#one of my very favorite painters going today

[polkadotmotmot]

Eli McMullen - Collector, 2024 - Acrylic and gouache on wood panel

[scattered-winter]

continuing my musicposting because have you ever thought abt how beethoven's 9th symphony was composed without him ever hearing a single note ?? he did the whole thing completely deaf. and especially the 4th movement ??? which is quite literally called "ode to joy" ?? and a celebration of humanity and joy that he never got to hear ??? waughghhhh

[icaruspendragon]

I got tagged in one of those "get to know me" tag games back in 2021 and I wanna see how 2024 me's answers compare!

2021:

1. Nickname: berk

2. Zodiac: Gemini

3. Height: 5’4

4. hogwarts house: it’s been years since I last took the test, but Gryffindor

5. Last thing I googled: yellow wallpaper. The short story haha.

6. Song stuck in my head: movement by hozier

7. Number of followers: 1021

8. Amount of sleep: 4ish hours recently

9. Lucky number: I don’t think I have one but my favorite is 27

10. Dream job: something where I get to help people

11. Wearing: mom jeans, black turtleneck, gray quater zip for the university of Mississippi chapter of delta gamma. Thrift store finds, ya know?

12. Favorite author: Kurt Vonnegut

13. Favorite instrument: cello

14. Aesthetic: someone once told me that I looked like “every kind of lesbian.” So whatever that means.

15. Favorite song: uhh, currently it’s probably “would that i” by hozier

16. Favorite animal noise: kitty cat purrs

17. Random: today at work some lady told me that everytime she comes in she looks for me because I make the best drinks. I haven’t stopped smiling bc of that :’)

2024:

1. Nickname: berk, professor alpha

2. Zodiac: gemini

3. Height: 5’4

4. hogwarts house: once again it's been years since i last took it, but my result that time was slytherin

5. Last thing I googled: "how does a pipe bomb work? I'm not gonna make one I'm just curious /gen"

6. Song stuck in my head: nothing at the moment, but according to receiptify my top ten most listened to songs for November so far are:

man or muppet - jason segel, walter

blue sky & the painter - bastille

marie & polonium - bastille

intros & narrators - bastille

eve & paradise lost - bastille

red wine & wilde - bastille

seasons & narcissus - bastille

fratelli d'italia - this is the italian national anthem lmao

the rattlin bog - seamus kennedy

nobody's soldier - hozier

7. Number of followers: 14,841

8. Amount of sleep: not enough

9. Lucky number: my original answer still stands. big fan of 27 still, too.

10. Dream job: I don't dream of being a laborer, but I still very much want to something that helps people.

11. Wearing: biker shorts and a 2024 gran premio dell'emilia romagna crewneck. welcome back princess diana

12. Favorite author: opal_bullets of ao3 fame

13. Favorite instrument: banjo

14. Aesthetic: on a spectrum that goes from academic queer to refined-button-up bisexual

15. Favorite song: it changes somewhat often. my all time favorite is icarus by bastille but my current is the don reno version of feudin' banjos

16. Favorite animal noise: when my cat groans like she's a blue-collar dad whose long day at work and just wants to decompress in his recliner

17. Random: I was very brave and also very sexy and I decided to go back to school after dropping out at the end of my senior years four years ago and I registered for classes this week and I am not going to let myself self sabotage and quit before I've even started because of anxiety-driven-fear-of-the-unkown-control-issues because it's okay to be scared. you just can't let that stop you and I'm done letting it stop me !!!

[nyctophiliq]

✮ ┆ THE IDEAL ART INSIDE YOU. ellie w. (the last of us)

— “at one point, everyone hated themselves.”

description.             everyone experiences art block once in a while, ellie just deals with it differently

content warnings.               MDNI, nsfw content, female bodied reader, art student! ellie, light bondage, ellie is a little rough, light bondage, she also fucks reader with a sharpie, oh and she draws with said sharpie on reader, so basically marking?, possessive & control freak! ellie, wc 1,67k author’s notes.                     you read the warnings? still here? hope you enjoy, you freak >:) pls reblogs are very very much appriciated

ellie who’s fountain of inspiration seemed to never dry up whenever she looked at you, or just thought about a glimpse of you. but as every artist, ellie too hits a rock bottom every once in a while and she just suffers from her art because she hasn’t yet figured out a way to suffer through it.

“my favorite piece of art that I don’t keep fucking up.“ she groans as her left hand comes to catch your throat, fingers clasping around your neck not at all lovingly but ferociously, her other hand palming your forehead while also managing to force your eyes open with her thumb and index finger. even if you wanted to fight back, there was no use for it. one of her wet cloths, the one that is covered in paint because she wipes her face and hands with it after a session in front of her paper is now wrapped around your wrist, tying them behind your back as she forces your legs apart with her knees, spreading them apart to reveal all of that is you, eyes spitefully wandering your nude body.

oh, how she hated you in these moments, when her art seemed to be nothing just a piece of painting that a child did with its fingers, spreading condiments around its plate and you were the mom who couldn’t help but praise her child, clip that god awful ‘painting’ on the fridge and call it a ‘future picasso’. it’s a disgrace to all the incredible painters before her, the ones who have sweat blood for their art not to be called a silly thing, be frowned upon, and to be taken seriously because sometimes words just weren’t enough. you seemed so perfect, your eyes, your lips, your face, your chest, your stomach, your legs, your everything- how could she ever create art as beautiful and magnificent as you?

she couldn’t let that situation to eat her alive, to consume her from the inside out, for it to own her because in the end it was her who owned it, owned you. the aspect, all the things she had admired, and she called you her muse- she made you who you are today just like god made angels to be so perfect, she is the god who birthed you, casted you in stone and made the land worship you as it’s protector.

“you’re mine, you hear me?” she yells, her spit spurting on your face and she pushes your head further into the mattress, her fingers pushing so hard on your skull she might just claw your eyes out. “I created all that you’re, sculpted you to be so ideal.” she rambles, shifting further between your legs, prying them open with so much force your hip start to burn and little sobs ball up in your throat from the discomfort.

ellie gives you a repulsed look as your lips agape, choking on your words, writhing from the same anguishing feeling of not knowing what to do. it truly turns her stomach, your uncertainty as you lie there, your eyes bulging from fear of what is gonna happen next. but your pupils tell a different story to her, that the way parts of your body is reacting goes against each other, and where your legs meet with your hips- it’s almost impossible to overlook the heat that is radiating.

“i own all the rights to you, everything that they see is my talent sacrificed.” she follows up, letting go of your head and reaching into the back pocket of her khaki shorts, and pulls a sharpie out. there isn’t a second that passed between her pulling it out and biting the cap off before she starts scribbling away on the skin that covers the middle of your chest.

the brush of the pen tickles your nerves, jolts running up and down your spine like a horde of wildlife fleeing after a gun shot, your back arching with each stroke she makes. your skin like paper trembling under her touch, but she is too busy to notice. your eyes roll to the back of your head, closing as you relish in the sensation. the ink staining your skin, her touch softening around your neck, the pads of her fingers ghosting over it, a small smile gracing her lips as she moves from your sternum to the top of your breast.

your mouth falls open at her touch, your hips swaying slightly against her knees as she continues to work. her voice hoarse as she speaks, “this will be mine, my masterpiece,” she says, swallowing hard. “mine…” she mumbles, her voice trailing off. she works in silence for what seems like hours, the only noise being your labored breathing and a soft scratching sound from her pen. your eyelids flutter slowly, the darkness encroaching on your until all you can see are stars floating through the room. you are falling into nothing, nothingness.

she switched sides sometimes ago, but you hardly noticed until she pulls away from both your chest and neck, your eyes snapping open as her hand comes to rest on your waist. her tongue darts out to wet her lips, her body tensing slightly. “yes…” she whispers, before biting her lips, pushing her tongue against the teeth that is peaking above. your gaze follows hers until you find yourself staring right into her eyes, their irises so dark they look black.

