#couldn't resist that homage

[luzity]

all lumity kisses in the owl house

[mobius-m-mobius]

I know what kind of god I need to be... For you.

[simplydnp]

WAD: Cover Art

dan is still working on selling the distribution rights for We're All Doomed! so i decided to make some DVD/Blu-ray disc jacket art!

this is my attempt at a traditional jacket design! none of the images used are mine, but i did create the concept and design:

as i was making the first one for myself, i was struck by the fact that 'well, it's for me, so it doesn't have to look like a stereotypical jacket cover' which led me to be more artsy in my approach for the next one:

i was really enjoying the creativity and space to explore, so i went looking for more inspiration for a third design. this led me to dan's favourite Muse album: Origin of Symmetry, which i paid homage to:

after the first Muse album, i looked at their catalogue to see if there was more inspiration there. i was just thankful dan's favourite was easy stylistically to mimic, unlike say, 2009's The Resistance...

thank you @danielhowell for the inspiration!

nerdy stuff & reference pics below the cut!

General notes

i don't know how to use photoshop! i entirely brute-forced my way through the whole project, and the only tutorial i looked up was for the gradient text in the 4th cover

this wasn't even the original project i was working on! you'll eventually get to see that though

and this one also inspired art for the disc itself so stay tuned 👀

i will do anything for authenticity so these are Full of intentional details

matching fonts is a nightmare

the traditional cover

took the longest, as it was the first.

the barcode numbers are the date of the first video he uploaded on dinof, and the last tour show date (in m/d/y)

i changed 'iceland' to 'poland' on the front cover, as he never actually went to iceland, and poland wasn't ever on the list even though he did go there

the orange may look a little off-center in the front, but these designs need to include space for a spine between the front and back cover, i promise it's right 😂

the black and white cover

inspired by the 'i want to believe' aliens poster

the cover art comes from his metal band merch shirt design

i had to manually shrink the text, line by line, and ensure it all lined up on the back!

i even made the logos on the back greyscale

the Muse: Origin of Symmetry cover

a shockingly perfect style for a WAD cover. i'm so glad i used the cubes, even if they couldn't be orange.

there's some versions of the art online where the sky is even more orange and it baffles me how i haven't seen any parallels like this before

the Muse: The Resistance cover

this cover was never supposed to see the light of day! i meant it when i said i was grateful i didn't have to try to adapt this complex design... and yet, i tried anyway.

i did all the grid lines by hand, including the jagged/broken edge parts, shading each section, and then drawing every star.

the hardest part was getting the gradient on the back text to cooperate. photoshop's gradient settings are surprisingly limited

gotta shout out @amazingphil for being the reason i knew what this cover looked like--it's the only muse album i knew the art of before embarking on this quest!

obligatory sob story:

i've been extremely and suddenly ill for 6 months. it is difficult to function moment to moment, but especially in doing little things just for me. this is the first and only art project i've been able to feel inspired to not only work on, but to finish, and despite the pain and long hours, i enjoyed every minute of it. thank you, dan, for creating this space for me to explore, and thank you, everyone here, for being wonderful support during this time 💞

[nemo-in-wonderland]

SO. Ever since yesterday night, the brain has been braining (as it always does when I get the chance to create a new character), so after sketching Lucanis and Ravenna yesterday, today I had to actually solidifying Ravenna's own design and at least an hint of back story (but please, keep in mind that I am still learning about the lore), and omg I am actually so happy with how she turned out!

As I mentioned in the previous artwork with her, Ravenna is completely blind in her right eye (an unfortunate encounter with a wolf in her youth), and bears scars from the encounter with the wolf. Because of this, she often wears all sorts of half-mask that are as flamboyant as her clothing lolol. She doesn't truly need to, becasue she is not ashamed about her scars, but homegirl got a penchant for THE DRAMA. THE PIZZAZZ. (And if you are wondering, yes ERIK WAS MY INSPIRATION FOR HER LOL), so she likes to wander around wearing masks.

It was my way to pay homage to the Venetian Masks and the Commedia dell'Arte that I love so much (infact, with her personality, I find her particularly akin to Arlecchino lololol).

Also, I kinda HC that, handling Necromantic Magic comes with a price, on the long run, and that is why Ravenna's fingers are blackened.

But here you can see more some of Ravenna's stats (the template is by @riessene)

AND YES.

I COULDN'T RESIST.

RAVENNA *HAD* TO BE A NECROMANCER.

I like to imagine that Ravenna's sunny personality is a direct result of her belonging to the Mourn Watch, and the result of having to work every day, all day long, with the dead and their spirits. Like,

I like to imagine that she is Emmrich's Assistant Professor, and the two of them have actually an endearing friendship (which is also the reason why Ravenna dresses all flamboyant and whatnot: it's a bit of a challange between the two of them about who is going to serve the most cunt fml).

I just like to imagine these two scholars just bonding over magic, papers and gossip from Antiva (like Emmrich is totally on board with hearing all the latest news about Ravenna's sister, Inquisitor Velahris, and her attempts to woo Varric).

Well, I hope you will like her!! <3

I honestly had so much fun, and I cannot wait to draw her with Lucanis again <3

--Nemo

[windydrawallday]

WINDY!!!!

IF YOU DOODLE YOKETRON AND DARKSEER IN HER ALT MODE MY LIFE IS YOURS!!!

/lh of course only if u wanna

There's a practical reason WHY Yoketron has such long decorative pointy helm details...

BONUS because I couldn't resist: with sparkling Lockdown!

Now you all know WHERE he got such weird markings and spiny pseudo-organic traits (at least in Melon's AU).

PS I put little horns on him (that he will shed when maturing) because he is very Dark Maul coded to me and as a homage to the character that gave reason for his creation: Death's Head.

