#yes i know i was the one who suggested watercolours that’s not important

[isbergillustration]

Art essentials:

Cat, a few of my too many watercolour sets, caffeine, background garbage

Gotta remind myself how this medium works

[imawa-borderland-dweller]

"Oi Aguni! It's Valentine's, who you gonna spend it with?" Heiya's teasing could be heard from over the kitchen as Aguni let out yet another frustrated sigh.

Doudou didn't know what to say to that. He just secretly wished he could get the Valentine's dinner over and cooked with before Aguni lost it and got ahold of the knife.

But that anger management class looked it really worked. Aguni was being a bit more patient with Heiya this time. At least she could mention his singlehood four times instead of three.

"Just add the carrots in, stir, then leave it to simmer," Oh. Aguni was distracting himself while trying not to lose his shit.

"Oh come on, you hate when I talk about how single you ar-" Oh, Heiya, please don't.

"Grhdhdhdhh...." Wait. Was Aguni biting into his skin in order to not snap instantly?

"Uhhh.... I'll bring the dishes in! Err...yeah!" Doudou was clever in finding an excuse to leave the soon-to-be-battlefield beofre it erupted.

"Ok ok ok fine, I won't say it anymore," Oh thank god. Heiya finally stopped with her antics.

Doudou breathed a sigh of relief, being careful not to be too loud so as to not trigger Aguni even more now.

Aguni walked out of the kitchen-wait. Uh...why is he shirtless? Are those boxing gloves? You know what, nevermind, that's not important.

So everyone sat down to have a nice little family dinner.

"Wow. These dishes are terrible,"

"You're not used to such dishes? I just threw in what I had at home into the stove," Doudou innocently queried.

"Yes, I'm not used to eating actual meals for Valentine's. Like who eats actual rice and vegetables with meat for Valentine's? We should be feasting on the candy I got, and drawing random stuff!"

"Uh...what now?" Doudou now was seriously confused.

Aguni was probably the one to understand what she meant. "Everyone keep the dishes in the fridge,"

"Hehe, you get what I mean!"

He rushed off into the bedroom once he saw that all the food was properly kept in the fridge.

"Wait, can someone explain to me what's going on?" Doudou was hopelessly lost.

"Well, I think he's go-" Heiya was interrupted by a pillow smashed in her face coming from the direction of the bedroom.

Wait, wasn't that the bedroom Aguni went into?

Wait....

"Oh.Oh.OH! PILLOW FIGHT!" Doudou screamed. Finally he realised what was going on.

He and Heiya rushed into their bedroom to equip themsekves with their weapons and to dodge more pillows Aguni threw at them.

"You want to do this your way, we'll do this your way!" Aguni was getting serious about this.

Another pillow was hurled into the living room.

"And don't call out my singlehood again!"

Another pillow flew across the living room, but from Doudou's and Heiya's room this time.

"Uh...did I do that right?" How innocently Doudou questioned.

"Yeah, you wanna fight us, you gotta let us fight you! PILLOW FIGHHHHHTTTTT!" Heiya bellowed at the top of her lungs.

And yet another pillow soared over the room.

And yet another.

And yet another.

------------------

"Hahaha, I haven't been able to relax like this in a long time now!" Doudou exclaimed as he helped himself to a serving of Heiya's candy.

They were just randomly lying on the living room floor under the dining table. Why they there, you ask? Do not question the found family and their actions.

"Want some?" The high-school girl offered her sweet treats to the muscle-man.

"Yeah, sure," He took the Skittles from Heiya's candy pack, forcefully ripped open the wrapper, and then dumped all the skittles into his mouth at once.

"Oh yeah, like I said just now, before Aguni rudely interrupted, wanna do some random drawing?" Heiya suggested while she casted a side-glance at Aguni.

"How about we do something even better, painting? I have watercolour in my cabinet," Doudou piped up with a brilliant suggestion.

And painting they went.

"Hey, that cloud looks like Aguni!"

"No, I think this reindeer was meant to be Heiya!"

"Why is Doudou the tree?" They each made their own comments about their 'co-painting-but-really-it's-just-Heiya's-random-doodles"

"Nononono, I think I look more like that random blotch of sky there!"

Honestly, nobody cared that they were still single and had no one to celebrate Valentine's with.

After all, they had their very own found family.

tempted to write a (platonic) Aguni, Heiya and Doudou fic where they spend valentines day (night) painting and eating candy. idk.

[writing-fool]

mlqc | let’s hit rewind

What kind of videos would the MLQC guys make if they were YouTubers? I think this is a youtube!au, but to be fair, Kiro probably has a YouTube channel in canon. See it as you will? I won’t really talk about their life outside of YT/internet so you can decide for yourself whether this is an AU or not, and whether they’re a full-time YouTuber or not.

As always, enjoy, and requests are open!

Love,

R.

Warning(s): none

Victor

Victor probably has a cooking channel

scratch that. he absolutely starts as one of those Aesthetic™ cooking channels like Cooking tree, HANSE, Sweet The MI or Nino’s Home.

his channel is called Souvenir because he’s not THAT original you can’t expect everything from a man, people. 

he starts off doing these voiceless cooking videos, but after a voice and face reveal at 2 million followers where he cooks something for his followers as a thanks...well, who wouldn’t want more of that sultry voice and glorious face

currently has about 4 million subscribers

Victor’s channel is kind of comparable to Junskitchen, a rather relaxed, casual atmosphere combined with exquisite, refined cuisine

if he feels like it, he does a voice-over, otherwise he just puts calm jazz, blues or r&b over his cooking

HAS done an ASMR special. low-key dislikes the video because he has to whisper voice-overs but people LOVE it

likes making all kinds of foods, but his channel features quite a lot of sweet foods and desserts because a certain dummy has a sweet tooth

a pretty popular feature during quarantine is Cooking w/ Sou, essentially a live stream where Sou (aka Victor) cooks a whole three-course meal while talking to and instructing his followers

his subscribers notice that he doesn’t really need editing to look clean during cooking because his technique is IMMACULATE

by the end, he’s made a themed dinner for two...which always raises a question mark

is Sou single? does he have a roommate? a girlfriend? a kid? WHAT?

after getting your explicit permission, Victor addresses the situation in one of his recent Q&As

“Why do I always make dinner for two? I have a fiancée, she edits my videos in her spare time. She works as a producer. *you wave your hand over the lens* Dummy.” he breezes over it like it’s no big deal even though he’s a tad nervous about exposing something personal like this

his fans blow up the internet, baffled but not entirely surprised that someone like Sou isn’t a bachelor

of course, some leave hate under the video honestly, people who do this to celebs who start dating are HORRIBLE

most subscribers are super supportive of your relationship and thank you for the editing that makes Souvenir such a well put-together channel...also did he seriously call his fiancée a dummy? such a tsundere!

sometimes, you’ll (well, your hands...we’re keeping a bit of privacy here) even be in the end shot of videos, munching away at the carefully plated food

one day, Sou will be making a video titled Wedding Cake.

