#property document layer

[bitter-bats-cult-of-the-moon]

Clair-senses & Exercises

Clairvoyance: The ability to see the not so ordinary. Your intuition speaks directly to you in the form of sight. Images form in your mind or interpret information through pictures.

Clairaudience: The ability to hear or interpret information from spirits. Clairaudience is a way of receiving intuitive messages without using your physical ears but rather hearing messages within your mind.

Clairsentiency: The ability to sense the presence or absence of spiritual beings and feel energies.

Clairempathy / Psychic Empathy: The ability to feel another’s feelings as their own. This is different from regular empathy, which is the ability to identify with another’s feelings.

Claircognizance: The ability to just know things out of nowhere. It can tie into Precognition.

Precognition: The ability to know something is going to happen before it does, premonitions.

Clairtangency: The ability to assess metaphysical properties through touch.

Clairalience: The ability to perceive metaphysical smells.

Clairgustance: The ability to perceive the metaphysical through taste.

Artistic and Divine Inspiration: The Poets have given many names to the unprompted artistic impulses found in creatives. The Norse concept for this is oðr. The Welsh and Celtic concept for this is Awen. This is the act of receiving metaphysical or divine information through artistic impulses.

Exercises to Improve Your Clairvoyance Skills

Exercise 1

Sit quietly with your eyes open.

Focus on a still object in front of you.

In your mind, take note of the objects and furniture around you.

If you see shadows, sparks, or movement, keep focused on the item in front of you.

Sit for as long as you feel comfortable.

Make notes on what you saw and felt.

Exercise 2

Sit with your eyes closed.

Clear your mind and thoughts.

Once you feel your thoughts leave you after a comfortable amount of time, focus on your eyelids and that black canvas it is.

Imagine that blank canvas and focus your intentions while keeping an open mind.

Allow whatever images that come to mind to play out. Don’t try to make sense of it.

Document findings in a journal. 

Exercises to Improve Your Clairaudience Skills

Exercise 1

Go to a place where you are most comfortable.

Close your eyes, relax your body, and let hearing be your dominant sense.

Gently tune in to sounds that you don’t normally focus on.

Really pay attention to the layers of sounds and identify what each one is.

Document your findings in a journal or record yourself.

Exercise 2

Sit with your eyes closed.

Clear your mind and thoughts.

Once you feel your thoughts leave, focus on your eyelids and that black canvas it is.

Focus on the sounds around you and slowly try to tune them out.

Imagine an old radio with a frequency dial. Turn the dial through each station.

With an open mind take notice to any sounds chiming through. It’s okay if you hear nothing. Keep moving through each station. You won’t run out of them.

Put your intentions into each turn of the dial taking note of any sound. 

Document your findings in a journal.

Exercises to Improve Your Clairsentiency Skills

Exercise 1

Get more familiar with your energies by touching how your hands, feet, eyes, etcetera feel.

Learn how the environment feels around you rather it be the city or rural areas.

Learn how animals and plants feel from one to the next. Not everything is the same. Become aware of that. Every plant has its own pattern past the base patterns. Every animal has different markings apart from the next. Identify those traits.

Once that is learnt and recognized. Learn to feel the airs around you in different regions if one is able to do so.

Exercise 2

Visit different haunted facilities observing all the key details.

Take note of the atmosphere. How does it feel?

Take note of the emotions you feel during a tour.

Take note of the temperatures surrounding you.

Take note of any odd experiences and the people with you.

Exercise 3

Meditate with a specific spirit.

Take in the surroundings before starting.

Consider your moods beforehand. Noting them down.

Focus on the intentions for communication.

How do you feel during the meditation? What about after?

Did anything in the environment change?

Did temperatures in the environment change?

Did you feel hot or cold?

Did you feel any movements outside yourself?

Document your findings.

Exercise to Improve Your Clairempathy Skills

Ask someone you know to show you a picture of somebody they know very well, but you’ve never met at all.

Look at the picture and feel into it by observing all aspects. Focus on how this person was feeling when the picture was taken.

Ask yourself what kind of person this individual is.

Share your findings with your friend.

Now, ask your friend for feedback. How correct were you? Repeat this exercise as many times as you want with different people. Remember to keep a journal for any findings.

Exercises to Improve Your Claircognizance Skills

Exercise 1

Grab a pen and pull out your notebook. Before you start writing, ask yourself a question. What guidance do I need today? How can I find a resolution with a problem? How can I be helpful today?

Then set a timer for five to twenty minutes and write whatever comes to you. Don’t edit yourself. Express yourself fully and write whatever comes to you.

The more you do this exercise, the easier it will be.

Exercise 2

Meditate before bed falling asleep to a method of relaxation.

Clear your mind during this meditation pushing away any internal thoughts.

Focus your intention on an open mind and dreams. 

If a dream begins let it play out.

Upon waking write down your findings. Keep a dream journal taking note of anything that happens later in this world.

Compare and contrast experiences in this world versus your dreams.

Exercise 3

When topics are being discussed among individuals take note of things you know but have not studied or read about or heard about from any other source.

Document any experiences keeping notes on things if any. 

[banquetwriter]

I NEED vampire Jonnie Guilbert idc if it’s smut or fluffy I just need a vampire Jonnie however you wanna write it and whenever you have the chance too take your time and thanks in advance if you do this!!!!

୨୧ bleeders part 1 ୨୧

pairing: Johnnie Guilbert ♡︎ Reader

warnings: ୭̥⋆*｡ NOT PROOF READ, general vampire stuff so talk of blood and death,

summary: ʚ after roaming your family’s old property you discover that a shadowy figure and you might have a long history ʚ

Words: idk :p

An: let’s pretend this isn’t almost 6 months old. also ik that johnnie is way more emo but he does enjoy a few classic goth things so in my head he is like a goth in the 80’s before he died lol

The rain was only picking up as the night went on. You were packing your bag up. Putting on extra layers of clothes is anything you could possibly need for a midnight stroll.

It was bad.

You knew it was bad, you just couldn't help yourself. Ever since you had started to explore your family's grounds you had a new purpose it seems. Studying during the light hours but as soon as the night came you were bundling up to go exploring.

You hadn't always lived in this house. But when you were 18 your parents tragically passed away and left you this house in your name. You weren't sure why at all. You hadn't even known it was here.

It was sorta like the house wanted to be forgotten. You weren't the type to believe in all that “spooky” stuff but you could not deny the creepy vibes of the property.

The previous caretaker was nice enough and said while the house and surrounding land were beautiful they definitely had some repairing needed. He told you that in order for the house to be livable it would need work and lots of it. He also quickly told you not to go too far at night, there were lots of creatures at night and he didn't want you to get hurt at all.

And with that, he left. You were a photographer which meant you got to work on your own time. You documented all the work you had done on the house and had skyrocketed your success online and financially. Three years later, a few days after your 21st birthday, you were finally officially done with renovating the house.

You kept the historic feel and haunted “vampire vibe”. But your curious and creative heart was bored by the house, so you took to the outside. Going out at night and choosing to shoot your pictures there.

You planned on slowly transforming the grounds too but that was going to take some time. You placed your camera in your bag and set out, locking your house. You flipped your hood up and started down the path you usually take.

Last time you had discovered what looked like a tombstone about a mile from your house. You took a deep breath in as the rain made your bones cold. You made it out to the tombstone once again. You looked down at it. You couldn't make out the name but it looked old. Like really really old. You stepped back taking a few pictures of it.

Suddenly you heard a tree branch snap from somewhere beside you. You whipped your head around frantically. The images of all the different types of creatures out here flashed through your mind. Luckily it was just a deer. How odd. You had never seen a deer out here before. But maybe whatever creature lives out here kills them before you can see them.

You pull your camera out and line up the shot. The animal slowly nibbled on some grass under a tree. You snap the photo and look down at your camera looking at the photo, and suddenly another tree branch snaps. You start spinning around further rain hitting your face.

And between the rain, fog, and trees, you could make out a figure. You freeze in place, “Is someone on out there?” you call out, your voice shaking. The shadow doesn't move at all.

You point your camera trying to see if you can catch any sort of proof. You snap a picture in the direction of the figure. Once the picture is taken you look away from the camera looking back to see that the figure is no longer there. You huff out checking your camera to see if you caught the picture.

It wasn't there… Suddenly another twig snapped. This was your cue to bolt. You pushed your camera into the bag and ran for it. Attempting not to trip and fall on every piece of shrubbery.

You finally manage to stumble into your backyard. You fumble for your keys and it drops on the ground in front of your back door. You have looking behind you not seeing anything but the pictures of horrifying creatures flash through your mind. You scramble to pick up

Your keys and unlock the door.

You slam the door shut breathing heavily. “Fuck.” you mutter clambering all your stuff onto the counter. The rest of the night you are restless. Unable to sleep, picturing the figure staining your memory.

The next morning you gingerly come downstairs staring at your camera bag. You roll your eyes choosing to make yourself some tea. However, sipping your tea made you hyperfocus on the bag. You internally groaned before checking the picture from last night.

Nothing. No figure at all. Odd. Creepy and odd. But apparently not creepy enough to scare you away. So here you were back next to the tombstone like last night. You moved further to what looked like a graveyard. Around 12 or so graves littered a small patch of very overgrown shrubs.

They were split down the middle, the right side set of graves being more dilapidated. Checking the left side there were several graves with your last name. Which would make sense but it still freaks you out. You shook your head turning the batch of graves on the right.

All the graves had different last names and dramatically different years of death. One caught your interest. It seemed to be the youngest out of the group. “Here lies Johnnie Guilbert, in sin, Born: August 28, 1960, Died: October 31, 1986.”

He was only 26. You wondered what “in sin” meant but probably nothing good. You didn't like the thought of the graves being abandoned like this, you plucked a few flowers from the surrounding areas and lined them on the graves. Adding a few more to Johnnie’s. You sighed walking back to your house.

Once it was late at night again you decided to travel back to the graves seeing if you could catch the figure again. This time you came more prepared with a flashlight.

You crouched down in the misty leaves, waiting to see it again. And sure enough, you heard a small crunching of leaves. It wasn't as loud this time but you heard it. Your eyes follow the sound and see the figure once again.

“Show yourself, please,” you shouted. The figure seems to sway for a second before standing almost still. “I-I won't hurt you. Who are you?” you called out. The figure stayed where it was. Fine then. You pointed the flashlight at it.

You did not see what you thought you would. A pale-looking guy with a gothic-looking vibe stood before you. His hair was teased, and he had makeup dripping down his face. He was in a white button-up and black pants.

“Woah,” I said breathlessly. He just sorta stood there with his hands shoved in his pockets. “What are you doing here?” I asked. “Um, I don't know,” he answered honestly.

There was something off about him. You weren't sure why but you found yourself asking one simple question. “What are you?” you asked. He sighed not knowing how to answer. “Um.” he quietly spoke. Before hesitantly lifting his finger to his mouth before pulling his lips open.

Revealing pearly white fangs. You gasp, stepping back. The bag you are holding slips and within a flash the guy is standing next to you holding your bag up for you to grab. “Oh my god,” you murmur.

“I'm a v-” he stops himself, looking over and avoiding eye contact. “Vampire. I'm a vampire,” he whispers. And you weren't sure why but you believed him. He had a trusting aura. You slowly grabbed your bag from him.

“You probably don't believe me,” he whispered looking at you. “I do,” you whispered. He looked back at you. “Here follow me,” he said, taking your hand. He wrapped his, freezing, hand around your wrists pulling you to a grave.

It was Johnnie. “Fuck.” you mutter. “I saw you putting flowers on my grave. It's what made me actually talk to you,” he said timidly. His chest rose and fell rapidly seemingly waiting for my reaction.

I had a lot of feelings. Shock. Being the first but lots of curiosity. You wanted to ask how he died, and did he drink human blood.

Suddenly the very real danger of being next to him kicked in. “Wait-” you said, stepping away from him. His eyes changed. A sad film bloomed over his eyes. “Do you-” you stopped yourself. You didn't want to be insensitive to his “kind” that drinking human blood was probably a gross exaggeration.

Even if he did drink human blood he was hot enough to get away with it.

He looked at you waiting for you to finish your sentence. You shook your head instead of finishing your probably offensive words. “Never mind,” you said, waving away the thought.

The rain continued to pour down onto the forest overhead. The water drops slipping down and hitting your head. The cold finally got to it and you let out an involuntary shiver.

“Here, let's go back to my house. It's not too far up this trail.” I said pointing towards my house. “Are you sure you want to let me in?” he asks surprised with my invite. I turn to him, and for what seems to be the thousandth time this night I feel a sense of trust wash over my body.

“Yes,” I say confidently. He nods his head waiting for me to lead the way. As we walk I hear more of a story I almost wish I didn't know. “Why is there a grave in my backyard? And why are you buried there?” I ask stepping over a log.

He takes a deep sigh. “Your family. This area… your bloodline has been here for longer than most of those graves. There isn't an easy way to put this. But your family were vampire hunters.” he said and you stopped dead in your tracks.

His eyes caught yours. This was a lot of information to take in. “Continue.” you simply said starting to walk again. “There was a group of vampires that roamed this area and finally your family and a few others decided it was time to do something about it. All those graves back there are for vampires. Stakes in the heart.” he explained.

You took a deep breath wrapping around this idea for a while. “Then why are you like walking around?” you asked timidly. Johnnie takes a deep sigh. “Well it's complicated but by the time I was turned into a vampire only your family still hunted them and I wasn't turned because I wanted to… I did some bad stuff and as a result, I had a lot of bad stuff happen,” he said vaguely.

You nodded. “Did my family take pity on you?” you asked as you saw your house on the horizon. “Basically. Your grandfather wanted me dead but your dad didn't so that's why there is a grave but I'm not dead. Again I guess.” he said.

