#not happy with the result... I still can't get the likeness of any artist right but I'm trying :'D

[eurovisionart]

🇩🇪 Münchener Freiheit - Viel zu weit

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Helloooo your recs give me life. You’ve probably done this before, but any recommendations for fics that include a brutally pining Derek and oblivious Stiles? Ideally canon-verse but aus are also loved. Thanks in advance!!

I'm sure I have, but I love pining in all fics. So I'm happy to make a million lists of it.

Fun by Halevetica

(1/1 I 3,889 I Teen)

Stiles convinces Derek to go to the annual Beacon Hills bonfire with him, with the promise of fun. What he gets instead are a lot of assumptions that he and Stiles are dating, and Stiles' too-eager dismissals, which are decidedly NOT fun for Derek.

Game On by stilinskisparkles

(1/1 I 6,391 I Teen)

Derek first sees him from across the quad four days into fall semester. He’s sitting on one of the long benches, a marker pen in his mouth, grinning at something the kid lounging on the bench beside him is saying. When he laughs properly he pulls the pen out and throws his head back, his neck a long, lean line Derek is entranced by. He flicks the page in his book and highlights something, tossing the cap up in the air and catching it with his teeth.

Written in the Stars by Quixoticity

(6/6 I 26,586 I Mature)

Derek Hale is a lucky guy. He's got a great family, good friends, and a fulfilling job as a tattoo artist.

He's also one of the twenty-five per cent of the population born with a soul mark.

He likes his life, but he's waiting for his soul-match. The odds of meeting them aren't great but hey, Derek's a lucky guy. He has faith.

He can't believe how good his luck really is when one day his soul-match wanders right into his studio, all long limbs and copper eyes. There's just one problem: Stiles is there to get his soul mark covered up. Permanently.

Mating Habits of the Domesticated North American Werewolf by lielabell

(5/5 I 35,458 I Mature)

Derek doesn’t do pining. He doesn’t. So when it becomes clear that Stiles is much more interested in having Derek as a new best friend than a boyfriend, he puts on his big boy pants and makes it fucking work. He becomes the best goddamn friend a spastic teenager could ever hope to have.

too busy being yours to fall for somebody new by whiry

(12/12 I 64,278 I Teen)

Stiles, worried that Scott may actually leave him behind because of his newfound popularity, is desperate to cling to something away from the drama of Lydia Martin's amazing parties and the woes of high school lacrosse. What he finds is Derek Hale, a guy who seemingly hates Stiles at first, but slowly, and insistently, becomes friends with him. As their friendship grows, Stiles starts to wonder if they could ever become something more or if pushing what they have will lead him to being alone for good.

All the Weird Kids (Know How to Take it Slow) by Ionaonie

(26/26 I 112,477 I General)

Stiles never thought being part of a werewolf Pack would end up being so normal. Even being around Derek had a degree of normality about it. Even if he was still an overbearing jerk most of the time.

When it all comes crumbling down by Littleredridinghunter

(18/18 I 216,191 I Not Rated)

Stiles is recovering from the Nogitsune. Erica is the only one that is really there for him, Scott's too busy rekindling his relationship with Allison and Stiles feels like he's falling apart.

When a near-miss with a kelpie results in an encounter that he could never have predicted, Stiles begins to think his life might be getting back on track.

He's wrong.

Stiles' life is so messed up he can't even begin to explain it, maybe it's time for him to finally do something for himself and get out of Beacon Hills. But where will that path lead?

With Stiles involved, no doubt danger and death won't be far behind.

AND

@the-diggler and @adventures-in-mangaland suggested this one!

Safety in Silence by Survivah

(5/5 I 66,901 I Mature)

It's perfectly understandable. Even Derek wouldn't want to be Derek's soulmate.

[its-a-me-mango]

HI!!

I really like how you draw smg4 and 3 and was wondering if you have any tips that could help someone like me who can't seen to get it to look right? Its alr if not, i'm just curious! :D

(*Consumes your art aggressively but respectfully*)

Hi, thank you for asking me! I'm not the best at giving art advice/help but I can try my best! :'D

I guess my general advice for both of them is that there is no "right" way for them to look, both of them have fairly simple designs in comparison to other characters in the series, which in turn gives a lot of legroom for stylisation and stuff like that! All you really need to do is pick out their key features (which can be hard with simple characters since... there ain't a lot of obvious ones) and the rest will fall into place!

You can see this with the way SMG4 is shown in official merch, while yes he's more stylised compared to his official model, they all still read as being SMG4! It's through these as well that you can see what aspects of his design stay consistent throughout different drawings of him, namely his wider eye shape, short stature, bold eyebrows, etc. You get the idea, picking up on these and referencing them can help if you're struggling to get them to look right with your own art!

If you're still struggling to stylise them for your own style, I find it helps to heavily reference/trace the original design first, just to get as close to their intended design as possible, parts of your own style will already start to show through from that (I normally don’t condone tracing others' work unless it’s for stuff like this). 

From there it's just a case of refining them and practising, adding/taking away parts as you go until you get to a style that you're happy with! It doesn't matter if they're not 100% accurate, as long as it's easy and consistent enough for you to replicate them, then it's fine!

You'll have much better results and an easier time drawing them if you let yourself be more experimental with their designs and learn as you go, rather than trying to get them perfect right away. I know it can be frustrating to not get them right the first time, but you'll find it much easier to adapt them to your style and get them how you want them to look if you just learn and adapt as you go.

I hope this helps in some way! I'm not the best at explaining stuff like this because my main method is just to say "fuck it we ballin" and then draw a character over and over again until I can do it in my sleep, so I hope my ramblings help in some way! You can apply this to any character by the way, not just SMG4, if in doubt just go back to the original reference and keep at it until it looks how you want it to.

Don't be afraid to make drawings that don't turn out right or ones that you're not happy with, it's all part of learning as an artist! You will get there in the end if you put in the effort to learn! <3

Also no one will tell you this so I will but, SMG3 is just SMG4 with a beard, so if you can draw SMG4 you can draw SMG3 no problem LMAO.

[troloyunu]

Sorry if you've answered this somewhere before, but do you have any advice for improving/practicing art?

I am not sure if I am the best person to be giving advice on this matter as there are a lot of aspects of my art that are lacking, but here are some tips that have worked for me personally that I think worth are trying!

This got kinda long so. Under the cut!

First, this is always important, and I know people are sick of hearing this but it's true: practice, practice, practice! Observing things is very important for art but you actually have to try your hand again and again in order to have a result that is to your liking when it comes to art. Please just try to draw as much as you can. You have a pen in your hand? Scribble something. This will also improve your linework.

Do NOT be afraid to use references. It is highly unlikely that you will just happen to be able to draw something you have never drawn before without a reference. If you can't find any refs, take your own pictures. (I do this a lot when it comes to drawing hands)

Most of the time we have these conceptions of how things look especially when it comes to anatomy but humans are all sooo vastly different so I believe it is important to broaden your vision by using diverse references

Don't be afraid to draw bad. Seriously. If a piece you just made sucks, don't beat yourself up about it. It is geniunely not that serious. Take a break and come back to it, if it is still not to your liking and you cannot improve it; it is okay to delete that drawing and try something else. You'll get it, I promise. Just keep practicing.

Most of the time I find that it helps A LOT to draw something I am obsessed with. When I am learning anatomy, I don't just always draw some random people's pics I found on the internet, I will sometimes make that drawing into a character/ship I love

Do redraws from your old art! It is so motivating and fun to see how you have improved and changed as an artist :3

I know it is not healthy to rely solely on validation, but it does help a lot! If you are part of a community, esp one with a lot of artists, don't hesitate to show them your work! You can also draw your friends' ocs and such if you want to, it really is a win win situation because you will be drawing something you want to draw and your friend will be so happy that you took the time to draw their character. I loved gifting people little doodles when I was part of an oc centred fandom :D

Also, since we are talking about validation, validate YOURSELF please. Imagine yourself 2 years, 5 years, 10 years whatever ago. How would you have felt if you saw your drawings today? You would have been so impressed! So take the time to appreciate your own work.

If there are any artists you adore, don't hesitate to try to redraw their drawings, or maybe just some aspects of their style that you love. If you do a redraw, it is advised that you do not post it as your own idea, but if the artist is ok with you posting it with credit, then you can do that too! :D

That being said, keep in mind that you don't have to post EVERYTHING you draw! I used to do that which put a lot of pressure onto me since I would get so upset whenever a drawing turned out bad, but when you realize that you can just not post it, that lifts a lot of tension.

