mac-ann-cheese

[mac-ann-cheese]

Happy national ferris wheel day!!

૮꒰˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶꒱ა

[mac-ann-cheese]

Version without filters is under the cut!

I know the concept of this art is wild. Like wut .... ₍ ᐢ. ‌_ .ᐢ ₎

Buutttt the initial inspo is pure nuts. Since Matthew's introduction in the gangsta arc, I thought that he was just like a clippit - only there to explain rules and stuff. Sort of a helper...

Also love the bellboy costume. Tower of Terror cast member ahh uniform. I know his thing is hotels, which could be a ref to the Banff Springs Hotel?? or other haunted hotels in Canada....

Actually, I always preferred the wizard as an assistant; he was a fun guy in a cool cloak. I'm not THAT OLD, btw. I just had an old computer as a kid.

Anywho

It was a joke idea for a drawing at first, but the comparison has been sitting in my head for some time........ So that's the context and why Matt is in the Microsoft system. I genuinely love my brain.

Sketch ver. I'm generous today!!!!! (⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)

[mac-ann-cheese]

Some 19th century rusameamerus hcs!! (⁠゜⁠o⁠゜⁠;) and a little comic (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠)

Today, I will skip over the entire revolutionary war+whatever happened in the world in 1812, and we are nearing the 1820s. Um, no, actually over 1825... Cause in 1822 there is Monroe's doctrine with the whole "you don't mess with my stuff, I don't mess with yours,” a hands-off policy in South America, as a reaction to plans of the Holy Alliance (Austria, Prussia, Russia) to discuss matters at the Congress of Verona on the Spanish question. Like they wanted to restore Spanish rule over Latin American colonies that had declared their independence. AnOpinions of the former 13 colonies were not asked. The USA might have plans for LatAme, how could they??????!!!!!

Okay, I'll stop with the historical stuff. I got sidetracked. Sometimes I start to act like Philomena Cunk…

The portraits are in the appropriate style of grand manner for 18/19 century. Highly referenced Joshua Reynolds. They're unfinished cause I got bored. Sorry! (⁠˘⁠･⁠_⁠･⁠˘⁠)

Anywho

Al and Ivan knew each other in the first half of the 19th century. They met and interacted; some points of friendship were gained. This is established, at least in my interpretation. After many times of proving his independence, Alfred is still being isolated by the Old World. Like they're aware of his existence and literally don't give a fuck about it. Many other things are happening on the continent; no time for new acquaintances. However, America wants to be included and to have friends!! So he is still stuck with his "sort of not fully an ally in independence war cause yknow we don't want the british to consider us as enemies too, so here are two ships if the shit hits the fan - use them" Ivan. A close neighbour from the north who started doing... something? in the icy part of the land (expansion, colonial adventure in Alaska). A BIG imperial monarchy with a good position in the Concert of Europe. Someone who probably knows a lot about diplomacy and other things on how to exist as a whole country. On the other hand, Russia isn't reluctant to have a nosy and too energetic creature around; of course, he is excited about a new friend. They see benefits in each other—"the whole world will open for me/I won't feel so lonely with him". Almost compatible with problems. This was probably curiosity at first sight. Major "why is that with him this way and not the other?" factor.

A hot new bombshell has entered the villa

The next bit might come across as too metaphorical and OOC. You've been warned.

Ivan sees Alfred (at least until the 1850s) as too nice, too innocent, and an overall pure being. A boy is so full of wonder and love for everything that it feels almost impossible. Ivan doesn't want that to change and is actually afraid of it happening, he tries to hold back Alfred from seeing the other harsh side of reality; nevertheless, Al wants to experience all - dirt, bliss, the world as whole. He doesn't want to be brought back to life, isolated from others.

After the 1850s, the situation changed. Ivan really appreciated Alfred's benevolent neutrality with the mess the Crimean War was; there is no secret in that. As a way of showing gratitude for it, he started inviting Alfred more frequently to his place. For tea, for hunts or even without a proper reason [yeah, it takes like a month to sail from one continent to another, inconvenient!]. And Alfred crushed. Real hard (regular oh, italicized oh). No other nation was treating him like that—"humanly". Everyone wanted something from him and wished for him to somehow change in a direction that was more beneficial for them. For Ivan, Alfred, as he was, was more than enough. America knew that he appreciated Ivan way before, but didn't give much thought to his feelings. He was capable of some sort of controlling it. However, now [as in the second half of the 19th century] Alfred cannot. He sighs too loud, looks too long, and smiles too much. Everything feels too much for him to handle. He tries to distract himself and pays attention to making new friends (cough the opening of Japan in 1853-1855 cough), but is still drawn to Ivan. However, the latter doesn't understand why America is suddenly more jumpy, more uneasy with him, and why his laughs are more strained. Although Alfred insists that everything is just peachy (he doesn't want to ruin this friendship with his weird feelings), Ivan's suspicion grows. He wants to know why but can't come up with a solution.

