#these products work very well and it’s in that light that i recommend them

[floatingbook]

Those I have been asked about pretty often, so if it serves: I’ve been using a MoonCup for 9 years and will continue to do so; I swear by Avène’s Cicalfate whenever I get dry skin; I’m using sunscreen from Laboratoires de Biarritz; I cook my soups in an old Le Creuset cast-iron pot; I’ve walked across pebble beaches, muddy fields, and climbed hills and cliffs in Birkenstock, with or without socks; my flashlight is a Kraftwerk rechargeable, foldable hand lamp; if I had to keep one kitchen utensil it would be this red knife.

[andromeda-xpz]

🦁LION AND HAIR 🦁

Hey bitches, today we're going to talk about the Leo sign and hair.🐇

I want to make it clear that this is my opinion, and with people I have seen, obviously other genetic aspects, And astrological aspects can change your hair, or health problem.

So this is for entertainment purposes, hope you enjoy😻

Leão na 1ª casa/ou com aspectos de planetas de fogo

Here in this position, the hair can have warm tones, people can often notice your hair before looking at your face, long hair that frames the face is also well regarded.

Shoulder length hair, waist length hair and thick, warm hair can make you more attractive and in a way, more beautiful. But be careful, your hair may suffer some type of chemical damage due to the inappropriate use of products, Or too much straightening and heat on your hair. Moisturizing your hair more can cause dry hair.

€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€

Leo in the 2nd house/ or in aspect with earth planets

Leo in the 2nd house reminds me of black hair. Hair that exudes "wealth", Bangs, you can spend a little on your hair.

Mega hair, laces, wigs, hair treatments, you may suffer from dirty hair sometimes. Also with tangled hair. Maybe a good wash and a nice haircut will solve the situation.

€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€~¥

Leo in the 3rd house/ or with aspects to air planets

Whenever I think about hair, I think about tied up, pinned up or practical hair.. I also prefer something more casual, or even loose. Braids of all kinds would look great, you can have hair like your siblings. Well, they can also change their hair, cuts and everything a lot.

Same treatment I would give to soil, a good wash, work on hydration and don't leave your hair too tied up, Let your hair dry naturally May suffer from frizz.

€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€~¥

Leo in the 4th house/ or in aspect with water planets

Cute hair🐇, bunny hair, blonde hair, light hair, curly hair, short hair, cute hairstyles, Princess hairstyles.

Your hair may run in your family, which is fine (it depends on genetics), water hair tends to be oily. Work on hydration and cute hairstyles, loose strands and light hair are also a good choice. And also be careful with stress, your hair may have a tendency to fall out for emotional reasons.

€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€~¥

Leo in the 5th House/ Aspects with fire planets

Oh Jesus🙏, That hair😫, If you are a Leo in the 5th house, you have long hair, often blond or light, Hair that looks like a lion's mane, messy or very voluminous hair.

Long hair often needs to be cut at the ends due to dryness, the hair can become oily and tangled. I recommend hydration, cutting the ends every now and then, and not sleeping with wet hair.

€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€

Leo in the 6th house/ aspects with Earth planets

Oh earth, this positioning usually occurs in people with light hair, Medium, fine, virgin hair. Well-hydrated hair, earthy tones are also common, and some people I know have very straight hair.

Well, as the 6th house is the house of health, it is extremely linked to health. You have to take extra care of your hair and diet, wash your hair regularly, Moisturizing and leaving them natural is a good choice.

€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€~¥

Leo in the 7th house/ aspects with Air planets

Absolutely any hair type looks great on you. Their hair is usually very pretty, combed, braided, loose, in any aspect it will look beautiful. But those princess hairstyles would look beautiful on you🥰.

Be careful with frizz, too many chemicals in your hair, keep your hair balanced, You tend to have medium, very voluminous hair and need to take greater care with hydration.

€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€~¥

Leo in the 8th house/ aspects with water planets

My little vampires, your hair tends to be darker, short or medium, bold cuts, your hair makes you look much darker, Dark colors are great.

Bold, sexy hair, cuts that make you look like a femme fatale, But it can suffer from oiliness and dry ends.

€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€~¥

Leo in the 9th house/or in aspect with fire planets.

Light hair, light, blond, platinum, Those of you with Leo in the 9th house really have sunny hair. There's a lot of shine and life coming from your hair, just like Rapunzel🌜

Not everyone will have blonde hair, It would be nice to dye it blonde or something. You may suffer from dryness, or chemical cuts. And let your hair get some sunshine vitamin✨.

€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€

Leo in the 10th house/ or aspects with earth planets

My darlings, casual hair is your thing, short hair, easy to style, You may not care much about your hair, take better care of it. Try taking better care of your hair or share how you take care of your hair on the internet, That beautiful hair of the rich and casual.

Your hair can be highly praised too, be careful with dandruff, and chemical cuts. Your hair is beautiful, nutrition would be a great option too🌜.

€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€

Lion in the 11th house/ or aspects with air planet.

My alternative babies, well your hair may be different or have that internet touch. Very aesthetic and eye-catching (my sister has this look), Your hair is incredible, I swear, and you can dye it without fear, it will look beautiful.

Because of the dyes, take care that your hair does not suffer chemical cuts, and control dryness, Different braids and radical cuts are also welcome.

€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€~¥

Leo in the 12th house/ or in aspect with water planets.

And finally, well I noticed that some people have thin, short hair or prefer it short. Your hair can also be long in the Shakira style, do you know how one would come out of the water?

Your hair is beautiful, but it can suffer from breakage and hair loss, Be careful with chemicals and heat, Take care of that beautiful hair❤️🫀.

€~¥~€~¥~€~¥~€

Well, Jesus, this was harder than I thought, thanks for your attention.

I'm going to start offering paid services tomorrow, and I do readings of astrological maps, Destiny Matrix, and tarot readings🫀.

Thank you and have a good life✨

[mylonelylittlestar]

My little star

Characters: Xavier Summary: random relationship headcanons with Xavier Warnings: None A/N: I've completely fallen in love with Love and Deepspace, especially with Xavier. It's truly hopeless

the type of boyfriend to get you matching pyjamas

he gets you so many that they slowly start to replace all of your own

likes to match with you even if you don't live together, so sometimes he just texts you to ask which pyjamas you're wearing so he can change into the matching one after he showered

if you ever gift him slippers, blankets, or pillows, he will keep them forever (even if it's something goofy like those big fluffy bunny slippers)

the best person to ask for good midnight snacks. He can recommend fantastic instant noodles, chips, crackers, or other snacks that are light and won't give you stomach aches late at night or negatively impact your sleep in any other way

very interested in your skincare routine (if you have one) and will try out any mask or cream that you give him

if you come up with a routine for him (a simple one, maybe, like the basic cleanser > toner > moisturizer), he will follow it diligently, dragging himself out of bed before he sleeps every day to do it because you were the one to pick those products for him and he doesn't want to waste that

he feels like it connects you to him, even if your routine is completely different and a bit more complicated

never cries during movies, no matter how sad they might be, but he does (on very rare occasions) get a bit teary-eyed

he will hold you if you cry during a movie, and he would never even think about making fun of you for it

he does secretly think that it's cute that you get so worked up about a movie

can sleep through anything. a bomb could go off in his house and he wouldn't know that it happened until he woke up

has seen every single episode of any shitty sitcom you can think of at least three times because he occasionally watches them while he sleeps

sometimes he quotes them but because he knows each of these shows so well now he always quotes the lesser known scenes and no one gets what he's talking about

you start to understand his references after a while, so sometimes he will quote some obscure scene from a super unpopular sitcom that got cancelled after one season and you're the only one laughing

secretly sneaks to the arcade sometimes to practice the claw machine game because he wants to get you the plushies you don't have yet (and to impress you)

he ends up getting dozens of repeats of plushies that you already own. he collects in a small storage room in his apartment that used to be empty

he ends up giving them away when the collection gets out of control, donating them to a children's hospital nearby

gets all shy when you find out about it, blushing bright red like a tomato (or a wasabi octopus)

knows about every single 24 hour store in the city because of his odd sleeping habits and always knows what to do no matter what time it is

you can't sleep and want to go on a date at 3:27 am? he knows a place

if someone is mean to you he will try his hardest to deescalate the situation, but he's also fully willing to fight the person if that doesn't work

I mean have you read his Anecdotes 2? He doesn't give a fuck. He'd prefer not to fight, sure, but if it's unavoidable? What is he gonna do? Not fight and defend you? Ridiculous.

The fandom has already started turning him into this soft uwu stereotype, but the thing is that that's... just not him? He's sweet and kind, yes, but that's not all he is. He's complicated! He has layers!

if he ever falls asleep during a date he would feel awful about it for days, even if you reassure him that it's fine and that you're glad that he feels safe enough around you to fall asleep

he tries to make it up to you with a different date and he falls asleep again, which starts a vicious, endless cycle

when he finally does get over his guilt it's only because you fall asleep during a date after you had a long day at work

knows when you cheat in kitty cards, but sometimes he just lets you get away with it, especially if he knows you had a stressful day at work. He hopes that the win will cheer you up

his good night kisses are forehead kisses while his good morning kisses are on top of your head if you didn't sleep over or on the cheek if you did

[sirfrogsworth]

When I got to this photo in Katrina's collection of vintage family imagery, I was pretty stumped as to how to approach it.

