#i have to get a feel of how to draw fanart for this series yet

[fantasteli]

there- i did it- now bring 1899 back to me... back to us ‹/𝟹

i love brooding over the opening quotes...

[tainbocuailnge]

I think there is a difference between the comic as a sequence of images with text and the comic as a comic. it's a subtle difference that an untrained eye might not see but the more one as artist draws comics the clearer this difference becomes, because one who first aspires to draw comics will soon find they are merely drawing sequences of images with text.

when people say an artist is clearly inspired by anime they often use "anime" to refer to japanese pop culture in general, but if you look more closely you can often tell it really is specifically anime rather than manga that inspired them, because the paneling and camera angles in their comics will read like a series of anime screenshots rather than a manga page. similarly, when I was a teenager really popular manga that had anime adaptions would sometimes get "animanga" reprints where they replaced the panels with the equivalent anime screenshots of the scene, and they often looked like dogshit because the very premise showed blatant disregard for why the original comic worked in the first place. these two examples are both about anime because i am a weeb but it applies outside that context too. a cartoon storyboard can be read as if it were a comic, but what it really is is a sequence of images with text that has yet to be refined into its actual intended format.

there are many artists who only employ the medium of comic because what they actually want to draw is a video, or a video game cutscene, but the only tool actually at their disposal is the ability to draw a series of images and add text to them so that is what they use. there is no shame or mistake in doing this, you have to make your art with the tools that you have available, and if the sequence of images with text is enough to convey the idea then it was the right tool for the job. but these are different mediums with different visual languages, languages which have a lot of overlap and can occasionally be used in each other's stead to achieve similar results (especially when drawing a fanart comic of a video game for example), but which are still ultimately different. the comic and the video and the cutscene are all different forms that a sequence of images with text can take but they are far from completely interchangeable.

there is a key difference in approach to the comic as a series of images roughly interchangeable with other forms of series of images like the video and the cutscene, and the comic as specifically the comic. this difference in approach is not always necessary to achieve results, an artist who wants to convey a scenario they came up with needs only the sequence of images with text to achieve this. but the difference between a comic with good writing and art, and a comic that is a good comic, is in whether it was treated as a comic rather than a sequence of images with text. I say this as an artist whose nearly every comic has been simply a sequence of images, because I just don't have the patience to refine it into a comic when I merely want to convey my idea rather than draw a comic. it takes a particular skill and insight that have to be developed and practised separately from the ability to draw well and the ability to write well in order to become good at making "the comic" as synthesis of the two.

it's hard to specifically point out the essence of this difference between the sequence of images and the comic because it's kind of a vibes thing honestly, and it depends on where and how the comic was meant to be published too. comics meant to have paper print editions have different constraints and requirements and frameworks to work with than webtoons meant to be read on slim mobile screens in a continuous scrolling format. a good traditional comic will consider not just how each individual panel looks but also the way each page as a whole looks, and how the pages look next to each other in a spread, and how it feels to turn the page towards the next spread. a good webtoon will consider the movement of scrolling down and how this affects the transition from one moment to another in its composition. time is time in videos and cutscenes but space is time in comics, and the space your have available determines how you can divide time across it. when you make a webcomic on your own website you have no constraints but the ones you set for yourself, and sometimes this leads to things like homestuck, which would not work in any other format than the one it created for itself.

the best comics are good because they tell their story and present their images specifically in the form of a comic, in a way that would not be possible if it were not specifically a comic. I think this is true for basically every medium, I'm just thinking about comics specifically lately, because even though I don't really consider myself a comic artist - because I usually draw sequences of images rather than comics - the thing my clients want to pay for is often still "a comic", and they don't know or care to tell the difference. it's a difference that, as established, is often fairly moot anyway, because as long as it successfully conveys your idea it's good enough. but it's precisely because the sequence of images is often good enough that the specific skill of the comic artist is often overlooked.

[foolishxprincipalitee]

What is hyperfixation like?

So, I didn’t care about Sherlock Holmes at all until about six weeks ago.

I watched BBC Sherlock as my gateway drug, then read a bunch of fic, started listening to the podcast Sherlock & Co, bought a copy of the new queer anthology When the Rose Speaks Its Name, started watching the Jeremy Brett series, and now I’m reading Bending the Willow: Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes while simultaneously cycling through BBC Sherlock - AO3 - Sherlock & Co - When the Rose Speaks Its Name - Jeremy Brett - misc. Sherlockian googlings on a daily basis.

I can feel dopamine coursing through my veins every second that I get to interact with Sherlock Holmes related media, which is a considerable amount of time. I draw fanart at work and scribble gay little thoughts in my journal. There is not an atom within me that isn’t vibrating for Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes byproducts.

And yet nobody in my real life wants to talk about it with me, no matter how hard I try. I tried reaching out to my brother who has always been an ACD Holmes fan and he literally hasn’t replied to me in a month. He’s got kids. All I’ve got is a new Sherlock Holmes hyperfixation.

I posted some of my new art on Instagram and received a very weak response even though I was really excited about it and still think it’s some of my better work. I deactivated my account because I was so sad.

The isolation impacts me negatively. It pushes me further and further away from “real life” and into escapismland, because that’s where all the dopamine lives. I find myself on Tumblr or making edits on TikTok where no one really knows me or cares about me but people who care about the same media I do might respond.

It would mean everything to me for someone to care both about me as a human and about my interests, especially in the first few months of a hyperfixation when I literally cannot shut the fuck up about it.

But instead I am doomed to this lonely life of soaring highs, swinging from media fixation to media fixation, telling strangers on the internet that I am desperately in love with fictional characters, and crash-and-burn lows that most people don’t even understand.

I am a 30-year-old woman technically diagnosed with both bipolar and autism spectrum disorder. I am a weird gay aunt who will never have a longterm partner or children or possibly even close friends. I am actually a really nice and cool and hot person.

And I am only in love with Sherlock Holmes.

For now.

