#i had all these self portraits and comics and stuff

[electronicmail]

I just... wanna see more of your art... if you have more of course 👀 any wips? any left over doodles? anything????

yeah here are some drafts from when i started that goddamned rebrand

[jevilowo]

It's me the timeline guy. Here are my many lore related grievances with the comic:

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT tho most people have probably read it by now lol

FIRST OF ALL, the Administrator's plan. What happened to "plan so disturbing that several US senators pardoned her for the Poopy Joe incident?" What even was her plan actually was it just to keep the fighting going forever? Then what was the point of Australiummaxxing after Redmond and Blutarch died?

What's up with Zepheniah’s hooked up corpse. Isn't his ghost still around? He certainly is by the seventh scream fortress comic, which takes place during MvM. His will says he won't rest until he's done being mad at the world idk how that relates to anything.

OH HORSEMANN MY HORSEMANN. Why is Zepheniah claiming to be an only child? And it's not a retcon bc later on Soldier pulls up the family photo WITH SILAS IN IT. Where did he even get that. Anyways. The only explanation is either 1) some in-universe attempt by Zepheniah to write Silas out of history (implied by the two copies of the quarterly concern, one seen in a hidden page in the classless update and the other in the background of the Engineer update), or 2) ...i was going to say Silas was actually his cousin or something but that wouldn't make sense if the siblings of Zepheniah’s dad all died young. Urgh. I hoped the Horsemann would return and put to rest the implications dragged up by scream fortress two but alas twas not to be.

What's with the 3 different covers of a young Administrator? My theory is they're supposed to represent three possible backstories the writers were cooking and wouldn't commit to. Who knows.

CHARLES DARLING. The triplets' birth certificate claimed that their mother was a Darling (save me Bette Mann etc etc), and that had me convinced Charles was going to be at least RELEVANT. Why else would he, a joke antagonist introduced in the War! Comic, show up at all? Looking for Australium, no less? I tell you that flashback of him and Maxton had me CONVINCED something would happen. Especially with the two of them lowkey treating him like shit.

So so so much Admin stuff left unexplained. Seeing her child self in the Australium. The census dated back to 1850 with "HELEN" on it. Telling Engie "your family has already done so much for me". By that she could have just meanth Radigan making an immortality machine for Redmond as well as Blutarch I guess, but ??? I liked the Emily reference tho that was something one of the artists reffered to her as for the Engie Update Comic by mistake and later took back so neat callback lmao.

SPEAKING OF RADIGAN. Nothing on who the third Australium machine went to. Presumably Admin I guess? Not explained, never will be probably.

Who was the person in the torn Mann Family portrait? My main theory was always either an earlier version/design of Grey or a Darling, but in the picture Soldier shows (SERIOUSLY WHERE DID HE GET THAT) we can't even see the outline of a person around his thumb. It almost looks like they just made a version of the picture without anyone in the middle and called it a day.

TFI having other mercenary groups came out of fucking nowhere, even in comic six. The T and F presumably stand for "Team Fortress", fuck you mean "Team Citadel", "Team Vanguard", giant fucking statue of random epic looking mercs??? What is happening. They did NOT explain that shit at all. Multiple, seemingly incredibly competent teams are NOT "eighteen perfect idiots". Did Poopy Joe die for nothing.

One of the top posts I've ever made is the one where I point out the date Spy and Scout got arrested on that newspaper: September 7th, 1972. This means the rest of the comics should take place 5½ months later i.e. February/March 1973. Ergo, 1979 could not be "seven years later". The comics seem to think themselves that they're set in 1972 already, there's a few lines about it but for the life of me I can't remember. Something something however many years since Zepheniah died blah blah year the triplets were born. Whatever. It's on my timeline probably.

Smaller thing, but embarrassing lack of a full name reveal for Heavy (I originally said And Medic here but. Herbert Ludwig was revealed). Spy also, but I wasn't really expecting that. Heavy shall remain Mikhail "Mischa" Weponzgy in my heart.

SO IN CONCLUSION: the writers went in with no clue how to end the story, something made evident by the possibility of the 4chan leaks being an early script and also entirely fucking different.

Still, there were a lot of lore unrelated things I did enjoy: the fact that the mercs actually got a happy ending, for one thing. Sniper stealing a plane, Scout maturing and moving on from Pauling, Pyro literally just being overjoyed to see Engie again, babies!!! The fact we even got a comic! How crazy is that? At least we didn't have to wait another seven years.

I might draft a script for an alternate ending that tries to answer lore stuff more, but knowing me I wouldn't finish it. Still, I am working on making a website for my timeline and I'll upload the link here once I'm done with it. Oh and I'll update the doc version soon. Bitterly.

[seeminglydark]

hi! is there are reason that you decided that cassette tapes would be john’s chosen form of physical media? how would john organize his music (i.e., genre, band name, release date) and what would john keep his cassettes in? i can imagine him either having stuff in old shoe boxes or a cassette case that he hand-painted himself!

Yes! It's my personal favorite form of media, I'm really partial to cassettes, i think from growing up in the early 90's when it was the norm, so imprinted on my brain. I love mix tapes, jumping up to smash the record button when my fave tune came on the radio, so id always miss the first 10 seconds haha, my first several cars had tape decks. i love Walkmans, it was such a HUGE thing in my life to be able to put headphones on and take my music with me for the first time. I translate a lot of that nostalgia to john. I always imagine him with his Walkman and headphones, or small portable stereo, in bed with all the lights off except the white christmas lights that criss cross his ceiling, Creaky on his chest, listening to the episodes on repeat.

John organizes his music by How Much he Currently Likes A Band, grouped by band name and then oddly enough by album color. (so if he had several cassettes by say, Social D, they'd be next to each other in rainbow or light to dark.) He does most things by color, he's slower at reading and alphabetizing is a bit of a chore and makes him feel self-conscious and stressed. He doesn't mix music and books on tape, they each have their own shelf. He does rearrange a LOT.

Right again re: shoe box and painting the cases! I actually wrote a little snippet of this a long long time ago that didn't make it into the comic, but you can have it now, under the cut.

'Caro eyes a shoe box on the shelf curiously, its covered in stickers, anti fascism and punk rock bands. 'Can i look at this?' they ask, he nods, his back to them. They pull it down and settle it in their lap, lifting off the top to discover... cassette tapes! Oh wait, John did say Maddie recorded their show for him onto cassettes. There were at least 40, all lined up in the order of episodes. Caro pulled one out, the white paper inside the case was filled in with bright colors and shapes, elaborate images of ghosts and snakes and monsters. They pulled out another. A cartoon portrait of the little blond, violet eyes wide at the barrage of brightly colored spirits hovering behind them. 'Is this me?' they ask out loud. John turns to look and freezes. 'Oh….' embarrassed. 'Uh yeah…' 'Wow the art is so…?' they murmur, pulling out another, this one done in greens and blues with metallics. 'Ive never seen anything like these before?' They saw a lot of fanart, but this was different somehow. It felt more personal. Like the person who made them really put their soul into it, like it wasn't just fanart to the artist, but something really deeply important. 'I…um….' Johns face is bright red now..' um…I mean, you know I dont have social media..' he reminds them softly, rubbing the back of his neck. 'Wait.' Caro looks up, he's so flustered now, shuffling his feet, ears on fire. 'These are YOURS? You did these?' Somehow they've forgotten he used to fill up notebooks with colorful drawings, street art and tagging. Liquid letters and cartoon animals with thick black outlines. 'Sure.' He shrugs and turns away, back to them again, 'I would draw on them while listening, you know. It just felt kinda sad to leave them blank. Maddie showed me some of the fanart online, and the box set of the first season. I can't do the same kind of art, I'm not good like those other people, but…I didn't want to leave them blank, so I made my own I guess.' he pauses. 'I'm sorry…you must think I'm so fucking weird.' 'I don't think its weird…' they murmur looking at the tapes. 'I think its really cool. I didn't know you were such a talented artist.' He laughs, a short bark that sounds like a cough. They put the box gently back on the shelf, and sit on the bed, deciding to spare him. They can see he's smiling though, even if he's trying to hide it with his fist pressed against his lips.'

[donnerpartyofone]

While I was writing the previous post I thought of this person I used to know from the comics world who was like intensely dogmatic about everything and it could get in the way of how much I liked her. (I mean there are a lot of intensely dogmatic people in the comics world, but most of them I'm happy to just dislike)

I had a piece in one of her zines one year, and I was posting all this process stuff on my art blog; honestly I was acting a little insecure (I'm STILL insecure about that piece), but also I was genuinely amusing myself, I liked talking about the choices I made and the challenges I was running into. And I have a right to be a little insecure on Tumblr, don't I, what would this place be without that? But at some point she questioned me about this behavior, and it was really clear from her tone that she thought I shouldn't be doing it--like that she thought an artist shouldn't do all this explaining, the work should speak for itself etc. I found that sort of annoying; I mean she doesn't have to follow my blog, who fucking cares?

