#this rendition of shine bright like a diamond.........

[kindestegg]

Brazilians are doing unspeakable things to gringo music that you wouldn't even dream about

[hide-in-imagination]

Paris & a Promise | Simbar Oneshot

The studio was pristine and cozy, with bright colors on the walls, white leather chairs, one in front of the other, and a big screen between them on the far wall so that the people in the audience, and of course, the host and guest occupying the two chairs, could see pictures and videos of the topic that was being discussed.

Behind the three cameras pointing at the studio (one on the guest, one on the host, and one holding a general view of everything), the floor manager, a woman in her thirties with a headset to hear and communicate the director’s orders, made a signal to the host, a charismatic man on his forties with black hair, wearing a suit and tie. In the guest chair in front of him, the blonde young woman, wearing a tasteful long-sleeve blouse and a mini skirt, listened to the countdown overhead until the ‘On Air’ sign lighted up anew, followed by a short rendition of the show’s theme song, and applause from the audience on their seats.

“Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen! We are here live with Ámbar Smith,” the host resumed the show with a big smile, facing the camera and then focusing on his guest. “Ámbar, once again, thank you so much for coming to our show. I hope you’re having as good a time as we are, but if not, do not worry, your torment is almost over now.”

Ámbar laughed along with the audience.

“Noo, don’t say that, of course I’m having a good time, I’m always happy to be here.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. Now,” the host leaned forward, “I’m sorry for deviating from your achievements but, we simply can not let you leave without talking about—” he pointed at her with his hand, “that huge rock weighing on your finger right now.” The audience started screaming. “Poor thing, she can’t even move her hand— Look how she keeps it on the armrest! Unbelievable!”

The audience whooped and laughed while Ámbar giggled, her right hand coming up to try and hide her grin and blushing cheeks.

“Ámbar, my sincerest congratulations on your engagement,” the host said now in earnest as the audience quieted down.

“Thank you so much.” The audience cheered again, stealing another giddy smile from her.

“Now, I know everyone already knows this, but in case anyone’s been living under a rock these last few years, you’ve been dating the Roller Band’s guitarist and vocalist Simón Álvarez for quite a few years now.” A picture of the couple posing together at a red carpet appeared on the big screen of the studio.

“Six years, yeah,” Ámbar said with a smile.  

“Six whole years, and he finally proposed two weeks ago, as we can see in this picture you two posted on Instagram, showing off the ring.”

A screenshot of their Instagram post showed on the screen. The photo depicted their hands together, Ámbar’s hand over Simón’s turned-up palm, the thick diamond ring front and center, shining on her finger, while the background showed an orange and red sky, with the Eiffel Tower blurry but visible in the distance. 

The audience cheered and a warm smile curled Ámbar’s lips at the photo.

The host looked at her again. “Tell me, Ámbar, did you see it coming? Did you know he was going to do it or did it take you by surprise?”

Ámbar made a complicated face. “Um, I kind of saw it coming, but no, not really,” she broke off with a laugh.

The host looked at her with intrigue. “What do you mean? Like, you did and then you didn’t? What’s the story?”

“Well. We were in Europe because the Roller Band was touring there, and they had stops in different cities, and Simón was like ‘You should come with me, you could visit Paris’ blah blah blah, so I joined them. He knows that Paris is my favorite city in the world, I’ve always loved it— In fact, I spent some months there when I was in university, as part of an exchange program for six months, and I just have very good memories of the city in general. So anyway, that got me thinking, you know… We’re going to be in Paris…” She started hinting. “He invited me to join… We’ve been dating for 6 years… So, on that front, I did have my suspicions, but I just— The timing didn’t make sense to me,” she said. “That was the problem, that’s what threw me off.” 

“How so?”

“Because we were only staying in Paris for one day,” she emphasized. “The guys were scheduled to arrive in the morning at the hotel, then they had their soundcheck in the afternoon, and then their concert, and that same night we had to go to Italy because they had their concert there the next day. So I was like… Yeah, no. No way.” She laughed. “Like, it was a lot in less than 24 hours. How could he even find the time for it? It’s insane.”

“He totally got you then.”

“He did. It took me completely by surprise, it was so sweet.”  

“It was like in some sort of balcony, right?” The host checked. “I mean, I remember from the photos you two posted— Those ones.”

New photos appeared on the screen. It was two selfies of the two of them standing close together on a black iron balcony with a view of the sunset, the city of Paris, and the Eiffel Tower. They were taken by Simón, one of his arms around Ámbar while the other extended beyond the frame, holding the phone. In one of them, they were both grinning brightly at the camera, Ámbar showing off the ring, her eyes glistening with emotion. The second was very similar to the first, probably taken seconds apart from each other, except in that one Simón wasn’t looking at the camera but kissing Ámbar’s cheek with his eyes closed. Ámbar was still grinning and showing off the ring like in the first picture, but she had her eyes closed in that one too, basking in the love. 

“Yeah, that’s the balcony of the hotel room we were staying at,” Ámbar answered, pointing at the screen. “Simón specifically looked for one that had a view of the Eiffel Tower for us.”

“He had it all planned out,” the host said, impressed.

“Everything,” Ámbar confirmed. “From the very first second. Cause— Look. This is how it all went down.” She leaned forward in her seat, entering story-telling mode, and the host leaned forward as well, giving her all of his attention. “We arrived at around 11 am in Spain. The first thing we did was sleep because we were all dead on our feet, and then around two, Simón asked me if I wanted to go out to eat, and I was like ‘Yeah, sure’, so we went to this restaurant I recommended to him, I knew it from my many trips to Paris, and we just, you know, had our meal, talked, walked around the city for a little bit after— Very normal stuff. Then, Simón had to go to his soundcheck, so he left, and I just kept walking around ‘cause, you know, I was like ‘I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back, better make the best of it now.’”

“Of course.”

“And that was all I was planning to do for the rest of the day really, but then, like an hour or so later, I get a call from Simón like ‘Hey, I’m done with the soundcheck, I’m going back to the hotel now, let’s meet up there’, and I was like… Why didn’t he just stay in the arena?” She said, bemused. “His concert was like in two hours, it would’ve made more sense. But anyway. I got back to the hotel, and I asked him how the soundcheck went, and he was like ‘Well, very well, everything good’— Which was a complete and total lie, by the way,” she pointed out, looking at the audience.

“What do you mean ‘lie’?” The host asked with surprise.

“He never went to the soundcheck,” Ámbar said. “I only found out about it later. The guys went to the soundcheck by themselves, Simón never joined them.”

“Then what was he doing?”

“I’m getting there,” she said. “So, we met at the hotel, and Simón was like ‘Hey, so, I only have like an hour and a half before I need to leave but, what do say if we order room service and eat a little something before I leave?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, that sounds nice.’ So we sat at a little table there on the balcony, and we were just, you know, having like a regular dinner, when suddenly he says: ‘My love. I didn’t want to tell you before, but I have a surprise for you.’ And I was like.” Ámbar made a face of curiosity. “‘What?’ And the very instant— I have this so ingrained in my mind— the very instant the sun started setting, he got down on one knee.”

“Oh my god.” The audience cheered and clapped, joining the host’s excitement. “That’s crazy! So, he had it all timed down to the second.”

“He did! He totally did. I couldn’t believe it. And then he, you know, started saying all these beautifulthings, and once the shock wore off, I just started crying,” she laughed a little bit. “And just, you know, I said yes, obviously.”

