#haven't been drawing in general irl for a bit

[bardicious]

Also always wondering how people cope coming here for a certain fandom or my art, and now I'm just a spn blog. LMAO

[averlym]

@remylong :

[balrogballs]

hello, i'm balrogballs, who has regretted this username since the second i chose it. i post mostly LotR/Silm content ✨

I write, illustrate, and shitpost — under the cut is a list of some of my work, and a little bit more about me.

about me: i'm 27, mostly based in the UK atm but grew up and schooled overseas. i'm also a novelist irl (literary-ecological fiction), currently working on book 2.

as my day job, i work as a humanitarian advocate and travel quite frequently - so i have extended times on here and extended times off here. if I haven't responded to a message/tag for a few days, it's probably because i have no internet access and the blog is running off a queue.

pronouns: she/her

fandoms: LotR, The Silmarillion. I haven't seen RoP yet but I do enjoy seeing stuff from it on my dashboard! I enjoy a ton of other stuff too, such as obscure German detective novels, and weird conservation projects.

what you can expect to find here: the blog is called balrogballs, not balrogbrains, so just a note that i really don’t take myself very seriously and you’re probably not going to find much Serious Fandom Discourse. i do have my moments however!

generally though, the gulf between my writing and my personality has been described as “like meeting mr bean and finding out he wrote the iliad”, so take that as you will! re: 18+ content, i repeat, the blog is called balrogballs not balrogbaby, and i essentially use the word DILF like a punctuation mark, so again do with that as you will.

interactions: feel free to open a chat or send me an ask, check out my asks tag as well!

writing: here's my AO3 account. i write almost exclusively for lotr/silm ✨

here's some fics I'm proud of:

the sword tree: Maedhros and Celebrìan 'teaming up' to open a rewilding sanctuary in Valinor to help traumatised ring war returnees. environmentalism, pacifism, and hope in the face of helplessness.

cast in stone: a fic about memory gaps, found family, and holes in the archive. imagine that "who tells your story" line from hamilton except it's 35k words long and starring Maglor, Maedhros, Elrond, Estel and Legolas.

i enjoy exploring decolonial/ecological themes in my writing but i try not to be insufferable and most of my works have some degree of absurdism/humour. i also have a oneshots series called Elrond Peredhel and his Feral Children, a fun romp tackling parenthood in LotR, in which every child of Rivendell is fucking unhinged because their dad is a card-carrying weird little freak ✨🌞

art:

you can find my art tag here! I mostly do graphic novel style "illustrations", because I don't know how to draw anything else 🌞

I saw your work posted on ____, was that you?

Absolutely not — I use no social media aside from this and AO3 (technically I have an "official" account, but that's managed by a publicist and has no elves). I've had a couple of stories reposted onto Wattpad/FFN before — that is not me, so please ping me a link if you come across anything I've written that's not either on here or on AO3 as TimelessUtterances.

(If you came from the “i had to explain to my publishers why i wrote fanfiction about elrond giving lindir the battering ram treatment before they greenlit my first novel” post, no the goddamn fic isn’t still up). However, I do often get questions re writing/publishing from people who read said post, and I’m always very happy to answer these or hook you up with lists of resources, so feel free to ask anything on that front!

[glastly]

my personal mp100 facial headcanon rambles with no structure whatsoever:

When it comes to headcanons for characters, I generally mostly have facial headcanons.. like for example when I think of Serizawa I always picture him to have a very strong nose, like I feel like he has a prominent bump at the upper bridge of his nose that tapers downwards and is slightly hooked or just straight. Basically anything that isn't a tiny little button nose. Not that it's bad to draw him with one!! but I just personally think it suits him to have a more prominent nose. I also see a large portion of artists draw Seri with this kind of facial feature, so I'm sure some might agree.

(Add-on: this doesn't rlly count as a headcanon but I like how he has bushy eyebrows!! it's cute :3)

Also like now that I'm on the topic of nose & face headcanons I guess I'll just mention the rest of the characters I also have headcanons for ermm

So for Reigen, I feel like I personally kinda see him with a very pointy ass nose like I really dunno why. I see fanart of him in styles where they make his nose very long and pointy, and every time I'm like "ah, cool" I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT maybe it's the whole "ah he's a fraud/liar therefore he is Pinocchio irl and has a long nose because he's full of shit" connection I'm making subconsciously but yeah I think Reigen is pointy. Pointy and upturned specifically.

In terms of Reigen's other facial features, I feel like I really don't have much else in mind other than the fact that I imagine his eyes to look perpetually fatigued. I picture him having hooded eyelids (not to be mistaken for monolids) which sort of play into his sleepy face look. His hooded eyelids would make the top portion of his eyes look more angular/flat in comparison to the bottom portion that would appear more rounded in contrast.. He would also have a large amount of sclera/white space in between his pupil and lower waterline... if that makes sense..

Reigen is sorta one of the only characters that is actually drawn with an eyelid crease now that I think about it.. (image for reference) I'm sure there are other characters but I just haven't paid enough attention to the others probably.

Now that I'm on the topic of eyelids, I'd like to mention that Serizawa actually does have hooded eyelids with epicanthic folds (where the eyelid is basically more lidded in the inner corners and taper outwards sorta) which I think is a cewl detail. This is a really goofy image, but you can get what I'm talking about.