Take care of yourselfff!!! Take care of your arm, your wrist, your back. I think there is this program that makes you take breaks every x minute which is called EyeLeo, you can install that or something similar. But please do take care of your health.

Sometimes breaks are needed. If nothing you draw looks right and you don't feel any joy in drawing, do take up another hobby for some time. Let yourself miss drawing.

Play around with styles and colors and lineweights, see what you like the best. I used to always get so upset that I didnt have a set style, my drawings vary a lot throughout each piece. But now I just keep it cool and don't think about it too much. Don't force yourself!

Also for me a part of drawing I ALWAYS look forward to when drawing canon characters is giving them alternate outfits I save on pinterest. I enjoy so much searching which outfits a character might wear. Maybe you can try this? I know drawing the same outfit over and over again for a character gets old.

Honestly being obsessed with something helps a lot with improving. Like a character or a pairing or whatever. Because you will just REALLY want to draw something for this thing you love, and you will just keep on doing and doing it. Really helpful

But 99.9% of the time, the thing you imagine will not translate completely identical to the canvas/paper. And that's OKAY! That means that you have a great imagination and you will try to get a satisfactory result. It just means more practicing. When you get an idea that you want to draw but don't feel like your skills are enough for, draw them anyway! That way you can see a lot more clearly what you need to work on. And do work on those things.

I think for reference images just find nude reference pictures of real life people. The drawing pose references we see on here or on pinterest with simple shapes ARE very convenient when you just wanna quickly draw something, but if your goal is to learn anatomy, then using a pic of an actual human is ideal.

Remember that art is supposed to be FUN. So do have fun. Experiment!!!

Also I would say like, when I was more of a beginner and tried to do fullbody drawings and such, it never looked good and I was quite discouraged but things started improving when I started to individually focus on things like eyes, noses, lips etc and then trying a more general approach with fullbodies. Might not be the same for everyone though!

I think that's all I can think about for now. Sorry if this is not that useful, but yeah! I would say the most important thing is to just practice honestly :D Go ahead, have fun, draw something! I wish you the best <3

[cowgurrrl]

ok what am I supposed to do now the one for the money, two for the show is done!!!?! I would love more lord while I go back a reread everything from the beginning!

If you’re taking requests maybe quick snapshots of the year apart? Not to get too personal but I have a crush and I’ve been stalking their social media but like in a chill way (or I’m trying to) I imagine reader and Joel both seeing each others accomplishments or posts or being tagged in things and just being happy for each other but also….the longing

A Soulmate Who Wasn't Meant to Be

Pairing: rockstar!joel miller x actress!reader

Author's note: this is so angsty i'm sorry

Summary: This ask

Warnings: angst, yearning, oh it's so sad

Joel Miller's New Album Set to Break Records

Everything We Know About Joel Miller's New Album Glass House

Glass House Expected to Go Platinum Before Next Month

What Songs on Joel Miller's New Album Are About Famous Actress Ex?

You almost text Joel about the headlines and theories flooding your timeline. Almost. You actually started typing out a message before reading the last message you sent him almost four months ago and quickly deleting it. You're happy for him. You really are. In the pictures from his album release party, he looked insanely happy, posing with Ellie and Sarah and hugging his musician friends in celebration. He even played one of his newest songs, "Love-in-idleness," at the party with only his acoustic guitar and that deep voice of his. You think you would know it's about you even if he didn't tell you about it before you left. Love-in-idleness is the flower used in A Midsummer Night's Dream to make a love potion to unite the couples. It's common knowledge, but Joel might be one of the only people in the world who knows how much that play means to you. The song quickly becomes one of your favorites, but you don't tell him.

You scroll through his social media unashamedly. Dave Grohl and half the world congratulates him on his album release. He's making the music he's always wanted to make. Sarah told you she got into UCLA, and Ellie is drawing again. He's happy. They all are. So, why do you feel so shitty? Neither of you has deleted the pictures of each other from your profiles. It feels like a staring contest, seeing who will hold the torch of your relationship longer. It doesn't help that people are screenshotting the pictures of you together to "add context" to Joel's lyrics. The one that makes you break down is a quick snapshot someone took of you leaning on him in Central Park when you were watching the guitarist with lyrics from "The Yellow Subway." 

She knows more than me. You better believe

That city couldn't hold her right, but then

I couldn't either.

Despite the heartbreaking lyrics, you two look comfortable together— your head on his shoulder and his hand in yours. You cry in between scenes, ruining your makeup and having a mini-therapy session with your makeup artist, Saoirse, as a result. You don't post anything about his new album, but you put on a happy face and post snapshots from your time spent in Ireland thus far. Pitchers of Guinness, the Cliffs of Moher, stunningly green mornings, and a picture of you and the film crew hiding out in a tent while the rain comes down around you. Joel likes the photos but makes no other move to communicate with you.

You wonder if he's torturing himself in the same way you are. You wonder if he's waiting for a headline about you dating someone new like you are for him. You wonder if he's hurting the way you are. Selfishly, you hope he is because that means he still thinks of you. You also want him to hurt because he hurt you. You still love him, but you can't be the woman who crawls back to someone who can't trust her with things, like telling her the mother of his child is back in town. 

This is what's best. It's what needs to happen. You need to be here, working, and he needs to be there, being a dad and making music. It doesn't make it any easier or soothe the ache in your heart, but it's necessary. It's for your own good. Right? 

Right?

[plutos-dreamer]

If We Were Villains But Oliver is a diff type of Artist

I'm not really sure how alive the "If We Were Villains" fandom is but I have ✨IDEAS✨ and i must share.

There are a few fics were Oliver is some other variation of artist rather than the theater nerd that he is and I just cannot stop thinking about it.

It would change the direction of the story (obviously lmao) most prominently he would not be distracted by Meredith as canon played out. DO NOT GET ME WRONG. he still finds Meredith attractive of course (we love a bisexual king) but because he doesn't live at the castle in this au he doesn't know her as well and out of the entire group he would be closest to James.

I love the idea of James making friends with him secretly. Oh, he never meant for it to start as a secret but once he meets Oliver in all his quiet but steady and loyal glory and is treated to his full and undivided attention he can't help but want to hoard Oliver for himself. he avoids running into his when he's out with the others.

At first Oliver is hurt by this and it leads to some miscommunication where Oliver assumes it's because he's embarrassed by Oliver because all his other friends are so cool and confident. It leads to a somewhat anticlimactic confrontation where James has to awkwardly (painfully) explain how: no he's not ashamed of Oliver he just doesn't want Oliver to like his other friends better than him. Which leads to Oliver having to awkwardly (painfully- holy god) explain that James is fucking amazing in his eyes and he can barely look away from him for anything. ('Oh', you say, 'so they basically confess their feelings' to which I say: 'no you stupid fuck that was of course a completely platonic thing to say and was not even remotely homosexual in any way'....... basically they're still oblivious morons)

Anyways, Oliver eventually does see the rest of the cast (whether in a hilarious accident or introduced by his boyfriend- I mean- by James is up to you) and James starts bringing him to parties and some more casual hang outs with the cast. Oliver immediately wins then over with his adorable humble and honest charm (can you tell I fucking love Oliver?????) he clicks immediately with Filippa, is quick to get Wren to laugh, is bashful but honest and respectful with Meredith, is happy to light a blunt with Alexander and get on board with his dark humor, and is wary but fond of Richard (until things go south of course). Also I think Meredith is initially very intrigued by Oliver especially how he doesn't see her as an object (like she says in canon) but is early on put of (and slightly amused) by how entranced he and James are, so they don't really get involved like they do in canon. (I do think she would flirt with Oliver when James is being bitchy though and poor Oliver is like: bro please leave me out of this)

All in all, James is nervous about Oliver not being as "enamored" the first few weeks and is pretty snappy as a result but he eventually settles as Oliver remains very firmly in his corner and continues to watch him with starry eyes. (The entire group is very amused by how the two of them circle each other and they heckled James mercilessly when they found out how long he kept Oliver a secret from them)

Imagine the first meeting between them, Oliver admiring James from the first time he sees him on stage (because despite not pursuing theater I still believe that he would love Shakespeare and the theatrics of the stage in any universe) and some how managing to catch James' attention in his own right. That all depends on what he's studying of course and I do have a few bite sized ideas for some of them so......

