#what’s the point of putting any image on this website if the resolution is just dogshit all the time now

[mildmayfoxe]

i want to not keep getting porn links in random followed tags and i also want pictures to resolve at full quality when i click on them again. and while we’re at it i never want to go to work again in my life

[stjeromeshospital]

hi ^_^ so someone recently left some tags on a post i made about modding funger sprites wondering how i did it and i want to explain how because it is actually incredibly incredibly easy and literally anyone could do it. to start im gonna say im going to explain like every process in detail just so its very clear EXACTLY what youre supposed to do for people that arent computer savvy so it might look daunting but in reality i cant express enough how simple it really is. anyway. its pretty long but INCREDIBLY SIMPLE AND EASY TO DO (and understand i hope)

to start youre going to want to find the local files for termina, which if you bought the game off itch.io they should be immediately available to you, however if you bought it off steam youre going to want to find them using steam by finding them in the games settings in your library:

Here ^ (using another game as an example because i dont actually have termina on steam)

you should be here, and from here you want to go into the WWW folder ->

which will take you here, you can just as easily replace any of the movie cutscenes in the game or sound effects like the sprites but im not going to focus on that. for now by this point you want to go into the IMG folder

which looks like this, and its in here, in the CHARACTERS folder where all of the character overworld sprites are stored.

in the files, each character is listed as:

daan = doctor abella = mechanic o'saa = yellow_mage olivia = botanist karin = journalist pav = lieutenant marcoh = thug levi = mercenary marina = occultist samarie = apprentice tanaka = salaryman henryk = chef caligura = mobster august = hunter black kalev = black_kalev ghoul = soldier ghoul is just listed as ghoul, villager ghoul is listed as villager

with this you now decide which character you want to replace with your own, I chose Karin so I'm now going through every file named JOURNALIST until i find the spritesheet im looking for (that being her overworld walking sprite, which looks like this)

every characters overworld spritesheet should look like THIS. no smaller. however other characters (like samarie or august) will have less detailed sheets than playable characters because they dont need to walk diagonally or get their arms chopped off like the players do.

these are the files im looking for, NOW i need to actually LOOK at them (you can not typically just VIEW RPGMVP files so we are going to use a website to do so. that website being

Petschkos RPG-Maker MV & MZ-File Decrypter

which you will need to do all of this. its going to allow you to view files and also turn your own PNGs into RPGMV files to replace the ones here with your own.

it looks like this. as you can see i put the %JOURNALIST.RPGMVP file from the game files in here. this is how you will be able to look at and download the spritesheets (like karins i posted above) at their native resolution (whihc you need) its also how you know which file youre replacing. to do this put a file in (i put in the %journalist file, click RESTORE ORIGINAL IMAGES, the green button in the corner, and then your file will appear in the FILE-LIST on the right, once it does click VIEW and you should be able to see the spritesheet and download it.

and upon clicking view ive found that this file is exactly the one i was looking for ^_^ (the spritesheets youre looking for should all look like this, as in they should include the characters diagonal movement, lost limbs and crawling animations. that means youve found the FULL sprite sheet which affects your IN GAME PLAYABLE CHARACTER as well as how they behave as their NPC/Party member sprites. ive found that most/all of these specific spritesheets are just the characters name (not %doctor1 or $doctor1 JUST %doctor) and they usually start with a % at the beginning, so if youre wanting to change olivia's sprites you want to find %BOTANIST or if you're changing daan you want to find %DOCTOR. ETC.)

NOW that youve got the file and images youre going to edit. we move on to our art or image editing program of choice and get to work.

i use clip studio paint, but you can use any program at all as long as you keep the image resolution just as it is. (you CAN NOT make the canvas LARGER or SMALLER. you can not UPSCALE the sprites or change the resolution. you have to edit/draw over anything THE WAY IT IS) here i have the spritesheet ive been editing, that being karins %journalist file (with added marcoh, i put that there) who im replacing with my funger oc enright. unfortunately theres no secret hack for drawing your sprites easily, it took me weeks to have what i have because i had to draw everything myself. its like animation. i cant teach you to draw good but i can teach you to replace files on ur computer. either way as you can see the sprites i made are in the exact same positions that all of karin's were, youre basically wanting to use the originals as a foundation or "trace over them" so theyre EXACTLY where they should be. if theyre in the wrong spots they'll look a little wonky. i hope i explained this concept well enough. its a sprite sheet if you know how those work then itll work out. (ALSO MAKE SURE YOU SAVE THE PICTURE WITH A TRANSPARENT BACKGROUND.)

NOW THAT YOU HAVE YOUR OWN PERSONALIZED SPRITES we're going to save it as a PNG. and name it the same thing as the file youre replacing so its easier. im replacing %journalist.RPGMVP so i name my image %journalist.png

now we're gonna go back to that website we were at and move to En and De-Encrypt

it looks like this. NOW. first what youre going to do is click the browse button in the green circle, then go back to the CHARACTERS FOLDER in F&H2:T. grab your %JOURNALIST.RPGMV file (or whichever file youre replacing) and SELECT that file. then click DETECT, and you'll get a pop up that you got the code

NOW WITH YOUR CODE, you are going to use this to turn your PNG that you made INTO THE .RPGMVP file that youre replacing, except it'll have the sprites you made and not the other ones.

now put your PNG that you made in the 2nd box, which you can see i did, its also named %journalist, and then click (RE)-ENCRYPT MV

it will appear on the side, and now you can save/download your rpgmvp file that you made yaaaaay! youre in the final stretch.

its very important that the file is named exactly the same as the one you're replacing, im replacing %journalist so the file i make is named the same

NOW. GO BACK TO THE CHARACTERS FOLDER IN F&H2:T WHERE OUR ORIGINAL %JOURNALIST FILE IS LOCATED. you should not have moved it or anything it should still be in there but if you do it doesnt matter. what youre going to do is take *YOUR* file that YOU JUST MADE (the %journalist.rpgmvp file that you just made on that website) and youre going to put it in the folder that you found the original file, the file we're replacing is in the CHARACTERS folder so we're putting it in there. your computer will ask you if you want to replace the original file if its still in there, you can do this. now YOUR NEW FILE is in the game

boot up fear and hunger termina, start a new game as the character you replaced, walk around and see your guy :] there are alot of sprites you'd have to replace to have a fully immersive experience with your replacement character, special anims like sleeping, specific skills, sitting in the train etc. but you can replace ANY spritesheet using the exact method i described. have fun. ill also say im fairly confident you can mod the first game in the same way described as this one but im not sure because i dont have it, its up to you to rummage around the files and find out

if you encountered any problems of any kind along the way feel free to ask me about it, but hopefully this should all be described clearly enough that anyone can get into it and do what they want easily. dont be afraid to fuck with the game files they cant hurt you

[hamofjustice]

very slight teal mask and indigo disc story spoilers (the kind that'll probably help decide if you want them or not instead of ruin it for you, probably?) and very long commentary about it. mostly about how they've chosen to advertise it

gonna hit you with my longest run-on sentence yet, here we go.

the fact that we had to datamine the teal mask, a DLC whose only returning character is jacq and does not add a line to or scene of anyone else (well, mentions of heath and clavell, i guess?) due to being available to do at any badge count, the fact that we had to dig and pry in unintended ways, just to finally prove that our implied greatest treasures nemona arven and penny would at least be available to hang out with in the indigo disc...

with no new images footage or mentions of the friend trio of in any of the six months since the DLCs were announced, and ten months after these kids opened their hearts and dorm rooms to us, saying we could hang out any time from now on, and turned out to be statues with one line of dialogue after we had already gone on an adventure with them following us around, helping us in battle, and getting to know each other as we walked, and our rival promised to keep up with our strength forever, then never got any stronger...

and now, in the narrative's timeline, we run off to another country to transfer away from our rival for life's school to one she would fit into perfectly the MOMENT she opens up to us about her problems and how she's so much happier now that we're the first person she can actually connect with and be herself around, and shows clear signs of worry that you're going to leave if she doesn't make you promise not to...

and also shortly after Arven became effectively a high school orphan, who's still treated as kind of a butt monkey dumbass for some reason, when he was putting everything he had into researching how to save his dog, his only dependable family, instead of going to class (i guess he's not telling anybody what he's going through, as usual with these kids)...

because TPC did not think these characters being present in the second DLC in any form and not actually having their newfound, hard-earned sense of belonging ruined by the basic premise of said transfer-student DLC was worth advertising at any point, and only showed off gym leaders Katy and Kofu... and that was only if you even bothered to look at the website to notice the feature at all, because hanging out with, battling, and trading with all of the past characters who aren't present in Paldea anymore is now actually a feature, but wasn't in the trailer...

is fucking mind boggling to me.

why is it a secret that they're in the DLC. why would they not just. tell people that as soon as they revealed the DLC. why is it still supposed to be a secret now, half a year later. why weren't they in the first half. why did they not think we'd be worried that they aren't in the second half.

silly me, why would you want to advertise giving people more of the story and main plot-driving characters, the main thing people defend the rushed game for, or that they might get some resolution, or reassure them that the vaguely happy ending to their sad stories isn't going to be ruined like they've implied it will be? that'd be silly. the only way anyone is going to find that out is through hacking

but at least we were finally able to pry that basic fucking information out of them against their will, the only thing I wanted to know about the DLC before I'd buy it, because they left in placeholder stubs for it by accident. oops. wouldn't want to tell people who were on the fence about getting the DLC this information on purpose or anything. need to keep it a secret

we were able to confirm through our own digging that nemona (and many others) are at least allowed to hang out with us, but the thing that would make both her as a character and me as a Pokemon player happier than we've ever been is if she actually got to enroll with us. why wouldn't she go, right? what do a school and society that don't respect her and an empty home where her parents should be have to offer, compared to living her dream with her favorite person, surrounded by people just like her? who can stop a champion from going wherever she wants? but for that to be the case, one of the "club rooms" we found references to would have to be hers. only us kieran and carmine clearly have what are marked as dorm room objects.

