco Bucci's ball practice. After that slowly change to adding character into movie scene and photographs, the purpose is to adapt different color moods and learn the lighting from the image. Learn more from famous movie and cinematic. They did their best to nail the colors.

Anyway,

this is a long answer about how I color. My previous job influenced me so much on coloring so there's a lot of thinking and struggle on my colors.

So, I suggest you be more experimental and try new ways, at the end what remains is what fits you.

[sirfrogsworth]

The Curse of Artistic Vision

I think being an artist comes down to developing an image in your head and then feeling compelled to manifest it. Sometimes you are able to improve upon that image in your head. Or you end up with something different that you like better.

But sometimes, for various reasons, you can't quite make that image a reality. And I don't know if other artists feel this way, but it feels like heartbreak every time. Not quite on the level of an incident of human decoupling, but it definitely sticks with you for a long time.

Sometimes I am limited by the current state of my skillset. I just haven't learned enough and gained enough experience to take a photo like the one in my brain.

And sometimes I am limited by my body, which puts huge restrictions on the amount of energy I can dedicate to crafting a photo.

I feel my knowledge and experience has never been at the level I am currently at. I think I have the *potential* to shoot just about anything I can imagine. Which is a cool feeling. I also feel like my image editing and manipulation skills are at the highest they have ever been. Which means anything I can't do in-camera, I can achieve in Lightroom and Photoshop.

But I just don't have a lot of energy to capture photos right now. And I am very limited by how much physical effort I can dedicate to the photographic process. Which is very frustrating. I'm hoping if I build a new studio in the house that will help a lot.

In the meantime, I have this library of images I took before 2017. Many of them I was not able to achieve my artistic vision.

But... I came close.

Which means on many of these old images I can use my editing skills of today to achieve what I could not back then.

And so I have started a huge re-edit project where I go back and realize my images as I wanted them to be.

I had this idea for an image of someone in the middle of a dark forest in an open field reading a book and the only illumination was a lamp that seemed to be plugged into nothing. It popped into my head and it just seemed like a cool photo to create.

In July of 2016, my friend Ryan was visiting and we decided to try it. We even rented a big fancy 50 megapixel camera for a few days. I had never used a professional level camera and it was my birthday and I wanted that experience.

I even had this cool idea to hide a flash in the lamp so it would look like it was illuminated.

The resulting image was not anything like I had in my head. And for some reason, I edited it super bright, and you can barely even notice the cool lampshade flash trick. If you lower the exposure of the RAW file there is a well-defined circle of light in the grass, but it is hard to see in the 2016 edit.

Where is the dark background? Why didn't I underexpose the background to make it look like night or sunset? I knew how to do that back then. I totally could have crafted the photo in my head at that time.

But then I noticed I only took like 8 photos of this scene. And I *always* overshoot. I took 300 photos of a bridge recently.

Then I remembered what happened. We moved a giant rocking chair, a lamp, and lighting equipment to the middle of my neighbor's yard and by the time I was ready to take the photo, I was about to pass out. I believe it was very hot as well.

And so the above was the best I could do under that circumstance. My body limited my artistic vision. And this has been bothering me for years. Sometimes I will think back on this photo and how cool it looked in my head and I will feel that heartbreak again.

When I look at the RAW file... it is actually much better than my edited image.

Which makes me curious why I made it so damn bright. My best theory is I had a monitor that was slowly dying and I didn't realize how dim it got because our eyes are so good at adjusting, and it's possible all of my images from that era were overly bright because I was overcompensating for a dying display.

That fancy camera (Canon 5DS R) was a dream to work with. And having so many extra megapixels to play with is such a joy. People say you don't need more megapixels these days, but when you are doing high level image manipulation, having as much information as possible makes it a lot easier. Especially when making complex selections.

So, I've got a good start. I have a lot of pixels to play with. I was almost certain I could manifest my vision with modern knowledge and tools.

I'll start with the baseline edit in Lightroom. I'm not going to worry about the sky, as that will need to be swapped for my nighttime aesthetic.

The circle of light was there! It was just hiding in my bright exposure. So that's neat. And when you lower the exposure of the background, the lampshade trick presents itself as well.

At this point I was getting excited because I could see the potential. I just had to find the right sky. This one looks perfect.

Okay, it is time for the big reveal.

Did I finally get this image out of my brain and into reality?

I DID!

I don't know if people will like this or find it artistically interesting, but Ryan and I were both very happy with the new version.

Also, I think Ryan's purple shoes really steal the show.

Though I had one idea that was never in my head originally.

Should I try it?

I still haven't decided on the fireflies yet, but Ryan and Katrina like them.

I can't state how nice it was to work on a 50 megapixel photo from a full frame sensor coming from a 10 year old camera with 4 stops less dynamic range and 24 megapixels.

This is zoomed in to 100%!

And the image doesn't even get soft at 300%.

Sorry, I got caught up in the megapixels.

And there is one detail you'll probably never notice unless I point it out, but I completely rebuilt the lampshade because I overexposed it.

I always say small details add up to big results. Plus I had to use some creative problem solving to figure out how to recreate a lampshade and I always enjoy that part of the process—where you don't know how to do something and then you figure it out. Very satisfying.

In any case, my brain feels better now. I feel like I was able to settle something that has been bothering me for ages. And I am grateful I was able to realize my artistic vision—even if it took 8 years.

Here is the before and after. It's fun to switch back and forth.

On to the next photo. And it may involve a furry little orange friend.

[tomssexdoll]

part 2 to the night we met because I need a happy ending and you guys do too

The media was filled with Toms accident, papparazzi had already taken photos, plastering pictures of his staker walking away from the scene.

Little did they know I was still in hospital with Tom. 20 minutes later they found a pulse again, by some miracle he had survived.

I sighed in relief, my heart thumping out of my chest. He slowly woke up, groggy and extremely tired. They gave him some fluids and food and treated him.

After 3 weeks he got better, we returned home and he had a slight limp, still recovering from a nasty shot wound. It had punctured an important artery but was 2mm from killing him completely.

We turned on the news and saw her face burn into the screen, a mugshot of her, her eyes evil, full of rage.

