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ft-dads-au · 4 years

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The Loudest Silence

I Take Pride In What I Am 2020 Prompt: Quiet Pairing(s): Sting x Yukino (Unrequited), Human (Weisslogia x Female Skiadrum), Master Bob & Weisslogia, Weisslogia & Sting

A Collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

AO3 | FF.Net

Summary: “I really like you...as more than a best friend…”

Yukino had been his best friend since...forever? Sting couldn’t even remember not being friends with her. She was a beautiful girl, smart, kind, and funny...

There was just one problem.

“I love you, I really do, but I can’t love you like that.”

April 25, 2008

“Hey, Sting? Can I talk to you for a second?”

It was a beautiful day, but not even the warmth of the sun kissing his skin or the gentle sea breeze could lift Sting’s mood. He should be at the beach on a day like this, eating shaved ice and playing volleyball with his friends. Not moping in his backyard, twisting himself up in knots about what had happened with Yukino earlier that day.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you…”

Sting wasn’t oblivious. He’d noticed it a while ago, how Yukino was acting shy around him when she’d never done so before. And touchier. Reaching out to grab his hand or put hers on his shoulder too many times for him to ignore. Sometimes, when she was chatting with some of the other girls in their class, they’d all look his way and break out into giggles, and one of them would say something to her that made her blush, all flustered.

He’d been avoiding her for some time now, feeling guilty every time he saw the sad look on her face when he all but ran back home right after school, with some lame excuse like having too much homework. That guilt was only outweighed by the hope that she’d back down, but the very scenario Sting had been so afraid of had finally played out that day.

“I really like you...as more than a best friend…”

Yukino had been his best friend since...forever? Sting couldn’t even remember not being friends with her. She was a beautiful girl, smart, kind, and funny...

There was just one problem.

“I love you, I really do, but I can’t love you like that.”

Sting didn’t like girls. He’d much rather join them as they giggled and batted their lashes at cute boys.

As a kid, he’d always been drawn to guys he’d see in movies, video clips, or magazines, but it wasn’t until reaching his teens that he’d finally recognized it for what it was. The swimmers, surfers, and runners he’d see at the beach... Sting could watch them all day, and as soon as he realized that was precisely what he was doing most of the time, it was kind of impossible to deny the attraction he felt.

To himself, at least. He hadn’t been ready to admit that to anyone else yet, but Yukino’s confession had put him on the spot. As he’d watched her gather all her courage to express her feelings, a spark of hope shimmering in her eyes, he’d decided she deserved better than to be strung along. She deserved to know the truth, even if it broke his heart to tell her.

And just as he’d feared, she didn’t take it well. The hope in her eyes was replaced by the gloss of tears, and she’d left without saying another word.

“I’m sorry, Yuki…”

Sting rolled over on the grass, dropping the comic book he’d been trying to read in the hopes of distracting his thoughts, letting his eyes follow the white wisps of clouds that were slowly drifting through the sky above him. What would happen next? Would she tell her parents and sister? Their other friends? Classmates? How would they respond? And more importantly, would this mean the end of his friendship with Yukino? Sting was having a hard time imagining his life without her as his friend, they always did just about everything together.

“It’s way too hot to be racking your brain like that,” his dad’s chuckle suddenly sounded, snapping him out of his thoughts. He sat down next to Sting on the grass, shielding his face from the bright sunlight with one of his hands. “What’s bothering you, son? Anything I can help you with?”

Sting sighed, sitting up and facing his father. As nervous as he was about coming out for the second time that day, he could really use someone to talk to. Carrying this secret was wearing him down, he’d always been a terrible liar, and he just wanted to stop hiding. His parents were usually patient and understanding with him...Surely he could tell them this, right?

“Yukino has a crush on me,” he mumbled, picking a few blades of grass and rolling them between his fingers absently.

“Oh? Well, if you want advice on how to woo a girl, I’m not your guy,” Weiss chuckled, “At least, that’s what I’ve been told. But I can tell you this: as long as you just be yourself-”

“Dad, stop,” Sting cut in, “I don’t like her that way, and I wanted to tell her that without hurting her feelings.” He rubbed at his face in exasperation, “Besides, I tried being myself, and it didn’t go well at all. She might not want to be my friend anymore...”

“I’m sure you’re overreacting. You two have been friends for years, what makes you think she’d throw that away?” his father asked, offering a reassuring smile that crushed Sting under its weight, making him feel terrible about not being the son he was thought to be. There was also a hint of worry reflected in the slight furrow on Weiss’ brow as he waited for Sting to explain what was troubling him.

“It’s because I’m-” Sting hesitated, fighting an inner war between the part of him that longed to be free from the constant feeling of deception, and the part that just wanted to live up to everyone’s expectations. He could still chicken out if he wanted to, find some half-assed excuse for his words and behavior so he could stall for a little longer, but the truth would have to come out eventually. Besides, if Yukino ended up spreading the word, it would reach his parents sooner rather than later anyway. He’d prefer his dad hear it from him.

“I’m gay,” he admitted in a deep exhale, and just saying it out loud lifted such a huge burden from his shoulders already. He finally found the courage to look his father in the eyes, seeking his reaction, desperately hoping for the kind of understanding he was used to from him.

But it wasn’t there. Nothing was there. Instead, his dad was unusually silent. His expression was blank, as if he was looking right through Sting. Like he wasn’t even there.

“Oh.”

Oh? That was it? He’d just poured out his heart, and all he got in return was an Oh?

“Ugh, never mind,” Sting got up, suddenly feeling everything and nothing at the same time. A disappointment so vast it left a big empty hole that numbed him. “I’m outta here.”

Deep down, he was still holding on to the hope that his dad would stop him and call him back so they could talk about it, but Weisslogia remained quiet. He just let him stomp off without as much as uttering a single word, right when Sting needed him more than ever.

Resisting the urge to wait or look back, Sting rushed through the sliding door, passing the kitchen, where his mom was busy prepping food. For once, he wasn’t hungry.

“Now, now, why the hurry?” his mother called out, trying to soothe as always— a bright smile on her lips meant to lift his spirits managing to accomplish the very opposite.

He’d never felt so lonely before. Two of the people closest to him had let him down already, and he asked himself why she would be any different. He ignored her, simply because he couldn’t handle one more.

0-0

“What happened?” was the first thing to come out of his wife when Weisslogia stepped into the kitchen, the start of a rambling that interrupted all the thoughts he still hadn’t sorted yet.

“He already seemed off today, but then he just stormed off with a face like thunder and slammed all the doors in his path. I tried to talk to him, but he won’t say a word, doesn’t even want to come out of his room…” Skiadrum abandoned the fruits she’d been cutting, covering them with mesh food protectors to keep the bugs away, and sat down on one of the bar stools at the island counter, waiting for Weiss to give her an explanation. She was worried, and he couldn’t really blame her for that.

No matter how upset he was, Sting was never unresponsive. If anything, he’d come straight to them if something was bothering him, and could easily talk their ears off about it to help him process his emotions. Knowing that, Weiss felt awful about how their conversation, or lack thereof, had gone.

“It’s my fault,” he sighed as he sat across from Skia, running a hand through his hair. “He came to me with...something, and I wasn’t much of a help.”

“Something? Nothing too serious, I hope?”

“Well…” Weiss hesitated, unsure if he’d make things worse by telling her what he knew about their son without asking him first. But he wanted to soothe his wife’s worries and fix his mistake, and he couldn’t do that without Skia’s help. He was way out of his depth.

“Well?” she repeated, impatiently waiting for him to answer her questions.

“Well, Sting just told me that he’s homosexual.”

The frown of concern immediately fell off Skiadrum’s face, making way for a deadpan expression. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see that coming,” she said, the tone of her voice indicating that she already knew the truth.

“Wait, you knew?” Weiss asked her, perking up from his slumped position in surprise.

“Oh, come on! I’ve suspected it since he was 7! Remember that day when we spent half a day shopping with him for a winter coat? And ended up buying one from the girls’ department because he insisted all the boys’ ones had boring colors?”

He’d probably never forget that day. They’d been to every single clothing store in town, had thanked all the helpful staff members who had cheerfully tried to coax their son into liking one of the available options, but Sting was immune to even the best of sales pitches. ‘Nope, I hate it,’ he’d said, carrying an attitude that was so hilarious for a kid his age it made Weiss’ tired feet worthwhile.

“I figured he just liked brighter colors,” Weiss mumbled, shrugging his shoulders, “and he always kind of went his own way. Headstrong, just like his mother,” he tried to tease, but he lacked the spirit for it.

“That could’ve been the case, but there have been other signs pointing in this direction,” Skia argued, “and adding them all up, it just made sense to me.”

Signs? Weiss wasn’t sure what exactly she meant. He’d never reached that conclusion and the fact that his wife had made him feel even worse.

He knew he was oblivious to many things, but this was their child they were talking about—his son. And Weiss had always assumed he knew him through and through. Apparently, he’d been wrong. He wasn’t the attentive father he’d hoped to be.

“Why did you never mention it?” he sulked, wishing he’d gotten a heads up so he wouldn’t have been tongue-tied at the admission.

Noticing his dismay, Skiadrum got up to pour them both a glass of wine. “Because I could just as well have been wrong, and even if I wasn’t, it was still up to him to decide when he was ready to talk to us about it.”

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” she asked once she’d sat back down again and had a sip of wine, “Did your conversation go that badly?”

“There, uh...there wasn’t much of a conversation,” Weiss admitted guiltily, “I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t really say anything.”

Skiadrum almost choked in her wine.

“Oh my God, Weiss, really?!” she bleated, hiding her face in her hand, “Of course he’d take off at that, he must be thinking you’re rejecting him!”

“I’m not,” Weiss quickly assured, but as he tried to put himself in Sting’s shoes, he realized that was exactly what it must have looked like. “Oh, crap...I really messed up.”

“No, you haven’t-” Skia reached across the table to take her hand in his and chuckled, “Okay, maybe a little, but we all make mistakes. If I’d told you about my suspicions, this might not have happened, so I’m at fault here too. Now, let’s clear it up together, shall we?” She smiled at him and squeezed his hand, “You go talk to him, I’ll get started on a peace offering.”

She got up again, taking her wine glass with her as she moved to the counter and made room for the mixing bowl.

Weisslogia nodded absently, absorbed in his own thoughts. He had to admit, now that his wife had mentioned it, he was starting to see some of Sting’s quirks in a new light.