Lucien

Lucien’s channel LucidLight is a tad bit all over the place

he’s a man of many talents, and his channel reflects just that

i’m not saying it’s a disorganized channel, because the theme is very much there - the uniform theme in Luci’s content is a cozy background, a cup of tea and a soothing thumbnail

i mean that content-wise, his subscribers don’t really know what they’re going to get next...he has a slightly similar style to the YouTuber simon plant 

his content varies from interesting science theories to poetry reading sessions to ASMR to painting/sketching to cooking and much, much more

he has an heavenly soothing, smooth voice. it’s his trademark since Lucien doesn’t show his face on camera. ever. 

doesn’t have a TON of subs, because his channel is a bit of a niche thing, but I’d say he has 1,2 million subscribers and 400k followers on his added ‘business’ Instagram

he holds a lot of live streams on Instagram/YouTube (i know Moments exists in the game, but that’s more like a Facebook or Twitter kind of app...) and is always shown with just his torso and neck in frame. the lives usually include some poetry reading and generally just having a nice, relaxing chat with his followers. they can last up to 5 hours at once, and YOU know it’s because he doesn’t need sleep like a normal human being, but his fans are still asking questions about his timezone

his subscribers are strangely fascinated by his mysterious, gentle nature and also incredibly obsessed with his large, elegant hands

his ASMR videos are often roleplays of Librarian Lucien or Professor Lucien explaining to people why their rest is important

other times, they include soft affirmations, positive whispers, finger fluttering, hair touching and maybe kissing sounds...

Lucien paints a lot too, although he works primarily with ink and pencil sketches. you’ll find a watercolour or oil painting somewhere, but they’re not his most prominent media

his art videos are usually silent, although he might say something once in a while. there’s always some type of solo instrumental music playing in the background.

he does educational videos about biology and universe theories, but will also have reading sessions about scientific books

not intentionally secretive about your relationship, but he’s not one to mention it either

the first time you appeared on screen was when he was doing another live stream. he’s in his office talking about a play, when you come padding in to bid him goodnight.

“Yes, indeed. Laura’s glass menagerie, as the play suggests, is a symbol of fragility. Laura herself is very frail, but her favourite—”

“Good night, darling.” your soft voice rings through the room. viewers see Lucien’s torso turning a little bit, a hand on his shoulder and a curtain hair appearing from the top of the screen. his hand moves, presumably to cup the person’s cheek, before a soft kiss is heard through the mic. “Sleep tight, my love,” he murmurs.

“Ah. Laura’s favourite glass figurine is the unicorn, which...”

people are in uproar, but Lucien is a strong-willed man who refuses to explicitly announce the nature of his relationship.

his subscribers stop asking after a while, because it really isn’t any of their business, and they now know Lucien’s a taken man

you kind of appear on live streams accidentally a couple more times, but nothing’s really changed about Lucien’s content

the only thing he WILL say, and this is purely to give you credit, is “Ah. The background instrumentals in my art videos are played live. Yes, my lover’s very talented.”

you guys are the mysterious, talented, soft-voiced power couple of YouTube

Gavin

Gavin’s channel probably starts as a joint channel with you, something like Rachel and Jun

it’s relatively obvious from the start that Gavin from Birds&Cops is in a relationship, since you guys have a vlogging-style channel

your channel is filled with gym vlogs, travel vlogs to other countries and a lot of self-defence and sport at home videos. 

you guys also post a lot of funny vlogs talking about your day, going on fun dates, of course food vlogs in restaurants, all that stuff...

you often sit down and talk about your life, and maybe you’ll even do a mukbang during it for someone so fit, Gavin does eat a lot of food. 

Gavin’s channel didn’t blow up right away, because vlogging channels aren’t exactly unique, and he looks like the typical ‘straight boy with a girlfriend’

but he started gaining followers after people noticed how cute and blushy he acts, and how incredibly respectful and caring he is towards you

one of the most popular videos is Boyfriend Does My Makeup and it’s adorable. Gavin’s handling your face with so much care, and comments like “I know what this is, I’ve watched you do it many times.” or “Babe, does it hurt? Should I be more gentle? I’m sorry...my hands are rough.” make everyone SWOON

toxic masculinity left the chat. Gavin loves taking care of you in any way, whether it’s getting pads, chocolate and hot packs during your period or braiding your hair

in those yoga/celebrity fitness routine challenges, subs get to see Gavin in a tight singlet and sweatpants/shorts, and it’s HOLY

you’re very much aware of the attention Gavin receives from female fans, and how lucky you are to have found such a sweet partner

Gavin will usually see this type of comment while scrolling and will turn to you and go “Babe, you know I’m the lucky one here, right?”

anyways, a feature that you do to show fans the extent of Gavin’s sweet personality is Pranking My Boyfriend, where you set up the camera for a harmless prank like pretending to have a nightmare (similar to channels like Farina Jo)

that particular video was so fun to shoot, because it ended up with Gavin softly singing a lullaby to calm you down in his arms

“Baby, wake up. I’m here, you’re safe.” Gavin knows how to deal with panicking people, but he hates this prank afterwards because ‘he didn’t like seeing you in pain’

fans squealed. Birds&Cops gained like 50k subs through that video. the channel’s currently at 999k subscribers

overall, it’s just a really lovely, family-friendly channel

Kiro

Kiro knows his way around the web, alright?

not even just as Key, but he’s had a YouTube channel since the age of 15

his channel, CtrlAltChips is a hit with many people of many, many ages

he streams gaming sessions on Twitch and posts them on his YouTube channel afterwards

other content includes (primarily) covers & original songs, simple talking videos, thrifting & fashion videos, mukbangs and candid dance videos in a studio

think of chloe moriondo, doddleoddle, Victor the Drum Destroyer and Cat Strat

alternatively, for the ARMYs here, think of Jeon Jungkook as a YouTuber

Kiro has about 18 million subscribers, which is A LOT, but he’s been on YouTube for 7 years and he’s made a name for himself as a super likeable and bubbly guy with an angelic voice and killer moves

you’d think he’s just a cute boy when he sings acoustic covers, but his dance moves suggest that he’s not THAT cute

also how does he stay so fit with all those snack mukbangs?

he has a segment named In Our Kloset where he talks about social issues (because our boy uses his platform for good) around the world while customizing (not just pins. we’re talking patches, sewing, painting, embroidery) thrifted clothing to his liking. at the end he holds a little fashion show with his new outfits

after a while, you’ll see many of his outfits in giveaways or on sale for charity. Kiro tries to give back to his fans as much as he can, and how better than by sharing a piece of his unique clothing with them?

