#i like the soft shading and blending i've been doing but sometimes i feel like it gets too soft and becomes too muddy

[fleshmaid]

going back to cel shading with this new piece.

[alyrasturnz]

desperately need nerd!matt hcs from u

SO HIGHSCHOOL

❐ summary » "you know how to ball, i know aristotle"

❐ pairings » nerd!matt x popular!reader

❐ warnings » nonee

❐ a/n && w/c » im trying to do all my hc requests cause i've literally been neglecting them  • 1.47k

┆ nerd!matt who is always shy around you, but secretly admires you from afar. he’s the kind of guy who blushes every time you talk to him or even look his way.

» amidst the cacophony of the bustling school hallways, your eyes land on matt, the quiet, introspective soul who perpetually immerses himself in the world of books. today, as you navigate through the throng of students, a spontaneous urge compels you to break the silence and greet him.

“hey, matt!" you exclaim with a buoyant tone, your voice cutting through the ambient noise with a cheerful resonance.

matt glances up, his eyes widening in astonishment. a crimson hue swiftly creeps across his cheeks, and he clumsily juggles the books in his hands. "h-hi, y/n," he stammers, struggling to maintain eye contact.

you smile warmly, taking note of the subtle pink hue that spreads across his ears. "how's it going? what are you reading today?"

he casts a fleeting glance down at the book cradled in his hands, then looks back up at you, his blush intensifying to a deeper shade of crimson. "oh, um, it's just... a book on astrophysics," he mumbles, his voice a blend of excitement and nervousness.

"astrophysics? that sounds really interesting!" you exclaim, your eyes widening with genuine admiration. "you'll have to tell me about it sometime."

matt's heart quickens at your words. he nods, attempting to steady his voice. "y-yeah, i'd like that."

as you walk away, you can't help but notice the shy smile that lingers on his face, and you feel a warm flutter in your chest. little do you know, matt is already eagerly anticipating the next opportunity to converse with you.

┆ nerd!matt who helps you with your homework, and in return, you help him come out of his shell. you spend hours together, and matt starts feeling more confident because of your encouragement.

» "hey matt, can you help me with my homework again? i’m really struggling with this math problem," you ask, your soft smile barely hiding the hint of desperation in your eyes.

matt adjusted his glasses, his fingers lingering on the frames for a moment. he leaned in closer to the problem, his brow furrowing in deep concentration, a thoughtful expression settling on his face as he absorbed the details. "sure, let’s see what we’ve got here. oh, this one’s actually pretty interesting. it’s all about quadratic equations."

you smiled, a sense of calm washing over you, as the tension in your shoulders eased and your breathing steadied. "you always make it sound so easy. i don’t know what i’d do without your help."

matt blushed slightly, a modest grin forming on his lips, his cheeks tinged with a faint rosy hue as he tried to hide his growing embarrassment. "well, you’re getting better at it. you just need a bit more practice."

hours passed as you worked together, solving problems and sharing stories. the room was filled with the quiet hum of concentration, punctuated by occasional bursts of laughter that echoed softly against the walls, weaving a tapestry of camaraderie and shared effort.

you looked at matt, your eyes reflecting a deep admiration, the kind that spoke volumes of unspoken respect and appreciation for his unwavering dedication and thoughtful demeanor. "you know, matt, you’re really good at this. have you ever thought about tutoring more people? you’d be great at it."

matt glanced down, a shy smile playing on his face, his eyes momentarily avoiding yours as a subtle blush crept up his cheeks, revealing a quiet vulnerability. "i’ve thought about it, but i’m not sure if i’d be good at explaining things to others."

you shook your head, your voice filled with encouragement. "are you kidding? you’re amazing! you’ve helped me so much. plus, you’re really patient. i think you’d be fantastic."

matt’s confidence seemed to grow, his eyes meeting yours with a newfound determination. "thanks, that means a lot. maybe i’ll give it a try."

you nodded, your smile warm and genuine. "you totally should! and hey, if you ever need help with anything, i’m here for you too. we’re friends, right?"

matt smiled warmly, the connection between you both feeling stronger than ever. "yeah, we are. thanks for believing in me."

┆ nerd!matt who gets flustered when you invite him to hang out with your friends. he’s not used to the attention, but you make sure he feels included and comfortable.

» you and your friends were deep in conversation, laughing about some old stories. you noticed matt was unusually quiet, sitting at the edge of the group, looking a bit lost.

you leaned in closer, your voice carrying a gentle, almost melodic tone. "hey matt, you okay? you’ve been pretty quiet."

he glanced up, his eyes widening in surprise, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face. "oh, yeah, i'm fine. just... not used to this, i guess."

you offered him a warm, reassuring smile, your eyes conveying a depth of understanding and empathy. "we're really glad you're here. your thoughts matter too. anything on your mind?"

matt hesitated for a moment, his uncertainty lingering, before a tentative smile slowly spread across his face, his posture easing into a more relaxed demeanor. "thanks. i guess i'm just getting used to being around more people."

one of your friends, noticing the exchange, interjected thoughtfully, "yeah, matt, jump in anytime! we're all friends here."

you nodded, a sense of relief washing over you as the atmosphere seemed to lighten. "exactly. you're one of us, matt."

he appeared to relax further, his smile broadening and becoming more genuine. "thanks, guys. it means a lot."

┆ nerd!matt who writes you sweet, thoughtful notes and leaves them in your locker. you find these little gestures incredibly endearing and look forward to them every day.

» you stood by your locker, a smile spreading across your face as you discovered yet another sweet note tucked inside. it had become a daily ritual, one that you cherished deeply.

"another one from matt?" a friend inquired, their curiosity piqued by the evident joy radiating from your expression.

"yeah," you responded, carefully unfolding the paper to unveil his heartfelt and thoughtful words. "he's so sweet. these little notes make my day."

your friend flashed a knowing grin, their eyes twinkling with amusement. "he's got it bad for you. what does this one say?"

you began to read aloud in a clear and deliberate voice, allowing each word to resonate with the surrounding air, "two souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one."

your friend's eyes widened, a mixture of astonishment and intrigue dancing within her gaze. "wow, he's got it bad for you. have you talked to him about it?"

you nodded, a gentle warmth spreading through you, like the first rays of dawn touching the earth. "not yet, but i think i will. these notes... they mean a lot to me."

as you closed your locker, anticipation bubbled within you, eager for the next note and the potential conversation it might spark, weaving a tapestry of words and emotions yet to be discovered.

┆ nerd!matt who stands up for you when you need it most, showing that he’s not just a quiet bookworm but someone who deeply cares about you. you realize just how special he is.

» you found yourself in the midst of a heated argument with gadiel, your ex, emotions running high and words cutting deep. as the tension reached its peak, matt, the quiet and unassuming bookworm, approached with an unexpected resolve in his eyes.

