#i love when official art is used in fanart

[pastorfutureletthembe]

Just noticed something cool.

This is yuyu's account, and she was in charge of the storyboard for Y6.

And those:

Are Yuki Nakazawa's fanarts. It's fanwork. But she worked on the official content.

The last one makes the set not so innocent. Why? It was published before Y6. So it's not exactly a spoiler but we have some people with media literacy in the link click fandom. This? Not rocket science. As flashy as the dead wife trope, if you ask me.

We'll talk about the set as a whole.

Before I get into it, Yuki Nakazawa also published another fanart which, in retrospect, was an actual easter egg: "And Then There Were None"

This being established, we can assume there is something hidden there. Still, keep in mind that those are, once again, fanarts. It isn't going to stop me from noticing things. I recommend you look at each picture closely before you read any further.

First clue, which is solved: Vein is dead. Or pretending to be, probably. There are clear allusions of him leaving.

A word stands out: CAMFLAGUE. Twice actually: once on the poster and a second time on the magazine cover, concealed by Xia Fei's silhouette. This word? Not a word? it sounds a lot like CAMOUFLAGE though. Or so google keeps correcting me lmao.

which is an interesting word to hide in plain sight when you notice there are also two attempts at disguising Xia Fei as Vein: the coat and the glasses.

CAMFLAGUE is a made up 9 letters word. The Chinese tended to view life diametrically. So when a change occurred in one aspect of life, that change was a result of a change in its opposite. Therefore, as a symbol of extremity, "9" in Chinese Culture is also a warning, a turning point. In ancient Chinese Classic Yijing, or the "Book of Changes", wherever number "9" appears, it is a crucial point of change and transformation. FELIX also contains the number IX.

There is a glint to Xia Fei's left earring, a ring, and to Vein's necklace, a moon. First, earrings symbolize beauty and strength in Vaishnavism while in Hinduism, earrings symbolize elegance, strength, and identity, serving as integral ceremonial adornments, embodying transformation and the sacred nature of beauty in various narratives. Second, in tarot reading, The Moon is a card of illusion and deception, and therefore often suggests a time when something is not as it appears to be. Much to think about.

One object stands out in the bloody artwork of Vein: the blue and white Vase. Qinghua is traditional Chinese porcelain, painted in cobalt blue glaze on white porcelain. It's an art working on negative spaces. There are different patterns used for this technique, and lotus is one of them. I'm no expert in pottery, though there is obvious meaning lost in translation, as I love to tag it. However, the lotus is important motif, I can tell you that much. Mostly because of its relationship to Buddhism. Buddhism symbolism in Link Click is highly related to Vein's character (I made a long ass meta about this, go check it out if you have time to waste), specifically in term of "luck" and "enlightment".

Lastly, the artwork with Vein and the vase also show figurines of the characters in YINGDU. While a mini Lu Guang seems to be crying over a fallen Cheng Xiaoshi, Liu Xiao is looking right at Vein who is pointing at Xia Fei. It could mean many things so I won't expand on this gesture for now but it's worth mentioning.

In conclusion, I'd say there is a strong possiblity that Xia Fei might take Vein's place as Cheng Xiaoshi's killer, for revenge. He is looking for the truth and when he's going to find out who killed Vein, or who orchestrated his demise, he's going to go after them. He seems to have a good lead on people with powers too. And since he's studying applied physics, he might look for ways to give himself powers, artificially.

Of course, the presence of Liu Xiao in the fanarts and in Xia Fei's life is important but, as always, the mystery around his character makes any theory kind of pointless?

Don't worry, I still have ideas!

His relationship with Xia Fei is important to what is to come in Link Click season 3, that much is obvious.

The PV shows Liu Xiao as Xia Fei's agent or something, while Vein is watching over him from a distance, through screens. We know there is some kind of partnership between them even before that, despite the canon fact Xia Fei strongly dislikes Liu Xiao for some reasons. I think Liu Xiao is taking care of him for his own interests, though.

In Buddhism, whispering in the ear symbolizes a confidential communication method, reflecting the importance of privacy and personal expression in decision-making processes. Of course, in the context of YINGDU, we know it means Xia Fei is giving information on Cheng XIaoshi and Lu Guang to Liu Xiao, but we still don't know to what end.

Additionally, I'm working on a meta about what could be Vein, Liu Xiao and Xia Fei's powers. Basically, it's related to the fourth wall and how Link Click is starting to break it more and more in merch and other media. This meta made me think of it and I can't wait to share the concept with you all. It's based on the three wise monkeys that embody the proverbial principle "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". Coincidentally, I do think Xia Fei is the one who speaks no evil and Liu Xiao is the one who hears no evil.

I think Xia Fei is just like Cheng Xiaoshi, emotion driven, but he's also very intelligent and surprisingly perceptive: he doesn't like Liu Xiao, he doesn't like working with/for him, he doesn't buy his friendly act. However, I don't see any future when he doesn't get used by Liu Xiao in his evil plans. With Vein out of the picture and Xia Fei's new motivation, it might not be easy to see through manipulations.

Wait and see!

Okay, that's all for today!

[sinnabum45]

Maya's contagious excitement ✨

Link to help Palestine and other resources! 🇵🇸

[Plain text: Links to help Palestine and other resources! (palestine flag). End plain text.]

