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#recycled cover art
dduane · 11 months
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In the "Oh, This Again" dep't
So I was looking around via Google Image Search to see if any easily accessible online source had the publicity-poster version (the one with the blurb quote from Terry Pratchett on it) of this art for the 1991 Corgi/Transworld (UK) edition of The Door into Fire.
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...A bit of a favorite, that one. Look, there's the San Diego Freeway and everything. :)
What I was not expecting to find, though, was this.
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...And on an old friend's book, at that.
(amusement) This has happened with TDIFire before—with the UK Methuen edition, as it happens. Some detail here.
I'm pretty sure Dave would have found this hilarious when he found out about it. I do too. I just wish I could trace the event-pathway between Geoff Taylor being commissioned to do the Fire cover, and the painting then being... sold on to? lent to?... the Italian publisher.
(shrug) No matter. Just missing Dave a little now: he was always a welcome guest around here, when he had time to make it over to this island.
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I saw around us a ring of wolves, with white teeth and lolling red tongues, with long, sinewy limbs and shaggy hair. They were a hundred times more terrible in the grim silence which held them than ever when they howled. For myself, I felt a sort of paralysis of fear. It is only when a man feels himself face to face with such horrors that he can understand their true import.
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hellishgayliath · 15 days
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daxnorman · 1 year
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Pop Graffiti Hit Parade
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takonxmz · 2 years
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𝘔𝘦𝘳-𝘺𝘢𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘯 𝘘𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵. 𝘞𝘦𝘪 𝘞𝘶𝘹𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘏𝘶𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯.
(𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘤𝘰𝘮, 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨)
Podfic of "Happy As A Clam" by Shiome aka @evilhasnever
Listen here! https://archiveofourown.org/works/45288079
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red-dyed-sarumane · 2 years
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concept. 2 interests at the same time
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littleeyesofpallas · 2 years
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Tokyo DRAGON KNIGHT[東京ドラゴンナイト]
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cheriladycl01 · 15 days
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My boyfriend the Bad Guy- Oscar Piastri x Teacher! Reader
Plot: Oscar surprises you in a class that you’re covering for on a day before a race weekend.
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“Okay guys so Mrs Copani won’t be here for the rest of term, but that means I get to teach you guys all about … the rainforest!” You exclaim to the young children in your class. You were currently covering for a school in your district whose teacher went on maternity leave, it was your first job as a teacher rather than a teaching assistant because you were so young.
“Now, this project will be very fun! We’re going to do lots of arts and crafts and at the end of term Headmaster Kelvin has organised a trip” you tell them excitedly and they all start chatting!
“We’re going to a rainforest!” One of them exclaims.
“My mum says they’re a long way from us!” Another chips in.
“Are we going far for this trip?” Another asks a little confused.
“Okay okay settle down! Now you’ll learn that Chloe is right and that there aren’t any rainforests near us. The closest one would be Africa, and I can’t take you guys all the way there … but in the UK we have a place where they have these biome pods called the Eden Project so we’re going to take you there” you explain and they all nod.
“Okay so let’s start on some facts about the rainforest. Does anyone know anything about the rainforest that they can tell me!” You ask.
“It rains a lot!” Dylan shouts and you nod.
“That’s right! It’s helps that its in the name right? But rainforests have a lot of warm humid rain all year round. 79-394 inches. High for comparison is about the height of a tree!” You exclaim and gaze round seeing the fascinated look on all the kids faces.
That was your favourite part of teaching!
“And when you look at a rainforest … like this one” you say getting up a picture of one of the interactive whiteboard. “What do you see!” You ask looking around the classroom.
“Lots or Green” AJ shouts and everyone agrees.
“Mmmmm that’s very true. And what is all that greenery, some of you might have them in your garden at home! We have some in the gardens here and Miss Y/L/N has a few on her classroom windowsill” you offer helpfully, a girl raises her hand.
“Gabby?”
“Plants Miss!” She squeals and you nod with a smile on your face.
“Very good! Now the rainforest is very important as even though only 10% of earth is made up of rainforests … it has the most plants and animals there which helps us” you smile.
“Why miss?” Connor calls out and you smile.
“The trees around us, even the ones here release something out of them that go into our atmosphere and it turn it helps us breath. That’s why trees are so important and it’s why when we use paper, we always ….” You pause waiting for them to finish your common phrase.
“Recycle it” they all giggle and you nod.
“That’s right!” You smile at them all.
“Okay now when you all have a cold what does you mum and dad give you to make you feel all better?” You ask walking around the room.
“Matt” you say seeing the boys hand raised.
“Medicine!” He cries out in joy.
“Lots of those medicines come from the rainforest, that’s why it’s important we preserve it!” You teach them, you could never be to young to teach about protecting the planet.
“What’s preserve?” One of them asks with their head cocked to the side.
“Hmmmm that’s a difficult word to describe. Okay so let’s pretend you guys are … the Avengers” you grin and they all gasp happily.
“I wanna be Captain America”
“I’ll be Thor”
“I want to be Black Panther”
“I’m Kate Bishop”
“Okay okay you can all be whoever you want! But you guys need to protect the environment from all the bad people out there!” You grin, knowing this was all just a bit of fun but still educating them on what’s important.
“Who are the bad people” one of them asks, just before a knock is heard on the classroom door. You look to the left seeing Oscar there watching you with a soft smile on his face. You hop up from your desk walking over to the door.
“Here is one of the villains you have to defeat” you say as you open the door to your boyfriend.
“He’s a bad guy!” One of the girls ask, and you know you’ve just potentially started her obsession with always crushing on the villains in future movies and books she watch.
“But Miss that’s your boyfriend” they all giggle at this and you grin too, Oscar just standing there confused as to why you’re now all of a sudden calling him a bad guy.
“Mmmm and why am I a bad guy?” He asks looking at you with his polite cat smile.
“Who knows what Oscar does for a living, do any of you like Cars?” You ask and they all gasp.
“Miss miss I know I know!” Ollie cries out.
“Yeah?” You asked.
“He drives race cars!” He says on his knees rocking back and forth.
“He does! And he travels all over the world to do it, meaning he doesn’t help the environment, he does the opposite!” You say knowing just how astronomically high your boyfriends carbon footprint was.
The kids then all started to ask Oscar questions about racing, many of them being Lightening McQueen related.
Eventually it was the end of the school day, Oscar kindly helped you pack up the classroom before leading you out to the car park where his McLaren was parked.
“Thank you for coming to get me baby” you smile and he takes your hand guiding it to the gearstick so he can keep a hold of you while he’s there.
“You’re welcome! How was your first fall day teaching them on your own?” He smiles rubbing his thumb along your hand.
“It was really good, we’re starting a rainforest project and so we’re going to make loads of charts for the board I created and at the end of term we’ve got a trip organised!” You explain and he can’t help but grin at how excited you seem.
