#shes an artist too and she does more realism

[theo-grayson]

drawing ive made as a gift for a friend! im going to meet her for lunch tomorrow :) i havent seen her in so long and she means so much to me, since i cant afford a gift i wanted to draw her :)

[kat-rose-griffith]

Something that I really appreciate about The Rookie is the very realistic way that they portray abusive/neglectful/or just generally shitty parents. Like they don’t ever magically change them for the purpose of wrapping up an episode, they don’t suddenly choose to be better, most of the time they stay shitty. Lucy’s parents are highly critical of her especially for being a cop, one even going as far as disowning her, and even though they do seem to still be in her life, they don’t magically change their treatment or stance on that no matter how great she does. Tim’s alcoholic abusive father is still an abuser even on his death bed and isn’t remorseful for any of it. Nolan’s mother is a lying con artist that pops in and out of his life as she pleases and directly causes him problems every time, even after her death, with no particular care for him only how she can use him.

The best part of these storylines for me is also that they don’t make the characters forgive their shitty parents, especially when they choose not to change. Nolan’s mother dies and even being the ultimate good guy of the show he doesn’t suddenly act like she was a different person just because she died, even in the face of other characters trying to do so, and that’s completely fine. Tims sister had different experiences with their father because Tim shielded her from a lot of it so they approach their father dying differently and even with her pushing him to act differently about it, he doesn’t ever forgive him or visit him for her sake. The only reason he sees him is because of a murder his father was involved in and to tell him off one last time. Tim walks away from that room not forgiving his abusive father but instead choosing to let go of the resentment he had been harboring for himself and for his sister. He didn’t want to be so angry anymore, he didn’t want to be like him, so he chose to work at being better and that is a far more worthy story to tell.

There’s no forgiving of the abuser in their storylines and I really appreciate that. I like it for its realism but I also like it because in a way it takes the power back from their terrible parents because the story is not about them, at its core it’s about the people that they hurt and how that affects them. It’s so much more compelling seeing the characters constantly working to overcome that to be the people they want to be than the parents magically becoming better because their kids had character development

I don’t want to make this post any longer so I won’t get into it but they also approach forgiveness and change, when it’s appropriate, really well too. The best example is with Tim’s ex wife Isabel. She’s kind of a combination of the stuff I described in this post and how well they do forgiveness on this show.

[snarky-art]

I swear I dont wanna be mean but why does everyone keep making stella fat. Why is it that the most attractive character, whom everyone finds beautiful inside the show, is the one who is always turned fat. Like... No one would find her attractive if her canon design was like that. I promise im not being mean but I feel like the artists are always projecting themselves onto Stella and wanting to be loved like she is, cause usually the ones making her fat are fat too, like I saw your selfies and you're a bit curvy. I promise im not being mean im just curious.

For starters, send me more fat Stella’s if you can I haven’t seen that many made and would love to see more varied takes on her appearances in redesigns.

Secondly, I made her fat because I think it’s nice to have the character that’s canonically considered to be the most beautiful girl in all of magix, a fashion icon in the magical dimension, a very celebrated trendsetter, be something other than the stereotypical concept of socially acceptable fashion tropes. She isn’t an hourglass, she has cellulite and stretch marks, she’s super pear shaped, and that can be and should be considered something to be normal, since they are, and shouldn’t be seen as things that need to be hidden. Having that put on a loud and proud fashion girly seems good imo and it can only really contribute to good stuff for body image stuff and representation. I did it so people like you could reconsider that beauty is something that comes in multiple forms and shouldn’t have to fit one type of standard. If we wanna get super technical too those standards also very from culture to culture and I image that’s extended even further in Winx club.

The girls are all aliens from different worlds. There’s bug people. There’s a lady in the miss magix episode that has tentacle hair, a blue body, and tentacle hands and feet. I highly doubt beauty standards in canon would be the same as what you’re saying, ie that no one would consider her beautiful. As if people who look like her irl also would inherently be considered not beautiful too. I know lots of people who have people that think they’re the hottest thing ever and they have all sorts of different body types and traits. Lets just call it realism lol

I’m not really projecting any of my physical stuff on her also, outside of I guess stretch marks and cellulite?? But I put those on other characters too so I don’t really think that holds up. I actually put my old body type on Flora since she’s my favorite, but now I’m way more midsized, like a slightly thinner Bloom from my stuff (love this unit of measurement gonna start using the gorls as a reference point for my appearance going forward lol). I’ve always had the “socially acceptable” fat type of body, ie hourglass with even proportions and a super snatched waist. I just think it’s tired and trite to constantly reenforce the idea that “the hot fashion one” needs to be tall and thin all the time, and if she is made fatter, that she needs to look like I did ie not much of a tummy with super equal proportions, big boobs, and a big ass.

Kinda related to that also, I made a post about a lot of character design “rules” too that I think are kinda outdated and annoying, at least to me, since I’ve seen them a million times. We all have. So I decided to do something different that I think would be good for normalizing traits outside of what we consider typically acceptable for that kind of character.

I’m already very loved also and don’t need to project anything on Stella lmaooo

I got multiple partners, great friends, do modeling, and am slaying with my own fashion and appearance stuff outside of that too. That’s all independent of whatever I’m doing with her physical body type when I draw her.

Gonna level with you also, you going “I’m not trying to be mean” doesn’t erase how weird this ask is. Sounds like you have your own gripes that you need to work through. Like, if you consider those traits on Stella ugly, that means you definitely have some internalized hatred for fatness, skin blemishes, scarring, and other peoples’ general appearances if they don’t fit some specific molds that aren’t realistic for the majority of people. Even if it is just genuine curiosity, being aware of this stuff going forwards and reevaluating how you view beauty standards and bodies in general would do you a great benefit imo.

Thanks for going through my old selfies tho it was pretty weird of you but at least make sure to leave a like on them. I looked hot when I was fatter and I look hot now too sharing this with the world is the least I can do💕✨💕✨

[hollycircling]

would you consider dropping some tips on how you color? your art always has such a nice feeling to it

Thank you so much, and yes, absolutely! 

So... I have been agonizing over how to answer this question for over a week because I tend to make a lot of my major decisions based on what looks and feels good to me in the moment. It’s sort of hard to explain. Then I started getting philosophical with it (“how does one color? How do I explain aesthetic?”), and I started rambling, and had to cut the answer way, way, way down lol.

But here’s what I can help with right now. I think the most important part of how I color is my tools and what they allow me to do. These are currently my favorite brushes to use: 

From top to bottom, I use Kyle T’s Gouache for just about everything. A lot of my recent pieces are done entirely in that– I love the chunky texture and how the pressure mimics traditional gouache. It’s great for children’s book illustrations, and filling linework, and realistic portraits. She is my soft wife and I love her. 