a great singer and performer. has held actual concerts before and has an actual music career (author-nim leaves it up to you readers to decide whether this is his idol career or some other musical project)

keeps his private life PRIVATE. he knows how the internet works, and he knows there’s no way he can keep your relationship a secret forever, but he’s not about to expose it to the world because of that reason

keeps tabs on information or rumours regarding you and makes them vanish

he’s simultaneously the most open and the most secretive out of the four boys. his fans know his favourite colour, what type of underwear he wears (trunks. Kiro wears trunks.), his birthday,...

but they know nothing about his past, his location, his close social circle or his family (teeechnically he’s an orphan but ig we’re talking about his mentor here. the blood of the covenant blah blah blah...y’know?). Kiro protects his loved ones fiercely

for someone who’s kept so secret, you’re actually really involved in Kiro’s virtual persona. you’re usually behind the camera during his In Our Kloset videos and are in charge of extra research regarding topics so he doesn’t spread any misinformation 

you also give pointers during filming (of course, these bits are edited out) because Kiro tends to trail off and get distracted when sewing

another way you’re involved is setting up the food during mukbangs. you have a great sense of aesthetics, so all of his videos in general will go through you.

while you like being low-key in Kiro’s life, you don’t want him to feel like he has to protect you from all the hate. 

he doesn’t particularly love keeping you a secret either, and it makes him feel guilty because he doesn’t want you to think he’s ashamed of you. he could never be.

you guys give it a good chat over how you’re going to announce it, and he just ends up making a video titled Miss Chips where the two of you sit down and talk to the camera

“Hello my little chips! Uhm, as you can see, there’s someone sitting next to me today. Maybe you already guessed from the title, but this is...my girlfriend, Miss Chips,” cue the cute jazz hands in your direction, “We’ve been dating for a long, loooong time, right, Miss Chips?”

“I just wanted to share this with you guys, since it felt wrong to keep such an important person in my life private. I hope you’re all kind to her, because I love her dearly, even to the point of giving up my snacks...so it’s serious.”

it really is that serious, hm?

Hope you enjoyed reading! 

[gracie-bird]

NBC MONITOR RADIO 1954 NEW YORK FILM CRITIC AWARDS WITH SYDNEY SMITH.

Interviews took place in the famed Sardis Restaurant in New York City (in a series along with Rudy Vallee, Thelma Ritter, Ben Grower, Loring Smith, Vincent Sardy)

TRANSCRIPTION BELOW:

NBC: “Hi, I just have to talk to you, will you excuse me… Always for Grace Kelly. And sitting opposite me now is lovely Grace Kelly. Welcome and congratulations.”

GRACE: “Thank you, very very much”

NBC: “Well now, you are a real Triple Threat’ girl as they say in the business because you won it for Rear Window,’ for ‘Dial M for Murder,’ and ‘The Country Girl’ – all quite different parts, weren't they?”

GRACE: “Yes, they were. I was very grateful for the chance to play such varied roles.”

NBC: “Tell me something, how did you get started in motion pictures? You came from television originally?”

GRACE: “Well my first part in pictures came when people from Fox saw me in ‘The Father’ with Raymond Massey and Mady Christians, and I went out to do a small part in a picture called  ‘Fourteen Hours’ and that was my first part. And then I went on to do ‘High Noon,’ and after that, I signed my contract with MGM and went to Africa to do ‘Mogambo.’

NBC: “Have you travelled very much since you´ve started making pictures?”

GRACE: “¡Oh, yes! I´ve been very lucky. I´ve been to so many wonderful places. I´ve been to Africa and to France, and South America and London.”

NBC: “¡Oh, yes! that is exciting. I hear you´re going back to Africa. Is that true, or is that just gossip in the papers?”

GRACE: “Well there is talk about it, but I don't think it will be for a couple years.”

NBC: “Well now, how does a young lady coming from legitimate theatre and television go out to Hollywood and get so many pictures in one year? You´re really quite a… well, I don´t know what, but you must have the magic touch. How did you do it?”

GRACE: “Well it´s sheer luck! Really, I happened to be there when all of these things came my way. It was a freak thing, and I´m very, very grateful for it.”

NBC: “That´s very sweet and I think not only should you be so sweet to say something like that, but absolutely you´ve proved it in every sense of the word that you´re so capable and that you´ve done such a marvellous job. We have another picture of yours now at the Music Hall, “The Bridges of Toko-Ri.” How did you do that? Did you do that in Hollywood too?”

GRACE: “Sí, most of the company went to Japan, but I was filming ‘Rear Window’ at the time and couldn´t go. I was very sorry about that, but when the company came back from Tokyo I worked with them at the studios at Paramount.”

NBC: “What are you up to now?”

GRACE: “Well I was just out to the Coast for a quick visit this week. I left on Tuesday and came back on Friday. It was my quickest trip to date. I went out to talk to the studio about future plans. There´s nothing definite so far but there are several things we´re talking about.”

NBC: “Let me see now… you went out to Hollywood when was that exactly?”

GRACE: “Tuesday”

NBC: “No, I mean the first time, to make the first picture…”

GRACE: “The first time was in 1951.”

NBC: “And how many pictures have you made since that time. It´s 1955 now, just 1955.”

GRACE: “I´ve made nine.”

NBC: “9 pictures… That´s a wonderful record, Grace Kelly. Listen, didn´t you win an award last year of some sort, as I recall, for another picture?”

GRACE: “No, I was nominated for an award for Supporting Actress, but I didn´t win.”

NBC: “Well that was a good beginning. And for all supporting actresses who have almost won, this is certainly – if Grace Kelly is an example – a very hopeful sign. Grace Kelly, when you start out in this business, did you go to drama school or did you just make up your mind you were going to be an actress, and you just barged in where angels fear to tread?”

GRACE: “Well, a little bit of both. I went to dramatic school at the American Academy for two years, and then came time for barging. (laughs)”

NBC: “Tell me, if you were going to give a tip to a young lady listening to this program, what would you suggest are the ingredients that they have for success in the theatre or motion pictures, aside from talent?”

GRACE: “Well, it is very difficult to say. The main thing is that you first have to decide if it´s something that you really want to do. Whatever you want to do, if you believe in it and work at it hard enough, your dream should come true.”

NBC: “In other words, you really have to stick to it, don´t you? Not just one shot and try it, and if it fails, you give up?”

GRACE: “Well, If it´s something that you love and that you want to do, you don´t mind giving up other things for it.”

NBC: “Now of all the great classics in the world, of all the great plays that we´ve heard of if you had your choice, which part would you choose to play?”

GRACE: “It´s funny, I have no dream to play any particular part. There are many I would like to do, but there´s not one that I´m dying to do. I´ve been lucky to play a lot of very different parts and for the next few years, because I´m still learning, I´d like to try to play as many different roles as possible.”

