# Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[automatonknight]

drawing req: sniper & pyro being buddies :+)

id: a digital drawing of a red sniper and a blue pyro. they're standing next to eachother. sniper is on the left and he's holding out both of his hands, there's a spider hanging from one of his fingers. he's talking happily. pyro is leaning in, with their hands at their cheeks. they have an excited look on their face. sniper is wearing his hat, sunglasses, a white tanktop, brown pants and has his shirt tied around his waist. pyro is wearing a blue button-up over her suit. the background is black with a yellow rectangle over it. end id

[hsslilly-blog]

source

[turbo-tsundere]

Content warning for gore, blood, burns & body horror.

A king with no crown and a holy fool.

(The element of venom/poison, stabbing/puncture wounds and destruction of a whole body is present in both of their deaths. Kokichi's pristine white clothes also end up being shoved down the toilet, and the poison made it difficult for him to breathe, so there's plausible callback to Miu also. Karma at its finest?)

If I could be the devil, you could be the sinner.

(Don't mind them, they're just spilling their guts)

(...)

(Concepts for scenes from a Gonta-centric survival horror game I'll never make. But it was fun to daydream about - maybe one day I'll finish other sketches and doodles relating to it into a more presentable state. The Cat Lady OST was playing on constant repeat while I drew this - Lily of the Valley, Don't Follow the Light, String, Plainwalker, Early Winter, Storytelling, Susan's Blue Sheep (alone again) - those in particular are now stuck in my brain when I look at those drawings, and what I imagine the "game's" mood to be like, at least the opening segment.)

(I felt both heartbroken and like a monster when drawing this one... But I wanted to draw something that doesn't conveniently erase nor tuck his mangled, swollen face away from view. Sure... in game it looks goofy. But I think mockingly disfiguring him was the point in all of this, too. And given the venom, the Schmidt pain index, how it rates some wasp species, the fact that those robot wasps could be packed with anything necessary really... it had to be awful. Really, every stage of Gonta's execution was excruciating and enough to kill a person on its own, but due to his strength he likely suffered through them all. I remember begging in my head he was at least spared the flame, that he was already gone by this point... But it's foolish to pretend it definitely was the case.)

I wanted to post something new, but I was either busy, ill, or focused on something else, so another sketchdump with oldies and wips it is. This time strictly 2020-21 stuff, drawn during the first few months after finishing the game; mostly to process the post-game/Ch4 sorrows. All very emotionally raw, very edgy stuff that I felt, to be honest, too shy to show before.

Like with any wip I posted before, I do hope to finish some of them properly one day, even though I don't know when. But that's fine, I've signed up for a very long ride with the bug man. Taking it easy is the priority.

Speaking of long-term projects, maybe there's no need to, but I do want to talk about my Gonta fancomic, so here goes.

It's a bit long, so I will continue under the cut.

(Some panel teasers first! ...Gonta sanity fine.)

I took a few months long break from personal drawings - an *actual* break, not just sitting in front of a screen, tired, stewing in guilt that I'm tired, and that I can't magically muscle through burnout, or headache, or exhaustion.

My brain was stuck in a loop of berating myself for underperforming, not doing well enough, for taking so long on "mere" 27 pages, when in the past I could finish a 90-page webcomic chapter much faster. I wouldn't let myself rest, because I didn't do enough; but I couldn't do enough, because I didn't allow myself to rest. And it's been going on for months and months.

What a stupid, unconstructive thing to do to myself. I was only spiralling down, intimidating and overwhelming myself with work on the one thing I specifically wanted to keep doing out of joy, not ambition and pedantism. So I decided to just say "fuck it" and stop for a while. Like, actually stop, do something else and try to feel unapologetic about it.

So I briefly took up sewing, a creative activity I had no personal stake in, and then I started PVP-ing in DS3 (sorry if I happened to kick your butt in there. Rest assured my butt gets kicked just as much), which did wonders, too, as non-artistic pastime.

And, in the end, it seems it worked.

I finally feel this internal drive to draw again. Sadly, I can't spend all of my free time on the doujin (I might need to open commissions soon), so my pacing will still be glacial... But there was an internal change from "I have to, I have to, I must..." back to "I want to". And this is all that matters.

Still, that makes me think... while technically I don't have deadlines, the comic has taken so much longer than I thought it would - and it will take a while still. Thus, I wonder if I shouldn't change my approach re publishing it.

The initial idea was to post it all at once when it's fully finished, but I debate releasing it one page at a time instead, while it's still work in progress.

Thing is, I don't think it would be good for overall pacing. I don't want to sacrifice it, plus I can't guarantee regular uploads, esp since I don't exactly work on the pages in chronological order (While the first page is done, it was drawn after I finished a few in the middle & at the end; and there are still a few important pages/panels in first half I'm a bit too afraid of touching just yet, wanting to do them justice. This is how I work in general, jumping around rather than sticking to overly strict linear order.)

The compromise would be to post like 3-5 pages per post, making it so each upload covers a specific scene, however, same issue arises - I can't promise regular uploads. In the end it feels like a half-measure. But maybe it's a good idea, despite that impression?

There's a secret option, too - if this takes absurdly long, my plan was to just post the storyboard, after replacing some panels/pages with already finished drawings. The thing is readable as is, and long finished on that front anyway. My personal deadline for that was "right before my current lease ends", but, well… I plan on extending it anyway, and again... it's just a back-up option for when everything else fails. In the end, I just want to finish the comic, and present it how it's meant to be presented, however long it will take.

All those things considered, I'll stick to the original plan for now... and then we shall see. I simply wanted to share where things stand currently, and where they might go.

And that's it! If you've read this far, thank you. See you in the undetermined future.

[eggnogo]

all the shit with heartofsenso bugs the hell out of me, because half of the "smoking guns" their detractors are pulling up that their definitely using AI is all shit I do, ie. changing your mind halfway through a character design and drawing an outfit different the second time, drawing over a low resolution sketch to make line art, not drawing everything perfectly straight and centered because I'm not a fucking printer

people are so quick to jump on artists over vague accusations like this without knowing a thing about the artistic process, then call it an admission of guilt when they block annoying people or don't have timelapses and a bunch of proof ready to please anyone willing to latch on to this garbage

artists shouldn't need to go into a drawing with the pretense that they might be held up in court for it, and need to make sure they're recording everything first, just in case someone makes groundless accusations against you

it makes me even angrier to see other artists joining the mobs, you should know better

[solid-white]

If people want to argue that Scout x Medic is wrong, let me hit you with a fun fact that'll blow your mind:

Demoman is under 30 years old, Soldier is in his 40s-50s. This is confirmed in the comics. Sniper is under 30 as well, and Spy is also most likely two decades older then him. They're all two decades apart in age. Not to mention Demoman and Sniper BOTH act childish and/or playful at times, just like Scout.

Boots 'n Bombs, the third most popular ship, has the same problems as Quick Fix does. Bloody Suit, the second most popular ship, also has the same problems as Boots 'n Bombs and Quick Fix.

I'm not defending, supporting nor hating on these ships, but I've seen artists draw Bloody Suit and/or Boots 'n Bombs while hating on Quick Fix.

But I'll also not sit back and have someone argue "they're consenting adults" because that sounds incredibly manipulative. The argument "they're just characters" will also not work here, because fiction is just a mirror of reality. The argument that the age difference "is disgusting" is also a bad argument because there HAVE been cases where age difference works out, and it doesn't make all that much sense in this context when the "young" characters in question are in their late 20s (especially Scout in the comics). And finally, the argument that the young characters are "too childish" will not work here because immature adults exist, and treating them like children is weird.

So everyone who wants to say the same argument, get creative and actually have a consecutive debate, but I just wanted to let people know that there's some big irony in TF2 shipping culture and it has been REALLY bugging me.

Thank you for listening, I'm gonna go charge my almost dead phone now.