But I definitely didn't get the worst of that attitude. At some point somebody who lives extremely far away, who we'd have barely known from the internet, started circulating a zine that was just xeroxed and stapled, and it was really crude and just frankly not good. But I mean everyone has the right to make a crummy zine, that's sort of the beauty of zines OR SO I THOUGHT--naturally my friend was analyzing this thing that she didn't even really need to know about, and eventually she got so worked up that she declared that the person SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO MAKE COMICS. It was so crazy to me, like how did she even come up with that idea? Frankly she was being really fascist and sometimes I wish I had told her that because it would have blown her hippie mind into a million billion pieces. But I don't get off on treating people like that, unfortunately.

Later I started this collective blog, the point of which was explicitly to make a space for people to practice drawing together even if they didn't feel good at it. People could reblog random posts to it that looked fun to draw, and then they could post their drawings if they wanted. It was fun for a little while, but I stupidly told my crotchety friend about it and of course she instantly had a big problem with how loose and casual it was. She kept needling me about how I should add all these rules and set all these quality standards and make barriers for entry and keep everybody in line, and I could tell she was getting really mad. I mean I was very explicit about how the entire point was for it to be relaxed enough for anyone to use it without feeling intimidated, it wasn't like this project that I was sculpting to impress people and honestly SHE COULD DO HER OWN THING if she wanted to have something really competitive and ambitious and hard to succeed at. It seemed like she was just really angry that someone, somewhere was having a good time. And just to drive the point home she joined the blog and posted this painting she had made, having nothing to do with any of the posts on the blog, that was like an MFA-quality self-portrait. And naturally it got a lot of notes because it was a good painting, but I couldn't understand why she felt like she had to actively punish a group of people for just, like, casually doodling together because they fuckin feel like it.

[your-unfriendlyghost]

How'd you end up discovering your art style?

Well, it wasn’t much of a discovery- it’s just how I draw, I guess! It evolves over time and changes based on what artists I’m looking up to and what styles I’m into

But I can give ya a (recent-ish) evolution of my style/a break-down on all its influences over the past two years if ya wanna see how it all happened!

-

Some stuff from July-October of 2022

Two-three-ish years ago, for instance, it was more classical painting inspired. I was real into Over the Garden Wall and also just…general American history back then don’t judge I was coming off of my first American history class since elementary school and I thought it was so cool So my art had more of like…that going on yk? It wasn’t as good as my stuff now at all, because I’ve since improved my anatomy skills, learned how to draw fabric folds (sorta), and learned a bit of color theory lol. But they’re ok for what they are, I guess.

I think my main problem back then was the fact that I did not fully know how to use references- and a lotta my references were like. Cartoons. And stuff that was very much not meant to be painted in the amount of detail I aimed for at the time.

(Even here, you can tell I was dissatisfied, because they all look pretty different from each other yk?) (and you can see how hardly any of the fabric has folds and how little I understood lighting 😭)

-

January-March ‘23

Anyhow, after this, in uhh early 2023, I had a 80s-90s comic book/pop art phase, which was a pretty drastic swing in the opposite direction. I still rendered things sometimes, but things were less soft/warm. BUT I was starting to use real photos as references which was vital

I was also watching a lotta tmnt with my kid brother, which is what I blame for why the proportions got so stylized- folks in the 2012 version of that show were just kinda built funny, which I think subconsciously impacted my art. My posing did get a bit stronger in this time as I practiced more, and I think things got less stiff

-

June-August ‘23

Next, as the summer months came, I had a lotta changes in inspo and also just in life lol. I had temporarily moved to my neighbor’s place, and I didn’t have a car yet/any friends who I liked enough to hang around with, so all summer long I rewatched a lotta 80s movies, fell in love with the first season of Stranger Things (not the others as much tho 😭), skateboarded, and watched a lotta art tutorials online. (I specifically remember Jackie Droujko’s yt shorts saving my assss- I loved her stuff so much. Definitely check ‘em out she explains things real well)

I improved slowly, but I DID IMPROVE a HELLUVA LOT. I focused a lot on trying to draw people who looked recognizably like themselves, but also stylized because realism (usually) bores me. I also got better at coloring- the first two here ain’t great in terms of colors, but I was learning. Plus, back then I was very into oddly saturated color schemes. (I mean it is a solid vibe. I may not do this a ton anymore but I can dig it still)

-

October-November ‘23

As autumn came, I was pretty enamored with all the like…✨fall vibes✨ that time around. My life was goin’ well, so I had a lotta optimism and a re-ignited love for nature, forests, and fantasy. Plus I was dating this girl who was really into vintage-y Wes Anderson stuff so I think some of that uhhh twee-ness rubbed off on me lol

My influences here were mainly old storybooks, a hint of Lord of the Rings (as you can probably tell by the hobbit), and a decent amount of Fantastic Mr. Fox. And for faces I was mainly using the Laurenillusrated Brushpack at the time I think? I don’t use the “Sketchy” brush in it as often anymore as I did then, but I should. It’s a great brush, and I actually am really liking all the little sketchy lines. It adds a nice touch.

also don’t look at my goddamn long hair in that self portrait on the left. I hated it on me then and I hate it now too. I cannot believe I ever let it get that long it was really bad

-

December ‘23-April ‘24

I honestly did like a total of like. Seven drawings in these four months. As opposed to my usual��uhhh I wanna say 25 every four months. Idk what was up- art just wasn’t fun at the time. I mean, it was also just a lousy few months in general, so I’m sure that’s a part of it lol, but yk. This style is pretty close to my current one- my inspiration just came from x-files-ish sci-fi and American gothic stories/images as opposed to nowadays’ Beat generation and greaser inspo.

May-Now (October) ‘24

The Outsiders kinda dragged me back into enjoying drawing again honestly. I’d read and loved it back in 2023, but upon rereading it/watching the movie in February of 2024, it just sorta…entered my headspace and stayed this time. (Still, I didn’t really draw any Outsiders/greaser-y things till May)

Lately, I take artistic inspiration in 2d animated films, like the ones by Disney with the real nicely drawn fabric folds. And also just a lotta inspo from real life. I also do a lot of black and white comics, because I find that I generally have a “Go big or go home” mentality about most things- which can be a LOT of pressure! By allowing myself to draw simpler doodle-y things, I’ve regained that love for drawing. I think for a while it just felt like work, but in letting myself take it easy, art’s become a good time again :))

[siennaditbot]

I don't like to rant about personal stuff online but my mom said smth that really bugged me and I thought yall could relate.

I like to draw cartoony stuff, mostly humans and Sonic characters. I have dabbled in realistic art but it's not really my thing, you know?

My mom's always frustrated whenever I show her my Sonic stuff. "Those characters again, you should draw something different!"

Today she said that I should try making "real art" so she could see if I'm actually good. I was drawing a cartoony self portrait.

"Real art."

I get it. Mona Lisa and all the other fancy paintings etc, it's what people think art is.

But art can be silly doodles. Wild expressions. Messy sketches. Anthropomorphic animals doing human things. Exaggerated movement. Unrealistic body proportions.

Realism is art, sure, don't get me wrong.

But art isn't necessarily realism.

I grew up with cartoons and comics. My brother taught me to read before school and I read the same comics he did. Tintin, Asterix and Obelix, Lucky Luke and a lot of Donald Duck.

Those had an effect on me, especially Don Rosa's Scrooge McDuck stuff and the Italian Donald Duck artists whose names I can never remember.

The stories and the way they were told. The expressions and funny things happening in the background. Varying line weights.

Cartoony stuff isn't childish. It's exaggeration of things that realistic things do portray. It's creative. Fun.

Art is so much more than portraits or landscapes. It's bringing life and character to things that might not even exist or be impossible. It's storytelling. It's passion.

There's no "real art".

All art is art.

Don't deprecate people's hobbies and interests. Just because they're not painting the next Mona Lisa doesn't mean they're any less of an artist.

Let people express themselves.

If you don't, you just might cause them to stop making art completely. Or stop showing their art to you.

Be nice.

Make art the way you want.

[master-of-the-game]

seeing you make oil paintings of elim garak has changed something about the way i perceive art, both in what others make but also in what i am capable of making.

it’s probably due to learning mostly euro-centric art history, but i’ve always thought of oil paintings as like the peak of painting ability? like, it’s fancy and it takes a while so i thought that it must be the best (ignoring the fact that my artistic field is mostly in acrylic paints and 3D sculpting and yet i still consider it very good). and i’m still working on disproving this sort of mentality that there are mediums inherently better than others, because it’s incredibly limiting to my creativity to impose a higharchy, and also it feels kind of xenophobic.

i digress a bit. point is, i’ve viewed oil paintings as a medium only deserving of gallery-type realistic portrait stuff, which is very much not what i do. i don’t make the sorts of fancy art rich people would pay for- the type of art i thought oils were for. i make paintings of comic book characters and sculptures of my personal heroes, i make jewelry and clothes and stuffed animals. stuff that i enjoy. which is good!

but still somewhere lurking in my brain was this voice telling me that on some level my works weren’t as meaningful or creative because they were fan works or made from materials i’m not an expert in or because the only people i draw and paint and sculpt are queer and trans, like me. that because my art was self-indulgent, on some level i suppose i thought it lesser.

but then i see your art. and holy shit! you’re work is INCREDIBLE! at first i was excited because, hey, i’m a big star trek fan, and garak is one of my favorite characters. i love coming across fan art of him, and it always manages to strike a chord with me. but then. as i looked at it closer, i realized it was on canvas. as i scrolled down i realize it was oil on canvas.

before, i’d pretty much only seen fanart as sketches on paper or digital drawings. one that is really only meant art-wise for quick sketches or planning of what will become “real” works, and one that doesn’t actually take up any physical space in our world, and is stored away in a little digital file.

but oil on canvas? that’s not meant to be thrown away, it’s meant to be held in gloved hands, as it is precious, and it’s not meant to be hidden away in the “files” on a laptop. no, those hang on the walls of museums or houses, meant to be displayed with pride for all to see.

and with those too colliding thoughts, that of fan works as some lesser form of art but oil paintings being the art of the rich and talented… well i realized that both were wrong. fan works are not in any way shape or form lesser than original works. what makes my layered ink painting of dream of the endless any less important than my painting of the ocean during a storm? nothing! they’re both good works. and on the other side, there is nothing that makes my oil paintings more important than my acrylic paintings or my sculpture or my knitting. it’s all art, lovely art, in the end. and the only thing that really matters is that i enjoy it.

seeing your art has helped me break some (minor) yet harmful thoughts i didn’t really even realize i had. so thank you for that. also your garak art is fucking good, and it really makes me think about what sort of life he would have after ds9. anyways, thank you. that’s what i’ve been meaning to say (that’s what this whole thing is). thanks for changing my vision for the better.