"you never listen!" you exclaimed, your frustration bubbling over like a pot left too long on the stove, threatening to spill over and scorch everything in its path.

gadiel sneered, his lip curling with a disdain that cut through the air like a sharpened blade, "maybe if you weren't so—"

before he could finish, matt stepped in, his voice quivering with a mix of fear and resolve, yet carrying an unmistakable note of determination. "maybe if you had half a brain, you'd realize she's worth listening to."

gadiel appeared momentarily stunned, his usual composure shattered by the unexpected turn of events. "oh, look, the nerd speaks."

matt retorted with a fierce intensity, his eyes locking onto gadiel's with an unyielding resolve that left no room for doubt. "better a nerd than a jerk who doesn't appreciate what he had."

gadiel scoffed, his bravado crumbling as he found himself bereft of any further retorts. "whatever," he muttered, turning and walking away.

you turned to matt, feeling a surge of profound gratitude and deep admiration welling up within you. "thanks, matt. i didn't know you had it in you."

matt's cheeks tinged with a faint blush, yet he held your gaze with unwavering steadiness. "i care about you, more than you know."

taglist — @imwetforyourmom @meatballzerz69 @pinkishpearls @bandanamatt @thedangerousalleyway @muchloveforhacker @frozenpeanutbutterr @jetaimevous @everleiqh @conspiracy-ash @ifwdominicfike @blahbel668 @slutforsturnioloss @realuvrrr @sturnobsessedwh0re @cerismo

[luveline]

Hey if you're still taking requests could I get any sort if angst to comfort for zombie au steve? Been feeling down lately and I've always loved that series!

ty for requesting! zombie au. fem, 1.5k

The new pencils are oil-cored, as opposed to his last ones, which had been wax. They were just fine, but these oil pencils allow him to blend colours and shades with more finesse than ever. He can pour twenty different colours into the tone of your skin and have them blend into a real, phototechnical you. 

He’s pretty proud of this one. 

He wakes up first every morning, allowing for time where you’re unaware and he’s got nothing to do. He’s sketched you so many times it comes naturally. Steve probably wouldn’t need to look, but watching you sleep is half the joy of drawing you. 

You're drooling a little. 

Steve puts the handful of pencils he’d been using to colour your neck back into his pen case. He puts the case and his sketchbook on top of his main bag, shoving it into a corner of your tent with the rest of the bags to climb back onto the bed. It’s a portable cushioning made for camping, and it’s nothing like a mattress, but it is much kinder to your backs than sleeping on the ground. Warmer, too. 

He pushes your head back, knowing it will wake you, his thumb to the little drool line to wipe it away, his palm on your cheek to hold it. 

“Hello.” He kisses your other cheek as your lashes twitch. Doesn’t even think about not doing it. “Good morning.” 

“Morning,” you mumble strangely. 

“What’s that?” he says, soft to match your quiet. His breath kisses your lips. “What’s wrong? You sound sad.” 

You force your eyes apart, and you feel along the mattress with your hand. Steve watches in real time as your eyes fill with tears, huge, heavy tears that well in the corner of your left and spill from the right to wet the pillow under your head. 

“What’s wrong?” he asks, the effort expended to stay calm so gutting he has to squeeze the pillow just shy of your head. 

You grab for him, blankets and your half-open sleeping bag crinkling but not too thick to feel the force of your fingers gripping his sides. 

You must’ve had a bad dream, that’s what he thinks. He’s had enough of them, and he’s unfortunately cried after almost all of them. Sometimes you’ve seen it, sometimes you haven’t, but you look at him with love no matter what —he can forget dreams of losing you when you’re murmuring niceness in his ear, and he can give it back to you. 

“It’s okay,” he says, letting you squeeze him hard. “Don’t cry.” And that’s a little awkward of him, that sneaking panic, but he’s never claimed to be a professional. 

You cry in a weird breath that borders a gag. “I’m so-sorry.” 

“It’s okay, it’s fine. I have bad dreams too. You know that.” 

Steve attempts to get both arms behind your shoulders, pulling you into him, sitting you up. He can’t cope with how quickly you’ve fallen apart. To wake up crying, how scary the dream must’ve been, he hates it. 

“It’s okay,” he says. 

“It was a good dream,” you say. 

Steve frowns. “Okay, so what’s the problem?” 

“We had a house. We had a dog. I don’t– don’t even know if you like cats, but you had a dog, and we,” —you sob between words, not too loudly as to travel far, but aching— “were planning a trip. It felt so real, Steve. You were so happy.” 

Steve tries to process it as fast as he can. “Oh,” he says softly, hand lax where it had been rubbing your shoulder. 

“You were so happy,” you say again, burying the tip of your nose into his neck. You’re practically crawling atop him, but he’s strong enough to stop you from laying him down. 

“It’s okay, honey. Jesus,” he says, patting your back again. “It’s alright. It’s okay.” 

“We’ll never have those things.” 

“Baby, who says so?” he asks in a murmur. 

“We’ll never get to go anywhere together–”

“It feels like we’ve seen pretty much all of America,” he says. He’s joking, but travelling with you from place to place has felt expansive. You’ve seen forests and lakes, a thousand different houses, hundreds of neighbourhoods, and street art and installations and billboards for movies that were never screened. Steve’s seen about as much of the world as he wants to see. “I’d just stay in this tent with you forever if they let us, we don’t need to go anywhere else.” 

“You wanted to see palm trees,” you say, sniffling and pained as your tears warm the curve of his trap. 

“I’ve seen them,” Steve says. “Don’t worry. I’ve already seen palm trees. A whole bunch of them. Don’t worry about what I wanted in the dream, it was just a dream.” 

He gives you a quick kiss, his lips to the very edge of your temple. 

“I feel like I’m gonna be sick.” 

Steve nods. He draws from you reluctantly and opens the tent, ushering you on knees to sit out in the cool air. He sits next to you, dewdrops from the grass wetting his jeans, the sky a humming of early morning colours; the sun rises in bands of orange and raspberry pink, darkness above, sun rays kissing the sides of tents and the portables in the distance. 

You take deep breaths. Steve holds your hand, the two of you looking up at the strange sky. 

“We’ll never be that happy,” you say. 

Steve can hear your agony, and he knows what you mean. He thinks of that life with you and never lets himself think far. You would've gone to college, maybe, and Steve would’ve drove to visit you —he would’ve moved. Maybe in your second year you’d live together in a suburb just between college and his job, whatever it is he’d ended up doing, in a house you chose, with a ring on your finger. Steve wants kids but if you don’t then perhaps you’d have had none, but he still likes to picture you with your babies, a big family, years later. And maybe he’d have a dog. A silly looking one with bark worse than its bite. 

And you’d be together. You would be happy. Nothing to hurt you. Nothing to lose you to. You’d never worry where your next meal was coming from, you’d never feel cold. 

Steve breathes out. Sniffs biting air. “We’ll never be that happy. That kind of happy. We’re never gonna go on trips, maybe we won’t ever have a house, but–“ He pulls your hand toward him, your eyes latching on to his. “But maybe we will. We might not get to watch cable, but we can have a tv, in a living room. We can live together, and maybe we will take trips. I don’t know. I don’t know what we’ll have, but I’m already happy. You don’t have to cry about me being happy.” He shakes his head. “Shit, you shouldn’t. I want that life with you so much I dream about it too, but I have this one.” 

“You think we’ll have a house?” you ask hopefully. 

“We can’t live like this forever.” He’s promising it. “Something has to give.” 

“I want us to have more,” you say. 

A weak confession, your cheeks wet with tears but eyes thankfully drying, your eyelids puffy already from sleep and crying alike. Steve wants you to have everything, even if everything is a stupid thing to think you’ll have. 

“We will.” Steve closes one eye, a sort of prolonged wink of pain as his nose wrinkles. “But this is enough for now, right?” 

“No.” 

You’re kidding, to Steve’s relief. 

He laughs and elbows you, glad to see your smile as you evade poorly. “Say it’s enough!” 

“No way.” 