[redesigningxmen]

REDESIGNING MAGIK

Welcome to Limbo! Our group chose Illyana Rasputina, the marvelous Magik for this round! Introduced as the younger sister of Colossus, Magik joined the 80s New Mutants team as a young teen and has since flourished into an A-Lister in her own right. She's been a member of the Phoenix Five, Cyclops' renegade X-Men squad, the Krakoan New Mutants, and the 2022 X-Men team.

She has several inspiration points for artists and redesigners to pull from. She's most well-known for her all-black 2012 look but has also sported demonic and fantasy influences as someone connected to the hellish Limbo and her malevolent alter ego, the Darkchylde.

See what our enthusiastic and talented team of artists did this round, and make sure to follow them on social media for more fantastic art!

(The handles presented after artists names are their Twitter handles, but many use the same name on other platforms!)

Léa Dupic | @/kimodraw

"I went full speed ahead into medieval land and dressed Illyana in a full metal shiny armour, putting emphasis on her sword bearing arm with a biiiig spiky shoulder pad. Gave her a punk lesbian haircut while keeping her iconic bangs, because I think she should be allowed to be more of a punk lesbian. And I couldn't resist adding a touch of demon form with the horns. She's gloomy she's menacing she's spiky and shiny she's the girl of my dreams."

Giovanni Saroldi | @/RaulGiova 

"Just like matter, let’s give ‘Yana three states! Solid, liquid, gas? Kinda, not quite! From angelic to demonic, with her main form being the in-between totality of herself, where she can draw whichever power she needs.

It’s geometric, it’s chic, it’s retro-futuristic Terry Moore with the Horns of Galaxy The Prettiest Star meets Ludmilla from Bartok mid-transformation."

John Caden | @/johncaden64 

"I've always felt the Bachalo design was great, but could get very male-gazey.  I tried to make it more comfortable, while also keeping the same goth feel.  I do feel she needs to just go all-in goth, so let's shave her head, get some thick black mascara and commit to the bit! "

John Marsh | @/pastelrake

"What if Illyana had been a Russian figure skater?"

Joe Pryde | @/joeprydecosplay

"My inspiration for this design came from the idea of “what if Magik was an elder emo” complete with Kristen Stewart fem mullet, high waist buckled tights, and sleeveless crop top hoodie. I also wanted to pay homage to previous designs."

Haydn | @/ThatsSoHaydn 

"I had but one simple thought: What if the Soul Sword was a rapier? And thus fencing Magik was born. I wanted the geometric shapes of the dark bodysuit to contrast with the curves of the golden armor, whilst still adding a little magic and mystery with her cloak and mask. "

Dale Yaddow | @/DaleYaddow

Version 1 "The Savage Magik". Having been stripped of her magical knowledge, Illyana Rasputin hunts down various enchanted artifacts to replace what she's lost. Becoming desperate she seems to be willing to steal and sometimes kill to get these talismans. Among these are the Soul Dagger of Pixie, the medallion of Daimon Hellstrom, Holy bands from "Heven" and a cursed skull from an alternate version of Lockheed.

Version 2 "Mistress Magik" This is an older more seductive Magik that's been corrupted by the influence of Selene and embraced her sensuality, opening up a whole new avenue of mystical arts that she hadn't dared explore before. She now uses her SoulSword to capture the essences of her foes and much like Selene feeds on them keeping her young and vital.

Version 3 "Magik, Queen of Hell" Many questioned the logic of Magik giving Limbo to Madelyne Prior but the end game has been revealed. Illyana allowed Madelyne to tether her magic to Limbo, knowing eventually "Maddie" would get greedy and begin bringing more power to that dimension. With a carefully hidden clause in the Limbo transference spell Magik takes back Limbo and all the power within it and successfully overthrows all the Hell Lords, unifying the many dreaded dimensions under one fearsome rule, hers.

Anthony Ruiz | @/thwwipstickers

"Almost as soon as Magik was decided on for this design challenges I had two ideas strike me simultaneously ... The first of those ideas was the image of Illyana as a 90's Riot(ish) on the cover of a Magazine. I wanted to give her an edgy grungy vibe but still pay homage to her Demonic nature.

Shortly after Finishing my first Design I just knew I had to make my second idea come to life.

What if Illyana was an Anime Mech Pilot and Wore a Plugsuit... thats it... thats the idea. I really wanted to strike the Balance between Anime Plugsuit but still being noticeably Magik and X-men.

I kept the Bright yellow Color scheme with hints of black and red and chose to interpret her Armored arm into a Mechanized oversize cybernetic arm that helps fuel her Plasma Powered Soul sword that springs forth from her Gauntlet."

Isaiah Cox | @/isaiahbeenlost

"When designing my Magik look, I wanted to expand on ideas I had when drawing her a couple years ago by keeping her look sleek, yet scary stylish! So, I referenced a lot of Castlevania and Yoshiaki Kawajiri designs to get that cool anime look for her down! I plucked some fashion inspirations for the costume from places like: Mugler, Alexander McQueen, LaQuan Smith, JRPG rogues and medieval accessories! And for her new soul sword, I decided to give her an Odachi because since she already lived her Cloud Strife fantasy starting from the Bendis-era, I thought it was time for her to live her Sephiroth moment with this giant Japanese sword!"

David J Hughes | @/0ddeity

"I think with Magik I started out pretty traditional for her. Then I got to thinking our Russian Queen deserves a Mugler-esque fit. I wanted to go down the knight or warrior route, but then I thought ‘What If’ this was an AU Illyana raised by Patch and she got all of Logan’s training rather than Kitty and Jubilee, or, alongside them. So, bham, Oni-demon menpo mask and samurai elements on top of the Mugler flair."

Fleshmonk | @/fleshmonk

"Went through a bunch of design iterations, but settled on this cool plasticky vinyl plugsuit like version of Magik. I gave her a bob to mature her a bit and to move her towards a new silhouette."

