#also i missed some of the details of their design but i realised way too late and i wasn't gonna redo the whole drawing

[crowthefox9000]

yippeee fanart for Ceri

fanart for @ccerealbowl of their character Castarion.

this took forever but i'm actually kinda proud of it

version without effects and outline and everything under the cut

[mostly-marvel-musings]

Old Tricks - P3

A/N: Now I can’t stop writing…

Pairing: Tony Stark x F! Reader

Warnings: 18+ themes, fluff.

Find Part 1 & Part 2 here ;)

.

Your husband was missing. Again.

And right after promising that he wouldn’t be late for movie night.

Movie nights. Something you had designated every once in a while complete with buttery popcorn and candy and lots of fluffy pillows and blankets.

Sighing, you finished your glass of wine while his lay untouched and made your way downstairs where he was probably killing his back over some invention.

As suspected, there he was, deep in conversation with his virtual best friend, FRIDAY. You hadn’t decided whether to let this go or go up to him and remind him of what he’d missed. It didn’t hurt you because you had lived with the man long enough to understand he never did it on purpose.

Curiosity had gotten the better of you when you squinted to see what he was up to, watching your husband scroll through pictures that resembled…sex toys?

“Let’s keep the face plate easily retractable too, the wife has a thing for neck kisses and so do I.”

Tony murmured, mostly to himself but he made amendments to the project in front of him, fingers gliding over the keyboard to put his words into actuality. He had lost track of time but only because it was directed towards a little present he had been working on, for you.

Unknown to him, you were standing back within earshot, watching him work with a mixture of shock and amusement on your face.

“I mean, I know Y/N loves coming on my fingers just as much. Maybe we could tweak the suit? Add additional modes on the vibrators too.”

Sure, boss.

Blush crept up your cheeks as his words fell on your ears, it was as if he was discussing any other modification to be done to his Iron Man suits. You tiptoed inside, not wanting to announce your presence just yet as Tony Stark - the successor of Stark Industries, genius inventor, world-renown superhero and philanthropist continued his back and forth with the AI.

You watched as prototypes holograms of his suit showed up, the alterations he spoke about highlighted along with detailed description of its features. The man ran his fingers through his hair, leaving them a glorious mess before walked around the table as if to get a whole 360 view.

Clearing your throat finally, you stifled a laugh as your husband jumped with a hand over his heart.

“Jesus Christ! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

Chuckling, you wrapped your arms around the man and reached up to give him a soft kiss. He sighed and hugged you, rubbing your back gently.

“You know among the things I presumed you do down here, I never imagined I’d catch you doing this. I also didn’t realise we had branched out to Adults Toys R Us.” You giggled when Tony playfully slapped your butt, joining in your laughter.

“It was supposed to be a surprise and a silly little gift. For the countless dates I’ve missed, I’m sorry.” He stared at his feet, scratching the back of his neck almost nervously.

“So you’re making me an apology sex toy? You continue to amaze me, Mr. Stark.” You murmured, making him look up at you again before pressing your lips to his lightly.

The man truly was unbelievable.

“What did I miss?” He asked earnestly, guilt evidently reflecting in his brown eyes.

“Our movie night. But it’s okay, I won’t hold it against you. Especially not if promise to reveal what all of this is about.”

Chuckling lowly, Tony planted his head on your shoulder, letting out a tired sigh and a purr the moment your fingers ran through his hair, comforting him.

“Am I going to get a demo or what?” You turned towards his work station while still keeping your arms around him.

“Nope. It’s still a work in progress.” Tony shrugged, swiftly shutting down his work.

“Oh come on, Tony! At least tell me something about it, what does it look like, how do I use it—”

“Oh no, you’re not going to use it. I am.”

You frowned, coaxing him to continue, now that he’d really got your interest piqued. It wasn’t surprising that he would design something like this without involving an element of ‘him’ in it.

“You’re giving me a present that’s meant to be used by you? Hmm, I’m not so sure if I want it now..” you teased, welcoming Tony as he slotted himself between your legs, caging you in by placing both his arms on either side.

“Oh you want it, alright. I’ve made sure it’s everything you’d wished for and more.”

“Hmm.. I would like some more details before I decide how I feel about this present.” Your arms naturally found their way behind his neck, excitement already building deep within as your little banter continued.

“Well?”

“Let’s just say all of your suit kink prayers have been answered, Mrs. Stark.”

No smut just yet 🤭

[vi-arcanes-left-biceps]

Spoilers for Arcane S2 Finale❗❗

So, i keep thinking about Arcane's last pieces of dialogue and though they sounded kinda funny when I watched the end at the first time (in a 'really? This took 27h to write?' way), the more I think about it, the more I like it.

I think it has a ton of layers to interpret and I'm still missing a few of them.

Please forgive my multiple tangents while I try to gather my thoughts.

First, how Caitlyn finds Vi: no bandages, a glass of alcohol in her hands.

No bandages means many things for Vi: she's vulnerable -both because of what she's going through and beacuse she can allow herself to be vulnerable for the first time in the show, with Caitlyn-, and her fight is over, she doesn't have to fight anymore (Re: Ep7 Powder saying Vi fights because she's scared of losing everyone, and she has lost everyone). (Everyone but Ekko and Caitlyn, who have repeatedly proven they can fend for themselves and are leaders on their own right, I'd love to say Vi is in a point where she's able not to feel responsible for them too, though this is something I'm not so sure about). Bandages were also an important part of her character design, of herself, so this gives a sensation that she's lost a part of her identity too. Who is she, if not the big sister, the protector, the brawler?

Alcohol is another small details that just says she's not okay. We've seen her drink herself senseless for, presumably, months, in Act II, to cope with all that happened in S1 and particularly S2 Act I: accepting the loss of her sister after the attack on the council, becoming an enforcer even though she was completely against it because she still feels responsible for ending Jinx, recognising her sister again for just a glimpse and gaining faith that Powder is still there (with the realisation that she almost killed her sister -not the monster she convinced herself jinx was, her sister) falling in love with Cait and seeing her become a completely different person out of grief.... So after everything that just happened in Act III, where she saw that many people die, either strangers or friends, and where she lost her sister and father AGAIN, of course she's considering getting back to drinking. So much happened to her in the span of few months that she's considering drowning the pain away again.

Caitlyn's question: "Are you still in this fight, Violet?"

The line delivery is incredibly soft and intimate, and Cait calling her Violet is the cherry on top. She's knows Vi is not okay. She's knows she's going through a lot right now.

Caitlyn's question seeing this is really, at least, three questions:

First and clearest is a check-in: "How are you?" "Will you be okay?" "Do you want to talk about this?"

Second is "Are you staying?" Vi could leave to be alone as she did at the beginning of Act II, could go with Ekko to Zaun... I can also see an "Are you staying with me?" After everything that happens, after the little time that they've had to be together and to solve the many things between them, her asking "Are you still in this fight" can mean both "hey, are you holding up" and "Are we still together in this?"

Third would be "So, are you up to face this, solving things between Piltover and Zaun?". I know some people have criticized the lack of resolution in the Zaun/Piltover conflict. I'd argue, as much as I'd love for the class conflict to be expanded, it is not the core of the series, and both the writers and the characters know that a conflict like this cannot be solved in such little time. The series was not going to solve it. What it does is solve it's main plot and character arcs, and leave a space for this theme to have the start of a resolution. Piltover an Zaun joined against Ambessa's army, and the ending gives us a glimpse of the will to change the relationship between topside and bottom (e.g. having Zaunites in the council). It's not a perfect ending nor it is a resolution for Zaun's class struggle -I'm pretty sure that was never the intent, though I would have liked for both cities' relationship to be more comented upon in this season-, it's the opportunity to advance towards a resolution. So Cait is asking Vi if she is willing to deal with that too. "Are you still in this fight?" can also have an implication to mean fighting to make things better. This also means fighting for them to be together.

Then, Vi's answer: "I am the dirt underneath your fingernails, Cupcake. Nothing's gonna clean me out".

Now, I like this because it sums up to Vi saying "I'm not going anywhere" but the line itself and the delivery gives it a few more layers of meaning.

First of all, Vi is clearly not okay. She's very emotionaly scarred and considering an unhealthy coping mechanism. She looks incredibly sad. And she's deflecting with humour to the question because she's probably not ready to talk about it. So her delivery here, plus the strange joke/comparison and calling Caitlyn "Cupcake" (which she's only done when she's teasing her in a flirty or funny way or deflecting the conversation by doing so) is telling Caitlyn that she's not okay right now, but that she isn't going to leave. "

I interpret "Nothing's gonna clean me out" as her basically saying "I'm tough, I'll get through this" to Caitlyn's "How are you?" and saying "You're not getting rid of me" to Caitlyn's "Are you going to stay?"

Furthermore, calling herself "The dirt underneath your fingernails" has an obvious implication about her being a Zaunite and Caitlyn being from Pilotover. I've seen some people saying this is insulting to Vi's character and to Zaun's storyline.... I don't think so at all. Yeah, I can get to see a layer of self-depreciating humor, but for me this is Vi using her humour as well to reinforce herself and her identity as a Zaunite (which arguably she left aside/lost sight of during Act I) while also teasing Caitlyn for being a topsider. I like to interpret this as Vi saying "Yeah, Piltie, I'm sticking with you and I will keep bothering you". The tone and calling Cait "Cupcake" reinforces this as a tease as well. Reinstating her identity as a Zaunite also gives insight on Vi's position on the Zaun-Piltover new relationship: yes, she's willing to help out manage this, always from the position of a kid from the Lanes.

Zaun and Piltover are also stuck together after the ending - they've fought together against a common enemy and that has also forced Piltover's elite to sit and listen to Zaun's demands. For sure Piltover's aristocracy still has to get their heads out of their asses but this is how I like to read the phrase in regards to Zaun-Piltover, layered upon what Vi is saying: I am the dirt underneath you = I (Zaun's state and problems) am a consequence of your (Piltover's) actions and I am not going anywhere. (You will have to listen).

Anyways, lots of rambling and I'll still be missing stuff!

Another thing is, native spanish speakers as I am use the phrase "Nail and flesh" to say that two people are inseparable, and this has enough similarity to that for it to feel like Vi is also saying they are inseparable. So yeah

[haobubbles]

get to know you

pairing: nonidol!gunwook x reader

genre: fluff

warnings: mentions of food, slight swearing, lmk if i forgot anything!!!

word count: 1k

roxy's sidenote: um this made me feel so alone hahaha

an evening in a cafe is a life pleasure that sometimes, just sometimes, you were able to enjoy. about a 5-minute walk from your apartment, you were now seated in an armchair of your favourite cafeteria, delune.

if you looked around, you could clearly see the vintage decoration that gave an old, rustic but comfy environment to the area. the old plants, the little paintings..every single detail could made you think it had been decorated by a professional interior designer; however, it was a lady around her sixties that took all the credit for it.

you were just explaining to ricky, your best friend, about your life. while trying to catch up with someone whom you saw after three months (his fault for not organising himself, you say) a ding caught your attention.

it had been long enough to spend time with an ordinary friend but with the chinese boy, you felt like a week with him full of gossip wasn't enough. if there was nothing to tell about his life, normally being the other way around, he would always spill the most recent gossip or information that he had been able to gather.

drifting your attention to your phone, you saw a message from your boyfriend, gunwook, that instantly brought a smile to your face.

'r u home? i miss and wanna talk to uu'

"what did that boy of yours say now?" ricky asked, slightly amused at the youngest's talent to catch your attention that fast. even before you realised what you were doing, you shot a sheepish smile at the boy sitting in front of you and started gathering your things (your phone for the most part)

"i will make it up to you, ricky, I promise, but we've been here for almost 4 hours. i also have my girlfriend duties, you know?"

a few laughs and some pinky promises later, you were walking through the entrance door of your apartment, immediately catching sight of the head of your boyfriend resting on the soft, grey sofa.

"did i make you wait for too long?" was the first thought you voiced out while taking off your shoes.

"where was the warning of your arriving y/n??!! fuck, you will kill me someday" you laughed at his surprised and slightly frightened state.

while the citizens were too busy with their own lives, they weren't able to appreciate the sunset, not even you. while keeping a conversation with gunwook about your day and telling him whatever gossip ricky said to you that came to your mind, you lost track of time and didn't realise until you were sat down at the table, eating a homemade pizza with your partner.

you had realised that while talking, gunwook had been eager to let you talk all the time and he took advantage of the situation to stare at you, but as the simple thought made you giggle internally, you let it slide.

however, when you asked him about his day while having dinner and you received no response, you started to slightly panic.

"wook, did you hear what i said?" still no response.

even if that wasn't usual in your casual meet ups or dates, you decided to take it more on the safe and not hysteric side and continued eating, hoping that he'd get out of his trance soon.

while keeping a close eye on him, a few minutes later, you saw him shoot an energetic smile at you, which left you quite baffled.

"i called your name four times and you didn't answer. not even once. what's up with you?"

"you." gunwook answered rather quickly, which left you more puzzled.

"what?" you dared to ask, too caught up in your own turmoil of thoughts and emotions to muster up something better.

"i was just admiring you. you know the song completely, of jaehyun?" he carried on when you nodded to his words "well, i've been listening to this song on repeat for a few days, and i realised i know nothing about you"

"what do you mean you don't know anything? i've told you things about me and we've been dating for almost two years now.." you trailed off, not knowing what his point was

"yeah i do, but not everything. i realised i will never be able to get to know you completely. you'll be constantly changing and a lot of you will be lost.that thought scared me and made me a little bit sad, but i decided to get to know you deeply, get to know your soul."

"that's why you wanted me to talk this whole time?" you asked, looking deeply into those chocolate-like eyes that you loved.

"kind of. i also enjoy hearing your voice, it's like a serenade for me" he admitted while scratching the nape of his neck, quite embarrassed "but yeah i spent the whole time analysing what you said to get as much info as possible! by the way, your pyjamas are very cute" he pointed out while looking at where your bedroom is

"you looked through my-" "NO i could never! i was trying to see if you had any picture of us that i didn't have and i saw your pyjamas laying on your pink mattress" he said with a hint of playfulness in his voice

"don't you dare to say anything about my mattress" you tried to sound stern but failed miserably when you remembered what he had confessed not even 5 minutes ago "why are you doing all of this either way?"

before you had finished the sentence, he had gotten up from his seat and walked over to where yours was, engulfing you in a huge hug.

with a small voice he stated "because i love you? just listen to the song i told you, i think you'll understand more than what my words can say" gunwook had a giant smile on his face, which you could only guess by the giggles you could hear behind your back.

[sluttysissyslave]

For Sissies and Alike!

This is a very long post so bear with me, do with it what you wish, forget it if you want to, but maybe, just maybe consider it. So, let me tell you why and how you all became what you are today, and how to go forward. If you feel you relate to it then let it sit, if it doesn't, forget about it.

Most of you developed these feelings when you were alone and sad, your standards dropped lower and lower without you even realizing it, and next thing you know you're fantasizing about being a slut for women, or maybe even men. But what you forgot about, was that originally, you were just searching for female affection, the touch of that girl you really liked but were too afraid to go up to. You became so desperate for love, for some sort of connection that you started modifying things... "Maybe if I submit myself to a woman she will finally love me" you degraded yourself for love you didn't try hard enough to get. And now, behind a digital screen you've found what you call your little safe space, you don't feel like you're alone in this anymore, it's your coping mechanism. You seek validation in a place designed for men to be degraded, not validated. If you started cross-dressing when you were young. Ask yourself: did you get a lot of human connection? Did your parents pay attention to you? You realised that girls receive all the attention, the love you so desperately wanted that no-one gave you when you were young. So you subconsciously realised the being a girl could get you that. When you wore the girly clothes and finally felt warm, and embraced, you just manifested that for yourself over time and when it happened you actually believed it, which is only natural, that's what manifestation does. Your mind tricked you into believing that you found what you were looking for. 

So, we've established that doing sexually feminine things is because submissive thoughts in a gay way is because you crave the love and affection you've been missing in your life. 

Some people call this mental illness, I think that's disrespectful and inaccurate, I say these traits are mental coping mechanisms, and you know what? They feel good, they feel great in fact, but they aren't what you were meant to be, you find solace and comfort in those rushes of endorphins and other feel-good chemicals. But let me remind you, this isn't a long-term solution, you will realize this as time goes on, so you'll go even more extreme to cope, to get an even bigger rush. You need to reconsider, the withdrawal will feel terrible, but the way you are currently going won't get you to the desires you were always meant to have, not the ones you might think you're currently suppressing.

Brainwashing:

Arguably you are truly the victims, but no-one is coming to save you but yourself. You will always be tested, from all sides, it's up to you whether you give in or not. Be strong, don't give in, stand your ground. Trust that there's always a better way, a better option, one that's more rewarding than the path you're on now.

So why are you the victims? Well in modern western society it is being slowly programmed into people from a very young age, as soon as they can absorb information. Ideologies that men are worthless, good for nothing, and that women are superior. I don't want to go into the details of why this is the case because then you'll be reading this until tomorrow, but trust me that it's the case, and let me prove it with an adequate example. Most submissive men (and all woke and other LGBT people are all located in the "rich" west), almost none in eastern and conservative countries. Why is that? They don't have exposure to these things from a young age, it's not that sissies and alike don't exist there, they aren't created. Also they are often poorer than you are, with lots of social security, peace and plentiful resources, people get lazy and weak, those people living in let's say, Moldova, have other things to worry about than putting on makeup and sticking a butt plug up their bum. They aren't suppressing any femininity (sexually), they never had any to begin with.

Let's talk about how you and your thoughts are being manipulated.

Origins in modern pop culture:

Tv shows - the man is always the idiot and the woman is always the smart, reasonable one. That wasn't always the case in civilized history, both men and women were smart and reasonable, their combined traits completed each other's and they could be a strong couple. Let's look at some examples… It starts with Friends - Joey, Chandler, are portrayed as a bit dumb, and the girls generally smarter. The Simpsons - Homer is an idiot, his wife is the real boss. Family Guy - Peter is an absolute idiot and Louis is the brains of the family, a voice of reason. And it's even in shows for little children, in Peppa pig The father is hardly a figure to look up to. The disrespect towards men has been going on for decades, and it really started, rather perhaps interestingly, after the fall of the Soviet Union, but I once again don't want to get into politics or else this post will never end. We are at a stage now where especially if you're white you are almost persecuted for it. You can't disagree when I say all people should be treated equally right? So why doesn't that apply to race. A fitting quote to go by for this would be: "Don't humiliate yourself before anyone, and don't haughty yourself over anyone"

I actually feel terrible for the genuine, kind, trans women who have done so much for themselves and still don't maybe feel good and satisfied. You've had to overcome a lot in pursuit of happiness, and whether you made you right or wrong choice is now irrelevant. Try to live your best life with what you have, and don't look back, it's too late for that anyway, it would only make things worse now. Look towards the future and never look back, do things which make YOU happy, and not someone else.

For dominant women: Don't see this as a threat, there will always be guys who are more submissive, everyone is definitely and spread out all across the scale, you'll find who you're looking for, only men with with low self-esteem want a weak-minded woman who they can control in all aspects of life. Most men like a strong-minded woman, I also want a strong woman. But don't confuse this for sexual submissiveness/dominance, those aren't the same thing. Feminine doesn't mean weak! 

General statement: The world is all butterflies and fairy tales now, enjoy it while you can, it will get worse, wars are coming, political and ideological changes are going to happen and if you are unprepared then, I have news, it won't end well. You are living in a digital jail right now, you are getting affected/manipulated, but at the end of the day you are the one who holds your own phone or opens your computer. Give yourself the power to control yourself, and free yourself of this jail.

IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS

Become the type man you'd want to serve: Often I see people with slight or fully gay fantasies about men, or being outperformed by certain men (women want them and not you. Become that man. It's going to be hard, in fact it's going to be the hardest thing you will ever do in your life, and it won't even come close. Try it, a person should be adventurous in life so why wouldn't you like to feel what it's like being that person? And the best part is, if you don't like it, you can go back to what you were before and say that you've tried it all and found what you really are, but you can't say that without actually experiencing it, not even a discussion. It'll be a process for a minimum of 1-2 years, and will require discipline and self-control, hey that's similar to serving and/or being locked in chastity, both of those require discipline and self-control too. You can do it.

Find yourself: People love talking about finding themselves, I read it here every now and again, "I found my true self here". You cannot find yourself behind a digital screen, you will find yourself by putting yourself in difficult situations, the easiest way to do that is by going into nature. Take a large backpack with only your essentials and survive in the forest for a week. If that's too much, then just go out in the morning, spend the night and come back, walking through terrain and getting to some destination. Maybe you live in a cold climate, in winter go out into the snow and walk around the forests all day. Remember to bring an emergency phone if going to places you don't know too well. 

Estrogen vs Testosterone: Estrogen makes you girly, and Testosterone manly, we know that right? To increase your estrogen naturally you can drink soy product, live an unhealthy lifestyle, and mentally stimulate yourself. You cannot produce as much estrogen naturally as a woman does, you'd have to take supplements. A healthy lifestyle in women increases their estrogen, and a healthy lifestyle in men increases their testosterone. You can increase your testosterone by exercising, eating meat (protein), onion, dark chocolate, a Mediterranean diet is pretty good, and of course getting high quality sleep, (here I am at 3am writing this post - hypocrite, I'm ashamed and I'll work on it).

Reward yourself. When you achieved a goal to becoming your new masculine life, treat yourself to something fulfilling. Whether it's some sort of food or an experience. We all need positive affirmations. You can reflect on what you've done well and what you've done poorly. Like me who wanted to s few important things and instead procrastinated for 3 days, hence, no reward, but as double self motivation I'll do a super big reward after putting myself together and getting all I wanted done (this post was no. 5 priority).

Belief. Believe in yourself that you can do it, your mind is extremely powerful, you give it less credit than it deserves, if you channel it the right way then it was serve you as a great tool.

Energy. Energy is another real, powerful, but invisible thing. Have you ever entered a historical religious place of worship? Like an ancient church in Europe or a mosque in the old Ottoman Empire like Turkey or even spain, a Buddhist or Hindu temple in Asia… they all have energy which you can feel, you absorb things differently with various energies. Or maybe more relatable, you're having fun at an outgoing fun party, you feel good right, smiling and enjoying life. That's positive energy. If you put yourself in environments with the type of energy you are currently looking for, it will help, a lot. I don't mean to say you should be religious or anything, but there's nothing wrong if you are or want to, it gives you hope and a sense of safety and security in its own ways.

Stand up for yourself. Have some morals and beliefs which you like and stand by. Don't be afraid to defend them in an argument.

This is my first authentic post on this website and I was very hesitant to make it, after all no-one might even read what I spent so much time on, but if at least one person is somehow positively influenced then it was worth it. I know that I will probably be reported by someone simply because they didn't agree with what I wrote, and my account will be taken down. If you don't agree with the things I said then ignore them, I made this for people who can resonate with something I wrote (not at all necessarily all of it), people who don't even know why they like the things they like, know it's not what they always wanted but find pleasure in it now. Hence please reblog if you like what you read, it won't be here forever.

If you are unsure or want to discuss anything feel free to DM.

If you want to do some research yourself, start with researching "Subliminal perception". It's absolutely everywhere and affects everyone, like it or not.

I might start positive things with a little political subcontext explaining my points further.

[purerae]

— ROOM 42

CHAPTER ONE ;; PROLOGUE

ROOM 42 MASTERLIST

SYPNOSIS ;; Y/N, surprisingly, in detention for missed homework, teams up with the school's delinquent to investigate a mysterious door. Unable too explore further, Y/N and her friends devise a plan to sneak into the classroom after school and explore the hidden space. Their curiosity leads to a sinister game of secrets and betrayal. As they and their friends go deeper, the consequences grow. How far will they go to hide their sins? How far will they go... for her? (click on master list for more details)

(keep reading for chapter one.)

??? POV

"Why is it always me?" Zion groaned, frustration etched across his face. “The teacher's pet constantly snitches on every bloody thing I do." He slammed his fist into the wall, causing more chips to fly off the already ruined surface.

For the seventh time, Eliza, the teacher's pet, had reported Zion Minh for skipping class.

"Bro, she just doesn't like you. I skip class all the time, and she never bothers me," his friend Adrien chuckled.

Zion rolled his eyes. "She just wants to suck your dick, shut up."

"I mean, who wouldn't? Just look at me~" Adrien teased.

Zion gave him a blank stare and narrowed his crimson eyes. Adrien snickered at his own joke.

Despite their banter, Zion and Adrien were actually close friends. They had known each other since they were babies due to their parents' close work relationship.

Zion, with his dark crimson red hair and matching eyes, had a reputation as a high school delinquent. He was always ready to confront anything that seemed like a threat. Everyone in school knew better than to mess with him, except for his gang and Eliza.

Adrien, with his dirty blonde hair and khaki green eyes, was also a delinquent but less intimidating than Zion. He had a reputation as the school's playboy, often flirting with the girls. Teachers liked him, but they knew he could be mischievous at times. Only Zion and his dad had seen Adrien at his worst.

"Alright babe! Enjoy your detention, I'll see you later," Adrien chuckled, running off to the main entrance and leaving the building.

Zion grimaced at the mocking pet name and muttered a quick goodbye before heading towards Room 42, the designated detention room at the back of the school. He preferred this room to avoid the other students, as he was often tempted to pick fights with them.

Upon entering, Zion noticed a tall woman with long blonde hair sitting on a desk at the front of the classroom. He rolled his eyes, recognizing her as the one who often gave him detention.

"You're here again, Mr. Minh? You really need to step up your game before you get excluded from this school. Also, surprisingly, someone else has a detention right now in this room," she sighed, looking him up and down. "Please don't annoy her. I'll be gone for half an hour to attend a meeting. You better still be here." With that, she trudged off, her footsteps gradually fading away.

"You better still be here," Zion mimicked in a high-pitched voice, raising his hands mockingly.

He made his way to the back of the classroom, his usual spot, and started playing with his pen. After a while, boredom set in, and he decided to explore the classroom. He rummaged through the books, broke some pens, and generally acted nonchalant. Finally, he went up to a tall bookshelf and grabbed a boring science book, which he despised. With a sense of rebellion, he began vandalizing it, scribbling all sorts of things and profanities.

However, he soon noticed something in his peripheral vision. A girl with her hood up and earphones in was staring straight at him. The sound of music bled through the buds.

Feeling awkward, Zion looked up and made eye contact with the girl. She quickly rushed to the front of the class and took a seat. It then dawned on Zion that this was the person he had detention with. He rolled his eyes at the realisation, 'Great, some freak i have to share the room with for a whole ass hour…’

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ Y/N L/N

Y/N was ten minutes late to detention because she couldn't find the isolated classroom. 'Of course, I'm the one who has detention at the stupid creepy classroom,' she thought with a groan, tilting her head back out of frustration

This was her first detention, and she was panicking. It happened because she had failed to submit her math homework three times in a row. It wasn't entirely her fault; she lacked the motivation and struggled to understand math for fucks sake!

As Y/N entered the room, she noticed a red-headed boy crouching down, aggressively defacing a book. He already gave her an odd impression as she wondered why he was torturing the Science book meant for younger children. She stopped her music and put her hood up, hoping to avoid any attention from him.

The boy's face was visible to her, but he seemed too absorbed in his task to notice her. It dawned on her that this was Zion Minh, the scariest person in school and Eliza's one-sided enemy. At that moment, she wished she could just run out of the classroom to avoid any potential conflict.

A/N ;; The first chapter is awful I am so sorry!! Please trust me, and it will get better as the chapters go on. comments and reblogs heavily appreciated <33

purerae &lt;3

[adobe-outdesign]

I am so late to this but I had only just realised Neopets added new gray nostalgic styles with brand-new artwork for combos that don't exist pre-conversion! Do you have a favourite out of them?

(I already did the main grey review here before the new pet styles were released.)

Even as someone who enjoys customization, I think the execution of it was pretty poor. It definitely should've been that you could freely switch between the UC design and the converted design at any point, and the option would exist for pets that were painted after conversion instead of it being a thing you had to grandfather into. Likewise, I'd argue that TNT should've done new UC designs for colours that used to get special poses even after customization, so you wouldn't be losing the beautiful art.

It took the NC Mall and 17 years, but new TNT finally wised up and switched all UCs over to purchasable NC pet styles. Originally it seemed like they were only going to include pre-existing UCs; then, it seemed like they'd do pre-existing UCs plus some other pets with old art but no UCs; and then, finally, we learned that TNT would be giving pets that didn't even have old art styles. This is a great idea, as it gives the pets that didn't get a chance at unique art (Lutaris and Vandagyres being good examples) to have some. Plus the converted versions still exist, so it's just more designs for everyone.

(Pictured: Two UC/styled grey pets with pre-existing old art.)

The most interesting part about these new styles is watching new TNT trying to mimic the classic Neopets' art styles. There's no hard rule as to how old Neopet art worked (because different artists worked on different pets), but the following are what I'd consider the most consistent and important points:

Shading: Hard-lined cel-shading with only one or two layers. Generally high-contrast, especially for grey pets. Sometimes there'll be a small amount of highlights, but not always.

Lineart: Not too thick or too thin with natural weight variation.

Design: Not always present, but often times will include fun little plays on the original design like the Yurble's uncurled ears.

Pose: Easy to read with a good sense of motion. Matches the proportions of the original basic colour pet.

Of course, just because a new pet style isn't quite on point doesn't make it inherently bad (though I personally like the on point ones more, and have highlighted the best in that regard below). The new grey Xweetok style is pretty off compared to an actual UC; like, here's the old sad blue Xweetok pose, which is somewhat similar to it:

You can easily see that there's way too much detail in the shading and highlights (highlights too thin/plentiful, shading too hairline and layered too closely together), and the proportions and design details are also way off model (eyes missing the black "liner" at the back; head way too big; paws too big; ears slightly too big). But dang, it's absolutely adorable, and much much better than the converted version, which looks vaguely ill. It's a good example of how much personality a style can add.

Favorite (New) Species:

Blumaroo: BROKEN HEART FEET. BROKEN. HEART. FEET!! That's such a wonderful detail, and 100% feels like something a UC version would've had. The pose is also really good, and the shading and lineart are pretty accurate (the lines are just a smidge too thick, but obviously not actually a problem).

Bruce: Another pretty good pose with excellent lineart and shading (might be the same artist for this and the Blumaroo)? It's adorably mopey and little things like the extra chubby cheeks and bigger bow add a lot.

Hissi: The shading's not quite as accurate as the above two (one too many layers on the wings, which are also a little too fluffy relative to the non-converted Hissi's wings), but the pose on this one is perfect and really feels like something that existed back in the day. I really like the eye shape in particular and how it affects the entire upper brow, so to speak.

Least Favorite (New) Species:

Bori: Sorry, Bori, but you're not quite right. There's just a lot of things slightly off with this one, like the shading (WAY too much fur detailing that doesn't flow with the actual lineart fur; too low contrast; highlights too minimal in areas like the tail fur). Like I said above, accuracy doesn't matter if the design and pose are good, but that also feels off here. The pose is just kind of strange, like it's about to be smacked or something, and the head is like... off, like it's too far down and too far in in a way that makes it look like it has no neck. It's still got a lot more personality than the converted though, so that's good.

[tartrat]

Mothigan Headcanons

I really like how mysterious Mothigan is, so i thought it would be fun to share some headcanons, mainly about how i think she's part of a line of people who came in possession of the crypt and how her powers work. I also hid an among us in this drawing.

So I mentioned in my last post about her that i headcanoned that there was someone before her who passed the crypt onto her, so here is that headcanon in more detail.

This mysterious coach is who i call "The King of the Butterflies". However he was dying, someone had inflicted an illness onto him, and so he needed to find someone to replace him. Mothigan stumbled upon the crypt one day and decided to investigate, finding the dying king. She decided to stay and help him. From here she was taught magic and how to control the butterflies. Once the King had taught her enough so that she would continue on the legacy, he succumbed to the illness and died, leaving Mothigan as the new ruler of the crypt and all the butterflies. Though she realised that inevitably she would have to find a successor too, but that won't be for many years to come. Maybe.

She does enjoy this power, and as she learnt more, the more she wanted to carry on the legacy created by those who came before her, and hopes that whoever she finds as her successor, falls in love with the butterflies as she did.

Though at this point she can barely remember her predecessor's face. She can still hear his voice when she falls asleep, guiding her, but otherwise he appears as a shadow with piercing red eyes. She misses him though, even if she only knew him for a short while. She wonders if this was how his predecessor appeared to him, and if this is how she will appear to her successor when she departs. Just a shadowy figure who appears in their dreams.

I tried to depict what one of these dreams would look like with this quick drawing(i used the noise and bloom features on procreate a lot.) I didn't want to detail it too much. I also made the dream version of her predecessor reference a certain cryptid.

This mystery man doesn't have a name, it would be something related to butterflies. i'm not going to tag this post with oc, because he's just a shadow and not really a full oc yet.

The coaches of eternyx have given her the name "The Monarch of Moths", and they revere her as they don't know her intentions. They say if you catch a glimpse of her, you are in danger. However this would be merely an old folktale that has been associated with the rulers of the crypt, and they are not evil in any way. Basically some think that they are cryptids.

I call her a Monarch mainly after the butterfly, i'm unsure if that's the exact butterfly that's used in her design or if its a different yellow and black butterfly, and its fitting as she seemingly has control over all the butterflies in the crypt. (Unless they actually control her?)

Thats about it for my headcanon on her past but I have ideas about how she uses the butterflies in her magic.

Most obvious, she can create portals in the shape of butterflies for her to travel through, much like the rectangular ones Wanderlust and The Traveller create. I just like the idea of her travelling wherever she wants, even if it seems like she rarely leaves the crypt. Also i just think butterfly shaped portals sound cool.

Another idea I have was that she can send individual butterflies off and use them as cameras. This would be most useful for her when she is keeping an eye out for a successor. This would sort of work in a similar way to how Wanderlust watched Night Swan corrupt Sara in yssmiac, except its only one way so no one can see her and its not an actual portal, just a window. (Does that make sense?)

I mentioned this in the other Mothigan post as well, but the Butterflies could be the souls of the dead. They choose to help the ruler of the crypt. They've been around forever, even before the previous king. Whilst the rulers of the crypt use the flow for their magic, these butterflies help heighten their powers.

I think about her a lot, like she's so mysterious that it just intrigues me. That's sort of why i created this headcanon that she inherited the crypt from a previous butterfly related figure. I don't think that she's evil. I think that she mostly just minds her own business and just ended up in this position. Scary Butterfly Lady (complimentary) you are so cool.

Lastly I like making her eyeliner more exaggerated. Like a member of kiss, but she controls butterflies. Thats all i have right now.

[kaledya]

Hürrem reply !🌸

Yeah that moment was LIVE ! It happened in the same time ! I was so surprise ! _

Well for her form, for me Vassago has giving her education about the Goetia for sure. So she probably know how in theory but doesn't have the practice ?

Her father,  in his eyes, (even if he never said it to her and their relationship of father-daughter is complex) Hürrem is for him a Goetia and he doesn't care she doesn't have the title or the secret that she is.

But in another way because of his mistake (he think it is his mistake), he has lost his best friend for this child.

Both Parvin and Vassago where just sad and they know each other so well, skinship just happened, in a hope to feel better just for a moment, even if there is not really true love (except the love of friendship) and Vassago gay.

I think that night they must have been in depressed drunk mood.

So in conclusion I think Vassago try to give Hürrem the best without truly being involved. He also need to be careful of Paimon.

_

Ahah the dialogue was so funny ! It make me think of Kuzco, at the end of the movie he just take potion and transform in bunch of animals (he want the one that would change him in human) and some guards are running after him and each time he take a potion he transform in the worst animal ever for the moment

Kuzco *needs to fly* Also Kuzco *transform into a parrot with wings so small we can't even call them tiny*

Same with Hürrem there ! And I just LAUGHED imagining Giovanni's face like "Well, that was not exactly... what I have in mind."

_

Also I realise I actually can rumble and show details and 'spoilers' about Hürrem! Like its not Lolicia.

Sooo I draw Hürrem genealogy tree on her mother side !! I had so much fun !

So some little things and details !

  - I didn't have a name for the grandmother yet, so I call her Miss Bunny ! She is absolutely the bunny girl from Bambi as inspiration.   - Paimon thinks *"damn it. Too pretty."* about Miss Bunny.

Fun fact : Miss Bunny and Parvin have bunny tails !

  - Hürrem actually look like her grandmother a lot! She has the same hair texture, rabbit's weaskers and shape of face with the plump cheeks. And also her dad, with her general shape.   - Parvin looks a lot like her dad! And has a narcissistic guy, Paimon probably love her more for it and that is why he kept her close to him even if he asked her to stay in her palace all the time.

Miss Bunny, Parvin and Hürrem all have horns that get smaller.

Miss Bunny has big horns with two shades of pink. Parvin has medium horns with two shades of purple. Hürrem as small horns with shade of white and dark green.

Fun fact : Parvin's nose has the shape of a bird beak but she has a normal mouth underneath.

Parvin is truly half Demon, half Goetia. Where Hürrem is a Goetia with parts of demon (bunny fur on tail, weaskers, horns)

Fun fact : the tip of the two feathers on top of Hürrem's head is plum color like the feathers on the back of Vassago's head.

Miss Bunny, Parvin and Hürrem all have two shades of colors in their hair.

Parvin is half-rabbit and half- great horned owl or raven (whatever Paimon is)

Where Hürrem actually developped the parrot form of Vassago to be a special type of parrot : a sun conure parrot.

Also Parvin has purple eyes and stars on her cheeks because of the meaning of her name.

Parvin has bunny ears because in the early design of Hürrem, I draw her with bunny ears but I change my mind.

That is all ! Sorry I rumble a lot but I can finally say some things without spoiling anything! Hope you like it !

_

I will dwell into ibis paint things ! I'm not forgetting ! Have a great day 🌸🌸🌸

Yes, it was quite logical that she knew it in theory but not in practice.

I really liked his father's attitude towards Hürrem from this aspect, even though their relationship is complex, it is nice that he still sees her as a Goetia.

Yes... This is something that really happens in real life too, some fathers can unintentionally blame their children for the loss of their wives (in his case his friend), and this leaves a gap between them.

And I really love how Vassagon tries to give Hürrem the best without getting too involved.But of course he needs to be careful with Paimon.

-+-

Yes lmao I remember Kuzco, it was one of the really good cartoons!

And yes, I can't remember Kuzco ever turning into an animal he wanted throughout the series. Usually, when he wasn't a llama, he was the wrong animal in the wrong place.

And LMAO Yes!! And now he'll have to run away with those little legs because he can't use his wings.

Yes, the same goes for Hürrem. She can't be whatever she wants.But on the bright side, it's a really cool scene when it happens.

And yes that was exactly Giovanni's reaction *Takes the little parrot rabbit and starts running on 4 legs*

---

YIPWPWPWPWEPEPE SPOILERS✨✨✨

First of all, I seriously didn't expect Parvin to be this beautiful.Seriously the design is 10/10 It totally gives off the royal vibe and seriously, whether it's the color palette or the look.

I seriously can't describe in words how beautiful she is.

And I just realized that technically Parvin is Stolas' half-sister. Did they know each other?

--

I think Miss Bunny is pretty good nickname. And Paimon is right, she is really pretty.

-Yes, Hürrem definitely looks more like her grandmother than her mother.And as you said, a little bit of Vassago

-Yes, someone like Paimon would probably like his daugther more just because she looks more like him, but to be honest, Parvin is really beautiful.🛐

-It seems normal for the horn gene to become rarer as the generation progresses, as a result, noble blood becomes more dominant over time.

-The detail on Parvin's nose was very clever!!

-I think it is a very nice design idea that all 3 of them have 2 colors in their hair. It really adds liveliness to the character's hair.

-Paimon is probably a great hornet owl.

- I'll look into it when you mention it. Sun conure parrots are really beautiful, they remind me of mangoes.

(Another Nickname for Hürrem lmao)

-The color of Parvin's eyes and the stars on her cheeks are truly a wonderful detail!!

-Rabbit ears would suit Hürrem, but I think it would be a better choice for her to look more Goetia.So I think you made the right decision.

No no no you don't need to apologize for rumble I seriously love reading what you write!!!! And I seriously love learning more about of your characters, too.Thank you for taking the time to write!!!

But ahm, I mean you can say spoilers, I don't mind UwU

I wish you good luck with ibis paint

Have a good day🌸🌸

[squipdop]

HIIIII CAN I ASK ABOUT THE SIX YEARS LATER AU???

Howd they bring up the junior scouts idea to max??? Was he like Whatever sure or super tsundere or surprisingly emotional that they wanted him back after he aged out?? Did anyone else come back or do special day-long visits like how schools bring in visitors? What does max think of the new kids? They all look so cool i love Max's hair!!!!

HI HI HELLO YES OFC!!! :33

Okay so. I call it the '6 years later' AU but technically i have Stuff Planned for all the time that passed between now and then too, so this'll be a bit longer, sorry!!

Max joining the counselor team was actually kind of a natural/gradual development?? Basically, since I can't make CC content that isn't found family Max has a shit home life, and, even if he hates to admit it at first, the three months of summer camp become his bright spot each year. David and Gwen catch on to that, but there isn't much they can do to help outside of camp - until one day Max (age 13/14ish) shows up on Gwen's doorstep because he ran away from home, 'since his parents won't care either way'. While he does return home after hiding out at Gwen's place for a weekend, this kind of kicks off a pattern of Max running away sporadically, to Gwen's, later David's, or his friends places. I could go into more detail here but. this is already long. oop.

ANYWAYS. So with Max spending basically all the time he can away from home and the summers at camp, once he ages out there's. A Bit of panic starting in him once summer gets closer again, because his Safe Place seems inaccessible, and two of his OTHER options, especially for longer stays away from home, would also be unavailable. Gwen and David notice this (it manifests in Max staying over More but Angrier) and try to find a solution. Gwen proposes the Jr Counselor idea. They introduce the idea to Max by kinda implying that workload around camp is a lot, and it'd really hurt to miss one of their most experienced campers, but... maybe, if he worked there too (well, interned. basically unpaid. but! no camp tuition!) he could help them? so they basically give Max a way to say yes without admitting that he's the one who needs camp the most. He does insult the whole thing ofc, and says like he's just doing it because he knows camp would burn down without him there ("actually, most of the fires we had were started by you...?" "shut it, david") but secretly he's really really happy. He might even thank them later that evening. Quietly. Before complaining about it preemptively. <3

WAH THATS ALREADY SUCH A WALL OF TEXT ok ill hurry up w the rest:

While most of the other campers had some rotations over the years, I don't have conk rete plans for most of them - Nikki and Neil are still Max' gang, and returned for multiple summers, if not all. This year though, Neil is busy with college prep, and Nikki is spending the summer at home because of family crisis. They still video call a lot, they're still The Gang. I have sketched designs for them, but I'm not quite happy yet.

Max at first doesn't take his role seriously, because he's basically just Back For Another Summer, but pretty quickly realises Gwen and David DO have expectations, and DO give him responsibilities. He takes a while to come around on his new relationship to the younger kids, and especially one of the youngest kids takes a liking to him, a very anxious young girl, which annoys him at first, but... well. It's a whole ~character arc~ for Max waiting to happen tbh.

OK THANK YOU IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR IM SORRY ITS SO LONG. i wasnt lying when i said i have So Many Thoughts about this. ANYWAYS as thank u for getting this far heres a doodle of Max putting up his hair. :3c

[cbedfordart]

Hey! I’ve been following you for a while and I really love your art, it’s absolutely stunning and I love the way you paint and capture anatomy. I know this is a bit of a broad question but I was wondering if you had any tips on getting better at painting digitally and studying anatomy, maybe more specifically blending, colour picking, and structuring anatomy in a way that looks somewhat realistic?

Thanks and I'm glad you enjoy my work long enough to be following me for this long! I definitely love drawing a naked body that's for sure haha. In terms of tips for getting better there's a few things I can mention but it's going to fall broadly in the general answer of "study", because this is the most sure fire way to be able to understand what it is you're trying to emulate in your art. There are different ways to study, and they teach something slightly different. For example, doing studies from life (live drawing classes) help me understand movement in a way studying from a photograph cant, simply because you're seeing the same model in different poses in real time, you can see how the fat and muscle moves around as they shift to different positions. So they're not technically moving the whole time, but you're still seeing some movement there, and understanding what sticks to what while it rotates and bends. Studying from photographs can help give you time to do some real deep dives and investigate where different bones/muscles sit while someone is in a particular position. There's also the opportunity for understanding how shadows may be formed by the body as typically photographers are more conscious of how the subject may be lit than what may be available in a live drawing class. Beware though, as more things are photoshopped than you realise, not all photos represent reality. Especially glam and fashion photos. It doesn't mean its bad to want to have these effects on your work but just be conscious they might not always be anatomy accurate if that's what you're striving for. I sometimes make a conscious decision to go against what is anatomically correct for a certain effect myself. A book I have been recommending for years for anatomy is Dr. Paul RIcher's "Artistic Anatomy". It's great for understanding muscle structure intimately - it's designed specifically for artists, but with the idea of trying to stylise the diagrams as little as possible for the sake of understanding the human form. There's a lot of great info and detail in here, but beware, there is not a lot of variety in body structure (at least not in the edition I have which is missing female anatomy I think already so I'm not sure what else I don't have in here). So you'll be able to understand function a lot from here but you wont be able to learn a lot about fatter body types sadly.

Colour picking is probably the most difficult for me to explain easily, as I have spent a long time winging it, then studying it, then being really experimental with it. I could write a lot a lot about this but to spare making this post any longer I'll refer to another fun book just for getting started on some frequent and common terms called "Color and Light" by James Gurney.

I also love that he uses like, dinosaurs for everything in here lol. It's a great starting point that can give you some go to ideas that you can then experiment from there. It's not very authoritarian (or at least that's what I feel), and doesn't push anything forward as a hard and fast rule, just showing what affects some colour combinations might instil in someone.

As a whole, I've gotten better at painting digitally by studying traditional painting techniques. They theories are basically transferrable one to one with some few exceptions. I tend to blend my colours by simply using a soft round brush in Photoshop with a low opacity. Much the same way I would with a real canvas, with a large round brush and diluted colour. I hope this answers your questions in some way. I tried to be not too specific only because this answer would be at least another 30k words lol because this is something i think a lot about! I love technique! If I ever stream again, feel free to pop in and ask more questions where I might be able to show some stuff in real time! Not sure when that will happen though!

Also the way i do stuff isn't a "correct" way either. I like painting from imagination so this is how I make that work. Some people like to only work with references for every piece, and that is a completely legit way to create stunning art as well. Good luck!

[mqole]

hbjhkgvhj ok here are uh. some character designs i did abt a year ago

these are all based on the incredible @kayzero's fic zero win game, which is a rewrite of ztd with akane as the protagonist, and it has possibly THE BEST characterization of akane ive ever read- listen just. just go read it you will be enriched i promise.

im not putting an image description bc i dont know where to start (sorry!!) BUT ill put a bunch of character design notes below the cut for people who are insane like me <3333

ok first of all. i know when i sent these to kay the other day they said there were some details canon to zwg that i missed (akane's lil hoodie pocket, aoi wearing white to contrast junpei's black (which is SO inspired btw.)) so just. PRETEND those are there bc i forgor <3

i spent the most time on sigma, phi, akane, junpei and aoi just because they've had multiple iterations of designs. it was fun to take bits and pieces from each version of them, so thats why they get a feature page

you can see a lot of my little pink notes with criticisms of the ztd designs there. in general, i really dont like the ztd designs, they all feel unnaturally bland to me (although thats probably also the artstyle).

most people whove looked into the colour symbolism in zero escape are probably familiar with the whole red/blue thing: that is, theyre colours representing the morphogenetic field. akane and aoi are the most obvious examples of this. 'aka' means red, and 'ao' means blue. in the first nonary game, akane and clover wear red - the colour for transmitters - and aoi and light wear blue, the colour for recievers. in 999 proper, akane wears purple, to symbolise how she can recieve AND transmit, while junpei wears red and blue by themselves. you can do a whole analysis of these colours and i will not put it here thats a whole SEPERATE post

anyway! the actual designs!! i'll start with sigma. i wanted to reconcile his vlr design with zero ii's design, and initially i planned on giving him a coat, but it didnt really have a nice silhouette, so i ditched that idea. instead, i turned his jumpsuit from vlr into a polo shirt - much like what he has in ztd - and gave him some zero-y accessories: the white turtleneck, the belt and the gloves all come from zero's design. once id included the white turtleneck, making the pants white felt really logical. in character design, its generally best to limit the palette of colours as much as you can, so it was a good excuse to reuse a colour while also paying homage to his ztd design. i also cut his hair bc hes a scientist and he'd do that.

phi's design is a lot more like her vlr one than her ztd design. the blue coat was her hallmark accessory, and im shocked that they ditched it for ztd, so i gave it back - along with her boots and hair accessory. i kept her pants and glasses from ztd, as well as the way the bottom of her shirt is tucked into her pants. they just have a much nicer silhouette to me. between my first pass of colours and my second pass, phi's colours changed the most - i realised i had too many blue guys in the lineup, and wanted to make the colours stand out individually. so i leaned into phi's orange-ness. giving her hair accessory, pants and boots an orange hue instead of a blue one, as well as shifting her coat to a more teal colour really helped make those colours pop.

AKANE MY BESTIE!!!! her design was probably the one i had the most fun with. i basically just took her ztd design and purpled it. I did want to include some more details though - her neck scarf was in both her 999 AND vlr design, so it felt wrong not to include it. i also added some gold highlights to her design, just to complement the purple - her boots are also toned yellow, so it felt fitting. the cut of her sleeves, as well as her hair, felt really natural: i gave her the side ponytail from ztd, while letting more of her hair fall to the side to retain her silhouette from 999. i stole the sleeves wholesale from vlr akane, but can you blame me. look at that robe. its so pretty.

overall i have mixed feelings on ztd junpei as a character, but i think his darker turn is at the very least a fun direction to take him. I do like the jacket he has in his concept art. IT SURE WOULD BE NICE IF THE MODEL ALSO HAD A JACKET. his design went relatively unchanged overall, i basically just retoned his hair, gave him a button-up instead of a t-shirt, and puffered his jacket. the red and blue from his vest in 999 is reused here, but in darker, more muted tones. you can see in the corner of the drawing i played around with swapping the red and blue, but the red focus felt too edgy for junpei. the blue also pops really nicely against his dark clothes, so i kept it.

anyone who has spoken to me for more than ten seconds will know how insane i am about aoi kurashiki i mean come on my name is santa. i think a lot about his two designs: that of the first nonary game and in 999. in the first nonary game he wears a blue scarf, harkening to his role as a reciever, but in 999 he wears monochrome. my personal interpretation of this is that his 999 fit was him purposefully disguising his connection to the morphogenetic field. so post-999, since he doesnt have to worry about that, i gave him his blue back!!! his general fit is the same- his pants and shoes are artistry so obviously i kept those, and i ended up making the rest of his look black to contrast his 999 design. if i were to redesign him now wearing white, id probably go a different direction altogether. that third little drawing ive included has some test outfits for him, carlos, and maria, but i never really went anywhere with them. also i gave him dark roots to show his relation to akane a bit more. and also because i like projecting my roots always grow back SO fast

that brings us to the 4 characters introduced after vlr: carlos, mira, diana, and... maria??? yeah like i said go read zero win game. do it. maria is such a fun character. she was, coincidentally, ALSO the only character where i had to design someone from scratch. you can see i fiddled a little with colour palettes, trying to figure out how to give every character a unique look. diana and carlos' designs actually go almost unchanged here- i think dianas design in particular is actually pretty great, and works as a nice foil to luna in vlr. carlos is just kind of normal. he can have his silly polo shirt.

miras ztd design is. ugh ok look its FINE but i hate the boobie designs in zero escape because they always feel like they were designed seperately from the character. mira in zwg is still a sussy baka, but she's a lot more cordial- i enjoyed seeing her more as a snake lying in the grass. I ended up giving her green because its a fun colour to give characters who youre meant to distrust. SO MANY TIMES reading zwg i was like "oh maybe mira's chill - oh wait maybe shes not - oh wait maybe shes chill again" and i love her for that honestly. she still gets boobies because i love women but i gave her a fun little long sleeved corset top. the amount of skin she shows directly correlates to the amount you should trust her (i am only half joking.)

i wont talk about diana because honestly the only change i made was giving her a little blue strip at the bottom of her skirt, but i'll talk about maria and carlos together. carlos i kept as a little pink boy because i love him and i love pink and listen its my character design ill do what i want. maria in ztd AND in zwg experiences reverie syndrome, which is connected to the morphogenetic field. her and carlos' designs both incorporate red and blue again- (just realised diana also has red and blue. pretend that was intentional) -to show their connection to the field. yes yes i know its pink but listen its red enough. like aoi, i gave maria and carlos both different iterations of their designs. i'm less sold on carlos', but i did actually like the baggier, heavy designs for maria. with those ones she looks more depressed than she does wearing overalls, so im calling that a win. maria's was the design i was least satisfied with overall, but hey i did these like a year and a half ago and ive gotten much better since then soo.

if youve read this far this is once again a reminder to read zero win game by kayzero on ao3

[anonshu]

Hello a long awaited post,

Welcome to Shu's "Ranking Media My Friends Have Gotten Me Into"!!! If I missed any, feel free to say, and I will make a part 2 if there's enough I missed! Let's go!!

Hazbin Hotel - 5/10

I really enjoy the songs of this show but I found the story too rushed for me to care for the stakes of what's going on. I also didn't feel any strong connections with much characters. Maybe Sir Pentious, but his character, much like the others, didn't feel very.. complex, so his death didn't that impactful to me. Which is unfortunate. I found the show concept interesting, but it just felt a bit lame to me by the end.

Dungeon And Dragons - 10/10

This is a category with many subcategories, but the overall concept and game and everything of DnD? LOVE LOVE LOVE. My desire to be in a fantasy world is somewhat documented well, so the concept is perfect for me. The idea of being able to create a character and a story and be able to EXPERIENCE it is my heart's only oxygen. And to play with friends and experience their stories they've created? BEAUTIFUL. LOVE LOVE. I love DnD

DnD The Movie - 9/10

I really liked this movie. It really captured the essence of what I imagine is a stereotypical dnd session would be. It was so fun to see that in a movie. Just a bunch of idiots trying to do a mission. Gorgeous. I didn't like the romance they added for Doric and Simon, seemed unnecessary. Should have had more Xenk in the movie. I loved him, he was so goofy

Epithet Erased - 6/10

I already made a post detailing my thoughts on this show but to re-iterate it, I really liked the characters and the first part of the show but I did find the plot structure a bit strange? Read my old post for my proper review, give me views.

Baldurs Gate 3 - 6/10

I think I'd really like this game if I could make it farther in the story without my mac exploding. I do really like what I've done though. The battle system isn't my fav but I would have sucked way more if it was any other system. The designs of the characters and the world is absolutely stunning though. And I love Karlach, my wife.

Dimension 20 - 9/10

I love what I've seen from this. I love the variety of stories, and Brennan DM-ing is so delightful. I love how he does it.

Dungeon Meshi - 10/10

LOVE LOVE LOVE. SO FUN. GREAT SONGS. GREAT CHARACTERS. AMAZING STORY. LOVE LOVE. Only downfall is the changeling arc, not my cup of tea BUT EVERYTHING ELSE STUNNING

Good Omens - 9/10

I love love this show. Beautiful. Gorgeous. There's so much to be said about this show. I love the dynamic of the Aziraphale and Crowley. I love seeing their past experiences together. The pining?? It's beautiful. I just- AUGH!! The characters are my particular favourite, as I just love that I can reason with what's happened because I have an understanding of the characters. Augh, beautiful

One Piece/Live Action - 9/10

I absolutely adored this so so much!!!!! This connects both anime and live action because I watched the anime because of the live action. I absolutely adore this show. I love the diverse goals and abilities of the characters. It just feels so real that way. I love the bright, exciting adventures portrayed while also showing more serious moments when necessary. I love stories that aren't so down and moody, and are about a group of friends going on stupid little adventures!

Six Of Crows - 9/10

To go against what I just said. This is found family like how one piece is but has a different tone. As opposed to being friends connected through fun, they are co-workers connected through experiences. I love the fact that they are on a mission and begin as co-workers, but later on, trust is formed, and I just love seeing that. I'm realising my review is gonna be very one note soon.. oh well

Ace Attorney - 7/10

I am not that attached to the characters of ace attorney yet. But the game concept is so my thing. Investigating and solving a crime. I love puzzle games sm ahdhhrf I do find some stuff really stupid and tedious BUT that's honestly fine because I feel like a genius every time I complete a trial whdht

Shrek 1 & 2 - 7/10

Stupid, fun kids movie. What can I say? Watching it on a bus.. was an experience.. but I really liked going to the cinema to see it. I found it really fun to watch this with friends. Love

Tom Cardy - 10/10

This is a small addition, but I love love love this man. Such good songs. Love it.

Spiderverse- 9/10

Also a small addition, but the art of this movie was so incredible. So excited for the next one! Loved loved loved the chase scene and the ending scenes

[ospguenolelorho]

RUNAWAY -- Notes on 1/100 Exercise

I don’t think I did a very good job as DoP as I don't think what we shot is an editable sequence. Usually, when I shoot something, I am able to edit it in my head to some extent. I was not able to do that, so I knew we were missing some elements.

Shot list:

I sorta knew we probably needed more coverage when the actors go around the bed, but thought the wide shot would cover it sufficiently — In my head the blocking was intricate enough that the wide could function as a moving master.

Once on set, however, the set dressing was too small to frame the actors properly in the wide throughout the take — they appear pushed to the top right corner for a good part of the shot. And so we had to improvise some extra shots on set, which meant we didn’t have time to put enough thought into them.

Moreover, seeing the clips now I realise the blocking may not be appropriate for the space that was dressed. In some shots the camera is sitting on the line with characters overlapping and occupying the same side of the frame simply because readjusting the camera would either show beyond the set or show the wall flat on.

The main example is the most crucial moment of the film: the confrontation between the two characters. It happens in the most awkward place of the set, where both characters are next to the wall and there’s no way to get a light on the other side of the actors. The characters fighting over the bag is also not shot properly as the angle and lens we chose made it impossible to cover the action in a single shot. On set, we quickly rehearsed this part on a wider lens (35mm). When shooting this setup came, Andrew suggested we stay on the 50mm from the previous setup as it might look better and be more stylistically continuous. In retrospect, I should have refused (sorry!) as although maybe more stage-like, the wider lens did cover the fighting over the bag better and Monica sitting on the bed.

There was also a mismatch of intention between me and the director (Rita) on-set, as I thought we were going to end up on a wide shot of Isla (Monica) when Rita had made up her mind on a CU.

Lighting

There were lighting problems that I knew we had, but I had no real clue how to fix them. The Amaran light was sufficient for the characters in front of the bed, but I didn’t know what to do with the light once they went on the other side. I was trying to elevate the levels, and doing so mostly using the Amaran key light, which only increased the harshness of the light. I forgot about some basic techniques such as using a ceiling bounce to elevate all the levels at once.

This meant that character's face would go from very light to very dark depending on orientation. The lighting still looks pretty good thanks to the Amaran ability to make the shadows very soft and the basic reflex of checking levels for every shot.

I would have liked a hair/rim light to separate the characters more from the BG and one another, but had no idea how to achieve that.

I also don’t think I expressed my intentions with the window frame properly as I wanted it to be a big texturing light on the characters rather than a detail in the BG. It was a bit too late to change the cookie when I understood how to fix it – i.e. making the whole cookie frame bigger and closer to the bed. How I wanted the light to show up is sorta seen in some behind-the-scenes still when people walk closer to the light.

Being camera operator

I don’t think I like operating the camera while being DoP, as just tracking the actors and making sure no bad bits of the set design show up in frame means this is all my brain is focused on doing, meaning I'm unable to focus on the composition and how the shadows appear on the faces.

The lack of proper camera/blocking rehearsals meant that I was also unsure of whether the camera should follow actors or stay in position at certain moments during the shoot.

All and all I think we should have made a blocking rehearsal with the viewfinder app to figure out how every shot would actually play out. I also think spending more time to align intentions would have been helpful as whenever the need for a decision on set came, I did not know which choice would correspond to Rita’s intention.

[charrednewt]

I reached episode 7 of Scavengers Reign and I think I might end up dropping it.

I started watching the show with the best intentions and a modicum of hype after hearing a lot of good things about its worldbuilding and creature design. But now I am at the middle point and everything just feels so... surface level. The critters are well drawn, the vistas are beautiful and the action is well directed, yet I don't feel I know a single thing that makes either the planet or the character feel closer than when I started.

Here's a creature that is conveniently like a gas mask. Why is it like this? No way to know, no scene to see how it interacts with the environment. Here's a flower that includes a funky little dude in its life cycle and seemingle just for a single moment. Cool, can we know anything about it? No, scene's ended and we are never coming back to it. Hey look a way to make sticks and fire from something else that was laying around. Look an animal that is inspired from an obscure real world species, looks cool for a bit on the screen and then leaves the scene. Look a bed and a door but they are organic and weird... but are functionally just a bed and a door.

So many of these creatures end up being just objects with a different texture and the narrative just doesn't engage with them most of the time. I know that they are monsters and dangers but nothing is shown of what makes them living beings or part of a functioning ecosystem. There are, luckily, some ecceptions. I really liked the therians that cooked using refracted light. Wish we had some more details like that more often.

The humans character also feel a bit lacking in depth right now. They are fine archetypes but I'm really missing knowing about their interests and wants outside of pure survival.

Azi is capable I guess. And queer, that's a plus. I can imagine she likes mechanics.

Eli felt like the seed of a character. I was curious to see what would come of it and then the arc ended and I realised I was supposed to feel sad because of the music that was playing. But all I felt was a bit of disappointment.

I found out that Ursula is a biologist by the posts here on tumblr. In the show I can only remember a single, though cool moment in which she seemed to use her insight about animals to recognize that the sea molluscs were sheltering their youngs in the storm. The rest of the time she and Sam are too busy being passed from danger to danger to have the time to feel like people. And not just bodies in danger.

Kamen is the one that makes ecception, we get a lot of his inner world. And its fine. It works well and is kind of tragic. Right now, from all I care, he can stay in the divorce lizard. The lizard per se is also a bit peeving me - why can it break the neck of one guy with ease but when it's Azi it just tosses her away? What does it get from blowing up stuff? I don't want to be unfair about this, maybe the next episodes clarify its motivations.

Now, maybe this is a "me" factor, the way I am feeling unable to connect with the characters and my frustrations with the worldbuilding. So I am not writing all this just to rant, but to ask: does it change in the second half? Does it get a little closer to what I am looking for? Should I stick with it if this is the reactions I had this far? There is clearly a lot of potential and passion involved. I want more speculative biology in media all around. Only, I have really been missing the "speculation" in the story so far.

[slumgirlqueen]

How to be a novelist: Narration, not summary

So after a whole winter of engineering, designing, screenwriting among other stuffs I had been doing this season, I got back to this novel and started writing.

While I was writing Page fourteen, I lacked inspiration and I knew it. The writing did not work as well as I wanted. I was basically writing for the sake of continuing the story. I sort of knew it was short of the expectations people have of me and I have of myself.

So the next day, my editor told me it did not work. It was basically just summary and not narration. So she told me again to take a week off to take some notes for the chapter and subsequent chapters. So while, I am taking my notes, I will still teach anything I learn along the way so that way my experience of writing a first novel be of appreciation to you.

After I picked up A Prayer for Owen Meany yesterday, I finished reading the first chapter today and realised what is missing in my Page fourteen. It is in fact narration. Like my editor had said.

This is a problem for first time novelist. How do you write a novel instead of just summarising your story for the readers. A good way to know is that when you read it, how does it compare to an actual novel. I read Page fourteen and after reading the first chapter of A Prayer for Owen Meany, they do not compare at all. I got rusty being away from writing this novel for too long. What else is there beside the fact that it does not compare to an actual published book?

For one, a novel leads the readers through winding plotlines that weave the story into place. That was also the problem with Page fourteen. It does not do that. What it does is just summarising and detailing the story instead of bringing the readers in.

So how do you write narration when you are getting stuck with writing summary. Use a frame of reference like I did. Read another novel as I have done and compare the quality of both side by side. Think to yourself what is missing in your novel that exist in the novel you are reading. Write them down and make sure you write those elements down into your story when you revisit the rewrite.

Another tool that I have used for everything else, whether it is screenwriting, essay, or even poetry is that I write down word for word the passages I like in what I am reading and jot down notes of why it works and why I like it. I have mentioned this before, but I write in the spirit of the inspired material while I am writing my own story. It worked for me when I wrote Journey to Oclarious. In fact, it landed me several Academy awards. So it should work for you too. The utmost important thing to keep in mind is try your best to mimic the writing and writing structure without copying. If you can do that you can do anything. And you can learn anything.

So when I get back to writing next week after I finish my notes, I'll be writing in the spirit of the passages I like. I had elected to leave Page fourteen and any other pages that I discarded left on this blog so you can see for yourself why they do not work. The pages that are discarded has a cross out as their headers.