i'm glad we're getting what we're getting, but it's still no guarantee that nemona arven and penny will continue to be important to the story that they were the driving forces of, or get the true resolutions and healthier happy endings that they deserve, or that our "true equal" will ever be any stronger or more important to our character than our home ec teacher, or that they'll ever actually get to be a friend group on screen without life or death situations or harrowing grief being involved

oops! accidentally wrote decent character arcs and relationships in a pokemon game! they're going to spend time together in the postgame! abort abort abort quick shove them off into different countries before they hug

okay that's just me being cynical, they will almost certainly be important to the story, but... TPC has the power to make me not cynical and they keep choosing not to do that. but they do keep making really sappy recap videos using previous cutscene footage, like this attachment and uncertainty is something they're milking on purpose

maybe stringing people along with how much they miss the funny, cute, loving, strong characters, or are worried about these three lonely and isolated kids dealing with parental neglect, ptsd and self loathing, autism and motor impairments, identity issues, and more, whose problems are clearly not resolved yet if they can be at all, will... help sell more plushies and gacha pulls, and get people consuming more spinoffs, or something? idk, maybe

love to stop and helplessly gaze upon penny's depression pile every day before i go do tera raids / link battles with strangers (i don't actually do this but i might if poke portal worked indoors)

that all being said! it's pretty damn cool that hanging out with NPCs in a meaningful way and staging selfies with them and stuff is actually a game feature at all. that much is reassuring. it's a step in the right direction considering 90% of pokemon gameplay for a lot of people takes place after the credits roll and everyone normally despawns or becomes a one liner / repeating boss fight statue, or maybe if you're lucky a Multi Battle partner. it was just implied this game would be different, is all. i just don't know why they've chosen to string their audience along this way. wanting to have friends shouldn't throw up a $35 tollgate right as you go to talk to them that takes a year to open, and over six months to find out if it'll kill them when it opens.

i'd like to see pokemon postgame feel more like an animal crossing life sim type game in the future, personally, and this feature is a step toward that. i'd love if it one of your rewards for completing indigo disc was being able to take anyone you like as a follower as you go about your business and have them get on miraidon/koraidon with you as needed so your movement isn't impeded by it, even if there was no dialogue for it or anything. it's 2023, i shouldn't have to imagine something happening in a video game, or have to fill in my own fanfic to make a story satisfying, it should just be happening, on the screen. dammit. having a follower that goes with you everywhere even if you drive or have a following pokemon already was a feature in teal mask, so why not utilize it permanently?

(is the obvious player arven nemona penny 4v1 battle being saved for the final boss or something, is that why tera raids with them aren't a thing you can just do normally?)

Long story short: The basic transfer-student premise of The Indigo Disc implies that we ruin Nemona's happy ending and rub the one she really wants in her face to go enjoy it with Carmine instead for being more marketable, and I don't think they're even aware of why that would be a problem. Why have we not been reassured to the contrary in the last 6 months? I think a lot of us are waiting for this DLC anxiously instead of eagerly, especially after the first half.

[bitegore]

hello, im currently making a sort-of remake of your Blorbo Bleebus template (both to make a higher resolution image, darkmode version and transparent versions) and am debating making some changes to it (e.g. changing fruity to queer). Are there any changes you would make nowadays if you could?

originally put this at the end but the post got long so i'm moving it up here. Anyway I really appreciate you doing this and I also appreciate you reaching out about it. If you think I'm full of shit on any or all of the lines, feel free to completely ignore it, I don't mind. I would love to see your version when you're done! Good luck!

Anyway. Honestly I'd probably change up a lot of it - all of the elements were from various memes, and not all of them are in fashion. The only reason fruity is even on there (I don't particularly like the word myself either) is because the original meme that spawned the entire thing (including the idea of it being a blorbo rating system) was from a wine-flavor label - and thus "fruity" was a particularly awkward choice of a word for it to try to say "this tastes like grapes" lol. I don't think almost anyone who saw the sheet had seen that, though, or knew much about wine tasting (no shade, me either), so like a bunch of the other jokes it falls flat to basically everyone lmao.

These are what I would change. You don't have to do any of these, of course. But it's the ones I'd do. Sorry for how much it bounces around, most of them are just "the first thing i thought of after looking at the sheet again" so it's kind of random and not well organized.

#1: "Flavor Container" turned out to be a much more niche thing than I thought it was; replace it with something that gets at the idea of a character being an "archetype" or "really conentrated" amount of that kind of thing that works better and has more broad-spectrum immediate understanding Or just like, some other type of character-describing meme, up to you

#2: someone pointed out (rightly!) that there is one gender-specific subtype (himbo) on there but no female-specific gender subtype, and that the cat meme i put in as placeholder text on the character box uses he/him pronouns, which both kind of push it toward being gender-specific even though that wasn't what I had wanted. I'd either switch Himbo out for a more recent and less gendered meme or add a female-gendered meme (eg: "girlboss", "butch fatale", etc) to even out the subtypes, and swap out the pronouns on the cat meme for they/them instead of he/him. Might also be worthwhile to switch the bar option for "just some guy" for something like "just some rando" but honestly that doesn't have the same energy; I don;t think there is a properly gender-neutral equivalent for 'guy' that i can think of that won't sound forced and as long as it's not directed at anyone in particular I think that one can be left alone. Tbh if you're switching fruity out you should almost definitely also do these.

#3. i'm pretty sure calling things skrunkly is on its way out, i'd come up with a more recent meme adjective for the name spot i think

#4. one of the bars in the middle of the page goes between "1,000 tools" and "1,000 weapons", which (because I expected at most 30 notes) I figured would be similarly comprehensible to flavor container. It's meant to reflect an outlook on life, ie, do they build things up to solve problems or do they attack and tear down their problems? I don't think this is a very effective set and also it's not a good joke, so it's probably best to put something else there.

#5. the "you want them to have" section is clunky and not very good, which is because that was the last part i did when I made it and I rushed it because I was bored of the project by then. I think there are a lot more interesting things to talk about than "do they have sex" "do they have romance" "do they have friends" and "did you hate their ending specifically" BUT also i have been informed that this is the shipping website and I'm not really a huge shipper, so my lack of interest in most of the contents of those boxes might not be reflective of everyone else's! Please use your best judgement here, if you like that bit then you can absolutely keep it. That being said I think it would be interesting to get into something like "tropes" instead, switching out the idea of like, desirable plot beats for the character with like, desirable common storytelling tropes or something to suhove the character into, or genres, or w/e. it would also suit the rest of the sheet better. i also think it would be more fun to be filling in boxes like "go in the dark" and "bonk on head with giant mallet" and "hunted for sport" than "more romance" and "less romance", if you follow me lol

#6. The idea of the slider bars is fine, but the shape is apparently kind of tough for people to work with unless they're confident drawing digitally in some way, so intead of doing a straight black line with a black line down the center, I would do an outlined bar with a black line down the center, sort of like the below. I think this will be easier for people to fill in with a paint bucket tool or w/e and hopefully save some wrists.

#7. I keep seeing comments asking for it to be a fillable PDF as well, which is like, not something I am capable of making if I'm honest. I don't do PDFs. No idea if you do, but if you do have the ability, it might be a solid plan to make it as a PDF first so it can be converted into a fillable PDF somehow. I took a stab at doing that yesterday but then i got frustrated and bored and gave up lol.

#8. tbh if you're making it a bigger resolution this might not be an issue but the text is really kind of small. I'd probably change the image ratio and scale a lot of the text up, sort of like this (sorry i am not working on a computer where i have robust photo editing tools or the original file so i am just sort of cutting it up in photopea with my mouse so it looks kind of jank). The reason for this is because the program I made it in just sort of opened with a printer-paper-sized page and i went "cool, I can work with that" and didn't change it. But when sharing and posting it, it becomes hard to read.

(this also doesnt really work... i'm not very good at optimizing things for post-readability ;-;)

#9. the slider between "stupid as shit" and "scary-smart" isnt that good, i'd swap it for "not the..." and "sharpest tool in the shed" respectively, because i think that that is more fun. or something along those lines

#10. I already said I would change this bit out entirely, but if you do keep the "you want them to have" section mostly as-is, the last eight or so don't really fit with what's already there - "freedom", "catharsis", "justification", "The Realization", "revenge", "conseequences", "sympathy" and "a satisfying ending" are about the writing the character is situated in, but "a better/worse time", "better/worse situation", "more/less trauma", "more/less healing", "more/less/different romance", "more/less/different sex", "more/less/different friends", "painful isolation" and "a family" are about relationships and emotional experiences the character is having in-universe. I guess you could leave freedom, revenge and consequences in there, but they don't really suit it well. I'd either switch the last handful for things that fit the theme (and also the more/less/different/none scheme), or make the entire thing center around the writing choices in the original narrative they're from.

#11. If you're redoing it from the ground up, you also get to pick a better font... I badly wish I had done all the titles in Impact (the meme font, you know the one) because I think it would've been funny. I probably would've put like, "bottom text" at the very bottom of the page too but that's probably not as funny to anyone who isn't me. I didn't want to bother tweaking it when I finished it, so it has NBOS's default font (I think it was Arial Black?) instead.

#12. I'd probably switch "soft and sweet" to "cinnamon roll", i've seen that one make a comeback recently and also it's so old that the fact that it's out of date brings some kind of humor to it along with it in a way that "soft and sweet" doesn't really do.

#13. "aspirational character" doesn't really do anything in the subclass list anyway - it's not interesting or funny and much of what it covers is also covered by "just like you fr" and "braincell haver", so i'd also replace that one with a more interesting recent character meme.

#14. tbh the checkboxes underneath the picture box were me taking a bunch of potshots at Batman specifically (well, besides murderer, but that was beacuse I needed another line). In the spirit of it, if you have a particularly common Kind of blorbo that other people keep putting on your dash nowadays, it would probably make sense to take their traits and put them in there instead until if you check all of them off you get that character instead. Keep it updated and fresh and fun and all that lol.

Also - last things-

please don't write me in as the "original creator" or w/e - I was cribbing so much from so many other people and places that I don't really feel like it's worth crediting it all to me, all I did was grid it out. No idea if that was part of your plan but if it was like. don't worry about it, if it wasn't, then that's great because that works for both of us :D

understand if you're not interested or don't want it, but if it would be helpful, I can send you a probably way higher resolution version than is floating around on Tumblr if you like - the program I made it with was designing it to be a printable sheet so it's a high enough resolution that the edgtes would all print nice and crisply, I think Tumblr just has a maximum image size and my layout didn't work very well with it lmao

[featureenvyproductions]

OK I THINK I GOT IT DONE

Ok digital/pdf version of Eyan Eternal Volume 1.

This is basically everything in the volume 1 print version, including the bonus content (and I’ve also included the promo image that you’d get with the print version, at the end of the pdf content). But in pdf form. And as for the chapters themselves, well at 300 dpi, they’ll be a much higher resolution than the tumblr images or the images on my website, and that makes a lot of stuff clearer to read I’m sure. They also aren’t subject to whatever the heck weird image conversion happens when you put an image on tumblr (I would experiment with converting everything to srgb but like, the cat’s outta the bag at this point).

I have tried my best also to add alt text to these pages describing what’s going on over all. I gotta admit, I don’t know what processing gets done to these files when I upload them into the void, but I downloaded everything and it seems to still work, so I’ll just cross my fingers and hope for the best. (this is what was taking me so fucking long)

Anyway I got two offerings for you pals.