[Image description: Digital sketched colored comic of Ace Attorney characters Maya Fey, Miles Edgeworth, and Phoenix Wright. There is no text, their talk is implied with speech bubbles. Maya is excitedly talking to Miles and she is waving her arms. She gets more excited and starts jumping. Miles starts getting giddy and slightly moving his arms because of Maya’s excitement. Miles starts to join in on the topic. He is moving his right arm, body, and pointing his left pointing finger up. Maya is happy with Miles talking with her and jumping while clapping her hands. Phoenix walks in and Maya turns towards him. She excitedly says, “Nick!! We were having so much fun talking about the new Steel Samurai movie!!” Miles is glaring at Phoenix with a dark aura behind him. Phoenix notices Miles, gets shocked, and is intimidated. Phoenix: “I-Is that so?” End description.]

Maya is so excited and energetic that it’s rubbing off on Miles 🥹 How can he not join in on infodumping about Steel Samurai when Maya’s so into it?

HC: I like to think that Miles finds it easy to open up more with Maya than anyone else at first. She seems to be on his soft side in the canon- some examples is when she tells him what to do and he does it without questioning it, Miles almost cries when Maya helps him out during DL6, and he immediately was worried when he found out she got kidnapped. Even in the non-canon unofficial manga, he just takes a pic with her cuz she asked 😭 I love their friendship so much- Maya and Miles are besties 🙂‍↕️ I also HC that Miles doesn’t feel safe enough around Phoenix yet, so he tenses up and looks intimidating. He’s just embarrassed that you caught him being excited about Steel Samurai, Phoenix, don’t worry! LOL

[irisevanz]

I heard you guys wanted some more of my silly lil motorcycle drivin’ modern Hualian AU idea so… made something a little more polished… I hope you all enjoy! Maybe I’ll do some more if people want it!

Y’all just KNOW E-ming would be the best motorcycle ever… they’d be so careful, especially when Xie Lian is a passenger.

[critterishere]

Ok I really gotta stop drawing this guy’s skinsona😭😭.. (ignore the bird.. pretend she isn’t there)

why do you have a gingersona as well?? 😭

[catocappuccino]

1-BOO altered my brain

[temporary-tats]

Yang Xiao Long as seen in my Band AU, When the Stars Sing for Us!

Read Stars now on AO3 ✨🖤💛

I plan on doing a series of these with each of the main characters from Stars, with Blake coming up next, so keep an eye out!

(My ko-fi and links, should you wish!)

[rintoki]

guys i think sufficient time has passed and i can make another kaveh loving post

[arkaylarts]

He's so pretty 😍

[jonnywaistcoat]

Hi Jonny, if you don't mind I have a question about the TMA TTRPG! So I noticed that on the player's guide there's this guy, who my friends and I assumed is probably Jon. If it is him, is this a canon design, or more like some of the non-canon stuff that's in the merch?

So, I hope you don't mind if i use this ask to go a bit off on one. I'm not specifically dragging you (I'm actualy glad you asked, as I've thinking about posting on the topic), but all the discussion around the RPG art and how "official" or "canon" it might be is, to my mind, slightly silly.

First up, is it "official" art? I mean, yeah, its art for the officially licenced Magnus Archives RPG. This means Monte Cook Games have commissioned someone to do a beatiful illustration broadly based on some aspect, episode or character from the podcast and it goes in the book. But that's kinda all it means. "Official" is a legal distinction, not an artistic one. The fact that it's in an official product doesn't make it any less one artist's cool interpretation of a character that has only been vaguely described in audio.

Second, is it Jonathan Sims the Archivist? I mean, it's probably based on the idea of him, but it's certainly not set in stone. When we were first discussing art with MCG, we advised that character pictures be more vibes-based and not explicitly tied to specific people (ie. a portrait inspired by Tim wouldn't be captioned "This is Tim" and wouldn't be placed opposite a profile for Tim Stoker, archival assistant.) This was mainly because we wanted the artists to have plenty of freedom to interpret and not feel too tied down by the need to know everything about the podcast. But, to be frank, it was also because we know that there are a few fans out there that are kinda Not Chill about what they've personally decided these characters look like and can get a bit defensive over depictions that differ.

It strikes me as particularly strange to be having this discussion about art that's for a roleplying game book. Something that's explicitly and solely designed to give you the ability to play in your version of the Magnus universe. The idea that this is the thing where we'd for some reason try to immutably establish unchangable appearances for these characters would be pretty funny if some folks weren't taking it so seriously. Similarly ridiculous is the idea we could reasonably have said to MCG "We'd love for you to make a huge beautiful RPG book of our setting... Just make sure you don't depict any of the iconic characters or events from it!"

But... is it "canon"? Now, to my mind, this highlights a real weakness in a lot of fandom thinking around "canon", which is that it generally has no idea what to do with adaptations. All adaptation is interpretation, and relies on taking a work and letting new creatives (and sometimes the same ones) have a different take on it. Are the appearances of the Fellowship of the Ring in the LOTR movies "canon"? How much, if at all, does that matter? Neil Gaiman's book Neverwhere was originaly a 90s BBC series made with a budget of 50 pence; is anyone who makes fanart of Mr Croup that doesn't look like the actor Hywel Bennet breaking canon? What about the novel that describes the character differently? Or the officially licenced Neverwhere comic where he looks like neither of them? Which is his "canon appearance"?

