#i like the edit so that the focus is on the art bc i love these looks for fang! i think it fits the narrative better to cut the minigame but

[gemharvest]

Hey Karl you think whenever BF or GF just hit Pico with a random hug no matter the circumstance his face just crumbles into the most vulnerable and yearning look and suddenly the hug lasts for 20 minutes because they don't have the heart to pull away when Pico lays his arms around their backs in the most gentle way possible

(id in alt - do not repost, please ask before using as icon/ banner etc.)

yeag..

Close-ups of my personal favorite shots LOL. I also really like how Boyf came out here but he's already Huge in the piece so he doesn't need a close-up.

Do you ever think BF and GF get super emotional when he's soft with them? This guy, known for his fuckin' Bite with an attitude developed partially for self-defense, melting at their touch and allowing them to see his more gentle side? Something that nobody else will ever get to see?

The demon and the rapper are nice by default. Boyf can be a bit of a menace and Girlf is not afraid to show her demonic side when necessary, but they're kind to others as a default, maybe even to a fault. Not that Pico doesn't ever show kindness to others, but he's usually prickly and standoffish; his kindness could come off in ways that read almost as passive aggression. And yet, around the two idiots (used affectionately lol) he's like putty in their hands.

Anyways idk what I'm on abt really I just think if you gave him the choice he would literally melt into their embraces. Safe, and protected in their arms; for once, he isn't the one who has to do the protecting. I think the worst part of a hug to him would be having to let go.

[restinpeacesensei]

traditional style 💖

[justarandomlambblog]

(Open in new tab for better quality)

Re-ordered some stuff but here we go

will I color it one day? maybe. For now here we go.

--

In this AU, the Bishops were children who were raised in a temple together, chosen from a young age to bear the crowns.

Shamura the eldest, who loved to read and learn and share this knowledge with everyone around;

Kallamar the second, who loved to entertain his siblings with stories and tales;

Heket the third, who loved to try new things and share them with her siblings;

Narinder himself, who loved too much for the embodiment of death;

and Leshy the youngest, who dreamed of a future beyond the palace walls, where he and his family could simply be.

As they grew older, though, things began to change. Vows were made and stations were created- and everyone settled into their roles, learning and growing and expanding upon their domains... they of war, he of blight, she of famine and he of chaos...

But Narinder, he of Death, could not. And that already widening chasm only grew as he did, anyway.

Azri, eventually, came to view Narinder not as a cruel god, but as a victim of his station- a pathetic personification, a pitiable brother betrayed by those he loved, the very ones who placed those lofty, unreachable, unnatural dreams into him in the first place.

And, well, why become Death when you can simply put Death on a leash?

--

Since the Lamb spares Narinder, Narinder remains god of death but is essentially under Azri's control. The other four Bishops get revived, but since they died they lost their god status and only retain their immortal souls. Azri is a god themself after defeating all 5 Bishops (killing 4 of them) and obtaining their crowns.

All five crowns are now in Azri's possession and they are nigh on unstoppable. Luckily for everyone, they just want a peaceful and happy life. Being worshiped is a nice side effect, and sure, there's a sacrifice here and there, but all in all it's a very peaceful life.

Just... don't step out of line. When you have Death under your thumb, death has no meaning.

you can't die without their permission.

also don't mess with Nari bc the Lamb will have Words™ for you.

[sharonaparadox]

[Image: concept art of Fang from Goodbye Volcano High by art director and character designer Lucie Viatge of a scrapped dress-up minigame.

The first image shows various designs that Fang could wear as they pose with a smile, one hand on their hip as they lean slightly so that one of their legs is kicked up a little from the ground. The default look shows them with their usual straight hair and wearing their typical black sleeveless crop top, ripped black jeans, dark laced boots, a black choker necklace, a necklace with a small dinosaur skull pendant, and a pair of colorful wristbands on one arm. The other three potential scenarios where Fang could change their look gives example designs with alternative sketches and clarifying notes.

The “Audition” look has Fang wearing a black T-shirt with “Worm Drama” written on it in all capital red letters, black high-waisted shorts, torn stockings, and black wedge boots. Notes around them read, “t-shirt, crop top or long sleeve black shirt with Worm Drama logo,” “no hair options,” “accessories stay the same” (though Fang is shown with their necklaces and not the wristbands), and “Short with tights or leather pants” Off to the side are close-up shots of their eyes, the top in color as it shows the more blended pink, orange, and yellow of Fang’s eyeshadow. Uncolored designs underneath have dark spikes underneath the eye, full eyelashes, and sharp pointed shapes underneath and up to the side of the eye while a note reads, “Makeup looks stay p close to Fang’s usual style, no contacts. Different vibes though”

The “Battle of the Bands” look shows Fang with fully black contacts within fully black eye makeup and a braid in the front of their hair on one side as they wear a black torn crop top with “Worm Drama” written on it in all capital red letters and straps hanging down both shoulders, high-waisted black garter shorts with a silver ring in the front, black and white striped thigh-high socks, black ankle boots, a black choker necklace with a hanging silver ring, and black fingerless gloves. Notes around them read, “Logo shirt but the cuts are more interesting than at the audition,” “Neck accessory,” “hand accessories,” and “Shorts/pants with tights or long socks” There are small, more cartoony sketches of a smiling Fang with blunt bangs next to a written comment saying, “Bang Clip” and Fang with black streaks in their hair only in the area framing their face with a note underneath reading, “light hair options” To the side are close-up shots of Fang’s eye with one fully black with black eyeshadow and a small swoop as well as one without contacts with more dramatic eye wings above a beauty mark, while a note reads, “Some contacts, more makeup optoions”

The “Concert” look has Fang with dyed black blunt bangs and smaller winged eyebrows as well as one eye with a fully white contact while their other eye is the usual orange as they wear a black multi-pocket half-zip jacket, high-waisted black garter shorts with a silver ring in the front, black buckled mid-calf platform boots, and a black bat wing accessory by their horn. A drawing of just Fang’s hair and eyebrows without the rest of their body is next to them, showcasing a larger and bouncier wavy hairstyle as well shorter and more angled thick eyebrows. Notes read, “hairstyles more varied,” “horn accessory options,” and “lots of makeup options, including eyebrows, more contact colors”