Dancer!Oliver:

I think in this au they would meet as like a group project between the dancers and theater groups. they have to work on ballroom dance cartography or something for a play and James wants extra practice so he stays in the studio to go over the steps and happens to run into Oliver who's putting in some late hours practice

He walks into James practicing alone and is like "you know you're not supposed to practice alone? you could get hurt" and James is like "well what are you doing here alone" "......well you got me there" and Oliver ends up helping him work out the foot work, probably the female role to a ballroom scene if we're being honest so we have a "no put your hand on my waist- MY WAIST-" scene

In this au I believe Oliver does a lot of lifting work (pardon the terminology I know nothing about dancing) meaning he does those very impressive lift moves (this is most because I want to stick to the part of his character where he makes others look good like James says in canon). Because of this he's way more in shape in this au so James is dancing with him and kind of marveling at how elegant and in control he is of every movement his body makes. ("It's unfair how you move that way." "I have to have some reward for spending 8 hours plus in the studio almost everyday. You get public speaking skills, I get to bed like a fucking pretzel")

After that they start to see each other around school and eventually just give in to the draw between them spending as much time as their schedules will allow in each other's presence.

The dancers get used to seeing Oliver Marks stretching at the bars while simultaneously reading lines for James, literally putting his foot behind his head while holding "The Merchant of Venice" open with one hand and speaking for Shylock or some other character they don't know the names of while his weird theater friend paces and rants in character. ( "To you, Antonio, I owe the most in money and in love, and from your love I have a warranty to unburden all my plots and purposes how to get clear of all the debts I owe! .... Oliver that's your line." "hold on I gotta stretch out my hamstring"(this is during free hours of course not during class))

I think this would change the halloween scene as well behave he would be so much stronger. Richard is still bigger than him but not by as much and he just fucking jumps in for James, practically carrying James out of the water as soon as they get Richard off and holding him while he recovers. In general he would pose more of a problem for Richard

Visual Arts!Oliver:

They meet somewhat similarly, a joined project between the two factions. Oliver is painting a backdrop or something and he happens to hear James practicing. He seems frustrated and Oliver realizes that he can't see Oliver where he is working in the semi darkness and he speaks up before he sees something he isn't supposed to. He tells him he's really good and when James looks skeptical he explains his own smaller but still significant love for Shakespeare and how he would have loved to do theater but he was a pretty mediocre actor and his love for painting and drawing over took that path. James is kind of touched by this random art student's moment of vulnerability and asks him to help him practice. And thus the birth of a beautiful friendship.

James spends hours in Oliver's space at the art studio whether it be just to read without the suffocating presence of his fellow theater majors, to bitch to him about Richard or Meredith ("-and then Meredick-!" "Mere-what-now?"), or just to watch him paint his feelings on a canvas

James picks up a lot about art that he didn't know before, he loves listening to Oliver explain the different mediums and techniques. he developed a bit of a fixation on Olivers hands noticing when he hasn't washed them throughly enough to get all the paint off his palms or the charcoal staining his finger tips or even how they dry out when he works with clay and forgets to use hand lotion after. He only starts to freak out about this when this attention starts to extend outside of when Oliver is drawing/painting/working. Oliver will just point something out for James and his brain will just go: ✨ h a n d s ✨

Oliver: *using his hands to talk as he explains a project to Filippa* James: *drooling* Alexander: *half laughing* dude-

James has a bad day (Richard being dick or just a rough brain day) and Oliver paints pretty swirls on his skin in vibrant colors to make him feel better. (Oliver: *paints little pink hearts on James' ankle* James: *through tears* you're such a fucking dork)

Oliver painting on James becomes kind of a normal thing when one of them is having a rough day and needs to relax (James once paints on Oliver). Richard makes a really fucked up comment about James or Oliver or both of them (its up to you which one) and James is on a rampage about it when he goes to see Oliver and just explodes. Oliver listens and is furious for him and ends up painting these huge and kind of badass phoenix wings on James' back. they cover his entire shoulder blades and extend to parts of his arm. James struts around the Castle shirtless and absolutely seamless for as long as the paint lasts.

Oliver: I can never get the color of your eyes right James: *distracted* mhm...... wait what-? Oliver: what

when they do end up together (because they do, I don't care about canon) they definitely have at least one make out session in the studio with Oliver's hands covered in paint and they both end up covered in streaks of paint and colorful handprints

Musician!Oliver:

Again, partner project, music students act as orchestra for the theater's performance. Violinist Oliver has a solo.

Similar to hw they meet in the artist au Oliver catches him going over lines and reveals his own interest in Shakespeare.

James spends afternoons spacing out or reading to Oliver playing his violin. They often go out just to enjoy the quiet of other parts of campus as Oliver, being a music student, is constantly surrounded by noice and all James' friends are loud

I imagine in this au he's a little shier, a little more nervous to meet the rest of the cast but still the brave and loyal man he has to be in canon

He teaches James how to play a few songs on the violin but he's pretty terrible at it so its mostly them just giggling like school children and James reveling in being able to be bad at something without harsh criticism

Violinist Oliver threatening to break his violin over Richard's head lmao. I don't know how it would happen but just imagine it. Fucking glorious.

Anyways that was a lot for what I'm pretty sure is a barely alive fandom but for those doomed to think about this series forever here you go lmao

[dross-the-fish]

how do you determine who is on team Dracula and who isn’t?

Basically it's down to which characters I think would be most likely to sell their souls to get what they want. Mostly it's based on who would be the most desperate or power hungry.

Dorian wants immortality without being bound to the portrait and by proxy Basil Hallward. The portrait in my version grows uglier and older based not on Dorian's sins but rather on how Basil begins to view him. Dorian resents Basil because he partly blames Basil for his current fate and it upsets him that Basil no longer thinks he's beautiful and even though Dorian doesn't love anyone but himself he can't bear to lose Basil's love and how Basil sees him still affects his self-image. He knows that one day the portrait will be so ugly that he'll end up killing Basil over the deterioration of their relationship and he wants to be free of this painting and this artist who he now feels has become a chain around his neck. The portrait got its power from Mephistopheles and while Dorian can't break that contract he thinks he has found a loophole in that if he obtains a new condition that keeps him from aging (vampirism) the portrait's powers will be nullified and he can destroy it.

Dr Moreau has lost everything, his money, his island, his reputation, his medical license. He has nothing left but his work and now more than ever he needs it to succeed or he'll have to admit to himself that nothing he did, the lives he destroyed, the things he lost, his rejection from society, NONE OF IT, was worth the results of his experiments. He wants to be a god to a new race of beings so perfect that they put humanity to shame. He wants to be worshiped and adored because after everything he's sacrificed that's what he deserves...right? He hasn't signed a contract just yet but he's going to break any day now.

Imhotep wants to be reunited with is lost lover...except after three thousand years he can't even remember her name and face, only that with her he was happy, he was home. He has the power to raise the dead as mindless husks but he can't restore what was lost to him and being a 3000 year old mummy in a modern world that only remembers his home through broken relics and robbed tombs is soul crushing. He believes that if he can just get back his former lover he'll remember her and he can have that sense of a home once again and his immortality will finally be bearable. He signs a contract because his heart is so broken he no longer cares if there will be consequences later.

Carmella wants to create a world where she and Laura can walk down the street, hold hands and embrace without feeling shame or fear. That a world will exist where Laura can love her back. Maybe if the world is run by vampires like herself she can have that. She's a vampire and a lesbian, how much more damned can she get? So why not sign a contract?

Griffin, has become truly invisible to the world. No one remembers him, he's forced to hide and he no longer has a face to show. His existence has been boiled down to pretending he's a ghost and terrorizing people. He has no home, no possessions and not even a name he can use anymore. He is invisible in every sense of the word and it's killing him. He wants what he always wanted, to be able to do whatever he wants without consequence without having to sacrifice being seen and admired. He wants to be able to control his invisibility and have a massive pile of never-ending wealth at his disposal. He has some hesitation about selling his soul and hasn't signed anything yet.

Dracula signed his contract centuries ago, that's how he became a vampire and at this point his goal is as it's always been. Return the world to a state of chaos, establish a vampire hierarchy and subjugate the humans as chattel and slaves. This is his end of the bargain, because desperation among mortals means more signatures on contracts.

