#because Not Visual = Not In Mind a lot of the time

[girlwithbloodyfangs]

how consciousness is connected with manifestation

So I watched this youtube video called "Strange Experiences Of Consciousness That I Have No Scientific Explanation Or Proof For But That's OK" by goobie and dobbie.

listening to him, he shared his strange magical experience in his life, how everything is connected ,how everything is just a consciousness, how we all can feel the truth / existence / each other....because we all are somehow somewhere is connected with each other , might we are all one or maybe everything is just me/you and experiencing my/our imagination...i mean it could get a lot much deeper but one thing is for sure that everything is just an consciousness. i also recently discovered an instagram profile where this guy talks about after death experience shared by people while they were hypnothiest , he talks about some experiment which would have been done on people, like kids sharing their past life experience..they still remember their past life, talking about how we all souls have free will to experience things , we all have multiple soulmates....a lot of bunch things, overall focusing on the after death experience....i think everything is depend on your belief system, only if you allow things to be true, i think every possible thing that you can imagine it exist. things you have never imagined could also exist, in simple words possibility is infinite, as creation is already done all the possibilities already exists. This world is full of magic, creativity and art..we make things beautiful and strange at the same time. I find it cool to be honest. As that guy shared his dream experience in his video, how his dream was connected with strange things happening around him and somehow guiding him for good and giving him clarity in terms of his life choice...which is strange and cool at the same time..in conclusion everything is connected. I don't know, I just find this fact so mesmerizing.

So I would like to connect this information with manifestation :)

About manifestation, i think it's really just the easiest thing ever to experience your desire in 3D, cause everything is connected. right ? If I want something, I can just decide that I have it and for sure will experience it because it is meant for me ( not in future terms that I will but with faith and knowing that yeah, it's guaranteed ). because I know everything is connected so if i would focus on that one thought it would influence that thing and i would attract that thing in my reality. one thing i know for sure that everything happens in your favour and by your choice. If you have negative/positive beliefs (which most probably shapes your 3D reality) , if you want something different from your beliefs that you have built overtime, you can just take a break and think from a relaxed mind and decide what you want, instead of worrying and having fear or doubts. just give it a try, don't force it and imagine it. imagine things to be more easy and things always go with a flow as you favour it. manifestation is just deciding what you want and trust that it is meant to happen, well happy news for you because everything is connected (consciousness) it meant to happen. Another reason why persistence and repetition have been called the key to manifestation. Do yourself a favour trust that it's done, visualize as much as you can, affirm as you remember about your desire, think as "what would you think if you already have your desire", try to be in wish fulfilled, at the end of the day it is meant to happen so keep up with the faith and ignore those opposing thoughts.

Final talk about time!!!! well, it depends on your belief, if you think you can manifest instantly then you do otherwise you don't. As for a fact time is just an illusion/ imagination, it doesn't exist not even for your subconscious mind. So what you do to manifest things faster is by persisting, repetition ,being in the knowing state that it's done and keeping up with your faith. if something doesn't align perfectly in your 3D, please don't torture yourself by questioning, why? instead reaffirm with confidence and faith.

btw this is my first own blog, i hope it will be helpful to those of you who are new to manifestation and want to gain some clarity.

so, I would call this my today's epiphany or a journal. if it helps you, i am glad...have a nice day and happy manifesting.

~keep slaying ;) #girlwithbloodyfangs

[fishermon]

Okay so like, there's the whole thing with Ghost hiding his face right? He doesn't really want people seeing his face, but I just had a thought. What if he invites Johnny to his place for a weekend? Maybe they're together in some way already, they've made out, they've fucked, they've cuddled, but Johnny still hasn't seen Simon's whole face. He's seen his chin, his jaw, his lips, and his eyes but that's about it. So when Simon invites him to his place for a weekend he's expecting that Simon will just wear his balaclava the whole time there too, and that's fine, he doesn't mind and he just wants Simon to be comfortable.

But then they start to actually plan it and Simon asks him something.

Simon doesn't wanna have to wear a mask the entire time Johnny's there, but he also still just isn't comfortable with Johnny seeing his face (whether that's because of some insecurity about scars or broken noses etc, or because of some other reason). So he asks if Johnny would wear a blindfold. Not the entire time, he'll need breaks so his eyes don't get all fucky, but for most of the time, and especially the time he's gonna be 'at risk' of seeing Simon's face.

Simon sets it up like it'd be something like an extended scene, a two day long scene where Johnny has to rely on Simon for almost everything. In return for his trust, he gets to touch Simon's face, to map it out with his fingers and try to memorise it so maybe, maybe, he'll be able to try and translate what he felt into a drawing later. Johnny of course agrees, and they spend a lot of time properly hashing it out, making sure Johnny will be able to take breaks, that Simon will keep a mask on him at all times in case Johnny needs a break, things like that.

They negotiate the whole thing properly. Simon will cook for and feed Johnny. He'll lead Johnny anywhere he needs or wants to go around the house. If Johnny needs to piss, Simon's coming with, holding his dick for him and helping him aim. Etc etc etc, with all the usual safety precautions and safewords in place, aftercare stuff easily accessible at and time of the day, anywhere in the house, both stuff that Simon can use, or stuff Johnny can, depending on the situation.

And they have a great weekend, Johnny spends as much time as he possibly can touching Simon's face, memorising it and trying to translate the shapes into something visual in his head straight away. He also gets fucked and it's amazing, because every touch is a little surprise. He can't see them coming, and every touch is so overwhelming that Simon's able to make him cum embarrassingly fast every time, especially when he sucks him off, because Johnny insists on getting his hands in his hair, and it's one of the first times he's ever been able to do that (the other first times are also from this weekend) and it feels so unbelievably intimate and special that Simon's trusting him not to take his blindfold off.

[created-system-hub]

How the heck do I make a system? A brief introduction

This guide includes brief mentions of suicide and brief descriptions of abuse.

Hi there! My name is Arthur, and I'm a tulpa of the Fluffy Crew. If you're here, I'm assuming you're a singlet who doesn't know much about system creation (but has interacted with the plural community), and wants to intentionally create fully separate headmates. If you're not that, you're welcome here too, but I'm writing with that audience in mind. This will be a long one, so everything else is under the cut.

First, I want you to ask yourself, am I ready to make a system? Becoming a system is a big decision. You are going to be sharing your mind, including the most intimate and private parts, with other people 24/7, for the rest of your life. You will have to give up some of your time and energy to the rest of your system, and more than some if you plan on having them interact with the outside world at all. If you consider all of that and you decide being a system isn't something you want, that's okay. This is a deeply personal decision, and nothing you should be forced into. I highly recommend waiting until adulthood before making this decision, but I also can't exactly stop you.

