#i might also use this as an experiment with my paint pens. who knows

[magicalgirlartist]

[ID: photo of a pencil sketch of Matoro's rebuilt Matoran form from Bionicle, facing front. Next to it is a phone showing a picture of the same thing as sourced from the Mata Nui Online Game 2. End ID.]

Trying to figure out how to draw Bionicle characters as, like, actual robots. Someday I'll learn.

[dunmeshistash]

Interview to celebrate the opening of the Ryoko Kui Exhibition

About Delicious in Dungeon: Story making

Q1. Your first long-running series has lasted for about 9 and a half years. Has it been different from your previous experience drawing short stories?

A1. Compared to short stories, the series has been easier because the same characters appear each time. But I was surprised to find that I got tired of drawing the same characters too many times.

Q2. You have said before that the overall structure of the story was decided before serialization began, but how much of that had you communicated to your editor? Also, what kind of communication did you have during the series production?

A2. The goal was something we discussed and had decided on from the beginning. The goal itself was simple, but the path to get there was more difficult and took longer than imagined.

Q3. Regarding the overall story concept and development, did you write out or put anything down in writing (such as the plot)?

A3. I did, but it was simple.

Q4. Did you come up with the dishes based on the monsters you wanted in the story? Or did you come up with the monsters based on the dishes?

A4. It depended on the story, but usually the story came first followed by the monsters or food. I feel like that was most often the order.

Q5. As you progressed in drawing the series, what elements of the characters, story, or world expanded or grew in the most unexpected way?

A5. Nothing particularly unexpected perhaps. When I used to draw web manga, I tended to think up inconsequential settings. So, from the beginning I tried to restrain myself as much as possible and not expand too much. I was surprised when my editor said "Let's expand it more," in the second half of the series.

Q6. "Delicious in Dungeon" starts with a relatively simple setting, but as the series and the labyrinth exploration continues, the map slowly expands little by little in the readers' minds. It becomes more three-dimensional, revealing the secrets of the world, and taking on a multilayered structure. Are there any sources that you used as a reference, or which influenced you in creating this multilayered structure?

A6. A long time ago, when I was working on my personal web manga (fantasy), I drew it however I wanted, thinking that "Only people who can read this will read it," but I regularly received feedback that it was "unreadable", so I tried to make it as easily. accessible as possible.

Q7. The series combines many elements, including "fantasy", "gourmet", "battles", and "puzzle solving", but I think it's also important that it is a "comedy" which makes people laugh. Could you let us know if you have a creative commitment towards depicting humor?

A7. My hopes are that I can make it fun for people to read.

[page 5]

About Delicious in Dungeon: Drawing manga

Q1. Please tell us about the drawing tools you currently use, both digital and analogue.

A1. In terms of analogue tools, I use a light box, a G pen, a round pen, and a brush pen. And for digital, I use CLIP STUDIO PAINT and a Wacom LCD tablet. Screentone pasting is always done on the computer, so ultimately it all ends up as a digital manuscript.

Q2. Do you have any rules or reasons for using digital and analog separately?

A2. I'm always looking for ways to draw better and save time, so the exact approach is probably different for almost every chapter. Personally, I feel that analogue methods create more appealing lines, but I feel like digital saves time, so maybe I'll do a digital rough sketch and do the inking by hand… I might have been using a G pen, and maybe I'll try out a turnip pen, or this time I'm short on time so I'll draw it entirely digitally, but with digital I can redo it over and over, so maybe analogue is still faster, and so on and so forth. I'm indecisive in this way and so haven't developed a consistent process.

Q3. I understand that you prepare 3D data for your assistants to draw the backgrounds. What kind of data did you make for "Delicious in Dungeon" ?

A3. You could call it 3D, but it's not a proper model, just something to help with the rough sketching. I line up cubes to share the perspective and sense of scale, and they use it as a reference.

Q4. At the beginning of the series, the characters and backgrounds were somewhat simply drawn, and it seems like they became richly detailed over the progression of the story. What was your intention behind using these different styles?

A4. It's simply that my technique isn't stable. I thought I'd put a lot of effort in at the start. I remember being confused when my editor asked me to add more in to the drawing, and I wondered "Where…?"

Q5. Thinking about the food, were there any menu illustrations that you were particularly satisfied with, or which you struggled with?

A5. I've never liked my own food illustrations. But the times when I read other people's manga and thought "That looks delicious," I think it's been more an influence of the movement, the staging, and the situation than the drawings.

Q6. For the world maps and the terrain of each continent, did you refer to any maps of the real world? I feel like the shape of the 'island' is similar to the shape of Fukuoka Prefecture or Kyushu.

A6. I didn't reference any specific geography, but I did try to put thought into things like whether a developed city would be near a river or the sea, and what the coastline would look like. I'm pleased if it feels similar to a real place, because it means my interpretation was pretty accurate.

About Delicious in Dungeon: Other

Q1. Which is your favorite monster?

A1. Nightmare.

Q2. I'm sure you have received a lot of feedback from readers in countries and regions outside of Japan. Please tell us if there was anything from them that made you happy, was unexpected, or which made a lasting impression on you.

A2. When you play foreign games, there are times when you think "Why did they translate it into Japanese like that?" But having been on the side of having something translated, I've realized some things are unavoidable, or endless, and there are many things that don't matter either way from the author's perspective, so it was interesting.

About Ryoko Kui's short story collections and herself

Q1. Dragons are a consistent and important motif in your work. Was there any particular work or experience which inspired this? Also, are there points about drawing dragons which you find interesting or have had to work hard on?

A1. It's less about liking dragons, and more that I'm interested in the worlds in which dragons exist. When I draw dragons, the depiction in itself has a sweet feeling to it. I have never had a pet reptile, so I don't have a very good understanding of them.