He was still letting the news sink in, trying once again to think about what he wanted to say, what he was supposed to say. But his mind was caught up in events that had happened long ago and knowing what he did, he couldn’t help but be scared for his son. And with that thought in mind, he decided to call the one person he knew who could help him.

0-0

“You did WHAT?” Bob yelled at Weiss through the phone, outraged at what he’d just been told, “Weisslogia Eucliffe, you utter simpleton!”

“I know, I know…” Weiss agreed, “and I’m working on it, okay? I just- I don’t know this stuff, and I really need your help.”

“Pfft, obviously,” his long time friend scoffed, “This stuff...Oh, that poor kid.”

“Not helping…” Weiss reminded him through gritted teeth, forcing a smile onto his face even though he knew Bob couldn’t see him, but he hoped it would help him remain somewhat positive. “Look, I just want to be a good dad, but I’m way out of my league here. I’m guessing he has questions, and I don’t know how to answer them. I’ll have to give him the talk again, don’t I? Where do I even begin? And what if someone-?”

“Pipe down,” Bob interrupted with a sigh, and it was then Weiss realized he’d been pacing through his study, almost pulling the old, corded phone off the desk. “Seriously, grab that pipe of yours and calm down. I’m getting stressed just from listening to you.”

He took that advice, even though he usually never smoked inside the house, opening a window and hoping the smell wouldn’t linger for too long.

“Okay,” Bob began, “First of all, I think it’s great that you want to be there for your son to answer his questions and give him the bees and the bees talk and all, but do you really think he’s lining up for that?”

“The bees and the bees?” Weiss puzzled for a moment until he understood what Bob meant, “Oh! I get it!”

“God, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward. Anyway, the point is, I know you want to protect him, but that really isn’t what he needs from you right now. All he really needs is for you to tell him that you’re proud of him and that you love him. Can’t be too hard, right?”

Bob’s words hit Weiss hard, leaving him speechless for the second time that day. The difference was that this time, he knew exactly what to say, what he should have said in the first place, and it broke him to realize that he hadn’t. He’d been so focused on the details that he’d lost sight over what was most important.

“You’re right. I screwed up, Bob,” he said miserably, “I let my boy down, what kind of a father am I?”

“This isn’t the time for that, Weiss. You weren’t expecting it. It happens, nothing is lost yet,” Bob assured him, “Trust me, you’re already doing better than a lot of other parents out there just by making an effort. Kids get thrown out of their houses for this or receive far worse responses than complete silence. God, the shit my dad said to me…”

“Oh God, I’m sorry,” Weiss immediately replied, remembering some of the things that Bob had shared with him about his earlier life.

“Water under the bridge, love,” Bob dismissed his apology, “You were the first person to accept me just the way I was, Weisslogia. You can do this. You’re going to march right into his room and put him out of his misery. Meanwhile, I will email you all the resources we use at the center so that you can be ready when he does ask questions. How does that sound?”

“Thanks,” Weiss smiled weakly into the phone, thinking it was a shame that Bob had moved back to Magnolia. He missed having him around as a friend. They had been through so much together during the time they’d lived together as roommates, first in med school and later when Bob had spent a few years in Edolas.

He could still remember all the terrible reactions Bob had gotten just for being proud of who he was and being unafraid to show it. He’d endured everything from name-calling, discrimination, and threats, to actual physical abuse. The latter was still freshly engraved on Weiss’ retinas like it happened only yesterday instead of decades ago, and the mere thought of something like that happening to Sting was enough to send his protective instincts into overdrive.

“Weiss?” Bob’s voice had turned somber, and Weisslogia instinctively tensed up. “I know where your mind is going, but… it was a different time. Our situations are different, okay? He’s going to be just fine.”

“Okay,” Weiss managed, he didn’t fully believe it, but his friend’s words did give him some comfort. “Thanks again, you’re the best.”

“Any time, dear,” Bob chirped, “Let me know how it went, and give Skia a big hug from me.”

They ended the call, and Weiss put out his pipe, feeling better now that he’d talked to Bob and got the reality check he’d needed.

He took a deep breath as he left the study and made his way upstairs, smiling at the sweet smell coming from the kitchen.

0-0

Sting’s room was a mess. There were clothes scattered all over the floor, ripped out of the closet as he’d picked out the ones to shove in a bag under the sound of loud music. Sting knew that the incident between him and his dad wasn’t over just yet, but he wanted to be ready to get the hell out if worse came to worst. He’d heard about parents having bad reactions before, but he had never expected that from his own family and best friend. He just assumed the worst, not knowing what to expect anymore.

As he took down the fairy lights that were hanging on the wall right next to his bed, his attention was gripped by the pictures he’d hung up just below them. Pictures of places he loved to visit, like the beach or the zoo. Pictures of him with Yukino and with his parents. He took one of them down, carefully removing the thumbtack and pushing it back into the wallpaper while he studied it up close.

It was a picture of Sting and his parents that one of the nurses at the clinic had taken last year. Sting was wearing his dad’s white coat and name tag for a class presentation. It looked kind of silly, as it was a few sizes too large on him, and they’d stuck with that theme by making funny faces at the camera—a happy family like they’d always been.

Pfft, yeah, right. What a joke!

Sting gazed at it, still remembering how he’d felt that day, so eager to fill his father’s shoes. His father was someone he’d always looked up to. He worked hard and had made a difference in so many people’s lives over the years, running the clinic, where everyone was treated equally regardless of how much money they made or what job they held.

Apparently, he didn’t view everyone as equally as Sting had thought.

Not able to contain his frustration, he moved over to his nightstand to grab some of his comic books. There were several he hadn’t gotten around to reading, and he wasn’t about to leave them behind. Once he’d scanned them all and picked his favorites, he turned around to put them in his already stuffed bag and nearly jumped out of his skin when he noticed his dad standing in the doorway, staring at him in dismay.

“Can we talk?”

“Oh, so now you want to talk?” Sting chided, struggling to close the zipper of his bag, “Okay, sure. Whatever you have to say, just say it.”

His dad sighed, the sound inaudible over the out-of-place pop tunes but visible through his body language, “You surprised me, that’s all.”

“I surprised you?” Sting slung the words back, “How do you think I feel?”

Outraged by his father’s words, Sting couldn’t keep still, his body thrumming with nervous energy. He began taking a few items out of the bag, throwing them aside to make room for different ones.

“Can you please turn that down so we can talk?”

When Sting ignored his request, his father went ahead and turned off the music himself. “There, that’s better. It’s a hot day, isn’t it?” he pointed out, “Why don’t we sit outside for a while?”

He opened the door that led out to the balcony they shared and walked out, leaving the door open for Sting to follow.

Sting took one last look around his room, trying to decide what to do. His dad was acting oddly calm, which allowed a voice in the back of his head to suggest it might not be so bad. Still, its negative counterpart immediately reminded him that he hadn’t made any attempt whatsoever to stop him from packing his stuff either.

He’s just gonna let you leave, just like he let you walk away before, it taunted, and Sting had never felt so worthless.

Despite his fears, he went outside, his eyes glued to the ground because he knew it would only take one glance at his father’s face for him to break.

“Have I ever told you that your mother and I thought we’d never be able to have children?” his dad spoke the moment Sting stepped out on the balcony. “We’d been trying for years, and when it finally happened, your mom had a miscarriage that almost took her life. After that, we’d decided not to try anymore. But then, when we weren’t expecting it, you came along.”

He came closer, putting both his hands on Sting��s shoulders, “Hey, look at me.”

Sting obeyed hesitantly, noticing to his great surprise that his dad was smiling at him, the way he did so often. A proud smile that was both everything Sting wanted to see and unbearable to look at at the same time.

“You are the best thing that’s happened to us, and nothing will ever change that,” he said, hugging Sting close to his chest. “I’m so sorry for not having the words to tell you that right away.”

Sting’s doubts melted away as he felt the warmth of his father’s arms wrapped around him, and the reassurance of kisses pressed into his hair. He’d so sworn to himself that he wasn’t going to cry, damn it, he wasn’t a little kid anymore. But in that moment of overwhelming relief, he felt five years old all over again.

“You smell of pipe,” he accused as he sniffled, burying his face into his dad’s shirt anyway, squeezing him so hard it made his old man chuckle.

“It was prescribed this time,” his father replied innocently.

“I’m sure,” Sting nodded, unsure whether he should be convinced.

“So, are we okay, or…?” Weisslogia asked, pulling away to look him in the eyes again.

He considered the question.

Were they okay?

Sting thought about how discouraged he’d felt just a few short minutes ago when he’d thought that everyone he loved was now against him. Now that he realized that wasn’t the case, he felt kind of bad for having so little trust in his dad, and for all the bad thoughts his anger and fear had fed him.

“Yeah, I- uhm, I guess I may have overreacted a little? You know, with the whole packing my bag thing…”

“No, it’s understandable. I can only imagine how scary it must’ve been for you to tell me, and when I should’ve been there to take those fears away, I only made them worse. Definitely not my proudest moment as a parent,” Weisslogia remarked. “But I need you to know that I’m thankful you’ve told me and that you can always ask or tell me anything. I may not have all the answers, but I’ll do my best to be there for you whenever you need me.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Sting shrugged his shoulders. “Consider yourself forgiven,” he smirked, trying to joke it off, but he quickly dropped the act.

“Thanks, dad. That means a lot to me.”

“It means a lot to me too,” his dad smiled again, giving him another quick hug.

“I should talk to mom, huh?” Sting figured, remembering how he’d shut her out earlier when she’d tried talking to him.

“Only if you want to,” his father assured him, “but I have a feeling she will take it much better than you think,” and knowing his parents too well, Sting guessed that this feeling his dad was speaking of was probably more than just that.

It didn’t matter. Sting took his word for it, which made him a lot less nervous when they went back inside. His suspicions were confirmed when they came down the stairs and were greeted with the smell of something sweet and familiar. His mother would often bake a treat of sorts when he was upset, and it seemed like today was no exception.

“Hey, mom? There’s something I want to tell you,” he called out to her, taking the stairs two steps at a time, feeling more confident knowing that his dad was right behind him.

“Yeah?” she answered once they’d reached the kitchen, and sure enough, there was a plate full of cupcakes waiting for them on the island counter. She was just finishing topping off the last one with white frosting.

