#less layer dropping glitches

[jester089]

Jax Ass kicker here, it was definitely funny to see your thoughts on the purple menace and thanks for entertaining it! I’d like HC’s of them but only and ONLY if your up for it. I’m happy as is. Thanks! LOL ^_^

A well deserved A%# kicking (Part 2)

Can do! I'll read requests more thoroughly so I don't gloss over a vital thing like that again. Sorry again! Enjoy.

Caine

You being willing to fight back against Jax didn't really affect Caine as Jax never messed with him. Though Caine appreciates you helping out the others. It's strange but since Jax arrived Caine has seen an abnormal rise in abstraction. And Caine just can't put his finger on why? But then you showed up and it dropped back to the usual. *shrugs*

Gangle

Out of everyone Gangle needs it the most. She's made out of ribbon so she's easily hurt AND can't fight back! Have you ever tried to hit someone with a ribbon? It's impossible. AND HER MASKS ARE BREAKABLE! Yeah she needs some help. Your like a much needed Jax repellent that Gangle has been hoping for since she got here. But every time you protect her she feels bad cause she can't really do anything for you. But she'll try and be a bit more talkative/affectionate as you seem to like that. Do be warned each time he's stopped Jax gets more and more aggressive. So the only real way to have Gangle be safe is to either A. Always be with her. Or B. Get rid of Jax somehow. But that isn't going to happen so I recommend setting up a bed in your room for Gangle.

Zooble

Jax doesn't pick on Zooble a lot. He doesn't do her any favors sure, but I feel like their similar ages might make her less of a target? It's either that or because her reactions are never much fun to him. Well whatever the case, Zooble doesn't need much help. She can handle herself in an argument and in a fight. She could pop one arm off and have double the range making her able to hit the person with a full strength punch from afar. Still though everyone gets caught at a bad time eventually. And if you stepped in between her and Jax when something went wrong or Jax was being especially awful she would be grateful. She wouldn't show it until you two were alone but she does appreciate it. And she'll make sure you know that. Later.

Kinger

Kinger has been in the circus a while. He's the oldest in actual age and the one who's been there the longest. So he's definitely met a few Jax type people in his time and has learned how to avoid them. So more likely then not he wont need your help to often. But everyone needs help eventually. I can see Jax coating the outer layer of one of Kinger's pillow fortresses while he's inside with like cement to trap him. So when you save him he, like a true royal blushes then gives you his child's hand in marriage. But he doesn't have a child. So he'll have to do! (Don't expect anything fancier then a ring pop as a ring and a white sheet as a wedding gown.)

Ragatha

Ragatha honestly needs the help. Not because she's weak or anything. But because she's so worried about making sure the others are ok that she just lets herself be a punching bag if it means the others are ok. She's to much of a people pleaser and she suffers because of it. You two are a good mix of brain and brawn. She keeps everyone in the best state of mind she can manage. And you keep everyone as physically ok as you can manage. You make a good combo but you two can be a little overbearing so make sure, to make sure the persons ok with it. She's got a lot on her mind at all times so she wont always notice you helping her out, especially if it didn't happen in front of her or she was in the middle of something. But when she does realize she'll always thank you for it.

Jax

Two Jax's?! And your protecting one from the other?!? Error code 116832//: To many Jax's. Restart in 30 seconds. :\\ (That was a joke but like, it's a digital world. Technically it could glitch and their could be multiple of a character. I mean did you see that flower at the start of the pilot? It's clearly not a super well held together place.) (So, naturally my mind went straight to the thought being sandwiched in between two Ragatha's having the life squeezed out of me x2 in a super tight but incredibly loving hug. And naturally I'm going to write about that. Eventually. I'm pretty swamped rn.)

Pomni

From her first day here she's known that Jax was bad news. But she doesn't really avoid him, I mean she was there when he admitted to having keys to everywhere. So if he wants to find you their isn't just you can do. Until you arrive she hangs around him and is secretly hoping that he'll like having her around and take it easy on her. That of course doesn't work and by the time you arrive/realize how bad Jax is she's hanging on a thread. More likely then not your going to be taller then her. So if you see her clearly uncomfortable, with Jax or someone else if you just pick her up and walk away she'll be both embarrassed and thankful. She isn't the best at putting her foot down and stopping something she isn't comfortable with so your might end up having to be kind of an a%$#hole for her sake. (Ok I think I did your request right. If I didn't, again. Message me. Sorry but I'm not doing this for a third time. Your just gonna have to live with the two I did make. Even if it turned out wrong I hope you enjoyed.)

xoxo, Jester

[stuffnonsenseandotherthings]

January Drama Wrap Up

January was a month of ups and downs (and some very big let downs) but over all I enjoyed what I watched. I tried out a new country's dramas and discovered some classics at the same time and I've built myself a pretty solid Currently Watching List to take me into February.

📊 The Stats

Total Dramas: 12

Currently Watching: 3

Completed: 4

Dropped: 2

On Hold: 3

My To Watch List: 60

🎭 The Dramas

🤼💰 Like Flowers in the Sand - Currently Watching

Like Flowers in the Sand is going to be another one of those k-dramas I am never going to be able to explain to my non k-drama watching friends without sounding like I've lost the plot a little.

"It's a small town drama about a minor league ssireum team and a wrestler who's been in a years long slump. There's also an investigation into a murder linked to match-fixing but that's kind of a side plot and it's linked to the wrestler's childhood friend who's reappeared incognito after disappearing mysteriously many years ago ... I promise it's good!"

It's probably not the drama for everyone but as someone who has historically loved sports centered k-dramas and who loved When Camilla Blooms this drama ticks so many of my boxes. I'm very excited to watch the complex relationships and politics of small town life be put under a microscope and dissected and I can already tell I'm going to love how morally grey all the characters are.

It also doesn't hurt that the ML is the biggest himbo to ever ever himbo and I love him and his empty brain to bits.

Prediction: I become a ssireum fan.

🕹️💌 Love For Love's Sake - Currently Watching

I've been staying away from K-BL these past few months because I've been struggling with their short run time but Love for Love' Sake lured me back in like a moth to the flame and I have no regrets.

Is Love For Love's Sake Perfect? No, there are definitely some pacing issues that are leaving me feeling very temporally confused about how quickly or slowly events are unfolding and the lower than average k-drama budget does show at certain points but, do you what?

I don't care.

I wholeheartedly love this drama and it's going to have to mess up its last 2 episodes Last Twilight style to change that.

The relationship between the main couple? Adorable. The openly gay leader of the school delinquents? We stan. The oddball friendship group forming because they're all slightly crushing on the ML? Sign me up! The addition of a glitch in the game that's starting to mess everything up? Horrifying and I love it.

Prediction: A new favourite K-BL is born and it's all thanks to this mf

🩺😭 Doctor Slump - Currently Watching

I'm watching this because it's on my Plan To Watch list and Netflix started playing the trailer after I'd finished watching an episode of The Way of the Househusband.

I won't lie, this is definitely the drama, out of all the dramas I'm currently watching, that I'm least certain I'll finish but, at the same time, I was pleasantly surprised by the first two episodes. Yes, it does do that typical comedy k-drama thing of mixing ridiculous over the top laughs with some incredibly difficult topics (because who doesn't want to be laughing hysterically one minute and then doing some deep self-reflection the next?) but so far the balance and the boundaries between the two moods has been relatively well struck and only time will tell if it manages to stay that way.

I appreciate tackling the topic of burn out and depression in a country that still champions overwork and mental fortitude above all else and I'm interested to see where it goes with that part of its arc. The "being framed for murder" I am a little less certain about, but it has definitely added a layer of intrigue to a story that would otherwise be relatively mundane and by the books.

As I said, time will tell if I continue to enjoy Doctor Slump but I'd say my only quibble with the drama so far is that I'm not sure "accused of (and potentially framed for) murder" and "suffering from depression due to burn out and work place abuse" quite fit what is normally meant by the word slump.

Prediction: Maybe I won't drop this half way through like I thought I would.

👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨🎥 BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita - Completed

My first Japanese BL ever and it was a good one. Yes, it was 3 episodes long, but it used its runtime perfectly. All of the main characters felt properly fleshed out (and the side characters were caricature enough that you only really needed one scene to know who they were and what they stood for), the pacing was great (it couldn't afford to drag but it didn't speed through scenes either), and it found the right balance between BL shenanigans and forrays into deeper messages. This was exactly what I needed at the time and, for someone who doesn't normally like mini-dramas that much, I enjoyed myself immensely.

Verdict: 8/10, I also want a life-size cardboard cutout of Aoyanagi to cuddle and hide behind when I open the door.

✒️💕 Cherry Magic, Japan - Completed

I'm planning to buy the manga.

I plan to watch the film next month (I never watch films).

I may have even checked out the fanfic scene in a bout of withdrawal.

Anyway, what I mean to say is that I get the hype, I really really do. This drama is fantastic.

Cherry Magic is one of those classics that you watch as a newbie and go "oh yeah I get why everyone is obsessed with this". The premise is novel and well executed, the characters are oh so easy to love, the main romance is so incredibly shippable, and the friendships are just as endearing.

I personally love the role Adachi's mind reading plays in shaping his relationship with Kurosawa and how the way it's handled means the audience feels what Adachi is feeling right alongside him. How can you not be charmed by the inner monologue of someone so sweetly and respectfully head over heels for you? But at the same time just because you're charmed, does that mean you like them back or is it just because you can see them at their most vulnerable? And what about once you're in the relationship? Do you give up the thing you know made it possible? Or do you pull back so you can't mess up once the crutch you rely on is gone?

There was so much quiet nuance to Adachi's and Kurosawa's relationship to each other and those around them and, when I one day sit down for a rewatch, I'm looking forward to unpicking them all.

Verdict: 8.5/10, Adachi and Kurosawa are going to be one of those couples that's impossible to leave behind. This is going to stick with me for a while, and once it's unstuck I'll just watch it again.

📸🌦️ Welcome to Samdal-Ri - Completed

I know some people thought the premise of Welcome to Sandal-Ri was unrealistic but, personally, I found it hard not to draw parallels between what happened to Cho Sam Dal in the drama and what happened to Kim Seon Ho in real life. Yes, the situations may differ somewhat (Sam Dal faces false accusations of work-place bullying by an employee while Seon Ho was accused of coercing his girlfriend into getting an abortion) but there were enough similarities (the media frenzy and the sheer intensity of the backlash, the scandals happening just as their careers peaked, the gradual revelation of what actually transpired) that I would be very surprised if there was no link at all.

For that alone, Welcome To Samdal-Ri had my attention from the get go. If this story were from a Western perspective, I would certainly have been much more wary of a story tackling false accusations (looking at you Euphoria) but from a Korean perspective, where celebrity culture is far more intense and volatile and in which false accusations have happened before and cancel culture can indeed end a career for even minor infractions (like dating), I wanted to see how it would be handled.

Ultimately I was satisfied, not wowed, not disappointed, satisfied. The show didn't dig that deep into the subject (personally I would have appreciated Sam Dal's case juxtaposed against another case in which the accusations turned out to be true) but it handled it deftly enough and felt "case-by-case" enough that I didn't feel as though it inadvertently gave off the message of "not believe anyone bringing accusations against celebrities".

Other than my own personal interest in the premise, Welcome to Sandal-Ri did a good job of holding my interest. In terms of overall vibe, it felt like a mix between (perhaps unsurprisingly) Hometown Cha Cha Cha (the idyllic small-town community filled with friends and loveable elders) and Our Beloved Summer (childhood lovers unfairly broken up but still pining for each other after years apart). The pacing was good, the characters loveable (I am now in love with Cho Hae In), and each episode felt like sinking into a warm bath for an hour.

