#considering redrawing one of them for the new year

[m--rtyr]

As an apology for my inactivity, here is aphverse art of mine from every December. Since I joined :)

(Dec 2021 - Nov 2022 - Dec 2023 - Dec 2024)

[skyransketches]

art fight soon... I have so many refs to finish ;;

[artoile]

Redraw of some of my older azjm art because I'm always weak for this kind of firework setting. Concept based on a fic I will never write, but details under the cut.

Starts at the end of third year and goes throughout fourth. 

Azul manages to get an internship with a company seeking to establish trade routes between the Coral Sea and Scalding Sands to guarantee he’ll work alongside Kalim and the Asim family (and Jamil by extension) 

He sees this as a win-win situation because he gets to establish a proper connection with the Asims which will be beneficial for business later. He definitely did NOT do this because he was afraid that his time with Jamil was running out and that they’d go their own way after graduation and never speak again without school as a common ground or anything!!!

When the paperwork has been finalised, he goes to Scarabia to celebrate with Kalim and thank him for his help in securing the position. He’d requested Kalim keep it a secret from Jamil until it was official, so this is the first time Jamil’s learning about it.

Jamil uncharacteristically drops a cup and spills some tea when he hears this. It’s odd, but Azul brushes it off to the news catching him off guard and doesn’t dwell too much on it. 

After the current third years’ graduation ceremony, Azul goes to congratulate Idia but overhears Leona and Jamil talking about how Kalim interceded with his family on Jamil’s behalf to get him an independent internship outside Scalding Sands. 

It seems Jamil is doing his internship in some sort of archaeological dig and exchanging quips about it with Leona. It’s the first time Azul is hearing of this and his heart sinks.

Haha, it doesn’t matter that Jamil isn’t going to be around. He did this with the Asim family in mind, not Jamil. It doesn’t matter!!! His plans are still on track!!! (Uh huh. Very convincing.) 

Twins come along because of course they do. 

Anyway, he goes off to do his work and excels at it. He’s satisfied from a business standpoint but he feels a little hollow. Slowly becomes acquainted with the culture of Scalding Sands. 

The time for the fireworks festival comes around. Kalim shows the three of them around before they go to the spot reserved for the Asims to watch the firework show.  

The fireworks are nice but it’s not really what he expected. Come to think of it, he doesn’t know what he was expecting at all.  Well, whatever. Given how popular fireworks are with merfolk, creating and advertising some kind of travel package to those first arriving on land is an excellent business opportunity. That’s all that really matters here.

Just as he’s thinking of excusing himself to go work some more, he receives a call from an unknown number. He steps aside to pick it up, it’s Jamil. It’s been a while since Azul has heard anything from him so he’s a bit at a loss. 

Jamil is unfazed though. He says that Kalim isn’t picking up so he’s calling Azul to make sure everything went smoothly. Azul feels oddly irritated by this. 

While they’re talking, he hears fireworks echoing from Jamil’s end of the line. He also hears some music similar to the one he heard earlier while Kalim was showing him and the twins around and  realises he must be nearby. He pinpoints his location somewhere around one of the canals with ships coming all the way from the sea based on some music playing in the background and immediately runs off to find him. Twins stay behind with Kalim. 

Azul can’t pinpoint the exact reason as to why he’s so annoyed, but the idea of Jamil hanging around all day without showing his face really ticks him off. 

(He’s irritated at himself  because he feels he’s been missing Jamil one-sidedly all this time while Jamil seems to be avoiding any chance to meet)

His stamina sucks so he gets to the canal all breathless and pissed. Because some sounds on the phone are becoming more distant, he surmises Jamil is probably on one of the boats.   

He very, very briefly (and reluctantly) considers swimming all the way to the boat to give Jamil a piece of his mind, but Jamil cuts him off and tells him not to move.

J: Not another step. I won’t forgive you if you miss it. 

A: —What? 

J:  Burn this memory into your mind, Azul. 

Fireworks time!!!!!!!!!!  The point of this concept is that Jamil prepared fireworks specifically for Azul from a distance because he couldn’t be there in person due to his current job (which forces him to be at sea).

Anyway the overarching plot for most of my azjm stories is Jamil researching the old maritime routes first taken by the Asim family generations prior and roughly identifying the site of major recorded shipwrecks over the Coral Sea so that he can propose doing an internship in marine archaeology seeking to recover artefacts relevant to the legacy of the Asim family and the history of Scalding Sands from the bottom of the sea

Haha he definitely DOES NOT set this up hoping to get the chance to learn as much as he can about merfolk culture and get to see Azul every now and again during his internship haha no sir he would never! 

………………..and then Azul says he’s doing his internship in scalding sands instead (EL. OH. EL. )

Anyway, it’s dokidoki hours for Azul when the realisation Jamil did this for him sinks in (how do I write sappy stuff, I don't know actually)

J: Oi. What’s up with you? What, are you crying?

A: …Perish the thought. 

J: (SNORT) Next time, getting to see your face in person wouldn’t be so bad. 

A: …Is that a promise? Let’s get that on paper, Jamil. 

J: Don’t push your luck.

A: I’ll make sure to repay the gesture next time we meet. Please look forward to it. 

J:  There’s nothing to repay— I didn’t do anything. 

A: Ever so modest, aren’t you? 

Something something the end 

[jellyvibes710]

A year progress (or two, I’ve lost track)

I know I’m two months late since the new year but thank you all so much for reading my comics!

