#jackpack

[grrl-beetle]

Mandarina Duck

[sixbucks]

OLGA LITTLE & MUTT

Today begins Women's history month and since I enjoy the history of the heritage burros of the Western US so much, I would like to share the story of Olga Little, Colorado's only female burro-packer ...

Olga Schaaf immigrated to the United States from Germany with her family in 1885 at the age of 2. By the time she was 4, her family had moved to SW Colorado near Durango. Her only formal education was given for a short time in her childhood in Spanish in Chama, NM. By the time she was 14 she had developed into an exceptional horsewoman and was breaking horses for area ranchers for $5 per week, as well as occasionally leading hunting expeditions into the La Plata mountains. Still in her teenage years, her skill with horses caught the attention of Frank Rivers, who owned the Ruby Mine high up in the La Platas. He asked her if she would take a string of burros up to supply the mine and bring back ore, an offer she refused right away. "I can't," she said. "I know nothing about packing." Rivers offered to pack the animals, assuring her that surely she could lead them up the mountain. Not wanting to turn down any opportunity to make "quick cash for a short job," she accepted. The journey took her all day and she arrived at the mine after nightfall, only to discover that there were no accommodations for women. Not wanting to sleep in the same quarters with the miners, she stayed up all night with the burros and returned at the crack of dawn the following day.

That fateful trip led to a nearly 40-year long career as the only "lady jackpacker" in Colorado, and gained her a place of honor in the state's history. When she was 30, she married a Scottish miner named Bill Little and they made their home at Mayday, near the mouth of La Plata Canyon. Olga Little was a diminutive woman full of grace and grit, as they say. Her normal routine was to lead a string of 20 burros high into the mountains loaded with coal and other provisions on the outbound, and loaded with ore on the return. All of 5'4" and 130 pounds, she expertly packed and hoisted her own loads of three 70-pound parcels per burro -- one on either side and one on top -- sometimes doing so right off the railroad.

In her packing career she visited nearly every high-country mine in the La Platas, most of which were located above 10,000 feet. She was known to be strong, resourceful, unphased, and good to her animals. She never whipped or cursed them and on one occasion when a burro skidded down a ravine and was trapped by the deep snow, she regularly delivered him hay for months, keeping him fed and alive until the snow melted and she was able to retrieve him. She not only did a man's job, she sometimes did work men couldn't manage. On one occasion, she saved the lives of 18 starving miners from the Neglected Mine. She led them down to Transfer through a blinding blizzard, one miner behind each burro, holding tightly to the burros' tails as they trudged on in the darkness through snow and ice, all the while with Olga checking on their wellbeing as they made their way down the mountain to the safety of Transfer. This rescue story is often told by historian, Historian Andrew Gulliford, who wrote, "The mining legacy of La Plata Canyon and the role of Olga Little is all but forgotten in the 21st century. The landscape of the working west is now just scenery." The truth of this observation is so poignant to me now as I realize in writing this article that not even six months ago I burro-trekked in search of scenery out of Transfer -- the VERY PLACE Olga Little brought her rescued miners by burro-string -- with my own burro, Luna Blue!! (Follow my own burro trail adventures on my new FB page: Outbound Burro).

Olga's burros carried the full laundry list of supplies needed for mining from steel cables and heavy timbers to bales of hay and even the injured and deceased. Olga always wore the same high-laced boots, jodphurs, and a wide-brimmed hat and packed her burros in to the mines year-round. Her arrival was always a treat for the miners and in anticipation, they would clean themselves right up. All the miners of the La Platas held Olga Little in high regard and treated her with the utmost respect. After all she was their lifeline, especially through the winter!

Olga Little's life story has been honored in many ways. When she was alive, she was featured on the TV show "This Is Your Life" and since her passing in the 1970s, she has been depicted in murals and featured in articles. In 1983, a peak in the La Plata mountains was named Olga Little Mountain. Kathleene Parker, who nominated Little for the honor, did so hoping to not only enshrine her legacy in Colorado's history but also to ensure that our children always understand that the women of that era were no "clinging vines." Upon receipt of the nomination, the Executive Secretary for the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, wrote at the time, “I may be wrong, but I don’t think there is a feature in the country named for a woman muleskinner.” Another example of women sharing Olga's "herstory" is the painting "Olga's Return" by renowned artist (and friend and Mancos neighbor) Veryl Goodnight, for which she did a study involving an actual recreated pack burro supply adventure in the Colorado mountains. (Link to the Veryl Goodnight Gallery below.)

So who is Mutt?

Mutt was Olga's last remaining burro from her packing career. I have seen him listed as both Mutt or Matt but I like Mutt! (UPDATE: Olga Little's grand nephew commented on this post and let us know that the burro's real name was MUTT!!) As burros can live into their 40s and 50, Olga and Mutt had the privilege of growing old together. May we all have the same good fortune!

Enjoy your burros!

Wylde (\,,/) Williams

https://verylgoodnight.com/portfolio-posts/olgas-return

[queen-emma-frost]

Jackpack (jeans backpack)

[gerec]

fairytale style AU? I'm feeling a bit cheesy

There are a lot of great fairy tale aus in this fandom, Anon; here are a few that I hope you enjoy!

The Changeling Prince by Regann

While seeking help to break a magical curse, a soldier named Erik finds himself trying to solve the mystery of a young prince's illness, a task that leads him deeper into the fickle world of the fae than he ever imagined. (Fairytale AU)

Tale As Old As Time by madneto

Charles is a bibliophile living with his stepbrother in a remote village. Erik is a lonely prince with an affliction he doesn't know how to control. Logan is the greatest hunter in the whole world.

Little Blue Riding Hood by Pangea

An extremely serious retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.

Gain Your Freedom by Synekdokee 

“Why are you so concerned,” the king asked, voice strained. “You are here against your will. You were gifted to me against your consent. When I die, you shall gain your freedom.”

The Most Powerful Thing in the World by velvetcadence

Charles has been cursed with a pig's nose, and only true love can break the spell.

The Little Polar Bear (East of the Sun and West of the Moon) by kageillusionz

In a Modern, Powered AU, Charles Xavier is a struggling post-graduate student who works part time as a waiter for a catering job. His father once owned the prestigious toy company called The Little Polar Bear, that is until he died in a factory fire and his mother remarried to the Markos who run it to the ground.

As fate will have it, Charles is working the night The Little Polar Bear undergoes a merger with Das Spielwarengeschäft mit der Maus, an overseas toy company that is run by the enigmatic Erik Lehnsherr who always keeps part of his face covered.

This is the story of them falling in love and facing a number of trials and tribulations to stay together. Based loosely from the Norwegian fairytale East of the Sun, West of the Moon and written for Round Two of X-Men Big Bang.

The Sleeping Beauty in the Ivory Tower (- or Erik Lehnsherr is a hopeless romantic) by ximeria

There is a tale, out among the stars, of a sleeping beauty in an ivory tower.

Maze by AuraWhiteFox

The last thing Erik expected to deal with was a child kidnapping King from another dimension. But that’s what happening. When one night became too much and Erik wished his children gone the Goblin King accepted his wish and stole them away.

Faced with a future without his children Erik makes a deal with the King, if he can solve the Maze and make it to the Goblin King’s castle in 12 hours he can have his children back.

