#gradient map city over here

[zytes]

plagiarize, replicate, amalgamate, adjust

[stargazinglesbian]

HEY wanna hear my insane derranged ramblings abt my ocs???? YOU DO??????? well, its below the cut so u know what 2 do

{divider credits here}

{picrew credits here}

ok so, im gonna skip over the worldbuilding (because i... haven't done it) but i have some basics mapped out and my ocs. it's a self contained superhero universe, but slightly more magic than sci-fi. the basic concept is that there is, like, magic called arcana, and it sometimes affects humans and gives them powers. they've been around for AGES, for a while everyone like really loved em, and then a bunch were killed off, and now in the modern day (by modern day i mean 2019, don't ask why) theyre still pretty oppressed, but there aren't as many super blatant laws affecting them, and people r starting to respect them a lot more and treat them normally.

arcana doesn't just give humans powers, but also affects them physically. this is basically just because the arcana changes peoples body as a way to make channeling their powers easier, so their physical changes and powers are often interlinked. for example, if someone had powers over water, theyre probably like. a fish.

i have 8 ocs in this universe, all apart of the same superhero idea. they operate out of a city that i'm still figuring out the lore of, but the basic idea of it is that it's a fairly progressive area with a government that has made a tentative agreement with the team to let them operate within the city.

SO, now onto the ocs!!! i'll just be saying their names (both hero and civillian), pronouns, age, explaining their powers and showing a picrew i did of them, but i do have a lot more details worked out :333

the characters are a lot more inhuman, but the picrew didn't have all of the stuff i needed, soooo you'll have to use ur imagination a little

Bianca Madeline Moore, she/her, 25

hero name: Circe

Bianca can channel arcana physically, which takes the form of a pink glow/beam around her body. When normal humans encounter this glow their bodies can't take the energy, and they become incredibly weak, feverish and ill. When other magic people (i need to come up with an official name for them thats so lame) come into contact with it they basically get a power up, and she uses it a lot during missions to either help or friends or blast rubble out of the way.

physically, Bianca is also, like, a cat. cat ears, cat nose, cat eyes, cat tail, the whole shebang. in universe this is because cats are more susceptible to arcana than normal humans, thus making it easier to control her powers if she's part cat. personally, i just wanted her to be a catgirl. what can i say, i'm a simple person.

2. Ajamukhi Kumar, she/her, 24

no hero name, she has a very public identity and only goes by Ajamukhi

Ajamukhi probably has my favourite power out of all the ones i came up with, i think its really versatile! the basic run down of it is she has shadow manipulation, she can move em around, grab people with em, you know the deal, but she uses it in a lot of unconventional ways. For example, if she's standing in a dark building, she can use her shadows to figure out where literally all the hallways are, and where certain objects are too. She can also use it for stealth as well, obviously.

the way that this physically affects her is basically a shadowy gradient, from the elbow and knee down her limbs become made of this shadow esque substance, which she can also manipulate with her powers. she commonly turns these into weapons, or tools she may need, but theyre also still apart of her body and can in fact get damaged, although they tend to heal faster than the rest of her.

3. Danielle Esther Rose, she/they, 28

hero name: The Shatter (but everyone just calls them 'shatter' :((()

danielles abilities are pretty basic- she has the power of illusions, and they're also invisible. Her illusions themselves are slightly complex, for example they only target the brains of people around them, and they don't show up on camera. if they focus hard enough, they can make sure only specific people are being targeted by her abilities, but that takes a lot of effort.

mini rant incoming but i hate the trope of invisible character loves to be naked all the time, its weird and gross and bad. danielle loves dressing up and wearing gloves and hats so their friends always know where they are (may or may not have anything to do with their intense abandoment and neglect issues).

anyway, rant over, when danielle wants to go out in public without being clocked as 'the invisible hero' they project an illusion form onto themself. most of the time illusions like that would be more complex and straining for her, but because even though theyre invisible she's still, physically, there, it's more like painting a 3d model than sculpting from scratch, and it's a bit easier on them. they base the illusion on their parents, so she ends up looking eerily similar to their mother when they stand side by side. Most of the time, they're fully invisible though.

(picrew showing her projected illusion form)

4. Josephine Chanel (soon to be Weber, she's engaged), she/her, 25

hero name: Photon

Josephine has super speed, but with some of my own (as well as my friends) flair. She can move incredibly fast, which is basically a prerequisite for super speed, but can't really... control it, if that makes sense. my friend (@opticblast1963) and i were talking about how in movies and comics and shows they always portray superspeed as slowing the world around them, while they walk normally, and we agreed it would be funny to have a speedster who didnt do that. so, Josephine basically runs super fucking fast, and she can barely control it, because she is also processing everything at the same speed everyone else is. she doesnt tend to use her ability to its fullest for this reason, as well as it contributing to how awkward she often feels.

she has long as fuck legs, like theyre massive, as well as super large feet. Josephine is fairly insecure about this- she often feels awkward, and weird, and ashamed, but her friends are really good at helping her feel more confident.

5. Qī Wěi Zé, they/it, 19

hero name: Hubba Bubba

Wěi Zé is another one of my favourite powers, and one i like actually want irl. they can basically generate gum. that's it. it's more useful than u think i promise. Wěi Zé can basically create like a fuckton of gum whenever it wants, and they often use that to capture villains, stick shit together, or like create massive bubbles that can be used for a lot of stuff. its stupid, but i love it.

also, the gum is grape flavoured

Physically, they don't have any bones. no teeth, no ribs, no spine, no nothing, theyre replaced by this weird, pliable material (except for teeth, theyre just gone). they're like double jointed and can basically move ina bunch of weird freaky ways, which does cause it mobility issues. it's mostly been ok with handwaving these for most of their life, but when they met Bianca the two had a more in depth conversation about mobility aids, and it's started using crutches when they need them. they also often wear dentures, but not always

6. Talia Sami, she/her, 26

hero name: Boombox

I also really love talias power, as well as talia in general. she can basically make anything she touches instantly combustible and blow it sky high. she generally uses this for diversions or break ins, and tends to be really cagey when it comes to actual fights, mostly because she gets freaked at the idea of what her powers could do to a person (which relates to some other stuff i'm still workin out)

she's also always on fire. well, not always. Talias body temperature runs incredibly hot, her skin can actually burn people sometimes, and it's generally affected by her emotions. when she's particularly emotional, whether that be because she's happy, or angry, or miserable, she literally catches on fire. not in a dramatic, big bang way, but in a 'her whole skin is covered in a layer of flames' kind of way. before she joined up with the team clothing was a massive problem for her, she often had to try and restrain her emotions as much as possible, but Danielle helped her design some clothes that were flame retardant, and she's started being freer when it comes to expressing herself.

7. Joseph Borden, he/him, 42

hero name: Goliath

Joseph has psychometry, which in case youre not familiar is the ability to read somethings past/history via touch. his in particular is a bit more advanced, where if an object has a particular emotional connection to a person he can also read into them specifically, even stuff that happened since they parted with the object. if the connection is strong enough and he works on it for long enough he can pinpoint a persons location

just like how Bianca is a cat, Joseph is basically a frog. i thought this would be an interesting one because of the way frogs absorb water through their skin, like how josephs psychometry works. it doesn't go much deeper than that, but he does have a cool tongue and no one likes to watch him when he eats bc of how weird his eyeballs look when he swallows.

8. Hail Valentine, she/he, 22

hero name: Sublimation

hails is definittely the power i have trouble explaining the most. she was the last one i came up with, and it took me ages but i finally figured it out when one my friends made a joke abt walking on water. the best way i can describe it is that he can make the choice to interact with the world in anyway she wants regardless of the state of matter. thats a bad explanation. i'll just gives some examples. Hail can move through water and walls effortlessly as though they were made up of gas, or walk on water or through the air, stuff like that. he basically just makes the rules. this does mean that she has a harder time interacting with individual objects like chairs, and sometimes even food, but it's really useful for missions.

her physical powers are pretty simple, he basically just kind of changes state of matter sometimes. not fully, but her skin will be dripping or melting, or maybe his hair will be barely there, or on bad days his entire face would just be gas. it varies, but she's basically never solid.

Also, some more information relationships wise- Bianca and Ajamukhi are a couple, although it takes them a while to get there. Josephine and Bianca used to be in love with each other when they were 15, but now Josie is engaged to a guy named Lucas and they' really happy. Wěi Zé has a boyfriend named Ethan as well.

