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bbrissonn · 8 months

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𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭? - 𝐥𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬

summary: in which you tell the tucrotte boy about your relationship

disclaimer: english is not my first language and this is not proofread so please excuse any errors and if any words are missing add them in your head :) also this is a work of fiction, this doesn’t reflect how these boys act in real life, and it isn’t how i imagine them acting

warnings: couple of swear words, not proofread,

pairing: luke hughes x y/n zegras (lemon au)

wc: 1.7k

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-MID JUNE '23-

Being Trevor’s little sister, Alex Turcotte was no stranger to you, no he was practically another brother to you. The two hockey players have always been close during their NTDP days, but their bond only grower closer and deeper as they arrived in their neighboring cities to start their professional hockey careers. At first, the two were always together, getting tattoos at the same time, something you teased them about, going to check out cars, everything they did, the other was right next to him.

Over the time, your own friendship with the Chicago native grew, and he was the first person you’d talk to whenever you had problems you didn’t want your actual brothers to know about. He was one of the first to know about your new friendship with the youngest Hughes, the defenceman also seeing the Turcotte boy as an older brother since he lived with them for two years. It was safe to say Alex was over the moon when he found out his “adopted little siblings”, as he liked to call the two of you, were finally friends.

When you and Luke got together, you both wanted to tell Alex more than anyone else, but you both knew how bad he was at keeping secrets, getting too excited about them and blurring them out without even noticing. So, it was a mutual decision to not tell him before your brothers, not wanting him to tell your real siblings about your relationship.

You were pretty good at acting like nothing was going on whenever he’d question you about the Hughes boy, but for Luke, that was a different story. The boy stuttered everything he’d have to answer the simplest question about you, how you were doing, how your classes were, it all made Luke so nervous.

The worst time was when Alex called him while the two of you were studying in his room together, you could hear his voice coming from Luke’s phone speaker slightly, holding back a laugh as you heard your name being said. Your boyfriend looking at you with wide eyes, stuttering over his words as he informed the Turcotte boy that you were right next to him.

Their call ended with Alex asking the young boy to tell you he’d be calling soon, and Luke waisted no time hanging the phone and letting out a loud sigh as a laugh erupted from you. For the next week or so, you took every chance you got to tease him about how nervous he was, his face growing red everytime you’d mention it.

Now, here you sat on the dock of Jack and Quinn’s home in Michigan, your feet barely touching the water as birds sang in the air, the sound of the family a couple of houses over swimming being heard. It was early in the morning, none of the boys were up yet, having stayed up late last night considering today was a day off, meaning you had peace and quiet for what felt like the first time in almost a week.

You had been invited by the middle Hughes brother months ago when they were planning this, before you and Luke we’re even together, still in the early stage of your friendship. But, even if Jack hadn’t personally invited you, Luke would’ve asked you to come, or Trevor would’ve dragged you there, tired of hearing Cole complain about how excited he was to see his favorite Swifty, the boy deciding to buy you tickets to the show in Detroit for your birthday.

You had now been a resident of the Hughes’ brothers lake house for almost two weeks now, and sneaking around the boys had been pretty easy so far. They weren’t the smartest out there, and they also just never knew what was going on around them, making it pretty easy for you two to sneak around at night or even during the day. You and Luke both thought you were doing amazing at keeping your relationship a secret from the boys, well at least from his brothers and Cole, Alex though, he was different.

Whenever you and your boyfriend would be sitting next to each other on the boat, casually talking, the boy would always be looking over at the two of you. You ignored it though, thinking it was probably just weird for him to actually see the two of interacting for the first time, but that all quickly changed the night before your brother was supposed to arrive in Michigan.

You were sitting at the end of the dock, your feet barely touching the water as your eyes were stucked on the sunset in front of you. The lake was quiet, it always was during this time of day, most families either eating a late dinner outside or already starting a firecamp, which is what the boys were doing at the moment.

Firecamp time mainly included them arguing about who got to do what, and at first you would just watch and laugh, but eventually you grew tired of their childish bickering and decided the dock would be where you spent your time while you waited for them to do done. You liked to consider it your alone time for the day, considering the house was never silent until everyone went to sleep and the noise would start again early in the morning before they left to train.

You used the hours they were gone to sleep, since sleep hand’t came until the early hours of the morning staying up late in Luke’s room until the boy fell asleep before slipping back into yours, that you’d soon be sharing with Trevor.

“Hey.” Alex said, sitting down next to you. His voice made you jump slightly, lost in your thoughts, a small chuckle leaving his mouth at his reaction. “Sorry.”

“You’re good.” You told him, smiling slightly at him before focusing back on the sight in front of you.

“You okay?” The boy asked after a couple of minutes of silence, his words making you look over at him with a confused look on your face.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know. I just feel like there’s something… weird going on with you.” He mumbled. You bit the inside of your cheek slightly before looking back in front of you, the action going unnoticed by the older boy.

“I am normal.” You said confused, making Alex let out a laugh.

“That’s not what I meant, Y/N/N. It just feels like you’re hiding something, that’s what I meant by weird.” He explained after his laugh died down. You once again bit your the inside of your cheek, this time your action didn’t go unnoticed by the hockey player. His elbow nudge when he noticed how silent you were being. “Talk to me.”

“Can you keep a secret?” You whispered, your eyes now focused on the water below your feet.

“Mh-hm.”

“Luke and I are dating.” You admitted, your voice low, almost scared someone would hear. The boy next to you stayed quiet for a while, making you a little worried.

“Old news.” Alex said after almost a minute, making your head whip towards him with wide eyes. “Z couldn’t shut up about it, freaked out a little when he found out you two were already at the L word stage.”

“Trev told you?”

“Told all of us, we all know. That’s why I thought something was wrong, you and Luke weren’t acting like Trev describe the two of you. Asked Moose about it, why you were acting weird, said he thought you were acting pretty normal.” The curly headed boy explained, a soft grin on his face.

“Trev’s an asshole, I told him not to tell anyone.”

“You really expected him to be able to keep any kind of secret? He spammed our groupchat at like midnight, Jack wasn’t happy to get woken up.”

“How’d Jack react?”

“I think he’s scared. If something bad happens between you two, it’s gonna be weird for him and Z to act like nothing happened. And if nothing bad happens, he’s scared he’s gonna be stuck being brother’s in-law with him.” The boy explained. A part of you almost started feeling guilty for maybe ruinning your brother’s friendship, but you knew Luke was the one for you.

“Ellen said he’s never seen him like this.” You admitted, a smile of your own appearing on your face as your cheeks became a slight shade of pink.

“Can’t believe you didn’t tell me though, how long as it been?”

“Almost six months. December 14th.” You told him, a small gasp leaving his mouth.

“I am wounded!” He exclaimed, his right hand coming up to rest on top of his heart, making you roll your eyes. “We’ve only known since like April!”

After a couple of minutes of talking about your relationship with the youngest Hughes boy, you and Alex made your way back to the firecamp after Cole had called out for them. Once you had made it back, you saw Luke standing along in the kitchen, his back facing the outside. You excused yourself quietly before making your way in with a grin on your face.

Since the patio door was always left open, your boyfriend didn’t hear you, so when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, it’s safe to say he freaked out a little. The cup he was holding fell on the counter, the drink he had made spilling everywhere as a yelp left his mouth.

“It’s just me Lemon.” You mumbled as you poked your head above his shoulder, standing on your tippy toes. His body turned slightly, grabbing your waist before bringing you in front of him, a yelp of your own echoing in the kitchen.

Before the defensemen had time to say anything, you quickly connected your lips together. You hands reaching to the back of his head and his neck, holding his body close to yours as your lips moved together. Whistles and howlers could be heard from the boys outside, making Luke pull away from you.

“What’re you―”

“They know, Lu, they’ve known. Since April, because Trevor can’t keep his fucking mouth shut.” You explained, Luke smiling down at your brightly before connecting your lips again. His arms now completely wrapped around your waist as he pulled your body to his as possible.

“I love you, Munchkin.”

“I love you more, Lemon.”

#bri writes #luke hughes #luke hughes blurb #luke hughes fic #luke hughes x reader #luke hughes imagine #luke hughes x y/n zegras #lemon au #alex turcotte #trevor zegras #cole caufield #jack hughes

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dsknsk · 3 months

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Limbus Company and its visual portrayal of female characters, an essay

Limbus Company, and by extent, Project Moon has been a great example of how female characters are visually portrayed. In this article, I’ll try to dissect why and how, focusing on Limbus Company as it has by far the largest amount of images I can talk about. Let’s dive in.

Disclaimer: I'm by no means a professional so please, PLEASE don't clown on this i.e mention the summer controversy. I have a personal trauma on that and do not wish to revisit it. I know it's practically impossible to ask from tumblr, but still.

Visually portraying a subject

Where to start? At the very beginning, of course. Portraying a subject visually (not talking about female characters in specific yet) has a number of things attached to it. Perhaps the first question one can ask themselves is this:

Where do I want the focus to be?

Now, you can be short and say ‘the subject, of course’, but even then, that won’t often be precise enough. Let’s say you have a butterfly as your subject. Do you want the focus to be on its beautiful wings? Or its curious multi-faceted eyes, or its roll-up tongue? What do you want the viewer to notice immediately?

Arguably, even photos of landscapes have at least one point of focus. The pretty waterfall, the vast mountains, the green pastures or the starry sky. Some have the focus split up in two, where both the lake and the mountains are to be spotted immediately.

How focus can be created

There are multiple ways focus can be drawn to a specific part or to a specific subject.

One way is to simply make everything but your point of focus uninteresting. A common effect used is the Bokeh, which blurs out the background so that it will automatically appear as less interesting and more as a faded bunch of colors that contrasts with the point of focus which is sharply shot in HD. You can also make the background to be a flat color, like black or white. Some pieces of art additionally add colored shapes or lines behind the subject as to accentuate it further.

(an example of Bokeh. In addition, the direction in which another character looks shows what our main subject is, who is actually positioned off-center.)

You can also just…fill the space with the subject, as in a close-up of the thing in question. Following the previous butterfly example, it’s like only showing a small part of its wings, enlarged to comparatively huge proportions. This is also seen in portraits and to a lesser extent, similar art like waist-ups.

The eye is immediately drawn to what we should look at, which is the character who’s front and center in the image. Secondarily the blood. Her hair also uses the next point below: color.

If you’re working with color, then color is an excellent way to bring the focus to a subject. Bright colors and contrasts can be used, like what’s done here:

The bright red forms a direct contrast to the green that dominates the color pallette. It thus leads the eye to the red areas - aka the blood the character is spilling as well as her face, which is technically a tint of red. The red returning in her eyes which have a small trail, and on her bloodied face, as well as the yellow of her tie, further help to bring focus to her face and her expression. (Other than that, this image also has classic cartoon speed lines, which are minor but do help).

Light is also something I should mention. Using the image from above, the character is actually rushing towards the darker areas of the image. The light is coming from where she seemed to come from, judging by the speed lines and the trail of red we just saw in all its glory. The light forms a line around the subject which keeps said subject’s green uniform from blending into the darkness and the green of the image.

