#bc i haven't really been drawing much lately. well i have in a way. just stuff i'm not sharing here (yet)

[pine-arten]

play colors

[crest-of-gautier]

video editing is so fun... (specifically cutting down hours of gameplay into a highlights format)

[thenightfolknetwork]

There's a bit of a taboo amongst my genus. I mean, I can't know for sure about the whole population, but certainly in my family there are rules about what is and isn't appropriate to do when we exercise temporal fluidity. And that's for good reason--I get that. You can't just go about changing the tides of war because you feel like showing off your historical foreknowledge. Fine.

Recently, though, I've been spending a lot of my time in one particular period--just about a half-decade on the other side of 0 AD. It's been great! I'm a bit of a Classicist, and a Latinist at that, so obviously there's plenty for me to do in Rome. The food is good, the literature is fascinating, and the people--well, I've certainly met some people. Specifically, there's this one guy. He's older, for sure, but we're both adults and happy with what we have. It's hardly an exclusive relationship, so we don't get bored with stagnation, and not to brag, but his achievements are nothing to scoff at. In fact, not too long ago he put down the remnants of a veritable civil war over in Hispania. My interest in this period has been primarily academic in the past, but I feel like he and I really get each other. I know how he takes his wine and his sense of humor and how he feels about his family. I care about him.

But here's the thing: I know he dies. Soon. And quite violently. I've just gotten back to the twenty-first century recently for a family reunion, so of course "soon" is relative, but back in Rome there isn't much time left. I haven't spoken about this to my family. I know what they'd say. I should just let it happen.

Although, I mean, should I really? Not to speak ill of the dead or anything, but I know for a fact Great-Grandma Margaret wasn't as rule-abiding as my mother likes to think--it's hardly a secret where (more accurately, when) she met Great-Nana Bonny. And, plus, lots of historical scholarship on the subject says, if my Roman friend hadn't died when he had, it probably would've happened sooner or later in a similar manner anyway (his approval ratings are not so high as of late). So is it really an interference if I warn him just this once? I mean, if he dies in another incident somewhere down the line--one of which I have no previous knowledge--then, fine, he dies. This isn't about preventing his death entirely. I understand that, in many ways, he is already dead. But I feel I would be a horrible companion if I didn't at least give him a heads-up. Just a nudge, you know? It's a politically unstable time back in the BC's. The line between this temporal reality and the other is so thin, and the difference is so small. Would my "interference" be so bad?

[Note: The sender later clarified that their letter ought to read "half century on the other side of 0 AD" where it here reads "half decade".]

I'm afraid I can't give you the kind of answer you seem to be seeking here, reader. While I am perfectly happy to help you talk through you moral quandaries, I must draw the line at making your decisions for you. You, and you alone, must discern for yourself whether or not such an act aligns with your own personal, moral code.

If an outside perspective will help, I will say that I'm not sure I entirely agree with your assessment of the circumstances here. I believe I have enough historical knowledge to infer which figure in history you're speaking about, which is, in itself, a concern.

It is a fact of existence that we shape the world around us. Even the quietest, most innocuous life casts its shadow. It is a fact to be embraced and celebrated – there is simply no such thing as an insignificant life. But neither is anything served by pretending that certain figures do not cast rather longer shadows than others.

It is one thing to consider fudging a timeline or two for the sake of someone whose impact reaches no further than their own village, or even their own country. It is quite another to speak of altering the timeline of a person whose existence left ripples across the surface of a significant portion of the globe!

I also don't necessarily agree with your assessment that your interference would not change anything very dramatically. Your friend's “approval rating” may not be great, but I am not at all sure it is universally accepted among historians that either his demise nor the manner in which he met his fate were inevitable.

Finally, you must consider the old paradox faced by every time traveller at some stage or another. You are an actor in this historical period, casting a shadow of your own, and you have no more idea than anyone else how that shadow may fall.

How do you know your warning might not precipitate the event itself? Alternatively, how can you be sure your warning is not already part and parcel of our historical reality? There is just such a warning made in most of the accounts I know, after all – if I am thinking of the right person, of course.

I cannot make this decision for you, reader. I cannot tell you what the right answer is, or even reassure you that there is a right answer. All I can do is to encourage you to think carefully about the risks involved, weigh them against your own moral judgement, and make sure that, whatever your choice, it's one you can live with. At the end of the day, that's all any of us can do.

[For more creaturely advice, check out Monstrous Agonies on your podcast platform of choice, or visit monstrousproductions.org for more info]

[didididraws]

my tablet is currently halfway across the country for repairs (my brother's the most tech-savvy in my family and asking him to take a look at it was cheaper than taking it to a shop) so i haven't been able to draw lately. i've made a bunch of traditional sketches in the meantime, but none of them are presentable enough to post here, so i decided to take a trip down memory lane and fill out one of foxorian's influence maps!

below the cut are the names of the artists featured here, as well as a little bit of director's commentary on how they've influenced me :]

yugo limbo (website, tumblr, twitter) - some time last year, i realized something profoundly unnerving: i actually... don't like the art in smile for me's original release all that much? that's not to say it's bad, just that there isn't a whole lot about it outside of maybe its architecture that stands out to me. which is REALLY WEIRD, considering i wrote a whole retrospective about how much this game means to me. art-wise, however, it was only after smile for me's release that yugo limbo's art evolved in a way that really resonated with me; i love how textured everything is, i love the way they simplify clothing folds and the way that skin wrinkles around the joints, i love their love for puppets; all of those things ended up worming their way into my art style and tastes one way or another, and i couldn't be happier!! it didn't feel right to leave smile for me out of the equation entirely, though, so i chose a piece that was both related to that game and that i felt reflected a lot of what i love about yugo's more recent art.

echobsilly (twitter, tumblr) - oh god, speaking of yugo limbo - god. i fucking love echo's art so much i have no idea how to even do it justice in writing. like many people i first found him through his smile for me/limbolane fanart and animations - and those are some of his best work, don't get me wrong, but i really wanted to include one of his original designs to make a point that he's just fuckin great at art in general. character design, facial expressions, body language, composition, LIGHTING... he makes it all just. so so so gorgeous. i always liked "painterly" art styles for lack of a better word, but i think his art is what first pushed me to embrace that more in my digital art. i also like how he talks about dr. habit like he's his dead wife. i'm very proud to call him a friend these days :]

japhers (tumblr, twitter, instagram) - i first found japhers' art in high school and he very quickly became a HUUUUUGE influence on my taste in character and costume design. one of the big reasons i never fully bought into the idea that men's fashion is inherently harder to design is bc so much of his art is already dedicated to exploring fashion Without the restrictions of a gender binary in place which is to say that he's really good at drawing buff dudes in frilly outfits. i also think he gave me more confidence to draw more intricate costumes without having to worry about super dainty and clean lineart, bc a lot of his art looks like it's kinda been carved/rendered out of sketches, and it is Gorgeous.