Their already interesting liaison transforms into more confusion.

And I consider hetamyu canon (cause musicals fill in all the missing plot points in manga, for me at least), sooo according to the second one, there was something peculiar between them (the infamous kiss scene).

Although I headcanon, at least for half of the 19th century, their friendship was childlike and mostly naïve. Ivan and Alfred are tall kids in diff ways. And I can absolutely imagine them playing tag or hide and seek. Though, this could have happened in any century.

In 1861-1865 they couldn't physically see each other (Alfred had to crawl in trenches), so their usual correspondence intensified (that sort of "absolutely not gay in any way" messages, like "my heart aches at the thought of your suffering, my dearest friend")...

Except for the late autumn of 1863 [the visit of the Russian fleet during the fall-winter of 1863-1864*]. Ivan paid for the first time in a while for a visit to New York (I like to think that Alfred stayed a lot of times in Saint Petersburg; however, Ivan wasn't that fond of travelling). Alfred was tired and pretty much beaten from fighting with himself; however, some obsessed excitement brought back his optimism for one night. At the ball they, as expected, danced a bit, and escaped to a more enclosed space from people and noise. Not much talking happened there; soothing silence at that time was needed. Of course Alfred was stressed because your own family literally wants to dismember you (don't know if I need to put a historical reference, but still—at the outset of the war, England and France supported the South. Napoleon III, with colonial designs on Mexico [Second Franco-Mexican War, 1861-1867], looked longingly on a divided United States, and British shipping interests were seriously affected by Lincoln's blockade of southern US ports, which led to the recognition of the Confederate states as belligerents. Russia supported the Union).

*I wanted to add here an actual fun historical fact! This “gesture” was interpreted by Americans as sympathetical move and overall a sign of “secret agreement” and Russia's protection of US Government (you can read about it further here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25156012)

Not long after that, Ivan started viewing Alfred as more mature than he was before (Ame literally got torn apart in the Civil War, of course he boosted in character development).

I'll stop here (⁠◡⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ⁠◡⁠)

(They were literally bros before hoes....................)

I'll think about making other additions to this long list of headcanons about the start of the 19th century and, of course, the whole selling Alaska event.

For finishing reading this scientific paper-sized post, you'll get old sketches of Al (and Matt!!! Woah!!) in Victorian clothing.

trench coat buttoned to the TOP.

[mac-ann-cheese]

Coming out of my self-isolation period

I've passed all of my winter midterm exams yayyyyayayYyshsyhdwhdhsjhrhdhf

[⁠ ⁠◑⁠ ⁠□⁠ ⁠◑⁠ ⁠]

*explodes*

*resurrects*

(⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

Freedom for two weeks from uni...

Finally I can draw in peace

Anywho, here's some harumachi sketches I've made since the start of this month

[mac-ann-cheese]

I warned yall that I'll post my headcanons (⁠ㆁ⁠ω⁠ㆁ⁠) They are pretty tame but at the same time quite specific cause I dunno... insanity..............

Also I've added some sketches to go along with the text so it won't be so boring to read

About France's hairstyles

From the very beginning, when Francis was still a chibi, his maman Gallia (i like to imagine that she was indeed his mother or at least a caretaker) cut his hair in the most fashionable way of that period - bangs and something similar to a bob.

And somehow it stuck with him throughout childhood...

Francis had a little practise of being a personal hairdresser for Arthur, however couldn't do the same for himself. And without help from adults it was impossible to take care of his own hair. He didn't know what to do with frizzy mishaps on the head. So, during the late Middle Ages, already far in his "teenage" years, France stopped trying and began to grow his hair out.......

(I do think that everything that's connected with "human growth" of a nation depends on their actual country wise growth, but overall some aspects like hair still grow way slower than that of an actual human).

In short, in the 18th century, he didn't need to wear a fashion appropriate wig. Cause he had lots of hair. Looooots. Don't ask me how Francis did those curls,... Barocco dyson.

All of Europe was jealous.

By the way, I don't know why such crossover hasn't happened in the fandom yet (or I didn't come across it), but Lestat from "Interview with the Vampire" is like the lost twin of Francis. I had to say it, odd similarities are apparent (´⁠･⁠_⁠･⁠)

And after the French revolution (late 18th century) Francis cuts off his hair (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

because he went a bit mental.

Or maybe it's the trends of 13-year-old girls, as they say... an impulsive action... well, in general it was a sign of liberation from ancien régime, a fresh start, transitional moment, and blah blah blah... like the heads of aristocrats were chopped, so is the hair here... didn't go bald and at least we can thank him for that.

The """"short"""" style (like again, sort of a layered bob) has been firmly set since then.

In the 1950s there was a boom in perms, and it didn't pass Francis by. So for a while he rocked a pin-up hairstyle (I know on the actual sketch it's more of Old Hollywood hairdo, but I didn't specifically create anything for this post, I just pinned some related sketches).

