#this is about discovering i can make gradient brush

[gomzdrawfr]

digital art be like

[koa-z]

Nagito Color Study | Please do not repost, reblogs are welcome though! Brushes & Techniques & a progress pic below the cut

Uhhhh okay, how to explain this one. I was rereading “Logically Lucky” by PinkSweetSmoke and some of the visuals in the earlier chapters really struck me. The way that they write this relationship is pretty dynamic, and I wanted to see if I could use colors to talk about how Hajime and Nagito feel for each other and what they’re going through emotionally? So this is fanart for that fic, directly inspired by that fic based on the established vista(s) and also the style of writing their relationship, but it doesn’t really make sense unless I say all of that lol? But it wouldn’t exist if not for that fic, so I’d feel weird not mentioning it.

Brushes used (Clip Studio, Free):

Main: “ラフペン” from gyuukotu’s “Fill Set (��りセット)”, content ID 1695210 Fill: Default India Ink brush pen - the rough pen is a little unpredictable, so I used this to flat the image and make sure that there were no gaps Cloud Flat: "荒筆" from gyuutoku's “Fill Set (塗りセット)”, content ID 1695210 Cloud Blender: I downloaded it from the internet instead of the app 2 years ago and cannot find, with certainty, where it came from, since I get rid of everything on my hard drive that's not art every year :( there are lots of good cloud blending brushes out there for free, though, and I typically use the gouache blender Misc. Techniques: Screen Distortion: I used CSP's free cloth texture clipped above the "blue" layers and then liquified it in places for the screen distortion effect Gradient Mapping: I cannot overstate how helpful gradient maps were for minor color corrections, you guys PLEASE try them on a finished piece of your own if you haven't used them yet. Click Layers > New Correction Layer > Gradient Map and then choose from the premade gradients before adding your own so you can see how they worked. I used a few different ones clipped to specific areas w/ lowered opacity & hard/soft light settings where I felt like the color was falling flat and it was SO helpful at giving it just that little bit more depth. Hearts: I've discovered that you can cheat at hair and clothing rendering by just making hearts. Try and see how many you can find lol Color Theory in General: The whole point of this piece, after it stopped being fanart (lol rip), was to be a color study focusing on the contrast between shadow and light and what I could do within the blues & the yellows to make them appear as if they're actually different colors. In the blue section, everything is p much blue, nothing is any other color. In the sunny section, a lot of the stuff is warmer variations of the standard colors, since I wanted it to be more vibrant and didn't feel like I could achieve that if everything was shades of yellow and orange. That being said, I stuck as closely to that as possible. But ANYWAY, juxtaposing the two starkly different color profiles also helps the blues in the blue side read as colors that they aren't, which was part of why I did this study. Sneaky sneaky: I just modified the diner a bit in order to get the colors I wanted, i.e closing the blinds bc I can. As an artist it's important to remember that YOU have full control over every single part of the piece, you just should ideally have a reason to create inaccuracies/ break rules or else it can end up being a bit messy and disorganized & details/ your vision can get lost.

Aaaand finally, the sketch from TWO AND A HALF MONTHS AGO:

#trusttheprocess 😭😭😭

[brinaanana]

I just discovered your art and it’s so beautiful!! Have you thought about sharing a process video or brush details sometime? I also use procreate and your painting work is so lovely, it’s soothing to the eyes, I’d love to learn more about it 💕

Hi!

I'm really happy you like my work so much! Tbh, I've always wanted to share my drawing process, but never ended up doing it. Thanks to your ask, I'm finally motivated to write one!

I will go over my process / brushes / and other extra things of this particular drawing... under the cut!

I will go over my process / brushes / and other extra things of this particular drawing... under the cut!

Starting out:

The most decisive part of drawing (in my opinion, anyways) is the initial sketch. I usually find myself drawing multiple preliminary sketches before going to coloring, hence why the video below is cropped in the beginning. There are so many things running through my mind as I sketch - should she look at the viewer? Should I make her cross her arms? How should how clothes flow? That sort of thing.

The most frustrating thing in art is definitely having an idea, but being unable to carry it out due the skill set not matching up. For example, most of my drawings have the characters standing there like 🧍‍♂️ I wish I can do something much cooler like having Kaine pointing her blade at Nier but I lack the skill to draw poses like that. Better yet, I want to be able to draw from different angles. One day... I swear!!

Coloring:

There's no lineart section because I barely have patience to do so loll. Back before uni started, I had enough time to go line my drawings on CSP using my tablet back home. Nowadays, I'm just drawing on my ipad whenever I can. My art style changed a lot due to this new adjustment, which is pretty funny because it's been only one semester so far.

The brushes I usually use are the following, I don't usually use anything else other than these, unless I am working with metals. I use the "glass" brush in pretty much everythingggg, from sketching to cleaning up. Lmk if anyone wants to try the brush. The edge brush is by JenClaessen , which I love to do to shade skin. The last tool I use is the ordinary airbrush. My favorite thing adding soft lighting using it!

I like to do this thing where I use the glass brush at low opacity to add a complementary color (yellow in this case) in the area where the base and shade meet (1)! Another thing I do it adding a brighter, saturated color towards the end of a round surface. This is adds shape to the 2d drawing, since there is light creeping from behind her (2).

Because my art style is highly stylized, the lighting in my pieces seem to hit harsher than reality. I make the shading where it meets the base color the darkest, and the shading gets lighter as it gets farther away, or vice versa (3). In other words, the shading near her nose is darker than the other areas on her face.

I would usually lower the opacity of the lines and change their color appropriately, to give the drawing a softer feel. Coloring is basically also my cleanup stage too. As I color, I will erase the lines and make the colors show the way instead. I would also like to note that I utilize the airbrush in skin to show texture of it, while the use the glass brush to do the intricate details in the hair/clothes.

Editing:

For editing, I usually start by copying/pasting my whole drawing then tone curving immediately. Tone curving is basically adjusting the lights and darks by manipulating this line. The line towards the right changes the lights, vice versa for the darks. I don't remember the exact configurations for this drawing, but it should be akin to this:

After tone curving, I like to slap on a gradient map for more interesting effects! Similarly to the tone curve, the colors towards the right highlight the lighter colors, and vice versa. Below are the colors I chose for this drawing. Tbh, I can't really explain why I chose these colors specifically - I think the best results would come from going with your guts and trying to use colors to match the vibes.

Honestly, with procreate's features, you can't really go wrong. Sometimes, I'd tone curve a drawing multiple. Other times I would add two gradient maps that contain different colors together, with different layer effects. The noise filter is super charming when applied subtly to the shades. The chromatic aberration makes lazy doodles polished.

-

Here is the process video. I draw multiple things in a single canvas, so I cut those bits out.

-

[lunarsimmer]

[Begin Image Description:

Image 1: A sim with short wavy black hair kneeling next to a white and pink play mat watching over an infant sim lying on their stomach.

Image 2: An infant sim in a pink onesie lying in a pink and white crib and staring up, next to them is a blue text box reading QUIRK REVEALED: HATES BEING HELD followed by Laurel seems to particularly dislike being held, especially by a non-caregiver. Infants with the Hates Being Held Quirk are more likely to get upset when they're picked up and happier to be set down. Each Infant is different from the next and has 3 Infant Quirks that can be discovered over time. To read more about Laurel's new Quirk, visit the Traits section in the Simology Panel.

Image 3: A child sim with short black hair standing on a front porch staring at double doors.

Image 4: A sim with short wavy black hair sitting on a white wooden chair chatting to a child sim with short black hair sitting next to them.

Image 5: A sim with black hair in a bun knocking on a door.

Image 6: A dark and light gradient yellow banner with the words Stone Legacy on the left with three beaming quavers music notes, a fountain pen with stars and a paper airplane swirling around it and a paint palette with a brush above it and the words gen 2 on the right with three beaming quavers music notes, a fountain pen with stars and a paper airplane swirling around it and a paint palette with a brush above it.

End Image Description]

Story and dialogue below cut:

I mean, it's just a few pictures...

And Laurel apparently isn't a snuggler, because she just got the Hates Being Held quirk which will absolutely not cause problems, not at all.

Why is there a random child at the door? and why are you hanging out with them, Darwin?!

Darwin: So you need to show, not tell, show your emotions, make the audience feel.

Random Child Sim: Why did I come here? Why is that person here?

I would like to know too!

Random Sim: Do you have time to hear about the Great and Amazing Cowplant?

Beginning / Previous / Next

[alecbicheno]

Forefront post: A great prop with a helpful texturing breakdown

11/08/2024

This prop was made by Muhammad Abduhalilov, a 3D artist who specialises in creating props and environment assets. He is a self-taught artist, which shows his skill and dedication, and also shows the success that can be achieved in this industry when you apply yourself and commit to learning and improving.

He says the purpose of this project was to challenge himself, which is something that I intend to do after the end of this course as I want to continue to move forward and develop my skills.

His process begins as standard. He grabs references, making sure to get plenty of them to help with proportions, details and fidelity. Next, he goes on to modelling, where he starts off with helpful advice on subdivision workflows and some words of encouragement, which is always a nice touch to readers such as myself. “keep it simple — start with basic shapes and gradually add details as needed. Avoid adding too many edge loops or vertices, as this can make the model difficult to work with and lead to a loss of control over the shape.” (McKenzie & Abduhalilov, 2024) “Practice and experiment! Subdivision modeling is a skill that takes time and practice to master. Experiment with different techniques, tools, and approaches to discover what works best for you and refine your skills over time.” (McKenzie & Abduhalilov, 2024)

Also, while he used Maya to create the model whereas I am more inclined to use Blender, though I plan to get back to working in Maya while I still have a student license, the advice he gives here was still very helpful and applicable.

After making the low poly model in Maya, he moved over to ZBrush to detail the high poly one, elaborating on his artistic choices and processes, such as the brushes used. “Damaging the surface was my personal decision and it was done for the purpose of adding some interest to the model. But in real life, it could be really difficult to damage the container” (McKenzie & Abduhalilov, 2024)

I am not well versed in ZBrush, but, like Maya, I’ll definitely try to incorporate it into my workflow more often, though this will be a more permanent addition as it’s more affordable than Maya. So, by incorporating it, it should help me produce better work and expand my knowledge and therefore my employability.

