#it’s probably just something I’ll be able to do with artistic improvements over time

[vtmgremlin]

Does it count as cheating if you steal your own artwork?

[epithet-beloved]

hihi i was wondering if u could do something for parental epithet ramsey ?? (specifically a black poc kid if u could)

FAMILY PORTRAIT

synopsis… Ramsey draws a portrait of you and wins an argument on the internet.

ft. Ramsey Murdoch

tags… epithet erased, fluff, familial pairing, banter, reader is black, reader and Ramsey live together, reader is implied to also be an artist

word count… 907

a/n… I myself am not black, so if anything in here is inaccurate or could use improvement, you can let us know! I know how much it sucks to not feel represented in fics, so I wanna make everyone feel as welcome as possible on this blog ✧ 🦄

Ramsey could hear your sigh from across the room.

“What is it, kiddo?” From the slight reflection in his drawing tablet, his one eye could spot where you laid on his bed, scrolling on your phone while facing away with him.

“Nothing important.” You wanted to scroll away from the irritating reply, but something kept you staring at it with a foul expression. “Whenever I post about how it isn’t hard to just draw more black characters, there’s always someone in the replies going ‘oh, but it is hard though’!” You did a high, nasally voice of what you imagined some stranger on the internet with a bad opinion to sound like.

At first, Ramsey didn’t say anything at all. Did he even hear you? But eventually, you heard the sound of his chair turning around, causing you to look over your shoulder. Your absolute gerbil of a father sat there with the cockiest grin on his face, leaving you totally clueless as to what would come out of his mouth next.

“Stay still, I’ll prove ‘em wrong.”

Blink. “Whaddya mean?”

By the time those words had escaped your mouth, your dad had already turned back around and opened a blank canvas on his screen. “I’ll do like, a quick sketch. A five minute one or something. Then I’ll post it, because it’s not that hard and anyone who says it is is wrong and they deserve to know how wrong they are.”

Not the words you were expecting to hear. At the same time, though….you weren’t opposed to it.

“You’re saying you want to help me win an argument against someone I don’t know on the internet?”

His golden eye almost seemed to gleam with mischief at the notion. “Ain’t I such a cool dad?”

……Well, it’s not like you could say no to that. So instead, you sighed and tossed your phone onto a pillow, propping yourself up on your elbow and smiling at the man you called your father. “Sure, let’s go with that.”

Once you’d given him express approval, the scammer slash furry artist resumed his position of being hunched over his tablet all too eagerly. Despite his almost childish glee, the movements of his hand were still precise, almost effortlessly so. It was never something you really mentioned to him or anything, since he’d probably get all smug about it, but it was a skill you hoped you’d be able to hone one day, too.

It was a comfortable silence, at least, between Ramsey’s reminders of “no peeking!” as he covered the canvas with his other hand. Even if the anticipation was gnawing at you a little, you felt….relaxed. Fading evening light spilled through the gaps in the blinds, and you could faintly hear the sound of a fan running in the background. It was a quiet evening with no responsibilities, nothing to do. Just you and your weird dad.

Speaking of said weird guy….

“You done?”

“Yeah, almost.” His pen strokes were getting smaller than before, probably adding the minute details after blocking out the basic shapes at the beginning. “Just need to clean this up a bit aaaand….” With surprising dexterity, he flipped his pen in his hand to do some quick erasing. “Yeah! Looks good.”

With a quick mutter of “lemme see”, you scuttled over to your father’s desk to peek at the final product, so to speak. Now that you were standing right next to him, the Australian seemed almost sheepish.

Scratching the back of his neck with one hand, he would say, “I maaaybe stylized it a bit, so it isn’t a one to one, but I thought it would be cute!”

…..It was. It was cute.

As your eyes scanned over the rough sketch, you noticed all the little details that you hardly thought about when you looked at yourself, but Ramsey seemed to have recorded with surprising accuracy. Your facial features, body proportions, hairstyle, and overall form were all mostly blocked out with simple shapes, but even then, there was something about the way Ramsey used them that gave it so much personality. Your personality.

“This is how you see me?”

“Yeah.” His response was so quick that you doubt he even questioned it. It just came naturally to him. “It’s easy to draw you, mostly ‘cause I see you every day, but also ‘cause I love you. I mean, It’s beyond easy to draw what you love, you know?”

….That was beyond corny, even for him. That’s what you wanted to say out of your own embarrassment, but he was just so….casual about it that you didn’t wanna ruin the moment.

In your trance of trying to think of what to say next, you noticed something.

“I was smiling?”

Ramsey cocked a brow. Did he think you’d already known that? “Yeah. Why?” After a pause, his ratty features took on a more playful expression, and he scooched over to give you a light bump with your elbow. “Whaaat, is it so surprising that you’d be havin’ fun with your old man?”

Laughter rose up from your chest like bubbles, making it hard to speak while you retaliated with a little shove of your own. “Shut up, I’d just spaced out! Quit being a drama queen!”

“What’s wrong with men being queens, eh? Aren’t I allowed to express myself?”

Internet argument aside, you definitely feel like you won today.

[catacamacat]

OMG your art is so good!!

do you have any tips? painting apps sugestion? I'll take ANYTHING!!!

have a nice day (er... night)

Heyy

Thank you so much! Means a lot <3

(Literally a lot, like… you ask me? Me of all people?)

I’ll try my best, pls keep in mind that i’m not a professional or anything, I’m talking about my personal experiences. I hope I didn’t forget anything

(Edit: IM SO SORRY IT’S SO MUCH, I’ve been yapping for the past one and half an hour since 4AM ToT you don’t have to read everything ofc, I still hope that everything makes some sense 🥲)

I’ll put most of it under a cut :)

Painting apps:

I have always used procreate for my digital drawings, but there are many good cheap/ free alternatives.

Since our school uses IPads to work it installed “Sketchbook” on our devices, and even though you can’t use all of the pens without paying there should be more than enough for free (I’ve never used a digital pencil that has been so comfortable to draw with for example)

But my favorite is and will always be procreate

Time:

I’ve been drawing for a bit more than 6 years, and sometimes I’m still very insecure about most of my drawings, I mean that when I look at them I’m just not happy or I think it’s not good enough…

But I always keep in mind how freaking horrible, like for real horrendously bad my drawings were in 4th grade when I started, and then I’m pretty happy with how far I’ve come ^^

Just know that this feeling will probably always be there, no matter if you’re a beginner or a pro, idk it’s just from my perspective, everyone has their own experience.

Inspiration:

For me one of the most important/ helpful things is inspiration. I personally am often very energetic when it comes to drawing something that plopped up in my head, it just brings the fun, you know?

For me my biggest inspiration so far to draw is TMNT. And I mean it, I don’t just say that because I’m hyperfixated to them. Ever since I’ve discovered the turtles far more than a year ago, drawing has been the most fun thing in the world.

For me the turtles are incredibly fun to draw, there are so many possibilities since there are so many different versions of them, and four of them. I don’t think I could ever grow tired of drawing them, and I think nothing has ever improved my art as much as them since they are so much easier and fun to draw than humans (imo)

There was a time period that last until around three weeks ago where I didn’t really was in the tmnt fandom anymore, idk how that happened but I hope it will never happen again. Anyway, I was trying to draw in anime- style or something like that, and as far as I can remember it was really hard and for me not really fun/ felt forced. The turtles always look how they are supposed to look, but humans… nah —~—

What I want to say is that you should also find something that’s fun for you to draw and that fills you with inspiration and energy.

Quantity:

A tip from me: draw every day

(but include breaks when you need it)

Of course it’s not always possible, but since I heard that tip somewhere on YouTube (also a really good way to improve) a couple of years ago, I was never able to forget it. I mean I didn’t do it of course, but somehow it still helped… in a way…yk?

I mean there are always times where you don’t draw, maybe over weeks and even months during art block or other reasons, but the more often you draw, the better you become at it.

(Btw I personally believe it’s impossible to draw every day, for me at least. But i don’t know, that sentence never left my mind and I think there has to be some reason for it)

People:

It can be really helpful to have people you look up to, especially in the beginning, for example was I a really big fan of Skottie Young (still am) and that guy who drew some of the TMNT idw comics (forgot his name rn), and trying to draw somewhat like them for practice really helped me to get better. It also can be good to have people around you that are artists. Can be

And now something somewhat more complicated:

Be careful about the people you are surrounded with, because according to what kind of person you are, they can really, really make you feel shitty about how you draw, or maybe bring you to a point where you don’t feel joy when drawing at all

Here’s what I mean:

For example take me. I don’t know how many people feel this way, but I’m for some unexplainable reason completely “allergic” to criticism. I know it’s not a good thing, but I also know it’s not really my fault.

Every time I’m drawing something, I just want to have fun with it, and for me it’s the most important thing when I draw. And having people around me all the way that have studied drawing, criticizing my work and telling me what’s wrong, maybe even make fun of it it something I really, really can’t live with. Of course it can be a really good thing to take those criticisms, but for me it was/is just annoying, like REALLY annoying.

For a long time I couldn’t really draw anymore when someone of that people was sitting next to me, and there have been quite a few of them. It completely took the joy of drawing away from me, no one should let that happen to them. (Luckily it’s better now)

Idk if that what I intended to say was said… 🤷‍♀️

One last, the most important thing:

Always have fun with and enjoy drawing <3

Good day/night/or whatever 💜💜💜

[bunn1mi]

Without piracy, I wouldn’t be here writing this. Without piracy, you wouldn’t be here reading this.

By Camila Campos V.

Piracy… Unfortunately, this isn’t a One Piece blog I’m writing. Not yet, at least. Right now, I’m going to tell you about the time I discovered one of my favorite romance manga and how I eventually contributed to fixing the subtitles on its new movie, which was just uploaded to Crunchyroll.

