#Learning how to tag for a new fandom..

[savemeafruitjuice]

My first Sonic fic! 😈🔥 🔥 🔥🗣️‼️‼️

(and my first fic of the year)

Lee: Sonic

Ler: Maddie, Tom

TW!: SLIGHT MENTIONS OF GORE! (Not really descriptive, just a reference to a movie) Other than that just fluff!!!!!

THIS IS SET AFTER THE EVENTS OF THE FIRST MOVIE, SO BE AWARE!!! ALSO, NFSW DNI!!!! THIS IS A FAMILY. A CHILD AND HIS PARENTS.

Maddie had to admit, having a kid was an unexpected change of pace to her slower small-town life, but a welcome one nonetheless.

She and her husband, Tom, had recently adopted a young blue hedgehog, who just happened to have come from another universe. Sonic, as she had discovered his name to be, had joined their family after years of being hidden from the world. His newfound family had given him a chance to experience a safe and fun childhood- one that he enjoyed and cherished every single day.

Sonic seemed to be having a blast catching up on all of the things to do in Green Hills, and although he loved the sports, games, and foods he had gotten to try, an interest that had really stuck out among the rest was watching movies. Maddie found it interesting as to how such an energetic teen could be pacified into calmly sitting just by having a film playing in front of him.

Which, she wasn't going to judge at all. Especially when it meant a few hours of peace and quiet.

Sonic had made it a point to she and Tom that they should all watch movies together, admitting as to how he had totally-not-creepily watched a few from their window before he was discovered by the couple, but never got to finish most of them. This prompted an excited, albeit slightly concerned, Tom to insist on the three of them watching all of the classics that night, and having a bit of family time.

And just like that, the newly-made hedgehog mom was lounging on the couch, surrounded by plenty of blankets and pillows as Tom was going through their DVDs, naming them off as their blue-quilled son jumped up and down excitedly next to him, babbling about his favorite parts.

"Uhm.. Oh! How about 'Karate Kid'?"

Sonic jumped onto the couch, barely missing Maddie's leg, and did some ninja-kicks at the air, imitating some moves he must have seen in the movie. "Ohohoh! I love that one!"

Tom chuckled, flipping through another couple discs. "We also have 'The Princess Bride', have you seen that one?"

The hedgehog stopped his attack on the void, going back to bouncing on the couch cushions. "Hmm.. I didn't really understand parts of it. Like, near the end when Westley was threatening to cut off the other dude's nose and mouth and stuff, but leave his ears. Why would a dead guy be able to hear?"

At her husband's pause, Maddie laughed, shaking her head fondly. "I think it was the idea that his soul would still be able to hear things from his body's place. You don't have to look that far into it, though, hun."

Sonic shrugged, and Tom stood from his spot on the floor, carrying the selection of movies the three had agreed on, and settled them near the tv. He put one in the DVD player, and plopped down on the opposite side of the couch as his wife, leaving a bit of room for Sonic to sit once he was ready.

As the first movie's title appeared on the screen, Sonic cheered, letting himself fall onto the couch. He scooted back, then curled up against Maddie's side. "Alright! Jurassic Park sounds cool!"

"Betcha didn't know there are three Jurassic Park movies."

"And another three- don't forget Jurassic World, Tom."

The brunette smiled. "Right, can't forget those."

Sonic was practically in awe, jaw dropped as he stared at the two. "Wait, what? You're telling me there are six movies about dinosaurs?!" He sighed, flopping back onto the couch. "We have to watch them all!"

"Wohow, you're getting ahead of yourself there." Tom laughed, ruffling the smaller's head. "We can't watch all of them tonight, but I promise we can eventually. Just.. not all in one sitting."

Sonic smiled, nodding at the assurance. Tom then pressed play, and the family quieted, focused on the beginning scene in front of them.

As the movie played, Sonic had found himself deeply invested in the plot, rearranging himself every now and then into a more comfortable position. As of now, he was curled up in Maddie's lap, socked feet in Tom's lap. The teen's head was propped up in his hand as he focused on the tv screen, being caught off guard as a dinosaur screeched loudly, flinching back.

He froze, the hedgehog subtly glanced at Tom's face, hoping the Sheriff, nor Maddie noticed him jump. When neither of them had a reaction, Sonic let out a quiet sigh, trying to go back to focusing on the tense scene that was happening.

A couple minutes had passed, and he had finally relaxed again. The air in the room was peaceful, and everyone was calm. Maddie subconsciously reached a hand to gently rub at Sonic's side, used to holding hands with her husband or something of the sort when watching things together.

Nothing, though, could have prepared the small family for the noise that elicited from the blue hedgehog's mouth.

At the touch, Sonic absolutely screamed as if he had been shocked with a million volts of electricity, his head tumbling from his hand as he whipped around. The veterinarian's eyes widened, and her hand quickly pulled away from her son's body.

"Sonic! Are you okay?"

Maddie's eyes swept thoroughly over his torso, searching for any possible sign of injury. Sonic, on the other hand, was now turned to face her, looking just as shocked as she did.

"I- yeah, I'm okay. I guess you just.. scared me?"

Tom looked puzzled. "Seems that way, huh? We weren't even watching a scary movie, kiddo."

The teen shrugged. "I know. Weird."

Maddie thought for a moment, brows furrowing slightly as an idea formed. "Sonic.. Is it alright if I try that again? Just.. to make sure everything's alright."

Sonic nodded, sitting up to allow her easier access. As her hand went to gently touch his side, he glanced down with equal interest, only to jump and giggle the second her hand came into contact with his skin.

"AH! Wait- hahah!"

The green-eyed hedgehog looked up with a confused grin, head tilting slightly as Maddie pulled away again. She smiled back, laughing a bit as she spoke. "Looks like we figurehed out what 'scahared' you!"

Sonic looked back down at himself, grabbing his own side, face pinching in a perplexed expression. "What.. was that? You just- you made me laugh?"

Maddie glanced at her husband, who seemed to be shocked by this new piece of information. The sheriff's jaw dropped, and he stared at Sonic in disbelief.

"You mean you don't know what tickling is?"

When the smaller shook his head, Maddie quickly interjected. "Okay, we are fixing that right now." She straightened up in her spot, and reached for his side again.

"Tickling is when someone touches a specific part of the body that makes them laugh." She squished at his torso, gaze softening as he burst into happy giggles. "It's an involuntary response."

Sonic jerked away from the offending hand, flopping to the side as his arms went to curl around his belly. "Ahah! Snrt- Yohou mean Ihi've been wastihihing my time on johokes? This is- Snrt- ahawesome!" The teen kicked his legs out, squealing as another hand came to his knee. "HAH! Tohohom, noHO!"

"I still can't believe you had no idea what tickling is! I wonder where else you're ticklish!" Tom's excited smile morphed into something more smug, and he spidered his fingers all along the laughing teen's knees, reaching a hand up to dig into his underarm too.

A squeaky squeal escaped from Sonic's mouth, and he quickly clamped his arm down, kicking his legs out frantically. Maddie snickered, placing a hand over her husband's as she spoke. "Be gentle with him. We don't wanna overwhelm the poor kid."

Tom rolled his eyes playfully, but went back to tickling at his knees. When Sonic exploded into bright laughter again, trying to pull his legs away, he stopped, moving to instead rub at his leg comfortingly.

The hedgehog looked up as the fluttery sensation stopped, a confused residual smile plastered on his face. "Whahah.. Why'd yohou guys stop?"

"Figured you needed a break. You were laughing pretty hard there."

Maddie smiled for probably the umpteenth time today. "Unless you want us to keep going?"

She noticed a tinge of shyness in his tone, but the happy smile he wore way outshined it. "Yeah! I-If thats okay, of course. Tickling is just.. really fun!"

"We'd be happy to!" She beamed, bringing her fingers to his belly, scribbling her nails over it. Sonic's limbs flailed for a moment, then his hands snapped up, holding onto his mom's wrists, giddy laughter spilling from his mouth when Tom wiggled a finger into the crook of his neck.

The smaller cackled, scrunching his shoulders up. He wiggled about, legs instinctively kicking at Tom and Maddie's arms, though despite his half-hearted struggling, the kid looked like he was having a blast.

Maddie cooed, half expecting to be pushed away, but she never was. Sonic just held onto her, eyes squeezing shut in mirth. After a few seconds, Tom pulled his hands back once more, his son peeking an eye open through his giggles to see what was going on.

"Honey, can you get his hands? I wanna try something."

"Sure, Tom." She smiled, reaching forward a bit to gently scoop up the smaller's wriggling arms, lifting them above his head.

Sonic tugged at his hands, attempting to pull his legs up to gain some sort of protection, as he was feeling a lot more exposed now. An anticipatory smile tugged at his lips as Tom drew closer.

"Nahah! Snrk- Get awahay!" Sonic tried to kick at the elder, only to squeal in an embarrassingly high pitch as his ankle was grabbed and pulled away, being quickly pinned onto the couch. "Tohom! Whahat're yohou doihihing?"

The brunette grinned, sneaking a tickle across his son's side, prompting the younger to burst back into giggles.

"Nothing much, bud. I just wanna introduce you to tickling properly. And this is the best way to do it!" Tom lunged forward, inhaling deeply before blowing a huge raspberry against Sonic's belly.

The hedgehog shrieked, immediately tearing his arms and leg from his parent's grasp as he exploded into cackles. His arms curled around Tom's head, eyes going wide at the horribly ticklish feeling shooting through his torso.

"PFFAAHAH! SNRK- TOHOM!" he squealed, legs kicking frantically in a blur of movement. A few seconds went by, and the raspberry still didn't stop! The blue teen tossed his head to the side, cheeks growing redder the longer he laughed. "EEEAHAH! HAHAH! SNRK- OKAY OKAY OKAHAHAY! PLEHEHEASE!"

Tom pulled away, chuckling at the giggling mess of laughter on the couch. "Whahat? Too ticklish for you?"

Maddie laughed, shaking her head as she helped the younger up. "Oh my goodness.."

The blue-themed teen slumped into her, hiding his residual giggles into his hands as he recovered from the playful attack. "Geheez, I.. cahan't believe thahat- Snrk- just happehened.."

After taking a moment to catch his breath, Sonic let his arms fall from their spot over his face. He looked up at Tom with a gentle smile. "..Thanks, Tom."

The sheriff smiled back, then crashed into the two, wrapping his family in a hug. "No problem, little man."

The three seemed perfectly content, until the youngest burst into laughter again. "Pfft! Wehe- We plahanned out this whohole movie night, and didn't eheven watch a sihingle movie!"

"Ohoh yeah! We were watching a movie, weren't we?"

Maddie cracked up, shaking her head at the silliness of the situation. "Ihi don't even remember what part we were at.."

"Rihight.." The youngest thought for a minute, then shrugged. "Yeah, I don't know."

"Want to pick a different one, and go back to Jurassic park later?"

"Yeah! Oh, I know the perfect one.."

-----

Rahhh I finally finished it!! I really liked writing this, they're such sillies! 💙💛💙💛

[monwillica]

since my last jet lag post is doing numbers (for me) and frankly I need very little provocation to draw these muppets rn, here's s12e4

teddy morality and teddy mortality

when the thermometer is colder:

when they question your rock stacking skills:

This screenshot gave exhausted mom and petulant child:

no bit to this one i just think ben is pretty and good at setting up shots:

[likeprongstostars]

If you take art requests, please please please Reggie as a kid holding a baby lamb. The lamb has a cute little pink bow as a collar and Reggie is smiling, it would be a Polaroid picture :(

that was great for my mental health thank you for the request

[eyrieofsynapses]

why Aurora's art is genius

It's break for me, and I've been meaning to sit down and read the Aurora webcomic (https://comicaurora.com/, @comicaurora on Tumblr) for quite a bit. So I did that over the last few days.

And… y'know. I can't actually say "I should've read this earlier," because otherwise I would've been up at 2:30-3am when I had responsibilities in the morning and I couldn't have properly enjoyed it, but. Holy shit guys THIS COMIC.

I intended to just do a generalized "hello this is all the things I love about this story," and I wrote a paragraph or two about art style. …and then another. And another. And I realized I needed to actually reference things so I would stop being too vague. I was reading the comic on my tablet or phone, because I wanted to stay curled up in my chair, but I type at a big monitor and so I saw more details… aaaaaand it turned into its own giant-ass post.

SO. Enjoy a few thousand words of me nerding out about this insanely cool art style and how fucking gorgeous this comic is? (There are screenshots, I promise it isn't just a wall of text.) In my defense, I just spent two semesters in graphic design classes focusing on the Adobe Suite, so… I get to be a nerd about pretty things…???

All positive feedback btw! No downers here. <3

---

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love the beautiful, simple stylistic method of drawing characters and figures. It is absolutely stunning and effortless and utterly graceful—it is so hard to capture the sheer beauty and fluidity of the human form in such a fashion. Even a simple outline of a character feels dynamic! It's gorgeous!

Though I do have a love-hate relationship with this, because my artistic side looks at that lovely simplicity, goes "I CAN DO THAT!" and then I sit down and go to the paper and realize that no, in fact, I cannot do that yet, because that simplicity is born of a hell of a lot of practice and understanding of bodies and actually is really hard to do. It's a very developed style that only looks simple because the artist knows what they're doing. The human body is hard to pull off, and this comic does so beautifully and makes it look effortless.

Also: line weight line weight line weight. It's especially important in simplified shapes and figures like this, and hoo boy is it used excellently. It's especially apparent the newer the pages get—I love watching that improvement over time—but with simpler figures and lines, you get nice light lines to emphasize both smaller details, like in the draping of clothing and the curls of hair—which, hello, yes—and thicker lines to emphasize bigger and more important details and silhouettes. It's the sort of thing that's essential to most illustrations, but I wanted to make a note of it because it's so vital to this art style.

THE USE OF LAYER BLENDING MODES OH MY GODS. (...uhhh, apologies to the people who don't know what that means, it's a digital art program thing? This article explains it for beginners.)

Bear with me, I just finished my second Photoshop course, I spent months and months working on projects with this shit so I see the genius use of Screen and/or its siblings (of which there are many—if I say "Screen" here, assume I mean the entire umbrella of Screen blending modes and possibly Overlay) and go nuts, but seriously it's so clever and also fucking gorgeous:

Firstly: the use of screened-on sound effect words over an action? A "CRACK" written over a branch and then put on Screen in glowy green so that it's subtle enough that it doesn't disrupt the visual flow, but still sticks out enough to make itself heard? Little "scritches" that are transparent where they're laid on without outlines to emphasize the sound without disrupting the underlying image? FUCK YES. I haven't seen this done literally anywhere else—granted, I haven't read a massive amount of comics, but I've read enough—and it is so clever and I adore it. Examples:

Secondly: The beautiful lighting effects. The curling leaves, all the magic, the various glowing eyes, the fog, the way it's all so vividly colored but doesn't burn your eyeballs out—a balance that's way harder to achieve than you'd think—and the soft glows around them, eeeee it's so pretty so pretty SO PRETTY. Not sure if some of these are Outer/Inner Glow/Shadow layer effects or if it's entirely hand-drawn, but major kudos either way; I can see the beautiful use of blending modes and I SALUTE YOUR GENIUS.

I keep looking at some of this stuff and go "is that a layer effect or is it done by hand?" Because you can make some similar things with the Satin layer effect in Photoshop (I don't know if other programs have this? I'm gonna have to find out since I won't have access to PS for much longer ;-;) that resembles some of the swirly inner bits on some of the lit effects, but I'm not sure if it is that or not. Or you could mask over textures? There's... many ways to do it.

If done by hand: oh my gods the patience, how. If done with layer effects: really clever work that knows how to stop said effects from looking wonky, because ugh those things get temperamental. If done with a layer of texture that's been masked over: very, very good masking work. No matter the method, pretty shimmers and swirly bits inside the bigger pretty swirls!

Next: The way color contrast is used! I will never be over the glowy green-on-black Primordial Life vibes when Alinua gets dropped into that… unconscious space?? with Life, for example, and the sharp contrast of vines and crack and branches and leaves against pitch black is just visually stunning. The way the roots sink into the ground and the three-dimensional sensation of it is particularly badass here:

Friggin. How does this imply depth like that. HOW. IT'S SO FREAKING COOL.

A huge point here is also color language and use! Everybody has their own particular shade, generally matching their eyes, magic, and personality, and I adore how this is used to make it clear who's talking or who's doing an action. That was especially apparent to me with Dainix and Falst in the caves—their colors are both fairly warm, but quite distinct, and I love how this clarifies who's doing what in panels with a lot of action from both of them. There is a particular bit that stuck out to me, so I dug up the panels (see this page and the following one https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-30/):

(Gods it looks even prettier now that I put it against a plain background. Also, appreciation to Falst for managing a bridal-carry midair, damn.)

The way that their colors MERGE here! And the immense attention to detail in doing so—Dainix is higher up than Falst is in the first panel, so Dainix's orange fades into Falst's orange at the base. The next panel has gold up top and orange on bottom; we can't really tell in that panel where each of them are, but that's carried over to the next panel—

—where we now see that Falst's position is raised above Dainix's due to the way he's carrying him. (Points for continuity!) And, of course, we see the little "huffs" flowing from orange to yellow over their heads (where Dainix's head is higher than Falst's) to merge the sound of their breathing, which is absurdly clever because it emphasizes to the viewer how we hear two sets of huffing overlaying each other, not one. Absolutely brilliant.

(A few other notes of appreciation to that panel: beautiful glows around them, the sparks, the jagged silhouette of the spider legs, the lovely colors that have no right to make the area around a spider corpse that pretty, the excellent texturing on the cave walls plus perspective, the way Falst's movements imply Dainix's hefty weight, the natural posing of the characters, their on-point expressions that convey exactly how fuckin terrifying everything is right now, the slight glows to their eyes, and also they're just handsome boys <3)

Next up: Rain!!!! So well done! It's subtle enough that it never ever disrupts the impact of the focal point, but evident enough you can tell! And more importantly: THE MIST OFF THE CHARACTERS. Rain does this irl, it has that little vapor that comes off you and makes that little misty effect that plays with lighting, it's so cool-looking and here it's used to such pretty effect!

One of the panel captions says something about it blurring out all the injuries on the characters but like THAT AIN'T TOO BIG OF A PROBLEM when it gets across the environmental vibes, and also that'd be how it would look in real life too so like… outside viewer's angle is the same as the characters', mostly? my point is: that's the environment!!! that's the vibes, that's the feel! It gets it across and it does so in the most pretty way possible!

And another thing re: rain, the use of it to establish perspective, particularly in panels like this—

—where we can tell we're looking down at Tynan due to the perspective on the rain and where it's pointing. Excellent. (Also, kudos for looking down and emphasizing how Tynan's losing his advantage—lovely use of visual storytelling.)

Additionally, the misting here:

We see it most heavily in the leftmost panel, where it's quite foggy as you would expect in a rainstorm, especially in an environment with a lot of heat, but it's also lightly powdered on in the following two panels and tends to follow light sources, which makes complete sense given how light bounces off particles in the air.

A major point of strength in these too is a thorough understanding of lighting, like rim lighting, the various hues and shades, and an intricate understanding of how light bounces off surfaces even when they're in shadow (we'll see a faint glow in spots where characters are half in shadow, but that's how it would work in real life, because of how light bounces around).

Bringing some of these points together: the fluidity of the lines in magic, and the way simple glowing lines are used to emphasize motion and the magic itself, is deeply clever. I'm basically pulling at random from panels and there's definitely even better examples, but here's one (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-16-33/):

First panel, listed in numbers because these build on each other:

The tension of the lines in Tess's magic here. This works on a couple levels: first, the way she's holding her fists, as if she's pulling a rope taut.

The way there's one primary line, emphasizing the rope feeling, accompanied by smaller ones.

The additional lines starbursting around her hands, to indicate the energy crackling in her hands and how she's doing a good bit more than just holding it. (That combined with the fists suggests some tension to the magic, too.) Also the variations in brightness, a feature you'll find in actual lightning. :D Additional kudos for how the lightning sparks and breaks off the metal of the sword.

A handful of miscellaneous notes on the second panel:

The reflection of the flames in Erin's typically dark blue eyes (which bears a remarkable resemblance to Dainix, incidentally—almost a thematic sort of parallel given Erin's using the same magic Dainix specializes in?)

The flowing of fabric in the wind and associated variation in the lineart

The way Erin's tattoos interact with the fire he's pulling to his hand

The way the rain overlays some of the fainter areas of fire (attention! to! detail! hell yeah!)

I could go on. I won't because this is a lot of writing already.

Third panel gets paragraphs, not bullets:

Erin's giant-ass "FWOOM" of fire there, and the way the outline of the word is puffy-edged and gradated to feel almost three-dimensional, plus once again using Screen or a variation on it so that the stars show up in the background. All this against that stunning plume of fire, which ripples and sparks so gorgeously, and the ending "om" of the onomatopoeia is emphasized incredibly brightly against that, adding to the punch of it and making the plume feel even brighter.

Also, once again, rain helping establish perspective, especially in how it's very angular in the left side of the panel and then slowly becomes more like a point to the right to indicate it's falling directly down on the viewer. Add in the bright, beautiful glow effects, fainter but no less important black lines beneath them to emphasize the sky and smoke and the like, and the stunningly beautiful lighting and gradated glows surrounding Erin plus the lightning jagging up at him from below, and you get one hell of an impactful panel right there. (And there is definitely more in there I could break down, this is just a lot already.)

And in general: The colors in this? Incredible. The blues and purples and oranges and golds compliment so well, and it's all so rich.

Like, seriously, just throughout the whole comic, the use of gradients, blending modes, color balance and hues, all the things, all the things, it makes for the most beautiful effects and glows and such a rich environment. There's a very distinct style to this comic in its simplified backgrounds (which I recognize are done partly because it's way easier and also backgrounds are so time-consuming dear gods but lemme say this) and vivid, smoothly drawn characters; the simplicity lets them come to the front and gives room for those beautiful, richly saturated focal points, letting the stylized designs of the magic and characters shine. The use of distinct silhouettes is insanely good. Honestly, complex backgrounds might run the risk of making everything too visually busy in this case. It's just, augh, so GORGEOUS.

Another bit, take a look at this page (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-15-28/):

It's not quite as evident here as it is in the next page, but this one does some other fun things so I'm grabbing it. Points:

Once again, using different colors to represent different character actions. The "WHAM" of Kendal hitting the ground is caused by Dainix's force, so it's orange (and kudos for doubling the word over to add a shake effect). But we see blue layered underneath, which could be an environmental choice, but might also be because it's Kendal, whose color is blue.

And speaking off, take a look at the right-most panel on top, where Kendal grabs the spear: his motion is, again, illustrated in bright blue, versus the atmospheric screened-on orange lines that point toward him around the whole panel (I'm sure these have a name, I think they might be more of a manga thing though and the only experience I have in manga is reading a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist). Those lines emphasize the weight of the spear being shoved at him, and their color tells us Dainix is responsible for it.

One of my all-time favorite effects in this comic is the way cracks manifest across Dainix's body to represent when he starts to lose control; it is utterly gorgeous and wonderfully thematic. These are more evident in the page before and after this one, but you get a decent idea here. I love the way they glow softly, the way the fire juuuust flickers through at the start and then becomes more evident over time, and the cracks feel so realistic, like his skin is made of pottery. Additional points for how fire begins to creep into his hair.

A small detail that's generally consistent across the comic, but which I want to make note of here because you can see it pretty well: Kendal's eyes glow about the same as the jewel in his sword, mirroring his connection to said sword and calling back to how the jewel became Vash's eye temporarily and thus was once Kendal's eye. You can always see this connection (though there might be some spots where this also changes in a symbolic manner; I went through it quickly on the first time around, so I'll pay more attention when I inevitably reread this), where Kendal's always got that little shine of blue in his eyes the same as the jewel. It's a beautiful visual parallel that encourages the reader to subconsciously link them together, especially since the lines used to illustrate character movements typically mirror their eye color. It's an extension of Kendal.

Did I mention how ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL the colors in this are?

Also, the mythological/legend-type scenes are illustrated in familiar style often used for that type of story, a simple and heavily symbolic two-dimensional cave-painting-like look. They are absolutely beautiful on many levels, employing simple, lovely gradients, slightly rougher and thicker lineart that is nonetheless smoothly beautiful, and working with clear silhouettes (a major strength of this art style, but also a strength in the comic overall). But in particular, I wanted to call attention to a particular thing (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-12-4/):

The flowing symbolic lineart surrounding each character. This is actually quite consistent across characters—see also Life's typical lines and how they curl:

What's particularly interesting here is how these symbols are often similar, but not the same. Vash's lines are always smooth, clean curls, often playing off each other and echoing one another like ripples in a pond. You'd think they'd look too similar to Life's—but they don't. Life's curl like vines, and they remain connected; where one curve might echo another but exist entirely detached from each other in Vash's, Life's lines still remain wound together, because vines are continuous and don't float around. :P

Tahraim's are less continuous, often breaking up with significantly smaller bits and pieces floating around like—of course—sparks, and come to sharper points. These are also constants: we see the vines repeated over and over in Alinua's dreams of Life, and the echoing ripples of Vash are consistent wherever we encounter him. Kendal's dream of the ghost citizens of the city of Vash in the last few chapters is filled with these rippling, echoing patterns, to beautiful effect (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-14/):

They ripple and spiral, often in long, sinuous curves, with smooth elegance. It reminds me a great deal of images of space and sine waves and the like. This establishes a definite feel to these different characters and their magic. And the thing is, that's not something that had to be done—the colors are good at emphasizing who's who. But it was done, and it adds a whole other dimension to the story. Whenever you're in a deity's domain, you know whose it is no matter the color.

Regarding that shape language, I wanted to make another note, too—Vash is sometimes described as chaotic and doing what he likes, which is interesting to me, because smooth, elegant curves and the color blue aren't generally associated with chaos. So while Vash might behave like that on the surface, I'm guessing he's got a lot more going on underneath; he's probably much more intentional in his actions than you'd think at a glance, and he is certainly quite caring with his city. The other thing is that this suits Kendal perfectly. He's a paragon character; he is kind, virtuous, and self-sacrificing, and often we see him aiming to calm others and keep them safe. Blue is such a good color for him. There is… probably more to this, but I'm not deep enough in yet to say.

And here's the thing: I'm only scratching the surface. There is so much more here I'm not covering (color palettes! outfits! character design! environment! the deities! so much more!) and a lot more I can't cover, because I don't have the experience; this is me as a hobbyist artist who happened to take a couple design classes because I wanted to. The art style to this comic is so clever and creative and beautiful, though, I just had to go off about it. <3

...brownie points for getting all the way down here? Have a cookie.

[the-darklings]

I just wanna let you know that I LOVE today i bury you in me and that I've loved it since I read it a few years (?) Ago and that ive recently reread it. But imma need my smut girl its been a while🤨🤨(i mean it in the most non-pressuring way possible)

wow, thank you for reading and enjoying the story so much you came back to it!!!

and i'll take this moment to be real ig? while i'm still immensely proud of tibyim and still believe it's my best work both in terms of storytelling AND technical aspect, it's unlikely i'll ever write more for this fandom or gaiman's work in general.

he's a gross little man and I don't want to promote his work in any way.

[ilovethenumber9]

Gained a new obsession…

[221-fleas]

sketchy mystrade instead of actually paying attention in my lecture

[magicofthepen]

Here’s a tag directory for my blog! (Not every fandom on this list is something I’m currently into – I’ve included old fandoms if I have a lot of posts in the tag.)

The Gallifrey audios were my main fandom from 2019-2023 ish, and in fall 2023 the October Daye series became my current main fannish interest (although since the Toby Daye Discord server is way more active than Tumblr, I’m mostly in there).

If you follow me and haven’t listened to all of Gallifrey, I’m happy to tag for spoilers past the audio of your choice – just let me know! Same thing for if you follow me and would like me to tag October Daye spoilers past a certain book.

Currently tagging for #gallifrey spoilers post-Time War 1, and not tagging for October Daye spoilers. (Note: Gallifrey tag directory includes Gallifrey characters/relationships through Time War 3 and October Daye tag directory includes October Daye spoilers.)

my stuff

fic tag | ao3 account edits text posts answered asks fic talk

main fandoms

gallifrey audios tag directory october daye tag directory

(note: those are separate posts because I hit the link limit on this post.)

audio

big finish ( non-gallifrey ) the adventure zone ( balance / amnesty ) the strange case of starship iris the mortal path wolf 359 second star to the left

tv shows

doctor who avatar: the last airbender legend of korra steven universe steven universe future she-ra and the princesses of power good omens merlin ( merlin text posts ) taskmaster once upon a time

movies

star wars the old guard everything everywhere all at once marvel cinematic universe

books

the locked tomb leagues and legends the alliance trilogy the adventures of amina al-sarafi wayward children wayfarers this is how you lose the time war percy jackson / heroes of olympus warrior cats artemis fowl

musicals

wicked hadestown come from away cats

games

stay?

general

creative arts: art | writing | worldbuilding | publishing | fiction | poetry | music | dance | theatre | fashion | figure skating | bookbinding | video essays

tabletop games: dnd | general rpg tag

recs from others: books to read | general media recs natural world: animals | nature | gardening relationships, gender, sexuality: relationships | lgbt+ | gender things | sex ed | polyamory politics & social justice: us politics | racial justice | black lives matter | decolonization | environmentalism | environmental justice | climate change | reproductive justice | disability rights | accessibility | neurodiversity | labor rights | palestine | ukraine

brain things: mental health | brain soup

fandom: ao3 | dreamwidth | tumblr | fandom

other topics: space | food | health (us health insurance system, vaccines, etc.) | electronics | time loops misc: reference | ‘for later’ | general (catch-all) tag

[quartermoonconvergence]

gotta be honest here if u rationalise max’s parent characterisation as “indians who don’t know english” i do not want u here

[imsoquarky]

Persona 5 Royal Spoilers (!WIP!)

Working on a little page of a redesigned human Morgana because I thought his canonical version was really boring (Bro just recolored a celebrity that his crush said looked good)

This sketch is just a chibi of a humanized version of his persona form, but most of the artwork is just his regular real-world form.

I know that's like, what he wished to look like or whatever, but I wanted to have some fun with designing a human Morgana.

♠️ - ♣️ - ♥️ - ♦️

Apologies for being dead lately, Art Fight completely killed me and then Persona 5 Royal has consumed my brain and time (130 hours in and I still haven't beaten it yet, holy shit this game is long). College is starting up again soon so I'm expecting to pick up posting again, summer just aint my time of year TwT

But my sleep schedule is returning to something more normal (I say, typing this at 2am-) and I'm finally liking my art and the process of making it again.

[comvi]

I always have to remind myself that I don’t need to push myself to make art, and I don’t need to apologize or feel bad for not making a lot of art. art is something that should make me feel happy, so if I’m pushing myself to the point of not enjoying it anymore, then I should just stop and calm down for a second. and take some time for myself. Art won’t disappear, it will always be there waiting for me again, its okay for me to take some time doing others things sometimes.

[toastybugguy]

wow okay. holy shit. disgusting. tw for the mention of the whole atticus mitchell thing.

so I’ve been made aware of the whole situation with atticus mitchell being a groomer (sorry that I’m super super late to this, I haven’t interacted with the fandom or any outside-of-show content until very recently so I apologize that I have to bring this up again when most of you already know). thank you to that person for letting me know.

knowing what I know now, with the intentions of being responsible, respectful, and doing what is comfortable and in the most amount of people’s best interest, i wanna know y’all’s thoughts on me putting up any benny related content in the future (and this is purely hypothetical and will be based on ppl’s feedback, it’s not like i have a massive backlog of benny related things waiting to be posted or something like that). i know some people are cool with interacting with things solely about the character, while others prefer to ignore him altogether because of the actions of the actor. I still care about this show and it’s characters, but in no way do I support mitchell’s actions and I do not want anyone coming onto my page attempting to defend him. again, i wanna know what’s best for YOU guys so that i can respect that in whatever i potentially do going forward (if I do post anything it would most likely would be art bc that’s my ballpark, but again, this is all completely hypothetical, because hearing about the whole situation has honestly drained a lot of my motivation).

responses welcome, my inbox is open and anon is currently on in case people are more comfortable talking anonymously (responses will not be shared) ! take care of yourselves ♡

[ne0nlightzz]

Ya know what sucks in the best way possible? Adhd and the hyper fixations that come with it. Why? Because two weeks ago (not even?) I was hyper fixated on furbys and making kandi!! Now? I'm learning how to crochet but I suck at it and am so chill about sucking at it but like...I went I spent wayyy to much money on yarn and supplies and now it's like....I have to commit to this new hobby now that I'm finally sorta getting the hang of it because ive invested in it so it's like no I can't lose intrest in this in a week stfu brain we like this so shush and yes I know I have more important crap to do like train my dog or school work or even finish my current projects but no, I need to learn how to crochet so I can make my furbies shoes....

[sgt-tombstone]

Fanfic/Author Ask Game

Write a scene from [insert fic] in another character’s POV

Which of your fics is your pride and joy?

What are your top three most commonly used tags on AO3?

What are some words or phrases you feel like you overuse?

What’s something you learned while researching a fic?

Would you ever accept requests or commissions?

Coffee or tea while you write?

What is your favorite line/section from [insert fic]?

How did you get into writing fanfiction?

Is there a character or ship you'd love to write for, but haven't yet?

What makes a fic 'successful' in your opinion?

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Do you have an 'official' creative writing background such as a degree or previous experience publishing?

What makes you happiest? New fic comments, kudos, bookmarks, user subscribers, story subscribers, or Tumblr asks?

Does anyone you know in real life know you write fanfiction?

What do you struggle with most when writing?

What is something you recently felt proud of in your writing?

How many WIPs do you have and how many do you expect to finish?

How do you get over writer's block?

Share your favorite kiss scene from [insert fic]. If there's no kiss scene, share your favorite moment of intimacy (romantic or platonic)

What stops you from writing more in your free time?

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

Which scene/theme was the inspiration for [insert fic]?

Are there any moments in [insert fic] that feel "blurry" to you? Is this a stylistic choice, or would you go back and clarify the descriptions if you were given the chance?

Do you ever "prep" your fics with outlines or warmups before you start writing, or do you just dive right in?

Are any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Have you noticed your style change over time?

What fic meant the most to you to write?

A character you enjoy making suffer.

A character you want to protect.

What is your favorite fic to get comments/messages on?

Wild Card: Ask me something else!

[tbaluver]

HEYYYYYY

I reeeeaaalllyyyy love your father/husband headcannons and I’ve been pondering about how the lad boys would treat mc if she was pregnant?

Hope you have time to do it, but it’s completely fine if you don’t want to!!! <3

I love your work and your kindness! Keep up the amazing work and happy new years!!

How They Treat You When You're Pregnant- The Love And DeepSpace Men

parings in order: Xavier x Reader, Zayne x Reader, Rafayel x Reader, Sylus x Reader genre/ tags: fluff fluff a/n: HIHI again my angel !! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ this req reminds me of my first headcanon i ever did for this fandom and i feel like this one is a more accurate one (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) i am always grateful to hear you guys love my work thank you so much luv MWAH ILY !! it always motivates me to write and create more for you all and i hope you're having a happy new years so far !! hopefully i did this req justice lmk what you think !! ahh i hope we get to chat again and i hope you enjoy reading luv (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)♡

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

Xavier:

Pregnancy can make sleeping uncomfortable for you and whenever you’re feeling restless, he’s always right there by your side. Whether it’s waking up to comfort you, watching your favorite show together to help you unwind, or adjusting pillows to help you find a comfortable position for you, he’s happy to help. He’ll patiently wait until you’re sleeping peacefully first before he settles back right beside you.

He also doesn’t let you put on an scary movies or shows because you might scare the baby

His face would light up when he hears you want to try one of his favorite weird snack combos. Highlight the word, snacks, because you’re definitely not letting him cook near the microwave or stove.

Xavier is even more protective of you than before, if that’s even possible. Whenever someone gives you a lingering glance in the baby aisle, he’s keeping you close, his arm securely around your waist while giving that person a glance back. When you’re out in public, he doesn’t let anyone get close to your belly bump. Before they can even reach out, he’s already stopping their hand and gently guiding you away.

Xavier attends every doctor’s appointment with you. However,  he does NOT like the idea of going to the OBGYN especially if it were a male doctor. You two would be out of the room immediately. However, if you're uncomfortable with any of the doctors in general, he’ll gladly switch and find a better one for you without a second thought. 

He’s constantly seeking out new information on pregnancy and babies he can find and has probably read every single online article. He does all of this because he’s determined to learn everything he can to care for you and your future child.

If it were even possible, Xavier would be even gentler with you. He talks softly to your belly, his hands resting gently on your hips as he presses his ear against your stomach, listening and waiting for any movements of your future child. As long as you’re comfortable, he’ll lay down between your legs, his face against your belly while you run your fingers through his soft hair. He’ll mostly fall asleep in this position

Zayne:

Zayne would already notice the subtle signs that you were pregnant before you even realized. He’d pick up the sudden fatigue you’ve been feeling or the way you’ve been extra sensitive to smells. He’s already by your side, holding your hair back as you kneel by the toilet, vomiting. He’ll guide you back to bed, making sure you stay sitting up while he grabs you a couple crackers and a cup of tea.

Zayne is truly an organized and prepared man. He keeps track of everything, noting it down on both his and your phone so that you both have access to all the important details and reminders. He has every date for your checkups, ultrasounds, and any other appointments that are related to both your health and the baby’s. He even makes sure to keep track of which foods are safe for you and which ones to avoid. He’ll keep all the important documents in a file and even keep pictures of the ultrasounds on his desk. Zayne would also have a bag prepared months before your water breaks.

He would let you indulge in anything you crave, as long as it’s safe for you and the baby. He goes the extra mile to prepare you each meal with care and love, making sure that every dish nourishes you and supports the health of your future child. Zayne would have to gently discourage you to not eat dirt covered rocks if you were thinking of craving them. He would also ask his mother some tips when she was pregnant with him. 

A surgeon's hands are trained to be precise and steady which makes him the perfect person to give you a massage. With practice care and skill, he’s able to help you release the tension in your muscles, easing every knot and carefully tending to each sore spot. He would not mind if you sat on his lap and guided his hands to your aching breasts or any sore muscle. He'll happily knead and massage them.

You would always know his schedule, so you’re aware when he has to work late. To make sure you’re taken care of when he’s working, he’d stock up on your favorite snacks and meals, making sure to place them within places you can easily reach. Throughout his shift, he’d check in on you during his breaks, texting to ask if you’ve eaten and drank enough water. He’d also make sure to call you during his lunch break just to make sure you’re doing okay and also because he misses you.

Mood swings are a nightmare and not once have they ever bothered him. Zayne is one of the best listeners to any of your worries and also in general. He understands your fears, concerns, and even the times when you overreact. He’s always there to offer you constant reassurance and to take down any fear you had. He would never belittle your emotions and always prioritizes you with unwavering support.

Unfortunately there are nights when he has to come home late, already finding you peacefully asleep in your shared bed. He can’t help but let out a quiet sigh, a soft smile displayed on his face. Quietly, he approaches your sleeping figure, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead and then to your lips. His hands delicately trace the curve of your rounded belly before pressing a gentle kiss to it, whispering, “Good job, you didn’t wake up mommy.”

Rafayel:

The studio would ACTUALLY be clean. You’re not really sure if he stopped being lazy or if he hired someone, probably Thomas, to take care of it for him. The floor would be clear of scattered art materials, dried up paint, and the desks would actually be organized. All so you don’t accidentally step or slip on anything or have anything poking or rolling onto your belly when you sit by his desk.

Rafayel is prepared when it comes to baby names. He actually keeps an organized list in his notes app, with his favorites marked by an emoji so he can easily find them. Each name on the list has its own meaning and references. The two of you would cuddle up in bed, sharing new name ideas and laughing at the ones you can’t pronounce, making sure to cross off the ones that didn’t make the cut.

Mood swings were completely new to Rafayel and to you but he quickly learned to keep up with them. He understands that these emotions aren’t easy for you, so he’s always there, even when you need space. He’s always ready to listen and offer support through every high and low and will be there to lift your spirits up whenever you need him.

Sometimes insecurities can weigh on you and you might feel like hiding your baby bump especially when it feels like the maternal clothing isn’t quite your style. But Rafayel is always there and never fails to remind you just how beautiful you are. He’ll go above and beyond to find the perfect maternity clothes that match your taste.

Rafayel would want to document everything so you both have memories to look back on. He’ll take countless pictures of your growing belly each month, capturing the progress so you can look back on how much has changed. He’ll even create his own little maternity photoshoot for you because no other photographer can capture your beauty like him.

Rafayel loves gently caressing your baby bump, often talking to it, hoping that they can hear him. He’ll throw out random names, saying things like, “give me one soft kick if you dun like this name, two kicks if you realllly love it!” and if there was a quiet moment, he’ll say “it’s okay maybe baby glubs is just sleeping.” So he’ll just hum to you and your belly a Lemurian lullaby so you can all drift off into a peaceful slumber.

One of his favorite things to do is preparing a relaxing bath for you. He fills the tub with warm water and adds calming scents, making sure they’re not overpowering, and a few bubbles to help you unwind and soothe any aches or tensions. As he gently washes your body, his hand gently glides over your growing belly, washing away the soap as he imagines the three of you one day swimming together in the ocean as a family.

Sylus:

Every time you wake up or whenever he walks through the door after a long day, he greets you with the sweetest affection. First, a gentle kiss on your forehead, then a soft on your lips, accompanied by a “Hello sweetie,” His eyes then soften as he looks down, his hands gently caressing your baby bump, “and hello our little dove.”

You can always expect pampering from Sylus. He’s right by your side with endless shoulder, back and leg rubs. He can’t imagine how uncomfortable it must feel growing a little one inside of you and how much it takes out, so he’s determined to ease any discomfort in every way possible. He’s learned how pregnancy can change your sense, so he’s careful to use any lotions or oils with certain scents, avoiding anything that could make you feel nauseous or unsettled.

Whenever you have trouble sleeping, he’s there to gently prop up some pillows to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible. He’ll go through his vinyl collection, picking out your favorite or ones that will help you unwind and relax.

He loves you deeply and he knows you’re capable of being independent but he does not want you lifting a finger once your baby bump starts to grow. Even in your early stages of pregnancy, he gently encourages you to take it easy, reminding you that you don’t need to push yourself. With the doctor’s advice to rest often, he’s got all the reasons he needs to insist that you relax. Not a single in the house will be washed by your hands and no clothing will be folded by you. He wants you to relax as much as possible and focus on yourself and your little one.

It’s not hard to wake up Sylus. In fact, he’s already awake before you slip out of his arms to satisfy your late night cravings. Quietly, he trails behind you, wrapping his arms around you. His large hands rest on your tummy as he presses a soft kiss to the back of your head, his warm chest gently against your back. He already memorizes your cravings at this point unless it was something new, so he guides you to the chair by the kitchen counter. “What are you hungry for, sweetie?”

In your early stages of pregnancy, shopping for your baby was fun and something you both enjoyed planning together. But by the time you reached your third trimester, the long walks were beginning to wear you out. So he suggested online shopping together. He didn’t want you to feel left out and he loved seeing your face light up when you found something adorable for the baby, even if it was another plushie to add to the collection. The two of you would settle in on the bed or the couch, face masks on , hair tied back, happily chatting and laughing about the cutest finds and everything the baby needed.

Every doctor’s appointment, he’s right by your side. He’ll hold your hand the entire time, his thumb gently rubbing soothing circles. He knows how nerve-wracking these visits can be, especially the anticipation of any results. But just having him there by your side brings your comfort and reminds you that you're never facing it alone.

In general and throughout your pregnancy, he’s always been someone you can lean on. With all the emotions and changes in your body, he’s there to listen and offer comfort. He becomes your safe space where you can express yourself openly with no hesitation.

He can’t deny that he secretly loves being called a to-be- dad’ by Luke and Kieran. There’s a smile that never seems to leave his face, knowing that he will be the father of your child and to experience a new form of love together as a family.

[the-bi-fangirl-biatch]

honestly, the new fandom sphere (mostly people who only got super into fandoms during the pandemic) is so WEAK!

they cower at non-human romances, avoid any nuance in seeing characters, can't fathom crack-ships who haven't met/are from different universes, and balk at multi-shippers. I myself ship ghoulcy mainly because john hancock is the loml, but I can enjoy some max x lucy, and even other throuples. yknow why? because it's fictional! it may seem icky to one, but appealing to another.

like OP said, as long as we all tag things appropriately and learn how to block tags/keywords/blogs, everyone would have a better experience.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the people that are upset about Lucy Maclean and Cooper Howard being shipped are those from outside the fandom, and just barely got into Fallout.

They would’ve known by now that shipping ghouls is quite popular. No one in this community really cares about a stupid age gap. Fallout has presented us some freaky stuff over the years. Marry Me FISTO. The most popular fanfics from Fallout 3/4 are with ghouls (John Hancock, Charon, etc). Don’t be discouraged by the popularity of it, just write and draw the ship you want more representation of, and don’t be a dick.