Canon is an inherently messy concept, and while it is useful for a creative team trying to keep continuity and consistency within a creative work, for thinking about anything beyond that it tends to be more hinderance than help.

Anyway, all this is to say that the above picture and all the others in the RPG are exactly as canon as every other picture you've ever seen of the Archivist.

[reno11037]

In honor of Chapter 1 coming out for Project:Eden’s Garden I drew my fav boy Damon as well as share my theory (or my hypothesis/idea cause I’m not really basing this on a lot) on why I think Kai is going to die (not in chapter 1, probs dying as chapter 4 or 5 victim)

(Also if you couldn’t tell, the fanart is inspired by my idea about Kai’s death lol)

First the fanart, I’m very proud of how this came out (let’s see how long that lasts lmao), took awhile to get the effect on the butterflies right

And now on why I think Kai is going to die

All the characters are associated with an animal, Damon a snake, Eva a crow, Wolfgang a sheep, etc, and Kai is a butterfly.

Butterflies often represent life, death and resurrection in Christian iconography, also being a symbol of hope and endurance but more often they represent rebirth, transformation and change. In official art we see Damon and Kai together a lot

Examples (sources are official Eden’s Garden Discord and Twitter):

And what is Kai’s talent again, the ultimate influencer. My belief is that during the game Kai is going to influence Damon and is going to be a big part in his character growth, especially when he dies, Damon at first will be like “that’s sad but I don’t care” to “wait no I actually care a lot” really quickly, he’ll have to come to terms with he’s feelings towards Kai (wether that be romantic or platonic, my moneys on romantic cause in the valentines pic it says Damon got something from a secret admirer and there are butterflies around him, Kai’s signature animal)

I imagine Damon will be faced with a lot of grief and regret of how mean he was to Kai when he was alive (similar to Himiko and Tenko from DRV3) we’ll see Damon be at his lowest and potentially at his most vulnerable and just not understand why until either he or one of the other characters (probs Wolfgang) helps him realize his feelings, I Imagine some tears would be shed from Damon

TLDR: I think Kai and his death are basically gonna be used for Damon’s character development lol

But that’s just my thoughts, if anyone has anything they’d like to add to this I’d love to see it

[scrunklyraven]

DIGITAL PAWS AU

MASTERPOST

The Dark Forest is a truly terrifying place, infamous among cats everywhere.

Bughop, once a loyal and courageous warrior, finds herself ensnared in this nightmarish place, with no hope of escape. Plagued by memories of her past, she struggles to endure the torment.

As Bughop navigates this wretched place, she discovers that not all cats can withstand the suffering. Many cats lose their minds, transforming into savage and twisted versions of themselves—unrecognizable, dangerous, and driven by madness.

Concepts and lore

Kaufmo Cricketbounce concepts

The “map”

Out of bounds

Unused concept art

Meet the characters !!

Meet Pomni Bughop!

Bughop is a cautious and jumpy cat who is trapped in the dark forest along with 5 other cats. Despite her initial skittishness, she demonstrates an innate sense of justice and often challenges the decisions of Foxteeth, the group's leader much to his annoyance.

Bughop is constantly plagued by a sense of restless anxiety. She is often found pacing back and forth, or compulsively scratching at the ground. Her behavior suggests an intense unease and a deep seated desire to escape

Meet Jax Rabbitthump!

Rabbitthump is a self-confident and unabashed cat, notorious for his cruel jokes and knack for picking on others' weaknesses, especially Tawnymouse.

No cat seems to know where he came from or what his past is, and he is quite content keeping it that way, relishing the sense of unease his mysteriousness creates among other cats.

Generally easygoing and carefree, Rabbitthump is never serious, except for those rare occasions when a critical event, like the tragic incident involving Cricketbouce, occured. Such incidents tend to make him uncharacteristically serious and even unnerved. Though, he’d never admit it.

Meet Ragatha Patchface!

Meet Gangle Tawnymouse!

Tawnymouse is a nervous and traumatized cat who used to be a Medicine Cat.

Due to consistent bullying from Rabbitthump, she is continuously on edge and always seeking to avoid confrontation.

Tawnymouse is naturally quiet and soft-spoken, and her behavior might be attributed to the fact she is always ready to flee at any moment.

She has heterochromia, a condition resulting from head trauma she sustained from an insedent with Rabbitthump The trauma has left her emotionally vulnerable and sensitive to any aggressive behavior.

Meet Kinger Frecklenose!

(Disc coming soon)

Meet Zooble (..............)

(Disc coming soon)

Meet Caine Foxteeth!

coming soon-

Official comic

Welcome to hell!!

F&Q

“Can I post fanart”

Yes yes yes!!!!!!!!! I’d LOVE that!!

Please tag me!!!!

“Can I put a self insert oc?”

Of course!!

“Can I write fanfics or other media?”

Yes! Yes! Yes!!

Show meeeee

“Can I ship characters”

Yes, but be responsible.

“Can I post headcanons?”

Of course! I’d love to see people’s interpretations of my work!!