Oh wow! You know, it is very important and gratifying to know that results of your work make person rearrange their thoughts and views on something. Thank you for your sincerity! Now back to subject. I personally believe that fan work can be something fine and vice versa something fine can be a fan work. One thing that is very important to remember and remind yourself is that most of fine art that you've mentioned - gallery and most famous works (at least in european tradition) - are, well, derivative. Of Bible, of ancient myths. Yes. All this stuff can be considered maybe not fanart - but it is a subject for discussion - but illustration at least. And it is still fine art. Book illustrations - oh well. Sometimes I want to hang them on the wall, especially old ones. So - why not? Fan work always has a connotation of something derivative, and it certainly is... But just as well as most of the most prominent works. Dixi :D So that's the matter. Medium of course matters but medium does not always define the subject of art (except for common sense), as you've said. It's just maybe the cost of medium (some watercolor brushes for some reason cost... ehm. Too much :D) that defines its price, but not necessarily. I like thinking about this issue and discussing it... Plenty room for ideas. Thank you!

[chibishortdeath]

Fuck it, Simon Belmont, because why not you basically themed your blog after him

You don’t have any specific numbers, so I’m just answering every question >:3c mwahahaha—

1. “Why do you like this character”:

A lot of reasons!!! First off, most of his games are super fun and some of my favorite platformers just in general. I replay CV1, Simon’s Quest, and SCV4 most often cause they’re a real joy to play! I also absolutely LOVE Simon’s story, I’ve considered making comics about it if I could ever get out of recent art block whoops, even though I’ve seen many people say he doesn’t have one (´TωT｀). His designs are really cool, he’s got great music in his games, there’s just a lot to love and I’ll explain more in detail in other questions.

2. “Favorite canon thing?”

I really like the concept that he looks up to Christopher as this legendary hero and then ends up considered the same kind of legendary hero by Juste and others after him. It’s pretty ironic, kinda bittersweet, especially after being hated for so long. Castlevania loves its cycles like that. Also just Simon’s Quest in general, I love that game.

3. “Least favorite canon thing?”

Ooo that’s very hard. There’s kinda a lot of things about him that aren’t explained or confirmed, especially personality wise, but I kinda like that in a way cause it leaves room for interpretation and whatnot. Idk hmmm. I’m gonna go with Grimoire of Souls in general. I had some hopes for it, but it ended up being kinda lame. A lot of the characterization was weird and don’t even start me on things like the Cursed Whip theory being in there 💀. So I just choose to ignore it and not consider it canon.

4. “If you could put this character in another media, what would it be?”

I have thought about drawing him as if he was a character in other series for ages lol. I’ve already drawn him as a Pokémon trainer, I’ve thought about drawing Castlevania and Soul Eater crossovers before, and I tried drawing him in the style of Resident Evil 1 but could not get the art style down. Idk put him in Fortnite or something that’d be funny we already got Solid Snake so Konami has been in talks with them I guess X,,,,,,,,,,D

5. “What’s the first song that comes to mind when you think of them?”

Probably either Simon’s Theme (of course lol) or Bloody Tears, but I do wanna mention that I have a YouTube playlist of songs I wanna make Simon animations with eventually (alas animation is HARD).

6. “What’s something you have in common with the character?”

Mostly negative things unfortunately d(;w; ). Like self comparison, doubt in my own abilities, trouble making and keeping friends, etc etc. Although a lot of these are based on assumptions and interpretations, as a lot of him usually is. Simon does have a really similar hair color to me on the NES box art tho so that’s cool.

7. “What’s something the fandom does with this character that you like?”

There’s a lot of really nice art of him!!! Usually portraits, but sometimes there’s other doodles and whatnot too :3. Cool fan redesigns too! I also have seen a lot of neat headcanons, a lot of which I’ve adopted. I also appreciate the Captain N reunion stuff for the most part, it’s pretty wholesome.

8. “What’s something the fandom does with this character that you don’t like?”

I’ve seen a lot of comics, especially around when Smash Bros Ultimate came out, that were really… weird. I think all of them could kinda be boiled down to “old = bad” in the way that the artists probably just found out he was from the 1600s and then decided to make him the Boomer to Richter’s Gen Z for whatever reason (ya know despite Richter being from the 1700s but anyway). Simon would either be the jerk in the situation and/or the butt of the joke. I don’t think that Simon would have any issue with any of the female characters’ outfits let alone start harassing them for it. I saw some comics that made fun of him for not speaking very much in some genuinely disgusting ways too. Like making him not able to read or practically just the generic caveman stereotype. Especially in cases where the artist would depict other silent NES protagonists really nicely after making Simon out to be a complete idiot and asshole. There was also the trend of making him generally be all “oh no witchcraft!!!!!!!!!! What sin!!!!!!! The horror!!!!!!!!” about like anything and everything. I guess a lot of this comes from Smash Bros fans not usually being fans of Castlevania, but I’ve seen it in the Castlevania fandom too just less frequently. There’s also the “Simon has no story” thing oof. I’ve seen people tell people to skip his games or play fan games instead before :(

9. “Could you be roommates with this character?”

Realistically, no, my room is too small for another person :(. If that wasn’t an issue, then yeah probably :).

10. “Could you be best friends with this character?”

I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO—

11. “Would you date this character?”

No, he’s probably married, generally feels more like a bestie, and I’m aroace lol

12. “What headcanon do you have for this character?”

Too many oh my god. I think he probably makes things. That’s a very vague sentence lol, but think like armor, knives, general woodworking, all his necklaces and headbands and stuff, etc. He generally seems like he keeps to himself and lives mostly alone, so I can see him doing all that by himself. He keeps some bones and teeth of things he hunts most of the time. A lot of people have him as the most super Christian of the family, but I see him as like Christian but really not organized or strict about it, if that makes sense? I’ve seen someone else describe the Belmonts as like “Christopagan” before and yeah I think that fits. Idk why but I have consistently drawn him with his cross necklace in his mouth sometimes. I headcanon him as semiverbal (I think that’s the correct term for it, basically like inbetween speaking and nonspeaking). I like to think he’s like really average height for the 1600s cause he’s about as tall as other townspeople and skeletons and stuff. Which is funny cause that’d make him like 5’5-5’7 ish and that’s kinda short in modern day lol. And I guess that makes his 8bit sprite being used all the time make more sense XD. I have way more, I didn’t even get into Simon’s Quest related ones, but I don’t wanna make this too long aaaaaaaaaaaa

13. “What’s an emoticon that reminds you of the character or you think they’d use a lot?”

Ok this is funny cause I actually do have one for this and it’s got context. It’s the “:3”. So I was watching a bunch of people’s playthroughs one night cause I was bored and ran into a channel with a toooooon of speedruns of maps from Harmony of Despair. Whenever they’d get to a boss battle they’d use the typing feature just to go “hi” with a different cutesy emoticon every time, but when they got to Dracula they specifically went for the “hi :3” and then went “oh no :(“ when Dracula started attacking and now that’s the way I think he’d text I guess.

14. “Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character”

How does one properly explain how much this guy slays in one aesthetic term—

15. “What’s your favorite ship for this character?”

Oooooo, in canon probably like his wife (Selena) and/or the Mysterious Woman (who could be the same character depending on what theories you go by), but outside of that Simon Belmont x Getsu Fuma and I can’t even explain exactly why, but it’s pretty cute.

16. “What’s your least favorite ship for this character?”

Any BelmontXBelmont shipping ugh, it’s unfortunately really common on some places… also the whole Lucas or Pit or whatever other child character thing the smash bros fandom had ugh. I guess I also just don’t see the appeal of shipping any of the Belmonts with Dracula.

17. “What’s a ship you don’t hate but it’s not your favorite?”

I’ve also seen people ship him with Solid Snake, Palutena, or Bayonetta before. Ummm he doesn’t really have a lot of other characters he’s shipped with tbh. Idk I saw someone ship him with one of the priests from Simon’s Quest once.

18. “Relationship in canon you admire?”