The difference between them is mainly that one is one big pdf, and the other is 5 small pdfs. We’ll get to why.

But anyway, you will find the single big pdf here at lulu.com:

https://www.lulu.com/shop/ej-gravis/eyan-eternal/ebook/product-9yqvd9.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Here’s the thing, I’ve had like a non-trivial amount of people tell me the digital downloads fuck up here sometimes. I haven’t gotten a complaint for a while but it DOES happen. I was paranoid about it happening. (Their tech support has gotten better though so let them know if it DOES. or if they really don’t resolve it you can let me know. I’ll try to figure something out)

So that’s why, if you don’t want to take the risk, I have another listing up on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/FeatureEnvy/listing/1500364015/eyan-eternal-volume-1-digital-edition?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1686376620579

This had to be put up as 5 pdfs because of Etsy’s file size limit, but other than that, it’s exactly the same content, just split up. As far as I know etsy doesn't do any weird shit to PDF files though so it's more likely to work.

I mean either way, I’m charging you 2.99 USD and both sites will eat me alive with the cut they take, so it’s really just like “do you want 1 file for the price of Uncertainty or many for the price of Inconvenient” (Actually I think I will get SLIGHTLY more from etsy sales and they show up in my sale count for my shop which is nice too. Because right now most of my sales come from in-person shows and local bookstores so if you’re going by my etsy sale count it looks like i’ve barely sold a damn thing and you have no reason to trust me)

Anyway like I’ve said before. I will ALWAYS have free versions of things, as long as I can afford to do things that way. But if you want to support me and help me pay my webhosting bill and supply costs, this does help offset those :)

regardless of how you read my things though i appreciate you reading thanks a bunch to anyone who does :):):):):)

Oh also, this SHOULD be available everywhere (unlike the print edition which is US only right now) at least on etsy.

[asterlizard]

2023

I have kinda mixed feelings about this year. There were some low points, but then there were some high points too.

I was mostly busy with almost nonstop dogsitting sessions and zine work, but they really ate away at my personal time, especially during the middle of the year. On top of that, I kept job hunting for the first half of the year but it was going nowhere. It really broke my spirit, to the point where just thinking about job hunting made me feel depressed, and I needed to step away from it. All of this combined, I dealt with burnout, discouragement, feeling lost, and stressed to the point of developing a excessive hand-washing compulsion during the summer, which I'm still trying to shake off. I wonder if I also lost a bit of myself along the way, often not feeling absorbed in the moment.

And yeah, this low period also showed in my art summary for the year. I only published a few sketches if they weren't zine works.

That being said!

It wasn't until December that things felt like they were starting to get back on track. I finally got a chance to draw for myself again, and I think the interest I had in this showed in these last few pieces. I felt a lot more comfortable drawing these pieces. I was also finishing tasks in December when I wanted to finish them, and I'm now feeling more accomplished and less ashamed of myself.

On another note, we had great weather this year! There were no wildfires to watch out for (at least, that I was aware of), no nearby smoke or really bad air quality, and not much hot weather! Also lots of rain and cool weather in the first half of the year, it was really pleasant! It really helped with our drought crisis!

As for other accomplishments:

I went travelling for the first time since lockdown! (though even with official safety precautions being relaxed, I still continued to be careful)

I finished pieces for 5 zines: -DanganParty: A Birthday Party zine -Fly!!: A Haikyuu zine -Tsukuyomi: A Tokoyami zine -Celestial Night: A Sailor Moon zine -Wintertide: A BNHA zine

Started some serious cleanup, both at home and on the computer

Going to the cinema again for the first time since lockdown!

I turned 30, which does feel kinda weird because I certainly don't feel like I'm that age. I spent some time while I was 29 kinda fretting about it, but if it makes me feel a bit better, 30 is technically the last year of the 20s. I felt like more could have been done in my 20s that I would look more fondly on like I would for my first two decades, but then again I was dealing with hardship and then healing during my 20s (though it wasn't all bad) I can only hope that I can make my 30s more what I want.

Now then, onto the resolutions:

Image descriptions: Because my mind was preoccupied due to working on other things, I never got around to making any image descriptions this year. On top of that, I ran into a dilemma on where to put these descriptions (do I use alt text? or do I keep writing it in the text box because I hear the alt text can be buggy?) Hopefully I can find a solution and make good progress this year.

Language learning: I think I progressed well in my Japanese learning this year (I watched a video of a N5 test review, and I only got a couple of mistakes, so I think I qualify? Not a huge accomplishment, but it still feels good to pass some kind of level) I'd like to add another resource that involves writing or speaking, if not communicating with someone (that'd be a difficult goal, since I'd need to figure out where to find a conversation partner)

Storywriting: I'm in the middle of writing my next chapter for KalChi, though burnout created a roadblock for me. The chapter after that should be a bit easier though, so I'd like to get more than one chapter published this year. Also… I have another story I'd like to get started on soon (hopefully I'll have news about this in the 4th quarter of the year) I'd also like to try and find a proper website to put my stories on, such as Wordpress. I'm open to suggestions!

Other fun things: Find more things to do outside of what I normally do. It got a bit monotonous for me this year, and I was really itching to see some local stuff again.

Relax: This is the most important! I made this my resolution last year, but I didn't follow it at all, and I think I did worse this year in regards to self care. I really want to plan out my personal time better so I'm not either rushing to get a lot done at once or feeling bored out of my mind.

I also want to continue to keep up with friends! I think I did a little better this year, but our main issue was schedule coordination. But I feel like my ability to communicate has suffered a bit, so I need to keep that up too.

I want to remind myself that making an effort can make a positive difference and not to give up, so I'm once again adding a link to some good things that happened in the world this year: [link]

I have a feeling 2024 is going to be a big year, at least in the world. Maybe the same will be true for me as well, at least in a positive way (though I won't push myself too hard) So I also hope that you stay safe and take care of yourself too. I wish the best for you 💕

[soursavior]

I’ve been seeing a lot of friends posting that one image that says something like “Don’t start making your resolutions for next year without acknowledging the things you’ve accomplished this year first.” That makes sense to me. Can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve been.

2022

At the start of the year, I got pushed out of the job I’d been doing for over a decade. I’d become very comfortable there, despite the abuse. They took away my hours then offered me longer hours at a worse site for less pay. I took it because we didn’t have the savings to make it through if I didn’t, but it spurred me on to new heights of job searching. I eventually took a gamble on a temp position in a totally new to me industry. It was a big increase in pay, assuming I could impress them enough to stay past the initial contract. I was nervous, but I put in the effort. I excelled. My boss and his boss and her boss all fought hard to convince the budget people and in November I got converted to permanent. I was about to say “I’m still at the bottom rung” but that’s not even really true outside of my department. The point is, it’s the first job I’ve had where I could genuinely call it a career. I like the work, I like my coworkers, and I’ve had positive interactions with every layer of management including the CEO.

In May, I drew an orangutan with a sword for one of my internet friends. I hadn’t tried to draw anything more complicated than a stick figure since grade school, but I put in the time and pulled up reference and came out with something that was at least recognizable. I was a little nervous showing it to my friend, because she’s a professional artist, but she was super supportive. The next day I bought my first sketchbook. My wife encouraged me to draw every day if I wanted to get better at it, so I did. There wound up being some gaps, for practical reasons, and now that it’s a habit I take the occasional day off. And you know what? It worked. I’ve filled two sketchbooks, plus half of a travel sketchbook, plus some digital pieces. The drawings I’m producing now aren’t professional quality or anything, but if you put them side by side with the earlier stuff it’s easy to see that practice works.

In August I had my dick cut off. That involved quite a few days of missing out on drawing practice. It had been in the works for over a year by that point. I’m not rolling in cash, so I had to chart a course that would appease our health insurance. Luckily, I live in a place with pretty strict laws about how insurers have to behave with regards to gender affirming care. Also luckily I had started my new job that I could do while lying in bed as long as I had my work laptop and wasn’t taking opiates. I couldn’t do the kind of walking or even sitting upright that my old security job needed for over 2 months, but my mind worked just fine. 

I also made new friends this year. I won’t call you all out, but I think I know who you are.

I made a new personal website as a hub for my online presence because individual social media platforms are so unstable.

I read over my resolutions from last year. None of them had anything to do with any of this stuff. They were: Stay Invested in my new ttrpg campaign; make a new card game or remake one of my existing ones; remember to promote the games I have for sale more often; continue working on my self-photography skills; and treat myself gently. Of those, I only did the photography one. So, let’s bear that in mind as I lay out some goals for next year.

2023

Make a new card game or remake one of the ones I’ve pulled from circulation. Now that I’m doing my own art stuff, it should be easier than ever to make a game. I just have to do it.

Draw more. Keep improving. Specifically, draw more naked ladies than I did in 2022. In 2022 I made 29 drawings of 6 naked ladies (7 if you count the clothed model that I turned into a building sized naked monster), so I’ll need to arrange at least 30 drawings and 8 models. I’ve got 3 already lined up. Got to find at least 5 volunteers to help provide reference. (My DMs are open.)

Sing more. Consider learning an instrument. Not a mouth instrument, one I can do while singing.

This time for real, treat myself gently.

[catboypawjob]

im gonna be 100% honest. ive had doubts that glaze/nightshade even works ever since ive started seeing it go around. i feel like its gained traction among a bunch of desperate people with not much tech literacy seeking a miracle protection against having the images they post online get scraped by bots that sweep social media/artist sites & feed the results to a generative algorithm. it claims to be "completely invisible" like putting a coat of varnish over a painting, but digital image data doesnt work that way.

jpgs, pngs, webps, all image formats are just packets of code utilizing certain rules in order to write pixels a certain way onto the file, and anytime u open an image the software projecting the image is utilizing this packet under these specific rules to display the image in the way it was saved. a jpg adds image compression and does not support transparency bc that is what its specific set of rules does, for example. some software, such as image editing and file browsing software, cant open certain image file types bc it does not know what to do with the specific rules the certain file type is utilizing and how to project it. filetypes for image editing software such as psd arent actually image file types, really. theyre a collection of layers and images as raw data meant to be utilized solely for the programs theyre made for, and wont be openable or projectable in standard image projection format. meaning if u clicked on a psd file it would open photoshop, not display the image. true image file types are one layer, one image. if u "coat" a png in a completely invisible layer, that layer will have no data, and will never be displayed. if a png displays differently on projection than it did upon saving, its bc the software is altering the image, or failing to utilize the rules correctly, or that ur computer/monitor is failing to project correctly, or that ur file is corrupted and did not save correctly. there isnt a code in an images filetype that can *only* manifest under extremely specific projection conditions, such as being nebulously used to train a generative program. (which, do any of u actually know how generative ai scrapes images?)

but lets say u could actually hide a "poison" in a png. completely invisible to the eye, all pixels exactly the same. u could post this image online & share it around and itd look exactly the way u made it, but if someone saved this file and used it to generate an ai image, that "poison" would activate and the resulting image would look nothing at all like the original. except, theyd have to use the original file. if that file was uploaded through a website, and that website uses an image host system, or otherwise encrypts and embeds the image, the file is changed and it is no longer the original file. now its a copy of the image that the websites host system produced. this is why images uploaded to tumblr, for example, become more compressed and lossy than the original file. but say the website ur posting on will not alter the file at all, and instead display the whole file as-written for anyone to view. cant download the image to use it bc itll "poison the well", so what can we do? screenshot. ur computer just made a poison-free copy of the original file, and in the original resolution with zero compression no less.

glaze/nightshade is pretty obviously bullshit, but that raises the question. why does their program need to be downloaded and what are they doing with that gpu power?

and if their "poison" isnt completely invisible and actually makes ur image look like shit, whats the point? whats it protecting that a watermark cant?