There is a major problem when you zoom in to 100%.

The paper it was developed on has little micro bumps. When it was scanned, the light from the scanner caused a highlight on one side of the bump and a shadow on the other. This causes a pattern which is nearly impossible to eliminate using traditional techniques.

The easiest way to fix this is actually quite clever. You scan it once, then turn it upside down and scan it again. The second pass reverses the side the highlight and shadow appear on, so you can combine the images in Photoshop and blend them together, essentially canceling out the bumps. It's weirdly analogous to noise canceling headphones.

But I don't have access to the physical copy of this image.

So... now what?

Enter Fast Fourier Transform or FFT.

This is a filter that uses extra fancy math to recognize patterns in the image and eliminate them. There is a pretty good filter for Photoshop, but it does not work easily with newer Macs with Apple Silicon. I really did not want to figure that out, and I also was too tired to go downstairs to my PC. However, I learned that a Photoshop competitor, Affinity Photo, has this filter built in. So, I downloaded a trial copy and started the process of trying to figure out how to fix this image.

It was amazingly simple. It brings up these star patterns and you just paint black circles over every one but the center. It literally felt like magic. (Full screen with sound recommended)

So once I did this process I ended up with this...

The paper still had a rough texture but it was much easier to work with using traditional techniques. I started with a black and white conversion and meticulously went through the photo zapping scratches and flaws and balancing tones and sharpening facial features. All of my photo restoration tricks were needed.

I eventually landed here...

I then thought maybe I should match the sepia tone of the original print, so I got to here...

I think the black and white looks nicer in this instance, but I always like having options and this is the most faithful representation of how the photo originally looked.

But there is something else I have been playing around with lately. Photoshop has these experimental neural filters that use cloud processing to do various tricky enhancements. Most of them are in beta and they can be very quirky. But they have a colorizer that tries to detect people and things and adds color to them. Not every black and white photo is a good candidate. I have found these professional portrait photos work decently, but the filter is very hit-and-miss. And there are tools within the filter to help you make a miss more of a hit, but often I have to accept the photo isn't going to work.

But I decided to give it a shot with this one and surprisingly, the colorizer got me most of the way there.

I can work with that.

The one thing it does well is skin. Manually painting color onto skin is tricky and requires more skill and knowledge of traditional painting techniques than I have. But if a filter can do that part for me, I can do the rest.

So after my touchups, I got the image to here.

All I have left to do is my standard color enhancements to make them a little less ghostly and a little more human.

And I present to you where I started and the finished product. I encourage you to flip back and forth.

I'm not sure how, but I was able to go from an image I thought was impossible to edit to a beautiful colorized memory for my best friend's mom. I cannot wait to show her.

[fandoms-x-reader]

Personal Challenge

Word Count: 1,509

Asmodeus x Female! Reader

“Asmo?” you asked. No answer. “Are you okay?” you questioned, not moving from your spot. He let out a slow breath, keeping his eyes trained on your back as his breath tickled your neck, his lips inches away from your ear. “Every time I touch you, it feels like a personal challenge to stop again,” he muttered, his voice smooth and even.

_______________

The Avatar of Lust was known for many things. First, was the most obvious. He was the most beautiful creature in all three realms. It didn’t matter what you were - human, demon, angel, or any other creature - when it came to beauty, his was unrivaled.

He was also known for his ability to charm people. It didn’t matter who you were. The second he began talking, his words dripped from his mouth like honey, drawing you in; and, if you were foolish enough to look into eyes…well, you were a goner. He could have you under his spell in minutes, doing with you whatever he pleases whenever he pleases.

The love people had for him was unmatched. People adored him everywhere he looked - their affection making him feel loved and wanted. He truly believed that he would never have to yearn for anything again in life…then, you came along. 

A simple human. One no one expected great things from. You were to come to the Devildom, finish the year of school at RAD, and then go back home. That was it. Yet, somehow you ended up becoming a much bigger part of their lives.

The first thing Asmo quickly realized was your beauty. Not only on the outside, but on the inside too. Asmo could easily point out someone’s flaws and tell them how to fix it; but, with you, he couldn’t find a single one. He was out of his element. The only thing he could find himself doing was recommending products he used to see if they could somehow brighten your already shining aura.

At first, Asmo felt threatened by your beauty, though he would never admit it. What if others loved you more than him? Then, he had devised a plan. It was simple really. He would make you his. You would boost each other’s appearances up so high that you would be completely untouchable. A power couple in every sense of the word. Never having to worry about love and affection because you would have each other, and together you would have the world.

So, he got to work on his plan and pulled out all of the stops. A quiet evening in with him, dim lights, gentle music playing, sensual smells filling the air. He even brought out the candles and roses. It was the perfect intimate evening - enough to make anyone swoon. Anyone but you, apparently.

The first time he attempted to charm you, you simply smiled at him, brushing it off and continuing your conversation. Asmo was surprised, but focused on trying once again. The second time, he tried it, he put every ounce of power into it, his eyes glowing while his voice begged you to look into them.

“Asmo, what are you doing?” you asked him, raising an eyebrow. Shock. Complete and utter shock. “What?” he asked. “With your eyes, what are you doing?” you clarified. “You mean, it didn’t work?” Asmo questioned, looking away from you as he began to feel like he was having an existential crisis. How could it not work?! It always works!!

“Wait, were you trying to-,” you began but Asmo cut you off. “No! Here, drink this, I’ll be right back,” Asmo continued, handing you your drink before scurrying off into the bathroom. He needed to recompose himself. If his power wouldn’t win you over, then he would have to do it the old fashion way.

But, as it turned out, the old-fashioned way took some time. He would give you gifts and the smile he got in response would always brighten his day - making his heart flutter. He would offer to go shopping with you and his skin would ignite on fire as you would intertwine your fingers with his, dragging him to the different shops around town. 

Then, one day, Asmo had decided to surprise you with a very expensive dress he had seen you eyeing. He came to your room, box in hand as he wore a proud smile. 

“Y/N,” Asmo said in a sing-song voice, his knuckles gently knocking against your door. You opened it with a large smile as you invited him in. “I have a gift for you,” he told you, presenting the box. You gasped as you carefully took it from him, moving to your bed.

“What’s the occasion?” you asked him, looking up at him with bright eyes. “Everyone deserves to be spoiled every now and then,” Asmo replied, his graceful smile never leaving his lips. A small blush rose to your cheeks as you gently lifted the top of the box off. 

You felt your heart stop as you recognized the fabric of the dress. “Asmo,” you muttered, smoothing your fingers over it. “Do you like it?” he asked boastfully. Your heart melted at the gesture as you quickly moved to press a chaste kiss to his cheek. “I love it,” you replied, returning your attention back to the dress. 

While you were busy admiring the gift from Asmo, he was busy melting on the inside. His skin felt like it was on fire where your lips grazed him. His eyes began filling with lust as every inch of his body craved more of your touch. Calm down.

“I’m going to go try it on,” you told him, knowing that he would want you to. He loved it when you tried on different outfits for him. You quickly disappeared into the bathroom allowing him a moment to regain his composure. 

You had managed to slip the dress on, but there was one problem - you couldn’t quite manage to reach the zipper. You let out a small sigh before opening the door and exiting the bathroom. “Hey, Asmo?” you asked and his attention immediately snapped to you. 

“Do you think you could help me?” you asked, but the question didn’t quite reach his ears. He was far too distracted by how you looked. Even without the dress being zipped, it was hugging you in all the right places, and the color brought out your skin tone perfectly. And just like that, his sin began building up inside of him all over again.

“Asmo?” you questioned and his eyes finally met yours. “Hmm?” he asked, suddenly realizing you had been talking to him. “Can you help me zip it up?” you asked, turning your back to him. Asmo inhaled deeply as the unzipped portion of the dress revealed your uncovered back. His eyes trailed from the top, trailing them over the back of your bra that was exposed down to where the zipper ended. If it ended an inch lower - Asmo would be in EXTREME trouble. 

He took a few steps forward until he was right behind you, and gently took the zipper in between his fingers. He promised himself he wouldn’t “accidentally” let his hand slip lower than you had asked. But, standing this close to you, it was so hard to resist the temptation.

He closed his eyes for a moment, refocusing, before continuing to zip. He watched his hand as if he was in a trance, watching as each of the teeth of the zipper pulled closed. He was nearly done when his hand brushed over your back, making you shiver slightly. 

Asmo stopped in his tracks as he watched goosebumps form on your skin where he had touched you. Suddenly, his thoughts were no longer under his control as his mind started running rampant with the way your skin felt on his hand. It was so soft, as if it was completely untouched. He subconsciously leaned in a bit, the smell of your skin intoxicating him. His hand trembled slightly as he did everything he could to keep his sin at bay. 

