#i will probably add more another time once ive found more. or just add the ones i like

[muchmossymess]

The legend of zelda series is just full of banger music, so I am sharing some of the ones that go the hardest:

Gerudo Valley Theme (Ocarina of Time)

Molduga Battle Theme (Breath of the Wild)

Song of Storms/Windmill Hut Theme (Ocarina of Time)

Molgera Theme (Windwaker)

Vah Naboris Battle Theme (Breath of the Wild)

Please feel free to add more!

[gaiathemexicanbeauty]

Imagine: Mike is back at his mall security guard job, and reader works at the support desk, but more specifically; is in charge of the lost and found.

1st time was because he found an forgotten phone (or something), and was told to take it to the lost and found, where he first met reader.

Then he starts being extra vigilent when walking around, looking for any item that looks misplaced or lost, no matter how unimportant, just as an excuse to go to the lost and found to talk to reader

(Ive never done this before, so sorry if i did anything wrong!)

lost and found | mike schmidt x reader

word count: 1.2k

warnings: none! just a nice little fluffy piece about a sad sad man lol <3

to the asker, i hope you know that i saw this in my inbox and literally squealed, i was waiting for someone to drop a mike request

i hope that this is to your liking, i was going back and forth trying to decide how to start this off and coming up with tiny little ideas to add

also this probably goes without saying, but i have never worked at a mall nor interacted with mall staff if i can help it so if anything sounds off, feel free to correct me

to anyone who also writes on tumblr, pls tell me how you avoid using y/n, i tried to work around it as much as possible but some times just called for it

you hold your polite (albeit strained) smile to the blubbering woman walking away, unsure what to do with yourself as whoever she stands with rubs her back in comfortable circles. another lost wedding ring, gone to the test of time as long as the mall shall live: it's not that you didn't feel bad but after wedding ring #120, you kind of start to get used to the routine of things. lost and found wasn't your first choice when you first started working here but as long as you were getting a paycheck, you weren't going to complain. your side of the mall was rarely visited anyway, giving you the opportunity to do plenty of people watching when you weren't rummaging through piles of lost sweaters and purses.

you let out a quiet sigh once the customers are gone, sitting back in your seat and picking up the book you had once been reading; not like there was anything better to do. fully immersed in your book, you don't even notice the footsteps coming up to the counter. "um, hey." you jolt a bit at the sound of a voice, your gaze snapping from your book to whoever is standing only a few feet away. you have to hold back your reaction when you meet his eyes, tired but trying their best to look interested; it takes you a second to realize this is security and not another customer. "shoot, sorry." you mumble with an awkward smile as you sit up, resting your book in your lap to give the man in front of you your full attention. "how can i help you?" with a thin-lipped smile, he holds up a purse; from the looks of the logo on it, it's obvious this is designer.

you whistle as you take the purse from him, examining it with raised eyebrows. "well, you don't see this everyday. someone should come back for it, thanks." you say, flashing a grin at the security guard as he gives you a much more genuine smile. "no problem. if i had known lost and found got to see stuff like this, i would have put in to work over here instead." he says with a chuckle, folding his hands in front of him as he leans on the counter. "oh, we don't get interesting stuff that often, i promise you." you say with a roll of your eyes, putting the purse behind the counter; anyone in their right mind would come back for this thing. "enlighten me." before you can say something, the security guard outstretches a hand to you with a smile. "i'm mike, by the way. i work security." he says as you shake his hand, raising your eyebrows at him playfully. "(y/n). to give you some insight into how very little happens here, try and guess how many gachapon toys i have behind this counter."

and just like that, you've made a friend; not that you'd admit that mike wasn't sore on the eyes this soon. you just found it easy to talk to him considering you had never seen him around up until this point. after your first meeting, mike would regularly stop by whether he had something lost to leave with you or not: if you were lucky, he would even join you for lunch or walk you out at the end of a shift. little by little, you couldn't help but anticipate his arrival, the same relaxed smile always on his face much unlike the first time he'd approached you.

it's been almost a month by this point, you've had so many lost items deposited to you that after a while, throwing things away or reselling them (specific orders from your boss who was rather shocked at how many items you had in the back room) was required after a certain amount of time: not like anyone came back for them anyway. today was no different than the rest, the sounds of buzzing conversation in the distance from the more crowded areas of the mall. you pop the gum in your mouth as you paint your thumbnail a light-yellow color, scrunching your nose a bit at the smell of the nail polish. you blow softly on it, your eyes glancing up to scan your surroundings. what you see nearly makes you laugh. mike is walking over, seemingly at his normal pace before something catches his attention; whatever it is, you most definitely can't see it. when he stoops down to inspect it, he makes a face that you can only decipher as him being slightly annoyed. he catches you looking at him, an embarrassed smile on his face as he makes the rest of the walk of shame over to you when he realizes he's been caught.

"well, what is it this time? a broken watch? some cap with an unexplainable stain on it?" "what kind of person do you take me for? i'm just a faithful employee trying to do my job." mike says as he extends his arms with a playful smile, making you role your eyes as you abandon your nail polish to look up at the man in front of you. you close your eyes as you hold out your hand to him expectantly, waiting for him to drop something into your palm; after how often he came around, you made it something of a guessing game as to what mike was going to bring out. surprisingly, it's small, definitely plastic from the muted sound it makes when it lands in your hand. "it's a toy." "warm enough. you can open your eyes." you start to say something, opening your eyes and inspecting the item in your hand before you pause.

a small, plastic cat sits on a swing, it's paws holding on to the small chains attached to a brightly colored tab; it's obvious you could hang this off a shelf. your cheeks redden a bit as a sheepish smile grows on your face, pushing a piece of hair behind your ear as your other hand holds it up to inspect it further. you'd never actually stopped at the capsule toy machines yourself, starting your collection only a few weeks after starting your job when they popped up so frequently at the counter. "you like it?" you blink at mike as he smiles fondly at you, one hand propping his chin up; you swear you can see a hint of smugness in his gaze. "it's..yeah. it's cute." you say, unable to help the way you giggle a bit as you hang the toy on the edge of the counter. "good. better hope no one come's looking for it." he chuckles softly, his eyes dropping from yours for a moment as you stare in delight at the newest addition to your collection. "i wouldn't give it to them anyway. not knowing you got it for me." mike's lips part a bit in shock, a scoff of disbelief leaving him despite the smile on his face as you smile up at him knowingly. he tries to defend himself, stuttering to say something before you're called by one of your coworkers. "duty calls." you giggle as you rise from your seat, pretending not to notice the way mike is still trying to recover from being caught as you make your way over to your coworker, a smile tugging at your lips.

SECOND ONE SHOT IN A WEEK HOLY MOLY THIS IS NEW to the asker, i hope you enjoyed this, i tried to add my own little spin to things just to give it that little extra romantic flair lol BUTTT i hope that all of you are having a good rest of your day/night/afternoon and stay safe! :D

[sirwow]

I need to get out my bleeding heart for minecraft because man this game basically created the foundation and growth of my brain however rocky and I need to tell the world because I said so.

This game is a canvas. Not a empty one mind you but a canvas nonetheless. The one presented to all to begin being a world in which they’re left to learn and discover and build or destroy all on their own. Or maybe with a friend, or many. Someone’s first experience with Minecraft likely isn’t picking it up randomly but rather being told tales by others of what they weaved with the canvas they were given.

Weather that person was as quaint to just add a few additions to the canvas; a small wooden house situated inside a cool looking cave with some silly story about a creeper and a fire. Or if this person was someone you don’t really know but they put themselves out there to show their work to the world. A completely blank canvas with only one block? Why not? A downright ridiculous looking building with the sole goal of getting melons? Sure.

These stories and art is what makes this game so special. Something so stupid and mundane like a bunch of 1 block jumps with a goofy voice over and sound effects can still be such a great and beautiful thing with heart and care. We can’t understand every work but damnit I have respect for every last aspect and one. The depths of this game truly allowing everyone have some place, from leisure to mastery. I can not mention everyone but I will cover the broad strokes and their wonders.

Firstly to the builders of Minecraft. You are the forefront and most clear of your art. It is art within the most literal sense of the word, weather it is a building with intricate detail in every crevice and corner thought out meticulously. Or those of the larger then ourselves works. Organic mythical works of dragons, people, animals and more. Builds only made to be viewed once at one angle akin to a real painting. The recreations or creations of yours dreams and hopes. Or even just the humble home and village to create a story of as you survive. Creative, builders tools, survival, challenge play throughs. You’re all artists.

Redstoners. Though siblings of builders, your work lays in numbers, timing, mechanical works. Fixing issues you created for yourself when trying to achieve a goal. It may just be making the fastest door, or the largest and you’d still manage to break so many boundaries with time. Or it is those beyond my personal comprehension. You make machines capable of manipulating the behavior of the game itself by going through the cracks found over the decade of redstone. As much as it is wizardry to myself I wish someday to learn this as well if I ever choose to go down such a path. However as of now my eyes are set on another unexpected and undermined path that is next.