Wěi Zé and Bianca are really close. Wěi Zé likes to make jokes abt their similarities (eg haircuts, mobility aids, etc) and its a kind of sibling esque relationship (which brings in more angst when it comes to Bianca and her older brother Ciro, who i am resolutely NOT talking abt in this post because its already massive)

Josephine and Bianca are best friends, and Talia, Hail, and Danielle are pretty close knit as well.

and josephs relationship with everyone is. weird. he's weird.

rank wise josephine is the leader, joseph tends to handle detective work, danielle likes to hang in the lab more often, and hail and ajamukhi are often put in charge of stealth missions. the others fluctuate fairly often in their roles.

thats all i have for today, but please if you're interested in these guys shoot me an ask i want to ramble sooooooooooooooooooo much its not even funny. im obsessed with them. i cant stop thinking about them. i am going to implode.

im gonna be tagging all my content abt them with av btw:33

@punkeropercyjackson it is a LONG ASS POST feel free to not read the whole thing, but heres the tag you asked for :33

[felassan]

Let's talk about these new images & the new/clearer looks at images from the Dragon Age Vinyl. (first, read this post hhhh). under a cut for length.

These resemble the map of the Fade in DA:O.

This one with the eluvian is labelled as the "Black City" side of the flip mat merch item. behind the eluvian is a flower-like pattern. and this is the first time I remember [? could be wrong] seeing the 'roots' of the 'tree statue' structures. from root, to trunk, to branches. [interestingly with root and branches looking like veins, lyrium veins, Titan veins..]. an eluvian shattering in the context of the "Black City" - again the splattering, the shattering..

and I looked up and saw the seven gates of the Black City shatter, and darkness cloaked both realms.

were/are the seven "gates" eluvians? ^^ they are portals and a gate is type of portal.

On the left here is Grey Warden imagery - griffon, sword, Joining Chalice with darkspawn blood drop.

I can't make out the two middle images - is anyone skilled with image manipulation able to unskew them?

On the right here, the four circles pattern looks similar to the pattern on Solas' Hermit Tarot card. and in the middle is the sense once again of an eclipse - in the very center, a sun-like shape/representation of the sun. and behind that, two overlapping spheres/two shadowed spheres.

Codex entry: Old Elven Writing

This elven writing found in the Arbor Wilds is so old as to be incomprehensible. There are whispers from the Well of Sorrows. It's impossible to understand the entire text, but certain parts suddenly reveal a shadow of their original meaning. "In this place we prepare to hunt the pillars of the earth. Their workers scurry, witless, soulless. This death will be a mercy. We will make the earth blossom with their passing." For one moment there is a vivid image of two overlapping spheres; unknown flowers bloom inside their centers. Then it fades.

And here is our first clear look at the Black City version of the art. we can now make out details in it that we couldn't the other day. the 'feel' of the image is that the sunrays emanating from the dragon/just behind the dragon cause/caused the now-Black City to destabilize and crumble. the wings and foliage also have a color gradient. at the bottom, gnarled and blackened, where the rot set in and is spreading. it spreads upwards to marr the little amount of gold that there is left, killing the foliage in the process.

but the main new exciting detail here is the heads held in the wings. there are 6 of them and they have elven ears. on their helms are the 'Evanuris headpiece/symbols'. seen from different angles in some, but it's these symbols nonetheless. you can match them up, like so:

After matching up the heads to these symbols, only the central one, the biggest one, is left out. and as you can see, what does match that is the Black City dragon's horns (recall they or the dragon itself changes from the Golden City version of the art to this one) and the staff of the figure facing the dragon in the Golden City version of the art.

close up of that figure shows they have pointed elven ears.

here's an Elgar'nan asset from DA:O. compare the horns with the staff top, the Black City dragon horns and the symbol in the biggest semicircle.

I still speculate that the figure and therefore the second 'Black City' dragon is Elgar'nan (with the first dragon being Mythal). opposite Mythal, he's the leader of the gods, the Zeus. that semicircle and symbol is the biggest. There isn't another big one because Mythal was murdered, and of course there isn't a ninth because that's Fen'Harel. I wrote in my last post on this,

left, silvery dragon - Mythal? right dragon (which is gold-toned despite the blackening) - Elgar'nan, after he’s approached her [maybe as the figure on the rock promontory] and then murdered her and taken her place as the god, ruler, dragon who presides over all? moon and sun, moon dragon and sun dragon, beauty and destruction.. the shape of the 'right-hand’ dragon’s horns match the evanuris headpiece on the ring which is in the biggest hemisphere, and of the 7 gods those headpieces apply to (9 Evanuris, minus Mythal and Fen'Harel), the 'biggest’ naturally is the patriarch leader opposite Mythal, Elgar'nan.

husbands killing, betraying or doing acts of violence against their wives is unfortunately not a rare thing. and in the lore this has happened before. Andraste (with her Mythal-like crown..) was betrayed by Maferath. Conobar betrayed Flemeth, the human woman whom the spark of Mythal - betrayed herself by other Evanuris - crawled to. the spark of Mythal "clawed and crawled through the ages" to Flemeth when Flemeth cried out for help. there is a reason Flemeth is the vessel the spark of Mythal joined with, their stories are similar. Dalish lore and the memories of ancient elven lore we see in DA:I sometimes show that Mythal sometimes had to temper Elgar'nan's fury or defuse situations involving him. of course, just because Elgar'nan was the main culprit of Mythal's death didn't mean that he did it alone or acted alone. other Evanuris were involved. Solas says "and in their lust for power they killed her". in their lust for power, the City was blackened.

the question is, what do the Evanuris heads in the dragon's blackened wings represent? ofc it's another version (really different art style etc) of this event. the heads/symbols, the City blackening.. it's the same event being depicted. but the way their body-less heads hang there in the blackened wings, dark and connected to the corrupted tree.. it reminds me of the theories connecting the Evanuris to the Blight somehow. "What the Evanuris in their greed could unleash would end us all. Let this place be forgotten. Let no one wake its anger. The People must rise before their false gods destroy them all." The Balrog Theory. Andruil travelling into the darkness of the Void and returning, twisted and mad. stuff like that. that's what the heads in the wings remind me of. so other Evanuris ("they") were involved in Mythal's death, and they were up to something shady "in their lust for power" that was giving 'not great for the world' vibes.

also, stylistically the choice to show their heads like this also reminds me of the faces in the borders of the beautiful map that came out with the Tevinter Nights book. those borders not only also contain two different dragons facing off from each side of the map but a bunch of celestial body, sun/moon and eclipse imagery...

anyways, we also get a more detailed clearer look at the Golden City cover art and in this we can see -

this is the door/gate to the Golden City in this Art. and idk, it just reminds me of this dragon Mythal mosaic or this Mythal dragon statue.

also -

soo is Elgar'nan is one of the "Evil Gods" that has Thedas in their sights? that mural could be read as implying that there were two returning or at least lurking ominously. All 7 non-Mythal-non-Fen'Harel gods coming back or being at risk of coming back in one game could be too much both in terms of irl meta-resources for development (there are lots of other things going on in Thedas to cover as well) and too much as a threat, if I was a writer I personally might handwave most of them to the side like "oh yeah, 5 of them got corrupted/stuck/lost forever over the Ages since while they were trapped and only Elgar'nan and [Other One] remain to pose a threat. they're still looming and ominous though". yknow?

but who knows, this was just one guy's take. to be further updated on all things gaming news reviews and discussions, stay tuned right here on yongyea, I'll see you guys next time, yong out

[esterastarian]

Prologue: The "Donphan" Incident, Part 2

“That was a good way to start the morning, wouldn't you say?” Ester exclaimed, smothering the fire and ash with a few kicks of dirt.

The crew agreed, their bellies filled with the delicious breakfast that was prepared. Scout stretched her wings and began to preen, while Noel and Topaz chattered amongst each other. Atlas soaked in the sunlight with his large golden sails, and Ares helped Ester to ensure nothing was left behind.

“I'm presuming you’d like to accompany me this time?” Ester asked, finishing up as she put the last of her supplies in her satchel.

Ares nodded with a smokey snort.

“Alrighty then,” Ester took out her map and compass, to which she examined both. “Seems like we have a town coming up, just up north.” She squinted her eyes “I believe this is Cascarrafa, lots of water-type Pokémon live in that area.” Ester looked towards Ares once more, “Are you sure you want to accompany me? I know you aren’t the biggest fan of water-types.”

Ares grunted and pawed the ground, bits of ember glowing off his body.