Verdict: 8/10, it tackled an interesting topic while providing its audience with plenty of comfort and heart. It could have done without the love triangle though, just saying.

📃👩‍❤️‍👩 Out of Breath - Completed

I don't have too much to say about Out of Breath given it was 3 episodes long and less than an hour run time in total but I'm glad I watched it. Firstly, because it was nice to watch a (rare) Korean GL and secondly, because it managed to fit a lot into its short run time. Two break ups, a love triangle/unrequited love, cute dates, commentary on living queer in Korea, commentary on being out in Korea.... This show really had it all.

It was short, it was sweet, and it had a lot to say. I can't say I'd watch it again in a hurry, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a realistic portrayal of queer (and specifically) lesbian life in Korea.

Verdict: 7.5/10, it unpacked a lot in a short amount of time, the couple was extra cute too.

🫂💕 Cherry Magic Thailand - On Hold

I realised very early on into watching Cherry Magic Thailand that I'd probably get a lot more out of it if I watched the original first. I'm not normally someone who says watching the OG is necessary to watch the adaptation (in fact I normally rebel against that idea with a whole lot of passion) but in this case it became very clear that without watching Cherry Magic Japan first, I was missing important reference points and comparisons that were pretty key to understanding and appreciating that plot fully.

Anyway, I've now watched and loved Cherry Magic Japan so Cherry Magic Thailand is back on the menu, I just want to give myself enough time away that when I go back to it, it's with completely new eyes (and I'm excited for when that moment comes).

Verdict: On Hold until I can give it a proper fresh start.

🩺🍲 Cooking Crush - On Hold

I watched this at completely the wrong time. I struggle with rom-com dramas at the best of times but by now I should know that I absolutely should not try to watch one when I am going through a period of high stress.

I am not kind to rom-coms when I am stressed, even the ones I might otherwise enjoyed.

As it is, I initially dropped Cooking Crush because I was struggling to stay focussed enough to finish an episode and the characters were grating on me. Looking back, part of me thinks that my lack of focus and general irritability may have had less to do with the drama itself and much more to do with the fact I could barely focus on anything during that time period and that I had barely any spoons left to give people in my actual life, let alone fictional ones.

So...

Anyway, Cooking Crush has continued to come across my dash in gif, meme, and analysis form and I've realised that I actually really like what I'm seeing, enough so that I've moved it out of the "dropped" pile and into my "on hold" list so as to give it a second shot in the not so distant future (something that doesn't normally happen).

I genuinely think I might like this drama, I just need to make sure I'm in the right mindset for it first to give it a fair shot 💪

Verdict: On Hold until my next holiday.

🐍🦅 The Sign - On Hold

On paper The Sign sounds like it's right up my street, after all what's not to love about star-crossed lovers doomed by the threads of fate and history to lose each other?

But that's the thing, "on paper". In real life The Sign is well, messy and a bit too cop-heavy for my liking. Sure there are some great moments, Billy and Babe's chemistry is on fire, and it may have one of the best and most artistic sex scenes ever to grace the BL screens of the world but sexy times does not a good show make and I've found myself torn about whether or not I should keep going or just give up at this point.

To help me decide I've taken the "on paper" part of The Sign very literally and bought the book to read. If I like the book (the translation is a bit choppy but I can overlook that if the story is good) then I'll finish the show, if I don't then into the land of the dropped it goes.

Verdict: On Hold until I've actually experienced it on paper.

🌄🖕 Last Twilight - Dropped (episode 10)

I won't lie, this is the second time (the first time being Only Friends) that I've ended up being grateful my busy schedule got in the way of my drama watching because wow this show really took a tumble at the last hurdle. There was so much Last Twilight could have done, so many societal boundaries it could have crossed and reshaped and re-imagined but instead it went with... well a literal "fix it fic" ending that fixed nothing but instead broke all it had built up beyond repair.

I'm not going to go into detail about how Last Twilight let nearly every single one of its principal characters down, about how Mhok was never allowed screen time to process his own emotional trauma, about how the show briefly touched upon and then completely glossed over the very different social and financial circumstances of the both couples and the effects this would have on their experience of the world, of how there was so much ableist messaging around both the treatment of Dad's character which was always lurking under the surface but which only really came to light alongside the ending..... All I'm going to say is that, up until episode 9, Last Twilight had a choice about what messages it wanted it's audiences to come away with at the end, and it picked the wrong fucking ones.

It could have been a challenge to the ableist and classist mainstream norm so often portrayed in the media, instead it perpetuated harmful and hurtful rhetoric and stereotypes against the very people it claimed to champion.

Maybe one day I'll watch it again, but only because I want to properly break down what went so wrong.

Recommended reads by people who expressed it better than me:

This Discussion under "Last Twilight, episode 12: final reflections" by @waitmyturtles

"Last Twilight: Ep 12" by @wen-kexing-apologist

"Last Twilight Episode 12" by @lurkingshan

This post by @simplemindedmockingjay

Verdict: Dropped for betraying it's audience and those it claimed to champion.

👨‍⚕️⏳ Triage - Dropped (episode 10)

This one hurts me.

This one well and truly hurts me.

Because, the thing is, I loved so much about this show. It does so much right and up until episode 10 I was preparing to rank it among my favourite BLs of all time; the plot was fast moving and carried you from episode to episode in a whirlwind of anticipation, the romance (although minor compared to most other BLs) was highly shippable, the characters had depth and flaws and strengths that made you root for them, and the time loop plot device was doing things that were genuinely new and innovative.

I was hooked.

And then everything I loved just disappeared.

I don't know what possessed the creators of this show to completely change the universe of the drama for the last 2 episodes, maybe they thought the old one was getting stale (it wasn't).

All I can say is I absolutely hated the new turn of events.

Familiar characters with entirely new personalities and character arcs who I was apparently expected to root for (I don't know who they are anymore), time travel rules thrown out of the window because the plot demanded it be so (I'm sorry but the notebook time travels now? And a kiss will bring back memories?), the entire premise of the show just dropped and never even properly answered (why did Tin need to save Tol????? What about his heart murmur????)....

No.

Just no.

I'm out.

Verdict: Dropped for becoming a completely different drama in the last 2 episodes

⭐ The Awards

I fell in love with a lot of people and things this month so let's talk about them

☺️ Smile That Could Launch A Thousand Ships

Yuuichi Kurosawa (and his actor Keita Machida) is, quite frankly, a ridiculously gorgeous man in the most normal of circumstances but his smile takes it to a whole new level.

Truly a sight that could light up a room (and the whole building the room was in), this smile is filled with such genuine happiness and love that it's hard not to smile right back just as brightly, whether you be a hapless audience member beaming at your computer screen or a flustered Adachi trying desperately to hold on to your heart.

What I also love about this smile is that it only comes out when Kurosawa is properly, over the moon happy. He's got other smiles for other occasions and they're all very pretty but this one? This one sits above them all and makes them pale in comparison.

🩷 Biggest Crush

I have a type and that type is Cho Mina (and quite possibly Kang Mi Na, I clearly need to work through her filmography for... science). But seriously, this woman is STUNNING and is made all the more so by her dedication to her daughter and her refusal to let society pressure her into being ashamed of being a young single mum. She's strong, she's kind, she's independent, she's beautiful both inside and out. I don't care if she got the least screen time out of all the sisters, she stole the whole show for me and I am smitten.

📃 Line That Hit Me Like A Freight Train

"I'm used to pretending to be normal"

"pretending to be normal"

I'm going to be forever grateful to Cherry Magic for giving me positive and thoughtful Ace rep in Fujisaki, for showing her happy and confident and unbothered by society's expectations that she should one day couple up and settle down, for giving voice to the Ace experience of "pretending to be normal" in simple line that holds so much meaning and so many layers.

I know it's not canon, but in my head Fujisaki does tell Adachi out loud one day, and she gets her response of "is that so".

🛌 Plot Device That Made Me Sit Up and Go "Yes"

I may have ended up dropping Triage but credit where credit is due, it did do a lot of things right and one of those things was its ideas around time loops/ time travel. The idea that where you fall asleep at the end of the time loop directly affects how far back you travel back in time for the start of the loop?

Genius.

Why haven't I seen this done before??? It's such a clever way to provide the loop-character with the agency they need to actually make changes without breaking the established rules of the time loop and it allows for each iteration of the loop to be significantly different depending on how early or how late the changes to the timeline are made.

It literally solves almost all of my usual issues with time loop narratives.

It was genuinely intriguing watching Tin try to work out where he needed to fall asleep in order to go back as far as he needed and it was such a shame that, as the show neared its end, that aspect of the time loop experience just sort of fell away.

I want more time loop ideas like this and I want them now.

🌄 Scene That Took My Breath Away

Last Twilight may have ended by taking this scene and its significance and flushing it down the toilet but you know what, the author is dead and I killed him. I'm taking this scene back.

Day wanting his last experience with his quickly disappearing sight to be a homage to the book that helped him come to terms with his disability and see the world anew, his description of the sunset he could see in his mind's eye that is far more brilliant and beautiful than reality could ever dream to be, his clear moment of realisation that yes, he could live without his sight and not only could he live without it, he could well and truly thrive, the last thing he sees being Mhok's face as the ultimate declaration of love....

The last twilight in episode 9 could have been a truly special moment and, taken in isolation, it still is. It's just such a shame that such a beautiful depiction of growth and healing and self-love and self-acceptance was ultimately papered over with an ending that didn't fit it at all, one that erased the positive and affirming messages this scene held.

[songbirdstew]

Well, Tom Petty, it turns out I DO have to live like a refugee.

We are back in evacuation mode. I guess a three and a half year break isn't bad.

Saturday, we woke up to half an inch of ice coating every possible surface.

Our power went out at 3 that afternoon.

Sunday, we woke up to an inch thick layer of ice coating every possible surface.

None of this is snow. It is all ice.

The outside temperature ranged from 23 to 27*F. By Tuesday, the inside temperature had dropped to 39, our power bank was drained, and our devices were near dead. Our immediate plan was to head to the Parks center, or if that didn't work, to City Hall (where our library is), both usually sound options for getting a cup of coffee and charging up. We would make contact with the outside world, check the weather forecast, make a plan, then head back home to grab essentials. But C's sister happened to text me right as I was gathering everything up, so we headed for her place instead.

The path from here to there was NOT GREAT BOB.

The roads were all coated in ice, still. Even in the middle of town, on the main thoroughfares, on the Priority 1 deicing routes. All along the route, there are power lines down, power poles down and broken, transformers exploded, trees down, trees snapped in half, trees sliced down the middle vertically. There are power lines dangling over the road, lying in the road, draped across people's driveways and over their front doors so they can't get out. Half the traffic lights were out.

So as soon as we got here, we decided to stay put for the night. The cats were loaded on food and water, and the house was safe and sound.

We quickly learned the entire East half of our town (where the Parks center is) and most of mid town and downtown (where the library is) were totally without power, plus the Parks center's parking lot was blocked by downed trees, so it was just as well we ended up skipping our initial idea and just came straight to Emma and Zev's.

Today, C&I went back to get things we'll need while we're here (we brought NOTHING with us yesterday). The temperature finally rose, so most of the ice had melted. Most of the traffic lights were back on.