(You shood totally tag me)

“Can I make animations (m.a.ps, amvs, pmvs)

Yessir!!

“Is there any ‘canon’ ships?”

As of now, no, but I’m kinda leaning to funnybunny or one sided showtime (heh) I really dunno as this is a wip and I’m really just getting familiar with the characters and lore

If I do end up putting ships just be aware that you are allowed to ship anything in fanart and I won’t be angy ❤️

With all that said I must add that this is a wip and there is a TON of unfinished storylines and plot holes that I need to fix. And a name for Zooble COUGH. So just bear with me…….♥

[pigdemonart]

Battle Subway Depot Agents (by pig-demon)

When I made designs for these guys last year I didn’t really think they needed colored references/master post, but since then I’ve drawn them a lot! Also people have added them to their fanfics and drawn fanart! So I figured it was time I made a post for easy ref. :]

These designs are obviously free to use, just give credit (and link me your work if you're comfortable, because it makes me happy to see!) All I request is to stay respectful to their pronouns and skin colors, ya knooow… 👍 note: The pokemon on their cards are all companions, not the ones they use on the Battle Subway. Except Jackie...the litwicks are just there to fill space/give them company.

More info under cut:

Edit: Important disclaimer:

These are again my designs/interpretations for the agents. Please don’t treat them as canon or as the only, quintessential designs for these literal background npcs. Many people have done takes on them before and after me, even back in 2010. It feels silly to ask, but due to past experience, I ask that you please DONT hunt down anyone that does a different take on the depot agents!! 👍

Tags:

I'm gonna start tagging them individually, but for now all Depot Agent comics and art on this blog are tagged under Depot Agents.

Height chart:

I’m not too strict about heights, so I don’t really care about actual measurements. Here’s an approximation of what I tend to visualize though:

Sexualities/Gender Identities: I don't have official labels for each and every agent because I like keeping things fluid for characters to develop these traits on their own. However, as a queer person, I enjoy designing characters who are also queer, therefore I can safely say none of these characters are straight. The ones who are set in stone are Ramses (gay man), Cloud (lesbian woman,) Jackie (non-binary.) Furze uses he/they pronouns but their gender is undetermined. I also welcome anyone giving the agents a different gender identity to suit them (as long as it's done respectfully.)

Notes about each agent...

Cameron:

- Cameron dyes parts of his hair blonde and keeps other parts in black. This is because he is a big fan of Elesa and her fashion choices.  - Though there have been a few occasions to meet his idol, he is always way too nervous to approach her, feeling deep down that he'll mess up somehow. - He practices modeling poses in secret. He loves flourishes and flare, but is simply too insecure to put it on display. - Of his coworkers, he gets along the best with Furze. He's the easiest to talk to because Furze will do most of the talking. - Cameron is easily intimidated — even mean Pokémon can make him nervous. Though, his two worst fears are being left in a room alone with Jackie, and being left alone in a room with Isadore. - He takes advantage of his height to sometimes hide behind some of his coworkers. - Cameron is much better at Pokémon battles than he gives himself credit for. Emmet and Ingo were pleasantly surprised by this, since Cameron was promoted to fit a temporary role on the Battle Subway. They happily made him a permanent member when he proved himself capable. - His Dwebble (Pebby) is secretly very strong, and rushes to protect Cameron when it can. Cam sometimes thinks Pebby helps him feel more confident in himself too.  - If he stumbled into any of his coworkers outside of work, he would simply explode of embarrassment. - He is the youngest child and only son of his family. He lives in his own apartment in Nimbasa.

Cloud:

- Cloud (like Ramses) knew the twins when they were very young. - She used to be an ace trainer in her youth, even going so far to compete in the Pokémon league. Winning and becoming the champ was the most important part of her journey, but something happened along the way that changed that outlook. - It seems with age, her competitiveness has mellowed out. However, she maintains an intense energy when battling.  - Her favorite types are Psychic and Flying types. Swoobat (Sweetie) is her ace.  - Her favorite hobby is baking, and she often bakes sweets for the crew. She knows all their favorite flavors by now! - She prioritizes keeping a friendly relationship with all her coworkers and thinks of them fondly. She considers Ramses family after all the years of working together!  - She is a big fan of Brycen's movies and can recite the lines. - She lives with her wife in Anville. - Cloud loves doing maintenance work both at home and in Gear Station. She enjoys bringing her own tools and industrial flashlight.

Furze:

- Furze only has one volume setting (mid loud,) but he finds himself feeling right at home when talking to either one of the twins. - Furze has ADHD, and this is reflected in some of his habits, most visibly is his fidgeting when sitting still for too long. - He rides a bike to work every day. When he is late, Cloud clocks in for him so he doesn't get in trouble. - This is a kind of a guy that sits crouched gargoyle style on chairs. Only outside of work, of course. Bad posture could get him in trouble. - While working on the Battle Subway, there will be times Furze feels sorry for his opponents and offers to quietly let them pass anyways. This...has also gotten him in trouble. :[ - He went to the same elementary school as Isadore in Castelia. Though Isadore seems to have forgotten their short-lived acquaintance, Furze has not. This is part of the reason Furze claims they are in fact good friends!!! - Furze is the middle child of a big family. He lives with his mom and takes care of her, along with his many Darumakas and Darmanitan. All of his Pokemon have famous trains names. - He collects model trains. Naturally.