You don’t wait for him to pull you in or ask if it’s alright, flopping without ceremony into his lap, and then turning toward him to hug his stomach. He looks down at you fondly, hand rubbing up your warm back. You’re still clammy from sleeping, but you’re not crying anymore. 

“It’s really cold out here.” 

“I know.” He blows a warm breath in your ear. “Do you still feel sick? Don’t barf in my lap.” 

“I’m sorry, Steve. It just felt so real.” 

His voice turns to a silky whisper he’s only ever used in love. “I know. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s fine. We never would’ve… I’d never get to be here,” —you squeeze him around the waist— “if we were in a world where we also get the house and the dog and… the family…” 

“But it would’ve been nice,” Steve finishes, looking up from your back to watch as the raspberry bands of pink turn to blue. 

“It would’ve been perfect.” 

[yamin-yups]

your art style is very squishy and pleasing to the eyes /pos

What brushes do you use for coloring and shading/rendering? /genq

HELLO THANK U THANK U THANK U !!!! I've been seeing people describe my art as squishy and I think that's so nice !! ToT I hadn't thought of my art like that !! I think it's a lovely thing As for my brushes, I use quite a bunch of different art programs sometimes, but tbh I'm mostly comfortable with sai / sai 2 !! (Though I'm trying to learn other programs too) I also use a bunch of different brushes and somtimes mess around with the settings depending on what feels right atm but I think it's mostly these brushes !!

Base colors !

I like soft brushes that blend together easily !

I usually do most of the rendering with this other brush! I think it works similarly to the first one, but it's a lot more textured

This watercolor brush is for blending, rendering or cleaning up colors! So things look a bit more smooth

And this last one isn't vital to the process but i like using these little dots sometimes in rendering!

AND THAT'S IT !! JKDJA I HOPE THIS IS WHAT U ASKED FOR !!

[bougainvillea-and-saltwater]

WIP Wednesday! (insert meme: it's been 84 years...)

Hello! I think I've neglected these beautiful WIP tag games as of late, so I took the chance, after being tagged by the lovelies @bostoniangirl21 and @miraakulous-cloud-district (thank you both so much!🧡), to share a bit of CH20 of The Priest and the Dragoness (I'm seriously thinking of changing the title of my fic, so if someone wants to give me their opinion about this Cursed Thought™, I'll gladly take it!). Also, the beloved @miraakulous-cloud-district had the idea of making this WIP combo with a picrew of ocs! I'm so excited to share! 😍

Tonight, in that dream, she does not see the precious faces of her dear mother and father she always recognized even if she never knew them or touched them or kissed them in the waking world, nor does she hear the rough but heartwarming voice of her wise old wolf, Kodlak Whitemane.  She does not dream of Vilkas and Farkas’ affectionate fraternal teasing, the tender motherly sternness of Aela, nor does she blend her youthful voice with Whiterun’s liveliness during the New Life Festival, in its songs, dances, feasts, in Magnus’ slow return to Nirn. She sees neither the darkness, the shackles, the rot of Northwatch Keep, nor even senses Caranthir’s breath chilling the back of her neck.  Sometimes, Jia dreams of herself as a dragon. She falls to her weak, human knees, weeps and screams without voice, only to feel her spine crack lengthwise and then split in half like the shell of an egg, as the acrid stench of seething, ripped-out flesh engulfs her like a firestorm, dominates her from head to toe. And then, she sees her two blood-leaking wings spreading through her shadow, and she takes flight, and she brings debris and death.  But tonight, in that dream, she is not a fire-breathing, blood-raining wyrm. In that dream, she is a bird, a swallow, and behind her soft, feathery wings, she knows a delicate shaft of the warmest, most pristine sunlight dovetails with her close behind, creating technicolor colorings upon her lustrous plumage; and from beneath her small-boned body, she sows springs and summers, meadows and groves, all with a single wingstroke.  In that dream, she flies towards a colossal tree. Though suddenly her flight grows swift, erratic, hopeless, so much as one would wonder how a swallow’s flickering little heart can withstand this kind of fear and despair. For this tree that she hunts with time’s passing, is not for nesting and is barren of verdure or fruit in spite of the spring-bearer’s sight; this is an unearthly shade of dark, black wood, of twisting, writhing branches as if they are coming to life, haunted, rotten to the roots and even beyond those, like—  Like a hanged man’s tree. “Sleep,” Miraak tells her, when she startles awake, in a whisper drawn out of the loveliest lullaby, as though he is, too, tethered between reality and a dream, his caressing fingers blindly running up and down her back. “It was just a dream.” They are never just dreams, the words her brain pushes to speak aloud, but her eyes close again, and she’s plunging into a vision that she may not remember come morning.

Now for the lovely picrew!

OH but of course I would make not only Jia but her Miraak too, what do you mean... 😇

I'm tagging some people with the hope I'm not bothering them, so absolutely no pressure for this! Still, it'd be wonderful to see your creations, whichever they are! 🥰 @blossom-adventures, @sothas, @prettytamagnii, @illumiera, @kiir-do-faal-rahhe, @thequeenofthewinter, @ruskycreations

[lillieghoul]

Moon of My Nights

#kibasaku #nejihina #hinata's fantasy date

Chapter 11: Matters of the Heart

"I've decided though," Kiba announced, his tone unwavering. "I'm going to take Sakura out, and it's not just going to be any date, though. I want it to be the best night of her life."

His words were firm, leaving no room for doubt. "And I want her to know, without question, that she's the only one on my mind."

Kiba's declaration hung in the air, a statement heavy with intent. Hinata's expression was a mix of surprise and curiosity. She hadn't expected Kiba to finally be so forthcoming about his feelings for Sakura.

"Wow, Kiba-kun," Hinata responded, her voice soft with astonishment. "That's... really something."

Kiba nodded, his gaze steady. "I want this to be special, Hinata. I want Sakura to feel comfortable with me, to be sure with me, and of course, to know how much she means to me," he explained earnestly.

Hinata smiled gently. "I think that's wonderful, Kiba-kun. Sakura-chan will be so happy," she reassured him.

"But," Kiba continued, a hint of uncertainty clouding his features once more. "I could use some advice. I want everything to be perfect. What do you think would make for the best date with Sakura?"

Hinata paused for a moment, considering Kiba's question thoughtfully. She knew that crafting the perfect date required a delicate balance of thoughtfulness, romance, and consideration for Sakura's preferences and personality. She wondered what would make a memorable experience for her.

"Well, Kiba-kun," Hinata began, her voice gentle yet confident, "I think Sakura-chan would appreciate something intimate and heartfelt. Perhaps a quiet dinner at her favourite restaurant. Then, maybe a stroll through Jiraiya's Fountain Park where you can talk and enjoy each other's company. I know it's tacky and very cliché but the Fountain is incredibly romantic. Perhaps go in the night, after most of the families have left."

Hinata sighed forlornly, imagining taking a stroll there with Naruto, hand in hand, as they crossed the focal point of the plaza where Jiraiya's statue towered over the masterpiece of the tiered fountain surrounded by lush greenery, vibrant flower beds, and willow trees that provided dappled shade.

Perhaps they would sit on one of the benches surrounding the smaller toad statues, listening to the sound of water gracefully cascading from one level to the next, the croaking of frogs resonating as they hopped from lily pads. She had even seen the very scenery in her dream under the Infinite Tsukiyomi.

It was indeed a very romantic scenery under a starry, moonlit night and it was always frequented by couples. Hinata herself had frequently tossed coins into the fountain, praying for love and happiness for herself and her team, looking up at Jiraiya's statue. Even his expression was crafted in way that it was a blend of smugness and pride, like he knew what couples were up to behind the bushes.