“I hope it won’t melt, they’re still a bit warm,” she mumbled to herself before turning her attention to Sting, “but they’re not quite done yet, something is missing…”

She rummaged through one of her cabinets, one that was perhaps even messier than Sting’s room was at the moment. Sting shared a look of wordless astonishment with his dad at how she was even able to find stuff in there, but it didn’t take long for her to return to the plate.

One by one, she decorated the cupcakes with a generous amount of rainbow sprinkles and smiled at the end result.

“That’s so much better,” she winked at Sting, “I think they’re perfect like this, don’t you?”

Sting could feel himself getting emotional again at her words, and he ran around the kitchen island to wrap his mother in a hug. “Thank you,” he managed to get the words out before bursting into tears.

“It’s nothing to cry about silly, this is a happy occasion,” he could hear the smile in her voice and feel the warmth of her body, and it struck him how lucky he was to have her as his mother. He hugged her even tighter, remembering what his father had said about her having almost died before he was born until she gently pushed him away to get a look at his face.

“I know,” he sniffled, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, “It’s just been a rough day.”

“Well, why don’t we sit down and have some cupcakes, you can tell me all about it.”

He nodded, already grabbing a cupcake and shoving the whole thing in his mouth before finding his way to one of the stools on the other side of the island. He hoped his mom could help him figure out what to do about Yukino because as relieved as he felt at the moment, he knew there was still an uncomfortable conversation in his future.

His mother waited patiently, watching him eat cupcake after cupcake, for once not even scolding him for his lack of table manners even though he could feel the stickiness of the frosting on his face.

He was getting ready to explain his predicament when the doorbell rang. His mother handed him a napkin with a smile and got up to answer it.

“I’ll get it, it’s probably one of the neighbors or something, I’ll be right back.”

Sting watched his mother walk away from the kitchen towards their foyer, grabbing another cupcake from the tray as he waited for her return.

“You feeling better?” his father asked, and Sting had to laugh when he noticed his father’s face was also covered in frosting.

“Yeah,” he admitted, after handing him a napkin of his own, “I just wish -”

“Yukino!” Sting heard his mother’s cheerful voice and tensed up once again, “You didn’t have to ring the doorbell, sweetie, you know you’re always welcome to come in from the yard!”

The sound of their steps echoed on the tiled floor, and Sting felt the cupcakes he’d already eaten settle in his stomach like a lead weight. Even though his mom was acting as if everything were normal, she had to have noticed that Yukino’s eyes were puffy, and her cheeks were blotchy from crying.

Not that Sting looked any better at the moment.

“Sting, look who’s here!”

His father saved him from responding, “Yukino! It’s been a while, how are you, dear?”

“Just fine, Dr. Eucliffe, thank you,” she attempted to smile, “Is it okay if I borrow Sting for a few minutes?”

Sting could feel the combined weight of both his parent’s glances, but it was his father who answered. “Of course.”

Just as he was getting up from the stool, he felt his father’s hand grab his and squeeze tightly as he mouthed the words Just be yourself at him. He gave a small nod in return and led the way outside through the sliding door.

“Do you wanna...sit here?” he gestured towards the bench swing where they had often whiled away entire afternoons, feeling kind of awkward and unsure what to say.

“Okay,” Yukino’s voice was quiet, and her movements were stiff as she sat down. Sting sat next to her rocking the swing slowly to give his antsy legs something to do.

They sat like this for several moments, neither saying a word, and Sting came to the conclusion that she had come to break off their friendship. The way she had rung the doorbell instead of coming in like she always did, how she wouldn’t even look at him.

It hurt, but he decided to be the bigger person.

“Sting, I-”

“It’s okay-”

Sting stopped talking and gestured to her to continue.

“I, uhm, I wanted to say I was sorry for running off on you like that,” Yukino’s voice quavered, and when she finally looked at him he was shocked to see the sadness clouding her usually sunny features,” You’re probably pretty mad at me, huh?”

“Mad?” Sting’s head jerked in confusion, “No, of course not. I was just scared that you’d hate me and wouldn’t want to be friends anymore.”

“No, of course I want to be friends, the best of friends. I just-” Yukino sighed, “I was embarrassed and a little hurt and confused.”

“It was probably dumb of me to think that-” she began, and once again, Sting could hear the tremble in her voice. It made him feel terrible for making her feel that way, but he also knew he couldn’t have avoided the situation for much longer.

She took a deep breath, but it didn’t seem to help much. “Sorano said I was being silly, that this way I could have you forever and we could talk about boys and go shopping and-”

She wasn’t able to continue, as the tears that she had been trying to contain refused to stay hidden any longer.

Sting tapped her on her shoulder, and when she finally peered at him, he held out his arms in silent invitation. Yukino hesitated for a moment before accepting his embrace.

“You’re not silly, it’s not like you can choose who you like or anything…” Sting talked while letting her cry out her feelings in his arms. He sighed before apologizing, not for who he was, but for how he had inadvertently made her feel. “I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you.”

“Yeah, Sorano said that too,” she sniffled, moving away to begin the interrogation he’d been expecting, “How long have you known?”

Sting averted his eyes and kept them fixed on the flowers in his mother’s garden, “About two years, I guess…”

“Oh. That’s a long time,” Yukino replied, and Sting could hear it, the hurt in her voice, intensifying the guilt he’d already felt over the way he’d handled this.

“You could have told me,” she chided, “I’m your best friend, and I didn’t even have a clue.”

“No, I couldn’t,” Sting snapped, frustrated that she still didn’t seem to get it, “especially not with the way you were acting.”

“I’m sorry,” he sighed, immediately regretting his outburst, “that was uncalled for. It’s just… none of this is easy for me. I’ve heard the way people talk at school about this stuff, what was I supposed to do?”

“You don’t need to apologize, you’re right, I was out of line,” she replied, holding his gaze evenly.

“I did want to tell you,” Sting ran his fingers through his hair, thinking of all the times he’d considered the idea, but something always made him hold back, and then she’d developed a crush on him. “But I- I was nervous about how you’d react, and I had no idea how or when to bring it up.”

Yukino nodded before looking down at her hands which were clasped on her lap, “It just all feels so strange, we used to tell each other everything, and I don’t want that to change.”

“Neither do I,” Sting shook his head, “No more secrets?” He held out his hand with only his pinky extended, breathing a sigh of relief when Yukino met it with hers right away.

“No more secrets.”

“So...are we good?” Sting still felt a little unsure until she flashed him one of her smiles. It wasn’t as vibrant as always, but he could glimpse a ghost of her usual smile lurking underneath, and he knew then that they were going to be okay.

“Yeah, we’re good,” she assured him.

“Thank God, I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d rather spend a lifetime of talking about boys and going shopping with.”

“Good,” Yukino managed a giggle,” cause you seriously need some fashion help.”

“You know what?” Sting examined the clothes he was wearing, wrinkling his nose at how plain they felt. When he was still younger, he hadn’t given a damn about what anyone thought of his fashion choices, and he’d love to get that back after hiding for so long.

“You’re totally right. Half the contents of my closet are already on the floor, I might as well throw some stuff out and get a new wardrobe,” he decided.

Yukino rolled her eyes and teased, “How is that any different from how your room normally looks?”

“Shots fired.”

Yukino laughed as she swatted away Sting’s finger guns. The sliding door opened, and they turned to see his parents bringing out plates of food.

“Everything okay, you two?”

Sting smiled at his parents, “Yeah, everything’s just fine.”

And for the first time that day, he actually believed it.

#fairy tail #ftdadsau #ftlgbtpride2020 #sting eucliffe #ftlgbtales #I Take Pride In What I Am 2020 #prompt: quiet #fics #dads pride 2020

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koiyyo · 4 years

Note

hnng i want to request a lot of things but i’m scared to but!!! how would the classes play animal crossing and/or their favorite villagers if it wouldn’t be too hard! thank u

hi, mod kiwi here! thanks for the ask, anon- don’t be afraid to ask us whatever!! :)

(also me and irusu r really cool and helped) -mod corn

here we go! animal crossing time!

dr1 cast!

makoto

- plays daily- his favorite villager is probably poppy- his favorite special villager is shrunk- silly axolotl man- got really confused the first time one of his tools broke- almost started crying- invites every animal he meets into his island no matter what- does EVERY favor villagers ask of him - actually likes bunny day and thinks the eggs are adorable

kyoko

- only got it because makoto BEGGED her to get it- her favorite villager is judy she’s hella cute- her favorite special villager is sable - just chilling- tons of purple flowers on her island - doesn’t like peppy villagers, feel like they’re too hyper for her- puts a lot of care into her villagers doe- likes going to a mystery island and just investigating,,, unless it has tarantulas

byakuya

- surprisingly really likes animal crossing- acts like he doesn’t- his favorite villager is raymond… of course- his favorite special villager is tom nook- chased around makoto holding an axe one time- makoto was literally crying- makoto thought that you could actually kill people with axes in animal crossing- byakuya found this amusing

sayaka

- actually enjoys ac a lot- her favorite villager is chrissy, she just has awesome vibes- her favorite special villager is mabel cause she’s,, blue,, - loves taking videos/pictures of villagers singing- tries to hum along,, fails- her islands are always covered in tons of flowers (mostly blue!!)- enjoys inviting people to her island and showing them around

junko

- takes ac too seriously- her favorite villager is definitely audie cause she’s an embodiment of fashion statement- her favorite special villager is sable cause who doesn’t love clothing- harasses mukuro to come to her island anytime she plays- will dig holes everywhere whenever someone visits- her house should be in a magazine it’s so pretty,,- new outfit for everyday of the month- hosts fashion shows religiously with her friends or anyone she can get her hands on

mukuro

- doesn’t really play just sits back and watches junko- plays on her save every now and then doe- favorite villager is vivian since she reminds her of junko- favorite special villager is sable- doesn’t like talking to villagers, feels like they're judging her- if a villager pisses her off she makes plans to kill them- she can’t, so she settles for bonking them until they leave

chihiro

- avid ac fan- favorite villager is sheldon, he can respect the hustle- favorite special villager is isabelle cause she’s precious- cries if he accidentally hurts a villagers feelings- is hella rich- loves decorating around the villagers’ house as best he can- his island is more nature themed,, its just more relaxing- takes tons of scenic pictures, mostly with mondo and taka

mondo

- “i would never play a BABY game”- next thing he knows, he’s up at 3 am whispering how cute the villagers are- favorite villager is tex he’s so chonky (and his taste in fashion is top tier)- favorite special villager is k.k cause Damn He Vibes- will constantly run over his flower and almost throw his console- asks chihiro for advice constantly- “h-how do i get.. good fish..”- quality bonding time- doesn’t tell people he plays but gushes about it in private