But everything else is still the same, if not worse. Once the ice melted, everything that had been hanging by a frozen thread just crashed. Large parts of town are under orders to boil all of their water (remember, they don't have power). When we got home, we found a tree branch had completely shattered the rear window of C's car while we were gone. A huge hunk of ice fell out of the same tree and put a brand new dent in my fender while we were there. It was still only 37* at our house, even though it was up to 47 less than a mile away. The fuck?

The kitties were okay. Charlie seemed perfectly fine (like, What? You were gone?), and Glitch was well, but very, very sad. She HATES being alone (she doesn't even like being alone in a room when people are home). She HATES it when I'm not there. She could tell we were leaving again right away, and she was so unhappy. I set up her favorite blankets for her on the couch and on the bed. We gave them food and water for a few days, plus wet food with calming drops mixed in. We freshened their boxes, and we closed them in their separate spaces so that Charlie won't be bullying Glitch & stealing her food the whole time.

Curtis plans to go back out to the house on his own tomorrow, largely to further inspect his car and take more pictures for the insurance company. School is cancelled for the week. So far I have not had to go in to work, but tomorrow and Friday remain to be seen. My boss will let me know sometime in the morning whether she expects me to work or not, and then Curtis and I will decide if we think it's safe enough to get me there and back. We haven't been to that part of town, so we don't know how bad the tree damage etc might be. If it's anything like the rest of the city, I know I won't feel comfortable navigating that in the dark.

For now, we are good, and warm, and safe, with people we love. Emma and Zev are such good influences on Royal, that Royal actually ate something green today (enchilada sauce).

Please snuggle your kitties for me and kiss their stupid little heads, okay?

[oddcryptidwrites]

Knight of Dawn, Chapter 3 [Not Your Typical Fairytale]

TW for toxic parent-child relationship, a bit more zombie-related gore, and the two freaky scientists who live in the basement

Despite the fact they locked their door, Grady still sat at their desk, shuffling through invisible files. She often busied herself with tedious tasks while they were gone, to keep herself distracted, and this time was no different.

“Whatcha up to?” Piers dropped their weapons on the desk. Grady grumbled, some of the files likely glitching out in her vision.

“I was working on security plans for the Coronation Dance. Comm. Benj wants less of his personnel here, because he believes there may be a terror attack on the Perimeter, either from radical groups here or from Florida. Comm. Sei and Dad think otherwise, but I really am with Benj on this one. If we shift all personnel to the Palace, we will leave ourselves vulnerable.”

“What’s Commander Lopez’s opinion on it?”

“Hell if I know. He fucked off to the coast this weekend for ‘navy training purposes’ but I think it’s because he doesn’t want to put up with this. Any updates on Lennox?” With a grand gesture, she closed the invisible stack of files, moving them out of her vision, then spinning in their chair to watch them.

They talked as they shed their outermost layers, “He’s having a moment, but then again, he’s always having a moment. Did Marcie come by, like you said?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Adele wants to talk to you, and Marcie came to get you. I told her you were working out and would be up there as soon as you were done.”

Piers walked into their closet, still talking, as they pulled off the thermal underwear, “Which wasn’t entirely untrue. Did she mention anything in particular for why Adele wanted to talk to me?”

“Nope. Just please wear something nicer. You can’t get around wearing sweats and a tshirt all day.” 

“Fuck you.” After yanking a pair of black slacks off the hanger, Piers inspected the fabric, before pulling them on, followed by a black button down and a green sweater they loved dearly, “Does this work?”

Grady poked her head in, as they worked on tucking in the shirt. “Good. Marcie said to meet her at Adele’s floor.” Piers stuck their tongue out at Grady as they plopped down on the bench and pulled on their shoes. She helped them back onto their feet. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“I’ll be fine. You do your work stuff.” 

The ride down to Adele’s floor was short, only a few levels. Lo and behold, Marcie stood there waiting when the doors opened.

“Oh sweetheart, I’m glad you’re here.” The older woman hugged them tight, before ushering them down the long hallway of closed doors, “Adele’s been wanting to see you today, but Grady said you were busy. I knew you just needed time to blow off some of your nervous energy. Come on.”

“It just hurts me to see her hurting.” They responded, as the two came to the big doors at the end of the hallway. The guards, in gray and bright red, stood flanking the door, and snapped to attention. 

“Me too, Piers. She’s been through hell, ‘n the devil spat her out for being too stubborn every time.” 

They pushed open the doors, together. At the vanity sat Adele, with her back turned to the door. She dabbed at her face with a makeup sponge, the rest of her makeup strewn all over the countertop. A billowy red dress swallowed her up, making her look smaller and even frailer. She spotted Piers’ reflection in the mirror, before turning around.

“Hello.” She gave a soft smile, straining to get up from her seat at the vanity. In Piers’ peripheral, Marcie flinched in sympathy for her best friend. Piers couldn’t bear to imagine Grady in the same situation.

“Marcie, can I speak with my mom alone?” They asked her, as Adele came over. With a polite nod, Marcie left, heading back into the depths of the Palace to do who knows what.

“Hey mama.” Piers greeted Adele, as she hugged them tightly. Tipping their chin up, they were just tall enough to rest it on top of her head. When they were little, she’d seemed so tall, so powerful.

“I’m glad to see you Jilly-bean. Marcie told me the Coronation today didn’t go as planned. Was it Miles?” She took their hands in hers, guiding them towards the plush red couch near the center of the room. Piers sat down with her, propping a leg up as they leaned on the arm.

“Mason, I think. Miles pretty much stuck to the script.” 

She nodded thoughtfully, before her demeanor hardened. “I saw you walked out without saying anything. You were supposed to give a speech, Piers, and you didn’t. I specifically asked you to, and you told me you had written something up.”

Fuck Adele for watching the broadcast. “Look, what was I supposed to say? ‘Sorry you hate my family, I’m gonna fix everything that’s wrong?’”

“Yes!” Adele snapped, “Jillian Piers, you should have just said something. Anything, literally anything, would have been fine! You had a chance to establish their first impression of you as Monarch and you threw it out the fucking window. I’d give anything to have that chance again.” She took their hands in hers, her red nails digging into their skin as she squeezed “Jill, I just want what’s best for you.”

“I know mama…” Piers sighed, as they pulled their hands away, before changing the topic so Adele couldn’t get onto them anymore, “How’s your day been? Have Marcie and the royal guards been treating you well?”

“As best they can, considering…everything.” She gestured about the situation in general, “Charoen came up today, and I’d appreciate it if you can pay xir a visit. I think it’d be good for you and xir. Also, if you could send David up here, that would be fantastic. Marcie, bless her heart, she’s sweet but you start to get sick of people after you’ve known one another for fifty years.” Laughing, Adele leaned her head back, staring up at the ceiling.

“Is that how Grady and I are gonna get? Am I gonna get tired of her once we’re both old.”

“Hey, I’m not that old Ja-Jillian. 54 is not old” Adele sat up to look at them, gray eyes tearing into their soul, and Piers backed off.

“Alright, Alright…” Piers put their hands in the air, backing off, “I’ll go pay Dr. Panya a visit. I got some stuff to finish up tonight, but I’ll be by tomorrow morning to go through some of the stuff you left in your office.”

“Good. I’ll see you then. Now go bother Charoen instead of me.” Adele teased them as they got up, and Piers smiled.

“See you tomorrow. Have a good night.”

Slipping out the big heavy doors, Piers closed them with a soft click. Then, they let out a long, shaky sigh, wiping their eyes as tears started to form. The guardsmen at the door awkwardly looked at them, halfway between attention and ease. 

“You’re fine. Don’t salute.” Piers waved the guardsmen down, before brushing themself off and heading for the elevator. For years, Piers had avoided Dr. Panya, and Dr. Panya had avoided them. And also for years, Adele had tried to get them and Dr. Panya to talk. The reclusive scientist never left the Lab, unless absolutely necessary, and Piers never went into the Lab, unless absolutely necessary. They’d spent enough time down there as a kid, sick with IR. The only time they willingly interacted with xir was when xe accidentally figured out about them sneaking out, and they begged xir not to tell Adele or Marcie. Or sometimes when they had to pick up their medication.

Their ears popped this time, as the primary elevator descended rapidly, until the little LED screen red B5. When the doors opened, they were greeted with a long, dark hallway. A bright light shone through the window of the ominous steel door at the end. If they turned to the right at the end of the hall, they’d pass by the service elevator, and out of the Palace. Today, they walked right up to the door and knocked. The metallic clang echoed in the dark.

After an awful screech from inside, Dr. Panya opened the door, looking Piers up and down with a judgemental glare. Xe wore the same exact thing Piers had always seen xir in: a blue jacket, a white lab coat, and a medical respirator, covering xir face.

“Why are you down here?” The scientist’s tone was notably short. They’d likely caught xir in the middle of something.

“Adele sent me. Plus I’m curious.” Piers replied, trying not to sound irritated, and Dr. Panya raised an eyebrow.

“I don't want you down here. Adele is welcome to bring you down here yourself.” Xe went to close the door on Piers, and they finally snapped.

“You asshole!”

At that, xe laughed. “You’re just like her. Put this on, we’ve got an IR cadaver out.”

Dr. Panya handed them a respirator like xirs, and they pulled it on. Finally, xe stepped back from the doorway, letting them into the Lab. The door shut behind them with a clang. Piers crept into the Lab, looking around. Everything was sterile, polished steel and bright white tile, meaning the light reflected off of everything. No corner was left unlit. Of the three surgical tables, only the middle was occupied. A cadaver, with the recognizable yellow growth on the lungs, was strapped down. Bent over it, wearing an apron, gloves up to their shoulders, and a respirator mask, was someone Piers recognized only by their cotton candy blue hair.

“Councilor Sidney?”

The politician jerked upright, a scalpel in one hand and tweezers in the other, blood up to their elbows. Their gray eyes went wide with surprise.

“Your Majesty! It’s a pleasure to see you again!” Sidney's accent was similar to Dr. Panya’s. 

“Marlowe studied in Athens’ world-renowned biogen labs, as expected for someone of their status and future, before they started onto their political career. Once they become Chancellor, they won’t have as much time for their pet projects, so I’ve been letting them work down here with me.” Dr. Panya pushed Piers closer to the cadaver, but they dug their heels into the ground. Councilor Sidney set the bloody tools down in the metal pan beside the cadaver, before stripping off the gloves, tossing them in a bin near the sink, before donning a new pair.

“That’s…interesting.” This was definitely out of their political knowledge. Science was a foreign language to them.

Councilor Sidney butted in,“It is, actually. After recent advancements in genomic replication technology, we’re currently seeing if there’s a way to use the tanks as treatment for Incaraneum Repartus. We’ve had…limited success so far but I have a hypothesis I’ve been wanting to test. I just need more data.”  

Piers wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. Dr. Panya headed for the sink, grabbing a pair of clean gloves. 

“Why don’t you tell Their Majesty what you’re working on. I talked enough about my project.” Councilor Sidney prompted Dr. Panya, as they came to stand beside Piers. Piers was tall. Councilor Sidney was a giant, at least a half foot taller than them, maybe more. They had to actively look up at them, which was a strange feeling. 

As xe got to work with the tweezers, xe rambled “I’m researching another possible cure for Incarareum Repartus. What I used to cure you, it works…rarely. And it’s expensive. It’s just not practical and not entirely effective. The only reason I think it worked on you is that you…I see old habits die hard. They’re still using the old break action that he got them as a birthday gift in ‘89.” Dr. Panya produced a piece of metal from the body, holding it up for Piers to see, “Quick, what gauge is it?”

Piers stuttered, and xe laughed, setting it in the tray, “Trick question, you can't actually tell but it’s a 12 gauge buckshot. She doesn’t use anything different.”

