#deboning

[digitaljoes]

How to Debone Every Chicken Cut with Confidence

Deboning chicken might sound like a job best left to professional chefs or experienced home cooks. After all, who has the time—or the skills—to turn a whole chicken or tricky cuts like thighs and wings into perfectly deboned pieces? But here’s the truth: deboning chicken at home is not nearly as complicated as it seems. With the right tools, a little guidance, and a dash of confidence, you can easily transform your store-bought chicken into ready-to-cook perfection.

Why bother? For one, deboning your own chicken saves money, as bone-in cuts are often cheaper than their boneless counterparts. Plus, there’s a freshness and satisfaction that comes with doing it yourself—not to mention the culinary possibilities that open up when you’re in control of every piece. Imagine turning leftover bones into rich chicken stock or customizing the size and shape of your cuts to match your favorite recipes.

This guide is here to show you that deboning chicken is an empowering skill and not intimidating at all. Let’s start with the essentials and work our way through each cut, proving that home deboning is a practical and rewarding skill every beginner cook can master.

To Get Started: Tools of the Trade

Having the right tools can make the process safer, faster, and more efficient. Here’s a breakdown of the essential tools, why the right knife matters, and a few optional extras to consider.

Essential Tools for Deboning Chicken

To successfully debone chicken at home, you’ll need a few must-have tools:

Boning Knife: Its sharp, thin, and flexible blade makes it ideal for cutting close to the bone, minimizing meat waste.

Cutting Board: A sturdy, non-slip surface ensures stability while working and keeps your knife from dulling.

Kitchen Shears: Useful for cutting through tough joints and trimming excess fat or skin.

Why the Right Knife Matters

A proper boning knife isn’t just a convenience—it’s the cornerstone of successful deboning. Its sharpness and flexibility allow precise cuts, reducing waste and making it easier to work around bones. A dull or bulky knife increases the risk of accidents and frustration, slowing you down and compromising your results.

Optional Tools for a Smoother Process

While not essential, these tools can elevate your deboning experience:

Bone Tweezers: Handy for removing small or hidden bones, especially in chicken thighs or fillets.

Meat Mallet: Helps flatten meat for even cooking after deboning.

Disposable Gloves: Keeps your hands clean and improves grip when handling raw chicken.

Paper Towels: Useful for patting the chicken dry, ensuring a secure grip and safer cuts.

Safety First: Setting the Stage for Success

When working with raw chicken, cleanliness and proper sanitation are non-negotiable. A clean workspace and sanitized tools not only ensure food safety but also make the deboning process smoother and more enjoyable. Contaminated surfaces or tools can lead to foodborne illnesses, so it’s essential to start with a clean slate and maintain it throughout your prep.

Quick Tips for Handling Raw Chicken Safely

Wash Hands Thoroughly: Always wash hands with soap before and after handling chicken.

Separate Raw Chicken: Keep chicken away from other ingredients to avoid cross-contamination.

Use a Dedicated Cutting Board: Choose one reserved for raw meat to prevent bacterial spread.

Sanitize Tools and Surfaces: Wash knives, boards, and counters with hot soapy water or a diluted bleach solution.

Keep Chicken Cold: Work quickly and refrigerate unused portions immediately.

How to Store Bones Properly

When to Store: If you plan to make stock or soup later, keep bones to add rich flavor to your broth.

How to Store: Place bones in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze immediately. They’ll stay fresh for up to three months.

How to Dispose of Bones Properly

When to Dispose: If you don’t plan to use the bones, dispose of them promptly to avoid odor or contamination.

How to Dispose: Double-bag the bones in a sturdy trash bag to contain odors and bacteria. Dispose of them in an outdoor bin, especially in warm weather.

Breaking It Down: Deboning Chicken, Cut by Cut

This section is arranged to take you from the easiest cuts to the more advanced ones, helping you build confidence with each step. Starting with simple cuts like chicken breasts and moving to whole chickens ensures a gradual learning curve, making the process approachable for any beginner.