The audience screamed. Ámbar laughed, radiantly happy, the camera capturing the emotion in her eyes. “Then we hugged and it was very sweet. I really couldn’t have imagined it a better way; it was perfect.”

“And then you two went to celebrate, right? We’ve got some pictures of you on a rooftop.”

“Yeah! That was the craziest part! We had just gotten engaged and Simón was like ‘I’ve got another surprise for you’ and he led me to the hotel’s rooftop, and the whole time I’m thinking, ‘What now?!’ Like, what else had this guy planned? Fireworks? I genuinely couldn’t put it past him by this point. And then we got to the rooftop, and my whole family was there.” The audience went aww. “With our closest friends too; it was like fifteen people up there. And I was like— ‘What are you all doing here?!’” The audience laughed. “‘When did you get here?!’ It was insane!”

“Simón got them all there without you knowing?” The host expressed with awe.  

“No one told me anything! I genuinely don’t know how they managed to keep it from me,” Ámbar said with disbelief. “And the rooftop was decorated with balloons, flowers, there was food— Well, you’ve got the photos there.” She pointed to the screen where the pictures from her Instagram were displaying. “So, like, it was amazing. It was truly amazing, and so beautiful. And our friends started hugging us and giving us their congratulations, and… What got to me the most was that, well, my mom couldn’t go,” she started explaining. “I don’t speak about her a lot publicly but, basically, she’s got a certain degree of blindness, so it’s complicated for her to move around on her own, she has to be accompanied— And honestly, good for her that she didn’t go, I would’ve felt terrible if she had made that huge trip just for me. But she did send me a video congratulating me. I watched it on a tablet. And I just… Well, if I had already cried, that was the moment I finished ruining my makeup.” The audience laughed with her. “But it was sweet. It was all very sweet and moving and just amazing. I had a very good time there with my friends and family until we had to leave.” 

“Sounds wonderful.” The host had a sweet smile on his face. “I bet it was a very treasured moment for you two, for your family, your friends—I have a question though,” he said, more serious now, “that I imagine all of us are wondering as well— What about the concert?”

Ámbar nodded like she knew exactly what he meant. “Yeah, you see, that’s the funniest part! Cause like— Just imagine: Simón organized this whole thing— When he was supposed to be at the soundcheck, by the way; he never did that, he was on the rooftop with everyone else getting everything ready��� and in the end, he just like, stayed for half an hour and then he left.” The audience laughed. “Because he had his concert! You know?” She said over the noise. “So like. It was crazy. It was really crazy, he totally rushed to the arena. He must’ve put on his outfit and the microphone in record time, the poor thing. But he always tells me that it was worth it. So.” Ámbar shrugged with a little smile.

The audience went aww again.

A mischievous glint appeared in the host’s eyes. “Yeah, he looked very excited the night of the concert. There was even this video that went viral— You saw it, right?”

“I’ve seen many,” she deadpanned, nodding her head.

“Well, here we’ve got the one that made the most headlines on the internet; a little video posted by a fan.” A video of Simón taking the stage started playing on the studio’s big screen on mute. It was a vertical video, filmed from up close, maybe from the fifth row, or maybe using a lot of zoom. “This is the same night you were telling us about, when the Roller Band was playing at the arena.”

The volume went up and the screams of the crowd could be heard as Simón walked up to the front of the stage where a microphone stand was waiting. He had his guitar hanging from his shoulder, ready to play. For everyone watching at home, the video took the whole screen of the TV, replacing the image of the studio. 

“Paris, how are you doing tonight?!”

The crowd went wild in response to Simón.

Simón laughed a little and started talking again, so the crowd went quiet to be able to hear him. “You know, I’m the exact same way as you, guys, like, exactly. Because this next song,” he started leisurely playing the guitar as he talked, not a melody but just a simple, soft up and down of his hand on the strings, “is one I wrote about a very special someone to me, many years ago now. And since then, I’ve had the fortune, the pleasure, the utter privilege of having this gorgeous, amazing woman by my side. And this night is very special, Paris, because… This very, very night…” He started laughing and had to take a step back, unable to contain his joy. The crowd was screaming. Simón walked up to the microphone again and yelled out ecstatically.

“SHE SAID ‘YES’!!!!”

Simón began strumming the guitar as the rest of the band joined in, playing together the intro of ‘Tiempo de Amor.’

The studio came back on screen and the video continued rolling in a lower volume as Simón started singing the song, eventually going mute, and then pausing altogether. The audience in the studio was screaming excitedly.

“You do realize that because of this 15 thousand people knew about it before many of our relatives and acquaintances, right?” Ámbar told the host, making everyone laugh again.

“I can just picture them seeing this on Twitter or Tiktok and calling you up like ‘WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED?’” The host acted out.

“It happened with more than one person,” Ámbar declared. The audience laughed.

“Alright but, putting all of that aside, the important thing is that you two had this magical moment and now you’re going to take this next step together,” the host moved the narrative along. “Tell me, have you set a date yet for the ceremony?”

“We don’t have an exact date yet, but the idea is to have a Spring wedding next year.”  

“Love that. So, that means you’ve got plenty of time to plan for the event then. I imagine you’ll need it. Are you planning for a big party?”  

“We’ll see,” Ámbar replied. “We’re still deciding whether we wanna do this biiig, over the top wedding or just a small ceremony with our closest friends and family. But, whatever we end up choosing, I think the most important thing is just, our promise to always be together. So,” a serene smile graced her lips, “the rest is just a complement to that and we’ll figure it out as we go.”

“That’s beautiful,” the host said. “Seriously, I’m so happy for you two, congratulations— Give it up for Ámbar Smith, ladies and gentlemen!”

The audience went wild.

“Thank you so much for being here with us today, Ámbar,” the host told her, starting to wrap up.

“Thank you for having me, it was lovely,” she replied with a smile.

The host turned to face the camera and the shot focused on him. “And to everyone watching us at home, you’ll want to stick around because our next guest is an artist who’s been trending all over social media, not only in Spain but in all parts of the world. We’ll be right back!”

…

..

.

. * ⋆ . · 　.╰──────༺♡༻──────╯. * * . 　 *

Okay so, originally, I had this idea in the context of my Actress!Ámbar x Musician!Simón AU. It was going to be, like, a second chapter where I mixed different interviews, some of Simón, some of Ámbar, as a way to tell how their relationship developed after the ending of chapter one. But then I thought—Why limit it to just that one context? I really loved the idea I came up with for this proposal, so I wanted it to fit as many different worlds as possible, especially canon for those who aren’t such big fans of AUs, so— Here it is! I really hope you liked it. It’s very different from everything I’ve written before in terms of format, but that’s precisely why it was so much fun to write. What would you even call this type of POV? Second Person or something? Sdfkjn. I don’t know, I don’t remember much of my high school lessons; it’s been too many years.

And speaking of years. It's been 6 years now since the show ended and this proposal took place 6 years into their relationship, so I think it would be sweet to imagine that Simón and Ámbar are engaged right now as we speak and that they’ll be getting married next year in 2025 <3

Our babies have grown up, and so have we.

See you all next time. – C

[nicolanoodles]

Spencer goes to Paris!

