#this is my first time messing around with layer masks

[bo-katan]

@giftober 2024 • DAY 17: Phone Call/Text

[chigirisprincess]

His Grace is no Gentleman ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

— Wriothesley

⊹ Details. 18+ minors dni, afab!reader (they wear a dress but are not referred to by feminine terms or gender pronouns), Wrio is taller than the reader (he is 6'6), author self insert coded fic, arranged dates, courtship, childhood friends, awkward tension, societal conventions, first date, semi-public sex, oral sex (reader receiving), clothed sex, unprotected sex, creampies, doggy style, Wrio is a gentleman, reader is a hot mess, slight insecurities, ambiguous ending. ⊹ Run time. 4.3k ⊹ Note. I started this fic before he was introduced in the archon quest so his lore doesn't line up 100% to canon so consider this a canon divergent fic <3

❝After years apart, you find yourself on a date with your childhood friend Wriothesley. With late summer heat that stifles and chokes and an unbearable amount of tension, you search for a way to reconnect with the stranger who stands before you.❞

The August air was stifling, a thick muggy heat hung low around the Court of Fontaine. Sweat and moisture clung to bodies like a second skin as summer held its last hurrah before fall elbowed its way in and left the region plunged in the wet season. Both were tortuous in their own ways but as you stood among throngs of hot, sweat-dabbled bodies, you’d much rather be shivering and damp as the cool autumn air rattled your bones. The small, lace-covered fan that hung off your wrist did little to quell the flush that filled your cheeks. It pushed around the warm air and swatted the heavy perfume that the woman next to you wore into your throat and eyes, making you choke.

Pushing your way out of the main gala room, you stumble through the halls, opening and closing doors until you happen upon a small empty room that looks upon one of the dozen decorative balconies that cover the outside of the building. The door shuts behind you with a loud slam but you pay little mind to it as you plop onto the first cushy chair within your reach. The cool evening air that filtered in through the open windows provided the slightest bit of relief. Plucking the gloves off your fingers you sigh, slouching further into your chair.

“I take it the gala has bored you?” A familiar voice asks, you jolt upright, your heart leaping in surprise, “I suppose I should have warned that the twins do take their time in setting up the stage for their performance.”

Wriothesley hovers near the doorway, fiddling with the cuffs of his jacket. You had been so wrapped up in making yourself comfortable you didn’t notice the door opening behind you. Rising to your feet, you attempt to mask the cringe that covers your expression. 

“Your grace!” You exclaim, smoothing the layers of your skirt down in an attempt to make yourself appear presentable, “You have it all wrong! I was feeling faint from the heat.”

His pale blue eyes flit up and down your figure, “You do appear rather … flustered,” he states, tucking his hands into his pockets, “I extended to you an invitation to attend this gala with me.”

“Indeed, you did,” you blink.

“That makes me your date,” Wriothesley all but spells out, “You could have told me you were feeling ill.”

“Right.”

Guilt burns in your stomach. You had been a bit bored making small talk and you would have bolted at the first chance even if you hadn’t been sweltering. Wriothesley was a kind enough man and though you knew him during the tender years of childhood, the unfamiliarity that came with your growing pains left each interaction with him rather awkward. He was never the most talkative child and now as a man grown he’d become hardened by life and his stringent line of work. His austere gaze was disconcerting and unintentionally left your skin pimpled by chills.

“My apologies, your grace,” you reflexively dip your head into an apologetic bow, “I was not thinking clearly, I did not intend to abandon you, I assure you that I am very grateful to be here with you.”

It only takes a few steps for Wriothesley to stand before you thanks to his long stride. He appears somewhat disappointed in your response and you're an inch away from trying to kick yourself for offending him. A gasp cuts through the air when Wriothesley’s fingers wrap around your face, your lips forcibly protruding as he squishes your cheeks in the palm of his hand. The callouses that mar his skin are rough against your face, now that he’s just inches away you can see the blotchy yellow bruises littered across both of his knuckles and the barely visible mark on the underside of his jaw.

“I hate when you call me that,” he grits, a rare look of frustration crossing his features, “You know my name, you can say it.”

His voice is stern, but you don’t feel as if you’re being scolded though he regards you as little other than a petulant child. 

“I want you to.”

You blankly blink up at him, gesturing with your hand to where he holds your face. Wriothesley releases you with an apology muttered beneath his breath, loudly clearing his throat afterward.

“Wriothesley,” the syllables of his name feel strange on your tongue after all these years, too many were spent turning him into some imposing, faraway figure, “You should know I have never been one to enjoy the festivities or formalities of court, the demands are far too taxing on my delicate constitution.”

He laughs at your slight joke and you crack a demure smile. It frustrated your parents and governess endlessly, your staunch refusal to partake in anything resembling formal gathering utterly maddening on the best of days. He’d seen the worst when you were six and he was ten but all that remained of that day was hazy memories of a tantrum, being dragged kicking and screaming down the stairs, and your parents' embarrassed expressions as they apologized to Wriothesley’s family for the dramatics on your behalf. But, you were no longer six and ten, a meltdown was no way to react to an invitation when you were well into your twenties even when the thought of spending time alone with a childhood friend felt all too daunting.

Every detail had to be nothing short of perfection when toeing about the court. Though, Wriothesley had been afforded the luxury of escaping such lessons as he grew far from the controlling hands of society. Etiquette lessons and expectations did not taint him or plague his mind as they did you. His gentlemanly disposition must have been pure charm on his part, he’d been kind to you and nothing short of gallant despite his rather gruff exterior. His reputation greatly preceded him these days and the weight of this evening was not lost to you. It wasn’t often he had time to himself, let alone time to entertain others. If you bungled this affair when your parents were hoping for a love match, you’d be humiliated and they’d be furious with you.

They held far more respect for a man gifted a title that was never his to own than they did for you, their flesh and blood. If they knew half of what you did, they wouldn’t feel so passionately but you supposed overflowing coiffers could breed enough ignorance to turn any man into an eligible bachelor.

“That I do,” he agreed with a humble nod, “That is why I chose a magic show, all the attention would be placed upon the stars of the show.”

“Thanks.”

Wriothesley gently cups your cheek, though his body seems rather rigid his expression is filled with sincerity. The gesture offers little comfort as he intended it to, but you feel the slightest bit better about continuing this evening. As you lean into his touch, chasing the tendrils of what used to offer relief when you felt unease, you smile at him as a sign of good faith. As if the slightest tick of your lips upward would erase the discomfort he brought you, when Wriothesley was here with his heart on his sleeve trying just as you were. 

You force your lips into a smile in hopes of disguising the way your heart uncomfortably thrummed against your ribcage. The feeling of discontentment that soaked through your skin made your face prickle warmly with shame. You wanted to feel comforted by him but the weight of your parent's expectations crushed you like a bug beneath slippered feet. The heat of his gaze searching your face brought a whimper to your lips. It was throaty and low, quite pathetic too but you were sure that the sound wouldn’t reach Wriothesley’s ears.

But, it did.

A splash of pink washes over the tip of his nose and the tops of his cheekbones. His brows shoot up into his hairline as his eyes widen in shock, “Are you … Alright?” Wriothesley choked out, blinking rapidly at you, “I have not made you uncomfortable have I?”

“I … I am quite well,” you murmur shyly, sweat gathers at the nape of your neck and your knees threaten to buckle from the intensity of his stare.

He’s rather fixated on your mouth, you can feel how his eyes trail over the dip of your cupids bow. His tongue, pink and wet, darts out to wet his plush bottom lip. You can’t help but stare too. Wriothesley had always been cute, cute in a way that had all the lords and ladies of the country constantly cooing over how darling he was. With unruly raven-coloured hair and round rosy cheeks, he was like a doll come to life and he didn’t go a day where he wasn’t reminded. It filled his mother with such satisfaction that you would have thought it was her constantly being lavished with attention. Now though, as a man whose stature brushed just under 6’6, he was anything but cute. He was rather handsome, that much you allowed yourself to admit when you set your eyes upon him for the first time in several years, devastatingly so. Had your nerves not been so scrambled, you might have taken a moment to admire the man he’d grown into.

“Are you sure?”

You nod your head so your voice doesn’t betray you but the moment is far too quick. It’s almost eager. The calloused pad of his thumb slides against your cheek, it nearly brushes the corner of your mouth. Your breath hitches and for a moment you allow yourself to wonder. Would it be so wrong to shirk societal convention? It couldn’t be, not when it was just you and he, alone in this room with no prying eyes to cast judgment upon each minuscule movement. He must know this too, why else would he gaze upon you with such heat in his eyes?

“Indeed, I am,” you whisper, your throat tightening, “Do I seem unwell?”

Wriothesley shrugs, his lips pursing, “You seem …” His voice trails off, growing gruff near the end, “Can I not simply inquire about my oldest friend?”

“You may if that should please you.”

His face nears yours, his breath fanning across the bridge of your nose as he inches closer. Tendrils of his hair flop over his forehead and tickles your skin as he looms over you. The heat radiating off his body draws you closer, chasing what you once longed to escape.

The tip of his nose brushes against yours, his mouth dangerously close to yours, “And what pleases you?” He rasps, allowing his eyes to grow lidded.

Your jaw slacks, your lips forming a slight “o” shape as you fight off the wanton sound that claws at the inside of your throat. His lashes, long and wispy, sweep across his cheekbones but they hardly hide the dark inky pools of his expanded pupils. You can almost see your reflection within them, you’re thankful it's obscured. If you look as off-kilter as you felt, you’d rather not know.

Any response you may have had for him shrivels up and dies on the tip of your tongue. Furling your fingers into the fine satin of his shirt you offer Wriothesley a pathetically pleading look in hopes that he could still read you as well as he did in your tender years of youth. It seems in all your years apart, he hasn’t learned the art of reading minds nor expressions because he peers at you expectantly, waiting for something other than worried noises to leave you.

You can feel his heart thrumming through the thin material of his dress shirt, “Wrio …” You sigh, your eyes flickering between his mouth and eyes, “It should please me if you were to kiss me.”

Your voice warbles and you have no choice but to avert your gaze to focus on the scarred expanse of his neck. His adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, his veins bulge beneath his skin as he clenches his jaw. The cool breeze that drifts through the open window rustles your dress and rattles your bones as you shiver. You move to take a step back, but his other hand flies out to grab your waist. His fingers press into your thick corsetted top, nearly grazing the space where your top meets your skirt and your skin is exposed.

“I must admit this is how I hoped the evening would end,” Wriothesley confesses as he tips your chin upward, his mouth ghosts over yours and your breaths mingle as he speaks, “But did not anticipate my fantasy would come to fruition.”

His bottom lip brushes against yours, “Is it fantasy if I am here and I am asking?”

Wriothesley shakes his head before dipping down to bring his lips to yours, tentatively kissing you. The air in your lungs exits in the form of steam blowing out from your ears and you feel lightheaded. Years of pent up want pours out from your mouth and drips into his, he laps it up with a fervent vigour that will plague you tomorrow when you reflect on this evening. He’s the only person you could open yourself up to. Wriothesley cared little for societal convention and conducted himself without any of the fanfare that followed a title like duke. You and he were human; carved from flesh, blood, and want. The shared desire that flickered in the spaces between your bodies also harboured an unspoken understanding. If you were amiable, he could fuck you on the floor of this empty drawing room and there’d be no expectation of a ring. You were unsure if marriage was what you wished for but you couldn’t deny the want that lived like a beast in your belly.