I turned it off, not wanting to see her ever again, flashes of that night haunting my mind. I turned to Tom and just held him close, his weak arms wrapping around me softly.

"I'm here baby..it's ok" he whispered into my hair, I started to sob, just like I did at the accident. Tears flowed from my eyes and onto his shirt, drenching it completely.

"Oh baby..don't cry" he winced, pulling me closer and kissing the top of my head, "I was so scared..you being pronounced dead for 20 minutes was the worst time of my life, the longest 20 minutes I'd ever experienced.." I sniffled, looking up at him and holding his face in my hands, needing to touch him desperatly, feel his skin on mine.

"I don't want to lose you again" I cried out "I need to feel your skin on mine to feel safe again, feel content" he nodded and just held me for hours, whispering sweet nothings into my ear, reassuring me nothing bad was ever going to happen again, that she was far away from us and wouldn't be getting out of jail.

The band decided to take a break from touring and cancelled the last city they were going to play at. From then on we upgraded our security, getting bodyguards and therapy for the both of us. Some nights I'd wake up from horrendus nightmares of the night. Sometimes it was just her face, some was just him being slowly dragged away, but all would end in me screaming and waking up in a cold sweat, Tom having to hold me for a full hour before I was ready to sleep again.

It was scary, the whole situation traumatized me but I was glad I had Tom, if I lost him the world would stop turning, nothing would matter anymore. When I'm not with him, I hold that photo I took of him that night close, texting him every 5 minutes to see if he's ok.

tags: @itsmealaiah @tomscumdump @tomscumdoll @bkaulitzlover @ballhair @estxkios @charliesgoodboy @ge-billsgf

[mikuni14]

The last 2 weeks have provided me with amazing experiences from the BL series fan community. Moments when several series with very active fandoms are aired at the same time are very rare, and with the end of 2 series this week, I'm already mourning this wonderful, one-of-a-kind experience.

I have been camping in the following tags for many days and each one is different and unique: Love For Love's Sake I can't put into words what this show and fandom has given me. The number of absolutely insane analyses, meta, touching declarations of love to this series from moved viewers, and beautiful gifs is staggering. The series is excellent, the audience's reaction is also wonderful, it was such a great experience. Which doesn't surprise me, because it was people's reaction to real ART, which is always something special. The series itself is 10/10 for me in every category: love story, plot, actors, emotions, my investment in the story, quality, execution, even the "heat", because even though there were no love scenes, the guys were able to convey that they are very into each other 🥰

Dead Friend Forever I also enjoy the fandom experience immensely, the tag is full of great analysis and meta. The plot is so interesting and full of surprising twists and turns that there is always something new to discuss and come up with wild theories. The series is still ongoing, but for this moment it's also perfect for me and 10/10: love story (hehe), plot, actors, emotions, my investment in the story, quality, execution, also the "heat" (hehe).

Pit Babe I rate the fandom experience as *chef's kiss*. Tag is also full of interesting analyzes and meta, amazing gifs of Way. The fandom is generally very cheerful and unhinged, which is GREAT ✨ But what's most interesting is that if someone who didn't know Pit Babe checked the tag now, they would never guess who the main character and main couple of the series are (and this doesn't only apply to tumblr!). I find this incredibly funny 🤡 I'm not that interested in the series itself, so I won't rate it. I treat it as pure fun and entertainment, so I have zero expectations for the finale, especially since, of course, I've already stumbled upon possible spoilers. Personally, what I will take away from the entire series is my deepened love for Nut and a fascination with Way, whom I want like little girls want a new Barbie doll.

Last Twilight Another wild fandom experience lol I practically didn't visit the tag of this series at all, but I spent the last two episodes there in full camping mode, in a tent and cooking coffee after coffee over the fire 😄 Fans have once again soared to the heights of perfection, writing amazing analyzes and meta responses to the crap of the last episodes. The criticism was precise, justified, systematized, methodical and accurate 👩‍🎓 As with LFLS, it was an intellectual experience. The fans provided better entertainment than the series itself lol

The Sign hmm, for several weeks the tag has been dominated by BillyBabe, which is not strange because only this couple is responsible for BL aspect in this BL series 😄 I rate my fandom experience with The Sign in two categories: "until episode 7" full of amazing meta, analysis, beautiful gifs and enrichment for me as a fan, overall 10/10 and "after episode 7" which I spent mainly on… liking BillyBabe's photos and videos . Which is ok, because, well, I do like them a lot 😉

Two of the above series have already ended, although fans are still present, two more are ending this week. That's why I would like to take this opportunity and say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to all the fans, those who wrote emotional entries, deep and thoughtful meta, funny posts, created beautiful gifs, analyzed endlessly the smallest details and posted photos and videos of their favorite actors. You all made these last few days so interesting and fun. I hope there will be more days like this in 2024! 🥰

And now I'll only have DFF…

[yenqa]

how you would spend a snow day with enhypen!

pairing : enha x reader :)

warnings : kissing, mentions of being sick, destroying things, mentions of eating/food

wc : 0.7k again 😭😭

a/n : another one bc my last one did well :)

heeseung - as soon as he sees the snow he fr RUNS out there with you ofc. but he’s so excited and then you’re like “babe we have to put on warmer clothes we’re going to get sick!” and as much as he does want to be sick so he could be pampered by you, he decides a snow day is much more fun. together you build a snowman and he pushes you down a hill with a sled :)). and you like insists on pushing him down but he’s like no bc he doesn’t want you to do the work for him :( and when you get inside he makes ramen and hot chocolate 😭😭 </3

jay - he wakes you up bc he’s made soup and hot chocolate to contrast the cold day :( and when you’re about to go outside to play in the snow he literally puts every single jacket on you known to mankind 😭😭 and you’re like “jay that’s too many jackets! i’m sweating right now!! 😠😠” and he’s like “hun i can’t have you being sick :(“ but in the end, he makes you wear three layers plus snow pants and a hat that covers your ears :). together you make snow angels and (try to) build a snowman ☹️

