#(also I get to animate it way more than the first iteration)

[rawliverandgoronspice]

guess who: managed to convince my bad laptop to overheat and endure clip studio paint + understand my tablet isn't actively plotting to murder my hard drive

guess who: started redoing the very first scene, the very first shot I ever did for thralls :>

[ponett]

Any opinion on the Pokemon Gigaleak or nah?

I think seeing some of the WIP assets from when gen 3 was in development is kinda neat, because Game Freak is normally so secretive about that kind of thing. But beyond that I mostly just find this whole situation tiring.

Fans have a tendency to almost treat scrapped material as "more canon" than whatever actually made it into the finished product, in a way. It's treated as this pure, unfiltered insight into the creators' true vision. In reality, most of the time this stuff gets cut for a reason. Sometimes they very quickly realize it was a bad idea that was never gonna work, and they don't go very far with it. Sometimes it's a pitch from just one guy on the team that was never gonna get accepted. Sometimes they're just spitballing. Experimentation and iteration and knowing when to cut things are integral parts of the artistic process.

And hell, a lot of the time creators will just mess around with an idea purely as a creative exercise, or to get an idea out of their system, or to explore a crazy what-if scenario, or even just as a joke, with no intention of ever actually using those ideas. We recently saw this same thing happened with those leaked Rebecca Sugar sketches, where people were like "OMG Rebecca ships this, this is what they REALLY wanted to do with the show, this is canon, this was happening off-screen!!" And it's like, y'all have no idea how much crazy shit your favorite artists draw with their characters just to amuse themselves. The crew on Clarence had a not-so-secret Tumblr where they redrew scenes from Evangelion with Clarence characters. That doesn't mean they wanted to turn Clarence into Eva. They were just screwing around. This happens all the time, and with way more extreme examples than these. Lord knows how many Disney animators have drawn Mickey Mouse with his dick out over the years. That doesn't mean they ever actually wanted to make an official Mickey Mouse porno.

And, of course, there's the response to those myths that were never supposed to see the light of day. Anyone who's even passingly familiar with mythology from just about any part of the world shouldn't be surprised to hear fables about humans and animals having babies or whatever. But now people are responding to those unused stories and going "OMG Game Freak is a bunch of gooners who want humans and Pokemon to have sex!! This is canon!!!" It's so fucking tiring. So much of the modern internet, particularly Twitter, is driven by people who just want an excuse to whip out their favorite shocked/disgusted reaction image and ham up their reaction to something that isn't actually all that shocking. Everyone just wants to get their funny dunks in and feign moral superiority. It's childish. And it's because of reactions like this that this stuff was never supposed to see the light of day in the first place. But fans feel like they're owed every single shred of info from the development of their favorite franchises, so these leaks happen and people run wild with them.

(It also doesn't help that this is all just sourced back to a 4chan thread, so people were posting fake shit between the real leaks and muddying the waters. And also most of it is in Japanese, so people are just sticking documents through Google Translate and going "whooooaaaa this is canon")

[welcometohellfilm]

Congrats to everyone who has been working on W2H2! 🎉 If it's alright, I'd like to ask to ask 2 questions:

Is there by chance an official ref of colors for Debbie, or is it still up to interpretation at the moment?

Would you say that your personal, real life experiences within the 10 years moving from W2H to W2H2 shifted the tone/story of the series in some way? Something that I've always been fascinated with when I started looking more into W2H was the shift in Sock's character from the original comic -> first film -> second film, and Jonathan's character from the first film -> second film.

Thank you! ✨

I actually just made some 'official'-ish colors for Debbie! Her voice actor Kaitlyn wanted something to use on a banner for conventions haha... so here you go!

2. I'm not really sure how to answer this one, haha. I mean I've definitely changed as a person over the course of making each iteration of W2H. I started the comic while I was at community college, before I went to art school. I adapted it into an animation for my graduation project. And I started W2H2 a couple years after I graduated college. So there's a good 2-3 years between each attempt at W2H I've done, haha. I think a lot of my original ideas from the comic had to change because it needed to be condensed into a short film. I didn't even GET to Jonathan yet in the comic! Some things just didn't make sense to me anymore, like the idea of Sock already having a human body count. It'd just be absurd for him to be able to hide it for so long! Plus, if I made it so that Sock has only ever entertained the idea of murder, it makes his new job that much more appealing-- it's a chance for him to really lean in to this thing he's always had to hide. Between the first and second films though, I mean... I think there's been some tonal shift, for sure (I don't know about a character shift? We'll get to that haha) But basically, when I was first thinking about W2H2, my idea was "Sock and Jonathan hang out and attempt to figure out touch physics, also there's some drama about a journal Jonathan keeps." All of the hell stuff is something that came from bouncing ideas around with my friends, Michael and Neil. I was worried that sending Jonathan to hell would be too bonkers for a "2nd episode", but we all kinda agreed that enough time had passed that the fans would probably enjoy something higher stakes, so it would be fine. (I'll give everyone a moment to realize this conversation would've been happening in 2015-16... ha.)

We also kind of thought, y'know... I have no idea how many more of these there's even gonna' be, so why not go a little bigger with this one? W2H2 is a higher stakes story than what I set out to make in the beginning, that's for sure. It is interesting to compare all of them.. the employee handbook was actually from the comic and I cut that because it wasn't helpful for W2H... but then it became helpful for W2H2, so it came back! Haha. I'm curious to know in what ways people think the characters have changed though. (And is that a good thing or a bad thing?) Especially a character like Jonathan, no one's really even seen that much of him yet, I think most of the characterization comes from fandom, or like... art I've drawn, I guess? Haha... I'm not sure! I guess Sock's a little more confident and antagonistic in this one (though he'll have his moments of hesitation... we're only at Part 1 right now!), and Jonathan has had to become a more vocal/active character, just by nature of the kind of story it is, I suppose. But yeah, I'm not sure! Happy to hear your guys' thoughts though!

[lackadaisycats]

Hey Tracy! Have you heard about the new Ai called Sora? Apparently it can now create 2D and 3D animations as well as hyper realistic videos. I’ve been getting into animation and trying to improve my art for years since I was 7, but now seeing that anyone can create animation/works in just a mare seconds by typing in a couple words, it’s such a huge slap in the face to people who actually put the time and effort into their works and it’s so discouraging! And it has me worried about what’s going to happen next for artists and many others, as-well. There’s already generated voices, generated works stolen from actual artists, generated music, and now this! It’s just so scary that it’s coming this far. 

Yeah, I've seen it. And yeah, it feels like the universe has taken on a 'fuck you in particular' attitude toward artists the past few years. A lot of damage has already been done, and there are plenty of reasons for concern, but bear in mind that we don't know how this will play out yet. Be astute, be justifiably angry, but don't let despair take over. --------

One would expect that the promo clips that have been dropping lately represent some of the best of the best-looking stuff they've been able to produce. And it's only good-looking on an extremely superficial level. It's still riddled with problems if you spend even a moment observing. And I rather suspect, prior to a whole lot of frustrated iteration, most prompts are still going to get you camera-sickness inducing, wibbly-wobbly nonsense with a side of body horror.

Will the tech ultimately get 'smarter' than that and address the array of typical AI giveaways? Maybe. Probably, even. Does that mean it'll be viable in quite the way it's being marketed, more or less as a human-replacer? Well…

A lot of this is hype, and hype is meant to drive up the perceived value of the tech. Executives will rush to be early adopters without a lot of due diligence or forethought because grabbing it first like a dazzled chimp and holding up like a prize ape-rock makes them look like bleeding-edge tech geniuses in their particular ecosystem. They do this because, in turn, that perceived value may make their company profile and valuations go up too, which makes shareholders short-term happy (the only kind of happy they know). The problem is how much actual functional value will it have? And how long does it last? Much of it is the same routine we were seeing with blockchain a few years ago: number go up. Number go up always! Unrealistic, unsustainable forever-growth must be guaranteed in this economic clime. If you can lay off all of your people and replace them with AI, number goes up big and never stops, right?

I have some doubts. ----------------------

The chips also haven't landed yet with regards to the legality of all of this. Will these adopters ultimately be able to copyright any of this output trained on datasets comprised of stolen work? Can computer-made art even be copyrighted at all? How much of a human touch will be required to make something copyright-able? I don't know yet. Neither do the hype team or the early adopters.