Umm for Mob, I feel like it's pretty clear that he has a very softly-featured face without any striking features like aggressively angular eyebrows or anything like that. He totally has monolids and eyes that are more on the shallow-set end. I also think that he has (relatively) thin lashes that are downturned and longer in the outer corners of his eyes. They sorta drape over his eyes a bit in a way where if he were to focus on them, he'd be able to stare at his lashes. In terms of the rest of his face, I feel like he has very squishy cheeks and thin eyebrows :3

Thanks for listening to the rambles, it is 4am and I've been fighting the sleepydemon to type this so it's probably incoherent but yes I am very fixated on eyes and noses and like assigning them to characters :3 I wouldve written more but im slepy so goodnight thank you agajn

[nightwonder7]

I hate it when I see sm art of a ship I genuinely get invested and I fall in love with it only to find out that it's an endangered species which leaves me hungry; by the way when is the next Nortalice peice?

(Genuinely though you have got me HOOKED on them 😭😭😭)

Aww I'm flattered to hear! ;v;

I totally get it, though ;<; wanting more of a certain type of content, but there's just so little of it out there :') it can be frustrating to say the least, and it has previously driven me into creating content I want to see more for myself. Certified "Fine, I'll do it myself"-moment fdghsjfgdsj

I've been having a bit of a burnout with art in general, and been busy with irl stuff lately, so I haven't been able to draw as much as I want to, unfortunately. I have a lot of ideas, nortalice included, I've just not had the energy nor motivation to actually put it on paper :( I can't tell when the next post will be, but I'm trying to work my way out of this rut. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience

[protectingtulpas]

Do you have any advice on wonderland building for someone who really struggles with visualisation? I had aphantasia until I was 15, when I taught myself to visualise but it's still very much a process, and I primarily use it to visualise maths problems in my day to day. Visualising my wonderland is very disjointed because I can't do more than a sliver of it at a time. I still haven't managed to do sound at all. Touch, smell, and taste come more easily for me so I've probably put some emphasis on that but they aren't exactly the most helpful senses for building.

Aphantasia to synesthesia communication, aphantasia to synesthesia conversation /j/ref

Not gonna lie anon, this is a little out of our breadth cuz we rely so heavily on visualization, but we've been mulling over this for ages cuz we have a friend that wants to do tulpamancy too but has such bad aphantasia she can't do much, so we have at least a few ideas you could give a shot! If any of em work let us know cuz the feedback would be epic

- focus on what you can feel! Your mindform is an extension of you. Feel your limbs and how they connect with your wonderland around u. What's the texture of the couch you sit on or the grass you touch, how's the wind feel in your hair? Think about how people without seeing and hearing get around IRL

- this one's a bit more instinctive, but generally, you can kinda "sense" the things and people around you in the physical world, right? Applying that to your wonderland and tulpa might work. We can sorta instinctively "know" about where something is before we even visualize it, and I'm pretty sure ppl with aphantasia can do that too.

- Drawing down your wonderland might work! Maybe something a bit more objective that ya can use to help judge space and distance, and then apply that space & distance to your real wonderland in your head.

Just some shots in the dark, but I bet you can figure out your own unique way to interact with ur wonderland eventually. Don't give up!

[fanaticsnail]

Hello dear, I'm sorry to hear that things have been stressful for you irl. I know you're not all that familiar with me, but I still hope that things get better. All the love to you ♡♡♡ Here's an ask for you: If your favorite character was real and appeared beside you, how would you feel about it? What would you do? And this isn't a part of the ask game, just a question I had in general, but how did you go about starting to talk about and sharing your OCs on your blog? I'd like to be able to do the same, but I've never really done it publicly. It's usually just been among closed-off communities and friends.

Hi there love! It's been a rough little while for me lately, and this has been an excellent distraction. Thank you for your kindness, I appreciate it so much.

Favourite Character appearing:

Aside from the usual: "AAAAAAAA, how did you get in my house, what are you, are you even real, what are you doing here, how are you alive right now?" side of things, I honestly feel like we'd vibe. Offering Brook some tea, milk and a glass of wine or two while we sort out how to put him back, maybe have a jam with music until chef-husband comes home and joins in on drums, would be the way I'd handle it.

OC Sharing

I was very shy talking about OCs initially. The first OC I'd ever created for OP was shared with only one other person - much like yourself, if I'm reading it right. Closed off communities, full of supportive people encouraging and empowering you, was the way to go for me.

On a whim, I made one just for me specifically to practice drawing with on here when I had severe writer's block. I wasn't expecting much of a response from her, similarly to the stories I began writing when I initially started this account. Tobiuo was originally meant to be platonic, but Lionel Richie's "Hello" started playing as soon as the Kid Pirates showed up with that fire-breathing commander.

Sharing OCs still makes me nervous a little bit, honestly. I haven't really, properly written for mine on here aside from silly comics and that one mini fic. I do still only talk about her to a few people, play around with others OCs in the OC discord server. The amount of things I've written and drawn specifically for OC content on there is insane to me - including 'x reader' for others OCs.

While I'm writing a bit of 'x reader' content on here for an October event, I haven't been posting a lot about her on here.

How I went about it

I made a Masterlist for her with a small amount of information, and add to it as I go along. Just a name, age, rank, station, crew, captain, peculiarities, and race. She is so fun to think about for me, and she's truly a piece of my heart I'm sharing with the community here.