“Okay old man, don’t get yourself worked up over nothing.” She rubbed Ares’ snout. Ester grabbed her satchel and threw it over her hip and grabbed four Pokéballs. “Alright everyone, time to return to your balls. Don’t want to have too much of a commotion.”

The remaining four Pokémon agreed with their own sense of nods, grumbles and caws. With a click of each ball, a red beam shoots out. Within seconds, the once four Pokémon have vanished into their respective homes. Ester clasped each ball back on her hip, and dusted herself off, giving the area a final lookover.

“Alright Ares, let’s get moving on and see what we can find.”

Ares nodded, following side-by-side with Ester, heading North towards the next city.

Upon arrival, the place was bustling with citizens and Pokémon alike. The blue hues of bricks and concrete stood out against the pops of shrubbery that decorated the town. In the center, a battle was going on against two young trainers. Ester didn’t pay too much attention as she had one goal in mind: find a job.

“Hey you!” A voice called out.

Ares perked up, and lightly headbutts Ester in the back.

“Ares?” Ester turned, “What is-Oh, hello!” She exclaimed. A young man, probably in his thirties, approached, his appearance unusual. A white frill adorned around his neck, a long fish-like tail sprouts from behind, and his ears were fin-like in appearance with a blue gradient. A fin-like mohawk protruded from his goldish locks.

“Sorry to stop you so suddenly, but from the look of your attire are you an adventurer?”

Ester smiled, his physical appearance giving little to no concern. Ares looked at this fish-like man and snorted, but Ester rested her hand on his back to reassure.

“Adventurer, wrangler, explorer, all the same in my book!" She chuckled, stroking the back of Ares' back. "Don’t worry about apologizing, my Tauros and I were just searching for a possible job bulletin in this town.”

“Well,” the young man began, “I could offer you a job, however…” his pointed ears folded back, a discomforting smile appeared to match.

“However…what?” Ester asked confusingly, “is there an issue of it being legal or…”

“Oh no no no it’s legal!” The man sweated, but then let out a drawn sigh, “The concern I have is you wouldn’t be the first to take on this particular job.”

More people have taken on this job? Then why is it still available? Ester wondered.

“Ma’am, are you okay?”

“Huh?” Ester blinked, not noticing she blanked out for a few seconds.

“Apologies, lost in thought. If I may ask,” she began, “why has this job been offered to so many people?”

The man rubbed the back of his head, his hand having a gradience of peach to blue. “It’s because it’s been offered by several people here. This job is being offered not by a singular person, but by the town itself.”

Ester’s ears perked up as she raised an eyebrow. “The whole town?”

“Yes, the whole town. You see, we’ve been dealing with a rampaging Pokémon in the nearby Asado Desert. Lots of people travel to and from the desert in search of treasures, relics, Pokémon and more. For the past couple of months, many people have been frightened by an unusually large donphan.” The man pulls up his shirt, revealing a large gash across his ribs. Ester’s eyes widen, going into her satchel to grab some medical supplies, but the man puts a hand on her shoulder.

“There’s no need to worry, it’s only a bruise. Plus, being a vaporeon hybrid I just need a good spa day.” He lowers his shirt and clears his throat. “Anyways, the point is we need someone to either put some sense into this Pokémon or find out why it’s so angry. We don’t want it to resort to poaching this Pokémon due to its aggression...but we also don't want anyone to get injured. Thank goodness people have only been chased off before anything serious happened.”

“I agree with that, no Pokémon should be poached.” Her eyes narrowed, Ares agreeing with a snort. “How much is the pay?”

“Oh! The pay…well, if you’re able to succeed in calming or scaring off the donphan,” he grabs a piece of paper from his bag and hands it to Ester. Ester’s gulped, and looked to Ares. Ares’ eyes go into shock.

“Are you sure this is correct sir?”

The man nodded, “like I said before, we’ve been dealing with this problem for months and no one has been able to handle it. If you want to take on the job, the people of Cascarrafa would greatly appreciate it.”

Ester and Ares look at each other, then back at the paper. After a few moments of silence, Ester looked towards the man with a determined smile.

“We can handle it.”

The man gleefully smiled and shook Ester’s hand violently.

“Oh thank you so much, you have no idea-OH! My apologies!” He quickly lets go, some watery substance left on Ester’s hand. “Sometimes my own excitement gets the better of me.”

“It’s no worry,” she wiped the substance onto her pants, keeping her friendly smile. “Now I just need the information of where in the desert it’s located and when’s the best time to approach.”

The man pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Ester. “Here are all the details needed, but the best time I’d recommend is at night.”

“Then I shall get myself and my crew prepared.”

[lolo3h]

That Pokemon Presents was wonderful! I was pleasantly surprised by everything, especially the stuff about Pokemon Legends ZA. They updated their website about the game, so I'll be discussing about too as well as anything I found interesting.

Here's our starters! I was hoping for snivy (since it's my favorite pokemon) but all of these picks are great! I'll probably pick chikorita since I've always loved them.

AZ is here! He's a functioning member of society now, and reunited with his old friend floette! Good for them, I would hope that they would live a happy and peaceful life but we all know that something is going to happen that will disturb that peace.

Zygarde looking over lumiose city, it kinda reminds me of the XYZ anime.

Our new companions! They both look really pretty, I love the gradient on their hair and their outfits.

I gasped when I saw this in the trailer, it's Looker's office! Though I guess it's Emma that's there now? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

This map is from the website, and it looks gorgeous. They have a bunch of other images including official renders for they characters introduced and screenshots of the game.

As for my overall thoughts on the trailer, I was pleasantly surprised! I suppose the biggest shock for me was that the game takes place in the near future, as opposed to the past like pokemon legends arceus was. I suppose this is a sequel like Pokemon Black/White 2 as apposed to a prequel?

Also, the dodging and timing mechanic for battles is interesting, though I don't know if I'll get used to it. I play shooter games like splatoon that require you to do fast inputs, but I don't know how it will be for pokemon.

I'm so excited for pokemon legends za, I can't wait!

[fireflycitystories]

⭐ Episode one of my animated series Where's Willow? - A Firefly City Story releases THIS FRIDAY!!!

Check out the show and subscribe to the Firefly City Stories YouTube channel so you don't miss it!

If you want to get a look at the setting of the show, here's a map of the Sunset Valley region of the Starlight Mountains National Park!

"The Sunset Valley region of the Starlight Mountains National Park and Preserve is home to an extensive array of mountains, ponds, lakes, woodlands, and other natural wonders. Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy hiking along the region's many trails, as well as camping, lodging, rock climbing, rafting, canoeing, and other activities. With so many opportunities to explore, Sunset Valley is an adventurer's paradise."

⭐ You can see a detailed writeup of the creation process (with a PDF download) for FREE over here on the Firefly City Stories Patreon!

Behind the scenes fact: The map was one of the first pieces of artwork I made for the show. A lot of it was done during leftover time in my audio engineering class where we had 3 hours to do a 20 minute project lol. While it took about a week's worth of days to make all on its own, it was worth it because it really helped guide the writing process. The hardest part was figuring out how to show dimension in the landscape (a lot of gradients). Throughout the years of the show's production, I would occasionally go back and tweak a few things here and there, but the original vision stayed about the same. My computer hates whenever I go in to edit it (it's a very intensive file).

- Mitch

[natsmagi]

☆:: Okie dokie I'm starting all my asks now with a star thingy, anywho!! I'm really curious about how you do your backgrounds because they have that whimsical sort of feeling of being in the boundary between reality and within a dream.. the colors you choose are always real nice ww

/��. .ᐟ\ฅ — @enchantedmirage

OH MAN. ill be so honest i 100% just brute force my backgrounds. i have no idea what im doing. i use filters like my life depends on it. sometimes ill add things like sky dust or sparkles or particles or just anything along those likes to make it feel a little more alive and whimsical

gradient overlays are ur best friend honestly. just slam that badboy with appealing colors over ur canvas, experiment with various layer modes and hope it made things look better

i do tend to work with alot of purple and yellow hues though!! i feel it adds a layer of Whimsy yanno. ill show examples below the cut actually!

lets use this one as an example!! im going to COMPLETELY ruin the magic behind it for a second but uh

heres. what the background looks like without any of the added flare KUASJHFASHDGKAHSKDHJ

and here it is again now that ive smacked 534796 filters over it (plus lighting from the lantern)

^the filters in question (plus blur and environmental lighting, such as highlights on the trees from the brooms lantern and light illuminating the small city). what filters i choose to use will depend entirely on the vibe and what i think would best suit the piece. here i used a colorful overlay set on soft light, while on my latest drawing (biker thing) i used a gradient map that had a bit of a harsher (but still fitting my aesthetic) feel to it

i dont even really use rulers often or anything. im being so serious when i say my backgrounds are nothing but pure brute force. i make the most half-assed background and then bullshit my way into making it look good

the beauty of art is all u gotta do is create a semi-believable illusion of the thing infront of u. how u get there doesnt matter. Plus i have more of a painterly style, so i tend to just paint over the bits i dont like or re-defining things later on, hence why i tend to be so messy

AND THERE U HAVE THE FINISHED PIECE ONCE AGAIN! all i did was add some little sparkles here and there to emphasize the magic and that was that!