moe suppe (website, tumblr, cohost) - another artist i found in high school, albeit originally from a long-gone instagram account. his art is what kickstarted my desire to have some Roughness in my art, some Texture. it may not have stuck to my lineart, but it Definitely stuck to my rendering. it helped that i was going through a pretty big angel/demon phase at the time, which meant i was pretty immediately drawn in by his delightfully weird worldbuilding. i should probably read fear not now that it's an actual serial...

val wise (website, itch.io, twitter, instagram) - a more recent influence, but a pretty significant one nonetheless. i featured the cover of délicatesse here because it was the first thing from him that i had ever read, but in general his grasp on the human body really blows me away given how deceptively simple his style looks at first glance, especially his faces. the way fat and hair sits on her bodies, and how much it varies from character to character... it's beautiful without being So glamorous that it feels untouchable. his costume design is also great. i recommend his comics for low fantasy/ursula k. le guin fans who are Dying to see more fat characters in leading roles. i also just found out that i am of two hearts is free on itch.io, so i'll be treating myself to that over spring break.

partycoffin (tumblr, twitter) - if you have known me for any amount of time at all then this should not come as a surprise to you. i actually wasn't going to include partycoffin in this map at first, because while welcome home has inspired me in Many creative pursuits, i didn't think visual art was one of them? i definitely picked up some of clown's love for dramatic lighting and thinner lines with just a smidge of well-placed hatching subconsciously, though.

ryoko kui - probably the most recent artist featured here? anyways i have a confession to make: i have yet to read dungeon meshi. i just know that when i saw a post compiling a bunch of ryoko kui's sketches from her daydream hour series, i was so overwhelmed with this feeling of, like… "oh, yeah, these capture almost everything i love about women as flesh and blood people. when i draw women this is the kind of beauty that i want people to see in them." of course, ryoko kui is a great character designer in general, but something about her women specifically really speak to me. the earthier color palettes and rendering also do a lot to endear her art to me.

shuzo oshimi - specifically his art in blood on the tracks. something that really stood out to me in that series was whenever the shadows would get really intense, and you'd get these big blocks of black with just the faintest bit of hatching to soften out some of their edges. it was always very effective in creating this sense of claustrophobia. i really want to keep incorporating that in my more intense pieces!

person918x (tumblr, instagram) - i don't work with 3d art often and i don't see myself doing so any time soon, but the composition of person918x's pieces is something i take a lot of inspiration of. i also love his sequential art, as someone who does a lot of dream journaling it's sick to see the exact Vibe of a dream be put to (digital) canvas. i also firmly believe that he's one of the only people out there who knows what he's doing when it comes to using generative AI in art.

oops i made this list too long so now i have to put the last two artists in a new block.

10. meatgiri (twitter, instagram) - definitely the artist i've known about the longest out of this selection. i think i've been following her since…. oh god. since i was in middle school. way before she was meatgiri, even. i think her influence probably shows up the least in my art, but there are definitely some characteristics that stuck with me for a very long time (the lil block of black accompanied by one or two lines for shading on the neck, the looser lineart making it really easy to incorporate soft curves and sharp edges, the Eyes, etc etc.) i chose this drawing of her oc juniper bc i thought it was both reflective of her current art And a good embodiment of a lot of things i wanted to emulate from her art as a young'un.

11. dragan bibin (website, instagram) - specifically his 'deimos' series. much like with person918x, it's his compositions that really stand out to me the most, and you probably know by now that i'm a sucker for high contrast. i find it interesting though that he uses high contrast to obscure more than he does to highlight... helps a lot with giving the deimos paintings that air of Quiet Unease. another thing i want to incorporate in my horror-adjacent art! manmade environments gone wrong!

[noxtivagus]

i'll fix my account soon i promise </3

dfhaskdfjsdkf good day 😭

[humanmorph]

pal33. i kind of just wanted to post a drawing but ended up writing a ton somehow...

I didn't take a ton of notes for this. I think it's mostly because it's so cold lately I don't feel like taking my hands out of my pockets, and also I'm not great at typing while walking so I'd have to stop, which, cold again!

Keith talking about how ruminating /calms Eclectic down/ made me grasp my head. Like in disbelief. I went HUH?! out loud. I still haven't quite pinned down the exact emotion that was brought forth by, but I think it was partly a kind of the feeling that I was actively being catered to when I wasn't expecting that OR even wanted it like. I already liked the guy. This was unnecessary. And the other part was that I love it. Absolutely obsessed with this flavour of weirdguy-ism. It's so good in a... Hm. Ok I'm having Eclectic thoughts that I'll hold onto for now, but like. "good to have a character sketch" yeah it sure is!

...and here are a bunch of other Eclectic thoughts that aren't the ones I just mentioned. i did not even expect to type all this when i started