[asphodelles]

Hi, I found your work on Twitter last year and I really love and look up to your art. If you have the time, I wanted to as if there are there any study topics, artists or techniques that have significantly influenced you :')

I'm at a bit of a complete loss on what to study presently so I thought I'd ask my favorite artists, thank you for reading and I completely understand if this is too open ended a question

Thank you!

This isn't the first time I have been asked this question and I suspect this won't be the last so I'll just lay everything out here. Go to a cafe or get a blanket or something because this will not be a short read:

Foundational:

Anatomy: A lot of my foundational anatomy and clothing illustration knowledge was gained from taking classes and doing observational drawing. Because of this, I'm not going to have the best book recommendations but top 2 books I can recommend for getting Started started are Andrew Loomis or RockHe Kim's books on anatomy (huge asterisk here: they're good at teaching you Basics basics like muscle groups and turning forms and extremely general proportions but will not help that much with making your figure drawings less stiff or how to draw fat or especially in the latter's case how to draw women not built like stick bug anime girls but uh I heard the Morpho books are pretty good. genuinely everything I know about drawing fat is from observational drawing/studies because at some point I got sick of my school for only hiring skinny models in their 20s-30s). I have some diagrams drawn by my friend who studied the hell out of these guys below:

Clothing: I don't know any books that can really help on this front I apologize if I find any I'll update this post but pretty much all of my knowledge on drawing clothes boils down to the following rules: Where are the tension points, how stiff or soft is the textile, how is the form underneath the section of clothing behaving, and don't make even spaces between fold groups

All of this is kind of moot though if it isn't applied through study or observational drawing though

Design:

I have to be really careful here because I don't want to deal in absolutes, the only absolute I'm confident espousing is that anyone who tells you there is only a small selection of methods you should follow to execute a specific type of design are objectively incorrect and just haven't figured out alternative if not more effective design solutions to a common problem. The only real Worst Thing I think you could do as a designer is create a pinterest mannequin devoid of a story, disconnected from its context in the world, and lacking in a clear purpose/personality but this too could be easily be disputed if maximising a character’s aesthetic appeal serves a purpose in its context, and my opposition to this design approach is my personal bias as a character designer for entertainment where emphasizing a character’s function and their relationship to said function is usually the goal

I think the 5 best pieces of advice I've ever received when it comes to designing characters are the following:

Try and follow the rule of thirds/general gestalt design principles of contrast

Always consider what it is you're trying to communicate with the character

Create believable transitions and reinforcements between points of interest

(Entertainment related) KISS principle/Keep It Simple, Stupid is your friend, the way a character wears or wields what they wear or wield will communicate their role in the world (who are they?), their relationship to their role (do they like their job? are they good at it? are they a part of an organization with the means to provide them things to perform their role more effectively?) effectively enough. Excessive information that bloats and conflicts with the communication objective weakens design (example: My favourite childhood toy for years was a pokemon plushie. Would I as a stay at home digital artist be wearing it as a keychain on my crusty paint stained polyester pajama pants when I'm at my desk working my job? is wearing it relevant to my character as a person who both no longer is invested in pokemon and is in this context focused entirely on comfort and doing my job? (no)). I think Elden Ring is an excellent example of a game that has visually complex designs but pretty expedient storytelling with its characters for worldbuilding

Study things that aren't just character design, to borrow from Lynn Yaeger borrowing from Sally Singer "If you're interested in fashion learn everything except fashion... Politics, art, painting- anything except fashion". Because people in different disciplines who work with different mediums or fields of study approach problems in different angles you may not have considered which can help give new ideas + often times the stuff you like was inspired by stuff that isn't at all what you would expect or enjoy yourself (To pull from a very popular example, Arcane is a League of Legends joint which was highly influenced by Warcraft which was highly influenced by Warhammer which was basically a giant response to western pop culture of the 1960s and the history of European warfare something something coconut tree).

Character design is kind of a hard thing to Get Good at considering how much of the actual process is super psychological/not bound by a *ton* of absolutes and has to account for medium and function (you kind of just have to have The Sauce) so I don't recommend Just studying independently only (possible, just very difficult). If you can and are interested in learning more about the specifics take some classes taught by people whose styles you fw who both know what they're doing and are good at explaining their process. For design for entertainment you can always check out Concept Design Academy or The Workshop Academy and see who's teaching there

As far as artist inspirations are concerned I think looking up the artists who worked on projects you like are a good starting point to figure out how you want to stylize. Going off of that at least currently my favourite designers/illustrators for entertainment with The Sauce are probably Evening Monteiro, Sergey Kolesov, Mindy Lee, Tonci Zonjic, Sasha Tudvaseva, Claire Hummel, and Yoshitaka Amano

My favourite book currently for tackling character design at least from a narrative consideration is probably Talking Threads: Costume Design for Entertainment Art (one of the authors is my friend and an excellent teacher!) and a lot of the stuff they espouse really helps to take into consideration individual and external factors when designing a character/how they can be used as vehicles for both individual storytelling and worldbuilding, gigantic reference point for my most recent casual project

Besides that the only other way I can really recommend studying character design is to just look at art, history, architecture, nature (pretty much Everything) and think about how ideas and concepts from those things can be applied to or communicated through a design or figure out what it was about a design or designs you like made it appealing

uhh tldr this is just how i as one among millions of artists got to where i am today as of January 16th 2025 my word is not gospel the advice I espoused here may very well spell my downfall tomorrow

[maxwellatoms]

Good day sir. Hope I'm not bothering you My brother and I are rewatching The grim adventures and it's been fun. Miss cartoons that were just plain random fun. I'm curious about 3 things if I may ask - Jeff the Spider's design changed a few times, his first appearance was more simple, his second appearance was more detailed and gross looking, then after that he went back to a simple design. Was it because the "gross" design was too hard to animate? - I've noticed in some episodes a few characters with glasses would have green eyes, similar to Nergal Junior. Was there a miscommunication with the animation team? - Lastly, is there anything you wish you could've done differently in Billy and Mandy? Like doing certain episodes or characters different? Just retrospective sorta stuff I know this is probably asking a lot, but I just want you to know you're a great source of inspiration and one of the many reasons why I love spooky supernatural content. Keep up the good fight

Hey!

#1:

The reason that most of the characters changed over time was because I updated the models to help the overseas studios (and our own internal artists) get things on-model. I'll go deeper into Billy & Mandy's history with designs in "Billy & Mandy vs. The Entertainment Industry", but I went from wanting to allow artists to have complete freedom to tightening things down as time went on. The smart play would've to develop solid models first and then explain how, when, and why you can break the rules. That's the opposite of what we did.

Jeff was a more complicated character than most, with his double-mandible, multiple eyes, and eight limbs. I suspect that what happened in this case was that the overseas studio either didn't keep or didn't share the original Jeff model with their teams, and instead only used the "special pose" model of Jeff looking gross. Like a lot of the model stuff, it was a quality control issue. Back then when everything was analog (we still had to deliver on film up through the turn of the century) it was pretty hard to change anything once it had been done. So I'd always say, "next time" and then do a clarity pass over the designs.

#2.

Same deal. In the first few seasons, we had analog color correction, where you'd go to a big suite and some guy would run picture and you'd call out anything big that was bugging you. Chances are that we either didn't notice the error, or did and just couldn't do anything about it.

All of those early Mandy smiles were put in overseas, and I wasn't allowed to fix them. It bugged me so much that I vowed to find a way to fix stuff like that myself. I eventually figured out that I could export individual frames to Photoshop, tweak them, and then give them back to the editor. That way I could actually reanimate things that really bugged me but we didn't have the budget to fix.

#3.

Nah. It's fine.

Thanks and good luck!