Not really. He doesn’t have a passport and is banned from nearly every casino in Europe…

( I would highly recommend giving Daniela Andrade’s rendition of La Vie En Rose a listen so as to receive full frontal cringe whilst reading this - jokes aside though, she has the voice of an angel)

When the Moon Hits the Sky Like a Big Pizza Pie - That’s a Roomba

Levi’s proposal sucks.

2320 words of pure cringey fluff. Bon appetite.

“So. What do you think?”

Levi held out the ring box for Farlan’s inspection.

“I think I need another minute to process that my best friend is gonna get married”

“Tch, I haven’t proposed yet dumbass”. He took another swig of beer as he fidgeted on his seat, “Do you think she’ll like it?”.

Farlan lifted up the ring to the light, the gold band reflecting back at him. On top, a deep blue sapphire surrounded by two white diamonds. “I think she’d say yes even if you proposed with a ring pop but for sure man, she’s gonna love it”.

Levi let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and took the ring back from his friend. After weeks of scouring online and surreptitiously checking out the local jewellers, he’d found the ring in the window of an antiques shop and instantly thought how the bright gold band and sparkling gems matched Petra’s personality perfectly. He’d walked straight in and purchased it.

Farlan angled his beer bottle towards his friend, “Of course, the important bit is the proposal itself, you gotta make an impression to seal the deal”.

Levi resisted the urge to audibly gulp. This was the part he was dreading, “Yeah. That’s why I called on you, how the fuck am I supposed to do it without seeming constipated?”

“You could have a laxative the night before”.

“Har har shithead”. Levi placed the ring back in the black velvet box, “Seriously, I want it to be special for her, she loves all that romantic crap”. He leant back into the sofa, running his hands over his face.

The blonde shrugged, “You could take her away somewhere romantic”.

Levi threw his hands up, “Yeah but the weather’s so shit right now, even I know why people don’t go on romantic getaways in freaking November, it’s fucking miserable”.

Farlan’s lips pulled into a conspiratorial smile, “That’s why you choose your destination carefully”.

Levi frowned, trying to follow his friend’s train of thought and getting lost anyway.

Farlan huffed, “Think about it, if you whisk her away to the right place it'll do the romance part for you and you won’t need to worry about planning a big ole romantic gesture that, no offence, you’d probably screw up”

Levi looked blankly at his friend who was slowly rotating his hands, evidently trying to help him reach some sort of conclusion.

Farlan urged him on, “So”.

“…sooo?”

“Take her to Paris dumbass!”

Huh. Paris.

“You’re always complaining how much you need a holiday anyway”. It was now Farlan’s turn to slump back into the sofa, clearly exhausted after dealing with his friend’s obliviousness.

Right. Paris. Come to think of it, Petra had said it was on her bucket list. And her birthday wasn’t that far away. If he booked everything now he might get a good deal. They could go to cafe’s, one of those fancy ass cake shops - what were they called - patisseries? A plan started to formulate in his mind.

He opened his laptop and brought up Google.

________________________

“Oh my god Levi are you serious?!”

Petra was practically bouncing up and down in excitement as Levi slid the plane tickets across the breakfast table. “One long, romantic weekend in Paris”, he couldn’t help the smug grin emerging on his face as she stared at him starry eyed, “Just in time for your birthday”.

Petra leapt up and threw her arms round his neck, crashing her lips against his. As she broke away a broad smile lit up her face, amber eyes shining, “You are officially the best boyfriend ever”.

Soon to be fiancé he thought with a sly smile. He hugged her tighter. Nigel examined the couple from his spot on the windowsill. They shared a covert look over Petra’s shoulder. ‘That’s it shithead, keep it between us’ Levi silently willed the cat. Nigel blinked slowly then settled back to his morning nap.

As Petra began rattling off all the sights they could see and all the activities they could do in (by her own quotation) the most romantic city in the world, his mind conjured up images of her wrapped up in her favourite woolly scarf, hands warmed by a paper cup of coffee as she took in the Parisian streets with awe. He could picture the soft morning light reflected in her eyes and glinting off her copper hair as she pulled him into cafes or museums or wherever else piqued her natural curiosity. Ok, maybe he was getting the bug for it too.

“Oh my gosh I have to tell Nifa!” Petra darted out of the kitchen to find her phone.

The sounds of her fervidly relaying the news of their upcoming trip to her best friend floated out of the living room.

He finished his tea and tidied away the breakfast bits with a subtle spring in his step.

________________________

(5th December)

The suitcase lay open on the bed as Levi carefully folded a pair of trousers. Nigel regarded him with yellow eyes, the tip of his tail flicking as Levi rearranged his clothes once more. They scrutinised each other for a moment, the feline’s eyes unblinking. Was it possible for a cat to know exactly what he was planning? Nigel stretched and yawned then jumped down to rub up against the leg of his favourite human, letting out a rumbling purr.

Petra flicked through the closet, hangers clicking as she debated which dress to take. “Hmm, which one do you think I should bring?”, she enquired, holding up two garments. One sleek black number and the other a deep blue velvet off-the-shoulder dress.

Levi thought of the ring currently stashed in his shaving kit. “The blue one”.

Petra nodded and placed the black dress back on the rail and moved on to picking out some shoes to complete the ensemble.

In less than 24 hours they were going to be landing at Charles de Gaulle airport. Nerves and excitement churned in the pit of Levi’s stomach. He had it all planned out. They’d arrive in Paris around mid morning, unpack then go explore the city, take in some sights. Then they’d go out for a romantic ass meal, take the scenic route back to the hotel room where they would be greeted by a bottle of champagne and a bed covered in rose petals.

He could picture her face, wide eyed as he popped the question. She’d say yes, they’d kiss, then have hot, newly engaged sex for the rest of the night (after carefully clearing up the rose petals and putting them in a suitable container).

He made a mental note to pack a lint roller.

Levi took a moment to watch as she packed. Her perpetually gentle demeanour now gilded with excitement. The corners of her mouth turned up as she rummaged through her make up bag. God what he wouldn’t do to keep that smile on her face forever.

He approached he from behind and earned a surprised squeak from her as he wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face into her neck. He drew another cute giggle as he pressed a quick kiss to that spot just below her ear that drove her crazy before pulling away and scurrying to the kitchen, trying to mentally calculate what size tupperware he would need to contain a bed’s worth of petals…

***

A few hours later, Levi had hauled their bags into the back of the taxi, closing the door with a determinate click. This was it. His heartbeat quickened as he took a seat next to Petra and the car moved off.

Her head resting on his shoulder, arm linked through his. He watched her dreamily smile out the window as the world rushed by.

She sat up for a second, her face perking up in surprise.

“Oh look it’s snowing”

________________________

“We regret to announce that flight 845 bound for Paris, France has been cancelled due to worsening weather”.

A low groan echoed through the terminal, disappointment leaking out of every passenger.

Levi stared aghast at the departure board as the word ‘DELAYED’ turned to a definitive, red ‘CANCELLED’. He felt his whole body slump as despondent passengers began their gloomy exit towards the taxi ranks around him. Disbelief engulfed his face as the finality of the word hung over their heads.

Levi threw his hands up in frustration, “Great. Fucking great”. A string of curses came forth as he decried the unfairness of it all. Goddammit, damn weather. Seven hours. Seven wholeass fucking hours stuck in this stupid airport surrounded by stupid people half of whom he doubted had even brushed their teeth that morning -

Levi felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over to Petra and his tirade was instantly halted. Her eyes downcast and mouth set in a thin line. If her normal semblance was that of a sunny summer morning then now she was a cloudy day.

