#It's funny in a sad but also very interesting way how rough the sketches are for the first three pages of callie's introduction

[bleaksqueak]

WIPs from the past few pages

[slightlyhopefulromantic]

Wait if Glenn dies in this Au does Morgan go on trail ?! More importantly Mommy Jodie?!

OH ANON . YOUVE UNLOCKED MY TRAP CARD . yes! yes she does!! this is actually the part of the au i started with on tumblr, and its my FAVORITE part of this au (except for the lesbianisms XD), so im just gonna link you to that! though as a note, the designs are a lil out of date! except morgans. ive always known her. ill reiterate some of that here below, but ill try to be briefer LOL and also talk A Lot More about jodie/his and morgan's relationship in this au!

there is NOT a fifth mom. i did not particularly feel like making a wlw cop character. theres enough of those in the world, theres a reason why ive never genderbent jodie even though hes my baby girl. instead, i twisted the punishment so that jodie is still married to morgan! essentially, morgan is made to retroactively be married to a "safer" parent, who in this case, is jodie. hes as protective as she is but without the paranoia, he has a "safe" job (according to copaganda, at least, im not gonna go into a full spiel but Never Marry A Fucking Cop. please love yourself), hes an all around very cheerful and loving man who is very capable of keeping morgan and nicholas safe. the opposite of glenn, really, minus the cheerful and loving part.

(as a side note: jodie does quit the force in this au - on earth, while the moms are trapped in the forgotten realms, their missing persons case is waved off repeatedly by the police. jodie very strongly insists, a lot, on trying to push the case, but once the dads team up to try and save their wives, ala the moms in normal canon teaming up, henry just. goes on a whole rant many times about how cops dont actually care and it starts really settling in with jodie. so he quits the force to focus full time on helping their wives! post season 1, he works as a mall security guard and is pathetic about it <3 my wet cat)

morgan does not take this well, understandably. jodie does not take his loving wife suddenly not knowing him anymore very well, either! theyre both really fucking sad! i am like, seriously obsessed with their dynamic, theres so many different ways i could take it and i spin them in my head endlessly. currently, im very fond of them just like... trying to make it work? not necessarily as a couple, but as co-parents who are married. despite her apprehensions about everything jodie has going on, morgan finds him interesting and in a more sympathetic sense, feels for him in the sense that he lost his wife due to the timeline jump. jodie is just... in love with her. even though she isnt his morgan anymore, he still loves her, and hes willing to learn about this new her. even if she makes him really sad constantly. they settle into being like, weird half-friends, half-lovers, full-time parents to the world's silliest little guy (a deeply serious 13-year-old boy).

im not gonna draw anything new for this, but i will toss in a VERY ROUGH sketch i did a few days ago and sent to my dear friend cereal because i was thinking about them gfhjbdghdfj post-s1 morgan and jodie, you are sooo so funny to me

i will throw you a bone for mommy jodie, though. there in an au of this au where mercedes goes on trial instead, and so henry and jodie are gay married. jodie does count as a mom in that. hes a man mom. cereal is obsessed with it so i will likely draw out some stuff for that at some point LMAOOOO theyre so silly <3 jodie oak you mean everything to me actually

[bakugouisabitch]

nono, i care about your very specific highschool au. rant about it please.

dgslsjs omg youu 🥺

well if you insist.... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

okay, i once had a discord group which i miss sm rip where i shared some ideas from that AU so i’m basically gonna repeat them here now shsjs under the read more ����

this AU includes both Maliks as siblings (+ Isis and Rishid ofc) and both Bakuras as siblings too. The two Yamis are the elder brothers of the non-Yamis so they also have their own name ofc. 

For Yami Malik I’d go with Amir cause the name is beautiful and fits him somehow (it means ‘prince’ or ‘chief’). This AU is literally so self-indulgent where I can finally write Amir just how I picture him in my head as the funny himbo he is, who makes some creepy jokes at times but is generally a nice guy and is just constantly stoned sdfgskh

For Yami Bakura i haven’t thought of a name yet 🙃 He’s low key the protag and I still don’t have a name for him 👏 good work, Ziggy 👏 I was thinking about something that makes his initials still be YB so a name with Y actually (Yamato maybe ?) Everyone calls him Bakura/Bakura-kun anway and they mostly call Ryou “the little Bakura”/Bakura-chan (affectionately) since he is the little brother ahsksfsj

In this AU Amir and YB are like really close friends. They are classmates in their last year together and they are known for being trouble makers. But not just like Honda and Jounouchi in the anime - they are worse than that. They have risked being expelled many times and smoke on the school’s rooftops and even hang out with older guys who sell illegal shit and such (it’d be tw for drugs ofc). OH and lots of spray painting on public places 👊 They are really best buds and bonded over same interests and music taste and same hate for the society and family and such. This fanart was a major inspiration to write these two as high school best buddies.

Also, I did a quick redraw of the typical anime boys sleeping in the classroom pose with these two. That’s them:

 (might finish it one day and post it seperately idk my motivation is swinging lately 🤷)

All their “criminal” behaviour ofc stems from a sad background/past because i’m just a sucker for angst and i keep making my boys suffer 😔 i’m sorry. Every guy in this AU has daddy issues or just family issues in general

YB is VERY overprotective over his little brother Ryou (who’s just two years younger than him, and just like Malik, starts his first high school year in Domino High School). He is literally responsible for raising him up because ever since they lost their mother and Amane (Ryou’s twin sister) at a very young age their father fell into a very deep depression and he’s constantly away “for work” and just generally neglects his two remaining sons. YB hates their father because of that so he has taken it as his own responsibility to make sure Ryou is always safe and protected and acts like the parent in their home (where there is usually just the two of them). Also, another self indulgent thing here: YB being an ass with everyone except for being an overprotective good big brother for Ryou 🥺 please! so cute!! (They ride a bike together on their way to school like this fanart)

The Ishtar’s parents are both dead. Their mother died when giving birth to the youngest one (Malik) and their father died under very tragic circumstances (still gotta think how 🤔 it definitely wasn’t Amir tho’) and they used to have a very abusive household thus why Amir HATES their dad. Contrary to Malik, who keeps saying he deserved a second chance and was a good father and wishes he could have made him proud ~ this always makes Amir and Malik fight amongst other things and this is what also bonds Amir and YB so much: the hate for their old man.

It would be a very psychological AU that deals with a lot of issues and shit and traumas the boys have to live with + adding all the typical teenage angst at that age so it’s CHAOS. and I’d also have the perfect soundtrack/playlist for it 💆‍♀️ (it would be set in the 90s)

Ofc it’d be bakumali because I can’t help myself (and maybe also Ryou x Amir as a side pairing 👀)

Since it’s Malik’s first year in domino high school he wants to be recognised as one of the “cool kids” and befriend the older boys from the class. he just hates it that his big brother (Amir) is always there as well. Compared to the Bakuras these two have much more of a turbulent kind of relationship going on as siblings, where they constantly fight and Amir says Malik “ruined” the family whenever their fights get harsher and Malik says father never loved him anyway. Isis and Rishid try to keep the family and the boys under control as young adults but it’s hard 😔

YB visits the Ishtars sometimes to hang out with Amir in his room where they listen to music, smoke weed, and play PS and such and this is when Malik “spies” on YB. he thinks his big brother’s friend looks so cool with his ripped jeans and eyeliner and black nail polish. One night YB and Amir are smoking weed in Amir’s room and playing PS when Malik would use the chance. He’d piss Amir off and tell him it’s his turn to take the trash out on purpose to make him leave his room. Ofc Amir says no but then Malik “threatens” him with “I will tell sister you smoke weed if you don’t take the trash out”. And so Amir leaves (slamming the door behind him like an unruly teenager and saying he’s gonna kill Malik) and leaves a stoned YB alone in his room. And this is when Malik uses the chance to be alone with a very confused and very stoned YB who wonders why Amir’s little brother seems to be so interested in him sdfghjkl and yea this is basically their first encounter.

Malik has basically a kind of obvious “fangirl crush” for YB but the latter is so confused why and what he even sees in him. Because for him there’s nothing “cool” in skipping school and breaking the rules, it’s just the only thing he knows. But for Malik this is the coolest shit he’s ever seen.

this little sketch i made kinda shows my idea for their relationship in this AU better sdfghjk:

Malik befriends Ryou (who is in his same class and school year) out of convenience ofc cause he wants to get closer to YB. Yes Malik is a lil bitch in this AU. And Ryou is like extremely nice and polite, he’s the weird silent kid who doesn’t have a lot of friends and lives in his own world. He falls victim to bullies a lot and YB also keeps that rough facade to make sure no one messes with him. Ryou befriends Malik and tries to answer all of the weird, intimate questions he has of his big brother...

One night I, like, imagined a scenario where Amir and YB are out spray-painting a wall behind the station with some other thugs and Malik and Ryou followed them secretly (it was all Malik’s plan) even if Ryou was totally contrary to the idea. Once they see the guys have drugs and alcohol Ryou wants to leave, but Malik says this is exactly what makes it exciting and joins them without warning. When Amir and YB see Malik they panic, wondering what he is doing here. Amir gets particularly pissed off and wants to just leave. ofc YB tells him he can’t just leave his young brother alone in a place like this with people like that. But Amir ignores him (and this will lead to one of the first big fights between the two best buddies 😔 they will punch each other. I told you it will have a lot of angst)

Anyway at the end Amir leaves and YB is decent enough to bring both Ryou and Malik home but then Malik insits on wanting to crash at their place. So YB is like “i guess??” And they spend the night together at the Bakura’s place :) YB takes the couch and leaves his bed for Malik to sleep in but Malik will have none of that ofc sgksksj

Okay sorry for boring you, I could go on forever with so many scenarios of this AU or like actually sit down and write it... and yea.. that’s it.... just angsty and misunderstood boys in a shitty society with shitty parents trying to find a sense with their lives 🥺

[korissideblog]

working on a longer fic rn and felt like i needed to post something <3

today we've got Aito, Lupe, Sato Sensei (@dantelionwishes ) and a mentioned Ikuto (@the-heartbeat-hero ) <3

[no warnings from this fic! just gets a little sad at the end, but it's still a happy ending!]

[also no art for this one, still working on my art for compound's fic <3 next fic may have a couple sketches though!]

Click-tak

Click-tak

Click-tak

It was easy to tell when Lupe and Aito were walking towards the classroom, between the mother’s white cane and the heels of Aito’s boots, the two could be heard from down the hall. Aito perked up immediately when she saw Sato Sensei, but stayed obediently at his mother’s side instead of her usual aimless wandering around the classroom.

“Sato San, I’m happy we could meet,” Guadeloupe said, smiling as her eyes focused vaguely on the area of Sato’s desk. She was led by her daughter to a chair that Sato had set up for parent teacher conferences.

“This is Sato Sensei,” Aito said, focusing on her mother. “He’s a tallish man with brown hair and-” Aito started to describe Sato, but was stopped by his mother

“I’ve read up on him angel, you go wait for me in the hallway, yes?” Lupe asked, kissing her cheek and watching as Aito sprung from her side, quickly skipping out of the classroom. “Sorry about that, he’s just a bit wound up right now.” Lupe said, chuckling with a bit of exhaustion.

“Oh, don’t worry, I know how he can be.” Sato said, politely, but with the same tinge of general tiredness. “She’s a good kid, just a bit too much energy from time to time. Speaking of, I have her grades right here.” he continued, flipping through a file with a few other report cards till he found one for Takao, Aito. “He’s doing well, low Bs and high Cs. I started pairing him with my more advanced students, and she seems to match their pace well. She just needs the motivation to work.” Sato explained in the vague way that teachers were supposed to when they had no idea what to do with a student.

“Ah, yes,” Lupe said, immediately recognizing the tone. “She’s very good at keeping up when faced with a competitor. Aito used to come to work with me, and I would see her learn something from one of my students and replicate it almost perfectly. I’m sure he’s got the smarts, he just needs a reason to show it off.” Lupe offered, tapping her finger on the desk, as if she wanted to say something, but was a bit nervous to bring it up. “Uh, I’m sure you’re not in charge of this, Sato San, but… Aito’s medication…?”

“Yes, Takao san, I’ve seen your note. Aito’s been taking it regularly.” Sato said, reassuringly.

“And you’ve been-”

“Wrapping it in little pieces of cheese, yes.”

“And when he-”

“Gets bored of cheese, switch to ham. Yes, I keep a careful eye on Aito.” Sato chuckled, looking out the classroom’s windows to Aito waiting patiently in the hallway. Guadeloupe’s visits always seemed to calm the boy down in ways Sato’s never seen. If he had asked Aito to wait in the hallway, she’d have wandered to the other side of the school before Sato could get to her, but by just a simple request from his mother, he seemed to have grown almost docile, staring at his feet as he waited. Aito perked up a bit, looking down the hallway and smiling, waving to someone walking up to her.

“Ah, Ikuto Maekawa. He’s a quiet boy from 1-Y, the classroom next to ours.” Sato said, gesturing to the student who had approached Aito.

“Yes, I’ve met him before. I’m glad Aito has good friends, I was worried that he would fall into some sort of delinquent gang or…” Lupe trailed off, watching her son carefully as he spoke to Maekawa.

“She’s going to steal from him.” she said quietly.

“How can you tell?” Sato assumed the same thing, but that was just because of her track record. If Guadeloupe had some sort of knowledge he didn’t, he definitely wanted to know.

“Look at her ear.” she said, pointing to Aito. “Her left one. It has a small tick. It’s only about a couple degrees, and it’s fairly random-about 40 bpm- but it’s noticeable when you look for it.” she explained. Sato looked at the ear and noticed it wasn’t moving at all, and caught on to Lupe’s strategy. “She’s thinking about how she looks right now.”

“And he’s thinking about it because he’s trying to look innocent.” Sato finished, watching Aito put her arm over Ikuto’s shoulders, something she did normally, but also noticed how quickly her hands moved while she talked- again, something completely normal for her- but also something she did when she wanted her target to lose track of her hands. “I’ll call her over-”

“No no, if you tell her you caught her, she’ll feel bad.” Lupe said, reaching out and taking Aito’s report card in her hands. “You have to make it seem like you didn’t even notice. Give her something else to do, and make it more interesting or important than stealing.” she advised.

“Aito, can you come here for a second? I can’t read this very well.” she called out into the hallway, Aito perking up at the mention of her name and immediately appearing at his mother’s side. “This right here, what is it?” Aito quickly explained that it was just general information that the school needed, like her student ID and contact numbers, and read it all aloud till his mother stopped him. “Thank you, you can go back to the hallway dear.” Lupe said, patting her daughter’s head and watching him run out of the classroom again. “He won’t try again, it’s very rare that he’ll try and steal from someone after his first attempt didn’t go through.” she said, smiling fondly at her little monster of a child.

“Wow, I’ll definitely be keeping that in mind.” Sato said, watching her again and almost noticing the boy’s ear twitch. It was one of those things that you could convince yourself you imagined, but maybe it was just different when you raise a child. “Any more tips on Aito’s behavior?” he asked jokingly, to which Lupe responded quickly.

“He doesn’t like bright lights, and he sometimes needs to be moving to really remember something. He’ll be most annoying when he wants attention, and I think being alone for even one second will kill him.” she said, looking back to Sato. “and sometimes she’ll get quiet and stand around you, just quietly watching whatever you’re doing. That means her tummy hurts and he’s trying to be brave about it. Ask him to make you yerba buena- mint tea, ask for honey with it- and he’ll make some for himself as well. He’ll brighten right up.” she advised, her gaze immediately going back to Aito and Ikuto. “He acts tough, but he’s a delicate boy under it all. He needs to be held and talked to and loved on, just like all of us.” she said, a bit more vaguely as she watched Aito laugh at something Ikuto said, the latter looking confused about why it was so funny. “I know that can be easy to forget sometimes… because of all the… you know…”

Fighting

Yes, Sato knew. He could recall every time Aito was dragged into his class by the collar, and feared for the times she wasn’t. “She… She just sees everything as a challenge. And sometimes she challenges the wrong people.” Sato offered, trying to soothe Lupe as best as he could.

Lupe was quiet for a bit, just watching as her daughter roughed up her friend’s hair, her fangs sharp in her smiling mouth. “She’s just a clever little girl, and she doesn’t know how to show it without hurting people she cares about.” Lupe said quietly, a silent sort of pain in her face, one she’s been holding for a long while.

“She’s been making a lot of friends recently.” Sato said, hoping Lupe caught on to what he was really trying to say. “Even outside of the classroom, I’ve seen him talking with students and staff all over the school.” He may be lacking in empathy “she does especially good during group work, she’s a natural leader.” but she’s trying so hard. “I’ll try to give her a bit more attention during solo work, just so she can stay on track.” that has to count for something.

Guadeloupe nodded, a gentle smile on her lips. “Yes… Thank you Sato San.” she said quietly, a little bit of hope sparkled in her eyes as she finally dragged them away from Aito. “I trust you know what’s best when it comes to Aito’s education. If there are any problems, you know my number.” she finished, her own secret message hidden in her tone.

You have no idea how much he means to me.

Please keep her safe.

Lupe shook Sato’s hand, collected her things, and waved Aito over. Aito again ran to her side, Ikuto next to her as they both chattered on, leading Lupe out of the classroom. Sato still didn’t know what he was going to do with Aito Takao.

But at least he knew more than before.

[dolce-peach]

Hi! I really like your mcu fanfiction! Could you do a fanfic where the reader is an avenger and loves to paint and daydream and once she first meets Loki she falls head over heels and secrets dreams abt him and sketches and paints his portraits and he finds out. Hope you have a good rest of your day :)

unspoken

pairing: loki x avenger!reader

warnings: fluff, fluff, and more fluff oml

a/n: honestly this was the fluff i needed to write in the midst of my sad life 😂😭 hope you guys like it!

permanent taglist: @kaitlynmalikisnotonfire

** TO MAKE A REQUEST -- please check the status in my bio **

masterlist

----

Once again, you got carried away sketching on your paperwork.  This time, it was Steve and Tony arguing over something petty while the mission meeting progressed.  You leaned into your arm, your pen pretty much moving on its own.

“Anyways, before I was rudely interrupted,” Steve started as he sent a playful glare at Tony, “does everyone understand their role?”

Everyone nodded.

You continued shading in various parts of the quick sketch, further capturing lifelike qualities.  The annoyance in Steve’s gaze.  The defiance in Tony’s eyes.

“Y/N?”

You looked up, setting your pen down.  “Sorry.  Yeah?”

“Do you understand your role for the mission?” Steve repeated.

You sent an apologetic smile.  “Aye, Cap’n.”

As the meeting ended, you collected your strewn papers with slight embarrassment.  It wasn’t the first time you were caught with your head completely in the clouds.  

You couldn’t help it.  Sketching helped you concentrate, as strange as that sounded, and when you had time, painting helped you take your mind off of things.  Healthy extracurricular activities that were relaxing were hard to come by, especially for a combat and stealth agent like yourself.

You made your way back to the common room, where everyone was crowding around Thor and someone else.

“Thor, you can’t just bring him here,” Steve said.  

Tony snorted.  “Yeah, what if he destroys half of New York again?  Guess who’d have to clean that up?  Me.”

“Oh, please,” Natasha groaned, rolling her eyes.  “You give yourself way too much credit.”

“No offense, but I’m not a big fan,” Clint said, eyeing the newcomer anxiously.

Bruce cowered behind Clint.  “Me too.”

“Of who?” you asked.

Everyone turned to see you standing there, your curiosity piqued.  They slowly backed away, revealing someone you’ve only heard about.

“Loki,” you breathed.

He stood in all his godly glory, adorned in his green and black robes, hints of gold making everything vivid.  He stood tall over you, making you shrink a bit at his bravado.

He smirked.  “That would be me.”  His eyes scanned you.  “And who might you be?”

“Y/N.”

“And she can kick your ass,” Tony added helpfully.

Steve sent a warning look.  “Language.”

Tony held his hands up in defeat, everyone laughing.  

Loki kept his eyes on you with interest.  You had to break away from his intense gaze, or you felt you might be eaten alive.

--

When you got done with training that day, you found yourself sitting on the balcony overlooking the night streets.  You were snuggled up in a thick sweatshirt with your pencil and sketchbook.  

You sighed happily.  

If you had to describe your ideal night, it would be this.  No missions to complete.  No errands to run.  No one to meet or please.

Just you and your imagination.

As per usual, you let your pencil draw for itself.  

You smiled a bit to yourself, seeing the rough shapes coming together to form Loki’s structure.  You began putting some fine lines in before shading ever so softly.

You’d been thinking about him the entire day.  Other than the mischievous look in his eyes, he hardly seemed like the egotistic maniac who destroyed most of New York.  Instead he looked gentle and reserved, taking in the world quietly, all while perhaps having a slightly sadistic sense of humor.

You shook your head.  You didn’t care what the others had to say about him.  You were determined to get to know him while he was here with Thor.

With your head full and your heart satisfied, you decided to brew yourself a cup of tea before heading back inside to retire for the night.  

You filled the kettle and started the stove.  You nearly jumped when you heard the fridge open behind you.  

“Do all you humans drink such revolting liquid?” Loki asked, holding up a can of soda.

“Depends on what brand you drink,” you answered.  “Would you like tea?”

He paused.  “Yes, please.”

As he put the soda can back, you reached for two cups in the cupboard and scooped some non-caffeinated tea into a couple strainer balls.  You placed them in the cups and carefully poured the boiling water, watching it swirl and change colors.

When it finished brewing, you removed the strainers and slid Loki a cup across the kitchen counter.

“Thank you,” came his quiet response.

You grinned.  “No problem.”

You sipped your tea, and looked at him again before laughing.

He blushed.  “What’s so funny?” he asked defensively.

“Nothing!” you laughed.  “I just never expected to see a god in sweatpants and a t-shirt.”

“Well, it’s quite comfortable,” Loki argued.  “And you didn’t expect me to stay dressed like that all the time, did you?”

“I suppose not,” you said, leaning against the counter.

It was quiet as the two of you finished your cups of tea.  You took his empty cup and rinsed it in the sink.

You smiled to yourself.  He really isn’t as bad as everyone says he is.

He stood awkwardly against the counter.  “Um, thank you again.”

You shook your head.  “Anytime.”

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

You blinked.  “Hm?”

“Well...”  He rubbed the back of his neck.  “Usually people scream or glare or something.  They think I’ll kill them the next instant or freeze them forever.”

“I don’t think you’re so bad,” you said.  “Misunderstood, yes, but you’re not a bad guy.”

A blush colored his cheeks as he looked away.  

“Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow, Loki,” you said with a smile.

He snapped out of his momentary daze.  “Yeah.  Have a good night...Y/N.”

As you began walking away, you couldn’t help but widen your smile, feeling your heart beating a bit harder.

--

The next week was utterly exhausting.  Each of you used your abilities to the very max hunting down Hydra bases and the likes.  

Having Loki fight with you all was strange for everyone.  The Avengers always made sure to keep him in check, but you had no doubts about his loyalty, especially as you got to know him more.  

There were also things unseen and unsaid.  

You’d often catch him stealing glances at you, and you didn’t mind at all.  It was almost like he was afraid you were going to disappear.  

He’d come up to your room late at night with a cup of tea and stay into the early hours of the morning.  Sometimes you’d talk, and sometimes you just watched the cars move up and down the street.

You’d become best friends with the god of mischief.

It wasn’t until you started dreaming about him that you discovered you were also in love with him.

Loki became your sole subject for your sketches.  You loved capturing his many different expressions, especially the looks of varying annoyance.

Eventually, you gathered enough courage to begin a painted portrait of him.  You were determined to show everyone how you saw him: vivid, charming, lovely, protective.  

You used so many colors, a color for each bit of life in his expression.

As you painted, you got so lost in what you were doing, you didn’t hear Loki walk in behind you.

He silently studied you painting for a few minutes, taking it all in.

“What are you doing?”

“Jesus!” you yelped, nearly dropping your brush.  Your cheeks grew hot as you tried to cover your work.  “N-nothing!”

Loki laughed, catching you off guard.  “I’ve been watching you the past few minutes.”

“Really?” you squeaked.  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You looked like you were concentrating.  I didn’t want to interrupt,” he said.  “And I was enjoying watching you work.”

At this point, you were a red tomato.  You had no idea why you were freaking out so much.  It was just a painting of a friend.

A friend you wanted to be something more to.

“I’m flattered,” he continued.  He eyed the sketches of himself strewn all over your desk.  “You drew more?”

“Yeah, but they’re not much...” you trailed off as you shuffled them around a bit.  “I mean, it’s just a relaxing hobby of mine...”

He carefully picked up some pieces, his eyes filled with admiration.  “These are really amazing, Y/N.”

“You really think so?”

“Of course!”  He furrowed his eyebrows.  “But why me?”

“What do you mean?”

He nodded.  “Wouldn’t it be nicer to sketch someone like my brother?  Or one of your Earth friends?”

“I guess, but they’re not you.”

You were your reddest, if that was even possible at that point.  

Loki took a moment before smiling.  “If you insist.”  He let out a small laugh.  “If you want, I could model for you some time.”

Your eyes sparkled.  “Really?”

He played with your hair.  

“Anything for you.”

part 2

[ryuichirou]

do u have any favorite dj artists?

Yeah, a bunch of them! I’ll name a few, but there are definitely more very cool artists that I’m forgetting about right now. These ones are just those who I came to mind first +  those whose work I had saved for the occasional appreciation.

Please keep in mind that despite me whining about the characters being OOC all the time, these are also somewhat OOC (some of them are very OOC). I guess their characteristics are simply shifted in a way that we like so I don’t mind is as much, and sometimes the concept/artstyle/everything is just way too good for me to think about how character act.

Another disclaimer: the words “weird” and “messed up” are going to be used a bunch of times, but I mean them as compliments. When it comes to us and djs, the weirder and more messed up they are, the merrier. Here is the list with my little and not helpful summaries:

Atsukunare Kubota (Ereri) – I’d marry her djs if I could lol Her artstyle is so much fun to look at, her ideas are, well, a little weird, but this is why I love them – you’ll never be like “oh right I forgot that I read that”, they’ll be stuck with you forever. And I mean it, it really is the type of stuff where you go “oh I’m not sure if I’m going to like it- woah ok that was fun I’m kind of into it”. I’m so sad she doesn’t post new stuff on pixiv anymore… 

Ongre/Onjire/Tamy (Ereri) – another fave when it comes to Ereri djs. Her works are extremely funny and fun to read, some of them radiate such chaotic energy... it’s so enjoyable to watch lol Her Eren is insane, her Levi is grumpy and cute and she always does her best to showcase how feral Eren is and how adorable Levi is. She has good nsfw scenes too!

8205 (Ereri) – this one is very dear to me and very unique. 8205’s work is very interesting, she rewrites everything about the characters – their age, their “role” (for example, in the latest dj Reiner and Bert are Connie’s grandparents), and it still works well somehow?? Sometimes it all feels ridiculous and funny, but it still is very touching and beautiful. And creepy, it’s also creepy from time to time, I love it. I think I’d read those works even if they weren’t SnK djs. There are some nsfw scenes here and there, but not many, unfortunately. Katsu’s note: I’m ready to die for her Eren and for the author’s fashion sense.  

Zokugun Porno/Inumoto (Ereri) – their djs are more story-oriented, and their stories are interesting to read. I wouldn’t call them super creepy or dark and heavy per-se, but there is some ehh fleur of tragedy in some of their work. The atmosphere is amazing, I love this type of stuff. These djs also have some nice nsfw scenes, these are amazing too. Oh, and I really like how they work with Eren/Levi dynamic and incorporate it into AUs. 

Melomelow/Hyura (Eruri) – our all-time fave. The queen of size difference between Levi and Erwin. Her nsfw scenes are hot af, her Erwin is not ok in a beautiful way, her Levi is… well I was thinking for 5 min but I couldn’t come up with a perfect way to describe him lol, he’s just too good.

Chiruchiru (Eruri) – she has some good depressing djs, some more or less light-hearted ones, but her nsfw scenes are always great (and sometimes it gets weird…). She does Eruri’s size difference justice too, I appreciate her work a lot. 

Hakodume/x_hako (Eruri) – I absolutely adore her work. The storyboard, the frame composition, the artstyle itself – it’s gorgeous. Too bad she keeps deleting all of her galleries ;w; Her work is mostly sfw though, but still, very beautiful.

Uchu Kago (Eruri) – I don’t even have words for this one, every time they’re kind enough to share their dj in its entirety on pixiv I cry a little because of how good their Eruris are. Their AUs are very interesting, they has tons of very cool concepts with them, and oh my god THE SIZE DIFFEREEENCEEEEE it murders me every time we read any of their djs.

鼻子 (Eruri) – their works have such a great dark and depressing atmosphere. They’re mostly story-oriented with great and very fitting visuals: dramatic shading, hatching, rough lines, all this stuff makes their djs feel very… unnerving. In a very good way, I love it when djs make me feel uneasy.

Honorable mentions: here are a bunch of great artists who post short comics and art that we really enjoy. It’s mostly comical and sfw, but occasionally there is nsfw stuff too.

Si_tano (Ereri) – this person draws djs too and have a lot of previews on their pixiv page, and I’d commit a rumbling to be able to pay them and read any of those, but they also post a lot of short funny comics about Eren and Levi. They also have a series of sketches with Erewan 

Migiri (Ereri AND Eruri!) – this person’s short comics art hilarious, I adore their portrayal of Levi and the fact that they ship both of our fav ships. A lof of their works have “two idiots are madly in love with Levi who is just chillin’ there” dynamic and it’s great. 

Zundamochi (Ereri) – we’re in love with this artist’s Eren LOL he’s so moody and clingy and angry, it’s so close to how we see Eren, it’s always a national holiday for us when they post something new. Such a joy. Levi is adorable too

Bubiomaru – they mostly post non-shippy art nowadays, but they have short comics with both Ereri and Eruri. Although their non-shippy art is hilarious too 

Koka-tin (Ereri, Eruri, etc) – they mostly post illustrations, but there are some short stories here and there (both sfw and nsfw). Levi-centric, and oh god if their Levi is good. They illustrate his nature and his sexiness perfectly. There are  a lot of unexpected ideas, stories and characters’ combinations, their mind amazes me. And the art itself is breathtaking good . 

シャケ (Ereri, Eruri, Zevi, etc…) - their Levi is round, soft, smol, tiny, kittenish, everything. And woah they ship him with Zeke!! Well, they ship him with a lot of people, but Zeke is one of them and I’m grateful for that. You most likely won’t like their stuff though, I’m pretty sure about that. You’ll see what I mean when you see their Levi lol 

Once again, there are a lot of people that I’m forgetting about or don’t remember well enough to describe their work, since it’s been forever since I’ve reread some of the older djs… But I think that’s enough for now lol

Too bad there are no Zevi djs yet…….sob

[katehuntington]

2020, 1st edition Disclaimer: ‘Kate Huntington’s Author & Fanfiction Recommendations’ is a platform for writers, to show appreciation for their work and expand their audience. I do not claim to be the author of these stories, neither do I own them. Read each writer’s warnings carefully, most of them are rated +18. 

Without further ado, here is my list of recommendations.

One shots 

“While You Sleep” - written by @foreverwayward​ Fluff - Dean Winchester - 617 words       A heartwarming little fic about Dean living the domesticated life we all wish he could have. The writer has a very clever way of storytelling and the end might come as a surprise, only adding to the emotion it already brought along.

“Imagine” - written by @pennydrabbles​ Fluff - Dean x Reader - 800 words      ‘Imagine calling Dean after a bad day and saying you miss him,’ says the header of this marvelous little story. It’s soothing, with strong descriptions, yet never over the top. Simplicity isn’t necessarily a bad word. It takes skill to not overy describe a scene and let the tale be told by the personal emotion of the reader. The author is able to do this with such elegance, that you actually feel Dean’s comfort.

“Heartbeats” - written by @there-must-be-a-lock​ Fluff - Dean x Castiel - 930 words      Castiel is fascinated by the human heart, but doesn’t quite understand it, until he becomes human himself. I’ll start by saying that I don’t ship Dean and Cas together, but I do appreciate the people who do. What this little piece of art does is incredible, however, because while I was reading, I found myself rooting for them. The writer does a great job by using the literal human heart as a backbone of this story. Intriguing and very well executed.

“Everything That’s Yet To Come” - written by @fictionalabyss​ Fluff - Dean x Reader - 812 words      Dean experiences what the future beholds, with the people who he wishes could be there. The author took me by the hand through this moving little one shot, which feels like a collection of greatest hits and wishes come true. It offers peace and closure not only for the older Winchester brother, but for the reader as well. Beautiful piece of writing.

“Take A Drunk Girl Home” - written by @amanda-teaches​ Fluff - Dean x Reader - 1869 words      Dean taking care of others; it’s his nature and shows what a kind soul he truly is. The situation sketched here is no exception, and it’s softer than one can imagine. The pace is steady and the balance between fluff and comedy is just right. A lovely read.

“New Beginnings” - written by @our-jensen-ackles-love​ Fluff - Dean x Reader - 1665 words      New Year’s Eve; a new start, a new life and plenty of reason to celebrate. A lovely ‘feel good’ story that makes us forget about the monsters, pain and loss Supernatural is known for. The level of fluff is equivalent to cuddling with puppies.

“When He Cries” - written by @revengingbarnes​ Angst/fluff - Dean x Reader - 1894 words       When the woman who Dean loves falls victim during a case, the hunter has trouble dealing with the aftermath. And, boy... Does that hurt to witness. This is one of the most breathtaking stories I have stumbled on. The realism that is used to describe the gruesome and horrific angst, the emotion that is laced in every word, had me clutching my chest while reading. It’s is a beautiful piece of art.

“Nobody” - written by @soaringeag1e​ Angst - Dean x Reader - 2561 words      This one shot reminds us why we should never stay angry with a loved one and let a fight unresolved, because what if something bad happens and we won’t have the chance to make it right? The writer gives a great sense to that fear and having to watch Dean go through this nightmare is truly heartbreaking. 

“The Demon Inside You” - written by @foreverwayward​ Smut/angst - Demon!Dean x Reader - 4375 words       Curing Dean from the demon that he has become proves to be difficult when he’s so hard to resist. What else is hard to resist, is this beautiful pitch black one shot. I don’t read Demon!Dean fiction often, because it still feels foreign to see the character who I love so much turn into something evil. This however, is so gripping and well written, that the darkness swallows up the beholder. Rough, hot, sad, narcissistic, all these ingredients packed up in one hell of a story.

“Curves And Edges” - written by @kittenofdoomage​ Smut/fluff/angst - Dean x Reader - 4375 words       This equally sweet, sexy, funny and sad story is a big shout out to all women who think they don’t meet the beauty standards and feel like they will never be good enough to get noticed. It is one thing to replace a name with Y/N and call it a reader’s insert; it’s a gift to make every person reading this feels like they are the character in this story. The author handles every woman’s insecurities with grace, making her words both relatable and soothing. Her spot on version of Dean reminds us that we are all beautiful, desired and unique.

“Hold Her Tight” - written by @waywardbaby​ Fluff/smut - Dean x Reader - 2955 words     ‘A story of a deep need to feel someone close to you’, is how the author describes her work. I couldn’t have said it better, because this one shot isn’t about sex; it’s about love making, and there’s a difference. What I also appreciate, is that Y/N takes the time to pamper herself. We all deserve some self care.

“Watch Your F!cking Mouth!” - written by @impala-dreamer​ Smut/comedy - Dean x Reader - 1984 words       Dean falls under a literal curse, and it’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I was wheezing, couldn’t breathe and died laughing. It’s astonishing how the writer can juggle comedy and sex without the two taking each other down. An uplifting read.

“Thank God For Sexual Frustration” - written by @winchester-fantasies​ Smut - Dean x Reader - 4398 words       God had nothing to do with writing this sinful story; we can thank the author for that. When Y/N is on a dry spell that has her frustrated, Dean helps her out in the best way imaginable. Delicious smut served in three courses, because we all know Dean keeps his lady satisfied.

Series:

“Life For Rent” - written by @winchest09​ Smut/angst/fluff - Mobster!Dean x Escort!Reader  - WIP      This amazing series follows an experienced, smart and resilient escort, who is ruled by contracts, money and aliases. When Dean becomes her client, he makes it his mission to understand what this interesting woman is hiding.       Conspiracies, deceat, crime. A strong family bond, blossoming love, oh, not to mention the sex. This series is intriguing beyond imagination and certainly not just another mobster fanfiction. The writing is smart and I could tell from the first paragraph that it’s loaded with hints and foreshadowing, but I couldn’t pick them out. This triggers a curiosity like an itch I can’t quite scratch away until I finish reading this story. And so I wait eagerly and drop everything the second a new chapter comes out.  An absolute must read!

“Findings” - written by @kathaswings​ Angst/smut/fluff - Dean x Reader - finished. Update: Sadly, this series is no longer online      This story starts out with what seems to be a routine demon hunt, until Dean and his brother find a frightened five year old survivor amongst the blood and corpses. Keeping the smart little Mackenzie safe and getting her back to her older sister proves to be difficult, because this case is a whole lot bigger than they anticipated and is likely to change their lives forever.      This is one of my favorite Supernatural series and I revisited it recently. The overall story arc is a mystery I just had to unravel and I couldn’t put it down if I wanted to. The bond between Dean and Mackenzie is so precious. Writing a child isn’t easy. I’ve read plenty of books and seen plenty of films in which the maturity the creators added wasn’t natural, but this author handles Mac’s dialogue amazingly well. What’s also interesting is the jumps from point of view between Dean and Y/N, giving very personal perspectives on the gripping story.

“When You Least Expect It” - written by @coffee-obsessed-writer​ Fluff/angst/smut - Jensen Ackles x Musician!Reader - WIP      This gorgeously written slow burn series kicks off when Jensen visits the idyllic town of Seaside. After a bad breakup he keeps his mind occupied with the organisation of a music festival, hoping to find a musician that fits the vibe he has in mind. He meets a spirited, undiscovered performer, not only her voice catching him by surprise. A friendship blossoms, with potential to grow into something more, but will their past allow the love they feel for each other?      Talking about an epic love story, but it’s so much more than that. The music that plays such an important factor, the setting that is Seaside. The fabulous supporting characters Bri, Rob, Jason and Jared, the wardrobe, not to mention the wonderful little gems and details that this author weaved into the story, showing how much love she has put into it. This is without a shadow of a doubt my favorite RPF I’ve come across.

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed the work of the authors above, don’t be afraid to let them know. I’m sure they will appreciate it. Feel free to share!

If you have any suggestions or would like a tag in the future, drop a request in my inbox or send me a message.

Love, Kate

‘Kate Huntington’s Author & Fanfiction Recommendations’ taglist: @adoptdontshoppets​ @fangirlxwritesx67​ @idksupernatural​ @indecisive20something​ @tranquility-or-chaos​ @winchest09​ @wingedcatninja​

[disneytva]

Extra Wild ETs: Justin Roiland & Mike McMahan’s ‘Solar Opposites’ Lands at Hulu

Misfit aliens from space trying to adapt to life on Earth have been a popular staple of sitcoms such as My Favorite Martian, ALF and 3rd Rock from the Sun. This spring, a new brood of aliens make their impressive debut in Hulu’s Solar Opposites, the hilarious new animated offering from Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland and former head writer Mike McMahan (Star Trek: Lower Decks).

The series, which overflows with the inspired lunacy you might expect from the madmen who gave us Rick and Morty, follows a team of four aliens who have crash-landed into suburbia after escaping their exploding home planet. Two of them, Korvo (Roiland) and Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) believe their new home is awful and polluted, while the other duo Terry (Thomas Middleditch) and Jesse (Mary Mack) love humans, their junk food and pop culture.

Roiland, who won an Emmy in 2018 for executive producing Rick and Morty (and yes, he also voices both Rick and Morty for that hugely popular show) tells us that he had the idea to center a show on a pair of odd-couple aliens about 14 years ago. “At some point, it was going to be a live-action series, but it never happened,” he recalls. “Mike McMahan and I were trying to develop another show, between the second and third season of Rick and Morty, but everything we did felt really laborious. So, we decided to put that other idea down and try the odd-couple alien pitch again … and then, once we went back to the original premise, everything became very easy.”

Loving the Aliens

“Justin has all these books of random sketches and ideas from years past,” says McMahan. “We flipped through them and landed on a rough drawing of Terry and Korvo, which we used as the inspiration to build out the family. I was a new dad at the time, so I added the kids/replicants and the baby/Pupa character, we were going for a classic sitcom/FOX look from afar, which would get weirder the closer you looked. The tone we wanted to hit was ‘funny and fun over everything else at all times,’ which you can still clearly see in the finished show.”

McMahan and Roiland then put together the story for the pilot, which is very close to the final version that viewers will get to see on Hulu this month. “We originally had interest from Netflix and Syfy, but those didn’t happen, and then Hulu stepped in,” says Roiland. “We then added [exec producer/writer] Josh Bycel (American Dad!, Happy Endings) along, and things really got moving. It was a lot of work, but everyone is really kicking ass — and it’s been a lot of fun, too.”

In addition to the show regulars, the series also boasts a phenomenal list of guest voice actors. The first season alone features the likes of Alan Tudyk, Tiffany Hadish, Tom Kenny, Alfred Molina, Christina Hendricks, Rainn Wilson, Eric Bauza, Amanda Leighton, Maurice LaMarche, Miguel Sandoval, Nat Faxon, Natalie Morales, Phil LaMarr and Kari Wahlgren. The show is produced by 20th Century Fox Television and the animation is handled by Green Portal Productions and Vancouver-based Bardel Entertainment, which also handle Rick and Morty.

Roiland says he and McMahan had a great time brainstorming about the aliens, their weird biology and how they interact with the world in unexpected ways. For example, whenever they get stressed, their bodies begin to emit little creatures that look like a hybrid between a giant virus and a pink booger (they’re called gooblers).

“It’s funny to think about humanity from the perspective of alien beings,” says Roiland.

“We are going to have lots of fun with the gooblers, but I can’t tell you more about it because we don’t want to ruin the joke.”

Overall, both Roiland and McMahan say the show is a bit sillier and looser than their other collaboration, Rick and Morty. “Our process of writing and producing is quicker, but we still strive for the same level of humor and surprises. We have so many ideas about how these aliens survive on the planet. But when you think about it, it’s really an immigrant story,” Roiland points out. “These characters are very new to their environment, and we get to have fun by looking at things we take for granted and build jokes and sketch storylines around those ideas.”

McMahan says one of their biggest challenges was to always keep the comedy and the tone of the show as light and fun as possible, even when pouring their efforts into making sure everything was professionally executed. “It’s easy for a show to become ‘right,’ but also lose the frivolity that made you like it in the first place. Solar Opposites is always a balancing act between, ‘we have to make a really good, emotionally solid TV episode’ and ‘let’s do some crazy, effed shit that makes us laugh. I’m really happy with how the first season ended up in that regard.”

Juggling Toons Looking back at the past few years, Roiland says the big challenge was juggling the production of Solar Opposites, all of his Rick and Morty duties and launching his own gaming studio Squanch Games in 2016. “Everything was happening at the same time,” he says. “But luckily I had an amazing team. Mike and Josh were amazing and did a great job of running the room day to day. It’s the old adage: You have to surround yourself with talented people and get out of their way. We are having so much fun with this show and our voice cast brings so much to the table: They truly embody the characters and add some hilarious improv material to the show, as well.”

Roiland, who says he was hugely influenced by shows such as The Simpsons, Beavis and Butt-head, Ren & Stimpy and Liquid Television when he was younger, says fans could see a possible appearance by Rick and Morty on Solar Opposites in the future. “In an infinite multiverse, everything is part of the multiverse, so they could easily be a couple of realities away,” he says.“I have no idea how you would navigate the IP waters, but that would be really friggin’ cool!”

“Our initial pitch to Hulu always included a heavily serialized element, so there’s a big part of the show that’s always been designed to be binged,” adds McMahahn. “I’ve never worked on a serialized animated comedy, and I don’t see a lot of them, so I heavily nerded out that we got to make a serialized show along with a goofball comedy. What you see on the screen (in that respect) is exactly what I wanted it to be from conception through execution, which is a rare treat for a creator. Also, the art team and the voice actors are insanely talented, everyone gave it their best, and you’ll see that the first season is something special.”

Roiland says he hopes the audience will get some entertainment and some happiness by watching his new show. “Things are pretty sad out there in the real world, so we hope Solar Opposites and new episodes of Rick and Morty will offer people a little bit of distraction.”

“I hope audiences will sit down to watch a show about crazy funny aliens, and then be surprised as they keep watching how serialized and thought-out everything is,” adds McMahan. “In any other time, this show couldn’t exist. To me, the only reason a show should exist on Hulu (or any streamer) is because it feels like a miracle, like you can’t believe what you’re watching. Sometimes that feeling comes from a cancelled show being resurrected. For Solar, it’s the jokes, language, what we can show on screen (Solar is TV-MA, which is crazy what you can do) and the serialized elements. Somehow, this show feels like a classic, broad network sitcom and like an insane cable show that fell out of another dimension, all at the same time.”

[hannahwaterman]

Type and Language 1 - Choosing a quote, planning my project, brainstorming.

Selecting a quote for this briefing was something I tried to get done very quickly so that I could begin making work fast. At first I thought of doing the following quote by Bill Hicks:

“The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride." And we … kill those people. "Shut him up! I've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real." It's just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok … But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.”

It’s very long, but I think it’s a very beautiful and well meaning piece of spoken word. Bill Hicks was a comedian-philosopher, and he was a very influential person in the formative years of my life from about 10 years old onwards. Definitely too young to be listening to Bill Hicks, but hey - his words really stuck with me and I think this quote is a very important one in my life.

I thought I could do something funny like this quote from Come Dine With Me: 

Dear Lord, what a sad little life, Jane. You ruined my night, completely, so you could have the money, but I hope now you spend it on getting some lessons in grace and decorum because you have all the grace of a reversing dump truck without any tyres on.

But ultimately, I didn’t have faith that I would really be able to get excited about it!

I finally settled for this quote by Robert Sapolsky, a human behavioural biologist:

I am not worried if scientists go and explain everything. This is for a very simple reason: an impala sprinting across the Savannah can be reduced to biomechanics, and Bach can be reduced to counterpoint, yet that does not decrease one iota our ability to shiver as we experience impalas leaping or Bach thundering. We can only gain and grow with each discovery that there is structure underlying the most accessible levels of things that fill us with awe. But there is an even stronger reason why I am not afraid that scientists will inadvertently go and explain everything--it will never happen. While in certain realms, it may prove to be the case that science can explain anything, it will never explain everything. As should be obvious after all these pages, as part of the scientific process, for every question answered, a dozen newer ones are generated. And they are usually far more puzzling, more challenging than than the prior problems. This was stated wonderfully in a quote by a geneticist named Haldane earlier in the century: "Life is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine." We will never have our flames extinguished by knowledge. The purpose of science is not to cure us of our sense of mystery and wonder, but to constantly reinvent and reinvigorate it.

It’s very long, so I chose from it the most effecting and important sentences, and I was left with the following.

I am not worried if scientists go and explain everything. It will never happen. It will never explain everything. As part of the scientific process, for every question answered, a dozen newer ones are generated. And they are usually far more puzzling, more challenging than than the prior problems. Life is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine. We will never have our flames extinguished by knowledge. The purpose of science is not to cure us of our sense of mystery and wonder, but to constantly reinvent and reinvigorate it.

Robert Sapolsky lectures on human behaviour, taking information from many different scientific avenues, including biology, endocrinology, sociology, criminology, neuroscience, etc, to build a massive and complex picture of why it is humans behave the way we do, looking at our behaviour through multiple lenses and disciplines, and combining them in order to answer some of the biggest philosophical questions, including questions about free will, about love, about hatred and forgiveness and family. 

He is one of the biggest influences on my outlook towards life and my trauma and mental health recovery, because not only are his teachings grounded in extremely interesting research and knowledge, but they are able to explain and open up discussions some of the most confusing and difficult parts of the human experience. Sex, love, violence, free will, tribalism, trauma, fear - Sapolsky tackles all of these terrifying and wonderful parts of our lives with such grace and poise and intelligence - his lectures have coloured my world with a newfound respect for myself and those around me. 

He delivers this quote or similar at the end of one of his books and in his lecture series, to help clear up some of the biggest fears that people have of scientific knowledge, and it is a sentiment that I hold very dear to my heart. We should not fear advancement and knowledge. It can only enrich our lives, and a better understanding of myself as not just another person in society, but my very own series of complex and intricate biological mechanisms, has completely enriched my life.

I began by experimenting with very basic black and white type designs on Procreate on my iPad. I tend to jump straight into making before I do research, or much thinking at all, because it is often the case that I can come up with some very raw, messy, and interesting visual ideas. The first few attempts I have at a task like this can really inform where my project will go, what I would like to work on over the duration of the project, and what techniques will or won’t help me. 

I often start projects in black and white because it is a very basic and simple building block foundation for the shapes in the work, and makes it so that more complex parts of a visual identity can be added later, giving me more time to think about colours and textures before going ahead with them.

I had fun warping text like this - it makes the writing mysterious and mostly illegible. It did not yet communicate effectively, however, and I had a talk with Sarah to better discuss where to go with this project.

Sarah told me to really think about WHO said the text, and WHY. To ask questions about WHAT I am trying to convey. How will I bring the message of the words to life? How can I use type to emphasise and better explain the language being spoken? How can I use typography as not just a fun image, but a visual tool to really hammer home the intent behind the words being spoken?

Sarah advised me to sketch out “how to quote acts”, how it moves and it feels. Also to question, how do I want people to react to this type?

With this higher level of specificity, I was able to think much more clearly about the task at hand. My plan now was to take certain important words from my quote, and do visual research surrounding them. To really give this project a microscopic view to begin with, I am going to focus on smaller fractions of the text, to begin to build up a catalogue of how those words really feel, act, and speak to a reader. I need to bring into question, how can I communicate better using type? How can I make somebody listen with my typography? How can I use my skillset as a designer to translate information into something visually consumable and interesting to look at? 

Once I’ve done visual research and sketches focusing on the very zoomed in parts of this quote, I am going to try to visualise those in context of Sapolsky’s life and teachings. He started off his practice as a field scientist, living amongst primates, and studying their movements. He went on to combine this knowledge with laboratory work, studying hormones and neurodevelopment in rats and analysing other studies. He now, on top of all of this, lectures at Stanford, and has written multiple books on the subject of human and animal behaviour, for the casual reader and scientist alike.

How can I represent Sapolsky’s life with design? Can I start off the quote as rough and messy and dusty and animalistic, representing the time he spent amongst apes in the jungle - then developing it into something very neat, tidy and clinical like his lab studies are? Can I make 2 different designs to represent these, then overlay them? Use colours to represent the two different stages of his practice? Can I make this into a screenprint? A series of 2 or 3 posters? 

Or could I make a typographic mural to go on the wall at Stanford or another institute of science? A series of posters? A small book or leaflet? An animation? Who am I aiming it at? Over the next few days I am going to collate visual research and express it as a series of typographic works.

[pikapeppa]

Cullavellan and FenHawke pirate AU: Safe

Chapter 31 of my and @schoute​‘s lovechild project Where The Winds Of Fortune Take Me is up! Read here on AO3 instead.

In which the intrepid crew of the Lady Luck venture into the Arlathan Forest... [fades away mysteriously] 

***********************

- PIPER - 

Merrill beamed at everyone as they wove their way through the trees. “Remember, we want to tread softly and treat the forest gently. The forest is our host and we’re the guests, so we have to be polite.”

Dorian raised his eyebrows as he gingerly picked his way past some exceptionally large ferns. “Be polite to a forest? I’m sorry to tell you this, Merrill, but I was never taught forest etiquette. Will the trees will be offended by my using the wrong spoon? Because if that’s the case…” 

Rynne snickered, and Piper slung her arm around Merrill’s neck. “Sorry, Merrill, but Captain Mad Piper doesn’t do polite, not even to a forest. Any other suggestions?” 

Merrill tittered. “Oh, Captain. I just mean that we shouldn’t go cutting any plants or hurting any creatures that we meet. Remember what that old treaty between the qunari and Tevinter said: no one was supposed to make permanent lodgings here. As long as we pack up and keep moving every night and we keep to ourselves, we’ll be safe.”

“You don’t know that,” Fenris said flatly. “Our ill-advised presence in this forest is premised entirely on your assumptions and theories. You have no proof to reinforce your claims of safety.”

Cullen grimaced apologetically. “I must say, Merrill, I agree with Fenris. Not that we should turn back, necessarily,” he added as Piper shot him a chiding look, “but that we should err on the side of caution. We can’t assume any sort of safety here.”

Merrill gave Fenris and Cullen a sad sort of smile. “That’s all right. You don’t need to believe me. My clan didn’t either when I told them why I was leaving.” She turned back to Piper. “I’m just grateful that you’re giving this a chance. Thank you, Piper.”

Piper gave her a wink. “Don’t worry about it, lethallan. You know I’m in for any sort of madcap adventure.” And it was true; Piper was still certainly hoping to run into some interesting ancient ruins somewhere in the forest. But her motivation for this expedition into the Arlathan Forest was no longer the simple thirst for adventure that it had once been. 

Piper needed this trip to be a lucrative one. She needed to bring something valuable back to the crew to make up for what they’d lost on the way here. Cullen and Varric could say that the crew knew the risks, but Piper knew the truth. 

That insane storm shouldn’t have happened. The loss of four of the crew should not have happened. And Piper hadn’t been able to stop it. 

Never mind, she told herself firmly. There was no point ruminating about it. All she could do now was make sure the rest of her crew were well taken care of. She was going to find whatever ruins were in this forest, and she was going to find something valuable in those damned ruins to bring back to her crew, even if it meant she had to kill every other pirate who was lurking in this forest. 

In the meantime, however, Piper truly was enjoying how scenic the forest was. Every leaf and vine and patch of moss was a brilliant and almost unbelievably lush shade of green. The canopy overhead was thick but translucent, allowing the sun to trickle through the leaves in soft slivers of gold that only served to highlight just how verdant everything was. The omnipresent greenness was punctuated by copious flowers of many kinds, including some varieties that Piper had never seen before. 

Merrill, however, seemed to know something about every plant. She was walking beside Rynne and pointing out the various plants to her. “That one is called misdalavur,” she was saying. “It means ‘knife leaf’, since the leaves look like little blades.”

“Not because they can be used as blades?” Rynne said with a grin.

“It’s funny you say that,” Merrill said excitedly. “Its stems can be peeled into strips and cured, then used as binding for the handles of daggers. So it is associated with real knives, in a way.”

Rynne stared at her in genuine wonder. “Well, that’s incredibly useful.”

Merrill beamed at her. “It is, isn’t it?” She pointed at a nearby orchid that was graced with a cascade of brilliant crimson blooms. “That plant is–”

“Oh, that’s embrium,” Rynne said. 

Merrill widened her eyes. “You know it?”

“Of course,” Rynne said. There was a wry twist to her voice now. “It’s the most popular flower that suitors send to a lady they’re trying to court.”

“That is true,” Cullen put in. “I seem to recall there always being a bouquet of those flowers in the foyer of your family home.”

Rynne winked at him. “You recall correctly, my fine serrah. I’m sure my mother is missing the pop of colour on the hall table, if nothing else.”

Cullen gave her a sympathetic smile, and Merrill patted her arm. “Well, Hawke, that’s a good flower for you to get more familiar with. In Elvhen, it’s called gaildhalas, and its healing properties are really quite striking…”

Piper smiled as she listened to them. It was something of a relief to see Rynne having such a pleasant time. At least one of her companions was pleased to be here, aside from Merrill.

On that note, she decided to check on Dorian and Fenris, who were making up the rear of their little party. Dorian was jotting notes in a notebook and muttering to himself while periodically checking his compass, and Fenris was scrutinizing their surroundings, one hand resting on his scimitar in case of trouble. 

Piper peered at Dorian’s notes, which consisted of a list of compass directions and rough sketches of landmarks. “How’s the mapping going?” she asked.

“Splendidly, if you enjoy taking notes while trying not to crush any precious beasties that might be underfoot,” he drawled.

“You could always take off your boots,” Piper suggested slyly. “Less likely to crush anything lethally that way.”

He gave her an affronted look. “And risk getting my precious footsies filthy? Don’t be ridiculous. Besides, Fenris will tell me if I’m about to step on anything important.”

“You stepped in feces about five minutes ago,” Fenris said.

Dorian’s face twisted with horror, and Piper slapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud. 

Dorian glared viciously at Fenris. “I – wha – why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were otherwise occupied,” Fenris said. “I didn’t want to distract you.”

Dorian stared at him for a moment longer, then tsked loudly. “Vishante kaffas, you brute.”

“At least I didn’t step in it,” Fenris replied. 

His tone was so dry that Piper couldn’t help it; she snorted out a laugh, and Fenris smirked faintly in response. Dorian shot them both an extremely offended look before burying his face in his notebook and pretending to ignore them. 

Piper sidled over to Fenris. “I’m surprised you’re in such a good mood,” she said. Indeed, he was scowling less than she would have expected, given how little he’d wanted to come into the forest.

He raised an eyebrow. “Do not mistake my levity for agreement with this course of action. I still think this is a mistake.”

Piper tilted her head curiously. “Then why didn’t you stay on the Lady Luck? You could have been the officer who stayed behind, and Varric could have come.”

Fenris gave her a flat look. “When have I ever refused to follow your foolish plans?”

“Fair enough,” Piper said cheerfully.

Fenris huffed in amusement, and they walked in silence for a moment as Dorian continued to scribble in his notebook. Then Piper lowered her voice. “Seriously though, Fen. You didn’t have to come. I purposely gave you and Varric the choice of who should stay behind in case you wanted to sit this one out.” 

Fenris eyed her for a moment, then shrugged. “It is what it is. Besides, Hawke was looking forward to this adventure, as you well know.”

Piper smiled at this. It was certainly a boon to have Rynne along to keep Fenris from scowling too much. 

Dorian seemed to agree, as he deigned to speak to them again. “Oh Fenris, that’s very sweet of you,” he said. “I suspect your fair lady was expecting something more mundane than some sort of mystical elven siren song, however.”

“Weren’t we all?” Fenris said rhetorically.

Piper shot him a wry little smile. He wasn’t wrong.

Just then, Rynne skipped over to join them. She had a flower in her hand: a multi-layered bloom with a dark pink center that melded into petals of a deep, rich gold. 

Piper eyed the familiar flower as Dorian greeted her. “If it isn’t our newest explorer herself,” he said. “Enjoying the forest in all your natural glory, are you?” He glanced with some distaste at Rynne’s feet, which were bare like Piper’s, Fenris’s, and Merrill’s. 

“I am, thank you!” Rynne said brightly. She poked his chest. “You should try going without boots, Dorian. Get those feet of yours–”

“I’m perfectly fine in my boots, thank you,” Dorian said loudly. 

Piper gently stroked the petals of the flower in Rynne’s hand. “Does Merrill know you picked that?” she asked.

“Of course,” Rynne assured her. “She said a little blessing before cutting it for me.” Then she turned to Fenris and held out the flower to him. “I brought this for you.”

Fenris’s eyebrows jumped up on his forehead. “For me?” he said blankly.

“Yes,” she said. “It’s called felan'asahngar. It means ‘lucky plant’. It’s good luck!” She batted her eyelashes at him. “It’s also a very attractive flower, so it’s perfect for you.”

Piper smiled to herself. Felan’asahngar blossoms weren’t just a good luck charm. She wondered if Merrill had told Rynne the deeper significance of the flower among the Dalish.

Fenris scratched the back of his neck, then gingerly took the flower from her. “Um. Thank you, Hawke.”

He was holding the flower so awkwardly, as though he’d never even held one before, and Piper tried hard not to laugh. Then Rynne tutted and gently took the flower back from him. “Here, like this, so you don’t have to hold it.” She tucked the flower behind his ear, then kissed his cheek. “Now you’re even more handsome,” she said, and she winked at him before sashaying back to Merrill’s side. 

Dorian and Piper both grinned at Fenris, and he hunched his shoulders slightly. “What?” he muttered. “Don’t stare at me.” He removed the flower from behind his swiftly-reddening ear and gently rubbed one of the petals between his fingers. 

Dorian pouted playfully. “Oh, do put it back, Fenris. It was very fetching. Gold is a good colour on you.” He gave Fenris a speculative look. “Have you ever thought about piercing your ears? I could lend you some jewelry if you like.”

Fenris scowled at him. “Why would I willingly mutilate my own body?”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Dorian scolded, and he ran his fingers lovingly over his own many gold earrings. “It’s not mutilation, it’s decoration!”

Fenris rolled his eyes, but Piper noticed with amusement that he was still carefully cradling the felan’asahngar in one hand. 

She shook her head fondly, then left Fenris and Dorian to their bickering to rejoin Cullen instead. He was walking with Merrill and Rynne, but as Piper drew level with him, he smiled at her. “Is everything all right with the others?” he asked.

Piper grinned and tucked her hands in her pockets. “Dorian stepped in shit,” she reported. “In other words, everything is great.” 

Cullen sputtered with surprise. “He stepped in–? He must be, er, upset.” 

“He is,” Piper said cheerfully. “Made us laugh, though.” 

Cullen shook his head in amusement, then he reached out and smoothed one hand over her hair. “And you?” he said in a quieter voice. “Are you all right?”

Piper let out a breezy little laugh. “Of course. I didn’t step in shit, so I’m feeling particularly great.”

His smile widened, but Piper could clearly see the worry in that little crease between his eyebrows. Cullen was being particularly kind and solicitous since her stupid outburst last night, and his caring was not unlike that Rivaini pastry that was soaked in rich honey syrup: it was delicious in small amounts, but too much of it was almost too much for Piper to bear. If Cullen kept on being so gentle, Piper would keep thinking about why he was being so gentle, and she didn’t want to think about it. 

She didn’t want to keep thinking about the disastrous storm and the Lady Luck being damaged and her four lost crew members. What she wanted was to fix the mess she’d brought them all into. There was no time to mope around and whine, not if she was going to find some valuable booty to bring back to the crew. 

She smiled confidently at Cullen. “I think we’re going to find something interesting soon. I can feel it in my gut.”

His eyes widened. “You mean – is it that voice? Is that how Merrill knows where to go, even without a map to follow?”

Piper gaped at him for a second, then scoffed. “No, Golden Boy, I was just kidding around. And Merrill is finding the way by scouting, like how she would do with her clan.”

“I’m not, actually,” Merrill called over her shoulder. “I’m following the forest.”

Piper looked up in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I’m following where the forest tells me to go,” Merrill said.

Behind them, Fenris sighed loudly. “Fasta vass. This again?”

Merrill stopped and turned around. “Just be quiet, Fenris,” she said, but her tone was gentle. She waved for Fenris and Piper to come closer. “Close your eyes for just a moment, both of you. Try to feel the forest.”

Piper glanced at Fenris and nearly laughed at his petulant expression. Then Merrill tapped her arm. “Please, lethallan. Just trust me.” 

Piper guiltily looked at Merrill’s pleading face, then closed her eyes. She breathed and listened quietly for a minute, but all she felt was stupid.

Beside her, Fenris grunted, and Piper bit her lips to fight a mad urge to laugh. Then Merrill spoke in a calm tone. “Just relax, both of you. Let your minds go empty.” 

“That will be easy for Piper,” Fenris grumbled. “Her mind is always empty.”

Piper snorted a laugh and shoved his arm. “Fuck you, Fen.”

“Shh,” Rynne hissed. “I want to see what happens!”

Piper stuck her tongue out at Rynne, then closed her eyes again and tried to let her mind go blank. She turned her attention to the sound of the breeze sliding through the leaves, and she thought idly about the cushy moss beneath her bare dirty feet. When her mind started telling her how foolish she probably looked, she acknowledged that yes, she probably looked foolish, then went back to thinking about the breeze and the moss and the sun trickling through the leaves without really thinking about them at all.

That’s when she felt it.

It wasn’t a voice this time, to her mild relief; it was more of a… an intuition, or a sense. Despite her scoffing at Cullen earlier, it did kind of remind Piper of a gut feeling. 

She opened her eyes to find Merrill looking at her expectantly. “Do you feel something?” Merrill asked eagerly. 

Piper looked askance at Fenris, who was looking uneasy. “Which way should we go?” she asked him.

He frowned, then jerked his chin to the south, and Piper looked at Merrill. “That’s what I, er. Same here,” she said. 

Merrill beamed at them. “Exactly,” she said, and she turned on her heel and continued to stroll through the forest in a southward direction. 

Piper looked at Fenris once more. He scowled and shrugged, and they all set off in Merrill’s wake. 

Dorian jogged forward to join Merrill, and they started discussing his mapping attempts. Meanwhile, Rynne drifted back to walk with Fenris, and Cullen and Piper fell back to take the rear. 

Piper watched idly as Rynne stroked Fenris’s arm before taking his hand. Then Cullen spoke in a quiet voice. “What do you suppose is, er, happening here?” he asked.

Piper shrugged. She honestly wasn’t sure what to think. “Merrill clearly thinks it’s a spirit of the forest or something,” she said. 

“But what do you think?” Cullen asked. “Do you think it is a… a forest spirit? Or could it be something about your, um, background…?”

He looked somewhat discomfited, and Piper grinned at him. “You can just ask if it’s an elf thing, Cullen. I won’t mind.”

He blew out a breath and rubbed the back of his neck. “I couldn’t decide if it would be rude.” 

“Depending on the elf, it might,” she agreed. “But you can ask me whatever you want.” 

His eyebrows rose slightly, and she immediately regretted her choice of words. She hoped he wasn’t going to ask her about her feelings about the storm and the crew yet again. 

Thankfully, he stayed on topic. “Is there any truth to the, um. The rumours about elf senses?” he asked cautiously. “I had heard that your eyesight is better than a human’s....” 

Piper nodded. “Yes, that’s true. Our hearing is better than yours, too.”

Cullen stroked his stubbled chin. “Ah. So perhaps this, er…” He cleared his throat. “Perhaps this is a matter of hearing something that we can’t, if your sense of hearing is superior to ours.”

Piper made a little face. “I don’t think so. Qunari and tal-vashoth have even better hearing than we do, but Kaaras wasn’t affected during the storm. Besides, it wasn’t a voice this time,” she said with a vague wave at the forest. “There were no words. It was just a sort of gut feeling.”

He looked at her in surprise. “But you said you were kidding about that.”

“I know,” she said testily. “I was kidding. I didn’t actually feel it then, or… or I didn’t think I did.” Feeling slightly unnerved, she ran her hands through her hair, then shrugged with a carelessness that she didn’t quite feel. “Either way, it’s not like we have a better plan in mind, so we might as well follow Merrill, right?”

Cullen took her hand. “We can go back to the ship at any time if you choose,” he said quietly. 

Her gut twisted with nerves. She pushed the feeling aside and scoffed. “We’re not going back to the ship, Golden Boy. We’ve got an entire unexplored forest ahead of us.” She waved at the trees ahead with a grand gesture. “Green as far as the eye can see! We have to keep going until we find something that isn’t green. That’ll be the real challenge.” 

He studied her for a moment, then huffed in amusement. “You may be right. As nice as this forest may be, it might become monotonous after some time.”

“Exactly,” Piper said with satisfaction — more at having distracted him than anything else, if she was honest. She released his hand and gave his butt a smack. “Now keep your eyes peeled for something interesting. I’ll give you a nice reward if you find me something ancient and elfy.” She wiggled her eyebrows lasciviously.

He shot her a chiding smile and playfully tugged a lock of her hair. Piper laughed and smacked his butt once more, and as the afternoon wore on and their stroll through the forest continued, Piper was able to relax and almost forget that their path was being determined by an odd phenomenon that none of them could explain.

Late that afternoon, when the sun was low enough for the forest to start growing dim, Piper was in the midst of entertaining the group with a dramatic retelling of Varric’s infamous nug king story when she heard it. 

Min vir. This way.

She broke off in the middle of her sentence and looked to the west. At the same time, Fenris frowned in the same direction.

Merrill smiled at them both. “You heard that?” she said. 

“Yes, unfortunately,” Fenris grunted. 

Merrill clapped her hands. “We must be close to something,” she chirped. “Come on!” She hurried off to the west at a faster pace. 

Dorian grimaced at Cullen and Rynne. “I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll hang back and make sure there are no booby traps before rushing after our dear Dalish companion.” He fell back to walk behind Cullen and Piper.

Cullen twisted his lips worriedly, and Piper patted his arm. “Don’t worry, Cullen,” she said with a boldness that was partly feigned. “I’ll protect you.” 

He gave her a small half-smile as they followed Merrill’s path with Fenris, Rynne and Dorian close behind. The foliage they were walking through now was thicker than ever: the ferns now reached halfway up Piper’s thigh, and the moss coating the trees was so rich that their trunks were more green than brown. When they finally caught up to Merrill, it was to find her standing in front of a huge stone monument of obvious Elvhen make.

Piper stared at the monument in frank amazement. It depicted a wolf in a lounging position with its head proudly lifted, and it was taller than Piper at its highest point. The sculpture was not intricate, but based on the sharpness of the lines and the smoothness of the curves, the hands that had rendered it were uncommonly talented. 

“Oh, it’s the Dread Wolf!” Rynne said. 

Merrill beamed at her. “Yes, Hawke, exactly!” She turned to Piper with shining eyes. “Have you ever seen an elvhen monument so large and pristine?”

Feeling rather nonplussed, Piper shook her head. “Honestly, Merrill, I’ve only seen a couple of other elvhen monuments before. That one on Sundermount, and there’s that one of Mythal in Halamshiral that they tried to turn into a monument to Andraste…” 

Merrill smacked her forehead. “That’s right!” she said. “I forget sometimes that you grew up in the city.” 

Piper smirked. “Should I take that as a compliment?

Merrill’s face fell, and she clapped her hands over her mouth. “Was that rude? Elgar’nan, I didn’t mean to be rude, I just meant to say that I think of you as being Dalish even if you didn’t grow up among the Dalish, even though your father and Deshanna — oh dear, I’m babbling again…” 

Piper chuckled and patted her shoulder. “It’s fine, Merrill, I know what you meant. Sort of.”

“Hawke,” Fenris barked. “Don’t touch it.”

Piper looked up to see Rynne hastily pulling her hand back from the statue. She grimaced at Fenris and Merrill. “Why? Is it rude to touch elven statues?” 

Fenris strode over to her and ushered her away from the statue. “That doesn’t matter,” he said roughly. “What matters is that someone has been here recently.”

Cullen and Dorian looked at him in surprise. “Why do you say that?” Dorian asked.

Fenris gestured impatiently at the statue. “It is pristine, as Merrill said. No moss, no overgrowth at all. Someone has cleared it recently.” 

Piper frowned. He wasn’t wrong about the statue’s condition; it was so clean that if Piper didn’t know better, she would have thought it was new. But if it was new, there would have been signs of whoever had dragged the statue here, and they certainly hadn’t seen that. In fact, they’d seen no signs of anyone else in the forest all day.

Merrill’s reply mirrored Piper’s thoughts. “No one else has been here,” she said confidently. “There was no evidence of anyone else coming this way.”

“So how do you explain how clean the statue is?” Fenris demanded. 

“I’d like to know that, too,” Dorian said. “I wonder if they use a particular solvent? I could use that for cleaning my instruments. And my jewelry.” He reached out and ran one hand over the statue’s rump. 

Fenris sighed loudly. “Dorian, you just touched it,” he complained.

Dorian looked at him. “Excellent observation, my friend. What’s your point?”

Fenris gestured angrily at him. “You were just talking about booby traps. What if it was poisoned?”

Dorian blinked. “Ah. That is a fair point. Well, in any case, you’re welcome. Now we know it’s safe to touch.”

Rynne coughed in a distinct cover of a laugh, and Fenris shook his head in disgust. Merrill, meanwhile, clapped her hands delightedly from her position at the front of the statue. “Look at this! There’s ancient Elvhen writing here!” she exclaimed. 

Piper joined her and peered over her shoulder. Sure enough, archaic Elvhen glyphs were carved into the stone on the statue’s base in between its front paws.

Piper frowned. She didn’t know what the glyphs said, but it looked like two different people had worked on the engraved inscription. Most of the inscription had been engraved in small, tidy glyphs arranged in orderly rows. But the final two lines of glyphs looked considerably more haphazard, almost as though the person inscribing them had been rushed or angry. 

She pointed at the last two lines. “Merrill, does that strike you as odd?”

“It does,” Merrill said keenly. “I’m going to take a rubbing and work on translating it tonight. Maybe it will tell us where to find the Vir’Tualthalan!” She shuffled around in her haversack for some parchment and charcoal.

Piper straightened and turned to the others. “Well, it’s a start,” she said cheerfully. “Looks like we’re on the right track.”

Cullen frowned thoughtfully. “Are we sure it’s the right track? You and Merrill’s stories depict the Dread Wolf as being misleading. Should we be wary that this statue is a sign that we are going in the wrong direction?” 

“He makes a good point,” Fenris said. “We shouldn’t assume this is a good omen. In fact—” 

Piper held up her hands. “All right,” she said loudly. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Merrill will take her rubbing from this statue, and we’ll find somewhere to settle for the evening while she translates the inscription. Based on what it says, we’ll figure out our next move.” She looked at everyone. “Is that satisfactory?”

Cullen and Rynne nodded. Fenris murmured his agreement, and Dorian shrugged affably. “As long as we can have a celebratory drink when we settle in, then I’m happy,” he said.

Fenris raised an eyebrow. “Celebratory? For what?”

“For the fact that I’m still alive, of course,” Dorian said. “I could have died when I touched that statue. It’s a shame no one warned me not to.”

Rynne snorted, and Piper smirked at his blithe tone. Fenris clicked his tongue. “Vishante kaffas,” he said snidely to Dorian, and he began to lead Rynne away from the statue. 

“At least you didn’t step in it,” Dorian called after him. 

Cullen rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m just pleased that we have a plan.”

Piper elbowed him cheerfully. “See, Golden Boy? I told you everything was going to be fine.” She was feeling far more cheerful now that there was a clear sign of ancient Elvhen civilization in this forest. Surely this meant they would find a more significant structure soon, like a public hall or a temple or something that would hold some sort of valuables that Piper could sell to bring in coin for her crew. 

Cullen smiled ruefully at her. She patted his arm affectionately, then turned to Dorian and Merril, who were peering at the charcoal rubbing. “All right, fools, let’s find a quiet place to camp so Merrill can get to work on that translation.”

They followed their own trail away from the statue and back into the forest, then began to make their way slightly east. Just as the waning light of day began to shift into evening, Piper spotted the hazy orange glow of a campfire through the trees – the first signs of other people they’d yet seen all day. 

She held up a hand for everyone to stop. “All right,” she said quietly. “Merrill and I will go ahead and investigate. If we need help… well, you’ll know by the screaming. From them, I mean.” She shot them all a vicious smile. 

Dorian chuckled. “Naturally.”

She winked at him, and she and Merrill slid through the forest toward the campfire ahead. As Piper padded silently through the moss and leaves, she surreptitiously checked her flintlock and her épée to make sure they were easily at hand. One could hope that the campers ahead weren’t hostile, but given what had happened yesterday, she wasn’t holding her breath. 

She was right to be skeptical. She and Merrill stopped thirty paces away from the little campsite — close enough to hear and see, but not close enough to be spotted through the thickness of the trees — and as soon as they started listening in, it became clear that the five campers were definitely not friendly. 

“... told you it was stupid.” The one woman in the group was pacing by the fire. “We should’ve waited to see if the others would come back before tryin’ to steal a whole bloody ship!” 

A burly bald man replied. “How was I s’posed to know their whole crew survived? Entire crew of that other wreck was dead. Well, almost all of ‘em.” He waved his hands angrily. “Fuckin’ dwarf with a crossbow? I didn’t think that would happen!”

Piper glanced over and met Merrill’s eyes. They were talking about their attempted siege of the Lady Luck.

“That’s your bloody problem, Richie,” the woman snapped. “You don’t think. We should’ve waited. Can’t afford to lose any more men, or we can’t sail the ship out of this fuckin’ place.”

One of the other men piped up. “So we force their crew to sail the ship for us until we’re back in the Amaranthine again. What’s the big deal?”

The woman sneered at him. “Did the hurricane blow yer brain away, Grizz? There’s only five of us here. No fuckin’ idea if the others are still out there somewhere. How d’you think we’re supposed to force an entire crew of knife-ears and dwarves into doing what we want?”

“Just do ‘em like we do the slaves,” Grizz said. “Couple rounds to the head for some of ‘em, get the rest to fall in line. Show ‘em who’s boss!”

“With what fucking guns?” the woman retorted. “Brilliant bloody plan, the both of ye.”

Piper narrowed her eyes. These people were slavers in addition to trying to steal her ship? 

She’d heard enough to know what to do next. She looked at Merrill and jerked her head at the others, and they slipped away soundlessly to rejoin their companions. 

Cullen’s expression was businesslike when Piper returned to his side. “What did you find?” he asked. 

“There are five of them,” Piper said. “Four men and a woman. Slavers.”

Fenris restlessly shifted his weight, and Piper gave him a grim nod before going on. “The woman seems to be the brains of the outfit. They’re from that group of shit-eating assholes who tried to steal the Lady Luck.”

Cullen frowned. “How long have they been here?” he asked.

“Not sure,” Piper said. “But they must be from one of those wrecks on the beach. They said the crew of the other wreck were mostly dead when they arrived. They didn’t expect to find so many of our people alive.” 

Dorian wrinkled his nose. “Well, that’s reassuring,” he said sarcastically.

“Are they weakened?” Fenris asked. “Easy to eliminate?”

Rynne let out a little laugh. “That’s a very polite way to say we’re going to slit their throats.”

He turned her with a frown, and she held up her hands. “I’m not judging! In fact, I’m in. I’m ready. Let’s slit some throats.” She smiled at Piper.

Piper held up a placating hand. “Hang on. The woman implied that they’re low on ammo, but they each had at least one blade that we could see.”

Fenris nodded. “Good. Then we should–”

“Wait,” Merrill interjected. “There’s more. They might not be alone. The woman said there may be more of their people somewhere else in the forest, but she wasn’t sure they were still alive.” She suddenly straightened and smiled. “Maybe the forest swallowed them up because they’re awful people! Oh, I do hope so.”

Dorian stared at her, then turned to Fenris. “Is she serious? I can’t quite tell anymore.”

“I believe she is,” Fenris said in a flat tone. “Unfortunately.”

Cullen looked at Piper. “How do you suggest dealing with this?”

“We ambush them,” Piper said promptly. “Dorian, Fenris, Merrill and I are well-practiced at this, so we’ll take one each. I’ll keep the woman alive so we can question her. For the last one…” She looked at Cullen and Rynne. “You two can toss a coin for who takes him. I know neither of you are used to this kind of sneak attack, but you might as well start getting used to it now.”

Rynne blew out a sharp exhale, then squared her shoulders. “I’ll–”

Fenris interrupted her. “Cullen, you do it.”

Piper looked at him in surprise, and Cullen shot Rynne an uneasy look. “Ah. Um. I could, if Hawke is amenable…? ”

Rynne placed a hand on Fenris’s forearm. “Fenris, I can do this.”

“I would rather you didn’t,” he said brusquely. 

Rynne scowled and opened her mouth to protest, but Piper held up a hand before she could speak. “Fen, you’re being bossy again, but I’m going to allow it this time because we need to get this done.” She turned to Rynne, who was looking heartbreakingly disappointed. “Sit this one out, all right?”

Rynne nodded. “Captain.”

Piper squeezed her shoulder. “Next time there are slavers to kill, you’ll be my go-to girl, all right? Now let’s get moving.”

Very quietly, they crept toward the enemy’s campfire once more and split off in the thick foliage to surround the little camp, with Rynne trailing behind Fenris. A tense moment later, Piper made a soft trilling sound. 

All at once, Piper and her companions burst from the cover of the trees and rushed the camp. In less than three seconds, Fenris’s assigned foe was dead on the mossy ground, and Merrill and Dorian killed their foes moments later. Cullen’s approach was delayed by a split second – due to lack of familiarity with stealth attacks, Piper was certain – and the enemy managed to flinch away from Cullen’s dagger hand, but Cullen grabbed his shirt and sank his blade smoothly into the side of the man’s throat. 

Piper, meanwhile, ploughed straight into the female pirate’s back and shoved her with all her strength.

The woman gasped and almost stumbled straight into the fire, but Piper didn’t give her the time to recover her balance. She quickly tucked her bare foot behind the woman’s booted one and shoved her shoulder hard, tripping her and sending her sprawling onto her back. 

The woman hit the ground with a pained grunt, but she was a determined bitch; she was grabbing for the cutlass at her waist before she was even able to take a breath. Unfortunately for her, Piper was even more determined. She kneeled on the woman’s stomach with all of her weight, forcing the residual air from her lungs, then punched the woman in the nose with the heel of her hand – not so hard as to break her nose, but hard enough to make her eyes water. 

The woman released her cutlass and reached up to grab her face, and Fenris strode over and kicked the weapon away while Piper straddled the woman’s waist and sat on her belly to obstruct her breathing.

The pirate dragged in a laboured breath. “F-fuck you,” she rasped. 

Piper let out a humourless laugh. “Same to you. How many more of your crew are out there?” She lifted her weight slightly so the woman could speak.

The woman glared at her in silence, and Piper shrugged. “Fine. We’ll do this the hard way.” She pried the woman’s hands away from her face, then grabbed her injured nose and started to twist. 

The woman shrieked. “Stop, stop! Fuck! I don’t know who else is alive, all right?”

Piper released her nose. “Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not,” the woman yelled. “We got split up. Haven’t seen the rest in days, maybe a week. Don’t know how much bloody time has passed since we got wrecked ‘ere.” 

Piper harrumphed. “How many were your crew?”

“Sixty-four in total,” the woman said. “Half of ‘em died in the freak storm that stuck us ‘ere. We wandered into this fucking forest thinking we’d find summat to eat, some water. All we find is some crumbling wreck of a temple and a bunch of dead men’s bones.”

“Temple?” Merrill said keenly. “What sort of temple?”

“The scary kind with dead bodies ‘round it, you bloody stupid knife-ear,” the woman snarled.

Piper backhanded her across the face and grabbed her nose again, making her gasp in pain. “Where is this temple?” she demanded.

“I don’t know, I don’t know!” the woman squawked. “We didn’t stay! The smarter half of us left before we could find out what killed them fellas ‘round the entrance. Bloody Ianto and the others–”

Piper’s stomach jolted at the familiar name, and Cullen straightened. “Ianto?” he said sharply. 

Piper looked up at him in alarm. Could it really be the Ianto? The same one who had kept Cullen as a prisoner ten years ago? 

The woman was still talking. “... they said they was going to go into the temple, find some old elf treasure or some shit like that, but I know a rotten egg when I smell one. Not touching that cursed place with a ten-foot pole.” 

Piper turned back to look at her. “Answer my question. Where was the temple?”

“I told you, I don’t know,” the woman said loudly. 

Piper slapped her once more. “Don’t you fucking lie to me.”

“I’m bloody not!” the woman yelled. “We can’t tell our ears from our arseholes in this Maker-forsaken forest. It was total chance we found our way back to the fucking beach!” 

Piper paused at this. This woman and her crew had gotten lost? And yet Piper and Merrill and Fenris were able to orient without a map, thanks to that weird voice-feeling-intuition thing... 

She glanced briefly at Merrill, who was watching the woman with a fascinated look on her face. Merrill gave Piper a tiny nod, and Piper looked up at the others. “Anything else you want to ask?” she said. 

“No,” Fenris said shortly. 

Cullen and Rynne shook their heads, and Dorian shrugged. “My curiosity is quite satisfied,” he said. 

“Good,” Piper said. She pulled her dagger from her thigh and stabbed the woman viciously in the neck. 

Her eyes went wide with shock. She tried to scrabble for her copiously bleeding neck, but Piper ruthlessly grabbed her hands. When the woman passed out from blood loss, Piper rose to her feet. “Strip them of anything useful and let’s move on,” she said. 

Her companions murmured their agreement and started searching the dead pirates for resources. Meanwhile, Piper sidled over to Rynne, who was looking rather pale. 

“You all right, love?” she said gently. This was the first time Rynne had ever seen Piper interrogating someone.

“I’m fine!” Rynne said brightly. “No need to fuss, Piper, I’m absolutely fine.” She kneeled next to the pirate that Fenris was looting and started haphazardly searching the dead man’s pockets. “Did you know that I’m actually very stealthy? You wouldn’t think it since I’m such a loudmouth, I know, but I used to sneak into Carver’s room all the time without him knowing. I’d move things around to see if he would notice.” She smiled at Piper. “Subtle little things, you know, like shifting his boots in the closet or moving his comb from one side of this table to the other. It was just enough of a change to drive him up the wall without him being able to accuse anyone of anything.” 

Piper studied her carefully. If not for Rynne’s perfectly cheerful smile, Piper would almost have thought that her story was a dig at Fenris for stopping her from trying a stealth kill. 

She tried to give Fenris a disapproving look, but he was scowling and stubbornly avoiding her eye. She shrugged and squeezed Rynne’s shoulder instead. “That sounds really fucking stealthy, Rynne. You and I will have to try that in Varric’s quarters when we get back to the Lady Luck. If he goes nuts, then you know you’re really stealthy.” 

Rynne beamed at her. “It’s a date.”

Piper gave her shoulder a hearty pat, then returned to Cullen’s side. Rynne might have forgiven Fenris, but Piper was definitely going to crack down on him the next time he tried to be a controlling ass. 

An hour later, when the waning sun had left the forest in darkness, Piper and her companions were settling in for the night at their own little makeshift camp. They were forgoing a fire in case it attracted enemies, relying instead on the dimmer light of the small oil lanterns that they had brought along for this very purpose. They had already eaten their supper of hardtack and dried meat, and Merrill was busily working on translating the charcoal rubbing from the wolf monument while the others discussed the events of the day. 

Dorian pursed his lips thoughtfully. “That thing she said about their crew getting disoriented in the forest. That was interesting, yes?” He tapped his notebook, which was open on the ground in front of him. “Especially with how much trouble I’ve been having trying to map this place. Merrill was able to help me a bit, but it’s quite absurd, really. I never usually have difficulties with mapping, seeing as how clever I am.”

Fenris huffed and ran his whetstone along the length of his scimitar. “Dorian, do you think that if you keep telling everyone how clever and handsome you are, they will eventually believe you?”

Dorian shot him a charming grin. “I didn’t say anything about handsome, Fenris. Interesting that you came to that adjective on your own. Is there something you wanted to tell me? An amusing proposal of marriage, perhaps?”

Fenris shot him a flat look, and Rynne giggled and leaned into Fenris’s side. “Nice try, Dorian, but if you want to get to Fenris, you’ll have to go through me.” 

Fenris smirked and continued to sharpen his blade. Piper, meanwhile, was idly watching as Merrill studiously inspected her charcoal rubbing and cross-referenced it with her own notebook of Elvhen glyphs. 

After a while of watching in silence, Piper spoke. “Hey, Merrill?

“Yes, Piper?” Merrill said distractedly. 

Piper awkwardly tugged one of her braids before going on. “In the… the elf dreams we’re all having. The voice says something in Elvhen, but I can never remember what. Can you?”

Fenris looked up attentively at her question, and Merrill finally lifted her eyes from her parchment. “Yes,” she said. “And in fact, I think it might mirror what I’m seeing in this inscription.” She sat back and looked at them all. “The dream voice says this: ‘I will find her. Until then, they will know sorrow.’”

Piper’s stomach jolted uncomfortably. ‘They will know sorrow’? That did not sound good. 

Oblivious to Piper’s discomfiture, Merrill was pointing to a particular line in her charcoal rubbing. “And here in the inscription, there’s a reference to a–”

“Wait a minute,” Fenris interrupted. “‘They will know sorrow’? That is what the voice says?” He put down his whetstone. “The voice that lured us here and is pulling us around in this cursed forest: it said ‘they will know sorrow’?”

His tone grew increasingly sharp and incredulous as he went on, and Merrill frowned. “Yes, Fenris, that’s what I said,” she replied. “And as for who the ‘she’ might be, I think–”

Fenris cut her off again. “You were aware of this premonition, and still you brought us here?” 

Merrill folded her arms. “Why are you getting so angry? I thought you didn’t believe in the Elvhen gods.” 

Her tone was challenging and very slightly snide, and Piper grimaced and glanced cautiously at Fenris. Indeed, he was positively glowering at Merrill now. “I don’t, because they don’t exist!”

“They obviously do, and you know it,” Merrill retorted. “You can feel it. That’s why you’re scared.”

He rose to his feet and pointed at her accusingly. “What scares me is your presumption that this cursed forest is safe, if you knew all along that that voice was an omen of ill fortune!”

Merrill pouted. “It’s not a sign of ill fortune. Look at all the evidence!” She started counting off her fingers. “That voice only talks to the elves. It helped us get to this beach without smashing the Lady Luck to pieces–”

“That was a near miss, and you know it,” Fenris snapped.

Merrill ignored him. “–and there’s a perfect statue of the Dread Wolf in the middle of the forest that no one except us has seen in ages? That’s proof!”

“Proof of what?” Fenris demanded.

“That this forest is protected by Fen’Harel!” Merrill exclaimed.

Fenris recoiled at this, and Piper stared at Merrill in total bemusement. The others all seemed equally nonplussed; no one spoke for a few long seconds.

Cullen was the first to speak. “Protected by, er, Fen’Harel?” he said faintly.

“I’m confused,” Rynne said. 

“I am too,” Dorian said. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but anything involving the Dread Wolf is a bad thing, isn’t it?”

Merrill waved impatiently in the direction of the camp they’d eradicated. “For those humans, yes, but not for us. We’re safe and protected because Fen’Harel is guiding us!” She poked her parchment. “It says right here: Fen’Harel ma ghilana. ‘Fen’Harel guide you’, and that’s what he’s been doing!”

“Shut your mouth,” Fenris snarled.

Merrill gasped, and Piper shot him a forbidding look. “Fenris,” she said warningly. 

Fenris ignored her and gestured angrily at Merrill. “You knew this forest was a trap. A – a cesspool of danger thrumming in the air and straight into our ears. And you led us here.” 

“It is not dangerous!” Merrill insisted. “We’re protected!”

“And what about Hawke?” Fenris yelled. “And Cullen and Dorian?”

“Thank you, Fenris,” Dorian interjected. “I knew you cared.”

Fenris ignored him as well and continued to glare at Merrill. “You claim that we are protected, but what about them?”

“They’re protected because they’re with us,” Merrill said impatiently.

“You don’t know that!” Fenris shouted.

Merrill folded her arms and lifted her chin. “You know what, Fenris? Fine. Don’t believe me. No one ever does. But I know I’m right.”

His face twisted with rage, and Piper held up a hand. “Fenris,” she said firmly.

He exhaled hard, then snatched one of the oil lanterns from the ground. He pointed at Merrill once more. “If any harm comes to them, it is your fault,” he snarled. Then he began to stalk away. 

“Hey. Don’t go wandering off,” Piper barked.

“I need a minute alone,” he yelled, and he strode into the forest. 

Rynne rose to her feet, taking another lantern with her. “Well, that was invigorating,” she said brightly. “I don’t know about you, but Fenris yelling always gets my blood pumping.” She jerked her thumb in his direction. “I’ll just, er…”

Dorian grimaced. “Careful, Hawke. When he says he wants a moment alone, he means it.”

Rynne looked at him, and her face was uncharacteristically serious. “Not from me,” she said. “He doesn’t get to walk away from me.” She hurried into the dark after Fenris. 

Piper watched her go, then sighed and ran her hands through her hair. Then Cullen wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Piper leaned into him, suddenly and violently grateful that he was there. He’d been rather quiet through all of this, and it wasn’t until now that Piper realized how much she was cherishing his quiet and solid presence at her side. 

“Piper,” Merrill said softly. “You believe me, don’t you? You believe the forest is safe?”

Piper gazed into Merrill’s big green eyes. She wanted to say yes; she wanted to believe that this forest was safe, because if it wasn’t – if there was danger here, to Rynne or Dorian or her beloved Golden Boy – then they’d have to turn around. Piper would have to return to the Lady Luck empty-handed, with nothing to show for the suffering she’d brought upon her crew. 

But Fenris’s words to Merrill were ringing in her ears. If any harm comes to them, it is your fault. He’d yelled this at Merrill, but Piper knew the truth: If any harm came to her human companions, it would be Piper’s fault, not Merrill’s. Piper had signed off on Merrill’s plan, and Piper was the captain of the Lady Luck. If any harm came to Cullen or Dorian or Rynne, it would be Piper’s fault. 

But the thought of going back to the Lady Luck with nothing to offer the rest of her crew – of not providing her crew with the lucrative bounty and luxurious lives they deserved, especially when a very promising-sounding ancient temple was looming in the forest somewhere not too far away…   

“Please, Piper,” Merrill pleaded. “Trust me. I know what I’m talking about.” 

Piper gazed at her for a moment longer. If she was honest, she didn’t have a great feeling about all of this. But she was Captain Piper Lavellan, and Captain Piper Lavellan didn’t balk in the face of danger. 

“Don’t worry, Merrill,” she said. “We’re moving forward with our little adventure.” 

Merrill smiled and clapped her hands, then went back to her translations. Dorian shuffled over to sit next to Merrill while she worked, and Piper pulled Cullen’s arm more securely around her neck and tried to focus on his comforting scent of spice and leather and sweat.  

Like Fenris, she wasn’t convinced that the mysterious voice was really the voice of Fen’Harel, or that they were quite as safe as Merrill believed. But all she could do was push forward and hope that things would turn out for the best. 

All she could do was keep making her own luck. 

[saintcheesus]

If you're still accepting prompts, maybe John wingmanning for Arthur to help him get with Charles. Thanks in advance if you decide to write this

I love this nonny! 

------

I am convinced that Charles has taken to chopping wood in front of me solely to drive me mad. He started taking his shirt off just last week, on account of this damn heat...

“Take your shirt off too, if you hot then. 

Arthur slammed his journal shut faster than John had ever seen. John laughed at how red in the face Arthur became, it suited him better than that sourpuss one he was always sporting. 

“Goddammit, Marston! Why you standing here for?” 

“You must have been awful distracted to not realize my shadow been over you since you was writing. When you gonna sketch him shirtless?” 

Arthur grumbled and looked away. 

“I already did...” he mumbled shortly after. John smiled at that and sat down next to his big brother. Just like Abigail showed him, he snatched the book from Arthur so deftly that by the time he reacted to the air in his hands, John had already managed to sneak a quick peek of the rough sketch. It wasn’t for longer than a few seconds, unfortunately, because Arthur was just as quick taking it back. John was also gifted a swift but firm slap to the back of the head. He thought he was twelve again, but just like then, he shook it off. 

“Why don’t you show him the sketch?” 

“Right, suppose I’ll just mosey up to him and say something foolish like, ‘Hey Charles come look at this sketch I have of you while I watched you chop wood for an hour!’ I’m sure he’ll be real keen on that, John. You moron.” 

“Sure, but then y’all get to chatting and then who knows what could happen from there.” 

John snuck a glance at his brother and his heart twinged a bit at the sight of someone he idolized (not like he’ll ever tell Arthur) for being the gang’s hero of sorts, look so helpless. 

“I ain’t good at talking to folks, John. My best skills is fighting and shooting. Ain’t much room for talk during those.” 

“Arthur you was nearly married.” 

He was considering mentioning Eliza too, but Arthur still shuts down hard whenever there might be room for her to be mentioned. 

“Mary’s different...she’s--” 

“A woman.” John finished. Arthur’s resigned nod and sad face was the answer. 

“What if Charles don’t...what if he don’t like men?” 

“What if he does?” 

“What if he don’t like me?” 

That sounded like it physically hurt Arthur to think that way, and John was not about to let Arthur doubt himself into not asking Charles. He wasn’t sure why Arthur forgot about that period before Mary where he fucked. Men and women alike. It was a short window of time but Arthur still owes John favors for covering for him all the times he snuck his lovers into camp. 

“Wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. It’s like you said, John. I was nearly married, but I ain’t because she ain’t want me. She weren’t even the first to say that.” 

John never really cared much for Mary, and hearing how sad and insecure that break-up made him just makes him mad all over again. 

“I ain’t good enough for him.” 

John didn’t mean to have the conversation take this turn, Arthur was clearly upset enough that he sighed and left his spot on the grass. John watched as Arthur schlepped away to his tent. John turned his attention back to Charles, who had just taken a break from his chore. He was wiping sweat off his brow, his eyes caught John’s. He smiled and waved, John was more than happy to return the gesture. The topless man then walked over to him and joined him in Arthur’s old spot. 

“How are you, John?” 

“Reckon I could be better. Getting a bit restless, I’m probably going to head out soon.” 

Charles hummed. John suddenly had an idea. 

“Charles do you want to go hunting with me? I saw a bunch of rabbits not too far from here, and deer too, they was making babies all winter so there’s plenty of them.” 

Charles laughed and nodded. 

“Sure, I’ll grab my gear and meet you at the horses.” 

John tipped his head and waited for Charles to leave before darting over to Arthur, who still looked as miserable as ever, scribbling away in his journal. He was drawing Cain.  

“Arthur! Arthur let’s go hunting!” 

“I don’t want to, go away!” 

“I want you to come with me.” 

“Always nice to try somethings for ourselves, I reckon.” He deadpanned 

John was getting irritated, but he wasn’t going to stop. 

“Please Arthur? We ain’t really done much with each other outside of missions. You might not miss my company so much but some times...well...you know...” 

Arthur sighed loudly and John smiled, knowing that he won. Arthur put his journal away and then put his hat on. 

“Come on then, the sun’s about ready to start setting and ain’t no use hunting in the dark.” 

John was as giddy as a child and practically ran over to his horse. Charles was already waiting there. John wished he had a camera to capture the priceless face that he had when he saw Arthur walking over with him. It was sheer delight, and John nearly pummeled his brother for thinking that he wasn’t interested. When John looked at Arthur, the man’s face was pale as all hell. He had his lasso on-hand in case Arthur was thinking about booking it back to his tent. Instead, he shook it off and smiled at Charles. 

“Morning, Charles.” 

John wanted to laugh so bad. Arthur sounded like a love-sick teenager, he wasn’t even this bad with Mary! He even batted his eye lashes at him! Charles chuckled and placed a hand on his shoulder. He rubbed it with his thumb. His thumb! John thought he was going to combust! He knew Arthur had a penchant for being stupid but he didn’t think Charles had a bit of the fool gene in him too. 

“John didn’t tell me you were coming with us.” 

Arthur giggled as he anxiously fiddled with his horse, Artie. She was a good girl.

“It’s funny...he ain’t tell me neither.” 

Arthur’s eyes flicked over to John’s and the man knew he was going to get his ass beat the moment they came back to camp. It would be worth it, he decided. 

Charles smoothly mounted Taima, and patted her gently. John could have sworn he saw Arthur swoon at the sight. This was bad, this was the worst he’d ever seen someone. He was definitely telling Tilly and Hosea about this. 

“If I had known, I would have dressed better.” 

John had never heard Arthur snort while laughing ever, but today was full of firsts for the both of them. The cowboy’s face was beet-red as he nervously laughed. Maybe John should have told him beforehand, but he didn’t want the man getting cold feet and never come. Charles started riding off, leaving the two brothers to follow. 

“Did John tell you what we were going to hunt?” Charles started the conversation. Arthur seemed to have calmed down, that was good. 

“No, did he tell you?” 

They were talking about him like he wasn’t right there. They really were made for each other. 

“Rabbits.” 

“Yeah cause y’all about to be fucking like them”, John thought. 

“I think I know what he’s talking about, there’s a clearing in the forest that’s just a bit further out from camp. We could spend the night there, since it’s already near sundown.” 

Charles flashed another smile at him and nodded. 

“Sounds like a good idea. You brought your bow?” 

Arthur pulled it from his horse’s holster. 

“Good. You’re really good with that thing. Didn’t even need to really teach you.” 

Arthur tipped his head downward so that you couldn’t really make out his face, but John was next to him and could see that he was grinning from ear-to-ear. It really warmed John’s heart to see him so touched. Only lover he had that was nearly as kind to him as Charles was Eliza. People weren’t truly kind to Arthur, very few were. John wasn’t very kind to him either, not after he deserted him for a year. But he was trying to make it up, Charles would be good for Arthur. Arthur just seemed so lonely most days and melancholic, besides himself, Hosea, and Sadie, Charles was the only other one to try and make him feel good about himself. Of course this is all considering the fact that they both love-sick buffoons who needed one non love-sick buffoon like John Marston to help them get together. It was working so far. 

They finally got to that clearing that Arthur mentioned and along the way, they saw rabbits, deer, and even a few turkeys. They were definitely going to have decent meals coming their way. Charles and Arthur were both dismounting when John whistled for Charles to come over to him. 

“Why are you still on your horse? Come down, set up camp with us.” 

“I’ll catch up with y’all later on, I think there was a...a...legendary rabbit up that way. It’s best if we split up to cover more ground, and y’all are better hunters than me so if you stay here you’ll catch all these critters.” 

Charles crossed his arms and smirked. He looked like he caught John’s drift but then maybe Charles just always looked charming. He exhaled and nodded after quiet deliberation. 

“Alright, but I’m telling Arthur before he starts to worry after you.” 

Before John could stop him, Charles turned and shouted, “John’s heading further up, he’ll come back tonight!” 

Arthur shouted back, “If you get into any trouble shoot your gun twice so we can come get you, you hear?” 

“Sure.” 

“You got water? Food? Bullets?” 

“Yes, Arthur!” 

“Don’t come back no later than noon neither, can’t have you running off on us again.” 

Arthur did this when he was a kid and he’s still doing it now. He was grown! He was twenty-six he knew how to pack for a hunting trip! He huffed and began walking away from the two of them. He found a patch of grass on a hill not more than five minutes away from them. When he got to the top he managed to coax his horse to lay down and have a nap with him. When they woke it was well past mid-night. Tiredly, he and his horse trudged back to the campsite where he found that the fire was still lit. He also realized that there was only two tents pitched up instead of three. He went to walk over to the second tent but he kicked an empty can of beans, and Artie got spooked because of it, she huffed two strong gusts of wind in his face. She also woke Arthur up. He came out of the tent with just his pants thrown on haphazardly. When he saw John standing there he put his hands on his hips. 

“You been gone all that time and ain’t bring nothing back? Ain’t you the one that wanted to hunt?”  

“He was a slippery bastard.” 

“Shut up, I see the drool marks on your face, idiot.” 

John crossed his arms. Arthur started to let up. 

“If you was sleeping then you wasn’t eating. Come on, Charles and I made a plate for you.” 

John realized that there were at least ten rabbits, two turkeys, and a buck who was big feller. His stomach growled when Arthur placed the plate in his hands. The food was still warm. It was beans, corn, and turkey. Much better than anything Pearson ever cooked. While he was scarfing it down, Charles came out of the same tent Arthur did, also half-naked. He was yawning while he walked over to Arthur and kissed the man on his bare shoulder. 

“Why did you leave?” 

“Because John came back and nearly let my horse die of shock.” 

Accused man swallowed his food and said very sternly, “I did not!” 

Charles woke up after hearing John’s voice and it was his turn to blush. Arthur’s composure was much better than earlier today. He was smiling at John teasingly. 

“Yes, you’ll be glad to know your little plan worked.” 

“Do I gotta leave camp again to let y’all finish or are you done?” 

Arthur rolled his eyes and waved his little brother away as he turned to go back into the tent. 

“Shut up and go back to bed after you finish eating, that tent’s pitched over there for you. Charles and I will see you in the morning because I ain’t about to let you return to camp empty-handed.” 

Charles followed behind Arthur dutifully as they went back into their tent. Once the camp got quiet again all John could do was childishly mock him before doing exactly as he was told. 

At least Arthur got his man, though. 

[kosmicdream]

Your Comic Baby

You know that comic or story that you made when you were a teenager (or sometimes even younger) that propelled you to really WANT to create it. FOR REAL. You put all your energy towards it, for years, determined that it was going to be the one you HAD to make. But then something doesnt go right because, comics are hard-- so you start over and over and over and each reboot gets a bit more discouraging because you have SO MUCH planned out for this thing and you’re just stuck in the loop of redoing the first 5 pages every couple of years. But something about that story, you just cant let go of. You still want to make it happen because you’ve invested and dedicated so much into it. I know that feeling. I call those stories.. your Comic Baby.

You might have a lot of babies. I know I do. But there’s always this one certain comic baby that i struggle with more than the others. Its a difficult baby because I first made this baby when I was 13. And over the course of my highschool years, I was very outspoken about how i was going to really make this a real book for everyone to read. I was constantly working on it, even taking sketchbooks and clipboards to draw it or the characters in class. People were waiting to read this story because they could see how passionate about it I was. But comics were a lot harder than I thought they would be in my mind. I mean, i knew they would be difficult but it was like my art wasn’t as good as I knew it could be when i drew comics. I didn’t get it. And I’d learn so much and so fast that once i got one chapter finished and ready to read, i didn’t like it anymore.

This process went on until i graduated highschool. This dream of making a comic. Specifically THIS comic. I had a lot of stories i was planning on doing, but there was this one comic i really REALLY invested just. My maximum comic energy into. It was different from the other comics and stories. Not that the other ones werent good, they just didnt have the same bond with me that I had with this story. This comic baby was gonna be the thing i was going to be known for and be the first comic i would presented into the world. And in the end.. it actually wasn’t.

I mean, it was, in a way. Eggshells is a prequel to that baby comic. Set in the same universe. Part of the same story, more like a mini test version reboot of the One True Baby Comic. I decided to give the comics thing another try and started to work on eggshells in August 2011, then to ink in Febuary 2012 and finally started to post it in 2013.. sometime.

I took a really long break from comics between finishing highschool and starting eggshells. I would try here and there, but not getting this baby comic out when i was still IN highschool somehow made me feel like a failure of an artist. I was very hard on myself. I didn’t really know if i was even capable of BEING a comic artist because my comics weren’t coming out how i wanted and I couldn’t finish anything. Besides that, I didn’t even know if I could even make them as a career. (I still don’t know if I can but I know I’m going to continue to try.)

When I decided to start Eggshells, i decided that it would be another attempt at my favorite baby comic because I knew that if any of my stories had the emotional legs to motivate me to get through to the final page-- it would be that one. That special baby comic. I poured so much work into planning and preparing everything in a very tradition sense. Scripts, thumbnails, drawing layouts and props and character turn arounds.. ect ect.

Then the fire happened and I lost my ‘comic bible’ of sorts. The rough draft sketches of the entire thing. It was very sad.

But even before then, actually inking pages was not very fun. Because the process i made for it was .. not very fun. I was running into the same walls that I always had when rendering comic panels. It just was too slow and I couldn’t get a consistent look that i wanted. I wasn’t sure where to put detail (or balance the detail) so I would over render constantly. I would zoom in too much. I didn’t know how much to shade and word bubbles annoyed me. I wasn’t very satisfied and I would spend way too much time on each page.

I felt pretty exhausted after trying to ink it for one year and not even getting through the first chapter. Doubt and old dread of not being capable of a comic artist weighed on my shoulders. Of course then, when the fire happened, i just decided to put all that aside again. My life kinda was.. thrown in a loop.

Similarly, my life has been thrown in another one of those loops. A different kind but still, the same sort of disoriented “where the fuck should i live” kind of things. Some of these feelings have come back, the anxieties and unsureness but.. mostly just remembering about them rather than feeling the SAME things. I have acquired a sense of accomplishment in my art .. just with a totally different comic that came out of no-where. (the worm one, you know.)

My relationship with my art has changed so much at this point and I’m so.. not.. what i had predicted for myself?? Not in a negative way. its just odd. FFAK is such a different comic than i thought I would make too. I would describe the experience of working on FFAK as like, im in a shitty junkyard car and ive decided to slam on the gas as hard as i can and see how far it’ll go. Then it just didn’t stop. It took me on a fucking journey but at 90 miles per hour. No careful consideration, so much explicit violence and sex, aggressive confrontations and social commentary. Sex hat jokes. I really got to see a side of myself that this story continues to bring out. And as I worked on ffak more and more, I would sometimes look over at the passenger seat at the Comic Baby. Crossing their arms judgmentally at me and giving me a look like “Having fun? What about ME? Wasn’t I the important one to you?? Am I not special anymore???”

So sometimes i’d feel bad. And try to work on that one again.. but it didn’t make me feel good. I felt like i had to ride the FFAK wave because that was what was happening in the present and I was discovering too much about myself to go back to this older thing that i had a frustrating history with. It wasn’t that I didn’t LOVE the other story, it just didn’t feel right to work on then. So i just let myself focus on where my energy was wanting to go: The Worm Fucks. And the worm fuck comic is the one people read first. Its the first comic of my own i really got to.. read and experience more than just the first chapter. Its been amazing but its so weird. I feel like its a different kind of artist that makes it sometimes.

I don’t regret the worm fuck comic being the one I’m known for but its still funny to me how easily it might have never happened. If the fire hadn’t taken away so much of my work, I probably would be still slowly pushing out pages for eggshells. Or maybe I would have given up and moved on to do something else with my art career? I don’t know. All i know is what I ended up doing was this weird worm comic that is still going on for .. thousands of pages! and has no end in sight! I didnt even expect eggshells to last 1,000 pages but now I can tell my page-pacing is different than how i expected. I still haven’t even finished a comic yet. Its weird? Am I able to finish comics? I guess I don’t know yet because I haven’t. i might “know” endings to my stories but its very different when actually getting it done. I understand that life is more complicated than that and things like fires can change the circumstances in 10 minutes.

So I’m feeling a fear about this uncertain future I’m facing, I’m seeing that I have to make a lot of huge life changes for where I am going to live and what I have to do to make money to support myself. I’m scared that my routine ive established with FFAK will have to change. I wonder if I’ll never be able to replicate the same exact “throw it all into the wind” energy of working like I was able to.. at least I know I can’t right now, because I need to be careful and calculated again. My surroundings arent stable enough for me to dive headfirst into my projects.

With that I’ve noticed I’m drawing eggshells a little bit and enjoying it like I haven’t before. Is it what I need right now? It feels weirdly comforting to know that, no matter what the history i have with this comic, I’ll come back to it and continue to pick at it a little. it makes me feel like, no matter where I’m going to be in this world physically-- my comics will come along with me and they dont have to leave. they arent a product of circumstance. I can get right back on the horse. Its just part of my life that doesn’t have to go away or be taken away from me. Its a nice secure feeling that there’s this art thing isnt something I have to start over. I’d rather build on what I’ve got and it might take me a long time but I enjoy the journey. That feels good to me.

Anyway, even if I’m scared about where i’ll go from here I know i’ll have my car of screaming comic babies at all different ages that are demanding my attention. and some are more patient than others, i’ve totally ditched some babies along the way that i might pick back up later or merge with other babies through some horrific experiment. I’ll even make some new ones because life inspires me constantly and I have so many problems to sort out and what better way than to project on some cool anime characters. but i love all my comic babies!!!!!! and they love me. i have unique and interesting histories with all of them.

comic baby is such a creepy word but it really feels like they are your strange brain children that are also you. i don’t ever want children of my own, but i can see that i pour.. small small aspects of that i think that energy might be into my comics. (im not pretending its actually the same thing to be perfectly clear.) They take up all your time + energy and make you constantly lose sleep..and they grow distinct personalities that you dont expect and have to deal with.. people will judge you for them and how you “raise” them (make them), you’re endlessly proud of these babies and protective and shed tears for them and want them to SUCCEED and live on forever. you want other people to love them TOO and see the best parts of them, for all their flaws. You want em all to grow up as you hoped or planned but they wont at all. They’ll be totally different but also better than you could have imagined.

Comics & Art are such a special thing to get to experience. While i hope that i can make my dreams a reality with my art, I know that they’ll always be an integral part of my life + how i experience and see life and i’m so thankful ive decided to really let room for it there. Its amazing to me that i almost thought it wouldn’t. and i wasnt going to be allowed to be happy with my art because it wasn’t good enough and i wasn’t enough. but i am. and it is good.

Thank you for reading. -Kosmic

[thetragictoy]

Opnemer and the Recorder of Memories

Okay, so I’ve got this beautiful idea for a book that I’ve been working on for over two years now and I just wrote out character descriptions for all of my lovely characters! If anyone can help find some inspo or would like to sketch up, collage—whatever you’d like to contribute to my babies would be incredibly helpful! I already have the first chapter pretty solidified, but it’s subject to change (if anyone would like to read it and I see enough interest, I’ll gladly post chapter one!). But, without further adieu, here are (most of) my main babies!

Opnemer- Adorable little fairy of a girl, Op is full of optimism and love. Medium length brown hair, big brown eyes, tanned skin, a relatively straight nose (not big but also not sloped, just kinda straight), and rather average in stature—about 5’6”. When she’s having a heated conversation with Desmond or simply interested, her ideal hairstyle is the quick and messy bun (to keep hair out of her face). When she’s in Desmond’s dreams, she loves wearing white and she loves retro dresses that are simple in style, but fun to twirl in. She also loves wearing and seeing bright colors in the dreamscape.

Sonata- A very sweet and gentle spirit, Nata has a strong urge to protect those that he loves. Light brown hair, hazel green eyes, wears glasses (rectangular frames?), lightly tanned skin—lighter than Op, around 6’2”. If Nata didn’t have to wear the same deep eggplant purple everyday, he’d be an absolute t-shirt and jeans kinda guy with fun looking Chuck Taylors. He’s the funny—sometimes awkward—guy who cares immensely about Op. Just imagine he’s the guy nervous laughing as he scratches the back of his head 😂

Desmond- A growing teenage boy with a ton of personality, Des is wise and humble. Dark, curly brown hair, brown eyes, (he’s my lil Mexican boy), very insanely tan (he likes being outside), and currently I see him about 16 at 6’0”. He’s super casual in what he wears, but likes his little touch of style in each outfit. (He likes to look like he’s not trying while actually trying most of the time 😂) His classic look is a printed short sleeve button downs, jeans, and some sweet lace up leather boots. He usually wears his lapis lazuli that his mother gave him until he and Op exchanged necklaces (but they wear them as bracelets) and he never takes hers off (I’ve written this particular scene into existence already, so it’s canon!).

Ruby- A wonderfully artsy gal, Ruby challenges herself almost constantly. Long brown hair, green green eyes, darker skin tone (something close to Des), and about 5’2”. She loves painting, sketching, writing poetry, and doing ceramics. She loves getting into the action and could care less if her hands get dirty. She has quite the retro bohemian style and loves loose, airy organic clothing that doesn’t weigh her down. She loves to layer pieces to make her look like a low key bohemian princess. She loves colors, but typically wears more muted or neutral tones to keep from clashing with the loud colors of her art. She’s a very simple girl who’s headstrong and wildly independent. She’s usually the girl telling her friends exactly what they need to hear to help them achieve what it is that they want.

Sahwira- Incredibly intelligent and doesn’t often say much. Gold-blonde hair, piercing blue-grey eyes, ridiculously sharp jawline & cheekbones, around 6’0”. He’s a pale boy who would avoid being outdoors if the Recorders had an outdoors. He comes off as intimidating because he’s taller than Op, especially when he’s close to her. He’s almost always caught scowling and doesn’t smile often (if ever really). He’s a no nonsense man and is one of the oldest Recorders that’s lived (but because they don’t age, he’d really be quite attractive if he smiled). He secretly cares about Op and when she talks to him for the first time, it’s like all the hardness of his features melts away and she just sees a softness in him that she didn’t think could exist (because when he’s not scowling, he has some rather sad but sweet eyes). Sahwira really quite likes the dark colors they wear, but he would definitely be the office type who wears slacks, button down shirts, dress shoes, and a ridiculously expensive watch. If he didn’t care what people thought of him, he would 100% wear dad hats, jeans, t-shirts, and Vans.

Edeko- Sophisticated and sweet, Eddy is a whirlwind of quiet energy and support. Curly curly brown hair, amber brown eyes, mulatto skin, a splash of freckles on her face, around 5’8”. While she’s incredibly sassy when she’s with Sahwira (whom she has nicknamed Wira), she’s got a whole stock of wisdom for younger Recorders. She’s helped Nau emotionally through some of the hard times, but she also knows how to be straight with someone when they need to hear the truth. If she didn’t have to wear deep eggplant all the time, she’d easily be a girl who loves high waisted jeans, crop tops, and high tops. To get cozy, you’d 100% find her in a huge oversized sweater that’s off one shoulder, some flannel pj shorts and fuzzy slippers.

Nauhuri- Bubbly and fully of life, Nau is an absolute sweetheart who has a rather tragic past. Platinum blonde hair in a pixie cut, brilliant electric blue eyes, a sea of studs on her left ear and a cuff and chain on her right, full lips, adorable button nose, and milky skin. She’s had it rough but she knows just how to keep on trekking. Without the set eggplant purple clothes Nau would have an adorable sense of style. Crop tops, pleated skirts, chokers, and Doc Martins would be her go to. She would also easily be spotted in a t-shirt, leggings, and tennis shoes on a comfy day.

Musajjil- A seriously chill dude with a heart of gold. Dark black hair that is likely to be pulled back into the messy man bun, dark brown eyes, a pretty big schnoz, caramel skin, about 5’8”. Musajjil adores Nau and always has her back. He loves her fighting spirit and her ability to stay positive while also adapting to her situation. Musa sounds like a total surfer dude and is extremely go with the flow. He’s easily approachable and loves conversation. If he wasn’t stuck in eggplant purple, you better believe he’d be in cargo shorts, t-shirts or muscle tanks, flip-flops, and wearing a necklace made of sea glass and pukka shells.

Taifeadta- A hopeless romantic who tries to be a ladies man, but inevitably fails. Short but stylish dirty blonde hair, deep green eyes, some scruff on his face, around 5’10”. I like to imagine him with glasses, but I guess he could go with or without. Tai is my sweet sweet boy who has tons of personality and loves flirting (or trying to anyways). He’s incredibly attracted to Eddy—mostly because she’s so sophisticated and well versed with everything in their world. He does eventually fall for another Recorder (Kina) and she makes him nervous and it’s adorable because there’s lots of blushing and speechlessness (and Tai is never speechless). His ideal outfits would be some nice jeans, t-shirts and hoodies, and skate highs.

Kinasa- Shy and gentle, she’s a calming presence to anyone in the room. Long black hair, almond shaped eyes blacker than night, flat(ish) but adorable nose, porcelain skin, around 5’2”. Kina always carries a calming aura and is rather shy compared to the other Recorders. She’s intrigued by Tai and loves how his calm and cool nature gets tripped up by her presence and knows that Tai is really very sweet behind his “ladies man” facade. She’d love to wear long simple A-line dresses, corduroy overalls, pastel colors mixed with deep rich tones, and shoes ranging from tennis shoes to creepers.

Gravadora- Cunning and mischievous, she makes up one half of the twins. Long airy black hair, bright green eyes, a dash of freckles, small but cute nose, pale olive skin, around 5’9”. Rava is full of energy so if someone sets her off, she’s quick to her temper. She loves fiercely and she doesn’t know how she’d do this job without her brother Graves. She’d ideally wear something laid back like bootcut jeans, long sleeve shirts and hoodies, and Converse. She’s a simple gal.

Gravador- Daring and witty, he makes up the second half of the twins. Wavy black hair (kinda shaggy), bright green eyes with the longest eyelashes ever (only noticeable when you’re close enough to really look at him), a dash of freckles, small but cute nose, pale olive skin, around 5’9”. While the twins are nearly the spitting image of each other, Graves is a bit softer than his sister. He’s a bit more emotional, but he keeps that to himself although she already knows something’s wrong just by the way he breathes. Graves would love wearing natural or muted tones. He’s a sucker for flannels, jeans, and leather boots.

Death- Snarky and sarcastic, Death loves to pick a fight. Tall and brooding with choppy black hair, amber brown eyes, rather pointed nose and gaunt cheeks, pale skin, well built, around 6’5”. Death can regularly be found in black jeans, black t-shirts, black leather jackets, and black leather boots. He’s sassy and completely uncouth, but that’s how he’d like to portray himself to people. He’s been blamed for everything he’s never done over his lifetime so while he does in fact have a soft side that longs to be understood, he decides to mask that part of him with an air of sarcastic wit.

Fate- Beloved by some, slandered by many, Fate is a war horse. Long strawberry blonde hair that cascades down in loose curls, hazel green eyes that seem to hold the rainbow, adorable pixie nose, lightly tanned skin, around 5’9”. Fate is bitterly misunderstood most of the time. She’s incredibly regal in her wardrobe (much like Time and very much unlike Death) and is always wearing a golden laurel and ivory robes embroidered with golden threads and embellished with pastel shades of pink, green, and lavender. If she ever has time to herself to dress more casually, she’d be in thermal long sleeves and pea coats, nice jeans, and some comfortable booties with at least a 3” heel.

Time- Stern and focused, Time is on a schedule down to the second, so you best not be late. Long white hair and beard (that was once a golden blonde), green eyes and thin rectangular spectacles, a rather bulbous nose, papery white skin, around 6’1”. Time is ridiculously punctual and hates when others miss appointments. While he likes to come off as the cheery old man, he isn’t a force to be reckoned with. He always wears beautiful royal blue robes that sweep the floor. If he ever had a sense of casual wear, it would probably be flannel pj pants, a matching button down, and a night robe and matching night cap.

Claudia- Strong and supportive, she’s a force of nature that knows her boys rely on her. Dark curly brown hair, dark brown eyes, slight crows feet (from all the laughter and joy her boys bring her), full lips, round nose, tanned skin, around 5’3”. After losing her husband, Claudia took it upon herself to raise her three boys. She loves practical clothing that’s simple and comfortable such as jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. She loves a good necklace or two and bracelets like bangles that jingle. She loves prints and every once in a while she’ll throw on a nice bohemian styled shirt with bell sleeves just to watch the movement of the fabric. Claudia’s about 50 at this point in time.

Ellis- Resilient and sure, Desmond’s oldest brother—and sometimes the most bull headed—Ellis is relatively level headed, but he’s also a teenager in adolescence. Wavy light brown hair, hazel green eyes, strong jawline, rather pointed nose, fairer than his mother and other two brothers—he heavily resembles his father, around 6’0”. He’s about 18 at this point in time and believes that he’s in love with a girl he’s only been going out with for a month. He won’t listen to Desmond’s words simply because he’s younger and “doesn’t understand”. He does love his mother and brothers with his whole being, he’s just stubborn at this age. Ellis is big on playing sports but also loves music and playing the ukulele. Loves being comfortable (like his mother) and prefers jeans, simple t-shirts, and Converse.

Finnegan- Incredibly loyal and understanding, Desmond’s younger brother Finny is the quiet pillar of strength that keeps everyone in the house together. Rusty brown hair that’s nearly untamable (always looks like styled bedhead but is actually just real bedhead), light brown eyes, round nose, round pink cheeks, the lucky kid with freckles, around 5’5”. He’s around 12 at this point in time and is already a freshman in high school as he is very diligent with his studies and skipped a grade in elementary. He tutors others in his classes and many of his peers and even upper class men adore him. He’s easy to talk to, highly intelligent and incredibly oblivious to girls and their intentions. He’s practical and calculated but still incredibly sweet. He tries to offer advice, but is sometimes more forward than most others are used to. He loves a good pair of khakis or a nice pressed pair of jeans and loves a good printed shortsleeved button down and loves his Converse. Finny isn’t afraid of hand-me-downs from his brothers, he just likes keeping his crisp and clean style if he has the choice.

[laetro]

Ritaban Das: Storyboarding for Effective Storytelling

Character designer, illustrator and storyboard artist, Ritaban Das, elaborates on the significance of storyboarding to effectively tell a story and thus also shares insights from his decade-long experience in animation.

Ritaban Das is a character designer, storyboard artist and illustrator working in the animation industry for the last decade. He’s worked on a wide range of national and international 2D and 3D animated projects for platforms like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Pogo. Recently, he shifted to Toronto, Canada for higher studies, looking to contribute his skills to the Canadian animation industry. He hopes to someday work on his own animated show.

ORDER A CUSTOM ILLUSTRATION

Q. How do you differentiate your approach between the roles of character designer, storyboard artist and illustrator?

Ritaban Das: At the end of the day it’s all interconnected; it all comes down to ‘story’. When I design a character, I start by thinking about what kind of personality the character has and their role in the story. I think about what I’m trying to communicate through the illustration. This helps me to figure out poses and expressions. As I’m drawing, I’m thinking about shapes, proportions and appeal. I also think about the composition of the illustration. When I make storyboards, I’m telling a story in motion by acting out the characters in them.

Q. What have been the greatest lessons you’ve learnt professionally and personally in your ten years of experience?

Ritaban Das: Draw what you like and the rest will fall into place. Only you know what motivates you.

Q. How did you find your calling to be an artist and, thereafter, how did you nurture your skills to hone your craft?

Ritaban Das: I’ve been drawing for as long as I remember and I’m always very passionate about it. To be very honest, I sucked at studies and my parents knew that very well. I remember spending most of my time with a box of chalk and slate gifted to me by my father. Like every other child, I also loved to sketch my favourite cartoons. I usually sketched these animated characters on the back pages of all my notebooks and also my classmates’ notebooks. It made me known amongst my seniors for my sketches.

That’s the only thing I was good at which I followed blindly. Honing my craft came from lots of practice. I draw almost every day. I also follow and study other artists’ work. Reading or watching their interviews, where they describe their work processes and the likes, helped me a lot to grow as an artist over the years. I try to open my eyes and ears to absorb everything.

Q. Could you take us through your process of how you envision a character and then execute it practically?

Ritaban Das: Being a Character Designer, most of my work is very much character-driven, blended with humour and very graphical too. I always try to convey some sort of story through every character or Illustration I make. I like to play with various shapes and silhouettes and usually keep things simple.

The character design process is, in a way, a combination of different things. I ask myself ‘Who am I drawing? What is his/her personality?’ I sometimes look at influential artists’ work to get some ideas or even start from a drawing I like and translate it into my style. Then, trying to forget those influences, I often start from scratch with a basic shape such as the face as it determines the rest of the character for me, then the body (this can be a circle, oval or even a pear shape – it all depends on the personality of the character I want to draw).

Q. Could you please elaborate on your current pursuit of higher studies and how you came to choose Canada for it?

Ritaban: I completed my studies at Humber College in 3D modelling & VFX and Graphic Design and got a job in an animation studio called House of Cool as a Story artist. I’m working on a very exciting project which will probably start airing next year.

I’ve always been well aware of the Canadian animation industry from the beginning and the kind of projects they do. I worked on a bunch of Canadian animation projects back in India.

We used to do a lot of outsourcing for studios here like Big Jump and Brown Bag Films. Canada’s animation industry always attracted me in terms of work culture, the kind of content they nurture, and the quality they produce, so I want to be a part of it.

“Whether you’re working on a commercial TV spot, web video or film, storyboards are an effective way to quickly tell a story. “

Q. What about the world of animation draws you towards it?

Ritaban: Animation is important because it enables us to tell stories and communicate emotions and ideas in a unique, easy-to-perceive way that both children and adults can understand. Animation has helped connect people throughout the world in a way that sometimes writing and live-action films cannot.

Today, anyone can pick up a drawing tablet and show their ideas to the world. Drawn figures can be funny, sad or serious. It can have a playful, less intimidating feel to it to make the viewer feel more comfortable. Often, it has simply served as a way to make a heart-warming story that makes you think.

Through live-action movies, people can form biases based on the appearance and real-life personality of an actor playing a character. But as an animated character, the character feels like their own being.

Q. What would you say are the most challenging aspects of working in the animation world and how do you tackle them?

Ritaban: Every project is challenging in different ways. The challenging ones are the projects where clients don’t have a clear understanding of their audience and outcome, goals or don’t have an investment or hierarchy for arriving at a consensus on feedback. The most challenging projects always boil down to size and scope and managing a team to produce the animation. Also, animating subject matter that I’m not interested in is challenging. But at the end of the day, we all survive because we all just love what we do.

Q. Could you take us through your process of creating a storyboard and highlight its most important aspects?

Ritaban: Whether you’re working on a commercial TV spot, web video, or film, storyboards are an effective way to quickly tell a story. A storyboard is a sequence of drawings that represent the shots planned for video production. It covers all of the major shots, angles and action of your film. The very first step is to read your script and visualise it as an audience would. As I go from scene to scene, I analyse the screenplay and decide how I want each scene to look.

A script breakdown tells you what storyboards you need to create. Then I start doing the rough thumbnails with all the necessary camera angles in Photoshop and chalk out the entire scene I’m planning to do. The important thing is to give anyone who looks at the storyboard a sense of space — where are the objects in relation to the space they’re standing in.

Once I finish locking the scene on thumbnail level, I pitch it to my art director or creative director and take their feedback. After passing the thumbnail phase, I start making the rough staging in Storyboard Pro and work on the required actions and move forward with the scene for the final animation. I might have to rework scenes over and over, combining different elements of the iterations until I finally have what the team is looking for.

Q. What ways do you apply to understand client needs better and thereby produce results that are in sync with them?

Ritaban Das : Whether I work in any studio or as a freelancer, I always listen to what clients need. Listening to your client will help you understand and retain the information you’re already receiving, even if it isn’t a formal meeting. You need to ask questions to identify needs and paraphrase what they say. It helps with clarification and to enhance your understanding of their needs.

Also, I bring new ideas to the table. I don’t hesitate to propose something other than what the client had in mind. You may have a better service in mind and, if nothing else, this again shows you’re listening and attempting to understand your client’s needs. Understanding client needs is one of the biggest challenges of any business but also one of the most important and rewarding tasks.

Q. Considering your range of work, could you please elaborate on significant projects and clients you’ve worked for?

Ritaban Das: Over the ten years of my career, I’ve worked on various national and international projects back in India for clients like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Pogo. I’ve been part of the projects like “Camp WWE”, “F is for Family,” “Kuu Kuu Harajuku,” “Evan the Epic,” “Penn Zero: Part-time Hero,” “DC Superhero Girls,” “Cloudy with a chance of meatballs” (series), “Rhythm Warriors” (series-in production) and other numerous animated TV shows.

Q. According to you, in what direction should animation be exploring and progressing now?

Ritaban Das: Animation is an incredibly versatile medium that is widely used in many different forms today. Animated films are big business nowadays. Companies such as Disney have had enormous success producing animated children’s films for many years. Animated characters such as The Simpsons and The Flintstones have long been familiar visitors to our television screens. The future of animation looks to be on an interesting journey as the quality of films is becoming higher and higher. Most people would now aim for a 4k film. Also, they’ve been experimenting and coming up with new techniques of animation.

One of the interesting ones is Mix Media, a technique that Disney has been experimenting with for a few years is mixing CGI and traditional 2D animation. The idea is to create an animated film using CGI and then to draw over each frame to give it a hand-drawn quality. The computer gaming industry is also pushing the boundaries of what is possible with animation, leading to the creation of some extremely realistic game footage. Computer game animation has certainly come a long way from the 2D graphics of early arcade games.

Now computer game animators can build environments and objects that react to the player’s actions. The animation looks set to continue delighting audiences for many years to come. With animated films continuing to rise in the blockbuster charts, capturing hearts and imaginations, there is no sign of this genre coming to an end.

[ethanalter]

Judd Apatow Talks Final Season of ‘Girls,’ His Next HBO Series, ‘Crashing,’ and the Return of ‘Love’

Judd Apatow and Gillian Jacobs on the set of ‘Love’ (Credit: Netflix)

Once upon a time, television wasn’t very kind to Judd Apatow. Back at the turn of the millennium, the triple-threat writer/director/producer watched as his beloved comedies Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared were sent to the cancellation gallows despite terrific reviews and devoted fanbases. Turning his back on TV, Apatow went on to scale new heights of success with blockbuster big-screen comedies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.

And those success stories, in turn, led him back to television, this time with drastically different results. For the past five years, Apatow has been an executive producer of Lena Dunham’s acclaimed HBO series Girls, which is about to launch its sixth and final season on Feb. 12. The following week, he’ll unveil his next HBO series, Crashing, a peek at the contemporary New York stand-up comedy scene with comic Pete Holmes as our guide. And Mar. 10 brings the second season of Love, Apatow’s popular Netflix series starring Paul Rust and Gillian Jacobs as a pair of Angelenos in the throes of a tortured romance. In a wide-ranging interview, Yahoo TV spoke with the prolific producer at length about his three shows and why he’s thrilled to be part of the cable and streaming arm of the Peak TV era.

Lena Dunham and Riz Ahmed in ‘Girls’ (Credit: HBO)

Going into this last season of Girls, it must have been nice knowing that everyone was working towards a definitive endpoint. It’s always fun to work on the last season of the series, because when you work on a show, you’re always trying to slow things down. There’s a natural momentum towards things working out or crashing and you don’t want a lot of those things to happen, because if they do, the show is over! So it’s nice when you can do them, because you are actually ending the show. Some of the difficulty with this show was figuring out how to let the characters mature, and the rate at which they’re maturing. Last season, knowing that it was the second-to-last season, we were able to have fun with them getting a little bit smarter. Or, if they were stuck, it felt even worse because they’re reaching the end of their 20s and things still aren’t working out. That’s what happens with friends — some people get their lives together and others just spin out and crash.

As you build towards the finale, how definitive will the conclusion be? Will there be some open-ended questions left for fans to think about? Well, you can’t get definitive when you end a TV show. One thing that I keep thinking is that the end of The Sopranos is genius. Because there’s really no end for these characters; unless they all go down in a shipwreck, they’re going to live on and we’re not going to know what happens afterwards. And The Sopranos ending really captured that. As we worked on this season, I thought a lot about how different shows ended, and I think that the ending of this season of Girls is very interesting, and hopefully people will like it. But there’s almost no way to satisfy everybody, because people have their own hopes and dreams for what will happen to these characters.

Related: Ken Tucker Reviews ‘Girls’: Final-Season Fun And Fury

Some of my favorite Girls episodes are the standalone installments that pop up during the course of a season — like “One Man’s Trash” in Season 2 or “The Panic in Central Park” during Season 5. Are there any planned for this final year? There’s one standalone this year that I think is really incredible. I’ve always enjoyed those episodes. Sometimes we’ll be talking about the arc for the season, and Lena will go off to write an episode, and then suddenly she’ll just hand in a little movie that has nothing to do with the rest of the season. She just gets inspired. We often never discuss those in the writer’s room, and they’ve been some of the best episodes of the series. Lena hasn’t made a movie since Tiny Furniture, but in a way, she’s gotten to make a whole bunch of movies during the life of the show.

Allison Williams and Ebon Moss-Bachrach in ‘Girls’ (Credit: HBO)

Looking back on the legacy of the show, what do you think Girls achieved during its six-season run? When the process started, it felt like a way of doing an independent film on television. We were trying to find a way to capture what Lena did with Tiny Furniture and do it every week on HBO. I feel like Lena shows so much courage to be honest in a way that people hadn’t really been before in television, both emotionally and with her willingness to be very explicit in portraying relationships and sexuality. I think she busted down a lot of walls by talking about things that haven’t been explored on television very often. Now there are a lot of shows that go that deep and that brutally honest, shows about women, and shows about men and women. If you look at television before Girls and after Girls, it’s changed a lot. I think she’s been a big part of this Golden Era of TV, and I think her work, along with Amy Poehler’s work and Tina Fey’s work, has inspired a lot of women to create television and to create and star in television. That’s a fantastic thing.

You can certainly see Girls’ influence on a show like Crashing, which also has a very scruffy, indie film-feel. What was the process of developing the series with Pete Holmes? I met with Pete five or six years ago when doing his podcast, You Made it Weird. I didn’t even know who he was; his manager’s a friend of mine, so I was doing it as a favor, and I had such a great time. We did it in front of an audience at the South by Southwest festival, and the other guests were Kumail Nanjiani, Todd Barry, and Chris Gethard. Then he asked me to come on his TBS talk show, The Pete Holmes Show, and we did a filmed sketch where he was pitching me movie and TV ideas. One of those ideas was a series about Pete’s life after his wife cheats on him and he tries to be a comedian. In the sketch, I said, “Well, that’s just too sad. Who would want to watch that?” He was pitching it as a joke, but then we started talking about it and we developed the idea.

Pete Holmes as a struggling comic in ‘Crashing’ (Credit: HBO)

I love exploring the world of comedians, and although there are some shows in which people play comedians, I don’t think any series really explores it deeply and fully like this. We see a young comedian in New York who isn’t good at his craft yet, so he struggles because he needs money and it’s hard to live in New York. Because he’s sleeping on different peoples’ couches, it gave us an opportunity to have all of our favorite comedians on the show. One week it’s Artie Lange, another week it’s T.J. Miller, and another week it’s Sarah Silverman. It’s a really great format to show how different people live.

Pete Holmes plays “Pete Holmes” on the show, and the guest stars all play themselves as well. Was that your intention from the beginning? I used to work on The Larry Sanders Show, and I love when people play themselves. I think people are so interesting and rarely get a chance to tap into who they really are. So when we find someone like Artie Lange, we’re writing a story that’s fabricated, but within the making of that episode, we’re improvising and talking with Artie to discuss what his life is really like and what his struggles are. Some of it’s really hilarious, and sometimes it’s really sad and moving. That’s a unique feature of the show; the people aren’t really satirizing themselves, they’re actually trying to get very close to the truth of who they are. That’s something we tried to do at Larry Sanders — using people’s actual lives to get as close to the truth as we can while still telling a funny story.

Is the New York stand-up comedy community depicted in the series a mash-up of the current scene, as well as the early ‘90s when you were trying to make it as a comedian? This is the modern version of trying to break into the comedy scene in New York. A lot of people bark — which means they hand out flyers all night — and if they can get enough people to go to a certain club, they’re allowed to go on at the end of the night in front of the last two people who haven’t left. It’s a brutal way to break in. There’s a lot of desperation for people just starting out. You have to be very strong, because sometimes they’ll only let you go on if you buy two drinks. Or you can only get on if you bring a certain amount of friends. There’s always the obstacles to getting stage time. So we’re trying to show how rough it can be to establish yourself and to get enough stage time to get better. It’s hard to get better when you’re performing for three people at 2:30 in the morning! [Laughs]

You mentioned Pete’s podcast, which is a new outlet for comedians to reach the public. Comics like Marc Maron, Scott Aukerman, and Lauren Lapkus are all finding a lot of success in that medium. Is that a phenomenon that interests you? I hadn’t thought about that before, but I do think it’s true. When I was starting out, I looked up to people like Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld, but there were no podcasts, so you didn’t really get to know these people. I used to interview them for my high school radio station because I wanted to know who they were, and one of the reasons why I did that was because something like podcasting didn’t exist. We all love somebody like T.J. Miller, and one of the reasons why we like him is we might have heard him talk for hours and hours to another comedian and really reveal himself. We have much more intimate relationships with these comedians who we’re fans of [today].

Holmes and Artie Lange in ‘Crashing’ (Credit: HBO)

Will Crashing have a season-long arc, or is it more of a couch-to-couch structure? There is an arc in that Pete sleeps on a series of couches, but also deals with larger problems over the course of the season. A lot of it is about, “Can Pete keep his soul while trying to be a comedian in New York?” We shoot it in New York, and we shoot on film. I said, “You know what? No one shoots on film anymore. None of these shows are on film. They all look the same, because they’re all digital.”

Crashing and Girls capture neighborhoods of New York you don’t often see on TV, and Love does the same thing for Los Angeles. Does Season 2 of Love continue to explore new areas of that city? Yeah, we definitely open it up. There’s a funny storyline in the season where Gus [played by Paul Rust], gets a job on an action movie that’s shooting out of town. I always think it’s weird that there aren’t shows that take place in L.A. that accurately portray L.A. Our show focuses on the East Side and Silver Lake areas. So it’s fun to try to do that, because — as odd as it sounds — people don’t shoot in L.A. Even the shows that shoot in L.A., they’re doubling for Wisconsin or something.

Paul Rust and Gillian Jacobs in ‘Love’ (Credit: Netflix)

The first season of Love ended with Gus and Mickey in a very strange place, emotionally. What can you tease about their relationship arc in the second year? We’re trying to show every bump along the way as these people get to know each other. The whole idea of the show is to take a slower, closer examination of every nuance as people try to get into a relationship and make it work. It’s all about baby steps, and part of it is about what you hide from people when you first meet them, and how it slowly comes out.

Related: Ken Tucker Reviews Season 1 of ‘Love’: Love Hurts, Love Is Strange, Love Forever Changes

Andy Dick had a memorable appearance in Season 1. Any special guest stars planned for Season 2? There are a few episodes where David Spade plays the father of the teen actress Gus is tutoring, Aria, who’s played by my daughter, Iris. David’s character is a struggling actor who never did really well, but now his daughter’s doing very well. David’s one of my oldest friends and he’s a great actor, so it was really fun to write a part where he gets to do something really unique.

Australian comic Claudia O’Doherty was the breakout star of Season 1 as Mickey’s roommate Bertie. She embarked on her own love story at the end of last season — will that continue? I met Claudia when we were working on Trainwreck. I saw a bunch of her videos online, and just immediately thought, “Oh, this is one of the great comic minds.” So while we were doing that movie, I said to her, “Hey, we have this new show, and we’d love for you to play this part.” She was even better than we could have imagined. And yes, one of the fun aspects of the second season is exploring her bizarre relationship with Randy, who is played by Mike Mitchell. We actually get to follow multiple relationships in the second season, and it’s funny, because Randy’s this sweet, but unemployed guy who people aren’t sure about whether he’s a good person to date or not.

Mike Mitchell and Claudia O’Doherty in ‘Love’ (Credit: Netflix)

You’ve found lots of success in this new TV ecosystem, which stands in contrast to your early experience in the industry when shows like Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared were canceled before their time. Are you happier with the industry as it is now? I love not working for network television! [Laughs] I think that’s a nightmare. With these streaming services, you shoot a season, they air it, and then maybe they want another season. You’re not in constant fear that you could get canceled tomorrow. The whole idea that you could be in the middle of your show and someone will just hand you a phone and go, “They want you to stop shooting right now,” is just the worst nightmare for a creative person, because you work so hard to build this world. These characters become so real to you, so it’s like making television with a gun to your head the whole time wondering if they’re going to shoot.

I’ve really enjoyed working with Netflix and HBO because they’re both very supportive, and their highest priority is doing something bold and creative. It wasn’t like that at network TV. They were always trying to dumb things down or make things more accessible. I feel like we’re in a very wonderful new world where all of these new networks and streaming services can only survive if the product is great. So you’re encouraged to be original, and that’s what you dream of. We’re having the best time.

The final season of Girls premieres Feb. 12 at 10 p.m. on HBO. Crashing premieres Feb. 19 at 10:30 p.m. on HBO. Season 2 of Love premieres March 10 on Netflix.

Read more:

‘Shades of Blue’ Season 2 First Look: ‘So Much Changes For Harlee’‘Girls’ Review: A Final Season of Fun and Fury‘Scandal’ Recap: So Close, And Yet So Far

[pplowden]

Starting Fmp - The Head.

Reflecting on my blog, statement of intent and first zoom tutorial I realise research is crucial to making this ‘theme’ of storytelling and exaggeration powerful. I think that what my work is actually asking is in fact to understand how people understand and react to stories, rather then how I understand them. For example, I am interested in exaggeration because it is a byproduct of storytelling which often leads to be the most interesting thing. What humans do to stories is normally far more fascinating than the story itself. Therefore, I do not want to start with a definition of a story, I think its better to be open to discovery. However, something to consider now in this time of quarantine is, I do not want this to become the work. I think this theme will be overused, of course it will inevitably effect the work but I do not want it to be the subject matter, that is too meta and restricting.

While consequently feeling a bit lost in where to begin with a lack of human interaction and amusing tales occurring, I decided to revisit ‘the head’ story, as told above -

(at my aunt and uncles house there are three stone sculptures of heads on their mantle piece which my uncle found in a skip. He says that in the medieval times they believed murderers all had the same anatomy, and these heads are in fact death masks of murderers used to figure out the bone structure that would possess every murderer. While sat at a candle lit dinner, the heads glowing and watching over us, I was told the story of the severed head. Our family friend had gone to open day for a boarding school and while playing football had kicked the ball into a nearby bush. Going to retrieve it and continue the game, he kicked it out into the playing field. What landed was not the football, but a severed head. The school sent out a small apology letter, but covered up the story and it was never heard about again, except through word of mouth.)  

I decided to draw a series of drawings based off of the story as a way to materially visualise it and work out an engaging way to make work without simply re-telling. I find drawing a natural and useful way of sparking off ideas, I think this is because it is a way of getting my thoughts down on paper in a visual way which is more developed than floating thoughts in my head.

From doing this I decided that what makes this story so amusing is a series of things;

-the absurdity and grotesqueness in finding a literal severed head,

-the reaction of the person who found it,

-the fact the school covered it up,

-and finally that is retold but with no evidence, becoming its own sort of myth.

Working through these components as a sort of chain of events, I started by trying to recreate the severed head in an interesting way by burying my friend.

While doing this I realised it is funny because it is so absurd and peculiar to see someone so clearly alive buried. To exaggerate this I coated her lips in lip gloss and requested her to pout. I found that while talking about death is of course sad, because there is no real evidence of this being true and it is so far removed from us, that hearing the story it becomes merely funny. Both the head and tale is removed from any feeling of humanity or sense of realness. The feedback I got from some friends and tutors agreed with this, saying it was exploring surreal narratives and humorous as she looks unusually long.

Wanting to explore dark humour around death further, I watched two Monty Python sketches - “not dead yet” and ‘undertaker sketch”. The ability to joke about death in a non-serious, sarcastic tone while remaining inoffensive was something I wanted to adopt.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x35g9ib

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdf5EXo6I68

This propelled me into thinking about the person who found the head and their reaction. I wanted to portray the shock and upset of it in an overly dramatic way. After toying with multiple ideas of how to do this I came across the film ‘In Fabric’ by Peter Strickland where there is a scene of a man dreaming of his wife giving birth, he tries to take on her pain, his face performing a powerful embodiment of agony, making me consider showing the emotional pain in a physical way as a form of exaggeration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWm7-cYIMas

I filmed my mum sobbing and screaming while chucking water over her, to emphasise the amount of emotion. After cropping the video to be super close up and focused on her face without seeing where the water is coming from, she becomes the severed head. It is uncomfortable to watch.

I think film was a successful outcome for this idea, as it is able to capture the senses of the emotion, immersing the viewer into the suffering as well. Her scream is desperate and it is horrible to watch.

Happy with the outcome, I continued to research the concept of embodying other peoples emotions. Ryan Mosleys ‘Duchess of oils’ is a painting which was in Whitechapels Radical Figures exhibition. I find it amusing in its morphing of people into one figure. I think this is a thought provoking way of pointing out what humans do naturally - merge emotions and tendencies.

https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/whitechapels-radical-figures-and-the-famous-paintings-that-inspired-them/

Moving on to look at the ‘cover-up’ aspect of the head story I became engrossed in the nature of secret keeping and how this leads to conspiracy. I looked into ‘secrets’ and mysteries around old famous paintings. Also Jeanne Claude and Christos work was interesting here; their practice of wrapping objects, made me consider how removing the viewer’s associations with an object can restore its raw structure. They force us to confront what’s actually there: the formal qualities of surface, shape and structure, as opposed to our memories and connections. This creates an interesting and mysterious physical object, as well as concept. How can it be that physically covering something up such as a chair has this affect, where as covering up an account, such as the severed head, does the opposite, leaving people to confront memories and connections rather than a physical report?

This led me to question, do people always hide secrets because it reflects badly on them? And why do people then confess? Is it over guilt or longing for forgiveness? Using ‘The Brick Testament’ to understand confession in religion more, I found it is taught that confession is encouraged in order to ‘forgive and forget’ but also as an almost rule to life. It is seen really immoral to lie.

https://christojeanneclaude.net/projects/wrapped-monuments

http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_law/following_your_own_moral_compass/dt29_20c.html

Wanting to apply this all into a form of work I decided that what was most important to focus on is the physicality of hiding something and the digging to discover it. Drawing from the work I had already made on this story and these ideas, I decided to bury a message in a bottle. In the same way burying my friend showed me, this form of documentation seems completely mythical and ridiculous. This story is in some way meaningless, as is burying a bottle in the ground with a message, apart from the fact they are both humorous. I thought the message being a hopeless poem addressed to the head would be a funny way of taking this one step further, it too means nothing, especially as it is so pathetic.

I do not feel particularly impressed with this outcome, it does not feel very finalised and I feel uncomfortable in having to document it as it sort of defeats the point. However, it is very useful in moving onto studying the next part of the narrative; the retelling.

The poem I left also acts a form of retelling and it highlighted for me that the more a story is retold the more it is exaggerated and slightly changes.

This made me think of ‘Chinese whispers’ and the affect of humans on stories. Thinking about how to portray this physically I found an artist called Susie Ray who copies paintings exactly. I find this a weird and fascinating job and similar to the retelling of a story. People are comforted by repetition while also craving new interests. Telling a story often does this as it reminds people of their own experiences and allows them to then retell these.

This made me want to copy out my own work again and again until I have similar but different versions of the same thing, a sort of parallel to the telling of stories. From researching Judy Chicagos ‘The Dinner Party’ I decided I would do it of a scene of a dinner party, a formal setting which relies heavily on conversation and opinion, and as a triptych, a form which traditionally was used for storytelling in paintings.

From planning the drawing, I have decided to not copy it out completely as I want it to represent a more dramatic change. Therefore, I have decided that as it moves from the left to the right of the triptych the characters will merge into being the same severed head. I have also decided to use watercolour as this is less controllable than a pencil, meaning it will differ more from painting to painting, like retelling a story.

Here are the final A1 paintings. As I was painting them I decided to do it onto a rough surface to pick up the background as a parallel to the telling of a story, just by it being done of this surface the painting is affected, as a story is depending on the person telling it. Charcoal was a good medium to use for this as it is easily manipulated and is affected easily by bumps and scarring on paper. I also decided to lighten each painting from left to right, as the characters round the tale become enlightened.

Finishing these paintings I feel I have exhausted the story of the severed head. After exploring a singular narrative I realise that exaggeration is what attracts me most as a byproduct of a story rather than the story itself. I now want to pay more attention to this and see what happens, perhaps forming my own narrative inspired by aspects and components of other stories, rather than using a singular story as the base of my work.

After my zoom tutorials I learnt that I must observe techniques artists and filmmakers use to exaggerate and the effect this has on an audience to understand how they perceive something as exaggerated.

Something I was asked was  ‘how do you know when exaggeration is accidental or deliberate?’

Im not sure I have the answer to this yet, It seems both obvious and impossible to tell at the same time. I think that the accidental often becomes the deliberate, and this is what I now want to explore and exaggerate.