#i like vaguely sketched a loose idea

[jays-doodle-spool]

realized i never posted this

this was just an attempt to improve on two things im not great at: backgrounds and digital painting

[burntoutdaydreamer]

Things That May Be Causing Your Writer's Block- and How to Beat Them

I don't like the term 'Writer's Block' - not because it isn't real, but because the term is so vague that it's useless. Hundreds of issues all get lumped together under this one umbrella, making writer's block seem like this all-powerful boogeyman that's impossible to beat. Worse yet, it leaves people giving and receiving advice that is completely ineffective because people often don't realize they're talking about entirely different issues.

In my experience, the key to beating writer's block is figuring out what the block even is, so I put together a list of Actual Reasons why you may be struggling to write:

(note that any case of writer's block is usually a mix of two or more)

Perfectionism (most common)

What it looks like:

You write one sentence and spend the next hour googling "synonyms for ___"

Write. Erase. Write. Rewrite. Erase.

Should I even start writing this scene when I haven't figured out this one specific detail yet?

I hate everything I write

Cringing while writing

My first draft must be perfect, or else I'm a terrible writer

Things that can help:

Give yourself permission to suck

Keep in mind that nothing you write is going to be perfect, especially your first draft

Think of writing your first/early drafts not as writing, but sketching out a loose foundation to build upon later

People write multiple drafts for a reason: write now, edit later

Stop googling synonyms and save that for editing

Write with a pen to reduce temptation to erase

Embrace leaving blank spaces in your writing when you can't think of the right word, name, or detail

It's okay if your writing sucks. We all suck at some point. Embrace the growth mindset, and focus on getting words on a page

Lack of inspiration (easiest to fix)

What it looks like:

Head empty, no ideas

What do I even write about???

I don't have a plot, I just have an image

Want to write but no story to write

Things that can help:

Google writing prompts

If writing prompts aren't your thing, instead try thinking about what kind of tropes/genres/story elements you would like to try out

Instead of thinking about the story you would like to write, think about the story you would like to read, and write that

It's okay if you don't have a fully fleshed out story idea. Even if it's just an image or a line of dialogue, it's okay to write that. A story may or may not come out of it, but at least you got the creative juices flowing

Stop writing. Step away from your desk and let yourself naturally get inspired. Go for a walk, read a book, travel, play video games, research history, etc. Don't force ideas, but do open up your mind to them

If you're like me, world-building may come more naturally than plotting. Design the world first and let the story come later

Boredom/Understimulation (lost the flow)

What it looks like:

I know I should be writing but uugggghhhh I just can'tttttt

Writing words feels like pulling teeth

I started writing, but then I got bored/distracted

I enjoy the idea of writing, but the actual process makes me want to throw my laptop out the window

Things that can help:

Introduce stimulation: snacks, beverages, gum, music such as lo-fi, blankets, decorate your writing space, get a clickity-clackity keyboard, etc.

Add variety: write in a new location, try a new idea/different story for a day or so, switch up how you write (pen and paper vs. computer) or try voice recording or speech-to-text

Gamify writing: create an arbitrary challenge, such as trying to see how many words you can write in a set time and try to beat your high score

Find a writing buddy or join a writer's group

Give yourself a reward for every writing milestone, even if it's just writing a paragraph

Ask yourself whether this project you're working on is something you really want to be doing, and be honest with your answer

Intimidation/Procrastination (often related to perfectionism, but not always)

What it looks like:

I was feeling really motivated to write, but then I opened my laptop

I don't even know where to start

I love writing, but I can never seem to get started

I'll write tomorrow. I mean next week. Next month? Next month, I swear (doesn't write next month)

Can't find the time or energy

Unreasonable expectations (I should be able to write 10,000 words a day, right????)

Feeling discouraged and wondering why I'm even trying

Things that can help:

Follow the 2 min rule (or the 1 paragraph rule, which works better for me): whenever you sit down to write, tell yourself that you are only going to write for 2 minutes. If you feel like continuing once the 2 mins are up, go for it! Otherwise, stop. Force yourself to start but DO NOT force yourself to continue unless you feel like it. The more often you do this, the easier it will be to get started

Make getting started as easy as possible (i.e. minimize barriers: if getting up to get a notebook is stopping you from getting started, then write in the notes app of your phone)

Commit to a routine that will work for you. Baby steps are important here. Go with something that feels reasonable: every day, every other day, once a week, twice a week, and use cues to help you remember to start. If you chose a set time to write, just make sure that it's a time that feels natural to you- i.e. don't force yourself to writing at 9am every morning if you're not a morning person

Find a friend or a writing buddy you can trust and talk it out or share a piece of work you're proud of. Sometimes we just get a bit bogged down by criticism- either internal or external- and need a few words of encouragement

The Problem's Not You, It's Your Story (or Outline (or Process))

What it looks like:

I have no problems writing other scenes, it's just this scene

I started writing, but now I have no idea where I'm going

I don't think I'm doing this right

What's an outline?

Drowning in documents

This. Doesn't. Make. Sense. How do I get from this plot point to this one?!?!?! (this ColeyDoesThings quote lives in my head rent free cause BOY have I been there)

Things That Can Help:

Go back to the drawing board. Really try to get at the root of why a scene or story isn't working

A part of growing as a writer is learning when to kill your darlings. Sometimes you're trying to force an idea or scene that just doesn't work and you need to let it go

If you don't have an outline, write one

If you have an outline and it isn't working, rewrite it, or look up different ways to structure it

You may be trying to write as a pantser when you're really a plotter or vice versa. Experiment with different writing processes and see what feels most natural

Study story structures, starting with the three act structure. Even if you don't use them, you should know them

Check out Ellen Brock on YouTube. She's a professional novel editor who has a lot of advice on writing strategies for different types of writers

Also check out Savage Books on YouTube (another professional story editor) for advice on story structure and dialogue. Seriously, I cannot recommend this guy enough

Executive Dysfunction, Usually From ADHD/Autism

What it looks like:

Everything in boredom/understimulation

Everything in intimidation/procrastination

You have been diagnosed with and/or have symptoms of ADHD/Autism

Things that can help:

If you haven't already, seek a diagnosis or professional treatment

Hire an ADHD coach or other specialist that can help you work with your brain (I use Shimmer; feel free to DM me for a referral)

Seek out neurodiverse communities for advice and support

Try body doubling! There's lot's of free online body doubling websites out there for you to try. If social anxiety is a barrier, start out with writing streams such as katecavanaughwrites on Twitch

Be aware of any sensory barriers that may be getting in the way of you writing (such as an uncomfortable desk chair, harsh lighting, bad sounds)

And Lastly, Burnout, Depression, or Other Mental Illness

What it looks like:

You have symptoms of burnout or depression

Struggling with all things, not just writing

It's more than a lack of inspiration- the spark is just dead

Things that can help:

Forget writing for now. Focus on healing first.

Seek professional help

If you feel like it, use writing as a way to explore your feelings. It can take the form of journaling, poetry, an abstract reflection of your thoughts, narrative essays, or exploring what you're feeling through your fictional characters. The last two helped me rediscover my love of writing after I thought years of depression had killed it for good. Just don't force yourself to do so, and stop if it takes you to a darker place instead of feeling cathartic

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

Creature Design: where to begin?

(image description: drawing with the title "creature design: where do I even start?" over two messy sketches of an elf with a monkey tail and a flying lizard with pterosaur wings. end description)

So you want to make cool fantasy creatures or people but you haven't the first clue where to start! I may not be the best at explaining this process because I just sort of come up with an idea and start drawing, my process is very quick and heavily influenced by the fact that I've been drawing since I was a small child and building my fantasy world and stories since I was like twelve. So for me, a lot of this is really intuitive and I don't know how to fully describe each step.

The honest truth people may not want to hear is that you'll get better at figuring out your designs if you just spend a lot of time doing art studies of real things and a lot of time making messy messy sketches from your own mind. take a pile of paper and a cheap pencil and fill those pages with scribbles that vaguely resemble creatures and people. don't worry about making things look nice. you've got to be comfortable with mess.

and I do mean it about the studying. Whether you're going for a cartoon style or a realistic one, it's hard to create new creature designs if you're not familiar with the shape and movement of real animals. trace studies are fine! nothing wrong with it. I do it all the time. gather some photos and trace out the loose shapes as well as the important details, then draw it again without tracing. rinse and repeat. this is how you get better at drawing with variety instead of getting yourself stuck on a handful of things you're confident with.

basic art practices are essential if you want to create unique designs.

but with that little caveat out of the way, let's talk about the creature design process!

step one: well if you want to design anything, you need to start with an idea!

(image description: several messy simple sketches of different fantasy designs. there is a dainty fairy, an orc with a pig snout, a bird with a bald head, and a long skinny flying fish creature. the image is also titled "step one: what do you want?" with a list of ideas below that says "redesigns. filling a niche. narrative purpose. just fun. etc." end description)

in other words, what are you hoping to accomplish by making a design? is it part of a larger project or just a little one-off idea? do you want to make your own version of a common fantasy creature, or do you want to make something totally new? You don't need to answer every detail right away, but you have to come up with a starting point. For this post, I'm creating a unicorn design. The world I've built has a lot of fantasy people and their cultures are pretty well fleshed out. But I really haven't done much to add unique fantasy animals to the setting! Certainly not any that can actually use magic. and my very first baby ideas about fantasy were so very deeply focused on unicorns, I owe it to my childhood self to have some unicorns in this world.

it's a long post, so the rest is under a cut. Next step is gather references and start doodling.

(image description: three collections of sketches. the first image bears the title "step two: sketches and studies." below the title is a compilation of white tailed deer photos with lowered opacity and red sketch lines traced over them to mark the forms of their body parts. next to this are a few white and blue sketches of deer-like unicorns, with a focus on their head shape and how their singular antler is positioned. the second image is another photo compilation with traced sketches over top, this time of several even toed ungulates. there are a few deer, a mountain goat, and a pronghorn gazelle. the final image shows a few sketches of a deer-like unicorn in different positions, with a close up on one unicorn's head with the antler only being a lump under the skin. these unicorns have long legs and very narrow faces with a singular forked antler on their foreheads. they also have a fluffy dewlap under their lower jaw. end description.)

I decided to go with a deer unicorn because I've already established that my main setting has elk! I did explore the idea of going in the direction of mountain goats or some form of other antelope or gazelle, with a focus only on things native to the americas, but ultimately I went with the deer. However, I don't want these unicorns to just look exactly like any real deer species but with one antler instead of two. I want them to look like their own unique species of deer. By doing study sketches of multiple deer species as well as other animals in the same general category, I get a better sense of the common body and head shapes, how the limbs move, and what I can change to create a unicorn that looks like a deer while still being its own new thing.

step three is to just flesh out the details! ask some questions about your creature. how do they fit in your setting? how do they interact with other living things? what are some details that make them look unique?

