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anyataylorjoy · 3 years

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Alright y’all, today is the day that I’ve finally managed to make a tutorial! I’m going to be showing how I created the effect in my lotr and the witcher sets!

For this tutorial you need to know how to make gifs and have a lot of time on your hands!

this is really long and really image heavy oops

I’m breaking this down into two parts: 1. Setting up and creating your gifs and 2. creating the actual transition part.

1. Guide to this tutorial

We’re going to be working with multiple smart objects and documents at once so I want to create a little keyword guide.

“small” gifs refer to your smaller gifs

“big” gifs refer to your bigger gifs

panel/document/canvas I use somewhat interchangeably here but they refer to the document where you will be placing both your small and big gifs

click on any images that are blurry so that you can view the HQ version!

1.1 Setting yourself up

The first thing to do is decide how many gifs you want to do. Standard gif width sizes for tumblr are 540px for one gif, 268px for two gifs and 177/178/177px for 3 gifs. You can do more than this, but make sure that you’re calculating in the gutter between gifs (4 px).

Height is completely up to you, but take into consideration that the upload limit is 10mb!

For my ROTK set, I did 177/178/177 x 150 which gave me a canvas size of 540x458. For my Sam set, I chose a different layout where I had four gifs of 268x150 and 3 gifs of 177/178/177 giving me the same canvas size.

(150 x three rows = 450 + 4 px for gutter x 3 = 458)

Now that you have your sizes, you’ll know how many gifs you want to do depending on how many panels. For my ROTK set I wanted to do five panels so I needed 45 small gifs and five big gifs.

The last thing I do before I start creating the gifs is to set up a new document for each panel with the larger dimension.

File -> New -> this dialog (click on image for HQ)

1.2 Creating your smaller gifs

This is the most time intensive part as you will be creating individual gifs for each panel. You need to make sure that each of these gifs is the exact same amount of frames. I usually do between 30-40 frames.

Load your screencaps/movie and crop, resize and sharpen it. (shameless plug for my action pack here) and convert to smart object if it’s not already!!

I also like to name my gifs as either side (177 px) or middle (178 px)

If you prefer you can also color your gif now. For color sets I like to color them once I have them all on the same canvas but that’s really just a personal preference there is no right or wrong way.

!! YOUR GIFS NEED TO BE IN SMART OBJECT FORMAT FOR THE NEXT STEP !!

We’re now going to drag the gif onto the corresponding panel document (still in smart object form)

Once the gif is on the document I like to go ahead and create timeline and delete the base layer.

1.3 Aligning your gifs

Move the gif to the part of the canvas you want it be by selecting command + a and then command + v. This allows you to accurately place your gif using these buttons:

Now repeat this process until each of your panels are filled: (for the sake of time I just used 3 gifs that aren’t colored yet hp set coming soon tho ayeee)

If you didn’t color your gifs earlier, color them now and then select each of your gifs and create one smart object by selecting all layers -> right click -> convert to smart object and name this layer “small” or something along those lines

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND SAVING AFTER YOU’VE COLORED AND BEFORE IT’S A SMART OBJECT just in case

1.4 Creating your bigger gifs

Load the screencaps for your bigger gif. Make sure that it is the exact same amount of frames as the smaller gifs.

You’re going to crop it to the size of your documents so 540 x the height you’ve chosen. DO NOT RESIZE IT.

Click on VIEW -> NEW GUIDE LAYOUT

This dialog set is going to pop up - enter in how many rows and how many columns you want as well as the gutter size you’ve decided on (the image has 2 px on it but 4 px is the standard tumblr size)

A layout guide will appear that demarcates where you need to crop.

Remember to change your cropping size if you’re doing 177/178 for the middle column.

Now crop out each section then resize it to the correct size, sharpen it and create a smart object.

Drag this gif to the panel you want and position it in the correct place using command + a and command + v.

Go back to larger gif document and reverse your steps until you have the guide layout.

Crop the next part of the gif and repeat the above steps until your panel now has all of the larger gif on it.

For coloring the larger panel, I like to resize it into the correct size on the original and color it separately and then drag the coloring group onto the panel with the smaller and larger gifs.

Once all of the pieces of the larger gif are in the correct place and your coloring group is there, select the them and create a smart object.

You should now have two smart objects, one of the smaller gifs and one of the larger gif.

2. Fade transition

Now for the transition!

Duplicate your “big” layer so that you have a “big”, a “big copy” and a “small”

You’re going to drag your “small” layer onto the same line as your “big” layer, creating a video group.

Then drag your “big copy” layer onto the same line but behind your “small” layer.

Your layers panel should look like this:

Click on this button in timeline here, and select cross fade. The amount of seconds you want to choose is up to you.

I did .3 seconds for my ROTK set which created 6 transition layers which I quite liked but it is really up to personal preference here!

Now drag the cross fade onto both the start and the end of the “small” layer.

I find this is a good time to check my gif and make sure that everything looks the way I want it to and that the fade transition is smooth.

The next few steps are crucial to getting the fade to actually stay in your gif so although it’s waaaay different than how I usually export gifs so stay with me.

Instead of converting back to frames and setting your timing you’re going to go directly to export for web and make sure you have the transparency boxes checked (CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HQ):

note: it might take a long long long time for the save for web dialog box to pop up so don’t worry it’s not you

!!!note 2: as of may 1st due to the new update make sure to uncheck "interlaced"!!!!

Save and then open that gif file you just created. Play it just to make sure that the fade transition is the way that you want it to be.

The key to creating the smooth transition effect is that we will actually be deleting some of the big gif so that the actual “beginning” of the big gif starts after the smaller gifs, even though that’s not the beginning of the actual file.

(this is kinda hard to explain I’m sorry!!!)

What you’re going to do is delete the first 10-20 frames of the first “big” gif and then delete the frames that you left in the first “big” gif from the back of the second “big” gif.

So for this set I’m deleting the first 20 frames:

and now I need to delete the remaining frames between the “start” of the big gif and the first transition. The easiest way to do this is go find the first transition frame of the second transition - where the small gifs transition back into the big gif. Click through the frames until the you see where they start to fade.

Once you’ve found that frame, count forward the amount of frames you deleted in the beginning. COUNT INCLUDING THE FIRST TRANSITION FRAME.

Now delete the frames that come after your counted ones. The reason I count out 20 instead of 19 (or whatever you number is) is so that I can double check myself. My 20th frame (so frame 63) should be the exact same as frame 1 (the first frame in the whole gif).

This creates the effect that the gif never actually ends!

a colored version:

Make sure that you then flatten your frames to layers and delete your excess layers and set the timing to 0.05!

Finally (I promise) your gif is ready to be exported and uploaded to tumblr!

note: because you deleted a decent amount of frames your gif should be under 10 mb. If you’re struggling with the size limit, either cut down the original amount of frames or cut down the duration of the fade.

(now repeat this process for each of your panels)

I really hope this was somewhat easy to follow and please message me if you have any questions or run in to any problems!

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

#dailyresources #allresources #usersource #completeresources #tutorials #gif tutorials #mine:resource #ignore the ugly header i can't make them to save my life

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kanmom51 · 3 years

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JM JK timeline.- my observations how they grew over the years - 2017

Disclaimer: these are my own opinions and conclusions. Feel free to disagree, but hate or aggression will be unacceptable.

2017 - part 2

12 Feb 2017 – “You never walk alone” preview show. Who’s JM’s little cutie?

14 Feb 2017 – JM Twitter post – the boys with matching jackets. I know. I said not Twitter, but sometimes rules are made to be broken.

17 Feb 2017 – Hobi’s birthday. JM to JK: “stop coming to our room at night.” There’s something about JM throwing JK under the bus time after time. It’s like he enjoys to see JK squirm.

22 Feb 2017 – Gaon Chart K-pop chart – JK ushering Hobi to another seat, so that JK can sit behind JM. JM turning around see this, rolls his eyes and smirks.

24 Feb 2017 – KBS Music Bank comeback - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4_ASZuLeVk&t=156s

Another one of my favourites. A perfect example for both boys hesitance, wanting to touch, but just not getting there.

JM putting arm behind JK, but holding on to wall behind, and then matter of factually laying it on JK’s shoulder.

JM micro touching, or brushing JK’s hand with his thumb.

Prior to JM brushing JK’s hand with his thumb, JK’s hand is heart signing to JM.

The minute JM moves his hand away, you see how the expression on JK’s face changes, then he rubs his hand where JM touched him.

24 Feb 2017 fan meet – are they in actual F… sending flying kisses to each other?

25 Feb 2017 MBC music core comeback – JK moving Hobi aside, so that JK can stand behind JM. JK being JM’s number 1 fanboy.

26 Feb 2017 – Wings – you never walk alone fan sign. Really JM? What was that neck grab and what exactly were you doing there???? No, I don’t believe he kissed JK’s neck, but it sure was ‘out there’, so much so that Jin was in total shock when it happened. JK was surprised by it, and I think that even JM was shocked by his own actions waling aimlessly in what seems like the wrong direction .

28 Feb 2017 Run BTS episode 12. This one for me was cringe worthy, at some points I felt like an actual intruder. JK the detective and JM the prisoner. JK whacking JM on the behind (remember JK is the younger – how bold). JM’s private dance for JK. I know the episode was mostly scripted, but I seriously think JM was surprised by that smack to his behind. Also, the way JK was looking at JM when he was dancing all heart hands for him.

12 March 2017 - Wings tour Santiago Chile

Santiago day 2 – JK suffers from exhaustion. As he is taken back stage to a treatment room, JM is the one to race after the team into the room.

JM is in the treatment room when the cameras come in. He is standing there, and later, as the other members are walking in, JM is by JK’s side, helping the medical team lift up one of his legs.

The rest of the members come in together to see how JK is doing, and when the medical team suggest to take off JK’s pants, all the members leave the room. All except for JM, who stays there with JK the whole time.

JM leaves the room only together with JK, after he feels better and is able to walk out of the room on his own two feet.

Wouldn’t you expect RM, being the leader and all, to be the one by JK’s side? Or J-Hope maybe? Wouldn’t that have made more sense under the circumstances? Why JM?

Because, clearly JM is the one JK feels closest to, the one he can be himself with freely, the one he doesn’t feel embarrassed or needs privacy from.

JM may not have been a family member, but he was the closest thing to it. JM to JK is and was his home, his safe place, and most certainly the one to be by his side when he was in distress.

March 2017 BTS Live trilogy episode the Wings tour in Santiago Chile & Brazil.

March 2017 BTS Live trilogy episode the Wings tour in Chicago.

April 2017 3rd Muster dvd – the muster was at end of 2016, but dvd was released in 2017. During photo shoots they are being posed by the photographers. Yes, there will be authentic moments between them, but sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s being directed. That’s why I don’t always like to add these to my timeline. Even so, they were so cute, so I couldn’t leave this one out.

3rd April 2017 – BTS Front row live entertainment interview – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UotjcB_X4ag . What happened there?

This one intrigues me. I watched and re-watched the full interview several times, and for the life of me I can’t see what happened there between JM and Hobi that triggered JK’s reaction? JM’s placating look at JK, like telling him nothing happened… this one is used a lot to create the JK jealous narrative, and to be honest, I really don’t know what happened there. When JK turns back, JM looks into the camera with an uneasy gaze.

After that, most of the time, JM looks lost in his thoughts, not happy. Towards the end they are asked what artist they would want to collaborate with, and Suga’s answer makes them all burst out in laughter, all accept for JM. When he is asked and answers, you also see he is unhappy. You can easily see something is bothering him. JM just wasn’t his happy own self. He looked pensive. BTS did several interviews and had a concert that day, so maybe he was just tired or wound up, but he just wasn’t acting like himself.

April 2017 - Bon Voyage 2 Hawaii

Highlights of the highlights: The but checking and identifying (are we taking skinship to another level, are we??).

JK getting drenched at the beach, JK getting drenched period. Lol.

JK gobbling down piping hot Pizza so JM can eat.

JM playing footsies under the table with JK, all while sitting opposite V.

JK edging JM to come along calling him “Aegyo” = “Baby”. J

M making sure JK doesn’t go hungry, buying him food with his own money. JM taking care of JK.

JK and JM on same team – the joy… Spending the day together and just being happy.

Did JK really lose the game on purpose so he can be in the room with JM?

The amount of times we hear Jimin-ssi in every kind of cute and flirty way JK can say it…

Bonus:

22 April 2017 JK Vlive – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n8y3D0Z9pM .

JK doing everything to get JM back to his room while playing loud music.

JK’s face lighting up when JM returns to his room.

JK telling JM he looks handsome without makeup.

JK pissed off when V comes in too, saying “why is everyone coming?”.

When V touches JK’s ear, JK pushes him away.

JM moving off camera to fix his robe, and JK not taking his eyes off him.

V putting his foot on JK’s back (this is something I have seen V do a few times, it’s not a gentle touch, to me it feels more like asserting dominance), and JM pushes him off.

And what exactly did JM mean when he said he has no talent for games but “I was quite good at it a year ago”? Only to be followed by the stare, OMG, the stare. Why, oh why did V have to ruin the moment, eh?

22-23 April 2017 Bangkok concert. Flirting on stage, attention to each other.

24 April 2017 Eat Jin Vlive with JM and JK - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqxX_UGXSlY .

Jin complaining why JM doesn’t hit him like he did JK, so JM hits him too. Lol. JM stealing the steak JK cuts for himself, while JK lets him, smiling. The way JK just lets JM get away with anything, even interfering with the ultimate ‘ship’ - Jungfood.

3 June 2017 – J-14 magazine interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7rXl8uuUTY&t=306s . from 3.33min. to 4.37min especially.

Wtf was JM up to there????? It looks pretty dubious, especially when you look at the faces on the two of them when it was going on. Up to your interpretation.

2 June 2017 – Ceremonial first pitch at baseball match – Hanshin Koshien stadium - JK and JM’s jersey numbers – coincidence or not?

12 June Festa 2017 BTS BangtanTv – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWA6f7g7NUQ&t=2s.

JK’s intense stare at JM, when JM joined the others in with the others when they were laughing at JK eating everyone’s food but not ordering any for himself, which causes JM to immediately stop laughing.

Poor JK being blindsided when it was pointed out that the only one he bought a birthday present for last year was JM. Oops. (why oh why JM did you throw him under the bus like that??? You were curious? Really???? JM keeps doing this) Poor boy was so embarrassed. Hobi was the one to actually save him, stating how generous JK has become lately giving away his things that he didn’t need. JK never answered the question.

27 June 2017 BV2 special commentary live – JK getting all flustered when asked to explain the difference between BV1 and BV2. JM looking at him, enjoying every second.

4 August 2017 - KBS Music Bank Singapore. JK not loving on Taemin. The way he turns around the minute JM and Taemin interact, and the discontent look on his face…cold. He’s not a happy camper. He glancing in the direction a couple of times, but he is mostly turned away from them. And when JM runs up to slap Taemin in the butt, JK sees this, averts his head, and just keeps walking off the stage. He is clearly upset. Besides the obvious faces he makes, not waiting for Jimin when walking off stage is not something he usually does. Was it jealousy? Was it just a disliking of Taemin specifically? And if he dislikes Taemin, why is that? We can’t know.

OK now, I know I said that I won’t be doing Twitter, but this one I felt I had to (again, oops):

On the 6th of August 2017 JM posted a photo he took during their Hawaii trip (BV2). Why take this photo, and why post it? Do I really have to ask this question?

29th August 2017 the famous, or infamous People Now “arrest me” interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgGxcMndEk8 .

I couldn’t find the actual date of this interview, but it was uploaded end of August 2017. I really enjoyed this one. Everyone talks about JK’s “arrest me” JM mishap during this interview. The members reactions are to die for.

Can someone tell me please what Suga told JK in Korean before they moved on?????

Also, JK’s reaction when JM said he wanted to collab with Suga (watch from 7:58min), was like:

W H A T in T H E actual F U C K???. LMAO.

Summer package 2017 – released August 2017.

JK and JM being all playful by the pool. JK letting us know how adorable JM is to him when he is swimming doggy style in the pool.

The one that stands out to me, though, is the ‘dream catcher necklace saga’. Felt a little uneasy to see that one, like I was witness to a lover’s tiff.

The boys were given a budget each to purchase themselves a gift. They are taken together to a gift shop, where they check the merchandise out and each buy themselves a little souvenir. When they all sit down to show each other their gifts, that’s when this moment happens.

JK takes out his gift. I once again want to emphasize, this is a gift he bought with his budget for himself. He explains it’s a dream catcher and says he will put it in his room.

JM, sitting next to him, takes it from JK and says: “this is a necklace Jungkook-ssi”.

JK blurts out adamantly that he won’t hang it around his neck.

This is when things get awkward, because you can see JM is clearly upset, throws the necklace back at JK and says: “OK, then”.

JM has a dream catcher necklace around his neck too, and when it’s his turn to tell what gift he bought himself he takes the necklace off and gives it to V, saying he bought the gift for V, who had a nightmare last night.

After JM’s mini tantrum JK, who previously adamantly professed he will not put it around his neck, does everything he can to put the necklace on, finally turning to JM to help him put the it on, which he does.

Later on, while sitting for the personal interview, with the necklace around his neck, he tells us how from now on he won’t have nightmares.

What did I get from all that?

Clearly JM was pissed at JK’s reaction. Why? JK clearly bought this by himself for himself.

But did he? Was it something he chose for himself, or was it something JM suggested to him?

JM also bought a dream catcher. Was that a coincidence? For some reason, I don’t think so.

My theory is that the dream catcher is something JM suggested or wanted JK to buy for himself, and JK reluctance to wear it offended him. JM clearly bought the other dream catcher for V. Perhaps he wanted both his boys to have one, and to him, JK’s comment felt as a rejection.

The way JK reacted to JM, his immediate change of attitude towards the necklace, trying to put it on, when only a second earlier he said he won’t put this around his neck, shows how attuned he was to JM, how he immediately realised he did something wrong, something to upset JM, and how he tried, in his own way, to atone for it, by wearing the same thing he but seconds ago rejected.

This brings me back to the point I made about the boys relationship, and them finding the balance. A perfect example to how there will still be conflict, but how JK realises, immediately, that he had done wrong and what he has done wrong, and immediately sets to right the wrong, hence to restore that balance.

JM throwing the necklace at JK. Also, notice the editor’s remark. JM’s anger is obvious not only to me.

To be continued...

#jungkook #jimin #jk #jm #jikook #jikook are real #jikook timeline #kookmin #bts #BV2 #jikook 2017

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rizahawkais · 3 years

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Hi Nia! You're gifs are so pretty! Is it possible for you to show how you get your WandaVision gifs too look so clear and hd? And how do you do your colorings too? (specifically the wanda maximoff in episode 3 gifset ITS GORGEOUS) I'm new to giffing and all the tutorials are kind of old. It's okay if you don't want to though! I understand it may be time consuming.

omg no! never feel intimidated to ask!! i don’t mind at all!

so, i’m going to show you how i made and coloured this gif

mostly bc it’s the only gif in that set w text and i’m going to share my text settings too!

tutorial is below :)

WHAT KIND OF VIDEOS ARE BEST?