Does that mean the tech will be used but will have to be retrained on the adopter's proprietary data? Yeah, maybe. That'd be a somewhat better outcome, at least. It still means human artists make specific things for the machine to learn from. (Watch out for businesses that use 'ethical' as a buzzword to gloss over how many people they've let go from their jobs, though.)

Will it become industry standard practice to do things this way? Maybe. Will it still require an artist's sensbilities and oversignt to plan and curate and fix the results so that it doesn't come across like pure AI trash? Yeah, I think that's pretty likely.

If it becomes standard practice, will it become samey, and self-referential and ultimately an emblem of doing things the cookie-cutter way instead of enlisting real, human artists? Quite possibly.

If it becomes standard industry practice, will there still be an audience or a demand or a desire for art made by human artists? Yes, almost certainly. With every leap of technology, that has remained the case. ------------------ TL;DR Version:

I'm not saying with any certainty that this AI blitz is a passing fad. I think we're likely to experience a torrential amount of generative art, video, voice, music, programming, and text in the coming years, in fact, and it will probably irrevocably change the layout of the career terrain. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was being overhyped as a business strategy right now. And I don't think the immensity of its volume will ever overcome its inherent emptiness.

What I am certain of is that it will not eliminate the innate human impulse to create. Nor the desire to experience art made by a fellow soul. Keep doing your thing, Anon. It's precious. It's authentic. It will be all the more special because it will have come from you, a human.

[otaku553]

What kind of advice would you give someone who just started drawing feom zero? I think starting can be kind of intimidating.

This is more emotional advice, but I think a lot of people who give up drawing start with high expectations for themselves. Especially the older you get and more refined your vision gets, the more it feels like the gap between your skill and your vision is insurmountable. It’ll probably take time to get to a point where you feel comfortable and happy with something you’ve drawn, and that is fine and natural! Give yourself that time and keep trying :)

Another end of this is that it’s a lot easier to keep trying when you’re drawing things that you want to draw. When learning there’s a balance between doing what you think is fun and what sources will tell you are good for building up skill quickly. I think that focusing on building up the skill for the sake of the skill is a very quick way to get burnt out however, and would recommend drawing things that you want to draw first and foremost.

I want to note also that creating for yourself means not comparing your art to other people’s art. It’s instinctual, and a very hard habit to break, but the more you consider your own art as having inherent value to yourself because you drew it and nobody else, the easier it is to keep drawing past the fear that you aren’t good enough at it.

Cannot iterate enough: DONT TRY TO FREEHAND MUCH WHEN YOURE JUST BEGINNING

You learn by practicing and if you practice undirected then maybe eventually you’ll get to a good point but! It is soooo much easier to make something you enjoy and get the satisfaction and motivation to keep drawing if you reference until you build up enough muscle memory and instinct to draw on your own. This is not to say that you should not try to freehand at all, but freehanding with no reference early on is I think is more useful as a test of your current skills than as additive and effective practice/improvement.

I would begin with copying by sight, as that’s generally how you train the alignment of your vision with your hands. Hand eye coordination? Is it called that? Just try taking common household objects and drawing them on a page, or even try with an anime screenshot (I did this a lot when I was learning!) tracing is another way that you can learn to build up this coordination but I consider it to be another training wheel on top of copying, not interchangeable with copying by eye.

I consider referencing to be when you get to a point where you draw what you’re already seeing from different angles and in new environments! Think of drawing a face from a different angle or clothes around a different pose. Referencing is something every artist does and something you should not be afraid to do!

Finally, take these advices with a grain of salt! I’m not a professional in any way, this is just what I think would have helped me to hear when I was younger.

[000marie198]

Remember that one post where a specific word from the title of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was highlighted when with specific iterations based on the most prominent part of that iteration's turtles?

Like Ninja was highlighted with screencap of TMNT 2003 iteration, Teenage was highlighted with Rise iteration, Mutant with Bayverse and Turtles with the 1987 series.

And then the entire title was bolded with the 2012 series. I simply love that because whoever added this was so right.

Cuz like, the 2k3 turtles are the most ninjas of all the animated turtles, their show's storylines revolve around the ninja part and though they have other qualities of the TMNT title, this is way more present in them than the rest of it. Also, the continuous white eyes amplify it even more. And the Bayverse turtles are the most like mutants, it's glaringly obvious and the first thing to be noticed. Like the first impression of them is mutant. Then Rise turtles are so blended in with everyday NYC public that the mutant part is basically nonexistent in that verse, and consequently also the turtle part. And they are many things but ninjas? Not really their thing. These boys aren't what one would call ninjas when first seen. But what they are and embody most is being teenagers. They act like teenagers, everything they do and say screams teenager. I haven't yet watched the 1987 series but I can understand why turtles is their more prominent characteristic within the title. I mean, that verse's antagonists have probably referred to them as turtles more than any other iteration's villains.

But the 2012 boys, gosh. Teenagers to the core, Ninjas to the core, visibly enhanced capabilities due to being Mutants throughout as well as deliberate focus on the consequences of mutations which aren't as deeply shown in other iterations as this one. And finally, numerous turtle-like traits shown throughout the series that are often important to tiny plot points, practically affirming them to be Turtles.

Teenage : Their actions, thoughts, personality, way to do things, way to interact with people and their surroundings, is so purely teenage that even though they get serious during serious moments, it doesn't take away the teenage part of them. For comparison we got the 2k3 & 2k7 turtles as well as all the comic iterations which stay serious most of the time and show their teenage sides occasionally. But next to that, the 12 boys tend to goof off a lot often. Even in the most serious episodes, they'll show a bit of the teenager in them, Leo will quote Space Heroes and geek out about looking cool, Mikey will tremendously annoy whoever he's battling, Raph would enjoy the whole thing and sass around, Donnie will switch back and forth between taunting his opponents and allies alike and techno-babbling everything and trying to impress April. Not to mention their reactions to whatever happens around them, the silly cartoon and anime emotions, the post victory cheers and silly contests. They live like teenagers. Like, even in season 5, we've seen Leo acting his age plenty of times while he has the responsibility of his entire family on his shoulders. And his brothers are always acting their age wherever they can.

...

Mutant : As I mentioned earlier on, the 2012 boys show certain traits that shed spotlight to the mutant part of them. That being their enhanced capabilities in several moments throughout the series. To name a few, Mikey can carry any one of his brothers without displaying the slightest amount of strain (remember that moment in I Think his name is Baxter Stockman episode where Donnie jumped on his shoulder while Mikey was skating & focusing on the T-pod and the kid didn't even blink), Leo has held back Kraang Prime (did you see how massive that thing was? It was a giant), they can give each other a boost that looks normal but has launched the other about two stories high, their enhanced endurance has made sure they've survived things which would've otherwise killed or tremendously injured anyone else, all four of them have canonically died before, the G forces after jumping from outer atmosphere they've survived gosh, nobody should be alive at that g force guys. Quick healing is another thing I've noticed.

There's been moments they've gotten badly injured but healed way faster than someone should. That same hadn't been applied to non-mutants. While it could be explained by cartoon logic, I like this theory better. So basically, being Mutants has canonically given the boys enhanced strength, stamina, endurance etc.

...

Ninja : Remember what I said about the 2k3 boys having not only the skills but also the plot points revolving around them being ninjas. Well, the 2k12 series also has plot points revolving around them being ninjas. Like, I swear this is like the one series next to 2k3 which highlights and most extensively makes use of the ninja stealth these boys possess and it is needed in their missions quite often too. Moreover, Shredder wouldn't even be an important antagonist if it weren't for the news of the shuriken with the emblem of the Hamato Clan. That's not all, these boys also have the skills.

Character Development within team dynamics aside, Splinter relaying new lessons relevant to ninjutsu or life advice has been a norm throughout the series and their training sessions are often present in most episodes. They have experience as ninjas and they need those skills just the same, not only to be victorious but also to survive any time they are topside because unlike '87 & Rise, they need to remain hidden from the city public. They are really good at this part of them and they show it in every single episode. And by season 5, they are swifter than the wind, more hidden than shadows, with nictitating membrane aka white eyes sliding over every time they enter serious battle mode adding to the aesthetic. They are Ninjas, to the core.

...

Turtles : And finally, the last part of the title. I ask everyone to compare the turtle-like traits of the 2012 boys with every other iteration. They have the most of them out of any. Hear me out, out of all the other TMNT iterations, these are the ones who make most use, instinctual too, to get into their shells.