“Asmo?” you asked. No answer. “Are you okay?” you questioned, not moving from your spot. He let out a slow breath, keeping his eyes trained on your back as his breath tickled your neck, his lips inches away from your ear. “Everytime I touch you, it feels like a personal challenge to stop again,” he muttered, his voice smooth and even.

Your breath hitched as your heart rate sped up. You were so glad your back was turned to him so he couldn’t see the blush that had risen to your cheeks. You weren’t sure what came over you, but in that moment, there was only one thing you wanted. Gathering up what courage you had to proposition lust himself, you replied, “Then don’t stop.” 

The Avatar of Lust was known for many things. But, holding back was not one of them. And those words were all he needed to spend the rest of the night making you his. 

[dodorimo]

WIP Wednesday

Theater director!Raphael x Tav

He's supposed to be kinda creepy here, so yeah, this is a warning.

· · ──────  ❊  ────── · ·

It is a disaster, a travesty.

He wonders. When Tacitus beheld the charred remains of his beloved Rome, did he feel a similar way?

Chorus girls look to each other for guidance while lead actors traipse over the stage, painfully off-key. He has seen high school productions with more verve than this one.

That he has to share a room with such insipid talent. It is truly heartbreaking.

With a weary sigh, his eyes survey the stage for the weak link, and that’s where he finds her. A girl in the back row, looking a little lost and scared out of her mind.

“Dear God, who does casting these days?” he laments to no one in particular, crossing his legs on the leather seat.

“You do, sir.”

Raphael turns to look at the man beside him, taking in his ill-fitting suit and old-fashioned glasses. Poor fellow. He has neither the knack nor the grip for the job. And the syndicate thought sending this boy would keep him on his toes?

“Oh, I didn’t audition this one or I’d remember her.” There’s a pause while he mulls over his thoughts. “Tell me, Jameson,” he says and ignores when the other man voices a correction. “Why is she here?”

“The girl has promise,” comes the curt response. “She was highly recommended.”

The vague answer does nothing to placate his quickly dampening mood. “Recommended by who? Her parents? Her elementary teacher, perhaps?”

A few cleaning women choose this moment to walk past their seats, prompting the man to lower his voice. “The Royal, sir.”

Raphael reclines back in his seat. There we have it.

What these newcomers fail to understand is that admission to a fancy college isn’t nearly enough accolades for his standards. He didn’t build his reputation by bowing down to paper-pushers and sycophants. In this theater, he dictates the rules. In this theater, he is king.

With a wave of his hand and a few scathing words, he orders the session to be dismissed, much to the relief of those present.

“May I suggest a break instead?”

“You did well today, Johnson. You may take the rest of the day off,” he replies, his tone final.

The man opens his mouth to protest, but turns to leave the room instead. The buzz of conversation slowly dwindles as cast and crew head backstage. They turn off the lights on their way out, leaving the theater in semi-penumbra.

Despite his predisposition for pomp and extravagance, Raphael always thought he worked better on a smaller stage.

“Not you.” He points to the girl tailgating the group. “I’d like to have a word.”

The girl stops in her tracks, a thousand emotions flashing across her face, before settling on fear.

While he waits for her to come around, he pulls two chairs and rearranges them facing each other in the middle of the stage, right below where the headlights shine brightest. The girl moves to sit on one of the chairs, shaking like a foal standing on its hind legs for the first time.

“Fear not. This will only take a moment,” he says, his smile deceptively warm—a skill honed after many years in the business.

She is a pretty little thing, this new choir girl. But then, again, most choir girls are. If her theater career falls to pieces, he can imagine a profession or two where she would excel at. 

“What do you say we start from the beginning of act two?” he suggests, tone amicable as to not alarm her further.

The girl scrambles to flip through the pages of the script, her eyes skimming over the words in rapid succession.

This won’t do. An easier question, then.

“What is your name, dear?”

“River, sir. My name is River.”

“My man told me you came from the capital. Do you like it there?”

“I like it very much, yes.” The small talk seems to calm her enough to allow her to find the right page. What she finds there, however, does not please her in the slightest.

“Sir, this is a scene for two…” she trails off, eyes fearful.

“Make the best of it. Improvise. I can play the part of your would-be lover if you wish.” The abrasive approach isn’t to his liking. Unfortunately for this girl, he is short on patience.

If he had any hope that under the veneer of the ingénue might hide a true thespian spirit, it vanishes the moment she utters the first line.

He stands up and paces aimlessly around the stage. The girl stares at him, dumbfounded.

“You have been on the run. This man, this stranger, offers you solace and a roof above your head. He is charming and not too hard on the eyes. You feel indebted to him. You’re young, naive and you’ve never been properly courted.”

The deviation from the script wouldn’t pose an issue. He is the author, after all, and the play, a successful piece from his earlier career. “Updated” for modern audiences. The word alone is enough to make him grit his teeth. None of his plays needed “updating”. Younger audiences can take their grievances back to their food-stained couches. They had no respect for the classics.

His little summary provokes the intended reaction. He sees the pieces falling into place in her mind.

“Harlequin…” she tries again, this time with more passion. And is that the hint of tears he sees in her eyes? “I've never met anyone like you. If only I could repay you in kind.”

“Good, good… much better.” He returns to his seat.

“Say the word and my body will be yours.” She leans forward, exposing just enough of her cleavage for his eager eyes. It’s a bold move, but not unwelcome. His fingers twitch on his lap. This little dove may surprise him still.

Raphael recites the words that have become second nature to him. “Columbina. I’d rather you not return to your old ways. If you choose to lie with me, it must be of your own free will.” If his voice sounded more condescending than the play requires, it’s just an act of improvisation on his part.

He points to the script in her hand. It’s the cue for her musical number.

If the girl clearly struggled with the finer nuances of the text before, here she needs no assistance. Hers is a voice of singular beauty, the likes of which emerge once in a generation. He suddenly understood why James was so hellbent on bringing her here. It wasn’t just the charming Harlequin who was finding himself enthralled.

When it’s done, he takes off his glasses without saying a word and puts them carefully in his pocket.

“Oh dear, this is…” Beautiful, stupendous, awe-inspiring, his mind supplies. “A little crude, if you don’t mind my directness.”

The girl looks positively devastated, her lips quivering as if about to cry.

“But even the roughest of rocks can be polished into a beautiful piece of jewelry. Isn’t this what they say? Meet me at my office after tomorrow’s rehearsal. I expect you to be well acquainted with the text by then.”

“Thank you, sir. I won’t disappoint you.”

“Call me Raphael.”

“Raphael…” Her voice rings like angelic bells to his ears. “Until tomorrow.”

[jeleynai]

Hey there, I adore your art, thank you for sharing it and joining us on tumblr. Your Ghoap art makes me feel so soft.

I am curious about your rendering process. I like how your pieces are textured and coloured and the 3 dimensionality of it, is there a chance you'd be open to sharing some of the steps you take to get from sketch to the finished product? For example what methods (if greyscale, selection tool, etc.) and brushes you use? How you pick your colours?

No pressure in answering this of course, I am just glad to see what you'll be up to in the future.

Hellooooo thank you so much for your kind words!! I've actually been getting so many nice notes from people, I'm so sorry that I haven't responded to them much, I promise I read every single one and shed a little tear of joy at how nice you all are!

Now to the question!!

I made a little step by step image of one of the portraits I posted here for you with a bit of commentary underneath! I'm sorry if it's the ramblings of a mad-woman I'm a bit all over the place sometimes haha (I'm so sorry if there's typos, please ignore them)

I'll also answer the direct questions here since I don't think I addressed them TOO directly in the image.

Methods: I work with soft brushes and the lasso tool for 90% of my process! I introduce textures as well obviously but I try to let my soft brushes do most of the work. A lot of that 'soft' look people tell me my art has just comes from subtle colour shifts and general softness achieved that way over working with harsher textures. I generally like to limit my layers somewhat, especially with simple pieces like the one above. That image is actually just a single layer after step 2! It helps me not get too stuck on one area but I also just... draw on the wrong layer very frequently even if I name them so I don't use them unless I'm working on pieces with different layers of depth (fore-/mid-/background etc.) I do check my values *constantly* (I use the colour-proof setup in photoshop) but I don't work directly from greyscale. I go straight into colours from the sketch.

How I pick colours: I do try to keep my colour palette cohesive and a bit more neutral to start with. I try to avoid extremes at the start so I'm not locked into that too early since it makes that 'subtlety' harder to achieve otherwise. For those colour shifts I talk about I just pick whatever base colour I put down and then shift the colours accordingly! Brush modes/layer modes can also help but I definitely recommend looking a bit into colour theory before relying on them TOO much! Otherwise using them will also end in strange results. There's no direct 'formula' I use when choosing colours since every light scenario is unique and will affect colours differently. I would definitely recommend James Gurney's book on Colour and Light!