If he doesn’t…his children will remain in the Goblin’s hands…as too will Erik.

The Sleeping Prince by Gerec 

Erik grew up on tales of the Sleeping Prince, the beautiful boy who slumbers in his castle, waiting for true love's kiss. His stepbrother Sebastian pushes him to go searching for Charles, hoping to wake him and claim a just reward. But when they find the Prince still asleep in his Tower, a simple kiss isn't enough to break the spell...

...so Sebastian suggests they try a little something more.

(A dark, Sleeping Beauty AU).

Erik by jackpack

The Shrek AU nobody asked for. Erik is a mutant living deep in the woods of Genosha, whose land is suddenly invaded by other displaced mutants. Angry, he approaches Lord Stryker, who says that he will only give Erik his land back if he brings him Prince Charles Xavier, the fairest royal in the land and the heir to the Genoshian throne, who has been kept in a tower since his childhood and hidden from the world.

Burn as Blue by ang3lsh1

When the King liberates Prince Erik from the dragon and carries him back to the kingdom, he doesn't realise that Prince Erik feels that he's been kidnapped instead and is determined to make his way back to his dragon.

Love Like Winter by garnettrees (unfinished but amazing and highly recommended!)

"Once, when all the world was green and young, there lived two very different little boys..."

Now these boys have grown, thrust onto a political battlefield filled with long-held grudges and secret motives. Charles has spent the majority of his adult life studying and teaching the finer points of spell casting.

Erik... Erik fights for what is his.

More Than All The World (The Werewolf's Tale) by luninosity

An Erik/Charles story very loosely based on Marie de France’s 12th-century French werewolf tale, in which Erik is the man transformed into a wolf (he’ll get changed back by the end, it’s not that kind of story, though they very definitely do fall in love) and Charles is a king and eventually there’s a happy ending. Also, a villain’s nose gets bitten off.

A Tale of Two Kingdoms by Pangea

The Swan by waitfornight 

In 1939 Erik and his sister Ruth are sent to Devonshire, England, during the Kindertransport refugee program to live with Kurt and Sharon Marko as foster children just before the start of World War II. Angry and wishing he could return home on the night of his seventeenth birthday, Erik meets a boy alone in the forest who is cursed to transform each day into a swan, only taking his true form by night.

Swan Lake AU.

Beyond the Brambles by velvetcadence

Erik won't wake up unless Charles kisses him down there. A Sleeping Beauty AU.

The Sleeping Prince by stickmarionette

The King and Queen both came to a violent end, as so many kings and queens of Genosha had before them. A shame, but all tales of this sort need blood to feed them.

As for the Crown Prince, just fifteen years old and full of promise, he fell into a deep sleep from which no method devised by the best healers in Genosha could wake him.

The tale of Erik Lehnsherr and the Sleeping Prince of Genosha.

Till Human Voices Wake Us And We Drown by SharpestScalpel

Charles is a selkie. Erik finds his pelt.

Snow White & Sky Blue by TurtleTotem

In which Mother MacTaggert raises two mutant infants left to die in the forest, Shaw is an evil dwarf, and Erik is a bear. (An XMFC version of the fairy tale "Snow White and Rose Red".)

As They Kept Falling the Way Leaves Do by cm (mumblemutter) 

Charles saves Erik.

A Wolf Eats the Sun by SharpestScalpel

For a kink meme prompt:

Charles = red riding hood Erik = the hunter Shaw = the wolf

Can be as vanilla or as smexy as you want given how the red hood in the original parable is supposed to represent a girl's virginity lol

Happily Ever After, My Arse! by ximeria

Fairy Land has had a nice, long run of the show Happily Ever After, but with it gearing up to its 13th season, the previous two years' dwindling viewer numbers mean this might be the last one.

The premise has always been a selection of contestants competing for a happily ever after. No one has ever considered adding a clause specifying that villains can't participate. So what happens when the Master of Magnetism decides to join in on the 'fun'?

The show might turn out to be a total disaster — or a total success if the show’s suffering host, Charles Xavier, manages to come to terms with several things, the pressing one among them being his budding attraction to this impossible man. Not that his co-host, Raven, makes it easy for Charles to stay in denial when she’s in charge of dressing up the contestants.

Add in a tablespoon of Shrek, some How to Train your Dragon and a pinch of Monsters' Inc and your Happily Ever After might just not flambè your arse

[aerialflight]

fic rec list

I am into such random fandoms at the moment and I NEED to spread the word on how fantastic these fics are so people would get into those fandoms too. Join me in my rabbit holes!

-

[Dimension 20: Fantasy High]

serendipities of the mundane kind by fangirl_squee

Ships: Figueroth Faeth/Ayda Aguefort, Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster, Kristen Applebees/Tracker O'Shaughnessey

The Bad Kid's lives wind through the world a little differently, but some friendships are just meant to be.

(ships aside, this is a fic about friendship! and it's absolutely beautiful!! i loved how all the relationships formed and how all of them meet under different yet plausible circumstances. they meet in pairs and then in groups, all of them introduced to each other slowly yet organically. i'm so in love with each character's journey and how meant-to-be the bad kids are. absolutely recommend this!)

thwick thwack by graeskies

Ship: Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster

Eyes narrowed, slitted pupils so thin they could pick a lock. Wide, fin-like ears pressed flat back against his head—'airship ears', Adaine had said once, and it made Riz laugh so hard he had forgotten what he had been reacting to in the first place. Tail thrashing back and forth, making a rhythmic thwick thwack against his legs, or his briefcase, or both. Extra-sharp teeth bared wide, hissing with a confidence he didn't have in freshman year. Riz's threat displays were hypnotizing. Fabian almost forgot the punchline of his own joke.

(riz acting on his instincts and fabian Vibing with it so hard is a trope i never knew i wanted until this fic fnieowfnpewa.)

not by design (again, again) by jackpack

Ship: Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster

To his knowledge, the world is right when Riz gets home, right as he falls into bed and curls up with a grin on his face, right as he closes his eyes and passes sometime in the wee hours of the morning, content that tomorrow was going to be even better. And, then, he wakes up to an alarm set for school. -- It's freshman year, and Riz has a found family to find. Again.

(time travel time travel time travel!!! the bad kids all struggling to find each other and solve the mystery! ugh, these kids have my whole heart and i loved every minute of this.)

Light My Fire by Anonymous (locked, need account to read)

Ship: Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster

The sheet is too short to reach Riz. Fabian fully unfurls it, stretches both his arms as far as he can, thinks about fully letting go and grabbing The Ball midair, trying to tuck and roll and maybe take some of the damage for him. Despite his efforts, he's just a few feet shy of Riz, limp and unconscious and hurtling downwards, just like he was at the Row and the Ruction. Fabian, once again, is too slow and weak and incompetent to help him. Fabian screws his eye shut, half because he can't stand to watch Riz's body hit the ground and half because he feels like if he just believes hard enough, he can somehow save him. - I thought too hard about the time Fabian summoned a fire elemental that saved Riz's life and also kissed him and then nobody ever mentioned it again. This is the result.