.mkv files (the bigger the better BUT i usually think anything above 5 gb is excessive and unnecessary for an episode of television BUT for a movie worth it) itunes downloads (logolesspro on twitter, hd-source on tumblr, live-action-raws on tumblr have some DEPENDING on what you’re looking for) (also, there’s a chance that if you search "show/movie hd download tumblr” you’ll find a tumblr with its itunes download available)

THAT IS IT NO OTHER TYPE OF FILES MAKE YOUR GIFS LOOK GOOD

- my suggestion is always if its new (like just came out the past month) t*rrent it! it’ll be downloaded quickly and .mkv files look the best! BUT if not check the sources above see who has the BIGGEST file if they even have what you’re looking for and then if not then you look to t*rrenting!!

here are the wandavision files i use so you can see!!

SCREENCAPPING

-if you have windows use potplayer! i have a mac so i can’t show you how to use it and it’s not available for me :( HOWEVER back when i had a windows potplayer was the best method in screencapping!!

-I HAVE A MAC! so i use mpv!! (go to mpv.io and follow the directions) BUT DON’T DOWNLOAD THE LATEST ONE (it has a bug that skips frames) try each before the latest one bc from what i heard different ones work differently for everyone!! and i don’t know which one i use (yikes!) THERE ISN’T THAT MANY I PROMISE AND IT’S WORTH IT BC MPV IS THE BEST (i used to use adapter but they didn’t take impressive screencaps in my opinion and it was evident in my gifs you can see it too! )

create a folder for your screencaps! and make sure to rmb the directory order! now we want to create a text file on our built in textedit app on mac! type up all this down below (i like jpg but you can replace jpg w png if you want) AND SAVE THE FILE AS mpv.conf THIS IS IMPORTANT SO DON’T FORGET IT! save it somewhere you’ll find easily and NEVER delete it until you don’t use mpv anymore

just in case you don’t know what to insert after, go to your screencaps folder

now you want to open mpv and go to the corner towards mpv -> preferences and they’ll tell you that there is no .conf file SO GO LOOK FOR THE TEXT FILE WE JUST MADE AND DRAG IT TO THE FOLDER THEY OPENED FOR US AFTER SAYING THERE IS NO .CONF FILE

(i learned all this from @kylos tutorial!! so if any of what i just said about setting up mpv makes NO SENSE to you check out their tutorial at kylos(.)tumblr(.)com/post/178497909311)

now we can screencap!

so let’s find the scene we want RIGHT BEFORE and MAKE SURE SUBTITLES ARE OFF

i pause and then press (option/alt + s) and then SCREENCAPS ARE BEING TAKEN!! and to end the screencaps being taken you once again press (option/alt + s)!!

now we want to delete the excess frames! and put it all into one folder!! DO NOT DELETE FRAMES IN THE MIDDLE OF WHAT YOU WANT TO GIF!! WHEN YOU SKIP FRAMES IT WILL BE NOTICEABLE!!

MAKING THE GIF

this method isn’t used that much BUT I LOVE IT so this is how i put my frames in! first i check to see the size of my frames: 1920 x 1080

so i create a NEW file on photoshop with those dimensions w these settings

now i set my tool on photoshop to path selection tool bc if you have it set on smth like move tool or crop tool at the end you might end up moving or cropping frames you don’t want to!

ok so now we select ALL our frames and drag it on top of our new file on photoshop and the MOMENT we see our first frame in photoshop JUST KEEP CLICKING ENTER until all the frames are loaded!!

you can do file -> scripts -> load files into stack but it is WAYYY slower in my opinion!

now i crop out the excess BUT i don’t resize the gif yet! the dimensions wandavision is filmed in is 4:3 so i go to crop and set the settings to this:

MAKE SURE IT’S ON RATIO SO WE’RE PRESERVING THE ORIGINAL SIZE JUST CUTTING OFF THE BLACK EDGES!! We are going from 1920 x 1080 to 1440 x 1080 this is the dimensions after i cropped

WE ARE KEEPING THE QUALITY BY NOT CHANGING THE DIMENSIONS OF ANYTHING INSIDE !!

now we want to go to actions and create an action!! open up actions w one of these two depending on what your dash looks like!!

so we create an action with this button on the bottom of actions and we’re gonna title it making a gif and hit record!!

NOW LET’S GOOOOO!!

1. make sure you have timeline on your dash!

2. create frame animation (if you see create video timeline just click the arrow next to the button to see your other option which is frame animation!!)

3. now let’s meet our best friend!! the little bar in the top right corner that has all the commands for making our gifs and MAKE FRAMES FROM LAYERS

4. WE HAVE TO SHARPEN OUR GIFS NOW BUT TO DO THAT WE NEED TO CONVERT TO A SMART OBJECT SO NOW WE ARE GOING TO CONVERT TO VIDEO TIMELINE there are two ways: the button in the bottom left corner or the button in the top right corner w all the other commands!

5. select -> all layers DON’T MANUALLY SELECT THEM ALL BC THE ACTION WILL ONLY SELECT THAT SAME NUMBER OF FRAMES SO IF THERE ARE MORE FRAMES YOU WON’T GET THEM IN THE SMART OBJECT!!

6. filter -> convert for smart filters

7. NOW WE SHARPEN!! (filter -> sharpen -> smart sharpen) i sharpen twice!! first, make sure we are on legacy w more accurate and remove gaussian blue! the first sharpening will be 500% with 0.4 px radius. NOW SHARPEN AGAIN (filter -> sharpen -> smart sharpen) also w legacy, more accurate and remove gaussian blur BUT this time 10% with a 10.0 px radius!

8. it’s hd now!! so let’s flatten frames into clips!! go to the top right magic button again!! and you should see a pop up saying layers are being made

9. now we convert back to frame animation w either the bottom left button or our magic top right command center!

10. make frames from layers

11. select all frames w our magic command button

12. set the animation delay to 0.05 THAT IS THE BEST ONE ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS only use 0.06 when the character is moving really fast in the video itself and it makes the gif itself look awkward BUT NEVER GO ABOVE 0.06 it’ll look slow and laggy and we don’t want that and don’t go below 0.05 bc then it’ll be tooo fast and we don’t want that either!

13. now delete the very first frame on the timeline bc it is an oversharpened duplicate of the second frame! end the recording w this button!

this is what your action should look like expanded! if you made mistakes on the way and it shows up you can just click the specific step and press the trash can on the action tab to delete in from the order!!

NOW AFTER LOADING YOUR FRAMES AND CROPPING THE EDGES OF YOUR FRAMES IF YOU NEED TO JUST PLAY THE ACTION AND THEN YOUR GIF WILL BE MADE FOR YOU!!!!

now i delete some unnecessary frames in the beginning and end and this is what my gif looks like (the size was 46 mb and the limit is 10 mb so the dimensions of the gif are 540 x 405 to get it to 5 mb BUT I HAVEN’T CROPPED IT YET SO THIS IS ME CROPPING JUST TO SHOW YOU WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE)

CROPPING THE GIF

in my opinion if you want your gif to look hd you shouldn’t crop before you sharpen!! i believe that if you crop before you sharpen you don’t allow photoshop to sharpen all the pixels whereas if you crop beforehand there is less to work with!!

dimensions is all up to you!! just make sure to go by tumblr rules!! 540 is the max width and if you want to make two gifs per row then my suggested width is 268 and for three gifs per row my suggested is 177 px! Just have the right width and the length can be whatever you want!!

now i’m going to crop my gif to 540 by 590!!

NOW THIS IS WHAT MY GIF LOOKS LIKE!

COLOURING BASICS

let me show you the best adjustment tools in my opinion and a brief explanation for what they do!!

brightness/contrast: pretty simple increase/decrease the brightness/contrast BUT one of my techniques for when i first start colouring a gif is i select all my frames and do nothing to the settings of the adjustment but i set the layer to screen LIKE THIS

curves: ik others use curves to change brightness/contrast w the squiggly thing BUT i like it to set a white point and black point, this is also a technique i use when i first start colouring a gif when screen doesn’t look good for me SO you use white point to select a pixel on the gif to set as the lightest color on the gif (setting the white point) and you use black point to select a pixel on the gif to set as the darkest colour on the gif (setting the black point) usually the white point makes it TOO bright and that’s why we use the black point to counter it and same goes for when i use screen with brightness/contrast, it gets too bright so i use black point to counter it below is the button for white point and the button for black point, respectively they are shaped as color picker tools

vibrance: generally, i never use this except for color p*rn sets but they work really well in making colors seem more strong

hue/saturation: like vibrance, i never use this except for color p*rn sets but this adjustment is to help change the colors or hue of a color for example: turn blue into purple or turn a blue into a little lighter shade of blue

color balance: I ALWAYS USE THIS!! except for in black and white gifs BUT THIS IS MY GO TO AND IF I DON’T USE IT MY GIFS ARE JUST BLAND i feel like color balance is what essentially balances the colors on your gif and adds dimension to it, it makes your gif go from looking way too yellow to a more golden neutral look and it is an essential adjustment in my opinion

channel mixer: i rarely use channel mixer BUT it is so so useful when you are working w a dark scene just play w the settings and all of a sudden all the blue in a dark scene will be a little more yellow and red and your scene will kind of just look brighter and more visible

selective color: THIS IS ALSO AN ESSENTIAL this helps SPECIFIC colors pop you’re working on a scene where there is too much red on someones face you use this tool to remove the magentaness from the yellow section OR when you feel someones face is TOO yellow and needs more blush you add more magenta in the yellow section of selective color

gradiant map: gradiant map is perfect when you’re lazy if you feel like your gif looks more neutral and you want some red in it but you don’t want to mess with any other adjustments just set a red to black gradiant on soft overlay with a very low opacity and BOOM slightly red but not too much red added!

NOW TO COLOR THE GIF!

today i have decided to start with a brightness layer set on screen

and this is what we got!

now that’s a little to bright and washed out in my opinion SOOOO to counteract it, i’m going to use my black point tool in curves and i’m going to select this point on the gif (it’s better to choose smth in the background and not smth that’s paid attention to such as monica’s hair or either of their eyelashes)

now my gif looks like this! the base color is complete!

now i think i need to balance all this yellow and red! SOOOO WE GONNA USE COLOR BALANCE!!

i think the best way to use color balance is to keep swinging the balancer until you see what you like and then keep going midtones i think i want more red and i don’t want a cyan midtone and then for shadows i think i want more cyan to counter the redness of the gif but highlights i don’t touch that much NOW HERE ARE MY SETTINGS SO YOU CAN SEE

and this is what my gif looks like

now you can stop here if you want but in my opinion i think the gif looks a lil too dead still SO IMMA USE SELECTIVE COLOR

i think there needs to be a lot lot more RED so i amp up the yellow magenta and black in the red! but i also think the yellows need to be LESS RED so i remove magenta from the yellow! and bc there’s some cyan and blue bc of monica and the flowers in the background im going to make the cyans more cyan and the blues a lil more black! i’m going to remove some yellows from the magenta!! and i add more black to the neutrals and black!! i think it’s always important to add more black to neutral and black bc it adds more depth to the gif by not just making it a bunch of bright colors and having dark colors to contrast to!! my settings are below!

and the result!

now let’s see everything together!

and the before and after!

I HOPE MY COLOURING EXPLANATION MADE SENSE!! if not you can always ask me more questions i don’t mind!!

ADDING SUBTITLES

we want to grab the text tool!

make a text box from anywhere in the middle from the left to right edge. this is so we can make sure our text is centered and will be in the same place for when we have sets w more than one gif w text!

type your text out and make sure you highlight the whole text so that all the settings apply to EACH character! you can find the alignments (for center) in the paragraph tab!

now lets right click on the text layer and go to blending options! add stroke and drop shadow!

now drag it to the desired height you would like and make sure to keep it in mind for when you have more than one subtitled gif in a set!

NOW TO MAKE SURE THE TEXT STAYS IN PLACE AND THE BLENDING STAYS YOU HAVE TO CONVERT TO SMART OBJECT!!

if you want to only have the text applied to certain frames instead of all frames, select the frames you don’t want by clicking the first frame in ur don’t want section ON THE TIMELINE and WHILST HOLDING SHIFT click the last frame of ur don’t want section and then toggle the eye switch next to the text layer

now you see the text

now you don’t

tip: use opacity to fade the text in and out!

the text is going to be on all my frames so i don’t need to toggle the eye but i just wanted to show you just in case!!

now here’s my FINAL RESULT

save for web (file -> export -> save for web)

your gifs have to always be under 10 mb! so, if your WAYYY overboard YOU HAVE TO DELETE FRAMES! or you can divide the gif in two and have two gifs instead of one! however, if you plan on going the deleting frames route MAKE SURE YOU DELETE FROM THE BEGINNING OR END OF YOUR SELECTION i promise you that most of us won’t notice that your characters dialogue is being cut off BUT WE WILL NOTICE IF FRAMES ARE BEING SKIPPED so, don’t delete frames in the middle of ur gif!! idc how little you do it IT WILL RUIN YOUR GIF AND I SAY THIS FROM EXPERIENCE i would delete every fifth frame to cut down my gifs and that may seem like not that big of a deal BUT IT IS my gif looked choppy and poor so it is way better to cut from the end/beginning of the gif

ANOTHER LAST PIECE OF ADVICE in the bottom left of when the save for web menu shows up THERE’S A PREVIEW BUTTON click on it! it’ll show you your gif on your default browser and show you what it’ll look like once uploaded! this is perfect to check the speed of ur gif and the colouring and to notice if there’s a problem with your subtitles or maybe there’s an obvious jump in frames you never noticed before!! i always use preview bc the built-in photoshop viewer of ur gif shows the colors differently and the speed is NEVER ACURRATE!

I USED THESE SAVE SETTINGS!! many say to use selective pattern but i DISAGREE and i think these save settings are the ✨ best ✨

OK NOW THAT IS THE END OF THIS VERY LONG GIF TUTORIAL!! I HOPE THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED!! IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK I SINCERELY DON’T MIND!! JUST DON’T BE RUDE OR ANYTHING BC PPL HAVE BEEN RECENTLY :(

I WISH YOU ALL THE LUCK AND FUN IN YOUR GIFFING ADVENTURES !!

#tutorials #asks #sourceblog #allresources #completeresources #itsphotoshop #dailyresources #resourcemarket #chaoticresources #onlyresources #hisources #sibylresources #dailypsd

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brawltogethernow · 4 years

Note

How much can you tell about a fan from how much they like Raimi Spidey

Who you are based on your Raimi Spider-Man opinion:

1. The best Spider-Man adaptation! You don’t like new things and don’t adapt to change well. You’re probably an older Millennial or Gen X. You respect an iconic scene and cheesy drama and don’t retract your enjoyment of something when the pressure is on you to do so. You like adaptations of superheroes more than the comics.

2. The most comic-accurate Spider-Man adaptation! You have never read a comic these films were based on. You may have never read any comics. You read or heard this opinion somewhere and are parroting it, and may think you can verify it’s true because you read one Avengers issue from after 2002 where Peter Parker cameos. You have high potential to become a deep comic nerd someday who will be embarrassed you ever said this so watch out for that.

3. Revolutionary for its time, paved the way for later comic book films, pared down the source material out of necessity - respect without enthusiasm You’re a little jaded but you’re trying not to let it get you down. You’ve gained immunity to MCU hype. You were happier before you did, but you can never go back. Analyzing fiction is second nature to you.

4. I just hate them Toby McGuire is consciously on your list of celebrities who could not get it. You turn over interests fast and see disliking things as its own activity, a dark mirror of fandom. You have strong negative opinions of properties you have not personally checked out and you’re happy that way because dissing stuff with people makes for good conversation.

5. Must a movie be “good” to like it? Is it not enough to have colors moving on the screen very fast. I respect you. You’re the better timeline version of the first category. Self aware and witty, a little insecure.

6. They’re bad because [thirty minute list of flaws] Wow you’ve thought about these movies a lot. You like review and analysis series like CinemaSins. (You may have a flaw list for CinemaSins specifically: It’s just an example.) Possibly an aspiring writer. You’re very plugged into pop culture and it doesn’t really occur to you to avoid media just because you don’t think it’s good.

7. I liked the first two when they were newer but they didn’t age well. Your persona is very go with the flow, not very opinionated. You consume media casually. In school you liked whatever bands your classmates did.

8. I have a soft spot for them but the effects are bad. You like MCU Spidey. You overestimate how empathetic and discerning you are. You don’t judge quickly but you do judge heavily.

9. I can’t hear you there’s only room for one Spider-Man movie in my brain WHAT’S UP, DANGER?

10. The third one ruined the whole trilogy! THAT’S what ruined it for you? You’re not wrong but your taste is unreliable.

11. I love [ship]! You’re very resilient. The weird kid. You glom onto stuff you like and don’t let go. Natural resilience to acting because of peer pressure, though you can take emotional hits from it. Probably internet friends with the three other people as deeply invested in this version of this ship as you are. Excitable in both positive and negative senses. You still use ff.net a lot. Above average vintage and otherwise lesser known comic knowledge but your attention is divided. The rare media targeting you is the 2017 cartoon if you’re a Parksborn and the Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane comic series if you’re a PeterMJ.

12. Uh I saw one or two in theaters? I don’t really remember them. You only read this list this far down because you like seeing people discuss their pet topics regardless of whether you understand them. May have to hit up a search engine to be sure what “Raimi” is.

13. Directly responsible for a lot of bad 616 trends, weird storylines, and character assassination. You’re a dyed in the wool comics nerd. Don’t get so mad you forget why you even like superhero comics. Go drink some water. You pirate media because capitalism can’t sustain how much you read.

14. Directly responsible for a lot of great 616 storylines!!!! Also a dyed in the wool comics nerd but all your favorite storylines are in the early aughts (and maybe late nineties), which was a formative time of your life. You like dropping niche comic trivia as talking points, also from this era. You not only actually go to comic shops but also have a pull list. Pour one out for the Ultimateverse amirite?

15. Peter sure turned into a giant spider and gave birth to himself because of this movie lmfao. You embrace the humor and weirdness in situations to stay sane. You know weird history or science facts and like to pepper them into conversation. Your ideal history rant is arranged to be reminiscent of that meme with the guy knocking over a giant domino with a row of successively smaller dominos. You feel the most enjoyable parts of comic community are online. You might be on Twitter. You could beat the above category in a trivia-off but would probably flub the execution due to being put off by them. You vibe with nihilism memes but you care just under the surface.

16. My blurry half-remembered impression of them isn’t negative You’re nice. You like cute desserts. I feel like you had an anime phase and go to cons.