I know I’ll probably get some side-eye when I share the name, but… whatever. It’s not like I care anymore. In fact, I wish for everyone to read this manga (and of course, watch its anime).

The name is Sasaki to Miyano.

It’s a BL manga—Boys’ Love, or whatever the youngsters call it.

The story is about Miyano, a BL fan who’s insecure about his feminine features, and Sasaki, a seemingly extroverted senpai who grows fond of Miyano after a school fight. I discovered this story through TikTok. It was a snippet from one of the first chapters of the (at the time) ongoing anime. I thought it was hilarious and adorable… also, the redhead was kinda cute. I’m only human!

So, I started watching it and eventually read the manga.

I can’t stress this enough: I was getting full-on butterflies—giggling, kicking my feet, rolling on my bed, squeaking. The way Shou Harusono portrays the yearning, love, and devotion between these high school boys is something I will always praise.

So. I hyper-fixated on it. For months. When I found out they were going to release a movie, animating the graduation of their older characters, I went crazy. Even crazier when considering Japan’s copyright policies and the months and months I had to wait for Crunchyroll to release it for us, the rest of the world.

Imagine my surprise when I saw one of the MOST IMPORTANT SCENES of the whole series translated wrong... just wrong.

The scene was about (SPOILER ALERT) Miyano coming out to his mother. She immediately says one of the most beautiful lines:

Now, what does this have to do with the whole changing-subtitles-on-Crunchyroll thing? Let me show you the receipts ✨✨.

Thankfully, this story had a happy ending for the fandom. But it’s important to mention that this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t consumed the manga via piracy. Because of that, I was able to share my feelings with people who love this series as much as I do, and help improve the translation.

I think piracy is inevitable, but I also believe that artists deserve recognition for their hard work. Even though I got to know Sasaki to Miyano through "illegal" means, I’m still growing my collection of the series, with manga volumes, the official artbook, and hopefully, in the future, some merchandise (which is way more expensive because it’s only released in Japan).

Sasaki to Miyano opened doors I didn’t know existed. I improved my English thanks to interactions with fans all over the world, and I even shared some of my own fanfiction about the characters (as cringe as that might sound). Without this experience, I wouldn’t have been able to write this for this course, and you wouldn’t have been able to read it.

Thanks for reading this far!

—Camila Campos V.

[pencilnewt]

I dont think I have seen somebody draw as beautifully as you have, really.

The colors you use to draw make the photograph, as does the shadowing. And your ideas? Genius.

How did you learn all this great technique? Was that something you have always done or did you just start drawing?

I hope I could just tell you how amazing your art is to me (and many others)✨

thank you so much omfg!!

it’s definitely taken a lot of time and practice, i didn’t just wake up one day and know how to draw the way i do rn!! and im still learning all the time, im very self-taught!! gonna fish thru my instagram for a min and grab some screenshots of old art to demonstrate this in a sort of timeline but it feels very self-indulgent (which i try not to be too often haha) so it’s under the cut if anyone wants to see :3

i feel like im able to create something approaching the art i see in my head for the first time in my life and im SO grateful for any and all support people have given me while im doing that in a way i literally cannot express like i read EVERY SINGLE tag people leave on my art on here and it makes me want to fucking cry <3

quickly first of all i use CSP version 1 these days but over the past 9 years i’ve used nearly every free drawing program available - krita, 🏴‍☠️photoshop, firealpaca, autodesk sketchbook, ibis paint, medibang…

anyway some sketchbook drawings circa 2016/age 13 (earliest i have photos of, but i have one earlier sketchbook somewhere) at which point human anatomy was still an utter mystery to me:

got my first drawing tablet in 2017 - a little wacom intuos draw, which i don’t think they make anymore, but i still used it until about a year and a bit ago when i bought my xp-pen display tablet w my first paycheck. i think this was literally the first thing i drew on there:

a bit of a jump to 2019 (this is where i got my love for fuzzy chalky textures i think):

i try not to think about the dsmp era too much but that’s where i made some big strides (especially in my colouring) because i felt a lot of consistent motivation to draw!

& then spent a LOT of time doodling my dnd character over the past year & doing some other little reference studies when i could find the time between writing my undergrad dissertation etc. this helped me nail down drawing faces better than b4.

i’d doodled some hockey stuff on and of for the past couple of years but only started properly drawing or posting anything at the end of september!! gotta say a big THANK YOU to everyone who reblogged pens snoopy when i first posted him bc without the support from people on here i don’t think id have initially been so motivated to keep making this art that i’ve loved drawing so so much. and i’ve made friends & mutuals that i’m even more grateful for :3 1st vs most recent:

i have lots of things i wanna keep working on, here are some:

more detailed backgrounds & lighting (biggest barrier here is terrible Can’t Be Bothered syndrome)

recognisably simplifying/stylising people more!! i can do this a bit but my strength is defo semi-realism i feel

improving my composition/making it more intentional. this is the biggest reason behind making those stamp designs actually (could go into much more detail in another post about what’s behind lots of the hockey pieces i’ve made, if anyone would like to hear about that. there’s semi-often something im trying to specifically work on or practice)

more movement & dynamism!!

this is probably so obvious but i’m like. passively learning from looking at other artists’ work all the time as well as practicing. if i really like a piece of art i see online i’ll try and identify exactly WHY i like it so i can think about how i might improve my own art.

if you read this far i’m in love w you <3

[utilitycaster]

I feel like something so many ppl just don’t get is it’s improv. I’ll see ppl be like “I hate this arc” or “this dragged on” I’m like?? If you want to watch a curated tight fantasy story with a normal beginning middle and end maybe don’t watch long form improv media? Also maybe I’m just fundamentally misunderstanding what ur post is about. I’ll constantly think and say “it’s their game” not as a “they’re above criticism” way but more in a “cmon it’s not like this is a script that’s being poured over by ten ppl sitting in a room debating whether this 30 seconds drags or not”. Like I love Play it By Ear from Dropout but I’d never hold it to the same standard as like Six the musical or whatever. Improv/normal media requires a completely different rule set for criticism imo

Hey anon,

So here's the thing - I agree with this in terms of formal, published criticism (Ebert's Law, if you will) where you are, to an extent, grading on a scale; you should be judging on what the work is trying to achieve and not some abstract ideal that applies equally to all works regardless of provenance.

However, for personal discussion (including your own personal Tumblr blog)? This is totally irrelevant. You're allowed to dislike things, whether it's a 30 minute improvised musical or whether it's the Marriage of Figaro, for any reason. It is 100% valid for someone to look at the Mona Lisa and say "eh, doesn't do it for me," and, moreover, it's just as valid for them to say "it doesn't do it for me because I don't care for representative art and prefer abstract, modern works, but Da Vinci's sfumato technique is indeed masterful" as to say "It doesn't do it for me because it's fucking weird to me that she doesn't have eyebrows." People's enjoyment of a work is not necessarily reliant on effort put in or how much the artist cares about - it should be based on how much the art appeals to them.

It's fine if people hate an arc. If they hate it so much that they aren't able to enjoy watching, then I think they should probably stop watching...but that's a choice for them to make, and as someone who loves complaining, I've talked about arcs dragging and had it interpreted by total strangers as "you clearly seem to hate this" when really it was just a case of me...not liking some aspects of a larger whole, and choosing to talk about that because I had things to say. Like, I do think the early Campaign 3 pacing was deeply frustrating, and I do think that this wouldn't be the case if it weren't improv, but there have been many improv actual plays that I felt had great pacing, and also it was still frustrating to me and I wanted to express that.

In fact, what I was getting at in my post is that if you're trying to provide a counterpoint to other people's criticism, you need to focus on the points they're making; and if you're trying to defend something in general, you need to be talking about what you find good that is specific to that thing, rather than making excuses like "the cast likes it" or "it's improv".

To give an example: I love the Aeor arc, which was, to an extent, divisive. Here's two responses I could have:

"I think the Aeor arc built up to a satisfying and emotionally charged final boss fight that was thematically resonant with the Mighty Nein as a group. I think the path there had a good balance of adventure, combat, and RP scenes, especially given its position as the final arc of the campaign and the one in which many of the character romances were realized. Eiselcross was a fun and well-crafted environment that was challenging for a party of their level, and Aeor provided new insight into the Calamity, which at the time had not been explored in depth, while also providing a lot of opportunities to tie into the arcs of the various individual characters, notably Caleb and Caduceus. I also personally am a big fan of exploring fallen technologically advanced civilizations in a fantasy setting as a trope."

2. "Well, it's the cast's table, and it's improvised."

Both are true, but the first one lets people know what I see in that arc and why I love it. The second one ends the conversation, is true of almost everything Critical Role does, probably doesn't address anyone else's complaints, and doesn't even explain why I like it. And for what it's worth I don't think meta needs to address anyone's complaints - you're allowed to look at the Aeor arc and say "cool, I think it took too long and dragged and was too stressful" and we can part ways knowing we are different people with different tastes. But if I were, hypothetically, passionately trying to defend the Aeor arc and were openly resentful towards people who disliked it, the first option is obviously superior to the second option, which makes me look like someone who cannot come up with a single specific reason why this thing I allegedly love is good, and who is whining because I lack the maturity to accept that my opinions are not universally shared by all.

[th4tprettylittleliar]

౨ৎ cammi! - 19 - she/her

- master list! (Coming soon) taglist!

hi bbys ♡ my name is cammi and this is my somewhat first time writing on tumblr!

In the past I wrote on Wattpad, and drabbles in my notes app that I was too embarrassed to post :,) but I decided to finally try writing here!