I hope this helps, and I'd love to hear about your OCs!

[boundlesschaos]

TOA Anniversary Munday

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is. Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing! Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together. [Original by Neffi can be found here!]

Name: Ruru

Pronouns: any/all

Birthday (no year): 6/14

Where are you from? What is your time zone? Grew up in the East Coast, currently back living there. EST timezone.

How long is your roleplay experience? Easily 15+ years. I did RP on DeviantArt of all things (and even became a mod of said rp); moved to tumblr RP when it got popular, but then took a break for a few years when tabletop games took interest proper; returned to RP when Cecil and I found TOA.

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? Outside of DeviantArt, I grew up playing a lot of make believe games with friends, which eventually moved to text. But really, dA was the big one that hooked me to RP proper....wild...

How were you introduced to TOA? Cecil was the one who found it? But I was wishing for more tumblr RPs around the time, since discord ones felt too intimidating.

Do you have any pets? Viola! Cute lil cat daughter

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) I like the part of fall where the leaves change colours. Seeing flora change in general is fun for me.

What is your IRL occupation? IT Support; I also do game dev (mainly TTRPG) on the side when I can

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? I like running TTRPG games, drawing, designing and coding spreadsheets. Making improv games on the fly, rules and all. I also like exploring new places, especially when they're local. Picnics on the beach or park are great.

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? A lot, but the game I just beat is Xenoblade Chronicles. I'm the sole remaining World Flipper fan- I mean, I like JRPGs a lot, so games like LiveALive and Chrono Cross come to mind as well.

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: Bug type. Snom, Grubbin, Pinurchin, Trapinch, pokemon that have the shape (tm) are my favorites. I've always had a soft spot for the Lati duo as well.

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! I've lived in Japan for a fair bit, and became N5 proficient through that. I'm trying to study for N4. I will also never stop talking about TTRPG - namely that I make games and one of them is Fire Emblem based.

How did you get into Fire Emblem? NO JOKE BUT I first learned of Fire Emblem through some promotional pamphlet that came with Pokemon Sapphire I think??? And then saw them in Smash. Cecil definitely helped me get into it proper.

What Fire Emblem games have you played? Easier to say what I haven't, which is FE1 and FE3 (or their remakes). Only played Echoes, not FE2. The only games I started and never beat are Warriors, Three Hopes, and FE5.

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: First exposure was one of the GBA, but Awakening was the first I beat proper, I think. My favorite FE games are 4 and 6.

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! Niamh, Joshua, Hugh, Idunn, Lethe? Those are the first to come to mind that I consistently like.

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! This would have been so long ago...I liked characters like Chad, Lugh, Ricken, etc because they were the 'small boy who might not be taken seriously' type. Which, given I was a lot younger back then, also treated younger than i was by my family, and starting to realize I don't define my gender neatly, they were important characters to sympathize with.

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 All my crushes are in Tellius LMAO but like. Titania. Nailah. Powerful Women....

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: Sully; might pick someone like Miriel? - Fates: Tsubaki; idk tbh....maybe him again - Three Houses: Shamir; probably Yuri? - Engage: Yunaka; maybe Kagetsu? [THIS WHOLE THING IS REMINDING ME that im not very attached to S supporting with the protag I GUESS]

Favorite Fire Emblem class? I like the ones where you can fly. Kinshi Knight is one of my favorites for the design and unique combination of flyer and bow.

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? Probably a flier or a strategist type. My luck stat is either way too good or awful, no inbetween. Probably also a furry of some variety.

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? I'm your generic NPC civilian.

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? - Boons - Faith, Riding (me remembering I rode horses as a kid) - Banes - Axes - Budding - Flying, Bows

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? Probably Firene for being very flowery?

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?) I pronounce it toe (the body part) + a (the letter). toe-a.

Current TOA muses: Niamh, Hugh

Past TOA muses? N/A

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Niamh

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? I like writing characters who appear composed, put together, etc, but are actually definitely not. Their ability to empathize is either super good or they struggle dearly (but are aware of that shortcoming). the more unconventional their gender, identity, etc is, the better.

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? Honestly any character with a sizeable amount of lore. I'd just spend way too much time worrying I interpreted one of their support conversations wrong or don't do the character 'the right way'.

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? I like writing situations where the characters learn a new facet about themselves, or discover a place beyond their wildest dreams.

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? Maybe something that lets me explore Hugh's past or defines Niamh pre-meeting Cipher crew?

Favorite TOA-related memories? Candy game was fun. I also liked the teamwork and memery I had in BOEL this year.

Present or past tense? I think I write in present so that?

Normal size text, small text, no preference? Normal Text with no trimming because most of my replies are through my phone lmao...

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 Sommie :) Both joking and genuinely serious. I love a small Frienb and i think it would be interesting to dive into the fact that Sommie has been around for a very long time, but realistically I'd probably only play him for a few months. Aside from Sommie, there are a couple of FE6 characters (Lugh, Raigh, Idunn) who could be fun but I like sticking to one muse per game. Constance I think about off and on but she hits my 'has too many supports' and therefore I'd worry about playing right. I still rotate the Three Hopes supports I read though. Maybe someday

[transdragonlira]

Your addition to the monster post is... So nice. You seem like you're incredibly passionate and fierce and loving and using your sona as an example of a 'monster' is really, really strong. Thank you!

also. can I see the bug please. I would very much like to see the sexy legged beast if that's okay please

Thank you very much! I have an incredibly strong connection to my sonas and being a furry in general! My entire queer identity as a person would have been completely different if I didn't manage to find the fandom (if it would have even existed at all). My fursona is even the origin of my irl name, I just used her name to try stuff out, and it really stuck!

