#that said yay drawing on paper I have not drawn traditional for quite some time and oh gods I'm rusty

[averlym]

Hi! I hope you’re having a good day! So I do a lot of drawing on paper, and I’d like to start doing more digital stuff but don’t really know where to start. I have an iPad I can draw on, do you have any recommendations for drawing apps I can use? Thank you so much 💕💕 -double heart anon

hi!!!!! I’m having an amazing day because of @you-need-a-jello-shot‘s art it was like the first thing I woke up to and I went !!!! thank you very much and I hope you have an absolutely brilliant day <3

For drawing apps, I use autodesk sketchbook on both the iPad and my laptop, photoshop on my laptop and procreate on the iPad. I’ve also heard good stuff about firealpaca and medibang and clipstudio paint. hope that helps! :D

[aceofstars16]

Birthdays

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEL!!!!!! Soooo, it’s @meldy-arts birthday, so you should all go say happy birthday to her because she is awesome! <3333

I really wanted to do something fun for you, Mel, and I’ve had the idea of writing about Ezra’s birthday for a while. And I decided, why not write a fic about his birthday on your b-day! It’s got a little bit of angst and quite a bit of fluff. And I hope you like it! Thanks for being such a great friend and screaming with me about headcannons! I hope you have an amazing birthday!!!!! <3333 *smooshes in a hug*

Fic below the cut:

Empire Day. For some it was a celebration. For most it was a reminder of all the Empire had destroyed, all they had taken away from the galaxy.

Once upon a time, Ezra had celebrated it. Not for the Empire’s reign – his family would never celebrate that – but for his birthday. Hazy memories were brought back every Empire Day. Of his father’s smile, his mother’s laugh. Small little gifts that might not have looked like much, but they had meant the world to Ezra. It hadn’t been perfect, but it had been good.

And then everything had fallen apart. On the streets, every day ran into the next. If it wasn’t on Empire Day, Ezra might never had realized it was his birthday, but he was always reminded of it. One more year without his parents. One more year of surviving on the streets. One more year of wondering if life would ever get better. Or if his lot in life was to simply survive as long as he could, until his luck ran out.

Then he had joined the Ghost crew. That first birthday with them had been hard. Facing those memories, the loss - it would always be hard. But it hadn’t been all bad. He had found some healing that day. He had realized that he wasn’t alone anymore. There were people that cared about him, that looked out for him. And maybe one day, they could become a family.

But even after that, Ezra still hadn’t liked thinking about the day. His birthday was hard. He had to accept the fact that it would always be hard. The crew – who were quickly becoming the family he so desperately needed – gave him space. Sometimes there was a special meal, or a small gift, but they never drew too much attention to his birthday. If they were able to celebrate, it was usually a few days after the fact, when the memories had eased, when things felt normal. Or as normal as they could in a war.

That tradition continued, even after the war had ended. Partly because Empire Day had now become a day of remembrance for all of those fallen. Some people celebrated the memories, others simply took the day off to think, to mourn. Ezra usually spent the day looking at the only picture he had left of his parents, and sometimes, he would talk about them. Other times he would just listen to other’s stories of loved ones they had lost.

It was never cheerful, but there was a bittersweet comfort in knowing that you weren’t alone. Everyone had lost someone in the war, no one was entirely whole.

Years passed, and Ezra slowly accepted the fact that his real birthday would never be a happy day. It would always be hard to face, though over time it had eased a little.

Today was no different.

Ezra woke to the quiet calm of the early morning. Most days he would roll over and go back to sleep, but not today. Even after all of these years, a weight still grew on his chest when he remembered what day it was.

Closing his eyes, Ezra didn’t fight the wave of memories that washed over him. Some good, some bad. A few of them were only the faintest of a memory - a scene his mind had constructed, trying to fill in the gaps to the point that he didn’t know the difference between what was real and what was make believe. But some of it had happened, and he knew the parts that were true. The soreness in his throat from screaming for his parents, the bitter cold of the streets, the gnawing hunger of his stomach, the anger at people celebrating when he was suffering. People who didn’t even knew he existed, because he didn’t matter. But a few good memories always sifted through the bad. A laugh, a small gift, a smile from a stranger. One that always came back to him was the first time someone had said happy birthday to him in seven years. The genuine kindness in her tone, and the gift she had given him was one he still cherished to this day. Sabine had helped him heal that day. And every day since. Even before they got married, she had been there for him. And he would always be grateful for her, on the good days and bad.

