#and i have a couple of illustrations in the works

[ariaste]

A couple things:

First of all, yes, it is pretty fucked up when major corporations like Disney go after small-time artists selling fanart and stuff like that.

However, to elaborate on what the last comment points out: Yep, copyright law does not only protect major corporations from small-time artists trying to scrape together a living in this capitalist hellscape. It also protects small, independent writers and artists from having their original work stolen and stripmined for profit by major corporations. Not just by AI, either -- we're talking Disney, Marvel, major Hollywood studios, etc.

Without copyright law, Disney execs could see a drawing of someone's OC on instagram, say "That's a cool character design. Yoink!", make a film, and make millions of dollars off all the merch and toys of that character that they sell. They would have zero obligation to pay the original artist, and the artist would have zero legal recourse to seek damages.

Without copyright law, an author might submit their work to a publisher, and it would be perfectly legal for the publisher to say, "Cool story, bro, we're going to publish it. Byeeeee never speak to us again," and not pay that author a cent. Without copyright law, your favorite author simply doesn't have a viable career anymore. Neither does your favorite illustrator. Neither does your favorite band. Without copyright law, all creativity and art is left wide open for exploitation by whoever has the budget to market it most effectively, and in that situation the the major corporations always, always win.

"i imagined you did a crime against me" is funny and incisive when we think about a major corporation saying it. But it's a lot less funny when we're talking about people whose livelihoods depend on their creative work, and copyright law is a major guardrail of protection for that.

Is it a perfect system? No, it's not. But if Disney stole my work, I WOULD want them to face legal consequences.

prison is fucked up regardless but the fact that you can do a prison sentence for copyright infringement is especially insane to me. you deserve to lose your autonomy because we might have potentially made money from that thing. i imagined you did a crime against me so now one day you'll have to hear your son ask his mother who you are.

[14dyh]

Clueless | H.Z.

Pairing: Hange Zo�� x reader Summary: Your research partner, Hange, is clueless about romance. Or so you thought. Content: just fluffy research partners trope A/N: i survived college hell week so here you go. HVD HANGE LOVERS!!

"I didn't know you could walk slower," you remarked as Hange strode beside you. 

Early training was exhausting, coupled with the paperwork you have to handle after. Just thinking about it drains your energy.

Your ever-energetic Section Commander only beamed at you and responded, "Well, I have to match your pace more often now."

"Why is that?"

"Since we became research partners?"

Your head racked in confusion, gaze snapping back to them.

"Research partners? Since when?"

"I knew you still haven't read Erwin's notice," they said matter-of-factly, pulling a folded sheet of paper from their uniform. "He thinks your works are impressive and said we should work together on a new trapping device."

"That... sounds exhausting..." 

"Right! Exciting, isn't it?" Hange smiled, too deep in their excitement that they misheard you. You can never keep up with that amount of enthusiasm, try as you might. 

After pulling an all-nighter last night to organize files, your commander now wants to transfer you to the thinking team. Great. 

"When are we going to start?" you asked Hange. 

-

It turns out that working closely with Hange would present unexpected issues. You have no problem with Hange or the work itself as being with them brightens your day more than you cared to admit. Sometimes you wonder why they're so good at making you smile and laugh even at the face of mathematical formulas and complex design structures but that's a question for another day. Your real musings lie on the question of why they're so clueless about people hitting on them. Surely, the box of chocolates left on their desk with hearts scribbled all over it or the cadets swooning over them when they passed by the corridor weren't just people being friendly as Hange always liked to think. 

This present issue became more clear when Valentine's Day arrived. To think that your lot makes time to celebrate this event is amusing. You were with Hange the whole time that day, brainstorming and sleepless that you almost forgot about the day of love happening just outside your doors. 

"What if we try it? You know, outside?" Hange offered, sipping on their fifth mug of coffee. "See if it works?"

"Hange, it's a long-range weapon. And there are people outside," you muttered sleepily, yawning as you walked towards the window to allow some sunlight in. You drew the curtains and looked down. "People celebrating apparently."

"For what?" Hange asked absentmindedly, busy scribbling down a few ideas that you probably have to illustrate later. 

"Dunno," you yawned again, drawing the blinds back. "I'm sleeping. You can't stop me."

"Go ahead," they said, thumb pointing at the bed. "I'll wake you up later."

-

When Hange woke you up about an hour later, you hid under their pillows and bargained for another five minutes of sleep. 

"No, silly, we're not going to work. I brought something," their voice came, lifting the pillows you're hiding on. 

Their brown eyes beamed at you, holding up something as your vision cleared. 

Chocolate? 

No, not just that. They've got an armful of it. 

"Where on earth did you get all of that?"

"Outside the door," they muttered, opening one to munch on it. They offered you one. "Surprising, huh?" 

"Well, it's Valentine's Day." You only remembered about a minute ago. 

"It is?" Their eyes widened momentarily. "I thought it's tomorrow."

You laughed softly, taking a chocolate from their hand. "We've been staring at plans all week, we didn't know."

"About time," they spoke, sitting on the spot next to you. Their eyes met yours and for a moment, you were tempted to look away as if gazing any longer will melt you in a puddle. It's not helping that they seemed to enjoy looking at you more than anything else recently. "Let's have dinner. There's a new dinner just outside the quarters."

"Did, uh, did we miss dinner downstairs?" 

"Yeah... I forgot about it." A sheepish grin crossed their face. "Doesn't matter, though. It's only 9 PM."

-

It turns out that diners were occupied that day, couples swarmed the place as the buttery scent of baked goods wafted in the air. After the long queue, you managed to take back four sandwiches which you ate in your shared room. 

Hange sat on the bed next to you, scribbling equations, crossing them out, and starting over again. It was adorable how their brows crease when they think.

"Hange?"

"Hm?"

"Shouldn't you sleep?"

They smiled, "Later."

"Happy Valentine's Day," you mumbled sleepily, curling up next to them.

"You too." Hange's gaze lingered on your sleeping form, thinking of the reservation for two they booked yesterday.

They stayed up late that night, writing down equations, and dimming the lamp to allow you some sleep. They were asleep until afternoon slumped over their papers which you diligently put away when you woke up that morning. You only understood half of what was written, guided by Hange's short annotations on the page. It warmed your insides, knowing that Hange wrote these equations for your designs. The invention you're both working on felt more feasible and easier to envision.

- 

"It's working well, Commander," you reported to Erwin later that day when he asked about the device's progress.

"It must have been, huh? Hange knows how to gather a great team," he smiled amicably. "They specifically requested for you."

Your cheeks heated up, smiling warmly even on your way out of Erwin's office.

Hange was waiting in the corridor, notebook discarded and eyes lighting up when they saw you. They half-run in your direction, energetic and beaming as always as though they had enough sleep.

"Ready to go?" They asked, walking beside you.

"Where?"

That same charming smile you always notice creased their cheeks.

"Maybe the diner has a seat for two this time."

[neversetyoufree]

Hi! I'm fairly new to vnc and have been reading through all your analysis posts (and loving every single one) and since there are a lot, I may have missed this if it was ever discussed. And maybe it's just me seeing things how I want to see them. But as soon as I picked up volume 3 to read, the chain on the book going from Vanitas to Noe reminded me of the red string of fate. Even though...yeah it's a chain and it's more purple. But that seems more them anyway. But I like the thought of the visual showing them with a bond that can never break despite distances and fates.

Hi!! I'm so glad you've been enjoying my posts, as well as VnC itself :).

Funny enough, I actually wrote about the volume 3 cover as my first ever vnc meta post years ago, but never this particular element. The red string of fate idea is interesting! I never would have made that connection myself, but I can see where you're coming from. Even if we take out the red string comparison specifically, I do think the chain connecting them works quite well as a visualization of how they're bound by fate! They meet initially because Noé is pursuing the Book of Vanitas, the source of the chain, and they've been metaphorically chained together ever since.

This chain connection is a recurring image for the series as well. I can think of at least one other illustration off the top of my head where they're both wrapped up in the chain the way Noé's arm is on vol 3, plus a couple more where they're both interacting with/connected to it in other ways. Setting aside the more pragmatic argument that the Book and its chain are just a convenient and often-present prop, I think it makes sense for Mochijun to intend some meaning behind a visual she uses so often.

Plus, I don't know if you're familiar with Mochijun's previous manga, but chains are a big thing in Pandora Hearts, so they're an especially fraught symbol in her work. That history makes her using the chain as a symbol of fate/connection for Vanoé make even more sense.

[asteria7fics]

Currently considering an RSB blog rebrand for the sequel. Hmmm (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)

[mienar]

from us it begins

instagram | shop | commission info

[woosh-floosh]

HOLY SHIT FIRST BONSLY CARD IN 16 YEARS!!

AND IT'S NOT SHOWING HOLE THIS TIME!!

[clockworkreapers]

That one scene from vol 4

[lunarharp]

more phoenix wright situations

[joshuamj]

In Time and Stars

[mr-laveau]

Not even joking when I say that these are the hottest versions of Sweetheart and Milo that I have made thus far. Yes sweetheart is missing an arm, yes this is my headcanon-because phantom limb-get it? because they're a stealth-nevermind I see the door.

A fun headcanon I have is that all the shaw pack members visually have something moon related on their person while all prime Solaire royalty have blood red jewelry like with Vincent here.

[0m3n-0f-d3ath]

Kat the knight

Pleading her allegiance

[arinmoss]

M I K U

[isbergillustration]

Hmm.

[sleepinglionhearts]

How do you get watercolor to look the way it does in your art?

Well, you see, I do it by simply... not using watercolor to begin with!

I use Copic markers - but I'm bad and I don't always use them on proper marker paper.

Alcohol markers have a tendency to bleed through paper real bad, and some paper textures won't allow for optimal blending of the colors. But I think that experimenting with the papers I have - and I have a lot of papers, I'm a chronic stationery buyer - leads to a lot of really interesting results, some of which look a lot like watercolor!

Of the samples of how different paper make the marker look, I like the way the MUSE memo book croquis paper takes the Copic the best. Sure it necessitates putting a paper or using a shitajiki board underneath it to protect the next page, but I think that soft, saturated look is worth it.

I did take a watercolor course while I was in college and I enjoyed it a lot, but I've still got a lot of work to do to be like... as confident with watercolor as I am with markers.

(Copic marker on Pentalic Utility Sketch general use paper, with Sailor shikiori ink in fountain pen for the lines)

[bleaksqueak]

Woah dang, waking up to 99+ notifs on tumblr almost always means that an old Homestuck piece is going around again... imagine my delighted surprise to see it was all notifs about Soli! That was a great thing to wake up to. Felt an actual flutter in my chest. Thank you so much, everyone! And apologies for how Elias' hair keeps subtly changing. You always kind of figure out exactly how a character looks and how to draw them as you go along with sequential art. It, funny enough, largely comes from figuring out their acting (so lots and lots of different angles and features that need to shift/change slightly to carry the weight of looking like they should feel, for lack of a better way to describe it ) At any rate, glad to see people are excited for chapter 3! next update will be next week, and will be a two page spread.

[tribbles-the-lesbian]

‼️🎉HAPPY [late] BIRTHDAY TIBBERS🎉‼️

~he’s so silly~