Isadore

- Isadore had plans to become the station master the moment he was hired as a depot agent, but alas... (sad trumpet sound.) - As a youth, he was more interested in science and engineering over Pokemon battles. He enjoys the strategizing aspect, at most. Not so much the competitiveness. - In addition, his Pokemon are all rescues and not used for battling. He's had his Watchog (Winston) since he was in his late teens. - His Electrode (Gregor) and Voltorb (Leonard) were rescued from the likes of Team Plasma. - Isadore admits he understands Pokemon better than humans. This has been apparent his whole life. - In spite of acting like a sitcom villain, Isadore cares about the management of Gear Station and the safety of the passengers to an incredible degree. He sees it as a personal life goal to assist in the management of Gear Station, as well as the success of the Battle Subway. - Though it pained him to become a subordinate to the twins, he begrudgingly accepts it for the greater good. - His almost militant efficiency certainly made up for his years of antagonizing the twins before they became the bosses. Ingo and Emmet understand this better than anyone. - Isadore keeps tabs on all of the staff members. So he very well knows all their birthdays and makes it a point to celebrate it. This is by no means a -happy- or -festive- event. It's just customary. - Like Furze, he was originally from Castelia, but now resides in Nimbasa. Isadore's only family is his mom and she lives in his childhood home with their Stoutland. - Isadore would have probably been voiced by every glasses guy ever J. Michael Tatum had he not already been cast as dear Emmet lmao

Jackie

- Jackie is a mystery and they like keeping it that way. When they talk, it's practically impossible to determine what is a lie or truth, especially if the subject is themselves or their background. - They love scaring Cameron the most and will ask to be paired with him whenever possible. They claim Cameron is their "favorite coworker," while Isadore is the least favorite. - It's plain to see why -- Jackie is the only one that doesn't passively tolerate Isadore's tirades. - Though my comics sometimes may allude to Jackie being a ghost/supernatural, this is not confirmed nor canon. I just personally enjoy toying with the concept. : ) That being said...

- Item #: SCP 7453

- Object Class: Euclid

- Special Containment Procedures: The ████ ██████ is ██████ within ████-██████. - Ingo and Emmet choose to not question anything about Jackie, since it's clear they're one of the more efficient workers. However it can be a safety concern... - Cloud and Ramses have worked with Jackie for a long time, though they've forgotten somehow. They believe Jackie is a new hire since they appear to be young. - Anyone trying to make sense of Jackie's employee records simply can't bring themselves to any conclusions. It's better to ignore the inconsistencies. - Jackie has never been seen to leave Gear Station. Jackie has never been seen in anything but their uniform. Jackie has never been confirmed to eat, drink or blink. Jackie knows your secrets. Jackie thinks it's... amusing.

Ramses

- Ramses sometimes misses having a full head of hair, but he thinks his signs of age make him look distinguished. (he is correct.) - Ramses is sort of the "mom friend," making sure everyone's concerns are heard, as well as trying to keep the peace whenever a conflict might arise. - If another coworker is feeling low, Ramses will try to cheer them up with a lighthearted joke or offer advice if they'd like it. - When the twins were promoted to bosses of the Battle Subway, Ramses cried because he felt so proud. - In most circumstances, he is a very simple and logical man. He is quick to find solutions and tries not to fret over the little stuff. It's not good for his heart after all. - His ace is his Pikachu (Musa,) though the mouse is more of a lap pet now. At home, he also has an Audino (Sara) and a Manectric (Nubi) who keep Ramses' husband company. His Klinklang (Moli) is the only one of his personal pokemon that accompany him to work nowadays. - Ramses considers Cloud family. They are best friends and love having family gatherings outside of work. They also gossip a lot, and don't mind when Jackie decides to join. - Ramses jokes about looking forward to retirement, but really doesn't want to leave until he is physically incapable of working anymore. Gear Station is like a second home to him.

In-Game Quotes

The most important reference of all are their in-game quotes, of course, so I'm adding it to the post. A lot of their personality traits can be extracted and interpreted from these few lines. And I personally love that about Pokemon NPCs -- there's a lot of room to explore and play with. Some appear very obvious. Cameron practically announces that he isn't ready for the battle that's about to ensue and seems genuinely surprised to win. Furze comes out the gate talking about the subject they actually care about, which is their job and their love for trains. The two of them are very easy to understand. Now, Ramses lines allude to a gentle and simple personality. He views himself with humility, and maybe even with a bit of humor comparing himself to a train and to his opponent to a station. If he loses he shows no signs of disappointment, he just accepts defeat with one last honest quip. It s also amusing to see the Depot Agents all use train metaphors to describe themselves since it falls in line with how Ingo and Emmet talk.

In comparison, Cloud does the same thing calling herself the terminal instead. Immediately, she is way more daring, though still keeping a sense of professionalism. To me, it's obvious she is competitive as she even admits she was expecting to win ("Ah...I didn't see it coming.") Jackie's lines are fun since it's up to interpretation if they are being literal or lying. It's almost like they are more interested in confusing/creeping out their opponent than actually beating them. To me, it gives off a mischievous vibe. Isadore's opener "There are only two roads in life." is a curious one because it almost feels like he is trying to be philosophical. Definitely a guy who views himself as an intellectual, regardless if that’s true or not. I like to think it's a saying he really believes in, and it applies to his life. The road he likes (long route) vs the road he hates (shortcut) -- fighting tooth and nail to become boss vs biting his tongue and accepting Ingo and Emmet as the Subway Masters.