[tj-dragonblade]

[FIC] Past the Wit of Man (or, Bottom's Dream)

Fandom: The Sandman Pairing: Dreamling Rated: M Word Count: 3657 Tags: comedy, attempted comedy, comedy devolving into feels, identity reveal, sex worker Hob Gadling, advancing my Men In Lingerie agenda, long-haired Hob Gadling agenda, stretching timelines like taffy, Desire and Dream get along AU, but Desire is not actively in this, Dead Boy Detectives comic spoilers mentioned, miscommunication, Dream of the Endless finally uses his words, happy ending

Notes: Kudos props and huge thanks to everyone in the Mr Sadman discord who creatively interpreted a snippet I posted of something else and launched the whole idea of Hob working for a supernatural escort service; this would not exist without y'all and your beautiful brainstorming. ❤️

This fills the August monthly @dreamlingbingo prompt Identity Reveal, replacing square A2 (creature: Veela) on my bingo card

Summary: Hob is nicely settled in a new career and a new identity and does not expect to see his Stranger until 2089. The universe, apparently, has other ideas.

On AO3

~ "Your client is Dream of the Endless. He is extremely ancient and extremely powerful, an underpinning concept of the universe. Absolutely terrible about loosening up and letting himself relax."

"Don't think I'd be much good at relaxing if I was an underpinning concept of the universe either," Hob jokes, opening the profile that the Agency rep has just airdropped to his phone and thumbing through it.

The rep, a foppish vampire with curly white hair and impeccable fashion sense, arches one elegant eyebrow at him. "Apparently his most recent girlfriend dumped him quite harshly and his sibling has arranged this booking on his behalf; he's—and I am quoting here—'absolutely incompetent at managing his own happiness'."

"He knows he's been booked though, right? I'm not gonna catch the fallout because no one told him what kind of appointment this is?" It's only happened once, a prank played on a shy ace nixie by her well-meaning but ill-informed friends; all the same, Hob does not care to repeat the experience—particularly with someone potentially more dangerous.

"He is very much aware and in agreement, yes. We promised him our top companion." The rep dimples at Hob, a smile of saccharine sincerity that shows only the barest hint of fang. "And that's you, sweet Nick."

"And that's me," Hob agrees matter-of-factly, frowning at his phone, then turning it to show his guest. "No photo?"

The rep glances at the screen and makes a commiserative noise. "Oh, yes. Unfortunate, that. Cameras have a very hard time with this fellow, something to do with his general relationship to reality." His tone takes on a simpering air of great melodrama. "We were forced to use an artist's rendition instead! Tragic, really; it doesn't do him justice."

"Huh," Hob says, turning his phone back and studying the cartoony hand-drawn image. Guy looks like he's got some sort of steampunk insect for a head, dark and bolt-laden and bug-eyed, with a trunk that's strongly reminiscent of a disembodied spine. "Dream of the Endless, you said? Looks more like a bloody nightmare."

The rep gives an exaggerated roll of his shoulders, as if shrugging off his delivery duty now that it's done, and turns to leave. "Well whatever the case, an Endless is far above the average client, darling. Give him your best."

"'Course." Hob grins. "That's why you brought the assignment to me, after all."

"Just so." The Agency rep gives a lazy wave in parting and Hob closes the door, still scrolling through the profile as he makes his way to the kitchen.

"Dozens of titles and names", he murmurs, glancing through the list of them. "King of Dreams and Nightmares, alright. Contains the entire collective unconscious of every living being in. Every…universe…?" He shakes his head. "Has never taken a vacation ever. Bested Lucifer Morningstar and oversaw the reassignment of Hell—okay, wow. Billions of years old." He whistles, a long sound of awed disbelief. "Maybe I throw in a free massage for this guy; sounds like he could use it."

He shakes his head again, pockets his phone, carries on with getting breakfast together.

Bug-headed workaholic foundational concept of the universe. Won't be the weirdest client he's ever serviced.

~

It's been ten years since his stranger showed up late for their meeting and smiled so openly and named him friend. That had been their longest meeting yet, lasting all afternoon and on into the evening and it wasn't until the Inn had started closing up for the night that they wound down. His stranger had spoken briefly of the missed appointment in 1989, making clear that something at least mildly traumatic had kept him away and also that he did not wish to elaborate, and Hob had let it go. There was so much to tell of his own century past, his friend remarking with interest on a great many of his stories, and it was enough. His stranger, his friend, had come back, and they'd had a lovely long meeting. Perhaps in 2089 he would be comfortable sharing more of his own story, but even if not, Hob didn't mind. He was confident once more in the friendship he'd declared back in 1889 and willing to coax it out bit by bit, meeting by meeting. He had all the time in the world, after all.

Within a year of that meeting he'd wrapped up his teaching career, arranged for ownership of the New Inn to transfer to a 'relative' in the States who'd keep it running the next few decades, and started searching for a new career for his next identity.

He stumbled quite by accident into the broader supernatural world after being stalked by two dead teenagers helping that de Rais creep who wanted to steal his immortality. It all turned out fine in the end but opened Hob's eyes to exactly how much the supernatural had integrated into the modern world around him. And once old Hettie clued him in to the existence of a certain Service Agency catering to supernatural clients, his next career path was all but decided. What was he going to do, not seize the opportunity for fantastical sexual exploration when presented with it? Life was for living! Werewolves, vampires, sirens and fae and merfolk, the occasional ghost and even an extra-terrestrial or two; scales, feathers, tentacles, knots—Hob's shown them all a good time and earned a stellar reputation among the Agency's clientele. He doesn't plan to do it forever, but he enjoys exploring new avenues and stretching his limits and 'Nick Bottom' is the perfect persona to let him do so.

And now sweet high-priced in-demand Nick has been booked to rebound-fuck an uptight concept in humanoid form who looks like something straight out of a nightmare.

Hob can't wait to completely take this guy apart one orgasm at a time until he's a boneless puddle of satiation and send him home afterwards a brand new man.

Concept. Entity. Whatever.

~

The booking is scheduled for the following day and when the time comes, Hob is fresh and clean and set up in the Agency's most lavish suite. He's let his hair grow the last few years, sports a proper Hozier-like mane at this point, is wearing it down for this appointment. His beard is several weeks old, trimmed to artfully-scruffy perfection and well-groomed. He's lounging on the bed in a short open silk robe and a pair of lace panties that hug his hips and leave most of both arse cheeks exposed, a popular outfit in his repertoire sure to please the classiest of clients with the most discerning taste. Both pieces are a matching vibrant cobalt blue that complements his skin tone beautifully. He's wondering what fucking a concept is like, idly massaging his dick now and then to keep it primed, when finally there's a peculiar displacement of air and then a figure in dark robes with a weird spine-trunked bug-eyed head is standing in the middle of the suite. He's taller than Hob and inhumanly rail-thin; the robes plunge deep from the neckline, displaying milk-white skin without a hint of chest hair and clavicles that beg to be nibbled on. He's in profile, angled slightly away, and Hob has the distinct sense that this is a deliberate pose meant to make an impression, to instill awe and possibly fear in him.

So Dream of the Endless has a flair for drama, got it.

"Hello," Hob greets in his best breathless-and-sultry tone, rising from the bed to approach his client. He layers in a suitable amount of awe, pitching his voice toward 'smitten' with a subtle ring of sincerity to support it. "Oh, wow. You must be Dream of the Endless; I'm so delighted to get to meet you! I'll be taking care of you today; you can call me Nick."

The guy, the concept, Dream of the Endless, he goes stock-still as Hob speaks, and it's like the air in the room pauses with him. He turns, slowly, until Hob is face to face with his…oh, possibly that's a mask, then; the bug-eyed lenses are somewhat translucent in the light though Hob still can't see beneath them.

"There has been some mistake." The voice is deep and distorted through the helmet-mask, bone-rattling in an almost-pleasant way and, somehow, somewhat…familiar? "I was meant to be meeting with 'Nick Bottom'." The quotes around the name are audible.