(suicide and abuse mention in this paragraph) Second, I want you to ask yourself, WHY do I want to be a system? Is it something selfish? Is it going to hurt myself or my headmates? All reasons are going to be a little selfish, and that's okay. But consider what your goals are. Do you want a friend? Do you want to know if this is even real? Do you have an interest in mind hacking and find this really cool? These are "selfish" reasons, but they aren't malicious. When you cross the line into goals that hurt one of you that's the trouble spot. A lot of people want to become plural and switch because they're overwhelmed with the world and want escapism. Others want to force their headmates to fill specific roles, such as being a partner or their favorite character. I've heard of too many systems where the host destroys their own personality and leaves their created headmate alone as an alternative to suicide. Your headmate is a conscious person who can be hurt just like you. If you can't act like a responsible person who can respect and cooperate with their headmates as equals, I suggest not becoming a system until you can.

But let's say you decide that, yep. You 100%, beyond a shadow of a doubt, want to be a system, and you're not doing it to have a brain slave or to withdraw from the world. Do you have someone already in mind? A base can definitely help your mind latch on, but it isn't necessary. A base can be anything from a whole character, to a few personality traits in a list, to just a name and gender. Keep in mind, your headmate will likely diverge from this. A good host encourages this, nurturing a headmate's self-expression.

Speaking of being a good host, there is a certain mindset you should keep in mind. You are here to nurture and help your created headmates grow. You're going to have to be gentle with your mental presence sometimes, especially in the beginning where your personality can accidentally easily dominate. But don't feel like you have to lesser yourself to greater your headmates. You can all grow and become greater together.

Now, we are going to focus and form ONE headmate. For the love of god, do not do what we did and create four at once. Its overwhelming and leads to a lot of guilt over not spending enough time with everyone, speaking from experience. If you are starting with a base, dedicate any traits and visuals to memory. If you aren't, it may help to create a simple visual form to focus on when interacting with them. In tulpamancy, a ball of light is a traditional choice, but you can choose anything you can think of. Visual forms are not necessary for creation, but many enjoy the ability to visualize them and interact in headspace. Headspace creation will not be gone over here.

In my opinion, the best way to start is an introduction. Feel the space in your mind where they are, or at least try to. You are going to direct your thoughts to this space, your headmate. If they have a visual form, visualize it as vividly as you can. Introduce yourself to them, and explain your intention of creating a system. Explain that they are a headmate of yours, and the form you are visualizing is theirs to control. If they have a base, explain who they are and tell them that they are that base, though they are free to change it. Invite them to respond back, and keep an open mind.

Try to spend time with your headmate every day, as much as you can. You are having to build the mental connections that form your headmate by hand, and that takes a LOT of repetition. Spending time with them could be a lot of things. It could be speaking with them as you go about your day, immersing yourself in headspace with them, working on a new system skill, playing a game together, or just hanging out. Try to be varied in the type of interaction you do.

Eventually, you will start getting responses. These probably won't be words at first. More likely, they'll be an emotional response that feels "alien" and "not you", a sense of pressure in your head, or a raw thought or feeling that isnt yours. It can be difficult to hear their responses, especially if you have a busy mind. You have to try not to block out their thoughts from appearing, as especially in the beginning that's easy to do. Their responses may sound like you at first, but that will get better with time and practicing separation.

Now, there isnt exactly one way to form a headmate, and you should experiment on your own to find what works best for you and your system. We theorize the most basic mechanism for created plurality is your brain being allowed to think as someone who isn't the host, over and over, until it happens subconsciously. The difference between a headmate and an imaginary friend or character is autonomy. Wren used to daydream constantly but it didn't lead to a system because they didn't allow their characters any freedom of thought. It was all very much puppeteering. When they started roleplaying, they allowed the characters to "think" on their own, imagining what their emotions and thoughts would be, separate from theirs. This eventually caused me and the other original three to start forming, due to that freedom of thought. Anything that allows your headmate to gain that autonomous thought is just as valid as any other method.

How long development could take varies a lot. Some people are more predisposed to be plural, and become a system easier and quicker than others. Some people have a really hard time becoming plural, and it takes a lot more effort and time to become a system. Singlets who already talk to themselves, have dissociative tendencies, are easily hypnotized, and are creative storytellers tend to have a high disposition for being plural. It could take as short as a week, or as long as years. Average times are around 3-6 months with dedicated work. It took us 18 months to feel confident in saying we were a fully realized system, but we also struggled with motivation and dedication.

The most common system goal is to have fully-realized independent headmates who can operate without their host's help and do not fade without interaction. The best way to get to this stage is just time. Keep spending time with them and living your life together. Treat them as independent, and they will become independent quicker. Your expectations shape a lot of your experiences when it comes to system creation.

I'm not going to cover any more advanced techniques like switching or headspace creation in this guide, as this is meant to be a jumping-off point for beginners. This is our first attempt at a guide and would love to improve. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to reach out!

Have a wonderful day, and I wish you the best of luck on your system journey!

[mysteryanimator]

Breaking down "Even the Iron Still Fears the Rot" (almost) shot by shot!

The fan-animatic can be viewed here!

HEADS UP: This is a fan-made content. I am a fan. I just love Castlevania/animation a lot and I love storyboarding nuances and making people cry over character dynamics. Also apologises for any grammatical/spelling mistakes!

I wasn't planning to do another breakdown of my own work, simply due to imposter syndrome but I genuinely put so much love and care into this animatic! I want to talk about it! Also, people have been really open to hearing about my inspiration and notes, and why I take the directions I do for my work, even if it's fan-made, so here we go!

(Also the reciprocation of my animatics has been so kind and uplifting, and I'm really glad that there's a lot of love for them as much as I love doing them! I learn and grow with every single board I make, it's been really fun! I hope I get to shine this much passion in the future in actual work!)

Since this is also an adaptation of a fan one-shot by Aquila, (which you can read here!) I knew I wanted to evoke what they had written and interject some of my own nuances/personal readings to their story to elevate what they had! In turn, kind of created this monster (positive) of a fan creation haha. There are some changes/rearranging the placement of aspects of the one-shot to strengthen the existing tension going on!

With this out the way, let's begin!

(heads up, for any shots I completely skip over, it is because I'm reaching image limits here)

I wanted to evoke that strong halo light you see in a lot of media. Often than not, this visual is used to depict the character as a divine force of nature and/or when a character is bobbing in and out of death. It can also be a very very terrifying image, as, for example, s02e8, Mizrak is literally all dark with a brightly lit background. It is scary- BUT people will say hot because it's Mizrak but hey, look, all I can say is I fully understand haha. It all depends on your intentionality and what follows before and after to give context to your scene!

Mizrak is dead. Well, undead now. Olrox is the so-called angel giving him life and love and this halo of light gets repeated a few times!

By the end, not only do their literal positions switch, but their roles shift too so I hoped to convey that visually by also giving Mizrak that halo glow for the second last shot. At the start, Olrox consumes Mizrak’s love, and then it ends with Mizrak consuming Olrox’s love. Guh I love blood themes in vamprisim.