[tategaminu]

Tate pls can you explain shading and lighting to me I don't understaaaaand 😭

It looks so pretty and I... kinda get it but also not really? I've tried YouTube and stuff but it's pretty unhelpful and generally just people marketing their procreate brushes at me

And your art is so PRETTY and is wish to know your secrets please give 🙏

oh brother, I don't know if you are in the right place to ask for any advice because I SUCK at it but I'm gonna try

Gotta be honest, I still barely understand shading and lighting, I go ahead and expect everything to turn out okay like 99% of stuff in my life, I think when you get the hang of art you can do things blindly more frecuently.

What I find pretty useful it's not tutorials per se but speedpaints or real time drawing, if you observe a professional doing their stuff and learn the basic of the program you can get an idea of whatever the hell they are doing. Looking at pretty art and analyzing the light and trying to figure out how the artist does something is also something that has worked for me pretty well, I'm gonna divide you my specifics:

TUTORIALS

I know you haven't found any good tutorials but youtube is very big and you can find some really good ones. I have lately been watching this channel, this guy even gives you the PSD files.

Marc Brunet also has some really cool ones, not all of them are super specific but he's pretty good.

Aaron Blaise has a very professional undesrtanding of light and shadow.

REFERENCES

Use references! Pinterest has a lot of cool photos with pretty lighting, just search "lighting and shadow" "photo with lighting", stuff like that. References are very important, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

For the next tutorial below I used this for example:

PATIENCE

Let's be real, the art journy needs a lot of patience. I have been drawing digitally for 9 years and it's just now when I'm seeing results I'm happy with. I look at art from just one year ago and I go "EEEW"

I think hyperfixating on something helps a lot, doing fanart is important like I wouldn't be as good as I am (right now) if it wasn't for doing TDP fanart. Ovbiously other things count since all drawings help you improve but I think you probably get my point, basically, get obsessed with something lol if you don't get a certain obsession just find something you enjoy drawing, I honestly can't draw stuff that don't give me joy (for free at least)

PERFECCIONISM

Something that I have discovered along the way is that perfeccionism in your art will restrain you a LOT. Sometimes you don't need a super accurate light and shadow for the drawing to look okay, ovbiously if you are aiming for full realism then yeah but overall? If it looks right it's probably right, trust your instincts

Maybe in a couple of years you will look at a certain piece and go "why tf did I do this??" but that's part of learning. The next tutorial isn't accurate at all but I had fun and I think it looks pretty enough.

Of course, the technique might vary from drawing to drawing, with my most recent Pyrrah art I just coloured the lineart for example, I later used said filters. Don't be afraid to experiment, art is about experimenting, the tools from your program also there for you to use.

I know it may seem difficult at first but you will eventually figure things out, study and practice a lot and you will get there.

Good luck! sorry if this is too messy, explaining stuff is just not my forte and thank you for liking my art, it makes me really happy.

[flightyquinn]

AI Haters, Please Read to the End

I see people celebrating every time something bad happens in the AI art world, and that makes me very sad. Because I am partially colorblind, and have ADHD, clinical depression, and other health issues that I'm less comfortable talking about. Because I can't work, and rely on family for housing and government assistance to afford essentials. For someone like me, the barrier to entry on art is high. I'm never going to own a drawing tablet, I can't get professional lessons, my focus sucks to the point where it's hard to follow tutorials no matter how much I want to, and even if all of that could be sorted, my own eyes are against me.

But I still have ideas. I still have pictures in my head that want to get out. Characters that want faces, scenes that want to be expressed, and the like. I'm still creative. I just can't properly express that creativity. Nor can I pay someone else to express it for me. However, I can tell an AI what I'm trying to depict. I can tweak the settings, make small changes, spend hours on end generating and re-generating, tweaking and re-tweaking, and making small edits that are within my power to do, until I have a picture that satisfies my need to bring the thing in my head to life. That's not "stealing". It's not pushing a button and letting the computer do the work for me. That's me having my own ideas, and trying to use the tools at my disposal to turn them into something that other people can see.

Plus, there's one other thing I can do. This is a picture I generated with AI that I'm actually quite proud of.

And do you know why? Because it started as this.

I fed my terrible MSPaint rough as hell doodle into an AI, and told it what the picture was supposed to be. And I tried again, and again, and again, until I was able to refine the result into something that I was happy with - which took a whole lot more than just pressing the button again, let me tell you.

This is my idea, from start to finish, and my shitty art became something that actually looks halfway decent. Yeah, I'm aware of the wonkiness and AI jank. I know the jawline's weird, his eyes don't match, and there's something up with his ear. It's not perfect, but it's a whole lot better than what I could do on my own.

Look, when it comes to stopping the commercialization of AI art, I'm right there with you guys. Fuck corporations that want to replace their whole art department. Fuck people who want to impersonate other artists, or take commissions to turn someone's description of what they want into a prompt. Hell, fuck the people who take the first result they're given without trying to refine it at all!

However, I don't want AI to die. AI is an accessibility option. AI is a tool that lets me go from saying for years, "I wish I could have art of my first D&D character, I have so many fond memories of him." to having that one picture. It lets me stop stealing every time I want a character portrait for a new TTRPG that I'm starting up. Because you know what? I don't have the ability to be a "real artist", and I never will. There's too many barriers for entry.

...and my situation is mild compared to what some people have to deal with. Sure, there are people who find ways to make traditional art despite disabilities, but that's an exception. It could be the rule. Why shouldn't it be?

As far as "theft" goes, I have yet to hear one explanation of why it's okay to use references, but not AI, that didn't boil down to "it's different when we do it". And what about collage? Is a collage art, or is it "theft?" What about sculptural works that use reclaimed objects? They didn't create that. They just decided how it would be arranged. Hell, what about pieces like "The Fountain" for that matter? That's a big problem I have with all this hate. If you applied the same standards to other things as to AI, then there's a lot of things that currently are art we'd have to say aren't any more.

If you have a problem with AI, why not work to make it better, instead of trying to deprive people who rely on it for self-expression of a creative outlet?

[whypolar]

remi!!!!! happy birthday!!!!

can you tell me about your favorite mecha (aesthetically, not plot-wise)???

Thank you for your gift of talking about anime.

I didn't mean to take so long with this one! My phone notoriously hates uploading images, and once I got on my PC I spent entirely too long looking at pictures of robots. Please enjoy them.

I made a list of general vibes I like and then picked some examples for each. They're not ranked in any particular order, or anything.

Vaguely Unsettling Weird Tanks

I have so many examples of Weird Tanks. Here are just two. A strangely large percentage of these look like some kind of shellfish? Carcinization of tanks?

Funny little guys

They're generally actually pretty big. But they're little guys in my heart.

(The Hygogg is edging into being too genuinely menacing for this category, but he needs to stay here to hang out with all the other aquatic Zeon suits.)

Big Sexy

I don't have to explain myself to you.

Five Star Stories

These get their own section, because they're just that cool. I have zero direct experience with this series, but it has some of the most striking and immediately recognizable designs I've ever seen

It's actually weirdly hard to find good quality images just on google? I'm not downloading an entire art book or stealing somebody's fanart for this. I did my best. Maybe Japanese search terms would have yielded better results...?

Anyway. Look at these things

(This last one isn't from 5SS. It's the same artist, though, so I'm putting it here for convenience. Thank you Mamoru Nagano.)

These lead nicely into the next two categories.

High fashion glamour robots ...

... and Big Robot Knights

Escaflowne is another series with very knightly, suit-of-armour inspired mecha, but what I really want to show off is the cockpit. I love this very clunky, physical, fantasy-steampunk setup.

There's another version from the movie where it's much grosser, with drills that bore into the pilot's neck, but I can't find it right now. Sad.

An Extravagant Beast With a Whole Bunch of Bullshit Stuck on There

Sometimes the design still reads clearly despite the amount of stuff, like the Unicorn Perfectibility. Very rule of cool, very impressive.

And sometimes you get the Penelope.

I love this fucking thing so much. Half the time it flies upside down, so it doesn't even read as a humanoid. Girl why do you look like that

Misc

I also like general cyberpunk elements, bio-robots, and body horror.

It's not quite the same category as the rest (since I assumed we're talking about mecha in the sense of humanoid or creature-like robots that people can get in and pilot, rather than anything mechanical), but shout out to BLAME!