“mine… I own this body, I own this life… this was always supposed to happen.” she laughs then, dark, and wicked, her words dripping with confidence as she runs her finger along whatever she wrote or drawn on you. “you should see… you should see but where should i-“ she cuts herself off, a puzzled look washing across her features as she tries to find the handheld mirror, simultaneously searching for a place to put the sharpie because she is gonna need it again, she just needs you to see her signature first.

she laughs as she thinks of it, deep and rumbling before she teases your folds with the handle part of the sharpie, collecting all that have been dripping from you the minute your bare skin was exposed to the cool room’s air. you let out a gasp as it slides inside you, a gasp that becomes a whine as she keeps going. you feel tears gather in your eyes as she just leaves it there, unattended and stuck in one place.

“here! see for yourself, see it! tell me what do you think?” manic, that’s how she sounds now, absolutely out of her mind as the sweat starts to glow on her face. she grips the handheld mirror, her hard grip visible as she holds it up above you, giving you the perfect look at yourself.

her signature, all over your chest. ellie williams. ellie williams. ellie williams. ellie williams.

ellie’s face contorts with frustration at your silence, “do i need to coax an answer out of you? come on, give me an answer!” she grits her teeth, her other hand coming to take a hold of the sharpie in you. she moves it back and forth, painfully slow until you manage an answer out, your voice sounding so small you almost believe you imagined it.

“I love it, I love it, I love it!” you laugh weakly when you feel her speed up at your words, her face getting redder and redder. she chuckles softly before she brings the mirror closer to you, angling it so you get a better view of your nakedness and the way your cunt practically sucks the sharpie in.

she looks at you as if you are a prize, as if the mirror has finally captured the image that she desired for so long. ‘I won’, her expression proclaims proudly, her grin wide as the room fills with the sounds of the drenched pen fucking your walls. you wince at some spots, a little more sensitive, but her gaze remains steady on yours, never breaking contact. you try to speak, to say something ,anything, but your throat feels tight, your breath short as she discards the mirror, the soft pad of her thumb rubbing circles on the fleshy parts between your thighs.

you whimper quietly, a moan building up in your throat. you could cry if you wanted to, a hot flood threatening to erupt from your body, begging to be released. you bite your lips, your legs tremble, your nails digging into the bedsheets under you as your vision goes blurry. you blink furiously, trying to refocus. she moves to your clit, circling it with her thumb as your entire body tenses. the slick wetness coats her fingertips as she gives you the few last pushes you need to end up on the other side, for the bliss of your climax whiten your vision and everything that she is.

ellie watches you, excitedly, with a fire burning in her eyes that has never burned before. she looks sick, she feels sick, but in the best way possible as you writhe against her hand, trying to get away from the sharpie that is still residing between your clamping walls. she can see the bigger picture now, the light burning on your skin and the dark in that covers your torso, the overwhelming feeling of coming undone, and her ownership over everything that had occurred. she smiles to herself, proud of her accomplishment, but also anxious to finally begin her next piece.

“just one final detail…” it came quietly, murmured from between her lips as she pulls the sharpie from your, flipping in while her free hand comes to push down on your hip bone. you don’t need to guess, you already know what she’s gonna write, it’s predictable from the expression of her face. twisted grin, with flushed cheeks that are not at all red from embarrassment but rather overcome with pure pride, joy, and glee.

ellie williams was in here.

[lesb0]

I'm always trying to stay on the cutting edge of every permutation of our constantly evolving visual culture but the elusiveness of every new form makes it difficult for me, even as one of the youngest possible millennials. in fashion, my freshman students are all wearing 2000s or "y2k" fashion: baggy grungy or baby phat hiphop, with an elevated touch of modesty, good color theory, and a stark awareness of bodily proportion. in memes, legendary 00s icon, lisa frank. its embarrassing to follow influencers with over 10 mil, now, as if it breaks the parasocial connection.

someone asked yesterday if tiktok is now the premier vehicle of visual culture. I open tiktok. on one side, a zoomed in interview with the mother of a shooting victim. but the other side is a compilation of slime videos, a woman cutting soap, life hacks, and chinese "smart" product placements. you can hear and see both. this bizarre genre, I can only recognize as content. on social media, content is technically anything you can doomscroll, the action of spending over 2 hours on a social media feed, a for you page, a timeline, a dashboard to tumblr addicts.

I'm watching cable TV with a girl I'm seeing. the ads are remarkably only geared towards boomers and older gen x. but, so is the 'content', bad action movies made for cable and reruns of 80s/90s TV shows, but the exact same show marathoned in hours long successions.

to be an effective art historian, I have to take things from this ever-shifting visual culture and translate it into the equally fickle and amorphous art world... so what does 'content' look like for museum shows? my first 100+ object loan show was in part by a colleague, a younger curator at BAMPFA. a massive exhibition of all female nonbinary artists, from the 60s PoMo feminists to the self obsessed identity displayers of today. I absolutely LOVED it. I had no problem enthusiastically flitting from object to object, frontwards and in reverse twice, to spend special time with all my favorites. a fave professor stopped me. I hadn't even recognized him in the excitement. he looked bewildered, but laughed about how giddy I was. he didn't write any criticism on the show. my boss at the time, our museum director, told me she thought it was "such a big mess". my favorite lesbian professor clutched onto her wife with an anxious look. my lesbian artist friend had panic attack and put his headphones on in a dark corner. on the other hand, the younger undergrad girls from berkeley looked elated and delighted, flitting around and oohing and aahing at my same pace. I learned one of them was an engineering student named erin who needed a feminist pickup from the disouragement in her male dominated field.

so how has the 'content' show, or the art world reception to them, changed in the past 4 years? well for one, it seems like major flagship institutions are dropping the mononym altogether. as the french impressionists take over the east coast, none of shows feature one painter as a sole focus, but curators use juxtapositions to keep people interested. in MoMAs, monoynym shows are reserved for major retrospectives or figuratively and literally, monolith artists like simone leigh. the older art historians are hesitant to adapt to these changes. one of my favorite shows this summer, over 300 very different collection pieces packed onto the floor and across the hall, wasn't enjoyed by any of the critics I know. My dates all hated it. except one, a hot ADHD butch who had a tiktok doomscrolling addiction.

what does this mean for the future of how shows are displayed.... how do museums let go of the traditional princely standard: 3.5 inch hangings with a 25 degree downwards tilt? is it better or worse to compromise museums into messy 17th century curiosity cabinets?