I’m mainly a Leon fanatic so I’ll probably be writing about him a lot, but other characters I’m willing to write for are ,

- Miguel O’Hara

- Chris Redfield - res. evil

- Carlos Oliveira - res. evil

and more to come in the future!

• I will mainly write one shot smuts on here!

• hopefully in the future I’m able to start a fanfic, and continue it :p

• my one shots will mainly have a plot! So if your into that fast action you won’t find a whole bunch over here..

• in my writing I will be using female anatomy, so if that doesn’t suit your liking this blog probably isn’t for you :c

• in my post I’ll also be using she/her pronouns.

I do take request! Let me know what you want to read! I’m willing to branch out with any scenerios

BUT with request comes what I’m comfortable writing about

any form on incest (even step-cest)

the playing with bodily fluids (iykyk.)

anything non consensual.

and sadly I do not do any form of hybrid or animal play. (Unless it’s roleplay)

- I’m willing to write CNC senarios (somnophelia, etc) I will put warnings if you happen to be uncomfortable with that.

- any dark content will have warnings! I don’t want you walking into something you wouldn’t like :,(

- I may not post frequently. One, since I’m just starting this blog and two because I am a full time uni student with a job! I will be writing anytime I have free time though. C:

I would love your feedback! I’m writing on here for fun but I’d also love improving my own writing skills.

- PLEASE do not copy/plagerize my work. I’m working hard to write these fanfics and I would appreciate them not to be posted on sites without my permission.

- I do plan on branching out to ao3, just not yet.

More about me!

Fave Artist -

Lana Del Rey

Frank Ocean

Deftones

Faye Webster

(I’ll probably quote verses in my writing lol)

My writing style -

I love vintage nyphet type stuff, and the character will probably have a height difference. She’s definitely going to be girly. But, again I’m willing to branch out. If you want her to be an office siren so be it !

Thank you so so much for reading! I hope this blog grows and I’m willing to meet your fantasy needs :p

[bunniemi]

Without piracy, I wouldn’t be here writing this.

Without piracy, you wouldn’t be here reading this.

Piracy… Unfortunately, this isn’t a One Piece blog I’m writing. Not yet, at least. Right now, I’m going to tell you about the time I discovered one of my favorite romance manga and how I eventually contributed to fixing the subtitles on its new movie, which was just uploaded to Crunchyroll.

I know I’ll probably get some side-eye when I share the name, but… whatever. It’s not like I care anymore. In fact, I wish for everyone to read this manga (and of course, watch its anime).

The name is Sasaki to Miyano.

It’s a BL manga—Boys’ Love, or whatever the youngsters call it.

The story is about Miyano, a BL fan who’s insecure about his feminine features, and Sasaki, a seemingly extroverted senpai who grows fond of Miyano after a school fight. I discovered this story through TikTok. It was a snippet from one of the first chapters of the (at the time) ongoing anime. I thought it was hilarious and adorable… also, the redhead was kinda cute. I’m only human!

So, I started watching it and eventually read the manga.

I can’t stress this enough: I was getting full-on butterflies—giggling, kicking my feet, rolling on my bed, squeaking. The way Shou Harusono portrays the yearning, love, and devotion between these high school boys is something I will always praise.

So. I hyper-fixated on it. For months. When I found out they were going to release a movie, animating the graduation of their older characters, I went crazy. Even crazier when considering Japan’s copyright policies and the months and months I had to wait for Crunchyroll to release it for us, the rest of the world.

Imagine my surprise when I saw one of the MOST IMPORTANT SCENES of the whole series translated wrong... just wrong.

The scene was about (SPOILER ALERT) Miyano coming out to his mother. She immediately says one of the most beautiful lines:

Now, what does this have to do with the whole changing-subtitles-on-Crunchyroll thing? Let me show you the receipts✨✨.

Thankfully, this story had a happy ending for the fandom. But it’s important to mention that this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t consumed the manga via piracy. Because of that, I was able to share my feelings with people who love this series as much as I do, and help improve the translation.

I think piracy is inevitable, but I also believe that artists deserve recognition for their hard work. Even though I got to know Sasaki to Miyano through "illegal" means, I’m still growing my collection of the series, with manga volumes, the official artbook, and hopefully, in the future, some merchandise (which is way more expensive because it’s only released in Japan).

Sasaki to Miyano opened doors I didn’t know existed. I improved my English thanks to interactions with fans all over the world, and I even shared some of my own fanfiction about the characters (as cringe as that might sound). Without this experience, I wouldn’t have been able to write this for this course, and you wouldn’t have been able to read it.

Thanks for reading this far!

—Camila Campos V.

[lovemesomesurveys]

[brelee @ bzoink]

Have you ever seen a fox in person?   No.

Would you say you have a quiet mind or do you have a lot of thoughts?   My mind never shuts up. It’s a big jumbled mess up there on top of it, so trying to sort out my thoughts and focus on anything is quite difficult. 

When did you last do something brave?   I guess some of the things I did last year during my hospital stay. I had to make some quick decisions and do procedures I’d never done before. 

Have you ever seen a magician?   No.

What's something you remember from your childhood that you wish you could experience again?   I just really miss playing with Barbies and my cousins all the time. I miss watching cartoons and other kid shows. I just truly miss being a kid in general. 

Do you believe in karma? Why or why not?   No.

Do you have a tiktok account?   Yes. 

Do you prefer the scent or color of lavender?   Probably the color to be honest, but I don’t mind some lavender scented things. 

Would you rather live in a castle or a cottage?   I’d prefer the cottage. I don’t need a huge castle with all that unnecessary space. I’d be so overwhelmed and would feel the need to somehow fill all that space. I would be perfectly happy in a house that’s spacious enough for my family and I, but not over the top.

What type of music do you listen to the least and why?   Classic rock. I like some classic rock, but it’s not something I tend to listen to much. 

When did you last visit a library?   I don’t even remember it’s been so long. I spent so much time at the library when I was a kid, though. I loved it.

What's one of your favorite memories from staying up late? I loved the summers where my brother and I stayed up all night or with my cousin. We’d just stay up snacking, watching TV, playing games, going online, and just chill.

Have or would you ever wear a necklace with someone's initial on it?   Possibly. I’ve only ever worn my own initial, though.

What last made you laugh out loud?   Something earlier with my mom.

Do you usually keep water by your bedside at night?   I have a a mini jug of water I always have by me.

What's an interesting fact about yourself?   I don’t feel like there’s anything interesting about me.

What did you last heat up in a microwave?   I don’t remember, it’s been so long since I’ve used the microwave. 

Would you consider yourself lucky?   I don’t believe in luck.

What kind of pizza did you eat last?   I’m currently eating pizza from this local place.

What kind of shampoo do you use?   Dove.

How many blue objects are in the room you're in?   I don’t know, nor am I going to attempt to count them all. 

Would you rather visit an art museum or an aquarium?   I’d rather visit an art museum. Aquariums are nice and cool, but I’m slo terrified of killer whales so I avoid that section at all costs. 

Do you prefer sweeter cereal over unsweetened?   Oh, I definitely love sweeter cereal. When I was a kid my grandparents typically just had regular Cheerios and Rice Krispies and I’d always add extra sugar lol.

If you could build a 5 artist/band lineup to your dream music festival.. which ones would you choose?   Linkin Park (in my perfect world Chester would be there), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, and Fall Out Boy. 

What's a habit you have broken or are currently trying to break?   I’m forever trying to kick my nail picking habit and I’ll sometimes manage to stop for a bit, but I always fall right back into it. I need to also stop biting/picking my lips and picking my skin. I have ugly scabs from doing that. :/

Have you ever volunteered at an animal shelter?   Yes.

Is there anything currently bothering you?   A lot of things. I’m just feeling extra sad about some things lately. I’m terrified I’ll never improve or be able to travel again. Be able to do anything again, like simple things such as going grocery shopping or seeing a movie. Is life stuck in bed all there is for me? Will my health improve enough to do things again? I want to be able to make more fun memories with my family and I’m so scared that’s not going to happen. 

How many stuffed animals do you have on your bed?   Zero. I had downsize to a smaller bed cause It’s this hospital type bed that has the controls to change the positions and has a special air mattress, so I don’t have a lot of room for stuff on my bed like I used to.

How much is too much to spend on a pair of shoes?   That’s your choice to make, but personally I couldn’t go crazy on shoes. Like... even over $50 is a lot to me, but I’ve done it for certain shoes. Even $50 is a lot to me. Most definitely not $100 plus. Basically I’m saying under $100 I’ll do, but ideally it’d be 50 or less. 

What's the strangest thing that you've ever seen someone collect?   Hm. I don’t know.

Have you recently been to a concert?   No. I haven’t been to a concert since 2009.

Who did you last have a phone conversation with?   My mom.

What's the most dominant personality trait you have?   Uhhh.

Do you ever watch sports?   No. Not my thing.

What's had the biggest impact on your day? My medicine I guess cause it made me really tired and I slept quite a bit. 

What's your least favorite cheese? I’m not sure. I love cheese. 

What did you last have as a snack?   I had a few slices of pizza, but I guess that’s more of a meal. 

What's your favorite decoration in your place of residence?   >> I mean, everything in my room? <<<

Would you rather read a book or watch a movie?   >> these are separate activities that each have their own merits and it literally just depends on what I'm in the mood for at the time... <<<

What's your plans for the upcoming week?   I don’t have any plans.

When did you last feel rushed?   I don’t recall.

What was the last thing to scare you?   Health related stuff.

Have you drank enough water today?   I should be drinking more.