[thecoolerliauditore]

on one hand, very glad my suspicions of burnout and gimmicks as a result of fear of losing viewership were wrong at least as far as we know. im glad the CCs are having fun and their enjoyment is being prioritized, even if i am still not entirely convinced everyone's on the same page.

on the other hand, it's melancholic but this is pretty much the nail in the coffin in me having any interest left in future installments of the series. for those of you concerned: I am forever haunted by my brain diseases and will be continuing to post, write and draw 3L - SL for the rest of my forseeable life (plus completely disconnecting from any need I feel to interact with WL and beyond leaves me with more time to work on. certain larger scale projects I have had plans for)

i respect grians decision-making and he would know better than me how to run a youtube series, however I do question how much of an oxymoron it is to not care about viewer feedback for a youtube series run on viewership (and when so many of the recent behind the scenes decisions we've been privy to - such as Scar and Grian's hesitancy to team up based on comments calling them "boring" -- imply the opposite regarding the cast's mindset). it makes me concerned for the longevity of the series going forward, since those not happy with the direction that I've seen have all been very passionate and old fans, but I've also seen an equal if not louder support for this season, so I digress.

Part of me wonders how much of the "we want last life 2" sentiment (<-- something I've previously spoken about how I don't agree with) the cast has been exposed to, since it felt strange to me that it was even bought up. I have had a thought about this and the consequences of "don't maintag your negativity" e.g. the reasonable people know to hide their critical posts, and what that leaves a creator with are the unreasonable people, and if it's only that feedback that gets processed, then inevitably things tend to go in weird directions. Were any of us actually "tired" of Desert Duo interacting? Were any of us mad at Gem for killing Grian in SL?

It's frustrating to see crit posts get flagged down with accusations of disrespecting or attacking the CCs, or "we don't want you here anyway, just leave," when myself and all the people I've spoken to being not avid haters but rabid fans who feel frustrated and actively want to continue liking the series. Not to mention most of the people also being active members of the fandom ontop of that -- we claim that fanart is important and makes the series even more special than it already is, yet people seem more than happy to sacrifice that just for the sake of not seeing critical opinions.

t-shirt that says blah blah blah. but I reserve the right of feeling disappointed.

[blackberreh-art]

Hey Berreh, I recently watched episode 101 of TMA. I have some mixed feelings about the ending. I'm not sure if you allowed spoilers on this blog. There might be a few people that still haven't seen the episode yet. I'll try to be vague as possible. (If you don't feel comfortable in replying on ask, you can message me. )

Originally when I started listening to TMA, I was invested in JonMichael and JonElias because of your fanart. I thought that Michael and Jon would have more interactions and Helen and Michael would be some silly distorted version of Team Rocket (since I saw some people drawing them together). I didn't expect what happened in this episode.

I know you're interested in JonMichael, but I'm curious. Do you think that despite the limited amount of time that Michael and Jon encountered each other, could it still be possible for them to hook up? I know it sounds dumb since there's always AUs and people can experiment with the ship, but I wish there's more interactions between those two.

Also, how did you start shipping Jon and Michael? Did it came from the canon? The fandom? Or was it both?

I don't think its silly at all ahah, you're not alone in wishing jon and michael interacted more at all! My shipping of them came from both ofc, I believe it stemmed from this animatic my friend showed me and it kind of snowballed from there. I've always been a sucker for monster/human relationships, its my favourite dynamic hands down, so it only felt natural to start shipping it ahah. I feel like I've never actually been in a properly established fandom where it can Actually Be A Thing!!

Michael suddenly become my Special Little Boy who could do No Wrong, Surely, and with Jon, er... well he's got that prey vibe going for him you know. Lol. (i love Jon a lot okay. A Lot A Lot. Jon/Michael/Elias are on constant rotation in my brain)

I miss Michael a lot, there was just something about his character that has a strangle hold on me. I can't really explain it, but he feels like something that is so deeply angry and hurt and betrayed and there is no vindication or relief because suddenly there is Helen, and Michael is No More. And don't get me wrong, i love Helen a lot!!!! Helen as the Distortion is NOT what Michael was at all, Helen is what the Distortion wished to be but could not. Helen is comfortable in her existence in a way that Michael Never Was, and that just makes me really sad lmao

Anyway, sorry for rambling. If it isn't clear I like Michael A Lot. I like michael with Jon ofc, and Elias and Gerry despite them having no canon interactions, but its all so vague that you never know!!! Maybe they did!!!!

I have like, two absolutely FAVOURITE michael/jon fics I would recommend. One I think you can read since that's where you're around in canon? The other I would wait til you've finished the series since it encompasses it all (and its LONG!!!!!)

Pay the Piper by NeverwinterThistle was the first to grip me, it was such a delight!!!!

And Eat it, Too by Trin had me on the edge of my seat and unable to put it down the entire time. Made me squeal a lot lmao. I blasted through it So Fast, I couldn't put it down. (but yeah you should probably wait to finish the series before you read it)

[astirastyr]

hi! so - and i hope this isnt too weird of a question, im asking out of genuine curiosity - which books or like, media?, would i need to consume in order to get most of the lore fueling your (fanart?) drawings and ponderings? it all looks so interesting but i mostly dont have any idea who is who, or what are the dynamics, or whats happening but id like to learn, at least the basics.. okay, if you ever get to answering this thank you!! and have a lovely day! oh and your artstyle is seriously wonderful to look at even tho i dont know whats happening

Hi, Anon!

First of all, thank you so much for your kind words! If only you knew how much it warms my soul to think that someone might be interested in something just because of my drawings! That's one of the reasons I draw: I'm a very depressed person and it's very hard for me to appreciate my work, and when I see messages like yours, I feel like I'm doing it for a reason. Thank you very much!

Regarding your question!

The short answer is Ancient Rome.

A more detailed answer: all my recent drawings and reflections relate to the lives of historical figures, namely the iconic people of the late Roman Republic (specifically, around 120-50 BC, the collapse of the Republic). 

Unfortunately, I can’t recommend any great sources because most of the information I got was from a podcast, and it’s in Russian. I’ll leave the link just in case, because it’s truly amazing—if you happen to know Russian or want to try it with a translator! I’d recommend it no matter what. ROMA. Падение Республики - YouTube

However, if you haven’t delved deeply into history before, you could start with Colleen McCullough’s The Masters of Rome series or HBO’s Rome. Both are great! They’re not entirely historically accurate in some places (especially the TV show), but they’ll give you a good sense of the basic aesthetic and vibe! I can also recommend Alexander Nemirovsky—some of his books might be available in English.

Wikipedia can also be helpful in certain cases! Not only are the articles themselves quite informative, but you can find various interesting sources there as well.