taka

- claims he doesn’t have time for it- he actually does,, and plays it any chance he gets- favorite villager is kid cat cause he’s so funky- favorite special villager is blathers since he teaches him a lot- can’t handle lazy villagers, they didn’t do anything wrong he just feels like they will slack off in his uptight town smh- doesn’t really care about designing his town, mostly completing tasks he needs to- likes having red flowers everywhere tho- will cry if he doesn’t get all the fish/insects he needs on time- beats up any visitor that leaves something on the ground

toko

- attempted to buy Doom instead- favorite villager is coco, she’s just so cute/creepy- favorite special villager is jack he vibes- hates interacting with her villagers cause she feels like she’ll mess it up- tried to get byakuya to let her on his island, or for him to visit hers- is very thorough about decorating her island- tries to have a story behind it so it feels more unique- always ugly sobs when her flowers end up gone

jill

- attempted to buy AC instead, she won- favorite villager is lucky, feels like he has serial killer vibes- favorite special villager is jack- runs over any flowers that toko tries to plant- tries to make the island scary themed- if any villager “looks at her wrong” she harasses them daily- leaves them gruesome letters even tho they cant understand

hiro

- doesn’t even know how he got a copy he just does- favorite villager is sherb- favorite special villager is wisp since he likes getting stuff, he likes harvey too- doesn’t bother putting effort into designing his island- only plays while high so he thinks the villagers are kinda scary- “why are they,, staring at me like that,,,”- has never repaid his debt to tom nook

hina

- her brother was the one who introduced her to the series, loves it- favorite villager is ketchup cause shes cute and can swim!!- favorite special villager is gulliver since he’s goofy- loves fishing anytime she can- always plays when she wakes up early in the morning and before bed- anytime she gets something new she acts like a child on christmas- thinks all villagers are cute and got pouty when she couldn’t have them all on her island- can never outrun tarantulas ):

sakura

- loves playing when hina is around- her favorite villager is maddie, reminds her of hina- favorite special villager is daisy mae she’s just really cute- hina helps her decorate her island since she doesn’t care that much- gets sad if she accidentally hits a villager- enjoys playing at night since it’s relaxing- constantly being stung by wasps pls help her

celeste

- favorite villager is portia she’s fancy as hell- favorite special villager is celeste duh- likes taking slow strolls through her museum to see her progress- her house is very victorian-esque- lots of tables with tea around her island- likes designing gothic clothes- anything on her island that can be black is - has a crime scene hidden on her island just for the hell of it

hifumi

- favorite villager is snooty, wants her to step on him- favorite special villager is isabelle- his island is only anime themed- has anime girl “posters” all over his house, and on his clothing- always gets stung by wasps and claims that it’s unfair- no one interacts with him

leon

- didn’t think he’d be into ac- favorite villager is leonardo- favorite special villager is k.k- doesn’t play this game very religiously- his island shows that smh- says he’ll break his console if he gets another sea bass- likes having a relaxing walk while playing to calm him down doe- outfit is just a baseball jersey

komaru

- favorite villager is felicity- favorite special villager is isabelle- likes playing with makoto and toko- her island is very cute, whenever someone tells her this she gets vry flustered- the shine in her eyes gets 10x brighter when she catches a big fish- loves staring at her aquarium- all her clothing is pastel and cute- has every type of tree on her island,, for the vibe

dr2!!

hajime

- enjoys ac- gets confused every 2 seconds doe- one time chiaki make rosie move out of hajime’s island as a prank. he will never forgive her for this- his favorite villager is rosie cuz she’s just adorable,, also vibes with kabuki- his favorite special character is flick. funky chameleon boy- grumbles about how he misses rosie constantly- loves tangy doe,, calls her orange juice

nagito

- loves to play with hajime and chiaki- only villagers that he likes ever move into his island bc of his luck- one time rosie moved into his island. hajime was fucking pissed- his favorite villager is ruby because she was one of his first animals to move into his island- his favorite special character is jack- likes having green flowers everywhere- got every fish he needed too cause of his damn luck

chiaki

- had her hands on it the second the game was released. plays constantly- always has an absurd number of bells and nook miles- her favorite villager is lolly :”)- her favorite special character is blathers bc funny sleepy owl man- has never seen daytime cause she sleeps during the day- even if she’s lazy her island is gucci as hell- invites hajime to her island just to bonk him and leave him to fight wasps

ibuki

- camped outside of gamestop till it opened, screamed when she got her hands on a copy- her favorite animal is definitely bella- favorite special villager is k.k., attends all his concerts, and has all his songs- anytime she makes a mistake she’ll just yell “NO!”- is actually pretty calm playing- will give all the villagers wacky voices, ends up in snort laughter- doesn’t like fishing cause she always pulls the rod in to early- loves having colors EVEYRRYWRHERE

mikan

- favorite villager is fauna- favorite special villager is lable- anytime she gets stung she’s on top of it, has tons of medicine- cries when she does anything wrong- worries if her villagers judge her- sucks at fishing- all of her clothing has at least one (1) bandaid included cause why not- her actual villager has a bandaid on its face for the aesthetic™- loves when she’s sitting on a bench and a villager joins

mahiru

- has so many random photos of nature or villagers- favorite villager is tasha she’s vry cute!!- favorite special villager is pavé since HES flamboyant and good for pictures- her island is very aesthetic- tons of pretty flowers everywhere, and everything place is just aligned perfectly somehow- loves touring others islands, especially hiyoko’s- her outfit has a drawn on camera for the vibe

peko

- avid fan of animal crossing- if you cant interact with real life animals then games >>- favorite villager is all of them (but favors marshal more,, reminds her of fuyuhiko)- favorite special villager is isabelle- has never bullied or hit one (1) of her villagers, cherishes them too much- will send them letters saying how much she loves them from time to time- her island is very pretty and all her villagers are decorated outside- forgets to eat dinner or sleep cause she plays it so much

akane

- “how many things in the game can i eat”- favorite villager is katt cause she’s so INDEPENDENT- favorite special villager is jingle, always makes her excited- has a makeshift restaurant on her island- all her outfits have food somewhere on them- every fruit tree she can get she has, she requires food 24/7- constantly threatens to fight tom nook for putting her in debt

fuyuhiko

- FAV VILLAGER MARSHAL 100%- also pashmina cause she reminds him of natsumi- natsumi was the one who convinced him to get it, showed it to peko- now they play it every night together before bed- yells at villagers anytime they get in his way then apologizes profusely- peko has to help him design his island he just doesn’t get it- takes her on ac dates, they just stargaze or look at their aquariums- likes to talk to the villagers as if they can hear him,, will blush and deny if peko points it out

sonia

- favorite villager is tia because she “looks fancy”- favorite special villager is pavé- has tons of outfits related to disney princesses- her island is very modern looking, prefers stone things than wooden- has tons of fashion shows- everything about her island is clean and aligned- lets gundham visit a lot to check in on her cute villagers- hella rich has that bell cash money

kazuichi

- compliments sonia’s island everyday even if he hasn’t been allowed on it- favorite villager is freya, loves her colors- favorite special villager is harvey cause he vibes- screams anytime he gets a big fish- island lowkey looks like trash but sonia gives him advice amen- is pretty smart about wasps, but lacks iq with anything else like tarantulas- unironically celebrates the villagers’ birthdays- even if he’s feral he likes to take a chill pill and play ac

teruteru

- ew- favorite villager is merengue- favorite special villager is isabelle- tries to flirt with villagers through letters- all the villagers on his island are wamen- tried to buy nude qr codes,, failed- always has an apron on and has a little cafe on his island

imposter

- favorite villager is keaton since he’s funky- favorite special villager is blanca- scoffs anytime they miss an insect or fish- dedicated to ac after they said they wouldn’t be- their island is actually pretty well decorated, they enjoy having flowers everywhere- until they run over them and regret living

hiyoko

- favorite villager is soleil, tiny and cute- favorite special villager is jack- mahiru suggested ac to her and then she got obsessed- always bullies her villagers, its a miracle they haven’t moved out- pitfall seeds buried all over her island for poor, unsuspecting visitors- her island is akin to hell no one wants to visit her- its a shame since its so pretty tho- likes visiting places with mahiru and letting her take photos- enjoys spinning to pretend she’s dancing

gundham

- his favorite villagers are all the hamsters- his favorite special villager is daisy mae- has played since the first game, religious fan of it- never been rude to one of his villagers- takes designing very seriously and it pays off- despite his very colorful island his outfits are pretty dark- walks around sonia’s island a lot and they stargaze sometimes- played it for 24 hours straight once, almost died- goes on to ac forums and starts flame wars with anyone that bullies their villagers (mainly hiyoko)

nekomaru

- plays every now and then, loves it a lot- favorite villager is kevin since he vibes- favorite special villager is jingle, gets him hyped- anytime a villager starts singing he’ll yell “YOU’RE DOING GREAT”- doesn’t know how to decorate,, at all,,- his house is just another storage room to him- is in tons of debt due to tom, would rather buy expensive stuff with his bells- yells when fishing. doesn’t matter if its a big fish or not, he just does- will hype up someone when he goes to their island

dr v3!