Chicken Breast: The Simple Start

Chicken breasts are an excellent choice for beginners because they’re boneless or semi-boneless cuts with minimal connective tissue to navigate. Their flat, even shape makes it easy to see and feel for any remaining bones or cartilage, allowing you to focus on developing your knife skills without frustration. Additionally, deboning a chicken breast often involves straightforward tasks like removing the breastbone or tenderloin, which are easy to identify and remove cleanly. This simplicity provides a low-pressure way to practice and gain confidence in handling poultry.

Step-by-Step Guide to Removing the Breastbone and Tenderloin

Position the Breast: Place the chicken breast side up on your cutting board. The thicker side should face you.

Locate the Breastbone: Feel for the ridge running along the middle of the breast.

Cut Along the Bone: Using a sharp boning knife, make a shallow cut along one side of the breastbone. Follow the curve of the bone as you slice.

Separate the Meat: Gently pull the meat away with your free hand as you continue slicing close to the bone.

Remove the Tenderloin: Flip the breast over and locate the small strip of meat on the underside. Use your knife or fingers to separate it from the breast.

Check for Small Bones: Feel the meat for any remaining cartilage or pin bones and remove them with tweezers or the knife.

Trim Excess Fat: Use kitchen shears to remove any visible fat or skin if desired.

Chicken Thighs: Discovering the Hidden Bone

Chicken thighs are a versatile and flavorful cut that’s well worth mastering. They’re slightly more challenging than chicken breasts due to their smaller size and single bone nestled within the meat. However, with a little practice, deboning chicken thighs becomes a quick and satisfying task, yielding a tender, juicy cut perfect for countless recipes.

Step-by-Step Guide to Locating and Removing the Thigh Bone

Position the Thigh: Lay the chicken thigh skin-side down on your cutting board. The bone should be visible or easily felt running through the center.

Score Along the Bone: Use a sharp boning knife to make a shallow cut along the length of the bone, exposing it fully.

Free the Edges: Carefully slice around the bone, separating it from the surrounding meat. Work slowly to avoid cutting through the meat.

Lift and Remove: Once the bone is mostly free, use your fingers or the knife to gently lift and detach it. Cut through any remaining connective tissue.

Check for Residual Cartilage: Feel for any small bits of cartilage or bone fragments and remove them.

Tips for Preserving the Most Meat

Stay Close to the Bone: Keep the knife angled toward the bone while cutting to avoid trimming away too much meat.

Small, Controlled Cuts: Use short, precise motions rather than long strokes to maintain control.

Save the Skin: If the recipe calls for skin-on thighs, avoid cutting into the skin—it helps keep the meat moist and flavorful during cooking.

Chicken Legs: From Drumstick to Deboned Delight

Deboning chicken drumsticks might seem unnecessary, but it’s incredibly useful in certain situations. Whether you’re stuffing them with your favorite fillings, creating tender boneless bites for stir-fries, or simply aiming for faster cooking times, mastering this skill expands the versatility of this popular cut. While the drumstick has more connective tissue than other cuts, it’s a manageable challenge that delivers rewarding results.

Step-by-Step Guide to Identifying and Separating the Drumstick and Thigh

Locate the Joint: Lay the chicken leg skin-side down. Feel for the joint where the drumstick meets the thigh—it’s slightly flexible.

Expose the Joint: Make a shallow cut through the skin and meat at the joint to expose the connecting tissue.

Cut Through the Joint: Use your knife to slice through the soft cartilage at the joint, separating the drumstick from the thigh cleanly.

Techniques for Removing the Long Bone Cleanly

Grip and Score: Hold the drumstick firmly and make shallow cuts around the top of the bone to loosen the meat.

Scrape Downward: Use the back of your knife to scrape the meat down the length of the bone, separating it from the connective tissue.

Twist and Pull: Once the meat is loosened, twist and pull the bone gently to remove it completely. If necessary, use your knife to detach any stubborn tissue.

Chicken Quarters: Two-in-One Skills

Chicken quarters are a versatile cut that includes both the thigh and drumstick, making them a great option for those who want the rich flavor of dark meat with the convenience of having both pieces in one. These cuts are larger and meatier, often chosen for grilling, roasting, or creating impressive stuffed dishes. Deboning a chicken quarter can make cooking more efficient and expand your recipe options, such as rolling and stuffing the meat for elegant presentations or simplifying the cooking process for quick meals. It’s especially worth deboning chicken quarters when you want uniform cooking or need boneless portions for a specific dish.