Unfortunately he doesn’t really talk to people enough in game to form canon relationships 😔

19. “Relationship in canon you don’t like?”

I don’t even know if I can answer this one for the same reasons as the above 💀💀💀. I guess the townspeople hating the hell out of him, but I don’t hate that cause it’s kinda integral to the plot???? Yeah idk lol

20. “What character is the ideal best friend for this character?”

Simon and Shanoa would get along a lot I think. Sara too. Hmmmm… I think he and Alucard would probably also be good friends. Christopher too for many reasons. Simon just really needs friends my poor dude is out here in Dracula’s Castle and the Romanian countryside after being cursed alone like this poor guy :’(

21. “If you’re a fic writer, what’s your favorite thing to do when writing this character? What’s something you don’t like?”

I have not written much at all, however what small comics I have done I looooove to make sure to sprinkle in whatever symbols he has in the games into it. He has a lot of cool things ranging from like rose thorns to The Hanged Man card and a lot of them end up meaning things like martyrdom and whatnot idk I made a post about it a while ago :3. I also like specifically Simon’s Quest speculation stuff, like what if scenarios for the vague, left open spots of it. If it’s not something super angsty or lore heavy, it’s usually just wholesome character interactions or doodling him being comforted by Christopher or Trevor cause I was sad or something lol. As far as things I don’t like writing uh idk that’s hard, maybe just any kind of filler scenes cause I’m not very good at those oof. Dialogue is hard too 💀💀💀

22. “If you’re a fic reader, what’s something you like/don’t like to see in fics?”

I’ve mentioned a lot of things I don’t like seeing in uh question 8, but things I do like is when people really try to go full horror with him. I’ve seen some Simon’s Quest fics (sadly there’s very few :’3) that really try to get that same feeling of anxiousness and dread the game does and I love that honestly. It’s a really dark story in the series! I also saw one that went psychological horror with it with him kinda losing himself a little at night it’s just ough it’s cool :D! Simon is a horror protagonist! Make him afraid!!!

23. “Favorite picture of this character?”

Again, too many!!! X3

24. “What other character from another fandom reminds you of them?”

Not from fandoms I am in (yet, hopefully I’ll get into these), but Ragnvaldr from Fear and Hunger I’ve heard is just directly inspired by him and Alfred from Bloodborne also, to me, seems heavily inspired by him. The whole Vilebloods section seems very Castlevania inspired tbh. From other fandoms I’m in, that’s hard to say, there’s not really any I don’t think.

25. “What was your first impression of this character, is it the same as now?”

Well I got into Castlevania through Smash Bros and at first was completely indifferent about him, he was just kinda fun to play as. Then Richter got me to play SotN and actually get into the series more. I had no idea I had SotN on XBOX360 for a long time, but that made it pretty easy to start playing. And now I am absolutely hooked and Simon is my favorite character so uh yeah X3.

26. “Freebie!”

I guess I just say anything? Ok, I am currently half trying to cosplay Simon’s Simon’s Quest design rn! I have like everything but the armor, but I’ll have to wait a while to be able to get materials for it oof. But yeah :). Hopefully that works out. 

Ok yeah that’s pretty dang long wow, but yeah, thanks for the ask!!!! I am happy to rant about Simon anytime :3

[slimylittlemaggot]

(breaks into your lab by literally shooting a me-sized hole in the door with a shotgun)

Hey so I had an idea for a bit

HOW DIFFERENT CHARACTERS DRAW

Ok so we start with prime. He mostly draws stuff cuboidal with square designs, for a bunch or reasons, most of which he does know

Stuffie (our favorite plushie related eldritch horror) draws like those kids do in those horror videos. Childlike drawings of horrifying things. Usually self portraits. Hims creepy under that poncho

Caffeine is a silly lil kitty and cannot draw please ignore the random religious art on the floor

The Bioweapon: detailed drawings of parasites and viruses mixed with notes on himself and all his mutations

Robo prime: disturbingly violent drawings of what he wants to do to the villains

Robo: Engineering stuff. Also people as robots

The botanist: plants, murder, the usual

The Evil Scientist: yaoi, and also robots. Sometimes robot yaoi

The mad scientist: Uber patriotic art glorifying guns and war

Felix: his old band mates, his love, and also places he remembers

Nick Dynamite: his wife, and ways to kill her to take her stuff

Charlotte: see husband (I promise it's just their love language)

Bones Malone: landscape drawings of hell and also sometimes adventures he's been on

The target: comics of his best kills, drawings of his love, and also paintings of his pets in motion

Commissar Jaxx Janson: his husband, wars, and the best way to kill anything that might be a danger to the imperium of man

Rogue trader Rouge Janson: art of him and his husband, both spicy and normal.

I will continue later. Probably tomorrow morning

Caffeine is me fr

[twohundreddeadchildren]

You know when a little kid gives you a drawing and you ask them to sign it for when they're famous?

I've been doing that my whole life, and when we had to take all my grandfather's stuff from his old house, about twelve years after he died, I found out he used to do that too.

He was an art teacher, and he had kept a lot of self portraits from his middle school students, and all of them had a name and last name, so we decided to try and track them and give them their drawings back, you know?

Turns out one of my grandfather's middle school students is a really famous comic book artist. I'm talking his illustrations were in my textbooks as examples of good writing famous. Life's weird.

[numericalbridge]

TOH rewatch semi-liveblog. Season 2b part 2

episodes 16-21 + season 2b thoughts

Episode 16

- One of the most solid episodes writing-wise, and it makes the best out of the shortened time, but it just doesn't impress me as much as it seems to impress others.

- The episode starting right in Belos' mind and then using flashbacks is so funny. I think it was a neat way to utilize the limited time, but I wonder whether there would've been a bigger build up without the shortening.

- haha, remember when people thought this was Alador, not Darius, because "Darius is just awful"?

I mean, makes perfect sense that an 8 year old should be able to see through the disguises, but not certain fandom adults.

- But, please note that Darius's and Raine's cloaks are normal, but Eber's is torn (or, Eber's cloak is normal and worn because it's well-used, and Darius and Raine are city slickers who had to buy theirs for this).

- Also Darius's hand is clearly still enlarged and distorted even after most of the abomination that surrounded it had disappeared. Kinda gross.

- I wish we saw their outfits without the cloaks because Darius's looks so nice.

- Also, i like how the three of them were working their coven magic together to make the spell, it's neat:

(i headcanon that they'd figured out for themselves how they can 'combine'/'mix' their magic types to make more complicated 'wild magic' spells work, a bit like mutant technology in some xmen comics)

- The way the public of the Boiling Isles is portrayed in toh, including the public reaction to Eda and to Belos' propaganda is kinda... i think it's fine for the target audience and there are some realistic and to the point aspects... just something bugs me about the way the population is presented buying into the propaganda in such an open, cartoonish way (which works only in comedic quick scenes), but at the same time, at the end they are absolved of the harmful ideology they've supported because they were 'tricked', and there is little focus on the wild witches other than Eda who are hurt the most by them.

And in regards of Eda - the shift in public's opinion between s1 finale when they were willing to save her and it was presented as an uplifting moment of change, and s2 isn't well explained. Even though i can see how it could work (we even see a bit of something similar in this episode with the seamstress who got the sigil), it still feels like there should've been a way to show the shift clearly, instead it feels like what happened in s1 finale just doesn't get acknowledged.

At the same time Eda's position as an outcast in a way gets 'softened' or pushed aside near the end of the show, just because she had opened up to those close to her, and the focus is moved to more 'external' stuff like figuring out Belos's plans and saving Raine. It just feels like a part of Eda's arc is missing from the latter half of s2.

And yes, i think it is noticable how the most proactive she gets is when she and Raine try to murder Darius (and Eber), but they never make such moves against anyone else.

- Luz and King's scene with the walkie-talkie is cute.

- haha, remember when people were saying that Luz is just as bad as Belos because she tackled Hunter to the ground and wanted to get intel out of him (to literally save the Isles)?

- though shouting Golden Guard's name in front of the mysterious cloaked figures may have not been very wise.

- But how did they manage to forget the potion?😭 I wish the rebels had more victories and were shown to be clearly competent.

- Darius clutching his cloak x3 (in the portrait)

- I can't believe i liked/was intrigued by (yet unnamed) 'Caleb' and 'Evelyn' after first watching this and seeing posts with the memory scape portraits. Now they are easily the least favourite characters, all thanks to the fandom.

- I can't quite word it right, but even starting with Hunting Palismen i always thought Hunter was much more 'self-aware'(?) about his situation and relationship with Belos than his fanon version. I don't think he was ever as oblivious to Belos's misdeeds as the fandom makes him to be, that's why in Hunting Palismen he immediately told Flapjack that Flapjack shouldn't be there and looked sad. I always interpreted it as Hunter knowing at least somewhat when Belos is unfair and cruel, but feeling that he is in debt because Belos had saved him and excusing Belos's actions with the good intentions and higher purpose, and not allowing himself to conciously doubt his own family, and especially not in front of others. I always read him as having some, if not doubts, then sadness and bitterness since the beginning.

- Collector was so much more interesting like this, and i think it would have been more poignant if this was an actually difficult pre-teen with an actual cruel streak due to isolation and Belos' influence, who still would get sympathy and help. Rather than the easy way of making him not understand when he is hurting someone (while still adding a huge amount of unfortunate implications with the puppet plot).