Those are just my thoughts on how I write these characters. Please have fun playing with these lines too!

[theguildawards]

Term 2 2024 Winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the second term 2024 hosted by The Guild Awards! The mod-team is excited to see so much amazing fanwork and their creators recognized, as well as the love shown for this fandom!

Without further delay, here we are!

Winners of The Guild Awards for Term 2 2024

Best Action/Adventure Fiction: "Flame's Desire" by @kiliinstinct / rougescribe (AO3) Best Alternate Universe/Reality Fiction: "More than just a Fairy Tail" by @chaotickori Best Canon Fiction: "So This Is What Home Feels Like" by @spot-of-tea / spot_of_tea (AO3) Best Angst Fiction: "Redemption" by @spot-of-tea / spot_of_tea (AO3) Best Dark Fiction: "The Last of Us" by @classysassy9791 Best Drama Fiction (tie): "Accepting Fate" by Perfect Memories (FFN) and "World's End: Aftermath" by CairnCircles (AO3) Best Humor/Parody Fiction: "Magic Council Complaint Form #1024: there are mages hiding in the trash cans" by Fireflower34 (AO3) Best Oneshot: "is/was/will be" by Fireflower34 (AO3) Best Character Portrayal: "Silence" (Gajeel) by @firapolemos05 Best Romance Fiction: "Accepting Fate" by Perfect Memories (FFN) Best LGBTQ+ Romance Fiction: "Between Moon and Venus" by Woethe (AO3) Best Serial Fiction: "Taming The Beast" by @dawnwynters Best Ficlet: "Fairy Tail Platonic Week 2024 -Chapter 2: I Missed Our Shenanigans" by @fairytail-multishipper /Luminousrain (AO3) Best NSFW Fiction: “Love Rehabilitation” by annequinox (AO3) Best Completed Fiction: "Finding Forgiveness" by @teleiapotami / Teleia_Potami (AO3) Best Action/Adventure Artwork: "Team Natsu" by @astral-fairyy Best Alternate Universe/Reality Artwork: "the haters can't stop me" by @captainuranium543 Best Canon Artwork: "Red, The Colour of Life" by @pencilofawesomeness Best Angst Artwork: “Happy Rogue Day🖤🐸” by @oryu404 Best Dark Artwork: ""Acnologia Eats Irene" by @love---mandy Best Humor/Parody Artwork: "Pay back" by @shiiro-arts Best Kiss Artwork: "untitled" by @lidiscr Best Romance Artwork: "a soft Lokana" by @artsophiehml Best LGBTQ+ Romance Artwork: "causing problems and sucking face" by @phoenix-before-the-flame Best Character Artwork: "My first fashion icon was Lucy" by @hyun-illus Best Duo/Pairing Artwork: "Leave this to us" by @celestialrayna Best Group Depiction Artwork: "Team Natsu" by @ars-de-elysium Best Manga Coloring: "Fairy Tail/Lolu Coloring" by @almaween Best Redraw Artwork: "erza redraw" by @raptortier Best Overall Artwork: "Art Contest" by @pencilequipped

Congratulations to all the winners! Your awards will be ready soon! Please send one of the mods or our ask box your preferred email address so we can send them to you!

And thank you to those who voted for the Roulette Category for next term! The Roulette fanfiction category for next term will be: Best Mystery Fiction. This will be defined as: A story that has a character holding a profound secret or something kept cautiously concealed. May tend to excite curiosity or wonder in the reader, or may include something that cannot be explained.

As this term comes to a close, The Guild Awards will be taking a short hiatus. This time is always spent reviewing the process and seeing what can be revamped for the next term. We also love hearing from the fandom (ie: YOU!) for suggestions regarding any changes or additions.

We will officially be back in full swing on March 1st! We will still be around in case you have questions or concerns, but please take this time to read new fanfiction and find new fanart.

Want to stay immersed in all things Fairy Tail? Join our Discord! It's open to everyone!

You can also keep up-to-date with all current fandom events by checking out the @ftguildevents page!

As the day gets closer to the start of the next term, we will be keeping everyone in the loop when it comes to changes and updates. We hope everyone has a lovely holiday season! Thank you again for making this such a fun experience! See you soon!

~ The Guild Awards

[clarekirener]

Maybe I've missed the posts on Tumblr but if you're not on Twitter you might have missed the marketing on the official social media accounts. I'll post some. Amazon knows the Haladriel fanbase exists. That's what the marketing told me: they've learned what's popular and what gets them views. I don't know how much of what's popular will influence the writing and I'll do a post on my speculations in light of delayed renewal- things I've said on Twitter for 2 months.

But right now here's some of the digital marketing:

On the official The Rings of Power account, The Haladriel Nation tweet (4.1k likes) and the tweet with the BTS video of Charlie Vickers and Morfydd Clark (6.9k likes) were among the posts that got the most engagement.