“Pet, shit I’m sorry-“

“Let’s just go home…” She wheeled the suitcase towards the exit, dejection in every step.

He followed her, defeated.

________________________

The taxi journey home was filled with resounding silence, both too weary to unpack the emotions of the last few hours. Petra stared out the window listlessly as Levi silently stewed in his own anxiety. He tipped the driver as she fiddled with the front door keys. She left the suitcase in the hall. He didn’t chide her.

Levi watched as Petra trudged through the apartment and closed the bedroom door behind her. Dammit. Damn snow. Damn airline. He ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a long, slow exhale. The weeks of planning, the nervous build up, keeping it all a secret from the one person he’d never kept a secret from ever. Gone in the seconds it took those 9 letters to light up on an LED screen. What the fuck was he gonna do? Levi mentally berated himself. Calm down Levi. It wasn’t the end of the world. He could always rebook.

But she’d looked so disappointed. All her excitement and anticipation snatched away because of some freak snow - and all on her damned birthday.

No. Levi Ackerman didn’t give up without a fight. Lying down in defeat was not an option. Petra was the love of his goddamn life and he’d be damned if some shitty weather and and a cancelled flight was gonna ruin this for her. If he couldn’t take her to Paris, he’d bring it to her.

He delved into the suitcase and found the ring stashed in his shaving kit.

He got to work.

_______________________

Petra flopped onto the bed, still clothed as the exhaustion of the last 24 hours washed over her. She understood Levi was as disappointed as she was and she wanted nothing more than to play the dutiful partner and soothe his frustrations, but right now she couldn’t shake the tiredness from her bones.

She let out a heavy sigh and had just closed her eyes when she heard music coming from the other room. A soft guitar melody floated from under the door..

She sat up. What was Levi doing? He seemed as exhausted as she was. Besides it was like four o clock in the morning, why was he playing music now? She moved lethargically towards the bedroom door and slowly opened it.

Hold me close and hold me fast

The magic spell you cast

What greeted her as she stepped out into the living room made any tiredness in her system quickly dissipate. Lights dimmed and a dozen tea lights flickering, a photostock picture of the Eiffel Tower greeted her on the tv screen. She gawked as Spencer, now sporting one of Nigel’s bow ties, wheeled into the room with a portable Bluetooth speaker balanced precariously on top.

This is la vie en rose

Levi stood at the other end of the room, the hallway light illuminating his gentle gaze as he bent down on one knee.

When you kiss me, Heaven sighs

And though I close my eyes

I see la vie en rose

She could only stare as he reached into his pocket and brought out the black velvet box.

When you press me to your heart

I'm in a world apart

A world where roses bloom

“Petra, you know I’m really shit at all this romantic crap”

And when you speak

Angels sing from above

“And I really did want this to be perfect for you”. Sadness briefly reflected in his eyes as the candles flickered on the coffee table.

Every day words

Seem to turn into love songs

“I’m sorry I couldn’t do this all in fucking Paris”, he opened the box to reveal the ring - blue sapphire glittering in the candlelight. “But Pet, I love you so fucking much”.

Give your heart and soul to me

Petra’s vision began to blur as tears welled in her eyes taking in the sight of her lover, her partner, her other half. The irritation and disappointment expressed by her usually stoic partner all now making sense as she realised just what he had planned to do. For her. She took in their living room once more and her heart swelled. No. It wasn’t Paris.

And life will always be

It was perfect.

La vie en rose

Before he could even finish asking the question, Levi found himself nearly bowled over by his girlfriend- no fiancé - as she swept across the room, her lips crashing against his. A breathless “yes” left her lips and he slid the ring onto her finger.

They held onto each other, swaying to the music as Spencer trundled around their feet. Nigel surveyed them from the windowsill, a bright full moon hanging in the sky behind. Snow still falling in large flakes outside, the lovers kissed and kissed.

Levi casually noted that his cheeks were getting sore from smiling so much.

Ah well.

Ce la vie.

FIN

*Sobs into wine glass* I just want my babies to be happy ok! DJ Roomba saved the day.

No joke though this was my friend’s aisle song and if anyone there says they didn’t cry they’re a GODDAMN LIAR.

As for Spencer’s banishment from Europe’s casinos, word on the street is he was found to be fraudulently impersonating a card shuffling machine.

Not gonna lie, not 100% happy with this. Work has been kicking my butt though (x___x) might try rewriting/editing it at a later date but I wanted to make something in time for Petra’s birthday ヽ(*・ω・)ﾉ

[stilloutofmyvulcanmind]

Ringing in the New Year

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader

Characters: Jason Todd, Reader

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: Brief reference to past stalking

Summary: New Year’s Eve, and you’re out for a walk with Jason. It turns out to be a night of surprises.

A/N: I’ve fallen in love with writing Jason and now I can’t stop. The poem he recites is Sonnet 26 by Shakespeare.

The park seemed magical, lights bathing the path in a soft glow that caught the gently falling snowflakes, like something off a postcard or out of a fairytale. Few people were around in the late night, some heading to parties, others home, or just out for a walk with a person they loved. 

Jason's hand was in yours, gloved fingers entwined with your own as you walked, breaths puffing out in the cold air. 

"This is nice," you said on a contented sigh, breaking the silence that had fallen between you. 

"Yeah. Thanks for indulging me."

"Anything for you, Jaybird." You caught his eye roll and laughed. "Kinda surprised you wanted to come out though."

"Can't a guy just want to take a stroll with his angel?" 

"Course. But you never 'just want', not this out of the blue. You've got something up your sleeve."

The only answer you got was a cheeky grin before Jason was pointing at a vendor a little up ahead. "Let's get some food. I'm starved."

A few minutes later and you were both walking away from the stall with a giant hotdog each. 

"I'd take this over an overpriced dish any day," you groaned around a large bite. Jason laughed, watching as you licked a bit of ketchup off the corner of your mouth. "What?" 

"Nothing. Just thinking you look beautiful like that."

"With my face full of food?" 

"Relaxed. Content. Uninhibited."

Blushing, you smiled up at him. "Yeah, well, it's the company. Letting go of inhibitions with you is easy. Easiest thing in the world."

Jason returned the smile, wrapping his free arm around you as you walked and ate. It was perfect, though it was bordering on a cheesy level of romantic. There weren't many people who knew what a big softie Jason truly was, but you'd always known. Even when you were kids, Jason had been soft, and though he'd tried to pretend otherwise after his return from the dead, you hadn't been so easily swayed. You knew him better than anyone, enough to see past the facade that kept everyone at arm's length. 

It had been heartbreaking, seeing him like that, knowing he was hurting but unable to get close enough to help. He'd tried to keep you away, told you he wasn't the best friend that you'd lost, yelled to leave when you kept showing up at his safe houses. 

Like something out of a movie, it had taken a near tragedy for you to connect again. 

A guy who couldn't take ‘no’ for an answer. He'd followed you home from work, broke into your flat. 

One second he was pinning you to the wall, the next he was across the room, Red Hood towering over him. 

He didn't get back up. 

It was a catalyst, hurtling the two of you back together, rekindling the dwindled friendship and igniting something else in you both. A love that had always been there but ignored, platonic companionship chosen over romance, but now came out with enough force it was impossible to stop. 