The second image is a storyboard of the potential user interface for the minigame. Fang would stand in front of the mirror with a curious expression as if in thought while nearby would be a clothing rack with shoes underneath, a table with makeup on top, and a short dresser with what looks like small bottles of possibly nail polish atop it. Fang themself is labelled “Fang in real time” in every panel to clarify that their appearance would be updated upon the player’s choice. The clothing rack is circled and labelled, “cycle through clothes and select” to alter Fang’s clothes. The shoes are circled and labelled, “go to shoes,” the makeup is circled and labelled, “go to face,” and the small bottles are circled and labelled, “go to hands”

The next panel focuses on the shoes, Fang kicking one up as the focus is on their ankle boots. There is a circle around the shoes under the clothing rack labelled, “cycle through shoes and select” The third panel focuses on the makeup and shows Fang raising an eyebrow curiously while three panels showing different eye makeup styles float above the open palette. These choices are circled and labelled, “cycle through makeup and select (and hair)” The fourth and final panel focuses on the hands with a written note pointing to the small bottles reading, “that’s nailpolish lmao” Fang is holding out both hands with bat wing bracelets on each, a fingerless glove and spiked bracelet visible on the surface before them. The nail polish and surface is circled and labelled, “cycle through nail polish & hand accesories & select” End description.]

From Lucie Viatge's website:

For the concerts and musical performances, we were considering having a dress-up minigame for Fang. I created outfit moodboards for the different performances throughout the game, and concepted some UX for the minigame.

(note: I edited out the reference pictures from the website's original images)

[flaticeball]

a jew review of: nhl team happy hanukkah posts

good evening and chag sameach to my hanukkah-celebrating pals out there on hockeyblr. today i bring you: a non-comprehensive and entirely subjective review from one (1) jewish hockey fan of the graphics posted by various nhl teams in celebration of the first night tonight. i definitely missed some, and some teams didn't post any at all, so it's a bit patchwork. here we go.

vancouver canucks: this is an extremely serviceable graphic. love the blurred dreidels to give the effect that they are spinning. very funny. props for the detail that there is a shadow of the menorah on the ice. straightforward. icemenorah is a themeTM but some did it better than others and this is a classic. 7/10

post continues under the cut for the sake of your dash and mine.

carolina hurricanes: obsessed with what the canes have done here though i cannot comprehend it. the weird techno style textured background. the out of focus magen david around. THE HURRICANES. IN HEBREW. WITH THE LITTLE CANES LOGO THING I FORGET THE NAME OF ON THE HEI? INCREDIBLE. points for creativity. overall baffling vibes. 6/10.

pittsburgh penguins: this is just adorable. you hired someone to draw this. spectacular work, guys. it's giving a bit of 'we browsed the target hanukkah deco section for inspo' but it's too adorable for me to care. it's team themed, it's hockey themed, it's holiday appropriate. love everything going on here. they get points for doing what very few other teams are doing and remembering this is night one, so only one candle is lit. most everyone else is getting a bit a head of themselves. 9/10.

washington capitals: and here we have another edition of the icemenorah, with a minimalist twist. this graphic screams 'oh fuck wait is that tonight' which to be fair is also how i, a jew, felt about realizing tonight was the first night of hanukkah. could'a done more, but it's perfectly fine. 6/10.

new jersey devils: this fucks. it's got devils themes. it's got a cool style. it's got vibes. it's got: more hockey stick menorahs which i am always excited about. that shamash candle is a graphic design nightmare but other than that i am all on board. 8/10

vegas golden knights: i love the gold foil effect and that you remembered there was more to hanukkah than candles, that's nice, as is involving the other affiliates! however. where are the vibes. this is not the vgk wishes you a chag sameach, this is a greeting card i got on etsy. 6/10 just bc i KNOW you can do better. where's the neon, babes.

los angeles kings: oh this is fun. it's icemenorah: WITH A TWIST. the art style is cute, it's got plenty of hockey theme, it's also very obviously LA-y, i'm giving them points for this one. the shadow is insane but that's okay, it's ~stylistic. it's cute. 7/10. UPDATE: definitely AI. boo hiss. 0/10.

montréal canadiens: this is probably my favourite for sheer vibes. you got: levitating icemenorah. you got: action-shot candle lighting. you got: remembering this is night ONE. you got: the implication that the torch is the shamash candle????? you got: JOYEUSE HANOUKKA!!!!!!!! (and like happy hanukkah or whatever i guess). obsessed. it's so funny. it's amazing. 9/10.

[soursugxr]

I can’t fucking find the post and it’s pissing me off bc I wanna talk abt it so much but. It was like “why is Raph the only one allowed to be sweet and nuanced in fics? Why are the others so generic?” And honestly it’s straight up because he’s less popular when it comes to the fandom.

Donnie is two steps away from becoming The Onceler 2: Purple Edition. Leo is everyone’s favorite sassy bitch. Mikey is a sweetheart that people only see as A) a baby who does art or B) a “cinnamon roll who could kill you LOL”

I don’t know if it’s just my bias, but from what I’ve seen, Raph gets sidelined CONSTANTLY.

In my experience, new fanworks start to get stale once the character they’re about gets super popular. This isn’t me trying to shit on people who like said characters, or those characters themselves. This is me trying to point out something that I think a lot of people overlook.

The reason a lot of (specifically Donnie-centric) fics/headcanons/art feel unoriginal or flat is because some of the people who start making them just want to get popular, and don’t actually genuinely care about the character. So they jump on every new Internet favorite, try to throw in every trope that they know will get likes, and the people who do actually love the character get overshadowed.

The reason that a lot of Raph-centric stuff is more nuanced and thought-out is because the people making it are making it out of genuine love for the character, whereas a lot of specifically Disaster Twins stuff is made because people know it’s gonna get attention.

Mikey is a mixed bag. I think the main reason Mikey-centric fics aren’t as nuanced is because people just straight up don’t know how to write him. I know I tend to think of him as “just a little guy” but honestly, he’s got a lot going on, and people (myself included) don’t know how to focus on that. They don’t know what to do to make him original and not just a cut-out of “sweet guy who loves you” trope.