He mentions his UVs and baking, offering help by referencing his previous article which goes over his baking process and shows his settings for it.

Next, he went into detail about texturing where he makes custom stencils and masks using Photoshop and recommended a tutorial on how to convert texture images to into masks for Substance Painter.

He then recommended another tutorial from a channel on how to paint decals when going over how he painted on the flower decoration. After this it was a step by step of each addition to the model, such as the gradient of colours on the model, the colour variations in said gradient, the rust and wear on the pot which involved importing a rust material where he changed the intensity of the normal, and paired it with a scratch material to get the burned out look on the bottom. He adds various other painted on details with stencils and material masks he prepared in Photoshop. After which he adds further details all over such as more scratches and rust.

For the wooden handle it involved a smart material from a tutorial, and a few filters and generators. “I used different generators and filters (metal edge, curvature, sharpen, warp, dirt, and position). I broke them with grunge and used different layering methods like screen, overlay, and multiply.” (McKenzie & Abduhalilov, 2024)

This was a very in-depth explanation of his Substance Painter texturing process. I found it very helpful seeing what he did, especially with the linked tutorials, even though I didn’t quite understand all of it. Despite this, it was still very insightful and I would definitely refer to this along other tutorials online if I need to look up texturing assistance.

For rendering he made use of Marmoset Toolbag, another piece of software I’m unfamiliar with, as my renders are usually done in Blender or Substance Painter. He made use of Quixel for materials and assets then Marmoset for HDRIs.

For some finishing touches, he went into Photoshop. “To finish, I adjusted exposure, contrast, and clarity using the Camera Raw Filter in Photoshop.” (McKenzie & Abduhalilov, 2024)

To conclude, he shares more words of wisdom, encouraging us to consistently practice and to experiment with different tools and techniques, all in order to improve and maybe discover our unique styles.

In summary, this was a very insightful article. He clearly goes over his entire workflow, as well as recommending learning resources throughout the article to help readers learn. He also made good use of a variety of different software to produce the best possible end result, all while giving advice to us to try and helps us improve our own skills.

References

McKenzie, T. & Abduhalilov, M., 2024. Texturing Realistic Burnt Metal & Worn Wood in 3D For a Soviet-Era Bedon. [Online] Available at: https://80.lv/articles/texturing-realistic-burnt-metal-worn-wood-in-3d-for-a-soviet-era-bedon/ [Accessed 11 August 2024].

[gadgetblogger]

Everything Starts with a Smokey Eye: The Foundation of Makeup Trends

From bold editorial looks to the girl-next-door simplicity, if you dive deep into the essence of most eye makeup trends, you'll find that they all start with a smokey eye. Whether you're scrolling through Instagram, flipping through a fashion magazine, or binge-watching makeup tutorials, the smokey eye is a classic that never fades away.

A Brief History

Linda Cantello, an international makeup artist who was once with Gucci and is now associated with Armani, is often credited with the invention of the modern smokey eye. Linda changed the makeup game in the '80s with her revolutionary technique. Her approach to a smokey eye was to make it look "lived-in"—an intensely shaded, yet artfully messy application with a gradient that beautifully complemented a minimal face makeup look. What sets it apart is the seamless blending of shades, where one color effortlessly transitions into the next, with no harsh lines to give it away.

Breaking the Rules: The True Essence of a Smokey Eye

So, what are the cardinal rules for achieving a perfect smokey eye? Surprisingly, according to Linda Cantello, there are none! Unlike other makeup techniques that often come with a long list of dos and don'ts, a smokey eye is all about the art of diffusion, dimension, and a whole lot of blending. And while most tutorials might recommend sticking to greys and blacks, a smokey eye doesn't have to be restricted to these shades. You can go as colorful as you want—provided it looks sensual and suits your overall look.

Universality of the Smokey Eye

The true beauty of the smokey eye lies in its versatility—it's a one-size-fits-all approach that complements any eye shape. Whether you have almond-shaped eyes, hooded eyes, or even monolids, a well-executed smokey eye can enhance your natural features and make your eyes pop.

A Journey of Self-Discovery: My Own Experience

During the pandemic, as I sought creative avenues that required minimal screen time, my path led me back to makeup, and naturally, to mastering the smokey eye. I began my journey with just an eye pencil (the Feline eye kohl from MAC) and a blending brush (219s brush), casually scribbling along the lower lash line. As I grew more comfortable, I added intensity to the corners or wherever my mood dictated—because, after all, makeup is an expression of mood.

Next, I incorporated a transition eyeshadow to blend things out. This shade acts like a mediator that merges other colors and adds depth. From there, it was a hop, skip, and a jump to using liquid liner to bring out the intensity of the look. Over time, I experimented with various eyeshadow formulas, from mattes to shimmers and creams to liquids, discovering how to layer products to achieve the required dimension.

The Conclusion: Smokey Eye is the Starting Line

What I learned through my journey is that once you master the smokey eye, you've essentially cracked the code to most eye makeup trends. It’s the foundation upon which you can build, layer, and experiment. And while it may look complex, it’s a fairly straightforward technique. Practice indeed makes perfect. So, the next time you're looking to try a new eye makeup trend, remember: it all starts with a smokey eye.

[sharoo]

I'm here with you honestly! Fellow traditional artist of way too many years to count, only got a tablet last year and did some art sporadically. Here's some of the stuff I've learned.

Set up

For the start, configure your tablet in your tablet installer's settings. First, check your program of choice's key shortcuts. I use FireAlpaca and it serves me well, though it of course depends on your preferences. Most digital art programmed will have keyboard shortcuts for specific tools (E for eraser, M to select, p for pen, etc) and if your tablet and/or pen has buttons, you can map specific key combinations into it. My pen has 2, so i have switch colours (X) on one button and the eyedropper (i) for the second one.

While you're in the settings, make sure to configure your tablet's sensitivity. it's that little line you can curve. idk the science of it, just fiddle with it up or down if you find it's not responding well.

Line work

For steady line work, remember to turn up the stabiliser. Most digital artists use it and on a high setting to get those nice cohesive lines. it's a useful crutch.

A good starting point for line art, if you're not used to drawing it in digital, is to do it on paper, take a photo, then trace it in the digital program. Alternatively you grab a picture and trace the pose over. It's a way of training!

Remember to watch out layers so you don't end up doing clean line art on the same level as the sketch. Remember you can lock layers to prevent editing them. In FireAlpaca, the locked layer gets a little lock icon.

Also, if you don't like that your lines look a little blurred on the edges, you can go into your brush's settings and turn off anti-aliasing (both on the brushes and erasers).

Clipping

Clipping is amazing. It saves so much time. How I and a lot of artists tend to work is that we begin with line art, then we make another layer and colour it in white within the line art. This white layer, I'll call it the cutout for a lack of a better word, will be what we clip all others onto.

Clipped layers show only on what they are being clipped onto, aka our cutout. So the solution in my case is to clip a folder onto the cutout and start filling it with layers (the layers inside that folder don't need to be clipped, but you can create dimensions of clipping if, say, you want the irises to clip onto the eyeballs but not the entire head).

Clipping is also useful with...

Shading and Effects

This is the part that's the most fun about digital.

Layer settings allow you to do some crazy stuff once you learn them, and I'm only a fledgeling at their use. My best advice is to just fiddle with them as much as you can and experiment. I've discovered that Multiply or Overlay layers are great at creating shadows, while an Add layer is great for light. Use coloured shadows (these layers don't like pure black and white), and adjust the opacity to match your needs. Also remember you can do more than one layer of shadows if you want that gradual darkness, and that gradients set to Add/Multiply layers make for great sources of light and shadow.

Effects a a bit funkier. I mostly use Gausian Blur, which causes the select to go all fuzzy and soft, making it great for shading, especially for adding light (you can copy a layer, use gausian blur on the copy, put it under the original, and set it to Add t o make it somewhat glow!)

Checking your colour values

Something I learned from digital is how much your colours can uninentionally blur despite being distinct. You can learn to use values to guide the eye to what's important, or to make stuff pop! This is where the values layer comes in.

Make a new layer overtop everything else, colour it in wholly black, then set it to Saturation/Colour/Hue (personally i haven't found the difference between these two). Let's use my sona for an example.

Now that the form is in black and white, you can see what stands out, what's darker or lighter, and it can make it easy to notice how, for example, the crown doesn't stand out as much as it could, or the freckles are a point of interest, because they're the darkest spot among a lot of light tones. They draw attention to the face.

From there, you can tweak these, and suddenly you can make stuff stand out! Or blend in, if that's the effect you seek!

Lastly... community

I cannot understate this - find an art community. A discord server, some other group, whatever. Find digital artists you can speak with and ask for precise advice, because you'll get way more out of a few talented friends than from youtube's repository of tutorials (though those are also helpful as heck).

genuinely don't think there's anything more humbling then trying to learn how to do digital art

i respect digital artists SO MUCH, i have for years, it's so impressive -> i'm saying this as a traditional artist trying to learn

tips would be appreciated 😓 

[frankhightower]

I stand with Rick Griffin (2)