As xe got back to work, muttering silently to xirself, Piers tugged on Councilor Sidney’s sleeve, whispering, “Who’s Panya talking about?” 

Councilor Sidney shrugged. Awesome. Piers was ready to dash. The Lab was freaky. Dr. Panya was freaky. Xir weird habits were freaky. Being around the infected was freaky without their mask.

“I think I should go…Grady needs me for…a meeting. Yeah. A meeting.”

Dr. Panya didn’t look up from xir work, as Piers snuck towards the door. “Liar. Councilor Sidney, see their majesty out, and shut the bar when you get back.”

NYTF WIP PAGE

Tag List (reply or dm to be added or removed; I pulled from the old tag list): @author-a-holmes, @soul-write @flowerprose @ceph-the-ghost-writer @theglitchywriterboi @when-wax-wings-melt @thechaoticflowergarden @lyralit @penspiration-writing @samatedeansbroccoli @charlesjosephwrites @italiangothicwriteblr @thetruearchmagos @pineapple-lover-boy @unilightwrites @sanguine-arena @bardic-tales @joshuaorrizonte @blind-the-winds @circa-specturgia @hymnonlips @aloeverawrites @the-stray-storyteller @writeblrsupport @the-down-upside-finch @shay-writes @aether-wasteland-s @n1ghtcrwler @writingonmymind @dyrewrites

[slingshotfanart]

Drawing was not on my side today. I wanted to draw two specific things. One I tried several times and it didn’t turn out too well, so I decided to draw it digitally.

Except today, my pen decided to glitch and just draw on the screen when I was just hovering it over the tablet, barely touching it, which meant I could not move anywhere without a drawing line following. Extremely annoying. That has happened before, so I did the standard procedure of cleaning off potential dust and updating the program. Did not work. So I let it rest for an hour. Then I tried again. The problem was still there, but now it was not AS bad (the lines were less visible). So I managed to at least do a sketch layer. But then I did the final layer and coloring simply with own fingers at the laptop touchpad. All to make this.

I wanted to make another picture, but I decided it was best to just let my drawing tablet rest. So I did the other picture in my sketch book.

All goes well until coloring comes. Of course, it’s always the coloring…

Now, it wasn’t that I accidentally picked the wrong color. No, it was that I was gonna color simply a scrunchie and a roller skate wheel, and the color EXPLODED. Like really wet itself.

So anyway… here is Jam skating while it looks like I have dropped coffee stains on two specific places

[ma-lark-ey]

Lark Liveblogs Literature episode 3: Six of Crows duology

As we did with Harry Potter, Shadow & Bone Trilogy, and will be doing with The Mortal Instruments when I get back around to them I am liveblogging my reactions to Six of Crows.

What I know prior:

- We’ve got a guy named Kaz, he’s got a cane. My younger sister tells me I’ll adore him so I trust her judgement.

- There’s also a guy named Jesper, who one of my mates stole the name from for a water genasi. He’s queer??

- we also have someone named Wylen. My sister loves him a lot and tells me I will also love him though I am sceptical.

1.) Six of Crows (5/4/23— 10/4/23)

(8/10)

Right off the bat, I really love Inej! Her perspective is really lovely and her affection (/p) for Kaz is very clear from the get-go. It’s so juicy to meet our main protagonist from the perspective of an admirer and NOT themself. I’m obsessed with that.

I’m very respectfully in love with Kaz and did not say I’d makeout with him in the groupchat in front of god and everyone. No, sir. I am the most normal about Kaz Brekker.

Moving on from my goof, I really love Kaz just as a character. Having a disabled protagonist, much less one that’s Top Dog and very clearly feared and respected by his peers is SO GOOD. And quite honestly I think he’s the first disabled protag I’ve seen that wasn’t like, pity porn or magically nullified (at least in books. Love you Toph of Avatar fame). So if anyone has good reccs of other disabled protag books, drop ‘em. I’d love to read more.

OH I LIED ACTUALLY I READ STORMRUNNER!! I just didn’t get a chance to finish that series entirely so sorry I forgot about that. Love him SO MUCH. he and Kaz are my besties.

Inej 💖💖💖

Thats all.

Also the Banter!!! I’m not even a hundred pages in but the banter in Six of Crows is SO much better than Shadow & Bone. Bardugo has really grown as an author between these two series and it shows. The characters feel much more solid in this. Whereas Shadow & Bone’s characters (minus like, Alina, Nikolai, and Mal) felt extremely 2D at times (in my opinion) and I can see layers to Jesper, Inej, and Kaz right off the bat.

MATTHIAS H E L L O TOXIC MAN OF THE WEEK. im going to eat him.

My sister is fighting for her LIFE defending Matthias but I. THIS MAN IS A CONVICTED SLAVE TRAFFICKER??? SHE SAID ITS NOT HIS FAULT. girl. Get help.

Forgot to update this. Kaz is SOOOOO downbad. He’s DOWNBAD. just kiss her idiot. IDIOT. Wylan is funny, I wanna flick him on the forehead and ruffle his hair. He’s so goofy.

I’m not fully convinced Jesper ISN’T in love with Kaz.

THIS FIREPOX FLASHBACK IS A SPECIAL KIND OF FUCKED UP !!! “Together, they drifted, Jodie’s distended body acting as a raft.” Kaz…..

PIECED TOGETHER WHY KAZ HAYES TOUCH IM LITERALLY GOING TO CRY

EVERYONE IN THIS BOOK DOWN BAD FOR EACH OTHER!!! LOVE HEXAGON FR.

The Jylan Wesper whatever the fuck this shipname is development is literally such a tone change from Kaz I’m LAUGHING.

Kaz: This is how my brother died, audience.

Jesper, boutta catch himself a twink: cowabummer.

Nina. Nina you’re better than this. Nina how could you get the alarm sounded. NINA.

Okay debriefing after part five. I’m so. So. So.

Kaz and Inej better kiss. Jesper stop flirting you are about to die. Matthias I almost killed you alive. I wanted to burn you at the stake fr. Nina you’re a queen. You’re theiving. Kaz dont die so you can admit emotional vulnerability for the first time ever. Jesper so proud of you for overcoming tour cringe crush on Kaz. Hurry ip and makeout with Wylan this tension is PAINFUL.

THE ENDING THE ENDING THE ENDING SHSBSBSBSB THATS SO MUCH IM GOING TO EAT WYLAN I LOVE HIM. BOY OF ALL TIME. ILL MAKE OUT WITH YOU.

2.) Crooked Kingdom (13/4/23-17/4/23)

(9/10)

Listen. Okay. My Tumblr was glitched out for the first half of this book so I couldnt say anything but I can NOW.

All of this is WILD.

Kaz Brekker, you are stupid and dumb and I NEED you to be honest about your emotions for ONCE. i swear to GOD you pathetic little WORM.

Wylan’s mother what the HELL. what is HAPPENING. This is so fucked up I hope Jan Van Eck gets his life fucking destroyed by Kaz fuck him UP.

Kuwei i love and hate you so much you cheeky fuck that was so sly but also how fucking dare you do Jesper like that. Little shit. You’ve been too heavily influenced by these deceitful little canal rats.

Wylan babygirl I love you. I’ll kill you if you ACTUALLY spilled to your dad. Honestly thank god Kaz barely tells you anything. I love you. Rot in hell for this one.

STURMHOND 💓💓💓 NIKOLAI LANTSOV 💖💞🖤💚💞 I DIDNT EXPECT TO SEE YOU IM SO HAPPY YOURE HERE I MISSED YOU BESTIE MWAH MWAH MWAH MWAH IM SUCH A NIKOLAI GIRLIE YOU GUYS.

Oh update on Matthias I’m neutral on him now. Sorry for my Matthias slander earlier. I do still have beef.

Everytime a plot twist happens in this book its like “YES. MICHAEL. what do you want now? More money? A check? My SOUL?”

Okay Wylan. Sorry I cussed you out so bad. You’re good. We’re friends again

MATTHIAS DIES????

Wild ride through and through. Obsessed with this. I would’ve liked to see more of Inej’s closure than we did— but I’m not mad at it. I think Pekka being the closing chapter was. I dont know. I have neutral feelings on the Pekka chapter.

I do think I like Crooked Kingdom more than Crows? I really liked it a lot !! And. I will be honest with myself and admit its because of the Sturmhond content. I know myself. I can admit when I am foaming at the mouth over my #1 bestie babe of all time Nikolai Lantsov.

That’s. All. I suppose?

Really did enjoy it !! If you have a fic where we see more of Inej and her family reuniting. Drop it. Or recs in general. I need more recs. I dont know the tag culture of this fandom yet <<3 scary <<3

Next series: All For the Game, Nora Sakavic.

Bonus:

Here’s my ranking of the Crows, btw. I love them all but some. Significantly more than others not sorry.

1. Wylan Hendricks

2. Inej Ghafa

3. Kaz Brekker

4. Jesper Fahey

5. Nina Zenik

6. Matthia Helvar

I dont know if this is a hot take or not. I just. <<3 Wylan and Inej <<3

[daymusik]

🐾 Listen, when you see it, you will see JUST HOW MUCH EFFORT I PUT INTO THIS VIDEO and you will understand why I REALLY want you to watch this one's visualizer: https://youtu.be/t7Wh1pJXhOQ 🐾 Purchase this song here: https://daymusik.bandcamp.com/track/spider-dance-daymusik-remix-2022-edit ▶ After years of self-improvement, I have remixed Spider Dance from Undertale for the final time. I am happy with this, and I better be with how LARGE this project became! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ óÓÒò 🐾 Where to begin? Well, the song itself is more or less the same as the last iteration, just MUCH more polished, and more cohesiveness, and this time I actually had an idea of what I was going for. I decided to go for a pseudo-glitch hop style as one would with a remix of a video game soundtrack. Of course, @jacksepticeye is still in this version, or rather his amateur voice-over of Muffet's in-game speech. I decided not to say "featuring Jacksepticeye" this time since this time, I decided to try and "animate" Muffet speaking. He does make an appearance as himself at the end, but that's more of like a cameo/guest appearance rather than a feature. But what do I know? I just didn't want to put him on the face of this song because I want this song to speak for itself, not because Seàn is in it. This song, I will say, has been in development for a few years. The main growl bass instrument that comes in during the drop is one I made myself. I spent SO LONG trying to make a good sound, learning new things, trying different things, until finally, this sound worked well enough. Fun fact about the ritardando into the second drop near the end: I had to shorten the length of that. It still slows down to the same temp (maybe slower, I think), but the ritardando was shortened from, like 12 counts to 8 counts because my computer cannot process ritardandos. Whenever I try playing back the song to listen to it, the whole project lags and stutters IMMENSELY that I had to shorten it, but, of course, that did nothing for me. So that's why it's a fun fact. Because it was pointless. 🐾 Now, onto the video. Hoo boy. In keeping with my previous...whatever of adding simple video editing animations corresponding to the video game sound effects that are happening, I decided to do that again. But, like...different. And, uh...I think I went a little too... hard? Listen, I am typing this at 7 am on 14 January after having started the final editing process of this song at about 5 pm yesterday. I am VERY tired and my words are eluding me. But, long story short, for some reason, I decided to MANUALLY animate Muffet speaking. I'm almost 100% certain there was a much easier way to do that. I'm about 85% certain there is a way that I actually know how to do, but instead, I went manual. These aren't gifs, by the way. I wasn't synchronizing a video to the positions or anything. The last time I made the video for this, I downloaded ALL of the Undertale sprites -- all 6800+ of them -- just to make the video. So I did that again. Each frame isn't in a sprite sheet; they are individual images. I'm not going to go on about how tedious this project has been nor will I, again, expound on how much time and effort I waste on these videos. Instead, I decided to write down some numbers, because, undoubtedly, this is the largest project I have ever made. # of plugins: 174 # of [ZGameEditor Visualizer] layer: 47 # of mixer tracks: 94 # of channels used: 252 (mix of audio, automation, and midi clips) Overall time spent on this project: 67h Video file size: 2.67GB Audio file (wav/mp3) size: 48.8MB/6.59MB óÓÒò ▶ Bandcamp 🐾 https://daymusik.bandcamp.com ▶ MySpace 🐾 https://myspace.com/daymusik197 ▶ Twitter 🐾 https://www.twitter.com/daymusik/ ▶ everywhere else 🐾 https://linktr.ee/Daymusik ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Posted using PostyBirb