There is a specific technique called chiaroscuro (lit. ‘light-dark’) which is totally a real thing that even old masters like Rembrandt have used to bring focus. The gist of it is that the painting has very bright areas which is the subject, surrounded by dark areas, with not much in between. This technique is often used to make scenes more dramatic, and to immediately show us what the artist wants us to see, without any possible doubt. It’s like putting a spotlight on your head in a dark room. Chiaroscuro is also seen in Limbus:

You can’t actually see much of the room our subject is in. The only light is coming from the candles, illuminating the top part of our subject. The other, darker half is much harder to see the details of. This makes it so that the eye is led from either the character towards the source of the light (the candles) or in reverse, both of which are possible and valid because in both cases, we ignore the pitch black part of the artwork.

How to create focus with characters (in specific)

Now, humans and humanoids are fascinating subjects to focus on, because there are so many situations a person can be in, and so much stuff a person can be. Are they the commander of a spaceship? A medieval ruler? An overworked office clerk? There are specific things that more or less pertain to humanoid characters more. I’m going into two aspects, clothing and posing - I’m aware there’s more, but for the sake of making this not longer than it is I’m going into only those two.

1. Clothing

What someone wears makes up a considerable part of how they’re seen and what they are presumed to be. This is also a large part of stereotyping. If you're wearing a t-shirt with pants, sunglasses, and have a camera around your neck, chances are people think you’re a tourist. To them, it likely won’t matter if you are, they will perceive you as one anyway. This is also important here: you might want to pretend you don’t know anything about the portrayed character or show their image to an unknowing friend and see what they think that the character is.

And that brings me to this point that I have seen so many times with female characters: their description/role not directly matching with how they are supposed to look if that were true. I’m talking about the battle-hardened veteran without muscles or scars of both kinds (even if adequate healing/scar removal is available in the setting). I’m talking about the scientist with a leotard under their lab coat. However, I’m not saying they should look a certain way or be the same - that’d be boring - I’m saying that…hey, it might make the viewer not take the character as serious as you want them to be.

The way clothing is built up can also serve as a way to bring focus to a specific aspect. Which will most often be either the boobs or the butt (or both) in the case of female characters. Look at this (non-Project Moon) example.

The woman in the front (obviously the focus due to the place she is standing in being squarely in the middle, and her red hair standing out) is the leader of that squad…as well as the strongest in battle. Without any protection of vital organs. With a shape under her boobs that would stab her fatally in the liver if she does as little as bend over.

The way her clothing is built up also brings the focus to her boobs - not only with how they’re prominently on display, but also with the shape the top and the fabric covering her shoulders makes. In a similar vein, her ‘pants’ and the belt all lead the eye downwards to her crotch as well. Furthermore, her thigh highs look skin-tight, bringing secondary focus to her legs, of course.

And last but not least. The guys behind her are actually properly armored from the neck down, making them somewhat more of a homogenous whole… in theory. The different body types, hair, and colors of the armor of the right and left dude make them stand out slightly more, which in turn only accentuates this ridiculous difference.

I don’t really have many Project Moon-originating images on hand that are similar to this. Every time we’ve had an ID with a female character being the leader of their group (of which we’ve had surprisingly many, actually - Don has two Section Director IDs to boot) they have usually been posing alone, or well, posing…their full uptie art normally shows a moment when they’re beating their enemy into a pulp instead of posing for the camera like in the above image. This is really consistent with the other half of the playable characters, who are male.

I want to give a special mention to two characters despite that. Faust and Rodion are both known as the more well-endowed characters, but from their IDs and E.G.O it is treated as something that’s there rather than something to be exploited.

The blue glint is the highlight here, illuminating her blood-stained clothing but also finding its equal in her small, blue eyes. I have found eyes like this and expressions like this to be quite rare on female characters. Just look at her and her face. She’s completely lost it, wrapped in twisted and warped euphoria of the moment of ‘purging’ another ‘heretic’ - and from the looks of it, the last one on the scene. She’s not even trying to clean her own clothing or face, or expose her boobs. That’s not what matters to her image, showing any kind of skin doesn’t add to her character. She’s caught in this violent moment, having her victim completely in her literal grip - not even her eyes are looking at the camera. This image showcases the violent and sadistic nature of the character.

I find this art to be a curious thing. The background is actually rather bright, making the inverse true: the character is dressed in dark clothing, so that’s what the focus is on instead. Her coat flared out in such a way it can almost be mistaken for the underside of her long hair, making her seem even larger (something certain animals use when threatened to scare others into leaving). Her actual figure is thus more obscured, it only being a few tones darker. The thing that keeps her from being a dark blob in the foreground is her sword, large enough to be an odachi. Because she’s unsheathing it, the glint that comes from the blade immediately draws attention - arguably away from her partially unbuttoned top. The animation of this in the game supports this: no boob jiggle, just her standing calmly in the moment she’s just about to unsheathe her sword.

Because I’m going to use this example further in this thing, keep this one on hand.

An image that’s again in the middle of the action. Rosespanner Workshop Director Rodion is right now turning an enemy into an unrecognizable stain on the pavement with her huge weapon. The highlight is her weapon again, but this time it actually serves as a secondary source of light, illuminating her face. The yellow coloration of this secondary light source also makes the whole thing more interesting than if it just had the background light that serves a similar purpose as it did in the first image of this post. Even though the image has a heavy pinkish tint, the red that splatters all over the scene is still very much present and they draw the eye back to the yellow light. While her pose is ambiguous, it keeps things vague by not putting any sort of focus on her lower body. In any other piece of media this pose would be viewed from another angle, as to profit from as much of her body’s curves. Not here. Her killing an enemy with visible ease is important. Not her pose. This sounds logical, doesn’t it?

2. Posing

Which brings me to this. The way a character is posed also plays a part in their portrayal. It is possible to accentuate certain body parts with this - like when a character brings their hand to their chin, or the way their legs are posed. No matter the actual scene that’s meant, the way the character is posed is a factor that decides how it’s viewed and where the focus lies. Most often I’ve found this to be when a character is shown wielding a weapon, but their ‘battle pose’ being rather something that accentuates their bare skin, or their little clothing that does the same thing.

Is your character actually showing that they’re dangerous through being shown fighting…or are they just sexily posing with a weapon in their hands to add a sense of ‘danger’? Some can be highly difficult to distinguish. Some CGs can show the middle of the action yet the way the character is posed still brings the focus away from the violence or brings a secondary focus to it. Unfortunately I don’t have examples of those on hand but I know they exist.

A character just posing with a weapon isn’t wrong - I draw that all the time - but when the focus is brought to a character’s boobs and/or butt with the pose the character is in, it will be kind of obvious (even if it isn’t true) that sexualizing those features of the character what the artist is really intending to do instead of showing how dangerous she is with the weapon.

I’m going to use this image from Echocalypse as an example. I regularly take poses like this as a reference point and then attempt to make them more realistic, or, funnily, point out their weirdness by putting a male character in it. Often I do this by using them for a different, more appropriately clothed character. This goes to show that clothing can already decide a lot in posing itself.

This character is posing with a weapon, a…particularly huge odachi in this case (I thought it was a staff at first until I saw the hilt). Which is exactly the same what Rodion is doing up there in the image we already handled. Yet, there are subtle differences between that image and this one, and it’s actually more minor than you think it is (disregarding the thematics of the pieces). Both characters…

are posing with an odachi of similar size (assuming that both characters are of similar height for ease of comparison) as opposed to being locked in battle; theoretically making the focus more on how pretty they look

have long hair (that, minus the bun and the bangs, have a similar cut) that makes their silhouette appear larger than it is

do have a relatively bright and sort-of detailed background going on

have large boobs

are unsheathing their weapon just slightly

However, to get to our first difference, we need to get back to point 1: clothing. Using the same two images, the largest difference is clothing. Kurokumo Rodion is wearing all-black clothing that covers her from the head down except for the unbuttoned top. If I had to describe what the other girl is wearing, I’d say she’s wearing a piece of armor on one of her arms, a flowered collar, thigh highs but no footwear otherwise, and something…obviously lingerie/bikini derived. I’m actually not sure if that’s a tail or part of the clothing.

But to return to our point: posing. The pose of Kurokumo Rodion is actually fairly neutral. She’s just standing there, menacingly! (I should note that their normal character talksprites are also just standing there neutrally) No, literally. Anyone with working legs and arms, can reproduce that. Just give them a sword prop and you’re done. Coat cape optional. The way she is standing does convey some sort of subtle confidence, however, just like the way she is actually looking down (at the viewer). It’s likely you’ll see the sword first for the reasons I mentioned when first discussing the piece above and then look at her from top to bottom as usual.

The way our other girl is posed…is a little harder to replicate in real life to say the least. Not only is this a floating pose (i.e you’d need support), the way her body is bent sharply brings the focus upon her boobs and butt. The human body is actually rather flexible, depending on how you’re built of course, but even so I do doubt whether anyone can do this pose even if they could somehow float in mid-air. Or do this lying down. I (someone with joints that are a little too flexible for my own good) haven’t tried and highkey don’t want to. The thigh and upper leg that is prominently on display, along with the way her body curves leads the eye to her butt or downwards towards her legs and feet.

Her facial expression is neutral, but I get some sort of… ‘dreamy’ vibe from it from the traditional anime-like proportions (huge eyes, tiny nose and mouth). Almost as if she’s doing puppy-eyes to beg for candy or something. It’s, well, what most people call to be a ‘babyface’. Kurokumo Rodion is also in ‘anime-style’ and her facial proportions are still a little bit unrealistic, but I do dare to say they’re more realistic than those of the other girl.

Also, small sidepath. What do you think the second girl is based off? One would judge from her tail that it must be some sort of water creature but whether she’s a shark or any other kind of sea creature isn’t really obvious. Would it surprise you if I told you she’s based on a bake-kujira, a SKELETON-whale (which sounds cool as all hell)? Without any kind of skeleton-parts worked into her design? To be fair, I wouldn’t have guessed it either if it were not for her canonical description.

Also, one last note about that latter image. I think that an odachi of that format would be extremely tricky to unsheathe in such a pose, because of the distance between your arms. Her arm that actually unsheathes the thing is also obviously reaching out, so she’d need more strength to do that than what the look of her arms suggest.

Speaking about arms…

On paper, our Limbus girls would have all the reason to have twig arms. After all, the City allows one to get stronger without visually changing their physique much. One can carry around huge weapons like chainsaws, lances and zweihanders without visible muscles. And yet. And yet.

One of the few times bare arms are seen (most art prefers to cover them up - for Limbus standards, this would be the ultimate fanservice thing), it becomes very clear that they at least have a basic tone. Like, the basicest of basic efforts is done to make them not look malnourished. Even if this girl above is not like, the strongest of the world (for as far as we know...) the muscles she does have are very lovingly shaded and detailed.