(image description: sketches of three deer-like unicorns. a male with a more elaborate forked antler and fuzzy dewlap, a female with an extra fluffy tail and a smaller antler that has no forks, and a baby with no antler at all. above the sketches is the title "step 3: work on details." and below this is a list of traits: "males have more elaborate antlers. capable of manipulating magic energy. smaller species of deer. versatile, adapted for many environments. often mingle with other deer." end description.)

Like the unicorns of many real life myths, I've decided these ones use their heightened intelligence and ability to manipulate magic as a way to guard the environment they live in. They're not sapient beings, but those who study magic in the world I've written are very interested in studying how unicorns use magic. Does magic ability grant sapience? or is magic ability gained as a side effect of becoming sapient? it's an important and fascinating question.

Unicorns tend to travel in very small groups and hide among herds of larger deer, using their magic abilities to sense danger and warn the herd of predators. they cannot perform all the effects of people magic, only using their natural behaviors to cause small effects. But their abilities are still quite impressive and tell a lot about the development of magical skills. Their abilities seem to confirm that spoken magic is the most primal form of magic, as they have a complex set of vocalizations that accompany their use of magic.

The effects they can cause seem to include a ripple effect in the air, akin to the heat waves that cause illusions, and a quick flash effect from their antlers, not unlike the glow created by runes. This flash effect is very fast and not terribly bright, but it's enough to startle other animals and hunters who don't expect it. this is perhaps the most intriguing of their abilities, as no people group has figured out how to replicate it. there may be other magical effects and abilities in the uicorn's arsenal, but it's difficult to document or understand them all, especially if some of those effects are more internal and not easily noticed from an outside perspective.

(image description: painting of a deer-like unicorn leaping through a grassy field. its long fluffy tail is curled up in warning and its forked antler is emitting a light. the unicorn's fur is a pale golden red with dark brown tips on the tail, ears, feet, and nose, as well as a dark stripe between the eye and nose. the lower part of its face, neck, belly, tail, and the inside of its ears are all white, along with a white stripe from its neck to its flank. end description.)

I hope you enjoyed this little design journey! I really did sit down and do the unicorn design today, and I came up with most of the worldbuilding details for it as I was writing this post! I can do this very quickly because I've been doing it for years, so don't be discouraged thinking you're bad at it if it takes you longer. I also could spend a lot more time working on the details and especially figuring out that antler shape and the coloration of its fur, because I am not fully committed to them yet! this is like a first draft.

you might go through several designs for something before you nail down a version that satisfies your goals! you might also get really far in the process and start to hate it and decide to start over. these are normal obstacles! wrestling with your ideas is rough, but it can also lead to more ideas! and the next thing you know, you've got an entire world of complex characters and fictional cultures and you're not really sure how you got there, but by golly are you going to run with it.

have fun!

[prof-peach]

Bit ooc but I have a question. How you do go about planing out your PLA comic? Like how do you actually turn your ideas/ storyline into comic form? Is it chapter to chapter or do you have the whole idea already planned out? Trying to find my own way in comic making so I’m just wondering if you could give any advice. Feel free to ignore if you don’t feel comfortable answering

So, at first this was al i could think to send.

because its incredibly accurate to my process.

Jokes aside, a lot of how i work is back and forth chaos, fighting with ideas until im happy with them. I will start with a list (usually not written down because im unhinged and keep a ot of it in my brain) and organise it in a way that makes sense to the situation, in this case workign with a game with an established plot...not that its a very strong one.

with a set of ideas, and a game to work around i will ramble and rant to a few choice people who i bounce well off, and also stare into space for hours on end building the ideas. This process can be days, it can be years. For context, i have some notes from 2019 about things i wanted to include that are still relevant. I have been scheming how to break and rebuild this OC for ages. Theres no correct time frame, so long as you simply do the work.

Once i have a fairly loose plan, i start to solidify the benning and the end. What is required to make a character compelling, what makes them believable, what makes them human in a way that we recognise. this isnt always a positive thing, people like to call characters who do bad things problematic, but its human nature to make mistakes and be damaged or difficult, the process of the story is not always rainbows and sunshine. For me, this hits even harder, as im trying to tell a story from the perspective of someone fundamentally broken, so showing those breaks and cracks has to be done wisely.

This is the point where i make notes about things that need to change from the start to the end. And ill say one thing, this story in particular, I have not solidly planned the middle. I am allowing space for me to come up with new ideas at points. Being locked into a dead set of ideas can be quite limiting, and as creators we consume and process things constantly to generate new stories. Id be a fool to make a plan and stick to it. everything i do is vague guidelines.

However, I know exactly how the story ends in Hisui, and where it goes to from there. And i think me personally knowing the end goal makes it easier to plot steps towards that, and some of those steps are anything but progressive.

If nothing else, the end was the only thing i saw clearly, and it has only become more complex and loaded and emotional as the rest of this has fallen into place. If you can see the goal, you can work out how to get there with time.

Regarding the chapters, i tend to draft plan up like 3-4 of them at a time, and then go in order to sketch out one after the other, so i have plenty of time to change things while i adjust. its constantly a process of seeing what you make, seeing issues, and scrapping whole parts just to redraw something better or new, unique even. I dont think a single page ive posted has resembled the very VERY first draft thumbnail ive made, and thats just how i do. Every panel, how big they are, the angle you hand the viewer, the way you light things, the expressions, this all dictates SO SO much.

Taking time over it is kind of the job, and let me stress, this is normally a job done by a team, especially the highly popular comics. one inks, one colours, one shades, one handles text, one edits, theres so many people behind it, so dont be bothered by the pace at which things are made if youre working alone like i am. One person means longer production times, if you can, spread the workload out, but its not required. Its why i always say it doesnt matter how long it takes to make, so long as youre still making.

I think its also worth noting, comics are consumed quickly, the bakcgournds and small details can be lost in the ace of the storytelling, pick and choosing your battles is wise, save your time on panels where you want the reader to shift along quicker, keep that pace high, and add in more detail and depth to panels you want to champion or get the viewers to hang around on more. its ok to let go of a "perfect" image in favour of getting content out, if youre being driven nuts by it. Again, time be damned, be happy with it. And if you can let go of petty details, id suggest doing it when possible, so long as it doesnt effect the storytelling.

I mean what else can i even say. This work is a passion project, I love it, more than i can even put into words, and i think you kind of have to, to make comics without monetary motivation. sure you can get lucky and find ways to make it big, but for most of us, its the love of the story. So maybe try not to be your biggest hater, its easy to slip into the behaviour, so try be gentle on yourself and the process. I should take that advice myself haha! but i really do mean it. This is HARD work, so be kind to yourself over it.

anyway, with a rough idea, a bunch of sketches, and time, they get inked and fussed over, i make a billion changes to layout and story, and eventually posting can happen but not after fighting with the monster that is creating. Idk what else i can say. This is not work for the feint of heart, but anyone can learn to do it.

Good luck, comic artists can always use it!

[ghcstao3]

Absolutely loosing it over the idea of Ghost sneaking around to see what Soap is doing on leave. He gets jealous/insecure seeing him set up a date/picnic etc. Can't get it out of his head, has to know who John is getting things for. Stalking only for Soap to call out to Ghost while hes waiting-

"'Knew you were here the whole time, Lt. Join me? I brought tea." (or something along those lines).

-🤺

what a silly thing for ghost to do. also so real. love it

-

Ghost hadn't ever thought of himself as the jealous type until he met John "Soap" MacTavish.

Truly, he hadn't ever had reason to be the jealous type before Soap. Nor does he now, really, but of course the man who brings out the best in Ghost also has to bring out the very green-eyed worst. It's upsetting.

And impossible to ignore.

His envy begins with smaller things, like the casual touches Soap offers to just about anyone, or the smile he always seems to be wearing when Ghost wishes it were just him such a thing was reserved for. It's an ugly feeling that only grows worse with time—but what else can Ghost do but stand in the sidelines and feel miserable for himself? Soap has always and will always deserve better than Ghost.

But even if Ghost's jealousy gets to the point where it's a constant, overbearing presence, he does his best to manage it well. He does manage it well.

On base, that is. Surrounded by other soldiers, his colleagues, and always with something more important to do, Ghost is able to tame the beast that Soap has brought life to.

Then they're sent on leave. Horrible, ever-dreaded leave. The entire 141, including Price for once. And suddenly Ghost's envy cannot be shoved aside for menial tasks and conversation, not for long, at least. Being on his own doesn't bode well.

So he decides he'd visit Soap. Sort of.

The train ticket booking is on impulse. Ghost finds a hotel room even knowing where Soap lives, because he doesn't know if Soap would want to see him.

He's... pathetic, really. Utterly hopeless.

By the time he's mustered any courage to actually show up at Soap's front door, Ghost happens upon the man on his convoluted route there.

Well, happens upon is a strong term. It's more like Ghost sees Soap from afar, sitting on a park bench with his journal, and plants himself far enough that Soap wouldn't see him, but Ghost would still be able to watch.

Forgive him, for being so nosy.

Ghost isn't sure what overcomes him, when Soap eventually stands and Ghost rises, too. He isn't sure what overcomes him when he waits a few seconds before continuing to follow, to lurk like a complete creep. But he does, anyway. Until he snaps out of whatever stupid trance he's in, turns tail and heads back to the hotel.

It doesn't stop that day, though. He figures Soap might frequent the park, knowing the sergeant and his love for any sort of outdoors—and Ghost is easily proven right, as he watches Soap set up at the same bench with his journal the very next day.

He's curious, alright? Nothing more—until jealousy flares through him with the easy smiles Soap offers passersby. Until Ghost is envious of whatever kind greetings Soap offers those same people with that accent Ghost had grown to love even in spite of the nonsense Soap sometimes spoke.

Until a young woman, beautiful and surely Soap's type, joins him on the bench and makes Soap laugh. Until Soap is happily showing her whatever is in his journal and talks to her for ages.

Ghost leaves the park first, that time. But he comes back the next day, and the next. It's the same thing, minus the woman, until one day Soap isn't at the bench. Instead, he's laid out a blanket on the green and is unpacking enough food for two from a plain rucksack.

Ghost doesn't know when, but he creeps closer. He still stays out of sight—God forbid Soap see his lieutenant stalking him—but close enough that he can make out the things Soap has brought. Close enough that he can see the vague shapes of sketches Soap is still endeavouring to draw before whoever he's surely waiting for arrives.

Which is too close, apparently.

"LT," Soap is suddenly calling out. He hasn't so much as looked up from his journal. "I know you're here, ya numpty."

Ghost hesitates a long while, the kind of hesitation that would get him killed on the field. But here, it only stretches on an awkwardness Ghost had hoped never to face. To never have to admit he'd been observing Soap, his subordinate, from afar because he was jealous.

But Soap is patient as Ghost gradually makes his way to the blanket. He doesn't sit right away, however, even when Soap prompts him.

"Aren't you waiting on someone?" Ghost asks. He prays he sounds impassive enough, but he can't help the tinge of bitterness that seeps into his voice.