While some others have done it, it isn't quite as common nor quite as relevant with tiny moments where doing so has saved the boys' lives. There's also their nictitating membrane. Unlike 2k3 turtles who have constant white eyes and unlike the other TMNT series where white eyes are rare, the 2012 have the ability to pull over their nictitating membranes on choice. They can do it any time but they don't keep it all the time. They use it when they are swimming underwater as turtles would, they use it when they are in ninja stealth mode, when they get angry or are about to throw down. And while they look epic every time they do that because it isn't constant, it also serves to show their turtle traits. They use their turtle sides just as easily as Splinter does with his rat side, casually and easily. Another point is that they can hold their breath for a long time. During the episode, It Came from the Depths, they held their breaths for a long time (Mikey even turned it into a competition), they also did it again during the TCRI episode. They've also shown themselves to be pretty good swimmers. Moreover, their shells are resistant to hits, plastron less so. Oh, and one of my favorite examples for this part of them is the Lone Rat and Cubs episode. When the sewers flooded and Splinter passed out, the little guys were alright, the water didn't harm them, they didn't even run out of breath. And most of all, they carefully carried their father and swam all the way to a pretty good place of shelter, as babies. They were babies and they saved their Dad and brought him home. And they instinctively knew where to find an empty open and safe space, like animals do. Oh and their big black eyes too. Also, every time I have read TMNT fics of other turtles, their display of a few turtle traits that are common with 2012 feels slightly jarring, they feel less canon-y and more fandom-y. But when I read the same thing in fics featuring 2012 boys, it feels normal, because it's so common and in-character for them in canon. Being Turtles is a part of them and they embrace it beautifully.

...

I know there are many fans (iykyk) who don't like the 2012 series. But that becomes completely irrelevant if you bother to actually watch the series and go into depths of what it shows. TMNT 12 is the best TMNT series to me for countless reasons. And among them is the fact that the 12 boys embody every single part of their main title fully through their personalities instead of it just being called that due to what they are and not who they are.

All that is to say, I miss my favorite silly boys

....

[I believe this is necessary to add; T-CEST DNI]

[merrydock]

Some old art of my Owlk engineer, Eris, designing the Stranger's solar sails! Enjoy a big ramble about him and his job because I love this silly man:

Eris works on the design team for the Owlk space program, specialising in energy and propulsion technologies for the ships, satellites, and probes. Having a design philosophy of functionality and beauty, Eris enjoys going all-out with his work. He has received special recognition for his solar panel designs in particular, which borrowed from the unparalleled efficiency found in photosynthesizing plants.

When designing the Stranger's solar sails, Eris took inspiration from plants, but also the opening of insect elytra; the ballooning behaviours of silk-producing invertebrates, in which they sail from tree to tree using electric fields and air currents; and how flying creatures will use thermal updrafts to soar higher while expending less energy. Already familiar with how solar energy impacts technology from his work on solar panels, he proposed the use of this energy to propel the Stranger through space.

As travelling the distance between stars presented the major roadblock in the plan to reach the Eye (regarded as the Interstellar Propulsion Problem), Eris was lauded for his contributions, promoted to being one of the main engineers overseeing the Stranger's design.

More information about his general design process below!

When designing for a project, Eris uses all of the tools at his disposal. His first weapon of choice is always his pencil, and he will sketch out potential sources of inspiration on paper until the design concept begins to take form. Based on the initial project parameters he's been given, he drafts up a blueprint for his components.

Next, he must further conceptualise his designs. This is where the most valuable tool of the trade comes into play—the Vision Torch! Vision Torches serve many purposes for Owlks, from allowing them to nonverbally communicate to creating photographs from memory alone. Owlk engineers LOVE Vision Torches for how easy they make effectively communicating ideas. They allow concepts to be visualised in 3D, basic functionality to be shown through animations, and are even able to interface with computers. Eris might even 3D print a model using a Vision Torch to help him visualise his concepts as he works.

The space program is extremely collaborative, and Eris works on just a small part of the overall project, so being able to easily share ideas with others and see how all the individual components of a satellite or ship interact is vital. When discussing with more than a single other Owlk, Eris can use a Vision Torch linked to a holographic display to present concepts to a crowd. Concepts can also be tweaked in real time this way!

[Here's an example from the game of Owlks building the simulation with Vision Torches and a holographic display!]

With a Vision Torch, concepts can also be directly uploaded to a computer terminal. This is where a lot of the real work gets done - calculating weight, materials needed, stress testing in simulations, calculating trajectories, making precise tweaks to finalize the design, you name it. This also allows other Owlks working closely with Eris to access the most current design for their own tests.

This is an iterative process - as other Owlks finalize their components, as weight limitations are further restrained and material needs are calculated, Eris often has to go back to an earlier step and rework his concept. Fortunately, he thoroughly enjoys getting to be creative in his work (and doing math) and treats every project as a puzzle that needs to be solved! The only time when he's not excited to go back to the drawing board is when a last-minute adjustment from his peers means he needs to work long hours to get his work done in time for launch.

[osterby]

So the flavour of the day is Bad Fandom Stats, and it turns out that not only is centreoftheselights using a wildly inaccurate method of counting ship popularity during a given year for the Year In Review fandom stats, but also that nearly every column on the chart is a lie. @5ummit exploded the whole methodology issue last year, so I'll just link their post and dive into other stuff.

One would think, looking at a list of popular ships with their fandoms listed next to them, that the named fandom is simply the one within which the ship exists.

The ship at the top of that list is "Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)" and the fandom is listed as "9-1-1 (TV)"; that's pretty straightforward, there's only the one TV show and those characters are from that show.

But then we get down to ships with characters that exist in multiple versions or subsections of a canon which have their own fandom tags on AO3, and things start getting janky

One of the first things I noticed was weird about this year's chart (aside from the numbers themselves being just straight up wrong) was that the fandom for Kirk/Spock was listed as "Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)", the AO3 tag for the reboot movies. That felt wrong, because while I know the reboot movies are big on AO3, most of the K/S stuff I've seen recently has either been expressly original cast or not specific to any one cast or iteration of canon.

I thought that the list might have been saying that Reboot Kirk/Spock alone was big enough to make the list while Generic and Original Kirk/Spock were separate fandoms that hadn't gotten onto the list. That would be absurd for new fic count, but there are stranger things on this list and the methodology favours newer ships, so I went digging.

A search for Kirk/Spock fic posted in 2024 and a glance at the sidebar gives us this, out of 2,255 total fics

Searching for Kirk/Spock fics updated, rather than newly posted, in 2024 also puts the All Media Types and Original Series tags above the Reboot Movies.

But searching the entire unfiltered ship tag gets us this, out of 22,426 fics

This means two things.

1.) Despite the listed fandom on the year end chart, Kirk/Spock (and by extension, all the other ships from fandoms with more than one iteration of canon [and some Batman ships are on there, so we've got far more complex things than simply reboot movies and TV/anime adaptions of novels/manga]) is a generic ship tag.

2.) the fandom listed was taken from the unfiltered tag, not from this year's data.

And centreoftheselights confirms that this is indeed her methodology.

The fandoms are, quite simply, wrong.

--

Since we do not have access to her data and her methods are not replicable, we can't check how many of the ships might have been struck with a mismatch between which version of their canon is most popular overall vs this year.

I can't even be certain that there is a mismatch for Kirk/Spock. It's possible that the fics that actually make up her numbers have more reboot movie fic than otherwise. No one will ever know.

--

It is interesting to dig into the differences. I find it utterly fascinating that Kirk/Spock had a period that pushed the reboot movies to the top of the list overall and has since settled into Original Cast being more popular, all while the ships remained consistently popular enough to regularily end up on Top Ship Lists.

Centreoftheselights' data does not allow us to dig into those differences, or even to meaningfully speculate about them.

--

And yet more! As I explained in this reblog, the "type" column is not harvested from the data itself, but is a subjective interpretation of what centreoftheselights believes the characters' genders is or could or might be. So not only are all the columns wrong, they aren't even wrong in the same ways.