[leviiackrman]

Do you have any advice on figuring out photoshop and templates? I’m new to all of this and I’m really struggling :(((((

Oh gosh I’m so sorry anon, life’s been so chaotic that I completely forgot about your ask! But I am here now to help :)

I will say off the bat that I’m v much a trial and error kinda gal/look things up on YouTube lmao so I’m self taught in pretty much everything I know with photoshop (aside from a few helpful tips while at uni) so I’ll try and list some things that I find quick and easy to use when editing:

Templates in general tend to come pretty organised with layers names etc so it’s easier to navigate, but I also always recommend NAMING YOUR LAYERS!!! It saves SO much time and even grouping them into relevant sections (groups) can really help navigate the layers panel (especially when you get to 200+ layers like me lmao)

I always edit the resolution of my documents when creating them to be at least 100px (pixels) because then the final design is higher quality! That being said; that’ll depend on your computers RAM capacity and how much of it is used by photoshop - my desktop has A LOT of RAM cus it was custom built, but laptops etc have a lot less (otherwise it’ll make the app glitch and crash essentially)

I use the magic wand tool religiously lmao - it may not be the most perfect outline but if I’m gonna edit the image more afterwards, just getting the background out the way first helps a lot! (Using the layer effect drop down will also give you options of ‘multiply’, ‘screen’ and ‘overlay’ plus a bunch more to add effects to your layers, but a quick way of removing a white bg from a layer is to use ‘screen’ and it’ll auto remove it! Careful tho cus sometimes it removes TOO MUCH of the image aha)

If that tool doesn’t work for you then the ‘colour select’ option in one of the drop downs will do the same thing but will select every bit of colour on the document that you select - ie if you click on the white background, it’ll also pick up every other bit of white on the document so keep that in mind (I apologise that I’m not more specific, I’m writing this on my phone and haven’t got photoshop open)

For text layers, I ALWAYS turn off the ‘hyphenate’ tick box in the text box settings! Hyphenate is more for professional documentation/printed work, so for template edits and personal use I always turn it off cus it makes it look weird imo (the text box settings will open up on the right when you click on your text, so just scroll down a little until you get to the paragraph settings and there’ll be a little ‘…’ to show more options and it’ll be in there!)

CLIPPING MASKS ARE A LIFE SAVER!! On your layers panel, if you have a shape drawn out (ie a square for example) and you add an image/colour layer/literally any kind of layer on top and move the mouse to the line between the 2 layers and click ALT, it’ll add the clipping mask so the layer on top is only visible within the shape underneath! Works for filter layers as well as images in general etc PLUS they stack!

For templates specifically it’s a lot of fiddling until things sit nicely with one another for me, but one thing I use often is PSD filter packs that you can download! Lots are on tumblr and deviantart etc but you should always credit who you use, unless you make them yourself! They help tie a design together so all the colours match!

I also like using the ‘blending mode’ options on the layers panel. So when you right click a layer - it’ll give you the ‘blending mode’ option at the top and that allows you to add shadows/gradients/texture and a bunch of other stuff to that specific layer!! Including ‘stroke’ outlines around the edge of your layer!

I ALWAYS save my PSD files separate to the final product in case I wanna edit them, and I will export any final designs as an image!! For highest quality in your exports use PNGs!! JPEGs reduce the quality SO much so always go with PNGs but if you don’t want a transparent background, make sure you untick ‘transparent’ in the export window!

There’s plenty more tools to use on photoshop, but I recommend just creating a blank document, adding a bit of text and an image and just playing around with it!! You’ll discover so many new ways of doing things and ways that suit you!

If you ever want more specific advice for something then pls ask! I have 8+ years of experience and a graphic design degree so I like to think I know some things haha!

I hope that helps🤍

[runningmiller]

New Eyes

Summary:

Papyrus and Sans surprise you with a late night road trip and Papyrus has a mission in mind.

You're tumbled out of bed to your floor, knocking the wind out of you. Looking through the darkness of your room, you see Papyrus on your bed leaning over the edge above you, eye lights bright enough they’re illuminating the edges of his eye sockets. He peers down at you in the dark, visibly vibrating making your sheets fling in every direction like a graphics glitch. He must have leaped onto the foot of your bed to shake you awake, but you did just fine falling off on your own.

“Wha--, why are you in my house?”

“YOU ASK THE WRONG QUESTIONS! IT’S NOT ‘WHY AM I IN YOUR HOUSE?’ IT’S WHERE ARE WE GOING?”

“Where are we going? Why would—”

“PERFECT! BUT I CANNOT ANSWER YOU NOW!” He jumps to his feet, your blanket hitting a wall with a thud but finally settling down, Papyrus tosses your shoes in front of you, “PUT ON YOUR SHOES AND LET’S ROLL, SANS IS WAITING IN THE CAR!”

Between your sleep addled brain and the shock that is Papyrus on a mission, you can’t process everything fast enough to ask questions or reject him. But really, isn’t random adventures with friends why you signed up to hang out with this guy?  

Once he’s gone, you collapse fully on the floor for a moment, heave a sigh, and get up.

Putting on extra layers, you throw your phone in your pocket. No you will not check the time. It is dark outside, that’s all you need to know. You slide the phone slightly out of your pocket-- No! you shove it back in, you do not need to know the time, it will only stress you out.

Approaching the red topless car you’re greeted by a very excited Papyrus, scarf fluttering in his own custom wind whipped up by his magic.

“THERE YOU ARE, NOW HOP IN.”

Opening the door—your hand jerks. You yank on the handle, it fights you. You look over to Papyrus, almost completely turned around in his seat to watch you. He repeats to you, “WELL, HOP IN!”      

It takes you longer than it usually would to clue in. Ah, Hop in. you manage to lift yourself up and over the door, maybe falling into the seat with less grace than could really be expected of you at the moment.

“HMM, NOT EXACTLY LIKE THE MOVIES, BUT CLOSE ENOUGH. LET’S LET IT RIP! PLEASE DO NOT RIP ANY OF THE SEATS THOUGH.”

Already on the move, you slip on a belt, taking the seat behind Papyrus to limit how much wind is ripping at your face for however long he plans to drive. Glancing around, you find Sans in the front passenger seat, completely passed out. That tracks. in the seat next to you, a little cup holder is a cup of coffee, weak string of steam being torn apart by the wind, but still there.

Before possibly committing a friend crime you ask, “Are we picking anyone else up?”

“NO TIME, JUST THE THREE OF US!”

You claim your caffeinated prize and settle in for the long haul, as you notice the scenery begin to shift from the more populated city to the less commercialized areas and it doesn’t seem you’ll be stopping soon.

You don’t remember if you locked the door.

You lean over to Sans, whispering, “Why are we at a pig farm?”

He shrugs, “dunno, guess we’ll just have to hang in there.” You attempt to shove him off of Papyrus's shoulder were he’s draped like a sack of flower.

You get a couple good tries in before he’s dropped by the man him self before he announces, “ALL RIGHT, NOW PICK A PIG AND SHOW HIM THE UNIVERSE!”

“That’s a lot to show a little pig, you sure they can handle all that?” you take a good look at the pigs before entering a pig pen that could get you killed.

You can’t imagine they’re fully grown, they’re relatively small for swine, and have the soft coats of piglets, but they don’t seem to be newborns either. Papyrus surpasses them to what must be the mother and scoops her up. She snorts, surprised as she was just asleep but seems to calm down fairly quickly. Maybe she recognizes him? Papyrus starts looking for a good spot.

Sans recovers from his fall and joins you in the pen, “the universe is pretty big bro, how are we supposed to do that?”

“SIMPLE! YOU REMEMBER HOW _____ TOLD US THAT PIGS CAN’T TURN THEIR HEADS TO LOOK AT THE SKY? THEY LIVE THEY’RE WHOLE LIVES ON THE SURFACE WITH NO IDEA ABOUT THE STARS." Tears gather in his sockets before he strikes a heroic pose, "BUT THAT’S WHERE WE COME IN. WE CAN TAKE IT UPON OURSELVES TO SHOW THEM, EVEN ONCE, THE SKY!” He’s found a spot that he’s happy with, and lifts the mother pig to look at the stars.

You look for yourself and realize the sky is beautiful in a way you haven’t seen in a while. The city you live in is pretty eco-friendly, but light pollution is hard to fight and it’s easy to forget why they call it the milky way.

You carefully select your pig, making sure its one you can bear the weight of, and find Sans already laying on his back in the grass with three smaller pigs, two propped up under his pits, and one between his legs to look up.

The three of you gather in a circle as you cradle the pig in your lap to see the starts for the fist and probably last time in its life.

The night is spent taking each pig or piglet for a turn to see a little more of the world they’re just as much apart of as anyone or anything else.

You spend the ride home laying on the back seats, watching to see if Papyrus can out pace the clouds.

[whatarecommonvpnencryptionprotoc]

do you disconnnect from wifi when using vpn

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do you disconnnect from wifi when using vpn

Disconnecting from WiFi while using VPN

When it comes to using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), many users wonder about the necessity of disconnecting from WiFi while using this service. A VPN enhances your online privacy and security by encrypting your internet connection, making it difficult for hackers or third parties to intercept your data. However, some users believe that disconnecting from WiFi while using a VPN provides an extra layer of security.

One of the main reasons why users consider disconnecting from WiFi while using a VPN is to prevent any potential leaks of their real IP address. In some cases, when the VPN connection drops unexpectedly, the device may revert to the original unencrypted connection, exposing the user's real IP address. By disconnecting from WiFi altogether, users ensure that no data is transmitted outside of the VPN tunnel, safeguarding their online identity.

Additionally, some users may choose to disconnect from WiFi to avoid any potential conflicts between the VPN and the network settings. Some WiFi networks have restrictions or firewalls that may interfere with the VPN connection, leading to performance issues or disconnections. By solely relying on the VPN without an underlying WiFi connection, users can mitigate these potential challenges.

It's essential to note that while disconnecting from WiFi while using a VPN may provide some additional security benefits, it is not a mandatory practice. Most reputable VPN services offer features like a kill switch that automatically cuts off internet access if the VPN connection is interrupted, minimizing the risk of data exposure. Ultimately, the decision to disconnect from WiFi while using a VPN comes down to personal preference and the level of security each individual desires.

VPN connectivity issues with WiFi

When it comes to using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for secure and private internet browsing, connectivity issues can sometimes arise, especially when using WiFi connections. VPN connectivity issues with WiFi can be frustrating, but understanding the common causes and potential solutions can help resolve these issues effectively.