(SANGFIELLE SPOILERS IN THIS PARAGRAPH? sorry.) It IS kind of strange to have a new character coming in this late w/ how close the Blue Channel crew is... I've noted before that it's like, different to other FatT seasons were everyone is just so coworkers ever (Sangfielle being the epitome of that. To Me. "[...] and it is you standing over the body of someone you used to work with." BANGER line). Even Phrygian was weird, but in a way that fit because of who they were. What also plays into this is noone except Figure really having space for gravity clocks. Which like... obviously characters can have relationships without those, but there's a reason they exist which is like, this is so important that it has mechanical advantage, or this is something I want to explore, like that means something? And I still wish Phrygian had had more, because the one with Figure didn't even end up coming up like, basically at all. It's a shame Brnine was so popular re: clocks bc those two could've really benefitted from a gravity clock, since they were together on missions a lot with the B-Plot thing. Well and also I liked them. Sigh ok I got sidetracked. Phrygian... But yeah, it may just be that this sortie is exterbating it bc Eclectic is literally by himself fucking around disconnected from everyone going through the horrors together (and that's bonding, baby!). I don't know how much longer the season will be, and maybe the feeling I currently have, which is like "it's the Blue Channel! ...and that other guy" will change. And like if it wasn't clear I do love that other guy I think that other guy is the most immediately compelling character Keith has had (similarly to Phrygian, actually. With Phrydge it was the concept & design that really excited me (Branched!!!) and with Eclectic it's that he's literally so funny and also Keith acts him great)! And he JUST got here, so I don't wanna be unfair. But it's been kicking around in my head & I wanted to write it down at least. It's like, would /I/ like his character to have a deeper connection to the rest of the player characters? Yeah generally I guess I would. Does Keith gaf about that as a player? I don't know that, but it's probably less of an impulse for him than, say, Ali. That would be my guess as a listener, anyways. And I hope Keith is having a better time playing now! It feels like it, but then again I also had no clue that he /didn't/ with Phrygian until he said it. (Still miss Phrygian though. Which is in combat with me being actually really happy with how they end up, like it might be the most a character 'death' on FatT has worked for me (not that there are /that/ many, but still).)

Back to. the episode: Good ep! I don't have all that much to say (OK. LIE). Just a thoroughly good time in a bunch of different ways. Love the singular character focus. Also just really Fun, like, made me laugh a lot. Fun interactions between good friends and whatnot. A bit that made me laugh was at the end when Ali was trying to figure out how to be find a way through the catacombs and suggests something that Austin has this "what?? no. thats scary." reaction to. Wait I'll just get it:

ALI: [talking about navigating the catacombs] And does it involve going through one of these body holes. AUSTIN: (genuinely aghast) Oh my god! ALI: Like, are there other tunnels. AUSTIN: There are other tunnels but you never have to go through a body hole- well, I shouldn't say never. That's SO creepy.

Which then gets the very great visual of Brnine doing that. Like it IS creepy and person having to crawl through tight space IS a thing that just gets me, even though it doesn't really get focus here I can't help but immediately picturing it... I was also for some reason expecting for there to be another body blocking the way... I've said this before and then was immediately like haha jk but I'm over it I will stop pretending I'm NOT kidding. I want Figure to roll worse. I miss Gur. Can you Fail Figure? I miss my friend Gur Sevraq. It's a thin line between that and Figure dying though (I DON'T WANT THIS. Because I want them to go further as a character but also, (thought I had only recently) what happens to my friend. Name of Gur Sevraq?). Anyways Gur... "This is false. But not all false things are impossible. And many have happened before." and "This is a thing that has already happened. She has seen it." <- has me sitting down and stapling my fingers. The. Perennial. Perennial

I don't have anything to say about Brnine aside from that I love them and that Ali is on her A-game. "Brnine is. Brnine and killed the president but is still a goofy loser" like. Ok. That's everything to me

The differences in, say, Thisbe's dream vision vs. Figures is interesting. And Cori falls somewhere in the middle? Like, Figure catching on really quickly, and also being in this situation of... all their friends are dead. People fear them. Being so immediately one that they are uncomfortable in & that feels somewhat alien vs. Thisbe being in a role that she envisions for herself and as such presumably feels comfortable in? Austin seems to be playing at the hooks with the visions (& they are what got immediately affected when they entered those), and for Figure it's probably "The only way to escape the Witch is by endangering others, but they seem eager to accept the risk." that feels the most relevant there? Maybe the Witch part less so, but least Austin mentioning that Cori specifically sacrificed herself to save Figure reminded me of this just now. For Thisbe it's "Fighting is not my purpose, but there is nowhere else for me until the fighting is over.", which I already talked a bit about above, though what's super interesting to me there is that this is obviously not all that's happening. I don't quite know what to do with there being More of Thisbe / units of her type... Or how she feels about that, if any which way. Cori's is interesting too because next to her sword + shield tenets being pulled in (specifically mentioning that they should be on the defense multiple times, which Cori ignores to charge ahead!) it's also the sense of her not wanting to be... underestimated or looked down on. Which is very much the vibe with Elle as a rival btw (it's fun. I'm happy Austin is having a good time with them lol). Oh! Also Austin says something about how it would've gone bad either way (even if Cori HAD stayed back to defend), which is another difference to both of the others visions, but expecially Thisbe's. Vibes just different. Well I'm curious what'll happen there next! Brnine is coming to visit! I didn't even mean to type this much but this really is very cool to me. I'm looping back around to what Gur said, too... Wish they were here...

Oh and Cori being glad to see Figure & hugging them really got to me too. They're sweet :' ).

and finally.

#MILLIEMENTION

I'm a simple woman I hear her name and I clap and cheer. originally this drawing was at the top but then I was like nah this is for people who either read everything OR clicked the readmore to then scroll past it... either way. work for it a little. i liked how it turned out! this is currently my new favourite brush.

[prismatoxic]

for the ask game 13 and 14!!

13. What's a character or ship you haven't written/drawn yet but would like to some day?

hmm... well with my present interests in mind, i suppose there's a few. i've technically drawn kabumisu but have not successfully written it yet, so that's one thing. i do have a fic though it's just barely started. and the unfinished chilbell fic... there are several individual characters i haven't drawn yet that i'd like to. mickbell, izutsumi, chilchuck's kids, falin, sissel...

realistically speaking though i guess one of these days i'll get over my weird irrational fears of being a Chilaios Traitor and write/draw labru. idk why chilbell didn't make me feel that way but labru does. labru is so very much my speed like... even if it's not my otp it calls to me... i have to engage with it eventually.

also i wanna draw more kabru in general. he's so babygirl.