jake - actually drags you out of bed to play in the snow. and like jake i feel like is the kind of guy to make tiktoks of you two dancing in the snow if your relationship was out he would post it on the enhypen acc but if it wasn’t he probably has a private account he would post it on. but you guys literally spend like an hour making that video because one of you two keeps messing up. then when you get back inside you watch corny christmas movies together and cuddle :)

sunghoon - he’ll take you to a frozen lake and he’s so happy bc he bought skates for the both of you and he like teaches you how to skate properly :((. hes like “y/n-ah you’re so bad at this” and you’re like “i know 😒😒”. and eventually you give up so you both make snow angels and he turns it into competition obvi “y/n my snow angel is way better then yours!” “no sunghoon yours has your boot prints in the legs mine don’t so mine is better 😒😒” and you keep arguing and you know he’ll never give up so you give up and gives you his lil gummy smile ☹️☹️ guys im crying

sunoo - he would get a driver to drive you guys to the city so you can see all like the tree’s with the lights and snow on them 😣😣 and he like writes on the sidewalk “y/n <3 sunoo!” but he know’s it won’t be there for long so he takes a picture of it :((. when you’re admiring the scene he secretly takes a photo of you bc you’re so cute and he wants to remember this moment forever :(. and he asks a random person walking on the street to take a photo of you two and you both make it your wallpapers 😖😖

jungwon - would make hot chocolate for you guys and add like whipped cream and peppermint bits to make it all fancy and things :(( and once you finish it you has to make sure you’re warm by putting you in his jackets 😏😏 and when you’re outside you have a little walk stopping sometimes to throw snowballs at eachother :(. then when you get back inside you two would make gingerbread houses and eat them (maybe idk i find them gross)

niki - he literally doesn’t care about getting sick so he puts on a jacket but you its different he puts you in his warmest jacket! and a sweater underneath obvi. and the whole time you’re throwing snowballs at eachother and running away from eachother and you make a life sized snowman which takes sooo long and when you make the head he has to put it on and he teases you for it obvi “y/n aish you’re so short, here i’ll put it on for you like the best boyfriend i am.” and you’re like whatever 😒 and when you add all the decorations to the snowman he gets a tripod and takes a picture of you two :( then he try’s to knock down the snowman by running into it which fails terribly.

tysm for reading! i appreciate likes, comments, and reposts! have a great day!

yenqa © please do not copy, steal or translate.

[novelmonger]

I'm continuing on to the next LotR audio commentary. This one is with the design team, and there's a lot more people talking in this one! Including:

Grant Major (production designer), Ngila Dickson (costume designer), Richard Taylor (Weta Workshop creative supervisor), Alan Lee (conceptual designer), John Howe (conceptual designer), Dan Hennah (supervising art director/set decorator), Chris Hennah (art department manager), and Tania Rodger (Weta Workshop manager)

So here are some highlights of things that are new to me (after avidly watching all the BTS documentaries multiple times over the years) from FotR:

The guy who made the One Ring originally didn't want to do it because he didn't like fantasy, but then his sons badgered him until he agreed to do it - kind of a similar story to Viggo Mortensen, I think. He ended up contracting cancer and dying during the production of the first movie.

Alan Lee storyboarded a potential sequence for showing how Bilbo got the Ring. They would show Gollum grabbing a fish, taking off the Ring while he ate, and then it would roll away until Bilbo found it.

Some of Ngila Dickson's phrases and diction are pinging really loudly in my sense of deja vu - like, I remember hearing those exact phrases before. But I even went and watched the costume design portion of the Appendices, and none of it was a repeat. Have I actually heard this commentary before and then forgot all about it? @_@

The guy (the primary guy? I can't imagine it was only one person) they put writing on all the scrolls and things worked in a bank and had a hobby doing calligraphy. They hired him to do just a few things at first, putting writing on some props, but then it got to the point where he actually had to quit his job at the bank and start working full-time for LotR, and then continued to do stuff for merchandise for New Line. I do wonder what he did once the movies were all made and over with....

I always forget how they had to have two scales of everything. Not just stuff like Gandalf's staff or the sets, but they had to have two scales of all the props like cups and books and things. They even had to have two different sizes of horses, depending on the scene!

Lawrence Makoare, who played Lurtz, would have to start getting into makeup at 10 p.m. the night before he had a scene, so that he would be ready at 8 a.m. the next day @_@

Most of the horses used in the movies were Andalusian horses imported from Australia.

When they would film outside in nature, like in the forest where they shot on-location scenes for Rivendell, they would have to remove the native plants that were there, keep them in a greenhouse, plant whatever plants and other things they needed for the movie, then take them out again and put the original plants back. This would actually leave the area better than the way they found it, because they would remove weeds and things like that.

John Howe commented on how difficult it is to do hair in something like this that's meant to be kind of "historical," even though it's fantasy. Hairstyle is one of the things that is quickly outdated, so if you do it wrong, it can be jarring to watch the movie in later decades. He said, "I wonder how it will look 20 years from now." It's twenty years later, John. It looks every bit as good as it did in 2001 :')

Okay, I feel like this had to have been in the BTS documentary, but I don't remember it. For the moment where Bilbo goes Gollum-esque for a second when Frodo puts the Ring away, they morphed between his face and a puppet they made of Ian Holm looking deranged. Ian Holm was thrilled with the puppet and had several photos taken of himself with it, and then when it was time for him to leave New Zealand, they made a bronze version of the puppet and gave it to him as a memento! XD

For the shots of the Fellowship bursting out of the snow after the avalanche, they went to the Mt. Hart ski field, which was closed because of a blizzard. They were allowed to go out on the ski field, make snow caves, and film the actors bursting out into the open. The Hobbits wore Ugg boots over their hobbit feet in the snow when their feet wouldn't be in the shot XD Apparently, Richard Taylor actually asked Peter Jackson if there could be a scene of the Hobbits wrapping their feet in bandages or something, just so the actors could protect their feet a bit more in harsh terrain like that, but PJ said no, because the Hobbits' feet would be tough enough to be able to withstand all of that. Poor guys! x.x

Huh. I always assumed that they made the effect of ithildin by putting little glowing lights on the doors of Moria, or else maybe added it in post. But actually, they put some kind of reflective material on the design, and then shone a light from behind the camera, so it would reflect on the design and make it look like it was glowing! I feel like, if this movie were made today, they would totally have just done it with CG, but this makes it so much more realistic. Also, they had to paint the doors, but obviously couldn't paint over the reflective material, so they put plasticine over the design, then painted it, then took the doors to the site. They were still taking the plasticine off the doors when the whole crew and the actors turned up and started rehearsing the scene! So apparently, if you look hard enough, you can actually see a few small parts of the design on the door that are missing, because they accidentally left some of the plasticine on!