- edit: Somehow forgot to add this, but Belos pretending to be a kid is both creepy and so deeply pathetic. And it's a really interesting angle for the villain.

- hahaha, remember when people thought that because Hunter asked about what Belos did to other guards, "their family" it meant that in ASIAS Darius was cruelly mocking Hunter's family's death???? Because obviously not just Hunter already knew in ASIAS, but Darius too, and it makes perfect sense for Darius to mock his beloved mentor's death /sarcasm.

(Meanwhile, i always heard it as separate categories - 'golden guards' + 'family that might or might not include the golden guards')

- Luz feeling that bad over helping Philip always felt a little forced/over the top beating her up with guilt. I think especially the way the show tries to connect her guilt to the feeling that she is just like him seems rather awkward narratively? I feel like there were other, more biting things that Belos could've used against her - for example more emphasis on treating the Isles as her fantasy land or abandoning her human family - that would make more sense for her guilt, in addition to helping Philip. And i think there were better ways to explore their similarities too, whether real or pure product of Belos's manipulation.

But I do wonder whether there would've been more without the shortening, especially if HM was meant to be a season finale since then it likely would've been a final part of a two-part story. For example, if Luz actually saw memories of Philip as a kid and discovered their similarities this way and was afraid of growing up to be like him.

Episode 17

- Another episode i kinda skimmed through on the first watch, even though i like King's development.

- Lilith's arrival and the kids' departure are so quick, lol. This is the kind of thing i excuse with the shortening, but it's so fast paced. And the adults just send the kids off with only Hooty for protection - ok, it's a cartoon, but still funny. (I used to like the theory that Lilith was contacted by the rebels behind the scenes, and they made her keep it a secret but warned her about the scouts planning to raid the Owl House, and so she just had to get the kids out as quickly as she could).

- Sorry, but the frst time i watched it i LoL-ed for real when Eda's and Lilith's hug happened, because of how fast the pacing was. Even though i always wanted to see something like a hug or Lilith comforting Eda.

- Tbh i don't have much to say about the main plot, it is just there, for me it is rather boring. I found this to be a rather meh episode.

Episode 18

- Now, this opening, with Gus's backstory, the beginning of Gus's and Willow's friendship, is so good! And almost always when Gus and Willow are allowed to have their moments it's great, meanwhile half of Amity's scenes fall flat for me.

- Amity's and Willow's plot is just weird. It doesn't follow the Coven Parade well at all. It seems like a subplot that would work after a bigger problem between the two was resolved. It feels like something that wasn't adjusted well for the shortening (or at least i hope so because otherwise it's just bad writing of the arc).

- The Illusion teacher had really missed all the Graye's huge illusions, lol. Realistic for a school teacher, i guess.

- I like most of the episode better than HM actually. I wish Gus's problems were not so focused on helping Hunter in the middle of the episode, or alternatively Hunter got his resolution earlier so when he was comforting Gus at the end it wasn't again focused so much on him (Hunter). The double focus would've been fine on its own, but Gus already barely has any episodes.

- And the pacing of Willow's and Amity's subplot is also weird because in the beginning it feels like it is leading to something relatively big, at least a real conversation, but then the resolution is two quick lines while the real focus is on Hunter.

- Ok, i wanted to joke how Graye would make more sense as someone who would use AI-analogue illusions (rather than Alador and abominations), because he would be happy to replace his staff, but i admit i was wrong: i think Graye needs his staff to feel superior to them and give them directions, lol. I think he would be the type who opposes generative AI solely because it's not 'true art' while exploiting his own underlings and wasting resources in unethical ways on some superficial crap.

- Oh, but feeling tricked, feeling 'dumb' for being trusting - all are things that would connect Gus and Luz... but, of course nothing is done with it!

- idk why fandom headcanons Severine as one of the good scouts when the girlboss had no problems with tricking and branding kids and only quited because of her own mistreatment.

- Amity and Willow holding hands is cute, but it would've worked better if it happened after a proper development.

- There is definitely an aftermath of this episode missing. It is latter said they were supposed to be in hiding - but that's a whole school of students, teachers and their families? The school rebelling like this should be something big, even if only some students participated. Such a shame, and i feel like the next two episodes could've fit a slightly bigger explanation.

- But still, this is one of the strongest episodes overall.

Episode 19

- Eda's and Lilith's moments in the beginning were good at last.

- Idk, the way Lilith's s2b arc works is weird. This episode was the perfect opportunity to semi-seriously examine her worldview and finish her arc on a strong note instead of whatever this was.

- The moment of Eda lying to keep Luz safe is good.

- Why does Steve get more serious development in this episode than Lilith - one of the core characters, and gets a scene to explain his personality and motives but Darius doesn't? Such an odd choice to prioritize Steve over more established characters. He could've easily just popped up in the end to recruit Lilith and King, already being a part of the rebellion without much explanation, and it would've been acceptable (they could've even added a scene of him getting contacted by the 'mysterious' rebel figures in ASIAS). Or Lilith could've just gone on the montage journey with Steve and King, so Steve would still get a spotlight.

- I don't remember if Lilith ever used Titan's name 'in vain' before or after this episode or it's just a joke for King's subplot. But considering the way Darius uses PG-rated Titan-related swears a couple of times, it is still funny to imagine him sometimes using the Titan's name in vain like that in the Castle or back at school specifically to annoy her.

- Raine is so harsh when talking to the Captain on the phone. Ok, yes, i really like their s2b characterization.

- Probably another case of me not being the target audience, but i never felt much about Luz vs Eda fight except 'cool action, i suppose'. I think their scene in the cells is much more moving, and the vocie acting is great.

- Meanwhile Lilith's arc in this episode basically concludes with a throw away line.

- The whole ending starting with Eda being taken away, and Luz freaking out in the carriage is so good. One of my favourite parts of the whole show, everyone is so good.

- Love how Eber frees Luz and then just fucks off for the rest of the episode. I headcanon he was rescuing the echo mouse, and also didn't want to witness any mushy reunions, but the real reason is probably that he wasn't there in the pre-shortening plans.

- I'll make a separate post about Darius and Raine in this episode, but the way Darius's voice is so much softer than in any other moment when he talks about Raine here:

- Their scene is my second favourite Darius scene, and one of my favourite scenes in the whole show, it was honestly what made me continue watching.

Sigh, but then neither the canon nor fandom does anything with them /suffering.

- The ending part of the episode is so, so strong, and overall a good episode except Lilith's 'arc' that is just baffling to me, considering there is no time to dedicate to her after this.

- 🥺:

Episode 20

- i admit. it is not as horrible on the rewatch as when i first watched it.

- The opening with Belos and Collector is so good!

- Why was Kikimora even demoted? Odalia trying to butter her up and sell her the robot was fun.

- Odalia just starts threatening Alador with their kids' future like that, without any subtlety.

- Tbh, Alador's and Odalia's writing in this episode reminds me of Stephen King. What the heck you are talking about, numericalbridge? you might ask. Well, while some of his better/more well known books have more varied dynamics, i've read a lot of his books as a teenager (it was a love-to-hate-you relationship from the start), and there is a very specific recurring dynamic where the mother of a character is shrill, not understanding, pushy, toxic or unhealthy (sometimes there is more nuance, and she might or might not be redeemable), while the father is more understanding, loving, warm and down to earth (he might be alive or he might be deceased and exists as a memory). It is very same-y between different stories too, and after a second one you can see how it feels very forced and on the nose and it is empty of real character depth; and there are narrative short cuts to make you dislike, or at least reproach, the mom and feel for the dad. And you can see that even if in-universe the mother's parenting is bad and she is not a good person, her character is still written using misogynistic tropes. Well, that's how this episode feels too.

- The war table scene is fun. I like how harsh Raine can be, while also feeling guilty over Eda.

- I know it is not intentional, but the way Darius's plan didn't involve giving Eda the sigil, compared to Raine's 'proper' plan? It works so well for both of their characters and the narrative potential there is just so...

- Sigh, why there is so much discourse over Darius's comment about only the small ones getting eaten when those people put sapient fairies in the pies, and in the previous episode Lilith was ready to perform dark deeds for King's sake. Tbh i wish this scene wasn't included, and they instead squeezed in some more backstory for Darius.

- But some art looks so wonky in the first third of the episode. I am supposed to be watching a touchy-feely found family balcony scene, yet Eda's off-model face is distracting me.

- Something about the scene between Luz and Raine always bugged me. And Raine really doesn't even try to talk to King, lol.

- I like the scene when Katya is, like, "Darius insisted, bye!" - i wish we saw a bit of that. Between this scene and Hunter mentioning that Darius 'ordered' him to protect Luz, i like that it paints Darius as an active character who participates in the plot behind the scenes even without us seeing the interactions.

- I like the scene itself, but Luz getting all teary eyed when reuniting with Gus and Willow and their hug really ring hollow because of how little they were allowed to interact. And even if there was no time for anything big they could've still included small, even background moments, like they manage with Darius. Hunter's scene is fine though.

- Yeah, you could've went on a real date during ASIAS if you didn't waste time on the Azura subplot /j

- And all the wonky art just to save money for the uncanny crisp kiss animation that looks distractingly out of place.