shuichi

- kaede convinced him to get it and loves it- favorite villagers are punchy and beau, he just thinks theyre funky- favorite special villager is flick cause he’s laid back- waterfalls all over his island, says its a memorial to the waterfalls of tears he loses every night- visits his friends islands a lot- has tons of blue flowers and hasn’t ruined them once amen- kokichi ruined them once though. he cried- island is very aesthetic since it’s mostly nature themed- cries happy tears when villagers do ANYTHING- cherishes anything his friends gift him- except for kokichi, he sent him a threat and a shirt saying “nerd”

maki

- doesn’t tell a lot of people she plays it, very shy about it- favorite villager is cherry- favorite special villager is celeste- everything on her island is red and pink- even if she’s tough on the inside she loves having a cute island- has a place specifically to sit and watch the stars (mainly for when kaede and/or kaito is with her)- gets overly defensive when people ask why she loves her villagers so much- “I JUST-” sobs “DO”- gets bullied by kokichi for anything she does while playing- resulted in a broken arm and trampled flowers. F

himiko

- only plays at night until tenko convinces her to wake up earlier- favorite villager is bob- favorite special villager is k.k- just likes vibing doesn’t take anything to seriously- tries her best for her outfits to resemble a magician- preforms “magic” shows ( it’s really just her throwing down items and claiming it appeared magically )- tenko and angie drag her all across their islands daily, acts like she doesn’t love it but its the main reason she still plays- anytime she gets something new she just shrugs- doesn’t like zipper and tenko has to assure her it isn’t a murderer tracking her location

kaede

- favorite villager is bianca- favorite special villager is k.k, unironically likes his music- has a piano in every room of her house- pretends to play said pianos for friends that are visiting- rainbow flowers everywhere- except red because she gives those all to maki- convinces people to have fashion shows with her, no actual winners, but they all win in her heart- plays it a lot in her free time, kind of addicted- likes to hum along with singing villagers- everything about her island is just hella cute

rantaro

- “whats an animal crossing”- and ever since that day he’s been a religious fan, amen- favorite villager is chief, likes making “that ain’t it chief” jokes- favorite special villager is k.k, will listen to his music whenever he’s staring off into space- his island is lazily made but still looks so good??- will just stare at butterflies before remembering he should catch them- “what’s the point of an ocean if i can’t sail it bro..”- loves playing at night cause of shooting stars- always wishes for kokichi to stop sending him hate letters

kirumi

- favorite villager is whitney and tia since theyre,, cool n chill- favorite special villager is isabelle- her house and island are 100% CLEAN- has a zen garden behind her house- anytime someone visits her island she offers them tea- treats the villagers like her own family- likes sending them letters with perfect grammar, just pleases her soul- has never gotten stung by a wasp her iq is large- her outfit looks like a maid amen- kokichi always ask her to clean his island, never happened

ryoma

- favorite villager is rasher- favorite special villager is kicks- doesn’t get the appeal of ac- will play it for like 5 minutes tops- enjoys the fishing aspect doe- anytime he visits someones island he will just sit on the shore and stare out into the ocean- thanks god that his villager is the same height as all the animal ones, now he isn’t short (:

korekiyo

- body outlines, blood, and bloody summoning ritual circles everywhere on his island- favorite villager is lucky- favorite special villager is jack and blathers- keeps scary looking fish in his house- said house is dark and probably has an occult book somewhere- curses his villagers in an unknown language whenever they forsake him- every screenshot of a villager he has includes him behind a tree staring menacingly at them- doesn’t invite people to his island, people don’t even wanna come- if he somehow ends up on somebody's island he’ll stalk them- became an urban legend on all the ac forums

angie

- her favorite villager is ankha- favorite special villager is isabelle and jingle- anytime a villager moves in she says “atua has blessed angie with a cute villager!”- likes yellow flowers- her outfit is just a smock with paint on it amen- sends people and villagers letters wishing them good health every. single. day.- likes tagging along with tenko and himiko whenever they do something- loves chasing butterflies

tenko

- was very hyped over the game since everybody else hyped it up- favorite villager is nibbles and cookie they’re just VIBING- favorite special villager is isabelle (screams anytime she is on screen)- will wake up himiko or angie at 3 am to flex the big fish she just got- got rich just to buy them gifts- anytime a guy is in her presence she bonks them with a net- this is the reason she has no male villagers, and no males invited. periadt.- has matching outfits with da girls- grows lots of flowers (mainly to give to her friends amen)- cherishes this game cause it gives her an excuse to spend time with da girls

miu

- favorite villager is olivia - favorite special villager is shrunk- constant sex jokes- her outfit looks like a stripper deadass- harasses people about not knowing how to play when she, herself, does not have a damn clue- almost ruined her console cause she’ll spit out her drink when she gets a big fish- everything she does is feral- never stops running so she doesnt have flowers- kokichi steals any flowers she may have anyway- decorating? whats that? just throw random stuff on ur island

gonta

- his favorite villager is joey cause he’s funny looking and trying his best- his favorite special villager is blathers- island looks pretty natural, just dirt paths every now and then- will hunt down an insect even if he has it already- was sad he had to give up his insects to blathers, then realized... he can catch them again!!- has a garden and always gets excited when butterflies fly around- golden net to show off how much of a pro he is at collecting insects- gets shy anytime someone visits but his islands so cute,,

kaito

- favorite villager is apollo because he’s named after the apollo 11- favorite special villager is harvey, can respect his vibes- likes walking around with maki and shuichi- tries his best to play it but he’s kinda dumb,,- whenever gets something new he loses all his brain cells in excitement- will probably never pay tom nook back. he is clueless about even being in debt.- mostly plays before bed cause he stares at the stars- will send maki pictures of shooting stars even if its 2 am- island is pretty natural since he forgets to decorate it,,

kokichi

- favorite villager is pietro cause he always compares him to people- loves all the mouse villagers- favorite special villager is jack and blanca- all over his island is just. holes and pitfall seeds.- has fallen into the holes plenty of times himself- sends all of his friends letters, which just consist of him making fun of them- tons of carnival things around his island since “ur invited to the circus clown”- his house looks like jail for no reason- clowns others for having poor taste in fashion when he just cosplays a RAT- also has an outfit that looks like a trash can xoxo

kiibo

- favorite villager is ribbot, they’re practically the same- favorite special villager is snowboy and blathers- anytime he reads text its so robotic,, hella funny to whoever's playing with him- everything also confuses him- “what is a .. c+??”- is actually very efficient and paid off his tom nook debts in no time- respects his villagers a lot and will give them gifts- his favorite part is chasing butterflies, usually misses tho- accidentally shot a gift balloon over water, searched for it for over 10 minutes- anytime someone does something he just does a happy emote @ them,,

tsumugi

- favorite villager is tasha she’s a bad bithc- favorite special villager is blanca- has so many different outfits as different anime characters- her island is so well decorated- loves taking aesthetic screenshots with her anime outfits- takes commissions for designing clothing amen- runs an ac instagram just to flex how pretty her things are- actually enjoys the game a lot, especially with other people

i fucking hate tumblr formatting - mod irusu who edited this

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dreadlock-detective · 6 years

Note

How hard is it to choose colours for your (and my favourite) art style?

Eheh, well I canonly speak for myself, not for whoever you’re flattering by callingyour favorite, so I’ll stick to that! ;)

I suppose theliteral answer is “Usually not too hard?” but that’s boring solets see what I can ramble about color choice and such! Also I’ll put some links to James Gurney’s stuff because he is amazing and I cannot recommend his books enough!

(This’ll be in 3 sections - Color schemes, Contrast and leading the eye, and picking colors for shadows~ from longest to shortest too)

Part 1: COLOR SCHEMES

So I used to bereally bad at this until I got really into pixel art where I learneda few important lessons. First, the entire color palette workingtogether is what’s most important, not any single color, and second,colors work together in surprising ways COMPLETELY dependent on what’s around them!

For example, this isthe color palette for the Commedore 64 from back in the day. All whopping 16 colors the system could possibly display:

Individually thosecolors look pretty muddy, muted, and dull. But when you put them alltogether in an image they actually work pretty well together, because none of them completely break from the others. Usingmy own stuff as an example, I used the C64 palette to challengemyself with remaking a very colorful, very saturated screenshot from the Nintendo 64game Mischief Makers (because I love that game and both systems have“64” in the name so why not~)

So I turned this: (Nintendo 64 version, with waaay more colors available)

Into this:

Now, there’s clearly a BIG difference in the colors used, but I feel like everything still looks fine on its own. The muddy colors look a lot more harmonious when seen in an image than individually, with the brighter colors, such as the gems, even popping quite a bit.

For that second point I mentioned about colors working differently based on the colors around them, look at the character’s green hair, the green gem, and the green on the top of the blocks. They are all the exact same color. The green gem and hair, though, are shaded with a deeper, more saturated green and contrasted with a bright white, making it appear more saturated than the exact same green on the platforms, because the platforms’ green is surrounded by duller colors.

So it’s important to keep in mind that not only is each color important in the context of the whole, but also that what’s immediately around a color will massively impact how they appear, even when they are the exact same!

Important things to consider when picking colors is how close/far they are to each other in hue (the color itself, represented by the outer wheel in the image below), the saturation (how much gray is in the color, which effects how vibrant it is, which is the left->right in the box) and value (how much black is in the color, which is the top->bottom in the box).

Essentially the further away two colors are from the each other in any of these 3 directions the more they will stand out from each other. I’m not much of a teacher for color theory in general, so the best advice I can give is just to practice and to check out limited palettes other people have made and see how they handle it. In general, though, I try to keep most of the colors relatively close to each other in saturation and warm/cool colors, and then use one accent color that stands out in small amounts to make certain bits pop~

Links time!

Gurney’s post/video on Color Gamut, or manually limiting colors and how surrounding colors alters our perception of them (check out what appears as yellow in the cool colored image as opposed to the warm)

Gurney’s post on color in context and how many colors still register as bright yellow

Fun little tidbit about old cartoons made with limited palettes

Part 2: Contrast, and leading the eye!

Okay, so these other two might be a bit shorter. Basically, when you’re picking colors you want some to stand out and some to fall back. If everything is competing for attention it can be really hard to look at and the eye doesn’t know what’s important! One of the main things to look out for with this is contrast, as the eye is easily drawn to areas that are different than their surroundings.

Let me use two designs I’d had for my character Caelia - the left is her old color scheme and outfit and the right the new one:

Now, aside from minor differences in saturation, they’re actually pretty similar, but the one on the right I think works a lot better. In both of them the yellow acts as a strong accent color that can pull the eye, but on the old design on the left it pulls your eye in two directions - towards the headband and the coat trim, neither of which are actually important. Almost the entire rest of the design lacks that yellow so your eyes are actually drawn -away- from the character’s face and body. Imagine the coat being blown behind her as she’s doing an action pose and, yeah, the accent color doesn’t actually help anything.

The new design, I think, fixes that. Even though it remains an accent color the yellow now appears throughout the design. Her hair is now a lighter shade of yellow which is distinguished from the yellow on the clothing while also framing her face. Her torso now has a yellow accent on it so it draws the eye and, combined with the hair, has a strong distinction between her upper half (which is more yellow) and her lower half (which is mostly red). And finally what was the coat now wraps around her with an additional little strip on a waist sash. Now the yellow trim can easily allow the eye to figure out how her legs are positioned by how they wrap around them, instead of just hanging behind them.

It’s also important to point out that the hair is less saturated along with being lighter than the rest of the yellow - it both looks a bit more natural, blends with her skin color more, and also doesn’t compete with the high saturation in the clothing.