"That's me!" Hob says, raking a hand back through his hair and shaking it to settle around his shoulders attractively, flashing his most charming smile. "At your service, love, whatever you need. I'm here to make sure you have a very good time, and—"

"Hob Gadling."

That draws him up short. He's currently Robyn Gadrin for tax-paying purposes in the outside world, but the Agency wouldn't give out his current identity let alone his true name, so how—

Hob's brain is babbling insistently about the note of familiarity in that voice and he finally lights on why as Dream of the Endless reaches up to remove his helmet.

Hob finds himself staring at the slightly-more-than-human-but-still-very-familiar face of his Stranger, his centennial touchstone, his friend.

Everything about his reality tips a little bit sideways, dominoes crashing one after the other in his brain until all that's left is that awful ringing alarm tone that features in emergency broadcast alerts on American telly.

Between them, the silence stretches awkwardly, until finally Hob breaks it, the first thing that comes to his tongue spilling out while his poor brain is still rebooting.

"Six-hundred some-odd bloody years, and this is how I learn your name?!"

~

It is five minutes later. Hob is sitting on the side of the plush bed in his short silk robe and lace panties, clutching a bottled water and seriously considering availing himself of the bar in the next room because his emotions are all over the place. His Stranger—Dream of the Endless, apparently—is seated next to him. His eyes are not the blue that Hob is used to, are fully black with actual stars winking in and out of them; it's gorgeous but uncanny. He's currently not looking at Hob, has got the weird bug-spine helmet gripped tightly in both hands. Which are still so pretty, Hob can't help noticing, his fingers longer and more spindly than normal, splayed wide around the curve of the helm, nails painted black. Or maybe not painted, maybe they just are black.

Pretty, regardless.

Not a helpful thought at this juncture.

It's not like he'd thought his Stranger was actually human, obviously, and okay yes the possibility of meeting up with him via this particular career choice had crossed his mind once or twice, might've featured in a private fantasy or two; but also he'd never seriously imagined it because it felt so entirely implausible that his prim and lofty Stranger would ever engage in something so mundane. So casual.

Apparently, Hob was wrong about that.

He's not sure how to feel about it, either.

The smooth inhumanly-pale chest on display in the plunging vee of those artfully-draped robes is also not helping anything.

His Stranger—Dream— moves slightly, glances at him with those starry eyes, flexes those pretty fingers on the helmet. "I will. Arrange. For another. To take your place, Hob, you need not—"

"Now hold on a minute," Hob interrupts, sudden direction presenting itself for his floundering emotions to flow. "What do you mean, 'arrange for another'? What's wrong with me?"

Dream, his name is Dream of the Endless, Dream looks perplexed. "Our. History—"

"Oh yes, our illustrious storied history wherein we have met all of seven times before now and, may I remind you, you took offense to my suggestion that we might be friends until you'd had time to digest it properly, yes."

"Eight."

"Eight?"

"I visited your dream, before undertaking a daunting journey from my realm to another. We shared wine. You gave a most thoughtful toast."

"I. Okay." He remembers that dream, yes; he remembers the wine that followed him out of it, and now with the knowledge that his Stranger is apparently King of all dreams and nightmares suddenly it all makes brand new sense. But he will process that later. "Eight. Still not a factor in my ability to do my job."

Mostly. It is his Stranger, after all, and it's not like he hasn't ever wanted—

"Sex would be. Awkward," Dream insists, and Hob loses it, never mind he'd half-thought the same thing until a second ago; Dream saying it makes him refute the assertion with everything he's got.

"You dare," he says, setting aside his water.

Dream boggles at him, cosmic eyes wide, mouth slightly parted.

"You. DARE. To disdain my professional services just because we know each other?!"

"Hob— "

"No. No, your booking was very clear that you were to have the very best, and that. Is. Me. So you will not be re-booking with another companion on the grounds that our acquaintance makes it 'awkward'; if you mean to partake of the services you've hired you will partake of them with me."

"My sibling."

"What."

"My sibling hired your services. Did they know—" He's half talking to himself and Hob sighs, forcefully pulling the conversation back on track.

"Yes, right; your sibling booked you and here you are. Did you want to get laid today?"

"You need not be so crude about it."

"Forgive me. Of course. Did you come here hoping to have a sensual skillful sexual experience with a stranger intent on your pleasure with no judgments or expectations placed upon you in return?" He makes a valiant effort to rein in his sarcasm. "Because I can still provide that. Minus the bit where we're not strangers."

Dream looks positively miserable, a sodden wet cat of a man in sex-appeal robes hunched on the edge of the decadently-plush bed, and there is certainly an understandable element of embarrassment to the situation but Dream is taking it so seriously. Hob is not surprised, exactly, but christ—he's more than willing to follow through never mind any feelings he may or may not want to admit to, and Dream is the one who'd agreed to the booking in the first place. You'd think he could handle this hiccup with a little more grace.

"It was my intent to. Do, as you say," Dream says at last, and Hob sighs.

"Is that still what you want, then? I promise I'll take good care of you." He's actually really warming up to the idea, not that he was cold to it to begin with. It's his Stranger after all. He's been willing to say yes for centuries. "They really did book you the best, and I would love to show you how well-earned my reputation is—"

"Hob—" Dream sounds pained, gives an artfully-dramatic shake of his head. "My wants are. Manageable. If no one else is available. I cannot simply engage with you so frivolously—"

Hob leaps up from the bed, stalks a frustrated few steps away and whirls back, spreads his arms. "Am I not appealing to you, Dream of the Endless?" He tosses his head, shakes his hair back, gestures at the blue silk and lace that he knows looks absolutely spectacular on him. "Would you like me to change clothes? I have a dozen more ensembles I'd be happy to put on if you'd rather peel me out of one of those. Would the Prince of Stories prefer roleplay? Golden-age pirate, biker bad boy, Mr. Darcy or Elizabeth, cowboy, librarian, Starfleet officer—I'll dress however you like." He's fired up, he's…it feels like anger but it's more like alarm; he is absolutely not about to let a colleague fuck HIS Stranger if Dream's looking to unwind. Not with all the thoughts he's entertained the last couple centuries, not when Dream is looking so entirely miserable about the whole experience. Hob wiggles his bare toes in the plush carpet, forcing a deep breath; he is jealous and possessive and protective all at once and has no idea how to safely navigate this storm to get Dream what he wants without pissing him off.

"Your…clothing becomes you greatly, Hob." He's sneaking a glance as he says it, like he's not allowed to look but can't help it. "Your clothing is not at issue."

"Then what is?" Hob rakes a hand back through his hair, frustration fizzling, careening toward concern. "If you're truly that put off by me, I'll let it go. But you're here, for sex, which you did say you wanted; this is my job and I'm good at it and you clearly need—" Someone to take care of you, he'd nearly said, and while Dream has been giving him so much leeway in this conversation he thinks that might be one straw too much for this particular camel's back.

Nice to know he appreciates Hob's hairy chest and his dick in blue lace, though.

Dream levels him with a look that almost puts him right back to 1889, and Hob has half a second to start panicking before Dream closes his eyes, draws himself up, sets his bloody weird helmet on the bedside table with a soft leathery clunk. When he opens his eyes again, they are resolute, resigned, the eyes of a man headed for the gallows despite the stars winking hopelessly in their depths.

"I do not wish to be intimate with you. When you view it as simply a job. I. Would like—but not. If it is a transaction. If I am merely a client."

Oh. Oh.

Oh shit, really?

Impossible.

Really?

"You want. You want it to mean something?" Hob is embarassed at how small his voice comes out.

