#yes I did 3 separate light sources of different colours

[thisfuckingdork]

Javi isn't crazy; he's right

[darker-soft-starker]

Starker High School AU, Pt.1 (Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4, Pt.5)

tw: enemies-to-lovers, swearing, mentions of fighting

----

Peter’s day started like most others. 

The nearby screech of his alarm startles him into the waking world. Without opening his eyes, he fumbles against his bedside table to grab his phone, smacking himself in the face in his haste to silence it.

It’s always a Herculean effort to get up before the sun does, and today is no different. Squinting against the grey morning light, Peter contemplates simply closing his eyes and going back to sleep. The thought is tempting, the pull of sleep still in his limbs. 

Instead, he resigns himself to the day and slips out of bed, reaching for his glasses and propping them on his face.

Through finger-smudged lenses his phone say’s five-thirty-four, which in itself is an affront, but he’s comforted that it’s a Friday and respite isn’t far off. This weekend will be spent sleeping, playing video games and eating cinnamon poptarts until he succumbs to a blissful food coma.

He can’t freakin’ wait. 

Hearing his aunt rouse the room over, Peter gathers his clothes and hurries to the shower. The November chill bites as his bare feet touch the floor and he shivers, cursing the lack of heating in his apartment. It’s positively freezing. 

The hot water is nice while he showers, but it’s much worse when he gets out, still wet as he tiptoes back to his bedroom. Fruitlessly, he bangs the old iron radiator in the hall with his fist as he passes it, because it does little more than encourage a groan from the ancient equipment.

Back in his bedroom, Peter hums as slips on his sweats and sneakers and readies himself for the day against the tune of an awakening neighborhood, spraying himself with probably too much deodorant in the process. 

Finished, Peter puts his glasses back on and in the window he inspects his reflection. He smiles. 

It’s Friday.

It’s gonna be a great day.

----

To no-ones shock but his own, his affirmation was proving true.

So far, Peter actually was having a great day.

Because it was late November but the sun was shining so splendidly that it quickly froze the frost from the windows. A small miracle occurred when he found a scrunched twenty dollar note stashed in the pocket of his jacket - and with it he treated himself up a packet of Lays, a red bull and a sandwich from Delmars

And for once, he wasn’t late to training.

For the early hour that he arrives, the school is near empty, save for the male locker room which is slowly teeming with a slow drip of weary-eyed boys. Yawning, Peter dumps his backpack and retrieves his mouthguard, sharing commiserative glances with his zombie-eyed teammates. It’s truly an ungodly hour to be at school.

But, despite his drowsiness, Peter doesn’t mind the early mornings so much, probably more accustomed to it than the rest. It sucks, but he’s happy to get the training out of the way -- it makes time for after school priorities like Robotics and chess club. 

He slaps Barnes’ on the back when they file out, jogging to get ahead. Like his heater, his friend groans in response.

Coach Danvers is already there when they arrive, her arms crossed over her chest. Peter approaches the field with a growing sense of weariness, augmented by the flat line her mouth forms as they near.

Once the team is assembled, Coach clears her throat loudly for their attention.

“Look alive, boys,” she raises her voice. “Good morning. I’d like you to welcome back Wilson and Rogers, who, as you may recall, were suspended from training for three weeks.”

Suspended completely from school grounds was more accurate, Peter thinks, clapping along as cheers erupt around him, the remarks are met with fervent enthusiasm for their return. Someone whistles and he looks to the source, spotting the two boys in question in receipt of fist-bumps and back-slaps from the team.

Rogers and Wilson rarely did anything in isolation of one another. They were attached at the hip. It was probably the reason that they were both involved in a fist-fight with a couple of other juniors a few weeks prior. 

Peter’s happy to see them back. They’re great guys, have always been good to him. And whilst he steadfastly abhors needless violence, Peter finds himself in a grey area to judge the circumstances. He wasn’t there, doesn’t know what the fight was about. What he does know is that they were both damn lucky they weren’t kicked off the team.

It’s probably because the board knows they wouldn’t win another game without them. 

Lucky for the team.

“Enough,” Coach snaps. “We play Kingston next week, six days! You look like you want to play hopscotch instead of football. Do you want to play hopscotch?”

“No, coach,” the team settles, echoing in unison. Danvers slowly circles the group, eyeing each of them down as they fall into line. Peter keeps his gaze fixed to the goal posts on the near horizon to avoid her furious gaze.

“Doesn’t look like it. Are you sure?”

“Yes, coach!”

“Well, color me shocked. Maybe you want to hold hands and paint each others fingernails? Well, guess what, boys - I do not care what you want. What I want -- and what you should want -- is to not give Principal Fury a reason why we’ve lost another match. So you,” she points at Rogers, “and all of you juvenile delinquents,” she gestures to the crowd, “keep the violence to the field. Am I clear?”

“Yes, coach!”

“Great,” she brings her whistle to her mouth. “Gassers until I say stop or until you pass out, starting now. Move!”

Her whistle sounds sharply and, at faced with the fury of her stare, the team scatters across the field.

No one more so than Peter, who flees to the hard edge of the field at her command and commences running, feeling every chomp of the frigid, late fall air in his chest.

Coach Danvers was a hardass. But if anyone could convince Fury to not kick two of their best players off the team, it was her.

Peter had well well and truly worked up a sweat by the time the whistle was blown again and the team was split into three to run drills.

He was wishing he hadn’t eaten the whole sandwich from earlier when Quill rams his shoulder into his stomach for the third time, bile rising in his throat. He powers through it but by the time coach blows her whistle again to switch to the next drill, he’s feeling green, sunburnt and sweaty.

Which wouldn’t be so bad, if a small crowd of students hadn’t rocked up early, relaxing on the bleachers to watch the training.

Amongst them were a group of juniors who were smoking and laughing to themselves. They gave Peter the finger when he ran past, but he ignored them. 

“You suck, Parker!” 

The colour commentary from this particular group wasn’t uncommon, but Peter didn’t care. He’d heard worse from Flash in middle school -- and they were good friends now.

Not that Peter wasn’t paying attention. Because also perched upon the steps was a group of seniors, specifically, a fair-haired boy that made Peter’s heart do funny things in his chest. 

As Peter ran his laps, the aforementioned boy descended the stairs. He leans across the fencing separating the seats and the field and smiles at Peter when he looks over.

Peter would blush, were his face not already pink with exertion.

The boy’s name is Thor.

Well, that’s what his friends call him. Peter isn’t actually sure of his full name but he does know that Thor is a senior and an exchange student from somewhere in Europe. 

Thor started at their school in September, qualified immediately for their varsity team and is a super sweet guy. 

His locker gets stuck sometimes. It just takes elbow grease, but once, Thor noticed him struggling to open it and didn’t hesitate to hurry over to help. He had it opened in a matter of seconds and had smiled just like he did now. Peter has been smitten ever since. 

Any lingering doubts he’d had over the summer regarding his bisexuality were swiftly and resolutely confirmed as soon as he saw the older boy striding down the halls, a head taller than anyone else, smile a mile wide, accent like liquid gold.

He’s just so pretty. And nice. 

Feeling Thor’s eyes on him, self-consciousness creeps over Peter as he continues his laps. But he channels it, using the opportunity to prove himself, maybe impress the other boy, running faster despite the burn in his lungs and thighs. 

Come on, Parker, keep going.

He looks over again. Every time he does Thor is looking at him - at Peter - and maybe it really is his lucky day. He keeps pushing himself to go faster, harder until his heart is throbbing in his ears. The next time he looks over though, Thor is lifting his sweater over his head. 

The action makes his undershirt ride up, revealing a tantalising strip of bare, hard skin.

Peter trips, hitting the ground hard.

Motherfuck.

There is immediate, raucous laughter by the bleachers as he groans and picks himself up, body protesting. He spits out grass on the ground, dazedly noticing the smoking kids, Stark and Rhodes, clapping at Peter’s performance.

Setting back into a jog as his face flames, Peter refuses to look over again to see if Thor noticed.

That would be just his luck.

----

By first period a deep, purple bruise is blooming on his chin and knees. There’s a graze on his cheek from the fall and his jaw feels like it did when he first got braces in fifth grade, stiff as hell and sensitive to the touch.

Shuri laughs at him when he sits beside her.

“That bad?” Peter asks, flinching when she takes his jaw in hand to inspect the damage.

“It’s not like you can get any uglier,” she remarks, turning his head from side to side. “It’s fine, just maybe don’t smile at small children. What happened -- did you try to rescue another old woman?”

“No,” he sighs, pulling back, embarrassed. “I fell at training this morning and ate dirt. I got distracted.”

“That’s a first.”

His cheeks heat.

“Yeah, well.” He leans in closer to whisper, eyes darting around the room. “Thor was there. He said hi to me.”

“That’s it? He said hi?”

“Well, kinda. He smiled at me. Like, he looked directly at me and bam, blinded by the light. And then he did this thing with his shirt --”

Shuri’s eyes go wide but whatever she has to say is curbed by the arrival of their teacher. She pulls out her notebook and points at him with her pen. “New low,” she whispers. “What the fuck, PP.”

Peter shrugs.

Her disdain is evident and Peter can’t help but smile, even as it pulls his injuries.

His fortune again turns, receiving top marks for the last assignment and his teacher wasn’t even that mad when he was caught texting during class. Maybe it was the split lip or the sorry state of his nose that inspired pity from the faculty, but he wasn’t about to test his luck.

He clearly wasn’t going to get through to college through his prowess at football, so he pockets his phone, apologises sheepishly and sticks his head into his books. 

Maybe he replays the moment in his head as he takes notes, filled with equal measures of shame and giddiness.

At least May would be satisfied that his glasses were preserved from damage and wouldn’t have to buy a new pair.

By the time class ends, his face is well and truly throbbing. He winces when he yawns, prompting Shuri to roll her eyes at him as they head into the halls.

“You’re so embarrassing,” she says, knocking their hips together as they weave through students on their way to the bio labs.

“Pity me. I’m wounded.”

“Oh I pity you alright,” she says distractedly, nodding to the far end of the hall. “Hey, look. Stark and Rhodes are back from suspension.”

Peter looks over.

Stark is talking to some girl, leaning against the lockers while Rhodes tries to pull him away, presumably towards their next class. 

Peter shakes his head, recalling their antics that morning. “Yeah, I noticed. Stark should have been expelled. He started that fight.”

“Uhh, don’t even. Rogers threw the first punch,” Shuri reasons, waving to both boys as they pass. 

“Semantics.”

“That’s a big boy word.”

“I’m a big boy.”

Shuri pokes his grazed cheek.

“Sure you are.”

----

The next few periods passed without a hitch. 

But the best part of all came during lunch.

It was Mac’n’Cheese day. The best day of the week -- well, the only day of the week that Peter can afford cafeteria food, if he was honest, but he sure made it count. 

Fortuitously, MJ had gotten there early enough to secure their group a table together and the lunchlady that was sweet on Peter had given him an extra scoop of the gooey pasta, to his delight. Maybe it really was his lucky day, he thinks, taking a spot at the table.

That would be a first.

He’d been riding on the high of his morning, gracelessly shovelling the cheesy goodness into his gullet when it happened.

“Don’t look now,” Natasha says to his left. “Wonderboy is coming through.”

Peter looks up at the exact moment Thor strides past their table, catching his eye.

The other boy grins roguishly at him. His teeth are so white. 

“Hey there, Pete,” he waves, nodding to the rest of the table and moving on

“H-Hey, Thor,” he swallow roughly, waving back. “H-Hows it going?”

Thor already having moved on, doesn’t respond, and for the butterflies beating against his stomach, Peter doesn’t even care.  He smiles down at his pasta, heart racing a mile a minute. Wow.

“Hey, Thor,” Shuri imitates him. 

Peter swallows, ignoring her, cheeks going pink. “He knows my name. Oh my god. He knows my name.”

“Who cares, the whole school knows your name,” MJ says, without looking up from her textbook. 

Shuri points her fork at her in agreement. “Yes. Thor’s a meathead. You can do better.”

“No he can’t,” Ned disagrees. "Have you seen that guy? His biceps are like bowling balls.”

Bucky parks himself between Steve and Natasha, throwing an arm around them both. He puts on a high voice, fluttering his eyelashes. “Who, Thor? I heard he’s a model for Burberry.”

“I heard he does Adidas commercials in Norway,” Natasha adds.

“And he’s quarterback of the varsity team,” Flash finishes.

MJ blinks. 

“And?”

“He’s got a four-point-oh,” Peter says dreamily. 

He stops paying attention, eyes going unfocused as he imagines their next interaction. Maybe Thor will ask him out, god willing. He imagines Thor and himself graduating as Valedictorians in their respective years, throwing their caps high into the sky and embracing. Their classmates will clap as they kiss. Maybe they’ll then spend the summer in Thor’s hometown, wherever that is. Peter doesn’t know, but maybe it has rolling green hills, cute cobblestone roads and snow-capped mountains, maybe they’ll go on horse rides and picnics where Thor will surprise Peter and propose and --

Someone snorts behind Peter, shattering the illusion.

Peter turns in his chair to find one Tony Stark grinning wickedly, apparently eavesdropping.

“What,” he prompts, frowning when that elicits a wider smile from the other boy, his dark and unkempt hair falling across his forehead in front of his eyes.

“Nothin’,” Tony tucks his wayward strands behind his ear. “I mean, well. Just that you said he’s got a four-point-oh.”

“And?”

Tony shrugs. He holds his pinkie up to his face and wriggles it.

“And I dunno, Parker. Gotta say; You seen him in the showers? Four is a little generous, don’t you think? More like three.”

Peter stares.

Tony tilts his head, conceding.

“O-kay, three and a half.”

Peter rolls his eyes. This guy is freaking bent.

“Well, that’s three and a half more that he’s got on you, Stark. Mind your own business.” he turns back around to the table. MJ, across from him, has her lips pursed in an attempt to hide her smile. 

“S’gotta be the steroids,” is what he hears Tony say to his friends before they start to snicker. “Seriously -- you seen that guys’ balls? No? Neither have I. Not for a lack of trying.”

Peter ignores him. 

Tony Stark is prickly. A smartass, although he’s rarely antagonistic -- unless it’s towards Peter and his team mates, of course. 

Peter doesn’t really get why. It doesn’t serve him to spend longer moments of musings on someone who clearly hates him, but thinks Steve and Tony used to be friends before falling out at some point, way before Peter came to the high school and joined the JV team. 

Like he does with everyone, Peter had tried to befriend Tony at first, but it quickly became clear that the other boy had no interest in making nice, sneering at every pleasantry and effort. Before long, Peter’s extended hand of friendship became a clenched fist.

Rhodes and Potts, his friends, seem to be reasonable. Cordial that borders on unfriendly, sure, but reasonable. 

Tony, however, seems to get a kick out of the perpetual disharmony. 

Whatever, Peter scoops up the last of his pasta, chewing it with a pleased sigh. It doesn’t matter. Propping his chin on his hand, he replays the exchange with Thor over again in his mind, heart racing all over again.

This is the best day ever. 

Not even Tony Stark can bring him down today.

-----

Peter Parker wouldn’t consider himself a religious person or a believer in a higher power. He was scientific, clinical. Rarely did he attribute his fortunes -- or misfortunes as it were -- to anything other than deterministic chaos.

But there was something called Parker Luck, as his Aunt called it. Whilst evidence of it was purely anecdotal, it was a theory Peter believed in whole heartedly.

He might not have hard proof, but all the trends in his life end in the same answer.

Parker Luck. It’s a thing.

----

Fortune, momentarily swings his way again during History. 

Mr Jacobs, their regular teacher with a stiff upper-lip, is off sick and the sub lets them have an independent study period, which is code for doing fuck all. 

He doesn’t have any friends in this class so he utilises the time finishing his math homework and doodling in his notebook. If he draws a few hearts with his own initials and those of a certain exchange student, then, well, that’s his business.

By the time he’s in Economics, his final class of the day, Peter is feeling pretty damn good.

He takes his usual seat in the back row next to Natasha, dropping his books on the table with a thud. The noise awakens Jake, the stoner guy, who sits on his other side. Peter offers him a smile as he takes his seat.

This should be good.

While Economics holds no special place in his heart, Miss Ahn is by far his favorite teacher. She’s young, late twenties, Peter thinks, and is one of the more approachable teachers in the faculty. She worked for some big deal accounting firm before she found her calling in teaching and has always been good to Peter.

She watches the kids as they file in and smiles at them as they take their seats. In her hand she’s holding a Met’s cap (another reason for Peter to adore her) which, upon inspection, to be full of folded pieces of paper.

When she has the attention of the room she greets the class and takes attendance. Curiously, nothing is said about the hat afterwards as she walks around the room, offering the hat to each student and allowing them to withdraw a single piece of paper.

Bewildered, Peter watches his peers and their increasing confusion as they open their pieces until it’s his turn.

He takes one out of her hat and opens it with uncertainly.

He unfolds it. It reads: middle-school art teacher.

Peter frowns.

He peers over to Natasha, whose expression mirrors his own.

“Great, that’s everyone!” Miss Ahn nods and returns to the front of the room to lean back on her desk. A slow smile spreads on her face and Peter, for the first time in her classroom, feels dread creep up his spine.

“So,” she claps, “building on our discussion last week we were talking microeconomics versus macroeconomics, I mentioned an assignment. Who remembers?”

The class collectively groans.

“I know, I know, it’s a hard knock life. But, it’s not going to be that bad, i promise. You might find it fun. Mr Barnes, what does yours say?”

In front of Peter’s desk, he watches Bucky unfold his paper, pausing.

“...Personal trainer?”

“Great. And yours, Mr Wilson?”

In the second row, Sam frowns at his paper. “Therapist.”

Miss Ahn seems pleased, pointing at the two.

“Congrats, you two are partners for the next week. You’re married, you have no children. But you holiday twice a year and have a mortgage.”

“I’m sorry,” Barnes glances between Wilson and their teacher. “We what?”

She addresses the class as a whole.

“You two, as you all are once you are partnered, are to prepare an annual budget for your fictional household. This is the microeconomics portion of the assignment.”

“Are you saying I’m fake-married to this clown?” Sam gestures with his thumb, displeasure written all over his face.

Peter snorts as their teacher nods.

“Right! Just for two weeks. I expect your budgets to be detailed, okay? I strongly recommend extensive research into the respective fields you are assigned. Average salary, student loan forecast, the works. Figure out how much you owe and how much you earn. Rent! Bills! This is worth 40% of your semester grade. Do you love it?”

Peter looks back down at his paper, reading it again. The trepidation from earlier comes back as a pit in his stomach.

"Miss Potts, how about your paper?”

The girl grimaces.

“Divorce lawyer.”

“Great. And Mr Rhodes?”