“Woah, that’s really cool! Do you still think that you’ll be able to come this weekend?” He asks knowing that where you taught Monday to Thursday you had the perfect opportunity to spend GP weekends with him.
“Of course I am baby, I have my flight booked for Thursday night, I’ll get there Friday Morning” you admit and he smiles bringing your hand up of the gearstick and in front of him mouth. He kisses it lightly.
“So where are we going, this isn’t the way home” you ask once you notice your on a different main road.
“Somewhere Lando showed me, I wanted to take you there. I think you’ll really like it” he explains and you nod.
Eventually you come up to a little park, he takes a rucksack from the boot, taking your hand and walking through the afternoon sun with you to the edge of a large pond, that had a wooden bridge going over the middle of it.
“Wow this is gorgeous” you exclaim looking at the surroundings before taking some pictures. You get one of yours and Oscars feet and then a selfie of you guys with the lake in the background.
“I love this, it’s so peaceful” you breathe out a relaxing breath. You and Oscar walk and talk, both having a busy schedule ment that moments like these you could yap to each others hearts content.
He eventually started to lay out a blanket, it was getting a little cooler as the sun got lower and lower in the spring afternoon.
“I brought some wine, and some cheese and grapes. I know you’ve been wanting to go out for a while with the girls but you haven’t had time… so I brought girls night too you” he smiles sheepishly hating how busy both your lives were individually and with each other. You saw your friends maybe once a month at best, you were very lucky they were so understanding.
“I love you Osc” you say leaning into him, kissing his cheek, a blush forming across his nose.
“I love you too baby” he smiles.
You both sit on the blanket leaning into one another while continuing your previous conversation, and sharing chaste kisses every now and then, tasting the rich one on each others lips.
Intimate and personal time like this with Oscar would always be your favourite.
y/user
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Liked by oscarpiastri, landonorris and others
y/user: Oscar surprised me on my first day today and took me out afterwards on a date :) How sweet can he get!
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oscarpiastri: Love you ❤️
-> y/user: I love you more 🥺🌸❤️
ybff: omg you guys are so cute! Seeing you when?
-> y/user: soon for sure! After class coffee? Mrs Copani has gone for maternity leave so I’ll have this post for a while!
user: Billy raves about his new teacher in class today! Thank you for making it engaging!
-> user: I agree Madison came home with the biggest smile on her face today! Thank you Mrs Y/L/N
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Instagram Story Caption:
First day on the job 🌸 Miss Y/L/N
Taglist:
@littlebitchsposts @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @daemyratwst @lauralarsen @the-untamed-soul @thewulf @itsjustkhaos @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @summissss @gulphulp @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhhhh @georgeparisole @youcannotcancelquidditch @tallbrownhairsarcastic @ourteenagetragedy @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @eiraethh @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @dark-night-sky-99 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @laneyspaulding19 @malynn @viennakarma @landosgirlxoxo @marie0v @yourbane @teamnovalak @nikfigueiredo @fionaschicken @0picels0 @tinydeskwriter @ironmaiden1313 @splaterparty0-0 @formula1mount
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momolady · 8 months
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Art the Orc
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If you live in a small town, maybe you'll know this place. It's a little art store run by the same family for ages. It's not changed in all that time either. Picture it, feel it, you know it's the only place that sells that one supply you like. Now, imagine an orc behind the counter. Female Reader x Male Monster
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The visage of the old place looked like it had once been a gas station. There was one of those big metal awnings and signs that gas pumps had once been outside. But everything else looked like the art supply store it was. The window was painted, done up with flowers and a flourishing font, but it hadn’t been touched in ages and was chipping and weathering away.
The old place had seen better days, you could tell. But you were excited to tackle such a special project with your own two hands.
Inside the place had a familiar smell of paint thinner, book pages, and coffee. You looked around the front as the bells on the door chimed. The old floor had seen better days and was worn out where you stood, even the welcome mat was hard to read.
“Welcome to Greengold Creative Station,” the deep voice came from behind the front desk where there was an open door. ‘I’ll be out with you in just a moment.”
“Take your time,” you replied. You continued to look around, noting the mismatched shelving and thrown together renovations dotting the place.
A moment later, a large orc came from the back. He was wearing thick glasses and had on a corded cardigan that covered a paint splattered t-shirt.
“Can I help you find anything?” He asked as he adjusted his glasses.
You approached the front desk again, extending your hand to him. “Hi! You must be Mr. Greengold, I’m from Regency Renovations.”
There was a surprised look upon his face as he shook your hand. “You’re the renovator?”
You smiled, half expecting some reservation based on your appearance. “I specialize in business and storefront renovations. That is what you wanted, correct, Mr. Greengold?”
He fumbled with his words for a moment, stuttering, touching his glasses until he spoke. “Call me Art, please.”
You held it in, but he knew where your mind went.
“It’s short for Arthur, but it's also my dad’s name so my mom calls me Art. Yes, I know, ha ha, very fun. A man named Art runs the art store.”
“It’s an easy target.” You tried to squash your giggling but a few came out.
He sighed and shook his head. “So, you’ll be handling the whole store. I want it updated completely. It was fine for my parents, but I need to bring in a new generation of artists and online shopping is destroying us.”
“It’s a common issue, Art,” you didn’t look at him as you said his name. “I already have some ideas brewing and I would be happy to discuss your thoughts for the business with you.”
He sighed heavily, gazing out at a store that was once his family’s legacy. “I would say I would like to keep some of what my parents did to this place, but I don’t think any of it is salvageable.”
“Well recycling is a thing.” You replied. “Like some of these old shelves, the wood can be reused to create a rustic facade for the front desk here.” You patted the worn out formica top. “And the vintage signage out from can be reused and framed, hung just right behind you there.”
Art made a face. “You can do all that.”
You returned his face, adding a smug smile to it. “I can do lots of things, Art. My father was a carpenter and my mother was a viper. Be careful of what you inflict about me.” You patted your chest proudly. You knew you were small and chubby, not many people expected much out of you, but your work spoke for itself. And that was how you told people off.
“Sorry,” he sighed. “I have a lot riding on this so-”
“So you hired the best. That I can promise you. Now I know you said you didn’t have a lot of funds, but I already have my plans made for how to help you with that. I plan on doing most of the work on my own, but for heavy lifting and other things-”
“I don’t mind helping with that,” he said with a shake of his head.
You had planned to bring in your brother for help, he enjoyed the destruction part of your job and he worked for free food. “Well uh…if you’d like Art, I wouldn’t say no.”
“I wouldn’t want you getting hurt on the job. It would be best if I helped out,” he said.
You couldn’t tell if he was being kind or underestimating you again, so you brushed it off and continued. “I would also like to film the process of the renovation. Stuff like that will help reach your new audience.”
He frowned, and his thick brows pinched together. “You must be joking.”
“I am not. You’d be surprised what the kids these days are watching.” You smirked up at him. “I know what I am doing, Art. Have some faith.”
His face read: easier said than done.