Soap shakes his head. "Unless I count you," he says. "C'mon, Simon, sit. I brought more than enough for the both of us."

Ghost complies, dropping cautiously across from Soap, staring owlishly at the sergeant who seems far too casual about all of this.

"You're not going to ask?"

Again, Soap shakes his head. "If I wanted to know on my terms, I woulda walked over to you the first day I saw you at the park. Now, I dinnae have much tea at home, so I hope what I brought'll do."

Soap continues to chatter away to both himself and Ghost while he shoves food and drink in Ghost's direction. Ghost just sits in disbelief before he's able to settle.

But once he realizes that the green-eyed monster has finally backed away for once, Ghost allows himself to just enjoy Soap's company, before he thinks to answer any questions and ruin this peace. He has the sergeant to himself, for this one moment, and, really, it's all he's ever been needing.

[catacropolis]

Twisted wonderland fear and hunger AU

Story Update

Azul is up next just getting feedback and deliberating

in the mean time !!!

Contestant cast B !!

Following the structure of Fear and Hunger Termina, there are 14 contestants that were chosen for the Termina festival.

the overblotting cast ( aka the playable cast )

Riddle, Leona, Azul , Jamil, Vil , Idia and Malleus

and the non playable cast B !

( Note: cast B is subject to change and these are initial possibilities to fill out the secondary cast. if there are any secondary cast recommendations I am fully welcome to them!

the only characters that explicitly will not and Can not be part of the secondary cast [ because they fill other roles pre-determined in the story] are Ortho, Kalim, Neige, and Lillia )

Deuce = (Abella) mechanic working on THE project ( iykyk)

Jack = ( marcoh ) a muscle man for leona's family, grew up with vil escaped the cult and ended up being adopted by a side part of Leona's family .

Jade = ( Henrick ?) part of azuls scheme, followed him , ends up getting separated at some point 

Sebek =( Pav ) strict mindset, doesn't know malleus ( ik it doesn't make a ton of sense but work with me here)  

Ace = (Karin ) reporter, has beef with riddle

Silver =( levi ) a young soilder , from prehivil, trying to find his place in the world .

for the secondary cast, i have vaguely laid out who they would be loosely based on/ take the story roles of and what their possible backstory may be.

some quick mini sketches of possible appearance ideas

once again all roles are subject to change but if the seconarry cast becomes more solidified i WILL parce out more details for each of them .

the secondary cast is just as important as the playable ones

speaking of playable !

if you counted the playable and non playable cast you would get 13 characters .

that is because YUU is the final character on the roster.

yuu like in Twst will be taking the place as the " cannon" POV and their actions will determine the story that you witness.

they will also be taking a bit of an O'saa role in the game by providing information that the player wouldn't be able to access in any other character run .

also having Grimm be Na'sharaa would be so funny. lol

[quibble-auk]

Yk what no one asked for? My art process.

At least when it comes to drawing transformers... I don't put a lot of my other stuff up here haha. This guide probably won’t help with drawing TFP stuff tho. I like sticking to my cubes.

Who knows. Maybe this can help someone. Or provide amusement cause I have no idea what I'm doing. Just thought l'd share some stuff lol. And an unpopular art opinion.

So yeah, my secrets. Which like.... my art isn’t incredibly impressive or anything but... you get the point.

If you ever really wanted to try out whatever my style is called, here’s your guide. Along with a tutorial on how I draw Sunstreaker, but it’s like 5 steps lol.

I apologize in advance for the sheer amount of yapping I’m about to do. I’m just trying to makes sense

~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the part where I share my tips and tricks yippee! Small disclaimer, I just kinda do half of this stuff as a go. There is no real order to this. I’m basically just explaining how my style works (despite how much my style varies tbh)

There’s a general build for the body that I’m pretty sure most people have figured out. The head, chest, torso, and weird hip thingy. Then the legs are broken into two main segments, the arms are broken into three, shoulder, upper arm, lower arm.

Here we go, unpopular art opinion rant.

When I make my base I usually work from the head down. Don’t be afraid to use the lasso tool to readjust the sizes of different components. If the head you started with has the right angle but is too small, lasso it and make it bigger. If ur doing traditional, sorry, you’re just gonna have to redraw it.

I’ll usually try and clean up overlapping lines, but I wanted yall to see the shapes before I did that.

Then we can start adding details. I look at other artist’s designs and the source material and pick out reoccurring traits that will help make the character easily identifiable.

I tend to add the most detail to the head simply because that’s what is commonly used to identify characters. Usually when designing my version of a character I allow myself to kinda make up details for this part.

But do feel free to add your own details to make sure people can tell it’s “your” design!

These are still very simple shapes and not detailed whatsoever. We are keeping it basic on purpose.

Very loose shapes, extremely vague idea. Just putting down the most identifiable parts that are important in building it, if that makes sense. I put down the bare minimum for this.

You really don't want to over complicate things. It makes it difficult for the viewer to figure out what's going on. A crowded design is distracting and unappealing. The simpler the better.

So now we have our sketch layer done. Because I'm impatient, it's line art time baby!

I end up just kind of feeling it out with line art. There will be some changes between the sketch and the line art. I’ll also use line weight to just general shading stuff sometimes. In this one it’s not very consistent but I was kinda losing motivation cause… adhd my beloved.

This is pretty self explanatory. Use your sketch to outline what you want, adding details as you go. I'll still leave my lines pretty loose and messy for most of these, just because it adds a bit more... character? Makes it feel more authentic? But feel free to clean it up as much as your little heart desires.

Smth im really passionate about is not overcomplicating the designs and crowding it. I know I already mentioned it once but… yeah.

While adding a bunch of detail can be cool, if not executed right, it can become overwhelming and difficult to understand visually. Keep it simple, you don't need to add every crease or seam. Just the important ones that can help a character stand out or fill in an awkward large space.

Usually after that l'll just put flat color down. Nothing fancy. I like to just do greyscale but you can go crazy. I'm not stopping you.

But adding a flat color under your line art helps pull together the sketch. It makes it easier for people to understand what is and isn't a character and makes it simpler to understand the character’s shape.

If I have several characters in one picture l'll usually make them separate colors to help make sure you can easily identify them as different people. I usually try to keep in mind the characters actual color when doing this. People with darker colors get a darker gray.

I’ll also try and give a different color to an object they are interacting with so it doesn’t get confused with the character themselves.

The entire reason I gave Sunstreaker a gun was to show this. I hate drawing guns.

These are also rarely perfect. As long as it's not extremely obvious that you're out of the lines, no one will notice. At least that’s been my experience.

I usually do this on separate layers

There's a lot of personalization when it comes to drawing and I don't know if I explained all of this very well. Ironically I don't really think much about how I'm doing it, I just... do it.

If you need any further explaining, I'll try my best to help. And if you made it this far ive got mad respect for you. I’m pretty sure I’m just rambling for half of this lol.

Have fun creating!!!!

[hajihiko]

I know comms are closed rn but for when they open up in future, for those of us who have little to no idea how buying commissions work, could you answer some basic questions on it? Like if the buyer needs to be crazy specific or give a very loose idea so the artist can do their thing? And if people in the background count as extra characters or a background? I’m sure these are mostly a person-by-person thing, but I’d love to know your preferences/thoughts!

Like u said it depends on the artist, so just in my case:

-the specificity is up to you! If you give a vague idea and tell me to go nuts, I will (but then you can't complain it isn't what you envisioned). If you give me lots of details I'll do my best to adhere to those. I definitely lean more towards details so I usually end up asking about expressions, lighting, mood, etc (and I ask a Lot). When it comes to characters I don't know, I'd usually prefer to at least have an idea of the personalities so it looks right. I also generally send sketch and colour previews to make sure it's coming together correctly.

-i only do vague backgrounds so random people would just be faint silhouette, charged as a part of the background. Specific characters in the background or characters with any detail would be extra. (So "people at a cafe" = silhouettes, part of bg, "classmates x y and z sitting on another table" = extra $)

[byghostface]

Hi byghost I made a post about trying to make some gravebird/Daminika fanfics but I don't have any good writing ideas, and someone said to ask you for some, so if you have some that would be great.

Hi there! Here are some ideas I have now, these are for inspiration so you can be more creative and flexible with them. Just credit me if you do use some of the major concepts (especially AUs)! ^ ^b

Canon diverse (divergence from comic)

Different ways of getting into detention in Gotham High— Damian's bullies gang up on them in the cafeteria (making fun of their looks, accents, or something). Nika gets into a fight with them and Damian advocates for her immediately (join the fight too).

— Or they didn't make a scene at the cafeteria, they bait the bullies into the fight at other places.

Sort of girlfriend and boyfriend (Nika makes a friend)— Erica sat down at their table and asked Nika questions. Where's she from? Is she an albino? What's her relationship with Damian? Is Damian asking her to be here? Is she a transfer student? (Damian wants/attempts to shield Nika from Erica's questions but Nika is quite amusing to answer her). Nika's answers are vague (she teases Damian when Erica asks about their relationship), and leave Erica pretty confused.

Spare days— Nika goes to Gotham High undercover with Damian through the first few days (how Damian's school days look like, Nika meeting more teachers and students, Damian making excuses for Nika) before confronting Principal Stone (Hypothesis they already resolved Shush and Manbat's situation, Bruce is saved and Ms.Hall tolerate them).

(The above ideas can be separated fics or combined in one fic)

"They are oomf on Chirper, but irl neither of them knows"— The timeline is flexible for this one.

In general (just in some scenarios)

They on a date at Damian's favorite places/restaurants, and they doodle on Damian's spare sketchbook while catching up.

Nika found out about Damian's sketches of Vane and Noir.

Go on a date (anywhere,your pick).

Damian introduced his pets to Nika.

Damian slowly introduced Nika to Talia/ Bat family members.

AU

Art club romance (shojo manga silly style, loosely inspired by Princess Knight)— Parallel to Damian's manga (Hana and Ren). Damian, the youngest son of the Wayene family (Robin and heirs of the League of Assassins). Nika, fostered child of Lord Death Man (the infamous Yakuza leader within the area).

Nika is sent by Lord Death Man to Damian's school to undercover/spy on Damian, so she can hold down Robin while Lord Death Man confronts his greatest nemesis- Batman. As Nika joins the art club and is friends with Damian, she can't help to betray her mission and fall in love with him (she keeps letting Robin get away when they fight in the field, and he does the same for her).

I'm very much attached to this one AU cuz I still have some WIPs (plans out panels and little dialogues)for it, and some of them are out of context. You can ask me for more details about this AU if you are interested (ngl I'm kinda hesitant to give out this AU but I think ppl still can do their own spin on this concept).

Idol— [established relationship] Damian as Nika's bf (secret relationship) and showing support at all her concerts. At the last concert on tour, Nika brought him onto the stage and public their relationship.