“Colonel,” he reads, tilting his head as he considers his paper. “Cool.”

“Awesome. You two are estranged sweethearts, supporting three kids. You share equal alimony, rent separately, and are set to remarry. Natasha?”

Natasha blinks at her paper. “Executive Producer.”

His teacher hums, tapping her lips with her finger as she circles her desk. “Single. No kids.”

Natasha grins, all teeth.

“Mr Parker?”

Peter reads his paper aloud, smiling as his fingers shake, feeling each pair of eyes of his fellow students as they await his fate.

“And you, Mr Stark?

In the second row, closest to the door, Tony crumples his paper in his hand. The room is pervasively silent. Tony clears his throat, tossing the paper onto his desk with evident disdain.

“Stay-at-home-parent,” his voice so quiet that Peter nearly misses it.

“Excellent. Okay then, you and Mr Parker are married ---”

Peter’s stomach drops. 

Oh no.

“-- you’ve just adopted a four year old. You two met at work, Mr Stark is taking time off to care for the child -- figure out your savings, salary, budget for a new family --”

Tony’s hand shoots up swiftly, his fingers waving in the air.

Peter follows suit, arm stretching high. No. This is -- no. 

“Miss Anh?” Tony interrupts, bouncing in his seat. “Yes, hi. Tony Stark, that’s me, the guy you just condemned. Just wondering, is it possible to switch partners?”

The teacher pauses, 

“No, it's not.”

Peter raises his hand higher. 

“Can you make an exception?” he asks, lowering his hand and looking between Tony and Miss Ahn uneasily. “I think that would be best.”

She places her hands on her hips.

“What’s the issue, boys?”

Before Peter can even open his mouth, the other boy cuts in.

“You see Miss A,” Tony interjects, hands pressed together in a fervent plea, eyes closing, as if in prayer.  “Here’s the thing: I just can’t work with neanderthals. They bring down my grade average.”

“Anthony.”

Miss Ahn frowns. The entire class turns in their seats to watch the exchange and Peter feels his face heat. 

“Well lucky for him, I can’t work with underachieving eighties rejects whose parents pay for their grades.”

“Wow,” Stark gestures to their teacher, “you hear that Miss? You driving that ‘94 Volvo on my parents money? Gosh, I am so sorry. Let me get you an upgrade.”

He turns to Peter, face heating at the attention of the class.

“Shit, Parker,” he continues, gesturing to him. “You really are as dumb as rocks. I mean, don’t you ever get tired of perpetuating your own stereotype?”

Peter shakes his head.

“Do you ever get tired of being an insufferable asshole?”

Tony puts a hand on his chest. “Absolutely. It keeps me up at night.”

Peter huffs. “You’re exhausting.”

“You’re loathsome.”

“Prick.”

“Princess.”

“Boys!” Miss Ahn cuts in, snapping her fingers, her expression positively thunderous. “I don’t know what has got into either of you, but that is enough.” She points to them both. “Unless you have a real, valid complaint, quit it. Right now. You’re going to work together on this assignment or you both of you will fail.”

Peter and Tony share a look. 

“Your choice,” she says, pointing at each of them. “Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” Tony huffs, turning back to face the front of the room. 

Peter crosses his arms over his chest and nods.

“Great. Now, not a word from either of you for the remainder of this class. Scott, your turn.”

Peter fumes silently as Scott unfolds his paper and reads it aloud to the room.

“An entomologist!” He shifts excitedly in his seat, beaming widely. “Wow! Wow. Man, that’s so cool. I love Lord of The Rings.”

Miss Ahn sighs.

---

“Stop laughing,” Peter hisses, leaning in closer to Natasha. “Shut up. It’s not funny.”

The redhead leans against Peter’s locker, hand clamped over her mouth.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“You are not,” Peter grumbles, brushing her aside to get into his locker. It sticks when he pulls iy, like it always does, and Peter has to tug to get it open. “This is the worst day of my life. I’m cursed.”

“You’re not cursed.”

“Who’s cursed?”

Peter turns in time to see Bucky swoop in and embrace Natasha from behind.

“Me. I’m cursed. I gotta be, right? I mean, what reason would there be for me to be paired with Tony Stark? Am I not a good person? Have I not suffered enough?”

Natasha opens her mouth but Peter barrels on.

“And what does Tony Stark know about managing money?” he continues, shoving notebooks haphazardly into his bag, despair increasing. “His dad owns a fleet of Ferraris and a private jet. He probably has a diamond encrusted butthole. The guy hates me -- I’m cursed.”

“Wow. You’re so dramatic.” She looks to Bucky. “Are you hearing this?”

Peter poins a finger at her.

“You’re just saying that because you’re going to be a successful single multi-billionaire or something. I have to be married to the stay-at-home dickwad.”

“Maybe you could teach him a thing or two.”

Peter scoffs, shoving textbooks into his backpack, weekend plans obliterated by the volume of homework he’s received.

“What, like how to not be an asshole?”

“Why are you so obsessed with his asshole?”

“Speaking of the devil,” Bucky cuts in quietly. “Your three o’clock.”

The devil indeed, Peter thinks, zipping his bag and closing his locker. He turns just in time for a stony-faced Tony stride towards him.

“Stark,” he greets darkly.

“Parker. Do you prefer Parker or Princess?” Tony waves his hands dismissively. “Nevermind, I don’t care. So, this assignment? Here’s the thing --”

“Let me guess,” Peter interrupts, slinging the straps of his backpack onto his shoulder. “You’re too busy to complete your half? That’s fine, it’d be best if you let me write it. That way you might actually pass. Win, win.”

Tony looks at him, lips pursed.  

“Uh, no. No, and then also, no. That’s an awful idea. What are you, like, a C average?”

“Actually, I’m --”

“I don’t actually care. Listen, as much as I would love to be as far away from you as possible --”

“-- Likewise --”

“ -- Miss A will know if we bullshit her. I know you’re intimately familiar with the experience, but she isn’t an idiot. She can spot your mediocre work a mile away.”

Peter folds his arms over his chest, glasses slipping down his nose.

“You’re not actually proposing we do this together, right,” he queries, pushing them back up. The ire from earlier continues to burn in his chest. “Can you even read?”

“Haha, oh my god, you’re like so funny,” Tony runs a hand through his hair, voice going glib and high pitched. His expression goes serious. “Write your address in my phone. I’ll see you there at six.”

“Why at six?” Peter frowns, taking the phone when Tony waves it in his face. He begins typing in his address, pausing briefly to peer at the other boy. “And why my apartment? Am I going to dirty up your mansion?”

“Penthouse, actually,” Tony crosses his arms over his chest. “And because I have better things to do this afternoon that isn’t aspirating on your sweat fumes.”

“You can aspirate on my ass,” he mumbles through his teeth as he resumes typing, chest going hot.

“Tempting, but no thanks. Are you done yet? You type slow. Do you know you type slow?”

“Shut up,” Peter rolls his eyes, locking the phone and returning it to its owner. “Don’t be late. I’m not joking, I’m not waiting around for you.”

“Sure thing, princess,” Tony pockets his phone, retrieving a cigarette from behind his ear and slipping it between his lips. “Don’t shoot on arrival.”

“No promises.”

It goes unheard, however. Tony has already turned and left, headphones secure over his ears. 

Annoyed, he turns back to his friends.

“That guy is the worst.”

If he was expecting sympathy or commiseration, which he was, he comes up short on both. Instead, met with Natasha whispering into her boyfriends ear as she casts him a suspicious side eye.

“What?” He pokes her in the arm. “What are you whispering about.”

Natasha shakes her head, poking him back. It hurts. 

“Nothing.”

Before he can retaliate, Bucky slings an arm each around Peter and his girlfriends shoulders, smiling easily at them. As a trio, they walk towards the exit, the hallway near empty, save for a few stragglers idling by the doors.

“Don’t worry, Pete. She was just sayin’ one of you will be dead by morning,” Bucky offers, squeezing his shoulder.

“Um, not me, right?” Peter asks, adjusting his glasses on his nose again. “I’m alive in this scenario?”

"No.”

“Hey!”

Bucky jostles his shoulder. “You saw the shiner he gave Rogers the other week. You already look like you fell into a blender.”

His jaw throbs at the mention.

Natasha snorts. “Ha. You’re a goner.”

“No, I’m not. I could fight if I had to,” Peter argues, as they part the double doors at the exit. Descending the stairs, the couple head towards the carpark and wave him off. “I could!” He yells, walking backwards, accidentally bumping into a harried-looking freshman. 

It goes without response. The two share an amused look before disappearing, but Peter isn’t even mad. He’s wily. He could totally take Stark in a fight.

Heading out of the grounds and towards the nearest subway entrance, Peter winces as his injuries are jostled during the descent and massages his cheek gingerly. An old woman ascending the stairs gives him an odd look that turns horrified when he smiles to ease her.

By the time he’s swiped his Metrocard and made his way to his track, his hood is covering his face.

Yep, he’s doomed.

[hopetofantasy]

‘HUMO’s big youth survey - Politics, society and religion’ - With Nora Dari (part 3)

- TW: concerns about the future, climate change, mental health - FUCK THE CLIMATE Almost half of young people says they’re not interested in politics. Bouba Kalala: “(*filled with disbelief*) What? I don’t seem to have that impression, but maybe that’s because of my bubble. We talk a lot about politics at home. Everyone should do political stuff, even the baker around the corner.” Céleste Cockmartin: “Ever since my mom went into politics, I’ve become more and more interested. But I do notice that my friends struggle to understand. Current affairs programs are really boring too. ‘De Zevende Dag’? Sorry, but I’ll fall asleep.” Bouba Kalala: “Seriously, it’s so good: drama! Intrigue! Just like ‘Temptation Island’” Céleste Cockmartin: “But young people quit when they hear all these difficult and unspecific words: bilateral, cordon sanitaire, inter-ministerial agreement, Vivaldi, socio-economic parameters, ... It’s too complicated and unclear. What are they truly talking about? It can be so simple, but unfortunately we did not chose ​​for simplicity in Belgium.”

6 out of 10 young people think Belgium must continue to exist. That’s the same amount as much as five years ago. Céleste Cockmartin: “I might sound extreme, but why should everything be split? Belgium is very small. Big problems are asking for a bigger perspective in general: immigration, climate, crime, ... That’s one of the reasons why I’m liberal: I like the centre and cooperation with everyone, even internationally.” So you would know who to vote for? One out of three doesn’t know yet. Nora Dari: “I don’t know enough about politics to give a well-thought-out vote to anyone. If elections were tomorrow, I would need a night to study and research.” Bouba Kalala: “I’ve never voted. Last time, I stayed in bed. Not because I haven’t thought about it, but no politician could convince me. I didn’t want to participate in a fake democracy. That’s different now.” Connor Rousseau, your new employer, knew how to convince you? Bouba Kalala: “Yes. I saw him in ‘De zomer van...’ on VTM. I send him a message the same day, to ask if I could work for him. I truly believe he’s someone who wants to pull the bullshit out of politics. It only takes time. (*to Céleste*) Do you vote for your mom?” Céleste Cockmartin: “Of course, because I believe in her. She has proven that she can change things, in her own speciality and because of her 20 years of experience with the UN.” Are you concerned about the environment and climate? In the survey ‘Groen’ (= the socialist and green political party) is also doing remarkably well, at least with girls. Céleste Cockmartin: “I would love to vote for Groen, but I think some positions are the opposite to a green solution. I’m not pro nuclear energy, but at the moment, there aren’t any ecological alternatives for our production of energy. In an ideal world, every party should be green. Fortunately, you can see the classical parties fight for our climate as well.” Do you guys help the climate battle? Céleste Cockmartin: “Absolutely. I study the climate change, I separate my trash and don’t take showers longer than half an hour. I also haven’t eaten any red meat in the past year. I do eat chicken, because that’s the least polluting meat-source out there.” Nora Dari: “For two years, I was a pescotarian, where I solely ate fish and seafood. Now I eat meat again, but I do try to limit myself to chicken.” More than half of the youngsters worry about the climate. Nora Dari: “We’re constantly reminded of the seriousness of the situation: you talk about it with friends, you see it on television, you’ll get one measure after another. I do worry, yes. Our ancestors said ‘fuck the climate’ and transferred the problem to us. But the only thing we can do, is try to make it less bad for our children.” 17 percent took part in at least one climate strike. Did you? Nora Dari: “I didn’t skip school, but I’ve participated in one during a weekend. I had to. Only complaining and moaning, it would have left me a great sense of guilt.” Céleste Cockmartin: “I’ve got tremendous respect for Anuna De Wever and Greta Thunberg. What they’ve accomplished! A speech in front of the UN: I can only dream about something like that. I don’t understand the hate they get. Maybe they did wave their little finger quite a lot, but people who still don’t get how important it is, are simply either ignorant or chose to look the other way.” Bouba Kalala: “We don't like to be confronted with facts. If I’m at a café with a friend of mine and he orders water, then I’ll get cranky too. Because his behavior will send out the message that I’m doing something that’s not right for me. The same with eating meat or driving your car.” Do you feel guilty about taking your car? 37 percent prefers a bike or public transport. Bouba Kalala: “See, I try to contribute: I don’t leave the lights on, I use less water, ... But if you look at the numbers, then you’ll see that 70 percent of emissions are caused by big companies. Every human on the planet might try to live as green as they want, but as long as these companies aren’t restricted, it won’t improve. The biggest lie they ever told humanity, is that we can change a damn thing about that.” Céleste Cockmartin: “I don’t fully agree. Every company should invest a part of its profit into environmental research, true. But the responsibility still lies with each and everyone of us.” Bouba Kalala: “I understand Greta’s anger. She gets applause from the heads of state, but does it help? She knows she can’t save the world by reducing her shower time. It has to change at the top.” It does give you a free pass to do nothing and take the car instead of the bike. Bouba Kalala: “It doesn’t. By giving the good example now, I might change a mindset. The CEOs of polluting companies have children too. When they get the chance to lead, they might flip the script: ‘Grandpa, you were wrong, we’re going completely green now.’ That effect will continue to grow, but the fact that I can save the world by not tossing my cigaret on the ground? That’s bullshit.” Where do you see yourself living later on? 40 percent still prefers the countryside. Céleste Cockmartin: “The fact that young people chose the country side, has a lot to do with corona. The measures felt even more restrictive in the cities. I would like to live in a city - I love the hustle and bustle of London or New York - but a lot of friends of mine like a house with a garden.” Nora Dari: “I’m from Genk, I couldn’t settle in Antwerp or Brussels. Although, during the drive to this location, I noticed how beautiful Brussels truly is.” Bouba Kalala: “I grew up between the meadows. When I was older, I lived in the city. Now I alternate. I felt really bad for a little while and that’s when I noticed that the city was too toxic for me. My therapist advised me to go on a walk with my dog through the forest, every day. That really changed things. It’s healthier than popping some antidepressants. Humans isn’t made to live between concrete walls. We’ll have to find a happy medium.” One last number: at least 6 out of 10 youngsters are happy with their lives. Do you feel happy? Bouba Kalala: “Yes. It's kind of strange to say, but not so long ago, I was convinced that I would never feel happiness again. To find it, I had to go after it myself. How I look to the future? Not necessarily rose-coloured, because there really is a lot of shit to be addressed. But even if that doesn't work out, I know I'm going to make the most of it. Like people have made the best of corona in recent months. I try to hold on to that energy.

[callhimnowmarisamylove]

2020 Creator Wrap: Favourite Works

rules: it’s time to love yourself. choose your 5 favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world. tag as many writers/artists/etc. you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

 I was tagged by @queenofnabooty thanks kween!

1. (We’ll go chronologically here) My Jopper reunion piece! I drew this soon after the announcement that Hopper was alive in Russia, and I had this fanciful image of them reuniting in a snowy sunrise (as you do...) I like experimenting with different light sources and distributions, so it was a fun challenge to work with a cold wintery light, but mixed with soft orange and yellow sunny edges. (Also, bald Hop, lol) 

2. My tragic Masriel + Lyra, Abyss comic strip - I just thought, what would be even sadder than the scene in the book where Marisa and Asriel launch themselves into a never-ending-all-consuming abyss... I know! If their estranged daughter was there to watch it all happen and become even more confused about her terrible parents and her feelings for them! I’d also never done anything like a comic before, but this couldn’t be conveyed in one image. I’m pretty proud of how it all turned out considering it was a new process and format.

3. My HDM Season 2 poster - I had already done a Season 1 poster, and wanted to continue it as a series. I got thinking about how the second book has such an emphasis on the windows and the knife, and that formed the idea to incorporate a stained glass window format, to combine the elements and aesthetic of the ‘Tower of the Angels’, but have the window show segments of the larger story and characters, each separated by stained glass, just as they are separated by worlds in the book. I think this may be my favourite piece of fanart, and I was hugely gratified when the BBC Instagram shared it on their account!

4. Emo Marisa - Just a simple portrait after the first HDM S2 trailer dropped. That black outfit had me clowning about flashbacks which was obviously wrong, but it was fun to clown and this is a simple, but nice piece (Ruth is so good to draw because you just get her mouth right and voila! There she is!)

5. HDM Season 3 poster - I’d had this in the works for most of the year, but only got round to properly colouring it recently. I wanted to include multiple references that book readers would know, while also making an aesthetic and balanced poster. Hope I did the tragic wackiness of ‘The Amber Spyglass’ justice! (Also, yes, dressing Lyra like Marisa was absolutely and completely intentional)

I want to give a special mention to my Masriel Golden Dust piece which was posted right at the end of last year so technically doesn’t quite make the cut off, but it’s one of my absolute very favourite works and was pretty popular on tumblr too, so I’m quite proud of it :)

I’m tagging @a-whole-tempest-in-a-teacup @cozcat, @dollsome-does-tumblr and @oceanssapart ( I know @queenofnabooty already tagged you, but I love your gifs so much I just have to)

[modernagesomniari]

Fic ‘Measuring the Veil’ Part 3

I am just as surprised as everyone else that there’s a Part 3 to this...

This is Part 3 of Measuring the Veil which is part of the Mala Suldein Nadas series following Eli Lavellan.  You can read this chapter on AO3 here.

In this chapter we discover new things, fix that weird angle the Dalish dialogue options give you and find a new type of power...

Solavelli, canon-typical violence

PG-13, this chapter ~5000 words

Old Lessons

The sound of their feet on the steps was gratingly loud in the silence of the ruin, Eli once again longing for the freedom of no boots.  Once around the corner the light from the entrance was all but gone and there was no sound save the dry scrape of leather on stone and occasional echoing drip from somewhere within the walls.  The staircase itself was not long, turning back on itself over two flat landings before Cassandra pressed herself to the right hand wall that ended in what was clearly a larger area, lit dimly by the ghostly light of the veilfire in Solas’ hand.  Eli watched, holding her breath as she peered around the corner swiftly before coming back.