[maanvinderpilania]

1989 tv (my version)

a year ago, i woke up in the morning with a notification that said "your pre-saved album 1989 (Taylor's Version) is available for listen now" and that really made my day. Just like every other fan i was so excited to listen the production on some of my favorite songs and obviously from the vault tracks. I still can't believe, it's been a year already. I remember i was preparing for a big goal and after a year that goal had lost in time like a ship lost in the fog. it's excruciating but writing isn't. writing is my biggest power and so this post is result of it because i wanted to share my views and ofcourse my playlist!!

If i talk about my favorite tracks off the album then I certainly doesn't wanna talk about bank space and shake it off because it only makes you feel old. they're 10 years old songs and one of the biggest hit of this century. everyone knows about them and judge her entire discography saying "all her songs sounds like shake it and off and blank space" when they barely knows her 10 songs. Plus the scenario she only writes about her exes. this is some old age shit. every other artists write about them but they don't have any problem with them as they seem "authentic" wtf. okay two of my favorite songs from this album are This Love and All You Had to Do Was Stay. Let’s start with This Love. The best part of the song that I believe in my opinion is its intro. And the part from “in silence screams, in wildest dreams, I never dreamed of this” always makes me emotional. The second song from this album that is always stuck in my head is AYHTDWS and I believe the best part of the song is also in the intro, “all I know is that you drove us off the road” and then the “stay, hey all you had to do was stay…..”. And how can I forget about the style and its intro plus the out of the woods bridge. this whole album is flawless.

If you ask me about the other songs, then I would say Clean and You are In Love. It’s not I don’t like the remaining songs, I like them but these are the ones that are stuck inside my head and I keep hearing them. I love the idea of Clean and YAIL because one is about getting over someone and moving on and another one is about falling for someone’s charm. And the best part of Taylor’s Version is that we get to re-live those eras and for those of you thinking that they are the same albums so they must sound same but no they don’t. You can clearly tell which is Taylor’s Version(TV) and which is original. And make sure you stream Taylor’s Version only because these are the albums that mother has masters of, in simple terms right over her work. I can write a whole research paper on her songwriting but I'm limiting my words here.

Moving forward, another good thing about Taylor's Version is that you get to listen never heard before songs because they didn’t made the final cut at the time of the production of original album. I don’t know why they didn’t let her release those songs. I’m happy she has signed to a label which believes in her and now mother is the CHAIRMAN. She gets to decide what she wanna release and what she doesn’t. So yeah, those unreleased songs are called “From The Vault” tracks because they are deep in the vault waiting for her to unlock. So far, she has released 26 of these tracks on different re-records of like Fearless TV, Red TV, Speak Now TV and now the 1989 TV. 1989 TV has a total of 5 “From The Vault” tracks and they are:- Is It Over Now?, Now That We Don’t Talk, Slut, Suburban Legends, Say Don’t Go. And to be honest none of these Vault tracks are so called “bad, worst, too much songs,” as the haters would describe.. They are so addictive thanks to the bridge of these songs. You just cannot compare these tracks with each other. So yeah, that week was pretty amazing, the excitement that comes from the release of new music by your favorite artist is different and also the happiness of someone getting right over their own work is just amazing. What made the release week more interesting and amazing was not just the feeling and excitement you get from thinking about the release of the 1989 tv but also that Taylor dropping the Cruel Summer [Live From The Eras Tour] version. It was all what i needed at a time when I couldn't go to the eras tour as she is neither coming to India and also you are not rich enough to buy her concert's ticket. So you don’t feel left out and can scream the cruel summer bridge all you want. I also love the feature that Taylor did to generate your own 1989 covers and i enjoyed playing the puzzle she released in collaboration with the Google. One more thing about this Album & Taylor that i love is how Taylor never let anyone look down on her. Life is not easy for me. She gives me the confidence to be who i want to be because 'Haters gonna hate hate hate, baby i'm just gonna shake shake shake!' I cannot wait for debutation 🐍💚 happy 1y of 1989 tv 🩵

[nerves-nebula]

Are you ever you ever insecure about your art? And could you explain you answer to that?

Venting to you now

Drawing has taken a lot of effort for me, more than usual recently. I started working on something I originally felt really passionate about. It's more common for me to very quickly give up or get bored so I was really excited to be able to post some artwork. But I ended up not liking the result and I'm not sure if I'm willing to try something else. I've given up on trying in a lot of parts of life to try and save energy to do something I thought I was passionate about (art) but I am still lacking the motivation. The reason I reason I really wanted to share it was because I'm terrible with self-motivation. If I can't make at least one person genuinely go 'oh, neat' even for just a second and even if they soon forgot later, I'd feel like I'd have a reason to keep living (to keep making art). If the only people who'd see it end up disappointed I'd want to disappear.

It's not what art should be. I know it's value is like a person's. It's worth more than how someone reacts to it, right? But I can't apply that rule to myself. I should seek support from the people who 'know' and actually care about me, but I don't want their appreciation. I want some imagery status of a 'good artist' because that's what seems to give me dopamine.

I also wanted to mention how much I admire how open you are with your struggles. I want to be the same but I'm scared of people thinking less of me. I know that's dumb but I don't know what I'm good for if I can't make people happy. If I'm not going to be content with myself I want to not be a nuisance at least. I like to think that if I stopped caring about my impression on people, I'd be better off. But I'm scared that I'd have to learn to like myself. I don't like myself and I have no interest in liking myself. I don't see the point.

oh boy, this is gonna be a long one. also, don't take anything i say too seriously, i don't know your situation and I'm barely an adult. anyway, response under the cut

soo lately I'm less insecure about my art and more frustrated when things don't come out well. but i still post that shit !!! I'm still insecure if i'm doing, say, a project for homework, and i don't think i did as well as I could have, but in my personal artistic endeavors it's more about getting it done than it being perfect (for example, my webcomic! my motto is any comic made is better than no comic made and if people don't like that then it wasn't for them in the first place)

the thing about me is that drawing and art and stories is all i've ever had. it's my main form of interacting with the world. these days i make art the same way I live, which is to say in spite of wanting to kill myself. I would LIKE if my art was perfect, and i would LIKE to not be in pain. but i AM in pain and i have to live anyway, and my art ISN'T perfect but i'll make it anyway.

and i like when other people's art isn't perfect either, when it isnt super polished. I think that definitely helped. seeing artists whose work i fell head over heels for when it's never been more than sketches and a bit of shading. it really cemented in my mind that it isn't art being technically perfect that makes it worth while.

i've gotten a lot of people saying kind things to me, saying how much they enjoy my art and my blog in general. and though it doesn't always help, it sometimes inspires me to imagine the number of people who appreciate my stuff who might never mention it to me. I myself am used to lurking and not interacting very much (a habit I'm trying to change since I know artists & creators love feedback most of the time) i know it sucks to not know if anyone gives a shit for sure, but you really can't make that your only reason for doing art, cuz half the time you prolly wont even know if your art deeply affects people or not. it's fine to want that attention but you gotta have something else goin on too, at least I do.

i also know the fear of worrying that you'll lock yourself into something you don't want to do, or something you'll lose passion for. for me, I generally rotate a cast of characters & interests around for years a time before making significant progress. There were spans of times where I'd go years without thinking about loose stitches, but none of that time developing other stories & characters was wasted. it gave loose stitches enough time to properly cook, and the story is still developing under my hands as i draw it, influenced by my other stories and other characters.

it's ok to abandon something and pick it up again years later, or to never pick it up again at all. it's ok to hate the way something turns out but to keep making it anyway because you have to move forward (at least, I do)

moving forward despite not liking the original product is the only way to progress, I think. I don't super like a lot of the first pages of loose stitches but I'm still grateful that past-me posted them because that means present me is at page 76 !!

If I can't make at least one person genuinely go 'oh, neat' even for just a second and even if they soon forgot later, I'd feel like I'd have a reason to keep living (to keep making art). If the only people who'd see it end up disappointed I'd want to disappear.

the problem with this mindset (in my opinion) is that some people aren't going to like your art and that's got nothing to do with the art itself. if you want to find people who go "oh, neat" then you have to keep posting until they see it. trust me, they're out there. like, i don't post for people who can't stand the idea of child abuse, i post to FIND people who want to interact with stories about child abuse the same way i do.

it would be insane to stop trying to find those people because someone else was disappointed or upset by my art. which isn't to say you gotta lock yourself into doing one thing, but that you gotta post what you care about, and people who also care will find it. posting fandom stuff with the same themes as your original art certainly doesn't hurt either, if you REALLY want to find those people faster.