You loved him. Loved the good and the bad, the flaws and the perfections. Loved him as Jason and as the Red Hood. Loved him when he was sassy and smart. Loved him when he lay in bed watching you pretend to sleep so the moment wouldn't be broken. Loved him when the nightmares became too much and had him bolting awake, covered in cold sweat. Loved him when he was bitching and loved him when you made him smile bright enough the room lit up. 

He was yours and you were his and you wouldn't have it any other way. 

You both finished your hotdogs, stopping near a trashcan to toss the rubbish. You paused, looking up at Jason a moment before bursting out laughing. He had mustard smeared over his top lip and was apparently entirely unaware of it. 

A part of you wanted to take a photo. The rest of you was content for it to be a memory only you knew about. 

"C'mere." Using your napkin you wiped away the yellow, flashing it at him before throwing it away with the rest. "Can't take you anywhere, I swear." 

"What would I do without you, angel?" Jason wrapped his arms around you. 

"Crash and burn, baby, crash and burn." 

Jason kissed you, lips curled into a grin against yours. 

Then he was taking your hand again. "I hear music," was all he said before pulling you with him to chase after the sound. 

The walkway came to an end, opening out onto a larger circular area. In the center was a gazebo, brightly decorated in Christmas lights. A band was under it, playing some boppy songs that were no doubt hideously copyrighted and illegal to be playing. 

No one seemed to care. 

Jason glanced at you, the twinkle in his eye saying everything. 

"Jay, no!" 

Too late. Jason was tugging you along into the area, getting to a spot in front of the gazebo before twirling you around and pulling you to him again. 

"Jay!" You tried to protest again, but he was grinning, spinning you both in the snow, and it didn't come out all that strongly. 

Maybe you should've been embarrassed, or cared that people were watching, but it was no lie when you'd said it was easy to be uninhibited with Jason. 

You danced together. Badly. It was fun. More fun than you'd had in ages it seemed. Worries and cares slipped away, the world zoning down to just the two of you, snow swirling around you both. 

The song came to an end and Jason dipped you dramatically. There a couple of whoots from around you, but you paid them no attention, too focused on Jason still. His curls were covered in snowflakes, the white stark against the dark and the tips of his ears and nose were tinged pink with cold. He'd never looked so handsome and you'd never loved him more. 

He was looking straight back at you, eyes wide and open, searching your own, the love you felt reflected back at you. He was mustering up to something, you knew him well enough to see that, but what you couldn't guess. 

He grasped both hands, fingers locking together. "Y/N-" he stopped himself, closed his eyes a second while he took a breath, then opened them again. 

"When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself and curse my fate,

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,

Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,

Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,

With what I most enjoy contented least;

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,

Like to the lark at break of day arising

From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate;

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings

That then I scorn to change my state with kings."

"Jay," you whispered when he stopped, the words spoken with such earnest you could feel the tears cold on your face. "I-" 

His chuckle sounded nervous. "Thought I knew how I was going to say all this, but now it's time, I...I don't."

You watched speechless, as Jason released your hands so he could pull a small box from the inside pocket of his jacket, keeping your gaze locked on his as he dropped down onto one knee. 

"I love you, Y/N. I love you so much there aren't any words in poems or songs that could fully capture it all, so I can only ask you to take my word as truth. You make my life better than I deserve it to be, you always have. You're the bright spot, the sun that shines so brightly I can't ever get lost in the dark. You're the anchor that keeps me grounded when everything else feels like it's flying apart. The one who's been through thick and thin with a smile and a stolen cookie. And all I want is to be that person for you in return. I want to make you as happy as you make me, to be there no matter what. To make you laugh and smile and brush away the tears when you're sad. I want a lifetime of late nights and lazy Sunday mornings where we say fuck the world and don't get out of bed till noon. I want a lifetime of you not giving a shit about making a mess, a lifetime of you being there to clean up my own. I…want a lifetime of being with you."

He paused, opening the box and holding it up so the ring that lay nestled inside glinted in the light. "I want you to say yes and marry me."

You were crying freely now. The tears froze on your skin, but you couldn't care. You tried to speak, but the words got caught in your throat. So you nodded. Grinned so hard it hurt and nodded. 

Jason breathed a sigh of relief and slipped the glove off your hand. The ring fit perfectly. A simple thing with a red ruby set in the middle with white diamonds around it. It was beautiful. 

He stood just in time for you to fling yourself at him. He caught you in a hug, hands coming to support you as your legs wrapped around him. 

There were cheers and applause and the band even began a rendition of 'Congratulations'. 

You blushed, burying your face in his neck. "Did you plan all this?" 

Jason turned, nose brushing against yours. "No. Was going to wait until later actually, but the moment seemed right."

You smiled at him, pressing your lips to his in a brief kiss. "I love you."

"I love you." Jason let his forehead rest against yours, keeping you in his arms until the song came to an end. He let you down, his hands on your hips as you steadied yourself. "I've got one more thing I want to do tonight," he said, brushing the remains of your tears away with his thumb. 

"I'm not sure I can take any more surprises, Jay."

"This is more private. Trust me."

You smiled, taking a hand with your left and looking down at the ring that shone there. "Always."

~

It was even colder up here, the snow entirely undisturbed and thick crunching beneath your feet as you walked to edge. 

Jason had brought you to the roof of Wayne Enterprises, the building towering so high above the rest of the city, the lights below seemed a million miles away. 

"It's been years since we've been up here," you said, looking out over Gotham, "Not since-" 

"Not since I was Robin." Jason came up behind you, his arms wrapping around your waist and holding you securely against a solid wall of chest, just like he had done when you were teens. "Seemed appropriate to come back tonight."

"This where you were going to pop the question?" 

"Originally. Do you wish I'd waited?"

Shaking your head, you glanced over your shoulder at him. "You could've proposed in the shower and it would've been perfect. Anywhere would've been perfect."

"You old romantic."

"Says the one who recited Shakespeare before proposing in the snow. I started to think I'd been transported into a Hallmark movie."

Jason laughed softly. "Okay, point taken."

In the distance a clock started to chime, counting down to midnight. 

Jason's grasp on you tightened, his head resting on your shoulder. 

The clock hit twelve and Gotham's skyline lit up with fireworks. From up here you had an unfiltered view and could watch them shoot into the dark sky and explode into colors of all shades. 

"Beautiful." 

"Yeah," Jason agreed. You looked at him to see he was looking back at you, the fireworks lighting up his face in the darkness. 

"Jay?" 

"Thank you. For saying yes."

"I love you, Jason Todd. You deserve more than you think you do. And now you're stuck with me telling you that forever."

Jason smiled, watching you a moment longer. "I'd do anything for you, angel. I'd give you the world on a platter if that's what you wanted."

Turning in his arms, you put your back to the fireworks that were still going off in favor of wrapping your arms around his neck. "All I want is you."

"You have me."

"Then I'm happy."

"And that's all I want."

You smiled back at him. "Happy New Year, baby."

"Happy New Year, angel."

Jason kissed you and a whole new set of fireworks exploded.

Like what you read? Consider buying me a coffee! (I’ll love you forever!)

Tagging: @musikat18

[coffeecomicsgalore]

Unveiled Love

@smutember​

Ao3

Chapter 14 – Moonlight 

Six months.

Adrien had officially been dating Marinette for six months and his life felt fuller than he ever thought it would. The magic she had over his every emotion, the love she gave him every second of the day, the attention that he had received from her when he never received it from his father... he knew his life would never get better than this.