PVP. One much loathed by those outside it and I am guilty of such for almost a decade but as now Iv become knee deep in the waters of it myself I also see how it’s an art. Maybe more in the martial sense as obvious but it’s still very impressive what I see and understand in it now. The functions beyond “swing sword good”; a much deeper phycological game aspect to it then seen outside and understanding the intricacies of mechanics you generally give little thought to playing normally. Just how much health does each weapon do- crit or not. How fast can a crossbow reload, watch your sprint or you might just lose. On and on. Iv gained a lot of respect for it.

Parkour. Get your parkour civilization jokes out of the way- this is probably the MOST fundamental part of the game and I find it downright magical what can be done with it. I realize I’m saying that a lot but it’s 1 am shh. Anywho it’s got all its ins and outs. The ice parkour, neos, fences, drip leaf, combined redstone and timing, trapdoors and more. I’m missing about 50 here but that just goes to show how deep it is.

Off of parkour comes our good friend Speedrunning!!! Dedication and time in its most raw. Triangulation for college? Wrong! Block game. It’s a mental load to take on and the aspect of random chance and taking everything on your shoulders is persistence and patience.

And the best part of all of this? They all come together in their own ways for hundreds nay thousands of ways to play. All without touching on the deep deep well that is servers. Skyblock players, pvpers, ice boaters, niche specialists games (Cops v Crims, Bedwars, party games, tower defense, MMORPGs, one in the quiver for my old chums out there, ect) you all have my undying interest and respect in the details and depths of what you love.

So now you have the little canvas before you. Make what you wish no matter how bad. No one will create something identical to what you choose and it’s your story to paint- no matter how lame, small, boring, bad, or ugly you might claim it to be. I want it to still be made and for you to explore whatever depths you choose. Weather that be the simple literal ones, finding a neat cave or what have you, or finding a passion buried under the rubble.

And me? I guess I’ll keep doing my thing of watching and learning about all the silly little corners this game has and mastering what I can even if that takes another decade to do. The universe loves me and it loves you too, go and create.

[fallfairfreelancer]

SAM AND MAX MERMAID AU1!!11!1!!!1

Ok this is an au ive been wokring on for a while now and im so so so excited to talk about it

SO obv this is like a mermaid au, i have more for it (like sybil granny ruth n papierwaite but this is the art i have 4 now) bc i love love LOVE mermaids!1!!!1 (i made sam and max mermaid pride art but i loved it so much i turned that /j into /srs) SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO

So Sam and Max met at little guppies, like how they met in canon but in the sea, and after Max hospitalized Samʼs bullies with his natural toxins, he and Sam became best friends 4ever. Sam and Max lived in the outskirts of the biggest city in the merfolk kingdom, Samʼs parents left Sam when he was still an egg with Granny Ruth, who is one of the kingdomʼs fiercest n most respected warriors, to move to colder waters in Alaska, where Samʼs family partially originated from. So Sam was raised by Ruth, when Sam was just hatched, his grandfather Leo had died fighting against the humans to protect the kingdom. Max came from a family with loads and loads of kids, (some of which had been either kidnapped or eaten by predators :( ), and probably not a very good home life, so he hung out at Ruthʼs cave with Sam almost every night. As Sam and Max grew up, so did their love for one another. Once they were old enough they moved closer to the shore, where they take up cases for fun, and make sure humans dont get too close. They obviously got married as soon as they could, and spend their time adventuring and scavenging. Occasionaly they will go to human markets, selling fish theyve hunted for money to buy cool weapons and food, but otherwise they like to mess around with pirates and ships. They also like to hang out and have lunch with their friends who claim to be human, Papierwaite and his adopted child Sammun-Mak, who run a museum and live on the edge of the shore, easy access and all.

One day, while exploring a cool shipwreck, they found a little egg, Max, instantly infatuated by it, begged Sam to take it home, so they did. Eventually that egg hatched and they had a kid of their own :) (GEEK!!!) Max unfortunately wasnt allowed to touch her, as he might poison her. Though their baby was always ill and burned so easily, even though Max hadnt touched her! always squinting and shocking them. Confused, they went to Granny Ruth for help. under further investigation they deducted that their baby was an electric eel! Which usually live in freshwater, so she was extra fragile. Though as she got older, she grew stronger, and shockingly smarter, always researching and making devices.

Theyre a very silly family

I KNOW IM GONNA ADD MORE TO THE AU BUT THIS IS WHAT I GOT SO FAR

Tags:

[antebellumite]

(since i sense you may be having an atticus finch moment rn) is go set a watchman "canon" to you? i always liked tkam but i never read gsaw (even though someone gave it to me when it came out) because i got a weird feeling about the circumstances of it being published among other things. never talked to anybody about it so figured i'd ask a certified tkam enjoyer

i am having Such an atticus finch moment that i have three fics in the works for him

ohhh boy so hear me out.

warning: i'm rereading tkam as we speak and its been a while since ive read gsaw

in my own personal head-interpretation of to kill a mockingbird, in which the irl reality of its publication is disregarded, gsaw is canon in the sense that it's the alternate universe of to kill a mockingbird, with the point of divergence being the tom robinson trial.

tom robinson is found guilty: atticus experiences Character Growth and becomes and remains the folk hero Defender of Rights and dilf we know today

tom robinson is not found guilty [or at least, not found guilty via the defense atticus uses in gsaw]: atticus basically remains on the natural course he was in the beginning of tkam to bigotry and Racism TM

tldr: gsaw, on its own, is not a good book, and nor is it fully canon, but it does serve as great contextualization to the person that atticus is in tkam and who atticus could have been.

at the beginning of the book and throughout the trial, atticus finch is clearly a very White Moderate in our Modern Terms, in the sense that he might disapprove of the racism exhibited by the citizens of maycomb, but he also is more than content to not do anything about it. his worldview is essentially: "man it sure sucks that my neighbors are prejudiced and more than willing to sentence an innocent man to death, and but i guess i'll tolerate it and spend time around them because they're good people at heart [to other white people]." you know how one of the most memorable lessons atticus teaches to scout is to have empathy for others? my argument is that atticus's practicing of that is what makes him to give too much leeway to the bigoted members of the community around him.

we see this with ike finch, maycomb's "sole surviving confederate veteran" and stonewall jackson fetishist. he makes his appearance early on in the book, prior to the robinson case even being introduced. according to scout, he comes by at least once a year to "rehash the war" with atticus. while i can assume this means that ike is representing the confederacy and atticus the union in this conversation, considering that in the immediate paragraph after, atticus states "this time we aren't fighting the yankees, we're fighting our friends. but remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they're still our friends and this is still our home." it implies that in this american civil war replay, either both of them are identifying with the confederacy, or ike is and atticus is more than okay to go along with it. and in addition, atticus's apparent determination to remain on good terms with the people of maycomb no matter how bitter it got adds questions to just what he would have considered bitter enough for the people of maycomb to no longer remain his friends. if the mob at the scene at the jailhouse actually managed to lynch tom robinson, which they were probably going to do, until scout saved the day, would that have been "bitter enough" for atticus to reconsider being friends with murderers?

actually the fact that he adds in 'and this is still our home' makes me think he was planning to leave maycomb entirely if that scenerio actually happened but i digress

and then you get to ms. dubose, who serves as another aspect to how atticus views the racism of his town. when ms. dubose dies, he calls her the most bravest person he'd ever known, for having the courage to die clean of her morphine addiction, and also a "great lady". which, i understand, in part, is because she Just Died and he's talking to Jem and Scout who are children, but the way that atticus talks about it makes you feel as though he's implying that her courage serves as either recompense or excuse for a. the racism and b. the whole thing where she essentially verbally harassed jem and scout whenever they came by for the horrid sin of walking where she could see them.

of course there's also maycomb trial in general. atticus obviously knows that he cant win-- the famous 'just because you're licked doesn't mean you can give up' quote-- because he understands the prejudice of the town. but i believe that behind the quote, atticus still had faith in the judicial process, just not in the people who were in charge of it in maycomb. its part of the reason for his appeal-- to get robinson to a higher court where the people there could be more open-minded.

so in essence, atticus at the turning point of his story [ the trial ], is someone who's

1. overly lenient and sympathetic view of his maycomb neighbors allows him to excuse much of the harmful rhetoric and actions they perpetrate

2. considers racism to be, while Bad, a certain type of bad that is ultimately forgivable/excusable. i think there's also evidence in tkam that he basically also thinks the same thing for other forms of bigotry but i'm not going to look for them.