17. Garfield Spider-Man sucks!!!!!! That’s not actually a Raimi opinion but you think it is. Low humor is just humor to you and you don’t see that as a problem.

18. I’ve been waiting for you to PRAISE the Amazing movies actually? You like Taylor Swift and would be super down for it if Kindred turned out to be Gwen Stacy. You’ve been screaming for years. You don’t like the Raimi films but don’t have time to get down on them while defending your own maligned property. You know Fant4stic was objectively not great but you’ll defend it. Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield live in your head rent free. You like to curl up and watch some good looking people having a tragic romance okay.

19. Spider-Man 3 is a cinematic masterpiece. You like shock humor and stoke attention from internet trolls on purpose. You discern your own opinions and don’t give a damn about anybody else’s.

20. I’m very two cakes meme about Spider-Man content! Raimi good! MCU good! Webb good! All the cartoons are good! I see a red mask and a thwip and I riot. A pure soul. I don’t understand you, but that doesn’t reflect well on me.

#raimi spiderman #spiderman #horoscopes #spidey #marvel #i'm a 3 with a little 6 13 and 15 #mirrorfalls #asks answered

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piitou · 4 years

Text

Why the fandom is feeling frustrated?

(Hey, just so you know, this is a looooooong text post. Get comfortable before reading. Bad TL;DR at the end.)

-----

Personally, I’m not a person that interacts with the CR fandom that much, especially when I know that there are so many platforms where people talk. I rarely take a glance at the chat. I don’t do Twitter. What is Discord? Sometimes I read through the Reddit thread of the episode, and I’m on Tumblr a lot. But this episode frustrated me so much that I decided to take a look at what other people were saying. And wow, there was so much.

But what is it about this episode that raised tensions so high? Let’s break it down.

Part 1. The frustration of expectancy

Let’s set up a timeline. The break between E99 and E100 lasted 16 weeks (approx. 4 months). Right at the end of the episode 100 there were hints that there was something bigger at play, which clearly set up the fandom to expecting a big boss battle. Those expectations were reaffirmed after E102 when the M9 actually met Vokodo: this was most likely not going to be a creature that could be bargained with. The selfish nature of the creature and how it affects the memories of the villagers paints a clear picture of ”a Great Evil that Must be Defeated”. (Lorenzo and Obann might be the only enemies that very clearly fit in the same category.)

Seemingly, the only way out is to defeat this creature.

After waiting for new content for 16 weeks, some parts of the fandom have been craving for epic battle. The last episode before break, E99, left people on a cliffhanger – and the battle did not happen. Not in a way that you form in your head, when you are waiting for it for 4 months. So, there might have been a part of the fandom that was dissapointed on the lack of an epic battle, therefore latching onto the next battle that was, kinda, promised. If they had thought that the dragon turtle was cool, think about how cool fighting a some sort of a demi-god must be!

Calls for battle started on E102 in the Vokodo’s lair, and very large part of the fandom believed that okay, if it did not happen in this episode, it must be happening in E103. Escpecially after the bomb drop that was greater restoration on Vilya on the end of the episode.

But, E103 happened and the M9 did seemingly no progress towards this mighty battle that was ”promised”. (In my opinion, E103 was great, especially RP wise.) Losing Caduceus at the end of the episode caused a huge reaction from the fandom. The drama! Split party! ”We have been waiting for this for more than two weeks, this time I’m sure that they will defeat Vokodo in the next episode!” And E104 happens. And still no battle - that battle that has at this point been dangling in front of you for a month already.

But, it is not actually everything about the battle, isn’t it?

The reason that we want to see Vokodo defeated is not the victory, the loot or the island freed. It is that relief after something that has been hyped up for such a long time. The reason M9 came to Rumblecusp was Travellercon. Defeating a creature, no matter how vile and dangerous it is, is nothing next to the bigger picture: the reason why they are here in the first place. Clearing the island from a pest seems like a side quest that just needs to be swept out of the way, just so that they can get on with their more important mission. Taking care of the Vokodo situation is needed so that the M9 can start pursuing bigger plot threads.

What is Travellercon, actually? What are Artagan’s plans? How Jester’s relationship with her god will change? And, also, what the hell are their next plans after this? There’s the Travellercon but what are the M9 as a group planning on accomplishing next? Is it the Cerberus Assembly? What is next on their bucket list?

So. E102 ended up in frustration.

And then came hope: ”in the next episode.” E103 was great for RP reasons, but even that ended up with the hope that ”in the next episode”. And now E104, that hope (or desperation) of ”in the next episode” is even stronger than ever. That is three weeks of waiting, and hoping, and setting up expectations, every Thursday. Expectations that have been brewing for quite a long time, possibly even ever since that cliffhanger of E99.

The party deciding to explore other leads on the island instead of getting rid of this monster already, it makes the latest episode feel like a side quest of a side quest.

Frustration. Why won’t they fight this Clear Evil? Are the M9 stalling, are they cowards?

Part 2. Knowledge

What we need to remember is in-game time and real-life time. The M9 has spent a total of three days on this island. If we imagine that today is Thursday, they arrived on location on Tuesday. And they have been bombarded with information ever since!

Other thing to keep in mind is what the players know and what the characters know.

What the characters know about Vokodo?

He is being percieved as a god by the villagers. (The group now has confirmation that Vokodo is actually not a god. But technically… even the Traveller is not ”really a god” but still possesses a good amount of power)

The whole island is in Vokodo’s control.

Vokodo has mind-affecting abilities. Not only people losing their memories but also the cool lair effects that can force people to move against their will.

The M9 has no reason to believe that what they have seen is the full excent of Vokodo’s powers.

As of this latest episode (E104) they have received further information: He has been on the island for over 50 years. He escaped the Astral Sea. He has (had) the ability to tear through planes. Both Vokodo and the island have altered each other, intentionally or not.

We have no in-canon confirmation that this being is a morkoth (due to bad history rolls) so there is no way to pull other information about Vokodo other than what information they have been gathering on the island. Hell, Vokodo might not even be a morkoth! That just is the most popular and plausible theory we viewers have right now.

What they know thus far sounds like a mighty powerful creature. If Vokodo is a god-not-a-god, the M9 might think of it being on the same level as the Traveller, the other god-not-a-god they know. And what powers they have truly seen the Traveller to possess? He is the power source for Jester’s abilities but what else have we seen him do? He bent some wildlife and changed in size? But has the M9 seen the Traveller do anything on the same scale as Vokodo? Change an entire island and trap all its denizens? What if this god-not-a-god is even more powerful than the Traveller?

We as viewers know that Vokodo is defeatable. The players know this too. But what the characters know? What they have witnessed?

At the start of this text I did a comparison between Vokodo, Lorenzo and Obann. All of those three enemies seem to be in the same category of ”evil that must be defeated no questions asked”. And what happened in the battles of Lorenzo and Obann?

The M9. Got. Fucked. To put it simply.

The M9 is being called gun-shy and cowards for stalling. The frustration of waiting only excerbates those comments. But.

The characters survived (tho rip molly) the complete failures that were battles against Lorenzo and Obann. They fought Obann, what, three times before finally killing him? So, when you, as a character, see an enemy that clearly is the Number 3 on the category of ”We went into battle against this enemy clearly underprepared and paid a heavy cost for every failure”, what do you do? You try your everything to be as prepared as you can possibly be.

Part 3. We all make mistakes sometimes

So, the fandom is demanding a blood sacrifice. Or at least they hope for something interesting and drastic to happen. CR is such an incredible show that when there happens to be a bad episode, or multiple mediocore ones in a row, frustrasions rise. And E104 just happened to be an episode where, actually, not much happened. (But at least they had fun?) And yes, some mistakes were probably made.

But was it actually the errors made in the gameplay that made the fandom say some naaasty stuff? Or was this just the tipping point? The M9 has made understandable, though maybe boring, decisions during these few episodes. Now they did something that might be seen as an oopsie, and it was something to latch onto. Yes, I’m talking about the ghost fight, but I’m actually not going to talk about it at length.

So, some short notes on what maybe went ”wrong” here:

Analysis paralysis. Those fears that the M9 have, because of their previous failures, can easily send them into over-analysing everything.

The DM is just too good. Matt has clearly had at least months, if not literally years, to plan this island out. It is rich, it is full of opportunities – maybe a bit too much so. When everything on the island is worthy of exploring, it is easy to get lost in it. Combined with analysis paralysis, the group finds it important to turn every single stone in case something Good pops up. Time gets wasted on seemingly trivial things and the paralysis deepens. Of course they are going to explore the ruins, because it’s there, it must be interesting, there must be answers there.

Things culminate on the ghost fight, or rather, the aftermath of it.

Yeah about that: Mistakes were made. My own feelings about the matter are that it was handled a bit weird and communication got mixed. Someone on Reddit wrote a good post about the motives of the encounter (DM gave them possibility of allies like they wanted in the last episode, M9 was after infromation).

(Was that whole encounter at the ruins all for nothing?)

I think that there were some errors made, but… There is absolutely no reason for you to send messages to the cast about things that they have done about 2+ weeks ago. We all make mistakes, even the best DMs and players.

If you want to scream at Matt or Marisha or anyone else, are you sure that you want to scream at them because of the mistake they made? Or are you just frustrated?

I understand if you are. Sometimes it is hard to care so deeply about things that bring you joy. Don’t we all want to see these characters overcome obstacles and see how their stories unfold? But sometimes, shit just happens. All I ask of you, is to be civil.

(And hey. Maybe in the next episode..?)

TL;DR: OP is an M9 apologist. E104 was ooh rough buddy for some. Battle cockblock. Setting up too high expectations can make you feel angry. Plot cockblock. In this house we avoid metagaming. Vokodo could be an all-seeing god OR just six hundred kobolds in a trench coat. How many kobolds is the Traveller made out of? The M9 has been bitch slapped so many times that they do all the dodge manouvers to make sure that is doesn’t happen again. Matt is an excellent world builder. Sometimes we all fail a little. It is good that you care about this show so much but sometimes shit just doesn’t work out the way we wish. Don’t forget to love each other.

#cr discourse #cr meta #critical role #c2e104 #cr spoilers #maybe #the wordcount of this post is 1994 #thats funny cus thats the year i was born #forgive me for this #correct me if im badly wrong in anything #english is not my first language #c.txt

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secret-diary-of-an-fa · 3 years

Text

The End of Year Awards Are Back... and This Time, It’s Personal!

And so we approach the end of 2020, the year that never really began. On paper, at least, it looked incredibly promising. There were lots of great movies slated to come out; culture seemed slightly less paucity-riddled and pointless than usual; good things were in the air. Then COVID happened, and basically fucked everything. Actually, that’s not quite true: my personal year has been fucking spectacular. I’m in a long-term relationship with a gorgeous woman for the first time in forever- no more abrupt trysts and stolen moments for yer humble narrator: I’ve got a sumptuously plus-size lady-friend who actually wants to spend substantial amounts of time me (and has knockers you could sled down, were you so inclined). I also started a Youtube channel where I upload performances of magic tricks I’ve designed and a few people seem to quite like it. Oh, and I’ve written four novels, with a fifth well on its way to completion. Unfortunately, that’s my life, not the life of our civilisation and culture as a whole. The fact that bugger all happened in that makes this end-of-year round-up a little hard to write. With that in mind, I’m going to hand out the gongs for 2020, but I’m also going to do my usual dodge of giving end-of-year awards to things that I discovered in 2020, even if they came out the year, decade or century before. It’s not like any right-minded person gives a hoot about my opinion anyway. Right then, everyone clear on the rules? Then let’s roll up our sleeves and plunge elbow deep into the fetid trough of our decaying society to ferret out the best and worst of the Things That Humans Have Done Recently.

The ‘I Like It Because It Confused Thick People’ Award for Best High-Concept Sci-Fi Movie... … Goes to the sterling Tenet, a spy film that used entropy inversion and symmetric, opposite-direction timelines within the same physical space the way most spy films use hacking and guns. Christopher Nolan films are always intricately constructed and meticulously-executed, but this one must have had Japanese Master Puzzle-Box Makers crying into their breakfast cereal. Is breakfast cereal a thing in Japan? I honestly I have no idea. For some reason, all I can imagine is a sort of dry kedgeree where all the ingredients that aren’t rice have been removed. But I digress. For all its intricacy, Tenet is actually really easy to follow once you’ve grasped the basic premise that there’s a machine that lets people move backwards through time, and that this makes them appear to move in reverse to the rest of the world while they perceive the rest of the world as moving in reverse. Nolan maintains a mastery of cinematic visual language that makes even the most abstruse concept easy to wrap your head around. Nonetheless, following Tenet’s release, dumb people took to the Internet on mass to complain that the film was confusing and stupid, never once realising that their inability to conceptualise time in non-linear ways was their own failing, not Nolan’s. I find that refreshing. It’s nice to see a sci-fi film that’s actually made for smart-cookie sci-fi fans and doesn’t give a hoot if it alienate thickos.

The Award for Most Inexplicably Compelling Web Comic… … Goes to Questionable Content. I originally started reading Questionable Content because I’d heard that the female lead and love interest was a plus size lassie and that shit’s my jam. However, the art style makes everyone look like a skinny indie-type, regardless of their actual, in-universe size, so it doesn’t do much to titillate my Fat Admiring Titillation Centres. And yet, I’m over five hundred ‘episodes’ in and still reading. The thing is, I couldn’t tell you why for the life of me. Maybe it’s the hope that the art style will evolve to the point where the people look like actual human beings with different body types (but then, why would I care unless I was invested for some other reason). Maybe it’s the fact that when I get one of the many, many obscure band or pop culture references, I feel a little buzz of kinship with the writer. Maybe it’s the fact that it takes place in a universe where robots and superheroes are things that regularly happen, yet most of the strips are just normal people chatting shit in a coffee shop and the slice-of-life narrative/sci-fi setting appeals to my sense of juxtaposition. I don’t know, but I find it really compelling to the extent that I’ve pissed away entire days reading it. I have a horrible feeling that it’s a short step from this to really angsty hentai. If I start singing the praises of that, somebody please shoot me in the crotch.

The ‘Forest Gump Debating Peter Andre’ Award For Most Sustained or Elongated Instance of Stupidity… … Goes to Donald Trump. I was tempted just to award this gong to his entire presidency, but that wasn’t just stupid: it was also venal, corrupt, horrifying and punctuated by terrible moments of low cunning. So, instead, this award goes to his ‘soup’ rant. For those of you who missed it, the former President of the United States spent a really, really long time (in the run-up to the election) wittering on about protestors throwing cans of soup at police. What was dumb and weird about it was that he appeared to be extolling the virtues of soup as a siege weapon, going into really specific detail about how it was better than a brick because it could be thrown with more force, finishing with the utterance that protestors would just argue that “this is just soup for my family” if they were caught with the cans… which is phrased wrong in such a subtle and inhuman way it’s hard to imagine that anyone actually ever said it, at least in those words. I have no idea if protestors in America were throwing soup cans at police (which would be entirely justified considering how many innocent people American police have murdered in cold blood quite recently) or if this was a fantasy dreamed up by the former president in the cloudcuckooland that is his diseased little brain. Either way, the connected rant was balls deep in dumb.

The Most Disturbing Unintentional Impression of Vincent Price Award… … Goes to the narrator from One Step Beyond, a Twilight Zone-esque anthology of weirdness that purports to be based on true events and has to be seen to be believed. The stories are oft-disturbing instances of spooky-inflected human drama and can occasionally be quite disconcerting… until they’re book-ended by a dude who sounds like Vincent Price reading a children’s book in a really earnest voice. It’s weird and no, it didn’t hit our screens in Space Year 2020, it dates back to Ye Olden Times of the 1950s or 60s, when men were men, women were women and technincolour was a distant dream that could get you strung up for witchcraft. Nonetheless, I only encountered it this year, so it’s getting its prize. I warned you I was going to pull this shit, but you foolish fools didn’t listen.

The ‘It’s Not Gay If I Don’t Clench’ Award for Cognitive Dissonance… … Goes to Amazon Prime, the content-making branch of evil, tax-dodging, anti-monopoly-law-breaking megalith Amazon. You see, while Big Daddy Amazon is off being incredibly sinister and worrying, like a shifty vampire hanging off the economy’s throat, the creative people at Amazon Prime are busy making or acquiring some of the flat-out best TV ever committed to a streaming-service, from the extra-weird slice of fun-pie that is The Tick, to the entertainingly horrifying cultural dissection of The Boys to the utterly unique Carnival Row, to the superbly adapted American Gods. It’s a bit like discovering that Geoffrey Dahlmer single-handedly created a body of artistic work to rival Vincent Van Gogh’s when he wasn’t pouring acid onto the brains of emotionally vulnerable young adults. It gives me a headache.

The Clint Eastwood Award for Most Effective Older Gentlemen… … Goes to Joe Biden, for unseating dipshit in chief Donald Trump with the casual badassery of a Wild West gunslinger shooting a baddy (probably played by Leonardo Di Caprio) in the balls. I mean, he’s not the best Prez America could ask for but a) as a Brit I don’t have to care and b) anyone who ousts Trump gets mad props from me.

The ‘It’s a Pity Everything Else is Shit Now’ Award for Best New Ongoing Series… … Goes to my own Youtube series, Victor The Magician, in which I claim to be a reality-hopping, interdimensional wizard on an endless quest to… perform magic, basically. I’ll admit that the quality is super-variable (Youtube algorithms and their constant demand for fresh content be a harsh mistress, etc., etc.). However, when I’m good, I’m really good. If you’re looking for a punch-line other than the fact that this whole bit is a self-promoting plug, it’s this: my Youtube series really was the best thing to come out this year. Not because I’m great or anything, just by default. A promising year really did turn into a cultural wasteland the moment COVIDius Rex reared its scaly head.

The Zombie Ian Curtis Award for Most Crushing Disappointment… … Goes to Rick and Morty Series 4. As I think I’ve said before, it was still good, but it just didn’t reach the dizzy heights of nihilistic lunacy achieved in series 1-3. I think the problem is that the audience is meant to learn something from Rick’s poor choices, even if he doesn’t, because the creators saw the amazing success of Bojack Horseman and decided they wanted a slice of that sweet, tangy deconstructionist pie. It worked up to a point in the climax of Series 3, but having made their point, the showrunners probably should have moved onto a different point. They forgot that the appeal of Rick Sanchez is his combination of ‘entertaining car-crash of a human being’ and ‘unstoppable superbeing’. Push him through an arc and you risk breaking the thing that makes him and the show so endlessly watchable. Rick, unlike Bojack, just wasn’t built for heavy introspection. Also, the team hired on new writers who were less than familiar with the characters, setting and subtext, and that’s always an invitation to disaster.