“I can see little, although there seems to be a source of light in there I cannot trace.”

“What sort of light, Seeker?” Solas asked quietly.

“Greenish.  It may possibly have been moving.”

“We must be wary, then.  There may be more spirits here.”

“Some of us had probably assumed that to be the case, yes.” Mihris muttered, rolling her eyes when Eli levelled an unimpressed look at her.

At Cassandra’s nod, they emerged into the larger hall, Solas lifting the torch high to illuminate as much as he could.  It was a strange light, Eli noticed, something shifting in it beyond the dancing flames like it was showing things that were no longer there.  As it flickered, the torn brown remnants of the rug they stepped on flashed into deeper colours for less time than it took to blink.  Other moments the stones on the floor seemed to be lit by a normal yellow flame rather than the blue.  It was rather distracting and she brought her head back up from the floor to peer into the gloom before she missed something.

They were at the back of a large hall, standing on what seemed to be a landing with two balconies on either side looking over a small drop.  She couldn’t tell how many wide, shallow steps there were, but the veilfire lit far enough she could tell it wasn’t more than a few feet down.  There were large chunks of rock littering the floor of the main area and she tried to distract herself from thinking about how they must have fallen from the ceiling by trying to work out how she could see them, given that the veilfire light gave out near the steps.  She realised it was because of the lights Cassandra had described.  There were three, two behind these hewn shapes of rock and one which pulsed behind the rail of the balcony on the opposite side to them, shifting slightly.  Cassandra held up her hand and they halted, watching as this closest light moved gently upwards.

First there was a ghostly tendril that shifted into a rough shape of a hand, reaching over the balcony like it was pulling itself up.  Following it was a head, the outline of shoulders.  In the flickering light of the veilfire, Eli caught brief flashes of eyes in shifting colours, pale skin blossoming into dark, bleaching into pale again and smudges of colour as whatever was left of this spirit fed like a parasite on what was left of itself, what was left of the impressions in this room.  It hung in the air, clearly observing them, its hands resting easily either side of it.  From the waist down the green coalescence of fade energy that made up its body was in tatters, not enough left to make legs.

Very carefully, Eli pressed her hand to Cassandra’s arm and stepped slowly and calmly up beside her, putting her staff into Cassandra’s slightly reluctant armoured hand.

“Herald?” Cassandra inquired in a whisper.

“Just give me a moment.”

“Be careful, Ellana.  This spirit is very old.”

“I know, Solas.  But I have to try, don’t I?”

“If it cannot be reasoned with…”

“This isn’t my first ruin, I’ve done this before.”

“And how exactly did those go?” Varric asked from behind her.

“Some went well, others didn’t.” she replied, stepping gracefully forward again and allowing her arms to fall to her sides, mimicking the spirit.  It bobbed, slightly fretfully and she stopped coming forwards, beginning to croon to it softly.  There was an old lullaby she had used before on such creatures and she began to sing it gently now, taking a few more steps forward.  Every time it bobbed or seemed agitated she would stop and wait before beginning to move again, until she was in the centre of the raised area, the steps down to the rest of the hall close to her left.  The spirit shivered as she came to a halt again and she heard Cassandra curse under her breath at the same time as, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the carpet just to her left raise up, undulating in the air until it stood taller than her, the creature’s stooped and rounded shoulders holding strong arms that, for now, were hanging loosely at its sides.  She had miscalculated.  Or at least she had been wrong.  Sometimes there was a chance to bring a wraith back from violence, but if the area was also infested with shades, that chance was gone.

The shade beside her rattled with an impression of breath, close enough the smell of decay and rust wafted wetly over her cheek.  She kept very still, trusting that her companions would give her whatever warning that she needed.

Her waiting ears caught the first half of Mihris’ name as Solas hissed it in warning before a brilliant light flashed across her eyes, followed by a crack of thunder loud enough to bring her hands instinctively to her ears.  A bolt of lightning as thick as her torso speared into the shade beside her, only to ricochet off its body and slam into the ceiling.  Eli was dizzied by the suddenness of it, her ears ringing and she barely had time to notice the bits of grit falling on her from above before there was a sickening crack of rock and something slammed into the side of her at speed, sending them skidding onto the floor.  The stones shook underneath her as something heavy and almost certainly fatal fell where she had been standing and she flinched, opening her eyes at the same time as her body realised whatever was on top of her was warm.

That moment extended, shock warming every nerve in her body as she realized that Solas was on top of her, having most likely just saved her life.  Every point of their bodies touched, from their feet to the soft press of his nose to hers and the unfamiliarity of it sent a thrill through her so strong she shuddered.  She knew her eyes were wide looking at his and she saw the same shock on his face, his eyes darting down to her mouth and back again.  Gods but they were close enough she could almost feel the softness of his lips on hers.  As her face heated, she saw an answering colour on his cheeks and the thrill began to turn the corners of her mouth up in what would have been a delighted smile had they both not simultaneously remembered that they were, in fact, in the middle of a fight.

With a dexterity that surprised her, Solas threw his weight to one side, rolling them towards the balustrade of the balcony and swiftly bringing them up behind it, sheltered.  Before Eli could get her bearings, his hand gently squeezed her upper arm to make her look at him, blush fading as concern clearly took over.

“Are you injured?”

She did a quick check, hearing Varric’s shout of triumph alongside the moan of the shade.

“I don’t think so.  You?”

“Nothing serious.”

They both shifted to crouch lightly on their toes, peeking over the balustrade that separated them from their comrades.  Cassandra was in the thick of it but couldn’t keep the wraiths, now all called from their hiding places, off Varric and Mihris, who were trying to bat away the bolts and help Cassandra all in one.  Another shade had joined the first and was beginning to turn towards them.  Eli scanned the floor for her staff and saw it where Cassandra had clearly flung it to the floor, luckily within reach of the similarly abandoned veilfire torch, still burning.

“I will cover you.” Solas reassured her.

“Ok.  Ready?”

“Go.”

Eli vaulted over the balustrade, yelling Varric’s name.  Andruil bless that dwarf with many fat halla, but he immediately shimmied over and hooked her staff under his foot, flicking it towards her so she had barely made the stairs before grabbing it, rolling to avoid a swing from a shade caught short by ice that bit into its blubbering flesh bitterly enough to make it scream.  She used the opportunity to bring her staff down hard on the arm that would have struck her, shattering it, before deftly using the momentum to swing the staff back around and hurl a bolt of flames into its face.

Leaping back to join the others, she felt the caress of Solas’ barrier fall over her, a shimmer of blue sweeping over her vision.  When she looked over he had turned away, but she had just enough time before turning to the fight to feel an echo of the thrill in her chest.  He had blushed.  Her mysterious, grouchy, book-loving, Dalish-hating Rift-mage had actually blushed.

Feeling the grin spread inexplicably over her face, she shook her head at herself and concentrated.  These old spirits were just as thin as the ones above - strange for a ruin so ancient.  Usually age added layers to a spirit if it stayed in the same place, the same old impressions bolstering it in its madness as it went around in circles until someone came to disturb it.  As she trotted down the steps with Varric in search of the last of the wraiths, however, she felt something tug at her left hand.  It was a mix between a beckoning and a warming, something in tune with the anchor, but in a different way than the rifts.  They felt like wounds, like they were pulling at the lines of the scar with a feeling like when she and the other children had used their fingers to try and pull their mouths open as far as they would go.  This was different - a soothing, buzzing ache more akin to when Eli had persuaded the young warriors training in healing to massage her shoulders.  It was not unpleasant.  It also, if it had anything to do with these artefacts Solas and Mihris were looking for, might account for the strangeness of the spirits.

Cassandra’s order to hold and wait once the last wraith had been sent back to the Fade was not a bad one.  Often there would be spirits in these places that would lie in waiting, biding their time until their prey had spent themselves on lesser spirits before pouncing.  It seemed, however, as they all stood there panting in the dark, that these spirits were all that were left.

“I sense no more spirits here.  Solas?”

“I agree, Seeker.  I believe that was all of them.”

Eli agreed, now more than intrigued by this new feeling.  She rested her staff on the floor and sent a little of her magic to the tip, lighting the area around them softly in absence of the veilfire.  She scanned the room idly, not realising she was looking for the source of the feeling until she saw it.  There was no mistaking it - it drew her to it.  She barely heard Cassandra ask Varric to bring the veilfire and Varric’s grumbling reply, instead stepping delicately over the fallen ceiling and closer to the back of the room.  The artefact was larger than she thought it would be, it’s pedestal bringing it almost to her chest.  She also couldn’t quite tell what shape it was, the myriad of spheres and hard lines, curves and jagged points a mess her eyes couldn’t begin to untangle.  Almost as if it had not been made with the physical rules of this world in mind.  Perhaps that made sense for an artefact that intereacted so closely with the Fade.  She knelt in front of it, the mirrored surface stubbornly not reflecting her image even though the light from the distant veilfire seemed to sink in everywhere it touched.

“It called to you, did it not?”

Solas’ voice was quiet enough behind her he managed not to startle her.  She nodded.

“Did you know it would?”

There was a pause from behind her before he huffed slightly in apparent amusement.

“No.  Although perhaps I should have done.”

“Can you tell if it’s working?”

This time the huff was more of a chuckle, dark and rich by her right shoulder.

“I think that judging by the way you are entranced, we can safely say its power has not abandoned it entirely.”

She shook her head at the laughter in his voice, suddenly feeling a little foolish.  There was mirth dancing in his eyes, but he shook his head kindly at her bashful glance at him.  “Shall I teach you how to use it?”

She nodded and he began talking softly.  As always with these things, he wanted to rush, telling her to do things without telling her precisely why.  She had never been particularly good at that and, as they took their time over figuring the artefact out, she realized he didn’t actually mind.  Initially she thought that he did, as there would be the odd sigh of frustration through his nose when she interrupted him or asked him to clarify.  As they continued, however, she began to notice how the answers came easier the more she forced him to give them, the shine of pride in his face when she understood him and made her own conclusions, even the slight anticipation when he began to make a point and hesitated, waiting for her to question.  Perhaps he wasn’t frustrated at her lack of understanding.  Perhaps, in fact, he was just out of practice.

When the artefact finally pulsed into life, humming slightly and emitting dancing pinpricks of light, the resulting rush of power through her hand made her gasp at the sensation, falling backwards slightly into where Solas’ chest was nearly flush against her back.  The anchor had always felt more like progressive pins and needles, but this had a warmth that was not helped whatsoever by the still unexpected solidity of his body behind hers.  She pulled away a little with the sinking realisation that she was probably blushing again.  Luckily, she didn’t have to look back and see if he’d noticed, because Cassandra had come up to them, arms crossed and not looking at them.  Eli wondered if she was trying to be surreptitious and the thought made her smile.

“Is it working?” The woman asked quietly.

“Yes,” Solas answered, “I can feel the wards strengthening around the area.”

“Good.  I thought you should know,” Cassandra continued, her voice becoming even quieter.  “That your Dalish friend barely glanced at this artefact before she began searching elsewhere.”

“So?” Eli asked, “Solas and I clearly were working on it ourselves.”

“And yet that did not stop her upstairs with the lantern.  Nor did it matter when she first turned away from the artefact down here, which was before either of you reached it.”

Eli had been prepared to leap to Mihris’ defence, but her misgivings from outside the ruin came back to her.  She stood from where they had been crouching, looking over to where the young woman was busy rummaging through some nearby boxes and rotten cloth.  Varric was a little further away, holding the torch with the veilfire aloft but watching Mihris as well.

“I think we have it working, Mihris.” She called, hoping against hope they were wrong and Mihris was just enthusiastic about history.  Mihris’ barely visible flinch, clearly startled by Eli’s voice, did not bode well.  She saw Varric’s eyes narrow.

“Well,” Mihris began, not pausing in her search.  “That will prove useful.”

Her voice was artificially cheery, made more suspicious by her little cry of delight as she clearly found something and even more so when she shoved it into her armour where they couldn’t see it.  She coughed once afterwards and Eli’s heart sank.  “And it seems the Ancestors have left something here for me, as well.”

She turned, smiling at them all.  “I believe our business is concluded, is it not?  Go in peace, strangers.”

She went to leave and Eli saw Varric shift from one foot to the other, looking pointedly at her.  Dread Wolf’s tears but she hoped this didn’t go pear-shaped.

“Mihris.”

The young woman was braced when she turned, taking a step backwards so that she could see Varric and be slightly closer to the exit.  The room was filled with tension all of a sudden.  To Eli’s surprise, Solas stepped up beside her and gave her a strange look before turning to Mihris, a look on his face that reminded her of the elders in the Arlathvhen.

“Da’len, ma halani.”

Mihris narrowed her eyes at him.  “Ma glandival.  Vir enasalin.”

Pain flickered across her face before the rage returned.

“You would ask that of me, flat-ear?” she spat, shooting a pointed look at Eli as she swore at him, daring her to care.  Eli stayed quiet.  “You think that your good will means anything to me?  That I have any kind of belief in you?  You think that just because you have ripped knowledge from the Fade that you are any closer to our people than I am?  You are nothing - a plunderer who thinks he understands that which he cannot.  I have learnt the old ways my entire life, your trifling foolishness does not impress me.  I would tell you not to dare call me ‘dal’len’ again, but truly I care so little for what you think you may call me what you like.”

“That’s enough, Mihris.” Eli warned, stepping forward.  “And before you accuse me of taking his side, have a care with your hands.”

Mihris faltered and looked down to where twin crackles of electricity were playing over her fingers.  Her eyes widened and Eli could tell that her Keeper had at least given her the same warnings Ista had given her in her youth.  She let her calm down, watching her as she closed her eyes and took a few breaths.  It was a testament to Mihris’ Keeper’s teachings that she was prepared to do so after being ready to fight near strangers not moments before.  There were dangers more pressing than strangers with weapons when one was a mage.  In the moment of calm, Solas turned from where he had come forward and, although she kept her face very neutral, the depth of sadness on his face rocked Eli to the bottom of her ribcage.  She had not expected him to be sad.  It was where she had been reading him wrong, she suddenly realized.  She thought that his anger came from disdain and perhaps part of it did, but that did not change the fact that they had hurt him.  Somewhere in his past, the Dalish had hurt him somehow.  It did not excuse his views as far as she was concerned, but it might go some way to explaining them.

Mihris was recovering and Eli brought herself away from her realization to come forward, gentleness in her face.  Mihris’ expression was bordering on the desperate now.

“Ma’na.  Ma halani,” Eli repeated, making sure Mihris knew Eli was asking for help herself, just them now.  “There a few in this world I can trust without my own people turning against me.”

Her voice was soft, but Mihris still went to deny it before stopping herself, her shoulders drooping with the weight of whatever burden she carried.  Eli came even closer, taking Mihris’ face in her hands and turning it to her, raising her chin like all Keepers had done to their charges at one or time another.  They were the People.  “Have I not proved myself?  I am of your blood.  I might be able to use what you’ve found.”  

Mihris drew in a breath like she was going to weep, but Eli wondered if she could any more.

“I…You may be right.  You almost certainly are.” she said, something like hatred in the way her throat closed around her words.  Eli knew it was not directed at her and shifted her thumbs to lift the young woman’s head again.  They were the People.  Mihris locked eyes with her and Eli felt her breathe, felt her recognise the gesture and what it meant.  When she pulled away to put a hand into her armour there was a small, proud smile on her face.  “Here, take it.”

It was an amulet of some sort, a large crystal set into metal tarnished by age with a thick chain to keep it around the neck.  Eli closed her fingers around it and smiled.

“Where will you go?”

Mihris shook her head.

“I don’t know.  I thought to find another Clan to take me in, but I don’t know who would.  After everything that happened in the Dales, can I even claim to be one of them, now?”

“Perhaps a Clan who does not use words like ‘knife-ear’ might have an open enough mind to hear your story?” Eli asked, wondering if she’d been planning this ever since she had heard Mihris was Clanless.  “I also hear that Clan Lavellan is missing a First, which means, of course, that they will have raised another to the station and shall have space for a mage.”

Mihris looked at her and it took a moment for the hope to show in her eyes, something poignantly childlike in her sudden earnestness as she stepped closer again.

“I was the healer for my Clan before it all.  A good one, so the Keeper said.”

“No Clan is stupid enough to turn away a healer.  They’re far, but there are some Inquisition soldiers heading over there to help with a situation in Wycome.  You can probably meet up with them on the Highway if you’re quick?”

“And I am supposed to just go up to a bunch of armoured shemlen…”

“No, of course not.  Here, take this.”

She tore a page from her notebook and hastily scribbled a note on it.  Then she took the bracelet she had woven for herself from her wrist and tied it around the rolled parchment before handing it over.  “Have it in your hand as you approach and tell them the Herald has sent you.”

“You don’t like being called Herald, do you?”

“Only when it can help me help a friend.”

Mihris kept their hands clasped as Eli handed the paper over, squeezing.

“Ma serannas, lethallan. May you go with Mythal’s blessing.”

“And you.”

Mihris hesitated for a second, then pitched forward and wrapped her arms briefly but firmly around Eli before stepping away.  She nodded at Varric and Cassandra before she left and then was gone in the gloom.

“Well,” Varric said in the silence that followed the last of her footsteps.  “That could have gone worse.”

“Are you sure you wish to inflict her on your Clan, Herald?” Cassandra asked.  “She was barely hanging on to her control.”

Eli let out a harsh laugh.

“That was not a mage barely hanging on, Cassandra.  She has a long way to go before she is past saving.  Plus, my Keeper is not one to be swayed by such a challenge.  Trust me, she is far scarier than any templar when she believes she is being disrespected.  Speaking of which…”

She leant her staff against one of the boulders and trod lightly over to where Solas was observing the artefact.  He looked up when she tapped his shoulder.  “This was found where you led us, Solas.  You should have it.”

He looked a little taken aback, then opened his hand to let her place the amulet in his palm. She watched his eyes close as he curled his fingers around it, a small smile gracing his mouth.

“Ah.  It was perhaps good she did not take this for herself.  I would not have liked to contemplate how she might have used it.”

“What do you mean?”

His mouth twitched up in the teasing smile she was beginning to associate with him showing her something he thought she’d enjoy.  True enough, he drew a little closer and lifted the amulet up to where she could see it.  

“Watch closely.” he whispered, and then sent a small pulse of his magic through the crystal.  It immediately flared to life and Eli could see something moving in the depths of it.

“What in Andraste’s name is that?” Varric asked, coming over with the veilfire.

“Is it dangerous?” Cassandra added, peering over Eli’s shoulder.  Solas hummed and Eli wondered if he was beginning to enjoy the attention.