3. has trust in the judicial system

so from there, we have the tom robinson trial.

i like to think that what acting as tom robinson's defense attorney did for atticus was that it forced him to actually reckon with the racism of maycomb as directed towards an actual human being rather than a Nebulous Construct. when tom robinson got declared guilty despite being innocent, it showed him the actual harmful effects of what the people of maycomb believed, on an actual human being, who was subsequently presumably murdered via 17 gunshot wounds. it showed the failures of a system that allowed for tom robinson to be murdered and sentenced for a crime he didn't commit in the first place.

in gsaw, without tom robinson being convicted, i don't think that lesson would have hit so hard. to gsaw!atticus, robinson being declared not guilty is proof that the racism of maycomb is ultimately Not That Harmful, proof that the system ultimately Works As It Should, and it allows him to sink deeper into interactions with more extreme racist individuals, and eventually become the verison of atticus we see in gsaw.

in addition, gsaw!atticus's defense for tom robinson that gets him acquitted is that the robinson's presumed rape of mayella was consensual, whereas tkam!atticus reveals that the rape didn't happen between robinson and mayella in the first place (although, you know.) which implies a contrast between gsaw!atticus and tkam!atticus where tkam!atticus was focused on exonerating robinson's public image in order to then acquit robinson, but gsaw!atticus was focused on acquitting robinson head on, even if it meant attacking mayella instead.

what this would mean is that gsaw!atticus might not even have had all that much of an interaction with tom robinson, and therefore wasn't able to do that whole tkam-trademark Understanding and Seeing Him As A Person, thereby Removing his past Blinders to Injustice TM TM TM.

and this leads to the changes in atticus from tkam and gsaw. they're still the same person, but with a different turning point.

[tyo-mimt]

5/36. @tmnt-event-blog

Time is often better spent on compromise than arguing.

(a/n: tumblr. i need more colours. this was already a hard enough prompt to write /lighthearted)

It's rare to see every single member of the Hamato Clan present and accounted for under the same lair. While the turtles and Splinter were always there, April had less time to visit, Sunita's visits relied heavily on April's presence, the Caseys were always off doing something in New York, and Draxum only ever visited whenever disaster struck or if he didn't have that tri-monthly lunch ladies' assemblage.

So naturally, it was difficult for everyone to be there for one big gathering.

But on the off chance that everyone could make it, it's only natual everyone would want to capitalise on it. April and Sunita brought the pizza (lots of it), the Caseys brought drinks (even more of it), and Draxum brought seating (who knew man-sized plants could make for such comfortable chairs? Learn something new every day). What could go wrong?

Well, maybe the fifteen minutes they had spent arguing about the same topic: which movie to watch.

"We've been over this, Jupiter Jim Sails The Seven Galaxies makes Mikey and Leo fight!" Sunita sighed.

"We'll promise to fight extra quiet for the ending," Mikey argued.

"Yeah! And at least we won't have Raph die of boredom and break another table via Jupiter Jim's Pluto Vacation IV!" Leo was quick to add.

"But it's a musical! It's the only worthwhile thing about the movie!" Draxum emphasised.

"I refuse to spend three hours watching the funny space man look for ice!" Cassandra asserted, squeezing the life out of her red cup.

"How about a Lou Jitsu movie instead?" Splinter brought up.

"Pops, don't take this the wrong way, but everyone and their mothers has seen every Lou Jitsu movie at least twice," Donnie deadpanned.

"Even already CJ's seen Punch Chowder three times! And those two times were in the apocalypse!" Raph mentioned.

"Then three times simply isn't enough!"

The entire room burst into a chorus of disagreement; the order they all once established was now chaos as the line-up of movies remained as limited as they always did.

Casey could understand; time's precious, and there wasn't always enough of it.

Back in the other timeline, disputes like this would've been resolved through compromise... The movie displayed was always determined by luck of the draw. Easy when their selections were always limited. Those movie screenings weren't mandatory, but Casey did attend every one... It was more time spent with loved ones, and he knew better than to let this argument drag on any longer.

He cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention. "How much time do you all have to fight over this?"

"I have tomorrow off," April answered.

"We're both free all the time," Cassandra added.

"It's a weekend, everyone's probably free tomorrow," Sunita said.

Casey sighed, exhaling in relief; they just gave him the answer, "Well, we have two movies we want to watch, and we all don't have somewhere to be tomorrow, so how about we watch both of them?"

Agreements rang through the air. As the tension in the air mellowed down from the prior polarising argument, everyone assumed their positions. The turtles took up a bulk of the floor in a pile, stacked onto each other.

The first movie started; Splinter was the first to inch towards the turtles, taking a seat on one side of Raph's shell. Then April and Sunita clambered onto the other side, claiming the spot as their own. Draxum even pulled a beanbag over to sit closer to the crowd. The second movie rolled in, and the pile turned upside down. Raph had gathered everyone sitting there into a sitting embrace; Cassandra grabbed Casey and pulled him over to join them all. Casey found himself nestled next to his mom-turned-sister and Raph's arm as he watched the movie play on.

But in the end, plagued with the drowsiness from too much pizza and the night creeping in, no one got to see the ending of Jupiter Jim Sails The Seven Galaxies.

[tedlebred]

if youre comfortable sharing, whats your rendering process? what are some ways you learned? your art is very yummy

HSHSHHSHS hello!!!!!!!!!! first off omg,,,, thank you so much,,,,🤭🤭

secondly!!!! heres my attempt at a rendering process explanation. uhm. warning ive never really been asked to explain it before please bare with me

BUT. here goes. this'll probably be ungodly long apologies

so when i render my biggest rule is basically Do Not Blend Ever. what i do is do my sketch, then flats, then basic placement of blush/shadows+darkest parts/etc and then i go in and just colourpick the inbetweens+place them between colours in small strokes until the changes in colour don't look too sharp/jarring

here's some examples of the process;;;

(still a wip but HSHSHHS) so i work on 3 layers primarily (sometimes i do the hair+items that cover the face on another layer, too, though they might end up getting merged):

^ with just the sketch layer n flats / and then with the render layer added

i go in with a bigger brush to block in colour variation on the face on the flats layer and then paint over that, as well as over the sketch, with smaller strokes on a render layer- i never do lineart lol, and any "lineart" thats visible is just the sketch peeking through. I try to rely on colour and shadow to create shapes and boundaries instead of lines though this isn’t a hard and fast rule.

i also try to stick to the same pallette the entire drawing- once the flats and shadows are first roughly blocked in all the other tones/midshades/colours are basically just inbetweens picked directly from the drawing. Just me zooming in real close till I can see the pixels and colour picking where they sort of mix. (any smaller shifts in hue/tones are just colours with saturation slightly turned up or down, usually) im also not sure if this helps but i use the Sol brush from the clip studio assets store for literally everything from sketch to render, which is basically just a slightly soft opacity brush which ive deluded myself into thinking helps give my art a softer look. idfk if it does or not.:)

I like to use really saturated blush and for shadows I usually use two base colours; a warmer one and a colder one- a warmer one for smaller shadows and shadows near light and then colder ones for planes more in darkness. Also, usually, at the very end of the drawing I’ll add a layer that’s just fully yellow with colour burn or linear burn or multiply turned on and the opacity turned low just to make everything warmer. (a little thing I like doing for shadows sometimes is never making them reach the edge of the plane; the actual edge is usually a slightly lighter shade and it sort of looks like stylised bounce light that would probably not be there but anyhoo)

but yeah,,,, Never Blend But Make It Look Almost Blended. I’ve been doing it forever,,,,,, and I really like the almost shiny feeling it gives things:)))

And where did I learn. Ough. A lot of what I do I figured out through trial and error and just drawing a bunch (IM SORRY THATS REALLY NOT HELPFUL) but some sources I looked towards were sinix design and bluebiscuits on YouTube!!!!! Sinix has a really good video on rendering skin which is where I sort of took my principles from and ran. And bluebiscuits was a huge inspiration for me when I started trying to render things beyond flats!!!!!!! They’re also where I found the sol brush, lol. Also just,,, the impressionist movement as a whole is a massive inspiration. The use of light and shapes to create form is just,,, omg. Especially Claude Monet in particular. (and for the basics of drawing I learnt from my aunt!)

and honestly, just observing people. A lot of the time when I’m watching a movie or on a walk or even just talking with someone I tend to start looking at their face, and the different planes, how light hits it and how shadow interacts with it, where the shadows are harsher/softer……….people are wild man

I really hope that made sense!!!!!! I’ve never tried explaining it before and honestly, I’m not even really sure how I do it. I just sorta. Switch off and start drawing, yk? BUT I HOPE IT HELPED!!!!🫶🫶💞💖

in case that was all utter nonsense here’s a speedpaint that’ll hopefully demonstrate my process;;

I also have straight up screen recordings of me drawing but. I don’t think anyone wants to sit though that

thank you for the ask!!!!!have a nice day/night and SORRY THAT ENDED UP THAT LONG

[quinnhills]