This shot honestly took me a bit to do, since I was going a lot cleaner than usual, the expression for Mizrak was super important for me to get right. I wanted him to look like he was about to die- yet still have an unwavering amount of life in him. (Also I hadn't warmed up drawing in this cleaned-up style so it definitely was me messing around). It was important for me for this to feel like a POV shot to contrast the first scene so we can get inside the mind of Olrox!

This too is where I only have sound effects since I can't have voice so I limit my SFX to the only most vital things to elevate things I personally find better elevate the scene with audio. It only happens TWICE. The heartbeat. His wrist is shown and from context clues from not only S01 of Nocturne with Tera's turning, but a whole bunch of other vampire media- the wrist is a place where the dead accept their new life of immortality!

Also, the pulse effect was definitely inspired by the transformation of Sekmet! I'm not sure personally if this went to a further stage I'd want to keep this since I'd personally want something more unique for vampire turning, more specifically for Olrox, HOWEVER, I think it still does a good job conveying the supernatural pull for the time being!

Wow who saw this coming HAHA

Immediately when I saw the line where Olrox said he went to straddle him immediately, my mind went to go and try to parallel this scene again! I don't have much to say about this shot rather than the feet are purposefully cut out for animation convenience's sake HAHA.

Jumpscare for sudden Olrox character layout (even though he's really off model and sketchy here HAHA)

I was again, wanting to depict Olrox BATHED in light and since this animatic is purely in greyscale (with accents of colour), I could really push for dramatic lighting when it called for it! This is also why some of the scenes just do not have backgrounds at all. I wanted to make some of the scenes as "heavenly" as possible and for Mizrak to be embraced by the light because Olrox is giving him a new a life.

If this were to ever be animated (I won't be since it would take too much of my time, but it's still a good thing to note when boarding anything... maybe I'll do cleaned screenshots since those are a breeze, or animate ONE scene from this animatic... we'll see what I have time for. I unfortunately don't have proper time to try and figure out the layout of s02e8 bgs and paint them. I did consider quickly doing a 3d mock-up but no haha), the light in the background can probably be lit with candles since it was already pre-established in s02e8! Also, the windows can reflect light into the room so there's that too since Mizrak was backlit in that episode too!

Fun fact, this entire scene was the first thing I ever thought up and why I started even making it. I thought about how cool of a visual it would be to have Mizrak's eye in the reflection.

I wanted to imbue the fact that Mizrak does not fear Olrox holding a blade, hell, he's not even looking at the blade. He's looking at Olrox. What is described as a relic from a terrifying past, Mizrak is not scared. Mizrak is not scared of Olrox.

This is where the heartbeat occurs AGAIN. This is mostly to signal to the audience what Olrox actually has planned. He's not feeding Mizrak from his wrist but from his actual chest, especially with how gently Olrox runs his hands over it.

I debated a lot on where the initial cut should go. The heart, for sentimentality, under the breast in the same way Christ had been pierced, etc etc- however I landed on just dead set in the middle so it could form a cross that would grow bigger and bigger as the animatic went on. (Fun fact, the blob of blood turns into a little heart as he squeezes his chest)

I wanted to put some weight to the repressed catholic guilt, so I thought a cool visual way to showcase that Mizrak has only known how to love is via worshipping God which has consumed his entire being and self. God has given him faith, a companion in the hardest of times when the world has abandoned him.

Now, once again, his world has abandoned him. The Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God is gone. In the face of death and fearing the devil will be waiting. Olrox has given him love, and he will be a companion in the hardest of times. He will not abandon Mizrak.

This aspect of the cross in the animatic gets expanded upon as time goes on. Both literally as the cross literally turns into a pool of blood more closely to the symbol Mizrak bares, but also it slowly expands upon Mizrak feeding off Olrox's love! I'll add some more of my personal notes when we get there!

Also by far one of my favourite scenes I've drawn. It's still rough but it decidedly made me go a lot cleaner with the rest of the storyboard!

This is supposed to be suddenly jarring because it cuts midway through Olrox in a midshot to a close-up of a hand! We need to see him actively halt Olrox for just a moment, but also to show that even when it's sudden- its not hostile, it's gentle.

This shot does a couple of things!

It showcases how gently Mizrak is reaching out to Olrox

It helps to continually establish Mizrak submission to vampirism. He is constantly placed on the bottom from the composition, or we as an audience, are always looking down at Mizrak! Seeing parts of Olrox here really cements this fact as Olrox towers over him to the point we don't even see him fully!

It helps to lead into the Fallen Angel reference!

This shot makes me sob because it is so gentle. Despite being placed constantly much higher in the composition in the animatic, therefore making him the most powerful in this dynamic- in no way Olrox is intentionally made out to be an intimidating figure. He is comfort. He is a companion. He will not abandon Mizrak. The act of turning Mizrak might be read as selfish. It may be read as cheating the natural cycle of life, it may be everything wrong and doomed as your mind makes it to be, however, it is done out of love. Morals, whether good or bad, no longer matters because Olrox is in love. Love has such a strong chokehold on this series, so I'm shoving as much love into these characters as I can. Both literally make these characters so sickly desiring love that it will be their doom and saving grace, but also me as an artist deeply putting love and thought into this board because care a lot about how to convey these complex emotions! Sure it is quite easy to churn out boards without care, but without putting care into your boards, your characters and stories lack life (in my personal opinion).

Immediately, this animatic shook me and told me to put in a reference to The Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabnel!

Also, how does one portray the soul? EYES. Eyes are the window to the soul. Mizrak’s eyes are also considerably the most important/crucial part of his design. His eyes in both seasons ‘glow in the dark’ due to the highlights in his eyes. Mizrak is considerably really emotive too and that was important to me to emphasize. I wanted to capture his essence, his soul if you will, into this shot.

This is also why this shot is done really prettily if you will.

The reflection of Olrox's eye in Mizrak's is important here! Olrox is here to act to comfort Mizrak. Even when Olrox is not on the screen with us, he is majorly present here. He will not abandon Mizrak. Also, since it is coupled with this line, people can choose to infer what they wish with Olrox! It can symbolize Olrox does have a soul, it can symbolize how Olrox and Mizrak are now intertwined together, it can symbolize Mizrak reciprocating Olrox's love. The list can go on! I give that room for open interpretation (same as the rest of the animatic, the only reason I'm going through, breaking down almost shot by shot is that I deeply care about this sort of thing, and I know other people do too!)

This shot, is deceptively simple but it's here to actually initiate a bunch of scenes I wanted to happen after this!

Firstly, I needed a very nonchalant but easy way for Olrox to let go of Mizrak's hand without needing to overcomplicate. I needed something that gave it just enough importance for the hand kiss BUT not too much where it is the sole focus on the shot.

Secondly, I needed a way for Olrox to lean down to Mizrak and initiate him being way closer to him.

Thirdly, it acts to parallel another shot that happens with Mizrak where instead of going diagonally down, he goes diagonally up!