I’m not very good at communicating my points, but I hope I got something across here.

[ika-archieves]

how i make color palettes of my ocs before i pick one, an art tutorial?

hello, whenever i made a new design for myself i found a way to make lots of color palettes and pick one! i see this method more in paintings and rendering but not much on character designs? here are some examples i used that on.

it helps me so much when i feel experimental with colors. here are what you need

a wip character design. sketchy or pixel art works better since the colors can have some anti aliasing issues

a program with gradient maps. i'm using clip studio paint but ik photoshop also has it. like i said this is used more on photos or paintings

and here's what you do!

draw your character. i'm making a new fursona for myself but anything should work.

2. decide on their markings/color placement in grayscale. i recommend doing grayscale so you can easily see the values. split your grays into however colors you want. i like doing 5-6 the most. i reccomend duplicating the color layer if you wanna try multiple palettes.

3. this part is program dependent but in csp's case go to edit > tonal correction > gradient map.

4. i made a few default 5 color gradient maps but if don't use gradients like me i reccomend making the graph like this so they become solid color. split the map into however many colors you used. i'll add a color to the red-orange one bc my character has 6 grays.

5. replace the colors by clicking below specified color. it all depends on your creativity and what you want. experiment til you like it.

6. fuck around, try stuff, put them together to see if you like any of em. i made 9 to see if i can focus on one of them and i actually ended up loving the bottom right. it really makes them shiny

7. (optional) if you like a palette you can further and play with colors while keeping the palette. you can use color balance (in the same menu as gradient map in csp) or layers to mess around, have fun!

also a color tip because people seem to compliment that a lot in my art: digital art has millions of colors! don't be afraid of using wacky tones unless you're going pantone. if you want to get something physical i recommend being open to alternative colors as they tend to be more limited. i know whoever is doing it will try their best to keep the colors close.

color theory is something i don't...care much about mostly because this is something i'm doing for fun. i'll consider it in professional work.

[alexownsfandoms]

I have a hyperfixation so here is a whole bunch of mean girls (specifically the 2024 one) head canons:

In celebration of getting both Janis and Damian being canonically queer

Cady is bi (edit: she's demisexual)

Regina is a lesbian

Karen is pan

Gretchen is unlabeled (edit: she's probably also ace (thanks to the person who commented))

Aaron is also bi

Janis uses She/They prns

Before the whole dethroning of Regina, Gretchen had the biggest crush on her. I MEAN C'MON! you're telling me "What's Wrong With Me?" isn't a love confession?

Janis is buff. She took up art and working out/track as a way to cope after Regina. Nobody will physically bully her now bc of it.

Janis does not own a single item of clothing does not have some form of paint on it

Almost all of Janis's clothing are customized

Cady post-plastic still kept her plastic style but made it more comfortable (aka no heels) and meshed it with her style pre-plastic. Lots of cardigans and pleated skirts. Lots of blue and pastels too

Gretchen has either a very thorough and organized binder or notes app of everybodies information. like stalker level shit. she would like even have their astrological chart

Gretchen has autism (undiagnosed) and a very crippling anxiety disorder (diagnosed post-plastic)

Cady has also has autism (Probably is diagnosed during plastics era)

Karen is dyslexic

Regina's love language is physical touch (solely based off of all of renee rapp's interviews)

Gretchen's is words of affirmation

Janis's is also physical touch

Cady's is quality time

Karen's is acts of service

Regina got the idea of joining the lacrosse team bc after Janis got outed she joined the track team as a way to focus on smth else

Post-plastics Regina and Janis for a good few months would bicker but at the same time be flirting: "oh go fuck yourself" "oh I bet you would love to watch that"

[sopuu]

I was wondering if you have any tips for your perspectives? i dont really know how to do them that well but it seems you have a great handle on them! Btw I love your art! its soft and happy, I really love your stuff :D

thank you sm!! i love hearing that my art looks happy it's such a nice description 🥺

and for the tips! you've probably heard of vanishing points and horizon lines a bunch of times so i'll try to just give a quick run down of how i understand them + their uses

[2024 edit: just wanted to clarify that this third pic isn’t like a definite rule (none of these are tbf)- the horizon line can be placed at the top and still be close to the ground if you draw the grid right, same goes vice versa!]

tbh once you get the idea of how they work it gets easier to figure out where the points should be. it might help to think that the subject is what determines where the points are instead of the other way round if that makes sense? i learned a lot just by looking at storyboards for fun bc they're everywhere in them jhfkdg

also these grids aren't restricted to being only for the walls or the floor of a room- you can rotate it, put them anywhere you think you might need clarification on where the space around them is etc. just use as many as you need for whatever you need

having multiple grids (like ^ where its above and below the character) especially close together narrows the focus to what's in the middle of them as well!

another way to do this is to think of the subjects being in a box and looking at them from an angle-

and if you want you can break them down to simpler 3D or 2D shapes to see which parts have to get smaller

if you were looking for more perspectives on poses i talk about it a little at the end here

i hope this was clear enough! it's a bit hard to explain but once i learned not to be too hung up on accuracy (ofc to an appropriate degree) and freehanded the grids it makes it a lot more fun to play around with :)

also take everything i say with a grain of salt bc i too am still learning 👍

[onlyjaeyun]

one thing i have decided is that i should just..stop explaining myself and my choices at any given time bc at the end of the day this is MY blog and MY smau and MY characters and I get to decide what to do and how to do it and there's no point in trying so hard to adjust everything to everyone's liking bc there will ALWAYS be someone who's mad and triggered and annoyed and bothered and critical no matter what i do and hinestly atp im just..tired 😭

im one of the worst people pleaser ever but i have noticed that as soon as i start shifting my focus on the things people tell me to do differently (regardless of if i asked or not) i lose motivation bc i feel dictated and controlled.

what i'm trying to say is: if you feel triggered, mad or bothered by my smaus and choices, i unfortunately don't really know what to do other than try my best to be considerate but at the end of the day, your triggers are not my responsibility.