—[slow burn] Shadow by her sister Mila's successful idol career, Nika had a big fight with Mila and fell out with her family (her grandpa died and she gained powers yada yada). Without her family's support, Nika ran away and sought out Lord Death Man for guidance and became his undefined foster child. Backing by LDM's crime empire money, Nika is sent to the same public high school that Damian goes to and spies on Robin (similar to the art club au plot here but without falling in love first).

They soon become friends in the art club and do projects together, and after learning about Nika's dream of becoming an independent idol, Damian decides to help her in whatever he can, whether it is songwriting or stage outfit designs (he tries to resources/consult his family's talent to help Nika). Nika is supportive of Damian's dream of publishing his detective mystery comic/novel. They are each other's biggest fans (they are pinning).

(They finally fall in love after accomplishing Nika's first small concert successfully)

Damian and Nika who crushed on who first or who fell in love harder in the story is your choice, I don’t make the rules.

Thanks for the question and reading, I don't know if any of these ideas are helpful but have a great day, and good luck with writing!!♥️✨

[bisquuet]

hi! still alive! AN UPDATE: LONG READ :D no new devlin content since im focusing on my oc comic :( ( speaking of comics. remember that other comic i posted here like once and never talked about it again?? yeah.. ) - lets talk about that. will i ever go back to that comic? -yes, when? i don't know.. i realized i went into the comic very.. unprepared.. or less prepared than i thought i was. so it got me second guessing things and getting confused..!! i have a VAGUE idea of how I want it to go, or atleast i DID, now im not so sure.. I think i need to sit down, splurge out my thoughts and ideas and go from there,, now i technically have a WHOLE post that is done that was supposed to be dropped shortly after the first one. but i thought to myself, oh ill just work on the next update and once im halfway THEN ill drop the second one! i never got halfway. i ended up just sketching more up ahead and adjusting and ''fixing'' things in the second update. making me loose track of time and getting behind, not only i had school to deal with too! so i just have a LOT of storyboarding of pages...that im slighlty afraid of looking at cuz i know that ill want to fix it but ill be unmotivated to actually fix it.. (bad rawr!!) eventually i have to get to it..!! >< ANOTHER major factor of the delay was my confidence, i wasn't satisifed and even frustrated at times when something didnt come out as good as it did in my head. i REALLY like the first update pages! especially devlins scene! but i think i got too ahead of myself and put WAY too much onto my plate, raising expections, of others and myself, mostly myself.... and I was trying to copy to a manga style, rather than convert my style normally into a manga setting, if that makes any sense. so i wasnt.... 'comfortable' drawing.. i dont know how else to describe it! but ever since then and even before, ive been getting less confident with my art and my style, feeling like its ugly or its getting worse. forcing myself to keep drawing, straining myself trying to make something that looks good to me. i have lots of fun and joy drawing for others, the reason i draw is BECUZ i just want to share what i make! as shallow as it sounds i like creating content for others to enjoy! it makes me happy and proud of what i draw! so. when i make something i dont like, i cant bring myself to show it cuz I dont like it.. others may, but that wouldnt change how i would feel about it. i felt that way deeply with the second update, which is why i kept tweaking it,,, and so I just let myself get caught up with other things.. feeling upset and guilty that I kinda just.. abandonded the comic..! saying that ill pracitce and oh ill do that , i Need to do this and this and this when i havent even done ANYTHING! i think, and i genuinely mean this, i think ive only recently started to ACTUALLY do things.! like development for my OC comic, writing for it, making content and sharing about them to whoever would lend an ear! so in a way the seewar comic walked so that my OC comic could run, hopefully.. so, unfortunately ill be focsuing more of my attention on my OC comic, and i honestly can't promise anything. the only thing i CAN say is that i will share the second update that i finished long ago.., no matter how much internal rawr doesnt want to, i feel like thats the first step to overcoming this fear and dread ive associate with the comic, which is something i DONT want. ill be scheudling to drop this weekend since ill be away.. i dont know when ill actively start working on the seewar comic again becuz i genuinely want to finish it and share it, i just have to not be too ambitious and plan out whats necessary. anyways.. now that school is out im finally paying all of my debts and owed art.. its rough but it has to be done. thanks if you have read all of this,, i greatly appreacite the support, from friends and followers, fossils, (thats what my fans are called wink wink) love yall fr <3

[sprnklersplashes]

snowflakes, sunshine and chance encounters (4/5) ao3

“So here’s the thing,” Jesper begins as they run. They snuck out through the back door of the stables, into the . “Part of the escape plan relied on getting us a horse. A very big part of the plan.” His hand tightens around Wylan’s and the effortless bravado wavers. “So now we need a backup plan.”

Guilt prickles in his gut then, oddly familiar after the rush he felt with Jesper. If Wylan had just done what he was supposed to rather than running to the stables, Jesper would’ve been able to get a horse and leave without any hassle. 

He doesn’t ask himself what exactly Jesper needs the horses for. Whatever it is, he’ll cross it when they come to it. For now, he watches whisps of smoke form as Jesper’s breathing quickens, his lips moving almost feverishly as he mutters to himself. Wylan can only look down, cheeks burning and despite the gentle way Jesper cups his hand, the feeling that this is his fault digs its heels and won’t let him go.

“I mean, a place this size,” Jesper mutters, half to himself. “There’s got to be another stable.”

And then, like a lightning strike, the solution flashes through Wylan’s head. 

“The winter fete,” he gasps. Jesper turns to him. “This is the stable for visiting dignitaries. But not for the guests at the fete. And there were horses there too. The acrobats were doing stunts on them. They didn’t keep them in here.”

“Any idea where they are?” Jesper asks. Wylan licks his lips, closes his eyes. The maps he studied form in his mind, as clear as if they were sitting in front of him. Eyes open, he traces the outline of the Little Palace on a leaf. He can feel Jesper starting to tremble beside him, their eyes flitting back up to the stables. Vaguely, he is aware his father must have gone back in and most likely lost his shit when he saw Wylan wasn’t there, but for once he isn’t worried about it. All he can think about are the plans and the route he is mapping, his thoughts paced by the pounding of his heart.

“I know where they are,” he says. He looks up, expecting Jesper to be skeptic. Instead, the boy is grinning, his smile like silver in the darkness.

“Amazing,” he mutters. He casts another look toward the stables just as his name, screamed with a fury only Wylan really understands, shakes the air. He flinches, a gasp stuck at the back of his throat. Even Jesper’s smile wavers, but his hand remains firm. “Lead the way. Preferably quickly.”

Wylan doesn’t hesitate.

The second set of stables sits at the back of the Little Palace, tucked in the corner at the very end of a servants’ courtyard. The only way to it from the Palace is through a doorway leading to the kitchen and servants’ quarters. From outside, Wylan leads Jesper around the outskirt of the gardens until the emerald-green grass begins to peter out and the smooth stone paths give way to uneven cobblestones. Jesper makes a small squeaking noise as his foot catches on a loose stone and they both tense. They might be far away from the party; the glowing orange windows are behind them and tucked carefully behind the east wing, but they’re not safe. All it would take is one wrong turn and they both have a lot of explaining to do.

“How do you know about this place anyway,” Jesper whispers.

“Um… before we came I wanted to study the Little Palace. I thought it’d be best to know about where I was headed.” He remembers his father rolling his eyes when he came across Wylan’s sketches. “Guess I got a bit carried away.”

“Well, you are saving my ass right now,” Jesper replies. Thankfully, Wylan is still in front of Jesper, otherwise he might have seen the pink glow on his cheeks.

“Here.” 

Jesper slides close to the wall and Wylan does the same. In front of them, they no longer have the lush and intricate gardens Wylan saw when he arrived. Instead, they find themselves at a grey gravel courtyard, sitting open and unguarded. Why waste time and funds on fencing off an area no-one but the help will be coming to anyway?

“Stables are back there,” Wylan says, gesturing with his chin. The modest lean-to is barely visible in the dim lamplight, but it’s there. And not even guarded, unless you count the cleaning boys stacking crates near the palace door and the stablehand slipping in to tend to the horses. 

“Now all we need is a plan,” Jesper whispers. Wylan nods, but he barely has time to think before the barrel of a gun flashes in his vision. It’s only because he’s so used to keeping quiet tonight that he doesn’t scream at the sight, although his pounding heart might still do the job. 

“What the hell are you doing?”

“The distraction,” Jesper says, as if it’s obvious. Wylan blinks at him, stunned. Jesper doesn’t seem to see the downside to this.

“That is the worst idea I have ever heard,” he says shortly. 

“I suppose you have a better one.”

He is about to say he doesn’t, but when he looks down at himself, he realises he does. Jesper frowns as he runs his hand through his hair, and his eyes widen as Wylan loosens his tie.Jesper lowers their gun, but the skepticism doesn’t leave their eyes. 

“Listen, not that I didn’t love what went on back there, but-”

“This isn’t for you,” he hisses. “How do I look?”

“Uh… messy?” Wylan grins, something unfamiliar bubbling in his chest. He raises his eyebrows, presses his tongue against his teeth.

“Like the son of a nobleman who has had a bit too much to drink and gotten hopelessly lost after sneaking out with a serving boy?” he suggests. Jesper’s face lights up, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. 

“Not bad,” he admits. Wylan chuckles and scrunches the collar of his shirt.

“You’re going to have to be quick,” he says. “I’ll try to keep their eyes on me but I can’t make promises so-”

“Be fast and stick to the shadows.” Jesper slides his gun into the holster. “Got it.”

It’s this moment where Wylan wonders what the hell he is doing. Every movement feels so unfamiliar, like a play he never got the script for. Shouldn’t he feel stressed, confused, scared? Shouldn’t he feel anything other than the bubbling in his chest and the dizzying anticipation as he stumbles into the courtyard?

“Oh Saints!” he cries, clapping his hand to his head. The two serving boys look up, pulled out of whatever conversation they were having. Wylan stumbles again, just about stopping himself from crashing into the wall. One of the boys runs up to him, eyes blown wide. He reaches out as if to steady him, but then holds back. Wylan almost pities him. He doubts this was ever part of his training. 

“Look, I don’t mean to bother you,” he slurs. He skirts past the boy and keeps walking, as close to the wall of the Palace as he can make himself. The stable is directly in his eyeline, but the stablehand is still in there and one of the cleaning boys is still turned toward it. So he stumbles again, this time so badly that he has to let the boy catch him. He wriggles out of his hold, batting his hands like a small kitten. “Listen, m’fine. I just need to find my way back to the uhhhh….” He clicks his fingers. “The-the… the thingy.”

“The party.”

“That’s the one!” he shouts, a little too loudly. The boys cringe and try to shush him and more importantly, the stabehand pokes his head out of the open door. Victory.

“Saints what is going on!” 

“How should we know Dima?” the cleaning boy asks. Dima jogs up to them, flat cap almost falling off his head. “He’s just some drunk rich kid.”

“Hey, I am not drunk!” Wylan says indignantly. As if it’s his cue, Jesper sprints across the back of the courtyard, visible only because of the gold on his jacket. It flashes for a second, then like a magician’s coin it’s gone again. “I am… not drunk, right. I only had like…” He runs his tongue along his lips, curls his fingers as he counts. “One… three…. Four?”