Dream closes his eyes, something like shame written all over his beautiful otherworldly-pale face. "I had thought. At our fifth meeting. That perhaps there was the possibility of. Attraction, between us." He opens his night-sky eyes again, meets Hob's resolutely. "Had we not been interrupted…" He shakes his head. "I pondered the idea until next we met, anticipating the possibility of. Seeing, where we might have come to. But you named what was between us friendship, you named me lonely; I perceived your words as mockery and acted accordingly. I spent the next century with a surplus of time to wander my own thoughts. They turned to you, Hob Gadling, with regularity. As I expressed when last we met, I regret leaving our previous meeting so abruptly, so harshly. Your friendship is of great value to me. I am content to let it remain friendship, in the interest of keeping it. But I am unwilling to engage with you, who named me 'friend', as I would a lover when I have yet to fully bury the wish. That you might have been my lover in truth."

Hob is desperately trying to keep from bluescreening again and while he's focused on that, his mouth runs along without him. "You never even gave me a name, but you wanted us to be lovers?"

"I am. Aware, of how foolish my wishes—"

"No, oh no. Dream. Love." He absolutely cannot let him think that. "All you ever had to do was ask."

Dream looks at him, starry eyes full of misery with the faintest spark of hope underneath, glimmering with unshed tears. "I. Could not—"

"That was then. Water under the bridge. What about now."

Dream shivers, his more-than-human face wary and pleading and resigned all at once and the last of the fight drains out of Hob. He approaches gently, until he is directly in front of Dream on the edge of the bed again; he half straddles Dream's lap with one foot still on the floor and a bare knee sunk on the mattress beside him, threads both hands into Dream's hair behind his lovely ears, tips his pale face up.

"Ask me now. Please."

Dream's hand settles above his bent knee, a gentle, tentative touch; his eyelashes flutter, and the sound that leaves him steals Hob's breath. That hand travels softly around to grip the back of Hob's thigh, slides hesitantly higher, and then it's Hob making the helpless noise as Dream's fingertips card beautifully through his leg hair, run up beneath the short robe. Dream's spindly black-nailed hand caresses up over his exposed arse cheek, squeezes, and all the while Dream's beguiling uncanny eyes are fixed on him, wet and wondering, full of blossoming hope.

"Hob Gadling." His voice is hushed, almost reverent. "I should like to have you, as my lover. If you are amenable." His face is tipped up, so close between Hob's hands, and Hob.

Hob's shaking. He's actually trembling, pent up, a little scared; daring, as he leans down and his hair falls around them both, hoping—

He brushes his lips to Dream's.

He kisses his Stranger, his friend, his touchstone.

And Dream of the Endless, who is all of those things, kisses him back.

It's nothing like he might have imagined, and ten times as wonderful, and over before he realizes he's ended it.

"Do you mean it." His voice is breathless, the words spoken directly against Dream's mouth. It's a stupid question, in light of the entire conversation gone before and the hand still on his arse, but he can't help asking. This entire turn of events is just too good to be true.

"Yes."

But true it is, apparently, and Hob's heart soars.

"Then. Dream of the Endless. My Stranger. My friend." He presses soft kisses to those plush pink lips between each moniker, dizzy that he's allowed. "Let me add another title to the list, darling. Take me to bed; the suite is ours 'til tomorrow. Let me learn how you would have me. Let me show you how I would treat you. And let me, at long last, name you mine."

= Started: 8/21/24 Drafted: 8/27/24 Posted: 8/30/24

If you're looking for a spicier take on this concept, @delta-pavonis has you covered: Dossier 54392 - please, give it a read, it's delicious.

(and here, have a post-script-y epilogue-exchange of sorts that did not quite fit:)

= "You chose to name yourself Nick Bottom?"

"What better name for a callboy to the supernatural than the bloke who got unwittingly embroiled in a fae lovers' spat and ultimately survived the entire encounter unscathed? Feels pretty relevant to me. Empowering, a bit?"

"Nick Bottom was less 'empowered' than simply lucky, perhaps."

"Perhaps. I'll not turn my nose up at good luck, either. But a name like Bottom in this business is also too good a pun to pass up, and I figure old Shaxberd would approve."

"I believe he would, indeed."

"The irony being that fully half of my clients want me to top them, heh."

"I do not wish to speak of your clients while you are in bed with me."

"Got better uses for my mouth, have you?"

"Other sounds I would prefer to hear from it, yes."

"Fair enough. Why don't you tell me what you want, Mr. Sandman, and see if I can make your dreams come true."

"Must you be so cliché?"

"You love my clich—mmph—"

"Stop. Talking."

"Yes love."

(Dream will tell him about commissioning A Midsummer Night's Dream at some other time 💖)

= Nick Bottom's lines from A Midsummer Night's Dream that lent themselves to the title: I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was and also The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream: it shall be called Bottom's Dream

[puttersmile]

For day 6 of Crittertember its fav platonic ship. For me it is Dogday and Bubba. I don't know really. Since the very start I always saw Bubba as Dogday's bestie. Mostly due to him being the leader and Bubba the smart guy. When going over PPT chapter 3, I found myself thinking about how the dynamics of the critters would work. At no point did I ever see Catnap as a friend to anyone, at least not at the time. So I thought maybe Dogday's best friend was either gonna be Hoppy or Bubba. I picked Bubba for his differences and how a leader character would find value in an intelligent character. And it also would enhance the tragedy since Bubba died first (according to most theories at least), leaving Dogday without his reliable second in command.

They totally respect each other's strengths and have enough in common to bond over shared interests. In this case they both love the outdoors. As you can see from this pic of them as babbis chasing butterflies. Hiking, fishing, bug collections. I decided Bubba is a happy outdoor boi along with Dogday, though maybe not a sporty type (even though I have an unfinished picture of him playing soccer...). It's just Dogday is the type to jump off a cliff into the lake far below. Bubba won't go that far. For Bubba it is also likely for scientific pursuits. Where as Dogday just wants to chase things. And smell the cool nature smells.

I also have a second favorite platonic ship. Although I guess its more a tie. If you have followed this blog for a while you probably know what it is.

Bobby and Crafty of course! I think their personalities would gel together perfectly. I almost can't explain it. In my mind its just a big "duh". I guess it is because Crafty reminds me of a childhood friend.

We drew a lot together, mostly fanart, and nerded out about shows/ cartoons we both liked. Bobby would always be cheering for Crafty's artistic pursuits and Crafty always wants her best friend to just...be happy! They would do everything together and maybe even read each other's secret diaries!

Also I say Crafty reminds me of a friend. I have to keep in mind Crafty tried to kill someone for "red paint". I don't think my friendship was that volatile lol. But yeah. I don't think the Smiling Cs are fully characters. They are concepts that us fans project our desires onto. It can vary wildly from fan to fan.

Onward to day 7. I'm nervous because I'm trying to write out why I like my otp. Hopefully people understand it.

[yamsgarden]

aaa I thought I'd share the story here as well, but omg... That left me on the floor... sorry it's a bit long OTL

To keep it short, I met a Miraculous Lady Bug who noticed my Diabetic censor last mini con I went, this weekend. She came to me and told me how she had hers since 15 years... To my suprise, she showed me she even had a Diabetic Type 1 tattoo all across her arm.

It was hard to tell because of the mask, but I think Lady Bug was close to tears because of finding another DT1... We hugged each other and told each other to keep on fighting.

I just never ever expected a complete stranger to noticed my censor and even come to me, open their heart and wishing me to fight... I wasn't even there as an artist, or as yamsgarden, I was just me...

I thought she was so insanely amazing to tattoo this on her and accepted it and that it's part of her. When in my case I try to hide it or rarely ever mentionned it... It's still hard to accept but ngl she gave me hope and strengh.

I know DT1 is common but also still rare. You adapt to it, but somedays it feels horrible, like an awful unfair burden added on top of all your other problems just out of nowhere and who is slowly killing you if not treated...

It just felt insane to be reminded how we're not alone in this. I try to fight it in silence (with the docs ofc) so I forget there's so many out there too... The docs keep telling everytime, how I'm so late to have DT1 but also so young, same for high blood pressure.

Definitely the first time I ever experienced this tho and holy shit.