“Is that partially my graveyard too? I saw names that have my last name.” I explained stepping onto the porch. “Yes it is,” he said slowly climbing up them.

I unlock the door and wait for him to enter, but he doesn't. The door stands open but he just sits there. “Why are you standing out there?” you asked. “A-a vampire can't just go into a house we need to be invited in by the owner,” he says before staring at the top of the door.

“Please, enter my home,” you said. He stepped in and took in the house. He had seen the outside so many times but never seen the inside. You rushed around the house stripping the wet jacket off and setting your camera down.

You looked over to see Johnnie staring into a mirror, you came back behind him to see only yourself in the mirror. He couldn't see his reflection. As you walked up behind him you saw his eyes brimmed with tears. It must be hard not to be able to look at yourself.

“L-looks like your house still has mirrors with silver in them,” he murmured. “Is that why you can't see yourself?” you ask, turning to face him. “Sorta. Any mirror with silver and I can't see myself. But there are a lot of mirrors made without that now. Right after I turned I could see my reflection in stuff but as I “age” in defiance of nature but soul continues to leave, so it's harder to see myself in lakes and stuff” he said, recalling what seemed to be a distant memory.

“Well I can see you and you look great. Very on brand for a vampire,” you whispered standing closer to him. He couldn't help but let out a weak smile at your words. “Thanks. I dressed like this even before I turned,” he said.

The rest of the night went smoothly. You found out that he had drunk off of people but he really didn't do it much only when he was really weak. While it sorta scared you also intrigued you. You fell fast asleep on the couch wrapped in a blanket. Johnnie, unable to sleep, quietly watched the tv you had put on and looked over at your sleeping form.

This was nice. He can't remember the last time he was in a nice house like this, with someone so nice. But all good things have to come to an end, and the sun will be up in a few hours.

[ryanyflags]

Flag Making Tutorial

This will be a more technical step-by-step tutorial on how I make my flags (also a long post because I wanted to be thorough, plus I love flags lol).

The program I use is Inkscape, a free vector (.svg) editor program for pc.

I have templates set up, so the actual flag making process is pretty easy/quick.

Hotkeys/Locations/Other Reference

I'll be mentioning these options, so I thought to put them here all in one list. (They list the keyboard shortcuts first)

Snapping: magnet symbol (top right of screen), or under the adjacent arrow ◀️ symbol.

Document properties: shift+ctrl+D, or under the file menu (top left corner of screen). Display (1st tab) Guides (2nd tab) Grids (3rd tab)

Fill and Stroke: shift+ctrl+F, or under object (top of screen).

Layers and Objects: ctrl+shift+L, or under object (top of screen).

Align and Distribute: ctrl+shift+A, or under object (top of screen).

Import (Images): ctrl+i, under the file menu, or by dragging into the Inkscape window.

Save As: ctrl+shift+S, or under the file menu.

Export: shift+ctrl+E, or under the file menu.

Selector Tool: S, or cursor symbol (left side of screen). Click, or click and drag around the objects, to select them.

Locking a selection: lock symbol between the width and height boxes at the top of the screen.

Transform Selections: the width/height and x y position can be changed by typing in the X,Y,W,H boxes (near top middle of screen), or by dragging the corners/edges (resize) and inside the object (move).

Duplicate: ctrl+D.

Delete: delete key, or right click on the object.

Node Tool: N, or below the selector tool (left side of screen).

Rectangle Tool: R, or square symbol (left side of screen).

Pen Tool: B, or pen symbol (left side of screen).

Gradient Tool: G, gradient square symbol (left side of screen).

Mesh Tool: swirly square symbol (left side of screen).

Dropper Tool: D, or dropper symbol (left side of screen).

Undo: ctrl+Z.

Redo: ctrl+Y.

Creating the Template

Download Inkscape and open it, under the Time to Draw tab, click New Document.

First, snapping needs to be enabled, and under advanced mode enable grids and guide lines snapping. (This is crucial for making the stripes equally sized, spaced, and the overall flag in the right ratio.)

I'll be making a template with a 2:3 flag ratio.

Open document properties. (I like to move these types of windows to the right side.)

Under display, set the width to 42px and height to 28px.

Under guides, just click create guides around the current page.

Under grids, make sure rectangular grid is selected, and click new. (Grid units should be in px.) For the major grid line every option, change it to 2. (I also prefer to change the minor grid line color to be transparent.)

That's pretty much it, your template is done :D ! Just save it wherever you want. I like putting it in an easy-to-access flag folder, as it is needed to open it every time to make new flags.

You can use a different width / height / grid size / flag ratio if you want, these are just the numbers I'm comfortable with / used to.

Also, since this is a vector, the image can be infinitely big or small without any quality loss, so the small dimensions above don't actually translate to a low res image.

Creating the Flag

(I'll be using the rainbow flag to demonstrate.)

Start by having the template open.

You can import images (like .png/.jpg files) to color pick / reference if you want. Said images can be transformed (resized/moved) by selecting and transforming them using the options mentioned in reference. (This is optional, they should just be off to the side so they don't get in the way.)

To create the stripes, use the rectangle tool. Click and drag from one grid corner, to a lower grid corner.

While the rectangle is selected, use the dropper tool to pick a color from a imported image. You can also use the fill and stroke (shown on right) tab to create your own colors / edit colors / etc.

You can make these stripes however you want, they just need to all be equally sized. (They don't have to all have the same height, if you intentionally want that (like the demisexual flag for example).)

Then select all the stripes and transform them so that they fit the page.

All that's left is to save/export it.

To export it, use the export tab, under single file, page, adjust the width and height (in px) to however high res you want your image to be. (I usually do 3000 by 2000.)

Type in the desired file name in the box next to the folder symbol, use the folder symbol to choose its export location (which can also be used to determine the file name and save/export it), the adjacent drop-down-menu to select what to save it as (,png, .jpg, .svg, etc.), and the gear symbol to adjust other settings (I leave it as default, with antialias turned off (set to 0)).

And done, you've made a flag :D 🏳️‍🌈

Extra Notes

Layers and Objects: a menu that can be used to manage objects. Like their layering position (whether they are above or below another object), and other options can also be done here instead of with keyboard shortcuts.

Vertically striped flags: it's very similar to above. You would just make the rectangles taller rather than wider.

Wavy stripes: first use the pen tool to create zigzags. (The pen tool works like a outline, so just click along the grid corners, and join the line at the end. The fill and stroke menu can be used to make it a solid colored shape, and remove/add outlines). The steepness/frequency of the zigzags is up to personal preference, they just need to extend off the page a bit. To create equally sized wavy stripes, have the all side lengths (highlighted in red) be equal except (depending on how you draw your zigzags) the first or last wave, which should have half the side length of the others.

Select everything, and with the node tool, select all the zigzag nodes (the corners don't need to be selected), and click make selected nodes smooth (half circle with point in middle symbol, at top of screen). (It'll likely look like it has weird lines in-between the waves, see glitch section at the end for how to fix that.)

Then resize it all to the height of the canvas. And done :)

This can of course be vertical too.

Gradients: You can use the fill and stroke dialogue, gradient tool, or mesh tool to do this.

To create the gradient, select the object, click the linear gradient symbol (gradient box) under fill and stroke. Or dragging / double clicking with the gradient/mesh tools. (The mesh tool is what I used to create the square gradient.)

To change the colors, click on the arrows or circles under fill and stroke, or by clicking the points on the shape, to select the nodes. Then use fill and stroke to change the colors.

To create new colors/stops, click on the plus+ symbol under stops (under fill and stroke), or double click on the gradient. Edit the new colors in fill and stroke again.

To change the location of stops, use stop offset under fill and stroke, or drag the nodes on the gradient. You can also move the end points on the object to make the gradient slanted or vertical.

Symbols: I make my own when I can (like the demi- triangle can be drawn with the pen tool, and resized to the correct proportions). When the symbol is too complicated, I import a .svg of it. Wikimedia commons is a great resource, and the popular twemoji comes in .svg format too. You could also edit it on over the .png in a rastor program if need be.

The align and distribute tab can be used to center symbols (or any other selected object). Select page for the relative to option, and use the symbols underneath to center/align it however you want. (You can also use different relative to options, like last selected, if you want to align it to an object instead.)

Deleting imported reference images: you can do this before saving it as a .svg, if you don't want to keep them / want to clean up the .svg file.

Antialiasing: an option that blurs things basically. A image with antialiasing off will be sharp pixels, while a image with antialiasing on will have transition colors between the main colors.

Below is an example. The left side is without antialiasing, and the right side is with antialiasing.

I can see why it might be preferable to have it on (like for diagonal shapes), but antialiasing can make recoloring .png (not .svg) files hard. The extra different colors messes with fill tools. I also think it looks cleaner without, so I prefer it off.

Exporting glitch: sometimes an exported image will have a thin line between the stripes, despite the fact the stripes are perfectly next to each other. (This seems to not just be a problem with Inkscape, but with vectors in general.)

Below is a zoomed in example of what it'd look like. The left side shows the stripes are all next to each other, but the right image has a transparent line in-between the stripes.

This can be fixed a number of ways.

You could select all the objects, and duplicate them twice.

Or overlap them. The stripes will still be the same size when overlapped, but they will technically be behind each other, so there will be no gap.

With all the different stuff mentioned, you can basically think of them as building blocks with the grid as reference. They can all be mixed and matched together.

I didn't mention all the options, just because there's that many different things you can do in Inkscape. I'd encourage you to play around with all the different options/tools yourself.

There's also some great Inkscape guides on YouTube, it's where I learned how to do a lot of this from (even if they're not for flags specifically, the concepts in those videos can be applied to flags).

Here's an overly elaborate flag I made, just to demonstrate some (but not all) of the things that can be done.

Anyways what a long post haha. But maybe this will be helpful for anyone interested in making (pride) flags.

[xiaolanhua]

your icons are soooooo so cute honestly!!! i wanted to ask if there's any way you can make a tutorial on how to make them? of course if you want, if you don't want to, that's okay :)

Hi! I really appreciate that you like my icons, thank you so much! 💖💖💖🥹

It's been a long time since I've done a tutorial so I hope I can explain it well haha

So I will explain how i go from the original picture and the final icon below:

I'm using Adobe Photoshop 2024 but you can use other versions too!

First, I create a 250x250px document and apply a random color fill layer to be the background color of the icon, you can do it by going on Layer > New Layer Fill > Solid color (the color in this moment doesn't matter because I change them later according to the picture I choose to edit).

Then I place the picture I want, adjust the size to make the subject on the center and apply some smart sharpen:

I apply some adjustments to try to color correct if the original picture using Levels, Selective Color and Color Balance to get something like this:

If you want to know the exact adjustments settings I used on this picture you can download the psd here.

To remove the background, I do the hack where I go to the Properties panel (Window > Properties) and click on the "Remove background" option. It's not always that I will get a perfect result but I think it makes easier for me to adjust the little details such as hair and accessories, etc. And I do that using the Lasso tool (shortcut L).

Now, with the background removed I pick a color that I think will match the icon in the Color Fill layer that I created before. To make the background more "fun" I like to add a Gradient Fill layer (Layer > New Layer Fill > Gradient) with a color that might go well with the one I picked earlier to make a smooth and light gradient.

My result until now:

Now it comes the fun: adding textures! I like to add some textures to make the icon more lively and I usually download them on deviantart or on resources websites. You can download some cool textures here, here and here. On this part I really test a lot of textures with different Layer blending. There are a lot of different blending options so you can try as much as you want.

Other thing I like to do is add a clipping mask above the subject layer when I want to color something specific in my picture such as the hair, the clothes or even applying some "fake" blush on the cheeks. I do this adding a new layer, then using the shortcut option (or alt) + command (or ctrl) + g to make it a clipping mask and then using the Brush layer to color what I want. For the blending mode I usually use Soft Light and sometimes Color if I want the color to really stand out.

And in the end I will have something like this:

And my layer tab will be like this:

For using on the dashboard I usually resize it to 100x100 to make it look more sharper and defined but it's really a choice, you can already start making your icon using the size you want, I just prefer doing on 250x250px because i'm used to.

To save it I use the shortcut shift + option (alt) + command (ctrl) + s to save it for web with these settings:

And that's it! Sorry for not going to deep in each step but I guess you can get the feeling when you try making your own icons! Is really about trying different methods and things until you became satisfied with your result.

[dqmeron]

here's my quick tutorial for making layouts in photoshop! i'll be going over how to make this 4-panel square one! ↳ requires basic knowledge of photoshop

「 step 1: making your file 」 make a new file, 540 x whatever height you want (just make sure it fits within tumblr’s image size guidelines), and make sure the background is set to transparent. for this specific layout, i want the overall shape to be square, so my dimensions are 540x540!

「 step 2: mapping out 」 the best way to make sure your layouts are even and spaced equally is using guides! go to view > guides > new guide layout. the color of your guides doesn’t matter at all (i just like green so mine are green lol), and you can have as many columns and rows as you want. since this is going to be a 2x2 layout, i’ll have 2 columns and 2 rows. the general rule of thumb for gutter is 4px. 

once your guides pop up, select the rectangle tool by pressing U on your keyboard. make sure shape is selected from the drop-down menu at the top (right by the home button in the top left), and make sure that you have snapping on (view > snap). 

using the rectangle tool, trace out your layout panels! as long as you have snapping on, your path should naturally snap to the guidelines, making it a LOT easier to do this! when you’re done making your rectangles, you can turn off guides by going to view > guides > clear guides (i usually keep them on until i’m done adding in my gifs but this is up to you). i always name each shape layer after where it is in the grid to not get confused.