Kiba looked at her strangely. "Is that your fantasy?" he asked. "Have you experienced this before?"

Hinata blushed at the unexpected question, her cheeks tinted with a soft shade of pink. She hesitated for a moment, gathering her thoughts before responding.

Her mind drifted, and she thought about the times she had visited the park with Neji. She remembered how, despite their initial differences and the challenges they faced, there had been times when she felt a deep sense of connection and understanding with him.

She recalled the quiet conversations they had shared as they strolled the park and the way he had made her feel valued and cherished. He had said it was training, to concentrate on the flow of water and mould her chakra accordingly in her fists. After their training, they had often sat on the grass together, and sometimes on the stone wall of the fountain, basking in the scenery and tranquility.

The effect was mesmerising, and she had felt transported from the world. She had shared her fears, dreams, hopes, and even plans for the future with him, and he had listened quietly, smiling at her, when he had never truly smiled at home.

Sometimes, they had shared a picnic. He always complimented not just her cooking, but her style as well. In those moments, she had felt truly special, as if she mattered in a way that was both profound and comforting.

"Well, Kiba-kun," she began, her voice almost breaking. but filled with honesty, "My own fantasy would be a quiet evening spent with someone special, perhaps under a starry sky by a body of water. It could be a lake, a fountain, or the beach. Just the two of us, sharing our hopes, dreams, and deepest thoughts with each other."

Hinata came to the realization that even in her Infinite Tsukiyomi dream, Neji had always been present, gently coaxing her into following her heart.

What she truly desired in a partner was someone who treated her with the same level of kindness, respect, and attention that Neji always showed her. She yearned for that sense of being valued and cherished, to feel as though she held a special place in someone's heart.

Her words carried a sense of longing and sincerity as she continued, unable to stop herself from painting the picture further.

"I imagine soft music playing in the background, gentle laughter filling the air, and moments of quiet intimacy shared between us," she continued. "But most of all, the beauty of being truly understood and appreciated by someone you care about would be what matters to me the most."

"Sounds deep," Kiba said, his eyebrows still raised. "I hope you find someone who can make it a reality someday."

Hinata's eyes filled with tears, reflecting the memories of Neji's tender gestures and unwavering support. He continued to demonstrate his thoughtfulness, having even extended an invitation for her and Hanabi to dinner later that week when he would be scheduled a day off. It was a simple yet meaningful gesture, a testament to the enduring bond they shared. And then there was Naruto, oblivious to her feelings and preoccupied with his own concerns.

Watching Sakura and Kiba's burgeoning relationship only served to underscore her own unspoken desires, highlighting the stark contrast between her unrequited affection and the seemingly effortless connections of others.

As tears blurred her vision, Hinata couldn't help but feel a profound sense of isolation. Kiba would soon give her lesser time, Shino was away, and Neji would no doubt soon be very busy as well. The Hokage had called on him to be an instructor at the Academy to teach HUMINT to chūnins.

She felt a nudge on her fingers and broke out of her thoughts to find Akamaru coaxing her, concerned to see her upset. She smiled, scratching the top of his head to reassure him that she was alright.

"Neji-niisan treats me like that," she began softly, trying to keep her voice straight, "So I guess I want to be treated like how he treats me."

After all, he had understood her own heart better than anyone else.

Full fic available on: AO3 FF.net

Because I can't resist NejiHina even in my KibaSaku centric fic 🙇‍♀️

[kirk-goes-to-gallifrey]

I love your art! (I clicked on your art tag and started scrolling.) What is your process for creating a piece? Do you usually look at a single reference photo which you draw from? Do you somehow incorporate photos into your drawings by drawing over them? (I did that once on a tablet.) Or do you use another method? Thanks!

omg hiiiii thanks so much!!!!!!!!

my process is a bit all over the place (I've tried to describe it before with not much success, maybe now I can do a better job hahaha) but yes I always need reference photos, I can't draw anything from my imagination :( sometimes I use more than one picture, but most times I think I use just one photo that I really like and want to reproduce.

when I'm feeling super inspired and I have a lot of free time, I draw from observation only. And then if I get stuck on a particular spot that I feel I can't get right, I overlay the reference picture and make the necessary adjustments. I've been replicating images for such a long time that nowadays I can usually overlay the original over my drawing and 90% of lines match 😅 And when I draw on paper I do the same thing, I place the paper over my screen to check if the lines are where they should be, but always retroactively, first I draw then I check.

I actually started out drawing everything upside down! I learned that technique with another artist (I took a course when I was in high school 15 years ago), cause apparently if you flip your reference upside down, a house stops being a house, eyes stop being eyes, a mouth stops being a mouth, so you can focus on distances between points, lines, areas and proportions only, without thinking "oh a mouth looks like a little cartoon bird on top of a minimalist boat" or whatever, but rather "this shape is about the same size as that one, and is positioned in relation to that other one and that other line..." So that's sort of how I learned to draw/replicate I what I see (if that made any sense). And replicating a photo is much easier than drawing reality cause a picture is already 2D, when I'm drawing something real I have to convert the 3 dimensions to 2 in my head and I often get a headache by the end of the process lmao

Sometimes I don't have the time or energy (it takes a lot of effort from the brain to do the observation thing) and in those cases I do some lines over the reference pic just to get key areas, then I delete the reference layer (of course I keep a copy in another corner of the screen so I can keep looking at it) and paint over the sketched lines till they mostly disappear.

I think painting is the most fun - either in color or b&w - getting the shades to blend and the painting to look realistic is the part that I like most.

I usually paint on photoshop but I recently got a tablet and I've been trying out new software on it. I mostly require a soft brush with opacity varying with pressure. I start out by doing blocks of color and then I blend blend blend.

I often think that my art is not very good (sometimes I question whether it's art in the first place), cause the only thing I'm good at is copying what I see, and because of that I've been trying to play more with colors and textures, trying to make my paintings a bit more different than their reference photos, a bit more "artistic" idk. I wish I could do more stylized stuff. But the realism can be fun too, it relaxes my brain after a whole day of PhDying.

Thank you so much for the ask!!! And for telling me that you like my stuff (ಥ _ ಥ) means a lot <3

[jenjennhi]

Hiii can u pls do a face tut pls I’m begging you

heya! sorry this took some time, i just moved and it's been really hectic @@

and thank you for the question! i'll use stuff for bela and shadowheart as an example for ya for the two styles i usually do

warning, i am not a teacher and i'm still experimenting and learning so uhh some of this might be scuffed but is how i do it :>

also noting that i use csp or photoshop depending on my mood and what brushes i want to use but the same technique works for either and i use 2 brushes for the main bits and additional brushes if i want to add texture

--

1 - so after i have the sketch roughed, i usually put it on a multiply layer and add a background layer under it (i leave it white or almost white if i'm just doing a doodle or sketch) and i start to figure out the lighting and shading under the outline layer

the lighting is usually pretty rough and i'll start to understand what i'm going for as it starts to shape up but i try not to reduce the brush size too much so i don't get too muddled

(at this point i'm going thru my mantra of "trust the process" and breathing into a paper bag and kicking and screaming about how i want to quit)

--

2 - once i have the lighting somewhat how i want it, i start tweaking the color and i do it by using adjustment layers and manually painting. this part is kinda like cooking and tasting as you go, if i feel i want the image to feel colder/warmer i'll adjust accordingly but i will tell you how i did it for both examples below:

for bela, i actually painting above the shading/lighting layer and used "soft light" and "hard light" blending modes for the hair and skin to fit more with how i wanted it to look. i used color balance and curves for the background to get it to more of a purple/blue and darker

for shadowheart, i actually put the color below the shading/lighting layer and left the color as is and swapped the blending mode for the shading/lighting layer to "multiply" and then did adjustments using curves and gradient maps using "hard light" and "soft light" too and i think i had a "color burn" just for fun

this is my fav part of the process bc i just experiment and mess around with different layers. i usually have a vision for how i want the color and lighting to look but there's always room for new ideas! so i just mess around for a while here till i'm happy!