Joshua Bruckner | @/joshingtonbear

"I took a bit from Magik's more armored designs, which I've always liked the most, and her goth jock aesthetic, and blended them. I rejected the Bachalo booty shorts in favor of a skirt, which gives her a bit of a 'cheerleader from hell' look."

Seye Sanyaolu | @/seye_art

"My intention for this redesign was Magik in a very dystopian future and so I imagined a 3/4 darkchylde Illyana that is in control of her self and powers (although almost lost it). In this future, most of the X-Men are gone and Illyana keeps a worn and frayed X-jacket on for the nostalgia :’)"

[leoruby-draws]

Here's a fun little comic, with Bluejay Jason meeting with his fellow Blue Jays, Jay Abrams! Jason is such a menace, Dick's so embarrassed lol.

Blue Jay is an interesting minor hero who (along with his fellow Champions of Angor) is patterned after Marvel superheroes, he's basically supposed to be Ant-Man. In fact, his entire home world is modeled after the Marvel Universe. Which kinda came off as weird since their supposed to be aliens but their world looks just like ours, or a 80s version of it anyways. Jay has a rough time in the comics, what with losing his planet, friends, and doesn't get a whole lot of respect as a hero. Here's hoping he has a better time in my au!

This meeting between the Blue Jays was something that I was bound to draw at some point, since Blue Jay is an actual superhero in DC comics, was something I discovered while googling heroes with bird names (btw, Starling is also a superhero in the comics as well, I've got a drawing concerning them but that's for a different time.). By then I'd already grown really attached to the name, so I had to figure out a way to make them co-exist.

But turns out, there was a solution available! Thanks to how the timelines work in the comics and for my own au, Jason in the TrWh au would already be Robin by the time Jay Abrams arrives to earth. In the comics Blue Jay (along with Silver Sorceress, and Wandjina) debut directly at the start of post-crisis (late 80s). Canon Jason was already halfway between his tenure as Robin, and my TrWh Jason follows a similar timeline (he might've become Robin just a year younger maybe tho).

So technically the comic above is not actually 'canon' to my au! It's a 'non-canon' gag, made for the sake of the joke of the two Blue Jays meeting! They're never actually Blue Jays at the same time, but I couldn't resist drawing it lol.

Here's the actual 'canon' meeting between them below:

Jason can be such a gadfly sometimes lmao. Also here's some extra drawings of (Bluejay, so also 'non-canon')Jason being annoying to Jay, how do you even handle having a 8 year old antagonist? Jason just likes bothering the older Blue Jay, there can only be one!!

Also bonus drawing of Jay and Laura, I decided to be funny and model Jay's face after Paul Rudd's face. I know that the Ant-Man Rudd plays is actually the second ant-man (I think...didn't watch the movie), so not the ant-man Blue Jay is suppose to homage. Here it is:

Well, hope you liked all that!

[fraopic]

"How could I resist the temptation to create a mermaid for today's prompt? Obviously, I couldn't help but pay homage to the transformations from '90s anime, like Sailor Moon!"

[mooncalfe-art]

Hi Miss Sophie! I hope you’re doing well, and had a good Halloween. Do you think you would be able to give a basic overview of Venus’ powers?

Hi! Thanks, hope you had a good Halloween too. :)

I kinda left Venus's powers undefined on purpose, but basically I wanted her to have almost entirely defensive and helpful "utility" abilities plus psychic type abilities like telepathy and astral projection. One outlier I can think of off the top of my head is a part in issue 130 where she shoots one of Barlow's goons with sort of a magic laser beam, but I justify it that she had just woken up from a coma and was still figuring things and those goons were kind of undead anyway.

But after she regains much of her identity in Alliance #4, I tried to keep her powers to things like conjuring energy shields to block/deflect/redirect/protect others and no direct offensive attacks. There was one point I thought about giving her healing powers but decided it was too risky like it can make things feel less perilous/dangerous if the characters can just run to the healer afterward and get fixed up after every fight.

Besides all that, the other big thing she did was transform Jasper Barlow into his original form which was meant to be an homage to what she did to Shredder in Next Mutation, using her magic to separate the "evil" persona out of him which I took as sort of a metaphor for removing someone's negative programming and hang-ups. I thought maybe it was too OP but I couldn't resist riffing on that old scene where Venus defeats Shredder but not with physical violence (you could argue she inflicts mental/psychological violence, though). I tried to make it seem like a big event, though, like she couldn't just whip out that particular magic spell whenever she felt like it.

I would have loved to explore her abilities more. Maybe someday!

[highfantasy-soul]

Storylines NATLA Cut

While the 8 episodes of season 1 managed to weave together most of the plot lines (or at least themes from the episodes) from the animated show into the live action, there were a few notable storylines that were cut. I wanted to go over those plots and speculate as to why they might have been cut and whether we might see them in future seasons woven in (like how a couple things from future seasons were woven into this season).

Imprisoned

One of Katara's first big leadership moments was in episode 6 of the animated series when the Gaang stumbles upon an earth nation village taken over by the Fire Nation. All their benders had been rounded up and sent to a prison so that they couldn't fight back - the Gaang obviously get involved, plot ensues, and Katara gets herself arrested so that she can find the prison and free Haru (the earthbender she inadvertently gotten arrested). With the help of Aang and Sokka providing the earthbenders with some coal to bend, she inspires them to fight back and they free the prisoners.

I think this storyline actually naturally fits much better in book 2: Earth. The focus of season 1 of the live-action was water bending and the avatar state - I think a storyline focused on earth bender resistance fits perfectly in season 2 where we get to see even more of how oppressive Fire Nation rule is and how they're 1) seeking to take out all the other benders and 2) doing their whole imperialist thing with stealing natural resources from the populace they're colonizing.

Katara has her moment to speak on her mother with Jet in episode 3 of the live-action and I think it's a natural change to keep the rebellious side-character count manageable for now. Jet fills the role to show Katara's desire for rebellion and standing up to the fire benders and while I think the Imprisoned storyline is really important, I think they've got plenty of room to do that in season 2. A big part of that story was Katara leading people to stand up when they hadn't been before and I think there's a nice homage to that in the final episode of the live-action when she gets all the women in the North to stand up to Pakku and demand to fight.