Ig it's just a reminder how I feel for everyone out there also has DT1 and I wish her and all of us to never give up

We didn't choose to get this, you'll always be more than this shit illness and we'll make it to 50+ years old

fuck this chronic disease for stealing years of our lives

idk who you are out there all of you dear DT1, but I love you and I feel for you and you better never give up 💖💪✨✨✨

I also can't believe this sweettest interaction ever happened while dressed as a fucking maid... Life is so funny sometimes sjkdhsdjkfg.

Other than that, I had a lovely time with my best friends and I can't wait to see what the futur is holding for us

[janetkwallace]

Gutsy doesn't have the guts, or how to screw up a season finale

(Warning: Spoilers of Moominvalley Season 4 ahead)

The hell was that ending.

How come no one at Gutsy, from the storyboard team to the artists to the 3d animators to the writers to the editors to the directors to the executive producers looked at the Comet in Moominland episode and said "that ending could be better" or something, or actually anything, did they just nodded in approval as it was done?

It baffles me that they thought it was a neat idea and didn't question how odd of a choice it was to end the series that way. So, In case you don't care about spoilers, well, here it goes:

A big comet approaches Moominvalley, oh no! Everyone (with the exception of a few characters who never appeared again, like Emma, Misabel, Ninny, Fillyjonk's nieces, Teety-Woo, to name a few) goes to Sniff's Cave.

Moomintroll is like: "We must face our fear instead of hiding from it!", despite said fear being a freaking comet that will fry everyone as soon as it reaches Moominvalley. They leave the cave so everyone can die together, which sounds silly but whatever.

Not even once they contemplate their mortality, despite the episode pretending they are. How do you expect the audience to care if not even the characters show any concern to the looming threat on the horizon? Is it too much for children to experience the fear of death or any existential thoughts? I mean, this is Moomins, a series with frozen squirrels, Fillyjonks craving all sorts of disasters and sad pinwheel on the beach episodes. Oh, and a story about child abuse and how we need to listen to the downtrodden to aid their healing, but the 2019 series somehow found a way to screw that up, and I'll probably talk about it later.

What matters is that the Groke appears, and like a fly attracted to a bug zapper, she heads towards the comet, something happens (I don't know exactly what, did she froze the comet, did she ate it, did she explode, it's unclear), but everyone is happy.

Really, everyone just leaves and goes to a party. The comet, as it seems, was just a fleeting glimmer. And the best part, the one that made me laugh to myself because of how dumb it is in retrospect: The Groke dies for everyone's sins and becomes a force ghost that only Moomintroll can see.

The end.

I'm not kidding. This is the season finale's final act. This is how the 2019 Moominvalley series ends. Moomintroll looks at the viewer and we hear the Groke's moan off-screen. She is okay! But where is she? Is she alive? Is she dead? Is this a Schrodinger's Groke? Are we, the audience, supposed to be the Groke? Nah, that would not make any sense.

The Groke, of all characters, sacrificed herself for a bunch of people and it has no impact whatsoever. Like, do you expect everyone to know the symbolism behind the Groke, how she represents loneliness and a desire to feel something she can never attain? And that symbolism isn't even properly established in the series, to begin with, so what's the point of getting rid of the Groke? And she isn't even dead because Gutsy won't say that, and if you can't do something that Shin Moomin did five decades ago and better, then something is wrong. If you can't do something Tove herself did in one of the novels, then something is utterly wrong.

Although, to be fair, why the Groke? Is it so the comet would be gone? How does "the Groke freezing a comet" (I guess) is a better option than "the comet is about to hit the valley but it changes course"? This is like Moominvalley attempting to be its own unique adaptation by taking choices and u-turns in the narrative in order to stand out from the rest, but the result is this convoluted mess that either gets unnoticed or is just strange.

Overall, it was an okay episode. As someone who has seen the worst of humanity through MST3K, Comet in Moominvalley is mostly competent. Eh, at least the music was nice, but the episode could have been a lot better, and who knows, someone may have liked it as it is. I did not, and that's why I wrote all of this.

[ilovedthestars]

So i was bitten by the zine bug this semester and i keep thinking that a collaborative zine would be really fun to organize, especially one i could open up to my little corner of the internet. Not the shiny polished fandom zines that are really cool but also more of an anthology than a zine. I'm talking DIY photocopier and scissors zines--or as close as you can get over the internet, as the case may be.

The most fun and low stakes idea i have at the moment is a doodle zine. Like, what kinds of scribbles or shapes or little creatures do you draw in the margins of your notebooks? Fill a zine-sized page with them and send me a photo! Zero expectation of artistic skill or effort, just fill a page with marks and have fun.

And then i could stitch them together into both a digital zine file and a printable version you could use to make a paper copy. I think that would be a cool way to get as close to the physical collage vibes of a traditional zine as you can in a project that would obviously have to be conducted over the internet, where we can't just hand each other pieces of paper.

Anyway, i finally have both the motivation and the energy to potentially dive in to making this happen, but only if other people are actually interested. And this would look very different if 8 people want to participate vs. if 40 do. So:

Please feel free to reblog/spread this if you know others who might be interested! Right now this is just an idea i'm playing around with, but it might become a Real Thing very quickly if other people are also excited about it.

[rozeliyawashereyall]

Guys I'm back (not really)!!! I missed you all so much and- oh wow I missed too much, huh.

I'll start with saying that I'm doing okay now! My mental health has improved a lot and I'm very proud of myself :) however! I'm still on break, I just came here to address a few things.

Now to what's happening in the bug army—and lemme just say jeez. I did not expect to come back to drama, especially with how small this sub fandom is.

English isn't my best language so hopefully I'm not being rude saying these-

Most of my information came from @audioroleplayconfessions and a few friends of mine

-Now~ about the discord server. A lot has happened and I won't be getting into too much detail about it. One or two of our members weren't in the best place and sought out help from me and a few others, they're both okay now and are getting proper help ^^

None of us are exactly okay in the head in the army, I don't mean "insane" I mean "just need a safe environment to vent". And that's exactly why the discord was made! But unfortunately it went past an after school comfort club and more of a therapy session.

Thankfully! Me and the mods are being especially stricter on the rules and are actively enforcing them better!

This is still our first time making a server so of course we aren't the best at it, but we're all trying! I do hope that anon can feel safe there again.

that's all I'll say about it, so let's close this topic already.

-The favoritism! Now sure what to say on this one tbh, just that no one owes you anything! If you're so insecure that you have to seek validation from strangers online—and having panic attacks that you aren't being noticed, maybe the problem is with you. Most of our amazing artists that get slightly more recognition is because they're one of the first batch of bugs to appear in this fandom!

It honestly just feels like you're putting the creators on a special pedestal, above everyone—while they're all very talented and incredible people, they're still human. Just like you, just like me. They try to interact with everyone they can and it's clear every person helping with the gator boys series is trying their damn best.

I genuinely do hope you're doing okay now though :(

I'm always here to help and support you if you need it! But now, it's best if you take some time off to focus on yourself! Take a mental health break, it'll do wonders to you, I would know! I'm taking one now ^^

-that one anon ask that was very clearly about me but they didn't say it.

I'm not too fussed up about it, just a little sad I made someone feel that way

I'm not sure what I did that gave you the impression of "annoying" and "pretentious" of me, but I'm really sorry that I did anyways. I do hope you'll still consider joining our little army, and so we too can be friends! I'm sure you're a great person!

Do know I'll always greet you and new members with open arms! <3

Oh and thank you so much to the people in the reblogs that defended me—giving you all the biggest digital hug ever

-and lastly~ I really, really hope none of us gave you a bad impression of us or the VAs! Everyone here is a wonderful person! From talented to kind to fun! Gator boys is an awesome series and we all just wanted to create a small group to fangirl and boy about it X3 I'll admit things have gotten a bit too far, but me and the founders are trying our best to keep everything under control.