How to Debone a Chicken Quarter Without Losing Meat

Start Skin-Side Down: Lay the quarter skin-side down on your cutting board to expose the bones and make them easier to work with.

Locate the Joint: Feel for the joint where the thigh and drumstick connect. Make a shallow cut to expose the cartilage, separating the two pieces slightly for easier handling.

Score Along the Thigh Bone: Run your knife along the length of the thigh bone, making shallow cuts to expose it. Angle your knife toward the bone to avoid cutting away too much meat.

Free the Thigh Bone: Use the tip of your knife to slice around the edges of the thigh bone, loosening it. Lift and pull the bone out gently once it’s fully detached.

Remove the Drumstick Bone: Repeat the process for the drumstick bone by scoring around its length and scraping downward to loosen the meat. Twist and pull gently to remove the bone.

Trim and Check: Remove any remaining cartilage or small bone fragments, and trim excess fat if desired.

Chicken Wings: The Mini-Challenge

Chicken wings are often served bone-in, but deboning them opens up a world of culinary possibilities. Whether you’re making stuffed appetizers, crispy boneless wings, or preparing them for soups and stews, deboning chicken wings allows for easier eating and creative presentations. Boneless wings are also a hit at parties, offering all the flavor of traditional wings without the mess. With a little patience, deboning wings can transform this popular cut into a versatile ingredient for countless dishes.

Step-by-Step Guide to Splitting and Deboning Chicken Wings

Separate the Sections: Locate the joints that connect the drumette, wingette, and wingtip. Use a sharp knife or kitchen shears to cut through the cartilage at each joint. Discard the wingtip or save it for stock.

Position the Wingette: Lay the wingette flat on your cutting board, skin-side down.

Locate the Bones: Feel for the two thin bones running through the wingette.

Make a Cut: Use the tip of your knife to make a small incision along one bone, exposing it slightly.

Remove the First Bone: Slide the knife under the bone and cut away any attached cartilage. Gently twist and pull the bone out.

Repeat for the Second Bone: Follow the same process to remove the second bone, leaving the meat intact.

Debone the Drumette: Stand the drumette upright and score around the top of the bone. Scrape downward with your knife to separate the meat, then twist and remove the bone.

Using Shears for Precision

Kitchen shears are an excellent tool for handling chicken wings, especially when precision is key. They make cutting through joints and cartilage quick and clean, reducing the risk of uneven sections or jagged cuts. Use shears to split the wing sections or trim away excess fat and skin before deboning. Their compact size and ease of use give you better control in tight spaces, ensuring a neat and efficient process every time.

Whole Chicken: The Ultimate DIY Project

Deboning a whole chicken is a cost-effective way to make the most of your purchase. It allows you to separate the meat into versatile cuts while saving the bones for flavorful stocks or broths. This technique also gives you control over the portion sizes and ensures no part of the chicken goes to waste. Whether you’re preparing multiple meals or creating an elegant stuffed roast, deboning a whole chicken unlocks endless cooking possibilities.

Step-by-Step Instructions: From Backbone to Boneless Perfection

Prepare the Chicken: Place the chicken breast-side down on a sturdy cutting board. Ensure you have a sharp boning knife or kitchen shears ready.

Separate the Backbone: Locate the backbone running down the center of the chicken. Use kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone. Remove it and set it aside for stock if desired.

Flatten the Chicken: Flip the chicken over and press firmly on the breastbone to flatten it (spatchcock). This step makes the remaining bones easier to access.

Remove the Breastbone: Locate the white cartilage or ridge along the center of the chicken. Make a small cut at the top and pull it out gently, working your way downward.

Detach the Wings: Slice through the joint where the wings meet the body. Either leave the wings attached if desired or debone them using the earlier method.

Separate the Thighs and Drumsticks: Flip the chicken back over. Cut through the joint connecting each leg to the body. Debone the thighs and drumsticks individually by following the techniques mentioned earlier.

Remove the Rib Bones: Run your knife along the inside edges of the ribcage, separating the meat from the bones. Work carefully to preserve as much meat as possible.

Trim and Check: Inspect the meat for any small bones or cartilage and remove them. Trim any excess fat as needed.