(i caught FEELINGS when reading about this moment in the sophomore campaign, embellished and seen through the eyes of a desperate fabian. there's something about fabian being sincere and brave that always hits me in the chest like a hammer.)

meet me in the woods by macaronidoodles

A thought comes to him, and he pulls out the little rock he’d artificed out of his pocket. It’s probably stupid, he thinks, looking at it, so small in his hands. But there’s no one around to make fun of him, and if even one of his friends could hear… It’s Gorgug, he whispers. Keep going. * (in the forest of the nightmare king, gorgug gives everyone a chance to catch their breath)

(i will never be over that fucking line and all that it does. the hope, the love, the determination to keep moving forward, knowing that you are not alone. fnewifoewpa GOD.)

An Abjurative Wizard's Guide to Entrapment and Matchmaking, by Aelwyn Abernant by AgentStannerShipper

Ship: Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster

“I cannot be in love with Riz Gukgak,” Fabian says. “I cannot be in love with The Ball. Under no circumstances can that be a thing that is happening.” Across the room, sitting in Riz’s chair, her feet up on Riz’s desk, ninety percent of her attention on one of Riz’s case files open in her lap, Aelwyn does the incredibly helpful thing of saying, “Uh-huh.”

(this is THE fic that got me into the ship. fabian's feelings of admiration and love for riz shines through and i'm so in love with how in love fabian is. seeing it from his point of view made me realize just how good of a person and character riz gukgak is. love this fic so much!)

Ring a Bell by Tangerine_Blast

“You are drunk,” Adaine accused. “I’m not-” Aelwyn protested but stopped herself mid word and pinched the bridge of her nose, “I don’t mean to alarm you, little sister, but I think you may be suffering from some severe memory loss.” Adaine was about to snap back at her but froze as the words sunk in. Memory loss. Yes. That would certainly explain why she was in a different outfit then she remembered. “What did you do?” *** The Bad Kids wake up on the first day of their freshman year. Or… no, it’s almost two years later and everything is so vastly different. Where are they? Who are all these people claiming to be their family and friends?

(*SCREAMS* god, it hit me so hard how all the bad kids grew up so much from freshman year?? they're such different people in sophomore year compared to the beginning. every single character, including the side characters, are going Through It and i wanted to hug all of them so. bad. nfewiofpewa absolutely a must read, i love every single character here so so much!!)

-

[Naruto]

Into the Wide Blue Yonder by OneEyedRaven

Ship: Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Sasuke

“Take off your mask,” the clan head demanded. He might as well have ordered Kakashi to strip naked – to reveal his face to all these strangers felt as vulnerable as baring his neck to a sword. “You will not be allowed to hide your face here, Sharingan-thief.” - Kakashi gets misplaced in time and taken in by the Uchiha clan during the warring era, thanks to the mysterious one-armed man, Sasuke.

(i've never been into this ship but my god they make it work here in the most delightful slowburn i've read in a long while. i am rooting for them so hard, they're trying to change the world and make it better and i am so here for it! yes! disestablish the corrupt power structures of konoha from the very beginning! hell yeah!!!)(also kakashi's growth and characterization makes me want to cry he's doing so well considering all the bullshit he's lived through fnewfew)

fluffy clouds and a tinge of wonder by TheOneKrafter

In a world obsessed with killing and dying, Seiko is mostly concerned with chasing off her boredom. The Academy wasn’t exactly intellectually stimulating, but dying in the second shinobi war sounded like a long walk off a short pier. Everyone is always so stressed about avoiding attention, or min-maxing skills in situations like this. Seiko is of the opinion that those people need to chill the hell out. Maybe play a little shogi. Death comes for them all anyways. Better to enjoy this all while it lasts. (genius self insert stumbles into disrupting a timeline with the intentionality of an elephant trampling a very fancy tea shop.) (updates weekly-ish.)

(*cackles* i love how built the world and relationships are in this fic. the SI is not overpowered, actually intelligent but not omnipresent, and has actual social skills instead of being an oblivious airhead. i appreciate the time and care that's taken to build the friendships the SI has and am eager to see how the plot turns out in the future!)

How to Redeem Your Past Mistakes, Commit Mild Treason, and Accidentally Build a Family by themidnightguardian

If Kakashi hadn’t seen Naruto living in squalor and Sasuke’s personal trauma shrine and whatever civilian fuckery was happening at Sakura’s house, he’d have at least tried to fail them even if logic told him the Elder Council would never let it fly. Screw the Hokage for that. * * * * * * * * * * When the Sandaime showed him Naruto’s apartment, he didn’t think that was going to be the tip of the iceberg that was the shitshow of his soon-to-be team. But as it turned out, Naruto wasn't the only one with a less-than-optimal home life. And as it turned out, Kakashi was apparently the only person in Konoha who cared.

(*hugs all of team 7* they are family and it's the council's mistake in thinking this wouldn't happen. kakashi is Doing His Best and doing Well and i want to pat him on the head in appreciation for his efforts.)

-

[Diamond no Ace]

Lay Sunflowers at My Grave by Kinryuuki

Ship: Miyuki Kazuya/Sawamura Eijun

"If you could go back, and do it over. What would you do?"

(literally the best time travel fic since trajectory of laughter, i am OBSESSED.)

Aromantic Way to Propose by blue_flowers_bouquets (cianderia)

Ship: Miyuki Kazuya/Sawamura Eijun

Miyuki Kazuya doesn't get romance, and he's painfully aware of it. Sawamura Eijun is a hopeless romantic to boot, but he insists that they should date. Their relationship goes as smooth as you could expect.

(so sweet and fluffy! exploring how an aromantic and romantic person can work, yet the characters stay in character! i really like how this was managed and written, absolutely give it a read!)

-

[Bridgerton]

a thousand cuts by wall_e_nelson

Ship: Anthony Bridgerton/Kate Sharma

Every single day, Anthony tries very hard not to walk directly into the ocean. A collection of non-linear one-shots, headcanons, AUs, and missing scenes for Anthony Bridgerton. (this story was written in the year between s1 and s2. the character is based in the little we knew of s1 show!Anthony, pulling the rest of him and the world needed from the books.)

(it feels insane to me now that this was the first fic i read in this fandom. this isn't even my fucking fandom, i never even watched the show or read the books but god, god, this made me cry more than 10 fucking times. i can't remember the last time my heart ached so badly for a character, and anthony bridgerton is a phenomenal character indeed.)

Unspooled Thread by happilyinsane13, itakethewords (Itakethewords)

Ship: Benedict Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington

Benedict's life changed the moment Lady Danbury commanded, “Follow that Featherington.” The year is 1813 and Benedict's sister Daphne has just made her debut. He thought he knew how this season would go. Little did he suspect he would stumble on the youngest Featherington daughter's biggest secret. -- A complete, Benelope canon re-write, starting from S1, Ep1 all the way through season 3.

(this fic has RUINED me, i can't unsee the potential this ship holds. they're artists who bond over art! they admire and protect and care about one another! it's the slowest of slow burns that immediately catches fire before running around in panic! it's a proper friends to lovers fic done incredibly well!)(i started reading this author's other benedict/penelope fics and GOD IT'S SO GOOD FNEWIFOEW.)(i'm ruined! this rare pair has ruined me!!)(i have no regrets.)