And yeah, I really vibe with the monster interpertation of my sona. I really wanted to write more in that post but I didn't have the time or words when I wrote that, and didn't feel like it would add much to the post to go even more in detail about that, it would be a repitition of what they already said

But this is a new post so I can say what I want here

As someone who's autistic and trans, and had major hearing issues when I was younger (I'm fine now, but when I was younger I once lost aroud 90% of my hearing), I was never the type to fit in. I only have ever felt like I fit in in places that are queer and/or neurodivergent (like furry spaces are). I am too familiar with being shunned by average people. Furries really are the best

One specific part about the monster example that really hits in the feels is the fact that I really was seen as scary at school. Because I was autistic, I had autistic meltdowns. And mine manifested in the way of anger issues. I was lost and confused of all the unspoken rules, and that caused me to lash out at the bullies. This was first a reason to bully me more, but when I got older, this got a bit scary. I was genuienly seen like a monster. A monster to try to agitate a little bit to get a ruse, because she was chained to a cage of rules. But the same bars that enchaged her, protected her bullies from being punished for their deeds.

That is why although my sona may seem fierce, she really is a sweetheart, almost motherly (Centipedes in nature are known to be very caring mothers!) Despite being seen as a monster, she is still kind to all. But if you wrong her, or even worse, a fellow monster, she won't hestitate to bite. She is only fierce as a defense mechanism. She does not want to be fierce. She wants to care. But she keeps on being fierce anyway. She had no other choice.

I want to say that I'm currently in the proces of changing into this sona, as my sona was a dragon for a long time. And the more I think about it, she is kinda the person I want to be rather than the person I am right now. And that's completely ok! She is still very close to me, as she is the origin of my irl name. I (still) need something to strive for, and she is the perfect way to do so. Especially when I was a younger queer, unsure of what I wanted out of my body.

To be loved is to be changed. And I am currently loving myself, and my sona.

It's only natrual that she will change a bit. However, she will always be the same creature in my head. After all, I am my sona, and I am all my previous iterations of yesterday -why couldn't she be as herself as well as all of her previous iterations as well?

And while I'd absolutely love to show you the sexy legged beast, the nature of this sona being fairly new means I haven't gotten the time to draw her very much yet, and the one real fullbody of her is nsfw and idk if I can show her because of tumblr rules, but here is a cropped version, and a emote of her being embaressed. (and you can dm for the full! I am not scared to show my full, beautiful body!)

It kinda really sucks that I can't show the full here. A HUGE part of this sona is about the fact that she isn't a particularly girly girl, and that she has a big dick instead of a pussy. But she is still a girl! She might be embarrased about people wanting her, but that's because she is inexperienced! (They are 18+, don't worry) She is confident in her body and showing all of it of, because she knows that there will always be people that will be disgusted by her. But the love she receives by others makes it all worth it.

Honestly I could write a full article on how fursonas and gender (and queer identities in general) are linked. I don't think it's a coincidence that around 1 in 4 to 1 in 3 of every furry is not cisgender. (Less clear source, scroll down for the latest update: https://furscience.com/research-findings/demographics/1-3-sex-and-gender/) Heck, my very first fursona from when I was extremely new to the fandom was a girl- I had no clue back then that I was transgender. All I knew is that it felt right.

Lastly I want to say, despite really vibing with the monster theme, and it really applying to me and my sona, a big part of it (and what I mostly wanna draw with my sona) is trying to accept that we aren't really monsters. We are othered by society, but we are not bad monsters. We are lovely creatures, trying to love our lives like everyone else. We have all sorts of positive traits! I may have trouble understanding everyone, and yes, I am quick to anger. But you know what I also am? Like you said, I AM passionate, loving, and fierce. I am also intelligent, and have great marks in college, and am creative. And most of all, I want everyone in the world to trive to the point where it eats me up inside thinking about the evils in this world. Is that a trait you would say a monster would have?

And again, thank you, I got a couple of asks asking to see my sona because they sounded cool, and it's people like you that make the online world amazing to be in, stay yourself, and love yourself for who you are

[dellinah]

We put a man in the moon but GOD FORBID we have a scanner that doesn't BLAST the scanned picture I guess

They know I'd be too powerful if my hand-drawn pictures looked good all the way :( I swear it looks so much better irl ugh. But have some Beelzebub ~appreciation~

This is the first thing I've drawn in like... months. Eesh. And I had to google *realistic* boob physics to do it

It's actually the first anything I've done in months hey hi hello how have you all been

Uh anyway Helluva Boss. That Masterminds episode has me DEAD and deceased and I like it a lot. It's not perfect but I like the little demon show and I LOVE MY OWL SON and he's done so much and ughhhh I just wanna hug him and I can't wait for the next one bc I'm excited to see where he'll go from there. I want to go off about it if I could stop feeling like shit but Stolas brings smth in me alive so. Mother and son are both at the fucking bottom of the well let's gooo