Ppl: “Glaze and nightshade all your art!!”

Also ppl: * does not mention that you need to have a fucking NVIDIA GPU and running nightshade on one image takes at best 20 minutes*

Like the online version of glaze/nightshade requires an account. And last time i checked they arent accepting new accounts because of the high pressure.

Like i make my art on my ipad. My MacBook is from 2014. If i tried to download and run nightshade on my decade old macbook and go throufg 10+ years of artworks i might as well just set it on fire.

[rebornrosess]

wanna start making collages like yours cause they're super inspiring to me but don't know where to start, do you have any advice?

hi!! sorry for the late response, i’ve been busy with midterms but this is so kind, i’m glad they could be inspiring :”))) i’m super honoured.

i use an old version (2019) of photoshop for all my collages and my canvases are letter paper sized (8.5 x 11) in CMYK for the best resolution when printed. if you don’t plan on printing your work then RGB works best for digital uploads (the colour profiles will look very different if you put them in a canvas of the opposite colour profile). i’m mostly self-taught from youtube (kel lauren got me into graphic design back in like 2017 <3), but i’ve been pretty lucky to also apply some stuff from multimedia classes in high school. i mostly use fonts downloaded from dafont.com or other random websites that i find just from looking up an adjective + font. you can also get a pretty decent approximate of a font from a poster or an image from font squirrel! i’ve found my (amateur) photography background to be helpful when composing canvases. don’t worry about “breaking” the rules, but basic photography rules like the rule of thirds, the golden ratio, or even just working with a grid can really help as a starting point.

pinterest is my best friend for inspiration but also for images. when i have an idea for a collage, i make a dedicated board for it to collect images i might want to use in it or any other graphic design work, illustrations, posters etc. that fit the vibe that i want the collage to have. i also keep a board for anything that i find inspiring, whether it’s other people’s graphic design work, illustrations, posters, or even just colour palettes and random images that have a great energy to them that i would love to capture. for higher quality images you can check out unsplash or even tumblr. lots of talented artists have great texture packs on gumroad that you can get for free or at a pretty reasonable price!

i’ve honestly been in a bad creative rut since this summer, but i’ve always made my collages around a literal body of text. working from song lyrics, a poem, or a movie monologue, whether referenced overtly or indirectly, can be a great help. i do a close reading of whatever excerpt i pick then write down all the imagery it invokes explicitly or in my mind. if i’m lucky and the author of the text has a larger body of work, i’ll take a look at that too and see if there are any recurring symbols throughout their work. i’ll also look into what artists inspire them and see if i can meaningfully incorporate those visuals as well.

if i decide i want to incorporate the body of text directly in my collage, i try to section it off based on common themes/symbols or just based on whatever feels most natural (some panels i make have a lot of text on them, others only have a verse or two). i do this ahead of time to help me plan how many panels i want to make, but i also get a feel for this on the canvas itself when i type out all the text. i like playing with different text alignments too (big fan of justify which makes your text fill the text box).

re: fonts, i’ve made a canvas of all the custom fonts i’ve downloaded so i can have a visual referent of everything i have if i’m struggling to remember what i have while scrolling through the font tab on photoshop. i use helvetica in most of my collages to keep the focus on the images and assure readability, but it all depends on the intent of the collage. text doesn’t always have to be legible! you can also mix and match fonts within the same sentence to stress a specific word by using a different font. pairing serif (fonts with little “feet”) or script (fonts that look handwritten) with sans-serif fonts (like the one i’m using to type this post now) can make for some fun effects.

re: photoshop (or any other image editing software like affinity, pixlr, procreate, picsart? etc.), i like to cut out the images digitally with the polygon lasso and leave a bit of the space around the subject for a more textured feel, but i also play around with lots of layer modes for other cool effects if i’m not really feeling it (my favourites are “lighten”, “darken���, and “overlay”). there are also a variety of layer styles that you can apply to photos and text like strokes (i get a lot of use out of these), drop shadows, and bevels to add texture to individual assets. play with ALLLL the image adjustment options. transform, warp, posterize, threshold (i use this a lot with the “lighten” mode, it gives a cool black & white texture), pixelate, blurs, noise...just make lots of copies when starting out so you can easily reverse the work lol. save often! also keyboard shortcuts are your best friend.

finally, don’t be afraid to use only a few assets per panel! you can create some really impactful visuals without overwhelming the canvas.

ty for asking something so thoughtful, means a lot. :”) <3

[cathrynworrell]

5 essential Photoshop tools you need to turn your drawing into a beautiful art print

As a self-taught artist, I’ve picked up most the skills I need for things like Photoshop as I’ve gone along. A Google here, a few Youtube videos there. Some notes scrawled on a scrap of paper or tucked away in a file on my computer (where I forget that I’ve put them), but I can usually figure out how to do what I need to do.

And one thing I’ve learned is that for anything you need to do with your artwork in Photoshop, you’ll probably discover there are at least twelve different ways to do the same thing. Eventually, you stumble upon the ways to use Photoshop that work best for you and stick with them. At some point, most of the things you do regularly become second nature, and you forget how you learned them.

It’s easy to assume that everyone else knows what they’re doing when they’re editing their work digitally. But I was talking to a friend and fellow artist recently who wanted to know how I made my greeting cards, and I was reminded that isn’t necessarily the case.

So today I’m sharing the essential tools I use in Photoshop to turn a sketchbook drawing into an art print, or at least a file ready for a printing company to do that for you.

I use 5 main Photoshop tools for this (plus a few others but we’ll stick to the basics here). Before we get to them, though, you’ll need to scan your sketchbook page/drawing so that it’s on your computer, and make sure it’s in the right ‘mode’.

What on earth is a DPI?

DPI stands for 'dots per inch', and the more dots (tiny bits of the image) there are per square inch of the screen, the higher the resolution, which basically means you can increase the size without it getting all fuzzy, and you'll get a higher quality print in the end. Most printing companies will tell you their minimum dpi requirements, so check that before you start scanning.

So the rule is: higher DPI = better quality print. You need to scan at a minimum of 300 dpi - never go below this for printing. I usually scan at 600 dpi.

Make sure the image mode is correct

Once you've got your scan, it's time to open it up in Photoshop and make sure you're using the correct image mode. There are two modes to choose from: RGB is for images that will be displayed on screen (like on your website or social media) and stands for Red, Green and Blue. CMYK is the format most printing companies require and stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (which is black).

We don’t need to worry too much about what all of this means but basically, it’s to do with the colours used to create an image either on a screen or in print and they’re different in each case. If you print an RGB image the colours won’t look right. Just make sure for print to use CMYK, unless your printing company specifically tells you not to (sometimes they’ll change that setting for you). To check/change this, go to Image > Mode > CMYK

Now we get to the tools you need to get your scanned image looking just right and ready to print.

1. Rotate your image

If your scan is sideways or upside down, go to Image > Image rotation and select which way and how much you want to rotate the scanned image.

2. Crop

Hit 'C' to bring up the crop tool, or go to the toolbar on the left of your screen, and you'll find it there - it's the one that looks like two right angles intersecting.

If your scanned image is on a white background, try to crop it as closely as possible to remove as much of the background as you can without cutting off any of your drawing.

If the artwork covers the whole page just crop it to remove any bits that the scanner picked up around your sketchbook/paper and a little extra to remove the curved corners of the pages if necessary.

While you're using the crop tool you can also rotate the image from just outside the corners if it's not quite straight.

3. Levels

The Levels tool in Photoshop balances the tones in an image out by making sure the black, white and grey tones are correct. his affects how all your other colours will appear too so it’s important.

Hit Ctrl + L or Cmd + L on a Mac, or go to Image > adjustments > levels

This opens the Levels panel where you'll see some slider controls and eye droppers.

You can just hit 'auto' and see what the result looks like but if it's not good (and usually I find it's not good), hit Ctrl/Cmd + Z to undo and use the sliders.

Drag the right-hand slider towards the centre to lighten the image, the left hand slider will make any dark areas darker and the middle slider will help you adjust the greys and mid tones. If you've got a nice scan you probably won't need to make any huge adjustments here. So when the colours look good, click OK.

4. Remove the white background

Unless your image takes up the entire page with no white paper showing, you will need to remove the white background. This is true even if you plan to have a white background on your finished print to make sure it's nice and clean.

There are lots of different ways of removing the white background and removing the background on a black line drawing is a bit more complex so maybe I'll go through that in a separate post sometime. But for a full colour image with the white page surrounding it, the easiest tool to use is the magic wand.

Just select the magic wand tool by hitting ‘W’ on your keyboard or selecting the tool that looks like a magician’s wand in the toolbar. Then click on the white background. This should select all the background and what you’ve selected will be surrounded by a moving dotted line (or ‘marching ants’). You can add to that selection or repeat the process later if some of the background gets left behind.

Then in the layers panel, double-click the background layer. This will turn it into a 'normal' layer. Hit the delete key and the white background will be gone. You might need to tidy up the edges of your drawing at this point and you can use the eraser tool for this (hit 'E' on your keyboard or in the lefthand toolbar look for the rectangle that's half black, half grey).

Then, if your background layer isn’t the colour you want in your final print, you can change that now.

5. Clone stamp tool

If you're working with a drawing or illustration that you created across a double page in your sketchbook you are going to have to deal with the 'gutter' where the 2 pages meet. You don't want that on your final print so in my opinion the best tool for this is the clone stamp tool. Inthe toolbar, the clone stamp looks like a rubber stamp.

