#also trying out a different color scheme than i usually go for

[areyousanta]

You know they paid for their burial

All he deserves

[ponett]

Do you have any advice for people making OCs/sonas? Yours are really well rounded and unique and I'd greatly appreciate the insight of someone who got a passion project off the ground!

So this is a very broad topic, and it varies a lot based on your own creative goals, what kind of characters you're creating, and where you want to use them. Creating an OC to be used in furry pinups is a little different than creating one for a dramatic story. But I'll try to give some general advice on how I do things for the types of characters and stories I tend to work with

Heads up: this will be kinda long lol

The germ of an idea

For me, I'll generally be inspired to create a character starting with a small number of core traits. These could be anything. A color scheme, a body type, a job, a hobby, a personality archetype, an outfit, a visual motif, a functional role in a story I'm working on, a noteworthy facial feature, a weapon, a relationship of some sort to an existing character, a single scene or joke I want to use them for. For furries and fantasy characters, species is usually one of the first things I'll have an idea for, which tends to get the ball rolling fairly easily since we have all sorts of cultural associations with different animals and fantasy creatures.

Any standout character trait like this that you find compelling can serve as that initial spark. The inspiration can come from anywhere, but it's often just a matter of knowing yourself and your own tastes. What do you like? What are the people in your life like? What really speaks to you in a character? What's an existing fictional character that you'd like to rewrite and take in a different direction? What's an aspect of yourself that you would like to see represented more often in fiction? It doesn't have to be something super deep or fleshed out right from the start, though. You can start with something as simple as "I want a black cat character" or "I want a character who dresses like an arcade carpet" or "I want a character who looks scary but is actually nice." Whatever it is, it's something that differentiates the new character from the ones I already have, because otherwise I'd just be using them.

Contrast

From there, you can start brainstorming other traits that might go with those core traits. Some of those may be traits that naturally complement each other. Continuing with the black cat example, maybe you wanna play into the common cultural perception of black cats and say that this character brings bad luck, or is associated with witchcraft. However, I often like to give characters contrasting or even seemingly contradictory traits, which can help elevate a character beyond a stock archetype. Real people tend to be a walking ball of contradictions, after all.

I've talked a lot about how I did this with the main cast of SLARPG. Melody is a fox, traditionally a crafty and untrustworthy predator, but she's extremely introverted and gentle. Allison is a bunny, but instead of being a meek and cuddly little prey animal she's an outgoing fighter who loves a challenge, and she has a muscular build. I think this kind of thing gives characters some fun flavor, and can be really effective for both comedy and drama. For an example from something I didn't write, take Senshi from Dungeon Meshi. He's a dwarf, and he embodies certain stereotypical aspects of dwarves - he's a short, buff man with a big bushy beard, he lives underground, he's stubborn and doesn't like elven magic - but he also goes against some of them. Instead of being an expert on mining and blacksmithing, Senshi is a culinary expert who has a deep appreciation for the natural ecosystem of the dungeon. He's a weirdo among dwarves for not caring about the wellbeing of his axe and for using his super awesome shield primarily as a giant wok. And that's what makes Senshi fun and interesting.

So going back to our example, instead of going with the stereotype, we could make a black cat character who has comically good luck, or who's superstitious and afraid of witchcraft, or who's an extremely rational person who always believes in science over superstition. Or maybe you roll with the bad luck angle, but instead make the black cat be the victim of their own bad luck in some interesting way. Maybe this black cat has terrible luck with love and can't hold down a relationship. Maybe this black cat is an aspiring speedrunner who consistently gets the absolute worst RNG possible in every video game due to their own bad luck. Maybe this black cat has accrued a horrendous gambling debt after a long losing streak and has loan sharks coming after them.

These are all just hypothetical examples, of course. I don't exclusively make characters with ironic contradictions like this. The idea is just to build on those core traits you started with in interesting ways, and that's one of my favorite ways to do so. But honestly, a lot of the time execution is more important than the sheer originality of an idea, and sometimes really putting your all into playing a trope you love straight is the right move.

Specificity

Regardless of what direction I take a character in past that initial seed of an idea, the key ingredient tends to be specificity. To give them specific details beyond the most stock possible version of that core idea you started with.

This is something I internalized from Tim Schafer, via a blog post in the behind-the-scenes backer material for Broken Age. Sadly I'm not sure if that stuff is still available, but I did save this particular post about creating characters since it really helped me, so I'll directly quote a chunk of that post here:

No two characters would approach a problem or react to events in the same way. At least, not if you’ve designed the characters well. If you’ve left them too vague or superficial, if they are merely functional elements in your story instead of individuals, then they might react in the same way. And that’s a problem. So to avoid that, I’m going to talk about one the most important parts of character development: specificity. Making sure your character is a specific individual, not a stereotype. A unique character, different from anyone else in the world. It doesn’t mean that they have to have wacky gimmicks, eyepatches and crazy accents. It just means they have to be specific. For example, let's create a new character. Let's say your story has a scene where your main character gets in trouble in school. So you’re probably going to need a school teacher. Imagine a school teacher for a bit. Do you see her in a little red schoolhouse? Maybe a bun in her hair? An apple on her desk? Thick black glasses? Let’s put a ruler in her hand for good measure. Done! We have our teacher character. She’s ready to be in the scene where our hero goes to school and the teacher sends her to the principal’s office for passing notes. Right? I mean, this character doesn’t have too many lines, so why develop her character any more? The problem is that this teacher is a very shallow stereotype of a teacher. She has no specific attributes that make her memorable. She’s the teacher you would get in a set of free clip art. She might not have many lines, but if all your supporting characters are this way, your story will be more bland than it should be. Even if this teacher is only onscreen for a minute, she should be unique and different from any other teacher in the world. Luckily, it's not actually that hard to make her so. You just have to ask some very basic, specific questions.

Tim goes on to explain how simple exercises like filling out character sheets with basic questions about your character (there are a million of these online) can help push a character beyond a stock archetype, even if it's a minor supporting character. Questions about where they're from, their likes and dislikes, their beliefs, their goals in life, that sort of thing. For minor characters especially, a lot of these details may never actually come up in a story, but just asking even a few of these questions and giving them specific answers helps you see them less like an archetype and more like a real person in your head. Maybe you never bring up your character's backstory or their favorite sport or what kind of music they listen to, but just having a specific answer for questions like that might help color the way you depict that character in subtle ways. It makes it feel like they aren't defined by just that one core trait you started with, and helps make the characters and world feel more alive, like there's stuff going on with them beyond the bounds of the story or the drawing.

It's a careful balancing act, though. It's easy for a character to feel like they're a collection of too many unrelated gimmicks and quirks. Again, like Tim said, these specifics don't have to make for the craziest, most original character ever, there just has to be something there.

Let's go back to SLARPG as an example, where I combined broad character archetypes I liked with more specific personal elements that I felt like I wasn't seeing enough in the fiction I liked. Melody is riffing on the common idea of the reserved healer character in the RPG or MMO party and the shy girl archetype, but she's the main hero instead of a supporting player in another person's story, and she's also a fat bisexual trans woman who draws a lot of little details from my own life. Her interests, her relationships, her opinions on things, her personal hangups and dreams, these all set Melody apart from other fantasy healer characters and define her as Melody Amaranth. Specificity!

But it doesn't always have to be super deep, especially if you just want some characters to draw for fun and aren't planning on writing a story with them. Take my fursona. I've always loved dogs, so I made my fursona a dog. I chose a Samoyed in particular because I think Samoyeds are the cutest, and I hadn't seen hardly any anthro Samoyed OCs at the time. I leaned into the breed's signature fluffiness to help my fursona stand out from other canine OCs. She has simple identifying traits like being fat like me, wearing glasses like mine, and having a hairstyle kinda like mine (when I tied my hair up in a bun, at least). And there you go. Fursona achieved. She's not a wildly high concept character, but she doesn't need to be

Anyway I realize that this is mostly about the writing aspect, so here's a few quick bullet points about designing a character's appearance:

Face and body type variety are good, but personally I would say lack of body type variety is worse than same face syndrome

Knowing some stuff about shape language is good, but you don't have to be completely beholden to the "circles are friendly, squares are sturdy, triangles are scary" shit. I'm generally more interested in using repeated shaping in different parts of a character's design as sort of a shape motif. Melody's body, hair, and tail are all made of round, swooping shapes, for example. (This is more applicable if you're designing cartoonier characters as opposed to realistic humans, obviously.)

Knowing some basics of color theory is also good. I like using complementary and contiguous color schemes on characters and generally try not to use too many distinct colors on one design. Black and white and grey and various browns are good as neutral colors to balance out the colors of the rainbow, and gold can be a nice accent color

A small handful of identifying accessories can be fun, but don't rely on those to make a design stand out. Ideally your character should still be identifiable even when not wearing their default outfit, or even in silhouette

Aaaaaand I'm gonna call it a wrap there! This is a huge topic, so hopefully this helps with at least some of the basics! At the end of the day, though, don't beat yourself up if you can't sit down and force yourself to come up with the most crazy awesome OC ever. Just have fun and be yourself!

[genericpuff]

Since you made a post about lore Olympus’ fashion,could you tell us what kind of fashion characters in rekindled usually wear?

For the most part, considering it's a modernized retelling just like LO, I try to focus on the character's personality first and then refine from there.

Currently where Kore is in her character arc, she's very cottage-core in her outfit choices, favoring light springtime colors that compliment her skin tone. She also often wears dresses and skirts both because she thinks they're pretty, and also because it gives her a lot more range of motion, she doesn't like being constricted or too revealing. Even when she wears dresses and skirts that are on the shorter side, she'll still usually be wearing leggings and/or shorts underneath. That said, her fashion choices will change and develop as her character does throughout the story, she has a few different phases that she goes through that start to go outside of her comfort zone, so keep an eye out for that ;)

On the flipside, Hades is often wearing pressed suits and has grown used to wearing the same wardrobe often as, like the rest of his life, he's fallen into a very standardized routine. That said, he also wears his Mortal Realm garb when he's doing his job addressing the mortals, as it's standard protocol to keep all modern amenities away from them (including expensive suits lol) That said, when we see him in more casual settings such as the Olive Branch restaurant, he and his brothers are usually wearing more modern Mediterranean outfits, including colorful button-ups and sandals (though Hades often still sticks to his darker color schemes as it's, again, what he's accustomed to). Like Kore, Hades will also be going through some fashion developments as the story goes on and as he learns to step outside of his own comfort zone. I've got some future suit ideas planned for when the story moves on, I wanna give him some more flair than his default settings from LO 😆 (trust me, that moment when Persephone teased him for wearing nothing but black suits is gonna come back into play eventually LOL)

Artemis and Hermes are both really athletic so their clothing often reflects that, they both like tracksuits and sportswear, though Artemis is seen a few times throughout the series so far wearing Mortal Realm garb because she's someone who's often working in the Mortal Realm.

Hecate is a lot of fun because not only is she a lot more androgynous, but I also get to come up with fun outfits that reflect the witch side of her.

Apollo is a very "slap it on and get on with the day" kinda guy (especially considering he works long shifts with lots of early mornings) so a lot of what he wears are hoodies, t-shirts, cargo shorts, sandals, etc. He doesn't need much to get by and considering he works with Helios, he never really needs to bundle up too much LMAO

Demeter is one of the only gods who's always drawn in Mortal Realm attire as that's where she mainly resides. This largely includes Mycenaean-style garb, such as the chiton and peplos.

I've found this particular site very helpful for providing both inspiration and context to specific outfits where Ancient Greek standards come into play. As for the modern outfits, it's really just about having fun meshing the characters' personalities in with modern fashion styles of Greek fashion. It makes for a lot of outfits that are made up of flowing fabrics with lots of color and movement accessibility.

Just wait until we get to Aphrodite and Ares though. Whooo I have plans for them LOL

[lefteagleblizzard]

𝕳𝖎𝖉𝖉𝖊𝖓 𝖎𝖉𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖙𝖎𝖊𝖘

Derek Danforth x gn reader

Summary: you and Derek run away together with fake identities to start a new and more simple life together.

Warnings: no pronouns used towards the reader. Smut. Riding. Sex on a plane. Fake identities. Fake marriage. Derek being soft exclusively to reader. This is the continuation for the miniseries of one shots I wrote for Derek that you can find on my masterlist but, just like the others, can be read as a one shot. Enjoy

Part 2 of this!

Words count: almost 5000

Can also be found on wattpad and ao3

You wake up in Derek's bed, the memories of the passionate night you shared still vividly replaying in your mind. The warmth of his presence lingers on the sheets, but he is nowhere to be found. Wrapping yourself in one of Derek's colorful shirts to cover your naked body, you begin searching for him, a sense of unease gnawing at you.

The mansion is eerily silent, the only sound is your bare feet padding softly on the floor. You navigate through the corridors, passing by different rooms until you find Derek in his office, the sharp tone of his voice cutting through the silence.

He's on the phone, yelling about an assassin who seems to be relentlessly hunting him down. The look on his face is one of extreme anger and paranoia, his eyes darting around as if expecting danger to strike at any moment. His usual composed demeanor is replaced by a stressed and agitated man on the edge.

"Get me someone competent this time!" Derek shouts into the phone, his voice breaking with frustration. "I don't care how much it costs, just get it done!"

You approach him slowly, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Derek, it's going to be okay" you whisper, trying to console him in the best way you can. He turns to look at you, his eyes filled with a mix of fear and desperation. You've never seen him like this, so vulnerable, so exposed.

"Do you even understand what's happening?" he snaps, his anger momentarily redirected at you.

In his drugged-up and paranoid state, Derek begins to confess. He spills the truth about his elaborate scheme: stealing money to finance his mother's campaign, manipulating her rise to power, and using her connections to secure more business deals for himself. He vents about his problematic relationship with his mother, the constant pressure to succeed, and this beekeeper who seems unstoppable in his quest to see Derek dead.

You listen intently, your heart aching for the man you've come to love despite his many flaws. His wrath never seems to subside, and at one point, Derek's face twists into a mask of anguish, and his hand trembles as he reaches into the desk drawer.

Before you can react, he pulls out a revolver, the cold metal glinting in the dim light. Your heart skips a beat, and your breath catches in your throat.

"Derek, what are you doing?" you ask, your voice shaking.

He points the gun at you, his eyes wild, with a mix of anger and fear. "Would you betray me? Would you save yourself and leave me to this fucking beekeeper?"

The question hangs in the air, heavy and suffocating. You see the desperation in his eyes, the stress that has pushed him to this point. Your initial shock quickly transforms into a profound sadness as you realize just how deeply this situation is affecting him.

Tears begin to well up in your eyes as you hesitantly take a step forward. Derek's hand shakes, but he doesn't lower the gun. You can see the internal struggle playing out on his face, the fear of betrayal mingling with the fear of being alone.

With a trembling breath, you step closer until the barrel of the gun is pressed against your forehead. The cold metal sends a shiver down your spine, but you hold your ground. "Derek, I would rather die with you than betray you" you say, your voice breaking with emotion. Tears stream down your face as you look into his eyes, hoping to reach the man you love behind the fear and paranoia.

For a moment, time stands still. The room is filled with a tense silence, the only sound the ragged breaths coming from both of you. Then, something shifts in Derek's expression. His eyes soften, the anger and fear melting away to reveal a deep sorrow.

Slowly, he lowers the gun, his hand shaking violently. "I'm sorry" he whispers, tears glistening in his eyes.

You take the gun from his hand and place it on the desk, then wrap your arms around him in a tight embrace.

You feel his body tremble against yours, the weight of his actions and the stress of his situation bearing down on him. You stroke his back soothingly, whispering words of comfort and love.

"Derek, we need to think clearly," you say softly "You can't stay here. You need to leave. Go somewhere safe and leave no trace behind”

He looks at you, the fear still evident in his eyes. He contemplates the idea, his mind racing with possibilities. Ultimately, he agrees, giving you instructions to arrange a private flight while he secures a new identity for him.

You leave his office to start preparing everything. Using Derek's network of contacts, you manage to secure a private jet. You work swiftly ensuring that no trace of your plans can be detected.

Meanwhile, Derek makes a call to a trusted associate, arranging for fake documents and a new identity. His usual confidence and arrogance are tempered by the gravity of the situation, and you can see the strain taking its toll on him.

When Derek is ready to go, he asks you to come with him. At first, you think it's because you're the only one who knows where he's headed. You were partially true for that but he added more to justify his sudden request. "Come on, don’t leave me alone in this. Let’s start a new life together. Like it or not you’re in as much trouble as me.”

You've always been there for him. Know him well enough to intervene when needed, when to calm him down and, on top of that, you were hot.

It would be such a shame for him to lose such an incredible person like you for god knows how fucking long.

Your mind races with thoughts of the future. Could you really leave everything behind and start a new life after everything you’ve been through? With Derek out of all people? The idea fills you with both hope and fear.

Mickey was already dead. You stand no chance against this crazy man. Let’s not risk your life and make the fun choice at this point.

You agree to go with him. He asks his contact to prepare a new identity for you as well, and soon you are ready to leave your old lives behind.

༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒

The departure was imminent. You and Derek were poised for escape, but there was one last crucial task that you wanted to do: erasing all digital traces of presence. The thought of being seen on surveillance tapes, the possibility of anyone tracking your movements, made your heart race. You need to delete the recordings from the hours you and Derek were seen, or everything will be useless.

“I’ll be right back” you whispered to his ear before sprinting inside the still desolated building.

You approached the door with a practiced calm, though your pulse was anything but steady. The tools in your hand felt heavier than usual. The quiet of the early morning amplifies every sound you make.

You picked the lock with surprising ease, the years of working alongside Derek giving you more skills than you had ever realized. The door clicked open, and you slipped inside, the dimly lit room casting shadows on the walls.

The computer area was a maze of desks and screens, the soft hum of machinery was the only sound breaking the silence. You moved quickly to the main terminal, your fingers flying over the keyboard as you navigated the system. Each second felt like an eternity, your anxiety mounting as you watched the progress bar inch closer to completion.

A noise behind you made you freeze, your breath catching in your throat. You glanced around, but the room was empty. You shook your head, scolding yourself for being paranoid. Still, the feeling that someone was watching you wouldn't go away.

With a final keystroke, the last of the recordings were erased. Relief washed over you, but it was short lived. You couldn't shake the feeling of being followed, the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end.

Quick, act fast.

You quickly accessed the airline database, your decent skills with computers coming in handy. You found a cheap flight and replaced the seats of a couple with yours and Derek's names. It was a diversion, a way to throw off anyone who might be tracking you. Hopefully, it would buy you enough time to get away clean.

As you moved to leave, the sound of the door opening loudly made your blood run cold. You dove under a nearby desk, your heart pounding so hard you were sure it could be heard. The room was dark, but the light from the hallway cast long shadows. Footsteps echoed through the space, słow and deliberate. You pressed yourself further into the shadows, barely daring to breathe.

The footsteps grew closer, pausing near the desk where you were hiding. You bit your lip to stifle any sound, your mind racing. Was it this relentless Beekeeper, or just someone else in the wrong place at the wrong time? The uncertainty was maddening.

Minutes felt like hours as you remained hidden, every creak and rustle amplified in the dark. The footsteps eventually moved away but you waited, counting each breath, until you were sure the person had left. Your muscles ached from the tension, but you couldn't afford to relax yet.

You carefully crawled out from under the desk, your movements slow and deliberate. The room was still, but you couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. You edged towards the door, every nerve on high alert. The hallway outside was empty, but you knew better than to trust appearances.

Slipping into the corridor, you blended into the growing crowd of people. The airport was starting to come alive with the first travelers of the day, and you moved among them, doing your best to appear inconspicuous. Your heart was still racing, the fear of being caught making every step feel precarious.

You didn't dare to look back, the anxiety gnawing at you. The feeling of being followed persisted, but you pushed it down, focusing on the task at hand. The airport was now open, the bustle of activity providing some semblance of cover. You made your way to the rendezvous point, hoping Derek was already there.

The crowd was your shield, the noise and movement giving you a sense of security. You kept your head down, avoiding eye contact, adjusting from time to time your sunglasses to keep your hand occupied. Every instinct screaming at you to keep moving.

The relief you felt upon spotting Derek was overwhelming, his familiar figure hidden carefully among the throng of strangers.

It was strange seeing him dressed all black for once, but you for sure were not complaining. That leather jacket looked good on him.

"Let's go, you whispered, slipping your hand into his. He squeezed it reassuringly, his presence calming your fraved nerves.

As you moved through the airport, the fear began to fade, replaced by a grim determination. Whether the person in the computer room had been the assassin or just a figment of your paranoia, you couldn't be sure. But one thing was certain: you and Derek were in this together, and nothing would stop you from finding a way out.

༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒

The private jet you and Derek are in is a masterpiece of luxury and design. The interior boasts plush leather seats, dark mahogany accents, and soft ambient lighting that creates a warm, intimate atmosphere. The hum of the engines is a distant whisper, making the cabin a serene escape from the chaos left behind.

You sit together in a spacious lounge area, leaning against Derek, feeling the warmth of his body through his shirt. He sips scotch from the mini-bar, the amber liquid catching the light as he swirls it in his glass. You nestle closer to him, drawing comfort from his presence despite the tension that still lingers in the air.

The seats are wide and comfortable, upholstered in buttery leather. The bar is stocked with top-shelf liquor, and the faint scent of citrus and cedar fills the air, creating an ambiance of calm sophistication,

You trace a finger along the scam of the leather armrest, letting the silence settle before you turn to him, a teasing glint in your eye.

Derek takes another sip of his scotch, his fingers tightening slightly around the glass as if the act of holding it grounds him, you can see the tension in his eyes.

You scrunch your nose playfully, trying to lift his spirits.

"Honestly, I think our new last name is a bit ugly. And the picture they used for my new ID is awful."

He showed you the information a couple of hours ago but only now had you paid attention to them.

He chuckles, the sound a bit rough, but there's genuine amusement there. "You look good in any picture. But if it makes you feel better, we can take new ones when we're settled.”

You smile, feeling a flutter of warmth at his compliment, but there's a question you need to ask. "Why did you want me to come with you? I mean, really?"

Derek's expression hardens for a moment, his defenses rising. He takes a deep breath, looking away as if considering how much to reveal. “That fucking Beekeeper would have probably tortured you to know where I went" he says, his tone a mix of seriousness and flirtation, "And let's be real, we both know how little it takes to make you beg”

You lightly hit him on the chest, unable to suppress your laughter. "You're such an idiot" you say, shaking your head, but your heart feels lighter.

The momentary levity fades as you notice the stress lines still etched on his face. His eyes, though filled with a of emotions, show a vulnerability you've rarely seen. Determined to soothe him, you climb onto his lap. His eyes immediately move to your face, filled with a mixture of surprise and appreciation.

You stroke his check tenderly your thumb brushing against the stubble. "It's going to be okay. We're in this together, and we'll figure it out one step at the time”

“We have a chance to start over, to build something real." He looks at you, his eyes filled with a mixture of hope and uncertainty "Do you really believe that we can leave it all behind?"

"I do," you say firmly. "We can make a new life together, free from the past and ready to do whatever we want”

He closes his eyes for a moment, leaning into your touch. "You always know what to say" he murmurs.

The leather seats creak softly under your combined weight, a subtle reminder of the luxury that envelops you. But in this moment, all that matters is the closeness, the raw need to erase the anxiety and fear that have plagued Derek.

Your fingers trace the line of his jaw, feeling the slight roughness of his stubble, a tactile reassurance of his presence, his reality. Derek's eyes, usually sharp and calculating, now reflect a tempest of emotions-vulnerability, longing, and a deep, unyielding need for connection.

As your lips meet again, the kiss deepens, becoming a fervent dance of tongues and breaths, each movement a testament to the desperation to find solace in each other. Your bodies press closer, the heat between you rising, a conflagration of pent-up emotions seeking release.

When you finally break apart, both of you are breathless. He looks a you dead in the eyes and makes his demand crystal clear. “Distract me.”

You felt something poking your butt and a smirk slowly grow on your face.

A leopard never changes its spots, after all.

Your clothes become a barrier, an unnecessary hindrance to the communion you both seek. Piece by piece, they are discarded, falling away like the masks you wear in the outside world. Each touch, each caress, is imbued with a profound intensity, a silent promise of devotion and understanding. Derek's hands roam over your body, leaving a trail of fire in their wake, his touch both a comfort and a spark to the flames of your desire.

Derek's hand trails languidly up and down your back, each pass a soothing balm to your frayed nerves. His touch is both tender and possessive, a silent affirmation of his need for you. His fingers splay against your back, pulling you closer, eliminating any space between you. You can feel every inch of him, the solid strength of his thighs beneath yours, the muscle of his arms as they wrap around you, holding you as if you are his lifeline.

As you straddle him, your bodies move in a synchronized dance, a rhythm as ancient as time itself. The jet's confined space amplifies every sound, every whispered moan, turning them into a symphony of shared pleasure and solace. Your movements become more urgent, a physical manifestation of your emotional need to become one, to find sanctuary in each other's embrace.

His skin is hot to the touch, a testament to the fire burning between you. He watches you with eyes darkened by desire, his breaths coming in shallow pants.

Your hands find the waistband of his pants, unbuttoning and unzipping them with practiced ease. You can feel the growing hardness beneath the fabric, a clear indication of his arousal. He lifts his hips slightly, allowing you to slide his pants and underwear down, freeing him completely. The sight of him, fully exposed, sends a thrill through you, a potent mix of anticipation and longing.

You shift, positioning yourself over him, feeling the heat of his arousal against your inner thigh. His hands find your hips, guiding you as you lower yourself onto him. The initial contact is electric, a spark that ignites into a full-blown inferno as you sink down, taking him fully inside you. A gasp escapes your lips, the sensation overwhelming, a perfect blend of pleasure and fullness.

For a moment, you remain still, savoring the connection, the feeling of being completely joined with him. Derek's hands grip your hips, his fingers digging into your flesh as he struggles to maintain control. You can see the strain in his eyes, the way his jaw clenches with the effort.

Then you begin to move, slowly at first, finding a rhythm that sends waves of pleasure coursing through both of you. The friction is exquisite, every movement a deliberate act of love and desire. You ride him with increasing fervor, your bodies moving in perfect synchrony, a dance as old as time itself.

Derek's hands roam your body, his thumb brushing over your nipple, sending jolts of pleasure through you. The other hand moves to the small of your back, guiding your movements, urging you on. You lean forward, bracing your hands on his shoulders, your breaths mingling as you move together.

The sensations build, a crescendo of pleasure that threatens to overwhelm you. You can feel the tension coiling in your abdomen, a tight knot of anticipation and need. Derek's breathing grows ragged, his hands gripping you tighter, his hips thrusting upward to meet your movements.

With a final, powerful thrust, the tension breaks, and you are both swept away in a wave of ecstasy. Your body trembles, convulsing with the force of your climax, and you cry out, the sound a raw, primal expression of your release. Derek follows moments later, his grip on you tightening as he finds his own release, his body shuddering beneath yours while he fills you up.

As the waves of ecstasy wash over you both, there is a profound sense of release, a catharsis that leaves you trembling in each other's arms.

Your fingers trail down his face, your touch lingering as you lean in. The kiss starts gently, but quickly grows more passionate, fueled by the emotions that have been running high. His hands grip your waist, pulling you closer. The world outside the jet feels like a distant memory as you focus entirely on the man holding you.

When he finally pulls back, his eyes are soft yet intense, filled with a depth of emotion that leaves you breathless.

You find a moment of perfect unity. Derek's eyes lock onto yours, and in that gaze, you see everything: his fears, his love, his desperation to hold onto this moment, to you.

You feel a flutter in your chest at the intensity of his stare. Something that wasn’t for once pure lust and desire.

He found the person he wanted to be with for the rest of his fucked up life.

“Get up” he ordered.

Confused and reluctant, you get up, watching as he starts looking for something in the small space. At first, you think he's succumbing to his paranoia again, searching for hidden listening devices. But then he turns back to you, a small box in his hand.

"I didn't tell you this before" he says, his voice taking on a cocky edge that you’ve known well enough “but with our new identities, we're already married." He opens the box, revealing a beautiful ring. "Thought you might want to wear this."

Your breath catches as you look at the ring, the light catching on the intricate design. He slides it onto your finger, his touch gentle but sure. "Consider it official" he says with a smirk, his eyes never leaving yours.

Of course he did it.

A married couple might appear more credible to outsiders. People tend to trust couples, assuming they have a stable relationship. This credibility can help you two navigate situations where you’ll need to prove your identities.

Being married can offer legal advantages, as potentially having access to each other’s health insurance.

Pretending to be a married couple would allow you two to share responsibilities convincingly. You could claim joint ownership of property, share household chores, and explain your presence in a new location.

It was all strategic but your heart was still overwhelmed by joy at the fact that you now had this connection with him, now that everyone will consider you two married, together till death separates you.

Your rationality was forgotten on the road as your feelings took over entirely.

Tears prick at the corners of your eyes as you look at him sitting down on his seat. "Derek, I-"

You can't help but laugh, a mixture of relief and joy bubbling up inside you while you roll the ring with your thumb. "You'll never change, will you?" you say, shaking your head.

He pulls you back into his lap, his arms wrapping around you. "And you love it" he murmurs against your ear, his breath warm on your skin.

"We're in this together," he says again, more firmly this time. "And nothing is going to change that."

You nod, a smile breaking through the tears. "Together."

Derek pulls you into a passionate kiss, scaling the promise of a new beginning.

༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒༒

The next few hours pass in a blur as you and Derek finalize your plans.

When you landed, it was under the cover of night. The air was crisp, the world around you silent and still. Derek's contact met you, handing over the new documents that would solidify your new identities. You land in a remote location, far from the prying eyes of the media and Derek's enemies.

A safe house has been arranged, a secluded villa nestled in a quiet coastal town. It's a stark contrast to the lavish lifestyle you’ve grown accustomed to, but the simplicity brings a sense of peace you didn't know you needed.

Days turn into weeks as you and Derek adjust to your new lives. The fear of being discovered lingers, but the tranquility of your surroundings provides a welcome respite. Derek's paranoia slowly fades away, replaced by a cautious optimism.

Derek was different here, the weight of his past gradually lifting as he embraced the anonymity and simplicity of your new life.

Your relationship with your ‘husband’ deepens in this new environment. The bond you share is strengthened by the trials you've endured together. The more time you spend with him, the more you understand the complexities of his character. Beneath the layers of deceit and manipulation lies a man who has been shaped by circumstances beyond his control, driven by a desire to prove himself and gain his mother's approval.

As the weeks turn into months, you and Derek continue to settle into your new lives. The fear of discovery never completely disappears, but it fades into the background as you focus on building your future together.

Derek takes on a new project, using his business acumen to help improve local entrepreneurs, while you find fulfillment in volunteering at a community center.

Now, you stand on the balcony of your secluded villa, the cool breeze carrying the scent of salt and the distant melody of the ocean. Derek stands beside you, a glass of scotch in his hand, the moonlight casting a silver glow on his features.

"You know '' Derek begins, his voice carrying a note of disdain, "these people have no idea how to run a business. They stumble around, thinking they can manage with their outdated methods and lack of foresight. It's almost laughable”

You can't help but chuckle, the sound mingling with the rhythmic crash of shaking your head. His arrogance and confidence never disappeared, and it’s always quite endearing.

"Oh, Derek," you say this time, “you'd learn to appreciate the charm of simplicity with time, don’t worry."

He smirks, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Charm? There's nothing charming about inefficiency: Did you see how that baker runs his shop? No marketing strategy, no expansion plans. It's a miracle he's still in business." He makes use of his beloved vape, blowing the smoke in your direction.

"True" you reply leaning against the balcony railing and waving your hand around to get rid of the smoke, "but some people are content with with what they have”

Derek takes a sip of his scotch, his gaze fixed on the horizon where the sea meets the sky "Contentment is just another word for complacency. They don't realize how much more they could achieve with a little ambition.” You smile, reaching out to touch his arm. "Not everyone has your drive, Derek. And maybe that's okay”

He turns to you, his expression softening as he places his hand over yours, playing softly with your ring.

Derek sighs deeply, his gaze turning back to the ocean, "Do you remember the first time we came here?" his voice softer now. "How I complained about the lack of five-star service and high-speed internet?" He asks

You laugh, the memory vivid in your mind. "Yes, and I remember how you almost turned the car around when you saw the dirty road leading to the villa. And the face that you made oh my god-”

You couldn’t continue due to your incessant laughs, covering your face with both of your hands to suppress the sounds.

He chuckles as well, a rare sound that warms your heart. "It's amazing how much has changed. I never thought I'd be able to live without the constant hustle and bustle of the city.”

You nod, resting your head on his shoulder. "I think we both needed this. A chance to start over, to find out who we are without all the noise."

"I talk about us all the time, you know, to anyone who will listen. The locals must think I'm crazy, always going on about how much I love you.” You laugh again, a bright, joyful sound. "And they probably think I'm just as crazy for putting up with you."

“By the way, you gotta stop doing that” you pointed a finger at his direction with a fake threatening tone “everyone keep saying how lucky I am to have a husband like you”

“Why? We need to let everyone know how happy we are together” he countered with a playful tone. He leaned forward and trapped you in a tight grip in his arms, prepping your face with multiple and chaste kisses as your laughs never stopped.

The light and wholesome moment soon came to an end, the peace and sound of the waves return.

Derek is silent for a moment, then he turns to look at you, his expression serious. "Do you ever regret it? Leaving everything behind, starting fresh?"

You shake your head slowly, "No, Derek. Not for a second. Being here with you, away from all the corruption and lies... it's the best decision I ever made. Even if it's hard sometimes.”

“Thank you” he whispered so softly you almost didn’t hear it under the sound of the waves.

"Always," you reply softly. "I'll always love you, Derek."

You lean in and kiss him, a promise of the future you will build together. As you pull away you rest your head on his shoulder, feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest. For the first time in a long time, you feel a sense of peace.

Your life, though imperfect, stood as a testament to the power of second chances. Both you and your lifelong partner will seize every moment granted by the latter half of your journey.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Note: thanks for reading. This was so fun to write, let me know if you liked this one. It's definitely one of my favorites that I wrote

[quillpokebiology]

As an artist how do you make pokemon crossbreeds? since I am thinking about making some.

Thanks for asking! I'd love an excuse to talk about the process.

1. I find the pokemon I want to make a crossbreed of. I have a full Google docs list to keep track of names and ones I want to do and all of that, since a lot of the fun for me I'd coming up with names for them

2. 99% of the time, the art is traced. I used to draw earlier crossbreeds freely, but they were supposed to be quick design practice and I would end up spending too long on them, so I started tracing them

3. I love crossbreed art, and while I don't want to throw anyone under the bus, I always felt like a lot of the crossbreeds felt "too-fusion like." What I try my best to do is find small traits to fit in with the existing design, while not changing it too much. While I sometimes let go of that for the sake of fun (when I made the slurpuff and raochu crossbreed), I usually keep that ruleset. An example would be this Cadenza Lapras (primarina father)

Lapras already has spikes, so to make it look more like Primarina, I made them sharper, like the spikes on Primarina's tail. It also has a more pointed snout, like Primarina.

And this sprinting scorbunny too (yamper father). While a dog and rabbit aren't that similar, both yamper and scorbunny have the same yellow, pointed ears, eyes, and other similar features. So, I made the scorbunny's fluff connect like yamper, gave it the paw markings of yamper, turned its tail into that of yamper, and made it stick its tongue out like yamper.

I recommend keeping the color scheme similar, but that can be difficult when they have wildly different color schemes. What I try to do then to make up for it is add more traits of the father pokemon, so whole it looks similar at first glance, you can tell it's different. I did that with Clanging Noivern (jangmo-o father)

If the pokemon seems too different, they finding smaller traits to use. Right now, I'm making a Gastrodon with a Phantump father and they seemed hard, but I was able to find similar traits; such as the wisps in the designs and making their shell look like a tree a bit.

4. Other than that, process follows art stuff. Sketch over the official art to add differing traits, and then outline it in black. My outlines are messy since again, these are more breaks for my other art (I have an Instagram where I post some of my art btw, I don't post much art on my main tumblr), but outline whatever way you want

5. Do what you want! These are just the rules I follow that I made for myself! These are just supposed to be fun stuff and shouldn't be polices

6. Send me the crossbreeds. I want to see them

7. Hope these helped! I'm not the best at explaining my art process

[kandicon]

The more I think about how a human, modern au Toy Soldier wouldn't work the more obsessed I get with TRYING to make it work and frankly there's only a few more loops in this self dooming cycle before I make a college au for all of them.

-

Okay I saved this post to my drafts and then immediately had more thoughts on this hypothetical college au. All the mechs should be as close to their canon events/back stories as possible to avoid having wildly different personalities (obviously there will still be very differing personalities due to not being immortal space pirates, but this would be easiest). It would be a extremely sketchy comedy of errors.

Obviously this takes place in community college because community colleges are just like that™

Put under the cut because it got a bit long.

Jonny:

Still killed his dad and the entirety of the casino.

Using the money he got from the casino and Jack to fund his way through a college hours away from his hometown.

Is constantly paranoid over someone coming after him for his murders or finding out that his highschool diploma is a forgery (he didn't finish his last two years because of said murders).

Ashes:

Being put through college by the Lucky Sevens, and still does tracking work for them despite only being able to physically visit their turf over break.

Smooth Mickey has only just started working with the Aces in Ashes' freshman year.

It is going to be a WILD senior year when Ashes breaks open Mickey's scheme.

Banned from the card games club.

Tim:

Transfer student from London that only entered college in the first place to dodge the draft. He never expected to enter college in the first place and is therefore woefully unprepared.

Wildly protective over Bertie, who transferred with him and is the reason he dodged the draft in the first place.

Not as murderous as the canon Tim, but certainly getting there over immigration and transfer laws in the US.

Still has the first name of Gunpowder.

It is gonna be a WILD senior year when he and Bertie get caught up in the Lucky Sevens debacle and Bertie dies.

Raphaella:

Nobody knows what major she's taking, because by all intents and purposes it appears to be all of them.

She's breaking into the chem lab and making lsd after hours to fund her way through college.

Has cute little wings on her backpack that she made herself, but in reality they're just hidden storage compartments that she's been using to steal lab equipment.

Ivy:

Nothing about her is different except for the fact her autism is diagnosed this time.

She works at the community library and the college library. She started her major in library sciences, only to discover that she already knew more about it than her professors, so now she's an English lit major.

Marius:

Also got in on forged documents, but his are significantly shittier than Jonny's or Ashes' because he didn't have the money to pay someone for it. Still nobody comments on the birth certificate with "Byron" covered over with off-color white-out and replaced with "Marius.

He also completely erased the gender category while he was at it. Again, nobody who actually looks at these documents is paid enough to care.

Still missing an arm and he has broken up AND started fights by hitting people with his prosthetic.

Getting his doctorate in computer science, but usually does not tell people exactly what he's majoring in when he tells people he's going to be a doctor.

Nastya:

Fleeing a Russian rebellion and very obviously comes from wealth.

Her backstory is the same, just without the robots. Her history of wealth and terrible attempts at hiding her accent are painfully obvious to everyone she interacts with.

Double majoring in engineering and computer science. Unintentionally breaks Marius' scheme open when she asks to copy his notes when she missed a day for a class they share (she would have broken it faster if she knew what he was doing).

Was assigned as Raphaella's roommate and she gets free estrogen in exchange for ignoring everything else that's going on.

Got dragged into the friend group by Jonny after he came over one day to hang out with Raphaella and they bonded over disabling circulatory issues.

Brian:

On the run from the religious cult he grew up in, which he was kicked out of because he got internet access and started learning about reality.

Still has a hard time believing most people he'll talk to will accept basic facts like "the Earth is a sphere"

Did not have to forge papers to get in, but he would later get recommended to a good forger by Jonny and get some restraining orders out of it.

Ambulatory wheelchair user (because it makes me happy) with an extreme case of moral ocd

The Toy Soldier:

Holy shit this bitch had a bad childhood

In a dissociative state a good 90% of the time and has huge sensory issues with the feeling of its own flesh

Goes by "TS" and adamantly refuses to tell anybody why.

Being put through college by their wealthy adoptive mother. Definitely lied about the college being prestigious and doesn't want to examine exactly why it did that or why it felt so soul-crushingly important to get out of the country.

Was adopted by the widow after her husband died at war. Was basically treated as one family member swapped for another and was expected to grow up in his image and to be proper.

Walking on eggshells 24/7. Orders might as well still be a physical necessity to it for how much of a compulsion they are. Will jump to do anything to appease the people around it if they show any indication of being upset.

Tim becomes its first friend because him and Bertie are the only other transfer students from London. It rather likes talking about guns with him and giving away all its care packages to him so it doesn't dwell on why they make it so uncomfortable.

Starts off majoring in military studies over the ages, but will switch to general music studies after meeting the Angel.

Spoiler alert: it will still kill the Angel after she gets into a relationship with someone else, but thankfully this just makes a wild junior year instead of adding to the already wild senior year.

Obviously they're all still in a band together. And they're the most dysfunctional friend group this poor college has ever seen.

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook: Backstage (Intro)

A concert ticket lost and found, a sweater ending up in your hands, a misunderstanding with security backstage - happy little accidents, as they turn out to be.

Tags/Warnings: Black Leopard Hybrid!Jungkook, Rockstar!Jungkook, Rusty Spotted Cat Hybrid!Reader, minor angst, major fluff, strangers to lovers, did I mention fluff, reader gets injured but only a bit, fainting, big cat kook, Dom!Kook, future smut

Length: short/mid

Additional Content: cuddles, Closer

•●━━━━━━━━━━••♡••━━━━━━━━━━●•

It's almost the end of the concert.

You're a little sweaty, and the scents all around you are becoming just a little overwhelming now, but honestly, you're having the fun of your life. It's your first ever concert, the first time you've been at an event like this, and although you're getting a few glances for your drastically different attire than most fan's, you're still very much happy to be here.

It was by pure luck, really- someone giving away their ticket without mentioning where exactly the spot was the ticket reserved, and you didn't have anything different to do, so you contacted them, asking for how much their like to sell it for.

You ended up getting it for free- only having to exchange it for a self-sewn dress of your collection you're selling online.

You've never seen the band up close like this, and you have to admit, by now you get why so many hybrids fall for the main singer up front. He's charming, tall, very handsome- and typically wild, just like one might expect from a rock band member like him. You've definitely caught his eye, thats for sure- though you believe it probably is just your appearance that stands out to him, pastel colored dress not really fitting the mostly black and silver color scheme most fans in the crowd are going for tonight.

Unbeknownst to you, it's not just that however.

You're jumping around so happily, singing along even when the lyrics seem to slip your mind, not even once pulling out your phone to record anything. He's mesmerized how much you seem to live in the moment, uncaring of capturing anything with something other than your eyes, your ears, your body and soul.

You've got the prettiest sparkling eyes he's ever seen, and while he's internally a little concerned over the fact that you seem short as heck, he can't help but be glad that his fan base consists of people who look out for one another. It's proven by the multiple times he can see people around you motioning towards each other to be careful not to accidentally hit you with their phones or similar.

You're pretty, and he internally becomes disappointed when he has to think about reality here. There's no way in hell someone this pretty is single, and also, there's no chance he'll be seeing you again after this concert. It's a little sad- but he takes you as an example.

Enjoy the moment, instead of worrying how to capture it.

So he sings his heart out, performs even wilder than usual, puts on a show for you so you'll have exciting memories of him. And maybe not only that- because when he takes of his Hoodie that's honestly become way too hot to perform in, he makes sure to throw it into your direction- unable to keep himself from laughing ablittle to himself at your wide eyes staring at the black fabric drenched in his scent.

The lights fo dark not even an hour later- concert finished, fans slowly leaving the venue to go home. Nit you however, because-

Well, you can't just steal the singer's clothes now, can you? What if they put you in jail?

"This is staff only, miss." A tall security guard says, his coworker next to him blocking the backstage area. They're intimidating you a little (a lot), but you try to stand your ground as best as you can.

"I know- I just, I have this? And I wanted to give it back?" You ask, making the two security guards walk closer, now clearly more firm in their approach.

"Listen, cut the act and just go home." The man says, pointing past your face behind you- an action that makes you flinch. "Or do I have to escort you out?"

"What's going on?" A male voice is heard, and you can spot the singer from the stage now in between the two men. "Oh?"

"I-uh-" you stutter, absolutely unprepared for the black Leopard's eyes on you, the big cat hybrid a lot more intimidating up close. Or maybe it's his scent making you dizzy in the head. Yeah, that might be it. "I wanted to- that's yours? Right?" You ask, holding out the sweater in your hands. He nods, one of his black ears flicking in curiosity between his dark hair.

"Yeah. Threw it your way- you don't want it?" He wonders, almost with a bit of disappointment in his voice. He should've known. Your partner might not appreciate someone else's scent all over you- he himself for sure wouldn't like it.

"I- uh?" You now pull it back towards you, looking down at it. "So it's- it's supposed to be mine now?" You wonder, and he laughs, unable to hide how fuzzy you make him feel with your confused noises and cute manners.

"You can take it home, it's yours if you want it." He nods, stepping a bit closer now, uncaring of the way the security guards become more tense. "That is, if your mate is okay with that. Might piss him off, you know, considering I've sweat quite a bit." He chuckles. You look up at him with wide eyes and red cheeks.

"I- no, I don't have a mate-" you start, now pretty much hugging the sweater. "-a roommate, yeah, but she's- she won't mind, I'm sure!" You say, and he nods.

"Just, you know, so we don't get into some criminal shit here- can I ask your age?" He wonders, and you nod- replying easily.

"Uhm, twenty-four." You answer, and his eyes widen.

"Really? You're not shitting me?" He asks, and you nod.

"I look a lot younger because of my hybrid genes and all that." You shrug. "But yeah." You nod and he sighs in relief. He was worried for a split second he might be getting the hots for a minor of all things.

"I'm glad then." He says, carefully taking the sweater from your hands, before untangling it in front of you, your eyes unable to break free from the sight of the silver rings on his fingers. And then- its dark.

He's careful as he helps your head and arms through the designated holes in the sweater, and can't help but feel his pulse quicken at the sight of you pretty much drowning in the large sized garment he'd worn just a few hours prior. "Its cold tonight. So, you know. And now you stink like me, so you're also safe from any pervert that might plan on snatching a pretty cat tonight as well." He tells you lowly, and you feel yourself shiver at his tone. You nod.

"Thank you." You nod, bowing politely. "You- tonight's concert was really fun. You all did great. I'm really happy I got to experience it." You say, and he smiles your way.

"Thank you." He responds kindly. "You.. know what could make me happy now?" He asks, and you tilt your head to the side-

An action so cute he considers kidnapping for a split second, before he gets a grasp of his sanity again. "What?" You ask, and he shrugs, digging in his pant pocket for his phone.

"If I could have your number?" He asks, and your eyes widen. "No creepy shit, promise! I swear, big cat promise!" He jokes, making you chuckle.

"Okay." You say, and he nods, attempting to put his phone away, before he realizes you've agreed.

"Okay- Okay! Yeah, alright, fuck yeah, lemme just-" he taps away while you take out your own phone from your bunny plush backpack, before giving it to him. "You seem awfully trusting." He comments as he types in his number.

"People tend to scold me for it." You shrug.

"Rightfully so." He nods. "Gets me all protective over you already." He winks, and you shrink in on yourself a little, overwhelmed by his flirting. "Sorry, I'll let you go now. Text me though when you're in your hotel or something, otherwise I might worry." He says, and you nod, leaving the concert venue eagerly to get back to your hotel.

He gets teased left and right by his bandmates backstage for his actions, but quite honestly, he doesn't care.

Not when he receives your message an hour later, telling him you're in your hotel now, the text message decorated with creative emojis that make him grin and his tail wag like he's a dog at this point. There's really no denying it at this point.

Jeon Jungkook has a crush.

And he couldn't fucking care less.

[deepseaspriteblog]

pleaseeeee drop more info on the new fanspecies if you have any i would love to jane/jaye-ify them

Sure! I went ahead and typed down all my ideas for them but it's all very vague and not yet set in stone. Still, if you want to try your hand at making any of them, you're definitely welcomed to!

I made a base for it too! You can use these to make them, or for any other reason, just credit me if you do.

alt link

Lore dump under read more!

Baphomet 

Lore: All of them have magic and instead of a traditional family, Baphomets are raised in covens, with kids usually being grouped together like the girls in Madeleine. They’re taken care of by a priest (of any gender), who is helped by deacons (also of any gender). They are ruled by the High Priest (usually female). They are sensitive to light and live in ruins. They’re secretive and vaguely sinister, but also very polite. A respectful attitude is very important for Baphomets. 

Their naming conventions are 4 letters, a hyphen, and a three letter surname (eg: Rose-Lal, Kana-Mar Neta-Lei, etc.), . Though the relationship between parent and child isn’t given much focus (since children are raised by coven leaders instead), Baphomets take their birthgiver’s surname. 

Appearance: they all have that same color scheme, though perhaps in differing shades? Their horns are always goat-like but the shape can differ. They have goat-like eyes, too, with bright pink scleras. They have long tails and cat-like noses.

They have little flames atop their heads like a weird halo- it’s mostly harmless, though when a Baphomet is straining their magical energy the flames can grow out of control and become larger. It is said that a Baphomet who is overwhelmed with hatred and power will be consumed by their own flames. In its default form, however, all it does is glow harmlessly. It disappears when a Baphomet is sleeping or dead. 

Their symbols are geometric, runelike shapes that are always mainly pink with a white accent. 

Tengu 

Lore: A pretty mundane fanspecies, all things considered. They’re not that different from humans socially or culturally. Harpies and Tengus (and perhaps some other bird based fanspecies I may create in the future) are thought to be descended from a common ancestor, though the tengus have their own myths/beliefs. They like tall areas though and are often from mountainous regions. They may or may not be able to fly once they reach maturity, I haven’t made up my mind, though if they do I;m sure the harpies are mad about it since they can’t. 

Naming convention is undecided, though I’m gonna go with six letter first names for now.

Appearance: They have the wings of a crow and the ears of a dog. They have golden scleras like the trolls and facial markings inspired by kabuki performances, so they’re mostly red but other colors can be used as well. As for their hair color… I’m a bit torn if they all have blue hair or if they have differing hair colors. You can decide if you want! 

Their symbols are pretty much just fankid symbols, but with two colors.

Harpy 

Lore: According to Harpy mythology, they once had wings that were big enough to soar across the sky and never get tired. They believe that the original harpies were created to be entertainers for their God, but they grew greedy and prideful and tried to fly to Paradise and steal God’s riches. In retaliation, God took away the Harpy’s most prized possession- their wings, so that they would not be able to fly again. Realizing their mistake, the Harpies begged for forgiveness and wished for their wings to return… Which it did, but in much smaller form- no longer than a human’s arm, and certainly not big enough to fly for anymore. And so, the modern harpy is with wings that cannot fly. 

Dancing is a very big deal for harpies, and they have a variety of traditional dances, and many of their folk stories are told through the art of dance. 

Appearance: In addition to their facial markings, Harpies also tend to have body markings. Shoulders are most common but it can appear anywhere. 

As for color, the harpy I made had her color scheme lifted right off of Feng Huang from SMT, but I think any bright color is possible. Hair color tends to be dark, but not always. Antennae feather thing is usually gold though, as is their hands and feet that have that bird skin (I think they’re called scutes?). Speaking of feet, they’ve got clawed feet and thick soles so they don’t wear shoes, but some of them wrap their feet for a little extra protection. 

Naming convention is 4 letter first names and surnames ranging from 3 to 5 letters. 

Their symbols are troll-like.

[wetandtiny-in-smutland]

Intro for my new fanfic ( yet to be released )

Goth a surprise for you

Goth Alastor/Reader/*spoilers*

Minor dni 18+

Sadly the intro is not smutty yet, but the full fix will have plenty (this will be a long one shot)

-------------

Your birthday was always a special time, your partner was always planning something extra for it and since he has some obscure powers, he had a lot of cards in his sleeves. 

This year was no different, he had a whole day planned for you, he couldn’t have taken care of you more than he did. He planned all the meals, what you were wearing that day, where you were going, etc. He always knew what you wanted and liked, picked up on the smallest of details about you.

The day had been to your up most expectation, and it was time to head home.

The bus ride seemed longer than usual, but fortunately there was no one in the bus except you, Alastor and the driver. The sun was starting to lower in the sky giving it a nice red/orange color. Sadows were dancing around you as you closed your eyes, resting your head on the window behind you.

You woke up as he picked you up in his arms, his big black studded coat over you like a warm wool blanket. You knew he normally didn’t like PDA but as it was your birthday, you feigned to still be asleep as he picked you up in a bridal manner. You liked being in his long arms, squeezed against his chest and feeling his warmth. The coat was a nice touch, a small bonus, it smelled like him and covered you from the rain as your pair got out of the Bus.

Walk home was short so you enjoyed it as much as you could, trying not to move too much so he wouldn’t be aware that you were awake.

Arrived where you thought was home, you opened your eyes as he opened the front door. Stretching your arms as if you had just woken up from slumber, you looked around not recognizing anything. It looked like a hotel of some kind.

-Where are we Al? I thought we were going home. You said with a distant voice.

-This is the last surprise for today, my little sparrow. He said as he put you down on the floor, placing his coat on your shoulder like a cape. Draping behind you, you picked up the sides, so it didn’t drag on the floor as you followed him.

Your legs were still wobbly, eyes still foggy. Your brain registered that the main colors of the walls were red, a nice, carpeted floor was under your shoes and there was only a couple of people here. It didn’t look as if it was the most extravagant hotel, you’ve been to, just a regular hotel with a weird color scheme. You were welcomed by an energetic member of the staff, but almost didn’t get anything they said, not noticing the weird look everyone in the lobby was giving Al. Your brain was fried from the long day, or so you thought, and you knew you didn’t need to pay attention that much since Alastor was keen on doing all the work for the both of you. He got handed a room key, and as much as you would have liked to see the surrounding or anything, you felt as if your eyes were closing on their own again.

You walked to the elevator, clinging to Alastor dark grey shirt sleeve to make sure you didn’t lose him, not noticing the weird shadow that was following you both.

A small ride up, a small walk through a corridor and you were at the door of the room. You made some mental effort just to register what number was on it. 33.

The room was nicer than you thought, everything inside was undeniably the same color as everything else in this weird hotel but there was a nice foyer with wood burning in it, in front of a very spacious bed, definitely a king size. The decor was also nice, some antiquities were used on shelves and on the tables to give a vintage look to the room, a big Cervidae skull on top of the foyer reminding you of Alastor’s animal traits, giving the room a somewhat homey feeling. Some gifts and snacks were on a table in the back of the room.

-Oh Alastor! More gifts? If you continue like this, I won’t have any space in my room anymore. 

You laughed as he looked at you with a soft smile.

You headed toward the table, eyeing the snacks and coffee, you clearly didn’t want to fall asleep that early on your birthday, the sun wasn’t even down yet. Or so you thought, all you could see from the window was a red sky, you assumed it was just the sun setting, your brain didn’t put one and one together, the sun had already set when you were in the bus.

---------

Note: I will edit this later so that it looks nicer

Don't hesitate if you have questions or comments or if you found an error in the text.

[astridthevalkyrie]

https://www.tumblr.com/astridthevalkyrie/759973639654391808/whyyyyyyy-do-people-look-at-marina-through-a?source=share

So it is okey to tame a kind man just because you are pregnant?? I have rhe feeling that if she was ahitw everyone would have hate her

no, it's not okay. it's definitely not okay. to take a step back from my marina rose colored glasses, no it's definitely not okay and yes, i would feel bad for colin if she had gone through with it. however, a few things:

"if she was white everyone would hate her" is a point that we see come up for a bunch of different characters and different situations. and it's not outright invalid. however! it's easily reversed too. marina is pretty hated. if not a very talked about character, when she is mentioned it's usually in remarks like "penelope should've sent her a wedding invitation" or she's treated as colin's evil ex. so we can say that if marina was white, a lot of people would love her too! she'd be #girlboss and #feminist. same with penelope, in that if she was a woman of color, i think she'd face a lot more criticism, because fandom tends to always give white characters more grace and understanding than they do poc.

cressida is white, and people both love and hate her. obviously she doesn't try to marry someone while pregnant, but a lot of people excuse what she does in season 3 (rightfully) because she's acting out of terror of being either shipped off or married to a very old man. marina is acting out of fear as well, thinking that she and her kids will either be living in extreme poverty or that she will be married to a very old man that was already treating her like cattle. if people can excuse cressida's actions, i think they can excuse marina's as well.

now when it comes to colin, of course he'd be heartbroken if he found out. that's pretty awful, it's just that when it comes to balancing the worst case scenarios for these characters: for colin, if marina goes through with her scheme, he will either knowingly or unknowingly be responsible for children that aren't his, possibly be in a loveless marriage (and more on this later), or caught up in a large scandal if the ton were to find out. for marina, if she doesn't go through with it (obviously not knowing about philip at this time), she would be a single mother, kicked out and living on the streets, scorned by everyone, possibly death for her and her children, or marriage to a man that will most likely rape her. when you balance the worst case scenarios, for me at least, it's a no brainer. marina's worst case scenario is worse, and she's doing what she needs to do.

there's also the slightly iffy question of: does the fandom dislike her because she's babytrapping, or because she's babytrapping colin specifically? of course we know that's why penelope has a problem with it, but say she was to marry an old man and let him think the kids were his. is that suddenly okay? would the fandom hate her so much if she had gone after someone who wasn't already a confirmed love interest of another character?

and now about colin's life should marina have succeeded. in his own words, if she'd told him, he would've married her and raised the kids. let's imagine two scenarios. one where he never finds out. he's happy and in love with a woman who loves him back (or so he thinks). and second scenario, if he does find out post marriage, he'd obviously be very upset (and rightfully!) but doesn't seem like the kind of person who would divorce her or anything like that. and in both scenarios, while it wouldn't be the glamorous love that bridgerton is renowned for, i think it would be highly likely that colin and marina could still be together and be in love.

this insistence, that colin would've been unhappy with marina, is just so incredibly strange to me. the insistence that it was just a crush, just an infatuation, is just. strange. "they just met!" yeah, but so did simon and daphne. they danced. they spoke. i've seen people say that they know it was fake because he was totally fine with her having someone else in her heart but with penelope and lord debling he flipped his shit, "proving" that his feelings for pen were genuine. i'm sorry but to me, that's icky. that's immature. i'd love men to react like colin did in the first season when pen told him that. a lack of jealousy and a mature response should not be a sign that there isn't true passion.

i've also seen people say that marina and philip clearly look miserable, and that's proof that that would've been colin and marina's fate as well. it's just. no. those scenarios are different. a, marina and philip both know the kids are not his. b, marina is constantly around her dead lover's brother, and god knows how painful that is. c, philip is also probably not comfortable around her as colin would have been, because in his eyes, she's his brother's lover. these things would not have been the case for colin and marina and there would have been a lot less misery. also to add, we don't know they're miserable. we see colin visit them and marina being rightfully uncomfortable that he's there. for all we know, they're content with each other (at least until future seasons come out).

so yeah! what marina wanted to do isn't "okay." it's also just a lot more complicated than that.

[sjofn-lofnsdottr]

Hey! I love your gposes, and I was wondering if you had any tips on how to get better at making them.

Oh, thank you! You're kind to say so!

I'm gonna approach this like you're super new to it, so I'm sorry if I'm telling you shit you already know! And if you have other questions about something specific, you can DM me if you like, I don't mind. Honestly, that goes for anyone reading this!

I can sense this is going to be stupid long, so I'm also gonna hide a bunch of it behind a cut.

So starting off with vanilla gpose advice, in a general sense I'd say play around with lighting a lot. I usually try to get at least some light spilling onto people from the side (ideally where a light source would be anyway) in order to give them more definition. I know there's gpose lighting tutorials out there that can probably explain it so much better than I can (like this one? maybe?), but it really makes such a huge difference overall. Even when you're taking a picture outside in the sun, a little bit of extra lighting can make stuff look more interesting.

(I might be a little biased, I was a theatrical electrician for a while. I think lighting is neat.)

Another vanilla-applicable thing I'd say is get really, really, really embarrassingly familiar with the in-game emotes, and practice your timing for when you want to freeze them. And don't forget that the 'expression' emotes will override an emote's usual face, which can change the vibe in some fun ways:

And the third piece of vanilla gpose advice I'd give is to mess around with the filters the game has on the 'general settings' tab. Honestly, you've probably done this, but mess around with ALL the things in the gpose menu. Push every button, waggle every slider, just to see what they do.

I'm currently loitering at an art party, so let me show you a little bit what I mean.

So to start, I go into gpose and see what's what. I let all the background people stop facing the camera, and move the camera a bit to an angle I like. I'm sitting in a corner, which is going to mess with the camera more than usual, but in this case, it's messing with it in a way I like, getting me nice and close to Dusk:

Dusk could stand to look friendlier, right? So I head to the emotes tab in the menu, and pick 'beam' for his expression, because it's the smile I like best on him:

Still kinda bleh. Things look a touch murky, and flatter than I like. Before I do ANYTHING with the lighting though, I go here:

And then I save the hell out of the camera position. Saving the camera position has saved me so much pain. This is because placing lights in gpose requires you moving the camera, since they drop exactly where your camera is. But I like this angle, and I don't want to lose it. So I save it! It'll also save lighting settings, which I find handy occasionally, but not nearly as often (it's a lifesaver when I accidentally hit the hotkey that turns off lights though).

I've taken a lot of pictures in this venue, and the pink/white color scheme is uh ... tricky for me, sometimes. But on the upside, white walls and floors bounce light really well! For this picture, I think I want some light coming from the left of the frame to give Dusk slightly more interesting shadows, and a blue light much further away and above to soften the harshness of the white and pink:

My next step is to use the gpose-provided color filters to see if there's anything I like, just in case:

Bright 1 is one I've wound up using a lot, even though it ruins my eyes and makes everything look dark as hell once I come out of gpose.

Now, the white coming from the left is hitting Dusk pretty much exactly how I want it to, but it's lighting up his moogle sundae more than I'd prefer. The way I usually deal with this is using the 'limb darkening' slider. What it does is darken the edge of the picture, to varying degrees. It even has different colors, although I use black pretty much always:

I only used one tick, but it's made me much happier about the sundae! My one complaint now is that I had to turn off depth of field in order to keep Dusk from being blurry (it's a slider, but by the time Dusk looked focus, it might as well have been shut off anyway), but it's something I can live with for a vanilla gpose.

I have reShade installed though, so let's mess with that for fun. I tend to stick to presets that don't stray too far from what the game itself does unless I'm doing dumb vampire artsy things:

But honestly, in this case I don't think it was really necessary.

As for getting better with crimes, I would again stress getting familiar with the game's emotes and attack animations, because they are often a fantastic starting point to modify into something you're wanting to see. Also, this sounds weird (probably) but when I first started out, I did a lot of throw away pictures that no one besides my Discord knitting circle will ever see because everyone is naked in them. I did this for two reasons. Wait, no, three:

I was high when this idea came to me and therefore I lacked my usual shame.

Clothes clipping was driving me crazy and I wasn't good enough to handle it yet. Stripping everyone naked took that out of the equation, so I could focus on actually moving the dollies in peace.

However! It also meant I couldn't depend on clothes to mask some of my worst shortcut sins as far as moving limbs and what it did to their joints went. This meant I got a lot better at knowing how to move the dollies I was working with in the way the models want to be moved and still look right.

Obviously a saner thing to do would be ~beach pictures~ with everyone in swimsuits. Good thing Dawntrail is coming!

Some of the things I learned during this naked process:

While I try to make a pose look good from multiple angles, because I rarely know what angle I'm going to ACTUALLY want until stuff is at least roughed in, if I know for absolute certain I'm only going to take it from one particular angle, it is best for one's sanity to make sure it looks good from that angle and ignore everything you can't see otherwise.

If you ARE taking more than one angle of the same pose, it is not a crime to make little adjustments after you change the angle! This is extra true when you're doing something like a kiss, because noses are the worst. Go ahead and nudge something that looked right from Angle A but a little off from Angle B. No one will know your dark secret.

Somewhat related, sometimes little tweaks are really all you need! This is especially true when it comes to faces. Try not to overthink what you're doing too much.

Very often, if you want to move, say, an arm from position A to position B, you should start by adjusting the clavicle and work your way down. At first this was kinda slow and annoying and required a bunch of passes, but it resulted in way more natural looking results without asking people to politely ignore wonky elbows and such. Like everything else in the world, this gets a lot faster with practice and is 1000% worth getting halfway decent at.

Hands are the devil, but they also really make or break a pose for me a lot of the time. The more natural you can make hands and fingers look when touching something, the better, I feel. On the whole, I find FFXIV hands are a lot better at gentle-looking touches than rough-looking ones, but that may be my own limitations talking here. Spend time just messing with hands to get familiar with them, just like the rest of the skeleton. Eventually it'll start to get easier and easier to move stuff to where you want it without having to do a million little adjustments on the way to where you're aiming (I'm down to about half a million these days).

Eye contact is fucking hard too. I try to get the models to do as much of the work for me as possible as I go into gpose. For example, I'll make sure Dusk has Farron targeted, so he'll already looking down at him, but most of the time I'm going to be moving their heads or bodies too much for that eye contact to still look right. The way I usually do it is put the camera behind the person being looked at, and then make that person disappear and adjust the looker's eyes from there. Then I check from the angle I actually want to shoot from and make tiny adjustments to make it look more 'correct' to my eyes. Sometimes when I post Camera A/Camera B angles? It's because the eye contact only looked right from those angles no matter what I did and I'm making you all just have to deal with it.

Double check everything! It's easy to rough something in and then go blind to it being not-quite-right.

It takes me about 5 minutes to stop noticing nakedness because I am too busy swearing about elezen necks or something.

Once you start letting your dolls wear clothes and armor again, you have to start thinking about clipping and physics and such, which will also take practice, but I feel like people on the whole are a lot more subconsciously forgiving about that, because we all play this game and we all got trained to ignore a certain amount of clothes being weird because of it (this goes for most clipping, really). Which is good! I try to minimize clipping without actually having to touch any of the clothing bones if at all possible and only really mess with those if I absolutely have to because, say, the entire tail of Dusk's coat is clipping through the chair he's sitting on.

I suppose that's another thing, sometimes ... sometimes a glam is just a nightmare to work around and you just wear something else.

I hope this was ... helpful at all, I know it's long but hopefully not full of shit you knew already, or overwhelming to read. But I wanted to say more than just 'practice,' since that's hard to do if you don't even know what you should be practicing! And again, if you have a more specific question (or follow up questions?), definitely send a DM or something!

[i3utterflyeffect]

anyway! a few thoughts on dark color gang:

all of them have virabands and they also have friendship accessories of varying types. not sure for all of them but i do think both Red and SC use hair ties

also i don't feel like pulling up my hollowhead sheet but they do have hair in this au like dark and chosen! i think it's a way that they try to make being a hollowhead less obvious at first glance (maybe i'll talk about it later)

red is actually considered the most intimidating because they seem like the nicest one because they're more social than the others (save maybe SC) but really they will get super intense on you if they don't like you. they are very nice but that's not a good thing when they don't like you

also red begged to have a pet virabot. they have one now ofc

yellow is still blind

glasses do actually make dark and chosen a little nervous though, and they're very self-conscious so they prefer contact lens(??????) if possible

they're VERY good at coding, and picked up a lot of things from Dark that sometimes Dark didn't even show them

they take a lack of validation very poorly

they definitely look for Dark's approval the most

blue keeps exploding the house

they love chemicals!!!! unfortunately this means that blue makes a lot of dangerous things!!!!

blue and the older siblings agreed on having a specific time for blue's experiments because once blue accidentally made a chemical reaction that made flammable gas and you can imagine how that went

blue really isn't too different they're just a mad scientist now

they still like to cook! they also like to experiment with drinks. they're too young to make anything alcoholic but they'd probably be very good at it

they're as much as a goofball as usual

they may or may not have exploded a part of town once by accident and they got lectured by chosen for needless destruction. they did cry so chosen just sighs and tells them to be more careful next time

green is normal

not even kidding. they just like music. they're just chilling. dark and chosen were surprised by the innocuous hobby but they were like hell yeah go for it

half the time just sitting in their corner and zoning out

whenever they get in on schemes they're always the planner and/or the one executing the plan

their ability to be exceedingly average can make them the stealthiest so they use this to be the so-to-speak 'scout' of the group

has probably been taken for witness reports whenever the authority is looking for the hollowheads and just shrugs and goes 'i didn't see anything sorry officers :('

Innocuous Person autism in general. like. masking so hard that you don't even notice they exist. 🤝

SC still LOVES humans

loves computers too! they like exploring computers and sometimes they steal things but they feel bad about it.

really mad that people assume that they're a bad person just because they're a hollowhead

becomes friends with Alan after the group accidentally stumbles into his computer!!!!

he ends up trapping the bunch of them rather than killing any of them, probably because the viraband protects them from being force quit

SC steals from his art program and everything just. kind of stops when they find out they have powers with the pen? sc is yelling in excitement and alan is like 'oh crap they can talk', and everything goes from murder to 'actually this is really cool can we hang out?' and surprisingly things worked out

Dark and Chosen actually didn't realize SC's interest in humans went beyond just studying them! they absolutely panicked when they realized they were not only being friends with humans but FRIENDS. WITH ALAN NOOGAI BECKER. (probably the startup for whatever the showdown equivalent is)

ALSO. sc is likely unable to use their powers still...... the others have been really supportive and encouraging, and they're aware that they HAVE powers, but anything involving their powers was basically only ever a spark at best! it's very scary for everyone when they use their abilities beyond that!

[annawayne]

Hello Anna <3 I hope you are doing well 🌻

Can you answer questions for the artist game 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 29 :)

I like your art and I want to you talk more about your art. 🥐🥐🥐

Oh, hello-hello!

Thank you so much for these kind words and for your interest! And, haha, I see that you've read the previous post, too 🥐🥐🥐

2 most popular piece?

It's ironic how one of the most popular pieces is the one I don't like :D But this is it!

Another popular one, is this one, but in this case, I still love this art (sometimes I wonder if I'll be able to create something like this ever again...)

7 easiest thing for you to draw?

It's a very interesting question! Let's say, on the stage of the rendering, it's, how ironically it wouldn't sound, but backgrounds! I know that usually it's considered like the least thing you would name as "easiest", but somehow, it works for me...

9 whats something you always come back to when drawing?

Hm, very good question. I think, it's this simple thought that everything, in reality, doesn't have an end: drawing, no matter how good you are, is about constant studying, and this is also the beauty in it. I always try to keep it in mind, but when I start drawing, every single time I recall this idea, and, at some point, to be honest, it's also reassuring.

10 how do you deal with artblock?

You know, I must tell you that I have never had an art block. Demotivation and discouragement? Yes, and not because I can't draw what I imagined, but primarily because of the reach since I wish my arts would be seen more, but other than that - even if I had some small moments when I felt like something wasn't going the way I would like to - I felt upset and sometimes disappointed, but never to the point of artblock. So, in my case, the answer will be a bit different: when I have such moments, I just step away from it and let these feelings not interfere into my art process. Drawing or writing with such low emotions which whisper to you how "you're failing to match your imagination" (which, in fact, are nothing but lies) is a huge emotional turmoil and also, some kind of torture, so instead of forcing myself into it, I just let these emotions live and die as quickly as they appear. During this time while I'm away from drawing/writing, I try to distract myself with something usual like reading, for example. So, yes, that's it!

11 do you listen to anything while drawing?

Yes! I usually listen to lectures/discussions, this kind of content, or to the music - when it comes to it, I try to find the matching pieces of songs to the vibe of the drawing, so it also helps me to set the mood :3

For example, for this art, I was listening on repeat Eric Satie, and I hope it gave the mood to this art the one I hoped to achieve

12 describe your process while drawing

Thank you for this question! It all starts with the idea itself, usually it just pops up out of nowhere, or some official art happens, and the image of what to draw strikes me very clearly. Sometimes, I can have some ideas, and they float around, until the moment I realize how I want the art to look like. After that, I gather some pose references, and start sketching. How much the sketching stage takes, it depends on the art itself: sometimes, I can sketch it for 20 minutes, sometimes - for hours. When the sketch is ready, I do the flat colours: just basic shades to understand the palette, and after that - the general colorization of the art (the group with different layers such as Brightness/Contrast, Gradients, Solid Colours, Hue/Saturation etc), which changes through the process. And then, rendering! Now, I have the scheme: firstly, skin rendering + hair, in between - background, step by step; clothes; additional details; the general work with lightning; shades/volumes; final touches, and here we are!

13 talk about a wip you like!

Currently, I'm working on JeanPiku and AruAni double date, and while I think it's quite good piece, there are two WIPs I'll be working on after that, and I must tell you that this solo question made me *wheezing* because I'm both excited and a bit scared to work on them :D One of this WIPs is related to Ancient Greece mythology (sorry for not sharing details, since I want to keep it as a small surprise), and another one based on this official Annie art from brave order with pipa, and, off course, Armin too :3 I really hope I'll do justice to these ideas, and you'll like them!

16 how do you motivate yourself to draw?

AruAni (and JeanPiku) motivate me to draw! :D

But on more serious note (my first answer is still serious), it's as simple as it is - I can't simply not to draw. The drawing itself motivates me because it allows to tell the stories, to live through so many emotions and many scenarios. And, honestly, for me, it's more than enough.

29 do you use a lot of references while drawing?

I use reference for the poses - that's yes, my must have, since I try to make it quite "humanly fluid", and even if I study anatomy, I prefer to have references to always double check. As for composition and colour palette- no, it's always my free flight of imagination :D So, basically, I use references for characters and for some specific details, like furniture or flowers, for example.

Thank you a lot for all these questions! It was really interesting to answer, and it helped me to distract myself from everything, thank you so much, and have a good one :3

[chubsonthemoon]

GUESS WHOSE BOOK ARRIVED TODAYYYYYY SO NOW I GET TO POST PICS!!!!

This is To Hell and Back Again, by dear dear @perexcri. Cover design by @byierficrecs (thank you SO much for letting me use your design!). Binding by me!

I'm not in ST fandom, but I had the pleasure of skimming this fic while I was typesetting, and can I just say? I'm rooting for these kids SO hard. I'd go to hell and back again for them--[GUNSHOT]

But in all seriousness, Leah's writing is whip-smart, sincere, and funny as hell. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone who is a fan of these crazy kids. Her ao3 is a veritable treasure trove of excellent byler stories, which you should absolutely check out right now go do it!!!

As usual, process chatter and more pics, under the cut! <3

WORD COUNT: 144k

FONTS:

Title: Hellprint

Heading/Chapter Headings/Spine Titling: Norwester

C4 Summary: Roboto Condensed

Main Body Text: Garamond

COVER MATERIAL: Epson Premium Presentation Paper Matte, printed on my Epson Ecotank (more on that later baha)

HEADBANDS: Trebizond silk thread in the colors Garnet and Black

EDGE PAINTING: Acrylic paint in Crimson and Black

TITLING: Red iron-on foil for the text and white HTV for my maker's mark. Cut by Charlotte, my Cricut!

BINDING:

This was my first go at a German Bradel binding! I've seen lots of Renegade folks use this method and am so psyched I got around to trying it myself. I modified DAS's approach a bit and tipped on endpapers instead of sewing them in (there were a lot of new things to learn so I decided to shelve sewn endpapers for the next binding XD). I also only had 2.0 mm bookboard instead of 1.0 mm, so instead of layering two of the same boards like DAS did, I instead used one 2.0 mm board and one very thin piece of cardboard to create the groove for the hinge. The original article that DAS bases his video on actually uses boards of two different sizes too--a "thick" board and a "thin" board--but I still want to experiment with DAS's way of doing it, especially since I think it'll be easier to do cutouts on thinner board.

As far as matching the groove with the hinge, I think I did pretty okay for my first try! One board is definitely better fitting than the other though baha. There's always room for improvement, but hey that's where half the fun is anyway (and also you can't tell after the case-in whew), so I'm not stressed about it :D

COLOR SCHEME:

Nearly all of my design decisions for the color scheme were based off of @byierficrecs's gorgeous cover design! They were so generous in letting me use their cover and answering my questions about fonts, for which I can't thank them enough. And with so many wonderful elements to work with, it was so much fun to tease out the elements I loved from their work!

I decided to keep with the theme of red/black, which I also thought was fitting for a ST fic set largely in the Upside Down. Thus, black painted edges with red vines, as a kind of inverted, "upside down" continuation of the cover:

Even the thread I used to sew the signatures is red/black! :3 (please also ignore how the picture of the textblock is not focused on the actual textblock ajsldkfjs it was very late when I took that photo)

COVER PRINTING:

This was my first time printing a cover on my new printer (!!!), and BOY oh boy was it an adventure. Figuring out the dimensions took a second, but not as long as it took me to figure out what settings produced something I was happy with. Behold, all my test prints:

Very long story short, let's just say now I understand why being a prepress color specialist is literally a career you can have in publishing LOL.

Also, for some reason I could only sometimes get the bleed to work? Basically what I ended up doing was painting over the parts where the design didn't quite extend over the turn-ins, using with the same black acrylic paint I used for the edges. You can see this more clearly in the photos I took of the groove, and the endpapers covered the messy bits when I cased in:

THE MAIN INGREDIENT: LOVE

Finally!! The most important part of the process!!! HI LEAH ILY!!!! This fic is special for a lot of personal reasons, but chief among them is LOVE!!!! Your A/N's made me tear up when I first read it, because AH! You read my words of love!!! And went and wrote hundreds of thousands of your own words of love!!! And now I hope I've given that love back once again :3 And on and on we go, ad infinitum, until we are relieved of the curse of literacy and greet whatever comes after all this, thanks be to Todd. But until then, I'm so glad I get to shoot holes out of bagels and scream about radioactive tumblr posts and cry over fake people with you, friend :] Truly, peace and love on FUCKING Planet Earth. We are making it and we will all go together when we--[ANOTHER GUNSHOT]

I'm so excited to see where we're going, and what other stories we have to tell. But for now: EEEEEEEE YOU WROTE A BOOK!!!!!!!

<33333!!!

[fromwhenceucame]

Round 2 of my favorite characters as warrior cats lets go — Sylvain, Claude, and Dimitri edition

Once again I throw logic out the window for actual cat markings/colors/whatever because I design based on vibes and I was only able to work a crest onto Sylvain (the red around his eyes resemble the two parts of the gautier crest) but I did try very hard to get the other two to have theirs (Dimitri gave me a stupid amount of trouble to get vibed right).

I knew I needed to put a heart on Sylvain for Sylvain reasons, and I thought it would be delightful if he only had it on one side — his other being just dark… I also really wanted to include black on him since his class outfits usually use black and red annnnnd the cat breed named after Gautier is a black and white cat.

Meanwhile, Claude is highly inspired by wyverns in the game. The lighter brown is basically wherever it would be on a wyvern, and the fact of his stripes are mostly from the Reigan tabby but also resembling the layered(?) look wyverns have… the scales, basically, with white stripes being used for more prominent scales (sort of, mostly because his wyvern is white and I needed to include it but he looked wrong with white stripes). His ear tufts represent wyvern horns/antlers, or they represent deer antlers! His tail and spots are deer-like, too.

And Dimitri !! He needed to be big and fluffy; and, he needed to have a mane with rounded ears like a lion so that’s the bulk of my ideas. The black part on his back is like the fur cloak he has post timeskip and his toes being black were just because I thought it would be neat 👍

I have been thinking about fe3h warrior cats in the back of my mind for over 2 years apparently, and it’s so easy to say we have Eagleclan, Lionclan, and Deerclan… that’s why those are the three clans. Maybe this world works a little differently, too, and the church is a band of clan cats who are always in contact with Starclan (allegedly) and therefore partially govern all the clans… Wolfclan also exists, but it’s not a real clan — it’s a band of rouges or loners who are doing their thing led by Yuri

Starting with Lionclan life, sometimes I remember that Thunderclan had a succession way back in the day with Oakstar to Pinestar and that is how Lambert wanted it to go before ~tragedy~ and I don’t know if it was Rufus or someone else who takes over afterwards but I do know that when Sylvain was a kit, a part of him really wanted to be a medicine cat but he never went down that path… though he does know a lot more about herbs than your average warrior! Good for him. At somepoint when it’s time for the timeskip, Dimitri disappears for 5-12 moons (I think 60 moons would be the 5 years but that feels too long for cats), becoming a rouge wandering the clans’ territories and picking off mostly Eagleclan like your unfriendly neighborhood cryptid. Eventually he’s normal again and not doing that, reclaiming the leadership position.

And with Deerclan I have not as many thoughts for I am not sure what makes the most sense for Almyra to be. Maybe something closer to the tribe? I do not know. What I do know is Claude came from there and got to be in the clans for a good long while, quickly rising to the rank of leader by the time the timeskip passes. I feel like Deerclan would be extra not happy about him simply showing up if that’s what goes down, so I support it happening. Kind of like how Tallstar makes Onewhisker the deputy on his deathbed, but it’s Claude’s grandpa doing that to Claude.

And I have a lot of name ideas for fe3h life !!

When I initially thought of names for specifically Lionclan/Faerghus, it was as if they were from Riverclan so the names on my mind have a very Riverclan-based scheme… but I really like some of them. Like “Shellrain” for Sylvain, I think it’s so fun if the name actually sounds like their real name. I needed to put “Rain” in as the suffix for Sylvain for that reason.

I think Lambert, who could be “Lightbass” or “Landbass” depending on how far you want to go with the names sounding alike, would name Dimitri “Lionkit” when he’s born. Then he can become “Liontrout” or “Liontree” again, depending on how far you want to go. Though, maybe his name is “Lionshade” “Lionshadow” or something else suspicious because it would probably be Rufus (who is Runfur because that is the closest I can get to it being Rufus) or someone else who doesn’t support him naming him at the time… unless warrior names are given out by the church group… hmmmm…

Regardless, I’m again not sure what Almyra is in connection to the clans, but Claude definitely has two names, and in the clans he goes by “Deerclaw.” Claw is the best suffix ever if you want to make a word that sounds like Claude (just like rain) so it has to be it, and “deer” is a very obviously accepted prefix for the clans. I don’t know what his original name should be yet, however.

And that’s all I got, but I have one more pair to contemplate (Aventurine and Dr Ratio) in the coming days before I start digging deeper into the other cats so stay tuned \o/ yippie

[thebreakfastgenie]

The Burma Shave Signs

In order to understand the significance of the Burma Shave signs, we need to understand Hawkeye's emotional state when he returns to the 4077th. The jeep driver is chatty, and Hawkeye basically ignores him. He tells Sidney he's uneasy about going back, which makes perfect sense; who would want to go back to a MASH unit close to the front? Besides, we know he's anxious about performing surgery again. But Hawkeye has another reason, too.

He's anxious about not being accepted back by his friends and colleagues. This, too, is a perfectly reasonable fear; the contact he's had with them since being hospitalized has been awkward and uncomfortable at best. Potter, Mulcahy, Margaret, and BJ were all more or less disastrous on the phone, and even Klinger, who handled it better than the rest, didn't get a joyful reaction out of Hawkeye. Then BJ visited him in person, and that went even worse. Hawkeye is very understandably afraid that everyone is going to look at him differently, a fear that's proven largely correct. It's uncomfortable knowing the people you're close to have seen you at your worst, and that happened to him very recently. His breakdown and involuntary hospitalization were very public.

There is also the nature of his breakdown to consider. He made a scene in O.R. and very nearly harmed a patient, then drove a vehicle through a building. People at the 4077th who witnessed that might be afraid of him now. They might be angry with him, too, because he destroyed the Officers' Club, which was one of the few places they had to socialize and relax.

So all of this is going through Hawkeye's mind while this enlisted man who doesn't particularly seem to care is trying to make small talk. And then he sees the message:

HAWK WAS GONE NOW HE'S HERE DANCE 'TIL DAWN AND GIVE A CHEER Burma Shave

The driver reads them and clearly thinks they're nice. And Hawkeye, Hawkeye smiles.

This is one of the first times we see him smile in this entire episode, apart from the flashbacks. He smiles when he thinks he's going home, and then here. This one is different. It's soft and understated--not a manic grin--and very genuine.

He smiles because for all his fear and worry and anxiety about going back, he's just been given a welcome back. Not just any welcome, either, it's personalized. It rhymes. It's a pop culture reference. It's joyful. It's thoroughly Hawkeye. I think the red paint is most likely a reference to the color scheme on classic Burma Shave signs, but if you want to add an extra layer, you can consider it a callback to the red party. It's a nice touch, too, that there is no reference to them later, so we never find out who was responsible for them. It emphasizes, as the goodbye dinner scene does, that the entire camp is close, not just the characters we usually focus on.

The message here is We're glad you're back. We missed you. We love you. There is no promise it won't be awkward, but there is a clear, unwavering acceptance, which is exactly what Hawkeye needs.

And then this happens:

Of course Hawkeye can't have nice things, but it's more than that. As I've just established, the signs are a symbol of the love Hawkeye's friends have for him. We know what the bus symbolizes. It's all throughout the first hour. "A bus, huh?" "Again with the bus? Why don't you subscribe to Arizona Highways and leave me alone?"

The bus is what happened. The bus is the trauma. The bus is the horrors of war. The bus is why Hawkeye had an ugly public breakdown and was committed to a hospital in the first place. The bus comes up from behind.

In this scene, his friends' love for him is flattened by his trauma, which has followed him all the way back to the 4077th.

I've never quite been able to figure out if it is indeed the same bus that Hawkeye finally boards after that shot where he hesitates and looks about a million years old, but this bus was approaching the 4077th for triage.

Potter says "Why don't you start on the bus?" the same thing Sidney asked him to do. He can't escape the bus. It follows him; he gets back on it. Because the war still isn't over.

The message on the Burma Shave signs still matters. He still got to read it. He still knows how they feel. And we him socialize among them and be loved and accepted, even as we also see him hanging back. The bus doesn't permanently destroy all hope, it just shocks him by barging in on a happier moment. We see throughout the second hour that though he's been released from the hospital, Hawkeye is still recovering, and the bus is a reminder of that. It's just an absolute gut punch of a moment to see it destroy those welcome signs.

Maybe it's not just about Hawkeye, either. If the bus is the war, maybe it's a reminder that any moment of joy or niceness will be interrupted by the war reasserting its iron grip on everyone's attention. Like all the way back in Bulletin Board, or the end of Movie Tonight, or Dear Sis. You can have nice things in a war, but only for a moment. But unlike in those other episodes, by the end of this one the war is actually over.