--

3 - rendering time! um i don't really have much advice here except i just start going in and rendering in closer detail. and remember references are your friend!!!

bela render progression:

shadowheart render progression:

i sometimes end up changing the drawing quite a bit during rendering but that's okay bc as you go into detail, you will notice discrepancies from the pre-render stages

for the style i used with shadowheart i just paint over the outline pretty much with some bits of it left it and i blend more to smooth it out more. for the style i used with bela, i add back in any outlines i painted over that i wanted to keep

--

and at the end of the day it's your art and how you express it is what's always gonna be the best so trust your gut (and references) but also it's okay to take creative liberties and go with the "cool rule" :3

and keep practicing!!!! i def feel i've gotten better with drawing faces compared to a year ago

i hope this helps and if it didn't ":3 i hope you had fun reading

[sanhatis-abyss]

Oh! Both of these look really good,the room has a sort of warm rustic feel because of the streaks. And the Love Nikki sketch too,it looks lovely! I especially love the hair!

Don't worry Harp,I can relate,words are sometimes really hard to come to, I've been in this state for a while this past month :")

I've wanted alcohol markers for a while too,but every time I almost make a purchase I remind myself that I probably wouldn't use them too much,I use thinn-ish watercolour paper (200gsm) because I need to see the sketch while doing lineart with a light box,and alcohol markers would almost certainly bleed to the other side ;-; water based markers are really good! I don't like hard tips,but I regularly use the sakura koi green brush pens, they're great for quickly drawing foliage and shading/blending over watercolor! And also ordinary Camlin brush pens, (which are basically brush tipped markers/sketch pens) , they're great for soft flowers and stuff like this!

Many years ago I got a pack of 24 Staedtler water-based markers as a gift but I never used them because I didn’t like how streaky they were. Back then I was also kinda swept away by how cool people said alcohol markers were… how they wouldn’t leave streak marks and you could blend them. I’d go “wow that’s so cool I wish I had them!” Some time afterwards I got gifted with a pack of 6 alcohol markers and I got very excited and tried them out… only to realize I didn’t have any paper thick enough to use them on! So I just didn’t use them again for years until now when I wanted to start actually sketching again- and now I feel stupid for ever looking down on water based markers!! They are quick and sooo much fun to use (and so are alcohol markers- even if I still don’t have paper thick enough to layer them). I find the streaky nature of them to add a colorful and nostalgic(?) sort of vibe to them.

I recently bought the 60-count water based Ohuhu Markers because I really wanted to try their brush nibs! I used them to color this Nikki Sketch

Words are hard to string together… It’s been a while since I wrote something so personal? I guess? That’s not the right word I don’t think but I’m not sure what to call this…

@sanhatipal

[nn-ee-zz]

Hi!

Ive been following your art for a long time and I just wanted to let you know how amazing it is!

The level of detail you do in your art is something I aspire to 😊 I picked up traditional again last year after a long break from art. And Im not nearly at the level I wanna be yet. But your art is one of the things that keeps me going, because I see how cool it is and think "I wanna do that!"

Ill keep looking forward to what you make next! 😄

Hey!

Thank you. I feel like I often lack in words for messages like these and can never quite express how important they are to me. Of course I appreciate all the likes/reblogs, but knowing I have an impact beyond that is just so special

Best of luck with your traditional art! Here are bellow some 'art-hacks' that I use in my own art

-For ink art, get a white gel pen for details. Any brand. However, ONLY use it on top of the ink HOURS after you've aplied it. The ink needs to be dry, otherwise the white will mix with the ink and make this transparent grey-ish color. This trick, unfortunately, doesn't work for bic pens.

-Regarding dry ink again; only erase the pencil lines hours after you've inked your drawing. You might smudge it otherwise. On the other hand, you might not even need to erase the pencil markings entirely. I only slightly erase them when my goal is a sketchier look.

-Put a tiny piece of paper under your hand when you draw. I've been questioned about this A LOT irl for those who see me do it, but it's to ensure the oils in your skin don't smudge your drawing. I avoid touching my drawings with my hands as much as possible. (How do I remove the eraser shavings then?? I use a soft painting brush. When the hand is necessary, I ONLY use the back of my hand)

-Graphite. HB is for sketching and I don't recommend it for shading. 2B and above works great for that. Use blending stumps wisely. Your graphite art will work great with a mix of soft AND hard edge shading (Same applies to digital art)

-Get a mono zero eraser, those erasers that are super thin, almost like a pencil (there's a square but I have the round one). The most expensive part of this are the refills (almost 3 euros for a set of 2 here...) BUT they last surprisingly long.

-Get a mechanical pencil and different refills for it. I have HB and 2B refills. Works great for small details, especially in the eyes.

-Work near a mirror. You can't flip horizontally in traditional art, so it can be more difficult to catch mistakes. I always catch them in the mirrored reflection. Sometimes I sit on the floor next to my big closet mirror and draw, turning my drawing from time to time.

-Not a fan of mirrors? No problem. For commissions, I often begin my sketch in tracing paper. It's thin enough that you can flip and easily see how your drawing looks on the other side. When you're done, just trace your sketch into a more solid paper.

-Watercolor surprise! I always have one brush with the paint and another brush, on my other hand, that just has water. Don't know if it's useful but it personally helps me make gradients faster (you hit a spot with your ink brush and then finish it with your water one)

Those are all the samll advice I have for now! They're not rules, just tricks that worked for me and that I still use till this day. If anyone has any other traditional art tricks, post a comment below!

[ddejavvu]

feeling awkward about sending this but ill do it anyway.

💘 shot through the heart - (moots only!) - send me a james fic you’ve written and I’ll read/reblog/review it!

this is literally the first and only smut fic I've posted other than the blurbs and dialogues so have fun with it! i hope so, idk.

ugh im nervous

baby baby don't be nervous!! i loved it a lot, i'm down really bad for both sub!james and dom!james so switch!james was perfect 🛐

my review, including excerpts from the fic, is down below. this is 18+ content, minors dni.

“Mummy,” he groaned, his cock twitching inside you.

“I know it’s hard to hold, love,” you breathed, thumb caressing his cheek. “Just be a good boy for mummy,” his cock twitched again to your praise, whimpers fell from his mouth. His little whimpers were your favourite song, that you’ll never get bored of listening to. Your hand on his cheek moved down, caressing the sides of his neck. “D’you want mummy to squeeze it?” he nodded eagerly, meeting his teary eyes with yours. You didn’t want to push him more to talk, but you knew James; the moment you capitulate to him, he’ll presume on it. “Use your words, darling.”