Q2. Unomiya University in your story "The dragon's school is on top of the mountain" has a Faculty of Dragons, Department of Environmental Studies, and Department of Technology Studies, and a Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. If you were to enroll in the university, which department or faculty would you like to enter?

A2. I probably wouldn't be accepted….

Q3. The collection includes a short story staged as an essay manga. Are you a fan of essay manga? Please tell us about any genres of essay manga that you like.

A3. I love all kinds of essay manga. I read them often.

Q4. If you were to make your own game, what kind of game would you like to make?

A4. I prefer being a player when it comes to games.

Q5. When did you first start drawing illustrations (doodles)?

A5. I don't exactly remember when I first drew a picture, but I think I started drawing manga around the fourth or fifth grade of elementary school. in my notebooks and had my friends read them.

Q6. What is the most fun part about drawing manga?

A6. Every part is fun and hard in its own way.

Q7. Please tell us if there is anything you "just can't stop no matter what".

A7. My procrastination habit.

Q8. Could you please tell us if there's something you want to draw now?

A8. I've been working continuously since the serialization, so I'd like to take about 2 to 3 months to just draw whatever I want.

[for-those-who-wait]

How do you color in your art?? I can never make mine look right, i’m still relatively new to procreate and I just wish I could instantly know how to use it because AGEGGS

I don't use Procreate and I'm not sure what you're personally having problems with, so I'll just go through my process using some of my old drawings and try to give some general advice that might help

So I have the line work of "Hunter wants pancakes" here. I usually copy images from screenshots of the show and paste them onto the canvas so that I can eyedrop the colors, but I probably had it on a different canvas there.

Sometimes I'll change the colors a little bit for clothes to make them a bit brighter or less saturated (depends on what I think looks better), but really for fan art of characters that already have a color scheme, I just copy the colors.

But your line work is going to be your topmost layer the majority of the time. All the coloring stuff should be underneath the line work so that if you do color into the lines, the linework isn't impeded

I typically put all my colors on the same layer, but feel free to use layers in whatever way is more convenient for you. (When I'm doing lineless, I'll typically make a new layer for each color so that I can shade them individually later on. Idk if that's at all smart or convenient but it's just a thought)

As for the actual act of coloring, I pick a large, textureless brush. You could use whatever you want depending on what kind of look you're going for, but for my finished pieces I usually like the coloring job to look cartoonishly clean. Like you can see that the second brush changes opacity as it reaches the end of the stroke (or with lighter pressure, since I use a pen), which I don't want, since I prefer the colors to be uniform in shade and texture. So I use the first one instead. Also less texture helps keep the color in the lines from my experience.

I don't use the paint bucket tool very often because it typically won't fill in all the white space, especially when your work is more detailed (which would lead you to have to go back and go over all of the edges again with a brush anyway), so I color most everything manually now. But for "Hunter wants pancakes" I think I did use a paint bucket and then probably went back to fill in some of the gaps since there are clean white gaps where the line work would be.

That is to say you should color with your line work visible (I don't know who wouldn't but I'm trying to cover all the bases here). You made yourself a coloring page, now you get to enjoy it. Without the lines it can look pretty silly and very messy, but it doesn't really matter if it's going to be covered up by your line work anyway.

Sometimes when you're coloring with lighter shades on a light background, it's hard to tell if you're missing a spot. I like to use a really REALLY saturated color like neon green or red to see any gaps in the color. Put the layer of neon green under the color layer and it will become very obvious where you missed haha. Sometimes I'll look at the neon color for too long and will need to change it to refresh my eyes

This colored sketch isn't very clean but it shows that you can also make a clipping or masking layer (if you don't know what that is the Internet could honestly probably explain it better than I could), color over the whole thing with a different color, and lower the opacity to give it a cool-looking tint

I don't know what your specific issue was but hopefully I was able to clear at least something up for you

[blue--ingenue]

Slytherin Traits

Note: This is just my interpretation of Slytherin traits. Take what resonates, and leave what doesn't 💚

“Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends” - Work smart, not hard. Colleges and publishers deem textbook piracy “immoral” and “unfair” to other students who pay full price for books. But when higher education prices are inflated by privileged administrators, this power imbalance nullifies such comments. It also reminds me of a quote I saw spray-painted on a wall: 

“If paying is not owning, then pirating isn’t stealing.” I wouldn’t go out and steal a physical textbook, but no real money is lost if I replicate a few hundred pixels on a screen so that I can finish my education

Additionally, choosing to play “fair” in a system designed to exert control over people with less privilege and power will not benefit you. The same people setting arbitrary standards for “fairness” can often be the same ones benefiting from those rules.

Continuing on with being cunning, bending the rules here and there can help you level the playing field. Blanket statements and generalized restrictions don’t affect everyone equally. For example, exams that rely on hard memorization, and testing environments that punish students for fidgeting are ableist and severely limit the types of students who will be able to succeed in school/university. 

In my case, my class was allowed to bring a single note sheet to our final exam. I have trouble memorizing formulae/processes, but can solve nuclear reactor physics if the formulae are in front of me. Although the professor advised against writing out full examples, I bought an ultra-thin writing ink pen and crammed all the exampled I needed. I passed.

Ambition, defined as “a strong desire to do or achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.” Ambition is very subjective. One Slytherin’s ambition may be to graduate at the top of their class and become an expert in their field. Another’s ambition might be to set healthy boundaries for themselves to prioritize their mental health. Someone else’s goal might just be to get out of bed that day. The only person who can decide the importance of your goal is yourself.

Everyone has different abilities, desires, material resources, and life experience. No matter the goal, ambition is essential for completion, and success in any measure deserves celebration.

Speaking of accomplishments, pride can be a well-deserved reward for achieving your goals. You more than deserve to celebrate your successes. Taking pride in your achievements can help build self-confidence. Feeling capable, accomplished, and proud of yourself can be empowering.