Okay, we all know about the crazy amount of attention to detail in these movies, but this story just takes the cake. In the room with Balin's tomb, there's all this Khuzdul writing on the walls. Someone wrote out all the text and had their in-house translator translate it into Dwarvish runes that they then carved into the walls. During one of the days they were shooting the cave troll battle, they had invited a Tolkien language scholar to visit the set, and he stormed out in an outrage, saying that someone had written something like "Joe was here" on the walls, which was disrespectful to Tolkien's legacy, etc. etc. Horrified to hear this, the art department got their translator to go over the set with a fine-tooth comb, trying to find the "graffiti" this guy had seen, because they'd already filmed a lot of shots of this scene, and they knew that there would be fans who would freeze-frame the scene and translate what's written on the walls. But they couldn't find it anywhere! So eventually they cornered the Tolkien scholar and asked him where he'd seen it, and it turned out that it was just some guy on the crew who'd told him that. Apparently, the Tolkien scholar was so uptight and serious about everything, this guy was just poking fun at him, and it snowballed from there. So they ended up wasting a lot of time looking for a mistake that wasn't even there, because that's how dedicated everyone was to getting every detail of this movie right.

The Moria orcs were originally designed to have pale, almost translucent skin (inspired by an axolotl! O.O), but when they saw footage of it on the first day, they realized the contrast with all the darkness in Moria was too much, and it made the orcs look like they were glowing, so they had to make them darker.

The eyes of the Moria orcs were enlarged after the fact, so when they made the prosthetics, they had to make the eyeholes extra big so the eyes would look like they fit after they were enlarged.

Originally, there was an idea that the Balrog would burst out from a wall somewhere while they're trying to jump across the gap in the stairs, and just generally make that scene even more tense and exciting, but then they realized that to do so would basically eat up half their budget, so they decided to do it the way it is in the final version XD

The boats' design was based on a leaf of a lemon tree. If you drop a lemon leaf in the water, it will look like a tiny version of the Elven boats! 8D

Ohhhh, so the scene where the Fellowship gets attacked by Orcs along the way down the Anduin was going to be a sequence at Sarn Gebir, where there are dangerous rapids, so the Fellowship has to land on the shore and carry their boats past. But then Orcs attack, there's a whole action scene, and they have to hurry back onto the water and navigate the rapids. But they never shot it, because right after they'd built the set and got all ready, they were hit with a lot of rain and flooding, and the water level in the lake where they were filming rose five meters and completely washed away the set. So that whole sequence got permanently canceled.

While working on Amon Hen, Alan Lee fell off the stone seat (kind of like Frodo!) and broke his wrist. Thankfully, it was his left wrist, so he could keep drawing.

The Uruk-Hai's hair was horsehair that they had to import because they needed it in such large quantities. In the location where they shot the battle at Amon Hen, the ground was covered with prickly bracken of some kind, so every time an Uruk fell on the ground and then got up for the next take, they would have to carefully pluck all the bits of bracken out of their hair @_@

The fletching on the Uruk arrows is supposed to be, not feathers, but Warg hair O.O

Okay, I knew they made a silicone dummy of Boromir for when his body goes over the falls, but they only had four days to make it?! :O

In the final scene, where Frodo and Sam are looking out over Mordor, what Sean and Elijah were actually looking at was a ski resort with cabins and a ski lift. "The one place in all Middle-Earth we don't want to see," indeed! XD

[kimium]

My friend @m34gs asked me in her reply to my ask (this post) about what my Top Five Favourite Link Click moments are. I decided to answer in my own post though I recommend you read my friend's answers too! Just be wary of spoilers for both her answers and mine!

Anyways, here are my Top Five Favourite Moments in Link Click. I'm listing them in order with one being my most favourite moment. I'll also not include the OP or ED in this list. Just know that VORTEX slaps and is one of my favourite OPs of all time.

5. Li Tianchen discovering his neighbour was one of the gossipers regarding his mother and father's marriage

First, the visual set up of the scene is utterly beautiful. The saturated colours in the evening sky, the mostly flat colours on the characters with only dark shadows and white highlights, and the obscuring of the photo. All these elements help build and add to the slow suspense building in the background.

I am also in love with the framing of the reveal. I adore how the audience doesn't see the photo as Li Tianchen looks at it. All we see is his reaction: how mostly silent contemplation morphs into despair, sorrow, anger, frustration, etc. His twisted laughter is utterly heartbreaking and horrific. Allowing the audience wallow in it for just a few moments before showing the photo was a brilliant move on the creative team's part.

Next, we have the music that gradually swells as Li Tianchen's world view is completely shattered with the reveal of the photo. It's a score that perfectly encapsulates the inner turmoil of Li Tianchen as he's pushed to his breaking point and makes the choice that ultimately secures his destiny.

All these elements make for a scene that's so potent and visceral that it permanently lives rent free in my mind.

4. When Li Tianxi and Li Tianchen's running is paralleled at the end of S2

This is another scene that I adore due to the visual elements and symbolism. If there is one element in story telling that I'm weak for it's parallels between characters. In this case, it's the parallels with Li Tianxi and Li Tianchen running away.

My heart utterly aches at how in this scene it's clear they're still the suffering, scared little children we met when Cheng Xiaoshi dove into the photo. All the layers around them break down and we see their core as they run. Li Tianxi runs because she's scared and saddened by her brother's actions in regards to Chen Bin. Li Tianchen runs because his entire world has once again shattered before his eyes. The sister he loved and vowed to his mother he'd protect is dead.

Watching both of them running away crying breaks my heart every time I watch the scene. How I long for both of them to return to their halcyon days where their parents were alive and there was no sorrow in their family.