I have a few plans for the future and one of them is I’m going to rewrite “little baby blue” I never fully planned it out before I had jumped into it, the story had a lot of plot holes and it was hard to follow with how frequently it’d jump between parts. It’s not dead! After I finish the “parasite” storyline little baby blue will be set in motion again

The next part in the parasite story is planned to be animated with voice actors and sound effects, it’s a big project I am very excited for! Hopefully, if all goes well, there will be 2 fully voiced and animated parts for the whole series

Last project is still a secret, I’ve been working on it for about 2 years now(I took a short break because of turtles XD), it’s not a tmnt story but it’s an eddsworld story, I won’t bore you guys with those details though

The two newest drawings of Donnie and Leo are from a rough draft story I’ve been considering working on again, the twins are stuck in a loop that was caused after a battle with some bad guys goes bad, after Donnie was able to secure one of the bad guys he doesn’t realize that their battle had caused the building to start collapsing, Leo was able to portal himself and kick Dee out into safety but wasn’t able to get himself or the pinned criminal out in time and ultimately loses his life when the building caved in on him. The villains buddy uses an artifact (that they were stealing) in an attempt to save his buddies life but ultimately trapped themselves and the twins into a time loop, they eventually have to work with the criminals to fix this problem they’ve gotten into. This story has no happy ending and is VERY dark. There is only one way to stop the time loop and Donnie isn’t sure he can go through with it. Cheesy I know but I’m a sucker for a good time loop story, plus it was planned to be a very short comic

Just in case I do decide to pick that one back up I won’t put a lot of details or spoilers

Additional doodles under cut

Some screenshot redraws of Leo , I wanted to try out a few different color palettes and I really like how they look

My first time drawing big mama, I think I did good for only having one reference photo of her, though I learned that I can’t draw crop tops for the life of me 😆

[ninjagood4]

Uh, hey! I've already decided what style FotP is going to be, but I can't decide on the other artwork. I like to draw in many styles, but really don't like the chaos that happens in the profile because of it, want some stability.

A lot of people have said that the LMK based on Ninjago is the best thing I've been able to draw. It's really gaining huge momentum everywhere. I rarely do it, so…. why not make LMK my main content? What if my artwork looked like this forever? Example…

Plus it means I'll start drawing not only redraws, but individual artwork as well! It's a great opportunity to master the LMK style and raise activity, as other works are less good and remain in the shadows. I can leave the opportunity to parody styles for commissions, for example, and do it just for fun not as intense. Really I just don't understand what's going on in my profiles, one work looks completely different to another… It's not good. Maybe parodying styles is cool, but it's best not to overuse it. I'd really rather leave that skill for commiss, and if anyone wants something other than LMK and FotP, I'll do it.

Btw the FotP style is something I have yet to showcase, I've only recently been able to draw good sample frames and a poster, and will now be releasing all FotP content in this style (but☝️ will tweak it up a bit to make it all look proportional and not so blurry). Just a reminder that it's a combination of The Lion King animation and my old style. I also like that it reminds me of LMK in some ways, so that's another reason to focus on just those two styles! :D And and and… this style works really well in animation, and considering I'm going to start making animations in 2025 it's just fine.

It's still weird for me to say this. I started with no line and did something similar to WildBrain for years, and it's weird to completely abandon it and start something completely new. LMK and FotP are really better, they are easier to do and the result is not inferior. The main thing is to master both of them at the highest level.

I don't want 2025 to continue with the current chaos and uncertainty that 2024 has had. I really spent the entire year just trying to come up with the style for FotP and fulfill the requests, and all this greatly affected the quality of the content. Everything was constantly changing, some looked terrible, some looked good. Activity dropped off a lot and stopped growing, and I personally got confused on what to focus on. So now I'm going to follow a new tactic! >:D

And finally … I have very ambitious plans for 2025! In addition to starting to draw animations, I want to actively release concept art for FotP, improve its drawing and, most importantly, start drawing the comic itself! Yes, yes, I will finally start it, since I have been working on it since 2022 and in 2024 I was delayed by the lack of style. I just didn't have the ability to visualize all these ideas 🥲 As for other works, I will start developing the LMK style, drawing redraws and just fanart ^^

If about commissions, then I would like to increase the activity of orders and will try to cooperate. I don't know if it will work out, want to connect my profession with drawing without any changes and orders help me stay here (I literally can't imagine myself in another role). I avoided collaboration, but it turned out not to be so scary, so in the future I will try to be more open 🙃 The rest of the styles that I drew before, again, you will be able to request in the commission (FotP and LMK will also be available), and in addition, you can offer your own style (let's say you wanted to see your character in the style of Lilo and Stitch, Phineas and Ferb, Avatar etc. 🤷‍♂️). By the way, I plan to start accepting commissions not only for Ninjago, but also for various series in general. This was only the first year of commiss, and during this time I made several mistakes that I will now avoid, and began to understand this system better. Hope that next year I will open up better. Think for the first year the result is basically good :3

Thank you for reading to the end, see you soon! Let the changes be only for the benefit <3

[nocturnalfandomartist]

.⋆｡ﾟ Art vs Artist 2024! ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

Click for better quality!

It's my first time doing art vs artist, but I thought it'd be a nice opportunity to see how it looks! My style has been so inconsistent this year (thanks multiple style crises), but I am proud of a few pieces. Mostly. I seem to use similar techniques and colors a lot, but I guess that's the point of an art style anyway. Everything up here is cropped a bit since I don't draw at a 1:1 ratio usually. If this is your first time seeing my work, I love The Legend of Zelda and Zelink!

Thanks for another fun year of art! ^^ Some stats below:

#1 | 1,943 notes | June 18, 2024

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༺ Top 10 posts by notes!

I remember drawing this on the announcement day, within a few hours! It's my first post to surpass 1k!

My second post to surpass 1k!

#2 | 1,197 notes | June 22, 2024

#3 | 694 notes | July 27, 2024

...trends work

i need to repost this with type instead of handwriting

#4 | 572 notes | August 3, 2024

I want to redraw this one, even if it's not very canon

#5 | 546 notes | July 28, 2024

#6 | 528 notes | August 5, 2024

I will continue to change how I draw her

#7 | 456 notes | Setember 19, 2024

I tried a slightly different look here, I think it's kinda cute!

A tie!

#8 | 456 notes | June 19, 2024

Two pieces are in this post! I love Classic Zelink, so I was trying to figure out how I wanted to draw them. :) I have a lot of drawings of them to come...