One common reason for VPN connectivity issues over WiFi is network congestion. When multiple devices are connected to the same WiFi network, it can lead to slow speeds and dropped connections, affecting the stability of the VPN connection. To mitigate this issue, users can try switching to a less congested network or upgrading to a higher-speed internet plan.

Another possible cause of VPN connectivity issues is interference from other electronic devices. Microwave ovens, cordless phones, and even Bluetooth devices can cause signal interference and disrupt the VPN connection. Keeping such devices away from the WiFi router and positioning the router in an open, central location can help improve connectivity.

In some cases, outdated VPN software or incorrect settings can also lead to connectivity problems. Ensuring that the VPN client is up-to-date and correctly configured is essential for a stable connection. Additionally, restarting the VPN client, router, and device can help refresh the connection and resolve any temporary glitches.

If connectivity issues persist, contacting the VPN provider's customer support for assistance or trying a different VPN server location can help troubleshoot the problem further. By identifying the root cause of the VPN connectivity issues with WiFi and applying the appropriate solutions, users can enjoy uninterrupted and secure internet browsing experiences.

Maintaining network privacy with VPN on WiFi

In today's digital age, ensuring network privacy has become more important than ever. With the increasing use of WiFi networks, the need to protect our online activities from prying eyes has also grown. One effective way to maintain network privacy on WiFi is by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

A VPN encrypts the data transmitted between your device and the internet, making it nearly impossible for anyone to intercept and view your online activities. When connected to a VPN on a WiFi network, all your internet traffic is securely routed through a remote server, masking your IP address and making it appear as if you are browsing from a different location. This not only protects your online privacy but also helps bypass geo-restrictions and censorship.

By using a VPN on WiFi, you can prevent potential hackers or snoopers on the same network from monitoring your online behavior, such as capturing sensitive information like passwords or financial details. Whether you are using public WiFi in a coffee shop, airport, or hotel, employing a VPN adds an extra layer of security to keep your data safe.

It is important to choose a reliable VPN service provider that prioritizes privacy and does not log your online activities. Additionally, regularly updating the VPN software on your devices ensures that you have the latest security features to safeguard your network privacy effectively.

In conclusion, utilizing a VPN on WiFi networks is a proactive measure to maintain your online privacy and protect your sensitive information from unauthorized access. By taking this simple step, you can browse the web with peace of mind knowing that your data is secure and your privacy is intact.

Secure VPN usage on public WiFi

Title: Safeguarding Your Online Privacy: Secure VPN Usage on Public WiFi

In today's interconnected world, public WiFi networks are omnipresent, offering convenient internet access in cafes, airports, hotels, and more. However, these networks pose significant security risks, leaving users vulnerable to various cyber threats such as data interception, identity theft, and malware attacks. To counter these risks and safeguard your online privacy, utilizing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is paramount.

A VPN encrypts your internet connection, creating a secure tunnel between your device and the VPN server. When connected to a public WiFi network, this encryption shields your data from prying eyes, making it virtually impossible for cybercriminals to intercept or decipher your sensitive information.

One of the primary benefits of using a VPN on public WiFi is anonymity. By masking your IP address and routing your internet traffic through remote servers, a VPN conceals your online activities, preventing third parties from tracking your browsing habits or location.

Moreover, VPNs provide an additional layer of security against malicious entities lurking on public WiFi networks. With features like DNS leak protection and kill switch functionality, reputable VPN services ensure that your online sessions remain private and uninterrupted, even if the VPN connection drops unexpectedly.

When selecting a VPN for public WiFi usage, it's crucial to opt for a trusted provider with a proven track record in data security and privacy. Look for features such as strong encryption protocols, a strict no-logs policy, and multi-platform support to ensure comprehensive protection across all your devices.

In conclusion, while public WiFi networks offer convenience, they also pose significant security risks. By using a VPN, you can fortify your online defenses and enjoy peace of mind knowing that your sensitive data remains safe from prying eyes, whether you're browsing the web, accessing your email, or conducting financial transactions on public WiFi.

Automatic WiFi disconnection with VPN engagement

Automatic WiFi disconnection can be a common issue for individuals using a VPN service on their devices. When engaging with a VPN, the connection to the WiFi network may occasionally drop or disconnect automatically. This can be attributed to various factors related to how VPNs work and interact with the internet.

One possible reason for automatic WiFi disconnection with VPN engagement is the VPN software itself. Some VPN applications may have bugs or configuration issues that could lead to the disruption of the WiFi connection. Additionally, the VPN server that you are connected to may experience a temporary outage or instability, causing the disconnect.

Another factor to consider is the settings on your device or router. Sometimes, the network settings may not be optimized for VPN usage, leading to intermittent disconnections. Adjusting the network settings or configuring the VPN application properly can often resolve this issue.

Moreover, certain internet service providers (ISPs) may block or throttle VPN connections, which can result in frequent disconnects. In such cases, switching to a different VPN server or using a different VPN protocol may help maintain a stable connection.

To mitigate the automatic WiFi disconnection issue when using a VPN, it is advisable to update the VPN software regularly, check and adjust the network settings, and troubleshoot any potential conflicts with the ISP. By addressing these aspects, users can enhance their VPN experience and minimize disruptions to their WiFi connection.

[heshemejoshi]

more people like this than i thought which means i am giving an insight on my making-of process because i want to procrastinate from school stuff LOL

starting off with the confession that most of this drawing is traced. the mountain peak thing is actually this image i found on pinterest by searching ‘liminal mountain’:

i did some very minimal crosshatching on the edges of the mountain and put a big black hole on top as well as completely darken the background. after all that i ended up with this thing

at this point this started looking less and less like pokemon fanart and more like a strange fleshy nun monster design so i decided to finally add the 3 characters. started with grovyle and i remember really struggling to position him as i tried to do it from memory, then i looked at the official art and was left even more confused. so i said fuck it, and traced his back sprite from main games i got off wikidex (spanish bulbapedia). you can see it more clearly here probably

this isn’t actually the first time i trace pokemon art. the grovyle and dusknoir in this drawing that also got more attention that i expected to are tracings off the mainline 3d models lol i just changed the posing while drawing a bit. anyways i repeated the same tracing with celebi and dusknoir, but i personally used the pmd2 sprites for celebi rather than the mainline games because the angle didn’t match. and in order to get dusknoir looking at the other side (because back sprites are always in the same direction in the games) i just flipped the image lol

after adding color to the future trio i was hesitant of which overall colors to use for the environment too, until i played with layer effects and got a nice cool blue shade. for actually coloring the mountain i used this brush which was very very hard to properly control??? i assume it’s called ‘smoke’ in english

then i realized that the coloring clashed a lot with the lines. it looked like this before and it annoyed me immensely

i deleted the lines in the middle and just let the edges be, but it was still ringing the wrong way to my eyes. so i used an option called ‘rotura’ (no idea how it translates) which changed the lines to glitch-esque squares and it looked better that way to me but it was still incomplete. i added more lines and used the ‘halftone/screentone?’ button because if i added rotura it looked too mushy and i disliked the effect

anyways after that i exported the image as png because i had a mess of layers at that point, my eyes were tired and i didn’t know what was happening anymore so i moved color settings a bit and inserted a drop shadow on the creatures. and that’s all really lol i forgot to put my watermark but i don’t mind i still don’t like it much but am glad people enjoy this piece even if it was a little undercooked in my mind <3

the end

[sparrowofsong]

GUYS I’VE DISCOVERED MEDIBANG AND I’M SO HAPPY

[hellboys]

low quality video ➜ "HD" gifs tutorial! (2022 UPDATE!)

back by popular demand. warning, this is a work in progress! so far I have found this is the best way to restore low quality movie videos into somewhat clear and “hd” gifs. I will update if I discover anything different (:

this works on movies/videos in 720p and lower

you must have basic gif making knowledge

I'm using adobe photoshop cc 23.4.1 (2022) for windows

link to previous version of this tutorial

TUTORIAL UNDER THE CUT 🔽

so this tutorial is going to show you how to create the ILLUSION of high quality and film grain in your gifs just by using smart filters, coloring, and the filter gallery tab! this trick works on 720p, 480p, 360p, and 144p resolutions

1. MAKE YOUR GIF BASE

I’ll be using a scene from hello mary lou: prom night 2 in a *really* gross 480px lol

2. RESIZE YOUR GIF

ctrl + alt + “I”

These are my resizing settings (copy these). 

Resampling your gif under the ‘preserve details 2.0′ option allows you to resize your gif without losing those small details - essentially making your gif sharper.

⭐ please note that gifs will look better if resized to 268px instead of 540px as its easier to hide low quality trails that remain in the end.

3. ADD ‘SMART SHARPEN’ FILTER

filter ➤ sharpen ➤ smart sharpen...

When adding your smart sharpening layer, be sure to unselect More Accurate from the drop down menu at the top. (You can access this menu by clicking the gear in the right hand corner)

Unselecting this option will add more sharpness to the highlights and shadows of your gif, which is essential for this trick to work

⭐ of course if you have preferred sharpening settings, feel free to use those instead!

3. ADD ANOTHER ‘SMART SHARPEN’ LAYER

filter ➤ sharpen ➤ smart sharpen...

Copy these settings

Keep the More Accurate option SELECTED for this layer!!!

4. CREATING FILM GRAIN

filter ➤ filter gallery... ➤ texture ➤ grain

These settings will depend on what you think looks best! For this gif, these are the settings I ended up with

Be sure that the “Soft” option is selected from the drop down menu. Its the cleanest grain filter photoshop offers and its the closest you’ll get to grain used in films

The intensity will depend on you and what your gif needs. Don’t go too crazy here. Keep the number low (no higher than 10) 

Contrast will generally stay in the 50′s but if you need more black areas in your gif feel free to push that number a bit

⭐ Don’t get too attached to these right now as they may change throughout your process!

4.2. ARRANGING SMART LAYERS

MUY IMPORTANTE!!!!

In order to get that sharp grain look, you’ll need to place the “Filter Gallery” layer beneath the 2 smart sharpen layers like in the pic above

Edit your grain settings as needed!

5. COLOR COLOR COLOR

After all of that is said and done, add your coloring! Try to push the shadows and add more black in your 'selective color' adjustment layer just to give your gif more contrast. This will clean up the pixel-y blacks and make your gif look a bit nicer to look at. Again this will all depend on what you’re looking for and what you think looks best!

6. SAVE!

Once you're satisfied with how your gif looks, alt + ctrl + shift + “S” and you're done! Here are my save for web settings

MY RESULTS!

480px video, before and after:

(Still looks pretty shitty but I guess its better than the original ???)

360px video, before and after:

(I ripped this movie straight from the DVD and the glitch you see came with it unfortunately 😒)

End notes/tips!

This trick will not work on every low quality movie

Please play around with the sharpening, grain, and color settings to find the best version for you!

The higher the quality of the video (720p, 1080p dvd) the less grain you will need to add

Again, gifs look even better if they are put into 2 column posts instead of a single column (268px instead of 540px)

The grain filter will unfortunately make your gif size very large which is something I havent been able to work around

And once more for the people in the back - this is FAKE HD, it won't turn your 480p video into a crisp blu-ray 1080p quality. it just gives an illusion of higher quality 🤠

Please feel free to send me a DM or an ask if you need further help or have any questions whatsoever! Thank you!✨🖤

[starry-bi-sky]

Starry's ALWAYS making more aus, it's becoming a problem sjhf 😔

The greatest appeal in Danyal Al Ghul aus (to me) will forever and always be the effects of growing up in a league will do to Danny. I think I've only got one DAG au where Danny didn't grow up in the League -- my stillborn Danyal au -- and he's got so many issues.