“On the contrary.  Amulets like these are quite rare, but could prove useful to all of us.  It contains a small piece of a spirit, who will have one point or another willingly decided to reside within this crystal.  They were a way to preserve the skills and knowledge of the wearer.  With these being so old it is likely that only fragments of this knowledge remain, but if we free the spirits to return to the Fade, they are likely to impart that knowledge onto us as instinct.”

“What sort of knowledge?” Eli asked, thoroughly intrigued.

“That depends entirely on what their original owners’ area of expertise was.  This one was clearly…well, most likely they were a mage.  One who had great knowledge of spirits, as it happens.”

“So one must be a mage for these to be effective?” Cassandra asked, ever practical.

“Not at all.  If we found one that belonged to a great warrior, for example, it is likely that it could impart its knowledge to you.  One would need a mage to ascertain the nature of the spirit, but past that, anyone could benefit.”

“This one seems almost made for you, though, doesn’t it.” Eli said, smiling at him.  He smiled back.

“Yes.”

“Then you must use it.  Should we step back?”

“Probably.”

They did so, far enough that Varric started jokingly asking if they should hide behind something.  Then they watched as Solas placed the amulet gently on the floor and raised his staff a little above it.  With a quick stab downwards the amulet smashed, the light lifting from it and rising up into Solas’ waiting hand, absorbing into the flesh of his palm until it disappeared with a rush.  He took a long breath, some unnatural light glinting in his eyes for a second.  Then it was done.

“You still you, Chuckles?”

“Yes, Varric.  This is not a whole spirit.  It is not enough to possess anyone.”

“Surely that would have been a better question to ask before he did it?”

“Then why did you not ask him yourself, Seeker?”

They started bickered again and the sound was almost comforting.  Eli cast a quick questioning look at Solas, but he merely smiled back, something serene and solid in his gaze.  She could barely reconcile this Solas with the one who had snapped at her in white-faced rage not hours ago.

They searched the room thoroughly, Eli insisting (much to Varric’s amusement) that they take the large mosaic piece with them.  Cassandra seemed not to mind, being as intrigued by the grotesque patterns on it as Eli was herself.  There were some trinkets to be found, including the schematic for an old rune the veilfire illuminated.  Eli had heard of those with the skill to create runes and Cassandra was quick to say that the Inquisition would try to find one.  Solas took his own notes and then sketched it in her notebook for her whilst she and the others scoured the rest of the room.

Once they were certain they had taken all of value, Eli sent a quick prayer to Falon’Din for peace to return to this place and then they began to climb the stairs.  Despite her interest in her people’s history, it was lovely to get back into the open air and dust herself off and they decided to take a slightly less precipitous path back down now they weren’t responding to a call for help.

She was so glad to be out in the open she wasn’t listening the way that she should be, caught up in laughing at Varric’s attempt to name the elven artefacts once Solas had told them he no longer knew what they would be called.  She should have noted that the calls of the birds that she could hear were not for mating but for alarm, echoed in calls further away that could not have been caused by their party.  Then there was a strange whistling sound and something punched her hard in the chest, forcing her backwards into Cassandra, who staggered back but kept her feet.  Pain sharper than a bruise spread through her body and she looked down to see an arrow protruding from the left side of her coat, just above her breast.  She coughed and blood spattered from her mouth over her chest, more blood beginning to soak her shirt.  She had just enough time to hear Varric yell amongst more whistles in the air before her knees gave way.  As she fell, time slowing strangely, the image of the red bleeding out into the white seemed to take over her vision, the blood spilling further and further until the world went black with it.  She didn’t feel her knees hit the floor.

[xxfanfiction-emo-trinityxx]

His Smile Will Keep You Safe - Chapter Ten

Word Count: 3 051

After the disastrous concert followed a total of four days without any shows or interviews, meaning there was loads of time for everyone to relax a little.

Dallon had taken the first flight in the morning, going home to see his family. While Lisa and you decided to accompany Bill and Lucas to the next destination, Baldwinsville, everybody else took off into different directions, visiting friends or family.

It was strange, being only four people on the bus, and you caught yourself thinking that you already missed Ryan, who took the free time to visit a distant relative, and a couple of friends in the area. But you pushed the thought aside as soon as you had climbed out of the bus in front of the new hotel.

Lisa and you were sharing a room again, as so many times before, and you decided to use the time to bond a little more. After all, you were the only two women on the crew, meaning you had to stick together, even though tour would soon be over.

The first days you spent wandering around the city, exploring whatever there was to see. You took long walks in little forests, and talked about anything that came to mind. Retrospectively you almost felt ashamed for having thought Lisa to be a little shallow sometimes, because the better you got to know her, the more she revealed of the complex personality she had. It fascinated you, listening to the stories she told you of her childhood, and you enjoyed discussing philosophical problems with her.

While she spent most of the time on your trips looking at things closely, you did the same through the lens of your camera. It was fun to try out photographing in nature again, which you had not done since college, and when Lisa randomly mentioned over dinner that she had worked as a model during high school, you had an amazing idea.

The next day was spent searching places all over town, in front of which you took pictures of the young girl. Of course these were not the usual “look everybody, I am a tourist”-photographs. Far more they were delicately chosen angles that allowed you to play with the natural light, the stream of the soft wind as well as fore- and background.

Lisa was wearing a flowing white dress with small pink flowers scattered all over the fabric, her long blonde hair effortlessly falling over her shoulders in gentle waves, and tiny freckles added an interesting factor. It had been years since you had taken portraits, but you found that you remembered surprisingly much from college. In the evening you got cheap fairy lights in a dollar store, and once the daylight had faded, you continued playing around with the camera back at the hotel.

One of your favourite shots of that day was Lisa, sitting on her bed, the windows in the background looking out over the city. She held the lights in the palm of her hand so that the small light sources themselves were invisible to the camera, but soft, orange light spread from her hands over her face, making her brown eyes glow warmly, and her delicate skin glimmer mysteriously.

After the extensive photo session, both of you decided to settle in a park close to the hotel the next day, where you edited the pictures together. Since without Lisa these pictures would not have been possible, you asked her for opinions concerning the colours and contrast for every picture, slowly but surely creating the perfect mixture between your two styles.

In the afternoon you walked over a small market of craftwork, where you bumped into Charlie, who was looking at some jewellery.

“Isn’t that Charlie over there,” Lisa asked excitedly, tucking your arm.

You turned to see who she was pointing at, but she had already started dragging you towards the man, who indeed turned out to be the bassist.

“Charlie, hey,” Lisa cheered, and Charlie grinned, giving both of you quick hugs.

“Hey guys, what are you doing out here,” he asked.

“Just looking around, and you,” you replied, your eyes scanning over the display of rings he was standing in front of.

“Oh! Are you buying a ring for your girlfriend,” Lisa asked excited, already eyeing the rings curiously as if she could find out what kind of girl he was dating by looking at the jewellery.

“No, I- I don’t have a girlfriend,” Charlie laughed.

Your eyes flickered over the display again, and suddenly you noticed the musician fidgeting around with his hands. Was he nervous? The rings he was standing in front of were not for women, but judging by the thickness and designs, made for men. Actually they reminded you more of Luis’s style than of Charlie’s. Was he embarrassed that you had caught him buying a ring for himself?

Whatever it was, he did not seem very comfortable in his own skin, so you decided to do him a favour and distract Lisa, who seemed not to have heard the last sentence since she was already gushing over a small ring with a rose crystal that she insisted would look very nice on his girlfriend, whoever she was.

In the end you caught Lisa’s attention by suggesting going for a coffee, and almost immediately she had forgotten Charlie’s inexistent girlfriend, and together the two of you went to search for the nearest café, leaving Charlie with a thankful smile, before he turned back to the display of rings.

~*~

While Lisa and you were still out Ryan and Dallon had arrived at the hotel almost at the same time. Lucas had accompanied them to their room, where they had discussed the details for the next two weeks. Lucas was just about to leave the room, when Ryan took the courage and decided he needed to ask for something which he had been thinking about for the past weeks, but especially these last four days.

“Hey, one more thing,” he stopped the tour manager from leaving, “I was wondering… what does the label think about (y/n)’s work?”

Both Lucas and Dallon turned to Ryan, surprised by his question. Lucas let go of the door handle he had already been holding, and gave Dallon a short look before answering.

“They’re very happy with her work, why do you ask?”

Ryan felt nervous, as he uttered the next words, but he knew that it was important, that he had to at least try, no matter what the others thought of him.

“I mean… I guess we all really get along with her, don’t we? And she takes the most incredible pictures, obviously, so I was thinking, maybe, if the label is okay, we could ask her to be- you know- our regular tour photographer, so she can always go on tour with us?”

He could feel his heart hammering in his chest but he did not care. Instead he looked over to Lucas carefully who had furrowed his eyebrows in a considering manner.

“I think it’s really funny that you suggest that,” he eventually spoke up, “It was supposed to be a surprise for you, and I wanted to ask her first, but the label already suggested the exact same thing.”

To say that Ryan’s chin dropped would have been a very accurate description of his reaction. He felt like a barrel of fireworks had erupted in his stomach, and he grinned widely.

“Did she say yes,” he asked immediately, having a hard time containing the excitement.

“I haven’t asked her yet, I’d like to wait with that until tour is over,” Lucas explained, “But if you like, why don’t you suggest it to her, after the last show?”

Ryan nodded happily, already starting to make up sentences with which he might be able to tell her the great news. Dallon had witnessed the exchange with a sly smile on his lips. Ryan really had fallen head over heels for the young photographer, and Dallon loved watching the two of you slowly but surely realising the romantic feelings you were harbouring for each other.

~*~

Buffalo was rather cool and rainy this time of year, but nobody in the crew seemed to care. It was about six pm, still two hours until the show would start, and you had settled down comfortably on one of the sofas in the changing room of the bands. Ryan was sitting closely next to you.

After having been apart for four days, it seemed your bond had only grown stronger, and almost nothing was able to separate you. He had flung his arm across the back rest, therefore almost wrapping it around your shoulders, and you were sitting turned towards him, gesticulating wildly as you told him about the time that the bus, which was supposed to get you and your class to a trip, had crashed only fifteen miles outside of Salt Lake City.

Ryan tried to listen to your story as good as possible but found himself distracted again and again by the way you smiled and talked with such enthusiasm. In the flickering light of the bare light bulb that dangled from the ceiling, your eyes glowed with passion, and he smiled, merely thinking about potentially getting to go on so many more tours with you.

Your passionate rant was interrupted by the door flying open. Lars came walking in the room, and shot the two of you a glance before he spoke.

“Lucas needs you, (y/n),” he declared.

The happy smile faded from your face, and your lips pulled into an apologetic one.

“Sorry,” you mumbled, and quickly got up, but not without gently running your fingers over Ryan’s shoulder before you left the room.

Ryan sight quietly. As soon as you were away from his side the world seemed boring and dull to him. Stretching his arms over his head, he leant back into the cushions of the sofa, and took a deep breath before letting his arms fall back to his side. Looking up, he found Lars was still standing in the room, staring at him.

“You know she’s only using you, right,” Lars asked, making Ryan furrow his brows.

“Who?”

“(y/n), obviously. She’s using you.”

A chuckle escaped Ryan’s lips, and he shook his head in amusement.

“Nah, I don’t think so mate. I’ve seen girls who tried to use me, she isn’t one of them.”

“Not to get famous or anything,” Lars disagreed, “She’s trying to make me jealous.”

Ryan’s smile slightly faltered, but he tried not to admit it.

“Come on, think about it, man,” Lars tried to explain, and walked a few steps closer, “We’ve been together before. It’s fate that we ended up on the same tour. And she still is into me, I can tell. She’s only spending time with you to make me jealous, to pretend like she moved on from me.”

“And you’re getting her hopes up,” Ryan challenged.

He did not want to believe the other man’s words, but something inside of him started clinging to the idea that he should have known everything was too good to be true.

“Of course I’ll take her back, don’t worry,” Lars chuckled, as if this was what Ryan wanted to hear, “But it was her who dumped me back then, and now I want her to suffer a little before I relief her of her struggles.”

Ryan just stared at Lars. He could not possibly be telling the truth, could he?

“Just think about it man,” Lars insisted, walking towards the door, “She’s not really into you, it’s just a game for her. She’s not the cute innocent girl you want her to be. She’s just fooling you.”

And with these words he walked out of the room, leaving Ryan spiralling down into a circle of worries.

Of course it made sense that you wanted to get back with Lars. He was attractive, tall, clever, and you two shared a past, a past and memories Ryan had not with you. Lars had a self-confidence about him, which probably made him even more attractive, a kind of indifference, that made it hard to tell if he cared about someone or not. And you probably loved to challenge that.

And even if you were not intending to get back together with Lars, how had Ryan even so stupid to believe for one moment that you could have some genuine interest in him?

He was not exceptional in any way. He had blue hair, great, so he was thirsting for attention. He played drums, always hiding behind his set, he had ordinary brown eyes, was neither very intelligent, nor funny, nor attractive, and to make everything even worse, he was a nerd who played in a band which��s name was the quote of one of his favourite geeky movies. Not childish at all. Oh, and he was completely obsessed with not only multiple different movies and tv-series, including the Back to the Future movies, but also with bands, like Green Day, and the Beatles. Not to mention that this was one cluster-fuck of a strange mix, it made him feel like a twelve year old boy again.

He almost felt ashamed for the things he liked, but only almost. He liked these things for a reason, and they had all been a big part of the person he had become. But the person he had become was not somebody that someone as perfect and funny, and talented, as you could ever fall in love with.

And knowing that he had honestly though that you had, that was what he felt ashamed about, so ashamed in fact, that he had to forcefully wipe away the tears of anger and disappointment, when Dallon entered the room a couple of minutes later, searching for his backpack.

~*~

It was around noon of the next day when you eventually noticed that Ryan behaved strangely around you. After packing up after the show the previous day, everyone had gone to bed quickly, and after a quick breakfast at the hotel, you had climbed on the bus without exchanging many pleasantries with anyone.

But during the drive to South Burlington, you found that Ryan avoided looking at you, not to mention that he had not even spoken a single word with you so far. Sitting on one of the benches by the table in the tiny kitchen, you watched him sitting on the sofa. He was staring into the distance, not paying any attention towards the game of cards that the others had started around him.

Concerned you noticed how tired he looked. Deep dark circles were under his eyes, his skin looked exceptionally pale, and the fragile rim of skin around his eyes was pink, as if his eyes were watering all the time.

He seemed to have noticed your inquisitive look, because he looked up but as soon as his eyes meet yours, he turned away, looking out of the window. Perhaps he had just had a bad night, was tired, and did not feel up to any socializing, you thought to yourself, so you decided not disturb him, in order for him to be able to relax.

But his behaviour had not changed the next day either. The past times he had often sat next to you, watching you editing countless pictures, but not today. You felt hurt, but told yourself that you could expect of nobody to sit and watch you work for hours on end.

But even during lunch break and before the show he avoided you. Things even went as far that he left the changing room every time as soon as you entered.

And that was when you really started to worry.

By now it was not just an accident anymore, or a coincidence. Not even the different excuses you had made up in your mind did stand any of his behaviour, and by the end of the day you had to admit to yourself, that Ryan was in fact going to great lengths to avoid you.

This obviously posed the question of the why. Had it been something you had said, or done? Had he felt like after the night in the hotel, cuddled together, that you were not what he wanted in his life after all? Had that night made him feel uncomfortable? But the days after, even after the short break, he had seemed absolutely fine; he had even sought out your company actively!

So what had happened since Sunday that had turned his behaviour around by 180 degrees? What confused you even further was that he made no move to try to clear things up with you. During the past weeks he had always seemed like he was a person who rather solved a problem, even if it was uncomfortable, then to leave it eating away at him, at everybody. Had you given off the impression that you were not open to an honest, even if criticizing, conversation?

All of these questions piled up in your head, which caused you to come to the obvious conclusion that if he refused to talk to you, you had to talk to him.

Which turned out to be a lot more difficult than it sounded. For two days straight he managed to always either slip away as soon as you seemed to have him cornered, or he found somebody to distract you with, some convenient “Lucas needs me”-s, and quickly started conversations with anybody else. Which taught you one thing for certain: he avoided talking to you at all cost, and there was nothing you could do against it.

So, with heavy, broken heart you decided to lay low for a while. If you stopped chasing him, maybe he would stop running, and eventually try to explain what the hell was going on.

Of course you had not the faintest idea that Lars, who was watching both of you very closely, was secretly having a blast. If he did not get to have you, then so should neither anybody else. And who knew, maybe your heartbreak would eventually drive you back into his arms.

But that somebody could be this malicious would not have occurred to you in your wildest dreams.

[ice-nindroid]

Ninjago God Tiers

This is a repost of something I posted yesterday, as it did not appear in the tags. 

With the help of @fire-bitchhh, I have articulated together a list of several Ninjago characters’ classes and aspects along with analyzations of each character correlating to our choices of their God Tiers.

Kai, the Thief of Heart:

While being a Page of Time is also sufficiently fitting for Kai, the Thief class overpowers that of the Page’s; same to Heart over Time. In the show, Kai has been shown again and again to try and forge some form of importance for himself by taking a role that should be rightfully fulfilled by others (ex. him believing he is/trying to be the Green Ninja, Kai taking over as a leader when everyone knows he lacks any form of leadership skills, etc.) to compensate for his insecurities and his belief that he is not important or has an actual “self”, thus leading him to steal Heart from others and using Heart for himself, as a Thief would do. In short, not only does he steal Heart from others as what can come off as an ego boost, but to make up for his self-perceived lack of importance and self. In reference to Homestuck canon, thieves seldom learn the full extent of their deserved lessons, though they are able to learn bits and pieces of it. Kai learns that sometimes he must give up Heart (seen when saving Lloyd and admitting to his role as a protector of him, rather than actually having the Green Ninja role himself) for the betterment of others. As most heroes with active classes, Kai is quick to act on the whims and wishes for himself without complete consideration. I feel as though a Thief of Heart would be especially quick to act on their own whims in an attempt to form a Heart for themself.

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Jay, the Rogue of Blood:

Rogues, like thieves, often are lacking their aspect at first in some way, shape, or form. On this side, though, rogues are often people who will give up their aspect too easily or believe they are not able to fully handle it. Jay is incredibly insecure, something I feel that a Rogue of Blood would especially be. Whenever he hits depressive states (such as after Zane died), he expends himself outwards, displacing his own Blood to others. When Acronix had first arrived and the Ninja went to battle him, Jay was the first to jump down and extend himself outward, which is also shown as him extending his Blood, albeit extending it in a way that lead to him becoming the “first” enemy of Acronix. With Nya, things do get rather complicated though there is one constant between him and her; Jay constantly was extending himself outwards to help her, extending his Blood to her. Jay is always the first to think about his Blood as well, whether it be familial or not. I feel as though a Rogue of Blood would especially worry and think about this, considering a Rogue of Blood would be one who extends themself outwards to make bonds- even if they think themself unworthy of their friendships, I can still see them worry relentlessly about those they care about.  Blood players alone are known for being charismatic, which Jay can be if you squint. He's generally seen as a comic relief and a bit of a mess, contradicting this, though to those he cares about, especially Nya, I can see this factor show through as he would actually be comfortable and have grown into a more "complete" Rogue of Blood.