Brain's been a bit off and I haven't been present in my body at all for the last few months and I hate it but I guess this is a step forward? Maybe. Having two jobs + school + anti-depressants + life in general does that to one. But I also have this thing that I have to be perfect all the time so I will say I will do smth when I feel ready but then I'm never ready and then I feel like it's too late to do it and it spirals and I just felt like it was too late to like... do anything. Even be a furry or like talk to people. Why does life feel on a perpetual countdown. Eesh

I've been thinking about silly demon show a lot abd just couldn't get myself to even be excited about it bc i'm late and now it doesn't even make sense so like. It sucks. But I'm trying. I've been thinking a lot and I just hope everyone and everything's been ok. Shout out to Odin and Zen. My helluva buds. I think a lot I just never do anything

But I'm here. I guess

If it's a Helluva Boss episode that gets me out of a rut who am I to turn it down I'm grasping at straws over here

OH YEAH THIS POST HAS A DRAWING ATTACHED TO IT

But tbh it's almost better without context

I have a friend that really likes Beelzebub and he likes to be looked down upon by big women and the ep was about tension among classes so I had a vision and figured it's time I do smth and also do smth for him and his fursona so. He liked it. A lot. Maybe yall other Bee's fans will like it too. Or not thats also fine

I don't know what this post is about or who it is for but there you have it

[adobe-outdesign]

Would you mind talking about the Spinarak line if you haven't already? If you have, I'd love your thoughts on Skorupi! (And vice versa; I did some searching but I didn't see it)

Spinarak is a cute little guy! It's probably the simplest spider design we've ever gotten in Pokemon, but that's a not a bad thing. The blank-ringed eyes convey a sort of compound eye without being too literal with it, and the little fangs and random horn (following in the proud Gen 1 tradition of slapping horns onto things for no reason other than that it looks cool) add just enough detail to prevent it from being too bland. I also love the stripey legs, a feature found in many spiders.

The main draw of Spinarak is the concept of it having a second face on its abdomen. Not only does this make logical biological sense (it would confuse predators), but it also makes for a fun little theme, and increases the cuteness by 20%.

My only real nitpick with the design is that the red fangs feel a bit out-of-place; they could've easily been yellow. Then again, it ties into Ariados' radically different palette and many IRL spiders have different-colored pedipalps, so I'm willing to give it a pass.

It's also worth nothing that Spinarak had a completely different palette in general originally, sporting a mostly purple look. Ariados was also purple originally, which created more design coherency between the two stages. I'm not sure why they changed this. Maybe they thought it made them look too much like poison-types?

While it's a shame that there's little color consistency between the two, there's at least some visual consistency—the horn, the stripe and spots on the abdomen, the fangs, and the striped legs all remain. Meanwhile, the body shape has changed in a way that makes it look appropriately stronger, and its gained a really pair of false legs on the back that no other spider 'mon sports.

Unfortunately, what doesn't remain is the theme. Spinarak's most noticeable feature was its false face, so it's baffling that Aridos drops that in favor of... nothing really. Aridos is nicely designed, sure, but it doesn't really have anything specific to make it stand out. I point this out mostly because this was Aridos' beta sprite:

Most of Aridos' design has been improved from this design; the finalized design sports a much more interesting body shape that looks much more different than Spinarak's than the beta's does, and the face feels a lot more complete in the final with its thinner head and larger eyes.

However, the loss of the face on the back was honestly a travesty. Like I said, the face on Spinarak was its main theme, so using the evolution to advance the face from being a simple smiley face to a full-brown vicious pattern ala Arbok would've made the line much more memorable, and would've created a greater sense of increase between the two stages. Even the final Pokedex entries for Aridos still blatantly reference this earlier design:

If they had kept Aridos' final design but allowed it to keep the false face of the beta, the line would've been dang near perfect. As-is, they're both still enjoyable spiders—just not nearly as memorable as they could've been.

As a final side note, I could see potential in revisiting this line. I don't think a third evolution would be out of the question; maybe play back into the face theme or expand upon the false legs by giving it the ability to flip itself upside-down or rightside-up on a whim.

[thecourtjester12]

For the DCA fandom question thingie: 1, 5, 9, 16, 19, 20!

Thank you for the ask and the questions to answer from it! ^-^

how did you get here?

I'm a long standing FNAF fan! (not THE longest since I got into the fandom around late 2016 early 2017 just around when SL came out or a smidge before it really…) And when SB game out at first, from the trailer's at least; I wasn't TOO keen on the DCA's or how things would end up with the game, it was pretty out there to me. BUT! When it finally game out and watching GTLive play through it the daycare section (And Moon's part in partically) really drew my attention, was-and still is- my favorite part of the game, I grew attached to them and it grew from there!

I already had a FNAF special interest and in turn grew one for th DCA specifically as well!

if you make content, what's your favorite piece you've contributed?

Oh dear…this is a tough one….I'll start with written first It'd be a tie between 'System Overload' and 'Pretty Moon?' My first and 4th works with the DCA's they hold a bit of sentimentality.

As for drawing…While a bit of an Au drawing, this illustration of J-tol Moon (Moo) I just really love how they turned out ^-^ (Reminder to please use they/them for Moo!)

what do you think of the dca's canon appearance? Scary? Cute? Something else?