14. Is there a character or ship you were so sure you would never write/draw but now you've changed your mind?

that one i'm not so sure about. there haven't been any characters or ships i looked at and was certain i'd never want to make art of, because i generally know myself better than to assume my opinions can't change. on a related note, though, i really don't think i expected to fall so in love with kabru, even if i never dismissed him outright. or mithrun, i guess, but also mithrun is so immediately captivating and comes in just late enough that by the time you get to him, you know what you're in for in terms of main characters and probably won't underestimate his presence in the story.

but the first time i saw kabru was in the anime, bc i hadn't started reading the manga yet. i had no context for who he was outside of having seen some fanart that implied he hated laios. i figured he'd probably be some sort of dashing rival, which was interesting for sure, but that was all it was at the time--"interesting". and then i read the manga.

i have to wonder if that's what you're supposed to think. ryoko kui is insanely good at subverting tropes, but to do so you often have to set the trope up first. kabru seems like he'll be a dashing rival who wants to be better than laios, but then you start getting into his personality and oh, he's a little fucked up. then you start getting into his motives and oh, he's... complicated? and then he reveals his backstory and oh! he's traumatized! and then the story keeps going and you realize he is a deeply flawed but deeply caring person who is trying to do what he believes is best no matter what. and he's as well-rounded as everyone else ryoko kui writes. and he's aware of his own limitations as well as his strengths and will use both however he can to do what's right. and at that point how could i not love him

[mythicalmagical-monkeyman]

I just realized I can leave asks to moots and make them rant- I mean, let them answer at length if they want to

Thinking about lmk lately, got any headcanons u haven't shared yet? Or some that u really like? could we have some? Pretty please?

yes, u can do that :3 anyways I was going to post some stuff about shadowpeach at some point so anon sorry if u don't like shadowpeach (also sorry if anon is @fellow-fandom-fruitifier bc honestly a lot of these we've already talked about)

anyways here's some shadowpeach headcanons ... actually this is more like wukong & macaque (basically shadowpeach) things i don't see often at all but they still live free rent in my head

or whatever:

Because he's blind in one eye Macaque has really bad depth perception so he needs glasses and because of the trigram furnace Wukong also needs glasses but he doesn't want to admit that he does. Later however Macaque starts wearing glasses, (and Wukong's a total simp over it) so wukong finally admits he needs them too and now both monkies have glasses except a lot of the time when Macaque and Wukong try to kiss now the glasses get the way :3

Because: shapeshifting, Wukong can always be whatever height he wants to be. If he wants to be the little spoon? well now he's short. If he wants to rest his chin on top of Macaque's head? Well now he's tall. And so on and so forth.

They have those "I'm stupid/I'm with stupid" shirts that they'll often wear to crowded places to help keep track of each other.

Wukong also has a white shirt with sharpied words on it that say "Macaque come pick me up I'm scared" and it's his favorite shirt.

They love to pick each other up, both are strong enough to so honestly it's second nature to them also both are very clingy/touch starved/touchy so picking each other up helps with that. They also love piggyback rides, holding tails/hands/feet, lying/sitting on top of each other, hugs, feet rubs, biting each other, and nuzzling each other.

Another thing they love to do is tickle each other with their tails.

However due to ✨ the horrors ✨ they don't like having the other touch their face very much (or most ppl touching their face tbh)

Anyways, Wukong is utter shit at pick up lines, but they somehow work on Macaque

In turn Macaque is a horrible dancer (u can try & pry this headcanon from my cold dead hands) but Wukong loves and enjoys it when Macaque does dance

The pair have two beds in their bed room instead of just one just in case they fight / they just don't want to sleep in the bed so when they sleep together every square of space counts because the beds are smaller to fit the room

These monkies also have matching onesies and they also buy/win stuffies for each other so they have a collection

These two are also a very competitive couple, weather if it's with each other or other people

Macaque has a set number of pet names he will always use, (ex. three pet names), and whenever he doesn't use one of said three it means something is wrong/he's pissed/etc. However Wukong will usually use just the first pet name/nick name that pops into mind.

If you ever happen to watch a disney/pixar/dreamworks movie with them they'll sing the songs at the top of their lungs, especially if it's a love song

Wukong likes Macaque's drawings and thinks they're awesome, he's like "LOOK! LOOK AT MY BOYFRIEND'S BEAUTIFUL DRAWINGS! LOOK AT THEM!!"

A lot of times they send pictures to each other of monkeys or things somewhat similar to the other always captioned with "this you?" (they love teasing each other)

Wukong likes showing affection with a lot of the 72 transformations so Macaque has been tackled by dog Wukong many times, or had cat Wukong fall asleep on him, or has had hamster Wukong hide in his scarf, etc.

Wukong drools and Macaque snores when they sleep

Because of Macaque being a night owl and Wukong being an early bird (or vice versa) the two are always dragging each other to bed/lying on top of each other to try and get them to sleep while the other tries to escape

Macaque can wax poetry until the cows come home but every once and awhile Wukong says some poetic bullshit that just kills Macaque

Macaque is a baby magnet so whenever they go out in public children are always going up to him or staring at him but Macaque is horrible with/very not interested in children so it leads to funny predicaments that Wukong has to keep himself from laughing at

Many of their dates are just them going "lets see what the fuck happens" before heading out and letting the way of the universe (and their own adhd) decide what they are going to do today

They are old gay ass men that still call each other 'boyfriend' like their 17

And last but not least the monkies have a special sign language they created when they first met (and later perfected over the years) because when they first met Wukong was very bad at controlling the volume of his voice and Macaque was still perfecting his ear deafening spells for his six ears so they came up with hand signals/sign language they could use instead. They still use the hand signals but they later got so good at reading each other that they have a kind of telepathy with each other that they don't have with anyone else.

[thegoldenshi-shi]

I just have to ask you 2 questions fiejfbdjrj

Are you an Egyptology nerd? Or avid fan, if you haven't hyperfixated like me 0//0 if you are, I'd like to know the whole story behind the ancient Egypt au bc it f u e l s me in a way-

Secondly, can I pls make fics on the ancient Egypt au 🥺🥺🥺🥺 it's so pretty and I'm not really sure ill be able to capture everything bc I did see some wips, but I still wanna write it ^^

Firstly: thank you very much~ I'm glad that you think my Egyptian things to be pretty 💕

(your username is cool btw, I like it a lot)

I'd never thought about whether I'm a nerd or not… I'm fascinated with ancient history in general,(currently combing through Mesoamerican history atm) but yeah, I'll say that Ancient Egypt has a soft spot in my heart. I took a course in Egyptian Hieroglyphics and have several books ranging from a difficult book on Middle Egyptian literature (in hieroglyphics)to books on their mythology to a large National Geographic book that spans the entire history. Now that I think about it, I guess I do count as an Egyptology nerd hehe

✨Word-Vomit-Time ✨

Honestly, the whole thing began as a desire to draw Leona as a pharaoh because I thought he'd be pretty. Then it snowballed into how best to adjust Ramses the Great's exploits to account for magic, whether or not I wanted Falena as an Akhenaten-type or as a nice pharaoh and whether or not I should try to translate Leona's UM chant into hieroglyphics for the sake of authenticity.