Over the whole sheet, the columns are: ⚠️Rank: Well, it accurately lists the order of the inaccurate counts, so I guess the column technically isn't inaccurate ⚠️Change: This is indeed the change in rank from last year's chart. It accurately lists the difference between two different inaccurate ranks ✔️ Relationship: accurate! This is the ship tag on AO3 ❌ Fandom: Inaccurate. Actually a top tag within the ship tag, not the fandom the ship is from ❌Works Gained: Inaccurate. see @5ummit's debunk ✔️Total Works: accurate! this is indeed the size of the tag on AO3 ❌Type: Inaccurate. OP's best guess, subjective interpretation, or headcanon ❌Race: Inaccurate. Same as above.

--

Tagging @olderthannetfic and @5ummit since you two have kind of been doing the heavy lifting on this one :)

Also plugging the more accurate chart by Randomist1031, which, in addition to having accurate fic counts, also lists fandoms by generic names rather than top tag, which increaes both accuracy and readability. https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/158271001

[princess-self-shipping]

who’s inspired your art? do you have any art styles you really like? your style looks like a mashup of a bunch of artists that i love (in the best way possible) and it makes me love it more, and i wanted to know who inspired you!

Awaaaaah that’s so sweet! Holy shit that’s such a sweet compliment! I feel like everyone’s art is a mish mash of artists they love and admire, and honestly I have. A handful of people who inspire me

First off we have THE MAIN ARTIST who inspired how I draw iterators when I first joined this fandom. Found her when I was first peaking in and went ‘hey NSH and Moon are adorable’ and found her awesome ass essay through it: @amerricanartwork

You also have her to blame for fat Moon. I saw her once and went feral

There’s also @maxthelordagain who has hit me twice, not only with blue robes Pebbles but also transfem Pebbles paired with the most ADORABLE fucking art style I’ve seen in a minute it’s so yummy like wtf? I love her shit it’s so cool

And I would be remiss to not talk about one of my beloved mutuals @sapphicrot who has some of the crunchiest art I’ve seen in a minute /pos the way it uses colors and whatnot is hella inspiring, and the personal touches on just about everything it does is fucking awesome

There’s also @creativecapybara who’s responsible for the Moon squishy cheeks I do! Their style is just so round and squishy and adorable and has such a soft feel it reminds me of children’s storybooks! It’s great and I fucking adore it! Very inspiring and makes me very happy and joyous (seriously seeing them get into Hollow Knight made me squeal)

There’s also @toxictoxicities who has some of the more detailed iterator and set designs I’ve seen and it’s SO stunning to watch, also as an animation student their work is. Holy fuck. I need to eat it it’s so good

And diving outside the fandom for a minute, @chipper-smol is a huge inspiration for me and someone I’ve been following for a long time. They are a HUGE inspiration to me and I’ve been following them for so long that it’s hard not to cite them as a huge inspiration general inspiration

This doesn’t count any of my friends that I feel a lot closer to, but this answer is getting much longer than originally intended (I pulled up my following list and couldn’t stop typing oh dear!) so imma cut it here for the sake of not clogging the dash lmfao. Hope this answer suffices anon!

EDIT: FUCK I FOROGOT I LITERALLY JUST DOWNLOADED HER BRUSHES- @kyri45 !!!

I cannot get over how beautiful her art is like goeiwhgoiehwgoi she is able to create such beautiful scenes with sketchy amounts of detail it drives me insane!!!!! /pos

[signanothername]

Hypothetically. If I wanted to get into transformers what would be the best way to start. On that.

EEEEEEEE

(I’m sorry for what’s to come but you just activated the ramble machine)

Ok so I didn’t watch every single show/movie, but imma recommend all that I watched and absolutely loved and guide you from there :)

Before we start, it might be good to understand that the franchise has different continuities, meaning some shows or movies might have differences in timelines or portraying characters, plots or concepts, so when you start out you might get a bit confused by what’s considered “canon” or not

But to keep it simple, some things are canon in certain continuities, while others aren’t, so don’t get too hang up on what’s canon for the franchise as a whole, and focus more on what’s canon for individual shows/movies/comics

(It’s like how Shredder is canon in all TMNT iterations but he has super different stories in each one, it doesn’t mean one story is wrong and one is right, just that they’re different :D)

But mostly, shows from the same continuity would most likely have the same canon events just at different points in time (I will indicate each continuity with the shows under it to avoid confusion)

———

The aligned continuity:

Transformers Prime: this is the show I highly recommend starting with, it pretty much introduces you very gently to the whole idea of the franchise, great worldbuilding and has many of the most well known characters within it with such beautiful unique designs that aren’t used in any other show

It also introduces you to many concepts that’s within the Transformers franchise that other shows/movies/comics generally use without explanation (like T-cogs, what they are, and how they work)

The show is very loved and it’s definitely one of the best ones out there, it’s very much a classic

Transformers Rescue Bots: ok, we’re getting into shows that are more kid friendly territory, but don’t be deterred by that, it’s a classic case of a show being for younger kids that’s so good adults could enjoy it just as much, kinda like Bluey, where the writing is still mature enough that it’s very enjoyable

It’s honestly so fucking good, it has no business being such a masterpiece honestly, I literally drew for it much more than I drew for any other Transformers show chchchhc, this show imo, has the best human characters, and such a fun narrative outside the main conflict usually portrayed by other shows

Rescue bots focuses a lot on side characters that you don’t even usually see portrayed at all in any media actually, in fact, many of the characters that you’ll see in other Transformers media don’t even appear in it, might get mentioned once or twice, but you’ll never see them, except for like, 3?? Characters I think

Rescue bots’ timeline also takes place in the same timeline as Transformers Prime (same continuity)

There is also Rescue Bot Academy (RBA) and Transformers Robots in Disguise 2015 (Rid 15), i personally liked RBA, and I think it’s fun, but I wasn’t very invested in it as it’s preceded show Rescue Bots

Rid 15 I personally don’t like, it had some potential and good ideas, but it was poorly executed tbh (which is a shame cause I believe that if it was executed better, it would’ve been so fucking good)

Generation 1 continuity (always and wildly referred to as G1):

Transformers G1: an absolute classic, the original first show to be made for Transformers, has that old 80s cartoon charm, i honestly haven’t watched all of it yet, but it’s absolutely delightful to watch honestly and I definitely recommend it (it’s the kinda bad-good show with so much meme potential chchch)

Transformers One: now if you want a groundbreaking movie, One is the movie you absolutely need to watch, it released very recently actually on Sep 2024, an animated movie and one that’s just so so so good and adopts very refreshing ideas and it’s beautifully executed, uses many of the old integrated concepts of the franchise in new and fun ways

More Than Meets The Eye, and Lost Light: such beautifully made comics and has one of my most favorite characterizations of some of the characters, also has one of my absolute fave characters that literally never appeared in any show or movie (Rung my beloved)

Transformers Earthspark: such a fun and unique show, introduced so many new characters to a franchise that needed a shake up, really awesome overall plot and an absolutely refreshing take on the concept of Transformers, takes place after a certain point in the overall timeline that’s usually not portrayed in other shows

I would be honest and say that while S1 was a masterpiece, S2 didn’t deliver as it should, it was a very disappointing mess tbh, just thought I’d let you know before so you’d decide if it’s something you wanna watch (I’d recommend watching it anyway for S1 at least hcchchch)

Animated continuity family:

Transformers Animated: the actual Rottmnt of Transformers, it’s very wildly different than other continuities and operates on its own world building and versions of the characters, super fun and a classic, the childhood of many, i personally recommend watching this a bit later after other shows so you won’t confuse the concepts, but definitely highly recommended once you have a good grasp on the overall world

Bay verse (technically??):

Bumblebee: this one is live action, and imo, the only truly good one out of them, it’s not absolutely mind blowing, but it’s still fun to watch and it has many adorable moments, I really like the shift of a story focusing on a single character and building the narrative around them

Honorable mentions:

Transformers BotBots: Ok so this show I didn’t mention, mostly cause it’s a show that’s super outside the usual shenanigans of Transformers as a whole, and the show itself is very silly and tailored towards very young kids (more so than Rescue bots)

You can watch this show last honestly, nothing major happens in it, but it’s still fun to watch regardless, it’s the kinda show you watch when you have nothing better to do svxbbx

———

Now there are still many other shows but I honestly never watched them, there are also many other comics i’ve yet to read from both IDW and Dreamwave, so I can’t say whether they’re good or nah

But TLDR: as a newcomer, start with Transformers Prime, it’s the best show to start with to understand many of the concepts and overall world

Of course, if you start on your Transformers journey and get confused by anything, feel free to ask, always happy to ramble >:)

[amerricanartwork]

RW Headcanon: Know the Difference! | An Overview of Quetzalli's Slugcats

Here’s a headcanon I’ve wanted to elaborate on for a while, and today I finally felt compelled to make it real! Also, just a disclaimer I am not a huge biology nerd nor have I studied it that heavily, so I apologize if something here doesn’t make sense or if I get something wrong. I just like fantasy worldbuilding from time to time, and I always like trying to make sense of things I’m interested in!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Basically, I’m in the crowd that interprets slugcats as mustelids rather than literal slugs. When I say this, however I don’t mean that slugcats would necessarily be classified in the actual mustelidae family, seeing as Rain World’s world is most-likely not Earth and therefore our taxonomic classifications and phylogenetic relations can’t necessarily apply. Thus, when I call them “mustelids”, I really just mean that I imagine them as some kind of weasel with all the necessary physical traits to earn that general label. 