I practically never use the default hard round. Ignore that. 

The roller brush is another one I use for painting. It was my go-to before KT’s gouache, so you’ll find it a lot in my older work (and as a big texture thing in my current works). The “Sampled Tip” below that one I usually use for children’s book styled illustrations. It’s like a really dense, waxy crayon, so it’s fun for textured lines and details.

I always paint in my own shadows and highlights, but I like to use the soft round if I want to blow the shadow or highlight out. It’s for extra large areas.

And finally my pencil. I use it for sketching as well as linework, if I plan on doing a linework-centric piece. I don’t think there’s much of a difference between the two there… one is probably smoother than the other. 

______________

The reason why I like textured, pressure-sensitive brushes so much is because they’re important to how I paint. When I blend, I don’t use a blender brush or a smudge tool. What I do is layer two colors– lightly– then use the eyedropper to select the color between them and continue painting with it. That’s probably the key to most of my work. I’ve gotten pretty fast at it, so I’m constantly selecting colors from the painting and reusing it throughout my painting. 

I still use the color-wheel to hand-pick what I think will look best, though. This is probably going to be a really frustrating answer, but I choose color palettes based on basic color/lighting theory combined with personal aesthetic preference. It can take some studying (of both theory and other artists’ work). If you’re ever looking for a really great reference on the former subjects, I highly recommend Color and Light by James Gurny. Even if you’re not into watercolor or dinosaurs or realism, the guy is a master at explaining all that different stuff in depth. 

Shape and negative space are also pretty important to me, but that's a whole other thing. And as a side-note, I recommend following more children’s book illustrators. Their work may look simple, but a lot of intention goes into how they use color, shape, space, and texture. 

Also, on texture, I hand-draw most of mine. I love to add little scratches and drops and splashes when the painting is almost over. It's one of my favorite things to do :')

____

Now, the other most important tip:

Once I’m happy with the sketch/linework, and once I’ve laid down the basic colors of my piece, I do a Really Terrible Thing. I become a graphic designer’s worst nightmare and collapse everything onto one layer. 

Then I paint directly on top of it, linework and all.

I do this for a lot of reasons, but mostly because 1) my tiny brain is overwhelmed by the clutter of too many layers, and 2) it forces me to approach a piece as if it was traditional media– a process which I find a lot more comfortable and rewarding. I paint right on top of the base colors, and right on top of the linework, effectively redoing and cleaning up what I already have there. Even if I'm working with a blank background, I'll paint a new blank one on top because it gives the feeling of a more unified piece, if that makes sense.

Basically, I approach my drawings as if I’m using traditional media. I like chunky brushes, utilizing (what I personally think are) interesting color combinations and textures, and smashing everything down onto one page so I can just paint. 

Anyway, please let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like me to go into detail on, any pieces of mine you’d like to know how exactly I went about it, etc etc etc. I’m happy to answer ^^

[catsfor2]

fem!artist!reader x ellie

<warnings> sexual ?tension ?, slight slight angst, swearing, UNEDITED!

i’ve been wanting to write some hcs/drabbles for a bit and am finally doing it!!. this is kinda self indulgent and i thought others might enjoy. i want to do fics, more hcs, and am CURRENTLY DOING REQUESTS/ASKS!!!!! so plssss interact/tell me what u think!!! —j

Ellie found value in her art mainly through its life and realism. Her sketchbook was merely snippets of her mind - the love, the fear, the humor, the darkness.

Aside from books she’s sparsely found, she hasn’t been exposed to much other forms of art.

When you appeared in Jackson, it barely took days for mentions of the new ‘town artist’ to reach her ears. Dina, fawning over a delicate set of earrings, “Ellie she makes them out of plants…or like…the sap? I don’t totally remember what she said but I swear she’s so freaking cool,”

Or when Jesse came strolling in, rambling about this tiny dagger ring he now has, made out of an old spoon.

“Look I didn’t even buy it alright? Dina won’t stop talking about this chick who makes like…jewelry..I guess? Now I’ve got probably the shortest range weapon known to man,” he finished, smiling.

The final straw was when Ellie came home from a patrol late one night, achy and worn, to a tiny box sitting on her mattress.

As she peered closer, she saw a note hastily taped to the side. It read:

“Hey its Dina. I saw something and it made me think of you. I may have blabbed about you to the artist and she knows who you are now. Oops. She said she wants to see your drawings. Don’t hate me.”

Ellie felt her body suddenly become more achy and more tired. Of course. She didn’t want to get involved in this bullshit, some newcomer wooing all her friends with useless junk. Although, the thought that Dina got her a gift blurred her annoyance to a degree.

Ellie’s fingers tore through the wrapping on the outside, flipping the lid to reveal a small, bone colored pendant strung with a brown braided cord. As she peered closer, the pendant became a moon;It’s face, immaculately tiny, smiling subtly.

The necklace was far too obstructive for Ellie to wear at all, honestly. Dina probably knew this when she got it. But the pendant truly is beautiful. An entirely different art form. A different show of care - of talent. The detail allows her to comfortably sit in her room and study it quietly for another ten minutes.

Ellie sat hunched the next morning, eating something bland for breakfast, only clad in a loose sports bra and some sweatpants.

A knock heightened her soggy mood.

“Are you fucking- I went out yesterday there’s no fucking reason to be knocking on my door at—”

Jesus. There is no mistaking it, Ellie thinks. This is you.

Your hair is intertwined with beads, some homemade and some foraged from the looks of it. Dozens of necklaces, layered and tangled around your neck. The same can be said for both of your wrists. Your ears, pierced up the sides and looped with beads, charms, and other metal pieces.

It was like you were a display for the things on your body. Except, no, Ellie thinks, your face stands out amongst it all. Somehow, with all of the things covering you, your beauty is the most noticeable.

It does nothing to quell how annoyed Ellie is, however.

“Who are you,” Ellie quips(knowing full well who you are). “and what do want.”

“I’m sorry- am I intruding? I really didn’t want to bother you or anything!” You rush, suddenly embarrassed.

“I’m y/n, I just moved here. Dina just said that you might have some extra pencils and stuff that I could borrow if I ran out?” You say, hoping desperately you can save this first impression.

“I mean…” Ellie uncrosses her arms and brushes some hair behind her ear.

“Yeah, you can use some shit. I have enough to share. I didn’t know Dina told you that, so. My bad. For being…rude.” She adds, opening the door even wider. You see her muscles flex as her arms extend and curse yourself for even noticing.

“Oh it’s fine, really!” You say, making sure to remember this about Dina. Also making sure to avert your eyes from the dangerously low cut of Ellie’s sweatpants. Her careless movements are really making you nervous.