At least not until he had kittens of his own. Then his life would become infinitely times better knowing he had children with the love of his life.

Adrien didn’t want to wait anymore. He knew in his heart and ever since their first encounter, that he would marry the girl under the mask. He never would have thought that the girl he fell in love with would have been his best friend throughout the entirety of their partnership, but the simple fact that that happened was a bonus in his eyes.

He always loved Marinette even when he didn’t realize it. He loved the way her brain worked, how she stood up to people, how she made sure everyone, including him, felt included. He loved how fearless she was when her determination took over her meek moments, and even though their conversations were sparse in the early years, she always made an attempt to go over certain social interactions with him when he was really confused.

Then there was the Ladybug side of her, which was really the confident side of Marinette. That mask only amplified her already Marinette attitude, with less stuttering and more playful banter mixed in. But once that thick veil of kwami magic that kept them from knowing each other’s identities fell, he repeatedly scolded himself for never seeing it sooner. Besides that one time with Multimouse, of course. 

She really fooled him there.

He sat in his office, pondering over what he would do to show her he really meant forever. Sitting in his chair, his body slacked and leaned onto one armrest while the other hand held onto the opposite armrest, his mind whizzed with wandering thoughts of what he wanted to do. The length of his finger slid back and forth against his pursed lips, and his eyes looked to be searching the distance for the answer to his question.

Suddenly, Adrien sat up in his chair and a bright smile crested his lips. Plagg noticed his chosen’s upbeat mood, and begrudgingly closed his eyes to pretend he didn’t notice. Adrien turned on his laptop and pressed a few keys, clicked his office phone to Do Not Disturb, and stood up to gather his things and rushed out the door. 

Plagg barely made it to his chosen’s pocket before his personal assistant looked up from her desk, and he noticed the panicked look on her face from Adrien’s suddenly completely cleared afternoon.

“Monsieur Agreste! You have important meetings you need to attend to this afternoon. You can’t just cancel them like this!”

Adrien turned around and placed his hand on her hand. “Margaret. Please. Something important came up and I have to leave to take care of it.” He gave her his trademark soft eyes and Margaret melted in her spot.

“Ye- yes, Monsieur. I’ll arrange for them to come again tomorrow.” 

Adrien smiled and patted her hand, whispering out a ‘you’re the absolute best’ before hastily running towards the elevator and making his way down to the street.

“Now to get my plan in action.” He sighed out with a thrill of excitement running through his bones.

“Kitty? What are you up to?” Ladybug called out as Chat Noir led her on a long winded, yet fun, chase under the beautiful moonlit sky. The stars were out and shining, while the light pollution remained at bay. It was an absolutely stunning night.

Chat Noir paused on a rooftop and waited for her to catch up. “Nothing special, my love. I’m taking you on a grand tour of the city!” He gestured out to the city below him.

Ladybug let out a giggle. “You mean more than I already have?”

“Humor me, okay? I have a spurrtacular surprise for you!”

Ladybug tilted her head and let out another breathy laugh, before watching Chat leap onto another rooftop and make his way across the skyline. She whipped out her yo-yo and chased his tail, watching the giddy man smile with every muscle in his face. Whatever he had planned was making him absolutely happy.

Chat ended his route on top of a garden terrace, one of the more beautiful ones in the city. It belonged to one of the renown florists in the city, a man that was normally called upon to host the many events at the Le Grand Hotel due to his eloquent floral pieces. The florist had created this terrace for himself to enjoy in the evenings after his work was done for the day, while also hosting a few small weddings to give others a chance to have a garden ceremony without leaving the city. The entire rooftop was filled with rose bushes, magnolia trees, cherry blossoms, and wildflowers, the entire area cultivated to perfection.

As she made her way closer to his waiting form, Ladybug noticed that there was a table set up nestled underneath the pergola, beautiful fairy lights hanging from it to give it a heavenly glow. The table also had a single lit candle, but the area around them was lit up with an array of red and white pillars of candles. She could also hear the faint noise of classical music, a rendition of her favorite song by a pianist playing in the background. She gasped as she took in her surroundings and brought her hands up to her lips the moment she safely landed on the terrace. 

Chat turned around and watched her expression. He had already made his way towards the table, waiting until the moment she took a step onto the rooftop to turn. He waited for Ladybug to join him, the sweet smile and the loving gaze inviting her to stand beside him as he lifted up his palm to take her hand in his.

Ladybug smiled as she placed her hand in his waiting hand, then he brought her closer to him by pressing his other palm onto the small of her back. Leading her into a simple sway, he began to dance with her, and she nestled her head against his chest, sighing at the love she could feel through the romantic atmosphere.

Chat placed his chin on her head, stealing kisses to her hair every so often. Once the song ended, Ladybug looked up at him with a loving smile, and Chat met her lips with his. The kiss was slow, but full of love. There was no rush, no desire to take her right there in the moment; he was perfectly content with giving her love and affection with just the use of his mouth. 

When they finally parted, Ladybug looked at him and finally asked. “What is all this for?”

“Can’t I spoil my bug in the way she deserves?”

Chat began to sway again but the smell of the delicious meal he ordered had started to fill the air. Ladybug turned around and noticed a caterer arriving with two trays of food and setting them on the table, then filling up the wine glasses with a smooth red wine. Chat thanked the caterer for his help and the man bowed and walked away from view.

“Milady…” Chat bowed, placing a kiss to her knuckles before pulling out the seat for her to sit.

The two enjoyed a delicious meal starting with a simple salad spritz with a raspberry vinaigrette, an entree of beef bourguignon with a side of roasted carrots, and creme brulee for dessert made with love from Tom and Sabine’s boulangerie. 

“Chat. That was lovely. Thank you.”

“Anything and everything for you my lady.”

Ladybug looked at him and the love for him grew by the second.

“I have everything I need, right here.” She said, placing her hand on top of his.

“I’m glad you say that, my love, because I feel the same way.” Chat stood up and walked towards her, unzipping his pocket to retrieve a black velvet box. Ladybug watched his every move, but the moment he bent down on one knee, opening the box to reveal the rose gold band with a pink princess cut diamond nestled between a sea of red, and black, her eyes began to water and her hands flew to her mouth to contain the happy sobs. Chat took one of her hands from her lips and wrapped his hand around her fingers.

“Milady, my love… my princess, Marinette,” he whispered her name to ensure no one would overhear, “I met you the moment you fell from the heavens above. While I know you fell from your sheer clumsiness, I could not deny that you fell into my heart that very same day.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes, but he could tell from the curl of her lips that she was amused from his little speech.

“That same afternoon, I fell in love with you again when the heavens crashed together, electrifying our love.” Her head tilted as she remembered that day, the day that sealed their fate of forever.

“Even though our reveal was quite unorthodox, I cannot, without a doubt, say that it was any less revealing than us without any clothes.” Ladybug scoffed and playfully slapped his shoulder, making him chuckle before finishing what he wanted to say.

“But I know for a fact, that I love you. You make me feel so loved, so welcomed, so happy, and so full of life that I don’t want to know what would happen if I ever lost you. I want to spend forever with you. To have our home, our three kids, our hamster, our kwamis, and just us. Ladybug, Marinette. Will you marry me?”