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[Jujutsu Kaisen]

The Phantom Guardian by MissingN000

Ships: Getou Suguru/Gojo Satoru, Kugisaki Nobara/Zenin Maki, Fushiguro Megumi/Itadori Yuuji, Inumaki Toge/Okkotsu Yuuta

There's something about this girl, like looking in a funhouse mirror a third of his size. “Oi, kid,” Toji says. “It’s you, isn’t it?” The girl glares daggers at him from behind a pair of red-rimmed glasses too big for her tiny face. She’s looking at him like he’s totally crazy, which isn’t entirely untrue. “Huh? Who the heck are you?” In lieu of answering, he asks, “What’s your name?” The girl scowls. “Maki.” “Maki,” he repeats, and it’s like a missing piece of his soul falls back into place. The record of his life before he fought the Six-Eyes brat is a long, impossibly white scroll of nothing -- but written on it in faint letters is the name of a child, a child with a delicate name that brushed the heavens, spun a prayer into letters; a name that began with an M, and it ended in i, too. “Maki,” he says again. “I think you’re my daughter.” -------- Toji makes a mistake. It changes everything.

(*running around throwing glitter like a sparkling system* and you get found a found family! and you get a found family! and you-)(but seriously, this is the one and only fic i'll read from this fandom, i legit don't care about anything else except these fuckers in this fucking fic. they are all disasters and i love that every single character here is traumatized and still somehow ruining themselves while thriving?? it's amazing.)

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[Star Wars]

You and I (drink the poison from the same vine) by northpeach, wolfsrainrules

When one wakes up from death into a universe many of us have dreamed of, truthfully Kiyo can say it was both easier and harder then she thought it would be. Yes, she's gonna get a lightsaber. Yes, she's gonna bite someone to get a bes'bev. No, she's not forgetting where she's come from but she cannot grieve for a lifetime. Not when this life has so much potential. Has so much to offer. Not when she knows exactly how well Mandalorian and Jedi cultures fit together. Absolutely not, especially since she knows Jaster Mereel has a 700 page love letter written to his people to publish. She's going to get her hands on it and read it if it's the last thing she does.

(*breathes* i need this to update so bad. i usually hate SI fics in star wars, but this fic is amazing?? again, i NEED TO KNOW where this is going, my impatience is clawing my brain.)

(They Were) Made For Us by Echuta (setoboo)

Ship: Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Kaminoan tilts his head with a small smile. As if he’s trying to be indulgent for the Jedi’s sake. “Well yes, you and your fellow Jedi, Master Kenobi. They were made for the Jedi - and since the Jedi serve the Republic. It was implied they would do so too.” ‘They were made for the Jedi.’ Obi-Wan thinks in a daze. Clinging to that one sentence and grappling with all the implications buried within it as the Force around him pulses with tension. ‘For...for us? For me?’ What can that possibly mean? ---------------- Or; the Clones are really, and truly, perfectly made for the Jedi. The real issue is that it seems the Jedi are just as perfectly made for the Clones. This throws a major wrench in the works for the Darkside when the Jedi aren't very willing to let their men die. Not even on the senate's orders.

(i keep rereading this, i'm so obsessed with this kind of trope where people can read others' souls and just know who they are. this is the Shit for me, i was doomed from the start fnewifoewaef)

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[Top Gun] (the most unexpected fandom to get into, watched it 2 months ago and it's completely taken over my life HELP ME-)

Where Are You Going by adiduck (book_people)

Ship: Tom Iceman Kazansky/Pete Maverick Mitchell

They’ve both heard all the philosophical bullshit, of course. Poems about your soul forever seeking its other half, impassioned treatises they were supposed to read in high school English about how you know where your own limbs are, quotes from long-dead guys about physical distance but hearts taking up the same space--that kind of bullshit. Maverick never put much stock in that kind of thing--he’d hated school. It probably shouldn’t have been surprising that Ice also really did not care about the science or philosophy--they were supposed to be perfect for each other, after all. (Or: There’s a handshake in the O Club the first night of Top Gun, and the very bearing of “magnetic North” shifts permanently under Ice and Mav’s feet)

(soulmate fic!! it's done so well and the relationship negotiations and trying to make it work is so up my alley. it's not an instant love soulmate fic, which i appreciate a lot, and i just love this author's characterization of of ice and maverick. definitely recommend this author's other works too, i just love the way they write in general, in whatever fandom they are in XD)

A Higher Fidelity by sintra

Ship: Tom Iceman Kazansky/Pete Maverick Mitchell

“C’mon.” Tori nudges him with an elbow. “C’mon. He’s cute. You can admit that one thing but you can’t admit this?” Gritting his teeth, Ice thinks very carefully about his next words. “He’s…” he trails off. “Some would say that…Mitchell is not. Unpleasant. To look at.” (Alternatively: the one where Ice and Mav learn to park bad, eat good, and love even better.)

(i want to kiss the author, ice's characterization here made me laugh so many times, omfg. absolute treasure of a fic! the narration and ice's thoughts were so fucking funny and maverick is just perfectly maverick in this haha! absolutely recommend for a good laugh with some extra sweetness.)

Precipice by V_Evergreen

Ship: Tom Iceman Kazansky/Pete Maverick Mitchell

Dating, it turns out, does not get easier with age. Alternately: [“Ice,” Maverick said slowly, “do you have a crush on me?” Ice flushed. “Shut up.” Maverick grinned. “How embarrassing.”]

(middle aged people going on first dates!! it's so sweet and snappy, i love how well-worn yet new this fic feels when it comes to their relationship. it feels both fresh yet comfortable and i felt warm reading this. <3)

Flowers for Sale by Owner by aelibia

Ship: Tom Iceman Kazansky/Pete Maverick Mitchell

Most people would do anything to stop the flowers from coming. Maverick is not most people.

(THE FUNNIEST FREAKING HANAHAKI FIC I'VE EVER READ HOLY SHIT! PLEASE READ, I CRIED FROM LAUGHING SO HARD FNEIWOFEWA)(never in a MILLION YEARS did i think about this aspect of the hanahaki curse, INCREDIBLE.)

I Need You to Live by PurpleArrowzandLeather

When Bradley finishes playing his dad's song at the Hard Deck, he sees a familiar figure collapse on the beach. Thinking the worst, he does everything in his power to make sure he doesn't lose him.

(i am so weak for fics that involve bradley and maverick re-conciliating. really great what if scenario done right and i definitely recommend this author's other top gun fics, they do gen fics for top gun really well!)

lost fight, grip tight on a heavy rope by writteninwaves

Bradley Bradshaw does not do regrets. Until he does. But in his fifteen years of self-imposed exile, there comes a time when even his stubborn will breaks. When Bradley overhears devastating news about his dad, he realizes just how much he lost and wonders if anything was worth it in the first place. Part 1 of revival

(mav is presumed dead and bradley comes back home because of it. the exploration of grief and how much maverick mattered to so many people is *chefs kiss* done fantastic here. there's a part 2 to this series when mav shows up and let me tell you, it's so good and i absolutely recommend that as well haha!)

What's In A Name? by maverickazansky

Ship: Tom Iceman Kazansky/Pete Maverick Mitchell

Maverick had never put any thought into Bradley not knowing the difference in surnames between the people in his family, nor his own. Nor had his put any thought into the fact that Bradley was a child. He probably should have.

(it's so cute!! it's so so so cute!!! i both laughed and cooed at little bradley, this is so ridiculously fluffy hahaha!)