Your First Step to Deboning Mastery

Deboning chicken at home isn’t just a handy skill—it’s a way to save money, reduce waste, and elevate your cooking. From simple cuts like breasts to tackling whole chickens, you now have the tools and techniques to handle it all.

Don’t be afraid to practice! This guide is written with beginners in mind, so take it one cut at a time, and you’ll soon master the art of deboning. Each attempt brings you closer to culinary confidence. Next time you buy chicken, use this guide to transform your purchase into perfectly prepared cuts. Happy deboning!

[an-albino-pinetree]

Here’s my oc Wren! From @sm-baby ‘s new ‘The Eyes Of Cats’ story!!

Yes, I’m aware this just looks like a more feral Tree in a jacket- (this is essentially just Tree, but in TEOC), but I wanted to give her a name, and an “apocalyptic” personality, to separate her a bit. <:]

“Cat breed”: Blue Somali

When people say “Oh, my cat is a real mouser” that’s the kind of “cat” she is. She has a very high “prey drive” (She came from/grew up in, a big hunting family, before the apocalypse)

She’s very skittish and defensive, personality wise. Untrusting and flighty.

Pros: Highly skilled in survival/street smarts/hunting.

Cons: Trust issues/doesn’t get attached readily. Will possibly screw you over, if it means she gets to remain safe.

[buffetlicious]

There used to be this mini food court called Teng Sheng Food Gallery (腾胜) on the second floor of Sembawang Shopping Centre. Brought mum there a few times previously for dinner. Got the S$6.80 bowl of Salmon Don (三文鱼饭) with soup for her. A slice of pan-fried salmon with egg covered rice drizzled with teriyaki sauce.

My S$8 plate of Mexicano Chicken Chop (墨西哥鸡扒) came with a pan-fried deboned chicken drumstick drizzled with cheese sauce and French fries. The side dishes were pathetic though with just the tiniest scoop of mashed potato, a tablespoon of corn kernels and lettuce. However, the chicken was decent tasting with the ample cheesy sauce.

[ckret2]

The Axolotl chapters are jaw dropping from the writing to the art but I keep remembering that after this ends we're probably getting punched in the face by the Bill Flirts With A Government Agent plot. Absolutely incredible

I just checked to see what's going on in the next non-flashback chapter.

Yeah it's gonna be some wild mood whiplash lmao

[sofiaruelle]

It was a little crowded at the fish port. So here’s a little color study of some Mayamaya on display.

EDIT:

They’re actually called Bukaw-bukaw according to my parents lmao. They also said the fish got its name because of the eyes. They’re huge just like an owl’s and in Hiligaynon owls = bukaw. The fish is also a fave of my lolo’s and tita to grill/sugba.

[partrin]

rinharu taking a selfie (i don't think this was ever animated.. was it? i can't remember)

ngawww haru's widdol peace sign hehe my baby

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

To elaborate more on the Pesterquest stuff -

Alternia is a hell world. It's shitty to live in, even if you're a highblood, unless you fit a very specific mold of person AND are lucky enough to be born of a high caste. Every troll character we care about is, in some way, fucked over by their relationship to their society; Eridan and Vriska get it the worst, having been forced to participate in the murdering side of things since they were young, but every lowblood is screwed and every highblood is made worse even just by their passive participation. Kanaya becomes less sympathetic because she seems completely at peace with the society she grew up in, and Feferi wants to enforce casteism, even if it's of a different flavor. Gamzee and Equius both hold genuinely casteist beliefs and attitudes, which slip out and alienate them from the people they care about.

Putting a friendship simulator into the middle of all this is... a choice, I guess. I'm not going to begrudge anyone for wanting that or liking that, but it's going to be inherently at odds with what Alternia is and is meant to represent, and thus, fundamentally at odds with many of the characters' arcs and even basic personality traits, so heavily are they influenced by the shit society they grew up in.

For a non-Eridan example, Karkat loathes himself in massive part because his society loathes him. He's kill-on-sight and lives in daily terror of death. He wears a symbol at all because not having one marks him as even more of a freak, even though he knows that that symbol is connected to the empire's biggest rebel, whose footsteps he is expected to follow. The reason he's so obsessed with being leader-y and earning his teammates' reapect, or the respect of anybody, is because he's so deeply insecure about whether or not he even deserves to exist.