None of this is to say the left one is necessarily a bad design or conveys information poorly, just that the right one is a more unified design that is easier to understand at a glance. It’s something to keep in mind, but not a hard rule or anything. But remember that if EVERYTHING tries to stand out you’ll just end up with a mess.

LINKS!

Gurney on leading the eye with contrast and why what everything I just said might be bunk but might not be and also I think what I said applies better to simplified, cartoon forms as opposed to realism, since lines and blocks of color read differently than natural forms and lighting.

Spokewheeling - a composition technique that can be applied to character design as well.

Shapewhelding - another composition technique to think about, and can be important to AVOID at times (happens a lot in pixel art - dont want things melding together accidentally)

Gurney on why all of that might be bunk for general art composition anyway but might not be, but again I believe is still important for more stylized art

Part 3: SHADOWS!

Okay, so it’s nearing 1am as I write this and I’ll be honest I have the absolute least technical knowledge on this part, so I’ll tell you how I go about it but I STRONGLY suggest reading Gurney’s information on it (Again, seriously, I love his books, and “Color and Light” in particular is amazing and contains many of these posts and more)

When it comes to shading I have a pretty quick and dirty way to figure out what to do:

in case the text isn’t legible:

Choose a color for all shadows to move towards (usually a purple or blue)

Grab the base color for the thing I’m adding shadow to

Shift the color towards the direction of the shadow color I chose, and then make it darker and more saturated

And I do the exact opposite for highlights - I move away from the shadow color and then make it lighter and less saturated

Usually, anyway. And this method works best on the kind of color wheel I have there, but it can be adapted to most anything. And how far you move towards the shadow color and how dark/saturated you make the shadows will change the mood of the piece a lot. The colors in the screenshots are for a pretty light colored, low contrast piece.

I would go on more about it but I don’t actually have solid reasoning behind it other than it tends to look alright and I don’t want to spread incorrect thinking. Just… for the love of all that is colorful, DONT just shift the color towards black or white. It looks muddy and gross. Please. I beg you~

ON THE PLUS SIDE, Here’s a slew of awesome links!

Gurney and Chromatic Shadows Part 1!

Chromatic Shadows Part 2!

Relative color on skin tones!

Complementary shadows!

Induced colors! (or how our eyes can make highlights appear as different colors)

And I cant stress enough how great Gurney’s Color and Light book is for this stuff. I just can’t explain much ‘cuz I’m bad at actually studying this stuff well enough to talk about it!

Anyway, that about does it for my waaay longer than I thought and hella reply to a single sentence question! Hope that helped you, or SOMEONE at least! It was fun to ramble on about regardless~ (oh geeze yeah maybe rambling after midnight was a bad plan? Hopefuly this actually makes sense lol. If anyone needs any clarification just let me know!)

Cheers! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

#artist advice #tutorial #color #shadow #dreadlock detective #ask

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gritsandbrits · 5 years

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Ben 10 OC: Gloria Tennyson

Name: Gloria Aretha Tennyson

Age: 17

Species: Human

Continuity: Fanmade (ignores OV and most of AF and UA since I want to start fresh)

Alignment: Good/Chaotic Good

Physical Appearance

- Black wavy hair that glows yellow-orange when using her powers

- Brown skin (think Rihanna brown)

- Green eyes

- Red plaid shirt

- White tank top

- Blue jeans

- Black boots

- Golden sun necklace

Costume as Soleon

- Brown, gold, and tan full-body leotard

- Gauntlets with built in gloves

- Golden boots

- Headband with lion ears

Family

- Miranda (twin)

- Kenny (younger brother in Fanon)

- Belle (youngest sister)

- Jo Lockenky (mother)

- Alter!Kendrix (technical AU counterpart and honorary sister)

- OV!Kenny (technically her brother from another mother and honorary brother)

- Max Tennyson (great-grandfather)

- Gwendolyn (first cousin once removed)

- Kevin and Devlin* (relatives and Gwen's family)

- Ben 10k (father in Fanon)

Friends

- Vincent Salazar (Rex and Circe's son)

- Ginger Lee (Juniper Lee's daughter)

- Ishmael Saturday (Zak Saturday's son)

- The Future Rooters

- The Rooks

- Prince Fahrad (love interest and son of my other OC Niya)

Enemies

- Eon

-Maltruant and his goonies

- Meness (formerly)

- Random criminals

- Kevin 11,000 (only in my version of Ken 10, non-canon to my actual fanon)

Powers

- Sun magic

- Solarkinesis

- Photokinesis

- Heat generation and manipulation

- Athletic skills

- Parkour

- Wrestling

- Enhanced strength

- Super Claws (with gauntlets)

Backstory: The eldest child of Ben and Jo, Gloria is a goofy warrior with a competitive and love for seeking challenges. Though she may be too rebellious for some folks to handle, overall she is not malicious but very mischievous and hopes to make a name for herself one day. In the regular fanon she and her rock band try to make it big while stopping threats of all kind.

Her backstory tends to change but in my rewrite of "Ken 10" she and her sister was born five years prior to the episode "Ben 10,000." Ben and Jo weren't together at the time but after a few years of reconciliation they decided to give their relationship another go. By the time "Ken 10" rolls in, Glory is fifteen years old and snuck out to participate in an underground fighting ring rather than staying at the HQ to celebrate Kenny's birthday. Ben ended up grounding her until he gets an idea to teach his kids how to use their powers responsibly.

During the Time War arc, Gloria, as well as her sisters Belle and Miranda, travel to the Canon!OV timeline to stop Eon from taking over the timelines. However they are hindered by a new enemy simply called "Meness." Gloria is more of the go-getter type than one to play damsel in distress and her experiences increases her maturity.

Favorite Things

- Sports such as hiking and roller-skating

- Animals, especially cats

- The colors yellow, orange, and red

- Wrestling

- Winning

- Social functions

- Showing up her rivals

- Showing off in a good way

- Meeting childhood heroes

- Music (alternative rock, hip hop, classic rock)

Pet Peeves and Least Favorite Things

- Pickles and other pickled food

- Being told what to do

- Staying on the sidelines

- Sourpusses

- The possibility of losing

- Dark colors

- Dogs

- Seeing her family in danger

- Accidentally burning something like new clothes with her powers

- Time Travel (too many damn worlds to keep track of!)

- Being stuck in one place

- Tears

- Anger (she's rebellious but not very prone to anger nor does she believe extreme anger is appropriate)

- Actually being proven wrong

Misc

- Glory did not inherit any of her mother's powers because in my magic/power system a person has to develop and hone their seasonal attribute. Because of her personality she develops an affinity for Summer.

- Her symbol is a sun with noticeably lion features

- Her name is a mashup of the word "solar" and the Greek origin word for lion, "leon."

- Her Plumber badge color is yellow

- Gloria used to have a black and white view on conflict before her experience in the Time War and Meness cause her to realize that there are gray areas

- Glory is a Primary Color Champion since her civilian wardrobe consists of all three primary colors plus white and black for a basic yet stylish look

- The Soleon costume is not based around an existing design, so it doesn't look like Ben 10k's outfit or Future Gwen's for that matter.

- Gloria is super close to her mom and tries to follow her example and takes her advice to heart

- Gloria and her dad don't see eye to eye all the time, especially with her rebellious nature. However the two start to understand each other as time goes on

- Gloria was going to have an animal familiar named Soleon before I dropped the idea to make it the name of her superhero alias

- Even though Gloria likes parties she's not big on dressing up for the occasion. Mostly she just wears a nice pair of polo shirts, dress pants or a pantsuit

- Gloria and Alter!Kendrix are foil:

- Whereas Glory is friendly and goofy, Alter!Kendrix is rather bitter and doesn't have a sense of humor

- Glory has a brighter color scheme while Alter!Kendrix has a darker palette

- Glory and Ben 10k have a good father/daughter relationship while Alter!Kendrix is estranged from her father

- Glory's warm and bright disposition reflects in the type of powers she has; Meanwhile Kendrix's cold and despondent demeanor is reflected in her costume and powers

- Glory's middle name is taken from the late Aretha Franklin

- Glory's aesthetic is a mix of two things: lovely assistants that you see in a magic show or on TV, and performance lions

- Aside from hiking, swimming and wrestling, Glory also enjoys parkour and surfing

- Glory was inspired by Stella from Winx Club!

- Despite being twins, Glory and Miranda has vastly different personalities and don't always get along. They also don't do twin speak as both consider it very creepy

- Glory sees all of Ben's alternate children as her own siblings. She hugs OV! Kenny and makes light-hearted jokes, and after she finds out about Meness's backstory attempted to help the angry teenager.

- Glory is proud of her heritage and doesn't let anyone shame her for being biracial. That means every time she meets her other first cousin once removed Pattibelle (Jo's cousin) Glory always roasts her on her SJW snide remarks.

- Like Gwendolyn before her, Glory is a full-contact fighter, using wrestling moves and grappling techniques to capture an enemy. If that doesn't work then she uses brute force with her claws and sun powers.

- In her homeworld Kai had become a famous adventurer and Gloria freakin' worships her. So much that even when she sees the OV future where he dad and Kai are married she doesn't seem too torn up over it because she is aware that it's an AU.

- However Glory would like to know what happened to the Jo of that Universe

- I haven't designed her yet, but she looks like Chyna Anne McClain from Black Lightning (just imagine her wearing green contacts)

- Gloria and Prince Fahrad don't get into a relationship that quickly and remain friends until the time is right. They do help each other with their magic powers.

- Gloria forms a music band with Vincent, Ginger, and Ishmael. They function as a mix between the Hex Girls, Fresh Beat Band, and the guys from Huntik.

- Her original middle name was Alicia

#black female superhero #ben 10 original series #ben 10 fancharacter #ben 10 oc #ben10oc #ben 10k #omniverse wasn't a good sequel #and neither was af and ua #superhero oc #ben 10 oc: gloria tennyson #benxoc #ben 10 fankid #poc heroine #fan character

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aphrite-writingonly · 6 years

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Grimm Brother’s Fairy Tales Maybe Part 1?

Warnings: Major Character Death, Car Accidents, Depressive thoughts, major angst (please tell me in there are any more!)

I’m getting really dark with this one, so please be careful, and don’t read if you can’t handle this kind of stuff

“Patton! Come on! We’re gonna be late!” Roman Heart yelled again. This is the fourth time he’s called his older brother to come downstairs, and if Patton didn’t hurry up soon, they were going to be late.

