#BUT I'm getting better at making pieces with backgrounds and I wanna work on that

[rosierin]

ya wanna kiss me so bad | atsumu miya

synopsis; (y/n) and atsumu get into a fight and he tries to flirt his way out of it 'cause he's a piece of shit like that.

this fic is part of the off-season quartet™ series! for more, click here :)

It started with the dishes.

Well—technically, it started when Atsumu promised he’d do the dishes.

Three days ago.

(Y/n) stood in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed, staring at the criminally large stack piled in the sink—then at Atsumu.

“You said you’d do them.”

Atsumu didn’t look up from the couch, fully immersed in the volleyball match on the TV. “I was gonna.”

“When?”

“I dunno. Soon.”

“You said that yesterday.”

(Y/n) exhaled slowly through her nose, willing herself to stay calm. She wasn’t looking for a fight—just a little accountability. That’s all she wanted.

“I do the dishes almost every night. You never do them. I asked you nicely, too—c'mon, it's not that hard."

Atsumu didn’t look away from the TV. His eyes stayed glued to the screen, jaw slack, remote in hand like she was nothing more than background noise.

(Y/n) could’ve sworn she heard him click his tongue—followed by something muttered under his breath.

“Like I said... I’m gonna do ‘em. Today.”

She glanced at the clock.

Her eye twitched.

“It’s already almost eight.”

This time, Atsumu finally looked up, brows raised like she was the one being unreasonable. Like she had the audacity of bothering him. “Why’re ya gettin’ so pressed over dishes?”

(Y/n) stared him down. “It’s not just the dishes, Atsumu. It’s you saying you’ll do something and then not doing it. Every time.”

“God,” he groaned, flopping his head back dramatically. “I didn’t think it was that deep.”

She counted to three in her head. Once. Twice. Tried to let it go.

But the third time never came.

“Well, it is to me!”

She hadn’t meant to yell. But the words came out sharper than she intended, propelled by the weight of too many eye rolls and broken promises.

Atsumu sat up straighter. The humour slipped from his face.

The shift was instant. Gone was the lazy, half-smirking Atsumu—this was the version that actually listened. The one that made her chest ache more than her head.

“Oh,” he said. “So this’s somethin' that's been sittin’ on yer chest, huh?”

(Y/n)’s throat tightened but she stood her ground. "Yes, actually. 'Cause I'm tired of constantly cleaning up after you. You're not a child, Atsumu."

“Oh, so now we're name callin'?"

“I didn’t—” She clicked her tongue, frustration cutting through. Her voice came out sharper now, more intentional. “Atsumu, listen. I’m tired, okay? I ask for one thing—one—and you still—!”

“Alright! I forgot, okay? Christ—yer actin’ like I burned the damn house down. Is it really worth all this?”

(Y/n) looked at him. Really looked. The complete lack of guilt on his face, the way he made her feel like she was the one causing the problem—

Her hands curled into fists. That was it.

“Yes!” she bit back, voice cracking. So much for not raising her voice. “Because it makes me feel like you don’t give a shit!”

Silence.

His jaw clenched. He looked away.

(Y/n) took a shaky breath, chest still heaving with the leftover heat of the argument.

“You always do this," she said through gritted teeth.

“Do what?” he said tightly, eyes narrowing.

“Deflect. Dodge. Make it a joke so you don’t have to deal with it.”

Atsumu stood.

Slowly.

(Y/n) stiffened as he rose from the couch, his full height unfolding like a threat she hadn’t expected. His eyes didn’t leave hers—not even once—as he stepped around the coffee table and crossed the room, unhurried.

And when he stopped?

He was standing far too close for her liking.

She hated when he got like this—when he used his much broader build against her.

It felt unfair. Cheap. A trick she’d seen him pull before.

And yet—infuriatingly—it still worked. Not because she was scared of him—she knew better than that. But because it made her feel small, and she hated giving him even a flicker of that power.

It was Atsumu, after all. All bark and no bite. All bluff and bravado.

Still, her pulse picked up before she even realised.

“And you always make me out to be some kinda villain,” he said, voice low now—measured, unpredictable.

She swallowed, stubbornly holding his gaze.

She’d be damned if she gave him the satisfaction of stepping back. Of flinching. Of letting him know he had any kind of effect on her.

But the pounding in her chest didn’t stop. Not as he drew closer. Not as his shadow overtook hers.

“Because you make it so easy—”

Another step.

Her breath hitched.

“—and you never—!”

“Admit it, ya wanna kiss me so bad.”

Silence.

(Y/n) blinked. Once. Twice.

Her lips parted.

“…What?”

Atsumu tilted his head, smirk blooming slow and smug like he knew exactly what he was doing. “That’s what all this is, right? You’re mad. You’re red. You’re yellin’. All that heat’s gotta go somewhere.”

She just stared at him.

Not because she was flustered.

Not at first.

No, at first it was the sheer audacity. The unbelievable, blinding nerve.

She opened her mouth—ready to argue, to insult, to throw hands—but nothing came out. Because what the hell do you even say to that?

Her jaw dropped. “You—are you being serious right now?”

“That’s not a no.”

She made a sound—half scoff, half inhale—then clamped her mouth shut again.

He was still watching her, calm and cocky like he hadn’t just detonated a bomb in the middle of their argument.

It was infuriating. That look on his face—like he knew exactly how off-balance he’d thrown her.

And the worst part? The longer she stood there, the warmer her cheeks grew. Not from the flirting. Not really.

From the fact that he was getting to her. And he knew it.

“You—you think you can flirt your way outta this?” she sputtered, cheeks burning. “You think I’m just gonna forget everything ’cause you said something stupid with that dumb look on your face?!”

He grinned—all teeth and no shame. “S’worked before.”

She shoved him—light, almost pathetic. Less about pushing him away and more about saving face.

“You’re impossible. Honestly, Miya. You're insufferable.”

Atsumu shrugged, unbothered, stepping in again, voice dropping like velvet. “I’ve been called worse.”

She stared up at him, hands twitching with the urge to strangle the smug out of him.

Still burning. Still flustered. Still not sure if she wanted to punch him or scream or shut that mouth of his by—

She needed to leave before she found out.

She turned on her heel.

“I’m done. I. Am. Done.”

And then she was gone—before he could see the look on her face, or the way her hands were still clenched at her sides like she was holding back a war.

What was she even angry about again? The dishes? His stupid grin?

Ugh. Whatever. She’d let Osamu deal with him.

For now, she needed to cool the fuck off.

Bonus scene:

[Kitchen – Two minutes later]

(Y/n) was long gone.

The room had fallen quiet again—aside from the sound of the volleyball match still playing on the TV. Atsumu had completely forgotten it was on.

He stood in the middle of the living room, still wearing that smug, post-chaos expression like it was his favourite cologne.

Osamu wandered in from the hallway, glanced at the leftover tension hanging in the air, then looked at his twin.

“You do the dishes yet?”

Atsumu didn’t blink. “Nope.”

Osamu exhaled through his nose, unimpressed. “So what was all that for, then?”

Atsumu shrugged. “She started it. Probably just wanted to blow off some steam."

Suna’s voice floated in from the doorway. “You’re lucky she didn’t slap you.”

Atsumu just smirked, eyes drifting toward the hallway (y/n) had disappeared down.

Osamu gave him a look. “She wanted to. Another word outta ya and I reckon she'd have actually tried to kill ya.”

Atsumu scoffed. “Kiss, kill. Who’s to say?”

Osamu and Suna replied in unison—both flat, both immediate:

“Definitely the latter.”

“Kill. One hundred percent.”

Atsumu muttered under his breath, full of misplaced confidence, “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

Osamu rolled his eyes and turned toward the kitchen.

“Unbelievable," he muttered. "Move. I’ll do the damn dishes.”

Atsumu stepped aside—grudgingly—and Osamu smacked the back of his head on the way past.

“Ow—!”

“If ya keep refusin’ to pull yer own weight,” Osamu called over his shoulder, already halfway to the sink, “we’re kickin’ ya out. Don’t think we won’t, ‘Tsumu.”

Atsumu huffed, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, yeah... whatever, ‘Samu.”

He didn’t argue. He’d been around his brother long enough to know when he was being serious.

And he most definitely was.

Then, right on cue, (y/n) reappeared.

She strolled in—calm, composed, and way too smug for someone who’d stormed off minutes ago.

Ah. So she’d overheard then.

She didn’t say a word.

No eye roll. No snide remark. No dramatic sigh. Just a glance toward the sink—where Osamu had, without hesitation, taken her side.

Then she helped herself to the last piece of leftover mochi and walked straight back out.

No performance. No victory speech. Not even a single glance in his direction.

It was like she didn’t even need to rub it in—because having Osamu and Suna in her corner was enough

Atsumu stared after her, brow twitching.

For once, it was him who felt the heat rising.

“Why’s she quiet now?” he muttered. “That’s so much worse.” I honestly rather she just yelled.

Suna sauntered into the living room next, sipping from a coffee cup. “Mm. Sucks, huh?”

Atsumu flopped onto the couch with a scowl, arms crossed like an oversized sulking child.

“She’s doin’ it to rile me up.”

Suna flashed him a knowing look. “Sounds like you’ve got a type.”

Atsumu scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

But he didn’t sound very convinced.