With the clone stamp, you're essentially copying (or ‘cloning’) a small section from one part of your image and pasting it somewhere else in the same image to cover something up. So for this painting, I used the clone stamp to copy other areas of the sky and grass and stamp/paste them over that annoying seam down the middle of the screen.

Hold down the ‘alt’ key as you click to select the area you want to clone and then click without holding down the ‘alt’ key to paste that clone section over the middle of the image.

I'd recommend making the edges of the brush/stamp soft and varying where you copy from as much as possible, otherwise you risk the middle part of your image looking obviously patched together.

So they are the 5 main tools I use to transform a sketchbook drawing/painting into a file ready to print and frame. There’s a lot more detail I could go into about removing the white background, cleaning up your image and a few other bits and bobs but I’ll save that for another day.

Before I leave you. I’ll share one bonus tool with you.

6. Hue/Saturation

If the levels tool didn’t get your colours looking quite right, you may also want to try the Hue/Saturation tool.

You can find this in Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation or by hitting Ctrl/Cmd + U on your keyboard. Now you can play around with the 3 sliders for hue, saturation and lightness to tweak your image a little bit more.

That should leave you with a lovely print-ready file. Make sure you check your print company’s exact requirements before you send it away (they may want a JPEG, PDF or PSD file) and let me know in the comments if you have any questions or if I’ve missed something.

[makemywebsite1]

7 Must-Have Features for Successful Ecommerce Web Design

A well-designed e-commerce website can help to increase sales, improve user experience, and enhance the brand image.

It’s no more a bonus; a website is a business necessity today. However, it is not enough to have the bare minimum. A website, specifically for e-commerce, is only helpful if it is functional and engaging. 

So, we have compiled a list of 7 must-have features to help you create an effective e-commerce web design Melbourne.

1. User-Friendly Interface

 The first feature of any e-commerce website is a user-friendly interface. In simple words, it should be easy to navigate, and products should be easy to find.

Users’ attention span has reduced; if they don’t find a website engaging, they can quickly move on to the next best thing. So, it is essential to keep your e-commerce web design incredibly user-friendly.

Statistically speaking, users spend less than a minute on web pages across industries. Only a remarkably user-friendly interface can improve this average user time for your website. Web designers use many techniques in this pursuit.

For example, web designers know that people spend 80% of their viewing time on your website's left side and 20% on its right. So, they put a major focus on the left side of your website.

2. High-Quality Product Images

 A website is never complete without relevant images. High-quality product images will pull your customers in and encourages them to check out what products and services you offer. It also gives the customers a detailed idea of what they are buying.

If these images are mediocre or low-quality, your customers will directly relate them to your product quality.

3. Simple and Secure Checkout Process

Ensuring an easy checkout process is essential to keep customers engaged and prevent cart abandonment. The longer the process, the higher the chance to leave without placing the order.

This feature is vital to gain revenue. Web designers again follow many techniques to ensure a simple checkout process.

Ensure the products on the checkout page are clickable. It’s to review what they have selected and confirm everything is right before buying. This prevents your buyers from going back and forth.

 Keep the process as short as you can. Ideally, your user should be able to place an order in three or fewer steps.

 Display several checkout buttons at different spots on the page. It ensures users can easily find the checkout button. Besides, it also encourages them to complete the order.

4. Responsive Design

Your e-commerce website should have a responsive design that can adapt to different screen sizes and devices, including smartphones and tablets.

Nowadays, customers increasingly purchase online and engage with companies via their mobile devices. So, if the website isn’t responsive on their device, it can affect the whole user experience.

Essential elements of a responsive e-commerce web design:

Make sure the design can adjust to multiple screen sizes, layouts, and resolutions.

Do a mobile-friendly test to guarantee the site looks excellent on all mobile devices.

5. Integration with Social Media

We have come to a point where social media is a key factor in most of our decisions. It may be to buy a smartphone, travel, or watch a movie. Everything is connected to social media in some way or another.

Just the same way, social media integration can help to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, and engage with customers.

You can be on several social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. Connect them to your e-commerce web design and make it easy for your users to find out more about you.

6. Customer Reviews and Ratings

Nowadays, people are not buying anything before looking at reviews and ratings. They are avidly using platforms like Youtube and Google to check out the reviews of their desired products. If they are good, they are more likely to purchase them.

So, save them the trouble and display customer reviews and ratings on your website itself. It can help build trust and increase sales. They provide valuable social proof for potential customers.

However, make sure these reviews and ratings section is easy enough to find in your e-commerce web design.

7. Analytics and Reporting

Analytics and reporting can provide valuable insights into customer behaviour, sales performance, and website traffic. This data can be used to make informed decisions and optimise your e-commerce website.

In recent years, it has become a crucial part of e-commerce web design. So, be certain to discuss this with your web designer.

Final Say

In summary, a successful e-commerce web design Geelong should have many features to make it functional and profitable. Along with what we discussed, from a user-friendly interface to analytics and reporting, you should also consider the following:

Clear product descriptions

Easy search

Filtering options

Product recommendations and upselling

By incorporating these features into your e-commerce website, you can boost sales, enhance user experience, and create a favourable brand image.

Looking for affordable website design in Brisbane?

You can talk to Make My Website.

[wolvesandpetals]

Loki x Sylvie Playing House Part 3 (Humor, Romance), Rated T. Full on Sylki hijinks, as promised!

Masterlist of my Sylki fanfics here.

---

The first thing she does when Thor leaves is Google herself. Apparently, she was a child actor and made a fortune there, before transitioning into modelling, and later into a successful influencing career.

"That makes perfect sense to me", Loki comments. "If I was not a prince, I would have chosen to be an actor too. Just imagine, legions of fans screaming your name, begging for your attention for just one moment, hanging onto your every word, willing to worship the very ground you walk on. Now, that is the dream." He pauses, cherishing the image in his head. "There's also the money. Looks like you and I will never have to work a day in our lives. We can just live off your money."

[[MORE]]

Sylvie feels the muscles in her laws instinctively tense. This is not her life, or her reality. She can't imagine spending eternity here. She looks at Loki sternly. "We can not. We have to return to the TVA."

"Yes, of course." He agrees immediately. A part of him likes this life. But another part of him knows there is never a gain without a loss. The universe finds a way to make him pay for every bit of happiness he ever gets. Who knows what the price may be if he chooses to stay, with his family, and with Sylvie right here?

Sylvie sets down the laptop on the bedside table, ignoring the danger of Loki's glass being knocked over and drenching it. She cannot let herself be concerned with such simple things. Ignoring them is the surest way to covince herself she hates it here. "I was wondering, if Thor can get into this town, and if he remembers us leaving this town in the past, does it mean we are free to leave?"

Loki studies her features, the resolute glint in her eyes and the defiant stance of her chin. It is clear that she will stop at nothing to get back to the TVA. "We should test it out." He says, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Where do you wanna go?"

"Maybe we can go to Oklahoma? See my supposed parents?" She attempts to play it off like it's nothing, even though she knows exactly what it means- temptation. The urge to see what this life looks like is ever-growing.

"Why can't we go to Asgard and see my parents instead?" He counters immediately.

Sylvie purses her lips, trying not to reveal her emotions. She doesn't remember her Odin or Frigga at all. A part of her longs to meet this version of them, but another part wonders how overwhelming it would feel, watching Loki occupy her place, have her life, her "parents" in this timeline. "Fine. How about we pick a neutral location first?"

"Fine." He replies curtly.

"Fine!" Her irritation escalates. She grabs the laptop again, opening up a tab to a travel website, ready to book a flight.

"LA?" He suggests.

"You just want the paparazzi attention, don't you?" She points out, but doesn't resist. "Alright."

September 1st. The date is set. They will be off to LA within three days, and if whatever being that has placed them here does not want them to leave, they will know by then.

---

"Do you really need all of these sunglasses?" Sylvie asks, after Loki stashes the fifth one in his backpack.

"Of course, I do." He defends. "Style? Remember?"

"Travelling light, remember?" She hits back, taking out two random pairs and throwing them back on her dresser. "Just take what you absolutely need."

"I absolutely need my sunglasses." He says stubbornly.

She can either give in on this trivial matter, or she can dig her heels in and fight it out with him. A stupid pair of sunglasses is not worth the effort. "Fine." And in return, there's something that he has to compromise for her as well. "Only if you help me get my swords past security."

"With pleasure." He says with a grin, and with a wave of his hand, the newly arrived swords from eBay are magically cloaked.

Sylvie looks at her own luggage. She has never really owned anything. She jumped from one apocalypse to another, with only her life, and sometimes food supplies for a few days. It feels surreal to look at the clothes in her wardrobe now. The thought of carrying them with her feels even more foreign.

She looks at the tons of products on her dresser, skin creams, lotions, toners, cleansers and heaven knows what else. All the luxuries she never had.

All the luxuries she does not want.

"I'll just pack a change of clothes." She says finally.

"You don't want anything else?" He asks, surprised.

"These are just things, Loki." She explains. "They can be replaced. I have no attachment to them."

---

She regrets not booking first class. She has been on planes before, using crashing aircrafts as a temporary hideout spot to regroup when the TVA was on her tails. As a stowaway, she never realized just how annoying a plane journey can actually be.

Loki graciously offers her the window seat, noting her unease as soon as they board. She thanks him with a smile, and they nod in mutual understanding.

She stares out of the window, at the town that is supposedly her home, and for the first time ever, she feels a pang of homesickness for a place that is not Asgard. She has been here for just five days now, yet, the thought of sleeping in her own bed is so tempting.

Sylvie notices how she is thinking of the bed as her bed now, but tries not to dwell on it too much.

The plane takes off without incidence, and she dozes off quickly. When she wakes up, she notices a thin comforter wrapped around her shoulders. Turning to her side, she sees Loki sleeping as well, his mouth slightly agape. She snuggles close to him, suddenly needing the comfort of his warmth, and the woman on the aisle seat gives her a dirty look. There's a baby crying somewhere in the back, and what feels like the beginning of a massive headache. But all that fades away when she lays her head on his shoulder.

---

When the flight arrives at LAX, they are both a little scared to leave its comfort. They are about to find out if they are free to travel wherever they want, or whether the action had any consequence. Sylvie is the first to take a step out, and they are both relieved to see nothing happens. The baggage claim goes smoothly, though slowly, and they get a cab quickly. Sylvie hides her grin when she sees Loki put on his sunglasses.

"So we're here." He says, staring at Sylvie, while she stares out of the window.

She only hums in response.

"Is this your honeymoon?" The driver asks.

Loki laughs nervously. "No, no. We've been married for quite a long time. This is just... a vacation."

The driver recommends them a lot of tourist places. Sylvie tunes him out. This is just a test. She has no interest in touring LA. They have their return flight scheduled for the next day.