#9 | 355 notes | June 9, 2024

I've really been trying to figure out how I want to do backgrounds on my doodle pages. And how to draw TP Zelda properly. Still haven't figured either out, if you're wondering.

#10 | 353 notes | May 18, 2024

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

So much from EoW... I jumped on that hype so fast, it's the Zelda game I've only ever dreamed about!! ♡ Still kind of surprised nothing from Linktober is up here, though, considering it was all the better stuff. ^^" There are a few pieces I never finished this year, also... maybe 2025 will be their year!

▪︎ • ▪︎ • ▪︎ • ▪︎ • ▪︎ • ▪︎ • ▪︎ • ▪︎ • ▪︎ • ▪︎ • ▪︎ •

Small announcement - I got a private commission I'm working on at the moment, but soon they will be entirely open again! I do character art and designs if you're interested! ^^

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

✦ Ko-Fi | ✧ Ao3 | ⟡ Bluesky

REBLOGGING IS ENCOURAGED, BUT DO NOT REPOST.

[gofancyninjaworld]

There's redraws and then there's Redraws

Or 'Effortless Talent' is a Lie That Needs To Get Dragged 'Round the Back and Shot

What can I possibly add that isn't already said? Well, I thought that there's a bit of information that's been staring us in the face but we've not understood.

Question: Why Only 48?

Famously, chapters that are replaced on the Tonari site are archived for posterity. Link On Thursday, I went to have a look at them and found that there were just 48 of them. This was odd, considering that we've seen many more chapters change between their initial online publication and final in-print edition.

Fortunately, I'm a bit of a hoarder and have a sub-site dedicated to translations (yes, send me ALL YOUR ROUGH TRANSLATIONS, EVEN JUST PARTIAL TEXT ONES! You NEVER know what they might contribute later). I was looking at the extensive changes to updates 158-163 and realised one thing: most of them were art changes, and the output of the manga chapters was NOT STOPPED to accommodate the changes. When the problem is the ART, Murata saves it for the print edition and then smoothly updates the Tonari site. The old art is NOT ARCHIVED. It disappears into Murata's scrap pile. Here's an example of how much one of those chapters changed without affecting manga chapter production. (from: https://www.tumblr.com/acidproofnotebook/677286392448122880/update-159-previously-158-changes-between)

Old version, Food Battler is given Waganma while the other heroes try to stall.

New print version: Captain Mizuki takes off with the kid and hands over to Food Battler when Nyan gives chase.

I have many more -- do dig!

So What's Archived?

I'll make it short: the chapters that are archived have story problems. They're chapters where ONE is dissatisfied with what he's set down, and fixing them materially changes the manga. THAT'S WHAT STOPS MANGA PRODUCTION. NOT ART CHANGES. The art changes, of course, because Murata is illustrating a different version of the story.

Can everyone get this straight then? If there's a hiatus for the story and redraws, that's because of ONE, not Murata. ONE really wants to tell a particular story, and he's got a fantastic partner who believes in bringing it to light as best he can. Even if it means losing a year's worth of work.

The Ninja arc in the webcomic was not treated as having much weight. For sure, we got to learn of Flashy Flash's and Speed o' Sound Sonic's histories, a bit about Blast's activities, and the two ninjas got some nice new tools. And? That's kinda it. Which is fine as things go. The manga is less 'things just happen' and more of a turbulent river into which tributaries flow and others split off.

We can see the ideas that ONE is wrestling with to turn into a concise, coherent part of a much bigger story in the manga. The 'soldier of God' concept is a define cornerstone of this, as is the interest characters have in trying to piece together what this 'God' threat is about, given their limited knowledge.

The Village having had a dual purpose is staying firmly put.

Things we see ONE trying to work out in the latest chapter are how to explore Flashy Flash's backstory without an info dump. Who needs to know it? Why? How? And to what effect? The previous iteration had most of the backstory be replayed only in Flashy's mind as he recalled what happened back then. This iteration looks like Flash is going to tell Saitama, mostly out of annoyance at being considered equal to Sonic, but still. We have to look forward to seeing how other concepts that were introduced, like Empty Void, his motivations and abilities, his relationship to Blast, how Blast knows that the guy is back, whether Flash will decide to spare the Tenninto or kill them and why... all that, we wait to see.

The Effortless Isn't

The One-Punch Man manga is a much bigger and more ambitious story than the webcomic it spawned from. Additionally, ONE has changed as a writer over the years, and his more expansive, relationship-exploring story reflects that. Will it be a long-standing success in the end? No one can tell: when the final chapter is in print, we may be looking at an overambitious work or a wonderfully wrought masterpiece showcasing a true talent.

But those forty-eight chapters are forty-eight times that ONE feels that he's failed to tell the story he really wanted to and has been willing to redo and try again. Don't let anybody tell you that talent comes from the gods. It's mostly wrought through painful effort and the courage to try again.

[aboardthescheherazade]

is it true that they removed mentions of tintin journaling/actually mentioning his job/etc when they redrew some of the older tintin comics? i swear i remember seeing examples of that once but i have no clue where to find them again

I definitely know which post you're talking about, but I can't find it either. I'll try to compile what I remember and/or know about offhand...

For the most part, the most references to Tintin being a reporter come early on in what are considered the "newsprint editions" of the comics. The first nine albums were serialized in Le Petit Vingtieme and Le Soir Jeunesse, and these pages were later re-collected and coloured (and occasionally cut down/rewritten) for what are now known as the "Casterman editions".

Tintin being a reporter is all over Land of the Soviets, and it's introduced as early as page 1. It's the silliest album, but it's also the only album thoroughly revolving around Tintin going on a reporting assignment.