What's your top 3 favorite fruits?   I’m really not a big fruit person. I like some of them, but I’m not obsessed or ever crave them. I rarely eat fruit. If I chose a favorite I’d say bananas, though. That’s what I would choose if I was in the mood for fruit. I used to like peanut butter and banana sandwiches a lot.

What season do you think is the most comfortable?   Fall.

What lie do you say the most?   I don’t know.

What website do you frequent often besides Bzoink?   I haven’t been on bzoink in quite awhile, actually. The websites I spend the most time on are Tumblr and YouTube. 

Do you have anything due soon?   No.

What did you last consume that you thought was nasty?   Hm. I’m not sure. I haven’t had anything new in quite awhile.

What's a song you feel describes your mood most right now? Something sad, ha.

[pulsetower]

ATttMaN Devlog 3/11/2023

A saloon where the party can rest after a long journey.

Hello Everybody, despite my lack of updates, I’ve been hard at work on A Trip to the Mall at Night. I’ll be honest, I went into this thinking I’d be able to get all this done really fast, like in the span of a year, I released ATttSaN like a week after I started work on it, though that game was very different. Game Dev is tough, but I truly believe that when this game is finished it will all have been worth it. I’d like to give an estimated release date, but I can’t do that quite yet, although, hopefully before the end of 2024. 

The entrance to the Museum, what lies beyond the threshold?

As of today I have finished mapping and story sequencing the third floor of the mall. I know it seems a bit strange that I’ve spent so much time on the third floor, but that’s because this Museum is about as big and dense as the first two floors combined. The Museum is guarded by a mysterious curator who, unlike the other guardians does not wish to fight you,as for the past year he’s been trapped in his office by his own security system. He’ll let you through as long as you can flip the 4 override switches to his security system, each one being somewhere inside of one of the 4 sectors of the Museum. Each sector can be tackled in any order you wish, which means each person will have a slightly different experience with this museum. 

Guy is the last to enter this magical painting of a bridge.

The most straightforward section would probably be the Art Gallery. This sector contains several magic paintings by an unknown artist. Guy and friends will have to blue skidoo into these paintings to navigate through this gallery and track down the override switch.

Inside is a massive highway, where the Five Eyed Fella has set up shop.

While the Art Sector is straightforward the space sector is the exact opposite.

The entryway to a space odyssey.

The space sector takes the party on an odyssey through “realistic” models each planet (except earth, because you’re already on earth). Strangely the terrain of the planets seems to be based on ancient mage legend rather than science for some reason.

What is this building doing on Uranus?

The famous Jupiter docks don’t offer much shelter from the rain.

Out of the sectors in the mall I must admit my favorite to work on was definitely the aquarium sector, (although I enjoyed all of them quite a bit.) 

The central well of the underwater village Little Depita.

The standard crab blacksmith of every underwater village.

The aquarium is an underwater village built by many sea creatures who have ended up in the mall under their own circumstances. Over time they’ve developed their own form of government and economy. It’s a peaceful village, but it just so happens that when the party arrives an awful crime has occurred and an innocent man will be sentenced to death if he’s found guilty. This sector is a break from the typical gameplay, instead switching to an adventure game style, but I don’t want to give too much away. 

The geology sector has its own balcony.

Last, but definitely not least is the Geology sector of the Museum. A massive journey where you’ll see all kinds of things, like rocks, stones, boulders, and even pieces of earth. 

An elevator with a rather dated interior.

Along with the 3rd floor I’ve also made general improvements to the game at large. Graphically you probably noticed that the character sprites have slightly more detail, Guy and Alma have smiles, Clerk has dark circles under his eyes, and Witch has a lazy eye. Also the lighting of the game has been improved, certain areas may be tweaked slightly, but the script I’m using adds a lot more atmosphere to the game overall. There’s also the addition of footstep sounds in every area of the game. Different floors have slightly different sound effects when walked on which is something I really like in games, so I had to add it. There’s also the addition of an elevator which is unlocked in the third floor. It’s a sort of fast travel mechanic, which will come in handy for backtracking and/or sidequests.

Conclusion:

As I said before I’ve been doing a lot of work and I don’t think the game will be out any time soon that being said, it will come out, unless I die in a sudden awful accident, but even then I’ll have my co-developer finish it for me. Even though it seems like I’m the only one really excited for this I want to see it through because making this shit is really fun. I love my little characters in their wacky world and I want to share them with everyone. (Honestly I’m worried about finding something else to fill my life with when I’m done.)

The story that I have written is nearly finalized, and there are many twists and turns that I doubt many people will see coming, and that’s where I get into the bad news. I don’t think I will do any devlogs from this point until I’m in phase 2 of development, where I add sidequests (of which there will be many) and focus more on battle scenarios. Because after this point we get into some major story spoilers that I really do not want to ruin before the game is even out. The next floor will be the shortest, but most story dense segment and after that is the final area of the game which typing that out is getting me really excited actually. 

Until then you’ll probably only hear from me through random bullshit I post here when I think about it, so for now.

Goodnight,

-Worm

[arrowofyarrow]

Why I stopped trying to find a style

Video transcript:

I think finding a style is one of those things every young artist starts to crave. On YouTube alone, there’s probably thousands of formulas on how to find it. We want an identity. We all want to be defined somehow. I think that’s how we get noticed, that’s how we get understood and seen. In some ways, an identity feels like a stepping stone to being loved.

I’ve reached a point in my life where I’ve started to crave that anew, even more than in my teen years. Honestly, my teen years might’ve been the most defined I’ve ever been, to myself at least. I was the outsider. I was shy and unnoticed most of the time. I existed to be inoffensive. The simple truth of where I belonged in the world was that I didn’t. At the very least, I could be certain about that, despite the pain of rejection.

Over the past few years I’ve wandered through a lot of different art mediums, styles, and even art brand names. Every time I tell myself “this is the one, I’ll commit to this one this time”. I never really did. I couldn’t keep myself to just one or two paths. I was an acrylic painter, a digital painter, an oil painter, a sculptor.

Most recently I’ve been into studying oil painting, but even that doesn’t feel quite right. The painting you’re seeing in front of you is oil, intended to be in alla prima, but I decided to let it dry over the course of a month to put another layer on top. It’s mainly just a value study for a course I’m taking. I committed to it because I wanted to commit to something, finally, and I discovered I really liked how oils felt over acrylics.

The course itself is pretty structured. It leads you through the elements of art and how you can use them to create effective oil paintings. You can choose any subject, but it teaches the application of these elements if you’re working from photographs or with a live subject in front of you. I thought, “oh okay good, so this is the way I should be trying to do it if I want to be successful”. Like with many things I do, I put my whole heart into it. I tried to commit. I wanted to be able to focus on one thing and finally make steady progress in it.

But like with a lot of things I try to commit to, I get distracted by the butterfly out the window. I was asked to explore values for as many paintings as I really wanted, and so I did. I sketched out the values of paintings I liked, I created my own value plans for original paintings, and then I got fascinated by something a little to the left of it. I got fascinated with night vision as an effect.

It’s that neon green you see in trail cams or ghost hunting videos. I adored the way things faded into any sources of light that might be present, like a flashlight. I loved the way peoples eyes glowed. Now all the sudden I started studying that, grabbing clips of night vision from YouTube videos to recreate digitally. All the while I continued to study anatomy, despite my art’s focus at the time being landscapes and buildings.

I spent months going down a rabbithole, and I kicked myself for it. I felt like I impeded my own progress despite never wasting a single moment of art-making. I was always doing something, following some curiosity, and actively improving my work. But none of that seemed to matter because I strayed from my self-assigned path. How was I supposed to make it if I kept getting distracted like this? But really, this had nothing to do with how successful I could be. I was trying to fulfill an emotional need for a creative identity. I wanted to be recognized for something as compensation for my hard work— to take a fast track to feeling like my work was valuable. But I didn’t realize this was at the expense of my creative freedom.

I really think a desire to find a style sabotages the ability to actually find a style. My inability to deal with uncertainty crept into every aspect of my work. I felt anxious and reluctant to try any of my ideas that broke the mould. Trying to approach new projects made me feel like my mind was twisting and turning, trying to find the right angle to work from where it could plan out every step in advance and guarantee a perfect piece. It filled me with fear that promoted procrastination. You end up spending so much of your energy trying to shoehorn yourself into a box that you forget to find what actually makes you you, and you can’t do that with a carefully structured plan.

The issue was never that I didn’t have a style, though that would have helped me make more art faster, it would have limited me in the end, and that would have been a disaster if I didnt like where I was. Because we tend to try to prove our identities correct once we have them. If I identified as a portrait painter, then I would mostly seek to affirm that belief about myself because it would comfort me in its familiarity. That would have overridden any dissatisfaction I was feeling from being a portrait painter. And it almost did, because even though it wasn’t a very firm identity yet, I craved its solidity.

The painting you’re watching was a step in the right direction. I broke away from the methods I expected of myself just a little bit. This painting is based off of a photo, but I used my love of night vision to turn it into something a little more true to me. The lighting in this image is completely made up, I just stole the composition and the subjects from an image I took during the fall. I figured out that I wasn’t happy doing representational art. The images I created had to have a little bit of something I had in my own mind or else it didn’t feel like mine. All of my ideas are more-or-less preformed images in my mind and it felt disingenuous to try to find some other image to replace it. In the times I did, I felt I hadn’t actually expressed myself at all.

I still don’t really know who I am, but that’s much more of a symptom of being in your 20s than any fault of mine. And I’m no more closer to finding my style, but at least I’m more fulfilled by the things I’m creating. There’s a certain amount of faith you have to have. You have to believe that you’ll find it at some point and keep casting off old selves. Honestly, maybe that’s what you do for the rest of your life. Maybe there is no destination. Our true selves might not be some permanent state of being that lies underneath it all from the moment we’re born. Our selves are probably just the experience of being at the specific intersection of being in this body, at this moment in time, in this exact location, with these previous experiences. A self is created in the moment another dies. The way to art and life might just to be embracing the uncertainty that comes with that condition.