[junijupi]

it will never amaze me that the ULTIMATE secret to meeting people is just.. going somewhere repeatedly

and *talking to them.*

It's so weird. I go to art class every week, and have for weeks; Rarely speak to anybody there. But when I do-

Today I spoke to a very interesting man after drawing next to him in silence for far too long.

He studied at one of the most prestigious art colleges in the country, worked in the military as a paramedic in the Airforce for 11 years , all while honing his artistic craft. This guy dumped insane amounts of random wisdom onto me about life, art, the battlefield, and everything inbetween. He told me, he was so grateful for a place to express himself like this. He told me how awesome it was I was doing art at such a young age.

He told me, "keep at it."

Another person I met a bit ago- she used to study under a stained glass painter for years during the 80's. Her instructor , (who was a master of her craft,) was admitted to a psych ward because she would lick the mercury-paint off her brush in order to wet it.... multiple times a day. for *years* Lady never saw her instructor again after she was admitted. stopped doing stained glass painting shortly afterwards. got into pottery a bit, before stopping for 30 years. Just now got back into it- she's so eager and excited to learn. Love her.

A 50-60 year old woman who travelled the country, going to different art schools to hone her craft. Doesn't work. At the beginning of the semester, I disliked her greatly. But after working so diligently next to somebody for so long, a certain fondness was formed. We chatted mindlessly as our brushes created strokes down the canvas. She would recommend me good places to buy supplies, and I would lend her some of my paints if she ran out.

A man in his 20's, who I never spoke to until the very end of the semester. He and I would talk about our techniques, and our favorite movies and characters, despite the decade age gap. When the sky turned sour , thick, and smoky from wildfires, he and I would crack jokes about Blade Runner. He was so cool.

This older woman, a little bit clumsy, maybe mid 40's- Never touched a pencil in her life. I don't know much about her story, but I am currently helping her whenever I see she is struggling. It is small things, but it makes me happy to see her improving each and every week. Maybe it's teaching her how to correctly sharpen her pencil, maybe it's giving her an item she forgot.

Today, she wished me a happy week *and used my name*. Our interactions were minor, but she likely overheard the instructor speaking to me, and remembered it to wish me a nice day.

These are all such small things- But everything about them brings me life.

It's seeing all these different personalities, and not even realizing just how rich they truly are until you are knees deep into a riveting conversation with them.

I think this is the reason I do art.

[hotxcheeto]

Hi!

I was wondering if you could write something with Ellie x fem reader where reader is like an actress/film director who's passionate about just filmmaking and acting in general, maybe her and Ellie met because they're jobs crossed over or maybe Ellie was a fan of reader or something.

━ 𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓

𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜(𝙨) - Ellie Williams x Fem!Reader

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 - Cursing, fluff, mention of crappy dating??,

𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 ? - Yeah/Nope/a lil

𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 - so sorry this took months, I'm so behind but I was going through some shit lmao, thank you for the rq!! <3 ALSO making these banners here and there cause I'm running out of good gifs and got a lot of good screen shots and photos.. :)

REBLOGS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED AND NOTICED!

"Don't you understand, she was my daughter too.."

You muttered your lines to yourself as the artist did your makeup, brushing over your eyes as she captured an old timey look. Using so many reference photos that the entire table was filled when you walked in, giving you both something to talk about at first.

That was until a comfortable silence filled over, Mia having become a close friend of yours on set. You felt excited every morning to come and get done up for whatever scene you had as the duchess you played. Knowing she'd capture every dated detail on your skin.

But today your mind was filled with other thoughts than just the make-up. Stressed to all hell for the next few days, knowing you and the director needed to perfect both your acting and the shots that would make your performance come together.

And that was just it, you needed to be perfect.

"Nervous?" Mia asked with a smile, taking a hint from your shaky, silent nature, backing up to grab a different brush.

"Extremely." You responded with a light laugh, looking at yourself in the mirror. "You got this, you're being nominated for, not one, but multiple of the most prestigious awards in media. If anyone can pull off such an important scene, it's you. Especially with how pretty I'm making you everyday."

You nodded with a small smile, but still felt like you could pass out at any moment in time. Clutching onto the papers like they'd disappear while letting out a shaky sigh.

"I know, but-" "But you still act like you've never been in front of the camera every time they're ready for a big shellshock to be filmed. Mind you, the scenes start filming tomorrow, not today."

You winced at the very clear truth to her words.

"Too loud Mia." She laughed, continuing on with your makeup, ignoring the door opening to reveal your favorite stage manager, smiling too brightly for the fact that it was six in the morning.

"The painter is ready when you are, ready to be photographed Y/n?" You sighed in response, looking at the clock as Mia applied an old looking lip color to your mouth. "I'm ready to look like a renaissance portrait, that's for sure."

"She said she might need you for the sketch too, just to make sure she's got the best outline of you that matches, but other than that, you should be done quick and have some free time before shooting starts."

The stage manager spoke, looking down at the tablet in her hand while speaking. Mia pulling away to look at your face, turning your head lightly with her fingers.

"What's her name?" "Don't remember, all I know is that she's good and the directors favorite prop guy really likes her." Mia took the cover off your costume, allowing you to stand up in your long, olden style dress.

"Ready to be renaissanced?" You nodded, leaving the makeup trailer and telling Mia you'd see her later. Walking off towards one of the nearby buildings labeled for set creation and prop design.

The place was decked out too, even more so since the last time you'd come inside. Pieces from every time period hanging about complimented by posters on every wall. Familiar drawings and items from some scenes of your favorite shows displayed out to remind everyone that these people had made them.

They liked showing off their stuff where they could, most of the workspaces and offices a bit more boring depending on who you were talking to. But other than that, the entire building was the best on set.

"Miss Y/l/n?" An assistance appeared behind you, wearing pajama-like clothing making you wish you were them just because of how early it was. "That's me." "Right in here." They led you to an office room, though there was only a desk covered in papers and the walls lined with movie and TV art and décor.

The rest of the room had easels and different sized canvases against the walls and laid on the ground, tarps on the floor with paint covering every corner. Jars of different colors and paint brushes laid about on different carts and shelves.

"She had to leave but she should be back in a moment. She said though, you can sit there while you wait."

The person pointed at a stood that was set up across from an empty easel, a very dim light pointed at the stool.

"Alright, thank you." They nodded and left, closing the door behind them leaving you alone in the silence to admire the painters area.

Spaceships hung from the ceilings in one of the corners, little figurines and action figures on the walls and done up to look cool instead of just sitting there. But some were still in boxes making you wonder if she collected them or would eventually sell them. Judging by the room though, collector for sure.

You sat down with a racing mind, messing with your fingers while you waited. You liked the warmth the office brought, it was like a child's daydream and it made you smile.

This person definitely had an eye for the arts.

"Shit, I'm so sorry." A girl then stumbled in through the door, her black tank top covered in colors that were probably not there when she bought it, as well as her blue jeans and shoes.

Her grown out mullet pushed back from her face that only showed stress. Arms lined with paint and markings, some of it even looked like dry clay making you wonder what kind of things she'd made besides paintings.

"Fuck, I shouldn't cuss. Sorry." You laughed, finally catching her attention but not her eyes.

"I don't mind, everything alright?" "You know, it's early, people are tired, you might accidentally drop something. But a perfectly good fucking vase someone spent hours making should not be one of them."