The only two posts with greater likes were a BTS video about the Siege of Eregion (5.7k likes) and one thanking viewers (7k likes). Their other posts average around 2k likes.

The shift was unmissable when Prime Video was comparing Sauron and Galadriel to Daisy and Billy from Daisy Jones & The Six, a romantic couple.

Another account (Amazon MGM Studios) in on the action.

The Rings of Power account social media manager addressing us as Haladriel Nation on the official account and then on his personal account. He got people trying to get him fired for this post by the way.

International Prime accounts on Twitter, TikTok, Insta, and YouTube Shorts.

Prime Mexico calling Sauron and Galadriel "my parents"

Prime Video Brazil made a YouTube Short saying "the love of Sauron and Galadriel speaks louder"

The Rings of Power account on Instagram:

Prime Video Australia/NZ posting Haladriel edits on TikTok:

There are a lot of official accounts associated with Prime Video, Amazon MGM, and then there's the TROP account. They've all been posting edits of the fight from different angles regularly and this is just some of the digital marketing. They do post other dynamics of course but none this shippy and none as much as the Haladriel dynamic. The TROP account started a Fan Artist Friday 3 weeks ago to highlight fan art. They picked a canon compliant non-shippy Silvergifting fan art and they did the same for the Haladriel fan art as well. It was definitely carely chosen to avoid accusations of bias Irving Lopez got over the official account shouting out Haladriel Nation lol. The rest were just character art- they posted Adar fanart last Friday.

Unlike other marketing formats which requires more planning and time to coordinate, digital marketing is the most reactive to fan response. These official accounts were lurking on Haladriel fan accounts and responding to them during S2, and reposting Haladriel fans but it shifted post-s2 into overtly shipping material.

And baiting only works for so long before folks stop buying. I've said this before. When people hear there's only one scene, they'll just watch that scene on YouTube or TikTok. This happens a lot with other fandoms. Folks posting YouTube scene playlists and TikTok outright posting everything. But I'll save this for a post about PR in the context of the flux the show is in.

[just-a-space-duck]

Abstract ART

A Murderbot Meta Essay

My favorite thing about fandom is seeing how everyone interprets the same source material. And as someone who's most into character design, it’s so fun seeing how different artists draw the same character, even when said character already has a very clear canon design. What elements do artists leave behind as just part of the official art style and which parts do they interpret as core parts of the character's design? Where there's ambiguity, what do they add? How does each person depict “wide sunny eyes” or “quite tall for an elf”?

And with The Murderbot Diaries, characters are given very little physical descriptions, even for a book series. Even with the official illustrations and out-of-text author statements (which I choose to put into an optionally canon status; it's the TLK fan in me) we're working with relatively little in terms of what the characters look like. And that makes Murderbot fanart so fun for me.

And maybe one day I'll gush about the designs of the other characters, but you saw the title, and I'm here to talk about the most fascinating fanon character design trend I've thus seen: Abstract ART/Perihelion.

ART is a spaceship. Ok, it's also sometimes drones. The way ART functions, out of any character in the series, the argument that its true form is merely the physical stuff composing its brain is the most founded. And Murderbot does sometimes make specific reference to ART's brain as being what ART specifically is. But without getting too far into a philosophical discussion on the relationship between the mind and the physical world and what constitutes the self, ART is largely presented to us as a really large ship that can easily connect with other tech. Murderbot does frequently describe it acting in ways similar to a being with a more human body like rolling its eyes and breathing over Murderbot’s shoulder, but it's all clearly metaphor. And that works for a word-only medium.

But what if you want to create an image of these characters, especially one that had little to no accompanying text or audio or only words in dialogue? What if you want to draw the giant spaceship that all of the puny humans (and puny human/bot constructs) walk around in actually rolling its eyes?

Well, you abstract it.

And that's really fascinating to me. People depict ART as all these things that are definitely not a spaceship or a drone or any machine for the benefit of the viewers.

Given that this is largely a fan invention, there's far fewer restrictions on what Abstract ART looks like. (Well this is fiction, so really the only restriction is the imagination of the creator(s).) We do get some information to use as a guideline. ART early on is described as “big and diffuse”, it's able to give a lot of focus to a lot of things at once, and most of Ship ART (Murderbot, why'd you have to nickname your mutual administrative assistant that?) and its crew uniforms are dark blue, black, and white. Those few things as well as its personality paint how people draw it.

Now onto my favorite part, all of the different trends I've seen with Abstract ART. I've not delved that deep into MB fanart so this is very far from comprehensive.

It’s Just Ship ART:

Just keeping it to what it literally is in the books. I love all Abstract ARTs, but this one I like both for how closely it sticks to canon and the sheer creativity needed to show a sentient spaceship/transport emoting, thinking, and interacting. We already have stuff like this in the books, like when it flickered the bathroom lights to communicate with a certain angry secunit, but there's tons more that can be done: movement of the cameras, images on display devices, various appliances running, etc.. It’s a tough one to work with, so props to anyone who takes this approach.

Abstract Abstract ART Art (Yeah, my brain hurts too):

I'm kinda just lumping every version here that isn't ART's physical form(s) nor resembles a human or other animal. This is my favorite take because ART is just weird already. It's a super intelligent, scary machine whose existence is kept secret so it can fight capitalism while simultaneously doing a hundred other things ten times better than you can. If you're going to give it a form separate from its machine body/bodies, I say make it strange, eldrichian even. Make it a bunch of pixels, a starfield, a giant flame, many many eyes (oh I'll get to the eyes), a glowing sofa, everything everywhere all at once.