3. Cheng Xiaoshi's plan to trap Liu Min in the dark room is executed

Time for a bit more of an uplifting scene: Cheng Xiaoshi luring and beating up Liu Min in the darkroom! This scene is so cathartic to watch as the boys finally give Liu Min what he had coming: justice. It's even better when they're using their abilities (time travel) to keep the upper hand while confusing the hell out of Liu Min (and Li Tianchen). It's also a well thought out plan with more than just "use my ability to win". I loved the subtle psychological game played with the photos in the dark room too.

2. Cheng Xiaoshi on the receiving end of his Dumbass Nature

Just like my friend, this scene is in second place. It's too good to not mention! Nothing is funnier than witnessing Cheng Xiaoshi go "Look at me for doing a good job and saving Lu Guang... oh no who is that dumb ass and what is he doing?" only to go a second later "WAIT. That's ME. I'm the dumb ass!!!" Cheng Xiaoshi finally got a taste of what Lu Guang has dealt with for majority of the series and the expression he makes is priceless.

The big reveal at the end of S2

Honourable mentions: Li Tianchen revealing he was impersonating his sister, Cheng Xiaoshi as Doudou uppercuts the woman who kidnapped him, and Xiao Li every time he's exhausted because "I guess time travel exists".

Before this reveal I was already extremely invested in Link Click. I love time travel and watching series explore the concept. What do I love just as much as time travel? Time Loops. I eat that concept up all the time.

So, watching the end scene slowly pan out to Lu Guang's perspective and reveal to the audience that yes, this has a time loop made me want to scream aloud. It's even better because this time loop is a Tragic Doomed Gay People one. When a time loop is all about saving the ones you love, that makes it even better.

However, what truly solidified this scene in my brain were all the little clues leading up to it. First, and most obvious, was the password on Lu Guang's phone that Cheng Xiaoshi put in to unlock it. The reference to the time on Lu Guang's phone before he time travelled to save Cheng Xiaoshi (again??) is amazing.

But, that's not the end of it. Oh no, it's the fact that I read a meta post about how the photo in the hospital was not meant for Cheng Xiaoshi from the start. The breakdown of evidence pointing out that 1) Lu Guang hid the phone in an obscure place, clearly not wanting ANYONE to find it and 2) That he doesn't know Cheng Xiaoshi knows his password really hit me hard. The level of detail and attention put in this series is truly amazing. Realizing the seeds of foreshadowing were present the entire time makes me want to not only rewatch the series but also show it to all my friends.

And there you go! I hope you like my top five favourite scenes in Link Click, friend! Let me know what you think!

[silverskye13]

can i ask how you get the motivation to write? ive been writing for most of my life but i have such a hard time sticking with it

Honestly it just comes from the overwhelming desire to create. In a perfect world, I would rather animate or make comics, but my life is short on time, so I write instead. I can take my fic with me everywhere, squeezing in writing time while in lines or alone in the office or whatever. It's versatile.

For long projects specifically, it helps to have a plan. You don't have to outline everything [though I know people who do that]. Knowing you have a premise and a major climax somewhere is sufficient. The premise is interesting to you, the major climax is the very cool finish line you want to cross. Setting that goal of "write until you write the thing you desperately want to write" keeps me going. It's why I write chronologically instead of cherry picking scenes I have ideas for and then filling in the blanks later. I treat those scenes like they're dessert. You want it? Work for it :3 not to say cherry picking is a bad thing. I know plenty of people it works for. I just know myself, and if I give myself the fun payoff when I want it, I won't slog through the rest.

In the shorter term other things that help:

Making music playlists or mood boards or whatever. Give your brain a reason to keep picking at the story outside of the story context. Make it fun to work on. Don't feel like writing but don't want to forget you have a project? Add songs to the playlist, look up photos for setting inspiration, make a Tumblr tag for quotes. It has the added bonus of helping your story along, and giving you a reason to make the world and characters better.

Don't be afraid to drop it. Like, seriously. I know this whole post is about motivation, but nothing kills a project more than getting insanely guilty about said project. You're allowed to take days, weeks, months, years to rest on a project. Just because you put it down doesn't mean it'll stay down, and agonizing over putting it down will just ensure it's harder to pick up again. If you're staring at a project and you would rather do literally anything but work on it, don't work on it.

Uhm, counter to that, if it's been awhile and you're scared to start again? Just write gibberish. I have a section on every large document called "cut pieces" where I slam out the most dogshit writing and after I get warmed up, I cut it and put it at the bottom of the doc. For two reasons. The first being you've got the swing of things so you can get rid of all the practice you did getting to that point. The second being it might not be as bad as you think it is. Someday you're gonna remember that dialogue, and you're going to want to salvage it.

Keep aids handy! Especially for things that bring you trouble. For me it's descriptions. I love descriptions, but I often have trouble thinking up good ones or I have something specific in mind I can't nail down, or I've been staring at a wall for an hour trying to think of a good way to describe clouds and I can't. So I keep a description document, full of descriptions from books I've read or previous ones I've written, that I can use as a jumping off point. It speeds things up, keeps me from dithering on something stupid, and sometimes someone already described the perfect cloud, yanno? [As before so again, if anyone wants my description document, feel free to ask. It's massive and it's organized.]

Never stop at the end of a chapter. Well, you can stop at the end of a chapter sometimes it's 2am and you just wanna write [Chapter 11] on the header and go to bed. But normally I like to keep writing a few more paragraphs? So when I start [Chapter 11] I'm not staring at a blank page. Blank pages will always win a staring context. Put an I there so it blinks instead.

Change your document color. Like the paper color? White is so mean sometimes. My screen is black with white text. Other writers I know swear by lavender or green. White is just so hard to break man there's just something about it.

Last one but, keep reading. Like, why do you want to write? Because you want to tell a story sure, but why do you want to tell a story? Well, probably because you read a good one somewhere, and you want to give other people that "I read a good story" feeling. So keep reading. One of the most motivating things you can do is remind yourself why you're slaving over a hot keyboard.

.... And this got very long sorry :'D

Hope this? Helps?