If you soften Alternia to the point you can write a lighthearted friendship simulator in it, then that characterization... goes away. Karkat is no longer motivated by deep, overwhelming insecurities, which drive him to idolize the society that deems him unworthy, mistakenly believing that if he can find validation in that society, he'll feel less bad about himself. Instead, Karkat is just kind of an asshole!

It's the same way with Eridan. He and Karkat are equal and opposite in this way - while Karkat is marked for death by his society, Eridan belongs to the extremely privileged caste of sea dweller royalty - even moreso than Feferi, as Feferi is slated to be murdered by the Condesce as soon as she comes of age (and her ridiculous optimism is likely something she cultivated in outright defiance of this fate). But it turns out that being a sea dweller sucks shit, too, if you aren't the extremely niche type of person that society deems "correct."

Eridan is not actually casteist and genuinely likes his land dweller friends - and this is unacceptible. Not only that, but smaller "unacceptible" offenses are wrapped up in big ones - despite not liking murder and feeling guilty about it, murder is objectively the correct thing for Eridan to be doing, constantly, to the point of it being "all [he's] ever done practically," because if he doesn't fulfil the duty of his bloodline to be murdering lusii (and by extension, their charges, who are culled when their lusii die), EVERYBODY dies. The constant push-pull of trauma, societal expectations and obligations, the fate of the species, and the fact that he is inherently not the "right" kind of person for his society, are pretty much his entire character. He's basically a walking ball of anxiety and emotional turmoil.

So, again, if you soften Alternia to the point where you can write a story about Eridan wanting to see Shrek in a public theater (something he would not actually be able to peacefully do in canon Alternia - at least not without taking off his cape, hiding his fins, and going anonblood - as sea dwellers are considered ridiculously hostile to the point even Gamzee's nervous about being on the beach for too long), Eridan ends up being just kind of an asshole!

Pesterquest!Eridan is, and I cannot stress this enough, fundamentally not the same guy as canon Eridan. They have practically nothing in common, from the fact that PQ!Eridan is willing to do something for leisure, to the fact that he isn't widely feared and the movie theater doesn't empty out in a panic when he turns up, even down to the fact that he likes femme fashion (canon Eridan goes to Lengths to lean into masc fashion) and Shrek (canon Eridan is a hipster). Hell, even the fact that PQ!Eridan SMILES is a massive deviation from canon!Eridan, who has never once been depicted smiling, and probably hasn't for many sweeps.

Also that he has that much beef with Sollux when, canonically, the two had a lukewarm mutual dislike and didn't even bother interacting until Feferi was added to the mix and Eridan became mad that Sollux was dating her. He wasn't even casteist about him until then, and after, even Sollux and Feferi don't think he's casteist, they just think he's ashenflirting so he can get into a quad with Feferi. Like come on, if you're going to feature another troll in Eridan's route, 1) make it be Karkat, and 2) have Eridan cheat on you the whole time with Karkat like he does to Feferi.

Eridan is just overall a wild choice in a friendship sim - I can't even blame them for just writing an OC and putting an Eridan skin on top - because societally, Eridan isn't even supposed to have non-sea dweller friends. The sea dweller/land dweller race war is something the Condesce deliberately put into place in order to keep land dwelling nobility in line, and Equius cites it as one of the reasons he never got along with Eridan. Like, the very fact that Eridan talks to two land dwellers on friendly terms (Kanaya and Karkat) is a MASSIVE deviation from what he's "supposed" to be like, and a huge hint that he's not as casteist as he'd like to appear. You are genuinely hundreds, if not thousands, of times likelier to end an encounter with Eridan either orphaned or dead than as his friend. He's an unstable maniac, and there's a reason so many members of his team don't like him even though he's legitimately not casteist and they mostly seem aware of it (nobody really complains about or even notices Eridan's casteism by the time they're on the meteor - his contradictions are really obvious, and it's likely that they've more or less realized that he's full of shit).