- Collector's voice acting is good, and he is still so much more interesting to me if he is a difficult kid.

- Odalia just doesn't make sense. If she is supposed to know that the Draining Spell will kill 90% of the population, then who would be her royal subjects? She knows her husband will die, but Amity doesn't react to that bit? It's just cartoony in a bad way. It would've made more sense if Odalia thought the draining spell would simply depower everyone else so her family could rule them, and refused to believe anyone who told her otherwise.

- Hate the switch when 'Luz' saves Willow, but oh, no, it's actually Hunter! When i was watching it the first time i was actually excited for a brief moment because Luz and Willow were caring about each! But of course, saving Willow is just a hint it's not Luz /bitter.

And this has nothing to do with ships, btw - i feel like i need to mention this since fans who are agressively against huntl*ow annoy me because they try to shift all the writing problems to the mostly background ship when the neglect of Luz's and Willow's friendship has started literally in season 1.

- And Gus does so much for Luz and Hunter in this episode, and the switch and Luz getting captured should be traumatizing for him? But it is never adressed, no one comforts him?

- Ok, Alador saving King was cute, i guess.

- But the Blights treating Willow horribly just never factors in anything. At the end that really was just a throw away scene in s1 for the sake of Amity's backstory.

- Ok, the episode is not as bad as i remembered. I think on the first watch the focus on the Blights and the poor quality of writing of Alador vs Odalia really gave a bad impression, and made me worry how the rest of the show would be written, to the point that i didn't even want to watch the finale. But it's mostly fine on the rewatch (well, the Blight writing is still not good, and the way Willow and Gus are handled is a problem across the whole show rather than a single episode thing).

Episode 21

- My favourite episode. Probably one of the two or three episodes that i like start to finish with only some minor nitpicks. And it holds so well on the rewatch!

- To be honest i don't have much to say about it because it is so good.

- But Alador really did 0 work while Willow had to act mature - and yes, it's the point with her, but come on.

- Eda's and Lilith's (and Hooty's), and Eda's and Raine's goodbyes? Good. The moment Eda imagines her past friend-group&Bump? Good, if off-model.

- I think there is definitley a hint of some plan B or backup with the way the Batts are disguised as scouts.

- The start of the ceremony? The public reactions through out the episode? Great.

- I really like this demon design:

- Belos's shit-eating grin when he declares he switched the Coven Head arrangements? His 'Goodbye, Boiling Isles'? Great. Belos being absolutely horrible with Collector and Kikimora? Also great.

- Why were Raine, Lilith, Hooty and the rest of the rebels taken out so easily though.

- The whole draining spell scene? The Coven Head fight, the music, etc - Awesome.

But i want to point out again, that Darius didn't know that Raine and the rest were captured when he gave up for Eber. And Raine shouldn't even be there - but does fandom call them selfish for going to the ceremony, like with Darius? And the way Darius laments that they (the rebels) were too late - only makes sense if he does care about saving the whole Isles instead of actively choosing Eber over everyone and giving up.

- Meanwhile, there is something with the way Eda mostly cares about Raine during the ceremony that i don't like on the rewatch, knowing how s3 goes. I am glad that at least when Raine saves Eda it is framed as the promise made to Luz, but still, s3 soured me on rae*da so much.

- Belos vs Luz? Cool. Luz tricking Belos like that with the glove? One of my favourite scenes.

- Poor King, getting his skull cracked. The montage through his eyes is cool too.

- Kikimora's arc really could've ended ambigiously in this episode with her helping King as her payback to Belos. There was no real reason to turn her into a threat in s3.

- Again it is easy to see how Gus could be traumatized or at least hurt by Belos's memories, but it doesn't matter to the writers. Fandom also tries to excuse Gus's lack of focus in s3 with 'his arc had ended in LR' but 1. he already had less focus than others, ever since s1, so ending his arc so early isn't a good choice 2. between the switch with Hunter and Luz that caused Luz to be caught and Belos's memories, the show unintentionally adds more to his arc that is left unexamined. And somehow there was time in s3 for Kikimora and Bosha.

- Actually i've initially assumed that not all 'failures' in the pit were the Golden Guards. And i still headcanon to myself that the huge ammount of bodies is there because there were others who tried to see what is in the Titan's head and got caught or those are people who got close to Golden Guards, or maybe one of the golden guards made a failed attempt at a full rebellion.

- The Collector's out-of-the-disc design is still disappointing when some of the concept art had really interesting designs (the one where he is a little 'cloud' thing inside his humanoid head!). It's not even that toh couldn't include those designs because they are not reliable enough for the kids when King has a 'scary-cute' monster design, and he is reliable.

- The ending? The freed Collector getting rid of Belos, the kids' escape, Gus crying, Camila gasping when Luz returns? Also great.

----

Conclusion:

This is hands down the strongest part of the series for me and features some of my favourite moments of the show. This live-blog is probably shorter than the previous ones because i was actually caught up in the story.

Despite the shortening or maybe thanks to the shortening, writing-wise this part is strong, especially the finale, although there is definitely a feeling that something is missing and the pacing is too quick. It feels like a part of Eda's arc is omitted, and it's unfortunate that the aftermath of the LR is also clealry missing, but as usual it's the unfair treatment of Gus and Willow and the over-focus on the white characters, like the badly written Blight divorce, that are the main negative things about this part of the season, plus Lilith's plot in Oh, Titan is baffling. I was worried about Hunter taking over the plot, but he is mostly all right at this point, although there are bits here and there where he is unfairly prioritized over other characters. But i feel like Luz's arc might be a bit out-of-focus or strangely paced in this part, despite including some important moments.

Season 2b thoughts:

This is my favourite part of the series. Yes, partly it's because it features Darius, but it is also overall pretty strong writing-wise, especially compared to season 2a, and has some really interesting moments and utilizes the limited time well (with some notable exceptions).

And I do wonder whether the shortening had actually helped to tidy the plot and character arcs up, and whether with full 3 seasons the show would've been just meandering and still had the same flaws. Anyway, unfortunately even though Willow and Gus had some good moments in s2b, they are still often sidelined. And there is definitely a problem of using minor antagonists of color to make white characters look better.

And then certain choices are just baffling - the Azura book subplot that just wastes time that could've gone to Willow and others, Steve prioritized over more established characters, Odalia being so cartoonishly evil.

So, yeah, while this is my favourite part of the show it is far from perfect, and on the first watch there were several times when i thought about giving it up because i just couldn't trust the writers, but then there were times when i was very pleasantly surprised too.

And the finale is very strong and enjoyable, and on the first watch it really left me excited for season 3.

-

Best episode: 21 (King's Tide, also the favourite episode of the whole show)

Worst episode: 17, surprisingly (it's just very meh and not interesting to me, but it is not as bad as my least favourite episodes from other parts of the show), but parts of episodes 12 and 15 are worse.

[auspicetaker]

thoughts about art and myself as an entity that can create

lately i've been kicking myself for being too self-conscious, scared of vulnerability ,scared of being lame, scared of failure. my whole life. i wish that when i was younger i hadn't hated myself so much and relegated my entire creative being to only the most private of spheres. i feel like i squandered the time in my life when i had free time and resources and now i'm old and boring and i'll neeeveeerrr catch up.

i know this is self-defeating! the truth is, you can start doing a new thing anytime. you can start doing a new thing RIGHT NOW. it's hard and it takes effort and you have to fail a bunch but you literally can do it.

also i don't give myself enough credit like i literally was doing commissioned ink portraits of people in 2019 and they were pretty good! i got too many requests actually and got overwhelmed and had to refund people but i literally Can Draw Stuff! i have made some rly cool collages and even a few abortive attempts at comics (unquestionably the hardest thing to make, ever, wow), i used to write poetry and won Awards And Shit. i am completely capable of making things that are beautiful and that other people care about!

honestly the hardest part for me has always been that i don't actually have much of an imagination. like i'm not super generative, i tend to instead cobble existing things together, explore relationships/ draw connections between existing things, or mimic existing things. my whole life it's been "you can write good be a writer" and im like "i have not shit to write about at all, except for myself, whom i hate too much to focus on"

but like i can't live forever like this! i can't!

[seeminglydark]

hey, just thought I'd drop by and let you know that I love your art and comics, they're very cool :)

like many people I suspect, I found your work through the detention fanart (love the detail on the docs and john's patch pants). I don't know if I want to be john or date john (the answer is both). loved the detail of john's killer klowns poster too!

presumably since so many of your characters are punk, you are too. if so do you have any music recommendations?

thanks for reading :)

Hello! I'm so glad to hear that!

ahah yeah i never expected that piece to blow up like it did, im super grateful about it, it was definitely an experiment in style so im glad people like it so much and found my comics and stuff through it. (its not technically fanart though, i am raptorjules, the artist of the detention piece and creator of the comics and characters in it, though its so different than my usual and ofc i posted under this tumblr handle so i know a lot of people don't realize we are the same person!) also re: john, SAME friend. john is kind of a self portrait of a person i could have been when i was younger, if that makes sense, had i decided back then to fully transition. im really happy that people like him so much, he means so so much to me!

hahaha you got me, I was a teenager in the early to mid 90's, i listen to all things these days and punk is SUCH A BROAD GENRE and i tend to lean toward ska punk or folk punk more than crust or hardcore these days, but lets see, i'll give you some rec's of bands that inspire my art and ofc john in general. also you can head over to youtube, under raptorjules, and there should be a playlist called Johnny's Music that goes along with the song rec's on the Creaky arc in my comic Seemingly Dark, if you liked those songs!