They check into their hotel room, and she plops down on the bed immediately. "It seems we are free to leave the town. Just not the reality, I suppose." She runs her hands over the silky sheets, amused. "I must say, whoever placed us here has taken every measure to make this prison comfortable."

Loki follows suit and takes a seat beside her. "I suppose that is indeed generous of him. Or her."

Sylvie turns to the side to look at him. "So how do we get out of here then? Got any plan?"

He shrugs. It's not like there's a book called What to do when you find yourself trapped in an alternate universe with your alternate self for Dummies. "Right now, the plan is to get some dinner, then some sleep. Then perhaps in the morning we can see a bit of LA?"

"You want to play tourist?" She asks in a neutral tone.

He replies in kind, testing the waters. "We are here already, and we have the time, so why not?"

"Okay." She replies, a little unsure, but not entirely opposed to the idea. The weariness of the journey starts taking its toll on her. She messages her temples with her fingertips. "Should we order room service?"

Loki contemplates for a moment. On the one hand, she looks really tired, and she could use a good night's sleep. On the other hand, she has been completely on edge and razor focused on the mission since they got in this mess. Well, since they met, actually, and probably for centuries before that. She could also use a bit of fun and relaxation.

With that in mind, he carefully voices his proposal. "I was thinking maybe we can go down to the restaurant and have a proper dinner."

Sylvie looks up, grinning mischievously. She's about to call his bluff. "What, like a date?" His deer-in-the-headlights reaction makes her laugh. "Calm down, I'm just teasing you."

---

It's not a date, but it kind of is. It's a four course meal and a fine bottle of champagne over candlelight, after all.

"Was it like this? Back at Asgard?" Sylvie wonders.

"Mostly. But Asgard was grand, elegant. This is..."

"A cheap replacement." She completes.

Loki smiles. "Precisely."

They talk about their Asgard bedrooms, the similarities and the differences between their safe haven in the palace. An hour passes swiftly.

"The wine is good." Sylvie comments, sipping on her first glass of wine, when the champagne is drained.

"Yes, quite good." Loki agrees, on his first glass as well.

The tiniest buzz starts to take root in him, and his mind wanders into the realm of possibilities, the future he can have, here and now. His eyes focus on the brighest object in front of him- Sylvie.

She feels her cheeks flush under his gaze. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You are just so..." He blinks. What is another word for Asgard's Sun when it disappears into the azure lakes? "Breathtaking"

Her lips curve into a shy smile. This is the beginning of the same foolishness he showed on the train in Lamentis-1 that almost got them killed. But right now, their life isn't in imminent danger. Right now, she is just amused. "Wow, you really can't hold your liquor, can you?"

"Of course I can. I am Loki, Prince of Asgard." He declares proudly.

"Yes, yes, I've heard the speech." She says it with a smile and an eye-roll. "We should get you upstairs."

He objects immediately. "But I'm not done yet."

"Oh, I think you're quite done." She beckons the nearest waiter. "Can we get the bill, please?"

He can still walk surprisingly well, but she holds his hand tightly, just in case he decides to take a detour, and drags him into the elevator.

"Blonde looks good on you." He comments out of the blue. "Maybe I should go blonde too."

She grins. "Like Thor?"

He glares at her. "You're a buzzkill."

---

Sylvie opens the door after fumbling with the keys for a minute. She is starting to feel the effect of the alcohol as well. She takes off her shoes and her earrings, while Loki runs to the loo.

"Why did you book a room for two?" He asks in a serious tone, leaning against the door-frame of the bathroom.

Sylvie freezes, her hand hanging mid-air for five uncomfortable seconds before she awkwardly drops it to her side.

Why did she book a room for two? She could have just rented separate rooms, or at least ones with separate beds. It's not like she and Loki are actually together.

But they have been. At least for the past few days. Why do they need separate rooms here when they share a bed back home?

Home. Sylvie realises with alarm that she's thinking of her prison as her home.

Is this reality starting to mess with her mind now?

"It's okay, I don't want to leave you either." Loki's voice pulls her out of her inner monologue. She turns around quickly in his direction. He's still drunk, and it shows, but he has a look on his face that she has never seen before- a mix of resolution and fondless. His eyes whisper silent vows of loyalty, and something else, something he can't quite express yet. "I will never leave you."

Sylvie smiles, closing the distance between them and standing next to him. Her hand finds his by sheer instinct. "Good to know."

"I mean it, Sylvie." He gives her hand a reassuring squeeze, before he tugs her along with him as he sits down on the bed, unable to stand any longer in his inebriated state. She is grateful to be seated too, and she's unsure whether it is just the alcohol. "I know you hate it here. But I like this." He indicates at her, then at himself, then back at her. "I like falling asleep next to you, and walking into the kitchen first thing every morning to see you cursing at the microwave. I like how you hum in the shower and scream at the TV."

Sylvie listens quietly, her eyes focused on the feeling of his hand in hers. She is trying to memorize this moment, burn the shape of his fingers and the feel of his touch into her brain, so that when it's gone- when he is gone- like everything in her life always is, she will have another good memory to relive again and again.

Loki continues. "I like the way you burn the pasta every time you try to cook."

"I don't burn the whole dish." She retorts playfully. "Just the bottom part."

He shakes his head to show he disagrees. "Can I tell you a secret?"

Her heartbeat quickens. Is he going to confess that he has feelings for her?

Does he have feelings for her?

"Sure." She barely whispers back.

Loki double-checks. "Promise me that you will never tell yourself?"

She laughs softly. "I promise."

Loki tenses, suddenly looking sober. He lets go of her hand, to rest his by his side, his fingers clenched into a fist. Mastering all his courage, he finally speaks. "I don't want to leave. Ever. I like it here."

Sylvie looks away, suddenly needing air. Hearing Loki say that makes her feel irrationally angry. He promised to be on her side every step of the way, but the minute he finds a life he likes, he's ready to throw in the towel.

A part of the anger stems from the fact that she knows, a major reason he wants to stay is her, this life he has with her. Two Lokis on any other timeline will cause Nexus events. But here, they are free to be together. Timelines don't start branching off like a growing vine on timelapse video every time they touch. And he wants that. She knows this because he has all but said it with his words and his actions.

And because she wants it too. Damn it, she wants it so much. She is getting sucked into this reality, indeed.

But she knows she has to finish what she started- she owes it to herself, and to the people out there who need her help, who will be robbed of their lives if she doesn't stop whoever is doing this.

She wants to-

- But she can't.

"Loki, I-" she stops when she turns around to see he has already fallen asleep. Wordlessly, she wraps the comforter over his sleeping form, before crawling under it herself. Turning to her side, facing away from him, she wonders what's next for them.

[quonit]

"I saw my art on another website! Who did this and why??"

Thankfully for you, I have answers! But first we need to get into some backstory.

Very often when people think of reposted artwork, they think of when somebody takes an image, rips off the signature and claims it as their own. This is horrible, but it is NOT what I am talking about here. The large, LARGE majority of reposts are not malicious, or even intentional. This post is to explain how that happens, why, and what to do about it.

Image posts often get indexed by websites such as Google Images or copy cat websites for Twitter and Tumblr like Tumdex. People don't upload to this, instead they mirror what is on websites. When people look up something and click images, they might find yours just from this. From this point, there are several different things that can happen.

Sometimes, people pin it onto boards on Pinterest. Boards are for PERSONAL USE and people just use it as an alternative for image saving. Rather than downloading an image to their computer, they put it in a folder on this website. This is not malicious sense it's not meant to be shared.

This is the same with many different other websites, such as IFunny, Amino, and Wattpad. You may know Amino as pretty much nothing but reposted fanart. They INCREDIBLY RARELY find the art they put there on the OPs tumblr or twitter, but often on these indexing websites like Google Images or Pinterest.

They are NOT intentionally stealing the art and then deciding not to credit it. Again, Images automatically get indexed and then found by groups of kids that literally do not know any better than to share it. For the most part, these are small communities, but when an image gets clicked on and seen many times it gets boosted in the indexes so it shows up more and gets cycled around these websites more.

A side affect of this is that the images get distorted. Amino puts a tag on the bottom that says Posted on Amino, some people don't download the images they take screenshots with their phone, often they lose their original resolution, ect ect.

This is LITERALLY inevitable if your art gets popular enough. Have a post with 200 notes?? PROBABLY indexed somewhere. Just do a reverse google image search and you'll find it.

Again, these are NOT malicious attempts to discard OPs name. It's algorithms saving images because they are relavent, people saving it to personal boards, and then kids who don't know better sharing it with friends on a public platform.

THERE ARE THINGS YOU CAN DO THOUGH!!! Put your name on your artwork. Make sure that it is READABLE so that people can easily find you. It happens INCREDIBLY frequently when people find these artworks in a personal board or something and want to find the artist, but can't reverse search it because it's a distorted version of the image.

For placement, your name should pry go middleish because the tops and bottoms are the first to go when it comes to these websites. You can be creative with it.

This may be very frustrating for some artists, and as an artist myself that often finds my artworks on other websites, I get it! But learning to understand it has helped me quite a lot, and sense there's nothing to be done about it it's better to figure out a good way to move forwards.

[taiey]

RELEASE the jonelias soulmate au!!!

okaaay

i revised it At All so all the problems u identified r mostly now New Problems :disdain: also i made it more about basira ♥

—

"You could have stopped me," John said. His heartbeat seemed to be pounding in synch with the waves against the ship. "But you wanted to know as well, didn’t you?"

He watched Basira stare at him until uncertainty cracked through the edges of her stoic mask. She believed him—or she might—he was right, wasn't he?—it didn't matter. He couldn't think. His whole skin itched, and if she would just—stop saying things, like that, then—

"Get some rest," he said. "Two days yet."

She kept looking at him a long moment more, but she turned away, drifted slowly towards the cabins like Floyd had, just minutes ago. Could he breathe, now? Could he think, without—

He thought he'd understood her. What she cared about, how she thought of him. Practical, pragmatic, logic and use and action, that was supposed to be it, he could cope with that, he didn't need more than that. You’re the one who wants to be like Gertrude. And yet still...

It was fine. Wasn't it? She'd accepted it. He could stop worrying about all her - expectations - and think about what he learned of Salesa (about every drop of horror Floyd had felt) or Ny Alesund, or why he kept wanting to scratch at the back of his neck.

He wrapped his hand over the spot in hopes the pressure would help at least; just above where his hair had grown out to, but sitting under the edge of his shirt collar. Nothing about it felt odd, nothing raised or ridged or rashed or any other texture to inform him.

Yet he knew, as he touched it, as he flinched away, what mark lay under his fingers, and what it meant.