But yes!! I agree with everything you've said here -- especially on the whole 'when someone wears a mask all the time, it's hard to take off' thing! I was thinking that same thing too, I just didn't get into it on my post since it was like, midnight when I posted it.

I def think the batfam would be prepared for something with Danny when they first meet him -- they're thinking that they might run into a carbon copy of Damian when they finally meet Danny. Only to find out that's.. not... the case? Like oh yeah, they definitely think something's up, nobody who grew up in the League of Assassins comes out THAT well-adjusted -- Damian's still pretty prickly on his best of days -- but it quickly rounds out to them assuming that Danny's mild cynicism and sarcasm is just him lowering pretenses. He's like a declawed version of Damian.

I can picture very mild, brief jokes about hey maybe they should've had Damian go live with civilians for a little bit too, before saying that nah, it would've ended up in disaster. Not thinking about how it ended up in disaster for Danny too; look at him. He's too acclimated to civilian life. The true self is hidden behind the false.

I'm also thinking about how like, Damian is the only person Danny feels truly comfortable around enough with to let pretenses drop. And even then, it takes weeeks of Damian slowly chipping away at Danny's mask when they're alone for him to finally start, willingly, loosing his hold on the persona.

"I don't want to talk to Danny," Damian tells him bluntly, harshly, every day when no one's around, "let me talk to Danyal. Where's my brother."

"I'm right here." Danny lies, and Damian can see right through him.

"No, you're not."

Until eventually Danyal starts peeking through, and Damian is so relieved. He's been peeling layer after layer back to find him, and now he's standing right in front of him. Still hiding, but now with proof he's there. It's like coaxing out a feral animal out from under the porch. When Danyal gets too exhausted with keeping up his lies and masking, he goes to Damian's room and locks, double locks, triple locks the door and draws the curtains, and heaves a shaky sigh.

"يوم طويل؟" Damian asks him where he's reading a book from his bed, watching his brother cocoon himself worse than their father does. It makes his heart hurt a little, to see him hide so much. ("Long day?")

His brother groans, ragged and drawn out, and drags his fingers through his hair. Inadvertently, symbolically, pulling it out of its normal 'danny' style. He looks exhausted. "طويل جدًا." ("Too long.")

He's still hiding chunks of himself away, the both of them sit in Damian's room and it's like watching a broken TV glitch between channels. He can see Danyal fluctuate between masks even when it's just the two of them. Instinctively hiding before realizing belatedly that he doesn't need to.

Damian keeps trying to encourage Danyal to come out of his mask more, and each time it blows up in his face. He's incredibly frustrated by it, and Danyal keeps brushing it off and insisting that it's for the best. He doesn't need fixing, they don't think he needs to be fixed.

Don't get me started on Danny's morals either. I firmly believe they should be messed up. Like sure, Danny doesn't believe in killing and thinks it's wrong and all that jazz, but Danny is just a mask. Danyal thinks you just shouldn't be foolish enough to get caught. He never actually deconstructed those League ideals, he's just pretending he did.

By 14, I think Damian would still make bodily threats of harm against people, but he's less likely to actually go through with it than he was when he was 10, especially if the more graphic they are. Meanwhile, if Danyal wasn't wearing his Danny mask, he'd actually go through with it and then tell you to walk it off. Damian, by 14, would warn before stabbing, Danny would stab as warning.

because, as my delightful best friend @the-navistar-carol put it last night when I was ranting to her about this au/idea: "once he carves out the mask of Danny, he has no reason to take the world at face value as Danyal". Danyal is not outright more vocally violent -- largely in part of trying to keep his mask in place as Danny, even as Phantom since Phantom is Danny's alter ego, not Danyal's -- but I firmly imagine him being more ruthless than Damian. Because he's just, not gone through any deprogramming in the last four years. Not anything significant at least.

They're back to square one with Danny and they don't even know it because he's not showing it.

There's a lot of nuance here that's easier to show in writing than it is to explain it. But TL:DR: Damian is, funnily enough? The kinder brother between the two of them.

And I imagine that when it's finally revealed that Danny's been acting this entire time, it's when something or someone directly puts Damian in significant harm's way. The life-threatening, 'he can't get out of this on his own and needs rescue' kind.

You know Antinous' song excerpt from Jorge Rivera-Herrans' musical "Epic"? The "hold him down while I slowly break his pride, his trust, his faith, and his bones." line? Danyal's energy right there when Damian's life is endangered. All bets are off, the gloves are off. He's saving his brother by any means necessary.

I gotta stop here before my response gets too long, but yeah I totally agree with everything that you've said 🫶. It's a nasty, unintentional feedback loop that Damian can see and is struggling to break.

this just in: danny fenton is just as much of a mask as Brucie Wayne? - another danyal al ghul au

Turns out, being placed in a civilian family who have no knowledge of your background is actually detrimental to the health and development of a child assassin due to lack of proper support! Surrounded by strangers in a foreign city, Danyal Al Ghul does as assassins do best. He hides. Espionage is one of many teachings one learns in the League, and it only takes half a day for Danyal to construct a new persona to hide behind: Daniel Fenton.

By the time dinner rolls around, Danyal al Ghul is safely and securely tucked behind the face of Danny Fenton; brand new adoptive child of the Fenton family who came from overseas. A shy, quiet little boy with a thick accent and curly hair, with brown skin and blue eyes, and an avid interest in the stars. The best fictions are always cobbled together in a little bit of truth, it's some of the only truth he ever lets through. He apologizes in a meek voice for his behavior early, he didn't mean to be rude, and he watches the three of them eat it up with coos.

Lies roll like silk against his lips, he struggles to meet their eyes and offers them his weakest, shyest smile. It's too easy. It's easy to go from there.

Danny Fenton, adoptive son, shy and awkward and unconfident but friendly. Who struggles in his classes and isn't the brightest, but tries his hardest. He makes bad jokes and has a quick tongue and a sarcastic mouth. He wants to be an astronaut. He's got the best aim in school, and is a terrifying dodgeball player. He's one of the least athletic kids in his grade.

It's like playing two truths and a lie, but there's only one truth, and the rest are lies. It's easy to pretend when he knows it's insincere.

Danyal Al Ghul, grandson to the Demon Head. Deadly, trained assassin. Has spilled blood, has had blood spilt from. Environmentalist, animal activist. He loves the stars. He owns a calligraphy set. A sharp tongue, an even sharper blade. He's clever, quick-witted, he would be top of his grade if he tried harder. He purposely doesn't.

He misses his family. He misses his mother, and he misses his brother. Mother visits a few times a year, so few times that he can count it on both hands. He cherishes every visit, as brief as they are. It helps remind him who he is.

Sam and Tucker are Danny's best friends. They've never met Danyal, but Danyal's met them.

It becomes routine to become Danny Fenton. As familiar and as easy as pulling on a shirt in the morning. Danyal wakes up and is always first to the bathroom in the mornings; stares at himself in the mirror until he can finally see Danny staring back at him. At night, he locks his door and sheds the mask.

Dying throws a wrench in his mask; splits a crack straight through the porcelain. He's able to smooth it over with sandpaper and liquid gold, but it's a little hard keeping his ghost form under wraps. It instinctively wants to shift to show his true self. Danyal can't have that, he's spent four years as Danny Fenton, he'll spend another four as him as well. Even if the feeling of the hazmat suit in his ghost form feels restrictive, like a too-small shirt suctioned to his skin that needs to be peeled off.

He'll live. Er-- well, you know what he means. It's frustrating however, trying to keep his Danny Fenton mask up even as Phantom - fighting in the air is something he needs to get used to, and the sudden propping of powers throws him off. But he is nothing if not adaptive, and he hates that he needs to slow his own skills down in order to keep pretenses up in front of Sam and Tucker.

The first time Danyal summons a sword when he's alone, is one of the few times Danyal gets to grin instead of Danny. He's fighting Skulker, and from an invisible hilt he draws a katana from thin air. It startles them both. Skulker takes a step back at the smile that spreads across his face.

They're both silent as Danyal examines his new sword.

"Do you know what people like me do to people like you, poacher?" Danyal finally asks him, the accent he began to hide a few months in slipping through. He drops all pretense, dragging the flat end of the blade slow and appreciatively against his palm. It's a good make, and when he cuts it through the air, it slices through like butter. He looks up at Skulker with a smile; "are you ready to find out?"

When Sam and Tucker ask about why Skulker seems so skittish around Danny now, Danny shrugs at them and says with a playful smile; "I don't know, I guess I kicked his butt too hard after our last fight." and he watches as Sam rolls her eyes exasperatedly, and Tucker snickers with his own joke.

By the time he reunites with Damian before their 15th birthday, Danyal is buried beneath so many layers of Danny Fenton that his brother will need a shovel to dig him out. He's not sure what he'll find.

[maybedefinitely404]

Day 30: Dukexiety

Day 30 - When you look in the mirror, you can’t see your own reflection, just your soulmate. (Never heard of this prompt before, so I guessed)

Content warnings: maybe some anxiety? Just some wholesome for ya.

Word count: 1.5k

This ficlet is dedicated to @marshymoop. 

Virgil was told he had brown hair; the color of a walnut. Sometimes if he grew it out long enough, he could just catch a glimpse of the color when it fell into his eyes. Apparently those were brown too. 

A friend of his mom’s was an artist and had drawn him when he’d turned thirteen, but it hadn’t looked right. The face staring back at him from the canvas didn’t feel like his at all. He didn’t recognize the curve to the nose or the bags under the eyes; it just looked like a stranger. The more he looked, the more uneasy he felt, and he’d tucked it into the back corner of his closet, never to look at it again.

His reflection, where he’d seen the face of his soulmate since he was a baby, was far more familiar to him.

Black hair streaked with white.

Sharp green eyes.

A smattering of freckles over olive skin.

Sometimes it was odd, smearing makeup under eyes that weren’t technically his, and trying to fix hair that was shorter than what showed in the reflection, but it was a problem everyone had until they met their soulmate. He just hoped that the dark clothes looked as good on the real him as it did on his reflection. 

 ---

Virgil was struggling to focus on the textbook paragraph in front of him when his phone chimed. It was a welcome distraction from the existential quandaries that came with Philosophy 103. Just a quick break, he promised. 

 Remus: heyyyyyyy

 Aaaand there was that plan out the window. He couldn’t care less though, studying be damned, because now his heart was pounding and a nearly painful smile was stretching his cheeks. It had been a week since Remus had messaged him, and the pent up joy was all coming out at once. 

 You’re back! He replied amidst flapping hands. How was camping? His fingers hesitated over the keyboard. 

 I missed your messages. I missed you. I was lonely.  

 He said nothing.

 Remus: i caught a squirrel. i couldn’t keep it though

 Virgil: Did you name it at least?

 That’s adorable. You’re adorable and a goof and amazing.

 Remus: Yep. Squirrely Temple

 A picture message showed up moments later, showing a surprisingly relaxed squirrel sitting in a styrofoam cup, a single peanut clasped in it’s little hands. The taker of the photo wasn’t visible, though that was to be expected. 

The next one featured what Virgil assumed was the same squirrel, this time wearing a crudely constructed paper top hat. It held another peanut, and once again seemed shockingly unconcerned. 

The photo was quickly replaced with a call screen and Virgil accepted it eagerly, still laughing.

 “Did you see the squirrel?” Remus asked excitedly, to which Virgil could only laugh harder.

 “Why is it in a hat?” He wheezed.

 “I made it out of sap and a brochure I found. I think Squirrely Temple looked rather dapper.” The grin was evident in Remus’ voice.