You clenched your teeth, feeling familiar with her frustration while watching her grab a few things from her desk drawers.

"Yeah, I agree. But I've also broken bones this early in the morning, so, I should not be talking." The girl laughed, rummaging for something and then grabbing an expensive looking camera and opening the bottom of it.

"How long you been doing this?" "Uh, couple years now. Fresh out of college." She stood up turning around but not looking up. "Something that I liked besides playing video games." You giggled. "Same. But with acting and you know, the other stuff."

Finally she looked up, meeting your eyes and then seeing your smile. The morning sunrise reflecting off your irises and skin, making you glow more than you already were before the window had assisted you.

She found herself at a loss for words as you continued to talk.

"I'm Y/n, by the way, but I mean by slight chance you don't already know that. I do hate saying that though, makes me seem like I've got a big head."

The girl didn't respond for a moment, suddenly nodding and humming.

"Yeah, no, I know you. Dina- my friend- loves you. Big 'Walking Dead' fan." Ellie felt stupid in the moment, thinking you probably thought she was an idiot especially when you chuckled, covering your mouth lightly with your hand.

"Aw, that's sweet. Tell her I love her too." You winked, Ellie still struggling to speak. "Yeah, for sure. I'm Ellie by the way! Probably should've said that when I walked in."

Ellie whispered a few curses under her breath while switching the settings on the light, trying to avoid your stare that was still on her.

"Heard you were one of the best at creating stuff like this." "Really?" She choked, making you laugh with a shake of your head. "Yep. Inclined to agree, you seem cool and cool people are talented. Even if they don't know it."

"Thanks, just doing my job."

Face palm, Ellie, c'mon get it together.

"So, anything you need me to do?" Ellie stood back, hanging the camera strap around her neck while stepping in front of you.

"Just, turn this way." Her hands brushed your shoulders while you positioned yourself, noticing how close she was when she knelt down. Adjusting your limbs to look as perfect as possible.

"Chin up, like this." Her finger went under your chin making butterflies erupt in your stomach. You weren't going to lie to yourself, she was attractive, very attractive. Somewhere inside your head hoping to all that would listen that this wouldn't be your last time seeing her.

"Just like that." She muttered, making the nervousness you felt in the tense room even worse than it already was. "Better?" "Yeah, perfect."

Ellie then adjusted your outfit and look, backing up to make sure it was perfect.

To her, with the lighting, you already looked like a portrait.

"How do I look?" You questioned, eye flickering up to meet her green ones. "Good.. good, yeah." "I mean in terms of beauty on this Monday morning, c'mon. Am I just, 'good'?" Ellie froze up, grabbing her camera to distract herself.

"I guess you're pretty."

"Wow, I'm so getting your ass fired."

You both laughed, Ellie getting down to the level she wanted for the picture while aiming the camera at you.

"Just stay still." You heard the camera click a few times, wondering to yourself if she ever got sick of looking at some ones face for hours on end. She then stood up, looking down at the photos.

"Perfect, stay like that though, just wanna make sure I get the-"

"Outline?" "Yeah."

"Ever get sick of staring at the same picture?"

"Not if it's you."

It just slipped out, Ellie panicking as soon as it happened. Her face burning red while she grabbed the canvas she had set aside for your portrait. Swallowing hard when you breathed a laugh.

"I knew you thought I was more than just 'good'. Was that an attempt at a flirt? Because if so, it definitely landed."

"Good to know I've still got it." She picked up her pencil, smirking at you when you giggled, trying your best to keep your pose.

"What's it like being you?" Ellie then asked, beginning to draw the shape of your head. "Eh, not all it's chalked up to be. Scary sometimes. Awesome most times. Lonely.."

"All the time?" You shook your head slightly making your earrings move. "No. Dating fucking sucks though."

Ellie snorted, quickly following up with a quiet 'sorry' making you grin.

"Especially when you like girls, it's an even smaller pool of fish, maybe like a puddle." "Puddle o' fish?" "My favorite dating app."

You could hear the pencil against the white surface, going both quickly and precisely, her eyes moving to you and back to the work in progress.

You shifted just barely, eyes scanning over her desk once again, admiring her green rolling chair. It looked kind of like yours at home, the color just different, but the design all the same.

"I get it though, sometimes I even wonder if the light is too bright." You laughed to yourself, Ellie even chuckling at your words.

"I just don't like paparazzi because I know I look like shit on camera." Ellie then said, making you snort and barely cover your mouth before returning to your pose.

"I beg to differ." "Trust me, you wouldn't differ if you seen some of the photos my friends have." You giggled again, hearing her pencil moving slower now against the the sketch.

"They're idiots though." "Just like mine, my dorks are a hivemind of morons." Ellie nodded in agreeance, smiling. "What's it like being you?" You questioned, Ellie erasing something from the sketch.

"Eh, probably a slower life compared to yours. I get a lot of freedom. Get to do shit on my own time. I like making stuff, art." Looking around the room you realized a lot of the décor was her own, by her hand.

"I wish I could do that." "You do, in a different way." "How poetic, Ellie."

She wished she could hear her name pass your lips again and again. Something about the way you said it, like a sickeningly sweet hum.

Your eyes danced to the clock, noticing the time was becoming less and less, the sinking feeling of your departure creeping up your back.

"You gotta go?" Ellie asked, noticing your stare on the two hands pointing at their respective digits. "Not right this minute, but soon." "Might need you again."

No she wouldn't, not actually. But seeing you again was definitely on her bucket list.

"If I'm not on set, I'm available. Usually. For you though, I'll make time." You joked, copying her flirtatious nature from before. "Fuck me." She whispered with reddened cheeks, unheard by you, or at least she hoped.

"Yeah, I'll make sure to hunt you down." "Is that a promise?" Ellie felt like a school girl talking to her first crush, hoping the canvas hid her face well enough. "You bet it is."

You glanced at the time again, more minutes having passed.

"Times up Michelangelo. The camera needs me." Ellie felt a pang of disappointment, finishing up the near perfect outline of your upper half. "Alright, alright. I'm done with you, for now."

"Make me look pretty, 'kay?" "Can't fix what's not broken."

You picked up the bottom of your dress with a grin, standing up from the stool. Dusting off the long skirt as if anything had gotten on it.

"See you later?" You practically asked, walking towards the door with little happiness. "Door's always open."

"I'll take that as a yes, I'll be back to check on the painting."

"I'm counting on it." "Better be."

A/n: Argh ( in pirate )

[adri2-brgr]

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Otherside : when music and video blend together to craft an harmonious story

Hello everyone, I hope you're doing well today !

For this week's post, I wanted to talk about one of my favorite music videos (coincidentally also from one of my favorite bands) ...

... Otherside from the Red Hot Chili Peppers ! (god that thumbnail just reeks of the early 2000's, I love it)

So, for a little bit context, Otherside is a song from the 1999 album Californication. It is one of their most well known songs, having over a billion (yes, billion with a b) listens on spotify and around 800 millions views on YouTube. Because of this popularity, a lot of speculation regarding the meaning of the lyrics have sprung up but the one I'll first be focusing on is the idea that this song is about the struggle of drug addiction. This interpretation of the song didn't spring out of nowhere, as the lead singer (Anthony Kiedis) was known to have an history of drug abuse, trying to get sober and falling into his addiction again.