NBC: “Have you any plans for your personal life, or should I keep my mouth shut about that? Are we going to see you get married, have children, settle down, or are you going to go on with this career of yours?”

GRACE: “Well, of course I´d love to be married and have children, but I don´t think it´s the time for that just now. I´m still more interested in my career than marriage, and I don´t think I could do both at once very well right now.”

NBC: Well that´s certainly very interesting to hear from an actress, and I think very, very honest and candid of her. It certainly takes a lot of energy and time. Do you still study? You know, so many actresses that I know, like Geraldine Page, and so forth, they still work, they still study, they still sing, and they train. Do you still find it helpful to study?”

GRACE: “¡Oh, yes! I think one must always continue to study.”

NBC: “Do you have any other interests? Do you paint or write?”

GRACE: “Well, I paint only for my own amusement, merely for relaxation.”

NBC: “That certainly is a wonderful hobby to have. Do you use oil? Watercolour?”

GRACE: “Oil occasionally, but mostly charcoal and pastel.”

NBC: “And what do you like to do, scenes or people?”

GRACE: “I prefer people.”

NBC: “I thought so, it would seem right somehow. Of all the parts that you have played so far, which do you think is the one… Which is the one… as you look on the screen, most performers feel a little odd about seeing themselves on the screen the first time. As you looked at yourself in the different pictures, which one did you feel was the best job and the one that you liked to do the most?”

GRACE: “That´s hard to say. I feel that ‘The Country Girl’ was the part that was more of a challenge than anything else I had done and I enjoyed it, not only for that reason, but that I felt it was an important picture and an important story about people, and I really enjoyed doing it.

NBC: “Well it´s been a great pleasure having you, Grace Kelly, with us. I want to wish you all the luck in the world. It couldn´t have happened to a very nicer girl, I´m sure.

GRACE: “Thank you very much.”

[leonardo-artista]

Leo is not a supportive partner but Riario goddamn needs one

On writing Leario, on writing platonic bonds, on the importance of communication and being heard, on identifying with characters and asexual spectrum headcanons, on the false "sex fixes everything" belief and the false relationship hierarchy.

Warning: less meta and more me trying to explore and explain my feelings

There's something that bothers me about writing Leario post season three; in some ways Leo takes a step backwards. In season two he and Riario worked together and Leo understood that his actions had consequences for him and for other people. In season three however he fails to fully exorcise Riario's demons and leaves him to almost be executed and again become brainwashed, becomes obsessed with a Crusade instead of considering other options, abandons Vanessa to her fate, loses one friend and almost loses another one.

For me it all starts to go wrong when Leo does not ask Riario to stay when they return to Italy from their voyage. Riario has been through many trials. His faith has been tested and found wanting. He needs redemption or renewal. Leo could have offered him a new path, but instead Riario is left to beg for a redemption he is refused.

But let us suppose Leo asked Riario to stay with him. Let's imagine Riario made it clear that's what he wanted, because Leo is, as I'll come to again in a moment, dense. They return to Florence together. There's Zo's hostility to contend with, Lorenzo's brutality to contend with, the invasion to thwart. But let's say Leo triumphs, with Riario a part of that victory.

Is that a happy ever after?

Probably not.

There's a reason I frequently give Riario friendships outside of Leo's influence when I write Leario. In particular with Vanessa, who is a good listener and a source of comfort for Leo. She's an obvious choice. In au fics, there is often no blame attached to Riario for Guiliano's death/departure; sometimes Guiliano is alive. But regardless, it is important to me that Riario has someone who listens.

Because Leo does not.

I imagine life with Leo, especially a s1 or s3 Leo would go much like this:

LEO: Look at this awesome painting I'm working on

RIARIO: It is beautiful. I'm also working on something.

LEO: Sure. Look how the shadows fall here…

RIARIO: You said I am an artist too.

LEO: You are, you are. I liked that painting you did of the birds.

RIARIO: You love flight. I know. But this is something different I'm working on. I told you. A series of watercolours to illustrate Greek epics.

LEO: Right. That's not going to be that popular.

RIARIO: But my passion lies there.

LEO: Then go paint it.

RIARIO: Paint them.

LEO: Yes, them.

RIARIO: Are you even listening?

LEO: Of course I am. I think more sienna in this area, what do you think?

RIARIO: You don't even recall what day this is.

LEO: Thursday?

RIARIO: This is the day I killed my mother. (does not remind Leo he promised to go and take flowers to the grave because Leo has clearly forgotten)

LEO: Ah. Sorry.

RIARIO: It's a difficult time.

LEO: I'm sure. But you can't change the past. No, not sienna, maybe something lighter.

RIARIO: You don't care at all, do you, when you're lost to your obsessions.

LEO: That's not true.

RIARIO: What is the first watercolour an illustration of?

LEO: ….The Iliad?

 At which point Riario is going to understand why Zo spends so much time saying "Fuck you, Leo," and going off to the tavern where he can talk to Nico and Vanessa about what an ungrateful bastard Leo is.

Except maybe Riario doesn't have anyone else to talk to.

How to fix this problem of oblivious, self-centred Leo? Friendships, as I stated above. And/or having Leo learn to pay attention to the larger picture, to the people around him, to truly listen when Riario is confiding his secrets, his needs, his pain.

When I wrote "Weather Every Storm" the Vanessa & Riario was an integral part of the story. And furthermore Leo was more self-aware. He had enough sense to recognise that he is not always good at being in a relationship. He takes people for granted. He acknowledges that he needs to prioritise communication and to truly listen. Riario's problems can't just be fucked away. The Leario is the thrust of the story, and while there is sex within the fic, the plot follows the characters' personal growth as Riario attempts to build a new life, away from the influence of his father, and Leo learns to be more supportive. It's still my favourite fic.

I extrapolate this desire for someone to understand, a strong friendship to other fandoms. In another fandom I have a largely unmet desire for fic with a particular platonic m/f bond*; so much that I'm writing it for myself, pointlessly, because smut fic is the most popular thing. Same reason I have to write 99% of any Riario&Vanessa myself.

 I'm usually headcanoning the male as somewhere on the asexual spectrum, possibly grey-a or demisexual. Sex isn't the most important thing for them. In this second fandom, it's been pointed out that "conversational intimacy"** is the most important part of his sexual relationships.

The female is someone skilled at listening. They don't brush people's concerns aside; they see the real issue and explore it. They can be a shoulder to cry with no expectation of sex resulting from a bond. They listen and assist where possible.

Part of the reason the male characters – Riario, in Da Vinci's Demons – resonate with me is that they can be read as on the ace spectrum as I am, and because they are often alone, with no or few trusted compatriots. Fic that suggests sex is the be all and end all of a relationship does nothing for me and even more so when it's a character I've come to identity with, as with Riario. Fic that has sex "fixing" all issues does nothing but piss me off. Fic that has sex as the One True Allowable pleasure makes me beyond enraged – and when Leo is a pansexual hedonist visionary I can't imagine he's suddenly only into vanilla buttsex but I’ve seen both he and Riario given this mindset in fic. There is more to a character than who they are fucking.