Good to know you're feeling welcome! :D this is our little place in the internet, and we've decided to make it trans and gay as hell (n i gotta say, i did think "they-them gang! :o" when i found out you started using they/them too a while ago X3 ) n if you received this ask more than once, my tumblr bugged out before i could finish, sorry (。_。)

anyways, and sorry if this is long, but Woe- More Tumblr Things Be Upon Ye:

there used to not be an image limit before, causing a few- interesting posts… tho that changed a few years ago and recently, at first the limit being 10 images per post to now 30 images per post (you can also move the images around a bit)

if you plan on staying long term on tumblr and use desktop the most, i recommend getting the browser extensions Xkit &/or New Xkit cuz… yeah, tumblr is pretty nice, but it sometimes gets hard to use. it also adds extra useful things to the tumblr experience, which is nice to have. i'd say tumblr is like living in a cheap apartment in a calm area of the city. the place's great for what it is, just gotta be sure to leave rat traps near holes and dont worry about the Beast down the hall,

speaking of rats, we got an infestation. you may or may not have heard of it with the voter fraudage going with the polls a bit ago; since tumblr has little to No email verification, people outside tumblr buy bots to get in here and start posting malicious links. tho the bots are surprisingly easy to identify (often times blank blogs with very weird descriptions + stolen picture of lady or ai generated. you'll know it when you see it), and the protocol here is block and report spam so staff can deal with it

and btw if you want to keep a post for as long as your blog stands, i recommend rebloggin! thanks to how tumblr is build as, even if the original post or that blog is gone, the reblog will stay with you (+ tags on reblogs dont really make a post expand outside of your own blog, so many use this to create Very intricate personal tag systems to make easier finding posts, bc once a blog gets 1k+ post in it, it gets hard finding anything on it... <- knows this from experience u.u)

oh and last thing before i go again (and something i found out recently), another browser extension ive been loving: Stylus! with it you can customize a ton of sites to your liking And with a specific style found in the archive of this extension, you can change how the dashboard looks! even changing the background to any image you might want :D

so yeah, thats it, for now. i got more info if you want it, just lmk 👉👈

and you probably already noticed this, but there isnt really any word limit for posts or asks around these lands. tho on tags, the character limit on a single tag is 139. but you can put a Lot of tags, so there! be free mx quinn, no character limit holds you down no more ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ

Thank you so much for the knowledge!

Some Quinn Facts:

Mx., Ms. and Miss are all acceptable :)

I use “gay as hell” as a sort of tongue-in-cheek shorthand, but I also identify as trans as hell, queer as hell, non-binary as hell, lesbian as hell, and anxious/depressive as hell

I’m a vegetarian

My favorite food is pineapple pizza (controversial, I know)

For a few years in the early 2000s, I was a licensed auctioneer

The most times I’ve ever cried during a movie is 5 times during Happiest Season

I like the idea of books, but I’m bad at reading them

Overalls give me gender euphoria, and I don’t know why

I hope to release a solo album within the next year

I hope to direct a feature-length film by the time I’m 40

Coming out was the best thing I ever did

[ashiyn]

Hi! Hope it's all good, I wanted to ask you what software you use for your edits I've honestly no clue where to start but I've loads of little clips of yours saved :D

hiya!! im so sorry for the delayed answer, i swear tumblr doesnt give me notifs about my inbox im fuming. this is quite long so the answer and some editing tips are under the cut! please feel free to reach out if there's something that doesn't make sense or if you ever need any tips or help!

i personally use adobe after effect 2020 with some plugins! most people would probably use adobe premiere pro for compilations like the ones i do but im WAY WAY WAY more used to after effect due do making daily fancams/edits in the past (i do not recommend doing this btw- got burned out after doing it for about a year LMAO). so for example if you're interested in making edits like this or this i'd go for after effect but if you wanna make stuff like this or this, premiere pro is probably the way to go, even if i use AE for both 😭

adobe products are very expensive and you need quite the computer for it to run it without crashing all the time so if you dont have the resources or want to dedicate some time into researching turrenting + vpn and how to install it properly + the plugins on top of learning a pretty confusing (at first) program i'd recommend capcut! it's a free phone app and ive personally never used it, but ive had a lot of mutuals before use it and it looks great and pretty simple to use once you get the hang of it.

learning after affect is extremely frustrating i wont lie, but it's probably the best software if you want to do complicated stuff or simply just get smooth slow mo that you often use in edits! it's worth it in the end after you get the hang of it! there's a lot of youtube tutorials out there and i'd love to help with settings and keyframes if needed!

using AE can be a little bit of an overkill if you're only looking into trying editing to see if you think it's fun and worth the time it takes, so phone apps is honestly an amazing start to get into it. i just decided to go 120% out of nowhere due to getting a hyperfixiation on deciding to learn how to edit and doing it in a more "professional" way and potentially become an editor in the future -> which did not happen. or well. i did end up having a tiktok account with 45k followers when i posted a lot of my edits of shows that i liked but i was potentially thinking of becoming a yt editor or maybe work in media more. however im a burned out nurse student now LMAO

personal tips when it comes to editing;

i use while editing is to make a mindmap or simply just write down key elements you want in your edit to make it easier and prevents you from having to redo your edit (which is painful).

to make the edit "run more smoothly" make sure to fade the clip to be more dark at the end and start the next coming clip with a fade from dark to light. learning slow mo can be tricky in any app, but if possible i use the same thing with clips where it starts faster, is the slowest in the middle of the clip, and starts to get to normal speed at the end of the clip to make the transition over to another clip seem smoother and not like a raw cut.

this might be more of a editing style preference but i always add a slight zoom (either in or out depending on the transition) at every clip so that it's not as awkwardly still. i also always add a slight shake that you cant really see unless you focus on it for the same reason as the zoom. i found that even if the transitions are extremely simple or not even there at all, these small things make an edit look way more "professional" and less choppy.

next thing is "just" to learn what transitions you like after that and dont be afraid to mess with settings, even if you follow a tutorial. its all about finding your own editing style and what you like more!

i download youtube videos using loader.to but screen recording also works! i download mine to make the fps be correct to match when im slowing down a clip but that might be a bit overkill. youtube4kdownloader.com is a great website to cut clips from youtube videos to download too! just make sure to use adblockers when using the websites!

also: editing takes a lot of time and dont feel discouraged if it takes long to finish one! once you have more of an editing style it becomes more of a routine the more you edit!

these tips can be used on any editing app (with the slow mo being an exception in some apps) but then again, dont feel like you need any of it and just go ham on whatever ideas you have! id love to see any edit of yours :D

[regnzz00]

dc superhero girls headcanons

hey there if you found this post, that must you really like this show and i do to

i have hyper fixated and maladaptive dreaming about this show since it came out (so like 4 years i need a life lol) so i have a lot of headcanons but some of them are so wacked that they dont make sense, so i will only put the ones that make sense and ill keep adding as time goes on, oh, and another thing to note is that i know nothing about the dc universe other than this show so idk

(also if you dont know what a headcanon is, its like something about a show or a movie or a book is canon or confirmed in your head but not in the actual show or movie or book or whatever, hope that makes sense)

~ kara is an alien (which makes sense cuz she is from another planet so she technically is)

~ since kara is from another planet, english probably doesnt exist there and the language of her planet probably different from all the other languages on earth so it would make it really hard for her to learn english, what im basically saying is that english isnt her first language

~ kara probably got some sort of ptsd from the hole she was stuck in for a bunch of years or what ever it was i think its the phantom zone but idk anything about that sooo, and on top of that she lost her mother and her home so that would make a source of her anger and emotional problems

welp these are the only ones that i have thought about and/or fucked or not relevant or about people gender and sexuality wise but its not my job to label people thats their job but i could add those idk (but ignore the label i just put on kara about her mental state shhh its an idea remember shhhh)

edit 2

ok i thought of more shit

also a lot of these are going to be about kara because shes the one i decided to latch onto 4 years ago so yeah

~ i find it really weird that the names on kryton are similar to the names on earth cuz like i said they are different planets so things would be totally different like the language and stuff, but for some reason the names are very english like kara, clark, laura (whatever the aunts name is) but names like zod and non arent traditional english names. so my headcanon is that kara and her cousin either chose or were given those names to be normal ig

~ zees mother probably cared about her a lot and she probably had a reason for leaving but her father keeps its from her

edit 3

i forgot to finish last edit oops

~ karen is more angst than she makes it out to be and kara is more sweet and innocent than she makes it out to be

~ being queer on kryton is like totally normalized

~ kara find babs absolutely beautiful, like not shes attracted to her or has a crush on her or anything, she just finds her extremely aesthetically pleasing to look at (no i dont ship these two, thats fine if you do tho)

~ kara is kinda the mom friend to garth, karen, and babs

~ kara doesnt know how old she is or when her birthday is cuz all planets rotate and revolve differently so i would think that years would be different there, i would think she is probably around 16 to 19, also wouldnt she be like older is she didnt go to the hole or whatever, idk the whole story about that

~ diana once asked kara to teach her krytonian so that kara would have someone to talk to (which is so sweet when i think about it), but its like really hard and it took kara forever to learn english and she is still learning it, but kara loved the offer

~ diana speaks a lot of languages (which im pretty sure is canon), she speaks greek (cuz shes from there), english (you know), (these are the most spoken languages of the world, according to google) mandarin chinese, hindi, spanish, french, arabic, russian, portuguese, german, hebrew, latin, and she is learning japanese so she can talk to tatsu (damn girl idk how she does it, miss try hard)

edit 4

so i know its been a while cuz ive been lazy lol

i also only have a few today

~ kara actually has a good singing voice, but she never portrays it

~ kara is also very musically talented and dabbles in many musical instruments

~ also kara is much more intelligent than she portrays, she just sucks at english and earth stuff (idk if i said this before)

[p-taryn-dactyl]

Kathryn or Lizzie or Katie McGrath???