You stumble backward as the weight of him presses into you. His broad stature threatens to full engulf you and your frame. You welcome it, allowing his rough and inexperienced grip to persist even when it becomes uncomfortable. His tongue slips past your lips to lave over yours. The needy little sounds Wriothesley draws are drowned out but the wet smack of your mouths meeting. Your ears burn with embarrassment but it’s nothing compared to the heal that pools in your belly. It’s difficult to discern whether it's the muggy cloud that’s descended upon Fontaine scorching your skin or if it was the bubbling desires that grew far past a manageable, quiet simmer.

Wriothesley possessed a cryo vision, you thought his touch would be frigid but he melts your rigid, nervous exterior as his hands move to grope your waist. There isn’t much to feel, your frame is swathed with layers of thick, expensive fabrics. You managed to talk your mother out of tying a hoop skirt around your hips to elongate your figure. Still, there’s an unwanted barrier between you and the rough calloused palms you wish would tug your corset loose and make their way between your legs.

“More,” you pant between fevered kisses, yanking on his hard enough to pop a few buttons loose and reveal his scar-covered, hairy chest, “I want more.”

Your unspoken words hang precariously between your aching bodies. Wriothesley knows well enough, he must with the way you eagerly press your hips flush against his.

“Should that please you?”

You nod before your mouth can form words, “Yes,” you whisper though it sounds far closer to a whimper, the cocky smile that stretches across his face squashes the growing embarrassment that blooms and prickles at your chest, “It would please me greatly if you were to get on your knees before me.”

His expression turns wicked at your confession as if he’s pleased by your honesty. It’s the first time this evening that you haven’t minced your words or lathered them in half-truths to avoid confrontation. Wriothesley makes quite the show of sinking to his knees before you, the fine material of his slacks grows taunt around his muscular thighs and offers you an eyeful of his bulge. 

“And what shall I do now?”

Slipping his hand beneath the hem of your gown, Wriothesley curls his fingers around your ankle and rubs a small circle into the silver of exposed skin, “Don’t play coy,” you whine as you thread your fingers into his hair, turning the nicely coiffed style into an unruly mess, “It is unbecoming of you, you know what I want Wriothesley.”

“Do I?” He wonders out loud, his mouth only snapping shut when he catches sight of your displeased expression, “Fine, I do!”

The beginnings of a sneer are quickly wiped from your face when Wriothesley ducks his head beneath the layers of your skirt. Clamping your bottom lip between your teeth, you fight off the shudder that slithers up your spine when his hot breath hits your wet cunt.

“No small clothes?” He questions, you can hear the smug expression he wears bleed into his words.

“Shut up!” You stammer, reaching behind you to steady yourself on the side chair, “It is far too hot for all these layers.”

Whatever he murmurs next is muffled and falls deaf on your straining ears. Your nails dig into the plush arm of the chair as he plants a sloppy, open-mouth kiss on your mound. Your knees nearly buckle but the ironclad grip Wriothesley has on your thighs keeps you standing upright as he brushes his mouth along your labia. His teeth poke out from his top lip and graze against your throbbing clit. Your stomach leaps into your chest at the sensation, your head growing heavier.

“Archons above,” you sigh, allowing your eyes to roll back.

The soft pleasured sound that dribbles down your tongue must reach his ears because his mouth falls open and with it, his tongue lolls out. The wet, hot heat of his mouth on your pussy draws a wanton whimper from you. Your ribs rattle from the heavy pants of breath that pass your lips in quick succession. His tongue swirls around your clit before he wraps his lips around the bud to suckle on it.

Your nails scrape uncomfortably against the plush velvet of the chair but your grip only tightens as pleasure fans across your sweat-dabbled skin. Your head drops against your shoulder and your hips arch forward as if you could bring yourself closer to him. The muscles in your belly grow taunt, and the feeling of his rough hands on the bare skin of your thighs and hips makes your toes curl.

“Wriothesley,” you moan, cursing under your breath when he lays his tongue flat against your folds and licked a strip from your sopping wet hole to your pulsing clit.

It grows tighter, the little coil in your belly that reminds your brain that bliss is coming so you fight the panic-stricken urge to shed your constricting corset and relax. Your chest heaves, the fat of your breasts bulging and nearly spilling out from your décolletage. You try to tell him that you’re close, to spur him on but all that comes out is a mumbly mess of moans and half words that trail off into unabashed, needy whines.

You don’t register that his tongue and mouth have left your weeping cunt throbbing and unsatisfied until his dishevelled head pops out from beneath your skirts. His thin lips are puffy and glossed with your slick. It drips down his chin in a rather obscene manner that makes your chest ache with need until your brain begins to speed up. A petulant whine gathers at the back of your throat and is ready to pierce Wriothesley’s pride once you’ve realized that he has left you without reprieve. The forceful press of his mouth to yours wipes your mind clear of any lingering disappointment.

The taste of you lingers on him, it’s slightly musky and twinged with the salt of sweat. You groan into Wriothesley as he rolls your taste around your tongue and the gums of your teeth. It is filthy and uncouth but the sweltering pit of desire within you grinds your reservations to dust. His belt and the set of handcuffs attached clink against one another as Wriothesley uses his free hand to free his cock from his slacks

“Lift ‘em,” he grunts with a nod of his head, “I- hah, need to be inside you, lift your skirts and turn around. Now.”

The bulbous red tip of his cock oozes precum as Wriothesley gives the base a firm squeeze. Gathering the layers of your skirts, you tentatively turn around to face the armchair. With a warm, steady hand pressed to the small of your back, he guides you to rest one leg up on the plush seat and angles the rest of you to lean against the back. Your body burns with something that dances between utter mortification and thrill. Calloused palms smooth over the supple skin of your ass as he slides his cock along the seam of your cunt to gather your arousal.

“Yeah, that’s it.”

Your hands tremble with anticipation as you crane your neck to peek at him from over your shoulder. His bottom lip is smushed between his teeth, you’re surprised it doesn’t bleed, his eyes are pressed shut, and his head is thrown back. The two of you moan when Wriothesley presses his cock to your hole, the stretch burns and tears begin to prickle at your eyes from the slight pain. They spill over your lash line and slip down your cheeks when he thrusts into you. The heat of his body is suffocating as he presses his chest to your spin, his chin resting on your shoulder.

“You can take it,” he whispers gruffly against the shell of your ear, “I know you can.”

His chapped lips graze across your cheekbone and his tongue darts out to lap up your tears, “Wrio…” You whimper, burying your face into the arm of the chair, “You better make me finish.”

Your command comes out feeble since your cheek is smushed against the chair and your voice is thickly coated with wanton need. Still, his hand snakes around your body and beneath your bunched up skirts to stroke your clit as he thrusts into you from behind, grunting into your ear. Your head spins as his cock slowly slides in and out of your velvet walls, the rough pads of his fingertips against your clit steal away your breath as pinpricks of pleasure zip up your spine.

“Uhuh,” Wriothesley absent mindedly groaned, his teeth catching on your ear lobe, “You’re taking me so well.”

There’s a hint of accusation in his words, or maybe you’re reading too into his words. Your brain had always been your worst enemy. Amidst the hazy swamp of lust and pleasure, there’s a small panicky voice that reminds you that life will go on outside of these walls and you’ll be stuck with the memories of desire fuelled actions that cannot be taken back. It nags at your brain, eating away at the space between your lungs at a terrifying speed and you realize despite the awkward tension that permeated the air, you didn’t want this to be the end of you and him.

You aren’t afforded the chance to ruminate on it for too long, your orgasm washes over you and swipes away the tangled web of thoughts that have made a home against your skull. Your throat is raw and scratchy as you moan out the broken syllables of his name. His chest rumbles with endeared laughter when your hand flies back to desperately seek purchase in his sturdy, warm frame. You manage to hook your fingers around his dress shirt, and the hard lines of his body tremble and contract with each sloppy thrust into your overstimulated hole. 

Sweat dribbles down the curve of your neck, “Please,” you plead for nothing in particular, your moving to speak words of no consequence because it needed something to do to stave off the overwhelming waves of pleasure that rolled through you with each snap of his hips against your ass, “Give it to me, I need it.”

Your words seem to bring him there, his thrusts begin to stutter and cant forward and rest flush against the dough flesh of your ass as he cums, his hands squeezing at your torso as he buries his face into your shoulder. His spend seeps out of your cunt and sticks to your inner thighs. You’re sure it stains the waistband of Wriothesley’s dress pants but he says nothing as he nuzzles closer to your heaving body.

“You’re going to take me on a date,” you pant, swiping your knuckles across your brow bone to wipe away the perspiration gathered there, “Next week, somewhere private and quiet.”

Your chest tightens as you await for his response. It takes Wriothesley to gather his wits, his heavy breath slowing into a calm rhythm, “I can do that,” he says, chuckling a bit to himself, “But, only if you wear this dress again.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” you mumble, “I think the fabric may be ruined from our sweat.”

You can’t see his face, but there's a smile on his lips that bites into his words, “A noble sacrifice, huh?” He jokes.

You nod a bit, biting your lip to hide your own growing grin.

“Only if you kiss me again, maybe then it’ll have been worth it.”

And he does, his stubbly jaw scratches against your face as he presses his lips to yours. You hope there will be more to come, on the streets of Fontaine and out in the wilds of the country. With the way he tenderly cups your jaw, and caresses the side of your face, you think there will be.

© all content belongs to dearbraus. do not modify, repost, or redistribute.

[grayson1996]

"Master Dick has left."

Bruce didn't respond, not that Alfred anticipated he would. The man had been infuriatingly quiet the last few months. Never saying more than a few words at a time to him, and never the one to initiate the dialogue.

Alfred hadn't been surprised, when Martha and Thomas passed Bruce had become mute for months. Alfred had been beside himself with concern, dragging the young boy to child psychologists and specialists. Certain he was already messing up this tremendous responsibility he had been given.

It made sense that Bruce would revert back to the bad habit with Jason's death.

It had almost been a relief when Richard arrived and he could hear the familiar melody of the two of them arguing, floating up the cave stairs. It was some sign that Bruce was still there, buried behind layers of grief and guilt.

He hadn't thought the fight would end in a punch, it never had before. But as soon as Alfred heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh and Richards body crash to the floor he had bolted downstairs. Just in time to hear Bruce destroy any goodwill that remained between him and his only living son.

Despite popular belief, Alfred hadn't been the butler for decades. He was the guardian of Wayne Manor and his protection of it did not stop at Bruce. This was why his first step had been to ensure that Richard was alright as his oldest stomped away, most likely to skulk in the study.

The younger man was so far from fine it only served to further fester the disappointment he felt in Bruce. A disappointment that made way to determination. Alfred had allowed Bruce to destroy everything around him after his parent's death, he had assumed the boy had needed to to move on. He was still paying for that choice every time he saw one of them don a mask and go out into the streets of Gotham.