Cole, the Prince of Void:

No matter how much I think about it, there is no way Cole can be anything other than an active class. Based upon vibes alone, Cole has always felt like a Prince, and quite frankly I cannot see him as being fit to be anything better than being a person who destroys Void, or essentially nothingness. Cole’s element, Earth, essentially does that itself. Earth is the ground, the soil beneath our feet. Its existence has lead to the destruction of nothing, as what does the Earth do if not create? On Cole himself, I believe him being turned into a ghost is an exemplary example of how he destroys Void. We can see his state of nothingness drive him to try and be something, we see him so desperately grasp at trying to keep himself “alive” whilst he is quietly destroying himself, falling into the Void despite trying to destroy it. Using “incredibly prominent” would be much too weak of a word to even express how clearly Cole’s status as a Prince of Void shows through within the Day of the Departed. He’s being dragged into the Void, dragged into nothingness, so he attempts to fight it by doing something in order to make himself something. Overall, Cole’s fight with Yang is him successfully destroying his nothingness; Cole “defeats” Yang before becoming something, becoming himself once again, after jumping through the Rift. He was completely terrified of becoming Void during this point, which would lead to a good reason behind him destroying it. Princes in general are also known for being incredibly powerful, whether physically or not, and Cole is no exception to this, seeing as his main power is super strength. His given element, Earth, is once again an incredibly powerful force, especially towards battles themselves and creation. To quote Rei, “so much voidy shit has happened to cole that he cant not be a prince.”

Zane, the Heir of Light:

I’ve found that Zane could almost pass as a Maid of Mind, though I cannot for the life of me envision him as an active class. Instead, under my partner and I’s thoughts, we decided that he fits most as an Heir of Light. On multiple occasions, Zane has subconsciously attracted different sources which all have enlightened him with some form of knowledge or another. First, the Hawk had found Zane and brought him to the Serpentine camp where Lloyd was, then shortly after the Hawk lead him to Doctor Julien’s old lab, and by extension his first home, where Zane learned of his true origins and life. The Hawk still continues to prove its use again and again, going out and “bringing” Zane knowledge of whatever he needs it to in that moment. Zane later bumps into P.I.X.A.L, and within the first few moments of seeing each other they automatically connect in relation to both of them being robots. This connection leads to Pixal eventually being ported into Zane’s hard drive, which, once again, acts as a subconscious attraction of knowledge considering how Pixal became an assistant to him who could tell him any and everything he needs. Both the Hawk and Pixal combine can also be seen as attracting fortune, another subject that heavily ties into Light. They both greatly benefited him and his friends, helping out at nearly every angle. Zane’s titanium body follows the same pattern of attracting Light, as it allows him to scan and analyze situations and settings at an incredible speeds. Shifting to a heavy focus on the idea of Zane being an Heir, they are known to overexert themselves, which Zane has very prominently done on one occasion: when he fought the Overlord at the end of season 3.  He used himself, the essence of Light, to destroy the darkness, Light’s opposite. In this process he overexerted his own body, completely destroying it.

Lloyd, the Knight of Space:

Lloyd, despite being generally portrayed as needing to be independent, has always, always, worked best when he is part of a team evident in... really everything he has done so far. Yes, Lloyd can work alone, but it’s obvious he is at his best when with others. As much as he wants to assume the position as leader, which he does quite well! He cannot function as a leader and as a leader alone; Lloyd must be apart of and function in tune with his own team as one of them, not as someone who is “separate” like a leader is. This is especially true to the Knight class, where they are best fit to assist others through their aspect. I feel as though Lloyd’s usage of his elemental powers tie in closely with Space, they’re the classical elements and they tie in very heavily creation- hell, even the Golden Weapons combined create something specifically focused on this creation. Lloyd is able to exploit his powers through training, but then he shifts to assisting others with his powers by straight up giving them away; arguably that is more of a Rogue-ish action, though I can see a Knight of Space still doing something like this. Despite that, he’s still able to exploit the core of his power the most; his energy. This in itself can be seen linked to Space, as Space has very heavy ties to the colour green itself and, even more specifically, powerful, unique green energy that is significant to a legendary source. As the Space description itself states, Lloyd at his best is always steady and careful, though at his worst he has been shown to be apathetic, impulsive, and detached from others. Like Jade Harley, another Hero of Space, Lloyd is not allowed to be who he wants to be, yet who he must be. They are both trapped within the cages of their roles as important icons- whether being a crucial player to form a successful session, required to hold a specific role and dragged into an unrelenting fate, or being a fabled hero whispered of through time, unwillingly being granted a prophesied green power and having predetermined fate and the need to comply with it act as chains to hold him down.

Nya, the Knight of Light:

Nya is a Knight for many of the same reasons that Lloyd is a Knight; she may wish to lead but ultimately she is best assisting her others through her own aspect. She utilizes her own knowledge to assist others whenever she can (see: Nya building literally anything, Nya attempting to fix Zane, etc), but also to assist herself (Nya building Samurai X of all things... Pixal going on to use the suit could also be seen as an accidental use of Nya exploiting through her own knowledge for others as well). She is incapable of fully “sitting still” whenever the ninja are either out or there is nothing to do; she’s shown to constantly busy herself and exploit through her knowledge of machinery or the such to create and/or improve things. Knights are known to hide themselves behind masks and to only reveal their “true” selves to those whom they are most comfortable with. If anything about a Knight is true to Nya, it would be this. She hides herself behind Samurai X for a fair amount of time, desperate to battle and assist others without being called “incapable” of it simply because she is a girl. Not only this, but Nya herself has stated that the only one she has ever revealed her true emotions to is Jay, someone who she truly trusts. I feel as though Nya’s struggles with her elemental powers tie heavily into how a Knight of Light may react in that situation; if a Knight of Light is supposed to be so good at using their knowledge to their own advantage for one reason or another, then why can they not use it then? I could see this sort of mindset leading to much frustration and doubt, just like Nya experienced when she could not control her water powers, until she manages to push past it, like, again, I feel as though a Knight of Light would be able to do.

Garmadon, the Mage of Doom:

Mages themselves are most known for having a unique understanding of their aspect, and if Garmadon does not have a unique understanding of the concept of Doom, I would not ever know who does (besides Sollux himself, of course). Overall, Garmadon has experienced his own Doom, his darkest hours, and lived through them, which is something that no one else has. He has felt true Doom from the Overlord possessing him and by extension, fighting Lloyd, he felt and accidentally created the Doom that befell Ninjago for a short period of time. Garmadon having been one of Chen’s students also contributes to his specific understanding of Doom itself, as he knows what it was like to have been with someone who would eventually turn to become his enemy, yet moreover it lead him to creating the Doom of a potential relationship (between Wu and Misako). That relationship, which became his relationship with Misako, came right back to him in more ways than one. Furthermore, his own relationship to Chen came back to bite him yet again when he was turned into an artificial Anacondrai, again, a specific experience that lead to him further understanding his own Doom. Doom players are said to be the universe’s sufferers overall, and out of everyone from Ninjago itself, he’s clearly been shown to be the one who has suffered and messed up the most.

P.I.X.A.L, the Seer of Life:

P.I.X.A.L begins by acting as nothing more than an assistant robot, behaving blindly to the Life that surrounds her. Before we understand much of Pixal’s inner personality, she falls under the control of another force as Rose Lalonde, the canon Seer of Light, had (while this does not denote to much, it is still an interesting comparison). As she begins to develop her own personality, Pixal shows clear signs of being a Life player and a Seer especially when she becomes a part of Zane; she uses her own knowledge of Life to attempt to protect Zane despite the fact that he seldom listens, and becomes frustrated when he does not- Life players often act like they know best, and Pixal especially does, and become frustrated when others don’t listen to them. This paired with her Seer-like nature would make it all the more frustrating as Seers know their aspect and can impart their own knowledge of it better than anyone else can. When bringing Zane back, that can be seen as Pixal once again using her knowledge of Life to recreate him.

Morro, the Thief of Mind:

I find that Morro, while he could be seen as a Heart player, has a much stronger connection to Mind (they’re both green, after all). I also think this creates an interesting parallel to Kai, considering he holds Heart- Mind’s opposite, as well as to two actual Homestuck characters, Dirk and Hal. Dirk is the Prince of Heart whilst Hal is theorized to be a Prince of Mind, something I heavily agree with. The two are both the same yet opposites, much like Kai and Morro are (if anything, I would joke about Morro simply being “Grimdark!Kai”). Morro is quite clearly a Thief of Mind to me, as he obviously was blind to all of the paths and options that he potentially could have followed. This makes him deficient in Mind, considering the aspect’s connection to all of the possible options or outcomes of situations (see: Terezi around [S] Flip). Instead, he had focused on one strict path which be could not obtain, emphasizing his own blindness and his role as a Thief. This lead him to stealing the pathway, the possibility and option, of another: Lloyd. Morro impeded upon Lloyd’s chosen pathway and broke his own, thus “stealing” it in a sense. Of course, Morro quite literally stole Lloyd’s mind as well, if you count being possessed as a form of theft. To compare Morro being a Mind player to Kai’s Heart, Kai sole the Hearts of others within the moment to make them apart of himself in order to make up for the absence of a self, whilst Morro plotted and stole the pathway of another to create a Mind- a pathway- for himself because he had none. Kai was deficient in self, Morro was deficient purpose.

Ronin, the Witch of Light:

With a simple glance, it is so painfully obvious that Ronin is a Light player, and even more so that he is a Witch. Ronin is a clear manipulator of luck; he makes deals and plans his actions carefully so that they are always in his own favour above all else. Ronin is ambitious, changing or using the circumstances for his own wants and wishes; when Nadahkan framed the ninja and Ronin used that chance to his advantage to gain money and clear his name. He uses this both to his own fortune as well as he bends the knowledge of the situation; Ronin would have known fully well that the ninja had not committed any of the crimes they were framed to have, but he kept it a secret. Touching upon the concept of familiars, R.E.X. can almost be considered as one, seeing as it has both a name that can be seen as a pet name as well as its functionality. This may be a slight stretch, but I could almost see R.E.X. functioning as another way Ronin turns the tables to be the most fortuitous in his own favour, using his ship to stump whomever he is currently fighting, leading to his own eventual victory over them (and of course Ronin has done similar things with other forms of technology; ex. his eye patch's thermal sensor). Like the three canon Witches, Ronin has suffered an unfortunate fate which can be seen at least partially related to his aspect, which is to refer to his deal with the Soul Archer. While it is unknown what the deal actually entails, I would say it is at least safe to assume that it is somehow directly correlated to something involving Ronin manipulating the Light of the Soul Archer. From this he suffered because of the Light, or lack thereof.

[yierknives]

Should you buy the JBL Flip 3?

Introduction of JBL Flip 3 Bluetooth Speakers

Time has flown away, and we are already at the third installment of the Flip series from the JBL Company. Sounds like a movie review? Well, yes, but it is not a movie we are reviewing, but a portable Bluetooth speaker. Doesn’t sound so exciting now, am I right? Well buckle up and be ready to be blown away by the specs and features that even movie critics can’t wrap their brains around.

With a splash-proof design, the JBL Flip 3 can brag that it can play your favorite music for up to ten hours. It connects to your Bluetooth device, probably your smartphone and the list doesn’t end here. It can also be used through or with any other device such as the tablet or your personal computer it is compatible with almost everything.

The Bluetooth speaker can be easily carried around as it weighs only 15.9 ounces. You can impress your friends with one of the seven colours available. We prefer the black model, but we will not discuss taste here. You can put in a vertical or horizontal position, whichever you prefer, although, in a vertical position, you will get more bass, just so you know.

A downgrade or a negative point of this speaker when compared to Flip 2, the previous model, is that it doesn’t come with a case, as its older brother did. Other than that, everything seems alright. It is durable and waterproof, perfect for those hot summer days when you go to the pool. The USB and Audio entrances are covered by a flap.

This is the third generation and the cheapest of the current JBL Flip series.This kind of rugged and robust go-anywhere Bluetooth speaker is becoming increasingly popular. There are plenty of new players, but JBL, who’ve been at the party from the start, continues to improve and develop the Flip line.

The latest Flip 3 has seen some significant improvements over the Flip 2. It now comes with more volume and a better battery life. But is this enough to persuade you to part with your hard-earned cash?

JBL has a fairly standard boxing process and that hasn’t changed between the Flip 3 and the previous version, or any other JBL product for that matter. In the orange and white box you’ll get the Flip 3, a bright orange micro USB cable, and the warranty and information booklets.

Build & Design

Everything is clearer in hindsight, and looking back it was really around the time of the JBL Flip 3 where the company really began to nail down its design philosophy. If you remember the Flip 2, you know that it was basically just a hunk of plastic.

This was the first Flip to introduce the fabric covering which gave it the splashproof build and a way better grip. It also comes with an attached string for hanging from places which came in handy when hanging it from my pack on a hike and also just for hanging it somewhere in the bathroom during a shower. Of course, as the Flip 4 is newer there’s some expanded functionality, like an actual IPX7 waterproof design rather than just a splashproof covering. As far as button placement is concerned, the Flip 3 again blazed the path for the Flip 4 as they have almost identical buttons and functions. That said, it was different from the previous version which had all of its buttons along the top (or the side depending on how you orient the speaker). The Flip 3 has them embedded into the fabric of the speaker and also on the hard plastic portion on the back.

The Bluetooth pairing button, volume controls, and call answer/end button are all found along the side of the speaker blending into the fabric. Along the spine are the power button and the JBL connect button which allows you to connect multiple JBL speakers together. The current version of this feature lets you connect up to 100 speakers together, but unless you have a lot of friends or a lot of money (or both), I don’t see too many people needing to connect more than three. Under that are five small LED lights that let you know how much juice you have left and further down you’ll find the AUX input and micro USB charging port hidden under a sealed flap.

Connectivity

The JBL Flip 3 supports the JBL Connect feature, which by the touch of a button allows you to connect the speaker wirelessly to a maximum of one JBL Connect speaker. Having done so, you can listen to a single audio source through your two speakers.

Other speakers that support the JBL Connect feature include the JBL Extreme, JBL Pulse 2, and the JBL Charge 2 Plus. You can of course also choose to pair the JBL Flip 3 with another Flip 3.

It’s important to note that since the JBL Flip 3 came out JBL has introduced a more advanced version of the Connect feature called Connect+. JBL Connect+ allows you to connect up to 100 speakers together. Unfortunately, JBL Connect and JBL Connect+ are not compatible, so you won’t be able to pair your JBL Flip 3 speaker with one of the newer models (such as the JBL Flip 4).

Battery life

Battery life was another area that JBL improved on when making the Flip 3. When compared to the previous Flip 2 it was a huge improvement. It has a 3000 mAh battery that provides roughly 9.5 hours of constant playback which is going to get you through most of the day without a problem. Of course, the new Flip 4 adds a few hours to that and maxes out at 12 hours of constant playback.

Sound Quality

The JBL Flip 3 speaker has the power to fill a small- or medium-sized room with sound. In fact, compared to other speakers of its size and price, it’s noticeably louder.

The bass fares particularly well from the two built-in 8-watt speakers. JBL has tuned the Flip 3 more to a pop/R&B sound, so if that’s the type of music you’re planning to play the most then it will be the perfect fit.

At higher volumes, there is some distortion in the higher range, so drums such as high hats can sound a little tinny and some of the definition is lost if you push the speaker to its absolute limit. The newer JBL Flip 4 fixes this issue but it’s also slightly larger and slightly heavier.

Due to the small size of the speaker, one can’t expect concert hall levels of sound reproduction and separation, so we must say for its size and its price it’s a great choice, eclipsed only by its successor the JBL Flip 4.

Conclusion

All in all, the JBL Flip 3 is one of the best value small transportable speakers currently on sale.

There are certainly ones with better water-resistant qualities and ones that offer more power. However, it does a lot for the money, and it does most of it very well indeed. It’s rugged, it has plenty of modern-day connectivity, it’s light, and what’s more, it sounds great for the price.

We think that the latest JBL Flip 3 has improved enough to be well worth your consideration if you’re currently looking for this kind of speaker. If you’re looking for something with more water resistance, better battery life, and more output, it’s worth checking out DinDinModerm to find out.

Why choose DINDINMODERN

● A variety of high-quality Bluetooth speakers are available. ● Delivery from the local warehouse, within 3 days. ● Manufactured in our own factory, cost-effective. ● Excellent pre-sales and after-sales service. ● Free returns ● Excellent materials, safe and durable. ● Pursue innovation and optimize design ● We listen to customer needs and feedback.

[dphotmai]

Assignment 1: Portrait of another student

The final outcome for the assignment will be in a separate blogpost!

Evana

1. Research, production & processes For the portrait of another student, I had a few ideas that I wanted to try. Because of unforeseen circumstances, my plans had to be cancelled and I had to meet up with my model another day. Because of these changes, I did not have access to what I needed for my portrait and so I had to figure it out without any tools. 

I set up another meeting with another model.

Research: 

A few times during lectures I received the following feedback: try it in black and white. Why? It isn’t hard to convert, but I never really thought of doing it. That’s when it hit me: I don’t know anything about black & white photography. I often come across portraits that are in black and white, I never understood why. Never have I thought of making photo’s with the main purpose of converting to black & white. I do love it though, but I just never thought of doing it myself. 

At home I have this book about black & white photography:

[BOOK]

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/the-best-black-and-white-photography-tips#what-is-black-and-white-photography

https://fstoppers.com/education/why-its-still-important-shoot-black-and-white-48141

2. Screen grabs

The photo is a bit dark, I tried to enhance the colours and lighten it up just a little. The sun was shining that day, but it’s not showing on Evana so I changed the white balance to give it some warmth. 

I like this photo because it’s not too serious, it is a bit playful. I would describe Evana the same, she is serious when she has to be, but otherwise she is a playful and fun person. 

How would it look like cropped?

Black and white?

3. Behind the scenes

There was no third person present, so I used my the timer on my iPhone to take the picture. As you can see, we were near the window so we could catch as much natural light as possible.