In my experience, it’s a lot easier to underestimate yourself than it is to oversell your accomplishments. If you’re someone who tends to downplay your abilities/accomplishments, there’s a chance that you’re selling yourself short. Take pride in yourself. You’ve earned it.

Slytherins also understand how it feels to be Othered, negatively stereotyped, or feared. As a queer POC and one of only ten women in my major (bearing in mind that my university's graduating class size is 10,000 people per year), I know what it feels like to be singled out. I was also the only Asian student in my high school class, and the only family of color for a 1-mile radius in my hometown. 

People tend to see you through their own narrow-minded lenses and stereotypes. This isn't a reflection of you, but merely a projection of their own prejudice and ignorance. No matter your reason for feeling Othered, know that their comments and limited perceptions are merely their own self-reflections.

[yansimstorythatiwillnotworkon]

#12 (2)

(Continuation of 12 (1))

Immediately as Ayano and Raibaru entered the art club, they were met with a dramatic sigh. “Just my luck, too.” Enpitsu huffs. His back was turned to the girls, but he saw them through the reflection of his favorite mirror. “Ayano, you’ve immediately dulled my image.”

Ayano sighs, already exhausted despite having just walked into the room. “We’re here to decide if this club is fit for Raibaru or not.” She explains briefly, folding her arms.

“It’s probably not.” Enpitsu says immediately, not hearing Raibaru mutter an agreement to Ayano. “Anyway, that’s something you wanna talk to Geiju about. And he’s not attending school right now.” He explains, although he clearly didn’t plan on being too helpful. “It’s just me and this weirdo.”

Enpitsu nods to Maka, or more precisely Maka who was laying on the table and leaning her chin on an empty bucket of paint. She seemed to be drawing in a variety-pattern color book with a pen. Only that singular pen. The whole picture was ending up completely black.

“Right..” Ayano murmured, looking from Maka back to Enpitsu.

“Well.” Raibaru smiles at both of the art club members. “Can either of you give me a run-down of your club, then?” She asks, folding her hands over her lap politely.

Enpitsu mumbles something as he returns to his self-portrait, ultimately not repeating himself to be heard.

Maka glances back to Enpitsu and hums in thought. “We have equipment fit for almost every type of art. Light painting, sand painting, digital art, anamorphosis if you really try.” She taps her chin in thought before continuing to doodle on the coloring book. “The headmaster hasn’t approved of butter sculptures yet because it might be too expensive…”

“..butter sculptures.” Raibaru repeats quietly, attempting to keep her voice just as quiet for the sake of Maka not explaining any further. “That’s nice… I see you also have painting and coloring books. Do you have any other simpler types of art?”

Nodding, Maka stands up and leaves her finished picture there. Ayano leans over and looks at the picture. While it did look black from a distance, it seemed that Maka had actually “color-coded” the picture with different patterns rather than different colors.

Maka opens a couple of cabinets attached to the walls. One of them was filled with nothing but several different shades of paint, others filled with dozens of canvases and some with pencils and crayons. “We have plenty of everything, really. Art supplies are kind of cheap down here if you just want a space to draw. And since the regular supplies are super cheap, we’re able to save effortlessly for the more extortionate items.”

“Awfully big words, huh?” Ayano comments, not even knowing what ‘extortionate’ meant. She was shocked because Maka was so popularly known for being the weirder of the art club. And Akademi in general. Maybe ‘weird’ for the school was just her using over-the-top language?

Seeming proud, Maka’s expression lights up immediately from her lax expression pretty quickly. “Right?! I mean- I agree!” She puffs out her chest with a cute smile. “Horo said that big words would make me sound smarter- ah, perceptive!”

“It certainly does.” Raibaru agrees, “Just make sure you know the definition. Using big words incorrectly does the exact opposite.”

“Hmm, duly noted.” Maka hummed, before closing the cabinets. “Anyway, Geiju hates it when the club room is messy- unless he’s the one who messed it up. So, you’ve had, like, experience in art at all, right?” She asks, putting her coloring book away and neatening up the rest of the room. “Cuz if you don’t that’d be… weird.”

“Not unless it was in mandatory classes, no.” Raibaru replies with a thoughtful expression. “...in fact, whenever I was in those mandatory classes my hands would get very dirty, which I disliked a lot.”

Maka stared at Raibaru for a moment, seemingly lost in thought before blinking and returning to cleaning. “Weird.” She says simply, running around the room a bit more before looking back up to the two. “Oh, yeah, I guess that means you wouldn’t be a really good fit. Geiju usually just points us to the art books if we have a question, so it’s not likely that he’s going to teach you anything.”

Raibaru exhales with a wry smile. “Well, I appreciate the honesty.” She says, waving briefly to the two, although she didn’t receive a wave back.

After the two leave the room and as they’re heading upstairs, Raibaru speaks up a bit. “You know, I’m only now realizing how strange the students in our school are.”

“Is that right?” Ayano tilts her head to the side as she looks at Raibaru, who nods.

“Yes… Similar to you, I never bothered socializing. Osana was really all I needed, hence why I don’t plan on socializing outside of school. Now I’m stuck between disliking socializing but not exactly wanting to be… alone..?” Raibaru trails off, not exactly being able to put her thoughts properly in place.

Ayano hummed a bit, looking back to the ground as they walked. “Maybe try studying in your free time. Like psychology. Maybe you’ll learn a bit more about why you think certain things.” She explains, shrugging lightly.

“Maybe…” Raibaru mumbles, raising her hand to her mouth.

__

“Heeeey..” Rojasu lazily waves his hand in a greeting to Ayano. “I know you. You’re Fureddo’s girl, aren’t you?”

Ayano blinks in shock. Surely, he didn’t mean that in the way that she thought. She hesitates, before repeating, “Fureddo’s… girl.”