[whatlurksbean]

Hello! I’ve been reading WLB from some time now, and I am still absolutely loving this comic every time.(on my 4th reread lol) WLB has inspired me greatly along with WC content and (also great!)creations by other creators to the point that I am almost about to script my own comic, with a few scenes that WLB had a huge influence on. Though, I can’t help but be a little overwhelmed when I actually think of creating one, mostly because of the fact I lack the skills to draw comics. Believe me, I am shit at panelling lol. But also l‘m a bit scared because even if I actually end up making my own series it absolutely could end up flopping and that would probably make me lose enthusiasm. I don’t necessarily want to make money out of my comics but rather show others my stories and characters that I love, but I have a history of making and posting oc art just for nobody to watch and kinda giving up.(even though I’m aware of the fact that this happens to practically everyone all the time, it still hurts) The (real)question is if there is some advice you can give to beginner/wanna-be comic artists, and how did you feel when you first posted The Recruit if that’s your first comic. I’m sorry if this sounds like a vent, and feel free to pass this if you want-just know you’re a great inspiration for many people. Stay safe, remember that YOUR well being is number one, and Love from Korea♥♥

Hello! I'm very glad you've enjoyed WLB!

A webcomic can for sure be a daunting and overwhelming thing. Most artists are a one man show, and knowing how to do Every Aspect Perfectly is an impossible task. I think it's important to remember everyone starts somewhere, and it is hard to get better unless you Start.

I mean, the first comic pages I drew digitally looked like this.

The comic lasted 6 pages before I got tired of it, and then I started The Recruit.

(which was over 430 pages long and started and had quite a style/writing change throughout the 7 years I worked on it)

You learn so much by just doing. There are a lot of helpful free resources online now a days to make the learning faster! There are tutorials on how to panel! And I think just reading comics in general is a great source of learning. Pay attention to the things you like (paneling, simplification process, color palettes ) and implement them in your work!

I think it's really important to figure out the level of detail you want the comic to be. I don't think it's wise or sustainable to put 100% effort into every aspect of it. It will burn you out. It's good to consider what level of shading (if any) you'll be willing to do for hundreds of panels, what level of background detail, how many colors the characters should have, and figure out what your focus is.

I've met a lot of comic artists over the years, EVERYONE has a different method or different focus. Creating is not a universal experience!

As for having your work be seen, it is honestly a lot of luck. Back in the day for TR I would just submit to all of the deviantart warrior cat groups and people would find it that way. deviantart groups are pretty dead now so I am unsure if that is any good now.

I personally really think ComicFury is a wonderful place for new artists. It's default page always shows the latest comic, so everyone always has an equal chance to be seen. You can be on the front page every 12 hours (i think, it might be 24..) and with a striking icon and consistent posting, you WILL find people.

It's not the largest site, but it is my favorite for comics.

I do not like the mindset of a comic "flopping." I think it takes time to build an audience. It is very unlikely for people to find your comic overnight, it will very likely take at least a few months of consistent posting to find a few engaged readers. I know it sucks to feel like no one is seeing your work, but it's just something that takes time.

Cat comics do tend to find readers faster though, so if that is your goal, I do hope you find success!

You could also post your updates in comic/art related places, like discords or post panels on bluesky or instagram. really any site or app that posts an image.

I also think consistent uploading is a strong key to building an audience. And to do this, it really helps to have a backlog. Meaning you draw like the first 10-20 pages of you comic (or however many) and upload one or two pages a week. The more your comic is seen popping up on their feed, the more likely people will be to finally click it. I usually do not click on comics I see once or twice, it usually takes a few weeks of me seeing it pop up before i decide to check it out. (talking about on Comicfury to be clear)

Once you've established you are dedicated to your comic, people do not mind if you take breaks. (and if they do, fuck em)

Also, having a community of friends or creators is a huge motivator. Show your work to friends! Share in a community of comic creators! Some things my friends have said to me about my comics has lifted my creative spirit more than anything.

This is turning into some 3am ramblings but to summarize my points:

•Find a style that will work for you to sustain a comic. (do not make 100% effort art pieces)

•Upload on comicfury (great comic site, equal opportunity for new comics) (I would also cross post to other platforms and link back to CF as a primary comic site)

•Work on some pages in private, so you can upload consistently once you begin your comic! (I would update daily for maybe a week and then switch to weekly pages, just to get the best chance of being seen + consistent posting. so that would be good to have at least 10 pages of backlogs. 7 for the first week, plus 3 weeks of backlog at that rate)

and the point most dear to my heart;

•Don't be scared of change.

I know a lot of folk wait and wait to make their comic until they are perfect artists or writers, but like, you'll never make anything if you wait for that. Change is so natural and normal in webcomics, in all art really. I think if you shade for 10 pages and decide you hate it, it's okay to change how you shade or drop it entirely. Change your art style. Change how you panel pages. Change how you do backgrounds. Change anything and everything you want. Enjoy the process and tell the story you want to tell.

Best of luck on your comicing journey, I hope you really enjoy it.

[gf2bellamy]

Hiii ! First of all take care of you dw if you want to slow down on request it's totally okay !!! I looove your fics tysm for your amazing writing

I was wandering i you could write something about Spencer and nonBAUreader are watching a serie about serial killer and reader ask MANY questions about Spencer's work (i'm curently watching the new season of Dexter x)) and it's all cute

love uuuu <3💐

questions — spencer reid

pairing: spencer reid x reader ( no use of y/n ) content warnings: mention of serial killers not getting caught / dna under finger nails / victims a/n: hi hi tysm !! that's so so nice <33 and i hope you like this <3 also i don't even wanna know how bad my google search history looks like rn

You were curled up on the couch, a blanket draped over your legs and a bowl of popcorn resting between you and Spencer. The two of you were halfway through a binge-watch of a fictional crime series about a serial killer, and while the show was gripping, you couldn’t help but pepper Spencer with questions.

After all, who better to ask than an actual FBI profiler?

“Okay, wait,” you said, pausing the show just as the detectives on screen were about to interrogate a suspect. “This whole DNA-under-the-nails thing—how often does that actually happen in real cases? Like, is it as common as they make it seem?”

Spencer, who had been leaning back against the arm of the couch with his legs stretched out, turned to look at you, his eyes lighting up at the question.

“Actually,” he said, sitting up a little straighter, “it’s not as common as TV makes it seem, but it does happen. The likelihood depends on the type of assault and whether the victim had the opportunity to fight back. Statistically, it’s present in about 12% of cases where there’s close physical contact.”

You nodded, absorbing the information. “So, it’s not a guarantee, but it’s a solid lead when it’s there,” you said, more to yourself than to him. “What about contamination? Like, how often does the DNA get messed up because of improper collection or storage?”

Spencer’s face lit up even more, and you could tell he was enjoying this. “Great question,” he said, his tone enthusiastic. “Contamination is a huge issue, especially in high-profile cases where there’s a lot of media attention and pressure to solve the case quickly. Improper handling of evidence can reduce the reliability of DNA results by up to 30%. That’s why chain of custody is so important.”

You hummed thoughtfully, popping a piece of popcorn into your mouth. “Makes sense,” you said. “Okay, next question. How likely is it that a serial killer could stay hidden for, like, decades?”

Spencer tilted his head, his expression thoughtful. “It’s more common than you’d think,” he said. “If the killer is organized, methodical, and avoids leaving behind forensic evidence, they can evade capture for years—sometimes even decades. The Golden State Killer, for example, wasn’t caught for over 40 years. The probability of staying hidden increases if the killer targets strangers, moves frequently, and avoids leaving behind patterns that law enforcement can track.”

You frowned slightly, your brow furrowing as you considered that. “That’s… kind of terrifying,” you said. “But also fascinating. How do you even start profiling someone like that? Like, what’s the first step?”

Spencer smiled, clearly impressed by your line of questioning. “It starts with the crime scene,” he said, his tone shifting into what you affectionately called his “professor voice.” “Every detail tells a story. The way the victim was killed, the location, the level of violence—it all gives us clues about the killer’s psychology, their motives, and even their background. From there, we build a profile and use it to narrow down potential suspects.”

You nodded, your eyes narrowing slightly as you processed everything. “That’s so cool,” you said, your voice soft. “I mean, not cool that people do terrible things, but cool that you can figure all that out just by looking at the evidence.”

Spencer chuckled, his smile warm. “It’s not always easy,” he said. “But it’s rewarding when we can use it to catch someone and stop them from doing harm.”

You smiled, tucking your legs underneath you as you turned to face him more fully. “I can’t even imagine,” you said. “Do you ever… I don’t know, get scared? Or overwhelmed?”

Spencer’s expression softened, and he hesitated for a moment, as if considering how much to share. “Sometimes,” he admitted, his voice quiet. “There are cases that stay with you, ones that are harder to shake. But having a team helps. And… well, it helps to have something—or someone—to come home to.”

His words hung in the air for a moment, soft and sincere, and you felt your heart swell. Without thinking, you shifted closer to him on the couch, your hand reaching out to gently rest on his arm.

“I’m glad you have that,” you said, your voice warm. “And I’m really glad I get to be that someone.”

[illusioncanthurtme--art]

Hiya! It's the rat again. I just wanted to say that your latest art works?? AUYRGYGYHRWSG. SCREAMING. Like- your eye for color is GORGEOUS. Like, the lighting???? DAMNNNNNN. Everything you draw looks so full of personality and character- and so put together. If that makes sense-

I've mainly been quietly stalking this blog- but grgr I just need to vocalize how much I LOVE what you do. Like- your commissions too?? IT'S SO DIVERSE AND JUST SO AMAZING. EXPLODING.

Plus, the care, time, attention, and PURE EFFORT you put into every piece? I just sit there at my screen just slack-jawed and all: "Damn. DAMN." Like- the way you draw your little loser boy au?? DYING. I LOVE DIB. I LOVE ALL THE FANDOMS YOU DRAW.

Like. SERIOUSLY. I love just looking at the gradient of the pencil strokes, and just marvel at the shading and the faded lines of where the sketch was. ✨✨ Like- the bold lines contrasting with the light strokes and shading?? LOSING IT. Like you can really tell how the drawing came together and how it was slowly worked to perfection.