Discussion and planning was always the hard bit. You had to convince your employer of what needed to be done. Art was hesitant about some things, after all it was a family business and a place he had grown up in. But for the most part he was willing to go along with some of your ideas.
Art started the clean up process by first putting away his stock and setting most of the mismatched shelves outside. Once that was taken care of you began ripping up the old carpet and ancient linoleum.
“I remember when my dad put that stuff down,” Art said from behind you.
You looked up, eyes covered by goggles and mouth surrounded by one of those thick industrial masks. “Oh really?”
Art gave you a look. “Is all that necessary?”
“You’d be surprised.” You stacked another chunk of the linoleum to the side. “Lots of debris and who-knows-what is under these old floors. Decades of dirty shoes, dust, skin, and life are stored here.”
Art’s grimace deepened. “Skin?”
“Oh yeah, we shed like mad,” you laughed. “If you have dust in your house you can be assured it came from you!”
Art looked perturbed by this revelation but he continued in moving stock to the back and other store property outside.
Once the flooring was removed, you accessed what was underneath. It wasn’t marble or granite, but it was some type of stony tile that had existed when it was a gas station.
“Mom said it was inhospitable.”
You used a dust cloth to clean off a bit of the flooring. “But it’s easy to clean, and it’ll make the whole place appear brighter and bigger.” You turned and looked back at him, taking off the goggles. “It’ll be so much better in the long run. Plus! You won’t have to buy anything new except maybe a rug or two if you wanted.”
Art’s pinched brow was becoming the norm to see, but you could tell it was because the gears behind it were working so hard to process everything going on.
Once the tiles were cleaned and all the old flooring was hauled off to the dump, you started working on the walls, taking down slapdash shelving, and anything else hanging up. The old paint job, or jobs really, were layered on so thick and hadn’t been properly done. They had painted over the trim and electrical outlets, all of which needed to be replaced. The holes in the walls needed fixing too, and there were a few dents and scrapes from the years.
“You’re not hiring a painter?” Art asked one day.
You zipped up your coveralls and turned around to face him. “Not unless you want to shell out twice the money. Besides, I’m a good painter. A great painter even! Maybe not Rembrandt or anything, but I can handle a roller better than most.”
Art looked over your paint supplies. After days of you working on freeing the electric sockets and scraping the excess from the trim you could finally start working. You were painting the wall white, but you had found cheap sticker tiles to create a great accent wall, which could then be used for photo opportunities and special displays. Then another wall would also be painted white and used to display local artists and projects from the art class that Art taught.
“Mom always wanted to put wallpaper up,” Art murmured. “But said it wouldn’t be practical with everything we needed to hang up.”
There was a melancholy to Art’s face and tone as he said this. “What kind?” You asked as you poured your paint into the tray. “We could always find something close to what she had in mind for the office.”
Art glanced over his shoulder then shook his head. “I doubt I could afford it. I tried looking already.”
You put the roller into the paint, sliding it back and forth until it wasn’t too soupy. “Was this place your mom’s idea?”
“Yeah,” he murmured, his gaze going all about the store. “I can’t believe how empty it is now.”
“It’ll be full again in no time.” You gave him a reassuring smile when his amber eyes returned to you. “Do you have any pictures of your mother you would want to hang up?” you asked. “I can plan a special place for it.”
He huffed, seeming put off by this suggestion. “Excuse me. The smell of this paint is giving me a headache.” He walked off, stomping his feet a little as he went.
Art came back by the time you were finished with the first coat of white. You were sitting in front of the checkout desk, leaned back against it so your foot propped the door open. He stepped over your leg and looked at your work.
“The white really makes this place look…different,” he murmured.
“Don’t worry, there will be some color back soon enough,” you sighed. “Is your headache gone?”
Art nodded, leaning against the desk. “Sorry if I’ve been…obstinate.”
You waved it off. “I’m used to you.”
He shook his head. “No. I’ve been questioning and judging everything, all because I never really wanted to do this.”
You tilted your head up to look at him. “Then why are you?”
He let out that heavy, burdened sigh again. “Because it was in her will.”
You clicked your tongue. “Oh.”
“She left me money, but only if I used a portion of it to renovate the old store. She said it was mine after all, it deserved to reflect the new generation. Even in death she was still hinting I get married.” He scoffed at this, but he still had a smile on his face.
“Sounds pretty motherly.” You stood up from the ground, standing beside him. Not feeling much taller than you did sitting beside his great size. You motioned to the front window. “Did she paint that?”
Art laughed. “No. I did. That’s why she kept it so long.”
Your smile beamed. “Really? That’s pretty adorable.”
He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “For years upon years I’ve looked at that painting and wished every day she would wash it off and do something different. But I suppose her sentimentality was far too deep for that.”
“It’s a good painting,” you offered.
“I never thought she’d keep it so I barely tried,” he grunted and crossed his arms against his chest. “Boy, was I wrong.���
“Would you like to paint the new display? I was planning on just hanging a new sign and leaving the window clean.”
“I don’t know,” he muttered.
You patted his arm, and his eyes darted down to your hand, his brows unpinching for that one moment.
“I’ll wait till you decide then.” You stepped away from him, but his eyes still lingered on where you had touched him.
A few days later, as you were working on putting the sticker tile onto the wall, Art came from the back and offered you a ticket.
“A friend of mine has a gallery showing tonight. He gave me two tickets so I thought-” He hesitated and cleared his throat.
“How fancy is the affair?” You asked.
“Nothing too fancy. I mean, dress up, but not like black tie event or anything.” He cleared his throat again. “I was going to get dinner at my favorite restaurant since it was close by if you wanted to come.”
It clicked and you looked up at him. Your cheeks flushed and your mouth started to go dry. “Oh. Sure.” You tucked your hair behind your ear. “If that’s the case, maybe we should go in together. You know? Save the earth and stuff.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Smart idea. How about I pick you up tonight. Say…around six? Since the gallery is at eight?”
You nodded, biting down on your lip. “Yeah. Perfect. That should give me enough time to get ready after work.”
Art turned awkwardly away then back towards you. “Oh I uh, I guess I should get your address.” You traded info and the rest of the day went by in a jerky, tense sort of way.
That evening you waited in your living room until you heard from Art. You were wearing your favorite dress, and had even gotten your next door neighbor to do your makeup. You got his message and went downstairs to meet him at the front door.
Art was dressed nice in a dark purple suit and he had his long hair slicked back and tied into a bun. He didn’t have on his glasses, which surprised you. His eyes lit up when he saw you.
“Wow, you look great!” He said, a touch breathless.
You blushed and smiled. “Thanks. You look pretty great too. I’m not used to seeing you without your glasses.”
“Yeah, contacts tonight,” he said shyly. He then took your hand and led you to his car.
The restaurant was nice, the two of you had a clumsy start to it, but eventually you both started having an in depth conversation about color. From there, you both laughed and joked around, having a good time with great food and even better wine.