As for the specific people I’ve been drawing so far, there aren’t too many yet (but I really hope there will be more):

Cicero (Marcus Tullius Cicero) – a renowned orator, statesman, and philosopher of the late Roman Republic, famous for his speeches and his writings on rhetoric and politics.

Lucullus (Lucius Licinius Lucullus) – a Roman sullan general and politician best known for his military victories in the Mithridatic Wars (..and for hosting lavish banquets that became legendary in Rome.)

Clodius (Publius Clodius Pulcher) – a controversial and populist politician who clashed with the Roman elite, notorious for his street gangs and for playing a key role in Cicero’s temporary exile.

Crassus (Marcus Licinius Crassus) – one of the wealthiest men in Rome and a member of the First Triumvirate with Julius Caesar and Pompey, ultimately meeting his end in the disastrous Parthian campaign.

Sulla (Lucius Cornelius Sulla) – a dictator and military leader who seized power through force, instigated the brutal proscriptions against his enemies, and then voluntarily retired from his dictatorship—an almost unique act in Roman history.

Catulus (Quintus Lutatius Catulus) – a conservative Roman politician and consul noted for his opposition to prominent figures like Julius Caesar and for his involvement in the crackdown on Catiline’s conspiracy.

Catiline (Lucius Sergius Catilina) – An ambitious Roman senator best remembered for leading the Catilinarian Conspiracy (63 BC), an attempt to overthrow the government that was famously thwarted by Cicero.

Hope this helps!!!

[renee-the-clown]

Where the hell is the boss?!

Me finishing the piece of ENA at the core.

[onefleshonepod]

tlt art and skin colour thoughts. under the cut because idk if i'm articulating this very well.

for a series which is ostensibly about dismantling an imperialist ethnostate whose actions mirror our world's colonial extraction from the global south, there is pretty minimal engagement with race in at least the first two books of the locked tomb. which is part and parcel with muir's storytelling style of illustrating themes through subtle detail... but it's maybe too easy to miss.

i feel really bad for artists new to the locked tomb who draw characters as white and get dogpiled, because imo a LOT of the fault lies with tamsyn muir for not explicitly stating her main characters' skin colour until a single sentence about nona's skin being the colour of an egg carton (?) in book THREE of the series.

if i'm not mistaken, there are no te reo māori words and no references to māori people in book one at all. all of the covers are very, very ambiguous and white-coded, especially the nona cover. gideon is prominently described as having red hair, which is a stereotypically white european feature. you could absolutely come away from reading gideon with nothing in the text contradicting a mental image of gideon as a white person. i'm almost tempted to call this an egregious oversight.

muir's own post from 2019 about her characters' appearances, where she breezily states that she encourages readers to throw out her authorial intent and instead think of naberius tern as a monitor lizard if they prefer, makes me inclined to think that she hadn't fully grappled with the importance of race as a theme in the series until writing nona.

so if you're an artist who's excited to draw fanart, and you're not an extremely careful reader, and you haven't read nona yet, and you also haven't seen the author's obscure tumblr post about characters' appearances from a blog she hasn't actively used in five years, and you're unconsciously biased from decades of fantasy and scifi being extremely white genres which have historically not published and not marketed writers of colour and books with non-eurocentric characters and settings... i completely understand how you could mistakenly draw these characters as white.

i feel like there's some room for nuance on this topic and some reason to extend some grace and benefit of the doubt when speaking to artists who are new to the fandom and maybe haven't fully examined their internal biases when drawing these characters. i know i've seen some great posts kindly sharing resources and references for drawing māori people and facial features so i will try to find some and rb.

[skeletwinsauaskbox]

Behold! The twins in their current state! (Not height accurate) I thought I'd give you a guide just in case you want to draw them or have them make an appearance in your comics and fanfictions (which I'm more than happy to allow you to do as long as you credit me)! With that out of the way, here we go!

Just to let you guys know that Snowdin Adventures takes place in the past, 2014-2015. Which would mean the boys would be 29 turning 30 in the present, but DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT. They're 19 (turning 20 in August 2015) right now, okay??? (Also, their aging process freezes at 21 so...) Basically, Sans' iconic hoodie and Papyrus' battle body? They don't have those yet.

For reference, in this series, Frisk falls on 15th September, 2015 as a nod to the game's release. As of chapter 16 (the chapter I'm currently writing), it's January 2015 in the story.

They change outfits every chapter, and these are only just one of their outfits. The only things that remain consistent are:

Sans will always have his arms covered. Hoodies, jumpers/sweaters, and long sleeved tops are fair game.

Sans doesn't like wearing shoes with laces. On the rare occasion he does, they're always untied because every time he tries, he gets his phalanges stuck in them. Papyrus doesn't have the same issue due to his gloves.

Papyrus will always wear his scarf and gloves. He wears his scarf for comfort and his gloves because... well... reasons.

Papyrus also prefers to leave his arms and legs uncovered, but is okay with wearing long trousers/pants and sleeves sometimes, as long as they're not tight.

Other than that, if you want to make fanart of them, feel free to give them any outfit you want!

Now onto their personalities and behaviour!

If you want to write them, then you can use Sans and Papyrus' profiles as a reference for their skills and personalities. Here are some extra little tidbits just in case.

The twins are both autistic. I might make a separate post explaining their autistic traits and how they play a role in the story, but it's not the main focus and they're both unaware that they're autistic. If someone talked to them about potentially being autistic, Sans would play it off with jokes while Papyrus would genuinely consider the possibility, but then forget about it once the conversation ends.

I think compared to most of the multiverse, these two are rather young. So they still have a childlike wonder to them. It's not unusual when it comes to Papyrus, but for Sans, it's apparent. That doesn't necessarily make them naive or stupid, but they are fairly "innocent" in some ways. They are still adults, however, and act like adults for the most part. They're just very goofy. Please don't infantilise them.

Neither of them really acts like "the older brother" or "the younger brother". They're just... brothers! Though sometimes they tease each other about the 4 minute age gap, it's all in good fun.

They're twins, so sometimes they like to play up the twin stereotypes for a joke, but otherwise don't go by them. Honestly, they just act like normal brothers.

They're very close, not just because they're twins and therefore been together since birth, but also because they're trauma-bonded. They don't like to talk about their past. Sans keeps his issues to himself while Papyrus legitimately forgets about his trauma. Though that doesn't mean it doesn't affect them.