“Yeah! Like..” Rojasu then pauses for a minute as well before slowly starting up again. “..not like that, I mean. I don’t think so. Like- you’re not dating Fureddo, are you?” He asks, tilting his head to the side, now having confused himself.

“I am not.” Ayano states clearly, keeping her hands folded over her lap.

Rojasu tosses his head back a bit and offers a low chuckle. “Right, right! Yeah, no, Dafuni would be pissed if she heard that, haha..” He shrugs, leaning back in his chair with a tired expression on his face. “Yeah, my bad, Yan- Ay-”

Pausing in thought, Rojasu seems to have forgotten Ayano’s name. Before Ayano can tell him what it was he snaps his fingers. “Yan-chan! I got it.” He nods, not noticing Ayano’s disappointed sigh as he continues speaking. “Yeah, sorry about that, Yan-Chan. Fureddo just talks about you a lot. Sometimes I forget you’re not here with us, he talks about you so much, haha.”

Ayano’s mouth pulls into a straight line in disinterest. “Yes…” She starts, before inhaling and raising a hand to Raibaru. “Speaking of Fureddo… do you know where he is? Raibaru’s debating on a club to join.”

“Oh, yeah, man, I think he’s busy right now. I thought I saw him chatting with Musume earlier? But, I mean, I’m usually half-asleep so I totally could have been hallucinating.” Rojasu shrugs. “So, uh… you need some info on the club, Rai?”

Raibaru nods politely, “That’s right. Are you able to give me any info on what you all do around here?” She asks, looking from the club’s little hang-out spot to the rest of the club, that definitely looked more professional. “What do you all usually take pictures of?”

Rojasu stands up from the chair with a grunt, stretching his limbs before allowing his arms to flop to his sides and walking past the two. “So, I’m pretty sure each of our club members get a little section of the wall dedicated to their pictures. On the left here..” He walks to the leftmost door, where the two girls entered through. “...pretty sure these are Beruma’s.”

Beruma’s photos seemed to mainly be of aesthetic-looking scenes of book stacks, library shelves, coffee, rain from behind a window. The color brown was recurring in her photos, so it was likely that her pictures were meant to carry that certain theme. In addition to whatever was closest to the camera, there was also quite a scene behind the main object. For instance, in the cup where she has a mug of coffee. The coffee cup is closest to the camera and slightly blurred as a result. The focus seemed to be more so on the decorative wine case that the cafe she was in had instead. Ayano hadn’t recalled seeing a cafe like that anywhere around.

Rojasu seems to notice Ayano’s curious gaze and points to the very picture she’s looking at. “Beruma took this on her vacation to Scotland. Said they had the coolest-looking cafes cuz they all looked super old fashioned.” He explains. That explained why the overall design of the building looked so foreign to her.

After the two girls were finished looking, he led them to the next section. “This is Dafuni’s, she sort of focuses on people who she thinks looks nice. She’s also the only one who ever bothers to walk up to random people and ask them for a photo.” He chuckles at the thought and raises his hand to the photos pasted onto the wall.

Dafuni’s pictures mostly carried an area with pink lighting. Ayano wondered if Dafuni usually tried to make her pictures less spontaneous and more planned out in order to catch someone in pink lighting specifically. One picture featured an older woman in a fancy-looking trench coat on a somewhat rainy evening. She seemed to be beneath a sign with neon pink lighting and was smiling off somewhere in the distance. Some other of her pictures seemed to be her and Kokoro and Kashiko in a bathroom showing off their nails. Kashiko’s was obviously purple, Kokoro’s were pink, and Dafuni had both colors. The bathroom also had neon pink lights, so she could assume that it was one of their homes.

“These look cute..” Raibaru says, smiling at them. She seemed to like that most of them were of other people, whether that be strangers or friends. “I usually take plenty of pictures with Osana, I kinda want to take more after seeing these.” She comments with a light giggle.

Rojasu stepped to the side and held a hand up to what seemed to be Sukubi’s clutter of photos. “This one’s my pal, Sukubi’s. I think it’s obvious but he loves animals.” He says, and it really was obvious.

Sukubi’s pictures didn’t have any sort of aesthetic or special lighting, some of them weren’t even focused. He just seemed to take pictures of whatever animals he came across. One photo was a selfie of himself at a zoo, a giraffe leaning in closer than it needed to. Funny enough, a zookeeper seemed to be reaching out to him behind him, as if warning him to back up. Another photo was of what looked to be a random, collarless dog who was jumping up onto Sukubi. This one seemed pretty blurry, but you could tell what was happening.

“You know, this one was actually Sumire’s dog.” Rojasu commented, pointing to a picture of what looked to be a brown Great Dane with a few black spots and a blue collar, similar to the one that Sukubi wore, ironically. “Apparently, his name was Donny, but Sukubi never actually got to meet him. He just asked Sumire for a picture.”

“Aw, he looks very sweet.” Raibaru said with a smile. “Hehe, and that’s coming from a cat person.”

Next was Rojasu’s own part of the wall. “This is where my stuff’s hung up. I kinda just take pictures of food.” He says simply and with a shrug. Despite him being so simple with the explanation, he does an outstanding job with the shots.

“Oh, my gosh! These look professional!” Raibaru exclaims. “Both the picture and the food!”

“Aw, gee, thanks.” Rojasu blushes a bit at the compliment, looking at the pictures. “I usually take pictures of my homemade food or food I get from food trucks. Ooh! In fact..” He pointed a finger at one of the pictures, one that showed a fancy-looking cheesecake with strawberry sauce on top. “This is the most outstanding- the most bomb cheesecake I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. It’s this food truck called Torte’s Torte- I’m pretty sure they come from Rome..”

Rojasu seems far more enthusiastic and awake now that he’s talking about food. As he rambles to Raibaru, Ayano looks at the pictures. You could tell the difference between the food truck photos and the homemade photos pretty easily. The food truck photos were taken outside and usually at night, it seemed, while the homemade food photos were taken on the same counter- likely in Rojasu’s own kitchen.