“Okay kid,” one of the boys says. “Here, why don’t you come and sit down?”

“I am-I am fine,” Wylan insists. One of the boys drags the most robust-looking crate out and the stabeland slings Wylan’s arm over his shoulders. He makes a point of sitting down heavily, gasping like he’s just come up for air. “Th-thanks. Thank you.”

“Blimey mate,” Dima chuckles. “How did you get round here?”

“Um… well I started off at the-at the thing with my father. You know, my father. Jan Van Eck, he’s a merchant. He’s pretty important. So am I. So we’re there and I see this boy right? This like, really pretty boy. Beautiful, beautiful. You make them really beautiful here. And uh, he looks a bit like you actually.” He points at the serving boy closest to him, and all three of them stiffen. “No, no, not like that. He was just wearing your uniform is all.” He chuckles to himself, wets his lips. “God I love a boy in a uniform.”

And he is definitely not thinking of Jesper in a footman’s uniform, thank you very much.

The trio in front of him exchange uneasy looks. Wylan thinks he hears a horse whinny, but it could be wishful thinking.

“So,” the stablehand, Dima, begins. “You met this boy and….”

“Yeah, yeah, so we uh…. We sneak out the back. And we run down to this little like…Spirally staircase.” He motions with his finger. “But-wait-no, before we get there he grabs a bottle from a trolley. Like a really full one.” Gold glimmers at the end of the courtyard. Through the darkness he can just about see Jesper’s wide eyes. And the reins in his hands.

This is it. The moment before the curtain rises and he plays, the moment before the door closes and his father asks him to read. No margin for error. 

“And then we sneak out to the uh…. The stables. The-the big ones, the big fancy ones. Think I saw my father’s horses there actually.” He trails off. The three people before him are captivated. The tension is so thick it’s almost suffocating. 

“And-and then?” a serving boy asks. His voice trembles like a leaf. 

Wylan gives a long, slow grin. At the back of the courtyard, Jesper starts to carefully move, tugging tentatively on the horse’s reins.

“Then we went to town.”

All three boys groan. Dima looks positively ill. One boy sinks to his knees, face covered. The other looks as if his soul left his body. 

Jesper shuffles along the back of the yard, picking up speed. This time a horse does whinny, but Wylan doubts the boys can even hear it, especially when the boy on the ground lets out the biggest sigh Wylan has ever seen.

“Oh… oh,” he whispers. “Who the hell would have done this?”

“My money would be on Kieran,” his friend mutters. “Where was he posted tonight?”

“In the kitchens, I think.” The boy scrubs his eyes. Wylan dares a glance to the end of the yard. Jesper is still there, coaxing the horses to the gate. The serving boy looks over at Wylan, a slight redness in his eyes. 

Wylan wishes he could apologise.

“This guy you hooked up with,” he begins. “What exactly did he look like.”

“Ummmmmm.” He leans back a bit, taps his toes on the ground. “Br-brown hair? Blondeish. No brown. Definitely brown.” He leans forward, scrunches his face in faux-concentration. Jesper is just about reaching the gate. “Green-ish, hazel, eyes? I think. I don’t know. I think green.”

“Okay,” Dima breathes. He takes off his hat and runs a hand through his hair. Jesper has disappeared behind the gate, leaving just the horses. They’re not moving, Wylan realises with a sharp breath. 

It’s okay. Just keep going. He remembers when his father shoved him in front of a piano at a gala with no sheet music and told him to play. Impovise.

“To be honest, I don’t think it was that much trouble,” Wylan slurs. “Like… this man saw us sneaking away and he didn’t even say anything.”

The boy to his right elicits a small squeak that makes him sound more like a mouse than a human. Wylan is torn between giggling and feeling so guilty he actually does vomit. 

The horses inch closer to the gate. They’re moving, but not quickly enough. 

That’s when it hits him. 

“Oh.” His eyes widen, his breathing slows, he places his shaking hands on his knees. He’s never considered himself an actor, but based on the reactions of the three boys perhaps he should give it a try. Especially since one of them looks like he’s about to pass out. “Could I…” He pauses, heaves. “Could I trouble you for some water?”

“Oh saints,” the boy gasps. He runs a hand through his hair, teeth gritted. The horses inch through the door, dragging their hooves. But, even through the haze of grey and black, Wylan watches their tails diasppear.

They did it, he thinks giddily. They actually did it.

He’s so busy being in awe of their plan that he doesn’t realise the cup being pressed into his hand. He blinks at them then drinks for appearance’s sake. Then he takes a deep breath, straightens up, shakes his head.

“You know gents, I’m actually feeling much better now,” he says. The trio gasp as he rises, six hands shoot out to steady him. He makes sure he wobbles a bit, then runs his hand through his hair with an embarrassed chuckle. “I would appreciate it if this stayed between us. No need to embarrass anyone, is there?”

“I-no, but-” 

Before any of them can say anything, Wylan slips his hand into his jacket, pulls out his wallet and counts out a generous helping of notes. Dima’s eyes widen, and when another boy pipes up he digs him sharply in the ribs.

“Thank you again for your time,” he says. He hands Dima the money and then, just to be safe, a few more notes. “Share that out amongst yourselves.”

Then, cheeks flushed and head reeling, Wylan marches off towards the door, leaving the dumbfounded serving boys counting their notes. He doesn’t see Jesper at first, and there’s a single second where he thinks he’s left without him. But before any of that icy anxiety can settle in him, Jesper’s laugh erupts from behind a tree, followed by a flash of silver smile and Wylan has never felt so . He jogs towards the tree and finds Jesper, illuminated by the moonlight, standing with two horses and the biggest grin Wylan has ever seen. 

“That,” Jesper gasps. “Was brilliant.” His eyes are practically sparkling, twin stars against a sea of dark brown. “You are brilliant.”

Usually, Wylan would bat the compliment away, insist he isn’t or that it was pretty simple. But modesty isn’t here tonight. Instead he just ducks his head as the smile spreads across his face.

Jesper takes his hand again, his grip firm enough to keep Wylan from floating away.

“Let’s go,” he whispers, and Wylan follows him.

They end up at Jesper’s rendezvous point; a quiet and secluded part of the grounds nestled at the East wing. It’s still in the grounds, but it’s so far from the ballroom that they can barely hear it anymore. Out here, the only sound is the chirping crickets, as well as the quiet rushing of a nearby stream. It’s peaceful.

Perched on a stone plinth, Wylan tilts his face toward the sky. It’s lighter here, thanks to the lamposts dotted around the grounds, and as he breathes out, the adrenaline slowly begins to subside. He becomes keenly aware of everything, not just the stones digging into his legs or that he hasn’t eaten anything in a while. But the fact that the two horses beside them are technically stolen and that he might actually be running away. 

Jesper is standing beside him, half-swinging on the stone plinth. While the adrenaline is fading for Wylan, it only seems to build in Jesper. He hops, turns, paces, tosses his gloves in the air and catches them. Wylan wonders what would happen if he ever stayed still, what it would take to slow down the motor powering his long limbs.

Jesper looks up at him, questions of his own shining in his dark eyes. 

“So,” he begins. He twists his gloves around his hands, eyes trained on the floor. “Your father. Is…” He pressed his lips together, glances up at Wylan with expectant eyes. 

“An ass?” he offers, and Jesper bursts out laughing. Wylan laughs too, even if something in him wants to cry. He has thought it about his father a million times, but it’s always been followed by excuses. A bad day at the office, too much to drink. Wylan just being… not enough. There was always an excuse, a reason behind his father’s actions. They were never just bad.  

Saying it out loud with nothing to follow feels strange, like playing without sheet music. 

“I was going to say,” Jesper adds. “Your father is Jan Van Eck.”

“You’re from Ketterdam,” Wylan realises. Jesper shrugs, tosses the gloves in the air and catches them.

“I live in Ketterdam,” is his reply. “And I’ve heard of your father. I knew he had a kid, I just never realised that it was you.”

Wylan nods. He traces the gold pin on his lapel, the Van Eck laurel. As far as he can remember, his last name has stuck to him like an unwelcome pest, leaning over his shoulder each time he stepped outside his house, each time the words twisted on the page. When his father wasn’t present, his name meant that Wylan was never truly free. 

“Would it have changed anything if you knew?” It’s an uncomfortable question, but keeping it inside feels worse. Jesper didn’t meet Wylan Van Eck in the stables; he met Wylan Nobody. How quickly would he have left if he knew who he really was?

Gently, and almost hesitantly, Jesper’s fingers brush against his. Wylan looks up, his breath catching at the look on Jesper’s face. Between the moonlight and the sweat, he’s almost shining, and his eyes are open and wide and Wylan could look in them forever not get lost. Jesper’s fingers slide between Wylan’s knuckles. He can’t remember feeling so safe.

“No,” he says. “No, it wouldn’t have changed anything.”

Wylan lets out a breath, tears stinging at the back of his eyes. Jesper’s face creases, his free hand comes up around Wylan’s shoulder to steady him. Of course Jesper doesn’t know why he’s crying, he doesn’t really know either. He just knows that if he doesn’t kiss Jesper now, he might explode.

When he goes in though, Jesper swerves. Panic grips Wylan tight, even when Jesper wraps his arm around his shoulders. Wylan’s slightly-trembling hand is pressed against Jesper’s chest and when Jesper takes it, Wylan finds him shaking as well. Given gleeful disbelief on his face, Wylan assumes it’s for a different reason. 

“Look!” Jesper whispers. 

Out from the shadows, a girl emerges, clad in a wool cardigan and roughspun trousers. Wylan recognises the way she moves; quickly and timidly, a girl on the run. Hair is loose, and in such garb Wylan almost doesn’t recognise her. But then she turns and the lanterns catch her face, and Wylan’s mouth falls open.

It’s Alina Starkhov. The girl he traveled all this way to see only to flee the ballroom before he could. Jesper tracks her with his eyes, lips moving wordlessly. For the first time since he met him, Jesper is perfectly, perfectly still.

Alina approaches the carriage. She takes another glance over her shoulder, fear written all over her features. Wylan is shocked; do Saints even feel fear?

With the coast clear, Alina opens the trunk of the carriage and, with far less grace he’d expect from a Saint, she climbs inside and shuts the lid.

All is quiet at first. Even the birdsong fades away, leaving them in total silence.

Then Jesper laughs. It’s small at first, more of a gasp, but then he laughs again, and again, and he’s wheezing and his shoulders are shaking. For the first time since meeting him, Wylan actually wants to put distance between them. He searches for the safety he felt moments before and finds it slipping through his fingers like sand. 

“Jesper.” He tugs his sleeve, trying to keep his breaths normal. “Jesper what is going on-”

Then footsteps move behind them, and Jesper stops. With Wylan still holding Jesper’s jacket, the two of them turn to find two Palace guards coming straight towards them. Wylan tenses, but when the light catches them, he finds he recognises one. The Suli girl from the fete, the one who interrupted him and Jesper the first time. Inej, Jesper had called her. Before, she had been stern, slightly aloof. Now her cheeks are flushed and she appears slightly dazed. The boy beside her has a face like thunder, and it grows even more dire when he sees Wylan.