[septima-severa]

Chapter 4 of Thrawn story available

This time, I edited the chapter heavily and shortened it considerably before publishing, as I got another idea how to incorporate Ezra Bridger to the story (it is not vital for the storyline itself, though... probably). I let him drag our OC into the World between Worlds for the first time, as we will return there for more discussions about nothing in the next chapter.

As for the science behind my writing, I would like to pay homage to this amazing research done on slime mould. Back in November 2023, we invited Dr Audrey Dussutour to our Department to deliver a talk "Problem solving in slime molds" which was amazing. There are sure many things floating around the internet about these amazing single-celled creatures, and some of you may have heard about this experiment from Japan when slime mould was made to grow over the map of Tokyo to show that it copies the engineering of the city, and thus proves that these moulds can be quite efficient. Well, they were sent to ISS, too, showing that instead of a regular 2D growth, they grow into a 3D maze, and this was done by Dr Dussutour.

You can read an older interview from 2019 with her with the Joyful Microbe here.

excerpt from the story:

While you were waiting, the automaton slicing the ancient bones you had collected, selecting pieces for different methods, your attention shifted towards the microscope with sampled lichen and moss from the mountains. One of the stacks of dishes was overgrown with a strange slime mould, a single-celled hunter always in search of food in its proximity. Apparently, you did a terrible job feeding it because now it was stretching its protoplasmic strands in all directions, feeling for a gradient of nutrients to follow… The lab was a mess. But your mess. A little chaos you had created to challenge yourself in times of boredom. Although you had attempted to mend Thrawn’s uniform in the past – and to be honest, your needlework on his worn-out lapel and collar had come out as quite good to your opinion – you needed a change in routine.

So, you perched on a tiny stool and moved slides under the set of magnifying lenses, checking on the tiny microworlds again. You had noticed that their fluorescence grew more prominent in the proximity of the kyber crystal you had harvested in the cave, and its potent power manifested again now when it slipped out of your open shirt collar, dangling secured to a string around your neck. You could watch the pulsating life for hours.

You didn’t hear him coming in. Thus, when his presence hit your senses, you were completely unprepared, freezing mid-movement on your way from the shelf back to the microscope. You accidentally spilled the contents of the dish you were currently holding on the floor, the delicate glass smashing into pieces at your feet. When you bent down to retrieve whatever was salvageable from the floor, cursing mildly in the process, he made a few steps towards you.

---

This chapter is not plot-heavy, but as I promised some shibari in the past that should take place here... Yes, my dear thirsty reader, you're gonna be Thrawn's personal piece of this art for the night here.

[wowbrowbyrola]

Transforming Brows with Artistry and Ink

The Allure of a Soft, Powdery Finish

For those seeking a fuller, more defined look without the daily hassle, powder brows in Kitchener Waterloo have emerged as a local favorite. This technique uses a gentle shading method to deposit pigment into the skin, creating a soft, pixelated effect that mimics the look of expertly applied makeup. Imagine waking up to brows that appear naturally dense and perfectly shaped, as if dusted with a fine powder. It’s a subtle yet striking transformation, ideal for anyone craving a polished appearance with minimal upkeep.

The process begins with a skilled hand mapping out the brow’s ideal shape, tailored to complement the face’s unique contours. A specialized tool then layers tiny dots of pigment, building depth and definition from the lighter fronts to the darker tails. In Kitchener Waterloo, where the pace of life blends urban energy with small-town charm, this method resonates with those who value both efficiency and aesthetics. The result? Brows that last up to three years, fading gracefully over time, offering a low-maintenance solution for busy schedules.

A Bold Statement in Ink

Across the river in Waterloo, another technique is making waves for those who dare to go bolder. Eyebrows tattoo in Waterloo takes a more decisive approach, etching pigment into the skin to craft striking, long-lasting brows. This isn’t the harsh, blocky tattooing of decades past—modern methods have evolved into an art form, delivering hair-like strokes or solid fills depending on the desired effect. Picture a university student or a tech professional stepping out with brows that frame their face with confidence, no touch-ups required.

The procedure involves a fine needle or machine, carefully implanting color to mimic natural hairs or create a dramatic, filled-in look. It’s a choice for those with sparse brows, over-plucked arches, or simply a love for a standout style. In Waterloo’s dynamic community, where creativity thrives alongside innovation, this technique offers a way to express individuality while embracing practicality. With results that can endure for years, it’s a commitment to beauty that pays off in daily convenience and unwavering self-assurance.

Crafting Beauty in the Twin Cities

What sets these techniques apart in Kitchener Waterloo is the artistry behind them. Powder brows in Kitchener Waterloo lean into a softer, more blended vibe, perfect for those who prefer a natural enhancement that whispers rather than shouts. The process feels almost meditative—each dot of pigment builds a gradient that enhances without overwhelming, appealing to the region’s love for understated elegance. It’s a fit for the professional heading to a downtown office or the parent juggling school runs and errands.

Conversely, eyebrows tattoo in Waterloo offers a spectrum of possibilities, from delicate strokes that blend seamlessly with existing hairs to bold designs that redefine the face. Practitioners here tap into the city’s forward-thinking spirit, using advanced tools to ensure precision and comfort. The result is a bespoke creation, whether it’s filling gaps from years of tweezing or crafting a whole new shape. In a place known for its tech hubs and cultural pulse, this method mirrors the drive to innovate—even in beauty.

The Healing Journey and Lasting Impact

Both techniques share a common thread: the journey from procedure to perfection. After a session of powder brows in Kitchener Waterloo, the initial color appears bold, a vivid preview of the final look. Over a few weeks, as the skin heals, it softens into that signature powdery finish, revealing a natural glow. It’s a transformation that unfolds gradually, rewarding patience with brows that feel effortlessly “you.”

Similarly, an eyebrows tattoo in Waterloo starts with a striking debut—darker and sharper than the endgame. As scabs fade and pigment settles, the true design emerges, whether it’s feathery strokes or a solid arch. In both cities, aftercare is key: keeping brows dry, avoiding sun, and letting the skin breathe ensure the ink takes hold. The payoff is a set of brows that endure, freeing up mornings and boosting confidence through every season.

A Local Love Affair with Brow Art

In Kitchener Waterloo, these brow enhancements aren’t just trends—they’re a reflection of the community’s spirit. Powder brows in Kitchener Waterloo cater to a practical yet stylish crowd, blending seamlessly into daily life. Local artists have honed their craft, offering consultations that feel personal, ensuring every client leaves with brows that suit their lifestyle—be it a farmer’s market stroll or a night out in Uptown Waterloo.

Meanwhile, eyebrows tattoo in Waterloo taps into the city’s bold, experimental edge. Here, the technique thrives among those who see their brows as a canvas, a chance to stand out in a sea of startups and students. The twin cities’ shared appreciation for quality and innovation shines through, with practitioners adapting global techniques to local tastes, creating looks that feel both timeless and fresh.

The Future of Brow Brilliance

As technology advances, so does the art of brow enhancement. In Kitchener Waterloo, powder brows might soon incorporate eco-friendly pigments or digital mapping for even greater precision. Over in Waterloo, eyebrows tattooing could evolve with finer needles or smart inks that adjust to skin tones over time. These possibilities hint at a future where beauty is as sustainable as it is stunning, aligning with the region’s progressive ethos.

[scitties-enjoyer]

ESMP S1 Worldbuilding thoughts

Okay so I might be overthinking things a little (I'm very normal about my ESMP S1 worldbuilding and I'd more-or-less let it fade into the background for a while but I'm afraid it's back with a vengance)

So. My biggest headcanon is that the continent it takes place on is in the southern hemisphere of the planet. I know the second you travel outside the actual empires that theory falls apart because minecraft terrain generation however. If you look at the Empires alone and their geographical locations, we have Mezalea and Pixandria as the northern-most empires and Rivendell and Crystal Cliffs as the southern-most empires.