After Rojasu finished with his one-sided conversation with Raibaru (Rojasu chatting and Raibaru just politely nodding), he held his hand up to the final display. “And this one is obviously Fureddo’s.” He didn’t really have much to say, just smiling at the pictures.

Regardless of where, what angle, what aesthetic it took, what lighting, each one of the pictures always included the whole club. They were hardly even ever looking at the camera, just at each other or whatever event they happened to be in. The zoo, one of their houses, a kitchen, a cafe, even just the club room. Each picture was very cinematic, and showed each of the club members’ unfiltered emotions at the time.

“He’s pretty good with the whole picture thing, huh?” Rojasu asked with a chuckle.

“He really is.” Raibaru fawned, smiling at the pictures. “Everything looks so unfiltered! He must be really good at catching you all by surprise, huh?”

Rojasu grins. “Totally.” He nods, before walking past the two once again with a sigh. “Well, that’s us taking pictures. If we did that 24/7 there would be waaaay more. But we usually just sit in this little area and check up on each other. Share drama. That kind of stuff.” He shrugs, sitting down in the area in question. “We usually take pictures outside of school since there really isn’t much to look at inside of school. You know?”

Raibaru nods. “I understand. Taking pictures sounds… nostalgic.” She says, smiling at Rojasu. “Thanks for the explanation. I’ll definitely think about this one!”

“Coolness.” Rojasu flings the two ladies a peace sign as they leave. Once they’re out of the room, Raibaru exhales.

“It’s a really lovely club. It’s probably nice to have friends like that.” Raibaru says with an almost bittersweet smile. “I’d…” She hesitates. “I wouldn’t want to interrupt that.”

Ayano hums at her comment. “That’s a unique way to think about it.” She mumbles, although she doesn’t get much of a response as Raibaru looks to the ground in thought as they walk.

__

“Hey!” Yaku trotted over to Ayano immediately as he noticed her enter the club room. “I know you! Ayano, right? I’ve heard some good things about you!” He reaches his hand out to shake her hand, and once she hesitantly takes it he shakes it excitedly.

Ayano didn’t expect for anyone to be this excited to see her, especially since she and Yaku have never officially spoken. “..thanks.” She nods, albeit awkwardly. If Yaku notices, he doesn’t seem to mind.

“Ayano. What brings you here?” Meka asks, looking her way. She had a couple of plastic cases near her area of the club room, and looked as if she was about to bring them somewhere.

“I’m looking for a club to possibly join and Ayano is helping me out.” Raibaru explains, “If you aren’t too busy, do you think either of you would be able to give me some information about your club?”

Yaku immediately jumps to the task. “Yes! I can do that!” He says, looking at Ayano, as if expecting her to react in some special way. She only tilts her head to the side at his gaze.

Meka lifts up two of the cases and exits the room, leaving Yaku to tend with the two girls. Yaku clears his throat and opens his arm, gesturing to the whole room. “If you didn’t know, science has a lot of divisions in it. Sub-genres, if you will. Even what each of us club members work on varies.”

Yaku points to Meka’s section, and lists off his member’s specializations. “Meka works with robotics. That includes engineering to some extent as well as computer science due to the coding, as you would expect.” He points over to Horo’s area, “Horo works with holograms. His whole goal is I think simplifying holographic technology so that it’s something that every household has. He really, really believes that the technology he’s working on can help people out. Or at the very least make their lives more convenient.”

“That’s incredibly impressive.” Raibaru says, her expression one of awe. She then smiles somewhat nervously. “I don’t think I could ever accomplish something so vast.”

“Well, the Science Club isn’t necessarily about making a dent in history. Take Homu for example.” He brings a hand up to Homu’s station, which held what looked to be a robot replica of herself. “She’s trying to develop AI to fit her needs. Her studies might help people who are interested in furthering the development of AI, but Homu is really just tailoring it to her needs specifically, since it’s just supposed to help herself.”

Yaku then points to his own section. “I just experiment with chemistry. I guess in that case I’m the only one who doesn’t mess with robotics.” He then taps on the metal visor over his eyes. “Outside of this, but it’s a necessity.”

“And Kaga?” Ayano asks, her arms folded nonchalantly. She couldn’t confess that she cared much for Kaga personally, but while she was here it was probably best if she got every bit of information necessary.

“Hmm, well…” Yaku hums briefly in thought. “Once he said that he deals with ‘the science of psychology’, but that was all. Regardless of what he actually focuses on, he’s good at everything. Whenever he isn’t having conversations or working on private projects, he’s usually fixing our mistakes or helping us out. I’d… like to say willingly but he usually seems pretty exasperated whenever he helps us.”

Raibaru laughed lightly. “Well, it’s nice that he helps, right?” Yaku nods in response and Raibaru continues, “This has all been very… informative, but I honestly don’t think I’d be a great fit for this club. I’ve never been very interested in science, whether that be psychology, robotics, chemistry… I can’t say I’ve ever been any good with the subjects either.”

Yaku simply smiles and crosses his arms. “Well, I can’t blame you. Science is pretty complicated in general. I’d like to point out, though, the only reason each of us club members are working on such complicated projects is because we’ve been in the science field for years.” He explains. “It’s not likely, if not just impossible, that you would be working on the things we’re working on even if you were interested. That’s just an experience issue.” He reassures her.

“I understand.” Raibaru nods with a wry grin. “I’ll definitely leave all the science to this club. But, on another note..” She looks at the remaining plastic cases and asks, “Where is Meka taking those?”

“The, uh, right..? Storage room in the gymnasium, I believe. I’m sure she’d appreciate it if you brought those to her.” Yaku claimed, successfully guessing why Raibaru had even asked.