“Who the hell is that?” he asks.

“Oh,” Jesper says. “This is Wylan.” Jesper beams at the two faces before them, Wylan hanging like a fish on a line between them.

“He is not the target,” the boy says. The word target sends a shudder through him. Jesper told him he isn’t a footmanfor the ambassador. It never occured to Wylan to check out what he actually is. “We are not carrying around extra weight on this job.”

“Kaz,” Jesper says. He huffs a short breath. “He doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“Doesn’t he?” The boy-Kaz-looks Wylan over with eyes of steel. “He’s a merchant’s kid.” His eyes narrow, and Wylan feels like he’s being dissected. All at once, Kaz’s eyes light up then turn darker. “Van Eck, to be exact.”

Wylan doesn’t need to ask how he knows. He twists his lapel to hide the pin, but it makes no difference. Kaz’s eyes are cutting right through him. Perhaps that’s what he’d like to do to Wylan.

Jesper doesn’t answer. Instead, his gaze moves to Inej.

“You okay?” he asks.

“She’s real, Jesper,” is all Inej says. Wylan doesn’t need to guess. Inej is practically glowing. “She made the light sing.”

Kaz glowers.

“We lost her.” 

It clicks. The word ‘target’ comes back, hitting Wylan like a bullet. Alina Starkhov is the target. Jesper is laughing and teasing Kaz, Kaz is stomping after him as Jesper leads him to the carriage, and Wylan can’t quite hear anything over the roaring in his ears. As the two play this strange Cat-and-Mouse game, Inej shuffles beside him. For someone who looked so formidable, she barely comes up to his shoulder. She doesn’t smile at him, not quite, but the reluctance in her expression is strangely comforting. 

“I know,” she says. She looks over at the carriage. “I don’t like it either.”

“This is kidnapping,” he says. His father would roll his eyes, scold him for stating the obvious. But it’s all Wylan can think of. There is a person in that carriage.

Inej nods slowly, solemnly. Wylan watches her chest rise slowly, the smoke form in front of her as she exhales. Despite her hesitancy, she heads to the carriage, and Wylan finds himself following her.

“Do we have eyes on the target?” Kaz asks as Inej climbs up behind them. Jesper grins, shakes his head. He looks almost triumphant, like he’s just picked a winning hand of cards or had a deal pay off better than he could have imagined. Only when he looks at Wylan, still standing beside the carriage, does his smile waver.

“Wylan?” he asks. “You’re coming?”

Wylan swallows. He thought he knew what he was doing; finally leaving his father, running away with Jesper and starting fresh somewhere else. The newfound boldness, the elation when their scheme in the stables paid off, he thought they were signs of him shedding his old skin, finally stepping into something new. Now he’s here, paralysed by indecision, helping a criminal kidnap a saint all because he liked his smile. Was his father right about him?

“We don’t have forever,” Kaz snaps. Jesper squirms beside him.

“You’re coming right?” he asks. His voice trembles. 

Wylan looks over his shoulder, just as he’d seen Alina do. Whatever Jesper and his band of friends are, it doesn’t change that there is nothing left for him here. He’s too far in to go back. He can only hope he can keep his morals going forward.

Without a word, Wylan climbs up beside Inej. Jesper lets out a relieved breath and smiles at him. Wylan wishes he could smile back, but his muscles won’t move. He just looks back at him, slack and deflated, until Jesper’s smile falls and he sets the carriage running. As they jostle across the uneven cobblestones, Wylan is hyper-aware of Alina inside the trunk, being shoved around just as much as they are but completely ignorant to her fate.

Wylan is also aware that this is the farthest he has ever been from his father. If they weren’t in the same room, they were at least in the same building, constantly linked by walls and doors. His father has gone from tracking his every move to having no idea where Wylan even is. He could be out of the country in a few hours and his father would be none the wiser.

Something cold lodges in his gut. In the span of a few hours, this whole trip has been turned upside down, then torn up and shot to pieces. He started as Wylan Van Eck, the boy who shakes hands and charms diplomats and evades his father’s wrath. Now he’s heading off with a group of people he barely knows and may well be part of a kidnapping. The words “common criminal” come to mind and he doesn’t know if it’s his father’s voice or his.

Worst of all, he might have almost fallen in love with someone, only to realise he doesn’t know him at all. 

How much of himself did Wylan leave in those stables?

[desultory-novice]

Welcome back!! Also, I’d LOVE to hear that pitch idea 👀

To get this out of the way first, when it comes to hypoethetical Kirby movie ideas, I often hear things like "Return to Dream Land would be the best game to adapt to a movie!"

I...disagree.

It's a really nice story, with an intriguing beginning, middle, and an infamous last act twist. But you actually need to understand what kind of character Kirby et al are, their world, and Kirby's themes before you can really understand what makes RtDL's (and Magolor's) story effective. Because of that, it's not a good introduction.

So, which game would I adapt?

Ah, see, here's the thing. I think the best way to handle it would be to combine several plots together! For this, I'm loosely adapting Kirby's Dream Land 2/3, Kirby Super Star, AND Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. That's right! All of 'em!

Let's dive in!

--

We open on a colorful storybook-esque backdrop, with a young girl narrating to us about the peaceful Planet Pop Star and the story of "Kirby of the Stars", a mysterious traveler from afar with even more mysterious abilities!

...The camera pans back to show us an excited Adeleine showing off her notebook full of idea sketches to curious Kirby, who speaks (yes, speaks - all throughout the movie, in fact) that they're not certain why, exactly, they're being made out to be the hero of this story Adeleine is conceptualizing in the first place. Adeline points out that Kirby is fascinating and exciting (and lovable! :cheek squish:) and that more people should know about them!

Kirby replies that they're happy with the life they have right now, panning out to show Kirby's house in Whispy Wood’s forest, as well as the rest of the animal friends. Also, "...isn't it lunch time?"

But lunch is put on hold as Coo points out some suspicious activity in the sky. We switch POVs to Ribbon, frantically clutching her crystal while being chased by vague shadow resembling Dark Matter Swordsman and a handful of Dark Matters in tow. In desperation she attempts to activate the crystal as they near in, causing a sonic boom type effect that rocks the land below, sending bits of light and dark debris everywhere. Ribbon goes flying too.

Kirby and the gang find her, where she wakes up to explain to them all in a panic that "...Zero is coming!" and their whole planet is in grave danger. She answers only few brief questions about where she came from and who Zero is before demanding directions to the ruler of their kingdom. She can't waste time here. She needs a hero!

They (some of them swallowing their doubts) point her in the direction of Castle Dedede and she flies off before they can even ask if she wants anyone to "...accompany her?" (Kirby offers to go after her anyway, but everyone kind of groans at the idea of actually, you know, TALKING to Dedede and puts forward they idea they should get back to lunch, something that immediately wins Kirby over.)

A bat-like shadow flies out from the trees just as something gooey that had fallen from the sky in that explosion begins to rattle from the inside of one of Adeleine's paint buckets.

We follow the shadow of the bat-like creature across the landscape of Dream Land till he swoops in for a landing in front of Castle Dedede... revealing himself as Meta Knight.

He's given a friendly but harried greeting by a certain Waddle Dee. Meta Knight is interrupted from asking about the current status of things in the castle by the appearance of Marx, the king's jester, who cracks a few jokes at Meta's expense. Meta shows some anger at Marx who plays at being threatened right as King Dedede arrives on scene. Dedede looks for all intents to be the villainous foil, self-absorbed, egotistical (easily manipulated) and agreeing without thinking too hard about it to everything Marx says. (Even when that thing is mocking himself.) Meta interrupts to remind them all that there are more important matters at hand. That's when either Ribbon arrives at the castle or - we hear that she's already arrived.

Back in the forest, lunch turns into comical hijinks as the group discovers the weird life-form in Adeleine's paints. It hops out, spooks everyone badly, including itself, until Kirby tries inhaling it to stop it from running - only to immediately spit it out. "It tastes...Gooey." (Gooey repeats the word, finding in it a descriptor...and, a name?)

The gang wonder if this weird creature could be the Dark Matter Ribbon spoke of, or even Zero itself! Gooey can't provide any answers about who or what they are (and is still learning the concept of speech) but the forest denizens are able to put off their suspicions thanks to their positive experiences with Kirby, who was also an outsider once. Kirby and Gooey bond quickly over that, with Kirby showing Gooey that just because they don't know what they are, that doesn't make them so strange. Kirby has strange abilities too - showing off a few Copy Abilities too, like using Fire to cook up some baked yams for everyone.

This happy meet-and-greet is interspersed with scenes of Ribbon now catching the Castle Gang up on her story. That "Zero" is a force of pure negativity that has threatened countless planets, most recently consuming her home of Ripple Star, its queen, and all of her friends. She alone escaped with Ripple Star's treasure, the Crystal of the Ancients. The Queen told her to seek out heroes who could unlock its power and stop Zero but... King Dedede stops her there. She was right in coming to see him. The greatest, toughest, bravest "hero" in all of Pop Star. (Dee, Marx, and even Meta Knight all share an eye roll at this declaration.) Let Zero come! The Great King Dedede will stop them in their tracks! (...And get all the fame!)

...Ahem, to start summarize things a little faster (so that this doesn't turn into an hour and a half long read) Ribbon very quickly starts to have her doubts about King Dedede's fitness as a hero (and her choice to come to him for help) as he blatantly ignores her actual warnings to focus on the celebration when he finishes saving the day. The rest of the Castle gang sympathize with her doubts and all agree that this is pretty classic Dedede. Marx and Waddle Dee especially have their gripes with the King's rule, except that we begin to see more and more that Marx, who plays the adorable, long-suffering jester of an idiotic, despotic king when anyone's eyes are on him, is snide to Waddle Dee in the shadows and has been manipulating Dedede into making himself even more of a big useless oaf that no one respects. (Not that Dedede is without flaws, Waddle Dee confesses, but he buys into Marx's false praise too much and doesn't realize he's become something of a laughing stock.)

Ribbon's mention that Zero's agents chased her here end up leading to Gooey being considered a dangerous target to be arrested on sight, just as Kirby and Adeleine take Gooey into town to show them around/teach them more about Dream Land/maybe stir some memories or just good experiences?

Meta Knight, who is sent on this task, catches them in town, despite Adeleine and Kirbys' attempts to disguise Gooey, and the Forest Group and the Castle Group end up clashing, as Dedede wants to splat "the evil Zero" with his hammer in front of everyone, but Kirby insists that Gooey isn't Zero, Gooey is a friend and wouldn't hurt anyone. The only way to solve this argument...?