Last but not least! If you're more of a visual learner and my rambling is a bit much in written form (I'm so sorry, I'm very chatty I know) I also have a few painting processes up on YouTube c: So if you want me to shut up and just watch me struggle instead then here's a link to the painting that started it all, the OG ghost soap piece I did over a year and a half ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D76X0MT4W5U

I hope that all makes sense!! I'm still super new to Tumblr but I'm always happy to ramble on about art so! Thanks for reading my rant haha

[lurkingshan]

hi! i hope you don't mind me bothering you but coukd you perhaps rec me some good japanese bls? possibly something less known and not from this year? no pressure ofc!! love your blog <3

Hi anon! I love to rec Japanese bls and am happy to oblige. First, a few rec posts I have already made:

Japanese BL Starter Pack

Additional Japanese BL Gems

Japanese BLs with Good Romance + Physical Intimacy

You can start with those if you don't already have them covered. But you asked for lesser known and older works, as well, and I definitely have some to recommend. Keep in mind that some of these are going to look older or lower budget and may not be up to the production standards of more recent and better funded shows, but they all have great stories with reasonably good execution. You will have to watch some grey (I'll note where available on GagaOOLala or where I have links). Running down the list in alpha order:

Ai no kotodama (2007, YouTube) A short and sweet little college-age friends to lovers movie. It's not complex but it's very cute.

Ameiro Paradox (2022, Gaga) A gossip reporter and photographer who don't get along are put on a stakeout team together. Kind of an enemies to lovers deal, but the initial grudge is not that serious.

Can I Buy Your Love From A Vending Machine? (2023, fansub) This is a very sweet romcom about an office worker with a massive crush on the vending machine loader who services his office.

Dangerous Drugs of Sex (2020, Gaga) I don't know your tastes or comfort level with dark and explicit works, so let me say upfront that this movie is not for everyone. It's an exploration of grief and depression through a very extreme psychosexual lens. If you're into that kind of thing, go for it, but mind the content warnings 'cause they are no joke.

Grand Guignol (2022, Gaga) Another one that is not for everyone, this is straight up horror and it's quite violent as well as sexually explicit. I had a whale of a time watching this with @bengiyo and seeing a bunch of our favorite BL boys getting into Spooky and Sexy Situations, but I know los espookys are not for everyone.

I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama (2023, Gaga). And for something completely different, this is a comedy that will have you laughing out loud. It pulls off the neat trick of being both a hilarious and incisive commentary on bl and a sweet romance.

I Want to See Only You (2022) Another short and very sweet friends to lovers drama, this one set in high school.

Let's Eat Together, Aki and Haru (2023, Gaga) An adorable food bl movie, very much in the light and sweet and chaste lane.

No Touching At All (2014, YouTube) A workplace romance that is surprisingly great and has a really solid romance arc. I loved it so much I watched it twice in a row.

I hope you enjoy some of these!

[athena-gunpla]

HGUC 1/144 E.F.S.F Mass-Production Locality Specialization Type Mobile Suit RGM-79D "GM Cold Districts Type"

More GMs!!! I had a lot of fun with the old 2001 GM, the new 2023 'The Origin' GM Missile Pod, and the GM Sniper II, so of course I had to continue the collection.

The GM Cold Districts Type is a suit that briefly appears in the opening scene of the OVA "0080: War in the Pocket". It's a pretty basic redesign of the classic GM, with the large star removed from the shield, and extra vents added to the face (resembling the GM Sniper II from the same series) and shoulders, and an antenna added to the back of the head.

This kit in particular is from 2003 and reuses a lot of the moulds from the 2001 GM kit. However, this kit seems to have a lot of drawbacks as well. While the shoulders have been competent redesigned in a manner that resembles more contemporary kits (and makes them much more secure), the actual shoulder joint is a peg directly moulded into the torso rather than being a ball joint or hinged peg like most other kits. This gives the shoulders very limited range of movement.

The kit also has the disappointing old solid plastic beam saber, with the hand itself moulded into the saber hilt as well! This is a really bizzare choice even for 2003, so I discarded the beam sabers that came with the kit and re-used a spare from my Origin RX-78-2 alongside a beam effect, which looks a lot better.

I spent a lot of time detailing this kit. I used the old waterslide decal sheet for the 2001 GM rather than the limited foil stickers that came with the kit. I also tried a weathering method @radiofreemagica told me about where i sponged on black onto the sharp angles and high points, then drybrushed over the top with gunmetal. I also sponged on Vallejo pale brown and light rust in key areas to accentuate the weathered effect.

This was my second time using the Tamiya weathering set D on gunpla as well. I used the orange and blue on the gun to give a heat blueing effect, and the "oil stain" pigment worked great over rust areas to even out the light grey plastic.

I think the overall effect worked especially nicely on the darker torso and shield. I also had to paint the face vents, rear camera, back of the shield, and shoulder vents, as well as the yellow waist V logo and the grey border on the bottom two chest vents, so be aware if you're not a fan of colour correcting kits. Also, as always for UC kits, I did the inside of the booster jets in red.

This kit comes with limited hand options, with a single left open hand, left open fist, and right pistol grip, which was a little disappointing as I'm used to at least one open fist for each hand.

It also comes with a really neat machine gun with a large side magazine, triangular stock, and open bolt detail like a Sten MK II, but with an additional underslung grenade launcher.

Unfortunately the stock placement and large square forearms make posing the gun rather difficult, and there's only really one pose that works.

Overall I had a lot of fun building and weathering this kit, and I think I've really improved in making it look less plasticky. I think it's a great kit to round out anyone's collection, although I can't recommend it to gunpla beginners.

Thanks again to @radiofreemagica for the weathering tips!

[major-comet]

The Best Red vs Blue Watch Order Guide Ever. Of All Time.

So. You want to watch Red vs Blue, huh? Maybe you read my long post about how it's so weirdly incredible yet impossible to recommend and now you want to give it a shot. Or maybe you have seen the show before, but it's been a long time and/or you didn't watch any of the mini-series or anything and want to give it another go. Either way, looking at a show with a 21 year history is kind of daunting, and you have no idea where to start.

Well luckily for you, I've done the work for you.

This watch guide will cover all 19 seasons of the main show, most of the mini-series, and some of the PSA's and other such bonus content. There will be links provided for where you can watch everything I talk about. This Google Drive (from reddit u/Exitity, unsure if they also have a tumblr) has all of the individual episode uploads, and most of the stuff I'm going to be talking about, although I'm trying to use YouTube links wherever I can. Any links will be colored in light blue for additional visibility.

Couple of quick things before we begin.

When possible, watch the individual episode uploads rather than the "complete" editions. The "Completes", while they may provide a more streamlined viewing experience by cutting out all of the bumpers and outros and such, accomplish this by cutting out a lot of jokes. RvB has a lot of jokes that happen during the fade to black at the end of an episode, and a lot of those get lost in the edits. There's also some things that just straight up get cut for seemingly no reason. Side note, the DvD/Blu-Ray versions seem perfectly fine, and honestly are even better to watch than the individual episodes if you have them. They're like a best of both worlds - adding some extra music and such (ESPECIALLY in the first 5 seasons) that really helps make a nice presentation of the show. If that's an option available to you, I recommend it. Otherwise, stick with the individual episodes.

At the end of each entry in the list, I may present a Side Quest section. This will include anything I feel you should watch that isn't necessarily canon, but helps add some extra life to the series. This may include some behind the scenes stuff or a selection of the PSA's and the non-canon mini-series. This stuff can be really great for building out the characters in a way that doesn't necessarily affect the greater story, and can especially be good for interactions between characters that maybe don't interact much in the main show. Anything I put in a Side Quest is strictly optional, but will add to your viewing experience. Obviously, there's a lot more bonus material than what I'm putting here. I'm just putting down some of the highlights. And if you end up liking the PSAs and such then just know: there's so much more for you to explore.

Early RvB is very much a product of it's time, and sometimes you'll get hit with a line that stops you dead in your tracks. Adult-oriented comedies can always be a minefield, and RVB's roots as a show made for Halo fans in 2003 definitely don't help. However, while this is the most common in the first five seasons, it never really stops being an issue. The purpose of this guide is simply for watch order, but if you have any specific trigger-related questions about any season of rvb please feel free to shoot me an ask or even a DM - i'm more than happy to help.

Okay, let's begin, breaking it down by arc.

The Blood Gulch Chronicles

You may hear people telling you to skip the first five seasons of the show and just pick up with Season 6. Those people are lying to you and do not have your best interests at heart. The first five seasons are pretty much strictly comedy, and from Season 6 onward the show starts to explore deeper themes and stories while still falling back on that comedic foundation. Skipping straight to the deeper stuff doesn't work very well IMO, because those five seasons are spent getting to know the characters we're going to be following for the rest of the show. The stuff that happens in Blood Gulch never stops being important - whether it's side characters showing back up again later on, or laying the foundation for a lot of the moments and story lines that make some of the later seasons so special.

Anyways, the watch order.

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Out of Mind - Mini-series

Season 5

Blood Gulch Side Quests

Tattoo Point/Counterpoint - Season 1 PSA

A Message to the Science Community - Season 2 PSA

Real Life VS. The Internet - Season 2 PSA

All of the deleted scenes, honestly, but This One in particular because asphodel and I quote it all the time.