FINAL OUTCOME:

Evaluation

Josh

1. Research, production & processes

On the same day that I took photo’s of Evana, I met up with my “original” model. By the time he arrived in Portsmouth, the sun has already gone down and I was quite stressed about taking photo’s without proper light, because the previous time I tried, it didn’t work out. I was trying to think of locations where we could go, places with interesting lights. Because it was a Sunday, all places were closed. Originally, I had planned to go get a coffee so I could get to know him better and then maybe go to the beach (he mentioned he loves the beach). Instead, when we met up, we just started walking around town and whenever we spotted a source of light, we would try it. While walking, I got to get to know him better.

My impression of Josh 

After a few times of seeing him in class, I thought he was just a boy coming and going from class to class whenever necessary. He didn’t talk much, I didn’t talk much, so whenever he sat next to me there was no conversation. By the way he sat in class, I thought he was a bit mysterious. The only thing I heard coming from his side was his music, most of the time he had his headphones in. Somehow, someone started a conversation and since then I had a friend in class. I discovered, he is NOT mysterious at all and he is very talkative. By going on that walk, I think he really is a friendly and open person. He’s very easy to talk to as well, which made this assignment easier. 

About Josh:

Josh was born on December 25th and is from Brighton. He enjoys traveling, most of the time he is listening to music (drum and bass) and he will never refuse a beer. He is currently in his second year of Digital Media, but he has no idea what he’s doing (see quote). Not too long ago Josh went to Japan. In his time there, there was some sort of event or arcade hall where he could play Mario Kart, where he won 1st place. He’s convinced he can not be beaten. What is left on his bucketlist, is that he wants to go to a big drum&bass festival in the Netherlands/Belgium. His favourite holiday is Christmas.

Quotes

“I don’t think you can beat me at Mario Kart”  “I have no idea what I’m doing” About his study/course

Prior to going on that walk, I was planning on getting coffee to get to know him better and then to visit the beach. That all didn’t happen, so I had to think of what to do next. Sadly, we didn’t have much time. It was late, it was cold, everything was closed and Josh had to go home early too. Stress? Yes. 

2. Screen grabs

For this one I played with the levels, which made changed/enhanced colours.

The sign was bothering me so I decided to get rid of it. I copied a piece from the background to cover the sign and then to blend it in with the rest. 

After looking at the photo for a while, I thought maybe the red was a bit overwhelming. By playing with the colour balance, I got a whole different feeling. 

FINAL OUTCOME

Evaluation

[lupin-bun]

A Wing and a Prayer - Chapter 10 (A Yondu fic)

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I still haven’t edited this whole chapter (Why did I make this all one chapter!? It’s stupid long!!) but I got to a good point to stop for now and I’ll continue it straight away. There’s a good amount of story here though so I hope you all enjoy it. Look out for references to Pokémon, Harry Potter and Doctor Who ;) Tell me if you find them all.

Also, if you have questions for Yondu and/or El, please follow my new askblog :) xx

Yondu/El (Yondu/OC)

Warnings: Imprisonment 

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9

***

El landed with a soft little thump on a piece of metal guttering, not too far away from the Collector's museum. She appraised it for a second. If the facilities that had held her captive throughout her life were anything to go by, there must be some pretty tough security measures in place. It was certainly big and imposing. It was a bold, blocky, hexagonal building with sturdy buttresses holding it up on all sides with a segmented glass dome for a roof. El swivelled her ears, listening to the surrounding city, looking for any clues as to what time it was. She had no idea what phase of the day cycle she'd arrived at. It could be early morning for all she knew. She might be about to commit burglary in broad daylight (so to speak).

She flapped the last few yards to the glass dome and landed on one of the metal supports that separated each pane of glass and peered down into the enormous exhibition of objects below her. From above, she could see just how many tanks, cases, shelves and even artificial ponds there were. She didn't know how the hell she was supposed to get in, or how she was going to find the device when she eventually did. She'd have to have a think.

Giving her wings a rest (flying took a lot of energy) she crawled up the metal support to the very top of the building. Mining colony though it was, the city of Knowhere was almost aesthetically pleasing when looked at from the right vantage point. Lights of all colours lit up the busy, haphazard buildings with crafts zipping this way and that, going to some destination or another. The air might have smelled somewhat unpleasant but El could look past that for the view.

There was a sudden screech from somewhere very close by. Taken by surprise, El took to the air and hung there for a moment, looking around her, trying to locate the source of the noise. But, as far as she could see, there was nothing. Nothing in the air around her anyway. Whatever it had been, it was loud. And angry. But it seemed to be gone now. She must have just missed it. Relaxing a little, she fluttered back down to the glass dome. She was promptly disturbed again by an identical screech. Again, she flew upwards a few feet and stayed there. Again there was nothing anywhere near her. Right, this was silly. Something was going on. She flew around the museum roof, wondering if, maybe, she'd been sharing it with some other creature that was staying just out of sight.

El didn't find another creature. But, what she did find, was an open skylight. Ok, so the Collector clearly wasn't as hot on security as El had expected. She crawled over to the large, rectangular panel. It was only raised by a tiny amount, the gap too small even for her tiny bat body. No problem. One dull flash later and a bug was scuttling it's way through the gap. She crept over the metal edge but lost her footing and began to fall. She didn't fall very far, however. She landed on a tight-woven wire mesh. The gaps in this were smaller, even, than the gap of the skylight itself. El just about managed to wriggle through the mesh, squeezing between the metal strands, and clung there, upside down, gazing into the trove below her.

It turned out that, what had screeched had been a bird-like creature that looked as though it were made of lightning which sat in a hanging cage that was way too small for it. Now it stared up at El with piercing eyes that seemed full of a primal rage. That thin beak it possessed looked plenty long enough to catch El where she sat so, without hesitation, El let go of the wire mesh and unfolded her wings to fly through the labyrinth of tanks.

This place was huge, especially from a bug's perspective. The whole place was full of a bright, blue light emanating from the towers of tanks that stood floor to ceiling. These housed, not just creatures, but various plants and objects (some of which simply seemed to hang in thin air). Despite her goal of finding the device, El couldn't help but fly by a few of the tanks to have a look at some of Tivan's artifacts and … well, to be honest, captives. And, the more she flew, the more she realised how miserable they all seemed. One small, goblin-like creature with a thin nose and big, bat-like ears was sitting, slumped, dejectedly in the corner of his tank, gazing through the floor with little to no expression in his huge eyes. Another creature (which could only be described as a feathered snake) was floating in slow circles around and around the tank walls. None of them seemed to be making any particular effort to escape. Perhaps they'd just been here too long.

There was a strange smell coming from some of the tanks. While passing a particularly pungent one, El alighted on the tank's control panel to have a look. It turned out that the tanks were set up with chambers containing different chemicals which were being pumped into the tanks in various quantities to replicate the atmosphere of whatever planet each creature or plant had come from. El had to admit it, that was some attention to detail. And at least Tivan cared enough not to let his prisoners suffocate. But, as she looked closer, she spotted an additional gas being fed into the tank (and, presumably, all the other tanks too). A very mild sedative. Oh. That's why they were all so docile. El looked sadly at the creature inside the tank she was currently sitting on. It was tiny and seemed to be made of a strange, light purple smog. It sat in the very centre of the floor with more smog flowing out around it like some bizarre skirt. It didn't seem to have any discernible face but, nevertheless, El whispered to it,

“When I can, I'll come back. Ok? You won't have to stay here forever.”

The smog creature seemed to hear her and floated up to where she sat. Apparently it was looking at her because, as El moved, it followed her.

“Wait. Can you hear me?” El asked.

Smog didn't answer so much as turned a bright, affirmative green then back again.

“That means “yes” right?” El asked in confirmation. Another flash of green. El thought for a moment. “I need you to help me if you can,” she said to it, “The Collector has a new device that he bought off a Centaurian earlier today. Did you see?” A third flash of green. “Well it's very dangerous. Did you see where he took it? I need to get it back.” This time, the smog went a dull red. “Oh.” El said, disappointed. However, now, the smog went crazy. It floated around the inside of its tank flashing a brilliant white. El was confused. How was she supposed to know what that meant? But, it turned out, the smog wasn't trying to talk to her. Various creatures pressed themselves up against their tanks as the smog got their attention. Now the smog started flashing all sorts of different colours, none of which made sense to El, but seemed to make perfect sense to the creatures around her. The goblin with the big ears was nodding vigorously and pointing off to the side. The smog looked up at El, expectantly. And El understood. “Thank you!” She said to it “I promise I'll be back for you!” She lifted off from the tank and followed the direction the goblin was pointing. As El passed him, he motioned, with rapid sign language, to a muddy brown, heavy-looking creature with a large, round body and sturdy, blunt legs. The creature nodded his huge head and gestured, as best he could, for El to keep following the path round. Between them, the captives managed to lead El to a large, metal study table with the device sitting on a stand in the centre of it. Sheets of paper with paragraphs worth of notes lay scattered all around it. El landed on one such page and turned to look in awe at the creatures that had helped her.

“Thank you.” She called, as loudly as she dared. Everyone nodded and gestured silently, glad to have been able to help.

El turned to look at the device. Well, it hadn't been displayed yet. The Collector was obviously still studying it. She looked down at the notes then back at the stand. No. He had finished. It was already mounted. Just not yet on display. So El couldn't very well take it without being blindingly obvious. She sat and thought for a few moments. Maybe she could break it some how? That might work. With a small flash, she turned into a rat. Much better for ripping things apart. She ran her paws over the device's tough, plastic casing. How? How could she break it without still being obvious? After a time, her paws found a thin seam around the outside edge. The casing was fixed around it like a clam shell; in two halves. Curling her tiny claws into the seam and bracing her feet on the table, she heaved at it. All that happened was that she lifted both the device and the stand it was sitting on an inch or so off the table. She stood on the stand to keep it still and tried again. The top half of the casing still wouldn't budge so El gave up for a moment and studied the device more closely.

Crouching to look underneath it she discovered a tiny screw holding the casing together. She rubbed her face, frustratedly, with a little rat paw. Great. How was she meant to deal with that? She set about scurrying all over the table-top, looking for something to release the screw with. As she did, she happened to glance down at the notes. Not only were there written words in a language she didn't understand, but also sketched diagrams. She paused to have a look. The Collector had clearly opened this thing before because the diagrams were all of the inner workings of this thing. That meant there had to be a Terran screwdriver of some sort around here.

The search of the table-top yielded nothing, however so she walked around the edge, being careful not to mis-step and plummet onto the hard ground, searching for a drawer or box of some kind that might hold tools. Eventually she found a drawer partially open. She wedged herself inside up to her stomach, braced her feet against the inside of the drawer and pushed. With a startlingly loud scrape of metal on metal, the drawer surrendered itself to being opened. El paused, holding her breath. The creatures around her all looked nervous too. But it seemed that the scrape hadn't got anyone's attention so El dived down into the drawer and started scrabbling around, looking for the screwdriver. There were all number of bizarre gizmos in here, none of which even looked much like tools, let alone Terran ones. She kicked several obviously-not-what-she-was-looking-for tools out of the way including a bizarre, long, silver thing with a blue light at the end. As far as she could tell, this thing had no implements with which to perform any kind of physical task. She pressed a button on the side, experimentally. The thing whirred and lit up but did nothing else so El left it alone.

Eventually, El found a tiny, cross-head screwdriver and, holding it in her jaws, wriggled back up through the gap she'd created. The creatures all cheered, silently as she wandered over and lodged it in the tiny hole in the underside of the device and started to twist. With a tiny *clink* the screw fell out of this half of the device. Again, El glanced around to make sure she wasn't being watched. Disabling just one would be enough, right? She stood on the stand and attempted to lift the top of the case again. This time it pulled off relatively easily and El laid it carefully on the table-top.

It took El all of two seconds to see what needed to be done. Sitting in the centre of the device's inner workings was a kind of bright white, glowing power bead, the size of a small marble. It pulsed slightly where it sat, throwing soft light over El's rodent face. Well, that looked important. El reached out, grabbed it in her teeth and tugged. It came away as easily as a small battery would and she placed it gently beside her. She looked at the inside of the device again. The power source was gone but maybe she should sabotage things just a little further to be on the safe side. She promptly bit through a couple of wires and ripped them out. Happy with her handiwork, El replaced the top of the casing and fastened the tiny screw back in place. She was about to grab the “battery” and make off with it but something occurred to her that made her stop and turn. Seeing as she was here, Yondu could potentially make some money from these

Throwing caution to the wind, El grabbed the screwdriver again and quickly removed the casing from the second half of the device and stole that power bead too. She was just replacing everything (except the bead) when she heard footsteps approaching. Two sets of them. Hurriedly, El finished screwing the casing back into place, stuffed both glowing beads in her mouth, grabbed the screwdriver and dropped it back in its drawer. The drawer itself would have to stay as it was. Maybe the slightly larger gap wasn't too obvious. The footsteps were getting closer and she could hear voices now, too. El braced herself... and jumped off the table onto the hard, unforgiving ground below.

[cupidsbower]

When the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men

In light of Supernatural 12x10 "Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets,” I want to ask a serious question.

Why are angels dicks?

Were they made that way, or did they become that way? And in either case, why?

Is it jealousy? Racism? A subtle defying of their Father?

I mean, if we accept that angels actually do have free will (and ignore for a moment that they are fictional constructs), then they are responsible for their own dickishness. I don’t want to diminish their own responsibility for the choices they make, given that is a pretty central theme of the show.

But putting that aside for the moment, what led so many of them to have that huge streak of dickishness, and for them to express it via such scorn for Humanity?

Here’s the thing, right. Jesus Christ is a son of God, born to a daughter of man. The show is very careful to tiptoe around Christ, mostly leaving us with suggestive themes and imagery. Despite that, it’s hard not to draw conclusions about how Christ fits within the Supernatural ‘verse, as I’ve talked about in terms of the trinities that keep turning up on the show.

What interests me here, though, is that the definition of a nephilim we’ve just been given -- a being with a human soul mixed with angelic grace -- along with what we know of a nephilim’s powers, begs the question of what makes Jesus Christ so different? There doesn’t really seem to be much. They are both demi-Gods which combine grace and soul, two of the greatest sources of power within the Supernatural ‘verse. Yet nephilim are “forbidden by the oldest lores/laws in Heaven,” while Christ is the redeemer who signals the start of the New Testament and a more loving and forgiving God.

In other words, we’re circling around again to nature vs nurture. Are nephilim intrinsically dangerous, or do they become dangerous? If they become dangerous, how so? And who do they pose the danger to? Humanity or God?

Come to that, is the angel lore even right? Are nephilim really forbidden by the oldest lores/laws in Heaven? Why did God do that, if He did? Is that lore/law the source of the angels’ racism towards Humanity and all that “mud monkey” stuff? Is the scorn actually an expression of thwarted love and desire? Is Ishim jealous of Castiel for more reasons than he speaks out loud?

Here’s how the nephilim are described in Genesis, just before the Flood:

1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.

4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

5And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for I am sorry that I have made them. (x)

So to recap... the daughters of men were so fair that angels were falling for them left and right, and having awesome heroic kids with them and loving them and all that, and suddenly God’s all, “Fuck these Humans and these powerful hybrid offspring. Time for a purge!” Then later on, he gets a case of the guilts, and lo, Jesus Christ is born.

God doesn’t really come off all that well in this scenario, is all I’m saying. It basically sounds like the biggest sour grapes of all time. It’s all of a piece with him banishing Lucifer after sticking him with the Mark of Cain. Which, if you think about it, kind of makes Lucifer a Christ figure, as he was the one bearing the sin of others -- the original sin even. Ugh. This show.

Anyway, you can probably see where I’m going with this. Even if we accept the angels’ words at face value, the implications are pretty interesting for both nephilim and for Human/Angel relations..

Is Lucifer and Kelly Kline’s nephilim child even that big a threat? Or will it only become so if, for example, it’s captured by the British Men of Letters and raised in Toni’s an agent’s attic so they can use it as an attack dog down the line? Maybe Castiel’s better way is actually showing kindness and love instead of the blade.

Quite apart from the whole nephilim issue, though, is the love and love issue. If lying with the “daughters of men” is one of the oldest crimes, there are some interesting contrasts between Lucifer, Benjamin, Ishim, Akobel and Castiel’s relationships with Humans.

Lucifer is clearly giving a huge fuck you to God by breaking this law, but he probably also had plans for the nephilim too. Benjamin and Akobel found ways to love Humanity without crossing that line, although both edge right up to it -- co-raising a child, and actively sharing a vessel. Ishim is a fuckboy who is full of rage about being friendzoned; we all know he would have broken that law if he didn’t need that pesky “yes”.

And Cas... has he already broken this law, either as Emmanuel or as Steve? There’s some ambiguity there, but I think it’s clear enough that he now would break it, if he had enough reason. He really is a rebel -- more profoundly so than other angels get, I think. He calls the Winchesters his “friends,” at least to other angels, but I do wonder if that’s really how he thinks of them, or if that’s what he thinks it’s safe to admit.

(x)

Interesting. INTERESTING.

We are meant to take that “friendship makes me stronger” as a metaphor -- that his character is stronger. But is it (just) a metaphor? There he is in a church, healing Ishim beneath the crucifix -- the symbol of Christ’s loving sacrifice for Humanity -- and Ishim tells us afterwards that he’s not been so strong in years. All of this with the specter of Billie’s death and cosmic consequences (ie. another sacrificial death) looming over the narrative, and only a couple of scenes away from Castiel’s heartfelt and healing apology to Lily.

Lily = purity

Sunder = part, separate, sever

The apology is what puts her back together. Not that it fixes anything, but there is a power in acknowledging the pain of others, especially when we’ve caused it, and Castiel is, I think, the only angel we’ve seen who has learned this particular lesson.

Castiel isn’t just a student of Humanity, he’s in love with Humanity; by this point we all know that. What we’re less sure of is what that actually means, but the implication of this episode is that a) all angels have the capacity and quite possibly the desire to love Humanity (’How could anyone know them and not love them?”), b) it’s forbidden and so has turned toxic (”taking up with filthy animals”; “I’m gonna cure you of your Human weakness”), c) Castiel breaking the rules and loving Humanity makes him stronger (and a Christ figure -- which is worrying as we all know how that story goes).

Interesting, isn’t it, that with all these mirrors, we haven’t actually seen an angel and a Human in a consensual loving and sexual relationship, with a child planned for and wanted. We’ve seen all the fragments in different combinations, but not that one.

And then there’s Kelly and her unborn nephilim child.

Dean points out, “at the end of the day, it’s a mom and her kid.”

It’s not quite as on the nose as using the title of the movie in a bit of dialogue, but it’s a pretty solid encapsulation of this season’s themes. A mom and her kid. At the end of the day. Just like Lily and her daughter, Toni and her child, Mary and her sons. The other Mary too.

Okay, heavy brick of foreshadowing, I see you there.