Raibaru nods with a smile, taking four of the cases, which left Ayano with the last two. She walks past Yaku and nods at him approvingly. “Thanks for your time, Yaku. You’ve been a big help!”

Ayano follows Raibaru downstairs as Yaku happily bids them farewell.

__

“I’m sure Asu would appreciate having you as a member.” Hojiro says with a smile, crossing his arms in a similar fashion that Itachi does. “Your history with the martial arts club might help you adapt to the club if you plan on joining.”

Both Itachi and Asu hadn’t come over when Ayano waved at them. Itachi didn’t seem like he wanted to be interrupted, and Asu either didn’t get that Ayano wanted to talk or just wanted to focus on running. Both had very valid reasons, possibly. So, Hojiro came over instead.

“I agree.” Raibaru nods, although she didn’t look particularly interested. “So, you’re called the Sports Club, but I’ve only seen you all run or swim. Do you do anything with the equipment in the storage rooms?”

Hojiro exhales, “Yeah, we get that question a lot. We used to last year a lot, but since Asu became the leader, she’s kept her focus on running and swimming. I couldn’t tell you why exactly.” He explains, shrugging with a sympathetic frown.

Ayano speaks up, “I heard that swimming was her favorite sport, with running or jogging being a close second.” She comments, frowning, “Isn’t it kind of… unprofessional to have the Sports Club equipment wasting away?”

“Well, yes, probably. Maybe she just saves it for the Sports Festival? That’s coming up in a few weeks.” Hojiro guesses, although ultimately he doesn’t know the answer himself.

Raibaru hums in thought, “If I don’t end up joining, I’ll make sure to come to the Sports Festival. That sounds fun.” She claims, actually seeming to enjoy that idea. Then again, as per usual, it could just come down to her liking the thought of doing something special with Osana.

“One more club.” Ayano mumbles, although Raibaru catches it.

“Yup! And it might be the one I’m most drawn to.” She says, smiling happily. She gives Hojiro a quick bow, “Thank you very much for the information.”

Hojiro simply nods. “Sorry I couldn’t be much help. Good luck with whatever club you choose.” He waves the two off briefly and tosses his towel on a nearby bench before continuing to the track.

As Raibaru and Ayano walked to the Gardening Club, Ayano’s phone buzzed in her pocket.

Info-Chan: Smash your phone.

Ayano: What.

Info-Chan: You don’t have a plan for how you’re going to get your hands on Raibaru’s phone, right?

Ayano: Okay, but what does breaking my phone have to do with that?

Info-Chan: Say you need to take an important call.

Info-Chan: Whenever she looks away, throw it on the ground.

Info-Chan: She’ll likely offer you hers since she doesn’t use it much anyway.

Ayano: Then I’ll have her phone, but not my own.

Info-Chan: Just slide it under my door before classes. I’ll fix it by the time classes are over.

Ayano: Alright. I guess.

__

“Hello.” Sakura greeted in a quiet voice, almost too quiet to be heard. She had a habit of being quiet and sometimes unnoticed due to that and her short height. “I’m sorry, Uekiya isn’t here right now. Do you have any business with her?”

“Not Uekiya specifically.” Ayano shakes her head.

Raibaru finishes for her, smiling at Sakura. “I’m just looking through the clubs to see if I’m open to joining any of them. This is the last club I’m visiting.” She says softly, somewhat matching Sakura’s own tone. “Can you tell me a bit about the Gardening Club.”

“Hm.. I suppose I can.” Sakura says. She was holding a book in her hand, one that Ayano had seen before in the Occult Club. Sakura places the book in her bag, which was resting on a nearby wooden chair.

Brushing off her skirt briefly before picking a corner of the gardening club to walk to. She decides on the back left corner, stopping in front of the small garden where the club usually grew vegetables. “This is where we…”

Immediately, Ayano tuned Sakura out. Despite her attempt to ignore it, her eyes were glued to a certain plot of soil. It almost seemed as if the soil there was looser, despite the fact that the gardening club has likely watered it constantly and kept it in place. It was deep enough, she was sure of it.

Ayano had done all of the research. It would take a very long time for Saki’s body to decompose given the conditions, but in the end, it’s likely that she would stay hidden. She spent over half an hour making sure that that was the case, so it had to be true. As she stared at the plot of soil, she almost felt light-headed.

She hadn’t bothered closing Saki’s eyes when she buried her. Were they aimed at her right now? Staring directly at her through the layers of dirt and roots? Saki’s hair was long. Would it eventually stick out if the earth were worn away before the body decomposes? Hair wasn’t really made to decompose like bodies- it could possibly take longer than her body.

Saki’s body was down there.

Ayano felt a hand creep up onto her shoulder and she flinched hard, immediately whipping her head to see who it was. It was Raibaru. She looked concerned. “Are you feeling alright? You look pale.”

It took Ayano a moment, but she slowly shook her head. “I’m okay… I thought I saw, uh… one of those..” She gulped, attempting to calm her nerves, “...one of those winged spiders.”

“There’s such a thing as a winged spider?!” Raibaru gaped, looking mortified. Ayano couldn’t tell if Raibaru was trying to change the topic off of Ayano’s clearly unnerved expression, or if she was genuinely terrified of bugs.

“I don’t think so, hehe.” Sakura reassured Raibaru quietly. “I’m pretty sure that that’s a fictional species. And even if it was real, it’s not native to Japan, so it’s unlikely that it’s anywhere near us.” She explained briefly with a calm smile.

“Oh… good to know..” Raibaru sighed in relief.

Sakura led Raibaru to the shed and greenhouse, holding both of her hands to either of the two small areas. “This is the shed- where we keep all of our tools, and this is the greenhouse- where we usually grow herbs. We don’t grow them with grapes or carrots or anything because they’re more susceptible to bad weather.” She raises her hand to the shed again. “Fair warning, there are some dangerous items in the shed, hence why only Uekiya has the key. She keeps all the dangerous items inside the locked part of the shed.”