To end this, I’ll showcase something one last time with a funny in-game example: Roseate Desire. Roseate Desire is an E.G.O which wraps the wearer in pink ribbons and is highly implied to especially speak to the sin of Lust (which is the affinity of the attack). In the game, this E.G.O is given to two characters, a girl and a guy. In any other gacha game, it would only be given to girls.

While bent over and with a happy expression, she’s still coming to get you. How can you tell? For one, the huge anchor she has with her is within her hand (i.e opposed to it being tied up next to her or something like that), and the shield that’s tied to her arm. Despite being wrapped up, she does still look as if a portion of her is still in control, and her attack suggests the same.

Hong Lu wearing it always makes me grin. He does wear clawed gloves and his fingers are arched, that’s true, but the way he’s strung up like a puppet makes it so that he can’t even get you with those. The manner in which he is posed and his head is tilted is highly reminiscent of how one would pose a marionette. And ingame properly he doesn’t even use these claws in close combat! He wraps up the enemy in the pink ribbons with doll-like movement. Even the way he’s covered evokes a sense of powerlessness, like he’s led on by the ribbons instead of controlling them.

I think this example, along with the others, is implicative of how Project Moon’s visual portrayal of female characters is done so well. They’re equally portrayed as the male characters, if not arguably more powerful, and there’s an equal roster of 6 to 6. They’re not overtly sexualized by bare skin or impossible poses while the men are covered up in a sensible pose. These are characters designed for their personality and role first, not with fanservice or money in mind first. Even the female NPCs fit within this rule, even though they have less art to go from. When you have a game which had 97% completion on the story and a mere 64% on the systems (i.e monetization) it would kind of figure that character designs fall in line with the role the character fulfills, is it not?

#limbus company #project moon

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aethelwyneleigh27 · 10 months

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Ghostface! Ellie Williams and Ghostface! Abby Anderson with a chubby fem s/o

+ featuring some slight yandere and explicit themes (these are dating headcanons to specify)

A/n: Hi again lovelies! I didn't expect the last one to blow up so quickly so I'm back to writing, honestly every note, like and reblog encourages me to do more and do better so thank you for that. I honestly didn't expect to write something a bit gory after writing mostly fluff so this'll be interesting. Reminder English is not my first language and I'm trying my best, I hope you enjoy:)

I'll possibly add more in the future if I have ideas :3

Meet my cousin y'all: @rabblebite

Disclaimers/Warnings: Slight yandere like behavior???, violence, gore, knife kink, gun kink, stalking, suggestive themes and language. Characters may be a bit OOC (but you already know this, it's ghostface)(the chubby part is just a little add on so there's actually not that many headcanons regarding that)

If you wish to be tagged, please comment that you want to be or follow so that you'll be updated also: Rules for requests

If you don't want to send requests through Tumblr, my Instagram is always an option.

Ellie Williams dating inspired playlist made by me

Ellie Williams

The first time you met Ellie was a bit of a blur. Let me elaborate...

You were new at the school, first day and all that cliche shit. Bell rings, you run to class. You found yourself in a seat next to a girl, auburn hair and freckles. A few times throughout the class you made eye contact and smiled a few times.

What you didn't know was that Ellie was already freaking out, can you really blame her? A pretty girl sits next to her and smiles at her, not only that but you even offered her a mechanical pencil because hers was flimsy and the led kept breaking on her. She thought you completely forgot about the pencil but did you really?

This was the start of her obsession over you.

After that day she stalked you non-stop, she knew everything. She even kept a small journal, writing down what you did and how she felt about it after.

Her sketchbooks were filled with you, aside from a few other things it was mostly you. There's at least 2-3 doodles on each page of either you or your name on her sketchbook.

May or may not have carved your initials on her guitar before you even started dating.

That mechanical pencil you gave her, she kept it, barely even used it after that so she can keep something of yours.

When she managed to get enough courage to talk to you again, she tried giving you the pencil back in guilt but you refused. You told her to keep it and did that woman worship that pencil.

You got invited to her friend group, which are Dina and Jesse and out of all of them, she hang out with you the most.

After a while, Ellie felt confident enough to ask you out and a sigh of relief for her when you said yes.

She has polaroid of you lying around everywhere in her room, you even stuck some on the edge of your mirror and locker so she'd see it.

Your pet names including: princess, bunny, sweet thing and pretty girl.

The night you found out Ellie was Ghostface was the time you were walking at the street just minding your business when you were pulled in an alleyway but some creepy 50 something year old hobo.

You kicked him off of you and tried to run and the man tried to chase after you. Only to have his mouth covered by a white cloth and stabbed in the back. Hastily running, you got pulled back by the black cloaked stranger and before you could scream, she took off her mask.

"Ellie?" You whisper in fear, you saw her drop her knife and hug you.

You were still in shock, after all you just found out your girlfriend killed someone, rather a lot of people.

"[Name]? Are you alright? He didn't touch you anywhere did he?" She asked, seemingly forgetting she was still wearing her ghostface get up. Lucky for you that you kicked him off before anything else happened.

You two talked it out and you understand her motive behind all of the killings however that doesn't take away from the fact that you're terrified of what consequences await her if she was ever to get caught.

Ellie is aware of what might happen when she gets caught so she does everything she can to make sure you are not in any way, shape or form involved if she was caught.

Even if it means for her to forever rot in prison, she'd rather keep you away than endanger you for being a witness or even a suspect.

She heard about you being flirted with and inappropriately touched by some Chad. After a few days he was spotted, gutted open at the school tree hanging by his clothes.

She'd definitely think it's adorable to see you with the ghostface get up, it's specifically tailored to her size so seeing it on you with the trim dragging on the ground makes her thing of like the ghost costumes with just a white blanket and she just thinks you're such an angel, too pure even.

I just can't stop imagining her with a knife kink, though she doesn't actually cut you with it. She loves the way you whimper and squirm when she presses the cold blade on your plush skin.

She gets off on blood, that being said once she's with you and you already know about the killings, she can't just let it slide.

Someone else's blood on your skin makes her feel all sorts of things. (You may or may have engaged in sexual things after her gutting people up)

Clean up after that is a bit of work so there's that.

Seeing you in lingerie and blood would make her lose all self control.

If you were to accidentally kill someone, she would not only help you clean up but she'll also take responsibility for the kill. She made it look like ghostface did it.

If you were to decide to join in the killings, she'd let you but with moderation.

For example she'll let you make the decision on who to kill or strategize the killings. Before you could even suggest someone who wronged you, they're already 6ft under believe me. Ellie easily picks up on how you feel about someone and it's not like you don't tell her.

She'd also let you watch the killings, either hidden or disguised but that's just how far she'll go. She doesn't want you to actually be the one to do the killing cause she's too paranoid you'll do something that'll cause you to get caught.

Abby Anderson

You met at the basketball court while you were sitting at the bleachers because let's be real here, Abby is a total jock and athlete, she seems like she'd be a gym rat too. (Without the red flags of one though)

You were sitting with your friends Dina and Jesse while you guys just catched up since the past week has been hectic, you even went so far as to gossip and think of conspiracies on who has been responsible for the reported killings by the killer they named ghostface. You looked at your phone, looking at the messages when you flinched, almost getting hit by a ball.

You open your eyes shortly to see Abby Anderson, the school's lesbian jock, who by the way is holding the ball that almost hit you. Anderson muttered an apology on behalf of her teammate who mistakenly threw the ball at your direction.

You told her it was fine and that it was and honest mistake when you know damn well you would've been far more upset if that ball actually hit you.

Abby just couldn't stop staring at you, I mean could you blame her? She felt like a knight and shinning armour when she just saved a pretty girl from a potential head injury.

She snapped back to reality when she heard her teammate say "Hey Anderson! Stop flirting with pretty girls and pass that ball back will you" Abby was a bit flustered by that comment because all and all she agreed to it.

On Abby's desk is carved your name and initials, she has gotten detention over it though I don't think the school is aware of how many desks have your name carved on them.

It took a while but Abby finally did ask you out, she approached you while you were taking a few things out of your locker. "So uhh, do you want to go out with me? On a date I mean..." She asked with her hand rubbing her neck, Abby was bracing herself for rejection.

You had to do a bit of a double take because the Abby Anderson is asking you out? You said yes obviously.

May or may not have stalked you before asking you out to find out everything you like to set up the perfect date.

Abby definitely has a polaroid of you both is her locker and gym locker. (There's one in her wallet too 🥺)

Your nicknames are: my cheerleader (because she knows damn well you've been to all her games and was there to cheer her on), baby, babe and pretty girl

You only found out that she's ghostface because she couldn't take it anymore and told you after seeing that you're scared of ghostface potentially threatening your life.

Poor baby was so worried you'd think insane if her after, let's just say she ended up loving you more for accepting the fact and understanding the reason behind the killings. (let's be real here any normal person would but not you)

When you first asked to play a part in the killings, Abby disagreed, no way in hell was she letting her girl be in danger both of the police and whatever else is out there.

She hates the idea of you going to jail more than she hates the idea of getting caught and facing the consequences.

But if you really want to then like Ellie she'd let you but with limitations. You're only ever allowed to watch when you are disguised and she'll let you stab a few every now and then.

Abby with a gun kink, Abby with a gun kink, Abby with a gun kink. Watch her get turn on when you flinch from the clicks whenever she pulls the trigger.

Despite Abby hating horror movies, she sure made a hell of a good killer.

#ellie williams x reader #abby anderson x reader #fluff #x reader #x you #ellie williams headcanons #abby anderson headcanons #tlou abby #tlou ellie #tlou #the last of us fanfiction #ellie williams x chubby reader #abby anderson x plus size reader #lesbian #wlw #ellie williams x plus size reader #ghostface #ghostface au #Aethelwyne Lia writes

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burntoutdaydreamer · 3 months

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Book Openings I Love

Deciding how to start your book is an important and daunting question. I put together a list of book openings I love- and what makes them so good- to help brainstorm.

If you have any you'd like to add, please do! Let's keep this post ongoing.

1) Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Anyone who read this book as a kid will know exactly what I mean.

'The Lightning Thief' starts with a warning to the reader to stop reading the book immediately and believe whatever lies their parents have told them. Otherwise, 'they' might come for them.

An adult might roll their eyes at this, but as a kid, you believe it. You find yourself wondering if what you're reading is true. It makes you feel like you're a part of this story- even if you haven't realized it yet. So, as you read on, you might end up looking for the signs and clues that this world of Greek gods and monsters exists around you in real life. The lines between fiction and reality blur, if only for a little while, and you become immersed in the story, because on some level, you can't help but want it to be real.

It also leaves you feeling that by reading this, you're doing something forbidden- something dangerous. Exactly the kind of stuff that gets your heart racing as a kid.

2) Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Life of Pi is one of my favorite books of all time, and the beginning has a lot to do with it.

"This book was born as I was hungry. Let me explain."

