#also lots of different types of art in there!

[thatnerduknow98]

I know Mary knows I’m not Jake, but I can’t figure out why she knows or why she’s not telling the people who can do something about it.

That said, I don’t think she knows how I became Jake or what happened that resulted in me replacing him.

It’s kind of a long story. I also haven’t learned all the language I need to tell it accurately, so please excuse my inability to explain certain moments.

I am an alien from another planet. I cannot figure out what my planet would be called in your languages. Truthfully, it is physically hard to speak your language for us, so I stay mostly quiet, and practice speaking English to Mary’s cat, Mr. Oranges, when she is at the grocery store.

I was part of a team of my kind observing humanity from a spaceship resting outside Earth’s orbit. Your kind won’t see it with your instruments because we blend it in with the stars. I think the word in your language is camouflage. We also emit no heat.

We got fixated on Mary’s town because it is smaller and its people all had very specific roles. The simplicity of it helped us get a basic understanding of how humanity can function in a society. Paul farmed most of the land and sold the crops to Patty who turned it into grain and sold the grain to Robert and Barbara who turned it into dough and then bread at their bakery, who then sold the bread to the rest of the townspeople to eat, for example. Everyone seemed to have one or two main contributing roles in the community. Except for Mary.

Mary specifically stood out because she had many roles. It seemed like every month she had a new role and oftentimes had multiple roles at once. Mary did everything: watching and teaching the towns smallest children, gardening and selling her produce, tending to the sick, providing cleaning and housekeeping services, making things like clothes and art. She also assisted with other functions of society in menial ways, like bagging items at the grocery store or helping sort out their waste. They refer to their waste as trash or recycling, which my race doesn’t understand because in your words, we recycle everything. If Mary had a primary role, it was taking care of Jake and their home.

We heard Mary tell Jake once about a new term she learned about after speaking with a visitor while cleaning the town’s inn once. I don’t remember the name; but it sounded like a medical term, and we gathered it was assigned to types of humans who had trouble being still and always needed to have something to do.

Jake’s primary role was to build things. He worked with various materials, like wood, concrete, stone and brick (though I still don’t know the difference between them all). He was very skilled, but we gathered the work hurt his body a lot.

My team and I decided we could solve this problem by visiting the town with our medicines and placing them in his favorite drink when he’s not looking to help him consume it. I am the smallest of my team, so we thought I would be the most able to sneak around and complete the task.

I took our big ship’s smaller pod down to Earth, intending to land in a park nearby Mary and Jake’s house. I was halfway there when I realized I took the right handed pod instead of the left handed pod. Our species dominant side is so dominant we craft our equipment to cater to both sides. I picked the wrong side.

This meant I had to turn my seat around and manage all the controls with my left from right inverted. You have to understand, the way my species is designed, we can not simply use our other side. Our other side has no muscle development. It can’t do anything other than hold things and maybe move up and down, if we train it to. I don’t want to scare you, but we would be kind of freaky looking if you actually saw us in our true forms.

Anyways, I crashed into a house Jake was building and the whole thing collapsed on top of him. My team saw the encounter and immediately came down to resolve the situation. We restructured the house and healed Jake’s body, but he wouldn’t wake up, and we couldn’t understand why.

My team was mad, to say the least. We aren’t supposed to get involved with our observations anyway, and we already broke that rule, and my actions had the potential to bring our 8-year study in this area to an end. Then I had an idea.

Our kind can do this thing where we can attach to and inhabit minds of certain species. We weren’t sure if we could do it to humans, but when I suggested it my team captain said the equivalent of “Sure, why not?” with a flippant tone. I believe the word in your language is sarcasm.

Which I took literally. It was successful.

After a couple of hours of trying to pilot Jake’s body by continuing to build parts of this house (of which I absolutely mixed the construction materials up) the sun began to set and it was time to return to Mary. My team promptly returned to our spaceship.

When I opened the door, I set Jake’s keys on the table nearby like Jake always did. I took Jake’s muddy boots off and left them on the rug, like he always did. I put my jacket on the coat hangar and took the pack of smokes (I think the actual word is cigarettes?) out of his pocket and set them next to his keys, the way he always did. Then I went straight to the shower, like he always did.

This process was really neat. I got to observe humanity by being one of its kind. The only thing that threw me was that normally when I pilot another body, I can understand that body’s thoughts and emotions. Jake’s body had none. I did not understand why.

When I got out of the shower I caught a sensation I had never experienced before. I realized this was the purpose of a nose or a tongue, maybe both. My kind does not experience this phenomenon.

I followed the sensation into the kitchen where Mary was cooking something. We knew the humans cooked lots of different kinds of foods, and each food had different nutritional properties that needed to be consumed to be in good health, but we couldn’t figure out why they would make the same foods in different ways.

Mary stood aloof with her spatula, stirring around three different foods in the pot. Two of them she grew in her garden, and one she bought from the butcher. One was a round, brown food she diced up and the other was a long green food she cut into smaller pieces. She sliced the food from the butcher into smaller round pieces as well.

“If you’re getting a beer, will you grab me the butter from the fridge too?” Mary asked me.

Jake always grabbed a canned drink out of the metal box that kept them cold after getting out of the shower. I assumed the box was the fridge, and the drink was the beer, but I was unfamiliar with the butter. I hadn’t practiced speaking yet, so I nodded and opened the fridge. The door was heavier than I thought it would be. The cans were in a drawer on the bottom. I grabbed one for myself. There was so much food in the fridge it was hard to logic which one could be the butter.

Mary got tired of waiting.

“Are we out?” she said as she came over. “No, it’s just behind the milk.”

She grabbed a brown tub with an image of a field on it from behind a container of white liquid. The latter must be the milk, I thought.

Normally, Jake would open his beer and go sit in a big chair in front of the tv. We assumed this was to entertain himself and rest his hurting body.

But I was curious about the sensation, the names of the food Mary was cooking, and the purpose of butter. So I sat down at the kitchen table and watched.

Mary was taken aback by my presence but said nothing. I wondered if my decision was drastic enough to blow my cover.

She plated the food and brought it to me. I nodded thanks, reminding myself to practice speaking so I could actually thank her next time she cooked for me.

Mary took her plate of food into the room where she keeps her artistic materials. This was not uncommon, as I’d observed her many times making pictures of the food she cooked with various materials, like paint and pastels, though again I wasn’t sure what the difference was.

I took the fork and picked up a piece of the brown stuff, which was white on the inside. The heat from the meal melted the butter on top. Jake’s body perceived heat differently than mine, like it could cause him pain, so I waited for it to cool before trying it.

The sensation through Jake’s nose was pleasant, but the sensation in his mouth was even better. I tried the green food next.

It tasted different than the brown/white food. It was sharper almost. I don’t have the English words to describe it. Its texture was harder to chew than the other food, which fell apart much easier.

The food from the butcher was different than both of the produce items. It was also quite a pleasant experience.

I promptly ate all the food on the plate and put the plate in the sink. Mary usually cleans the plates after eating and then puts them in a machine that I think cleans them again? I am not sure what its purpose is.

Jake did not usually help with these daily tasks. Suddenly I understood why Mary was sometimes frustrated with him. But he was in pain, and I don’t think Mary knew that either.

I washed the plate and put it in the machine, which was empty. There was more of the meal still in the pan on the stove, and sometimes Mary would put it in a sealed container in the fridge, but sometimes she came back for more, so I left that part alone.

I decided I wanted to experience Jake’s chair and the tv. That’s what he would usually do next. I noticed the orange creature at the back door that they called Mr. Oranges. Sometimes Jake let that creature inside. I let it inside.

Mr. Oranges usually ignored Jake, but I think it knew I wasn’t him. I was thankful it could not speak English. I had seen Mary gently pat the creature, so I did too, and it let out a sound I’d never heard before, then rubbed its whole body on Jake’s legs. I felt like it was telling me it’d keep my secret.

I sat in the chair and Mr. Oranges jumped on top of me. It sat on Jake’s chest and made that sound again, which I realized this time had an accompanying vibration through its body. I grabbed the remote and turned on the tv.

My team was right. Tv was for entertainment. It told lots of stories, some of which I think were real historical events and others I think were made up. Jake liked to watch the stories about space and science. I tried watching a couple of a show called “Star Wars” and decided that is not at all what the universe is like.

Mary came back out and put her plate in the sink.

“Did you wash your plate?” she asked surprised. I nodded. “You’re letting Mr. Oranges lay on you?” she added with more surprise.

I think that was when she realized I wasn’t her husband, but merely in his body. It wasn’t until later I realized I’d opened the fridge door with my left hand. Jake was not left handed.

Your "friend" has been replaced by a doppelgänger. You aren’t sure where it came from or what it is under the disguise. But you know one thing; you prefer it over the original.

[velnna]

I just read all 9 chapters of your Under Garden comic and I love your drow boys (and girls), they are so cute! I really love your art style and how expressive you draw faces <3 I was wondering if you have an idea of how many chapters it will be in the end? Also do you have plans to release a printed version once you're done with it? (I love my PDFs, but I also love to have something for the shelf although I know shipping out printed stuff is a lot of work....).

Thank you!! Happy you like it 🥰

The comic has a sort of chapter < volume < tome (?? I guess "tome" works in this context) structure. Tome I is expected to have roughly 30 chapters split into 4-5 volumes, which means we're almost 1/3 through it (and about halfway through volume 2). All through this tome we'll be seeing the same scheme of flashback-present time events alternated, and by the end of it the flashbacks will essentially have caught up with present time.

All this to say technically this first "big story" arc is ~30 chapters long. HOWEVER all of it is basically a prequel to the part of the story that actually ends in the BBEG being defeated. Overall, I doubt the entire thing will cover 3 tomes but yeah in an ideal world we'd wrap it up in 60-70 chapters final. It could also be that we decide to work on tome 2 as a different type or media, or mix things up depending on where the whole thing stands by then. And I kinda want to get to a point where I put out one chapter per month to keep it within 5-6 ish years

We want to have it printed volume-by-volume for now! Already did a batch for volume 1 (chapters 1-6) that I had available for purchase through patreon for a bit to see how that would go (and took to conventions)

But for now it's not available anymore, we're regrouping and seeing what the best way to do it going forward might be. We do wanna do one of these for each volume though it's so nice to physically hold a comic c:

[dervampireprince]

and it's done! a new height chart for all my audio original characters, drawn by me! i really wanted to get drawings of them out there that showed their different body types and features and honestly after getting back into drawing explicit art lately it's made me a lot of confident and i think better at drawing anatomy even in such a short space of time. so i finally felt confident enough to do this.

there is a nude, uncensored/unclothed, version of this line-up, where you can see them in all their glory. you can find it on my bluesky and on each character's profiles on my toyhouse (i'm dervampireprince on both, links in my pinned post).

they also all have new reference sheets that include these censored/clothed versions of these drawings and so their ref sheets on my tumblr fanworks guide, toyhouse and art fight have all been updated.

[serpentine-illusion]

Hi I'm sorry you are dealing with ghwitter drama, twitter is a toxic dumpster fire anyways, ghwitter almost ruined my life and was the reason I almost left the Fandom completely, I just wanted to say I adore the way you draw Copia, his chubby cheeks and thick figure are ADORABLE 🥰🥰 I also absolutely love how you drew my two favorite ghouls Aether and Omega, please take and also, fuck the haters🖕

I have not been on Twitter for a long long time, the main reason i left was also the constant complaining and forcefully always trying to find something negative to say. It was just really exhausting to me. I am very glad I have found a side of ghumblr that I feel welcomed in. At this point I am very well aware what sites to post to, I am used to getting mean comments about my art for including different body types for example, and I know what sites to avoid to not run into that issue now. This blog is really like, just me minding my business, I am so content with the same 20-30 people who enjoy my art on here seeing it and interacting because they make it fun to be in a fandom. I always have horrible experiences with being active in fandoms and I am really trying to avoid it with this one because it gives me a lot of comfort :)

Thank you so much for your kind words, I am so excited that you enjoy the way I draw him 💗

[sharlotscarletfox]

Hogwarts Legacy x Wizarding World Careers

I wasn't quite ready to post today, but the exposure therapy must continue! I did a lot of work on my fic tho so I am very happy, but for now, I must yap about the jobs Hogwarts Legacy characters would have.

MC

Starting with our MC. I would like to think she will follow in the footsteps of Rackham and Isadora where she either becomes the Headmaster of Hogwarts or at least a Professor of some sort. If not a professor then maybe a curse breaker. I think she would like to stay in action, never the type to really settle down. ALSO FUN FACT Dumbledore would have been a first year at Hogwarts around the time our hero is in 6th or 7th year so of anyone is writing a 6th/7th year fic those two could canonically meet.

Sebastian Sallow

For Sebastian I am pretty sure the consensus is that he would be a Defense Against a Dark Arts professor or a Healer and I agree with both of these. I can see him and MC running the school and maybe even have students shipping them bc they see them banter around and Sebastian could bring MC in class and they would duel in front of the students for fun. That's such an amusing concept to explore I might just write it myself (I can't, I banned myself from starting new projects until I finish one of my unfinished ones).

I could also see him as a Healer. Maybe after he got humbled by what happened with Anne he would dedicate his life to finding cures for curses and other remedies. I wasn't planning on writing this, this literally came to me as I'm writing this post but that would fit well if someone headcanoned MC the Cursebreaker route. Then the two of them could just travel around and break curses and cure people and always be on the move.

Ominis Gaunt

For Ominis I actually don't have a clear idea I am not going to lie. I would like to think he escaped his family (I WOULD LOVE TO WRITE A FIC ONE DAY WHERE MC AND SEBASTIAN JUST FUCKING BURN THE GAUNT ESTATE TO THE GROUND) very passionate about that idea yes. In one of my fics taking place in the summer between 5th and 6th year I just headcanoned the three of them living together in the Sallow home and basically just doing odd jobs with MC and Sebastian and they have that domestic setup going on. Maybe he would also work at Hogwarts but yeah no clue long term. Also according to canon unfortunately Ominis would have to die young which breaks my heart.

According to the wiki:

"It is known that the last living Gaunts by the summer of 1925 were Marvolo and his children Morfin and Merope. It follows that Ominis had already passed away by that date; he either did not have any offspring or, if did, they must also have already died by that date."

:( :( :( (Ominis is my favorite if you can't tell)

Poppy Sweeting

Definitely a Mazgizoologist. I would like to think that she paved the foundations that Newt Scamander built upon. I really don't think she went as far as Newt in studying the creatures but I definitely think she would be a strong advocate for not killing dangeorus creatures and making sure that they are left alone. I feel like she would be strong about preserving dragon habitats and shutting down poaching rings. I can see her taking a spot at the Ministry or again just be a strong advocate for the protection of animals. And of course I can also see her taking over Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts.

Natsai Onai

I think Natsai is destined for great things. She's very self assured and self confident. I am sure she would want to be an Auror being inspired by how useless Officer Singer was in the game. I think she would be like wow there is so much crime and some of these Aurors are useless, I must become one in order to make a difference. Later on I see her taking a ministry job as like an advancement but I definitely think she would try to fic the existing system.

[thoughtfulfoxllama]

It would be a Succession Crisis 2.0 (and since there is no timeframe, and I've been seeing conspiracies about it lately, let's say it was a Solar Flare in July 2025 that caused it)

I honestly see Home-Church making a return. Not like Covid, but like First Century Christians. Fathers would become the de-facto Priesthood leaders, and are authorized by Stake Presidents to perform services and Ordinances such as Sacrament & Baptism in the Home. Bishops would be solely devoted to providing Physical & Financial Aid to the Community. Temples would need to be majorly reworked to perform Live Ordinances again, leading to a major increase in the need for Temple Workers (and possibly even the rise of Endowment Houses until Temples can be adapted to Live Ordinances again)

But that's in the Immediate Aftermath

In the following few years, the Churches will be vastly different

Salt Lake Saints

I can honestly see the Church going a bit Fundie. They would begin allowing Polygamy again, and may even reach out to the AUB to see about reuniting (which may or may not work, because although Rulon Allred was open to the Priesthood Ban being lifted, his Successors definitely weren't)

I say kinda because I doubt they're going to go full Fundamentalist. They'll bring back Polygamy, and probably the pre-1990 Endowment, but they won't bring back the Priesthood Ban or Blood Atonement (although if they got truly desperate for the Independence Temple, they might use that to justify a Crusade against the Adam-Ondi-Ahman Saints). But they'd also probably be liberal when it comes to many things as well (they've got Uchtdorf after all). They'd be fine with people dressing like everyone else (as long as it's modest), they'd be fine with secular entertainment & recreation, and I can see them accepting some of the Weird Mormon Stuff they've pushed down to seem normal (although I see the Nauvoo Saints being straight up Folk Magic Practitioners, the Salt Lake Saints will have all of the records)

They wouldn't police beliefs like Adam-God, or the types of Garments one uses (leading to people making the full arm & leg garments of the early 1900s, but also to people being way more liberal (maybe even people tattooing the symbols on themselves, so they don't need garments))

They wouldn't start the Monks in Granate Mountain. A bunch of artists & autistic people just showed up one day, and Christofferson (the Apostle over the Utah Area) isn't going to kick them out. But Uchtdorf thinks they're so beautiful, so he has some of the Monks make an Illuminated Book of Mormon, and they use that to attract Artistic Types to the Salt Lake Church. It would kinda work, drawing some Nauvoo Saints in, leading to a Mormon Renaissance of weird art

Adam-Ondi-Ahman Saints

The Nauvoo Saints, let's be honest, would probably fuse with the Community of Christ. This leads to interesting developments, such as a Female Priesthood and the Temple Endowment in the same Church. They'd probably think God the Father is a Spirit, Christ has a Resurrected Body, and the Holy Spirit is their Shared Mind (like in the LoF), which leads to interesting questions about Exaltation, Resurrection, Reincarnation, and Eternal Identity

They'd probably take the Temple Lot, and build the Independence Temple on it. One of their leaders would claim Jesus visited them, and gave them Authority to form a New Church (and that's how they'd justify the Female Priesthood to the more conservative Salt Lake Saints). I can honestly see them also assimilating the Cutlerites (who have 5 members as of 2024). The Cutlerites have been practicing the Nauvoo Endowment (the only non-Brighamite branch to accept it) & the United Order since it's founding in the 1850s. All of this together makes it the most popular of the three

Nauvoo Saints

Nauvoo is the Gathering Place for the Queer Mormons. Gay Marriage & Gender Transition are fully accepted here

But, like the Adam-Ondi-Ahman Saints, I think they'd also assimilate other Branches. Specifically, the Strangites & the Bickertonites

The Strangites have 2 Divisions, which have a combined 300 members. They'd probably go to either Nauvoo, Voree, or Beaver Island, and there be caught up with the Saints, possibly being inspired by stories of a new transition. The Priesthood would take on Monarchical Overtones (possibly even becoming a full Theocracy), Animal Sacrifice would occur side-by-side with Ordinances in Temples, Saturday Sabbath, Limited Polygamy (no taking excessive spouses, and the already married partner was not allowed to initiate), Evolved Priesthood Roles (women can be Ordained to most offices of the Aaronic Priesthood (all except Sacrificer Priest), anyone from Priest up can perform Sealings, Priesthood Cursings, and so on), and the list goes on

Admittedly, the Bickertonites are a stretch. They're closest to Nauvoo, but they're still in Pennsylvania. However, let's assume they went to Nauvoo as a gathering place. They are also critical of Church History (although Sydney was in the First Presidency when Joseph died, he later rejected his Nauvoo Era Teachings). But their Hymnal was received completely through Revelation

They would criticize the Salt Lake Saints for cozying up to the AUB (who believes in the Priesthood Ban), and the Adam-Ondi-Ahman Saints for allowing Women to have the Melchizedek Priesthood. They would also probably hold the Lectures on Faith version of the Godhead (but some would probably think that Jesus is the son of Joseph & Mary, like Strang did)

And they'd definitely be Mormon Witches, placing as much (if not more) stock into Folk Magic, Revelation, Miracles, and other supernatural occurrences as the Pre-schism Mormons (meaning before the Martyrdom). Although using malignant magic (for cases of non-defense) would be highly punished by shunning or even imprisonment. Even Priesthood Holders who curse people with the Priesthood would be looked down on (as they will be seen as failures for having to resort to such means). A form of Mezuzah would eventually emerge, as a home-protection Talisman. The Garments would also shift into the ultimate protection Talisman (although this means they are not worn often, but only when one feels they need it (such as performing their Priesthood Roles, with the fear Satan would do everything he can to stop them from doing their jobs. Or when traveling away from the Community of Saints, with the fear that Satan will have more power outside of the Community than inside))

If ye are not One...

How this would resolve, I am unsure. But it would probably be the Younger Apostles (Uchtdorf, Gong, ECT) coming together to bring everyone back together. They'd also split the Continents between the Churches (Salt Lake would cover Eurasia, Nauvoo would cover Africa & Australia, and Adam-Ondi-Ahman would cover the Americas & the Pacific Islands). The New First Presidency would be Uchtdorf (First Councilor, Salt Lake), Gong (Second Councilor, Nauvoo), and I'm unsure who would be the President

White Horse Prophecy, they're a Nomadic Sect. They have the idea that no prophecy is set in stone, and the reason that America fell is because the Mormons fell. They'd definitely be the type of people who would have stormed the Capitol

When things get scary globally and nationally (see right now-ish) I have this thing where I find post apocalyptic media comforting. Heck if I know why I'm like this, but I am.

Anyways, there's far too little post apocalyptic Mormon media for my liking so "be the change you want to see" and all that, I kinda want to make some post apocalyptic Mormon flavored short stories and I wanted to pick tumblrstake's brain.

Here's just some loose ideas to start with:

End of the world happens with a massive cyber attack. Basically anything with an Internet connection gets fried, starts acting weird. Closed networks also get infected so nearly all digital storage is wiped out. It's a massive loss of knowledge and information globally. Military systems are also hit, causing missiles to launch at random targets or just detonate in their silos.

All this to set up that post apocalyptic society is low tech, slow communication, and not a whole lot of surplus weapons of mass destruction. Local groups that know how to take care of each other end up surviving the best.

Post Apocalyptic Mormonism gets some schisms. Something about where to gather. I figure there are three main groups: Salt Lake, Nauvoo, and Adam-ondi-ahman. I think it'd be cool if they split for a while, but eventually reconcile and reunify. Then the Quorum of the Twelve is made up of four apostles from each group and the First Presidency has a prophet from each group.

I figure there's some monk-y business going on at the Granite Mountain Vault. In the sense that it becomes a kind of monastery. Run by monks. Monk-y business. Get it? Whatever. Mormon Monks in making illuminated genealogy records.

There's some group of people obsessed with the White Horse Prophecy. You know, "the Constitution will hang by a thread," "the Elders of the Church will save the country" yadda yadda yadda. Problem is the Constitution (and the whole country for that matter) has already fallen, so either they're trying to bring it back or they're insisting that it didn't really fall. Maybe both.

Word of Wisdom gets tweaked to account for the fact that nobody can get coffee anymore. It becomes more about "eating fruit in the proper season" and "eat meat sparingly".

So that's just some loose thoughts I had that I might work into a short story or something. If anyone has more ideas, don't be shy, share with the class.

[wuntrum]

any instagram artist recommendations? 🧐

SOOO many omg...forgetting a ton but heres a few off the top of my head: sweatermuppets3.0, cursedluver, quasimaddi, woodrow_white, _heretic_ceramics, ingrownmayo, icuffmyjeans, inciardi, sketches.of.shay, tired.virgo.art, bananabirch, nicolasuribeb, raijin.999, wiltart, ciraleth, sophiemcpike, lewisrossignol, leticiaplate, leofox__, mourningdoves, mooooonbug (mightve forgotten an o), flesh.png, magsmunroe, jamiegreenillustration, spacecrumble, bdotpng, salman.toor, ellysmallwood, _morgansuter, ezrazone, riseandwander, adonyne, tacodemuerte, jordanenthusiast, spooksier, rememburgerme, diortheartist, craig.gleason, cranitys, laurarbenson, susan.nethercote... and i could keep going, but i'm gonna stop there for now LDSKJF

[wardingshout]

Zelda goes mushroom girl

[maretriarch]

Just in time for 4/13 here's the second line of my r63 dolls, this time CREEPover themed with bonus accessories! in an ideal world they would come in adorable recuperacoon shaped packaging. and probably a sopor slime making kit because kids love slime. which one are YOU picking up from your local Goreget today?

[oftheriverseine]

I originally began typing this in the tags as per usual but apparently there’s a tag limit SO

I’m thinking of how this could all work in service of Serena’s character arc, and how it fits with her themes of finding herself, forging a path, and making people smile like they make her smile (giving back in kindness).

Showcases could have some traditional or historical background to them; maybe they were used to tell stories of Pokemon in a theatrical way, once upon a time, or were a sort of art-form for creative expression, which would lend itself to the existence of a more performance-centric structure. It could be like a mix of theatre, competitive dance, pageants, and marching band. Going back to them being outside in Kalosian Woods (which I LOVE) this could also be used to show off adaptability and beauty, two things the Kalos Queen should have (another reason why I think Kalos Queen should’ve been a leadership position :P)

Serena’s arc in the early XY-season-era could be about discovering what she likes to do, but not quite being sure how to fit that into a path for herself. Take the baking contest she enters, or the interest she expressed in fashion and grooming, and even Pokevision! Maybe add an episode of her teaching the rest of the cast to dance, little things like that. And of course, keep her dramatic and kind-yet-sassy personality, one needed as a performer! After meeting Shauna and reflecting, she thinks she knows what she’d like to do, who she wants to be, but it’s not so simple.

I think having Serena practice performing beforehand with a lot of enthusiasm and creativity (albeit with inexperience) could help make her first loss hit harder, and also make her realize that life doesn’t become easygoing after finding a goal — it’s still work all the way, and there’s still people you have to grow against. Showcases have a concept that Serena technically fits into, but in practice it’s a lot more rigid and there’s less room for her to break the mold. So she tries changing her style to fit the norm, and when that doesn’t work, forges her own. Maybe she rotates outfits based on ancient Performances, or on the weather, or really whatever inspires her. Maybe she keeps up Pokevision, gains a couple fans along the way. Maybe she works to combine her Pokémon’s differences into a cohesive routine that highlights their strengths, and how they work together. And it’s unconventional, because the theme for her shows is not based on aesthetics, rather on emotion. And she manages to bring a new life to Showcases, bit by bit, by putting her Pokemon and their joy at the center of her routine.

Serena is happy, so clearly happy on stage, and it’s infectious. What she lacks for in finesse or visual thematic cohesion is made up for in spirit, in energy, and she learns to channel that and refine it so it’s displayed in the best way possible. Maybe Serena and her Pokemon use a rainy day to their advantage to perform a show a la Singing In The Rain. Maybe Serena adapts her experiences on her journey to tell a new story.

I like Pearl’s idea for Serena’s flaws, and I think a healthy mix of both could work, maybe having the daringness as a mini-arc before she really starts to focus on adapting the theme to the Pokemon, with her instead forgoing the theme for a show or two, and the selflessness being an overarching them for not just her Showcases but her as a character. Serena is insanely kind, probably the kindest Pokegirl at her time, so having her flaw be something along the lines of self-sacrificial behavior (emotionally instead of physically, in contrast to Ash) is really in line (and also could make her kind of a hypocrite, if she insists to her friends that they should put themselves first, something that can be repeated to her in crucial moments, like when she decides to tell her mom she’s pursuing showcases). It could be what causes her to lose her first Showcase; in an effort to reassure Fennekin, instead of working to salvage what she had and finishing the show, she comforts it, and blames herself. It could be something that she uses to help people after the Kalos Crisis, but also results in her pushing back her own hurt.

It could be why Contests, where you kind of have to prioritize your Pokémon’s health and visuals in battle, where they could and would get hurt, is Palermo’s next suggestion, besides it ideologically aligning with her style. Either way, I think there’s so much potential here <3

for your Kalosian Woods AU, I have two questions! (1) what’s the direction you’re gonna take Amourshipping/Ash and Serena’s dynamic in? Their friendship along with the romantic subtext felt like it had a lot of potential in XYZ-proper but never really got utilized. And (2) how’re you gonna tackle Showcases? I’ve been meaning to work on a Showcase restructure but I’d love to hear your ideas :D

Hey there!!!!! For the first question, I 100% acknowledge the force of Serena’s crush on Ash in the XY series— even if I did tweak it so that she would fall after meeting him for the first time, watching him train for the Gym and having seen him fall off Prism Tower inspiring her to see him through tinted lens (and how it evolved from the admiration she had for him when they were kids so long ago). While XY anime itself had the weird notion of making everyone down for Ash (a terrifying scene after coming out of the professional haters of BW and literally every series before it) (ngl though I am a believer of the polycule + Bonnie idea lol, it exists in my heart), I can’t deny that side of Amourshipping even if I’m not a shipper myself or even much of a good writer for romantic relationships imo. In my AU I want to show how that love for him grows and eddies throughout the series: from their first meeting to taking up her own dream of showcases to seeing Ash lose himself in his endless hunt for strength— how she puts him on a pedestal because he was the first Trainer she knew, the strongest one she knew, and back then how she didn’t know better, relying on him instead of taking the risks herself and working with other people for a change. You’re absolutely right in the potential their relationship have in XYZ especially; with Serena coming to the tail end of her first Showcase season, ending up in the same place as before but with a totally changed perspective, and Ash fixating more than ever on being the best of the best, distancing himself from everyone else… and of course, all of that feelings and realisations coming to a head in Snowbelle, the Crisis, and the aftermaths. And also having both of them face each other at the end of it all and realising how much changed. I’m not really sure if I’m wording any of this right or if what I’ve said even makes sense heh, especially since I’m not too far ahead in this AU, but their friendship and that romantic subtext is definitely going to play a part in this series, and even if the plot details changes like the weather I’m going to do my best in keeping it as true to its potential as it should be (because a girl can be in love and also grow as a person, in spite and despite and even with it— you’ve just got to find the right angle).

(Also I’m going to have fun with that crush, so it might meet some light-hearted banter and miscommunications and all of that stuff. I mean, hey, these are kids on a journey lol. There are going to be awkward moments for everyone at some point, but they’ll grow past it as with everything else. Also fun memories. :P)

For the second question, wow, I’ve been giving it so much thought lol. I’m nowhere near the Showcases right now (although it is closer than what canon gave us in my AU) and yet it’s all I can do to plan for how it works. I have spitballed a few ideas with friends but for me (so far) I honestly want more of it to be outdoors. Showcases as a whole has this pesky problem of being a one-to-one copy of Contests but ‘declawed’ by having no battles, and it really gets me because if we’re discarding battles then we have to actually redefine Showcases as a whole— because the battle portion is the ultimate showing of precision and control with your Pokémon and their moves, which is what Contests are all about. Especially with AG and DP, we see examples of atypical Appeal rounds with Harley going for a more terrifying show of power, while Kenny (as :/ as a character as he was) goes for showings of strength— even though they are not ‘beautiful’ they still get to pass, because it really is about how your bond can perfectly translate to moves that can command the audience and grab their attention, naturally highlighting the Pokémon. With Showcases though, to me, they are more about creativity— about how a Performer can work with their Pokémon to get past certain obstacles which are based off a certain characteristic the Kalos Queen should have (the Theme round or whatever it was called lol) and then the Freestyle showing off what they uniquely bring to the table, their own brand, what they want to be remembered by (in which I thought that they could bring props to that originally but eh, that’s what my AU is for!). Sheesh, I went through such a big rant and I still feel fired up heh, but ig this is to say that since Showcases are about creativity, the outdoors location would be a great way to show how they deal with everything. On a sunny day, would they use Grass or Fire Types? Would they call out a Rain Dance and form a rainbow? Of course they wouldn’t actually have an open venue if it’s raining or snowing, but in different terrains can you see the characters stand out, I feel like. Also giving all sorts of Pokémon room like Flying or Ground. I have a bunch more ideas of course, about it being connected to PokéVision (still mad about how that concept got dumped) and having small events where people can get to know the up and coming Performers, getting hints for the Theme section so we don’t get the most unbalanced group of people and have a real competition (that always bothered me ngl), as well as other tweaks to that whole system. Showcases can be good in their own light, it’s just the rep of it being baby ‘only girls’ Contest (still thinking about the girls bit ngl) along with the stupid popularity bit of it (not that the concept is bad in and of itself, just that it should have a place and not be the be all end all of passing to the next stage) (it’s only good for the Freestyle, can I say that?) that makes it flop. Also because it came in so late and left so early. And the rivals kind of sucked because they weren’t given any time to grow. And the way Serena wasn’t challenged enough through them. So basically, I’ve got A Lot of thoughts about it and it’s going to be a headache to go through because it desperately needs a redesign to be viable in any way. But that’s the fun bit about an AU, isn’t it heh. Tell me about your ideas, I’d love to hear about them and thank you so so much for the ask!!! :D <33

[vynnyal]

Replaying pmd (modded, obviously) and man. I love the tonal dissonance between the art and gameplay in this series, lol

Also this guy exists

[likesdoodling]

It's been a little over a year since I started using Photoshop, this piece is from the last few days (February 2025 yeye), while the piece below is the first thing I drew with Photoshop (January 2024). A lot of stuff has happened since then (reaching the end of Ascendance of a Bookworm for example-), but Rozemyne is still a character I draw pretty often, and I still have Photoshop, so this is to see if I've gotten better art wise since then (I would say I have :D)

[matcha-buns]

one chuunosuke isn’t enough, so i drew three for @chuunosukezine !! 🐭🐭🐭

[hulloitsdani]

@moe-broey THANK YOU!!! AND IM GLAD THE RUFFLES ARE APPRECIATED!!!🎉🎉🎉

But seriously this is the highest compliment, because this is actively what I’m trying to do when it comes to how I draw Kiran! I really want to convey how unabashedly charming this silly little tactician is. It helps explain how they keep the order intact on a social level and also why this keeps happening:

In retrospect, Alfonse never really stood a chance, did he?

Anyway I won’t lie, I did all this for the Loki bit. Please imagine that she’s just off screen for all these outfits hitting that exact pose.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

Can we talk about how fcked up Charles can be sometimes? Can we talk about how Charles can sometimes be actually scary as a person? Like he can legit be nefarious sometimes, but those moments are not as talked about as Erik's warcrimes (aside from the holocaust visions from TAS)

girlfriend i promise we're all very aware about how wack charles xavier can be and i assure you his nefarious moments are talked plenty from what i run into. like outside of this inbox most times you breathe charles' name to someone they'll be prepared to start swinging

[yansurnummu]

TES fest day 8: free day

The first fic I ever finished and posted was The Blood of the Coven in 2016, which followed Anthelion through the Dark Brotherhood quest line in Oblivion.

I set a goal at the beginning to do at least one of these prompts, and somehow I actually managed to do them all! I had lots of fun and it was great to see everyone else's amazing art and writing as well :)