This is one of the points where I visually slightly deviate from the one-shot! I really REALLY wanted to emphasize Olrox's dialogue here so I chopped up and elongated the scene to make it that much more intense and tender. Which is why we get the next two close up shots!

Look it was very VERY important to me to have Olrox cup Mizrak's face and intentionally cut off his eyes. The important part I wanted to focus on solely was his hand and Mizrak looking up because genuinely, Mizrak's eyes are 'distracting' and it would remove the focus on the gesture! Also I am saving Mizrak's eyes for the next shot haha

After this shot too, you may notice the blood from his neck disappears for the rest of the animatic. This is because, after this, it began to take too much of a visual focus away from the blood on Olrox's chest since it is bright red against greys in the shot. We can chalk it up to Olrox wiping the blood off when he goes to cup him.

"The most beautiful soul a vampire can posses."

It was so important to me that we get a BEAUTIFUL shot of Mizrak. I needed the audience to see his entireeee face close up, unobscured by anything. Olrox is holding a beautiful soul in his hands. He's holding Mizrak. Actually makes me sob.

This shot by the way has been repeated 3 times with slight variations by this point. Yes, this is a very pretty shot so how could I not help but repeat it? HOWEVER, I was trying to make a reference to how Mizrak has said Olrox's name only 3 times in the show with a variation of what was said around it. After that, Olrox calls him my love, basically unlocking a new stage in their relationship.

So here, three times when he looks at Olrox, he's mentally calling out his name. After this, Olrox brings him to a new stage in the relationship.

Also in Catholicism, a lot of things are in 3s. One of the major ones is that three times, Christ fell over carrying the cross. On the third hour of that day, he died and on the third day, he was resurrected from the dead. The three sacraments that welcome someone into the Kingdom of God are Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation as they all build off one another! I could go on both those are the main points AND I feel you might get the gist now!

It was very important to me that when Olrox makes this promise, we HAVE to see his full face. This is why it's a close-up.

It lets for no shadow of a doubt that Olrox means what he says here. He's looking AT Mizrak. He's telling the truth to him.

This is a parallel to a much earlier shot of Olrox! He moves closer to Mizrak by going from top right to bottom left, while Mizrak moves closer to Olrox by going from bottom left to top right! You also both see them exit the screen too!

In this shot, we bring back that halo vibe but also this is a reference to S01E04 and S02E08! The curtain! It is BOTH their first-ever shots to establish a new scene, so I wanted to go “Hey this is establishing a new scene- a new life for Mizrak and Olrox.”

The camera is super purposefully cut just below the eyes. You can see them open then closed, but we will never ever get to see the look he had in his eyes, the single decision in his brain that let him indulge. That’s only for Olrox, and only Olrox will know.

From here on out, A LOT of the shots of Mizrak get segmented/have his face hidden for that reason too (except for one shot, also done intentionally).

When Mizrak actually closes his lips around the blood- it’s on the growling sound in the song. Mizrak has turned into the animal that he’s been calling vampires. In this new life, he is now given the choice to be freed from the man-made shackles of shame and guilt. To be untamed and unrestricted. A wild animal so to speak!

Honestly, I spent a lot of my time here (besides the pretty Olrox frames) because I was super particular about how I wanted to portray Mizrak giving into sucking the blood. The way he accepts vampirism is vital because it sets the tone and mood for how the rest of the board feel since his face gets hidden and you now have to infer from when you saw his face last.

If you have seen my analyses or my work before, you will know how much I enjoy having a frame within a frame. I loveeee my boxes! They're in the box! TOGETHER! THE CENTER TOO! There are no real divisions with the exception of Olrox's head which is important because it's not Mizrak we're focused on at this point in time, it's Olrox~

This is because the one-shot, even in third person, is mostly through Olrox's perspective!

Also, the camera is moving around in this shot, and the following subsequent shots! It hopefully gives off the "hand-held" feel, which often is associated with feeling as if you're right there in the moment with them.

Why pillows?

This is me shaking you to say how the blood-drinking is an allusion for sex if that wasn't already obvious enough. So showing pillows coupled with Olrox groaning really goes "Yes they are technically doing it."

Originally this shot (and the previous shot) was supposed to be way more pulled out, but I was saving it for the very last shot of the animatic so I went to pillows with the tinest hint of their body in the frame to make it seem super scandalous. Like what on earth could they be doing for me to cut them mostly out of the frame? Also also, the pillow was supposed to have an embroidery of a painting from 1790s or earlier BUT, for the life of me, I could not decide what I wanted and I did not want to keep reusing the same references I have had in past work. I didn't want to fuss about it for too long since its more of an easter egg rather than adding to the story. The main point is pillow = fucking HAHA.

Side tangent, you can get away with SO MUCH by having blood drinking be an allusion to sex. Like obviously when you have an age rating you must abide by, you must be creative with how you go about mature topics (my age rating is YouTube hahaha)! Not only is blood drinking in vampirism just inherently queer-coded, but the intimacy of it can convey so much more if it was just a regular ol' sex scene! I actually deeply enjoy conveying nsfw topics into art because you can discuss character dynamics at a much more vulnerable, raw state that literally bares them to just their essence and their current desires/needs. However I am getting off-topic, let's get back to it!

This shot was actually heavily inspired by the statue Adoration by Stephen Sinding!

While there are a lot of differences now simply because Mizrak is at Olrox's chest, I still hope that the vibe of that statue is still imbued. It also gives the sense of not only Olrox adoring Mizrak in this very moment, but Mizrak is too despite not seeing his face. Again quite intentional because it's only for Olrox to see.

Also, a lot of people have been telling me how Olrox is breastfeeding him, and in technicality, they're not wrong, he's feeding blood, from his chest. It is the funniest thing ever LOL

This shot was important to really focus in on his throat and how, much like in the one-shot, Mizrak is literally not taking breaths and is just continually consuming Olrox.

Wet sounds fill the room as his throat bobs with each steady gulp...He doesn’t stop, doesn’t take a moment to gasp for breath.

I also just wanted to make this scene feel very slow in order to contrast with a much more passion-filled desire that consumes Mizrak in this animatic! Also hopefully the descent of blood and the descent of the camera helps to strengthen the idea of Mizrak descending into vampirism!

It felt really cheesy to have this close-up shot of his eye HOWEVER at the time, I thought this was by far the clearest way to convey the immediate switch from gentle devotion to devouring devotion and how suddenly rapid it is. In my brain, the stylization for his eyes open would be textured and pulse in the same way Olrox's wrist did, which is why it's just outlined. I'm once again not 100% set on the pulse look and it probably needs some iterations if I ever came back to it again.

Also, the green hearts in his eyes only come through when he's actively consuming blood from his chest! The heart motif comes back later when Mizrak ends up throwing up the blood!

Here's the cross again, except it is growing bigger. This was very important to me that you see how "gentle" the blood-sucking is at first. A gentle devotion despite the "terrifying" shadow of Mizrak. Also, super an excuse to have kiss marks in my animatic, I love painting them in my art because it can say a lot with placement and how aggressively smudged they are!