With the Stars in the Darkness, and Love in the Light by flyingfightingfishy for LadyLanera

Ship: Tom Iceman Kazansky/Pete Maverick Mitchell

Ice cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I was calling about Wood and Wolf's wedding." "Oh yeah! I was sort of wondering about that. When I talked to Wolf a couple weeks ago he said the invitations would be out soon but I haven't gotten one.” Ice cleared his throat again, not quite sure how to address the situation. "Yes. Well. That's because it's with mine. Which is why I called.” Mav made a noise of mild confusion from the other end of the phone. ”They sent them together?" "Ah, no,” Ice said, taking a deep breath. “They invited us. Together. As a couple. Same invitation." OR Ice and Mav get invited to Hollywood and Wolfman's wedding together. They're not a couple. They decide not to correct the assumption.

(i wanted to smash these two idiots together, ice's anxiety was so palpable and real and i wanted to shake the man the entire time omg.)

-

[Crossovers]

Jokers to the Right by adiduck (book_people) for Serie11

Fandoms: The Saint (1997), Mission Impossible

Ship: Ethan Hunt/Simon Templar

It was supposed to be an easy one. (Or: Ethan Hunt is trying to save the world. Simon Templar is trying to rob an asshole blind. They work it out.) Part 1 of if you ever leave, i'm coming with you

(my goddamn gateway drug into this crack ship that i'm now absolutely OBSESSED with. truly and sincerely, this ship has overrun my life and i can't stop listening to lupin the third ost because it gives off spy vibes SO HARD.)(this ship is just, so much fun?? the banter, the fact they're both hyper competent people in the same field of work, whether that means working against or with each other. simon is fascinating and ethan is so inherently good and they circle around each other flirting SO MUCH LIKE NFEWNIFWE.)(the rest of the series is so good too and i absolutely recommend reading Serie11 too, they both herald this ship and god, GOD, i need more of this ship with their dynamics, it's AMAZING!! Please please give it a go and read!)

believe in you by Serie11

Fandoms: The Saint (1997), Mission Impossible

Ship: Ethan Hunt/Simon Templar

“I’ve sort of been wondering why you kept asking me out,” Julia confesses. “When it was pretty obvious that you weren’t going to make a move.” “Obvious,” Ethan echoes. He doesn’t like to think that he’s obvious about anything that he isn’t doing incredibly on purpose. He doesn’t like to think that even after all these years of only showing what he wants to show, there are still things that people can see about him that he would prefer them not to know. “This is date five, Ethan,” Julia says, lifting her eyebrows. “And you haven’t tried to kiss me once.” - Ethan's trying to escape from his past – but that's not exactly easy when he doesn't really want to run.

(a rewrite of mission impossible 3 with saintspy (this ship's name) in it. everything fits! the movie somehow has even MORE stakes and i got so hooked into the relationship drama between our mains and julia is so great here?? this fic is angsty and is in the break up era of their relationship, it's so juicy!! uggh, i love how this author writes, they really dig into ethan's psyche and i'm utterly enamored by it! even if you're not into saintspy, this fic's exploration of ethan still makes it compelling, so i definitely recommend you to check it out!)

run in the shadows by Serie11 for adiduck (book_people)

Fandoms: The Saint (1997), Mission Impossible, Top Gun

Ship: Ethan Hunt/Simon Templar

The changing soulmark on his wrist is a secret that Ethan has kept for as long as he can remember - one that he never thought he would have to explain to anybody, until a man with Peter Mitchell written on his skin appears to upend his entire life.

(*screams* soulmate fic! soulmate fic! this fic is separate from the two fics above, but man, it dives so hard into Ethan and his backstory on, "what if ethan hunt and pete mitchell are the same person". it's handled so well and the exploration on identity and what it means for both ethan and simon is so great!! a must read that will definitely win you over to this ship, i will die on this hill!)

Give and Take by GreenGlassMountain

Fandoms: The Saint (1997), Mission Impossible

Ship: Ethan Hunt/Simon Templar

When Max hires Ethan to steal the NOC list, she gives him free reign over his team members, with one exception. For such a massive heist, he must recruit the best thief in the business: a man known only as The Saint.

(i recommended this before and i need to recommend this again! seriously, it's a delightful first meeting fic between ethan and simon and the author did it so right! the dynamics, the cautious back and forth, and the fact this fic is set in the first mission impossible movie is all kinds of intriguing!! i'm so happy that this small ship is growing bit by bit and i'm so excited to see what comes next with this fic XD)

[writerlyhabits]

Aliit ori’shya tal'din

Pairing: Din Djarin x female reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Summary: Your second day in the covert reveals both new and familiar faces; hospitality and hostility.

Chapter 3 of the Shereshoy series | Masterlist | Ch. 2 | Ch. 4

Warnings: lots of Mando’a, mild language, soft Din, awkward Din, protective Din [he’s got a wide range, okay?], original Mandalorian characters… maybe a little bit of angst? It’s mostly worldbuilding, so I think that’s about it. 

AN: A word from the author – “I’m in grad school, I take forever to write things.Soon I will start grad school again, which means I’ll write this instead of my dissertation. I’m quite fond of the Mando Legends Lore, if you haven’t noticed. I literally got Kad Ha’rangir & Arasuum tattooed on me.”

This is the third part of a sister fic for my one-shot (Courting) a friend of mine wrote based on this request, and I’m so happy she’s letting me share it with you guys! She is also sharing it on AO3, so be sure to send her your love and kudos there as well! We hope you enjoy 💛

Translations, in order of appearance:

Aliit ori’shya tal'din: Family is more than blood

Rejorhaa'i kaysh murcyur gar shupur’ika?:  Are you gonna tell her to kiss your ouchies?

Cuyi ulyc, vod.: Be careful, sister.

Aliit: family

Ad(e): child/children

Kar’ta beskar: the central "diamond" of Mandalorian armor; lit. heart armor

Mirjahaal: peace of mind, "healing", general term for emotional well-being especially after a trauma or bereavement

Beroya: bounty hunter

Kurshi: tree

Sen’tra: jackpack

Buir(e): Parent/Parents

Akaanati'kar'oya: The War of Life and Death (Mandalorian myth), creation story

Verd'goten: a special trial for one to become warrior; lit. birth of warrior

So'haale: births

Urman'gedete: prayers

Eparave: feasts

Cyarir evaar'la: Courting

Alii'aliit: meeting of the clans, the closest thing mandalorians have to government or parliament; lit. "clan of clans"

Tsad: group (of people), alliance

Bes'ede: Mythosaur

Kandush : inevitable doom

Time moves differently underground.

With Odona, the hours passed quickly. As a team, you could disassemble and reconstruct nearly any ship in their small fleet, save for a few parts— which no one had yet found and delivered. The days were faster when the guardsman opted to join you in his free time, his first visit and subsequent dialogue with Odona still memorable.

To what do I owe the displeasure; Oh Mighty Protector of the Covert and Savior of Foundlings?

The pleasure of my company is for your friend, ‘Dona.

Why? Going to terrorize her again, Ik’? Ven’rejorhaa'i kaysh murcyur gar shupur’ika?

Cuyi ulyc, vod.

You had sensed there was a joke hidden within their jibes, one you were unable to decipher in their foreign tongue, but neither took the time to explain. Whilst Ikarus lacked use for the labor that required fine motor control, his presence disrupted the monotony of the many tedious and repetitive tasks you and Odona spent much of your time doing— their frequent banter kept you entertained throughout the day. 

