#I have one more art of it in the works but it will be posted separately | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

coline7373 · 21 hours ago

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1. Oh, dear. Procreate on this second hand pad I bought specifically for it and sketchbook (the app) on my phone. It's a Samsung note, so I have a digital pen. My screen is pretty scratched.

2. Not sure. Some have more kudos then others but they have been posted longer. Just like that, without checking, I would say my latest cadet!Cody and cadet!Rex, as well as my codywan "would you still love me if I was a worm?"

3. Definitively not my most popular! 🤣

I love two pieces I did for codywankiss2023, the one that is all red/pink, and the one under the stars at night.

I am mighty proud of my Mace in armor.

I have also done a fanart for Prince with a thousands Ennemies by independant_variables, which doesn't get much love but is dear and close to my heart.

And I looove my Fox & Haunted Couch. It's funny (to me) and I'm really proud of how the flammes came out!

4. Eh. The one that don't have much kudos on my ao3, maybe? People don't leave much kudos there because I'm not A Big Name, and when they do, it's often on the same pieces.

I'm unsure if it's because the viewer lost interest and thus the will to go through all my fanarts (admitedly, nearly a hundred of them) or if they genuinely don't like the other things.

5. Jeezus... No idea? "Just Do It"? 😆

I have things I often do and sometimes I Try Things Out. But I'm not sure I have a style or that it's specific enough to be named. Doesn't bother me.

6. Love, romantic or friensdhip or familial or agape. Intimacy. Kindness. Happiness. Hope.

7. What's all this? 🤣 Some things are *easy* for you???? Good for you but I don't have that experience 🤣🤣🤣

Sometimes, I have an easy time and other, not at all. Skills just won't come. The drawing drag on. Nothing come out right or quick. It's horrible and I want to throw my pad out of the window. Others, everything flow and it's magical and I wonder afterwards what made it happen this way. Haven't been able to reproduce the magical effect voluntarily 🤷‍♀️

8. Anatomy with weird perspectives. Sometimes, I have An Idea in my head and I want to make That One and then, when I get to it, I realise it's super hard T_T

9. Cody, sun and skies. For no reason, I'm sure 😉🌞💖💛🧡

10. Do it anyway. It looks like crap? Do it anyway!

If you mean ideas block, that has litteraly never happened. I have so many projects waiting for me, I could quit my job and devote myself to fanarts entirely and not run out for years.

11. Nope.

12. I have an idea in my head, I look for references pictures for the people in it (perspectives T_T), I do a first line art with the references pictures' opacity at 50%, I hide them, I adjust that line art opacity to 50%, draw a second one over it because the first never looks right (either they don't look like the character's actual face or the body type is shorter, stockier, ect, the arm looks Super Weird), repeat the process as much as necessary for it to looks okay, fill under on a new layer the flat colors, fill over the flat colors but under the line art on a new layer the lights, same with shadows on another layer, correct and do over and over and over and over... until I'm happy with how it looks or don't think I can do better.

Do the same with background if there is any.

That's it!

13. I like my WIP for jedi june. Yes, we're in november.

Also, another one that looks wonky but it's an idea I had for a long time so I'm happy to be working on it.

14. It can be very relaxing. I love when it come out pretty, even if it's in a way I didn't intended. I love making my ideas come to life. And I love how happy authors have been when I have made fanarts for their fics.

15. When it's not working 🤣 The frustration... I have genuinely screamed and cried.

16. "Drawing regularly keep your skills sharp." It's like working out. If you miss some sessions, it's crazy how fast the skills rust.

And "Keep going before the creativity run out". Sometimes, I just Do Not have the flow. It's like someone cut off the water. I don't know how to explain it. So, when the flow is there, I try to make the most of it.

17. Uh... It looks ok? Most of the time? And it's made with love. Some fanarts from other people don't look good but you can tell it was made with enormous amount of love or that the person was having fun or it's telling a story, or it's moving... I love that. I love those arts. There's plenty that's worthwhile other than "correct" look.

18. Boy... everything? It's a work in never ending progress. I look at art that blow my mind, think about what caught my eyes and try to work on that but it varies from time to time. Anatomy and perspective can always use work.

19. Star Wars. The Clone Wars. Pictures I have seen in museums, exhibitions, magazines, online, pinterest, series, movies... Life around me. Memories. Lot of things.

20. I think I'm organised? It makes sense to me.

21. Hahaha! No idea! Maybe a toast, with butter and honey on top.

22. I definitively use warm colors a lot and more saturated than not. Orange, for Reasons 😉🌞🧡

23. Not sure I understand the question. But I have tried (1) Once to imitate amarcia's style and it was very hard. I love their style! But it only looks simple. It's often that way in art, which should have been my first clue 😆 It was definitively very hard and I didn't quite succeed in the end, but it was my very best attempt 💖

24. I have been very lucky to receive several compliments and my favorites are always related to how happy it has made the viewer or how much they enjoyed it 💖

25. Mmmh. Size are uncomprehensible to me. When I was on my phone, I think the images were too small. Now that I'm on procreate, I think they are too big. For Tumblr, at least. They look blurry when viewed on the mobile app.

26. Ipad and Ipen. And Samsung Note 8 and Samsung pen.

27. Unfortunately, yes. I have so many wips. They accumulate and some get finished and some get buried under more WIPs. I'm terrible 😅

28. None. I wish I could finish all the pieces that I have started. No time or will for redo. Once it's done, it's done. There is so many fics I would like to do fanarts for, on top of all my WIPs too...

29. Yes!!!!!! A lot! And even afterwards, I redo the line art a lot. Like, a lot. It's all very time consuming. People who do amazing stuff in less than one hour have my absolute respect.

30. Nothing? I'm not proud of my art. I get happy when it come out well or better than I expected. I get happy when I'm done with a piece that took me a long time. Sometimes there is pride in that, but I'm not what you would call proud of my artstyle.

I hated it for the longest time actually, and it took me until I was well into my 30s to make my peace with it. My style is not the type of style I prefer or admire.

I am happy to contribute to the fandom and makes my ideas come to life, happy to create, but pride? No.

31. Star Wars. Definitively.

32. Next to none. Not out of distaste for the idea. I just don't know a lot of fandom person and events' deadlines stress me out.

33. I don't think so? One class during 6 months, then a year of art school before I quit because I am not so talented I can compete with what's on the market. Other than that, completely self-taught.

34. Some pieces, I remember being very happy making them or feeling happy at the results or the person I made them for was happy to receive them. It's definitively about sharing in our joy of fandom for me.

35. It's never going to look like you want, so you might as well stop crying, obssessing about it and just do it. Some people will love it anyway, even when you hate it. And eventually, you will get a bit better and learn to love some of them.

Remember to have fun and make yourself happy.

@cacodaemonia @journen @secretly-a-trekkie @rochenn @amarcia @raphaerolo @ghosts-of-rishi @orientalld @anaclastic-azurite @dontbelasagnax @jejejijiju @moriaarts

with how much this site loves its writer ask games, im astounded ive never seen one for artists, soooo

ARTIST ASK GAME!

1. what medium do you use most (if applicable, what software)?

2. most popular piece?

3. your favorite piece(s)?

4. piece you wish got more love?

5. how would you describe your art style?

6. favorite thing to draw?

7. easiest thing for you to draw?

8. thing you struggle to draw?

9. whats something you always come back to when drawing?

10. how do you deal with artblock?

11. do you listen to anything while drawing?

12. describe your process while drawing

13. talk about a wip you like!

14. whats your favorite thing about drawing?

15. least favorite thing about drawing?

16. how do you motivate yourself to draw?

17. what is something youre confident about in your art?

18. something you feel like you need to work on?

19. where do you find inspiration?

20. is your workspace, digital or not, organized (not neat, organized)?

21. what do you think your artstyle would taste like?

22. do you have a favorite color palette to work with?

23. how many artstyles can you work in confidently?

24. whats a compliment about your art that has always stuck with you?

25. what size canvas/paper do you use?

26. what do you physically draw with (pencil and paper, tablet, etc)?

27. do you ever have multiple wips going at once?

28. whats a piece you would like to redraw at some point?

29. do you use a lot of references while drawing?

30. whats something youre proud of about your artstyle?

31. which fandom have you drawn the most for?

32. have you done a lot of collabs?

33. have you taken a lot of classes for art?

34. whats something you still like from your old art?

35. if you had one piece of advice to give your younger artist self, what would it be?

(remember to give the person you reblog from an ask!!)

#artist ask game #ask game #coline7373 #artists #fanarts #sw fanart #tcw fanart

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devils-yui · 3 days ago

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Hi, yeah, sorry for the worst and most blurriest photo ever but oh my god do I think about this scene. SPECIFICALLY,,, D-16's strength and being able to lift up the absolute HUGE rock double times his size and probably more to help save Jazz while Orion Pax is pulling him out. Like, yeah--there was the jetpack, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE??? RAW STRENGTH ALONE.

D-16 is so strong and I've definitely mentioned this before in a post but since it got absolutely purged off the face of the Earth since my accidental deactivation, I will say it again now. D-16 is SO strong, even before his ascension to being Megatron.

People have mentioned this before and ofc I will address it, one of the main parts of D-16's strengths that we do get to see is him catching Darkwing's fist, marking of his fast reflexes and the fact that he caught Darkwing's fist, DARKWING--who is literally double the size of the cogless miner that D-16 is and yet still catches it, albeit with a tremble here and there but still he caught that fist before it would hit Orion. Also Orion getting donked too, even with just a semi-light punch from D-16, or at least the softest it could get to be believable. Then there's also D-16 punching straight ROCKS throughout their escape from the unstable energon mine, he PAVED a pathway for Orion Pax and Jazz to get out... AND OH MY GOD DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE CONCEPT ART WHERE D-16 CANONICALLY WORKS OUT BASICALLY WHERE HE WAS PUSHING DENTS INTO A STEEL PUNCHING BAG.

a STEEL punching bag!! and yeah okay I get it, they're metal--but if you look in the background, there's also some bots(?) training with the steel punching bag and from what I can see? No dents

D-16 is just STRONG, and I admire it sm. That's why he is the TOP of his sector I'd imagine like his strength just didn't come out of absolute no where or the fact that his strength came from receiving his cog, no. He had it since the start and having the t-cog allowed him to access his full potential and strength and GRHHRGHGR GRHRHR (proceeds to flail and foam at the mouth)

#transformers #maccadam #tfo #transformers one #d 16 #d-16 #d16 #tf #tf: one #tfo d16 #girl how do I tag you #transformers one d16 #tfo megatron #transformers one megatron

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dpspcehntr · 2 days ago

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Hello 🤗 I have a question that has crossed my mind from time to time and I would like your (and maybe your followers) opinion on this, if you don't mind.

Thinking realistically, rather than with a romantic notion, do you think the LaDs men have had much, if any, sexual experience that hasn't been with MC?

Would God of the Tides have concubines brought to him, or gone on dates as a land lubber? Or do you think his bond with MC would prevent him from 'engaging' with anyone else?

Did Xavier date anyone before MC joined the guardians (I don't know the name I forget lol)?

I don't know anything about Sylus

Would Zayne have had a prom date or a girlfriend before he met with the current timeline MC? I know he says we are his only experience, but does that include just kissing someone?

I’M SO GLAD YOU ASKED!! One, I have also been rotating this around in my brain for quite some time and how I feel very lightly colors how I write for them! I haven't read much (if any at all) of the myths so I will just be looking at the present. I love thinking about this cause tbh sometimes the characterizations in game are not as full as I would like. I won’t keep this long but if you want more detail I’m happy to add to this post! Anyway! Here are my thoughts!

Rafayel is literally the reason I had this thought in the first place. I thought it was so silly to think that he as a rich artsy boy had never ONCE hooked up with someone. He absolutely is a FUCKBOY! I will hear nothing else about it. I can't image he's not when so much of his overall characterization just oozes that kind of energy for me. My exception to this is that I don't think he enjoyed himself very much. Used sex kind of like a numbing thing cause he felt the void of your absence hard. He's not like a community dick kind of fuckboy but he has definitely been passed around a few times, if not as a professional then in art school.

Xavier is another one who I feel has some experience before (re)meeting MC. His experience is alot more clumsy and unsure compared to Rafayel. More of a situation like 'I want to be ready when I find her so I'm going to try it with someone else to be good at it. There may only be one person he's had sex with before MC and it was so bad she just had to leave. When that failed he just turned to erotica and p*rn to fill in the gaps. Eventually getting used to using his own imagination and getting off when needed. So when the time comes he's very prepared and VERY horny.

Sylus is a bit of a hard one because yes absolutely he is having sex with people before meeting MC. His overall vibe very much eludes to the fact that he has lived a life and I'm sure that is included. I don't think he's slinging it out to anyone who asks but he has been in some kind of relationship before. If anything we can say he is very comfortable having sex and has had sex before meeting MC. I have some more thoughts on this but I will keep it there for now!

Zayne from what I know has said that he isn't experienced and we are his first and I believe that. He very much gives full focus on the task at hand kind of man. Definitely not in high school but in med school I image him having a non serious fling with someone just to say he tried. They broke up soon after and he just never tried again until he and MC reconnected. That being said, he is a bit of a perv and has ALOT of pent up energy so once they start they literally don't stop. Like a weekend stuck in an endless loop of sleep, eat, fuck until he's at work desperate for you once again. The problem for him is learning how to control himself now that has MC.

My ask box is open for further conversations on this cause I genuinely love talking about this! Lets keep the conversation going!

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viperify · 3 days ago

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Oneshots | ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱᴏʀ!ᴛᴏᴍ ʀɪᴅᴅʟᴇ X ꜰ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Next Saturday, same time.

Short summary: Your Defence Against Dark Arts professor, Tom Riddle, was less than pleased with your academic performance. When he then called you in to discuss your grade, his true intentions came to light.

Warnings: 18+ only! Sir kink, praise kink, degradation kink, orgasm denial, rough sex, manipulation, impact play

All characters in this story are adults.

A/N: So sorry for not posting in over a week, school’s been keeping me busyyy. While I am fighting for my life with no escape pt 2 y’all can have this. ;)

wordcount: 3,7k

“Good evening, miss. Please, take a seat.”

Cautiously you entered the tiny office and sat down on the chair, opposite of him, resting your hands on the smooth surface of your professor’s wooden work desk. He studied you intently, lowering his gaze to watch how your fingers fidgeted with a loose thread of the grey sweater you were wearing. One of your favourites, not revealing too much, yet showing the perfect amount of cleavage to be okay to wear around school. His eyes wandered, quickly stopping at the exposed skin of your chest, until his eyes finally met yours.

“Do you know why I called you here today?” he questioned, voice just as strict and controlled as you were used to.

You shook your head, innocent eyes staring back at his strict expression, your lips turning into a slight pout. He huffed, the corner of his lips twitching slightly, carefully laying the quill he had been holding in his right hand onto the desk. Your eyes followed his long, slender fingers, admiring the veins decorating his pale skin. He was wearing his signature Gaunt family ring, an heirloom, which had been intriguing you ever since the first time you saw it. The brunette clearing his throat tore you out of your thoughts.

Right, he probably expected a vocal answer.

Of course, you knew why he had called you in. Your grades had been miserable, failing all three exams you’d had. Now, you weren’t necessarily a bad student, however Professor Riddle was the strictest and most unforgiving teacher at Hogwarts. One single word he didn’t deem as fitting and your whole answer was wrong. On top of that, just to pass most people studied for hours on end, starting two weeks before the exam. You did too, yet it had never been quite enough.

That’s how you ended up getting an owl from your professor, telling you to meet him after dinner in his office that day. Obviously, you didn’t think much of it, except being humiliated once more for your grades. Professor Riddle was notorious for hating bad students after all.

“No, Sir. I don’t know.”

“You haven’t noticed your horrific grades? I must say, I expected better of you, miss.” the brunette replied, his disappointment sounding authentic, though you knew for certain it wasn’t. He didn’t care whether someone passed or not, for him it was the pleas to not let them fail that spurred him on.

It was sick, really.

Though, nobody ever had been called into his office solely for that reason. And you knew just how many girls would have loved to switch places with you. He was the youngest and most handsome professor at Hogwarts, there was no denying that. In fact, many girls stayed behind after class to ask completely unrelated questions to his lessons, just to have his attention for themselves for a minute.

His answers though were mostly simple and straight to the point, his cold exterior void of any emotion. Most of the girls were disappointed, but that didn’t keep them from trying again next lesson. You never asked anything, not wanting to give him the satisfaction you knew he felt deep down at his admirers, even if he didn’t show it.

“I have noticed that. However, I don’t think that is entirely my fault, Sir.” You started, carefully at that. What you didn’t want is to insult his ego. Somehow you would have to convince him you are worthy of passing the subject after all.

His answer wasn’t what you had expected. A slight grin forming on his face, eyes flickering to what seemed like your exam papers in front of him. “And why is that, if I may ask?”

You were certain you had never in your life seen that man smile, Merlin forbid grin. Either he was in a very good mood that evening, which you heavily doubted, or he was already envisioning your tear-stained face after he would have you fail.

Yeah, that pretty much summed up what kind of professor he was. You had thoroughly messed this up already.

“No- please don’t understand this wrong, Sir. I- I just thought your exams in comparison with other subjects were quite high effort, making it harder to study and pass.” You stuttered, trying to find the right words to get you out of trouble.

“Well, miss, what can I say?” he leaned over the desk slightly, his eyes meeting yours again, “I am unlike other professors. My lessons are demanding. If students wish to pass, they will have to set their priorities straight. Which clearly isn’t the case for you.”

You cursed yourself. There it was, exactly what you thought was going to happen. He would let you fail if you tried making your case.

“No, Sir, please. I will do more for your lessons from now on. I can’t afford to fail your subject.” You cringed at how pathetic your begging sounded. So desperate. Especially to a professor who was known for finding joy in their students’ pleas, but you had no other choice. You had to at least try.

He nodded slightly, the corner of his lips perking up. “I fear it is too late to make promises for the future now. Though, what are you prepared to do to fix your past mistakes?” The brunette asked you, his eyes hinting at your exam papers in front of him.

“Anything, Sir.”

The energy shifted at your words, tension lingering thick in the air. He exhaled sharply, getting up from his seat. “Anything, hm?” You managed a shy nod as he walked around the desk to lean against it besides you.

His head sank, adjusting a button of his black suit as he nodded. After what felt like an eternity, his hot gaze met yours, and you felt as though his eyes were burning right through you. Finally, he spoke. “You know just how long I have wanted you in this position? Eager to do anything to fix your grade? It’s been miserable, really.”

Your expression changed to one of confusion, staring back at him. “Sorry, Sir, I don’t think I understand?” He surely didn’t intend to say what you thought he did.

Again, he nodded, a sly smirk forming on his full lips. “Oh I think you do, darling.”

He inched closer to you, dangerously close for your liking. In fact, you had never seen him that close before. Every single detail about his exterior was neat, suit fitting him like it was hand-tailored just for him. Knowing how highly he valued his appearance, it probably was too. His brunette curls perfectly styled, falling beautifully onto his forehead like they always did.

“I am sorry, Sir but I really-“

“Always running that pretty mouth of yours.” He mumbled, interrupting you, as he ran his thumb over your soft lips. You breath hitched at the sudden contact, yet you didn’t stop him. Never would you have expected this to happen, but here you were. Sat in front of your Defence Against the Dark Arts professor as he caressed you. He stopped at the center, gently pressing down, urging you to part them for him. Naturally you obliged, pushing his finger into your warm mouth, instinctively starting to suck on it. As you looked up to him through your lashes, you saw a small crease forming between his eyebrows, a small groan slipping from his slightly parted lips. “Such a dirty girl. I knew you had it in you.”

You didn’t know why you even gave in to him. Shame rushed through you, your cheeks heating up. You really shouldn’t be doing this with your professor. However, you needed to fix your grade. And maybe, just maybe… you started to see his appeal. Which didn’t change the fact that it was wrong. So wrong.

“Come on, get up now.” He demanded as he withdrew his thumb from your mouth, pulling you up by your arm in a quick motion so you were stood up in front of him. His gaze wandered up and down your body, taking in your curves he had yearned to touch ever since the first time he had noticed you. Again, his eyes locked onto the exposed skin of your cleavage, hand travelling from your waist your shoulder, running his finger along your clavicle.

“Wearing such a short skirt in combination with that sweater when expected by your professor, should have let you fail merely because of that.” He muttered, taunting you. His hand guided yours towards the dent in his trousers, letting it brush against it slightly. The brunette’s breath was hot on the side of your face as he leaned in, causing you to shiver. “You feel this, doll? That is what you do to me.”

“Y-yes, Sir.” You stammered, unsure of what to say. Were you really going to do this?

He didn’t leave you any time to think about it.

“It’s time to punish you for all these indecent thoughts you have been causing me.”

“Tell me,” he started, grabbing your chin to make you look him in the eyes while he spoke to you. “How is it that I can’t resist you?” The tone of his voice was softer than you were used to, yet the strictness remained.

“I could have any girl at my feet with a simple snap of my fingers. Yet I yearn for no one more deeply than I do for you.”

You were lost for words, staring back at his unreadable expression. If you had to describe it, it would have been a mix of pain, anger and desire – positively too many emotions at once for someone like him.

“I-“ You tried, though immediately cut off by him. His hand softly wrapped around your throat, slightly furrowing his eyebrows as his darkened eyes warned you. “No more talking. You have done enough damage. Making me feel all these things I was certain I would never get to experience.”

With that, he pushed you backwards until you hit the rough edge of his desk, trapped between his body and the wooden furniture. His palm slowly travelled up your thigh, halting when he reached the hem of your skirt. He leaned down, his lips just barely hovering over the crook of your neck as you could almost feel the conflict in his mind. “Tell me you want this too. Say it.” His breath shallow against your skin, voice nothing more than a whisper.

Your mind was reeling. You shouldn’t want this. You shouldn’t get flustered from your professor’s touch. You should have never even allowed him to get you into this position. Yet, you couldn’t deny the excitement rushing through your veins at the thought of what he was going to do with you. What he would ask of you to fix your grades.

“I want it too. P-Please, Sir” you whispered, exhaling sharply as he planted a soft kiss on your skin, goosebumps rising on your skin at the contact.

Unsure of what to do, you reached out to hold onto his arms, feeling his muscles tense under your touch. The brunette lifted his head, his eyes locking onto yours. Clearly, you must have read his expression wrong, because when you drew closer to kiss him he stopped you, tightly squeezing both of your arms.

“No kissing. Don’t you-“, his fingers roughly lifted your chin, making you meet his stern expression. “Listen to me. Don’t you dare try doing that ever again.”

At first, his words stung, causing tears to well up in your eyes. You quickly blinked them away. His voice, which he had intended to come off as rough, told you there was more behind what he was ready to admit.

You knew he wanted the kiss too.

And you were right.

The look of his eyes betrayed him, his usual controlled demeanor threatening to shatter. It took him everything there and then to make it sound like he despised the idea of kissing you. After all, kissing meant love. Love meant vulnerability. And Tom hated vulnerability.

Early on in his life, when he was residing in the orphanage, people around him used vulnerability to hurt others. The intelligent boy he was, he caught onto that quickly. Shutting down emotions had always worked well for him. He was quite certain that by doing so for years he had lost the ability to feel entirely.

Until you entered his life.

Completely wrecking the idea of what person he was, of what he wanted to become.

It only played into his cards when you then started failing exam after exam. It was like a gift from Merlin himself. He would finally have an excuse to meet you privately, to manipulate you into thinking you were doing this for a grade. When all he wanted was to finally let out all that pent-up frustration and anger on your poor body.

And there was part of him who wanted to love you. To hold you, tenderly care for you. But that part was somewhere so deeply hidden in his soul, he didn’t even acknowledge its existence. All he wanted to do was make you pay for the turmoil of emotions he was feeling. How could you do something no one else was capable of, not even himself?

Make him feel. Like a human.

Kissing you wouldn’t fix anything, but rather make his suffering worse. He wouldn’t kiss you. Never. Today, you would pay.

His hands reached out to tug on your sweater, pulling it over your head, before cursing something under his breath, unzipping the back of your skirt, letting it drop to the floor next to your sweater. His hungry eyes roamed over your body, your silk underwear hugging your curves perfectly. You suddenly felt exposed at the way he was leering at you and attempted to cover your bare skin. “Sir, I don’t know if it’s a good idea, I mean-“

Tom snatched your wrists. “You want to fix your grade, don’t you?” He growled, the muscles in his jaw stiffening. You nodded quickly, disregarding your doubt.

“That’s right. Stay all nice and quiet for me now.”

With a quick motion he flipped you around, palm pressing down between your shoulder blades to have you bend over his desk as he was standing right behind you. A yelp was all you managed, surprised by his sudden roughness and the cold material beneath you.

“This is for failing your exams.”

Smack

“This is for wearing these disgraceful outfits around school.”

Smack

“And this is for messing with my head.”

Smack

He let his palm repeatedly come down on your barely covered ass, the intense sting of the impacts having tears pricking at the corner of your eyes, small gasps escaping your lips.

“W-what do you mean, Sir?” You croaked, lifting your head to search for an answer.

Smack

“I told you to keep your mouth shut. Do you ever fucking listen?” He growled, delivering another harsh smack to your already reddened skin. If he wasn’t angry before, he was now. Making quick work of your panties, he let them pool around your ankles, pressing his erect length against your now bare skin, making you inhale sharply. Even clothed, he felt big.

He undid his belt and instructed you to put your hands behind your back, to which you obliged. “Going to make sure you aren’t going anywhere, darling.” The brunette mumbled as he wrapped the leather around your wrists, securing them tightly.

You lay there, so beautifully exposed and helpless in front of him, just like he wanted you. Looking so innocent. His hand reached out to caress your back, though he stopped himself in time.

No affection.

He would only check whether you were ready for him, nothing more. This wasn’t for your pleasure after all, it should be a punishment. Really, nothing more than that.

Yet, when he heard your soft moans as his hand rested on the curve of your behind, thumb lazily playing with your puffy clit, he almost changed his mind. Your sweet voice, the one he was used to hearing only when you were laughing and giggling with your friends during his lessons, aroused him even more than he already had been, almost painfully so. His finger swiped through your folds, gathering your wetness just to push it back inside of your dripping hole. He exhaled sharply at the feeling of your tight walls wrapping around him, slowly opening up for him.

“Want more please, Si- T-Tom” you mewled, bucking your hips against his hand, desperate to feel him inside of you. Knowing you couldn’t see him, he grinned. He got what he wanted, having you bent over his desk, all needy and desperate for him and only him.

Smack

“We will keep the formalities, hm?” He taunted, withdrawing his thumb from your aching cunt just to replace it with his tip, not yet entering you. He was savouring every second of this, the first time he got to be inside of you, have you under his complete control.

“Please, Sir.” You whined, and though you still weren’t 100% convinced this was the right thing to do, you wanted him so badly. Your professor, who just mere seconds ago almost made you come only by the touch of his fingertip.

Tom couldn’t take it anymore. You shouldn’t want this so badly, you shouldn’t want him. His palm landed one more hard smack on your soft skin before he steadily pushed into your warm core, which was sucking him right in.

“You are so-“ you whined, body tensing at the intrusion, “so- big, Sir” The stretch radiating a painful sting from your core. “I know. Can barely fit inside of this tight cunt of yours.” The brunette growled, not letting you adjust to him as he mercilessly snapped his hips into yours, the sound filling his tiny office room.

You cried out in pleasure as the pain faded, disregarding his orders to stay silent. The way his veiny cock dragged against your sensitive walls made your mind go blank, making you a moaning mess under him. His hand wrapped around your throat as a warning, shushing you.

“Going to ruin you for everyone else. This pussy is mine, isn’t it, darling? He spat, holding onto your tied wrists for leverage as he hit your cervix with particularly deep thrusts. “Sir, please- Merlin-“ you moaned, your hip bones repeatedly hitting the edge of his desk, sure to leave bruises that would still remind you of him for days.

“Keep quiet- fuck- can’t you ever just-“ he groaned, his eyes darting around the place looking for something, anything. He clutched the nearest object he could find – which happened to be one your exam papers – and shoved it into your mouth, hand covering it to make you keep the provisional gag in, muffling your voice. “That’s better.”

He felt his orgasm approaching in big steps, the feeling of how your warm, wet walls so perfectly gripped his length having him on the edge of sanity. He longed to have you clench around him, milking him. That’s when his hand snaked down your thighs, though before they reached your clit, he remembered what this was about. Even when you weren’t able to speak you drove him crazy, and he despised you for it. So, instead of rubbing your clit, he added another smack to your sore ass.

“So-“ thrust “fucking-“ thrust “tight.” thrust

You whined and as his hand finally left your mouth, you spit out the now damp paper, coughing. The way he was mercilessly pounding into your aching cunt had you see stars, your eyes rolling to the back of your head. “S‘ too much- please-“ you managed to croak out, trying to wriggle away from him, his fingers tangling in your hair to yank your head back and steady you.

“No, you better stop squirming. Fuck- I am going to break you just like you broke me.” He hissed, slightly bending over your form, making you take him to the hilt. You whimpered, eyes squeezing shut, yet you had no other choice than to take what he was giving you.

Just a few thrusts later he felt himself desperate for release, though he wouldn’t grant you the honor of coming inside you. He pulled out of you right as he was about to finish, spilling his seed on your lower back instead with a low grunt. A small whine escaped your lips at the feeling of his cum on your skin.

Both of you stayed like this for a while. Your mind was still fuzzy from his rough handling, barely able to form a coherent thought. You wondered what he was thinking about. Did he regret it? Although it was a dangerous game you two were playing, you loved it. More than you had thought you would.

And him? He got what he wanted after all. Taking out his anger on you. But now it wasn’t any better. Tom sought after more. If he could, he would have you bend over that damn desk every single day. However, he would have to let you go. For now, at least.

The brunette freed your wrists, helping you stand up straight. With a wide smirk on his face, he wiped his release off your back with your panties. “What the-?” You asked, snatching it out of his hands. “Filthy girl, filthy panties.” He shrugged. “Put them on, get dressed and go back to your dorm. If you speak to anyone about this, consider yourself expelled. No one will believe you.”

There was something you still wanted. Something he denied you.

“What about my turn to finish?”

Sitting back down behind his desk, hair damp with sweat, he stared at you as though you had just said something outrageous. “Girls like you don’t get to come. This was for fixing your grade, not for your pleasure.”

You shook your head in disbelief. “What about my grade then?”

“Come back next Saturday to find out.”

You scoffed. “I am not going to.”

He knew you would.

And he was right.

feedback is as always appreciated <3

#tom riddle #tom riddle x reader #tom riddle smut #tom riddle fanfiction #harry potter #slytherin #slytherin boys #oneshot

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catras-breakup-song · 2 days ago

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this whole essay is an excellent deep dive into the point of my brief post here!

So at Thaymor neither one understands where the other is coming from, and Catra and Adora begin to part.

it's time to link one of my favorite break-down analysis posts of that build-up scene.

But once Adora shows up and Catra hears about Shadow Weaver, she’s sucked back into the worst of her resentments, and she makes very clear that being happy is less important to her than making sure Adora is miserable.

i think this may be at least partially true, but i don't entirely agree with it. of course scorpia's convincing almost worked except for catra deciding to show-up adora again and clearly that does show a poor priority, but i don't believe she intended to see staying with scorpia and tormenting adora as two different things she can't do concurrently. it's hard to say how long she would've kept adora prisoner or what she would've wanted to do with her, only that she did genuinely consider for a moment taking up scorpia's offer once her enemy had been dealt with one way or another.

also, her spiraled panic at the end of that episode and the following one wasn't necessarily about adora as much as shadow weaver and i think that's something a lot of people get wrong, especially critics of catra who chalk up her pulling of the lever to "getting back at adora" ─ again, that's probably not a reason to totally rule out, since her "all of this [shadow weaver's escape & her own exile] happened because of you" line had some decent merit to it, but despite her anger being misdirected at the time, most of it was towards shadow weaver, as her decision to leave the fright zone was the catalyst to it all. not to mention, she was there when shadow weaver came back to the fright zone, a bold move on her part, in order to stop the portal from being activated, which caused catra to become even more determined to open it out of spite... and before entrapta's warning about what would actually happen, that's honestly understandable.

yes, exactly this! i appreciate you adding this part too.

[catra]: you couldn't wait to get away from here, from me... but you came back for adora! [SW]: i came back to stop hordak. i will make sure he's destroyed. don't make me destroy you too. [catra]: oh, i'm going to make sure we win. we're going to open that portal, and then there will be nothing left of you or the princesses.

(bold parts are to highlight the distinctively targeted remarks about each other)

however, i think the art you posted by nate is an accurate visual of how their downward spirals pull the other with them, mostly catra with her destructive behavior being the main force and her clinging to adora causes her to be dragged into it. i would wonder if i'm reading too much into this, but nate is truly a brilliant writer and knows exactly how to include great symbolism in his work.

anyway, that got really off-topic on a post that was supposed to just have small commentary notes, so i apologize.

(though Catra’s suggestion that Shadow Weaver take it is a good one)

i discussed that more with someone before in this thread here!

And finally, when Catra leaves Adora, it isn’t because she hates Adora, nor, despite what she says, is it because she really thinks that Adora chose Shadow Weaver. At least, not exactly. It’s because Catra loves Adora, and can admit that to herself, and can’t stay around and watch the woman she loves sacrifice herself rather than choosing Catra.

Catra has already come back for Adora and stayed to the end, choosing to die with her even if she can’t share a life together (not out of some death wish, but because Adora needs her).

i had someone ask me about those scenes before and what they really meant, so i explored it here.

Well, it’s not quite a master’s thesis, but this is (the first of) a series of posts on why Catra and Adora are the best love story in the history of kids TV animation and maybe the greatest love story in the history of TV. This may in some ways be faint praise - romance on TV is generally not very good compared with books or movies. Often it’s just some will they/won’t they sexual tension that is defused by getting characters together and re-heightened by breaking them up. TV is full of nearly shark jumping pointless dramas like Sam and Diane (Cheers, holy fuck am I dating myself, though that was technically before my time), Ross and Rachel (Friends, which was no Cheers) etc, but also some less annoying couples like Ben and Leslie (Parks and Rec) or Amy and Jake (Bk99) who are mostly just kind of cute and fun. Other shows, like the X-Files, teased viewers for years with unresolved sexual tension. In kids shows most romances are, appropriate for their target viewers, mild, sweet relationships based more on self-conscious flirting and blushing than on complex and conflicted feelings or deep passions - which is pretty realistic when the characters are young teens or even mid-teens. Some of these relationships are really well done - Finn and Flame Princess, Dipper and Pacifica (yeah I ship them), the early stages of Katara and Aang (before the showrunners imbued this childhood crush with cosmic significance), Steven and Connie, etc. Catra and Adora, though, are different. Their love story is not a side plot or a sub plot, it’s the heart of the show. It isn’t a childhood crush, it’s a very messy and passionate relationship between two young adults. She-Ra is an emotionally complex lesbian romance just as much as it is a thrilling action/adventure show. Everything about their relationship is baked into the show’s plot, its themes, hell even its musical score. The dramatic tension between Catra and Adora is not the result of stretching out a flirtation for ratings, but a coherent dramatic arc that runs through the entire show. As Noelle said, he made Catradora so central that execs couldn’t take it out without ruining the show. And the show is better for it. In this series of posts I’m going to try to show why, as well as showing why She-Ra is such a fantastic love story.

First off, let’s talk about how Catra and Adora’s character arcs are foils for each other, and how they come together and apart through the series. This is actually a post that I’ve been working on for a while but I keep summarizing the show rather than cutting to the chase, so I’m not going to recite many plot points so much as sketch out what’s going on with the dramatic structure at the time. But also, let’s talk about what each character’s arc is saying, and how they are commenting on each other. Spoiler alert: Catra’s arc is a subversion and critique of stories of empowerment through ruthless self-assertion and revenge, while Adora’s arc is a subversion and critique of chosen one narratives and stories of self-denial and self-transcendence.

When the show starts, Adora and Catra are shown as rivals and friends - their first scene starts the recurring motif of them reaching out for each other as one of them dangles above an abyss, as well as establishing their flirtatious banter and easy camaraderie. We quickly learn that these two young women plan to conquer the world together. These scenes and later flashbacks show Catra and Adora as deeply enmeshed in each others lives, to the point where neither of them (but especially Catra) have clear identities outside of one another. There is so much genuine love on both sides before Adora leaves, but also resentment, envy and fear, especially on Catra’s side, as well as a protectiveness on Adora’s side that deprives Catra of her autonomy. They are both being abused by Shadow Weaver - Catra physically and emotionally, Adora emotionally. It wouldn’t be too much to say that Shadow Weaver holds Catra hostage to control Adora (this is why critiques that Adora abandoned Catra to be abused are actually kind of messed up, since they accept Shadow Weaver’s premise that Adora is responsible for what Shadow Weaver does to Catra). In addition, Catra and Adora actually see the world incredibly differently. Adora already sees the world in terms of right, wrong and her destiny to right wrongs - this is why it’s important for her to accept the Horde’s obvious lies - she couldn’t keep living if she didn’t. Catra, on the other hand, sees the world solely in terms of survival and personal loyalty - everything for her is about preserving herself and the person she cares about - Adora.

Then, when Adora finds the sword, she leaves because it’s the right thing to do. Catra doesn’t even have a concept of ‘the right thing to do’ being something she should care about, or perhaps, something she can care about as an irredeemably evil, awful fuck-up. So at Thaymor neither one understands where the other is coming from, and Catra and Adora begin to part. This is the first turning point in their relationship. Adora chooses duty over what she desires, Catra chooses to protect herself (such as she sees it) and nurse her sense of betrayal and abandonment.

Their relationship until Promise is a kind of weird Frenemy thing that is fascinating to watch and sold me on the show. Neither one wants to fully admit to themselves that the other is now their enemy, neither one has given up on changing the other’s mind. Each is furious at the other, and desperate to see her again at the same time. There’s a lot of heartache and just as much sexual tension, especially at Princess Prom. Both of them come alive when they fight each other (more about that in a later post). But they’re already growing apart - Adora embracing her destiny as She-Ra, Catra rising in the ranks for the Horde. Adora now has the purpose she always wanted, plus other friends and a sense of being chosen to do something great, while Catra now has power - the means to protect herself from people like Shadow Weaver as well as the vindication she had always been denied, and even the opportunity to beat Shadow Weaver at her own game.

The next turning point is Promise. Holy fuck, this episode. It’s an episode that is even more heartbreaking after you’ve watched the show because you know just how much worse things are going to get, and yet, it’s a necessary part of both of their character arcs. Even through season 1 Catra and Adora had remained very much enmeshed in each others lives in an increasingly fucked up way as they grew apart but refused to turn away from each other. Even though they aren’t -exactly- a romantic couple (Adora doesn’t recognize and acknowledge her feelings until the last episode of Season 5), Season 1 of She-Ra is one of the worst breakups I have seen on TV. As I said in a couple of previous posts, this is the kind of shit that the Mountain Goats write songs about. Everything that was poisoning their love for each other even before episode 1 bubbles to the surface and combines with them fighting on opposite sides of the war to make a truly fucked up situation. In the end, it’s Catra that makes the choice to turn away from Adora. This isn’t a -good- decision. It’s spiteful, and destructive, and based on an outright deluded understanding of their relationship (inspired by Light Hope’s manipulations and her own issues), but it’s in some ways a necessary decision. Catra has been so wrapped up in Adora for so long that she isn’t going to be able to figure out who -she- is without cutting Adora out of her life. And the same is true of Adora.

But each of them do this in about the worst way possible. Catra embraces destruction, ambition, manipulation and outright cruelty, turning the tactics of her abusers against them and against everyone around her. She first triumphs over Shadow Weaver and manipulates Entrapta into trying to corrupt Etheria itself. Meanwhile Adora ‘lets go’ and commits herself to the self-denying mantle of She-Ra. Over the next several seasons, their respective paths will nearly lead both Catra and Adora to their deaths (in the Season 4 finale).

For the next season (counting season 2 and 3 as one) Catra and Adora are still closely linked, but as enemies. Still, there’s more than enough flirtation between them (that ��Hey Catra’ in the first episode of Season 2 is something else), and especially on Adora’s side we see her hold back with Catra, and often take responsibility for the harm Catra inflicts, just like she had when they were kids. Yet they still drift apart - after facing off every other episode in Season 1, they spend less and less time on screen together through season 2 and 3. Catra continues her ascent to power and descent into villainy while Adora becomes more of a stressed out mess as she takes the fate of the world and the wellbeing of everyone she cares about on her admittedly broad shoulders. Catra’s one moment of vulnerability is rewarded by Shadow Weaver’s betrayal and her exile, then Catra triumphs in ruthless badass fashion through sheer desperation and aggression. In the Crimson Wastes, we see Catra at her most independent, and she almost seems happy. But once Adora shows up and Catra hears about Shadow Weaver, she’s sucked back into the worst of her resentments, and she makes very clear that being happy is less important to her than making sure Adora is miserable.

This changes everything. Catra completely breaks with reality and tries to kill Adora, herself and the world rather than lose to Adora and Shadow Weaver (I do think it’s important to remember that she does that after Shadow Weaver nearly kills her). Catra betrays everyone around her when she exiles Entrapta, threatens Scopria and lies to Hordak. Then she flips the switch. When Adora tries to fix things, Catra fights to her own death to make sure that the world disintegrates with her. For her part, Adora fights first to understand what is wrong with the world and then to fix it. Finally she tells Catra that destroying the world is her choice and she has to live with it, decks her, and then sees her off with a death glare once the portal is closed. With this, Adora writes Catra off even if, as she says later, she never never hated her. By doing that, Adora casts off the guilt that had dogged her and takes responsibility for her own life rather than someone else’s - this is actually a huge step for her, and one that will become more important in Season 4.

Season 4 is in many ways the nadir of their relationship. They only see each other once during the entire season, in Fluterrina, when Adora tries to blast Catra, much to the latter’s shock. There’s a sense in that scene that Catra is trying to have the same flirtatious enmity she used to have with Adora, and Adora is having none of it. Catra almost seems hurt by this, which is an early hint at how isolated Catra is beginning to feel. Catra spends the rest of the season at her highest and lowest. On the one hand she spends most of 12 episodes winning by every standard she has ever claimed to care about, besting Hordak himself in single combat and making herself co-ruler of the Horde and coming within a day’s march of ending the Rebellion. In many ways it is the ultimate empowerment fantasy - the abused young woman has defeated her abusers, showed up everyone who doubted her and forced everyone to respect her. But I think it’s striking that the show starts with her and Adora dreaming of conquering the world together and in Season 4 Catra nearly succeeds in conquering it alone, almost like she was trying to live out her old shared fantasy while proving she didn’t need her former best friend.

At the same time, Catra is clearly miserable. She’s always been unhappy, but in Season 4 we see her completely isolated and lying to herself and everyone who will listen in a desperate attempt to justify her actions. Turning the tactics of Hordak and Shadow Weaver against them to gain power and then against Scorpia and Entrapta to maintain it haven’t vindicated Catra, they’ve made her more and more alone as Entrapta is exiled and Scorpia drifts away. Meanwhile Catra reaches out to Double Trouble, and her interactions with them reek of a kind of desperate desire to have someone in her life (the feeling of their interaction is of an unhealthy casual relationship where one partner becomes emotionally invested and the other takes advantage of that while denying the other the closeness they desire). As people leave her, one after the other, it becomes clearer and clearer that Catra doesn’t want power at all - she wants connection, friendship, love, and power is a very poor replacement. As I said in my long Catra rant, Season 4 is both her ‘Walter White as a Catgirl’ season and the beginning of her redemption. Everything comes to head when Sparkles destroys everything Catra has tried to achieve, Double Trouble delivers those harsh truths and Horde Prime shows up and makes it all irrelevant, just highlighting how futile all her struggles and sacrifices and crimes have been.

Meanwhile Adora spends Season 4 becoming her own her and her own woman. After telling off Catra, she grows more and more disillusioned with Light Hope and critical of Glimmer (though the latter has more than a shade of her old habit of taking responsibility for others - Adora’s development is not linear). She’s gained the courage and confidence to strike out her own path, not just follow a destiny. At the season’s end she once again breaks with her best friend to do what is right, and discards the destiny that she was being prepared for. But in this case she isn’t chasing one packaged destiny for another, instead she’s making her own choice and literally shattering the thing that she thought gave her life purpose. It’s badass, and heartbreaking, and along with decking Catra and jumping after Catra into the abyss (see below) it’s the perfect Adora moment.

In many ways Season 5 starts with Catra and Adora farther apart than they have ever been. They aren’t even enemies anymore, they’re completely out of each other’s lives. And both Catra and Adora are lost at the beginning of Season 5 - Catra is useless and alone on Prime’s ship, completely defeated despite ostensibly being on the winning side, and she goes through the motions of her normal plotting without any particular conviction and none of her normal flair. Meanwhile Adora is even more miserable and self-destructive than usual, throwing herself at Horde Bots and working herself until she drops of exhaustion. In a very real way they both stay lost until they have a chance to help the other. Catra takes responsibility for what she’s done and what she can do, saves Glimmer (at least partly for Adora’s sake), apologizes to Adora, and sacrifices herself. Adora only seems to come alive when she decides to turn around, face Prime, and save the cat. And when she does, Catra and Adora’s arcs, which had separated so completely in season 4, come crashing back together to end the series.

Adora during Save the Cat is such a contrast with the uncertain, hesitant and self-destructive wreck we’ve seen so far in Season 5. This is possibly her craziest plan in 3 years of mostly cazy plans, but she never wavers or questions herself. Even when Chipped Catra appears and we see Adora’s heart break while we watch, Adora doesn’t back down or relent. She keeps at it even as the tears stream down her face. She fights better trying to save Catra without She-Ra’s powers than she fought at the Battle of Bright Moon with them. Catra’s just about as desperate - we see her cry and plead, and now is probably as good a time to any to point out how amazing a job both VAs did throughout the show, but especially in this episode, and how good a job the board artists did.

Seeing each other for the first time in a year, and only the second time since Catra blew everything up, Catra and Adora are probably the rawest and least restrained we’ve ever seen them. There’s barely any banter, no bravado, and no pretense that they are anything other than two women who desperately need each other (Prime doesn’t help with ‘You broke my heart’.) Then Catra is flung to her death, Adora jumps after her, breaks both her legs in the fall (we see her crawl to Catra, as though she couldn’t walk) and becomes the real She-Ra. It’s such a triumphant and deeply queer moment seeing a woman transformed into a warrior goddess to protect the woman she loves, and it’s the reason that, as dark as it is, Save the Cat is my Comfort Food episode.

Let’s not sleep on Taking Control, though. This episode is like a microcosm of what this show does best, especially the A plot with Catra and Adora. Catra’s reversion to lashing out at everyone and her refusal to be open to Adora shows just how much of a struggle this whole ‘being good and trying to connect to people’ thing is. Catra’s outburst gives Adora a chance to stand up for herself and refuse to be Catra’s punching bag, while also not trying to control her. Adora’s ultimatum gives Catra a chance to reach out to Adora (quite literally), and allow herself to be vulnerable. In this episode, we see just how far Catra and Adora have come since the messed up stew of their relationship in Season 1. Adora lets Catra be responsible for her own actions; Catra lets herself be vulnerable to Adora and takes responsibility for her actions. They’re both better people and better friends and better partners than they were, and the show has shown this in a strikingly nuanced and realistic way.

The important thing to note in the next few episodes of Season 5 isn’t just how much closer Catra and Adora get to each other and how much they flirt (So much. So much, y’all) but just how -happy- they are. We see both of them transformed in the other’s presence. Basically, since they’ve parted, both Catra and Adora have been defined in no small part by how miserable they often are. They have both had their triumphs and their lighter moments, but there’s been a sense of melancholy dogging both Catra and Adora since episode 1. And now that they’re together again, that lifts, somewhat. Catra’s verbal barbs have lost their venom, and she can openly show how much she cares for Adora and even Bow and Glimmer. She’s still herself - snarky, cynical, somewhat devious - but she’s not engaged in a self-destructive zero-sum struggle with everyone around her. Meanwhile Adora has spent 4 seasons being a neurotic and sometimes nearly joyless mess who takes responsibility for everything and often doesn’t let herself enjoy anything other than the odd BFS group hug (exceptions include trying to uh...impress Huntara and reveling with the butterfly ladies of Elberron in Flutterina). Around Catra, though, she’s a cocky, swaggering jock who gives as good as she gets. It’s a side of Adora we’ve only seen hints of before, and one that’s so much more confident and joyful even as the world is ending around her. Apart, Catra had tried to protect and vindicate herself with power and conquest, while Adora had tried to forget herself in duty and sacrifice. Together, they can be themselves again. This dynamic is crucial to the show’s portrayal of Catra and Adora’s romance because it doesn’t just show how much they love each other, but how they’re -good- for each other now that they’ve grown as people, and that they are so much better than they were when they were apart.

Until Shadow Weaver shows up. Their old abuser reintroduces tensions but even then things are different than they were. Now Catra isn’t just resentful of how Shadow Weaver prefers Adora - she’s protective of Adora, which is clearest in Failsafe when she calls Shadow Weaver out for being willing to sacrifice Adora. And while Adora takes the Failsafe, it isn’t to follow her destiny or because she has a death wish - it’s because she loves her friends, and she is the only one who has any hope of doing this and living (though Catra’s suggestion that Shadow Weaver take it is a good one). And finally, when Catra leaves Adora, it isn’t because she hates Adora, nor, despite what she says, is it because she really thinks that Adora chose Shadow Weaver. At least, not exactly. It’s because Catra loves Adora, and can admit that to herself, and can’t stay around and watch the woman she loves sacrifice herself rather than choosing Catra. Before Catra leaves, she asks Adora ‘What do you want?” It’s a question that echoes Shadow Weaver’s speech in Episode 1: ‘isn’t this what you always wanted since you could want anything?’ As much as Adora has grown as a person, and defined herself and stood up for what she thinks is right, she still has never answered that question - it’s never been ‘what do I want’ but ‘what do I have to do?’ and that’s how Adora answers Catra’s question. This is Adora’s last gasp as a self-transcending hero, letting go of what she wants (not that she ever dared articulate what that was) in order to do what must be done. And it nearly kills her and dooms the universe, because Adora can’t be the hero that she needs to be by being anyone less than herself.

But it’s losing Catra that inspires Adora to tell off Shadow Weaver for good (not that she’d ever really warmed to her after season 1). And it’s love for Adora that inspires Catra to stand up to Shadow Weaver and demand that she do the right thing. In both cases, Catra and Adora aren’t just standing up to their abuser, but holding her to account for the harm she’s caused, and it’s the love that they have for each other that inspires them to do this. In Catra’s case in particular her refusal to let Shadow Weaver weasel out of finding Adora is a much greater triumph over Shadow Weaver than beating her up and breaking her mask in Season 1 - it’s proof not so much to Shadow Weaver but to Catra herself that Catra really is better than this and that she deserves better than this. It’s not turning her abuser’s tactics against her, but truly holding her to a moral standard and demanding that she do the right thing.

And then there’s Catra and Adora together at the heart. Catra has already come back for Adora and stayed to the end, choosing to die with her even if she can’t share a life together (not out of some death wish, but because Adora needs her). And Adora, who’s been avoiding answering the question for three fucking years, finally let’s herself want Catra when Catra finally confesses her love (breaking the last of her self-protective shields) and asks Adora to stay -for her-. And by admitting what she wants, Adora can truly be at peace with herself and be the hero she needs to be, lesbianism saves the universe, The End.

So anyway, that’s how Catra and Adora’s stories are woven together and how they compliment and comment on each other. Narrativiely, Adora and Catra start together, come apart, find something of themselves, and truly find themselves and each other when they are reunited. Thematically, they are critiquing seemingly opposing narrative tropes - empowerment narratives and narratives of self sacrifice. But by showing the flaws in both types of story and showing how neither self-seeking empowerment nor self-negating self sacrifice can actually make us happy, She-Ra asks and answers more profound questions than most prestige dramas for adults do. I’ll get into how the show sells the idea that the power of love can bring us happiness (and save the world) in a future post. But next up, I’m going to celebrate just how much Catra and Adora’s relationship revels in ambiguity, complexity and contradiction and so tells a grown up love story in a kid’s show.

#analysis

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pixelatedraindrops · 20 hours ago

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Baby Makoto AU Doodle Dump🐣

Hiya everyone! So, I’ve been busy working on some art of this new little concept of mine. It’s been in my head for a while. Ever since I found out Makoto is in fact canonically 3 years old. And then thinking of Number One being a doting single parent to his tiny homunculus clone whom he adopts to keep safe from further experimentation and raises as his own 🥺💕

I’ve seen other people (specifically on twitter) come up with this thought as well. Makoto as a 3 year old child with Yuma as his parent. Honestly other than drawing my favorite characters being sick, drawing them as little kids also brings about a nostalgic comfort to me. Not nearly as much joy as drawing sickies brings me, but it was fun to draw the all powerful CEO as a little toddler curious about the world. He's just a little baby <3

Now I am actually a bit shy and insecure about this idea. Mainly due to people possibly confusing it with infantilization and/or age regression. This is neither of those things. It’s an AU where he just happens to be a toddler. If anything I picture little Makoto to be similar to Anya from Spy x Family. (and the fact they both share a Japanese VA makes this connection even cuter, and he's only one year younger than her x3)

Anyway, I hope you all will indulge in me as I share the art I’ve done of this tiny little homunculus. I probably won’t talk about this au or draw it often due to feeling shy about it, so I just made a full on thread of the doodles if you want to see. I keep them under a read more to prevent spam (and I know not everyone is a fan of this concept)

But if you look, I hope you enjoy!

A little reference of sorts I made of my toddler Makoto design. (though he wears different clothing in every art I do of him lol this just connects his normal purple flowery attire) He is exactly 2 feet shorter than his usual height making him pretty small for a toddler. (but yuma is pretty short too lol and I want him to be able to carry him ;w;)

He has 2 special toys that connect to his other mask designs in the concept art. The teddy bear is his very special possession that Yuma gave him as a present, and the puppet teruteru-bozu is something he made together with Yuma when crafting on a rainy day. (he is so talented preparing him for the future when he actually develops products for the company he will run) The melon ball is based on his favorite fruit, and he has socks and a fuzzy blanket with the pattern of his mask.

In this AU, Yuma retains his Number One persona. He’s not meek apologetic and unsure, he has the confidence of the ultimate detective. But is he confident as a parent? Not in the slightest. But taking care of Makoto teaches him more about being kind and empathetic towards others, and eventually over time he becomes super protective and even at times doting towards Makoto.

Making his personality a bit more bright and pleasant, much like the kind and gentle Yuma that we all know and love. Parenthood causes the serious detective to soften up a lot. And of course this causes Makoto to love and depend on Yuma in return. However, he almost never calls him dad. He just calls him Yuma. Its very rare that he refers to Yuma as his dad but this is perfectly okay by Yuma. (But when Makoto does call him dad? Yuma feels such unexplainable emotional discord that he almost cries.)

Some more doodles :3

Such a silly little family. I love them so much <3

Why did I think of this AU? Because I want Makoto and pre-game Yuma to be happy, and for Makoto to have a childhood. Honestly Makoto seems a bit childish and playful in canon too so...

I think I'd like him to have an actual childhood where he grows up comfortable and happy. And in the care of someone who loves him 💜

#rain code #master detective archives: rain code #rain code spoilers #3 year old ceo au #yuma kokohead #makoto kagutsuchi #pixeldoodles #my art #if you all noticed some of these were relines of sketches I did before #but yeah not too much to say here c:#hope you enjoy this little idea if you do #tbh I haven’t developed this au too much just a bit #I have one more art of it in the works but it will be posted separately #because you guessed it its a sick art~#enjoy these in the meantime ^-^#no sick art here :3 just wholesomeness and fluff #after finishing a biiig project for one of my college courses I wanted to draw to reward myself #but the withdrawal of not doing it for long made me go doodle crazy… xD

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aftgtandn · 3 days ago

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We're at a real risk of sounding like a broken record at this point but you guys are AMAZING!

We still can't believe how much support you all have shown the fest. From reblogs and retweets, to comments and joining in all the fun games, it's truly been a blast.

We really, really can't thank you enough! Our hearts are so full to see T&N fest be so fun for the second year in a row — and it's all your doing! Every fic, every piece of art, every work adopted, every meme, every comment left, every full bingo card, every rec. IT WAS ALL YOU.

To our creators in particular: we owe you THE WORLD. Thank you for being brilliant. Please make sure to tag us in all your claim posts so we can reblog them!

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO... here's the full list of works AND THEIR INCREDIBLY TALENTED CREATORS:

Are you Real? by Whyreme Rated Mature | 6052 words Andrew comes back from Easthaven but Neil isn't at Palmetto, where he promised he would be. If you ever wondered what it would be like if Andrew was present for the immediate aftermath of Christmas at the Nest, this one is for you.

[art] don't flinch. by ghostheroes Rated Gen | Art There's not that much space from the cheek to the eye. In the art piece we have for you today, Lola aims the lighter barely an inch higher.

echoes by doodleishere Rated Teen | 100 words What if Kevin didn't leave the next alone? In this flash fic, Jean gets out too when Riko's anger finally snaps.

Bite the hand by Ateiluj Rated Mature | 4515 words We all have asked the question: what was going through Andrew's mind during The Choking Incident? A question we might have not asked, however, is: what would happen if no one stopped him? Well, this fic answers both of those!

duck duck goose by glittersinnin Rated Gen | 2329 words When Andrew goes through Neil's duffel, Neil holds his tongue. It will take some patience for him to get adequate revenge. Patience... and some experience handling the local water foul.

Let Down by maydaykevin Rated Gen | 4132 words How would it affect Kevin and Andrew's deal if Kevin hit Andrew back when Andrew chokes him? How is their relationship impacted by this unexpected bout of violence between them? Find out in this fic!

If You're Throwing Me to the Lions by orionauriga Rated Teen | 3763 words It's not easy when your boyfriend comes with a whole lot of baggage, especially twin-brother-who-hates-you shaped baggage. It's not easy but it's worth it, for Aaron, and Katelyn knows how to stand her ground.

If I was easy to kill you would have done it already by lazarusthefirst Rated Mature | 9196 words They were always meant to be partners, now it's Jean's job to make sure Neil behaves. Neil isn't great at being a partner, but he knows partners don't leave each other behind. In this fic, Neil doesn't come back to Palmetto alone.

Butterfly Effect! Read More on Page 12 by animediac Rated Gen | 5194 words How much can the death of one character affect the narrative? Through newspaper and blog articles, emails and social media posts, that's exactly what this fic explores. How many lives can the butterfly effect of one unfortunate 'accident' change?

Nathaniel by nyaar0n Rated Gen | Art Neil Josten is a Fox, but what if he never got the chance to be? Nathaniel Wesninski is a Raven through and through, and in this art piece, he snatches the spotlight both on the court and with his partner.

Now it's Time to Live (and Turn to Dust) by Witheredcarnelians Rated Mature | 4573 words Renee makes it just in time to save Jean ... or does she? This fic explores the crushing guilt of leaving behind a loved one, and being unable to save them in the end.

caught up in you by rooftopkisses Rated Mature | 5463 words "What are you hoping for, coordinates?" Neil doesn't lock the door, and Nicky walks in on Neil and Andrew kissing. Nicky can be trusted — mostly because he fears Andrew's knife — but Andrew's tendency toward quiet implosion is a different story.

but i've walked this far by rwnjun Rated Teen | 14556 words When the countdown ends, Neil gets taken. His dad is dead, but manages to make substantial damage before he gets shot. Now Nathaniel gets to be Neil Josten, but who is Neil Josten if he can't play Exy?

i've been feeling smaller by neiljokesten (vykio) Rated Teen | 2433 words Over worrying and wound-tending, Aaron and Neil get caught on a never-ending loop of the pot calling the kettle black over sacrificing themselves to protect a loved one

a familiar face by Shinobimoon Rated Gen | 4184 words How would things have gone if Kevin had recognized Neil right away? Would Neil have run, or still signed with the Foxes? Read more in this fic!

Better Luck Next Time by AllAngstNoComfort Rated Mature | 7812 words What if Riko had gone for Aaron instead of Seth, that night? In this fic, we learn exactly that and how that affects the Foxes.

the most unkindest cut of all by deadangelo Rated Mature | 2550 words Riko Moriyama has been many things to Kevin Day: a friend, a brother, a partner, a monster. The die has been cast. Riko is going to die. This time around, Ichirou has a spectator seat saved for Kevin.

we want the young blood by undermoonwalker Rated Teen | Art What if Elodie was sold to the Ravens? What if Jean had a predetermined partner through all that darkness? This art looks at the possibilities of the Moreau Ravens!

you'll be alright (no one can hurt you now) by wesawbears Rated Teen | 1757 words Jeremy Knox can't figure out their newest recruit. But having some secrets of his own means that he can tell when something isn't right, and if there's one thing about the Trojans is that they protect their own.

as soft as feathers by delossanctuary Rated Mature | 4714 words What's a T&N fest without a devastating Abby fic? This year, ponder on this: what if Neil's finger slipped when he needed an airport pickup?

TKO by justadreamfox Rated Mature | 4733 words Remember that busboy Neil paid to knock him out? In today's T&N fic, Neil doesn't get left on the floor of the club afterwards. Not everyone is out to get him.

i know that i did you wrong (but will you trust me when i say that i'll make it up to you somehow) by evenfallwriter Rated Mature | 7076 words Neil gets something different for his 19th birthday: his father's death.

depraved heart by decaflondonfog Rated Mature | 7000 words There is a horrible scene at the Hemmick house. There is a dead man on the ground. There is Andrew, laughing. And then there is Kevin, standing with a bloody knife in hand and something far more potent than fear clawing at his rib cage.

kintsugi by gus_47 Rated Explicit | 4728 words Riko's violence knows no bounds; what if he didn't stop at Kevin's hand? This fic follows Jean as he weathers and grieves the aftermath of the Raven's ugliest secret.

The Mallard's Lullaby by Random2002 Rated Mature | 6313 words The Moreau family are good at business; why sell one child to an Exy empire when you can sell two? Good thing Elodie's got a stuffed duck, a pieced together first aid kit, and her brother. What more do you need?

Light in a prism by sassy_pen_sassy Rated Teen | 1030 words There's a life outside of the walls of the EAU Raven's nest; Jean learns what that's like with Renee by his side in this sweet fic.

not dead (yet) by ashestoashes7 Rated Mature | 13593 words When Andrew is released from Easthaven, only three of his charges are there to pick him up. He always knew Neil was a pipedream. If Andrew cared more, Neil could become a nightmare.

Digits by twolipsliterature Rated Teen | 2700 words A cheerleader and a Exy player on the run from his hitman father walk into a bar. This time, Neil gives Marissa his number instead of being an asshole for once.

shots fired by liaisun Rated Mature | Art Neil threw out the guns when his mother died, but today we take a look at how things might have gone if he hadn't.

Timing by HereBeChickens Rated Teen | 1116 words Kevin scores. Neil falls to his knees. ""You've always known what it's like to be second."" Riko swings. Andrew still gets there in time. But this is where we diverge.

presumably dead arm by kevjean Rated Mature | 15518 words What if someone else had found Kevin first after Riko broke his hand? What if that someone was special in a way that was never allowed before? In this fic, Kevin finds a slightly different way out of the Nest, and discovers something on the way.

and this is just my luck by starwarned Rated Teen | 2107 words Kevin Day is a star. He won't let a gay crisis get in his way. At least, that's the plan -- it becomes difficult for Kevin to maintain that dissonance after he overhears Andrew offering to blow Neil.

n'oublie pas de vivre by FireHeartAW Rated Teen | 5028 words What is left of Jean Moreau without Exy? Can he find a new place for himself without the Ravens even if his injuries prevent him from ever playing again? And what does he need to make that happen?

i am not scared of death, i've got dreams again by liliacskiess Rated Explicit | 5566 words Eden's back alleyway is not the place to be on a Friday night; Nicky learns that the hard way in today's fic which asks 'What if Andrew didn't arrive in time to fight Nicky's attackers'?

Back to the Old House by TearsOfATrickster Rated Teen | 6664 words Neil's not the only one willing to protect Andrew when he's at Easthaven. What if Kevin went back to EAU for Christmas?

Only Human by aquared46 Rated Mature | 2677 words “Shouldn’t I feel different? Powerful?” Neil survives his father, but the encounter leaves him with nightmares that seem like they should be good dreams. Andrew is there to listen as Neil tries to process.

Baltimore Basement by ConventionalExy Rated Mature | Art The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. In this art, Neil is taken to Baltimore by his father's people, but he knows his way around a cleaver.

The Graveyard Shift by KweenDay Rated Mature | 7100 words What if Andrew noticed there was something wrong in the locker room? What if Andrew stayed at Neil’s side? What if Andrew was brought to Baltimore too? In this fic we find out exactly what goes down behind the walls of the Wesninski manor.

the ongoing effects of growing a backbone by favbitchcharlie Rated Teen | 10641 words What if instead of giving Neil the plane ticket to EAU, Kevin tore it up? What if Neil let a bit of Nathaniel slip through? In this fic, Kevin and Neil go to break Andrew out of Easthaven in their own non-Coach-approved way.

The Prince and The Pauper by CherriPips Rated Mature | 8695 words After Riko broke his hand, Kevin went running to Wymack, but what if he saw Andrew first? In this fic, we find exactly how that interaction goes down.

Tear away at the Mask by Moondal Rated Teen | 2779 words What if more than one Fox had crossed paths with Neil in his past life? And what if this one particular Fox immediately recognized him, too? This is a fic about Natalie Shields, Nathaniel Wesninski, and about reinventing yourself.

scavenger's hunt by kiwiaok Rated Mature | 10341 words In a world where Lola survives her gunshot wounds in Baltimore, Neil has to face her once more during her trial, and things come to light that he would rather had stayed hidden.

Neil Josten Is Not Fine by the_greater_grief Rated Teen | 3362 words "In Neil’s dreams, Aaron never shows up to save the day." Neil's nightmares have become a problem even he can't ignore. When his sleeplessness begins to mess with his performance on the court, he gives in. Maybe Dobson isn't so bad, after all.

damage control by seasy33 Rated Mature | 11656 words When Andrew witnesses Nicky kissing Neil, his confidence in his plan to break Neil wavers. What can he stomach in his mission to keep his family safe? And what will it actually take to learn Neil's secrets?

patient violence by Mercey Rated Mature | 6981 words An orderly catches Dr. Proust and Andrew ends up escaping Easthaven early. Where to next? Well, Neil’s in the Nest and Andrew’s looking into a jailbreak. In this fic we find out what happens when Andrew goes to get Neil out of the Nest.

Deadliest Piece by LynxDoesArt Rated Explicit | Art When Neil realizes that something is wrong at the Hemmick's house, he rushes upstairs to find Andrew with the rest of the monsters close behind. What if Kevin got a hand on Neil's racquet before Aaron?

it lives in the throat by timeloops (kunimi) Rated Teen | 14440 words Switching places with your twin is fun, until… technically, Aaron Minyard dies in a car crash with his mother. But the dead body isn’t Aaron and now he must deal with the fallout of it all.

With all the love and appreciation in the world,

Your T&N'24 mods and helpers 💚

#aftg #all for the game #tfc #aftgthenandnever24 #aftgthenandnever #[mod post]#fest masterlist

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eobe · 2 days ago

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And here he is – Captain Vaughn 🤩

Captain Rex didn’t feel like being Commander, but this is how we got Captain Vaughn, showing his loyalty and kindness only within moments in the 332nd company for Ahsoka (s7e9), so he's one of the underrated clones which would have deserved more sceentime *sigh* ♥️

We never got to see his face, so there’s so much space for head canons, isn’t it? 🥰 His look in this piece is inspired by this gorgeous look (<-) designed by @lonewolflupe 🫶

I also want to share some process magic while I was working on Captain Vaughn, so ramble incoming 😁 Take a seat and have a caf ☕️

It’s always the eyes when I draw. They just lead the main energy of the character and that influences the face. So I sketched line after line and his face got clearer… with some unforeseen vibes! Since I’m not that fixed to templates anymore, there can be more variation, no matter how much I try to catch the right copy paste clone-face angles... or even colors 🤯

Have a closer look into unusual clone eyes, oh yes 👀

Lupe and I were chatting about his lighter look with freckles in her artwork (a bit Tech color palette with golden and copper tones) and I told her that I don’t know why, but I feel like some heterochromia in his eyes 😀 So his eyes are like this now – not planned and unforeseen, like it is often when art takes over ✨

I really don’t know what the Kaminoans were doing during the cloning process 😂 but we got some varied clones – for example ‚icy eyes‘ Edge from the Tango company, or the blue eyed drunk one meeting Fives in front of the 79s (I named him ‚Blues‘ hehe 😜).

Without guiding my lines along a template, doing everything out of my mind, sometimes I might get either feeling like crooked fingers or odd sight, but this can be the point where the true art magic begins, because I’m not in charge anymore. I can only shrug and surrender to the flow and I love it 🥰

So I don’t know when it happened, but look at him… 👀 WHY does he look a bit like Echo? AND Rex? And there’s something soft in his eyes what reminds me of Kix, too? And it just fits his calm and loyal character!

For Commander Wolffe for example it could never be this face and it would never happen in the drawing process like that, it wouldn’t fit, but… I’m rambling – I could never point to the lines or the moment where things like this happen. Yeah, they’re all clones and share the same face, but faces do shape after their thoughts, experiences and their lives – more frowning or more smiling 😀

Oh, I love this. Not really being in charge while drawing, but achieving so much more without being under the illusion of the concept of control what is we’re all be taught… holy force I’m really rambling and diving

Sorry not sorry, art is my passion I guess and art is my healing thing, too 🤩 I’m proud of you, if you read all this! Enjoy 🫶

My personal ALT text mission (1 additional ALT text for a previous artwork with each new art posting!):

Captain Gregor's faces part 1 one of my oldest clone drawings, what an improving process since then, I barely can't believe it 🤩

Taglist: @eclec-tech @bixlasagna @returnofthepineapple @sunshinesdaydream @covert1ntrovert @general-ida-raven @vrycurious @dystopicjumpsuit @chaicilatte @groguandthebadbatch @justanotherdikutsimp @ladylucksrogue

#captain vaughn #heterochromia #my underrated clones list is tagged ->#underrated clones #star wars #the clone wars #clones #clone trooper vaughn #ct 0292 #tcw #tcw vaughn #332nd company #artists on tumblr #my art #eobe

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breserker · 11 hours ago

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yes and yes - people saying it's sparse might need to follow a wider breadth of people because with this month's overall exodus it's become more and more populated. There's stuff about feeds and lists and starter packs (the lattermost here are packs you can click "follow all" on to follow a buncha people, for example I'm on a BIPOC author starter pack - these are curated by other users, so some will just make them for fun (cool artists i follow!) or some have a purpose like the aforementioned one I"m part of that I asked to be put on)

of the culture i've seen in the people i've followed, because of bluesky's actually present moderator tools and not really an algorithim, they're fostering a real culture of "block don't engage" with all the fascist and other right wingers coming over bc twitter's implosion means they're suddenly alone with themselves and starved for engagement. Someone in the reblog chain showed how un-latching yourself from a quoted post works meaning that people won't get brownie points for being snarky or mean if you do so.

both professionals that are new and those that were there in the early days (such as jeff vandermeer and guillermo del toro) are starting to use Bsky in earnest now too.

if it feels sparse or dead, genuinely start engaging with the people on feeds you enjoy seeing, it's a new platform so a lot of folks are finding their purchase as well. it's going to take a while for everyone new to learn the ropes and settle down and start branching out comfortably.

most importantly: of all the artists i followed on twitter, i can actually see their art on my main feed now. for a while twitter had become an artless, personless wasteland on my timeline, hiding all these people's great work from my eyes. but i can see it all now, and it's beautiful.

here's my bluesky, although i'm not anyone that well-versed in the intricacies of how it works. word of caution: it will be overwhelming at first, it always is rebuilding on a new website. do what you feel like and start chipping away at all the new stuff to learn

are people actually using bluesky. I never used twitter and I never joined any of the other social media apps that kinda lost steam (pillowfort, mastodon, cara, etc). but twitter seems like its been shitting the bed harder than usual so I'm wondering if this time it actually might get replaced

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eerna · 2 days ago

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can you explain your art techniques a little bit further? I just saw your post about arcane helping you drop line art and stuff, and I wanted to understand better (as someone trying to get into digital art)

Sureee, ty for asking! :)

For the first 7 years of my digital art journey I imitated the comicbook-style art tutorials and techniques artists I liked used. This means that I would start out with a sketch, draw the lineart on another layer on top of the sketch, hide the sketch, use solid blocks of color on separate layers for the coloring, and add lighting effects on top of it all. I was never really happy with how it turned out, and I often felt like I shouldn't have gone past the colored sketch phase because the full render would lose so much life. I used pretty much the same brushes I use now, aside from some textured ones, but not to their full potential because they were painting brushes being used for flat shading. Here's a few examples of fully rendered stuff from 2020-2021:

Then, I realized I do NOT have to do things I don't wanna do, and I can totally remove any steps from the process that I wish! I experimented for a while until I settled on a new thing that worked for me. And so my current process is: draw a sketch, color it all on one layer (base colors), add light effects if needed, add another layer on top of everything, and paint until satisfied with the level of rendering. Then I add optional effects, such as fires or patterns. This means I leave the sketch layer visible, so I have to clean it and base colors with erasers as I work, but it enables me to preserve the sketchy energy. The "all rendering on one layer" approach frees my hand and I don't feel pressure to render everything separately and perfectly, which in turn, ironically, makes my art look more detailed because the eye compensates for unfinished bits. In addition, the line between a colored sketch and a fully rendered piece is much thinner, which means I don't have to commit to completing anything, and that is a big deal for an insecure person prone to artblocks. If I lose interest halfway through the lineart-and-blocks-of-color process, I am left with an unusable piece. If I do it halfway through the painting process, I get a charming, messy piece a la my recent Chappell Roan art (I left the armor unfinished, and yet it doesn't clash with the rest of the art). Here's a recreation I did to show what a big difference the different approach makes:

So why didn't I stop doing lineart sooner? I did try, but my attempts tried to replicate what I did when painting traditionally, instead of adjusting to my digital abilities, so it usually looked whack. I remember showing my friends the Rito Village piece back in 2019, which was painted based on a screenshot from the game, and one of them telling me "Don't go back to lineart!" I was like "YEAH I am NOT going back to lineart!!! I will keep painting!!!" Only to realize that painting landscapes with already stylized references and painting portraits were completely different. Here's a painting portrait from one of those trial and error attempts. Later I realized the mistake was working on TOP of the sketch, as I would have done for traditional work, instead of both below AND on top of it - after all, my intention was to preserve the life of the sketch, which was impossible when I couldn't even see it. I also didn't understand color values (or honestly, any color aspects) very well, resulting in some low-contrast, unappealing blobs.

So yeah, my advice to any beginner digital artist is: experiment and figure out what works for you. Think about what makes you happy when creating, and build your process around it. Also, keep researching art theory and applying it to your work. Good luck to you and all other digital artists~

#eernask #art tips #therealkaidertrash21 #ngl drawing with lineart again tripped me SO MUCH bjbfkBFJK #i legit still have the same issues i had 3 years ago when i stopped doing it!! i thought i got better at understanding volumes and dynamic #shapes. and i did. but the MOMENT i stop doing the technique that ALLOWED me to understand them i am right back to awkward mistakes #i always disliked how my art would turn out wider than it was sketched. i haven't had that issue since 2022. now look at what i just drew #this afternoon and compare how much wider the head is than on the sketch #what i am trying to say is. your process is super duper important! don't just do the things that work for other people! listen to yourself!

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soulfulazrael · 3 days ago

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Stolas and Stella. Shallow conflict that could be so much more. Conflict of two Hells and torment of the immortal.

So... another post that probably will be another long Yap fest of a weirdo who has only the brainpower to make threads on a cartoon. Eh. Could be worse. My drive to make this post was sparked by this one image (or well... two).

Great... Very subtle... Deserves a medal don't you think? Ah well. Today's subject as you can tell from the image presented here is RELATIONSHIPS! Or rather one set of relationships that has been bothering me and inspired me to do better in my own work based on this show. This disaster that is the Stella/Stolas/Octavia dynamic is one huge problem in my eyes and I will explain that below with some thoughts of mine and why this particular image sparked such vitriol in my peanut brain.

I think the biggest and most noticeable problem that can be seen straight away in this one picture and entire show that... it is just so damn simple. Way too simple and 1 dimensional which this show tries to parade as something meaningful and deep. I mean one look at it and you can see all of the problems. Stella is made into a laughing all evil bastard. Octavia FOR SOME REASON is just angry at Stolas and makes a mean face which makes no sense given how they interact. And Stolas is presented as some tragic, deeply hurt figure when he is in fact the architect of most of his own miseries, but the show seems to believe in that horseshait.

And at first one who only has this picture as any sort of context may say that "It's okay. The wife is obviously an evil capital B, but the daughter in this whole equation adds to the complexity and the feeling of that the dad also screwed up heavily".

Except to anyone who actually watched the show this makes no sense because Octavia has literally NO reason to ever side or ignore her mother's stupid and malicious behavior. It's one thing where you want to include a complex dynamic where the sides are more blurred and another where you make one side so obviously WORSE. Not to mention stupid and seemingly unable to hide any of their douchebaggery.

And it's another issue of the show as a whole where it just cannot for the life of it have complex antagonists and most of them are pretty much the same damn archetype. Both shows do that in fact. Because both HH and HB work in the same way. They all have the same kind of snickering abuser who loves to torment their victim and they are about as smart as average Twitter Blue buyer. I mean can you tell me ANY sort of difference between someone like Val, Stella, Crim or Mammon? Any of them? Besides their designs and people they abuse? You probably have to think it through and I think it goes to show how all of them are so damn similar to each other. To the point where they are all almost exactly the same boring character.

And funny thing is? It didn't have to be this way. And this second image feels like more of an insult for two reasons.

Still not perfect, but it's better somewhat And the reason for that is... it feels like actually a bit subtle. You have less cramming in of how terrible Stella is. Octavia being a more oblivious child and Stolas while caring for her being more absent minded. That creates an interesting dynamic and Stella has some air of mystery to her where she can be taken in many directions.

They just chose the absolute dumbest one. And that's why this image makes me mad. It shows they COULD do better, but choose not to and that this art serves no other purpose than just to say STELLA LE BAD. And they have no other agenda with it. No other way to interpret it because of that second stupid one. It narrows and destroys so much potential. Almost as much as that picture of baby Stella from Circus.

And I think another big issue I kind of mentioned before is this parade of complexity. It wants to put on facade of being complex and having something to say, but it really doesn't. It provides a very simple and dumbed down story with clear good and bad side where one side is cartoonishly evil to the point of being moronic while other one is paraded as a victim to end all victims and they put in a dress of sad crying scenes and the daughter being pissed for no reason at clearly good party because the idiotic plot demands it.

And other big issue... Is that this does not explore ANY interesting ideas. No interesting dynamics. No interesting implications or provides any sort of value to the world or explores anything in this world of HELL. Where you can make the world feel wild and interesting and the ways this world shaped those people. The ways those people are broken. The ways you can expand on this conflict beyond the surface level idiocy.

And I want here to present an example of a story rather similar... that did this right. So right it's almost comedic. I am talking about a story of Bloody Baron from Witcher 3 so for all people who did not play this almost 10 year old game (holy shit W3 came out almost 10 years ago... Can you slow down time?) then I must warn you. For the rest who did play or don't care. Enjoy.

Seems appropriate. Bloody Baron questline is probably one of the most impactful, complex and interesting conflicts I've seen in any game. A story of abuse, trauma and pain in a family of Bloody Baron, his wife Anna and daughter Tamara. amazing writing, great voice acting, great characters all that good stuff. But let me tell you why it's so good.

First off. The characters. They are all very well written and are very believable. Bloody Baron especially is a sad mess of a man. An ex veteran, drunkard and abuser who tries to find his wife and their daughter she took with her when she escaped from him after their recent fight. A fact Geralt is not aware of, one of many he and us by extension are not aware of.

This may already sound rather familiar and stay with me because it gets better. What works so well with character of Bloody Baron is that while he is at first a completely unlikeable person that gets worse over time as you discover more filth in his story, he is also extremely human. He is no caricature and you can tell why he became the way he is and you can tell he is full of great regrets and despite his actions still holds a lot of love for both his daughter and wife. He is someone who did terrible things to his family, someone very rash and very brutal, but he is not a total and complete monster. He watched his own other child die partially as a consequence of his own actions. Lost his family. He lost almost everything besides an army of men that couldn't give less of a shit about him and a home in a dreadful swamp full of monsters. His character greatly explores the mind of someone very broken, someone who lost himself to alcohol and ended up making a ton of terrible mistakes and now tries to atone for them. But we also see in flashbacks that he can be also a caring man as he helped Ciri and little girls she saved. He is no less of a terrible person because of it, but it adds humanity to him.

And other two characters in this do not fall far behind as well. Anna especially is also a very broken shell of a person. And despite what one may think she is also not innocent in all of this as she is someone who first cheated on the Baron after he went out to war. Leaving him for some other man as he was putting his life on the line for them (while also falling to alcoholism as well). And when she was confronted about it and when her lover got slaughtered by Baron she broke and started to try to kill him and herself which started the abuse from Baron who only found this to be a good way to calm her down and Anna herself was a clearly traumatized woman who was now in a cage with the Baron.

And in between all of that was a young, very scared child of both. Tamara who saw only the abuse her mother received and felt like it was all her father's fault for everything breaking apart around them and eventually devoting herself to group of Eternal Flame as a way of handling her situation. She still received lots of love from her father, but could never see him as anything less than a monster.

All of them in this scenario... probably feel oddly familiar. And it's funny because in many ways they ARE like Stolas and Stella and Octavia. But roles are somewhat moved and the conflicts feel far more real. Tamara is not for some reason seeing the abuser as lesser evil seemingly. She sees the abuse, but doesn't know a full story much like Geralt or anyone else. Baron in this case is in many ways like Stella. He is someone who abuses their partner and goes into violent rage when they leave them, but unlike Stella you can tell there is this lingering love for his family that further fuels this abuse and brings more pain to everyone while Anna is a broken mess of a woman who cheated on her husband and paid terrible price for it and kept paying as... she sold her upcoming child to terrible witches. Or rather she wished for it to die and for it sold her soul.

And this I think is what makes this story all the stronger. It's not just the tragedy or realism. It's how it ties into the world of Witcher as a whole where we are introduced to some of the most harrowing set pieces of the game and some of the most disturbing villains in the game who also simply act upon their nature as deal makers with Anna and simply know something about Geralt's own daughter Ciri (who they tried to eat). It expands the world and uses it in a meaningful way and pushes more interesting ideas like the side of Anna caring for children at the swamp that are meant to be devoured by witches. Another Hell that ends either with her complete breakdown or death, but also either suicide of the Baron or redemption as he tries to save her and no longer drink or abuse her. While Tamara no matter what has to also face her own consequences of having to forever be tied to Endless Flame, but also putting faith in her father in the good ending and possibly ending with their relationship beginning to heal.

And all of that feels natural. This kind of story definitely can be told anywhere, this kind of story doesn't need this setting, but it further enriches it. And I think another big part of this story I like is that it doesn't try to paint any side as being in the RIGHT. Because in this kind of situation NO PARTY is in the right... And as someone who did went through similar thing... I respect that. And that is why I cannot accept what HB does. In this situation there are no good guys or bad guys... Just people who keep making mistakes (and don't worry, family may be a bit broken, but I still love both my parents no matter how far one may be).

And it is funny because story of Bloody Baron in many ways is how the whole situation with Octavia and her family SHOULD look like. A very harrowing story where there is no place for good or bad sides. Where you have to choose FOR YOURSELF who is more at fault. And the game leaves that decision to you. It does not tell you what to think. It tells you to think. One of the writers who made that whole story said once "I do not like likeable characters. I like interesting characters". And I think that is also where the writing suffers. It tries to paint one side as "likeable", but because of that it removes so much complexity from the character by excusing all of their awful behavior or painting them as ultimate victim. And do not try to tell me also that because Stella is so easy to hate then they are well written. That's not true. Making hateable character is the easiest thing in the world. Just put everything bad in them and make them not like protagonist and oppose them. That's it. It's lazy.

And that also makes me so mad about HB because they were CLOSE to making something good. Not exactly the same as Bloody Baron, but something of it's own that could also be good.

I personally make a fic called "Song for the Quiet Bird". There I partially explore characters of Stolas and Stella and Octavia and I try to paint the entire situation in a more gray light where each side is not truly in the right. Where both of them are in their own ways broken people. And to do so I also try to use something I wish Viv used which is Immortality of Ars Goetia which could have been a thing, but Viv decided to make Stolas like 30 because then you have cute Stolas and Blitzo arts as kids.

In my version both have lived already for 800 years. They lived already for a long time and there is eternity waiting ahead and both cope in their own ways that were taught to them by the world of Hell to not lose themselves to eternity. Stolas is a selfish hedonist who cares the most about his own pleasures and even though he cares for Octavia it is very easy for him to lose himself in his own desires and pleasures as he mostly cares for himself the most and anything that is extension of him. Meanwhile Stella is a cold, distant and very duty focused character. Someone who while trains Octavia for the longest time does not involve herself too much with her own daughter, barely seeing her as one. Someone entirely focused on the prosperity of the family as a whole, someone who does not believe in value of individuality or personal joy and instead focuses on the good of everything else solely. This good being judged by her and her views that value subjugation and order compared to Stolas's love for chaos and selfish freedom.

In this case both sides are very broken. They both have to live through their own Hells made by their own choices that add to the fact they were born into the world of Hell. Neither one can really truly coexist with each other and both long ago abandoned any hope for true understanding. And in all of that the only real victim and good party you can find is Octavia. A person who suffers because of this clash of ideals and has to cope in her own way with suffering both she and her parents go through. All of them suffering.

That's at least how I write it. Something where you cannot pin to one side being terrible or evil. Just everyone being broken in a terrible world you have to fight with to make something better and both in a way... gave up. Until of course Moxxie comes along there for Stella and his presence helps her develop... but that's another thing.

I also have some quotes below from my fic to show my approach to both Stella and Stolas as characters. First one is Stolas and Octavia having a chat in the most recent chapter.

And here below is a scene between Stella and Moxxie where there is some discussion about theatre plays of Hell and difference between human and hellish ones delving into also her own view of the world (this IS a Stella/Moxxie crackship fic... just a big slowburn). From one of the earlier chapters.

Both I think probably show their own deep flaws and ways of coping with their own realities.

Now I don't say I want my ideas to be in the show, but more complex ones. Ones that are not just this... thing we've been fed for all of Season 2 and partially in Season 1 which could have been taken in a better direction, but it never was and just like one image here ruins another, here season 2 retroactively ruins the 1st one. Stella/Stolas/Octavia dynamic just has potential to be so much more than... whatever HB is now.

Well that was stupidly long and I can't imagine many people getting here, but hey. I wrote it and it's already too long to not post it. To whoever came this far I thank you and hope you will leave your opinion on this manifesto. Hope it was entertaining at least.

#helluva boss #hazbin hotel #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #vivziepop critical #vivziepop criticism #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel criticism #fanfic #helluva boss rewrite #helluva boss critique #witcher 3 #too long #God help me I have no life

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badomensgoodomens · 22 hours ago

Text

BAD DECISIONS

CHAPTER ONE.

Noah Sebastian X reader

CW: sex and a ridiculously cringy argument. (p-in-v, shower sex, rough dirty talk)

credits to @emluvsuxo who proofread this chapter and did not tell me how absolutely cringy and shitty it is (xoxo) i promise the other two chapters I've written following this one are better academically, and storyline wise.

tag list at bottom of post.

READERS POV

Noah currently had me sprawled out on his bed, his fingers pumping in and out. My head was thrown back with pleasure, but ultimately, I was in a different place. He pauses his movement, “you good?” he asks, gazing down at me. I nod, mumbling about how I had a rough day.

We hooked up often, a stress reliever for both me and him. He wasn’t like other boys i’d fucked, he was slow, meaningful and very set on both ends receiving pleasure. However, I always wake up alone. I wasn’t beginning to care about that factor until now.

When I woke up the next morning, half naked, I just laid there for a while. Why do I all of a sudden need this man for more than just sex. I mean he wasn’t ALL that.. With his uhm….. Fuck.

I crave that man from the inside out.

—-----------------------------------------------

After a couple of hours of wallowing in delusion with my hands between my legs, I dragged myself out to the studio. I needed to work on a few pieces and get them shipped out. Art was a big passion of mine, it was a great stress reliever (alongside sex with the god himself; noah.) I was successfully channelling every emotion without taking it out on someone else, and turning it into art. Soft music played in the background as I spent hours focusing on every individual brush stroke, trying to perfect this specific piece.

I ignored everything for a while, texts from my sister, from my mom, even from noah. I was antsy, and a little dizzy. I was losing daylight, this piece wasn’t even remotely done. I’d have to return to it tomorrow.

I close and lock the door to my studio, heading down the steep flight of stairs to the carpark. I knew Noah went to the gym around here, and prayed silently I wouldn't come across him. I was still incredibly contradicted. Did I really want more from him?

The sun had set and I wasn't even half way home yet, clairo played softly over the radio. I was overwhelmed, not sure how to feel about noah. Fuck. Why is bags playing?

Fuck

Maybe I am in love with him?

_________________________________________________

NOAH'S POV

I chuck my phone down onto my bed, rubbing my hands over my face. She hasn’t responded yet. Maybe she's given up on me.

Fuck. I'm painfully hard and I need her soft skin against mine. I hadn’t told the boys about her, I didn't intend to ever date her, I don’t think. We were merely friends with benefits, I'm not ready for commitment.

It isn’t like I don’t trust her or anything, I'm just scared, and hurt. Natasha fucked me up real bad, hence why we were strictly friends with benefits. No cheating, no trust issues, just meaningless sex. Even though, now when I smell her perfume, it makes me dizzy.

My head was resting on my grey pillows as my hips stuttered, my right hand jerking up and down my cock. Soft groans spilled out of my mouth as my hips snapped up. I was seconds away from cumming when my phone rang, it was her, her contact photo illuminating my entire phone screen. And holy shit it made me cum.

I had taken a photo of her, half naked, standing by the big windows in her bedroom. I’d just fucked her brains out, but she was more intrigued by the moon. I scramble to answer the phone, pulling my pants back up.

“Hi?” her voice came through my phone speaker.

“Hi, are you busy right now?” I asked, readjusting my pants.

Her soft sigh fills my ears, and I almost moan.

“I’m on my way home from the studio, shower sex sounds good enough for you?”

I climb out of bed, mumbling a soft yes.

—---------------------------------------

I pull up to her house at roughly 8pm, letting myself in. She's standing in the kitchen in a pair of paint covered track pants and a sports bra.

“You’re covered in paint” I grin, watching as she eats a microwavable meal. She looks over herself, an embarrassed smile gracing her pretty face. I swear my pants tighten.

“Right. Upstairs. Now.” I smirk, slipping off my shirt.

She turns the shower on and hurries to get her clothes off, discarding her silly little lace thong. My hand reaches the back of her neck, pulling her soft lips against mine. It's a clash of teeth, kisses and moans.

“Bend over” I growl, spitting on my fingers. She does as she's told, making a show of bending over in the spacious shower. My hand comes down harshly on her pretty ass. I gently trace my fingers over her clit, her breathing quickens.

I lean my head down near her ear, nibbling on it, taking notice of the way her thighs squeeze together at the dirty things I'm whispering in her ear.

My fingers slip inside her tight pussy, pumping in and out. Her soft moans fill the room, blessing my ears. “Gonna make you cum, huh?” I groan, watching her clench down on my fingers. “Gonna make you cum with just my fingers, you dirty girl.”

__________________________________

I walk out of the shower, stretching my back. I slip my clothes back on, gathering my stuff to leave. She walks me out, wearing just a tshirt. I clear my throat, turning to face her. She looked up at me, her face littered with a post-orgasmic glow, but her eyes said something different.

READERS POV

He pulls me in for a kiss, a magical one at that. I was enjoying it for a moment until I could taste a hint of hennessy. I pull away, feeling a mix of hurt. “So you just came here to fuck me because you were drunk?!” the words came out before i could even process them. Surprise washes over his face, “w-what?” he mutters, stepping back a little. I rub my hand over my face, why the fuck did i say that?

This was going to go south real quick.

“Am I no good?”

His face is quizzical, his eyebrows raising. “What? Baby-”

“No. don’t call me that. Tell me, am I no good?” the words fell off my lips in a hurry. I felt sick to my stomach, I was head over heels with this man and I needed to know.

“What the fuck are you talking about-”

I cut him off. “Do you actually want to fuck me? Or am I just the only one willing?” I ask, crossing my arms over. My heart hurt.

“I- we talked about this. We are strictly friends with benefits.” Noah responds, shuffling awkwardly back into the house, not wanting to give the neighbours a show. “You’re not even my fucking friend though! You won’t introduce me to your friends, you only come over for sex!" I yell, shutting the front door. Well yeah. That was the whole point of our relationship, but he could’ve at least been nice enough to.

I watch him rub his hand over my face. His leg was bouncing up and down.

“You caught feelings, didn’t you?”

My stomach dropped, I mean I hadn't exactly been secretive, but it was still terrifying.

“Why is that so wrong!!” I cried out, tugging at the roots of my hair. Was it because he was some rockstar? Was he just like… using me for my body? Ironic isn’t it?

He sighs, sitting down on my grey couch.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen-”

“Can I be yours?” the words spill out before i can stop myself, a desperate plea. The room is silent again. My hopes are not very high.

“What-?”

“Can I be yours? Just tell me I'm yours-" I fumble with my words, avoiding eye contact. It felt like I was being burned at the stake.

Panic sets over his face, I panic myself.

“We talked about this- i- i can’t do that.” he answers, standing up. Shuffling towards the door.

“You walk out those doors and you’ll never see me again-” the words were much harsher than intended, but I was at my wits end. Our relationship was boring, just sex and nothing else. That wasn’t what I wanted it to be. God, I felt like some trashy whore.

He faltered his movement slightly, but continued walking.

The last thing he said to me was, 'I’m sorry.' Those words hung in the air, heavy and final, just before I turned away and never saw him again. It wasn’t just the apology that hit me—it was the weight behind it, the finality in his voice, as if it were the last thing he could offer, and it still wasn’t enough. My chest tightened, and a cold wave of nausea rose in my throat. It was as though his words, meant to bring closure, had instead unravelled something inside me, leaving me hollow and raw. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think—just the echo of his voice and the bitter sting of what could never be fixed.

The door slammed shut, making the thin walls of the lifeless house shake. Bile rose in my throat, I ran up the creaky stairs, my voice a mixture of pained cries and gagging.

_______________________________________

For days, I couldn’t stop hearing those words—his apology. It looped in my mind like a broken record, each repetition digging deeper. But as the days wore on, I started to realise something. Maybe the hardest part wasn't that he’d hurt me. It was that I was still holding on to the hurt, still letting it have power over me. I had to choose to let go.

authors note:

yes, I know I made this story out to be so much juicier and written so much better, just have some patience. I wrote this literally like 2 months ago and have increasingly gotten better.

Taglist: @lilcrazy011 @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard

let me know if you’d like to be added

credits: whoever made that divider ily. i swear it was @silent-stories do correct me if I'm wrong.

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