So far as the au is concerned it actually spans more than just Egypt. I selected a culture/country for each dorm and re-worked them with that as a base. So just as all of Savanaclaw are Egyptian, Diasomnia is Celtic, Scarabia is an amalgamation of the countries found along the Silk Road, etc.

I've worked with Savanaclaw and Diasomnia (Ancient Egypt and the Celtic Tribes) the most and they have a tense respect that could become violent if the wrong moves are made. Leona is angry at having to deal with diplomacy that should be Falena's job, but doesn't want it botched and has to handle it himself. Malleus is fascinated with the radically different culture that Leona represents and likes pushing people's buttons…. You can get the picture hehe.

With the individual characters: I have Jack functioning as a guard/military figure, since jackals and other canines were often associated with protection. (Thinking about Anubis, and Wepawet) He works directly under the royal family, specifically Leona.

Leona is still not very liked due to his sand-magic in a desert environment BUT he is valued for his offensive capacity (and for his Nefertiti-level pretty face). Defending the borders and war were the domains of the lion deities Anhur and Sekhmet. Of course I really want to work parallels to Set into him as well, but that's a story for another day.

Ruggie is kind of floating around as a free agent, but he works as a good spy since nobody pays him any mind. I don't really know how Falena and Cheka fit in outside of the fact that Falena is Pharaoh and Checka is the Crown Prince.

By all means, go ahead and make as many fics as you like on the au. I really enjoy adding things to it as I go but my free time has been non-existent lately. I'm happy that you like the au enough to want to add your own things to it.

If you do, please let me know, I'd be interested to see what you come up with👀

Thank you so much once again for your ask! I appreciate that you took time to reach out and say something to me ^J^

[freeuselandonorris]

15 questions 15 friends

i was tagged by i thinkkk @bright-and-burning and @481boxboxbaby absolutely ages ago, sorry it's taken me so long to get to this!

Are you named after anyone? no! my mum liked the name sophie because it means ‘wisdom’ in greek and she’d lived in greece for a while.

When was the last you cried? i had a little sob watching the ‘life and death of lily savage’ documentary on itv the other week because i am still so, so sad about paul o’grady dying, i adored him. as a kid, my favourite comedians (who i saw on tv) were julian clary and lily savage. half their jokes flew over my head but that dog was always in me!! anyway, as for real sobbing crying… i’m actually not sure? it was a while ago for sure. may it stay that way 🙏

Do you have kids? nope, and i won’t be having them. people used to tell me i’d change my mind once i got older and now i’m 35 and still have not experienced a single maternal twinge.

What sports do you play/have you played? i don’t play any kind of competitive sports and have avoided them for most of my life (i have extremely poor hand-eye coordination, hypermobile limbs and rubbish lungs. i’m not built for speed) but i do pole fitness and have done for about three years now, i’m not great at it (see above) but i loooove it and it’s gotten me way more hench than i was.

Do you use sarcasm? i used to use it constantly as a defence thing but less so these days. i do still use it though yeah.

What is the first thing you notice about people? sometimes i have this thing where the first second i meet someone i have this weird shine effect where i know they’re going to be a very important part of my life (good or bad). it’s only happened about three or four times but it’s always been right. on a more prosaic level: eyes, smile, body language.

What is your eye color? blue. it’s quite bright.

Scary movies or happy endings? scary movies!! love a good horror. i don’t like jumpscares or found footage/haunted doll whatever ones, but i love the nasty shit: video nasties, torture porn, french extreme, pinky horror, faux snuff, that kinda thing. i don’t want them so much these days but i was pretty obsessed for a while.

Any talents? i’m good at writing and drawing/painting, and i’m quite practical in the sense that i can fix things and build things, like i LOVE building flatpack furniture. i think my main ‘talent’ though is just that i can pick things up quickly. if i’m shown how to do something, generally i can do it pretty well quite quickly and i don’t need to be shown lots of times, and i’m good at being given a starting point and figuring things out from there. i think that’s the ‘talent’ i use most in life, certainly in work anyway.

Where were you born? north-west england.

What are your hobbies? writing! painting, drawing, reading, gaming, pole, strength training. i also have the classic ADHD thing of picking a new thing to be obsessed with for a month and spending a fortune on it three times a year.

Do you have any pets? no :( my mum has a lovely big useless fat cat called bandit though who i have shared custody of, she just can’t live at my flat.

How tall are you? 5’8’’ or 172cm

Favorite subject at school? art and english. i also quite liked what we called ‘tech’ which was like woodwork, metalwork, product design type stuff.

Dream job? i do not dream of labour. fr though i don’t really have one and never have, apart from maybe writer or artist but realistically i think i’d end up hating them if i had to rely on them to pay my bills. i thought about trying to get into motorsport jobs for a while but the hours look long, the pay is terrible, the atmosphere for femme people is…mixed, and i’d have to move halfway across the country. so yeah idk. universal basic income now!

not tagging anyone bc i'm so late to the party on this lol, but if you haven't been tagged and want to be, lmk and i'll tag you!

[yuseirra]

Oh no... I am so sorry for annoying you with my ask about comparisons between ONK characters with other anime characters, I truly did not mean to annoy you at any single way or bring any sort of trouble, I made this tumblr just to formally apologise I do am ashamed to talk on my main so I am a coward but still I just feel I am dumb while i read thus can't have a good judgment but... and I like reading from people I know is smart for sure and I won't bother you again with fandom discussions I will just support you correctly I truly hope you can forgive me, far from my intentions to bother you in any single way I am so so so sorry

Hello~ I thought of replying this to you privately, but since it's not an ask sent through your main according to what you say, I hope you don't mind me replying on public! I feel the need to clarify what exactly I felt as I was answering you on my end as well..!