And finally, I've been talking with @mimimuta (creator of the Outbound AU), and they came up with nicknames for the twins. You might have seen them around, but I'm making it official now!

Sans' nickname is Lento.

Papyrus' nickname is Presto.

Feel free to use these nicknames if you want the boys to interact with your AUs.

They are music-based nicknames which allude to their ability to trigger musical numbers, which is an ability I haven't seen any other Skelebro pairs possessing. The twins REALLY love their music, and Presto in particular is really into musical theatre.

Lento is Italian for "slowly", particularly in a musical sense, as in "played slowly". Considering Sans' even-tempered personality, I think it suits him well.

Presto means "quickly, with a quick tempo," especially on a piano. It definitely matches Papyrus' fast-paced, energetic nature, I must say! It's brilliant for him!

Anyway, I originally meant for this to be a post showing off my drawing, but I guess it just turned into something else. Overall, I think the best advice if you want to portray them is read my story. That's only if you want to, though. You don't have to read it if you don't want to, but it helps! You can also refer to the answers on this blog too!

Take care, you guys!

[yamujiburo]

✨YAMUJIBURO F.A.Q.✨

Should've made this a while ago! I'm starting to get a lot of the same questions in my inbox nowadays tho and I feel bad for clogging up y'all's timelines with the same questions haha

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Who are you?

I'm Kiana, I'm a queer, Japanese Jamaican woman, and a Director/Storyboard artist at Disney Television Animation.

What are your pronouns

I usually go by she/her but I don't really mind any pronouns~

Where did you go to school?

California College of the Arts (but I dropped out when I was hired at Disney)

How did you get hired at Disney?

My bosses found me on twitter through my Team Rocket fanart. They liked my drawing style and asked if I wanted to take a storyboard test. I did, I passed, I got interviewed and moved to LA two weeks later to start storyboarding.

Is this a repost blog??

No, you might know be better as @kianamaiart. This is just my Pokémon sideblog where I post exclusively (for the most part) Team Rocket and Pokémon art.

What does your username mean?

It's a combination of the main 4 Team Rocket members' Japanese names: Yamato (cassidy), Musashi (jessie), Kojiro (james), Kosaburo (butch)

What program and brush do you use to draw?

Default brush in Storyboard pro

**************************************

GENERAL POKEMON QUESTIONS

Who's your favorite Pokémon?

What are your favorite ships?

Any ship with Jessie. Yamushipping, Rocketshipping and Hanamusashipping are my top three!

Who do you ship Ash with?

I was a big Pokéshipper when I was younger but nowadays don't really feel strongly about any of the ships involving the kid characters. I'm also in the "Ash is aroace" camp.

Do you have any trans headcanons?

You can find em here along with other headcanons! It should be noted that I don't usually marry myself to one hc (unless it's for a specific AU I'm trying to build out) and love seeing various interpretations of a character! Trans woman Jessie, Trans woman James, Trans man James, Genderfluid Jessie, give em to me!

Do you play the games?

I've played all the mainline Pokémon games and very much enjoy them! But I am much more invested in the anime and the characters in the anime.

**************************************

HANAMUSA AU QUESTIONS

Where can I read all the comics in order?

Here! I update anytime I make a new comic and list them in chronological order (since I just draw comics at random points in the timeline as they interest me). This post also already answers some of the frequently asked questions about this AU like: How did Jessie and Delia meet? What are James and Meowth up to? How old are Jessie and Delia? etc.

What does "Hanamusa" mean?

Hanamusa is a combination of Delia and Jessie's Japanese names, Hanako and Musashi respectively.

When does this AU take place?

It takes place sometime after the Mezase Pokémon Master/To Be a Pokémon Master series. So all the events that happened in the series, unless retconned within the series, happened. Ash is 10 at the start of the comics.

What's the status between Jessie, James, Meowth and Giovanni/Team Rocket?

Not great terms since they were fired, but also not the worst terms. Giovanni just let the three of them go without any further issues. I will say that I've always loved the theory that Giovanni keeps Jessie specifically around because of her parentage and he as a soft spot for her that he keeps a secret. I feel like Matori was the one that got the three of them fired and Giovanni wasn't able to make an excuse for them this time (without showing nepotism/special treatment) so he was forced to let them go.

If you headcanon Delia as a lesbian, how did Ash come to be?

Delia was young when she had Ash and I hc that she just didn’t really explore her sexuality much! I myself didn’t realized I liked women until I was 18 and didn’t know I liked ONLY women until like 2 years ago. She got married, had a baby and realized after her husband left that she liked women (trans people exist obviously but I’m also interpreting Ash’s father as a cis man).

Who do you think Ash’s dad is?

I don’t know and I don’t really care to explore it. I’m going off of the novel interpretation that he’s just a deadbeat that left to be a trainer, failed and never came back because of the shame. He’s not important.

Isn’t Giovanni Ash’s dad?

That’s a common misconception that people remember wrong from the Pokémon Live show. Delia mentions she dated Giovanni but then left him and his gang after meeting Ash’s father. I also don’t consider the live show canon personally! I follow The Birth of Mewtwo timeline where Madame Boss founded Team Rocket.

Do you think Delia and Giovanni dated at least?

Nah, I think he’s too old for her? I always got the vibe from The Birth of Mewtwo that he was quite a bit older than Jessie and it’d be sus if he was dating Delia when she was married to, and had a child with her husband at 18/19. He’s a bad guy but not a BAD guy.

You mentioned you still ship Jessie and James. Why not make a Jessie, James, Delia polycule?

I have a few reasons I’ve mentioned before! 1. I’m in super deep with this AU already and I feel it’d be very confusing for casual viewers of my stuff if James was added into the relationship haha. 2. I’ve drawn Jessie and James together since 2011 and took this AU as an opportunity to try my hand at writing them as queer, platonic besties bc I love that interpretation of them a lot as well. 3. I’m not poly myself and the way I write this ship is largely based off of my experiences with my girlfriend. I just know I’d favor the Jessie/Delia of it all which isn’t fair and not a good interpretation of a poly relationship. All that said, I DO super enjoy seeing peoples’ poly headcanons and art!

Who does James end up with in this AU?