Ladybug closed her eyes in a willing attempt to pause the tears that threatened to fall, but it was all for naught. She nodded her head furiously before wrapping her arms around his neck, chanting out a Yes. Yes I will, over and over again as if this was all a dream. Finally, she pulled back and allowed him to place the ring on her finger, and she grasped his cheeks with her hands before placing a loving kiss to his lips. The moment she pulled back she whispered against his lips. “I love you Chaton, my Adrien. Forever and always.”

[pedrobrvs]

Wreck-it Ralph 2 Analysis

  With almost all the Disney princesses (that belong in the "Disney Princess" line) appearing in Disney's newest movie, many people went crazy, many more went "oh. that's neat i guess", but it caused some discussion. The changes done to all the characters to fit with the Wreck-it Ralph universe were disappointing to those who were looking forward to see a more faithful recreation (like me), and some people even brought up the argument of "Same face syndrome" again. 

 Since I absolutely adore Disney animation (It being the job of my dreams and all), I'm making this post in hopes of shining light on the resemblances and differences and arguing that maybe these adaptions are more respectful to the originals than people give them credit for. 

For that I'm comparing most of them with the originals, for obvious reasons, and when applicable I'll also compare with the gaming franchise Kingdom Hearts, since rather than adapting the models to fit an uniform style, Square-Enix decided to recreate them as closely as they could. Head under the cut to see all of them!

SNOW WHITE (1937)

 Before I explain the similarities, I want to point out something about the first 3 princesses. Snow White, Cinderella and to a lesser extent Aurora were all animated with heavy help of a method called rotoscoping (where you draw on top of live-action footage) and consequentially have more realistic proportions than almost every other princess.  Sleeping Beauty would be one of the first movies where they'd start experimenting more their human characters, but it is still restrained. 

 Anyway. Snow White has chubby cheeks, very round eyes with softer corners and 3 larger eyelashes that are very characteristic of her.  Her lower lip is large and round, and her eyebrows are simple curves. She has a button nose. She is animated as a comedic, exaggerated version of her original self, mainly symbolized by the way she holds her hands (pictured) and the little head shakes she does when singing.

CINDERELLA (1950) 

Personally out of the 3 original princesses I find Cinderella to be the most different from the cartoon. Not just because, well, she has ears now but because I don't seem to get any cues of her original version from the animation. Then again the original Cinderella is animated with gentle, delicate slower movements movements while this one is making a shiv out of her shoe. However, she does keep some of the original design in the model itself. Her eyes are a bit round, with the upper eyelid being rounder than the lower, but the corners of her eyes are evident without causing the eye to look almond-shaped. I'd pull her outer corner a little bit more outwards or at least add an eyeliner but nobody is perfect. Her nose is slightly pointy but mostly round. I'm hoping that when we get to see more of her she'll demonstrate more of her slower, graceful nature. I don't mind that all those characters are more energetic and cartoony in this movie, but in Cinderella's case it seems to go against her very personality.

AURORA - SLEEPING BEAUTY (1959)

Aurora has a very diamond-shaped jaw, and while she appears to have a rounder one in this movie screencap, she demonstrates this diamond-shaped jaw whenever she's not facing straight forward.  Her lower eyelid has a very prominent "corner" to it like the original, making it kinda look like she has two outer eye corners. Her nose is pointy and thin. Her inner eyebrows could go lower and be closer together but the general thickness is very close. Her mouth isn't as wide as the others and her smile is V-shaped.  My gripe with her design is her hair, because IT SHOULD CURL THE OTHER WAY.  Her body language captures a lot of the gracious, romantic behavior she exhibits while awake in the movie. It differs from Cinderella's posture because Cinderella behaves more in a motherly, warm and kind fashion while Aurora behaves more "professionally" and in a more reserved way. 

ARIEL - THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989) 

 Ariel is one of the closest to the original IMO, but she has subtle differences. Her eyes keep the same general curves, with the upper eyelids being more curved and bending more towards the inner face. However, in the new version they are less vertical. Her nose is small, pointy and turned a little bit upwards, her lips are thin and don't have a cupid's bow. She has big cheeks but they are not as round as Snow White's, and her forehead is more forward, giving her the curve seen in the 2D version. For her the biggest difference is the eyelashes, that are way less uniform and are way thinner in the 2D version.  She still keeps the bright-eyed, curious expression, being very similar to Rapunzel in behavior.

In a side topic, I'm extremely glad to see her hair being done properly in 3D, by comparison with Kingdom Hearts 3. Her hair is a huge part of her animation and what made it impressive (as important to her body language as Rapunzel's hair is. Strange how much the two of them have in common) I was disappointed that in Kingdom Hearts 3 she kept the stiff hair she had in the first games even with the advance in technology. Her eyes are also closer in shape to the original than the Kingdom Hearts edition even if that one got the general face proportions right.  KH is closer in proportion while Wreck-it Ralph is closer in specific shapes. 

BELLE - BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991)

Belle is also one who I didn't see a lot of her original personality, though she was very gentle and gracious in the original as well, which contrasts with her more cartoony animation here.

She has a larger nose than most princesses and it's also one of the most round, and her lips, while they have a cupid's bow, are less defined.

Her eyes are more almond-shaped, having the outer corner being higher up than the lower. Her eyebrows are pretty close in shape, thickness and distance to the original (considering the change of art style).

One thing that could be done was to make her laugh lines more prominent in the 3D model, since they tend to appear when she's grinning in the original. Going back to Kingdom Hearts, i must say that Belle's appearance there is not very accurate. I think that something is off with her face in Kingdom Hearts 2, like her face looks squashed, longer and different from the original.

JASMINE - ALADDIN (1992) 

Jasmine for me is one of the most accurate to the originals, with her almond shaped eyes, characteristic nose, sculpted lips and more oval shaped face. Her eyebrows also look slightly more accurate to the original than the KH counterpart, with the inner edge not being round (though they should be thicker). She shares a lot of the posture of the original, specially with the tendency of stopping with one leg in front of the other and bending her torso in a way that kinda highlights her butt (but you do you Jasmine) 

POCAHONTAS (1995)

So, Pocahontas is one of the most unique-looking movies in the Disney canon, having the most realistic body proportions of Disney canon in decades.

Her movie is also characterized by having stronger edges and a more angular shape. That entire proportional yet angular look is mostly out of the window, but her face still has the most geometric features of them all. 

A strong chin, a big triangular upper lip, a nose with up-turned nostrils that has a kind of v-shaped outline... Also even with the change of art style she has a slightly stronger build than the rest of the princesses. 

In terms of animation she has that classic impossible hair, and keeps the dignified and mysterious attitude she has most of the time when she's not trying to see what's just around the riverbend. 

MULAN (1998)

She is definitely really close to the original, though the proportions got shifted around for the art style. 

Her round face, almond shaped eyes with a single eyelash going outwards in the corrner, and her very caracteristic lips are there (her lips are one thing they did more accurately than Kingdom Hearts as well). Though I think her nose should be slightly flatter to be closer to the Original and the Kingdom Hearts rendition. 

 I haven't seen enough of her facial animation to form an opinion on expressions, but she does enter the scene with that jump kick she does in the end of "Be a Man" so there's that.

TIANA - THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (2009)

Same case with Mulan, the biggest differences are just to accommodate for the art style. Her characteristic smile looks pretty great in 3D, dimples and all (though I think Coco did a better looking dimple for Miguel, those look a bit fake) 

Since the movies are so close together, being technically released in the same "Disney era" with way more artist overlap than previously (as in, more people who worked in the two movies), the animators already have a lot of practice animating her so I expect that she'll be pretty accurate.