“Can – can you, mummy? Squeeze – squeeze it.” You, as the lady you are, weren’t going to reject your boyfriend’s gentle wish. Your pussy clenched around him as your hand tightened its grip on his neck. James’s incoherent whimpers blended with the snapping sounds while your hips were meeting each other at a bruising pace. His pubic bone was brushing your clit perfectly. You threw your head back, a strangled moan tearing out of your throat.

GOODBYE. THIS TOOK ME OUT. the way he's so desperate for reader to clench omgomgmggogm i would treat him so right.

James watched you with a submissive bliss in his eyes as you rode both your orgasms. He loved watching you cum, he loved knowing it’s him making you reach your climax. However, he wanted to do more to make you feel good. He knew you love being in control, but if you gave him one chance, just one chance to –

god he's so sweet :( love sub!jamie so much omg

“You know how much I love you, right?” He asked, resting his cheek on your shoulder. You nodded, waiting to see where this goes. “And – And how much I love making you feel good.” He waited for your approval. You brushed your nose to his, humming. “And I know you like – and I know you love being the one in control, I love it, too.” He changed his position, now sitting beside you, his hands soothing your arm. “I just heard that – that Moony and Pads were –”

“Ah, Them again!” You snapped, those two were always trying to dissuade James with their stupid ideas. ‘You’re the man, mate. Take the ropes in your hands.’ But James wasn’t like them, you knew it. His little mind was getting fuzzy sometimes, that’s all.

“Just listen mummy, please. Haven’t I been a good boy?” with the way he pouted his lip, how can you resist him, really? You lifted yourself, just to stand on your elbows. “I just want you to relax a bit, I – I want you to – uh,” he stuttered as his cheek turned to the sweetest shade of red. “I want you to let me spoil you, mummy, please,” he whispered, hiding his face.

MOONY. PADS. GET THE FUCK OUT. i swear they're always the culprits goddamn - but james um 😋 if you're looking for someone to spoil 😋

Your lips trailed down his neck, biting that soft spot just enough to make James whine. You giggled through his ear.“Let’s take a shower now, huh?”

“I’m–” you furrowed your brows, putting your hands on both sides of him. He glanced away. “I got a Quidditch practise, can’t be late, y’know.”

:(( jamie :((

Marlene nodded at Lily’s words, sitting beside you.“Tell me, sweetie,” she hung her arm around your shoulders. “when was the last time you and James had sex?”

“Marlene!” Lily shouted as she settled the chair on your opposite. “You can’t ask these things to people. It’s inappropriate.”

marlene is getting straight to business, i always knew i loved her 😌

“Just wanted to say good luck to my star player.” You kissed the side of his mouth before settling beside him. He rested his hands at the sides of your waist, eyes twinkling to yours.

“Are you going to come to the match?” And you wanted to hex yourself until you’re paralysed at that moment.

“Of course I will,” you said, thumb drawing little circles on his leg, your other fingers wandering upwards ever slightly. “I know this match is important,” you pressed your hand on his leg, which was millimetres away from his crotch. “And I know how nervous you are before important matches,” leaning on his ear, you whispered, “luckily, I also know how to appease you.”

calming james down while simultaneously getting him riled up before quidditch >>>>>> if he's gonna be that intense about the game i'd love to help him out 😋

“Yes, baby,” you started to unbutton his shirt. “You’ve been such a good boy f’me, you deserve an award.” squeezing his abs slightly, you kissed his bare chest. “Don’t you think so?”

i wanna squeeze his abs i just want a big handful i just wanna 🤏🤏🤏

You sat on the bed, obligating him as he told you so. He was violent, yes. And you were surprised. But the thing that surprised you the most was that you actually liked it. You were so used to James being a whiny greedy little boy, it made you forget how strong and big he is.

🥴🥴🥴 'whiny greedy' oh my god i need sub!james so bad this is not a joke

James shushed you, pressing lips to yours. “Just relax,” jogging you through the pillows, he unbuttoned your shirt, exposing more of your skin. “Lemme be a good boy and take care of you.” You whined at his words. He kissed your collarbone, down to your chest. He cupped your breasts, which were covered with his favourite lacy bra, burying his face between them.

“I love these girls,” he uttered hoarsely. Your chuckle turned into a gasp when he nipped one of them. His hands skillfully got rid of your bra, mouth attaching your nipple. He rolled his tongue over your hardening bundle, sucking and kissing it as he hummed to himself. Of course, he didn’t leave your other breast uninterested. Kneading, pinching, squeezing… Your head was thrown back, too lost in pleasure. You tug your hands on his curls, pushing down. James looked up to you before switching between your breasts.

JAMES THE BOOB MAN <3

Your cunt clenched around nothing when James started to suck your engorged clit, thighs closing around his ears, making it hard for him to hear your pretty moans. But Merlin, he was so drunk on your sweet juices, he didn’t even mind it. Just kept licking and sucking your slobbering pussy, his tongue pumping in and out.

You cried out his name over and over again, stepping closer to your orgasm with every manoeuvre of his skilled tongue. “Cum f’me, love,” he mumbled against your pulsing sex.

SO FUCKING DEAD FOR THIS MAN OH MY GOD I JUST K N O W HE AIMS TO PLEASE >>>>>

“Uhm,” he hid his face at the crook of your neck. “I might’ve came while eating you out.”

“So,” you laughed mouthfully, “can’t you handle a second round?”

haha,, james,, cumming untouched,, find me passed out on my kitchen floor rn,,

babe this was so good 🥴 thank you so much for participating in my event and thank you even more for sharing this with me!!

[chaoslynx]

Hi! I'm curious, what's your art process like? I want to maybe learn some ways to learn better :') /gen /pos

Oh gosh, being asked this when I'm such a beginner is a little terrifying, but I'll try my best to answer!

Well, you see, my art process is quite complex but it all boils down to one thing: Ash Lynx. /j

Seriously though, here's kind of what I do! You can also see a timelapse of one of my first attempts at digital painting here on my Instagram (on the second slide)! I use a Wacom Intuos Small size tablet, and CSP on my laptop.

My first step is usually (not always) picking a reference. A couple of my pieces (like this one!) aren't from reference, but most are. I usually use stock photo websites like Unsplash to find references!

Say this is my reference. My first lines on the paper are to create a rough sketch based on it! Some of these end up rougher than others, but here's what my sketch looked like based on this image:

(Honestly, this is one of my nicer first sketches. Some of them are way rougher.) You can see that I didn't really want to deal with hands yet lol, so I kind of just roughed out where they are. Sometimes on the first sketch I'll rough out hair too, or other times I'll leave it like this.

If I'm trying a painting style, I make a more detailed first sketch, but skip the lineart step and go straight to color. I'm gonna discuss more about my lineart style here since I have more experience with it, but check out that Instagram post I linked to see kinda how I do painting!

Then I turn the sketch blue and do my lineart over it! Feel free to deviate from the sketch if things aren't working out. I often do lineart on several layers; like here, the eyes are on their own layer, as are the hands and camera. I think I overuse layers, though, so that's not for everyone lol. Here's what my final lineart looks like over the sketch!

Don't be afraid to redo lineart over and over. Sometimes I'll be like "maybe it'll look better with color!" and it never does 😭 So lineart is really important! It took SO many attempts to get his hands right on this one. I had the reference image open on my phone and was trying to draw pretty close to how the model in the stock image had her hands on the camera.

Next I hide the sketch layer and do flat colors. Sometimes I'll use the bucket tool for this, but a lot of times it doesn't work super well and I'll just color them in myself. Again I seriously overuse layers, so usually each flat color has its own layer. For black hair I usually switch the color wheel to blue, then pick something on the darker and grayer side.