The book begins with an author's note that's not exactly an author's note. It begins as any author's note might- the writer explains how his previous publication was a bust, and that he took a trip to India to reinvigorate his creativity as he tried to write a new book that ultimately sputtered and died. That was, until he met a man who promised to tell him a story that will make him believe in God. The man then told him to seek out the main character, who is alive, and living in Canada. When the author does, he agrees that his story is indeed a story to make one believe in God, and commits to writing it down as a book through the main character's point of view, only with the disclaimer "any inaccuracies or mistakes are mine."

As they follow this progression, because of the way it's all structured, there's a good chance the reader might find themselves asking "Wait, is this a true story?"

The answer is of course no, and anyone who's read through most of the book would probably figure that out easily. However, if you get to the ending, you realize the question "Is this a true story?" has significant implications for the story's themes- and that makes them all the more resonant.

TL;DR: Life of Pi's beginning does the same as The Lightning Thief's beginning, only in a less obvious way that's far more effective on adults.

3) One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

The premise of "One of Us is Lying" is that someone killed a boy named Simon, and that the people in the room when it happened- who just so happen to be the four POV characters- are the main suspects. The book then starts off my immediately putting the reader in the scene where Simon dies.

Now I'm not sure if this is a common mystery novel set up (I haven't read enough of this genre to know), but it's an effective one. This has the effect of getting the reader engaged in the story right from the get-go. Instead of passively reading the chain of events, the people who picked up the book are already going to be searching in between the lines for any clues on 'who done it.'

But not only is the reader looking all the little details in the scene, but they're also going to be questioning the POV of the person narrating the chapter. From the very start of the story, the reader gets immersed in several levels of tension that hook them and carry them through the rest of the story.

4) The Giver by Lois Lowry

"It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word, Jonas thought. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen."

The first chapter begins with a scene of an aircraft flying overhead a peaceful community, and a child narrator who's overly careful about using the right words to describe things. The narrator's trait doesn't appear to be unique though- a quick flashback to a moment in his classroom shows that this tendency has been drilled into him, just as with any other kid. The reader immediately gets the sense that something is off. What that something is, though, is a bit harder to pin.

There doesn't seem to be anything nefarious going on, aside from maybe the mention of a citizen getting 'released' after the aircraft landed and everything calmed down. Only, later in that chapter, being 'released' gets mentioned twice again at his family dinner, as his parents discuss how their work went that day. But otherwise, the dinner seems to be a normal and mundane affair with an emotionally mature, functional family. Maybe a little too functional.

So, when Jonas decides that the feeling he's experiencing is 'apprehensive,' the readers start to feel that way too.

5) A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

The preface and first chapter of "A Natural History of Dragons" does a great job of introducing one of the series's greatest assets: its main character.

"One benefit of being an old woman now, and moreover one who has been called a "national treasure," is that there are very few who can tell me what I may and may not write."

In the preface of the book, we find out exaclty who the main character/narrator is: a famous Victorian-era woman and accomplished dragon scholar, who's too old to care about being a 'proper lady' anymore. What's more, she's writing a series of memoirs about her life to satisfy the many adoring fans who have been writing her letters in hopes of hearing about the juicy gossip of her famous expeditions.

The narration oozes with personality from the very beginning, and that's before we even get to meet any dragons. Following this introduction, we get to see where her passion for dragon studies began: collecting little dragon "sparklings" as a kid. While her fictional readers would know these little creatures as commonplace in her world, the actual readers don't, since this world is as new to us as it was to her as a child. As such, the reader gets to share in her childlike wonder, and gets excited by the promise to discover the secrets of dragons right along with her.

#creative writing #writing #writers of tumblr #writers on tumblr #writing community #novel writing #writerscommunity #book blog #bookblr #books #writing advice #on writing #writer stuff #writer #writeblr #long post #booklr #books and reading #reading

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shitouttabuck · 7 months

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Buddie unintentional cuddles can power me through a whole week, so the prompt 3. Person A waking up to Person B curled up and sleeping on top of them really spoke to me <3

hiya thank u frida and @colonoscopys for sendin this one in (and an anon too!!!) very much distracted me from my wisdom tooth woes. i need to add a disclaimer that this is NOT kink it’s just sleepy drunkenness please trust me lol (rated t even!!!! not horny!!!!!!! just unbelievably stupid!!!!)

bed-sharing prompts: person A waking up to person B curled up and sleeping on top of them

put on a slow dumb show for you | 2.2k | read under cut or on ao3

Buck wakes with the same unshiftable heaviness on his chest that he gets mid-panic attack. Except—his body is incredibly confused, because while the physical pressure is bearing down, making breathing a struggle, every other cell in his body is telling him the opposite: no reason to panic, he’s warm and swaddled and safer than he’s ever been.

His brain scrambles to organise this juxtaposition of sensations. The room is dark, and not unfamiliar, even if he’s spent the night in here less than a handful of times. Eddie’s digital alarm clock is blinking at him, and Eddie’s recently mounted décor of three framed photographs on the far wall is facing him, and Eddie’s entire fucking body is draped over Buck’s and crushing the breath out of him.

Oh. Okay. The second half of his cells were right, then—he’s safe. His heart can stop racing now. And it does, a bit.

But his brain keeps reaching for puzzle pieces, laying them out for assessment before him. His mouth tastes like he licked the bottom of a public trash can, and there’s a sharp twinge behind his temple, and he feels more than a little nauseous.

That’ll be the last five tequila shots Ravi pressed into his hands pre-karaoke. Eddie’d just stumbled off stage, arm-in-arm with Karen, fresh off a You’re Still The One duet that had Karen sniffling half-way through and making grabby-hands at an amused but equally-smitten Hen. Buck had only enough time to whoop as Eddie curtsied dramatically before they were calling his name.

Buck’s good at a lot of things, but singing is not one of them. He’d whined and stammered and straight-up crawled under the table before Ravi, sweet, evil Ravi, had ducked down to join him with a tray of shots. After that is—a bit of a blur, to be honest. There was some Carly Rae Jepsen, maybe? He remembers sliding back into their booth next to Eddie and watching the rest of their friends be disgustingly romantic.

That, coupled with the best friend he’s a little unbearably in love with singing the most hopeful love song ever written, is just a recipe for Buck’s heart to get a little messy. And maybe it made him bolder with his affection than usual? Clingier, anyway. He must’ve been pretty needy for Eddie to let him crash in his bed. But Eddie’s always making sure Buck has what he needs, so that isn’t anything new. And Eddie must’ve been pretty wasted too, if this total lack of personal space is any indication.

Buck doesn’t think Eddie’ll mind waking up like this—a perk of having a physically affectionate straight best friend is that he’s mostly oblivious to a classic no homo situation. He breathes deep, weight on top of him grounding instead of suffocating, lets himself tentatively wrap an arm around Eddie to hold him steady as his chest rises with the depth of his inhale, and closes his eyes again.

Except Eddie snuffles and shifts and then jams his knee directly into Buck’s bladder. After the drinks he put away tonight? Buck’s dangerously full bladder.

“Fuck,” he squeaks, desperately trying to shift Eddie to the side. “Oh—fuck.” He clenches—everything, really, because he’s too old to wet the bed and too fond of the life he has to wet Eddie’s bed, as the aftermath of that really only involves fleeing the country.

In the end, fear of that outweighs any qualms he has about waking a peacefully slumbering Eddie, and he all but shoves him off, gasping a breath of relief when Eddie’s weight shifts from his bladder to his thighs.

“Whu—what?” Eddie slurs, scrambling up with a pinched expression. “Buck? What’s wrong?” He sits up clumsily, straddling Buck’s thighs.

“Nothing,” Buck says, voice strained. “Sorry, I’m sorry, just—really need to piss. And…” He gestures uselessly between them, face contorted in apology.

“Oh,” Eddie frowns. “Okay. Cool.”

“Cool,” Buck echoes, feeling hysterical. “Um, I’m gonna…” He tries to tug his legs free from under Eddie and Eddie clambers off obligingly.

Buck swings himself out of bed and hurries down the hall to the bathroom, cursing himself for everything from waking Eddie to ruining what could’ve been the cuddle session of his dreams to going and fucking falling in love with his best friend in the first place.

He lets the door swing shut behind him and absentmindedly lifts the toilet seat, shoving a hand into his boxers and then just about leaping a foot in the air when the door squeaks open again and Eddie shuffles over to stand behind him, resting his chin on Buck’s shoulder.

“Um,” Buck says, feeling dizzy for reasons that are only partly alcohol related. “Uh.”

“D’you need a hand?” Eddie asks sleepily.

Buck laughs nervously, frozen facing the wall with his hand down his boxers. “Uh. What?”

Eddie yawns, muffling the back-half of it into Buck’s shoulder and crowding closer, plastering himself along Buck’s back. Does Buck have alcohol poisoning? Is this the tequila version of an absinthe hallucination?

“D’you need me to hold it?” Eddie clarifies, nuzzling Buck’s shoulder gently.

Buck chokes on his own spit, body buckling as he pulls his hand out his underwear to thump his own chest. No, he skipped straight past the alcohol poisoning, he’s dead, not even a coma could dream this up.

Eddie steps back, frowning in concern when Buck finally spins to face him, eyes wide. His whole body is taut, stark contrast to the sleepy slump of Eddie’s shoulders.

“Do I—what?” he manages.

“Sorry, I wasn’t, like, trying to baby you,” Eddie says, looking unsure. “But after earlier—”

“Earlier,” Buck echoes. Eddie’s gaze has dropped to south of Buck’s navel, where his boxers have rucked up enough to leave a considerable amount of his happy trail on display. He yanks the waistband up quickly, and Eddie’s head snaps up too, cheeks dusted pink. Then his face, his perfect, beautiful face, falls.

“Wait, Buck—do you not remember? After karaoke?” he asks, taking a step back. “Oh, I—I didn’t think you were that drunk.”

“I wasn’t,” Buck insists, racking his brain, and oh.

The tequila-soaked memory swims up, Buck desperate for the toilet and stubborn about being able to get there himself, despite tripping over his stupid Bambi legs not two steps from their table. Eddie laughing and slinging an arm around him, half-carrying him to the men’s room. Buck standing in front of the urinal, frowning and arms flopping helplessly at his sides.

“Eddie,” he’d whined. “My hands aren’t working.”

Eddie’d laughed again, fond and warm, and asked if he wanted to sit in a stall.

“No,” Buck had pouted. “My zip…” He’d turned to Eddie, lopsided grin and beseeching eyes, and Eddie’d shaken his head and come to stand behind him. He’d undone Buck’s zipper and asked, “Alright?” and Buck had pouted some more.

“Can you help?” he’d asked, mortifyingly pathetic. Eddie’d raised an eyebrow and snorted, and then Buck had said, “Eddieee. These are my nice jeans. My hands don’t work. Your hands are perfect.”

Eddie’d muttered, “Might as well happen like this,” and slipped a hand into Buck’s jeans and—ah. Held his dick while he peed.

“Oh,” Buck says now, voice small. “Fuck, Eds, I’m sorry.”

Eddie narrows his eyes, somewhat blearily. “Why? I wouldn’t have if I didn’t want to.”