So what do I do with these characters? I put them through hell because that's we do, isn't it? We write to explore them, to explore the world, to explore ourselves. We learn from pain, we get to acknowledge our pain, we get to see how we might get survive our pain.

And then I put them together again. I give them support systems that work, by giving them not a sex obsessed lover but the friend down the pub. Someone who genuinely listens and tries to understand, not someone mostly interested in smoothing things over so they can get back to fucking.

This is a little raw because I'm tired and stressed. The person I'd normally turn to isn't available at this moment for me to lean on – that's part of the reason I'm stressed. The one person I can open up to and know I will be heard rather than dismissed. And trying to explain that, trying to explain how anyone, a friend, a sister, a colleague, is the most important person in your life is difficult; you're not fucking them so why do they matter so much? It's no big deal if you lost them. Not like getting a divorce or being widowed. That's the relationship hierarchy***.

The relationship hierarchy appals me. The idea of a relationship where one partner is oblivious to their partner's needs is worrying. sidenote: I can write Leario in my sleep at this point. It's lost its edge somewhat to write origin stories though I have one more major fic to come. Established relationships, where Leo has learnt to do better/where Riario is friends with the Scooby Gang; OT3s/other pairings; gen. Maybe I need to explore those before I can recapture my passion. And I can write platonic m/f scenes and fics and gratify my own needs; but fic written but unread is half-done in many ways. But sometimes it seems smut fic is all anyone wants; not the emotional component.

Sometimes you just need someone to listen. But sometimes the best you can do is write someone else getting the comfort you so badly want.

Please be gentle with comments. This is a pretty personal post, despite my initial framing; I always find it easier to begin with, and to support my assertions, with factual or fictional examples. There's a reason certain characters and dynamics resonate with me, after all, and why I turn to them when I'm trying to illustrate my own troubled feelings.

[doodlewash]

My name is Marsia Bramucci and I have so many ideas for this post. My only problem will be to put them all in an understandable order. So let’s start with the basics. I am Italian, both parents Italian, born in Rome in 1980 (I am not even 40 yet), where I lived for 15 years. Then I moved with my mother and brother in Greece, finished high school in the Italian school of Athens and then became, by mistake, a graphic & web designer, instead of a professional artist.

Well you see, my painting journey was not so easy. A long, hard and constant fight with my family, with my insecurities, and with just life that made it impossible to let me take this road sooner. It even sent me to the wrong university. I am not complaining. I am a professional graphic designer and love my work very much; I am also able to make my own inserts for my planner. Because, I also love planners very very much!! And most important of all I am a very positive person. And I want to say it now before you keep reading because the following may make you see me differently.

Now, a few words about my art journey. I surely proved that I was an artistic soul from the time I was very little. But, I had my “art call” somewhere around the age of 14. I suddenly drew something that was so perfect. I still remember that. As I worked with shapes, the picture was becoming so alive. I felt, myself, so alive like I suddenly just jumped out of my child world and now I could understand feelings deeply.

It was amazing (if I had a smartphone then, I would have a photo of it right now, unfortunately we didn’t back then). But that “call” lasted less than 30 minutes. In fact, my beautiful drawing ended up in a thousand pieces on the floor just in front of my feet. This was followed by a great scolding, all mine, where the meaning was that I wasn’t good at drawing, I never would be, and that the actual drawing came out good just by accident.

Of course, I had to move on but I needed art in my life. I was already playing piano (I almost completed my piano studies) but, to say the truth, I was good but it wasn’t me. It made me anxious and I had the same feeling when playing guitar, violin, singing, making candles, metal jewelry, haircutting, crazy gardening stuff, photography, singing, manicure, sewing, macramé. The never ending list! (by the way except for the piano, everything else I researched and learned it by myself).

I was just searching for my own ART to express myself. I was good in all art forms above but I needed to find that feeling, relaxing and peaceful, and I couldn’t find it because I had totally deleted the drawing part.

Then when I was 18 years old, I met my husband and he loved my music, he loved my gardening skills, my cooking skills (hey I am good at it for real!), he also loved my haircutting style, poor man, and he loved even more a couple of sketches I made just for fun. He actually went crazy then! He bought me sketchbooks, pencils, markers, brushes, canvas (he is the cutest) and my answer was always that he was wasting money because I was not good with painting and drawing.

Then we had our beautiful daughter and some more years passed. And, at some point, I started painting with acrylics and I liked it so much (every time family or friends would came to see us we would also take a painting while leaving!). But then, I had one of those days where you just can’t paint and this brought me back and reminded me that I wasn’t good at it. The good pieces were just accidents, and I left everything back again. But drawing was always such an attraction to me. So, I started again after a couple of years with watercolors and loved them even more. But then, again, my insecurities came up and I stopped and then started again and then stopped and then started again. Just because I loved it so much.

After 5 (not continuous) years enjoying and loving watercolors so much, but with so much insecurity about my results, I decided to push myself and start posting my watercolors online. I wanted to become more consistent and not let go again. And, I received back so much love and appreciation, recognition and support! Now, I am the happiest person on this world.

After so many years, I can almost say that I can draw. Yes, I can draw and paint and I feel amazing. I got back my ART to express myself and no one is going to take it away from me ever again. So in the end, the only time I wasted was the time when I wasn’t painting.

It is crazy how minds can be marked when you are still young. I know now that the words said to me were so much nonsense, but believe me, I do still hear them in my head sometimes when I look at my paintings.

Hopefully you are still here and if you are not, then all complaints go to Charlie because he told me to speak a little bit about my Art Journey (of course I am just kidding, love you Charlie). But if you are ready, let’s move on, to my watercolors, what I use and what I love, etc.

I like to paint in journals and I usually also add a few words in my pages just to make it more personal. I really enjoy the idea of making my own life books to flip through time to time and remember things. Just like a hand painted photo album. I started with super cheap watercolor notebooks. I would actually buy paper sheets and make notebooks in the size I wanted. And my first watercolor palette was also the cheapest from the kids section of the stationery shop.

My husband hated to see me painting with them. After two days he came home with the Winsor & Newton watercolor palette with 24 Cotman half pans in it. I loved it soooo much. I used it so much and I always suggest it to anyone who’s just started with watercolor and doesn’t need yet a set of fine watercolors.

As I proceeded, between painting pauses, at some point I felt the need to try a fine watercolor set and I bought a few Sennelier tubes, a larger palette and a mop brush. And with all of these, I evolved my style so much. I could actually see so much difference in my paintings and that was so refreshing! Because, from the “I am just not good” mindset I moved to a “I may not be good, but it makes me feel so good” mindset.