Ellie gestures for you to enter, abruptly grasping your shoulder when you don’t move as fast as she would like. She begins to walk you farther into the room.

“You do realize it’s 6 a.m. right? What do you need pencils for at 6 a.m.?” She says, staring you directly in the eyes.

“Ah, well, I guess you’re not a morning type of creator?”

“No.” Ellie sternly remarks. “I’m not.”

She turns around to start walking away.

Starting to feel like a pest, you quickly try to think of something else to change the subject.

“Y’know…I think a ring would look really nice on your hands. Or fingers- I guess.”

That’s a nice compliment right? Or did I just say something fucking insane? You think.

Ellie straightens, slowing her pace a bit.

“I could make you a ring? Like as a trade? For the…pencils?” You say.

She turns.

“Yeah…Sure…” Her hands fall on her hips.

“How do you know how big to make it,” Ellie says. “The ring.”

“Well, what I’ve been doing is using this like, bendy piece of plastic to—well, hold on,” you pause, grabbing her hand to demonstrate.

Ellie’s eyes snap to yours in an instant, invisibly clouding your brain with something warm and fuzzy. You feel her hand flex in yours.

“uh…yeah, so I use this,” you reach into your pocket. “and I wrap it around whichever finger, like middle or ring finger.”

You instinctively wrap it around her ring finger, matching up the lines and moving your head in close to see which number lines up. You feel her figure move closer to you, almost hovering over you as you work.

“aaaand it looks like you’re a size….9” you mumble, running your hands along the base of her fingers before shyly retrieving yourself from touching her, remembering the situation.

Before you can move, Ellie snatches both of your wrists, bringing them in between the both of you. Her eyes intimately gloss over your rings.

“Hold up, could I try on one of yours?”

Your face colors. You couldn’t really explain, but something about the way she’s gripping your hands makes the blood in your body heat up.

“I…yeah, yes. But these are gonna be like…pinky rings for you.” You say, hands fumbling to take off one of your rings for Ellie to try on. Your palms are getting sweatier each time she touches you.

“What?”

“Your fingers are bigger than mine. So,” you take your ring and attempt to place it on her finger. “it only fits…” Ellie’s eyes track your hands. “…on your pinky. There. See? Pinky ring.”

“Oh.” She says. Her gaze still hasn’t left your hands, almost like she’s noticing them for the first time.

You misread her quietness as some sort of sadness.

“Hey, your hands aren’t that much bigger than mine- I know a lot of girls who just have bigger ring sizes. It’s not like- a thing. To feel bad about, or anything.”

Ellie says nothing. Her mouth twitches.

“Your hands are nice. I think..”

She looks up, a laugh bubbling out slightly. Finally, she stops you.

“I don’t mind having big hands.” She looks at you with something weird, something extra.

“They’re not really that big…” You joke, thankful that Ellie has seemed become less irritated with your presence. You notice the wirey veins tracing between her fingers and lining the backs of her hands.

“Yeah?” She questions. “Wanna compare?”

The way shes smiling at you puts a fiery ball in your stomach. It gets hotter as you realize she will not stop looking at you.

“Wow you really can’t take your eyes off my hands, huh? You really want to make me a ring that bad?” She says. Something in her tone makes you pulse between your thighs.

“Oh- I don’t mean to stare. I’m sorry.” You utter, trying to regain your composure.

This is not the Ellie you were taking to before. You felt…vulnerable, now. Your shirt felt thin, it had you rethinking your bralessness. Your shorts felt…short. It felt like the exposed parts of you were burning under the possibility of being seen by Ellie.

“No, I think you mean to.” She continues, “Because you’ve been staring this whole time.”

She’s found you out. You tried your best to be subtle about the yearning, the pull you felt, the way you’ve been just a little breathless ever since you’ve walked through the door.

But you failed.

“It’s really cute, the way you say you like my hands cause of the ring thing.”

She grabs your chin gently and rubs her thumb just under your mouth.

“…But. Be honest.” She stops. Her other hand starts to inch up your leg. You barely notice until her hand brushes the hem of your shorts.

“They just turn you on.”

Your eyes flip wide open, as does your mouth.

“You can pretend it’s some sort of artistic muse thing, but I think…” Ellie tucks a strand of hair behind your ear before leaning in closely near your neck. “you just want to be touched.”

Your silence is encouraging to her, it seems. The way your eyes have glossed over and cheeks gone red also let her continue,

“Yeah, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Have you been waiting for someone to ask you that?” Her eyes flit between your lips and the outline of your pebbled nipples under your shirt.

“For someone to give their fingers to you?”Ellie only grins. She’s pleased, excited, at your inexperience.

“I- I don’t know what to say,” you sputter.

The hand on your thigh tightens, causing you to squeeze your legs ever so slightly. You focus on meeting Ellie’s gaze and not closing your eyes to relish in the contact.

“Do you want me to touch you?” She asks.

Her eyes gaze so heavily at your mouth, it’s difficult to remember to speak.

“Cause I really want to touch you. Please?” Both of her hands are now trailing up and down your thighs, almost frantically, tugging at the bottom of your shirt and messing with the hem.

You know that she can now see your bare breasts, pushing through the fabric of your top. Ellie’s hands grope your waist and your ass suddenly slides forward from the force, your breasts pressing up against hers in an instant. The heady exhale she groans out blows past your neck. The warmth gives you shivers.

“Yes, touch me.” You say,

hoping wholly to god that it won’t be the last time you say it.

[madaboutmunson]

sad-rockstar-Steve x tour-photographer-Eddie

Little idea I had and decided to write it

"I do NOT want this assignment, Marney!" Eddie pushes the flimsy file back over to his agent. He already knows what's inside. It shows up at least once a year, which was a relief comparing it to how frequent the request used to be.

"Eddie, baby, hear me out. It’s not an assignment. It is a project. It could get you back on the radar. It's not even a tour, really, it's a residency, and his team have already provided you with a list of shots he wants for the book. It's pose, point and shoot, Ed. Easy money." She slides it back over to him, keeping her fingers on top of it firmly, drumming her bright red talons on the card as she looks him right in the eyes, "and it's not like the gigs have been rolling in for you, now have they, sweetheart? Other than the family portrait business that I know you absolutely adore!" She smirks and holds his gaze. Using his favourite pet name against him makes his blood boil, but he isn't angry with her. It was Him.

"Gigs drying up for us is not my fault! The last client wanted all candid behind-the-scenes shots. I provided that. I edited them, barely, because they wanted the realism of life on the road, and they ok'd them. It's not my fault the internet is a cruel, unforgiving place!” Eddie exclaims in annoyance, “Especially when it’s full of Harronites, or whatever those lunatics call themselves." Eddie mumbles under his breath.