One problem: House Blossom is actually further south than Rivendell.

Now I had a crisis over that this morning (I had somehow got it in my head that House Blossom was northwest of Rivendell rather than southwest) but then I remembered my headcanon that House Blossom is a particular kind of Faerie settlement which is always built on magical convergence points. Belatedly, afterwards, I also remembered that the Overgrown is a thing.

If all that paragraph is a bit much to parse: House Blossom is very magical. It can be warm if it wants.

Now. I am not (currently who knows what the future holds) trying to work out the size of the planet this is on, the specific tilt the planet has, or anything like that, so I don't have accurate teperature bands here, but if I overlay a gradient where blue is cold and yellow/red is hot....

It's not perfect. There's a badlands biome in the southwest, and ideally the jungle wouldn't be so far south. But I'm not looking for the whole seed to have perfect geography. The thing we care about is roughly correct.

I could just extrapolate the size from this small one but you know what would be more fun?

Thus step one of mapping each empire is complete. We know sort of what's going on climate wise in each empire. (Did I mention that's what the end goal is here?)

Step 2: I'd like the rivers to make sense. But for that I need a good idea of like. The size of the land. And real life countries aren't just one town or city. So I need a big world map.

Making a large biomes world with the original ESMP seed and getting the whole map to trace over by flying around. I don't remember what I said in this video but here's where I started doing a perimeter of Mezalea.

Unfortunately this is taking a while.

Perhaps I will continue this

[dracowars]

hope survives | obi-wan kenobi

pairing: obi-wan x reader

word count: 1,9k

summary: where in deperate times, y/n finds obi-wan

a/n: in celebration of obi-wan kenobi premiering today, i had to write a one shot for him! this was written beforehand, so it doesn’t contain any spoilers for the series (it’s only a little inspired by the trailer). i can’t believe we finally get to see him again, i’m utterly excited and can’t wait to get my heart ripped out!!! </3

warnings: angst, mentions of death

universe: star wars

The strong wind whirls up the desert sand, sending it flying through the air and limiting your view to just a few meters in front of you. You squint through the desert planet’s barren landscape, your face completely wrapped in fabric except for a small slit for your eyes, shielding you from the swirling sand. With your robes in shades of brown, you become one with the desert.

Of course nobody on Tatooine is stupid enough to venture outside the protective walls of the cities, despite the desert storm warning – nobody but you. Most of the residents who saw you leave, wanted to stop you, and warned you, but you shook them off, asking them not to worry and that you know what you are doing. You have a mission and not even the strongest storm will thwart it.

However, you may have miscalculated a bit and the storm hit you earlier than you expected, surprising you on your way to your intended destination. Because you can hardly see anything and at the same time have lost sight of the horizon, you are slowly losing your sense of orientation. Due to the heavy sandstorm, your map reader does not work, - it did not show you much anyway since you cannot even enter your destination – which makes it almost impossible for you to survive this night in the desolated desert. Nevertheless, you have survived so much worse. Years ago, just like today, every day is a pure struggle for survival.

And if you had not suddenly arrived in front of a massive stone wall at that moment, then maybe one of the moisture farmers would have found you out here after several days, lifeless, but finally one with the Force. Breathing out in relief against the fabric that covers both your mouth and the rest of your body, you touch the wall with your gloved hands and immediately lean against it, in exhaustion as well as in utter relief. For as soon as your fingertips slid over it, a familiar impulse shot through you, caused by the Force, telling you that you had indeed reached your final destination at that moment.

Giving yourself one last pull, pushing yourself off the wall, your legs aching and your body activating its last reserves, you orientate yourself along the stone wall of the mountain. It does not take long for you to start climbing a steep gradient, but at least the visibility is clearer near the mountain, so you do not immediately fall to your certain death. You will not fail on the last few meters.

With your last remaining strength, you heave yourself up a border before realizing you are at a hidden cave entrance. The entrance you have only seen once before, all those years ago when the twin suns, stand at the zenith high above you. Now, eerie sounds caused by the strong wind howl from inside the cave that lies before you in total darkness.

However, you do not let that stop you and carefully step into the darkness, to which your already irritated eyes first have to get used to. Every step you take, no matter how careful you place your foot down on the stoned floor, reverberates in the narrow corridor. Eventually you reach the cave itself, which rises a few meters above you and ends in an opening at the top that allows light to banish the darkness inside during the day. By now your eyes have adjusted and you can clearly make out the outlines of some objects in the cave when you suddenly hear a cracking sound, right next to your ear. Then, you feel the barrel of a blaster pressing against the back of your head.

Holding your breath, you freeze on the spot.

“What do you want?!”, a voice, loud and angry, yells, but it triggers so much more inside of you than you could have ever imagined. He is alive.

“Don’t shoot! It’s me”, you choke out in a hoarse voice. “Y/N.”

You sense the brief hesitation, but the next moment the deadly weapon moves away from you while you are turned around your own axis all of a sudden, getting caught in a pair of strong arms that wrap around your body. You return the hug like your life depends on it while he hugs you like it is the first and last time in his life.

“I can’t believe it”, he whispers softly against your neck, his breath penetrating even through the layered fabrics to your skin. His hands dig into the fabric of your robe as if he never wants to let go of you again, as if all your problems could vanish at once. His words, his voice, bring tears to your own eyes.

It has been so long since you last heard it, let alone saw him. All contact is prohibited, even now, for good reasons. It is far too risky, far too dangerous. Until now, you have always been able to stick to the rules, not wanting to risk anything, but at some point even your strong will gets broken.

“What- What are you doing here, Y/N?”, he asks you now, his voice just as calm and decisive as you remember it. Now, however, doubt resonates with his words. Although you can barely see him, you know how he is looking at you in that moment. Worried, but also upset.

“Obi-Wan, I was so scared”, you admit, brushing away a tear rolling down your cheek with your sleeve before it can be soaked up by the material covering your face. “There were.. rumours. The Empire executed a Jedi, here on Tatooine. I am- I thought maybe-”

“I am fine, Y/N”, he soothes your worries and helps you free your face from the layers of fabric, his hand lovingly cupping your cheek for a brief moment, his thumb tenderly caressing your skin.

“You shouldn’t be here”, he suddenly says, cold and emotionless, letting go of you as he goes to the back corner of the cave, where it seems he has set up his camp for every night. You follow him in silence and watch as he lights a small fire on the ground.

“They found one of us, Obi-Wan. How can you-”

“Please don’t call me that”, Obi-Wan interrupts quietly, his face now lit by the small flame. For the first time you can see him more closely and how he has changed over the years, yet still looks the same. Small wrinkles have formed on his face that were not there before, his beard and hair are longer, outgrown, but most of all his eyes radiate an incredible sadness. “The name only brings up bad memories.”

“For many it is a sign of hope, the name of a true warrior”, you reply reluctantly, even though you know exactly how much pain and suffering the broken man in front of you has already endured in his short life span. He has lost everything and yet he is still sitting here in front of you, alive.

“That was a long time ago. Obi-Wan Kenobi is just a legend, the new generation will not remember him. Ben, however, is an old hermit hiding in a cave in the mountains of Tatooine who has almost given up his life”, he murmurs in a strained voce, not wanting to believe his own words coming from his mouth.

“That is not true”, you answer, sitting down next to him on the makeshift bed, gently stroking your hand over his shoulder. “Ben Kenobi has a much more important mission than Obi-Wan ever had.”

The cracking of the meanwhile larger fire fills the cold cave, otherwise there is silence. The sandstorm raging outside can only be heard faintly, the thick rock walls insulating the noise from outside very well. Realizing he will not answer you anymore and is now busy cooking something over the fire, you let your eyes wander around his new home for the first time.

Objects, some of which you recognize, some of which are completely unknown, lie on several boxes scattered around the whole cave. On a box you can see two smaller, long caskets and you know what is inside right away, which is why you suddenly become very aware of the lightsaber that is attached to you beneath your robe. Next to one of these boxes, white armor peeks out from under a dark sheet, a special armor from ancient times long past.

“How is she?”, Ben finally breaks the silence, probably noticing what your gaze stopped on. His question makes you smile slightly as you focus your attention back on the fire in front of you.

“She is doing very good. Yesterday she found out about the three challenges of the body, mind, and heart, in order for her to be able to take her mother’s place as queen one day”, you say happily, seeing the image of her smiling in your head, how interested and curious she has become over the last few months. “She is a curious little girl, but also very strong-willed. She will be a good future leader for Alderaan.”