He would not stand for it now.

Not now that there was more than just Alfred in Bruce's line of attack. Who would feel the reverbs of destruction.

Ms. Troy picked Dick up, and Alfred got the sense that the only reason she herself was not heading up to ream into Bruce, was because she could see a rare fire of rage reflecting back in his eyes. The two left, leaving Alfred with some relief knowing that Dick was out of the crosshairs.

When he finally made his way to the Manor he was right, Bruce was sitting in a high-backed armchair in his study. Face blank, and gaze looking unseeingly out the window as the first rays of dawn poked over the horizon.

Alfred was tired.

"Master Dick has left." Bruce didn't respond, not that Alfred anticipated he would. The man had been infuriatingly quiet the last few months. "Master Dick has left." He repeated, unwilling to let the man get away with silence this time.

For a moment Alfred could read the barest hint of guilt before it was buried under a veneer of indifference.

"What do you want?"

Alfred raised an eyebrow unimpressed, oh absolutely not.

"I would like many things Master Bruce, most notably for you to remove your head from where it's been so thoroughly put up your own ass." That at least got a reaction, since the arrival of the kids Alfred had preferred more subtle ways to admonish Bruce. But that was a kindness reserved for men who did not hit their sons.

"Go away Alfred."

"I will not." Alfred closed the study door behind him with a sense of finality that made Bruce shift slightly in his set. "I would like to understand what the hell it is you think you're doing?" The guilt was back but Bruce again hid it, this time with a snare.

"If you're talking about Dick, I was only telling him the truth. I don't need a partner, I don't need him, and I certainly do not need to be chided by you."

Anger was Bruce's defense mechanism and always had been. Alfred did not have the patience to humor it.

"In all the years I've known you, Master Bruce, you have never been cruel. It is unbefitting and frankly undeserved." Bruce's eyes flared at that.

"I lost my son!" I have lost so many, and yet I have never used it as an excuse to harm the ones I have left.

"I know.... You don't get to decide what happens to you in life. But you do get to choose how you will react to it and you're choosing wrong."

"Batman doesn't need-"

"I don't give a damn what Batman may or may not need!" Alfred felt his cool dissipate, leaving with it a weariness and a rage years in the making. He hated Batman, and hated it when Bruce hid behind him. "I don't give a damn about that mask of yours. Any and all of my loyalty and love has only been directed at you Master Bruce, not him. But you're quickly destroying it."

Bruce opened his mouth as though to argue, but perhaps seeing the ire held within Alfred decided against it. The fist crack in his stoic mask was showing however, as Alfred could see his eyebrows furrow deeply in some unexpressed emotion. Alfred continued,

"As soon as you brought that boy into this life his needs trumped yours and I refuse to stand here and watch as you treat him like the scum of the earth. As you verbally berate and physically demolish him just because you cannot cope. I stood by for too long but I will not stand for this. You've already lost one son and you're dangerously close to losing another if the damage is not already done. And mark my words Master Bruce, if you decide this is the path you're determined to go down, this path of cruelty and spite and solitude, I will stand with Master Dick and not you." This seemed to surprise Bruce, but Alfred didn't know why, he was many things but a pushover was not one of them. "I will not stand with you. Not this version of you who lacks any empathy and thinks he's the only man in this godforsaken family with any right to grieve." His voice broke on that last word, which seemed to spear through Bruce as he flinched at the noise.

"Alfred-"

"I've grieved with you Bruce. Lord knows I've grieved with you. But I refuse to grieve for you, not while you're still alive and still have the chance to fight." He walked over to Bruce, the man watching him warily from his seat as Alfred took his face in his hands. "My dear boy, you need to fight."

"I am fighting Alfred, everyday, I am fighting. But you don't understand what its like to lose a son." Bruce's words weren't mean, were all but desperate, but Alfred still received them like a slap in the face. He tightened his grip on Bruce's face.

"I loved Jason, I loved you, I understand all to well what your going through. I know your pain my boy, I have it, in the whole of my soul I feel it. But your cruelty is something I can't understand. Why you've decided that the best way to express your own pain is by inflicting it on others I can't understand. How you continuously do everything in your power to make Richard feel like nothing, that I can't understand..."

Finally, Alfred let go, standing up he ran a hand down his shirt, as though he could smooth out the flusteredness he was feeling.

"I don't mean to."

Alfred let out a sigh, once again feeling unbelievably exhausted.

"I know Master Bruce, but somehow that makes it worse." The sun was continuing to wain over the horizon, and Alfred thought maybe, just for today, he would sleep in. He started walking to the door, however before he could cross the threshold, he looked back at Bruce. Whose face looked both ancient and unbelievably young under the golden glow. "I have raised three boys Master Bruce. Three sons. I love you, but Richard is just as much mine as yours and I will not let you hurt him. Not again."

He turned and left the room. Hoping that he would not once again prove the Sisphysis to Bruce's unmovable rock.

[caplanbuckybarnes]

Love Me Perfect (Jason Todd)

Summary: Jason admits when he fell in love with you.

Warnigns: love confessions,fluff

WC: 618ish

Read on AO3!

-

The two of you sat side by side on the rooftop, watching the last rays of sunlight fade into the horizon, casting a warm glow over the Gotham skyline. The night was quiet, a rare moment of peace in the city that never seemed to sleep. You leaned against Jason’s shoulder, your legs dangling over the ledge, the comforting weight of his arm around you keeping the chill at bay.

There was something about these moments, the ones where Jason was just Jason—no Red Hood mask, no weapons, just him—that made your heart ache in the best way.

“Hey,” Jason said softly, his voice breaking through the calm. “You ever think about how we ended up here?”

You tilted your head, looking up at him curiously. “What do you mean?”

He gave a small shrug, eyes still focused on the city below. “You and me. All of this. Feels kinda surreal sometimes, doesn’t it?”

You smiled, resting your chin on your knee as you looked at him. “Yeah, I guess it does. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Jason was quiet for a moment, his hand absentmindedly playing with the ends of your jacket sleeve. Then, almost hesitantly, he spoke again. “I remember the moment I fell for you.”

Your breath caught in your throat. Of all the things you expected him to say, that wasn’t it. You sat up a little straighter, turning to face him fully. “You do?”

Jason glanced at you, his usual guarded expression softening. There was something almost shy in the way he smiled—so unlike the confident, fearless person everyone else saw. But you knew him. You saw all the layers beneath the tough exterior.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice quieter now, as if he was letting you in on a secret. “It was that night… after that first mission we did together. You were patching me up—remember? I’d been reckless, nearly got myself killed.”

You nodded, remembering the panic that had filled you that night. The way you had rushed to his side, scolding him as you carefully stitched up the wound on his arm, your hands trembling even though you tried to act tough.

Jason chuckled softly, as if reading your thoughts. “You were so mad at me. I thought you were going to yell at me the whole time. But then, when you were done… you didn’t leave. You sat with me. Stayed there until I fell asleep. I don’t know why, but something about that moment just hit me. I realized I didn’t want anyone else by my side but you.”

Your heart swelled at his words, the sincerity in his voice making your chest ache. You reached out, gently cupping his cheek, your thumb brushing over the faint scar on his jawline.

“I didn’t know that,” you whispered, your voice filled with emotion. “You never said anything.”

Jason leaned into your touch, his hand covering yours as his eyes met yours with that intense, vulnerable gaze that always made you weak in the knees. “Didn’t know how to say it then. I was scared… that I’d mess it up. But I’m not scared anymore.”

You smiled, your heart feeling impossibly full. “You didn’t mess anything up, Jason. Not even close.”

He pulled you closer, pressing his forehead against yours, his breath warm against your lips. “Good. ‘Cause I’m not letting you go.”

“You’d better not,” you whispered, before closing the distance and pressing your lips to his in a soft, tender kiss.

The world seemed to fade away in that moment, leaving just the two of you on that rooftop, the city lights twinkling below. And for once, in the chaos of Gotham, everything felt perfectly right.

[prettypinkporkchop]

I keep seeing the tik tok videos where the girl is putting hello kitty stickers or rhinestones everywhere and I think it’s so cutie sooo with that being said could you pleaseee do a Paul x reader where she’s always messing with him and making him do face masks and doing his make up and even putting stickers in his truck😭😂

You walk beside Paul, holding onto his arm and sighing. The store is super boring! Tractor supply, why is it even a thing? Paul is grabbing a few things for Sam. You, being clingy, came along.

"Ooh!" You say out loud and point toward the front where a tray of books are.

Paul smiles down at you. "Okay, babe. Get what you want. Just don't go too far from me, okay?" He gently squeezes your wrist and let's you go.

"Yes!" You quickly walk over there.

There are cute coloring books and sticker books. You start going through them and pick out one sticker book with diamonds and the Hello Kitty one. You keep digging and find a book with random stickers like coffee cups and flowers. "Freaking bet."

You guys check out and see that Paul got a shovel and lighter fluid. But you got the goods! Paul takes the bags, and you two walk to his truck. He hands you your books, and you get inside the truck. Paul gets inside as well and looks over at you.

"You got stickers?" He chuckles.

"Yup!'' You pipe up.

The drive to Emily's was silent. You ended up pulling out a book and going through them. You had a page with letters! You took the letters of your name and places them on the dashboard.

"You're so stinkin' cute." He grabs your thigh.

You smile in pride and continue placing stickers. You put Hello Kitty, coffees, and hearts all around your name. You look out the window and see you're about to get to Emily's. You look over at Paul's exposed shoulder and smirk. You grab a pink smiley face and put it there. He doesn't seem to notice!

He parks and looks over at you. "I'm gonna bring these inside real quick. I'll be back." He leans over, and you two peck lips.

Just a few minutes later, Paul gets inside the car. He looks at you with a stern face and then holds out his finger with the sticker on it. "Care to explain?"

You start laughing and then grab his face, squeezing his cheeks. You press a rough kiss, pulling away with a "mwuah!"

He smiles and shakes his head. "I'll let this one slide." He starts driving.

----

You guys make it home and you run to the bathroom. You do what you gotta do and look at the small shelf that has all of your products.

WHERE DID YOUR FACE MASKS GO?!

You flush the toilet and storm into the living room. "Where's the face masks?!"

He smirks and crosses his arms. "I'll give it back to you if you promise not to put anything on my face tonight."

You straddle his lap and grab his hair, pulling his head back. You look into his eyes like an investigator on a crime. "If you don't tell me where you hid them, I won't kiss you for a week straight." You hiss.

He leans up and tries to kiss you, but you purse your lips together, making his lips land on your chin. He pulls away, shocked and confused.

"You really just did that to me.." He says.

"Yup. Where are they?!" You get off of him.

"Under the sink.." He groans.

You walk over there and see the cucumber mask. You get up and grab Paul's hand. "Bathroom. Wash your face!" You demand.

He sighs and stands up, following you to the bathroom. He leans over the sink and uses some face wash. You wait patiently for him to finish. He wipes his face with a towel, and you wash your face. He stands behind you and rubs your waist.

"You're lucky I love you." He smirks.

"Mm." You mumble while rinsing your face.