It's not what art should be. I know it's value is like a person's. It's worth more than how someone reacts to it, right? But I can't apply that rule to myself. I should seek support from the people who 'know' and actually care about me, but I don't want their appreciation. I want some imagery status of a 'good artist' because that's what seems to give me dopamine.

art should be literally whatever. it's worth is literally whatever you want, it can be a big deal or not. i'm not sure what part of being a "good artist" gives your brain the Good Feelings juice but I'd investigate that feeling more and try to figure out the roots of it, cuz then you might actually be able to figure out what it is that motivates you. approval is nice, yes, but i like approval for things i enjoyed making even more.

I also wanted to mention how much I admire how open you are with your struggles. I want to be the same but I'm scared of people thinking less of me. I know that's dumb but I don't know what I'm good for if I can't make people happy. If I'm not going to be content with myself I want to not be a nuisance at least. I like to think that if I stopped caring about my impression on people, I'd be better off. But I'm scared that I'd have to learn to like myself. I don't like myself and I have no interest in liking myself. I don't see the point.

i always find it amusing when people refer to my "struggles" if only because I don't really consider them that way. to me it's just like, a thing that happened that sucks. i don't consider myself "struggling" with it, even though I guess that's what's happening. also, let's be real here, it's not like I'm using my real name. this is an anonymous tumblr blog. though, my openess on here has actually lead to me making more art about it IRL so. eh.

anyway, lucky for you, you can stop caring about what other people think without necessarily liking yourself! for me, it's about spite (sort of). I don't like myself much more than I used to, I just decided I hated everyone else more haha. I still care what people think about me, and I'm still scared of what people might do to me, but I'm also not bending over backwards to please people i dislike. I just get annoyed at them instead.

i did this basically just by repeating it until it became true, lol. there's only so many times you can petulantly say "well fuck those guys anyway they suck" before it becomes your true first reaction.

at some point, i decided i needed to pick and choose who i wanted to please, because it can't be everyone. that's just literally not possible. so i looked at the kinds of people i liked and appreciated, and basically disregarded everyone else. it's the whole "don't take criticism from someone you wouldn't take advice from" thing (not sure where that comes from)

obviously you should probably try to internalize the idea that you even HAVE to be "good for something" but that's way easier said than done. i find it more useful to devote yourself to finding a few things (causes, people, philosophies, niche interests) instead of just general usefulness. because then you can form stronger relationships, be useful, AND not burn yourself out trying to please everyone.

take all this advice with a grain of salt though, I definitely need therapy and this Bitter Angry Defensive persona will probably need to be deconstructed soon... idk. i think it's outlived its usefulness to me but i'm not sure what to do next hahah.

sorry if none of this was helpful or the point. im not even sure why i wrote this much, i kind of just ramble sometimes. i hope you figure it out!

[parmahamlarrie]

can you give me a list of established relationship

This is my dream ask, tbh. According to my notes, it's over 30% of what I read. Listed some of my favorites below (excluded A/B/O, girl direction, anything too heavily kinky, and anything under 5k so if you'd like a list of those, let me know).

dusted in gold Series || frenchkiss || 100k Model Harry, Make Up Artist Louis Harry’s an A-list supermodel, Louis’s his make-up artist boyfriend. They’re something of a dream team.

Down to our bare feet || frenchkiss || 71.5k Disabled Louis, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Angst Breaking his neck and becoming wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life was never part of Louis Tomlinson's long term plan. No, he was going to make it big in his career, marry the man of his dreams, and live his best life each and every day. That is, until a football injury leaves him paralysed from the neck down, which is less than ideal, he must admit. The story of an ordinary couple living through extraordinary circumstances, featuring wheelchairs, home renovations, intensive rehab, fighting, laughter, tears, ring shopping, and above all, two boys determined to love each other no matter what.

Why Am I Doing This Again? || @berzerkshires || 31.3k Famous/Non Famous, Interview Format, Older H&L AU: It's been 37 years since Louis Tomlinson met the famous Harry Styles. In 2056, Harry has officially announced his retirement with one last request from his management team: a three part documentary. The crew comes to Louis & Harry's house to film an interview with Louis about Harry and their relationship. And Louis still doesn't understand why he's a part of it.

secrets don't make friends || @thedevilinmybrain || 30.2k College AU, 5 Times, Fluff and Smut What an absolute rollercoaster of a fic. I started this fest thinking I was going to write something else, then I panicked, and I wrote this instead. I hope it's as good as my original prompt.  Firstly, thank you so much to Aria. This is my love letter to you. My smutty, kinky, love letter of our friendship. To the one brain we share by some cosmic connection. You always support my deep dive into how dirty can I make this and get away with it and give me the best feedback. I could not have done any of this without you.  And Hannah, babe, you literally are an angel. Always coming in to save my fucking life by agreeing to beta 30k in one night! When we both were exhausted and you did such an great job. Especially because I can't spell for shit. Thanks you, baby. I appreciate you so much. Also, thank you Greta for coming up with this brilliant fest! So glad I could help out and co-mod with you. It was such a success.

Were We Ever This Young? || @letsjustsee || 17.2 Harry Potter AU, Baker Harry, Auror Louis, Flashbacks “How did it go?” he asked, still not having gotten any hints from Louis’ face.“Obviously it went amazing, Harold,” Louis said, reaching for Harry’s hand, “Was there any doubt I would smash it?”Immediately after finishing his sentence a young girl burst out of the classroom behind Louis, pushing through her peers, sobbing her eyes out. Harry and Louis both took her in, watching as she rushed through the crowd and disappeared behind the many bodies. Harry looked at Louis in confusion, about to voice his concerns before Louis cut him off.“Teenagers, am I right?” Louis said casually, “So bloody sensitive. You hungry? Let’s go.”And with that, he pulled Harry through the groups of students by his hand, Harry too shocked to utter a word.  Hogwarts AU in which Harry and Louis both return to give talks to seventh years about the 'real world' with slightly varying results. Inspired by the Chilton scene between Rory and Paris in the new Gilmore Girls.

Fugue || @canonlarry || 16.4k Amnesia, Kidfic, Famous/Non Famous, Happy Ending Harry falls asleep a 17 year-old who lives in Cheshire and is probably rockstar Louis Tomlinson's biggest fan. He wakes up 24 with a wedding ring on his finger, two kids, and Louis Tomlinson attempting to wake him up with a blow job. The doctor calls it organic retrograde amnesia, says he might never get back the last seven years of his life. The only thing that feels the same is how he feels when Louis touches him, and maybe that's enough to make him fall in love all over again.

think I'll take my chances || trackfive || 12.9k College AU, Sick Fic, Hurt/Comfort harry worries louis, louis worries harry, they both worry zayn...there's far too much worry. taking care of each other doesn't have to be a one-way street (h/c with extra hurt...and extra comfort...and extra fluff)

Feel My Love || @styleandsin || 10.4k Baker Harry, Fluff and Smut, Domesticity Reason #29: To avoid cleaning, studying, or doing work of any kind. Louis always gets things done on time, he just takes a detour along the way. The detour? Having sex with Harry. Harry never brings it up. Until he does.

Every night, I've got you in my arms ||

Shut It Down When the Time Comes || kikikryslee || 9.4k Kidfic, Teacher Louis, Architect Harry This is it, Louis thought to himself. Finally. And then a loud wail rang through their apartment. Louis stared up at Harry, who had the lube bottle in his hand, ready to pour. “What if I’m quick?” Harry asked desperately. Louis rolled his eyes as the baby’s crying only got louder. --- Or, the five times new parents Harry and Louis try to have sex, and the one time they actually do.

Hea(van) Is A Place on Earth || @insightfulinsomniac || 6.1k College AU, Car Sex, Fluff and Smut Harry turns back to him, cheeks pink and biting his lip. “There’s lots of space.” “You want us to defile Belinda?” Louis asks in sheer disbelief. “I’m kind of desperate,” he admits, eyes shining in the fluorescent glow of the campus street lamps. “And besides… Belinda doesn’t mind.” *** University students Harry and Louis want to spend some alone time together — the problem is, both of their respective roommates are fast asleep. Harry solves that problem with some blankets, a secluded parking space, and his beloved beater van, Belinda.