The Outtakes/Bloopers - I'm not gonna put the link for these and the deleted scenes for every arc, but just know that you should watch them after every season/arc. There's some great stuff in there.

The Season 5 Alternate Endings

Either watch it Now, or after you watch the finale, but I highly recommend the 2003 Season 1 DVD Commentary. It's just Burnie (Church/Lopez/Vic) and Geoff (Grif), and it's really nice.

If you've ever watched any behind the scenes stuff for RvB or even rooster teeth as a whole, you have almost certainly seen This Clip, which is a behind the scenes of the voice recording for Grif and Simmons' lines in episode 1.

The Recollection

Recovery One - Mini-series

Season 6 - Reconstruction

Relocated - Mini-series

Season 7 - Recreation

Season 8 - Revelation

Recollection Side Quests

First! - Season 6 PSA

Small Rewards - Season 6 PSA

Rock the Vote and Rock the Veto - PSAs made to encourage RvB viewers to register to vote. Which at the time you could do on your xbox 360. These are here mostly as a "wtf" historical piece.

Halo-Ween - Season 7 PSA

Valentine's Day - Season 7 PSA

Fire Safety: Where There's Smoke... - Season 7 PSA. genuinely one of the best.

Holiday Plans - Mini-series

The Reach PSA series - Three parts total, only part one is linked.

Project Freelancer Saga

Season 9

Technically there's two mini-series that take place during Season 9 - being M.I.A. and Where There's a Will, There's a Wall. I really love them, and would recommend watching them after S9, but if you really want to roll into S10 you won't miss much. Weirdly there's a place later on that would be a great spot to circle back to these, but I'll save that for later.

Season 10

Project Freelancer Side Quests

This is a great spot to circle back to older side quests you may have skipped, btw.

The Season 10 Table Read BTS - Season 10 was the first time they ever did a full cast table read for the show, and it's cool to see a few snippets from it and hear the crew talk about it.

Matt Hullum Talks to Himself - watch this after M.I.A. it's a live table read of part of the script, with a focus on a conversation between Sarge and Doc (who have the same voice actor)

This 10 Year Retrospective that was put out around Season 10. Watching it now, knowing that they were about halfway through the lifespan of the show / company gives it a whole new perspective.

RT Oz - PSA

Remember Not to Forget and Voting Fever - PSAs made to promote the launch of Halo 4. Voting Fever is one of the Best Ever (and listen to the full version of That's How Voting Works afterwards!)

This Interview between Burnie and Trocadero talking about the music the band has done for the show. This playlist also has a bunch of other behind the scenes and other such bonus stuff from the DVDs and Blu-Rays, it's great to keep around.

The Chorus Trilogy

Season 11

The Chorus Journal Entries - Only three have fully machinimated versions, the last one is just the log entry. Bridges the gap between 11 and 12

Season 12

Season 13

Chorus Trilogy Side Quests

#1 Movie in the Galaxy - PSA

Getting Away From it All - PSA

#1 Movie in the Galaxy: 2 - PSA

Uh. I think the RvB Holiday Special goes here

Matt Hullum (Sarge) reading an excerpt from 50 Shades of Gray at a book signing.

Season 14 - Anthology

I get it: not everyone loves the Anthology format. I truly do recommend watching all of it at least once - or if you haven't in a long time. My only Side Quests are to say that this is the perfect time to go back to M.I.A. and WTAWTAW if you skipped them after season 9, and that if you skipped the #1 Movie In the Galaxy PSAs during Chorus, watch them now before the third one, which is in this season.

The Shisno Trilogy (seasons 15, 16, and 17)

Season 15

Season 16 - The Shisno Paradox

Season 17 - Singularity

Shisno Side Quests (this is taken from our survey data because it's been so long since I've watched much of any shisno-related stuff)

Hard Truths - PSA

Diversity - PSA

Cultural Appreciation - PSA

Lopez's Technical Guide to Empathy - PSA

Unreal Estate - PSA

Caboose's Guide to Finding Your Home - sequel to the Guide to Making Friends from season 14

RvB: Zero + Family Shatters

okay so here's the deal. If by this point, you're really just interested in the characters you've been watching for the past 17 seasons and not so much the story or anything - you may not get much from watching Zero. I do think it's interesting to watch, if only because I think it's got a lot of missed potential. Zero is not served well by being a season of RvB, I think I would have liked it a lot more if it were stand-alone, though that doesn't fix all of my issues with it. If you wanna jump straight to the series finale, you absolutely can. It's a pretty short watch, though, and I've heard that Family Shatters was better. I'll watch that one at some point.

Zero

Family Shatters - spinoff

Restoration

This is it! The series finale.

I'm not doing this with an other season (though I do recommend going back and watching all the teasers and trailers at some point), but before you watch the finale you should watch The First Trailer For It. I think it sets up the season really well, and helps make some of the rushed set-up exposition in Restoration make a little bit more sense. honestly this should just be considered the first scene of the finale. Then watch the finale, and then you are done with all of the main show of Red VS Blue. Go forth, and be free.

Final Side Quest

I'm putting anything that came out in the nebulous time between Zero and the finale in here. I'll come back and edit this once we find out what on earth is going to be on the Blu-Ray.

Offensive Driving

First Person Tutor

Moving Out

The Video RT Made to Announce Master Chief and Blood Gulch Were Coming To Fortnite. This played at the game awards and my soul almost left my body

This is also where I'll put QvsA, which is the Grimmons mini-series, though I haven't actually watched it myself yet. They're all on youtube.

My all-time favorite RvB fan edit - doesn't actually have any clips post-anthology, but I think the end is a great time to watch it.

If none of this makes sense, or you just have any questions at all - I am More than happy to help answer your queries. I hope this helps :) Also if any of the links are broken please let me know.

[uhhhitsme]

24, 29 and 32 Curt?

-24- best memory

i think he would tell himself its the berlin mission in 1956. i haven't nailed down any of the details for what went on DURING the mission exactly, but it would entail owen doing something crazy stupid for curt, and the two of them emerging victorious and covered in blood and more in love than ever. it solidified to him the idea that together, they're unstoppable, and eased some of curt's anxiety about whether or not the ocean of feelings curt has for owen is matched.

but really, it was something from earlier in their relationship---june of 1954. owen had gotten himself decently hurt on a mission---not serious enough that curt was afraid for him, but serious enough that it couldn't be ignored. curt insisted on patching owen up, and unlike every other time curt has had to take care of him, owen let him do it without a fight. and there was this moment where curt looked up from his work, halfway through a passionate speech about why it was essential that he keep a bottle of whiskey and a bag of chips in his medkit, and caught owen looking at him with eyes full of light. and for a moment, he was overwhelmed with the knowledge that owen had trusted him with this. trusted curt to take care of him. let curt see him at his most vulnerable.

after, when they went to bed. owen kissed him in the gentle, comforting way that he typically reserved for when curt was hurt, or when thought curt was too out of it to notice. curt read him to sleep, and then stayed up for hours---heart bursting with an emotion so indescribable, so impossible it made his head spin. the kind of feeling you get falling.

-29- quirks and personal habits

curt paces a LOT. not just when he's stressed---literally whenever he feels too much about anything, happy or frustrated or thinking about owen. when he can't pace, he bounces his leg or clasps his hands together so tight you can see the tension running through his arms.

during the winter, he gets dry lips, and he never can stop himself from picking them. he refuses to use lip balm (partially because of toxic masculinity and partially because he hates how it feels).

he has really poor volume control and often doesn't realise when he's being too loud (which made stealth training hell for him when he first started out.) he also gets really really loud when he's excited/afraid.

he sings to himself to get earworms out of his head. depending on the song, it either drives owen bananas or is ridiculously endearing

he listens to a lot of radio, even if he doesn't particularly enjoy it.

he hates quiet, and avoids his apartment like the plague

he hasnt changed the hair product he uses since he was recommended it by a girlfriend in high school

-32- toxic traits

massive inferiority complex that results in him doing very inadvisable things for the sake of trying to prove his own worth

very easily jealous---falls under the whole inferiority complex thing a little, but he can get really bitter when he sees others praised, especially in areas he takes pride in (like spying)

he's constantly trying to present this sort of hypermasculine effortless suave persona, and as a result, can be a dismissive asshole when he thinks he's letting too much of his emotion show

on that note, he doesn't handle vulnerability well. like At All. which, tbf, neither does owen

oftentimes abrasive and just a little bit self-centered, sometimes gets way too caught up in his own shit to pay attention to others needs (although he tries really, really hard with owen)

i feel like theres a word for this, but that thing where you do things without fully conceptualizing the potential consequences of an action until they're staring you in the face. its gotten him into way too much trouble

has a very black and white worldview and........doesn't fully see a lot of his enemies as human, or feel empathy for them. he's very stubborn about what's right and wrong

HE'S LITERALLY A SPY FOR THE US GOVERNMENT WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO SAY

mind you these are the biggest things off the top of my head. there's probably more. love this terrible freak <3

[hunieday]

Re:vale - B’s-LOG October 2018 interview

Please note that I am not a professional translator and I'm only doing this to share the side materials to those who cannot access them, if you notice any mistakes please let me know nicely. Enjoy!