“I am relived to hear that”, Ben nods absently, still watching the flames. As you narrated, you caught a glimpse of the corners of his mouth lifting out of the corner of your eye. But sadness quickly overtook his face again.

“And how is he? What is he doing?”, you ask, also interested in the fate of the little boy.

“You will not believe it, but just this morning I happened to see him pretending to drive a Podracer”, he replies, somewhat amused, eliciting a small chuckle from you. You both perfectly know who he reminds you of, but you keep quiet about it, for your own sake.

“He is a kind boy, always willing to help. But he also has big dreams”, Ben laughs out humorlessly, shaking his head as he thinks about it, handing you a plate with the finished meal. “After they executed the Jedi in front of the residents of Mos Eisley, there was a lot of turmoil. Owen made it clear again that I am not wanted here.”

His words leave you speechless for a moment. While you are close friends with the royal family of Alderaan, the most neutral and peaceful planet in the galaxy, making your mission a whole lot easier, you cannot imagine how he must be feeling. Stranded on the most isolated, desolate planet, with little contact to anyone, and when he does contact with someone, he gets looks. He is only allowed to watch his protégé from afar as he grows up. He is always there for him as his protector, his saviour, although the boy does not even know about him being here.

He could have been the Jedi that was executed, and this realization hits you twice as hard, making your heart ache.

“Everything you ever did was to protect your loved ones, Ben. It is not your fault”, you assure him, knowing full well that he has always blamed himself for the terrible suffering of the galaxy, the sound of his name feeling intimate on your tongue. “Believe me, Owen knows that. He is just trying to protect his family, like you do.”

“You are probably right..”, he finally agrees, his eyes sparkling for a brief moment as he looks at you. “The fight is done. We lost.”

“The fight is never done, Ben. As long as we live, we will continue to fight, to strive for peace in the galaxy. We have a task, and I will not give up until I have fulfilled it”, you encourage him, smiling a little, which makes him seem happier as well.

“Between darkness and defeat, hope survives.”

[valadon]

it's my last night in seattle after my little trip and i have many feels about this city, grunge nostalgia, and the fics i wrote in the past 3 years without ever having set foot here. so, read on under the cut if you dare...

in august 2020 i got heavily back into my grunge roots as a coping mechanism for a falling-apart life (relationship, work, living situation, etc etc). i started writing a nostalgia-heavy fanfic set in 1989 seattle, creating my own little cast of original characters to play with the grunge guys i loved, from my little apartment overlooking a textiles market in a crumbling victorian building in east london, england. covid-era london couldn't have been further from grunge-era seattle, and i'd never been further northwest than san francisco years back, but somehow none of that deterred me. i read and watched everything i could about seattle, pored over google maps creating my own landscape of how it might look, feel, smell; where people might have lived, the streets they might have walked, the parks they might've visited, alongside the apocryphal venues like the vogue, central, showbox, metropolis etc - venues which, in some cases, still existed only in old photos found on pinterest. seattle became a character in my fic, "butterflies", as much as anybody else. i imagined it might smell like the rain, or pine, or cigarette smoke, or saltwater. i imagined crowded low-rise brick and timber buildings, a more intimate city than london or new york where i ended up moving and now live. i went back further into seattle's past for my second fic "shadows" and imagined a darker city, with shuttered churches and a sprawling red light district, an easy place to fall apart.

this year, nearly 3 years after i started writing about seattle, i made it here. it's been totally surreal, like deja vu or something. the little map of the city in my head came to life and yet at the same time i've been struck by the things i didn't know, the kind of things you only learn from being somewhere. it's HILLY here - the gradients are steep, and between downtown and capitol hill is a constant climb. the streets are wide and cut with alleyways, the sunlight is so bright here. the raison d'etre cafe where jeff worked is literally downstairs from the sub pop office; the vogue is around the corner from the northwest school where stone and steve turner studied, the monastery club was very close to the off ramp, the showbox is across the street from pike place (and nextdoor to a super seedy, ancient xxx theater). bainbridge island is huge, and beautiful.

i think the major impression i get is that seattle as a city feels SMALL. like, you can imagine what a small world this was back in the grunge days; people would've bumped into each other all the time, at shows and bars and cafes and just on the street. it's really sad to see that the city is beginning to buckle under all the big glassy developments, but the ghost of it is still there if you know where to look. the metropolis is a dingy little cafe now, the vogue and raison are salons, the ok hotel is apartments, the monastery site is all construction. the showbox and the central and off ramp are still recognisably music venues, though i know places like this are under threat to a degree and it breaks my grungey heart.

walking round this city with my partner the past couple days, i was always looking, at times internally SCREAMING - because here's where i had jeff and sara share pierogis, here's where stone and andy threw stones off the pier, here's where alicia and grace got off the bus to go to monastery, all these little moments from the fictional map in my head - and i have no one else to share this with but you guys, because as insane as it might be, my partner has 0 idea i've written about 500k words of seattle-set fic, and to him it's just another kind of cool city to explore. why i am so terminally ashamed of revealing my writing to anyone irl is a whole thing - my work exists only online to strangers (and tumblr friends) - but i'm working on it. i can definitely say that visiting seattle has only made me want to write about it more; it's a truly fascinating, layered place. i recommend it to anyone, and if you go, @magpiewithacamera 's incredible grunge history posts/photos are invaluable in finding the grungey layer beneath. i also took some photos, which i'll share at some point.

i dont live in london anymore, but seattle was an escape for me long before i ever came here. so: i bought a mother love bone poster at one of the underground shops in pike place market and a coaster with the view from kerry park, another location i wrote about what feels like a lifetime ago in the anxious midnight hours of a covid london night, and while i was walking down pike street, with the pine-smell and the edge of rain in the air just like i imagined they would be, i thought: when i write about this place again, i'll make sure i mention the hills.

[nasty-psd]

Texture Collections (unsplash.com)

Hey everyone ! Back at it again with the resources recs, with a whole bunch of textures this time 💚 All the pics are from Unsplash, so everything's free for personnal use, comes with instructions for professional use + with ways to thank the photographers 🥰 

I've sorted these first 12 collections to show you the kinds of textures i like the best in my own edits & even professionnal works - with categories either being the medium that they're made with, or an abstract concept they fall under. Click on the names below to access the collections, on the source to access all my collections, and on the read more for quick summaries of how/when i use these !

🎨 Links 1) Photographs | 2) Clouds | 3) (dry) Paints 4) Oil | 5) Typography | 6) Mineral 7) Vegetal | 8) Liquid | 9) Paper 10) Lights | 11) Space | 12) Plastic

Detailed descriptions & how to use under the cut ! (obviously, i do not claim ownership over any of these pictures)

1 - Photographs | link here This collection gathers textures that aren’t the easiest to use, but please don’t be scared by them, the following . How i use them : You can use the mockup type of pictures and “insert” your own pics of your friends, characters, etc - which means you must know how to create a basic mockup file (creating fake polaroids is a great way to learn or to train on your mockup skills by the way !). For the scanned images of films, you can also paint over them to integrate your own pictures. What i prefer to do though, is to create a mask layer around the burnt areas with a soft-edge brush, and then copy and paste it onto my edits. It allows more room for creativity but requires quoi color correct the burnt areas so they fit perfectly onto your edit’s colour scheme.

2 - Clouds | link here These one are simple ! I love them as background on edits, as overlays to bring out a little How i use them : With layer modes, as colour palettes references, as backgrounds with a collage of pictures on top - you can go ham with these. They’re also perfect for complex photomanipulations as Unsplash photographers offer multiple sizes options when downloading their pics.

3 - (dry) Paints | link here These paintings are not all necessarily "dry" paints, but rather artworks that show of their painting mediums' natural textures. They're "grungy" in an acrylic's or in a gouaches way. Some may be oils too but i'm not sure. The textures are created with brushes or painting knives, sometimes with spray paints. How i use them : So, as they're pretty dense, i prefer them in backgrounds, or as barely visible overlays. Once again, they’re great for photomanipulations, but you might need to edit them a little so they’re usable or repurposable.

4 - Oil | link here "Oil" is pretty straight forward : these are either oils (liquids with rainbow gradients/reflections) or very liquidy paints. The focus on this one is colours mixing with more or less of success, the "brutal" contrast between them, and the movement they create. (And also : ios background bubbles.) How i use them : they make for perfect overlays, background, references for color palettes or bases for a dispersion filter. They’re complex though, and you might want to stay careful to not go overboard with them, as they can tend to make your edits unreadable.