[gburph]

Lokius writing prompts 2

Recently I don't have anything to do at my job during the night so I sit and think of the Lokius writing prompts. This is why I created the second part of the list. First part is here and third part here. If anyone uses them, please let me know. I want to read it.

1 - After the end of Loki season 2, Mobius as a reward takes Loki to the Endgame scene where Dr Strange gives Thanos the time stone. They stop Thanos and meet the Avengers and Guardians. Together with Dr Strange, they all head to Earth to fight the Chitauri. You can use only the first part of the prompt or, if you wish, you can write my full vision for this scene:

As the stone flies to Thanos, Loki's hand appears out of nowhere and grabs the stone. The rest of Loki then appears and uses the stone to freeze Thanos' hand, the one with the gauntlet. Loki then scolds Doctor Strange for trying to give the stone to the Mad Titan. Loki continues to introduce himself in his usual style (with glorious purpose and all), but adds his variant number and copies the judgement scene from Loki. He lists Thanos' crimes (both serious and not, such as being annoying, perhaps adding a few crimes against himself) and asks how Thanos pleads. Thanos says he has no right to judge him, but Loki says this right was given to him by the TVA represented by his friend Mobius here. He points at him and, for the first time, all the people present notice Mobius standing in the back. Loki then passes judgment (he can use the stone to destroy Thanos). Later he, Mobius and the confused Avengers and Guardians talk; Dr Strange teleports them all to Wakanda to fight the Chitauri, and after the fight Loki and Mobius meet Thor. Thor may be pleased that Loki made a friend or be suspicious or even hostile as he worries after losing Loki from his timeline. The second and third options could be an opportunity for Loki to protect Mobius from Thor with magic or words. And also Mobius can defend Loki when someone tries to insult him.

(EDIT to prompt 1: you can add the fact that apparently Loki is going to be a god of stories)

2 - Tony Stark accidentally finds an old photo of Loki with an unknown gentleman from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Trying to find any information about the mysterious gentleman, Tony finds a man who looks exactly like the man from the fair living in modern times. He is a divorced 50-year-old jet-ski salesman. Tony decides to meet the man and talk to him.

3 - After the destruction of the TVA, Mobius is transported to New York in 2012 during a battle. Mobius realises that he woke up there because it was the moment of his Nexus Event (but now the TVA won't capture him for any changes). He decides to stop Loki and to do so he finds Thor and convinces him to hit Loki very hard on the head to stop the mind control. They manage to wake Loki from the mind control, but: A - This Loki is the one from the TVA, but when his mind was transferred to a past body, he was again influenced by Mind Stone. B - This is the Loki of that time and he doesn't know Mobius, but after getting to know him better he can't help but also like Mobius. Especially since he is the only person who believes in him and tries to help him (TVA Loki can be either dead or lost and later found)

4 - Loki resides in Asgard impersonating Odin. As we know, he was mainly concerned with the development of culture (mainly theatre). One day he is shocked when he meets a strange mortal (as if mortals in Asgard weren't strange enough) who tries to convince Loki that danger is coming and Loki should prepare all of Asgard for an invasion (TVA Loki has died and now Mobius is trying to save this Loki from Hela and Thanos).

Bonus points if in post season 2 canon complaint stories every member of TVA hates spaghetti with burning passion.

More bonus points for Loki's interactions with various members of the Avengers, Guardians, SHIELD, etc.

Even more bonus points for Lokius slow burn.

Tell me what you think of my ideas!

[rifki16]

Tadaima, Okaeri Episode Eight Recap :)

Photo Credit: Tadaima, Okaeri Promotional Twitter Account

I think the episode managed to bring all of the existing subplots to a satisfying ending. I don't have anything that I'd like to deeply analyze from the episode. However, I want to bring up three interesting subplots.

[Cont.] Can You Really Escape the Cycle?

In the last episode, as I also have noted in my recap article, Masaki was soothed by Hiromu on his worry that he might not have grown and escaped from the cycle of having a problem and needing to flee away from said problems. The way Hiromu soothed his husband was by reminding Masaki of all the things that made him smiled every time he fell – and be caught by Hiro-san afterward. From that point, Masaki usually has the standing to get back up, be braver, and face the problems head-on again.

My problem with that narrative was whether the behaviour was a manifestation of co-dependency or not. Or maybe, I’m the one who has the hyper-/toxic-independence mindset – as my psychologist and I were doing works on that.

As Masaki and his family headed back to his uncle’s inn, Masaki and his husband got a chance to be alone – *cue the sexy music*. Masaki then said:

“All the things, I never thought would happen when I got together with you, are becoming a reality…, it’s a strange feeling”

Hiromu then answered:

“It’s because you worked so hard”

I know that the context of things in the conversation is not Masaki’s state of mental health. However, I think it’s a good acknowledgment of Masaki’s work. I think it’s a good sign that Masaki and Hiromu are helping each other becoming better people. I hope that Hikari and Hinata can take pride and example of their parents.

To resent or to let go

Just as Masaki and his family arrived at his uncle’s inn, Kazuhiko arrived at the inn as he was invited by his father to meet, officially I suppose, Masaki’s new family as well as straightening out the kerfuffle he made with them. As they were having polite chit-chat in the living room, Hikari suggested to the group that they went outside to see the beautiful leaves – I suppose they set the episode in autumn. However, Hiromu decided not to go out, because it was time for Hinata to take an afternoon nap, and hence He and his daughter preferred to sit near the window as they watched Hiromu’s uncle-in-law, Hikari, Masaki, and Kazuhiko raking leaves.

However, Kazuhiko decided to talk to Hiromu privately before heading outside and helped out raking leaves. Kazuhiko brought a photo album with him as he approached and tried to talk with Hiromu. Side note: his uncle, Kazuhiko, and even Hiromu all pointed out that Hinata really looks like Masaki when he was little, it’s so cute.

They then talked about how it was like when Masaki was a kid, and how he behave during family reunions, just like the one they were having in the episode. Yea, it’s a little bit of a flashback to one of the themes I brought up in episode six or five; Masaki was a sick boy, and he couldn’t really participate playing in the yard with the other cousins.