I think they look neat! All the little details are fascinating and it makes curious how they would function if they had existed in the real world!

Along with that I generally have a fondness for celestal themed things (suns, moons, stars, clouds) along with star and striped patterns, I just think they're really neat, so the DCA's design really fits these lil things I enjoy! Andddddd……..Moon's design reminds me an itsy bitsy bit of little porcelain clowns I collect so that's neat!

what's something in the fandom you'd like to see more of?

That's hard to say…theres so, so, sooooo many wonderful things already in the fandom and so much wonderful creators and creations! Always new ideas and new twists on ideas, its amazing to see!

Maybe more….I wouldn't say crossovers….but more stories and other creations with the DCA's and older fnaf games and characters! I don't tend to see this very often but I LOVE all of FNAF and I love getting to see the DCA's interacting with previous games characters and lore and making twists so the DCA are appart of older games, like new timelines and all that its just so cool to see!

do you think you'd actually get along with the dca if you met them irl?

Ignoring the fact a first meeting irl with…any of them would….not be good (many reasons…. :' D) While I haven't watched HW2 yet I have the jist of things from it and…Sun? Maybe?

But…no strong guarentee….bit more likely with Moon but….also iffy cause…its Moon.

Eclipse tho, I'd probably have the best chance to get along with them (I have…been told by friends i am 'eclipse-core' and come across as similiar vibes to them at times?) So one yes, the other two….iffy unfortunately. (I'm moreso meaning on their end, I would Irl be cool with em all personality wise, but whether THEY would with me….less so :' D)

free space! talk about whatever's on your mind

Let's see let's see...While I will admit to having been a wee bit distracted with other fandoms past little bit, my love for the DCA and the fandom has not died out!

I've still been engaging in the fandom if a bit more...out of sight such as with some fun little projects with beloved friends both with the PDC au blog (tho limited on there >_<) and other things I can't say quite yet!

And a lovely little blog that.....well if you know of it and know it's me behind it....good on you for figuring it out! Unfortunately that little lovely is one you'll have to find on your own!

And while im a tad slow, I have been picking away at working on things for LSAU lots to do, lots to do before i can get into the fun stuff and start showing it off properly tho!

I suppose last but not least...I'll leave with this!

This wonderful story by ShivaCheshire! I've recently started reading it and its just really well written and captures the DCA beautifully! Would highly recommend (and its even better if you're looking for a long fic!)

[faeriecinna]

WIP Questionnaire (2.0)

I was tagged a second time by @finchwrites, so I'll do this for my second WIP too.

Project.Ink

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

As I mentioned in this post, as someone from an Irish family, I wanted to write a novel that paid homage to our folklore, so I decided to mess with the general concept of a 'changeling'. Rowan came to be when I tried to think up a character that was a faerie who, for some reason, believed they were a human - and the rest followed.

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Not so much a theme song, but Rowan and Killeen's song is definitely Dying Star by Ashnikko and Ethel Cain. I'd probably have it playing in the background when Killeen realises who Rowan actually is to her.

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

Rowan was the first character I created for this story so I do have a soft spot for her in my heart, but because I knew I wanted this to be a queer story, when I created Killeen I basically just turned my ideal woman into a lesbian fae warrior so??? of course I would die for her?? Plus being The Inquisitor for The Sidhe Court is kind of a slay, no?

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

Never read it, but from what I've heard I can only assume ACOTAR peeps would be into it. If anyone has ever watched Zone Blanche/The Black Spot (spooky french supernatural murder drama), that is EXACTLY the vibe I'm going for - just Irish (and if you haven't watched it you should).

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

There are two parallel storylines in the story - Rowan's storyline when she is taken into the Fae realm, and the second storyline that follows the aftermath in her small town when her parents report her missing. I struggle a fair bit with actually writing the aforementioned second storyline because I get so caught up with all the lesbian dumbassery that I forget there is in fact a second layer to my plot.

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

Crows, ravens and other corvids are ALWAYS a motif in my stories. The Sidhe also have a strong supernatural connection to the flora and fauna so not only are there several different kinds of forest dwelling animals in the story, but most of the characters can communicate with them!

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

Honestly for a fantasy book my setting/map is rather small so most of the travel is done by foot. I guess there'll probably be a few police cars involved and maybe some kind of sailboat at some point lmao

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

In the earlier stages of the first draft atm. I started this as a passion project only about 6 months ago even though I had the plot idea for a couple of years.

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

Queer fae. Need I say more? Also I'm hoping the fact that there are a lot more spooky/horror elements to this story, as opposed to a lot of faerie narratives, will interest people. It's all going to be set in Ireland as well so that's another demographic that I hope will enjoy it!

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

It's a queer story where the characters are just... queer.... and in love... there's no homophobia, no "I'm gay and that's okay and normal!", no having to come out - it just is right from the get go, a gay story about gay girls being gay without that being the focal point of the narrative - so I hope that if it ever gets published, it'll be a book that queer people can go to when they need a spooky gay fantasy without any of the trauma and alienation that we feel as queer people irl. I hope people connect to the story and take some comfort in the darkness.