...Set up a giant arena in front of Castle Dedede and challenge Kirby to a big public tournament for the right to keep Gooey! Poor unprepared Waddle Dee is sent in first, providing a few moments of future friendship bonding for the pair. Next is Meta Knight, who uses this mostly as an exercise to test finally Kirby in combat, giving him several grim warnings during the fight.

Despite Meta seemingly outmatching our puff in every way, Kirby surprises him, inhaling Meta's sword and landing a shocking blow that cracks his mask. Kirby is ever so briefly surprised to see that Meta Knight...looks just like they do. Meta quickly vanishes before a shocked audience can see. (Marx grins.) A stunned Dedede, who didn't expect Meta to lose, quickly recovers to face Kirby in the final round for possession of Gooey and the right to the title of Dream Land's hero.

Ribbon, who has been watching Kirby closely throughout the tournament, and remembering their offers of assistance from the very beginning, has realized they're the one who fits her ideals of a hero. (And the Crystal begins to glow...)

King Dedede, for all that he fails to impress as a king, is one heck of a fighter and proves a pretty even match for Kirby! Refusing to be outdone, he manages to use his build to his advantage to mimic Kirby's own unique abilities. (This is partly because he's giving it his all, unlike Meta Knight, who was holding back.) But a shriek mid-way through the fight alerts both combatants to trouble and brings the duel to a sudden close.

You guessed it! Marx has turned on everyone. With Meta Knight out of the picture temporarily, he's caged Ribbon and snagged the crystal for himself. He gives a stunned Dedede a verbal kick in the ego, pointing out every one of his flaws that everyone was too dull to call him out on till he showed up and says Zero can have this planet. 

"...For now!"

Its time for the gang to regroup to chase after Marx and get Ribbon back! Alas, King Dedede is feeling defeated after that verbal smackdown until Waddle Dee steps up to give him a much needed reality check / pep talk. Its true, King Dedede wasn't the best king till now. Marx was kind of right about that - if unnecessarily mean about it. But he's still THEIR king. And if he tries, Dedede can still be a "Great" King! Kirby chimes in too. They had a really good time with that fight, if only they weren't fighting over possession of one of Kirby's friends...Okay, NOW Dedede's motivated and on board!

...Which is good because an army of Dark Matter has begun to flood the skies above! There's no time left! Zero approaches! A freshly-masked Meta Knight returns to unite the frightened, under-trained Dees in the defense of Dream Land against the Dark Matter forces - something our main Dee helps rally them for - while Kirby and the others go to rescue Ribbon!

(At a certain point in the battle with the Dark Matter, our main Waddle Dee takes an injury protecting another Dee. Meta Knight compliments the Dee's bravery and maybe giving him some combat pointers, all while bandaging him up with a scrap of blue cloth.)

The rest of the group catches up to Marx as he's in the middle of trying to use the crystal for...something mysterious. There's some sequel tease dialogue there that Marx refuses to elaborate on to "...a couple of idiots." Kirby and Dedede team up to fight him as Adeleine and Gooey work to rescue Ribbon in the background, away from Marx's attention. Kirby and Marx have a mid-battle chat, Marx chiding Kirby's naive ideals after Kirby affirms that there's nothing weird about befriending Dark Matter and that they'd even be friends with someone like Marx. Marx reacts with disgust at this. At Ribbon's suggestion, Kirby copies Mirror from a broken bit of Marx's wings Dedede cracked earlier and tricks the trickster, allowing Dedede to smack him so hard, he sends him flying off into the stars.

That's all done with but they still have Zero to contend with. Dedede announces he has to return to the front to help Meta Knight and the Dees as "...That's what a true king ought to do. Right?" Adeleine goes with him to help with the evacuation. Leaving Kirby and Ribbon (and Gooey too, who, after hearing Kirby's speech about friendship to Marx, is able to reveal their mock matter form before Ribbon) to face Zero with the  reawakened and fully charged (Huh. Did Marx prove...useful?) Ancient Crystal.

Zero (with traits of both Zero Two and some oblique references to Void) is unlike anyone Kirby and co has ever faced. They do not talk, for one thing, leaving Kirby's greatest strength, their empathy and willingness to reach a hand out to anyone, all seem meaningless in the face of pure negative emotion.

Plus, fighting them brings both Kirby and Gooey face to face with their fears (or un-asked questions, till now) as to just what they are. But a pep talk from Ribbon ("I KNOW what you are! I've seen you help everyone you come across. No matter whether they've done anything to earn it or not!") and Meta Knight's wise words the tournament comes back to Kirby at a key point in the fight.

In the end, the battle of "where you come from" vs "what your actions say about you" ends in a victory for our heroes. Zero is defeated, the day is saved, Gooey is considered a welcome resident of Dream Land by all, Kirby has some new friends, Dedede is taking steps down the road to real leadership (and won't stop hounding Kirby to a rematch to find out who really is the strongest) and Ripple Star and the fairies are freed from the darkness!

There are questions, of course. Still mysteries to be had. But food, friendship, and nap time are most important, for right now.

The post-credits stinger? ...Marx's unconscious body floating through space. Up until he bumps up against the hull of a very familiar looking ship that is. (1)

---

Anyway, that's basically the idea!

My goal was to try and introduce as many familiar Kirby characters and conflicts as possible, even if that meant reworking the context they originally appeared in, while also trying hard to avoid an overdone "origin story" movie feel.

King Dedede doesn't steal all the food (although there could be a line about him doing that) but we see that he is too self-obsessed to be a good king atm. Except that he has a heroic enough streak deep down that he DOES know the difference between right and wrong.

Marx is still a tricky traitor who knows more than he lets on but is more concerned about selfishly getting his way than the damage to others his ambitions could cause. Zero is still a frightening, unfathomable, otherworldly evil with vague connections to Kirby. 

Adeleine and the animal friends play the role of Kirby's supportive family and represent everything that's good and comfy about Planet Pop Star. Ribbon is an at-times heroine-in-distress who still knows what she needs and can also hold her own when the chips are down. 

Gooey is the cute, wanna-protect-them fish-out-of-water character for us to examine/learn about both Kirby and Pop Star with. (Bandanna) Waddle Dee still has their sassy attitude while beginning an arc that would grow with each successive appearance. Meta Knight is cool, intelligent, tactical, but always mysterious.

Now...

I know that not a lot happens TO Kirby directly in this pitch but...Kirby is a character who stays pretty consistent throughout the series. We don't really have a strong ground for saying "In the early days, Kirby was more like this..." (outside of things like their rash decision to blame Dedede in Adventure and Squeak Squad) so I freely admit... Kirby does not have a character arc here. Which could be considered a major flaw, where this to be a real film. Kirby could be considered a "boring, infallible hero." And I don't really have a rebuttal for that except that I personally wasn't that interested in using this experiment to deeply examine Kirby's flaws via the template journey ten thousand movie heroes have gone through (and Kirby has so few flaws anyway) as much as I was interested in exploring how Kirby's steadfastness manages to (positively) affect the those they meet and the world around them.

The other thing of course is that it’s not a very lore heavy treatment. Plenty of classic, even iconic stuff gets left out. Outside of the food-stealing thing, Dedede never gets possessed. They never go off planet. There’s no Galactic Nova outside a few easter eggs in the fight with Marx. No Star Rod or Fountain of Dreams. No Kracko, Kabula, or other bosses and enemies as anything more than background cameos. I mention adapting Super Star, but Dyna Blade and Wham Bam don't really play a part, so it's really just Milky Way Wishes. A movie with less ground to cover would have plenty of room for these individual elements to breathe, but when I first started thinking of this, I set myself a personal goal of seeing covering as much "Kirby" as I could in just three movies.

Other thoughts of mine...

I only hinted at Dark Matter Blade's appearance in the beginning summary without having a full role for them in the story. That's because... I couldn't decide. ^^; I did want to tie them to Gooey, but I also wanted Gooey there for the fight with Zero, when Dark Matter Blade would likely be leading the invasion of Pop Star. (And thus, probably have an awesome duel with Meta Knight??)

The whole thing is also a little jam-packed. But I honestly don't think these 3 (+) stories are as discordant as they might seem! Especially since putting them all together allows us to have a fuller cast with a nice spread of flaws, goals, skill sets, and attitudes. And yes, I ditch Adventure (even though I love Nightmare) but I think the stuff with the Fountain of Dreams could always be used as a flashback sequence in a sequel movie. Maybe to tie off the trilogy?

Anyway, for getting through all that, have a bonus sketch of what a potential movie poster might look like!

---

(1) Speaking of trilogies / as for the stinger...

Not to go too much into it here, but the general plan in this hypothetical would be to try and get as many mainline stories into three (?) movies as possible. While I haven't QUITE worked out how to mix Planet Robobot, Adventure, Star Allies, and Forgotten Land cohesively (the science vs magic aspect of having Haltmann and Hyness as dual villains was intriguing though, and its possible to twist the HWC stuff to fit with the Beast Pack's activities while making Eflilis into Hyness's desired form of revenge was a bit poetic) but I did figure out much of the structure of movie two, which combines Squeak Squad, Return to Dream Land, and Triple Deluxe. (With a sprinkling of Amazing Mirror and Canvas Curse.)

Here, the Lor Starcutter crashes on Pop Star as per usual, only Magolor AND Taranza emerge from it. Magolor is an antiques dealer now ("ANCIENT" artifacts especially) and he and his ship were hired by Taranza as transport on a very important delivery mission for the "glorious" Queen Sectonia when they were attacked by the inter-galactic band of thieves known as The Squeaks, who stole their extremely important cargo! They require Kirby and the gang's help to get the ship fixed and put everything in order.

It's treachery left and right though, as the stolen cargo WASN'T the Dimensional Mirror, like Taranza had been told by Sectonia. Furthermore, the framed Squeak's were originally hired BY the queen (through Magolor!!) to steal the real treasure, the Master Crown, so she could claim it to secure her rule. But, say it with me now, everyone then gets triple crossed by Magolor, who steals the stolen Master Crown for himself. Because of course he does.

(And by this point, we know enough about Kirby and their feelings on friendship and forgiveness to know that they would of course be willing to try and help save Magolor, even after being betrayed, when Magolor's plan goes all sorts of wrong. ...You also get some call backs as Magolor's frightening transformation into Dark Matter can pull on some trauma of Kirby's for not being able to reach out and communicate with Zero. There's actual stakes now as Kirby needs to save him before he, too, falls beyond his reach!)

[ectocs]

The Lumchagg

Feel like I'm cutting it a bit close this week :P

So. The lumchagg. It's a bird, it's purple, it likes aromatic herbs and it sets itself on fire to revive itself into a worm. Honestly this thing grew on me the more I worked on it.

Ideas behind this design below the cut ! Alongside some doodles, rambles, and concepts :)

It starts life as a "worm" -- a featherless, pink squirmy thing with nubs where its limbs will later grow in. The lengthy tail will later be absorbed to facilitate that.. like a lot of metamorphosing (is that the word?) creatures.