The Special Sir Mixalot Award for Posteriority… ...Goes to… my girlfriend and glamorous assistant, Mystic Miss Terri, who’s arse is gorgeous and majestic.

The ‘Are They STILL Making That?’ Award for a Show You Forgot Existed And is Now Back… … Goes to Supernatural, which never technically went away and whose final series is apparently being broadcast on one of the 4 channels (though who knows which one, any more), It’s kind of nice to realise it’s still out there and be reminded that there are still people who care deeply about what happens to it. It’s like when you remember ‘oh yeah, [insert cute animal here] actually exists and isn’t just an internet meme. That’s nice’. Also, it’s good to see Jared Padelacki working steadily. It can’t be easy to find acting gigs when most producers just want to shoot you and mount your antlers over a fireplace.

The Irritating Magician Award for Something That Just Won’t Fuck Off… ...Goes to this blog entry, which is three pages long in Word. Good grief. Bye y’all! See you next year, assuming that the last few days of 2020 don’t culminate in a civilisation-destroying attack by giant space-ants. If that seems worryingly specific, let’s just say that- as Leonard Cohen would say “I’ve seen the future and, brother, it is murder”… by giant space-ants.

#Secret Diary of a Fat Admirer #2020 #2021 #New Year

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wewillwriteyou · 5 years

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could you do 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 from fluff for ben hardy please? like a short timeline of the relationship. sorry if it’s too much

Thank you anon for the request! 💕🥰 I’m extremely sorry it took me so many days to write this, but I wanted it to be good and special because the plot was so cute so I worked very hard on it! I really hope you’re going to enjoy it as much as I loved writing it! 🤸🏽‍♀️💋⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂

Plot’s request: Short timeline of Ben and Y/N’s relationship

Fluff [2], [3], [4], [5] & [6]: First date + First “I love you” + Moving in together + He/she proposes + Wedding day

Warnings: fluff, a lot of FLUFF! This is written following the memories and the feelings of Y/N, so get ready ‘cause Joyce’s stream of consciousness got nothing on me (this basically means that “scenes” change fast, because they follow the trail of memories Y/N is thinking about, so don’t panic if you feel lost and confused at some point, in the end, it’ll all make sense I promise); maybe some language here and there, but this is pure asdfghjkl so safe territory, everybody

Characters: Y/N (fem! reader) & Ben Hardy

Word count: 4.1K it’s long Iknow lmao

Written by: @sweetgcreature

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Your hands were shaking, as you were trying to adjust a rebellious strand of hair that was curling itself behind your ear. A few glitters glued themselves on your fingertips, falling down your perfectly styled head.

You sighed and decided it was a lost battle when you saw the curl flee again. A shaky little laugh trembled on your lips as you studied your reflection in the rounded mirror; your lips were beautifully glossed and you didn’t dare to touch the make-up on your eyes, being too afraid to ruin everything.

When you heard a few voices getting closer to your room, you closed your eyes and inhaled sharply.

The guests in the garden were vividly chatting together, waiting for your big entrance.

The scent of delicious food had never left your nostrils from the moment you had stepped into your parents’ house.

The footsteps on the stairs got noisier. But nothing could overpower the loud pumping of your heart.

You breathed in and out again, feeling yourself sliding into your own world, slowly into the past and getting lost into your memories …

… the door swung open, making you jump and causing your hand to draw a black line all over your right eyelid. You sighed and surrendered, sitting properly on your rug.

“Emma, I hope it’s very urgent. Like, tell me the world is ending right now. Otherwise, start running!” you announced, rotating your body to look at your roommate.

“I’m sorry, Y/N but – she stopped talking and looked behind her shoulders, before stepping inside the room and closing the door – he’s here” she whispered, walking closer to you.

“What?!” you exclaimed, immediately getting up. You rushed through the door and spied the little living room at the end of the hallway; you could see a tuft of blond hair popping up from the sofa. The second his head slightly moved to the side, you disappeared again inside your room.

“No. Don’t scream. Don’t panic - Emma shushed you, stretching her arms towards your body to calm you down – now breath with me. Inhale. And exhale” she was struggling not to burst into laughter and you could sense the hilarity in her voice.

But you followed her improvised yoga’s teacher skills and breathed heavily a couple times before massaging your temples. She then patiently guided you to the wardrobe and, with her help, you soon choose the outfit and adjusted your make-up.

“Now, you go out and get the boy, okay? He’s here for you. He likes you. And, remember – Emma got serious for a moment, pressing her hands on your shoulders – not too much tongue during the first kiss”

“Emma! You nasty!” you screamed and laughed at the same time. After a few more giggles, she hugged you tight and let you go to finally meet Ben.

Seeing him walk in your living room, as he smiley admired some photos, seemed so surreal. You gave your eyes the chance to look at him one minute more, before coughing a little to recall his attention.

“Oh, hi! – his smile could light up the entire room – you’re beautiful” he shyly admitted, getting closer and bending down to give a small kiss on your already blushing cheek.

“Thank you – you lowered your head a bit – should we go?” you proposed, stuttering a little bit.

“Sure – he agreed and immediately got closer to take your jacket inside his hands – here, let me help you with this” he caringly said, sliding the coat on your shoulders.

“Wow, what a gentleman” you joked, perching yourself on his arm as you walked towards the door.

“I want to impress you. That’s the only goal I’ve set for tonight” Ben admitted, as you stepped outside the apartment. You chuckled and laid your head on his shoulder while you started walking down the stairs.

“Then consider me impressed”

The cold winter’s wind hugged your two figures as you exited the building. Ben wrapped you in his arms, trying to protect you from the cutting breeze that was not-so-gently caressing your already red face. Luckily he had parked just a few steps down the street and soon you were warming yourself inside his red car.

As he started the engine, a familiar melody filled the air and you snapped your head in his direction noticing he was already smiling.

“You remembered!” you said with a childish tone. Ben smiled even wider and, keeping the eyes on the road, he replied:

“Sure! How could I forget? You’re always talking about Queen” his fingers reached for the radio to turn the volume up. You started to nod your head and, soon, you were already singing along to Somebody to Love, making Ben chuckle and hum the song in chorus with you.

The car-ride didn’t last long and in a little while you were able to spy the edifice where you knew the cinema was located. Your heart started to beat faster again and when Ben parked the car and the silence fell between you two for a second, you were ready to bet that he was able to hear your heartbeat as well.

You stared into each other’s eyes for what he seemed, both, an eternity and an instant, then Ben smiled one last time before stepping out and walking towards your car’s door to open it for you.

Needless to say, that he didn’t even let you start searching for your wallet inside your bag, as he had already extracted a few banknotes from the pocket of his trousers. And needless to say, that he didn’t give in to any of your attempts as you tried to persuade him and let you pay at least for the pop-corn.

“Just know that the feminist inside of me is pretty angry at the moment” you commented, with a small smirk on your face as Ben kept the door open for you to enter the theatre. He raised an eyebrow in confusion, but you could see his lips were already curving into a smile.

“Why?” he then asked, as you both sat down in the last row adjusting the pop-corn on your respective laps. You shrugged your shoulders and started to eat.

“Because I don’t need a man that pays everything for me. I can perfectly handle my expenses on my own” you were obviously exaggerating, adding a sassy tone to complete the whole discourse. But you were curious to see his reaction.

“Good to know – Ben nonchalantly replied, throwing a bunch of pop-corns inside his mouth; he spied your surprised face with the corner of his eye, before turning his head to face you – this is just the confirmation I needed to hear”

“What confirmation?” you asked, mirroring the same smug expression that was painted all over his face.

“Well, if you’re an independent woman that clearly doesn’t need a man to entertain herself, you accepted my invitation just because you like me. Or, to be extremely precise, you have an enormous crush on this incredibly attractive boy that is now talking to you” Ben was clearly flirting. He had crashed any kind of barrier you had built until that moment and inside your brain a thousand of alarms were ringing, causing you to short-circuit.

In easier words: you were speechless and blushing, as you couldn’t unglue your eyes from his.

The lights went off, partially hiding your embarrassed expression. A little laugh from Ben trembled in the dark, as you abandoned yourself against the back of your seat, hoping you could disappear then and there.

You were sure your feelings for Ben were obvious, but you didn’t know they were that obvious.

Suddenly, while you were sinking inside the spiral of your thoughts completely forgetting about the movie, you felt a gentle hand place itself on your leg. You snapped your head in Ben’s direction and, for a moment, you thought you had seen him flinch a little bit as if he was unsure of his movements.

You reached his knuckles with your trembling fingertips and laid your palm on the back of his hand. He didn’t hesitate and intertwined his fingers with yours.

A sigh of relief left both of your mouths as you settled into that new kind of grey area, where you weren’t black nor white, where you hadn’t decided yet what kind of relationship was yours. You were just two human beings enjoying the moment.

The movie was pretty boring and, in more than one scene, you couldn’t help but burst out laughing at Ben’s sarcastic jokes about the two protagonists.

“Oh c’mon, who speaks like that to his girlfriend!” Ben commented again, once you were stepping outside. Your hands still casually intertwined.

“I don’t know, maybe someone who is deeply in love?” you asked, batting your eyes to sound as cheesiest as possible. He giggled and pulled you closer to his side, putting his arm behind your shoulders.

Once you got in the car the electricity that had fallen between you two was more than obvious; and, as Ben drove through the night, you noticed how both of your faces were lightened up by a ridiculously gracious smile.

When you recognized your neighborhood you weren’t able to hold a disappointing puff. You weren’t ready to let him go; you would have loved to stay in his car forever. Or at least, all night.

Ben noticed your serious face but didn’t say anything. He simply parked the car near the sidewalk and turned the engine off, letting the silence wrap you two once again.

“Y/N?” he then said, making you turn around to look at him. You hummed in response, giving him all your attention.

“I know we met just a few weeks ago and I know that this is only our first date, but – and he stopped to look right back at you – but I like you. A lot”

You let out a shaky breath of relief.

“Ben, I like you too!” you said in a rush, feeling yourself freer by the minute. A big, warm smile appeared on his blushing face and you couldn’t help but giggle.Every trace of hilarity soon dissolved, when his thumb met your lips parting them.

Ben inched towards you and you did the same, giving him the chance to delicately caress your cheek.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked in a whisper as his fingers were drawing patterns on your face. You repeatedly nodded, not able to say a word in that precise moment. Ben smiled one last time, before closing his eyes and sweetly locking his lips with yours.

You both inhaled sharply and let your emotions run free, as you savored every inch of his mouth so perfectly pressed against your hungry lips …

… your fingers caressed the back of his head, causing him to lazy groan between the kisses. You proudly smiled and pushed him down on the mattress, straddling his lap. His hands fell on your booty, playfully squeezing it.

“So eager. And it’s only seven in the morning” you flirted, breaking the kiss and sitting on his lap. Ben laughed along and caressed your naked hips; you traced his abdomen with your fingertips, tickling him then and there.

“You leave me no choice. Look at you – he worshipped you, trying to sit properly on the bed to have his face on the same level as yours – we’ve been dating only for three months and I’m already crazy about you” he added, leaving a chaste kiss on your lips.

You blushed and cupped his face to gently transport him into another passionate kiss. Ben smiled and kissed you back, encircling your body with his arms to have you glued against his chest.

“Mmm … I love you” you accidentally mumbled against his mouth, but the realization of the words you had just pronounced struck both of you at the same time causing your kiss to suddenly end.

You instantly flushed until the tip of your ears, as Ben was staring at you with his lips agape. You had never dared to say those three words because you had grown up with the idea that having a crush and loving someone are two completely different things. And Ben knew this.

“What? – a smile had started to creep on his lips, as he reached your face to caress it – are you serious?” he asked, getting thoughtful for a moment.

“Yes – you immediately replied; there was no point in lying, the truth had been exposed – I love you Benjamin Jones” you chuckled, very aware of how much he hated his “real” name.

“God, I love you too Y/N Y/L/N! I fucking love you!” he didn’t hesitate and kissed you again. He soon made you roll on your back to tower your half-naked body with his, as the kiss got more passionate by the minute.

“I can’t believe you actually said it” Ben commented, starting to kiss your neck and causing you to moan softly. Your hands were caressing his muscled back, as you let him pleasantly torture you in your favourite way possible.

“Me neither” you giggled when his hair tickled your hip. Ben smiled and kissed the inside of your thigh, hungrily looking up at you.

“I love you” he then whispered, positioning a chaste kiss on your lower belly. You warmly smiled down at him, letting his face rest on your right palm. But, as soon as you opened your mouth to reply, the phone started ringing in the living room.

Ben rolled his eyes and groaned, hiding his face on your stomach. You burst out laughing and tugged at his messy hair.

“C’mon, be a good landlord and go answer the call” you said between the giggles, obliging him to get up. He looked like an annoyed child and, once he was standing near the bed, you smirked and mischievously laid down on the mattress again.

“I’ll be here, waiting for you to come back” you flirted, patting the empty side next to you. Ben swallowed and rushed towards you, to bend down and leave a fleeting kiss on your lips.

“Damn you” he commented, running outside the bedroom. You chuckled, scrolling your head, before abandoning yourself on the bed staring at the ceiling …

… rapid steps reached the ringing phone and a quick hand grabbed it before it was too late.

“Hello? … yes, it’s me … yes! Finally, I’d add – you chuckle, resting your shoulder against the wall and taking away a couple of beads of sweet that were slipping down your forehead – there’s still a lot of work to do. Like, in every corner there is at least one box full of stuff that needs to be reordered and we’ … what? Tonight? I don’t know Emma – you said, extending your neck to spy your boyfriend who was struggling with the paint roller – the house is a literal disaster! Maybe tomorrow? … okay, perfect. Now I have to go or Ben will end up covered in blue paint very soon”

After the usual salutations, you ended the call and ran down the hallway just in time to save the paint’s container that was about to fall on the ground.

“Thank you! – Ben sighed relieved and puckered his lips, waiting for a kiss that did not hesitate to come – who was at the phone?” he then asked, taking the big brush in his hands again and adjusting the stairs near the wall to paint the uppercorner.

“Emma. She wanted to come and visit us tonight – he snapped immediately his head in your direction, making you giggle – I obviously said no, don’t worry” you added, taking a brush as well to retouch some parts then and there.

You worked non-stop for other two hours, but the proudness to see the perfect result you obtained with the freshly painted room had no price. You both stood side by side, with your arms crossed on your chests, admiring the perfectly renewed wall in front of you.

Ben rotated his head to look at you and you noticed, so you turned around to meet his gaze. He wrinkled his nose and you raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“You have something on your face” he inclined his neck, squinting his eyes to study your features.

“Where?” you asked, starting to palpate every inch of your cheeks searching for a trace of paint somewhere under your eyes and near your nose. It was at that moment that you saw his smirk and, before you could stop him, he had placed his dirty palms on both sides of your face.

“Here” he laughed looking at your furrowed expression covered in blue and white. As he was almost rolling on the floor you noticed an abandoned brush in the corner. You quickly caught it and drew a perfect blue line in the middle of Ben’s face.

His mouth opened in disbelief, while it was finally your turn to burst into sonorous laughter. Soon Ben’s hands wrapped your waist and you found yourself screaming in amusement, as he carried you on his shoulder until he reached the living room (the only furnished room of the house) where he let you fall on the sofa hovering you.

“You little minx” he laughed, kissing you. You giggled, putting two of your fingers inside the collar of his t-shirt to pull him closer. After a few kisses and chuckles, Ben rested his forehead against yours, closing his eyes.

You breathed heavily, caressing his face.

“We did it” he said in a whisper, touching your nose with his. You could feel tears of joy pinching your eyes. You kissed him again, this time slower to savor every second of that perfect moment.

“Yes. It’s impossible for you to get rid of me now that we live together” you joked, as you both found yourselves crying and laughing simultaneously.

“Poor me” Ben commented, before starting to pepper all your face with sloppy kisses. You started giggling again, hugging his shoulders to have him as close as possible.

He kept tickling every inch of your cheeks with his parted lips, slowly moving on your neck, then your shoulder, down your arm …

… he kissed the back of your hand again, for the hundredth time that night.

“Ben. We’re in public” you protested between the chuckles, adjusting his bowtie. Again.

Ben rolled his eyes and intertwined his fingers with yours, as you were both stuck in what seemed an endless queue to reach the elevator. Millions of little lights were shining above your head and you still couldn’t believe you weren’tactually daydreaming.

Visiting Paris had always been one of your burning desires. And being there with Ben, hand in hand waiting to go on the top of the Eiffel Tower to eat in one of the fanciest places on earth was even better than what you had always hoped for.

Eventually, your turn came and as soon as you reached the top you literally felt your breath stop in your throat. It was the most beautiful view you had ever seen in your entire life. You completely ignored the waiter that wanted to show youyour way to your reserved table, and almost floated to the nearest balcony.

As you stepped outside, a gentle breeze passed through your hair and your eyes got lost in the city’s skyline. Ben walked closer to you and, once he was exactly behind your back, he laid his chin in the crook of your neck encircling your waist with his arms.

“So? What do you think?” he asked, grazing his lips close to your ear. You scrolled your head, still overwhelmed by the beauty of Paris.

“This is … this is insane – you commented, wiping away a couple of tears that were starting to fog your sight; you heard Ben giggle and after he had kissed your cheek, he distanced himself as you found yourself randomly rumble andinvoluntary express your thoughts – you know, a part of me was sure you wouldhave proposed or something here in Paris, as it happens in thousands ofrom-coms. But then I thought it was too cheesy, even for someone like … you” that last word dying on your lips, as you turned around and saw Ben kneeled down in front of you.

A big, shy smile had appeared on his face, while the chatting from inside the restaurant got quieter. Everything got blurred, the time froze in the moment your eyes met his.

“Maybe it’s cheesy. And it’s also very predictable, I’m aware of that. But you know, I thought that, since everything started at the cinema, while we were watching a terrible romantic movie, it would have been funny ending up in the same exact situation” a nervous laugh escaped both your mouths, as you were quick to dry your crying eyes.

“So, here I am. Behaving as the protagonist of the cheapest film ever just to ask you if you, Y/N Y/L/N, would like to marry me?” Ben said, extracting a little velvet box from his trousers and opening it to reveal a shining ring. You covered your mouth in disbelief, nodding imperceptibly.

“Yes, Ben! Yes!” you finally replied, when you saw even the slightest shadow of preoccupation trespass his face. In a moment you were in his arms, while everyone around you was clapping and cheering you two.

The confused claps got heavier and heavier …

… they transformed themselves into knocks. The door creaked and you came back to reality.

Your mom made her entrance into the room, positioning herself behind you and looking at your reflection. She tried adjusting the curl inside your styled hair, as you had done previously, but without success. You both started to laugh, as she pressed her hands on your shoulders.

“Are you ready?” she rhetorically asked. You looked at her in the eyes using the mirror as a shield to hide all your mixed emotions. You didn’t answer and got up instead, walking towards the window.