“Yeah, but I know—I don’t think we’re on the same page. I don’t—” Buck closes his eyes and presses the heels of his palms into them. “I don’t think it meant the same thing for us.”

“Oh,” Eddie’s face is suddenly unreadable. He crosses his arms over his chest and takes another step back. Buck wants to cry. He basically tricked his best friend into touching him—doesn’t matter if Eddie did it platonically, because drunk or not, genuinely needing help to piss or not, Buck’s pretty sure his own intentions were not all that innocent.

“I’m so sorry, Eds,” he says. “I was drunk as hell—that’s not an excuse, but it won’t happen again. I—I’ll be better at keeping it to myself. The last thing I ever want is to make you feel uncomfortable around me.”

Something passes over Eddie’s face. “Wait,” he says slowly, “you asked me to hold your dick as friends?” There’s an uncertain lilt to the question, like he truly doesn’t know what the answer is anymore.

“Uh,” Buck says. He could use the confusion to wrestle the cat back into the bag and then ship said bag one-way to Nicaragua, but Eddie’s looking a little lost, arms crossed in his black vest and boxers and mismatched socks. Buck can’t be the cause of that. “No. I’m sorry. I wasn’t—I swear I wasn’t trying to trick you. I was just really drunk.”

“Okay,” Eddie says, stepping forward again and reaching out to tug Buck in by the hem of his t-shirt. “What’s the problem then?” He slides a warm hand under Buck’s shirt, smoothing it across his skin.

Buck inhales sharply, blood rushing to his brain and cheeks and cock so quickly he reaches for the porcelain toilet tank behind him to steady himself. “W-wait. Were you holding my dick as friends?”

Eddie blinks at him, disbelief slowly overtaking the slack sleepiness of his facial muscles. “You thought—is that generally something your friends do for you?”

“No, but…” Buck falters. “Why—why did you, then? Why else would you…”

“I was holding your dick because I want to kiss it,” Eddie snaps, and then claps a hand over his mouth, eyes wide and horrified. “I want to kiss you,” he amends. “You, not your—I mean, sure, that too, but. Can you say something.”

The many million times Buck has daydreamed and fantasised and wished for this, he’s never anticipated fuzzy patches in his memory of it. But these things are clear: waking up with Eddie plastered to him like he wants to touch Buck at every possible point, Eddie following him in here unprompted and pressing up against him with unchecked affection, because even in his sleepy state Eddie just wants to make sure Buck has what he needs, even if what he needs is help holding his dick in a context that’s soft and sleepy and miles from sexual.

“You came in here to hold my dick,” he says, grin spreading.

Eddie’s cheeks are so rosy, rosier than they’d been with the flush of alcohol, even. “I came in here because I didn’t want your uncoordinated drunk ass pissing all over my bathroom.”

“Aw, Eds, you romantic,” Buck says, stepping closer. Eddie sighs exasperatedly, tilting his face up expectantly anyway. But, oh—

“Did we kiss already?” Buck asks, heart dropping. “Do I not remember?”

Eddie brings up one large palm to rub Buck’s sternum gently. “Nah. Didn’t seem like the right time. I kinda—I wanted to do that not-drunk.”

“Oh,” Buck says, sagging with relief. “Good.” Eddie gives him a sleepy, wonky smile, and Buck says, “I’m not drunk now.”

Eddie huffs a laugh, stepping back and patting Buck’s chest. “Nope, just hungover and harbouring the most toxic tequila-flavoured morning breath anyone’s ever had.”

“Don’t forget desperate to pee,” Buck grins. “You gonna help a guy out?” He flaps his arms limply, batting his lashes at Eddie.

Eddie grumbles unintelligibly, lips twitching with amusement as he bodily rearranges Buck to face the toilet again. Buck melts back into the cradle of his arms, safe and sleepy and sated enough that his dick doesn’t do any more than he needs it to right now, even with Eddie’s warm hand wrapped around it.

They stumble back to bed, Buck belatedly remembering he’s not washed his hands but deciding not to care if Eddie doesn’t, and when Buck flops down, Eddie’s right back on top of him.

Buck wheezes as the breath’s punched out of his lungs, and it becomes a laugh, and this time he wraps both arms firmly around Eddie to hold him tight. Eddie exhales into the crook of his neck, breath hot and a little gross, and then lifts his head to press a close-mouthed kiss to the corner of Buck’s lips.

“This one doesn’t count,” he murmurs against Buck’s cheek. “I just can’t believe you thought I wanted to hold your dick as friends, so. It’s an almost-kiss. An IOU. Tomorrow I’m gonna kiss you till one of us passes out. Not as friends.”

“As enemies,” Buck whispers solemnly and then grunts when Eddie digs an elbow into his ribs. “As anything you want, s’long as I can keep the kissing and the dick-holding and—this.” He tightens his arms around Eddie, feeling his chest reverberate against Buck’s as he laughs.

“Deal,” he agrees, nestling closer, messy hair getting in Buck’s mouth as he shifts. “But just so you know what I want—and I don’t mean to skip ahead—though I guess we’re doing the regular dating bases all out of order anyway—” He sighs, deep and satisfied as he gets comfortable, and says, “I’m ready to have and to dick-hold you every day of the week, you know?”

Buck didn’t know, but now he does, and in eleven months’ time when he and Eddie are saying these words in front of their friends and family, sans penis, not one single person can blame him for lurching forward and kissing the adoring smirk off Eddie’s face miles before poor ordained Bobby gives him the go-ahead. Doing true love in order is overrated, anyway.

#911 fic #buddie fic #this might be the silliest thing ive ever written im so sorry frida and rain #911 #buddie #i was gonna say i have no defense for this bc the only painkillers i’m on are ibuprofen and paracetamol #but turns out i’ve had a fever all afternoon so let’s conveniently blame cognitive impairment for whatever this is yeah #nina writes #im posting it to ao3 because its over 2k but like. perhaps it shouldnt be immortalised over there.#bed sharing prompts #mine

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anghraine · 5 months

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petty ranting about the LOTR movies

I've been in various fandoms where an ostensibly "faithful" adaptation was frequently held up as the One True Version of the text, the author's vision brought to life, the one nothing could ever compare to and the reason no others should ever be made, how is it possible to envision the characters or interpretations of them differently blah blah blah. (1995 P&P fandom is very frequently like this, sometimes Faith and Fear fans are, esp wrt The Borgias, etc.)

But I'm not sure I've ever seen an adaptation so uncritically adored by so many as the Jackson LOTR movies. I don't think any fandom is so insistent on an adaptation as people are insistent on the movies as the one true version of Middle-earth, even where they're radically different. Even when people agree with criticisms, it's been really noticeable that people often also add disclaimers about how they love the movies, they're perfect in almost every way, they're super faithful apart from this thing, of course the reason for [choice that was made] was understandable it's just that... etc.

And the thing is, I may hate some of the interpretations in other allegedly faithful adaptations. Like, speaking of the 1995 P&P, I dislike a lot about it and its influence on popular perception of what P&P is, of what adaptation should look like, of the brooding version of my fave hero Darcy, and so on. But I do understand why it's often held up as a faithful adaptation.

It uses a lot of the original text (though it can be subtly or glaringly different in execution), it's able to blur the lines between its own inventions and material from the text in a way that's often convinced audiences that things from the adaptation are actually in the novel, and it's more successful at doing this than any other Davies version of Austen IMO, it has a very convincing cast, blahblah. Like, I disagree that it is as faithful as it's reputed to be (by a long ways), but I get why it has that reputation, at least.

But I genuinely find Jackson's LOTR so different from the book! The movies certainly draw from it in significant ways, but dialogue is heavily altered or manufactured, motivations and characterization are simplified, altered, or just outright transformed into something entirely different, themes are shifted around, the structure is seriously changed (something Tolkien specifically did not want to happen), the relatively compact battles in the book are turned into big action set pieces taking up major swaths of screen time, a lot of the lore is heavily contracted, changed, or simply absent where it casts heavy shadows over the dynamics in the book, and oh yeah, they manage to be even more racist.

Some of this (not the racism) is defensible even if I don't personally agree w/ those defenses in a lot of cases. But there are a ton of differences between them! And you can talk about the films as their own thing cinematically and that's its own discussion. But the conflation of the movies with the actual things Tolkien actually wrote is even more widespread and absolute and annoying than with things like the 1995 P&P, with not half as much reason for it.

#never thought i'd somewhat defend the 1995 pride and prejudice and how irritating fandom is about it but...#whew #youtuber challenge: talk about modern fantasy adaptations without referencing the lotr movies. like. at all.#bc i'm pretty sure most of the youtubers recommended to me are constitutionally incapable of it #anghraine rants #pj critical #legendarium blogging #legendarium fanwank #austen blogging #austen fanwank #andrew davies critical #long post

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nekoannie-chan · 4 months

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Regretful words

Pairing: 40!Steve Rogers X 40’s!Reader.

Word count: 819 words.

Summary: Steve didn’t wait for you to take you to the dance.

Warnings: Angst, kind of cheating, feelings of regret.

A/N: This is my entry to @jessybarnes’s Jessy Reaches 500 Followers Writing Challenge with the prompt angst #4:

"I don’t forgive you."

You can read it on Wattpad and Ao3 too.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

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The 40's.

The hum of the music echoed, you didn't know where it was coming from, but it wasn't supposed to be loud, so you continued with what you were doing. Steve had his gaze fixed on you.

The tension between you had grown in the last few weeks. Steve was committed to his duties as Captain America often took him away from you. On one such night, he promised you that you would attend the charity ball together, but when the day came, he seemed to change his mind, he didn't even say anything to you, he just left.

You thought maybe he got desperate and went ahead while you finished getting ready, so you arrived at the place alone, but what you saw shocked you. Margaret Carter was holding Steve's arm.

You moved a little closer, and after a few minutes, you found yourself watching from a distance as Steve and Peggy danced, their faces illuminated by the dim light of the room. Tears threatened to blur your eyes.

Finally, you couldn't take it anymore. You left, and when he arrived they would talk, you didn't even know how but throughout your wait, you had a forced smile on your face as you tried to hide the pain.

"Steve," you said in a firm but shaky voice as soon as he arrived, "I never thought you would break a promise."

Steve looked up to meet your eyes full of disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Y/N," he muttered, a regretful expression on his face. "There was a change of plans, and I thought you'd understand."

You couldn't bear to look at him. "It's not enough, Steve. You promised we'd be together tonight, but it looks like you had a new dance partner. I don't forgive you." With that, you turned and walked away, leaving Steve behind.

The days that followed were a disaster. The unanswered phone calls and unopened letters continued. Steve would try to apologize, to explain, but you wouldn't listen.

A week later, life took an unexpected turn. News of Steve's disappearance spread like wildfire.

In the solitude of your apartment, you found yourself holding one of Steve's unopened letters. Tears were falling on the paper as you read his words of regret and love.

The nights were long and lonely, all you had now were the memories. The tears were constant as you clung to the hope that Steve would return to your side.