The time you had spent in the medbay was shorter— the most common injuries coming from the older adolescents early on in their training, whose resilience and constitution had yet to strengthen— as well as wrist and ankle sprains from poor fighting forms, the occasional laceration from knife safety training; and at worst, injuries from the teens and young adults earned from a vigorous sparring session.

But with Din, the mornings and evenings together never felt long enough. The hours were reminiscent of your time with him and the Child in the Crest, the warmth of your aliit protected by familiar cold walls; the stone of the cavern both analogous yet antithetic to the durasteel of your former home. 

One forged of hands, and the other of time— one of the fires of a furnace, the other the fires of a planet’s mantle. Your time together before was that of contrivance, engineered— with agendas to follow and assignments to complete— your interactions affable yet somewhat artificial, a present barrier precluding your companionship from evolving into something more… More natural, more innate, more intimate. Here, your time together had been more candid, endearing— Din no longer shied away from any probing questions or physical closeness, which allowed that previous barrier to melt and slowly flow away like that of bedrock to magma, reshaping and remolding your times of leisure together to hours of unified repose.

The hours turned to days, the days turned to weeks, and the weeks turn to this moment, where seemingly no time passes at all— blanketed in the familiar darkness of your room. The unlit and chilled space, at first an unacquainted oddity, now a comfortable companion to spend the sleeping and waking hours in. The ritual remains the same— awaken with the Child, have the morning trade-off with Din, make the caf, and begin the tasks for the day— like clock work, a well-oiled droid.

This morning is almost no different, and yet, you hesitate to leave your bed, your conversation with Din the previous morning still fresh in your mind— 

Din had sat aside the table, his body resting against the wall— unarmored, arms crossed, head tilted to the side, the same position as every morning. Once you handed him the Child and sat, caf in hand, he finally spoke.

“I’d like you to join me tomorrow,” he stated. 

The lack of pleasantries from him was unsurprising, though a teasing ‘Good morning to you, Din’ was a tempting response. Instead, you greeted him with a grin and an unobjectionable reply— 

“Alright, what are we doing?” 

He hummed, pleased with your immediate acceptance.

“The adults alternate supervising the ade. Tomorrow, it’ll be our turn.”

You gestured toward the Child in his arms, in a playful retort. “Don’t we supervise this ad every day?”

The Child cooed in his arms, his ears perked tentatively at his mention. Din sighed, with a smile in voice.

“We do. It’s tradition for all of the adults to care for the ade… All have wisdom to share.”

Skeptical, you thought: ‘What would I possibly teach them?’

You observed the Child resting so comfortably on Din’s chest— his tiny hand gripped tightly into Din’s clothes, right where his armor’s kar’ta beskar normally sat. It was a stark contrast compared to the Child’s behavior upon your first meeting. With any loud noises and sudden movements, he would shrink inwards in his cradle— as if he could make himself any smaller. Medical scanners made him grimace, unfamiliar places and people made his ears droop— seeing others upset made him wary. And yet, he was endlessly curious. Despite his initial unease with the two new adults in his life, the Child was quick to trust you both— and with his trust, his personality came through… his affection, his laughter, his love. 

From there, Din learned how to tend to someone outside of himself— what it meant to have someone that relied on him, and more colossally, someone that wanted Din, as he was. The Armorer branded him as the Child’s father, and the delighted squeal from the little one sealed the bond that Din had been trying to hide for so long. Just as the Child learned to trust Din with his welfare, so too did Din learn to trust the Child with his own mirjahaal.  

Perhaps it wasn’t the lessons they taught, but rather the connection they made, and the wisdom they sought.

With this, the true question then inverted from the skeptic ‘what would I teach them’, to the sanguine ‘what will I learn?’...

“...When do we meet them?”

—

To the ade, the former beroya is nothing more than a tall kurshi fit to climb. 

Somehow, Din appears endlessly patient and playful with all six of the young children. They utilize their limitless spurts of energy to continuously attack Din as a squad, bringing him to the ground— he’ll exclaim a faux wail, and collapse to his knees— and the collective giggles of the ade begin the cycle again. 

Whenever a child grows tired of their battle, they come to you— wanting to be tossed into the air, or onto the nearest surface. Supposedly being gently thrown around aids in their brain development, and ‘it’s good practice for their first sen’tra flight’, Din tells you. The logic is questionable at best, but hearing their joyous squeals makes the ever-growing muscle fatigue worthwhile. Even the child of the Djarin clan is as equally amused, his own little spirit mightily lifted by the experience of being with other kids again. 

During your time on Sorgan, the Child was happy to interact with the other children— but mostly, he watched them, rather than play. Perhaps he was still too shy or too wary to fully engage with so many people, but surrounded by these Foundlings now, he looks at home; like he belongs. Amidst this cohort, he’s made a new friend, Mara, the youngest of the lot. Her long and dark hair reminds you— and perhaps the Child— of Winta, Omera’s daughter. The two spent the most time together on Sorgan, and despite the little one’s inability to say, he misses her. 

Mara and the Child sit away from the squad play-fighting Din, in front of the single wall of volcanic tuff— embellished with crimps and pockets, graven by many hands. You watch them, as they examine the wall, looking up and down, side to side. Your eyes travel upward to the small cavate, almost eight feet from the floor. You watch as Mara looks to the Child and nods, and begins her ascent up— using her fingers and toes to grip tightly onto the various crevices in the wall— and the Child begins to follow.

You step forward, almost instinctively, wanting to call out to them to stop, wanting to reach out to the children to prevent a fall—

Then, from nowhere, Din appears at your side, extending his hand to stop you. “Don’t,” he says softly, “Let them try.”

You look at him puzzled, and he continues. “If you distract them now, they might fall…” he pauses, and turns his head to watch them, “...but if you allow them to focus, they can succeed. Watch…” 

The pair silently step closer, closing the distance between themselves and the wall, watching the two ade slowly make their way up to the cavate. Mara climbs inside first, and lays on her belly, reaching out to the Child to help him trek the final span of the wall. Once inside, the Child turns around, to face the entire room below him. He squeals a little clamor of excitement, proud of his triumph, before looking down to his buire.

“Good job, kid,” Din says. “Come on down, it’s time to go.”

The Child looks at you both doe-eyed, his ears drooping, as he peers over the ledge. He looks back to Mara, and back down over the ledge, contemplating his next move. 

You lean slightly towards Din, speaking in a hushed tone. “I don’t think he knows how to get back down.”

“He can do it,” Din says confidently. 

You challenge him, “He looks scared.” 

Din insists, “Then he’ll do it scared.” 

He steps forward once more, his body almost pressed against the wall, reaching one hand up. “Come on kid, climb down.”

The child’s ears droop even lower, letting out a quiet whimper, a little anxious look on his face. He looks back up to Mara, who gives him an encouraging “You can do it,” before he finally begins his descent towards you and Din. 

Carefully, his little clawed feet grip into the same pockets he used to climb up, and his hands hold onto the ledge. He looks down at his buire with a slightly quivering lip, then back up to his hands. Slowly, he presses on, his movements deliberate and cautious, gravity tugging at his little limbs with relentless persuasion, clammy clawed-hands threatening to slip free from the cold stone. His disgruntled babbling fading with each tentative step, footfalls growing more steady with every downward stride. 