I know that the scene-setting paragraphs are a little bit long, but we’re now at the reason I’m talking about this theme. Kazuhiko, out of nowhere, asked Hiromu:

“How did you feel about coming here, sir?”

Hiromu then answered:

“This is where Masaki grew up, but it’s also a source of great pain for him”.

Kazuhiko: “I do feel sorry for lecturing you the way I did, but while things may be better on the surface, the fundamental problems remain.”

[…]

Hiromu: “You could say the same things about him being with me. You were right that he [has] suffered a lot because of me, too. Don’t get the wrong idea. We’re not trying to hold grudges about the past. We’re trying to protect those we care about in the present. That’s all. We understand that you have things you won’t compromise on. So[,] we don’t want apologies. Not from you, [or] your father”.

I think it was beautiful to watch the couple, through Hiromu, was trying to move on from the problems of Masaki’s unaccepting family. I think it’s a problem that I, and many ambitious and high-achieving people, have been suffering. It’s very hard to see imperfections, and go along with what is happening and what works. I don’t know exactly how Hiromu and Masaki could eventually adopt this perspective, but I do hope that it can be explained in future. I mean, I have countless sessions with my psychologist, and numerous supposed mental-health experts’ shorts on Instagram and YouTube, yet, it’s so hard for me to let go, especially letting go my idealistic perspectives on any events, and trying to mould any phenomena into what is supposed to be. Perhaps, it is simply because that I have been raised this way which makes it extremely difficult to adopt the letting go attitude.

Parenting 101 with Hiromu

I think Hiromu was getting his fair share of the limelight in this episode. We usually only get to see Masaki most of the times, so I’m happy to see him more in this episodes, and I hope we will see him more in future episodes.

The happy family got a new neighbour, and this lovely new neighbour of an all-female couple owns a dog named Ran-kun. Hikari loves Ran-kun so much as he kept giving his own hand-written letters to Ran every day. However, Hikari was afraid of Ran because Ran was bigger compared to his tiny body. The episode started with Hika-chan being unable to give the letter himself because he was still afraid of the dog. Afterwards, he became quite sterned and looked quite pensive because of what just had happened in the day. Hiromu just arrived home, and he tried to soothe his first-born about his fear of the big dog.

Hiromu, after meandering on about what he feared, asked Hikari why he was afraid of Ran-kun. Hikari said that he was just simply scared of, proportionally, large dogs. Hiromu then answered with the most beautiful answer:

“I don’t think it’s bad or uncool to be scared of things”.

I mean, positive masculinity for the win, I suppose. Hiromu then tried to explain logically to Hikari why, even though Ran-kun is large compared to him, Ran-kun is not a threat or something to be afraid of, after telling Hikari all the good things he could do if he had overcome his fear of Ran-kun. The next day, even though that Hikari was afraid of Ran-kun so much, he managed to pet and even slept next to Ran-kun.

I think it’s a good way of unpacking and taking steps in facing your fears. I’m not a psychologist, however, I think it’s a good perspective in not making fears or worries as something that we avoid outright, but something that we as humans naturally feel, and we as humans have a choice in how we can, healthily, face these fears. I hope that my first encounter with one of my fears could go as well as what Hikari was experiencing, I’m so happy of him and proud of Hiromu. I mean, maybe, had things been different in how I processed my first fear, I suppose I could have handled my worries better now at this stage of my life. It’s a lot of work, but I know that rewiring a lot of horrible imbedded perspectives is doable and something that I know deserves to happen to me.

Watch the episode yall, it’s a very good episode.

[iam93percentstardust]

✨new fic for bestie's (@therollingstonys) birthday! ✨ ft omegaverse, past hammer/tony, and my current favorite trope: pop star tony! with a bonus excerpt below :)

can be found here (must have an ao3 account to read)

~

During Steve’s final year at NYU, he finally let his Ma talk him into staying in the dorms instead of using his New Yorker privilege to stay with her. It had turned out to be an absolute mistake. Steve had despised his roommate, who was another alpha like him but apparently hadn’t been taught manners by their parents like Steve had. They were incapable of any volume other than loud even in the middle of the night, always left their room trashed, and brought so many dates back to their dorm room that he had still spent more time back at his Ma’s than he had in his actual dorm. By the end of the year, Steve had been firmly adamant that he would never, not in a million years, ever have a roommate again.

This was, of course, before he’d wound up with his dream job as an animator for Disney, packed himself up and moved to Los Angeles, and discovered that principles were all very well and good but having enough money to eat instead of giving it all to his rent was better.

So now he has Justin.

And while Justin is irritating in ways that have nothing to do with his beta designation—there are already too many tech startups in the world, and Steve doesn’t even know what Justin is doing in L.A. and not, you know, Silicon Valley—and a social climber—if Steve never has to hear one more “that time I met Insert-Celebrity’s-Name-Here” story, it’ll be too soon—and just generally incompetent—they’ve received two noise violations already for explosions that Justin’s “tech” has set off—he isn’t actually that bad of a roommate. Sure, he’s not fantastic, but he doesn’t try to posture with Steve in the apartment (which would be ineffective anyway since Steve is very much an alpha and Justin is, despite his best efforts, very much not), he does generally pick up after himself, and he never brings people back (though Steve isn’t entirely convinced that’s not because he doesn’t want them to see where he actually lives instead of out of any sense of courtesy). Anytime he goes somewhere fancy for a business meeting, he brings back food for Steve, and he even offered Steve the nicer of the two bedrooms because he thought Steve would appreciate the greater amount of natural light (though again, Steve isn’t sure how much of that is altruism and not just that Justin isn’t a morning person).

Truthfully, right up until Justin’s birthday party, Steve might have even said that Justin was a pretty good person.

Up until about a week ago, Justin had been dating… some celebrity omega. Steve is pretty sure that it had come up at some point, and considering his excitement over it, there are probably pap photos of them somewhere, but he tends to tune out all of Justin’s celebrity stories, pretty sure that most of them are fake. There’s only so many times Justin can say that he’d been invited backstage at every Beyoncé concert he’s ever been to before Steve stops believing them. Last week though, Justin’s celebrity boyfriend had broken up with him, citing reasons of Justin being a tool (which, not gonna lie, had made Steve snicker a bit), and he’s been on the warpath ever since.