From there you walked to the gallery, meeting his friend then roaming through the show. Her artwork was lovely, but you noticed Art’s pinch brow had returned.
“A lot more nudes than I expected,” he whispered.
“I think it’s nice,” you replied. “I can see what her intent with the motif is. How it’s classic, it's natural, but also subversive.” You turned to Art, noticing him fidgeting and adjusting himself.
“Yes. I understand what she is doing,” he muttered. “I must have had just a little too much wine I think.”
You smiled at him, chuckling as your cheeks grew warm.
The car windows were fogged over, and in the dark all you could do was touch. His kisses felt rough but intimate. His tusks brushed against your skin, making your shiver. Every so often the darkness was halted by the motion light of the parking lot turning on. You’d still for a moment, then continue on with your youthful antics.
“We should stop.”
“We should.”
“Why aren’t we?”
“It’s hard.”
“Very hard.”
You kissed Art and breathed, looking into his eyes while you clasped your hands around his face. Maybe it was the wine or the nudes on display, maybe it was weeks of working so close and holding back so long.
“It’s hard.”
“Very hard.”
You smiled at him, kissing him again while his hands moved below. Your panties were pushed aside, his zipper brushed against your thigh. Big. Oh my god it was big!
You gasped softly and he stilled, watching your expression. You eased over him, taking as much of Art as you could stand. You pressed your palms to the roof of the car for balance, his strong hands kneaded into your thick thighs.
“Aren’t we a bit too old for this?” he breathed.
“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we.” Your laughter turned into moaning. Maybe you were both a bit too old for this, but you’d never had so much fun before! He pressed deeply inside you, and his hands couldn’t stop touching your body. He roamed over the soft curves, and plump form, his desire seeming to grow the more he did.
The next morning you came into work, seeing Art standing in the middle of the room. You held your breath, wondering if it was all a wonderful dream. He turned and smiled, his thick glasses back in place.
“Hi” he said breathlessly.
Your smile bloomed. “Hi.”
Art motioned to the desk. “I brought coffee.”
“I see that.” You smiled and took a cup he offered.
He sighed then laughed and you laughed. “So uh…last night.”
“I liked your friend’s gallery. It was very nice. I also liked your favorite restaurant.” You took a sip of the coffee, testing it before you added anything.
Art nodded, his gaze drifted until it fell back onto you. “Is that all?”
You smiled over your coffee cup. “No. Just barely.” You looked into his eyes. “I wasn’t sure if it was an appropriate work topic.”
“Not exactly but uhm…I just wanted to check.” His eyes darted over you. “Were we really too old for that?”
You laughed and cupped your hand over your mouth. “A little. But I’m not too sore. Are you?”
“No. But I would prefer somewhere much comfier next time.” he leaned in close and you closed your eyes, accepting his kiss and the touch of his tusks against your cheeks.
“Yes, it would be nice.” You saw he had paints and brushes set on the front desk. “What’s this for?”
He sucked in a breath through his teeth. “I thought I’d paint the window. I got a bit of inspiration last night.” He grinned your way. “Plus, I think mom would like to see how I’ve improved.”
You grinned. “I’ll be very excited to see how you work. Outside a car at least.”
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rottenpumpkin13 · 22 days
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I imagine that AGSZ would get into a Hangover type of situation with Cloud missing in the Wall Market and had to retrace their steps.
The Wall Market Hangover Debacle
• After a night of partying in Wall Market, Sephiroth wakes up in Zack's apartment, of all places. He has a pounding headache, his mouth tastes like pizza, his hair is a mess, he's missing a shirt (concerning when he remembers putting one on), and everything is just wrong.
• And then he notices the baby chocobo in his lap.
• Sephiroth is instantly placated and cares for nothing else.
*Angeal wakes up beside him, equally as confused and bedraggled*
Angeal: Why are you in my bed?
Sephiroth: We're on the floor.
*Angeal notices the random phone numbers and "call me"s written all over his arms*
Angeal Oh my god. Are we in Zack's apartment!? What happened last night? I can't remember anything!
Sephiroth: Are you aware that you're covered in lipstick marks and that your breath smells of kerosene?
Angeal: Are you aware that you have a baby chocobo?
Sephiroth: Extremely aware, actually. The moment I encountered an orphaned infant, my protective instincts kicked in, just like how many mammals are biologically wired to care for vulnerable young.
Angeal: It's too early for this.
Sephiroth: It's 16:00.
Angeal: WHAT?
*He gets up quickly. Sephiroth follows him (with the baby chocobo) and they run over to the kitchen. Zack is laying spread-eagle on his kitchen floor, snoring*
Angeal: ZACK!
*Zack wakes up screaming*
*The baby chocobo kwehs, unsatisfied*
Sephiroth, holding the chocobo close: Your screaming is upsetting the child.
Zack: What happened last night? My head is pounding, I can't remember anything, and—is that a baby chocobo?
Angeal: I can't find my phone! Zack, go get yours and check your camera roll, call history, everything. There's a good chance we got robbed!
Sephiroth: Why do you believe we got robbed?
Angeal: Because this place is a mess! Paint splatters on the walls? A pile of energy drink cans? Glitter everywhere??
Zack: Actually, it was like this before we left last night.
Zack:
Zack: I'm trying out art therapy and collecting energy drink cans for recycling :)
Angeal: PHONE.
Zack: On It!
*Zack stumbles into his room to grab his phone*
• Sephiroth is tending to the baby chocobo, fussing over it as a mother would.
• Angeal is watching Sephiroth tend to the baby chocobo, wondering whether or not he's dreaming.
*Zack stumbles out of his bedroom*
Zack: THERE'S A GIRL IN MY ROOM!
Angeal: What did you do!?
Zack: Nothing! I don't even know her!
• All three of them run into Zack's room and sure enough, there's a girl in a pretty, red dress and long red hair sleeping in his bed.
Zack: She's beautiful, but I fear she'll think lowly of me now that she's woken up in my bed.
Angeal:
Zack: I didn't even make her breakfast. Should I make her breakfast?
Angeal: That's GENESIS.
*Upon hearing his name being yelled, Genesis wakes up*
Genesis: Why am I in the puppy's room?
Zack: Dude, why are you wearing a dress!?
Genesis: What? *he looks down* Oh. OH? Who's the scoundrel who did this to me? Which one of you dolts thought it would be funny to dress me like a doll?
Angeal: It wasn't us. We all woke up out there and I can't remember anything.
Sephiroth: And I woke up with this adorable infant chocobo, carrying all the joy of life in its heart, and it brings me a sense of peace I never knew I needed.
Genesis: Where's Cloud?
*There's deafening silence as they all realize Cloud isn't there*
Genesis: We forgot Cloud in Wall Market!?
Angeal: Shit! Sephiroth, put that chocobo down and call Cloud!
Sephiroth: Notice how I’m cradling the chocobo with one arm while using the other to reach into my pocket and pull out my phone—an action that reflects the care of a devoted parent.