This is an interview from 2018, which means it's been released before part 4!

Interviewer: Thank you so much for your hard work with the shooting and outfit change! Pleased to work with you for this interview.

Re:vale: Thank you very much.

Interviewer: Without further ado, you announced that your new album will be released soon. Congratulations!

Momo: Thank you very much!

Yuki: Thank you.

Momo: I'm so happy to share these super happy news with everyone! How about you, Yuki?

Yuki: Yeah. I’m happy to see Momo smile right now.

Momo: Why is it suddenly about me!? I'm happy! But what about the album!?

Yuki: Just seeing Momo's happy face makes releasing the album worth it.

Momo: Is that so!?

Yuki: How about you, Momo?

Momo: I’m gonna make this clear this time...

Yuki: Don’t change your mind now.

Momo: The album is amazing since it got Yuki praising me like that! Yay!

Yuki: That's good. A mutual benefit.

Momo: More like, there are only benefits and zero downsides! I'm super happy! I hope this happiness reaches all our fans along with the album!

Yuki: That’s right.

Interviewer: Although the title of the album hasn't been revealed yet, what kind of album should we expect?

Momo: It will include six previously released songs from "SILVER SKY" to "Kiseki" and two new unreleased songs! I'm sorry, but we can't reveal the title right now…!

Yuki: While we can't reveal the title yet, I hope you'll look forward to it as a culmination of our recent activities.

Momo: It's like our magnum opus!? Is that going too far!?

Yuki: Who knows, you’ll just have to listen to it and see for yourself.

Momo: Yeah! I hope you're excited and waiting for it!

Interviewer: What vibes do the new songs have?

Momo: I really want to tell you... But it's top secret and we've sworn to secrecy...! Argh, I want to tell you...!

Yuki: Can't we tell them a little something?

Momo: It might land us in trouble! Please contact the agency!

*Ringing*

Yuki: Hello, Okarin? I want to tell them about the new songs.

Momo: Whoa, Yuki went out of his well to call directly! Even though Okarin is right behind us!

Yuki: Fufu. He answered the phone too.

Momo: What's he saying?

Yuki: He's whispering, "No way!" Fufu...

Momo: Ahaha! It's cracking Yuki up!

Momo: Okarin said no, so we can't give more details for now unfortunately, sorry! Yuki, stop shaking and comment already~!

Yuki: Haha… Well, I just wanna say we'll deliver something that won't disappoint you.

Momo: As expected of you, Yuki, so handsome~!

Yuki: Thank you.

Momo: And so, please stay tuned to the new songs still in production!

Yuki: Yeah...

Momo: Oh, don't be so gloomy, Yuki! We said it's still in production, right!? Everyone's waiting excitedly! Ah, but I don’t wanna pressure everyone, so just wait patiently like good kids!

Yuki: Fufu, I know. Please wait patiently, everyone.

Interviewer: Yes! We're eagerly waiting for the release!

Interviewer: Can you tell us more about your previously released songs and what you want to highlight for us?

Momo: I recommend all the songs, but since it’s gonna be released in December, our Christmas song "TO MY DEAREST" might be perfect for the season! I personally recommend it because you can enjoy Yuki's sweet voice!

Yuki: You can even sing the "You" in the lyrics with the name of someone close to you.

Momo: That's right! We do that too! I recommend it as the official Re:vale way to enjoy it!

Yuki: Maybe you can use it to confess your feelings?

Momo: Isn't confessing too high of a bar to cross!?

Yuki: Let's give it a try.

Interviewer: Now!?

Yuki: I’m more dazzled by Momo than the multicolored lights covering the city~♪

Momo: "I love you" just isn't enough~♪

Momo: This works!

Yuki: Fufu. See?

Momo: I'm getting more and more excited for the album now!

Yuki: I know.

Interviewer: I wasn’t expecting to hear an impromptu acapella duet from you two! Thank you so much! I'm sure fans are even more excited now.

Interviewer: You called this the culmination of Re:vale’s journey earlier. Can you reflect on said journey so far?

Interviewer: As top artists, there must have been both joy and pain right?

Momo: We’re asked this question often, but whenever I look back I'm reminded of so many happy memories, rather than painful or regrettable ones!

Momo: Because the path we've walked as Re:vale is filled with happiness that we wouldn't have encountered if we weren’t Re:vale! How about you, Yuki?

Yuki: I feel the same as you.

Momo: Yuki~!

Yuki: Besides, being called top artists was never our goal, but if our songs have touched the hearts of many people then I'm happy.

Momo: That’s right! Sometimes I look back and remember the old days. Like the time we had the chance to be featured in a 10-seconds segment on an news program! It was so nerve-wracking!

Yuki: You mean the Ri:varu thing?

Momo: Yeah it is! The reporter mispronounced our group’s name and I was freaking out right before we went live!

Interviewer: That must have been stressful...

Momo: It was! Yuki wasn't fazed at all, but the atmosphere the live broadcast brought was really exciting~

Yuki: Fufu.

Momo: Ah, I digress, but some cute juniors are challenging us lately, so we have to work even harder as seniors!

Yuki: Momo is very good at taking care of others.

Momo: No wayyy~ Are you jealous!?

Yuki: I want you to take care of me too.

Momo: Oh, a straightforward request! What do you mean by that!?

Yuki: If our opinions differ, prioritize mine.

Momo: Hahaha! Isn't that different from taking care of you!? Besides, I always prioritize you, Yuki!

Yuki: Basically, yeah.

Interviewer: Thank you for showing us your couple comedy! Finally, please send a message to your fans.

Momo: I'm just happy to be able to sing next to Yuki, and I'll do my best to deliver the best album together with him as Re:vale!

Yuki: I want it to convey Re:vale’s history up until now and show the future possibilities ahead of us.

Yuki: I hope our music reaches many people through this album and adds a little color to their everyday lives.

The End.

[17panicattacksinatrenchcoat]

max's writing tips 7: balancing your creations and mental health

heads up! this post is more serious than my other writing advice content and contains light discussions of burnout, anxiety and depression. hiding it behind the 'keep reading' button for those who may find it upsetting

please remember that this is my personal experience, and that the advice I give here is what helped me recover from a bad time, and avoid burnout in the future. I hope my advice can also help you, but if it doesn't, that's okay too! writing advice isn't one size fits all.

Do not push yourself to extremes for the sake of completing a challenge or meeting an arbitrary deadline- Challenging yourself and setting goals is great so long as they are feasible and you will not hurt yourself doing them. In January of this year, I felt like I hadn't been writing enough and forced myself to write every day until I completed the first draft of a novel I'd been putting off. This wasn't healthy because a) I write at a pretty slow pace --I have to let my projects marinate in my head for a good amount of time, and prefer to work multiple projects at once-- so the goal was pretty much the opposite of my preferred writing process and b) I did this with no planning other than writing upwards of 2k words each day for three months. This did not go as planned: I had to stop short of my goal. I did write 80k words (none of which were very good) at the cost of my physical and mental health. After finishing work and life stuff I would sit down at my computer for five hours and wrack out a few thousand words every day for all of January, February, and about half of March. I forgot to drink water and eat enough, lived off of caffeine, and did not sleep because I was planning the next day's work; obviously, this was terrible for me and I felt pretty ill most of the time. My anxiety also flared up during this time. I thought I was having some kind of health problem because I'd lost a bit of weight, was having bad headaches, and was constantly out of breath; I didn't realize until I took a break that I didn't have a medical condition, but that I'd been overworking myself to the breaking point.

Look after your health. I was lucky not to have wreaked any lasting effects on my body during those months, but I felt very bad at the time. Eat substantial meals. Drink enouh water. Sleep enough, for God's sake. Be sure to go outside, also, and keep up with your friends and family; I was a bit of a recluse during this time and was bad about meeting up with people face to face instead of texting them.

Pushing yourself to work quickly to a degree that you're harming yourself will probably not produce a good product. Even if it does end up being good, is it really worth it?

Learn how your writing process works and get better at understanding your mental health needs, and when you need to take breaks. I cannot give you so much advice for this because it's something you need to figure out by yourself. I recommend journaling; also, seeing a therapist if you're able to.

Writing is supposed to be fun (and, if not fun, fulfill you in some other way.) It's your hobby. When your hobby starts taking away more joy than it's giving, it stops being a hobby. It becomes a chore.

Take routine breaks. This doesn't mean that you have to stop writing altogether during those times if you don't want to; it might mean switching up the project you're working on. I also recommend having another creative hobby (cooking, playing an instrument, drawing or painting, scrapbooking/collaging etc) to work on during your breaks.

i hope you're doing well today, everyone. remember that it's okay to go at your own pace.

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: @oh-stars! ohstars has 91 fics in the Stranger Things fandom and 69 of them are in the Steddie tag!