And this is how I continued painting for the next couple of years. Just recently I felt the need to try some new materials. I discovered the Nevskaya Palitra White Nights Watercolors which are good quality and so intense and I love them so much. What I love the most is that their shades somehow reflect better the shades I have in my mind. Of course I also bought some more brushes… hmmmm.. I guess I should say a lot of brushes. But you know, in the end, you always use the old good ones that make you feel comfortable more than anything else. And, time to time, you also find a new gold one to add to the old favorite ones!!

I think that somehow my style is defined as “not too loose, not too detailed.” So when I have the idea in my mind of what I want to paint, I’ll usually keep the background loose but will do a detailed work on the main object of the painting. I will usually use 3 to 4 brushes per painting. One larger for the loose background, a middle one for main shapes, shadows and few details, and then a smaller one for accents and precise details. In need, I will use also a liner but that is not required most of the times. The brush size is not specific and it totally depends on the paper size I’ll use for each painting.

And I just can’t believe that I am at the end of this! I sincerely hope that you enjoyed my art and my art journey and, most importantly, that it wasn’t too confusing! I also hope that Charlie won’t freak out when he sees how long this is, when I send this to him! Happy ART everyone!

Marsia Bramucci Instagram

GUEST ARTIST: "My Art Journey" by Marsia Bramucci - #doodlewash #WorldWatercolorGroup #watercolor #watercolour My name is Marsia Bramucci and I have so many ideas for this post. My only problem will be to put them all in an understandable order.

[davidastbury]

May 2019

At School …...aged 14

He submitted a charcoal and pencil drawing for consideration and was called to see the head of art. She asked him what he thought of his drawing. He didn’t know how to answer - he replied that there was something about it that he liked and some things that he didn’t.

She said - ‘I want you to consider this and I want you to remember it all your life. There are things that you can do that even Picasso cannot do. Every so often you will produce a work that is so truthful, so eloquent, so perfect that it could never be matched by any other artist. No one else could do that picture. You may never have the range of a master or the vision or the humanity but you have the potential for your voice to come through, to join the sublime chorus of great artists. Whenever you reach this level you must tell yourself that your work is good enough to hang in the Rijksmuseum - next to the Rembrandts!’

The Offering of the First Fruits of the Year

‘Those who were close would bring figs and grapes and the far ones would bring dried figs and raisins. A bull would go before them and its horns would be plated with gold and it would have a olive wreath around its head. The flute would play before them until they got close to Jerusalem. Once they got close to Jerusalem, they would send ahead of them [a messenger] and adorned their Bikkurim. The overseers and the officers and the treasurers would go out to greet them; in accordance with the stature of those coming in. All the artisans of Jerusalem would stand before them and greet them, "Our brothers from so-and-so, come in peace!”

The flute would continue playing before them until they arrived at the Temple Mount. Once they arrived at the Temple Mount, even Agripas the King would carry his basket on his shoulder until he reached the courtyard.’

(Mishnah Bikkurim 3: 3-4 )

Oy !

The mother went crazy when she discovered that her daughter was seeing a non-Jewish boy. At first the girl tried to sell the idea that it was just a normal date, but it soon became clear that there was more to it. The parents were shocked and appalled.

When the girl told her boyfriend about all this he telephoned the father; suggesting that they meet up, man to man so to speak, and try to find a way forward. The father shouted abuse and made threats. That was that.

A bit later the girl’s elder sister came up from London. She was hoping to mediate a solution. The father informed the family that he had briefly explained the situation to his daughter’s employer (she had worked at the same place as her boyfriend) and she no longer had a job there - instead she would work with him. The elder sister stayed on at the house because her marriage was troubled, but she didn’t mention it at the time, not wishing to add to her parents worries.

The girl and the boy continued to see each other. Several of their friends were supportive - even giving them use of their homes so that they could be together alone. Meanwhile the father became incandescent with anger and he told his daughter - with the mother wringing her hands in the background - that if she didn’t end the affair she would be considered dead by the family and the community. This was the threat of following the ritual of ‘sitting shiva’ - a practice during the first days of mourning for a close relative. The girl would be dead to them.

Later the mother told her that she had been diagnosed with cancer - not sure which type - and that she was going in for a big op. She pushed the girl back and told her that she was to blame for the illness.

It was all too much for the girl. The relationship ended.

The elder sister got divorced.

The mother’s operation was a success.

The father went bankrupt but he appeared not to mind. He had been secretly ‘seeing’ another woman and used the euphoria of his wife’s recovery to ease out the bad news.

They divorced.

The girl eventually took up with a nice boy she had known all her life (she was nineteen). He was a dentist already; they married.

The boyfriend took it all in his stride.

Twenty years later he converted to Judaism.

The Last View

That last view - the last time they saw each other was when she was on her train and he stood alone on the platform. He didn’t know he would never see her again - nor did he know that he would never stop seeing her. So ... she remained in his mind, as important and influential and vital as the people in his life.

He planned to do paintings of her, but never did. Oil on canvas seemed barbaric; watercolours too difficult to control - he wanted her so badly - he wanted to paint her breath misting the glass of the carriage window.

In Memory of Les M.

Les was one of my first bosses and he took a kindly interest in me. If business was slow we would sit and talk and he would offer me cigarettes and the benefit of his accumulated wisdom.

‘Whatever you do cock, don’t get married.’ He often said.

I once pointed out that he himself was committed to marrying his girlfriend Margaret.

‘That’s different’ he explained. ‘I am getting married because I am old and losing my looks. I’ll be thirty-one next; women my age are all taken and young girls won’t consider me. But you’re only eighteen. You should have years and years of fun ahead of you. You mustn’t get serious with anyone - never make promises.’

I nodded and studied his face - he really did look troubled.

‘So, whatever you do cock, don’t get married.’

A few years after this, when I hadn’t seen Les for a long time, someone told me that he had died. Apparently, one night he slipped on an icy pavement and bumped his head. He wasn’t found until morning.

I was told exactly where it happened. If I pass that spot I stand still and listen carefully. The voice of Les comes through the ether - ‘Whatever you do cock, don’t die.’

Attingham Hall - with Sir George Trevelyan.

Arrived drenched and dripping - squelching across the marble floor.

Sir George offered his hand. ‘Jolly damp out there, what!

Did it take you long to get here?’

Me: - ‘Yes. No public transport on Sundays.’

Sir George: ‘What fun, seems to rain a lot, it’s the hills.’

We have an orchestra - short of violinists. You are a violinist I presume?’

Me; ‘No.’

Later in the pub.

Drying out nicely. Total stranger comes across and asks - ‘Are you a violinist?’

An Englishman Abroad

William Somerset Maugham never stopped travelling. In the last weeks of 1953, when he was eighty years old, he visited London, Paris, Vienna, Madrid, Zurich, Venice and Abano. This pace never eased off - almost up to his death at the age of ninety-one.