You two go into the bedroom, and he lays on the bed, knowing you'll do his first. You straddle on his waist, and he places his hands on your hips. You open the cap and scoop some up, rubbing even layers on his face.

"It's tingling." He mumbles.

"You say that every time, babe." You giggle.

Once you finish his, you put some on you. After that, you look over and see Paul sitting with his arms crossed, pouting. You start laughing.

"You're grounded." He says which makes you laugh harder.

----

You put another sticker on his arm as he drives. His arm is nearly full of them! You made sure to use the pink ones. The dashboard is full of them, so now you're putting them on your door near the handle.

"You know you have to take these off when we get to the bonfire, right?" He smiles.

"I know..." You sigh with a frown.

"Aye, babe. Don't be down. Look at the masterpiece you've done to my truck!" He smiles.

You smile too and look over everything. "You like it?"

"I love it!" He lifts your hand and kisses your knuckles.

[riinkun-art-stuff]

Howdy ho! I'm very excited to finally be able to share this illustration I worked on as part of this year's @bumblebybigbang for @tahnex's lovely and super fun fic (with no pain attached whatsoever), "Of Dragons and Panthers," which you can read here! As soon as I read the original notes on it this scene captured me so much I had to do something dramatic for it. It's been such a pleasure watching the whole collab come together, tysm for having me!

First time joining an event like this, and I'd love to again if the opportunity comes around hehe. Still a few postings to go on this one, the pieces before us this year have knocked it out of the park and I'm super excited to see the rest once they come around!

Made a few process cuts just for fun, which I left under the cut!

I did do a few sketches roughly before I started out, especially based on other parts of the chapter, but this particular composition was so fixed in my mind that I ended up just sticking with it. In retrospect, I would've loved to go back and do some more thorough exploration for it. Here are a few of the sketches I managed to fish back up:

I also was thinking of trying a few other doodles/another big piece, but ended up not really having the time between other obligations :')

And the sketch I finally settled on:

Inking was SUCH a fun process on this piece in particular. I'm a huge fan of how dragon!Yang's mane turned out, especially, and all the detailing on the head and around Blake's fur and such. Feel like I'm really satisfied w the particular way the line weight variations came out, and it's where the piece shines the most imo.

Panther!Blake, too. Oh gosh. I feel like it took me a lot of reworking to get her structure to a point where she felt very leopard-like, rather than any other type of big cat- especially around the head.

Colours were such a challenging part. There was a big feeling I had for that glow coming off dragon!Yang in the middle of the heavy rain- I love seeing that sort of effect in real life so that's something I'm really hoping to work to capture better as I practice. Trying to get dragon!Yang's slight iridescence in there and to balance out the lighting on panther!Blake's fur each took a long time, too- I'm only a pinch sad that a good chunk of it is covered by other lighting effects XD

Blake's rosettes were SO fun. Augguhugg.

In terms of backgrounds. HOO boy I was going through a strange patch in life while working on the background and final polish for this piece, which is why (at least I feel like) it looks kinda rushed. I have been practicing natural landscapes and doing some observational studies but still struggling to get those rock shapes quite right, which I think is a big make or break point of something like this. I did really enjoy toying around with inking on the foliage and foreground layers of the ground, though! And in the end, lighting and effects ended up masking a lot of the big weak spots :D

I think natural effects like smoke/steam, and rain, are big things that I got to practice more of in this piece, but also really would like to get better at in future. Esp since I feel like it's been a great opportunity to mess around with different colours and brushes that I use way less, which I'm always grateful for w painting. I think just layering the rain on its own ended up being about 10 odd layers?

I think the only other thing I would have loved to improve is to just help the piece feel more Bumbleby™ in the final look. I think I like the cool colours of the lighting for this particular outcome, but I also would have probably tried to have made things much clearer (ahem at the very least switch to yellow/purple) in the long run in terms of representation and resemblance. Ik that at least for me it is fairly easy to associate the two characters with dragons and panthers since I'm more familiar w the fandom lingo around these two, but esp for outsiders I feel like it's probably not great at conveying who they are, and why they are potentially in this situation.

I'd also love to try and find a shading style that still has a painterly quality but compliments the inking a bit better, rather than overpowering it.

I think that, on the whole, I am pretty satisfied with the piece and had a great time working with Tahnex on the whole collab! And I've also has a fun time reading his work and notes in return, and thank you so much for being so so patient with me even as my updates were slow n rocky at points :'D

That's about all I got, have a great day y'all! Still a few big bang postings to go, so very excited for those once they come around!

[pokegalla]

Another trade of the classic multiparted headcanons on my blog! But this time?

With the creepy bois✨ (Plus first post of headcanons for them! :D)

Trade/Requested by @tryslogic

(Warning: Slight nsfw and damn near borderline all things considered with these guys-)

How Touchy Can They Be In Public With Slightly Large Chested S/o!

Jeff:

* Bruh. Without a fucking doubt- this goddamn horndog. Walk him with a leash-

* He would sneak up on you and hug you from behind before just giving a big ass squeeze- you’d bonk him but that’ll just make him laugh. He’ll use your damn chest like a stress ball, having a shit eating grin because he just KNOWS how much of an asshole he’s being. (And he knows you just love him too much 😌✨)

* In private it technically can get pretty fluffy surprisingly. Using your chest like a pillow after a long day of killing? God it’s heaven sent to him. Just hope he isn’t too messy though- but of course he isn’t letting the opportunity go to waste to tease you. Littering your neck and chest with love marks? Drives him CRAZY. Yeah you ain’t walking if he’s in that mood-

* And man you are just a glutton for punishment if you wearing a boob window- he loves the view but he HATES how the others are gawking at you. You end up getting pulled to the side. “Fucking tease….better start screaming my name. I want them to hear who you belong too~”

* He’s a little possessive and protective buuuut in a more heartfelt way surprisingly. Will he admit it? Over his dead body-

Eyeless Jack:

* Ah now here’s a more respectable guy. For a kidney eating demon, he respects boundaries! He’s a monster but not THAT kind-

* Noooot saying he wouldn’t stare though. I mean kinda hard not to yknow? He’d probably tease you quietly about how good you’re looking right now. But he would never just outright just….grab it. Like why??? (Honestly he could though. Sneaky boi-)

* But in private he is WAY more snuggly. Hope you don’t mind black streaks on your shirts. Because he is diving into those twin peaks✨ he feels so safe in your arms….he can’t help but wrap his arms around your waist. You might be stuck for quite awhile. But in the meantime? You get a chance to see him without the mask! And you can’t skip out on that now can you~?

* Now here’s where you end up tipping the scale with him: Boob window. God you just look so good in it. He is biting his lip and even starts whispering teases in your ear. “Tryna grab my attention that badly~? It might just work~” I know yall definitely had a quickie in the forest. Hope you kept quiet~✨

* Overall he’s just a pretty chill guy! Who just can’t resist you~✨

Laughing Jack:

* Ok there’s no sugarcoating this. This is the worst motherfucker here. And THE biggest tease. FOR FUN-

* Does not help if you wear layers, his lanky ass arms will always manage to slip through. And his big ass grin just tells you he KNOWS this is pissing you off so he honks it before laughing like a maniac. He boops your cheek though to show you he’s just playing around.

* In private….I mean not much of a difference? Well other then straight up picking you up to plop his chin in your cleavage and looking up at you with a smirk. Orrrr having your chest on his head like a damn hat- he can’t really snuggle like the others without the risk of stabbing you with that sharp ass nose 💦 but he makes due with what he can✨

* Now the boob window he will SHAMELESSLY stare and even TUG on it to see more- “Heh~ What a pretty little view~ Might as well show it all~” and that bastard actually teases you to the point of being needy. He finds it amusing. But at least he’ll reward his little doll in the end~✨

* He just loves messing with you but really that’s just how he shows you his love✨

[laura1633]

I can't stop thinking about 8. with Omega Max and Alpha Charles, except that it's not slick but milk. I'm just a little obsessed with his chest and the thought of him lactating around his crush, oh my

First up for the omegaverse prompt game (I do have lots of your prompts and I will pick through as many as I can)

This was a wonderful adjustment to the prompt anon 😍. I do firstly have to apologise because this did turn into lactation kink which I have no idea how to write 😂

These omegaverse prompts are mostly just going to be rough and ready rather than fully fledged fics so hopefully you will all forgive me for that and still enjoy them for what they are (this one was was a little longer than intended)

Tags: Lactation kink

The first time it had happened Max had assumed it was a coincidence. 

He had been chatting to Charles in some fancy bar when his nipples started tingling and his breasts felt as if they were slowly starting to swell. It was strange. Not strange enough to concern him immediately though. Charles always made him feel funny. Butterflies in his stomach. Slick in his panties. It was only when noticed that there were wet patches forming on the front of his shirt that he had squeaked and scurried off to the bathroom to clean himself up. 

He’d been expecting his top to be damp with sweat so the discovery of milk trickling from his nipples had set off a whole array of alarm bells that resulted in a mad dash down to a late night pharmacy to get his hands on a pregnancy test.

It had come back negative which he really should have known. Other than letting one of his pit crew go down on him after his win in Vegas he hadn’t engaged in any sexual activity for at least the last nine months.  Still, he’d only ever heard of omegas lactating when carrying or nursing a pup so it was worth ruling the possibility out. 

He’d hoped it had been a one off. A bizarre experience that he would laugh about one day, but it kept happening. Over and Over but always around Charles. The Monegasque would only need to smile in his direction and Max would feel slick dripping from his pussy and milk leaking from his tits. He may as well have been melting into a puddle on the floor, it probably would have left less mess. 

He had tried his best to get things under control by himself.  He’d taken to wearing extra layers and using nursing pads to soak up the worst of it. It was only ever masking the problem though,  Charles was still making him leak even if it was now happening under four layers of clothing. So, after much deliberation Max had hauled himself off to a doctor’s to get check out.

He had been expecting a complicated diagnoses. What he had received was an elderly beta doctor looking him square in the eye and asking him if the alpha in question was one he would like to be bred by.  Max had of course, like any self respecting omega, shook his head vigorously in response but the flush of crimson on his face was seemingly more convincing an answer.

It was true. The image of Charles breeding him was one he’d conjured up many nights whilst laying out in bed with a silicone knotting device pushed up inside him. He’d just never expected his fantasies to make his breasts leak. 

The official diagnosis:  On set lactation resulting from an urge to be bred by a particular alpha.

The cure : to talk to said alpha.

The prognosis : Not good. There was not a single chance in hell Max was going to tell Charles that his tits leaked milk whenever he came close. 

And so Max had tried his best to carry on as normal. He joked around with Checo in the garage. He played padel with Lando in Monaco. And he leaked fucking milk out of his tits around Charles.

It had been absolutely fucking fantastic. It had never been as bad as right now though. 

Max fidgets around trying to make himself comfortable as he tries to ignore the fact that he’s been placed right next to Charles at the FIA gala ceremony. Despite all of the omega’s successes he really was starting to feel like the universe hated him.  There seemed no other logical reason why his white shirt was darkening against his nipples as he waited to go up on stage and collect his trophy. 