You moved the curtains and saw all the people gathered in the garden waiting just for you. Ben was already there, trembling as a leaf and nervous as he had ever been in all his life.

“Sure” you whispered, with your heart full of love. Your mom was visibly moved as she accompanied you down the stairs and near the big, doubled-glassed window that led into the garden. Your father was already waiting for you with tears in his eyes. You kissed both of them and waited for your mother to get to her seat and for the wedding march to start playing.

When the first note trembled in the air, you squeezed your father’s arm, who held you back as you both stepped outside. Everyone got up, looking at you. You could recognize a few faces: your mom, some of your relatives and friends, Emma and her boyfriend.

But you had eyes only for Ben, who was trying so hard not to start crying at the sight of you all dressed and emotional while you were walking to reach him.

Every trace of fear had disappeared the moment you recognized in Ben’s eyes the same young boy that was absentmindedly watching your photos, wandering in the living room of your old flat.

The same boy that had kissed you in the car after your first date.

The same boy that had remained speechless hearing you admitting your love to him, a random Sunday morning as you were both lazily kissing in his bed.

The same man that had painted with you the wall of your first house.

The same man that had flown you to Paris just to propose to you.

That same man you had loved for so many years.

He was there. Wiping away a few tears after he had removed the wedding veil from your face.

He was the one. And in that precise moment, as you were staring eyes in eyes holding your hands, everything seemed perfectly right. Everything seemed simply perfect.

Ben got closer and kissed your cheek before you both diverted your attention to the priest. He leaned down again to whisper in your ear:

“You’re gorgeous”

You blushed as if it was the very first time.

“What a gentleman” you commented under your voice, looking up at him with just the corner of your eye.

“You know; I want to impress you. That’s the only goal I’ve set for the rest of my life” he responded.

You shared a knowing gaze. Nobody could hear you, but it didn’t matter because nobody would have understood that exchange of words. You smiled, as tears reached your eyes, and answered:

“Then consider me impressed”

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Did you like this story? Check out what else we’ve written on our masterlist!

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#fluff #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy fluff #ben hardy #borhap cast #borhap imagines #borhap fluff #borhap cast imagines #wewillwriteyou #wewillwriteyou ask #wewillwriteyou prompt list #sweetgcreature #deakyswhitequeen

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katieamazeballs · 4 years

Text

DWTS Live Tour Recap 2020

Whew....this day has been a doozy between lack of sleep and a weird ass day at work. This years tour was a vastly different experience than in the past because Mother Nature is a raging beeotch.... but it was still so amazing! Details below the break to save y’alls timelines some grief.

We started off our day at work and school. I had known, and bitched extensively, about the 100% rain outlook but it was pretty sunny all day. I picked Abs up at early release and I swear to you...the second the car door shut, the sprinkles started. Because of course it did. We got ready and went for some lunner only to be caught in INSANE traffic. Fun fact, Floridians can’t drive in the rain and there was a fatal accident on a major bridge that shut it down and made traffic a nightmare. No biggie though, because it was nasty out and we knew they weren’t just going to be wandering downtown so we were in no rush. We got downtown about 4 and we started wandering.

(Gratuitous bus pic)

We stopped and chatted with the nicest security lady who, bless her heart, was sitting there between the buses huddled under a golf umbrella. She said she hadn’t seen anyone in quite a while (probably because they were inside teaching the show to Keo) but that if we had been there at 7am they were all outside chillin and going to work out and such. We did a lap then stood under the awning at the front of the arena for a bit.

(Why is she so weird?)

During our laps we saw Keo (who was limping something fierce...like I wasn’t sure he was going to make it up the steps to the arena limp...looked like he pulled a hammy) but due to the sprinkling and the running buses he either didn’t hear us or pretended to not hear us. We also saw Val, possibly Jenna (hood was pulled over her to her eyes), Daniella, and Wit. Everyone but Wit was doing the mad dash into the arena from the buses. Wit was in full hair and makeup and talked to Abs for a second as she was entering her bus...Abs didn’t ask for a picture because Wit clearly wanted to get into the dry and not mess herself up. We did a couple more laps then standing under the awning loops then met up with @loveisstatic.

(Poor sweetheart bore witness to Savage being savage most of the night.)

We decided to take a lap but didn’t see anything....sigh. After a pretty epic battle over the fact that Haley said she also “liked” Alan....as in, he’s a good dancer, which “someone” took as “Imma steal your man”.

We went in the arena and went to the merch table where Abs refused a tour tshirt because Hannah was on it...lol. I was trying to get a cute pic of Abs and her 10 paddle....but home girl was trying to make sure she wasn’t standing next to Hannah ffs....

Then we went to get drinks (ha for Haley) and were very quickly let in to our seats. Haley was actually only a couple rows in front of us, so we were able to chat before the show and during intermission. The show is, of course, absolutely amazing! It has a cute “theme” of driving the bus on tour and the voice overs were cracking me up. After the Magic Mike number, Jen talks to the lady rubbing up on Val. The poor lady clearly either has zero idea who the two of them are or has lost her senses due to all the testosterone filled sweat on her person. Jen “You know, I recently got married” Lady “Oh, congratulations!!!” Jen “Yeah, that man you were just grinding and rubbing and smacking on....that’s my husband” Lady “OMG!” Jen “Yeah, his name is Val. I’ll let it slide this time (then whatever the script is)”. The lady was so embarrassed. It was funny. There was the absolute cutest little girl in the front row that Val came out and talked to. She’s on the DWTS Tour story. That section of the show was pretty awesome, actually. I loved his speech about breaking the tv barrier and coming to do shows live to all of us who were gracious enough to invite them into our homes every Monday night. Abs fave dance was Daddy Shark (I’ll steal her video and post it later....we can’t have enough reposts of that gem) and anything that had Alan and mine was the entire Hero section at the end where they’re wearing white (for the dancing) and Dream On (for the music). Actually, the dance where they’re passing the key to the tour around was pretty awesome, too. Then, it comes to intermission and Abs starts bitching about being hungry. I told her sorry (she’s not a popcorn or nut fan and that’s all they really had) and she starts made some wildly and embarrassing comments about want candy...Alan’s candy complete with eyebrow waggles and cackling. I think that it was at that point that our new friend decided that kid is a hot damn mess. Jenna’s swan dive is absolutely amazing in person....mostly for the reaction it causes. I, of course, knew it was coming but the lady next to me literally slap/grabbed her husband and whisper yelled “OH SHIT!”. After the show, the adults in the group had to pee. The teenager in the group just bitched that we were going to make her late to the buses. (This is a very important fun fact for later.) They have some weird ass security dude on tour this year who had some rule where the crowd standing (couldn’t have been more than 20 of us) had to scrunch into the space of 2 of those metal fence things as opposed to the other 57000 of them lining the buses. Every 5 min or so, he’d waltz out and yell at us to “get on this side of the line. No one can be between the buses”...except none of us moved after the first few times. He was intense and a good time fun ruiner. Kept trying to tell us that the police were going to see us standing at his one of his non approved fences (the same ones we’ve stood at for 2 other tours) and “shut the whole thing down”. Sure, Stan. Evenutally, he stopped fussing and Kate came out.

She is a gem, honestly. Super sweet and funny as hell. Love me some her. After Kate went in, it was cold and SOMEONE in our group had to pee (remember that fun fact....ha). Val came out and got into the runner van and scooted off to the airport. There was much discussion of how we knew it was him and how we knew where he was going. Sasha came out and we talked to him and got pics.

(Not all his selfies are hysterical gems that will be reused for all of eternity)

I gave him all my notes and Glebs drugs because we thought we were going to have to leave. He said he’d pass them out for me. We were deciding to leave when Emma popped out of the bus all “Which one of you gave the Benadryl to Gleb? That was bloody brilliant!”.

We took pics with her and decided to stick around for a bit more because Abs needed wanted to see Alan. Thankfully, he came out shortly after and turned on the front camera flash I didn’t even know I had.

(He also has very long arms for a good selfie angle)

After Alan came Wit and Daniella and thankfully that was it.

The grumpy security dude told us all to leave and I think everyone was ready. We were stacked like 6 people deep having to shove up to the front for pics as the pros were like “WTF is wrong with these weirdos in Jacksonville and why aren’t they standing over at all these other perfectly decent fences”. Like, they’d move over to the fence to the left to take pics and we’d all be like “NO! We aren’t allowed!”. It was cold and it was a week night and everyone was pretty much over the foolishness at that point. What was cool about the night was I got to not only meet up with a fun tumblr friend, but there were a few of us at the buses that have started recognizing each other from other tours. The girl Brandon pulled on stage recognized Abs and me and then I recognized a dude we’ve seen each year. Funny story, the girl (who is a huge Derek stan) and I were talking about how pretty Gleb is (after the Benadryl thing) and she was talking about Brandon and having to touch his butt on stage. She’s all “I mean, it’s a nice butt, but he’s just too cute to rub up on”. She’s not wrong, he is just the cutest thing in person....just not in a sexy Daddy Shark type way. Anyways, another tour down. Plans to see MVPJ with a new friend and bus stalk at the “next tour” with the other bus stalkers. Can’t wait till next time!

#dwts live tour

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fanofafan2ff · 4 years

Text

52: Arrived

Madison

I adjusted the blinds in the room so the sun wouldn’t come in as much. It didn’t matter though. Chloe was only going to sleep for an hour before she woke up because she either realized no one was holding her or she was hungry.

Is it possible that a baby could already be spoiled at six weeks? Because Chloe Monét Brown was just that.

After Mijo and Mel’s wedding, it was like my pregnancy was moving in slow motion. The weeks were going by so slowly, I felt like I’d never hit 40 weeks. But when I did and sis still wasn’t here... I was completely over it! I was beyond uncomfortable, tired, sick, fed, and up- in that order.

Our doctor had given us a two week timeline and if she wasn’t out by then, I’d have to be induced. But, Little Miss Brown wasn’t having that. A day shy of being seven days overdue, my water broke in the middle of the night. I was surprisingly calm.. but all that flew out the window once my first contraction hit.

Thankfully, Chloe didn’t torture me for hours labor wise. I was already dialed to 4 by time we got to the hospital. It didn’t take me long to get to 10 before I was pushing. She was 5 pounds and 2 ounces, which surprised me because I thought she’d be a little bigger than that.

And as young as she was, she already had a personality of her own. She loved to be held and cuddled by everyone, especially Christian. He loved his sister and nobody could tell him anything about his Coco. That’s what he called her and he made sure nobody thought they could call her that too. He was already so over protective of her.

It was definitely and adjustment, having both him and Chloe. Having two kids was no joke. It was extremely difficult about three weeks ago when we got to take her home. He was having kind of a hard time realizing he wasn’t the only child anymore. He had a whole tantrum and even told Chris and I that we liked the baby more than him.

My poor pumpkin felt like we didn’t love him all because he wasn’t the center of attention anymore. In a way it was cute but also concerning. Dr. Lopez had informed me about stuff like this happening but to actually see it was crazy. So one night, after dinner, we made sure to sit down with him and just talk things through.

We let him know that even though Chloe was getting a lot of attention it didn’t mean we loved him any less. And once we incorporated him into her routines, he couldn’t get enough of her. He loved taking naps with her and whenever he’d wake up before her and she started fussing in her sleep, he’d rub her back just the way Chris and I taught him how to so she would doze right back off to sleep. He especially loved to give her his special big brother good night kisses.

Sometimes I swore this wasn’t my life.

It was around 10am, so Christian was in school today and wouldn’t be home until around 4:30. The house was clean and quiet and I was in heaven.. at lest for another hour. I made sure to readjust the baby monitor so I could see her clearly on my phone and pulled up the door before exiting and making my way to the bedroom.

Since giving birth six weeks ago, I’d already dropped 20 pounds which I was grateful for, since I’d gained damn near 50. I’d been eating better, trying to exercise, and breast feeding helped a lot too. All the extra weight on me just didn’t make me feel like myself and I hated it. This shit had to go.

I sheded my pajamas and pulled on some compression shorts and a T shirt. I slipped on the first pair of Nikes I saw and sauntered downstairs to the gym.I kept the baby monitor app up and watched Chloe’s chest fall and rise and she napped in the dimly lit room. I popped one of my Airpods in and started some music up while I started the treadmill up.

MoneyBagg Yo’s voice flowed through my ears as my fast walking turned into strides. Not before long I was in a groove and jogging at a nice pace. I wasn’t anywhere near where I wanted to be weight loss wise. I intended on losing the 50 pounds I’d gain during this pregnancy and well as an additional 20. All together, I needed 70 pounds gone.

Of course everyone around me though my weight loss goal was crazy, seeing as though I was only six weeks postpartum, but I needed this time in the gym for myself. I hadn’t been working as much while I was pregnant with there being so much going on so there was that. After giving birth, I was stuck in this routine of being a stay at home mom and I never saw this for myself so it was weird.

But breast feeding full time came with a lot, so I told myself I’d give it 6 months and then slowly ween Chloe off my boob. After that, I’d go back to working and getting my business back on track. My pockets weren’t hurting for cash at all, thank God. But, I never saw myself living doing the stay home mom thing for real.

And you know who was supportive the who every step on the way when I told them my plan.

Christopher Maurice Brown.

I’d told him my weight goal and before I could even get the reasons why out of my mouth he was already asking if I needed him to get me a trainer. He even vowed to get healthier with me. He wanted to know what he could do to help me out of the funk of the stay at home mom routine. He wanted to help me revive my business. He just.. was everything. I really loved that man to the moon and back.

It was having his support that made literally everything so easy.

Especially with the kids. Chris made sure to make his family a priority- even while having a million and one things to tackle. He was front row center for everything that had to do with Christian and Chloe. He was getting Christian to school and packing lunches, he was changing diapers and rocking her back to sleep when I was too tired to move.

I just really had to thank God for blessing me with this man, even with everything we had been through.

An hour later I had ran about 3 miles, did ab workouts and also worked on my glutes. I was feeling good. I made my way back upstairs and checked on Chloe. I was surprised she hadn’t woken up yet. I used to time to indulge in a super long shower. I even got to wash my hair. She’d not only help my gain a little more junk in the trunk but my hair had grown an extra five inches. I was so thankful. My hair needed a break from wigs and extensions.

After I got dressed and ran some product through my hair, I climbed back in the bed and got comfortable. As the weeks went by she was sleeping a bit more soundly and I was so thankful. I finally had a moment to myself and decided to indulge in social media.

I honestly hadn’t been on there in a while. Between being so busy and actually not caring about what people posted for real these days, I only found myself on here when I had a few minutes of down time.

Cute outfit.

New boutique.

Cute hair style.

“Oh, her nails are bomb.” I said out loud to myself. I continued to scroll through my feed making sure to like a few things. I could feel my eyes slowly getting heavier as I scrolled through my feed. I double checked that Chloe was okay and decided to take a nap. I made sure to set an alarm for 1pm, ensuring that I’d sleep for at least 45 minutes.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep when I felt wet lips on my face. “She sleep man.” Chris laughed. “But I missed her today.” Christian whispered. I guess he wasn’t trying to wake me up. He was the cutest, I swear.

“Hi pumpkin.” I giggled. He crawled back over and suffocated me with a mini bear hug. “I made Coco a picture today at school.” He boasted. “Oh, you did?” “Yeah, and daddy said I could show it to my grandmas cause they’re gonna come today.” He rambled. Today?

I look at over Chris who was shaking his head at Christian. “Yooo.. you can’t hold water.” He laughed. “Surprise.” Chris shrugged. “Aw, they’re coming?” I smiled tiredly. “Yeah they should be here tonight. I knew y’all was missing each other and they wanted to come see Christian and Chloe. So, I got em some flights and they’ll be staying here for a week or two. And you need the help when I leave.” He said.

He would be leaving for a promo run for his album next week. He’d only be gone for a week and a half, but that seemed like forever these days. We’d spent so much time together lately I honestly forgot what it was like to miss him. And I really didn’t want to remember.

“You’re the sweetest.” I said honestly. “Gimme kiss.” I puckered my lips for him. He leaned over and pecked me quickly. “Ew.” Christian gagged. He got himself off the bed and ran to his room which made Chris and I laugh. I swear he was so dramatic.

I grabbed my phone and checked the time to see I’d only been sleep for 30 minutes. I checked the baby monitor app and saw Chloe was still sleeping. “Why did you pick him up so early?” I asked. He still had a cool 3 hours left. “I missed my son.” He shrugged. He eased on the bed and laid himself right on top of me making me laugh.

“Whyyyyy?” I whined. “Cause I missed my wife too.” “Fiancé .” I corrected. He kissed his teeth. “Fiancé.” He mocked in a voice that was supposed to sound like mine that made me laugh. I placed both my hands on his face and gave him another kiss. “Did you check on Chloe when you got in?” I asked. “Yeah, was still knocked out. That titty milk be having my babygirl gone.” He laughed before rolling off of me.

He placed his arms behind his head and got comfortable. He done a white T shirt, grey Nike shorts, and some socks. His was growing out his facial hair and slowly but surely, his beard was connecting. The scruffy look worked for him. But then again, what doesn’t? He looked so comfortable.. yet so fine.

“Madison.” I heard before snapping back into reality. “Huh?” “Where yo ring at?” He asked. I looked down at my left hand immediately. Shit, where did I put it this time? “I think I took it off in the bathroom last night.” “You think?” He chuckled darkly. “Aight.” He nodded before rolling out the bed and heading to the closet.

My ring was just a little too big for my finger, so it was always sliding off my finger whenever I wore it. Chris and I meant to get it resized but, it’s just been too many things going on. I kept telling myself I needed to do it as soon as possible because I was truly sick of us having this petty argument.

I got up and made my way to the bathroom. I opened the small jewelry box on my vanity and pulled my ring out before slipping it on my finger. I sauntered into the closet and watched as he pulled one of his million duffle bags from the shelf. He had been putting off packing for his trip for days but he was just ready to do it now.. all of a sudden. He was so aggravating I swear.

But, honestly, I was in no mood to argue today. I walked up behind him as he sorted through his Nike collection, trying to pick out some shoes. I pouted as I wrapped my arms around him. “Don’t be mad at me.” I whined. “I’m sorry. See, I put it back on.” I extended my hand so he could see.

“Cool.” He uttered, not even bothering to take a look at the ring. I walked around and stood in front of him. I put his face in my hands for the second time today. “Christopher. Stop being petty.” I rubbed over his ears to relax him a bit. “I keep telling you, it’s too big. I don’t want it to fall off and I don’t want to lose it so I take it off. You think I’m trying to look single out here or something?” I asked.

"I have two kids, nobody’s gonna want me.” I shrugged. The joke made him kiss his teeth. “Stop being mad at meeee.” I continued to whine. “I’m not mad.” He ensured. I let his face go and he continued to sort through his shoes. “I just want you to wear it, alright? I love seeing you have it on your finger.” He explained. “We getting it resized before I leave. Cool?” He asked. I nodded and puckered my lips for a kiss.