sending so much love to everyone and i know this will make me receive a lot of criticism but i'm willing to deal with it bc after 5 years in the tumblr writing community i have realised that i gotta stop pleaskng everyone and focus on myself and what i want bc this is MY art.

additionally to this: i started off quite strong with the depictions of my reader insert from hype boy through poison and SB all the way to CH did i go with the same concept of a reader insert, so im probably not gonna change it anytime soon bc it's what i feel the most comfortable with. and i know people dont get the whole why reader insert if you're gonna give them a face claim anyway but to me it's mostly bc i HATE writing in third/first person and i simply dont wanna create ocs. on top of that it's nothing new and has been done for quite a while. there are plenty of smau writers who take the reader insert literally and if that's what you're looking for, you should go and read that. no harsh feelings, nothing but love. i just wanna be sure i write for myself and myself only from now on 🩷

edit: a huge thank you to everyone who sent me an ask regarding the whole reader insert x trigger situation, i genuinely appreciate everyone's input on this topic and i hope you understand my decision of not responding to asks bc i have already come to a conclusion (mostly withy our help too) so thank you so much. i love you 💗

[collapsedglasshouses]

WOULD YOU SAY I'M WORTHY || FOUR

PAIRING: Noah Sebastian x OFC ; slight Nick Folio x OFC

DIVIDER ART WORK BY @saradika-graphics

SUMMARY: When Eden meets Noah, her life is anything but perfect. Her heart is far more broken than Noah can even guess at this point. Will he be able to mend the wounds he hadn’t caused?

WARNINGS: angst, fluff, eventually smut, mentions of grief/loss, mentions of alcohol consumption, mentions of mental health issues, mentions of illnesses

A/N: This was sitting in my drafts for way too long, bc I kept editing and editing... But we're gonna ignore that c:

TAGLIST: @measuredingold @cncohshit @lma1986 @missduffsblog @cookiesupplier @thescarlettvvitch @bngurngheart @dream-machine-love @arkiliastuff @vinyardmauro @lacktoesandtoddlerants @princessmarshmallowx @circle-with-me @thisbicc @xxkittenkissesxx @malerieee @smoke-in-diamond-shape @thatgirlforever5 @veronicaphoenix @justeli6

If you wanna be added to the story's taglist or to my taglist in general, leave a comment or message me privately!

MASTERPOST || MASTERLIST

CONTENT WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER: THIS CHAPTER DEALS WITH THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE! PLEASE DON'T READ IF IT BOTHERS YOU TOO MUCH. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND WE SEE EACH OTHER IN ANOTHER CHAPTER/STORY! ♡

When Eden woke up on the couch in Nick’s room, it took her a moment to realize where she was. Her consciousness snapped fully into focus when she heard Nick turn in his bed, now facing in the direction of the couch. Sitting up slightly, she glanced at him. A strand of his dark hair had fallen onto his face as she gazed over his sleeping form. She was aware that it might have seemed a bit odd to be caught staring at the boy in front of her, but there was something about his presence that eased her. She didn’t know if it were his reassuring smiles or the casual chats she had with him over the last weeks at work, she just really liked being around him. Perhaps that was why she had agreed to go to the party, despite her aversion to such gatherings, especially since it happened to fall on her birthday, a celebration she typically hated too.

As Nick stirred, Eden instinctively shifted in her position, wary of being caught in her reverie.

“Are you awake, Eden?” Nick's voice broke the silence.

“Yes,” she replied, faking sleepiness.

Nick propped himself up on his arm, smiling warmly at her. “You know, I’m proud of you.”

A blush crept on Eden’s cheeks. “Why’s that?”

“We may not know each other too well, but it means a lot to me that you came to the party,” Nick explained.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Eden replied, a hint of falsehood in her words. “I actually quite enjoyed it.”

She wasn’t entirely lying; despite her discomfort in large crowds, she had found solace in her conversation with Noah outside.

“That’s actually nice to hear.” Nick answered her with a bright smile that she could just mirror. He was so sweet, she didn’t even know how to act.

Right as Nick was about to say something else, there was a knock on the door next to Eden that Nick answered. One of Nick’s bandmates, Jolly peaked inside the room with closed eyes. “I hope you all are clothed, I’m coming in.”

“Oh shut up, man.” Nick answered him and let his head fall onto his pillow, but Eden caught how his cheeks turned a slight pink tone.

“Good morning, love birds.” Jolly said with a grin on his face, but Eden came to the rescue. “You realize I’m laying on the couch about six feet away from Nick.”

“Doesn’t mean you slept there, darling.” Jolly answered with a wink in her direction that made her roll her eyes.

“I just wanted to know if you want something for breakfast, Noah and I are heading out to get something edible.” He continued but right as Eden was about to answer her phone rang. She recognized the ringtone and almost fell of the couch grabbing her phone.

“I need to get that.”

With that she slipped out under the blanket and left the room.

“So, when are you finally confessing that you are head over heels for that girl?” Jolly teased his friend that was still laying in his bed.

“Could you finally stop? I do not have a crush on her.” – “So, you just stop by a random bar multiple times a week because… you’re an alcoholic?” Jolly wanted to know but Nick simple rolled his eyes and got up from the bed.

“Get out of my room and get me a coffee or I might kill you on the spot.”

Jolly just giggled before leaving his room again. Nick’s thoughts shot right back to Eden. She looked stressed when her phone rang.

Nick quickly got ready and headed downstairs. First, he was met with Noah, already wearing a jacket and ready to go out.

“Have you seen Eden?” Nick quickly asked.

“She’s outside on the phone.” Noah answered him honestly. Noah had thought about following her outside since he saw the worried expression on her face but when he dared to give her a second glance and she was on the phone with someone, he kept his distance. He caught himself sometimes staring outside the window. Eden looked stressed. Worse than she already had been. Noah knew something was going on inside of her, but he also knew he didn’t know her well enough to get into her business.

“Maybe, you should wait for her.” Noah suggested and Nick nodded heavily.

“I’ll bring you a coffee and a croissant or something.” Noah mumbled before patting his friend on the shoulder and heading out with Jolly.

It didn’t take long until Eden stepped into the house again. Nick noticed how glossy her eyes were.