Zack: Man, nice!
*They high five*
Angeal: WHAT PLANET ARE YOU TWO ON!? CALL HIM!
• They try to call Cloud several times but he isn't picking up, which means that there's only one way to go about this: They need to retrace their steps back in Wall Market to find him.
Genesis, while everyone else is getting dressed: I’m still in disbelief that someone snuck up on me while I slept and dressed me in this. The shade of red isn’t even close to what I usually wear, and I would never style my hair pin straight like this—I prefer it curled! Plus, this push-up bra is incredibly uncomfortable.
Sephiroth: Then go get changed.
Genesis: No.
Sephiroth:
Angeal: Okay, I'm ready. Grab your stuff and let's go.
*Sephiroth walks towards the door with the baby chocobo*
Angeal: Seph! Leave the chocobo!
*Sephiroth puts the baby chocobo down but it immediately follows him and jumps back into his arms*
Sephiroth: It’s settled, then. I am now the chocobo’s guardian. From this moment forward, I embrace the role of parent to this delightful creature. I shall nurture it, guide it, and cherish it as if it were my own.
Genesis: I think that if you talk to Lazard you can get paternity leave.
Sephiroth: I already checked, and it appears only maternity leave is possible.
Genesis: I'll help you fake a pregnancy.
Sephiroth: You're a good friend.
Zack: Guys? Guys?? Angeal is having a panic attack!
• Once they reach Wall Market, they go to Madam M first because the last thing Zack remembers is getting a massage before he blacked out.
• It turns out that there's a reason why.
*Zack walks through the door and Madam M throws a shoe and starts screaming at him in Wutaian*
Zack: !?
Angeal: Excuse us, Madam M? We're looking for our friend? Cloud Strife? Have you seen him.
*Madam M is still throwing items at Zack and screaming in Wutaian*
Zack: !!!??
Angeal: He's 5'7, spiky blond hair....
*Madam M is still screaming in Wutaian but now she's doing impolite hand gestures*
Sephiroth: She's calling you a, quote, cheapskate hillbilly with ugly hands.
Zack: Rude.
*Madam M is still screaming*
Sephiroth: And now she's cursing your bloodline both past and future.
Zack: ....
*More screaming*
Sephiroth: And now she said something that if I were to repeat, I would have to empty my life's earnings into Angeal's swear jar.
*Screaming*
Sephiroth: She said that you came in here last night, asked for the finest massage, and then tried to pay with a friendly hug.
Zack: Oh yeahh! I remember now. I was trying to see how far positivity stretched.
Genesis: So you robbed an establishment.
Zack: Hey, the hug was enough for the hot dog stand guy! It was enough for the dude selling counterfeit Sephiroth plushies!
Mandam M: I haven't seen your friend. You weren't with him yesterday. Try Andrea. The loudmouthed one in red was very instant last night that your little group go to the Honeybee Inn next.
*They all turn to Genesis*
Genesis: Oh please. What are you all implying by those judgemental looks? That I dragged us to the Honeybee Inn for a night of sin that resulted in Cloud's disappearance??
• At the Honeybee Inn.
*Andrea runs up to Genesis and embraces him as soon as they walk through the door*
Andrea: My darling! I thought the day would never come when you’d grace us with your presence again! You are the very essence of radiance in this establishment! Never has there been a soul more attuned to the fluidity of gender, the artistry of theatrical performances, and the tantalizing allure of rebellion!
*Everyone looks at Genesis, long and hard*
Genesis: I've never seen this man in my life.
Andrea: I see you're still in the fabulous outfit I gifted you last night.
Genesis:
Angeal: Really, Genesis? Honestly, I’m relieved I don’t remember a thing, because I can’t even begin to imagine the shame I’d feel knowing what you did here.
Andrea: Ah, Angeal. You came to pick up your wallet and Shinra ID, I presume?
*He hands them to him*
Angeal: Oh, wow. That's dangerous. I can't believe I'd lose track of these.
Andrea: Yes, well, when you started stripping you threw your pants into the crowd and the wallet went with it.
Genesis: HAAA!
Angeal, irritated: Where's Cloud?
Andrea: Your friend was never here. You were only a group of four when you were sat at one of the tables, and I do believe Commander Rhapsodos mentioned that you were coming from Sam's Delivery Service.
Zack: The chocobos!! That makes so much sense! Come on guys!
• At Chocobo Sam's
Zack: Excuse us, sir! We're looking for our friend, Cloud. Andrea said that we were here last night, but we can't remember anything.
Sam: Yeah, you were here to rent a chocobo to ride around the market on. But you came here as a group of four. There ain't no Cloud here.
Everyone: WHAT?
Sam: Yeah, but from the way you returned Goldie, all covered in glitter and trinkets, I take it you took her for quite the ride around Wall Market.
Angeal: Goldie??
*Chocobo Sam points at one of the chocobos and suddenly everything makes sense*
Zack: Ohhh, that's right! We never came here with Cloud! It was a chocobo all along!
Genesis: I cannot believe we were fooled by our faulty memory.
Angeal: Yeah, I guess in all the confusion, everything got mixed up, and we ended up thinking the chocobo was Cloud.
Zack: An honest mistake.
Sephiroth: Which he would kill you for if he knew. Excuse me, sir, but I have a question. Would this adorable creature happen to be Goldie's child?
Chocobo Sam: No, son. We ain't got no baby chocobos here. That one there belongs to you.
Sephiroth: I see. It seems this chocobo has become my responsibility, and I wouldn’t dream of parting with it. It’s more than just a creature in my care—it’s my child now, and I’ll protect and nurture it as such.
*The chocobo leaps from his arms and runs to play with the other chocobos, leaving him behind*
Sephiroth:
*Sephiroth drops to his knees*
Sephiroth: BETRAYAL. DISLOYALTY. ABANDONMENT—
*They grab Sephiroth and haul him off kicking and screaming*
Zack: We'll get you a puppy!
Sephiroth: I DON'T DESIRE A PUPPY.
Zack: SLANDER. DEFAMATION. INSULTING—
*Chocobo Sam watches them walk away and disappear around the corner*
Chocobo Sam: This day cannot get any weirder.
*The spell wears off and the baby chocobo turns back into Cloud*
Cloud: SONS OF BITCHES.
Chocobo Sam:
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aesethewitch · 4 months
Text
Learning to Cook Like a Witch: Using the Scraps
Cooking can create a lot of waste. From peels and rinds to bones and leaves, people throw away quite a lot of scraps in the kitchen. And witches, as you may know, are experts in the art of the cunning use of whatever we’ve got around.
As a witch who spends a lot of time in the kitchen, I’ve had ample opportunities to get creative in my cooking craft. It helps that I grew up in a household defined by scarcity: not our own, by the time I was conscious enough to remember, but my parents’ poverty. It colored the way I learned to cook, using everything I possibly could, making enough to last, preserving what I didn’t immediately use, and creatively reusing leftovers and scraps.