He bent down and got dangerously close to my lips before pulling back, “Ha, you thought!” I hated when he did that shit. “You’re not gonna kiss me?” I pouted. “I’m good love.” The side eye I was giving him was vicious. He thought that shit was so funny. I nodded and backed away from him.

“Keep that same energy, Brown. Keep that same energy. Cause when I get clearance from my doctor next week, you’re gonna be sick. You’re going to live in the doghouse. Better get real acquainted with that left hand, play boy.” I stuck my middle finger at him and made myself comfortable on top of the island which was a few steps away from him.

He looked back at me with a playful smile.

“Cap.” He muttered. I lifted my eyebrow, daring him to continue. “I know your body like the back of my hand. You just went six weeks without this dick. And if you put me in the doghouse.. you gon be sick.” He chuckled. “Why does this sound like a bet?” I grinned.

“What you tryna put on it, baby mama?” He asked as he walked over. He knew what he was doing. His hands immediately came in contact with my thighs. He ran small circles over them while staring in my eyes. Ugh, I couldn’t stand him.

“Let’s put a week of dirty diapers on it.” I said pushing his hands of me. He found it funny but nodded anyway. “Seal it with a kiss?” He asked puckering his lips up. I learned forward and just before we could kiss, I backed up and placed my hand in his face. “You thought!”

---

“What she said sis? That pussy is clear for take off!” Kaya clapped. “Pchttt!” Ashley cosigned making the worst airplane sound I’d ever heard in my life. I laughed obnoxiously loud as we sat in the back of the Mexican restaurant.

I had just left my 6 week check up and I was all good to have sex again. My health was in good shape as well, and I’d lost an additional five pounds. I was feeling good. I had been locked in the house for weeks and I needed to get away and just breathe. So, Mel decided we could all have lunch together.

Both my babies were at home with both their grandmas. The love and support I’d been smothered this week was so needed. Chris left a few days ago and I was really missing him. Christian would get so sad when he wasn’t here to bring him to school everyday, but Chris promised they’d pick right back up where they left off.

Both Mama J and Tasha were loving being here with them, but honestly, I think I loved it more. They wouldn’t let me do anything but breastfeed her Chloe. After I’d feed her they’d whisk her away from grandma time which gave me time to catch up on some sleep. My skin and body were so thankful for it. My dad was a bit too busy to take off work but he’d let me know he’d be out to visit soon. I felt like it had been so long since I seen him.

“It’s just a shame that yo husband ain’t here to be the pilot.” Mel nudged me. I hadn’t told them about the bet and I wasn’t going to. They would root for Chris anyway. I only giggled i response to her words. “I do miss him.” I admitted. It had only been a week and I was ready for it to be over.

“So when are you gonna start planning the wedding?” Mel asked. I shrugged. “Any theme in mind?” Another shrug. “Who’s the maid of honor?” Kaya asked. Another shrug. I literally had no idea. And honestly, the wedding wasn’t on my priority list right now.

Our waiter came over to the table and somehow Kaya convinced me to get a margarita. I was only having one to celebrate my health and I knew I had to pump and dump my breast milk for the next few hours. I was so glad I’d decided to pump before I decent amount before I had left this morning.

After a few sips, I was already tipsy. I had never been a light weight, but being away from alcohol for so long had me feeling like I was a college freshman again. It wasn’t before long that I was officially drunk. Shit, it was barely 1pm and I was gone.

The girls immersed themselves in girl talk as I quickly sent a message on my phone.

I miss you.

And your dick 😢

I was trying my hardest to not lose this bet Chris and I had going... but fuck.

We had sex up until I was about 8 months but after that I literally just couldn’t bother. I was so uncomfortable those last couple weeks I didn’t want to be touched. But, in this moment Chris was making me eat my words.

I was sick.

I stared into space quietly and I could see myself laid out in the middle of our king sized bed with my legs spread open while Chris sucked on me like his life depended on it. I blinked, and I could see him pushing my thighs back into the mattress and he pounded into me and whispered how good I felt in my ear. I had to take a breath because it’s was as if I could feel every bit of it.

“Hello?” Ashley snapped. “Did you hear me?” She asked. “Sorry, what?” “I said, I’m single. I’ve decided to devote this year to myself and career.” She shrugged. “So, no more fucking Austin?” I asked. “Nope.” She made sure to pop the third letter.

“Well, I’m gonna try not to.” She laughed. “Fuck, I just be having them stupid ass moments of weakness when I’m drunk. And Austin never tells me no. That’s he problem!” She reasoned. “Why toxic dick be so goooood?” She whined. “Preach, sister.” Kaya clapped.

“I’m just gonna keep the focus on myself. Stay celibate- to the best of my ability. Build my brand and kill shit. Period.” She signaled with her hand. “Well, you got our support babes. Always, you know that.” Mel chimed in. “Plus, you know we gon call you the fuck out if you start fucking him again and don’t tell us. Yeah, bitch I’m still salty.” Kaya rolled her eyes.

Once all the hoopla around Mel’s wedding went away, Ashley spilled her guts on her and Austin messing around again. Turns out they had been having sex wayyyy longer than anyone knew about. She thought he was trying to rekindle the relationship, but turns out he just really wanted to keep having sex. He was stringing her along and once she picked up on it she was out. She would slip up a few times though.

Ashley rolled her eyes right back. “Well, like I said, toxic dick be good.” She said making us laugh. “I think I wanna move to Atlanta with Ant.” Kaya blurted out. My eyes bulged. That was a big ass step. Especially since Kaya was so strategic with her love life now. Ty really fucked her head up. It took a while for Ant to get through to her, so to hear that she was thinking about moving to another city for him was big.

“Yeah, I know.” She let out a nervous laugh before shrugging. “Wow, that’s big Kaya.” Mel weighed in. “Crazy thing about it is... I’m not even afraid to do. I think... I’m gonna do it.” She sighed. “Am I crazy?” She asked.

“No!” We agreed in unison. “You love him, and if you think y’all are ready for that step, we’re behind you 100 percent of the way.” I stated. I’m sure Ashley and Mel felt the same way and my sentiments were correct when they chimed in with the nods and words of approval. She looked like she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“Wait.. that means we’re not gonna be a foursome anymore.” Ashely stated. “Bitch, we gon always be a foursome! The fuck. I wish y’all would have a bitch try to take my spot.” Kaya ranted. I swear we could never have a moment.

We continued girl talk and I had decided to have one more margarita and take another shot or two. I was officially down for the count. Mel wasn’t drinking really and opted to drive me home. On the way home, I couldn’t shake the feeling between my legs. I really missed my man.

He still hadn’t texted me back so I decided to call him. No answer. I sighed and slipped my phone back into my Birkin. I was over it. We pulled up to the house maybe about five minutes later and I let Mel know she didn’t have to come inside. I walked up the driveway and slipped inside the house quickly.

I immediately noticed how quiet it was so that could only mean no one was home or they were all asleep. I waltzed in the kitchen fumbling with my bag as I tried to pull my phone out. My eye cause the pink reminder slip hitched under the magnet in the kitchen.

Took the kids to the zoo. We should be home around 4. Love you!

- Mama and Tasha

They were so cute. I found it funny that they never opted to just text me, they always left notes. I sighed at the quietness throughout the house and grabbed a bottle of water out the fridge. I downed the water quickly before shuffling up the steps and into the bed.

I needed nap.

I stripped myself of my jeans and bra and snuggled into the bed with just my shirt and panties on. The buzz I had was going to make for a excellent nap. I yawned and hummed for a few minutes before I felt myself drifting off.

I stirred when I felt cold hands on my skin. They ran from the top of my thighs down to my knees and then back to my thighs again. A pair of lips connected to my neck next and I thought I was dreaming when I saw Chris staring back at me.

“So what you missed more? Me or this dick?” He asked before planting his lips on mine. “Definitely the dick.” I giggled. I wasn’t even about to ask how he was here right now. All that mattered is that he was. I pulled him down for another kiss. “I missed you... so much.” I mumbled in between kisses.

“I.. missed you...more.” He replied. His tongue instinctively found its way into my mouth and I let him take control. He used his knees to spread my thighs so he could lay in between them. He pressed himself against me and I could just feel how hard he was. I was still a little buzzed which made all of this feel even better.

He helped me out my clothes quickly before pulling off the shirt and Nike shorts he was wearing. With barely any foreplay, I was soaked and ready. He began running the head over my clit which sent shivers through me. He literally watched as I got wetter for him. I was sick of him playing with me.

As if he knew how antsy I was getting he stopped the teasing and began pushing my thighs back so they were touching the mattress. It always amazed me how flexible I could be once it involved taking dick. He used one of his hands to guide himself to my entrance. He began teasing me again, and just before I could protest, he slowly slid inside me.

I gasped and instinctively sent my hand to his lower torso. He pulled out some before sending a few more inches inside of me as I cried out. “Shitttt.” I sighed. He moved slowly as my body got reacquainted to his size. Once he sensed that I fully adjusted he picked up his speed.

I could hear how wet I was over our skin slapping together. The beautiful harmonies our bodies created made me even wetter. His hand found its way around my neck and my eyes rolled at the pleasure the lack of oxygen sent me. I shut my eyes for a second before I moaned and forced them open to look him in the eyes.

He was concentrated on watching collide. “Fuck.” I heard him groan before looking away and finally into my eyes. “You lost.” He grinned.

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allamericansbitch · 5 years

Text

Hello! I got asked a few days ago if I would make a git tutorial and I had the time so I thought I’d give it a try. If you are left with any confusion or have any questions please feel free to send them to my inbox and i’ll try to help!

This is everything you will need for this tutorial:

Photoshop (i’ll be using CS5 and you can try and find a download here)

KMPlayer (x)

4K Video Downloader (x)

So, first things first, you're gonna need to download the video you want to gif and that’s what 4K Video Downloader is for. Open the app

Where it says “paste video link”, that is where you paste the link from the video you want and when you click on that green button it will read the link and find the video for you.

After that, this window will pop up and this is where you choose the quality (make sure you save it as the highest quality possible and never save any clip as a quality with 60p after it like 1080p60 because photoshop freaks out and those gifs will come out laggy and weird). Also make sure that you are saving it where you want to, which is where that last bar next to the ‘browse’ button comes in handy.

After that, we will open KMPlayer. This is where we will get the frames for the gif. There are a lot of ways to get frames for a gif so if this doesn't work for you or you would like to have some options here is a tutorial that uses another way inside photoshop.

Okay so back to KMPlayer, after you open you can right-click and press the ‘Open File’ option

Then track down the video you want to gif. Once you open that file you can hit the key command Ctrl + G. That will bring up the ‘Frame Extraction’ window.

These are my settings and make sure you know where the frames are going and that it’s KMPlayer/Capture. Once everything is ready, you can click Start and it will start capturing the frames to the scene you want to gif, so go to that scene in particular and be ready to click start.

Now once you’ve gathered your frames, go to wherever you saved them in your computer and just clean up the frames, for example:

I don’t need the shots of the crowd cheering, so I’ll select those one delete them now, it saves time later so it’s a nice habit to get into.

Now we finally get into Photoshop. Once you open it you go to File, Scripts, Load Multiple DICOM Files.

This opens a window where you select the same place the frames you captured are stored.

Once you hit OK, this should bring up the frames you pulled from the video.

Now we need to start getting the files into the right format. As you can see, there is a timeline at the bottom of photoshop where, on the left, is one frame. On the right at the top of the timeline is a down arrow and 4 little lines next to it, click on that and select Make Frames Into Layers.

This should get all of your frames separated and into layers, now we need to go to the same place and now select Flatten Frames Into Layers.

This will now add the frames to the section on the left and will have frames labeled ‘Frame 1’ ‘Frame 2’ ‘Frame 3’ etc.

Now we need to time out the layers, go to that same window with the downward facing arrow and 4 little lines, select Select All Layers.

Click on any of the highlighted layers black arrows next to the 0 sec on the bottom of the frame.

You will always change this to 0.05, ALWAYS. some people try to do things differently and it always looks bad. It either goes too fast, too slow or some people time it on every other gif? which makes no sense to me and the gif just looks laggy and rough instead of smooth.

Now we are going to size these gifs. Tumblr has set some size guidelines that must be followed in order to maintain the quality of the gifs. The Wifth option is where these guidelines come in. For example, the gif i’m making for this tutorial is one that goes fully across the post, the largest gif possible on this site and the width must be 540px, if you’re doing gifs that are smaller and are half that (like a set where there are two gifs per row instead of one) then the size would be 268px, and a gif with 3 per row is 177px. The place where you can pick and choose is the Height of the gif, i want this gif to be large so i’m making it 295px, but you do whatever you want with what you are making, this part is a preference.

Let’s go back to the side timeline for one moment and do some garbage collecting. if you scroll down past all the Layer 1, Layer 2, Layer 3 etc. you will see there is left over layers that are unnecessary and that are just named the title of the download. Delete all of these layers that do not say Layer and then a #.

It’s now time to start sharpening your frames. The sharpening action I use got taken down because the account got deactivated and I cannot find it anywhere in my computer so sorry about that, but i can offer the sharpening action @nicole-kidman uses here.

Once you download that got to the actions button (which is a small play button on the right) scroll down to where you see the action, and before you press the play button on the bottom of the window, make sure you have all the layers selected and the first layer highlighted and well as the first frame (see pic below if confused)

Once all that is done you press that play button and it should start sharpening, it will go through each frame (depending on the action you use, you can run out of action before you sharpen all of the layers, my action goes up to 130 frames so make sure to stay under that just in case) and once it is done you will get this window:

Just click Stop.

Now we are moving on to coloring, this is all about preference and what type of look you are going for on any given project, but i tend to stick to pretty natural and basic coloring. I’ve been using this amazing psd and just adjusting it with every gif i make.

I’ll go over how i changed it for this specific coloring of this gif. I got rid of a few layers I didnt deem necessary and was left with these:

I lowered the curves to what you see above that this is what we got:

now we move on to brightness, i changed it to these settings and this is what we are left with:

Now we adjust levels:

With the gradient map, i didnt change anything and it’s exactly the same from what’s originally on the psd and we are left with this:

Next is exposure:

Now selective color:

And finally Photo Filter:

Now I am ready to save out the gif. Go to File and Save As to save the working File in case you need to come back and change something. Now go to File and then Save for Web & Devices.

When this window comes up there are a few things you need to double check. Make sure, under Present on the top right corner, you are saving it as a GIF and on the bottom left corner, above the 100%, the GIF size is under 3M (that’s tumblrs limit and if you upload a gif over 3M it will not move).

Once you’ve done that be sure to save it. Then go onto tumblr and hit Photo (this goes for gifs, edits, graphics, etc. as well)

Click Upload Photo

Then find where you saved the gif and there you go!

Also, here is a tutorial on how to make gradient text just in case anyone wanted to know!

And please be sure to tag me in all your gifs! I track #usersar. Like I said at the beginning of this tutorial, feel free to ask me any questions you have left! Happy Creating!

#gif tutorial #tp #edits*

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psyga315 · 4 years

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Fixing RWBY Volume 4

Volume 4 is… interesting, to say the least. It is obviously a breather volume, but at the same time, it tries to hammer home that every character is suffering to some degree. It also tries to do a sort of Game of Thrones-style “location-based arcs”, where multiple plots unfold across different areas. The only problem is that not everyone gets that spotlight. I can point you guys to the scene where Ruby sees Jaune training and nothing comes of it.

This is where I was beginning to see the problems of RWBY (dropped out midway through Volume 1 and only picked it back up before Volume 3), but I couldn’t quite put my finger on where exactly. Some critics have pointed to Volume 4 as a place where things begin to fall apart, especially in regards to Blake’s character. Then again, she was drawing pictures of the man who abuses her so…

As such, I’m going to tackle this Volume and try to tweak it so that it’s better. As before, I’m not going to reinvent the wheel or slap unneeded characters around. At this point, the only biggest change was Hazel’s appearance earlier in the show. With that in mind, we should begin with a meta-story first.

Keep Moving Forward

Volume 3 was a success and hype for Volume 4 was at its peak. Because RT managed to sell the idea that RWBY was gonna get dark way earlier than they did, I don’t see them using RWBY Chibi for anything other than training people to use Maya. Although there were plenty of animators from Volume 2.5 that used Maya, the ones RT picked out had experience with Poser and thus, they need to bridge the gap before the big Volume.

Around the same time, Miles and Kerry begin to realize that they’ve undertaken a rather ambitious task. Realizing the limit of their age earlier than they did (no joke, part of the reason the Faunus subplot got ditched was because they considered themselves too young and inexperienced to properly tackle it), they had an emergency meeting to figure out how to handle this Volume.

One solution was to simply keep the girls separated for one or two episodes before they’re reunited, nipping the problem in the bud and allowing the plot to continue. Miles insists that there should be a longer degree of separation. After all, all these girls have been traumatized and this isn’t going to be a simple pat on the back for them. The idea is then extended to one volume, to which Kerry suggests that the girls spend two Volumes separated. One where they’re getting over their trauma and the other where they’re doing something about their situation.

Instantly, the idea sticks and plans for both Volumes 4 & 5 began to take shape. Now comes the question of how to handle the high concept of four, maybe five plots going on at once. I’d assume that, with the Volume 2.5 thing, RT would have a lot of animators they could call upon. And so, a means to tackle the idea was formed: Much like how RWBY split up, so too should their animators. Miles and Kerry would continue to write scripts for the episode (barring suggestions from each animation team) and the four animation teams would handle their respective arc.

We have Team Mistral, the main team that deals with all the RNJR scenes and scenes that don’t involve the other members of RWBY, such as Salem’s Lot and Oscar. Then we have Team Atlas, who handles Weiss’s scenes. Team Menagerie handles Blake’s and Team Patch deals with Yang’s.

M&K also decide, this time, that, if they’re going to get serious, they should at least set up some sort of timeline. This leads to a month of brainstorming between them and other members of the crew to figure out what sort of hijinx would happen in a 6-8-month timespan and more importantly, how the saga would unfold. Should it all be at the same time or split across different points? Miles argues that it’d get too confusing, so at the same time would do.

They also decided to plot out how Volume 4 would unfold. Each episode will have RNJR as a major focus, with the members of RWBY sharing focus each episode. The way it works would be as follows:

· Episodes 1, 11, and 12 would focus on RNJR and WBY.

· Episodes 2, 5, & 8 would focus on Weiss.

· Episodes 3, 6, & 9 would be on Blake.

· Episodes 4, 7, & 10 would be on Yang.

· Some episodes would sprinkle in scenes of Salem’s Lot and Oscar.

This obviously messes up the flow of Volume 4, but at the same time, it would give everyone proper focus instead of randomly across the entire volume.