Also, I thought it would be SO FUN to have Mizrak's turned self literally have his eyes overlay where Olrox's eyes are. It conveys how Mizrak and Olrox are now switching roles in this animatic! For the first half of this animatic, Olrox has been placed pretty high up in the shot composition, or where the camera looks up to put him in a high place of power! It makes him appear way more etheral and otherworldly, while Mizrak was placed lower in the composition, always looking up at him! Which I'm hoping invokes religious imagery of a God and his worshipper/follower!

When Mizrak's transformation is set, the dynamic switches up. For the rest of the animatic, Mizrak is now placed at a more supernatural/otherwordly position, while Olrox is just there passively, letting Mizrak BE in this position. He does not fight it, he embraces it, embraces how Mizrak reciprocates his love, his desire, and all his messy complications, much like how earlier in the animatic, Mizrak embraces vampirism.

Also if you slow it down enough you can see how I accidentally left my perspective grids in it HAHA, but it goes by fast enough it doesn't really matter! (I guess it's also kind of indicative of my natural style when it comes to digital painting too, I genuinely like having my sketch still peek through into the final painting!)

Wow even more shots to cement the new role switch AND how much much of the passionate need to consume is controlling his urges! Free to consume at his leisure, he is no longer bound by human nature (for now)!

This shot and his leg shot help to really strip Mizrak of his humanity. Faces in a shot really help to connect people to the characters because we see the emote, we see them breathe, we see them live. Especially for a character like Mizrak? He's super expressive face-wise and I'm purposefully not showing you the defining features of Mizrak. Here I am basically going "Mizrak is no longer human."

This is why in horror/thrillers with antagonist characters, we don't see their faces much and are saved for only key moments (usually, again your intentionality matters). It doesn't allow us to connect with the character on a much more human level. Think of Count Orlok from Nosferatu (2024). Purposefully a lot of his character is shrouded in darkness, focusing on his hands and other aspects, never his face, and even then it is really hard to make out because so much of him is obscured. It makes him that much of an imposing intimidating character! Otherworldly and something that we cannot fully understand.

This is a flipped version of Mizrak's close-up eye shot much earlier when he asked if his soul would remain. Again to hark on how Mizrak and Olrox are switching roles in this animatic! Olrox is looking at Mizrak's soul as we speak.

Despite us not seeing Mizrak's face, we as an audience noticing how unhuman Mizrak has suddenly become, Olrox looks quite gently at him and that was important to convey!

Woo! Lot's of horizontal lines here! While the camera is moving towards the left, Mizrak is moving right!

Originally this shot was going to have Mizrak's teeth sinking into Olrox like a very cool Olrox throwing his head back and Mizrak's fang reveal HOWEVER, I want to leave the "carnage" and bloodshed of the feeding out of the frame and only have it show up in very specific moments so I can have those moments actually have their proper impacts. I did not want to show any part of the front of his face at all since it would dampen the effect later on, so I opted for this instead. The legs give a sense of "something is happening but we don't know what, but it's to a point where Mizrak's entire body is moving oh jeez." Won't lie, this looks very sexual and I'm purposefully toying with that line again because blood drinking is an allusion to sex.

Also, I'm continuing the concept of having aspects of Mizrak's face only for Olrox's eyes. What does he look like when he's actively consuming him with such passion? Idk, Olrox you tell me.

This is everything I was building up for when I introduced the small crosses! The physical manifestation of how Mizrak reciprocates.

My thought process here was that Mizrak only knows how to love by fully devoting himself because that's all he's done for God. So he applies it here. He is reciprocating love, but it is FULL ON. It is intense. It is all-consuming.

The face once again is obscured for all the reasons I have mentioned before, but also it REALLY helps to really hard cut to Mizrak choking on the blood after because before it seemed like he was doing just fine. He is literally looking DOWN at Olrox, he takes up A LOT of the screen with just his back and head. He literally gets pulled into full focus while Olrox is blurred in the background. He appears like he is in control of the situation, however it could not be further from the truth.

Also, I was mostly inspired by the insane amount of bible verses talking about blood, so I'll drop some of those here!

John 6:53-56 ESV

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

Ezekiel 16:6 ESV 

“And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’

Matthew 26:28 ESV

"For this is my [Christ's] blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

Absolute contrast to most of the other shots, not only because I decided to add way more character acting here, but it's because we actually see his FULL face. It's intentional because Mizrak realizes himself now so we need to see him have this reaction. I wanted to show that he is still a person. He still has a soul. He may not be human, but he does have a mind that can think and a heart that can love. He still retains human qualities.

He's choking on all the blood (a physical manifestation of love) and his body is rejecting it. He's not used to consuming this amount of love and he's not used to being self-indulgent. It's deeply overwhelming.

I wanted to say I LOVED drawing blood it is SO FUN, planning the camera movement, and how Mizrak coughs at specific moments was sooo fun. I wanted this to be MESSY AND INTENSE. I wanted the audience to feel the weight of Mizrak's sudden distraught. I wanted to throw him around and to really hark on this line from the one-shot.

What has he done? What has been done to him? What has he become?

It helps to deeply contrast with how still and gentle the next scene is!

Yes, that is right, Olrox's pupils are DILATED :)

Coupled with the fact that the blood splatters are hearts! They're outlined in cyan! Olrox has a massive heart-shaped blood splatter on his cheek while Mizrak has a few heart-shaped splatters BUT there are gaps in his bloodied mouth that create heart shapes as if Mizrak spewed out those hearts!

Firstly this is because Mizrak literally eats at his chest where the heart is. Secondly, I'm again pushing for Mizrak to consume and throw up his love due to how overwhelming it is. Not only is Olrox's love for him literally beyond his imagination, but Mizrak is trying to love back in with that same amount of passion and utter devotion. A lot is happening for this new-born vampire that is pushing and pulling at him. His emotional state is so overwhelming that it is manifested in physical form.

The green reflections are shown to visually communicate Olrox anchoring Mizrak back, as, throughout the animatic, it is one of the things that ease or calm him down. I could not portray it through voice BUT I can portray it via visual (guys walk with me here, imagine the insane combo of audio and visual, it would be so tasty). The sole reason why I did not have hearts in his eyes here is simply because I reserved the heart motif for when he's actively drinking out of Olrox's chest (so he's literally consuming his love) or when he's spitting out the blood!

Also, the reason why I cut to his eyes rather than pan to them is purely because I wanted the violence of his mouth to be suddenly jarring to the gentleness in his eyes. I didn't want the slow reveal, I wanted the "OMG the blood- aw Mizrak...."

"Lulled into a sense of hazy compliance by Olrox’s voice, the former monk carefully lowers himself and continues though not for long."