The idea at this point is pretty straightforward. Recently got to watch two robin nests grow, which was interesting, and young birds look really... fleshy. Wanted to give it coloring on its throat like the clitellum on a worm (aka the saddle) but I think it's just not distinctive enough. I gave it four eyes for more of a bug feel, though it's so minor I don't think it matters much in the end.

As it grows and gets feathers, the lumchagg's tail shortens -- the wings are the first limb to fully grow, giving it an amphithere-like appearance, though the legs soon follow within the same day the wings finish growth, making the change from worm to bird seem almost instant. All four eyes are open, though body coloration is not "mature."

Not much to say on this stage; it's a bird with fun antennae-like tufts on its head and a fun beak, a vaguely dinosaur feel, and coloration based sorta on a violet-backed starling. It has faint horns/ridges because ... um...... well to be honest I just decided to give it to the thing based on the dinosaur/dragon/etc vibes in the room.

In the adult stage, they will spend most of their long-lived lives as a darker, mostly-solid purple tone. This coloration lasts until the very end of their lives, at which point the lumchagg's wings become pale on the inside, allowing it to concentrate and direct the sun's rays onto flammable material. Through this method, the bird is able to burn and rebirth itself.

Drew the end-of-life stage here setting itself on fire. Don't ask how white/pale wings lets it burn stuff; it comes back to life, it gets privileges the average white goose doesn't get.

Here is a basic idea of the life cycle, hastily slapped together as a visual:

There was quite a bit of thinking to get to this point. Here is the last sketch page I did. Unlike the other doodles I never bothered coloring it in, as I decided to go with this look.

Note the "wyrm" title -- I initially wanted to do a more dragon-y take, with a final form maybe being an amphithere, but decided against it in the end and changed tracks when I couldn't get that to look right. Liked the idea though, so it gets to be a life stage that exists for 0.1 seconds. You can also see the adult pose change!

The butterfly note here comes from some images I was looking at with interesting wing shapes. Never quite got it how I wanted, pivoted to a purely pennant-winged nightjar kind of wing.

Now the thing I had done earlier was some bugs, which I liked, but ultimately just couldn't draw 'em. Bird can be a loose term, after all, and large black swallowtails flying by at fast speeds have had me thinking a small bird flew past me on multiple occasions.

Plus, well, lots of bugs have worm-children. There are literally just worms, of course. But butterflies, beetles, flies, sawflies... all winged (usually) with little squirmy babies.

And the first doodle page was, of course, birds. I must admit, this is my favorite just because I figured out how to draw birds only on this ONE sketch session. That heron is beautiful. But anyway -- I kinda merged ideas together in the end, giving it several traits from both doodled birds.

In my heart, after all these arts, a lumchagg is a kind of weird purple bird of any type lol. Even from the beginning, I wanted that kind of long feather just for looks. Please note the incorrect text describing what I call the "standard-winged purple swampjarhen." It's a hybrid of a grey-headed swamphen (aka a purple swamphen) and a pennant-winged nightjar. Oops! I was looking at them in a tab, I have no idea how I messed up my own damn text.

Here's a pennant next to a standard -- big difference in silly wing feathers!

[comfymoth]

as a senior also doing their thesis, i have to ask. did you plan yours out in advance? i’m sure it’s different with different majors, but it seems like a lot of your thesis is oc related and the mall guys only came into existence at the end of 2023, so im just sort of wondering if you would have done something with other ocs of these four never existed :0

oh sure! so the tl;dr is i didn’t really plan anything? my thesis just resulted from a lotta luck and last minute decisions, so things could’ve turned out totally different at multiple different points, but i’ll ramble a little more about the decision process under the cut :]

so at my specific school, we’re recommended to think pretty loosely about our thesis in advance— like, it’s neat if you have a vague idea of what you wanna do (ex: i wanna make a comic, or i wanna make a nature-themed project, etc.) but it’s also fine if you don’t, and they specifically discourage you from planning anything specific or setting your heart on one idea in advance.

they don’t want you to come up with anything specific until you’ve taken thesis bootcamp in the fall of your final year, where towards the end they then make you come up with ten different pitches for your thesis, and your classmates vote on which one you should do! you don’t have to go with their vote if you really don’t want to, but, most people do. so that’s what i did!

the pitch i gave that won the vote was just, “making merchandise for a fictional band,” and it was an idea i’d sort of vaaaguely had in the back of my head for a few years, but i hadn’t come up with literally any details. deciding the band was gonna be an alternate version of the mall guys was a super last minute ‘wouldn’t it be funny’ idea after i snuck leon into one of my other projects in september. if the mall guys never existed, the band would have been different! (i actually had a big list of other fictional band ideas and names i was tossing around— and i did almost go with a different one called wolf trap virginia! like, i did sketches for them and everything, i got pretty far along!) And if my classmates didn’t vote on me doing band merch in the first place, the whole project would have been totally different :] i could’ve been doing a children’s book, or a theatre program. way different stuff.

[frystsnow]

what are you doing? “i’m finishing your birthday gift—obviously.” there’s almost no snarkiness in his response, for the chief-to-be was far too focused on a silvery piece in front of him. although his face and fingertips were blackened by ashes, a perfectly smooth metal shone in his hand, wavy details carved in symmetry. there were papers on his forge’s walls, dozens of blueprints carefully drawn and measured. for some reason, they were put right next to map locations. but it would only take a single glance to the side of his chair to see the scraps of other metals, from bronze to gold, to understand. hiccup had mined those materials himself, designed those ideas himself, and forged everything himself. even the most experienced jewelsmiths would’ve been jealous of his delicacy. he cleaned the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, finally turning his chair to his wintery companion. a bracelet twinkled like a diamond between his fingers. “c’mere.” and, just like it was a perfect fit, it slid between a pale wrist—not too tight, not too loose, not too heavy, not too light. he bobbed his head to the sides, “so what do you think? think it’s a good enough gift for your 18th birthday?”

ㅤa gasp escapes jack, breathy and flavored with an extra touch of melodrama.ㅤ“for me? why i would have never guessed! and i was here thinking it'd be toothless' lucky day. he'd look pretty good with a ring on his nail.”ㅤjack can't resist the urge to jest even if håkan is without his usual fire to exchange ripostes and retorts. when it's obvious that the fellow heir was set on his task to finish jack's gift (ㅤhis gift,ㅤjack lets the thought linger and fill him with warmth ), the prince shakes his head with a chuckle in resignation. with a quick brandish of twinetender, he hooks a nearby chair to settle beside håkan and watch his handiwork in dutiful silence.

ㅤsoot and ash were not the best choice of color accents to his royal blue and silver garments, but getting dirty has never stopped jack from embarking on his misadventures. a bit of clashing colors is the least of his worries; he can always recover from a disastrous fashion choice. he couldn't help but want a closer look at håkan's intricate craftsmanship. it is not the first time for jack to receive handmade jewelry from the heir of berk. he could fill a whole treasure box with the sheer amount of handcrafted gifts he's received from håkan alone over the years. a certain wooden star-snowflake still sits by jack's bedside back home, worn with the caresses of secret wishes whispered against the wood.

ㅤno, rather, his intrigue was instead focused on the careful attention and intricacies of håkan's fingers as he creates. visiting the forge to see håkan's various prototypes as a viking was one thing. but the delicate nature håkan dedicates himself to handmaking jewelry was another story entirely. steady hands / brows knit in concentration / scrutinizing eyes to ensure the quality and outcome of his creation. and that was before jack's gaze flitted over to the flotsam and jetsam of his workspace. maps with color-coded inks which jack vaguely recognized being some hotspots for moonsilver, different sketches of a bracelet that bore slightly different patterns until one in particular had been drawn in bolder and confident strokes, and of course, the various minerals and metals scattered across the desk.

ㅤa painstaking amount of thoughtfulness and time, all poured into jack's birthday gift.

ㅤjack knows he should hide away as heat rises to his face and ears, even with the obvious fixation håkan has now that he's adding final touches of the prince's soon-to-be bracelet. but there is no looking away from the sun once witnessed: captivatingly bright in the sky but unreachable past the heavens of no return. he sees the idle way hiccup's teeth gnaw on lower lip in quiet concentration, and jack is ( not for the first time ) urged with the thought to draw him close. confess a wish he has made since he first laid eyes on håkan. to kiss him until he's memorized the ridges of his lips. how long will he be able to love håkan in blaring silence, he wonders? sooner or later, jack's affections will be found and may very well mark the end of their longstanding friendship.

ㅤ‘c’mere.‘ㅤthe voice draws jack out of his stupor and sees the finished byproduct of håkan's meticulous work. a pitter-patter of his heart when he feels his breath stolen away. part of it attributed to the accessory the berkian was about to slip on jack's wrist. but the other—håkan, cast in the warm light of burning coals, handsome even through the soot and sweat on his countenance that jack could not find his usual remark to tease his messy features. whether håkan notices the stretched silence or not, jack's recovery is less than graceful when he clears his throat and obediently outstretches his hand.

ㅤthe bracelet slips through his hand with ease. a perfect fit to ensure it would stay on no matter what jack could be up to. blue eyes peek upon the self-satisfaction in viridescent gaze studying jack's gift.ㅤ‘so what do you think? think it’s a good enough gift for your 18th birthday?’ㅤand jack reaches for håkan's fingers before he can withdraw his touch completely. hands intertwine, thumb brushing atop hiccup's hand as silver glistens by the embers.ㅤ“ahh, well, it's pretty perfect, like everything else you've given me. still think toothless is gonna be pretty jealous of me though.”ㅤthat finally elicits a laugh out of håkan, echoing through the forge in all its jubilance. one day, jack hopes, håkan will realize the true gift he's always desired.

ㅤyou, always you.

[shalmonsgamedev]

New sketchpage~

Did a little generic card mockup on this one--I really don't consider myself a graphic designer, but it's still kinda fun & nostalgic to play around with.

I was actually giving the wizards "ranks" since before I decided to attempt a game with them.  They're probably going to be nonsense as far as the gameplay goes & are more for loose lore purposes.

I am definitely not going to be coming up with functional scripts for wizards, but I do enjoy the idea of them having unique symbols for their true name that are replaced with readable text once you've "recruited" them.  Will probably just do vaguely pictorial stuff, like the example of flamey shapes for a fiery wizard

The staff seemed like a helpful visual to have on the card since they're all going to have unique ones

The "Words of Wizdom" will just be goofy quotes from the wizard in question. Take wizdom with a grain of salt.

Def still figuring out the backside, but I want it to look like it's meant to be scanned

I would love to start mentally prepping for the demo, so the rest is for that!  The room sketch is as rough as can be lol.  Ideally I want things to look a little more…90's/chicken gimmicky?  So that'll be fun to figure out. 

I feel like I unconsciously included a computer before I remembered that it doesn't feel era-appropriate enough lol.  You didn't get your own computer in the 90's!  Idk maybe rich kids?

But yea I want the demo to be a small thing that just takes place in a kid's room, plus small game-within-game area.  Demo kid wants to convince their friend that Geney Wizards is cool.