[vampireantihero]

What's the News, Vamp?

Good morning everyone, happy Monday! Welcome to July! Yesterday, July 2nd, is the exact half-way point of the year — how has your last six months been? I truthfully have not had time to reflect on them, but I’ll be doing a little bit of that in this newsletter with you all here. Before we get too far into that, though, here’s this week’s schedule:

Under Strange Suns

There’s an art house studio (a studio that provides art to other companies, in this case for video games) that I’ve been following for a little over a year called Atomhawk. Atomhawk does a contest every year to lift up promising artists, and also provide an opportunity to get your artwork seen. This year, their theme is Under Strange Suns. If you’re an artist, I encourage you to check out the contest here. It’s a wonderful opportunity for growth, and there are some amazing prizes that could really prove helpful if you win. I personally like entering contests, because it gives me something to strive for as well as a brief to follow. It keeps my skills sharp and, if I receive feedback, then it gives me something to work on and strive to better in my work.

If you are planning on entering, then let me know on the Discord! I’m planning on chilling in the voice chats if people would like to work together.

I have several personal IP that I can use for this kind of theme, and I’m thinking I’m probably going to enter this year. I want to push myself and come up with something that I can be proud of, and also I want to see how much my skills have grown. I’m trying to change how I approach bigger projects and really push my ideas to where they shine. It’s my hope that I can make something that will catch the eye of the judges, but also I’ll be happy even if whatever I make is something I can look back at and be happy with a year from now.

Last year their theme was Forgotten Creation, and I did enter last year, but I was way less confident in my art back then and my skills have grown exponentially since. This was my entry last year:

I still really enjoy this piece, and I like the concept, though I know that I can do something better if I put my mind to it. I can also see where I could make improvements; how certain textures would help to enhance the mood, or a less boring composition would have really highlighted the story elements of the doll waiting for her human. Maybe I can use this piece as a litmus test; re-do it one of these days in a better composition and style. A lot of what I do lately is similar to this, but this was me doing my absolute best last year, and now this is my base line. It’s my hope to be able to push into a more painterly realm, and have something a little less static this year. If I can nail a dynamic composition, that’s half the battle. The other half is to stop overthinking the rendering and stopping before I start.

And speaking of stopping before I start…

After the Parade Prints

I almost didn’t put these up, despite promising them at the end of the video. I’ve been feeling pretty down about my art in the past few weeks, but I’m pushing past the feeling. Usually when this happens, it’s because I’m close to a breakthrough — I just have to ride the wave of this rollercoaster until I’m flying high again.

There are posters available now in the shop! Posters are a nice way to have a large print of this. I also have framed prints and canvas prints available in the same size. Also, I’ve put it on the cover of a spiral notebook for my stationery lovers out there. I’m still working on finding a good source for higher quality giclee prints that are print on demand, but if I can’t find them, I may release a limited run of them that I source ahead of time. If I do this, the prints will be numbered and not offered again once they’re gone.

Reflection — The Last Six Months

The last six months have been a hell of a whirlwind. There is a lot that I’ve done successfully, as well as a lot that I’ve failed at. There has been a huge emotional rollercoaster this year between my little brother’s situation, the successful reboot of our theatre program, a massive falling out I had with a friend group, and my acceptance into the mentorship I’m taking this fall. This year has been the worst year business-wise since I’ve started in 2020, and yet, I’m feeling the best I’ve ever felt about my prospects. I’ve been working hard on my craft and my mental health, and I’ve been able to makes strides this year that I never thought would be possible for me. I’ve been able to work consistently throughout all of the ups and downs, and have seen mass improvement in my art despite everything. I am happy, and I am doing the best that I can do to stay positive and keep trying to pivot so that I can reach my goals.

I am also, admittedly, exhausted. I’ve been needing a break for the last month or so, despite being able to keep trucking on and doing the things that I need to do. The problem is, I don’t know what that break entails. I do know that I’ve been starting to notice myself cutting corners with my art, or skipping studies, and not being able to shake this exhaustion no matter how much time I give myself. So last week I skipped a few studies and just worked on what I wanted to work on. This made me feel a little lost, but I’ve thought about it a bit and have landed on what this year has taught me so far and what my next direction is.

So, What’s Next?

For the last several years, I have decided everything on a whim. I think it might be time for me to step back and regroup.

In the past I’ve decided random directions like the ambition to “create a tarot deck”. This is also how I’ve approached my comics and other projects. The problem with approaching things like this that are huge projects, is that there is no planning involved, just a goal without any direction. With that being said, I’m going to be working on my tarot series again soon — I did start to re-draw one of the cards I had already drawn, but I think I’m going to wait on any big projects like this until after I do my mentorship this fall. Working hard on things like this without any direction defeats the purpose of working hard. I need to ideate, to plan, to come up with solid themes and ideas instead of just an arbitrary goal. I also know that my artwork and style will be much more refined after the mentorship this fall, and I don’t want to work on my big projects just to feel the need to re-do them in a few months again. When I start them, that’s the last time. If I don’t finish, I don’t finish, and I can’t keep putting them off.

That being said, don’t worry! I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to put my energy into my commissions, refining my artwork, and creating a better workflow for the rest of the year. I’ll still be doing my studies, though they may not be daily, and I’ll still be putting things up on Youtube and doing tutorials, speedpaints, and vlogs. High resolution downloads of pieces will still be available to Ko-Fi members, and will still be around Discord and social media. I may be around a little bit less in those spaces, but I’ll be there!

I have a vacation coming up in a few weeks that I desperately need, and I’m hoping that I’ll feel a bit more refreshed after that happens. After we’re back, I’ve got two weeks before the mentorship starts, and I’ll be working on smaller things before that happens. I’ll be more seriously looking at my bigger projects, my portfolio, and re-tackling the studies with more of a design focus when I’m back. I can work on my rendering while I’m keeping my design skills sharp, so I’ll be figuring out what I want to do as I go.

Fiverr

Fiverr has been delayed for the last two weeks — I need to iron out my pricing scale before I publish things, so I’m triple checking everything and making sure I’m happy with what I’ve put together. I’ll stop talking about it on the schedules, and get it put together and announce it once it is.

Closing Thoughts

I’m skipping the In Case You Missed it this week, because there isn’t much to share. I did two studies and a contest entry for Hardy Fowler’s discord. That being said, I’m hoping that everyone has a fantastic start to their week, and if you have Tuesday off, a lovely holiday. Take care of yourselves, everyone. Drink your water and do what you can.

I love you all.

[fretted-fire]

Quick personal rant bc I’ve been thinking abt this a lot

I’ve spent the last few years working my ass off to improve my skills as an artist. I probably spent over 20 hours every week in 2021 drawing. I’ve been planning my entire life around becoming an artist, being paid for my skills. I’ve studied, I’ve practiced, I’ve improved.

And now, just before I graduate high school and become an actual working adult, AI art becomes a popular thing. People writing prompts, posting a horrible amalgamation of a thousand artists work, and taking pride in creating something that isn’t theirs. I’m terrified. I’m afraid I’ll never be able to make a living doing art, when a computer can do it in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost. I’m afraid that my art will be fed into the machines and be spat out a hundred different ways with absolutely no compensation. I’m afraid that I’ll become obsolete.

There’s nothing I can do, except to tell my friends not to use these stupid generators. I’m just sitting here, watching my future slip through my fingers, all because some tech idiots decided they hate artists and would prefer a computer to infringe on their copy rights. God.

I’m too tired to talk about how unethical the entire practice of AI art is. All I can think about is how much it scares me to watch my career go down the drain before I can even have one.

[fallout-lou-begas]

Less people know me on tumblr than they do on twitter so I feel a bit safer using this as, like, yknow, a blog that is personal, and something that’s been eating at me for a while is that the pencils to the first two pages of the next IKROAH have been done for a while but when I tried to ink them I fucked it up so bad that I’ll probably just have to completely redraw them, and I don’t think anything that discouraging has happened to me before since I started drawing back in 2020. It’s just been really hard to motivate myself for the mulligan when I’m already worried about messing the inks up again, and also I’ve been under a heat advisory for the past week and change so I’m already too hot and sweaty to be motivated to do much of anything lmfao

I remember when IKROAH first started I would put out issues every two weeks or so, and then once per month, and treated that as almost like a schedule or a deadline, which was insane! All while working the same full-time job that I do now! Admittedly that pace was only achievable because frankly my art was worse and sloppier and while impatience is definitely still my biggest weakness as an artist, I have undoubtedly improved over time but at a certain point making art better means taking more time on it. It’s created this weird conflicting feeling where art and comic pages aren’t something that I can just bang out in a day or a few days anymore, and even relatively small projects are pretty big time and attention investments. Obviously I could revert this by just embracing drawing more shittily but, like, come on, I have my own standards. And this isn’t insurmountable and doesn’t mean that I hate drawing now, not at all, but this change in my relationship to my art and my art-making has definitely been on my mind a lot, especially as I’m aware of how much I’d rather just play video games or hang out with my husband whenever I’m not at my job. Because that’s a big part of it, the increase in how much art feels like “work” means I don’t want to do it as much in my leisure time. It’s good work, it’s work that I love doing (much more than my actual job lmao), but it’s still work and lately I haven’t wanted to work!