“Coming!” Patton yelled back, and if the slightly muffled sound didn’t give it away, Roman would have thought he actually meant it this time. However, the door was still shut to their shared bedroom, and Roman was getting impatient.

“You’ve said that 4 times, now! Get down here or I’m dragging you down here myself!” Roman yelled back, already walking up the stairs. However, when he got up there, he saw what had kept his brother so long.

At birth, every child is given a stone at birth. Once it touches the newborns hand, it turns to a specific color. It was supposed to glow brighter the closer you got to your soulmate, and here Patton was, putting his in the bottom-most locked drawer of his dresser.

“I still don’t understand why you do this. You could be missing your chance to find your soulmate.” Roman said. They had already talked about this multiple times, and yet Patton had still not given him the answer. He just wanted his brother to be happy.

“I just don’t want Virgil to feel lonely.” Patton replied, finally putting the last of the things in the drawer, shutting and locking it. “I want to find them, too. Honestly, but I just feel bad for the poor kiddo, and with Logan having you as a soulmate, he’s as scared and alone as ever, even with Thomas not finding his, either.”

Virgil and Logan Wright, along with Thomas Foster were their friends. When they met in high school, Virgil, although he didn’t openly show it, has his stone on him at all times. However, during Sophomore year, Virgil and Logan’s mom died, leaving their father, who died a week later due to his soulmate dying. Their grandmother was given custody over them, and however hard they tried, they could not get Virgil to even remotely believe in good endings again.

“Okay,” Roman replied, giving up. He knew Patton was like a father figure to Virgil ever since his parents died, and Patton just wanted everyone to be happy, even if that meant taking away his own happiness. “Let’s go.”

When They Go To A Coffee Shop Because Coffee is Boss and That’s Where They Meet Up

Also A P.O.V Change To The Little Puffball (Patton)

We had just got to the coffee shop, and we spotted everyone already there.

Logan was sitting on one of the tables outside a book open, and by the looks of it, he was almost halfway through it. He wore a crisp, black polo with a blue and black, and tan pants. His light brown hair kept clean looking as always.

Virgil was in the seat on the right of him, about halfway asleep, leaning on Logan’s shoulder holding a cup of what Patton could only guess was coffee. He wore a purple shirt under his large hoodie, and Patton wondered how he wasn’t sweltering. He also wore black, ripped jeans and his darker brown hair fell over his eyes.

Thomas, on the other hand, was standing against the building. His phone was out, and he looked like he was texting someone. He wore a gray shirt that had a big black paw print on the front, a pair of dark blue jeans, and his medium brown hair kept out of his eyes, but other than that was a bit of a mess.When he spotted Patton and Roman, he put his phone in his back pocket and waved them over.

“Where have you guys been!? We’ve been waiting for sooo long!” Thomas whined, sounding like a whining child.

Thomas’ voice seemed to pull Logan out of his book as he put the bookmark he had in the book and set it down. The movement jostled Virgil a little, and the hoodie-clad male whined and raised his head up from Logan’s shoulder. All Logan did was take the cup out of Virgil’s hands and put a hand in his hair, stroking it in calculated movements. Virgil quieted down after a few moments and laid his head back down on his brother’s shoulder. (Great… Now I don’t know what to do….)

“What’s up with him?” Roman asked, worry in his voice.

“Didn’t get sleep again. Woke up at 6:00 a.m. to Virgil still laying wide awake in his bed,” Logan replied. This often happened now, as Virgil often worried himself enough that he couldn’t go to bed no matter what anyone did.

“Well, I’m thirsty. You guys want anything else?” Roman asked, dragging the attention away from Virgil because he knew Virgil hated any attention on him.

Roman went in as no one wanted anything, and everyone went back to what they were doing. Patton grabbed the empty seat next to Virgil and looked at the younger male in worry. Logan resumed reading his book, his hand never leaving his younger brother’s hair.

Little Time Skip Brought To You By My Inability To Create Good Sentences At The Moment

Also A Little P.O.V change to Virgil

They were getting ready to leave the little coffee shop as all of them had school and Roman, Thomas and Patton hadn’t finished their homework as school was in the morning (Logan always does the homework days before and, when Virgil can’t sleep, he does his homework as a distraction).

There was a little crosswalk they had to cross. It wasn’t a huge intersection, but there was the occasional car that would pass by.

Unfortunately, that’s what happened.

Virgil was crossing it along with the others, Logan right beside him. By the time he realized Logan had walked faster and was yelling at him to do the same, it was too late. Even if he wanted to, his sleep-deprived body just couldn’t go any faster. Virgil just tried to go faster, mentally bracing himself for the impact.

Suddenly, he felt something on his back that, to this day, he could have sworn was a hand pushing him out of the way. Luckily, the only part that got him was part of his foot under part of the tire. Unluckily, due to the unexpected force against him, had hit his head on the concrete before his body had time to figure out what was going on and react. The last thing he heard was screaming, a car screeching, a phone and footsteps. There was a sharp pain in his chest, then black

Time Skip Instead of P.O.V Change Because This Story Is Supposed To Make You Suffer (whoops)

The first thing Virgil noticed when he woke up, was that it was bright and very loud. When he got over that initial shock, he tried to open his eyes, he immediately stopped as it was even brighter than it was now.

“Roman. I think he is waking up. Turn down the lights. He won’t be used to them yet.” Was that Logan. Why were Logan and Roman here, and where was Patton? He heard an audible click, then the room became darker, which just seemed to be making the beeping louder.

“Are you sure? He doesn’t seem to be doing anything. Hey, Virgil. If you can hear us, I wouldn’t mind to see those eyes of yours.” That was definitely Roman. Deciding to listen to his advice, he opened his eyes slowly, being greeted by white walls, dimed by the lights being off.

“Hello, Virgil. It’s nice to see you again. How are you feeling?” Logan asked. Now that his eyes were open he could see that Logan was to the right of him, standing with his back against the wall. He would looked completely professional with his usual clothes, though Virgil could see the slight red in his brothers eyes that was the tell-tale sign that older had been crying recently.

Roman was on one of the hospital couches on his right. He wore a red tank top and a pair of dark blue jeans. Virgil would have thought that nothing was wrong except the prince’s usually pristine hair was messed up, as if a hand had ran through it more than once, which was Roman’s usual sign that something was wrong.

“Virgil? Are you okay? Do you need me to call a nurse?” Roman asked , worry in his voice. Virgil must have taken longer to respond than he thought.

“No. I’m good. Just a bit of pain in my leg and head.” Virgil replied, though the others didn’t look any less worried than they had been. Speaking of others, where was Patton?

“I’m gonna call a nurse. They probably want to know you are awake.” Logan said. He pressed the call button and waited. There was an uncomfortable silence hanging around all of them. Why did something seem wrong?

Time Skip Brought To You By An Answer To Most Your Questions Being Answered And Sadness Ensues

Virgil had been in the hospital for about a month now. Thomas had stopped by a couple times, but his teachers gave way more homework than Roman’s and Logan’s, so he was usually at home.

In all that time, though, he hadn’t seen Patton.. Everytime Virgil tried to ask them, someone would interrupt what he was saying. It was like the world didn’t want him to know what happened to his best friend.

He vowed to himself that he was gonna ask them now. They were both in his hospital room at about 8 at night. The nurse wasn’t gonna check up on him in about an hour, so now was as best of a time as ever.

“Hey guys, I’ve gotta question. What happened to Patton? He hasn’t appeared since the car came, and I didn’t think I did anything wrong. Did I?” Virgil asked. As soon as he finished, he thought about it. Did he do something wrong? Did Patton hate him and that was why he didn’t see him? If so, what had he done?

“N-no. You d-didn’t do an-nything wrong. H-he, uh. He isn’t here.” Roman’s voice interrupted his thoughts immediately. Roman’s voice was raw, and when Virgil looked over to him, he was crying.

“Where is he? What happened?” Virgil asked, worry in his voice. Was Patton hurt? Was he in trouble? Did someone kidnap him?

“H-he’s dead, Virgil.” Logan’s words pierced through his heart. Patton was dead? No. No. That couldn’t happen. He, he couldn’t be. There was no way. In a couple seconds, they would say that they were lying, and Patton was fine and well. He waited, and waited, but they didn’t say anything, gauging his reaction.

“You’re kidding right? He, he can’t be. He just-can-n’t!” Virgil said through his sobs. Instantly, Roman and Logan moved over to him. Logan picked up his younger brother, placing him in his lap, letting him hear his heartbeat. Roman sat on his left, running his hand through his hair, hopping to soothe the younger.

It was a couple of minutes before Virgil could even try to breath, his thoughts swirled in his head. How had it happen? When had this happened? Why didn’t he ask sooner? Could he have changed something? That last question put a pang through his heart. Could he have done something? He would have traded his life for Patton’s in a second.

After a good few minutes, he had stopped crying, but had started feeling tired. Roman’s fingers through his hair and Logan’s gentle rocking soothing him immensely. He knew he had to tell them before they asked. Before they even thought to ask, but to say it… To say it made his heart break.

However, as Virgil closed his eyes, he said something he never thought he would say.

“My soulmate was Patton.”

To be continued…

If you wish…

Ask if you would like me to continue (it will be better if I do) or want to be tagged in any of my stories!

2030 words

#major character death #virgil sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #briefly mentioned moxiety #logince #depressive thoughts #car accident #soulmate #soulmate stones #soul mate #i'm sorry #author might be sleep deprived #angst #author is sleep deprived #whoops #author might be sorry

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aphriteblack · 6 years

Text

Grimm Brother’s Fairy Tales Maybe Part 1?

Warnings: Major Character Death, Car Accidents, Depressive thoughts, major angst (please tell me in there are any more!)

I’m getting really dark with this one, so please be careful, and don’t read if you can’t handle this kind of stuff

When They Go To A Coffee Shop Because Coffee is Boss and That’s Where They Meet Up

Also A P.O.V Change To The Little Puffball (Patton)

We had just got to the coffee shop, and we spotted everyone already there.

“Where have you guys been!? We’ve been waiting for sooo long!” Thomas whined, sounding like a whining child.

“What’s up with him?” Roman asked, worry in his voice.

“Well, I’m thirsty. You guys want anything else?” Roman asked, dragging the attention away from Virgil because he knew Virgil hated any attention on him.

Little Time Skip Brought To You By My Inability To Create Good Sentences At The Moment

Also A Little P.O.V change to Virgil

There was a little crosswalk they had to cross. It wasn’t a huge intersection, but there was the occasional car that would pass by.