A smile grew on Ezra’s mouth at the thought of Sabine. His light in the dark, his constant companion, even after all these years. Looking over at her, his smile grew even more.

Her hair was a mess, soft snores escaped her mouth, and a bit of missed makeup smeared her skin. But to Ezra she looked as beautiful as ever.

And as Ezra looked at her, Sabine’s eyes opened – still fogged over with sleep. But as she saw him, she smiled.

“Morning,” Ezra said.

“Mmm,” Sabine mumbled as she scooted closer to him, snuggling into his chest. “Too early.”

Ezra couldn’t hold back a small laugh. “I thought that was my line.”

“Shut up.” Sabine said, hitting him lightly on the arm before tucking her head under his chin. And as she did so, Ezra wrapped his arms around her. There was no mention of what day it was, and to him, that was better than a ‘happy birthday.’

Closing his eyes, Ezra was met with memories, but this time the good prevailed. The weight on his chest was lighter – though he knew it wouldn’t go away fully. Sleep pulled at his mind and he didn’t fight it, but just as the world started slipping away, the door slid open.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!”

Mira jumped on the bed as she yelled the greeting. A grin lit up her face as she jumped up and down before she flung herself at Ezra, who – along with Sabine – had instantly sat up in surprise at the awakening.

Laughter escaped Ezra’s mouth as her small arms tried to wrap around him, though they could only reach halfway.

“There’s my little Firefly, I knew something was missing,” Ezra said, returning the hug.

Jumping up, out of Ezra’s embrace, Mira jumped to the floor and grabbed his hand and started pulling. “Daddy, daddy, come! I have a surprise for you!”

Ezra glanced at Sabine as he let himself be pulled out of bed, but she only shrugged.

Mira dragged him to the hallway but then let go of his hand and ran into her room. She ran back out and handed him a piece of paper before running off again.

Looking after her for a moment, Ezra frowned then glanced at the paper. It was a hand drawn picture of their family and he couldn’t help but smile at it. Even though it wasn’t a master piece, it had clearly taken her a while to draw – she had included Kanan, Hera, Zeb, Chopper, and Dawn in it. However, as he looked at it, he saw something that didn’t seem to fit, a loth cat – much bigger in proportion that it should be – next to Mira. They didn’t have a loth cat…

“Happy Birthday Daddy! I found her last night, she likes fish and hugs!”

Ezra looked up and saw Mira holding a loth cat in her arms. It was small - still a kitten -and it looked very malnourished. But from the grin on his daughter’s face, you would think she had just found the best thing in the entire world.

The kitten wriggled out of Mira’s grasp and landed on the ground, hunching down a little in wariness. Out of instinct, Ezra reached out his hand, feeling with the Force and sending calming thoughts to the small cat. She tilted her head towards him and reached out cautiously, sniffing his hand. After a few moments, she took a step towards him and he gently stroked her head.

“Yay! She likes you!” Mira said, jumping up and down, clapping.

The kitten jumped at the sudden noise and bolted down the hallway.

“No kitty! Come back!” Mira started chasing after the cat, but Ezra quickly scooped her up.

“Why don’t we give her a little bit of space. I’m sure she’s not used to humans.” Ezra said, watching as the cat turned a corner and disappeared out of sight.

“But she’s your present! She’s supposed to celebrate with us,” Mira said, pouting as she looked in the direction the cat had gone.

“I’m sure she’ll come out later,” Ezra said, setting Mira down, only to have her race after the cat. “Mira wait!” Shaking his head, Ezra laughed quietly.

Then he caught sight of Sabine – who had seen the whole thing. She raised an eyebrow in question. Mira already had one pet, and taking care of a kitten was hardly an easy task. Looking in the direction that Mira had gone, Ezra glanced at his wife and shrugged. “I have always kind of wanted a loth cat. And I’ll help her take care of it.”

Sabine rolled her eyes, but a smile played on her mouth as she walked forward and poked his shoulder. “You just don’t want to say no to her.”

“Well…” Ezra said, recalling the grin on his daughter’s face when she had walked up with the cat.

A laugh broke out from Sabine’s mouth and she shook her head. “Come on, we better make sure she gives that poor cat the space it needs.”

Now it was Ezra’s turn to laugh. And as he watched Sabine head towards the living room, he realized that the weight on his chest was barely noticeable. His birthday might never be an easy day, but as he walked into the main room and saw Sabine and Mira sitting on the floor, watching the small cat crawl under the chairs, he realized that maybe it could still be a good day.