She raises her eyebrow at him, "He asked for you specifically." She says, and flicks open the folder revealing an old photo Eddie had taken of Rock Phenom Steve Harrington at one of his shows. He didn’t know what was so special about the picture. He’d taken this shot hundreds of times for artists. It's on a list of shots they can ask for. The artist climbs the barrier, and the hands of the fans reach up to them like worshipers praising their false idol. Eddie waves his hand, and the artist looks straight down the lens. It's supposed to be a duality of intimacy. The solid eye contact with the camera whilst in the arms of strangers, eager to reach out and touch their obsession which none of them would ever possess. Lest of all, that guy. 

What a piece of work. Ruined Eddie’s career and, damn, near ruined his life! 

"He says," she balances her reading glasses on the tip of her button nose and pulls the sticky note from the photo, "no one captures his truth like Eddie Munson." She flips over the message so Eddie can see, “Signed it too. Could be worth something?”

"I've never even spoken to the guy. Why's he so obsessed with me?" Eddie whines, and his agent shrugs.

"Does it matter, Ed? There are a lot more zeros here than we'd see normally."

"Something seems off about this. I don't like it."

"You like his stuff, don't you?"

"Did! I did like his stuff until I published that stupid photo. He's been on my case ever since."

"Not flattered, Eddie?" She laughs

"At first, sure. Until his demands started rolling in, and his fans started giving me grief for declining them. They called me washed up! I hadn't even begun! I thought that picture was gonna be my big break! It went viral! Remember you told me that! But it was actually my demise, Marn!" Eddie seethes, “Imagine calling up your horde of rabid fans because you couldn’t get your way!” He closes the file and folds his arms. “No fuckin’ way! I can’t post a picture of a fucking sunset without his fans all over it like a rash.”

“Then just say yes, Eddie. It can’t be any worse than it is right now.” Marney says with a kind smile of compassion. She did want what was best for him, and though it killed him to admit it, he did need that money. He was in debt up to his eyeballs, barely breaking even at the studio, and the numbers on the cheque he saw, could clear that and then some.

Eddie sighs and sinks back into his chair, “I’m gonna regret this. I know I am.” he says tensely, running his hand through his hair.

He looks up at her, and she is already back in her chair, phone in hand, finger poised over the green call button. 

At his lowest, Eddie admits defeat and nods.

[stoopystuppy]

crippling heathers headcanons 😭

this is just mostly the Heathers + V & JD ueueueue some of them may be OOC ueueueue

Artistic side

 ▪︎ McNamara:

- she'd be the type to have a cute cartoony and vibrant artstyle, and if it were the modern days, she'd definitely be an animation kid

- artstyle is very inconsistent, one second she’s doing an anime artstyle then the next she suddenly know how to draw semi-realism 

- uses pen, paper, markers and colored pencils but eventually switched to digital 

- isn’t afraid to try other mediums but she’s super comfortable with digital

- doodle!! doodle!! doodles!!

- vents via art

 ▪︎ Duke:

- she’s defo a painter kind of artist (more comfortable with oil painting), draws whatever she sees; objects, old pictures (she sometimes draw her gfs but hides it from them)

- experiments with different mediums

- she’s the type to say “lol yeah this is just a sketch” to a finished-looking output

- hates her works and probably burns them (the others cry for her but she’s like “lmao”)

 ▪︎ Chandler: 

- isn’t really the artistic type but since she’s surrounded with artists she kinda has those amateur artstyle that doesn’t look messy but has no knowledge in anatomy and such

- draws a lot of clothing designs (likes to draw floral designs)

- her gfs support her and they try to make her designs real and they wear it for her

- she just draws for fun or if she’s bored

 ▪︎ Veronica:

- can’t draw for shite, very messy and shaky hands because of coffee and little to no experience

- the type to draw pp for fun

- but fr, she would attempt to do realism and loves drawing with graphites

- does scenery artworks and portraits

- combines traditional and digital (linework in traditional, colorwork in digital)

 ▪︎ JD:

- the type to draw small edgy stickmen but when he draws seriously its like he's a facking god 

- draws in a monotone color (usually black)

- comfortable with using only charcoal and graphites

- throws his art away (the only thing he and Duke bonds over /j) 

▪︎ Martha:

- SHE HAS THE ANIME ARTSTYLE!!!

- loves drawing animals (especially ponies)

- she and McNamara do collabs together

Playing instruments

 ▪︎ Veronica: 

- plays the acoustic and electric guitar, maybe some drums but she likes playing the acoustic guitar more 

- plays the ukulele time to time

- she's also learning to play the bass (being taught by JD) 

- ironically plays the clarinet 

 ▪︎ McNamara: 

- just likes playing the recorder and drums, had lessons for both

- she also plays maracas and harmonica bc she likes annoying her gfs

- is being taught the guitar by Veronica

- loves learning different kind of instruments, although they don’t get used anymore once she finds a new instrument to play (tho if there are similar functions, the skill will go over it)

 ▪︎ Duke:

- was most likely forced to play the violin

- is learning other instruments via her gfs’ and recently fell in love playing the drums

- being taught the drums by both Veronica and McNamara :] 

 ▪︎ Chandler:

- more on vocal but was forced to play the harp or/and piano 

- does duets with Duke <3

- LITERALLY THE ONLY ONE THAT DOESN’T PLAY THE DRUMS BETWEEN THE FOUR OF THEM

- and also the only one that doesn’t have any plans on learning or hoarding other instruments because she’s burnt out with playing the two

▪︎ JD:

- pianist and a self-taught bassist 

- his mom was supportive of him playing the piano and he had piano lessons when she was still around but he stopped learning when she’s gone because he didn’t want to be reminded of her for the longest time

- bought his own bass with his own earned money to distract himself and learned it instead

- good thing for him too because it wasn’t as loud as the piano so his dad doesn’t scold him

- every single time he sees or/and touches a piano, he feels his mom around and would be emotional, he doesn’t have any plan on coming back but gets sentimental when he gets a chance to play it

Texting/Chatting style

 ▪︎ McNamara:

- loves using tone indicators and often uses them in her messages

- she types really fast and would make a lot of typos but fixes them 

- doesn’t care about punctuations and would elongate her words

- loves loves loves using emoticons because she thinks its cute :D especially these ones; ٩(＾◡＾)۶ , (ᗒᗣᗕ) ՞, (づ ◕‿◕ )づ , (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄) , (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

- loves using (yellow) emojis like; 💛✨🎉👑🧀

- enjoys keyboard smashing and using caps lock because she thinks it shows her excitement on things or shows how upset she is; "DHMJDKWODUQKOSHWJISJSJZ!!!!!!" and "hdjsksjnsnsnkz"

- laughs in either keyboard smash or “hehe”

- ex;

  Mac-a-: Guysssss i splled milk n the bed :((( /srs

  Mac-a-: spilled* on*  sowwy ╥﹏╥ fnkfianmkf /lu

—--------

  Mac-a-: UWUWEUUWEUWEUWUEWUEWUU✨✨✨✨✨✨

  Chandy: ????