No one. He's aroace and is happy to be single

Do Jessie and James have all their Pokémon in this AU

I think they have all the Pokémon that they did by the end of Mezase Pokémon Master (all their Pokémon that were left at HQ). Most of their released Pokémon have stayed released and the Alola Pokémon are still in Alola. I bring back Arbok and Weezing post-Jessie and Delia getting married. I may bring back Chimecho, Growlie and Cacnea if I think of an idea I like!

What are Meowth and James up to in this AU?

Hop back to the top of this post under the "Where to Start" section. All your questions will be answered.

Does Ash travel with anyone at this point of his life?

I don't have anyone in particular in mind! I could see him making new friends (Nemona???) or traveling with different combinations of old friends. Like him, Misty and Goh, him, Dawn and Cilan, him, Serena and Lillie etc.

Will Delia ever get over her phobia of snake Pokémon

Not fully! I think overcoming fears is fine and good but I think real PHOBIAS are much harder to get past and I don't want to cheapen it. She slowly gets used to Jessie's Seviper specifically and gets to the point where she can pet it comfortably with Jessie in the room. But otherwise, still scared and would need that same amount of time per Pokémon

Is Jessie gaining weight or is it just me?

Not just you! Jessie puts on a bit of relationship weight overtime as you'll see in the later comics in the timeline. Jessie grew in poverty, never knowing when her next meal would be and that continued into her life as a Team Rocket member. Once she was able to settle down (with a woman who runs her own restaurant no less) she's able to live a healthier lifestyle with regular meals and puts on some weight because of that.

Does Jessie ever feel self conscious about gaining weight?

Nope! She feels happier and healthier and hotter. She's also unreasonably excited to clear out her old clothes and get a new wardrobe.

Would Jessie and Delia ever have kids together or adopt?

Nah, Ash is enough for them! I have come up with hypothetical kids for them but they're not canon to this AU. Just a fun little thing for me.

Will you ever put this on webtoon?

Nah. People mostly ask me this because they want to read everything in the order of the timeline but to my knowledge, you can’t reorder chapters or installments which would defeat the purpose. I also don’t think nintendo fan stuff would fly there. Also, also it’s just extra work and another place to upload and I want to keep this all fun for myself~

[tubbytarchia]

(Okay I did see Twitter was not allowed to be mentioned so feel free to delete this)

May I take a gander at Twitter being upset over drawing Gem with antlers? This is coming from someone who also draws Deer!Gem, antlers, hooves and all. Cause if it’s the reason I’m thinking off, clearly none of them saw Gem’s follow up post on tumblr that she’s fine with deer art, she just likes variety too.

And yeah I got into a tiff with someone on TikTok because I said “yeah the popular hybrid headcanon I see of Gem in both hermitcraft and the life series is a deer hybrid” only the the op to reply back “um actually life series Gem shouldn’t be drawn as a deer :/” which Gem never said herself… all she said was that she would lien variety…

Anyway, keep it up with the antlers.

post getting long woo putting it under cut

I spent 20 minutes looking and couldn't find it, but it was a screenshot of reddit that was being shown to me. In it Gem was indeed talking about how she liked to try new things with her skin and that she'd like to see as much from fanart too, and capped it off by saying that the deer skin was still her favorite and she still enjoyed seeing art of it regardless. So, obviously that was the typical witchhunter who looks for any excuse to police people instead of even reading through the thing they're showing me as "proof". It's honestly a big reason I keep drawing Gem as a cervitaur. Because I can draw whatever I want

Regardless it's stupid of people including CCs to try and police you. This is a fandom and you can draw whatever the hell you want forever. It's reasonable to avoid showing things to the CCs they might not want to see, but outside of that, they don't get to dictate what you can or cannot draw. Gem and Pearl have never had bad intentions though, I'm sure of that. They're newer to this kind of attention than most other CCs they work with, especially after the growth of the gempearl ship within the fandom after Wild Life, and don't seem to understand yet what their place within a fandom is, and that it's not something they can control. Which is so understandable and reasonable

Unfortunately, even if I trust them to always have had good intentions and never to actually police people, any CC ever making even the vaguest boundary is going to be used like a firearm against the fandom by other fandom goers, because fun is banned and they need to protect their beloved content creators from. something? From being drawn with antlers? Otherwise they get depressed and stop making youtube content and kill themselves or something? In my opinion there is absolutely nothing to rationalize this behavior

That's why I only use Tumblr (and Youtube) because those kinds of hatemobs are horribly abundant on twitter and I assume TikTok as well, knowing what I know of that app's general userbase age. My only hope is that these people are 13 years old and that they will grow up

Edit: I found it

[marinersubmariner]

10 things for 10 people you'd like to know better

Tagged by @darthmaclunkey!

last song: Wild Ones - Dim the Lights

last book: The Umbrella Man and Other Stories by Roald Dahl

last movie: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Delightful!

last tv show: Severance!!!! Hard to believe how long it's been since last season. I'm hoping it stays good because s1 knocked me out and there's nothing more disappointing than a series going downhill after that.

sweet/savory/spicy: I like sweet and savory pretty equally. But my favorite foods are sandwiches and pizza so I'll go with savory

relationship status: hermit

last thing I googled: "shiny tiara" looking for drawing reference for a fanart thing I've been stalled on for months. I don't know why I keep trying to do costume design when I find the actual process of drawing outfit details so tedious. AND YET! I must realize my visions

current obsession: Playing Star Wars Outlaws. The gameplay is definitely more clunky and frustrating than the Jedi games but, as ever, I loooooove running around taking pictures in Star Wars environments and collecting cute outfits. It's unfortunate that photo mode crashes the game half the time, lol

looking forward to: Finishing any of the four fanart WIPs I've got going, which is a lot for me because usually I prefer to fully complete a single project at a time rather than bouncing around between a bunch of different things. But I have so many ideas and I want to be more productive so. trying something different. (the most likely outcome is that I'll just get bored and/or annoyed with all of them and be overwhelmed by half-finished projects.)

Tag 10 people??? In this economy? If you feel like it: @pearly--rose @perkymcbadsuit @anhaga @commanderspock @akahypotheticals @marginalnote

[samantha-and-her-chaotic-desires]

My perspective on Alastor from Hazbin Hotel, and my ideas on how else to present him: writing AND art.