5 - Typography | link here Typography, yay ! It’s something many of us avoid in edits where it’s not a dire necessity - but growing as an adult into a graphic designer’s world, i learnt to love it. Every character has its own character (lmao geddit) personality, which can be of great support in your edits :) How i use them : as background, as “overlays” in collages or to simply get the inspiration going. You could also reuse the quotes in your edits with different fonts, or the panels in you photomanipulations.

6 - Mineral | link here Minerals & rocks are essential if you plan on editing complex stuff, like photomanipulations in the outer world, in space, or whatever your heart desires. That’s why i tried to gather as many diverse resources that fell under that category. For a finer research, i’d recommend finding one picture approximately resembling what you want, then checking out the recommended pics that will appear under the share & info buttons, or visiting the photographer’s profile as they may have multiple pictures of varying angles of the same object. How i use them : The pics with perspective i’ll use as elements in photomanipulation, while the “flat” pics will be used as overlays in elements to bring out more textures - the possibilities are endless, what you want to do you will be able to !

7 - Vegetal | link here These one aren’t especially complicated to use, but will require a little bit more work. Most of them are on plain background so it’s easier for you to cut them out and insert them in edits or photomanipulations. There’s tree, branches, mushrooms, leaves - everything i could think of that might be useful in edits. How i use them : The “flat” textures could be used purely for “aesthetics” or to add textures in edits, but the “full objects” pictures are mainly there for photomanipulations purposes.

8 - Liquid | link here Anything that has to deal with water, bodies of water, or overall liquids. Landscapes, also, that include lakes, seas, ocean, waterfalls, etc - always a need in photomanipulation. How i use them : as always, it depends on the nature of the texture itself. If it’s flat, i could be used solely for aesthetics, or as a way to add texture to a plain surface in photomanipulation. When it has some perspective, or shows a complex scenery, they could be used in photomanipulations & edits of all kinds.

9 - Paper | link here This collection has some of the most diverse pictures : it can be old papers with or without writing on it, sceneries of "blank" papers for you to put your edits on, or decorative pages/maps. How i use them : For the "flat" textures : these are mainly for overlays (all over you finished edits sir it looks like it's printed) or in some cases, for mockups. For the pictures with a bit of "scenery" : these would be great for background, but absolutely perfect for mockups. For the pages with maps or texts on them, it can be used as your usual textures/background.

10 - Lights | link here This collection includes every kind of body of water (or other liquids) i could find. You'll find waves, lakes, rained on windows, bubbles, watercolours, etc. Anything for your edits or photo manipulations. How i use them : Most of them will look their best as overlays put on top of all your other layers (or not, depending on the nature of your edit obviously). They get also easily be animated for gif, or colour corrected to fit your aesthetic.

11 - Space | link here A really specific collection ! This one will mainly be useful if you plain on editing space-ish photonapulations, moodboards, etc. Combined with the others collections, you could create a whole other worldy edit :) How i use them : Mostly how they’re logically used. Stars textures will mainly be editing onto a sky (but could also be useful to create “grunge” textures”), planets will, etc. But always think creatively, and outside of the box ! For example, these circling stars could be used as the texture of a vinyl record.

12 - Plastic | link here My personnal faves, the tricky & busy plastic textures. Plastic is a pretty broad name, and most of the pics aren’t technically plastic, but they have the same folds, turns & reflections. How i use them : mostly with a dispersion filter (which makes everything awesome). They can be overlays, or blurred to create pretty interesting gradient textures. They could also be used as background in your collages - you can basically do what you want with these. They’re awesome.

bonus 13th for the curious ones - Urban & Cities | link here Silly didn’t add the thirteenth collection on the preview, so here it is as a surprise ! This collection is the most diverse of them all, with lots of architectural elements, grungy walls textures, graffitis, etc. How i use them : Mostly as background

That’s all for today, hope you’ll enjoy using these ! please give lots of love to these photographers, and see you soon 💚

[flowers-of-io]

Mended

Written for the July mini-challenge on Project Exodus. Read it on Ao3 here.

Gossips were faster than NLS drives. How? Ikora didn’t know, but news of the incident during the peace negotiations reached her before Zavala and Crow managed to get back to the City from Nessus. A whisper from Ghost to Ghost, Guardian to Cryptarch, ramen shop owner to mechanic—and soon the whole Tower was buzzing, and the tentacles of rumour were spreading out further into the City street by street. By the time Zavala’s heavy boots hit the Hangar floor, she had already come across at least five different theories on who had ordered the attack.

She met him in his office, bright with afternoon sunlight. He was in his chair, pensive, a glass of awfully cheap alcohol left after Cayde sitting on the tabletop; the comm screens all around him were on but quiet, and the tactical map for the first time didn’t show any enemy movements.

“The news were faster than you,” she perched on the edge of the desk, taking in the blissful silence of the comms.

“So much for keeping it down.”

“You were almost shot dead during peace negotiations! Of course people would be talking.”

Zavala let out a single, half-humorous chuckle, and reached for the glass. His expression was a mix of uncertainty, wonder, exhaustion—but most of all, overwhelming relief.

He started, in a low voice, “If it hadn’t been for Crow…”

Ikora had already heard that part too, rumours of an act of splendid bravery coming from the masked new Hunter. Some argued he had struck back, or maybe took the bullet meant for Zavala, but the general agreement was clear – there had certainly been an occurring of some great danger, and only the young bodyguard’s heroism saved the Commander’s life.

But there was something else in Zavala’s eyes as he looked up at her, something other than giddy surprise of a near-death experience. Almost as if he were afraid to say what he truly meant, but holding the words back caused him physical pain.

“Remember… when I told you about that evening in the gardens?” He finally managed, barely above a whisper. “How I thought—I thought I’d seen Uldren Sov, warning me about the assassin?”

She nodded slowly, something both hot and cold suddenly twisting in her stomach.

“When they restrained Targe—Crow jumped in front of me. He got hit in the face, I think… took a long time to look at me.”

Ikora unclenched her hands she hadn’t realised had turned into fists. Zavala’s eyes were boring into hers; searching, or maybe testing his ground for what he was about to say. Now the mask finally had to come off.

“I knew.”

She watched the gradient of shock to hurt to genuine confusion pass through his face. Finally it settled on gentle, surprised sorrow.

“Osiris told you?” His voice was calm and unexpectedly soft, and Ikora swallowed down the sour guilt.

“I’ve figured out myself. He may think he’s so good at hiding, but I’ve known him long enough not to be tricked.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

She looked down at her twitching fingers.

“I didn’t… I knew how it would hurt you. I saw you’d grown fond of him, and I…” She summoned up all the courage she had in her centuries old, war-worn soul to meet Zavala’s eyes. “I know I should have told you. I’m sorry.”

Zavala held her gaze for a moment, then looked away to the window and the Traveler behind it. He was silent for a long while.

“It was always me telling Guardians how the past doesn’t matter,” he whispered eventually, still staring into the distance. “But that night when we talked, and I so much as imagined the possibility of… I— I though I wouldn’t keep myself from breaking the bastard’s neck and then flinging myself off the Tower.”

Ikora watched his profile, gilded by the afternoon light.

“I don’t know what I’d do. I don’t know if I could look at him and see a Guardian, not a murderer, if I’d known.” He turned to Ikora and a small, sad smile quirked his lips. “Maybe it was better that way.”

The wave of relief which washed over Ikora was so profound she almost sighed out loud. Failing to keep her hands from trembling, she clasped them together on her lap and shook her head.

“It’s not okay. I should have… It’s not what the Vanguard is about, keeping secrets.” The knot of guilt previously twisted in her stomach moved to her throat now and she choked on it. “It’s not what friendship is about.”

Her eyes prickling, she looked away to gather herself. Zavala said nothing; she could feel his gaze on her, like a sniper’s gunsight. But then something warm covered her clasped palms, and Ikora turned to find him with his hand over hers, smiling.

Maybe it could be mended.

[juuten]

Hey, I really like your works! I'd love to have a drabble or a scenario with Juza, please. With a topic of confession, please. Would be nice if a bike ride would be included. Should I be more specific or that would be enough? Thank you in advance!

Thank you for liking my works, and more importantly, for your immense patience! I'm really really sorry that I only finished the story now, anon 😥 I had an immense writer's block + I dealt with a lot of problems. So if you saw me reblogging posts, it was one of my ways to cope with them.

Anyway, I assumed that the bike you're referring to is Juza's motorbike. You may correct me by all means.

