#art made by someone who is bad at art but really likes to mix colors

[t-s-n-s-s-a-g-turnip]

Incredible high quality Bocchi art

acrylic paint on printer paper

from left to right. Hitori Gotoh, Ryo Yamada, Ikuyo Kita, Nijika Ijichi.

I spent a remarkable amout of time on this, although that was simply mixing the colours also i messed up Kita becuase i dropped the paper as i was painting her, whoops

[potions-of-dark-devotion]

Gotta Get This off my Chest

Severus Snape & HBO Series

Alright first off, I know you are generally expecting well thought out essays from me but here I’m going to Ramble Freeform. You’ve been warned.

I don’t know how I feel at all about another actor attempting to play Severus Snape. JK Rowling is the main producer and honestly this worries me a lot considering the amount of hatred she has for LGBTQ people and the amount of hatred Severus has gotten in the last years. This space is bad sometimes but generally we have a fantastic community of people in this snapedom who love the character as he is written positives and negatives. I for one liked Snape from the first book I read and the first movie I watched.

I’ll be the first to admit that my image of him is very much wrapped up in Alan Rickman, and tho I greatly respect other peoples images of snape and I love the fan art they make, the thing that made Alan such an amazing character actor for the part was the unabashed love he had for the character. Look at any interview of him about Severus and you will see that he went to bat for him at every turn. What if we we are given someone who sees Snape through the eyes of the marauders fandom? What if they erase all of Snapes goodness or heaven forbid write extra scenes of cruelty to Lily that didn’t exist, or have him creep over her, or physically attack her, or characterize him as the aggressor with James when we all know it was the other way around? These kinds of fears keep me from being excited about the new series and instead leave me anxious.

For one thing, I wish they had focused more on a different period of wizard history, or a different part of the 1st wizarding war or even marauders/young Severus era, because there is so much to explore. I would have liked to explore story lines that really could use more fleshing out, and if JK Rowling is going to be a part of this she could have easily written new passages or short stories to suit this new narrative. I also worry about the fact that yet again because she is a producer there will certainly be no LGBTQ characters in the narrative and that’s a waste to me. We already have a fantastic interpretation of the books, and if they are doing a redo why not cast people of color or trans or any LGBT characters in the mix? It will be the same story just perhaps fleshed out more? I’m not sure what this series will bring to the table that the movies did not unless they radically change some things.

Yet, with this interpretation we may see many thing in the series that we don’t see in the books. Severus has two big scenes at the end of POA and GOF that were totally left out of the movies, and if this was left in and the “prank” was explored more in depth we could get to see an even more complex narrative than Alan was allowed to portray in the movies (largely due to directorial choices).

Severus as we all know is a complex character that can be different or difficult to understand without a trauma informed lense and the last thing I want is for them to shove him into a gross stereotype, or give him attributes that don’t exist in the books in order to cater to certain fandoms. I’m genuinely worried about the prospect of this. I also don’t want our fandom safe spaces that we’ve spent years curating to be over run with Snape hate again just because of the series. I could be being pessimistic. It’s just been on my mind lately.

No hard feelings it’s just…Severus Snape is my comfort character and I don’t want the idea of it ruined by people who don’t really understand him or who wouldn’t bat for him the way Alan did. Please understand me. Does anyone else have mixed feelings this way?

[chocolatepot]

While I'm ranting about fandom, I have really mixed feelings about posts that are like "back in the day, we never cared about what anyone else was doing and you could write/draw/ship whatever you wanted with no backlash."

Because on the one hand, yeah, there was a much higher tolerance for dark content 10+ years ago, and I do miss that. Antis are bad, sui-baiting people for drawing cute art on one account and NSFW on another is bad, whump is excellent and I wish there were more of it.

On the other, said tolerance didn't exist everywhere and you're kidding yourself if you think it was a fandom-wide virtue. Ship wars were vicious and frequently involved judging female characters as sluts unworthy of $hero because they'd kissed another guy onscreen one time. There were plenty of places you weren't allowed to write anything but fluffy canon het or get judged. I think it mainly feels like there was some golden time of everyone being Okay With Anything just because we didn't have these massive sites where you were rubbing shoulders with everybody. On LJ, it was very easy to just interact with the other people who liked the same stuff as you.

And also on the other, the rise of antis/criticism of dark stuff/etc. went hand-in-hand with the rise of social justice awareness in fandom, and I have strong memories of people really resisting any analysis or discussion relating to bigotry or subconscious bias in canon or fanon because get out of here SJW! It's all made up and meaningless! Pretty much everyone was sorted into either the social-justice-aware camp or the called-people-SJW-unironically camp, and the former was going to be critical of what message your fic or fandom participation was carrying (in terms of sexist tropes, ship statistics, and so on) while the latter was going to be hostile to you saying you were offended or disturbed by anything at all.

I remember one time toward the end of Fandom_Wank (after UnfunnyBusiness had been split off to talk about conflicts involving -isms because people had come to recognize that not all drama is equal) when someone brought up an old wank involving people upset that in a particular fandom's AUs, the characters of color would frequently be turned into literal animals while the white characters were still human. Originally, they had been mocked because this was obviously trivial and not racist, it was just random chance which characters got turned into animals, etc. But at that time, post-RaceFail, everyone agreed that it was really messed up. And that's what I think about every time the "people used to not care about what you wrote" topic comes up.

[ckret2]

Does bill have "a type"? Since you said he only dates every millennium, what kinds of stuff would catch this lunatic's eye? What would motivate him?

You're getting a read more because I listed every single blessed thing I could think of. The tl;dr:

artists (who depict him)

hot eyeballs (subjective)

no head

bright natural coloration

emotional doormats

party animals

nerds, provided they're also attractive other ways

worshipers

things that can injure him

getting gifts

someone who expresses interest first but lets him take the lead

really tacky expensive displays of wasting wealth

someone he thinks is similar enough to "understand" him

This is the first point because it's the answer he'd give: if you ASK him, he'll say he's "a complete sucker for those deep, brooding artist types." He'll say this like it's his biggest weakness. He says it like it's a charming little character flaw. This is the narrative he tells himself. What he ACTUALLY means is if you hit on him, and if you have created art of him (visual art, sculpture, music, poetry), the odds that he'll return the interest go up by 1000%. He is incredibly vain, he loves art of himself, and "willing to give Bill art of himself" is an insanely attractive trait.

Some species have sexy eyeballs. Other species don't. It just so happens that Earth, as a whole, has evolved an array of eyeballs that are by and large pretty sexy when compared to the multiversal baseline. Those little, like, thready filament things in the irises? Mesmerizing. Visible veins?? Drive him crazy. Bloodshot eyes? Gonna be haunting his fantasies for weeks. Top tier is those frog eyes with multiple colors or crazy crackly-looking patterns.

He's not a fan of heads. Like, when a species puts a face on a little bobbly looking thing separated from the rest of the body, rather than right on the torso where it belongs? Looks weird. It's not a dealbreaker but he's definitely more attracted to species that put their faces where they belong. Similarly, a mouth without an eye in it looks weird.

Big fan of bright colors. You know what's attractive? Looking like Lisa Frank colored you. Wearing bright colors isn't as good as being bright colors, but he still finds wearing bright colors to be an attractive trait.

If you combine the last three points, I think that I accidentally made Bill's ideal lover a poison dart frog.

Usually at some point pretty early in the dating process he's gonna say something like "Just so you know—really, I'm not as bad as all the rumors and gossip and ancient legends and globally-broadcasted warning PSAs make me sound. But: I am totally crazy. You wanna stick with me, you've gotta be cool with crazy." What he's looking for is someone who says "oh I am SO cool with crazy, I am the MOST cool with crazy, crazy is GREAT." When he says this, he's not saying "I'm actually mentally ill and need someone who's supportive and understanding." He's also not saying "I'm a wild crazy fun party guy and I want a partner who can keep up with that lifestyle." What he's saying is "I am an inconsistent and inconsiderate asshole who will show no regard for you, and in a year when you're complaining about the selfish harmful things I'm doing, I'll get to roll my eye and go 'I THOUGHT you SAID you were COOL with crazy. Are you NOT cool with crazy??' And then I'll complain about you to my friends." So: he'll focus on naive emotional doormats he can push around. He'll probably draw back from someone who stands up to him, unless he got seriously interested in them before they grew a spine.

But that said, he is also more likely to show interest in people who can keep up with his lifestyle. He parties with apocalypse machines. If he sees an alien at a party where three absolutely wasted demigods started mixing sink chemicals and accidentally set off a big bang that took out half the neighborhood, and the next weekend he sees that alien at another party? That means they party hard, they don't scare easy, they don't die easy, and they avoided the cops. That's somebody he wants to spend time with. If they're not lover material, they might be Henchmaniac material. Similar opinions on substance use and mass destruction a plus.

He's kinda into nerds. Not in and of themselves, but if they already hit other traits he likes, that's a plus. If he has a choice between two identical people and one's dumb as a rock, he prefers the one who knows lots of things and likes to share facts and trivia. Bill goes for long, long stretches without feeling curiosity, and those stretches typically coincide with when he feels most depressed; someone who can drive him to think a little bit is a godsend.

If someone literally worships him, like as a god, he's into that. It's not partner material but he'll put a star next to their name in his booty call list.

Any novel Extreme Sensations, he likes. Particularly pain. Not a lot of stuff can hurt him in his true form. If someone can make him feel pain, that's interesting to him. Not even necessarily in a BDSM way. If holding someone's hand feels like being electrocuted, or they give off a gas that makes everything too loud and makes him see weird colors? That's someone he wants to touch.

I think I've just added another trait to the "poison dart frog" column.

His love language is gifts & favors, both giving and receiving. If somebody gives him a gift, he'll remember them positively. Even if it's a kinda lame gift. It makes him feel liked. Roses & chocolates would work on him.

He's not liable to be the first to express interest, because he finds being rejected utterly devastating. On the other hand, he prefers to take the lead/call the shots in a relationship. So if somebody lets it be known that they're interested in him, but then hangs back to allow him to make the first move? Appealing.

He's a sucker for gold and tacky displays of wealth. Like he's sort of disgusted by wealthy people, but he's very into wealth. If you're rich have fun with it. If you're not ordering a $900 sundae coated with gold leaf just because you can then what's the POINT. Also, Bill is tacky. If some multidimensional billionaire decides to show an interest in him by gifting him an extremely ugly diamond-covered top hat, he'd probably let them do things to him that he wouldn't even confess to his doctor. (He doesn't have a doctor but.) I think what this boils down to is that he's only into rich people who are living like they want to go broke as soon as possible.

He goes through most of his existence feeling like Nobody Understands Him. Part of this is because he's bad at communicating his sincere feelings & emotional needs and even worse at relating to or caring about other people; but part of it is just because there's not a whole lot of people who can directly relate to "my ambition drove me to destroy my entire universe and ever since then I've been grappling with the paralyzing guilt while struggling to find a new universe." So when he DOES meet somebody who he believes can really, truly understand him the way most people can't? He emotionally latches onto them HARD. Not necessarily romantically, but it easily could be. This is last on the list but probably the most important point to getting a genuine emotional connection rather than fleeting physical attraction from him.

Example that hits multiple of the above points: one of his longest & most emotionally meaningful relationships was with a sentient black hole who—quite literally—destroys anyone who gets too close to her, and is constantly wracked with chronic pain due to being a fucking black hole. She did poetry at open mic nights. She'd go up to a mic and say something like "this poem is called The Taste Of Unwillingly Consuming The Solar System You Called Your Home" and then scream into the microphone for five minutes without pause. Bill was like "she's the only one in the multiverse who Gets It." He is a sucker for brooding artists. She let him get away with unspeakable things because he's one of the only entities powerful enough to get physically close to her and survive. Which was incredibly painful, but hey, he was into that too.

Maybe they'd still be together if she looked like a frog.

[radroller]

BATMAN COSTUME RATINGS

First I critiqued Captain Britain's closet of costumes, then Hank Pym's unending undertaking of unique uniforms, but now i'm bagging the biggest bass on the boat: BATMAN. And on Batman Day no less!!! While I’m hard-pressed to think of a major Batman design that is outright bad, but how do they stack up against each other? Also for simplicity’s sake we’ll be looking at Bruce Wayne’s different costumes, as i could make an entire separate post about the other Batmen and their costumes. Now, without further ado:

1939 Original: 6/10

A striking silhoutte brought on by the ears and cowl, a menacing visage with piercing eyes, and ever-charming purple gloves! Batman’s characterization as a merciless crimefighter didnt last beyond the year of his debut, but those initial appearances laid the impression of someone who fiercely combats evildoers by striking fear into their hearts. The problem is that these early appearances lacked consistency, a consequence of them still figuring stuff out. Sure whenever we reference back to Original Batman nowadays it’s excellent pulpy noir fun, just look at the upcoming Caped Crusader, but if you actually read the original comics Batman can sometimes look kinda…stupid. Particularly in his very first story, not being able to see his ears in profile shots is just WRONG. But still, those unforgettable vibes win out in the end, and are what carry on from this take on the character to this day!

40s/50s Batman: 6/10

The turn of the decade brought big changes for Batman, now he was colorful, barrel chested, and smiles aplenty! Presumably this change was made to appeal to younger readers (alongside the debut of Robin soon after) in a way that the scarier original Batman look didnt manage to. More emphasis was put on Batman’s status as a daring adventurer, a resourceful super sleuth, and fatherly figure to the kids at home and his ward Dick Grayson. Naturally this is reflected in his costume! The shortened ears and more expressive eyes exchange the creepiness of the original design for a sleeker look with friendlier features. The cape has become slightly shorter as well, and is more often used as a cape than a cloak so as not to conceal Batman’s muscular figure. But the biggest innovations by far are the new gloves with the iconic forearm blades, and a friend that’ll be with Batman for decades to come: the color blue!!! Just a fun look for all the giant typewriters, Zur En Arrh, cavaliers, and boners.

60s Yellow Oval: 8/10

As the Silver Age chugged along so did Batman stories, and it was a mixed bag for the guy. While the more stern and serious demeanor that became more prevalent with him (despite remaining approachable and kind) led to what i feel is one of the quintessential characterizations of the character, the routine in the comics began to wear a little thin at this point. This was compounded by some of the sorriest supervillains with the lamest gimmicks you’d ever see, with even the ones that would see eventual promise like Poison Ivy not achieving their full potential for decades to come. However at the same time Batman was now a TV star thanks to the 1966 show, and experienced a surge of popularity as a result, at least for the few years it was airing. It was an interesting time for Batman, but not so much his costume as it pretty much remained the same with one exception: the iconic yellow oval. And while that isnt much i sure do love it for the color balance, it really brings a little extra something during this blue period for the Batsuit.

Bronze Age: 10/10

Now THIS is some good shit right here. The 70s marked a shift back to Batman’s gothic roots thanks in large to Denny O’Neil’s time with the character and the art of industry greats like Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, Gil Kane, and Dick Giordano reflected that. And this suit….GOD. While largely the same as his 60s design as that was still his most recognizable look thanks to the TV show, the taller ears and MUCH longer cape gave Batman a more dramatic and cool air than ever before. Not as scary as he was originally yet not as campy as he had since become, a happy medium! At the same time, this is the bluest Batman ever was, which i’ve always found interesting. I always took it as Batman not shedding the most important things he gained over the previous 30 years, the warmth and compassion he was capable of alongside being the Dark Knight Detective. It incorporates all of the best choices about Batman designs into one ultimate look. I can’t think of much that tops it, and maybe DC couldnt either given that it was still being used well into the early 90s, well after much darker looks had been shown in blockbusters like DKR, Batman Year One, and The Killing Joke. It’s just that good!

Troika: 6/10

I ADORE this suit. The all-black look of the 1989 movie is so striking to see in comic form…at least in theory. You see I call it the Troika suit because that’s the name of the arc that first featured it, but the image i use comes from much later when it was refined to look more…well, like Batman. The eponymous storyline had him looking like a feverdream with foot-tall ears and a cape so huge it was as if he was wrapped in goth bedsheets. Idk if they were influenced by Todd McFarlane’s Batman art and later successes with Spawn but i am not a fan. It’s just peak 90s excess, but in a much uglier way than Azrael’s batsuit ever was imo. Though i must stress, in a less exaggerated artstyle this suit is perfectly solid, even great, and i love seeing it in Chuck Dixon’s later 90s Bat books. So i give it a decent rating regardless.

No Man’s Land: 7/10

Speaking of late 90s: this suit technically appeared before the aforementioned arc, I personally associate it more with JLA, but No Man’s Land is definitely the most significant thing that happened during its tenure. It’s basically just the Troika suit with a dark grey bodysuit. Not much more to it than that, really. And while i actually prefer the Troika suit to it, this one is much less often a nightmare for me to look at, so it wins out ever so slightly. Only other thing to mention is that it sometimes includes pointy shoulders that I’m mostly neutral towards.

Hush: 9/10

Once again this suit was actually seen previously in the Officer Down storyline, but it was the artwork of Jim Lee in the Hush arc that cemented it as the definitive modern take on Batman’s costume. Much like with the Bronze Age suit we have a design drawing from the strengths previous ones: a long flowing cape, a huger bat symbol than ever before, and an overall darker color scheme evoking all the blockbuster Batman stories from the 80s, the Animated Series, and various movies. It’s easy to see why it’s lasted so long, even after Bruce would go on to change and update his look he’ll still be wearing this in crossover events, non-continuity books, or even main continuity ones where he had a different outfit at the time but nobody gave a fuck. It’s sleek, it’s relatively easy to draw, and it’s striking in team lineups, a perfectly functional good-looking design. Despite the fact that i associate it with a depiction of Batman i’ve long grown weary of, the fact is that this suit is a classic and deserves the use it gets…though it isn’t a favorite. In my opinion it’s just a little too quintessential, in a vacuum it’s the perfect look but next to some of these other looks from over the years it’s lacking a certain something to push it to the top.

Batman Inc: 8/10

In retrospect I think it was a poor choice to make Dick Grayson’s Batman suit basically identical to Bruce’s then-current one before he suffered a bad case of being dead (but not really). DC let Dick keep being Batman so as not to seem like they were demoting him (got over that pretty quick), and thus when Bruce returned to life he had to be given a different suit to differentiate the two. If anything Dick should’ve had the more distinct look, because they could’ve or would’ve gone farther with it than what they did with ol Bruceman. As a result half of the time you can only tell them apart based on musculature. That’s my ONE criticism with this suit, it isn’t much of a change at all from his modern-classic appearance. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated the return of the yellow oval for as long as it lasted, but just about everything else added (the speed lines, utility belt, loss of the black undies) I’m kinda neutral on. It’s an amazing suit and I have super fond memories of it but I just don’t have much to say beyond that.

New 52: 5/10

Im not gonna beat a dead horse when it comes to the New 52, especially with Batman, because he actually fared better than just about anyone else. The more edgy, less colorful aesthetics a lot of the reboot books were pushing fit him pretty well given we were between Dark Knight movies and he mostly wears black and grey anyway. But this suit design....damn. I get what they're going for but it comes out so damn busy, and for no real reason. I was neutral on the speed lines from the Batman Inc suit but this is just too much! And how about the bat symbol peels off? Why? It's just a choice I can't fathom, even the hyper grounded Batman movies don't have stuff like that going on with the suits. This coupled with it being the least colorful Batsuit by a significant margin, even compared to the Hush suit and even when not in the dour muted lighting FCO Plascencia used during darkest arcs on the main Batman book. But critically, I have to say that even among the lame redesigns of the reboot, this suit always strikes me as dull. Partially because, once again, it's playing it safe with Batman's overall look. It makes all the changes they did make feel like obligations, like they're admitting there was nothing wrong with Batman but everyone else was getting huge updates so he needed some greeble thrown on. And I think this is a large part of why a lot about this design steadily got ignored by artists. Or at least toned down, I think overtime it mostly came out looking like his Batman Inc look without the yellow oval. The one thing I will say I genuinely love about the New 52 suit is the armor detailing on the gloves and boots. I don't think it's entirely necessary for a Batsuit, but it's really cool nonetheless. A nice innovation from a suit I consider passable at best.

Rebirth: 10/10

To preface: this is maybe my favorite Batman look ever. After three years of what is basically the same suit this feels like a breath of fresh air. And that's crazy because it's by no means a huge departure from what came before. But what it brings to the table is SO cool and slick in all the ways i love a Batman suit to be with JUST the right amount of color. And that color is purple, with this lovely new cape lining! Coupled with a lovely complimentary yellow lining on the now-black utility belt and a border on the bat symbol that makes it pop! I love that latter choice, it's a perfect compromise between the classic and yellow-oval varieties of the bat symbol. Just a nice color palette in general, I wonder if Snyder and Capullo got attached to the color scheme of the original Batman costume when they referenced it in Zero Year. It's like Batman coming full circle in terms of design, a neat little note to end on for the history of his various looks.....

Conclusion

....Or it would be, but Batman has reverted to the Hush suit as I'm fairly certain he always will at this point. And it's a shame, though unavoidable given the status of Batman as DC's big cash cow. That said I'm not going to end this post harping on the woes of brand homogeneity, we're here to talk about Batman! The epic highs and lows of his pointy eared silhouette, the cape that trails his crusade against evil, and the symbol that he wears proudly to signify his undying dedication to that endeavor. Batman will forever be one of the most striking superheroes of all time on looks alone, and a compelling figure in the realm of comics. But what do you think? What's your favorite Batman costume? Is it one of the minor ones I didn't list?

[saltyhibiscus]

☆゜・。。・゜~ Intro Post ~ ゜・。。・゜♡

☆ Hihi im Dahls! ~ Im a mixed media artist (as in i do mostly watercolor/sketches and the occasional digital art) who loves to work on oc stuff! I mostly focus on original stuff i make but i also dabble in fanart!

♡ My pronouns are she/her and im aro/ace spec! (Demisexual and aroflux)

☆ My side blog is @saltyreblogs mainly to reblog stuff and be annoying when i dont wanna clutter main o3o

♡ For more specifics on me heres my card! ★

Some FAQ stuff:

Trades/Reqests/Rp/Collabs - Only with moots or buds of mine but i occasionally make exceptions <3

Commissions - N/a but i do have ko-fi! I plan to try to start acual comms some time this year!

(Oct 16 edit: i might be able to open soon! I have most things set up <3)

Art tools/supplies - Traditional: Koi watercolor travel kit (48 colors), prismacolor watercolor pencils (12 set), prismacolor liners (4 pack), uni mechanical pencil led (7 colors), Crayola colored pencils (50 pack), ohuhu mixed media sketchbook, annlov alcohol markers (40 set) Digital: Krita on surface pro 6, ibis paint x occasionally

Warning tags: I try to keep things pg/pg13 but if i delve into more adult territory i try to tag as such, if i mess up Imk!

Fanart: Im ok with fanart so long as its not problematic! (proship, triggering themes like SA, racism, etc. all that bad stuff) Please tag me so i can share! (LEGIT just keep it sfw and we cool Imao)

Fandoms: i dont really sick in fandoms much but currently i like Stardew valley, Spooky month, The amazing digital circus, and Lackadaisy to name a few!

Problematic people: I try not to intract with any, if i do Imk so i can fix that :>

Blocking: I dont block often but if i do block i have a reason for it and i do not want to talk to you if you made a new account, same goes for people trying to go to me if a friend of mine blocks someone, i aint your messenger >:1

Dni: My carrd has my dni but legit just dont be a pos weirdo

Asks/submissions: Both are open! I love talking to yall just dont be weird <3

Socials: My main is instagram and here but my carrd also links a majority of my stuff! If the user on a site is "saltyhibiscus" its probably me (except flight rising i had to tell someone it aint me LOL)

☆゜・。。・゜~ Anyways have fun!~ ゜・。。・゜♡

[rubixkun]

Been looking through kazukibo art again (new fic has me hyped) and got a question. How'd you come up with the designs for the fan kids because I really like them. They have a nice mix of "clearly takes after their parents" but also enough of their own style to not make them feel like carbon copies. I usually avoid fan kid stuff because it does feel too much like carbon copies but yours are so well done so I'm curious.

kinda in a bad mood so I'm gonna ramble to help me feel better.

So the "Generation Xerox" trope is one that I never liked. To me, if you, I dunno, create a kid that's literally Makoto Naegi, except yas Kyoko's hair color, to me, that's lazy, and I don't want to be lazy with character design. That's also why you won't see me making characters with full on heterochromia. I've thought about, like, the Sondam daughter having partial heterochromia, like both eyes mostly blue but one eye has like a speck of gray in it.

Like why make a new character if they're going to be just like their parents with no change?

I also like playing around with combinations and how genetics could play into it. Though I don't strictly play by the rules of genetics. if I did, Hotaru would have black hair. And let's face it. Genetics are odd.

But then what about someone like Hikari? She has a lot of traits that look like Kyoko. I've even said as she gets older, she looks even more like Kyoko. How do I do it? Well for one I don't put a braid in her hair and call it done. Hikari's design comes from her personality. She's friendly, bubbly, and optimistic like Makoto. So I put in those details in a subtle manner through clothing, but also I make sure to draw her smile just like I draw Makoto's.

Some characters have also gone through multiple changes. Kazuki looked more like Makoto, Hikari changed like 4 times, Natsumi was a lot more boring on the design side of things. But this was when I wasn't really planning on doing anything with Kazukibou...it didn't even have that name yet. I just called it Next Gen.

But once I had their personalities figured out, it made designing easier. Natsumi being a loud in your face type helped shape the idea of the pink in her hair. Her outfit goes off the idea that she dresses nice like her father, but isn't all business like he is.

Hotaru is a tomboy who likes tinkering with stuff and low self-esteem. So play into that with baggy jeans and Kazuichi's old hat so she hides her face (in reality it's a comfort item).

Yes, Kazuki is a detective, but also leans more into being a teenager, so he's not going to wear his detective garb all the time. Okay fun fact, his vest was taken from a vest I have in real life. Only difference is his is blue and mine is gray. His old design felt plain so I wanted to add more colors.

And it's really trial and error and not being afraid to change something even if you already have a concept set in stone. People change their hair style all the time. People wear different outfits for different phases of life. Some people get glasses, some get contacts, and some even get Lasik.

It's also throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks. Sometimes I look at pictures online and think "I like this and I want to use that in my work in my own way." Most of the time I don't know what I'm doing and sometimes I add things because I just like it.

For example, eventually as the new Naefiri baby grows up, he's gonna have glasses because I just want him to wear glasses.

But I dunno if any of this makes sense. I guess tldr I just want to put more effort into what I do.

[yuliyaana]

— THE ANIMATION AND ARTSTYLE USED FOR THE VISUALS

The amazing use of both 2D and 3D elements mixes perfectly with the animation and the art style and it really reminds me of the animation of Into the Spider-Verse. Everything’s an eye candy and wallpaper-worthy. The vibrant colors and the lighting?? The visuals and the background art, they're just so GORGEOUS! Like you can see those little paint brush strokes on some parts of the film. You know the movie’s gonna be good when they apply this kind of style. This movie is an absolute masterpiece. *chef’s kiss*

— THE WORLD BUILDING

OKAAAAY I WILL NEVER GET OVER WITH THE WORLD BUILDING ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY WENT TO THE DARK FOREST— it’s just so hilarious when Puss and Kitty got depressing and dangerous path/terrains while Perrito got the easiest path because he’s a carefree and cheerful pure-hearted therapy dog who sees the positivity in life (despite his sad “funny story” like he said) and it really shows that whoever possesses the Star Map judges the character of those who holds it.

— CHARACTER DESIGN

Can we talk about Goldilocks’ character design? I really, really love how they designed her— like every details of her design reflects the way she got raised by her bear family. You see those mismatched earrings? They resemble Mama Bears different earrings. Her necklaces? Baby Bear also got a chain necklace. And the faint scar she got on her left eyebrow later on? Now it resembles Papa Bear’s scar on his left eye. Okay I love this her golden blonde hair so much. It really fits her name ESPECIALLY her two huge buns resemble like bear ears! Her outfit got dirtied in the dark forest making it look brown, like her family's brown fur plus she got those little fangs omg. She's so cute but she can also kill you. TvT

Jack Horner, okay this chaotic huge man got pink hair and chubby cheeks. He’s got the perks alright? Hear me out, his pink tie resembles an icing piping cream pastry and he got those small printed pies on his purple vest. He BIG.

And finally, this big bad lobo himself and his name is DEATH, like literally. He’s the Grim Reaper of Shrek Universe. His design freaking SLAPS! Oh man, this brooding wolf deadass got the hardest drip for me ngl. The black poncho fits him perfectly for a grim reaper like him. The fact that his eyes always stand out making him look even more intimidating and menacing. We all know that the universal look of Grim Reaper is a skeleton in a long black cloak with his scythe while DreamWorks made Death as a wolf with his signature dual-sickles (likely as a reference for Grim Reaper’s Scythe), for me it’s an interesting detail because his main target was Puss in Boots coming to punish him for recklessly wasting away his past eight lives mainly because he’s a cat, and wolves are known for being a natural predator. Not to mention, he was always there whenever Puss dies. He was so patient enough to finally get to his prey. Another interesting detail of him is the dark part of his fur in his face, donning a skull-like shape because he’s literally the Grim Reaper. Overall, he’s 12/10 for me and my most favorite antagonist so far.

— THE LESSONS BEHIND PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH

Sometimes whenever we wish for something that we want, we didn’t realize that thing we were wishing for was already there all along.

Puss himself already learnt his lesson to value his remaining ninth life at the end of the movie because every ounce of moment in our lives are precious and we need to appreciate them fully. We will never know when our time comes. As Perrito said to Puss, having one life in enough.

Sacrificing your personal needs to save someone you truly love and care about. Like how Goldilocks ditched the Wishing Map when she was one way of granting her wish and instead, she helped saving Baby from disappearing to the Star Wall.

...and they lived happily ever after.

[gren-arlio]

So. Fia and the Mysterious School.

So uh...Yeah, I know I'm seriously late to the party when it comes to this stuff, but I realized that this was mostly done and it was in drafts, so I might as well post it. This might just be filler for the big post, but enjoy nevertheless. ----

Madou 4 is... looking pretty cool, I'm not gonna lie. Really enjoying the art direction they're going for. And the designs of the characters? Amazing.

Like genuinely, even if it doesn't get an official English release, I'm down to watch and learn about it.

(They're so...silly...)

Even the screenshot of the overworld is very charming to boot.

I heard a pal say "It looks like Gen 6 of Pokémon" and I could see it, but we'll have to wait and see for the true experience of this game.

I'll make what I think of the characters a Read More thing. Imo, looking amazing.

You can read about the stuff right here.

---

Fia:

The newest silly girl on the block. Besides me thinking that Witch finally got her name chosen, I genuinely love the design they went for, since small hats are peak character designs.

Apparently she's a bit of an airhead and I'm all for it. Let her get involved into dumb stuff because she's dense and clueless and stupid. We love that in this world.

---

Will:

Tbh, besides the whole crop top thing he has, I absolutely dig the design and color choices they went for. And also excluding the fact that his name is Will in a fantasy game, I do find it curious that he has a twin brother, Roy, who's apparently a teacher.

Oh, and since this is making headlines: Apparently he's got a mix of Lagnus and Rulue in him. So he HAS to be peak.

---

Leena:

I really dig the design, I won't deny it, somehow they made almost all blue look really, really nice. The site says that she's calm and collected, but struggles with speaking to people, which I will most likely hope is just her being shy to talk to people, rather than the whole "She just sounds like a pervert," like Schezo does.

She also apparently reads a lot, if the glasses and the shy personality didn't point at her being quite the reader. So with that, she might be peak.

---

Totto:

Green mage with white hair that covers the eye? Where have I seen that before... Jokes aside, he does open his eyes compared to someone we do know, and he's pretty different. According to the site, he's someone with a lotta info...you just gotta pay the dude for it. So like Anna from Fire Emblem.

Also apparently, there's some promise he made to someone? Who knows about it for now?

---

Eska:

Now this design is pretty unique, yellow and white with pink eyes is an interesting choice of coloring they went for. I genuinely like what they went for with her, AND she's half dragon? I wonder what they're gonna go with her.

She gains interest to Fia (It google translates to Fear, so uh...yeah.) after the start of the game, and she doesn't really have common sense, which is gonna be interesting.

---

Roy:

Besides the fact that he is NOT our boy this time around, Roy is Will's twin brother who went the teacher route in life rather than the hero route. He's basically the antithesis of Will; Cool-headed and prefers to be realistic to Will's optimism.

Also, I think he visually looks better than Will, but eh, that could change in due time.

---

And finally, Jurk:

Besides his kinda bad name IMO, I like his design a lot. A guy who simply travels the world is always a fun concept in any game, and his design is honestly one of the best I've seen from the game. He's also friends with the headmaster of the school, which could be interesting.

My main concern is the person he tags along with, Mew. She's probably going to be an alright character, but I don't have super high hopes of that. Plus, her design isn't selling me at all, it just doesn't look right.

---

But yeah, those are (at least for now), my honest thoughts for the game RN. Maybe when more is covered and shown off sometime. But that'll be all for today.

[kerabinberries]

kers on tumblr? kers on tumblr

Our Ker: @getstoneddrinkwetcement (based on a vintage pin ive seen floating around here)

ton of cool vontage punk and queer stuff. anarchy posting. black and white photos of angry girls in heavy makeup. music blogger whos blog is full of spotify links (she has the hacked app) and photos of artists. a lot of jokes but not like looky or the admiral, more sardonic and jaded humor. big in the cripplepunk and madpunk communities. posts a lot of her thoughts and they dont read as very coherent at first just because of the foul informal rude and slightly jumbled way she talks but if you dig into it she really has solid opinions. shes just sooo bad at expressing them. then again some of them go completely off the rails stupid. so many vintage pins like the one she got her url from and motorcycles and weapons. she WILL give you instructions for a pipe bomb but only over dms. this ones kinda short but she knows what shes like and its reblogging the above items.

Looky: @lookywhatthecatdraggedin

she has soooo many mutuals and if you follow her your dash will be COVERED in her talking to them via asks and dms that get screenshotted and @ing eachither and reblog chains and art trades and so on and so forth. she plays up the social in social media to the extreme. her blog is almost all jokes, cool art, and stuff like educational or donation posts. she likes furries and has a ton of furry mutuals and really fun sparkledog type sonas. most of the images and art she reblogs is BRIGHTLY COLORED but she hasan eyestrain warnjng in her blog title for accessibility. she posts tons of art, and has a bunch of sideblogs. shes got a furry sideblog and is comstantly churning out really cool and cutesy digital art and occasionally a traditional doodle or two. mutuals with her actual real life dad and uncle. sends her brothers annoying anonymous asks. occasionally gets into discourse but in the most uninvolved annoying way possible, mostly to back up friends or people getting dogpiled. posts wild shit that happens to her family all the time and only occasionally exaggerates. she posts a lot of videos from when she was a little kid that would have gotten her taken away by cps if they had gotten out sooner. absolutely irresponsible tomfoolery thats only funny in retrospect because it didnt kill her.

The Admiral: @admiralawesom/e

she would absolutely post a lot of marine aesthetic stuff, just for jokesies, although she would love to have a motorboat she would not be posting navy blue stuff and anchors and tallships if she wasnt joking about her name. lots of nature photography especkally of the pacific northwest. lots of animals, lots of educational posts about nature, and so so so so sooooo many stupid fucking memes and joke posts. she makes a ton of posts and while shes no funnyman occasionally she makes just the right mix of unhinged words and just the right person sees it and she ends up with a 50k note joke post. she has a lot of mutuals and loves to message them and send them asks and tag them in stuff. frequently lies, shes singlehandedly keeping tall tales alive. she loves urban legends as well and for some reason creepypasta (you wouldnt think it.) the kind of girl to post half her medical history in her blog description. has a caard or carrd or whatever and it looks terrible. ironically? genuinely? impossible to know and she wont tell you. travels a lot and posts insane vacation photos with obi wan. she always refers to him as dad but he occasionally audibly refers to himself as her uncle in videos she posts. this causes confusion and gets her a barrage of anons. she answers one with "we argue about it all the time" and that was the end of it. everyone probably thought she was joking but its true. they have a longstanding argument on whether hes a dad or an uncle. neither of them have made any headway with the other.

Shmii: @sliveredsilve/r

she wouldn't really Get tumblr, but if someone were to set her up an account with some blogs already followed she could easily get the reblogging part. navigating tech is second nature, but social stuff? finding things online? i just dont think she would do it. she probably likes more hands on activities. a modern shmii would be obsessed with a motorcycle her dad got her when she was little. the ones they make for kids but with the speed inhibitor taken off, obviously. she would always be buying parts and tools to upgrade it (well) and painting it new colors (poorly). she would defjnitely post pictures of it all the time, but they wouldnt be very good pictures. she'd probably post more than reblogging, using it like an actual blog. she'd be really into big metal sculptures and welding, she'd collect knives, especially throwing knives and hunting knives, and she'd post videos of caring for them and pictures of her new ones. she posts pictures of her puppy (her mouse droid would be a puppy in a normal earth au) all the time and pictures of her family, and childish art she did on paper with crayons or on whatever free art program cane with her computer (said fondly, childrens art is good)

Baby: @bab/y (guess how she ended up with a url like that)

she would totally be like, 2000s pink aesthetic with lots of makeup and outfits and accessories and piercings and shit. like @pinkflipphone if i reblogged less tech and more fashion, and it was a liiiiittle trashier lol. she'd have one of the top blogs and would constantly sic her followers on people who annoy her or have opinions she doesnt like. stochastic terrorist. posts her own fashion as well. she always has tailored outfits, but theyre a little more douchey and a little less bimbo than the fashion she posts. like if a really terrible man from jersey shore dresses exactly the same except the shirts swapped out for a pink cheetah print crop top type corset. yes she wears snapbacks. she has intentionally rancid takes and will die on any hill, she'll die in a valley if she likes. yes some of her followers will doxx and stalk you irl about these hills and/or valleys. queen of the new age cyberbullies.

[its-sixxers]

4 and 12 and 14 and 17 and 18 for lizzy and maybe the other fallout gals if you want

THIS GONNA B LONG poppin a readmore down. This might also be illuminating for some people on why I drag with my New Vegas and Fallout 4 fics. >>

4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts? 

For Lizzy backstory was relatively easy since Fallout 3 gives you one premade. The greater wasteland as a whole does have its influences in what I ended up expanding on with her just in that I really wanted to amp up the contrast between her and her surroundings. The world is hard and difficult and violence is frequent and here's an asthmatic girl who was born a preemie and not suited for the skills that would make life in the wasteland easy but she's going to try, damn it. With Carmen I think New Vegas' standout in vibe from 3 and 4 played a big role with her. New Vegas the city is a big deal, but there's an equal if not greater emphasis on the world outside the city. The survival skill always fascinated me, and I wanted a character who really thrived in it, totally outside of the pre-war ruins that play a more heavy role in both Lizzy and Eleanora's stories. I wanted a character where anything to do with the city and old world was usually a bad thing. She's got few experiences in the city that she can chalk up as nice. Fallout 4 always gave me a sense of yearning and nostalgia, mixed with rose colored glasses for the world before. It also gives a backstory I decided to follow pretty closely for Eleanora - she's one of the first OCs I started fleshing out in my return to tumblr and the fandom scene and writing fic so she's not quite as branched out or creative as the others, but in general the ruins of Boston reflect her mindset. There's a lot of damage with the building of something new over it, but there's still the old shining through all the while.

12. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)? 

I think Lizzy is one of my 'lightest/brightest' characters, and as someone who leans toward the angsty in my work that can be difficult for figuring out things to do with her that capture her properly. Because I want to be nice to her. She deserves it. :( Carmen is probably my hardest OC to do things for just due to her complexity - or at least, the complexity I want to try and put into her. It's difficult to try and untangle the threads and make them into something that makes sense. I might be overthinking things and worrying too much, though?? Carmen and Eleanora both share the same difficulty in that they were created and written when I was in a very different and darker headspace than I am now. There's a lot more innate sadness to them and again, while I like my angsty work it's also difficult to enter into that headspace while writing them or making works for them. HOWEVER both of them have stuff in the works for their advancing and growing and healing so that part will be easier. The other hard thing with them is their being fleshed out and having works made for them earlier than Lizzy and my not being super happy with how in depth that is, but such is life. :V

14. If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be? 

Lizzy:

1. Is physically small and weak, and that should show in visual art of her. In writing, it influences her approach to things. 2. Is emotionally a behemoth and has a maturity and sensitivity there that emphasizes she's a woman, and not a girl.

Carmen:

1. Her outsider nature. In both appearance and mannerism Carmen tends to chronically stand out as someone who doesn't belong - an irony usually because she had done a lot to belong and in the case of the Mojave it's home. 2. Her intensity. When she finds somewhere she manages to belong she will cling to it. She's no stranger to violence. She'll do what needs doing. There's a fire in her eyes.

Eleanora

1. She's of the old world. She has ideas from it that will linger, expectations of the world, habits that are hard to break. Generally most obvious in her personal grooming and appearance, she keeps weight better than wastelanders and has pre-war ideas of style. 2. She's also lost everything. As a result she'll fight hard to do good and try and replace a little scrap of what was stolen from her, but there's a manic edge to it. There's always a very deep melancholy in her that she rarely allows herself to even touch because it'll drown her the second she does.

17. Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story? 

Lizzy - no ragrets. Probably because I developed her with a more practiced hand and mindset compared to my other ladies and am still very happy with the work I've done with her. Carmen - I do dither a bit about her backstory working at Gomorrah. It plays into how Vegas holds nothing but bad vibes for her (and the irony of how this place that was so bad for her is one who's fate she can influence in this big way) and also that she, like Mary (my Bloodlines OC), has a bit of a gift in a tragic event that occurs to her. Carmen's amnesia/bullet to the head helps her have a new start she'd struggle with otherwise, even as it robs her of the good things in her life. But on reflection I don't know if it was too much or not. :V Eleanora - Not really, but I do wish I went with more detail and a fine toothed comb in expanding on how her pre-war origins have influenced her and how they've given her some preconceptions that are incorrect. I wish I gave her more of an arc in learning and growing from that, and giving her a little more depth.

tl;dr lizzy is my favorite fallout child because writing and art hard

Thanks for the asks!!! <33

OC Creation Questions

[ambrossart]

Paper Men: Ch. 28 *PREVIEW*

Someone’s finally coming back to school... 👀

“See? Bitch!”

Christie’s words sailed down the hallway and struck Evelyn on the back of the head, making her stop mid-stride. A gasp gathered in her chest as the hallway seemed to close in around her. Student faces blurred together. Sounds became muffled, all but the thunderous beating of her heart. I wasn’t being a bitch, Evelyn thought, unaware of the students who gave her curious glances as they passed. I said hi, didn’t I? What more do you want from me? Should I have gone up to you and shaken your hand? Said, “Oh my god, congratulations, I’m so thrilled for you two”? Because I am, I really am, I just…

(Bitch!)

Guilt and shame mixed uneasily in Evelyn’s stomach. It made her feel nauseous. Made her want to walk back over to them and apologize profusely like an embarrassed little girl at a grownup’s dinner party. Oh please, oh please, don’t be mad! I’m sorry if I came off a little rude earlier. I’m just having a bad day, that’s all. Please don’t take it personally, Christie. Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar on top? I’d really like for us to be friends.

Yes.

Friends. 

That’s what I do. I make nice. I make friends. I make lemonade from lemons and turn rain clouds into rainbows. 

Well, I’m not in the mood for rainbows, Evelyn thought, and kept walking. Anger simmered inside her stomach now, and she made no effort to cool it down. I have enough lemonade, I have enough friends, and I’m not gonna apologize to Christie Gibson! Why should I? I didn’t do anything wrong. She’s the one who bombarded me in the hallway, smelling like Vic’s bedroom, casually tossing around Mrs. Criss’s first name like they’re best friends. I’ve known Mrs. Criss my whole life, and she’d never let me call her ‘Tabby’… not that I’ve ever really asked…

Evelyn opened her locker, hung her backpack on the hook, and absentmindedly began gathering her textbooks one by one: English, psychology, world history…

So Christie wants to talk about Vic, huh? What could she possibly have to say to me about Vic? What, does she need gift ideas for Christmas? Buy him a bong or something, I don’t know… Evelyn shoved her biology book into her bag and paused for a moment, lost in thought. She returned in a near-daze and, forgetting herself, pulled out the same book and put it back on the shelf. Oh, then she calls out to me in the hallway while she’s with him, so I’d have to SEE them together. What the hell was that about, huh? Did she wanna gloat over her victory or something? Was she trying to get me to admit I’m jealous? Okay, fine, I’m jealous. I’m very, very jealous!

All Evelyn ever got from Victor Criss was cold distance and doors slammed in her face. Secret notes. Broken promises. He’d draw her in and then push her way. Get her hopes up only to smash them to itty bitty pieces. No matter how hard she tried, he refused to let her get close to him. And now, after wasting ten years of her life, she had to accept that this was as close as she was ever going to get: this friendship with a little asterisk next to it. They were friends, sure, but only when no one else was around. It wasn’t fair.

Vic was with her—in front of everybody, and he didn’t even seem embarrassed by it. How could he do that with her but not with me?

Probably for the same reason Christie Gibson won the student council vote.

Because Christie was cool and Evelyn wasn’t. Christie listened to rock music, dyed her hair fun colors, and had a butterfly tattoo on her lower back. Evelyn wore knit sweaters and could hardly name a current song on the radio (she listened to Olivia Newton-John from time to time, but nobody would be very impressed by that). Yeah, Christie Gibson was the fun, laid-back rocker chick. She probably spent her nights going to parties and concerts. Evelyn, meanwhile, spent her nights studying and doing arts and crafts on her bedroom floor… making dozens of paper flowers for a sign that nobody cared about.

(You know you’re quite the artist) 

Isn’t that what Patrick Hockstetter had said? Yeah, he had. Last night, he was mesmerized by a tiny white daisy. It was such an insignificant little thing, yet he stared at it like it was something special, like Evelyn had somehow made a real daisy bloom in the palm of her hand. It seemed strange for her to be thinking of that now.

Stranger still was the smile that came to her face when she did. 

It vanished a second later, and Evelyn started mindlessly unloading her backpack again. 

Everyone thinks I’m annoying. Just Little Miss Busybody. I’m not cool like Christie Gibson. I’m not sexy like Manda Bosch. I’m just… just—

A long, slender finger poked Evelyn’s shoulder twice, jolting her from her thoughts. She jumped away from it, startled. Her stack of books went leaning, leaning... leaning way too far! A dreadful moan emerged from her throat. She tried to correct the lean, failed, and clutched the two bottommost books to her chest while the rest went tumbling to the floor. 

Her disheartened sigh crashed against a boy’s rabbity cry of panic: 

“Oh, great,” Evelyn said. 

“Oh, God!” said the boy. 

They dropped to their knees at the same time, hands bumping as they reached for Evelyn’s psychology book. The boy made a whimpering noise and recoiled from her with a snap of his wrist. Evelyn followed his fleeing hand and saw it bury itself in a small nest of copper-red curls.

“I’m so sorry, Evelyn! I don’t know what I was thinking, sneaking up on you like that. My mom always gets mad at me when I creep up on her in the kitchen, but I just can’t help it. See, I used to make too much noise when I walked, and she would yell at me to stop dragging my feet, so I overcorrected and now I make too little noise. I didn’t think that was possible, but someone how I managed. God, I’m so hopeless.” 

Evelyn blinked her eyes in disbelief. Soft blue eyes blinked back at her. 

“Denny!” 

Denny Booker responded with a frog-like croak, as if surprised by his own name. “Oh, uh… hi.” 

Overcome with emotion, Evelyn put down her books and wrapped her arms around Denny’s scrawny shoulders, hugging him tightly just as she had in his kitchen the Wednesday before. Denny’s face flushed with heat. As soon as their bodies made contact, his back went rigid as a plank and his skinny arms flattened against his sides. 

“Sorry, I don’t really know how to hug girls,” Denny admitted once they parted. “See, I don’t… I don’t really know where to put my hands, if that makes sense. I’m always worried I’m gonna touch something I’m not supposed to.” 

Like what? Evelyn almost asked, but she figured that would’ve only embarrassed him more. 

Instead, she said, “It’s fine, Denny. I’m just glad you’re back. You are back, right?” 

She stood, brushing loose specks of dirt off her stockings. 

“Yeah… well, kinda,” Denny said, and got up, too. He wore his backpack with both straps and kept fidgeting with the loose ends. “I just came today to drop off my homework assignments. Tomorrow’s my first real day back. Oh, here, your books.” 

Denny bent down, picked up Evelyn’s scattered books, and handed them to her with a sweet, unaffected smile. Evelyn thanked him sincerely and put them away in her locker.

“So—” Evelyn began.

“Hey, it’s the Book Man!” a distant voice hollered.  

They spotted Scott Kellerman at the other end of the hallway. He had been strolling casually through the freshmen locker area and was now jogging toward them. Smiling, of course. Skelly was always smiling. He stopped briefly to give another one of his friends a high five. “Toodles, my good dude,” Skelly said to him. Then he rushed over to Denny and tackled him with a giant bear hug.

“What’s up, buddy?” Skelly drew back and slapped his hands onto Denny’s shoulders, giving him a little shake. “Look at you, all rosy-cheeked and gorgeous! How you doin’, man?”

“I’m… I’m good,” Denny replied. “Hap-happy to be back.”   

“Shit, dude, you had us all freaked out in homeroom. People thought you were dying or something. As for me, I was getting ready to start sending around the ole donation jar like we did for J-Bird that one time. You remember that? ‘Help, my brother needs a new kidney!’ Nobody donated, though. Bummer. I guess they don’t care about pot-bellied pigs in this town, not even a cute one like J-Bird.” 

“Oh…” Denny frowned. “Well, I’m sorry for scaring everyone.” 

Skelly just laughed his usual carefree laugh. “Hey, no worries, dude. We’re just glad to have you back. Wait, you are back, right?” 

Denny nodded. “Tomorrow. I’ll be back tomorrow.” 

“Sweetness!” Skelly said, and laughed again. “Well, hey, I gotta go, man. Got a client waiting for me.” He sauntered away while humming an upbeat tune he made up on the spot. “Adios, mis amigos. That’s Spanish, if you didn’t already know. My teacher taught it to me today. That’s right, dudes, I’m one step closer to being bilingual, baby!” He fired off two gunshots with his fingers before disappearing around the corner. 

A moment of silence passed. Then Evelyn turned to Denny and said, “Did he just say he’s meeting a client?” 

“Oh right, yeah… Skelly’s got a little side business.” 

“A side business? Wow…” Imagine that, Scott Kellerman was a fifteen-year-old entrepreneur. Evelyn was very impressed, and a little confused. “So does he, like, make stuff?”

“More like grows it.” 

To clarify what he meant, Denny pressed his thumb and index finger together and touched them briefly to his lips. Miss Quaver, the home economics teacher, came strutting out of her classroom. Denny panicked and pretended to have an itch on his face.

“Hello, children,” Miss Quaver said to them with a smile. “Nice to see you back, Denny.”

“Hi, Miss Quaver,” Denny said, a faint blush tickling his cheeks. 

When she was gone, he and Evelyn collapsed into a fit of giggles that left Evelyn in tears and Denny coughing up phlegm. This made Denny terribly embarrassed. He wiped his mouth with his sweater sleeve and apologized. Evelyn, now snorting like a pig, told him not to worry about it.

“Wow,” she said afterward, while dabbing her eyes dry. “How did I not figure that out sooner?” 

Denny shrugged and had to clear his throat one more time. “You’re just wonderfully naive, I guess.” 

They shared another chuckle over that. Evelyn’s shoulders bounced as she laughed. Denny, being more careful this time, kept his hand cupped shyly over his mouth. 

Then he said, “So, wait, why was Skelly dressed like a surfer?”

“Oh, because it’s spirit week,” Evelyn told him. “He’s a Beach Boy.” 

“Right,” Denny said. “Yeah, I guess that explains your outfit, too.” 

“Yeah…” 

Evelyn tucked her chin into her chest and shuffled back a step, wincing as she felt that familiar sting of self-consciousness. Oh, why had Denny returned to school on Decade Day of all days? If he had waited until tomorrow, he would have seen Evelyn dressed in comfy cotton pajamas instead of this hideously short dress that made her look like a damn streetwalker. She braced herself for another searing hot stare, but from Denny Booker, all she felt was the most genuine warmth. His blue eyes were clear and kind.

“You look really nice,” he said, and that was all. “Oh, I have your biology notes!” 

Denny shrugged out of his backpack’s left shoulder strap and pulled Evelyn’s notebook out of the main zipper compartment. “You take really good notes,” he said before handing it to her. 

“Well, I do pride myself on my note-taking,” Evelyn joked. “I’m glad you found them useful.” 

She put her notebook away. When she turned back, Denny was rubbing the back of his neck and wearing a frown. 

“Hey,” he went on quietly, “I want to apologize for the way I acted when you came to visit me last week. I’m honestly really embarrassed about the whole thing. You probably thought I was having a total meltdown or something.” 

Evelyn shook her head. “No, I didn’t think that at all. And you don’t have to apologize, Denny, not for any of it. You were going through a lot that day.” 

Denny flashed a doubtful but grateful smile. “I found my dog, by the way.” 

“Really? That’s great!” 

“Yeah, we got a call from one of our neighbors this morning. He said Mandy Fazio found her sniffing around the junkyard last night and was wondering who she belonged to. I have no idea what she was doing all the way over there, but we took her to the vet, and she’s perfectly fine, so… I dunno, I guess it was just one of those strange coincidences, just like you said.”

“Yeah,” Evelyn said.

A strange coincidence, indeed. 

I questioned Patrick about this last night. Now, all of a sudden—

Denny’s face paled, and he drew back with fright. “Uhh… I have to go now.” 

“Huh? Why, Denny? Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, I just, uhh…” Denny dragged his fingers through his curls. His hairline was damp with sweat and now it was trickling down his forehead. “I just remembered that I need to pick up something from the office, and I… I need to head over there before they, uh, close for the day. Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow, Evelyn.” 

Denny went running down the hallway… in the opposite direction of the office. 

Weird, Evelyn thought as she watched him go, her chest tightening with worry. I hope he’ll be okay to return tomorrow.

She stared down the hallway for a moment longer, wondering what had set Denny off this time. Her answer came in the form of slow, plodding footsteps. She turned around and saw Patrick Hockstetter walking up to her with a lazy stride.

“What’s his problem?” Patrick asked, seemingly unaware.

Seemingly.

[dentpx]

Lots and lots and lots of white knight thoughts below the cut. I anticipated hating it a lot more, but it wasn't all that amazing either. but I have been lent the second TPB so I will be continuing to read it, and I haven't read a TPB in a while so i have a lot of opinions.

Stuff I liked (with some things I didn't like): 1. The art is just beautiful. I love the way Sean Murphy does crosshatching and eyes and shading, I love his use of colors. I've been saying it but I loved the designs, and especially especially the Joker design. There's a lot of splash art of Joker at like...Batman shrines, essentially praying, that I found really beautiful. 2. I really liked the interpretation of the Joker as a Batman "fanboy" and someone who is pushing him to be "better" rather than trying to establish superiority over him. I like the idea of Joker trying to take the city to give it back as a sign of affection. of course, that being said, I wish they had been more explicitly queer about it - the fact that the volume ends with the Joker/Harley wedding as attended by Batman is stupid. I also think there's an issue with whether or not the Joker is evil - I made a post about how WK Joker had never been charged with anything more than armed robbery, and we learn that he didn't kill Jason (though he might have if not for Harley). We hear from Harley that he was a bad boyfriend, but then we also hear from copycat-Harley that he never assaulted her or otherwise abused her. So what exactly has he done? Why IS he so bad? WK needs to walk the morality line so we can accept Jack as a redeemable protagonist while also needing Joker to be SO evil that we struggle with it...but Joker seems like he wasn't even that bad in the first place. 3. I like the reworking of Jason and Dick to have Jason be the first Robin. i think it adds another layer of drama to the family unit, and does a lot of work to explain why Bruce is so fucked up in WKverse. i like that, for a minute, it's ambiguous whether or not Jason died, and PART of me likes that he didn't die and instead chose to disappear. however, i think he's a little too young of a character to have actually made the choice to go missing. 4. I actually do like a lot of the politics stuff. I mean, a lot of it is very bad-faith "if Batman good, why property damage?" stuff that you see on Twitter daily, but the comic actually engages with the critique and examines how that would function in-universe rather than just parroting it and calling it a day. I think the Joker's rise to power is kind of feasible with some of the talking points he had. I think where it falls short is there's too many buzzwords and they don't go far enough sometimes. Stuff I have mixed feelings on: 1. Two Harleys. This is okay - this is actually kind of cool. Harley as a character has been like...plaguing DC writers for years now, nobody quite knows what to do with her because she's been REALLY different in various incarnations, to the point where now a lot of comic canon spends time commenting on how Harley doesn't really have a consistent character. Whether or not that's true is anyone's guess...to be real, a lot of it is misogyny in my opinion, because EVERY comics character is very different each time they get written, but you don't see people agonizing like this over the Riddler. Anyway, Murphy's solution is that Classic Harley is actual Harley and New, Sexy Harley is replacement Harley.

Classic Harley is alright. I don't buy that she could have manufactured the mystery magical mental illness cure pills for Joker, but those pills are a stretch in the first place. I also don't buy that she "really" fell in love with Jack, and not the Joker - I think that's a pretty simplistic version of the character, I think it's more interesting for her to be obsessed with Joker despite the toxicity of the relationship. I think they went a little too "empowered girlboss" and ironically ended up erasing a lot of her character.

Replacement Harley ended up actually being FAR more interesting to me (though I do think it's funny she even exists) because she is, if anything, a reworking of a Harley origin in feeling "saved" by the Joker. I do think the Neo-Joker thing is kind of bullshit though. She should just be trying to claim the Harley Quinn title.

2. Bruce Wayne. WK randomly has some of the best Bruce characterization fucking ever - the relationship with Alfred is good, him paying for city damage out of pocket is good, the bit where Neo-Joker robs his house and he's like "good heavens no!!!" in the bathrobe is amazing. I love when he goes to the socialite party and gets so so mad at the other socialites. I don't think everything is cohesive, though. WK needs Batman to be at his ABSOLUTE lowest in order for the story to make sense, and I don't think that Alfred dying is quite enough to explain the shift to brutality that we see Batman take. I also don't understand how Bruce didn't know that other 1%ers were profiting off of crime if HE'S been the one losing money on it - literally directly taking the hit to protect the city.

Stuff I didn't like: 1. Jack Napier, as a character, is just some random guy. nothing about his behavior makes sense as "guy who used to be the Joker", he's just like, super well-adjusted and way too intelligent for the sake of the plot. I think the story would be a lot more interesting if he was just a little weirder. There are a lot of moments, particularly in the later issues, where I think the implication is supposed to be that Joker is masquerading as Jack...that is interesting to me and I'd like more of that. 2. the pacing was ABYMSMAL and I think because the story is about power dynamics SHIFTING OVER TIME, pacing is a MUST. i should FEEL how much time is passing. 3. mind-controlled rogues gallery as props for Joker and Neo-Joker SUCKS and I hate it and it's lameeee. the rogues gallery doesn't even factor in that much to the story, they honestly don't even need to be here if they're just going to stand around blankly. 4. I don't think the writing about class or race is particularly well-thought out or....good......I am willing to suspend some disbelief to accept a world where the Joker could somehow become a left-wing socialist icon, but then it doesn't actually make sense with the politics he's propping up. namely the Gotham Super Police (which in itself is very stupid). and the writing about race is honestly even worse, you get the sense that they just threw in some dialogue because they realized it was weird to not acknowledge race but also they didn't really want to acknowledge it. I also don't know why we're making Duke Thomas a random street militia guy. Why is that Duke? are we just calling this guy Duke because Duke is one of the only black men in Batman comics from the past decade? nothing about Duke in WK has anything to do with Duke as a character, they should just...have him be someone else.

5. the whole ending goes completely off the rails. WK bills itself as a grounded, social story about political upheaval in Gotham, and then halfway through turns into an all-out brawl with death lasers and frozen cities. that just sucks, I'm sorry.

[goddesswitchmother]

More thoughts for the ikevamp fanfiction! Enjoy or not, I don't care. I'm doing this for me, and if others happen to enjoy as well, then that's a bonus. Yeah, I'm saying this more for myself than anything as I'm a recovering people pleaser. Sometimes, I just need to remind myself to have fun be myself and not worry about what others think of me .

Desperation pt 3

I hate him. I fucking hate him. But perhaps I shouldn't have slapped his stupid face. My hand 😭. "Theodorus Van Gogh, I fucking hate you. I've known you all of four days and I already hate you. I've never, and I mean NEVER, hated someone before. You haven't once even tried to get to know me. You've done nothing but judge me, insult me, bully me, and have make all sorts of assumptions about my character and yet you don't know the first thing about me. I don't know how you call yourself an Art Dealer because you have proven countless times already you don't have what it takes. You're a piece of shit and I hope you prove me wrong because I really don't like hatred and I don't think it's merely because it's a foreign feeling." I rant angrily as he just gawks at me with that stupid look on his face.

"Also, you'd have to be simultaneously deaf, blind, and stupid to confuse you for Vincent. You are absolutely nothing alike whatsoever, and if I didn't already know better, I would never guess you were related. Vincent, I'm sorry you had to see me like this. I really valued your friendship, and I have no intention of dating you. However, I understand if you no longer want to be friends." I added this time in tears. Fuck I'm so embarrassed. So I did what I do best, and I ran. A part of me was aware that I had an audience. I vaguely noticed just about everyone had ended up in the gardens, probably drawn in by my outburst. The only ones not there were Isaac, Napoleon, Mozart, Leonardo, and Sebastian. I made it to my room uninterrupted and threw myself into bed to bawl my eyes out. I feel so pathetic.

Once I had managed to stop crying, I mindlessly sought out one of the few comforts I managed to bring with me. I set up my watercolor book on the desk with my watercolor paints, several brushes, and the untouched glass of water from the nightstand. As an afterthought, I grabbed my mixed media book, my colored pencils, and markers just in case.

I don't know how long I spent tearing pages out and throwing them on the floor. All of them bearing finished paintings or drawings that I just didn't like. Any works left on the desk were unfinished concepts that I couldn't put together. However, I was interrupted by a knock on the door. And then the door was opened. I didn't bother checking to see who it was. "You haven't even touched your dinner. I hope you aren't planning on skipping breakfast, too. We can't have that." I was shocked back into reality then. "What?! But I only just ate breakfast a few hours ago." I really started looking around then. Sebastian quickly approached me and tilted my head up to look at him. "Uh...." I was unsure what I wanted to say. Whatever it was could wait, though. The way Sebastian was intensely studying me with concern overwhelmingly obvious in his gaze. I never had anyone worry so much about me before that it rendered me speechless. I suddenly felt the urge to cry that I violently squashed it down, hoping he didn't notice. He cleared his throat and glanced around at the mess I created. "You just might be as bad as Leonardo at losing track of time. Just yesterday, I brought you lunch, but you were crying. I don't know if you remember, but you refused lunch. You promised you'd eat dinner if I brought it to you. However." He explained, gesturing to the platter of dinner sitting neglected on the tray near the bed. I blushed as I vaguely remembered something like that. "I'm sorry. Let me clean up this mess, and I'll eat breakfast out there so you can be certain I eat." I offer hastily getting up. "Oh, I'll pick these up, if you don't mind. Just go wash up and perhaps change your attire, and I'll have your place at the dining table set." He offered, already carefully stacking the papers from the floor neatly into his arms. Damn he works quickly and efficiently. I make a noise of agreement and grab a random outfit before rushing to my bathroom.

(images sourced from pinterest)

I had quickly washed my face and brushed my hair and teeth and applied deodorant. You know the usual. But the whole time I was disturbed by how pale I was as well as the shadows around my red rimmed eyes. When I finished dressing I went to grab my makeup to see Sebastian had the same idea. "Hope you don't mind, I just thought that you were looking a little pale and sleep deprived." I just smiled gratefully. "You're a life saver." I say as I rush off to do my makeup.

(Images sourced from pinterest)

(My eyes are actually amber, though, so imagine that.)

I managed to improve my mood and started feeling my self-confidence boost by the time I made it to the dining room. Sure enough, Sebastian was just setting down my plate stacked high with the French toast and sausage I requested. A glass of hopefully cranberry apple juice joining them. "Ooh, looks delicious, thank you, Sebby." I say happily. I see his back straighten up. "Sebby, huh? Do I get a nickname, luv? Also, you look absolutely ravishing. Are you -" "Yeah, yeah, Arty-boy, I'm not wearing sweats today, so I'm definitely trying to seduce you." I interrupt, voice heavily dripping with sarcasm. "So hard to believe a woman can dress up for her own happiness." I mutter, stabbing a sausage onto my fork. Out of my peripheral, I see theo opening his mouth like he's about to say something. "Now shut up. I'm hungry." I add not to anyone in specific.

[theresacthomas]

4D Reading and Response #3 – Video Art

The first article, Projection: Vanishing and Becoming, by Sean Cubit was very interesting. I enjoyed it discussing the origin of art. For someone new to the art world, with a sense of wonder about who has the time, luxury and desire to make art, it instantly made sense. Imagining the woman making a charcoal outline of her lover’s profile/shadow on a wall before he goes off to war clicked for me and made me see the creation of art, as if it was capturing a moment, like the way we use pictures today. The article got me thinking about art trying to preserve something and how we are trying to “cheat death” and live on. I think it gives us a feeling that we are leaving something permanently behind when we create art that may be seen by people in future generations. And it makes us feel that we won’t be forgotten. I enjoyed reading about the origins of projection and how I am so grateful for this medium. I do not have a huge imagination and am practical/logical and it’s hard for me to get lost in stories when reading; however, I find it easy to get lost in projections/movies. Even recently for my art history class, I watched Alexander because it was hard for me to imagine Babylon and Alexander the Great. These projections, especially historical ones and science fiction, really help me to open my mind and imagine how things once were and what amazing things could be possible.

Introduction to Video Art by Lea Collet was also fascinating and I enjoyed the links to videos she described. My favorite description and video was that of Pipilotti Rist, Ever is Over All, 1997. I was sucked into watching the woman stroll down the street, looking so happy and peaceful. The calm music was mesmerizing and I loved the mix of screens with the flowers and nature on the right, with bright, cheery colors. And then the bursts of violence when she uses the flower to break glass and then she resumes her stroll and smile and then as I watched and waited for it, it happens again. This was an interesting depiction of the contradictions that are in each of us, that we are all capable of joy and anger and highs and lows…. That each of us has a beast within us and we need to keep that beast tapped down and under control. I also enjoyed watching Beyonce’s 2017 music video Hold Up, where she used the same format, strolling down the street with a smile on her face, after she talked about all the work she had done on herself and then still to be tortured by wondering if he was cheating. She looks so relaxed and happy, strolling down the street and then suddenly uses the baseball bat to smash out car windows and shop windows, break fire hydrants and then resumes her peaceful stroll. The art is beautiful and well done. It reminds me of how challenging times can be and that most of us have been on emotional roller coasters in life, over relationships, love, anger, jealousy, heart ache, heart break, yearning… The retired law enforcement officer in me is pretty black and white about violence and destruction of other people’s property. Yes, it can feel good to break things, but I hope she does not inspire others to follow her lead by glamourizing it. I have also been divorced and been in bad relationships. I absolutely understand her feelings, but I think it’s just time to leave Jay Z – love yourself more.

Five examples of time based video, art, film and cinematic artists:

Nam June Paik is a South Korean video artist that creates works that involve culture, technology and politics. https://www.paikstudios.com/#GALLERY

Bill Viola is a contemporary video artist whose work often depicts spotlighted figures acting out emotional gestures and expressions in slow motion. https://www.billviola.com/

I loved visiting the immersive van Gogh exhibit in Denver, which was a video projection of the brush strokes of van Gogh’s painting. https://www.immersivevangogh.com/

I think this exhibit was an amazing projection that lasted under an hour, could be enjoyed by all and exposed people to his art that normally would not go to an art museum.

The Multiverse by Leo Villareal at the National Gallery of Art is another example -https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.142055.html

The Denver Civic Center has an amazing holiday light projection that is synced to music.

[highwaydiamonds]

@mountainmaven tagged me for this lil question set- Thanks Kim!💖

1. Are you named after anyone? Ehhhh technically my mother chose my first name from Meggie in The Thorn Birds (though with a different spelling of Meghann. I'm Megan, and I generally dislike being called Meggie... It's p rare that I respond to being called that.)

2. When was the last time you cried? ... Yesterday? I almost cried today from reading a post someone made, but not full crying. That happened yesterday. I am a very easy crier.

3. Do you use sarcasm? Who? Me?!... Please. Of course I do. Far more than I ought to at that. It's the flip side to my insecurity probably -an abundance of snark.

4. What's the first thing you notice about people? That really depends on how I meet or come across those people. In person - probably eyes and the way people watch/listen- I'm likely looking to see how people might be judging me ( or more specifically my body.) Online - if people are funny or engaging. Are you thoughtful - it's a place where you CAN lead with your thoughts first - so does someone? or do they take the LCD and run with it ( AKA be a total troll or send a dick pic - that sort of thing. UGH to both)

5. What's your eye color? Something somewhat indeterminate? Meh I usually say gray-green. It's a mix of my dad's gray-blue and my mom's green gold hazel. the gray and green got mish-mashed together and there's a tiny tiny gold rim right around the pupil. idk man. my eyes are very color. (like the creature is very shape.)

6. Scary movie or happy ending? Considering that i am very easy to scare - i have made myself jump by forgetting a stationary object was on a table and then when i saw it there i was so surprised i jumped- i rarely go for scary movies. Happy ending please... (i am working SO much not to make jokes with that. I deserve a treat now.)

7. Any special talents? Clearly. I am talented at not allowing myself to make dirty jokes (see above question's response.) Other than that, I don't think so? I don't want to make self deprecating remarks (wow I am just avoiding all the jokes tonight, right?!) - I think there are things I do well, but I wouldn't necessarily call them special talents. I cannot belly dance, strike an apple sitting on your head with an arrow, or put a knot in a cherry stem with my tongue. Your girl has no party pieces. (and if I *were* making bad jokes - here is where I woul say, " I AM the party piece." But that would be a lie. I don't like parties very much XD )

8. Where were you born? In a hospital. That's what this question was looking for, right? (confused? see the answer above re sarcasm.)

9. What are your hobbies? art journaling, knitting, reading, occasionally baking, watching tv and movies more than i ought to, playing with makeup (not good at it but i like it) - and when the finances are they darling - shopping for cute things (which might pertain to the above or might just generally be sparkly and/or adorable.

10. Do you have any pets? Not that are mine personally right now B UT the house I am living in her several. There are two dogs that are permanent residents ( Peat and Lily - border terrier siblings that are like 15 years old I think. Two dogs that live here part time - Nova and bailey - who are probably 4 and 11 respectively. Then three parrots (two greater mccaws of differing kinds - Mello and Maddie, and one lesser Mccaw - uh i think anyway- and that's Emma Peel - yes named for the avengers tv character). And two bearded dragons ( differing kinds) - Fred and Apollo. There will also be a puppy joining the household in probably a month or less - one of the people in the house is getting a Lakenois puppy out of a litter so there will be that. I'll enjoy there being a puppy around but gotta say i have learned things about myself living with this many animals. (namely that I do not want to be responsible for this many animals. especially squawky birds. good for you if you do.)

11. What sports do you play/have played? i don't play any now .. but seriously i was never sporty really. I played volleyball and softball when in middle school but does that even count? i like swimming but i was never going to be competitive at it when i was young. i was short and round not lean and long - so that was not gonna happen for me

12. How tall are you? 5'4" (slightly under it but close enough)

13. What was your favorite subject in school? I liked school pretty well generally - most of it was good - I didn't always like what we had to read but I liked English (aka Lit classes), History ( or government) , and some science courses (bio, advanced bio, physics) <-- in high school. Beyond that - ART HISTORY ( i should have found a way to major in it - or at least minor in it. I liked it better than either of my actual majors - and more than some of grad school classes too. seriously art history is way more fun than talking about budgeting in public administration. )

14. Dream job? The best answer to this is one I am stealing from a post here on tumblr or on twitter (idk) and that is, " I simply do not dream of labor." Seriously,I'm not sure any more. I think being a museum curator could be amazing, or like a special collections librarian ( if you dig the collection)... But I also think something where I could make a difference and change health policy in this country would be great - I'm not sure just what that would be or mean. I can't sew at all but i think being a fashion designer and making floofy dresses for myself would be cool. Fairy Princess- there we go - that's the job for me.

As to tagging... I never know who likes to be tagged and who doesn't. So @seashells-and-bookshelves , @librarianlirael , @ndb-123 , @i-blame-this-on-sherlock , @freckles-and-books , and seriously anybody that wants to. I like reading your answers- so take these and run with em- and tag me (so's i can read em) if you do.