The first half of the name “slugcat”, in my headcanon, is thus not referring to any literal connection to slugs or other mollusks, but is instead derived simply from their appearance. Due to their long ears and thick tail, and because their fur and fat often squishes together in such a way that it makes their features blend together and their bodies appear more smooth (it’s the same physics as that whole “cats are liquid” idea), the general silhouette of a slugcat can easily be likened to that of a literal slug. The second half of their name is also not literal, and instead refers to their jumping and acrobatic abilities and their skill in hunting and pouncing on small prey, which is very similar to that of small cats.

Species Overview

Now to give a little more detail on slugcats themselves as a species! I headcanon them as small to medium-sized mammals most similar to Earth weasels in both their biology and their ecological niche, who originally served as cute low-maintenance pets for the Ancients and as hunters of small pests in facilities on the ground. They’re clever by nature and good at fitting through tight spaces, and later on they evolved greater jumping abilities to pounce on prey. They’re also very social creatures, who’ve taken to forming medium to large colonies primarily in and around the massive trees that thrive between the cracks in iterators’ rainstorm areas (like the one Gourmand, Survivor, and Monk’s colony lives in). Due to this social nature they also generally travel in groups of at least two, both for company and protection against tougher animals. Travel partners are usually siblings or good friends, and sometimes even whole families will journey out together to find food and other resources for the rest of the colony.

Despite being a small prey animal, slugcats have managed to get by not only due to their intelligence — the evolution of which would be seen as a rather unexpected twist of events if you asked their creators, for the Ancients found them cute but rather simple — but because of their impressive adaptability. It’s similar to that of real life red foxes and pigeons, and it allows them to survive decently well even in less ideal environments; a trait especially necessary for a world as industrialized as this one, even if its people are gone and most of the machinery is inactive. As such not all colonies live in trees; some find homes in the abandoned facilities, large underground hollows, and a few bold colonies have even claimed territories high up in iterator cities alongside scavengers. Slugcats are opportunists and masters at making the best of their surroundings, yet even beyond that they carry a certain other, “special” ability of their own that makes them as diverse as they are clever. But that’s a headcanon for another day…

Reasoning

Now for some out-of-universe explanation for this classification choice. I’ve always seen slugcats as some kind of small scurrying mammal (kind of a bias on my part, I just like mammals honestly, and they’re most familiar to me), mainly due to the way they look and move when on all fours, and their place in the game’s food chain. Originally though I saw them as rodents and compared them to mice and rats, which I still sometimes use for anatomy reference for these creatures. But one day a friend of mine saw me drawing slugcats and thought they were weird ferrets, and the more I thought about it and the more I developed personal speculative biology headcanons for slugcats, the more that label seemed the most fitting for them. It was also solidified when I did a bit more research and realized the main characteristic of rodents is their buck teeth, which just didn’t seem to fit with how I perceived slugcats. Not to mention rodents aren’t really predator animals, and slugcats’ implied natural diet and the gameplay itself does strongly imply if not confirm they have some instinctive hunting ability. 

Thus, it seemed “weasel” was the best classification for these creatures, and I quite like it so far! Once again it satisfies my mammal preference, but I also just think it’s a fun idea that neither part of the “slugcat” name is literal, similar to a lot of real-life creatures named after completely different animals, including fellow weasel, the polecat. Plus, I realized recently it’s kind of ironic with how I perceive the messenger slugcats, Hunter and Spearmaster, as being like hunting or guard dogs for their creators, when weasels are exactly the kind of animal humans with their dogs would normally hunt for! It’s cute, it’s familiar, it’s fun, yet I think it still has just as much potential for some interesting speculative biology ideas as the literal slug slugcat interpretations!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I'm so glad to finally get this out! I like seeing specbio slugcat headcanons in the RW fandom, yet I haven't seen many more in-depth takes from artists who don't take the "slugcats are literal slugs/mollusks/primarily mollusk-based" angle. Not that that's a bad headcanon of course; do what you think feels right! But once again I personally prefer slugcats being mammals, and I always look for fan-content that's as close to my personal preferences as possible. And when I can't find enough of it, I make it myself!

So hopefully this serves as a bit more of that kind of representation for the mustelid slugcat interpretation. It at least helped me develop my own idea of the species a bit more; much of that stuff in the overview part was ideas I came up with while typing this whole headcanon out!

As always, I hope you enjoy this headcanon of mine! I've still got so many ideas to develop and share, and even more coming as I continue to ponder these characters and their stories, so as long as you guys still like these Rain World headcanons of mine, they'll keep coming!

[justheblueberry]

handbinding of A Study in Scarlette by kittebasu

There are people who want to live forever, and then there is Shinichi, who just wants to live a little longer than this.

this bind has been in my head since i first read the fic like, three years ago. i dreamed up so many ideas for it, for so long, and now it's finally done! the typeset was actually done in early 2022, back when i was still using google docs, but it went through a few iterations because i was just. so. fiddly. with every aspect of this book. it needed to be perfect (as close to perfect as i, an amateur bookbinder out of my depth, can get) and it had to be absolutely over the top, to reflect the insane amount of love and care that the author put into the fic itself.

the first time i read this fic, i barely knew what detective conan was, much less all of the intricate plot details; i was just along for the ride, but by the end i was completely invested. i went back and watched through the anime as well as a few movies (it took me six months) and then read the fic again. and then a few more times. kaishin and the world of dcmk has utterly gripped me. it's 100% this fic's fault and i love it so, so, much.

i went through a few iterations of visual designs and i'm really happy with the little details i managed to squeeze in.

the entire color scheme is based around red, because 1) it's a murder mystery, 2) for scarlette shinamoto (and the title of the fic as well as the original holmes novel it references), and 3) the irony of "lady red" actually being red. the secret fourth reason is that i think red/gold is a super sexy color combo.

i sewed the textblock with red thread to reference holmes' "scarlet thread of murder".

another detail i love is the five yen coin bookmark, it was one of my first ideas and it turned out even better than i thought.

i wanted the endpapers to evoke a sense of the white marbled floor of the ballroom, with the glow-in-the-dark kaitou kid caricature being the luminol on the floor, and the little pops of red looks like blood that's been mixed in. i lucked out in that the other side of the endpaper was like a lavender-purpley color, i like to think of it as a little wink wink nudge to the color of the actual Lady Red.

the chapter pages got a few reworkings, but i'm happy with the illustrations i ended up doing for each of them. the chapter titles are one of my favorite things about the fic, each one has so much meaning packed into it and flows so beautifully, and i wanted to put as much care into making them pop as possible.

the cover was a linocut carving i designed and carved, which i then printed onto the bookcloth, and ironed on htv on top.

i also threw in a couple of my drawings of my favorite scenes.

this is getting way too long, so i'll end it here. i'll have a separate post detailing the process every step of the way, if anyone wants to take a closer look. this fic is kind of directly responsible for getting me into fanbinding, so it's safe to say it altered the course of my life. i now spend way too much time (and money) looking at book stuff.

kittebasu, if, somehow, you see this and would like an author copy, i would be honored to make one and ship it to you; i would be overjoyed to gift you with any art i have the ability to make, because the fics you wrote have irreversibly altered my brain chemistry, and being able to give back in any capacity would be a dream. (thank you.)

a few postscripts:

i am not selling any copies of this fic. partially because i believe in the gift economy of fandom as well as firmly keeping fanbinding a hobby that will stay unmonetized, but also because it took me months (years, if we are counting when i first finished the typeset) to finish this and i do not have the strength.

however, if you are also a fan of this fic and would like a copy, i honestly, fervently, encourage you to give fanbinding a try! renegade publishing and its discord server are an absolutely wonderful and free resource. i knew nothing about bookbinding and had zero materials when i first started, but i've learned so much thanks to the lovely people there. if you're still apprehensive about getting started, i'd be willing to share my typeset of this fic as well as answer any questions about the making of this book if you DM me.