It really didn’t help that watching the ceremony was about as interesting as watching paint dry.

“You okay?” Oscar leans in from where he’s sat on the other side of Max and gives the Dutch omega a look of concern. 

“Fine. Why?” Max tries to keep his eyes focused on the stage ahead. He’s almost certain that he’s blushing but right now the colour of his cheeks are the least of his problems, Charles’ alpha scent is filling his nostrils and making his tits feel like they’ve swollen to the size of footballs. If it goes on any longer Max’s chest is going to feel so heavy he’ll probably tip over if he tries to stand up. He supposes he will at least have two pillowy breasts full of milk to cushion his fall.

“You’re whining” Oscar says gently as he lets a hand rest on Max’s thigh and gives it a reassuring squeeze, “Are you sure you’re fine?”

“Just nervous” Max tries his best to smile. If he was going to speak to anyone about his little problem then Oscar wouldn’t be such a bad choice. He doubts the younger Omega would make any huge dramatics out of the situation.

“What’s going on?” Charles leans right across Max to join in the conversation, his earthy scent flooding Max’s nostrils once more and Max is sure that the fabric of his shirt stretches in response to his expanding chest.

“Nothing, just nerves” Oscar gives Max’s thigh another reassuring squeeze before turning his attention back towards the stage.

“This never gets any more interesting does it?” Charles giggles. The alpha is so close that Max can feel the warmth of his breath as he laughs, “We have another hour before it’s our time.” Charles inches himself back in his chair much to Max’s relief. Most of the damage has already been done though, Max’s panties are soaked and he can feel milk trickling down his chest all the way to his stomach. As he chances a glance down he realises that his shirt has turned see through where the material is damp. 

The omega pulls his jacket around himself and tries to hold it across his body. He has at least had the foresight to bring a spare shirt with him to change into before he gets up on stage but he’s determined not to slip into it yet or that will also be drenched by the time his moment in the spotlight arrives. 

It’s starting to feel uncomfortable though. His nipples itch as his shirt rubs against them and his breasts feel heavier each time Charles talks to him. As much as he was hoping to avoid the indignity of having to try and milk himself in a bathroom stall he’s not sure he has much choice. If his breasts swell any further his shirt is going to rip at the seems. 

“We should maybe go for some food or something afterwards?” Charles mumbles quietly against Max’s ear. Unfortunately Max’s response is a lot less discreet, the omega keens happily but his happiness is short lived as he feels another gush of milk leak from his left breast and he’s quickly brought back down to reality. He can’t sit opposite Charles in s restaurant in this state. 

He’s pretty certain that other people must have noticed something odd going on. The milk doesn’t have the strongest smell but there is something rather soapy about the aroma and the scent is starting to spread outwards. The omega jumps up from his chair and sprints out the room as quickly as he can as he bolts towards the bathroom and shuts himself away in a stall. 

Shit.

When Max slides off his jack and looks down to see what the damage is he finds his shirt soaked at the front. None of this seems remotely fair.

“Max? Are you in there?”

Max yelps as he hears Charles’ voice and his breasts tingle and expand on cue like some unwanted new party trick.

“Did I upset you? Sorry I didn’t mean to. We don’t have to go out, I just thought - “ Charles trails off and Max realises its because he is whining loudly from where he has shut himself inside the toilet cubicle, “Max I think you need to let me in or I need to go get Oscar or - “ 

“No” Max whimpers, “Please, it is  just - “ The omega sighs as he tries to work out what he can possibly say that will explain this all away. There isn’t anything though.  He’s a complete and utter mess. There is one thing he is certain of above all else, he can’t go on like this. The thought makes him want to sob. The omega steels himself before opening up the door and coming face to face with Charles. 

“Max -“ 

“I had a sort of accident.” Max mumbles. His jacket and bowtie still hung on the back of the door leaving his crinkled wet shirt on full display as it stretches wet across the broadness of his chest. 

“Oh my god” Charles immediately shuffles himself into the stall and closes the door behind him, “What happened? Are you hurt?”

“It’s milk” Max keens helplessly.

“You’re pregnant?! Who got you pregnant?” Charles’ eyes darken as his chest puffs out. 

“I’m not pregnant!” Max reaches out and runs his hands over his stomach to show how flat it is and then, because he can’t hold it in any longer, he blurts out the secret he has been trying to hold in for so long, “This is because of you.”

Charles freezes. He looks surprised, startled, confused. 

All of which Max thinks are perfectly valid repossess to an omega telling you that you are the reason they are currently lactating. 

“Me?” Charles’ mouth opens and closes a few times as if he’s trying to elaborate on his question. Instead he just settles on repeating himself “Me?”

“I always do it when you are close to me. Always with the milk and the swelling and the tingling,“ Max pauses before starting to babble to fill up the silence once more, “My body wants you to breed me.”

It’s not an eloquent explanation. Nor is it the way Max had wanted to explain his little affliction to Charles. 

“You want me to breed you?”

“My body wants you to breed me?” Max tries to draw some sort of distinction between his brain and his body. In reality they are both pretty much on the same page, Max goes all mushy brained whenever Charles is close and he’d quite happily let the alpha fill him with one or two tiny Leclerc pups if Charles was up for it.

“I don’t understand.” 

“Whenever you talk to me or smile at me or come near me this happens” Max looks down to the ever growing wet circles around his nipples, “It is because I want you.”

Max’s breath catches as he hears the low rumble coming from Charles. The alpha’s scent has shifted again, it’s not sour notes this time, it’s thick and warm enough to make Max want to melt right into Charles’ arms.

And Charles - 

Well, Charles doesn’t look immediately put off by all this. 

“Does it hurt?” Charles lifts his hand and reaches towards Max’s chest but stops short of actually touching the omega much to Max’s dissatisfaction. Max lets out an unhappy little sound and tries to push his chest towards where Charles’ hand is lingering. It’s in that moment that Max finally accepts that when it comes to Charles he has almost no control over what his body does. He’s just a walking ball of hormones falling apart every time he is close to the most handsome alpha he has ever seen. 

Charles cups his hand against Max’s breast and the omega tries his best to bite back a desperate whine as his shirt rubs agains this erect nipple. 

“Shhh it’s okay” Charles coos softly, “You want me to help you get cleaned up?”

Max nods meekly as he lets Charles slowly start to unbutton his shirt. There is a steady rumbling coming from the alpha now. Louder and louder. The vibration like an engine revving. Max is sure that the only time he’s ever made an alpha rumble this loud before was when their cock was inside him.

“Fuck” Charles growls as he eases the shirt off and soothes his hands over Max’s breasts . There’s still milk trickling down, his skin sticky and wet. Yet far from looking disgusted Charles is licking right across his lips. Max tries not to let himself get carried away by trying to work out what exactly that means.

“This is all because of me?” Charles growls again, low and possessive. The alpha’s hand cups and squeezes against Max’s right breast and the trickle of milk starts to build in to a stream. 

“For you” Max mumbles but the words come out as little more than a breathy moan as he sees the milk dripping down over Charles’ fingers and hand, white liquid splashing against the Monegasque’s jewellery. It feels so obscene yet Charles’ eyes are just widening in fascination and he’s bringing his own fingers to his mouth to lick them clean.  

Max holds his breath. The milk tastes sweet. Sugary even. Max knows because he tasted it in one of his weaker moments. Charles’ tongue licks over his fingers again, lapping up the last few drops that have dripped down to his knuckles. 

“You taste beautiful” Charles looks up, his eyes flickering as they meet Max’s gaze, “so good.”

Max feels his skin tingle. His chest tight. Body vibrating. He tries to hold as still as possible. Nothing feels real.  The lactating. The sight of Charles licking milk off his fingers. The sound of clapping and cheering filtering in from the room next door. It’s like a fever dream. 

Charles puts his hand back on Max’s tits, massaging and cupping the flesh and watching the way the drops of milk form and then drip down. 

“This is - “ Charles squeezes again and watches another bead of milk form, “Fuck you’re so pretty. Such a pretty omega.”

Max’s legs shake as Charles leans closer and starts to lap up the milk that is falling down over the curve of his breast. The alpha’s tongue is warm and wet against his skin. 

The omega arches his back and pushes his chest closer to Charles’ mouth. He has never been an overly dominant omega when it comes to sex, he prefers to encourage rather than demand but his hands are twitching by his side as he considers tangling his fingers into Charles’ hair and pulling the alpha down on to his nipple. 

“All for me?” Charles looks up and grins excitedly as he runs his tongue around where Max wants it. The movement slow, deliberate, in control. 

It’s too much. Not enough. Max isn’t even sure anymore. He’s leaking from more than just his chest, his panties are soaked and there’s slick racing down his thighs. 

“Please” Max’s voice is breathless, his cheeks burning red as he watches Charles’ mouth close around his nipple. The alpha latches on and Max groans happily at the sudden rush of relief and pleasure he feels. 

Charles sucks the nipple in his mouth and pulls off with a wet slurping popping sound, his lips now glistening wet. 

With milk.

With Max’s milk.

With Max’s milk that he’s just sucked out of his body. 

“Alpha!” Max whimpers and arches his back as Charles dives back in, this time massaging his hands against the flesh as he purses his lips and sucks more firmly. Over and over until Max can feel the milk spurting right into the alpha’s mouth. 

It makes him feel light headed. His nipples seem to have a direct line to his pussy. Each time Charles sucks and flicks out his tongue Max feels the sensation go right through his body until there is more and more slick gushing out of him. His tits throb. His clit throbs. His toes curls in his shoes. The sight of Charles attached to his tit - lapping, sucking, wet and filthy - makes him whine unashamedly. 

Charles pulls back to take another breath, the alpha panting, milk dripping down off the roughness of his stubble. When he goes back in he goes for the other breast, mouthing around the area before wrapping his lips around the nipple and sucking it into his mouth.

Max almost buckles this time, his legs barely keeping him upright. 

Charles is growling around him. One of the alpha’s hands cupped to his breast and the other - 

The other is - 

Oh 

Max moans and throws his head back as Charles’ hand dips below the waistband of his trousers and down into his panties. The alphas fingers brush lightly against his clit. The faintest and briefest of touches before Max is coming, his whole body spasming as he feels another spurt of milk shooting into Charles’ mouth and sees it drip down from side of the alpha’s lips. 

His body feels lighter. Floaty. Wet. So, so wet. 

Charles groans as he pulls back. His pupils blown. Face damp. He look stunning. Hair ruffled. Cheeks red. 

Max lets his own instincts take over as he gets his hands into Charles’ hair and pulls the alpha into a kiss. It tastes sweet as he licks up and into Charles’ mouth and tastes his own milk. 

Charles is hard, the alpha’s cock pushed against Max’s leg. Nice and big as it presses into the fleshy part of the omega’s thigh. Max can’t help but wonder how much bigger it gets when it knots. The thought alone makes his breasts tingle. 

“Forget going for dinner” Charles tugs at Max’s bottom lip with his teeth, “Come back to my hotel with me.” 

Max nods without hesitation. His body is already dripping all over, his pussy slick wet and ready to take the alpha’s knot, milk still dripping down over the curves of his breasts and down the contours of his body. 