@lady-lostmind recommends the following works by @oh-stars:

Fuck. I Think I Love You.

The Men We've Become (Series)

Yours (all along)

Hidden Depths

Distance

"ohstars has a way of making heartache feel so good. Every time I read one of their fics I know I'm in for something special, and will inevitably go through a wide range of emotions while I'm brought along for a ride with the characters. I love the way they show so much through small details, letting the characters actions speak for themselves a lot of the time and the insight you get as a reader when you catch glimpses of the story even the character hasn't realized yet and getting to watch them grow throughout the story. They have a way of showing the beauty in the little moments, and letting you linger in the sweet in-between of big points, letting the story build on itself slowly." -- @lady-lostmind

Below the cut, @oh-stars answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I think a lot of my ships boil down to Golden Retriever x Stoic Character. Add in that I adore when there’s a character who would sacrifice themselves to an inch of survival (if that) that gets the love and comfort they deserve, Steddie hits the spot. I’ve always been a big Steve fan but none of the ships prior to season four really inspired anything in me. And it took a minute for Steddie to click (which I think is the case for a lot of us, volume two just hit different), but when it did, there was no going back. I really enjoy exploring their relationship within the universe and everything that comes with – from sexuality crises, coming out, saving the world, and Stobin struggling with Steve liking a gremlin of a man. They just love each other so freakin much, y’all.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Misunderstandings, hurt/comfort, and kidfic are all tied as my favorites. It’s hard to pick just one because it really depends on my mood, but a good hurt/comfort is always the vibe.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Slow burn. It’s kind of a cop out answer because it can be used in any fic and with any trope, but I love the build up.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

I read so much that I don’t know if I have one fic that’s my all time favorite. Bandaids for the Heart by LexiRoseWrites and Steve’s First Bruise by cairparavels are ones I think about pretty often.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I’ve been toying with a royal au in my head for months, if not a year now. I just haven’t nailed the plot yet to want to put some real effort behind it. Once I have a better idea of the story, I can’t wait to dive in.

What is your writing process like?

Up in the air at the moment. It changes a lot over time. Something will work really well for a few months, then suddenly it doesn’t. Most of the time, I can’t seem to write unless I’m sprinting. Usually that’s a solo sprint, but I love writing with other people. I do a little light plotting ahead of time, then let the characters take the reins… which is probably why I hit so many walls throughout a fic.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I don’t know if I have any quirks that are unique to myself. I’m very particular about my format when writing. I can’t write without it being double spaced, times new roman, 12 pt, and justified, which is 100% a product of schools enforcing that format for projects. And I have a hard time actually sitting down to write without the help of writing games like sprints and the word game. Otherwise, I don’t do much editing? I do the bare minimum and post… which isn’t ideal. That’s the opposite of what I’d advise.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

I would love to be someone who can post on a schedule consistently, but it rarely happens. Usually I can only succeed with that when a fic is a part of an event, otherwise I always get behind on my schedule.

Which fic are you most proud of?

You carved the space for my sadness to be seen for once (hold on to me) has a very special place in my heart. Out of my Steddie fics, it’s probably the one that I hold most dear, but I’m incredibly proud of The Man That I Could Be. It’s taken a lot for me to be proud of that one, but it was a whirlwind of an experience. I still go back to it and can’t really believe I wrote it to begin with, even though I have vivid memories of writing some of those scenes.

How did you get the idea for Yours (all along)?

I had an initial idea of doing a teacher AU but also wanted to explore lavender marriage Stobin, so I just… ran with it. I didn’t know where I was going in that first chapter’s first draft, just let Eddie’s voice take over. The plot and idea formed the more he revealed to me, with a few standout points acting as markers to get me through.

When writing Yours (all along), what was something you didn’t expect?

I didn’t expect my big bang artist m0momercy to be inspired by as many scenes as they were! Whenever I write a big bang or event fic, I’m very aware of which scenes I think would be visually compelling versus ones that would be harder to create for. I may dabble in art, but I don’t consider myself an artist, so it really took me by surprise that they were able to take the most random (but beloved – that scare scene is everything to me) scenes and create magic out of my words. I adore them and their work (please go check them out!!), so it was really great getting the honor to work with them on this project.

What inspired Hidden Depths?

This one was based on a prompt for @steddiesummerexchange. I had been wanting to do a nerd Steve fic, so this was the perfect opportunity to explore what that would look like!

What was your favorite part to write from Fuck. I Think I Love You.?

The playlist!! imfinereallyy created the playlist for @strangerthingsreversebigbang and the art to go along with it, so I had the opportunity to create a story around their song choices. I listened to that playlist exclusively (rip my spotify history on that one) while writing it, tried to find new ways to interpret the songs and incorporate them into the fic, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

How do/did you feel writing The Men We've Become?

Honestly, it’s a blur. The first 100k of The Man That I Could Be was written in a month, with the rest over the next few months. It’s a beast of a fic, the longest I’ve ever written. When I think back on that time, I genuinely think something possessed me when writing. I was sitting down and knocking out 5k writing sessions almost daily, tapping into depths I wasn’t really sure I had. It’s kind of insane to me that I finished it.

What was the most difficult part of writing Distance?

I wrote this fic as a part of @steddielovemonth and was doing my own 90-Day writing challenge. Honestly, the hardest part was remembering this was a writing exercise to see a snapshot of Steve and Eddie’s relationship, rather than a longer fic. I wanted it to have the feel of a longer work with the satisfaction of a one-shot. Keeping it short and in the moment, not letting myself get lost in the tangents, and having the fic have a grounded feel was really important to me so I’d hope that I was able to succeed there.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I know there are lines that I’m proud of but for the life of me, I could not tell you what they are or where to find them. My two favorite scenes that come to mind though are the opener scene in you carved the space for my sadness to be seen for once (hold on to me) and the scene in chapter four of The Man That I Could Be – aka Steve’s breakdown/grief scene.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Oh gosh. I do plan on writing again soon, with a few FandomTrumpsHate fics coming out by the end of the year and new chapters of you carved the space for my sadness to be seen for once (hold on to me) coming soon. Otherwise, I mod a lot of things! @steddiebingo sign ups start November 1st and @steveharringtonbigbang starts January 1st!

Thank you to our author, @oh-stars, and our nominator, @lady-lostmind! See more of ohstars's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[putschki1969]

2024/10/10 Blog post by Wakana おしゃべりガーデン第14回目‼️〜みんなの健康法がスゴイ！寒暖差についていけていない今日この頃〜

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Talk Garden Vol.14‼️~Everyone's Health Regimens Are Amazing! I Can't Handle The Recent Temperature Changes~

The temperatures in Tokyo suddenly dropped below 20℃ so I thought it was finally going to get cooler…but it was only for a moment. It seems to be going back up to warm temperatures around 25℃ 😅A temperature difference of about 10℃ between different days is rough in many ways😵‍💫I'm not sure what to wear *laughs*🧥

Hello, this is Wakana (0￣▽￣0)／

How is autumn approaching where you live? I feel that the plants in my house are growing a little slower, maybe because they've been freed from the heat of just a few weeks ago. It's a little sad, but some of them seem to be preparing for hibernation so I need to be more careful when watching over them🤔Watering them will become quite tricky from now on 😇I'll do my best!

Well! Today, I Vol.14 of my podcast "Wakana's Talk Garden" has been uploaded! ＼＼\٩( 'ω' )و //／／ I received many submission about "Everyone's Rules of Healthy Living"! It made me realise how well you all take care of your health😳You didn't only talk about different diets, you also mentioned exercising, regular health checks, trying new things to deal with daily physical problems…I was really impressed by everyone's dedication to a healthy lifestyle!! 😭✨I got the impression that a lot of people ride bikes😊🚴In terms of food, many people try to prioritise vegetables🍅🍆🥒🥕🥦Basic health rules seem to be ingrained in all of you🤔That's amazing…✨

I'm trying my best too, but the fatigue of summer and the dryness of the sudden cold have made my voice a little nasal😓It may be hard to listen to but if you have some spare time, feel free to check out the latest episode. I forgot to mention it in the podcast but I wanted to introduce my recent favourite foam roller. I am using it every morning and evening for stretching 😉It's a small foam roller for myofascial release. Look at the cute colour and size. It's tiny compared to a regular-sized foam roller. It's light and easy to carry! It's small, but it can release myofascia just as well as a regular-sized one!