[groovy-rat-man]

I think one of the reasons punch out wii is more popular than the previous iterations (aside from it being the most recent game, having the most up to date graphics, what could be considered the best animation, and full voice acting) is because it kind of gives the characters depth. Yeah they're still mostly just stereotypes but we get little slideshows before we fight them telling us about their personal lives or how they train or just little character details we wouldn't get by just fighting them. Then in title defense we get to see how these characters deal with losing!

Disco kid, the only new fighter and the one with the second worst win-loss ratio, almost gives up boxing all together until he finds a new way to do it that also shows off his dancing prowess. King Hippo, the champion of the minor circuit who likely stood as a brick wall to many fighters before you, realized that if he was going to fight someone smart he was going to have to wisen up himself by covering up his weak spots, it's most obvious with the manhole cover but he also does this in more subtle ways like occasionally blocking his mouth when he punches. It is HEAVILY implied that losing to you somehow messed up Don Flamenco's love life and he is PISSED about it!

I find it fitting that the first 3D game in the Punch-Out series also made the characters slightly more 3D as well.

[avatar-anna]

Can You Keep a Secret?

summary: in which Twilight did not prepare you for the real world

just a fun little blurb about vampires because it's spooky season!

"So you're a—"

"Yep."

"With fangs and everything?"

"Afraid so."

"But how did you—"

"I think it was when I went to a club. I thought someone with a studded collar ran into me and then proceeded to get roofied because the next thing I remember was waking up in a park with a massive headache and covered in dirt."

Y/n looked over her friend, eyeing his appearance warily. Her initial response was to step back, more like sprint in the other direction. But the shock of this revelation rooted her to the spot. The floor of her dorm room, specifically.

"You said that all in one breath," Y/n said. She wasn't really sure why, it was just the first thing that came out of her mouth.

"I don't think I have breath anymore," Harry said.

"Right," she said. "Because you're..."

"Dead."

"Dead?"

"I think so."

Y/n probably shouldn't have, but she stepped closer to him, peering at him with wide eyes. With her pointer finger, she poked his cheek. "You don't...look dead."

"Thanks?"

"Are you sure you're not on some acid trip?" she asked. "Maybe I'm on an acid trip."

"Nope. This is real. And it's happening," Harry said. "I'm starting to get hungry, I'm afraid."

Y/n immediately pulled her hand away from his face and practically leaped away from him. "Oh. Did you come here to—"

"No," Harry said quickly. He reached for her, but when he saw her flinch, he stayed put. "I think the overall disgustingness of actually having to drink blood has kept me from actually doing it. But—"

"But you'll have to eventually," Y/n finished for him.

"I didn't know who else to turn to," Harry confessed, distress seeping into his features. "I'm terrified and confused and am quickly starting to realize that the sun now gives me a strange heat rash and I don't want to eat people but the thought of killing an animal also just seems cruel, so—"

"Let me think," Y/n said, reaching out to hold Harry's hand. It was cold, so unlike the warm touch she'd grown used to. But the touch itself felt the same. Even though there was no blood actually rushing through his veins, he still felt like her friend. He was still her friend.

Y/n paced the floor of her dorm for a moment, rushing to close the blinds on her window when she realized Harry was confined to one corner of the room. She wasn't sure what the hell she was supposed to do in this situation. Dracula didn't seem all that accurate at the moment, or any other iteration of creatures of the night. But Harry was her friend, her best friend. She had to think of something.

"Wait here," she said suddenly before quickly leaving her room, nabbing a to-go cup she'd forgotten to throw out earlier.

She raced to the end of the hall where the bathroom was, shoving her way inside and locking herself in a stall. Holding the cup with shaking hands, she plucked her keys from her sweatshirt pocket, where she kept a bottle opener.

It took longer than she expected, and she felt a little woozy by the end of it, but for the time being, cutting open her hand and letting blood spill into the cup was the best she could think of. It would buy them some time to come up with a better solution.

Y/n hurried back to her room, leaning against it once she was safely back inside. Harry was still there, staring closely at himself in the mirror by her bed with his teeth bared. At the sound of the door, though, he turned around.

"I knew it was you coming down the hall," he mentioned absentmindedly.

"You did? How'd you even know it was me?"

Harry shrugged. "Your...heartbeat sounded... familiar ," he said quickly.

Y/n looked at him funny, knowing there was something he wasn't telling her, which she found odd seeing as he told her he was a literal vampire, but she let it go. Instead, she thrusted the cup toward him.

"Here," she said. "I figured this was safer than biting me and possibly losing control."

Harry took the cup gingerly, eyeing the contents with a grimace. But Y/n caught a flicker of something in his eye. Hunger, she realized. He didn't want to drink it, but he did.

"Could you maybe turn around?"

"Oh. Of course, sorry," Y/n said, a blush blooming on her cheeks.

She faced the door as Harry murmured his thanks. He must've dug in the moment she turned around because he could hear him slurping from the straw still in the cup. He was done in seconds, and by the time she turned around, he was wiping the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand, the tips of his canines peaking out past his lips.

Fangs, Y/n thought. He really has fangs.

The reality of the situation seemed to hit her all of the sudden, and her knees buckled. Harry was there in a split second, and if that along with the other startling revelations from today weren't quite literally blowing her mind, she would've laughed at the parallel to that scene in Twilight.

That was all gone now. Harry was still pale, but there was more color in his skin now, culminating in his cheeks. His green eyes were more vibrant now, his lips an unfair shade of cherry red. He looked more handsome, because of course that was what reigned true among all the vampire lore there was out there, but he looked...well, he looked more alive, at least.

"You okay?" Harry asked, looking down at her.

His brows were furrowed with concern, and this close to her face, Y/n could tell the subtle differences that little bit of her blood made. She hadn't realized it before when he'd first come to her dorm, but his skin had been paler than it normally was and the planes of his face more pronounced than usual. He'd had dark bags under his eyes, and his usually curly hair had been rather limp and dull looking.

"Y/n?"

"I—Sorry. It probably wasn't much, but the impromptu blood donation kind of took it out of me," she managed to say, shaking away her reverie and steeping out of the hold Harry had her in.

"It was enough. Thank you," Harry said. "I actually feel a lot better."

"Did it taste like blood?" Y/n asked, curious to know the answer. Vampire shows always made it seem as though blood tasted like fine wine, but it was still just blood.

"I guess? Yes and no. No copper taste," he said.

Y/n hummed thoughtfully. She moved to sit on her bed, but faltered a step when the dizziness returned. Harry caught her again before helping her sit on top of her bed. He went straight for her snack drawer, which she kept in the first drawer at her desk instead of school supplies. Harry had helped himself to the multitude of goodies that resided there since they became friends, and Y/n had started to put more of what he seemed to like in it subconsciously, steadily learning his late night and study session snack preferences.

She supposed that was all different now.

"Here," Harry said, handing her a bar and a bag of cookies. "They hand these out at blood drives right?"

"Thanks," Y/n said, making room for him on her bed.

She ate in silence, Harry clearly having a lot on his mind. She had about a million questions, starting with how the hell was he going to pull off keeping this a secret and ending with did his skin sparkle in the sun. But Y/n kept them to herself while she ripped into her bag of cookies, slowly eating them while she waited for either of them to say something .

"Is your hand okay?"

Y/n looked down at where she'd hastily wrapped the cut on her hand in damp paper towels from the bathroom. It was pretty red, probably needed a bandage, but that hadn't really occurred to her while she was feeding her best friend who had accidentally got himself turned into a vampire.

"It stings," she said. "Sorry, does it bother you? I can—"

"It's fine, I just—I don't like that you had to hurt yourself for me."

Harry had been her friend since they started college together. They'd met in psychology class and had been study buddies ever since. And regular buddies, and now there wasn't anyone she trusted more. And that meant she knew him. Harry had always been protective of her, in a brotherly way, she often reminded herself. Y/n realized he probably wouldn't have been a huge fan of her plan if she'd explained it to him.

"It was just this once," she reassured him. "Just this once until we come up with a plan."