“I’m really sorry, but I need to go.” She mumbled under her breath, scared to let her new friend know she had cried.

“Are you sure, you can drive?” Nick asked with a caring voice while Eden hugged herself.

“Yeah… Everything is fine, but it would be nice if I could borrow some clothes. I can’t go back home, and I don’t want to wear that dress again.” She really tried her hardest to not let her emotions show. She was slowly going insane.

“Sure!” With that Nick ran upstairs and searched for a pair of joggers that she could wear and her purse. When he came down again, he saw Eden biting her nails in impatience.

“I know they are a tad too big, but I don’t have anything else for you.” Nick said while handing her the clothes.

“Oh, don’t worry.” Eden whispered and ran into the bathroom downstairs to get dressed. As soon as she was ready, she came back and stood in front of Nick for a second, awkwardly looking towards the door.

“Thank you for having me. I guess, I’ll see you at work sometime.” She mumbled before hugging him tightly. She wished she could stay, she really did. But reality called.

When Eden stepped outside, she took a deep breath. The cold November wind was howling as she walked to her car. She tried to block out any negative feelings that started to come up as she started her car. It took her about an hour to reach her destination but when she was there, she felt nauseous. She knew she should have come here more frequently but her heart just couldn’t take it.

She walked through the entrance of the hospital and was quickly met with the girl at the reception.

“Uhm… I’m here because of Dylan. Dylan McAdams.” She said, her voice not more than a broken whisper.

“Oh yeah, we called you about an hour ago right?” – “Yes.”

“Follow me, I’ll get you to his room.” The woman in front of her told her with a faint smile on her face. Eden knew she tried her best to keep a positive attitude. She knew this was all a façade. It was bad.

She walked behind the nurse that didn’t walk into the intensive care unit, to Eden’s surprise. Her heart sank with each step. Before they could even reach his room, they were met with another nurse.

“Eden! It’s good to see you again.” The nurse said calmly and touched Eden’s shoulder for comfort. She was here so many times they were on first name basis.

“Layla.” Eden only answered and forced a smile on her face. Layla noticed and her smile dropped a little.

“We need to talk to you about something.” The nurse said and Eden closed her eyes for a second. She didn’t know what to expect anymore.

Layla guided her to a room that had a desk and chairs in it. A simple office. Dr. Johnson was already in it.

“Is he dead?” Eden blurted out before Layla could even close the door. She needed to know.

“Please sit down, Eden.” The doctor in front of her said calmly, while Eden was starting to panic.

“Please tell me he isn’t dead.” She pleaded with the man, and he sighed.

“You know, Dylan has been in a coma for a long while now.” Eden nodded at the doctor’s statement.

“We’ve been checking his brain functions daily.” The doctor continued. “We need to inform you that we sadly haven’t been able to track any brain function for the past 30 hours. Dylan is brain dead.”

Eden’s breath caught in her throat. It felt like her soul left her body and she was now staring at the scene from above. Everything felt unreal. She felt like someone put cotton wool in her ears. She saw the doctor spoke up again, but she couldn’t hear it. This couldn’t be real. She forced her eyes close for a second, hoping when she opened them again, she would wake up on Nick’s couch. This wasn’t happening.

Layla noticed how stiff Eden became and grabbed her shoulder softly.

Eden couldn’t hear a thing the doctor said. Everything that happened in the last couple of months playing in her head. She gave everything up to be here. To care for him. Everything started to feel useless. She knew he wasn’t in the wrong. He was ill. He was so ill. But she couldn’t shake the feeling of betrayal. Like Dylan gave up on her.

“Can I see him?” She blurted out, stopping the doctor’s monologue about how to continue, mainly because she couldn’t even hear it anyways.

“Of course, Layla can discuss the formalities with you.” The doctor answered. Formalities. As if Dylan was an object.

Eden felt numb when Layla directed her out of the room.

Machines beeped softly in the background as Eden entered the room. The setting casted a sterile glow over the scene. When her eyes met Dylan’s frame, she couldn’t hold herself together any longer. Tears started to run down her face.

As Eden stepped closer to Dylan’s bed, she tried her hardest to suppress her cries. There was a mixture of hope and reality in her eyes. Dylan laid there, motionless. He was hooked up to various tubes and monitors, his chest rising and falling in a rhythmical pace that wouldn’t be possible without the assistance of the ventilator.

“Oh Dylan…” Eden cried out with a trembling voice and reached out for his hand, gently taking it in hers. Her fingers traced the familiar contours of his palm as guilt washed over her. She hadn’t been to the hospital in quite a while since Dylan had fallen into a coma. She was distracted with moving to California to be closer to him and since he wasn’t even conscious, she had tried to get her life together for some time. She regretted not visiting him more frequently.

She leaned in close, her breath hitching in her throat as she studied his still and pale face.

“Can you hear me, love? It’s me… Eden… I’m here… Please, wake up and tell me this is a joke, Dylan.” She whispered as tears ran down her face.

She pressed her lips to his forehead, her touch tender yet desperate. But Dylan didn’t move. He didn’t open his eyes and smiled at her like he used to. He remained unresponsive and she started to realize she would never see his smile again.

“Dylan, please. I can’t do this. Please come back to me.” She exclaimed, her voice broken, and her eyes fixated on his closed eyes. His expression was empty.

Eden’s heart ached with longing as she gazes down at him, grappling with the harsh reality of their situation. Slowly but surely, the realization dawned upon her, and her grip tightened on his hand as if she searched for a flicker of light.

Eden knew he was gone. She knew the Dylan she had met in Highschool, the Dylan she fell in love with, the Dylan that was by her side for the last decade, wasn’t here anymore. She knew the only thing bonding him to this world was machines attached to him.

She wondered how it could come to this. She wondered how they ended up like this. In this nightmare.

She was reliving the day of the diagnosis like it was her personal living hell. She remembered how his headaches started and how they were slowly but surely getting worse. She remembered how his demeanor shifted. How he became darker and more aggressive. She remembered how she begged him to get it checked out by a neurologist. She remembered how he cried in her arms for hours after they told him he had brain cancer. She remembered every surgery he underwent. Every chemotherapy. Every sleepless night in that hospital. She remembered how mad her parents were when she told them she sold her and Dylan’s home to move to LA to be closer to him. She remembered the last time he kissed her and told her it was going to be fine.