Hi guys! As y'all know, Alastor is my favorite Hazbin Hotel character. He's one of the main focuses in most of my fanfics, series, side blogs, art, etc. etc.. However, there's a certain way I write/draw/see him. This is gonna be rambly so beware!! <3 (side note: I still don't support Vivziepop's actions xx)

Under the cut I'll be giving personal portrayal, critiques, gripes, issues, compliments, and even rewrites/"redesigns". I do NOT belong Hazbin Hotel nor Alastor (created by Vivziepop). This is an interpretation of what has been produced, how I look at it, and what I can do to rewrite. I am NOT fixing anything, so please do not say that I am.

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT COME AND HARASS ME. This is MY personal interpretation of him. I have issues with Hazbin Hotel despite still being a fan, and I will address them. Any future anon hate will result in me immediately turning off anon, or the inbox itself: that is a PRIVILEGE, NOT A RIGHT.

also this might be messy and all over the place, but bare with me :) The writing portion is in more so personal portrayal rather than the redesign, so heads up!

Without further adieu, let's get into it! :D

1) Personal Portrayal:

For the longest time, I've pictured Al as the "laughing on the outside, crying on the inside" type guy. This was in the glory days of the pilot. I remember the winters where I would read fanfic and draw fanart of any potential Alastor angst. Along with this, I would slowly have him go through character development. The Hazbin pilot was a complete eye opener for creativity, and a break for me. Of course the deer overlord caught my eye, and he led me to where I am today.

To me, he is complex: not revealing motives at first, but slowly guiding us into false hope, then a betrayal. Possible redemption, but he wouldn't be a goody two-shoes after it. He'd still be a dick, he'd still make mistakes, but he's slightly softer than before. Considerate might be a stretch, but it's a start that he is working on...albeit begrudgingly. He grows to love the Hazbins, then after a while supports the hotel.

Him and Husk are more rivals/buddies than what the show portrays. Yes they bicker, but it's lighthearted instead of harmful. There would be moments where hurtful things were said/done, but after reconciliation and consequences of actions, things would get better. Yet with Husk, Alastor is soft: platonically, as I still interpret him as aro-ace. Even during shitty days//arguments, there would still be a time where they could have a drink together, play poker/whatever card game, laugh their asses off, and enjoy the company.

Nifty and Alastor would be a father/daughter duo. He took her under his wing after a mishap, and she's been loyal to him since. He cares for her and is the only one out of two he allows himself to be soft with at first. (The second would be Husk). She cleans up after Alastor's mess when need be, and it never goes unappreciated. He helps her clean some days, and it could serve as a bonding moment. Jazz music in the background, cracking jokes, and things just feeling homey.

Alastor would break the smile when comfortable: it takes a while as someone who would mask emotions, but when he occurs, he feels lighter afterwards. Crying is another story: that'll take a longer time for him to overcome. He bottles it up until it unleashes at the wrong person. After some talking it out with Charlie, he finally lets go. This all happens very slowly, not in the same episode.

He's still a cannibalistic serial killer: he will have to own up to his sins. There's no glorifying them or babying him, he's a grown ass man that needs to own up for his actions. When he does, he probably won't be redeemed for a long while. That's okay though: he needs the development.

Also haha my sona is adopted by Alastor haha /hj (but seriously, he has become one of the closest comfort characters mainly due to my own portrayal. It's fiction after all! Everyone interprets things differently!) Now, moving onto the next topic.

2) The Pilot's Alastor:

My opinion: the pilot is better than the show. Sure I still like the show, but the pilot has more charm to it, y'know?

Ed Bosco's voice for Alastor in the pilot was perfect. It was devious, menacing, dare I even say intimidating. It accommodated the radio effect well, cutting in and out. It had a drawl, yet somewhat of a light tone in certain words. He felt like a radio host that happened to be a serial killer. The laugh. The smugness. It was just amazing. We didn't know anything about him, aside from the story Vaggie told. His motive was unknown (and still kinda is). But it showed us, not told us. It was solid and quite frankly, well done.

Black Gryph0n's singing voice for him was phenomenal! It was and still is one of my favorite voices of all time. It screamed 1920s and 30s. It was witty, smooth, yet eccentric and almost booming. Insane, Inside of Every Demon Is A Lost Cause, Heaven 2 Hell, Thank You and Goodnight: those were songs I had looped for months, even years. Inside Of Every Demon Is A Lost Cause was my alarm for a whole year, then Insane.

Design wise: too red. I still love him, but he's too red. The darker shades of brown/maroon on his lapel and tie were helpful though. Somewhat. Still, he blends into the setting of Hell itself: it's not as intense in the pilot, if I can remember correctly: it was still too much, but it wasn't an eye sore to me. Continuing, I never understood the hair (and it was a struggle to draw the first time around) but I liked the ears. It was overall a cute factor to a menacing character.

We knew from streams and old pieces of work that Alastor was a momma's boy, he's mixe Creole, he's aro-ace (while asexual in canon, I still see him as aro-ace), he has a dislike for dogs, the list goes on. In the pilot days, those were the only notes of info we had, and the fans made our own spin out of it. It was a fun time, reading fanfics during the winter while it snowed. I had popcorn and my iPad out to draw, and I was simply just...enjoying the content.

Moving onto the actual, set-in-stone Alastor.

3) The Show's Alastor:

Amir Talai's voice, while pleasant, is just...lacking something. I commend his work and still think he's awesome at what he does, don't get me wrong! But the way Alastor is presented just lacks what Pilot!Alastor had. While Pilot!Alastor was mysterious and menacing voice-wise, Show!Alastor feels more mischievous and playful, more than anything. An anti-hero instead of an opposing force, per say. It's not that I have a problem with it: it just doesn't fit with what his character is supposed to be. A deeper voice does him justice.

The design, although barely changing, is still too red. Nothing against it, but I have a slight gripe with the white border of the lapel. It feels out of place, plus a frustration to remember when I'm drawing. Same thing with the monocle, but the monocle is bearable.

Alastor's writing in the show is.....I dunno how to put it. Don't get me wrong: I loved when he has screentime! It would've been completely fine...but he's supposed to be mysterious. He was too open, too pushy, and it felt like it was shoved in our faces constantly. "hAhA lOoK aT tHiS sCaWy OvErLoRd OvEr HeRe DoN't YoU sEe HiM hAhA lOoK sEe?" to put it as nicely as possible. It just feels like his potential was butchered.