Next up is lighting and shading! I have different strategies for this depending on the piece. Sometimes I use clipping layers over each color layer and just shade with the original color, shifted slightly on the color wheel. (I've been told not to shade in gray!)

For this one, though, I used a multiply layer for shading and an add glow for lighting. I knew I wanted to have a brick background, so I used an orangey-red color for the shading and lighting. I wanted my light coming from the upper left, so I kept that in mind. Then I lower the opacity on both until it looks decent! Here's with and without the lowered opacity. On this one I blended the shading and lighting layers in quite a bit, because I wanted it to look kind of soft.

On this one I also added blushies on his nose, ears, cheeks, and lips. I added a highlight on Eiji's hair (also on an add glow layer clipped to the hair color layer). I also put details into Eiji's eyes to make them sparkle! Here's zoomed in on his face so you can see the changes:

I added details on the camera to make it look a little more reflective and less boring, and to draw some attention to it.

For the background, I put a layer under Eiji and made it the dark red color I wanted. Then I put the bricks over it, blurred them, and reduced the opacity.

On this one I wanted the background to have kind of a grimy but ethereal effect, so I drew cracks along the bricks with reduced opacity, and drew specks of orange on an add glow with a really reduced opacity. I also added another lighting layer in front of Eiji but not clipped to him for the background lighting. Then I just added a noise layer with super reduced opacity, and put my watermark on it with an overlay layer!

Here's how the final piece turned out:

I hope this is helpful! I've only been drawing for a few months so I definitely have a lot to learn still. Let me know if you have any questions. (That's open to anyone!) Also if anyone has advice for me and/or this anon, I'm sure we'd both appreciate that! 💖💖💖

[chaezy]

good thing.

➸ Pairing: Jung Jaehyun | Reader

➸ Summary: For some reason, Jaehyun thinks he could wait a while more. Good things come to those who wait after all, his mother had told him once.

➸ Warning(s): N/A

➸ Word Count: 1.8k

➸ Author's Note: This is my first time posting something here on Tumblr so I hope this one shot was to your liking! I also apologize if there were any grammatical errors or typos! This was not proofread.

• • • • • •

She's late, Jaehyun thinks to himself, checking his phone to look at the time for the umpteenth time.

Jaehyun had his doubts before he agreed to his friend's offer. He knew the blind date Johnny practically begged him to go to wasn't going to end well just like his friend had hoped. In fact, it hasn't even started yet, but he was already feeling disappointed.

It's been almost an hour since he came and had been waiting at the supposed meeting place. And the more he waited, the more he felt hopeless somehow. He wanted to leave already, but he can't seem to find the will to as of yet.

For some reason, Jaehyun thinks he could wait a while more. Good things come to those who wait after all, his mother had told him once. And it's not like it'd hurt him if he waits a bit more. He's got nothing else to do anyway.

He had been drinking his not-so warm coffee when an unfamiliar and feminine voice spoke to him. “Are you Jaehyun?” The voice was sweet and smooth, very pleasing to the ears.

Jaehyun dragged the mug off his face and whirled his head to the side. Standing before him was a girl with [h/l], messy [h/c] hair, [e/c] eyes, and [s/c] complexion.

She's pretty, the male admits to himself, nodding his head to the question.

Jaehyun placed his mug down the table and stood up, wiping his dominant hand on his jeans before holding it out for the girl to take. Thankfully, she took it and shook his hand, promptly letting go after. Her hand was soft and her hold was gentle, Jaehyun noticed.

He gestured for her to sit onto the chair across him, which she gratefully did. Jaehyun watched the girl adjust herself comfortably onto the seat.

“You must be Haewon then?” he asked, looking directly at the girl in front of him.

“Actually, I'm her friend. . .” the girl trailed off, yet Jaehyun heard just fine. She fiddled with her fingers bashfully. “I'm [Y/N] by the way. Haewon sent me here to tell you that she's not coming. I'm sorry about that—her suddenly standing you up, I mean. She got back with her boyfriend yesterday so. . .”

An awkward silence loomed over the two of them. Jaehyun, who has no idea what to feel about the sudden information, only stared at [Y/N] with an unreadable expression.

“I-I'm really sorry about her and for making you wait for nothing to happen,” [Y/N] proceeded to talk. “I assure you my friend didn't agree just to not show up on the actual date. She was actually really eager to meet you! But then her ex-boyfriend kind of wanted to get back with her and after she realized she still loves him, she decided to give him another chance. She's a bit dumb, especially when it comes to love, which is why she did it.”

Then her face erupted into a deep shade of red, something Jaehyun found endearing somehow. She apologized profusely for talking a tad long and this elicited a chuckle from the male, which only seemed to worsen her blush and embarrassment.

“It's fine, I understand,” he reassured. [Y/N] seemed to ease at his statement so she released a sigh in relief. He smiled at the action, his dimples appearing.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind that didn't only shock [Y/N], but himself as well. “Will you stay a while longer?”

She looked at him with wide eyes.

Jaehyun didn't know he had it in him, but he was definitely not this bold. He was usually reserved and observed more than he talked.

“If it's okay with you, of course,” he said afterwards, chuckling sheepishly. Suddenly, he was the one feeling bashful now. “I would like to get to know you. Is that alright?”

Though hesitant at first, [Y/N] still nodded. This made Jaehyun grin broadly.

“Thank you.”

At least it worked out fine.

• • • • • •

A lot of time had passed since then, and Jaehyun learned a lot about the girl who's friend had stood him up.

He learned that [Y/N] attended the same university as he did and that she was taking Engineering as her course. He also learned that she was in one of the elective classes he takes and was absolutely surprised to hear about it. He would've seen her somehow at least once, but he never did.

“You must blend in really well with the crowd,” he said, half amused and half shocked. “I've never seen you in that class before.”

[Y/N] laughed at him. “I'm one of the students who usually comes to the class early. And I always sit at the back so maybe that's why you never see me.”

“I'll be sure look for you next time then,” Jaehyun beamed at her. “You're really cool and nice. I'd like to sit with you some time and talk more. Actually, give me your cell number. I'd love to hangout with you after this or when we're free.”

[Y/N] looked at him in shock, almost in disbelief. “You still want to hangout with me after this?” she asked, sounding incredulous. Jaehyun found this reaction of hers somewhat puzzling.

“Why? You don't want to?” He was hurt. He thought somehow that she felt the same way. Perhaps he thought wrong.

“Ah, no! I'm sorry if you interpreted it that way!” she apologized, waving her hands vigorously. “Hanging out with you would be nice! Truly! I was just surprised, you know? I mean. . . I thought after this you won't talk to me anymore. I'm not exactly the best person to talk to since I babble a lot more than I actually listen and I'm awkward as well, which makes it worse. I'm just confused why you'd hangout with me.”

Then he heard her curse under her breath, making him titter.

“Sorry about that. I know I'm rambling a lot, but I just can't stop myself sometimes!” She flashed him an apologetic smile. “I hope it doesn't bother you. . .”

Jaehyun noticed she tends to apologize all the time and play with her fingers when she was shy, embarrassed, or nervous.

Adorable, he mused.

Jaehyun then smiles warmly. “It's okay. I actually find it endearing and cute.” She seemed to redden at the sudden compliment, something that didn't go unnoticed by the male. “Will you give me your number then?”