So I don't think they've fully nixed this storyline, I think they'll include it in the Gaang's trek through the Earth Kingdom on their way to Ba Sing Se. To me, the live action is doing a better job at building the characters rather than starting out with them fully formed. Katara has learned through the first season of the live action about all different leadership styles and has grown emotionally to a point where she's not only confident in standing up against injustice, but also leading others in that fight against oppressors. I think moving her leadership skills from episode 6 of season 1 to season 2 will let us really see her journey to that point rather than just having her start there.

2. The Pirates

In the animated show, Katara doesn't get the Waterbending Scroll until episode 9 of season 1, everything she does with waterbending up until that point was just stuff she figured out herself. In the animated show, the Gaang stops and Katara starts training Aang in waterbending, he shows off and washes all their supplies away so they have to go into town to buy more. This is where Aang randomly buys a bison whistle (why a shopkeeper in the Earth Kingdom would have a bison whistle is not explored) and the group also is invited onto a pirate ship to brows their wares. Katara notices a waterbending scroll and it's far too expensive for them to buy, so Katara steals it from them (as they made it clear they stole it from its rightful owner). A main theme of this episode is showing how naturally gifted Aang is and Katara getting frustrated because she's had to work so hard for her little bit of waterbending and Aang just surpasses her immediately. Zuko and Iroh show up looking for a pai sho piece and shenanigans ensue with the Gaang fighting off both pirates and Zuko, but of course, they manage to escape.

So the two main things in this episode were 1) getting the waterbending scroll so Katara could learn more formal forms and 2) dealing with how the dynamic of the group changes as Aang easily surpasses Katara in waterbending power.

I like that the live action tied the waterbending scroll directly to Katara's family and them hiding their culture to keep it alive until the time came when they could revive it once more. I think it's a much more impactful way for her to get the scroll than just some random pirates. It also allows her to actually train from the beginning rather than just being naturally good - in the live-action, Katara really has to work at her waterbending and get help. While she's a naturally fast learner and super powerful, she needs at least some form of guidance whether that be how to get in the right spiritual mindspace for bending or the physical movements for different forms provided by the scroll. Animated Katara has already been doing very advanced moves (bending water out of Aang's lungs, lifting a fish, throwing water and freezing it, etc) and it doesn't really feel like the animated show continues to show the new stuff Katara learns from the waterbending scroll - it's just the water whip and then the scroll is forgotten (almost like this is an episodic kid's show where each story is largely self-contained and plot points rarely arc into other episodes).

As it's the episode were Aang really starts learning waterbending and they've held off on having that part of his journey in the live action for now, it makes sense that they nixed it. It's a fun character building episode, but in the grand scheme, everything accomplished here can be accomplished elsewhere (and possibly in season 2). Katara feeling a bit miffed that Aang picked everything up quickly while she had to work really hard at it can easily be moved to season 2 when they address Aang learning the new bending styles. I also like how they moved him getting the bison whistle at a random shop in this episode to Bumi having made it for Aang back when they were both kids.

Of course, they do give easter eggs for this plot as well as the great divide one in episode 6 of the live-action, so it's possible the Gaang did have similar adventures, just off-screen.

3. The Fortune Teller

I'm perfectly fine with them nixing the plot of this storyline and moving the themes of 'take destiny into your own hands, don't look to others to tell you what to do without examining their methods of determining your own destiny' and scattering it through the entire season. The hard plot sets up Kataang as a couple which I didn't particularly like, nor did I feel like it followed the actual theme of the episode. Katara is obsessed with believing everything the fortune teller predicted and for part of the story, the lesson is 'that's bull, make your own destiny, just because she said it doesn't make it true' but then when it comes to her marrying a powerful bender, suddenly that lesson is thrown out and she realizes that Aang is a powerful bender so maybe they will end up together? It felt like a lot of mixed messages with the goal of setting up a 12 year old with a 14 year old and like I've said before, I'm not a fan of child romances. Once they turn 15, ok, but 12? No.

4. Aang's part in Bato of the Water Tribe

I think it was a great beat in the animated show to have Aang so afraid that Sokka and Katara might leave him for their "real" family - then have them confirm to him that they're with him all the way. The storyline does hammer home how alone in the world Aang feels and his fear that everyone will leave him either because they have 'family' of their own or his path is just too difficult. While the character beat was good to include, I think it's too big of a character beat to be relegated to only a portion of an episode in the live-action. I think if they want to explore Aang's fear of abandonment, they'll need to spend a good deal of time on it not only because it's a big part of him but also because to this day, some fans haven't forgiven Aang for hiding that map - if they want to do it justice, we're going to need more than a quick blurb to understand Aang's motivations and give the audience time to forgive him. 

I'm glad they took Sokka's part of that episode and gave him the spotlight - and the spotlight could remain on celebrating Water Tribe culture rather than having Aang in the background making throwing up faces at everything. I think that the live action can still add in the ideas around Aang's insecurity over Katara and Sokka leaving him to go back to their people, and if they add it into season 2, I think it'll hit even harder after already seeing Bato in that season 1 flashback.

5. Sokka's Strategies

 20 episodes in the animated show gave Sokka a lot of opportunity to come up with unique strategies to win in unexpected ways such as using explosives to 'open' the door to Roku's temple, the ventilation shafts to get the coal to the earth benders in Imprisoned, and him tricking the pirates into fighting Zuko and co. While at first, I thought not having so much of that in the live-action was taking away from Sokka's character, on a re-watch, I realized that they didn't remove it, they actually gave the origin for it. Sokka's character journey in season 1 of the live-action was about him accepting that he could be more than 'just' a big strong warrior to help his people, he was allowed to explore his ingenuity too. It's only after he meets Sai the Mechanist that he starts to come up with plans to get them out of situations or form battle strategies. I think it was a great, subtle, way to show Sokka coming into his own and beginning to come up with great plans alongside his warrior skills.