“Does the headmaster allow that?” Raibaru asked, tilting her head to the side. Ayano took it upon herself to pay close attention to this part for the sake of knowing everything that needed to be known about the available weapons in the school.

“Yes. In fact, he’s the one who offered them to us, I believe. He offered us access to these to make pruning and such easier, but also so that we would give a helping hand to getting rid of pesky plants that are harder to remove.” Sakura explains.

She then walks to the middle of the gardening club, holding her hands out to the space around her. “We usually specialize in flowers, but we try to keep them all vastly different. Mainly because we need them to do something outside of sitting there and looking pretty when others need to be planted.” Sakura folds her hands in front of her. She looked somewhat out of breath, but wasn’t finished yet. “So, sometimes we try to make perfume, dyes, air cleaners, oils- sometimes we give some to the cooking club for food. And so on and so forth. But that’s just the flowers.”

Raibaru smiles giddily. “It sounds extensive! And well worth the effort.” She hesitates before saying, “I’m not… usually one to actively get dirty, but maybe I’ll decide to start sacrificing my cleanliness after this?” She wonders aloud, looking generally happy. Maybe it was after completing her and Ayano’s mission, maybe she just really likes the thought of the gardening club.

“Well, we’ll be here whenever you decide to join. Outside of Scilla, you will have been our newest member this week!” Sakura claims.

“Scilla joined?” Ayano wondered aloud, surprised that he, someone who couldn’t speak without apologizing, had actually gained the nerve to join the Gardening Club. Maybe he hoped that since the whole club was generally very sweet, that he’d be more comfortable?

Sakura nods, and Raibaru speaks up with a quick bow of her head. “Alright, it’s almost time for class, so we’d better get going. Thank you so much for your time, Sakura!”

“Oh, I’m happy to have helped.” Sakura nods with a calm smile, waving the two off.

Now that they were finally finishing up their task, Ayano had to put her plan to action. Raibaru turned to look back at Ayano with a satisfied smile and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sudden ring of Ayano’s phone. She waved her hand as Ayano gave her a questioning look, as if asking if she could take the call. “Go ahead,” She mouthed.

As soon as Raibaru turned her back to continue walking, Ayano answered the phone. “Hel– ah–” She immediately slammed it into the floor and gasped, this time, flawlessly acting out the accident. “...oh.”

Raibaru whipped her head back with a shocked expression and grimaced at the shattered glass on the ground. “Oh, jeez, Ayano..” She looked around, making sure that she could see every piece on the sidewalk. “That’s not good… I didn’t realize phones could break so easily..”

“Ugh, I–” Ayano sighs, “That was a… very important call.. I’m not sure how I’m going to…”

Like clockwork, Raibaru fishes her own phone out of her pocket and holds it to Ayano with a smile. “If you remember the number you can take my phone for a minute. I don’t really use it anyway.”

“Oh.” Ayano looks shocked at the phone, but hurriedly takes it, “Thank you. I’ll…” She quickly dials Info-Chan’s number and holds it up to her ear. She looks around briefly, to the nearby bench, to the sidewalk, to the broken phone, “I’ll be right back. I’ll go get a broom or… something.” She says, turning on her heel and walking the other way. Raibaru nods to her and begins picking up the bigger shards.

__

Info-Chan hadn’t bothered actually saying anything, it was really just quiet static that played on the other side of the phone. Eventually, she finished the Info-Install process- much quicker than before- and returned the phone to Raibaru. After they parted ways, Ayano took her broken phone and slid it beneath the door of the Info-Club.

As promised, Info-Chan delivered her phone, which already had the information about Lori and Frankie already messaged to her. First, it started with information for both Frankie and Lori.

Name: Francesca Komai

Gender: Female

Class: 3-2

Club: Martial Arts

Persona: Phone Addict

Reputation:

Overall: +38

Liked: +75 Respected: +30

Feared: +10

Crush: None

Strength: Strong

Likes & Dislikes:

Likes: Money, School, Socializing, The Photography Club, Combat

Dislikes: Gossip, Justice, Solitude, Family, Animals

Bio: “A girl with fashion similar to the gyaru girls, despite having a much different personality. She enjoys the gyaru fashion, but doesn’t entertain gossip like the gyaru girls do. She joined the Martial Arts club under the simple claim that she liked going out at night, and wanted to know how to defend herself just in case. The truth is that she’s being harassed by a lower-classman and wants to know how to keep herself safe until she can eventually run away.”

Most of what was said about Francesca was ultimately what Ayano expected, although she didn’t realize that she actively enjoyed combat. Of course, there’s a difference between being beat up and sparring, but what was the difference between that and what were the differences in regards to that for Frankie herself?

The information that really surprised Ayano was what she read about Lori.

Name: Lorelai Bier

Gender: Male

Class: 1-1

Club: None

Persona: Violent

Reputation:

Overall: -16

Liked: -100

Respected: -50

Feared: +100

Crush: None

Strength: Extensive Training

Likes & Dislikes:

Likes: Combat, Money, Solitude, Martial Arts, Social Media

Dislikes: Justice, Socializing, School, Cooking, Family

Bio: A boy who cross-dresses as a girl. Not many- if any knows that he’s a male, and he’s known for being violent when bothered. He’s usually left alone, but rather than being hated, some students give him gifts or offer him nice things as a way to brighten his mood. This doesn’t change his violent nature, but it does coax him to stay out of others' way and hide elsewhere so as to not bother anyone or be bothered. He cross-dresses because he’s learned that doing so gets him more lenient treatment if he’s caught fighting.