The clip uses a very surreal imagery, putting its protagonist in a surreal black and white landscape where nothing makes sense. The visual aesthetic can certainly bring to mind the bizarre buildings and landscapes of painters from the surrealist movement.

Typical surrealist landscape (made by Marcel Caram)

Screenshot from the clip

These abstract and impossible landscapes serve to invoke the idea of a dreamlike world, a place made to represent the inner mind of the clip's protagonist. The use of towering buildings, ensnaring vines and really sharp and angular shape can be seen as a way to show that the protagonist's mindscape is far from being a healthy one. Furthermore, in many occasions the protagonist has to battle monstrous creatures, which can be seen as representations of his inner demons, i.e here his addictions.

However, and that's what I think makes this clip so powerful, is that it's abstract nature can (and has been) a source of boundless interpretations. By creating such a particular athmosphere through abstract and surrealist imagery, interpretations can be varied and go beyond the original anti-addiction undertone of the song. The universe and actions depicted in this clip can in turn serve as a set-up for any viewer to project their own mindscapes and inner monsters onto those depicted in the clip, which is why I believe that this particular music video became as popular as it is today.

[agatalunar]

❁ ୨୧ a glimpse of your future baby ୨୧ ❁

Hi beautiful souls I wish all of you a happy Valentine's Day! ♡ ♡ ♡

I had this reading saved in my drafts but I think today is a beautiful day to post it; from a personal perspective spirit babies are one of the most precious energies to connect with, which is why it was so beautiful to do this reading. this is an intuitive channeled reading. remember that it's a general message so take what resonates and what doesn't just let it go

it would be a pleasure for me if you let me know if the reading/message resonated with you so do not hesitate to send me a message, comment or reblog, it will make me immensely happy

choose the gif with which you feel most connected/attracted

Pile 1… 2… 3…

♡ pile 1 ♡

your future baby is soooo adorable, your future baby will be a girl. she will have blonde hair. your baby will be very kind, she will always be aware of others, she will be very empathic. she will be mommy's girl. she will love hugs very much, being hugged will make her feel protected. her favorite color will be pink. she will love animals, i must tell you that the great gift that she will have is that she will be very kind and respectful with everyone but especially with animals, never let her stop doing that, it is something that very few people do and she will do it from the heart, from the soul. she will want to give them everything to make them feel good, she will worry if they are sick. she will treat them very delicately. she will do everything so that the animals are in the best conditions. she will love animals so much that maybe she will stop consuming meat and also when she grows up she probably wants to be a veterinarian, she will want to donate her money to shelters or associations that help and protect animals. she will also be someone very kind to people, no matter if they are 5, 30 or 60 years old, she will be so respectful to all people. you've probably already dreamed of her.

your future baby will have an extremely good soul! buuuut i have to tell you that if she doesn't know how to identify who is a good person and who is not or what their intentions are, people will take advantage of her. unfortunately there are very bad people on this planet so you will have to help her so that nobody wants to take advantage of her.

the energy of your future baby:

angel numbers of this pile:

123 . 202 . 6

channeled things of your future baby:

“mom, can we take this dog home?” . bambi . carolina . harry styles . “it’s my birthday” . pink . strawberry . cold . girl with purple/blue boots playing in the rain . niall horan . disney

thanks for your time pile 1 <3

♡ pile 2 ♡

your future baby will be a girl who will be extremely extrovert i mean, she will be very quiet but physically she will have a lot of energy, her body will be full of energy. she will be too outgoing that could irritate you, she will not do it to annoy you or to cause you problems intentionally, it will just be her way of being. she will have so much energy that she will do everything to release it. therefore you will have to help her release that energy, you can enroll her in activities that help her physical energy i just heard "taekwondo" really any sport or activity that helps her to release all that energy that she has by nature will be very very helpful.

also because of the way she is, many people will think that she needs to "behave" or be "calmer". she will have problems at school with her classmates but not because she does "bad" or "wrong" things but because a lot of people just don't understand that it's completely normal/correct for her to be like that because she's just the way she is. she will have nothing wrong with her being and you will have to help her understand that. it is completely normal that some people have more energy than others.

i see that she will be calmer when she paints? i see her with a huge white sheet of paper and using watercolors. if you are a painter/artist or you practice yoga, you will understand that when you are doing those activities, the energy that you feel is like when you meditate, well, she will feel the same when she uses her watercolors, she will feel so at peace. i see that she will be a very visual girl, she will love the colors and the design of things. she may dedicate herself to architecture, interior design or a designer in general when she grows up. the personality of your future baby reminds me a lot of the personality of mei kusakabe.

the energy of your future baby:

angel numbers of this pile:

23 . 202 . 5 . 25 . 555

channeled things of your future baby:

focus by ariana grande . “mommy am i wrong?” . the color yellow . brown hair . “i like that pastel” . “venusian” . sagittarius . aries . gemini . naomi . pop music . bts music . pop by naeyon

thanks for your time pile 2 <3

♡ pile 3 ♡

your future baby will be a boy. he will be a bit introverted but very smart and although he will be quite introverted he will be very independent. he will love astronomy, robots, space rockets, the sea, airplanes, he may also like medicine but in general he will love science so much. the best thing you can do to help his imagination, creation and intelligence is to buy him construction toys. you are going to have to buy him toys that nurture and enrich his intelligence. with that you will help him to realize from a very young age the things that he likes the most and in the future he will study something related to that and also help him with his work/profession. your future baby will be very calm but will have a very strong character, he will be very intelligent when he decides who to be friends with and who not. i also feel that your future baby will have a strange connection with art, maybe he will see art from another perspective a little more "dark" "detailed", or he will like art but he will believe that his art is not valuable or enough, he will be a perfectionist and if he doesn't know how to handle it, it can cause him problems. you are going to have to help him control that and let him know that he is good at everything he does.

i do not feel that your baby is going to be someone who likes physical contact a lot, he will only like to give hugs or show love only when he wants to. he will love you with all his heart but you must respect her physical space, although i must tell you that he will love it when you touch his head/hair. he will love massages. i have heard many moms say that they gave birth to their best friend, this is the energy that i feel that you 2 will have. (stop, this is so adorable i can’t🥺)

this is very random but very specific haha ​​your future baby will love to eat chocolate chip cookies. i can really imagine him eating his cookies while he is very focused playing with his construction toys (aww so cuteee). if you are a woman you may want to eat cookies when you get pregnant. when your son is older to be able to help you prepare food, he will be fascinated. he will love cooking desserts with you. your future baby physically reminds me a lot of boo from monsters inc but as a boy. i feel that he is your spirit guide, he is guiding you from now on so that you make the right decisions that will help you in the future and that will also help him.

the energy of your future baby:

angel numbers of this pile:

222 . 44 . 35 . 3

channeled things of your future baby:

legos . science . the color blue . brown hair . “mom, take care of yourself” . “daddy will love you” . “food” . “magician” . black swan by bts . time in a bottle by jim croce . “you and daddy are like my superheroes” . “i will be the older brother”

thanks for your time pile 3 <3

[proustianlesbian]

Today is the 59th anniversary of the first ever spacewalk in the history of humanity !! The cosmonaut-painter Alexei Arkhipovitch Leonov (Алексе́й Архи́пович Лео́нов) realised it on this day, the 18th of March, in 1965 !!

