#and i also drew it in a hard angle for no reason but i like how that turned out

[mythtiide]

Day 5. Firsts / Flirting 🫧

[eldragon-x]

rose tinted glasses

[sunny-knight]

Dear My Dear -

an @forgettable-au fan-slideshow

At the end of their journey, Sans has remembered everything. And theres only one question on his mind now…

*now what?

Its lore time. omg theres so much-

The way ill organize this…lIll start with the GENERAL thing, before getting more spesific, and explain each slide in way too much detail.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

This is the hypothetical end to their journey. Sans and Papyrus remember what happened, and this is how Sans is handling it. A letter to Wingdings.

I was hesitant to make this at first for obvious reasons- we dont know how its gonna end!!! But I took this more as a “what if ?” scenario. IF they ever remember anything, how would Sans specifically, react? I mean thats gotta be tough.

Because of that though, lot of what happened to lead up to this is kept vague.

ill explain in way more detail how Sans got to the point of writing this letter, and how he feels in the end when I explain each slide individually. But the reason why, the MAIN ISSUE is…

Over the years, hes put so much effort into enjoying what he has. And- nothings even changed!!! So why does he feel so much has? Now that he remembers what he lost…WHO he lost. He cant help but have this voice in the back of his head that says “would it have been better if that never happened? if Papyrus never existed?” and of course he absolutely hates to think that! but the voice gets louder. Writing this letter, is an act of closure. Of laying to rest someone he never got to. Someone he never even really got to do much with.

(Excuse the shitty quality of the images- I promise they’re better. WATCH THE VIDEO)

my dear wingdings,)

Sans says “wingdings” here instead of “brother”. that’s important. Also its on a white void, showing a sorta “heavenly imagery” with the mention of Wingdings. Also Gaster is in a BLACK void, but hes talking about WD here, so, contradictions.

you never came back, and now…after remembering everything everything clearly i understand why.)

Sans and Papyrus are sitting by a fire at night. They are both sorta lost in their own worlds at the moment, but are more or less leaning on one another for comfort and support. They both need each other right now despite each other being the whole reason why they feel the way they do right now-

Papyrus is notably no longer wearing the white coat that somewhat resembles a lab coat. Symbolism! Growth!

(art note: I drew Sans as a lefty in this- cherish it. It was so hard to draw these hands at these angles- CHERISH IT.)

i don’t imagine you’ll receive this letter, but i, nonetheless, must send it. wingdings….oh ‘dings…)

the first part is somewhat of a self aware/sarcastic joke. Sans is writing this letter for himself- he doesn’t imagine Wingdings, the dead man, will ever see it. Nor would Gaster care to read it. Thats another important thing, this is NOT a letter for Gaster. This is a letter for Wingdings. which is for Sans

The star in the sky symbolizes a few different things- the main one being Wingdings ofc. But also Papyrus’ expectations of himself- which mainly come from who he was. He’s looking at it, reflecting, thinking of what Wingdings did, and what Papyrus has done. Who he is NOW, and if he ever was Wingdings.

Or if Wingdings just became him.

A square is a rectangle, but a rectangle isn’t a square type thing.

i was just starting to dream the silliest- the softest of dreams. i miss you. and i will always miss you.)

2 contradictions, what Sans used to think, vs what he knows now. The memories were fuzzy- he couldn’t remember The Royal Scientist, he just feels like he remembers some nice times. Before now knowing everything clearly. And he still misses it- slightly.

The reflections are blacked out at first, before showing their future selves. Before, there was no connection to the present because it wasnt true. It felt like/was 2 completely different things

but i cannot live like that.)

Sans can still tell, even without the rose tinted glasses view he used to have, he cant live missing the past and not living in the present. He always knew that, but repeating it here makes him feel better.

Pictured is Sans and Papyrus hiking up the mountain next to the city as the sun sets. Papyrus is in full view of the light, but is facing away in order to help Sans see it too. Symbolism!

and it seems you cannot live any other way.)

another reference to the fact that Wingdings cant live… at all now. But also an awareness that part of him lives on in Gaster. The thing that killed him.

I doubt hes going to change in any way by the end of the comics, he’s far to obsessive about angels and the player for childish stuff like “growth” and “changing for the better as a human being”

when i was with you, the world made sense. but now that we are apart, i see clearly that your world is not a world from which one can escape.)

When they were together, they knew what they wanted to be. They wanted to be scientists. But after being apart so long and experiencing so much uncertainty, Sans finds that mindset is unhealthy. Again, a lot of this is stuff he already knew, but is repeating to himself because after remembering everything, he feels as if hes back at square one.

As kids they would test echo flowers, for science purposes! We don’t know yet if WDs voice comes through on them, but I imagine not… maybe. But for this we’re gonna say no. Their speech bubbles are trying so hard to be circles- the scribbles also somewhat resemble stars because I thought that’d be fun.

But the last slide has it shown that he dug them out, also for science purposes!

He took the echo flowers from their roots, much later on in his lab career. That in itself isnt that bad, but it symbolizes that he doesn’t care much for taking things slow. He wants to test with echo flowers? **TAKES EVERY SINGLE ONE WITHIN A 100 MILE RADIUS**

Also the empty holes reflects sort of what happened after he died. All of the underground was left with holes to fill. Sans, a childhood/brother. Alphys, the royal scientist. Those are the main ones but he was THE ROYAL SCIENTIST im sure there were more (smaller) holes that may or may not have been filled.

Ok and the last thing the flowers being taken out represent- he took the ones specifically from when they were kids, and abandoned what was left for the grass to grow tall and the entire area to be, in general, a lot flatter. In his quest to basically never grow up and continue being the thing he KNEW he wanted to be since kindergarten- he’s taken everything and left the rest in the dust. He’s The Royal Scientist now, he “doesn’t need anything else.”

i’m so sorry. for everything. for everything long ago, and for starting up that machine again.

Sans knows he could have been better. He could have done things differently, and that thought messes with him, even before he remembered.

The 2nd image is Sans at Grillbys after another failed attempt to get Wingdings outside. Despite the fact that he could have done things differently, theres no real reason to be “sorry” But still, he cant help but feel like he should be. He could have done things differently- could have tried harder, and gotten Wingdings out more often- or at all.

Im not sure where the machine in Sans’ lab comes into play in this AU, but it worked for the purposes of this audio.

theres a good man within you, wingdings. but he is wrestling with a giant. and the giant WINS time and again.)

Before everything, there was still a good man inside Wingdings that Sans saw. But now that he’s Gaster he just cant see him ever changing... and yknow what hes probably right. Like Papyrus says! Anyone can be a good person if they just try!…Gaster just isnt trying

“Wins” being emphasized here, I enjoy, since its sorta a video gamey term. The giant hes wrestling is that/the player, after all. Also probably his ego

I also had fun with kid Wingdings and what he’s drawing. Ofc its all him and Sans plus silly little stars, but him being finished drawing Sans, but not yet finished drawing himself, symbolizes the fact that at that age he still didn’t really know what he wanted to be, I feel like Wingdings kinda remembers the past wrong. Sure he definitely had science on the mind, but younger kids are often filled with questions, he questions if thats truly where he’d be the happiest.

Thats the good man within him

you’ve broken my soul again, and i fear i have broken yours. and for that i will never forgive myself, but i need to let you go now.)

the star represents, again, Wingdings. And the moon represents Sans, which shines only under the Suns (Papyrus’) light.

The sun is beginning to rise, and Sans and Papyrus are beginning to leave. Sans puts out the fire, closing this chapter of his life.

Because of every reason he needed to relearn/re-reflect on listed here, hes ready to let Wingdings go now. Sans is the one to put out the fire here, and not Papyrus, cause this is from the perspective of how SANS handles putting this issue to rest. Papyrus can have his own fire to put out later

Another thing about putting out the fire, thats just kinda common knowledge to do especially at a public camping spot. Yknow what else is common knowledge to do so you dont disrupt the community?? NOT REPLANTING FLOWERS-

Its not that deep…but still-

i send you the radio you made many years ago when we were kids. not because i dont want it, but… because i care for it far too much and it reminds me too much of you.)

CALL BACK!!!!!!

Sans leaves this last memento to Wingdings, the last thing they have that has nothing to do with Papyrus. Because at this point theres no reason to keep it, in Sans’ mind at least. There’s also no reason to destroy it- Like he says, hes not leaving it out of malice, theres just no good that will come from keeping it and holding onto the past.

As the sun rises, here we see the brothers leaving. in contrast to before, Sans is helping Papyrus down. Helping him down from the spotlight, the expectations he’s set upon himself. Another kick that Papyrus still has much more to reflect on and think about, he’s still looking back at that light, at a shooting star, at everything he thought he wanted to be.

i hope one day you will find some kind people who with appreciate you. for it kept me thinking of you all these years.)

GASTER FOLLOWERS!!!

Despite everything, Sans still wants whats left of Wingdings, Gaster, to be happy and find something, anyone, that will give him true happiness. It’s left ambiguous however if they truly do, do that for him. If it’s at all healthy.

cause frankly i have no idea how theyll be included. but just like everything- i cant wait to find out

EDIT: something important (and really wordy-) I just remembered and forgot to mention: the wording change “i hope you will find some kind people who will appreciate you”. I chose this because I think it’s the thing Wingdings and Papyrus just want the most. To be appreciated- to be loved for who they are. Sans is/has been so happy that Papyrus has found those people in Undyne, Toriel, Asgore, and…hopefullllyyy Alphys? And now that Sans remembers Wingdings, and remembers how badly he wanted that, and how he never did. Sans cant help but feel horrible for him, and in turn, Gaster. Sans forgives Wingdings, and loves Papyrus…and….he just wants the best for Gaster. He hopes he can find true happiness in that twisted mind of his…

and i hope by returning it to you, i can finally be free. goodbye.

- your brother

As the sun rises, the star gets smaller and smaller and eventually the sun replaces it. Remember when I said Papyrus represents the sun? SYMBOLISM!!!

Also about that, the star shines brighter than anything, but the Sun is among a lot of clouds, depicting how isolated Wingdings is/was despite shining the brightest, vs Papyrus who also does indeed shine! but isn’t isolated whatsoever.

Now, remember when I said Sans saying “my dear wingdings” instead of “my dear brother” was important? well, he acknowledges that he is still Wingdings’ brother, despite everything. So he signs off as “your brother” but… He’ll always try to remember Wingdings fondly…but…he’s unsure if he considers Wingdings his brother anymore- just because of how much they’ve changed. Thats why the whole thing is called Dear My Dear.

the radio + letter remains there in the end. I briefly played with the idea of having them disappear as the sun came out, implying that Gaster took the radio and reas the letter, but that was before I realized it was much better for this to be for Wingdings specifically, not Gaster/Wingdings/whatever.

FINALE!!! PLUS SOME BEHIND THE SCENES INFO!!!

weeps pitifully this was probably the most fun i’ve had with a project/the most happy i’ve come out of one. Learned lots about my process’ and what works! so thats awesome It took a while to make, so theres a lot of stuff I changed or ideas I scrapped that I find interesting, so im gonna show some of that on my side/shitpost account, @o-sunny-day

also isnt this so awesome???? I got a computer so I got to post more images than just 10, THIS IS SO AWESOME!!!

Have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! Heres to being a bigger, better, and different person this year! except not really because despite everything its still you.

un-unless you…got shattered across time and space…. then you’re-

well I mean that-….. hm…

does that…? hmm, well….

[fire-of-the-sun]

NOCTIS' TRANSFORMATION ANALYSIS

"We carefully considered the path of Noct's life and sought a design that would convey his humanity with with the passage of time. I asked Naora-san to look at him as a real person and to depict his aging with realism rather than symbolism." - Hajime Tabata

The decision to age Noctis up from a 20 to 30-year-old not only enhances Final Fantasy XV's coming-of-age story of a young, unprepared prince transforming into a fully matured king, but also offers a unique insight into the choices made behind the external, physical changes intended to reflect said internal development. I've seen a lot of conversation about his altered appearance ranging from approval to confusion to downright rejection. So, as someone who enjoys analyzing faces and character design, I'd like to explore this change in depth. How did Noctis go from the stereotypical clean-shaven, spiky haired anime pretty boy to a rugged, masculine man? Were the changes too bold? Does he even still look like the same person? And what does his evolution say about other men in the Final Fantasy franchise?

FACE SHAPE

Noctis' face is symmetrical and well balanced with nearly equal thirds, the lower third of which increases slightly in length at 30. I drew over his jawlines as best I could manage as his hair is in the way on both and older Noctis' face is angled slightly downward, making these guidelines less accurate to compare but, even at a glance, it's not hard to see that his face and chin do widen at 30 to accommodate a squarer jawline.

It's normal for many men's jawlines to develop a little as they age but it typically emerges during puberty. At 20 years old, Noctis should probably already have the jawline he has at 30 or close to it. Of course, a jawline can be strengthened through various means but, unless Noctis was mewing in that Crystal for a decade, this change doesn't make a lot of sense to me, which makes it more of a stylistic choice to emphasize his older age and to add a notable dose of masculinity which naturally takes a step away from the younger, more 'feminine' appearing traditional Final Fantasy face type. Compare young Noctis or Cloud's face to someone like Lightning: the overall shape isn't too different and certainly a staple of the franchise regardless of gender.

EYES

(For the sake of better comparison, I've edited 30-year-old Noctis to have his natural blue eyes)

I've seen complaints that the change in Noctis' eyes makes him look less Asian. He is biracial, of course, and his features aren't and shouldn't be considered fully Asian, but I believe the reason behind this criticism is that, in the effort to contract and narrow his eyes to be more realistic at 30, his epicanthic fold is less visually obvious as his lacrimal caruncle are enlarged, which inadvertently makes his eyes look comparatively less Asian. This change serves to shrink his eyeball while taking up the same margins on his face with the length and even eye slant all remaining identical as far as I can tell, as is the overall shape and space between the eyes.

Noctis does maintain the same basic eye shape from childhood to adulthood, it just narrows as he ages which is completely normal. Despite the particular tastes of the Final Fantasy franchise, having larger eyes to depict youth is very common in animation of any kind with children bearing especially large eyes that shrink as they age. This was no doubt the intention here as well to depict Noctis' relative adolescence at 20 and continue to embrace their stylistic history of other Final Fantasy games.

I also want to note that his eyelashes are less thick and prominent at 30, which acts as yet another change for realism and a step towards a more masculine appearance.

NOSE

(Consult the previous images)

For many faces, the edge of the nose typically lines up with the inner corner of the eye which they finally do for Noctis at 30. As I've already stated, the margins of his eyes did not change, which means the alteration in nose size to be accurate to realistic proportions where it wasn't before contradicts the stylistic choice to purposefully give him a smaller, slimmer nose at 20. Also, though I don't have a comparison shot of his profile at both ages, his nose obviously not only increases in width but also length at 30 to match his altered proportions.

EYEBROWS

Where some changes are more subtle and feel like logical extensions of what came before, one of the more striking differences between 20 and 30 is Noctis' eyebrows as he loses the thin, manicured brows of youth and gains, well, more natural looking male eyebrows. I will point out that they appear lower on his face at 30 because he's tilted slightly downward and bears a more intense expression than the neutral pose at 20 which makes the exact angle a little harder to compare here but, that being said, I do believe they sit slightly lower on his face at 30 in general. Though they sit at essentially the same angle, the overall shape has changed a bit. Not only do they become thicker, they also frame the eyes more along the browbone which is very different than the sharp, nearly straight line of the brows in his youth.

Choosing to change his eyebrows so significantly is an interesting choice and perhaps one made not only to be more realistic and less like Final Fantasy characters of the past, but also to look more like his father as was part of their intention with his older appearance.

It doesn't necessarily feel like a choice borne purely from age either as Prompto and Ignis maintain their previous, thin eyebrows even in their 30s (as well as most of their other features). Instead, this alteration (among others) feels more in line with Gladio who, as the most traditionally masculine member of the group, similarly boasts thicker brows, a squarer jaw and facial hair, further proving that this is the direction they wanted to take Noctis as well.

LIPS

There's not much to say about his lips as they remain the same shape and are only lengthened a little. Typically, the outer corners of our lips correspond to near the center of the eye but, as his eye margins have not changed, the slight lengthening of his lips is yet another adherence to realism to better fit his adjusted features and widened face.

EARS

(Consult previous images)

Ears typically line up with the top of the eyebrow and the bottom of the nose and, though his photo at 30 is tilted more downward and this naturally changes the angle of his ears and makes them appear higher on his face, they seem to be proportional at both ages. That being said, based on these images alone, they do seem to change shape to me with the outer helix appearing to stick out farther at the top and taper in slightly towards his lobe at 30 whereas his younger ears appear narrower at the top, rounder overall and widest towards the middle. Our ears can change shape and size as we age, of course, I'm just not sure there would be a noticeable difference after only a decade, and they could have potentially been left unchanged in my opinion.

HAIR

"From their [characters] hairstyles and clothing as children to the expressions and posture they develop as adults, their individual traits and the way they change over the years all inform the looks we created." - Yusuke Naora

I think it's important to note that Noctis maintains the same basic hairstyle for the majority of his life from a child into his teens and early adulthood, which feels indicative to me of how it's meant to convey that he hasn't truly grown up yet. The abandonment of this style for the first time in his life at 30 reflects great inward change: letting go of the boy he used to be and becoming a new man.

Though his two hair styles seem vastly different at first glance, I love that the foundation of the first is easily identifiable in the second. The boyish bangs and choppiness at 20 help to emphasize his youth - an element that is largely abandoned at 30 in an effort to help him appear more mature as he adopts a rugged, unmanicured style that enhances his newfound regality. The formerly long and well-maintained face frame has been shortened slightly with loose strands left to fall randomly rather than sustaining a clean sweep over his cheeks. Where the bangs have gone, a few errant strands remain to fall across the left side of his face - a vestige of what once dominated the area (and a similar feature to Ardyn as well). The vertical, gravity-defying spikes at the top of his head have been abandoned entirely and left to join the cascade of hair falling down his neck at greater length and the spikes at the sides of his head have also been left to curl softly over his ears. The results feel inevitable for a man who has left his hair mostly untouched for a decade (with some tidying up) and a natural extension of what came before.

While we're discussing hair, I also want to address Noctis' beard. Love it or hate it, it certainly aids in helping him appear much older and kinglier (a direct reference to his father) and also acts as further evidence of his Asian ancestry as the texture and lay of the beard hair is noticeably different than that of his father's, Gladio's and the other White men around him.

SKIN

Barring the fact that older Noctis in this image (and throughout most of that chapter of the game) is usually very dirty with a face marred by sweat and grime, his skin tone is also noticeably warmer. I'm not sure why this change was implemented and allowed him to go from a paler skinned youth to a warmer skinned man (especially not having been touched by sunlight in a decade), but perhaps it's a result of his new power and another step toward realism as there may be a tendency to have Final Fantasy protagonists be paler skinned in general as a stylistic choice?

It also goes without saying that Noctis was given a few small moles at various places on his face to give him more realistic skin and not a flawless, porcelain doll look.

AGING

"We didn't just add typical aging details, but also referenced images of war veterans and actors to find the 'sublime' characteristics, from single wrinkles to hair tips that could express the magnitude of Noct's fate and life experiences. Also, in keeping with the father and son theme, we made it so you can see Regis in Noct's face, with features such as the beard bearing his essence." - Yusuke Noara

I believe the main narratively validated reason Noctis' appearance receives such a drastic change over the course of 10 years while his companions were barely altered, is no doubt attributed to his unique aging from the power he now possesses due to his time in the Crystal. We know that simply wearing the Ring of the Lucii has a physical cost even for those meant to wield it as it can scar and age prematurely. This led to Regis aging rapidly due to his overextension of power upholding the wall, looking arguably older than he should at just 50 years of age. It's also a marked leap from how he looked just 12 years prior. His black hair had been bleached to grey and his body composition clearly waned given his difficulty with mobility.

Having been imbued with such immense power for so long, it's no surprise that Noctis has also aged at an abnormal rate, perhaps biologically looking closer to 40 rather than 30, I dare say, just as his father appeared older than his actual age. This aging, of course, led to all the altered features discussed above as well as more visible fine lines under his eyes and slightly greyer hair, the latter of which is harder to notice in the main game, but a clear distinction made in the hyper-stylized Pocket Edition.

BODY

I've seen some comments lamenting that Noctis' older face makes his head look a little too large for his body. Though I'm not entirely convinced his head was actually enlarged overall, it could appear that way given his widened jaw and possibly neck that inadvertently produced a sense of disparity as his body remains the same as it did at 20 - the only thing that didn't change about him over the time skip.

We know Noctis was essentially frozen in suspended animation inside the Crystal for 10 years and was ostensibly sustained without food or water due to its power. However, time still clearly passed for him as Noctis' mind has matured just as his face, but his 20-year-old body is left untouched. It obviously doesn't make sense for him to have gained any muscle without exercising all those years, but I'd argue that altering his body by increasing his muscle mass even just slightly could have avoided the complaint regarding his head size as it'd allow his new face to match better as well as continue to support him feeling older and at peak strength given the Crystal's immense power now surging through him. A mild change here could have made a big difference, but this is just what I would have done.

CLOTHING

Let's quickly address Noctis' evolution via clothing as what a character wears is just as important in reflecting their identity as their physical appearance. Dismissing the optional outfits you can choose to put him in, I'll be focusing mainly on his default 20 and 30-year-old clothes as these are what the creators intended to best suit him in their respective sections of the game. This leap in style is as seemingly vast as his physical changes and helps to emphasize his growth just as much as his face, albeit with some base elements that are maintained such as the continued adherence to all black clothing (of course) as well as the use of a jacket and collar.

Young Noctis' appearance from hair style to clothing is obviously very youthful and not overtly regal - at least not to the degree you'd expect from royalty. Noctis clothes feel modern and edgy adorned with skull motifs, resulting in a style that feels a bit rebellious and incongruent with his father's pristine, kingly wardrobe and even that of the immaculately clothed Luna, both of whom are characters he's meant to emulate to fulfill his destiny. In this section of the game, Noctis isn't particularly ready for the role, as his clothing helps to emphasize.

As a 30-year-old, Noctis abandons the clothes of his youth and adopts a simple but dignified suit, granting him a more regal, mature and capable appearance which helps to enhance those newfound qualities. Where his wardrobe stood out before, his suit now feels in line with what one would expect of someone in his position, albeit not entirely distinct as Lucian royalty beyond the color - that is perhaps best represented in the kingly raiment he wears towards the end that acts as a direct reflection of his father and further showcases his tremendous growth and acceptance of his title.

THE PROGRESSION OF FINAL FANTASY MEN

I'm no expert on all the titles in the Final Fantasy franchise so forgive me if I'm off about any of this, but, as far as I've noticed, male Final Fantasy protagonists tend to share a similar appearance: young, clean-shaven, stylized features, spiky/over-styled hair with thin, and rather effeminate brows. Think of Cloud as the poster boy of this look. 20-year-old Noctis fits squarely into this category, making his leap outside of it due to a significant time skip (and design choices) an interesting one to examine as this has never been done with a mainline male Final Fantasy protagonist before.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the latest protagonist, Clive (a character who also aged significantly in his game and ends up at 33), who stands out as a unique addition to this roster with his more obvious masculinity as depicted by his larger build and facial hair. Though still stylized to a degree in its own way, Clive and the direction of Final Fantasy 16 as a whole trend more realistic for the most part, avoiding the more typical stylization choices of previous titles and striking a new direction into more Western appealing territory as was the intention, but though he embodies these qualities to a more notable degree, he certainly wasn't the first attempt.

With a foot in both worlds, Noctis bridges the spectrum with his younger self being more in line with past characters like Cloud, and his older self acting as a prototype to pave the way for a protagonist like Clive. Time will tell if this series continues to lean into this new style choice and feature older, more traditionally masculine men or if we'll return to the classic, more overtly stylized, 'pretty boy' formula for its male protagonists. Regardless, Noctis' bold leap in age and appearance will always stand as a notable choice that helped pave the way into new territory for the Final Fantasy franchise.

CONCLUSION

As we've explored, Noctis' appearance changes drastically after the 10-year time skip. From his eyes, brows, nose, ears, hair and even skin tone, every feature on his head has been altered to some degree with the exception of his untouched body. Did he need to change that much, though? Honestly, probably not. As I surmised, most but not all of these changes felt entirely necessary or even logical based on the foundation of what came before but, rather, felt like choices borne of a new adherence to realism over past stylization in the case of his eyes, nose and lips specifically and a desire to masculinize him as evidenced by his rugged new beard, strong jawline and thick brows - all elements of which result in turning him into one of the most realistic looking protagonists in the entire franchise, in my opinion, even if the journey to get there arguably pushes the boundaries of normal age progression at times.

This departure from what came before was certainly a bold choice and not one that worked for everyone as I've seen some lament that such a dramatic change coupled with a sudden timeskip made him no longer feel like the same character, but I'd argue that change is also the point. By the end of the game, Noctis has grown and transformed in all the ways he needed and that's the purpose of the entire story and therefore a necessary choice in telling it. The creative decisions behind the changes are, of course, debatable. I for one really love the alterations and think the creators were successful in aging Noctis in a mostly realistic way that visually embraced his inner king by outwardly reflecting his father and also offering audiences a taste of something revolutionary for the brand.

These are just my thoughts. What do you think about Noctis' change in appearance and which age do you prefer?

Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed this, please reblog and/or like and check out my #ffmeta and #ffedit tag for more!

[phoenixyfriend]

Was chatting about good alternate Cody&Obi-Wan dynamics with @threebea, and one of them we just had a lot of fun with.

Bea:

Cody: We are doing a good job at war. Are you proud general. Obi-Wan: [grump in CW '03] Cody being in a lacky position is very funny to me, if that makes sense. Cody: The boss will surely promote me. Obi-Wan: You're diligent and thorough but we cannot save supplies by powering this with my lightsaber that is not happening. I have always considered that of the two of them, Cody is the reckless hot-blooded one and Rex is the level-headed one. (Obi-Wan's view skewed however having raised one Anakin Skywalker making Cody kicking droids seem very reasonable and thought out.)

Here were my options for Cody and Obi dynamics:

Obi-Wan treating Cody the way he treats Anakin, early on in their working relationship, tentative but working on that angle because those two are the same age and rank so like. Cody might really be as much of a Dumb Young Man as most young men are, yes?

Obi-Wan treating Cody with a hands-off approach because the guy can manage the army while Obi-Wan runs off to stab the Count, right?

Obi-Wan treating Cody kinda coldly because his instinct is to be very delicate and nice to these traumatized young men, but they don't like it when he does that, so he has to be standoffish because otherwise he'll start babying them because they're barely any older than Anakin was when he got his boy.

Obi-Wan treating Cody as a Research Assistant because he's a nerd and sometimes padawans would be assigned to him in the archives, and Cody hovers behind his shoulder the way those students did so he just got distracted and started giving Research Guy orders instead of High General orders.

Aaaaaanyway we got in on that last one.

Obi-Wan definitely had to call him Padawan at least once Cody: ... [Looks around nope just him]

Cody: I expected to be mistaken for my brothers due to our faces. I did not expect to be mistaken for... Anakin Skywalker? Did I get that right?

Rex: My general called me mom once. I think he was joking? but I'm not sure.

One day, Cody has to come into the Temple for some professional reason, is told that Obi-Wan is in the archives, and walks into the sight of Obi-Wan wandering the stacks with several teenagers following him like ducklings, giving instructions with just "Padawan, could you grab that one?"

When Cody asks how they know which one he means, they tell him they don't. They just go with whoever's nearest the given task.

Cody: But he doesn't do this to any other clone [he does] Rex: You stand just behind his shoulder handing him files all day.

You Are Doing The Padawan Thing

Cody initially worried because implied Obi-Wan thinks of him as a student/not fully ready for the responsibility of being a commander or whatever. Obi-Wan: ? No I just… You're Padawan shaped. I can't explain it any better than that Cody gets it the most because he happens to stand exactly where Anakin used to stand the most often. Ironically, Obi-Wan tries hard to call Anakin by his name as a respect to his no longer being a student thing. Cody is firm about military discipline calling Obi-Wan sir and General because if he called him Master Kenobi or Obi-Wan the 'mistaken for Padawan' thing would happen three times as often. Cody: [grumbles] Alpha-17 didn't have this problem. Rex: Alpha-17 drew a line between himself and the Padawan day one to avoid it I think.

Alpha also has been acting like a middle-aged man since he was five. The disdain. Dripping.

Which actually didn't save him he was just more openly insulted when it happened once so Obi-Wan made sure never to do it again. Alpha: I was trained by Jango Fett himself and have proven myself a full fledged captain. I am not a Padawan :/ Obi-Wan: [listening to the speech] noted Cody: [far too polite to ever correct Obi-Wan] What did you need, General? Probably reinforced Alpha acting like an old man. I think he even calls Anakin kid? Anakin: I'm older than you you're the kid 😦 Obi-Wan: Padawan don't argue with the captain. I need a five times Obi-Wan called Cody Padawan (and one time when it was Alpha-17) fic now lol

Anakin: Why does he get away with-- Obi-Wan: Because I feel that if I call him Padawan by accident again, he may break something. And we don't have the funds for that.

Anakin: [in the room once but realizes Obi-Wan was taking to Cody] Anakin: Am I jealous by rival son/Padawan or am I amused that Obi-Wan is going senile?

"my baby boy" vs "generic younger person whom I feel some fondness for"

It's like. Old southern men who refer to anyone younger than them as "son" or "miss."

Obi-Wan: It's even gender neutral I don't have to remember names at all. Obi-Wan also probably called Ahsoka 'Anakin' a number of times, but that's due more to the A name combined with her jumping off something a Padawan should not be jumping off of. He mostly defaults to Padawan but a scolding 'Anakin! No!' Comes out every now and then for her. Obi-Wan: Anakin! No! Anakin, beside him: What? Obi-Wan: ...Sorry, force of habit. Ahsoka! No!

[soupthatistohot]

A rant about why BSD is hard to enjoy right now (in my opinion)

Originally posted this on twitter but I think tumblr folks will sympathize, as well. So, here goes!

The stakes are simultaneously so ridiculously high and also nonexistent. I can't shake the feeling that everything is going to return to normal after this arc is over (everyone we care about will be alive, the world will have been saved), so why should I care about anything that's happening?

To that point -- no one (I care about) stays dead!! So what if Kunikida "died" in the chapter today? I'm sure he'll be back. Dazai also didn't die in Meursault, neither did Fyodor (who actually literally CAN'T die!!). Akutagawa is now alive and well, too! As much as I hate excessive MCD (like in JJK), you need to actually kill off characters sometimes if you're gonna threaten it so often, because then every death lacks emotional impact. I've been, like, numbed to it atp.

There are so many characters I do not know enough about to care about. Who even are the hunting dogs? Bram? Sigma? Asagiri hasn't put as much time and care into characterizing them as the main cast, so when things happen to them I kinda don't give a shit long-term. They were introduced in the middle of a convoluted plot that has taken such precedence over the characters who are supposed to be driving the story.

BSD originated as a character-driven story, and that's what drew myself and so many others to it in the first place. It was bizarre in a charming sort of way. It was about the characters growing and developing as people as much/more as it was about the external conflicts going on. It almost feels like Asagiri has been trying to be too clever about this that he's lost the core of BSD: it's heart.

Similarly, there's a reason this is such a ship-heavy fandom, we live for the character dynamics! But our beloveds have been scattered to the winds for literal years in our time that we've lost most of that interaction we love so much. Give us back our found family dynamics!!

Kind of back to the point about the convoluted plot -- it eels like the characters' intelligence has outgrown us and Asagiri, to the point of seeming impossibly ridiculous. Like what do you mean Chuuya was faking it the whole time and then stopped a bullet from entering dazai's skull and got away from it because of the security camera angle?? what do you mean Fyodor dying by a vampire's hand actually means that he subsumes bram and then he sets off a tripolar singularity to create god and this was his plan all along????

Obviously I don't speak for the whole fandom and these are just my opinions. I'm not saying you have to agree with me or even that BSD is horrible. I just feel like it's kinda lost its way the past few years and I miss the animanga I fell in love with :(

[siampie]

Risk and Reward||Chapter 11: Secrets And Lies

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.6k

Summary: Matt’s POV as your relationship reached its breaking point.

Warnings/tags: Angst with hints of fluff. Mentions of SUDEP (Sudden unexpected Death in Epilepsy)

A/N: I don’t know if I got everyone's voice right but I’m pretty proud of this chapter. So, I hope you'll like it too.

Previous Chapter || Chapter List || Next chapter

Masterlist || join my taglist

Tag list: @marytheweefrenchie; @abbyhaslongshorts; @schneeflocky; @danzer8705; @ebathory997;

@sarraa-26; @cheshirecat484; @rebeccapineapple; @violetswritingg; @foxyjaina;

@soph69420world; @marissamejia19; @flowher

Dividers by @cafekitsune

Song the title is referring to:

I know all your secrets

I know all your lies

I know where you keep ‘em

Buried deep inside

No, you can’t hide your secrets and lies

Secrets and lies

The buzzing of the neon signs, the sounds of the people in the streets down below weren’t enough to distract him from thinking of you. When he first became aware of his new senses, it had all been overwhelming, painful even. He had learned the hard way how to put these nuisances in the background, to ignore them. The world around was never truly quiet or odorless but he knew how to pick and choose what to focus on.

The sound of your heartbeat was one of those things. He loved the way it picked up when you saw him in a room. He could hear the smile gracing your lips, big and wide. He loved the sound of your voice when you spoke to him, soft and gentle. He loved the way your hands always seemed to find him, the way they clung to his arm or waist when you drew closer. He loved how your scent hang in the air long after you were gone. It flooded his senses without it being overwhelming. Lavender and citrus, was the only fragrance you used. For almost everything. Your detergent, your shampoo, your body lotion, your cologne. You were everywhere, even when you weren’t there. Even now, sitting in the dark, your smell lingered in his loft.

You were sitting on his couch, wearing one of his dress shirts, and nothing else. His right hand was on your thigh, his fingers lightly brushing up and down your thigh. The smell of your recent activities heavy in the air. He, himself, was shirtless only in his boxers, lounging in the couch. Enjoying a lazy Sunday at his place, as you often did. One of his legs was swaying lazily.

“I thought you didn’t like pistachio ice cream,” you commented, digging into the ice cream tub.

“Still don’t,” Matt replied, angling his face towards you.

“Then why do you have it in your fridge?” You questioned.

“Because for some godforsaken reason, it’s my girlfriend’s favorite,” he shot back.

You squinted at him, huffing out a laugh, “I will acknowledge that is very sweet of you to keep my favorite flavor in your fridge. But am I sensing some judgement here?” You finished, waving your spoon over his frame.

“Pistachio isn’t supposed to be an ice cream flavor,” Matt sat up. “Pistachio is a snack at best. They taste weird, they aren’t sweet. And it definitely shouldn’t be an ice cream flavor. It’s nasty.”

You gasped, “how dare you? Pistachio ice cream is the best flavor. And it is a very good snack by the way. Also, the weirdness of the taste is what makes it the best thing on earth. I don’t know exactly how to describe it but I—I just love it.”

“Your tastebuds are broken,” he quipped back.

“No, they’re not.”

“Pistachio ice cream, black licorice, tamarind, kaffir lime,” he listed out.

“I don’t hear any complaints when I have you in my mouth, though,” you pouted pulling your leg away from him.

His jaw dropped open; his eyebrows went up into his hairline. A laugh escaped his lips before he could stop it. You glared at him, still pouting. His hand came to grab you under your knee and pulled you towards him.

“Matt!” You shrieked, tightening your hold around the tub of ice cream. He leaned over you pulling the tub out of your hands, “I’m eati—” he cut you off with a kiss, tasting the pistachio on your tongue. The spoon fell on the floor with a loud clang. His warm hands sliding up your legs, to disappear under his shirt.

When did it all go wrong? He wondered.

A few months ago, a young woman had come to them for help. Diagnosed with epilepsy in his late teens, her boyfriend had been under treatment ever since. But within the last few months, his doctor had switched his medication for a new one. No longer able to afford his usual brand, the doctor prescribed him a generic drug. And at first, everything had seemed to work out all right. A few seizures were to be expected during the switch, nothing they weren’t made aware of.

After switching completely to the generic one, her longtime boyfriend had suffered from all sort issues that could not be classified as side effects. His seizures had worsened after years of rarely having them. He suffered from sleep apnea, heart issues. His health had deteriorated so much that he suffered a massive seizure in his sleep, and passed away.

Because of his epilepsy, they classified his death as SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy.) Which his girlfriend disagreed with. And that belief that her boyfriend had been taking the very drug that killed him, led her to them.

After hearing her, and accepting her case, Matt and Foggy had concluded that it was an off-label promotion case. If they could prove there was wrongful death, they could take the case to trials. It could lead to years of litigations but in the end, this could save many lives.

This case had been their main focus in the last few weeks. They looked into the pharmaceuticals company that were promoting the drugs. Was it FDA approved? And what was it truly approved for? It had taken most of their time and you had shown yourself understanding. You had shown yourself to be patient.

Matthew knew you were sometimes disappointed and hurt that he cancelled on you. He hated that he made you feel this way. He could hear it in your voice every time. And he was certain it was quite apparent on your face too. Although, you reassured him every single time that it was alright, he always found a way to make it up for it.

Then, he had to let the Devil out. And things became more complicated.

The pharmaceutical company offered their client money. And when that didn’t work, they threatened her. It turned out the company was a front for something more nefarious. They wanted to keep it buried. Because it was so much more than just off-label promoted drugs. There was an entire drug ring being run underground.  Illegal experimentation being run on people. And most of them had no knowledge that was happening to them. And the lawsuit would just draw unnecessary attention to their business.  

That was when it went wrong.

You didn’t know about the Devil. You had seen the scars left by Nobu, asked about them and he had shut it down. Because it wasn’t the time. He had promised to tell you everything, and you were willing to wait for him. But maybe that was no longer the case. He was aware that he had used up too many lies. That many dates had been cancelled. Maybe in wanting to keep his secret, he had ruined everything between you two.

“Alright, you have to tell her the truth,” Foggy told him with finality.

“I will, Foggy,” Matt assured him, his fingers running along his braille note pads. “Just not right now.”

Foggy ran a hand down his face, “Matt, we can’t keep on doing this. Lying to her, covering for you, it doesn’t feel right.”

“It isn’t,” Karen crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t think she believed us last night.”

Matt leaned back in his chair, giving up on trying to read more about their current case, “if anything we found out last night that she can be kinda mean,” his best friend told him.

“Mean?” Matt frowned up.  

“She made digs the entire time we were there,” Karen sat in front of him. “Making it clear to us that she knew something was wrong.”

“The way she glared at us would make anyone admit to crimes they didn’t commit,” Foggy commented, Matt snorted. “Listen, buddy, if you don’t tell her the truth, you will lose her.”

“What if I tell her the truth and I lose her anyway?” Matt voiced out his fears.

Karen glanced up at Foggy, “you don’t know that, Matt.”

“I know that you and Foggy didn’t have the best reaction at knowing the truth,” Matt reminded her. “I don’t want things to change between us. I don’t want her to hate me for it.”  

“Matt, we’re still here,” Karen put her hand over his. “And we don’t hate you.”

“And change isn’t such a bad thing, buddy,” Foggy said softly. “The girl loves you, so put a little faith in her. She may surprise you.”

It was easier said than done. He did not doubt you. It’s him, or rather the devil he was afraid of. That darkness inside of him, that part of him, thirsty for justice and blood, could not stain you. Sharing that part of him with you, could forever change the way you think of him. The way you felt about him. He wasn’t ready to take that risk.

But what was he doing right now any different?

Keeping you in the dark, away from a whole side of him. Was that what he really wanted? He had tried to be either Matt Murdock or Daredevil. Neither of those had worked out well for him. Matt Murdock was Daredevil. And Daredevil was Matt Murdock. And there was no changing that. So, was it fair to you, to keep you in the dark? To keep up the lies and the secrecy?

The lies had become a third party in your relationship. Building a wall between you and him, pushing you away from him. Keeping up the secrecy was breaking your relationship and revealing that side of him to you, may not fix it. Either way, he could lose you forever.

He stood up from his couch, slowly making his way to the closet, in which he kept his suit. He pulled the door open, crouched down and opened the trunk. Slowly, he took his helmet in his hands. His fingers traced down the edges and ridges of the mask.

Hiding who he truly was, was second nature to him. He had learned to conceal who he truly was over the years. To be perceived as a defenseless blind lawyer by the world. It shielded him from any suspicions. No blind man should be able to do the things Daredevil was capable of. Rare were those who knew who he truly was. And some of them had died under his watch.

He had lost himself in this web of lies, promising himself to tell you the truth. But always pushing it back at a later date. He had convinced himself that the timing was never right. That he still had time. That he was only keeping you safe for as long as possible. He was truly protecting you.

But he was only fooling himself.

“Are you ever going to let yourself be happy, Matthew?” Maggie questioned as she stepped further into the crypt underneath the church.

His face bathing into the only ray of light, taking in the warmth. He let out a deep breath, his hands buried in his pockets.

His relationship with Maggie, his mother, was still strained. They were not as close as one would expect. But since Father Lantom’s death, she had become the one he turned to for advice. Anytime he was troubled, offering him guidance when lost.

He didn’t have much hope of them both ever being really close to one another. Although, he was hoping for it. She was still his mother, and yes, the years of lies and secrecy had hurt him deeply. To know that his mother, the one person that could make the loss of his father less painful, was within reach. To know that everyone knew but him, had cut really deep. Leaving yet, another scar on his heart and soul. A scar that he was slowly trying to heal, by allowing his mother into his life. Giving himself a chance to forgive her.

“If only it was that simple,” Matthew replied. He dropped his unseeing gaze down to the floor, “if I tell her about—the Devil, if I—give her a glimpse into that part of my life, she might not be so accepting.”

Maggie clasped her hands in front of her, “she may surprise you.”

He gave out a sharp laugh, “that’s what Foggy said.”

“I always knew he was the smart one,” Maggie smirked. “You’re doing her a disservice by not giving her a chance to choose.”

“How do you mean?”

“Keeping that whole other side of you hidden from her,” his sightless gaze turned to the nun. “You’re so afraid she will choose to leave that you are not giving her the choice to stay.” Maggie glanced up at him, “I don’t know much about her but from I’ve heard from you, she sounds resourceful, kind, gentle. She may find it in her to forgive your bullheadedness.” His eyebrows went up, and he let out a low ghost of a laugh, “and who knows she may choose you above all else,” she leaned closer and whispered, “all of you.”

He was furious with himself. After you had walked away from him tonight, he had come back home. Hopeless and hurt, enraged that he ruined everything with you. They all had warned him about this. He knew he was in the wrong, he knew he had pushed you too far. So much so that you walked away from him.

Why was it so much harder with you than with anyone else? You were more important to him than anyone. Than anything. It should be easy to simply open up to you. To let you in on his secret. Why couldn’t he do this? Not just for him, but for you too. The last thing he ever wanted was to hurt you. To lose you.

“Thanks,” your voice rose at the foot of his building. He froze, tilting his head slightly. A car door shut behind you, and you walked into his building.

Maybe he could fix this, he hopefully thought. He dropped his cowl back into the trunk and rose to his feet. Your heartbeat grew stronger as you drew nearer to his apartment. Your heart was hammering into your chest, your breath was shallow. You were nervous. And so was he.

He heard the shift in the air when you rose your fist to knock on his door. And then you froze. He held his breath, silently praying to you and God, that you would knock on his door. To give him a chance to make things right with you. To fix it all. He moved closer to the door, picking up his glasses on the way. After putting them on, he stood on the other side, and quietly he dropped his forehead on it.

“Please, sweetheart,” he mumbled.

As though you heard him, you dropped your fist on his door. Knocking. Without putting much thought into it, he pulled the door open.

“I know it’s pretty late but I—” you started. “Can I come in?” You asked quietly.

“Yes, please,” Matt stepped away from the door, making room for you to go in. He quietly followed you in. Keeping the distance between you. “Do you—uhm, do you want anything to drink?”

“Just water please,” you replied.

He moved into the kitchen, giving you a moment to collect your thoughts. Your breath was coming out in short pants, your blood had rushed to your chest and face. Your heartbeat had skyrocketed. Your natural scent, the one he had grown accustomed to, was overpowered by that of absolute fear. Letting him know how terrified you truly were of this conversation.  

This could break everything.

He took off his glasses, abandoning them on the kitchen counter. He walked back into the living room, placing the glass on the coffee table. And sat down on the couch. He leaned his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands in front of him. He took a deep and shaky breath as you took a sip of water.

You sat in the armchair and remained quiet. Not a word was said between you.

“Sweetheart—” He attempted but you cut him off.

“I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been thinking about the last few weeks, and—” you paused, shifting in the chair. He heard the friction of skin against jeans, as you nervously rubbed your hands on your thighs. “I miss you; I really do.”

The desperation in your tone made his chest twist painfully. He sucked in his bottom lip between his teeth, tears welling in his eyes.

“And I—I don’t think I can do this anymore. I understand that you work, I get that. But you—I can’t deal with the lies anymore, Matt.”

The air shifted around you as you suddenly stood up, your feet moving across the floor as your started to pace up and down. He could tell that tears were forming in your eyes since the salty scent arose in the air. His brows scrunched up, his own lips wobbling. Struggling to hold down his own tears.

“All I can think about is how you lied to me. You lied to me for weeks, Matt. Weeks,” a sigh escaped you. “And I keep thinking maybe I’ve done something wrong. I’ve done something to hurt you. And maybe, that’s why you’re pulling away. Because you don’t want this anymore.”

That wasn’t true, he had to let you know. He rose to face you, “no, you didn’t do anything. I—” his hands itched to touch you, to pull you into his arms. To reassure you. “—want this, I swear. I want us.”

“Then what? Why are we here, Matt?”

He gripped his hips tightly, “sweetheart, it’s complicated—”

“Then uncomplicate it,” you snapped, your voice thick with emotion. He let out a shaky breath. “Because I’m lost here. To—to think you’re going through life—to think that no matter what you do, you end up being punished for—for—for—” a whimper tumbled out of your lips as the first tears made their way down your face.

Matt took a step closer to you. He couldn’t bear the thought that he was the cause of all this. That you were standing here, crying because of him. That he had put you through so much pain. He hated himself for it.

“I don’t want to be blindsided because you don’t want me anymore. Because I’ve been too much. Or maybe because I’m not enough—”

He gripped your hand, and pulled it to his chest. He had to stop this line of thinking. He was so busy being afraid of you doubting him, that he never thought of the possibility of you doubting yourself.

“You are enough,” his hand ran up and down your forearm, in an attempt to comfort you. “I—want you. More than you know.”

“Then why are we here? Why all the lies?”

“I will tell you everything—just—”

“Just what?” He grieved the loss of your touch, as you ripped your arm out of his hands. “I hate this,” Matt took a step towards you, and flinched when you took a step back. “I don’t want to be this girl who is insecure. I don’t want to be the girl who’s paranoid. I don’t want to be this person. But I also don’t want to stay where I’m not wanted, Matthew. And I don’t want to walk away. Not from this, not from us.” Tears were now running down his face. “But I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do here?”

“Stay,” the quiet plea fell from his lips. “Stay,” he found your hand again, brought it back to his chest. “I want you; I want us.” He repeated, as a promise. “Never doubt that, I—” he squeezed your forearm, afraid of you pulling away again. “I—I will tell you everything. Just—just stay tonight, please.”

He would fix this. He had to.

“No more lies, please?” You begged.

“No more lies,” he promised, and a quiet breath of relief left his lips when you let him pull you closer.

“Okay, I’m staying.”

“Thank you,” he sniffed.

“You’re not out of the woods, yet.” You told him, “But I’m not going anywhere. I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

He rubbed a hand down his face quickly, “I know and I’ll explain everything. Answer all of your questions. Just—I need you to sit down.”

“Okay,” you nodded quietly.

He moved quickly to the closet, as you settled down on the couch. You were giving him a chance to explain himself. He owed you the truth, regardless, of what it would mean to your relationship. Whether you accepted him or not was no longer in question. He needed you to know that he never questioned your worth or value. You were never at fault.

He needed you to know that.

He walked back to you in the living room. He took a deep breath before setting down his vigilante helmet on the coffee table.

His chest rose with his shallow breaths, nerves was getting the better of him. He couldn’t gauge your reaction properly. You stared at the item on the table, your breath caught in your throat. His tongue darted out to wet his lips that had suddenly gone dry, and he took another shaky breath.

“I’m Daredevil.”

Previous Chapter || Chapter List || Next chapter

[golby-moon]

made a thingy for the @spnfolklorebang and dumped uh a lot of art on it. I now never wanna see and/or draw snow again (good thing it's July ig fghjfhfg)

so first up is the banner, in which I reuse the putting credits on trees thing because I'm very original with banners (at least it wasn't a desk this time gdfgdf). for some reason that sign with the title gives me Club Penguin vibes and I have no idea why, though I'm thinking idk maybe the colors? also look at me forcing myself to get better at drawing forests using that greyed out outline-less object method

drawing the Impala is Hard no matter the angle so I actually used a reference for once yay. just now realizing Dean might be too small but ehh. for this one, I really wanted to emphasize the fact that Cas isn't there at this point in the fic so I drew a lot of empty space in the Impala as opposed to zooming in on Dean and relieving myself of the burden of drawing more Vehicle. also this is my first time drawing snow like that how's it look. also also what no I totally didn't distort various sections of the banner to make the trees in the background what are you talking about

(bonus sketch but I originally just had the Impala all frosty like this and idk I was still somewhat fond of this version even if the fic had the Impala more snow-covered. looking at this now, the frost looks more like salt from the road than anything though :/)

oh no look away it's my attempt at drawing people squatting down ,_, (never a good thing though neither is me trying to shade stuff). nah but I actually found references of Dean and Cas squatting shockingly easily and tried to copy those. still doesn't look quite right imo but an attempt was made so that they could actually see the tiny prints in the snow which I think came out suspiciously well considering. the weird section of snow on the bottom right is supposed to be a slushy sort of river that's partially melted but not really so I tried to make it look kinda melted. also am I the only one who never realized until now that we never saw any of the main characters wearing any sort of winter clothes? they're up to their ears in flannel but don't have a coat or a warm hat??

bonus art piece thingy featuring Phillippe LeChat (the familiar from That One spn episode, since my boy Phillippe is featured in the fic). houses never come out looking quite right and the roof is a disaster but an attempt was made and yeah I did give him huge anime-ish eyes I don't make the rules

the fic this is made for is called "Full Snow Moon" by @mbqnoyolo

(07/06/24)]

[tdicksapphic]

sex with my lover the other night was so fucking good, fuck

it was rough and tender at the same time and i just. fuck!! i came at least 30 times which is a new record for me by far 🥵

it had been something like two weeks before we'd last had sex, thanks to her not feeling well and me having to travel. while traveling i'd sent her some images from what i was getting up to all alone in my hotel room, but she hadn't gotten on tumblr at any point to see them. i'd been waiting for days, feeling like she was edging me by not going to look at them, waiting with bated breath for her to finally see

then earlier the other evening, i mentioned to her i was about to take an edible; i tried to be nonchalant about it, but we both know how insanely horny i get when i'm high, and how my my tdick grows bigger then than any other time and how horny that makes her.

we spend our evening casually, as i gradually start to get high. when i've gotten high enough that blood has started flowing into my tdick for no other reason than how intoxicated i am, i claim i'm going to go watch a show only i like, so i head to our bedroom alone

instead, i download and edit the audio i recorded during my hotel escapades. as i work on it i get to the point where i'm so horny i'm mindlessly rutting into nothing, so i start jerking myself off with one hand. i think i ended up cumming three times just while editing and posting it 😅

...and then one of my sluts dm-ed me on here; you know who you are and what you do to me, fuck. I came at least another four times from our messages plus your audio —

and then suddenly my lover was in the bedroom too; i was so high by that point i hadn't even heard them come in. i honestly don't even remember everything that happened after that, but i know they started talking about how they'd finally seen the gifs i sent, and then listened to the audio i just posted --

and then suddenly she was kissing me hard and talking to me and god i wish i remembered more details beyond how incredibly good it felt. i remember showing her a video i'd also recorded at the hotel

the main thing i remember is that at some point i was begging her to take her boxers off (mine already were) so we could press our dicks together. ...which is a little embarrassing in retrospect because that's not a word she uses for her body but i was so high and fucked out all i could hold in my head was how bad i wanted to frot

so i pulled her boxers down and off her with her help, and straddled her and fuck, the moans we both let out as our dripping wet holes made contact 🫠 then i re-angled myself to push my cock into her clit-- i'll admit it's a pretty awkward angle, my tdick's just too short to reach it easliy, but we figured it out. and fuck, i don't think there's much else that feels as good as that to me.

we thrust and rocked into each other, and kissed and groped and sighed and grunted and enjoyed each other's heat and it was all just so good, just waves of pleasure coursing through us both

at some point we drew to a close with her using a vibe on herself while i continued to rut mindlessly into her thigh, dripping all over it as i just kept on cumming

anyway i definitely broke my orgasm record by a long shot-- i came at least thirty times that night, between touching myself and dm-ing here and then making love to my incredible gorgeous butch

[livewireprojects]

Month of Sonadow 2025 Day 26

Day 26 was hobbies

I have a long explanation for this image but the context without explaining what's going on is that Sonic is helping Shadow raise his younger brother Eclipse. Eclipse has no idea what a normal life is since he was awakened recently before Shadow destroyed the Black Arms army.

Sonic got Eclipse into the hobby of aquarium keeping, Eclipse is kind of young but Sonic kind of starts some things early. I messed up the angle so it's hard to show Eclipse watching the fish tank while happily clinging to his new friend.

So the idea is that for whatever reason Black Doom made Eclipse(or had someone in his army or whatever make them) as a backup if getting Shadow on his side didn't work.(Instead of like in the comics were he was made by some the new leader or whoever of what some how remained of the Black Arms) For whatever reason Eclipse ended up being very young & I think he was taken out of the test tube early. Shadow for some reason ended up choosing to spare & adopt Eclipse when he destroyed the Black Arms at the end of Shadow the Hedgehog.

Sonic decided to help Shadow raise Eclipse since Sonic has experience raising a younger sibling.(As well as helping babysit one) Because of these changes it led to Shadow & Sonic growing closer sooner than in the main ver thanks to bonding over raising Shadow's little sibling.(Kind of funny since Shadow went from little brother for Maria to older brother/adopted dad for Eclipse)

Sonic ended up getting little Eclipse into the aquarium hobby, got them a fish tank & helps them raise fish. It's hard to see but I drew balloon lumpfish because I was watching a video & thought it'd be interesting if they had some. Eclipse is a happy child watching the fish with their best friend & future BIL, Eclipse has taken to wrapping their tail around Sonic's arm as a sign of affection.

Shadow is working on paperwork, apparently there's a lot of paperwork he needs to work on to have a life in modern day times.(I dunno how to explain shit) Towers & Rouge are helping him with some of the paperwork but he still has some stuff to deal with on top of registering himself & Eclipse as citizens of where ever the fuck they are plus documents that say he's Eclipse's legal guardian.

He's almost done & can't help but be happy to see Sonic be a part of Eclipse's life. He's grown fond of the two & enjoys seeing when Sonic spends time with the two black arms siblings.

It feels a little odd drawing present day Shadow & Sonic because most of my art for Month of Sonadow has been with future versions of them. Because Shadow is immortal he hasn't changed much so I made his bangs longer & sometimes his clothes change. Sonic though also immortal in my stuff is easier to tell the difference due to actually having his appearance(clothing & hair wise) change over time & Eggman's torture that blinded/scarred him also adds to things.(Along with Sonic further in the future eventually getting some of his eye sight back) To be fair I focused more on Sonic so some of his designs have more planning & haven't really focused on Shadow much though I feel like he wears a few similar looking things until later on.(I'll maybe work on this eventually)

Master list on Twitter

[pawseds]

Accidentally did a lineup of some Helvetia girls (plus Merlin) impulsively past midnight. I wanted to try draw different body types because I think of them as an extension of storytelling. Plus, it's fun and good practice! (I say this without ever having learned anatomy or having searched up reference for this lmfao oops)

Characters 1-3 and 5 belong to @theroyalzealot, and character 4 belongs to @katastrofish. Image description + more info from left to right under cut!

Marianne (red), 42 y/o: Pear-shaped, keeping in mind she's in her 40s. She also has small lip corner/cheek wrinkles. No idea what it is anatomy wise lmao. I designed her for my friend. Not much to say here? She's your average middle-aged woman who has curves in the right places. She's not on the athletic end because she sits behind a desk all day. I drew her in an A-pose because I didn't know I was going to be doing a lineup LOL

Molly (blue), 24 y/o: Slouch, shoulders slope more. She's the reason I started doing this lineup in the first place, because her designer and Marianne's original designer (same artist) draws them with the exact same body type and face shape, and given the big age difference and their very different personalities, I thought to try redesign her while staying true to being curvy/round. I tried leaning hard into softness since she's not self assured and is kinda melancholic sometimes. To match, I gave her a rounder face, a wider/rounder nose, and droopy eyes. (Marianne's French and Molly's Brazillian, so I wanted Molly's features to not be so Eurocentric.) I also changed her hair to try reflect her personality more.

Abaddon (green), 33 y/o: Hip dip, like she's always flexing. Originally desgined by someone else. I was drawing these with Mika on call, and this was the point they said they were curious about my interpretation of Abaddon. This woman is supposed to be fucking tall and built like a tree, so I really wanted to show that LOL. It's just angles, angles and hard lines everywhere. Whenever I'm drawing muscular/fit people, I try to remember that muscle is soft when unflexed, and that people aren't flexing all the time (unlike what media potrays). BUT. Abaddon is constantly jacked on hypergeometric steroids to the point of addiction. So I think being uncannily shredded at all times even when she's fully relaxed fits. Also, hip dip is there because she doesn't have a lot of fat. The same goes for the next 3 characters.

Melydice (purple), 30 y/o: Muscular, but not in the steroid kinda way like [Abaddon]. Toned af. Originally designed by Mika! I wanted to draw Melydice to contrast against Abaddon, by showing what a very athletic woman who's not constantly on steroids looks like. It probably would've been more effective if I've actually studied muscle anatomy! But anyway, I followed Mika's description for this: pretty average frame, but with broader shoulders, and all the muscle she packs hide beneath loose clothing. Maybe I should've drawn Melydice flexing her arm for contrast to see how fucking swole she is when she's actually flexing. But otherwise, I think she has a sleeper build. She takes her duties as a field agent very seriously, and she's been one since she was 18.

Eve (cyan), 39 y/o: Narrower shoulders. Ectomorph kinda build; leaner and not as muscular as [Melydice]. Very lean frame. Originally designed by another artist. I drew her in for variety and to contrast against Melydice. In my head, her body naturally can't build muscle as easily as Melydice's (and Abaddon's), thus having smaller muscles (and less fat) than them both. So she's more of the 'mean and lean' kinda gal, and would definitely look slim/narrow when her muscles are relaxed. However! Do not underestimate her! The fact that she's nearly 40 but has a body as toned as this means that she's been consistently training for ages! She can absolutely pack a punch if she needs to, I'm sure. She sure packed a punch in Hrothgar's criminal record by framing him-

Leyna/Merlin (orange), 30 y/o (stuck permanently at this age because she's dead): Narrower frame, but proportionally broader shoulders. L o n g l e g s. I've had the idea to draw a lineup for a long time, and I knew I wanted to include Leyna and Elmira in it. It's nice to compare/contrast her against Eve, too: they're similarly lean, except with how Eve is more muscular, Leyna's pelvis is narrower, Leyna's flat as a board, and Leyna's legs are proportionally longer. Even though both their shoulder widths are kind of the same, I like to think that skeletally, Eve's are narrower. It's just that she has muscle built on top of that. If Leyna were to work her shoulders/chest, I think they'd be broader than Eve's. She's lucky to have this build since she very often presents as male (she's genderqueer, uses any pronouns).

Elmira (magenta), 43 y/o: Petit but round. Pigeon SML shapes, as in I wanted to capture the 'small medium large' shapes of a pigeon and implant it into Elmira (since her surname is Golubev, aka pigeon/dove). Not much to say here, either. I didn't want her to necessarily be curvy like Marianne (though I could've done a better job at Marianne). I just wanted her features to be very round. She often wears a hijab but doesn't do it all the time, so it was about time that I started ideating what her hair would look like. One day, I'll achieve the thick and curly/wavy look I have in mind.

[wasyago]

how did u get so good at composition:3 did u like to draw background all the time or it came to be after practice how long does one piece usually take:333

hehe well, thank you first of all. second of all... um both? practice yes, no one gets it on the first time. and just. i dont know? doing it over and over again and trying new things and experimenting, seeing what works, what doesn't, where the background is needed and not.

i remember i heard a lot of artists around me saying that they didn't like or couldn't draw backgrounds, and for some reason i decided that im not gonna be like other girls and learn to do it. and i uhhh.... just started? drawing backgrounds? i was trying, and watching tutorials on youtube, and seeing how other people did it and eventually it got easier? i can say that i definitely enjoyed figuring out how to do it, struggling to get the perspective and composition right. like, it was hard but i had a lot of fun doing it, so it felt natural and just like, normal art progression? it didn't feel like i was going out of my way to draw backgrounds, i just did it when i felt like it?

at some point i joined a character ask, you know, when people ask questions and you draw the character answering. and i decided that im gonna draw a background for each answer instead of it being a character on a blank background. and doing this, like, specifically trying to draw backgrounds and tell a story with them, and doing it regularly and coherently, it helped me progress a lot. like, i started with a character sitting on a couch in a room, and then it got better and better, multiple rooms, multiple angles of the same room, different locations and images. it helped me a ton. just, figuring out when you need a background, when its rather i did something simple for one frame and focused on the other instead, where the character needs to be positioned, etc.

i can say i didn't do a lot of proper studies, and if i did maybe it would've been helpful... i only drew things that were in my head, with characters that i liked, with imaginary locations and stuff. never really drew from photos... we did go on plein-airs, or whatever they're called, when i was in art school, so drawing backgrounds from real life probably also helped a little, but i can't remember anything about it so it didn't do as much.

i looked at a lot of art from cool artists and expanded my visual library, i analyzed their art trying to figure out why i like it and how to make my art have the same kind of feeling. and i still do! sometimes something just takes over me and i scroll pinterest for 3 hours looking at pretty art and going to artists' profiles and saving art and using it as inspiration later. and it helps! a lot!

i dont know where this post is going ummm. i guess if you want to learn to draw something, just like, start. scrap it if you don't like it and try again, have fun, don't get attached. and uhh, i felt a little nostalgic so here are some of my pieces that i did throughout the years. definitely feels like i got better at it recently, but there's still a lot of room for improvement

oh and for your second question. one piece takes about ummmm... more than a thousand episodes, thats 20 minutes times 1000 devided by 60 devided by 24... we're looking at about 14+ days of non stop watching?

no but for real. i dont really keep track of time when im drawing, uhh. plus depending on the complexity... my recent jrwi drawings are sketches, so they took maybe one or two hours max. something rendered uhhh, maybe 5 hours? if i don't finish it in one day the chances of this drawing ever getting done are super low, soo yeah

[aliceisaperson]

I’m bored and kind of want to talk to people so, what’s all of your favorite YouTubers and what about them makes them your favorite?

My list is:

1. Strange Aeons: quite literally the only reason I’m on tumblr, I love learning about weird fandom history shit and she is such a fantastic creator who not only goes into that but also typically goes deeper into kind of pyschology (almsost? Kind of) of why some things that are kind of hard to understand in fandoms happen. Her recent series on omegaverse was so fucking good (I’m saying this as someone who has essentially no interest in that subject fandom wise lol) and really dove into the topic from every angle, it was just fantastic. I also recommend the Snape wives video which kind of also goes deeper into the subject.

2. Drew Gooden: He’s been one of my favorites for years! I honestly think he’s one of that Funniest people on the platform, but also the past few years he’s been going into deeper topics, like gambling addiction and companies that take advantage of those with mental health issues. He’s really someone who you can go to if you’re looking for a discussion on serious topics as well as lighthearted fun videos. He’s just fantastic

3. Jenny Nicholson: I mean come on do I really have to say anything. She’s amazing in depth and just so effortlessly funny. I’ve watched her Vampire Diaries videos more times than I can count (I’ve literally never seen the show lol). Also the video where she reads the Josh Hutcherson Fanfic has been living absolutely rent free in my head ever since I first saw it and it never fails to make me laugh.

Anyway I’d love to keep this conversation going and hear who some of your favorite YouTubers are, you do not have to write like a whole ass paragraph like I did I just kind of felt like showing love to my favorite creators lol.

[kichimiangra]

Out of all the Princess Peach Showtime transformations, which do you think Bowser would like the most?

https://youtu.be/4Z5-iyALu80?si=AtQorWaSwhcVIwRo

I happen to like the Figure Skater Peach most for... reasons...

But despite Peach's sweet personality I think Bowser has a thing for someone who could tie him into a pretzel so I'm gonna say Kungfu Peach

She just looks like she could happily decimate him and he'd say thank you.

Of course I think if a powerful woman was the case I think that he'd absolutely LOVE Super Radiant Peach... but in like... an untouchable angelic way. Like she's never been hotter but also just... for the first time ever truly out of his league (In his own mind)

........... [Slow piano fades in playing "Out of my League" by Stephen Speaks as Bowser has the moment of realization that he is in fact dating up and not the other way around]

(Excuse the bad Sketch of Bowser it's been a while since I drew that chunker and I of course chose a hard angle to draw him in)

[einsatzzz]

For the artist ask game:

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with

There are so many good questions 😭😭😭 I hope it's okay that i just spamed a bit 👉👈🥺

It's ok bro !!! Ask as much as you want !!! So that l can keep yapping about art as much as I want too lmaooo Thank you for sending this over hehehe 🫡✨💜

Weirdly Specific Artist Ask Game

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

Since it's you sending this ask, the fave I got to answer this with has to be the one and only, Hib/ari Ky/oya 🤣🤣🤣 The first look at his design, it looks so simple. Nothing really too complicated with his hairstyle. He would fit into that one meme where this user is trying to compile "basic black hair guy" from various media (basic black hair guy??? but he's so ikemen and popular??? that's how you know he has 10000 aura & charisma *biased*). But then when you actually try to draw him, there's just something about him that I find hard to capture. Or maybe it's because he's my fave, that my brain just hyperfocuses on the tiny details that makes him *HIM* that sets him apart from other characters with similar designs. Then, I just end up overthinking how I draw him. And that makes him such a bitch to draw.

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

Game OSTs and maps/areas! I listened to the whole playlist of Enka//nomiya (from Gen/shin) so much, it lowkey ended up as an inspiration for Kana's character and general vibes, especially for a certain part of her lore. I originally listened to it for just studying because it helps me focus, then somehow the whole playlist AND the map/area itself is Kana-core now.

If I just have to rec a few from this playlist though, these are the ones: Soft Moans of the Remains, Sink Into Oblivion, Tearless Souls of Byakuya, Hope or Nostalgia, Vanished Beyond Recall, Combat Beneath the Waves (most of the titles ahahaha...🙃)

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

The first one that came to mind for this is Hiro/hiko Ar/aki-sensei! He's the mangaka who made Jo/jo's Biz/arre Adv/enture. His style is so legendary and iconic, I'm very sure you've seen it at least once. It's so different from mine that leans more towards the conventional pretty anime character style, but I LOVE Ara/ki-sensei's art so much, especially the fashion, poses and his grasp with drawing the forms/shape of his characters with such a god-level of consistency.

I remember someone making a gif of his character in different panels, arranging them so that they're facing in different angles. The result is so smooth, it's like you're rotating a 3d model with how consistent he drew the face structure, even if each one is from a different manga panel! 🤯🤯🤯✨✨✨

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with

It's a 50-50! Sometimes I do when I remember, then sometimes I don't because I either forgot to or it's just that good of a day for me to draw. And when I do forget, I would only remember because it kind of feels off for no reason, especially when I'm just at the sketching stage. When I realize that, I would open another canvas asap and start drawing random stuff. If it's coloring then, I usually don't need to warm up.

For my warm up subjects, I usually go for Kana or Kurumi, depending on my mood. I drew them so much, so they're the easiest and quickest to draw for me, they're great for warm-up sketches for that very reason. They're also a test to see rq if a certain day is a good drawing day. Because if I can't even draw KanaRumi properly, then I know my brain is not in the right setting to draw at that particular time just yet. I can stop the clownery very early and just switch to doing something else.

[melrosing]

As your not a big fan of fantasy books in general. What drew you into loving asoiaf? What got you hooked?

now that I'm invested in asoiaf I do genuinely like the fantasy elements of the story, but the stuff that really pulled me in was the human drama and political intrigue etc. I love the character work, almost all of the POVs feel fully realised and subvert typical tropes in really interesting ways (imo). I like the inter-generational drama (the reasons I like succession are v similar to the reasons I like the Lannisters), like if I want to understand Jaime and Cersei and Tyrion I can look to Tywin, and if I want to understand Tywin I can look to Tytos, and if I was to understand Tytos I can look to Gerold, like it's a russian doll of intergenerational trauma what more could a girl want.

and on that note I really like the scope! GRRM obviously feels this need to account for all details minor and major, so that even with everything that's already on the page there's room to extrapolate so much more. i mean here I am writing who knows how many words about a fake 20-episode long robert's rebellion tv series lol like this all happened before the series even starts and yet I hardly need to make anything up bc there is so much to draw on just based on all the random little details we've got here and there from characters reflecting on the same events from different angles, and trying to piece together portraits of the people who died based on the recollections of those on the page who remember them..... it is so fun)

and yeah usually I prefer to read about that kind of thing on a smaller scale but the drama that plays out in AGOT is so engaging that upon initiation I didn't find it so much of a chore to keep track of all the various houses and lands etc in order to understand the full implications of each thing that happened - it felt like it was worth the effort. generally it's the 'keeping track' of it all that I find grating about fantasy bc I really want to just get on with the story rather than keep on top of a hundred magic systems and sub-species of pixie.

and obvs asoiaf is low fantasy rather than high fantasy, i.e. there aren't intricate systems to the magic and or complicated genus for each of the creatures, so that made it feel a lot more accessible for me as someone who just isn't very interested in those kinds of details. Dany's magic is made up as she goes along, it's never explained, and that's the same for pretty much all the fantastical elements - it's very show don't tell. and even though when you count it all up there are quite a lot of fantastical features and subplots, taken together with the rest of the story it's more like.... seasonings I wouldn't usually choose but ended up liking just fine in this overall dish lol

and finally asoiaf just really appealed to me from a fannish perspective! I really hate when you're trying to dig deeper with a work and you quickly start to realise that the writer(s) just weren't thinking that hard. it feels like striking concrete with a spade, like it's a one-sided conversation rather than something both the writer and the reader are participating in. I think some fans are perfectly fine with that and good for them - who cares if the author built the work to sustain your analysis if you're just having fun doing it - but for me it's a complete killjoy, I end up v frustrated and like the work isn't worth my time

so here's GRRM who is so fixated on the finer details that he's churned out a history book like 700 pages long and a bunch of short stories and also another history book just to add a bit more texture to the main story. and I don't have to worry about network input or co-writers or actors' intentions or whatever other external conflict or influence cos for better or worse it's all his story. and that just suits me better lol, it's one guy and his shitty computer, and me reading the shit he wrote with it. pure and simple living in the moment no phones in sight

also jaime and brienne are everything to me xo