Again, I don't begrudge anybody for wanting or liking PQ. Who cares, really. I'm just saying that as a canon discussion blog, there's not really any place for PQ because it's so far removed from canon that, like, there's not really anything meaningful to discuss about it. The setting and characters in PQ are fundamentally divested from canon, and not even in an AU way. And it's totally fine if that's what you like, but, yeah, like.

Was Eridan written well (where "well" = accurate to canon): no. Maybe he's fine as an OC with an Eridan Minecraft skin slapped on, but that's not my beautiful son, that's not my baby boy.

What did they get wrong about Eridan (where "wrong" = inaccurate to canon): all.

What route would I have written for Eridan: he shoots you with a gun and you die. And then maybe cheats on you with Karkat

[jupiterjunebug]

Putting no-sell on the high shelf with buried and jobbing

[howtofightwrite]

How well would a claymore mine field fare against troopers of a late medieval army (say, Swiss halberdiers in half armor)? How far away do the troopers need to be in order to have a good chance at survival? And how would a medieval army like that react to their leader hitting a landmine and getting blown up? Would they turn back and flee? Disperse away from the road? Or would they freeze up and lose unit cohesion?

In the words of the esteemed Dr. Farnsworth, “to shreds you say?”

So, for those unfamiliar, claymore mines use a shape charge to propel the shrapnel in a fixed cone (most the shrapnel is propelled in a roughly 45 degree arc, with almost all of it landing within a 90 degree arc of where it's pointed.) These can be rigged up with tripwires, or remote detonators. This is achieved by placing a fairly heavy plate behind the explosive, while the primary payload of eventual shrapnel is placed in front of it.

You don't technically hit a claymore mine. Again, these are shape charges, and designed to propel the destructive force (mostly) horizontally, so, you'd hit the tripwire, or a sentry with a detonator would activate it, possibly without even being detected by the people in the mine's kill zone.

Claymores have an optimal range of about 50 meters, with a maximum range of ~250 meters. So, “exactly how good do you consider your odds?” Because at 50m, the chances of being hit by fatal amounts of shrapnel is estimated to be about ~30%. (Obviously, in other circumstances, such as if you've got claymores set up in a confined concrete bunker, they're going to get a lot more dangerous.)

Also, we don't generally keep tight marching formations the way that early modern troops used, because modern weapons are horrifically effective against them. That Futurama quote is on the nose, because against a densely packed group of soldiers in early modern armor, the blast will likely hit almost all of them, and will, quite literally, blow many, if not most, of them apart. To put this more simply, using early modern military doctrine, they'd all be in the mine's kill zone when it went off, and their armor would do absolutely nothing to help them. In fact, this might be a case where their armor would further contribute to the shrapnel.

As for how they would react? I suspect most of them would take the ignoble option of dying almost instantly in the initial blast or shortly after from blood loss and extreme trauma. Would the survivors who could break and flee? Quite possibly. They also, quite likely, wouldn't even really understand what happened, simply because they'd never seen destructive force on that kind of scale before. “Would they lose cohesion?” My brother in Alfred Nobel's exploding cocktail lounge; they'd be losing biological cohesion with themselves. There wouldn't be a surviving unit.

There was a paradigm shift in the first World War. The stage had been set in the late 19th century, but most European armies didn't realize what had happened (and in fact, military leadership of the time stayed willfully ignorant) until after it came home.

Before this point, there was a concept of being able to “trade hits.” The halberdiers were expected to march into melee combat against other melee forces. This even survived the introduction of gunpowder units, and was still dominant military doctrine through the 19th century, where soldiers were expected to march in rank and file out onto the battlefield before shooting at each other in tightly packed formations.

What happened in the late 19th century was the development of weapons that were able to deal death with such speed and efficiency that getting into melee combat was no longer possible. The old, tightly packed, formations went from being an effective way to get troops into combat, to an effective way to see your troops completely eliminated by a single conscript's heavy machinegun fire.

The effective paradigm of infantry combat is now that your foes have the ability to end your existence, so you need to avoid their weapons (and preferably their detection) completely, until you can end them. (Yes, armor still exists, yes, it does work, but it's contingency you hope you don't need, rather than protection you expect to use.) Combat today is about controlling line of sight. Marching a squad of troops out onto the battlefield in tight formation wouldn't work, because a couple snipers with mediocre positioning could decimate them.