His little foot finally reached something soft— the hand of his buir, waiting for his arrival. With an excited squeal, he looks to Din, holding out his clawed fingers for Din to grasp. Din takes the Child into his arms.

“Good job… I knew you could do it.” Din whispers to him.

With his ad in hand, Din looks back to the cavate, where Mara sits silently. “You too, Mara, come down,” he says. 

Mara, unlike the little one, is less graceful, only climbing down two feet of wall before leaping off. You instinctively reach your arms out to catch her, but are a few seconds too late, as she lands confidently on her feet, smiling up at you. She giggles, asking the Child “Wasn’t that fun!” and the little one cooing affectionately with a bright smile.

“They need to rest.” Din says, before leading Mara and the Child back with the other ade. You follow him in toe, and aid him while he attempts to settle the children in preparation for them to sleep. 

The chamber is bathed in the soft, warm light of the cressets along the walls. The ade sit and lay in a circle on the floor, looking up at the two adults expectedly, waiting for you both to join them. Din gently places the Child in Mara’s lap, seating himself amongst them. 

The ade demanded a story before they would agree to their midday nap, and with only one long sigh, Din relented. As you sit beside him, the tale of Akaanati'kar'oya begins.

—

In ages past, when cosmic realms were naught,

Two gods emerged, each with a purpose sought.

Kad Ha'rangir, embodiment of change,

A dance of growth, His essence did arrange.

Arasuum, the god of slow decay,

In stillness thrived, where life would fade away.

Eternal foes, in battle they engaged,

Ideals clashed, the cosmic script was paged.

Kad Ha'rangir, with eyes of vibrant light,

Envisioned galaxies in endless flight.

His very step, a ripple through the void,

Transforming all, where life and change enjoyed.

Arasuum, with eyes as deep as night,

Desired a realm where stasis held its might.

Decay His touch, a silent, withering breath,

A universe in stillness, touched by death.

In ceaseless clash, their cosmic struggle roared,

A dance of gods, where destinies were stored.

Stoic truths emerged from this grand design,

A tale of action, life's breath so divine.

"For action is the breath that life bestows,

A vital force, as mighty river flows.

Inaction, slow demise, a creeping shade,

A silent death in stillness' dark cascade."

Through galaxies and time, the story spread,

Of Kad Ha'rangir, where change was bred.

Arasuum's touch, a cautionary tale,

A realm in stillness, where all things frail.

So heed the moral, in verses spun,

That action is life, beneath the sun.

For inaction's grasp, a silent breath,

A slow demise, an encroaching death.

—

The ade rest together in a haphazard heap of limbs on various bedcovers and furs draped across the floor. Exhausted from their Beroya Battles and abseil adventures, they finally sleep, leaving the two adults to quietly watch over them together. In the chamber’s silent embrace, the air hangs heavy and chilled— a symphony of stillness envelops the room, broken by the muted shuffle of shifting bodies, and the hushed breaths of the ade. The only audible rhythm is that of the pulsating cadence of your own heartbeat and the rush of blood moving inside your head. 

Your eyes scan over the ade, finding a sense of calmness watching their steady breaths, in… out. 

In… out.

In… out.

Your gaze once again falls onto the Child, cuddled against Mara, also breathing steadily. In the gentle cradle of his friend’s arms, he looks peaceful. Had he ever slept this soundly on the Crest?... Who held him every night before us? Who will take care of him after us?

In the softest whisper, to not disturb the ade, you lean closer to Din, telling him the obvious— “He’s happy here.”

“...Yes,” Din replies, just as quietly. 

“Was this your experience, too? After the Mandalorians saved you?”

“No.”

His visor is trained on the little one’s sleeping face—the same face of a child who was once trapped in the suffocating darkness of a sealed cradle—a cage, a cage whose opening only revealed another prison, in the form of two bounty hunters hovering over him like… a B2 Battle Droid, with a blaster pointed in a child’s face. A child rescued from death at the last possible moment by a shiny warden, offering an adiaphorous detainment. 

“It was… a time of war. I was trained to fight in it. I hope… that they never have to.” Din says, his gaze scanning over the ade once more. 

“I thought all Mandalorians were warriors.”

He, too, believed the same notion for many years. Training from the day he was rescued to the day he became an adult, after his verd'goten, life became a perpetual streak of jobs. Commission, retrieval, payment. Commission, retrieval, payment… Until a strange, golden, aureate armorsmith joined his tribe, bringing tales of the “Great Forge of Mandalore,” and the songs of the artificers that echoed through the speos as they worked. He remembers the first time he kneeled in front of her small, austere forge, in a dark room beneath a busy market above, listening as she spoke of the ethos, the rites, the latria, the true way of the Mandalore. 

“No. Everyone is trained to survive. But… we used to live, too.” 

“...Until Mandalore was taken.”

“Yes.”

So'haale, urman'gedete, eparave, cyarir evaar'la, alii'aliit… A cultus he could only dream of, but never truly have. Spoken knowledge fades into whispers, slipping through his fingers like sand as the voices of the ancestors grow ever fainter. Each decampment a dissolution of tsad res publica, each step forward a battle against oblivion. 

“I’m sorry.” You lean over, resting your head on his pauldron. “...Maybe there’ll come a time when we’ll live in the light, on a planet that welcomes us.” 

Din knows that within every Mandalorian is a patchwork of unfamiliar faces and ever-changing landscapes, their solace and safety as elusive as a bes'ede itself—and yet they endlessly repugn the kandush they have faced time and time again, guided by the conviction that within the uncertainty of the cosmos lay the promise of a sanctuary forged from the resilience of their spirit. 

He tilts his head, resting it atop yours. “There will.”

Ali'nare vencuyanir yaim. This is the Way.   

Thanks for reading!! If you’d like to be notified when I post a new fic, be sure to follow @writerlyhabits-library + turn on post notifications! 💛

To show this author your direct support, go ahead and check this story out on A03 + leave some kudos and a nice comment 💜

[ask-the-rag-dolly]

I KNOW THIS IS UNRELATED TO THE BLOG BUT I LOVE YOUR ART AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT BRUSH OR PROGRAM/APP DO YOU USE... IT'S OK IF YOU PREFER TO KEEP IT TO YOURSELF THO ! Keep up the good work <3

hi ! it's either procreate on my tablet or krita on my computer (: depends on which one i can access atm

as for brushes - i use a custom one for procreate ... and the one for krita just came from the jackpack v2 brushpack . ( it's roughpen if you're curious ) ... though it's slightly modified to be circular .

[hordraomin]

Krita tutorial the way I know it.

Basics: What is where.

Gimmicks.

Specific advice on specific tools.

Basics: What is where.

Upon opening the program this is what you're met with. First of all, must comment: The layout is HEAVILY editable so you can just drag menus anywhere you want, even leave them floating amidst the sheet you're drawing on.

You can create custom art templates, I have two o'mine here as both have my signature background color.

As well, you can edit the custom document settings, as in what size you want it, what resolution, even the initial content of the image. As well you can create from clipboard: Just copy some image from your browser and Krita will recognize it (useful for making meme edits lol).

Now, once you have your file, I will show you what is where.

Brushes:

Brushes are easy to edit and there are tons of free bundles to download online. I myself only got one bundle, Jackpack (bit hard to find now due to original source being lost, it is still available but bit tricky to come by).