 “And you didn’t keep it?” Virgil inelegantly kicked his schoolwork off the bed to lay across it, grabbing his fidget cube from the side table.

 “Nah, something about preserving wildlife and not having enough room at home,” he yawned, “Me an’ Roman gave him plenty of peanuts before we left though. A whole pile on a wood stump.”

 “You sound tired,” Virgil teased. There was a small twinge in his chest at the idea of Remus going to bed already. He’d been off the grid for a week. Virgil was loath to admit, but he’d missed his friend more than expected. 

 “I think my body just sees an actual bed and the ‘tired’ protocol is,” Another yawn, “activated.”

 Virgil yawned in tandem. “You should probably sleep, then.” He tried to keep the disappointment from his voice. 

 “Take your own advice, and I’ll consider. When’s the last time you got six hours of sleep?”

 “Consecutively?” 

 Remus snorted. There was a whoosh of air as he dropped onto his bed, and a brief lull in the conversation before he spoke up. “I think I’d rather talk to you than sleep, actually.”

 Damn, how was he supposed to respond to that? He pressed a cool hand to his reddening cheeks, glad the other couldn’t see him. “Wow, is that genuine emotion coming from Remus?” Virgil retorted instead. We can talk for hours if you want. I missed talking to you. 

 “My bad, I think I still have some fresh air in my system.”

 God, he’d missed him. A single week had felt like a whole year without their constant interaction and updates throughout their days. They’d only known each other for months (had it only been months?) but in that time, talking to each other had become so ingrained in their lives, it seemed wrong to not wake up with his phone blown up from messages. It was so effortless, wasting hours away but feeling like no time had passed at all. It meant the world to Virgil.

 And despite their jokes and snarky conversations, he had a feeling it meant a lot to Remus too.

 It was as if he blinked, and the sun had set in the sky. The room had gradually turned dark as ink but Virgil couldn’t be bothered to flip on the lights, not when he was so captivated by Remus’ voice as he recounted his family camping trip. He didn’t notice nor care; this was more important.

Only when Remus’ yawns grew closer and closer together did it occur to him that the other was several hours ahead, blasted timezones. It would be early morning there.

 “I think you should try to sleep,” Virgil grinned as Remus tried and failed to keep talking through another yawn.

 “Maybe,” He sighed.

 “Talk tomorrow?” For the first night in a bit, Virgil felt that same, familiar warm bubble in his chest.

 “I actually had a question for you, first.”

 Pop.

 Remus sounded uncharacteristically nervous, putting Virgil on edge instantly. Everything he’d ever done wrong flooded through his mind. Oh god, how did he find out about the third grade Christmas concert?

 “Do you want to vid chat?” He blurted.

 Virgil’s breath caught in his throat.

  “Like, tomorrow. Or not. It’s okay if not.”

 Remus never stuttered. Something about it was unbelievably adorable. 

 “Just for fun, because we haven’t before, but if you don’t want to there’s no pressure-”

 “Yes.”

 All blubbering screeched to a halt on the other end, and Virgil couldn’t decide if his predominant emotion was anxiety or excitement. Besottedness, maybe? Either way, it made his face heat up to the tips of his ears and his feet wiggle.

 “Yes?”

 “Yeah, let’s do it.”

 “Okay!” Remus let out a relieved laugh that bordered on a giggle, “When?”

 “I end classes at one tomorrow.” 

 The man murmured his way through timezone math for a moment. “Yeah! Yeah, okay! I can do that! Yes!”

 Virgil bit his lip, but a laugh made its way through anyways. “I can’t wait.”

 -----------

 Whatever confidence Virgil had developed the day before, it had completely evaporated by the next morning. His mind wandered during classes, too busy coming up with worst case scenarios. What if the connection sucked? What if they spoke over each other and it was awkward? What if they had nothing to talk about and it got awkward? What if they weren’t compatible face to face? It added a whole new layer to their relationship they hadn’t explored before.

 What if they weren’t friends by the end of it? 

 He was equal parts relieved and petrified when his final class ended and there was nothing between him and the call. The whole walk back to his dorm was spent watching the numbers on the clock tick by, each minute sending a rush of adrenaline through him until he was sure he’d collapse from nerves right there on the path way. 

A text from Remus came through three minutes before their agreed time.

 Remus: Ready?

 NO, he wanted to scream. There were too many variables, they were leaving the comfort zone and that’s where Virgil thrived!

 Virgil: 5 mins

 He set up his computer and paced around his room for the remainder of his time. His eyes caught a blur of motion in the mirror and he turned to his reflection, his flapping hands slowing as he studied the face before him as he’d done hundreds of times before. Not his face, but the only one he knew as his.

A part of him was suddenly weighed by guilt as he looked into those bright eyes, because the guiltier part of him knew what he had was a crush. A helpless one, at that. And a hopeless one. What was the point pining after someone when the universe had already handpicked someone else for him? 

Stupid universe and it’s stupid soulmates. 

The chime of an incoming call startled him out of his reverie and he swore under his breath. He tried to soothe down his hair, rub the stress from his eyes, but it was hopeless when he couldn’t see if it actually looked okay.

He sat in his desk chair and took a few measured breaths before clicking accept. The video stuttered and glitched before it finally settled, and Virgil’s breath caught in his throat. 

 Black hair streaked with white.

 Sharp green eyes.

 A smattering of freckles over olive skin. 

 The silence stretched between them for achingly long before Remus beamed into the camera, and it was the most beautiful thing Virgil had ever seen.

 “Well, hello there, soulmate.”

Taglist:

@max-is-tired

@joylessnightsky

@marshymoop

[bibliocratic]

38 or 46? (If you want!)

Thank you - of course :D

Number 38 Already posted - > Number 19, Number 26

Absolutely inspired by @taylortut‘s awesome Lonely withdrawal idea. 

Their arrival, the first night – the car trundling to a stop, feeling every driven mile in the wound-down creaking ache in their arms and legs, their bodies running on empty for hours now. Jon checks on the sleeping situation while Martin assesses the locks, the windows, clarifies their vulnerability in a way he judges defensible.

 Jon seeks him out in sleep. Burrowed into his space, a lesson in restlessness. It hurts, to be this close. It hurts, but then everything has recently. 

Martin manages a fidgety hour before the pain becomes unendurable. He holds up his hands, and the skin is blotching clear as glass, the smarting pain of frostbite. 

There is a sofa, but that is downstairs. He wouldn’t be able to hear Jon snuffle in sleep, kick at the musty duvet. And distance would be good, would feel good, would soothe and settle and allow him to have quiet again. But Jon’s bones are bird-like in sleep, his neck with its scarring exposed, all his guards down, and Martin can’t, he can’t.

He climbs out of bed, diligently avoiding waking his sleeping partner, and removes one of the lumpy pillows. He sets it behind his back, leaning against the closed bedroom door. He can see Jon rock onto his side again, can hear his breathing braid into the high whistle of the wind. The separation is too far, not far enough. Martin watches the colour of his arms seep back, and when the heat of his breath collides with the chill air, it is not fog he sees.

 He falls asleep, his head pillowed on his crossed arms clutched around his knees. 

--

The first day – organising, sorting and clearing, the house loud with footsteps, the racket of the Highland rain. Google Maps promises a village a few miles away, but that would mean people, more than Martin has been amongst in a long time. Martin makes excuses using the weather, and Jon believes him. 

They do not go out. All day, Jon’s speech is scattergun, like water tumbling over river rocks, and it makes Martin feel flat, rubbed smooth with the intensity of it. He pushes himself to respond, the smile on his face rusty, his conversation unpractised and forced. Eventually, he ropes himself into deep-cleaning the bathroom, which allows him the justification of silence.

 “Keep talking,” he says to Jon in the other room. “I’m listening.” 

Sometimes it’s true. He’s trying.

 --

The second night – Martin tarries in the bathroom for longer than he needs to, meticulously brushing his teeth, sorting his hair. Looking in the mirror makes something pinch and twist in him, so he sits on the side of the newly cleaned bath that reeks of bleach, and focuses on the silence instead.

 Jon takes longer to fall asleep tonight. He wriggles into Martin’s side of the bed, and Martin’s hands search him out even as he sucks in a gasp at the sensation of it. He wishes Jon wouldn’t look at him but Jon does nothing but, studying him like a precious and cherished thing, and the weight of his gaze is agonising. He keeps dredging up splinters of the bridges Martin was so worried he’d burned to try and fit them back together, questions and explanations and apologies that catch him thorn-sharp. 

Martin pretends to be more tired than he is, and finally Jon lets him have the hated kindness of the quiet. 

When Jon falls asleep, Martin is already creeping out of bed.

 --

The second day – they go to the village. It goes badly. They get back to the house and Martin is shaking, folded onto his hands and knees on the hardwood floor. His skin is glitching, patchy with the parts the frost gnawed out of him, and every ragged exhale tastes like sea-salt. Jon is trying to rub his back, gentle, telling him it’s a panic attack, that’s all, just to breathe, but Martin’s lungs are full of fog and Jon’s hand stings where it touches, and he is choking back tears as he struggles to remain present, and it’s too much, it’s too much. 

--

The second night – Martin doesn’t even wait for Jon to fall asleep before leaving. They do not talk about it. 

--

The third day –Jon hugs him from behind, his gait stumbling with drowsiness, mumbling a good morning into his back.

 Jon kisses him, and its wonderful, brilliant, awful, but Martin doesn’t want him to move away, doesn’t want him to leave, so he kisses back. 

Jon asks him if he’s OK, over and over. Martin has forgotten what that means, exactly, so he’s not lying, not really when he says yes. 

Martin forces himself to stay in bed, pins-and-needles snarling up his arms and legs, because maybe if he tries harder this will become easier. When Jon wakes up and sees him crying, his face crumpled with pain and his chest knotted with grief, Martin tells him he had a nightmare.

--

The fourth day – Jon kisses him while they’re on the sofa, and Martin starts so hard he drops the book he was reading. 

Neither of them speak for a moment. 

“Sorry. Sorry – I – ”

“Are you OK?”

“Yeah, yeah, I-I’m. Yes.”

Jon is close, too close, and the brown of his eyes is unrelenting.

“No,” Martin says, and then he looks down, avoiding Jon’s gaze. “No.”

Jon tries to move back. Martin grabs his hand because the slap of pain it rocks through him is easier than the sucker-punch of Jon leaving.

 “I love you,” he says. He clenches Jon’s fingers and stares at his shoes, and continues. “I just… it’s hard. To… to be here. Present. I got... I guess, I got used to being alone? And I don’t want to be, I don’t want you to go. But at the same time, it’s easier. It hurts less.”

“What can I do?” Jon asks. “How can I help?”

Martin doesn’t know. He shakes his head and dampness wells up in his eyes and spills over and wishes he had the answers. 

“OK,” Jon replies. “It’s OK.”

He leans in. 

“I love you,” he promises. His kiss is barely there, a fleeting warmth on his lips, a reassurance before he moves back and away. Their hands part until it is only their smallest fingers hooked to one another.

 “We’ll figure it out,” he says, and Martin believes him. 

--

The fourth night – Martin comes back from a long, labouring walk, his lungs mist-bound and his skin tingling with cold to find that Jon’s pushed the sofa upstairs. It’s by the bedroom door, directed towards the bed, layered in blankets and cushions. When Martin will go to lie on it later, he will be able to watch Jon twitch and fuss and toss in sleep. 

“More comfortable than the floor,” Jon says as explanation. 

It is worth the prickling rush of burning to bestow a thankful kiss against Jon’s forehead.