#and your art has improved SO MUCH while i was gone like just take the crown you dropped it's yours<333< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[destiny-smasher]

What do you like about Nemona

Gahhh, fuck me, that's a bit hard to summarize.

But I have been meaning to do a write up to explain it to people in my personal life. Maybe this is a good excuse to get around to doing so. I'll try to cover the important stuff while not getting as deep into specifics as I honestly could. It'll still be an informal short essay, though, lol

In Pokemon SV, the player enrolls in a fancy Academy on a remote island nation of sorts (inspired by Spain). They meet Nemona after choosing their starter Pokemon, and Nemona offers to the school's director to adopt a starter herself to 'coach/mentor' the player character. You see, unlike any other 'rival trainer' before her, Nemona is already a Champion. Before your character sets foot in the Paldea region, Nemona has already gone through the entire song and dance of Gym Battles and all that, and attained the highest rank a trainer can in the region. She's completely obsessed with Pokemon battling and has become bored of being 'the best' because no one wants to battle her, for various reasons. So she views you, a newcomer, as an opportunity to test herself as a 'mentor/senpai/big sis' figure as well as essentially 'New Game+-ing' herself for sheer love of the game that is Pokemon battling.

People consistently call her 'the girl Goku', but I ain't seen Dragonball Z, so I can't comment on that much. But she is a very enthusiastic, cheerful, determined, battle hungry person who is very into self-growth and self-improvement. At the end of the day, she wants a true rival, someone she doesn't need to hold back with, and who she can look to as a consistent figure in her life. She is very eager and hyperactive about connecting with people through battling.

A lot of people who play the game get offput by her, and she gets branded as a 'yandere' archetype (ie obsessed with the player character to a horror-inducing degree). She gets meme'd as being 'creepy' and 'obsessed' and all that, depicting her eagerness as mental illness and a bad thing.

(gif from a fan animation)

When her behavior stems from positive emotions and a desire for mutual growth and connection, not specifically ownership or possession -- to Nemona, a person who just obeyed whatever she would want of them would defeat the point. That's not what a rival does -- they push back, after all. Within the context of the SV plotline, she is bored of being Champion all by herself, and wants to train someone else to reach her same level, which is why she is so invested in you, the player character, following you around everywhere and being that 'big sis' archetype. There's some selfishness in there, for sure -- she wants a proper rival for herself, someone she never has to hold back with -- but given her social obligations and reputation within the Academy/region, she also I think wants to prove she is capable of handling herself as a mentor figure, prove to herself that she didn't become a Champion by luck or accident (if she can help someone else do what she did, then it wasn't just a fluke, she really does know what she's doing, etc.), and also help prove to her fellow students that she's really not as intimidating as they think she is.

And yet, people both in AND out of the game are quick to write this intense, protective behavior off as 'insane' and 'creepy' -- and as someone who very regularly got called a 'creep' through to the end of college for literally just trying to make friends,' I almost take it personally when I see people label Nemona as a 'yandere' type. It has its comical use and all but I still find it kind of hurtful in a way.

(Art by MagDraws)

Because that's the thing -- if you pay attention to what little story there is in SV (it's not exactly a complex narrative), Nemona's character is essentially a metaphor for neurodivergent/queer people who have hearts bursting with affection and passion for their hobbies yet who struggle with loneliness and isolation as they put off most people from keeping them around.

But at the end of the day, Nemona is just neurodivergent, her special interest is Pokemon battling, and she is simply desperate for human connection -- and battles are just the way she feels most comfortable doing that.

And the world would be a better place if people like me or Nemona were able to become self aware at a young enough age to start managing our behavior, (which she is shown to be learning to do!) while ALSO having a general population that is more open-minded and understanding to the idea that 'oh huh that person's brain is electrically overcharged and they love people and hobbies maybe way way more than I do but that's FINE as long as they're not hurting anyone'

As a youth, I just... kinda got great grades, made honor roll, etc. And it felt like I wasn't really trying? So adults around me thought I was 'gifted', or 'naturally talented'. But in reality, I think I was just neurodivergent, and since I struggled to make friends, and physically wasn't able to see them outside of school due to various factors, I just... ended up focusing on my schoolwork instead. So that's one way I relate with her retroactively -- she is a model student, yet ironically has a bad reputation amongst many.

(HOWEVER, Nemona comes from a RICH family and I came from a poor one, there was some big racial tension dynamics at play in my early gradeschool years, familial breakup shit, soooo there's some very different dynamics at play there)

Another thing I adore about her and connect with in a way no one else in my life does -- she loves one-on-one competitions with others through battles. I don't love physically fighting people, I'm a super non-violent person in reality. But I love fighting games, it's my favorite genre. And there's specific philosophical elements to enjoying fighting games that I think most people don't click with that she and I do.

She is here to GROW, to learn, to improve, to have fun regardless of winning or losing, because the act of spending time engaged with another person, figuring each other out, testing yourselves mutually, is enjoyable and edifying regardless.

That 'warrior's path' of self improvement and enjoyment and growth regardless of the outcome of battle is something I very much connect with and it's great to see a character who feels likewise while also having elements of interpersonal struggles in spite of or even because of the way she functions differently than other people. Again, I don't know much about Goku, but I get the impression he is good at making and keeping friends, while Nemona is bad at it.

On top of this, Nemona has extra wrinkles to her character -- she's physically disabled. The game is vague about it, as Pokemon always is. But she wears an arm brace because she throws a LOT of pokeballs with all the battling she does, and she seems to have some kind of issue there, physically. Also, despite how GOOD she is at battling, she is terrible at catching Pokemon, and seemingly at doing the exploration aspects of being a trainer. She canonically has poor stamina and wears herself out easily -- which, given how high-energy she is as a person, probably happens constantly. So it's also strongly suggested that she spends time not just training all of her Pokemon (she juggles multiple teams, yet another fighting-game esque thing I relate with, as I tend to juggle many characters and not stick to a single main or team), but she also trains herself, physically, to try and keep up with her 'mons, but also as a means of self-growth/improvement in general.

I won't post the examples but trust me, there are many subtle but intentional nods alluding to her being physically disabled, and being BAD at core elements of what we expect a Pokemon trainer to be -- exploring the wilderness, catching Pokemon, etc. But she's so passionate about it, she doesn't let her limitations stop her,

So it creates an interesting internal tension imo because she is not only very queer coded, very neurodiverse coded, but ALSO disabled coded. But she hides her internal struggles by essentially avoiding having to confront them, generally speaking (which itself is ripe for narrative development). Sadly, the game never brings this to a head in way (it's Pokemon, so of course it doesn't). But the ingredients are all there, especially when you add characters like Penny, Arven, and Scarlet into account -- as well as implied expectations from her rich family, or from the leader of Paldea, Geeta, who implies she wants Nemona to be her protege. And I haven't even mentioned that Nemona is Class President, meaning she's actively taking on social responsibility for her peers even though she gets shit talked behind her back for being so obsessed with battling and getting in people's faces with her over-eager desire to bond with/battle them.

This right here -- this is the specific core element of her character I personally connect with that, somehow, no fictional character I've met so far has put into the exact right words with enough context for me to believe them.

From my youth to even now as a full grown adult, I have experienced this feeling my entire life, whether with family, at school, at the workplace, even in most online spaces -- an 'invisible wall' between me and everyone else, and for a VERY LONG TIME I had convinced myself it was because something about me was 'broken' and 'not right'. But now, in part thanks to characters like Nemona, and the discussions around/about said characters, I can see that my brain just functions differently from other people, and a I grow and self-teach myself how to manage my own behaviors/expectations, I can better appreciate all kinds of relationships in life without needing to let go of or sacrifice that internal flame that used to threaten to consume most people I cared about -- that fear of being 'too much' or 'too intense' in my own ways (ways better expressed through text interaction than in person, to be fair, but again, MOST of my social life has been online my entire life, so yeah).

Like Nemona, I found people in my life who accept me for who I am, and blablabla all that cliche shit. But in Nemona, as I do with a rare few other characters in media (Vi from Arcane, Luz from The Owl House), I see a specific element of myself I don't elsewhere, and sadly did not see often growing up. A balance between ferocity and determination paired with unending affection and love. A desire to never give up on people, no matter what, and to be open to change both internal and in others. In Nemona's case, specifically, that element of neurodiverse passion matched with sheer loneliness -- that 'invisible wall'.

No matter what, she never gives up, in battles or socially.

I could go on into specific examples but I've said enough here to get the ideas across, I'm sure.

Oh, and as a sidenote, I think she has a great character design -- it's SIMPLE but recognizeable. The combo of color-coded gear (red/white/black, my favorite outfit color scheme), a arm brace, and accented hair. Her design feels like a plausible human being, but with a bit of 'anime bangs' syndrome.

I should probably mention -- I don't like Pokemon SV as a video game! I am like 160k words of fanfiction into telling a Pokemon story and I think the game itself is stinky garbage barely holding itself together with duct tape and a corporate prayer.

But unlike any other generation of the franchise, Pokemon SV presents a cast of characters with defined personality strengths, weaknesses, and varied backstories, who start the game as strangers, and by the end begin to dip their toes into 'found family' territory. For the first time in the entire franchise, I actually give a shit about the characters, about seeing them grow and connect with each other, because the overarching theme of SV's story, what little it has, is about isolation, outcasts, loneliness, and how found families form.

And Nemona's kind of the heart of all of that, the endlessly hopeful, energetic, eager one that will never give up on you, that irrationally throws affection at you, seemingly for no 'good reason' -- because just being a person who tolerates her and her 'too much'-ness is itself reason to be grateful for your presence in a world where she feels isolated from most everyone else simply by being herself.

Maybe this answers your question!

[signed-sapphire]

@rascalentertainments Hey! As an apology for being gone and missing the official announcement for this DTIYS, I humbly offer my take on Asha and Star!

This was too cute to resist! I love how excitable Star is and I’m working my way through reading your, Wave’s, and all other rewrites that have updated during my absence.

Original:

Notes under the cut because this is getting pretty long lol

So I tried a new colouring style for this one

I was inspired by a lot of the artists I saw on Art Fight, and tried to incorporate that into my style

Specifically, the bold lineart and colour-blocked sections

It’s both easier for me long-term, and helps me create a finished piece without too much shading

That said, I did go crazy with the shades and tones in this one, because I just loved the glow

I do like the touch of a slight sunset/sunrise in the background, as it adds more warmth and magic to the piece

I LOATHE that bold line around Star’s cape but this is the photo I emailed over to my phone, so this is what you’re stuck with

While we’re at the improvements, comparing to your piece, Star and Asha look a bit stiff. I’ll have to work on some gesture movements

On the other hand, I really like the sky! It reminds me of Princess and the Frog

I also think the flow effect I did around Star looks reminiscent of pixie dust, which is a cool nod to Peter Pan!

The metal (?) bracelet I’m proud of— again, learning form other writings on Art Fight

I’m. Not sure about Star. He has a very cool face shape, nose and eyes wise, and I think I sort of generalized him here. Oh well, this means I’ll probably be doing more practice doodles of him in the future!

I do think that your Asha and Flicker’s seem very similar in my style, so I’ll work on making them more distinct in future pieces. I think RFTS!Asha has more doe eyes and a smaller nose, as well as distinct braids in her hair, where your Asha can have more upturned eyes and loose hair

I will have to find a way to make hair look loose and free in this style, but I’m quite happy with the finished result

Aaaaanyways… I hope you enjoy this! Now if you’ll excuse me, Imma go to bed lmao

[wokecipher]

p. 1 // p. 2

After Weirdmageddon.

This is LONG so I'm just leaving it ALL under the line!

MORE ART AND LORE VVV

Things went bad. Like I mentioned in my previous post, Tony takes over and Anthony is put into hiding. Once Anthony comes back out, Tony is an adult and they are still a child.

Ann (Anthony's nickname) slowly grows up with Tony taking care of them. They're scared, alone, don't know what happened with Bill, and Tony is different now, not in a good way. Tony has been ruling over the Nightmare Realm (he's decided to ignore the threat of erasure for now, a rather horrible decision, but you do you I guess) for almost a decade. Not much time for the henchmaniacs or residents, but a long time for both of the twins.

Tony quickly shields Ann from the worst of it while Ann grows up, but is incredibly verbally abusive, alongside minorly physically abusive. Once Anthony is "old enough", Tony starts using them for help with "keeping everyone in line" and soon enough, Ann is doing all of Tony's dirty work.

Anthony is easy to keep on a leash, they're so scared of Tony rejecting them, they'll tolerate doing things for him even if it means hurting other people. Tony uses threats of abandoning Anthony often to keep them in line, too.

This goes on for millions of years, time starts losing meaning and both twins are also slowly losing their sanity and morals. The threat of the Nightmare Realm being erased is slowly feeling more an more real. It was billions of years off, originally, why should two kids care about that? That's unfathomably far away! But time passes, and that window starts closing faster and faster.

Tony is unconcerned, Anthony is terrified.

Tony refuses to do anything about it, Anthony is frantically searching for a solution.

And meanwhile, Tony is getting worse, she thinks power is the only meaning of existence, she's continuously horrible to everyone around her. Tony knew people wanted her dead, gone, but she never really expected her own sibling to turn on her.

Anthony attempts to assassinate Tony. The two get into a nasty fight, which ends in Tony dead and Anthony scarred. Anthony is left alone without the only person they'd learned to rely on for so long, and it leaves them near non functional.

They could not handle the things they had done for Tony, the things Tony had done to them, and now, what they had done to Tony.

They were haunted by this, horrified and shocked. They had to do what they did, they had to. Tony was making everything worse, hurting everyone, what was Ann supposed to do?

This is when The Axolotl finally presented themself to Anthony, with an irresistible deal too. All their crimes can be washed away if one day, Ann calls upon them. Anthony takes the deal, scared, alone, unknowing. and The Axolotl is pleased, and leaves Anthony to their own.

Anthony spends the next few hundred years sulking and minorly attempting to save the Nightmare Realm, these efforts are in vain however, and they eventually die one way or another. Maybe assassination, maybe the Nightmare Realm finally erases itself, maybe something worse.

It doesn't particularly matter how it happened, but it did, eventually, happen.

And they, alike to their father before them, was sentenced to a life in the Theraprism, making up for their crimes and misdeeds. Unlike their father, they will change, they will get better, they will improve.

They will be reincaranted.

I still do not know if the two will even be aware the other is there, I'll leave that to readers interpretation. If Bill knows Anthony is there, if Anthony knows Bill is there... if either meet? That's up to you!

Here's some extra art for your travels, friend.

[judgeanon]

So about that DETECTIVE COMICS #1084...

As a big Shiva fan, I really, really liked that. Maybe my favorite issue with her since Hill's Outsiders run. I made a thread in another site about it but I liked that issue so much that I'm gonna take a sec to repost it here too, so hit that jump if you wanna read an in-depth analysis of 'Tec #1084... or at least, its backup feature!

I'm kinda kidding, I actually enjoyed the main story too. I liked seeing Bruce and Talia reunited in a very touching moment of romance that gives way to grim tension as the unfortunate complications of the strange and violent world they live being to slowly rip them apart once more... and then Shiva happens. For one panel and in a flashback but it was really fun to see Talia call her a friend for a bunch of reasons.

The most serious one is that I genuinely think that, given enough room to work with, Talia and Shiva could be a very compelling pair. Shiva is known to be interested in people who are in a state of flux, who find themselves in crossroads trying to figure out where their true path really lies. And Talia, for better or worse, has been there for, like... years now. I've always thought that Talia, endlessly torn between her love for Bruce, her love for her father, and her love for the world, might even find something tempting about Shiva's absolute detachment, about her comparative freedom from all connections. Which would be fun to explore.

The other reason comes from the issue's backup story by Alex Paknadel and Robbi Rodriguez, which I didn't expect at all but ended up being a huge treat for me, since it aligned so much with a lot of what I consider the most interesting elements and perspectives in Shiva and Cass' relationship.

Right from the start, we have Shiva being able to read Cass and figure out what's wrong with her just from a couple of fighting moves, which I absolutely adore. What looks like a fight is really just them having a conversation, at least for Shiva, who is very quickly able to get at the deeper emotions troubling Cass and holding her back.

(Also, that one panel of Snake Style ThodThodThod's really made me smile. I love the idea of Shiva using stranger, more exotic martial arts than anyone else, especially in Gotham)

On my first read I wasn't really onboard with Shiva's words about not killing Cass, like there was something about them that didn't quite click, but after mulling them over for a while I feel like they can be read as Shiva intentionally picking at Cass' perfectionist nature and competitive spirit. It's less "I spared you and now you owe me" and more "You trying to be Batman makes you suck, here's why, now be better." But I might be reaching a bit there.

Still, it does work, which I really enjoy. I like Shiva being able to prod Cass into reaching deep within her, figuring out what's wrong and improving herself. And we get a lot of that in the next couple of pages, where Cass grapples with the Azmer while also grappling with her own nature. Cass' training with David is an extremely defining element of her character. It's her instincts, her mother tongue, her main method of expression, but it's also something that causes her a ton of inner turmoil, due to the intentions of that training.

Cass is presented in this story as someone inwardly ashamed by her nature, worried of the assassin skills that are weaved into her very nature and what that may say about her. Of course, this is something that Cass has been through before and has developed quite a bit, maybe even outgrown but with Batman dead and gone, it probably makes sense for her to lapse a bit back into self-loathing without that symbol to guide her and with her failure at trying to emulate it. Which I think is a very human thing to happen. Your worst traits are never really gone, and tend to slip back into you when you're at a low point.

Which is why I really like the last few panels of this story.

Although first, Shiva calling Talia an "associate" makes me giggle a bit. C'mon Shivs, don't be so tsun-tsun... anyway.

On the most basic level, we have Shiva offering Cass some solid advice that ties the whole story in a neat bow. But it takes on an even stronger quality when you remember this is Lady Shiva talking here. Shiva, who we know wants Cass to be more than just a Bat. Shiva, who understands the strength that comes from finding your own path and following it. Shiva, who maybe more than anyone knows exactly how strong Cass can be once she embraces all aspects of her own nature and finds harmony in herself.

From almost any other character, that last phrase would just be a nice little canned moral. From Shiva's lips, it carries the weight of decades of character work for both Cass and Shiva. It's a solid ending that's elevated by the history between its characters. It hits SO many of the notes I want to see, the things that I think make Shiva's relationship with Cass genuinely compelling. Shiva being able to "read" Cass through a fight, her wanting Cass to be herself more than anything else, and all of it unhindered by any kind of easy moral judgment from Cass or the story itself.

Shiva is not presented as a monstrous villainess who Cass must reject, but as her own character with her own story that happpens to cross with Cass' for a moment. And from Shiva, there's no berating Cass for being a hero or choosing not to kill. There is berating, sure, but it works because it speaks to something a lot more personal for both characters than generic notions of good or evil. It speaks about Cass' need to find and be herself and stick with it no matter what.

(Which this arc also touched upon a couple months ago in 'Tec #1082, which very elegantly made it clear that Cass had the heart of a hero before she even knew what a Batman was -- an incredibly powerful statement made in just two captions)

So this is a story that hits pretty much all the right notes for me. I wish it would hit them a bit longer, or in a few different ways that didn't involve Batman, but it's just a perfect example of most of the elements that I think make this relationship worth exploring. Even the fact that this makes it the sixth major appearance of Lady Shiva in a row that is ultimately dedicated to her relationship with Cass doesn't bother me because this is precisely how I want this relationship to be written. If they were all this good, I wouldn't even mind.

And on top of all that, this issue is also a good example of something I'm always thinking about: tempting as it is, you don't need to make every Shiva appearance be huge and bombastic and lead to some massive story arc. It can be something small but meaningful, a quick appearance with some very choice words, Shiva walking into an ongoing story to, in her own way, help others get through an inflection point.

If I had to say something I disliked about it, I do think it's a little blunt in its themes and execution. Paknadel has Shiva quite literally spell out the problem for Cass, which I guess is fine given how short the story is, but it does lose a bit of elegance because of it. Still, it was a great little treat and while I know Ram's 'Tec run is coming to its end, I do hope he'll find a place for one last bit of Shiva in it.

And I also hope he gets to write her for more than just one wordless balloon because Ram V's Lady Shiva is a dream book in my book.

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

Headcanons for @chantillymoon

This was really fun to do! I am currently up to episode 261 of One Piece (Water 7) so please keep that in mind while reading. Because I haven't officially met Brook yet, all of my headcanons are based on what I've read in fanfics and a bit of research so hopefully I'm not too far off.

Platonic headcanons on the rest of the Straw Hat crew can be found here!

Fandom: One Piece

Characters: Brook and Usopp x gn! Reader (separate and platonic)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thoughts on being friends with the Straw Hat crew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I see Brook as someone who’s always got a song stuck in his head. And he’s going to make it everyone’s problem. But is it really a problem when he actually has the voice for it? Yes. Yes, it is. Especially when you’re listening to him humming the same part of that one song for the tenth time that day.

At the same time, he’s great to have around if you’ve got a song stuck in your head. Brook knows so many songs that you’d be hard pressed finding one he couldn’t sing for you. And if he doesn’t know the song, he’s pretty good at picking up tunes quickly.

Have sore muscles? Those bony fingers are great for digging into twisted muscles and sore spots. Brook may have gone through a lot because of his Devil Fruit but he’s glad he can do something with it to help his friends.

He’s got a surprisingly good eye for fashion…if he had eyes! In all seriousness, please take him with you next time you need to go shopping for clothes. Between him and Nami, you’ll get back to the ship with a whole new wardrobe full of amazing clothes that suit you perfectly.

Whether you’re quiet or talkative, Brook loves just being in your presence. If you’re on the quiet side, he likes the tranquillity of sitting in companionable silence with someone. And if you’re talkative, he enjoys listening to everything you have to say.

Similarly, Brook’s great to talk to if you want to get anything off your chest. He’s a good listener and won’t spread around anything you’ve told him unless he thinks it could harm the crew (even then, he’d most likely keep it secret for a while). He also gives really good advice.

Brook missed out on a lot during his time in the Florian Triangle so he enjoys having a younger friend to help bring him up to speed. That being said, he’s an absolute menace with the way he mixes slag from his era with modern day sayings. Think something along the lines of “oh, they know their onions, they're no noob” and "ok you cad, time to catch these hands".

If you want to learn how to play an instrument or sing, Brook is more than happy to help. He’s had decades of practice and, even though he’s a bit rusty at explaining things to others, he’s patient and dedicated to teaching you.

Everyone has that one artist friend. And Usopp definitely falls into that category. He’s constantly got a sketchbook with him and will draw anything and everything. If you’re also into art, you’ll definitely bond over that.

Will absolutely hid behind you in battle. Whether you’re taller than him or not, he feels comfortable enough around you to chose you as his hiding spot.

Makes up stories about your bravado and wild adventures as well. While the other straw hats might react badly to Usopp telling stories about them, even if they are meant to improve their reputation, he hopes you will react differently.

In the same manner, Usopp would love to practice his pre-battle speeches with you and get some feedback. He’s a theatre kid at heart but he needs someone he trusts to work on his lines with. As one of his closest friends (and someone hopefully less judgmental than Nami), you fit that description.

He is also the perfect person to tell you stories about the other straw hats, especially if you joined later. He’s an entertainer and, even if he exaggerates his role in events, you’re able to piece together their adventures to date.

Much like Brook, Usopp has a good eye for fashion, but more from the perspective of figuring out what colours and patterns go together. If you’re struggling to put together an outfit, he’s more than happy to give you his two cents worth.

Gossip buddies! If you like gossip or have a way of knowing things about people, you, Usopp, and Nami are the designated “gossip squad” of the straw hats. Usopp is always a good source of information, even if he tends to embellish sometimes.

If you have long hair and don’t feel like tying it up, Usopp should be your first port of call. Sure, Sanji’s amazing with styling hair but he’s usually busy in the kitchen and Nami and Robin usually wear theirs down. Usopp has the free time and skills to help you out. Fair warning though, he may get carried away by his creative tendencies.

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Hey, did you enjoy this? If you like my writing, please consider donating to my Ko-Fi page! This will allow me to make some money off my writing, something I enjoy doing.

ko-fi.com/justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms

Important Note: Please only donate if you are financially able to. If you are currently in a position where you can't donate, a like, comment or reblog will mean just as much.

[flightyalrighty]

IDK if this counts as too spoilery to answer, but do they also use this memory altering to control their hosts? You described Sonic as being stuck in a 'prey animal stuck in a corner' mentality due to his parasite, but is that because she's fucking with his fight-or-flight instinct for the adrenaline or because she's literally gone in and messed with his memory to the point where he genuinely thinks something is out to get him and he's struggling to remember it's not supposed to be like this?

I guess another way to ask is is she just hitting the "Panic right now!!!" button over and over or did she go in a rewire him to the point where he's hitting the button himself? And how much is he able to think for himself right now? (Also that parasite must be in heaven rn. She jumped into Sonic? Adrenaline junky running at the speed of sound Sonic??? She is living the dream and I hate that for him 😭)

Also gonna use this ask to gush about how much I love this comic and concept. It's so well drawn and it feels grounded if that makes any sense. It feels like everyone is acting the way real people would act. I'm actually glad to see you say this is gonna have a bittersweet ending because I genuinely can't see how it could have a perfectly happy one you know? Pop off OP and have fun with this 👏 I'll be here for the years it'll take for this comic and the sequel to be made 👌👌

(Also also can I say the panel that really got me hooked was the one where Shadow was looking at Rouge after taking off the heart monitor? God it felt like it wasn't just him looking at her and then there was the foreboding flatline in the same scene and it's just 💗💗💗💗💗 love that feeling it gave 10/10 would love feeling that horrid sense of dread again)

Okay so first of all can i just say

This is both a very insightful and very nice ask -- Thank you for sending it! Genuinely such a sweet thing to wake up to this morning, and I'm happy to hear you'll be sticking around for more!

And y'know, some years back, when I was still in college, I was told by someone that my art was good but my writing "sucks." While I shouldn't have let that bother me, it's a comment that has haunted me to this day. I'm glad you like my writing, Symbio-Ratio. Makes me believe I've improved since my days of suck-fullness.

My favorite comics tend to be the ones that are, like you said, "grounded," at least in tone. Maybe Spider-Man: Blue and Hellboy rubbed off on me, idk 😜

To answer your question: To a degree, the parasites do use memory altering to control their hosts -- Less to manipulate their emotions and more to ensure they don't believe anything is wrong (and therefore seek help before she's settled in). So she targets memories that are points of major stress for the host and attempts to delete them, since getting a bug inside you would, uh, be a very stressful memory. It's trickier to do on people with PTSD, however.

The parasite does, in fact, hit that button over and over, forcing their host to lose their ability to reason while subjecting them to an overload of panic and anger until they furiously lash out at their "attackers" with a strength they can't normally use under non-panicking circumstances.

And yeah, unfortunately, Sonic is basically the parasite's dream host.

Thank you very much for sending this! :]

[au-mashup-party]

Hey I have an announcement I would like to make, I know it’s not what you’re normally expecting, but I just wanna get this off my chest. Lately I’ve been dealing with a lot of mental health issues in and out of Tumblr, some too personal to talk about, so I’ll leave it with how I been feeling about Tumblr.

I always found drawing as a great stress reliever. Whenever I’d post a drawing and it will receive up 50 likes at the most, it would always put the biggest smile on my face. My art style improved by a mile, yet it still feels like I’m falling behind my mutual peers.

I learned the hard way while using Tumblr that if you’re not considered ‘popular’ from the get-go, you’re much out of luck. Art takes time, years even, and I’ve been drawing for 15 of em so I would know that sometimes you gotta work with what you got—even if it’s not a lot.

I’ve known some people who’s gotten famous within a day or two, I always found it impressive as heck and wondered if it was possible for me. However, lately I’ve been questioning myself about a few things:

“Is my art style the problem?”

“Should I start posting more on this blog?”

“Are my friends and fans, losing interest?”

“Have I’ve been gone too long?”

“Should I just quit?”

“Should I bring Micro back?”

“Am I too underrated for this fandom?”

And these questions stuck with me for a few months, I’ve noticed things haven’t been the most exciting on my blog since I stopped drawing Microtale content, which to be honest was the only reason I got noticed in the first place. The truth was I slowly lost interest in Microtale after getting spammed over and over and over again while wanting to take a break from drawing him.

Sadly, there’s still one person in my asks that just can’t accept that i’ve moved on from Micro. Now don’t get me wrong, I will always appreciate how far Micro has gotten me these past 3 years and I won’t forget him. I still have plans for Microtale’s third year anniversary, but anything revolving the AU I just won’t be working on anymore

Where it all began.

When I first created Micro, I didn’t think I was gonna get very far, in my eyes he was just your typical lazy run of the mill ‘Sans OC’. I made the blog for fun at first because I figured “Hey, at least if this doesn’t blow up, I can have my underrated artist use him for their stories as long as they credited!”

Little did I know, that was only the beginning. I got noticed by a popular artist at the time, and I was overjoyed to find out that someone far superior than me in drawing liked my silly old drawing. It made me realize that not all popular artist are drama baiting, narcissistic human beings. It opened my eyes more meeting even more humble artists.

The more I made, the more my audience grew. When I reached 1000 followers last year, it was the best day of my life. I finally reached my goal and everything was good. After I stopped drawing him I got spammed constantly by an unknown person (forgot their name) asking if their character can meet Micro or if Micro could come back sooner than later.

Anyone who’s known me long enough knows I hate being spammed, it’s not gonna get your point across, point blank period. It’s my blog and I’m allowed to draw whoever I want, it’s not up to you to decide what content I make unless I decide we vote by poll. But after deleting the spamming one day, eventually things cooled down so I moved on too.

You’re allowed to like my AU’s, just please don’t shove your obnoxious opinions down my throat. I already have a lot going on and I don’t need anyone adding more pressure to the plate.

But let’s take a quick moment to appreciate underrated artists, they are the future of the art community and don’t get enough appreciation for their work. I myself am still somewhat underrated, and I’m okay with that now. You win some you lose some, but you have to draw another day.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk, have a good day/night.

-Crayon

[gemsofgreece]

Hello! Firstly, I wanted to thank you for the work you do on this blog. My mother's side is Greek and came to the US around WW2, and as I've gotten older and tried to learn about Greek culture, I've found that it's hard to find sources that aren't inundated with American pop-history. It's been really lovely being able to learn more from your blog for the past couple weeks.

Second is my question -- re: the pop history issue, I've noticed that people in the American queer community have a knack for "reclaiming" figures in history and mythology without always having an abundance of evidence for their claims. And like, I'm trans. Obviously the idea of some of things being true is cool, but it also feels disingenuous sometimes. Do you know of any good resources or books written by actual queer Greeks about either their contemporary experiences, or the history of queer people in Greece that isn't just conjecture?

Thank you again! Have a great day :)

Hello! It makes me so happy that you found my blog suitable to inform yourself on this part of your ethnic / cultural background. I hope the blog will keep being a useful source of information.

Because I am not going to lie, the way Greek history and culture, more like a snippet of it, has been almost forced into American pop culture is indeed through a disingenuous conjecture. Honestly, it's not so much a matter of accuracy per se. It's more that a niche piece of the culture has been taken and presented as almost the entirety of this culture, which eventually leads to tremendously false impressions, no matter how earnestly this niche part is explored. There is also the tendency to shape ambiguous evidence into unquestionable conviction.

I will attempt to explain why this can be a problem. Let's take the axiom - because it has reached the lengths of being treated as an axiom - "Ancient Greece was gay or Greece is gay or Greek culture was gay culture or Greece is / was a gay haven". If we really study Greek history and culture in its entirety, in a span of 3,500 years or more if we also take into acount the pre-Greek civilizations which eventually helped produce the Greek, while the existence of gay people (i.e Sappho), non-straight sexual practices (i.e erotic amphoras), ambiguous literary relationships (i.e Achilles & Patroclus?) and varied expressions of sexual desire observed especially in male deities are 100% well attested and recorded, they still comprise overall a very tiny part of the Greek civilization. Whereas it is often portrayed in western pop culture as the very essence of Greek civilization, exploration and studies of sexuality and gender identity throughout its history could amount to maybe a 1-5% of all documented knowledge associated to the Greek ethnos, its history and its legacy. Think of it this way; Greece happened to be in the epicenter of many formative achievements of humanity; spreading, contributing or improving on science, arts, extant religions and linguistics. It has been an area extremely ravaged by war because it has a very strategic position on the map. It has been in the core of three of the world's largest empires and it has been positively or negatively influential to all three (and the generator of one of them). There are so many things, struggles and achievements, to study and explore and draw from as part of your identity, that a constant foreign obsession and trivilization and sensualization of the sexual practices of people long gone eventually will start sounding disingenuous or lacking or even demeaning. Just like every individual aspires to be acknowledged and respected for more than just their sexual or gender identity (i.e skills, feelings, talents, achievements, personality), it is the exact same with culture and heritage. People want their culture to be appreciated in its entirety and not for a super niche area that is also exaggerated, if not exploited to serve foreign agendas, trends and marketing (because let's be real, not all have noble representation motives).

Okay, now I have to ask: do you know Greek? Because I can recommend you some sources, however Americans do not translate Greek works unless they are from 750 BC :)

Here's a quick heads-up:

The Greek society is a pseudopuritan society - one where people act like puritans when it comes to judging others but not at all when it comes to themselves. The gay male community has by far the biggest visibility nowadays. Lesbians come second. Other sexual orientations follow i.e bi, poly, pan. Gender (trans, non-binary, fluid etc) identities have less visibility. Asexuals also have near non-existent visibility. Most non-het non-cis people face problems in their families rather than in their studies or in urban environments. Non-cis people, especially AMAB people, might also face hardship in the workplace (like not getting easily hired).

Because the society is pseudopuritan, it tolerated and embraced and worshipped several LGBT people, except if they attempted to communicate their experience. Great composers and authors were openly gay and Greeks knew it and loved them, because they didn't explicitly involve their sexual identity in their work or because they didn't expose the pathogenies of the Greek society. If they had done that, the reception could have been different. Because of all these reasons, most of my sources will be from the perspective of gay cis men (the most visible LGBT+ community) and it will be mostly the great work and legacy they left behind, rather than their explicit documentation of the experience of living as LGBT+ in Greece.

LGBT poets and authors:

Constantine Cavafy (1863 - 1933), one of our best poets. This can be useful to you because his works are actually translated in English.

Napoleon Lapathiotis (1888 - 1944), openly gay in such times, he wrote a lot of erotic poetry.

Augoustos Korto (1979 - ), a married gay man, successful writer and activist, he has written extensively on the topics of death, depression, motherhood and love, often drawing from personal experience.

Kostas Tachtsis (1927 - 1988), poet, distinguished author and activist for gay rights during the Colonel dictatorship in the '70s. He suffered in his life and in his death as well. His murder has not been solved yet. He has written an autobiography and numerous novels with autobiographical elements. He was gay, either cross-dressing cis or maybe trans or non-cis (we don't know that back in time how exactly he identified) and had also been a sex worker for some time.

Napoleon Lapathiotis

Music:

Music won't give you direct information however it could be a way to bond with people you could connect with over similar experience.

Manos Hadjidakis (1925 - 1994), one of our two greatest composers and a rare genius, was openly yet "discreetly" gay, not out of shame but because privacy on all aspects of the human experience was absolutely essential and sacred to him. He was also an Oscar winner, although he would hate me for saying this (he threw his Oscar in the trashcan). Besides listening to his music, I would recommend watching interviews or listening to excerpts from his radio shows, because of the ease with which he could challenge anyone's intellectual capacity.

Sotiria Bellou (1921 - 1997), a lesbian or perhaps bisexual woman, she is worshipped for her unique voice, which became the ultimate symbol of the heavy-duty (underground at the time + now part of UNESCO's cultural heritage) rembetiko music genre.

TV Shows with representation:

Maestro in Blue on Netflix, a big part of the story is the romance of a gay couple suffering in oppressive families in the province

Milky Way, one of the main characters is pansexual and non-binary, and the actor is gay IRL. There is also a brief lesbian romance or a side narrative of supressed female homo- or bi- sexuality. This show will soon get in some international platform but I don't remember which one (not netflix), so keep it in mind.

Milky Way

YouTube:

There are a lot of LGBT+ people in Greek YouTube but my faves are:

ΚΡΙΜΑ by ZoePreTV: Zoe is a lesbian or bi herself (not sure but I know she's openly in a relationship with a woman) and she makes lengthy very informative quality podcasts with celebrities or everyday people, often belonging to marginalized groups, and they talk about their experiences. If you can understand Greek, this might be the best source for what you ask. I watched a fantastic episode with a trans woman and sex worker talking about her life. It is one of the greatest podcast episodes I have ever watched, hands down.

Eponimos. Zoe's best friend, who is an openly gay man, although he approaches matters of sexuality very delicately as he values his privacy a lot. He doesn't talk often about such matters (recently he did) but his channel is awesome for his lighthearted humour and the maturity of his positions. I love watching his content.

The podcast I mentioned.

LGBT+ Magazine: ANTIVIRUS. ANTIVIRUS also has this list with recent queer literature, featuring both Greek and foreign writers. Here is the link. It's in Greek though, like everything above...

Art: Yannis Tsarouhis (1910 - 1989), one of the most influential and successful Greek artists. He painted a variety of themes, he was inspired and developed Greek folk and Byzantine art, however he was also particularly notable for his love for the masculine physique and he established the classic image of the "Greek sailor" in art, theater and cinema internationally.

A great photo of Tsarouhis in his atelier.

I wouldn't consider myself well-versed in the topic, so I invite anyone who knows sources that could also ideally be easily accessible to the Anon, to give some recs in the comments. From my side, Anon, hopefully I was of any help.

[zombeebunnie]

Trembling Essence:💙Script progress + Updates💙

Hello and welcome new followers, long time no see! I was very busy most of this month, but I am back and ready to continue from where I left off on the game! This game development post might be a bit long but I tried to condense everything! :]

"How are things going so far?":

It's going slow and steady! I haven't been able to do too much these past few weeks, however, I wrote a few parts out before I got too busy and couldn't do anything else.

I want to be very careful when it comes to spoilers but, based on your choices, some of these areas will give off immersive cozy/homelike vibes that really express Noah and the player(Y/N)'s view towards each other. In the old 2023 script I was very new to writing so the small semi-hints of romance weren't the entire focus compared to the horror aspect but there's a better balance between both genres now and I'm still aiming for a meaningful slow burn versus it just being all over the place. :] I liked writing them a whole bunch which lead to a lot of these taking place in the mid/end of Day 4+, they just need to be placed in specific areas that call for it. With that being said, it felt really comfy adding key details about Noah and creating meaningful sections in the game. I was even going to draw out some of the unseen script/scenes but I believe the best thing to do is give deeper lore from the [Extended Demo] first. Even though my writing style has improved I still have to fix the multiple pacing issues I wrote last year.

"Playtester's advice":

I wanted to continue working through Noah's backstory but I kept having moments where I'd get sidetracked into wanting to fix up the start of the game again. Eventually, I talked to my play testers about it and they gave me a few encouraging pointers.

To help keep my process at ease, I will fix the beginning of the game when I take breaks from writing up Noah's backstory. :]

I talked about this during early 2024 but the start of the game that leads up to the cabin is still getting reworked. I was able to get some of it fixed for the [Extended Demo] but I wasn't done. Things are still up in the air but, I will say that I have a better view of everything than I did before. :] Another priority that needs fixing are the backgrounds! I've improved a lot on drawing and they need to be optimized. When you first start up the game, you wake up in a holed out tree in the swamp with the choice to leave this area and possibly end up in the forest. I was going for a very immersive form of symbolism that only a few noticed but, I believe I can do a better job about this. Unfortunately I don't have any new backgrounds to show right now but maybe next week I'll have some finished up! :]

"Art process/Noah's sprite sheets":

As far as Noah sprite sheet goes, it's still in sketch mode.

I didn't draw anything since I was gone so I need to do a few warm ups before I get to them. There are some old drawing prompts I wrote down and old sketches that I never got a chance to doodle so hopefully I can get to them at some point with some attached lore. :,]

My Q&A / Ask box has been reset!

Thank you to those who have sent in asks in the past, unfortunately they all disappeared except for 1 while I was gone. I have no idea what happened but I can only guess it just got reset.

If you have any questions about Trembling Essence/Noah feel free to ask or resend them in here please. This makes it easier for me to see and answer accordingly! I would really like to hear from you guys!

This is all I have to share so far, Thank you to everyone for the continued support and patience while I was gone! I was ready to accept the interest for this game to fade out and coming back to see that it didn't happen makes me happy, I really appreciate it. :,]

[generalluxun]

how do you feel about this... Think it's AI, but I wouldn't put it past him to say this

AI? You mean the translation or his answer itself?

It feels very Thomas to me. The man cannot keep his yapper shut. I remember another tweet from him railing about how one season of Arcane costs ten times as much as one of ML.

It might be true. The thing is, no one should be comparing them. That is all he has to say. The rest is him being sore and snippy.

ML is a kids show in a kids slot, presumably made on a shoestring budget and that budget is a part of the appeal to buyers. A low-cost supers show can do a global release much easier, it can be a simple line item in a budget year over year without thought. The merch can be slapdash but still bring in enough coin. Basically, it can be unobtrusive enough fiscally that it gets to avoid any demands while remaining profitable. *This is fine. This is business. Someone needs to create this sort of product*

Riot on the other hand has always gone big budget and heavy into production on its side projects. Take a look at their music videos. (Compare them to the ML one, ha!) Riot created a whole pop idol group out of it's characters. Each of their videos had a unique one-off aesthetic. It was a way to sell new skins, but it was also *art*.

Arcane is the same way. It's not some animation-mill product created to keep kids buying things. Themes, drama, personal narrative, art direction, score, presentation; it's meant to be a high quality presentation top to bottom. So, of course it costs more.

A 2006 Chevy will get you wear you need to go, and have some quirky charm. A 2024 Mercedes will give you a luxurious driving experience designed to make the trip better than the destination. One will also cost you ten times as much as the other. Makes sense, right?

As for the 'very American' nonsense

TA's jingoistic sniping is a long standing tradition. I'm not sure what he even means here though? Like, script rewrites are supposed to be bad? Too many maybe, but sometimes they are needed. Does he not do them? It would actually explain so much.

ZAG: Hey Thomas. I just reviewed your latest script and there's a few things that don't seem to line up with what we've shown before...

TA: Oh? Well. I am sorry about that my friend, but you see: I am already finished. It can't be helped. Ah well, Ceste la vie.

Would I look like a tosser for saying 'Very French'?

Yes I would, and so I won't. I've seen plenty of French films that were finely crafted with rewrites and changes along the way to improve them.

Nothing inherently wrong with slap-dash production on the cheap, but trying to sell it as a virtue and mock quality commitment is weird.

[thickness-protection-program]

Kev i just want to say that your art is just so unbelievable it's so clear how much you love making it and how much hard work and dedication has gone into making it/achieving your level of technical skill and I really truly admire it so much!! your work is literally gallery quality and my fav thing is opening this app and seeing you drop a new masterpiece like it's no big deal ksjdvnksl thank you for sharing your art and I hope you are well <3 <3

Hehehe thank you! I needed to hear this today honestly 🥹 I've learned a lot over the past 3 years of drawing and while I still have room to improve I'm very happy with where I am now. And I'm happy you guys enjoy it too! I didn't know my stuff was considered gallery worthy but wahoo I'll take it thank you again! 🫂

[choccyhearts]

A Walk in the Park // R.M.R x Reader

Note: Part two to this fic ^_^

CW: Fluff, g/n!reader

It had been a week since Renfield had met you at the cat cafè. Your brain wouldn't let him go, constantly replaying that day. You were so charmed by him and you were craving to see him again.

Today, you were closing up. On Sundays, the cafè closes early so you had the rest of the day free. As you finished wiping down the last table, you walked to the front to turn the sign to close. Just as you reach the front, you're met with Renfield standing in front of you.

You jump slightly before smiling widely. He smiles back as he opens the door.

"Hello, again."

"Hello", he never breaks eye contact as he walks inside. You toy with your hands as you gaze at him hypnotized. Renfield stands with his hands behind his back, his face flushed.

"So...oh!", you snap back to reality. "We were just about to close, but I can get you something quick."

"Actually, I wanted to see you...", he pauses before wincing at himself. "Sorry, I mean I wanted to ask if maybe you would like to go out with me?"

"Go out...?"

"Oh, I mean, would you like to hang out? I thought we could go for a stroll in the park or something. I really would like to get to know you better." He has a nervous smile on his face and his eyes are filled with hope.

"I would love to. Today is good for me."

"Wonderful", he sighs.

"I just need to finish cleaning up here and we'll be set."

Renfield sits down at one of the tables as a couple of cats go over to him. You talk with him as you work, finding out a little bit more about him. He has a bright and optimistic outlook on life which he told you was new. He was tired of letting life get him down and now he's focusing on his needs and wants.

"That's beautiful, Renfield. Really. That's a perspective more people should have. It's important for everyone to work on improving themselves."

He smiles bashfully at you. His eyes wander through out the cafè.

"Where's Cheddar gone?"

Your shoulder slump slightly.

"Oh, he's at the vet currently."

"Oh no", Renfield sits up. "Is something wrong with him?"

"He's had some trouble eating lately. They said it might just be a stomachache or something, nothing too serious. I'm not too surprised, honestly. He loves sneaking food from customers", you giggle.

Renfield chuckles and relaxes back in his seat.

"That's good, he's a good cat."

"Yeah, he really likes you."

Renfield helps you usher the cats into a room in the back where they stay while the cafè is closed. After, you grab your bag and turn off the lights.

"Let me get that", Renfield dashes towards the front door and opens it for you.

"Thank you, Renfield." You lock the door and you both begin walking.

A few blocks away is a small park with a playground and walking trail. Renfield talks about his love of the architecture and street art. You notice how much of a gentleman he is as he walks on the side of the street and delicately holds your hand as you cross the street. He does let go of your hand each time you've made it across and you can't help but want him to stay.

"Sorry, I know you're a grown adult, you probably don't need me to hold your hand, but...you can never be too safe", he keeps his focus on the ground.

"That's okay, I don't mind", you smile up at him. He looks at you and smiles back and for a moment you both are alone in the world, just like when you first met.

You break the silence by pointing ahead.

"Oh, there's the park!", you take him by the hand excitedly and lead him.

He keeps up with your pace and looks at the scenery. You both slow down again and walk along the trail.

He points out every animal and bug he sees, reciting a short bio of each one.

"Ooh, that's a beautiful ladybird, or I guess, ladybug here", he chuckles. "Did you know that they're part of the beetle family? It makes sense once you realize but many people don't know."

"You really like wildlife, huh?"

"Yes, I love learning about all creatures."

As you continue your stroll, you bump into Renfield each time someone walks past you both. You move aside to let them pass which causes you to turn your body right into Renfield. One particular time when a small group of people pass, you trip over your own feet and Renfield is quick to catch you in his arms.

"I'm so clumsy, I'm sorry!", you laugh nervously.

"Don't worry, it's a quite narrow trail." He helps you back on your feet and holds on to your hand. "Here, so you don't get swept away again."

You feel heat rise in your face and chest as you continue walking.

"You're quite the gentleman. I didn't know people could still be chivalrous."

"I guess I'm just...an old soul", he lightly scoffs with a smile on his face.

"It's nice. I like it."

When you reach the playground you find it unoccupied.

"Do you want to go on the swings?", you ask.

"I've never been on swings before", he sheepishly admits.

"That's okay, we can just sit."

Your feet crunch the mulch below. Neither of you say anything as you sit down on the swings. It's a nice silence filled with the metal creaking of the chains, birds chirping softly and the breeze blowing in intervals.

"I haven't had this much fun in a really long time."

You look at him as he stares at his feet.

"I'm glad you're having fun. I was getting worried you might think I'm boring."

"I could never find you boring."

You look into each other's eyes. The wind blows his hair into his face but he ignores it. You outstretch your hand to him and he accepts it, letting your connected hands sit in between your swings.

"You're a very beautiful person", Renfield confesses. You bite your lip but refuse to break the trance you're in.

"So are you. You're divine."

"I know I said I walked into the cafè for the cats, but I stayed for you. You showed me this kindness that no one else has and I'm very thankful."

Renfield brings your hand up to his lips and softly grazes it. He looks up at you as if to ask permission and you nod. He closes his eyes and softly kisses your skin before returning your hands back where they were.

You hear a couple of kids laughing and running towards the jungle gym and you both straighten up.

"So...you've never played on swings before?"

You spent the rest of the afternoon showing Renfield how to swing. After getting the hang of it he had a blast, going as high as he can.

You leave the park and he walks you back to your car that's still at the cafè. You both stand next to your car, wishing this day never ended.

"This really was fun. I would love to do this again." He takes your hand softly in his.

"I would too."

He strokes your hand with his thumb while he thinks.

"Why don't we go to a movie next weekend? I'd love to see what it's like at the theatre now...", Renfield pauses as if he regrets saying that.

"Oh, because of the pandemic?", you question.

He nods and laughs relieved, "Yes, yes. I haven't been since before the pandemic! That weird, weird year."

"I'd enjoy that. Sounds like a date", you smile before getting flustered yourself. "I mean, like, sounds like a plan. Not a date. Like a date date."

"Of course", he nods. His grip on your hand tightens a bit. Not in a weird way more in an almost protective way. "Unless you would like it to be a date?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He kisses your hand again. "So it's a date?"

"Absolutely."

You open the driver's side door and Renfield holds it for you.

"Oh, by the way, Cheddar is supposed to return on Tuesday."

"Then I guess I'll see you on Tuesday."

"I'll see you on Tuesday."

Okay, this is turning into a little series cause I want to keep writing so I will make another part soon ^_^

[wxnheart]

Birb Watching Anon- Yandere Corax x Remeberancer Reader

Quick note: I am not sure if I have made it clear, but the reader IS gender neutral (as much as I can make it)

You had been working with the Primarch for serveral months now. After your first piece having been approved, the little tower, RavenSpire was your home. Often when you werent busy with your duties, often you wandered around the spire. The tower was on first appearances rather bland and boring compared to the lavish sights of your homeworld and other ships. Hell, even the Lion's ship had a bit more decoration than here… However, you were snapped out of that mindset immediatly. YOu had noticed small cracks and dents alongside the spire with art often besides it. It intrigued you, and when asking your escort about it. They were often… very vauge about it. Your escorts were vertrans of course, they had fought alongside Lord Corax and were with him. Still, when they answered your question, it seemed with tact. Still, that was just a minor inconvionice. After all, they were just doing their jobs and intruiging you with your every whim. However, you noticed something was off over time… there seemed to be two factions at Deliverance, the Moonborn and the Terran born. They were as different as night and day, despite having the same genesire. Reflecting on that, maybe it was just a different aspect of the primarch's character that had never gotten expressed because of his circumstances.

The Terrans were often more curt and blunt than the moonborn, how ever, they were often move jovial and open. They often spoke praise about Horus as a whole, almost like he was an adoring father. As far you knew, Corax was one of the last found, so this was a new adjustment to the Moonborn as well as them. However, the treatment of the serfs was excessive. While, the Moonborn tended to ignore the serfs, or just give them with a slight level one might treat a speck of dust.

YOu had tried to appraoch the Terran Marines and ask them questions about Terra and fighting pre Corax, but often got no answer. they would take one look at you and your escort and turn away with an angry grimace on their face… Maybe at a another time. YOu were always being escorted at all times, it was standard protocal however.. you felt that you were really only getting one sided look at the legion. Pacing around your room, you schemed and planned. How were you going to get this interview… there was one commander that you hadn't met yet, they called him Soukhounou. YOu sat down and rubbed your temples with a feverish sigh. Sleep deprivation had been taking its toll on you… Dreams.. such fickle things… it was walways the same nightmare, and you couldnt intrepret it. You banished that thought from your head and gave yourself a pinch for good measure. NO. Your work will not suffer, it can. not. EVERYTHING is riding on this… your life, your family's honor… Getting up.. you grabbed your sketch book adn pens and left the room.

Still, you sat down and pulled up a holovid of a Terran marine and started to sketch them out. It was almost soothing.. to get the colors and sketches just right. Space Marines were unique in face, unlike their voice. Often you had used Corax's facial structure as a base, but often expanded outward. It all boiled down to that… still you thought you art had improved.. hopefully. You had noticed smaller details that often your older more extravgant works would have neglected. "Anon! I am of need your assiantance" You gave a quick shudder and got up. Lord Corax had been taking to calling you by your name. It was a nice gesture.. but it felt off… his tone was rather neutral as always with a hint of sadness.. but it was like a pet name? No.. you must be imagining things…

Gathering your tools you went to the standard elevator, with your escort. You had arrived to see Corax. He looked different and a tad bit more stressed. The escort was gone, as per usual. The towering man appraoched you. He sighed. "We have new orders, I must have a joint mission with my brother." He turned coldly. "We will leave within a day. Pack up your things and say your farewells" The primarch looked deathly stressed more so than usual.. He couldnt tell you his orders of course.. but given his expression. Those joint deployment was NOT good. YOu gave a nod and gave a quick bow, and stood there. Corax gave a glare. "Dont be wasting time! You are dimissied!" You gave a jump and gave a second bow before darting back into the elevator. YOu had much packing to do, still… it was the same routine.

Corax gave a sigh after dismissing his remeberancer… He had been staying at his home much longer than nesscary. He dreaded this joint order. Why would his father order that he and Konrad work together, he would never know. Despite his reservations, he would do the best that he could and protect them. He went over and carefully put on his armor. He made sure that it was working as intended… He flexed his pinions and claws. Carefully he grabbed his helment and clipped it to his belt. He touched the corvia on his armor, yellowed with age with a sigh. He hoped that someone would tend and hold onto his corvia. He touched his electrowhip. However, a nagging thought was in his head. "How would your brother react to them?" He frowned a bit. It would be terrible if his first rememberancer was killed because of meddling from his brother. He had heard of what happened to Vulkan's that one time. He gave a glare. He wouldnt let that happen.. not to her.

YOu had returned to yohur room and started to pack up your art supplies and gave a sigh… At least you were going to back to see the stars… YOu had enjoyed being on the moon. But all good things, as they say must come to an end. YOu patted the bed and gave a yawn. You opened up the curtain noticed the sun being nearly gone with the stars in the blackground. It was so beautiful… After all the "sun" rises and sets were often weeks for a time. It was beautiful, despite your fears. The galaxy was a large and feral place. YOu sighed and closed the curtain and resumed packing. YOu were ready, but you werent sure if you were to spent the night or not.

You heard your vox chatter, "Rememberancer ANon, please get dressed in your finest uniform.. we will be boarding 'The Shadow of the Emperor' within 2 hours." "Yes my lord." The vox cut off with a sharp cut. YOu got dressed and made sure that you were dressed up in the finest spledary that you could imagine. It was a nomral suit as per usual but with many belts and bucklets. It was in the colors of your former house. It was a small homage to them, the sacrifices they had to make… to get you this posistion. Most of the time, it was reseerved for Terran born after all. YOu took your gear and marched out to the designation located. They were in a parade formation and you took your place. Often, the remeberancers were last in the pack when it came to civilian officers working with the primarchs. You have seen and felt the glares of the soliders and Marine alike towards the Rememberancer.

TO your surprise, the marines had placed you near the primarch, or at least closer than to the other civilan officers. You felt their jealous angry eyes peer through you.. feeling sick.. you just wanted to get this over with. Still, when the primarch arrived everyone minus the Marines bowed respectfully. The primarch stood at least 10 paces away from you and gave a nod to begin the signal. YOu marched with measured paces… after all, the Marines had to work with their pace. Over time, you were marching towards the ship.. the primarchs backside seemed to get closer and closer to you. It was subtle… but at the end of the march… you could just reach out and touch the metaltic wings that were extended from the simple jetpack. It had occured to you that you have NEVER sketched the primarch in his armor before, or really at all ever. He had ordered to draw Lycanean marines and propaganda themed art for the Imperium… maybe he just didnt trust you yet…

You had arrived on the primarchs flagship, where the escort asked you to show you to your rooms.. After all, the Navigators and others would be working double time to make up for Lord Corax's ship being repaired. The escorts marched you wordless towards your quarters. You were so tired… you immediatly changed out of your clothing and hung it over. YOu decided to shower.. it hadnt been a wtaer. Perfume could only do so much to cover up the smell. However, as you undressed, your gut turned. You felt like prey…Ugh.. maybe it was just jitteres from being on the ship and readjusting to the standard grav. It had taken you about a week to adjust to the Delliverance's articfical gravity. However, that thought really didnt change THAT feeling in your stomach. Either way, you had to shower and rest. YOu entered and started to clean your sweat stained body. The water felt devine on your skin. "Which primarch was Lord Corax assignted to be with that would make him so upset." You scrolled through the primarchs mentally before pausing…no… it couldnt be.. but your heart knew it was so. The Haunter. You dare not speak his name. You made a silent religous gesture. It made your gut weigh a little bit less… yeah. But why did you feel so violated..maybe some sleep would help with the issue.

Your dreams however were of a differnt story.. you were in the same ballroom, how ever, the room was empty. Ghostly music was playing off a flicking servo skull… You looked around… taking steps around the room, noting and reflecting its decrepit state. The room was large, with shattered windows, half broken tables with faded symbols on then, as welkl as tiny mothholes in it. You carefully stepped around a broken chandelier. Approaching the servo skull, you picked it up as the music sputtered died. "My lady" a deep rasy voice siad behind you. YOu turned around to see nothing. Backing away, you turned and saw a flickering light… and something emerged from the inky black. He had Corax's facial structure, yet damned and broken. His face often had random twitchs and tics. Pure black eyes were inset into a gaunt face. Noting the bags underneath his eyes did no favors to him. His face was in a mixture of a sneer and entitlement. He was dressed in powerarmor, the color changing from dark navy to black based on the flickering on the candlelight.

He was tall, yet slightly hunched back wit his long hair framming his face. His armor ran with silence, having a raven sigil on the left paudron and a bat skulled helm on the right side… He was armed with lighting claws on both hands, with his lighting bolts painted on his forearms glowed with inhuman inate power. He slowly approached you moving with a fluid grace with small shuffle steps to the side. You backed away, notcing the monstronitys claws… they were dripping ever so constantly…. "Would you care to do the Danse Macrbe?" YOu shook your head and bolted past him. You ran with all your speed sparing occanionsally looking back. You saw the monstronostiy grow four wings two more furry, while two more birdlike and turn… their claws dripping. YOu gave a scream and ran as the floor changed to gain a slope. YOu felt something thick coil around your ankle and with a thud you collapsed. It had you gave a scream and struggled trying to remove the whip from the angle.. the whip sharted to cimb up restraining more part of your body… You struggled and fought as the it came closer.. Your body struggle dnad convilng as the whip cut in so tight that it bruise your flesh. YOu stared into the things dark black eyes, with one having white iris while the other completely black. YOu stifled a shriek as it picked you up holding you as if your were a delicate flower. "Would you care for a dance?, the face started to change eventually resulting in a bird mammalian mix. You struggling more eventually dropping out of the things arms.. you struggled trying to move away.

The things looked (at least you thought) sa bit sad for a bit before smiling. It was a cruel cold smile as it slowly walked almostly mocking towards you.. You were crying now screaming and fleeing. YOu couldnt break free…You were spent… before you blacked out it said. "I will have that dance… like it or not." You woke up in a cold sweat.. bounded in the blankets like a cocoon.. Taking a deep breath, your throat was really dry. Getting up out bed and flipped on light, you noticed something… a shiny metal square.. Odd… metalworking wasn't really your expertise. Rinsing off your face and lifted up and saw that the room had changed a bit… the door seemed ever so farther away… turning to your left… you saw it, again now on all fours.. looking feral.. it turned in its maw heldf the head of your father.. You ran to the door as fast as possible, but your speed was no match for it.. It pouned on you its drool causing pain , as you squeaked trying to break free. In response it doubled its body weight, you could feel your bones being pushed to their extreme. Its maw seemed to extend its fanged teeth and its tounge slowly carrsessing your face, your screamed as you felt the acid spit started to melt your face. However, a voice was heard. "Dance with me… or your life is forfeit.."

You gave a scream.. Yes! The pain it was too much… as soon you screamed it was over. The scence was a beautiful ballroom again, it showed the Raven man again. The power armor was gone, but he was dressed in a bonewhite suit and he extended a hand to you and you took it. The Raven Man pulled you close, you could hear an offset heartbeat. The music started slow and low and soon built into a cresndo. YOu tried to follow the Raven man's steps. He was a much taller partner than you.. Eventaually the dance and the music ended in a flourish. The man gave you a weary smile. "Come back somethime. I would be happy to dance Anytime" He said it kindly enough, but the slight lean forward and the eyetwitch set off your gut.

You woke up. For the first time in a while, you felt well rested. Maybe that dream was needed, to give you the energy needed to deal with the Haunter. Who knows? You picked up your sketchbook and started to sketch the man again on your dream. However, something caught your eye.. something goldnen had fallen out of the sketchbook. It was a simple golden chain, yet when you felt its cold surface, you felt small dents, engravements maybe? but it seemed too small to read. You placed the cahin on your wrist. you had so many questions. "What did that dream mean? Who placed this braclet? were agmonst the few. You shook your head banishing those thoughts, you had to seize this new day.

👍

[bartonsarcheryacademy]

Story Idea dump #2.

BALLET AND MUSICIAN AU:

(Yes, I enjoy AUs)

The setting: Natasha and Clint used to be ballet dance partners, winning awards and tournaments around the world. Now they‘re settled in Brooklyn NYC and run a dance and music school together. Natasha teaches the ballet class, Clint teaches piano and other instruments. The people they teach are a mix of kids from difficult backgrounds and rich offsprings. They charge whatever the parents can afford to pay, some kids get taught for free, but the high class parents happily pay horrendous sums, because of the standards of class and the many titles Natasha and Clint won. Bruce also has a room at their building, teaching Yoga and Meditation to kids and adults. It‘s an older brickstone building in industrial style, high ceilings and big windows.

Plot: Planning on meeting with an organization to set up a bigger educational program in Brooklyn, Clint gets involved in a car wreck on the way to the meeting. I will not say too much about his injuries, but he get discharged from the hospital after several weeks barely able to walk alone, with damage to his ears and some metal in his body. Safe to say he doesn‘t take it well at all. He can‘t dance, he can‘t teach music anymore- it triggers a cocktail of anger, sadness, depression, and hopelessness. natasha and Bruce try their best to help him back on his feet, but as impatient as he is, he doesn‘t see much improvement. (Different from our hero Renner, who has the determination of a superhero). Enter Bucky Barnes, Natasha‘s highschool dance partner and long term friend, who just recovered from losing his arm in a military mission overseas. Equipped with a high end prosthetic arm made by Tony Stark (bear with me. Wakanda didn‘t seem like an option here), he agrees to helping out with the ballet classes. Clint is devastated to see himself ‚replaced‘ by Bucky. He‘s pissed. He is sad. Bucky, after having just gone through endless hours of therapy himself, sets him straight. He can either work on himself and claim his life back, or he can be angry and miserable and accept nothing will change. WinterHawk development while Bucky helps Clint recover through forcing him on his feet, exercise, and work through the trauma of the crash- that he remembers more of than he ever told anyone.

Can‘t tell you the end development, because I plan on writing this one day. Who would read it if you knew how it ends *evil cackle*

Oh, and there is art for this plot already. I did some, and a friend of mine who is amazingly talented did art of Nat and Clint dancing, and Clint playing Piano. So, cross your fingers that this might see the light of day.

Thanks for your attention…until #3 <3 >>—->

[kaksparkz]

for the artist askgame, idk how many youve answered already but 3,4,10,12,21,24 and 35!

hello helloo!! sorry im just answering this now, been pretty busy^^ (also, using this chance to thank u for your support!! i always see u interacting with my stuff here hbasfcyhdb you're a sweetheart😭💕)

Your fav piece/s?

Probably this vergil one! i still love how it looks djddgnds my art peaked here im afraid,,,,,

Piece you wish got more love?

hmm, this is an interesting one!! tbh i dont mind it much but this johnny fanart got waaaaay more attention on instagram!! i mean,,, i have a lot of mk moots there so it makes sense lol (and also just got to 1k followers on IG!! crazy stuff💌)

How do you deal with artblock?

to be honest, once i realize i have artblock i stop drawing for a couple of days. if i keep insisting on drawing i just get more and more frustrated and it makes it worse imo. so i like to spend some time doing my other hobbies!!! (´▽｀)

usually i just come back to drawing once i regain motivation or i get a cool idea that i need to sketch so i wont forget. and when that happens, my artblock is usually gone!! so,, i guess i just wait for it to go away? lol not much advice i can give on that sadly :/

Describe your process while drawing!

CHAOTIC. to say the least.

i spend like. half an hour on pinterest beforehand getting inspo & searching for refs and ONLY THEN i can start drawing. i start on SAI1, do the sketch and if i like how it looks, i just clean it up. if it dont, i do 'proper' lineart. after that i start coloring and shading!! this is my fav part tbh. once im done shading i color the lineart so its not completely black. then i open up SAI2 and start doing more rendering, adding overlays & effects. that part is also SO FUN cause it makes everything come together so nicelyy. my art process is a pretty big 'trust the process' till that part lol.

there's ALWAYS music or yt videos playing in the bg, and me taking A LOT of 15 minutes breaks cause that one song is so good and i have to stop drawing and start singing while looking at the spotify lyrics like im hypnotized LMAO

What do you thin you artstyle woukd taste like?

people always say my art looks so tasty and. i kind of agree!! like. smth very sweet. it really depends on the colors i use on the piece but,,, either hard candy, gummies, marshmallows or even syrup i think!!!

What's a compliment about your art that has always stuck with you?

i get super giddy with every compliment i get so i dont think i can remember one in particular??? but istg people always say the funniest, most sweet things ever and it's so nice to hear :3 but if i had to say smth,,, i once had the chance to talk with this one incredibly talented illustrator, and he kept telling me how he thought my stuff looked amazing. and i was like!!! wow!!! you actually like my stuff?? what!!!!

Piece of advice for my younger artist self

i would sit this little girl down and talk to her for hours tbh poor thing was STRUGGLING 😭😭😭

i guess my best advice for her (and for anyone who reads this, too!) is to not be so hard on yourself. art is a skill, and it takes a lot of time to build it up!!!

i used to get SO extremely upset when my stuff didnt look the way i wanted it to and ughhh. took me literal years to find my artstyle too and that didn´t help AT ALL with how frustrated i was feeling. i felt,,, stuck??

but now i look back at my art journey and. wow have i improved!! maybe if that little girl saw the stuff i do today she wouldn´t be so sad about her art :´] not to say i don´t struggle today, i still feel stuck and frustrated often!! but i guess i learned to be kinder to myself. but i still have lots of things to improve about my art!! i wonder when i´ll take another look back and see how much i´ve progressed since today,,,

thank you for the ask!! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

[phantaemon]

artfight this year was, in terms of VIBES, utter dogshit

But at the same time it was the best artfight I've ever had. I've never gotten as many attacks before, just like I've never attacked as many people. I got so much more confident in my art and I genuinely had fun, and since I had improved even before it started I was able to get so many ocs on the platform, ocs that lacked art and that I wasn't confident enough to post on the platform before otherwise. They didn't all get art (most of it went to my sona lmao) but it's nice. Even got in a pretty high effort mass attack last minute- which was relieving considering everyone went paranoid about those in the beginning (for fair reasons sometimes)

I think just randomly selecting OCs from the recent page, and attacking mutuals was the best choice here.

This year's social media coverage was insufferable too. Some of my mutuals refused to join at all due to this, not just the odd tiktok trends and the entitlement, but also the "OH YOU NEED TO PREPARE 30 REFS TWO MONTHS IN ADVANCE, AND MAKE YOUR PROFILE LIKE THIS OTHERWISE NO ONE WILL ATTACK YOU! AND LOOK AT THE ATTACK RATIOS! AND DON'T FORGET TO POST THE CARD IN EVERY SINGLE SERVER YOU'RE IN! AND YOU NEED TO DO THIS THIS AND THIS BECAUSE I DON'T EVEN LOOK AT PROFILES THAT DON'T DO THIS AND THIS"

Oh my god. Way to discourage beginners from an event that's supposed to be FUN. I wasn't affected by this due to having enough motivation to draw on a daily basis for a while now, but artfight is NOT supposed to be stressful like that. YOU ARE MAKING IT STRESSFUL. Sit back. Upload one fullbody of your character, heck even a halfbody works in some cases, my friend has a character like that and she still got attacks. If you have a big, detailled ref, good for you!

You don't even need a profile besides your boundaries because unless you 1) subscribed to someone 2) attacked someone and they want to revenge you or 3) go out of your way to link your profile everywhere, people will NOT see it, they'll just see your character through tag search or recent and EVEN IF PEOPLE SEE YOUR PROFILE you only need simple boundaries which can be put in your character warnings ANYWAYS!

Same thing for OC profiles you can have literally the least amount of lore for your OC people will still draw them, you can even just link an external profile (with proper warnings) if you don't wanna copy and paste the bio and layout or something

Don't get me started about the ratio, caring too much about them is overly punitive and utter bullshit, you cannot keep up a 50+ ratio without burning out in most cases since you cannot control when people revenge you unless you're doing a chain or attacking 100% revenge profiles. Holding people to higher standards or refusing to attack people because of their ratio defends the entire purpose of artfight, and is, quite frankly, an asshole move.

To enjoy AF you literally just need to upload some random ocs and draw some random ocs. Now I know that not getting attacks feels like shit. But artfight is about giving first and foremost. It's the first thing you see in the beginner's guide. You give free art to people who MAY give you free art in return. It is free art. You are not entitled to it, though I wish everyone could receive something at the end of the day no matter what.

Do not look at social media. Don't join the discord unless you need server uptime/downtime info. And it will seem way more calm.

Artfight has not gone to shit this year. It's a loud part of the community that has. I may not be posting this with any # as to not start discource but anyone seeing this I urge you to take the positives and take a step back from everything else. First week was stressful as hell for me, until I decided to just draw as if no one was telling me to make my account and ratio perfect. As we may say "Artfight is fun when you don't have a bitch in your ear telling you to fix your ratio".