Gotta Have You || @styleandsin || 6k Kidfic, Valentine's Day “I’m glad I married someone that’s still down with having sex in the laundry room while our kid is in the middle of a movie and there’s ten minutes left until the dinosaur chicken nuggets have to come out of the oven,” Louis says, voice serious but a small smile on his face. “Me too,” Harry says with a laugh before getting back to his food. Louis laughs along with him until he looks down at Harry’s plate, “are you really using a fork and knife for chicken nuggets?” Harry looks up at him and the genuine judgement on his face makes him giggle. “I’m trying to be fancy! We were supposed to be going to a really nice restaurant Lou, I’m just trying to recreate the experience.” He then dips the chicken nugget into his ketchup with his fork. Or, an AU where Valentine’s Day doesn’t go according to plan but possibly turns out even more romantic

NC-17 || kikikryslee || 5.5k Public Sex, Fluff and Smut Louis took the tip of Harry’s cock between his lips and just let his tongue lap over it for a minute. He wanted to watch Harry crumble as best as he could thanks to the dark lighting in the theater. As Louis moved down another inch, Harry’s eyelids fluttered some more. Louis smiled around Harry’s cock, watching as Harry now struggled to not only keep his eyes open, but also focused on anything but the boy in his lap, not wanting to draw attention if anyone were to turn around at this moment. --- Or, the one where Louis drags Harry to a horror movie festival even though Harry is afraid of scary movies, so Louis decides to give Harry something else to focus on instead.

Battle of the Balls || @greenblueish || 5k Famous/Famous, YouTube AU, Secret Relationship “Rim of the hole, Haz, really?” he gazes at the camera again. “This is getting demonetised and honestly, rightfully so. How are we still allowed to make videos? YouTube, why don’t you just do yourself the favour and delete our channels?” “After everyone sees that I win this game though,” Harry winks, dimples still showing.  or, the one where YouTubers Harry and Louis play Golf With Friends, go to the pub with Niall and return home six hours after posting the video.

Looking for something specific? Shoot me a message!

Find my previous lists here!

[best-fnaf-song-competition]

What do you think of the first round results? Any predictions on what the #1 will wind up being based on it?

-✨️

Oh, number one is without a doubt going to be either Stuck Inside or Terrible Things. I was wrong with my guesses last time because there were so many huge bangers on the list but with a tournament half-composed of tiny artists no one's heard before, it wouldn't surprise me to see an undefeatable popularity sweep

That being said I actually have NO CLUE what any of the other rounds are going to look like!!! I didn't think some of these songs would be getting past round 1 but the support they got really surprised me! Graveyard Shift in particular was at the bottom of the bracket in terms of views and nominations and that SWEPT (though I'm hoping people who continue to support that song perhaps stop by for some others as well!)

There were DEFINITELY quite a few that surprised me, so let me go through the list real quick!

Bunny Boy winning the first poll was actually a huge surprise. I kind of fell in love with Let Me In so I didn't pay much attention to the other two at first, but a majority of the comments LOVED Bunny Boy and it was really fun to see that outpouring of support!

Pictures VS. Ruin was a surprise to me mostly because I figured Kyle Allen's reputation would give that song a boost. I loved both of these songs so much so I was on the edge of my seat to see if Ruin could pull through!

FIVE NIGHTS ACTUALLY MADE IT PAST ROUND 1 I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT AT ALL with how much Close To Home also got beat, I wasn't expecting a rap song like the style FabvL does to get very far. But it's SUCH A BANGER I was so sure it would die (I feel bad for Human Shaped Grave though. I didn't realize until it was too late that the view count kind of put it into a weird spot next to two way more popular artists 😔 that's my bad)

Behind the Mask and This Is The Last Night were actually tied for a few days and I would have been SO happy if they both went through but Alas

LOVELY THINGS. IM SO SORRY. IM SO SORRY I DID THAT TO YOU BUT NO ONE ELSE STOOD A CHANCE AGAINST THE BEAST THAT IS STUCK INSIDE. YOU WERE THE ONLY HOPE TO KILL IT BEFORE IT DECIMATED THE COMPETITION not that I'd be upset if it won, it's a banger

Ruined Lullaby you put up a good fight 😔 the absolute bop that is the bridge could not save it but I'm glad it got as far as it did

I DID NOT THINK BLOOD RUNS THICKER WOULD WIN IM GONNA BE HONEST. The songs that move on in these tournaments usually have a particular style and this was not it but honestly I'm so glad it pulled through

I'm a little bummed You're Coming With Us didn't make it, solely cause I'm a sucker for vocaloid (shoutout to vocacircus for making constant bangers) but What Remains Of Me was SOOOO GOOD this one was HARD but I'm a vocaloid girlie at heart. It's okay YCWU I still love you

THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH TO THE PERSON WHO ADVOCATED FOR TILT-A-WHIRL I WOULD HAVE BEEN SO SAD IF IT LOST ROUND 1 HOLY SHIT. YOU REALLY PULLED THROUGH no shade to FYSTBOL but it is first and foremost a silly meme song and Tilt-A-Whirl had so much passion in it 🥺

I can't say anything about Render Me Alive cause I haven't listened to it yet but I hope you guys liked it 👍

In My Eyes Now was winning the whole week so it was actually a HUGE shock to see What Lurks In Shadows pull through last minute. I'm not too upset about a Nightcove loss here since there's like 6 others on this side of the bracket but holy shit where did you all come from (thank you for voting I love you)

I did NOT think Mechanized And Alive would be winning for most of the week. I thought for sure the delivery on the second verse would harm it but no!!! Yall were surprisingly adamant about that one!!!

CHRONICLES OF BONNIE AND TREAT YOU RIGHT WERE CONSTANTLY A PERFECT 50/50 I WAS SO SCARED as much as I still have a grudge against scraton for making the original tournament so hard to organize, I did have to admit COB was surpsingly good and I'm glad it's moving on 💜

I KILLED COME PLAY. I FEEL SO GUILTY ABOUT IT TBH IM SO SORRY IT GOT PUT UP AGAINST A BEAST 41% against an APAngryPiggy song is not bad though!!! That's something to be proud of!!!

I was NOT expecting an absolutely DEVASTATING Bad Rabbit sweep for 5 days (IT WAS LIKE 85% IN A THREE WAY POLL!!!!) And I was even MORE not expecting Afton's Empire to ACTUALLY pull through this one was STRESSFUL to watch holy shit

Rip Like A Disguise 😔 you were never going to make it but at least I can say that I tried

I WAS NOT EXPECTING BURY ME IN METAL TO SWEEP. I THOUGHT I KILLED IT BY CONVINCING PEOPLE TO NOMINATE IT AND BOOSTING ITS POSITION IN THE RANKINGS. I DID NOT THINK IT WOULD WIN. HOLY SHIT

I knew the Big One of the right half being Terrible Things / Ballad Of The Walking Machines / The Mimic Song would be extremely difficult to vote for and I did debate it with my sister for a solid 15 minutes. Terrible Things not only winning, but winning by that much was NOT something I thought would happen. Oh my god. That was wild

I honestly thought Endless Nights being a homage to a bunch of different eras of fnaf music would push it farther tbh!! It's really cool! Not upset over another Tynado W tho (and if anyone knows the names of all the artists/songs referenced in Endless Nights, I'd really love a list! I only caught about half)

I'm going to be entirely honest here. When I saw Take Me Home, A Silicon Soul, and Hand And Eye put together, I thought it was going to be an EASY win for Take Me Home. I'm not a fan of the other two (didn't even finish listening to Hand And Eye), but it was really cool seeing the surprising amount of love that one got! Maybe I'll have to give it another shot

I'm SO sorry to Run but I couldn't let Far Too Long die here without a fight. It's such an icon and it's a banger but Run was SO FUN I was actually really having a hard time voting on this one

Okay. So Five Unholy Nights was near the BOTTOM of the list. It only got nominated once and had one of the least amount of views from ANY of the songs. So when I listened to it the first time and instantly fell in love, I was SO scared. It's one of the least popular ones here in terms of view count and I didn't want it to die!!!!! Apparently I didn't need to worry. Holy shit you guys

I think that's everything I have thoughts on? Sorry I accidentally used your ask as my post about the music for this round you just asked for my opinions and thoughts and I happen to have a lot of those 💜 can't wait to see how round 2 goes!!!!! I'll get it set up asap!