So for more modern punk music, i love anything by The Interrupters (ska punk forever plz,) and Dog Park Dissidents for some queer punk (especially their toxic cover, fight me.) And Skatune Network for more wonderfully queer ska/skapunk.

In high school at the height of my Outwardly Studded and Spiked Punk Days i listened to a lot of Rancid (specifically the Life Won't Wait album) Descendants, Social Distortion, the Violent Femmes (the live Add it Up album if you can find it is the best one imo) Jugheads Revenge (Image is Everything album), Wizo (german queercore punk, i like the Herrenhandtasche album.) pretty much anything by The Mountain Goats, and finally, The Bouncing Souls are my all time favorite band, punk or not, any album, but the Hopeless Romantic album inspired so many of my stories and pieces plus its great driving music!

and ofc Johns theme song is Social Distortions Story of My Life. idk if this helps, ive never thought my music taste was terribly interesting or good, but i listen to what i like and what inspires me.

thanks for reading and reaching out! and id love some music recs from anyone who would like to leave them in the comments or hashtags, especially music that reminds you of my art or stories, punk or not!

-rj

[friendlyneighborhooddolan]

Little Wing

warnings: This story has some descriptive stuff. Age gap (7 years). Sexual and graphic things, alcohol and drug use.

pairing: Kylo Ren x reader

summary: Having a hot neighbor has its perks sometimes.

word count: 1033

Masterlist

Chapter one

He looked like Icarus. He looked like an absurd circumstance, a mess of muscles and ligaments that carries the world – self-induced mystery of destroyed portraits and broken glass. A system of imperfections and collapsed worlds, a system of purple galaxies that really looked like bruises. And yet – he walked like a soldier and thought of himself as king.

He was the guy she was crushing on ever since high school. Y/N knew it was wrong, she wasn’t stupid. Crushing on someone seven years older was frowned upon. Them being Kylo Ren, the hot neighbor that was always so eager to help, was even worse. She didn’t care.

She couldn’t bring herself to.

Y/N didn’t expect to see him this morning, just after her mother left the house.

She tried to mow the lawn, but when the lawnmower turned off for the sixth time in ten minutes, she was on the verge of crying.

“Need help there?” He called her name out across the street. Kylo has been watching her since the first time the lawnmower turned off, finding her clumsiness quite comical. The girl was huffing, her face red, sweat beading atop her eyebrows.

“Ren, hi! You would be of great help,” she answered, her hands resting on her hips. A soft smile etched itself on her face.

“Kylo would suffice,” he reminded her softly. A conversation they had many times, many more to come, it seemed.

The neighbor turned the goddamn machine on in a matter of seconds – something that took her ten minutes alone. Carefully holding the lever so it doesn’t turn off, he motioned to Y/N to come closer, to cut her own grass.

“Careful there, puddin’,” he laughed out, seeing her stumble over the cables. He softly put a hand on her lower back, as if to say “I’ll catch you if you fall.” Only then had he noticed her outfit – it wouldn’t be a problem if it was some other girl wearing it. Y/N was wearing tiny shorts and a top that was leaving little to the imagination. He could see she was wearing no bra. Her legs – miles of tan skin uncovered, and Kylo would’ve liked to think it was just for him. Sure, if it wasn’t for the heat burning their skin off.

She cleared her throat, getting ahold of the mower finally, and he was just behind her, guiding her slowly.

It was too intimate, Y/N was too close. He thought the air became even heavier. He could smell her, feel her supple skin. And yet, not close enough. He tried not to think about most neighborhood grandmas watching them.

That evening, Kylo was working in his office, when the doorbell rang. He shuffled over to the door.

“Good evening! I made you this peach pie to thank you for today.” A pie thrusted in front of him. A white sundress and white shoes and small hands and the smell of strawberries mixed with peach pie and an innocent smile and her her her. Always her.

“Oh, you didn’t need to,” her name falling from Kylo’s lips ever so gracefully, “Wanna come inside?”

It would be rude not to invite her in.

“Of course, Kylo,” fell from her cherry-colored lips. She said it so sweetly, it made Kylo Ren blush. It would be sweet if he wasn’t contemplating letting it all go to Hell and kissing her right then and there.

His house was tidy. Expensive furniture laid out nicely, cherry wood floors glistening under lights. His AC was on and Y/N was thankful she didn’t have to stand outside any minute longer. She would’ve melted – not sure if it would have been from the heat or Kylo’s gaze.

She sat herself on the leather couch, not welcoming the feeling on her bare legs, but she couldn’t complain.

He was in the kitchen, and she had a clear view of his broad back behind the kitchen island.

“Drink?” He asked as he was opening the fridge,”I have cherry soda.”

Kylo knew it was her favorite, and her face lit up like a Christmas tree when he held up the glass bottles.

They were talking about mundane things, the faint sound of some rock song coming from a recorder in his office. He looked at the girl sitting across the table.

If Kylo had two nickels to rub together, he would rub them together like a kid rubs his sticks together until the friction made combustion and they burned a hole in his pockets into which he would put his hand and then his arm – and eventually his whole self – he would fold himself into the hole in his pocket and disappear into the pocket of himself or at least his pants. But before he disappeared like some ancient star, he would grab her hand.

“You’re a great baker, Angel” he said, taking a sip of soda Y/N oh so favored.

She smiled, wiping her mouth with a napkin. She also hoped Kylo wouldn’t notice her blushing at the nickname.

She took a long look at her neighbor, now that he stood up to take empty plates back into the kitchen. He was tall, brooding, big. His nose was too big for his face and his lips looked so kissable and his black hair was all messy from him running his big, capable hands through it. When he smiled at her, Y/N thought she was going to die. There was just something so attractive about him. Too attractive. She knew it. The whole town knew it. She was witness to many women coming to his house late at night, only to leave in the morning. Everyone knew.

“Want another piece?”

“No, thank you, Kylo. I better get going.”

Hearing his name fall from her lips was so endearing. He wanted to hear it again again again. His name fit in her mouth better than her own ever has. Like she was born to speak it.

“I wish you wouldn’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” He looked confused.

“I don’t know,” she hesitated. “Like you could love me.”

And with that, she turned on her heel and left.

[miru667]

A video of wips for my onceler zine cover piece! This drawing took me 6 months to finish haha. Click the readmore if you’re curious to learn more about my process and all the refs and inspos I used (transcribed from [this twitter thread]). [CLICK HERE] to see the finished piece.

I guess I’ll go from left to right? :>

7212 is my #1 ship in the fandom so of course I had to include some interaction for them..I purposely shaped that piece of confetti into almost-a-heart 9.9 In this interaction OG onceler is sizing him up to be his poster boy. It was inspired by this joke hc from junior: https://miru667.tumblr.com/post/43633972614/truffulajam-you-there-me-sir-ive

The hose is from one of the lorax mini-movies but more specifically its from the nightblogging event in 2012, here’s an archive of a lot of the hose memes we created that night: https://oncelerswaterhose.tumblr.com/

He doesn’t actually have suspenders in the movie but they were a popular headcanon for him in 2012 plus they’re hot so I included them. It was important to me to include this transitional onceler in between vestler and suitler to remind us all that this is the same guy going thru different stages of his life.

Gloves in the back pocket is from concept art: https://miru667.tumblr.com/post/146926446017/early-once-ler-sketches-by-eric-guillon-part-5

I really love the way I drew and coloured the folds of his coattails here too, as well as the moss I added last minute onto the truffula tree trunk.

The frame started out as just a plain brown rectangle and I thought, now that's not very seussy, so I referenced the Too Big To Fail frame in the movie. I believe it took me two whole days to draw just the frame. :,) And the seuss portrait I just referenced from google images but it was a challenge too; I had to completely redraw it near the end to make him look more accurate.

Lorax holding up a portrait of Seuss and using it to guilt the Onceler was inspired by a gag in Osomatsu-san where the characters would apologize to a portrait of their irl creator Akatsuka when they felt like they were being a bad adaptation of his original work 😂😂😂 loved it.

But it was also inspired by a very powerful comic drawn by my friend Rachel: https://miru667.tumblr.com/post/92807755387/tsg I would say Rachel's art has been the biggest inspo for me in the past decade in both style and emotion, so I'm really happy I could include her influence into my piece like this.

I was SO happy I thought of a way to include these 2012 refs: -Complaint Box -☄☄☄ Waterballoon fight nightblogging event -gent's marriage to the fandom -ed helms finding out about oncest -Thneedville/Thornville High AU -WHO IS SWAG/askblog identity crisis nightblogging event -You Only Live Once(ler) -tiny chat parties -Camp Weehawken AU -tumblr anons/magic anons -normaler -Shakespeareler/"I must keep biggering" nightblogging event -Stay stupid, baby!

I wish I could've included more cuz these are still just above-water stuff in the fandom iceberg imo. If anyone wants me to explain more about any of these refs, feel free to ask!