I didn’t like the direction of Castiel’s journey after last week’s episode, but this ep has redeemed it somewhat, because it’s given us a greater understanding of his motivation. This is a story about Castiel’s heart and his love of Humanity. I’ve mentioned this before that heart imagery is a recurring visual theme this season, and while I’m not so big on the self-sacrificial aspect of this particular theme, I do like this idea of the “better way” that Castiel has raised. It’s a nice segue from last season’s finale, and it’s hopeful. It would be pretty great if our trio finds a way to express their love that isn’t toxic.

There’s a lot more I could talk about with this ep, as it’s got a lot of meat, but I know a lot of meta has already covered it, so just a few highlights.

I really liked seeing more angels and angel politics, as you may have gathered, but I also especially liked that Cas has a female vessel. Nice.

I love Lily Sunder. I hope we see her again, but even if she’s a one-off, she was fab.

I’m pissed off that we got another woman of colour dying on our screen this week. Great character, but I’m just so tired of dead black bodies as entertainment. :(

Sam’s face! We’ve all been there, right, and his epic done-ness while still being there to back them up was A+. Also Jared looked particularly fine in this ep.

The Dean and Castiel snark. Hahahahaha. So satisfying.

A great ep. I’ll take more by this writer, please.

Previously:

The Ministry of Information vs Wayward Sons Carrying On (12x01)

My, my, how can I resist you? (12x02) and follow-up about Bohemian Raphsody

So what am I so afraid of? (I think I love you) (12x03)

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy Down in my heart (Where?) (12x04) and a follow-up about the codependency and about Dean’s self-flagellation and issues with space

There can be only one! (12x05), and a follow-up conversation with elizabethrobertajones on Freud vs Schwartz.

They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes (12x06)  

Presenting the Immaculate Heart Reunion Tour (12x07)    

I’m still living the life where you get home and open the fridge and there’s half a pot of yogurt and a half a can of flat Coca-Cola. ~Alan Rickman (12x08, 12x09)     

[identityproject-beingblack-blog]

What does it mean to be Black?

By Sarah Ibrahim

RESEARCH AND CONTEXTUAL WORK:

Museums & Galleries:

Some of the few museums and art galleries I was advised to visit by my tutor were; the Genders exhibition at the Science Gallery London that explores both the artistic and scientific, the SorryYouFeelUncomfortable interactive, thought-provoking and my personal favourite exhibit that mainly focused on cultural and racial issues such as white-guilt and indirect racism.                                                                                                                                                                                       

IDEAS AND DEVELOPMENT:

At first I choose to focus on beauty and how Eurocentric standards of beauty impacts non-white individuals and the ways they view themselves. This was inspired by the struggles I had with accepting my own identity because of how the media or the world viewed my features. I felt like women especially are more likely to struggle with accepting the way they look when it doesn't meet the standards of beauty (typically Eurocentric) due to the immense pressure we put on a woman’s looks. My current identity is nothing if not self-accepting and I think unlearning the world’s view of our value is very important.

I wanted to focus on how the existence of trends such as skin bleaching, perms, contact lenses and liposuction might affect the way people of colour and especially black women might view themselves and their worth. As a black girl, all I have known was that somehow, the way I look is not good enough.

I come from a mixed raced background and had a Caucasian mother. I was first introduced to perms and hair straightening products when I was around 10 years old and then around the age of 12, my cousin tried to get me to start using face whitening cream. Now, what that had taught me from a very young age is that I am missing something. That lesson was reiterated by the media and tv because there were almost no black women in any media platforms where I grew up.

The very few examples I got to look up to from other places in the world were celebrities like Rihanna and Beyoncé who almost exclusively wore weaves around the time I first discovered their music and were edited to look lighter in their videos. So the world was unanimously telling me, like so many other young black women, that I can have a place in the world as long as I subscribe to the world’s idea of how I should look like. 

However, I had decided to combine both the world’s enforced standards of beauty and the black identity into one and generally focus on what being black means.

I was forced to see the topic of identity through a different lens. My understanding of the black identity is something that can only be defined on an individual scale. However, it has become very clear to me that some identities are not a subjective matter. I am a black person regardless of how I was brought up, how in touch with my culture I am or how I saw myself. The world sees me as a black person and that comes with its own set of rules and guidelines.

Subsequently, I changed the projects’ name to ‘BeingBlack’ My aim was to focus on how blackness is not really something that can be defined but rather a collection of distinguishing factors and elements that together create an identity. 

Every black person exists and embraces their colour and culture in their own separate way. I planned on interviewing few of my friends that come from African decent with the aim of understanding what does it mean to be black in their opinion.

While I was trying to highlight individuality I also wanted to focus on the unspoken ways in which we are similar. Yes, not every black person is the same and generalising is a hateful tool but in a way we are also defined by our unity, struggles, cultures and community.

The Interview

Some of the issues brought up in the interview touched on the issues of colourism, cultural appropriation and how media’s portrayal of us has impacted our own self-image.

Issues that I wanted to shed a light on are subjects of representation, visibility and diversity. All three are crucially important issues that reflect on our identity and how we take pride in it.

 KEY SOURCES AND REFERENCES:

In this module, we were shown a few examples of artists who use identity in their work. Steve McQueen and Cindy Sherman were few of the artists named. I paid special attention to McQueen as I was already familiar with and a big fan of his work as a filmmaker. His photography piece in collaboration with TATE was very interesting to me. I think what he was trying to convey through this piece were feelings of nostalgia to childhood.  

(https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/steve-mcqueen-year-3)

One of the main sources of my inspirations for this project were the London-based Queer Black DJ and Art Collective called BBZ (Bold Brazen Zamis or Babes). Their online presence and activism is something I found very inspiring and rang true to what I thought this project should be about. Their style of collage use, photography and mixed media to celebrate black queer identity really stood out to me. I was absolutely invested and inspired by this group. They are involved in and organise numerous events some of which are the biggest and well established in London – the week-long exhibition at the Tate Modern is an example. Their sense of community and aim to create a safe space for black queer creative minds is something that attracted me beyond belief to this newly discovered art scene. 

I first discovered BBX through their video on Tate’s YouTube channel when I was researching interviews and filming styles to use in my own video.

(https://crackmagazine.net/article/long-reads/bbz-changing-face-londons-queer-club-scene/)

Films:

One way of trying to cope with all of what was happening in the world from racial war to an epidemic was to watch films. I pride myself in being a bit of a cinephile and I choose the medium of filmmaking in my search. I have been mainly inspired by films for this project. I watched over 300 movies since the COvid-19 outbreak. Many of film I ended up seeing helped me explore what black identity is and what it might mean to different people. Some of these films are; Waves, Sorry To Bother You, Do The Right Thing, BlacKKKlansman, Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, Get Out, Us, Blindspotting, Monsters & Men, Fruitvale Station, The Death & Life Of Marsha P Johnson, Dope, Girlhood, Boyz N The Hood, Fences, Sugar Cane, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Paris Is Burning, Malcolm X, Black Is... Black Ain’t & Pariah.

I took this opportunity to start a film review blog and that allowed me to draw a lot of inspiration from the films I reviewed upon multiple viewings.

EXPLORATION & CHALLENGES: 

Throughout this project, I struggled a lot with the lack of proper equipment available to me, lack of footage because I was victim to theft and also lack of creative freedom. I was stuck indoors in a very small town in the east of the Netherlands called Doetinchem and had to work with what I had left.

In my project proposal, I initially planned on using a combination of videos, audio and photography for the Identity project. I wanted to create interviews with some of my friends & classmates where they get to speak on how they have been affected personally by the way the world views them. I wanted to use mixed combination of photography and film. That included pictures taken on a disposable camera and a polaroid camera as well as some random footage taken from a digital camera that had close ups of the people that were to be included in the interview. Sadly, I lost a lot of that footage when my laptop got stolen and had to work with what I had left on backup.

At that point I have already interviewed few of my friends using a phone’s camera at first to test out the kind of questions I would like to ask. The quality was not too great so I did not end up using that footage. I did end up using random footage from my phone however. It seemed random at first, but the more I assessed the footage, the more it made sense to me that it should be submitted as a part of the final piece. I thought the second video show-cased the carefree and happy side of black identity that would contrast and compliment the more serious tone carried by the first video (the interview).

[aaronbhope84]

DIY - Creating a Slat Fence with Pallet Wood

3 years ago I built a raised bed in the garden against the low-level brick wall between us and our neighbour. I built it with the intention of growing some climbing plants that would block out the view of the next-doors driveway (and the adjoining road) and give us a bit more privacy. Well, that didn't work out. Actually, I tell a lie - it did work out, but it worked too well. What I mean is, one of the climbers I had picked (a Solanum Crispum I believe) was on a mission to take over the world. It grew wilder than wild, quicker than the speed of light and basically became a nightmare to control and ended up being more of a pest than anything. So last year I dug it back up and decided I needed a new idea.

My new idea was pallet fencing. Three years ago I was totally against the idea of fencing - I don't know why? I think it's perhaps because I like the idea of continuity around the garden, and on the opposite wall we have some lovely large shrubs that act as privacy all on their own. I thought I could re-create the same effect on this side, but it turns out I couldn't. After our neighbours (on the shrubbed wall side) added additional fencing to some of the more sparse areas of foliage, the garden matched no more anyway and it gave me the perfect opportunity to put fencing up.

But, fences are expensive and because I like to save money, I decided to do something a bit different. Cue - pallet fencing! And of course, I'm going to show you how you can make your own and save a ton of ££ too!

You Will Need:

Pallet Wood

Treated Timber/Fence Posts

Concrete Bolts (or you can use threaded rods with bolts)

Galvanised Nails (or screws)

Garden Paint

Tape Measure

Pencil

Saw

Ratchet

First things first, here's a quick look at what we were personally dealing with. We have low-level walls with a kind of trellis over the top (these were already here when we moved in!) which are attached to fence posts. After moving in, we added reed-screening for additional privacy, but that has since fallen down and it's now all looking a bit scruffy.

We'll be keeping the trellis in place to build on top of, but you definitely don't need one in order to complete this DIY.

So here's what we did....

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Step 1 - Affix New Posts

Whether you're adding fencing to the top of an existing wall (like us!) or not, you will need to have some fence posts in place, as this is how we'll be affixing the pallet planks in position. If you already have fence posts in place, you can skip this step altogether.

If you don't, and you also don't have a brick wall like ours, you will need to dig into the ground, pop the post in and secure it into position with postcrete. I don't have a blog post for that (yet) so you'll have to check out this video for help on that.

If you have a low-level brick wall like us - the good news is that you can just affix the posts onto that. We already have a fair few in place anyway as that's how our trellis has been installed, but we needed to replace a couple and we're also adding a few more to support the trellis even further. We're actually not taking the trellis down (seems a bit of waste?!), so we'll be fixing our pallet planks on top of it instead.

We used two methods to fix our new fence posts to the wall. One of them involved drilling a hole all the way through the wall, inserting a threaded rod, bolting it in place with nuts and bolts either side of the wall, and then cutting the excess off from the rod, which you would need an angle grinder to do. This is how our existing posts are attached, however for this method, you would need access to the other side of the wall. Don't worry though, I have an alternative method if this one isn't for you! But, here are some shots of how this process looks...

For the simpler, albeit it slightly more expensive method, we used concrete bolts. These are basically special bolts which screw straight into the brick, no wall plugs required. Simply drill a hole the same width as the bolt, straight through the fence post and into the wall, only going as deep as the bolt will sit. Then, screw the bolt in!

You'll need to use a ratchet to tighten the bolt into the brickwork, and voila, your fence posts will be full secure.

Literally, it's as easy as that. We're super impressed with these bolts and can't believe we haven't used them before! I would definitely recommend for any outside projects.

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Step 2 - Sourcing Pallet Wood

The two best places I've found for finding free pallet wood is Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree. While there are a fair few free pallets to be had, finding a bulk amount of pallets which are all the same size is much easier said than done. If you're aiming for a consistent finish on this project or any other, mismatched free pallets isn't always the best way to go.

In which case, bulk sellers may be a better option as they usually have a large quantity of the same stock. Despite having to pay for them, it can still work out much cheaper than buying wood new from a DIY store. And of course, this way you can at least guarantee the planks will be of the same size. We buy ours from a farm local to us (who also dismantles the pallets and sells the wood separately) for 70p a plank, of 2m length. It's relatively affordable, although yes, I'd prefer it to be free! ;)

Another way to get free pallets is asking smaller businesses if they have any pallets going spare or are willing to sell you some on the cheap. After all, if you don't ask - you don't get! Our local Jewsons often give away scrap pallets from time-to-time.

If you need to dismantle any pallets, I recommend this Roughneck Lifting Bar tool. It makes the job a lot easier, but don't expect the pallet to fall apart for you; you will still need to use a fair bit of elbow muscle. 😉

For this fencing DIY, I recommend the longer and bigger pallets. As obviously, the longer the slats of wood are - the fewer fence posts you will need! The photo above isn't the actual pallets we used for this particular DIY.

Step 3 - Cut Pallet Wood to Size

So as I mentioned earlier, the pallet planks will be attached straight onto the fence post, so you'll need to cut your pallet wood to this size. Simply measure the distance between the centre of one post to the centre of the next post and cut the planks with a saw.

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We're actually fitting ours to the frame of the trellis instead so ours will be recessed against the fence post. We've added additional lengths of timber to the inside of the trellis frame with screws, and our pallet planks will attach to these. Hard to explain, but this is ours..

Step 4 - Affix Pallet Planks

You'll want to use either galvanised nails or galvanised screws to attach the planks, as these won't rust. Personally, I prefer the look of nail heads, but the screws are definitely easier to deal with.

All you need to do is simply pop a couple of those into either end of the pallet plank, straight through into the fence post. You'll want to make sure your plank is level with a spirit-level as you do this (although we've actually done ours level with the brickwork, which ironically is not level) and it's really as easy as that.

To space the pallet planks apart so that there's a gap between each of them, for the modern trendy look, you can just use an offcut of pallet wood to wedge between boards. This makes the gap a little over 1cm thick, which I think is perfect as it still gives you plenty of privacy.

Looking pretty good right?! You can see how we've used pallet wood of a consistent width for an even-look finish. You could use varying widths for a bit interest though, it's totally up to you.

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Step 5 - Paint or Stain

Pallet wood doesn't usually need treating for outdoor use, but our boards were quite dirty and mismatched in tone, so I wanted to paint ours. I've used Johnstone's Garden Colour Range in 'Calming Stone' which is a kind of off-white colour with a hint of grey. It's much whiter than I anticipated actually, but it's added a really lovely fresh modern feel to the garden - and it's nice to have some painted wood, considering we have quite a lot of stained wood in the garden too.

I'd never used Johnstone's paint before but I really really recommend it. The coverage was amazing, you only need one coat for most wood and one tin went reaaaally far. Nothing lCuprinolinol which is watering as hell (sorry cuprinol!) I would definitely buy this one as a favourite in the future - and it was only £13.50 from Homebase!

And there you have it - one new pallet slat fence! We'll probably be doing this all over again at the back of the garden behind the roses bushes too, but not until they've finished their flowering season (we're sadly going to need to cut them!) and when we have a bit more cash to play with. For now, though, we have full privacy in the garden and I'm loving it!

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); And Incase You've forgotten what it looked like before. Here's a Before & After!

Unless you have a trellis too, your slats will sit on-top of fence posts, so they should run almost seamlessly across the wall. Which is generally how most slat fences appear, and I think probably looks a bit better. We chose to do ours onto the trellis, mainly because our fence posts were of varying thicknesses - it just wouldn't have worked so well.

But, what do you reckon? A good alternative to real fencing? If you can stock up on free pallets - I think this DIY would be incredibly worthwhile for the amount of money you could save! And I think it looks pretty decent too. But obviously, I might be a tad biased 😉😉 

Total Costs

(rounded to the nearest pound)

New Tools Purchased:

None

Materials Used:

Fence Post & Treated Timber - £23

Masonry Bolts (10pack) - £8

Pallet Wood - £20

Nails - £5

Paint - £13

Total: £69

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from Home Restoration News http://www.kezzabeth.co.uk/2018/07/diy-slat-fence-with-pallet-wood.html

[lindafrancois]

7 Ghee Nutrition Benefits & Weight Loss Benefits

If you are vying for weight loss then you might have shunned fats from your diet and the first to go off the window would have been ghee or clarified butter.

But what if we say there are different ghee nutrition facts that are helpful for health and even great for weight loss? Yes, you read it right.

But before we jump to that, let me give a heads-up about ghee nutrition.

  Ghee Nutrition Facts 

A tbsp of ghee is usually found to contain 120 calories. The serving size here is 1tbsp = 14g.

Calories 120 Saturated fat 9g Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 35mg Sodium 0mg Total Carbohydrate 0g Protein  0g

Ghee or clarified butter is sometimes used as an alternative to regular cooking oil. Commonly used in Indian and Middle Eastern dishes.

Ghee is 99.9% fat and 1% moisture along with some fat-soluble vitamins, charred milk protein fractions among others.

Although the fatty acid profile of ghee is complicated, most of it consists of saturated fat and cholesterol.

Because it is made with saturated fat, it doesn’t spoil at room temperature. It is naturally rich in antioxidative properties too. Do we still recommend it for weight loss? Yes, we do and read on to know why!

Confused whether you should consume ghee during weight loss! You can consult a Truweight nutritionist for FREE. Just click the link and get started!

Get FREE Weightloss Consultation Today!

  Preparation of Ghee or Clarified Butter

The title says it all, ghee is rendered when churned butter is clarified! Ghee can be made from cow, buffalo, goat, or sheep milk. Mostly cow’s milk is used to make ghee.

Ghee is mostly prepared by traditional methods in Indian households by clarification of milk fats. This kind of ghee is called desi ghee.

At the industry level, ghee is prepared by the direct cream method. The ghee made at home stays good longer because of the presence of phospholipids, a factor missing when ghee is made commercially.

The Traditional method of ghee preparation: Milk is fermented to curd, it is churned to separate the fat that floats. This fat is further churned to yield butter which is clarified to make ghee.

Commercial method or direct cream method: Milk is boiled and cooled to separate the fat layer. This fat is churned to butter which is clarified to yield ghee.

Get FREE Weightloss Consultation Today!

Ghee Nutrition: Know more about Ghee

Ghee is revered in Ayurveda, which is an ancient Indian science. A study which was conducted to understand the fatty acid composition in ghee prepared by the 2 methods found ghee or clarified butter to be a good source of DHA or docosahexaenoic acid. [1]

“Did you know, ghee or clarified butter is a good source of memory boosting omega-3 fat DHA”

To give you some background, DHA is the most popular omega-3 fatty acid. Omega-3 fats need to be derived from the diet because our body can’t produce it. So the world turned to fish oils, flaxseeds and walnuts.