(Soviets pg. 4. By God, look at that guard in the upper right. He looks like the RESPECT! butler)

Tintin is still a reporter in Congo, but it's scaled far back in the redrawn Casterman edition. In the latter, it's kept to one mention in the very first panel, which was also turned into the first appearance of Dupont and Dupond:

(Congo pgs. 1)

Meanwhile, the newsprint edition has a scene where newspaper agents try to scout Tintin as a reporter, I guess because his stories are just that good. He ultimately declines, claiming Petit Vingtieme is paying him way more than what they offer.

(Congo pg. 17)

Now, I'd had a theory that the series just became too plot-focused to keep pausing for references to Tintin's writing, but Reddit user XenophonOfAthens made a good point about Herge being forced to pause discussion of the press and current events after the nazis shut down Le Vingtieme, thus moving Hergé and many of the same staff to the nazi-overseen Le Soir and Le Soir Jeunesse. Tintin had been introduced as Le Petit Vingtieme's boy reporter who child readers could follow along with, but now with a new (heavily monitored) publication, mentions of the "boy reporter" slowly phased out.

One of the more significant edits to Tintin's reporting comes in Cigars of the Pharaoh. Sheik Patrash Pasha originally says he's followed Tintin's adventures for "several years" and presents a then-new Vingtieme publishing of Tintin in America.

In the colour edition, he instead presents Destination Moon. This album was in production at the time of the redraws, and it was one of the first albums to be published outside of Europe...but now Tintin's reaction is especially visceral, since that album involves him going to the moon with two people he hasn't met yet.

(Cigars B&W pg. 39, Casterman pg. 15. I also gave the Sheik's servant in the latter a quick edit because it was somehow worse than the 1933 version)

The last reference to Tintin's reporting for a long while was in The Broken Ear. We are now in the Soir era:

(Broken Ear pgs. 2)

This line never made it past the newsprint version. Tintin hears the news about the museum theft, and originally, he remarks that it'll make for a nice report...but in the reprint, he's just declaring that he'll go to the museum. I feel like the wording in the original could have referred to something specific about the comic's run in Le Soir Jeunesse, but it also could have been removed under the assumption that the reader would be going into this book knowing Tintin is a reporter. He does have a notepad with him through the rest of the page, but without that context, he just seems like a busybody.

I feel like there were a lot more references to his reporting in Le Journal Tintin, which is where the comic moved its publication to. This adds credence to the possibility that readers would be picking up these books knowing Tintin was a reporter, thus it being less of a focus within each album's plot. There do seem to be little hints throughout the albums about Tintin being a reporter...one of these is a moment in Explorers on the Moon where Tintin describes the moon's surface to ground control, and as a writer myself, this to me feels like him gathering his words for a future story:

(Explorers pg. 24)

However, Tintin's reporting is brought up in an album one more time, decades later, in Picaros. Tintin is referred to as a reporter on televised news, so this is at least some confirmation that he does submit journalist work, at least off-camera or between albums:

(pg. 47)

In short, Tintin's reporting started to fade off suspiciously during an era where nazis were breathing down Hergé's neck, then got a little lost in translation, and then ultimately came back.

My theory for Tintin's reporting slowly becoming less important in the albums happened either due to 1. Hergé and co. becoming more interested in writing about other things, 2. the series being moved to a vanity publication that discussed Tintin being a reporter outside of the canon comics, or 3. it got phased out during the Le Soir era because Hergé's supervisors didn't want to promote a gonzo journalist as a hero during a time with heavy political censorship and turmoil. It's completely up in the air.

[batmanfruitloops]

Happy 1st Anniversary to the Batmanfruitloops!!! 🎉

Whoo! This is such an achievement, but also it's such a crazy thought that it's been a WHOLE YEAR??? It means a lot that so many other people like our au as much as we do, and even more that we've been able to make friends; we want to thank all of you new and old for joining us here to have fun and enjoy the journey of our au!

With that said, I'd like to share some old art that's "behind the scenes" stuff from out time since we started our au.

also if you've been here since these were the profile picture and banner, you're a real one;

Fun fact, I (Sarsee) don't like fruit loops, but it was the first thing I thought of to name the blog, plus it was memorable. The au name being "Batman: A New Gotham" came later! Double plus, the abbreviation is BANG and I find that coincidence just delightful.

One of favorite changes that happened out of nowhere was John's eyes changing from more round to almond. He used to look a lot more like the Telltale Joker, but I feel like his current eyes fit better with his personality in our au. This also isn't going to show up because it's file names, but I had originally wanted to call the Joker "Jbird" like Batman calls him in the Lego Batman movie. (for context, it's the scene where Joker is tied to a bunch of balloons - you know the one - and side note, I want to redraw a screenshot from that with our Joker eventually) I don't have any pictures with a "Jbird" design because I never got the idea to work, I just thought it could have been interesting considering Joker works with Batman in our au and that would put him on theme with the Batfam being flying mammals/avians.

Most of the other original designs aren't too drastic either - or at least it doesn't feel like it to me. Scarecrow and Riddler have changed a lot though. And I think the changes that came about with Fluffy joining on board were much needed (Scarecrow's costume was always done by Fluffy, but I designed him out of costume originally -I was originally making the au myself, but that didn't last long when we started yapping about ideas to one another and never stopped) She also couldn't understand how I stylized his hair, so it became puffy and unruly instead of curly and gelled back. Ed can still gel his hair if he wanted to, just for special occasions.

Some old sillies as well from Fluffy;

we find the contrast between Batman vs. Scarecrow and Joker vs. Riddler very funny because it's so drastically different. The Joker and Riddler never really try to hurt each other, they just like to play into the dramatics and vibe while still on their separate sides. Batman and Scarecrow want to tear one another's throats out and watch them suffer for it because they have no idea what's going on in their heads.

with the villain!joker timeline, there's an alternate version of the Goon squad (Dork Squad + Joker) where it's Harvey instead of the Joker. Or as well, there can be all five of them. Harvey is the only person who can scruff Jo like the gremlin he very much is and he'll just let it happen.