🎨🚀🛰️👨🏼‍🚀🌌💙

Here he is with three of my other favorite cosmonauts : Yuri Gagarin, Boris Volynov and Sigmund Jähn !!

Alexei Leonov painted since childhood, and very well, so he obviously portrayed his experience as the first man going outside in the cosmos. Here are some paintings of him that I particulary love. The first one is the one he realised while on board of the Voskhod 2 flight mission, which is the first art made in space, representing the sunrise over the Earth.

I really adore how his art makes space look so silent and almost terrifying because of its endless immensity yet manages to show its beauty because of the stars and planets and nebulas 🌌💙. I absolutely love his work on the colours, he makes the cosmos looks bright and dreamlike and so hopeful !!

Alexei Leonov was also captain during the Apollo-Soyuz mission, ten years later in July 1975.

[petrovouho]

got tagged by @komplikacije in a question game, thank youu 💜

had fun and wrote a lot so i will shorten the post hahah

do you make your bed: absolutely not and people who do.... something wrong with them, also kinda unsanitary, you should let your sheets get some air and sun to disinfect

what’s your favorite number: 8 i don’t remember all reasons but through my life it just feels like the number was always following me in some way and the main trigger was when i was 8th on an entrance exam for college and i was soooo happy because i really wanted to study architecture and it was the only college that i put on my list (kinda stupid decision now that i look back lol) but it felt like everything just clicked

current job: none

if you could go back to school, would you: i would in a sense that now that i’m older i value knowledge a lot more and i can actually understand the importance of some things that we learned in school, not that i didn’t back then, i was always a great student, but now im able to understand it on a deeper level and connect with other things i know but i don’t really have the time and energy to go through it again.. but i wouldn’t like to go back in a sense of that period of time in my life and the people in school and stuff like that

can you parallel park: i can’t drive, and i don’t think i’ll be good at it either

a job you had that would surprise people: never worked a day in my life… i did some dance gigs at festivals and promotions and those type of events but the money would not go to us but our dance studio. and when i was i child i was always trying to sell shells to tourists and one time my drawings…

do you think aliens are real: could be idk, i don’t really see the point in thinking too much about things that i don’t know a lot about or that we just can’t find out so it never makes sense to me when people who also don’t have some knowledge on space and biology, in this case, have an opinion on it. like it’s cool if you’re trying to understand something and come to the conclusion but i feel like today too many people have opinion on everything and know nothing

can you drive a manual car: no

guilty pleasure: things that i feel guilty about are not pleasurable and things that i find pleasurable i don’t feel guilty about

tattoos: they are very cool and i always thought that i’ll have a bunch but as im getting older i’m not sure anymore hahah i think i’d feel super weird if i had something on my skin permanently.. still like them a lot tho

favorite colour: purple, green and blue

favorite music genre: i guess like indie/rock/punk/rnb/jazz/reggae, not too much of anything hahah but i listen to pretty much everything

do you like puzzles: i don’t remember when was a last time i did one but i do like them

phobias: i don’t have some specific fear but lately i’ve been a bit paranoid that i will pass out when i’m in my room alone and no one will know and be able to help

favorite childhood sport: i never was a sports person but i did go to rhythmic gymnastics as a kid and then in elementary school i started jazz dance and been doing it until last two years, idk if dance counts hahah but yeah i’ve always been physically active

do you talk to yourself: i don’t really think of it as talking to myself hahah more like sometimes my thoughts just come through my mouth when i’m alone or like i will have an inner monolouge sometimes but that’s not talking to myself? i guess idk hahah it’s not like my brain is silent if i’m alone

favorite movies: i don’t really have favourite movies, i do watch movies like dirty dancing, grease, pretty in pink, the breakfast club when i need something comforting because it’s something i watched a lot when i was younger

coffee or tea: i like both but maybe tea since coffee tends to make me nervous

first thing you wanted to be when you grew up: pfff i think a painter or a teacher ohh i just remembered hahahah actually i wanted to be “an adventurer” lmao like some type of explorer that has to do with nature and history and wears that khaki shirt and cargos outfit with boots and a hat

i tag: @midnightpulses @kontra-svijeta @valovita @nismo-na-filmu-zaboga @blu27nature if they want to do it :))

[antia-calviz]

Genuine question, where did you learn to draw? I get that tons and tons of practice helps and all that but where did you learn to understand coloring and shading and lighting and anatomy and all that? Did you watch certain youtube videos? did you take a course? Did you go to art school? did you read certain books?

I adore your art, by the way. You are awesome. Have a good one.

thank u so much for your interest and for the compliment! this is gonna be a bit long but bear with me

im mostly self taught, however ive had the privilege of going to art school (animation and digital arts) + i got a full scholarship to take a masters degree in concept art and storyboard, so its really been a mixture of both. ive been lucky enough to have great teachers along the way, but the "tons of practice" is like 90% of what will make you a good artist

i think the most valuable part of art school is the people you meet / the networking. not everyone i went to school with had talent or even drive, and many talented people i work with today didnt go to art school. art skills can be learned by anyone, but it does take a lot of time and effort.

about my specific experience when learning skills like color, lighting anatomy etc :

color:

i used to be very scared/intimidated by color, but what made it more accessible were those color pallette challenges from back in the day, where people would pick a pallette and a character and you had to make it work. so, in this case limitations helped me undestand many things.

i still dont feel like i have the best grip on color theory yet, my use of color has always been very intuitive which is not the best. however having a color wheel is always handy. This one is my favorite. It even has options as to which kind of combinations you can use (Triads, Complementary colors, Adjacent, etc,). using the color wheel is a way to ensure your colors are always in harmony.

shading/ lighting:

lighting is quite the topic. i had a teacher who was a director of photography for stop motion and he mostly taught us traditional photography terminology such as this. The same terms and concepts apply to painting, so getting familiar with these can help you understand different kinds of light and what theyre commonly used for.

studying the masters is a must. throughout art history there have been artists that became legends for their specific and often disruptive use of lighting. off the top of my head, some artists that master lighting are: rembrandt, joaquin sorolla, vermeer, john singer sargent, maxfield parrish, caravaggio, etc. There are many excellent contemporary painters, if it's any help, i like to collect ref and inspiration in my insp blog.

animation color scripts can also help understand how to sythetize light in drawing AND especially to use lighting to evoke emotion.

anatomy:

there are a trillion options on studying anatomy from books, which i feel are very helpful when you need to understand how bones and muscles work. I dont have a particular rec for this, but most are accessible in bookstores/libraries and will give you a decent notion of the mechanics of the human body. same goes for animal anatomy.

anatomy is one of the fundamentals that you need to practice most. figure drawing and gesture drawing are two great ways to practice. theyre not the same thing, but complementary. figure drawing focuses on anatomy, proportion, line of action, while gesture drawing focuses of the action of a person (what they are doing, how they are doing it, and what they might be feeling while doing it).

a live sketching session with a model (preferably nude) is one of the best ways to learn, however this option is not very accesible so here are a few alternatives.

going outside and sitting at a cafe, at a park, airport, public transport or any public setting where people gather is a great way to practice. since people are always moving and shifting, this tecnique will make you focus on drawing loosely and quickly. and after a few sessions youll notice you start to focus on capturing the essence of the pose, the proportions and the general gesture of the person youre drawing. this will help you synthesize better and quicker.

another thing that works well (and is even more accessible) is sitting down with your sketchbook or tablet and sketching times poses from Line of Action, its quick and easy and even 10 - 15 minutes of practice a day will make your anatomy skills improve a lot.