She jolted from her seat suddenly, apologizing once again for being absentminded. She hastily grabbed his phone from his hand, their fingers brushing each other the slightest, and typed her digits quickly.

When Jaehyun got his phone back, his eyes lingered a bit too long at the screen. “We're number neighbors,” he blurted out, looking up to stare at the girl across him.

“Sorry?” [Y/N] tilted her head.

This time, it was Jaehyun's turn to blush. He shook his head, smiling reassuringly at her. “Nothing. Nevermind what I said.”

“Alright.” She smiled back at him, too prettily in fact.

Then her phone rang from the table all of a sudden, which both caught their attentions. [Y/N] apologized and excused herself for a while as she got out of her seat and went outside the coffee shop to take the call privately.

While she was out of sight at the moment, Jaehyun took this as an opportunity to assess his thoughts and opinions about the girl. 

[Y/N] was a nice girl, though a bit bashful sometimes, but overall, she was fun to talk to. Although she can be awkward and would chatter a lot frequently, Jaehyun still finds himself charmed by her quirky traits. She was definitely odd, but that only seemed to pull him in.

Jaehyun definitely never felt like this before towards other girls he's met. Despite the fact that this was his first ever blind date, he knew she was different. Though that sounded a bit cliche, it was true anyway.

He wonders though, what if her friend, Haewon, hadn't gotten back with her boyfriend at all? Would he have enjoyed the date as much as he had enjoyed conversing with [Y/N]? Perhaps not, but he doesn't know that.

All he knows is that he is thankful that Haewon got back with her ex-boyfriend.

Jaehyun heard the familiar jingle on the entrance of the cafe, which made him perk up in his seat and sit up straighter as he caught the familiar mop of [h/c] drawing near.

[Y/N] didn't sit back at the chair and stood up besides it instead, an apologetic look plastered on her face.

“I'm so sorry, Jaehyun, but I have to go,” she said, a bashful smile gracing her lips. Jaehyun tried not to frown. “I forgot that my classmates and I were supposed to talk about a project and now they're wondering where I am. I'm really sorry that I have to cut our date—”

Jaehyun's ears turned red at the term. 

“—short. I'll make it up to you sometime, okay? Just text or call me. My phone's always available.” She grabbed her things on the chair. “I'll go now. I'll see you soon again, alright? Bye!”

She waved, and then sprinted off, leaving Jaehyun alone.

Though he's a bit upset that it ended so soon, he can't help but still feel ecstatic. Date, he says to himself, she thought of it as a date.

A smile crept up to his face and he tried his best to cover it with his hand.

She said see you soon, he continued. There's definitely a second date.

• • • • • •

When Jaehyun got back at the dorms, he was immediately greeted by his roommate and best friend, Johnny.

“How was the date?” he asked with a teasing smirk and with one of his eyebrows raised. Jaehyun can't help but let a smile grace his lips as he recalled about what happened earlier. “Seeing you smile like that, it definitely turned out well then?”

Jaehyun hummed. “Not really,” he vaguely responded.

“What do you mean?”

“Haewon didn't come.”

“She stood you up?!” Johnny's mouth hung open in disbelief. “But you're smiling?! You came and waited for nothing!”

Jaehyun shook his head. “Her friend came, called herself [Y/N], and apologized in behalf of her friend. Told me Haewon got back with her ex-boyfriend yesterday, which is why she didn't bother showing up today, and that she sent [Y/N] to tell me about it.”

Johnny raised his eyebrows at his friends. “And?” he urged, suddenly curious.

“I asked [Y/N] if she can stay a bit longer and she did,” Jaehyun resumed. “We talked, we laughed, and I got her number. But she had to leave early because her classmates were calling for her. But guess what, Johnny?”

“What?”

Jaehyun plopped down on a chair with the biggest and proudest grin as he looked up at his friend. “This guy's getting a second date.”

Good things really do come to those who wait.

[dolorousheart]

//Random question, but how do you draw your chars? I mean, what's the process? On the ones that still include the sketch lines, I see the circles used for dimensions and whatnot, but I'd love to know what else you do! I've been in love with your style since I first followed on my old RP blog and have always wanted to ask if you'd ever thought about making a post showing your process! If you're willing to share it of course! I'd understand if you'd rather it be kept private!

[[ @kohledrogue - First of all, a thousand and one apologies for taking forever to answer this!  I so badly wanted to make a nicely done tutorial from scratch.  However, I don’t really have one set way of drawing, nor am I organised enough to create a proper and aesthetically pleasing tutorial.  lol  But I’ve tried to show two different processes that I use the most. X’)]] 

[[Here’s the only organised example of a process that I have, and it’s one that I use less often, as it’s quite time consuming.  (I also only use it when I want super clean line art.)  Here I’ll do a rough, where I just get the body shape down.  Then I’ll do a clothing and hair rough over it.  After that, I’ll use the pen tool on a linework layer (in SAI) to ink the lines, before hiding the rough layers and adding base colours.  (Sometimes I colour the lines, but sometimes I leave them black.)  Then finally, I’ll add a touch of shading/lighting, texture overlay, and an overall layer of colour over it to give it a certain feel.  (For this I went with a warmer feel.)  

FULL VIEW

The way I tend to do it more often, now, is to skip the inking step, and simply refine and clean up the second rough.

Here you can see where I roughed the body shapes/poses, and then began to rough out the next layer, starting with the clothing.  (I’ll draw each person’s starting rough on a different layer, in case I need to adjust height or positions, before I work on the refined layer.)

After the second rough is done, it’s then cleaned up.  (I obviously didn’t clean this up 100%.  I also completely lost my shit with trying to draw Ele’s feet, so I copped out and cropped the image.  lol)

After the lines are cleaned up, then I’ll add the colours, including any gradients and patterns, and also colour the line art to match.

The colours are too bright for the setting I have in mind, though, so I darken the lot by adding a colour over the whole thing and setting it to multiply.  I chose a deep burgundy, and set the layer opacity to 30%.  (You can play around with the colour and opacity setting to suit your needs.)

Then on top of the multiply layer, I’ll have a layer set to either luminosity or screen, depending on which looks better.  (I tend to set it to one and then toggle it to the other to see what it looks like.)  This one is set to luminosity, and I chose a medium shade of grey, and set it at 30% opacity as well, so it wasn’t too strong.  I used the water brush to soften/blend, as well.  (Like with the multiply layer, you can play around with the colour and opacity.  If I’m having more than one colour of light, then I’ll have a layer for each colour.)

(When I do add the multiply and lighting layers, I clip them to the folder that contains the characters, so it doesn’t affect the background, when it’s added.)

As for the background itself………  It depends how motivated (or lazy - lol) I’m feeling at the time.  I may stick to a simple colour, or I might heavily edit a photo to suit it to match the drawing, or if I’m really feeling confident, then I might actually paint something.  For this pic, though, I just went with a photo and had its perspective, lighting, colours, and brightness/contrast edited and then blurred it a bit.  (I tried to find the original photo, but I couldn’t find it.  It was much more zoomed out, blue in colour, less bright and blurry, and those buildings were more straight and not slanted.  lol)

And finally, it then gets thrown into photoshop for post-production, where I can add lighting effects, weather effects (snow/rain), and add a bit of colour to the whole image, to help create an atmosphere and also bring the background and foreground together a bit more.  Here, I added a soft bit of pink and yellow colouring, along with the snow.  (I also added a teeny bit of extra shadow and lighting on parts of the clothing, where I felt it needed it.)  

Add a signature, and then it’s done.  :)]]