Now, I'm not too good with words—but, I'm very sorry about everything that happened these few days, but I promise everything will be okay from now on! We'll all make sure of it!

Gonna be putting this post in my pinned for a week just in case-

[seraphtrevs]

Hi!

Idk if anyone asked this before, but I really wanna know you opinion on Lalo's tattoo? I thought why they kept it? Is it just because it looks cool or Is it because it fits Lalo? Or no reason behind it all?

I think meaning fits Lalo quite well, but dying to know what do you think!

So this has been sitting in my inbox for months - sorry! 😅 I decided this ask was a great excuse to finally read the Tao Te Ching, which I'd been meaning to do for a long time, so I did that, and then I realized that it will probably take a lifetime to understand it, and maybe it should be less than a lifetime before I answered this ask.

Anyway. I think the real reason they didn't conceal the tattoo was because that would take time and effort better spent elsewhere. It's complete in character for a cartel operative to have a tattoo, so why bother to cover it up?

But that's a boring answer, and I think we can have more fun with it. Because I think you can make a case for this being Lalo's tattoo, not just Tony's. Come, take my hand, and let us indulge in some headcanons~

So let's take a look at it: (I found this on pinterest here, but no artist was credited. If anyone knows who it is, lmk!) ETA - art is by Artmetica - ty @reztruck!

The most prominent aspect is the yin-yang symbol. When he holds his arm palm up, it's staring him straight in the face. That makes it easy for him to look at, maybe as a reminder. So why would Lalo, violent cartel don, get a tattoo of a yin-yang?

My headcanon is that Lalo is a reader. He canonically only gets a couple hours of sleep a night (like - this is literally impossible, but he's kind of an impossible person. maybe it's really a couple more, but let's just say that he gets by on much less sleep than the average joe.) So what's he doing with all that time? There's only so much slithering around you can do in the dead of night. We know he likes to use his quiet time to think, and what better way to come up with stuff to think about than to read?

He's a curious and intelligent person - I'm sure he likes to read on a wide variety of subjects. Maybe when he was a young man, he had some questions about the meaning of it all and went looking for it in books. And maybe he came across a copy of the Tao Te Ching and took it to heart. (Well, not all of it - he is, after all, a violent drug dealer who kills without remorse lol)

I've always attributed Lalo's lack of fear to his psychopathy, which it is for the most part. But psychopathy doesn't entirely explain him, does it? Psychopaths aren't known for their emotional stability, but Lalo rarely loses his cool and seems in a good mood most of the time. It's not that he doesn't ever lose his temper, but he's able to calm down quickly. He's such a go-with-the-flow guy that he even laughed off his own death.

Wu wei is an important concept in Taoism. It's active non-action, or effortless action - instead of forcing your will on the universe, be in tune with it. Go with the flow. And that's pretty much how Lalo operates. Unlike Gus, who has many meticulous plots and never leaves anything up to chance, Lalo jumps in head first and figures things out as he goes. This makes him a good detective - he goes where his leads take him (all the way to Germany sometimes). It also means he's able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.

For example, when he's spying on the chicken farm in 4x10, he springs into action when he realizes something's up and is almost able to catch Werner. When his house comes under fire in the middle of the night in 5x10, he immediately switches gears and is able to beat a team of assassins single-handedly by going with the flow, effortlessly taking every opportunity as it arises (using the frying pan of hot oil to blind an attacker, using Ciro's body as a shield, doubling back on his attackers to take them by surprise, etc.) When he learns that Gus bugged the phone at the nursing home, he loses his shit for a minute, pulls himself together, and then spots a cockroach, thinks of Jimmy, and he's off on a completely new path, wasting no time second-guessing himself. There's no reason to get too worked up when things don't go your way, because a new way is bound to open itself up to you if you pay attention.

(That's not to say he never plans - for example, he set up his body double in case he ever needed to fake his death. But I think that was probably also a product of wu wei - by random chance he meets a guy who looks a lot like him, and so he thinks "hey this could be useful later.")

So yeah, I definitely think this could be Lalo's tattoo, not just Tony's! It actually explains a lot about his approach to life.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Backbeard - Day 61

Race: Foul

Alignment: Dark-Chaos

July 1st, 2024

ZEHAHAHA- wait, no L. Unfortunate. Today's Demon of the Day is, strangely, a modern version of a classic type of monster, and one that originates from a very specific source- a manga. Yep, we have another one that leads you in circles in research, though in this case, it's because it might not even exist. Enter Backbeard, a yōkai that originates from GeGeGe no Kitaro. Before I start digging into what little there is to offer, I'd like to give a huge thank you to @kanekocribs 's fantastic post about this subject, which also had a great delve into Porewit, which you all know my very... intense feelings about.

For the most part, Backbeard's origin is incredibly hard to trace; the purported origin of the yōkai in the book "100 Ghosts and Hauntings of the World" seems to have just been made up by the SMT fandom wiki, as the closest thing I can even trace to that name is the series of woodblock prints from the 1830's called "One Hundred Ghost Stories" which can be further traced back to a set of parlor games called "Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai." In these sources, though, I can't find any reference to Backbeard or even just a single-eyed entity, which appears to be the primary trait for a lot of depictions. Even going back and trying to find anything related to an August 1965 edition of Shonen Book, which the wiki page cites...

Sends you right back to GeGeGe no Kitaro. Please get some sources cited Megaten wiki. Regardless, though, what on earth is GeGeGe no Kitaro even about? It's about yōkai, of course! In the story, Backbeard appears as a major antagonist, leading scores of the 'Western Yōkai,' effectively meaning groups of classical horror movie monsters such as the Wolfman, Dracula, Witches, etc. He's seen as the main antagonist of several of the stories, but in most adaptations he's cut for more personal antagonists. I'm not well versed in GeGeGe no Kitaro, especially because I haven't read it, but the design says all it really needs to say.

Later on, it's attributed and believed that Backbeard may have taken inspiration from several sources conglomerating together, though I could not find a source for the LIFE OF ME regarding the first one. TW for body horror and bugs below, but some people purport that Backbeard may have been based on the 'Eye Bugs' from the aforementioned magazine '100 Ghosts and Hauntings of the World,' though again, I have no idea where this picture comes from, and searching is turning up diddly squat. The second picture, though, I can attest to existing- a piece of art called the Shinjuku Phantom Chimera by Masatoshi Naitō.

Ironically, I pulled this from another blog! Special thanks as well to @littleeyesofpallas for this post about Bleach that ALSO goes into Backbeard. Finally, we can trace the inspiration for Backbeard and Shinjuku Phantom Chimera all the way back to the 1800's, wherein we have this painting by French artist Odilon Redon, simply called Eye Balloon.

So, cool! What do I do with this? I have no idea! There isn't really a moral at the end of this, or any grand message, and my hours of digging have dealt me many, many headaches with not much else in return. I guess, at the very least, I satisfied my curiosity, and also found out that Bleach has a GeGeGe no Kitaro reference in it.

[wantonrowls]

Stray Kids drabbles: When their S/O is a tough cookie

Bang Chan

It was one of the corporate meetings to meet the artists and new management. Right then and there when he saw you strutting with your head held high, Bang Chan was smitten, visibly taken-aback by your presence. He can't help but lick his bottom lip from time to time, grasping his palms onto his cotton trousers, a habit of his when he's clearly put into a flustering situation. A couple minutes later when he had the chance to get to talk to you alone about the upcoming comeback of his group he mustered up every nerve he had to intimidate you. So yeah, there you were shifting on the pages of the minutes sheet that your secretary gave you earlier all the while waiting for him to talk, he leans closer almost covering you with his build which in fact is massive and spectacular, breath almost tickling the shell of your ear but hey, you're not quivering.

"Uhm about the comeback, I think we should make this song..." he points at the scribbled list of tracks, allowing his musky scent to linger your face "the main song, yeah?" he continues.