「 step 3: adding gifs 」 some quick things before i go over actually adding in your gifs: 1. make each of your gifs in their own individual files. you’ll be adding them into the main one later.  2. your gifs have to be the same length — you can cut them down to length in their own individual files or later in the main one. either way is fine, totally up to you!

now you have your layout set up, you can make and add your gifs! in order to make sure that they fit into the panels, check the dimensions of each shape you’ve created by selecting the layer and looking in the properties tab. my panels are each 268x268.

i’ll actually be making each of my gifs 270x270, just to make sure that i don’t have any weird gaps or anything (i’ll talk about how i’ll be getting rid of the 2 extra pixels on each side later).

once you have your gifs done, you can duplicate them into the main one. convert your gif and anything else (coloring etc) into a smart object (right click > convert to smart object), and then right click it and select “duplicate layer”. make sure the document you’re duplicating to is the one with your layout in it. 

layers automatically duplicate aligned into the top left corner. since this is where my first panel is, i can just leave my gif there, but for the other ones, drag your gifs into place using transform and your mouse (once again making sure that snapping is on). 

now to get rid of those extra pixels. this step also makes sure your gif is perfectly in line with the shape you’ve outlined the layout with. make sure your gif is right above the shape layer in the layers tab, and then right click and select “create clipping mask”. this makes sure your gif doesn’t go outside the limits of your guidelines. this is what it should look like in the layers tab:

「 step 4: exporting 」 exporting a layout gif is pretty much like exporting any other gif, but you do need to check your matte settings before saving. the wrong ones can make what should be the transparent dividers solid, which can throw off the look of your gifs. make sure matte is set to “none”, and then save as normal!

here's my finished gif:

happy giffing! feel free to send me an ask/message me w any questions!

[hanahaki-disease]

Driven by a Holy Force

Hell or High Water - Percy Jackson/DC crossover

Summary:

“Percy took a deep breath. This was it. No going back now. He can’t manipulate the mist to change their minds, he can’t make them forget—this was the real deal.”

This is it!! The reveal!!

*********************************************

You: Come to the cave 2:26 am

You: Important meeting 2:26 am

Edge Lord: no 2:29 am

Edge Lord: why 2:29 am

You: it’s important 2:31 am

You: please 2:32 am

Edge Lord: fine 2:35 am

Percy slid his phone back into his pocket, hoping the signal didn’t alert any monsters nearby. He doubts they’d be able to find him though. At the speed they were going, as well as all the unnecessary turns and short cuts Bruce was making, he’d be surprised if any monster in general was able to follow. Hell hounds were fast, and their noses were just as good as a normal dog, but the overwhelming scent of mortal that encompassed Gotham helped hide Percy’s demigod scent well. It was one of the main reasons he didn’t get attacked so much, which he was so thankful for.

He told Bruce that he was going to tell him about his father, but he also was going to tell everyone everything because both his father and his life go hand in hand. Percy can’t tell Bruce about his father without telling him about the war, and he can’t tell him about the war without telling him about the prophecy. And because him and Jason have the same father, then he has to explain why Jason died. Everything had layers, it was all connected in a complicated mess that would be easier to explain all at once with everyone there.

Which means having Jason, Bruce, and Dick in the same room for a minimum of at least thirty minuets while he talks. Gods, he hopes no one starts shit.

“Who were you texting?” Bruce asks. They were on one of the back roads that led to one of the cave entrances, dark forest brush and canopies covering the road. How Bruce can see through it, even with his mega-bright headlights, Percy will never understand.

“Jason,” Percy answered, “If I’m going to talk about my father, Jason should be there too. And, I also asked for everyone else to be there too.”

“Why?” Bruce activated the entrance to open, revealing the tunnel that led to the cave.

He paused for a moment, watching the wall lights of the tunnel flash by before it opened into the cave proper. His domino was still in his hands, the glue that kept it secure was drying a cracking on his face and he wanted to scratch and peel it off. “I wanna tell you guys about some stuff other than my father, and I don’t wanna repeat myself five more times than I have to.”

Bruce nodded his head as he parked, their presence catching the attention of the others waiting for them. Stephanie and Tim had just returned from their own patrols, it seemed. All their gear was still attached to them, and they were still wearing their uniforms as well. Their hair a mess of knots and frizz from the wind, various bruises and scraps littered Tim’s arms and Steph was limping as she hobbled to the dressing rooms to change.

Cassandra and Dick were pouring over a case at the meeting table. There were a couple folders open, the documents inside spread out along one end of the surface while a cardboard box filled with other folders took residence on a nearby chair. Both of them wore comfortable civvies, sweatpants and t-shirts (with a ‘borrowed’ hoodie Cass ‘acquired’ from Percy’s closet,) and their dominoes to hide their identities. Because even though they weren’t scheduled for patrol, they still had to follow the ‘masks while in the cave’ rule. (But Percy and Alfred did not follow it since they didn’t leave the property anyways.)

“Woah, where did you go dressed like that?” Dick had done a double take when they pulled up, catching the other’s attention. They all had various levels of surprise, save for Alfred, at the sight of Percy in an all-black version of Tim’s Robin suit. To them, the idea of Percy being like them was a far-fetched and impossible thought. He had always been adamant about not joining them and preferring to stay in the cave, deciding to being Alfred’s assistant when patching them up.

“Needed some fresh air,” he said, taking one of the seats at the table.

Tim slid into one of the chairs beside him, mask removed and cape-less, and in a hushed voice, he asked “Are you?” Percy nodded. “You sure? Won’t you get in trouble?”

“I have to, Tim,” Percy said. “You know what’s coming and I can’t leave in the dark if something happens.”

“Is Jason…?”

“I asked him to come, and it sounded like he was, but everyone’s here,” Percy sighed, “So, I dunno. I hope he does, I don’t wanna repeat myself more than I have to.”

Tim nodded his head, undoing the bracers on his arms. “Okay, well, if you need me to tap in, I can, alright? Imma go change before you start.”

Percy twirled his pen in his hand as he waited for everyone to get situated. For them to shed the armor they wore and to give Jason a chance to arrive before he began. But Percy knows that his brother would rather stay as far away from Bruce as he could, their estranged relationship already on thin ice for reasons Percy didn’t want to know. He probably should know, but he decided to keep Bruce and his brother’s problems to themselves.

Slowly, the others began to fall in, sitting themselves into their unassigned assigned seats. Bruce at the head of the table with Dick and Cassandra on either side of him. Stephanie sat next to Cass, her leg propped up on the empty chair with an ice pack resting on her ankle. Percy was sitting at the opposite head with Tim next to him on his right, watching as Percy twirled riptide in his hands.

Percy took a deep breath. This was it. No going back now. He can’t manipulate the mist to change their minds, he can’t make them forget—this was the real deal.

The flash of a headlight against the cave wall caught their attention before the roar of the motor hit their ears. It startled the bats above them and Percy swore the ground rumbled as well, but maybe he did that by accident. He’s done that before at camp, in the restrooms and in the big house kitchen.

The group all seemed to tense at Jason’s arrival, his recent switch to anti-heroism instead of drug lord did little to calm the other’s nerves. They were glad that Jason was more amenable to working with them after he and Bruce warred it out for a bit. He lingered at the edges of his part of town and didn’t turn the others away immediately, so that was a step in the right direction. Though his status as a crime lord didn’t really bother Dick, Cass, or Percy. They still waltzed into that side of town like they owned it alongside the second Wayne son.

Jason did not want to be here but will endure for Percy.

Heavy boots marched up to the table and a loud scrape of the chair closest to Percy rang in the cave. It seemed like he, too, had just gotten off of his own patrol. He tossed his helmet on the table, echoing in the silence that had fallen on them when Jason arrived. But Jason didn’t pay any attention to Bruce or Dick, their stares boring hole into his back as Jason made his chair face Percy. “Alright. I’m here, what was so important that I had to abandon my after-patrol tacos?”

Percy sat straighter in his chair. “Okay, okay,” he ran his hand over his face, pushing back his fringe, “Okay, so, you know the stories and legends of the Greek gods, right? The deities the ancient Greeks worshiped to explain natural phenomenon and all that. And…you know how the gods in the stories came down to earth and had kids? Heracles, Achilles, Theseus. Well, the gods are real. They are real and they’re still having kids, they’ve never stopped, not really, and I…”

Percy looked at Jason. At his older brother whose mother was the same as his, whose father sired two powerful children.

“My biological father—Jason and I’s biological father—is Poseidon, god of the sea.” They sat there quiet, uncomfortably so, staring at Percy as if he was spewing nonsense. But Percy could tell that Cass believed him. She could tell by the heaviness on his shoulders as he spoke, the tiredness that rolled off him in small waves. Percy also knows that Jason knows he wasn’t lying, some kind of inherit knowledge and acceptance that he was also the son of a god. “And every summer, with the exception of this past Christmas, I have been going to a camp that is designed for demigods to train and learn how to survive.”

“When I was twelve, I didn’t get kidnapped—” This caught Bruce and Dick’s attention. “I had become a fugitive of the state because I was given a quest to find and retrieve the king of the gods’ missing lightning bolt to prevent a war between him and my father. I left the summer after that because I had to find the Golden fleece to save the magic border that was keeping the camp safe after it had been poisoned.

“Last Christmas, I had to rescue two demigods and find the goddess of the hunt who had gone missing while also putting Atlas back in his prison,” Percy kept going, waiting for their reaction when he finished. “This past summer, the summer that Jason came back, I was on a quest with one of my best friends in the Labyrinth to stop Kronos’s forces and to find the lost god of the wild.”

“Percy, wha—” Dick tried but there was no stopping Percy now that he started.

“And, should I have told you all this years ago? Yes, I probably should have considering how close I’ve gotten to dying in the past three years, but,” that left the room feeling heavier than it should, “Next year—on my sixteenth birthday, there is a prophecy that a child of the eldest gods will be the deciding factor of whether Olympus will survive the war against Kronos. I-…I am the prophecy child, and there is a chance that I might…not survive.”

Percy’s voice was near a whisper towards the end, a little shaky as wobbly as he spoke to keep the tears at bay. He doesn’t know why he was acting like this. Percy had come to terms with the fact that he was the child of the prophecy almost a year ago on Olympus when Thalia swore herself to the hunt. He knew that it was up to him, that he would be the one to lead the camp, assemble their meager forces, and train child soldiers against a titan in a year.

He accepted his fate, so why was he close to tears telling his family?

“The fuck to you mean ‘might not survive?’ What do you mean that our father is Poseidon?” Jason was the first to speak, leaning forwards on to the table. “You can’t be serious.”

“You asked me where I had gotten my white streak from, remember? And I told you it was ‘a long story?’” Percy looked at his brother. “I held up the sky for twenty minutes, I kept the sky from falling onto earth and destroying it, and it was the heaviest thing in the entire world. Stephanie once asked where I gotten this scar on my thumb was, I had gotten stung by a scorpion from the pits for Tartarus, whose venom can kill in sixty seconds. This scar on my stomach is from I fought the minotaur on my way to camp for the first time, I have one on my leg from where I got stung by the Chimera. This one if from a pack of hell hounds, this is from some empusai last summer—”

Percy lifted his shirt, exposing the burn scars that ran across his back and his left arm. It was nasty looking, but healed without any lasting damage. Though sometimes in the summer when the days are scorching hot, it felt like his back was on fire once again. Burning from the incomprehensively hot steam that erupted from the volcano. “This is from when St Helens blew up—when I blew up St Helens. If I was lying, Jason,” he looked at his brother a little coldly, offended that he was making this all up when he was marred by the ‘glory’ he had earned. “Then why do I have the scars to prove it.”

“Percy,” Bruce called his name. “What war?”

He sat down in his chair again, “For the past few years, the titan lord Kronos has been rising. He’s growing an army of monsters, minor gods, and other demigods to overthrow Olympus and set everything back to the stone age.”

“Why haven’t we heard anything about this?” Dick asked him. “Why haven’t you told us about this sooner, we could’ve helped.”

“We can’t help,” Tim answered. “Trust me, I’ve tried, but we can’t. We aren’t like Percy or Jason, we can’t see past the mist, we can’t enter camp, were just mortals.”

“You knew! How long have you known?” Stephanie pointed at Tim, who nodded unapologetically, “I’ve known for a year, since Percy came back last Christmas. But I’ve tried everything to see past the mist but I can’t.”

“Mist? What mist?” Cassandra looked to him.

Percy popped open riptide, the bronze sword expanding and folding over itself till it reached it’s full size. He saw Jason’s eyes widen at the sight. Standing in alarm when the Riptides’ point nearly poked him. What the fuck, he mouthed. “The mist is the magical veil that hides and protects the mortals from the mythological mess that is my life. To you, and Tim can confirm, this looks like a bat. A classic, wooden baseball bat—”

“What fuckin’ bat? That’s a goddamn sword!” Jason exclaimed. “Wait, you can’t see it? What the fuck, why can I see it?”

“Because you’re also a son of Poseidon, you’re a demigod like me,” Percy said.

“So why didn’t I go to that camp if I was like you? Why didn’t I train to fight monsters ‘n shit?”

“You weren’t meant to.”

Whatever Jason was feeling stopped, his whole body stopped, as if Percy had just pushed pause on the remote. “What?”

“The fates made it so you didn’t go, it-…your, y’know, was the price father paid.” Percy said, his head resting on his wrist as he said it. Tears once again welling up in his eyes. “Me getting the prophecy was the price father paid for breaking the oath, twice. We aren’t supposed to exist and this is the consequence.”

When Percy looked at Jason again, all the color drained from his face. His words a revelation that shook Jason’s whole worldview to its core. Eyes blown wide, hands in his hair pulling at the roots, as whatever thoughts he was having took over. “Jay,” Someone called but Percy was more worried at the sight of his brother, crumbling apart after realizing not only was his death was intentional but the gods themselves made it happen.