 ▪︎ Veronica:

- uses tone indicator a lot for McNamara, Martha and JD 

- has good punctuation and grammar but does not give a damn about capitalization nor does she put periods at the end of her messages (unlike a certain someone)

- uses "lol" "lmao" and etc in a lower caps

- sends copypasta bc she thinks its funny

- the only time she uses caps lock is when she's screaming or laughing

- ex; 

  -Ronnie: is anyone up for pizza? /genq

  -Ronnie: no? well, that's alright /nm

—--------

   -Ronnie: cum

   Chandy: y am i dating u

 ▪︎ Chandler:

-  she isn’t really up to date with tone indicators and one time someone was ranting and she’s just “ok what the hell is a /neg” and then everyone just screamed at her (via chat form) and told her to shut up (only V and M did that) and that JD was venting lmfao

- she later was then taught about tone indicators and uses it sometimes (only with McNamara)

- uses emojis a lot and laughs with emoji; 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

- T A K E S   H O U R S  TO RESPOND but expects you to respond to her quickly 😭 

- she’s too lazy to type so she either uses auto-correct/predictive text thingy to continue her sentences or she literally just have missing letters in her words and go like “wht u doin??”

- her texts are literally either “r u hre? ive been waitin 4 u🙄😒😪” or “Are You Here? I’ve Been Waiting For You 🙄😒😪” (auto-correct/predictive text)

- followed by that is 3791874218 missed calls from her

- IRONICALLY SENDS THOSE “GOOD MORNING” GIFS FHIWAINFISAF and McNamara’s the only one who hearts it and replies with a “GOOD MORNING!!!”

 ▪︎ Duke:

- talking to her would literally be like talking to a bot or reading a research paper, bc of that she’s such a dry texter

- girls got proper punctuation, proper grammar and capitalization, EVERYTHING

- often gets annoyed when she sees grammar mistakes and would fix it for the person

- will literally type a whole paragraph scolding you to type better 

- doesn’t laugh in “haha’s”, just uses “lol” in lowercase, uses "lmao" after every offense towards others or herself

- barely text/chat and would rather just vc and send vm instead and then McNamara and Chandler join her and they all just started sending vms (V: w..what?)

- ex; 

  Dandy: Don't forget, we have an assignment due later at 4PM.

  Mac-a-: waIT WHAT??!?!

—--------

  Dandy: I hate myself lmao.

  Chandy: dont 😐😘💞

  Dandy: K.

—--------

  Dandy: I want to kill someone.

  John Doe: same.

  Pony Martha: You guys are /j right? 😊😊

  Dandy: *seen*

  John Doe: *seen*

  Mac-a-: aRE YALL /J OR /SRS!??!!??!?!?!??!

▪︎ JD:

- types slowly and somehow still makes typos and he doesn't fix them

- he just lets other people interpret what he's typing because he doesn't give a damn about them

- nor does he give a damn about proper punctuation and grammar although he adds a period at the end of his messages

- just uses tone indicators for Martha, Veronica and McNamara

- uses emojis but only the edgy looking ones; 🖤💔🔪🔫⚰🥀

- laughs in “haha’s” and doesn’t use acronyms

- ex;  

   John Doe: wnns sese my hmsrerz.

   Chandy: what

   -Ronnie: sure

   John Doe: *sends pics of his hamsters*

—--------

   Chandy: istg ur worse than me

   John Doe: slay.

[centrally-unplanned]

Oh speaking of manga I have been casually rereading the FLCL manga while doing the translation work, and finished it over dinner today - god I love the ending. This manga is a hot mess btw, there are moments where the conveyance completely falls apart, but Hajime Ueda is just not the kind of guy to care about shit like that. It carries itself on its visuals and character dynamics, which is fine - it just means it isn't going to have 'plot' payoffs per se.

But the ending man, for its all Ueda-core irreverent violence and FLCL's commitment to toxic relationships, when Haruko has burned everything down and Naota has rejected both Mamimi and Ninamori as crutches for his own lack of self-awareness... then Haruko just pops up out of his forehead wielding a shotgun and wearing a bunny suit one last time, and Naota's response is "wanna make out?" which, obviously she does, and they even have a bondage joke thrown in on top:

Its A: very hot, but more importantly B: the kind of tonal irreverence that only 'anime' can pull off. The semiotics of the medium is just full of events close enough to this kind of stuff that what would be whiplash in any other medium is punchline or even organic here. And Naota deserves to get some after all the shit he has been through, good for him!

Idk I think as I have been deep diving into the FLCL interview database how the manga works has crystalized for me. Saying the FLCL manga is controversial is a bit of a stretch, but its not very popular as it is extremely different from the show - way more surreal, way more slapstick, and of course a full blast of Hajime Ueda's edgy goth-punk stylings. For a lot of fans these changes are a bridge too far, its "Not FLCL".

As you start to understand Tsurumaki's 'intent' though, it comes together - this is a work devoted to the goal of trying to open 'anime' up to new directions its not going in. He goes on about how the anime industry is overly obsessed with realism; uncomfortable with throwing the silly and serious into the same scenes when it shouldn't be; and neglectful of the diversity of themes present in manga such as the emo-seinen works (and the troubled girls who populate them) Tsurumaki is so fond of. FLCL is self-indulgent but also intentional in its industry 'critique'.

To adapt that to a manga, the critique has to fit the industry; it wouldn't make sense to adapt 'manga themes' into, well, a manga, that wouldn't send a message! Hajime Ueda is actually perfect for this role, taking an artistic style that is completely different from anything out there, seemingly incompatible with the story being told, and stretching that story the bounds of its tonal diversity to make the fit work. You can't 1-to-1 the intent ofc, but if you are going to try this is how you do it. From that lens the story works, and the ending is great; from full-on ruin apocalypse to makeout fanservice to entirely silent metaphorical ending in maybe 15 pages. The semiotics of 'anime' were built for this, you just have to not be afraid to try.