Ook starting off strong

Imma answer all of these hehehe

Kathryn Hahn

i have to be honest, i haven’t been part of the hahnverse for a long time

but, i haven’t found anything for me to dislike her for? hold on let me scroll through her anti tag (if she has one) for “information”

ok im back there was nothing

Ok who am i kidding with this neutral approach: i love her. Everything ive seen with her gives off just such a kind individual and loving, down to earth

If i wasn’t already devoted to another person who doesn’t know I exist, she would be the love of my life

Elizabeth Olsen

just because her answer is longer does not mean i like liz better than kathryn

backstory time: im a huge X-men fan. I didn’t grow up on the comics but on the animated shows and when i watched age of ultron for the first time i was so freaking excited when my dad told me scarlet witch was in it

but when i watched it…i was confused

wanda is Jewish why would she be working willingly with hydra, a organization with ancient purist beliefs who sided with the nazis? why is her character so different? why did they add the whole ‘ah i hate tony’ thing to the movies again (to be fair, im also just a giant tony stark fan and it hurt to see one of my favorite mutants against my comfort character)

so my dislike of Wanda grew from the weird way the MCU executed her character but i gave Lizzie the benefit of a doubt bc why not

then i heard interviews with her saying the g-slur, her dismissing Wanda’s Jewish Romani heritage, making fun of Serbia and it hurt ya know?

look, im very bi and Lizzie is very hot so im not immune to the whole Wanda mommy thing but idk? Ig i would say im neutral, solidly neutral, about Liz

i bet she’s a great person to be around, a great friend and ik her life hasn’t been the best with the press hounding her family all the time and she is pretty funny and has good chemistry with the rest of the cast but there’s something off?

Katie McGrath

Once more: i am gay af and Katie…whew, she’s one of the reasons why

I haven’t dug that deep into her bc ive never felt a reason to but i really like her

i am not a fan of the rest of the supergirl cast at the moment but she just seems like such a nice person and I honestly would watch anything with Katie in it

i was a huge Merlin fan before i watched supergirl and lemme tell you, katie is a great actress who has this vibe around her thats just…amazing

all the hate i see around here (once again, i didn’t dive too deep) about her is mostly from people who don’t ship supercorp which i find annoying bc even if people ship something, that doesn’t mean you have to come for the people playing the characters (unless they genuinely deserve it, which i don’t think katie does)

I hope this was ok?? This isn’t a hate or anti post for anyone, all three of these people are amazing actors and are probably really nice but since ive never met them and prolly never will, these will forever remain my opinion and not fact

[sushiwt]

website update log #7 (April 14th, 2023)

Note: all changes in the site are documented in github now :D

the only reason i havent actually worked on /index is because i cant think of any ideas of what it should actually look like..

my creative juices arent spewing out of my brain and into the site, so i gotta look for inspiration.

and what better site to look for inspiration than... neocities!

i know that i wont be using this site anymore for site hosting, but i realized that there are so much creative websites in neocities that are just out in the wild so i decided, why not use those sites for my struggling brain to figure out what my website index is supposed to look like :shrug:

when i was browsing the site for a bit, i came across this site called NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION by sugarforbrains...

besides the colorful artstyle that i love so much, it made me contemplate some things about this site and mine.

well first, ive seen that same chatbox (the box on the right with the text “WEB SITE DO NOT EAT”) a couple of times now, and im thinking if i should add one as well, but like, there wont be activity for a while since only like 3 people know about this blog and website aghaha

second, im seriously thinking if i should replace the top navbar with a sidebar, as it appears here, since there has been a problem i havent been documenting as much...

...and it was centering the damn top navbar.

ok now that im actually looking at this it doesnt really look like its a problem since no one is going to use the site at 6400x3200 but it still makes me angry.

but even if i wanted to change the top navbar, thats not what im in neocities in the first place.

i wanted to find inspiration for replacing the “hello” textbox youre seeing now, but now im just getting pissed at something i already finished creating, which was the top navbar!!!

now, back to finding inspiration.

im not a fan of the grid lookin look, because of how inconsistent it looks, but ill think about it!!

oh btw if you have time, please visit the site!! it looks so visually stimulating its great!!! here

now, onto more exploration!

i found some sites by neoratz and keyzklubhouse (neo's HEAVENWURLD ଘ(ˊ_ˋ) and Key's Klubhouse) that piqued my interest ‘cause of one thing.. can you guess what it is?

if it wasnt obvious enough, its the characters on the side of the boxes!!! I wanted this thing to be the first thing you see when you enter the site! it felt good that i was actually making progress on this for once, but then i realized that...

i already did this already!!!

on my old site!!!

its the old me on the old site, on the side of the menu screen! what im planning to do here is that instead of giving one half of the home screen to the image and another half for the text box (which is shown here) im going to make it so that the box is going to be centered, and the character is going to be layered in a way where its still beside the textbox, but its layered!!

this is a visual representation of what i am talking about:

actually, ill throw another character while im at it:

probably add one more here just to fill some space:

ok this should be enough characters:

now that the overall concept of the first thing you see when you enter the site is finished, i was going to figure out what i wanted to show when yall scroll on the site, but then something just hit me.

i need a way to show the characters. how do i do that.

im actually planning to show one of my characters, slooshi (the icon of the website and my internet persona in general) but how do i present it to you??

this can go two ways. i can either 3d model the character, or draw it. the catch is that they both have to be pixel art as to match the theme of my site...

i could totally go for 3d modelling, with a more low poly 3d look, kinda like the style of pico-cad by Johan Peitz:

but i want to step outside my comfort zone, which brings me to my second choice, drawing.

its not like i forgot how to draw people, its just way harder now since i havent drawn actual people in a while. ive been focusing more on 3d modelling, game development, and school that i havent really been practicing on my drawing skills more, which sucks but its what happens...

ill think more about it, but for now i finally figured out what im going to do with the site! (atleast the first part of it...)

- sushiwt <3

[lostacelonnie]

Whoops i lost track of this one my bad. Discord messaging is so much easier with the notification staying there. Anyways. Hell yeah getting to be not near people you do lnt vibe with is the best love that for you. Ah yeah gulls will just be an asshole about anything so at least they gave warning? Still dont like em though. Australian magpies are probably worse. Thanks! I adore german & it just. Having very specific words for things. So im excited to dig into that. Oh i didnt know that but honestly not surprised by it. Another piece of history from nazi germany to add to stuff i know. History was never my like. Favorite subject but i try to study it where i can. Its important. Mobile gave me bronya finally so its goin well & seele is coming back in 1.4 so maybe ill be able to get her & bronya both. Though i find it weird that we're heading back to belobog already? I havent even finished the next story part yet though. I havent used fire trailblazer much yet but will when i have more of her eidolons. Theyre both real fun rcg was short so i beat it quick still workin on dredge. Ill let you know how rain world goes for sure. Oh very nice. I finally did mine into purple & it looks really good im gonna keep up on it i think. Ive been breaking off from both to play other stuff but 4.1 fontaine is still fun to explore i love it. Cant wait for furina to drop. Oh shit history exam i hope that went well for you.i will say bronya is nice to have especially with kafka. Give her a turn boost to get her follow up action back works real nice. Damn that is. So much stuff but sounds so worth it. For all the merch & the choker who doesnt love a good choker

OH ITS OK IT APPEARS THAT SO HAVE I. AHHH. IM SORRY. schools been a Lot lately [7 tests this week......] and im going to alicante next week so its probably not gonna get easier for me to respond soon..... and oh yeah it totally is. i ❤ discord cos i can at least give ppl Signs Of Life instead of silence. anyways. THANK YOU!! ive been having a lot of fun with the new group lately its great. and yeah they really are ajdkfkjfj im Thankful for the warning yeah. and also that not even a single gull tried to steal my food. ooh tell me ab it i havent heard any australian magpie horror stories...... and yeah as i said. german is Such a nice language, i esp agree with the words bc theyre just. Great. love em. but yeah didnt have much luck in my previous years of learning it. and oh well the more you know!! honestly it was never MY favorite either bc, even tho ive always found it interesting, i just. could never remember anything. but honestly now that im on hist-geo its really growing on me ahdjfkkgj. probably also because i have a cool teacher. AND HEY CONGRATS ON THE BRONYA and good luck with getting seele!!! i have Not opened star rail even once recently [<- was only playing the game to get wolfie and kafka] so idrk whats been happening. have fun tho!! fire trailblazer IS good with her eidolons but tbh i just never had the energy to build her. and ah epic!!!!!! and yes please do keep me updated if you end up playing rain world!!!!!! its sooooo good its so good. AND AHHH NICE!!!! i want to do mine purple someday but i have a pretty dark natural hair color so id have to bleach it and i dont really Wanna Do That yet. and fair ahsjfkfk ive actually been playing genshin More recently, at least when i have time. which is not often. IM ALSO SO SO SO EXCITED FOR FURINA I HAVE LIKE 170 WISHES SAVED ALREADY................... anyway!!! it did actually!!!! but were doing pretty easy material rn so well see how it goes in the future ajdjhfjg....... it is what it is. and ah yeah that does sound like a pretty good team actually...... and yeah it def was!!!!! havent gotten a chance to wear the choker out yet [<- scared of old ladies on the bus] nut im Going To