I know some fans of the OG show absolutely love every side quest - and more screen time in plots that aren't all that important give a lot of space for character 'down time bonding' that a tighter story structure just doesn't have room for. I think that most of the animated show's character beats and lessons in each of their episodes was really good (with a few exceptions - one of which in The Great Divide I think the live action actually took and made much BETTER) but when making an adaptation in a completely different format, stuff is just going to have to be left on the cutting room floor.

I LOVE everything the live action added in it's place (expanding Aang and Zuko's conversation during the Blue Spirit section of episode 6, all the Fire Nation royal family stuff, everything about Gyatzo, and Sokka and Katara's spirit visions) so I'll forgive leaving out some beats from the OG. I still think that several of these storylines will make their way into season 2 in one way or another, so I'm holding off on fully declaring them 'nixed' from the live action.

[the-goya-jerker]

📸👄What's your opinion on the Czech photographer Jan Saudek? His works may be a bit too on the nose (erotic and dark right off the bat), but I couldn't resist the chance to plug one of my faves.

(Emojis so I find this again.)

Honestly, there's no shame in being on the nose. There's plenty of room for that in erotic art. I think most erotic art you encounter is pretty on the nose. I do think Saudek's works have more subtlety than your average erotica novel or boudoir shoot, though.

I'll probably avoid putting many of his photographs in this review since a great deal of them contain nudity. I do encourage everyone to look up his work though.

I want to say that I do deeply appreciate his overall use of less common forms of sexuality. The photograph of the woman sucking her own toe, or Homage to Marilyn M. which contains a woman pissing. He also includes a great deal of "unconventional" bodies (read: totally normal and common bodies that you don't see as often in erotic photography). Oh! What a Wondrous World of Mass Media and how it depicts a fat woman just the same as he depicts anyone else. Or the loving way the woman in Sarah is depicted, flexing her muscles and sucking in her stomach to such a degree. I do enjoy that.

The color palette of his photographs is lovely too, warm and pastel all at once. I think this sets a more erotic scene, color is very important for these things. I also enjoy how he plays with gender with pieces like Barbara as a Rocker and as the Gurl or the two pieces of individuals in ballet shoes. (I couldn't find the name of these two.)

However, I do want to raise that it can be difficult to rate an artist's whole catalogue. I encountered a number of Saudek's works that depict children partially nude. I am making no judgement calls on this as I do not know much about these photographs but, obviously, I do not think of these as erotic.

My three favorite pieces of his, however, are Deep Devotion (I do find devotion to be an alluring thing. I am not immune to whatever Chretien de Troyes was putting in the water), Desire (yeah, that's just how that feels), and my absolute favorite:

Not only is it one of the few I can post, but I adore it! Despite being terribly on the nose, I enjoy the warm brown background, the bright colors of her hair, her hat, and her makeup. I enjoy how her softness contrasts against the dark, hard metal of the gun. And you know, sucking dick is really hot. The danger of sucking a gun? That's even hotter.

For the sake of giving a rating, I give the above piece an 8/10.

[cannedbananabread]

Hello! I love future games! It's one of my favorite fics! If it's not too much to ask, I was wondering if you could share a list of all the books referenced/ will be referenced in your fic? Thank you so much❤️

Oh my gosh, this is such as amazing question and not too much to trouble at all, thank you for asking! 

So, I’ve broken this down into a few categories for convenience:

Explicit References - these are books that are mentioned either by title or otherwise overtly.

Implicit References -  these are books that either have been used as inspiration or else more covert allusions are made.

Future References - while I don’t have a comprehensive list of this because I am currently writing chapter 46 and there is still quite a bit or story to go, I definitely have some idea of things that will be used in the future stored in my notes. These are given without context to not spoil where this story is going.

Explicit References:

Hamlet, Shakespeare (Chapter 2) - Dio directly quotes the What a Piece of Work is Man soliloquy.

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte (Chapter 3)  - What Dio is reading that spurs on their first discussion about kindness and cruelty and the cycles of abuse.

 Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien (Chapter 3, 5, etc.)  - The quote that Reader says to Dio about people deserving death comes from Lord of the Rings. Later, she reads it to him and it is the catalyst for how he figures out that she’s from the future. 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Tawin (Chapter 4)  -Mostly played for laughs because Dio says Reader is “dreadfully American.” 

A Picture of Dorian Grey, Oscar Wilde (Chapter 9) - Reader waxes lyrically about it being released in the near future; I think there are a ton of parallels to Dorian and Dio, that’s why I couldn't resist.

Not to a specific book, but reader says Dio would like Hemingway, that one was really just a shout out the place that I was born, but the disillusion of the 20th century (especially in The Sun Also Rises) is both poignant and relevant. 

The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne  (Chapter 11)  - Reader is likened to Hester Prynne when discussing Victorian propriety regarding sex / virginity.

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott (Chapter 12, 18, 20, 30) - Reader tells Dio that it was one of her favorite books as a child so he buys it for her for Christmas.

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens (Chapter 12, 20) - Again, mostly played for laughs, when Reader tell’s Dio she’ll haunt him like the ghosts in the book.

Walden, Henry David Thoreau (Chapter 18)- Reader compares her reserved lifestyle to Thoreau because she hasn't been able to keep many close relationships since her arrival in the 19th century.

Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (Chapter 20) - Reader gifts this book to Dio, no one will EVER tell me that he does not like lengthy Russian novels.

Daisy Miller, Henry James (Chapter 20) - Reader makes an attempt to seduce Dio with her wit, referencing this book to incite the discussion of Victorian morality.

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte (Chapter 23) - Dio talks about Mr. Rochester as an example of a complex male lead.