Your backgrounds are so diverse too, super inviting and invigorating to look at- like??? It's eye candy, 24/7. The talent, and practice that must of taken? I can't even fathom it.

And the humor too in some of your posts?? I'm going to die like Bill's parents, smh. /silly

I just wanna say I love your art a whole lot, and the ADHD in me has officially hyper fixated on it, and I find myself scrolling through your whole blog very often, just smiling and going: "Wowie, prettyyy :]"

You're amazing, and you inspire me so much it hurts my soft, squishy heart. Makes me believe in myself, as corny as that is- and it gives me motivation to get better at what I love to do. AM I UNAPOLOGETICALLY LOVE BOMBING YOU?? YES. This is SERIOUSLY my favorite blog, and I'm constantly staying updated and excited for any new tidbits.

Thank you for blessing us with your art, and I hope both sides of your pillow are cold and that every stray cat you pspspsp at will come up to you happily. <3

THIS IS SO FREAKING NICE??? OH MY GOD - I don't deserve you!!

Wow, this is seriously the kindest thing anyone's said about my art in a long time. Thank you.

I can't even put into words what this means to me-

You know what? This is going in my room.

Bless you man!

[ohno-the-sun]

Oh uh forgot to ask in the previous ask (the one with the digital piece of candy and scurrying and stuff)

How do you draw art so good

Like

Is there a method you use or is that just the style you've gotten over time?

you've activated my trap card

I'm just gonna preface that this tutorial is from someone who was not professionally trained and didn't have a lot of free time for art, so a lot of the tips I have is short cuts I use to get the best results quickly

If you genuinely want to get better at art then please look at references and practice that is always the best

However if you are like me and only really do art for fun but want to go faster then these are for you pfppt

Overall I'd say my style is influenced by speedpaints I would watch when I was younger, I like analyzing how people do things and what makes something look "good" to me

I always recommend watching them because they will often have techniques you've never seen before or do things a certain way that you can try out yourself

I consume good art, it feeds me

but seriously it can be super helpful when developing your own methodology, or just generally trying something new

Usually it starts with me pulling some references from artists I really admire and sort of sketching out how they do the things I like

For example 8um8le has like super good anatomy and poses so I focused on trying to replicate how they do that

venemous-qwille is super good at color and pulling focus so that's what I focused on in my study of them

In general I'd say my process is sketch -> silhouette -> color -> shading -> render

I really don't like doing lineart lol

I'd say for the sketch the most important part is using references and just kind of fudging it until it looks correct anatomically/physically

General rule of thumb is spend time on areas of interest, and keep non important areas light (like the stitching on his pants)

I don't do lineart because I think its unnecessary for most paintings I do

I naturally tend to put more time and focus on areas of interest (like hands and feet) and if you use a brush with opacity for the sketch, those areas are naturally going to be darker in the final sketch

Of course this is gonna be different for everyone but it's what works for me

Sometimes I do a really really sketchy layer underneath my sketch/lineart, just so I know where everything is going

Use thumbnails! They are great to help figure out the general layout of things and what pose I wanna do

Next is what I call the "silhouette" layer

This is super important for me cause it helps me refine the figure and make sure the pose/anatomy looks correct, also depending on what color I choose for the silhouette helps guide what colors I'm going to use on top

This piece is a good example of how it works. The silhouette shows me how the figure interacts with the background, how the pose looks and if its any good

The silhouette layer doesn't have to be super clean, as long as it follows the sketch decently well and shows where the figure is then its fine

I also sometimes make the silhouette layer multiple colors to help guide shading and vibe

Next is the coloring layer. I usually make this a clipping layer on top of the silhouette layer, or I change the silhouette layer to alpha lock, either way it saves me time on coloring everything in

Sometimes I am super rough with the coloring too, using like an airbrush or my fav watercolor brush just to generically block in color where I want it

Works out cause most objects have like a bounce light to them from surrounding objects, so this is sort of a cheat I use to get that effect without all the work lol

Also don't be afraid to have the lower silhouette layer shining through, having multiple colors sort of subtly shining through the piece helps lots

Next is the shading layer, this is usually another clipping layer, usually set to "multiply"

The colors I pick here is usually within this range, any color works, just depends on the piece and vibes.

Since this piece is set in a sunset forest I choose a more desaturated orange for the shading layer

I know there's a whole thing about multiply layer being a crutch (and it kind of it) but it is a useful tool when you just want some darker values across the piece but don't want to go through the process of color picking every single darker shade

Also in my opinion it looks better than picking a darker color and setting it to a lower opacity, idk I just think the color has more "depth"

Next is the hardest to explain, sort of the vibes layer

Usually its just a layer of more concentrated color on top of the normal color and I fudge with the settings and values until I get a result I like

Next is the longest step, is the "extra" or the render stage.

Usually I add a background before this step so that if I need to merge the figure better with the background I can

If I render with a white background but he's supposed to be in a dark forest, its going to mess with the lighting severely

Also this is when I add more "vibe" layers on top to get the figure to match the background better

Backgrounds in general I recommend checking out @/derekdomnicdsouza on instagram he's got lots of great tutorials for breaking down backgrounds simply

I'd say general rule for the rendering layer is to focus on the areas of interest and spend less time on areas you don't care about

I even blur stuff out on the edges I don't want people to see, partially to save time on fixing mistakes in areas I dont care about (oop), but mainly to help draw the eye to the areas I do want people to focus on

Theoretically parts of the background should like mesh with the characters, parrallel lines are a no no unless they are directing a viewer to look somewhere, things that are perpendicular help bring things together

tbh I'm still not the best at layout and probably need more practice, but overall this is what I like doing

Overall this is what my layer set up ends up being

Sort of a sandwich with the lineart/sketch as the "meat" lol

Color and basic shading below the sketch, clean-up and rendering on top

I like this method cause it's super flexible if I ever want to try something different or try to replicate someone's style

I can make each step less or more messy depending on the end result and can add a lineart layer if need be. Also if there's a part that is straight up not working or needs to be removed its super easy to do cause I can just paint over it on the "extras" layer, color picking from the surrounding area to get the same vibe

Generally rule of thumb for my style is: get the initial layout of colors, form and shading to look good, then the rendering should be smooth sailing

Really the best advice I can give to get better at art is to enjoy what you're doing and become very very obsessed with drawing a silly little guy

You'll eventually get very good at drawing them pfptpf

[sporeclan]

Hellooooo! I’m working on a clangen blog of my own, so I’m going around asking my favorite clangen blogs some questions. I’m happy to get answers to whichever you feel like answering (or none at all if you don’t feel like it!)

What program and file size do you use?

If you use a font, what font is it?

How far ahead do you recommend playing?

Do you have any advice for layouts?

Do you have any tips for lighting/drawing fur?

Do you have any tips for making cats look more unique?

If you do backgrounds, do you have any advice for creating them?

If you use them, where do you recommend finding reference images?

Hi!! :D

1) I use Clip Studio Paint! Unfortunately not a free program, but I'm very very fond of it. Definitely recommend it to anyone who has the money! My file size is about 1680px wide, I believe? With varying heights. I definitely wouldn't recommend doing it that way, but it's what works for me so :')

2) I made the font myself, actually! Highly recommend doing that tbh, it's a happy medium between getting something handwritten looking without having to spend a thousand years writing haha :D There are probably a hundred websites out there that let you make you own font, but I used Calligraphr

3) It depends! For me playing to about 12-15 moons ahead with a minimum of 6 moons works really well with my style and workflow. Makes me able to cobble together these small interpersonal plotlines while also letting me occasionally play and get new drama to get invested in these characters all over again about. But if I were going for something with a major overarching plot, I would probably go a lot further ahead, if not straight up take the playthrough as far as I'd want it/until a game over just to not risk rng screwing with my plans

4) I would suggest looking up comic panelling tips in general for a better explaination than what I can offer, but I'll try to explain my basic process :'D I mostly go by heart, but I do like to sometimes follow this rule of thumb I like to call the 'Z'

When we read text, we learn to go from left to right, then back to left at a slight diagonal to get to the next line. By following that simple shape when placing characters and especially text, it makes it flow much more naturally to us. And when your pages flow well, you get to break that flow when you want a scene to feel more tense! I tried doing that with the last two panels of the page above and I really liked how that came out :D

Another couple of tips is 1) try not to make the panels too uniform 2) if you want to use two panels for one scene, slanting the side of a panel can make it feel like they flow into each other better, like matching two puzzle pieces if that makes sense 3) small overlapping panels are great for reaction shots and so fun to do!

And lastly, don't be afraid to break the panel border!

It can add a lot of momentum and impact if used right! Plus it's so fun to do <3

5) No sorry, I don't do lighting/shading in my comics at all :'D

6) I have a couple posts here and here describing my own process a bit! But otherwise I'd like to refer to whisper-cats' response to this same prompt, it's pretty in depth and I think they give some really solid advice here!

7) Not particularly, just find a style that works for you the best. I don't do a lot of backgrounding, but when I do, it's in this lineless limited palette style because that's just my favourite kind of background to make

I do highly recommend trying to limit how much time you spend on a background. Don't burn yourself out on one panel because then you'll never wanna finish the whole page!

And for 8), I dont use references so sadly I can't give you any good recommendations there either :')

I hope any of this made sense, lol! Good luck with your blog!

[stariikis]

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞 | 𝐧𝐫𝐤 ˖ ࣪⭑

synopsis ; like the moon needs the stars, riki's whole life would crumble without you. his inspiration, greatest motivation, and his muse.

pairing ; artist!nishimura riki x muse!reader genre ; fluff, established rs, realllly really short drabble of thoughts

this love's possessing me, but i don't mind at all

There are a million ways to say, 'I love you.'

Aren't there?