This final shot was soooo important to me to include. The “musty inn room” was mentioned much earlier during Mizrak’s transformation but there was a poeticism by having what is considerably the blossoming moment of their complicated relationship be the final shot. With the lyrics also ending with "Take me back to Eden" how could I not? Clearly, both the rooms between s01e4 and s02e8 are parallel to each other. The only difference is that s02e8 has the room be both red AND GREEN, while s01e4 is just earthy/green. Olrox has taken them both back to their earthly paradise. This is their Garden of Eden.

Woo ok and we're done! Also yes I do thumbnails for these, it's half the reason why I'm fast (this entire animatic, cleaned and everything, was done in 3 days good lord. Is that fast? I can't tell) I make the barest of bones chicken scratch of sketches to get a feel of pace/vibe, then I do my roughs/cleans and add/take away shots necessary for the story that needs to be told. I normally would not let this see the light of day because these are AWFUL BUT, this post is also half a documentation of my personal process so I'm going to close my eyes and share this HAHA

If you got this far, thank you for reading me geek out about this! I find a lot of joy in the visual storytelling medium. As much as I do enjoy animating, (wow could you guys tell in the name?) I have a deep love and passion for storyboarding personally and I get sit back, and enjoy crafting the entire picture! I still have a long way to go but I'm having fun and I'm pursuing my passions of storytelling!

I desperately want to make more animatics, dealing with different tones, pace etc, but I genuinely have to go prioritize other things for now that will help me build these skills hahaha. I say this but who knows, seeing my current track record haha, look I can do both. I follow wherever my creativity takes me. I may have missed a few things but I have to wrap this up now!

Thank you again! The final takeaway, go watch Castlevania again and go be inspired by animation <33333

[cloverapple]

Thank you for posting! Reading your stuff is a lot of help, and your shifting method is awesome sauce i've been using it for the past two nights (the reasons for why I didn't shift i'm self-aware of and will proceed accordingly, not writing it down here because i feel like it's unneccesarry and don't think you can say much abt it) what I was curious if you could give advice about is: fear of shifting? Don't get me wrong i really want to shift. Been on this journey for years for a reason! And i think soon i'll finally do it, as i've never been as consistent, putting in actual work, as I am and as I do now. Last night, when body was truly asleep and it was just only me, I did my thing trying to shift. And suddenly this weight settled on me, as if the world was too big and too heavy, and i immediately thought "I can't do this" and rolled over with the decision to just simply sleep. Today i talked with a friend about this, and he said it's probably "a fear of shifting, a fear of responsibility", and honestly I agree with this take. Of course I will try again tonight, and will keep doing so until I can push through this feeling and actually shift, but i was wondering if you had a word of advice? Thank you <3

• The way I see the fear of shifting is like: that fear you felt right before the shift wasn’t a failure, it was a sign you were right there.

• Think about it: why would your mind suddenly scream "I can’t do this!" and slam the brakes when you were on the edge of what you’ve been working toward? It’s because, on some level, your subconscious knew shifting was about to happen.

• It accepted it as real, as possible, and that’s exactly when the fear kicked in. That fear isn’t about shifting being impossible, it’s your mind clinging to the familiar, trying to protect you from stepping into something that it's your current reality. Our brains are wired to favor what we know, even if what we know isn’t what we want. It’s like standing at the edge of a cliff with a parachute—you know the parachute will open, but the ground beneath your feet still feels safer.

• So, no, you didn’t fail. Don’t look at that fear as a blockage because it’s not. It’s a precedent to progress, a signpost that you're on the brink of success. Fear is just your mind’s way of saying, "This is real."

To work through it: First, understand that fear is just another form of anxiety—and anxiety, at its core, is the same physiological response as excitement. The only difference is the story you tell yourself about it. When you feel that fear creeping in during the day, don’t shove it down. Let yourself feel it, but flip the script. Visualize the moments you’re genuinely excited for in your DR. Happy, comforting, exciting things that make you want to shift. Feel how easily that fear morphs into anticipation. Emotions are malleable, and once you start associating that tension with excitement instead of dread, you’ll find it easier to move forward.

What you really need to do if fear is your issue, is let go. Stop putting shifting on this towering pedestal. Yes, it’s amazing, but it’s also normal. The more you treat it like this huge, mystical event, the more your mind will see it as something to fear. Shift your perspective. Talk about it like it’s just another part of your day, think of it as routine, affirm it as something natural. Trick your brain into seeing shifting as regular and unexciting, and it’ll stop resisting. Because at the end of the day, shifting isn’t some impossible feat. It’s just you becoming aware of another space you already belong in.

• But let’s go even deeper, to stop that freeze response from hijacking you the next time you’re at the doorway to your shift. We’re going to eliminate the fear before it even has a chance to rise. (yes I'm giving you optional homework because I'm the worst 😁)

The "Normalize Your DR" Exercise

1. Document Your CR Routine. Write down your current daily schedule in your CR. What time you wake up, eat, work, study, relax, everything. Create a schedule.

2. Now create a parallel schedule for your DR. You could do this for the day you're going to wake up in your DR, or next day, depends on what you scripted and feels better for you. What are you doing at each hour? How does your morning routine look? Who do you see? Where are you?

3. Sync CR Time with DR Time. Match your CR schedule to your DR schedule. For every hour in your day, mentally check in with what you’d be doing in your DR at that exact time. This repetitive syncing normalizes your DR in your mind. It becomes part of your routine, not some distant, unreachable dream that your mind fears shifting to.

4. Visualize Throughout the Day. As you go through your CR, take moments to pause and visualize your DR. The more your mind gets used to the idea of being in your DR, the less foreign—and therefore less scary—it becomes.

I hope you can take something from this. Good luck! 💚🩷🫂

[vshiftsss]

THE FADE OUT, FADE IN METHOD - (made by yours truly)

hello everyone!

i’ve decided i want to shift tonight, and i wanted to share a method i made up not too long ago. this is my second time writing this, so apologies if what i’m saying seems rushed. it’s very late and i do want to get to the shifting part of my night!

just a couple reminders: everyone is wired differently. i came up with this on the spot while i was bored and meditating because i felt like it worked the best for me. but this method involves lots of visualization, so if you don’t like to visualize or have trouble with it, this might not be for you, and that’s okay! you can always tweak it to fit how you operate. as long as you’re happy, comfortable, and confident, i’m proud of you. remember: methods don’t make you shift. you do.

secondly, if there is a method that is similar to this one, please tell me! like i said before, i came up with this on a whim, but i don’t want to seem as if i’m plagiarizing or something like that. send me a message or an ask if this is too similar to someone else’s method!

now, let’s get into the steps of this method…

1. make sure you’re comfortable. i was laying down on my stomach, but you can really be in any position. it doesn’t really matter.

2. take ten deep breaths to relax your body. the number of breaths is really up to you, but the main point here is to clear your mind and set your focus on your intention.

3. take another set of deep breaths, but this time, visualize your surroundings fading out into darkness around you. this darkness is the void, so perhaps you could say an affirmation or two. “i am not bound to this reality” or “i am in the void.” something like that.