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (Chapter 23) - Conversely, Reader likes Mr. Darcy and they debate it because they are dorks. Also, reader’s character is heavily inspired by Elizabeth. 

Implicit References:

The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky - I really wanted this to be the book that was gifted to Dio, but it hadn’t been translated into English in 1888, it still didn’t stop me from paying subtle homage. 

Notes From the Underground, Fyodor Dostoevsky - The turn of phrase about overthinking being a disease is taken from this book because, again, no one will shift my head canon that Dio loves Russian novels.  Honestly, I've taken so much inspiration from Dostoevsky in general.

The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne - I’ve used some of this story to lean into the theme of ‘what it means to be haunted’ (can fanfics have overt themes and motifs???) because we see Dio actively haunted by his past, especially by Dario in metaphysical sense that his trauma is often likened to things that are preternatural.

The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner - The content of this book isn’t ever mentioned, but I was inspired by the use of disjointed time when I wrote about the way Dio’s recalls his trauma in Chapter 19.

The Nether World, George Gissing - I’ve used this as sort of an account of what poverty in the London slums looked like.

Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field, Nancy Forbes & Basil Mahon - I was forced to read this as part of my coursework for my engineering degree, but I’ve depended on it a lot for Reader’s research. Lord knows why I decided to make her a chemist when I was terrible at chemistry.

Future References:

- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare 

- ‘Salem’s Lot, Stephen King

- The Princess and the Goblin, George MacDonald 

- Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy

- The Prince, Machiavelli 

- A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle 

- The Hound of the Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle

- The Bell Jar (and just Sylvia Plath in general) 

- Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens 

- Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol 

- Middlemarch, George Eliot 

I’ve also taken meager inspiration from various other Sherlock Holmes stories and some Agatha Christie novels, I’ve said it before, but sometimes Zeppeli comes out a little like Hercule Poirot. I have also pulled from some of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

I think that's pretty much everything! Seeing the length of this list has made me worry for my own sanity.

Thank you so much for your question, it was actually so fun to see everything together like this. Once I've finished writing the entire thing, I will have to make a comprehensive list.

[wolvesandvisions]

Now that I've drawn all their designs here they are! (Left to Right, Gorsemoss, Sunstar, Gladebuzz)

Gladebuzz is probably going to go through a slight marking redesign at somepoint to make her easier for me to draw lmao.

Since the game doesn't give them back stories I will very tentatively summarize, some questions I want the game to answer.

Auroraclan was founded on a whim by Sunstar.

As the young loner "Sun" he was often visiting other cats around the area just to play and weave tales. He was an unintimidating presence to house cats, rouges, and loners alike. Gorsemoss known as "Gorse" was a rouge, Gladebuzz known as "Glade" was a kittypet. They both for one reason or another developed a fondness for Sun, and so did their surrounding cohorts in turn.

Sun had always been a vivid dreamer, but for some several moons, his dreams started to lead him somewhere. Letting his curiousity lead him, that's when he came into contact with other clan cats by mistake. They were not as wooed by his charismatic attitude and ran him out. While escaping and needing to find a place to hide, he stumbled and fell into a crystal cavern that smelled of no other cats.

He realized the clans cats didn't know this was here, and used it as his personal hideout.

His already vivid dreams became moreso upon entering this place. And even after leaving the dreams started becoming more insistent, teaching him and showing him all the ways clan cats live, and directly telling him how to go about becoming a leader. The dream's voices were ominously referring to him as "Sunpath" and speaking as though leadership was in his future.

Testing the theory - he visited the (Moonpool?) without permission, imitated what he saw in his own dreams, and was miraculously granted 9 lives.

Excited - he shared the stories with all who would listen, taught about what he knew, and invited other cats to come live with him in the caves.

Slowly but surely, cats came. The other clans started sensing the commotion, but were warded off by their medicine cats who insisted Starclan was very clear about this clan's founding coming to pass.

Glade was one of the first to join. She was an outdoor cat and often her owners simply would not interact with her. It was this weird balancing act where she knew she loved her family, but she had essentially grown up outside. She couldn't stand being inside long - and they couldn't stand to deal with the anxiousness that came with suddenly keeping her inside. They had adopted two new kittens that they were raising differently - so she was okay with moving on.

Gorse was one of the last, he already knew what it was like to have to survive and fight for every scrap of meal. He didn't inherently trust a ragtag group of cats wouldn't turn on each other. However, Sun didn't give up, kept visiting him and bringing him food that his clan was catching, inviting him to the cave for temporary tours, and generally being hard to resist. Finally, he let up, and decided to come.

Glade was renamed Gladebuzz - an homage to queen bees and named Deputy. She had a natural inclination to care for others and a powerful sense of empathy despite her strict demeanor.

Gorse was renamed Gorsemoss - Sunstar didn't give away the reason for this namesake, but it was meant to be because he was tough on the outside but soft on the inside. He was named medicine cat, to pretty much everyone's dismay including Gorsemoss'. However Sunstar insisted he'd be perfect for the job. Gorsemoss didn't argue seeing it as futile, but does his best in the role. Moons of tending to his own wounds and illnesses seeming to be very helpful.

Various young and excited cats from all walks of life make up the founding warriors and apprentices of Auroraclan.

[blossomingbooks]

Taylor Swift eras as books

Whether you're a fan or not, you definitely know about Taylor Swift's massive The Eras Tour, a show conceived to homage each "era" — that is, each album — from the artist's discography.

With that in mind (and because I am, in fact, a Swiftie), I thought it would be fun (that is, I couldn't resist) to connect each of those "eras" to a book that I've reviewed here on the blog.