Him having a feud with Vox? Still clever! Video killed the radio star after all! While Stayed Gone is one of, if not my favorite Hazbin song, it could've had more potential. More banter, more singing than "rapping"/talking (I'm not quite sure if him and Alastor's talking was rapping, but eh, who knows).

His and Lucifer's beef is entertaining but unnecessary. What was the reason? Just for shits and giggles? It might have been, but it could've been done better in a filler episode. The way the banter was and how Lucifer didn't kick Alastor's ass, despite being the literal King of Hell AND the Devil, he didn't do shit. Lucifer could've smited him in an instant, yet he didn't. Because he's a soft uwu baby. /s Though we're talking about Alastor, not Luci.

Adding on, when the scene of him and Husk came to light, I was left conflicted. We're supposed to fear him, yeah? Well, why have him around 24/7? He should be lurking in the shadows, barely participating in hotel activities yet he is always in the background just watching. This would add the mystery factor. It would make the viewers go "wait, where's Alastor?" and have them guessing. With him being shoved in our faces, it feels useless. (deadass that scene where he tortured Husk made me feel a lot of hate towards Alastor. Genuinely: I was not happy. I don't fuck with that scene).

His full demon form in Episode Five is not great. I'm sorry. I preferred the form to be similar to Episode Two, where Vox pissed him off so much. With his [Alastor's] demon form, it should be slowly morphing. Also...maybe no voodoo? Because the show hasn't done actual research into voodoo. I have a book from New Orleans about the subject, and it's so fascinating.

Now: time for more of my creative side (kinda).

4) Redesigns/Overall Ideas:

I'm probably going to get some hate here, but eh. It don't bother me, I'm just a gal providing my own thoughts. ANYWAYS with my redesign/rewrite, it's gonna be a mixture of notes and paragraphs, so please bare with me.

I. Episode Two/Stayed Gone:

The song (as much as it's one of my favs) could've been wiped out completely and we could've had shenanigans with the two! Bickering, bantering, even fighting in the streets: causing Alastor to lose his cool and transform into the demon form he had at the end of the song. Perhaps Sir Pentious was a secret aid all along, tag teaming with Vox to try and take down Alastor. Charlie intervenes, Alastor is humiliated with himself, and there could be a bonding moment between them. Scolding and glaring from Vaggie, but bonding nonetheless.

I don't have many critiques for Episode Two, so let's slide into the next one.

II. Episode Five: Dad Beat Dad:

Yikes....okay. This episode isn't my favorite, but it's somewhat still enjoyable. The Lucifer/Alastor thing though? Entertaining but useless. Also still annoyed Lucifer didn't smite Alastor's ballsy ass. The gall you have to have: then again, it was to get a rise out of Lucifer. HOWEVER: Lucifer is the literal Devil, and we could've seen his potential.

Subtle glares and comments could've been arranged in Episode Five, yet Alastor has to be courteous. It's the King of Hell, the literal Devil. While it's okay for a character to be ballsy, there has to be limits...unless the aim is for the overly smug character to get their shit rocked: in that case hell yeah!

Then, something happens to the hotel: a greater threat, possibly because of Mimzy still, but they could work together to stop it. They still hate each other, but there's still enough respect to not kill the other.

III. Design Changes (Redesigns)

Give this man curly hair, first of all. While I'm not a POC myself, I have scene human!Alastor fanart, or even some canon design Alastor fanart where they made his hair curly! I would like to see more of it, so with my personal redesign, he has curly hair. I don't have my iPad on me (alive) right now, but once I sketch out the possible redesign, I'll share it!

There's also sometimes, with redesigns of Alastor, green added into the color palette. I personally love it, but with the red I don't want him to turn out Christmas-y lmao

I feel like black pants paired with white and black 1920s/30s tap shoes could cause the red to pop out. Maybe no red tuxedo coat.

^ BUT if there was a cold winter option, a red and maroon winter coat (ironically could be made out of deer pelt/skin) could do. The color scheme would be 2019 Alastor color palette.

His ears...OUGH. I would draw out the deer ears on the side of the head, and have the curly hair. Maybe hair tufts in the ears? Optional, but again, when everything is drawn out, it'll make more sense.

I do love the cunty red eyelids and the eyelashes. Keep those. Yesyesyes.

The antlers can stay black, but I'm just more worried about them blending with the hair or not. Design reasonings and such. Also maybe different shaping? Make them look bigger, more intimidating.

OH. MY GOD. Give him radio dial eyes 24/7 instead, but in that genuine look of fear/desperation/vulnerability, the normal eyes can pop out. That's just optional though.

5) Conclusion:

That's all I really have for Alastor. As much as I love him, he's flawed. This is a post that took me a few months to complete, I had it cooking up in here but life got in the way. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not harass me. But I hope you enjoyed my rambles!! <3

[tizeline]

Now that we're entering into 2024, I'm asking some artists and writers that I follow:

1) What is the one piece you're most proud of from this past year?

2) What are some pieces that you would have liked more people to see? If you can include links, I'd love to go check them out!

3) What were your top three favorite pieces (art, comics, fics, etc) that someone else has made this past year?

(As always, no pressure to respond! Feel free to just ignore, or let me know if you'd rather I not send you these kinds of asks in the future.)

Oh this is fun! :D

1) The drawing I'm the most proud of this year is actually one I never ended up posting lmao, so I suppose this is the perfect reason to actually do that

I always feel a bit self-concious about posting non-fanart drawings cuz they don't tend to gain as much attention. Which, I am fully aware that there are more important things than clout! But I am a simple woman, I crave validation 😔 Anyway, I am still very happy about how this one turned out. I very much prefer drawing characters over enviroments, which led to me being way worse at drawing enviroments than characters, so I've been pushing myself for the last couple of years to get better at drawing backgrounds and surroundings. While I still definetily have a lot of room for improvement, this illustration here is the best I've done in drawing enviroments yet.

2) Again, original stuff don't tend to get as much attention (which I fully understand btw, I don't wanna make it seem like I'm complaining too much, I very much appreciate any and all support I get!!!!) but this post with some doodles of my OCs as well as this random drawing of some forest with a big stone head lying in it are a couple of posts I wouldn't mind if more people saw so..... the links are there if ya wanna have a look 👀

3) Oh man, I've seen so many awesome artpieces this year, i can't guarantee that these are my actual top 3 picks, but here are some that I could remember liking (and that I also managed to find lol) (also these are in no particular order

This GIF was the first piece of RotTMNT fanart I ever reblogged and it's still glued to my mind it's just great honestly.