The claymore is part of this new paradigm. If you're in the kill range, unless you're in some radically more advanced armor than it was designed to deal with, you're going to have a bad day when it goes off.

We don't wear the same kinds of armor that those halberdiers used, because modern handgun rounds will perforate those. Modern armor does, sometimes, use steel plates (or, Kevlar, ceramic, or some polymers), as inserts but, the kind of steel used is significantly more resistant to modern bullets than what those early modern soldiers wore.

So, blown to shreds.

-Starke

This blog is supported through Patreon. Patrons get access to new posts three days early, and direct access to us through Discord. If you’re already a Patron, thank you. If you’d like to support us, please consider becoming a Patron.

[basil-the-bulbasaur]

I'm terrified for next session and I needed to draw something before hand, so have the messiest comic sketch ever

[smallfrogpleasedtomeetyou]

All the fish in the httyd franchise is horribly undercooked y’all u cant just eat an entire raw fish what the fuck

[supermarvelgirl15]

Just finished X-Men ’97

[ninyard]

🌻🌻🌻

neil has a lot of really strange survival skills that he learned on the run, and he actually really enjoys camping. andrew, kevin and neil go camping for a weekend the summer or two after tkm - kevin and neil love it, and enjoy being boys, in nature, fishing, setting up camp, lighting a fire, and all the good stuff that comes with camping. andrew HATES it. the entire time he is trying not to complain about how bored he is and how much he hates being out in nature with the bugs

[windydrawallday]

You know what? I'll announce what I was meant to say for almost a week! I'll write this on the go so, it will probably be long:

Do you see all of that in those two pics? Those are ALL TF WIPs I hoarded between other dozens since 2022 (plus some almost finished and/or on the pipeline of being finished).

Well, having them constantly lingering in my present 2024 folder made it easy to grab and work on them on an almost daily-weekly basis...

... but it pushed aside my other personal projects that ended up in a secondary WIP folder that I barely touched since I fell into this robot hell.

Not a bad thing! This was fun, but after this year's mixture of creative exhaustion I'm facing, I want to slow down a bit my focus on TF art.

I will still work on the WIPs related to my pals @sug4r-melon , @goobygnarp, and @lovestruckmousey 's designs for our shared TF AUs.

(And probably some low-key simple projects like doing tiny vehicle mode icons of the TFA cast like how I did with the RB cast for a zine. I was thinking too about making plush-toy icons of my favs because I can).

(I already set up a sideblog to save a great part of my TF art, especially the Lockdown/Prowl ones but for now, I'll leave it all private. I won't purge my fanart but I prefer to be safe).

But the rest? If it's not in the final stage and/or scheduled already (I have one dated since the past year to be posted in September so, that still stands) the WIP/artwork will be canned on a folder apart until I can have the motivation to work again on them.

The other reason for this slowdown is... I'm currently in two Zines. One for TFs (that I feel super honored to be part of) and another with OCs.

I had quite a bumpy ride at the beginning of this year, trying to postulate to zines not centered around TFs because I really want to branch my art and expose my original stuff so...

Nailing that OC zine feels like a big VICTORY! And I hope to expand more because gosh darn: no one but ME can draw my OCs!

And I miss my critters... I didn't participate in Artfight because of zero updated refs. I really want to change that next year!

Yup... a long read. But I hope my point is understandable and I'm not sounding like a quitter or something sjfhdkjshfsdjfh

Thanks for the patience and know if any of ya still enjoy my TF work: there's quite a bulk on the #ifellinrobothellagain tag x) Many didn't get as much traction on its day so, they will always be there to poke and revisit 💖

And is not like you'll never see certain faces again: for me, nothing is lost... just transforms and takes new shapes and names.

[nerdyqueerr]

TRAGIC: no one paid any attention to local butch while it made delicious dinner and now it's lonely

[dayurno]

kevin’s general boytoy helplessness does arrive to the natural conclusion that he is probably dogshit at cooking however i think there is something inherently funny about him liking it but being too horrified by the process of handling raw meat / deboning fish or chicken / seeing animal blood or their organs. i need to see this grown man depend on a more responsible adult to prepare the meat he is about to cook