After much deliberation and trying to think of the albums conceptually, lyrically and aesthetically, here are the conclusions that I came to:

1. "Taylor Swift" — Anne of Green Gables

For her self-titled and debut album, I tried to think of the most naïve narratives I had read, and so I naturally gravitated towards children's literature. From all that I've read in that genre, Anne Shirley seemed to me like the most fitting character for this album. After all, Swift's debut work is not only permeated by her inexperience and innocence, but also showcases some of the most intense emotions one feels, unfiltered, in one's youth. The song "Picture To Burn" could easily have been written during one of Anne's most raging fits, while "A Place in this World" perfectly describes L.M. Montgomery's orphan:

"I'll be strong, I'll be wrong, oh, but life goes on Oh, I'm just a girl trying to find a place in this world"

2. "Fearless" — Romeo and Juliet

Taylor Swift's sophomore album was an easy one to compare to a work of literature: romantic, brave and hopeful, it instantly transports one to the setting of a love story. And that is, of course, the title of one of the main singles of the "Fearless" era. In the well-known hit "Love Story", Swift directly references one of the most famous romances in the history of literature: that of Romeo and Juliet, the titular characters in William Shakespeare's most famous play.

"Little did I know that you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles And my daddy said, 'Stay away from Juliet'"

3. "Speak Now" — Little Women

Swift's third album is her declaration of independence as a songwriter. Completely self-written, the lyrics are imbued with an intimate, confessional tone about the highs and lows of coming of age. Through this train of thought, it made sense to me to relate it to Louisa May Alcott's most famous novel, Little Women. The story of the four March sisters spans 10 years of their coming-of-age, much of it through the perspective of Jo (a very autobiographical character), the one who wants to become a writer and who eventually writes about their lives. "Never Grow Up" is a song that reminds me of this story:

"Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home Remember the footsteps, remember the words said"

4. "Red" — The Scarlet Letter

"Faster than the wind, passionate as sin, ending so suddenly"

These lyrics from the album's titular song are a perfect summary for the affair between Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Apart from the obvious color parallelism, Swift's fourth album "Red" also deals with an intense and destructive romance. The story of the adultery committed by a married woman with a minister, which is considered sinful by the Puritan society which they inhabit, is very much "Sad Beautiful Tragic":

"And you've got your demons, and darling, they all look like me (...) What a sad, beautiful, tragic love affair"

5. "1989" — The Age of Innocence

Swift's fifth album brought a paradigm change for her music — just like Edith Wharton brought a paradigm change with this novel by being the first woman to ever win the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. 1989 is where Swift starts to address the repercussions of fame, which recalls the social performance and pressures of New York aristocracy in the Gilded Age. That's the setting for this novel, in which Newland Archer starts falling in love with Ellen Olenska, his wife's cousin. Seen by society as a "'Slut!'", Ellen is a very progressive free-spirit and their affair is very similar to the lyrics in "I Know Places":

"You stand with your hand on my waistline It's a scene and we're out here in plain sight I can hear them whisper as we pass by (...) Baby, I know places we won't be found"

6. "reputation" — The Phantom of the Opera

The rollout of Swift's sixth album was the most dramatic of her career. After a hiatus prompted by media scrutiny and celebrity feuds, she mysteriously blanked out all of her social media and created suspense by posting videos of snakes. The aggressive sounds and overall themes of rage and revenge in this album recall none other than "The Phantom" of the Opera himself, whose reputation precedes him. In Gaston Leroux's famous novel, the mystery of the Opera ghost keeps everyone on their toes, including singer Christine Daaé, who is haunted and kidnapped by the titular character.

"Knew he was a killer first time that I saw him Wondered how many girls he had loved and left haunted But if he's a ghost, then I can be a phantom Holdin' him for ransom"

7. "Lover" — Emma

In this Jane Austen novel, matchmaker Emma Woodhouse plays cupid for everyone around her but wants no romance for herself. Described as high-spirited and “an imaginist”, her lively personality matches the bubbly and dreamy aesthetic of Swift's seventh studio album. Containing some of her funniest lyrics, Lover is very fitting for this 19th century comedy of manners. Emma's ultimate self-discovery, about her feelings for long-time family friend Mr. Knightley, turns her into the one thing she never expected to be: a lover.

"I've been the archer I've been the prey Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?"

8. "folklore" — Circe

Reading this book was a wild experience, because so many parts of this Greek mythology figure's story kept reminding me of folklore lyrics. It got to the point of me creating a Circe playlist with 12 tracks from the album, arranged in the order of where they fit in the narrative. It starts with her parents, Helios (personification of the sun) and the naiad Perse, and it spans thousands of years, including Circe's exile (!) to an isolated island (which in turn feels a lot like "the lakes"). Later, I couldn't help but listen to "august" and "cardigan" through the lens of her relationship with Odysseus. But it's "my tears ricochet" that resonates most perfectly with her plotline:

"We gather here, we line up, weepin' in a sunlit room And if I'm on fire, you'll be made of ashes, too (...) I didn't have it in myself to go with grace And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves"

9. "evermore" — To the Lighthouse

This Virginia Woolf novel is as melancholic and introspective as Swift's most wintery album. In the first part of the narrative, I couldn't help but think that Mrs. Ramsay would find some catharsis in the lyrics of "tolerate it"; while, parallelly, unmarried young painter Lily Briscoe does her portrait. In the final part of the narrative, on the other hand, "happiness" would echo in my mind, for reasons I won't spoil.

"I sit and watch you readin' with your head low (...) I sit and watch you I notice everything you do or don't do (...) Use my best colors for your portrait"

10. "Midnights" — Madame Bovary

This was the hardest album for me to choose a book for, probably because I find it to not be as thematically cohesive as the others. However, Gustave Flaubert's anti-heroine quite literally fits Swift's lead single for Midnights: Emma Bovary's actions are heavily scrutinized by her judging provincial neighbors. Moreover, the "antihero" trope was popularized by Romanticism, a movement embodied by the protagonist herself in this Realist critique.