Then, one cold morning, a report came into your hands. News of Steve Rogers' death spread quickly and you didn't know what to do.

The impact of the news was devastating. The tears seemed like they would never stop. Memories of nights shared with Steve became more vivid and painful. Every corner of your apartment seemed to whisper his name, now you didn't know what you would do.

You dove into the unopened letters Steve had sent you before his disappearance. Words of love, of regret, of broken promises. The paper seemed to carry with it the echo of his voice, and each word echoed in your mind as if he were there speaking to you. There were moments when you wished you had not said those last words, you wished you could go back and change the course of history.

You found solace in the photographs you had taken together, which were now displayed in every corner of your home.

One melancholy afternoon, while you were looking at one of those photographs, an unexpected visitor arrived. A military officer knocked on your door, holding a small box in his hands.

"My condolences," he murmured as he handed you the box.

Inside the box were personal effects, and a few more medals for Steve's service. His uniform, and his most treasured belongings, were all carefully stored like a treasure trove.

You sat silently, staring at the box as if it might reveal some secret that would help you understand what had happened. Among his belongings, you found a letter Steve had written shortly before his last mission. Your trembling hands opened the envelope, and his words filled the air.

"Dear Y/N,

If you're reading this, it means things didn't go as we had hoped. I want you to know that every day away from you was a day filled with regret. I made mistakes, and I am deeply sorry. The night of the dance, I didn't mean to hurt you, but I can't change the past. I just want you to remember the good times, and I hope someday you can forgive me. My heart will always belong to you, even beyond this world.

Love, Steve."

The tears came back to your eyes. The regret in his writing was palpable, and you wondered if things might have been different if you had known earlier how he felt.

Now you didn't know how to go on with your life in a world without Steve.

#jessybarnesreaches500 #steve rogers x reader

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the-firstborn-nindroid · 3 months

Text

So my sibs and I were watching (in my case re-watching) and around that time where Zane was in the sick bay they immediately went:

"Why are the readings for a human—"

[The Ninjargon on the body map above read, from top to bottom: brain, face, torso, arm, belly, leg, knee, front leg.]

Which, to be fair, is a very good question. I propose two theories on this:

I. The systems were rigged that way to make it easier to understand. II. Zane has a heavily human-based system.

My rationale for each one is under the cut and, yes, it's long.

Yes, I have assignments and I am in college! Why'd you ask? :P

I. The systems were rigged that way to make it easier to understand.

I think the only persons who are well-versed in mechanical stuff is Jay and Nya. With all the disastrous situations Zane finds himself in usually land him in the sick bay, and as with a human patient you usually have to have someone looking over them.

Now technological whatnot is going to be hard to understand for someone who doesn't have a background in it (except maybe for red is bad and green is good idk), so I think Jay and Nya made it so that the displays show what it would look like for a human. Because who isn't familiar with heart monitors and stuff?

I like the thought that Jay and Nya amended the systems for the others to better understand it and so that when something goes wrong they can immediately be told what's wrong, which can save time. I think it's pretty neat.

(Disclaimer: Yes, I still am mildly affronted by how... inaccurate the systems are, but that's a discussion for another post.)

And the one I prefer:

II. Zane has a heavily human-based system.

(People who read spinchip are probably either rolling their eyes or leaning forwards. Or both)

You might tell me, 'Well, duh, Nin,' but hear me out.

Julien predated Borg when he created Zane, and it's all but implied that Zane's blueprints were probably what Borg used to create Pixal and consecutively what the Overlord used for his evil clone army back in S3.

Now take into account that Julien has had no other reference for creating an android out of what mechanics he already has in mind. Also that Zane was created with two main purposes: to be a defense droid ('protect those who cannot protect themselves') and to be Julien's son.

[The Ninjargon on the screen reads, from left to right, top to bottom: rpm, 34/56, heart, lungs.]

Here we can see he has lungs (I personally think that's just the cooling fans because idk how you'll make artificial lungs out of metal or smth) and a heart (his core most probably, though I really don't think it's gonna be a pump but something that disperses electricity through the body the same way the human heart distributes blood around). There's also a spine—probably where all the sensors find their locus.

Though I'm wondering why just those three on the screen? We don't even have the neural network there (unless you count the spine being that?? Somehow??)

The fanfic potential of this thing HM-

TLDR: I. The systems were rigged that way to make it easier to understand. II. Zane has a heavily human-based system.

Feel free to add onto the discussion or ask me stuff; this was written on a procrastinating streak, so I probably missed a few things or the essay is a bit blurred.

#ninjago #ninjago zane #ninjago jay #ninjago nya #nin rants #headcanons #theories #nin essay

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blackbirdffxiv · 9 months

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So I got this ask in my inbox, and though I was going to answer it in my asks, I think a little, actual post-tutorial would be best. But first, a disclaimer, as I like to cover my bases:

By no means am I an artist; my process is very much a case-by-case basis, and I edit as I need to for each picture that I do end up editing. My method is far from perfect but it is one that works for me for -my character-, so you may have to experiment on your own using these tips to find a method that suits your wants.

This little guide is using ClipStudio Paint, but you can get the same/similar results with really any photo editing program you choose that has brushes (GIMP, PaintTool Sai, Photoshop, Photopea (which is free), etc)

I'm going to use a painted over face texture as an example (basically a face diffuse I just painted over with it's base skintone), versus a full-on gpose shot (this way I can get a good swatch/an approximate measure of what skintone I'm used to working on).

Big Tip: ALWAYS WORK IN LAYERS, this way you can adjust everything accordingly without going back a million steps.

Use a basic soft-spray brush for your base, and pick a color a few shades lighter than the skintone you're working on (use your color-picking tool, it is your best friend). Set your first work layer to "add (glow), and make a little splotch like this. You can either leave it as is or blur it out/adjust the layer opacity if you desire, but again, it all depends on the state of your gpose/where you're adding it. I often blur out the edges to help blend it into the skin more naturally, on a low setting as to not erase it completely.

Before & after adjusting blur/opacity:

Next, you'll want a basic shimmer brush; there are dozens of free ones out there, so look around and experiment! Just like before, you're gonna want to make another layer, but this time, set it to white (or gold/copper if your character has medium/darker skintones, as it flatters them more and doesn't wash them out where as white is more for fair skintones).

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the source of the shimmer brush I use, but what works for me may not work for you so it would be best to look at what's available and what suits your tastes more.

Now, working in layers using the "add (glow)" effect, slowly build up the shimmer, first, adding a quick couple swipes, then build it up. Once you're satisfied, focus more on the center

TIP: If you want to make it look more natural, when building your layers, blur out the edges a small bit to hide any possible lines and creases.

And that's pretty much it! Adding shimmer effects is all about trial and error, and just simply adding shimmer where your character catches the light.

I'd post examples but a lot of my shimmer examples are on very much lewd gposes and I'm not trying to get tumblr staff mad at me.

And again, another disclaimer: this is not a one-size-fits-all-guide, I seriously cannot emphasize enough that the best thing for you to do is just EXPERIMENT, this is merely a guideline to give you a lil push in the right direction. Editing gposes is supposed to be fun, and the best way to get experience is to simply practice and learn your tools with your own hands.

I hope this helps, and have fun gposing!

#OOC #ffxiv gpose #Gpose Tips & Guides #Whew I am sincerely sorry for the lengthy guide #But I do hope this helps take some of the intimidating factors out of editing #Also remember I am not an artist #I am just a goth dumbass who someone trusted with a tablet and CSP #Now go and do a crime my children

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crescencestudio · 8 months

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VELOX FABULA: A TALE OF DELUSION AND MEMORIES

So… I’ve been keeping this relatively DL on this side of the internet. Twitter got a couple of sneak peeks, but in case you all didn’t know, I participated in Velox Fabula, a game jam where we are given a community theme and have 10 days to make a full game.

And when I say I participated, I mean I Participated.

Before I get into things, let me just say that as a disclaimer… I had Every Intention to enter this jam as an Extreme Sideline Supporter.

Shall we get into a “post-mortem” of sorts?

Let’s set the scene, shall we?

Crescence has just finished Intertwine and Otome Jam. They are feeling Good and Creative. Alaris has made good progress in the month of July and starting weeks of August! Crescence Sees Velox Fabula, and while wanting to participate, decides not to because they’ve just done one jam, they want to focus on their main game, and maybe they’ll touch grass a little. Who knows?

Enter about 1-2 weeks out of Velox Fabula, and people are posting their teams. Crescence gets FOMO. Many besties are involved in Velox Fabula. So Crescence reaches out to a team that’s pretty big and offers to do just QA! Help with brainstorming, scoping, narrative design, etc. That’s not too bad!

Another friend reaches out.

This is someone Crescence has always wanted to work with. Crescence will just be a writer! Again, that’s not too bad! Why not!

So now, come VF Jam, and Crescence is on two teams (I was originally on three actually LOLlxoap).

First 24 hours go off with a bang. The theme is Unreliable Narrator. There's lots of brainstorming, throwing ideas around, refining, and eventually we land on two ideas.

On team one, we have an otome game inspired by [REDACTED] that will feature and MC who is [REDACTED] and a character who [REDACTED]. The game ends up having three love interests and is Deeply Ambitious but with 10 people onboard we decide to push ourselves.

On team two, we have a point-and-click game with a rich story that explores MC's background and a narrative twist where [REDACTED]. It's fantasy-inspired, because bitches know me and fantasy. And has MC choose to cherish or forget their memories through the ingredients they decide to add to a potion.

Both of the stories are fun and relatively different compared to what I've done so far. One, while still fantasy, has a writing style that is more vivid and emotional compared to my usual more grounded writing. The other is, well, Horror. Which I have no experience writing.

And so the Jam begins

The first third of the jam is a blur of frantic writing, editing, narrative design, and more. It's a hodgepodge of ideas on how the script and gameplay will go together. What's the visual identity? What is the Story we're telling? What's the Mood? And how do we unite all of these things to elevate the atmosphere of the game itself?

Enter the second third, and I'm wrapping up writing on team two. I get asked to do GUI for potion team, which I hadn't anticipated. But hey, I'm feeling inspired. Plus, I want to learn how to code all of these GUI features in for Alaris. Why not use this as a learning experience? So I agree. Horror team needs some help writing, so I jump in as well. I've never written horror, but there's already an outline. How hard could it be?

In the span of maybe 3-4 days, I end up writing about 15k words and editing maybe 10k worth of words. Somewhere during this time frame, I've also made progress on Alaris

Enter the last third of the jam and these games needs to be Made. I code the GUI for potion team. I reformat both scripts for both teams to Ren'py format to ease the burden on coders while they figure out other game features.

Enter the last 12 hours, and I am still coding and QAing both games. Not even caffeine runs through my veins anymore; it is straight adrenaline.

