#Puppet's really nice to draw

[chibigalaxies]

Manifesting Puppet and Solar show!

[reksink]

OFF and Feeling Even Badder

[the1trueanon]

hehehehe I've learned how to paint >:D it's over for all you little shits (affectionate) Poppy is beautiful and wonderful and very very colorful -w- am 100% giving her the rainbow quote bubble, she deserves it

(please click for better quality TwT)

[meetthesoldier]

trans woman matthias czernin. i will defeat art block for her. i was so serious when i made that Gender Dysphoria Puppet post

[peridots-pixiwolf]

[Start ID. A drawing of a Mindflayer and a Streetcleaner from Ultrakill, which the artist refers to as Radium and Burnet respectively, talking in a mall which is in no way canon-compliant. The palette is relatively saturated, dark, and eclectic, biased towards a reddish purple. Radium is dressed in a teal blazer, jeans, a studded belt and silver jewelry, and they hold up an unpurchased black shirt to Burnet: an anatomically correct heart and the word "SOUL" are partly visible on the front of the tee, printed red. They appear to ask if they should buy the shirt for a Mannequin friend. Burnet, in nothing but a sun-embroidered pair of overalls and a gold piercing through zier dragon-like frill, seems to love the idea, gesturing with zier hand excitedly. The two of them are standing in a dark store which is most analogous to Hot Topic; a puppet employee handles shirts to the right side of the image, including one with the artist's diagetic signature. Among the mall's stores are numerous parodies of and references to Ultrakill itself, along with sights such as a gathering of post-shopping Virtues and an enraged Mindflayer chasing down a fleeing V1. End ID.]

FROM: @peridots-pixiwolf TO: @cherripups

[pukefactory]

•☽────✧˖°˖ SUMMER MEMORIES ˖°˖✧────☾•

(COMMISSION)

★ Summary: A Compilation of Headcanons Featuring Salesperson ENA X Reader Who Likes To Draw

★ Commissioner: @namosaga

★ Character(s): Salesperson ENA (ENA: Dream BBQ)

★ Genre: Headcanons, SFW

★ Warning(s): None - Completely Safe!

★ Image Credits: @JoelG

☆ You doodle when you’re bored. You doodle when you’re sad. You doodle when ENA’s talking about a “high-risk divestment strategy involving artificial soap and stolen cafeteria spoons.” And at some point, you started doodling her. It’s not just her whole self—though that too, many times. Sometimes it’s just the curve of her clawed hand reaching for a megaphone. Sometimes it’s her striped suspenders tangled around a heart. When ENA notices, her Salesperson side lights up like a SALE sign. “Ohhhh. What’s this? That triangle is my face! Do you find me marketable? Beautiful? Business-presentable?” You nod. The Meanie stares. “Gross. Now we’re a MUSE? Ew. I’ll be charging you royalties for my likeness.”

☆ She finds the sketchbook one day when you’re away—left on a folding chair by a half-eaten pastry and an unopened bottle of fizzy coffee. She’s not snooping, no, not at all. Salesperson insists she’s “simply browsing local investments!” The first ten pages are filled with swirled lines, nervous clutter, random eyes. But then she sees herself. Over and over. Her bent legs, her hair curling wrong in the wind, her Meanie side squished into a heart-shaped frame. She freezes. Then she flips the pages again. Faster. Slower. Backward. She eventually whispers: “I look like someone’s safe place in here.”

☆ After that, ENA starts posing. Not directly. That would be weird. And vulnerable. So instead, she just happens to linger in dramatic stances longer than necessary. Flinging her arms toward the sky like a puppet cut loose. Curling on a desk with a fake frown. Standing by the megaphone with her head tilted at exactly 37 degrees. “My right angle is better for composition, by the way,” she mutters, fake-casual. “Stop telling them that,” Meanie snaps. “You look like an expired crayon.”

☆ You doodle her in the margins of receipts. On the back of pamphlets. In the corner of forms she begged you to fill out (“Sign here to legally acknowledge the weight of our friendship.”) ENA doesn’t get mad. Not really. She just starts leaving blank forms around on purpose. Sticky notes with “FOR DRAWING PURPOSES” scribbled in all-caps. One day she hands you an envelope. It’s empty except for a note inside that says: “Put more of me inside, please. Thank you for your service to the brand.”

☆ She watches you draw one day. Quietly. Which is rare for her. You’re sitting against a wall by the noise garden, sketchbook on your knees, tongue poking out a little from concentration. ENA crouches beside you and doesn’t say anything for a whole minute. Then five. At the six-minute mark, she finally mumbles: “You only draw the good parts.” Her voice is all Meanie. Soft. Sincere. And she won’t look at you when she says it.

☆ She starts giving you feedback. “Bigger shoulders—make me more powerful! Like a tank top model with clawed ambition!” “YOU MISSED THE HAT. DRAW THE HAT OR SO HELP ME I’LL SUE.” “You made me look too nice in this one. I look like I forgive people.” Despite the commentary, she keeps them. Every doodle you give her—ripped-out pages, napkin sketches, whatever—gets tucked neatly into a growing portfolio. You caught her one night whispering to it like a bedtime story.

☆ You try to draw her when she’s upset. Not meltdown upset—just quiet. Twitchy. Detached. Her mouth stuck in a not-smile. You sketch the tension in her shoulders, the downward tilt of her hat. You don’t show her those pages. But she finds them. Of course she does. “Is this how I look when I’m breaking in half? …Accurate.” She tilts the sketch. “But you drew me like I’m still loved, even then.” She doesn’t tear it up. She folds it gently and puts it in her cap.

☆ One day, she draws you. Sort of. It’s lopsided. Chaotic. The head is too big and the hands are just rectangles. But she gives it to you proudly, declaring: “This is YOU. You’re holding a flower and a sword and a bottle of ink and also a stress ball shaped like my face.” “You look pathetic,” Meanie mutters. “Pathetically important.”

☆ She asks you what each doodle means. You explain: That one was when she made you laugh so hard you choked. That one was when she got you out of the shadow hallway. That one was after she called you “a limited-time offer worth investing in.” ENA stares at you for a long time. Then says, “So I’m…a record? A message? A monument?” You blink. “You’re a muse.” She grins. “I’m also a tax deduction.”

☆ Eventually, she lets you draw her on her. You get a marker. A red one. She offers her arm with theatrical flair. “Brand me. Immortalize my essence. Turn me into a living portfolio!” You doodle a little heart on her clawed hand. Just one. Meanie stares at it, blinking fast. “…Dumb,” she mumbles, voice like cracked glass. Then quietly adds: “…Draw another one.”

[lunamugetsu]

Delivery!

Flash was currently being held captive in a black of ice. How he got like this he wasn't sure. All he remembered was that he was running across Central City keeping the peace until suddenly an ice beam shot out of nowhere and froze his feat to the ground.... and the rest of him.

"Alright you got me! Show your face!"

"Well I was going to regardless. No need to yell." Out pops Danny Phantom carrying a bag with him and holding out an envelope.

"What? Who are you?"

"My name's Phantom. Danny Phantom. I have a message for you. I couldn't get your attention earlier so I thought this was just the next best way to get you to stop." Danny said as he unfreezes the speedster.

"Uh, okay." Flash said as Danny gives him an envelope.

On the envelope there are drawing in crayon and stickers and in marker it says: to Flash.

"It's from Susie, she'd said you'd remember her."

He remembered a Susie, a little girl that he used to see in the children's hospital. She had leukemia. He spent any minute he could making sure the kid was smiling when he was there. He was heartbroken when the nurses told him that she had passed away before he could give her her birthday present. Flash examined the crayon written words, it was just like Susie's writing.

"How did you?"

"Just read it."

The letter reads:

Dear Flash,

I'm sorry, I wasn't there when you showed up for my birthday. I never got to tell you, but thank you for being at the hospital with me when I was scared of going to treatment or when I had to take my medicine. Thank you for making me smile even when I didn't feel well. Thank you for playing games with me when I couldn't go outside. Thank you for talking to my mom and dad at my funeral. That was really nice. I drew some pictures for you but I never got to finish them when I was in the hospital so I drew you some new ones. Danny says that he'll give them to you.

In the envelope was a series of different colored papers all with different crayon and marker drawings of Susie and him playing in different scenarios. One where she was a doctor and he played the injured patient. One where they were both superheroes. Another one where they were playing shadow puppets when she wasn't feeling well. Page after page were different drawings of them playing with the last one was covered in glitter with a big heart with a crayon drawing of him and Susie.

"Susie said that her biggest regret was that she couldn't say thank you to her hero before she passed. So I bumped her up on my delivery list."

"What?"

"Oh yeah, I never fully introduced myself. I'm Danny Phantom, you can call me Danny. I'm the designated delivery person for the afterlife to the living realm. Any messages or special requests from the dead are delivered by me!" Danny hands him a business card all official.

And it does say: Danny Phantom special delivery service for those of the non-living variety!

"She also said she wanted to give you one last hug before moving on."

"What do you?" Flash is halted from saying anything else as he feels a pressure against his legs. He looks down to see a translucent small figure. She was a picture of what she looked like before the chemo. Susie gives him a smile and a hug before fading before his eyes.

Before Danny officially takes up the mantle of Ghost King he's trying to do a job that would have him interact with all of his citizens first so he could get a feel of it. Hence him making connections with both the living and non-living people (he went big-brain for this idea)

Extra scene:

"Oh that reminds me, I have a card for you from someone else."

"A card?" Flash opens the card only to get sucker-punched in the face. (like one of those cartoon boxing glove punches)

"A punch card." Danny said

Flash groans as he looks at the card that has the words: STOP MESSING WITH TIME! from CW

Obligatory Gotham Scene:

Danny standing in front of a beaten up Joker that has been tied to a chair.

"Just so you know I have a back order of a lot special requests for you. And since I can't exactly kill you, that would create so much political tape. I can let them make requests for certain actions. So right now I have over 50 requests for me to break your legs and over 30 to pull out your teeth and break your jaw. Some of them contradict each other because they want to make every word you say hurt you but others want me to curse you so you can't speak again. So I'll just have to get creative." Danny says winding his arm back and form.

He is for sure being completely professional about, he gets no personal gratification from beating up a crazy clown at all. (said nobody ever)

[mixy-fancy]

✨🎥Spiral, sussie and the Puzzles twins arrive at the au actor 🎥✨

Spiral smile is a large puppet with a very busy schedule since she has to distribute her time between modeling and being an actress, although she always takes time to play and spend some time with her children.

Her character is sweet and maternal although she is always surrounded by cameras she is usually shy and a little insecure although she tries to hide it.

When she doesn't see her children all day long she gets anxious and always sends them messages or video calls to know how they are doing, you will never see her away from her cell phone.

The little puzzle Twins are young actors who usually participate together with their father or their mother!

You have to keep an eye on them as they are very mischievous and curious and puzzle two is the most imperative puzzle one in his breaks he spends his time asleep or on his cell phone talking to his mother.

They admire Wally a lot and want to be like him and often imitate some of his gestures or words.

Sussie doesn't like to be an actress, she prefers modeling, but when she has to participate with her parents, she doesn't hesitate to do it, although she spends her breaks glued to her cell phone or eating some candy.

PS: they are some colored sketches that I was really dying to draw them on this nice AU ! Then I dedicated a more elaborate and pretty drawing !!!

✨🌼 @frillsand 🌼✨

[raindropren]

HUNRGY HERMITS!!! The hermits are hungry!! Good thing Pearl and Joe are here to serve them!!!

probably about 4-5 days ago I was watching a Pearl stream and was able to watch a Hungry Hermits run with Her and Joe! I've had a really fun time watching the game be played so I decided to draw a piece :D

This has been, by far, the longest time spent on an art piece. IBIS X says it took 8+ hours. so. ya. fun!!!! :]

I hope I did the two justice here. <3

Extra bits underneath

I spent way to long on this background and put probably way to much effort into it. please look at it <3

I really like it! I'm super proud of it since I'm not super experienced with more complex backgrounds and I love how I colored it(even if,, it hurt to,,, do,,,)! also if i got anything wrong. um... no i didn't. Also I made the loom counter a regular counter. It has the loom colors tho? lol

and here are the doodle/sketch images from when I was deciding on how to draw Joe and Pearl!

I've drawn pearl a bunch but this would be my first time drawing Joe! so I knew I had to think about how to draw them! It was super fun, i don't understand puppets, or how the juppet would work in world/canon. but. hey! whateves! it's fun!! it's cool!! I also did a regular non-puppet joe because i,, wanted to :3 Joe's really cool, i wanna start watching them more. For pearl I just needed to get her Post Office outfit down, Which for some reason, I haven't done yet :'} It's a very nice looking outfit so it was very fun to draw.

also both images have a little version of them with a chefs hat! cute!! :D

also I imagine in the full piece, they're talking to eachother. Fun!!

[uwukillmenowowo]

Hello I saw your platonic Crk story with the beast cookies and I was just rewatching the theater of lies episode and I got an idea, what if the reader gets so angry at Shadow milk cookie that they just scream "SHUT IT!" which stuns everyone into silence not even knowing the reader could get that mad, if you're not comfortable with writing this or simply don't want to that's completely alright 😊

o_O

interesting- Interesting indeed-

I could've made this so much more simple but- I didn't ToT

Annoyance

[PLATONIC]

(Beast Cookies X Reader)

Notes:

Reader will be Non-binary

#Peaceful Mode

Simple mind things

The Beasts were revived. What was the first thing they did? Find their little sibling of course.

{SecondPOV}

~~~~~

You were shocked to see your old friends in front of front of you again. The difference was not only in their appearance and names but their personality too. Blueberry Milk in particular. Or rather... Shadow Milk Cookie. He used to be your best friend... Now he's your greatest annoyance.

Before he was the most quiet and the "Hold my hand when crossing the road" friend now he's the "Jackass bitch I wanna strangle but they're still my friend" friend.

Ever day..

And I mean- EVER DAY- He's annoying you with something different before rambling on and on.

"[Reader] Cookie, why did you dye your frosting? You know I loved it [H/c]? Can I change it back?"

"[Reader] Cookie, Why are your drawing the soul jam thieves?... What do you mean they aren't thieves!?"

"[Reader] Cookie, who are Espresso Cookie and Madeline Cookie? They aren't your boyfriends are they?"

"[Reader] Cookie~! Come look at my new puppets~!"

You were getting fed up because most of the time he would bother you when you're working on important stuff.

But this time. You were working on something VERY important. Crushed Spice- Err... Burning Spice Cookie. He recently had to fight the other Wild spices because something happened. In the process, his favorite bracelet got damaged and you were fixing it.

Before, Burning Spice didn't really care about his appearance, but now he did. He wanted to look powerful and offered you somehting you couldn't refuse. So you had to fix it for him.

Leaning in closer so that you can see it better, you carefully started to melt some golden cheese so that you can fix it. Liquid cheese can get very hot so you had to be very careful when- "Wow! Would you look at that!" "WAAAHHH!!"

Screaming in shock at the sudden cookie you dropped all the liquid cheese onto Burning Spice's bracelet, absolutely covering it in liquid cheese. You stared at Shadow Milk Cookie before looking at Burning Spice's bracelet, and then back at Shadow Milk Cookie. "Are you kidding me...?" You asked in disbelief.

"Heeey~ What's it matter? I just-" You started to tune out Shadow Milk Cookie as you stared at the ruined bracelet.

THE ONE THING THAT BURNING SPICE WANTED SO THAT HE WOULD TAKE YOU TO MEET THE OTHER SPICES.

Yup! That was it! All you wanted was the meet the other Spices! but Burning Spice never allowed you because it was too dangerous! The reason why you've always wanted to go is because you helped a little Kulfi get home a couple years ago and you promised to meet them again!

"-Surely it can't be that bad-"

"SHUT IT ALREADY YOU UNKNOWLEDGEABLE, DECEPTIVE- *grumble* *grumble* DUMMY!!"

Shadow Milk, who sat across from you, paused.

Burning Spice who just walked in to check on his bracelet, went slack jawed.

Silent Salt, who was with Burning Spice, felt his soul gem die.

Mystic Flour and Eternal Sugar gasped and snorted respectively.

They didn't know how to react. How could they? Years ago, you were the cookie who would always say, "Mind your manners, it's not nice" With a small pout on your face.

But now- you just told your best friend that he was being an annoying bitch-

Shadow Milk Cookie in particular, stared at you in shock.

All of a sudden- he fainted and started frothing at the mouth.

Meanwhile, you just walked away, grumbling to yourself.

"That's not my best friend... Never has been."

~ (OwO) ~

I could've made this more simple than it had to be so I dunno why I went with lore...

[sakeenaza]

INTRODUCTION!! I'd also like to add that commissions are, of course, open, but since I am still a beginner I would really appreciate if yall go easy on asking for realistic drawings! I'm very excited to be sharing my artwork with all of you!! Have a great day to everyone!!!

Some stuff about me: im a 13 yo girl trying to survive in our canadian weather (actually im turning 13 on march 26 soo basically 13 hehe) :)

my pronouns are she/her, but i dont mind if you use anything else! i make some pretty cool drawings in my opinion, and i love seeing all of your guys' art!! I'm a funko pop collector, as well as a poster collector. (if you were to walk into my room you could tell lmao)

other fandoms im in are the MCU, DCU, xmen, mlp, sherlock, b99, atyd, harry potter, stranger things, house md, dead poets society, good omens, percy jackson, legend of zelda, umbrella academy, cruella, hamilton, sonic and several others that I genuinely cant recall, like the countless amout of anime. if you were to enter my room, you would faint from the color lol because of the amount of posters from all these things. i have a mountain of stuffies on my bed which include a sonic plushie and a tails plushie, which sit beside all my plushes from when i was born (in my opinion all stuffies should be treated like living things dont come at me im just goofy) :b

I enjoy almost all genres of music, but indie rock and stuff like cavetown, bwu, billie eilesh take up most of my brainspace. i love rock bands like nirvana, arctic monkeys, the last shadow puppets and maneskin. i am unfortunately one of those people that goes into their liked songs and presses shuffle 😬 (i legit have over 700 songs in there and i love them all)

some of my fav movies are the sonic trilogy, captain america: civil war, all the spidermans, cruella, christopher robin, jjk 0, dead poets society and it. i love film in general, and aspire to get into the art of film making. i love to paint, sketch and scrapbook.

some of my favorite things: drawing, reading, writing, comics, video games, and greek mythology!!

my dms are always open if anyone wants to share their art, vent, or just want to be friends! my username is the same on all platforms and i am completely okay with making requested art! basically i will happily do commissions no matter the cost, and if im feeling extra nice i'll give some people some free commissions! (VERY RARE DONT GET MAD IF YOU DONT GET IT FOR FREE ILY ALL 😭)

im also pansexual!! :D Love everyone!! 🏳️‍🌈😤

If youd like to be friends, dm me here or on discord!! username: sakeenaza

[laserbobcat]

I was asked how can I draw so much

-I'm unemployed lol, just got out of a super shitty job after a 4 months sick leave for back hurty and burnout/depression- I'm A-OK now don't worry. The job was basically the reason for it all. So I have a lot of time!

-I've always drawn fast, I rarely do complex or polished picees, my art is "quick get this thing out of your head before more ideas drown it"

-Speaking of ideas, therapist told me I was HIP/HEP? I'm not a genius lol (HIP is super misunderstood) but language and narration and creativity are my brain's comfort zone, and said brain is often firing way to fast for me to follow. Mental hyperactivity can be a pain in the ass, it's really hard sometimes to come down to earth. But I could tell endless stories. I could be book grandma near the fire.

-I had a total of 5 years of art school in my bag. I abandoned the idea of doing it professionally, but it helps a lot to draw the blorbos obviously. Fun fact, I've never drawn better and with more fun than when I decided "fuck art as a job" and started to just. Draw the blorbos. Pressure kills creativity for anxious people. I feel bad for "waisted studies" and for "Not drawing as well as I should" I'm working on that. I'm far from the only one in this position.

-Let's be real I enjoy the attention fanart gets. Personnal art gets less attention because the emotional traction isn't there for most people, and we humans run on emotions. So it's normal that people are drawn to things that they already know and love. And I like interacting, which is why I love ttrpgs. I need back and forth to create, I'm social on that end. It can be a bit of a trap, because the stimulation is a lot for an already hyperactive brain lol. But I'll take it.

That being said, the people who like my actual personnal stuff live rent free in my heart. If you like Luke and Ranec and the rest of my idiots, don't underestimate how happy it makes me. I'll go back to them when this hyperfixation is over, they're my favorite little puppets to play with. They're eternal.

-I have generalized anxiety and I'm bipolar, drawing is a very nice soothing escape. I really need to come down to earth and stop living in stories, and I get better and better at it! It's haaaaard tho, I'd rather lay down and eat chip #meditation #sports

Well that was long, but I don't like when people compare themselves to strangers on the internet and think they fall short. I hope this broke some misconceptions you could have.

You don't know people's lives. You don't see the advantages and hindrances they have compared to you. You don't know how hard or easy the things you admire are for them. Maybe they have a lot of support and time. Maybe it's their escape from life. Maybe they're cheating lol. Maybe they're dorks. Maybe they're old. Maybe they're young.

You don't know shit, stop comparing yourself to strangers. I know it's hard af, but do your best!

[howi99]

Puppeteer Jaune: *entering the communal room with a projector* Good news everyone! I finally found a way to defeat Salem's army.

Everyone: Woh ho!

Puppeteer Jaune: *nod* I see you are all as excited as i am. *Start the projector* Now, we all know that she possesses only the relic of knowledge, which is completely useless because of Cinder. *Picture goes to a very crude drawing of Cinder, laughing over Atlas downfall*

Yang: *trying not to laugh* N-nice drawing!

Puppeteer Jaune: *Oblivious, readjusting hus glasses* Why thank you, my youngest really worked hard on it!

Yang: ...

Puppeteer Jaune: *changing the picture to an elaborate plan of a machine named: The separator Mk III* With this machine, we will be able to separate Salem from her grimm parts, making the grimm army completely irrelevant.

Ruby: *raise her hand*

Puppeteer Jaune: Yes Ruby?

Ruby: How do we push Salem inside the machine?

Puppeteer Jaune: *nodding* Indeed, how? *Change the picture, showing Jaune Using the relic of creation to make a portal under Salem which only goes to the machine* Sometimes, the solution lay's in the simplest strategy. Of course, to minimize the risk, i shall bring her inside the ever after, where her magical powers wouldn't work due to interference.

Ozcar: Are you sure about this?

Puppeteer Jaune: 64% sure! Penny's power was greatly diminished and i would assume the same would be true for Salem. *Close the projector* Now, any questions?

[witchpassing]

Maria's Garden

It’s not right, what they’re doing; cold fingers drifting along her knuckles, long walks in a graveyard full of flowers. A face that’s hers and not-hers - the painter’s hand was generous, but no love could heat the pallor from these cheeks, soothe the shadow of these eyes. Like a cousin, like a twin-

She’s a quiet thing, the woman from the portrait. She holds her body in that delicate, shying way Maria could never quite catch, and indeed resigned the pursuit of somewhere around seventeen; in every gesture, every contour, there lingers the craftsman’s eye. Fingerprints line her shawl, hem the skirts that whisper against Maria’s hip in her passing.

Maria asked her to curtsey, once - drunk, soaking herself in the old man’s gin - and she did it perfectly. Perfectly. Like a diagram in an etiquette book. A sick, hot feeling in her stomach, and a resolution never to ask again.

She’d be a fine wife, for some nice man; a well-trained mother, for the same. Petticoats and pretty shawls, stockings and stays and ribbons and lace, every little softness in just Maria’s size - did he think of her, while he dressed his puppet in them? Did he think of her, while he–

She wears perfume, this white Maria. Pressed flowers, and a breath of dawn. The old man chose that too, and if she wasn’t a suicide already, she’d make herself one for liking it. 

The doll has joined her, again, for a walk around the gardens, and Maria is thinking, again, about murdering her. It would be easy, the work of a few minutes, to seize this self-abusing dream by the hair, to drag it to the nearest tombstone, to strike porcelain against granite until the glass eyes roll and bounce among the cobblestones - one last grave out in the meadow, the clothes all burnt, every trace of the old man’s sickness excised from the memory of this ab-world -- Maria the only carrier, and really, what’s another secret, on the midden of what she knows? 

Her memories of Gehrman are rotting, rotting, every moment shared together turning inside-out to bare a soft and mildewed heart, and nothing she can do now will give her teacher back to her - but it’s not that which stops her, as her fingers close and knot in pearl-grey hair, as the bonnet slips loose and the gentle voice falls quiet - 

No, what stops Maria dead, staring into the unreproaching eyes of her twin, is the understanding, sudden and cold as icewater, that she’d let her do it. 

She keeps apart from her a while, after that; doesn’t trust herself within arm’s reach. In Maria’s avoidance of her, the doll seems even more a ghost, a silent, peripheral figure, a presence always one room over. Her weapons, left unattended in the workshop, are cleaned, oiled, and returned; now and then, fresh tea finds its way onto the table by the fire.

Maria doesn’t especially care for tea, but she swallows every drop. 

And little by little, inadvisably, she allows herself back into the doll’s company. It feels like edging up against a precipice, like playing chicken against her own horror. She’ll do something terrible, she knows it; she can’t be unsupervised around a woman like this. A woman who’d let her. She ought to leave, ought to run to the other end of the Nightmare and never think of this place again.

But the doppelganger is so pretty, and she treats her with such gentleness, and it’s been so long since she was anything but alone. 

It happens suddenly, in the end. The doll asks to be taught to dance, and Maria - poor, priggish Maria - never suspects the trick. It’s a last resort, drawing her in like this; every silent invitation, every little courtship, every please sketched in the margins of good etiquette - all have been tried, and all have shattered like the tide upon the rock of Maria’s heroic conviction that she’s the only woman in the world who wants things.

Well, no matter. A doll’s heart has a pulse of its own, whether anyone hears it or not. If Maria won’t take, she can be taken.

Jointed fingers curl beneath her chin. A cold breath upon her face. The moon-scent, heady, dizzying.

I shouldn’t- we can’t–

Oh, hunter. Do be quiet.

A fine wife, indeed. What a silly thing you are, Maria Cainhurst.

[pinkrangermemes]

EPIC: The Musical

lyrics that absolutely fuck me up, feel free to change pronouns and such as needed

"A mission to kill someone's son, a foe who won't run, unlike anyone you have faced before."

"I'd rather bleed for you."

"This is the will of the gods."

"Don't make me do this."

"The blood on your hands is something you won't lose. All you can choose is whose."

"You're as old as he was when I left for war."

"How could I hurt you?"

"I'm just a man who's trying to go home."

"When does a man become a monster?"

"When does the reason become the blame?"

"Forgive me."

"We should try to find a way no one ends up dead."

"You can relax, my friend."

"Think of all that we have been through. We'll survive what we get into."

"This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms."

"I see in your face there is so much guilt inside your heart."

"Have you forgotten to turn off your heart? This is not you."

"Have you forgotten your purpose? Let me remind you."

"Don't forget that you're a warrior of a very special kind."

"Don't disappoint me."

"What gives you the right to deal a pain so deep?"

"Don't you know that pain you sow is pain you reap?"

"Your life now is in my hand."

"A trade, you see. Take from me like you took from me."

"You shall be the final man to die."

"It's just one life to take."

"When we kill him our journey's over."

"Captain?"

"You've hurt me enough."

"When I kill you, my pain is over."

"Mark my words now. This is not the end."

"Remember them."

"Who hurts you?"

"If nobody hurt you, be silent."

"He's still a threat until he's dead."

"Finish it."

"What good would killing do, when mercy is a skill more of this world could learn to use?"

"The blood we shed, it never dries."

"I am your darkest moment."

"I am the infamous _______!"

"This way, you won't disappoint me."

"This way, you won't waste my time."

"Unlike you, every time someone dies, I'm left to deal with the strain."

"I'll remind you, I saw you as a friend, but now we're done."

"This way, you won't plague my life."

"This way, you'll close the door and have your damn goodbye."

"Since you claim you're so much wiser, why's your life spent all alone?"

"You're alone!"

"This day, you sever your own head."

"This day, you lost it all. Consider this as my goodbye."

"Don't forget how dangerous the gods are."

"How much longer 'til your luck runs out?"

"You rely on wit, and people die on it."

"I still believe in goodness."

"Lead from the heart, and see what starts."

"And what will we do when it tears us apart?"

"You're like the brother I could never do without."

"How much longer 'til your strength takes leave?"

"I can't have you planting seeds of doubt."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"Sometimes killing is a must."

"Friends turn into foes and rivalries."

"Never really know who you can trust."

"The end always justifies the means."

"So much has changed, but I'm the same."

"I'm left without a choice and without a doubt."

"Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves."

"You are the worst kind of good 'cause you're not even great."

"You are far too nice."

"Mercy has a price."

"Unlike you, I've got no mercy left to give."

"The line between naivete and hopefulness is almost invisible."

"What have you done?"

"I am your darkest moment, the monster that always draws near."

"Remember me."

"There's only so much left we can endure."

"Think of your past and your mistakes."

"No, I'm not a player. I'm a puppeteer."

"I can hardly sleep now, knowing everything we've done."

"It's a game of wits, but you don't have to play."

"A foe like ____ is not to be messed with."

"You could be hurt or you could beat her."

"I'll help you conquer her."

"Wouldn't you like your outcome preferred?"

"Don't thank me, friend, you very well may die."

"Did you do something to them?"

"I don't know who you are or why you're here, but let me make this one thing clear."

"I've got people to protect, friends I can't neglect, so now there is no turning back."

"Back at home my wife waits for me. She's my everything, my _____."

"Maybe showing one act of kindness leads to kinder souls down the road."

"This land confuses your mind."

"All I hear are screams every time I dare to close my eyes."

"I no longer dream, only nightmares of those who've died."

"Why would you let _____ live when ruthlessness is mercy?"

"I keep thinking of the infant from that night."

"____, when you come home, I'll be waiting."

"Even if you're the last thing I see, I'll be waiting."

"I took too long."

"I'll always love you."

"Your past is always close behind."

"I see a song of past romance."

"I see portrayals of betrayal and a brother's final stand."

"I see a man who gets to make it home alive, but it's no longer you."

"We've suffered and sailed through the toughest of Hells, now you tell us our efforts were nothing?"

"I see a wife with a man who is haunting. A man with a trail of bodies."

"How has everything been turned against us?"

"How did suffering become so endless?"

"Do I need to change?"

"What if I'm the monster?"

"What if I'm the problem that's been hiding all along?"

"If I became the monster, and threw that guilt away, would that make us stronger?"

"So what if I'm the monster lurking deep below?"

"If I gotta drop another infant from a wall in an instant so we all don't die, then I'll become the monster."

"I'll become the monster."

[kozachenko]

[Click for better quality]

Ok so as a sort of followup to that Yachie drawing, I did one of Yachie as well. I already had a pretty solid idea in mind (though tbh drawing her wasn't as fun as drawing Saki) but I'm overall pretty happy with this drawing.

Artist's Notes;

So I knew that I would never forgive myself if I completely missed the oppurtunity to give Yachie face scales, which is something that I haven't really seen many people do yet. I do feel like I could've pushed it a lot more, but I'm liking the direction my take on her is going.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to talk about some of my headcannons for how Hell's fashion works since I've had this on my mind for a while. So ever since I refined my own design for Zanmu, I really liked the idea of having there be some connection between her and Satori in their clothes because they're both the defacto "leaders" of their respective Hells, and then I had the idea of having Hell's fashion trends mimic real life history where it mimics whatever the upperclassman are wearing in someway? I've always been really fascinated with the idea of how Modern Hell works as a society and also how Old Hell was impacted by it's abandonment, and while I am aware that the animal realm isn't exactly Hell and is moreso it's own thing right next to it, I imagine that there would be some overlap in the fashion and culture due to their close proximity to each other. Of course, I still kept a lot of elements in from Yachie's original design, the only thing I really added to the outfit was the jazzed up sleeves and the bottom of her shirt as well as those cool triangle things ZUN added to her shirt in 19. I also have her some nice and sharp nails since I thought they fit her. I also tried adding some scales onto the tips of her ears though tbh IDK how well they read. Her colour palette also ended up becoming a lot more teal than I had anticipated, but I honestly like it as I love it whenever people make Yachie's colour palette and design a lot more teal. I also wanted to try and differentiate her face from Saki's, though I do plan on experimenting more on how to avoid same face syndrome, as it's a problem that haunts me in my dreams. There's not really much I can say here aside from "hee hee clothing rendering go brrrrrr" and how the Clip Studio Paint charcoal brush is really all you need for any given piece and it is literally the only brush I use aside from the occasional airbrush for lighting (sometimes) and the blend tools. I've been doing a lot more simple character art recently and I've just been waiting for a cool enough idea for a full blown piece.

Though now that I've talked about some of my headcannons about how Modern Hell works, I really just want a Touhou manga spinoff about Modern Hell. Like, please ZUN I'm begging you, just do it, it would be so fucking cool because Touhou 17 is literally the only time in modern Touhou when we've been to Hell proper, does modern Hell have any settlements of Oni and other Youkai? Does it have cities? Towns? Villages? What's the technological level of Hell? How do they keep sinners from pulling a Touhou 17 and summoning a fucking god to save them? Where do all the characters associated with Hell as of right now fit into everything? You can't just drop a character like Zanmu who is stated to essentially be the king of fucking Hell and then not elaborate further on how she fits into the general framework of Hell! Is she officially the king or is this more of a "true mastermind using the official king/ruler as a puppet" type deal? How does the Animal Realm fit into all of this? Did Hecatia purposefully create Hell so it would be right next to the Animal realm? Did it just appear there on it's own once Buddhism started popping off on Earth or was it established once Zanmu established Modern Hell? How long was Keiki a problem for, and how did that affect the rest of Hell? Seriously there are so many unanswered questions here and I don't know if I just need to read an interview Zun had where he was asked these same questions and if so please tell me because these questions have all been stirring in my brain for quite some time and I really wished we'd just get a new fucking manga instead of going over the same settings in Gensokyo over and over and over and over again dear god. Like, I get that there's still a lot to explore with what we already do have, but it would just be really nice to see the Animal Realm get a little more explanation as to how it fits into the overall grand scheme of Gensokyo's worldbuilding because that would just make such an already interesting idea for a setting in Gensokyo so much better.

I'm hoping to get the drawing for Keiki done before Touhou 17's 5 year anniversary, though I am willing to postpone that and take my time on it and I also have something coming up where I won't have access to my main drawing tablet for a while so it might be a while until I post again, maybe, who knows, consistent posting schedule? Who are they, I've never heard of them. I do fully intend on talking about my thoughts on Touhou 17 though, even if it's a day or two late, it's Touhou 17's birthday month so it still counts! Also because out of all the Touhou game anniversaries, this is the one I care about the most because Touhou 17 was the first Touhou game I played and 1CC'd(???) on normal, and even though it has plenty of flaws (i.e. the many missed opportunities for it's gameplay, how unbalanced the mechanics are and also screen visibility), I'm always going to have a bit of a soft spot for it and I think that the game's strengths make up for some of it's weaknesses in my opinion.