It’s another funny balance. A wise friend of mine once said, bluntly, that you do it or it doesn’t get done. This applies to making and finishing art of any kind, reading books, cleaning house, developing skills, etc., and applies even if you’re sick or busy or distracted by myriad other things. If the only people who ever made and finished art were the idle people with the luxury of all the time in the world, we’d only have pretty shitty and boring art. So unfortunately the only way to get good art or to make it is to power through feelings of overwork or sickness or exhaustion or whatever is ailing you and make it anyway. Intellectually, I know this, but emotionally(?) I’m just dealing with a real lack of steam ever since I finished a zine at the start of May. It’s not like I depend on commissions or print sales for income or anything, anyway, so it’s not like I have an urgent need to be drawing, either, the way some other artists might be.

These thoughts don’t really have a point. I suppose I’m just self-conscious about falling off such a meaningful hobby to me for so long, about not Making Things, especially as someone who generally figured that she Makes Things? But it doesn’t feel like burnout or loss of interest, it just feels like I’m doing what I want to do and enjoying it and I just don’t want to make art as much as I used to. Maybe if I got paid my current salary to work on comics eight hours a day instead of doing data entry I’d get a lot more art done but that just goes back to the previous paragraph lol. I don’t really need any kind of “chin up lou, i’m sure you’ll be able to draw again soon” or “it’s okay take all the time you need” kinds of comments because I feel like I know these things already and I’m just Posting Through It

Anyway how’s your summer going

[mysewingadventures]

Historical Accuracy of Costumes in Period Films - Enola Holmes

Disclaimer: I will put no spoilers so you can still read if you haven't seen the movie yet! This post is just me assessing the costumes and their historical accuracy.

First of all, since the movie came out I had already heard a lot about it in just those two days that I was very curious to see if it lived up to the hype and it truly did! It's well-made with round characters and a gripping story line. But enough about the movie, let's get on to the costumes.

The movie is set in 1884, and at first I thought she was born in 84 (because of the intro) so I did like a third of the movie thinking the costumes were outdated until I looked at a closeup of a newspaper and realized that it is set in 84, so yay for me. But anyways, here are the facts.

Enola is 16 years old, therefore considered a child/young woman in society and would be wearing children's clothing but we'll get to that later

There aren't many examples of children's clothing from that time so I'll have to refer to the few fashion plates that I can find.

This blue dress from the beginning of the film has basically everything one would expect from the very end of the 19th century, but not necessarily the 1880s. The loose front is a very end-of-the-century, more so even Edwardian thing, and from the fashion plates and magazines I could find it seems that children's clothing was heavily inspired by adult fashion. It has a very low waistline and is overall very straight. Enola's dress looks more 1900 except for the fitted sleeves which are accurate for the period. And the collar looks completely out of place. But, of course there’s always a but, this is just taking mainstream fashion into account. The Aesthetic Dress movement took place in the 1880s and the dresses would have looked somewhat similar to this one, with a loosely fitted front but they also had puffier sleeves, so it’s like they took some details from different movements and also took some inspiration from the Edwardians and put them all together in a dress.

Another thing I would like to add, (hence the advert - I had to make collages to fit 10 pictures in this post) I am not sure as it doesn't fit her character at all but she looks corseted in those pictures (I added the first one specifically because I think you're able to see the outline of a corset? Faintly?). Depending on your age and status and your parents' plans for you (aka if they wanted you to get married at 16), teens of that age would either wear a corset or not. But taking Enola's upbringing into account and it was rather uncommon for a 16 year old to be wearing a corset, not unseen but uncommon, I'd say that if the costume department decided to put Millie in a corset in that particular scene is historically inaccurate. There were corsets for young women/teens, but they didn't give you that extreme hourglass shape, they were straighter and didn't give you a tiny waist, like the bottom right one in this corset advert. Unfortunately, I could not find out when it's from but it should be somewhat close to the 1880s.

Next up, I would like to say that the length of the skirt they chose for Millie to wear is appropriate for a 16 year old! Unlike what we saw on Anne with an E...

At one point we get a look at her undergarments and they're looking fine for the time! The chemise and the drawers, she's obviously not wearing any petticoats as she's being measured but we saw a glimpse of a petticoat when she was riding a bike in an earlier scene so yes, this part is accurate.

Next up, I'd like to talk about this lady and her dress is just amazing, fashion plate worthy and absolutely accurate, I have nothing bad to say about this.

What I noticed overall in the movie was that the bustles weren't as extreme as I would have expected them to be, but it all had to do with personal preference so it's not necessarily historically inaccurate to see more lowkey bustles. But I didn't see one bustle that was just crazy in today's eyes so maybe they could have improved on that but I'm just nitpicking at this point. Or maybe I've just gotten so used to seeing old clothes that nothing shocks me anymore.

Here we can see some crinolines being sold and judging from their width they are somewhat outdated.

They could pass as maybe early 1870s if not even 1860s.

Now Enola wants to become a lady, so she has to wear adult clothes! Here, she goes into a shop and puts on her clothing. We can see here how poorly fitted the corset is; the lacing gap should be parallel but you can see in the mirror how it gets smaller towards the bottom. Maybe it was done unintentionally but maybe it's just supposed to show that ready-to-wear corsets just weren't made for the person buying them. But in that same scene, we finally get a proper bustle! That's historical accuracy right there!

Next up is her iconic red gown.

Now... I had a little bit of trouble with that one. The skirt is a little wide in my eyes, but the overall shape and cut is fine, with that layer draping over her underskirt. However, her neckline is something you wouldn't typically see. You see other characters wear high necklines, so I don't know why they chose to give this dress almost an evening wear look. V-necks did exist in evening wear, but then again they would be paired with frilly short sleeves and not tight fitting day wear sleeves. So all in all, yes, the dress is accurate but the neckline is uncommon.

Next, we have what is probably the most accurate one of her costumes – the mourning gown.

It's slimmer than the red one and there are so many examples of extant garments on google pictures that look so similar to hers that I'm just gonna say, excellent job!

Next is my favorite despite the neckline problem. She just looks so pretty in it!

The neckline isn't as low as on the red one but still quite uncommon. Another detail you can see in the second picture is that she seems to be wearing a bum pad instead of a bustle, which I think is acceptable. It's slim, it has a layer that drapes over the underskirt in the front, and even the sleeves are a little bit gathered at the top which was very common.

And lastly, we have this white dress where she goes back to the style she wore at the beginning of the movie.

And once again, just like I said in the beginning, this is not something you’d really see being worn in that time unless we’re talking about the Aesthetic Dress and now the sleeves aren’t as fitted so it makes sense for the movement, plus it’s kept very simple.

Overall you can say they did a fairly good job at making everything historically accurate but took some artistic liberties here and there, just like you would expect from a movie.

[things-we-cant-say]

pretty little liar

Pairing: Ten x Female!Reader

Summary: In order to get your annoying ex off your back, you tell a little white lie that takes an unexpected turn.

Genre: College!AU

Warnings: Smutty smut, dirty dancing

Word Count: 4,867

A/N: Unable to withstand Ten’s power any longer, I had to start writing about him…or a version of him anyway. Hope someone out there enjoys my first dip into the ~imagines~ pond. ☺️

The party was in full swing by the time you and your best friend Amy arrived, the music so loud it could be heard down the street. It was a wonder the cops hadn’t broken it up yet but hey, the night was still young. Ducking through the arched doorway with Amy hot on your heels, you let her guide you into the foyer where you both stopped to take in the scene. The place was packed with people dancing, drinking and laughing—everyone apparently having a great time. Which was perfect for you because all you wanted to do was blow off a little steam and pretend you hadn’t spent the day fantasizing about committing the perfect murder.

You enjoyed school for the most part and you enjoyed your classes, but really you couldn’t wait for it all to just be over. Two extra years and your master’s degree in linguistics was almost within your grasp. You still weren’t one hundred percent what you planned to do with it (teaching was definitely out) but either way you were ready to dive into the real world. To no longer be stressed out about exams and papers and boring ass professors that constantly seemed to have a stain on their tie.

And to get far, far away from your stupid ex, Adam.

“Uh oh you have murder face,” Amy said as she peeped around to look at you. “What’s wrong?”

You shrugged. “Just in my head I guess.”

Amy hummed. “I get it. That’s why we are here though! To get fucked up and do something we regret in the morning.”

You laughed. “Guess we’re Uber-ing home.”

She grinned and grabbed your wrist, pulling you over to a table loaded with different types of alcohol. The guy ‘tending bar’ as it were winked as you two approached. “What can I get you for?”

“Something with alcohol but where we can’t taste the alcohol!” Amy exclaimed happily. “Oh! And if you’ve got any little umbrellas I’d like one of those too.”

He did finger guns and proceeded to cook something up in two red cups, sticking in two pink umbrellas when he was done. You and Amy took your drinks and after a cursory sniff, took a sip. The tequila wasn’t as strong as with a single shot but you could still detect it just not enough to make you stop drinking. Unlike Amy you didn’t plan to get completely fucked up but you weren’t going to say no to a nice buzz.

Cups in hand you migrated onto the dance floor and fell in with everyone else, bopping to the beat and scream chatting over the loud music.

“I really needed this!” Amy yelled. “Statistics is kicking my cute little ass!”

“I know what you mean!” You shouted. “But hey! Soon we’ll be done and actual jobs will be kicking our cute little asses!”

Laughing, Amy bounced up and down, sending her blonde hair flying. “Is that why you’ve been so grumpy lately? Or is it…he who shall not be named?”

With a sigh you took a big sip of your strawberry margarita. “Yeah. He keeps fucking calling me and leaving me these stupid ass messages, apologizing and shit. I’ve blocked him but he just uses someone else’s phone.”

Amy’s eyes stretched wide. “That’s like stalker behavior! Or maybe he really is sorry for what he did.”