Creature ART:

I find this take interesting just cause there's a lot of fun to be had with picking an animal (or animals or fantastical critters) and applying their attributes and stereotypes to our favorite anti-corporate research vessel. Plus they work well in representing both ART'S human-like attributes and its very much not human-like attributes, with fantastical or hybrid versions having a more eldritch or cryptid vibe. While you could go with any animal, off the top of my head the ones that feel real fitting are an octopus (high intelligence that evolved separately from humans, multiple limbs for doing multiple things), a hydra (multiple heads, multiple areas of focus), a blue whale (giant, fits ART'S colors, rare, travels far), or really any bird (it's a spaceship).

Humanoid ART:

Probably my least favorite interpretation (all interpretations are valid, don't listen to me) just cause I feel more could be done to highlight that ART is, well, a bot and not at all human. However, I do get it. If you're going to give ART a form for the benefit of the audience, might as well make it look like what most audience members would have the easiest time reading the emotions and actions of (and it's not like ART doesn't have human-like qualities). Plus, you can still get weird with it: have this form change shape, give it unnatural proportions, make it a clearly non-human color, etc. And there are things the human form can do that a cat or a circle or a literal ship can't and maybe you want ART to do those things.

Eyes:

It’s very common to give ART eyes, or even just have ART be mostly eyes. For one, it gives it easily readable emotions, even if it lacks other facial features or means of making human gestures. Secondly, eyes work really well with ART's abilities and personality. ART can focus on multiple things at once. ART can be very scary and overbearing. It even works with ART's gentler side, if given the right expression.

Color:

ART is already associated with the colors dark blue and black (and to a lesser extent white) in canon. Like Ship ART is literally blue, at least parts of it are. And because of this, I have yet to encounter an Abstract ART that isn't at least 80% blue. (Fun fact: I used to associate ART with the color orange. Can you guess why?) Interestingly though, a large number of artists go with a powder blue or turquoise/azure for ART. I do not mean to be a color snob; please classify colors however. I just find this to be a particularly fascinating trend, cause most English speakers would classify those shades as light blue or at least not dark blue. I wonder if this has anything to do with the light/turquoise blue = high tech association. Now that I’m writing this out, I’m curious what color terms are used in translations of TMBD. Looking at you Russian version.

Diegesis:

Ok, so, final point: how real in-universe is Abstract ART? I hypothesized that the reason for this trend is to make ART easier to portray in images for viewers, but I wonder what in-universe explanation people have for this, if any. In most fanart, other characters (or at least Murderbot) interact with Abstract ART as if it is actually there or at least visible. I go with the headcanon that only other machines and some augmented humans can see its abstract form. This does stretch if not completely contradict canon, but fuck it, this is fiction and we get to have fun with it.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed my little ramble about a fandom trend. I'm gonna go eat a sandwich now.

[waffle-gal]

TADC - ADVENTURE AU MASTERPOST & BOUNDARIES

Big thanks to @burrotello for letting me use your digital circus logo 💜

SUMMARY:

When a virus manages to sneak into Caine's "Amazing Digital Expansion” his powers end up getting stolen! With everyone split up and lost, it’s up to Caine and Pomni to journey around the digital world to get back his powers, stop the virus and save their world!

In this slow-burn romance adventure, Caine tries to understand what it's like to be human, while Pomni just wants to live at the end of the day.

They both get into more trouble than they bargained for, as danger, peril and love await in The Amazing Digital Adventure!

ADVENTURE MASTER LIST

First Doodles!

Our Majestic Heroes

Caine and Pomni's Tents

Animal Crossing Vibes

New Member

The Map

TADA!

Updated Line Up with The Virus

Moodboard

More Doodles!

Caines' Stick Fight (Featuring @/iamespecter)

TADA x Freakshow (Part 2)

NEW The Rest of the Cast!

CAINE AND POMNI / SHOWTIME

Showtime's my Showtime AU

A Single Kiss (feat. Discord Friends)

IT'S A SLOWBURN

Hang In There!

Hang In There (color version)

Smooch

I'm So Autistic About Your AU I Swear

Until I Found You...

Some Friends' Fanart!

Official Comics:

Thank You for Being a Friend (Part 1)

Thank You for Being a Friend (Part 2)

INFO CARDS (To be Updated):

PLAYLIST

Q&A and BOUNDARIES

Can I draw fan art and write fanfics for this AU?

Absolutely go for it!! I would love to see what you make! 💕

Can I make NSFW for this AU?

Yes! I am an adult, but I am also aware I have a following of people who are minors. So, if you do make content, please spoiler it and use the appropriate tags.

Can I dub/voice your comics?

Please credit me if you do!

Waffle, isn't this just canon Pomni and Caine?

But hear me out-- Hear me out... What if I told you...

Showtime? 👀

I don’t ship Showtime, is this an AU for me?

Probably not, but I think it’s still good to be open to the pairing if you’re interested! If you’re still not then no biggie, but don’t attack others for what they like please. Thank you.