"When I made the drawing of the baobabs I was carried beyond myself by the inspiring force of urgent necessity." —Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince This is a protest drawing. It is protesting what I considered a great injustice: the removal of one of @@rickgriffin's artworks from FA. But more than the specific work, it's about what I considered a disproportionate action against an upstanding citizen of the FA "nation" Rick was deliberately trying to show that artwork can incorporate AI imagery without being completely, or even mostly, AI generated. In his case, he needed the glow of a city over the edge of a hill (which is a pain to draw as every artist knows I'm sure), and asked an AI to generate just that, while he drew the character, the path and vegetation on our side of the hill (i.e. the viewer's side), arguably the hill itself, and a vehicle for the character. I set out to create a similar image: where the AI just fills in some background element, but more than the remaining 60% is definitely hand-crafted original. Rick Griffin's point was clear: this is no different than using a photo and painting over it. My point (I hope) was clear: this is no different than putting the Mona Lisa in the background. But to be fair, it is different: when using a photo, you have to make sure you have the rights, or you have to go out and snap it yourself, pick the right angle, time of day, etc. When using a famous painting, it's an homage; advertising for the artist if you will. Using AI tools remove these mechanisms because there's no way –barring a future court order to make the AI "explainable"– to know who the original author/s are/were. Not that we knew that at the time; the press examples suggested that, when the AI built a house, it would base each wall on a different artist, the window frames from a fifth artist and the window panes from a sixth artist, whichever most suited the prompt, which lent credence to the argument the AI was learning to draw "like humans" do and picking a style from what it "liked" best. However, experience has demonstrated that, when possible, the AI will clone the whole house and at most do a palette swap To further my point, I used all the "tricks" I could think of in the creation of this image: I used vectors to fill even though I wasn't in a vector program, I took the wood texture out of Microsoft Office's texture library and deformed it using 3d transform tools, I downloaded the curtains from a royalty-free stock image website, and I probably would've used a custom brush for the fur if I had one already customized. I did not, however, use gradients or blur tools to shade because I really wanted to emphasize that ">60% hand made" quality. Several interesting things happened in the process. First, the slog of trying several prompts to get the image I wanted. It just so happened that I knew the image I wanted: something like this but grander, more sprawling. I never input the artist's name into the prompt, though, nor described that particular scene; I wanted the AI generic, bland style, but I came to the conclusion that AI "tools" are precisely for people who don't know what they want, not because they're indecisive, but because they just don't know a lot of artists. Second, I got a commission (hasn't been posted anywhere yet) where I had to draw a sprawling city, and discovered that, even when trying to make buildings the most snow-clone possible, there's still a lot of work and thought and effort that goes into each one of those little boxes, which in turn can make it fun, which brings to mind the argument that people who use AI art generation miss the "point" of making art. I have not (let me say that again: I have not) included the AI-generated portion in this image for considering it in bad taste now, but you can still go see the original, (which even has a time-lapse!)

Posted using PostyBirb

[lightningdreameralt]

Hirohiko Araki, artist introspective for my topic.

From the land of japan, Hirohiko Araki is a manga artist, one of the most influential to ever grace the earth, with his main work, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, soon entering it’s 9th part as of the writing of this, being seen remembered and re-visioned in other popular manga and even in western media due to its eccentricities and glamour. Araki’s work has also found itself the guest of art shows and even has periodically been viewed in the louvre, one of the most well known artistic museums in the world, holding such iconic pieces as the Mona Lisa.

Being one of the most influence Japanese artists and storytellers, over his artistic tenure starting in publication in 1983, with his far less recognised Cool Shock B.T being released, followed by Baoh in 1984, this series looking far more reminiscent in what JoJo would later become known as, with its unorthodox proportions and spine shattering poses. and, finally, in 1987, the weekly publication of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure in Shonen jump would grace the world, starting the popularity of Hiohiko Araki’s works, not that his previous works lacked polish, rather, they just didn't have the staying power that JoJo has obtained in its 35 year life.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi9267N5q38AhVOhlwKHZdDBDUQtwJ6BAgLEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DR6ETYobDuc8&usg=AOvVaw0A3_9SOJzog_ZWVgLb9K8V

In this video, taken during the creation of JoJolion, the 8th part of JoJo, Araki creates a mural depicting many of the main characters and all of the JoJo’s depicting Jonathan, Joseph, Jotaro, Jolene, Johnny and so on. As we can see, he actually takes a lot of inspiration from carvings of people, what lines up with how is personal works made outside of the manga are very reminiscent of renaissance sculptures, and by inferring from said statues, hes able to impersonate the feeling that are radiated from these marvels. 

Also seen, not only with Araki, but many maga artists, his work is done classically, with ink and paper, but not only that, with him having his own well to siphon from. This gives his work that natural look that most physical works inhibit, but the pen also allows for the thickness of the line work to change quickly and smoothly over a gradient allowing him easier control over his works looks. he also uses normal pens with unique tips at other points and also does the colouring himself using water colours to give a pastel look which is lightly applied, leaving it mute and not too vibrant. This is contrasted as he airbrushes the piece to give it a vibrant neon green background, using a protective film over his work to stop it from, getting dissolved. While this comes out beautifully, it doesn't change much about the actual work except making it stand out better.

I could try and take aspects from this piece, such as using a pressure based pen tip in Photoshop which is reminiscent of his and other manga artist pens, but recently I discovered that the computers cannot read the drawing pads, resulting in negative responses which are critically wounding the work I produce so I have been restrained to a mouse for my works what only knows yes and no, so cannot be used in this endeavour but could probably be used later. I would also like to try the watercolour aspect of the art to give my matte and flat work more life, but the digital brushes that I use seem unfit for the job, perhaps I should look for other digital replacements online, none that cost money, because free ones should do just as well, at least for my unpicky self.

[incongruousstrawberry]

I want you (Fushiguro Megumi x f!reader)

Word count: 2.2k

Tags: aged-up characters, smut, unprotected sex, car sex, established relationship.

Hello! I'm back with a short pwp fanfic this time. I'm totally unsure whether or not the way I described Fushiguro is plausible, but since this is just an indulgent piece I hope it'll be alright.

It's a serene weekend evening and you, your boyfriend, and your friends are going to the beach to enjoy the last remnants of summer's warmth.

There are six of you and you can't be bothered to use two cars, so you imprudently decide to squash everybody inside Panda's medium-sized car.

That's how you end up on Fushiguro's lap, accompanied by the silly little snickers of Nobara and Itadori, and a sly look from Maki.

You wonder if your boyfriend minds at first, it's hot and he already seems uncomfortable in his dark grey tee, but the way he gently circles your waist with his arms makes you think he's actually enjoying this.

You surely are enjoying this yourself, your half-bare back pressing on his chest, your arms resting on his, and your gaze lost on the flaming sky. A couple of clouds wander solitary on the horizon and your eyes follow the gradient of colours, from orange to green to blue, with only peace in your heart.

When you confessed your feelings to Fushiguro a couple of months ago, you didn't know what to expect. There was clearly good chemistry and a lot of respect between the two of you, but due to the boy's reserved personality and his ever-serious face you were never sure what was going on in his messy-haired head.

Nervous and uncertain as you were - you couldn't know that, but your cheeks were so red that afternoon - the last thing you expected at the time was to receive a long steamy kiss from him.

You only recently discovered that Megumi wasn’t as calm and collected as he appeared to be. He wasn't shy either, stealing a kiss from you at every opportunity and walking hand-in-hand whenever the two of you were off-duty.

When he was with you he almost looked like a different person, and you found yourself enjoying both of his sides to a great extent: the stern, responsible, goal-oriented one and the sweet, impulsive teeny one alike.

But all your newly found knowledge about him wasn't enough to prepare you for what was going to happen next.

You've finally arrived at the beach and everyone starts getting out of the car when Fushiguro stops you, his arms tightening around your waist. You turn toward him, a quizzical expression on your face, but his dark blue eyes are looking at Panda, who's right next to the car door. "Please go on without us," Fushiguro tells him, "I have to talk to y/n for a moment."

Panda looks at Fushiguro in confusion, the fur over his eyes furrowing lightly, but then he hands him the keys. "Okay, later!"

You both sit in silence, waiting for the others to be far enough.

You are still looking out of the window when Fushiguro breaks the silence. "Y/n," he calls quietly.

"What is it, 'Guro?" you ask sweetly, just the tiniest bit of worry making you stiffen lightly.

"I want you." You barely hear him, his voice just a low murmur close to your right ear.

Your eyes widen in shock and you stir on his lap, trying to turn toward him to ask him if he's serious right now, but your attention is quickly caught by the feeling of his right hand falling from your waist to your stomach, snaking its way down slowly. "What are you doing?!" you exclaim in a gasp, squirming in his lap.

That's when you feel it. His erection is poking against your ass, impossible to miss even with the layers of clothing keeping you apart, and you giggle quietly. "Did you like having me on your lap that much?"

"You were the one pressing yourself all over me… and with this dress..." Fushiguro's voice is almost shy, a trace of guilt tinging his tone. "If you want, I can stop," he says as his hand goes lower and he brushes his fingers against your clothed core.

The contact is enough to have you inhale rapidly, and you let out a shaky breath when you feel Fushiguro kissing the crook of your neck, his lips soft and warm, his tongue wet and slow on your skin.

You don't want him to stop now, of course, but… "But we're in Panda's car…" you say quietly as if saying it louder could have you discovered.

"We'll be careful," he says against your neck, and the warmth that collects in your lower belly starts taking priority to any rational thought you might be having.

Fushiguro starts pressing on your core more insistently and you moan quietly, enjoying the sweet pressure of his long fingers, but then you suddenly remember that the window is open. You look around carefully, in order to see if someone is approaching the parking area, but luckily the place is deserted. "Wait a sec." You grab the keys he has placed on the seat next to yours and reach for the front of the car, your body fully stretched forward to put the keys in the slot and turn them just enough so that you can close the window. You feel his hands grazing at your thighs and you realise how exposed you are in this position. A shudder runs along your spine. Suddenly embarrassed, you pull back quickly and rest on his lap again, closing the window next to you. "You're so impatient today, what's gotten into you?"

Fushiguro doesn't answer and grabs your jaw with a gentle movement instead, pulling you close and kissing you with passion. You melt into the kiss and let him bite your lower lip before your tongue peeks out to meet his. It's a mess of lips and tongues that don't cease to dance until you pull away in a gasp when you feel his fingers on you again, pulling up your dress and grazing the cloth of your underwear.

"Can I?" Fushiguro's low voice gets right into your head and you nod silently while your left hand goes burying itself amongst his dark hair.

He's quick to slide his hand under your light panties and the first graze of his gentle fingers on your folds sends a wave of pleasure through your body.

"You're wet," he says, surprised.

You half-turn toward him. "Am I not supposed to?"

"It's just that we just started so I thought…"

You can feel yourself blushing and find yourself squirming in embarrassment. "Well… you… it's not my fault you're so hot, 'Guro."

That's it. Now he has completely lost his cool. Fushiguro turns you toward him again with one hand to suck on your lower lip while without warning he inserts a finger inside you.

You wince a little but the shock is soon replaced with pleasure as the long digit slides easily into you, your wetness already smoothing his movements.