A few useful books (these are animation oriented, but art fundamentals nonetheless) :

Color and Light by James Gurney

Framed Ink + Framed Ink 2 by Marcos Mateu-Mestre

Layout & Composition for Animation by Ed Ghertner

How to Draw a Character The Foolproof Method by Soizic Mouton

The Complete Color Harmony, Pantone Edition Expert Color Information for Professional Results by Leatrice Eiseman

Learn from 100 Famous Artists by 21 Draw

How to Draw drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination by Scott Robertson and Thomas Bertling

The Character Designer by 21 Draw

The illusion of life Disney animation by Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston (this one is mostly abt animation, but having an animation background can influence the way you draw, so depends on what you want)

The Silver Way Techniques, Tips, and Tutorials for Effective Character Design by Stephen Silver

100 Tuesday Tips by Griz and Norm

i have most if not all of these in pdf, if anyone's interested i could send a .zip with the files via email :)

i hope this helps!! if you have any other questions im happy to answer! happy drawing!

[vodika-vibes]

Vodikaaaaaaa my loveeeeeee ✨️

I saw those kiss prompts, and I just had to pop into your inbox for a request! There were so many good ones to choose from, but I am feeling soft, sappy, and fluffy today

Soooo, what about prompt, "a kiss against the cheek after discovering the other is napping" with Keeli 🥺

Please and thank you 💚

@the-bad-batch-baroness

Napping Kisses

Summary: You get home from a shopping trip, and have to go and hunt your boyfriend down.

Pairing: Captain Keeli x Reader

Word Count: 915

Warnings: Fluff

A/N: I've never written for Keeli before, so I hope this is okay. But more importantly, I hope this has the soft vibes you're seeking. Also, I wrote this in under an hour, so go me?

divider by saradika

When you get home from grocery shopping you’re surprised that the house is dark, and quiet. 

Generally speaking, when Keeli is here, and when he’s staying with you, and he didn’t go out with you for some reason, you’ll come home and there will be music playing, or something playing on the holo, or you’ll be able to hear him puttering around the kitchen.

His boots are still at the door…as are the more comfortable sneakers that you bought him when he started spending more time with you and less time at the barracks. Which means he hasn’t gone out. You didn’t really think so, honestly, he would have sent a message if he had gotten called in suddenly.

You walk into the kitchen and set the bags on the counter. You absently shove the perishable items where they belong, and then ignore the rest of the groceries in favor of finding your favorite person.

You start in the bedroom.

He’s not in bed, though you’d have been surprised if he was. He doesn’t like lounging in bed when you’re not there next to him. He’s also not in the shower, the door is open and his towel is in the laundry basket alongside his sleep pants from the night before.

You hum thoughtfully, grab the basket, and bring it to the laundry room. Though you just drop the basket on top of the dryer, and then continue your search.

You open the door to your craft room, and…nope. He’s not there either. Though you do see that some of his paints are out, and some of the brushes are laying out drying. 

You tap the door frame thoughtfully, your eyes scanning the room. His paints are out, and his brushes are drying, but there’s no canvas on the easel …which means he can only be outside.

You step out of the craft room and pull the door shut behind you, and then you walk through the house and pull open the door that leads to the backyard.

Keeli’s canvas is lying in the sun, drying, but you still don’t see him. You glance at the painting and a fond smile crosses your face when you see that it’s a picture of the pair of you sitting out in the garden.

Keeli really is a very talented painter, though you know that if you say that to him, he’ll just deflect with a joke. You have an entire closet filled with paintings and sketches he’s done…you’re just waiting until he says it’s alright before you hang them.

But admiring your very talented boyfriend's paintings isn’t helping you find him any faster. So you spin on you heel and you scan your garden. He’s not tending to the vegetable garden, nor the herb garden, none of the plants are tall enough to hide him from you as of yet…

You think for a moment, and then you smile. You know where he is.

You cross through your garden, and walk the short distance over to the small orchard that your grandfather planted for you when you first bought the house. 

You wander between the trees and there, near the end of a row of trees, laying in the shade under a tree, is Keeli. His arms are tucked under his head, and one of his knees is bent, and, as you approach him, you realize that he’s asleep.

A broad smile crosses your face, and you walk over to him and carefully sit on the ground next to him. You lean your head back against the tree behind you and just enjoy the quiet for a moment.

Your brave, handsome Keeli works so hard. He deserves a break.

You open your eyes and quietly lean down and press a gentle, lingering, kiss against his cheek. You’ll let him sleep, he deserves it.

You place your hands on the ground, to help yourself to your feet, but a quiet hum distracts you, “Leaving so soon, cyare?” Keeli asks, his voice thick with sleep.

You laugh quietly and settle yourself more comfortably on the ground, your hand coming up to lightly run across his head, “I didn’t mean to wake you, love.” You reply warmly.

His eyes open and he regards with a warm smile, “It’s alright. Welcome home.” Keeli’s arm snakes out and hooks around your waist, and he tugs so that you topple across his chest.

You laugh softly and adjust yourself so that you're lying more comfortably on top of him, “Mm, this is quite the welcome,” you joke easily, “Did you have a nice nap?”

“Hm…I think so. But it would have been better with you.” Keeli replies, as he cups your face.

You lean into his touch, “You’re such a sap, Keeli.” You say lovingly.

“Only for you, cyare. And my brother’s will never believe you.”

“They don’t need to know this side of you,” You agree, “I’ll be greedy and keep it all to myself.”

“Mm. Greedy over me.” Keeli says thoughtfully, “I like it. Very hot.”

“You would say that.” You reply with a sigh.

He flashes a small grin, and uses his hand to tilt your head towards his, “Love you, cyare.” He murmurs as he pulls you so your lips are hovering just over his.

“Love you more, you ridiculous man,” You answer with a grin, before you close the distance between your lips.

You have Keeli, and he has you, and nothing else matters at the moment.

[jackfrostsander]

Happy 23rd birthday to the most amazing artist on earth, Sander Driesen!!!! 🎂🍾🥂🥳🤘🏻⚡️🎨

Yesterday, when Sander got home, he was surprised to find his suitcase packed on the bed. Robbe had planned a weekend at the sea to celebrate Sander’s birthday. He has rented the chalet where they fall in love 5 years ago. Thus morning, Robbe woke up in the top bunk bed in Sander’s arms. He turned around to face his husband before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead before carefully slipping out of bed without waking Sander up. A while later Robbe returned from the bakery with the birthday cake and was relieved to see that his soulmates was still asleep. He quickly made coffee and lighted the candles on the cake before going to the bedroom to wake Sander up. He crawled back in bed and started to caress Sander’s cheek before placing a soft kiss on his lips. As Sander’s eyes opened, Robbe started to sing:

Lang zal hij leven! Lang zal hij leven in de gloria! In de gloria! In de gloria! Hieperdepiep hoera! Hieperdepiep hoera! Hieperdepiep hoera!