Unfortunately, that’s what happened.

Time Skip Instead of P.O.V Change Because This Story Is Supposed To Make You Suffer (whoops)

“Virgil? Are you okay? Do you need me to call a nurse?” Roman asked , worry in his voice. Virgil must have taken longer to respond than he thought.

“No. I’m good. Just a bit of pain in my leg and head.” Virgil replied, though the others didn’t look any less worried than they had been. Speaking of others, where was Patton?

Time Skip Brought To You By An Answer To Most Your Questions Being Answered And Sadness Ensues

Virgil had been in the hospital for about a month now. Thomas had stopped by a couple times, but his teachers gave way more homework than Roman’s and Logan’s, so he was usually at home.

“Where is he? What happened?” Virgil asked, worry in his voice. Was Patton hurt? Was he in trouble? Did someone kidnap him?

However, as Virgil closed his eyes, he said something he never thought he would say.

“My soulmate was Patton.”

To be continued...

If you wish...

Ask if you would like me to continue (it will be better if I do) or want to be tagged in any of my stories!

2030 words

#major character death #virgil sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #Briefly mentioned moxiety #logince #depressive thoughts #car accident #soulmate #soul mate stones #soul mate stone #i'm sorry #angst #the author might be sleep deprived #whoops

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wp-yahoo-style-1042-yahoopa-blog · 5 years

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'Incredibly comfy': Why everyone is obsessed with Rothy's flats (including Meghan Markle)

Yahoo Lifestyle editors review Rothy’s. (Photo: Rothy’s)

If you haven’t heard of Rothy’s before, get ready because these shoes are total game-changers. Rothy’s are the type of shoes women will stop you on the street for. Two types of scenarios may happen: a) they’re dying to know where to buy them or b) they want to acknowledge their mutual love for them. The Rothy’s story began with a key element of a woman’s wardrobe: the quintessential flat. Today, there are four key styles: the Flat ($125), the Point ($145), the Loafer ($165) and the Sneaker ($125) in a variety of bold colors and prints as well as traditional neutrals.

In 2012, two unlikely forces joined to revolutionize women’s footwear. Stephen Hawthornthwaite and Roth Martin both left their jobs in finance and design to take on the massive task of designing shoes that women want to wear and feel good in too. Without any fashion design experience, the two friends spent four years researching and developing their innovative approach to comfy footwear. In 2016, Rothy’s was finally born. The key to the duo’s success is their ability to effortlessly bridge the gap between style, comfort and sustainability.

Model wears Rothy’s Loafers in Navy Zebra and Sneakers in Bright White. (Image: Rothy’s)

Rothy’s shoes have an indistinguishable, yet versatile exterior. They are made from recycled plastic water bottles and use a 3D knit technology to get that perfect stitch. You would never know they were made from plastic by just looking at them because the shoes feel ultra comfortable on and weigh almost nothing. In fact, the flats come in at only 9.3 ounces, making them an ideal option to wear (or pack) during your morning commute, throughout the workday, while traveling and beyond. If you wear them out too much, no problem, because you can just throw them in the washing machine (yes, really!).

Rothy’s Loafers in Mocha Spot (Photo: Rothy’s)

The key to Rothy’s success in just four short years is the company’s understanding that at the core, women want stylish shoes. The “It” factor lies in Rothy’s “invisible” sustainable and comfortable design. At first glance, they look like any other pair of stylish shoes. But Rothy’s 3D knit process is seamless. It takes only approximately six minutes to complete The Point and Flat styles. The knit design allow the shoes to be flexible and malleable. The brand uses a near-perfect amount of fabric so there is no waste. Even more, the soles are made of an eco-friendly carbon-free rubber sole (which you can remove to wash too). To date, Rothy’s has already repurposed over 20 million plastic bottles that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill.

It’s no surprise then that Rothy’s has garnered a loyal following from women across the U.S. who bolster Rothy’s 1,000+ near-perfect reviews. Even Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, couldn’t resist wearing Rothy’s Point Flats during her royal tour.

Do Rothy’s shoes live up to all the hype? Yahoo Lifestyle editors put them to the test. Keep scrolling to read what happened.

Rothy’s the Point in Black Solid

Yahoo Lifestyle Executive Editor Laura Kenney reviews Rothy’s the Point in Black Solid. (Photo: Rothy’s)

Laura Kenney, Yahoo Lifestyle Executive Editor: the Point in Black Solid

I can honestly say that Rothy’s are the most comfortable flats I’ve ever owned! I tried “the Point” style in black, after seeing Meghan Markle wearing the style, because I will wear anything that she will. Well, it was the right choice. They get me to the office blister free, and look so chic, and I can “forget” to take off during the workday and still look put together. They’re so small that you can easily tuck them into your bag — I often do and forget they are there, and find myself always carrying them as “backup shoes” in case a style I’m wearing starts giving me blisters. The shoes are flexible and breathable, yet still offer support. And people love them: I wore them to a family holiday party, and my relatives from near and far (Boston and Virginia) recognized them, said they have a pair and loved the brand too — I was surprised that the brand was so widespread. Some words of advice: If you’re ordering “the Point” style, go a half size up. I’m usually an 8 or 8.5, but required a size 9 from Rothy’s due to the pointed toe. — Laura Kenney

Rothy’s the Sneaker in Sand

Yahoo Lifestyle Senior Beauty Editor Adrianna Barrionuevo reviews Rothy’s the Sneaker in Sand. (Photo: Rothy’s)

Adrianna Barrionuevo, Yahoo Lifestyle Senior Beauty Editor: the Sneaker in Sand

I wore these the entire time I was in Miami for the holidays and during the surprise few days of springlike weather in New York City. My favorite part about the slip-on style is that I could easily kick them off or slide them on (I loathe shoelaces) whether I was at the beach or going to walk my dog. Needless to say, I practically lived in these and despite wearing them for hours at a time, my feet felt comfy and the light fabric didn’t make my toes feel like they were cooking. I would recommend these for anyone who is looking for a versatile shoe that is comfortable yet stylish. Come spring, I’ll be stocking up on some of the brighter colors to pair with dresses and jeans. — Adrianna Barrionuevo

Rothy’s the Sneaker in Electric Lemon

Yahoo Lifestyle Editor Lauren Tuck reviews Rothy’s the Sneaker in Electric Lemon. (Photo: Rothy’s)

Lauren Tuck, Yahoo Lifestyle Editor: the Sneaker in Electric Lemon (limited edition color)

Because our office has a casual dress code, I spend most of my time wearing “fashion” sneakers. Because my two favorite pairs are Everlane’s Leather Street Shoe in white and Vince’s Garvey leather sneaker — I went with Rothy’s slip-on sneaker in Electric Lemon. Overall review? Big fan! Although the bright color might seem outrageous, it works with a lot of the clothing already in my wardrobe and is a welcome pop of color when I’m wearing monochrome looks. As for fit, I have very narrow feet so unfortunately these feel a little loose and I’ve slipped out of them a few times, but they make up for that in being ridiculously comfortable. They’re the type of cute shoes that you could walk for miles in and not think twice about it. Another bonus point is the fact that the shoes are very lightweight so I don’t even notice when I slip them in my bag. However, because of that, I also haven’t been able to wear them as much as I’d like because of the cold weather in New York. Looking forward to warmer temperatures! — Lauren Tuck

Rothy’s the Flat in Black Solid

Yahoo Lifestyle Senior Editor Beth Greenfield reviews Rothy’s the Flat in Black Solid. (Photo: Rothy’s)

Beth Greenfield, Yahoo Lifestyle Senior Editor: the Flat in Black Solid

I had to keep checking in the mirror to make sure I hadn’t gone outside in my slippers. How could these Rothy’s black flats be so classically stylish AND so incredibly comfy? But sure enough, they were, and enabling me to rock them with anything from a cute summer sundress to a pair of jeans and a sweater. My absolute favorite part about the shoes, though, is how they are sourced. I’m a vegan, including with my fashion, and finding a good pair of flats that are cute, durable and animal-free (let alone repurposed from recycled water bottles) is no easy feat. And yet Rothy’s makes it just that — not to mention easy feet! — Beth Greenfield

Rothy’s the Sneaker in Bright White

Yahoo Lifestyle News and Features Writer Kerry Justich reviews Rothy’s the Sneaker in Bright White. (Photo: Rothy’s)

Kerry Justich, Yahoo Lifestyle News and Features Writer: the Sneaker in Bright White

I haven’t found a pair of slip-on sneakers that I’ve loved in quite some time, so I was excited about trying a pair from Rothy’s — and they did not disappoint. I wore my bright white sneakers for both short commutes and even a long day at the mall, and they never became uncomfortable. When I first opened my Rothy’s, I was a little worried about the color since they are so stark white, but because the brand emphasizes that the shoes are machine washable, I became less concerned. They’ve proven to be pretty easy to keep clean. Now I’m excited about trying out other pairs, in different styles and patterns. — Kerry Justich

Rothy’s the Loafer in Olive Camo

Yahoo Lifestyle Fashion Editor Julie Tong reviews Rothy’s Loafer in Olive Camo. (Photo: Rothy’s)

Julie Tong, Yahoo Lifestyle Fashion Editor: the Loafer in Olive Camo

I’m going to be honest. I don’t usually wear any loafers except my Gucci’s. However, I decided to take a risk and bring a pair of Rothy’s Loafers in Olive Camo on vacation with me to Vietnam. (I’m someone who strictly wears black shoes.) However, I was in dire need of comfortable, lightweight and, most importantly, breathable shoes to wear in Vietnam’s hot tropical climate. And I’m so happy I did! During my trip, I took a total of three domestic flights, countless bus trips, hiked up a mountain and kayaked around Ha Long Bay, one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Throughout my trip, I rotated between my Rothy’s loafers, sneakers and sandals. However, I was so impressed with how well the loafers held up. They molded around my feet, and felt super supportive and comfy the whole time. No matter if I was walking or kayaking, they adjusted to each activity with ease. Because there’s no stiff or rigid elements on the loafers (you can bend the shoes), there was no “break-in” time necessary either. I’ll admit, I got them soaked during my kayak adventure, but I didn’t mind beating them up because I knew I could just throw them in the wash when I got home. The best part of it all? As a fashion editor, the camo print is super on trend and the fact that they were ultra comfy and sustainable too? Icing on the cake. I would highly recommend you bring a pair of Rothy’s into your life. You won’t regret it. — Julie Tong

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