[cardboardclownery]

[ SWAGGER COLLAGE TUTORIAL OR SMTH ]

Woaaaaaaah we got a special one today folks-

My dear buddy chum pal broski bestie asked me to teach it how i do my collage-y lookin art, and i figured i might as well make it available to anyone else who wants to know B]

Quick disclaimer: im not the best at explaining stuff, and also am not a professional or anything!! Listen to me or dont, these are all merely what i do when i make this kind of stuff-

Oh, and ill post the full spread im making here separately for anyone whos interested in that rather than this guide thingy :P

Since i usually like making more cohesive spreads with a certain theme or subject, i like doodling potential drawings i could use in the spread before starting!! This is very much optional, but helps a bit in case youre worried about having no ideas when you go straight into drawing. You can even plan out where youre gonna put different drawings on the page if ya want!! :]

After that, i rummage through my Trash Box for trash that matches my vision for the spread,, if ya catch my drift B]

For this one, since im making matching spreads for disposable girl and irreverent girl (weevildoing swag yknow yknow), i picked out some hot topic tags and stuff, a few tags from clothes that looked fitting, and a pretty bit of a pokemon tcg deck box i saved!! I mostly just went off of vibes and colors this time, but you can go off of whatever feels right when youre picking collage stuff -v-

Oh, and if you plan on trying out a lot of collage stuff, COLLECT SO MUCH TRASH. Find a bag, a box, anything to hold some fun looking wrappers and junk you could use. Be sure to clean anything used to hold food though, ants dont make good collage bits,, usually,,,

Now, the natural next step: gluing that junk on!! Generally its good to have some sort of pattern for how you glue your base collage bits down, like sticking to certain parts of the paper, or making a shape, using a color sequence,, though just slapping stuff on until it works for you also goes pretty well in the end if youre into spontaneity! Just trust the process and go with the flow and all that-

Oh yeah, and collage includes more than junk yknow!! You can use different kinds of paper, stationary like sticky notes and stuff, anything to add some variety in texture BP

Now for the fun bit!! Well, i find all the steps pretty fun, but the drawing part is probably the most fun for you lovely readers ;]

Not much to say here, just do whatever youd do with a typical drawing/page! I recommend trying to fill most/all of the spaces you left blank (if any) when gluing stuff down. Working around all the collage may serve as a challenge, but its not tooooo annoying once youve gotten a feel for it. You can also add some more collage here if you want -v-

Finally, the second best part (in my humble opinion): the stickers!! I usually do this last, but the order probably doesnt matter? Just kinda,, put stickers on wherever!! Try layering them, or covering doodles with them, or making new pictures with them, go CRAZY WITH STICKERS!! You can also use some paint pens or gel pens to add a little pizazz,,

Once youve bedazzled to your heart’s content, you can add any other details and finishing touches you deem necessary, and v o i l a, youve got a collage!!

Dont worry too much about things looking “right”! Ive found that art is a ton more fun when im not stressing out over how clean my work looks, its all about having fun and expressing yourself!! If something looks a bit wonky, or you think you glued something in a weird spot but cant change it, keep rollin with it! With collage in this style, mistakes are kinda part of the experience, so dont worry yourself too much if things dont go as planned

Hope this was atleast somewhat handy!! Lemme know if you want another tutorial like this or something idk-

[samarecharm]

I just feel like. Hes met someone (Akira) whos practically swept him off of his feet and made him question alot about himself. Between his bi awakening (from Akiras awakening lol) and his newly found sense of purpose, hes getting alot of very new, very positive feelings, and its challenging alot of what hes learned about himself and the world around him. A father who would throw words and slurs as much as hed throw punches and bottles- if his father was a no good deadbeat then nothing he said would have any truth or weight to it right? But some shit stays with you, and when u hear the same shit from ur peers, people you DO respect, then things start to get muddled.

Ryujis loud. Hes loud and hes brash and hes got bright colors and a bright personality that serves as a signal and warning to everyone he meets. His heart and his feelings are on his sleeve; you know exactly what ur getting into when u deal with him. But Akira is quiet and reserved, and he toes the line between scary and friendly; aloof and caring. His expression, his intentions; theyre all muddled and hard to decipher. Hes …soft…like ann; like the girls Ryujis messed around with at school, but the displays of strength he flaunts around in the metaverse is also a constant in his mind. His father was very clear on what kind of man Ryuji needed to be, and what kind of man hed kill outright without hesitation- and it confuses him to no end that Akira doesnt fit either of those shoes. Its just. Its confusing; how do u define someone who refuses to be defined in conventional ways?

Akira is patient and smart, but ultimately he is a teenager that got his sense of normalcy completely ripped out from under him. He would entertain Ryuji and his questions if he actually came up and asked him, but until Akira is 110% sure hes walking on safe and stable footing with his jock of a best friend, he would like keep certain things a bit closer to his chest. It wouldnt help that Akira ALSO doesnt have a sure idea of what he himself is. Hes got alot of labels, sure; delinquent, troublemaker, rebel, brat, a kid and man both at once- but not all of those Fit him. His aloofness wrt himself is partly bc he just doesnt know, and with how dangerous the metaverse is and how much effort its taking to balance work and school and more work, hes kinda okay not thinking about it.

So i like the idea of Ryuji getting some help from someone like Lala-chan. To be invited into Akiras safe space is already such a big deal, even if neither of them really see it in that way. But Lala knows- Ohya knows; from the second Akira comes in polite and respectful as usual, with this loud and bright little rebel trailing behind him, they know. Its like ‘this is my space, and I trust you with this space.’ Its like Leblanc. But just like the first time Ryuji came over to Leblanc, its got this air of privacy being breached; something he needs to be aware of and safe with. Crossroads is not just some hangout spot for Akira, its like a another little home, a little den, if you will; one of many hes made here in the city (like a stray cat bobbing and weaving through the harshness of the urban sprawl). And if theres anyone who would be able to deal with Ryuji and his new feelings and questions, it would be Lala, someone who graciously let Akira call this place a sanctuary. If Lala could trust this kid, then she could trust him to make good judgement of character for the people he associates with. And man. He really really REALLY picked one hell of a sweetheart; punk and rebellious all the way through w a heart of gold swimming in a sea of understanding.

I dont really have much to add to this; ive been thinking of the conversations he and Lala would have when Akiras not there. Shes blunt and real, and probably talks out her ass too much. Just like Ryuji heehee. Shes like ‘you got it bad, kid. Hes such a little charmer, that one; not surprised he got you wrapped around him too.’

Ryujis like WHAT. But Lala doesnt mean anything bad by it, and she certainly doesnt mean to imply Ryujis weakwilled or whatever. But shes been around for a while, and shes seen men lost and confused and alone, and shes seen them go home w other men or butches w their tails waggin nervous but excited. Ryuji doesnt have any of that, but hes got that same fresh expression of someone whos experiencing the world in a light theyve never see through before. Its a new and fresh and raw kind of feeling, and Lala would rather him work it out with her than on the streets on Shinjuku. She already knows she doesnt have to worry too much about Akira in that regard, so she sees it as a bit of a courteous gesture on her part. With Ohya acting cheery and happy the way she used to before her life got whipped into chaos, its the least she can do.

Love being able to write. I can do whatever i want. I can make Ryuji interact w Lala-chan and u literally cant stop me.

[always-andromeda]

iv. sound of a love song | Joby Taylor x fem!Reader

Joby Taylor x fem!Reader

Word Count | 4,196

Summary | Stone cold sober and desperate for a change, Joby agrees to an enlightening meeting with your manager.

Author's Note | Ngl, this was equal parts fun and not at all fun to write! Also, yes, I 100% headcanon Joby as the kind of guy who would dunk on any short man, especially if they're rude to him. He gives me so much 6'1" and overly proud of it vibes.

Warnings | emotional abuse, mentions of anxiety and disassociation, please let me know if I need to add more!

You told Joby that you two were meeting with your boyfriend and manager, William Kelly, at some coffee shop. Joby had never heard of the place. But you raved about how much William loved the espresso at the joint and meeting him there would put him in a better mood. The way you dealt with William seemed transactional. He hadn’t expected you to just flirt your way into getting him another chance. But this was so ridiculous. Why it had to be an entire meeting in the first place, he had no clue. You had said before it would just be a phone call, right?

Joby kept his sunglasses on when you both entered the café, the bell above the door jingling. The light inside was artificial and intense and with the kind of hangover he was having, he knew it would only inspire an even nastier migraine.

But you were tugging at his jacket sleeve. “Please take those off before he gets here.”

“It’s fucking bright.” Behind the aviators he looked around.