He’s not ashamed anymore though. How can he be when he sees how much it’s turning Charles on. If anything he realises that maybe it’s been some sort of courting ritual all along. His body providing something his alpha wants. Because Charles is surely his now. Fully and completely. 

“Perfect little omega” Charles praises, his eyes wild as he goes back to smothering Max’s chest with warm wet kisses. 

Max closes his eyes and purrs as he hears the low possessive growl Charles makes as he continues to lick up the milk made solely for him. 

[nitrateglow]

Spooky Season 2024: 6-11

Targets (dir. Peter Bogdanovich, 1968)

Targets follows two parallel stories that eventually intertwine. The first involves elderly horror star Byron Orlock (Boris Karloff), disillusioned with his professsion and the real-world violence around him, and intent on retiring from film. The second involves Bobby (Tim O'Kelly), a disturbed young man obsessed with guns who goes on a murder spree. Both points converge at the drive-in premiere of Orlock's newest film.

Targets caught me offguard. The violence in the story involves a mass shooter and so it has a lot of real-world parallels. The killings are presented in a matter of fact way, without spectacle or blood geysers. It makes all of it feel more real and upsetting, especially since we've seen our share of Bobby-like killers over the decades.

My youngest sister watched this one with me and kept calling Karloff's character "Babygirl" and that isn't wrong. Though crabby and cynical, Byron is really charming and likeable. The arc he undergoes is really powerful, particularly as it pertains to his relationship with his secretary Jenny (Nancy Hsueh).

Though the tensions of the late '60s are a major part of Targets, it also deals with the gulf between the old school horror movies represented by Orlock and the more violent fare of the dawning New Hollywood era. I feel like there are just so many layers here. I really need to rewatch it. It's a fascinating movie and I would highly recommend it.

The Phantom of the Opera (dir. Dwight H. Little, 1989)

Modern singer Christine Day (Jill Schoelen) is sent back in time to a previous life as an aspiring opera singer in 1880s London. Her mentor is Erik Destler (Robert Englund), a disfigured composer who made a deal with the devil that left him immortal and embittered. He also has a habit of skinning people and then stitching the flesh on his ugly ass face. The opera management wants to build up another diva's career at the expense of Christine's. Erik doesn't like this. People start getting killed.

The 1989 The Phantom of the Opera is such a mixed bag, but I enjoy it anyway. The script is a mess. It frames the story with this weird time travel/reincarnation/isekai plot that doesn't add up to anything. It introduces interesting concepts-- like the relationship between Christine and Erik reflecting Erik's own deal with the devil-- without fleshing them out. Also-- and if Letterboxd is anything to go by, I'm in the minority-- I'm not crazy about Jill Schoelen's Christine, though I think that's more due to the way Christine is written than how she plays the role.

But then you have the glorious production design, stagebound but dripping in gothic candlelight and late Victorian grime. Best of all, you get Robert Englund's Erik Destler, one of the best onscreen Phantoms of all time.

I love how Englund's Erik is both an excitable schoolboy, almost squealing with delight while Christine kills it at Faust, and a violent, vengeful monster who doesn't take his will being defied lightly. I like the skin-grafting angle for the mask and that Erik ventures out into the London underworld at night. These are all fresh elements and I wish they could have been combined with a tighter, more focused script.

Still, this is a fun movie.

Murders in the Zoo (dir. A. Edward Sutherland, 1933)

A zoologist (Lionel Atwill) is pathologically jealous of his younger wife (Kathleen Burke), and so starts killing any perceived rival to his possession of her. Very pre-code violence ensues.

I'm going to be blunt: this movie did not live up to the hype. A lot of pre-code fans vouch for it as the nastiest horror film of the era. That is likely true. The first thing we see is a man getting his mouth sewed shut, a bit of nastiness that would shock in a recent film, let alone one from 1933. There are some gruesome killings throughout.

Too bad the story is sluggish and dull. There's a lot of corny comic relief that stops the action dead. The direction is flat. It's definitely not a movie I can see myself revisiting. There's barely anything there to sustain interest beyond the occasional creative murder-- no atmosphere, no anything.

Other than the murders, the only thing that stood out to me was Kathleen Burke as the tragic wife of the crazy zoologist. Burke is best remembered as Lota the Panther Woman in Island of Lost Souls. Her career fizzled out quickly, which is a shame because she has great presence and no shortage of talent.

The Black Room (dir. Roy William Neill, 1935)

In a Tyrolean town, an ancient prophecy swears that the ruling house will be destroyed when twins are born and the younger brother kills the older. So when the baron is presented with twin sons, he does everything he can to prevent the prophecy, such as sealing up the Black Room where the murder is supposed to occur. The boys grow up different as can be: the older brother Gregor (Boris Karloff) is cruel and sensual, abusing the locals and his own power, while the younger Anton (also Karloff) is gentle and kind. Despite his twin's sweet nature, Gregor is still concerned for his life and his continued domination of the town. He hatches a devious plan to cheat fate, but can he?

For some reason, I thought I had seen this movie long ago, but apparently not. What a delightful gothic story this is! It's filled with all the old school tropes played straight: an ancient prophecy, a lecherous nobleman preying on innocent maidens, a torture chamber filed with corpses, a dark and gloomy castle. There is a subtle sense of grim humor throughout, but it never descends into parody when it easily could have.

If you've ever doubted Karloff's capabilities as an actor, this movie should remedy that opinion. He plays two distinct characters, and at one point, gives a performance within a performance. All three performances feature their own unique body language, line delivery, and business. It's astonishing throughout.

Equally impressive is the direction from Roy William Neill. Best known for helming the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies, his direction here is so dynamic and impressive, not in the least stagey or inert.

One last thing: for a post-Production Code movie, it has a surprising amount of violence and sexuality. Gregor is clearly using the local women for his sexual gratification before murdering them, and his interest in Marian Marsh's lovely aristocratic girl is 100% carnal. There's a pit full of corpses and we get to look into it rather than have its presence alluded to offscreen. It's all nasty stuff. It really feels like the filmmakers got away with a lot, even if it seems tame by modern standards!

The Bells (dir. James Young, 1926)

Innkeeper Mathias (Lionel Barrymore) hopes to become burgomaster of his village. He hopes endless credit and free drinks will sway the populace to support him, but this comes close to killing his business and destroying his family. Desperate, he murders a wealthy guest, destroys the body, and uses his pilfered gold to pay off all debts and influence his way to power. However, both the crushing guilt and a mesmerist (Boris Karloff) with mind-reading powers threaten to expose him.

This is one of those movies that has a great premise, but the execution is very underwhelming. The filmmakers waste a lot of time on the romantic antics of Mathias' pretty daughter and goofy comedy. It's like they were timid about leaning more into the gothic, distressing elements of this dark story and it makes the film drag.

Still, Barrymore is good, especially once he commits the murder and starts going all Telltale Heart. But the best thing in the movie is definitely Boris Karloff. He had been in movies since 1919 and it wouldn't be until Frankenstein in 1931 that he became a star. But it's safe to say, The Bells gives Karloff his first standout role.

Karloff's character doesn't show up a lot, but he is the biggest threat to Mathias' power. Though his Caligari cosplay is hilarious (for real, the filmmakers didn't even TRY to hide the Caligari influence), he has this creepy shit-eating grin that really leaves an impression.

Is Karloff enough to make this worth watching? Eh, I don't think so. There are far better silent thrillers you could be watching.

The Sorcerers (dir. Michael Reeves, 1967)

Elderly Professor Montserratt (Boris Karloff) and his wife Estelle (Catherine Lacey) use a mind control procedure on young stud Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy). Able to experience everything he feels and to control his behavior if they wish, the two vicariously experience the thrills of Swinging London through their test subject. However, Estelle gets drunk on power and starts using Mike to engage in multiple crimes, including murder.

This movie was hyped to me, so maybe it's partially my fault I was so disappointed by the end result. With the exception of Estelle, the story lacks compelling characters. There's no sense of pathos to Mike's victimization and downfall because he's bland as hell and passive, a deadly combination if you want me to give a damn about your narrative.

Everything about this movie feels drab, both the visuals and the filmmaking itself. Big setpieces like the hypnotism scene or the telepathic motorcycle ride are supposed to be kinetic and exciting, but they just feel like the product of an enthusiastic amateur. I've seen low budget movies that have real personality and verve despite their lack of resources (see Blast of Silence), but The Sorcerers just feels cheap and uninspired in every way. I struggled to finish it even though it wasn't even an hour and a half long.

It's a shame because I like the central premise: two elderly people use this device to vicariously experience the fast life of swinging London. But it's done so poorly. It's hard to believe director Michael Reeves' next film would be the masterful Witchfinder General.

[emilyscully]

gif tutorial

@bakedbakermom requested a tutorial on how i made the gifs in this set, so i've put together a little walkthrough of the process for this gif under the cut!

(disclaimer: this tutorial assumes that you already have basic photoshop/giffing knowledge - i.e. how to make and colour gifs using correction layers, how to use things like layer masks, etc. if you don't, i recommend these tutorials, they're very comprehensive)

alright! so as stated before, i'm not going to go in-depth here on the basics of gifmaking. for this one in particular, i blended three gifs, but we'll get into the third one later.

(i should also mention that blending gifs as i did here is usually easier if you have scenes with shadowed/dark areas like the ones above, so to keep that in mind when picking your scenes! i also find it easier to use scenes where there isn't a whole ton of movement going on- again, not a requirement but it's easier to plan and position gifs if the characters aren't moving across the whole canvas)

first, i started by making the base gifs of mulder and scully in "paper hearts". both are cropped to 540x540 px, and the same length (around 50 frames). i did some standard sharpening, brightening, and adding contrast (my usual process is curves, a b/w gradient map set to "soft light" at around 20% opacity, and messing with the levels a bit) before using selective colour and hue/saturation layers to highlight the teal and peach colours in the gif. sometimes this is enough colouring on its own, depending on the gif and the look you're going for, but in my case i wanted to add more.

so, on top of my colouring, i used a combination of layers set to "colour" and "hard light" to paint over the background of my gifs in teal and peach. on mulder's gif i also used a gradient fill layer in the two colours set to "colour" and used a layer mask to erase anywhere i didn't want the colour to be. the opacity levels for all of these layers again just depends on how vibrant you want your colours, i just mess with that on a gif-to-gif basis.

so we have our two gifs, cropped and coloured to fit the palette we want. next, i converted each coloured gif into a smart object, by selecting all my layers, right clicking, and hitting "convert to smart object."

once that's done, you should be able to click and drag one of the gifs onto the other gif's canvas, so that it's sitting on top. then change the blending mode of the top gif- most people use lighten or screen, this again depends on the look you want and the gifs you're using. for this one, i used screen. it'll probably look something like this:

at this point you can move your gifs around and position them as you like. for mine, i just moved scully a little off to the right, as you can see. in order to get rid of the part that's covering mulder's face, i added a layer mask to the scully gif and used a large, soft brush set to black to erase it.