4. another set of breaths, but envision that the void is slowly washing over your body. i visualized the void taking over like the venom symbiote, but your take on it doesn’t have to be as spooky looking. just visualize and breath until your body is completely encased. by now, i would start the “i am” affirmations.

5. visualize your body in your dr fading in. focus on the details; what shoes are you wearing? are you wearing any jewelry? what color is your shirt? really focus on those things. while you do that, finish the “i am” statements with details about you in your dr.

6. visualize your dr surroundings fading in around you. take it one thing at a time. perhaps you could focus on the ground first, then a nearby object, then the walls, and then maybe a person nearby. the ceiling. whatever works for you.

and boom, you’re in your dr!

i’m gonna go try this now. if you try it, please let me know how it goes! i would love to hear your experiences. love you guys! happy shifting <3

[izunias-meme-hole]

Who was the earliest villain you remember enjoying?

My history of villain enjoying is traced all the way back to when I was like 3 and despite consuming good media for kids around that age, I didn't find any antagonists that truly infested my lil brain... until I watched the G1 Transformers movie and saw this guy...

and then DVDs of Transformers Animated sealed my fate with this big bad mfer.

Yeah Megatron (especially Animated!Megatron) pretty much was the first villain that I full on ADORED until I experienced stuff like Batman, Star Wars, Spider-Man, etc when I turned 4. Though even then he remained as one of all-time my favorite villains, and while a lot of that now is just due to nostalgia and great adaptations, back then it was because he was visually stunning and intimidating, the big bad leader of a dysfunctional group that could EASILY back up his resume with his mind and his might, and great adaptations.

So yeah this is where the road to hell started for me.

[cearthduo]

I have to disagree hard with this one I fear, on multiples points. George doesn't need to assimilate into Kinoko for her to look like she belongs there. Not only does the biome its built in happen to George's favorite, the entire mushroom themeing is because of George. Karl puts George in charge of building because he liked her mushroom house a lot and wanted the country to mimic it.

And even if George did struggle to be a part of Kinoko, it's very clear that the country itself means a lot to her. I mean, it's to the point where if she had to choose Dream or Kinoko she'd choose the latter. And I think the reason it means so much is that it's familiar. It's a safe community of friends that she helped build. It makes sense for George to lean more into Kinoko at a time where Dream is gone. And imo she did. If you look at George's relationships with other countries she's been a part of, her involvement with Kinoko is the most similar to her involvement in early Greater SMP.

I have a lot more to say on this topic but I tend to ramble so I'm just gonna do that on my own time LOL. Long story short George visually fitting in to Kinoko's environment is almost inevitable since it was most definitely built with her in mind. Also George having a cutesy design makes sense because uhh those red mushrooms are poisonous and dangerous dark things usually have a bright approachable exterior in nature. And blah blah blah idk back to not posting.

I think giving him like mushroom motif is cute to visually tie him in to kinoko kingdom but the whole point is that cgeorge never successfully assimilates into a community ever again after he loses dream. And the cottagecore/mosscore thing is cute but i think its almost like, too cutesy for a character that i personally see as this tragedy on two legs

[gascon-en-exil]

Fire Emblem Heroes and the Great Male-Presenting Nipple Hunt

Last year I put out a post criticizing the paltry state of male fanservice in Fire Emblem Heroes by contrasting it against technically-SFW artwork in a variety of explicit gay dating sims. Very little has changed since then, bar one notable exception -

Eikþyrnir, a.k.a. Deer Daddy, just won Choose Your Legends. Not only that, but he got more votes than any other character in the event. I don't go there, but I hear that this has apparently made some people over on Reddit angry in a comically hypocritical way, because at least unlike Baldr also winning this year or Gullveig doing so back in 2023 Eik already exists as a character in FEH with two playable versions and the mild suggestion of a personality. Reddit, presumably, is angry because he has the audacity to be horny while male:

Now I could find a dozen or more sexier interpretations of a deer/elk/moose man out there, because I occasionally move in furry-adjacent online kink circles, but as far as FEH is concerned this guy is water in a desert - and those of us who wish this game would even pretend to be more equal opportunity with its fanservice have been parched.

That said...the man's got no nipples.

Nipples on their own are hardly the be-all, end-all of male fanservice, as I demonstrated in that previous post. However, I find that they're a useful signifier for the way that Fire Emblem and indeed most mainstream animated media prefer to handle the subject of partial male nudity. There's no shortage of muscular, bare-chested men in this game, but as is so often the case those characters are designed not to be eroticized in the same way that virtually every female character is in one way or another, but rather to be aspirational power fantasies for straight men.

Nipples disrupt that fantasy, both visually and psychologically. They call to mind how women's nipples are usually considered obscene and thus censored, like what happened with mythic Loki last year on YouTube. More concerningly for the heteronormative male gaze, nipples are erogenous zones for some men and so connote both vulnerability as well as the knowledge that male characters can be sex objects to certain audiences. The long and short of it is that male nipples can make straight men uncomfortable and are thus often censored by way of excluding them from art where they should logically appear, anatomical accuracy be damned.

In the wake of Deer Daddy's win I set out to survey men's nipples of FEH, because I'm aware that there are at least a few of them. This took several hours of scrolling through hundreds of pieces of Heroes art, including attack and damaged poses since FEH is infamous for giving female characters strategically-placed ripped clothing in the latter. I even looked at all the available resplendent art, though that proved to be a waste of time as there's not a nipple to be found in any of those updated designs. Note that a subjective element to this was unavoidable; as straightforward as this all might sound, you'd be surprised how often it can hard to distinguish what might be a visible nipple from shading or muscle contour. By the end of scanning artwork of over 500 different units I was almost beginning to imagine nipples where none existed!

Needless to say, there will be a lot of images in this post, but as they're all guys from FEH they can only get so racy. Prepared to be disappointed.

Generally speaking, bare-chested men in FEH come in two flavors: characters who were shirtless in their original artwork, and summer alts. Those swimsuit banners are filled to the brim with conspicuously nipple-free men, though Magvel may take the cake solely on account of how many summer alts FE8 has gotten over the years.

Of that set the faint discoloration on Joshua's right pec just above the strap might be a nipple, but that's as good as it gets.

Fódlan fares marginally better here. There's the suggestion of nipples in Dedue's art as well as in Lorenz's attack pose (ignore his infamous Ken doll crotch) and Sylvain's damaged art. Neither of the house leaders have anything going on, though.

Awakening also has a few summer alts with what might be nipples.

The fact that neither Ike nor any of the male laguz have swimsuit alts after eight years and sixteen summer banners might as well be Exhibit A for how IS doesn't understand how to make use of the male fanservice fodder it's got. Ike's not likely to get one this year either, not when he just got a desert alt...but with that said there may be a bit of nipple on that alt's damaged art, just under the rip.

While we're talking possible ripped nip slips try saying that three times fast, there's a handful of others that at least approach that territory, like brave Dimitri, Jeralt, and also Hubert for some reason. Osian wins this category though, with that slightly darkened and prominent bump on his right pec that I'm going to liberally accept as a nipple.