Enter the last 30 minutes. Horror game has submitted. I am still QAing for potion team. Are the labels getting called correctly? Is the dialogue showing up when it should? We submit with less than 5 minutes to spare LMFASODLIJ

i still laugh at this

As I come out of the Jam haze, I feel two main things:

Proud of myself. Like I fckn did that. Considering the context of how I had come into these roles (as an NPC if u will), I contributed pretty heavily to these games. And I think not having to be director made me see the skillset I've slowly built up as a game dev. It was that moment where you step back and fight that imposter syndrome a little bit, which has been a Heavy companion with me throughout my game dev journey.

Tired but (Creatively) Rejuvenated. I think this jam was surprisingly what I didn't know I needed for Alaris. After Otome Jam, I definitely made progress and was excited to get into Alaris. But after this jam, where I feel like I am Done and 100% satisfied, there's no longer any temptation for any other project. Like I feel solely focused on Alaris, which is extra exciting because the next couple of routes are some I've been most excited to write!

At the end of it all, I feel like I learned so much from so many talented people. And I think my writing, GUI, and coding skills have come out for the stronger because of it. Something I like to do with my games is integrate every component together (biggest example is Intertwine and how the GUI plays a part in the narrative itself). Watching people who are exceptional at coding, GUI, etc. helped me learn different ways to approach my own creative process. And I am so unbelievably excited to bring all of this into Alaris! Velox Fabula was an unforgettable experience---it was cracked, fun, delusional all in the best ways. And I'm honestly pretty proud of the products we've made from it! If you haven't gotten a chance to, please feel free to check out:

A "beautiful and melancholic" game that explores the power of memories, emotions, and more in a fantasy potion setting:

And an eerie horror game with twists and turns that lurk around every corner, only to be interrupted by Cute Love Interests

#crescence cries #oblivisci memorias #titan arum #games i help

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khytal · 2 years

Note

Who did you sell your soul to to make fire that good

Asking for a friend

It's me I'm the friend

Because HOLY FCUK

disclaimer I have not studied fire extensively I just know The Trick:

1) there’s like different types of fire but no matter what, start with blocking it out

2) I use a round brush of some kind when I erase parts of the blob but nobody’s saying you can’t use a textured brush (I feel like this step is optional depending on your art style and the kind of fire you’re trying to capture. you may not have to erase much)

3) you don’t have to use add specifically it’s just the fastest way to make something glow lol (I think other programs use luminosity for the same effect?????? idk I use procreate and luminosity seems to function differently so)

4) make it brighter at the base of the flames (also optional I think. like I said there’s different types of fire)

this is just a really quick tutorial if you’re looking to slap fire down somewhere. I don’t always follow these steps; sometimes I’ll skip the normal layer and do steps 1+2 on an add layer, sometimes I use the color dodge blend mode instead of add, sometimes I use an airbrush on super low opacity for the glow instead of applying gaussian blur, etc. do literally whatever I’m just offering tips to help you get started lol

#khytal.ks #👍

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ialwaysknewyouwerepunk · 2 years

Text

little freak - a close reading

alright, okay. i’ll give the same disclaimer i put at the top of every post that concerns a song that i know means a lot to a lot of people, especially if those meanings are so diverse. this is my interpretation, the way that i see the song, and it’s just one of many. consider it as such if yours is entirely different, bc that’s more than okay. i discuss it in a very queer context, all about gender and identity, so i am aware that my own experience deeply comes into play here. in any case, i hope it serves as a nice read, and i’d love to discuss this mind-blowing song some more with you all :’)

harry’s house, track 6

LYRIC ANALYSIS

Little freak Jezebel You sit high atop the kitchen counter Stay green a little while You bring blue lights to dreams Starry haze Crystal ball Somehow, you've become some paranoia A wet dream just dangling But your gift is wasted on me

“freak”: outcast, ‘unnatural’ person, freak shows historically a place where queer ppl could find refuge and a home (// ‘peculiar’ boy)

“little” in front of it: endearment; talking to a young/inexperienced person

Jezebel

biblical figure. deeply negative connotation in the christian trad. someone who worships false prophets or pretends to be a “servant of God” while actually being a pagan. historically, (probably) a figure who simply stuck to her own beliefs/identity and was killed for it. bc Jezebel wore make-up before her death, christians associated wearing make-up with vice, with manipulation

now, symbolises promiscuity, sexual immorality, esp. “sexually promiscuous or controlling women”

parallels with old-fashioned ways to (negatively) describe queer people, especially queer men: ‘sexual inverts’, ‘sexual deviants’ etc. - living life differently and being condemned for it

-> deep female connotation here

“you sit high atop the kitchen counter”

“high”: under the influence of drugs / out of reach, away from others, observing

childlike - adds to feeling that it’s about a younger person

kitchen: home, at home, in a house - childhood/at other people’s homes

if she’s sitting on top of her own kitchen counter, it seems like she’s there without actually ‘working’ in the kitchen. not cooking or washing up, just daydreaming/watching/being: inverted stereotype of a woman in the kitchen

+ at home in the kitchen? just likes to be there, no matter what. queer: love for and attachment to things that aren’t traditionally associated with your assigned gender. harry’s love of cooking, being in the kitchen

“stay green a little while, you bring blue lights to dreams”

green - blue he just had to didn’t he: nod to the fandom, acknowledgment of people who see him (more) for who he is (x)

“stay green”: stay young, innocent - theme of growing up, changing

blue light: a thing that usually keeps you awake (if you’ve watched a screen before bed, f.e.) - half awake? daydreaming, dreaming...?

stay young, stay you, because you make dreams interesting/breathe life into dreams

for me, connection to ‘little green’ by joni mitchell: story about her daughter that she gave up for adoption - sweet, tender song for someone who you don’t really know, but you actually know on a deep, intuitive level, bc she’s part of you. lyrics about stars, the moon, blue eyes. a long, happy life. a bright future. harry’s reference to it symbolises (for me) how at this point in his life ‘little freak’ was someone who he only thought about, who he could only think about bc she was mostly unknown, but was still part of him. and no don’t come talk to me about this song then could also be seen from the pov of harry talking about/to a child he wishes for and how he would then treat her no no no don’t do it

a cut bc this shit is long okay! peace <3

“starry haze, crystal ball”

looking up, up at the stars - as if they contain the answers -> astrology, connection with the universe

“haze”: it’s unclear, a blur - can’t see the future, can’t see the bigger picture (yet)

crystal ball: trying to see the future. so desperate for answers when you’re younger (<-> “there’s things that we’ll never know” - fine line)

-> elements all throughout hs3 of astrology, psychic powers, ‘otherworldly’ techniques to look at the self/past/future - acceptance of deeply human way of looking at the world, opposed to cut-dry scientific approach (// following intuition, esp. about identity, gender,...)

‘little freak’ is sat high atop the counter -> she has a better overview, and he’s looking up at her, not yet fully realising she contains the answers

“somehow, you've become some paranoia; a wet dream just dangling”

“paranoia”: worried, panicked (seemingly) for no reason - think other ppl are judging

obsession, something always in the back of his mind

“a wet dream”: she’s a dream, but a very tempting one, and she’s right there, up for grabs. if he could only get over his fears - get atop the kitchen counter with her, dare to let go and go higher up

“but your gift is wasted on me”

he doesn’t dare to join her. her gift, which is who she is, her identity, was wasted on him. his own queerness, which is right there, and there for him, is ‘wasted’ bc he’s afraid of being judged, of being a freak

I was thinking about who you are Your delicate point of view I was thinking about you I'm not worried about where you are Who you will go home to I'm just thinking about you Just thinking about you

“thinking about who you are”: do you know who you are? - still full of wonder as to who this daydream is, this person in the back of his mind

“delicate point of view”: so soft, so gentle, about this ‘part’ of him - she’s sat up high, has the point of view of someone higher up, the overview. she holds the answers. “delicate” like the nuanced, intricate lives of (queer) people who fully accept their own complexities, own depths. also delicate like something that is fragile, something that can break if it were to jump off the kitchen counter

“i’m not worried about where you are” // i don’t know who/where she is - she

he’s telling us that she’s not an entity he’s jealous of, or who can leave, bc she’s him. she’ll always be there. - “i’m not worried”: comfort, peace, security

Did you dress up for Halloween? I spilled beer on your friend I'm not sorry A golf swing and a trampoline Maybe we'll do this again Tracksuit and a pony tail You hide the body all that yoga gave you Red wine and a ginger ale But you would make fun of me for sure

“halloween”:

childhood

gay holiday. when you can dress up as whatever you like, for many ppl a moment of liberation bc they can finally dress as themselves - they’re not wearing a costume. (so the answer to this question would even be “no”) // dorothrry

“i spilled beer on your friend”:

jealous or protective act - stay away from her

if it’s little freak’s friend, it’s a queer friend. “i’m not sorry” - spilling beer on someone as a way of attracting their attention in a clumsy, flirty, teenage way - attracting the other queer person’s attention. + “your friend” then means that the friend was drawn to her, his queerness, from the start

“a golf swing and a trampoline”:

calculated movement, strategic game. business meetings, grownup conversations, tactics <-> free, loose activity. childhood + jumping, trying to go high up in the air, trying to fly

“and”: i am this AND that

in the context of the beer spilling: talking to someone new (and queer) is a jump in the unknown as well as a well thought-out interaction, involving tactics as well as guts, and the urge to be free

“maybe we’ll do this again”: move for second date, part of convo with new friend / apprehensive, careful, shy, hopeful

“tracksuit and a pony tail”

again, (perceived, expected) opposites combined in one: tracksuit: streetwear, baggy clothing, masc. <-> ponytail: femme. put together, care for appearance. or: long hair, but it’s out of the way, not let down (yet)

“you hide the body all that yoga gave you”

wearing that tracksuit

hiding your body in your clothes: very gender

yoga: practice that connects your mind and body. controlled, balanced, calm // trying to find answers/identity in connections, in the bigger picture

“red wine and a ginger ale”:

alcohol and no alcohol - more balance in opposites

his drinks of choice? hers? his and the friend? hers and the friend?

red wine, earlier he spilled beer: red wine representing her? (brit. culture: Men drink Beer, Women drink Wine)

“but you would make fun of me for sure”: not in the context of all the opposites/balances, i think. more in the friend - spilled beer - do this again line. “maybe we’ll do this again?” “yeah, well, as long as you don’t spill beer on me next time!” stunted, dorky flirting. (remind you of something?)

entire verse symbolises how intertwined his (gender) identity and his interactions with others, especially in his love life, are. the traits he hasn’t properly learned how to balance yet, and his insecurities, coming into play when meeting new people, especially someone who has him all flustered

I disrespected you Jumped in feet first and I landed too hard A broken ankle Karma rules You never saw my birthmark

“i disrespected you”: i ignored you, i ignored an entire part of my identity

“jumped in” <-> high atop the kitchen counter. away from her, towards a standard, on the ground, ‘normal’, trying to be the norm, someone that isn’t him

“landed too hard”: tried too hard and it backfired, it hurt him

// if the truth tell, darling, you fell like there ain't enough dying stars in your sky - only the brave

“karma rules”: again, unseen powers that are at play in the universe, things humans don’t understand; secret structure to life. if you go against your intuition, what you know to be right in your heart

“birthmark”: you never saw me at my barest point, my most naked self. you never saw me be reborn, you didn’t live to see my queer birth

trauma changed him, made him lose her, the original ‘little freak’, who was soft and innocent. he still grew and changed, was (re)born, but now his queerness, his identity, is colored by that pain

SYNTHESIS

SOOOoooooOOOOOooo. It’s painful and it’s beautiful. Harry tends to do that with his most intimate songs. As you can see, I see this song entirely as one about gender and identity. When I first heard it, and I’d seen some posts about how it might be a love song for his s/o, I didn’t completely get it. I couldn’t get into that interpretation, it felt off to me. And then I read this post by @swimmingleo and it all clicked.