You snorted. “Sorry for having sex with his ex in the backseat of my car? As far as I am concerned he can take his ‘sorrys’ and shove them so far up his ass they come out his mouth as safaris!”

Amy choked a little on her drink, hitting you hard on the arm in admonishment after she stopped coughing. “I hate you! I could have died!”

Her words made you smirk. “But did you? No but for real, fuck Adam. Fuck Adam and anyone who even looks like Adam!”

“Woo!” Amy threw both hands up into the air, yelping as liquid sloshed down onto her head. “Oh shit! Drink emergency I’ll be right back!”

Before you could say anything, she turned and hurried back towards the drink table. Alone in the middle of a dancing crowd, you didn’t know whether you should slink over to a corner or just keep dancing. That last thing you wanted was some random dude trying to groove with you. Of course if you decided to hold up the wall nothing would stop some random dude from trying to hit on you either. At a bit of a loss you drained the rest of your drink and did a I don’t really know anyone two step, hoping Amy would return soon.

The tequila settled nice and warm in your stomach, making you feel more at ease. Most of the people at the party were from your school but not ones you associated with on like, a daily basis. Sure you recognized a few faces from the library or cafeteria but there was no one you’d had more than a surface conversation with.

And then your eyes landed on him. Ten.

Ten was a…different sort of person altogether. He was the kinda guy CW shows thought actually existed in college, except he was very real. And very much fucking gorgeous in that unattainable way CW shows also loved. However, that sort of did him a disservice because as far as you knew, he was just a decent guy who happened to be able to do some pretty awesome things.

For example, he was an amazing dancer. The kinda dancer that just freaking mesmerized you when he moved. Had you wondering how in the hell had he taught his body to do that shit? One minute he was in total sync with everyone else and the next he was performing his solo and blowing your mind. He’d done some show a few months ago with a friend and you’d nearly flipped out of your chair watching him work. The body rolls, the attitude, the way he’d just commanded the stage…whew. Was it possible to be a fan of someone who wasn’t famous?

Then there was his art; things he designed himself or drew from memory. Art class was essentially where you’d sorta came to be acquaintances with him. You weren’t exactly good at drawing but you liked it enough that you wanted to improve, plus it helped you de-stress after particularly hard days. Ten on the other hand excelled and just like with dancing, it was interesting to watch his process. He’d described himself as a sensory artist so he wasn’t always as concerned with the end product as the professor sometimes wanted him to be. From your eye though he’d yet to create anything that wasn’t remarkable. In fact, more than once you’d wanted to ask him to design a tattoo for you, but felt it would be kinda weird. He had no idea what you were into after all. So far your conversations with him had consisted of colors and that one time he’d asked to borrow one of your brushes.

You were pretty sure he’d sold something to an art gallery.

Anyway so Ten could dance and he could draw and he could sing and he was fluent in several languages; as far as you knew the only thing he was kind of shit at was cooking. But who hadn’t set a class kitchen on fire once or twice? Or three times…

If he were an asshole—well people would probably still crush on him—you’d count that as a major flaw and want to keep your distance. But the kicker was that he could do cool things and he was nice. Dorky even especially when it came to cute animals. Was always posting pictures of himself at the animal shelter playing with the kittens and the puppies, or just acting like an idiot with friends. Yet it was that confidence that made him seem untouchable, and also made him sexy as fuck. More than once you’d fantasized about biting his Adam’s apple.

Heh.

Shaking your head, you fanned lightly at your face with both hands. Maybe stepping outside for some fresh air would be a good idea.

“Y/N!” Amy nearly tripped over her pretty sandals in her hurry to get back to you. “Weewoo weewoo weewoo!”

“Um…”

She grabbed your shoulder. “It’s a police siren! We have a code red situation here, I repeat a code red! Adam just walked in!”

“What?” You blinked and immediately looked towards the doorway, brows narrowing when you saw she was right.

Standing there in a white t-shirt in his formerly handsome glory was your ex-boyfriend, Adam. Once upon a time you’d thought the world of him; thought he was the kinda guy you could probably marry someday. The kinda guy you’d introduced your family to. Turns out he was the kind of guy that hooked up with his ex in your car repeatedly until finally being caught in the act. Sure it had been gratifying to make him and her walk home half naked but it had done nothing to quell the pain left behind. Thankfully though your pain quickly turned to anger and now you usually focused on not murdering him when he popped up. There was a lot you could forgive but cheating was firmly in the do not cross zone. Everything you’d felt for him evaporated the moment you saw him with her.

And he’d promised he was over her. Lying piece of shit, you thought to yourself.

“What the hell is he doing here?! Does he even know anyone here?” you asked with a frown.

“I dunno!” your friend said slowly. “It’s possible, big campus and all. Do you want me to help you climb out of the bathroom window?”

“Yeah my boobs aren’t fitting through one of those skinny ass windows,” you replied wryly. “Though to be honest I’m almost willing to risk it. C’mon let’s—”

It was too late. Adam spotted you like an arrow searching for its target, eyes registering shock and then elation. He reached you in three quick strides, opening his arms for a hug that he was damned crazy to expect. “Y/N. Wow you—you look amazing. I’m so glad we ran into each other.”

You huffed. “I’m not. I told you we’re over Adam. Or does me blocking your calls not get the message across?”

He exhaled deeply. “Look I know I messed up but I’m sorry. Classes were just really tough and—and Lucy and I would reminisce about old times…”

“Do I look like I give a shit? You cheated on me and we’re over.” The lie came so easily. “Besides, I’ve moved on.”

“Yeah!” Amy poked him in the chest. “She’s moved on so suck it!”

Adam arched a brow. “You’ve moved on?” He sounded skeptical and that made your blood boil. “Since when? And with who?”

You’d once heard that Hippocrates came up with the saying drastic times call for drastic measures though it wasn’t something you’d be willing to bet money on. However, standing there with your ex eying you like he just knew you were lying brought a whole new meaning to the idiom. You would one hundred percent be damned before giving him the satisfaction of gloating.

Tequila’s kicking in…

Without missing a beat, you put a hand on your hip and motioned to Ten. “Him. I’m seeing him.”

Amy made a sound like a cat having its tail stepped on while Adam gaped at you. “What? I—no. No way. You’re totally lying. I’ve seen the people he’s dated and you’re not his type at all.”

This bitch.

Twirling on your black heels, you strolled across the room to where Ten sat in an arm chair, chatting with a few of his friends. Before you could talk yourself out of it, you straddled his lap and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I know this is awkward as fuck—I’m so sorry—but if you just play along I will owe you big time. I’ll give you anything. You need a kidney? You can have a kidney.”

Ten’s friends had gone mute and as you sat back to gauge his reaction—or to possibly be thrown off of him—you bit your full bottom lip. His dark eyes were watching you calculatingly, his own lips pursed together like you were a riddle he needed to solve. Up close he was utterly breathtaking, all smooth skin and silky black hair that fell artfully across his forehead. He smelled incredible.

And then he spoke.

“There you are baby,” he said wrapping an arm around your waist. “I’ve been looking for you.”

That was when you figured you owed him your first born but it was fine. “Well, you found me. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

He chuckled. “You’re worth waiting for.”

His friends still looked confused though they didn’t have time to voice their opinions. Adam stalked over seconds later like a man on a mission. “So it’s true? You and Y/N are together?”

Ten tilted his head to the side and you saw the moment the lightbulb went off for him. “Yeah we’re together.”

Adam huffed. “Since when? For how long? Where did you two meet?”

Ten smirked. “Are you taking a survey or something?” He brushed his lips across your jaw, making you shiver. “The only thing that matters is that she’s mine. Let’s dance, Y/N.”

“I would love to,” you replied with a smile. You were also grateful he’d remembered your name.

You climbed off of his lap and took his hand, sending Adam a you thought look before pulling Ten out into the thick of the crowd. Your heart was beating a mile a minute but you felt too giddy to pay much attention to it. Plus, you knew Adam was watching you like a hawk and you didn’t want to let on how nervous you actually were. If he found out you were lying he’d never leave you alone and consider you pathetic to boot. Besides the nice buzz that was finally creeping down your spine told you everything would be fine. How could it not be?

Ten’s hands settled low on your hips and he gave you a little tug, pulling your back to his chest. You fit rather perfectly with him, his chin brushing the top of your head. Picking a rhythm in the song that thumped with bass, you began to move together. You rolled your ass against him and leaned your head back to rest on his shoulder, focusing on his breath as it ghosted across your neck. A silver of light wouldn’t have been able to get between you.

Normally you wouldn’t have dared to do something like this with a near stranger but your desire to make your ex suffer was bigger than your nerves. Besides Ten appeared to be all in on the ruse; his body twisting and curving in sync with yours, fingers on his right hand sliding up between your breasts to wrap lightly on your throat. His teeth nipped at your earlobe and you gasped. Reached around to his side to clasp his shirt for an anchor. You heard him chuckle and suddenly you were spun away from him only to be reeled back in, this time face to face.

The room felt like it was two hundred degrees. You weren’t exactly wearing much—a slinky black dress with tiny ties at the hem—but even that seemed too much. Without missing a beat though you and Ten continued to grind with one another, his thigh just barely pushed between your own. Every time you swayed forward to meet him the denim of his jeans rubbed deliciously against you, sending sparks sprinting through your veins. Both of his hands were on your ass as if helping to guide you, and as you met his gaze you couldn’t help but bite your lip at what you saw there. Desire, lust, hunger—no one had ever looked at you like that before. Like they could just devour you and still not have enough of you.

It made you feel powerful.