Man I do not like Timothy in the 2012 TMNT series at all but MAN do I love the way pinetreevillain adapted the character for the Rise universe! He's made quite a few comics of Rise!Timothy and he made the character so extremely likable I just hdsjhgjakfga also Pine's artstyle is delicous yummy yum go check out his art now!

I really like those reanimation projects where a bunch of people collaborate and reanimate induvidual segments in their own style, and there was recently one of those released that was a remake of The Clothes Don't Make The Turtle episode from season two of RotTMNT and it's great! Go and watch it here!

[villainhypno]

1, 3, 8

link to questions!!

1. How long have you been into hypnosis?

god, at least since early childhood... i only really started getting into the community when i was around 20, but it was really hard to find good spaces for it. it took forever to find queer-friendly spaces!

3. Are there any TV shows/movies/books you liked when you were younger that you think got you into hypnosis?

well. we all know the jungle book. and that WAS the big one. but there's also an episode of the care bears original series where professor coldheart makes a magic mirror that flips your personality. so all the care bears just became assholes when he used it on them. EXCEPT. brightheart raccoon got really stupid. and grumpy bear got really happy and sweet. and you knew a care bear was affected bc theyd be drawn with half lidded eyes. it had suuuuuch a profound effect on me lmao i was obsessed with that episode. nice!grumpy being sleepy and kindhearted was everything to me i used to draw fanart.

8. How do you feel when hypnotised?

i don't have a lot of practice going into trance yet, so i don't go as deep as i think a lot of other people do... i feel more relaxed, of course, and a lot of my social anxiety goes away. i'm able to focus on thinking what my tist wants me to think and feeling what they want me to feel. other than that, i wouldn't say it's too different from being awake... i don't get as lost in it as i'd like to be. i'm still new though, and being hypnotized is a skill you have to build! so i'll get there

thanks for the ask!

[sovonight]

I've been considering playing Baldur's Gate because of you. Do you recommend it What is a good order to play the games in??

absolutely i recommend it!

first off, it's important to know that bg1 & bg2 are their own story, and bg3 is practically separate from them. bg3 is set a century after the events of bg1/bg2, and just has a few character cameos and references from bg1/bg2 (though from what i've heard some of the cameos aren't very good interpretations of the original characters). bg3 doesn't enhance the bg1/bg2 story in any way, and knowledge of bg1/bg2 doesn't matter when playing bg3.

i'd suggest starting with bg3 if you:

are used to modern rpg games, and 3d visuals are particularly important to you

know you don't/won't like infinity engine games (for a spoiler-free preview, look up walkthroughs of icewind dale 1 or 2 and watch a couple minutes of travel, dialogue, and combat gameplay)

i'd suggest starting with bg1/bg2 if you:

don't have a strong preference for starting with bg3 instead

enjoy the potential for mods to expand the game--not just in terms of gameplay, but in story/quest additions and companions, too

are interested in knowing the story that i'm drawing all my fanart of

have a limited budget (you can get these games for very cheap, they frequently go on sale)

if you want to start with bg3, you're all set! go ahead and get started. if you want to start with bg1/bg2, i have a bit more to add:

if you've looked into buying these games, you may have noticed that there's bg1/bg2, and then there's bgee/bg2ee (ee meaning "enhanced edition"). there's also a new dlc that's ee-only. so here's the original playing order:

baldur's gate (bg1)

baldur's gate: tales of the sword coast (tosc): bg1 expansion, adds new side quests and areas to explore during bg1

baldur's gate ii: shadows of amn (bg2, sometimes abbreviated soa to distinguish from tob below)

baldur's gate ii: throne of bhaal (tob): bg2 expansion, directly continues the story from soa and officially ends the series

and here's the enhanced edition order:

baldur's gate: enhanced edition (bgee): contains bg1 and tosc

baldur's gate: seige of dragonspear (sod): bg1 expansion released in 2016 to bridge the gap between bg1 and bg2 (i haven't played it yet, but if you're just testing out the series i'd say don't bother getting it yet, it was released 15 years after the story concluded so how necessary can it really be)

baldur's gate ii: enhanced edition (bg2ee): contains soa and tob

the enhanced edition also adds 4 new companions, an arena side adventure, and overall provides a lot of fixes/improvements/updates on the original games. obviously, considering all these additions and the ee mods that have come out since the ee series release, the ee series is where you should start.

side note--if you buy the ee series on gog (maybe on steam too, but i've only checked it on gog) you'll actually get downloads for the original, non-ee games as well. if you enjoy playing old games for the feeling of time-traveling into the past a bit, and you have the patience to fuss around with troubleshooting and mods, they're a perfectly fine place to start as well! (i personally am still playing the non-ee trilogy even now, but that's for a whole mix of reasons, including that i like using the physical cd's i bought them on lmao)

now finally, if you got this far and are thinking "okay, i'm cautiously interested in bg1/bg2, but which one of the two should i start with???"

start with bg2 if you:

just want to jump in and see what all the fuss is about

don't care about having context in the beginning (you'll gain some context as you play, though not all)

want vampires, technology, and more sewers in your d&d experience

prefer a story with darker tones and a lot of driving urgency

start with bg1 if you:

like starting at the beginning to have context for everything that happens

want a standard, classic adventure with camps, forests, and bustling cities

don't need the plot to engage you if your companions are there with conversations, commentary, and banter

are willing to install at least one mod, BG1NPC

i found bg1 to be kind of a slog to get through on my very first playthrough, but adding in character interactions via BG1NPC really livened the game up for me and made it my favorite game out of the series. (imo this works best if you're willing to do a romance though, bc unfortunately romanced companions tend to get the most interactions & care put into their conversations.)

you don't strictly need BG1NPC on bgee bc the ee adds those aforementioned companions who do have conversations with you, but iirc they don't talk as much or provide as many opportunities for interaction as some of the modded companions do. (for context, in the original bg1, companions don't talk to you or comment on events at all; that only became a thing in bg2.) playing bgee without BG1NPC means you'll have to get at least 1 of the 3 ee companions to hear any conversations at all.

anyway, hopefully this wasn't too long or confusing. i hope you try the games out!