Sander beamed as he watched the love of his life sing happy birthday for him. Robbe didn’t like singing and always feels very insecure about doing it but he feels safe and comfortable to do it for Sander. Sander and his mum are the only two people he ever sings for (if nobody else is present). The two people he feels so safe and comfortable around. He knows neither would judge his singing skills or lack thereof.

After the singing, Robbe pampered Sander’s face in kisses before jumping out off bed "come". Sander followed his husband to the dining room where his birthday cake was waiting for him. Chocolate and strawberries, their favorite. Sander takes a deep breath and in one go blows out all the candles. Robbe pulls a strawberry partially covered in whipped cream from the cake and places it in Sander’s mouth. "Sweet like you" Sander says. Robbe doesn't answer, instead he licks a droplet of strawberry juice from Sander’s chin. "You know how to drive my crazy..." Sander moans. Robbe smirks 😏 as his hands glide under Sander’s t-shirt.

The birthday cake can wait... Our boys head back to the bedroom... And by the time they emerge again, the cake has become their brunch. Later today, our boys went to Oostende to visit the Ensor house. Ensor is a famous Flemish painter and this year marks the 75th year since his death. To celebrate his life and works, the city of Oostende has devoted the whole year to activities related to his cultural inheritance. After a visit to his former home, which now serves as a museum of his art, our boys go for a long walk on the beach. For Sander, this was a perfect birthday, his love for his husband, stronger than ever. ❤️ Gij en ik, 100% voor altijd, in elk universum! ❤️

[angelosearch]

Favorite's meme!

I've been tagged by @cynic-view-ahead and so I must!!

I am really bad at picking favorites so the addendum to all of this is that these are my favorites as of right now, all time favorites is a whole different ball game.

Favorite painter: I actually don't know many painters by name, but I do really like Jane Wilson. Her impressionist landscapes are so beautiful, atmospheric, airy, sometimes haunting. But also, I love that she is an American woman doing big landscapes because the wall-sized landscape paintings in the US have always been dominated by men and she subverts that.

Favorite poet/writer: This is such a big question but I'm just going to say Tamsyn Muir and be done with it. I love The Locked Tomb Series! If I was going to try and describe the series I would say... a murder mystery in a post-apocalyptic society involving swashbuckling Necromancer lesbians... in space.

Favorite band: Hmmm, even just narrowing this one to right now only is hard! I've been listening to The Last Dinner Party, Mother Mother, and Cavetown on repeat lately. I am seeing Cold War Kids on Wednesday and The Rocket Summer (I went SUPER HARD for this band in high school) on the 17th. ABBA and Death Cab for Cutie are on permanent rotation!!

Bonus: A fictional band that will be featured in an upcoming chapter of Chaos Theory - Wimbly Donner and the Soldiers. There's three sentences about this band in my fic and I have two pages of headcanon about them.

Favorite meal & drink: I am very mood/situation dependent on my food choices. I am not picky in the sense that there's food I won't eat, but the vibe has to right for every meal. There is only one thing I can eat under any circumstance or time of day and back-to-back and that is a huge bowl of popcorn. Specifically, popcorn stovetop-popped using canola oil and white kernels. I top it only with salt. It was the first thing I could cook for myself and the only thing I could have for dinner for a while so my brain has just adapted to crave it 24/7. I like it warm, burnt, even stale. My favorite drink to pair it with is a smooth iced Americano. That sounds weird but the bitterness of the coffee highlights the sweet and saltiness of the popcorn!

Favorite outfit aesthetic/style: My favorite outfit is my causal Squall outfit (the Squoutfit)! But my style usually consists of bright colors, sequins/shiny things (Cher-core), busy patterns, and tons of accessories. I like playing with layering and trying to make myself look taller. I am a bigger person who is not always on good terms with my body but ironically I really like wearing crop tops. I just can't expose my biceps.

Favorite singer: Today it is Xana. I am OBSESSED with the song "Better Kind of Best Friend." Normally I do not listen to songs on a constant repeat but I'm probably pushing on listening to this one 30 times in the last 12 hours.

Favorite item you own: You mean other than my copy of Final Fantasy VIII? Hmm, it's a tough one. I just got a hot dog bookmark. And someone else gave me a glasses-cleaning cloth that looks like a hot dog. And then there is my hot dog sculpture. Probably one of those perfectly normal things to own.

Favorite perfume: I don't really do perfume these days because my husband is allergic but I have this mint and cinnamon soap that I absolutely adore. When it comes to fragrances, I generally like notes of lemon balm, flowers, cedar wood, rosemary, or vanilla, but I am very picky about how these scents are presented.

Tagging people I didn't get in my other tag game this evening: @gardengalwrites @redfoxline @sevlinop @thewillroar @mathiwrites

[dreadfutures]

“Nine People you want to know better” tag game

Thank you so much for the tag @beebundt <3 it was great getting to know you a little better :3 Here are my answers, blank template under the cut. Tagging: @kiastirling | @queenaeducan | @knightdawn | @shivunin | @greypetrel | @demandthedoodles | @xochihuacoyotl | @fadedsweater | @ghostwise <3 No pressure!

Last Song: Spotify recommended a playlist of indie songs from 2010 and I gave in to the urge to reminisce... I have so many memories tied to the songs in that playlist, but this one stands out from my bus ride home today: Spanish Sahara (Foals)

Favorite Color: Proooobably maroon. It was my high school class color and we were so right for that tbh.

Last Movie/TV Show: I think it was The Boy and the Heron. It was interesting, I have some mixed feelings about it. I think it should have been two separate movies, so that its two sets of themes could have been fleshed out adequately. It was very quirky and I liked the world building/narnia-esque quality to it, and it kind of felt like a return to Spirited Away, but...it didn't have the follow-through I wanted for many things, compared to Miyazaki's earlier works. It feels almost like at this point in his career, no one is allowed to edit Miyazaki lol including himself. I do think a major theme was about retirement and being a creative and not knowing when to let go.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: In order from best to least favorite: Savory > Spicy >>>>>>> Sweet. I rarely want something sweet. My favorite snack is the Tapatio Doritos or the knock-off chili lime Takis from Trader Joes. I will always go for a savory food though.

Relationship Status: You know. A friend today said that "Men think they're competing with other men for women's attention, but really they're competing with a woman's peace." Gave me a lot to think about.

Last thing I googled: The name of a friend of my family's who was a painter. He passed away a while ago and I was wondering if I could find any of his other works. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like any of them are digital, but here are two from my childhood home. They're very large!

Current Obsession: Hollow Knight lore! I just played through the game for the first time (90% completion atm!) and it is such a unique and DEEP world to explore. Super tragic, and while it's very much a Souls game to its core (including the story), it is so, so unique. There's very little like it. So imaginative! And so many twists and turns to think about its story. (I have listened to. like. 60 hours of video essays about it at this point.)

Last Book: The last book I fully read through was Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia! I really enjoyed it.

Looking forwards to: Getting frames for more of my art! I have been so fortunate to collect so many beautiful prints & be gifted so many more, like my sisters got me a whole set of Ghibli-style TOTK/LOZ prints, and they need frames and they need to go up on my wall. Slowly! It really has helped my mental health to start putting up decor in my apartment.

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Last Song:

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Tag nine people whose answers you are interested in!