[opinated-user]

When it comes to MO’s art, which I agree is really nice when she puts extra time into it or when they’re personal projects. But if I recall correctly, LO said herself that she’s not an artist and has no interest in being one or going into the field…so wtf kind of authority does she have to say that the idea of practicing proper anatomy/proportions is gaslighting to artists? I agree that it’s important to at least have a basic understanding of anatomy regardless of your art style, but I also think that one shouldn’t be too hard on themselves and be too perfectionist about it either if they haven’t completely mastered it or are just starting out or have been doing art for years, as long as you have fun and are willing to learn new things and take your time as your work evolves. I am an artist and would like to pursue it as a career. I struggled with perfectionism regarding anatomy and realism, but later learned not to be so hard on myself and started to have more fun in doing so again, but still recognize that the basics of those things are still essential, but don’t be obsessive about it. She acts like such an authority on art, writing and the animation industries throughout her videos, yet she apparently has no education on these subjects and probably no friends that are/were actually present in those industries to give her this inside information. But maybe she just said that, just so she could get MO to crank out more art for her as much as possible.

LO wants all avatar of herself to have super small waists and huge boobs, but that's not anatomically correct so anatomy is a way to gaslight artists. it's really no more deep and complicated than that. that phrase specifically came out from the stream in which LO was "guiding" MO during the process of creating her new avatar (the one she doesn't even use anymore). MO kept trying to make the waist bigger and LO kept insisting that it should be smaller. MO said that her first instinct is to apply what she knows of anatomy and LO said to forget all about it. (demostrating clearly she has no idea how art, stylized or otherwise) works)

[pinkprettycure]

tangentally about your art, do you have any tips for drawing hands and faces?

for faces im not really sure how i can explain it since faces tend to be like the first things people learn to draw, so ive been drawing htem for yrs yk? In real life though, faces arent symmetrical. but in anime and cartoons we tend to prefer them to be perfectly even, for front facing images its easy to just flip the canvas or even flip the lineart i youre working digital. if youre on paper using a mirror or taking a photo can help.

eyes GENERALLY should be one eye apart from eachother but they dont have to be in all art styles. to keep the eyes looking focused you should be a little more in the middle, not too much because theyll look cross eyed, but slightly in the middle

right here, in the first pic is what im talking about, her eyes are closer to her nose. then i took dianas eyes and moved the irises to be centered in the eyelids, she looks like her eyes are looking in diferent directions lmao.

for noses it really depends on your style but it is 100% possible to translate different nose shapes into even anime styles, the best advice i can give is to just practice drawing different faces and trying to translate them into your style, you'll figure out what looks cutest to you.

and then after i said this i actually remember making a specifically regarding black people that had a section on noses hold on

for hands it again you gotta do a lot of referencing. unfortunately for me, i have chunky fat baby hands, so when i reference myself the hands tend to all be fat baby hands too lmao. but it does help at least in figuring out the composition of a hand and where all the joints go

for my projects ill be honest and say i heavily rely on a lot of assets and stocks, these are all made for artists to use freely and are even okay to trace. Adorka stock has literally been carrying a lot of my art lmao I also use Hato Kings hand references and CSP 3d models for really hard poses. speaking of Hato king they have a book for kindle that has even more hand references and lots of information on how to draw them, in both english and japanese so if you like their references please buy the book

Although when it comes to tracing stocks its very important imo that you adjust it to suit your style, use it as a tool but also a reference for learning. if your art isnt going for realism you dont want to have a perfectly realistic hand and then a toony body lol

[raayllum]

What do you think of tdp's rating potentially changing for s6? Personally I'm all for it because I'm on the younger side of the fandom (not a minor but I definitely was when I started the show) and it's nice that the show is growing with me, but I've heard complaints that the increasing darkness doesn't fit well with some of tdp's less mature aspects/humor. One of my favorite artists dropped the show because of it, which is a little disheartening since I thought s5 was absolutely amazing.

Honestly I thought S3 was pushing the lid on Y7 with some of the final ep violence / some elements of the Aaravos-Viren-dark magic body horror, so I think realistically S4 (because of the Ibis scene) and s5 (gestures to - half the season) should absolutely be rated PG. Y7 tv shows tend to get away with a lot more than G-rated films (at least since the mid 2000s I think) so I think that skews stuff as well.

As for the humour, even when it doesn't work for me (personally S1, S5, and S4 have had the best humour for me) it's almost all character based so I give it a pass. Like soo many people acted like the goofiness in S4 or fart jokes were baseless / a personal offense, but 1) Claudia's always had bathroom humour and while it's never been something I found funny, I appreciated it for its character consistency and that a girl gets the gross out humour at all bc we just don't see that a lot, and 2) teens and adolescents make bad jokes all the time. I make fart jokes all the time. I don't really want 'em in my media, but I do think they're funny, and I like that the characters in my media think they're funny because yeah... Bad puns, stupid jokes, being ridiculous with your friends, even or especially in times of crisis - sounds pretty grounded in realism to me.

I think part of the disconnect people have with humour (and less 'mature' humour, which - my favourite Shakespeare joke is the "do you bite your thumb at me sir" from Romeo and Juliet which shows my 'maturity' level when it comes to laughs, lmao) vs the rest of the show is... People outside of the age demographic being unwilling to accept that they're outside of the age demographic. Like drop TDP for any reason you want, of course, but

It's like - I didn't love the episodes in She-ra about "learning how to be a good friend," but I'd be dumb if I genuinely complained about it because this show is For Kids and it's catering to them first and foremost. It's not supposed to cater all parts of itself to my age demographic, nevermind my taste and no art does that, even stuff that is for my age demographic because it's an unrealistic choice to put on media. TDP is a little different since they've gone on record stating that its for Families, so that warrants something a little more 'mature' by proxy (and I very much think the show reflects that) but like - it's for families, and that means reflecting all those elements, too. Including humour (some for adults, some for tweens/teens/etc).

TLDR; emotionally scared because I love all the kiddos but very glad overall about the rating change, cause I'd rather people be warned ahead of time / be able to make informed choices about what they want to watch / consume.

[shmowder]

Hii I’m cringe free so here is my self-insert as I don’t have any other pathologic ocs :(

Name: Katerina Katina

Age: 27 years old

Job/Credentials: painter! I imagined she would do portraits for the Kains and the other leading families but can also do paintings for anyone in town

And she would just be an NPC

Katerina was born in the town and has lived her whole life there, though she did want to go to the capital to study in art but unfortunately for her she took too long to decide and ended up married to a guy who wants her to stay so she does

She does like the town and since she feels it’s too late to study art anyways she doesn’t want to leave anymore, maybe she’ll just visit the capital one day

She doesn’t have much friends she just talks to the Stamatins often, she WAS once friends with Vlad Jr. but not anymore (I thought he was just a pathetic kinda guy but nope I do not fuck with racists)

Also friends with Verdell Popov another oc which I hope my partner submits here!