RAPUNZEL - TANGLED (2010)

Speaking of accuracy, we're finally on the realm of 3D disney princesses. I like this comparison that @constable-frozen made (I apologize for not asking first/Lo siento no haber pedido antes/Desculpa por não ter perguntado primeiro). It shows that even the 3D princess got changed to fit the movie so it's not the 3D that is to blame for this change and that it was very much intentional rather than just lack of skill from the artists. But back to the comparison, I find it amazing how apparent the improvement in technology is, with Rapunzel having more natural skin and more strands in her hair (as well as the hair also looking more natural). Like i mentioned before, Rapunzel's hair was ground-breaking for Disney, since they spent years perfecting the technology for it. 8 years later and it looks greater than ever.  The whole lighting in the scene looks more natural as well, taking away the slight "PS3 game cutscene" feel the original gives me. Speaking of her hair, Kingdom Hearts 3 still didn't give us a look at her face, but the developers keep telling us of how much work they put into making her hair and turning it into a gameplay element as well. Seems fitting that a story about a girl with long hair would cause innovation in hair simulation for both animation and games.

MERIDA - BRAVE (2012)

Ok so this will definitely take some using to. In this pic specially she looks a bit like a baby. Though from other pics I think they at least nailed the facial expressions. Still, seeing her with those big bright eyes makes her almost look like Jessie from Toy Story, both having red hair and a very round face.

MOANA (2016)

To finish, here's Moana, from their last movie, to exemplify again that the change in art style is pretty much intentional. Larger eyes and eyebrows, smaller nose and mouth. Thin neck. Pretty much what happened to everyone else. Wreck-it Ralph stylized them to make them fit with each other and with the place they appear in. Otherwise they keep the basic shapes and ideas of the originals, only following the general style of the current artists. I hoped they'd keep the proportions and styles as close to the original as possible, but I won't pretend they didn't put any effort. All characters presented in those images belong to Walt Disney Animation Studio and Pixar Animation Studio.

PS: ANNA AND ELSA - FROZEN (2013)

I couldn’t get decent enough pictures for the both of them for me to make a comparison while I was writing. Might edit the post with the pic tomorrow.

In the original, their eyes are larger than most princesses and their noses are pointier. The two of them look really alike because they're sisters but there's differences:

Anna has chubbier cheeks and curved eyebrows while Elsa's eyes have a drooping lower eyelid common in smug/sexy characters, as well as L-shaped eyebrows.

The changes from the movie to the Wreck-it Ralph 2 version are essentially the same as Moana's (larger upper face, smaller lower face), plus an extra difference of them having bigger, more voluminous hairdos than what they had. 

PS: PS: On the off chance Tumblr messes up the images, I posted this entire thing on Imgur

[ohjessicajessica]

#mermay 9 - Rihanna shining bright like a 💎 This was super fun to draw, I hope you like my rendition, gonna try and do a couple more tonight to catch up 😎 PS: shop update coming this weekend . . . #mermay2018 #mermaid #siren #singer #music #myart #illustration #drawing #comicbookart #animation #melbourneartist #procreate #digitalart #rihanna #riri #diamonds

[0vertired]

Creativity and the Manifestation of Human Reality

Creativity and the Manifestation of Human Reality

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Role of the Soul

Self expression is my haven and torment is the source

Guiding my inspiration like the bristles on a page

Illustrating my creations subconsciously

Beauty shows to the naked eye

But between the pigment and paper lies agony

Artistry stems from misery,

The strain overflows from my pores and onto an easel

Easing the ache within

But without this drive i am nothing

My legacy- undocumented

My name, eternally lost in an abyss of atoms

I vow my time in this vessel to be of purpose

Never will I misuse a moment with the ability to create

For on my perishing night, I will leave behind the purest form of my being

The most raw cognitions circling through my psyche

Do with them what you will

My job is done

For the sun will still shine, And my spirit shall be reborn

All that is, is all that ever will be

Condensed stardust encapsulated in a keratin shell,

bound to decompose and return us home,

into the interstellar abyss of creation

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Between Realms of Consciousness

Its hazy here, I cannot see; the lights are blurred and heavenly

A weighted feeling in my gut, keeps me in a spiraling rut, isolated from reality

Stuck in an otherworldly state,

Where existence originates,

Where a beam of radiant, illuminating light,

meets the abysmal dark of night

And creation is one with my soul and all beings.

A realm where love is the source, With no such concept as competing

Connections are made here, you begin to understand

the boundaries seem to fade here and your spirit expands

I travel, distant, breaking the barriers that encapsulate my brain,

Gratuity and passion consume me, I feel it flowing through my veins.

A fire is burning, the source is in my soul

A change has come to eradicate the old

Revolution is among us, we must join the dance

Since there truly is no guaranteed second chance

The time is now, a present from the universe

Why dip in the tips of your toes, when you can dive in headfirst?

It’s time to awaken and open your mind,

To break away from the system that left you blind

Realization strikes like lightening on the tallest tree

Love is to existence as the moon is to the sea

Suddenly I feel I am falling perpetually

The darkness overwhelms me making it impossible to see

my awareness resumes and my senses come alive

Emotion overwhelms me and I begin to cry

I may look weak but you could mot be more wrong

this life has destroyed me, but i’ve rebuilt myself strong

anything is possible when love is the intention

It’s the secret of the universe no matter the dimension

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Guide to Obtaining Peace

Love who you are every single piece

Your inside and out, your head to your feet

You’re all you have at the end of the day

So cherish your being in every possible way

If you look at yourself through a lens

You can see the universe spiraling to no end

You are one with me, he, and she

With fish in the ocean, and birds in the trees

your life is a novel a new page every day

Your novel is for you, no one else has a say

It tells your stories of love and loss,

And shows the bridges and obstacles you’ve crossed,

To get to now; the present bliss

Stay here and now; do not reminisce

The past is gone never to be seen again

The future hasn’t come yet, this is the practice of zen

To sit and let your thoughts roll in

Then float away into the wind

until a rush of serenity engulfs your spirit

let it come and teach you, there is no need to fear it

It will expand your consciousness and heal you spiritually

If the world knew this secret, we would live together peacefully

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The Eternal Candle

Love is a candle burning brightly in the dark

The flame is small but strong

And can light infinite others with just a spark

But  the original flame does not fade, it is lifelong

It is as strong as diamond, burning bright

For others to benefit and prosper from

The flame gives and gives, yet still produces light

its life is never shortened or undone

I’ve seen this act so selfless and pure

It can never be exceeded

Love is never decreased or obscured

By sharing it with others that need it.

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My soul resides in rolling hills of forget-me-nots.

With pleasant periwinkle petals perfectly prevailing.

Presently,

I lounge in the emerald strands of life, inhaling purity,

exhaling presentiment;

harmoniously coexisting

like a symphony sung by creation itself.

The anthem of existence reverberates into the distance

As I piece together its components

My senses veer to a robin perched on a branch

Chirping it’s melody giddily

The robin soars smoothly through the sky

Farther and deeper into the cerulean chasm

Gone in an instant

Free from society's suffocating grip

Forcing conformity

demanding systematic obedience

We, humans; marionettes in the theatrical rendition of existence

Performing a tragedy,

To the audience,

Of our prospective selves

through distant distorted memories.