John had always preferred second-genre romance novels, he thought numbly. Back when he'd had nothing better than second-hand books to give his time to. First-genre tended to fall so strongly into the same formulae that their similarities drowned out the peculiarities of the plot, characters, and style. After all, there were only so many ways that you could position two people to already know they were soulmates and keep them apart for the length of a satisfying novel.

The stories about couples who knew each other first and worked through their varied conflicts and became soulmates were far rarer. More unique.

He stared over the railings of the ship into false-midnight sea, watching the shadows of the waves in the dim, slanting light. The academic study of soulmates was - never something he'd been particularly interested in. That they really were happier, less likely to divorce, often more similar—that much, he knew had been verified. Something on the position of soulmate marks; usually discreet but easy to display, sometimes bright and brazen, but for disfavoured couples—gay people in homophobic societies had been the main category—they could appear in far more hidden places. They did usually show up in places that a person could see with their own eyes, or were tactile—but that fit, in its own way.

He caught his hand wandering up to the back of his neck, and wrapped it around the railings. The paint was slightly flaked under his fingers, and he tried to focus on that instead. He knew, nevertheless, exactly what shape the mark was, and exactly where its mate was.

No one had ever ascertained why or how certain people developed matching images. That was the province of, of glossy magazines and websites about crystals or star signs. The only person he could ever consider treating as a reliable source who had a theory on them was Gerard Keay. Gerry. John had asked him what sort of powers there were; if there could be any beyond fear.

"Well, sure, " he had said. "There's whatever does soulmates."

"What?"

"Yeah, they're obviously not normal, " he had smirked. John had never really thought to put them in the same category before. They were too ordinary for that, even if he'd never personally known anyone with a soulmate, nor did they appear in any of the statements more than incidentally. "But they don't go all scary either, so... there's got to be something out there that's very interested in nice happy loving romantic relationships. Specifically. Of all things. Dunno why. If it was interested in anything else that's good for humans it could probably do a better job than that."

If it was interested in anything else that was good for humans... John sighed. He couldn't see any argument for why this would be good. Probably it - didn't need to be, for anyone but the two in question. There were lurid stories sometimes, headlines in supermarkets and online ads, serial-killer-terrorist-criminal-soulmates, the horror! At best that sort were rare enough to be shocking. Or maybe people ignored them.

This was one argument that he was still human, at least. There was nothing else reassuring in the idea that this was a match of... pure compatibility.

It hadn't even been the hunting, he knew. Wasn't even seeking out strangers to tear the trauma from their mind and drag them into his dreams and haunt their waking steps. That - that, he could have blamed on something else. The Eye, or the Web, maybe. No, the resolution of conflict here was - was something else.

He hadn't noticed the exact moment; he had, after all, been a little distracted. But somewhere between telling Basira he was sure about this, and telling her that it was Floyd Matharu's fault that he had to compel him, and telling her it was her fault for saying he needed to be at full power for Ny-Alesund, and telling her it was her fault for not stopping him—

—whatever power pointed people at others who fit them well decided that his soulmate was Elias Bouchard.

The slap of a wave and the creak of the ship for a moment coincided to sound like a foot step on the deck. John looked back, just for a moment, thinking Basira had come back to look for him or talk to him, to ask all of those questions.

It was necessary, he'd said. She got the job done, and didn’t care about the cost. He'd thought that would - be enough, for her.

But I thought you did.

She'd expected him to still care. About everyone, about a single stranger, even now. Even after everything he'd - not told her about, could barely stand to think about, she—

She trusted him. To be better than that.

He didn't know how to cope with that. Hardly knew how to think.

[phanique]

Ancient Love Poetry 千古玦尘 Review

I finished ALP around 2 weeks ago and had some free time to finally type out my review so here it is.

Not a professional critic or anything, just a casual drama watcher here.

So after watching Falling Into Your Smile, I became more interested in Xu Kai's works so I was looking into what are more recent works of his and this came out. AvenueX actually did a first impressions video of it which I saw but forgot but I do remember her saying something which I will mention afterwards.

I watched the first 2 episodes on YouTube and the rest on some third party website. The only official website I know that has English subtitles is WeTV but you would need to be a VIP which I am not. Also, the only actor I knew was Xu Kai so I did not even went to check who the cast were and what the plot was. The drama is also based on a novel which I will check out some day but the list of novels I have to check out is getting longer and longer with each drama that I watch.

Onto the review.

Plot

I would say the story is split into 3 parts.

Episode 1 - 15

The back story of Bai Jue and Shang Gu. The secret behind Hun Dun Zhi Jie (HDZJ) (I am not sure what they call it for the English subtitles).

Episode 16 - 37/38

The story of Qing Mu and Hou Chi. The preparation of fixing the mess of HDZJ, The mess created after HDZJ.

Episode 38 - 49

Fixing the created after HDZJ and fixing the mess of HDZJ itself. Bai Jue and Shang Gu fixing some of the mess.

So since the drama is based on the novel, and I have yet to see the novel, I do not know how much of the drama follows the novel, what they added/removed etc. I did read in the comments of some YouTube comments that the novel actually started from Episode 15ish where it starts from Hou Chi/Qing Mu and not Shang Gu/Bai Jue so if you find that the episodes before 15 are boring like AvenueX did, I do think it gets better. I personally actually found it good and cried a lot throughout all the episodes.

AvenueX did say that it is similar to other xianxia genre type of dramas (Ashes of Love, Love and Redemption, Journey of the Flower from the YouTube comments I see). I personally do not know any of such dramas actually so this is technically my first xianxia drama. I do understand where she is coming from but I also think that if the thing ain't broke don't fix it kind of things applies to xianxia dramas.

The story just flows very nicely and the ending was good enough for me. I know many wanted an ending of the family but the novel actually ended there (I checked it personally) so I guess they really just stuck to the novel.

Acting

I would go by the characters.

Bai Jue is a very strict and stone-hearted type of person and I do think Xu Kai portrays him pretty well. He slowly becomes soft-hearted and you could sort of see the change in him where he becomes hesitant on what he should choose - between saving the three realms and his love for Shang Gu.

Qing Mu on the other hand is definitely more playful and more proactive in a sense. He becomes very attracted to Hou Chi due to the bracelet and his visions of his dream girl but you can also slowly see that he actually falls in love with her beyond those. The part where he follows Hou Chi to the Bei Hai to find Bo Xuan, I would say that he almost feels not interested in finding Bo Xuan anymore in a sense and more that he wants to follow Hou Chi.

I think Xu Kai did a great job for this drama and that it was not wrong to cast him. He showed a good difference between Bai Jue and Qing Mu.

Shang Gu is a very playful person from the start and I would say not very mature but as she grew under the guidance of Bai Jue, she became stronger and more mature. She still treats others kindly despite her status, although someone would be taken advantage of that. I think there is an innate kindness in her in the sense where she wanted the couple to be together instead of just following the rules.

Hou Chi on the other hand is very weak due to her weak Ling Qi and she rarely goes out with that. I do think she is much more mature than Shang Gu from the start where she trains very hard because people does not look up to her regardless of her status.

After episode 38 or so where Shang Gu recovers in Hou Chi, I would say Shang Gu definitely became more mature and more aware in a sense. She looks for Bai Jue like 4 times (I praise her courage for trying to keep reaching for him because I definitely would just hate him from the start) and honestly believed in him so much but was rejected. You can tell that she slowly turns into her shell in a sense after the continuous rejection. She becomes more dejected but also more resolute but she has Yuan Qi so she was like satisfied. However, after the big final secret, you can say that she was desperate but determined to get him back. She gave up on being a god to me which I think is the breaking point I would say to their 'ancestors' which I do think is why they brought Bai Jue back.

AvenueX did say that the cast are not that suitable and honestly I might have agreed with her in the first place but as the story progressed I do think it is not wrong to cast her. I honestly have no idea who Zhou Dong Yu was before this drama and I would say that she almost does not have the vibe that she can act as the top woman in a drama but she actually can pull off as Shang Gu. When the story progressed on Hou Chi, I began to see a better reason of why she was casted since she definitely can fit the weaker image of Hou Chi. I think the final part of Shang Gu was where I am glad that she was a cast because she actually felt that she still had power but was almost weak in a sense where she did not know what Bai Jue did and is almost helpless. Her acting of being a mother to Yuan QI was also great since she still was a motherly figure in a sense but also did not feel oppressive or that Yuan Qi is her son that has to obey her in that sense.

(I will slowly add more notes on the other characters because this review would be soooo long)

CGI

I think another reason why this drama really was good was that the CGI is pretty solid here. I do think there are certain places that could have been better where acting is needed with the CGI. For example when Tian Qi was like sliding his hand behind the sword to like give it power and the CGI illuminates the sword, I would think that he should be holding the sword straighter and not have one side tipping down (if the sword was heavy, they could just have a string that would help support the weight and cut it out in post production) because that image made me feel that they were less majestic in a sense. Obviously it is a small part but overall good CGI, more effort just needs to be put it for the acting with CGI part.

OST

Okay, so at the start I said that I did not know anything about the drama other than the fact that Xu Kai is in it. Well technically that is a little wrong because I actually knew one of the OSTs. I follow Liu Yu Ning on Spotify so that anytime a new song of his is released, I know of it and this song appeared and I just listened and liked it without knowing that it was an OST so now I know about it.

The OSTs are so good but I do think that is a half given for xianxia dramas because these dramas are usually long so the time/budget dedicated to them I would say are also more so they do usually fit the drama better/are specially written for the drama. I do also want to add that the OSTs fit each part really nicely on where they insert it.

Overall

9/10 for me. Highly highly recommend it. If I had a WeTV subscription, this will definitely be on my rewatch playlist.

[matildaofoz]

The Invisible Itch Pt. 2 (Demon!Michael x Reader)

Summary: Michael introduces himself after last night and you find yourself on the short end of the proverbial stick by your own doing, no less. Demons don't play nice and Michael puts you firmly into place.

A/N: This is a little interlude to the next part of this series, no smut just yet I'm afraid but plenty of dominant Demon!Michael. He's so much fun to write and the back-and-forth between him and the reader are some of my favourites.

Warnings: Cursing, Power-Play, minor violence and hurt (reader-receiving), mentions of smut

Word Count: 2.4k

Tag List: @prophecy-is-inevitable​ @jimmlangdon​ @drasangel​ @leatherduncan​ @sexwon131​ @rocketgirl2410​ @9layerdevilfoodcake​ @vulgarprayer​ @michaellangdonstanaccount​ @michaellandgons-sunshine​ @iwillboilyourteeth​ @michael-langdon-owns-my-soul​, @kitty4860​

After you'd awoken the night after an encounter you couldn't begin to make sense of, you had quite literally grabbed whatever your hands could reach out the wardrobe and sprinted out the door, not daring to even enter the bathroom. You felt whatever, whoever had introduced himself the night before lingering in the place you called your home and that knot in your stomach wound tighter as the day went on. You were going insane. Surely,  for the truth of the matter meant that there were forces in this world - and apparently in your apartment  - that you couldn't fathom.