You sighed. It was starting to feel like you were talking to a child. “I know, but it’ll annoy him and he’ll just ask you to take them off anyways. So please, let me save you the embarrassment.”

“Fine,” He slid the sunglasses down the bridge of his nose and hung them from his shirt, his own shirt. After you’d brought him to the motel and had someone from the front desk unlock his room with a master keycard, he’d taken your boyfriend's shirt off as quickly as possible. The article of clothing offended him so much that he wanted to throw it out the bathroom window into the dirt outside. He’d put on the fresh button up he’d found at the store with you before putting his hoodie and leather jacket back on. Naturally, he added his dark beanie and sunglasses to complete his signature “don’t fucking talk to me” ensemble. Spitefully, he returned the shirt you’d let him borrow.

You would be lying to yourself if he didn’t look good like this, if not a bit intimidating. It would frustrate your perfectionistic boyfriend. He would look at Joby and feel threatened. And that was without the help of the worsening hickey on your neck. You’d managed to find a concealer and powder at the store that could cover it for the time being, thank god. Even if he couldn’t see it, one thing was certain. William liked when people thought he was the most important guy in the room. And at that moment, Joby looked far too self important for a man who was pleading his case.

You’d be humiliated to admit to anyone that you often took advantage of William’s ego to get what you wanted. You justified it by telling yourself that if he didn’t want to be taken advantage of, he shouldn’t be so suggestible, especially to women he was attracted to. But the dependence you had on him made you feel so incapable. And part of you thought Will probably knew what you were doing anyways. Always one step in front of everyone else. And Joby was more out there than you ever had been. You were already well aware that he wouldn’t think twice to throw some sort of tantrum if things didn’t go his way.

You ordered a London fog and Joby opted for a black coffee, slapping a twenty dollar bill on the counter before you could get out your wallet. You muttered a thank you but he just shrugged and told the barista to keep the change. Once your drinks were ready, you settled at a booth in the corner, sitting across from each other.

“Please be on your best behavior.” You warned under your breath. A sour taste was already rising onto your tongue even as you sipped at the milky black tea.

“Excuse me, I am always on my best behavior.” He couldn’t sound genuinely hurt even if he tried. He played up the sarcasm, determined to make you crack the tiniest smile again. The way you were shifting in your seat troubled him.

“I am not kidding around this time. Will…he knows people who could really help you. And he doesn’t do favors for just anyone. Especially not random guys that his girlfriend brings in. But I’m sure I can convince him. You’re well established, you have a sizable portfolio, and you've got a new fire for music. You just have to show him you mean it and that you deserve it.”

Joby snorted. If he didn’t believe that he deserved it, how was he going to convince some corporate suit that he was. You shot a glare at him and he straightened in his seat. “Okay. Fine. I’ll be on my best behavior.” He relented, putting his elbow on the table to raise his hand. If he wasn’t so grateful he would be insulted with how you seemed to be talking down to him.

You sighed, eyes darting towards the door and back to your drink every few seconds, obviously waiting for your dick of a boyfriend. You weren’t supposed to look more worried than he was. Hell, he wasn’t exactly sure if you were getting this fidgety over him or the guy who was supposed to like you.

You tapped your nails on the tabletop and he placed his hand over yours, making your nervous reflex come to a standstill. You looked at your two hands out of the corner of your eye. His nails were painted black, but the paint was chipped. You internally winced, knowing that Will would notice. Maybe he'd find it charming. A part of Joby's look; a part of his new brand. Who were you kidding? He would hate it. He would call him unprofessional and make some comment about how it made his company look bad. But you were comforted by the warmth of Joby’s hand, how sincere the touch was.

He tilted his head to meet your uneasy gaze, “Hey, I really do appreciate all of this. The last person who was willing to fight for me this hard was my lawyer. Then again I was paying him so maybe that doesn’t even count…ah, fuck it. My point is that if we can pull this off, I think I’d be indebted to you forever. Anything you want, I’ll make it happen.” He promised. The leverage he once had had disappeared along with his band. But he was eager to repay you in some way.

You looked at him with sympathy and pursed your lips, “I don’t want anything from you, Joby.” He wanted to believe that. No one went into this line of work wanting to take from people. It was quite the opposite. But he couldn’t comfortably say that he was still the same naive eighteen year old who’d just wanted to make people happy. The attention and the pressure that came with the job compelled people to do terrible things just so they could keep growing. Keep chasing after larger stages, bigger audiences, louder cheers, more album sales. It was an unattainable high. If you didn’t want anything from him now, you’d want something later. As kind as you were, he barely knew you. That paranoid gut feeling was the last defense he had.

“That doesn’t matter. Whatever you want from me, it’s yours.” He repeated it, hoping that it would sink in this time. Your lips parted, still trying to think of what to say back to him. His look, his grasp on your hand, and the promise were all so serious. In a strange way, it left you breathless.

“Joby…I wa—”

The bell at the front was as jarring as a siren when you heard it.“There’s my girl!” An enthusiastic voice from the front of the store called to where you and Joby sat. You yanked your hand back into your lap before Joby even had a chance to react. He turned to see the man you'd performed with the night before. His blond hair was loose this time and tucked behind his ears. He wore browline glasses with the same turtleneck and slacks combination he remembered.

“Hey, baby!” Your quick grin mirrored Will’s seemingly enthusiastic mood. It bewildered Joby that he couldn’t see the telltale crinkles by your eyes as you raised your eyebrows, performing your excitement.

“I’ll get an Americano. Make sure it’s 185° exactly. Alright? Thanks.” Will recited the order smoothly. Joby didn’t like the flirtatious smirk he gave to the barista. The barista told him his total and Joby had to hold back a groan as the guy payed with a credit card and left no tip.

“Make it quick, kid. I’ve got a meeting.” If Joby had been the barista, he would’ve spit in his drink for sure. But the barista just rolled her eyes and gave a customer service smile. Within minutes, the drink was ready and he was sauntering over to the booth. Joby took a sip of his coffee to hide the grimace that was threatening to form on his face. He nearly choked on his drink when he saw how short Will was. He estimated that he was about a full head shorter than him. Will sat beside you on the booth, taking a long swig of his own drink, his Adam's apple slowly bobbing. Once he set the drink down, he grabbed your chin and jerked your face towards his.

“Missed you,” he said blankly.

“Missed you, too!” You still wore that exaggerated grin. And before Joby knew it, Will pressed a long, obnoxious kiss to your lips. Joby could only stare down at his boots, feeling far too uncomfortable to express his disgust. This wasn’t some passionately awkward kiss shared by a drunk couple that could still be found endearing. Your eyes were open longer than they should’ve been. And Will held onto your chin tighter as it went on, squishing your skin so hard Joby was convinced it would leave a bruise. When he finally let go, he gave you the same crooked smirk Joby had seen him aim at the barista. 

Joby was almost taken aback when Will redirected his focus to him, evidently satisfied with the display. His expression went deadly serious. From this angle Joby got to see that he was clean shaven but the wrinkles on his forehead betrayed some age. Joby guessed he was a handful of years older than him.

“Mr. Taylor, it certainly is a surprise to meet you. My girlfriend told me a bit about you, but I’m afraid she didn’t explain your situation well enough. Would you mind elaborating on why we’re meeting?” His voice was sharp as a knife, courteous, but clearly not kind.

“Oh, I’m sorry, baby. Joby is just-”

“Hush, y/n. I asked him, not you.” Will dismissed you so suddenly that you chirped a small “sorry” even while your face turned a deep red. Joby wanted to fucking scream at this guy. Who did he think he was? Just because he was your boyfriend, it didn’t mean he could be so cold. If anything, that was more of a reason why he shouldn’t speak to you like that. Like you were any better? You yelled at her in her own apartment just last night. Don’t go acting all high and mighty.

Joby often dealt with the critic in his head. It was a miserable little creature sitting in a director’s chair scrutinizing him all the time. He couldn’t remember when it first started haunting him, but he was more familiar with that voice than his own. Or maybe, it sounded closer to what he always thought he should sound like: sniveling and whiny. So when he heard the smaller, more sympathetic voice, he was a little confused. 

As much as you wanna deck this guy, you can’t. For her sake. Because who knows what kind of shit this guy will give her. And imagine how disappointed she’d be seeing Joby Taylor fail spectacularly once again. She’s rooting for you. Don’t make her regret it. Had his conscience returned after all these years?

As polite as he could manage, Joby Taylor held out his hand for Will to shake and flashed his best smile, now very glad that he’d remembered to brush his teeth this morning. “Good morning, Mr. Kelly. The pleasure is all mine. I’m delighted you agreed to meet with me today.” It had been a while since Joby had had to suck up to some executive schmuck but he didn’t think his act was too shabby. He’d give himself a record deal if he were Will.

As Joby gave a polished rundown of his current situation, he would glance at you between some words. He had to know if you were paying attention to the fantastic show he was putting on; you must be so proud. He would prove that you placed your bets on the right horse. To his dismay, however, you weren’t looking at him. Your expression was blank, staring out the window next to you.