"It's me, hi. I'm the problem, it's me At tea time, everybody agrees I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero"

11. "The Tortured Poets Department" — The Yellow Wallpaper

Ironically, for Swift's longest album I chose the shortest book of this list. That's because Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story perfectly encapsules the trope of the madwoman, which is the starting point of this album. The music video for its lead single, "Fortnight", portrays Swift in a mental facility, while in the album's prologue she mentions a "temporary insanity" and a "manic phase". The Tortured Poets Department also has some of her saddest, most heart-wrenching music; fittingly, the protagonist in "The Yellow Wallpaper" starts the narrative with a nervous depression that slowly turns into madness:

"You don't get to tell me about sad (...) You don't get to tell me you feel bad Is it a wonder I broke? Let's hear one more joke Then we could all just laugh until I cry So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street Crash the party like a record scratch as I scream 'Who's afraid of little old me?'"

[reverthestarryeyed]

An oc I've been thinking about for 20 seconds

So his surname is Bunshi (分子) and his first name is Sochi (早質)

(I used Google translate so forgive me if this isn't correct, I also have no idea what his last name should be so I just put "molecules" do give suggestions on what his last name should be)

Appearance - I tried drawing his hair to look like an upside down flame, but the hair doesn't really look right to me, idk why. He's not related to the Todoroki family whatsoever but I made him have fire related powers and used Shoto's head as a base as a joke because I want him and Shoot to bond over the fact Shoto's first words to Sochi were "Are my father's secret love child or something? Because I can definitely see my father conceiving with another woman despite already being married. I've always wanted a twin brother so I wouldn't be the only youngest". He also dyed his hair to have red tips because of course Endeavor is someone he idolizes due to having similar Quirks.

He goes to a different school (I'm calling it Ijin Highschool) so his uniform is different. For his School uniform I'm thinking his school dresses up like old school classic superheroes, like cape, emblem on chest, cloves, boots, belt, etc. in red, blue, yellow and black as homage to the original (fictional) heroes that inspired to make real ones (I tried drawing it but nope, it did not come out right 😛)

I kinda took inspiration from Batman, Superman and Wolverine a little, but apparently no, I think it's too much. I'm not exactly good at shading so I just tried filling in the blanks, I'm not even sure if the cape should be long or not.

His school actually gives the costume some functions, like the cape can solidify to a shield and is also fire proof and bullet proof (among other things), and the belt has self-defense weapons, the students can even make/add their own and many more functions.

His hero outfit: His hero costume is made out of a special material that's heat and abrasive resistant (think of the Flash's suit from the Arrowverse). It's made so when Sochi uses his powers he won't accidentally burn himself.

I'm also thinking of giving him a helmet thing so he can try using his Quirk on himself to give him super speed without burning himself. And also gloves because they look cool.

(I tried drawing jeans but black is hard to draw 😛)

i kinda took inspiration from this, I have a weird obsession with these types of coats

Personality - He doesn't wanna hurt anyone, he promised not to, but don't mistake that for pacifism. He's the type of guy that, when being blocked by an obstacle, would beat the obstacle until it isn't there anymore.

Contradicting that; He isn't violent either, he can also be awkward, like teenage awkwardness. He's also shy around talking to new people, he's spent around 3-4 years without talking to new people that he forgot how to, so he appreciates it when someone makes the first move.

When he's with friends or on the internet he's very outgoing, loud and social.

(if you couldn't tell I put minimal effort on the personality, I didn't think too much on his personality)

Quirk - Matter acceleration: He's able to create fire but not just "make fire" or even increasing temperature. He literally speeds up matter to the point they're burning, it's just easier to do it with air (that's how it works, right?) because of it's molecular structure.

I know "speed up matter to the point they're burning" is the literal definition of increasing temperature but it's different compared to Endeavor, Dabi and Shoto since they actually generate fire from their body. Sochi on the other hand is speeding up matter which makes things hotter by a side effect but also does other things. Sochi could theoretically shoot a bullet simply by flicking his fingers by adding more energy to it, a regular pyrokinetic/pyromancer like some of the Todoroki's could not.

Trivia

His favorite snack is ice cream. It helps him "cool down"

His first name Sochi contains the kanji "to accelerate" (早 So) and "substance, quality, matter, temperament" (質 chi)

His original design was going to be very weird, for some reason my imagination made him look just like Shoto except he didn't have a scar, and his hair would be the same shape except it would've been white with red tips and the tips of his hair were going to be a very weird trapezoid

Sochi wanted his hero costume to originally look similar to Endeavor, but after getting harassed for his "inappropriate clothing" he decided to change it and took inspiration from a villain instead

His outfit was a full bodysuit so I'll let your imagination fill in the blanks on why people thought it was "inappropriate"

The villain inspired outfit was going to be his second option if he didn't like his first option

Sochi really likes villains and loves to research on them for hours on end, he's like Deku but with villains instead

His favorite food is junk food, burgers, fried chicken, spaghetti, fries, etc.

His favorite sport is swimming

I took slight inspiration from Iceman from X-Men and Charlie from Firestarter

Sochi inherited his Quirk from his father (I swear gaining a Quirk from 1 parent instead of a combination of both is rare in MHA with how little of it is shown, if there are any at all)

Sochi mostly uses his quirk to create fire since it's easier (as I've said before) so he chose a hero name that's fire related (I'm not exactly sure what to call him I'm thinking either Torch, Fireraiser or Firesetter since they all mean "arsonist", yeah there isn't a lot of names that's fire related that isn't related to arson 😑 though Hearth also could be an option but idk 🤔)

Sochi actually met Dabi when he was 12, he thought he was a pretty cool guy despite looking like he got bruised so hard it didn't heal. They did have a sparring match/contest together to see who's the better fire wielder, which is one of the reasons Sochi stopped training to speed up objects and instead create fire

I also kinda wanna add a little detail that his hair would blow upwards when using his Quirk due to the heat causing the surrounding air to rise (and also because it would look like fire intensifying) but I feel like that'd be copying Firestarter 😅

[rubberizer92]

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