There. Are. Tons.

Some of these are my custom brushes for calligraphy in neography, you might even guess which ones. You can edit existing brushes, make new ones from the ones you've edited without changing the original, and all sorts of stuff (more below in the third chapter).

There are numerous packages of brushes once you enter Krita, but only one/two are available when you first open it. To unlock them all, click here:

And make sure all bundles are dark gray in color (example of both dark and light below).

Now Tools Options: those will pop up depending on what tool you're using.

Symmetry: Fun stuff. You can drag the lines depending on how you need them and then center them back to the center of the screen if needed.

Gradients and Textures also have their tools options, you can play with those to get the feeling what they can do (more in third chapter).

The Filters tab is useful too. Blurring, motion blurring, color mapping, artistic filters and all that: Quite fun.

Gimmicks.

Krita allows you to customize your workspace freely. Floating menus, tabs, anything you want. It has quite many drivers at that-

To access the workspace templates, go to Window and choose Workspace.

Krita allows for copy-pasting any image onto the sheet. Though, for me it sometimes crashes if I accidentally copy-paste text into it without choosing the Text tool first.

The software allows for both raster and vector work. It is basically Photoshop sharpened to be used by artists primarily.

There are some interesting mechanics regarding the Eraser (default bind E).

You can use it with any brush, allowing for textured erasure/quick work. Good for sketching.

You can use it on gradients (given there's a transparent point on the gradient preset).

There's a Multibrush tool:

People say Krita is good for animation but my brain can't wrap around it yet honestly @~@.

The keybinds:

B - Brush tool.

E - Erase tool option.

M - Mirror (useful for checking accuracy from a new angle).

Ctrl - Color pick (when used with brush or other color-using tools).

Shift+L.Mouse+drag - Changes the size of the brush by dragging left and right.

Ctrl+E - Merge layer with the one below.

Ctrl+G - Group selected layers.

Ctrl+A - Select whole sheet.

Ctrl+Shift+A - Deselect everything.

F - Bucket tool.

G - Gradient tool.

Ctrl+S - Save document.

Ctrl+Shift+S - Save As document.

Ctrl+N - New document.

Ctrl+O - Open document (will be seen in a new tab on top of the sheet).

Ctrl+C - Copy selected layer or selection.

Ctrl+X - Cut selected layer or selection.

Ctrl+V - Paste copied/cut layer or selection.

Q - Multibrush tool.

R.Mouse - Interesting thing: Opens up a quick selector for brushes and colors you've already used in the piece.

1 - Zoom 100%.

2 - Zoom to fit the piece vertically.

3 - Zoom to fit the piece horizontally.

4, 5, 6 - Turn 15 degrees (4 and 6) or undo the turning whatsoever (5).

Ctrl+I - Negative filter applied to layer.

Ctrl+U - Color editing on the layer.

Ctrl+Y - Soft proofing mode (for color mistakes and stuff like that, mostly annoying for me tbh).

Ctrl+T - Transform selection/layer.

Ctrl+R - Square select tool.

Ctrl+J - Lasso select tool.

Honestly you can just hover your mouse over tools and see their shortcut binds, as well. Or edit them in Settings.

Specific advice on specific tools.

Brush:

Brush editor is a great tool for making custom brushes, and it even has a sratchpad to test them out. Lots of settings, but no need to be afraid; Most of them you might never use on purpose.

Use Brush Smoothing for great and pretty lines in lining pieces or making calligraphy.

Gradient:

The four icons to the right top are:

Mirror gradient.

Arrange by lightness value.

Arrange by color value.

Space the stops evenly.

Click the gradient to add a new stop. The three things to the left are:

Make the stop use Primary Color.

Make the stop use Secondary Color.

Make the stop use a fixed color.

[fluffysteddie]

steddie fanfic recs

offer your throat, starve without me by jackpack

summary:

At first, it’s just squirrels.

Well. Saying it’s just squirrels is like saying in a thunderstorm, what’s coming down is just water: it’s not the substance that’s remarkable, it’s the amount.

So, then: at first, it’s a lot of squirrels.

--

Eddie Munson is a vampire. Steve Harrington just wants everyone he knows alive until Christmas.

completed

chapters: 24

rating: explicit

word count: 150,494

vampire!eddie, post season 4, slow burn

review:

5 ⭐️

this fic was truly a masterpiece and something i would want to happen in season 5. it’s one of those fics that made me stay up until 3am because i just couldn’t put my phone down. amazing amazing amazing. angst perfection, fluff perfection, longing perfection.

[starful-emporium]

Massive list of free brush packs for Krita

Okay! I've been collecting brushes and testing them for a while now; it's time to make this list. I'm going to organize it by category as best I can.

Also, all these brushes are available for free but please tip these artists if you can!

Digital illustration:

Rakurri Brush Set V2 on gumroad (SO MANY BRUSHES. Some especially fun ones with hue jitter!)

SpaghetMeNot's Hard Brushes on gumroad

Baphiste's Krita Brushset on gumroad

Nylnook Krita Brushes on gumroad

Krita Custom Brush Pack on gumroad

Jackpack Legacy Brushes on krita-artists

Realistic sketching and inking:

Sketch V2 on krita-artists (The MOST realistic pencils I've found.)

Inktober 2023 Brushes on youtube (Third link in desc)

Wavenwater Concept Brushes on krita-artists

Neko's Free Liners on krita-artists

CSP G-Pen Copycats

Ink Pen (CSP like) on krita-artists (G-Pen Copycat!)

Small Changes to the G Pen on krita-artists

Painting:

Watercolor Brushes for Krita on gumroad

Crunchy Brushes on gumroad

Oil Brushes for Krita 5 on gumroad

Memileo Impasta Brushes on pling

Impressionism with Krita on krita-artists

Experimental RGBA on gumroad

Textures, stamps, and cheats:

FizzyFlower's Essential Brushes on gumroad (400+ brushes, but you can download one category at a time!)

InkkSUNA's Prismatic Brushes on gumroad

InkSUNA's Flora Brushes on gumroad

Afro Hair Brushes on gumroad

Baphiste's Body Hair Brushes on gumroad

Cityscape Brushes for Krita on gumroad

Not Brushes:

Rakurri Gradient Maps for Krita krita-artists

[simptasia]

the concept that jack constantly has period supplies in his jackpack makes me very happy

[grrl-beetle]

Mandarina Duck

[your-darling-dolly]

(to mod which brush do you use for your art? It’s really cute)

// I'll probably add it to my pinned post later, but it's 'Jackpack Ink RoughPen', you can find the pack through a quick Google search iirc ? but yeah i just edited it to be rounder + different pressure settings , and yes it's the one on Ask-the-rag-dolly hehe

[thecrazyneographist]

Jackpachaoova

Named after a brush in my library (Jackpack Chaos Oval).

[mc395686]

MY ART IS GONNA BE ON A TRADING CARD!!!

That banner at the top of the card is the one I made!

You can get notified when it drops here: creocards.com/jackpack

[jackthevulture]

Hi, this is incredible strange but I found your blog through Gumroad. Will you ever sell those incredible Krita 4.0 Realwater brushes again? They are the most realistic, beautiful brushes I have found for digital watercolour!

Thank you for still liking them! I have them up on the Krita forum for free (as they always have been :) )