Moreover, around the 60s, hair dyes were developed........... I think there is no need to explain further what happened...... At least that's my logical reasoning for Francis's ever-changing hair colour in anime and manga from blond to dark blond to brown to other options that l'oreal paris provides.

Btw, thank you for sticking through!!!!! ʚ♡⃛ɞ(ू•ᴗ•ू❁)

[mac-ann-cheese]

"There could be 100 people in one room..." and there are!!!!!!!!!! There is one hundred and three of YOU!!! my followers....... ( • ω < ) I cannot express how grateful I am that you actually find my art enjoyable. It means a lot to me to understand that somebody actually likes what I do. Maybe it sounds a little bit pathetic; however, it is true. Honestly, I really do things for fun.... and I will do more things if someone encourages me to do them. I'm not always in the best mindset when it comes to liking my own work. I'm still pretty harsh on myself, but, major but, a few points in my style I can mention that I wholeheartedly like. And it's an improvement for me ✧⁠\⁠(⁠>⁠o⁠<⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠✧

I don't know what usually people do when they hit some milestone in numbers over here.

Questions??? If you have them, I'm always open to answering!!! ^__^

[mac-ann-cheese]

I know it is the bazillionth time you've probably seen this strip in your feed, but when will he say "skibidi toilet" or "gyatt" or "rizz"? I'm patiently waiting.

[mac-ann-cheese]

Children are supposed to be better versions of their parents, aren't they?

Some ideas for drawings just spawn in my head and I don't really have an explanation for this. Lucid dream type of thing... O⁠_⁠o Although I was absolutely losing my shit over the pose. Awkward. But kind of cute. Vogue spring 2025.

....I'm acting like I didn't draw it

[mac-ann-cheese]

you draw ivan so babygirl... happy new year!!

I think it's my duty to push this agenda into the masses, dear anon (⁠◠‿⁠◕)

[mac-ann-cheese]

♪\(^ω^\)Happy New Year!( /^ω^)/♪

I've got quite inspired by mid century modern style (UPA's and Hanna-Barbera's work was the reference). I really tried to make everything style-appropriate, but as usual I ended up adjusting everything to suit myself, and it turned out too complex. I really need to learn how to SIMPLIFYヽ⁠(⁠`⁠Д⁠´⁠)⁠ﾉ

That's an important skill.

Although, I'm still happy with the result (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠) I'll surely come back to mid century some day. I'm not done with it.

You may feel like the presented story is familiar... (˶°ㅁ°)!!

Well, you're not wrong - it is actually a sequel to my other drawing. At first it wasn't intended, but I like the accidental interpretation.

If I'm going to talk about the process of drawing, then, tbh, I struggled a bit with snow, on the sketch it looked way more cohesive.

Also, the drawing itself represents a postcard.

And yes, they did pluck the tree out with bare hands.

[mac-ann-cheese]

Also, I want to post some sketches of little Vanya, cause the occasion is just right.

If Himaruya ever creates Dogetalia (or Inutalia????), I think Ivan should be a Borzoi.

Well, at least for me, he looks like one. I also saw a headcanon with Samoyed, and like, yeah, that's too, amazing choice. Any big/fluffy/big AND fluffy breed would suit him...

[mac-ann-cheese]

Happy birthday to the biggest baby girl!!

I actually drew this two years ago, but still want to share it with you.

Inspired (or better to say - heavily referenced) by the Snegurochka (1968) poster. I love costume design in that movie (⁠・3・⁠)

...

It's not cringe to celebrate anime characters birthday in 2024.

[mac-ann-cheese]

AHHHH!!!! \(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)/

My gosh, thank youuuuuuu!!! It's wonderful!!! Getting high on Christmas is a choice I aspire to have, tbh

@mac-ann-cheese HIIII IM URB SECRET SANTA >:D u will get ir egypt new uear soon i promsie imsprry if im illegible i qm high

[mac-ann-cheese]

there's really something magical about the way you draw. merry chrismas!

Oh thank you!!! (⁠*⁠´⁠ω⁠｀⁠*⁠)

Merry Xmas to you too, anon!

[mac-ann-cheese]

@reroscherries

Honestly, when I saw the first request on your wishlist, I immediately thought, "Christmas market". And then boom. This happened.

Also, I checked out your AU, and it's strikingly amazing. And your art is just awesome!!!

I hope you like my gift!!!!!!!!

ε(´｡•᎑•`)っ 💕

Plus, I have never really tried drawing Prumano, sooo big thanks for making me finally do that!!

And also a big thanks for hosting this Secret Santa @mada-jpeg and @maribeilschmidt (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠❤

Merry Christmas to you all!!

[mac-ann-cheese]

Merry... Emo day?

I made this last year however I want to post it here too (⁠*⁠꒪⁠ヮ⁠꒪⁠*⁠)

[mac-ann-cheese]

A spoiler for an upcoming drawing ( ° 0 ° )

Even though I said that I don't have free time now, I had signed up for aph Secret Santa just before that (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

Sooo I've got to do something and try to make it really good