You needed answers and so you began to scour the Internet, not caring if your work search history took a weird turn. You still felt his fingers between your legs, his teeth on your shoulder and his grip on your hip. God, the way he had pleasured you was unlike anything you'd ever felt. You tried to shake the lustful thoughts flitting through your mind, the image of him standing before you burned into your retinas.

Demon. That word kept popping up on the websites and subreddits you found and you swore you felt those strong hands on you again as you read page after page of first person accounts with the supernatural. The more you read, the more you became alarmed, mentions of people having unwittingly sold their soul to the devil himself despite not believing in these kinds of things. If this was any other time, you would have scoffed at the idiotic posts. And yet here you were, baring the bruises of something you couldn't explain. The work day drew to a close far too soon, the day feeling like you spent it in a daze, a thick fog hanging over your mind, visions of him clouding your senses. Maybe you had sold your soul, given it to that man, that demon. That would explain the haze you walked through,  that ache between your legs.

"Hey (Y/N), you alright? Anything going on, you didn't seem right today," Cindy from accounting said as you both stepped into the elevator.  

"Hm? Oh yeah sorry, I'm just tired I think ," you replied with a little embarrassed smile several seconds after she had turned to address you as the doors slid shut. She mustered you, taking in the slight dark circles under your eyes, apparent because you hadn't even bothered to put on any make up. You forced a smile, not feeling up to any small talk.

"Heard Kevin's been bragging about you two going down to his lake house this weekend. Please tell me that's not true, " she continued and you were glad she didn't mention your appreance.

"He did what?!" you shrieked, now suddenly rattled into the present by her statement.

"Thought as much," Cindy replied, a small chuckle on her lips. You two didn't get to speak often but she was one of the few people in the office who showed her disdain for your manager and his creepy ways openly.

"This is turning out to be an even worse day than it already is," you groaned, making Cindy snicker beside you.

"Just be careful, I know he's all bark and no bite but you wouldn't want to get yourself in any situation," she said, patting you lightly on the shoulder as the elevator doors slid open to reveal the underground parking lot.

"Yeah, definitely won't do that. Thanks for the heads up," you called after her as she stepped out to head to her car, waving at you without turning around. You liked Cindy and her no-nonsense attitude. Too bad you were already in a situation of the supernatural kind. You'd kick Kevin's balls any day if he tried anything. The demon in your flat however was an entirely different beast to tame. If that was even a possibility.

You sat in your car outside your apartment building for a good 10 minutes, looking up at the dark windows, debating on whether or not you wanted to spend the night  there. What had gotten into you, a tiny voice in the back of your mind berated you. You weren't scared of horror movies or graveyards, you laughed your way though haunted houses you and your friends went to on Halloween and yet the thought of stepping foot into your safe space suddenly filled you with dread. You could explain all those things away by good editing, special effects and makeup. A real-life demon on the other hand...With a huff you swung open the car door and stepped out into the chilly movember air and headed for the entrance. As you passed under the streetlights,  you swore you could feel those eyes of his on you, watching from above.

The lock clicked, unlatching the door. You entered, expecting to come face to face with him and yet you were greeted by silence. You ventured into the kitchen, switching on the lights, back rigged. Empty. Next you headed for the bathroom. It looked as if you'd never even took a bath last night, no wine bottle, no glass on the floor, no water puddles on the ground. Slowly but surely you were beginning to think that you'd had a very vivid dream, one that would definetely warranted a visit to your pyschologist, and somehow managed to bump your hip and scratch your shoulder. It made no sense. You knew you were being watched as you stepped out the car. God, maybe you were finally at your breaking point,  brought around by nothing in particular, you just simply snapped.

You ventured into your bedroom to change out of your clothes. The note...was gone. You swore you'd left in laying on your covers. After several minutes of franticall searching under the covers and around the bed, you gave up. Maybe your breakup was fianlly catching up with you in an unusual way or maybe it was the loneliness. Whatever it was, all that remained of last night were the bruises. You changed into an oversized t-shirt and some cotton shorts, examining the blueish imprints on your hips. Perhaps you had gotten so drunk last night that you'd simply not remembered hitting your hip and this morning, still drunk your brain had conjured up the note just as it has the demon that fucked you raw in the bathtub last night.

Having let your guard down at finding nothing out of the ordinary, you padded into the living room, your phone in hand that was currently reinstalling tinder. Might as well get back in the game if I'm dreaming up hot demon bathtub sex, you thought to yourself.

You switched on the light, revealing the demon from last night perched lazily on the sofa,  looking at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" you screamed, dropping your phone. So much for not being scared.

"Good evening to you too, (Y/N)" he chuckled, taking in your frightened expression, those pretty (Y/E/C) eyes of yours ripped wide open.

"What are YOU doing here?" you hissed, trying to calm your heart that was currently in overdrive. He wasn't real, he wasn't supposed to be real.

"What do you mean what am I doing here. Didn't we assess last night that this is my domain? I should be asking you that question, Angel," he retorted, that grin of his widening into a dashing smile, his awsner punctuated by a wink that shouldn't have the effect it had on you.

"S-so this, last night, this was all real?" you whispered with your hands gesturing around you, disbelief in your voice and realisation flitting over your face.

"Oh it was real. A demon fucking that sweet little cunt of yours. Very real and very enjoyable I might add," he rumbled, hia brazen words making your cheeks flush. You stood in the door flabbergasted.

"I'm Michael by the way. I didn't get to introduce myself properly last night since you passed out. Not to worry,  I take it as a compliment of my expertise," he winked once more.

You watched him as he revealed why you couldn't remember getting out the tub or falling asleep. So he was a demon. A spawn of satan. Your mind went back to all the things you'd read earlier about his kind, that knot in your stomach suddenly coiling in on itself.

"Did I sell my soul to you last night?!" The words spilled over your lips, your (Y/E/C) gaze shooting daggers at the demon who looked more bemused by the second, taking in your flustered appearance. He hadn't expected you to be so straightforward.

"No, you'd know if you did," he smirked, tapping his chin, a cocky smile on his lips as he watched you deflate slightly. You didn't dare breathe a sigh of relief yet.

"This is like if you're a cop, you have to tell me. You can't lie, you can twist the truth but you can't outright lie," you responded, not satisfied by his half answer.

"Oh, we've been hitting the books at work today? Smart girl," he chuckled. You hadn't done nearly enough research to know the pile of proverbial shit you had landed in unknowingly, but you had done enough between work meetings and over your lunch break to know that a demon was bound by whatever force held them to this plane that made it impossible for them to lie if called upon directly. Your hands clenched by your sides, waiting for his reply. He groaned at your resoluteness. You were a lot smarter than you knew and he was growing impatient with the incessant line of questioning. Usually it was him with one hand on the lever.

"Sweet (Y/N)," he inhaled deeply. "You didn't sell your soul to me last night. It's still firmly sat behind your ribcage, all yours. I'd swear on my heart if I had one. I do have integrity, you know. Are you satisfied now?" He sneered, watching your face as he waited for your reply, one eyebrow cocked expectantly, a hint of offense on his features. You sighed in relief at his statement.

"Thank God," you breathed. At least some of what you'd found on various internet sites and reddit threads seemed to be true. At the name, Michael's eyes darkened and he stood up to his full height from the sofa. Your spine straightened as he approached you, his demeanour growing even sourer.

"Don't mention him in my presence," he rumbled, coming to stand before you, the tips of his pristine parent leather boots touching your bare toes. Had he approached you like this when you had entered your apartment, you would've shrunk back but your little research endeavours had struck a hint of Gold, a fact that had emboldened you as much as his admission that he infact a demon. You wanted to try and see what else you could use against him. Resolute, you stood your ground, neck slightly tilted back to meet his gaze. He may have scared you just now but you were not one to back down, for better or worse.

"God," you uttered again, watching his eyes grow dark, an inky blackness swallowing his blue irises.

Michael tilted his head to one side, those shadows starting to creep up behind him like they had last night. A silent warning.

"Jesus Christ," you continued to test him.

"(Y/N)..." his voice rumbled low out his chest, and the depth of it sent shivers down your spine.

"In the name of the father, the son and the hol-" His right arm shot up and he grabbed you by the throat roughly, cutting off your breath before you could finish the sentence. In the blink of an eye you were pressed between the wall, Michael's hand around your throat pinning you in place.

"Shut your fucking mouth or I'll do it for you," he hissed, his body pressed firmly over yours, his black gaze burning into you, and a searing pain exploded behind them. You screamed in terror and anguish as it felt like he was burning your eyes out their sockets.

"FUCK, I'M SORRY, I'LL STOP, PLEASE!" you cried, your vision going blurry from pain and tears that had begun to spill out the corners. At your cries, Michael's hand loosened the grip around your neck and stepped back. You slid down the wall at the loss of his body holding you up, gulping in air, fingers gingerly touching the skin around your eyes, afraid they would come up bloody. Unbothered, Michael watched as you regained control over your breathing, mustering you with a hint of disdain. He crouched down before you, making you press yourself against the wall in an effort to keep the distance between you.

"Don't ever think you're smarter than me, little one. Test me again and you'll see. I dare you," he chuckled, one hand catching your quivering chin in his hold to assess the damage he'd done. Only several small burst blood vessels bloomed in the whites of your eyes. Nothing permanent and yet enough to remind you that you were in his domain, abiding by his rules.

"Now that we've established who's in charge once again, why dont you tell me about your day? I took the liberty of getting some wine," he said, any trace of anger or demonic demeanour wiped from his chiseled features, that small smile playing on the corners of his lips again. He was psychotic or just simply demonic, that little voice in th back of your head whispered while you watched him, the back of your head and shoulders pressed into the wall.

He offered you his hand to help you off the floor, as if the last minutes had never taken place. You debated whether or not to refuse but seeing as how you were on the much shorter end of the stick firmly in his grasp, you took his hand and were hoisted up to your feet by Michael. You recoiled from his grasp as soon as you were steady on your feet,  eyeing him warily. Alcohol sounded like a good idea even though you wanted to keep your wits about you around him. There was no doubt in your mind now about who it was you were dealing with and this was far worse than you'd anticipated and yet it didn't seem like you had much choice. Your lease wouldn't run out for another 6 months and there was no way you'd go back to your best friend's couch.

“Why the hell not,” you muttered, earning yourself a gleeful grin from the handsome devil before you.

“I knew you'd come around, Angel,” he grinned, those hooded icy blue eyes glinting.