There are some topics I won’t necessarily cover here. Composting is an option, but there are some bits of food scrap that don’t need to be composted — they can be saved and repurposed for all sorts of things, magic and mundane. Likewise, recycling, buying sustainably, and growing your own food when you can are all great options for reducing household waste in the kitchen.
For the purposes of this post, I want to focus specifically on food scraps. This is an organized list of kitchen scraps that I’ve used in a variety of other dishes and projects. I’m focusing primarily on food waste, not so much on packaging (such as reusing egg cartons, milk containers, boxes, and so forth).
Vegetable Scraps
Freeze leftover vegetable scraps to make stock. This is a fairly common bit of advice — save bits of leftover vegetables to make a vegetable stock or another kind of stock. It’s good advice! I keep a bag in my freezer that I put vegetable scraps in to save until I’m ready to make a new batch of stock. Not all veggies should be saved like this and used for stock! Some make stock bitter or otherwise unpleasant-tasting. Personally, I tend to freeze these for stock:
- The skins, ends, and leftover cuts of onions (just be wary of the skins; too much will make your broth bitter) - The ends of celery (not the leaves — they’re bitter!) - Corn cobs - Garlic skins, ends, tiny cloves that aren’t useful otherwise, and sprouted cloves - The ends of carrots (also not the leaves) - The ends of leeks - Pepper tops/bottoms (not the seeds)
I would recommend against putting things like potatoes, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and leafy greens in there. Potatoes don’t add flavor, sprouts and cabbage make the whole thing taste like those foods, and leafy greens end up bitter. If something has a strong, distinctive flavor (beets, sprouts), I wouldn’t add it to my freezer bag. These scraps often form the veggie portion of my Sick-Be-Gone Chicken Broth spell recipe!
Regrow leeks, green onions, and celery. Pop these in a bit of water and watch them grow back! It’s a fun experiment, and you’ll never have to buy them again.
Plant sprouted garlic. Aside from the fact that you can still cook and eat garlic that’s sprouted, you can plant a sprouted clove in a pot. Care for it well enough, and you’ll end up with a full head of garlic from that one clove!
Fry potato peels. Anytime I make mashed potatoes or peel potatoes for something, I always save the peels. Give them a thorough rinse and shallow-fry them in oil, turning them over until they’re golden and crispy. Toss them in a bit of salt and pepper while they’re still hot, and you’ve got tasty chips to snack on while you cook the rest of your meal! No need to cover them in more oil or anything — the heat will cause the salt to stick right to them.
Save leaves for pesto. Yum, yum, yum. Pesto isn’t just all about basil, you know. Save the leaves from carrots, beets, radishes, and even celery to grind up alongside basil, garlic, salt, and lemon juice for a delicious pesto recipe.
Fruit Scraps
Save citrus peels. Peels from oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and other citrus fruits have a multitude of uses. Candy them for a sweet treat, dry them to add to potpourri or incense, or save them to put into a simmer pot for bright, sunny energy.
Juice the whole fruit. Again, thinking mostly about citrus fruits, when you need the zest from something but not the rest, don’t just throw away the fruit. Squeeze out all the juice you can. Even if you don’t need it right now, you can freeze it to use later in simmer pots, fruity waters, or anything else that needs a touch of juice.
Turn extra fruit and berries into jam or syrup. If you’ve got berries and fruit that are about to go off, or maybe the ends of strawberries, don’t toss them! Look up recipes for jam of the specific fruit you’ve got or make an infused syrup. Syrups in particular can be used for cocktails, teas, and desserts for an extra magical kick.
Pickle watermelon rinds. That’s right. Pickle those suckers. They’re so tasty. I’ve seen people make kimchi with watermelon rinds, too, though I’ve never tried it myself!
Save seeds for abundance work. Seeds in general are great for spells geared toward long-term success, new beginnings, and — when there are a lot of them — wealth. Different fruit seeds have properties that tend to correspond with the fruit they come from, so consider their potential purposes before you just toss them! (Note also that some fruit seeds are toxic; these would be suitable for baneful workings.)
Keep cherry stems for love magic. Have you ever done that thing where you tie a cherry stem with your tongue? If I’m eating cherries, I like to save some of the stems for love workings. Tie them into little knots like you might with string while envisioning ensnaring the love you’re looking for. I wouldn’t do this with a particular person in mind; binding someone to you is almost never a good idea. I’ve used it to attract specific qualities in a person of romantic interest: attentiveness, humor, kindness, and so forth.
Use pits to represent blockages, barriers, and problems. I most often use them in baneful workings, typically jammed into a poppet’s mouth or throat to keep someone from talking shit. It could also represent a sense of dread in that way — a pit in the stomach, uneasy and nauseating. But you could also use them in the sense of removal, ritualistically removing the pit or problem from a given situation.
Herb Scraps
Freeze or dry extra fresh herbs. Different drying techniques are ideal for specific herbs. I’d suggest looking up recommended methods before sticking anything in the microwave. If you’d like to freeze your herbs instead, I typically will lay them on a damp paper towel, wrap them up, place them into a freezer-safe bag, and then put them in the freezer. Most herbs will keep for a couple months this way. When you want to use them, pull them out and let them defrost right on the counter.
Make pesto. Again, pesto isn’t just basil! Experiment with tossing in different scraps of herbs to find out what combination you like best.
Reuse steeped tea. Particularly when I use loose herbal tea, I like to lay out the used tea to dry out. It can be burned similarly to loose incense, though the scent may be somewhat weaker than with herbs that are fresher or unused. I find that it’s fine, since I’m sensitive to smells anyways.
Toss extra herbs into your stock freezer bag. Just like with vegetables, extra herbs make welcome additions to a scrap stock pot. I always make a point to save sage, thyme, marjoram, and ginger. You can add just about anything to a stock pot, but be aware of the flavors you’re adding. Not all herbs will match with all dishes.
Protein Scraps
Dry and crush empty egg shells. This is one most witches will know! I use crushed egg shells for protection magic most often: sprinkled at a doorstep mixed with other herbs, added to jars, and spread around spell candles.
Save shrimp, crab, and lobster shells. They’re a goldmine of flavor. Toss them into water with veggies and herbs, and you’ve got a delicious, easy shellfish stock. Use it to make fishy soups and chowders that much richer.
Don’t discard roasted chicken remains. Use them for stock, just like the shells. I like to get rotisserie chickens on occasion since they’re ready-made and very tasty. Once all the meat has been stripped off the bones, simmer the entire carcass with — you guessed it — veggies and herbs for a tasty chicken stock.
Reuse bacon grease for frying. After cooking bacon, don’t throw away the grease right away. Melt it over low heat, strain the bits of bacon out, and pour it into a jar to put in the fridge. You can use it to fry all sorts of things, but my favorite thing is brussels sprouts. They pick up the delicious, salty, bacony flavor from all that rendered bacon fat. So good.