And I'm gonna tag @sleepywriter00 @akiwitch and @eccaiia

(blank under the cut)

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

[thelocalmuffin]

Hello everyone! I wanted to share my accomplishments in 2023 before the year ends with a little bit of self reflection notes. You can enjoy everything in the read below.

Some fandoms highlighted include DGS, nintendo, and pokemon.

First off, this year has been hard for me. It's been a lot of self reflection and figuring my goals out after some became unattainable.

With that being said, I did accomplish a lot this year. I published my first recipe in a zine, finishing my first zine, improved my writing a lot, and picked up drawing once again. I also was able to get some actual help with some issues I have struggled with for years.

I want thank you all for your support. It means a lot that you enjoyed my artworks, writing, and ambition. Now here are my highlights for each month.

January: Foxtrot - An Asoryuu kitsune AU. One of the stories I took in when I was at my lowest last year and sparked a lot of my interest to keep writing. Plus Kitsune Kazuma.

February: Encore - A hassius story about motivation and being patient about the creation process. Though this was more or less my thoughts on this topic in general, this story literally inspired me to take my own advice and pick up drawing again.

March: The Memories that Lie - This was one I actually finished, but am glad I did. It's an asoryuu vampire story I was actually planning on scrapping, but ended up finishing anyway out of sheer stubbornness. To finish it, it took me completely restarting five chapters, but it came out a lot better than the original draft had mapped out.

April: This is when I took my hiatus and started to draw again in my free time. I was worn out, stressed, and collapsing under the pressure. This was my first piece that I posted.

May: Was a huge month for me. I launched the @blossominglovezine that you can enjoy here and published my first recipe in The Grand Adventure to Make the Perfect Cake for the @tgaacspringzine

June: I made my first icon! I was really busy this month planning for the trip of my dreams and doing some irl side work that ended up being permanent employment.

July: So I went to Las Vegas for a foodie tour. When I had a moment, I decided to draw the lovely Unicorn Goddess outfit.

August: This is when I did the Timmverse art study. This month was more of finishing up some logistics of zine work and getting a story out in the wild.

September: Goes to the Princess Peach Showtime piece I did! This piece really cemented my current style. And yes, I keep calling it Princess Peach Spotlight. Also wanted to mention I helped successfully launch the @dgscrimezine

October: Goes to my OC piece. CW for blood, but this piece was made for Halloween and the shading was really on point. I love this design for this OC.

November: I'm going with the fact I completed a ship week, asoryuu week. I got everything done at a reasonable time and was able to create so many fun pieces. 1 2 3 4 5 7. I had to skip day 6 because I ended up having an emergency. I also started pre-orders for my first for purchase zine, @desire-asoryuu-zine. This is still in pre-orders, so I wasn't sure if I was going to add it, but this is a big accomplishment for me.

December: I actually haven't been able to do much this month due to the holidays and getting distracted by Pokemon DLC, but I did draw this super cute Yuma!

Other highlights do include being accepted to multiple zine projects as a mod and contributor, which has been very exciting for me. You can check out that list here.

This upcoming year, I'll be helping with more projects and the @aawlwminibang events! I really want to do a personal project that I've been building up my skills for before pursuing, but now I think I'll be able to handle it. I won't announce it yet since it's still very much in development, but I hope I can in 2024.

Thank you all for your support this year. It has meant a ton.

[babacontainsmultitudes]

15 Questions for 15 People

@locke-n-k3y thanks for the tag :] ah hm tbh I feel like my answers for these might be a bit boring but let's see...

1. Are you named after anyone?

Yes! (Referring to my legal name- which I still use), I was named after a character from the soap opera "General Hospital" haha.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Last week lol- which was... The first time in a couple months? It was nice but not enough.

3. Do you have kids?

Absolutely not. Never lol.

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

Never did any sports outside of gym class! Not formally, anyways. I do workout (mostly strength/weight training) fairly regularly... But I don't think that really counts here lol. :0 Been thinking a lot lately about picking up boxing.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Yup! irl I often go for a sort of deadpan delivery of my sarcasm- what I've learned from other people is that I'm a little too good at that (I sometimes say very ridiculous things very convincingly). I won't usually specify unprompted that I'm being sarcastic, but you're always welcome to ask. Not as sarcastic online in general, however.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Irl? Hmm. Hard to say. Maybe: eyes, voice, posture.

Online? Typing/texting style I suppose!

7. What's you're eye color?

Dark brown 👁

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Not mutually exclusive lol. But, happy endings. I don't "dislike" tragedies but I'm not actively drawn to them either.

9. Any talents?

HM. I mean obviously I have things I'm good at but I'm never quite sure what differentiates a "talent" from a "skill". I suppose a lot of friends have said something to the effect of me being "good at reading minds" haha- also "good at explaining things" which is debatable but sweet lol.

10. Where were you born?

Halifax! Which I feel fine saying cause I haven't lived there for a long time lol. A foggy fishing city that I miss even now.

11. What are your hobbies?

I guess a large chunk of what I do on this blog counts as hobbies? Writing (whether it's fiction or analysis or shitposts), drawing, audio clipping and editing apparently (though much of that I just keep to myself- same for drawing tbh). :] I've also gotten into making iron-on patches. Tabletop and video games for sure but... Neither as much as I'd like these days. I tend to collect a lot of things as well- most notably coins.