(another note: i didn't need to do it here, but if you want to move/erase parts of your bottom gif, add a layer of solid black underneath both gifs.)

usually i would stop blending here, but for this set i decided to add a third gif, so i made and coloured the gif of mulder and scully holding hands, using the same methods as the first two. this one was cropped to 540x405 px to make it fit better on the canvas, since i knew i only wanted it to cover the bottom part.

i converted it to a smart object and dragged it onto the same canvas as the other two gifs. this time i used "lighten" as my blending mode, positioned it in the bottom right corner, and again used a layer mask to brush away the parts i didn't want.

on top of all three gifs, i then used layers set to "normal" and "hard light" to brush some extra colour onto the gif. this part i also just play around with on a gif-to-gif basis, but for this set i mostly used a combo of colour, hard light, and normal layers at varying opacities until i got the look i was going for. i generally just like to use big soft brushes to add colour around the edges, as i did here.

now, i have a bunch of texture/grain pngs saved on my laptop that i like to add to gifs for some extra flair, so i opened one of those and cropped it down to 540x540px. i then added a gradient map to give it that peach colour. (any textured png/jpg should work fine for this, as long as you have your gradient map set to black and white/your accent colour)

like i did with my gifs, i converted the texture + gradient map to a smart object and dragged it onto the shared canvas. i set the blending mode to "screen", with the opacity at 70%. i like to put these textures underneath the extra colouring i've done on the gif, as seen here. i don't always do this, but i feel like it sometimes helps the texture blend into the finished gif. you can also use a layer mask if needed to erase any unwanted parts of the texture.

now for the text!

for these gifs i used the font "IM FELL DW Pica" in both regular and italic, in black, at 16px. i didn't do anything fancy with the text itself besides adding a drop shadow in the blending options (right click on the text layer and hit "blending options).

then, underneath the text layer (i was working one word at a time) i used the rectangle tool to draw a small rectangle around the text- i wasn't too picky about the size or evenness since i was going for a collaged look. i set the colour of the rectangle to a light cream colour, and added a drop shadow in the blending options.

then i just selected both the text and rectangle and duplicated them using ctrl+j, changing the text for each word and adjusting the size of the rectangles as needed. once i had all of the words on my canvas, i just moved them around until i found a positioning i liked. again, since i was going for a purposefully scrapbooked look, i didn't overthink this part.

i exported my gif the way i usually do, with these settings:

and that's it! i used pretty much the same process for all the gifs in this set, give or take. hopefully this little walkthrough made sense, but i know i'm not always the best at explaining my process, so if anything needs clarifying feel free to shoot me an ask or dm!

[iwouldlikesomewater]

Unrelated, but I just realized how excruciating painful it would be if the three layered organ piano mess that the Happy Mask Salesman plays has to be tuned every so often like an actual grand piano.

Not to mention having to climb on the piano keys, (because there ain’t no way you’re even coming close to budging that thing from the wall) position around the huge golden pieces that seemingly hang on vertical lines, and look down at the thousands layers worth of hammers and strings just to find which “E” key went flat.

I just imagine him going something like this

HMS: “Alright! Time to practice my triads again! :D”

*the first note he presses is flat*

HMS: *deep inhale*

YOU SON OF A BITCH!

[setsuntamew]

Hello and welcome to "Icon Making With Killian: An Intro to the 'Lost' Art of LiveJournal Icons"

aka, I'm still making them and I'd like to teach you how to do it, too!

This tutorial was written in Photoshop 2020, but you can probably recreate it in as far back as CS2-ish (since I still use the same sort of techniques I've been using since then, lmao). It also assumes basic understanding of the software, though I've tried to be as clear as possible throughout.

With that out of the way, let's get this tutorial on the road!!!!!!

I started with the bloomed art of Hiiro from the White Lilies scout box (image courtesy of the Ensemble Stars!! English Wiki).

I basically always start with a blank 100x100 canvas and paste the image into it. I try to go into icon making with a vague idea of what I want to do, and I knew from the beginning that my vision for this icon would have the top 1/4-1/3 of the image covered by a solid band of color. To make positioning the image of Hiiro easier, I made a rough version of the band with temporary colors (though they're pretty close to what I ended up using in the end).

With that in place, I could start working with the actual image for the icon. After pasting it in and adjusting the layers so it was under the band, I resized it and moved it around a bunch until I was happy with the position. Once I liked how it looked, I used an Unsharp Mask on the base.

Next up, I used a texture from lookslikerain. However, purple is all wrong for the color scheme I had in mind, so I went to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation... to change it up to better suit my needs. Never be afraid to mess around with textures!

Here's how I adjusted this specific texture, but each one is unique- both the texture and the icon you're creating, so it's best to play with it until you get good results.

I then pasted this into the icon, making sure it was under the layers making up the top bands of color (because I was only trying to affect the base for now), and set this layer to Darken.

Now it's time to mess with the colors of the top band. They sorta matched before I did anything to the base, but now...not quite. I used a layer style for each part of it, but using the paint bucket tool would work just as well. I went to Layer > Layer Styles > Color Overlay... for each, changing the colors as necessary. The thickest band is #85d0bf, the middle band is #086371, and the thinnest, lightest one is #fcfcd8.

Time to start putting stuff on top of everything!! I took this light texture from ianthinae, rotated it, and set it to Lighten. I decided I wanted it to be a little bit brighter, so I duplicated the layer, set it to Screen, and dropped the Opacity to 20%.

I then used a texture from Sarah-Dipity and set it to Lighten as well.

Okay, now that's what I'm talkin' about!!! It's time to throw some text on this~ I went for something simple to go with the theme of the story this card is from: Princely. The font is Georgia, 10pt, in #086371, set to all caps. I decided it didn't stand out enough, so I duplicated it, changed the color to #8b4235, dragged it under the first text layer, and moved it 1 pixel to the right.

I wanted a bit more embellishment around it, so I used this simple tiny text brush from colorfilter in #06444d. I also erased part of it to make it fit the space better.

Finally, I used a texture from shiruji, set to Darken to get a bit more color variation in it, and called it done! :D

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, and I'll answer as best I can- as long as it's not about making icons in other software D: I only know Photoshop (and Paint Shop Pro, but I don't think anyone uses that anymore). If there are any other icons of mine you're interested in seeing tutorials for - or even just specific techniques! - just lemme know. I love helping :D

Also, I'm happy to share where I get icon resources from. I have a whole post dedicated to that on my DW graphics journal, though tbh that's the best place to talk to me about making graphics in general. But I will absolutely answer asks/replies/etc about icons here on tumblr, don't worry!!!!

[cringefail-clown]

ngl im not like, lineless art specialist, honestly i went lineless fairly recently (like lets say may 2023 when i started drawing art for homestuck), before that i was making art with lineart only, so take my process with a grain of salt lmfao but i hope it clears out some things!

lets dissect the recent dirkkri art ive made:

i start out with sketch, as you usually do. depending on how im feeling or how complex the pose/background is, i make it more or less detailed. for more basic poses i might even stick to a simple gesture drawing and go straight into laying out the colors, it really varies a lot. it might even change in the further process, like how i moved dirks shades from his head to be sticking out slightly from behind his arm, clipped to his shirt, because i didnt like how busy the area around the faces looked

one advice i can give is to not spend too much time on the sketch. its job is to guide the laying out of flat colors and thats it! dont make it too fancy, dont get lost in the details - you can add those later on when youre doing the flats. its fine if the sketch is messy, youll fix it in later stages of the process!

next i do the flat colors! i tackle it one thing at a time - for example with dirks head i started on separate layers with the general shape of his face, then added his facial features, then i drew the hair, then added his neck, the crown, and lastly his piercings. i then merged them all together - you dont need to leave it all separate, best way is to group things together and merge so you dont get lost with all the layers (like how kankris arm on the front is one layer including his sweater sleeve and his hand).

i highly recommend naming your layers - im a little on and off with it myself, but seriously it makes your life easier later on when you spot a mistake and have to shuffle through bazilion layers to find it lmfao, especially when your drawing includes multiple things that overlay on top of each other like in this example. dont be like me and take a second to name them asksks

next to the rendering! i sometimes completely ditch this one, just leaving the flats as they are, but when i want a drawing to have more oomph i have some more steps to the process. its pretty simple - shadow, gradient map and highlight layer on clipping masks connected to the flats. in this one i used light gray for shadows (first layer to generally darken the drawing, second for defining shadows). same with highlights - one color.

the real star of the show is the gradient map, seriously, its a goddamn miracle worker. in krita you can add one by clicking on the plus sign to add a new layer and choose "add filter layer", then in the menu open the "map" category and here should be the option of adding gradient map. you can do it on your flats, but its destructive, and on a separate layer you can always change it if you dont like it later on. mess with the colors and tadah! it now looks fancy as shit and makes people think you know color theory!

last but not least you can add some bleeding light on a separate layer that isnt clipped to the flats to give it more dreamy appearence! i also added an example of how my layers looked in a group at the end of the drawing process.

and thats it! hope it helps, and have fun drawing!

[iamvegorott]

Ink Month 2024 Day 11

Kiss - Marvelsepticeye

“Get ready to weep, Bing!” Jackie laughed, leaning his body while tilting the controller, his thumb rapidly pressing one of the buttons. 

“Spamming doesn’t count!” Bing laughed back, leaning toward the TV. 

“It does if he’s winning.” Chase’s laugh was the loudest. Bing and Jackie were sitting on the floor in front of the couch while Chase lounged on it.  

“You’d think the robot would be better at video games.” Jackie teased.

“I will literally kick your ass.” Bing ‘threatened’. 

“I’d like to see you try, Bingy-boy.” 

“Let me get my phone out first. Gotta record the show.” Chase chuckled. 

“What are you three up to?” Marvin asked as he came into the room. 

“Kicking Bing’s ass in a fighting game,” Jackie answered, eyes not leaving the screen. 

“I’m going to the cafe with JJ. Do you want me to get you anything?” Marvin offered.

“Could you get me one of the chocolate cookies, please?” Jackie glanced away just long enough to flash a smile.  

“Of course. You enjoy your game.” Marvin leaned over and kissed Jackie’s cheek, chuckling when that got Jackie to stiffen and flush red almost instantly. “Bye~” He had an evil smile as he walked off, knowing Jackie was watching him. 

“I win!” Bing cheered and snapped Jackie back to the present. “You’d think you’d be able to handle a kiss from your boyfriend.” 

“Oh, shut up.” Jackie lunged at Bing, wrestling him to the ground.

“Put him in a headlock.” Chase quickly pulled out his phone and turned the camera on.

“Don’t give him ideas!”

x~x~x

“I’m a sloth!” Robbie giggled as he clung to a tree branch. 

“Please be careful!” Henrik called from where he and Chase sat on the patio. 

“Was that for Robbie or Jackie?” Chase asked, pointing to where the other Septiceye was casually jumping between branches on a different tree.

“Both.” Henrik sighed. 

“Marv, watch this!” Jackie wanted to show off and leaped across a branch, falling a few feet and landing on another. He then casually bounced back off the branch, caught himself, and swung his body around. His gloves were a saving grace from splinters. He then sat on the branch. For the final bit, he leaned back and was now hanging upside down, grinning big and bright at Marvin. “Was that cool?” 