The stories are endless. He was once a passenger on a ship when a terrible storm kicked off. Everyone was desperate with anxiety; the ship was tilting from side to side, furniture sliding about, passengers holding on tightly.

A man confronted Maugham, knowing that he had trained as a doctor, and asked him what was the best thing to do if the boat tips and you end up in the water.

Maugham was smoking a cigar. He looked at the man keenly and replied - ‘My advice is to try not to struggle - try not to panic - just get yourself a good lungful of seawater and you’ll be surprised at how easy it all is.’

Going through the shelves I found an edition of the Psalms of David. Linear version running word by word, side by side in English and the original Hebrew.

Prefaced by a remarkable statement to be read aloud before recitation:-

“ ... May we not depart from this world before our allotted time, until we have (at least) lived our three score and ten years, so that we may repair that which we have damaged, and put right that which we have done wrong ...“

Happy Times

There was a time when she would hint about things she wanted; hints that could have been missed or not noticed. Or we might pick up the hint and respond - show approval, even a little enthusiasm - and she would quickly play it down and pretend that she didn’t mean anything; that we were mistaken. And then hint again; this time creating the illusion that she was picking up the idea from us - that it had never occurred to her - and how much, now that it had been mentioned, she really wanted it.

And so it went on ... it was a lovely game and we were all happy. Sometimes it was very minor, other times obscure or expensive - whatever it was we would get it - come hell, come high water, we would get it.

A Child With Special Needs

What things should a parent do when seeing prodigious craft ability in his/her child?

I think first of all caution.

The child should not be encouraged.

The child should not be praised - most of his work will be rubbish, and he will know that it’s rubbish. Praising rubbish is bad for him.

He should not be told that he is special - he will find his own way of discovery.

Be careful in choosing your own friends. People who come to your house should be quietly spoken and sincere - most of all they should be good people, modest, thoughtful, principled. Avoid glib chatterboxes - those who have an answer for everything - those who dress vulgarly. Most of all avoid journalists.

If the parent is an artist he should give it up - if he cannot, he should work in private and never let the child see his efforts.

The master tutoring him (and it must be a master - a mediocre teacher might ruin everything) should discourage painting for as long as possible, colour is seductive, it can mislead - (a good analogy is the thought of a talented young guitarist picking up an electric guitar!)

It is better if the child avoids a conventional education - for obvious reasons.

It is better if the child does not read, although no fuss must be made - reading will come later.

The child should never be threatened - it will reinforce his instinctive suspicion that you are crude.

Respect his privacy. Greatness should be given space in every sense.

Respect most of all the validity of his vision - it will not be the same as yours. His reality is totally his and he will only allow you glimpses - but what glimpses!

Love him.

Saw a youngster playing what appeared to be war games on a small IPad - it was something violent because the screen flashed whenever he made a hit. It was impressive in a way - he unquestionably had astonishing reflexes and motor skills (that might not be the right word). And perhaps there is a positive psychological aspect - in his imagination he may have been saving the world from a hostile invasion.

There isn’t much difference from how I was at his age. I fantasied about saving this country from our usual European enemy - sitting up late at night, in my lonely room, just a single naked lightbulb, crouched over a table, my wrist working furiously - tapping out crucial information on my Morse code key.

I suppose memorising the Morse code is more challenging, but there are similarities.

Favourite cafe. Chairs and tables spread out over the pavement. Watching the flow of people. Nothing of great interest for a while but I don’t mind. I enjoy watching. In a way it’s like fishing, you just wait - and watch.

Nice young couple - the boy particularly, he has the luminous shine of someone who is loved - and has been loved all his life. You can spot people like him quite easily - you can see that they were ‘wanted’ and treasured right from birth. They have a glow, an atmosphere about them; they are often, but not always, very charming people. This boy has it - and then some more. I can imagine that earlier today his mother might have immaculately ironed a shirt for him - but he didn’t want to wear it, and instead chose a crumpled T-shirt, and she just smiled and hung it up carefully. I can imagine the characteristic unspoken irritation on his father’s face and the difficulty he has in finding the right tone - the right voice when speaking to his son. But they get along okay, or as well as you could expect.

His girlfriend appears to be very taken by him. She looks up - all her attention is on her glorious boyfriend, not the hundreds of people swamping the pavement. We all get in the way - preventing her doing what she wants to do - preventing her pulling his head down and showing him that she can do things that no other girlfriend has ever done.

Russell and Caroline and Me ... (1959)

A very rare memory - the three of us walking together; Russell in the middle. He was crowing with laughter and swaying about, losing his balance, pushing us with his shoulders. Caroline was laughing too; she linked arms with him and Russell linked arms with me.

We walked up the road. It was around the time that school finished for the big summer break - it might have been the last day. Caroline was dazzling; I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

We passed the ten bedroom mansion commissioned by a market stall-holder who had won a fortune on the football pools. We passed the small park where men used to linger around the gents lavatory. We passed the mock Tudor hotel where the landlord owned a noisy Morgan sports car.

I didn’t want that walk to end - even during the walking I didn’t want it to end - and in a way, given the right mood and circumstances, it never has.

Bill C.

Bill was a grumpy old sod and it was an effort visiting him. Most of the time he sat, wearing a cap, in front of his TV, muttering angrily at everyone and everything.

Later, when it was no longer needed I returned his key; leaving it with a note on the kitchen table, where his family or an estate-agent might collect it. Most of his stuff had been cleared, anything of value had gone. There were a few items of cutlery with yellowed handles in a drawer, and some chipped teacups. There was also an old biscuit tin with a picture of the Queen on the lid; it contained an assortment of family snap-shots; black and white photos of people on holiday, at weddings etc. Perhaps his family had missed it - or perhaps they weren’t interested.

Bill had been ‘on his own’ for quite a while; he didn’t want me or anyone else visiting him - he just wanted to sit in front of his TV, wearing a cap and mutter angrily at everything he saw. After fifty years I am beginning to understand.

He had done his best - served in the war, worked all his life, survived the passing of his wife, the only person who mattered to him - and was simply waiting for his turn to come.

[dayadesigns]

Evaluation

Our brief was to choose a piece from the BMAG ‘I want, I want’ exhibition and develop a narrative from there to then present in a flipbook.  I chose Rachel Maclean’s Feed Me video. My final outcome is a flipbook which narrates a character going through different social media like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and it ends with an overload of use, throughout the emoticon on the head indicates the actual emotion of the character although her facial expression doesn’t show it. I conveyed this by having symbols from each social media popping up on the characters facing like a tattoo. As flipbooks were new to me I started to research different types and try and work how imagery can be made animated. I then researched Rachel Maclean’s Feed Me and found out the reasons why she conveyed certain themes such as paedophilia, this idea about happiness, society’s problems and consumerism and this idea we always need to be fed like greed. She took inspiration from children’s TV shows like Teletubbies. What stood out to me which I further developed was the way the characters had smiley faces indicating their emotion on their foreheads like a stamp. A part in the video where the grandma asks the granddaughter if she’s happy and she said yes however the smiley face indicated she was sad was what I was drawn to. I felt like the piece was quite disturbing in some parts and it really made you think it was difficult to sit through the whole of it as it was odd. From picking the piece I started to develop some initial ideas from the idea about fake happiness and trying to show yourself as something you are not. I thought of the flipbook having a character where on every page something was added eg makeup, clothes, waist trainer to convey this idea. I also thought of the idea of a line of puppets moving across the page suggesting everyone follows the crowd just to fit in but one who is different is actually happy. I also began picking out social media symbols which are easily recognisable this was because thinking of a narrative I felt like the way the character in the video was saying something different to how she actually feels is similar to the way social media is used as a platform where people hide who they actually are and quite often convey they are happy. At this point I was confused in which idea to further develop. During the tutorials Jo suggested that the idea of placing emoticons on the face was different and to further develop that. I then began to experiment with this idea of the character from the Feed Me video showing an opposite facial expression to the way she was actually feeling which was indicated by the emoticon on her forehead. I used pencils and pencil crayons on the eyes, mouth and emoticon for them to stand out. I experimented with Photoshop to combine the imagery which at first I found hard but I worked it out. I did actually like the outcome of this however as I liked the social media idea I started to develop placing them on the face and whilst doing this I thought how incorporating colours of the app could be effective in adding to the hair. I looked at the common features of the app and what people would recognise as I would want my audience to know which social media is which. I used watercolour to experiment with and I really liked the soft skin tones it created, as I had only used watercolour once before in the previous module I felt like my skills have improved in creating that 3d facial structure compared to last time. I used gouache and acrylic to add the symbols for them to standout. I also looked at popular Snapchat filters which are used by everyone for example the flower crown and dog filter are easily recognised and I experimented with pencil crayon for this, again like the watercolour I liked the soft tonal effect. At this point again I became a little bit stuck in how else to develop my work as I felt like in the time I had I could’ve done more. As my project is based on these symbols it linked quite well to tattoos I researched tattoos in weird places which were more jarring e.g. in the mouth, eyes etc. I experimented with acrylic paints and I really liked using them as they blended in well, although it was suggested in the tutorials that some of the colours would be a lot darker which I understood. Some things needed to be improved for example the writing on the teeth rather than just placing them there needed to form some shape so they looked as though they were actually on the teeth and same for the lips and around the hands. I considered and improved this when working on the final pieces. After the tutorial I was more confident in creating my flipbook however I found coming up with a narrative and working out how to actually create the animated imagery difficult. I felt like my first narrative idea overcomplicated when using a flipbook the details may not be necessary hence I changed my idea to keep it simple yet still be able to convey that effect of overuse of social media throughout the flipbook by adding the symbols on the face and them popping up like a notification as they do on the social media. Joel’s workshop helped in order for me to understand movement from and in between frames, I worked out how if the symbols popping up worked and changing the hair colour did. I also experimented working out the amount of frames and what movement would occur e.g. closing and opening of eyes etc. From this I finalised the idea that the flipbook would show the character using the social media and then closing her eyes and opening them to then show her switching to normal and another app. Empathy workshop helped me to identify my audience and what I needed to convey, I thought more about their interaction with the world for example as my audience were young people and social media users who could relate I began to think that in this digital world social media and phones take over lives etc  therefore having a flipbook may be different to how they usually access information when at the same time it takes the attention away from using something digital and just passing by therefore handling it physically gives them more time to process the information. However to reach the wider audience having a digital version is important as if they use their phones a lot they can access it easier. The research of the social media artists like Banksy and Asaf Hanuka showed the way social media is an addiction and placed at such high value this helped in order to see what is already conveyed and related by my audience and what works. As I used both acrylic and watercolour I wanted to experiment to see which one I would chose I liked using watercolour as I liked the soft effect it created allowing the symbols to standout. Acrylic paint was good to use although the colours were bolder so I felt that layering more paint may not allow the symbols to stand out like I wanted it to. I also experiment with paint markers for the first time which I found different to use at first I couldn’t get the blended effect I wanted however using water as a base helped it to. As I had already developed the face with symbols on it with watercolour and liked it I decided to do my final piece in the same medium. When developing the flipbook I thought about the main facial expressions that would be used and I used watercolour on the face, I left the eyes, lips and hair colour blank so that they could be changed as they would in the flipbook. I then checked whether the movement in order worked with the facial expression on a Slideshow putting them in order. Next I rotated the imagery after scanning them to fit them to do fit the hairstyle as it wouldn’t fit on the portrait version. Then I started with face with the most amount of emojis and on each other page reduced them to where there was none. I felt like this method worked to make sure there was a good pace. I did this for all of the apps. With the Facebook app it was however thinking of how to get the hair from a dark brown to white which I thought like in hair dressers it was to lighten it throughout the pages.  I also had issues when thinking of how to end the flipbook, as it was focused on this over use of social media I thought that having a mix of symbols appearing on the face so it fully covered it to create this jarring effect and make it quite uncomfortable. I also thought about changing the whole hair with different colours to show how social media was taking over the character whereas the emoticon showed her actual feeling. I felt like as I had limited time to create the flipbook I did rush the illustrations hence the hair and some of the faces didn’t come out as proportionate as I wanted them to. I liked the first few watercolour illustrations which I spent more time on were better so I realised I need to work on my time management. Also when aligning the images I felt like if I had drawn the hair as a template they would’ve been aligned a lot better to have a neater movement between frames. Also some of the imagery had different lighting which I would’ve improved the next time if I did the module again. I feel as though the idea behind the flipbook did match what I wanted to convey however the illustrations could’ve been a lot better if I had spent more time on them. Also I would’ve liked to have included more social media’s such as Youtube and Snapchat. The movement between the images could’ve been a lot tighter and if I was to do this project again I would’ve wanted to improve that. I also would’ve wanted to add more movement from the character for example her turning her head 180o and the symbols appearing on all parts of her face like I explored around the ear etc. Also with the digital version of the flipbook I would’ve wanted to experiment with adding the actual notification sounds to coincide with the popping up of each of the images so it conveyed it like it was popping up like actual notification as it does on a phone. Something I researched at the beginning of the project was the Human flipbook and I really liked how it was presented on a t-shirt so if I did do the project again I would’ve wanted to have had my illustrations on something like a t-shirt (which links to putting on this fake emotion – putting on shirt) or even think about using makeup/face paint on an actual face and photographing this. However I feel like I have learnt a lot in considering moving images and thinking about narratives and the approach I took that works is not overcomplicating my idea like I have done in previous modules.