[localplaguenurse]

Just ignore the smoke and smile

Hey, so I'm trying out some OC stuff here, as well as darker content, so yeah. I don't know how regular this will be, I'm just throwing this out here to experiment. If you do not feel comfortable reading for one reason or another, I'd just skip this post.

Warnings before you proceed: mentions of self harm, referenced past sexual assault and domestic abuse, discussions of addiction. No specific scenes are described, and it actually has a lighthearted end, but it may still be uncomfortable to read. With that in mind either proceed with caution or just don't read. I'm not your mom, I can't tell you what you can or can't read. Do let me know if I missed a tag but I'm pretty sure I got everything covered.

It’s peeking around the bathroom doorway this time.

When I look up from the sink after washing my hands, I see my face in the mirror. I don’t see it, but I feel it watching me. It’s been watching me for god knows how long. It was easy to ignore when I was younger, when I was some hotshot rockstar sex god dipshit who pretended not to know any better. I tell myself I didn’t, but that looming figure tells me I did, that I should have known better and now I’m stuck with the consequences of my actions.

You missed your wrist.

There’s still a little leftover lavender soap on my arm. I run it under the cold water, rubbing it off with my calloused finger and feeling the bumps of old scars under the tattooed skin. I turn the faucet off, and I stare at my arm for a moment. I read what is written there. “Be my reminder here that I am not alone.”

Which was more uncomfortable for him to do? This one, or the head of Medusa on your shoulder, where she liked to stub out her cigarettes?

I yawn a little. Alice has been sick for a few days now, and has been very fussy as a result. We were going to have a little get together for her first birthday, but I don’t really want to make her go through all the commotion while she’s this miserable. We’ll do something small for her today, and when she’s better, we’ll get everyone together. Mom will be really happy to see her.

Has your mom seen that tattoo? She likes to look at tiktok every now and again. It’s mostly animal crossing, but since your husband is a tattoo artist, she probably gets tattoo tiktoks.

I turn around to dry my hands. It’s still behind me.

Do you think she’s seen the Medusa tiktoks? Do you think she wonders? That she worries?

I turn back to the mirror. My hair’s getting really long again, and I’m going to have to get it bleached back to white soon. I brush my bangs out of my face, and I see the silvery scarring next to my eye. A sexy little battle scar to go with these pretty green eyes of mine.

Sure, package it like that. If it makes you forget how that pretty smoker you loved so much smashed that cup into your face, go for it. 

Why are you here?

I’m always here.

No, why are you here?

Like I said, I’m always here. You’re stuck with me, that’s the deal. 

I never made any deals.

You did when you wanted to be a “better man.” You want to cut back on the drinking and the drugs? You do know you did all that to forget what happened, right?

The only reason that happened was because I was an addict. 

Right. Do you remember how she used to bribe you with that shit? I mean, you were doing it before you even met her, but she had you wrapped around her finger when she had coke on her.

I shake my head and look for the hairbrush. It’s usually on the counter. Where is it?

Do you think your fans believed you when you talked about how you used to get nosebleeds all the time in high school? Your friends sure as fuck didn’t. It is weird that instead of calling you out, they memorized how to use narcan. 

Wait, Oli might have left the brush in the bedroom.

Actually, it’s pretty fucked up how much they either ignored or completely missed. Not even just the obvious addiction problems, but just… everything about her, and how you acted around her.

I step out of the bathroom, flicking off the light as I do. I head for our bedroom next door. It’s a little messy right now, but the exhaustion of fatherhood will do that to you. I really should gather up the dirty laundry while I’m in here, even if I don’t find the brush.

She was a massive bitch, but you were thinking with your dick like you always do. Apparently that’s all she cared about. That and getting you fucking hammered on the regular. I’d ask if you remember that, but I know you don’t. 

Oh, it’s on the nightstand on Oli’s side. I step forward around the bed, stepping over a stray pair of jeans to get to the brush. Oli must have used it to brush his hair while I was in the shower last night, and forgot to put it back. 

It’s always right behind me. It’s breathing down my neck, and whispering in my ear. Sometimes it’s my voice, and sometimes it’s hers. Sometimes it’s just a voice, belonging to no one in particular.

It eats away at you, not knowing what happened to you. She knows something about you that you don’t. Still, you hate thinking about what you do remember, right?

I make quick work of brushing my hair. Once it’s silky smooth, I set the brush down on the table again. I bend over to pick the stray clothes up off the floor. I don’t need my husband tripping and busting his good leg, and laundry day is coming up soon.

You’re still in pain, no matter how much you pretend you aren’t. At least you could forget the world existed when you were drunk or high. At least you were only hurting yourself. Why did you give all of that up if you were going to spend the rest of your life thinking about it?

I stop when I see a little creature waddle in through the open door. She looks at me with big green eyes and smiles. She sticks her hands out as she makes her way towards me. “Up! Up!”

I set the clothes in my arms down on the bed, crouch down, and scoop her up into my arms. “Hey sweetie,” I coo, “is papa making you breakfast right now?”

“Dada up.”

“Yes, I’ve got you.” I kiss one of her chubby cheeks. “Come on, let’s go say hi to papa.”

When I carry my daughter towards the bedroom door, I still feel it staring me down, but at a distance. Once I step into the hallway and turn the corner, it’s no longer watching me like a hawk. It’s still somewhere behind me, but it always is, and I’m used to that. I don’t plan on letting it fuck up my daughter’s birthday, either, so it can stay there in the corner like a loser if it wants to. It wasn’t even invited anyways.

I yawn again, and I smell pancakes cooking in the kitchen. I’ve had my fill of misery today, it’s time to actually get on with the day now.

[yallcantread]

Craziest thing about this whole thing is that people were excited for a possible Taylor x 1975 collab until The Sun broke the news, people need to understand that they can't police celebrities how to act in their personal lives out of work.

I'm not going to tell anyone how to feel (not my job), but you get what I mean ?

Yeah, it’s interesting how some people view themselves as an extension of the artist they admire. It’s like they perceive the artist’s personal choices as a reflection on themselves, and they become invested in the artist’s relationships. It’s odd that some individuals wish for the artist to experience heartbreak or to lose interest in their partner.

Among Taylor Swift’s fans, there seems to be a pretentious attitude when it comes to her dating life. It’s peculiar because some individuals who express strong opinions and criticisms about Taylor Swift’s partner may not necessarily feel personally attracted to them. Despite this, they still feel inclined to comment on their looks. However, there could be a variety of opinions within the fan base. Those who consistently criticize his looks may be forcing themselves to do so, as it’s unlikely for someone to continually post unflattering photos of a person they are not attracted to.

He isn’t “ugly” to me because I don’t believe in the concept of ugliness. I believe that attraction is subjective, and just because I’m not personally attracted to someone doesn’t make them ugly. We all have unique faces, and that’s simply how it is. Life is too short to be concerned with trivial judgments and categorizations of fellow human beings. Let’s focus on more meaningful aspects of life and treat others with the acknowledgment of them being human.

From my perspective as an artist, I appreciate both Taylor Swift and Matty. I’m not particularly concerned with their personal lives, but based on what they’ve publicly shown us, their relationship seems to make sense.

They have familiarity with each other, and Taylor seems to be attracted to British accents and men who are outspoken. Both of them appear to have a dislike for media intrusion and prioritize their artistic endeavors. They also seem to share a mutual appreciation for each other’s music. I’d understand the dislike if Matty were a known abuser or something, but he isn’t. He simply doesn’t conform to the performative expectations some people have. It’s important to note that these assumptions are solely based on their music, and I don’t know their personal opinions or preferences.

They both seem to value stability, which is understandable considering their similar ages.Both of them deeply care about their craft. When two creatives come together, it often results in something extraordinary.

As an artist myself, I find their relationship inspiring. The art that will emerge from their collaboration, their shared experiences, or any other creative endeavors will be remarkable. Something beautiful often arises from every situation.

Of course, I could be mistaken, and that’s perfectly fine. In this instance, I’m not concerned with being ‘right.’ Apart from that, their relationship makes sense to me. I genuinely hope they find what they need in each other and that they remain happy. It’s difficult to understand why anyone would wish for anything other than their happiness.