Nothing was fine. Dylan was dead. Her husband was dead.

“Eden?” Layla asked carefully, causing the woman to jump a bit. Eden nodded.

“I know this is incredibly difficult for you, but there are some decisions that need to be made about Dylan’s care.” Layla’s voice was soft. She was good at her job, Eden knew that. Layla was by their side the whole time. Every time Eden accidently fell asleep on the hard hospital chairs, she would wake up to a coffee and wrapped up in a blanket. She knew this had been Layla’s work and she was thankful for every second with her.

“What are the options?” Eden asked, her voice almost being gone from crying.

“The machines are keeping Dylan’s body functioning, but there is no hope of recovery. We need to discuss the options, such as withdrawing life support or considering organ donation.” Layla informed the woman in front of her. It broke Layla’s heart. She had seen a lot of things during her time as a nurse, but Dylan and his wife had grown close to her. She knew Eden avoided the hospital in the last couple of months, but Layla couldn’t be mad. She wanted nothing but for Eden to move on. She hoped Eden could move on from this.

Eden’s breath caught in her throat again, her mind reeling with the enormity of the decision before her. She looked back at Dylan again. His face peaceful yet devoid of life and she knew that she couldn’t keep him dangling in this world for much longer.

“Thank you, Layla. I understand… I need to make a call… Can you leave me alone for a second?”

“Of course, take your time.” Layla answered Eden before quietly leaving the room.

With a heavy heart, Eden leaned in close to him once more, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek before letting go of his hand for a final time to make the most difficult decision of her life.

She needed to call his brother. She needed to call Ryan.

PART FIVE COMING SOON

[tacoma-narrows]

Twenty (Three!) Years of Humanistic!

Abandoned Pools' first album, Humanistic was released 23 years ago today, on September 25th, 2001! For anyone who doesn't know, Abandoned Pools is my all time favorite band! I found them through Clone High in September of 2020 and immediately connected with a LOT of their songs, and in that time, Humanistic became my all time favorite album! A spot that it still retains to this day hehe.

So when I found out that the following year, almost a year to the day from when I started listening to Abandoned Pools, was Humanistic's 20th anniversary, I knew I wanted to make something big for that occasion! I ended up making a drawing based on each song in the album! This is similar to what I did for Owl City's album Cinematic later on, which I posted last year.

This is also sort of a look at proto Let's Get Back! in a way! I made this when LGB! was still just a duo act with PB and Shep, since Rye and Pumpernickel didn't join the lineup until I was about halfway through the project, and the band wasn't officially named Let's Get Back! until February of 2022 lol. The cover image here is based on the actual album cover for Humanistic, and I edited later to say "Covers by Let's Get Back!" to make it consistent with the rest of my LGB! art :3

Each piece in the series is below the cut along with the song they're connected to and some explanation about each one. Again, these pieces are three years old at this point, so some of the art is a bit wonky looking and some of these piece I'd do differently if I were to do them today, but most of them still hold up pretty well I think! :D

1: The Remedy

I based this one on the line “save your breath, your soul is hollow” and wanted to do something simplistic but still interesting! According to my friend who also likes the song, this is “exactly how that song feels” lol. It was fun working with silhouettes here, which is something I've done here and there in the time since.

2: Mercy Kiss

I decided to not actually draw them kissing bc the song says “I don’t need your mercy kiss” haha. Wanted to capture sort of a defiant attitude for this one. Posing is a little off here, and I've tweaked some minor things abt their design but overall one that I'm still pretty happy with :]

3: Start Over

I was SUPER happy with the posing on this one, I love the sense of motion it has. Basically, I wanted to express being stuck in a cycle and just wanting to go back to the way things were, which was something I was REALLY feeling at the time, but is still sort of applicable today.

4: Monster

Another one I REALLY like, with this one, I wanted to show that I can be a force to be reckoned with when standing up for myself. Or at least that’s how the song makes me feel. It’s a good rampage song too. This is another case where I really like how the pose came out. As you can also see, this is the only piece without PB since I wasn't sure how to incorporate him into this idea, but I’m sure he’s still involved somehow lol. Also this is the best song called Monster, I do not take criticism at this time.

5: Blood

Blood always feels like a sort of gloomy, spiral-y type song, so that’s what I went for. The line “we watch it burn, and we never learn, this can’t be what you’re waiting for” was really the focus for this one. A neat vibe with this one overall I think that I'm pretty happy with.

6: Suburban Muse

Suburban Muse makes me think of like, a fake sitcom town where things look normal, but things aren’t as great as they seem if you look a little closer. It even says “cue the canned applause” at one point. Also, those sort of, weird reality dreamscape neighborhood liminal space images like this where you can see where it's coming from but they just feel, off y'know

7: Sunny Day

This one is kinda weird because Sunny Day is kinda weird (though in like the best possible way, I love it). I couldn’t quite come up with a solid idea for both my OCs here, so I based them on two separate lines: “my head is inside a cloud” for PB, and “get off the bathroom floor” for Shep. In hindsight, I don't think the two separate lines approach really worked here since it feels more disjointed and not really representative of the full song, but I still like it well enough.

8: L.V.B.D.

This one was hard to come up with something for. I’ve never been super crazy abt L.V.B.D. since it feels, Very Hetero™ and I’m not about that. But it’s still sounds great and I’m definitely super glad it’s part of the album. Went for drawing Shep and PB here as little stuffed dolls, which is related to the acronym in the song’s title (which stands for Little Virgin Baby Doll) and I couldn’t think of anything better aha. I should draw plushies more often though

9: Ruin Your Life

Important: Shep and PB are only upset with upset with each other for the sake of this drawing, as I refuse to let anything bad happen between them for real. Anyways, the expressions were really fun in this one, and oh boy does this song feel very relatable over the last year or so.