You're now with your legs wide open, both your hands behind you, buried in his hair, and your mouth slightly open as your breath stutters at every movement of your boyfriend.

It's not long before he puts another finger in and while you whimper quietly he starts slowly grinding his length against your ass in search for some relief.

"Nnh, let me take care of you too," you breathe out, but Fushiguro's fingers don't stop. On the contrary, the hand that was resting on your jaw slowly starts wandering South, reaching the hem of your dress and sliding upwards. He slides his hand under your bra and his long fingers reach for one of your nipples, playing with it gently. Then he twists it, just the right amount of pressure applied, and you moan out loud, your voice flowing so nicely to his ears that his cock twitches in his pants.

Fushiguro's right hand keeps pumping into you whilst his left hand leaves your soft breast to slide under your panties and find your clit.

Whatever control you were exerting over your voice until that moment is lost when he starts drawing circles on your sensitive nub and you moan a little louder every time, burying your fingers further in his dark hair. The pumping of his fingers into you starts sounding more explicit with how wet you’re getting and a hot grip takes hold of your core, pleasure collecting quickly inside of you. Hearing him grunt in your ear after the umpteenth grind of his length against you finally sends you over the edge. The grip cracks and a hot mellifluous flow runs free through your body and sweeps over you from your toes to your head. It feels light and empty as your orgasm swirls messily inside you. You moan his pet name out loud, the world around you completely forgotten, your breath stuttering and your core clenching around his fingers.

Then you slowly start to come down your high while Fushiguro's fingers soothe you with calm, slow movements.

"That was hot," he rasps in your ear.

"You are… nnh, 'Guro, stop moving for a sec." When he removes his fingers from you, you take some seconds to get back to your senses and then try to stand up as much as the car allows you to. Then you turn toward your boyfriend and stare shamelessly at his bulge. You are still aware that you are in Panda's car, outside, dangerously exposed if anyone decides to get close, but you just don't care about any of that right now. "Alright." Your tone is firm and determined.

You unbutton Fushiguro's pants, your breath shaking just a little while you undo his zipper and after some quick movements his cock is finally free. It's red and a little swollen, probably due to all the grinding he couldn't make himself stop to do.

You raise your dress and place yourself on his lap, straddling him, and Fushiguro places his hands on your hips, his dark blue eyes staring avidly into yours. You pull your panties to the side and adjust yourself so that his length is aligned with your entrance and place your hands on his shoulders. "I'm ready," you murmur.

His lips curl upward, a sly smile making his face even more stunning, and he pushes your hips down on his cock.

The mewl you make is so lewd and sweet to Fushiguro's ears and every resolution he might have made to take it slowly suddenly dissipates.

You squeal as he starts to buck his hips into you fast and strong. He's reaching so deep inside of you and you can only stand there and follow the rhythm he chose, enjoying every single thrust he gives while your breasts bounce under the light summer dress you wear.

Your core hurts a little at first, the sudden stretch shocking your muscles, but as pleasure rises every discomfort vanishes like a cloud dissolving into thin air.

Your moans and Fushiguro's grunts fill the car until the sound gets muffled by the kiss the two of you engage into. It's warm, wet, and messy, your lips sliding against each other and your tongues brushing sloppily while you bury your fingers in his hair.

Meanwhile, he doesn't stop thrusting into you, his movements needy and deep, his fingers still sinking in your skin as they press you closer to him.

You start feeling a hot pressure in your lower abdomen, pleasure and desire collecting once again, ready to explode at any moment. You put one hand on his shoulder to steady yourself and snake the other one down to your clit, providing yourself the last piece of the puzzle.

Fushiguro's voice becomes raspy as he grunts at the sight and he bites the soft skin of your neck, and it sends you into oblivion. Between his thrusts filling you up and your middle finger tracing circles on your clit, you start to unravel, your moans becoming whimpers as your body contracts and your eyes become glossy before shutting down completely.

The way you clench and cream around Fushiguro's cock makes him reach for his climax too and with some last sloppy thrusts he grunts in your neck as he spills inside you. The voice he makes when he cums is probably the thing that turns you on the most in the entire world and you open your eyes again just to look at him in adoration. To your surprise - even though you really shouldn't be surprised - he's staring at you with the same exact expression, and he's quick to place a hand behind your head and pull you close to him, giving you a slow deep kiss that ends with a sweet peck on your lips.

"I love you, you know that?" he says, his voice quiet and tired.

"I do," you reply, sweet and enamoured, "and I love you too."

Silence falls and the two of you just stare at each other lovingly, until something clicks in your mind and you remember where you are. "Oh, gosh, we should clean up and go now. They must be wondering where we are."

You start to move, hesitant while you try to figure out how to have him pull off without making a mess on the seat, but Fushiguro stops you, his arms hooked around your waist. "Stay here a little more," he says, and you still. A moment later, you feel his length swelling again inside you.

"'Guro? Not again?!"

His voice is uncharacteristically whiny as his elongated eyes stare into you, "But I want you."

[wehavespikes]

I've been really into graphic design lately and I want to start! do you have any tips?

Hey, thanks for asking, I guess I do have some tips

• For absolute beginners I'd recommend first looking into graphic programs and finding the best fit for what you want to create - the adobe cloud is great but to start out there are many free alternatives. If you're into drawing as well I'd recommend checking out Procreate.

• Study the basics - e.g. look at the difference between vectors and pixel graphics, file formats (jpg vs png vs tiff etc.), look up different methods to cut out images as it's something you'll probably need at some point, and maybe also have a look at recent design or color trends (that's always fun, too). Also advisable as a beginner is to study general do's and don'ts (for example working with text, website design or layouting have some clear rules for what works and what doesn't - most people already have a sense of aesthetic but it's always a good idea to prevent creating some graphic design is my passion meme stuff, see r/crappydesign or the likes).

• If you want to create with the intention of publishing your works effectively on certain platforms (like Instagram) it's always clever to look up which formats work best (1080x1080 is standard square for Instagram for example). If you want to create wallpapers look up common sizes and set up your canvas accordingly.

• Find inspiration and ideas - of course you need at least a rough idea about what you want to create. I for example love all things 80s, so for inspiration I look up 80s media, technology, fashion etc. to find things I could incorporate in my designs (e.g. patterns, color schemes, shapes, fonts etc.). An amazing platform for this is Pinterest of course, but I also frequently use unsplash.com (free to use gorgeous photography that you can use right away for your designs), youtube (for tutorials mainly) and lots of tumblr blogs.

•  If you want to use photos make sure you know about copyright and fair use - platforms like Pinterest mostly feature copyrighted images, so never just use an image without considering this. Always ask first and give credit.

•  Watch lots of tutorials - in the beginning I had no idea about the capabilities of graphic programs and was often wondering how artists were able to create certain things. So of course you need to learn somehow and watching tutorials on youtube is a great way to do so. It’s also fun to just look through random design tutorials until the algorythm shows you something you really like and want to recreate or use for your own works. Like this I also learned lots of basics (advanced working with layers, clipping masks, transparency, layer styles, filters and all kinds of photoshop tools).

• Familiarize yourself with the graphic program of your choice. Check out which tools are available and try to use them. Experiment with shapes, brushes, text, gradients, etc. Set up your workplace according to your needs and look through all options, settings and tabs to see what your possibilities are. Play around with a photo and try to edit the hell out of it. Like this you’ll probably already find some tools or settings that inspire you and ways you might want to incorporate them into your designs.

• Recreate and adopt. Recreating artworks that inspire you or designing along tutorials is the best way to learn in my opinion, as it is with drawing as well. As you learn new techniques you can begin to incorporate more and more of them into your own artworks, your drafting process will change as you’re able to consider more ways to reach your design goal, and you will also gain lots of new inspiration as well. When I discovered the possibilities of layer mixing I began designing with them in mind and just playing around yielded some amazing results; I made note of my favourite styles and now am frequently using them in my designs.

• Draft and save inspiration. I always carry my sketchbook around and doodle things when I have a few minutes of time or when inspiration hits me. You often see things in the real world that strike you as interesting, so make sure you don’t forget about them later when you want to design. This can be posters, flyers or other design works but also nature, people, clothes, etc. Taking written notes also works great for me. For collecting inspiration online I mostly use Pinterest (create artboards for specific aesthetics and pin all images that fit and inspire you in some way so you can look them up later as reference), but I also have lots of bookmarks neatly organized to save images that aren’t on pinterest. I never just copy and save on my computer because I might not know who to credit later.

• Refine your own aesthetic, polish your artworks and take challenges. Try to design outside of your comfort zone (I’m really not a fan of working with Adobe Illustrator for example but need it a lot for my job so I decided to use it more at home for my own art and am now quite fond of some of the tools) and challenge yourself - e.g. you can try to design within a certain decade’s aesthetic, participate in online design challenges, ask for requests from friends or followers, etc. Keep up with design trends (especially if you’re planning to sell your artworks in some way at some point).

• Less is more. Edit edit edit. Something I still struggle with given that the 80s aesthetic I love always screams more is more. Train your abstraction ability (making pixel art or super minimalist things is a great way to practice). Learn what an artwork / layout / website etc. really needs and what can be scrapped. Don't be afraid of blank spaces. Never bedazzle just for the sake of filling space.

That’s all I can think of right now, hope this helps ♡ if you have questions about specific things you can always hit me up.

[writingstarling]

Comfort in You

Adrien needed to get out. He curled deeper into himself as the walls chased down to cage him like a determined hunter.

It was a trick of the mind, he knew. He knew his room was spacious enough to support a relatively large apartment. That it would be impossible for him to be closed in.

He knew. But his brain couldn’t process that.

Today wasn’t what Adrien would call a good day—and he certainly had better. Just thinking of it sent him into a spiral of his own thoughts.

The air in his room were lego blocks he's forced to inhale. Smothering his nostrils in full force. And was it just him or was the ground starting to sway?

“Breathe,” a voice brought him back to reality. Adrien didn’t even notice he was holding his breath.

He had to calm down. Gain his head back.

Breathe, Agreste. Just like the article said, 4 7 8. Inhale through the nose for 4. Hold it for 7. Exhale through the mouth for 8, Adrien did as so.