With the hype of Volume 4 reaching critical mass, it premieres on October of 2017 (remember, they delayed Volume 3 by a year to get the additional animators) and this is how Volume 4 would be tweaked…

Salem’s Arc

The first thing we see is Salem’s group celebrating their victory over Beacon while berating Cinder over getting injured. Salem destroys any vague wording she had given in the original and outright says that the method of which Cinder took her powers was considered unnatural and that she did not expect Ozpin to have a Silver-Eyed Warrior in his academy. Hopefully the audience can put two and two together that she’s talking about the Grimm-

[cue that clip of the audience reacting to the Volume 4 trailer and someone shouting “IT’S SUMMER!”]

… Salem explicitly points out that Cinder used the Grimm and that’s why she got fucked up by the Silver Eyes.

Most of these scenes stay as they are with the exception of Hazel being the new member of the group and thus be introduced to Watts and Tyrian, the latter of which being the one who saved Cinder last Volume. Hazel shows some remorse to the Fall of Beacon (to the point where he takes over Emerald saying “it’s almost sad” from last Volume) but when Salem says Ozpin was killed, he is relieved. At least something good came from the bloodshed.

Another change would be that Salem assigns Watts to Atlas instead of Haven. Her reasoning is that, with the CCT being down, she’d need to find a means to see what’s happening in Atlas. Watts understands and prepares a transport to Mantle, knowing he can hack into it with relative ease. When Hazel gets his assignment to talk with Sienna Khan, he asks if Tyrian would be a better choice, since… Y’know, Faunus. When Salem considers switching Tyrian’s job with Hazel’s (hunt the Silver-Eyed Warrior) Hazel and Tyrian instantly reject the offer. Hazel because he doesn’t want to hurt Ruby and Tyrian because he wants to hurt Ruby. Note that Salem doesn’t mention anything about the Spring Maiden. It’ll become apparent why in Tweaking Volume 5.

Also, I’d keep Salem’s motherly nature in this scene because that was always the nice contrast to Ozpin and considering how I dialed up the untrustworthiness of Oz, having Salem treat her minions like children instead of tools or assets would set up a huge contrast.

Cinder’s scenes are kept the same. At some point, I want to establish that the reason characters seemingly teleport all over the place is that it’s something Salem’s Seers can do. This would be done by placing multiple Seers across Remnant, which his why Watts is also going to Atlas, and then using one Seer to teleport to the other.

Oscar’s Arc

I like to thank Vexed Viewer’s video on how the creators screwed up introducing Oscar, since it gives me an easy means to avoid all the shit they did.

Oscar’s arc begins same as it does, but this time, his aunt (who we actually see) enters his room and asks if he’s okay. This has been the fifth night in a row where Oscar has had night terrors, almost centered around the exact same thing: the Fall of Beacon. Despite living so far away from Vale, he remembers the massacre vividly. More importantly, he remembers fire. Lots of it.

One of the episodes would end with focusing on him, only for a voice to pop up: “Hi! I’m Professor Ozpin!” That’s clearly more of an ending bit than a beginning bit.

Episode 6 and 7 would be where we see a good chunk of Oscar’s story unfold. Obviously, we have Ozpin trying to get Oscar to go to Haven, Oscar wants nothing of it. He has dinner with his aunt where, slowly, Ozpin takes over Oscar and forces him to go to Haven, convincing Oscar and his aunt that he always wanted adventure. Even without a body, Oz manages to find someway to ruin someone’s life to have his way.

Also, we don’t have him take the train. That’d be like if in Lord of the Rings, everyone was walking into Mordor and suddenly some 12-year-old kid flies in on the hawks. He’d be in actual walking distance from Haven. About an hour away. The encounter with Hazel stays the same, but Oscar has a slightly longer conversation with Hazel where he asks him if he’s ever been pressured to do something he doesn’t want to do. Hazel, having no idea about Ozpin’s reincarnation, tells him he has, but the reward would be to have peace of mind. This motivates Oscar to fully commit to going to Haven.

Also, skip the stinger because we’re going to use that for Volume 5.

Yang’s Arc

It’s mostly the same, but Port and Oobleck aren’t in the house since they’re dead. Also, Ironwood states in a letter that he apologizes for DQ’ing RWBY and that there’s no need to thank him for the arm so we can get rid of that meme.

There’s another plot detail, one that I’ll establish in Weiss’s arc, but the long story short of it is that the news plays footage of the ball where the Trophy Wife laughs about Vale lacking proper defenses, setting the already upset kingdom into fury, since those defenses were Atlas’s and as far as everyone knows, they were part of the problem. Taiyang is forced to go out and help quell the demands to go to war on Atlas.

Here’s how I’d structure it:

Episode 1 would have Yang adjusting to life without the arm. The simple montage of her doing chores which gets interrupted with Adam flashbacks.

Episode 4 has Taiyang giving her the prosthetic. She tries to wear it, only to have flashbacks of not only Adam, but injuring Mercury and Blake leaving her. She gets her signature hand trembles as she remembers the train from Volume 2, Gretchen’s death, and Raven telling her about Summer. It ends with her asking if she should really become a Huntress.

Episode 7 shows her watching the news when the Trophy Wife footage comes on and sees Weiss attacking her with a Boarbatusk. For the first time since arriving in Patch, she feels concern for her teammates. She knows that Ruby would be safe since she has Jaune and the others and Blake can die in a fire for all she cared. Taiyang comes home, tired and even battered a bit, having to stop some people from committing Atlasphobic attacks, which led to a Grimm attack. They have a chat about the state of Vale and Yang asks Taiyang why she even became a Huntress in the first place, to which Taiyang replies that she wanted to be like her mom, Summer. After she left and was presumed dead, Ruby had been menaced by a small bird Grimm (I’m going there) and Yang tried to fend it off. This was the spark that led to her being a Huntress. Yang, however, doesn’t buy the idea and goes to bed.

Episode 10 would bring the Atlasphobic attacks right to Yang’s home as the house is bombarded with people citing Taiyang as “Ironwood’s bootlicker” and “a droid sympathizer”. They want Taiyang’s head because if he’s not with them, he’s against them. The sad thing is that most of them are traumatized people who lost loved ones to the attacks. Yang wants nothing of it, but the moment the group grabs Taiyang and tries to string him up, her anger flares up, grabs the arm, and slaps it on her. She goes in and saves Taiyang from getting lynched but when it comes time to attack the crowd, she flinches and remembers attacking Mercury and recalling the words of doubt Blake casted in her head. She ejects the arm and, realizing she’s fighting people without awakened Auras, fights to knock them a few out before calling everyone out for letting fear control them. This obviously doesn’t instantly resolve the tensions with Atlas, but it does inspire Yang to return to being a Huntress.

Episode 11 has Taiyang, after healing up from the beating he got, talking to Yang about Raven. Because she knows about STRQ in this tweak, we don’t need to do the whole “oh, so now you talk about her” thing, but Yang does ask what Raven meant with Ozpin valuing Summer as a Pawn. Taiyang asks when she met Raven and notes that she would add that little detail. He then explains to her that Summer was special, just like Ruby, and that she was sent on special missions that none of the others were invited to. With Ozpin kicking Raven out, having favoritism placed on Summer and making Qrow his personal Huntsman, he slowly dismantled STRQ and Taiyang has quite a bit of upset over that. Realizing that this is what’s happening to RWBY, Yang decides to head to Haven…

Episode 12 has her using her motorbike, only to be stopped by a Huntress, Heather Shields, who asks for her help in tracking down a bunch of bandits. She isn’t interested until Heather says that their leader is possibly in league with the White Fang as they have a Grimm Mask. This piques Yang’s interest since this could either mean Raven or Adam.

The reason I added this subplot about Atlasphobic attacks is that I really didn’t want that ballroom scene to be in a bubble and I also wanted to emphasise the whole “angry at Atlas” thing.

Weiss’s Arc

Quite literally the same arc, but with a battle between Weiss and Jacques because he didn’t really have any earned comeuppance in Volume 7 and it’d be a better place for “This Life is Mine”’s rock version than battling giant bumblebees.

Episode 1 has Weiss more subdued than her earlier Volumes, showing her father’s leash is well on her neck. She is asked to visit her father, leading into episode 2, which has no actual changes outside of the reasoning for Ironwood’s embargo being more vaguely worded, since we want to illustrate that he’s going 1984 right now.

Episode 5 is Episodes 6 & 7 of the original mashed up into one episode. However, we get a shot of Watts recording the ball, then using the Seer to teleport to Vale and hand his recording to a local news outlet before moving to Mistral with the Seer.

Episode 8 is Weiss mastering her summon and sneaking out… Only to be caught by Jacques. Jacques is well aware that Weiss’s songs were nothing but hate speeches to him and he demands respect. Weiss refuses, telling him that he’s a poison on the family. Jacques remarks that she’d technically be poison too, since the Schnee children share his DNA. It soon leads to a battle in the Schnee manor where Jacques over relies on Dust as he isn’t a skilled fighter while Weiss over relies on her summon. As such, the two are evenly matched until Jacques runs out of Dust. Realizing that her fighting has become sloppy, she goes back to using her Glyphs and uses one to pin Jacques in place in a manner similar to how Watts pinned Ironwood in their V7 fight.

Episode 11 has her try to get on an airship before Ironwood stops her and tells her about the closures in place… Then assures her she has clearance to go, inquiring that she goes to investigate Winter’s findings on Haven. She jumps at the chance because she thinks Winter is there. Episode 12 is her on a private military aircraft with Pilot Boi.

Blake’s Arc

… Oh boy. You can tell why I saved this one for second last. Blake’s arc is by far the most infuriating of the arcs and really sets a bad standard for her. I remembered flipping her off when she said “we’re not going to fight the White Fang” when I was first watching Episode 11 because I had it up to here with her tomfoolery.

So, instead of making the battered abuse victim abuse Sun and chilling at her parents’ place as the rest of her team suffers while being stalked by someone who has a big lesbian crush on her, we’re gonna rehaul her entire arc.

Episode 1 has her secure passage on a boat. It’s not as grand as a liner in the original, but it’s not the rinkydink rowboat she was on in the comics. Rather, a simple cargo ship she had to bribe in order to get on. She has no clear goal in mind and when asked where she’s going, she says “nowhere. I just want to keep running.”

Episode 3 plays similarly to Runaways and Stowaways, but Sun stalking Blake is removed. If he wanted to be a good Samaritan, he shouldn’t dress up like some fucking cultist for no discernable reason other than “le bait and switch!” Instead, he’s there because SSSN need a lot of supplies and money to back to Haven and Sun is just doing his job as a security guard. He plays catch up with Blake whose moody nature causes a Grimm to attack them. The Grimm is defeated, but the ship has taken damage and must make a pitstop. When asked where it’s landing, the captain says “Menagerie” and this fills Blake with fear.

Episode 6 has Sun and Blake arrive on Menagerie, where it’s actually crowded this time. Failing that, the big problem is that they’re intolerant towards humans, since this is their turf. Obviously, the captain is met with tons of scrutiny and forces Blake to do the one thing she’s avoided her whole life: Talk to her mother.

I should explain something before we continue. In this tweaking, Ghira was killed by that group of people in Adam’s short. This explains the sudden shift between White Fang leaders and Adam’s words in Volume 3. In honor of Ghira leading a noble cause, Kali was given the title of Chieftain of the village I forgot the name of (Kua Kuana?) With her status, Kali could grant humans a temporary pass. And so, Blake reluctantly visits her and we get a touching reunion.

We also see Blake get introduced to the Albains, who in this tweaking aren’t telegraphing that they’re bad guys and are genuinely trying to get in Kali’s good graces. When Blake gives the Albains the business of the White Fang killing people, they state that they’re well aware, as they have Adam in custody and will sentence him to exile in the wilds of Menagerie where he’d most likely meet his end at the hands of monsters. Keen eared viewers would notice that Salem said that Adam was meeting Sienna Khan so… what gives? Well, that’s going to be explained in…

Episode 9 has Blake and Kali talk a bit about Ghira, we have that much needed talk, but instead of Sun busting it, it’s Fennec. He reports that Sun had been kidnapped by renegade White Fang members, but not saying that it was their members that kidnapped Sun. This causes Blake to give chase and goes to the outback where we get to see one of the vicious monsters Blake talked about instead of leaving it to the imagination or DC.

There, we see Sun and Blake were able to defeat it with moderate difficulty before they see Adam. The three fight, but as Blake’s trauma kicks in, Sun protects her and ends up knocking Adam senseless, revealing that it isn’t even Adam, but Ilia using a Semblance that makes her camouflage as other people (think Neo’s Semblance, but on a smaller scale). Blake and Sun are confused before Ilia knocks Sun out and retreats. I should also mention that in the battle, they also knock the scroll out of her.

Episode 11 has Blake explain to Sun why she ran (without her being a bitch about it) and Sun says why that reason’s bullshit. Kali and Corsac come in and they converse about how Adam is still out there. Kali shows plans for a raid on Haven and Corsac feigns condemnation of Adam’s actions. Blake then states that the White Fang has gone too far with its corruption and must be destroyed.

Episode 12 isn’t focused on Blake, but rather on Ilia, as she reports to the Albains and informs them on why she had to disguise herself as Adam. It’s here we find out that, yes, the Albains were in on Adam’s plans the whole time, but had to keep up appearances. They then explain that their goal is to try and prevent Menagerie from going to Mistral’s aid.

Ruby’s Arc

Finally, we get to RNJR. This is gonna be a long one since they’ll have all 12 episodes, even if they appear in only one scene. Let’s knock these out of the park by saying that Episodes 1 & 2 relatively stay the same, but episode 2 has them arrive in Shion just as Raven’s team attacks. This leads to a battle where Ruby battles her sister’s mom and doesn’t even know it. However, Ren sees the mask and freaks. Making matters worse is that the Nuckelavee appears and forces Raven to retreat. The group manages to hold off the Nuckelavee, but are unable to defeat it, leading them to run with a Huntsman following them, the same one that died in the original.

Episode 3 has Ruby talking to Ren about what the hell was up with his freak out but Ren refuses to talk and Nora isn’t helping matters. The huntsman introduces himself as Shiro Wan and says how he’s been assigned by Lionheart, the Headmaster, to investigate a recent string of bandit attacks. He then says that, if they can help him with the bandit, he can get a good word in to bring the group to Mistral. Ruby later confronts Jaune on his training with Pyrrha’s video as Jaune berates himself for letting Pyrrha die at Beacon, saying that if he was stronger, he would have helped her. We end the episode with him confiding in Ruby something: “Ozpin tortured Pyrrha…” That or he wants to kill Cinder.

Episode 4 reveals that Qrow is not only following them, but is talking to Raven about the Spring Maiden. Raven feigns ignorance, but her wording leads Qrow to confirm that she knows where the Spring Maiden is. Also, I want him to say this:

Qrow: If you don’t tell us, we’re all going to die.

Raven: And who’s this ‘we’ you’re referring to?

Qrow: EVERYONE, YOU DUMB FUCKING EDGELORD BITCH!

… I just want to do that.

Episodes 5, 6, and 7 are relatively the same, but Tyrian kills Shiro. Episode 8 has Jaune lay into Qrow about Pyrrha and Qrow tries to defend Oz by saying that Pyrrha chose, but Jaune brings up how he saw the contrary, even asking Qrow if they informed Pyrrha about Salem and the Relics, to which he sadly says no. Episode 9, 10, 11, and 12 are relatively the same as well, with only two exceptions. The first is that, in the flashback for Kuroyuri, we see that Ren makes friends with a ten-year-old girl before Raven and her bandits attack. Nora is also there and with her depression and the bandits, the Nuckelavee is let loose onto Kuroyuri, the ten-year-old last being seen with Raven and looking at the destruction with remorse. During the Nuckelavee fight, Ruby’s silver eyes act up, freezing the Nuckelavee in place for Ren to hand some final blows, rather than “hold arms down to win”.

The stinger isn’t really plot important, but reveals what will immediately happen in Volume 5 as Jaune, Nora, and Ren, with Pyrrha’s shield (if you’re gonna say she has extras, at least show she has extras), carry it over to a house and knock on the door… It’s clear what’s going on, but as the door opens, we cut to black. To be continued in Volume 5.

DVD Extra

I’d say four extra stories starring each member of Team RWBY. Maybe even adapting a story from the comics?

And that’s Volume 4… The next tweaking is going to be my final one and I’m gonna go out on a bang.

#RWDE #RWBY #RWBY rewrite #rewrite

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rebelmeg · 5 years

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Author Tag Game

I was tagged by my lovely @tehroserose! Thanks, gumdrop!

Author Name: rebelmeg

Fandoms You Write For: MCU (with one Harry Potter outlier and a few fics from other fandoms that aren’t published)

Where You Post: AO3, and then I typically share to my Tumblr

Most Popular One-Shot: SI Internship Team, a Tony and his Science Sons fic, with a surprise appearance by Rhodey! This one definitely has the most kudos, followed pretty closely by Iron Savior, and Endgame fix-it that features an older Morgan, some time travel tweaking, and the ending Tony deserved.

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: My Winter Solder/Bucky raising kid Tony fic, How To Save A Life (It Just Might Be Yours). The angst, the hurt/comfort, the soft fluff, the kid Tony and soft dad Bucky, it all worked in my favor.

Favorite Story You Wrote: Can’t pick a favorite child, I can’t do it. HOWEVER, here are the three that are on the bottom of the kudos list. The Harry Potter one that has Sirius finding the Potters the night they were murdered, The Loss I Have Sustained. A love letter from Bucky during the war to his unspecified significant other (no pronouns or specific details, sub in your favorite character), Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me). And the half-fic, half-moodboard Frankenstein creation that is my take on a flowershow AU, Flowershop Row.

Story You Were Nervous to Post: For some reason Misfit Toys had me going “What the heck did I just write?!” and I was second-guessing myself the whole way through. Personal and Working Relationships (my take on Pepperony’s canon meeting and how their relationship developed up through IM1) was one I had a hard time getting right, so I was nervous about that one.

How Do You Choose Your Titles: I like having titles that make it easy to remember which fic it is, and I didn’t discover that until recently, when I realized I had a few fics with similar titles, ex: How It Should Have Been (And Maybe How It Was) vs. How To Save A Life (It Just Might Be Yours). The first is an Aunt Peggy and nephew Tony fic, the latter is a Winter Soldier Bucky raising Tony fic. Or kind of obscure titles, like Broken Parts, On The Mend, which tells me nothing when I’m so fond of such damaged, broken babies (in this case it’s Tony and Bucky becoming friends and bonding over a replacement arm for Bucky). Or The History We Have, which is also not helpful or descriptive at all, and says nothing about it being a kid!fic where the Winter Soldier and HYDRA kidnap kid Tony. So if nothing immediately pops into my head that fits the theme, or I don’t have a title prepared already, I’ll scan the first couple pages of the fic and try to put something together from that.