One chasing after their certain eye-candy may purchase a whole bouquet of that person's favourite flowers. Another would pour their heart and soul onto a piece of paper, a subtle love confession decorated with stickers and fanciful designs. Another might try their hardest to impress them with whatever their forte is.

Riki, however, takes all these and mashes them into one gorgeous painting on an easel.

He emerges from his 'workplace', one of the study rooms in your shared apartment. A blank canvas, about the size of his hand, accompanies him out. Not to mention the various brushes, the bristles sticking out all over the place revealing how loved they are. The paints, watercolour in a small box, acrylic aligned in their designated tubes, and oils of any colour possible.

Lips puckered in a pouting motion, he scans you as if wondering what light he wants to paint you in today. Where he wants to set up his painting station for the next few hours.

The reasons for his choice of background go from the smallest of things to the most obvious. It could simply be the style of your choice of clothes, but once it had been because of the way you reacted when he woke you up in the morning.

He used a fiery red base colour for that artwork. Perfectly encapsulating the constant frown you wore the rest of the day. His words, not yours. They could only ever be his words.

When he finally dismissed you from 'work', he paid you for your efforts with a kiss.

Your sour expression morphed instantly. In the blink of an eye, it was almost as if you had never woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

it's taking over me, don't wanna fight the fall

Today he quietly brings you to the edge of a field, just as sundown occurs. He looks up at the sky, cotton candy clouds bleeding into a warm hue of orange. Nothing leaves his mouth. An absolute silence has overcome him.

And knowing that there's no need for you to break it, there's no need to coax him out of this state for the better, comforts you deep down to the core.

It's like you know exactly how to go about routine, as you settle yourself in the wispy, tall grass and wait for him to set up his materials. However, after propping up his easel, he doesn't unpack his paints and brushes like he usually does. He doesn't unroll his scuffed-with-paint marks apron.

He merely gazes at you, soft and mesmerised.

As an artist, he should have neutral feelings towards his muse. He should be evoking surrounding emotions and feelings. He should be drawing them from deep within himself, and expressing them on the canvas before him.

A muse is only meant to be an inspiration. At times, it's the subject of the art piece. However, it's never the sole purpose.

But the way Riki looks at you proves all that wrong. The way his calloused hands held yours on the way to this destination. The way he scoots closer to you just as you drift off into sleep, and whispers all the newest paintings he's made. He confesses all the sketches he makes are of you. He can't get you out of his mind, he murmurs in a shaky tone, he can't rid himself of your influence on his artistry.

But he's so in love.

Why would he ever want to?

it's like supernatural ₊ ⊹.𖥔 ݁ ˖

thank you for reading! i'm so sorry to anyone expecting me to write any other members. i'm just too addicted to writing for riki... i promise they will have their own fics soon. pls scold me if i don't churn them out... TT

[flightyalrighty]

(sorry if you've gotten this before or if this is not the right kind of question for the blog)

Do you have any advice on HOW to make a comic series? From what I've seen your work is fantastic, well made and written! (Cool concepts, story, and character dynamics etc)

How did you start? How DO you start?? How do you comic lol

I'm glad you enjoy my work! I'll do my best to answer this question!

I could give the ol' "Just jump in! Get started!" But I don't think that's the answer you're looking for, here. Even if it's technically the correct one.

"How do you make a comic series" Is one of those questions where the answer is kinda difficult to summarize in a single ask, because there's a whole lot that goes into it, y'know? I'll give you a brief run-down of my process.

I figure an idea for a story. In the case of Infested, the whole story was written before I even got started on the script. This is an outlier in my usual process and I don't normally do this and definitely don't recommend it.

Figure the plot like how you would figure a regular story's plot; The beats you wanna hit, the way the characters develop, the beginning, the middle, the end. What's the point of the story? What, exactly, are you trying to convey here? Who's the target audience? All that stuff ought to be figured out before even picking up a [MEDIUM OF ARTIST'S CHOICE].

Script the story. If you've seen a movie script, these things look a bit like that. You wanna not skip this step because this is where you determine the visual language of each page. Comic script writing is a whole thing and a half but I do have some random tips regarding it. -> When writing the beginning of a new scene, write down the time of day, the weather, and any important details about your setting (this is most important if you're working in a team). -> Using storyboard/film language when trying to figure out a scene is very helpful. You're not gonna remember exactly how that scene looked in your head when you finally get around to penciling it. Trust me. Write it down. Or thumbnail it! Thumbnails are also very helpful! -> Remember that you have very limited space for dialogue. Write with that in mind.

Figure the paneling on a page. I work at 11x17 and do my panel layouts based on those dimensions. I tend to make more important panels, or panels with PUNCH or SHOCK bigger than the others. Each panel is an individual illustration, but together they make a whole piece. You gotta treat it like that, y'know? Find the focal point on a page, find the most important element of it, and make that your focal point. Don't be afraid to get a lil wacky with panel shapes, either. They don't HAVE to be squares and rectangles. Check out what other cartoonists do! Get inspired! Paneling is an art-form within itself!

Page from "Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name" By Tess Stone

5. Penciling time! Get the perspective figured out, then draw the background, then draw the characters. Do it in that order. Trust me. With a background already set up, characters can be drawn more like they exist within that space, instead of floating in front of it. Also? Be aware that comic artists need to be ready to draw ANYTHING. You may have a great idea that you GOTTA put out into the world, but you have no idea how to draw, say, a car. Or debris. Or jungle foliage. There's no shame in using references, tutorials, or even doing a bit of tracing if something's outside your wheelhouse. Here's a bazillion tutorials from two guys who REALLY know their stuff.

6. Speech Balloons! Yes, really. In fact, you may want to do this and penciling at the same time. I certainly do. It's better to figure this out immediately so it doesn't hurt you later when it comes to getting your balloons to share a space with your art. Here's some great advice on the whole subject from a master of the craft

7. Inks! Line weight variation is key. Closer to the "camera" means thicker lines. If a part of a character is in shadow, that part is gonna get thicker lines, too. Personally, I make my background line art thinner than character line art. It helps the characters pop out!

8. Flats! Or flat colors if you wanna get specific about terminology. It's exactly what it sounds like -- Coloring the characters and backgrounds with the bare bones basic colors. I highly recommend keeping the character flats and bg flats on separate layers if you're working digitally.

9. Rendering! There's no hard and fast rule as to how a cartoonist ought to render their comic -- If they want to do that at all, even. Go with what you believe looks good AND is something you can do quickly. The "quickly" part is important. Heed my warning. Don't be like me.

And then I'd schedule the comic to be uploaded on whatever day suits me -- Thursday (usually) in Infested's case.

Of course, I kinda suck at relaying my process, so the final thing I can do for you is direct you to an extremely helpful book that really breaks it down in a way that may click with you as it did with me.

I hope this was in any way helpful to you!

[jamieedlund]

Not a question but i wanted to say i love the way you depict Aaravos and Callum’s dynamic. I wish TDP delved more into their interactions and relationship because they have the potential to be a great mentor/mentee kind of thing with similar interests. And your art style is amazing, it has a pretty watercolor feel to it with exquisite lighting. (But may I ask how you approach your art?)

(5 months later, but better late than never aha(❤´艸｀❤) )

I think Callum would say thank you with a big smile on his face

Meanwhile Aaravos being the anomaly that he is:

while I intend to make this as short as possible, I'm not sure what exactly are you asking about when you said how I "approach my art"

Because from what I can infer, I can interpret the question it as:

Literally, as in: "approach" = "get started" - specifically you meant how do I get started working on a piece of art

or  

2. As in you're asking about my entire thought process + work flow from start to finish, since your previous sentence was about my art style, I would also assume that you want me to elaborate on--how I draw things??

Either way, I will do my best to answer, as the 1st way of interpreting your question can also be answered in the 2nd.

I think after working on the Aaravos thesis, my work habit from the time I was making it still remains---

so how about I just guide you through my approach/ art process of the most recent piece I had worked on:

Find my references/inspiration

I can't explain it very well but I can only draw when my brain feels inspired and or motivated. This can happen for numerous of reasons but I find the best and most consistent way to get my brain synapses to connect is to look at arts that makes me wanna draw. And then copy paste all of them into a mood board or onto your drawing canvas, like so:

I also use this program called 'Pureref' so I can just have a moodboard/reference that is constantly on top

you can also use pinterests but be picky about your references because of the AI slops.

I look for references while simultaneously jogging down the sketch/compositions that I want, as you can see the sketch growing along with the references in the previous photos

One useful tip I have for this phase is DO NOT, LINGER. I've since figured out that my hand-eye corelations works best if I don't think to much about it and just let the line flow. Of course this is different for everyone, it's just for me, because my brain really think too fast and have troubles locking in details, it's best for me to keep everything loose. And also having the references right next to me is extremely helpful, so I sketch and look for references at the same time.

And then I just - start drawing I guess?

for this particular piece I decided that I wanted to do some color testing first so

I laid down my base + some large thick brush strokes to make the shapes I wanna keep visible

Now that I have a solid base to build on, I just - render 🤷‍♀️

basically re-line on different layers and color underneath them, merging them and keep fixing until I feel like everything is right--- basically manual labor lol. Lighting on chibis is fairly standard, I don't have an explanation either, I just did what felt good???

I blocked in Callum later on a layer folder on top because if I want to move him around, I won't have to worry about losing/redrawing Aaravos in the back

Finish rendering Callum

Block in background and foreground

And TADAAAA

One happy man and his happy bunny ready to celebrate Spring🥚🐣🐥🍳 (and become a sticker that you can own soon, hopefully 👁🌷👁 )

I'm always against gatekeeping how my art is made so lmk if you have any more question regarding this topic.

That's all! Thank you for reading it this far. Here's some bonus Callum and Aaravos content from my warehouse ˋ( ° ▽、° )

A sketchboard of a mysterious carriage ride rendezvous!

(I have to clarify non of these are official canon material- I do not work on the show nor am part of the production; I am literally just a random guy on the internet who loves these two to death).

[hyunfilms]

blue side of the sky (lmh) | nineteen.

♡ spotify playlist | series masterlist

—summary: waking up after 3 months with no recollection of your past, your friends do what they can to help you remember. except, they omit an important piece to the puzzle - afraid you would remember the heartbreak and hurt all over again.

—pairing: lee know x f. reader

—genre: (18+) exes to lovers, bestfriends to lovers au | fluff, angst, smut

—word count: 3.3k

—chapter content/warnings: just the very much needed talk for oc x minho, crying, cute lil random flashback at the end

The phone sits on your bed for a good awhile before you contemplate on actually picking it up and texting him. Your talk with Jisung was about a week and a half ago, but you figured you could at least talk to Minho and get things straight without anyone getting in the middle of it.

Even though you missed Minho, you knew you weren't ready and that you still needed time to properly say your peace to all of this.

You would let the universe handle it, allowing you to have Minho in your life however it'd like you to have him— even if that meant at a distance, even if things never returned to normal. You would be sad, but you trust in the universe to take care of you this time around. 

Whatever is meant to be, will be. 

It all still feels terrible.

You grab your phone when you finally gain the strength to call him, nervously letting out a breath when the other line starts to ring. By the third ring, you almost regret calling him. You start to slowly pull the phone away from your ear when you hear Minho hastily pick up the call— music playing in the background.

"Y/N?" He calls for you as he steps around the corner of the studio, hoping the music is a bit softer outside of the room.

"Hi. Sorry, are you in class? I didn't mean to interrupt." 

"No, no." He clears his throat, also experiencing nervousness as he continues to talk to you over the phone. "I was just hanging out with Hyunjin. We were working on a random piece and just messing around with choreo."

"Still. I'm sorry to interrupt."

"You're not. Don't worry. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it will be." You chew on your bottom lip for a moment before speaking up again. "I was just wondering if we could talk."

"Are you sure? I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable or anything, I'll wait until you feel completely ready."

"To be honest, Minho. I don't know if I will ever be completely ready. But, we should talk. Alone. I need to let you know what's been going on my mind, too."

"Okay. I'll be leaving in about 15 minutes. I'll shower and head to your place? Unless you wanna meet somewhere else, but uh—" He clears his throat. "It's kinda cold. I just, I don't know. Whatever makes you comfortable."

"My place is fine."

"Okay." Minho lets out an inaudible sigh, a bit nervous about how the rest of the evening will go. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Sounds good." You respond softly before ending the call. Minho stills in his position for a bit before returning to the studio, his heart beating in his chest— because he is scared, he is nervous. But, nonetheless, he knows whatever is meant to happen, will need to happen. 

This is just another chapter in the book, another learning lesson; another step in becoming better for each other, your friends. Unlearning bad habits, leaving the past where it belongs.

"You good?" Hyunjin furrows his brows at Minho, watching him slowly walk back into the studio. Hyunjin has his hands on his hips, using his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face. It takes a minute before Minho reaches his gaze and responds with a shrug.

"I don't really know. I will be." 

"Who was that?"

"Y/N. She wants to talk."

"Oh." Hyunjin purses his lips into an 'o' shape before nodding. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know either." Minho lets out a pathetic chuckle. "She said she's not sure when she'll ever be ready to talk more about this but she has stuff she wants to tell me."

"I see."

"I really messed up." Is all Minho says as he walks over to his duffle bag on the ground.

"You did." Hyunjin sighs. "But, you are acknowledging it and trying to learn."

"I just, I don't really know. I had her back and I tried to take the chance to fix it without really... fixing it. If that makes sense."

"It does, and I get it. I honestly might have done the same if I was in your position. Plus, I know Jisung just wanted things to be okay for a bit." Hyunjin comes to stand next to Minho as he grabs his water bottle. "Promise me you'll give her the time she needs this time around."

"I will. At this point, I don't wanna lose her as my bestfriend. Even if that means I need to give her space for awhile—" He shrugs and throws the duffle bag strap over his shoulder. "However long it takes." 

"Mm, yeah." Hyunjin nods. "It'll be okay. Are you gonna go straight to her house?"

"No, I'm gonna head home first. Are you just gonna stay here?" 

"Yeah, I'll probably stay posted here for a bit longer. Still wanna get this choreo down." Minho gives him a tiny, toothless smile before waving goodbye.

"Alright, I'm out." He throws up the peace sign just as he heads out the door and to his car. He tosses his bag into the passenger seat, letting out another breath as he gets situated in the driver's seat. He's dreading this talk even though this has already torn you two apart— but he is determined to fix this the right way;

The right way as in putting it in time's hands.

When Minho gets home, his roommates are all tucked away in their rooms. He slips out of his shoes and tosses his duffle bag to the side of his room, adding to his laundry pile. He grabs a hoodie and some jeans, stepping into the bathroom for a quick shower. He quickly runs the towel through his hair before stepping out and grabbing his keys— heart still racing in his chest as he returns to his car. It's one of those drives where Minho has the music incredibly low because he needs to hear himself think; can't really focus with all these what if's and imaginary scenarios about how the evening will turn out.

Pulling up to your place, he sees Uncle Adrian home, but tucked away in the house somewhere. He can see a the dim light in the kitchen on, with another one of the room lights also on. He parks his car and pulls the hood over his head while walking to your small detached suite, taking a moment before knocking on the door a few times. You're sitting on the couch indulging in a new series when the knocks come— instantly throwing the blanket off of your legs to greet Minho at the door.

"Hey." You quickly eye Minho standing there in his hoodie and jeans, stepping aside to let him in.

"Feels nice and warm in here." He shakes off the cold a bit, plopping onto your couch.

"I'm glad." You chuckle, returning to your position on the couch. "How was the studio?"

"It was okay. Nothing too bad."

"Did you eat?" He shakes his head.

"I'm not really hungry."

"You sure? I have some leftover pasta." You point at your kitchen counter, making Minho smile.

"Promise, I'm good. Thank you." He switches his attention back to the TV. "Watching a new show?"

"Mhm. Finally finished the other one."

"That's new."

"I'm trying here." You respond before subtly biting onto your bottom lip. Great, the silence is settling in and it's awkward.

But luckily for you, Minho is quick to break the silence.

"So, how've you been feeling?" You sigh and turn your body towards him, giving him your full and undivided attention.

"I've been alright. I think I've seen brighter days. What about you?"

"Mm, not sure. But, it's alright. I'm making it through my days." You nod. Silence. More silence filling the room feels a lot louder than it actually is— probably due to all your thoughts and the neverending spiral of overthinking.

"Minho." You call his name and he feels his heart constrict for various reasons. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" 

"Y/N, I'm sorry. I should've, but I was too caught up in us. I brushed things over without thinking about you or Jisung. I-I thought—" He sighs. "I really thought I could fix the past by doing better now, but I know it doesn't work well that way." He looks at you. "I planned to tell you, I just let it slip away from me. Selfishly." You look at him and you aren't sure what your heart is trying to tell you. You're angry, you're upset. You're sad, you're missing a piece of yourself because of all this.

"Do you know where we went wrong?"

"It was nothing you did." He responds lowly. Somehow, this statement triggers the tears that are suddenly streaming down your cheeks, and you can't help but quickly wipe them away. Minho has the hardest time preventing himself from reaching over to console you; but, he stills. He knows he can't, he shouldn't.

"How was it nothing when you upped and left? Clearly, something was wrong. Especially for you, somebody who was my bestfriend and knew me better than myself, to leave when things got rough between us." You tell him softly, though the words sting and they carry weight you are not strong enough to carry.

"It wasn't you. I was stupid. I ran when things got tough, I mistook a small ounce of infatuation and excitement as a way out of it. I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how stupid I was being right away."

"Minho, I don't really know what to say. After everything that's happened, I was starting to feel safe with you again. Like there was nothing you could do to hurt me. And I think what hurts the most is knowing that I was terribly wrong. That I, at one point, was an after-thought for you. Because of this small ounce of infatuation and excitement. If it was nothing on me, then you wouldn't have left." You continue to cry and Minho swallows the lump in his throat— his own tears threatening to spill. "If it was nothing on me, then you wouldn't have kept seeing her while I was in the hospital. I know I had no control over that, but you definitely did." You dig your head into your hands and cry.

"Y/N. Please tell me what you need so I can make this better." Minho's voice wavers, his need to pry you away from your hands almost becomes unbearable. The more he watches you, the more he realizes that this must be how things turn out. This is how it all ends, this is what you two have become;

Broken.

And there was no fixing this, no seal strong enough that could keep the cracks together. Because eventually, the seal wears off, it takes another blow, and everything comes apart— breaking to pieces all over again.

When Minho thinks about this, the urge to console you slowly subsides within him. It's not that he doesn't want to, but he realizes he is the cause of all the cracks he can see on you; all the cracks that are threatening to break apart because the seal isn't strong enough, no glue good enough to keep it together. All he does is add onto it, and maybe, he should just keep his distance like he originally did.

He loves you, and maybe this time, love meant he needed to let you go.

"I need time away from you." You finally look up at him again, and the silence that settles between you two is heartbreaking. "I just need to keep my distance because I don't think it's fair I didn't get my own time to process this, to properly get over it. I am grateful you told me and were honest about everything. Eventually, I'd like to move forward and say my peace to it. But for now, that's not the time. I'm not ready to."

He loves you, and maybe this time, love means he will let you go.

"Okay." Is all Minho responds with. But, you continue to cry and Minho isn't sure what he should do. Clearly, you can't let him in again. Clearly, the distance is what you need. 

"I hate this." You manage to mumble as you look at him. "I look at you and I don't want you to leave, I don't want you to just give me an 'okay.' I wish you could hold me and tell me things will get better. But then, I look at you and I also can't believe that you're the same person who managed to do the most damage to me. The one person I wasn't good enough for, the one who I wish never gave up. It makes me confused, angry. Part of me really wishing I didn't have to talk to you or see you."

"I'll do anything to make you comfortable and to keep you happy. I wanna show you that you are my biggest priority and that you are first before anything. Anyone. So, I'll give you time. I'll give you space. No matter how long it takes. Even if time eventually tells me that things are different between us, I'll take it. Because I'd rather have part of you than have none of you." Tears are slowly staining his cheeks at this point, but he continues to look at you; never once breaking contact. "I love you, and I'm gonna be here no matter what. But, I'll give you just that and let you be."

"I hope time can be good for us." 

"I hope so too." He stands, asking for your hand so that he can pull you up and hug you. You follow his actions, tightly wrapping your arms around his waist while letting your cheek rest against his chest. His one arm is wrapped around your back, while the other comes behind your head; his lips kissing the top of your head. He whispers an 'I'm sorry' against the surface before he says: "You don't need to forgive me. You know that. I deserve it. Whatever happens though, I'll always be here. Okay? I'll always be here. I'm not going anywhere." He repeats before placing another kiss on your head. You stay in the position for a few more seconds before pulling away to look up at him.

Looking at Minho makes your heart clench so, so badly. He can't help but return your look with soft eyes, nose slightly reddened from the crying he did earlier— hand coming to brush the hair away from your face before he steps back and starts heading towards the door. You wiggle your fingers and ball them into a fist, preventing yourself from reaching out, stop him from leaving. All you do is slowly and silently follow after him, now surrendering the rest of this chapter with Minho to the universe.

"Call me if you need me. I'll come no matter what." You nod, closing your eyes when he plants a soft kiss against your forehead. He gives you one last, tiny smile before turning on his heels to walk back to his car. You watch as he throws his hood back over his head, shutting the side gate closed behind him.

You nibble on your bottom lip as you find yourself walking into the house, hoping to find Uncle Adrian and be in his company for a bit. When you walk in, the kitchen light is still on and you find your uncle pouring himself a glass of water. 

"Oh, hey." He sees you pop around the corner as the back door shuts. His smile instantly fades when he sees the expression on your face, and the way you hug your arms close to your chest. "What's wrong, Y/N?" You start crying into your hands again and your uncle panics, throwing a blanket over your shoulder before walking you over to the couch. He pulls you into a hug, doing his best to ease the pain you're feeling. "Talk to me." He says.

"I wish things were easier." You mumble through your crying, finally looking up at your uncle again. "I wish things didn't have to be like this between me and Minho." Your uncle's heart breaks because he wishes he could do more for you. And he knows this isn't solely because of the breakup; your heart isn't aching because of your relationship, no.

Your heart is aching because you no longer see the same bestfriend, have the same bestfriend, that you had. You've come to re-learn Minho, how you two used to be even before the relationship— and before you could even have that back, you've already lost it. Your uncle knows that the relationship only makes up one [complicated] part of it.

Your uncle will let you because you need to. He's glad you two were able to talk it out properly, but he's certain it wasn't easy for you to put up those boundaries towards your own bestfriend. It makes him torn because despite the ups and downs of your relationship, Minho was always good to you as your bestfriend. He helped take care of you, he never wanted you to be unhappy, was always making sure that you never felt a lack of support, love or care from him.

He gets it. It's not easy, but hopefully these times, will bring you to better days. To happier times. To more trust, less worries. To brighter, blue skies.

Right now, he will let you be.

Right now, you are mourning everything about Minho. 

☁︎ FLASHBACK | HIGH SCHOOL

You drag yourself up the hill after your walk to the convenience store, suddenly craving for a specific brand of ramen and spicy tuna onigiri amongst other snacks you've grabbed as you pranced around in the aisles. You swing the bag gently back and forth, head hung low as thoughts continue to swirl around in your head at 100mph.

You miss Minho.

You haven't heard from him today since he had been busy with family on the other side of town, and you were starting to wonder if you should text him first instead of waiting. You were torn about it. Should you text him now? Would he think you're too clingy?

Is he thinking of you the same way you are?

Maybe you shouldn't, and maybe you should just let him be until he's free.

You let out a sigh, finally coming up the block to your house with the bag twirling around your fingers. You check your phone still seeing zero texts or calls from him, making your heart drop just a tiny bit. But, before you could let your feelings completely take over, you catch sight of a shadow up ahead. You look up and find Minho standing near the streetlight; making you pause in your tracks to take in how the light perfectly sits on him right now.

You missed him.

"Hey. I was just about to call—" Minho's head whips in your direction, a small smile creeping at the corner of his lips. You jog towards him, immediately throwing your arms around his neck while hugging him and keeping him close. "Woah." He chuckles, reciprocating the hug and wrapping his arms around your waist. "You okay?" He looks down at you, hand gently coming up to brush your hair back, to caress your cheek.

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"I just really missed you." You mumble as you press your forehead against his chest. "I didn't hear from you all day and I wanted to text you, but I didn't because—"

"Y/N." He chuckles a bit, his breath visible in the air. "Slow down."

"I wanted to text you but I didn't wanna bother you."

"I'm sorry. I was busy, but I also wanted to surprise you." You look up at him. "I missed you, too." You let out a content sigh and pull away from him, hand still loosely holding onto his

"Did you?"

"I did." He kisses your knuckles. "And I'm here now, right? I'm not going anywhere."

☁︎ END

⇢ 19.5 [cloudy days]: here

♡ taglist: @ppiri-bahng @jihanlovic @meloncremesoda @sweetlikecherry @asjkdk @hoes4lino @skzddicted @skzho @edgaralienpoe @harui-zen @bestleeknowstan @havenwithleeknow @septicrebel @heesdazed @borahae-reads @yoontaethings @pearbunny @bintificreads @lukeys-giggle @ajxreads @everglowdaisies @allaboutsan @endzii23 @leeknowsramen @heres-your-ramen2000 @morningstardada @mal-lunar-28 @downbadreading @lilysophie @feelikecinderella @urmomma0324 @ddazed-lhs @djeniryuu @melanctton @i8rsie @maru-matt @sleepyleeji @taerifin @nattisbored @jisunglyricist @m111nho @drhsthl @nixtape-foryou @arminseas @guiltycoco @syuuji @sulkygyu @cadihyo @reianagarcia @leeknowyah @smndjdufuehr @dprkbyn @xxibreinaxx @mxnsxngie @reiheis @mellowmentalitydragon @vixensss

[cheseely]

Hi, I'm sure you get this often but I really love your recent genshin artwork, do you think you could explain your painting process? I love the colouring effect in that piece especially. Thank you.

Thank you so much! I got a few messages like this from my previous piece (thank you guys for the staff pick & blaze btw, I really didn't expect all the support😭) so I thought I'd share a bit of my process below as thanks.

I always do my lineart first because it feels less daunting to me when applying colours. I will do some rough colours first so I can easily adjust it to my liking.

Next, I make sure to separate each character into different layers when I clean it up. I like to work one character or object at a time, it's less overwhelming for me that way, and I can use clipping masks for ease of rendering.

I'll usually apply some adjustment layers on top of the base layer for shadows and highlights. When I say base layer, I just mean a layer of the colour without any effects.

I like using 'hard light' for shadows, and 'screen' for highlights, but you can really use whatever clicks with you.

Rinse & repeat this process for every character in the illustration. Note that I make Furina the focus so everything behind her will be less rendered than the elements in front of them (Neuvillette is a lot less rendered compared to Furina, and the painting in the back barely has much shading).

Once I render out each asset in the illustration and add shadows & highlights to my liking, I then to merge foreground/ midground/ background elements so I can make the overall illustration clearer to read. I don't want it to feel messy or overcrowded, and I think it's easy to get tunnel-visioned in small details and lose the clarity of the entire illustration.

Make sure to zoom out constantly and make your illustration B&W to check the values to see if the drawing is clear.

I created a simple S curve with the values for readability, and have the foreground elements have darker values & contrasts.

As for the BG, I wanted to add more textures into the drawing, particularly the painting in the back. Here's an image of it when I only added in the base colours.

I use the smudge tool to create more texture once I fill in the base colours. Since I don't really 'paint' anything with the textures in, I just put in the base colours and take a textured brush to smudge it. However, over-smudging can lose the painterly texture I want, so I usually smudge vertically or horizontally in a single stroke to create a sense of movement.

Another thing to note is that I only textured the BG, I thought it would help it blend into the background a bit better. I usually wouldn't do this for the foreground because I want those elements to be clearer.

At the very end, I tend to spend a fair bit of time just fiddling with more adjustment layers, various filters (such as blur, or noise), or liquify small details to really finalize the piece. Just vibes...basically this is me

Anyway, I hope that was helpful & it made sense!! Feel free to message me if you have any other questions & I'll try my best to answer! I might've glazed over a lot since I didn't wanna make this too long.

[kozachenko]

Ok the WIP I posted a little while ago is no loner a WIP yipeeeeeee I am so tired of looking at this drawing.

Artist's Notes:

THIS DRAWING IS FINALLY DONE YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Ok so this drawing was a WIP that I had had sitting around for a while, and so because I wanted to do a test run with the new face style I'm trying out, I decided to pick it back up again. Now you may notice that compared to the other version of the WIP, the shading is different, and that's because I had to change all of it to match the light source of the moon, which was.... not exactly fun (especially cuz I stayed up late at night to finish this which was tiring), but it was worth it because I am a lot happier with the shading now. Also, when I initially redid the shading on the white trim of her outfit, I ended up making them look like indiscreet white blobs that just looked... bad, so I had to fix that and I think it looks a lot better.

My favourite parts of this drawing have to be the face and the hair, though I'm not surprised about how much I like the hair since hair is my favourite thing to draw. Also the wolf, I really like how the wolf turned out, since I also love drawing animals from time to time. I also like how the background turned out.

Also, Enoko's design was a hit hard to get right, and I decided to add the white trim separating her shirt and skirt mainly because I didn't like how abruptly it changed in the original design. Also, for some reason her dress makes me think of 1800s-y southern/western clothes, which has given me the headcanon that Saki gave her these clothes when they first met. Makes me wanna draw the two of them together in very western styled clothes, I think it would be cute. I also changed up some of the colours on her original design to fit in more with the palette that I was going for with this piece. Also, I like how her tails turned out, mainly because when I was working on some of the sketch for this I tried to make them smaller, but they didn't look right so I just went "fuck it" and made them big and poofy. Also drawing her wolf ears was fun, I like drawing simplified wolf ears like that. Overall, I'd say I did a good job incorporating elements (like the bear trap hands, the tails, the gem) in a way that didn't feel like they were out of place in the piece (something I was concerned about with Enoko's design).

All in all, I wouldn't call this my best work, but I do like a lot of aspects of it. I've also noticed that I'm kinda getting a bit frustrated with certain parts of my style like the lighting (mainly the lighting), so I think I wanna try and branch back into that more painterly style that I started out with when I first started posting here while still mixing in some elements of my lineless style. Also, I need to get better with my colour values, mainly just for clarity since I kinda think that's where this drawing falls flat a little.

[meatppie666]

HELLO i love your stuff so much!!!!! i don’t know if this question is a bit much to ask but i was wondering if you had any advice on composition? a lot of your pieces are sooo sooo cool composition wise and i was curious to know if you have any tips on that kind of stuff

hi thank you!! I don't know how efficient I can be at giving advice on composition, since it's something that I kind of don't really think about, if that makes sense? Maybe it's because I've been doing this long enough where I don't have to actively think about it and it just sort of comes to be subconsciously. ANYWAYS my biggest tip is think about where you want your viewer to look and focus on. Let some of the details of your piece fall back and blend into the background if it's not important. One thing that I find helpful is to not overload the viewer's eyes and make it easy for the viewer to understand, think about the gestalt design principles. All of the small parts of your piece should be able to work together to make one whole piece. So in a way, how good your composition works depends on other aspects like color and so on, they all work together. Breaking down the composition into simple lines and shapes can help you easier see what you're trying to achieve. Is everything balanced or unbalanced? Are there any leading lines that help the viewer's eyes move around the composition? Are there straight or diagonal lines? Is there a rule of thirds/rule of odds? What is the first thing that pops out when you first see the piece at a glance? What is the mood of the piece? Is the framing or are my lines and shapes helping with the mood or doing the opposite? Symmetry, geometric, and straight lines and shapes are often visually read as calm and stagnant. Diagonal lines can indicate movement or unease, alongside unbalanced shapes. I could keep going on about this etc etc. Think about the principles of design

A tip is that people read from left to right, up to down, and are also often drawn to the center when looking at something at a quick glance so think about that when thinking about placement in compositions. I think another thing that people caught up is the accuracy to the real world, whether it'd be with scale, perspective, or detail. But I say do not get caught up in that! It's OK to distort the world for the sake of your composition if you know how to make it work. Obviously you wanna be able to understand how the real world works before you can break the rules, but don't let the rules define you. It goes back to gestalt, that everything in your piece must work together in unison for it all to work out. That was a lot but I hope that at least some of it is helpful ! ALSO LET ME ADD: look at other artsits for inspiration, no one can claim ownership to a composition/framing and you don't get better without looking towards the masters. I'm not saying to straight up copy artists, but do not be afraid to look at other artists for inspiration and reference. Just enough inspiration where it becomes your own thing and not a copy. And I'm not just referring to drawn art, I mean photographers and cinematographers too. Cinematography often goes unnoticed as an art form but it is and there's a lot of thought put into those compositions, and it can be easier to break down and understand how the composition works if it was taken with a camera depicting the real world rather than a drawing interpretation of the real world

[nitw]

do you wanna rant at me about the anime boys ? i am vaguely curious about them. mostly for the (con)text of them and your feelings about them (other than "[gnashing teeth keysmash] I'M OKAY [eats them]")

LMAOOO thank you i love when people invite me to yap............... i'll try to keep it as simple as possible in case you uhhhh 👉👈 feel like checking out alien stage yourself som,etime. teehee

FIRST OF ALL, QUICK SYNOPSIS:

alien stage is an animated music project on youtube co-produced by animators vivinos and q-meng, with assistance from multimedia studio lico

it's set on a different planet than earth, in a far future where aliens have dominated humans. it's fucked up!!

it specifically focuses on a broadcasted singing competition where humans (who are born and raised to perform - literally think of them as show dogs) compete against each other by elimination. and i mean literal elimination. whoever gets less votes dies onstage. it's fucked up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there are 6 main characters, and each music video delves into their backgrounds and relationships with each other. there's a lot of drama and grief and horror!!!!!! 👍👍👍👍

ANYWAY THE GAYBOYS

this is TILL:

voiced by AKUGETSU who sounds like if an electric guitar was a person

rowdy punk guy who does everything he can to express his individuality. comes off as rude and intimidating sometimes but he's really just an insecure mess. also he never did anything wrong ever in his life

a prodigy at songwriting and playing guitar! (he also plays the recorder but we don't rlly get to see that much)

his guardian alien (urak) is an abusive piece of shit who has sent multiple kids to die in the competition before till, without succession

often seen restrained and/or beat up. my guy cannot catch a break

has a huge embarrassing crush on one of the other characters, his childhood friend mizi. but it's been made very clear at this point that it's more of an idealistic fantasy than anything - he never actually got to know her well and just yearns for her attention. also mizi is a lesbian and she's got her own angst to deal with </3

i don't know what's going on with his neck and at this point i'm too afraid to ask

HE SHOULD BE AT THE CLUBBB HE DESERVES LITERALLY ANYTHING BETTER THAN THIS

i like when his face goes (╬◣Д◢)

and this is IVAN:

voiced by PARK BYEONG HOON who 💗 💗 💞 💕 😻 ❤️ 💗 💓 💖 💕 💕 💖 💘 💕 💗 💓 😍 😍 🥰 💕 🥰 ❤️ ❤️‍🔥 💕 hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

came from a very hostile background until he was auctioned off to his current guardian (unsha) - a wealthy businessman who treats him more like a priced object than anything - and was then trained for the competition like the rest

kinda monotone. mysterious freak. no one knows what his fucking problem is at first

secretly a ticking time bomb bottling up all his sadness until he's ready to explode in the most dramatic way possible

formed a DEEP UNREQUITED OBSESSION with till which he hasn't let go since he was like 5 years old. i have to respect it

tried to escape from captivity with till once as kids. till hesitated at the last second. * Ivan will remember that.

he sucks he's the worst i cry about him every day

i like when his face goes (⇀ヮ↼˶)

i don't wanna spoil too much because the series is really worth watching BUT basically these two tragic dudes have spent their whole lives together, doing advanced emotional parkour tricks to distance themselves from the inevitability of it all, and it does NOT work in their favor!!!!! in fact it just makes everything more complicated and terrible and sad and oh god i will never be able to look at the colors green and red together the same way again

[ribbonetteart]

Tribute to one of my favorite movies of all time + the franchise that has me in a death grip 💖

a bit late for Christmas but at least Valentine's day is around the corner ^^;;

Process below if that interests you:

AS I SAID EARLIER, I had been working on this piece as early as December of 2021 😱!!!

This was the original sketch! I was inspired after learning about Blaze's own design inspiration coming from Takarazuka theater, as well as it being the Nutcracker season so this film was in bouncing around in my head.

and this was allllll the way back in 2021 ^^; I had put the idea to paper to capture the image in my head immediately. But the idea in my head was extravagant and beautiful and would certainly take time to complete, as well as the patience and skill to work with watercolor 😔 I've certainly done my share of watercolor, both physical and digital, but I still feel like my physical watercolor work is a fluke, and I was still a novice digital artist at the time of this sketch.

In short, I wasn't confident my skill could live up to the vision.

So I would put this on the back burner. It wouldn't be ready in time for Christmas, and I could use this as an opportunity to hone that digital art experience so it could be ready next year!

2 Years Later...

It's December 5th. Fuck it. Let's crack this open again, I tell myself.

SO starting with the line art, it's actually 2 different brushes layered over one another.

I also changed Sonic's expression to be more love struck-looking, because I'm a sucker for romance.

The image on the left is a watercolor line brush, while the right is a pencil brush. The reason I wanted a water color look was because I thought it would make the illustration look dreamy and fantastical, and I wanted that to extend to the line art as well. However, my usual lines on traditional usually veer more towards thick and cartoony from years of studying the Sonic art style, so I really felt like I was working against myself here. I had also asked friends for their input and they preferred the lines on the right as well. If my followers actually do read these blog posts, I'd love if you could comment which line art style you prefer drawing or looking at.

The happy medium was to just combine the 2. Here's a better look at that:

I like it! I think it combines the solid line with the rustic water color grain. Best of both worlds :]

For the actual painting, The most notable thing I can say is that getting the right pastel-y color was VERY difficult to achieve for someone like me who often loves to use bright and saturated colors in her art. I feel like I really set myself up to do one of those "evil art style" or "opposite art style" challenges I've been seeing around. I had to repaint Sonic at one paint because the blue of his fur was WAY too saturated for the style I was going for:

I started with painting Sonic and Blaze in first and then working on the background. I think that's probably the backwards way of doing it but one of the perks of digital art is you can do stuff any order you want when you have layers.

The background wasn't actually as difficult as I thought it would be. I wasn't going for any difficult perspective, and I was using a reference so that could be it. I'm usually averse to backgrounds but I really wanna tackle more of my weak points in art. I actually had way more fun than I was expecting, painting the sky and adding texture to the grass. I think I had the most fun rendering the water coming from the fountain (which you can't even see too well anyway, lol).

Funny enough, I had just about finished painting the characters and background by early January. So why am I posting this in February?

The Flowers...

In case you don't know. I love flowers. I love looking at them, I love learning about flower languages, I love drawing them. so seeing that my reference image showed flowers circling the fountain, I was excited! I was already having more fun than I expected to be having (working against my usual style, rendering a background), so how could this be a pain in the ass?

Well, I am my own worst enemy 😞I couldn't exactly identify each flower offhand from this screenshot alone. The texture of the flowers is kinda grainy, since I don't think the animators were expecting viewers to look too closely at the set piece to use as reference for my lovingly crafted crossover fanart. If anyone has this in high quality though, please tell me.

(I think I actually got this reference from a tumblr post but I can't find it on my blog for the life of me nor can I find it in the tags I'm so sorry)

I'm a huge stickler for details so I really wanted to be as "accurate" as possible in my illustration. I can hardly identify some of these flowers with confidence. I think there are roses in there? or tulips? I'm not sure if those yellow flowers are roses or some kinda petunia or if I'm way off.

I'm sure these details won't matter to most viewers but it was EATING AWAY AT ME. Eventually I decided to try drawing in flowers that might look similar to the ones in the reference. Or some based on their flower languages. I was certainly overthinking it ;;;; It led me to going "fuck it" and just throwing in whatever I wanted. There are no irises visible in that screenshot but I made it the centerpiece of the flower ring. Who give a shit.

I made some guides for me to follow: The blue ring was so I could make sure the flowers make a half circular border around Sonic and Blaze. I was envisioning how it could look as like an icon or sticker or something, which is why it's framed this way. then the second guide is the sketch of the flowers I made. I always do line art and I'm not great at just improvising with color to paper, or color to screen in this case.

The rest of this process is then just working on each flower piece by piece (with the help of the mirror tool of course) with varying degrees of detail. Some flowers are more abstract than others, and I had debated if that would look jarring and disrupted any kind of harmony I was trying to maintain with the style parameters I set for myself. And then I decided I was overthinking it once again which is why this was taking me nearly 2 months to complete.

At some point during this process, my wifi went out for a whole week! Of course, I could still work on this illustration offline, but I had a lot of tabs open with a bunch of reference images on there (plus I like to listen to music while I draw otherwise I lose focus and I had neglected to download a varied selection on my phone or laptop 😭 Learn from my mistakes).

The most tedious of this process was making each set of gladioluses a unique color.

Was it worth it? You tell me! I think they're pretty, at least.

Along the way, I repainted the grass because it wasn't symmetrical (It didn't need to be but I had been using the mirror tool for a lot at this point and it was bugging me). I made other little final adjustments, like color adjusting the leaves on the flowers, lowering the flower ring border, and so on.

Ultimately, I'm extremely satisfied with the final product. I had my heart set on doing something like this for a long time. I had so much fun just experimenting throwing on color or not worrying about technical stuff. Of course, I did do what I usually do and overthink it at some points, but I'm working on it!

I've wanted to do an extremely indulgent AU illustration and other drawings for a Sonic x The Nutcracker story for a long while. I will be totally honest, I'm still a little embarrassed to share stuff like this, even after years of posting fan art online. It feels like the more self indulgent something is, the more people might judge me for it ^^; But I wanna practice what I preach and kill the thing inside me that cringes at my harmless attempts at joy and whimsy.

I would love to do some more drawings for this AU, but maybe post them around December when it would be more seasonally appropriate. I hope you'll stick around for it!

If you read this whole thing to the end, thank you. Whether you follow my blog or not, I hope you have a lovely day :3💝

[circeyoru]

have you listened to the song "Partner in Crime" by Madilyn Mei? If not, I strongly recommend it because it makes me think of Unwanted Souls!Alastor. Specifically early days of when the reader tries to push him away

This is for {Unwanted Soul} , check MASTERLIST for the work

The one I listened to is Partners in Crime by Set it Off. But I gave this a listen and omg the lyrics are quite in sync with the story!!

Let me go on a song tangant. Stay if you wanna read.

**Heavy spoiler if you haven't caught up with this series!!!!!

You're right; this matches well in the beginning when Reader/you are trying to push Alastor away so you can go back to your little world of self-indulgence. But what happened afterwards is Alastor staying and showing you care and devotion you never had.

Now, if you keep up with everything I posted about {Unwanted Soul}, you'll know that I never planned for this oneshot to end up as a series with this much background and connections for you. So, in Part 1, it was entirely matched with the request and that long to avoid a continuation. But then you saw the results, hahahahaha~

Anyways. Part 1 never mentioned anything of a dilemma of you pushing Alastor away yet wanting him near you, the later parts did. If you piece back everything, you'll see what I mean with this song.

When you're gone I feel alone again The voices cannot hold my hand They keep me company at very best Distract me from my loneliness

Here, this is a reference to when you had that breakdown when Alastor was more than late for that grocery shopping. You hoped it work, but when it did, you just feel so lonely. Everywhere you see in the apartment, especially the living room since that's where Alastor always was. So you retreated into your room, where he barely had permission to enter. With low self-esteem and self-harming thoughts, you conjured a knife and just stabbed yourself to distract yourself from the mental pain.

Maybe I'm just an anomaly Even my demons have their families Truly something must be wrong with me To need you as much as I do

Naturally, this is a reference to your living years. You felt alienated in your life and among the people that surrounds you. Yes, you're stable and successful to the point that you don't have to worry about getting hungry or not having a house to return to. But you felt so empty with what you're doing. You wanted companionship that you can lean on. Then Alastor comes along and you tell yourself it's too good to be true and pushed him away to protect yourself from a heartache.

I was never meant to win I was never meant to win I was never meant to win Shut up!

Sidetracking, this is referring to you quitting your job as an informant for Lucifer. It's some time after you mastered the two powers you had but never used. You think it's too powerful and you're not worthy of it, so you hide it away. Then it went to thinking you're not fit to work for Lucifer, the King of Hell. Worse when you come to see him as a friend instead of your employer and superior being. It was easy to put a stop to it since Lucifer wasn't as persistent with keeping you by his side than Alastor. (haha this explained why I never put Lucifer as a love interest or show competition between him and Alastor)

Here's the reigns Take ahold of me Please don't let me go You do the talking Sew up my mouth if I can't keep it closed

This is where you basically accepted that Alastor was a yandere for you and let it progress. You know how it is with this type of character. You were just too damaged and desperate for something you longed for that you didn't care anymore. It was a good thing that Alastor saw how damaged you are by that self-harm you inflicted on yourself, better now than later when you were more firm with your feelings for him.

There's a dog barking right around the block And a big ol' whistle blow Run for it I'll keep em occupied for you Cause I love you, I love you so Left me hangin at the station But you'll be back for me soon

I'll switch the narrative here. This matches more for Alastor. This talks about the time when you sent him to the hotel to work (and leave you alone). A little interest that shouldn't be explored for or for you to personally be involved with. So Alastor does his best to keep the hotel matters at the hotel, never needing you to leave your home to investigate anything. Alastor knows you moved him out because you were caring too much and you're trying to stop it. He doesn't care, he wants you. But he'll be patient and give you time, he knows you'll be back for him. And boy was the wait worth it when he saw you fight for him.

Something tells me you aren't coming Guess that I'm truly doomed

When Alastor was nearly brought down by Adam and realized that his power wasn't enough (since it was limited by you). That moment, he was fully prepared to just teleport back to your apartment and stay there.

I'm 'bout to die Yet the only thing I find I'm worried about is you I'm 'bout to die Yet the thing on my mind seems to nearly be nothing but you

This is when, moments before your slumber, you told Alastor that you missed him and removed the rule that blocks his connection with you. You know you're not dying, maybe, but there was that slim chance. You also know that wouldn't be what Alastor thinks, and in a way, you reassure him.

I'm just a pawn in your game Not your partner in crime

You used to think that Alastor was using you for something. In fact, you looked for evidence to prove your theory. But the battles he started for you, the demons he killed for you, and the words that made up deovtion and promise to you, it all pointed against that. Isn't it all so weird?

You're slowly killing me And yet I don't mind (You were never meant to win) You're slowly killing me But please take your time

This is where you accepted that you're not gonna be able to push away Alastor anymore. So you take a back seat and let it happen. You were never meant to win against Alastor's love for you, you were never meant to push him out of your life. What Alastor's killing is the doubts and reason you have to push him away, it takes time to heal and for Alsator to find out about your past. So... You want him to take his time.

"Hey, Alastor." You smiled as you waved your hand at him to beckon him over.

"Yes, My Love?" Alastor skipped over, throwing away a demon's limb behind him comically which earned him a burst of carefree laughter from you.

In a swoft move, you pulled him to your level and gave him a butterfly kiss on the lips then stared into his eyes, "I love you, so dearly. Never leave me."

Alastor felt himself melting from your words and the plead he saw as his order to keep you forever. What ever were you thinking to suddenly say this? He won't question since you ended up demanding his attention and presence. So he smiled and nodded, "Of course. I'll never dream of leaving you. I love you too much for that to ever happen, My Beloved."