“That was very cool.” Marvin agreed with a chuckle. “You’re my favorite monkey.” He stepped closer and kissed Jackie’s cheek. Jackie’s face went red, and a little giggle came out, but that turned into a yelp as he lost his grip on the tree and fell to the ground. 

"I told you to be careful!” Henrik groaned.

“Smooth, Jackie, smooth.” Chase laughed.

x~x~x

“Maybe we could use a type of adhesive,” Mad suggested, pointing to the drawing Jackie showed him. The two were leaning over the kitchen table together. Mare sat in one of the chairs and was playing on his phone. “It would be different than the kind that’s on your mask, but it would be an extra layer of security to make sure the belt doesn’t fall off.” 

“Velcro’s a thing.” Mare chuckled. 

“That’s also an option.” Mad started writing down some notes. “I’m assuming you’re going to use several pairs of pants, so maybe using velcro would be best to make transferring the items easier.” 

“Maybe we could use like velcro hook stuff?” Jackie started sketching out what he was trying to explain. “They go through the belt loops, so if the buckle gives, there’s like seven or however many loops pants have of velcro-hook stuff to hold it up.” 

“I could probably make a material that has velcro qualities but is stronger,” Mad hummed in thought.

“That would be so cool!” 

“Afternoon, you three, how are we doing?” Marvin asked, standing next to Jackie and peeking at the collection of sketches. “Making some superhero stuff for Jackie?” 

“They want to ‘give him an update’.” Mare used his fingers to add the quotes. 

“That’s adorable.” Marvin was about to kiss Jackie's cheek, but Jackie caught on this time and, determined to not be a flustered mess, decided the best course of action was to turn his head and pull Marvin into a full kiss. Marvin wrapped his arms around Jackie’s neck and eagerly returned the kiss. 

“Hey!” Mad protested when Mare placed a hand over his eyes. 

[kinnbig]

this is going to sound like a dumb question, but hi! i happened to stumble over your coloring tutorial from back in february, and i was wondering how did you managed the linear transition to show the difference between the of scene and the one you edited. thank you so much for your time.

✨ gif transitions using clipping masks and keyframes ✨

hi!! it’s not a dumb question at all, thank you for asking! I think this is the gif you mean, from my gif colouring tutorial. to do the transition I used clipping masks and keyframes - full explanation beneath the cut!

(I apologise in advance if any of this is confusing - to be honest I worked this out by just fucking around and guessing on photoshop, so it took me a little while to reverse-engineer my steps to work out what I did lol - but I hope it makes sense!)

so the first step is to make your gifs. you need two - one coloured and one uncoloured, saved separately. make sure that they are both the exact same number of frames, and that they're both running at the same frame-rate.

load both gifs into photoshop and put them in timeline mode. then copy the uncoloured gif and paste it onto the same timeline as your coloured gif, with the uncoloured gif on top. like this:

next, add a layer that is just a white rectangle of the same size and shape as your gif. my rectangle tool is hidden in a secret pop up menu attached to my line tool, for some reason:

put this rectangle layer between the coloured and uncoloured gif layers, and then clip the uncoloured gif layer to this rectangle by right-clicking on the uncoloured gif in the layers panel and selecting 'create clipping mask'. this will automatically clip the gif to the rectangle layer beneath it.

now your layers panel should look like this:

at this point I personally hide the visibility of my uncoloured gif layer, just to make it easier to see what I'm doing. like this:

which should mean your gif just looks like a white rectangle. this seems wrong but it's not!!

and now we need to fuck around with keyframes. basically what we're doing is telling the rectangle to move out of the way while the gif is running.

to start using keyframes, click the little arrow on the left hand side of your rectangle layer in the timeline panel -

which should bring up this drop-down menu.

now, with the red timeline bar set to the very beginning of the gif, click on the little stopwatch button next to 'Position' and also 'Vector mask position'. it should put some little diamonds on the timeline, like this:

next, take your white rectangle layer and move it just off the right edge of the gif canvas, like this:

(you can't see it because it's not in the canvas, but photoshop still knows it's there!)

then move your timeline bar to about 4/5 of the way through your gif, and click on the stopwatch icons next to 'position' and 'vector mask position' again. like this:

now, if you slide your timeline bar back and forward between those two points you marked, you should see the white box moving across the gif - from its first position covering the gif, to its second position just off the canvas.

now you can make your uncoloured gif visible again - and it should look like a transition between an uncoloured and a coloured gif when you move the timeline bar around.

save as normal!!

you might want to mess around a bit with where you put those second keyframe markers depending on how long you want the completed coloured gif visible before the gif replays - just play with it and see what works for you.

sometimes I find using keyframes makes the frame-rate a bit weird when you save the gif - if that happens just save as usual and open the saved gif to fix the frame-rate afterwards.

I hope this was helpful!! lmk if you have any more questions :D

[aesfocus]

aes' video game gif making tutorial 2024 Part 2

Welcome back to Part 2!

[Here is Part 1.]

My PSD tag is [here], my gif making action is [here].

8. Set timeline to what you want.

Five seconds of scenery doesn't really need this, but talking or action, does. Make sure timeline is open(window -> timeline) and move the bars in by click and dragging them until you get the start and end of your 'gif'.

Now, I am going to make a fast and dirty blended gif with two scenes. This is to cause my action to fail, and show you how to fix it.

But this will serve as a fast tutorial for blending gifs too.

For me, each timeline needs to be about 2 seconds long because that's how long the shortest scene is and you want them to match up.

Anything more than about 5 seconds will require clever removal of frames, coloring, or cropping to fit in tumblr's size constraints, just be aware.

8.1 Blending gifs together

Blending two gifs together is easy enough. I've opened two files, I've shortened the timelines and now I will drag this smart layer into your other file. (make sure window -> layer is open so you can see this.)

Once dragged over you'll notice that the timeline looks like this now;

Which is great for many effects, but we are going for blended, so back over to the Layers window and we are going to drag Layer 2 up and out of this Video Group.

So it looks like this, but your timeline is messed up now

Grab the layer that's behind a bit, in this case the Timeline Layer 2 and drag it till it starts at the same time as timeline Layer 1.

Like so.

Sometimes you do need to make sure your gifs line up correctly on the screen, when doing this, so go up into the main window and move Layer 2 if needed.

This is it being nice and squared up.

Now make a new layer(at the bottom of the layer window or just ctrl+shift+n) and drag both the timeline and the smart layers until it looks like this ^^^.

Go to Layer 3, and with a large soft brush smear some color on it, do not worry about perfection. Once you have that Right Click on Layer 2(in layers not timeline) and select create create clipping mask.

You'll get something like this.

I will move layer 2 around a bit, and paint/erase on Layer 3 until I get a shape I like.

Like this;

9. Actions to sharpen and make your gif.

Actions are easy, you simply Load an action and then let it do the work for you by pressing play when you've selected the action. Like so.

The first one we are going to use is a Smart Sharpen action, always do this after cropping.

Select the layer you want to sharpen and press play and it will do the rest for you. You can find lots of other sharpening actions for free on various resource blogs across tumblr, but honestly just fiddling and then saving the sharpening you like best is great!

The second Action we are gonna use is my beefy gif action! But hang on.

If your gif is 5 seconds long use it as is(pressing play at the top 'set document...', it will remove half your frames, if it's shorter, like my 2 second gif, you are going to start a single line down to 'flatten frames into clips' and skip the timeline settings so you have more frames in your gif. Like this;

Press play. Wait as it does all the work for you.

Oh no! It failed, press Stop.

And now delete EVERYTHING but 1 single frame in the timeline. Doesn't matter which ones you delete(I just deleted frame 1).

Without selecting anything else, press play on the action again and wait for it to finish.

Now you do need to do some clean up!

Delete these misc. extra frames.

10. Set gif speed.

Make sure you still have all your frames selected and then right click on any of them!

Go to other and type in what you want.

For 5 second gifs that are scenery I do around .12 seconds, and for talking about .08, for a short gif with full frames, like the one I am making, I will set it to .05 to start and then hit ctrl+alt+shift+s to bring up the gif save menu, and play it, but it looked too fast so I set it to .07.

If you want to get into the weeds you can math out how fast the gif needs to be to match your footage.

11. Trim your gif as needed

Now for me, this looks kinda bad, these last few frames, Lae'zel's face is out of frame. So I am gonna delete them off my gif and then make sure I re-select everything in the timeline window. Once I've done this I will then go ahead and select the very top layer over in the layer window. Time for the fun bit.

12. COLORING

This is all up to personal choice of course! But I highly suggest, especially for older games you do some coloring.

You can of course use PSDs, which I will be providing a free one each day all this month(oct 2024).

However the best thing is to learn how to use various adjustment layers for yourself.

I used every single thing in photoshop at least once to learn what it did many years ago, camera raw has been the newest learning curve for me(being able to import lightroom effects with it, neat!).

Fumbling around is a great way to learn, otherwise there are tons of coloring tutorials, again the various resource blogs have a ton to get you to a baseline.

For this I am going to do a slight vibrance/saturation layer, a gradient map layer reduced down to 20% and then a color balance layer.

If for some reason your coloring isn't showing up across the timeline like so;

You can just go and unify the layers, click all three.

Now, I didn't really like how Lae'zel was looking so I fiddled around with just painting on some colors until I liked the look of it. (Here is the PSD so you can see everything I did).

So from beginning to end, the first uncolored gif looks bland and washed out on tumblr, while the second is more vibrant and better for my personal taste. Some folks love muted gifs, go wild.

Now it's time to save.

13. Saving.

How you save, what format, matters.

But it is a preference thing, for me personally I use pattern for Skyrim scenery and diffusion for most everything else. The reason being Pattern can create banding lines across the face, however pattern has a more aggressive saving method so the file size is smaller.

Ctrl+alt+shift+S will bring up the save menu.

Turn Metadata off, if you are using a legit copy, as it'll have your email address and such in it.

So some things to note. Always pick optimized up top, you can save presets if you want.

To the right of that, try to generally use adaptive algorithm if you can, it tends to not wash out your colors as much. Turn Transparency on but no dither there.

Diffusion vs. Pattern. Honestly everyone is different, I feel a bit strange in that I switch it up constantly as most folks have a preferance.

But things to note about pattern! It makes gradients look lovely. So say the aurora in Skyrim or The Long Dark, or a cloudy sky in RDR or BG3. However on faces or more densely compact changes of color, it doesn't do so well.

Diffusion does have some tricks up its sleeves however for dropping a gif in size! My gif (8.065 MB);

My gif with lossy at 3. (7.825 mb)

Keep your gifs under 10mb. That means 9.99 is fine, 10mb is not, tumblr uses a different compression for everything above 10mb and its not great. So if you need to use lossy 5, do it. If you need to cut 7 frames off the top, do it. If you need to add contrast or remove a color, do it.

Make sure it's looping forever and save!

Now then;

There is more to explore, including watermarks, how to properly tag these days or more aggressive lessons in how to color a gif. But tumblr is already screaming at me for too large of a tutorial!

This month I will be doing psds everyday, for free, hopefully as a good start off point for folks. They will be [here], again my gif making action is [here].