I don't know if this will show up in the comic anymore, but at one point the Joker was going to refer to Scarecrow and the Riddler as Samhain and a leprechaun because they're both partially Irish - couldn't really be that specific with voice claims, and they'd be offended

and lastly, Ed gets cranky when he's tired

Batman and Riddler are the only two to get digital references at the time and man, do I much prefer how streamlined the final ones look. I mean, what was the dingy brown I had behind Batman? For a split second, Ed's coat was almost purple, but thankfully, Fluffy convinced me otherwise and suggested his shoes be purple. This is also before his vest, and now there's an in story reason for why he doesn't have it in the beginning. Also look at how skinny and tall Ed looked!! (he was still short, he's not allowed to be tall in our au)

That's all I have for now, we'd love to hear any thoughts/memories/etc. in the comments!

Love, Sarsee and Fluffy, your batmanfruitloops creatures

[peipakao]

that post about the lack of fic in opm fandom made me remember this fuckin. essay i wrote like a year ago for a reddit comment that i then shamefully deleted cos it was so entirely irrelevant to the original post. but i saved it so. here it is. a fanthropological analysis on the state of fic in opm fandom:

One Punch Man is not a small fandom by any means, but it definitely seems that most fans are of the 'dudebro who likes to powerscale' variety, and I'm continually surprised by how small the shipping and fanfic writing side of the fandom is in comparison. Like, this is one of the most popular well known anime series in the world, I'm pretty sure even the most casual of anime fans has to have at least heard of it. But it only has 5k fics on AO3, which isn't exactly small, but considering its popularity and in comparison to other popular battle action "shounen" manga (technically OPM is seinen but no one remembers that so), it is bafflingly tiny. I've thought about it a lot, and I think it comes down to multiple related reasons, both internal to the story that limit the likelihood of a fan to write fics for it, and external, lowering the number of ppl who would want to write fics for it that become/stay fans in the first place.

Let's start with internal reasons. The cast of characters is huge, made up of mostly men (a lot of whom are young + attractive). Which seems like it should be a definite boon to M/M shipping--the backbone of a large number of fandoms! But I think there's a difference in that with so many characters, screentime/focus is really spread out across them, and I'd find it hard to really tell you who counts as a "main character". On top of that, there's not a whole lot of interaction between them, they all seem much more isolated. I think this is especially the case in the biggest arc that took 7 years to complete. Even the biggest ship/pair had a ~3 year gap in the manga where they didn't appear together at all.

But there are definitely still lots of ships with potential and interactions to fuel shipping (although I still think less than comparable media), so that's not the whole story. Which brings me to my next point about external factors. Most of those ships are not in the early parts of OPM, and you're probably gonna have to read through the manga and also the webcomic to get to them. Most people have not done this, and have probably only watched season 1 of the anime, considering that was the peak of its popularity. And those early parts are much more comedic, so I think the impression most ppl have of OPM is that it's primarily a gag anime/manga. Which is still true, but the story has definitely gotten more complex and serious. So I think a lot of people who might want to write fic for OPM probably don’t get into it because they don't expect it to have much potential in that regard.

I think the release schedule of the anime also plays a huge role, with the anime taking 4 years to come out with a (widely considered) disappointing second season, and with a third season trailer having been released after like 5 years. It’s probably not an understatement that most anime/manga fandoms are much more focused on the anime side of things, and not everyone who enjoys an anime is going to then get into the manga.

And let's not forget the manga and webcomic release schedule, with the webcomic releasing basically solely according to ONE's whims, and the manga constantly going through redraws. Which I'm not necessarily complaining about since we get all this lovely content for free! But it does pose another hurdle for new potential fans, and I imagine there are quite a few who simply didn't want to put in that commitment over time, or honestly just got confused about what was going on.

OPM as a whole has lost a lot of relevance, it seems not many people are getting into it right now and many fans who did write fic for it at the peak of its popularity have probably left the fandom in search of greener pastures.

This is all just speculation though. I wasn't actually in the fandom when it was popular, only got into it a few years ago, so my theories on its decline aren't super backed up. I hope it gets popular again, having said all that I think there's so much fandom potential that isn't being tapped into. Like others have said, a lot of fandom/fic is based on filling in gaps and aspects that weren't explored, and there's plenty to explore in OPM.

[stellastra-scribbles]

Finally completed the outfit reference for Jayna Stiles, a half-elven NPC follower from Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.

Outfit breakdown (or "outfit onions" as I like to call them lol~)

I really like Jayna Stiles and her backstory + goals of becoming a technological healer. I'm also a sucker for 19th-century fashion and I have an unhealthily large collection of reference books and a bunch of files saved from online museum collections (I've got about 22+ gigabytes of refs downloaded from the Library of Congress alone haha I need more hobbies).

More unrestrained detailed design ramblings below the cut~

Back on track, I really just wanted to design Jayna an outfit that suited her character more than her in-game sprites while also being practical for travel/adventuring.

Individual layers. I pulled most of her colors from her default outfit.

Since Arcanum's starting year is 1885, I usually picture the "modern" sense of fashion in big cities like Tarant and Caladon taking cues from real life 1885-1890s western fashions (to give myself some leeway with references). Smaller towns can be a bit more dated, but I try not to go back further than the 1870s in most cases.

However, for a character like Jayna, who hails from Dernholm, I gave her clothing from references dating back to the 1850-1860s. I did this because Jayna says in her recruitment dialogue that "[her] parents weren't wealthy people, and [she doesn't] make much money here in Dernholm," so I took this to mean that she likely wears clothing to last, wearing hand-me-downs, makes her own clothes, and mending it over the years rather than buying new clothes.

Given that Dernholm (+ the Kingdom of Cumbria in general) isn't in the best state when the game starts, they may be behind the times and the latest fashions take longer to reach Dernholm.

Gar: “Alas, poor Dernholm! Once home to the legendary Dragon Knights, it has fallen on hard times since Praetor became king some 60 odd years ago. He despises all technology, and I think he's recently become sour on magick as well.”