You’re alright, you’re okay. Just calm down and you can get out of here!

Somehow he had managed. His surroundings were clearing up. The walls didn’t look like they were about to collapse on him anymore. The air filtering through his nostrils lightened in weight.

He was fine.

“Fine” was an overstatement really. He was far from it as it is.

But in his situation and for argument’s sake, “fine” would fit in nicely.

Exhaling one last shaky breath, Adrien fixed eye contact with his furry companion and smiled.

“Thanks, Plagg. I needed that.”

The black cat rubbed his cheek against his chosen’s. Not for long though. Despite appearances, Plagg had a reputation to keep. He couldn’t let Tikki make fun of him!

Plagg did loops in the air before favouring a spot in front of his chosen. His flipper like hands poised on his waist and a sly smirk played on his lips.

“So, you ready to break out of this place?”

Adrien mirrored his smirk with a fresh new glint in his eyes, “Plagg, claws out!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Life had been considerably unpredictable for Marinette. With her secret life as a superhero and the sudden debut of a supposed supervillain—or magical terrorist with the ability to grant people magical powers through the aid of butterflies, Marinette had thought that she was beginning to gain the capability to be unfazed by the unexpected. That with all the bizzare events in her life she became acquainted with it.

Apparently she was wrong.

Never had she expected for a certain cat—or perhaps Chat to be perched on her veranda. It rattled her at first. Chat’s last visit had been... interesting, to put it nicely. It wasn’t his fault per se, nevertheless the escalating events left a bad taste in her father regarding the cat themed hero. The bad blood died down, but finding the very person that broke your daughter’s heart on your balcony would certainly summon a very irresistible impulse to jettison him; and Marinette really didn’t want to explain to Paris why one of their heroes managed to become roadkill near her bakery (the suit would probably protect him, but Marinette did not want to take that chance).

That put aside, Marinette shuffled under her sole protector from peering—or in this case, Chat Noir’s eyes. A hand stationed at her trapdoor as her eyes spied on her partner.

His back faced her as he surveyed the city; his cat ears were flat on his tousled gold locks while he hummed a song Marinette became familliar with as “Little Cat on The Roof”. Her lips twitched into a knowing frown.

Being partners for so long they were bound to notice habits the other owned. At the moment, it was Chat’s occasional croons. Marinette recognised the song as Chat's solace. A safe haven achieved by focusing on the assortment of melodies the song offered. She came to the conclusion that her kitty was distressed; presumably due to family circumstances.

Marinette weighted her odds. It didn’t seem like Chat had noticed her yet—which was good. She hadn’t known what action to take. On the one hand, it would be wise to not nose around and let him solve it in his own time. But on the other hand, seeing him lack his usual jubilant and bright attitude sent a jab to her heart.

She wanted to help. To be of service to him like the terrible jokes and over the top shenanigans he did for her. No matter how stubborn she was to clung to her sour mood, he would do almost everything that came to mind to alleviate her spirits. She wanted to do the same for him.

“Marinette?”

The mentioned girl tensed before sighing internally. She knew she was bound to be spotted (HA!) somehow, though she did wish it would be from her own volition rather than a slip aided by Chat’s observation skills. Marinette didn’t loiter on that thought longer and pulled herself up. Red bloomed on her cheeks as the crisp autumn air caressed her skin while embarrassment added an even darker shade of red.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to spy,” she found great interest in the floor as her fingers busied themselves by connecting and disconnecting themselves, stealing peeks as she did.

She expected, hoped, for him to take the chance to chaff her of having an infatuation on him or alleging her of being stunted by his self-proclaimed dashing looks (Marinette has thrown herself into a spiral of denial), albeit begrudgingly. She had, because if he did—there lied a glimmer of hope that it would be easier to buoy her partner. Chat, however, had other plans in mind.

Chat offered her a smile. Impeccably centered and hollow like a well crafted porcelain doll, “It’s okay, it was rude of me to steal your balcony.”

Internally Marinette cringed at the sight. Her stomach wrapped itself in knots of discomfort. It reminded her of the smile Adrien would plaster whenever Chloe or Lila claimed possession of him. That night Marinette vowed that she would never let that smile abide on either boys ever again.

“It’s all right,” she spoke as her feet planted herself next to him.

A pregnant pause held them hostage. Both fearful of breaking the fragile semblance of peace between them despite the mutually felt inquietude.

“So,” Marinette threaded with rightfully earned prudence. Voice soft and light like footsteps on thin ice.

“...So...”

“I have some croissants.”

Finally a piece of her kitty came to light in the form of a grin on his lips and a glint in his eyes.

“You would indulge this poor stray to the finest pastries in the world? Truly, you are the most a-meow-zing purr-incess in the world!”

Marinette fought the giggle bubbling in her throat with no success before sending him a playful glare coupled by a smirk that flourished nothing but friskiness, “Careful now, those awful puns might just cost you.”

Chat’s hand sought his heart above the magical leather suit as an overly inflated gasp found freedom from his peach pink lips.

“How could you Purr-incess! My puns are widely ad-mew-tted to be fur-ry paw-esome,” he retaliated, voice brimmed with feigned smugness.

Snacks and chagrins were soon forgotten as they fell into an easy rhythm of banter. Jabs aimed to Chat’s puns would immediately be reciprocated with a flimsy defense along with an additional pun. Each one personally designed to perturb her further into submission. But despite it, Marinette couldn’t brush away the warmth buzzing through her entire body as they went back and forth. The once brisk air nipping at her skin replaced by a fervour akin to a hug from a dear friend.

After a particularly long laughter from both parties as Chat had finally managed to delivered a humorous pun - “EXCUSE mew Purr-incess, my puns are always funny!” - they settled in another lapse of silence. Consisted of feather lightness and melodic sweetness.

The city was exceptionally beautiful, they had agreed. Perhaps it was due to the occurrence of a full moon, offering the city a better lighting to its beauty; perhaps it was the fiery orange lining the streets with its playful gradient; or perhaps the most immediately discarded thought in their heads, the company they had.

It was a territory they never dared to venture. A land littered with minefields yet to be discovered, yet to explode with much more uncertainty and a set of emotions they were far too fearful to label. Because trying to label the unknown might shatter the bits of understanding of their emotions they barely possessed. Putting the hesitantly glued pieces into shambles; and as a teenager finding their place in the world, it was a risk they were walking eggshells on.

Neither allowed themselves to loiter on the thought longer than a second.

“I, I should get going.” Perhaps it was her imagination, perhaps it was reality how Chat’s ears drooped as he spoke.

“Uh, yeah, it's getting late...”

Chat took the initiative to climb the rails of her balcony, hunched and ready to set off. Baton in hand and his leather-covered thumb hovering over the button to extend it the moment he leaps.

Swivelling his head to face the pig-tailed girl, he gave her a smile, genuine and sincere. “Thanks Marinette, I’ll see you next time.”

For reasons unkown to Marinette herself, a giggle burst forth from her throat. Tickling the air around them with her bubbly laughter. All at once, the air felt warmer to Chat Noir.

“Sure thing, you silly cat.”

Marinette had expected for Chat Noir to make his way. However, still he was in his previous position, unmoving. Marinette was one breath away from uttering her worries when Chat Noir’s voice cut through the air in slight whispers timid and uncharacteristic.

“Can I,” he paused for a minute, but persevered nonetheless, “can I come here again?”

The question sounded child-like in Marinette’s ears. Like a shy little kid trying to make friends while shouldering a large fear of rejection. He sounded so small, so vulnerable.

Marinette took a breath to ease the tenseness she felt from Chat’s question. She needed to deliver an answer appropriate from her words down to her tone in order to fully put Chat at ease.

Gentle and fluffy, sweeter than all the candies in the world with a tone of loveliness, she spoke. “You’re always welcomed here, Chat.”

A weight could visibly be seen lifted off Chat’s shoulders. Shoulders once guarded and fearful of rejection came to relax for the first time that night. With a nod, Chat finally made his way back to his house.

The journey was something he didn’t desire, but he can’t impose Marinette with his overdue stay. At the very least, he came back with a new feeling better than anything he had in a long time. A feeling of warmth buzzing in his heart. Perhaps, he’s finally starting to remember the feeling of home again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HAHAHAHA SO-

I uh, I forgot about this thing’s existence and neglected it for 2 years...

Well so that’s also why the writing style is a bit screwed up but I tried and honestly I was too lazy to rewrite the whole thing so you can have this mess instead ❤️.

[lunarsimmer]

[Begin Image Description:

Image 1: A sim with short black hair brushing just above one eye sitting in a makeup chair with black eyeliner on their closed eyes as a sim with short brown hair uses a pink spray on their face.

Image 2: A sim with short, spiky blonde hair in a black and brown pirate outfit and black eyeliner staring off to the side.

Image 3: A sim with short, spiky blonde hair in a black and brown pirate outfit and black eyeliner talking to a sim with black, curly hair in a green medieval dress, next to them is a purple text box stating Personality Trait Discovered! followed by Darwin has discovered a new personality trait, Proper! Learn more about this trait in the traits section of the Simology panel.

Image 4: A sim with short, spiky blonde hair in a black and brown pirate outfit and black eyeliner looking happy while turning the wheel of a pirate ship.

Image 5: A sim with short, spiky blonde hair in a black and brown pirate outfit and black eyeliner using a mop on the deck of a pirate ship.

Image 6: A sim with short, spiky blonde hair in a black and brown pirate outfit and black eyeliner waving their hands in the air while standing next to a pedestal with cleaning detergent and powder on top of it.

Image 7: A sim with short, spiky blonde hair in a black and brown pirate outfit and black eyeliner curling their hands inward while standing next to a pedestal with cleaning detergent and powder on top of it.

Image 8: A dark and light gradient yellow banner with the words Stone Legacy on the left with three beaming quavers music notes, a fountain pen with stars and a paper airplane swirling around it and a paint palette with a brush above it and the words gen 2 on the right with three beaming quavers music notes, a fountain pen with stars and a paper airplane swirling around it and a paint palette with a brush above it.

End Image Description]

Story and dialogue below cut:

And now it’s time for Darwin’s not-so-big role and...that’s an interesting choice of makeup.

Darwin: Do I really need this much eyeliner?