The flip phone is from the deleted scene, "YER ALL GOIN TO JAIL": https://miru667.tumblr.com/post/153925999832/truffulajam-youreallgoingtojailmov-from

The bottom fake button on his suit is canon: https://miru667.tumblr.com/post/615761075955187712/miru667-you-know-your-life-has-hit-a-new-low

This is my fav interaction in the piece...you can see it as either aftermath onceler taking the hat off of biggering onceler to foreshadow his fall, OR you can see it as aftermath-ler taking off his OWN hat to crown biggering-ler as the fool, because he's learned what a fool he's been. And actually a 3rd interpretation is aftermath-ler telling biggering-ler "yes enjoy your happiness while you can, king" 😂

And then with old onceler's hand on aftermath onceler's back, an act of consolation...I think it's very important to be able to forgive ur past self for the stupid things you've done, or else how can you continue? How can you grow? I can guarantee that 10 yrs ago we ALL did stupid things in the fandom. I originally drew aftermath frowning but changed it to a smile because he's thankful for the lessons and he can still look back on things fondly. I feel the same as him and I hope others do too. For this interaction I was inspired by Pearl fanart, she's a comfort character of mine and has helped me thru so much:  https://asteroidhyalosis.tumblr.com/post/188267156772 https://asteroidhyalosis.tumblr.com/post/623806330932805632

Biggering onceler’s side profile gave me THE HARDEST TIME. It was already January and I just COULD NOT get it to look right and I was ready to go take a 5 hour depression nap because of it but then my friend Edu saved the day ♥

Edu:  @hybridkilljoy​

Another friend contribution was the yellow bg. it was originally a boring flat gradient so Clara said "lmao what if I just gave you a yellow bg I painted to toss into ur file" because she had a rly good brush for it on procreate (and I was using paint tool sai and had nothing). i replied "oki" and then she just DOES IT..🥺♥

Clara:  @clarabellumsart​

idk where i'd be without my friends

I’m REALLY proud of this little area of my zine piece. The hand and blood is a ref to Truffula Flu, our zomb apocalypse AU. I had to redraw it twice to get it right. And I’ve drawn many a onceler chain but this is the BEST onceler chain I’ve EVER drawn. It took me many redraws to get it to look this way. Look at it just reaching out at you so fluidly..!! The lighting and the rust! Proud of me!!

The fallen truffula tree in the back...I really just thought "hey let's experiment with PAINTING" and went for it!! 😂 I wanted to pay tribute to my all time fav onceler fanart: https://miru667.tumblr.com/post/27320592159/ask-drawn-onceler-money-in-the-trees-lol-hey Whoever the mod of ask-drawn-onceler was, if you see this I hope you're doing ok!!

As you guys have probably gathered by now, nothing is ever too late to change for me. If I felt like I could redo something to be better, I'd DO IT. The tree is another example, I was rly bothered that it looked like tentacles (right) so I completely re-rendered it to be more soft and fluffy (left). What made me realize that I could do better was after drawing the trees here: https://miru667.tumblr.com/post/673766406272286720/early-spring-cleaning-part-2-drew-these-btwn I realized that actually, less is more, and that I had over-rendered the tree in my zine piece.

This was actually the first time I've EVER drawn old onceler, so I worked EXTRA hard...I hope I did him justice!! Every hair, every thread, every little thneed tuft was drawn with care. I even manually drew in the shadows for the stripes on his robe so they would look indented! And if you look closely in other screenshots, I also manually added shadows to every piece of thread that makes up the onceler suit stripes.

The LET IT GROW is in seuss font, but I didn’t type it, I drew the letters while mimicking the font’s style, then added edge lighting to make it look carved into the pot. Unfortunately we couldn’t keep the zine title in seuss font as well due to copyright restrictions and I think I might have died if I were to draw the title in seuss font too LMAO

The Audrey is of course intended to be movie Audrey but it's MY zine piece and I wanted to be a little self-indulgent.....so I drew some symbols on the plant pot representing my audrey oc, Audrey Grace. 🤫😇 She means everything to me. She is a direct result of the fandom and she keeps me in the fandom.

The blue kite originates from her mainverse askblog:  https://askaudtree.tumblr.com/post/71630954595/do-you-do-all-the-chores-in-the-house-hows-your She later uses it as a marker for lerkim hopping in zomb au:  https://audpocalypse.tumblr.com/post/178971798052/whats-that-blue-diamond-symbol-mean-its-on-your  She's a knife-wielding zombie slayer and also a kazoo master (the tree straightener in the pot has the same striped pattern as her kazoo): https://miru667.tumblr.com/post/629448230317490176/pls-click-for-hi-res-today-is-my-audreys https://audpocalypse.tumblr.com/post/179181386907/have-you-ever-run-into-any-lerkims-that-were

And because of spending so much of her life in an apocalypse, she’s learned to appreciate the fleetingness of life, because who knows what’ll happen tomorrow? Every moment is precious. This is cherry blossom philosophy: https://notwithoutmypassport.com/cherry-blossom-meaning-in-japan/

I think it’s so cool that since it took 6 months, I would improve like halfway into working on this piece which made me have to go back and redo some things LOL XD. The smoke in the background from the cigar was also painted with inspiration from tofublock, whom I discovered during the latter half of those 6 months too:  https://asteroidhyalosis.tumblr.com/tagged/tofublock https://asteroidhyalosis.tumblr.com/post/668656911468625921/will-you-watch-the-stars-with-me Look at the way they paint their clouds TTWTT so beautiful... I came across them while working on the zine and a lot of their art reminded me of my audrey so I was very taken!!

I positioned and coloured every piece of confetti with intent. The confetti idea itself I think was from Taylor Swift’s lyric video for 22 (Taylor’s Version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9boiT64sm0Q&feature=youtu.be Again, inspiration that came to me while in the middle of working on the zine.

I composed the piece chronologically to mirror the rise and fall of our fandom experience, followed by the calmer, peaceful present days. Aftermath onceler in the piece represents the perceived death of the fandom but outsiders don’t realize we have AUs, we like characters other than onceler, we can extrapolate the story any which way...so that's all represented by the right side of the pic. We won’t stop biggering!

Thank you for reading if you made it this far.. I tried to include as much as I could into my piece so that hopefully everyone who is/was in the fandom feels seen.. Only the best for the Once-ler fandom, you know? And there’s actually so much more I can say about this piece but I’ll end it here.

[sometipsygnostalgic]

since were already talking about the similarities between the crypto castle and the velvet glove......how do you think hordak would feel about the crypto castle, if he ever very hypothetically were to end up living there

FUCK this ask! I had a long and thoughtful reply. I’ll have to truncate it (edit: i didn’t really truncate it).   I’ll get all my points across anyway.   

Entrapta going back to Crypto Castle in general is an interesting discussion. She’s been on all these crazy adventures, she’s moved all her stuff in the Fright Zone and lived in close proximity to people for years, barring those awful 6 months or so on Beast Island where she was alone. She hasn’t returned to her home in Crypto Castle even once during this time.... outside of the Portal World, where she was subconsciously pretty bitter about the Catra betrayal.  

1. So would she integrate back home immediately, as if nothing happened? Having a mad science castle sandbox with her lab partner? This would be the funnier outcome. It’s like Radical Edward from Cowboy Bebop reintegrating with the orphanage and reuniting with her father like not a single day had passed.  

2. Or would it be difficult? Leaving the community bustle of the Fright Zone and Darla and the Rebellion to return to this derelict castle that hasn’t been home to anybody for a long time, that is built to be inaccessible to friends, that she can’t remember how to navigate? After the Portal Incident and how she was transported back there and all alone, would she become hyper aware that it had been a self-made prison, away from people? 

I read a oneshot that had this interpretation, Entrapta goes back late-s5 to pick up some stuff and just cannot stand it. I was surprised someone felt the same way I did.  Sometimes people move her into the revamped Fright Zone or even into Brightmoon. It feels more natural for her to be close to where all the rebuilding is happening, perhaps. 

Personally I think this is the more interesting interpretation. It’s way more introspective than the comic relief resolution. Maybe it can feel like home again, if lots of people move into town, and they do some revamping - putting colourful stickers on the floor to tell people where to go would be a nice start! I think any future version of Dryl will be far more active than its past self.  

....Or maybe not. 

As for Hordak, well, I never actually thought about it in terms of that before! 

I always assumed Hordak would absolutely love the gothic labyrinth of Crypto Castle. 

The Fright Zone and his Sanctum are lacking for luxury but it is very different from Prime’s bright ship.  It’s implied to be Hordak’s personal style.  

Dryl is the same, except it’s far more homey with the portraits and furniture in the main lab. So it’s got Hordak’s style, Entrapta’s style, it’s away from people, and it’s less punishing to him. On paper, it sounds like the perfect refuge for him. 

But the fact that it’s got similarities to the Velvet Glove throws a wrench into the affair. Sure, it’s dark and comfier, but it’s still cold and claustrophobic and most importantly, impossible to navigate without staring at a screen. Perhaps Hordak would be overcome by the same claustrophobia that Catra was going through in the Glove in season 5.   

So yeah I do think it’s for the best if they mark the floor with blood-- sorry, I mean directional arrows-- and install a few windows so that it feels less like a prison.