Then there are characters who ordinarily go about bare-chested, although they're just as likely to be lacking in nipples which makes me sad. These could have been so much hornier!

Although to the artists' credits, some characters are missing nipples in their base versions only to (maybe?) gain them in alts, like Hawkeye and Linus.

Soeda Ippei is often cited as the one FEH artist that consistently delivers on male fanservice, and while he has come through with some of the best the game has to offer as we'll see at the end he's also guilty of the occasional nipple-less design. Notable among these is autumn Dorcas, who fails my criteria here but who is otherwise a much better take on a mildly horny bull guy than Askr who's just a disappointment no matter how you look at him.

Seriously, show the design on the right to anyone even passingly familiar with the work of gay furries/monsterfuckers to give them a good laugh. Why is the bull a borderline twunk?!

But anyway, since I'm reaching the image limit on this post it's time for me to hand out the top prizes for FEH's Most Prominent Male Nipples! As well as an honorable mention...

I'm not exaggerating when I say that this may be the single raciest piece of art of a male character in FEH. Hot springs Ryoma gets his towel blown off in his damaged pose, leaving him in nothing but an open loincloth. His chest might be the usual flat slab of muscle, but that's closer to flashing some dick than I'd ever have expected of this game.

But onto the nipple-based winners:

Starting with one by Ippei, Darros has at least one visibly-defined areola in all of his poses.

Mustafa has both nipples clearly visible in his attack and damaged art. I seriously have never thought twice about this guy before now and I've never seen this brought up, so his art stunned me when I saw it. Even more amazingly, this isn't an Ippei piece but rather was done by Toshiyuki Kusakihara, the art director of Awakening.

Still, the grand prize has to go to Ippei.

Fargus doesn't merely have nipples; he has chest hair, which I'm pretty sure makes him the only character in all of FEH with any visible hair below the neck (not counting tails on any of the furry shapeshifters, before someone brings those up). He also lacks the standard muscle definition and instead has what looks to be an actual gut. How did IS ever approve this?

Well...it probably helps that Fargus is an NPC from a pre-Awakening game who got released via a Grand Hero Battle so no one's spending orbs on him anyway.

That's the unfortunate reality of all these top picks. They're all minor characters, with two of them not even playable in their own games, and as far as I'm aware none of them are exactly premium units in FEH. They're low-value characters, and likely not ones most players are likely to take note of unlike the lords and similarly popular units, so they get to be horny in a way that's unconventional for this game.

I don't seriously expect Eik's CYL win to change much of anything when it comes to male fanservice; as I suggested at the top, his design relative to what it could have been is actually quite safe for any but the most insecure of straight men. I just hope that 3/4ths of the winners coming from FEH doesn't send IS the message that they can continue cranking out low-effort fanservice OCs instead of working on the next mainline game. Those may now only exist to subsidize the roster of the mobile gacha...but that would still be highly disappointing.

[spinnysocks]

do any other neurodivergent people feel like you're in autopilot mode. especially if you have a daily schedule that's rarely broken, you're kinda going through the motions, such as working then trying to ignore all your distractions to relax? cause like. i just realised i haven't responded to 1 friend and 3 family members in weeks 😭

[pierogish]

I grew a spine

[kagooleo]

i've only got a few goals in mind for next year and number one is to draw more riley and lance. nearly half of these have riley in em and i have GOT to draw more of him. hashtag rileysweep

[holopossums]

There's a lot of very emotional scenes in the ROTTMNT movie, for sure. But one of my personal favorites is the silhouette of Casey Jr. as he is slumped forward on the ground, Leo's lost katana cradled to his forehead.

Like wow. This is a powerful shot. You don't have to see his face to know he is full-on weeping, his posture says it all. It's panned out to show the crumbled city landscape and it dwarfs Casey, giving a sense of just how small and helpless he feels. Casey's form also blends in with the dark foreground, giving the impression to me that he feels he might as well lie down on the ground and give up.

Of course, he doesn't really end up losing present Leo, and everything turns out alright in the end. But in this moment, it's the emotions of losing the one he loves and most admires all over again that just yanks your heart out.

This shot looks like what grief and brokenness feels like. I think it resonates with anyone who's ever lost someone close to them. And I love it for that.

[manofthepipis]

Random question that’s answer is probably very obvious, but I’ll ask it just in case:

What kind of magic does each Addison specialize in, and what do they visually look like? I remember them being used in the big Spamton NEO fight in the last few chapters, but I was wondering if it could be a bit clarified?

Like, does Click’s magic just look like a Cursor, or is it more complex?

(Also, sorry if the question’s worded weirdly, I didn’t really know how to phrase it)

it's all good! i honestly had to go back to even remember what id written for that chapter just to regain my thoughts on their attacks lol

so i thoughtd id put a fun spin on some different types of advertising as if the addisons were enemies in the deltarune universe! their attacks are meant to be visualized in the deltarune fighting format, with bullets relating to their forms of advertising.

Clicks has a variation of cursors, based on clickable product advertisements that show up on webpages, whether that be pointer fingers or simple arrows, Banner has banner ads (which i imagined like literal fabric banners with some sort of advertising on them), Survey has poll-based advertising, which can be bullets of "most likely-least likely" (or whatever poll options they summon) being used as attacks, Sponsor is those ads that shows you sponsored items that pop up first in your search engine, and he doubles as sponsor ads in internet videos, the attacks being video shields or computerized reinterpretations of random items he's had lightners search in the past. Spam's used to be mail projectiles, but he doesn't use them anymore, with the exception of being Neo.

Like if you were in the game and had to fight an army of these particular addisons, you'd be met with a deltarune-style battle of cursors, banners, polling options, and random items from the light world's town. Maybe some coupons here and there. It'd be the reverse of spamton's battle, in where you actually have to buy things to spare them.

[thedrotter]

as a little treat i am sharing with you little Aya doodles I've done over the last few days to unwind ww just little expressions based on lines in-game because those are always fun to draw. nothing too special just biscuit

it's Aya because upon doing bizarrely throughout playthroughs of the game for still unspecified project purposes I've gained a soft spot for her she's my daughter now my mental tier list on my favorite characters is so confusing right now

[seriousbrat]

I'm trying to rename a house-elf character and having a little trouble so I'm going to crowdsource opinions! She's sensible, neat, dutiful, quiet, proud to serve her (awful) family, but somewhat skittish and nervous. She wears a little mophead as a dress if that helps lol.

Feel free to suggest even if you picked one! I wanted something ending in -er so that Kreacher isn't the only elf whose name doesn't end in -y. Her original name was Patter hence why most of these end in -tter.

Here are house-elf names I've already used, so I don't want anything too similar to an existing name but something that still follows conventions:

Mine: Crumbly, Tiskey, Taffy, Kreaky Original: Winky, Dobby, Kreacher, Hokey