I've always loved this stretch ball, too. It's a great product that can be used on trigger points. (Trigger points are "hyperalgesic areas, which are where the pain-sensing sensors in the body have malfunctioned, causing constant pain.") Personally, I use it in areas that don't usually hurt but are prone to stiffness. The shoulder blades, collarbones, and especially glutes! My glutes are surprisingly stiff! (By the way, if you want to work on large muscles like your glutes or thighs, I recommend using a foam roller with a large surface area rather than a small ball 😊 The ball is best for small focus areas) I keep these items near my bed so I can use them before bedtime at night, I also keep them in my stretch corner or on the sofa *laughs* I use them whenever I notice stiffness. It's quite painful though… 😇

Thank you to everyone who sent in submissions this month! ! As for the little present for those whose message was read, please expect it to arrive in about a month. I'm sorry to keep you waiting but please be patient😅💦

So! For next month's talk theme I chose: "Everyone's Ideal Autumn Trip". I talked a little bit about it in the episode but last month I went on a trip to Nikko with my mother 🧳I was very excited to be able to visit the nostalgic Nikko Toshogu Shrine 😍It was my first trip in a while and I felt very refreshed. That's why I picked this travel topic for the next episode ♪

Please tell me about the places you want to go or have been to, and the kind of trips you want to take! ! ＼(^o^)／I will of course share photos and a travel diary of my trip to Nikko on my blog soon✏️

And last but not least! I also wanted to talk about the happy news that were announced last week! Next year, on January 15, 2025, we will hold a Kalafina live concert. After seven years, we have decided to sing together again as a trio. 17 years after our debut! We have been encouraged by the feelings of everyone who has always supported us throughout the years. For this reason, we want to stand with gratitude and pride on stage to convey our feelings to you that day. The concert is titled "Kalafina Anniversary LIVE 2025".

We look forward to seeing you at Tokyo Garden Theater next year. Please come and see us!!! ＼＼\٩( 'ω' )و //／／[Note: Unfortunately, Wakana doesn't really share anything specific about the upcoming live. She's bubbly as always when she makes the announcement but no further infos or thoughts are revealed]

All right, that's all for today! Until next time~☆( '▽')/

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊

Wakana’s Talk Garden #14

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Episode #14 »»—— CLICK ME 🎁 CLICK ME ——«« ・Everyone’s Rules of Healthy Living ・Anything you’d like to ask Wakana/Anything you’d like Wakana to talk about

For next month’s episode which is scheduled to air on November 10th, the following two topics have been chosen: ・Everyone's Ideal Autumn Trip ・Anything you’d like to ask Wakana/Anything you’d like Wakana to talk about

The submission deadline is 10/31.

[fancyfeathers]

Okay I went to go see a production of the musical Anastasia, which is quite a bit different than the animated film and so got an idea for the Yandere Moriarty brothers and with darlings who are sisters are share the story of Anastasia.

(I put the lyrics of Anastasia songs in this so I recommend you listen to them when they come up when you read this because that is how I read it and it also just adds vibes)

The order of the songs that are included

In My Dreams

Stay, I Pray You

The Neva Flows

Still/The Neva Flows (Reprise)

Picture the plot of Anastasia, a royal family murdered and an entire nation turned upside down by a revolution that said times would be better but they were not. Well the entire royal family was murdered, though they did not survive the daughters may be still alive and there is a rumor that her grandmother who resided in London would pay a hefty sum to whomever would bring the three of them back. A few young ladies in the nation who happens to resemble the missing princesses gets picked to play the parts but it just happens that it is not a part they were playing, it is actually them. When the three and their friends escaped the nation and made their way to the capital of the British Empire to look for their grandmother who is looking for her missing granddaughters, and when it turns out to actually be the missing girls, Britain booms with the news, foreign royalty reunited.

But to back track a bit to when the three and their companions arrived in the nation they had the brief encounter with an Earl and his two younger brothers when looking for directions around the city. While their meeting was brief but very kind which was nice since the three of them were nothing in that moment, of course the sisters did not notice how smitten they had the men. So when the morning paper arrives at the Moriarty estate and reports the heartwarming story of old royal family being reunited and the Moriartys are not oblivious to why most of the old royal family was murdered, they were hated by the people but now the new government is also hated, an example of what they would not do in their plan.

When the sisters encounter the Moriarty brothers again it is at their first ball since the massacre of their family, the three of them returning to high society. William had no doubt when he read the paper that the sisters were the missing princesses that the paper spoke of, but it is certainly something else to see them all dressed up while their grandmother shows them off. The brothers manage to get a moment alone with them and the conversation is pleasant till Albert asks what life was like between what happened and now and they all go pale in the face, and to describe what they said I can only quote the lyrics from the musical…

They said I was found by the side of a road There were tracks all around, it had recently snowed In the darkness and cold with the wind in the trees A girl with no name, and no memories but these

Rain against a window, sheets upon a bed Terrifying nurses whispering overhead "Call the child Anya, give the child a hat" I don't know a thing before that

Traveling the back roads, sleeping in the wood Taking what I needed, working when I could Keeping up my courage, foolish as it seems At night all alone in my dreams

In my dreams shadows call There's a light at the end of a hall Then my dreams fade away But I know it all will come back One day

The brothers watch as the girls get dotted on by the aristocracy of England, it must have been so hard for them, terrified and alone like that, and then having to live like the lower class. Then one of the nobles mentions the Lord of Crime and says that the girls must not be scared since they have been through that sort of thing already and the girls have never heard such a person and then explanation comes up and the three look like they are about to vomit, all those horrid memories come back of the massacre that night, killing nobles just because they wish for change is what caused them all this pain.

Albert’s darling, the eldest of the three, the one who looked out for and protected her sisters all those years, is the one to find out about the Lord of Crime’s identity first. Since she is the eldest, she gets invited to many of the parties and balls, including the masquerade that had the game of Lord of Crime that the nobles laugh at but for her it all just feels to real for her. She was invited by Albert himself to be his plus one and as they dance she confesses that making a game out of the deaths of others makes her sick. When they were leaving their home, boarding the train, they encountered a count from their past who cared for them, who bent of his knee and kissed each of their hands, and led everyone in a prayer of farewell to their homeland because they would never return again, someone she hoped would be here but he died protecting them, fatally shot by the police for illegally boarding the train and they would have been killed as well if he did not care so much about them. He was kind and yet was said he must die, it was sick, she can still remember the words he said to them…

How can I desert you? How to tell you why? Coachmen, hold the horses Stay, I pray you Let me have a moment Let me say goodbye

To bridge and river Forest and waterfall Orchard, sea, and sky Harsh and sweet and bitter to leave it all I'll bless my homeland till I die

How to break the tie? We have shared our tears And shared our sorrows Though the scars remain And tears will never dry I'll bless my homeland till I die

She has to excuse herself to keep herself from crying, but when she returns there is a man dead and practically no one cares and she just looks up to the upper balcony where Albert is and he is smiling while speaking to another. People are unbothered by the dead man or the smiling one above that is responsible. She runs out the party and calls her own carriage and leaves while just sobbing uncontrollably.

The second to uncover the truth is Louis’ darling, she is awake when her sister returns home from the party and absolutely mess and she rushes to her sister’s side to see what was the matter and everything pours out of what she saw. At first she does not believe her, that is until the next day where she is sitting down at the park with a book in the nicer part of London and is approached by Louis who spotted her from afar. He sits with her and the two chat and then Louis tells her that Albert let him know that her sister left the party rather early last night and asks her if she knew why and instead of responding to his question she asks him what he thought of the Lord of Crime and his answer makes her shake her head, the country needs reform and-

She interrupt him and excuses herself, because she had everything taken from her and she never did anything wrong. She tells him that what the Lord of Crime is trying will get them nowhere because she has seen what has happened when this sort of thing happens…

I saw the children as the soldiers closed the gate The youngest daughter and her pride My father leaving on the night they met their fate His pistol by his side

The Neva flows, a new wind blows And soon it will be spring The leaves unfold, the Tsar lies cold A revolution is a simple thing

I heard the shots. I heard the screams. But it's the silence after I remember most

She leaves, running off as Louis calls after her but to no avail. She runs home to tell her sister that she believes her and they both try to tell their littlest sister but she does not believe them…

With Williams’s darling, there is a part of the musical, a man is sent after them to kill her if she turns out to be the actual missing princess. She was invited to tea at the Moriarty estate and she goes to show her sisters that they are being silly and there is nothing wrong with the Moriarty brothers since they were so kind to them when the first came to London and where no ones. Tea is very pleasant, though most of it William just asked her questions and asked her questions. When it came to an end and William is helping her get her coat on there is a knock on the door and since she is about to leave, she opens it only to see a face and a uniform she thought she had left behind in Russia

Gleb

An underhanded girl An act of desperation And to my consternation I let you go

Well, not this time Paris is no place for a good and loyal Russian

We are both good and loyal Russians

I've come to take you home

My home is here now

Stop playing this game, Anya! I beg you

We both know it's not a game Gleb

If you really are Anastasia Do you think history wants you to have lived?

Yes! Why don't you?

The Romanovs were given everything And they gave back nothing Until the Russian people rose up and destroyed them

All but one Finish it I am my father's daughter

And I am my father's son! Finish it I must

There is a gun pointed at her and her life flashes before her once again. She truly thinks she is going to die in that moment, she closes her eyes tight, awaiting her fate, but the bullet never comes. She opens her eyes only to see her assassin dead on the ground, a blade buried in his skull and she screams and falls back, right into William who is wiping the blood stain off of his face. It is when he caught her and she looks up at him to see him smiling at her that she realizes her sisters were right all along.