Herkemer Oggdoddler: “For two generations Cumbria languished as an economically abused and technologically impaired backwater in the shadow of Tarant. Its once fine capital, Dernholm, has become a ruin.”

Layer 1 - Chemise + Open Drawers. I deliberately drew the drawers as fairly loose so as to not expose her without having to redraw the pose or resort to "Barbie doll anatomy."

Various resources demonstrated the chemise being tucked into the drawers or worn fully untucked/loose, but I drew it as tucked-in for the sake of reference visibility, so perhaps either one works in practice.

Layer 2 - Corset + Socks/Stockings. I picked a more "contemporary" (1880s) design for the corset as I imagine it would be a more custom-fitted garment. Plus, anyone who has ever worn bras will attest that a bra that properly fits is comparable to a good pair of shoes: never cheap out on it because if you take care of it, it will take care of you. Perhaps that same logic can be applied to corsets in ye olden days and historically-inspired fantasy settings.

For Jayna, despite the simplistic design, it might be one of the few luxuries she can afford for herself given the necessity of the garment for bust support.

Layer 3 - Trousers + Shoes. I was inspired by vivandières and Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, who typically wore trousers beneath their skirts. Dr. Walker was a "surgeon, women’s rights advocate, abolitionist, and spy, [and] the first female U.S. Army surgeon during the Civil War." Since Jayna is an aspiring technological healer, I feel like an allusion to Dr. Walker and her practicality was appropriate.

Layer 4 - Petticoat. It's just something to fill out the skirt volume a tad. I considered adding a corset cover in this layer but I did like having the upper outline of the corset somewhat visible in the shirtwaist layer to illustrate her living situation (aka she doesn't have one or just has a poor-quality one). As a modern-age woman, I think this this all already looks like a laundering nightmare to wash by hand.

Layer 5 - Shirtwaist + Outer Skirt. I really like the shape of the 1860s Garibaldi blouse's sleeves (I think these are bishop sleeves? correct me if I'm wrong...) and the stripes allude to some 19th century nurse uniforms. I initially went for a plaid pattern but that was a pain to draw and using a pre-existing plaid brush/pattern just didn't look as good as I wanted it to be.

Layer 6 - Sash + Pistol Holster + Bag. Given Jayna's goals of becoming a tech healer, I took design cues from vivandières, who were 19th-century women attached to military regiments, with a few known vivandières being nurses (like Anna Etheridge).

However, rather than lifting the vivandière look completely, I imagine Jayna would attempt to replicate the silhouette with her own clothes. The bag is a bit of an amalgamation of various 18th-19th century hunting/frontier bags, so I apologize that I don't have a direct reference image.

---------------

Of course, in the end, I did take some liberties with the outfit so it's not completely historically-accurate, but that's okay since Arcanum is a fictional universe.

I guess I should've prefaced that I'm no expert on historical fashion, just a casual enthusiast who thinks "ooh old dress is pretty!"

I just wanted to see how far I could go before I had to make some concessions, such as:

Jayna's hair is short and worn loose while irl Victorian women typically had long hair and wore them up (there were documented exceptions of course). Many portraits for both female player characters and female NPCs across all in-game races show short hair and loose long hair, so let's just assume that 19th-century Arcanum has more relaxed feminine hair standards compared to the real-life 19th century western world. Also, irl 19th-century rural women did sell their hair for money, so maybe there's something to apply to the world of Arcanum with that. Or maybe the short-hair craze just hit Arcanum a few decades early *shrug*.

I initially planned to give her gloves, but many resources show vivandières not really wearing them, preferring to go barehanded.

The clothing colors may be a bit too saturated for the era I took inspiration from, but I wanted to stay somewhat faithful to Jayna's original sprite colors.

I did simplify some garments down for the sake of me having to draw enough layers as it is lol. Sorry if the lace wasn't fancy enough or that she doesn't have headwear. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sometimes you just wanna finish a project and be done with it.

hoo boy, that was a lot

Thank You For Coming to My TED Talk :)

Now go play Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura~

[voidbeau]

Silly Mr. Plant Ramble: His Vines!

I talked about it a little bit on one of my redraws but I wanna yap a little more about them.

Sorry if there's a bit of repeat here im a senile old beetle, but I do talk about some more stuff lmaoo.

Giving Mr. Plant vine designs was always a fun decision for two reasons like, I'll gladly admit that a big part of the idea initially- at least for me, I know there's others who ended up doing this for their Mr. Plant too, but for ME, it was just because I've always liked the tattoo aesthetic. I have many many OCs with tattoos and many more that will continue to have them loool. But ALSO, the idea that Mr. Plant can just grow and manipulate vines to use as extended limbs has always lived rent free in my head- and other people's I'm sure! In fact, I even linked to the post that initially inspired me to consider Mr. Plant vines on one of my redraws.

The post that inspired it is a couple years old at this point i think??? but I'll link it again cause it's worth lookin at. Here.

Our presentation of Mr. Plant vines is different of course but that's the part of the fun, the differences. I love the idea of these vines that Mr. Plant has that can just slither out from underneath his flesh as needed. Like he just has a network of them beneath his skin and- as I mentioned before in my redraw where i talked about it, they just kind of sit near the surface of his skin like blood vessels or something.

Whenever I'm drawing Mr. Plant and I'm coloring in his vines, I think about watching them move or twitch or readjust themselves while they're still nestled comfortably under his flesh.

In fact I think I even mention in the fics that I managed to post that they tend to move the most when he's experiencing high emotion.

How comfortable is it for Mr. Plant??

I always imagine the vine patterns on Mr. Plant tend to change a lot because they shift and also because when Mr. Plant brings them out for use and then tucks them away again, they kind of nestle back into a new position...

And also because I can't be arsed to map out and stick with a consistent pattern when I'm drawing Mr. Plant.