10: Never

This one is very similar to Ruin Your Life for me, where it’s a sort of comforting during a dark time kind of way. Just crossing the days off hoping that things will get better soon, that’s what I went for here. The calendar is listed as 10/12 since this is the 10th song out of the 12 on the album, and the image is a reference to a previous drawing I had done of PB and Shep together :3

11: Seed

Personally, Seed is my least favorite song from the album as a whole, for similar reasons to L.V.B.D. but in a, more gross kinda way that conflicts with my ace side. The song still sounds great musically for sure. Even tho I’m not super crazy abt the song, I actually really like how this drawing came out, in fact it might be my favorite out of the whole batch, ironically enough lol. The boys are looking down into a hole from the line “there’s no more grace to fall from, there’s nowhere left to go but down” and I'm really happy with how the perspective turned out!

12: Fluorescein

Finally, Fluorescein is my favorite song of the entire album, and my favorite song in general! It’s so aggressive and loud, I love it. I decided to draw PB confronting a giant Shep bc the song makes me feel like I can take on a huge adversary and win >:] Although I do like what I chose to do here, I kinda wish I had come up with something better to represent my all time favorite song lol

So in conclusion, like I said, Humanistic is my all time favorite album and it means so much to me. Really all of AP’s work really means a lot to me, but Humanistic in particular. I found the band through watching Clone High and I am all the better for it. So thank you to Abandoned Pools for making something that I’ve gotten so much out of and I absolutely cannot wait for the sixth album coming at the end of next year!! :D

So I hope you guys liked this little trip down memory lane with me, and if you're also an enjoyer of Abandoned Pools, please let me know what you think of these and what your favorite AP songs are! I'd love to know! And if you don't listen to Abandoned Pools, I highly recommend their music if you can't tell lol. If you enjoy early 2000s alt rock sort of stuff, there's a solid chance you'll enjoy Abandoned Pools :3

[isa-ghost]

Could I mayhaps have some hc!philza headcanons? Could be him in his hardcore, or how his time in hardcorr affects him now maybe? :D

OUGH YES.

So these will be operating off the theory that qPhil is hcPhil with his memory fucked up by the Federation. I'm gonna aim for "pre island, this is how qPhil was" but we'll see what happens as I actually write these LOL

What if I call these Pre-Dilf Edition in the masterlist SKFJSKFJSKFHF

10/10 would read the hardcore deity set I did recently to go with these :D

qPhil headcanons masterlist

He either had a flawless sleep schedule (early to bed early to rise ass mf) or no sleep schedule at all (spending 3+ nights hyperfocused on smth). It made for a very loopy Phil sometimes, which his murder of crows very much enjoyed

This man can fit so much joy and whimsy in him. Everything is awesome, everything is a breathtaking work of art and everything is decades of rich history to uncover. He loves life, he loves the passage of time, he loves teaching the murder about what he finds & restores

That's his main hobby besides being a survivalist, restoration and an informal form of archiving. He sketches the builds, takes notes on the deities, adds his own little touches to each place to make it a little prettier

He could fly for hours. Sometimes he'd fly aimlessly into late into the night, too immersed in sight-seeing and chatting with the murder

He had little altars in Flowerfall, Nether Void & Greater Spawn Islands for OO, BE, and Rose respectively. He'd leave little shiny things, trinkets that made him think of them, offerings like cooked fish or blaze rods or flowers in little offering bowls. Just as a nice, more direct way of giving them thanks for creating something so beautiful and allowing him to restore it to its former glory

He fucking loves swimming and fishing and hanging out at Endlantis, he'd just very aggressively avoid the cave that is EK's tomb. It was extremely haunted, he never got good vibes down there

He sometimes considers making his own remarkable build as a sort of "I was here, I too am a mark upon this history" but looks at his house and is like "mmmmbetter not" (he's an idiot, he could 100% build something cool, just probably not on the scale of the builds the gods have created. He'd probably create it for Goddess of Death, not even himself 💀)

Obligatory gapple addiction mention. It didn't start because of the murder, but he definitely used them as an excuse to further indulge once he started devoting eating one to the crows who'd been in the murder for a year. He never really had a reason to quit, or worry about the addiction, so he never experienced negative effects from it. Gapples aren't exactly harmful, just.. tinged with just enough magic to infect the brain. (He never experienced withdrawal misery on QI bc the Feds wiped his memory so his body had no idea it should be having a bitch fit =) )

Semi-related, he loved the days where he and the murder lacked the motivation and focus to do restoration things so they'd just fuck off in a random direction for ages and go on loot sprees. Nothing more exciting than hunting for more god apples :D

He started out liking fishing. The murder got too obsessed and it became the bane of his existence. But he loves the murder, so he does it anyway. Besides, he wouldn't trade chill talks with them for the world. :')

Btw he doesn't know this but it was equal parts the Ender King & the Feds ripping rifts between the universes that got him caught and taken to QI. EK didn't plan for that to happen, he just wanted to escape to a new reality to find a vessel to come back to power. Which is why once Phil was on the island, EK went "Fuck it, I'll use that asshole since he's not only compatible, but from the same plane of existence"

Mobs never scared him much (except Enderman) despite the fact that they were very dangerous and he's a survivalist. He was practically a mob whisperer, it's how he trapped trophy ones, made certain farms and why he was 99% fearless when farming charged creepers. QI has so many mobs he's never seen in his life that his chill instincts are suddenly like AAAWTFWTF

He never felt truly alone despite being the only humanoid. He felt like Rose was always with him, very rarely OO, and the murder ofc. He could understand them and he'd talk to them all day every day. Not only that, he had pets like Pog and Champ and there were quite a few times he'd humanize inanimate objects, which scientifically helps keep you sane in isolation such as survival. He always felt like he had Something to socialize with

That said, he IS still a bit weird socially on the island. Socializing with humans is way different than crows, other animals, gods, and objects.

Btw Ian is God of Chaos (a lesser god like Goddess of Death) and other mods like Birder, D3 & Wolfy are notably larger or perhaps a different species of corvid that hang out among the murder :D

[yorunoangel]

So idk if I've mentioned it before but I'm a wannabe game developer, and for the past however many months, I've been attempting to make my own farm sim game. Like the world needs more indie farms sims but hey, if everyone else is making one, I might as well try too.