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this," Harry said, his shoulders slumping. "I just didn't know who else to turn to."

Y/n was reminded of a book she'd once read that had vampires in it—maybe she was the person to turn to for all this—that said that vampires had more intense feelings than a normal person, that every feeling, good or bad, was dialed to eleven. She didn't know if that was true in Harry's case. Hell, she didn't know what was true anymore. But on the off chance it was, it was probably in Harry's best interest to lift his spirits.

"I'm your friend, I'd be pissed if you didn't," she said. "We'll figure this out together, I promise."

"I'm not letting you do that again, though, okay? Don't hurt yourself for my sake. It's way too dangerous," he told her seriously. He looked at her, eyes boring into hers, and Y/n suddenly didn't want to look anywhere else but his eyes. She marveled at the peculiar shade of green that made up his irises, and the full lashes that framed them. She didn't want to blink so as not to stop looking at them for even a moment. All she wanted to do was stare. Stare and not hurt herself for him—

"Y/n? You with me?" Harry asked, snapping his fingers in front of her face.

Y/n blinked, thoughts of Harry's pretty eyes vanishing with the sharp sound coming from his fingers. Shaking her head, she looked away. Well, compulsion is real, she told herself. She'd have to start keeping a list. A Comprehensive List of What is True and What Popular Culture Has Lied About Regarding Vampirism.

"We are going to figure this out," she said with more confidence than she felt. "I am a woman of science, and there has to be an explanation for all this. I mean, you said it yourself, someone had to turn you right? At the club?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, but—"

"Then that means there's at least one other vampire out there, which probably means there's more. And they can't just be starving in the shadows. There has to be a method to all this," she said, the gears in her brain already turning.

"I suppose," he said sullenly.

"Cheer up, H," Y/n said. "We're going to figure this out, okay? You're not alone."

Harry looked at her skeptically, his eyes scanning her up and down, perhaps trying to decide if she suffered a brain injury on the way back from the bathroom. But he merely nodded and said, "You're taking this all exceptionally well."

He had a point there, but maybe the shock would come later. "Life just got a little more interesting, that's all."

Harry smiled, and Y/n couldn't help but look at his canines. They looked normal, but she knew what was hiding beneath now. "So," he said, clapping his hands together. "Where do we start? Vampire lore? Finding the person who did this? How to safely acquire blood?"

"Statistics," Y/n said. She reached down for her backpack and pulled out her textbook, setting it before them. When she looked up at Harry, she laughed at the bewildered look on his face. "What? Just because you died and came back to life doesn't mean you can stop going to school."

"Um, I think that's exactly what it means," Harry argued, baffled by the topic change.

"I don't think so, Styles. If I have to suffer through my senior year, then so do you."

Harry only protested a little more before reaching for his own books. Silence settled between them comfortably as they sat shoulder to shoulder. Her mind was still partially coming up with a plan to keep him fed while she went over her notes, but she imagined she'd be doing a lot of multitasking from now on.

After a while, Harry bumped her shoulder with his. She looked up, and the look of sincerity on his face made her heart stutter. "Thank you."

It took a moment to respond, and this time she could blame the compulsion. "Of course. You'd do the same for me."

Harry seemed content to leave it at that. Y/n reached for her pen, then winced. "On second thought, maybe the first order of business is to get my hand fixed up."

"Right. Of course," Harry agreed, helping her off the bed and following her out of her dorm.

[gloomy-prince]

SUPER OLD RAINBOW! ART THREAD!!! Open only if you are brave enough to face teen me's cringe art...

(mostly joking but fr white Mimi and skinny Boo jumpscare below)

Very first digital piece of Boo and Mimi circa 2011!! I was 14 when I drew this. Usually I'm able to look back fondly at super old art of mine but this one does make me cringe a liiiiittle bit. Mimi girl what are you wearing, why are you white. Boo also had pink eyes in the beginning, which she would continue to have for several years to come (even in the current iteration of RAINBOW! they were pink at first, I later recolored those pages) but it was only later that it was due to the color scheme of the comic and not because they were literally pink. I'm pretty sure they were meant to be contacts, because their hair is and always have been dyed rather than anime-esque natural colorful hair, so that was some crazy dedication from Boo back in the day.

More 2011 art showing off Mimi's goth/scene-ish style and green eyes. They were initially meant to have pastel and neon fashion senses, respectively. The story was already named at this point, only a few days or maybe weeks into its inception, which is impressive considering it has taken us literal years to name other stories (I'm looking at you, Phantom Pains)

this one is from super early 2012! Interesting to think that this was less than 9 months later since it feels completely different to me. The first version of the comic had started at this point, and the pink and green color scheme was just starting to develop. This lineup features some characters that would later be cut. Lucian and Lily were friends of Boo, and Cecilia was Mimi's ex girlfriend. Notably Clarice is not on this lineup, and frankly I'm not sure why.

A picture I drew to commemorate 50 fans on RAINBOW!'s smackjeeves page, mid 2012. Boo's outfit resembled a recolored version of her 2011 outfit, but I have no idea what Mimi is wearing. What. are. you. wearing.

Chibi-ish drawings of Boo and Mimi cosplaying various characters, from early 2013. Homura Mimi is very funny to me, I really don't know why I didn't draw her as Kyoko. I assume I was trying to keep them as paired characters, but I didn't do that with the Sailor Moon or Disney ones, so I who knows why I did it with PMMM. Mimi's hairstyle changes to a shaved cut somewhere around this time, but it is much more dramatic than her current undercut, and her hair is still pretty long. Boo is wearing a closet cosplay of Fluttershy that I myself wore once. These also resemble the chibi-ish drawings on the chapter intermission pages of RAINBOW! Vol 1.

A character study I did in late 2013, which would be shortly after I made a major style shift into the art style that would eventually develop into the one I currently have. At this point, Boo was meant to be fatter than Mimi, but the execution wasn't really there at all. There is also a doodle at the bottom of me and Sunny at the time (I am the one with long hair), expressing thanks for 300 fans on smackjeeves. Considering it had 50 in mid 2012, the readership was pretty slow growing back then.

outfit exploration for Mimi, circa 2014. At this point I started to expand the color scheme a little bit more so that not every character would be paper-white, though she is still very pale even though she is no longer meant to be white anymore. None of these outfits really resemble her current style, and I don't particularly like any of them either. It took me a very long time to settle on a fashion sense for her.

an Adventure Time-eqsue drawing of Mimi and Boo that I actually drew less than two weeks after the previous image despite the difference in things such as the way the hair was drawn. I had to include this one because it blew up overnight, which was a huge deal for highschool me, I remember checking my phone at school a lot because it was just getting hundreds or even thousands of notes over the span of the day. I think it has something like 16,000 notes. Still the post with the highest number of notes I have by far, so I guess I peaked in high school, whomp whomp

More fashion exploration, this time of Mimi and Boo, from early 2015. The color scheme is starting to approach what it currently is, but much more dull since I used to be afraid of bright colors. Mimi's fashion sense is starting to get closer to what it currently is, but the pastel goth influence that was popular in early-mid 2010s tumblr is apparent. In chapter 1, Boo wears an outfit that is extremely similar to the one with the bear shirt, except it's a rabbit instead. The dress that Mimi gives to Boo is also almost identical to the depiction of it here. This drawing implies that Mimi was originally going to be present in the film noir scene where Boo finds her mom, which is interesting...

Another cast lineup! This one is from late 2015-early 2016. Mimi is wearing an outfit pretty similar to what she wears in chapter 1 but with the colors altered. The execution of Boo's body type is starting to improve but she's still kind of pear-shaped. Mimi is also a little more square, and her hair finally looks like the style she has now. Clarice gets to be in the lineup this time and she is SUPER tall. I think she is still taller than Milo. And Mimi is around 5'7"-5'8", so Clarice must be around 6 foot by that logic.

The original version of chibi-ish Boo riding a bike in her Kiki outfit, from 2016. I think it was meant to be a banner of some kind, possibly for tapas or tumblr. A newer version of this drawing features as a chapter intermission drawing in the physical book.

The original cover for RAINBOW! from 2017. The color scheme is finally starting to get a little brighter! This is actually a redraw of an older drawing from 2014, I want to draw it again someday. Also, I was going by Rain at the time.