You fixated on a bird outside in the parking lot. It was small, likely a baby, with a wing that didn’t look quite right. The sight of it scuttling around made your heartbeat quicken but you couldn’t look away. You disassociated like this pretty often, especially when Will was talking business. It was an unpleasant sort of discussion you usually didn’t want to take part in. Plus, you didn’t know nearly enough to have anything valuable to say. William would swiftly humble you anyways. That’s why he was so important. When you would play gigs, he was great at talking to the owners of a venue and finalizing all the details. That left you to worry about most of the actual music.

You began listening again when Will spoke up, cutting precisely through all of the bullshit pleasantries Joby was attempting to lay out, "Why did you leave Snake Trouble?"

Joby nodded his head and managed a sheepish laugh, "Creative differences mostly."

"Every musician says that."

"Well, with this musician, it's true."

"I'm not doubting that." Will gave a low laugh, "But what I’m wondering is what 'creative differences' made you leave the band you started midway through a leg of a tour? You could see how concerned that might make a potential manager, I assume."

Swallowing his pride, Joby fessed up, "I had some personal things going on at the time and I had to take some time off to take care of them." He knew not to go too in depth. Lots of guys in the industry had these kinds of issues but no one mentioned them by name. They just called their ex-wives bitches around their buddies and sent their kids dollar store Hallmark cards on their birthdays. Joby didn't really like being in the gallery of those guys anymore than he liked trying to explain it to your snot-nosed boyfriend in the most tame way possible. But watering down the truth was the only way he could be redeemable, he thought.

Will stared, not quite convinced but not wanting to waste time pushing the issue. So he laced his fingers together in front of him and continued. "So we get closer to getting a picture of your situation…" his eyebrows lowered at Joby, staring with beady eyes like he was prey, "Now, I have listened to your bands albums. All of them."

Joby grinned slightly, hoping this would lead to something lighter. He was always better at talking about the music than anything else. "I hope you enjoyed what you heard."

Will chuckled deeply, "I'm going to be honest with you, Mr. Taylor, it was shit. Don't get me wrong you have some good singles in your discography and your vocals certainly show some...promise. But the lyrics are tired and commercial. Whoever was doing the writing for Snake Trouble deserves to be shot."

You watched Joby clench his fist on the table so hard that the skin around his knuckles turned almost white. Will looked pleased as punch with the reaction. Knowing him for as long as you had, you were all too familiar with what Will was trying to do. This was all about kicking Joby in the shins until he'd stay down. You guessed that Will had pegged Joby as a massive piece of work from the second he sat at the booth. He wasn't wrong but it wasn't necessary; Joby was already going through enough. But as much as you wanted to come to his defense, you knew it would only raise Will’s temper.

Joby could've started a fight. He bet that he could pummel your stupid boyfriend's face into a pulp and tell him to fuck off before he could pull another disgusting smirk. How dare he call his life's work tired? But you're looking at him with wide, intense eyes, begging him to keep it cool. The sympathetic voice chimed in again. You swore you'd keep your shit together. And she believed in you enough to help you. You've dealt with plenty of assholes in your life. You can deal with this one.

So, with his ego bruised, he tried to recover. "I-I-I'm sorry to hear that. Writing was mostly a group effort. So I could see how the material sounds...unfocused."

Will wasn’t done with him. He would make him submit. "We both weren't born yesterday. You know how quickly talk gets around this scene. And if I'm taking on a new talent, I'd like them to be capable. I'm not just going to allow a slimeball like you use my name, my resources to get on a stage just so you can screw me over with your antics. So if you want this, you're going to have to do some things for me first."

Joby nodded once.

"First, clean up the act. Being this greasy…mess… is only endearing to a point. Second, I want you to talk to one of my producers. He enjoys the kind of shit you’ve done, he'll get a real kick out of you. Third, write some new shit. If you're such a changed man, then your material should reflect it. I’m expecting something better than Rockin’ Away the Night." There was that deceptive smirk. 

Stifling a scowl, Joby began to answer, "Sounds good-" 

But before he could finish, Will had one more thought to tack on, "You've got about a month.  I'll be out of town until then. When I get back, you better have some stuff that is ready for a stage. I can get you a gig after that. We'll see how a solo Joby Taylor will really work out."

Joby caught you sneaking a glance at Will, brows knitted with confusion. Will took the chance to grab your chin again. This time he didn't kiss you. He just stared at your face intently, studying something. After a few tense seconds, he let go once more.

"Taylor, I'll have my producer call you. I've got to run." Neglecting to say goodbye to you, Will left the coffee shop. As soon as the door closed, you slouched in your seat a little, finally feeling like you could give your spine a break from sitting so straight. You looked outside and watched Will get into his car. He pulled out of his parking space and before you could turn away, you saw one of his back tires roll over the flailing bird. With such ease, the creature was completely obliterated. As if it had never existed in the first place. Your eyelids flew shut, replaying the scene on the inside of them. Will would've rolled his eyes seeing how you pinched your brows together in distress.

Joby fists were still resting on the table. He let his jaw relax, finally noticing how hard he had been gritting his teeth. You put down a crumpled napkin you'd bunched up in your hand and said a soft, "c'mon" before leaving the booth behind. You’d barely touched your drink. Joby watched you walk away, seeming to have wilted from the conversation. The sight sent a strange chill up his spine.

You got back into your car and wrapped your hands around the wheel, squeezing until you felt your nails dig so deep into the foam cover that it left little crescent shaped indents. Joby followed a little bit later, settling in the passenger seat abruptly. Running a hand through his hair, he groaned. You wouldn't look at him again. Even though he'd done so well. He'd put up with Will inspecting him like he was a piece of garbage. He made the guttural sound again, lending more emphasis to his frustration. Still, no answer from you. 

Joby broke the uncomfortable stillness, "What the fuck was that all about?"

"Hmm, the meeting?" Your voice was tired and hoarse like you’d just woken up.

"Yeah, I'm talking about that fucking joke of a meeting." He spat.

You attempted to appease him, "Listen, I know it wasn't fun but-"

"Fun?" he laughed incredulously, "That's a hell of an understatement. That was a fucking…ambush! And you didn't say a thing! Why wouldn't you warn me that that asshole was gonna come in, guns blazing, talking about how shitty my music is?"

"How was I supposed to know that would happen?"

"Oh, I dunno, you're only fucking the guy."

You brush off the crude comment, "Will has done a lot of work for a lot of artists starting out. If you’d just take his critiques and make some changes, you're golden." Joby's frown was defiant, decidedly upset with you. You were unable to control your frustration anymore, "You have some fucking ginormous balls to be calling the guy who could be managing you soon an asshole."

"Because that asshole would be lucky to manage me. I don't care who he's worked with. I don't care what he does for people. You can have basic fucking respect for a guy who's been doing this shit longer than he's been wearing big boy clothes." He had been waiting to rip into the guy. And you didn’t seem like the type that would run and snitch on him no matter how upset you were.

"You're one to talk about being a big boy because you act like such a fucking child. You expect everything to be so easy for you that even when people are handing you the chance of a lifetime, you'll still find a way to complain about it. I have never met someone so...entitled...a-a-and selfish." Your chest heaved with a new fiery energy.

Part of Joby was satisfied. He’d been waiting for you to snap for hours. This was what had made it happen though? You would be well within your right to be angry at him for a number of things, but his entitlement was the breaking point? The idea confused him. But it made him acutely aware of how little of it was your fault. None of it was. Joby didn't want to apologize again even if he knew that he should. He was starting to think that you wouldn’t believe him, even if he did really mean it. He’d just end up doing something stupid all over again.

"I'm the asshole, aren't I?" he conceded.

"Yeah, you really are." You gave him a weary stare. The weight on your shoulders seemed to have lifted, if only slightly.

He ruminated in the thought for a second, the tension slowly fizzling out. Suddenly, he remembered that he basically had nothing on him aside from his clothes, his wallet, and the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. He hadn't planned to need anything else. But the past twenty four hours of his life had shifted his situation quite radically. 

"I need my guitar. And my car."

You waved your hand at him. "Then get them. You'll need them if you're gonna do this."

His mouth hung open before he managed to say anything, "That's not gonna be easy."

"Why?"

God, you were going to be pissed. You were going to absolutely despise him. "They're kind of...at a motel...about four hours away..."

"For fuck's sake." You rubbed your hand at the back of your neck and gave him an expectant look, urging him to explain himself.

"Don't ask."

Joby Taylor was going to be the death of you. With the bright sun shining through the car window and hitting his pale skin, he squinted and put his sunglasses back on. You probably would have told him to figure the problem out himself if he didn't look that way, just as stubborn and reckless as he had years before. If he didn’t look so guilty and so reluctant, you wouldn’t have dedicated any more of your time being so worried about him. But he was like the first time you'd ever seen him perform. He was older and a bit more weathered by life now, but damn it, you believed in him in all of his wreckless glory.

You shifted your car into gear. "Then let's get your shit."

Taglist | @lokis-army-77 @angelicbruhl @pierres-new-spectacles @trelaney