BUT THAT STILL MAKES FOR FUN VINE LORE

Because I imagine it must feel a very particular way to slip those things out and back in again. Maybe it even gets uncomfortable or tender on those spots on his body if he does it too much???

Fun things to think about.

But because of the fascinating or even unsettling nature of watching these slithering, wriggling things underneath someone's flesh, Mr. Plant always kept them covered because- similar to horror stories from people with tattoos, people in the Void tend to forgo things like personal space and "minding one's own business" when they see Mr. Plant's vines.

Not even when the vines are out but even just when they're chilling under his skin.

"Woah, does that hurt??"

"Can I touch your arm?"

"Ew, that's disgusting!"

Que people attempting to grab Mr. Plant's hand or wrist for a better view.

And then all manner of other unnecessary and annoying comments that Mr. Plant had to deal with so he just opted to wear long sleeves all the time when going out in public.

I can't imagine many of those people who had the audacity to grab him are still alive though but, to prevent future mishap!

The sweater.

But I like to think because Argos liked Mr. Plant's vines so much- both because he thought they were pretty and also with the way I tend to imagine the placement of Argos' eyes across his body: in coiling swirling patterns, he was like, "wow, me too!!! See?"

And slowly overtime Argos managed to convince Mr. Plant to show them off more again.

I do like to think that when Mr. Plant is out and about on his own- depending on where he's going though, he may choose to cover up again, just to avoid any potential hassle. But as long as he's with Argos, he'll have his vines out on display for him. <:

Maybe not always but most of the time.

I also like to think Mr. Plant has days where he let's them just kind of splay out across his Void, like he's stretching them out.

Stuff I never talked about before because I was always super self conscious about my very slight design choices for Mr. Plant lmaooo.

But I don't care as much, I'll yap about anything at this point. Sort of. Looool.

The other reason I bring it up- other than just cause I think it would be fun to talk about is because, I was just working on some Mr. Plant art and whenever I come to his vines I'm always thinking, "What did I do last time? Should I try to keep it the same? No... but maybe similar. Nah fuck it, they're all over the place."

Cause sometimes I'm on the fence about whether or not I want to keep a consistent pattern. Tbh tho like i said, I'm lazy and also I think it's a lot more fun to think that they move around and also be able to kinda see that lmao.

Basically it was just on my mind lmaoo and I thought, "you know I never really go into it..."

And I have thoughts.

I always have thoughts.

[ducktoonsfanart]

Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit as Romulus and Remus, as the founders of Rome - Toon History - History in Duckverse and Mouseverse - Happy Birthday to the Best City!

Yes, it's time to change my plans now with my new project called Toon Historia, also History in Duckverse and Mouseverse in which our famous cartoon and comic characters play famous historical figures and will play in important historical events . And first I drew Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Mickey Mouse as the founders of Rome, as Romulus and Remus. Romulus and Remus, according to Roman mythology and Roman tradition, were the sons of Rhea Sylvia and the god Mars and grandsons of King Numitor. Numitor's brother Amulius overthrew his brother and ordered the execution of his children, including the sons of Sylvia who were thrown into the Tiber River. However, according to legend, a she-wolf found them and raised them until the shepherd Faustulus came along and adopted them. Afterwards they grew up and when they heard the truth, they went to overthrow Amulius and succeeded and restored their grandfather Numitor to be king of the city of Alba. Afterwards, Romulus and Remus went to seven hills in the valley of the Tiber River and there on April 21, 753 BC they founded the eternal city, which will be called Rome. Yes, there was a conflict between the two in which Romulus killed his brother (a tragic event) and thus took the title of the first king of Rome.

Oswald and Mickey who were created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney in 1927 and 1928 also became the first Disney icons, however the conflict between Iwerks and Disney resulted in Oswald being part of Universal, until in 2006 Disney bought the rights to Oswald. Yes, that's why I drew Mickey and Oswald as Romulus and Remus, because of that parallel, but don't worry, Mickey won't kill his brother, even though mice and rabbits are not the same species, they are still considered brothers because of Epic Mickey. As Romulus and Remus were the founders of Rome, so Oswald and Mickey were the founders of the new world.

I drew this last year, but I waited for this moment to publish now and I drew it as a redraw from an illustration by Tancredi Scarpelli (1866–1937) for Storia d'Italia by Paolo Giudici (Nerbini, 1929). I drew Mickey in my own style, while I left the old look for Oswald, because I still like him better with dot eyes. And yes, I drew this on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the creation of Disney as well as the 75th anniversary of Topolino magazine, which is published in Italy, and the capital of Italy is definitely Rome. Yes, Rome, the eternal city and capital of one of the greatest empires and greatest civilizations of all time. As well as related to the birthday of the City of Rome, which is celebrated on April 21 every year. Happy Rome Day! Roma Aeterna!

I hope you like this drawing and this idea and if you want to support feel free to like and reblog this! I just ask that you don't copy my same ideas without mentioning me and without my permission. Thank you! Happy Rome Day, my favorite city in the world!

[icedgin]

I think you it would be cool if you did the tangled scene where Flynn is like “you were my new dream” and rapunzel answers “and you were mine” with jayvik ‘cause I think that would also fit them amazingly!!! (just a suggestion ofc, don’t feel pressured or anything like that!!!) :)

I loved your jayvik tangled drawing btw!!! Ur art style is just chefs kiss

I was considering doing more tangled redraws, and that scene was one I had in mind! I also think it fits them perfectly.

I wanted to rewatch the movie first to help solidify how I want the AU to go, but I don't have enough time at the moment. I do plan on doing more tangled pieces though, hopefully this year still!

thank you for the ask and sweet comment <3

[s-dei]

Neurodivergent ppl (or IDK, the ones who consider themselves kinda weird comparing to others, geeks, or somebody else whom I can't find the wording) - how do you cope with a feeling that others (no randos) won't adjust to your tastes and interests while you have to?