Makeup Artist: You’re a pirate, it’s part of the aesthetic.

And now you’re a blonde...and also now apparently proper.

Darwin: This wig is a little itchy...

Then you’re in character, now go make us proud!

Darwin: Oh ho, woe is me, a captain on the sea *twirls wheel* A long hard day ahead, to mop and clean the floors I need something a little extra special like this cleaning detergent, even this ship can’t withstand this cleaner, yar!

Darwin: Can be yours for 25.99, keep out of the reach of small children and read all warnings on the bottle before use.

And that’s a wrap!

Beginning / Previous / Next

[thewildwaffle]

Speckled

“Mabruk, have you seen the new human yet?” The silvery tools clinked delicately on the tray as they were put down. The slumped figure that had been holding them straightened up from their work and sighed. “Which human? The new ones from half a partec ago, or the new new one from last solar cycle?” “The newest one!” The speaker, an easily over-excited booka sprang excitedly into the room, eager to share the latest news that had been spreading across the ship. His bushy fur had a strange effect of both muffling his footsteps and creating a rippling ‘whooshing’ noise as he moved. “They were supposed to arrive with Human Marius, but they apparently got held up with some last-minute medical testing. They got here about ninety moortiks ago, you need to come see!” Mabruk brushed back a flowering sprig from their face and stood slowly to carry their tray from the table they were working at and moved it next to the washbasin. They turned on the mixture of cleaning solution and water and began washing their hands, scrubbing at the speckled, woody skin. They took a moment to admire the light and dark patterns made by their bark. Mabruk didn’t consider themself to be overly vain, but, well… when you’re this pretty, it’s kind of hard. The cleaning solution felt nice, but they focused on making sure they didn’t absorb any. It wouldn’t have been that bad if they had, but still, it wasn’t pure water and absorbing too many chemicals was bad for the bark. Satisfied that they were clean, they turned to grab the tray to wash it as well, but the booka had jumped up on the counter and had shut off the faucet.

“Sarni, what are you doing? I’m not done.” The Booka stepped towards them and pushed them toward the door. “No time, you can finish washing up later. You neeeeeeeed to see the new human!” Mabruk took a step to the side and away from the counter, causing Sarni to lose his balance and fall back to the floor. Mabruk might have felt bad about that, but the Booka had no problem landing on his feet, leaving Mabruk to return to cleaning up. “We’re on a ship set for a two partec exploratory mission. There’ll be plenty of time to meet the newest human. This tray on the other branch,” they held it up and twisted it for emphasis, “Needs to be taken care of now before the old clay samples dry up.” Mabruk’s movements were slow, or well, they may have felt slow to Sarni, but for a dappled toanaktree, they moved at quite a reasonable speed. Finally finished, Mabruk set the tray onto the drying rack. “Yes! Let’s go, let’s go!” Sarni all but bounced impatiently. Mabruk sighed. They’d have to go along eventually, Sarni was never one to give up on things like this, but it was always just a little bit funny to see how worked up they could get him by being “slow”. Though Mabruk would never admit that that’s what they were doing. Instead of turning to the door, they stepped toward their food storage box. “Mabruk!” Sarni whined, fur ruffling and turning two shades darker. Mabruk smiled coyly as they pulled out a nutrition orb and squeezed it, allowing the nutrient-rich juices to seep down their arm. It didn’t even get to their elbow joint before it was completely absorbed. Stars. They were more dehydrated than they thought. They rubbed at their arm, tracing the lighter brown stripes and speckles that patterned their bark. It must have been longer since their last break than they thought. With that done, there were no more reasonable excuses to delay. After a bit of insistent tugging from Sarni, they were off down the main corridor. Mabruk’s mind wandered as they watched their booka companion nearly bouncing off the corridors. What’s so important about the newest human anyway. They’d met plenty of humans in the past few standard solar cycles. They seemed to Mabruk to be a friendly enough species. Strong, sturdy, very handy to have around. They had a lot of strange quirks about them, granted. New ones of which were being discovered and recorded every quarter. But there was no denying that they as a race had become nearly essential components of every crew in the Galactic Confederation. Still, Mabruk thought as they tucked a few stray vines back from their face, it wasn’t nearly as big a deal as it used to be to get a new human on the crew. As it was, they already had had seven. Three of which were still stationed here, not including this newest human. They turned the corner and Sarni paused and looked around. “What is it,” Mabruk asked after a moment. The booka’s tail twitched. “Uh, hold on. I thought they’d still be here.” “Where, here in the middle of the hall?” “Well, everyone was talking to them here earlier. They must have moved on.” “Evidently.” Sarni’s tail flicked and a few faux flames rolled off the tip. “Well, we probably would have made it if you hadn’t been so slow, you overgrown scratching post.” Mabruk chuckled. “I’m not slow, I had work to do.” “You were being slow on purpose. You always do that.” “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mabruk smiled, but seeing Sarni’s fur darken to a deep orange, they headed for the adjacent hall. “Come on, I’m sure they’ve probably moved on to the cafeteria.” As it turned out, that’s exactly where they had gone. Mabruk and Sarni approached a small group at a table. They could see Human Fatima standing near the middle. She’d been on the crew the longest out of all the humans as head security officer. Mabruk, as well as everyone on the crew had a deep respect for her. She’d saved everyone’s life at least two times since she’d been stationed here. Of course she’d be here to help make the new recruit feel welcome and make introductions. “Mabruk, you’re here!” Fatima looked over and her face broke into a dazzling smile the way only humans can do. “Did Sarni find you after all? Where is he?” As if to answer, Sarni jumped up on the table with a smug smile on his face. “I did,” he stated proudly as if this was some grand feat he had achieved. Mabruk shook their head gently as they approached. Krend, a grib who was part of the engineering team shuffled aside to make room. “Human Elise,” Sarni started before Fatima began introductions, “this is who I was talking about earlier. This is Toanaktree Mabruk. Mabruk, this is Elise. Look, she looks like you!” Mabruk thought he saw Fatima frown, but quickly forgot when they were able to actually get a better look at the new human named Elise. They were stunned. Sarni was right. They did look alike. Well, apart from the fact that she was a human, not a toanaktree. But her skin- they knew humans came in a range of shades and tones, but they’d only ever seen, only ever heard of humans coming in solid colors. They didn’t know humans came in spots! Which is exactly what Sarni exclaimed immediately after. “Sarni, that’s… uh, you can’t just… that’s not…” Fatima stammered and looked apologetically between Elise and Mabruk. The new human smiled shyly and nodded. “That’s alright. I, uh, not all humans do, well,” she glanced briefly at Fatima and back again, “well, obviously not. It’s not super common. I do because I have… it’s called vitiligo. It’s where some of the cells in my skin that produce melanin don’t work. That’s why I was late. The Medical Administration Board wanted to run a few extra tests and double-check that I was going to be okay. They didn’t know about it before.” She took a small breath and shrugged. “I am. Okay that is. It’s not life-threatening and it’s not contagious, it’s just how I am.” Mabruk continued staring. Elise looked down and stroked her hand. “I… back on Earth I would sometimes wear makeup to cover up, especially on my hands or face, but…” she looked up suddenly, her shoulders back and a soft smile on her face. “I decided not to anymore. I’m in space, for crying out loud. This is who I am. This is how I look.” “You’re beautiful!” Mabruk blurted out. Everyone looked at them and so they continued. “You are. On my planet, many toanaktree and nidabu grow bark with one color, or two but it usually only manifests as a gradient up into the new growth,” Mabruk motioned to their own younger branches and sprigs, “but there are some, like me, I’m what’s known as a dappled toanaktree, I mean, there are others and different varieties with many different patterns and colorations, but among my people, they are considered extremely handsome.” Mabruk ignored Sarni who sniggered something about vanity under his breath. “I have never seen a human with such coloration before, but… well, you’re absolutely beautiful!” The smile Elise gave could have melted the ice caps of Kiribi. “Thank you. Your name is Mabruk, right? You look great too.” Mabruk smiled. So did Sarni, but his grin was near-on giddy.

[yuutta]

can you pretty please make a tutorial on how you color 🥺 i really liked ur yutta coloring so much and i wanted to know how you’re able to achieve that smooth finish and airbrushed quality on the finished products and it still looks sharp :<<

hi anon!! tysm!! I'm still very new to manga coloring so I do not yet have a defined style or an exact method, but I'd be happy to explain how I colored this panel:

I’ll walk through roughly what my process was under the cut (i’ve also upl*aded the psd file here, if you want to see what exactly I did on each layer).

I used PS18 to make this but any version should work about the same.

I’m not sure what your level of experience w coloring is so I will just start from the very beginning:

Step 1: Get and Crop Manga Panel

pretty self explanatory lol

Step 2: Remove the whites

With your manga panel layer selected, go into channels and click this button:

& hit delete. The whites should all be gone now. The outlines were a little faint so I made a couple duplicates and set them to multiply. Then I grouped all the outlines together and set their blending mode to color burn.

Step 3: Base coloring

Underneath the outlines, I did my base coloring. I use a separate layer for the face / hand / ring / hair / etc. this makes it much easier to color later.

Step 4: (Very) soft shading: 

For panels like this I always do shading on the face first since it takes up 80% of the panel and where the eyes go to first. Usually I’ll start with a very soft shading (hardness: 0%, brush size: as big as possible) and shade the top and bottom parts with a slightly darker color than the skin tone to create a soft gradient:

It’s very subtle

Then, I gradually make the brush smaller (keep hardness @ 0%), and the brush color darker to add a couple more layers of soft shading:

On the last layer I used the blur tool pretty liberally since the brush size was small enough that it didn’t look very smooth.

Step 5: Blush, nose & Under eye circles

Under eye circles are probably not necessary for most other characters but they are yuuta’s defining trait so:

For the under eye circles I used the same color as in the last layer of shading from step 4. For the blush I used a dark red and then set the opacity to 50%. For the nose I also used a darker red and kept the opacity a little higher. For all of them, I used the blur tool to smooth it out

Step 6 & 7: Extra shadows & lighting

To emphasize the under-eye circles, the shadow on yuuta’s neck & to add some depth to the ears I made a new layer & used black to color over these areas, and then set the layer to soft light.