Oh, no, I wasn't so annoyed earlier, I just... didn't think the answer was something that'd need to be asked because isn't it so obvious? If you've been watching and supporting me, you'd know what answer I'd give! XD The take you brought up was quite extreme... things usually don't tend to be so black and white, even if it's a manga, so the answer I could give felt like a given. I understand you need assurance sometimes, I've been there! Was that what you were looking for earlier? It's nice to see similar takes and get some confirmation! I appreciate you having trusted me to give out some good insight about a topic you're interested in. But.. at the same time, I didn't want to state that people are necessarily wrong about their takes on my answer. I've never seen them, so I can't be sure enough to judge, and I could only talk about my own feelings. I may not agree with it, but they're a different person and I don't know enough to disagree with something I haven't seen. And I don't think I'll try and see takes like those on purpose either... even if I came across it, I'd just pass through it...

I haven't been drawing Aqua so much lately, but if you'd like to see my takes on the character, my drawings would reflect my feelings! I believe I've still drawn a few! Never got to depict his warm sides as much as I'd like, recently, I've been drawing him very annoyed about his dad bc how the story's been but if things turn for the better in the manga, I'd love to try drawing him that way :)

It's my personality, you see, I don't really enjoy debates, my friends do though? If my friend was here, they'd have had a lot of fun with your ask. I just tend to prefer keeping to my thoughts most of the time (except for the things I'm really passionate about!) Some people may really enjoy getting these asks, I'm... it really depends on the question, but maybe I don't enjoy it as much as some others may. I might enjoy some really cute and uplifting type of things... but hearing Aqua being taken as a heartless person's kind of sad; I do care about that character too. He's a character that's been suffering, he shows signs of PTSD. When I first read the comic, I felt pretty immersed towards his emotions and I sympathized with him a lot.

I'd like to say I didn't intend for you to get all apologetic and nervous! Wow, you even made a blog to apologize? but you really didn't have to! It's very hard to convey the tone of voice through words, ain't it? I was being really casual with that reply earlier. If I could just read it over in my voice, you'd have heard it and figured this person isn't so mad about it. I was talking the way I usually do! So no worries, I'm glad I got to hear from you again and hopefully I could lift you of your feelings you're having. Um, I'd be happy if I could provide some good takes about this series you can agree with :) We may not be able to agree on everything, but I have a feeling you might end up enjoying how I view things regarding this series. Will you still support me despite having felt this nervous about it? I'd like that to happen! Hope you have a nice day!

[somelazyassartist]

I am having a very strange relationship with mental health currently and I need to talk about it or I feel like I'll explode!!! This is not all actually bad it's just like what is happening!!!!! Under cut bc I am just kinda rambling and don't know what I'm saying really and I'll probably delete this bc I will probably feel extremely weird about talking about it by the time I wake up tomorrow but!! Like j said I just feel like if I don't say anything I'm gonna explode!!!!!!

Like bad stuff out of the way first I guess there's like. Really traumatic realization about My ex-relationship where it's like. OH I was a literal child so I had no idea that was abusive but that was Really Fucking Abusive and I don't know how to deal with that?? I haven't even talked to that person in years and I'm in a much healthier and happier relationship now but like it is kinda fucking me up simply because I have no idea how I'm supposed to handle trauma that I didn't even know was trauma until after I'm far out of that situation. Also been having WAY more paranoia and weirdly vivid nightmares lately but I honestly have zero idea if those are related or not.

HOWEVER like literally don't worry about that at all ever BECAUSE despite those way lower lows than I usually have I have ALSO been having way higher highs in my mental health!!!!! And I don't know why!!!!! I knew moving would help with my depression a lot simply bc I'd be out of my shitty school and shitty cold garage bedroom and away from my shitty stepdad and away from the city (I do not handle loud and crowded and busy environments well) and now I live out in the middle of nowhere where it's quiet and I love it! But like for the last 4 years I've lived here I still felt like my depression had dulled like ALL my care about things down even if the depression itself kinda faded away. Like I got to the point where I wasn't crying myself to sleep every night, but I would read maybe 3 of my already-liked books a year and ignore my entire shelf of unread stuff, I had my favorite wizard outfit I'd wear on special occasions but every other day I'd just wear pajamas or a T-shirt and jeans because I couldn't be assed to do anything more, I'd have entire boxes of half-finished sketches because I would start drawing and lose interest halfway through the sketch, I have bins of art and decorations that I meant to put on my walls years ago and never did. But now!! Just in like the past few weeks specifically!!! I don't know why but I have had so much drive to DO THINGS!!!!! I WANT TO DO THINGS AGAIN!!!!! I've been reading!! Like, actually reading actual novels!!! Like I did when I was little where I was obsessed with making sure every book on my shelf got read at least once!!!!! I've been going through my closet and my accessory bins and makeup and pairing up what looks good!! I've actually been coordinating outfits and trying to make all my clothes have as much personality and fun as my one (1) special wizard outfit I wear!!! I had a bit of extra cash bc of holiday cards and I bought myself some armor despite knowing what it takes to maintain it and keep it nice because I actually have the motivation to upkeep it and find what clothes I have that will look good with a chestplate and pauldrons!!! (It also looks EXACTLY I mean EXACTLY like Laios Dunmeshi's armor so bonus autism win there)!!!!! I dug out my boxes of unfinished art and have been trying to finish old pieces!! I found my old half-filled notebooks and have been filling the blank pages that were leftover!!!!! I've been working on zines, I've been WRITING again (I fucking LOVED writing when I was a kid but grew to hate it eventually), I have multiple rough drafts for graphic novels and animations and in-universe 1st person perspective fantasy research journals!!!! I've been putting up art prints that've sat in boxes for years!!! I've been looking for where a shelf would go nicely to display my trinkets and nick knacks!!! I've been looking into 3D printing lightswitch covers with cool designs and figuring out what to paint on my bookshelves!!!!!!! I'm honestly extremely nervous and scared that this is temporary, and that soon I'm going to fade back into not caring about these things, and that if it goes away again it won't come back like what's happening now - but I am trying my best to keep caring and keep Loving life the way I haven't in years!!! And that is all anybody can do I think!!!!!!!

[likegemstone]

I have been in a really good groove with creating lately, and just with like "working" in general. In the past, creating has often involved a massive and constant mental wrestling match against myself—second guessing every decision, fighting through constant discouragement, rarely if ever feeling confident in what I'm working on, etc. Just all this emotional/mental exertion on top of the regular emotional/mental exertion that goes into making art.