Specifically I'm trying to rip off Animal Parade, because AP is, imo, the pinnacle of all Bokumono and also I just wanna play it again but Marvelous won't make it easily accessible to me (watch them announce a remake/port now). I love Bokumono but one thing I find disappointing about the series is how the games often throw away mechanics instead of iterating on them, so I hope to incorporate some of the good features from other games too.

This is a video of the progress I have so far (with some chopping editing bc farm sim gameplay is not exciting to watch). It's not fun to look at but I'm proud of my one programming brain cell for managing to do this much.

I wish I could focus solely on the art but pretty art does not make a functional game and I have no one to do programming for me lol.

Here's something a little more fun, a sneak peek of the bachelor/ettes I have planned.

In terms of setting, I'm leaning into the Australianism as you might have noticed with the southern hemisphere accurate seasons. In terms of story, I'm thinking maybe something Save the Homeland-ish with multiple storylines. And there might even be a little sci-fi influence too...

So yeah maybe I'll post more about my game dev progress now. It was something I've been meaning to do anyway, I just didn't feel like I had anything interesting to show lol. If you read through all this, thank you! And what features from past Story of Seasons/Harvest Moon games would you like to see included in a farm sim game?

[sixteenstrikes]

PLEASE talk more about DurgeWyll and Hozier, PLEASE... I am rotating the songs you posted and the vision is so good

thank you for asking me :) (the doors close sealing you in the crypt)

i joke. ok first of all i need to cite ten @bladesmitten as a resident durgewyll expert and direct you to his blog... she's written some incredible fic & analysis of the durgewyll romance and made a lot of gorgeous wyll edits and art in general, can't rec his blog enough.

i have sadly never played through the durgewyll romance & only watched it so there are undoubtedly story details i am unaware of. alas i have only played the tav version of his romance so far

some spoilers for durge beneath the cut. i tried to be vague but a warning there. also i didnt stick my oar into unreal unearth or any of the adjacent eps for that album .. sorry

all that being said here are my 2 cents

i think the main draw for picking hozier songs for durgewyll is that incredibly sexy dynamic they have of being each other's foil as well as each other's love interest. both wyll and durge are bound to an inescapable doom within the story: to pay with their body and soul for the fate of baldur's gate. durge must destroy it to please their father, wyll must save it. (wyll's saved it already, at the cost of his soul, and durge has to sacrifice their soul to destroy it as (redacted), but i wont go further on that tangent lol. its fascinating though.)

i think a core concept of wyll to focus on here as well is his faith. in his act 2 dance scene, in response to one of the dialogue options, wyll replies that he 'still keeps faith in the old tales of true love'- this is crucial. wyll is the man to whom the gods gave a cold shoulder. he has no love or faith for them. but he keeps faith in the old tales- he keeps faith, specifically, in durge.. 'his greatest adventure'.. and if durge chooses to resist their father's authority, they spurn a god for wyll's sake. there's an incredible amount of mutual devotion there.

there is also the monster hunter/monster dynamic. i haven't delved into it much here bc i am more interested in how eerily wyll and durge parallel each other as twin mirrors and exiles from the gate, the light and dark sides, sharing almost a common doom, trapped in the long shadows of their fathers.... man. but the monster dynamic should absolutely be examined and explored, it's fascinating. i think it's another compelling aspect of wyll's character. he's a man with a lot of resonant contradictions. a monster hunter who refuses to hunt the monster of baldur's gate and instead severs them from the one who made them .... a monster hunter who holds out his hand to the monster he is supposed to kill... wyll's love of the mysterious and strange and his kindness, i think, predispose him to see durge as an ally and a friend. not from naivete, but from an open heart

my hozier picks for durgewyll overall:

it will come back - i love the way the view shifts in this. one of my top durgewyll picks for the way it evokes a lot of the horror & tragedy that wyll looks into and doesnt flinch away from & the hunger durge has toward wyll extending his own lonely & friendly hand

shrike - i see this as primarily from durge's view. picked for the devotion & regret

NFWMB - applies beautifully to both of them. theeeee durgewyll song to me from andy's works... consider the lyrics from both person's perspective to feel the world open beneath your feet lol

as it was - ditto, i think it encompasses both perspectives. also one of my favorite songs he wrote so im biased lmao. i think this is another very resonant choice for the durgewyll dynamic

like real people do - feels an overly obvious pick but it could work especially well for a resist durge

no plan - could be an intriguing choice. i can't quite swing it but some of the lines in this for durgewyll... i like them...

you could definitely make a case for from eden for another from durge's view. gives me a feeling of a durge who's not resisting but idk

[seiliecourt]

hullo! i really love your psd colourings and i was wondering if you have any tips on making them?

Hiiii ummm!! THANK YOU!! I just recommend trying everything and getting really well acquainted with what each adjustment layer in photoshop can do. When I'm making PSDs I try to focus on over all balance of the colors. Hence also why I'm a huge fan of color correction in PJSK art and the like. When making PSDs I recommend using more than one type of source (2D, 3D, etc.) especially if you want to make PSDs that work for dark skin. It's okay to do things that you don't see other people doing, also.

Recently, I had to reach out to a few friends to figure out how to do something I had never tried before, so I think talking to people that you know edit and make PSDs is super helpful.

A lot of my work is based around 'do I like this?' and if the answer is no I keep working on it (unless I'm making something for someone else LOL). Trust your own aesthetic sense instead of worrying about what other people will think. Do weird shit. Try to do the opposite of what you usually do. Play with colors you like and don't worry about colors you don't like. It's all fine, because you're slowly developing a skill. Like, you have to keep in mind this is a skill people hone, it's not like we woke up one day and knew how to edit in photoshop MY OLD EDITS ARE SO UGLY. I used to only edit by using a dark purple Pin Light layer and fighting with color overlays LIKE. IT GETS BETTER. It's great a lot of people now start with adjustment layers instead JGIOREJGIOREGJDFKL

Don't ever take color specific requests unless you want to bash your head into photoshop for 8 years also because then you're worrying about if you've got the color right and it's frustrating bc the PSD looks better a DIFFERENT way and you're missing the color you wanted and - <- you see? This is the devil. Do whatever you want forever.