I hope you enjoy reading this! ❤

Bathed in Purple and Orange | Juza Hyodo

Sitting on a bench near the convenience store, you swung your feet with a smile on your face. There were countless places that you and your friend can potentially go. They were usually food shops, but each of them has a different thing to offer. Nevertheless, those places always complimented his and your taste buds (literally and figuratively). You grinned. What adventure awaited both of you today?

Your ears perked up when you heard a familiar voice calling out to you. You looked at your side and saw your friend.

Your eyes widened at the view before you. Juza riding a motorbike amplified his manly and strong aura. 

You jogged towards him, inspecting his new vehicle. While doing so, you sneaked in a few glances on Juza’s form. "You got a motorbike now. Congrats!"

"Thanks," Juza said through his helmet. "But sorry for bein' late."

You shook your head. "It's fine. Now that you have a motorbike, we can visit more places!"

You quickly opened your map app on your phone, searching for places that you two have yet to explore. Suddenly, Juza called your name.

You looked up, tilting your head. "What is it?"

Juza paused for a while before saying, "I wanna take you somewhere."

You blinked. "Eh?”

He looked down on the bricked floor. "'Is fine if you don't wanna."

You immediately shook your head. You would always take the opportunity to go with Juza. But more importantly, you felt that this place was something special to your friend; he rarely initiates to go somewhere without you knowing. Not that you mind, but it filled you with curiosity.

"I would love to go with you, Juza."

"Wear this." He offered you the spare helmet that sat on the passenger's seat.

"Thanks." You accepted the helmet. You put it on your head. With deft hands, you quickly locked the straps of your helmet under your chin.

"You can sit here." Juza patted the spot closely behind him.

You nodded, sitting at the spot. Then you blushed as you realized - you were one centimeter away from Juza's back. Your eyes traced the creases on his shirt. They convinced you (again) that a muscled body was waiting underneath the cloth. You had the urge to wrap your arms around him and lay your head on his muscular back. A warm feeling bloomed inside you. Then you furiously shook your head, gripping the seat until your knuckles turned white. 

‘Control yourself, (First Name). Control.’

Juza looked at you over his shoulder. "You ready?"

"Y-yeah!” You shot him a sheepish smile.

Juza intently stared at you, making you clear your throat. He muttered an apology before saying, "Grip on me."

Your eyes widened. "What?”

Realizing what he said, Juza quickly whipped his head to the front to cover his blush. "You can, uh, use me as support. 's safer."

“Oh… Thanks, Juza,” you said as you shifted closer to him. Then you gently wrapped your arms around his torso. You tried to hold back from squealing as you felt his abs contracting.

"We'll go now." Juza stepped on the pedal, dashing off towards the road.

You tightened your grip on the man, burying your head on his back. With this speed, you could fall off at every moment. 

Juza almost stepped on the breaks when he felt your arms tightening. He might have stumbled off the bike as he felt your breath on your back. His heart was thumping on his chest. One little movement of yours, he might explode. Juza deeply breathed before exhaling. He needed to calm down, or else both of you may be caught up in an accident.

"You okay, (First Name)?" Juza hoped that you did not notice the tremble in his voice.

You nodded. "I just can't open my eyes due to the speed!"

"Sorry ‘bout that." He slowly decreased the speed of his motorbike.

You slowly opened your eyes, letting out a gasp as you saw the scenery before you. The city looked glorious as the sun enveloped the buildings across with orange. The trees that danced with the wind looked more mesmerizing as the warm color highlighted their features. Overall, the scenery felt solemn, peaceful even. You unconsciously shifted closer to Juza, turning your head sideways to appreciate the beauty the sun gave you through out the ride.

Time seemed to flow fast; Juza already slowed down until the engine came to a stop.

"We're here," Juza said as he parked his motorbike on the side.

You unbuckled your helmet and landed down on the grass, resulting in a crunchy sound. You let out a breath as you saw the river. It flowed endlessly and calmly, with its waters reflecting the hues of the sunset. But what made the scene serene was the absence of vehicles that relentlessly honked. The bridge was far away from you two, after all.

You slowly walked until you reached the edge of the grass-filled land. Then you plopped yourself on the grass with your feet dangling.

"This is nice! It's a peaceful spot," you said as Juza sat beside you.

"Yeah." Then he faced forward, staring at the river. "...I always played catch with my little bro here.”

"He likes baseball, then?" He nodded at that.

You aimlessly swung your feet. "Now that we’re talking about him, what's your baby bro like?"

"He's very kind and caring. He also gets along with people. Kumon is... a ray of sunshine." A soft smile bloomed on his lips. His eyes became so gentle and filled with love, the piercing gaze he always has dissipated. "No... he may be the sun itself."

Your eyes softened. “You love him very much.”

"Yeah. Unlike me, everyone loves him. But for some reason, Kumon likes me a lot," Juza mumbled the last statement.

Your brows scrunched up. "You're such an admirable person, Juza. You always wanted to protect the people you love. It may be in a rough way, but your baby bro saw through that. That's why I understand why he likes you so much."

"And..." you breathed in. You wanted to point out every reason why you appreciated him - from his scarred hands to his love for sweets. You wanted to tell him that you will always be beside him, supporting him. 

You wanted to say how precious he was for you even though he thought otherwise.

Your affection for this man beside you quickly filled your heart. You touched his arm, gently caressing its muscles with your thumb. Juza turned to you, a confused expression on his face. Before you could stop your lips, the words fluttered out of your mouth, "That's why I like you ever since - as a friend and as a man."

You felt Juza stiffen. Your heart rapidly pounded as you waited for his answer. Seconds of silence only passed, but it felt like your time sped up. It felt like Juza would not reply to you soon as he did not move an inch. You let go of his arm. Somehow, your eyes already knew the answer. You rapidly blinked for the tears not to slip, but the regret bubbling inside you let them escape. If you had controlled your emotions, this would not happen. You had created a horrible memory that ruined the sacredness of this place. 

You sniffed. “Sorry.“

“No.” Juza scratched his head. “I just… didn't know how to react. ‘Is all.”

You wiped your eyes with your sleeve. “…I see.” 

“But… I like you too,” he said in a voice barely above a whisper. 

You blinked. Even though you did not hear it clearly, the tinge of pink appearing on his tan cheeks told you his answer. “You… like me too?” 

He nodded with his eyes staring at anything other than you. But you did not mind. The relief made you exhale as if you trapped an excessive amount of air in your lungs.

Then silence surrounded both of you. It was not an awkward one; it was a silence that blended with the comfort of the scenery and the relief of knowing that the man you hold so much affection for liked you.

You locked your pinky finger with his pinky, not noticing how the pink on his cheeks darkened. As if the sun gave its blessing, it slowly set, bathing the both of you in gradients of purple and orange.

[criquette-was-here]

Hi, Criquette! I'm still new to exploring your stuff and having a great time with it. I'm also new to using SC4 for Sims 2. You mentioned mods for SC4 and I'm looking at them, but wondering how or if some are useful for making TS2 terrains. I have the UI mods that are useful, but you mention others. The Coastal mod, for example, but it seems to be only related to textures in SC4. Can you say more about the mods that do work in TS2? Slope mod? Hole digging lots, maybe? Thanks for all you share!

Hello @sunradersimblr, 

Thank you! Ah, yes, essential SC4 mods. There are definitely quite some useful terrain related mods for Simcity 4. And you’ve just named the most important ones! Hole digging lots are extremely useful for precise terraforming. So as the slope mod. Which is my favourite because it makes road slopes smoother. There’s also water transparency texture default replacements which makes the water more opaque even on extremely shallow areas – and that helps develop shorelines that look realistic in TS2. And probably, I’d also mention bridge height mod that allows SC4 to propose road bridges on smaller heights. Combine it with the rain trick and you can build decent looking bridges without those ugly ramps not only over bodies of water, but also over land.

I hope it’s okay if I leave it without any direct links to all those mods. But I definitely recommend to check out simptropolis.com and sc4devotion.com for some quality SC4 content.

What I would also add to the list is not a mod, but rather a SC4 built in feature that’s really useful for TS2 custom hood making. It is the ability to generate region maps from a grayscale height gradient image. Again, no links here, but there are some tutorials out there on the subject. You can make a height map in your graphics editor of choice, and then you SC4 generates you a new region based on this map. Combine it with the ability to make a custom city size combination map and you get a numerous amount of possible TS2 hood maps which correlate to one another in terms of landscape, elevation, etc. (i.e. as if they al were part of same bigger area).