She believes in the Mistresses at least Nina and Victoria still not really sure about Katerina Saburov or both of them for the matter

She does believe the steppe legends as she is friends with Verdell who is from the kin and even enjoys hearing about them

Not sure about authority she tries not to get in trouble and doesn’t really like any of the families especially after doing portraits for many of them

Definitely tries to help the Haruspex the most even if she was scared of The Ripper at first, later she’ll offer him to sleep at her house if he needs and if her district is plagued would give him quests and when he’s done she’ll give him food in exchange

Sorry if the writing is wonky somewhere I’m not good at telling info in English shshdh also I’m including a drawing I made of her in Pathologic 2 dialogue

Yes, a painter! I always wondered where all the ruling families got their portraits from? Especially since the paintings shared a similar style, one which clearly contrasted with Peter's more abstract and fluid works.

She is woven into the story seamlessly, I really like the fact that she has an already repeated name. It makes it just more realistic, yk? It makes sense for the most popular names of the time period to get repeated a bunch in a town this big.

Saburov and Block, Victor and Victoria, it's a small detial but provides a touch of realism. We've all known multiple people who shared the same name throughout our lives.

Her connection to Andrey and Peter does make sense. They're both interested in steppe legends and art. Maybe she did the paintings in the brokenheart pub, too?

I love her blue scarf. I know it's not intentional, but it matches Artemy's blue sweater. Poetic how he's the one she'll willing to help the most, does she believe in his cause and the Termite ending? In destroying the Polyhedron, despite the agony, it will put her two friends–the Stamatins–through?

Including the wedding ring in the art is such a good detail too, her curly/wavy hair is very lovely. God, I wish we could've seen more diverse hairtypes in pathologic.

It is lowkey ironic that she doesn't like to get into trouble yet befriended The Stamatin and used to be friends with Vlad Jr. Honestly, even if she does, she is a little too useful to the ruling families for them not to let her go with a slap on the wrist.

Keeping such a talented painter under their thumb and inside the town? Especially an artist who never went to art school, so she doesn't realise her actual worth or talent. Her only other point of reference is Peter, a literal genius in his field whose talent is beyond comprehension. So much so, Nina had to drag the twins to town no matter the cost.

It's also sad in a way, like a beautiful buttefly who may never see its own colourful wings. Who's trapped inside an artificial greenhouse, never wandering to the lush garden outside, and for love to be the one thing chaining her too? That's just amazing.

Your art is amazing! I can tell a lot about Katerina from the body language alone, the nervous side glance, the tendency to touch her fingers.

The wedding ring being silver rather than gold. Ouch.

"I shouldn't have yelled at him" Is she referring to her husband? Do they fight often? Or someone else entirely.

What a lovely and flushed out OC you have! <33 I'm so happy you told me about her, I can't wait to see your partner's OC as well. It's a unique thing for two OCs to have a slightly intertwined story, to be friends in every universe.

-

unrelated, but I wanted to thank you for the lovely ask you sent before. Encouraging me after the person pretending to be a different anons thing. I never got the chance to reply because the matter was resolved. Still, thank you greatly for your sweet words.

[thatsonemorbidcorvid]

You've probably already seen instagram.com/femi.nae for more dismembered #headlesswomenart

Again woman run and "body positive" representation

Wow, thanks anon - this is probably the most confronting example I’ve seen in a while (see this post’s tags for why I keep track of examples of Headless Women Art). The realism is… quite something. I’m going to put the examples under a cut, they make me more uncomfortable than usual.

There’s also this, which I find quite horrifying too:

I wonder why the artist’s efforts for body positivity don’t extend to women’s heads…

In fairness, she does have one male example! A custom piece made on request. ‘All bodies are welcome’ indeed…

[itsclydebitches]

I don't go here, but I really dislike how ubiquitous the notion has become in fandom that 'strong and independent woman' is somehow mutually exclusive with 'woman in a romantic relationship/prioritizing romance'. I feel like that's the kind of attitude that leads to terrible readings like 'The Little Mermaid is anti-feminist because Ariel gives up her voice for a man' which requires ignoring several key aspects of the film's plot and Ariel's character specifically (such as the fact that she sings Part of Your World before she ever lays eyes on Eric, and she spent her entire life collecting artifacts from the surface world and arranging them in her grotto), nevermind the fact that a story where someone falls in love and values that highly enough to make significant changes to her life to fight for it would still have value! Because love has value!

Like you said, just because there are a lot of cases where female characters are reduced to love interests and nothing else doesn't mean a female character caring about love and being motivated by love means she can't also be strong and independent. I feel like a lot of people just swing the pendulum way too far in the other direction and seem to think that being in love is what devalued those female characters, and not the fact that they were (by and large) written to be accessories for the male characters they were attached to and had nothing else to contribute to the story.

That is the problem, not romantic storylines themselves.

Precisely, anon! I'm really glad you brought up The Little Mermaid, both because the latest adaptation showcases how important intersectionality is (a black mermaid getting the "generic" love story is not the same thing as another white mermaid getting it) and because I've had similar gripes about many fans' readings of Cinderella. To be clear, I think the Disney + princess craze is a complicated subject with an equally complicated impact on kids, but a lot of people will attempt to simplify that conversation down to, "It's bad because she wants a man." Putting aside that this is not, as discussed, inherently a bad thing... did we miss the part where she's in a clearly abusive household, wants only to experience one fun night, and happens to meet the Prince without ever actively aiming for that to happen? This is a debate my friend and I have had for years, to the point where "Cinderella" is a bit of a code-word for, "We're never going to agree on this topic and others are getting annoyed at our impassioned arguments, so can we just move on now?" lol

I experienced similar frustration back when Jupiter Ascending came out and -- putting aside the quality of the film (or supposed lack thereof) -- people were up in arms about how terrible it is that the woman lead needs to be rescued by the guy, with the reason for that terribleness boiling down to, presumably, the idea that a woman is automatically weak if she needs help. Meanwhile, I was reading things through the lens of the show's realism (of course the average cleaning lady is not going to be able to fight off alien kidnappers without assistance) as well as the joy of seeing parts of myself in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy story. I'm not physically strong. I'm not a martial artist. I'm not someone who's going to immediately come up with a cutting remark and satisfyingly punch someone in the face. As cool as that archetype is, it's reductive to present a Strong and Independent Woman as solely physically strong and romantically independent. That definition should -- and does -- mean a thousand different things!

I do get it. I often have a knee-jerk reaction to certain writing choices for women (there was a maybe baby plot-line for one of Ted Lasso's characters this season that, far more than Keeley, I've been side-eying), but overall I try to approach each story as the individual text that it is. Yes, there are issues with these trends across media... but is this story actually falling into those stereotypes and harmful depictions, or have we just trained ourselves to reject anything in this category by default?