You grinned and wrapped an arm around his neck, fingers giving his hair a little tug. He hissed and lowered his head so that he could mouth at your bare shoulder, hands squeezing your ass so hard it nearly hurt. You weren’t sure when you started to get wet—maybe it was the moment you sat on his lap or he decided to play along with your dumb stunt—but you could tell it now. Your panties were sticking to you, your skin was on fire and it was becoming difficult to think straight. Honestly however you didn’t want to think at all, especially not if it meant not being in Ten’s orbit.

“Ten,” you whispered into the skin under his jaw.

He hummed, the sound vibrating through your body. You plastered your hand to his chest and pulled it down, nails catching on the thin material of his shirt until they were brushing along the zipper on his jeans. You gave him a quick squeeze—he was hard and straining—and he cursed loudly. Between one second and the next he was dragging you down a dimly light hallway, past kissing couples and one guy passed out drunk in the doorway of someone’s room. He swung you both into the first vacant room he came to; a lavish bathroom at the very back of the house. The door was closed with a swift thump and the lock clicked shut.

You licked your lips as he crowded you back into the counter, looking down at you with a tiny smirk. That part of your brain that yammered on about bad decisions was surprisingly quiet, so you figured it was beyond okay to pull him down for a kiss. As with most of the stuff he did, Ten was a damn good kisser. His mouth was soft and warm, his tongue playful and coaxing. He kissed you like he’d been waiting to kiss you for a long time. Until it grew deep and sensual. Until you were both panting with the need for air but neither wanting to let go of the moment.

With a gasp you tilted backwards a bit, your knees suddenly weak. “Fuck me,” you said absently.

“Can I?” Ten asked, chest heaving. “Can I fuck you?”

“God yes,” you replied, already pulling your dress up until it hitched around your waist.

Ten hooked his thumbs onto the band of your pink panties and slid them down your legs, laying them next to the sink. He looked you over with that same eye he used for his art but you could tell he liked what he saw. You grabbed his hand and brought it between your legs, spreading them wider for him. Two of his fingers slipped inside of you without any resistance to find you damp and aching, already so hot for him. He started a lazy rhythm—in and out, in and out—like he was in no hurry at all. Like he wasn’t driving you crazy all the way down to the tips of your toes.

He kept his eyes locked onto yours as he touched you, lips slightly parted like he couldn’t believe this was happening. That rang true for both of you. Never in your wildest dreams did you think you’d ever really be friends with Ten, let alone about to hook up with him. It was like you’d stumbled into some alternate universe.

Bringing his free hand up to your cheek, he smoothed his thumb across your lips, pressing lightly until you let him in. You sucked his thumb into your mouth and gave it a little nip, smiling when he smirked. When he deemed it wet enough, he pressed it to your clit and you moaned, your hips stuttering upward with a will of their own. He began a firm massage, working your clit this way and that, fingers still thrusting in their maddening motion. Of course he’d be great with his hands. Of course he’d be able to play your body like a finely tuned instrument.

Pressure started to build low in your stomach. “I—I’m…”

“Turn around.” Ten took a step back and made a show of sucking his fingers into his mouth, tongue darting out to lick between them like he wanted to savor every drop.

You whimpered but did as he requested, your eyes finding his in the wide silver mirror. You watched as he unzipped his pants and pushed them along with his dark colored briefs down to the floor. You hadn’t seen him pull out a condom but he had one; ripping open the packaging with his perfectly straight teeth before rolling it onto his hard cock. It was a delicious looking thing you had to admit, long and thick with a slight curve. If you’d had the time you would have gladly went to your knees for him.

A low breath shuddered out of Ten’s lungs as he pushed inside of you, his hands gripping your waist so strongly you were bound to have a few bruises later. “Fuck, you’re tight.”

It had been a while since Adam and nobody after him until now.

When he assumed you’d adjusted to the size of him, he pulled nearly out before driving back inside of you. You moaned and pushed back to meet his thrusts, feeling the pleasure shattering through you. Your breasts bounced as he moved and he reached a hand forward, tugging down the top of your dress so that he could cup one. He rolled your nipple between his fingers and pinched, bending over you so that he could bite down onto the tender skin of your shoulder. The motion sent him even deeper and you both groaned at the feeling.

“Te—Ten,” you stammered, losing your train of thought when he rolled his hips liked he did on the dance floor. “Oh fuck! Fuck!”

The picture you made in the mirror was a very erotic one; you could see every single expression on Ten’s handsome face. The utter enjoyment he was obviously finding in fucking you was written all over it; there was nowhere for it to hide. His head was tipped back, eyes fluttering closed only to pop back open so that he could watch himself shove into you over and over again. He had you up on your tip toes, nose just an inch from the mirror itself. He was always sexy but tonight that word took on a whole new meaning.

All you could do was try to give as good as you got.

You slapped a hand onto the sink to steady yourself and clenched around him, reveling in the low whine that escaped his throat. It kinda sounded like your name.

And then he was pulling all the way out, dick bouncing as he stumbled backwards. You blinked in confusion. “Wh--what’s wrong?”

Ten ran his fingers through his hair. “C’mon. I want you to ride me.”

He sat down on the closed toilet seat lid and you straddled him without a second thought, sinking down onto his dick with a full body shudder. With your dress around your waist and your breasts jiggling in his face as you bounced up and down on his cock, he traced his tongue around your nipple before lightly biting down. You tangled your fingers in his hair and panted out his name, letting out a squeak when his palm connected with your ass for a hard slap. Planting his feet on the floor, he leaned you backwards a bit as he drove into you repeatedly, eyes watching how well your pussy took him.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured against your collarbone. “Gorgeous—you feel so good.” He bit you again, this time on the side of your neck. “So good.”

With one hand on his shoulder to brace yourself, you rose up and let yourself come down hard over and over again, feeling him pound so deep it was almost criminal. Had the music not been so loud you knew exactly what you would have heard; the sound of skin hitting skin as Ten fucked you like he owned you. Just for tonight, maybe he did.

You weren’t sure how long it went on but when you came it still managed to take you by surprise. Your body lit up like a Christmas tree from the inside out and you cried out Ten’s name, clenching around him, your nails digging into his shoulder blades. He muttered a drawn out fuuuuck and pinched your clit with this thumb and forefinger, making you jerk so hard you nearly tumbled off his lap.

“Ah! Ten!” You shouted as he kept it up. “I—no—oh god—”

Your pussy tightened around him again and he shivered, thrusts growing erratic as he came with a grunt. You trembled through a second orgasm almost in disbelief—usually the only thing that could get you off twice in a row was hidden under your bed in a shoe box.

Seconds later you flopped against him, attempting to catch your breath. He was still rolling his hips just a tiny bit, making all the too sensitive areas ping.

“Whoa,” he said breathlessly, wrapping both arms around your waist. “That was…”

You chuckled softly. “Yeah…” Chancing a look at him, you admired the way strands of his dark hair stuck to his sweaty forehead. He was glistening, shirt sticking to his chest. He smelled like hints of your perfume and you smelled like hints of his cologne. It was all so intimate.

Reluctantly you sat back and gazed at him, wondering if things were about to get awkward. But Ten just smiled and ducked his head a little, a barely there blush creeping up into his already flushed cheeks. It was so adorable you couldn’t have resisted kissing him if you tried. From the way he melted into you, he’d had the same idea.

After a few minutes of just enjoying the feel of his lips against yours, you forced yourself up off of him. Your legs shook; you had to grab the counter to keep from tripping in your heels. You could already tell you’d still feel him tomorrow and the thought made you kinda dizzy, but in a good way. Blinking at your reflection—your hair was a dark mess—you knew there was no way you’d be able to hide the love bites that adorned your skin. They stood out stark red and purple like a bruise.

Ten remained slouched on the toilet for a couple of moments before removing the condom and tossing it into the trash. He dabbed at his dick with a handful of toilet paper, and then pulled up his underwear and jeans. “So…can I ask you something?”

You fixed your dress. “Sure.”

“Who was that guy?” he inquired with a grin. “The one you obviously wanted to get away from.”

Oh shit you’d forgotten all about Adam! “Oh he—he’s my dumb ex. He jumped stupid at me and I—I wanted to show him that he’s an idiot. That I’m totally over him. I—I’m sorry for getting you involved.”

He laughed as he patted down his hair. “No complaints from my end. I think he got the message though.” Reaching behind you he handed you your panties. “Don’t wanna forget these.”

It was ridiculous to be embarrassed considering what you’d both just done, but you couldn’t help it. You took them from him and pulled them on, keeping your eyes on the ground. “Thanks… Look Ten—”

“I’m hungry,” he said interrupting you. “Have you ever had grilled dried pollack?”

“Um yeah once I think,” you replied uncertainly. “It was pretty tasty.”

Ten motioned behind him. “I know a place that makes it if you wanted to go. And…maybe afterwards we could just hang out. Talk.”

That sounded amazing. “I’d love to. But…”

He picked up on your meaning. “Y/N I sit next to you in all of our art classes. I make conversation with you for no reason. Do you really think I of all people forget my brushes? Honestly I’ve wanted to ask you out for a while but you’ve always seemed…disinterested.”

You were dumbstruck by his admission. “Me?! That’s just my face! You’re the unattainable ingénue or whatever!”

Ten chuckled, folding his arms across his chest. “Oh please the only thing standing between me and being a serious cat dad is having an apartment that allows animals. However, this conversation is pointless. You owe me and I’m collecting…if that’s okay?”

You huffed but couldn’t stop grinning. “It’s perfect.”

The walk from the bathroom to the living room had everyone staring with a few people letting out loud whistles. Adam had disappeared but Amy was there to give you a big thumbs up. You promised to call her later and then let Ten pull you outside into the warm night air, your fingers happily entwined with his.