Used a white layer on the jawline, above the eyebrows and eyelids & on the top and bottom parts of the ears. I kept the brush size much smaller for these, and then blurred them to smooth them in.

Step 8: Eyes

Because the eyes are black in the manga panel, when I color the eyes I have to do them above the outlines created in step 2. So I start with just the blue:

I then (on a separate layer), colored over the eyelids using black and white. I use blacks towards the top and in the areas where the pupil would be, and white towards the bottom of the eyes. I set the blending mode of these layers to soft light:

Then I used a white brush (very small, hardness @ 100%), to add a “shine”. I set the blending mode of this layer to overlay.

Step 9: Hand

I honestly mostly repeated the same steps as above (but in much less detail) for the hand. 

I also added a layer with black & white shading set to soft light to add some shine to the ring (its very subtle):

Step 10: Clothing and hair

The clothing is already black so it’s very difficult to shade w the method of coloring under the lines. It also does not take up much of the panel so I just did not shade the clothing at all lol. For the hair, I added a layer shading over the top of the hair in black, and set that layer to soft light:

And that’s the final product!!

Again, I’m still discovering my style, so I don’t have an exact set of steps I follow, but this is the rough process. When I first started, I found this yt video to be very very helpful & would highly recommend it. It’s for coloring original art instead of manga coloring but the general ideas still apply. 

I hope this was helpful, please let me know if you have any questions!

[owlheartt]

HAHA Hey suckers I lied Star Sanses Extended chapter 1 done NOW (link to it on AO3)

It was quite the normal day.

Unfortunately. The Great Papyrus was bored. He had already recalibrated his puzzles twice, made pasta 3 times, scolded his brother 4 times, and was trying to figure out what to do 5 and 6 times (because threes are overused) when something happened. Well, not really. Sans took one of his shortcuts to appear right behind Papyrus, something he did often to try and surprise him. Have no fear, Papyrus can’t be surprised, so his brother never succeeded.

Papyrus turned around, ready to scold his brother for not simply walking. Really, his sentry station wasn’t that far from Papyrus’s. Except… that wasn’t Sans. It was! But, well, he looked different.

“SANS? BROTHER, YOU DON’T HAVE TO DRESS UP AS ME TO FEEL AS GREAT. I KNOW YOU’RE TRYING YOUR BEST.” Sans was wearing a chest plate with a light gray t-shirt peeking out. There was a bright blue scarf wrapped around his neck, tied back rather effectively into a bow. It fit him, but Papyrus felt that scarves look better when they can flow dramatically in the wind. He had on gloves that looked identical to Papyrus’s but in the same blue as his scarf. And, interestingly enough, his eyes were not his regular white but light blue. “THAT IS BETTER THAN YOUR USUAL ATTIRE THOUGH, SO I THANK YOU FOR TRYING.”

“AH,” the smaller skeleton said. He looked a bit uncomfortable. Sans was never uncomfortable around Papyrus unless he was hiding something.

“SANS? IS THERE SOMETHING YOU NEED TO TELL ME? IF YOU WANT INTO THE ROYAL GUARD, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO TELL UNDYNE!!” Papyrus gave his brother a toothy grin (what else can he give him? Skeletons can’t hide their teeth, silly) in the hopes of comforting him. But still, Sans shook his head. Ah well, if his brother wanted to keep another secret-

“I’M ACTUALLY NOT YOUR BROTHER,” Sans (not Sans? Stary Sans? Blue Sans?) looked down before straightening himself. Now that this skeleton mentioned that he wasn’t Papyrus’s brother, the bigger skeleton noticed how much different he sounded. For one, those definitely sounded like all caps. Sans hated speaking in all caps, though he’d told Papyrus that it made him sound much more commanding. Next, his posture was much better. Sans had a terrible habit of slouching. His eyelights were also a cyan color, like a lighter shade of Sans’s magic.

“IF YOU’RE NOT MY BROTHER…” Papyrus scrunched up his face. This, was a puzzle. A puzzle he intended to solve all on his own. He stared down at the skeleton, who appeared to be bracing himself.

“WOWZERS, IT’S A LOT HARDER THAN I THOUGHT TO TALK TO AN ALTERNATE VERSION OF MY BROTHER,” Not Sans smiled awkwardly and looked away before quickly forcing himself to look back at Papyrus. Papyrus paused, trying to fit in what Blue Sans just called him.

“AN… ALTERNATE VERSION OF YOUR BROTHER?” Papyrus felt ridiculous repeating back what not Sans said, but he couldn’t help it. What did he mean by alternate version? Papyrus vaguely recalled a training session with Undyne. They liked to chat while they were sparring, and this particular time Undyne mentioned something Alphys was studying in her free time. “AUs.” She said. After a bit of questioning, Undyne revealed that AU was an abbreviation of Alternate Universe, but she hadn’t really been listening beyond that. Papyrus despised abbreviations, and found it so frustrating that Undyne and Sans were so intent on using them, that the words had stuck with him despite their vagueness. “ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT ALTERNATE UNIVERSES?”

Not Sans perked up, his eye lights popping into stars. His smile went from awkward to excited as he began to talk.

“YES, I AM! HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THEM? USUALLY PAPYRUSES AREN’T AWARE OF THEM, BUT IF YOU ALREADY KNOW OF THEM THAT WILL MAKE THIS MUCH EASIER!”

“I’M AFRAID MY KNOWLEDGE IS LACKING. IT WAS MENTIONED BRIEFLY BY MY FANTASTIC FRIEND UNDYNE, BUT SHE DIDN’T KNOW MUCH EITHER.” Papyrus announced, slightly embarrassed. The blue Sans faltered, but quickly regained his energy.

“ALTERNATE UNIVERSES ARE EXACTLY WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE! THEY ARE ALTERNATE VERSIONS OF THIS WORLD. MINE IS CALLED ‘UNDERSWAP,’ YOU AND I HAVE SWITCHED PERSONALITIES THERE, SO REALLY, WE’RE THE SAME.” Not Sans concluded, looking adequately proud of himself for such a well worded explanation.

“…I SEE. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE THEN, NOT SANS?” Papyrus inquired. There was also the question of how Not Sans got here, but Papyrus was certain he would learn in due time.

“BLUEBERRY IS FINE! I’M A PART OF A GROUP OF SANSES CALLED THE ‘STAR SANSES’ SO MY FRIENDS AND I ALL HAVE NICKNAMES.” Nicknames, Papyrus’s worst enemy. Blueberry didn’t seem to mind though, despite him supposedly being an alternate version of Papyrus. “BUT TO GET TO THE POINT- I AM HERE BECAUSE I NEED TO ASK A FAVOR OF YOU, CLASSIC PAPYRUS.”

“IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD A TITLE TO MY NAME, THE GREAT WOULD BE BETTER, THANK YOU.” Papyrus announced, not sure what Blueberry meant by “classic.”

“NO, NO. CLASSIC IS A REFERENCE TO YOUR TIMELINE. YOUR TIMELINE IS THE ORIGINAL, SO IT’S LABELED ‘CLASSIC.’ I’M AFRAID MULTIPLE PAPYRUS USE ‘THE GREAT’ SO IT’S NOT AS DEFINING. IF YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT SUGGESTION, I’D BE OPEN FOR HEARING IT?” Blueberry sounded apologetic. Papyrus, meanwhile, was thinking hard. What other title would he like? Classic just didn’t suit him. He had to admit, Blueberry’s reasoning was sound. It might be better than coming up with his own. Still, if he could figure out a better one…

“THEN YOU CAN CALL ME COOL GUY INSTEAD!” Papyrus announced proudly. Blueberry hesitated then smiled.

“A NAME TO MATCH YOUR PERSONALITY? FANTASTIC! IGNORING THE FACT THAT I’M COOLER THAN YOU, IT’S PERFECT!” Blueberry concluded. Papyrus was tempted to correct him, but he could guess that it wouldn’t go so well. They were alternate versions of each other after all, so it would be difficult to discover who was cooler (it was obviously Papyrus though).

“ANYWAYS,” Papyrus said. “YOU MENTIONED A FAVOR? I’M FANTASTIC AT DOING FAVORS, AND I’D LOVE TO HELP YOU. WHAT DO YOU NEED?”

“MY FRIENDS AND I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT JOB. WE PROTECT THE MULTIVERSE FROM AN EVIL GROUP CALLED THE ‘BAD SANSES.’ THEY’VE BEEN SUPER ACTIVE LATELY, AND DREAM THINKS THEY’LL ATTACK TODAY. UNFORTUNATELY, I’M BUSY ALL OF TODAY. I’M WORRIED ALPHYS WON’T THINK I’M FIT FOR THE GAUD OF I MISS A TRAINING SESSION, AND TODAY’S IS PLANNED TO LAST UNTIL LATE TONIGHT.” Papyrus had to hold back laughs picturing the short scientist holding one of Undyne’s spears with an eyepatch stuck on. He couldn’t seem to make it look anything short of ridiculous.

“BUT! BACK TO THE FAVOR, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD TAKE MY PLACE TODAY. IF YOU’RE BUSY TOO, I UNDERSTAND.” Blueberry concluded.

“IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT JOB. WHY DO YOU STILL WANT TO BE A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD? DOESN’T BEING A STAR SANS GIVE YOU ALL THE LOVE AND AFFECTION YOU COULD DESIRE?” Papyrus said haltingly. Star Sanses protected the whole multiverse, the Royal Guard just protects the underground. If that didn’t give Blueberry enough love… What hope did Papyrus have?

“WELL, IT DOES, BUT…” Blueberry took a deep breath. “I HAVEN’T SHARED WHAT I DO WITH MY TIMELINE YET. IT’S KIND OF A HUGE SECRET. I’M THE ONLY MULTIVERSAL BEING WHO ISN’T AN OUTCODE. IT’S NOT SOMETHING INCODES ARE SUPPOSED TO KNOW ABOUT. THERE AREN’T REALLY RULES BUT…” Blueberry trailed off, looking a bit upset.