[whitexdove]

next up, forever (our world)

a very self indulgent, lighthearted au. with years of thought put into it. like... i think the our world au started back in... 2017, when i first wrote FF7 muses on tumblr. under a read more due to the fact that it's rambly and there's so much. ooh boy. fuckle your seatbelts.

our world is set in... our world. with my blog & characters having supernatural elements, those are still present! it's just your standard fantasy modern setting au. the supernatural are more well known, those some creatures are hidden for assorted reasons (i have countless lore pages but some are OUTDATED so we're not worrying about 'em).

this au is (mostly) lighthearted! yeah there's shit that happens, but that's kind of inevitable. i'm not opposed to angsty stuff in this verse either, but the main idea was light-hearted shenanigans!! anything is possible here.

for muse specifics! rufus is a water nymph that lives on a farm in northern maine with his mom and his little brother. his mom is an actress. rufus himself, is a model. he does art on the side. i never figured out what specifically, i just know he draws some sickass semi-realism (humans) ++ semi realism/cartoony animals. he's got a service dog, a black curly coated retriever named rogue. this is what the breed looks like! they're large gun dogs. aloof with strangers but silly with family, which is rufus. he does not have a lot of friends, a VERY small handful at best. (now, this is where i'm ofc like 'tseng & the turks!!!!' but flexible here. everyone comes together differently and im happy to explore other options. especially with where im not writing this au with just a single other person! im very flexible) he's very anti-social.

farm stuff! there's chickens, cows, horses, ducks. uh. i think a goat or two. cloud is the chicken tender. rufus has a clydesdale horse specifically, that he loves dearly, but is fully aware is a bitch. he ALSO has an american quarter horse that he occasionally does cutting competitions with (cutting competition is when you like, separate a single cattle from the herd and keep it from rejoining and its timed) -- jaemin was determined to find something to keep rufus busy as a teenager so he wasn't a bitchy teenager abd by the gods did she find something. look those little bastards are BUSY.

rufus is constantly sleep deprived now, though. he's defintiely your standard 'tired artist', and how most digital artists depict themselves. he's got an energy drink in one hand, some sort of drawing thing in the other. he would sleep on the floor if you let him.

mom got the boys in the divorce, good for her. reginald shinra is in another state, but he's plotting something, surely. shinra is based in new york, i think i settled on new york, new york. california also makes sense? maine and new york aren't that far apart--- shinra is... uh. less of a behemoth this time round. that does not mean that reginald doesn't have a lot of shady shit going on, but i haven't played on that element too much! i'll get there. here's reginald. not quite how i imagine him BUT i like him best for the dude. it's fine. dw about it. here's mom, loved her in train to busan.

[madaboutmunson]

Baby, You're a Rich Man Too

I Think I Could Have Been Someone - Chapter 1 Ao3 Link Next Chapter

Link to fic overview and all parts

Chapter Summary: Eddie POV Introduction to this AU

Author Notes: This is a mature story, definitely 18+ only.

Tags/Warnings: rockstar!AU; band; touring; music industry; alternate universe; drug usage; alcohol abuse; performing; enemies to lovers; road trip

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I do NOT want this assignment, Marney!" Eddie pushes the flimsy file back over to his agent. He already knows what's inside. It shows up at least once a year, which was a relief compared to how frequent the request used to be.

"Eddie, baby, hear me out. It’s not an assignment. It is a project. It could get you back on the radar. It's not even a tour. It's a residency, and his team have already provided you with a list of shots he wants for the book. It's pose, point and shoot, Ed. Easy money." She slides it back over to him, keeping her fingers on top of it firmly, drumming her bright red talons on the card as she looks him right in the eyes, "and it's not like the gigs have been rolling in for you, now have they, sweetheart? Other than the family portrait business that I know you absolutely adore!" She smirks and holds his gaze. Using his favourite pet name against him makes his blood boil, but he isn't angry with her. It was Him.

"Gigs drying up for us is not my fault! The last client wanted all candid behind-the-scenes shots. I provided that. I edited them, barely, because they wanted the realism of life on the road, and they ok'd them. It's not my fault the internet is a cruel, unforgiving place!” Eddie exclaims in annoyance, “Especially when it’s full of Harronites, or whatever those lunatics call themselves." Eddie mumbles under his breath.

She raises her eyebrow at him, "He asked for you specifically." She says, and flicks open the folder revealing an old photo Eddie had taken of Rock Phenom Steve Harrington at one of his shows. He didn’t know what was so special about the picture. He’d taken this shot hundreds of times for artists. It's on a list of shots they can ask for. The artist climbs the barrier, and the hands of the fans reach up to them like worshipers praising their false idol. Eddie waves his hand, and the artist looks straight down the lens. It's supposed to be a duality of intimacy. The solid eye contact with the camera whilst in the arms of strangers, eager to reach out and touch their obsession, which none of them would ever possess. Lest of all, that guy. 

What a piece of work. Ruined Eddie’s career and damn near ruined his life! 

"He says," she balances her reading glasses on the tip of her button nose and pulls the sticky note from the photo, "no one captures his truth like Eddie Munson." She flips over the message so Eddie can see, “Signed it too. Could be worth something?”

"I've never even spoken to the guy. Why's he so obsessed with me?" Eddie whines, and his agent shrugs.

"Does it matter, Ed? There are a lot more zeros here than we'd see normally."

"Something seems off about this. I don't like it."

"You like his stuff, don't you?"

"Did! I did like his stuff until I published that stupid photo. He's been on my case ever since."

"Not flattered, Eddie?" She laughs

"At first, sure. Until his demands started rolling in, and his fans started giving me grief for declining them. They called me washed up! I hadn't even begun! I thought that picture was gonna be my big break! It went viral! Remember you told me that! But it was actually my demise, Marn!" Eddie seethes, “Imagine calling up your horde of rabid fans because you couldn’t get your way!” He closes the file and folds his arms. “No fuckin’ way! I can’t post a picture of a fucking sunset without his fans all over it like a rash.”

“Then just say yes, Eddie. It can’t be any worse than it is right now.” Marney says with a kind smile of compassion. She did want what was best for him, and though it killed him to admit it, he did need that money. He was in debt up to his eyeballs, barely breaking even at the studio, and the numbers on the cheque he saw could clear that and then some.

Eddie sighs and sinks back into his chair, “I’m gonna regret this. I know I am.” he says tensely, running his hand through his hair.

He looks up at her, and she is already back in her chair, phone in hand, finger poised over the green call button.  At his lowest, Eddie admits defeat and nods.