12. Do you have any pets?

I've had MANY pets of many different species- but currently just my cat Bok! I do tend to take care of my older sister's bunny a lot too though.

13. How tall are you?

5'4, which all my 6'0 friends love teasing me over 😒. I've been told that I "seem taller from the way [I] carry myself", however. (Despite everything, I'm actually fine with my height!)

14. Favorite subject in school?

When I was completing my bachelor's (in computer science) I was particularly drawn to graphics-related stuff! In highschool my fave was definitely drama haha (gee I miss it tbh).

15. What is your dream job?

I HAVE NO IDEA no idea and that's kind of my issue rn tbh. Plenty of things that seem interesting, but I don't think I'm the kind of person who could have the same job for my whole life, no matter how perfect it is. I'll presumably end up in something programming-related eventually, though it's not what I'm looking for now. OH OKAY ACTUALLY dream job? Probably doing video essays (or possibly let's plays) on Youtube haha.

15 PEOPLE IS A LOT OF PEOPLE TO TAG AND I ALWAYS FEEL SO SHY TAGGING PEOPLE IN GAMES and I have no idea who's been tagged already ahaha UM NO PRESSURE WHATSOEVER!!! @llumimoon @happi-tree @kaseyskat @abeinginsand @nolassolace @goldturnedgray @swiffin @insomaniiiac @meiwks @calamity-unlocked @coolfire333 @supremely-unsupervised @b1gwings @giraffeskull There! 15! Tried to get a few new people in there lol. But fr no stress!

[airprime7]

If anyone in particular had anything to say on a post we reblog, we might tag it as #[name]posting. Also you will see words in their text colour and quirk (if they have one). We may come back and edit in links to posts with more details. Or not.

We are almost all trans, but it will be only mentioned below if that has caused a name change from our canon counterpart.

Just call us AirPrime if you want to talk to us/the account in general.

Let's do this in groups, in no particular order.

Homestuck Humans+:

Roxy: Roxy Lalonde fictive. she/they. #roxyposting Rose: Rose Lalonde fictive. she/her. #roseposting Jazz: Jazz Lalonde (Jasprosesprite^2) fictive. Cat :3. she/her, or any cat neopronouns. #jazzposting Dave: Dave Strider fictive. he/him. #daveposting Dove: Dove Strider (transfem Davesprite) fictive (also a bit of 「TIME PARADOX」 from Jojo's MSPaint Adventure). bird. she/her. #doveposting DS: Technically a Dirk Strider fictive (mixture of Dirk, Hal, and Brain Ghost Dirk's Katana. Also is glasses.) The DS stands for duelStands. they/them. #dsposting Kate: Dirk Strider fictive (transfem). Technically short for "Katana" but don't call me that. Middle name "Dirl". she/her. #kateposting June: June Egbert fictive. she/her. #juneposting Jade: Jade Harley fictive. dog. woof woof! she/her/it. #jadeposting

Homestuck Trolls:

Aradia: Aradia Megido fictive. Ghost and frog and robot and fairy god all at the same time. 0u~. she/her. #aradiaposting Sol: Sollux Captor fictive (also bits of 89P13 and 「YELLOW TEMPERANCE」 and 「NEVER SAY DIE」). he/she. #solposting Mituna: Mituna Captor fictive. he/any/she. #mitunaposting Karkat: Karkat Vantas fictive. he/him and she/her (undecided). #karkatposting Nepeta: Nepeta Leijon fictive. she/fur/it and other cat neopronouns. #nepetaposting Kanaya: Kanaya Maryam fictive. she/her. #kanayaposting Terezi: Terezi Pyrope fictive. she/it. #tereziposting Vriska: Vriska Serket fictive. she/her. #vriskaposting Eridan: Eridan Ampora fictive (goes by Eridan Eleven instead). she/her. #eridanposting

Other Homestucks:

Erisol: Erisolsprite fictive. Not actually at all like Erisolsprite. Different person from Eridan and Sol. he/they. #erisolposting Neproxy: Neproxy Leijonde (Nepeta and Roxy fusion) fictive. Probably the same Nepeta and Roxy from above. she/they/fur/any other cat neopronouns. #neproxyposting Altair: Altair Tascii (fantroll from my fan adventure Roguebent) fictive. he/him. #altairposting

Erfworld:

Jack: Jack Snipe fictive. NOT from Homestuck. he/him. #jackposting Wanda: Wanda Firebaugh fictive. Spooky. NOT from Marvel. she/her. #wandaposting

Others:

V: non-fictive; named for the Order of the Stick character. The "host" if we have one. they/them. #vposting Five: non-fictive; "V without the limit8ions." Draws elements from Vriska Serket, PL from Roguebent, and happens to share a name with Number Five from Umbrella Academy. any pronouns. #fiveposting Link: Link fictive (from The Legend of Zelda, specifically the Hero of the Wild). Nonverbal I've been told not to use that word; does not speak IRL, would use sign language if we knew any, uses emojis only online. he/any. #linkposting Fifth: ... Complicated. Technically a robot/ai version of June, and also her stand(?), but a separate person also..... Full name 「FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN」. she/her. #fifthposting

Possible (people we've felt present but haven't definitely recurred, might have just been our imagination):

Sherlock Holmes (RDJ version) Equius Zahhak Arquius Strihak Jotaro Kujo

Will update whenever. Maybe.