Do You Outline: Kinda? As I get ideas and scenes come to me, I have them laid out chronologically in the doc, and I’ll fill in gaps when I know what I want to happen. But it’s not often organized. It’ll often look something like this (from a BBB fic about a coffee-loving Bucky):

*comes in wrapped up in a scarf, hat, jacket, gloves, whole nine yards, orders a huge hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and cinnamon* “How is it possible for a man that looks like a hobo half the time and an assassin the other half to look cute?”

Do I know who’s talking? No. What you see is all I have, and at some point, that will be extended into a scene, and then appropriately set in the fic so it gets transitioned into and out of in a way that makes sense.

All my stuff looks like this, until it gets lengthened out and made into actual fic.

Complete: I have 97 fics posted on AO3! Which I’m super excited about, I’m so close to a huge milestone! The most recent one was a post-Endgame fix-it Phil and Pepper friendship fic, The Tony Stark Halfway House For Those Currently Pretending To Be Dead

In-Progress: I have 49 fics in my fanfic folder that have their own Word doc, which usually means they’re at least a page long, or about 500 words. I also have a “bits and pieces” doc that’s just ideas or snippets of dialogue or even full scenes just waiting for something bigger to glom onto. That doc, minus the timeline at the end so I can keep it all straight, is 22K. So... yeah. Lots.

Coming Soon/Not Yet Started: As for coming soon, we’ve got several Bucky fics that I wanna get done for BBB. The aforementioned coffee-lover Bucky fic, which is basically a fluff and humor coffeeshop AU. One that is currently labelled “Tragic Bucky Fic” which is Bucky’s history as the Winter Soldier, and recovery after he escapes, that one is a “fill the gaps in canon” fic. I’ve also got IMBB coming up, and I have I think 4 different fics that are potential contenders for that one. I’m also doing two other bingos, Bruce Banner and Ladies of Marvel, and most of those are either not started or barely started.

Do You Accept Prompts: I typically don’t say I am, but I am always open to having suggestions thrown at me! Especially in comments on my fic, I have SO MANY SCREENCAPS saved that are amazing fic ideas that I want to pursue.

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write: If we’re talking ones that I have already started, I have to say... possibly one called The Ghost and The Machine, which has spy!Bucky and ghost!Tony, and it’s been hilarious! I’m excited to have that one done.

As for ones I have not yet started, either a couple Carol/Rhodey things I’ve been batting around (a meet-cute and a sad one), or a couple BuckyNat things, one of which is a take on Hades and Persephone.

Tagging: @bill-longbow, @newnewyorker93, @the-kitteh, @kimannhart, @summerpipedream, and literally anyone else who wants to play too! Consider yourself tagged, I will be delighted!

#author tag game #writing #this is why writers are crazy #fanfic writing #tag game

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serenewrites · 4 years

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Tips on Character Development

(AKA the convoluted way I do things)

Ok, so, wow. This ended up being like super ridiculously long. Sorry about that. I just got done adding "a thing or two" and it ended up being longer than what I originally wrote.

So, a while ago I responded to a post on Reddit asking for help developing a character. My comment seemed to help a few people, so I figured I'd add a thing or two and post it for anyone else who may find it helpful!

TL;DR: I think Personality tests —Myers Briggs and Enneagram — used in tandem make a pretty complete, rounded character. Add in some Pinterest Character Inspiration boards to that and you've got some preeettyyy developed characters. Also, OneNote rocks my world.

If you wanna read my entire process, keep reading. If not, just read the first few paragraphs and you'll get the idea. If you don’t care, ignore me and scroll on, friend.

The Personality Tests

When I started getting my MCs together, I took a Myers Briggs personality test for each of them! 16 Personalities is a really great resource because you just answer how your character would and it gives you so much information on what type of person they'd be. If you go to that second link, it goes deeper into their theory and what each aspect of the test results actually mean. If you're looking for that, scroll down to the Five Personality Aspects part of the second link. I think the entire thing is neat, so I recommend the read. Anyways, I've done this for my protagonists, as well as my main BBEGs, and some minor characters that I was kind of struggling with.

From there, I also looked up what Enneagram types they'd line up with according to their Myers Briggs type. That site talks a lot about what the Enneagram personality stuff is all about. It's worth a read. The whole concept is pretty neat. Your personality type is similar to the personality types that are near you, but also reflects to the types across from you. Or something... I'm explaining this poorly, I know haha.

There are a few ways I went about relating the two personality tests. I didn't want to take two different tests. I really like the Myers Briggs because it's all about decisions, but I like that the Enneagram talks a lot about how they interact with each other and the world. It kind of gave me a more rounded vision of who they are. Instead of taking two tests, I used this site to find a correlation between the Myers Briggs type and the Enneagram type.

There are 9 Enneagram types. Russell Rowe (not Crowe, I know, I thought it too) does an AWESOME job of breaking them down... into 15-20 page PDFs.

Enneagram Type 1

Enneagram Type 2

Enneagram Type 3

Enneagram Type 4

Enneagram Type 5

Enneagram Type 6

Enneagram Type 7

Enneagram Type 8

Enneagram Type 9

You can easily find any of those by Googling "Enneagram Type x Russell Rowe" and it'll pop up as literally the first thing. But I linked each of them to the above list. I have each of those PDFs saved into my OneNote folder for each major character, good or evil. I highlighted things that really stuck out to me for each character.

After reading through all those, I was able to figure out if that was truly who I wanted my character to be. Is that personality type and Enneagram type truly who I envisioned my character? If yes, move forward. If not, retake the tests. I retook my one MC's Myers Briggs test 3 times, I think, and once I rounded it out with the Enneagram type, I really got her how I wanted her, so don't get discouraged if you read the results and don't feel like it fits your characters!

This is the point where I kind of venture off into more of how I do things, so I won't feel bad if you don't want to read my word vomit from here on out. I kind of just talk about the benefits of questionnaires vs the personality test method, how I use OneNote to keep track of my character development, and visual inspiration using Pinterest.

If you decide to keep reading, thanks! Also, buckle up, because it's a lot...

Personality Tests vs Character Questionnaires

So, I use Scrivener, but I also have used Bibisco (free!) in the past. Bibisco has a really, really detailed questionnaire that asks questions I hadn't even thought about. How does this character eat? What are they usually dressed like? What's their favorite type of music? Are they a pessimist or an optimist? A realist? Are they book smart or street smart? There's like... literally HUNDREDS of questions on there. It also asks about family members, relationships, sexuality (I think, but it's worth adding), past events that occurred before the book.

While I am a perfectionist, I started with the Bibisco stuff and then ended up falling off the wagon with it because it took so excruciatingly long to complete one for each character. I already had a pretty good idea of how each of them would act and I didn't really want to put myself in a box creatively. Sometimes my characters just grow organically as I write and I make discoveries about them that way!

The Bibisco questions, and questionnaires overall, are so helpful, but again, they can be so so time consuming. If you have the time (and that's your jam) I totes recommend it. Bibisco so in-depth and has so many questions that I honestly hadn't even thought about. But I have 4 main characters, and 2 major minor characters, and 1 BBEG in my first book alone. I just could not handle like hundreds of questions per person. And tbh, the Myers Briggs and Enneagram was enough for me!

All of that to say, the way Bibisco breaks down their information and some questions it asks are really cool and helpful. While I don't answer each question it has, I do like to think of just in general, how does Kein act? How does she carry herself, talk, laugh, cry? Does she belly laugh or is it more of a quiet giggle. When she cries, does she try to hide it and push everyone away (spoiler alert, yes), or does she cry openly and ask for help?

OneNote is your super organized best friend forever

I compile all of this information into OneNote, which... is honestly a post in and of itself (something I would be more than happy to do if people were interested). OneNote is just the most amazing way to keep track of everything in my world (venturing past char dev here, for a tiny second).

I first discovered how useful it was when I started my homebrew campaign for dnd and it has been so invaluable ever since. Especially for the worldbuilding I am currently doing for my fictional world. I'm also pretty sure anyone who has Windows and the Microsoft Office Suite, has it for free. So if you do have Microsoft Office, I HIGHLY recommend checking out OneNote for book/character organization.

In OneNote, I have different collections set up for worldbuilding, chapter notes, a to-do list, a timeline, and most importantly (or relevantly) for characters. I have a section for the protagonists, the villains, the good guys, bad guys, and then misc neutral people. Though, usually, people in my book fall into the good or bad sections. I have neutral people for things that have happened historically, but that's neither here nor there.

Within each section, say, the Heroes, I have a "page" for each of my main characters. Their title page is just a bunch of random notes that I hastily added on the go, but the subpages are where it's at. Each subpage is based off the Bibisco (see above) sections. Personal Data, Physical Features, Behaviors/Attitude, Psych, Ideas/Passions, Interpersonal, Life Before the Story, Conflict, Evolution, and Visual Inspiration.

The psych section of Bibisco is a very in depth 64 questions on their psychological profile. In my OneNote, this is more or less where I put my personality test results and I highlight important information. Instead of answering 64 questions that answer whether or not Kein is outgoing or shy, the personality profiles answer those for you, quite easily.

For example, Kein tested as ISTP-T. She is an Introvert, Observant, Thinking, Prospecting, and Turbulent. Even just looking at that last sentence, it tells me more about my character than any 64 questions about how hardworking, free-spirited, or vain (all Bibisco questions) she is.

I really like how Bibisco broke down the information, but how it goes about char dev doesn't work for me personally. So I modified it to work for me! Instead of answering all those questions, I read through the questions and the personality profiles I have in the Psych section. In the other sections, I just type a blurb or two about how Kein behaves, her passions, and her interpersonal skills (or lack thereof). Instead of reading through a numbered list of questions and answers, I can just read the blurb or highlighted sections in the personality section and be reminded of her overall personality instead of how she acts in one rigid sense.

I think that's why I like the personality tests the most— they give you a more generalized sense of your character instead of how they act in a linear or flat scenario. How do they walk, for instance, is one of the questions, but that really hinges on a lot, right? What's the scenario?

Is Kein coming home from a successful scavenging mission, standing tall and proud, but letting someone else take the spotlight of success? (Introvert vs Extrovert). Or is she folding into herself, thinking about all the things she could have done differently, while she’s being scolded? (Thinking vs Feeling).

How a character, walks, talks, laughs, and generally holds themselves really depends on... you guessed it! Their personalities! Which is why I really like the personality test route.

One extra bit, OneNote lets you do 3 tiers of folders, so I can have Kein>Physical Features and then one more set of subpages under Physical Features. I find this useful for character development that happens over the course of your writing. For example, my MCs fight a pack of wolves at one point (this first book of mine is very Man v Nature). They all walk away with injuries. Under my Physical Features page, I have a subpage for Developments. I either just have notes there, or a table set up by chapter. It'll say, Ch# in the left column, and then it'll have a set of bullet points for things that changed in that chapter.

Ch# - Kein attacked by a wolf - sustained a bite to shoulder and claw slash across her stomach. (A note: for wounds, I'll sometimes add pics, but as long as you can visualize it, it's whatevs).

It goes for other aspects of character development too though! If a romance is blossoming, I'll add notes chapter by chapter using the table system I noted above. If an injury causes someone to move/walk differently I make a note of it. Especially for injuries that I need to remember like, ok, she has fractured ribs. She ain't climbing that cliff side— they're going to have to find a different way or they're going to have to figure out how to get her up it.

Side note for the injury and time keeping — I made an entire post about how I do this, so check that out if you’re interested.

A small bit on visual inspiration

When coming up with a visual of my characters, I turn to Pinterest. Pinterest is the bee's knees for visual character inspiration. If you have a general idea of what you want your character to look like, just search "character inspiration" and then adding any descriptors. Sometimes I don't find what I'm looking for, so instead I'll search "model" and then the descriptors. My MC has red hair and freckles. I searched "character inspiration red hair female" and "model freckles female" and tons of pics popped up.

I created a board named "Character Inspo_NAME" on Pinterest for each main character. A nice spring board for visualizing my characters. It ranges from boots and ripped jeans, to faces of models/people, hairstyles and accessories.

I mass pin things and then I comb through and look for stuff that really resonates with a character— a few pics of models, some outfits, particular accessories or items, shoes, clothes, hair styles!! With those few, more narrowed down pics, I place them into my Visual Inspiration folder in OneNote. I can reference it if I need to remember what someone is wearing or what a particular item someone has looks like. Or just in general if I need a bit of a boost, it helps to write a character's description if I'm looking at the character inspiration.

I’m certainly not, like, the best person to go to for visual inspo stuff. There are so many other people out there who do these amazing aesthetic and mood boards and all kinds’a stuff like that and it’s so so so amazing. So, don’t take my word for it in this area, because I’m certainly not the authority here. I’m just givin yinz an idea of how I do things.

I hope this helps! Maybe I should have added memes or something.

Anyways, that’s all folks. Good luck! Feel free to ask me any questions if you have them! Also, I'd love to hear comments on my process, or how anyone else does their character development!

i also feel like this entire post is a mess so thanks for reading if you made it to the end. also let me know if any links don’t work or anything like that.

#writeblr #writing tips #character development #writing #writing advice #writing tools #writing community #characters #original characters #ocs #writers helping writers #character inspo #character inspiration #novel writing #nanowrimo #i did this instead of writing

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arh4591-5500 · 4 years

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Week 4 Reflection - Brianna DeMan

Edward Hopper and the American Hotel:

The Hopper exhibition, for me, was a case study in how the spatial layout and intimacy of floor plan can make or break the display. For the first ~4 rooms, the space felt carefully curated, establishing Hopper as an artist, then his relationship with hotels and travel. We began to understand how the hotel and Hopper’s art had risen in tandem, and that his depictions, though often promotional in nature, explored the loneliness and contemplation of a hotel visitor. With the recreation of the hotel lobby and the sight lines created by the framing of artworks with the doorways between rooms, there was a clear path to follow and a development of the exhibition. The use of paint colors was also tied into the displays, helping to separate the different spaces and themes, while still allowing them to relate to one another. As the exhibition began to open up, past the two interactive screens, the feeling of intimacy and of connection to Hopper disappeared. The large, expansive room did not feel curated, but instead like a random compilation of hotel-related art. With no clear pathway to take through the space, it was easy for visitors to skip pieces, and the lack of intentionality and direction made the works seem less important. It is possible that the exhibition ran out of Hopper’s works (seems unlikely), but there were I believe only two of Hopper’s pieces from the large gallery space on. We as viewers lost the connection to Hopper and his interpretation of the American hotel; there was no act of comparison or continuity of legacy being shown. For me, this brought the entire exhibition down greatly, and it felt like two separate exhibits had been haphazardly attached. This really brought into focus for me the importance not only of continuity throughout the exhibition space, but also of ensuring that the exhibit has a strong conclusion, to tie the exhibit together and leave the visitor with an impression of the overall intention of the exhibit. For Hopper’s exhibition, simply concluding with a reflection on how he influenced hotel motifs in art, or his lasting impact would have been a satisfying conclusion. Instead, this was located at the midpoint and became lost in the unraveled thread that was the second half of the exhibit.

The recreation of the lobby from Hotel Lobby was an ingenious way to bring the visitor into Hopper’s world, as well as evoke the feeling of a hotel in the 1940s. This, as well as the viewing window of Western Motel’s setting, were very dynamic and popular with the visitors as well. There were several families with children that walked through the exhibition while I was there, and the youngest children loved running through the hotel lobby on the green carpet, and climbing into the chairs. For all visitors, the viewing window of Western Motel was fascinating, and while watching people approach, there were many audible reactions, including “wow”. The ability to give viewers a more tactile impression of the paintings very much made an impact on their exhibit experience, and was one of the most memorable elements of the exhibition.

Furthermore, the sight lines created by the exhibition helped to pique interest and motivate the visitor to continue further into the exhibit. This, paired with the use of color to separate the spaces, allowed for a sense of discovery as the next room could not be fully viewed until the visitor entered it. The hotel lobby was invisible until one entered the room, the viewing window for Western Motel was not visible until one went behind the dividing wall and looked to their left. I also thought that the inclusion of sketched characters to propel the visitor forward as the exhibit passed through an emergency exit hallway was a simple yet effective method of creating intrigue. The figures appeared to be looking towards the next room, creating interest in what they were viewing.

Lastly, the travel guide that accompanied the exhibition was in my opinion exceedingly clever. The form tied into Hopper’s transient life from hotel to hotel and worked like a road map for the exhibition, giving more information on select works. I absolutely adored the personalization and detail that was apparent through this small change of form. It very much helped to form an overall impression of the exhibit as well.

Black History Museum:

In the Black History Museum, my focus was consistently drawn to the layout and use of space. The use of the hallway as a timeline and introduction to the museum I felt was clever, but placing information on both sides of the hallway made it difficult to accommodate more than a few people, and those not using the interactive screens were often unable to move through the space. I did note however that the use of primarily black and white, with intermittent pops of color, was quite effective in creating a more reverent and somber mood, which reflected the heaviness of the topics being displayed.

One critical note I had regarding the screens was the manner in which they prohibited many people from getting the information simultaneously. I was behind a couple for several minutes trying to view the screen underneath the emancipation oak. The amount of information located in the interactive elements is both positive and negative—allowing for more to be told, but for fewer people to actively interact with the information at once.

With the Paradox of Liberty exhibition, the interactiveness of the exhibit was helpful in giving visitors a glimpse into the reality of the life of a slave at Monticello. The combination of artifacts with interactive elements brought the story of these families from history to reality. One thing that bothered me was the colors used in the exhibition, which made the space seem almost childlike. This may have been done to make the story of these enslaved people more approachable for families and children, but for me it seemed to downplay the importance of the lives being depicted.

The layout of this exhibit was well done in my opinion. Each family had their own history laid out on one wall, and the central display boxes featured artifacts from Mulberry Row. Additionally, the location of the Hemings family on the rear wall and further behind the dividing wall was important to telling the stories of these families equally. The Hemings family are the most well known of Jefferson’s enslaved people, and giving them greater focus, while also ensuring that the other families were introduced first and given their proper dues was well done with the division of space.

The pamphlet for the exhibition helped to ensure that the visitor continued to reflect on the lives impacted and the untold side of this narrative at Monticello. The reflective questions on the back cover helped to form a lasting impression of the exhibition, and to connect it to the larger impact of slavery in the United States. I appreciated that these questions were approachable for all ages, with more simplistic questions that children could respond to as well as more thoughtful and difficult questions that adults could still grapple with.

On both floors of the museum, the creative use of the emergency escape locations and the glass doors in front was very memorable. On the first floor, there was a KKK costume and on the second floor, a bust of Jefferson. With both of these elements, they were relegated to a place of display but not of reverence. If they had been in a true glass case, the impression would have been different, but putting them behind glass doors visually separated them from the rest of the exhibit while preventing a sense of admiration.

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