But lately I have felt really in sync with myself—we're dancing instead of wrestling. I've been brave enough to try out new things that I've never done before (which is REALLY hard for me, like REALLY hard), and been able to notice and accept the areas of my work that I can see need improvement without beating myself up bc they aren't "good enough" yet. It has been really nice, and has shown me that, when I can care for and take responsibility for myself properly (which I now have the skills and tools to do thanks to a lot of inner work and also therapy), I can learn, grow, and improve pretty steadily, and without all the agony of that fucking exhausting wrestling match.

However.

I made a post recently about how I want to draw Daivad getting his ass kicked (and also kicking ass), right? That is in great part due to the fact that I was, at the time, rereading Kengan Asura/Kengan Omega (which is an MMA manga) and I was Very Inspired. And I still am. I've been gathering reference and inspo ever since then. And today I ran out of Haikyuu!! to watch so I was like okay now is the time—I want to draw some sick action scenes with Daivad.

But then. Here comes the anxiety. The overwhelm. The "there's no way you can pull off some sick action scenes—you can barely place characters in a scene and make it look legit, you want to try to do multiple characters interacting in a scene in extreme and dynamic poses?? no shot. and once you try and inevitably fail then you're going to be discouraged and start beating yourself up again and you'll ruin this momentum we've got going on."

So, this post is going to be me using those tools and skills I have now to work through this. Because I know I can. I've done it before.

First skill I'm going to be using: recognizing what exactly is triggering this anxiety, and figuring out a plan to care for the Part of me that's triggered. I want to ensure I'm making my decisions from Core, not from a triggered Part, and I also want to ensure I'm caring for those vulnerable Parts!

I think the thing that is making me feel so anxious and overwhelmed is because dynamic action scenes are so far out of my comfort zone and I haven't come up with a plan for connecting the dots of my current skill to Dynamic Action Scene Skill. It's a whole big leap, and that Part of me sees aaaaalllll of those, like dozens of really tricky dots that I have not mastered yet (perspective, composition, conveying movement, dynamic poses IN perspective, and so on) and is like "!!!!! HOLD UP THAT'S TOO MUCH I CAN'T FIGURE THIS OUT ALL AT ONCE. Trying to master all that stuff will take literal years and probably good money to pay for lessons from people who know wtf they're doing!!"

So, I'll care for that Part by saying: That's true! And it's okay! I'm not going to try to get the perfect action scene down right away, because you're right. Trying to force that would absolutely wreck our confidence and be really frustrating as well. And I appreciate the reminder that biting off more than I can chew can knock me back a few steps. Small bites are best sometimes.

Next skill, now that that Part has calmed down a lot and also feels steadied: coming up with a plan. I want to draw Daivad getting his ass kicked, but don't currently have the skills to pull off a whole Dynamic Action Scene yet. So how am I going to meet that desire/feed my inspiration (Daivad getting his ass kicked) while still protecting my Parts, challenging my skills, and caring for my mental health?

One dot at a time.

I could start with just breaking down some of my favorite panels from KA. Examining how Daromeon frames his scenes, how he works with perspective, how he conveys movement, etc. But specifically I want to see Daivad getting his ass kicked—so maybe I'll start with just one pose that feels doable for my skill level, use KA as reference for the pose and put Daivad in it, and since I have gotten decent at capturing his likeness, I can challenge myself to put an extreme expression on his face and still have him be recognizable. That's totally doable—it'll take time and work and lots of effort, but it's doable! And it will bring me one step closer to Dynamic Action Scene skill level!

Alright, now I'm feeling excited and fired up and also I have an exact pose in mind and I think I already have it saved somewhere, so I am off to draw Daivad, Bloody and In Pain. Wish me luck y'all!

[eliotlime]

Hello, I first saw your comics on tapastic. I was just today going thru all my subscriptions to cull out the ones that haven't updated in a while and weren't memorable enough for me to remember a single detail of. I found yours and was abruptly reminded of how much I loved your content. I'm a bit too busy now to really immerse myself in what you've got going on anymore, but I'm really glad to see you're still around. I can't honestly say I remember any of the comics you posted bc I was not my best self at the time, but I can say they meant a lot to me. Anyways, the point of this message is to thank you for being a relatable voice when I needed one. I'm really glad to see you're still around and that you've got things that you find enjoyable enough to blog about.

Hey man that's great, I'm glad you remember me! I feel like I can say the same about me making the at the time comics as well, I went through a few years absolutely hating that comic and what it represented because I made it as a way to cope with.. honestly, being a teenager. I really didn't like who I was and that comic was like a great summation of my being at the time.

(read more cause woof i talk alot!)

I'm just skimming through it because I pretty much forgot what I've even made. Like Holy Shit I made 117 comics? I think it holds up okay, it's pretty normal relatable humour though a bit dated. I think i definitely could have been a little weirder with it, though at one point I did try to do something meta with it (chickened out though, it was just way past my skill level). It all just screams of being a teenager, and that level of sincerity would make anyone cringe.

I think it's wild to me how willing i was to share my life to the world like that when I was so riddled with anxiety and sadness. Can't say I'm free of that still but I'm working through it, and I still stand by the last update I posted to that comic. .. Though I'd cut back on how many jokes i'd make to mask my fear this time. I still really love comics, narratives and characters! Though I've not been very good at sharing them lately haha but I promise I'm still chipping away at them. This is probably a very strange time to mention but I set up a Patreon recently, though I haven't gotten around to announcing it formally. But I have a short comic up in there I did for school! Of course if you don't feel like subscribing, I also have it as a one time purchase on gumroad as well :)

One more thing I'd like to say is that the timing of this ask is pretty crazy, cause I was just thinking of doing a retrospective. Just the general reflecting on art school and just looking back on what being nonbinary means to me and I guess YLNB as a whole. Though it's probably too soon to reflect on the latter haha, I'm probably going to wait another 3 more years.

Anyway thank you for reading and sticking around! I hope you're in a better place anon, I know things are rough in the world but I promise that there's good things too! If you'd like to support me I have Kofi and as previously mentioned a fresh new Patreon (wow!) I'm also on youtube where you can find some of my animations and though I've never mentioned it I'm drawing a rabbit (well, lagomorph but its been bunny central lately) a day @dailylagomorphs! We're about the half way point so you can spend half your year looking at all those little guys.