“I’M SORRY I PUSHED. DOES THAT MEAN I’M NOT ALLOWED TO TELL ANYONE? MY BROTHER IS REALLY GOOD AT KEEPING SECRETS, MAY I TELL HIM?” Both brothers kept secrets from each other. Papyrus had his share, and he knew Sans had a pile. They had recently talked about trying to be more open with each other, and Papyrus wasn’t sure how he could keep his brother’s trust if he made a new secret. It was important to prevent new secrets from forming.

“LIKE I SAID, THERE ARE NO SPECIFIC RULES. IT’S JUST WHAT YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH. BUT I WILL ASK THAT YOU COMMIT TO BEING ONE OF US BEFORE YOU TELL HIM,” Blueberry said firmly.

“OF COURSE! I WON’T LET YOU DOWN! HOW DO I HELP THOUGH? I’M NOT EVEN SURE HOW TO LEAVE MY TIMELINE.” Papyrus admitted. Blueberry looked relieved, and he stuck out his hand.

“I’M AFRAID I CAN’T OPEN MULTIVERSAL SHORT CUTS MYSELF, BUT IF YOU’D TAKE MY HAND MY FRIEND CAN BRING US OUT!” Blueberry widened his grin, and Papyrus reached out to grab his hand. There was a moment of stillness, where it was just the two of them in a snow covered forest. Some snow flurries falling from branches above. Papyrus shifted, the pause was uncomfortable. Just as Blueberry began to frown, a warm, distinctly yellow feeling began to spread through Papyrus’s bones. Blueberry even seemed to be glowing with the magic. Then pop, and he was somewhere new. It felt like a small jerk on his SOUL, more abrupt than his brother’s short cuts around the underground.

Speaking of, this wasn’t like anything Papyrus had seen in the underground. It was a large space with an orange gradient. It looked… undefinable, in the sense that it didn’t end. There were papers with small dancing images, and a number of them looked like Papyrus and his friends. Some were held up by strings while others hovered around the islands that floated about. It was a very dream-like place, like something Papyrus had imagined. It has been a long time since he dreamt something so serene, which was the only reason he could believe what he was seeing.

“Sorry about that Blue-” a new voice spoke, sounding a bit out of breath. Papyrus turned to find a golden Sans, laced with the same magic that brought him and Blueberry here. He had his hand wrapped tightly around another Sans. This one was incredibly short, he looked like a child compared to Papyrus (Not to fear! The Great Papyrus was fantastic with children!). He had a brush taller than him strapped to his back, and his outfit was all kinds of decorated- like a superhero! Both Sanses were.

“IT’S FINE. IS… IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT HERE?” Blueberry regarded the Golden Sans’s grip on the Sans with a brush. Oh dear, so many Sanses. Someone who wasn’t as brilliant as Papyrus might not be able to follow!

“Uh, yep!” The golden Sans smiled, but he looked a bit too stressed. The brush Sans, however, snapped his full attention to Papyrus. His eyelights bounced between color and shapes before finally landing on a bright sky-blue shaped as a triangle and a Royal purple as a star.

“HELLO!!!!! I’m Ink!!!!” Ink struggled out of the gold Sans’s gasp and bounced overs to Papyrus. It was disturbing how little he resembled Papyrus’s brother. “I’m the protector of the Multiverse!! You’re Classic Paps, right?!” Ink grinned wildly as Papyrus avoided cringing.

“HELLO, INK. PLEASE DON’T CALL ME PAPS, OR CLASSIC FOR THAT MATTER. BUT WOWIE, PROTECTOR OF THE MULTIVERSE SOUNDS LIKE SUCH A BIG JOB!” Papyrus couldn’t help but be in awe of Ink’s title. It sounded more important than Head of the Royal Guard. Ink’s grin grew and his purple eyelight turned yellow. He looked like he was about to respond, but the gold Sans cut him off.

“Yep, super big job, which is why he has us to keep him on track. Anyways, hello, my name is Dream. I’m the guardian of positivity. If you don’t want us calling you Classic, what should we call you?” Dream kept his smile up, but he looked exhausted.

“HE WANTS TO BE CALLED COOL GUY.” Blueberry announced. Dream managed to look more worn out before responding.

“That’s… a fun nickname. But this needs to be like a substitute for your real name? Just, please pick something different.” Dream sounded incredibly firm, and Papyrus didn’t want to wear him out anymore. So he listened.

“WHAT ABOUT COOL BONES?” Papyrus’s smile faltered as Dream’s eyelights flickered out.

“Papyrus, please, be serious.” Papyrus had been serious, but he decided not to mention it. “Just- here, think about our names for a moment? Ink, Blue, Dream,” Dream pause, looking up at Papyrus hopefully. Papyrus did his best to reconsider. He could find an alternate version of his name? Translate it into another language perhaps. There was also the history of the word itself, which he and Sans had searched up late one brotherly bonding night. While the word papyrus is a plant, it’s also a form of paper in Ancient Egypt. Paper has simply so many uses, and it’s so incredibly important (and obnoxiously underrated). The Great Papyrus wouldn’t mind being called Paper.

“I CAN BE PAPER!” He offered, and Dream relaxed into a more genuine smile.

“Oooh!!! Like the paper to my ink!!!” Ink grinned, absolutely delighted.

“No, actually-“ Papyrus (Paper?) tried to correct him. With all the meaning behind his choice, he wanted to give it the proper glory.

“WELCOME TO THE STAR SANSES, PAPER!!!” Blueberry said, cutting Papyrus off. He tried to place his hand on Papyrus’s shoulder, but after discovering he couldn’t reach Blueberry settled for patting Papyrus’s back.

“THANK YOU NEW FRIEND!!” Papyrus widened his smile, reveling in the fact that he had made not one, not two, but THREE new friends in less than an hour. He couldn’t wait to tell his brother.

“NOW THAT WE’VE GOT THAT OUT OF THE WAY,” Blueberry said, “I HAVE TO HEAD HOME, ALPHYS IS EXPECTING ME. GOOD LUCK PAPER!” Blueberry threw a glance at Dream, then he lit up with the same golden hue as last time and disappeared. Ink’s eyelights flashed to a different color as he focused again on Papyrus, who had noticed by now that Ink’s attention was short and his focus quickly shifted.

“So, buddy, what do you wanna do now?” Ink leaned forward, almost as if bowing, and he bounced a little on his heels before performing some kind of trick jump and landing on an island floating a few feet up. He was now roughly at Papyrus’s socket-level.

“We tell Papyrus how this is going to go.” Dream said, cutting Ink off. Ink frowned, one eyelight flipping to a purple question mark while the other changed to a dim reddish-orange square.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” Papyrus wiggled his fingers, the fabric of his gloves rubbing. Dream sounded awfully serious, a stark contrast to Ink’s carefree nature.

“Blue’s already learned how to deal with… the Bad Sanses. Since we already know what does and doesn’t work, I’d rather skip the hard-learned lessons.” Dream gave a weak smile at the end, while Ink stuck out a rainbow colored tongue, nearly pouting.

“...WHAT MIGHT THOSE BE?” Papyrus began to worry for the first time since he accepted Blueberry’s offer.

“First of all, Blue’s already tried speeches.”

“MAYBE THEY JUST NEED MORE, OR HE HASN’T FOUND THE RIGHT ONE!” Papyrus said. Dream winced.

“Maybe, but we don’t have the time to give the speeches, and more often than not the Bad Sanses don’t even listen, they murder while you talk.” Dream said, the spot where his eyebrows would be tilting up.

“MURDER?” Papyrus faltered.

“Did Blue forget to tell you?” Ink asked. He had plopped down and was lying on his back with his skull dangling off his island, looking far too relaxed.

“TELL ME WHAT.” Papyrus didn’t want to guess this time. Dust isn’t a puzzle he ever wanted to solve.

“Our role as Guardians of the Multiverse is to protect timelines from being destroyed. The way that happens is the Bad Sanses wipe through the entire Underground, killing anyone and everyone they meet. Once they’ve killed enough, the timeline is unstable enough for them to destroy it directly.” Dream sighed, his shoulders slumping.

“Or so we think. Timelines are weird, and there could be a whole slew of reasons for how things work!! It’s really interesting. I’ve been wanting to study it all but- OOH A BUTTERFLY!!!” Ink said, jumping up to chase the shiny indigo insect. Even though Ink didn’t finish his sentence, Papyrus could get a sense of why he wasn’t learning anything. Ignoring the eccentric skeleton, Dream just looked sad. He was staring down at the ground, one hand wrapped tightly around the fabric above his SOUL.

“WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T GET THERE IN TIME?” Papyrus tried to say it softly, but he could never figure out how to speak in lowercase. At least it still sounded caring.

“The entire timeline dies.” Dream sighed. He looked up, finally seeing Papyrus’s expression. “Ah! Don’t worry though!! We win a lot!! I’m just trying to explain why I need you to listen to me!!” Dream waved his hands about, trying to dispel the dark mood that had settled.

“THAT’S ALRIGHT. YOU WERE BEING HONEST. IT’S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE PIECES OF OUR JOB. I’M GLAD YOU TOLD ME.” Papyrus crouched so as to come eye to eye with Dream. He used this tactic with his brother whenever Sans was upset. Papyrus had found that it’s easier to talk to someone who’s right there with you. Papyrus reached out his gloved hands, and wrapped the bright, cheery red around Dream’s hands. Papyrus realized for the first time that Dream wore gloves too. Maybe he was a swapped version of Papyrus like Blueberry. Papyrus made a note to ask him later, when he was feeling better.

“Thank you, Paper.” Dream took a deep breath before continuing. “We pride ourselves in not killing anyone, ever. Not even the Bad Sanses. A tactic we like to use is trapping them. Blueberry does that the most, because he has the most magic to spare, so you’ll be using a lot of blue magic. Is that ok?”

“ABSOLUTELY!! I HAVE FANTASTIC CONTROL OF MY MAGIC, YOU DON’T NEED TO WORRY.”

“The butterfly flew away.” Ink said, butting in. He had a pout again. Papyrus leaned toward Dream a little and whispered to him.

“DOES… DOES HE PAY ATTENTION ENOUGH TO NOT GET HURT?” Papyrus was genuinely worried, but Dream burst out laughing. His grin widened as he turned toward Ink, who had begun to… eat… grass..?

“Most of the time.” Dream said, not particularly reassuring.