"I don't know. You should've cited that a while ago, when the board was here"

"Aren't you the head of the board?"

"I am, yes. But that doesn't change the fact that we all had to agree on that before changing the whole set of track list"

"Oh, what should I do to persuade you hmm?" He smirks at your face. Alright he looks handsome when he does that.

From then on he kept on bugging you and when I said bugging it meant that he pampers you with gifts, which of course at first is like an insult.

"I don't wear necklaces"

"I'm allergic to tulips"

"I don't like sweets"

Bang Chan was challenged. Hey, he's a leader and with his alpha-like mindset he doesn't back down easily even if every single time you turn him down or shoo him off of your office. That was the case until you finally melted down your facade, leaning in and showing him your vulnerable side when that one time you encountered a problem during a meeting and he was there to defend you. That's when you realised that he wasn't acting up to challenge you or intimidate you but to simply adore you.

When you finally gave him the appropriate opportunity to date you he was more than glad to treat you like a queen, not quivering with every piercing gaze you throw his way instead returning back with a lovely gaze, you swore his eyes looked like two hearts.

What Bang Chan treats you in public is equal to what he treats you in bed. He's almost content to do anything that pleases you as long as it's you. If you request to ride him or his face he'll gladly do so for however long you wish.

He's aware of your tough personality which makes him an accomplished man by dating you so when people compliment him or just simply ask him how did he do that he's just gonna say he's still figuring you out because he's still on his toes most of the time.

Lee Know

Everyone knew that Lee Know also has an intimidating aura. Putting you and him in the same room with you fixing some mistakes in his choreo is a huge mess, or so they think.

They know his pride is as big as the mountains and they know your ego is just as big so neither one of you are backing down. It took Hyunjin or Felix to tap him on the shoulder to allow you to fix some errors which are clearly there, just that Lee Know doesn't want to acknowledge.

"We just had to change this step to polish it" Felix comments

"Yeah let her do her job" Hyunjin follows

"Am I not doing my job?" Lee Know asks with a brow raised

"Not if you're ignoring my comments about this choreo" You spat back. He sighs, allowing you to step in and do the rest of your task. You saw him smirking back at you onto the mirror whenever your eyes landed onto his, You just shrugged it thinking he's just not convinced or whatever. He finally corners you at the lockers while you're picking up your towel he pushes you by a side of your shoulder

"Hey Ms. perfect"

"Hey Lee Know"

"What brings you here at the entrance of the shower room"

"I forgot to tell you something" He leans in, lips just inches away from the corner of your lips "You did amazing on the choreo. I was just messing around with you" he breathed "Now I'm gonna start to do that everytime" he continues, smirking at you and staring you down.

Messing around did he, faking a wrong step, waiting for you to scold him and teach him alone in the middle of the night, pushing his luck at you every single time. To no avail you don't try to push him off and instead don't pay much attention to it and do your job it's just that it's extra hard when he clearly doesn't wanna let you be alone 24/7 when you're around.

"If you hate me that much just say so"

"You know I can't just do that, you're too much"

"In love with you, yes"

Every annoying thing he did was just a front to show you his goofy side so when he knew that the manager scolded you for something that you clearly had no hold to he had to step in and voice out on your behalf. Who dares to badmouth his lifeline? the audacity right? Just his gaze alone made the manager quiver, quickly apologizing to him and to you. You've shown him your vulnerable side, there's no backing down to that. He'll act as if he's much more offended than you even though he has no connection whatsoever.

So, with no hesitancy he's much more than glad that you leaned in on him. Allowing him to court and eventually date you.

What Lee Know acts like when someone's around is an opposite when you two are alone. If in public you fluster him infront of the members or you're intimidating him with a cold hard stare then in bed he's like a different Lee Know. He'll push you onto the bed and manhandle you like he knows it's his place to do so while still absolutely taking much extra care of you both pleasure and care-wise.

Seo Changbin

As buff as he is, Changbin won't hesitate to shoot his shot at your way, throwing a wink everytime he sees you. Of course it was absurd, you're the head stylist and he's an artist, nothing is more clearer than the fact that he must be doing fan service and not straight up flirting at you.

Which you're wrong on a hundred percent, he's really flirting. He stated it when you were doing his measurements and purposely being last so he could ask if he could give you a gift

"No, I'm not allowed to accept gifts"

"But I already bought it"

"Changbin-"

"Throw it away if you don't like it" he pouts then leaves you with a box, when you opened it, it was a key to the newly bought sportscar on the parking lot

"How the fuck am I supposed to throw this out?"

If you're not familiar with Changbin, you'll think oh he's kinda like Lee Know, he's intimidating and I could melt with just his presence alone. But hey, he's just a big buff baby WHO will literally throw finger hearts your way if no one's looking just for the sole purpose of annoying you. Even throwing a wink from time to time that one company dinner. Flabbergasted is an understatement, this clearly is just a whole ass man throwing himself at you like a starved puppy. He sees you as a woman who takes pride with her work so when the unknown negative comments about their concept photos emerged he was more than ready to speak up about it. He knows you prepared well and that you did your best so he won't hesitate to judge every single one of the snarky people like every person looks like JYP to him.

When you knew what he did, you finally broke down your walls, allowing him to see a new version of yourself only available for his to see. He's much more glad that you've given him the chance and that he would take it to his pride that he singlehandedly managed to date an intimidating woman.

He's the type to enjoy slow romances in bed so his main focus is your pleasure and your pleasure alone. He's super careful and makes sure that you're comfortable. He could also be rough from time to time.

Han Jisung

This guy will rizz you until you acknowledge his presence. He's the type to throw lame pickup lines or jokes to get any response from your end. Haha ha, must've been a wrong day or a wrong time or his underwear was of a wrong color because you're clearly not laughing at the yo mama joke he's blurted out at the studio. It's as if you wanna explode on your seat because you had been working with him on this single track and he doesn't wanna be serious

"Hey Jisung, it's 2 in the morning"

"Oh! time for breakfast, wanna go to Mcdonalds?"

"That means we already had five hours wasted because you kept on messing around"

"Nah, you're just hungry, babe. C'mon! my treat!"

"Quit messing up and fix the track yourself" You sighed, standing up and heading out of the studio. He's....intimidated with just the way you silently left without shouting at him or slamming the door back. He clearly doesn't wanna mess around it's just that it was the first time that he had a chance to be with you alone so he took the opportunity to be beyond annoying not knowing that it had been a whole day for you stressing out.

The next day when you came back at the studio he's already finished the track, smiling at you and showing you what he had done when you were taking a rest.

"I'm impressed. There's no need to fix in here, Jisung"

"Thanks! I was just inspired, and uhm... I'm sorry I made you stay up late last time"

"Nah it's alright"

"How about I treat you, yeah?"

MF will literally take it like he had to run dry his express card just so you could forgive him even though you're not mad at him.

"When you said you'll treat me to dinner, I never imagined to eat blue lobsters...I thought we had to go down just a block from the building to eat Mcdonalds"

"Mcdonalds are lame, you deserve blue lobsters"

"We could pay half and half"

"No"

"Uhm... I'm just returning the favor"

"How about a date then?"

You wanna say no but in the corner of your eye you see him in his big doe eyes...how can someone say no....

"Alright..."

He's flustered and walking on egg shells most of the time when working with you, not wanting to have another opportunity for you to leave frustrated BUT as I said, he'll rizz you with his antics. He'll ask for you at the studio with or without Changbin and Bangchan to a point they wanna disown him cause he kept on sitting beside you and call your name.

"Y/N how about we put this tune here?"

"Let's listen to it"

Jisung is the type to change the words of the song just so he can see you wided-eye and clueless. It's gonna come to a point where you're gonna be the one to back down and accept this romance he wanted to project.

Jisung in bed will mostly favor you because he wants to prioritize your wants and needs. He's just content to run his hands down every part of your skin.

(I'll add the next part tomorrow)