He stumbled backwards, his balance swaying for a second before Jason made eye contact with Percy. And there was a kind of betrayal that Percy could see in his brother’s eyes, the kind that ran hand-in-hand with jealousy. Percy remembers seeing it on the faces of other kids in camp when they learn that Percy has had more contact with their parent than they did, when the gods chose him over their own children.

Jason stumbled his way towards him back, ignoring the concerned calls from Dick and Cassandra. And in a few seconds Jason was speeding away, his helmet still facing Percy on the table.

He wanted to chase after Jason, to tell him everything their father told him this morning. That Poseidon does care for him, that he wanted to step in and save him. But Percy knows that telling him would only make it worse, that telling him that not only does Percy know who they were and who their father was, but that said father preferred Percy over him. That Percy was the child he was willing to speak with (even though that was far from the truth.)

“How do we stop Kronos?” Bruce finally asked, pulling off the cowl, and Percy could see the restrain that kept him rooted to his seat. Bruce wanted to go after Jason too, but he couldn’t, he had to focus on one thing at a time. Batman can multitask and can do many things all at once. But he wasn’t Batman right now. His words might’ve been the bat’s, but the unmasked, worried and pained look he held was his dad’s. It that of a father worried about sending his son, potentially sons head first into a war. One he didn’t even know existed till it might’ve been too late.

“If I knew how, I would tell you, but you guys can’t be a part of this.” Percy tore his eyes away from Jason’s retreating form. “I have already explained this to Tim, but this is a war you can’t fight. The monsters that are a part of that army, as well as the weapons and places they reside, are hidden from mortal minds.”

“So what, we just sit on the sidelines while you go and become a martyr? I’m not letting you do that, Percy,” Dick said.

“You can’t—help—Dick, none of you can, point blank. That’s final.” Percy spoke with a finality of a general. “I’m not telling you guys this to make you feel helpless or to give me pity or any dumb bullshit like that, I’m telling you so that if something happens next year, you won’t be caught off guard. So that if the news around New York is all fucked up, or if aunt Diana disappears for a bit, you’ll know why.”

“Diana knows?” Stephanie asked.

“She’s a daughter of Zeus, technically my cousin,” Percy says. “But the point is: I didn’t want to hide this from you guys anymore. I wanted to keep you guys out of this for as long as I could because monsters follow me everywhere, I’m not safe anywhere but camp, and I don’t know what I’d do with myself if you guys got hurt because of something from my world.”

“We can defend ourselves, we’re not helpless,” Cassandra protested.

“I know that, but you don’t—you can’t even comprehend all that I’m going up against.” He capped Riptide and in a blink it was back into a pen. “Just, please, trust me. I know what I’m doing and I don’t want you guys in anymore of a risk than you already are, but—” Percy looked at Bruce. “If I need help, be that mortal evac or medics for the wounded or even for collateral clean up, would you come?”

“Of course,” Dick answered for Bruce who seemed to be staring a hole into the table in front of him.

Alfred (where had he been this whole time?) cleared his throat and handed Stephanie a pair of crutches, who grumbled and groaned as she stood up from the chair. “I believe that is all we’ll be able to handle for today as it is getting late, even for you all. Now, all of you, upstairs, time to rest and we’ll further discuss this in the morning.”

One by one they left the cave, Tim hesitant to leave Percy’s side, especially after revealing everything, but Alfred’s pointed stare from the elevators made his feet move of their own accord. By the time the commotion died down again, only Percy and Bruce were left at the table. They faced each other, but neither’s gaze meet the other and neither of them spoke for a bit. He had hands clasped together and help up to his mouth. He did that when he was deep in thought, when he was trying to plan a head to keep them all safe.

Percy knows about the contingencies he was in place for the Justice League and all its members. Knows how to take them down and has access to the lead vault that held their collection of kryptonite for when Superman decided to try and become God. There were even plans on how to take each member of their family down, what steps that needed to be followed and who to get to help. And Percy knows he wasn’t special, he wasn’t excluded from those plans either, but he knows that they were made with the mental image of a regular human Percy. Of the kid who didn’t have powers and only bat-level training.

Now he was a threat, or, an even bigger one than before. Percy had the blood of a god running through his veins and that meant that he was far stronger that most of his family. He could blow up a mountain, summon hurricanes, move the earth. Percy could lift the cave water and manipulate it to his will whenever he wanted. He was a threat level Bruce had never encountered before and now…now he was scared to know how far he’d go to subdue Percy.

He glanced up when Bruce stood from his chair. It was hard to decipher what it was Bruce was thinking, the furrowed eyebrows and hardened stare was that same one he wore all the time. And while Percy was pretty good in understanding the man’s various looks and grunts, he didn’t know how to react when Bruce sat down in the chair Jason had once been in.

“I won’t lie,” Bruce said. “I do not like you leading a war, nor do I like that you kept a threat like this a secret for this long.” Percy deflated under his words. “And I understand that this was not your choice and you have to do whatever you need to do to stop them, but I need to know why it chose you of all the other demigods? Were there no one else this could have been given to?”

Percy shook his head. “At the same time a prophecy was given, the big three swore an oath on the Styx to not have any more kids. Mostly because of how powerful they were, it was why World War 2 happened after all.” He fidgeted with his fingers. “But Zeus and Poseidon didn’t keep to their promise, and because the Styx can’t punish gods, their kids took the penalty.”

Bruce had an arm resting on the table, his hand covering his mouth as he absorbed the information. “Jason was the first, and the oath influenced the events that took his life. Thalia was after him, a daughter of Zeus, and she died right before she entered the camp to save one of my friends and my enemy, but we didn’t know that he’d betray us all at the time.”

“So then by default, you were tasked with the prophecy?” Percy nodded.

“There are two other children of the big three,” He said. “Both children of Hades, but the older of the two died on a quest last Christmas and the other is barely eleven. I don’t want this to fall on him, he’s too little and he’s already been through so much.”

“I can’t lose you, son” Bruce stood and pulled Percy up to stand before him. “I’ve already lost your brother and I am grateful he was able to make it back home, despite all the hiccups that happened to get him here.”

He hadn’t noticed how tall he was in comparison to Bruce now, his dad always seemed to tower over him like used to when he was a kid, but there wasn’t much of a difference between them. A few inches separated them from seeing eye to eye and Percy didn’t want the day to come where they were the same height to come. He still wanted to be able to bury his face into his dad’s chest when he hugged him, he be able to be picked up and carried like a child, to be told that everything was going to be okay.

And while now, Percy could rest his chin on Bruce’s shoulders when they hugged, the arms around him were still warm and strong like they always had been. “Just…be careful,” Bruce held him tight.

“I’ll try, but I can’t promise that.”

“I know,” he said, brushing down the hairs at the back of his head. “Of all people, I know.”

*********************************************

I had to write this, like, twice because the first draft didn’t fit right in the flow of the story anymore.

The only qualm I have with this is Percy’s rant about his injuries, idk it both does and doesn’t feel like something he would do. Like he’d do it to prove that what he’s gone through exists but he hates talking about himself 🤷‍♀️

Hope you liked it!!!

Previous | Masterlist | Next

[doumadono]

I don’t know if this counts as an emergency request, feel free if to ignore/delete this if it isn’t or if you don’t want to write it

but I’m just so angry right now that I feel like crying.

my mom passed away last march and her best friend is managing her trust. My or my siblings can’t since we’re all underage. She’s been selling and giving away things that belonged to my mom without even consulting us first. She first sold the house she’d been living in for the past 8 yrs (my parents are divorced so we’ve been living with my dad) that we were wanting to buy. She tried selling my mom’s antique Barbie collection that is INCREDIBLY sentimental to us. And she might be trying to sell her freaking wedding dress and ring. (I’m sorry if this is ranting, I’m trying not to)

could I request a Kirishima or Giyuu x reader who would be going through similar things? Just basically a bunch of angry tears

(Again, please ignore this if you do not want to do this.)

A/N: I'm so angry to hear about the difficult situation you're facing. Losing a loved one is challenging, and dealing with the management of their belongings adds another layer of complexity. It's completely understandable that you're upset and frustrated. In such cases, it might be helpful to seek legal advice. Given your age, you might want to consult with a guardian or someone you trust to explore options for managing your mom's trust more responsibly. Documenting your sentimental attachment to specific items could also be beneficial. If you need a listening ear, don't hesitate to message me. I trust that these small headcanons will manage to elicit the slightest hint of a smile on your face

EMERGENCY REQS MASTERLIST

Kirishima

Kirishima would be the epitome of emotional support. He might not fully understand the intricacies of your situation, but his empathy shines through.

Kirishima's anger isn't just about the items; it's about protecting your feelings and memories. He firmly believes in standing up for what's right, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. "Your mom's stuff means a lot to you, right? I can't stand the thought of someone messing with that."

He suggests a proactive approach, perhaps talking to the trust manager, explaining your emotions, and trying to find a compromise.

Kirishima would spend time with you, engaging in activities that could help ease your mind – maybe a training session or a casual outing.

Kirishima would certainly surprise you with a small gift – a custom-made keychain representing your mom's hobbies or a necklace with a pendant with her picture inside. "I thought this could be a little reminder of the good times. Whenever you look at it, you'll remember her smile."

The setting sun cast a warm glow over the city as you sat with Kirishima on a quiet rooftop. The distant sound of traffic filled the air, but for now, it was just the two of you. Kirishima, sensing your distress, suggested spending some time away from the chaos.

The gentle breeze rustled Kirishima's spiky hair as he spoke, "I get it, you know? Losing something important... it sucks. When my aunt got laid off, we had to sell a lot of stuff. I remember feeling so powerless. But your situation, it's awful. It's so fucking unfair."

He glanced at you, his red eyes softened with empathy. "But we're not powerless now. We can do whatever it takes. We ca meet her and tell her how much these things mean to you. We can contact the authorities to accuse her of adverse management of property. There must be something we can do. Whatever you decide, I'm with you."

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Kirishima handed you a small, carefully wrapped package. "I thought this might help. A little something to keep your spirits up."

Opening it, you found a silver necklece with a pendant with a tiny picture of your mom inside. Kirishima smiled sadly, "Whenever you look at it, please remember the good times. We'll face this head-on, together."

Tomioka

Giyuu is more reserved, but his empathy is strong. He might not express his anger openly, but his actions speak volumes.

He listens patiently as you vent your frustration, understanding the depth of your emotions.

Giyuu doesn't express his anger openly but conveys deep empathy through his calm demeanor. "I can't fathom your pain, but I'm here for you. We'll find a way together."

Giyuu suggests a more subtle approach, like writing a heartfelt letter to the trust manager, explaining the importance of these items. "Words have power. Sometimes, they can be more impactful than actions."

He may take you to a serene location, like a quiet lake or a peaceful garden, providing a calm environment to discuss your feelings.

Giyuu, with his calm demeanor, took you to a serene lakeside retreat. The peaceful setting was a balm for your troubled soul, and together, you reflected on your mother's memories.

Underneath the canopy of cherry blossoms, you and Giyuu sat in silence, the gentle rustling of leaves and the distant hum of the lake providing a soothing backdrop. Giyuu listened attentively as you shared stories about your mother, each memory a delicate thread binding you to her.

"You have a beautiful way of expressing your love for her," Giyuu spoke softly, his gaze reflecting a mixture of understanding and empathy. "Let the water carries your sorrows away. Feel free to let it all out, darling."

As the sun dipped low, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink, Giyuu suggested writing your thoughts on paper, symbolically letting them float away on the lake. The letter, carefully crafted, held the essence of your emotions, a silent plea for understanding.

"You've been strong through this. Your words will find their way to her heart," Giyuu assured, stroking your nape slowly.

[msbarrybeeson]

Before You Go | Future Donnie & April Insight (Part VI)

(Reader Included)

A/N: Any constructive criticism is appreciated. Reader comments and feedback are also welcomed a lot. 

I have been gone for a long time. Just occupied with my studies! No fan fiction author curse or anything (yet).

Summary: You’re both adopting-parents of Casey. The story follows the perspective of Donatello and April O’Neil during the Kraang apocalypse. You and Leonardo decided to ask them to watch over thirteen-year-old Casey.

In other words, familial interactions between April, Donnie, and Casey Jr.

Reader: Gender-neutral pronouns are used, except the terms “(Mom / Dad)” are also used. Second POV.

Pairing: Rise! Future! Leonardo X Reader

Warnings: Bittersweet.

Word Count:  ~3490

Parts: One / Two / Three / Four / Five / Six / ...

~

Donnie knew how much of a genius he was.

It was no surprise after all. In his late teens, he improved NASA’s satellites to communicate with planets light centuries away. He cured breast cancer through the use of protons in radiation therapy to target specific cells, rather than affecting the harmless. Hell, he even managed to discover a new type of radioactive particles: mutons. By that point, he—.

“—should have been given a Nobel Prize in Medicine and in Chemistry.” Donnie cursed under his breath. He strolled over to his lab bench, equipping his goggles.

Squeeeak. 

April– who was found seated on Donnie’s roughed-up, spinning gaming chair– raised an eyebrow. Her hair had grown out and was left unbounded. Faint wrinkles and eye bags on her features displayed maturity, in contrast to a couple of years ago. However, everyone was well aware that time was not the only factor. 

“Whatcha going on about now, Donnie?”

The softshell huffed. “Recall when I wrote a report about my experimental findings with an invention meant to revive a deceased human being?”

“...You mean the one where you thought it was a good idea to open up Curie’s tomb? Even gone as far as to ask for my help?” April grimaced. “Who’d ever forget that.”

She proceeded to massage her temples. 

“God. You were in all kinds of messed up for that, Don.”

Lightning-like yellow sparks flickered as Donnie had his robotic hands occupied with a butane torch. His goggles were sealed tight around his eyes as he built a oval-looking device on his lab bench. Titanium outer-layer over a seriously complex circuit-board; appearing as if Samsung marketed grenades.

He scoffed. “Oh please. It wasn’t as if I’d taken long to understand how Marie Curie deserves her rest for her great contributions to radiation. Thus is why–.”

“–You decided to take a poor random husband of an old wife,” April interjected.

“Ahem.” Donnie pronounced. “The poor woman was begging me for her husband to be alive again. I was simply gracious and generous enough to not charge her for the process.” He set aside the butane torch. “At least it progressed well; he stayed alive for an additional two years. It gave his wife psychological comfort, and I was able to submit my paper to the N.S.F..” 

He picked up a screwdriver. “Except....” 

April could tell her friend’s eye was twitching. 

“They rejected my findings, nearly had me detained, and claimed it was far too ‘unethical.’” Donnie raised his volume. “Scoff! As if those researchers weren’t committing the crime themselves! Taking bodies away from families and claiming them as scientific property without permission.

If I could go back in time and shove my documents in their jaws, you bet I would.”

April smirked. “Well, I have my regrets too, Donnie.”

“You sound rather amused, April. Is that so surprising? And here I never thought you would regret your part-time job at Albearto’s. Or the fact you wasted money to switch to journalism in university.”

WHACK!

April threw her bat at Donnie’s head, flying back to her hand like a boomerang.

“Watch your mouth, mister. I may have regretted Albearto’s, but not a single moment in my life did I ever regret my journalism passion.” She stood up.

“Ouch.” The softshell vocalized, squinting his eyes toward her. His robotic clampers paused, setting aside the torch and taking off his goggles. 

“Mind yourself, April. Horse-playing is forbidden in the laboratory. I am not consenting to having yet another silver-titanium apparatus get scratched because of you.” Donnie gritted his teeth. “Can you hear the negative connotation?”

“Seriously, Donnie? Where’d that come from? Not only was that years ago but it ain’t anything except a simple accident.” 

“‘Simple accident?’” the softshell repeated with dramatic offense. “An accident, like many others in science labs, which could have caused severe damage! Remember the incident when your teacher dumped bleach and vinegar into the trash bin?

You know, if you had paid any attention in your chemistry class, those two would make mustard gas?” Donnie side-eyed his friend. “Simple accidents can have serious consequences, O’Neil.”

A hand crept up the lab bench.

“Uh-huh, and I’m supposed to believe an instance of me knocking over your phone and books would kill somebody?” April crossed her arms. “If anything, the blame’s yours for not organizing your desk when you got drunk on coffee.”

The hand took ahold of the butane torch.

“Donatello? Disorganized? Sounds cheap coming from you, a student majoring in Journalism.”

April pulled up her coat’s sleeves. “Oh boy, you’re about to get it—.”

Squeeeak!

Heads spun and found a 13-year old boy, replacing April’s spot on Donnie’s chair. Casey eyed the torch with a great yet concerning amount of curiosity.

“Yo, what’s this for, Uncle Don?”

At lightning speed, while April ran to move the gaming chair away further from the workbench, Donnie snatched the tool from his hands. “Child. Casey. Young man.” The softshell heaved loudly. “I must inform you this is NOT meant to be handled with such casual ease. How in Hawking did you even—.”

“Don’t your lab have a passcode or something?” 

“–Is what I am wondering myself, O’Neil. I refuse to believe this child remembers the beginning thirty numbers of π–.”

“Nope, only us.” April and Donnie lifted their gazes to his lab entrance. You leaned on the frame while a dear red-eared slider stood just behind. A couple of steps inside, and the metallic lab door shut close. 

Donnie– strangely– was quick to hide his device-in-progress off to the side.

“You’re back!” April grinned. “Hell, you would not believe the convo Donnie and I were having a minute ago.” She hurried to hug you.

“Figures,” Leo remarked. “We could practically hear you yards off.”

“Sounds like things never get old.” You smiled.

There was a side-eye between Donnie and April, before the Commander proceeded to inquire, coughing: “Anyhow.. care to explain the occasion? You two don’t seem to be in a hurry.”

“The only times you ever visit my laboratory are to prepare for immediate combat engagement, and you look awfully collected.” The softshell furrowed his brows.

“No, no.” You waved your hands, shaking your head. “Thank God no. We came here to ask if you two could take care of our Casey here while we head out.” The other turtle scrunched his in-quote eyebrows. “You— You came here to request us to... babysit him?”

April jabbed him in his plastron.

“You see? Just like I said.” Leo turned to you. “I know my brother, love. Don’s not the kind of guy to take responsibility for a kid. Or anyone, really.”

“Hold on.” Donnie narrowed his eyes. “I never said I refused, Leo.”

“Don’t know, it sounds like it to me.”

“Well, my misinformed brother, contrary to your belief, I am perfectly capable of handling a child.”

You huffed with amusement. Your husband only winked back.

“If you say so, Don.”

“Where are you two heading off for if you needed us to watch over him?” April inquired. “Wondering, ‘cause this never happened even when you two leave for patrol.”

“Just finding some time for ourselves.”

April exclaimed, “As in a honeymoon? Why not just say so? We’ll leave you two alone–.”

“–In this economy and climate?” Donnie interjected. “Has it also not been six years since your yet-to-be-legal marriage?”

“Alright, alright,” Leonardo chuckled. “Cut us some slack, bro. Finding time wasn’t easy when there’s Kraang above our necks.”

“Right, and you’re going on a honeymoon, how?” The softshell crossed his arms. “Simply because you’re the leader does not equate to you making wise decisions, Leo.”

“His ōdachi can teleport anyone to anyplace, we have some hope we can easily teleport to a remote area,” you answered. “One without Kraang infestation. It’ll be hard, but we may as well try.”

“Bonus points if we find clear skies and an ocean.” The red-eared turtle grinned, wrapping his arm over your shoulders.

“What’s a honeymoon, (Mom / Dad)?”

Your hand went to caress Casey’s cheek. “Parent quality time. It just means you get to handle yourself like the responsible grown-up you’ll become one day. Just promise me you’ll be on your best behavior around Uncle Don and Auntie April?”

“I promise, (Mom / Dad)!”

“Good boy,” Leo laughed, ruffling the kid’s hair.

“You didn’t ask Mikey and Raph to help out too, or?”

“Between you and me, I think you guys are better of making sure Casey doesn’t get into any chaos,” you whispered to April. “Don’t tell them that, though.”

She laughed. “Okay, I see how it is. You both have fun.” 

Donnie bit his lip. Right as Leonardo and (Name) turn to exit the laboratory, he extended his arm out to them.

“Leo, (Name).”

You two faced back to him once more.

“Don’t kill yourselves out there.”

Everyone’s eyes widened– April, you, and Leonardo himself. But the brother in blue snickered, holding a smile that reached his eyes. “So you do also care for me, Don. And all this time I thought you were plotting to put me in my grave or something.”

“We won’t.” Leo placed a hand on your shoulder. “You got my word.”

“Bye (Mom / Dad)! Bye Papa!”

“We’ll be back soon, Casey!”

Donnie stood in silence as you finally left, leaving himself with none other than his best friend and his nephew. “I refuse to believe this is the future we have to deal with.”

“Times changed all of us, didn’t they?” April spoke. “One day we wish each other a good one, and the next, we hope we just don’t die. I could’ve been a famous news anchor by now, make my mother happy, fight crime without worrying about dying the next second.

..I wonder if there’s anyone else out there besides the small number of us down here.”

“..I doubt it.”

Donnie pulled himself together and walked back to his workbench, operating his clampers to work once again. He put on his goggles. Casey, being a young teenager of enthusiasm, peeked over.

“Watch yourself, boy,” April warned.

“Don’t worry about me, Auntie. I’m only standing over here.” Casey narrowed his eyes upon the glowing and metal-like ball his uncle had his tools on. “What are you working on, Uncle Don?”

“A sphere.”

“A sphere?”

“You heard correctly.”

“That sounds kind of boring.”

Donnie had to hold himself back from remarking with: ‘That is exactly what every child whose intellect is doomed would say.’

“I’m sure your mother would find it rather moving.”

“(Mom / Dad)? I don’t understand what’s emotional about a ball, though.”

“Hey Casey.” April coughed. “Why not tell us about your mask here? Haven’t taken a good look at it before. Maybe Uncle Don would like to hear it too.”

“You actually want me to talk about my mask?”

“Ain’t a problem, is it?”

“No.” He fidgeted with his fingers a bit. “You don’t have anything else to do?”

“We were just told to watch over you, kid.”

“Yeah, but everyone I know is always busy with the Kraang or supplying weapons. I never really get chances to hang out.”

There was a brief pause in the butane torch’s flame.

April’s expression softened. Her hand came up to brush his black hair. “Things have gotten calmer up there. So you’ve got plenty of time with us now.”

Casey smiled.

“So your mask?” 

The boy alternated between covering his face and removing it. “(Mom / Dad) gave it to me. She told me it is based on the one worn by my biological mother. (Mom / Dad) also said that my birth mother was kind of crazy-funny and likes to be loud. She would have a stick to play– what was it– hockey?

I don’t know what kind of game hockey is supposed to be, but I guess it’s nice to know how life was like before all the Kraang.”

A sad smile crept on April’s lips. 

“Anyways, I thought the mask looked kind of plain, so I decided to draw red marks on it. See?” Casey showed his mask off, fingers tapping the surface. “Guess who it looks like!”

There were two bold and thick streaks of red. Each one ran through one eye, truly a defining characteristic. The Commander chuckled, already imagining how much pride her friend in blue would feel from the fact a kid– let alone one he had been parenting– looked up to him so much.

“You know, I am seeing someone familiar here.” April hummed as she put on a thoughtful facade. Fingers holding her chin and everything. “Got to be Uncle Don.”

Named turtle paused for a moment and raised a brow.

“Seriously, Auntie April?” On the other hand, Casey gave her an incredulous look and shook his head. “You probably want to get your eyes checked out, ‘cause Uncle Don doesn’t have any red stripes.” Off to the side. “And even if he did, he won’t look as cool as Dad.”

April snickered behind her palm as Donnie eyed the boy from behind his goggles.

“You’re right, you’re right. Just messing with you, kid.” Her hand ruffled his hair once more. “Sounds like you really admire your Papa, don’t you?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Dad has an awesome sword that opens up portals. He always moves so quickly whenever he’s fighting. Bam! And the Kraang’s gone!” The teenager stretched his arm for emphasis. “Even as the leader, Papa knows when to get serious and when to make people laugh. He also cares a lot about me, (Mom / Dad), you guys, and everyone!”

It made even Donnie himself smile. 

However, the way Casey’s enthusiasm died down had not gone unnoticed. “I’ve always wanted to help out though.” He sighed, shoulders slumping. “I want to fight the Kraang right by his and (Mom / Dad)’s side. Except I barely get the chance to, because they keep telling me to stay close to base and hide behind a giant rock.”

April crossed her arms and went quiet. His feelings were nothing new. In fact, she experienced the same thing herself, seeing she had always been a human. It was like that until–.

“Have no hard feelings,” Donnie spoke up, his hands and eyes remained on his spheric gadget. The sparks were flying. “Your parents are merely worried about your well-being.”

“I know, I know. They won’t have to though, if I can have enough training or something.” Casey sighed. “Then again, I also know I’m only a normal sensitive human.

...Why can’t I be a mutant instead?”

“Ahem. You are classified as a human. That is a true statement and one you cannot change.” Donnie hummed. “However, that does not mean you cannot be strong and capable in other ways.”

“Why does it sound like you’ve been in my place before?”

“Perhaps I did. Did you truly think being a soft-shell turtle is easy? I happened to be born as one of the only Testudines species whose outer shell cannot protect.” Donnie remarked. “Casey, your mask.” His hand signaled.

“What about my mask?”

“I merely want to add something.”

Confused, he hopped off the chair and handed the mask over. “Hmm. As long as you don’t mess with the stripes, Uncle Don.”

“Who says I won’t?”

Casey kicked Donnie’s leg.

“‘Ow,’ I say sarcastically without feeling physical pain.”

“Hmph.” He crossed his arms. “Why do you keep saying things like that?”

“Such as?”

“You say those action verbs, even when you’re already doing them.”

April snorted. “Just his thing, kid. Uncle Don’s got his special quirks.”

“Do you have a quirk?”

“Picking unnecessary fights for one,” Donnie commented.

“You only call them ‘unnecessary,’ because you never want to fix the problem.”

He rolled his eyes. “My solution would’ve been ten times more efficient if you had allowed my technology and I to do the work.”

Casey wondered. “Does your tech ever go haywire, Uncle Don?”

“No.”

“Oh man,” April began, “you should’ve been there for this one time. Your Uncle Don was building some kind of overprotective bed to keep your late Gramps from waking up from his beauty sleep.”

“Gramps likes to sleep?”

“You’d be surprised to hear that he sure does.”

“Then what happened?”

“Uncle Don asked your Dad, Uncle Mikey, and Uncle Raph to try punching, slicing, throwing whatever they could on the bed. They were attacking it like crazy!”

“And then?” 

“And the bed was even more insane, ‘cause there were actual missiles shooting out! They went straight for his brothers. At some point, it got overboard, so Uncle Don tried to command it to stop.”

“I’m hearing a ‘but’ coming.”

“But it malfunctioned and thought Uncle Don was the enemy!”

“However!” Donnie pointed his finger up, interrupting the story-telling. “It did not take long for my creation to recognize his master.”

“Still went haywire in my book,” April remarked. 

“Ignoring that.” His robotic hand tapped the edge of his workbench, grabbing Casey’s attention. “Come here, young man.” He slid back the mask, except in his hands, it felt as if the frame had thicken.

“It looks the same, but it doesn’t feel the same?”

“Try wearing it over your face.”

The boy did as told. All of a sudden, a bunch of green rectangles and words appeared in his vision. He gasped in awe. He spun around slowly, watching the rectangle focus on a figure through the wall.

“Yes yes, I know. I am well aware of how amazing I am.” Donnie huffed in pride. “I have opted to construct an interface with your mask. I cannot see why you shouldn’t have something to defend yourself with,” he reasoned. “I have other updates in mind later on. As of now, however, your mask will help you detect life forms across other rooms or through other objects.” 

“That’s so cool!” The boy hesitated though. “But I don’t want to break it or anything.”

“Hey.” April rested her hand on Casey’s shoulder, giving a firm squeeze. “Our resources are already scarce. Using then losing them is better than nothing. You better make the most of our tech. Understood, soldier?”

Casey grinned underneath his mask. He fixed his posture up and saluted. “Gotcha–! Understood, Commander!” 

He faced the inventor, whose hands were already back to being occupied with the “sphere.” “Thanks so much, Uncle Don!” Casey exclaimed, leaping towards the turtle to give a tight hug. “You’re the best!” 

Upon contact, Donnie stiffened up, but his lack of experience with physical touch did not prevent a smile forming on his face. He extended a robotic arm, patting Casey’s back. 

The boy then scanned around curiously with his mask. “Hey! Think I spot Uncle Mikey and Uncle Raph two floors down! They’re holding hands over a table or something. Why are so many people circling around them?”

April rolled her eyes. “Sounds like another arm-wrestling match between the our youngest and oldest brother.” 

Just like that, Casey booked it out of the laboratory so quickly, it reminded her of a certain red-eared slider. “What the–! Casey!” April groaned. “And here I thought we don’t have to deal with runaway kids. I better catch up to him.” 

“Would not worry about him too much,” Donnie commented. 

“What do you mean by that?”

“Considering we will not always be alive to protect him... the sooner we leave him to himself, the easier it will be for him to survive alone.” 

“Hey. Come on now.” April walked to her best friend’s side. “Don’t you say things like that. We’re all going to survive this together–.”

“April.” Slight pain wavered in his voice. “You know as well as I do how our current reality is. It is only a matter of time before the Kraang finds everyone.” 

“Yet you’re still here trying.”

No response.

“It’s all because of the kid, isn’t it?” April affirmed. “He ain’t any genius prodigy you were expecting long ago. But he gave you a reason to try– he became someone worth fighting for.”

“I would not put it as simply as that.”

She shrugged. “That’s how I’d say it. You know you’re not the only one whose life changed because of Casey.”

Donnie paused his work, turning off the butane torch and finally pulling his goggles off his eyes again. “...Casey reminds me of when we were young, being rash and immature teenagers like any other. I hate admitting to such thing, but I was one too. And I hate admitting much more how much I missed those times.

The child has known nothing of the trouble we’ve experienced outside, April: when Cassandra was killed, when Draxum was torn apart, when Dad decided to sacrifice himself despite the slim odds.” His hands clenched into fists.

“Do not expect me to have any false hope for our future, but do not assume I would want Casey to feel the same way. For as long as he can, I want him to hold onto that false hope.”

“...” April had her arms crossed. Her eyes slowly came to linger on the workbench. “Is that ‘sphere’ his false hope?”

“..No. Not his.” Donnie traced his thumb over his contraption. “It’s for (Name).”

[magickkate]

A Beginner's Guide: The Enchanting World of Candle Magic

Candle magic, a spellbinding practice deeply rooted in ancient traditions, offers a beautiful and accessible gateway into the mystical realm of the craft. Whether you're a seasoned practitioner or a curious novice, let's explore the basics of candle magic and how to harness the flame for your magical intentions. 🔥✨

Understanding Candle Magic:

Candle magic is a form of sympathetic magic, where the candle serves as a symbolic representation of the spellcaster's desires. The flame, wax, and even the color of the candle are all integral elements that contribute to the energy and success of the magical working.

Choosing the Right Candle:

Color Correspondences: Each color holds specific magical properties. Choose a candle color that aligns with your intention.

Red: Passion, love, energy.

Blue: Communication, healing, wisdom.

Green: Abundance, prosperity, growth.

White: Purity, protection, clarity.

Purple: Spirituality, psychic development, transformation.

Candle Shapes: Consider specialty candles with shapes corresponding to your intent (e.g., hearts for love, skulls for transformation).

Anointing and Dressing: Before lighting, anoint the candle with oils and dress it with herbs relevant to your spell for an added layer of intention.

Setting the Stage:

Cleansing and Charging: Clear the energy of your space and candles using methods like smudging or visualization. Charge the candle with your intention.

Sacred Space: Create a sacred space for your candle magic. This could be an altar adorned with meaningful symbols, crystals, and other items.

Candle Lighting Ritual:

Focus and Intent: Before lighting the candle, focus on your intention. Visualize the desired outcome with clarity and positivity.

Recite Incantations: Speak or chant incantations that amplify your intention. Craft your own or draw inspiration from existing spells.

Observing the Flame:

Flame Behavior: Pay attention to the behavior of the flame. A strong, steady flame signals a positive working, while flickering or erratic flames may indicate resistance or obstacles.

Candle Wax Interpretation: As the candle burns, observe the wax. Patterns, shapes, and residues can provide insights into the success of your spell.

Extinguishing the Candle:

Closing the Spell: Extinguish the candle with gratitude and a sense of closure. Acknowledge the energy you've released into the universe.

Dispose with Care: If the spell involves banishing or releasing, dispose of the remnants appropriately. Burying or scattering the wax can symbolize the dispersal of energy.

Common Candle Magic Spells:

Love Spell: Use a pink or red candle, anoint it with love oils, and visualize the love you desire while the candle burns.

Prosperity Spell: Choose a green candle, dress it with prosperity herbs, and focus on abundance and wealth during the ritual.

Protection Spell: Opt for a white candle, anoint it with protective oils, and envision a shield of light surrounding you.

Tips for Candle Magic:

Moon Phases: Align your candle magic with the phases of the moon for added energy. New moons for beginnings, full moons for culmination.

Consistency: Practice regularly to strengthen your connection with candle magic. The more you engage, the more attuned you become to the energies involved.

Keep a Journal: Document your candle magic experiences, including the colors used, incantations, and observed outcomes. Reflecting on your practice aids growth.

Embrace the flickering flame as a conduit of your magical intentions, and let the dance of light guide you on a mystical journey. Whether you're seeking love, prosperity, or protection, the enchantment of candle magic awaits, inviting you to illuminate the path of your desires. ✨🕯️🌙

[immediatebreakfast]

The tension building at Whitby now that the Demeter is near the shore is very delicate, it's the tracks of a train going at a very high speed towards a wall. It's inevitable, and it will have consequences that will impact the narrative. No matter what we want to do, the only thing left is watch.

So Mina, in her controlled melancholy over both Lucy and Jonathan, writes in her journal to document along with process all of her feelings towards all of the events that are happening. However, Mina's stress has been turning up so much that it affects her writing when she is not documenting stuff like the weather, or Mr. Swales' monologues.

We get one single line referring to Lucy:

"Lucy is more excitable than ever, but is otherwise well."

It feels like an assurance to herself rather than a simple mention. Instead of telling, or describing Lucy in a more lovely detail, Mina just tells that she is a little bit more anxious, but well you know? Lucy is well... There is no mention of Lucy's sleepwalking progress, nor if there are any meaningful changes so far. Which, if I can say, for Mina is enough for now.

Mina's dread also has invaded more her worries over Jonathan, more than other days since the weather in Whitby seems to be affecting everyone, and everything.

"If I only knew where to write to or where to go to."

One character trait which is a core trait for Mina is her "do-er" personality. It's a layer that is intricate to all of her actions. Mina is a very active character, she thinks and she acts. She needs to act because Mina searches for the answers to her questions so she can know what to do. This line implied that the only thing stopping Mina from going to Transylvania herself to search for Jonathan is the lack of concrete information about his fate.

Mina is an active character, but she needs information to know how to act, because above all Mina is a very grounded woman who knows what limits her in her actions.

"Here comes old Mr. Swales. He is making straight for me, and I can see, by the way he lifts his hat, that he wants to talk.... I have been quite touched by the change in the poor old man."

Something is affecting Mr. Swales. It seems that Mina expected another story, or a anectode, but the old sailor came with an apology. Mina's control over emotions may have slipped a little bit if he noticed. Then, an incredible speech about the comfort of death is said with the property of someone who knows it well.

All old people are like that, they speak of death in a more "careless" because they have lived well, and since all of their friends (the ones that are still there) are in the same road, they often forget how this may "upset" younger people, people who have still not lived enough like Mina. It is touching to hear Mr. Swales to tell Mina that she doesn’t need to worry about his death because he is not either, and she only needs to remember him as that cynical old sailor who told her so much about ghost stories.

Yet, after Mr. Swales' speech what Mina has left is unrest, no actions, and no answers. Lucy is still sleepwalking, and Jonathan is still on the limbo between life and death. If Whitby's weather warns of something coming, and Mr. Swales speaks of how death is the only thing that awaits all of US in the end...

... then what would become of her, and her Jonathan?

[desklamper]

do you have any advice or tips on how to make object assets? love ur work btw!!

Thank you very much! I take a bit of pride in my craft and I'm gonna show all of you kiddos at home how to make assets like me!

Lets start with this Example Object!

the humble dry-erase marker!

First, I break it down to it's simplest shapes in INKSCAPE.

Don't worry if your object looks too complex, just getting a general shape with points where they need to be is good enough! In this example, the basic shapes are simple and geometrical, with some slight curving on the marker body itself!

(tip, dragging lines using the node tool curves them)

Now that i have my parts, I'll assemble them and organize their layers.

Now, we select the colors we want, for this example, I want this marker to be Blue, so I'mma make some of these outlines reflect this. I'm also going to make the marking tip thing a solid color, taken by that one cap-less marker asset,

Now, I'll make basic fills, I usually duplicate the outlines (Command+D/ Ctrl+D) Remove the outlines, and set the fill.

It's okay to re-adjust some stuff too! Don't be afraid to do so!

Here comes shading! Some general tips!

When shading, stay consistent! keep shadows aligned based on your light source! In this example, my light source is on the Right.

For highlights, never make sure they fit with the colors ur using, like using a light blue for the highlight on this cap.

If u really wanna be fancy, You can also use gradients to shade, just don't overdo it!

Lemme just shade the base off screen!

Pro tip! COLOR CHOICE IS kinG!!! Take this logo for example

I personally would not give it this color because it takes too much attention away from the face In my opinion, It works, but, Its honestly up to personal preference

with this kind of color, you are still acknowledging the existence of the logo, but, it's not taking too much attention from the face, Either works!!! It just based on taste! (I also manually added an outline for the logo)

I then duplicate the asset layer and take the cap off in case i want just the cap or the marker without the cap.

then, i open the document properties tab (File>Document Properties) and click on "Resize to Content". I also tick off the "Checkerboard" Setting for the background

I finally export as a PNG in case i need to use it as a PNG! I set the size to about 2.5 times the size for higher resolution and quality!

And there we have it!

A Dry-Erase Marker!

Hope my tutorial was understandable and easily digestable!

[perfectionistkilling-me]

Hazbin Hotel Paperwork

An observation about fandom that I have never been able to unsee is that "Original Media is usually taking place during a disruption from the main characters Day-to-day life. Meanwhile a lot of fanfiction takes place in the downtime. Meaning unsuspecting fanfic writers have to come up with what these characters actually do in their boring adult jobs. Often with little experience in what these jobs are like. The end result is a lot of fanfiction starting with our main characters staying late in the office doing miscellaneous, unexplained paperwork"

So, with that in mind. Here are a bunch of miscellaneous paperwork/paperwork adjacent tasks for each Hazbin Hotel Character.

Charlie

Property Taxes. There is no way property tax doesn't exist in hell.

Planning group therapy sessions. Probably with several behavioural psych books and self help books and So So many sticky notes and highlighters.

Generally freaking out surrounded by crayons, loose paper, several bulletin boards and red string.

Vaggie

Planning and reviewing training regimens. Looking for where she can improve.

Maintaining her weapons. Also maintaining any other weapons in the hotel because poorly maintained weapons are a safety hazard and under absolutely no circumstances is she letting Niffty or Alastor do it.

Being a soundboard for Charlie's planning, and probably consoling her about property taxes.

Alastor

Actually doing the taxes when Charlie gives up. Also every other bill payment. He is the accountant.

Managing whatever weird network of smugglers and killers required to get a whole forest and a deer into his room. This probably required a lot of weird phone calls.

General tinkering. Everyone knows old technology is a fickle mistress. Alastor absolutely has at least one radio that has to be poked, prodded and shaken to work just right.

Angel Dust

Probably has the most actual paperwork.

Reviewing filming schedules, scene requirements and special requests.

Learning lines. Script writing in Porn Studios is also most often done by the director or whoever says yes. Considering Val has maybe 3 braincells and shit eyesight. Angel has probably written a script or two as well.

Making marketing content for upcoming projects. Filming whatever hells version of Cameo is. (Cumeo?)

Husker

Bar inventory and orders. Date and Time labels on the perishables. Please imagine him with his clipboard right in his face and brow furrowed.

Sealing anything sugary in about 10 layers of cling film. (Do you want hellants. This is how you get hell ants.)

Cutting limes, longing for the days when he had barbacks. Pouring himself a glass of whiskey and then going back to cutting limes.

Sir Pentious

Drawing diagrams of inventions. Having a long drawn out internal debate about whether he needs to make a specific part custom or if he can just order the part. Vocalising this conundrum to the Egg Bois only to be met with "Fingers are just Toes with delusions of grandeur"

Looking at a perfectly functional small scale prototype. Looking at a full scale version of the same prototype, built to the exact same specifications, wondering why it doesn't work. Looking back at the small scale prototype, holding it lovingly, asking it why it's brother doesn't work.

Honestly, just document any weird shit you see your engineer friend do and it's probably Sir Pentious.

Niffty

I was going to say Niffty does not have paperwork, Niffty has an ongoing war against dirt and roaches in which she is a valiant soldier. But thats too easy.

She is Alastor's paper shredder.

Updating her scrapbook of bad boys with photos, hair, teeth and occasionally other. . .things.

[droctaviolovecraft]

TW: Child loss themes

ANM №: ANM-600

Identification: Ball Pit for Stillborn Babies

Danger Level: Nightmare 💀 | Contained ⭕️

Lead Researcher: Dr. Öctavio Kalev

Anomaly Type: Location, Haunted, Child-related, Trauma

Containment: ANM-600 must be enclosed within a 2.5-meter high barbed wire fence, surrounded by a 500-meter perimeter around the playground. Motion sensors must be installed along the perimeter, and any unauthorized individuals attempting to enter the site should be detained, interrogated, and amnesticized as necessary. No personnel are allowed to enter ANM-600 between 19:00 and 06:00 hours.

Any personnel showing signs of pregnancy, recent child loss, or a history of miscarriage are strictly prohibited from entering ANM-600 under any circumstances. Psychological evaluations must be conducted bi-weekly for all staff assigned to ANM-600.

A remotely operated robotic drone (DRR) equipped with cameras and audio recording devices must be used for all exploration and documentation purposes within ANM-600. Under no circumstances should personnel physically enter the ball pit area.

Description: ANM-600 is a partially abandoned playground located in Alabama, USA. The playground includes a rusty swing set, a deactivated carousel, several deteriorated benches, and a large central ball pit measuring approximately 5 meters in diameter and an unknown depth. During the day, the pit is 1 meter deep, becoming anomalous along with the site at night. The playground was decommissioned in 19██ after a series of unexplained child deaths were reported in the vicinity.

ANM-600 exhibits a strong anomalous attraction to deceased babies and fetuses, specifically those who died within a 50-kilometer radius of the playground. Regardless of burial location or preservation method, the remains of these children will anomalously manifest within ANM-600. These entities, designated ANM-600-1 to ANM-600-5, appear as partially decomposed or malformed human infants displaying varying degrees of hostility and awareness.

Documented Entities:

ANM-600-1 is a severely disfigured infant with pronounced craniofacial abnormalities and fused limbs, believed to have resulted from complications due to high consanguinity between its progenitors. ANM-600-1 exhibits constant signs of distress, including high-pitched crying and sporadic twitching. It is often seen crawling erratically across the playground, leaving a faint trail of bloody mucus.

ANM-600-2 is an infant with pronounced cases of elephantiasis, its limbs and head grotesquely swollen to unnatural proportions. ANM-600-2 is notably aggressive, displaying superhuman strength and the ability to violently thrash and crush objects within its vicinity. Despite its slow movement, ANM-600-2 has been observed to launch itself at high speeds towards any foreign objects introduced into the playground. The entity is presumed to have gained these abilities as an extension of ANM-600 reality-bending properties.

ANM-600-3 is an unnaturally elongated, skeletal infant presumed to have been aborted in the second trimester. ANM-600-3 stands at approximately 1 meter in height and is covered in a thin layer of taut, semi-translucent skin. Its mouth is permanently gaping, emitting a continuous, faint wailing sound that is particularly distressing to human females. ANM-600-3 is primarily active during night hours, often seen silently pacing around the edges of the playground before disappearing into the slide.

ANM-600-4 is a stillborn infant covered in extensive third-degree burns. The entity's flesh is charred and cracked, 600 smoldering with a faint, acrid smoke. ANM-600-4 has been observed dragging itself across the playground, leaving behind a trail of blackened soot. It emits a low, keening wail interspersed with choking coughs, and is known to react violently to sudden noises.

ANM-600-5 is an amalgamation of numerous stillborn fetuses, their bodies fused together in a grotesque mass of tangled limbs and conjoined skulls. ANM-600-5 is almost entirely immobile, residing within the ball pit and occasionally thrashing when disturbed. Individuals approaching ANM-600-5 have reported hearing disembodied whispers, pleas for help, and unsettling laughter originating from within the mass.

Anomalous Properties:

ANM-600 has a pervasive auditory anomaly that affects all living beings within a 100-meter radius of the playground. Subjects report hearing the cries, laughter, and gibbering of infants, which intensify the closer they get to the playground. Females who have experienced child loss, including miscarriage or abortion, are particularly susceptible to these auditory phenomena, often experiencing severe psychological distress, nausea, and disorientation.

The ball pit itself, designated as ANM-600-A, is the epicenter of the playground’s anomalous activity. When an individual enters the pit, the multicolored plastic balls begin to shift and churn as if stirred by an unseen force. Within moments, dozens of small, decaying limbs and umbilical cords will emerge from beneath the surface, attempting to grasp and pull the intruder downwards. Once an individual is fully submerged, no trace of them has ever been recovered.

Exploration using DRR units has revealed that the ball pit is anomalously deep, extending far beyond the physical dimensions of the playground. At depths exceeding 30 meters, footage becomes heavily distorted, and the drone is inevitably lost due to mechanical failure or signal interference. Audio captured at these depths includes faint crying, distorted lullabies, and, on one occasion, a coherent voice stating, "We are not alone."

Incident Report 600-04:

On ██/██/20██, a P-Subject (P-2983) was instructed to enter ANM-600-A. Upon submersion, P-2983 began to scream incoherently, stating that "they're pulling me apart." Approximately 12 seconds later, all contact with P-2983 was lost. An DRR unit deployed immediately after recorded the appearance of a new entity, designated ANM-600-6, emerging from ANM-600-A. ANM-600-6 is a large, humanoid infant figure approximately 2 meters in height, composed of what appears to be the mangled remains of several fetuses. ANM-600-6 was observed moving towards the perimeter before spontaneously disintegrating into a fine, particulate dust.

Following this incident, all further experimentation with ANM-600-A has been suspended indefinitely.

Addendum 600-B: Audio Log Excerpt

Recorded at 22:47, 13/07/20██, by Site-██ monitoring equipment.

> [Background static. Indistinct whispers.]

> Unidentified Voice: "...come to play..."

> [Sound of faint giggling, overlapping with crying.]

> Unidentified Voice: "Mommy… where are you?"

> [Loud, sharp sound, similar to metal scraping against concrete.]

> Unidentified Voice 2: "They’re here. They never left. They’re waiting for you."

> [Silence for 5 seconds, followed by distant, echoing cries.]

Note: Any personnel found to have entered ANM-600-A without prior authorization are to be considered lost and reclassified as KILLED. No recovery attempts are to be made. ANM-600 remains under observation for further anomalous developments.

[galeriacontici]

Pre-Columbian civilizations across the Americas developed various adhesives used in everyday applications and ceremonial contexts. These adhesives were crafted from natural materials, such as plant resins, tree gums, and animal-based glues, with their use spanning numerous cultural groups, including the Maya, Aztec, Inca, and Moche. By understanding the properties of their surrounding environment, these cultures could create adhesives suitable for tool-making, repairing objects, crafting jewelry, and producing artwork.

This article will focus on the adhesives used by these ancient cultures, how they were made, and the specific applications seen in archaeological findings.

Moche Wood Scepter c. 400-800 AD. closeup view

Moche wood scepter w/ inlaid Shell and Stones

Materials Used in Pre-Columbian Adhesives

Pre-Columbian adhesives were primarily sourced from plant resins, tree gums, and animal derivatives. Each civilization developed unique techniques to harvest and process these natural materials to suit their environmental and cultural needs.

Plant Resins and Tree Gums

Plant resin was one of pre-Columbian cultures’ most widely used adhesive materials. Resins such as copal, commonly used by the Maya and other Mesoamerican civilizations, were derived from trees in the Burseraceae family. The Maya used copal resin for both ritual and practical purposes. It was often burned as incense in religious ceremonies, but in a solid form, it was an adhesive for binding materials such as stone and wood.

The Aztecs also exploited natural resins, particularly pine resin. Pine resin was commonly mixed with natural powders like ash or powdered stone to enhance its adhesive properties. This combination was often applied to tools, pottery repairs, or affixing feathers and stones to wooden or clay artifacts.

Animal-Based Adhesives

In some pre-Columbian cultures, animal-based adhesives were also used, although these were less documented than plant resins. These adhesives were typically made by boiling animal hides, bones, or tendons to produce gelatinous substances that, when cooled, formed a strong bond. Andean civilizations, such as the Inca, likely employed these adhesives, though less direct evidence survives than their Mesoamerican counterparts.

For example, animal-based glues may have been used in textile production to attach decorative elements such as feathers to ceremonial garments or headpieces. However, animal-based adhesives’ exact prevalence and variety are not as well-documented as resin-based adhesives.

Methods of Production and Application

The production of adhesives in the pre-Columbian Americas required an understanding of local materials and their properties. Though methods varied between cultures, specific techniques were standard across regions.

Resin Extraction and Processing

Plant resins like copal were often harvested by cutting into the bark of resin-producing trees. The resin would ooze out and harden upon exposure to air, after which it could be collected and stored. When needed, the hardened resin was heated over a fire or other heat source until it became a thick liquid. Once liquefied, it could be applied to objects as an adhesive.

For specific applications, additives like powdered stone or pigments were mixed into the resin to adjust its texture or increase its durability. For example, this practice was common in affixing decorative stones to jewelry or securing blade heads to wooden shafts for tools and weapons.

Paracas Wood, Stone and Feather Club for Sale

Paracas wooden club w/inlaid Stone

Application Techniques

Adhesives were applied directly to the surfaces that needed bonding, often in thin layers. When used to repair pottery, artisans would apply the glue to the broken edges and carefully press the pieces together, holding them in place until the resin hardened. In some cases, additional adhesive was applied over the joints to reinforce the bond.

For weaponry and tools, adhesives were often used with other fastening techniques. For example, in Mesoamerican cultures, resin might have been used to help secure stone blades to wooden handles, followed by wrapping the joint with plant fibers for additional strength.

Cultural Examples of Adhesive Use

Several archaeological findings highlight the importance of adhesives in pre-Columbian material culture. Below are examples of how various civilizations across the Americas used adhesives.

Maya Copal Resin

The Maya extensively used copal resin for ceremonial incense and as an adhesive for repairing ceramics and affixing small decorative stones or shells to larger objects. For instance, archaeologists have found examples of jade and shell inlays on wooden objects in Maya tombs held in place by hardened copal resin.

Aztec Featherwork

Featherwork, a vital art form in Aztec and Maya civilizations, required adhesives to attach vibrant bird feathers to textiles, shields, and headdresses. In Aztec society, feather artisans, known as amantecas, used a combination of plant-based resins, such as pine resin, to bind the feathers in place. The featherwork pieces served decorative and religious purposes, demonstrating the adhesive’s role in crafting items of cultural significance.

Inca Wood and Stone Artifacts

In the Andean regions, particularly within the Inca Empire, adhesives were employed in various woodworking and stone-carving techniques. For example, adhesives were used to fasten metal or stone inlays into wooden objects, such as ceremonial staffs or chicha cups. Additionally, using resin-based adhesives for pottery repair has been suggested by analyzing broken and mended artifacts found in Inca archaeological sites.

Moche Metalworking

The Moche civilization of northern Peru is known for its advanced metallurgy and intricate artwork. Moche artisans likely used plant-based adhesives in their fine metalworking to affix precious stones or inlays into metal pieces. Some surviving Moche metal objects, such as ornamental plaques and jewelry, show evidence of adhered stone inlays using organic adhesives.

Moche Pututu Trumpet Shell Horn front side view

Moche Pututu Shell – Waylla Kepa w/ inlaid Silver Mouth Piece

Wari Mask Product for Sale

Wari False Head w/inlaid Shells

Conclusion

Pre-Columbian adhesives played a crucial role in the daily and ceremonial lives of the Maya, Aztecs, Inca, and other ancient civilizations. By utilizing plant resins like copal and pine and possibly animal-derived glues, these cultures produced durable and versatile adhesives for repairing ceramics, crafting tools, and creating intricate works of art. The widespread use of these adhesives, as demonstrated by surviving artifacts, provides insight into the technological sophistication of these pre-Columbian societies. Their understanding of natural resources allowed them to create functional and integral materials for their cultural and artistic practices, ensuring that these innovations would endure through the ages.

How to Determine Cotton Fabric from Camelid Fibers Accurately?

Research Academic Papers and News Articles

[stargazer-dreamer]

It’s on the Tip of My Tongue Chapter 1

character: yami sukehiro

content warnings: misunderstandings

reader: gender neutral; ring magic user

chapter list: 1 [you are here], 2

notes: also on ao3. 2k word count. pre-relationship (but we’re getting somewhere). part of the stoprewind verse

Your room, when presented to you, was covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. It took you a considerable while to feather and air it out—but you just couldn’t find the time to roll up your sleeves and get down to the dirt and grime of it all. Between that, imprinting locations with Finral, reviewing all your past and future responsibilities, and preparing for the transfer into the Black Bulls, you found little time to settle into your new home within the base.

You didn’t even get the chance to mingle with any of its other members, much less the captain himself. He talked real big, but you’ve hardly seen a glimpse of him all week. This frustrated you—he wandered in, in the middle of your day-to-day operations, uprooted your entire lifestyle, demanded you work under him specifically, yet he has not greeted you once. If he was going to be this sort of captain, he would have to earn your respect.

You, however, were finding a quick friend in the spatial mage—going from location to location got boring fairly quickly and, as polite as he was, he seemed to drop the act when Yami wasn’t looking.

“He works me to death! You know how hard it is managing funds while having to pay out property damages every other day, in between having to joyride him around the country? I have to do paperwork on the road!” Finral stepped through his own portal and waited patiently on the other side for you. “It’s the worst, really.”

There must have been a change to your expression, since he seemed to backtrack a little bit. “But it’s not so bad! Really! Now that you’re here, I’ll have more time to work through it!” He scratched at the back of the neck as his gaze traveled. A tilt of the head—like he was debating on saying his next words. “And he seemed pretty sincere when he said you’d only be doing the transportation thing. He usually leaves me to my own devices until he’s ready to head back or move locations, so you’ll probably get a lot of downtime…!”

He smiled at you, good-naturedly. “Lucky you.”

This did not help improve your quickly souring impression on the captain. You spared a moment to mark the area before moving on to the next. It turns out, Finral had well-over a hundred different locations he had imprinted upon, not including the local area—and the captain wanted you to retain all of them! The nerve!

Hardly ever having left your hometown, the sudden increase to your mental magic map took a little while to get used to; and with it rapidly expanding every day, it was a bit overwhelming, to say the least. Finral must have realized this early on, dividing up his list into digestible sections throughout the week—but the two of you were far from done yet. First came the important locations, then the common ones, next were the useful areas, followed by the more niche places…

Despite Yami’s command of all of Finral’s impressions, the two of you found no need to share his more personal locations, such as his family home and room back at the base. Those were for Finral specifically, and there was no need to hand over such keys.

As a seasoned spatial mage, his senses were naturally more adept at managing a mental map of the world; for you, it was far from the case. After going at it for a few hours, you found that you developed headaches that could only be mended with proper rest or mana-regaining methods, such as specialized drinks or medicine Finral would graciously provide. It was more of a nuisance than anything else—all you wanted to do was finish this first task, but you couldn’t handle the load.

That’s something you admired about Finral; he was a pretty capable mage.

The day finally arrived when the documents were properly filed; Captain Yami Sukehiro stood you in front of the rest of the squadron and introduced you properly—as properly as it seemed he could manage, at least—followed by a multitude of questions from everyone in the room.

Instead of navigating through the sea of voices yourself, the captain made short work of it for you. “No fighting, no hazing, no eating; you just ate, no looking at pictures, no one can hear you, no shopping—we’re busy.”

“We are?” you asked before he handed you, rather unceremoniously, the infamous black robe.

“Yes,” he replied, short, before addressing the squad once more. “This is my new ride, so I won’t be sharing. Finral’s still here, if you need quick transport.” You sputtered at his choice of words—his ride? Sharing?

“Oh! So you use spatial magic too?“ A starry-eyed boy inched closer. “That’s so cool! Can I see?”

“Oh, no,” you shook your head, but at his continued interest, showed him the band encircling one of your fingers anyway. Haunted by the memory of your shoddy escape the week prior, you started wearing multiple rings on both hands, in addition to keeping one tucked away in your grimoire pouch, just in case. “While I do use a form of spatial magic, I’m actually—”

“What did I just say?” You didn’t need to turn around to know who was towering behind you, the mana in the air stirring like crazy.

Despite that, the boy carried on, unfazed. “But sir! The use of any teleportation magic must take an incredible amount of control—”

“Which is why I need you to bugger off, so my ride can be in top condition for me. C’mon,” with a glance in your direction, he gestured with a jerk of the head and walked towards the front door.

Stepping outside in the dancing shadow of the trees, you were struck at the difference in lighting, how striking he really was. Out in the morning sunshine, you forgot the words you held for him for over a week. The blue morning glow of the waking sun didn’t do him justice, if this is what he truly looked like, underneath the new warm hue. The thin undershirt he wore did little to hide anything—especially since he chose to wear nothing over said shirt—skin all but bared to the world, in all it’s severe beauty.

He was a warrior alright and had the scars to match, crisscrossing his skin in rough patches; down his arms, across his shoulders, and up higher, to the one bisecting his brow, and the one set at the corner of his mouth.

To keep from staring at his lips, your eyes lowered to his jaw, and focused in on the stubble, down his neck, evolving into the hair leading to the peek of his toned chest underneath it all.

Suddenly, you felt the need for a cold drink. You spun a band circled around a finger. “Um,” you began. “Captain Yami Sukehiro?”

“Just Yami’s fine,” he said, and went to light a cigarette.

“Captain Yami,” you said instead, resulting in a click of his tongue and quirk of his brow. Actually just Yami, I guess. You’d work on it. For now, you were trying to remember what it was that you had been meaning to say to him.

He led you out here with some type of purpose. You stopped fretting with the robe in your hands. You had to speak your mind, first and foremost.

“Yami,” you met his eyes. Steel. Like his blade, you did not know how much power it hid. But you were not afraid. “You said you wanted me for my magic. You may be my captain now, but I do not intend to be taken advantage of. I will not be overworked.”

His reply was instantaneous. It was different than before, when he walked out of the alleyway; instead of his entire being, this laugh came from the chest—throwing his head back with the force of it. Your eyes widened, before it clicked. Before, you felt as if he was laughing at you—now, it was something different entirely.

He smiled at you, big and proud, and declared—“I like you.” Warmth welled up inside as a weight seemed to lift itself off of you; like the smoke rising from his lips. He lifted a hand and before you knew it, he was ruffling the hair atop your head. “I don’t give jobs to people who can’t handle it.” You blinked. “Don’t sweat it—you’re my ride. Simple as that.”

So what Finral told you was true. You were so lost in that thought, you didn’t notice Yami’s hand go to smooth out your hair, running down, until it stilled, cupping the side of your face. You felt warmth once more, but not from the inside. “What—what are you—”

“Getting to know one another, like I said we would.” Before you could piece together what he meant, he pinched at your cheek.

“Ack!”

“You’re too serious,” he said, like a statement. “You’ve been running around all week. Every time I tried to find you, you were off doing some other thing. When you were here, you were either off with Finral or busy in your room. When was I supposed to be with you?”

It sounded distinctly like a pout. You stood there, rubbing at your cheek, staring at him. Yami Sukehiro, with a plume of smoke surrounding him, trying to wave it away. Like a distraction. He shifted his feet. Put his hands in his pockets. Removed one to scratch at the back of his neck.

He clicked his tongue. The robe you had resumed fretting with was snatched from you, and before you could even process it, Yami’s hands were at your front, doing up the button and straightening up the hood around your shoulders. “You’re a Black Bull,” his eyes were downcast, focusing on his work. And then, quieter: “I said I wanted you.”

You remembered the alleyway, and the sun eclipsing him; his touch, and the way he held your hand. “Oh,” was all you could manage. The transfer was busy work. He must have not realized that. And when he gestured to your still fretting hands, all you could do was stare harder.

“You have more this time,” his hands went back into his pockets. “That’s good, for you.”

The subject change nearly gave you whiplash, despite the pause between. “Um, thanks?”

“Yeah. Anyways, mark this one too.”

It was a simple band. Black, with no embellishments; and when he tilted it in the light, it seemed to swallow the sunshine whole. Dark and—when you got a closer look—incredibly inviting. As you held it in your hand, you noticed it was lightweight. Sturdy, with a smooth finish. Whichever material it was made of felt powerful where it sat. Indestructible. It would not shatter so easily.

It was only after you marked it did you realize you’ve never imprinted upon a ring that didn’t belong to a family member.

After you were done, he slipped it on—left hand, ring finger. His non-dominate hand. A good choice, for his fighting style; he wouldn’t have to worry about changing the way he handled the grip of his sword. It would be out of the way, but at the ready if he needed it.

“There,” he said, with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. You tried not to stare. “Had it made. Figured I’d need one for myself—your hands are puny.”

You sputtered. “Not everyone is as big as you!”

He carried on as if you didn’t say anything. “Thought maybe, if you gave me one of yours, I could wear it on a chain or something. But that seemed like a hassle, so this was what I got instead.”

He held his hand up to the light. One of the things Yami was known for was his magic attribute—it seemed fitting that he would choose an accessory that physically matched the aesthetic; though, you never would have guessed he cared about that sort of thing. A black hole, it claimed space for itself; tugging you in and pulling you within his reach. His hand was warm, when your fingers intertwined.

“It’s beautiful,” you told him. The compliment, however, got drowned out by another, more pressing noise.

“Attaboy, Captain!” someone cheered from an open window. Then, from someone at the front door—“I’m happy you found the perfect ring!”

You turned to see what seemed like the entire base crowded around each other in windows and the entranceway, making no effort to hide themselves as they watched the two of you.

“That’s the man’s way!” The man with the mohawk pumped his fist in the air. “Straightforward!”

The witch held up a bottle, “Let’s celebrate!”

The short one next to her nodded enthusiastically, “We’ll have a feast!”

The man with the hair covering his eye looked surprised. “So this is what they meant when they said Yami was after someone…”

It appeared, where you stood, that there had been a major misunderstanding. Rumors are already spreading in the workplace—on your first day, nonetheless! Involving your boss. Your mother had warned you to stay out of Black Bull scandals; but there you were, in front of the entire squadron, probably ruining Yami’s reputation even more. You dreaded the headlines already—the immigrant Magic Knight captain, abusing his position of authority. Alternatively: the rookie mage, a golddigger.

In your horror, you spotted Finral in the back. Meeting your eyes, he gave you a thumbs up.

“What are you bums doing standing around for?!” Yami charged forth. “Go find some work, all of you!”

Scrambling out of sight, the group dispersed rapidly. Based on the shielded grins and fading laughter, you did not think that reaction cleared up anything at all. What a start to the day.

[mademoisellevixen]

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓 + 𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 🎸˚｡𖦹☆°‧⋆

Follow me on my YouTube channel

A little background about me and my works ✮

Greetings, beloved souls. I am Vixen, and I am thrilled to introduce my new subliminal channel. With a wealth of experience in crafting energy-field audios, subliminals, and affirmation tapes for both myself and my loved ones, I bring a deep understanding of the intricacies of the subconscious mind. Over the past year, I’ve dedicated myself to researching the most effective methods for crafting subliminal scripts. I’ve found that simplicity paired with detailed affirmations resonates most powerfully with my subconscious, as well as with many others.

What distinguishes my work is the meticulous energy charging infused into each creation from several sources. Drawing from my spiritual practice, I incorporate elements such as light languages and collaboration with certain deities that resonate with me. Rest assured, my work is free from witchcraft or spells, except for specific paid offerings that undergo extensive charging as well. Not only that, but I have invested in some better quality audio softwares and text-to-speech tools to aid me in my subliminal making journey. As a practitioner of energy work and various spiritual modalities, I am committed to ensuring the utmost effectiveness and safety of my creations for all who use them.

First public subliminal ✮

𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄'𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄: 𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐊 𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐎 ꩜ .ᐟ

Introducing my latest luck subliminal, freshly crafted and ready to share with the world. While I’ve explored numerous subliminal topics in the past, I’ve honed in on a formula that incorporates a holistic approach to luck manifestation. This subliminal not only targets luck but also ensures that events align in your favor and facilitates the simultaneous manifestation of your desires.

In the creation of this potent subliminal, I’ve collaborated with the divine energy of Goddess Fortuna to infuse it with powerful benefits and energy. It’s important to note that my subliminals do not involve witchcraft or spells; instead, I focus solely on healing frequencies (such as 432Hz), intensive energy work, and the use of light language.

Upon listening, the subliminal’s effects will activate within you, growing stronger with each use. To amplify its transformative power, I’ve incorporated the properties of Green Aventurine, a crystal renowned for enhancing luck and fortune. Additionally, I’ve looped @NightmareKing33’s Shangri-La / The Third Seal subliminal while creating this masterpiece, ensuring its potency.

‼️Please refrain from bundling, stealing, or speeding up my works, as these actions can render them ineffective or disrupt the embedded energies, potentially leading to negative side effects. However, you’re welcome to download and enjoy them at your own pace.

Benefits ✮

Read the whole document first before asking questions. Subliminal includes god affirmations so use it only if you are comfortable. You can use this for literally EVERYTHING you could imagine, whether it is for general luck enhancing to entering the void state. It is literally versatile.

Click here🦇

Paid version of this subliminal ✮

As mentioned earlier, I’m excited to offer a paid version of this subliminal for those seeking an even more potent experience. The paid version boasts additional layers, maximum charging, and includes a vocalized spell for enhanced effectiveness. Additionally, I’m offering a personalized option where your name can be included for a truly customized experience. Please note, however, that I’m not currently accepting requests for personalized subliminals, affirmation tapes, or energy field audios due to the extensive time required for each creation.

A word of caution: it’s essential to experiment with my public subliminals first before considering a purchase, as results can vary from person to person. If you’re ready to elevate your results to the next level, feel free to reach out to me through the following platforms:

Email: mademoisellevixenn@gmail.com

Tumblr: @mademoisellevixen

Discord: @kimiko_kiki_

Some extra surprises for you ✮

As my subliminal channel is still in its early stages, I’m excited to offer you a special incentive for subscribing. I’ve poured my energy into creating and utilizing my manifestation journal, often referred to as a ‘wish book’. This journal has been meticulously charged with specific energies and attunements to aid in manifesting desires, complemented by the use of sigils and the inclusion of several servitors.

For those who subscribe to my YouTube channel, I’ll extend a unique opportunity: a free ‘wish’. Simply follow my channel, then screenshot and send me a direct message confirming your subscription. In return, I’ll write down your name (real or pseudonymous, as long as I’m attuned to it) along with one wish of yours. Please note, while this offering is a powerful tool for manifestation, it’s important to understand that it’s not a guaranteed means of fulfilling your desires.

Ending notes ✮

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. This is just the beginning of my subliminal creation journey. I am excited to share that I will be making other types of audios, including energy fields and affirmation tapes, on my YouTube channel. I hope you can support me on this journey. Thank you once again, and may your dreams manifest into reality 🖤

~Vixen ⭑