A drawing I did in late 2017 for a class in which we were meant to try digital painting and I went for a very simple approach. I like that Mimi's legs are a little noodle-y. This is also the first drawing where Mimi's eyes are no longer green, but dark pink instead. By the language of RAINBOW!'s color scheme, that means they are brown. Boo's eyes are still pink, however.

Another drawing for a class, this time from 2018. I can't remember the specifics of the assignment, but I used the opportunity to draw the playground and Max, the dog, for the first time. I like the way the trees look in this. That little snip of hair by Mimi's ear also made a reappearance here for some reason.

The original version of the drawing that would become the cover of RAINBOW! Vol 1, from mid 2019! I believe I drew it to be a banner on Tapas, but I used it for tumblr as well.

And lastly, Boo and Mimi outfit sheets from 2019-2020. I messed with them for a while, hence the timeframe. Boo's eyes are finally green, which I changed since I liked the idea of Mimi having green hair and pink eyes, and Boo having pink hair and green eyes, as if they are reflected a bit in each other. Outside of RAINBOW!'s color scheme, Boo's eyes are actually blue though. It took about a decade, but I finally settled on a fashion sense for Mimi.

BONUS ART!!! 💖💖✨✨ I thought these would be better grouped together rather than chronologically with the rest.

RAINBOW!'s banners from its era on smackjeeves! Smackjeeves didn't have square/circular icons but rather these thin long banners which could also be animated. I thought that was so fun, so I always animated them at least a little, even though one doesn't seem to work. It was customary to write girls love/boys love on the banner of mlm/wlw romance stories then, so almost all of them say that. I still see that trend on some comics on webtoon and tapas nowadays. They are from 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2017. I don't believe the 2017 one was ever used.

And RAINBOW!'s icon throughout the years! I always refused to change it, only update it, because I thought it was really cute. They are from (approximately) 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021.

And finally, art from 2021 of Mimi with her cousin August, who will be the protagonist of our next comic, Phantom Pains. Weird to think that we'll be on that comic in foreseeable future, since it is also over 10 years old now. Bit of a passing the torch type drawing to end on. 💕 If you made it all the way here, thanks for reading! Hopefully it was fun and didn't hurt your eyes.

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

A Game Of Cat And Mouse

Leona Kingscholar and Che’nya x Fem!Jerry Mouse!Reader 

Note: Reader is Yuu/The magicless Ramshackle Prefect from another world

I have a ton of WIPs that I really want to complete but to help motivate myself to finish them I decided to write this

So Jerry’s personality seems to fluctuate depending on his iteration so I’m just going to tone down his more sadistic tendencies and make him more like the early shorts where he’s more mischievous and acts when provoked instead of going out of his way to ruin Tom’s life for no reason. 

Honestly as a Tom girlie I felt so sorry for Thomas. There were times where that poor cat did not deserve what he went through - even when I was little I would root for him. Though this might just be an oldest child thing since my little sister and mum (who’s the youngest in her family) prefer Jerry.

LEONA KINGSCHOLAR 

Honestly, his first impression of you wasn’t the best. Yeah, you’re a girl and he chugs gallons of respecting women juice for every meal but come on - you’re this tiny little mousegirl from another world who can’t even do magic (not to mention that he’s heard rumours that you don’t even speak that much). You’ll get eaten alive!

Then he met you and all of that went down the drain

The meeting went as it usually does: you stepped on his tail, he angrily confronts you (whilst subtly warning you of the dangers of NRC) but then you just give him this flat, unamused look.

“Hey pussycat,” you deadpan, raising an eyebrow and crossing your arms as you jut your chin up so you level him with a glare, “maybe don’t go leaving your tail lying around everywhere if you don’t want people to step on it.”

Okay, so maybe you weren’t the meek little mouse that he thought you were. Even the predators in his dorm don’t have the guts to talk back to him. Honestly, respect.

Then word gets out that you defeated an overblot and his opinion of you gets more and more favourable.

Long story short, you start dating after his overblot.

And it does cause a few turned heads.

And who can blame them? A lion going out with a mouse. That’s definitely something.

And to the untrained eye, it does sound concerning. But to those who know you (read: have been around you for more than five minutes)? Well, they’re praying for Leona’s sanity because you are nothing more than an agent of chaos.

There was this one time before you and Leona got together where a bunch of Savanaclaw predators were trying to push you, Ace, Deuce and Grim around and without even blinking you just pummelled all of them right then and there. At one point during the curb stomp battle you just pulled a mallet out of nowhere and just started thrashing everyone until they were black and blue. 

Congratulations the entire Savanaclaw dorm is terrified of you

All that training with Big Cousin Muscles really does wonders

NRC have two new rules: 1) don’t even think about going after the nagicless prefect because you will lose and even if you try to use magic she will dodge and it will be your funeral and 2) DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES hurt Ace, Deuce or Grim because that will probably be the last thing you ever do (memories of Jerry completely annihilating Tom after he hurt Nibbles are resurfacing)

One thing he admires about you is your cunning and intelligence and how you’re always a step ahead of everyone no matter what their plans are. Even when you do find yourself in trouble 

Even Rook Hunt has trouble trying to catch you. Don’t worry though, he’s far too fond of ‘petite mademoiselle souris’ to be irked by that.

He does get jealous of how close you are with Ruggie though. Since the hyena is also a greedy little thieving bugger like you, you have found a kindred spirit in him. The two of you bond over raiding the NRC kitchen and making off with as much as you can. And also taking the mickey out of Leona.

 You also get along great with Cheka. He’s noticed that you have a soft spot for children and other animals. The pro is that he gets his nephew off of his back by pawing him off to you (who he knows will make sure that no harm will come to him) the con is that you get along too well and your chaotic natures mixing will probably send him to an early grave - if your mischievous and provoking nature doesn’t already.

One thing he loves to do is tease you over your mouse-like qualities. Yeah, anyone with eyes can tell that you’re nowhere near as innocent as you look but those mouse ears, wide eyes, squeaks and cute little tail are objectively and indisputably adorable. He takes great pleasure in telling you how cute ‘his little mouse’ is, especially when you give such sweet reactions when you're flustered.

Though he does get taken aback by how bold you are. You definitely did that thing Jerry does where he holds mistletoe above his head and made kissing noises at Tom.

Your high pitched laugh makes his heart melt and he definitely uses his rich boy money to buy you all of the expensive cheese you can eat.

CHE’NYA

He loves you so much. Finally, someone he can be chaotic with - you’re a match made in hell.

His interest in you starts when he tries to sneak up on you whilst invisible but you pull one over him and just turn around, look directly into his unseeable eyes and sprAY WATER RIGHT ONTO HIS FACE-WHAT THE HELL?! WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET THAT SPRAY BOTTLE FROM????

At first he was pleasantly surprised before his face broke into a Cheshire Cat grin. He felt cupid’s arrow hit him square in the chest and he just looked at you with heart eyes.

By asking Trey and Cater and hiding in the rose maze, he gathered enough information to decide that you are his future wife

Turns out that your troublemaking antics have you paired with Ace and Floyd for the position of ‘bane of Riddle Rosehearts’ existence’. Mainly because everytime you break a rule you always, without fail, evade punishment by avoiding getting caught - even when you are clearly the culprit

Trey has bribed you with so many cheese based baked goods to stop you from sneaking into Heartslabyul and causing mayhem (you felt sorry for him so you promised him that you’ll only steal from the main kitchen near the cafeteria. That’s not what he meant but he’ll take it)

One day he catches you kidnapping the dorm’s pet dormouse before an unbirthday party so that you ‘can help your fellow mice by freeing them from their subjugation’. He shrugs and nods in understanding before asking you if he should let out the flamingos and hedgehogs from their pens as a distraction. 

And so a beautiful relationship was born as the two of you ran off with a tray of choux pastries and a bunch of angry card soldiers chasing you.

The two of you have a competition over who can sneak into and stay in Heartslabyul the longest without getting caught and you’re currently the winner.

He loves that you’re not scared of anyone and you’re not afraid to stand up to people that are almost quadruple your size. In fact, he’s there cheering you on whenever you fight back or plot your revenge (he does know that he has a whole other school to attend, right?). One time you showed him one of your revenge plans and he even helped you set the traps and everything. Oh the two of you working together has NRC running for the hills.

Like Leona, he does like to tease you but what do you expect? He’s a cat, you’re a mouse - that’s nature. Though he does love the fact that you’re always one step ahead of him whenever he does try to outsmart you. He loves a good puzzle and you certainly keep him on his toes.