Like look, I'm fandom and internet-spaces fella, I would spend hours dicsussing some blorbo, or which villain has the best ass, or gender headcanons, or new meme everyone redraw, or that funny horny commy I drew yesterday and rly proud of. Yet I know "we live in society", so when I go to the grocery shop or a clinic or my job I don't feel an urge to infodump a worker with something of this. But when it's about my free time, of course I prefer to spend it with ppl I match with "my stuff".

The problem is mostly around relatives. They invite me everytime a family gathering, and everytime it's a nightmare. When I was in my young+student years and was financially dependent, I had little choice if to escape it or not, and it was moslty better than activities I could afford myself. Now when I can choose, I don't go here, coz... everytime it's the same. You come there, and everybody ask: "How are you doing/ What's your job/ How much are you paid/ How much is rent/ Do you have a partner and why not". After you answered, they go speaking to each other discussing their jobs/salary/housing/ their student days and recall all the same stories from the past everyone heard 100 times.

I do understand why people do this, but it don't fits me. I know they care. Not like I'm against discussing salary or how your body hurts today and you take your pills. I DO discuss it with my friends, and once we had it discussed, we go to our blorbos and fandoms or something what is fun and kinda away from real life. On the gatherings, they say "come on, there will be lots of ppl and LOTS FUN" and everytime it's fucking not.

I don't hate my relatives, I'm always ready to help if I can, I'm glad to see them and know they're alright, but having to spend lots of hours or even sleepover just because "a family should gather sometimes" is really exhausting. I had it recently, I tried to explain to my mom that "I'm a weirdo and I don't have fun around normal people", and she always responds "why couldn't you try and CHANGE YOURSELF?" and it hits me every fkin time. What should I change? I can discuss your fkin salary and family goals, but do you want to listen to my gender research on myself? Are we goin to nicky smash or not? Do you want to discuss dat 2h Elden Ring lore video? I know you don't. Why should I change if you won't do that for me? Of course, your things are universal and mine are for a certain group of ppl. But I didn't came here just to spoil your mood. It was you who invited me, it was you who promised fun and provided none.

What can I really change about it? I don't know how to reconcile with it.

[judithan-xing]

oc phone bg + detail shots ^w^

This is a redraw of an old phone background I made a couple years back, except I wanted to make it themed around my unofficial Year of Yaoi I've been doing. It's a celebration of all of my gay protagonists, with more detailed notes about them under the read more, please consider taking a look through at it, I really poured my heart into this piece ;w;

[In order of top to bottom, left to right]

Fester and Riot (Lordless) are what I would consider the ship that is the most "I would kill for you", in a mutual way. Riot is given his Blessing by Abaddon and prays and worships him at every hardship, completely unaware that the creepy, rot-smelling freak that he's been helping unwillingly is the object of his worship. Fester would do anything for Riot, having fallen in love with him the moment he laid eyes on him, and suffers torture and having his wings ripped from him and still goes to Riot's side.

Valcher and Dirk (Red Snow) are obsessed with each other. Codependent, but in a way that's mutually beneficial. Valcher hates humans and finds them disgusting (his vampyric diet consisting of wild game) but trusts Dirk with his life and finds him to be Different than the rest. Dirk is obsessed with Valcher and realizes that his repressed lack of want for love or sex has actually been due to needing a Freak Like Him. His love for Valcher comes easily.

(Center panel) Tamara and Judas (Magus Society) are the It Couple of All Time. Judas originally courts Tamara on the idea that he's both extremely powerful, frail, and naive, but eventually can't help but truly fall in love. His dubious morals are no match for Tamara's virtue, and he changes, not just to save the world, but to earn back his love's trust. And Tamara, despite the heart ache he's put through, lets Judas back in. Forgives him, loves him flaws and all. A Demon Prince and his Deity of Hope.

Saber and Lux (Elemon) are rivals. While Saber is nonbinary so this wouldn't count as MLM, Lux is also nonbinary so it still counts a T4T. Lux is exceptional at everything he does, between training Elemon to besting others in combat, to the point it enrages Saber. How could this idiot Nobody beat them? Over the course of their story, however, Saber learns to realize they never stood a chance. Lux is in a league of his own. The respect becomes mutual, and the crush is incidental. If you ever asked what their relationship is, they'd both say "we're just rivals" even after making out.

Sinclaire and Kail (Demon In The Machine) are... coworkers, if you could call them that. Kail, in a desperate attempt to find a better life for himself and his sister, and get them off the frozen hellscape of Titania, makes a deal with a devil - an Arma demon named Sinclaire. He sells his soul in exchange for a new hand and a mech. What he doesn't know is included is his heart, clutched in the black claws of his boss, his owner, his downfall. Toxic lovers to the end.

Avelar and Gentri (Legend of Arcadia) are bodymates. Gentri is the God of Nature, Avelar a man of science, and in an effort to turn himself into a God he fused the soul core of one into him and became permanently bound to the deity. Gentri detests him at first, trying to do anything and everything he can to remove himself from the semi-mortal prison, but eventually grows to understand and even like Avelar as a person. He learns of human fear, mortality, abandonment, and while he wishes to be a separate person he grows to enjoy the man's company... especially after several decades of Avelar furiously trying to find a way to undo his mistake. Their trope is enemies to reluctant friends to lovers.

Sterling and Rez/Rezykai (Benevola) are acquaintances by necessity at first. Sterling is a merc who takes jobs others don't want, and when he's asked to transport Rez across the border he nearly refuses. But he does it anyway, and goes from being barely involved with his political drama to integral and attached. They're both idiots and bicker constantly, but they both care deeply about the other and would kick anyone's ass for touching them. Sterling is cold and Rez is a tsundere and together they're hilarious and insufferable.

All of these ocs have spanned the course of my entire artistic life. Tamara and Judas for example I drafted up in 2007, while Saber and Lux are my most recent mainstay duo having been created in 2023. I love my ocs a lot and I could go on and on about them forever if prompted. (pls send me asks about my ocs lol)

if you got this far tysm i cherish you <3