Additionally! my commissions are open! if you want to buy a funny little drawing from me

[wiltkingart]

hey wilt 🌈 been going thru ur account this morning (apologies for possibly spamming ur notifs with likes etc) and I know you get so many of these messages but like. Idk how to communicate to you how incredible your art is. You said somewhere that colour is possibly one of the weakest parts about your art and I was like. Stunned. Bc the way you use colour .... 👀🤯😱🥵🥴🔥🔥🔥 Like. I have somewhat of a background in art history and your work feels like it could really comfortably sit alongside Michaelangelo (also bc he was gay hehe) etc. Like. Idk. Do you realise how incredible your work is???? I'm shaking you. It's literally like. Wow. I mean you must know from the other messages bc the power it has to inspire ppl to read certain media or draw things or even start hrt. Anyway. I'm shocked to my core and forever changed after this morning even tho I've been following you for a long while. I hope this doesn't come across as like patronising (the bit where I ask if you realise how good you are) bc that's not my intention at all I'm just like. In awe and basking in the glow of your brilliance and I have a really complex relationship with making art myself and almost never use colour for many reasons but I feel So inspired to make after looking at your work which is really rare for me. Idk. Your work is joyful, glittering, maddening, hopeful, inspiring, beautiful etc etc etc etc. So much love to you I hope 2023 is being good to you so far 💓💓💓💖💞

not patronizing at all! i actually haven't felt the greatest about my art lately because my health has been hanging onto the edge of a gutter. it can be exhausting to keep fighting back negative thoughts alongside other physical issues. but i know these thoughts aren't true, and i'm hanging in there. through force of will i'm getting through it :') (and starting new meds soon!)

when i say color is my weakest element i mean that it's the part i struggle the most with. i don't have a solid grasp on how it works, so i have to rely on intuition and lately i've been using more references. i feel the most limited by color due to my shaky understanding of it. it takes a lot of time and experimentation with every piece to find something that feels good. but color is a very complex element! and i can only get better thru time and perseverance, and trying to absorb as much information as i can from the refs i use.

i don't think i'll ever have a scientific understanding of color or even enough solid ground to be someone who can make tutorials or explain it to other people. but on the flipside that means i can keep using colors i like even if that means they don't make sense. there's a charm in the unnatural! there's expression in existing outside the rules! as long as i keep taking risks and keep my mind open to learning, and use colors that make me smile, i'll be alright.

thanks for the incredibly kind message, it was very unexpected especially since i haven't posted much art for a long time. i'm hopeful that spring will be a good time for me. well wishes to you and yours, and i hope that creation can become a source of freedom for you rather than complexity. if the rules don't make sense, make your own <3

[creation-help]

so i have a problem….

for a long time i’ve been able to create characters out of pretty much nothing, from a picture or a simple reading alone. of course, i don’t go any further than setting up their physical appearance and completely forgetting about them in just a few hours, but the rare times i don’t forget about them, i try to make an entire character out them and make them feel real.

so far i’ve been able to do this with one character that i’ve been working on and building her up for years and she’s technically my only oc, but everytime i start to come up with a new character from this new place and these new things that aren’t related to her or her story, i’m afraid that they as a character is not going to be as fleshed out or as interesting as she is. i don’t have any backstory ideas for any other characters and i don’t hers to outshine everyone else’s.

can i fix this? if so, how?

thank you

While I can't exactly pinpoint what might be the core issue I can see what you're struggling with and I do have advice for it. And I'm sorry if this response comes too late but I figure this is something many artists can struggle with.

If I've understood correctly it's not due to a lack of inspiration, yes? Since you said you've been able to make ocs out of very small prompts or ideas (if the issue is lack of inspiration though, my biggest piece of advice is to simply seek out more, and new inspiration! The mind can stagnate and freshening up helps. Get new medias and look into what inspires others, get new life experiences and possibly dip your toes into other hobbies? It doesn't have to be major, anything to shake it up in there!)

Seems to have to do with attachment, generally speaking. While there's nothing wrong with wanting to focus on just one story/character, it'll become sucky if you, well don't want that. From my perspective, I think you just need to give new characters time to grow into themselves. I know that may sound odd but I'll elaborate. Sometimes when you make a new character you'll fall in love with them immediately and run off to do shenanigans with them. Sometimes, you make a character and, they just exist now. You may dislike something about them or be unsatisfied with them, or just not..~Feel~ for them, ykno? Or maybe none of those things apply. Maybe the character is just fine. So my first piece of advice is to let them grow. I recommend specifically taking a moment, or few, to focus on this new character Only. It may be hard but I do really recommend it. It can be just short moments like drawing them once, or a few times more, or listening to music and trying to pick out songs you think would vibe with this character, and really get imagining, ykno? At these beginning stages you can really have many "Ooh what if-" moments in developing a character! It's fun! Just find your preferred way of Getting Into™ a character

If you can't bring yourself to give them the spotlight now, worry not. Let them exist for a bit, but make sure that you have them somewhere you won't forget! Maybe write a synopsis of them somewhere or draw them, whatever helps. And let them simmer. You can totally come back to a character later to add more to them, or even revamp them completely! They are dough at your hands. Some dough needs more kneading and some needs to rest and rise, you feel? I actually had a story that took at least one year of existing for me to really get cozy and up close with it. I wasn't disinterested before, it just needed time to grow and I needed time to get more familiar with it, and it's characters. Consider the fact that you may just be rusty. And that's okay! If you haven't created something entirely new in a while, that happens. Push on, even if it's clumsy at first, bc you will get there! Just let yourself get back into the groove of making new stuff again.

My other advice is to make them interesting to you. "Well duh?", but what I mean is that if you're not vibing with the character you have now, make them something you'd vibe with. Literally you can make them into whatever! They don't necessarily need to be relatable to you for you to want to explore them, but if it helps to add a bit of yourself into the character then do that! Lame backstory? Spice it up! Flat personality? Scrungle it a bit. Boring design? Go wack. You get my point. Make them into something you'd be interested in working with.

Something that helps for me personally, is also, sharing them! If I get to talk about and really get into some character while explaining it to someone else that can easily put me in the mindset of thinking about and getting more fond of the character. You can also totally ask for advice, input, reviews or opinions from other people! Or just share the new character.

Summary:

1. Give em time. And a bit of love and care

2. Make it fun and interesting for yourself!

3. The rubber ducky method (I volunteer if you want to come share your new ocs here!)

And: Sometimes a character won't take off. You can't bring yourself to get invested in them or add them anywhere. That's okay. You can just dump them and start over. It's your story and your character and you decide what goes