#as well as a whole ton of design work i need to get through

[fidgetspringer-art]

It's a very cool feeling to finally have a character you've written over 110k words about, be able look back at you from the canvas.

[deonsx]

I really enjoy your works! Could I request some Nagi fluff where they both play a new video game together. Bonus points if it‘s Infinity Nikki and reader tries to get Nagi to play it 🤭 Thank you for service 🫡

It was one of those lazy afternoons where the world outside seemed to melt away, and you found yourself at home with Nagi. The house was quiet except for the soft hum of the television. You had just picked up a new game, Infinity Nikki, and couldn’t wait to try it out. The vibrant world of fashion, adventure, and design seemed like the perfect distraction from the everyday grind, and you knew Nagi might enjoy it if you could convince him

You were lounging on the couch, the game controller in hand, and Nagi was sprawled on the other side, his eyes half-lidded, clearly uninterested at first. He was absorbed in his usual, relaxed mode, his hair falling lazily into his face as he tapped his phone “Hey, Nagi,” you started, trying to sound casual, “wanna play something with me?”

He barely looked up, raising an eyebrow. “Play what? Another one of those games where you just run around and do random things?” You grinned. “Well, kind of, but this one’s different! It’s all about exploring, dressing up, and creating your own designs in this gorgeous world. Plus, you get to customize your character!”

He sighed, clearly uninterested, but you weren’t giving up that easily. “Come on, you don’t even have to take it seriously. Just try it out for a bit. It’s got tons of cool outfits, and the visuals are really pretty!”There was a pause, then Nagi slowly shifted, his head tilting as he stared at the screen. He glanced at you, a little smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Fine, but I’m only doing this because you’re begging me”

You beamed, holding the controller out toward him. “That’s all I need to hear!” He took the controller with a small huff, settling beside you on the couch. As the game loaded, the colorful world of Infinity Nikki appeared before him soft pastels, glowing lights, and delicate animations filled the screen

The first few minutes were spent in silence as Nagi stared at the screen, unsure of what he was supposed to do. You couldn’t help but laugh as he fumbled with the controls, clearly not used to the fashion-focused gameplay

“Okay, okay, just press the dress-up button to change outfits” you explained, your voice filled with excitement “Look, there’s a whole wardrobe full of outfits you can mix and match!” Nagi glanced at you, a little smirk appearing again “You really get excited over clothes, don’t you?” His tone was teasing, but there was a flicker of amusement in his eyes

“You have no idea” you replied with a laugh “Just wait until you see the accessories. The shoes are to die for!” As the game progressed, Nagi’s expression softened, and he began to show a bit more interest. He made his character try on different outfits, experimenting with colors and styles. His usual disinterested attitude faded, replaced by a faint sense of curiosity

“Okay, this isn’t… as bad as I thought” he admitted, adjusting his character’s outfit to make it look more stylish. “But don’t think I’m getting hooked or anything”

You chuckled, nudging him with your shoulder. “I’m just glad you’re having fun. You look pretty good in those clothes by the way” Nagi rolled his eyes but couldn’t suppress a small smile “Whatever, you’re the one who kept begging me to try it”

As you both continued playing, you became more and more absorbed in the game, trying out various designs and experimenting with new looks for your character. Nagi, despite his initial reluctance, seemed to be enjoying it too he even started offering suggestions for what outfit combinations you should try next “How about this? The lace dress with the flower crown?” Nagi asked casually, leaning over to point at the screen. His finger brushed against your hand as he gestured to the options

You blinked in surprise, a warm feeling spreading through your chest. “You’re actually getting into this now, huh?” Nagi didn’t respond right away. Instead, he just gave you a small, lazy grin “Maybe. I can’t let you have all the fun by yourself”

You both spent the next few hours playing together, laughing at the ridiculous combinations you both created, and even teaming up to complete in-game challenges. Every now and then, Nagi would lean in close to ask your opinion on an outfit or a hairstyle for the character, making you feel more and more connected to him

By the time the game session came to a close, the evening had turned into night, and you were both comfortably exhausted. Nagi stretched, letting out a yawn as he handed you the controller “Not bad,” he said, looking over at you with a satisfied grin. “I guess you were right. It’s… kind of fun”

You laughed, nudging him playfully. “I told you so! And you were so reluctant at first” “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered, giving you a mock glare. “You win. But don’t expect me to admit that I like it too often”

You smiled, feeling content as you rested back into the couch, the warm, fuzzy feeling of being close to Nagi taking over. “It’s fine, I already know.” Nagi leaned back, a relaxed, comfortable silence settling over the two of you. For the first time, you both seemed perfectly content in each other’s company, sharing this silly, fun experience

Enjoy!

[midnightechoes]

Five years ago today, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power premiered on Netflix. I had seen a few preview articles about it, and liked what I saw. Those articles mostly focused on She-Ra’s, Adora’s, Glimmer’s, Bow’s, and Catra’s redesigns, and I thought they were fabulous. I loved Adora’s new red jacket and bouffant hair style. Glimmer’s entire redesign was inspired, and I loved that they made Bow black so we could have more diversity in the main cast.

It was She-Ra’s and Catra’s redesigns that caught my eyes the most, though. They made Catra an actual catgirl, and not just in the anime sense where she's just a cute girl with cat ears and maybe a cat tail. She was a full-on furry. It was a brilliant design choice. Honestly it’s no wonder that so many were instantly drawn to her.

And of course, She-Ra herself. I loved her new look, and her huge ass new Sword of Protection. In fact, I loved it so much that I drew this picture of her before the show even came out:

Then the show came out, and needless to say, I fell in love. And honestly, it changed my life.

I know, I know. That sounds very hyperbolic, and to an extent it is, but in a lot of ways, I’m absolutely serious.

Alright, I have to back up a little. Back when I was in college, and for a few years after, a couple of friends and I tried to make a webcomic called The Devil’s Gate. It was minorly successful but eventually floundered. Then I met some people and we tried to make a video game, which also failed. After those few years, I found myself on my own and trying to rework the concept of my webcomic. Making comics, creating stories, those have always been my dream, and I was desperately trying to figure out a story I could make work, something that I believed in. But it never truly got off the ground. By the end of 2015 I had given up on the comic, realizing that after working on it for years in different forms that I needed to step away from it.

I didn’t really know what to do after that. I was still doing my quick daily doodles, but I wasn’t writing, I wasn’t drawing anything of note. I felt emotionally and physically drained of my creativity. I was honestly getting to the point where I thought it might be time for me to give up on trying to be creative or making things all together.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power came out on November 13, 2018, but despite looking forward to it, I didn’t actually watch it when it came out. It wasn’t until that weekend that I decided to check it out.

I was instantly hooked. I binged through the entire season in two days, and did plenty of crying and cheering. And then rewatched it immediately. I was in love. I was obsessed. It had been a long time since anything grabbed me like SPOP did. I loved the characters. I loved the colorful, sci-fi-fairy tale world of Etheria. I loved how unapologetically feminine it was. And most of all, I loved how queer it was.

I hadn’t done a ton of shipping before SPOP. I’ve been down bad for harlivy for what feels like my whole life, and I was angry when Mika and HG didn’t get together in Warehouse 13, but more often than not I had just been conditioned not to look for queer things in mainstream culture, and even barely in subculture.

That is to say, when I was smashed in the face with Catradora I was surprised how much I glommed onto it immediately. I was absolutely taken with Adora and Catra and their relationship. Both characters were so relatable, and despite not quite being text (although the subtext was so loud and obvious it might as well have been text), it was impossible to not read their feelings for each other as romantic.

It wasn’t just Catradora, even if that was a lot of it. Spinnerella and Netossa being canon from the start was wonderful. How much Glimmer and Bow screamed “BISEXUAL DISASTERS” from the start was adorable. Scorpia’s crush on Catra was as cute as it was sad in its one-sidedness.

I had never really been in a fandom. That is, yeah I’ve liked things, loved things even, but I never found other people to talk about it at length, never found discords just for that thing, never read or wrote fanfic, barely ever drew fanart. 

But, I watched SPOP, and then I watched it again. And then I drew Catra. And then I drew Adora. And then I drew them again. And suddenly I was on AO3, a site I never frequented, reading Catradora fics. And then I had an AO3 account. That December I participated in Catradora Week 2018 (I’d never heard of this kind of thing) and drew two pictures for it and wrote my first fanfic.

By the end of February I had drawn more in the three months since the show had premiered than I had in the previous year. I was working furiously on a long, multi-chapter fanfic, and writing more words than I had in the previous couple of years combined.

I was inspired again.

In the 18 months that SPOP ran for, I drew more than I had in years, I wrote hundreds of thousands of words. I felt so rejuvenated and happy about my creativity and free for the first time in years.

It’s hard to put into words exactly how it felt. I was so close to giving up my art and writing, which honestly, would have been giving up a part of myself. An important part of myself. It’s not overstating that SPOP saved me, or at least my creative spirit.

I also learned about the wonders of being in a fandom and fandom things like fan weeks, big bangs, zines. And I made some wonderful friends that I cherish to this day.

Even as I inevitably moved onto other hyperfixations, my love for She-Ra hasn’t diminished. Plushie Catra and Adora sit next to me on my desk every day. Catradora art still hangs on my wall.

The inspiration that SPOP ignited in me hasn’t died either. It’s carried me through a tremendous level of creativity that I’ve been riding since the premiere. It let me create a ton of fan art for SPOP, and then RWBY and then the Witch From Mercury, and I’ve written a ton of fanfics for RWBY and Supergirl. And perhaps the best, that inspiration has helped me create more OC stuff in the last couple years than I had in a long time.

I owe She-Ra and The Princesses of Power so much. I am so happy that it exists and that it happened when it did. I’ll always cherish it.

And for real, Netflix, SPOP spin-off movies WHEN?!

[blurmf]

i've slept, had breakfast, showered, and now i feel ready to give my two cents on this debacle in the jrwiener community.

I'm going to go through some of the arguments i've seen but this is NOT a callout post or anything like that, i just need to give my opinion so it's not bouncing around in my brain like a child on coffee.

First off, just about the oneshot being paywalled. I feel like this is not only unsurprising, but expected? Like, this is basically a what if (non-canon oneshot) which is 5$ tier. And i get that they did just sell a bunch of merch, but keep in mind that the production value is going up, with them commissioning a ton of art, music, having sound design, having an entire site now and all that. Plus, with all that aside, unless you're paying to be a member, they don't owe you anything! They already have almost 150 FREE episodes! Which is a lot that you don't even have to pay for.

Next the argument that they aren't doing anything. So this is just straight up not true. They have been releasing Wonderlust and Judgement, they did TMK, they just released a ton of merch and got a whole site running. And it takes a lot of work to run campaigns, even small ones, and especially when it's for a show. Not only that but each member has their own lives and stuff outside of JRWI.

People being upset over them taking winter break??? Like, this has not only been a consistent thing, but, again, they have lives! They don't just live in your screen to produce content, they have families and friends that they likely go see for the holidays! And so do all the other people working on the show! It's just a couple weeks as well!

Also, just a me thing, but i really don't like when people's first reaction is aggression. If i see a post that's just shitting on someone or attacking someone, i instinctively don't take their side. (This obviously doesn't apply to situations where someone did something diabolical, more just to situations with more nuance)

tl;dr: It makes sense that it's paywalled, the show has higher production value, they already have a bunch of free stuff, they have been doing plenty, breaks are good.

[lovelytsunoda]

proud mary // han lue

summary: now living a quiet life with their daughter, han and y/n reflect on how they got there, and all the good moments that are still yet to come.

pairing: han lue x wife! reader

warnings: this is a big one so listen up: mentions of post pregnancy mental illness, mentions of pregnancy and starting a a family, weddings, ignoring tokyo drift canon because I fucking can, (actually I ignored a lot of canon) han is about to activate a shit ton of daddy issues

I left a good job in the city, working for the man every night and day and I never lost one minute of sleeping, I was worrying 'bout the way the things might've been.

big wheel keeps on turning, proud mary keeps on burning. and we’re rolling, rolling, rolling down the river

2009, tokyo, japan.

the garage was dark, lit only by the moonlight and the small lamps atop the workstations. han lue had closed up hours ago, and everyone was gone save for him and his lover.

“han, what are you doing?” y/n laughed, sitting at a table scattered with nail polish bottles and a shellac brisa light. “it looks like a smudge.”

“it’s a drifting car!” han laughed, staring through the large magnifying glass that was allowing him to see the design he was attempting to paint on his lovers thumbnail. “see, there’s the spoiler and those are the headlights!”

friday night manicures had become somewhat of a tradition. y/n hated painting her nails with her non dominant hand, but she also didn’t speak enough japanese to venture out and get her nails professionally done. when she and han started dating, he offered to do it for her, easing the aggravation that sometimes came with doing mail designs yourself.

“well, now that you’ve pointed it out.” she laughed, kissing him on the cheek. “I love you.”

they had been together coming up on two years. two long, wonderful years. she was a mechanic and he was drifter, it was almost meant to be. she stopped him from getting himself killed, and in return, he loved her unconditionally.

they were sympatico like that. she loved his sense of humour, his protectiveness. he loved her smarts and the excited way she talked, animatedly and with hand gestures.

“what do you say we get out of japan for a bit?”

han should have known this question was coming. y/n was a restless spirit, never meant to stay in one place for too long. in a way, han was as well. he could tell that his lover had been more restless than usual, either from missing home or needing a change of scenery.

“a friend of mine, his name is dominic torretto, he’s got this place down in the dominican republic.” han started slowly, unsure of how much he wanted to involved her in. y/n was his whole world, and what dom and mia would be running was far bigger than street racing in shibuya.“he called me the other day wondering if I would run a job with him. but it’s not entirely legal and I don’t blame you if you don’t want any part in it.”

“baby,” she frowned, placing her hand inside the blue light machine. “of course I’ll go with you. I never pass up a chance to go somewhere sunny, and you know that I’d go anywhere with you. what we’re running here with twinkie and sean isn’t exactly legal either, you know. I’m a big girl, seoul-oh. I can handle myself.”

“I know. I just want you to know what you’re getting into. you’re important to me, y/n.”

“I know.” she said softly, running her hand up his arm as she rested her head on his shoulder, gently kissing his neck. “so when does our flight leave?”

“whenever you want it to. I haven’t even bought the tickets yet. are you ready for an adventure?”

“fuck yeah.” y/n smiled, pressing her lips to his. “but you have to paint my other nails first.”

han laughed, the kind of laugh that would always set loose the butterflies in y/n’s chest, the kind that reminded her why she fell in love with him in the first place.

“I don’t think I have it in me to paint another drifting car.”

“then what are you going to paint on my thumbnail?” y/n laughed back, looking down at her nails and realizing that her lover had actually done a very good job painting a drifting car manicure.

“I don’t know,” han shrugged. he would deny it if asked, but he actually loved painting y/n’s nails. he thought it brought them closer together, built up intimacy in their relationship.

they were moments he wouldn’t trade for the world.

“I’ll just do like a checkered flag or something.”

“but you did that on my index finger!”

laughing, y/n turned her head to kiss him. “come on, you big dork. the sooner we get my nails done, she sooner I can model that new lingerie set I bought last weekend.”

“sold!” han laughed, knocking over bottles of gel polish as he searched for the bright pink he had used to paint the car on his girlfriends other hand. “drifting car? f1 car? whatever my gorgeous gorgeous girl wants.”

“I love you, han lue.”

“love you more, pretty girl.”

2010, monte carlo, monaco.

it was set up to be another sleepless night without her lover by her side, and y/n was having none of that as she wandered the deck of the comfortable yacht, looking around at the decorations that the crew had spent the day putting up.

she was just praying that it wasn’t going to rain.

nothing was about to spoil her big day.

she scurried below deck, past a half open door through which she could hear roman pearce’s guttural snores. fingers curled around the door knob, she tried not to make any noise as she eased the door open, slipping into the cabin.

“you couldn’t sleep either?” she laughed, looking at the king size bed where her fiancé lay, phone in his hands as he texted his mother, who the crew was picking up in the harbour in the morning before the ceremony began.

“got a lot on my mind.” han shrugged. “fucking tej won’t shut up about the reception and the playlist and I’ve told him a million times that it’s not going to be some crazy rave kinda thing.” the man sat up, gesturing for his soon-to-be wife to come closer. "it's doing my head in. seriously, he wants to do a club mix of 'i would do anything for love'."

y/n snorted. han thought she looked like an angel in the low cabin light, a halo glowing around her head and shining off her white silk pajamas, the ones with the tiny shorts and 'bride' embroidered on the butt. "how the fuck do you turn the best meat loaf song in existence into a club rave song?"

"the fuck if i know." han shook his head, hands sliding up her thighs as she came to stand in between his legs. "jagi, sarang-hae."

honey, i love you.

"mhm." she hummed, a smile on her lips as she leaned down to kiss him sweetly. "i love it when you speak korean. it's so fucking sexy."

the last year had been stressful. the dominican job had been way more complex than y/n had expected, and it took a while for han's old crew to warm up to her. it took a while, but eventually she managed to crack dom toretto, and two weeks later, han got down on one knee and asked y/n to marry him.

hence why they were on a yacht off the coast of monaco, the entire thing decked out in fairly lights and tulle.

"if you think tej is bad, you try getting in between letty and those large plastic ribbons on the back of the deck chairs." y/n laughed. "who knew letty ortiz was so serious about weddings?"

she was practically sitting on his lap now, head resting comfortably on his shoulder as the boat rocked back and forth.

han seoul-oh was her home. her safe harbour. she always felt safe in his arms, at his side, even when they were plunging into almost certain danger like they had in the dominican.

"i brought you something." y/n hummed, reaching into the pockets of her shorts and withdrawing the small cardboard packet.

"fake nails?"

"help me put them on? for old time's sake." she passed him the glittery white french tips, no doubt chosen to match her dress for the ceremony tomorrow.

"i can't wait to spend my life with you. and believe me, there will be plenty more manicure mondays."

2014, monterrey, california.

"daddy, where's mommy?"

"i don't think she's feeling well, poppy." han lue frowned, looking over at his daughter, who was perched in her little kiddie chair at the kitchen table. "i'm going to go check on her, okay? stay right here."

how do you explain depression to an infant? poppy jae-i han had been one of the best things to have ever happened to han seoul-oh. but in the almost twenty-four months since their bundle of joy had been born, something had felt off about his wife.

everyone hears about the mental health complications that can come with childbirth, but no mother ever thinks it would be her.

every husband fears it, too.

"y/n, jagi?" han tried to keep his voice level as he eased open the bedroom door. the couple had bought a ranch house in monterrey when they learned they were expecting. it was one of the few things they used their ill-gotten gains as a part of dom's crew for. "poppy's asking for you."

it broke his heart to see his wife like this, hair messed and greasy, red splotches under her eyes from where she had been crying.

"am i a bad mother, seoul-oh?" she asked, voice small. she seemed so tiny and fragile underneath the layers of blankets on the queen bed. "she always seems to cry when i'm around, but never with you. poppy loves you more than she loves me."

"what?" it was all han could do to stop himself from crying as he sat on the bed, gently running his fingers through y/n's hair. "sweetheart, what's brought this on? poppy loves you. you're her mom. she needs you."

"mia makes it look so easy." y/n sniffled, pulling herself up to a sitting position. she's lost weight. not a noticeable amount, or even an unhealthy one, but enough that her husband knows. there are many things that you can hide from the man you share your bed with, but han knows. he knows she's not doing well. "and i'm fucking shit at it, han."

"look at me, pretty girl." han encouraged, reaching for her hands. "you are such a good mother. i know you're struggling right now, and i know you're hurting but you need to know that poppy loves you so much. she was asking about you over breakfast, you know."

"i don't know who i am any more. i've lost my sense of self."

han frowned, brushing a few strands of greasy hair away from her forehead before leaning down and gently kissing her hairline.

"listen, i was talking to brian last night-"

"of course you were fucking talking to brian."

"-and he thinks you should talk to mia. they're passing through town today on their way back from dom and letty's, brian and i are going to take the kids out to the zoo or whatever, and you and mia should do something." he suggested, running his hand comfortingly up and down his lover's back. "go to the mall, get a coffee. i think she could really help you. she's been through this before."

y/n inhaled shakily, pulling away from han. "what if something happens to poppy and i'm not there?"

"y/n, everything is going to be okay. i promise. brian will be there, the kids will be in great hands. go do something with mia, darling. find yourself again, yeah?"

"okay." y/n nodded, still clutching his hand like it was her lifeline. "i can do that."

"mommy?" a small voice called. poppy had managed to get herself all the way from the kitchen to the master bedroom, where han had left the door ajar just in case poppy needed them. "are you okay?"

"oh, sweetheart, come here." y/n said, tears beginning to fall.

because how could she ever think that her little bundle of joy didn't love her as much as she did? poppy waddled over to the bed, and han hefted the toddler onto the mattress so that y/n could pull her close.

"you know that mummy loves you, right?"

"yes. i love you too, mommy."

"see." han smiled. "you're going to be okay. we're going to get through this."

2017, monterrey, california.

"i genuinely can't comprehend that roman pearce is getting married."

the family of three was walking down the nail care aisle at walmart, a welcome addition to their weekly shopping trip as y/n scanned the packages on the rack for a set of acrylic nails.

han laughed, one hand around his wife's waist and his chin on her shoulder as he leaned against the shopping cart. "it's not going to last. they may be getting married on saturday but i bet that by christmas roman is going to call and tell us she asked for a divorce."

"don't be so cynical." y/n laughed, kissing her husband softly before holding up a small white box. "do these go with my dress?"

"they'll go with anything, babe." han said, moving to whisper in her ear “they'd look even better wrapped around my c-"

"i want nails like mom's!" poppy han's shout cut him off, the little girl looking at the array of disney princess nails on the lower shelves.

laughing, han knelt down next his daughter, one hand on her shoulder. "which one do you want, princess? do you want frozen, tinker bell? mulan?"

"i want the ariel ones." poppy smiled, reaching for the pack of little mermaid nails. han helped her get them off the hook before lifting her up, carrying the six year old securely against his chest.

"seoul-oh, she's like six, you're spoiling her by carrying her all the time." y/n laughed, dropping both packs of nails in the cart.

"what, she's not heavy, sweetheart." han grins. "besides, i have to stay in shape somehow."

y/n rolls her eyes. "sweetie, it's bold of you to assume that you were ever in shape. but i loved you anyways, didn't i?"

back at home, they settled in the living room, near the large bay window. y/n watched contentedly from the kitchen as han sat at the coffee table across from poppy, delicately brushing nail glue across his daughter's tiny nails, dropping the glittery little mermaid nails on top.

it had taken a while to get to this peaceful, quiet part of their life, but y/n han was so glad that they had made it. that she had seoul-oh and that she had little poppy.

"be careful with your nails, they might come off. now, go get your homework done before we make the pizza, okay?"

poppy scurried off down the hall to her room, and y/n padded across the shag carpet, looping her arms around her husbands neck as she gave him a kiss.

"i'm so lucky, you know that. i'm happy and healthy again, and i have you and poppy. that's everything i could ever ask for." she said softly, resting her head against han's chest as the man tilted his head down, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

of course they both missed the good old days. the days of adrenaline and adventure. but brian and mia had left, and then y/n and han, and soon after was letty and dom. they were moving on with their lives, a chapter of glitz and glamour coming to a close.

"i want another one."

y/n froze, pulling back from her husband. "what?"

"i want another baby. and i know what we went through last time, and i fully understand if you're not willing to take that chance again, but god, y/n, i want a big family with you." han explained, holding his wife's hands. "poppy is growing up. soon she's going to be too cool for dear old dad. and then there will be boys-"

"or she'll be like you," y/n cuts him off with a laugh. "in which case there will be lots and lots of girls."

"god help us all. my little girl is going to break a lot of hearts one day."

"and you want another one?"

"honestly? yeah, i do."

"then i guess we'd better start trying. multiplication isn't that hard, so poppy's gonna be looking for us within the next hour." y/n hummed, kissing her lover softly.

han smiled against her lips, hands slipping into her jeans pockets to cop a feel of his wife's ass. "i only need half that."

TAGS:

@libraryofloveletters @magnummagnussen @mignonricciardo @sidcrosbyspuck @cartierre @monzabee @scuderiamh @daydreamingleclerc @diorleclerc @oconso @cl16version

[tramon81]

The mechanics of Play pretend.

You know, I think that one of the reasons stuff like bakugan, beyblade, hell even skylanders and arguably ben 10 were so popular in their era is thanks of the focus of depicting it's main gimmick as mysterous artifact merges of these supernatural powers within a mechanical doohickey that has a physical way to be operated.

If you look at a bakugan in your hand and you can see how it works where it opens, the first step is a physical understanding on how it works in real life, and the next part is left to your imagination. It introduces a device that correlates those two things, and to put it simply, there's a reason why one can consider it "Rad as hell" both first hand as a kid, and retroactively as an adult.

image taken from this video

These all kinda introduce a ritual to "activate" that supernatural power these pieces of plastic are asking you to imagine them having.

Throw the bakugan, the bakugan handles the mechanics they need to Open up you handle imagining it as a cool ass dragon emerging from it.

Let the bayblade "rip" through its mechanism, and as they clash you can imagine a winged horse emerging and fighting it out.

Push the button, the dial pops up, select one of these misterious alien siluettes by spinning the dial, Slam it, and you bet the kid who bought that toy omnitrix is gonna pretend to be Fourams or whoever ther favorite is.

Skylanders is weird in this sense, since it has the mechanism, but instead of leaving it to the imagination it outright shows on screen how the toy ahem "came to life". While it does make really cool the whole process of placing the skylander on the portal and them arriving in the game, it all feels very magical. Altough their medium can make them feel pretty robotic at times.

What you can see here is a physical, real and mechanical interaction with the toy, being used to justify an imaginative, supernatural and fictional effect that is given to them. Just how a kid will need to take a stick before they can imagine having a magic wand in their hands, these toys focus on that aspect as a way to bring to life their own ideas into the playground.

I feel this is partly a reason why this type of toy had a bigger sucess in general. Give a kid a toy that has tons of very specific features like "the toy talks" or "the toy walks on its own" and probably they will get tired of it sooner rather than later. Give a kid a toy that has some specific actions wich let them imagine the effect and how they use that effect and little by little the kid has imagined their whole game by themselves.

Even in the case of skylanders where the toys do talk, walk and have their own powers the kid can have the console represent for them. That activation process, specially with how well the portal cutscenes are represented with its sound design, goes a long way to inmerse that kid within that game world. The portal of power is a completely different beast than the NFC reader for amiibos for example, cause skylanders while products at their core, have had effort put into selling the idea through a "play pretend" approach.

All in all, parts of my infancy were pretty defined by this style of toys, specially ben 10 and to a lesser extent bakugan. As somewhat of a digital artist nowadays a lot of the motivations that i have for drawing were developed in that stage. I see drawing in a sense of a sort of evolution to that play pretend, what once we imagined as children, be it your own custom ben 10 alien, or bakugan or the like, now i have the power to bring those ideas to life and more importantly, share them with others they way i imagined them.

[wasyago]

unsure if you’ve been asked this before but what is your character designing process?

i have already answered in this post (you can go read it if you want), though it's more jrwi based, so i feel like i can answer again! i doubt I'll end up saying something new but hwhatever who cares dhhdhd

obviously this isn't math, so there's no specific scheme i follow every time, and each design is different and it all varies heavily.

in general, when i start working on a design i already have *some* sort of idea in mind. normally not for the entirety of it, but some bits and pieces here and there that help me characterize the design in my head! i try to get those on the canvas first. they're like key points, and i most likely wont change them.

(and if i don't have an idea, i don't start drawing. and instead scroll through my gallery or pinterest in search of inspiration)

let's take my Gem's recent design as an example! i knew i wanted her to be a squirrel, and i already had squirrel scar and cub designs to base it off. so the key points were big pointy ears, curvy tail, claws. i also knew i wanted her clothing to look regal and floral, and reflect her main base. this is an idea that i haven't fully visualized, but i kept it in mind and knew in which direction i had to move.

after that comes the point where i start making stuff up 👍👍 i enjoy thinking my designs through and making them make sense in my head and be practical. so the process consists of me asking myself questions and then answering them in a design. with occasional "oh wouldn't that be cool" thrown into it.

continuing with gem. she needed to have her clothes be suited for a tail, so her underskirt splits in three parts to make it easier. i still wanted the design to be recognizable as gem and have it resemble her skin; so i kept the white sleeves, the green skirt, the corset. i wanted to make her and scar's designs match, so i changed the corset to green with this long piece of cloth but decided to change the patterns on it. because the brown from the corset was gone, i removed it from her shoes as well and made them black instead, so brown wasn't part of the color pallett anymore. i will introduce pink into the design later, so getting rid of one of the colors wasn't that big of a deal. plus, brown makes her look more down to earth, whereas i want her to look elegant and rich, so its a win/win. i wanted to keep her antlers, but obviously she's not a deer anymore, so i turned them into a crown and made it black to match the shoes. etc etc. i can ramble for three more hours about this hdgshsh.

well, that's how the well thought designs work.

sometimes it's just "im gonna draw all the things i think are fun and cute until i can't think of any" and there's no rhyme or reason to it. that's why things like "doc as a unicorn", one-off series designs, random concepts, aus exist!

sometimes its a "i have no idea what to do with it, so im gonna merge all the layers together and just keep fiddling with it until i figure it out", and that's exactly what happens. if i feel stuck with a design, merging it together and working with both line and color helps a ton, because it helps me to see the design as a whole and i dont have to divide my process and think of which parts im gonna do in color and which in line! recent example is hypno's design. here it is when i didn't know how to make it interesting and the final version:

(funnily enough i still like the first concept, the fact that all the clothes is the same color is quite tasty. but i know that if i needed to draw this design in the future, i would struggle with keeping the clothing layers separated and shading and all that stuff.)

visually i don't think there's much difference between how i design things (?), but the process varies and in my head they're all on like, different tiers.

hopefully this was somewhat helpful! if not it at least let me ramble about my design process which is great hdhsjsh

[raddagher]

Arcane is over (😭) and I have some criticisms so here are my lists of who Won and who Lost in no particular order

LOST SEASON 2

1. Isha

Literally wasn't even mentioned after she died, like wtf was that

We couldn't have a memorial or anything? Come on

Her sacrifice was ultimately meaningless because Warwick got brought back anyway

2. Sevika

Didn't get a single line through all of Act 3

Where is my wife

At least she didn't die?

3. The entire Undercity, to be honest

Where did the independence thread go

Giving Sevika a council seat wasn't enough

I don't like that so many of them had to fight in Enforcer uniforms, that felt wrong

That was the MAIN CONFLICT for most of the show. It felt so weird to gloss over it at the end

4. Vander/Warwick

Gonna be real I wasn't super crazy about most of his presence here, I don't feel like it actually contributed much to anyone's development, except MAYBE Viktor's

We would not have lost anything if they didn't have the flashback scene with their mom

Super didn't like Jinx's ending as it pertained to him

5. Jinx

Hey I super don't like that every character who had a moment of suicide ideation or attempt ended up dead or "dead"

I don't like the way she "died" it didn't feel earned

I don't feel like the ending she got aligned well with her character at all. She spiraled and then just. stayed at the bottom of the spiral :(

They put a TON of family stuff in act 1 and 2 that didn't get resolution in 3

I think they kinda did my girl dirty I'm sorry

6. Loris

Clearly would have had more of a role if they didn't have to cut him for time

NEITHER WON NOR LOST SEASON 2

1. Vi

I want to say she won because she got to bang her cop girlfriend in a prison cell and the sex scene was good as hell but

She also was just taking massive L's the whole time

Like it never felt like she ever had any real wins other than that and that bummed me out

Didn't get enough time to be a dumbfuck with Jayce :(

Caitlyn

Didn't get enough proper resolution for her wonderful fascist arc

She felt a little dropped in Act 3 as well

Glad she got that Vussy tho, good for her

And I did like the vs Ambessa fight, that was also good

I honestly feel like Viktor and Jayce's romance was written better than her and Vi's, and as a gay woman who is constantly watching mlm relationships get so much more attention, it rubs me the wrong way

WON SEASON 2

1. Viktor (OBVIOUSLY)

The fucked up robot army. The religious imagery. The body horror. His robot alien design is scary as fuck. Absolutely incredible work

Got to be taller and stronger than Jayce hooray

They're canon. That was the gayest shit I've ever seen in my life

I do wish they had spent more time overall fleshing out more of the disability commentary, I feel like it was a little lacking in the end

Nevertheless BEAUTIFUL and HORRIFYING and TRAGIC

2. Jayce

See above

Yeah he also got to be a big hero and got to be resolved really well

Did NOT see his death coming that was crazy

They Magnus 200'd his ass, damn

He chose Viktor over everything I'm emo

They made a heart when they touched their foreheads together fuck OFF

3. Heimerdinger

Literally just living his best life

Love that he didn't tell Ekko he can't die, he just let the poor boy think he got fuckin atomized, king shit, that's hilarious

I would have stayed in that universe too tbh

4. Ambessa

The single tear over Kino. Her love for her children at direct odds with her need for control. Her arc was explored so well

Died a warrior's death at the hands of her brilliant daughter, I know that's how she would have wanted to go

Also was very hot in every scene. Good for her (and good for me)

She just got a lot of love from the writers and I'm very happy to see that effort put into an older Black woman character

5. Mel

Speaking of gorgeous Black women

I was so worried she was going to get dropped but her ending was SO good

Her glow up with the gold is fantastic, she looks amazing in the white hood

Love that they gave her abilities that would inherently change her priorities AND gave her the throne of Noxus, I have high hopes that she'll be prominent in another show in the future

They made her such a powerful badass but still let her be merciful and forgiving. Absolutely amazing. She is the wolf

6. Ekko (?)

On the fence about him

LOVED the au scene. Perfect

And I loved that our boy savior got to be the one that set off the bomb that stopped Viktor

But he was kind of dropped otherwise? Like what happened with his tree?

Generally wish he had more development and screentime in this season

But I'm happy he was so pivotal to the climax

AND I'm happy he got to kiss Powder. He and Jinx would never have worked out

7. Maddie

Haha I never liked you. Get fucked you horrible little bootlicker. Typical cop

8. Singed

How come YOU get everything you want?

Fuck you.

Basically all my criticisms boil down to it feeling rushed overall. It's clear that they intended to have more time, and that breaks my heart. We all know Netflix's reputation for cancelling stuff out of the blue, and I've heard that maybe certain parties were unhappy with the depictions of gay romance and realistic social revolution. Whatever the reasons, I wish they had a third season, because I think they could have solved every problem I have with it. Regardless, it's an incredible work of art and very likely one of if not THE best animated series ever made.

[therobotmonster]

Guys I think should be in MOTU: Origins

My love of MOTU Origins is not very hidden, and they've hit tons of great points, but there's so much further to go. So, here's my rundown of what I'd want to see joint the MOTU Origins lineup.

Section 1: Give it the Sun-Man Treatment.

Blackstar

The proto-He-Man of yore, Blackstar as an IP is probably well within the price range for Mattel to sweep up to sprinkle into the line the same way Sun Man's universe was.

For advantages, it's VERY aesthetically compatible and has several strong character designs. It's no more obscure than Sun-Man, and I want hordes of those imp-demons, damnit.

BraveStarr

Again, a no-brainer. Find the character rights holders, get the rights. New Texas is out there in space, use it as an excuse to do MOTU:Origins versions of the New Adventures designs ("space travel" He-Man) and Rio-Blast. If they already own all the rights then them not having already done this is toyetic malpractice.

Advantages are obvious. BraveStarr rocks. You have a POC lead hero, Tex-Frickin'-Hex, and Thirty-Thirty, who would be well worth the extra tooling to make a deluxe figure of (you can always do an upgraded Stridor repaint). You would scatter them through waves to keep from overloading with the Space Cowboy thing, but def a winner.

Also, Rio-Blast. Rio-Blast, Yo.

Skeleton Warriors

It was never strong enough to stand on its own. Give Skeletor some friends. 'Nuff Said.

One-Off Guest Stars

This section is a little different, as these wouldn't be permanent integrations, but more fun crossover one-offs rather than being a whole theme. Characters pulled from other Mattel-owned lines of the past:

Mojo Ken and Thunderpunch Barb-E

Here's the thing. This line is dead stupid, and should remain that way. Give Ken two heads (one 'bad' Mojo head and one 80s toy Ken style one) give Barbie weirdly plausible MOTU gear, the joke alone is worth the parts reuse. Best if nestled in with some Princess of Power characters.

Lets give Captain Power a hand, folks.

Its that live action TV show that interacted with the vehicles that landed in the uncanny valley between family TV and advert-traintment that never quite works!

Captain Power and Lord Dread are pretty much the only ones you'd want to hit, maybe the Soaron Sky Sentry. And really, they're not that hard to do. Captain Power could easily be made with Roboto legs and upper arms, any number of gloved hands, a new chest armor and a new head.

Any newly tooled pieces would be useful in MOTU movie and new adventure characters.

The Construx Alien demands your respect.

I know it makes no sense, I don't care, it's my list. He's amazing and needs to be big and buff with a weird hand.

Major Matt Mason has nothing better to do.

This set's a stretch, as it would require a chunk of new tooling, but again, maybe worth it for the New Adventures and She-Ra applications, plus hey, Astronaut prequel Biff Bestman, Evelyn Powers, and Captain Marlena parts!

He-Man's space-man friend is a role that could still be filled.

Next Up... Crossover Potential.

[fineprintedsunsets]

AFTER HOURS

This Is For Haunted Hoedown Day 7! | My Haunted Hoedown Master-List

summer camp au + "i can't stop thinking about how perfect we would be together"

Synopsis: Ari Levinson is a lot better after hours. 

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: (this is definitely a tribute to my childhood) good ol' angst. pool sex. dirty talk. lifeguard!ari levinson x f reader :). use of pet names "mama" etc. brief mentions of injury. unprotected sex. (reader is on the pill although never mentioned, #stayawaypregnancytrope) (wrap it before you tap it, kids) sweet, worried ari.

It’s days like today you find yourself appreciating Lifeguards more. It’s not just about shirtless men baring their pecs for the whole world to see, (although a bonus) It’s more than the praise and hero complex.

It’s about wanting to make a difference, to be a savior, sure, but going to bed at night is just a bit easier knowing you helped a human being breathe again. Ari was a lot like that, you noticed.

His tanned cheeks would lift in a slight smile when anyone congratulated him on his newest rescue. Ari didn’t care about the compliments, or how he was perceived-

“You gonna say hi, or just stare?” Lou’s voice breaks through your head, causing you to stutter, your eyes breaking from where Ari sits on his post, searching the pool for any trouble.

“Staring is good enough.”

Lie.

It wasn’t.

You murmur, continuing to wipe at the Snack Bar counter. The adults were more messy than the kids. Sweat breaks above your brow as the heat fills your veins, wishing you were inside the pool or inside an air-conditioner.

Either one would work.

“Those vultures have been gobbling him up all night, guess your one of them too,” Lou says, her brows lifting in amusement. She takes her yellow rubber gloves off and lays them down on one of the chairs The Snack Bar was designed with sliding windows that face the pool, mostly to receive money and dish out snacks, but you had found a much better use for it.

Oggaling.

Lou wasn’t wrong either, four women well into their 50s had been sitting out tanning all day, not even bothering to watch their kids. Each set of eyes had never left Ari’s body, and although you were just doing the same thing-

“Don’t say it’s different. It’s not.”

You huff, throwing down the rag on the table you were just wiping down, leaving it half-completed.

“Do you have anything better to do, Lou?” You get a glimpse of her ponytail and her small body. Although a pest, Lou was almost like a mother to you. “Summer Mother” that is.

Every year you worked at Camp Constaga’s Snack Bar. Although it meant switching TV for bracelet-making and campfires, it didn’t matter. If anything, you’d prefer the woods over home.

She flashes you her lucky smile, throwing a rag over her shoulder, making the edges of her uniform damp. “You know I don’t!” You shake your head, a smile blooming on your lips.

Lou tosses you a look, clearly seeing the blush on your cheeks. “Go!” Throwing her hand up in mock threat, she disappears into the back of the bar.

Yeah, that’s right, Go prepare the chicken nuggets. It takes you a couple of moments to realize she took your rag, the one you need to finish cleaning the tables.

“Bitch!”

The only sound is the rustling of frozen chicken nugget bags and the echo of Lou chuckling.

��

“Shut Up And Dance” plays loudly over the pool speakers. It’s the anthem of every summer, and boy does it never get old. Night falls silently on Camp Conastoga’s pool, tonight is a very special night.

It’s glow swim.

It’s a camp tradition, every month they hold a “glow” swim. Kids and adults wear trippy bathing suits and a whole shit ton of glow sticks are thrown in the pool. It’s simple, but fun.

Really Fucking Fun.

“Lou! Where did you put the paint?” You call over the loud splashing of children. The lifeguards are already on duty, and the adult swim doesn't start for another hour or so. You see her signature auburn ponytail exit the bathroom, her bare stomach, thighs, and arms marked with glow-in-the-dark paint.

“Handprints? That simple Louie girl?” You tease, grabbing the paint from her hands. You bought a whole array of colors yesterday, the kids used all of the pool’s supply.

“I’m sorry, shall I draw a pentacle?” She adjusted the strap on her neon green bathing suit, pulling it to snugly fit on her shoulder.

You elicit a chuckle, filling the pool’s backroom with the ungodly sound. “It would fit, you are a demon.”

“Very funny.” Lou rolls her green eyes, sending them back into her head with far more exaggeration than necessary. Holding tight onto the bottle of green paint, you turn around, and walk away from her, heading to your cabin to receive the other colors.

“See you out there-” You choke down a strangled whine, your face colliding with something hard and solid. Pain shoots through your jaw, and the only thing you can hear is labored breathing and music.

Upbeat and happy music.

Not very fit for this situation.

A backless dress and some beat-up sneaks…

My discotheque, Juliet teenage dream…

I felt it in my chest as she looked at me…

And then darkness.

👙

Waking up in the infirmary was not the plan tonight. You blink your eyes, once… twice… You can see a window to the right of you, it’s pitch black outside. You stir, quickly trying to get up, but a hand on your stomach stops you, splaying against your belly and pushing you down.

You whine, squirming against the hand. It’s big and feels as if sparks are being emitted through your body from the fingers. When you open your eyes, you understand why.

“Hey-”

“Shh…- It’s okay, sweet girl.”

All it took was a few words to get you rising, slowly this time as Ari’s hand fell from your stomach, tanned fingers grabbing your elbow to ease you into a sitting position. The pain has reduced to a dull ache, you don’t focus on it, not when Ari is standing above you, lifeguard shorts on, shirt nowhere to be found, and is that…worry in his eyes?

You grab at your head, attempting to find the source of your pain. You must have hit something, now it’s reduced to just a small headache. “What happened?” The words you speak are discombobulated as you try to adjust to the light in the infirmary.

Children can be heard screaming and splashing outside.

So you hadn’t been put in a coma.

You aren’t going to wake up to a zombie apocalypse.

This is very good news.

“You slammed into my chest, I’m so sorry, mama.”

Mama? Surely it was just a name lifeguards give to crying little girls, it was a cute, sweet nickname.

Until it came out of Ari Levinson's mouth.

“What time is it?” You shift, still holding your head, expecting the headache to just disappear at your touch.

It doesn't.

“10:00” Lou answers from seemingly nowhere. Did she just watch that interaction go down?

When she steps in front of you, the gleam in her eye tells you all you need to know.

“Adult swim starts soon, I have to put my paint on.”

“Woah, you sure? You did pass out on us, mama.”

God.

Will he shut up and keep talking?

The heat that pools between your thighs isn't normal, and you can’t stand to be close to Ari anymore. If you would… there’s no telling what you might do.

Something you would regret. Ari doesn't even know you.

“It’s just a headache. I’m not dying.” The words have more bite than you wish, but this room is getting crowded, and the heat that encircles you is suffocating. Especially when Ari tilts his chin up, his fingers perching on his hips in confusion.

You didn’t want to be rude, but it seems it may be the only way to get out of this room.

“I gotta go get the paint.” You slid off the table, hearing the paper crinkle beneath your weight. Lou moves out of the way, and when she does, you accidentally clip Ari’s shoulder. You don’t turn around to apologize though. The heat is too much, you need to get that paint and get in the pool.

Even though being away from him has made the heat worse.

👙

Adult swim had started the moment you finished in the pool bathroom. All over your body are neon pink swirls and made-up symbols, matching your pink bikini. Ari sat perched on the very end, his eyes wandering over the kids complaining to their parents.

You were aware of the way your nipples hardened against the thin slice of fabric, how your breath picked up when Ari’s eyes landed on your face. His usual sunglasses were gone, and even from across the people, his blue eyes drilling holes in your body.

You turn away, internally wishing your hips wouldn’t swish as you did so.

They did.

Traitors.

“Hey! Over here!” Lou and Reed call from their positions in the water, the reflective surface bringing the night sky into the pool. Your head still ached, but enough that you could get some swimming in. You wouldn’t miss this night for the world.

You walk to the side of the pool and before Lou or Reed pulls you in, you jump. There’s a moment when you do so, where the rest of the world disappears, it’s only you, the wind, and the water you're about to plunge into.

The glow sticks leave a path to which you follow, feeling your breathing dissipate as you're pulled into the water, swishing your hair around, wetting the fabric of your bathing suit, and crowding you in cool relief.

It’s the polar opposite of Ari’s warm presence.

You come up for air, swimming to the top of the pool. Lou and Reed are already next to you, splashing from every angle. “What are you five!” You yell, despite doing the same, gathering water in the scoop of your palm and tossing it across your best friend's faces.

For the moment, for the night, you would forget about Ari’s eyes burning into your back, watching as you splash your friends, hearing your laughter fill the pool as it gets lost in the night.

This is purgatory and paradise at once.

Being away from him, but relishing in the memories you're creating.

Both hot and cold.

You sink into the water again, allowing it to swallow all your fears, soon they would come back, you were on after-hour duty. With none other than Ari himself.

👙

All of the adults left hours ago, Lou and Reed went back to their shared cabin, and the Camp Children gathered around the campfire deep in the woods. It was just you and Ari, and the simple task of gathering all of the glowsticks.

You let out a breath, your fingers finding the smudge pain on your hips as you stand over the edge of the pool. The sky is deeper than before, the stars shining bright above you. And the waning crescent moon, hidden beneath crowded clouds.

It was a beautiful night indeed.

“You ready?” Ari’s voice breaks through your head-space, before talking yourself out of it, you turn around. It’s hard not to roam Ari’s body, his tanned abs, his long blond hair, and his beard.

No one could ignore that, no one.

You stomp a foot on instinct. “No one could ignore it” was your excuse for “this man turns me on with just his smile.”

“Yeah.” You squeak, watching Ari’s arms form a perfect dive pattern, jumping into the water with ease. The glow sticks make it visible to you, how easy he glides, picking up each stick as his path goes dark.

You do the same, jumping on the opposite end, with less grace than him. Usually one of the other lifeguards would be doing this, but most went to join the campfire. The pool gets darker and darker as you pick up each glowstick, resurfacing every few seconds for breath. You break from your trance when something hard hits the top of your head, the headache rocking through you with a sharp pain. You know it’s Ari, he must have been going for the glow sticks in the middle of the pool.

“Mama.” Ari resurfaces, watching as you do the same, rubbing the top of your head.

“Are you okay? Goddamn me. I don’t mean to keep hurting you, sweet girl.” Ari’s hair is wet, framing his features perfectly. A dozen glow sticks reside in his palm, matching your own.

“Come here.” He leads you to the very edge of the pool, and although you shout at your body to stop moving, your legs ignore your pleas. The heat grows with every second you spend in lifeguards presence.

You both toss your glow sticks into the basket, as you pool yourself up and out of the pool, water splashing as you turn around to sit on the edge, your legs still in the water. Ari stands in front of you, not exactly between your thighs, but very fucking close to them.

“Does it hurt?” He asks, running a hand over his wet hair, looking to the top of your head.

“I’ll be fine.” You utter, looking away from him. This man will be the death of you. They kick up a little bit of water, watching it swirl at your feet.

“Look at me, mama.” Ari pleads, moving through the water, so close to where your knees touch his chest.

“Please.” It’s almost inaudible, but you catch it, you see the desperation in his eyes,

“Fuck, Ari.”

You don’t even try to talk yourself out of it. You jump back into the pool quickly, water droplets spraying everywhere as you grab the back of Ari’s head, pulling him down to your lips.

He’s surprised at first, but when you groan, feeling the heat of his lips, the way they kiss and wrap you in warmth, he kisses back. Moving you to rest your back against the side of the pool, pushing you gently into the smooth tile.

Ari pulls away first, and the way he looks at you, it seems as though he is fighting with himself. “Sweet girl-”

You bring a finger to his puffy lips, silencing him. “No talking, more kissing”

Ari doesn't pretest, because this time it’s him that’s pressing into you, water grabbing at you both, your tongues intertwining in perfect harmony. You both pull away for air, the buzzing sound of crickets overwhelming you.

“Do you want me here, mama?” Your eyebrows quirked up as your hands still rest in his hair, forever tugging him closer.

“I will take you anywhere, Ari.”

It’s all the permission he needs. His fingers come around to your back, reaching for the tie of your pink bathing suit. Your body racks with anticipation as Ari tugs, and the fabric falls away, revealing your nipples to the cool night air.

His breath heaves as he stares down at you, his eyes locking with the point nubs. He groans. “Your perfect, sweet girl.”

“Fucking perfect”

He dives down, taking a peak into his mouth, and swirling it around his tongue. You arch your back away from the pool tiles, pressing into his hardened cock. The water makes it easier for you two to move, as Ari nurses your breasts, you undo the string of his lifeguard shorts.

He removes his mouth from you with a pop, helping you free himself from the restaurants. Your top and his shorts are thrown with the glow sticks, forgotten. His cock is hard against his chest, even in the water it’s not hard to tell.

His tanned fingers find your bottoms, running over your stomach, until they're stationed at their ties. “You ready, perfect girl?”

Your breath fans, your response is merely a rasp as Ari crowds you, his cock pressing against your stomach. “No.”

“Good”.

The ties snap as he tugs at them, water crowds you, between your legs as your slick folds are exposed to the cool sensation. Ari takes your right leg carefully in his rough palm, lifting it to pin the appendage against the pool tile. He pushed further, his cock lining up at your entrance.

He wants this as much as you do.

“Open for me, sweet girl.”

You part your other leg a bit, leaving enough room for Ari to settle comfortably in between your thighs.

“Doing really good for me, this is going to hurt.” You nod, not caring.

The heat is bubbling, threatening to boil over now and the anticipation is getting irritating. Ari places a kiss against your temple, his beard scratching against your skin as he thrust, pushing the tip of his cock against your folds.

You yelp, grabbing at his bare back, feeling the water around you, paired with his cock dipping inside of you was otherworldly.

“That’s it..” Ari smiles, his unoccupied hand coming up to cradle your face, tilting your head down to where your bodies meet.

“Watch as you take me, mama.”

You do, with both pain and pleasure as Ari inches his cock into you slowly. The reflection of the water enhances his every feature, and the wins of his cock are pulsating with pleasure.

“Good girl, just a little more-” His voice is husky with need but still soft and caring.

It turns you on just the more.

“I’m gonna fill you up, Breathe for me alright?” His words are so filthy yet so… soft.

Caring?

Ari watches you, your eyes still on your pussy, watching it take more of his cock in, feeling the pain as he stretches your walls. You take a deep breath as he asks, and scream when he thrust to the hilt.

“Shh…Good girl.” Ari drags out each syllable as he whispers, his cock buried inside you, as his body fully presses into yours, his hand balancing your pinned leg against the wall.

“Can I move, mama?”

Words do not escape your throat, you just tug at Ari’s hair, clenching around his cock a few times, attempting to adjust. You nod as your lips collide, it silences the scream as he deals his first thrust.

Your heavy breaths fixate on the point of completion, each time Ari drags his cock out of you, more water fills its spot, adding stimulation to your clit. Your fingers wrap around the pool's edge, your eyes snapping shut.

“You take me so well, sweetheart.”

“Don’t worry, I’m gonna get you over that edge.”

Ari’s words make you clench harder, a smile passes his lips as he groans, feeling what he does to you, feeling what you do to him every time his cock pulsates at your tightness.

Your breath speeds up with Ari's thrust, your back arching against the pool tiles as he fucks you deeper into the concrete, making sure your head never hits the ground. The words that come out of your mouth are rushed, but nonetheless true.

“I can’t stop thinking about how perfect we would be together.” You say them with urgency with rush, as if they were slipping from your mind. Ari’s thrust doesn't cease, he only groans, melting against you.

“Me too, sweet girl.”

“Me. Fucking. Too.” Your orgasm is so close, it feels like you're drowning in pleasure. Your nails find safety in Ari’s back, holding onto him for support as his fingers dip into the water, finding your clit and begging to rub.

He knows you're close.

“Come for me, mama. Make a mess on my cock.” Ari echos, his cock fighting the force of the waves he’s making, slamming into you each time, his fingers rubbing faster. You whimper, meeting his thrust with your own attempts, chasing the pleasure. You clench down hard, “There you go…doing so good.”

Your orgasm hits you at full force as Ari pumps his cock, his fingers riding you through it. Until he halts, filling you with his release. The warm feeling settles deep into your stomach.

“Mama.” Ari finishes, you can still feel his cock pulsating inside you, his labored breathing slowing to match your own. Despite the cool water, sweat runs down both of your bodies.

“Your-” He starts, you giggle, deciding to cut the sexual tension. Ari’s brows turn up, waiting to hear what you have to say,

“Hot? Beautiful? Fantastic? Best sex you’ve ever had?”

“Mine” Ari whispers against your lips, shutting you up.

His.

[spectralgecko]

Could you like critique my art pls

Specifically the art dump and that chosen fanart

Alrighty, sorry this took a while, mixture of getting sick and traveling.

Chosen One:

Because this is a) very stylized to begin with, b) a fairly minimalist format, and c) a very straightforward character design, there’s not tons to critique. It’s mostly a matter of lighting. By and large everything looks like it’s coming from the right direction, and the form looks proportionally correct. The only thing I’m a little thrown by is the eye placement – there’s not enough information to quite tell me where he’s facing and at what angle, partly because the oval of the eye isn’t sitting at right angles with the flare. That’s the only thing I’d really point out here, though.

Doodle Dump:

Perspective sketches:

These all seem to be pretty straightforward perspective exercises. The set up looks good, seems coherent enough. The topmost roof on the house of the fifth one looks a little odd, but that might just be an inking mistake. The internal details are also good. The sixth one looks a little wonky, but I think that might just be a mix of the photo and the extreme angle. Internally though, it works. The dude’s head looks a little far back on his shoulders – that or the shading on his torso needs to come farther up.

The lady:

I’m not sure if this is just how you took the photo, but she looks like she’s leaning to the right (our right) a little bit. Could just be a camera thing, though, hard to say. Hold it up to a mirror and see what it does. The proportions overall are solid, but there’s a couple details to work with. The calf muscle of her right leg seems a little too far out in comparison to her left leg, like it should be behind the leg more, since normally that leg would be facing us more than the left. Depends a little on how the leg is meant to be angled though. That leaning issue I mentioned earlier also looks like it could be solved by nudging the left leg out farther so she’s not “overbalancing.” The clothes look good as well, but the blazer button seems a little too far from the edge of the blazer’s front. I’d either move the button closer to the edge, or bring the fabric in farther – otherwise the tension makes the fabric behave weirdly and fold in on itself (speaking as someone who often wears blazers. Button + Fabric physics are a Whole Thing™). Also, and this is comparatively the big E on the chart – her frontmost hand. There’s… something weird going on with the wrist, and I think the hand angle too. As it is, her hand looks like it’s bending quite a ways back, more than people can usually do without pulling it while the arm is turned like that. Normally, the fingers and palm would be angled towards us a little more. Also, the arm doesn’t sit quite that high above the wrist junction – mostly looks like an overcorrection of some sort. The finger shapes are a little odd too here – the thumb doesn’t usually bend like that, and the fingers themselves look more like the back angle on the hand rather than the front.

Hand sketches:

These are all quite good, though there’s definitely some quirks here and there.

On the first one, the upper line of the middle finger is too low – if you trace it through the pointer, it doesn’t line up with its knuckle. I’m also not sure which finger is poking out past the thumb, but if the hand is angled far enough for you to see the back of the palm at all, you aren’t going to see the finger poke out, and visa versa. Also, same issue with the wrist – there is indeed a wrist bone, but it’s not that pronounced, especially not at that angle.

The second one looks good, although the ring finger looks a little broken, and the palm musculature on the pinky’s side indents in a little too far - it doesn't usually cut a straight line like that because of how it attaches to and goes around the bone there.

Three and four both look solid, though the palm-form by the pinkie is crushed down a little too far on four. Five looks good, note that the ring finger’s first joint looks bent back too far (the straight line marking the bend-point is part of it). Six looks good.

General summary:

Your hand anatomy is overall very good, with a couple issues in the wrist and palm flesh. Don’t hesitate to do through-sketching on the fingers to keep your skeletal line-up consistent.

Your perspective is good, especially with the exercises.

The freestanding gal is overall great, just with some minor detail issues and a slight lean that might just be photo angle. That's a little harder to correct for in traditional cuz there's no "flip canvas" option :P

If you’d like clarifying sketches on any of these, I’d be happy to do that.

[daziechane]

Consent, autonomy, kids, and ourselves

Not gonna lie, it's going to get weird for the next few years. "Grab 'em by the pussy" will not only be locker room talk but the law of the land. It's time to prepare and protect our kids and ourselves.

But how?

Register your kids, ALL YOUR KIDS, and yourselves for an OWL class.

Our Whole Lives is a series of six comprehensive sexuality curricula for children, teenagers, young adults and adults published by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries.[1][2] Publication was the result of seven years of collaborative effort by the two faiths to prepare material which addresses sexuality throughout the lifespan in age-appropriate ways.

The Our Whole Lives program operates under the idea that well informed youth and young adults make better, healthier decisions about sexuality than those without complete information. OWL strives to be unbiased and teaches about heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, and transgender sexual health. In addition to information on sex, OWL is intended to help children, youth, and adults to be emotionally healthy and responsible in terms of their sexuality.[3] (x)

TL;DR: OWL is a comprehensive, lifespan sexuality education curriculum that promotes healthy, informed, and inclusive attitudes about sexuality, relationships, and identity. Designed for various age groups, OWL emphasizes self-worth, sexual health, responsibility, and justice in a values-based framework.

Lifespan you say? So, you're teaching little kids about condoms and anal?

No, you eejit. Each curriculum approaches topics differently based on the age of participants. The K-1 curriculum, for example, looks at bodily autonomy, family, trusted adults, and that a sperm, egg, and uterus are required to make a baby.[6][7] The curriculum for older adults, on the other hand, might discuss aging, disability, dating as an older person, and body image.[7] (x)

But it's religious and I'm not.

Look- I'm a heathen, and proudly so. And I'm a trained OWL facilitator. This curriculum is designed to be offered with a liberal religious component or without. Find one that works for you. There's no proselytizing, no guilt, no judgement.

I have a ton of kids; how do I know which class is best for each one?

Each of the seven curricula speak to participants' needs, by age group: - grades K-1 - grades 4-6 - grades 7-9 - grades 10-12 - young adults - adults - older adults (x)

I don't want someone else teaching my kids sex ed. I'll be able to handle it when it comes.

OWL is designed to augment what you teach your kids. In fact, one of the things that each class starts with is an adult orientation that affirms parents and guardians as their children's primary sexuality educators.

I already know everything.

No. You don't. Trust.

I'm not in the USA. What is there for me and my family?

There are Unitarian Universalist organizations in Europe that may offer OWL. OWL has been offered in the Philippines. I don't know about elsewhere, but I'd be happy to help you find something if you're outside the US. If nothing else, you can download the Books and Media Recommendation list and start the discussion with your kids yourself.

I'm still unsure.

That's ok. Here's a short video that will give you an idea of how topics are presented, even to the little ones:

I'm not telling you how to raise your kids or how to act as your own grown-ass adult. I am suggesting that we're all going to need all the tools in our toolboxes to make it through the next few years and the rest of our lives. Here are some more for you to use.

Let me know if you have any questions. I want to help.

[tinyowlthoughts]

Emotional Level Today: Crying over video game cutscenes

I've been playing Palia for a while now - started two years ago, took a break a year ago, restarted my game a few months ago, and just reached the Acceptance Ceremony. (And I am kicking myself for not recording it!!! There's no way to rewatch it!)

Anyway basically, in-game (it's an MMO, with Stardew Valley & Animal Crossing vibes IMO), humans were previously wiped out from the planet due to Flow (wibbly-wobbly magic-wagic stuff) and now for some reason, thousand(s) of years later, humans are remerging! The Majiri (purple/pink-skinned bipedal race who have taken over) are very confused. You wind up in a little village called Kilima and, over the course of the beginning plot, are invited to become an official member of the village by choosing one of the characters as a Shepp - basically a mentor who will help you continue on your path of growth.

I chose Zeki:

Spoiler Alert: His species, Grimalkin, are literally ALIENS who to the planet in between the great human extinction and the Majiri race taking over. They stuck around and FORGOT THEIR WAY HOME TO THEIR PLANET.

Tell me that isn't orange-cat-one-brain-cell energy.

There was also some kind of trade war in the past between Grimalkin and Majiri, and it was decided that Grimalkin don't have the same restrictions concerning Flow that the Majiri have. Flow is seen as 'dangerous' and is not to be messed with - only the Order can use it. (Kinda dystopian, but humanity managed to wipe themselves out with it so also kinda makes sense from a 'lets keep our species alive' standpoint?)

Zeki runs the general store, AND the underground black market, where he sells special furniture, runs a Hot Pot minigame, and traffics in illegal Flow devices and other magic odds-and-ends. There is this whole background of the cartels and illegal trade routes and such, which I'm certain are going to be hugely important to the plot going forward (they just now released the end of the prologue, so there's a TON of game left to explore!).

So, like, he should be this gruff, rude, 'mind your own business kid' kinda guy, right? Running an illegal business and already being suspected of it by the towns magistrate?

Nope. Zeki is a generally nice dude. He regrets getting another village member tangled up in the illegal mess. His inventions, which are to benefit him, would also benefit Majiri kind as a whole. He's funny, charming, not above some jabs and teasing, but overall a swell guy. I LOVE him so much, so I chose him to be my Shepp.

(Which the magistrate looked horrified at! The character designs and modeling in this game are pretty amazing, especially the beautiful cutscenes!)

So today I finished the acceptance quest, and got to have my special Welcome Home cutscene, and I'm kicking myself for not recording because I cried.

It's one of those things where like, yeah, it's just a game, but the characters are well written and interesting and I've spent time with them - getting to this point takes a LOT of in-game time. You've got to work at building relationships. You can't choose a Shepp until you're at a level 4 relationship, and that's weeks of daily chats and gifts and such! Seeing all these characters celebrating my character becoming a permanent part of their village, of their lives - it made me so happy I cried.

I only grabbed a screenshot at the beginning of the scene - my character starting the walk towards the dias where Zeki was waiting for me. The integration of player avatars into cutscenes is really well done too - it feels like you, specifically, are part of the story, not just puppeting a doll through conversations.

I don't know why I'm rambling about this today - I just wanted to share. if you need a community-focused MMO that is FREE (funded through their cosmetic store, which is pricy but SO worth it!!!), I highly recommend it. The whole game gives you a sense of community, belonging, of being seen and valued.

I guess that's just what I really needed this morning.

[welcome-to-cell-hell]

Time to take this new blog for a real spin! Have some cell lore. Might wanna save this one for later, it’s a fuckin doozy. I’d do more designs soon i prommy

WORLDBUILDING NOTES: SOCIETY + FIC EXCERPT

Cells being weird blobby anthros isn’t the only thing I have fleshed out. As sapient beings like ourselves, they’ve established quite the post-industrial society, and the whole Body has evolved with THEM, not the other way around!

INFRASTRUCTURE: The cells live in a world that’s about as technologically advanced as ours, and reflects modern human society in a lot of ways. One big example being the fact that the circulatory system is represented as a giant network of roads. And if you want to see the Heart, I pasted a couple pages of my fic under the cut! Capillaries are the exception, those are foot-travel only and have places to park where cells can come in from an artery and go out through a vein and vice versa. Only blood cells have their own vehicles (they have virtually no public transport *cue U.S. National Anthem with gunshots and explosions and eagle screeches*), but other cells can hitch rides with them simply for plot conveniences in most cases. This doesn’t make them malignant, though- you have to turn evil and sprout wings for that!

LANGUAGE: obviously an advanced species needs some organized way to communicate. But they don’t canonically speak human languages, because that implies either 1. They learned it from the Body, or 2. They just randomly came up with a perfect human language. So they speak a fictional language called Cytolic (name pending), and its whole idea is to be easy to learn, specifically to read. Written Cytolic is a lot like hieroglyphs, and have as little ambiguity as possible. Say, if you’ve never seen the symbol for “Liver” before, you can probably figure out what it means just by looking at it, or even accurately guess what it would look like before seeing it. This is because little cells have a lot to learn already about their future jobs, and more time spent teaching language is less time spent teaching that. Spoken Cytolic is all about memorization through repeated exposure, and is usually learned on the fly. And speaking of speaking, cells don’t have vocal cords like we do, so they vocalize by forcing air through a temporary “throat hole” in their mouths and manipulating the membrane to make sounds. Cell speech features huffs, garbles, and a LOT of whistles, as well as a ton of body language when it comes to face-to-face convo.

MEDIA: If you’re stuck in a tedious job all day, would you rather do it listening to this, or a true crime podcast?

It’s no wonder that all forms of writing consistently rank as the most popular hobbies, with music always close behind. Not only do the masses consume this media all the time, WAY more than TV at that, but artists are left with tons of time to come up with ideas while they work. And since they don’t get much time off from work, the little that they do is spent creating, which is usually just dumping all their ideas onto paper and straight into the mic. And in turn, most celebrities are writers or musicians instead of TV stars!

MISC:

-culture is pretty dynamic, but does take elements from the Body itself. For example, in the fic I’m writing, its mom is from the U.S. and its dad is from China, so a little bit of both cultures are sprinkled in a largely ambiguous setting.

-despite advanced technology, cells are actually evolved to do all of their work with no help from it. Tech, like weapons, smartphones, cars or machines, only exists to accelerate what they could already do naturally. Except maybe TikTok. Yeah that’s canonically a thing.

-gender is much less of an emphasized thing in cell society, and is more like fashion in a way with a “just do what feels right for you” kind of attitude. The lack of sexual dimorphism never provided that basis for the concept of “this is a man and this is a woman.” The ideas of masculinity and femininity are actually pretty new, but are treated by the cells more like aesthetics or “cores” than boxes to put yourself in, only WAY more popular and recognized than like cottagecore. This is because they’re easier for a lot of people to identify with and find comfort in because you can really make it your own. But of course enby cells are still everywhere because they always have been.

-they still use “codes” for names, which are the numbers and letters, but cells commonly give each other nicknames as a sign of companionship. The medium between these is calling them by the last two numbers of their code (ex. U-1146 becomes 46).

THE FIC

CONTEXT: Verdant is a lactobacillus (she/they, but I literally forgort to use any they/them for them till the legit last paragraph, it usually alternates) and Joe (S̵͈̗͙͠Ȯ̷̬͖̲̘̑̈́Ḑ̸̦̞̽̃͌̚ͅÄ̸̗̥̮́̚̚͜!̴͚̇̉͗͘!̷̢̟̦̗̀̆͆!̵̨̩̽̈́ͅ!̸̧̝̻̞̓͐̉!̶̛͈͓͈̤͛͗) is a killer T cell (she/her). They’re friends, and it would take six chapters to explain. They’re actually the guys on my banner!

About twenty minutes after their departure, Verdant realized that the road seemed to be… growing? It had happened so gradually that she hadn’t noticed it, but there were now so many lanes that she couldn’t see the edges of the road! She wondered if the blood pressure had gone up… But before she could ask Joe for some insight, a giant green sign swooped overhead, and it unmistakably read:

“HEART: 1mm”

Verdant sat up and tried to see into the distance. The short little Honda they were behind allowed for some clearance, but beyond that was only a sea of glistening crimson. Red blood cells were packed into their lanes bumper-to-bumper, but this was no traffic jam- everyone was cruising down the highway as if they were a single, unstoppable mass.

“Oop! Heart’s up there,” said Joe. She pointed at the horizon, where a distant sliver of a building had come into view. It sure looked like they were heading towards it, and fast.

“Are we, like, going there?” Verdant asked. “I thought we were going to the- the sino… yeah, wherever it was you said.”

“Oh! No, we are!” Joe said. “The way the roads are set up, everything going between the North and South’s gotta’ go through the Heart. Once we’re outta’ there, it won’t be much longer to the Sinonasal Region.”

“Everything?” Verdant repeated. That’s why there were so many cars! The Inferior Vena Cava was drawing them in from all over the South and squeezing them into the Heart like a massive, exhaust-choked funnel. She had no idea what to expect from the Heart itself, but as it crept closer from up ahead, she saw that she wouldn’t have that problem for very long.

The Heart was, without a doubt, the biggest thing Verdant had ever seen. From the outside, it looked almost like a combination of a temple, an airport, and a chaotic tangle of highway bridges. Towering stone statues guarded its entrance; a muted blue one resembling a white blood cell and a cinnamon-colored one of a red blood cell flanked the gateway. A relief sculpture of a godlike cell the color of buttermilk also peeked out from behind the great arch.

Then, the music from the stereo cut out, and a man’s cheerful voice took its place.

“Welcome, hematocyte! You’re listening to iHeart Radio! I’m going to help you as we navigate through the Heart, and your radio station or Bluetooth will resume once we’ve exited safely,” it said. “Please do not text, eat, stop, open your vehicle, or change speed unless otherwise instructed, and don’t worry about changing lanes either; our wonderful engineers have you all covered! Our current blood pressure is: 112 over 80. Please keep your speed at a steady: 45 millimeters per hour, for now.” The real-time data were given in a computer voice that was far different from the man’s, meaning that much of the message had been pre-recorded. Joe let off the gas and reduced her speed to match the other cars. As the engines slowed down, Verdant heard a sound coming from inside the Heart.

*THOOOOMMMMM…..THOOOOMMMMM…..THOOOOMMMMM…..THOOOOMMMMM…..* The menacing rhythmic drum got louder as they drew nearer. Joe looked like she was about to say something to Verdant, but the radio voice broke in once again.

“You are about to enter the Right Atrium. Please maintain your speed and jump onto the ramp nearest to you! Be wary of other drivers, and be sure to stay in your lane as cells from the other half of the Vena Cava rejoin us!”

“Hang tight!” said Joe. “It’s time for some fancy driving!”

When they drove under the looming arch, the glare of the nighttime sun was swept away, and they were let into a cavernous cylindrical chamber. Smack in the center of it all, sudden and striking, was the scariest thing Verdant had ever seen. Before them stood a spire of winding bridges, and their Zygote-knows-how-many-lane freeway led them straight towards it. As the radio had said, their expansive road began to split off lane-by-lane like perfectly-peeled string cheese. Then, they all circled the perimeter of the room and began to thread themselves into the ascending vortex of asphalt.

Just as Verdant was gripping what she guessed was the hold-on-for-dear-life handle on the cabin ceiling, the sounds of engines and rushing tires were starting to seep in. She tried to peek at the windshield for just a second, but her eyebrows shot upwards when she saw another flood of cars swirling into the hectic spiral.

“Where did THEY come from?!” Verdant squawked.

“We’re mixing with blood from the Superior Vena Cava!” Joe yelled over the noise. “They’re the guys from the North!”

Verdant tightened her seatbelt and held on like a kid in a car wash. She tried her best not to look as they continued up and up, but the nearby sound of a Gotedamn SEMI TRUCK kept testing her strength. Before long, the radio man came back.

“Alllllllrighty folks, it looks like all of our deoxygenated blood is on the same track now! If you could please continue to follow the road ahead of you out of the spiral and down to the Tricupsid Valve where you will enter the Right Ventricle. The valve is already open, so you can go right on in!”

“We got this, Verd! We’re almost out!” Joe assured. Verdant could feel the car straighten out, and then angle downwards as the convoy departed from the Right Atrium across a terrifyingly lofty bridge. She hesitantly opened her eyes once Joe said they were back on the ground, and she saw that they were coming up on a another big arch in the wall. They passed under it, and it led to a short, roomy tunnel with lights along the top. Beams of fluorescence swept over the cars as they thundered on like rain through a gutter. Then, they approached a giant, double-doored gate that had already been pried open to let them through.

On the other side, the next chamber felt much more empty and full of light than the Atruim. Looking up at the sky-high ceiling, Verdant saw the source of the booming sound from earlier. Hanging in the center was a six-sided drum, each face being beaten in unison by what looked like heavy battering rams that swung by fibrous tethers. Each time they struck the drum, the force from the impact sent shock waves through her cytoplasm.

“Weeee have now moved through the Tricupsid Valve and made it to the Right Ventricle! Please gently bring your vehicles to a stop as we wait for the Aortic Valve to open, and then it’s a straight shot through the Pulmonary Artery to the Lungs. Red blood cells, ready your CO2 tanks! Everyone else, just follow along and enjoy the ride!”

The legion of cars slowly lost its speed as everyone covered their brakes, but that didn’t stop a few snappy beeps and honks from escaping the metal horde. Even though the deafening thrum from overhead and the grumbling of the engines lingered in the air, the chamber still seemed to fall silent.

Then, there was a different boom, separate from the skyward drums. The huge, elaborate gate in front of them shifted, then gradually opened away from the cells. This time, there was no chamber on the other side- open road and a sprawling yellow sky showed through the doors’ widening gape. Everyone watched in anticipation as the gate scraped along the road and prepared to lie parallel to the verges.

“Alllllrighty folks! As you can see, the Aortic Valve is opening, and in a few moments, you will exit the Heart!” said the radio. The gate was almost open at this point.

“Get ready..”

The bottoms of the doors were only a few degrees off from the edge.

“Get set…”

There was another thunderous boom as the gate settled.

“Aaaaaaaaaannnnnd….”

Verdant heard it lock in place.

“……FLOOR IT!!!”

Immediately, the chamber exploded with roaring engines and screeching tires. A few cells whooped and cheered as the cars blasted forward and shot through the Aortic Valve. When Joe slammed the gas pedal, she triggered a savage *VRRRRRRMMMMMMMMM* from under the old Tahoe’s hood. As they accelerated, it felt like the car might lift off the road and fly away into the sky, but they stayed firmly on the ground as the storm of blood cells revved down the highway.

“Thank you for circulating with us, we’ll see you again soon! Safe travels, worker!”

After that, the stereo glitched out and Joe’s Bluetooth came back. Verdant sat back in shock.

“Holy shit,” she breathed.

“Yeah,” Joe said. “We’re not outta the woods yet though. Hang on!”

“There’s MORE?!” Verdant asked. She wasn’t sure her mental batterery could take more.

“Actually, no!” Joe explained while she coasted and watched her left-hand side. “Those guys are going to the Lungs, and then back to the Heart to get that oxygen out. We don’t want that, though.”

As soon as she safely could, Joe merged to the far left lane. A few other immune cells seemed to be waiting there as well. What was she up to?…

Then, a neutrophil up ahead jolted off to the side and… disappeared?! The others followed suit, and Verdant’s fins stood up when she realized that Joe would be one of them.

“What is HAPPENING?!?!” Verdant finally squealed.

“It’s okay! I’ll explain when we get down there!”

“Down WHERE?!”

They didn’t have time for any more panicked back-and-fourth, because the Tahoe drove straight into a tunnel in the ground. It was only wide enough for one car, and cheap-looking light strips were fixed along the top corners. As they sped through, an echoing *th-THOON, th-THOON, th-THOON, th-THOON-* trailed along behind them.

“Okay, sorry! I had to get in here quick!” Joe loudly said through the rumble. “This is a transmigration route! Immune cells can use them to skip through tissues and get places fast! We would’ve had to detour to the Lungs if it weren’t for these bad boys!”

Verdant wanted to say something smart, but she was so tired at this point that all she could manage was an anguished “Guh-”

The friends barreled through the underground tunnel for a few minutes, but if you’d asked Verdant, they would’ve said it took forever. This was fine- just as they’d said, “fine” would be just-… just fine. It’s fine.

[bluespacestarssssss]

A Bit About Me And This Blog

Requests Are Open! :) I would like to reiterate that I, at this moment in time, am not doing commissions. Requests Info! When taking requests you may use my ask box or message me with your request for an artwork you'd like to see appear on my page. The request can be as simple or complex as you want! Just be warned that my art abilities have some limitations and I may not always be able to nail what you were picturing. (This is why I don't do commissions) When I post the artwork you will be credited for the request unless you specify otherwise. I however have the right to refuse a request due to the content or whatever I may see as rude or offensive. I'm not opposed to suggestive requests for artwork but I will not be drawing straight up nsfw content. This Blog's Posts May Contain: Cussing, Suggestive (NOT NSFW) Images, Corny Jokes, Weapons, Shitposts, Fuck Ton Of Reblogs, and more <3 Most things potentially triggering in my artwork will have a warning (Be warned I'm adding the warnings a little later on in this blog so my first few artworks may not have the warning on it) Okay so the rest of this is really long but here are the topics underTags What This Whole Blog Is My Eddsworld Au (Memories Au) Ask Box RequestsRules + Extra Blog Info About Me Fandoms Socials

Tags If ya wanna filter some things out here are things I use the tags for! #my art - My art of course (Sketches, finished drawings, doodles, ect.) #eddsworld - My eddsworld art and miscellaneous posts that are just simply about eddsworld #au - Planning for my Memories Eddsworld Au. Scroll down a bit (In this post) and you'll get the links to scroll through my rough ideas and artwork relating to the au! #<3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333 - Most of the stuff I reblog (Not everything but after a specific point then everything will have this tag on it) Please Check the stuff out! There's a lot of good artwork under this tag (It may contain some non-art related reblogs) What This Whole Blog Is So this blog is just some place I'll be posting my art! But also since it's my main blog it'll be a lot of nonsense and reblogs too- If ya think some of the things I may post here are cringe- that's too bad because that's why I have this platform! I'm here to simply be myself, nothing more nothing less.

The Memories Au Here is the blog that the comic is on: @memories-au-eddsworld To be clear, the stuff on this blog isn't the story itself. It's me working things out to prepare for the story. So concept art and character design ideas plus some silly short comics. I'm still forming and working on the story First / Last Ask Box <3 [OPEN] The ask box is for- well- you know- asks. But you can ask questions to me and the characters that appear on my blog! If a character appears on here more than three times I'll specify if they take questions. If they don't appear below then they don't take asks. Characters that you can ask stuff currently: Eddsworld (Not the Memories Au)- Tom, Edd, Tord, Matt, Ringo Me!Sploogies- The species in general, but there will be specific character later on! Requests I'll draw, without a need for money on either end I would like to specify, for a list of fandoms (that I will provide soon). Requests can be just simply seeing a character (or your oc!!!) in my style or as close to your/the media's style as I can! You can use the ask box or message me! Either way I'll credit you (Or not if you so choose) for the request. I'll admit, I do prefer simple requests like character(s) just doing silly things (or just simply existing), and not big scenes, for that is what I struggle with. Come message or send me an ask if anything confuses you about this, or if you have more questions. Rules + Blog Info -This place is a safe space for people of any gender and any sexuality -DNI: Therian and furry haters, maps, homophobes + transphobes -I want to specify I won't be participating in anything political. If I post something spreading some sort of message to help out someone in any specific political trouble and such, it is merely to help out that person. -You can ask me almost anything (Ex: What's with my gender? I know it can be a little contradicting but if ya wanna know just ask) -Don't ask for commissions. Right now that's not something I'm willing to do. I'm too focused on school. I might consider doing commissions in the future. -Please don't ask anything that might be considered offensive. Read over an ask before you actually ask it and consider if it sounds offensive. About Me -You can call me Noah, En, or Enny if ya want! -I'm Transmasc, Agender and Demiboy -I'm Pan -INTP -He/They/Zem (But I'm fine with anything except for she/her) -Imma Multishipper plus a Yumeshipper- You'll see a few ships on here -I'm a Therian! -I love reading and writing -I'm currently working towards becoming a character designer (Although I might become an author or animator) -Here's a link to what I (kinda) look like irl instead of just my persona

Fandoms That May Appear On This Blog! -Eddsworld (Current hyperfixation so you'll see a LOT of this) -Omori -The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K -Ouran High School Host Club -Komi Can't Comunicate -God Troubles Me -Gravity Falls Socials Pinterest Ao3 Spotify TikTok (I Don't Post Really But It's Here If U Want It)

[kitkatopinions]

I love the whole “their clothes are made out of Kevlar” thing because

1 that did so much for Weiss, clover, penny, and any other character that’s ever been stabbed, seriously the kevlar theyre buying has to be cheap

2 even IF it was Kevlar, the second most of the female characters in rwby get stabbed/shot on the chest it’s over for them

Like, Kevlar isn’t a magic shield, it still has to cover something to protect it

Yep, it's a defense that works on zero levels. Like not only is it (as far as I know) a headcanon with absolutely no canonical backing, it also does not make sense for Kevlar as we understand it to be super tight and form fitting. And not only is Kevlar as we know it not going to be effective against anything but bullets, but we don't even have the excuse of it being 'actually super special in-universe Kevlar that's works on more stuff' because we've seen spears and claws and arrows go right through the clothes hunter characters wore. And not only does Kevlar only work when it's actually covering the body whereas tons of female characters are designed with skin exposed even in areas that would crucially need protection like the stomach and chest, but it STILL doesn't matter at all ANYWAY, because the clear difference between how the majority of men in the show are designed versus how the majority of women are designed is STILL a problem.

IF we ignore canon and the logical conclusions that come from knowing the misogynistic fratboy like behavior of the early creators/writers of RWBY, and turn our brains off enough to pretend that Yang's short-shorts and low-cut croptop is actually some super magical kind of Remnant Kevlar that manages to grant her a full body extra shield against weapons... It STILL begs the question of why the writers chose to design men and women so differently- not just in regards to clothes, but also in regards to muscle-growth, and also in regards to how age is shown in male characters more than female characters (who tend to be designed to look just like the teenage girls.) Saying 'well the reason so many girls can wear short skirts and have boob windows is that their outfits are kevlar' doesn't mean anything when the real question is actually 'why are the majority of the female characters dressed in impractical or revealing clothes whereas the majority of men AREN'T?'

The Kevlar thing (which by the way, I have no idea who said it, it was just something I saw my friends talk about and share pics of) is just another excuse that doesn't actually work.