Other Scraps
Use stale bread for croutons or bread crumbs. When I reach the stale end of a loaf of bread, as long as it isn’t moldy, I like to tear it into pieces and toss it into the oven for a little while. Let it cool and then pulse it in a food processor, and I’ve got delicious bread crumbs! Or, cut it a little more neatly, toss it in oil and seasonings, and then bake, and now I’ve got homemade croutons for salads. You can really hone your herbs for both of these, tuning them to be perfect for whatever spell needs you have.
Small amounts of leftover sugar. I don’t know why, but I always end up with a tiny amount of white and brown sugar in the containers. This can be used in teas, of course, but I like to offer it up to spirits. In particular, my ancestors tend to appreciate a spoonful of brown sugar stirred into a small, warmed cup of milk. You can also look up mug cake or single-serving cookie recipes; often, they’re cooked in the microwave, and they only need a little sugar to make!
Keep vanilla bean pods. Vanilla is fucking expensive. When I have a little extra and want to really splurge for a special occasion, I’ll get a couple pods. And because they’re so expensive, I hate wasting any part of them. They’re good for love magic, sure, but you can also toss the spent pods in a jar full of sugar to make vanilla-infused sugar. I’ll often use the pods to make infused milks, too; warm the milk over low heat, add the pods, and let it steep like tea. It goes great in teas and desserts. For a nice self-love spell, sometimes I’ll melt chocolate into the vanilla milk and make hot cocoa!
Save the rinds from Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheese. You might not be able to just bite into these, but they’re fabulous additions to a stock pot. They add a rich, umami depth to the flavors. I also like to throw these into pots of tomato sauce to add even more flavor to the sauce.
Used coffee is still coffee. After I make a pot of coffee, I’ll sometimes save the grounds by letting them dry back out. I wouldn’t make another cup of coffee with them, since all the flavor’s gone, but they’ll still have attributes of energy generation and smell great. I like to pack used grounds into sachets to hang in places where I want to encourage more energy and focus, replaced every few days or so. Coffee grounds also have high amounts of nitrogen in them, which can help plants thrive; just be careful about pH values in the soil! You don’t want to hurt your plants with too much acidity.
Final Thoughts
I hope you found these tips helpful! There are a ton more ways to save and reuse kitchen scraps that would otherwise go to waste. Sometimes, tossing stuff into the compost or trash can’t be avoided. But I’ve found that being aware of the possibilities can help diminish the amount that gets wasted.
If you have questions or other suggestions for reusing kitchen scraps, feel free to drop them in my inbox, reblogs, or replies. And if you did enjoy this post, consider tossing a couple dollars in my tip jar! Supporters get early and sometimes exclusive access to my work, and monthly members get bonuses like commission discounts and extras. (:
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vincentbriggs · 9 months
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Mr. Fiberglass looks very dashing and extremely gender. May I ask how you made that mask? It looks great and I may want one for myself 👀
Thank you!
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It was 8 or 9 years ago so I don't remember it super well, but it's mostly cardboard and papier mâché. I built the base using cardboard boxes and a lot of masking tape, and you can still see some of the tape and cardboard inside the snout.
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I made the horns by cutting 2 identical spiral shapes out of cardboard, and stretching them like a slinky, which is a much easier way to get them to spiral and be symmetrical than starting out with a straight thing and curving it. I'm pretty sure I bulked them up and got them to stay in that shape by taping lots of wads of crumpled up newspaper to the sides.
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I covered the whole thing in layers of very cheap paper towel and Elmer's art paste, and used that to add a few little ridges and such.
The texture on the horns was made by just wrapping one long continuous strip of paper towel around and around, straight off the roll. (It was the really cheap stuff with no perforations and with obvious flecks of recycled paper in it.)
I have a piece of polyester batting shoved into the top because I didn't quite get it to the same shape as the top my head, and it's a bit uncomfortable.
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It's also very hard to see in! I looked at photos of real sheep skulls for reference, and I put the eyes further forward to account for my human binocular vision, but they're still really far back and hard to see out of, so you have to look out the nose too.
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I seem to remember first painting it with glossy acrylic paint, and then repainting it with matte paints because it just doesn't look as skull-like when shiny. The shading is awful because acrylic paints dry so dang fast, so it might be nice to go back and refine the texture a bit and repaint it again someday, but that's not at all on my priority list right now.
I hope this helps, and that you have fun making one!
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Writing Reference: Symbolism of Colors
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Colors are proven to have a profound effect on the human psyche and moods.
Territories use colors to represent themselves on their flags.
The significance of colors is proven by the high value that our ancestors placed on certain plants or substances that could be made into dyes, such as the Imperial Purple of Rome that was produced from a mollusk that was valued more highly than gold, or the saffron crocus that produced the sacred color of the same name.
Prior to the development of chemical dyes, the creation of colors that did not fade in the Sun or wash away was a combination of art, science, and magic, akin to an alchemical process.
The impact of the Sun shining through stained glass, painting the interiors of churches with living colors that shimmered and danced, in a medieval world where color was often a privilege of the wealthy few, can only be imagined.
The 7 colors of the rainbow—which break down into 700 shades that are visible to the naked eye—are associated with the seven planets, the days of the week, the Seven Heavens, and the seven notes of the musical scale.
Symbolic Meanings of Some Colors
BLACK
Night, the absence of light; mourning, sobriety, denial; authority; perfection and purity; maturity and wisdom.
Although it’s the opposite of white, both shades are, in fact, due to an absence of color, and technically speaking black is not a “color” at all. This doesn’t stop it having a wealth of symbolic meaning.
BLUE
Truth and the intellect; wisdom, loyalty, chastity; peace, piety, and contemplation; spirituality; eternity.
There’s something cool and detached about blue that gives rise to its reputation for spirituality and chastity. Above all, blue is the color of the sky. Like the sky, blue is infinitely spacious. It contains everything, and yet contains nothing. The color is therefore associated with ideas of eternity.
BROWN
Poverty, humility, practicality.
Primarily associated with the Earth, soil, the raw element before it is covered with greenery. The word for earth, in Latin, is humus, which carries the same root as humility. Religious ascetics wear brown as a reminder of this quality and also of their voluntary material poverty.
GRAY
Sobriety, steadiness, modesty.
Gray is the midway point between black and white, and tellingly the “gray area” is an area of indetermination, indecision, or ambiguity. To be described as gray is rather less than flattering, since gray is such a subdued and neutral color, and implies that the person blends into the background.
However, gray is also a color of balance and reasonableness and is the color used, in photography, to balance all others.
Because people’s hair turns gray with age, the word is often used to describe elderly people and is also a color of wisdom.
GREEN
New life, resurrection, hope; the sea; fertility and regeneration; recycling, environmental awareness; a lucky color; an unlucky color.
Green is an amalgam of blue and yellow, and is the color of the fourth chakra. Green is the universal symbol for “Go!” to red’s “Stop!”
MOTLEY
Wealth; a chameleon personality.