Alas! All weight loss enthusiasts prefer to only see the fat in ghee and not its composition (Omega-3 fatty acids).

There are studies abound which find that DHA helps to reduce the risk of certain conditions such as heart attack, cancer, insulin resistance, arthritis and even attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

That is all about the DHA in ghee. Ayurveda believes ghee contributes to longevity, protects the body from various diseases.

In addition, ghee is believed to improve absorption of fat-soluble nutrients, nourishes and lubricates the joints, improves memory (the DHA connection) among other benefits.

Ghee contributes to all this because of antioxidants and essential fatty acids. [1]

7 Desi Ghee Health Benefits

1. Rich in fat-soluble vitamins

Ghee is rich in fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, K and vitamin E. Notice how desi ghee is deep yellow in colour. The benefits of fat-soluble vitamins are: 

Vitamin A helps in cellular growth, healthy teeth as well as improving bone health.

Vitamin D improves calcium absorption and can help preventing body inflammation.

Vitamin E enhances wound healing processes and also helps the immune system.

Vitamin K helps in regulating blood-clotting activities.

2. Good for the eyes

Because ghee is rich in vitamin A, it is good for the eyes. The Vitamin A helps the eyes in adjusting to light changes. In fact, the moistness in the eyes depends on the presence of vitamin A in your body.

3. Ghee contains linoleic acid

One of the many ghee nutrition health benefits is that it is rich in omega-6 fatty acid conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is also a precursor of essential omega-3 fatty acid DHA. 

CLA is found to be helpful in modifying the body composition and different heart-related risks.

Moreover, CLA has shown results in reducing body fat levels and having good impacts on the glycemic profile. [3]

4. Source of short chain fatty acids

Our stomach is inhabited by tiny microorganisms which ferment fibre to release many short-chain fatty acids. Butyric acid is one among them.

Preliminary research articles find the great benefit of butyric acid and even attribute anti-cancer property to it. Studies of ghee nutrition show that is naturally rich in butyric acid which makes it an immune building agent.

Those with digestive tract issues may not produce enough butyric acid. Hence they will benefit from consuming ghee.

5. Helps stimulate gastric juices

Studies have found that ghee nutrition content include gastric juices which in turn means better digestion.

Gastric juice contains enzymes that help breaking down foods. So a teaspoon of ghee over chapati does more than just moisturize it.

6. Revered as a medicinal fat by Ayurveda

Ayurveda attributes medicinal properties to ghee. Hence it might be a good idea to saute your spices in a teaspoon of ghee.

The aroma will not only whet your family’s appetite but it will also result in better absorption of the pro-health compounds in spices.

No wonder why ghee nutrition appeals the Ayurvedic industry that uses ghee or clarified butter as a base for preparations of many medicines. 

7. Nature provided moisturizer

Ghee acts as a natural moisturizer. And we don’t mean it only by superficial application. Our skin, membranes have fats or phospholipids in them.

By consuming essential fats found in ghee, you can ensure good skin health not just from the outside, but from the inside too.

Desi ghee is one of the best home remedies to cure dry lips. It will help to get beautiful and soft lips. Apply little desi ghee on your lips and message it very gently.

Ghee Nutrition Benefits in Weight Loss

Since ghee is rich in not only omega-3 fats (DHA) but also in omega-6 (CLA), it can be useful for weight loss.

Omega-6 fats have shown to help increase lean body mass while reducing fat mass. In addition, nutritionists also find that ghee helps in mobilising fat cells to be burnt for energy.

All that helps in weight loss and weight management. [4]

Want to know how much ghee is fine for weight loss? Watch the video given below

Is Ghee better than Butter for Weight Loss? 

‘Betty bought some butter, but the butter was bitter! So Betty bought some clarified Butter, to make her health better’! – How the tongue twister Betty bettered her health!’

The other name for ghee is clarified butter. So by that logic, shouldn’t butter be better for weight loss? 

No!

We let the research speak for themselves. Studies find that people who consumed butter reported a 5% increase in LDL or bad cholesterol levels.

Ditto for women who consumed 40 grams (we agree that’s too much butter) of butter instead of cheese, also showed an increase in the LDL levels.

On the other hand, studies found that including a bit of ghee in everyday diet of both humans and animals resulted in lowering of the bad LDL cholesterol. Mind you, the amount of ghee fed to the subjects was also huge, close to 2.5% of their weight.

Scientists postulated ghee to control cholesterol metabolism and hence a lower LDL reading. [5]

Now, we hope you are getting the entire story of how ghee could be better!

Recommended amount of ghee for weight loss 

“The word ‘ghee’ comes from the sanskrit word ‘ghrita’ meaning sprinkled. That is just how ghee or clarified butter should be used. Just sprinkled over foods!”

Remember, an excess of anything is bad! So why push the limits with ghee, even if you love it? We are, after all, talking about saturated fats.

So nutritionists suggest restricting it to 2 teaspoons a day. It would be better if ghee features in tempering as then it gets distributed among the family. [6]

But hey, 2 teaspoons providing your diet isn’t loaded with cheese or fried foods earlier on. We suggest you chart out a detailed fat intake plan with a nutritionist who will then put a cap on the teaspoons of ghee that is allowed.

You could start by opting for a free nutritionist counselling with one of Truweight’s dieticians!

Quick tip to Include Ghee or Clarified Butter in the Diet

You can include ghee in rotis, for parathas (within the limit that is), as temper for dals or subjis or even on soft steamed rice.

Avoid pure ghee Indian Sweets as they overshoot the ghee(fat) and sugar allowance by leaps and bounds.

Vegetable Ghee 

Vegetable ghee or vanaspati or dalda or any other ghee substitute = FAKE GHEE

Vegetable ghee or dalda or vanaspati ghee begins as your regular liquid refined cooking oil. It is then chemically processed such that it becomes solid and resembles ghee.

Then comes the barrage of artificial antioxidants to increase its shelf life (because it is fake ghee, it needs artificial help in staying fine for long) and then some manufacturers even add ghee-like artificial flavours.

We haven’t even begun talking about how it is loaded with the bad kind of fat, the ones your cardiologist warns against. Feel like having ghee, eat the real deal in moderation and stay healthy!

Recommended Ghee Brands in the Market

For the busy professional in every one of us, there are some reputed brands of ghee that are available.

Among the top ghee, brands are Pune-based Gowardhan ghee, Gujarat-based Amul ghee, Britannia ghee, Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali ghee, one of the oldest ghee brands namely Anik ghee among many.

You could opt for any one of them as they are enriched with fat-soluble vitamins.

However, a study found that ghee prepared by traditional methods from curd has the highest amount of omega-3 DHA and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).

Since most of the commercial brands produce ghee from the direct cream method, it may rank lower in the omega-3 content.

Although a pain, you could try making ghee at home [7]. So there you go, we have demystified ghee and whether it can be used in weight loss regimes!

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[photo-graphy-ah]

Interview a Creative

Introduction:

For this assignment, my task is to get in touch with a creative person, preferably someone who works in the same industry that I wish to work in and create a double page spread article style interview featuring the chosen artist. I am aiming to successfully plan and attend a meeting with a creative, that works either in the digital or the photography industry.

UPDATE - For this task I am planning to get in touch with Tim Sprakland - Graphic Designer @BareClothingWorldwide and Samuel Oleneme - Freelance Photographer in Portsmouth.

Depending on their availability, I will then be able to successfully accomplish this assignment.

UPDATE - I managed to get in touch with both chosen creatives, however I will only focus on Samuel Oleneme. The reason being is because I relate more towards the creatives visual scenes other than creating logos and t-shirt designs. 

Name and Location:

For this assignment I will be interviewing Samuel Oleneme. The photoshoot will take place outdoors, around the city centre. 

Overview of their work:

Samuel is a Portsmouth based freelance photographer, who loves portrait photography. He mainly works in private/public venues and photographs night scenes and people who are taking part in those events. He also hosts independent shoots with several other people/friends, and then uses technology, such as Adobe Software, to edit and rework his photographs.

Portfolio:

He currently works as a advertising and portrait photographer for ‘The Wolfe London’, which is an independent clothing brand that was made by a group of ex students from the University of Portsmouth.

My personal point of view is that working within a team of creatives can bring a good outcome towards you reputation and career, by practising and producing as much creative work as possible and being able to share it with the public appropriately.

After analysing his work, he seems to very skilled in using the depth-of-field technique, by separating the two main objects, the main subject and the background. He also seems to be very good at creating certain scenes, by taking candid portraits and create a mood through the use of dominant colours. (referenced at researched artists)

Contact details:

Phone: 07467706293

Email: olenemesamuel@gmail.com 

Portfolio: www.instagram.com/sir.sammi3

Samuel currently doesn’t have a website or an online portfolio to show his artwork. However, he finds Instagram a quite useful tool to upload his artwork have it presented for free. I believe that it is quite an efficient way and provides a clear layout of the artwork. 

However, he has given me one of his business cards. I believe this is a convenient traditional way of sharing your personal details and get in touch with businesses for places to work.

Researched artists:

Frank - www.frankhavemercy.com - Los Angeles

Sammi - www.sammiswar.com - London

The two researched creatives mentioned above will probably be the most relevant inspirational artists in my career if I will ever take part in any type of photographic project. I am also glad that I could compare the work between the two professional artists and Samuel. A few similarities are the obvious filters that create an atmosphere in their images. Considering the style of work of Sammi Swar, his is also focused on the role of a creative director, by providing images that are linked to one another and are part of a themed series. Compared to Samuel’s photography, he has only got the technical skills of photography, not the creative ones. I would also like to comment on Frank’s work too, since his portraiture images come with a message of feel, due to their dark theme. Each model in his photographs has also been selected appropriately in order for the stories to be shared accordingly.

Interview Questions:

How did you develop an interest in Photography?

It all started after I had my first camera. It was a Fuji finepix/ Coolpix I got over a Facebook buy and sell page for £40. I left it unattended for over 3 months because at that time I wasn’t too motivated. Until my friend Tariq needed to upload some pictures that I remember I had a camera and volunteered to do a shoot for him. After the shoot I loved the pictures that came out at that time, then I realised that I was pretty good at this and wanted to go out there and practice more. Later on, that hunger for photographing was transformed into a hobby.

What is the most essential element when shooting portrait pictures?

I think that in photography every element is essential. From having a fast camera, to a fast-prime lens, interesting backgrounds, amount of light, model and so on. All these elements determine the outcome of your picture and by mixing all the elements correctly, you can achieve a great outcome. It really takes time to master a portrait. It is a different experience for everybody who stands in front of my camera, but it is all about the second you click the button and shoot.

Do you enjoy being a freelance photographer? How does you style stand out from other photographers?

Yes, I enjoy being freelance. However, I wouldn’t mind shadowing someone for a bit to learn more as am still in the process of finding my style. But I love my pictures to be clean, soft and neat.

Is/are there any artists who influenced you to join the photography industry?

Yes, there are a few.  Like Jessica Kobeissi, Irene Rudnyk and Dani Diamond. I look at their work and envision my work turning out like theirs. I mean, their photographs are outstanding. Everyday people also inspire me in my works, because there are a lot of events going on. I also joined the photography industry because there is always a story. Its’s like being a writer but share your thoughts through images.

What technology/software do you use to keep focused on what you do best, as you photograph?

I use Lightroom classic CC. Its less technical and I find it more professional. I get to shoot many pictures per each session, so I will need a workspace that allows me to manipulate more than one pictures at a time. I think that Lightroom will be the only software that I’ll stick to for a long time from now on.

Idea process:

Having to choose between two useful sources was very difficult. I chose to feature Samuel on my project because he was able to produce more interesting and relevant pieces of art that are related to my chosen career. 

Behind the Scenes:

In the photo below, while at Samuel’s house, I managed to adjust the lighting setting. 

Samuel is currently not interested in working in a studio, therefore we haven’t had a suitable location to host the interview, apart from his home which wasn’t relevant to his work environment, so I decided to host the photo shoot outdoors and have a conversation about his career while taking the photographs. 

The downside of this part of the assignment is that I have forgotten to mention that he’ll be required to present himself as if he would be going to work. This means that I was not able to capture Samuel in his work environment.

Planning:

Before arranging the meeting, I have emailed Samuel a series of questions (8th, February). Beforehand, we have arranged that I would sent them through just so he will know what to expect from the interview. 

He in fact, has answered all the questions and sent all the answers back. 

This was a successful task, which led to us meeting the next day and carry on the interview and photo shoot.

Editing / Software:

For me to successfully complete this task, I have managed to find out about blurb.co.uk, which allows me to create both digital and printed books or magazines.

This way, I will be able to present my artwork in a very distinctive way. 

The table of contents below provide information about the order of each assignment and its location in the magazine. 

Project Analysis & Feedback:

I would firstly like to point out the quality of the interview. I believe I could have taken better quality images of the featured artist only if I used a more suitable place, such as a studio or the mediums he sometimes works in (night venues). The pros of this assignment are that I get to use the AdobeInDesign software to present my work. I should have considered all the factors, including providing clearer information, not to plan the meeting while under pressure and be aware of things that may go wrong.

Evaluation:

I would firstly to reflect upon the progression of my skills throughout this unit. I have learned a lot about how to interview a creative, and I think this was a great way of applying my beginner skills in InDesign. In terms of my photography skills, I believe that they could be improved by being more patient when out and about photographing.  As an overall result of the interview, I managed to collect all the information required for me to accomplish this task, however I could have managed to improve the quality of the material produced by being more organised and focus more on the importance of it. I now understand why being able to interview a creative is a very important factor in the media industry, and I think it also affects your image as a publisher towards other artists, by not being good enough at representing their work and profile appropriately.

Magazine:

As I am going to present my final results onto a magazine, this is the layout of the double page spread article with Samuel Oleneme.

Alternative:

Graphic design isn’t my main field of study, however, I hosted an interview with Tim Sprakland, who is the CEO of ‘Bare Clothing’. I have decided to keep photography as a main interest for creating more interesting pieces of art than just creating graphics. I feel that photography has a stronger meaning than graphic design.

[jamiegriffithsunit1]

Week 7-8/9 Turnaround sheet

Random choice character task:

I chose two slips with a theme and a character type and had to integrate them together into my own character, the two slips I chose were 'fish' and 'demon'. With these two words I created three different concepts of what my character may look like in the end using various reference images.

References:

Source : https://randis.deviantart.com/art/Demon-135056910

Source : https://www.tes.com/lessons/bXvwbGrJiD7ARg/angler-fish

I implemented many parts of both sources into my designs, for example, I gave two of my designs smaller eyes, similar to the image of an angler fish, alongside a very wide mouth on my final design, horns from the ‘demon’ aspect of my character were added to all of my designs in order to convey the part further.

After creating three heavily fish-inspired characters, I then decided to try a more accurately proportioned concept to try and convey the overall 'demonic' characteristic of my design:

After all of my concepts were put down on paper I then chose one above the others as I thought it would look the best when introduced to a character turn around sheet, the design I chose is shown below:

In order to create my turnaround sheet I redrew this character and then took into account how it would look from different angles. Using guidelines I was able to accurately align certain parts of the character such as the eyes in order to get an overall accurate drawing of the figure and form. After all pencil outlines were drawn, I then went over them with Fine liner in order to define each line and show clearly the different parts of my character.

The reasoning for me erasing the pencil lines and defining my design with pen was to make it easier for the scanner to pick up in greater detail for me to work with digitally in Photoshop.

Scanned turnaround sheet:

Did you find it difficult or easy? Why?

I found the turnaround sheet relatively easy, however, having to visualise what my 2D character would look like from various perspectives was quite difficult but I think I managed to keep the characteristics throughout.

Is the overall final look successful?

I think the overall look is successful because it is still recognisable as the same character even when seen from a profile or back view. Some aspects don’t quite match up when comparing the four perspectives, however, they are not too noticeable and so not too much detail is lost.

What could you improve?

I believe I could improve the accuracy of the characters’ proportions, This is shown in the characters’ arm length and how it decreases in the 45° and profile view, yet remains the same in the last perspective as the first.

Digitising and rendering the turnaround

After this sheet was scanned in, I opened it in a Photoshop document and duplicated the layer for later editing,

I then disabled visibility of the initial layer and pressed [CTRL+ALT+2] which selected every white area of the scan. After this selection was made, I opened the layers window and applied a layer mask which disabled visibility of everything apart from the pen outlines of my turnaround sheet and a transparent work space.

Using the pen tool, I was able to create very precise paths around certain parts of the character, such as particular arms, legs or facial features.

After a path had been created, I then opened up the paths window and enabled the selection (marching ants). However, this selection was only going to act on everything outside the path I had created, therefore, by clicking [Select > Inverse] I was able to reverse this and allow the shape I had created to be filled in correctly.

 Inversing the selection was the first part of the fill process, after this had been achieved, I then selected the LAYER tab and selected [New fill layer]>[Solid Colour] and chose the appropriate colour that would suit my character design

This entire process was repeated for all four perspectives on every part of the character. The other angles are shown:

[Basic and initial colour layers in 3 stages]

Stage 1:

Stage 2:

Stage 3 (With mid-tone background to compliment highlights and shadows later on)

Next stage: Dodging and burning

After all four perspectives were completely filled with base colour and separated into their own layer groups, The process of dodging and burning would be introduced to show shadows and highlights across the designs. To begin, I would select the ‘Torso’ path of the first drawing and rasterize the layer, I would do this by clicking the workspace and selecting ‘rasterize layer’ and gradually introduce lights and darks.

 Dodge would lighten pixels and burn would achieve the opposite effect. This was a very destructive way of editing an image, this means any adjustment would permanently stay on the layer unless it was undone manually.

Shadows and highlights were refined and the entire process was also repeated across the other three designs.

[RENDERING PROCESS]

What Photoshop process did you use to render (colour) your turn-around-sheet.

The process I used in Photoshop in order to render my designs on the turnaround sheet was using selection paths and creating new fill layers with a certain solid colour fill which would later be adjusted with the ‘Dodge and burn tools’.

Did you find it difficult or easy? Why?

Overall, I found the task reasonably challenging, mainly due to the constant navigation through each individual layer and asset of every single perspective which ate into my time, alongside the tedious small-scale dodging and burning.

Is the overall final look successful? Why?

Yes, I would say the overall look is very successful, The highlights and shadows are well-placed and I fell it conveys a substantial sense of depth as a whole.

What could you improve?

If I were to improve anything on this illustration, it would be the proportions, I’m not sure how the arms became so out of proportion when I was using guidelines throughout the sketch stage to aid me.

What process could you use to improve the outcome?

To improve the outcome, I would pay more attention to the proportions and smaller details on the character to ensure I didn’t miss or change any aspects.

End result across all four perspectives: