#Nail Designs 2021 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sillyfairygarden · 1 year

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fairy once more 🌹 my c!hannah design is complete, full design process is under the cut :)

wrow it has been like 1.5 yr since my first c!hannie drawing 😭 ourgh i love her sosososo much. i really went back n forth on whether or not to actually complete this design, due to my... complicated and strenuous relationship with the dsmp... but after talking it out and going through these pieces i wanted to do it justice one last time :)

without further ado here is a (near-complete) history of my c!hannahxxrose design. i have included text descriptions since my handwriting is notoriously doctoral (bad):

DESIGN EVOLUTION:

In the beginning the design was very simple, and leaned heavily into the popular fanon. [pointing at image of c!hannah with leafy, thick foliage leaves from fall 2021: this was drawn before the event where c!hannah got her wings, aka i'm psychic teehee]

(i didn't really know much about her character, so these aren't tied to the canon and got scrapped!)

[pointing to a design of c!hannah with fairy wings from early 2022: this simple dress was a staple in my early design...]

Post-Elytramaggedeon:

her wings! i think when she lost them, it really drew me into pinning down a design for her. i toyed with the imagery of torn, tattered wings, but then turned to a more melted look. i love the multicolour spread of her wings, through over time her wing shape changes from a butterfly wing to a more dragonfly/fairy-style.

i toyed with the idea of her wings being torn off completely, but at the end it was more true to the imagery to have these massive, multicoloured wings, useless and tattered.

[text beneath a c!tinarose piece from march 2022: first time drawing c!tinarose B) very uninspired outfits. also, why does c!tina have little wings??? The line "he ripped your rings, my little fairy :(" lives in my head rent-free. I wasn't happy with how this came out.]

[text beneath a c!tinarose piece from july 2022: genuinely one of the best pieces i've ever done. c!tinarose nation 4 lyfe ✌️ Really nailed the melty, shredded wing design here!

Design Exploration:

While working on those [above] pieces in 2022, i started exploring different ideas for my c!hannah design.

[text pointing to a sketch from september 2022, where c!hannah has a large, tree-like arm: in this, c!hannah is a flower nymph whose body is apart of nature--the tree arm is borne! i LOVE asymmetrical designs. In my notes, i wrote: 'she draws her energy from nature to heal after losing her wings- in return, nature returns to claim her body... as time goes on, the bark grows.]

Concept: pre-DSMP design:

[text pointing to a sketch of c!hannah kneeling, hair wild with flowers and covered in climbing vines: a rosebush who becomes a girl-in her early days, she is more plant-like than human girl! i loved this hair. so fun.]

Introduction of Armour:

[text beneath multiple drawings of c!hannah from summer 2022, where she is wearing armour: in these sketches, i was feeling the urge to draw some armoured ladies-and so c!hannah became my victim!

i'm always craving sleek, feminine silhouettes in my armoured designs, without turning into battle corsets and bikinis.

at the same time as this, i was in the brainstorming/conceptual stages for other dsmp characters, and i wanted c!hannah to be unique from the generic, full-netherite design.]

Final Design:

A year and a half after my first art of her, and i collected the varying design elements from past pieces into one final concept!

Knightly yet feminine, strong but still wearing (literally) the scars of pain. I wasn't confident in ever finishing this, but then i heard that she gets her wings back after the 2023 """finale""" of the smp... it was time to bring closure to this character design that i have poured a whole part of myself into. This was the final sketch.

[text near a sketch of c!hannah's final design: flower spirit, mix armoured with flowers (utena core).]

for the final piece itself, i wanted to reference the colours of hannah's minecraft skin, while still adding that fantasy-knight element. the wings are trimmed, but still retained that beautiful, multicolour melty look. her tree arm is finally blossoming and blooming with pops of colour, to signify regrowth after the trauma of losing a piece of herself. her insignia is not for any nation, but for herself.

References:

The works of these illustrators greatly guided this design. Additionally, my peers and other artists who have drawn/interpreted c!hannah before <3 feminine, strong designs are so beautiful!

[not pictured are the works of JC Leyendecker, Jasmin Darnell, CLAMP, Thores Shibamoto, and my dear friend zma. their works orbit my head like a ceiling fan whenever i put the pen to paper <3)

a few things didn't end up making the cut (the cape from the final sketch, her other forms and ideas for pre-SMP, etc) but at this point, i am really excited to just stop looking at this piece LOL. it has been staring at me for forever. im very pleased with it and touched something special at seeing my own abilities, ambition, and concept designs grow within my own work. even if no one reads all 213445345 words of this, it's a wonderful capsule of the work i put into this design and im quite pleased.

aneeeways if any1 read this far i hope u like it 🙇 ok im going eepy now gnight ^^

#dsmp #dream smp #dsmp art #hannahxxrose #hannahxxrose fanart #c!hannah #c!hannahxxrose #mcyt #mcyt fanart #thellos art corner #i can talk about this piece Forever. in case its not very obvi. ok ok ok im eepying now i swear

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afieldinengland · 2 months

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new labour: appearance, vanity and exhibitionism

alpha dog, fall out boy | the man behind the smile: tony blair and the politics of perversion, leo abse | servants of the people: the inside story of new labour, andrew rawnsley | interview with stephen frears | the rivals: the intimate story of a political marriage, james naughtie | the third man, peter mandelson | the 1990 labour party conference | ‘brand ‘new’ labour?’, dominic wring | interview with the designer of the labour rose, michael wolff | things can only get better, d:ream, the 1997 labour party campaign song | moments, monuments and explication: the standing of the millennium dome, geoff lightfoot and simon lilley | new year's celebrations at the dome, 1st of january 2000 | 'the millennium dome 20 years on: revisiting a very british fiasco' | the end of the party: the rise and fall of new labour, andrew rawnsley | starfuckers, inc., nine inch nails | mockup of top of the pops chart, as featured in blair and brown: the new labour revolution (2021) | front page of the mirror, after blair's 'cool britannia' party | i get along, pet shop boys | clare short's testimony to the chilcot inquiry | anonymous annotation in a copy of the blair revolution revisited, peter mandelson

#new labour #my edit #do you know what i'm on about. cool britannia how's it looking now

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mariacallous · 6 months

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Seeing the children of Gaza under siege brings all of this back. I have spent my whole life coming to terms with growing up in violence, when I was made to learn that children are fodder for war – “collateral damage”, according to the people who talk endlessly about war on TV. My life has been an endless search for the humanity that my granny believed in till the very end. “How terrified and vengeful are the men who kill children?” she would say quietly, as if asking herself. I hear that question today.

Children bear the brunt of war. Working as a humanitarian on the Syrian border in 2014, I saw injuries caused by the barrel bombs that were dropped on civilians day after day. The barrels were packed with nails, shrapnel and oil. The injuries were horrific. Children were killed by nails that pierced their skull or oil that burned them alive. Between 2011 and 2021, a child was killed or injured every eight hours on average in Syria. In Iraq and Ukraine, cluster bombs dropped by the US and Russia kill children long after they have been dropped or fired. These illegal weapons are designed by people who want the bombs to remain dormant until they are ready to kill again, usually children who pick them up. I now know that there are no monsters in the dark. Only adults who are terrified enough to kill.

The feeling that someone wants you dead never quite goes away. It lives in your body as an alarm reminding you that the world is dangerous and unfriendly. It colours every new interaction – you learn forensic vigilance when entering a new place. The question – will this kill me? – is playing on a loop in your subconscious, only sometimes floating to the surface and shocking you out of your day to day existence.

War has the same impact on children, no matter where they are born. I began to understand this after a beloved teacher whose father was one of the first soldiers to liberate Auschwitz gave me Anne Frank’s diary. I recognised the same dialogue in her thoughts as she hid from the people that wanted her dead. She wondered just as I had about who was inflicting such cruel violence and why. Reading her entries, I lived through her bargaining and her attempt to make sense of a world that didn’t value children’s lives, a world that dehumanised her so that she could be killed.

I founded a charity, Amna, in 2016, to help children recover from the trauma of war. Working with refugee children in Greece, I saw the same terror and confusion that I felt when living through war. I’ll always remember a little Kurdish girl in one of the play groups that I ran at a camp in northern Greece. She was seven or eight years old – the same age as my sister when we fled from Kabul. She was so scared that she had stopped speaking. She was scared of other children. She was scared of the adults in the room. Even when I offered her a toy she would wince and hide behind her mother. She remained speechless for months, until the care she received in group therapy made her feel safe enough to reach for a toy. Still tentative, still scared, she held the soft toy carefully away from her face as if following instructions of her own.

War confuses people, especially the adults who wage them. They get lost in technicalities and self-deception, the desire to be righteous in their pain and victimhood, no matter what the cost. As a child it was so clear to me what needed to be done. I would get angry after each experience of hiding from the shells. I didn’t understand it then, but there was such intelligence in my anger. It didn’t manifest as a desire for revenge or the need to make me or my family into victims who couldn’t recover our life or our humanity. It came out as a resolute demand that played over and over in my 10-year-old head, and has echoed ever since: stop killing children.

‘I remember the silence between the falling shells’: the terror of living under siege as a child

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k-evans-reads · 1 year

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In Living Color

Chapter 8

Summary: When Natalie Marton, lead character designer for Buzz Lightyear, meets the voice of Buzz, Chris Evans, the sparks are undeniable. But when their work pushes them away from each other, both physically and emotionally, will the sheer differences between their worlds be enough to force them apart?

Pairing: Chris Evans x Pixar Animator OFC Natalie Marton

Word Count: 4,256

By: @k-evans-writes and @ourfinest-hour

We do NOT give permission for our works to be reuploaded, translated, or reposted on any other site. Our work is our own.

Warnings: Sexual content. 18+ ONLY. MINORS DNI! We block minors!

Previous | Main Masterlist | In Living Color Masterlist

June 14th, 2021

Nat rubbed her eyes with a yawn as she listened to the phone ring, hoping she wouldn’t wake him before he had planned on getting up for the evening’s night shoots. As the call continued to ring she contemplated hanging up and just texting him instead, but Chris answered. “Happy day after your birthday,” she laughed, smiling widely as he chuckled, his voice raspy with sleep. “Feel old yet?”

“Based on how sore I’ve been all week, I think I’ve felt old for a while now,” he groaned, making Nat laugh a little, although she knew it was the truth. He’d been hard at work the past few weeks, busy with stunt sequences she couldn’t even picture in her mind based on the vague descriptions he’d shared. “Turning forty is just the nail in the coffin.”

She tutted, telling him, “Well you don’t look a day over thirty-nine.”

He scoffed, his voice unconvincing as he replied, “Thanks, that really makes me feel a lot better, Nat.”

“How was your birthday?”

“It was fine, just was on set all day. I got to talk to Ma and my sisters and my nephews and niece sang to me which was fuckin’ cute,” he informed her, but then paused as he yawned. “Then I also got this really incredible drawing of Buzz Lightyear with Dodger in place of Sox.”

She smirked, having been waiting for his reaction to that gift in particular. “Oh did you?” She asked, her voice plain.

“Yeah, this really talented artist I know made it for me,” he played along. “I think she might know that I love handmade gifts, and this is my favorite gift I’ve gotten in a long time.”

Her heart skipped a beat at the praise, wanting nothing more than to be there with him, especially on his special week. “I’m really glad you liked it,” she told him quietly.

Chris’ voice was anything but teasing when he interjected, “I like you a lot more.”

Nat sighed, the longing only intensifying the more he spoke and shared what he’d been feeling. “...I wish it wasn’t another month until I see you,” she murmured, unable to stop imagining that day in July when he finally arrived back in California to see her.

“Me too, Nat,” he whispered back, the rasp in his voice sending a chill down her spine. “So what are you doing today?”

“Just going to work. I’m meeting with some of the animators and they’re going to show me some of the chunks of Lightyear that’s done,” she shrugged to herself before she yawned quietly, the early hour something she wasn’t used to lately. “I’ll send you some videos.”

“You better!” He laughed, and it did nothing to quell the emotions she felt. “I was wondering if you were going in early… normally you’re still asleep now.”

But Nat shook her head, more to herself than to anyone, as she unplugged her phone from the charger and moved to lay on her back again. “I couldn’t sleep so I figured I’d just call you instead,” she informed him.

“I’m glad you did. I’m still in bed too,” he mumbled, then paused while Nat stayed quiet and didn’t make any noise of acknowledgement. “...You okay, Nattie?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she explained, then bit her lip before she decided to just go for it, not being able to hold back her emotions any longer. “It’s just that it’s cold in bed and I’m alone and I’m not getting touched by you and I miss your kisses, and I miss you.”

She could hear his sharp intake of breath and a muffled sound as the blankets moved around him, then Chris told her with a low voice, “There’s nothing I’d rather be doing right now than have my hands on you.”

She all but shivered then, her voice unsteady as her longing turned into desire. “That makes two of us,” she replied.

“I wish I was in bed next to you right now, Nattie,” he told her, his voice clear as she switched the call to speaker, putting the phone down on the bed next to her “I wish I could hold you tight and kiss every inch of you.”

“Chris…”

He was quiet, and the only sound that filled the room were Nat’s deep pants until he finally asked, “...Do you want me to stop?”

“No.”

“Nattie, I want you to touch yourself for me,” he instructed, his voice dangerously low as Nat’s fingers moved instinctively. “God, you have no idea how many times I’ve dreamt of you.”

She nearly whimpered at a twist of her finger, unable to focus on anything except the sound of his voice and the touch of her hand. “I wish you were the one touching me,” she admitted with a whine.

He chuckled, and Nat could nearly picture the devilish smirk on his face when he told her, “That makes two of us.”

Her head flew back against the pillow, jaw dropping as she let out a moan then said, “I can’t wait until you’re back.”

“I want to be with you right fuckin’ now,” he muttered, pausing as he shifted on the other end of the call, then told her, “I want to be the one touchin’ you, Nattie.”

She couldn’t catch her breath for a few moments, feeling something build inside her. “You will be,” she whimpered as she slipped another finger inside of herself.

“I wanna be kissin’ you and suckin’ on your neck that had you moaning that last night,” he rambled, voice sending waves of electricity through Nat and spurring her on. “I want my fingers to be the ones inside you. I wanna grab that pretty ass of yours, Nattie.”

“Chris,” she moaned, unable to stop the nearly incoherent sounds from pouring out of her.

He groaned on the other end of the call, silent until he ground out, “You like thinking of me touchin’ you, Nattie?”

“God, yes,” she replied, wishing so badly that she could touch him, picturing the tattooed chest in her mind, with the chain dangling between his pecs as his hands moved over and in her.

A low, dangerous chuckle spilled from his lips before he admitted, “I can’t wait until I get to have my hands all over you. I’m going to need to take my time with you when I get back.”

She whimpered as she hit that spot inside of her, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment before she instructed, “You better.”

“God, your moans are so pretty, Nat. I’m goin’ crazy thinking of you laying in bed touchin’ yourself for me,” he moaned himself, his voice sounding strained as he panted. “Fuck, Nattie, I want you so bad.”

“I just,” she moaned, unable to catch her breath. “I need, oh!”

“I know you’re close, Nattie. Keep touchin’ yourself for me,” he all-but ordered, Nat following his instructions without hesitation as her fingers moved, pushing her closer and closer to the edge until she hit her peak. “I can’t wait until those are my fingers inside you makin’ you moan like this. Can’t fuckin’ wait to memorize the way you look coming apart for me.”

But Nat couldn’t even respond for a moment as she layed in bed panting, her lungs trying to catch her breath while she felt her body relaxing into the sheets as she came down from her high. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, just relishing in the feelings washing over her body until Chris’ low voice asked from the other end of the line, “Feelin’ good, Nattie?”

“That was a good way to wake up,” she couldn’t help but laugh, running a hand through her sweat-soaked curls.

He huffed, letting out a small sigh as he stretched. Nat ached again to be next to him, to feel his muscles behind her as he agreed, “You’re telling me.”

“Chris?” She asked, voice small. She paused until he hummed, then told him, “I really miss you.”

Chris let out another laugh, voice dripping with sarcasm as he said, “I could tell.”

“That’s not what I meant, asshole,” she rolled her eyes, listening fondly at his laughter. “I mean that I really just… miss you.”

“I miss you too, Nattie. I really do,” he assured her, his tone serious this time.

She listened to his breathing, almost able to pretend he was there next to her if she closed her eyes. “Only one more month,” she said, more to herself than anything.

“One more month.”

Chris listened to what Joe was telling him before the director stepped back up to the monitor, watching through the last scene again. The directors motioned for the actors to take fifteen while they got ready to rerun the last take, so Chris gladly took the chance to sit down.

It’d been a long few weeks away from home – away from everyone except for Scott – and while he was having fun on his first big project since he left Marvel, he was still finding it hard to get back into the rhythm of shooting after traveling so much, and after his unexpected break in 2020.

With a quiet thanks to Scott as his brother – and assistant, as much as Scott hated the title – handed him a water bottle, he listened as Scott quietly told him, “Hey Chris, Nat texted me and said she’s trying to get a hold of you.”

“Okay, I’ll call her,” he nodded, a little confused at what was up. Nat always respected when he was working, careful to not text more than once or twice without a reply when he was on set. But to go through Scott made him worried, although he did remind himself that it was likely just something funny or lighthearted… or Nat thinking about earlier. “Do you have my phone?”

Scott nodded, digging into his pocket and pulling out Chris’ old iPhone. “Yeah here you go,” he paused, handing the phone to Chris. He was quiet as Chris turned on the screen, taking in the several missed calls and notifications from her. “She left you a voicemail too.”

He thanked Scott and got up, heading off the set to near where the trailers were. He quickly dialed her number, thankful when she answered and told her, “Hi Nattie.”

“Hey I’m sorry to bug you while you’re working, I’m just so upset,” she explained, pausing and leading Chris to worry even more. “I went to the gym and my car got stolen.”

He honestly couldn’t have even dreamed of that being the subject of her displeasure, instead imagining a shitty work day or some stupid argument with her sisters. But he realized there was no way Nat could even get by for a week with no car, especially with her schedule. To get a rideshare onto the Pixar Campus would be challenging enough, and for someone like Nat, it’d be a cause of anxiety. But his fears didn’t stop there, instead he was uncomfortable with the knowledge that someone hurt her, even indirectly, and took something from her. She took so much pride in that car, loving it so much, and it was something he always associated with her – that orange SUV was literally the love of her life. “What?!”

“My car got stolen,” she repeated, sniffling before she cursed to herself. “I was at the gym and when I came out there was broken glass on the ground and my car was gone.”

“Nat, are you okay?” He asked, louder than he intended.

He didn’t even realize Scott had made his way over until he felt a tap on his shoulder, and he spun around to look at his worried face as he asked, “What’s going on?”

“Nat’s car got stolen,” he told Scott quietly, then stared in front of him and repeated, “Are you okay, Nat? Where are you now?”

“I’m at home. I’m okay, I’m just really frustrated,” she admitted, groaning out in annoyance.

He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, quiet as he thought for a moment. “Did you already report it to the police?” He asked her, his voice lower.

“Yeah I called them and they came to the gym and filed a report,” she explained, then let out a bitter laugh. “As sad as I am about my car, I’m almost more annoyed I left my purse in the car because I had to go get my spare key from Mark so driving in rush hour traffic to his house probably made me more annoyed than anything.”

But Chris felt his heart all but stop at her brief expansion of the story, realizing one key detail from it. “Your purse was in the car?” He asked her slowly.

“I had left it but-”

“Nat, you need to go to my house,” he rushed out, motioning for Scott to hand him his phone.

“What? Why?”

He let out a short breath, then explained, “If they have your purse they have your keys, driver’s license, and your work ID and everything.”

“I know but they can’t get onto campus because my work badge has my picture,” she informed him, her voice a little frustrated. “And they don’t know where I live.”

“Yes they do, it’s on your license and car registration,” he reminded her. He was terrified at the thought of Nat in that apartment, alone with an already questionable door, while some assholes had not only her address, but her keys as well. It was asking for trouble and he couldn’t let her mess with her own safety like this. “Nattie, this is really bad.”

But Nat was nothing if not stubborn and independent, and it showed when she replied, “I’m sure they ditched my purse and just wanted the car.”

“But you don’t know that,” he tried to reason, already searching for security camera companies on Scott’s phone, trying to get someone to go to her apartment. “Nattie, I really want you to go stay at my house.”

She sighed in frustration, telling him, “Chris, I’m sure it’s fine. I doubt they even found my keys with how messy my purse is.”

“Look, Nat, I’m not trying to freak you out but I’m really worried about someone having the keys to your apartment. I don’t want anything to happen to you,” he admitted, closing his eyes as he imagined the worst possible outcome. “Please go spend the night at my house, just for tonight. I need to know that you’re safe.”

Nat was quiet for a few moments, enough that he almost thought she was finally getting it – getting how fucking terrified this made him – until she quietly protested, “I’m sure I’ll be okay.”

“Nattie… please? For me?” He nearly whispered, jaw clenched.

He focused on every tiny noise from her end of the call, the short huff of breath and sigh before she finally agreed, “...Okay, but only if you’re sure.”

“I’m texting you the code right now,” he told her, pulling the phone away and sending her the code to his garage and gate. “And Nat, I’m going to have someone come and change your locks and put up some security cameras at your apartment. I’ll have Scott set it up and let you know when they’re coming.”

“You really don’t need to do that, Chris,” she murmured, voice small.

“Trust me, there’s no way I’ll sleep if I don’t,” he confessed, a short laugh almost escaping him before he heard something behind him near the set, then Scott tapped his shoulder and motioned that it was time to resume filming again. “Hey, I’ve got to get back to set, but promise me you’ll leave right now and text me when you get to my house.”

He could hear her phone buzz as the text arrived, along with another right after it. “I’m grabbing my backpack right now and I’ll call Mark or Jamie to give me a ride,” she told him, her voice slightly muffled as she moved around her apartment.

“Okay, I’ve got to go back to set but I’ll call you as soon as I’m done,” he murmured, waving his hand as a PA started motioning him over. “And will you text Scott when you get to my place?”

“I promise I will,” she assured him, sounding a little less frustrated and upset… finally.

They both shared their goodbye’s before Chris clicked the red button on the phone and let out a long sigh to try to relieve the tension that he’d been holding in his body. A hand came up to scratch at his beard while Scott put a hand on his shoulder as he commented, “That didn’t sound good.”

“It’s not. Nat’s keys and everything were in her purse that she left in the car,” he told his brother, shaking his head as they made their way back on set and he handed Scott his phone. “Scott, I found a security camera company here, can you call them and have them go install cameras at Nat’s place? And then also call somewhere and get someone to go change her locks? I think you already have my wallet so you can use my card.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Scott promised, already tapping away at his phone. “And I’ll let you know when she texts me.”

Chris nodded, mind racing as he told him, “Let me know as soon as you can.”

Chris glanced over at the director who was waving him over incessantly now, and he patted Scott’s shoulder to silently say thank you before jogging back over to the camera. He got into position, but while they adjusted the lighting, he couldn’t help but find his mind wandering. He’d known Nat since February and had found that in that time, she’d slipped into his life so effortlessly, ever since that first day he’d seen her crashing into the glass door of that Pixar conference room.

But this was a wake up call for him. He knew he liked Nat, but for the first time he recognized just how deep he’d fallen in for her without even realizing it. The thought of anything even remotely happening to her was almost too much to bear. Thinking of Nat being upset about her car, let alone the thought that something bad happening to her made him sick to his stomach and longing to jump on a plane right then and there to go back to her. He couldn’t stand the thought of not having her and that was something he was finally starting to realize.

He’d known for a long time that he was interested in her. Nat had intrigued him with her humor, talent, and confidence, but the more he’d gotten to know her, the more he’d found things that he loved about her. She was so sensitive and touched by everything. She was down to earth and didn’t take herself too seriously. But she was vulnerable and a straight shooter, she wasn’t afraid of emotions and didn’t mind sharing them and that was something he hadn’t experienced in the same way. She seemed to calm him and ground him in a way he wasn’t used to, he simply just loved talking to her and being with her and the longer he was away, the more he recognized just how absolutely head over heels he was for her.

But it wasn’t an infatuation, or just some fling. He wasn’t interested in her for a good time or just for her looks, or even just someone to fill his time with as he’d done before. He truly just liked her and there was something about this that just felt… different. And once that next scene finished and Scott hurried over to tell him that Nat had texted and was at his house, he finally could breathe a little easier.

Chris was thankful for the distraction of filming to get his mind off of his worries but still was calling Nat the moment the filming for the entire evening was over. He gave her the rundown of when all the people were coming to get her new locks and install the security cameras but made her promise to spend another night in his house since everything wouldn’t be installed until the following evening and he swore just hearing that one soft, “Thank you for taking care of me, Chris,” and he wanted nothing more in that moment to just hold her in his arms and protect her from all the things of the world that Nat was too caught up in her beautiful artistic outlook of the life to see.

That feeling lingered in his heart as he went to his trailer, taking a warm long shower after filming and getting changed before he and Scott headed back to the hotel. His schedule was so mixed up with all these night shoots and he was getting ready to pull all the curtains to block out the sunrise when his phone started ringing. Assuming that it would be Nat, he quickly grabbed the phone and answered without even looking at the screen first.

“Hello, is this Chris?”

Chris frowned for a moment, his brain frantically trying to figure out who’s voice it was but came up with no answer and instead just replied, “Yes it is.”

“Hi Chris, this is Eric Marton, Nat’s dad. We met for just a minute a while ago when I was in California visiting Nattie,” the voice on the other end filled him in before supplying, “She gave me your number.”

Just the mention of Nat made a smile cross his lips and he instantly relaxed while moving around the room to toss a sweatshirt from the bed over to a nearby chair, “Yeah, I remember. It’s nice to talk to you again, Eric.”

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m calling you but I wanted to call to thank you.”

“Thank me?” His nose scrunched up at the thought, not having a clue what Nat’s father would want to thank him for.

He heard Eric clear his throat before the explanation came,“Nat told me about everything that happened with her car and that you had her go stay at your house and got all her locks changed.”

“I just couldn’t sleep knowing that someone had the keys to her apartment,” Chris simply stated, knowing that it was the truth. He put the phone on speaker and tossed it on the bed while he started peeling down his jeans to get ready for bed and went on telling Eric that, “Nat seemed to think that they just wanted the car but I was just so worried. I didn’t want anything to happen to her.”

“I know you didn’t, and I just had to call to say thank you,” his voice was soft and full of emotion, so much like Nat’s when her feelings were at the forefront. “I hope it doesn’t make me sound like too much of a crazy overprotective father calling about his 33 year old daughter, but I just love her so much and I worry about her.”

Chris just laughed softly while climbing into bed, grabbing the phone and holding it with one hand while the other came behind his head as he propped himself up against the pillows. He knew what it was like to be worried about the people he loved, especially his family, and he knew that with Nat’s mother having been gone for almost her entire life, it was natural Eric would feel a little more protective and worried about his girls. But Chris found it anything but odd, instead finding it so endearing and loving the fact Nat had people in her life who loved her so deeply and told Eric, “I don’t think it sounds crazy at all. I’m so close with my family so I get being worried about them.”

“I know that Nat can take care of herself, she’s certainly not helpless by any means,” Eric stopped to laugh, making Chris chuckle as well from knowing just how true that was. “But it’s nice to know that she has someone else looking out for her and taking care of her,”

“Well Eric, I couldn’t agree with you more in the fact that Nat can take care of herself, but I don’t want her to always have to,” he knew how much he meant it. He didn’t want Nat to have to do everything alone and he wanted to do what he could to protect and care for her. “Besides, my Ma would be the first to say that I’m a bit of a control freak and anxious to a fault, so I couldn’t relax until I knew she was somewhere safe.”

Chris smiled as Eric laughed at those words, knowing so badly that it just felt… right. And as they hung up and Chris went through the motions of getting ready for bed, he remembered how strange this stage of relationships used to feel, the awkward not-quite-dating yet stage before the we’re-doing-this one, but with Nat it all felt new and exciting. He didn’t dread returning to Los Angeles next month like he typically did, all because of her, his Nattie. He couldn’t wait to see her again, to hold her in his arms, and he couldn’t help but look at the clock as he laid in bed, counting down the hours in his mind until they were back together as he fell asleep.

A/N: Genuinely.... we love them. And if you don't believe us, we wrote 62.5k words for them by the end of November. 🌯 is currently typing this on 11/30/2022, and we just cannot stop! We hope you love this, future-readers! Can't wait to read all your thoughts :)

ALSO We’re going to start posting updates TWICE A WEEK! So now every Monday and Thursday there will be an update!

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ghostspoons · 1 year

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cute fall nails

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amazingworldd · 10 months

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thestylesindependent · 10 months

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Harry Styles’s longtime stylist, Harry Lambert, and his creative director, Molly Hawkins, have had a lot to do with crafting the pop star and actor into one of the era’s top fashion icons. When they joined Styles in launching a company called Pleasing a year and a half ago, they achieved something even more significant, although no flashbulbs were around to capture it. Pleasing’s debut collection, a line of $20 nail polishes inspired by Styles’s own affinity for colorful manicures, was one of the first nail polish to be nearly 100% biodegradable.

Traditional nail polish is made from plastic polymers that break into tiny fragments of microplastic, contributing to pollution. From the start, Hawkins and Lambert were committed to making a version that would naturally decompose. They spent two years finding a laboratory able to work with them on devising a biodegradable formula, and then, in November 2021, they flashed the logo for Pleasing on the wall of the arena outside one of Styles’s concerts in Glendale, Arizona. Days later, when the Pleasing website went live, its first four polish colors—in trendy shades like inky black and bubblegum pink and with quirky names like Granny’s Pink Pearls—sold quickly. Six subsequent collections have launched every few months since then and have seen hero items sell out rapidly as well, while lines have snaked around the block for holiday pop-ups in London, New York, and Los Angeles.

As Pleasing expands into new categories (such as serums, eye shadow, and apparel), Hawkins and Lambert are continuing to push to make products even more eco-friendly, including making brush bristles from castor beans, a renewable resource, rather than petroleum. “We’re incentivizing our partners to keep moving forward,” says Hawkins. “If they can commit to developing a product for us, we can commit to purchasing a [large] quantity of it.”

Still, what makes Pleasing’s products so covetable among fans is that they just look so good. Lambert and Hawkins led the design process for the brand’s signature glass nail polish bottles, which feature globe-shaped tops in metallic and marble colors. “To succeed, the packaging needs to be interesting and exciting,” says Lambert. “We want the products to be so gorgeous that they live on your shelf, not inside your drawer.” To promote each new collection, the duo taps emerging artists to create attractive, color-saturated photography and illustrations. William Waterworth shot Pleasing’s first-ever campaign, for example, while Marisol Muro created the bright, ’70s inspired artwork that accompanied the recent nature-inspired Shroom Bloom nail polish line. Styles himself isn’t intimately involved with product development and doesn’t promote the brand heavily on social media. That’s by design. “At this moment, there are a lot of celebrity brands on the market,” says Lambert. “Pleasing is part of Harry’s world, but we also don’t want to rely on him to be the only reason people buy this product. We want to actually solve problems.”

#harry styles #july 2023 #pleasing #molly Hawkins #harry lambert

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foxes-that-run · 5 months

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I'm confused I thought those hand with ring pics looked familiar so I looked back and found these: https://www.tumblr.com/mychampagne-mybubbles/679659607834165248/dreamy-me-believes-that?source=share

That post is from MArch 2022 and it looks like the same rings and nail polish is the same too.

Ignore the post though, it's from a Larry lol.

Oh there's so much to unpack there. OK first, the ring was first seen (by us) 15 March 2021 (right). It replaced the Peace ring, which was seen reliably up until this one. The Peace Ring is in the pandemic Vogue December 2020 article (left).

So he seems to have gotten it between December 2020 and March 2021. In that period he returned to the US to shoot DWD, while there he wrote California. A Pearl symbolises:

They are often associated with the moon and the sea, representing the ebb and flow of life. Just like the pearl emerges from the depths of the ocean, a pearl ring represents transformation and growth. It is a reminder that beauty can arise from even the most challenging of circumstances.

TBH after his pandemic road trip to Italy and writing Harry's House, I think this rings of late are about him.

Could it be about Taylor? Maybe

The Peace ring it replaced was so yes, but the change probably has meaning. This was the night we first saw it. Their music from the year before (The 1 / LNT) shows they were maybe in contact.. and all the William Bowery songs. I wonder if his Italy road trip was Japan come again. California was still in the feels in November 2020, then Evermore came out and it's apologetic in places. After these Grammy's, she went home and wrote High Infidelity and Question..? He wrote LOML and As it Was. The design of the ring is also possibly references Taylor, she did this mermaid photo pose, she wrote Wildest Dreams that weekend, and a few months later he got the Mermaid tattoo, the ring has a mermaid.

Did Louis congratulate Harry?

No, because they don’t speak. He didn't even congratulate Harry via Twitter on his either of his Grammy wins (March 15 2021 below) and later did interviews saying Harry's success bothered him, and shaded Harry in the process. But if they had been secretly talking - Pearl is a 30th Wedding Anniversary, the 11th is Steel. Or tweeting congratulations for winning a Grammy: like he did for this footballer who joined a team.

#haylor #harry styles

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ash-the-ketchup · 22 days

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Houseki no Kuni/Land of the Lustrous Wig Tutorial: How to Create a Beautiful Gem-like Finish!

(Left photo taken by @/mystes_photo on Instagram)

When I first saw the characters in Houseki no Kuni, I knew right away that I wanted to cosplay Diamond, but to be honest, I did not like any of the commonly used methods to achieve the iridescent effect at the time (cellophane can easily be damaged, glitter doesn’t have the finish I want, resin is difficult to work with, etc.), so I did some research on ways to achieve a more convincing finish.

My main inspiration came from nail artists achieving a smooth iridescent finish similar to what I wanted for my wig (Fun fact, I became a SimplyNailogical fan during this whole process XD). Once I discovered that iridescent nail powder was the key material I needed, from there, I did some trial and error experiments to figure out the best method to apply it onto a wig and came up with this method!

This is not a styling tutorial on how to create a Diamond wig specifically, but rather how to create the unique gem-like finish on any wig! This tutorial can apply to any Houseki no Kuni/Land of the Lustrous character you’d like! :D

(Disclaimer, this method and the Diamond wig pictured above were created in 2021, but the wig featured in this tutorial was styled in 2024)

Skill level: Intermediate

Prerequisite: At least basic wig styling skills, dependent on character

Materials needed:

Wig (style varies based on character, but I recommend using a thick base wig if you can! )

Wig head that’s close to the size of your head to ensure that style conforms properly to your head size

Wig stand

Got2b spray and glue

Flexbond primer (amount needed varies, but for reference, I was able to cover my Diamond wig with about ¾ of a 16 oz bottle)

Mod Podge Gloss waterbase sealer (optional if Flexbond is tacky enough on its own)

Iridescent/holographic nail powder (any can work depending on the finish you want, but I used the Aurora pigment powder from the brand What’s Up Nails. One little 1 gram jar was enough to cover two Diamond wigs with quite a bit left over, a little goes a long way!)

Clear gloss varnish

Spray bottle

Wide decoupage brush and/or any wide paintbrush

Silicone face mask brush (optional, but I find it great for smoothing out thick coats of Flexbond)

Mini scissors to trim stray hairs and/or excess Flexbond

Latex or vinyl gloves to rub on nail powder

Safety requirements:

Wear gloves to protect your hands. The nail powder is safe to touch barehanded, but the rubbing needed to buff the powder onto the wig may cause skin irritation or chafing if done excessively.

The nail powder is very fine, so I suggest wearing a face mask to avoid breathing it in/blowing it away. There are no toxic fumes or substances used in this tutorial, so a basic face mask should suffice.

Keep the floor covered to protect the Flexbond from getting on it and causing a slipping hazard (also great for easy cleanup!) I initially laid out a bunch of old Amazon bags around the wig stand, but I recently picked up a handy device from Assist Wigs in Japan that was originally designed to catch cut wig hair, but it does a pretty good job catching dripping glue and loose nail powder as well!

Step 1:

Style your wig as you would a normal wig. This is highly dependent on the character you choose, but from experience, I have two tips I would highly recommend:

Make your wig about 10-20% fuller than you want the final wig to be. Like how actual hair flattens when it’s wet, depending on how the wig is styled, the same thing may happen once the Flexbond is added.

Try to keep at least the outer layer of hair on your wig as smooth and free of tangles as possible. When you coat the wig with Flexbond, any knots or irregularities in the wig will be emphasized. To avoid this, thoroughly comb through your wig to get rid of tangles and straighten any kinks or irregularities. Teasing your wig can leave the outside looking messy, so try to stick to the crimping method to add volume to wigs if needed, or at least limit teasing to areas that will be hidden with smoother hair later on.

youtube

I was quite fortunate that there’s an official 3D model video with the perfect references for Diamond’s hair that I was able to use as reference for my wig!

Step 2:

If you haven't already, protect the floor underneath your wig with any sort of protective covering to catch the Flexbond that will drip down from your wig.

Step 3:

Use Got2B spray and spiking glue to hold the style in place to prepare for the next steps. Apply enough to make the wig relatively stiff, but avoid getting the hair saturated up to the point where the hair looks wet and stringy.

You'll know your wig is ready for Flexbond when your wig is quite stiff on the outside, as shown in the video above.

Step 4:

Take your Flexbond and dilute it with water to make a thin sprayable glue. I recommend about a 1 to 3 ratio of Flexbond to water to create a solution that is thin enough to easily spray yet still strong enough to be an effective glue. I would say the viscosity is similar to milk.

Step 5:

Apply the diluted Flexbond to the wig in a fine mist. If you see any significantly large droplets, use your fingers to carefully smooth them out. Do your best not to press down too hard or oversaturate the wig, as the goal is to create a hard outer shell on your wig rather than to saturate the entire wig in glue.

Repeat Step 5 a few times until your wig feels solid up to the point where the wig hair stays in place even when shaken around (or even turned upside down!) This step is very important because this creates the solid foundation for your wig that will support all the thick Flexbond layers you will be applying later.

Step 6:

Once your wig is solid, coat the outer surface of the wig (you can cover all visible hair if desired, but I like having the hair inside soft against my skin) with a generous coat of Flexbond. You want this first coat to be thick enough to completely cover the outside of the wig’s surface, but not so much that the Flexbond is dripping.

However, if noticeable drips do occur, you can smooth them out with your brush while they’re still wet or trimmed off with scissors if already dried.

Repeat Step 6 for about 2-3 layers or until your wig has a smooth, almost glossy looking appearance, as pictured below.

Below are a few helpful tips to help you with this step!

Remember how if you did Step 5 correctly, you should be able to turn the wig upside down? You can use this to your advantage to help you coat the bottom half of the wig! Just be sure that the top half is completely dry before you place it on a surface. I would also alternate between coating the top half and the bottom half to keep the coats even.

2. You can use the Flexbond to gradually fill gaps between the fibers for a smoother appearance. Also, the more layers, the less emphasized the hair strands will be on the final product.

Step 7:

If you have stray hairs or glue strands that you find distracting, you can trim them off using a sharp pair of scissors. In the example above, you can see how I trimmed the frayed-looking ends of the hair to create nice clean points

Make sure to do this step prior to applying any nail powder to avoid wasting powder that be covering an area that will be cut off.

Step 8 (Possible extra step):

The first time I made my Diamond wig, I was able to rub the nail powder directly onto the Flexbond, which was just tacky enough for the powder to adhere itself to the wig. However, this time around, the Flexbond was not tacky enough and the powder would not adhere properly. I am unsure why this occurred, whether it was the weather/humidity (I created the first wig around Summer 2021 vs. this wig in late winter/early spring 2024) or Rosco tweaking the Flexbond formula sometime in the past few years. Thankfully, I was able to remedy this issue by applying a thin coat of Mod Podge Gloss, which I found stayed temporarily tacky for about 20 minutes after drying.

If you also encounter the same issue, apply a layer of Mod Podge Gloss over your wig. Check it frequently to able to apply the powder as soon as possible once it is dry before the Mod Podge loses its tackiness. Don't be too impatient though, as the Mod Podge will smear if you try to apply the powder before it is dried.

(I’m not sure if using only Mod Podge to create this outer shell would work as opposed to using the Flexbond due to its lower viscosity and lack of flexibility in thicker coats, but I do think it’d be an interesting experiment to try! If it’s successful, it’d be a much more accessible and budget-friendly option!)

*If the Flexbond you applied is tacky enough to apply powder onto directly, you can skip this step and jump ahead to Step 9.

Step 9:

Once your wig is dry, put on your gloves and dip your finger into the nail powder to coat it with a thin layer of powder. Take this powder and buff it onto the surface of your wig, similar to how you would buff nail powder onto your nails. Buff thoroughly until the surface is smooth and looks reflective. It should look almost like metallic/iridescent paint was applied rather than a powdery glitter. Continue this process on the entire wig.

Step 10

If you feel like you need more coverage with the nail powder after applying the first layer, coat the wig with another coat of Flexbond/Mod Podge (depending on what you use to adhere the nail powder), let it dry, then apply another layer of nail powder. You can repeat this process until you satisfied with the coverage. Depending on the powder used, I find that at least 3-4 coats are needed to obtain full coverage and a smooth finish!

Step 11:

Once you are satisfied with the finish, coat the wig in one last layer of Flexbond to protect the finish and add a bit of depth to the glassy finish as opposed to varnish alone.

Step 12:

Add a final coat of gloss varnish to give your wig a beautiful glassy finish! You may notice the Flexbond turning white again underneath the varnish. Do not panic, Flexbond is known to do that when it gets wet! Once everything is dry again, it will return to being clear. :)

You Did it!

Now you have your finished Houseki no Kuni wig with a lovely iridescent finish that is not only beautiful, but also indestructible (seriously, I’ve thrown this thing at a wall and it stayed in perfect condition XD) and super easy to put on (very flexible and goes on like Lego hair XD)!

For my second Diamond wig, I wanted to be experimental and try remaking the wig with a shape more accurate to the show (less visible hair strands and more like solid shapes) and adding subtle stripes of color underneath the Flexbond. I will be honest, I actually ended up liking the first one a tad more ^^; It’s okay though, I still learned a lot, and I feel the mistakes I went through the second time around really helped me perfect the technique for this tutorial :)

Another key thing that I messed up on for the second wig is that due to lack of time, I was unable to apply as many layers of the nail powder as I would've liked. As mentioned in Step 10 above, adding at least 3-4 coats will result in a smooth lovely iridescent finish, as seen here on my first Diamond wig!

As mentioned before, this tutorial can apply to any Houseki no Kuni character! Here’s a little work-in-progress of my Phos wig! :) I actually used body glitter by Nyx Cosmetics instead of nail powder because it gave a similar smooth finish to the nail powder and gave the wig more of a blue-green-gold shift rather than a full iridescent rainbow spectrum.

Bonus tip: for characters who have multiple distinct layers/sections in their hair, like Phos in this example (undercut and top half), I suggest applying the Flexbond and nail powder in sections as opposed to all at once.

Final words

Thank you so much for taking a look at my tutorial! I can’t wait to see all the lovely wigs that can be made using it~ ^_^

I'm not very active on Tumblr these days, so if you have any questions or need any clarifications for this tutorial, feel free to reach out to me on my Instagram account @/ashtheketchup!

(This tutorial is my entry for @/cosplaytutorialchallenge on IG's Online Cosplay Tutorial Challenge 2024)

#*rises from the dead to post a tutorial* :P

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