Not strictly a color as such, but a combination of many other colors. The word is generally used to describe cloth or clothing. The rainbow nature of motley means that whoever wears it has as many aspects as there are colors, a chameleon personality, and it can indicate the trickster or fool (as worn by the jester, or the Fool in the Tarot) as well as kings, emperors, and deities.
In the Bible, Joseph’s coat of many colors is the object of much envy.
ORANGE
Balance between spirit and sexuality; fertility and yet virginity; energy; the Sun; like yellow, orange is believed to be an appetite stimulant.
Orange has two aspects that we see time and time again, pivoting between the material and spiritual worlds, which is not surprising given that the color itself is a balance between red and yellow. As such, it represents the second chakra, the first being red, and the third, yellow.
PINK
Femininity, innocence, good health, love, patience.
Pink is the ultimate feminine color, being flirty, girlish, and innocent at the same time. Pale pink is used as the symbol for a baby girl, just as pale blue is used for baby boys. This feminine angle is why the color pink has been adopted as a symbol of gay pride. Pink is the color of universal, unconditional love.
PURPLE
Royalty and pomp; power, wealth, majesty.
Purple, or indigo, is the color associated with the sixth chakra. Since it was first discovered, purple has been the color of choice to denote wealth and power. Emperors, kings, and the more powerful members of the clergy—such as bishops—choose the colour as a way of defining their status. This is because the dye itself was originally available from one source and one source only; the secretions of a certain gland of an unfortunate sea snail called the Murex brandaris. Therefore, purple was extremely costly to produce and strictly the color of those who could afford it, since the dye itself was more expensive even than gold. The most popular shade of the color is called Tyrian Purple (named for the city of Tyre, where it was manufactured).
RED
Vitality and life-force; fire, the Sun, the South; blood; good luck and prosperity; power and authority; masculine energy; war and anger; passion, energy, sexuality.
One of the three primary colors, bright red pops out of whatever environment it happens to be in and grabs our attention more than any other color. Moreover, it is the first actual color that is seen by babies.
SAFFRON
Spirituality, holiness, good fortune.
Named after the saffron crocuses whose stigmas create the color, the harvesting of these delicate plant parts is a labor-intensive and time-critical matter and so the actual dye is costly to produce.
VIOLET
Knowledge and intelligence; piety, sobriety, humility, temperance; peace and spirituality.
Violet is the color associated with the seventh chakra. There are many shades of violet ranging from ethereal pale shades through to the darker mauve, considered the only color acceptable as a relief from the relentless strict mourning convention of black and gray in Victorian times. Violet is a combination of red and blue, and its association with temperance is indicated in some Tarot suits.
The humble qualities of violet as a color come from the flower. The tiny violet grows close to the ground, hidden modestly in among the grass, yet noticeable because of its striking color.
WHITE
Purity, virginity; death and rebirth, a beginning and an end; in the Far East, mourning.
White is both the absence of any color and the sum of all colors together, so in a sense it can mean everything or nothing. This combination of all colors has given white the name of the “many-colored lotus” in Buddhist teachings.
YELLOW
The Sun; power, authority; the intellect and intuition; goodness; light, life, truth, immortality; endurance; the Empire and fertility [China]; cowardice, treachery.
Yellow is one of the three primary colors and is related to the third chakra which lives in the region of the solar plexus. This is apt, since yellow, like red and orange, is one of the Sun colors. It could be argued that yellow is the most dazzling of the three, so the association makes good sense.
Because leaves turn yellow and then to black with the onset of fall, in several places, including Ancient Egypt, yellow is a color of mourning. A yellow cross was painted on doors as a sign of the plague, possibly for the same reasons, and even today yellow marks off a quarantined area.
Source More: On Colours
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vintagerpg · 5 months
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DL14: Dragons of Triumph (1986) marks the end of the the Dragonlance saga and the War of the Lance. It’s full to brimming — three booklets and a map. Some aspects seem rushed. Diana Magnuson’s art in general seems very sketchy here and the recycling of some illustrations from the 1983 Basic Set seems…odd for what should be a big budget, marquee release, the capstone on three years of campaign releases!
It’s interesting too that for all the series’ experiments in narrative and unconventional modes of play, the climax of the story proceeds along pretty typical D&D lines: a big ol’ hexcrawl, some city exploration followed by the final set piece in Takhisis’ temple, a mid-sized dungeon, where players enact the solution they uncovered in D13. There’s plenty of events, too, but the finish is refreshingly uncomplicated, I think? Also, I get WHY the adventures diverge from the novels, but I still miss the big character notes for Sturm, Flint and Raistlin. I don’t know how you keep those in without making a big mess, but I do wish it was a riddle that these folks figured out.
There’s a pile of extra stuff in the form of a sourcebook, a sort of sequel to DL5, which details the world of Krynn in a way that almost but not quite supports further play. That’d have to wait a few more years. There’s also a collection of all the monsters, which, they all appeared elsewhere, but I like it when monsters hang out together.
Also, old saw, but as much as I like this Caldwell cover, I also think it sucks in the way it diminishes the strength of Laurana’s character. Compare to Elmore’s depiction on Winter Night or Parkinson’s fantastic portrait of her standing over Sturm’s corpse. It bums me out on a certain level that she’s chained and pantsless in typical Caldwell fashion on the cover of the finale. Takhisis looks great tho.
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dduane · 2 years
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On the Recycling of Cover Artwork
So we were discussing this image...
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I mentioned in that post that I'd previously seen an image of a book by Andy Offutt that also sported this cover art. I hate not being able to cite things, so I headed over to Google Images to see if I could find it.
And I couldn't. But what I did discover���once I'd taken another run at the problem by cropping the lettering off the art and resubmitting the search—was that the image also appeared as cover art for a Canadian-based thrash metal band called Exciter, on a 1985 album called "Long Live The Loud."
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(It also appears in a Pinterest collection of Real Dumb Album Covers, but that strikes me as unnecessarily judgmental.)
At any rate, examining that album's Discogs page a little more thoroughly, I found to my delight that they've got an artist credit there! And on finding it, I headed straight off to check my copy of the Methuen paperback for any possible confirmation... and sure enough, there it was (though in a place I somehow previously missed checking: the back of the book) So now I've finally been able to amend Fire's page at DianeDuane.com to add a credit.
The artist turns out to be Alan Craddock, who's gone on over the years since the above painting to do a whole lot of cover work on all kinds of British SF. He's now a much-respected colorist on 2000AD and elsewhere in the comics world—for both Marvel and DC, as well as various other comics, including some of @neil-gaiman's mid-90s projects for Tekno Comics). The above work would've been one of his very earliest ones, done while he was just starting to settle into his craft. (While in the meantime doing what a cover artist must do: whatever the art director tells him. So I willingly forgive him the metal booty shorts and spear-spiked heads and so forth.) :)
Anyway, there's a mystery unexpectedly solved! And happily, too.
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