To me, Harry is speaking to a younger self. Someone he used to know very intimately, yet distantly. (Very ‘Little Green’-ish.) His younger queer self, that was always there, but he didn’t engage with yet. He looked up at her, in wonder, not yet realising that he should join her up there and finally see the world from her point of view. Finally see where so many answers lie. Delicate, because it’s so complicated and nuanced. It’s about a time in his life when he was still figuring out who he was, seeing all these ‘opposites’ that simultaneously held true within himself, that came together and were contained by him. Feeling the urge to fit in and choose. Which he did, choosing for the jump down instead of the climb up with her, resulting in a loss of self. There is loss in this song, but more than anything love of someone, in particular love of himself at a certain time of his life. Before puberty, before figuring shit out. A simple, tender love for your younger self.

I think this is a very universal feeling, but especially for queer people, to have a complex relationship with that younger self. During childhood, you were truly yourself, because it was before you understood what it was to control/suppress your impulses or feelings. Growing up, and going through puberty, can be insanely jarring and scary, especially if you stop feeling at ease in your own body. Social customs start dictating what you should like and look like, and sometimes you loose sight of who you really are, or sometimes you even intentionally hide. You start to feel disgusted by yourself, especially if it includes urges that deviate from the ‘norm’. It’s hard to feel tenderness for your (pre-)pubescent self, especially to muster up some understanding instead of harshness, concerning mistakes you made. Because of this younger childhood self that they so desperately wanted to stuff away to fit in. So, in this respect, Little Freak is a triumph. Of being patient, kind and tender to that self that fucked up, because they were figuring it out. Just like everyone else. It got you to where you are now, and made you who you are now, which is a complex, beautiful person. It’s also an homage to that queerness that was always there. That queerness that isn’t understood when you’re that young, but that you were also not afraid of yet. The one that slowly grows with you until you’re ready, when you stop being scared of it again.

In this album about home, love, change, childhood and identity, I think it makes the perfect centerpiece. It’s written from the point of view of someone with a deep acceptance of himself, someone who feels at one with who he was when he was a child, and sees how he evolved to who he is now. Someone complex and queer, who needed to get high up on that kitchen counter in order to see it all, and understands what it took for him to get there. It’s him reminiscing his childhood, his period of late blooming, and recognising, acknowledging, all of it in its complexities, which are only visible to him now. It’s a love song for the trans identity.

Little Freak and the Peculiar Boy, a one-person show.

#lyric analysis #little freak #my posts #okay well OKAY #i knew this one was going to be intense and YES INDEED IT WAS INTENSE #wow

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renjunniez · 2 years

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Hiii, just gotta say, I LOVED your Wendy gifset and I was wondering how you got them to look that pretty?? They looks soft and detailed and like, real? Hehe I hope you can help me out, idk what I've been doing wrong with mine that are looking like shit so, help me out please

henlo anon!

when i first started gif-making, my gifs weren't the bestest either! it's a process and i think you'll get better at it w practice and trying new things !! <3 i'll throw in a bunch of pointers a lot of CCs gave me when i first started giffing and some of my opinions under the cut!

also this is definitely Not a link to download photoshop 2022 for free that i definitely didn't use as an upgrade two weeks ago

what you'll need to know before going through this long long rant of mine:

basic photoshop giffing skills

knowledge of smart filters and blending options

some patience (to hear my nonsense)

interest in maybe picking up new software

disclaimer: image heavy!

1. always use videos in their highest quality!

hq videos = hq gifs! i do not recommend using videos below 720p! also if you use photoshop, the number of colours in the gif is limited 268, meaning that sometimes your gifs can lose quality in export, and that could make lower quality videos look worse! (for eg. the video i sourced the wendy set from was 4k that i downloaded from 4kvideodownloader)

here's links to download:

4kvideodownloader

sophistagram (for vlives)

weverse lives download tutorial

twitter video downloader

a smol opinion: i've seen a lot of users use tumblr mobile, and noticed that gifs on tumblr mobile are always a little blurred out? this kind of makes the gifs look less clear </3 so using higher quality videos always helps!

2. vapoursynth / avisynth / km player!

these are softwares to sharpen and denoise your videos! they're completely optional (i used to gif with photoshop alone for the longest time) but they do make quite a lot of difference!

i highly recommend you to check the tutorials below!

gif-making with vapoursynth tutorial by @wonublr

gif-making with avisynth tutorial by @soonhoonsol

gif-making with km player (and vapoursynth!) tutorial by @woozi

a smol opinion: i've never used km player, so i don't have much to say about it. as for avisynth, it's pretty easy to work with, the only down side is that there are no denoise options. vapoursynth has both and is very user-friendly, but i found the shift from avisynth to vapoursynth slightly confusing!

these are my usual settings for vapoursynth:

3. gif sizes!

a very big (and maybe bullshit) opinion:

now, tumblr recommends you size your gifs this way:

(img src)

but it,, doesn't necessarily have to be that way 👁

i really like to fuck around and use whatever size i want for my 268px and my 177px gifs, and the wendy set was no exception! the size of each gif in the set was 400px X 580px!! this, in my opinion, makes it easier to view them (a lot more clear, you could say) :o

as for my 540px gifs, they remain the same size!

4. sharpening on photoshop!

i would always recommend you to sharpen your gifs again on photoshop. tumblr LOVES reducing gif quality, so i resharpen to give my gifs some 'depth'

this is how i usually sharpen my gifs:

(the gif above was sharpened and denoised on vs w the settings mentioned above!)

step 01:

after you're done converting your gif into a smart object on photoshop, we'll add a layer of smart sharpen. these are my settings:

step 02: more... smart sharpen :eye: :

step 03: high pass (optional tbh)

imp: don't forget to change the blending to soft light / overlay (i prefer the former)

now the gif looks like this:

something to note: i like switching up my opacity levels on these settings, and usually only ever change the radius and strength of the sharpening!

here's a few more sharpening tutorials:

sharpening tutorial by @/woozi

tutorial by @/hellboys

tutorial by @yutaslaugh

5. colouring!

colouring plays a huge role in making your gifs look sharper and cleaner! this is your playground, and this is the area you have the most freedom to change, and zuzsh up things the way you like them!

generally, i like to draw the attention to the person i'm giffing, so i make sure to set the contrasts right! i also extremely like making the colours cooler, so that it seems more natural!

the layers i use most are:

curves (on auto)

more cuves (using the eyedroppers to set my black, grey and white points)

selective colour (to change contrasts, to recolour skin)

colour balance (to balance my shadows and highlights)

levels (for brightness, contrast and depth!)

i'm not extremely good at colouring either, so here are some more in depth colouring tutorials (i'm terrible at explaining i'm so sorry sksjkd):

colouring tutorial by @/jihan

south-east asian celeb colouring tutorial by @/blueshelp

and here's some pre-made psd packs!:

psd pack by @/kpopco

psd pack by @shuatonin

psd pack by @coupsnim

psd pack by @/wonublr

closing ments:

if you've made it this far, thank you! i'm not extremely great at explaining things, but i hope you found this 'tutorial' useful! (extremely confused what this is tbh it feels like i'm rambling sgkfjsh)

here's a few more tutorials (kinda unrelated) that i found useful and fun!:

tutorial to fix grainy gifs

tutorial to remove panning from gifs

animated text tutorial

gif + more effects tutorial

#n.asks #from: anonie #i really hope i made some sense to you fjkshkfjhs :sob:

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nekoannie-chan · 1 year

Text

What happened?

Pairing: Michael Morbius & Reader

Word count: 576 words.

Summary: You discover you’ve been dead for a month only because your confined to your best friend’s house. Did he kill you?

Warnings: Reader is dead, vampirism, mention of blood.

A/N: This is my entry to @caplanbuckybarnes’ Summary Challenge #11.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission that my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other's people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish: Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter.

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

You can read it too on Ao3 and Wattpad.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @chemtrails-club @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit

You woke up in a daze; how had you gotten to the couch? You remembered having been sleeping in bed when someone knocked on the door... Who had it been?

From there, you couldn't remember anything; everything was a blur, but you didn't know what you were supposed to do—what did you do every day?

What was your routine? You couldn't remember any of it; did you have an accident? Did you hit your head?

Maybe you should go to a doctor; when you touched the doorknob, it was as if you got a shock. A few seconds later, the door opened, and Michael came in. You noticed that he looked pale, more than usual.

"Hello," you greeted him, he smiled at you, "I... I didn't remember you were coming."

"I sent you a text message; maybe you didn't see it because you didn't answer me."

"You know I had the strangest dream," you commented.

"Which one?" Michael asked, trying to hide his obvious nervousness.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little tired, you know, as usual."

"Have you taken all your medicines?"

"Of course, but tell me, what happened to you?"

"I don't remember how I got to the couch."

"Maybe you sleepwalked."

Strange things kept happening during the following weeks, strange situations; it was as if you couldn't leave his apartment, and you also noticed some changes in Michael.

Even if you asked him what was wrong, he avoided the subject; sometimes you could even notice guilt in his eyes. You also needed to find out what was wrong with your best friend; you knew him very well since you were a teenager.

On one of the occasions, you saw the calendar, it had been a month since the first time something strange had happened, but this time something different happened. You were going into his bedroom when you thought you saw a trace of blood; however, when you got closer, there was nothing.

Then you saw the clock; in a couple of minutes, Michael would arrive. It also seemed strange that you didn't remember where your own house was; you were sure you didn't live with him; and there were really many changes in him, so it was time to confront him.

You waited for the right moment after he arrived, and this time there was no escape.

"Michael, I need to know the truth; I will not stop until you tell me what is going on," you said.

However, he had a reaction you didn't expect; he started to cry and ask for your forgiveness. You looked at him without understanding why he was like that.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. I'm not really sure what happened."

"What are you talking about? I'm not understanding anything," you put your hand on his shoulder.

"I've been lying to you, I tried my experiment on myself and... one of those nights when I had one of the changes, I had no artificial blood and... I was going out to hunt and you arrived, I tried to hide myself so you wouldn't be in danger... but I couldn't control myself... I'm sorry..."

He had killed you unintentionally; he still didn't control his vampiric part, and you had become one of the victims. Now you were trapped in his apartment, and he had a guilt that could not be removed since there was no way to remedy what had happened.

#Summary challenge #michael morbius & reader #michael morbius #morbius

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