“Steve! My man! My best friend!” Justin exclaims, leaning up against the doorframe of Steve’s bedroom.

“Nope,” Steve says immediately. It’s not that he has anything against Justin. It’s just that this is the first time he’s been home in forty-eight hours. They’re coming up on the last days before finished scenes need to be turned in, which means that it’s all hands on deck at the studio. Most of the animators who don’t have families have spent the entire time at their desk, and even the ones that do have gone home, given their kids kisses goodnight, and turned right back around. He’s looking forward to sleeping for thirteen straight hours, and Justin’s birthday doesn’t factor even the slightest bit into his plans.

“But you have to come,” Justin whines. “I’ve been telling everyone all about you—” which means he’s been playing up Steve’s job to make him sound like he’s a bigger deal than he is—“and they’re all so excited! Come on, it’s my birthday!”

Steve is, unfortunately, a fundamentally decent person, so he sighs, says goodbye to his thirteen hours of sleep, and goes out to join the party. And despite his exhaustion, it’s not even that bad of a party until someone asks Justin about his celebrity boyfriend—Tony Stark, and how could Steve have forgotten that? Everyone knows who Tony Stark is. He knows who Tony Stark is, and he doesn’t know anyone despite working in the entertainment industry.

“That cheapskate broke up with me,” Justin seethes. “I mentioned it was my birthday once, and he broke up with me instead of spending even a few dollars on a present for me.” Knowing Justin, it was probably more than once and it was probably a completely outrageous present that even the world’s biggest pop star would struggle to afford, because Justin is that kind of irritating, but Steve keeps his mouth shut.

“It’s a shame you don’t have his nudes or something,” the girl who’d brought Tony up says.

Justin blinks at her before a slow smile spreads across his face. “But I do have them. He made me delete them when we broke up but I had a copy saved in a different folder on my phone.”

“Really?” the girl asks interestedly. “You know, he’s never done a nude photoshoot.”

“Yeah, none of his other partners have ever released anything like that,” someone else chimes in. Steve shifts uncomfortably. He doesn’t like the direction this is going, but there’s something niggling in the back of his mind, telling him to stick around. “Super weird since he’s dated so many people.”

“You could totally sell them,” the first girl says, warming to her theme. “You’d probably make like a ton of money off of them.”

“I could make some money off of them,” Justin says thoughtfully. “And it would get Hammer Industries’ name out there.”

“But that’s revenge porn.”

[undreaming-fanfiction]

Home sweet home

This is a set of scenes that lives rent free in my head. I am writing a fanfic/study/whatever, just a longer text about this, but as for now, let me share!

Steve's parents fuck off for good when Hawkins falls apart and leave Steve the house, probably because it wouldn't sell well with a garden in two pieces, thank you earthquake. Steve feels torn about it and gets drunk with his metalhead boyfriend, admitting that he wants to sell the house, the sooner the better, all the shitty memories and that. Unbeknownst to Steve, Eddie makes a few phone calls and the next morning, Robin, Nancy, Jonathan and Argyle rush in with boxes and trash bags and get to cleaning out the Harrington residence.

None of them talk about his parents and their departure, but Steve can feel that they're pissed off on his behalf, from the way that the level-headed and careful Nancy "accidentally" destroys his mother's treasured perfume collection, that Robin creates a huge yard sale sign that says "YOUR DREAMS CAME TRUE, THEY MOVED AWAY! EVERYTHING HAS TO GO!" and stabs it into the front lawn for all the neighbors to see. Argyle raids his mother's kitchen and bakes them all pizzas when they get hungry, then smokes a joint on the pristine carpet and when Steve remarks his mother would have hated that, he just smiles at him, blissed out, and mutters "good!" Jonathan visits his room to drop off some more boxes and freezes in the doorway. "That's one hideous wallpaper" he says and Steve just laughs because yeah, it is hideous and he's so glad he's leaving. Eddie helps Steve pack his room and gets ready to move him to his trailer until the house is sold, "seriously, Steve, this house is like a mausoleum, tomorrow you're coming with me and that's final." A concerned neighbor probably calls the Hawkins PD that some punks are trashing the Harrington property and when Hopper shows up to check what's going on, he just chuckles and remarks that Joyce keeps talking about getting better curtains, so if those go in the yard sale, he asked first, yeah?

In the evening, they are all tired, but they crash in the halfway packed living room and giggle at the stupid shit they found in the Harrington household. An idea flashes in Steve's head and he drags all of them upstairs, ransacking his father's office. Nothing important there, just a magnificent room to represent a shallow human being. They raid his alcohol stash and bring all the loot downstairs, taking one of Mr. Harrington's most prized trophies as an ashtray. On their way downstairs, Nancy stops and stares at the framed family pictures on the staircase. A perfect family, a successful man, a devoted wife and their son with so much potential. All of it lies. "Do you want to keep any of these?" she asks and when he shakes his head, she nods and takes them all down. While the rest of them discuss which bottle they should open first, Nancy comes back with an innocent smile, the photos and duct tape in one hand, a set of darts from Mr. Harrington's office in the other one. They end up playing darts in the living room, doing shots every time someone hit Mr. Harrington's face, spilling some alcohol on the carpet and overall desecrating the image of perfection and cleanliness Steve's parents cultivated for decades. There are still many pictures left and Nancy suggests that they could take them to her improvised shooting range for a celebration when the house sells. "Shooting at bottles gets boring after a while," she grins and slumps against Robin who is removing the latest photo target, Mrs. Harrington, and hums Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.

The morning finds all of them very hungover, munching on the leftover pizza and cleaning the place before they have to go to their respective homes, families and jobs. Robin is hugging a broom like a lover and swears she's never, ever drinking again. Nancy falls asleep standing next to the coffee machine before Jonathan peels her off the counter and accidentally pours baking soda in his coffee instead of sugar. Argyle and Eddie are mostly fine, chatting and covering holes from the less lucky dart throws. And Steve just stands there, between boxes and trash bags, watches them all, his friends, his boyfriend, and finally feels like his life might be beginning.