For a moment, Ayano wondered if Info-Chan had entered Lori- or Lorelai’s information wrong. The revelation of Lori actually being a male wasn’t necessarily important, but it did make sense to a certain degree regarding Lori and Frankie’s strength difference. To everyone’s knowledge, Lori didn’t train for anything, and Frankie was actively training in the Martial Arts club. Not to mention that Lori was smaller than Frankie (or appeared as such beneath his sweaters), and younger than her by at least two years.

From the point of view of anyone else who knew Frankie and Lori, the thought of Lori actively attacking Frankie to the point that she had to flee didn’t make any sense. Now, with the reveal of Lori’s information, both in gender and in strength, it made more sense to Ayano.

Ayano looked at the final few messages, which successfully explained Lori’s motives.

Info-Chan: Lorelai Bier is hired weekly to attack and physically harass Francesca Komai. I don’t know by who or why right now because Lorelai doesn’t bring a phone to school. He doesn’t make calls so I have no access to who he talks to while he’s in school.

Info-Chan: I do know that Francesca is aware of Lorelai’s real gender and strength-level, although I don’t know what led to her knowing this. I also know that she doesn’t want to tell anyone at school because she’s nosy, and wants to know why Lorelai is attacking her. According to her, she doesn’t think that no one attacks someone for no reason, and is actually concerned for Lorelai.

Info-Chan: If you want to learn more about how to help them, then bring me information about Francesca and Lorelai’s interactions outside of school. For a massive bonus, also bring me information about who is hiring Lorelai.

Ayano inhales deeply, and then exhales just as hard. Truthfully, the interactions today had worn her out. She wasn’t at all ready to deal with whatever the hell Frankie and Lorelai had going on today. She’d deal with it tomorrow, she decided.

Watching Taro’s actions for the next couple of hours would be the perfect break for Ayano.

[fismoll7secinv]

15 questions, 15 people:

I was tagged by dear @a-very-fond-farewell 💚I hope you get your lobster sanctuary! 💚

-

1. are you named after anyone?

nope

2. when was the last time you cried?

I don't know, I don't really cry

3. do you have kids?

never

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

yeah, quite casually in everyday life, but I try to tone it down

5. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

I'm bad with faces, I might not recognise someone who's new to me after interacting with them every day for 2 weeks (based on a true story) xdd so what I notice at first is the overall vibe they present, which is a combination of their posture and body language, clothes and accessories, facial expressions etc. This doesn't tell absolutely accurately who they are, but it shows how they want to be perceived mixed with some unconscious elements they might not notice themselves, which is interesting to me

6. what’s your eye color?

eh idk, people say they're blue when I'm in a blue pool, green when I'm among greenery, grey when it's a bit dark. I guess they're a subtle mixture that looks like nothing until there's something external that brings out one of the colors. it's a bit annoying tbh, so I usually just say grey

7. scary movies or happy endings?

i love horror, very high on my list of fav genres, but I also love happy endings, just not necessarily in horrors. In media other than horror I need HE or I feel down. So i'd say: both

8. any special talents?

I've had a music talent since I was little, couldn't understand how other kids didn't know how to play the flute or keep the rhythm. I've also heard various ppl say that I somehow know how to arrange things to be aesthetically pleasing, but I could never explain how to do it, it just looks better a certain way. A bit for drawing, considering how fast I improved compared to some other people, but I haven't pursued it farther than sketching. Sport comes pretty smoothly to me and my body, I've always been "the athletic girl"

I may sound like i'm bragging but i try to be objective for my own self. After all "talent" means nothing and is just bitterly wasted if you're not practising, so for me it can be more of a shameful thing that I let rot rather than something to be proud of. It's also so useless when teaching others, because you don't know how to explain shit when you do it intuitively, which tripped me a lot of times while trying to teach someone. Very annoying and sometimes isolating in a sense that you just vibe with yourself instead of sharing the experience with others

9. where are you born?

in a hospital

10. what are your hobbies?

reading, writing, taking care of plants, pen & paper rpgs, collecting weird trinkets and paintings, drawing, horror movies, detective stories, listening to podcasts

11. do you have any pets?

we have a dog but I moved out of my family home recently and the doggo stayed there, I still visit often and walk him, but it doesn't feel like he's really mine anymore :(

12. what sports do you/have you played?

I did gymnastics and horse-riding for a few years as a kid, used to jog in middle/high school, I also go on a trip to the mountains at least once a year to hike bc I'm obsessed with it. Recently I like to do yoga and fitness to bring my body to its limit and stretch all the pains that keep accumulating. I almost didn't move from my desk for over a year some time ago because i was too busy with uni, work and a few other big things, and it ended up in a neck injury that escalated to a few months of rehab. Now I move a lot so those nightmarish pain and several contusions don't repeat

13. how tall are you?

taller than most women and many guys

14. favourite subject in school?

all languages, math, biology

15. dream job?

neuroscientist, astronaut or pilot of small planes

-

I have no idea who did this already, feel free to ignore as always. Tagging @prommethium @miyakuli @still-gathering-roses @carmine-sunlight @wikipedie

[tobyisave]

ask dump #3!

rch

Yes and no! Holetta Baby is a character song for a story I wrote in high school with some friends I've since fallen out of touch with --- because of that (esp. since some of the characters were based on ourselves), and because it's frankly bizarre, I don't know if I'll ever share too much about it.

All you really need to know is that it's from the perspective of a man whose wife flew away as he gradually realizes that she's never coming back. IIRC she was just fleeing for a while because their love was forbidden, hence "Loving you's so good I fear it's wrong." In reality, she got trapped on an island somewhere and he was too heartbroken to consider the possibility that she might need rescuing.

Thank you!!! I really can't overstate how happy I am that Townsend resonates with other people who have intrusive thoughts. It's something I still have trouble talking about but she's been a good outlet for that. Also quite happy that the angst is hitting right ehehe

art

Honestly no, I have so much trouble with that too OTL. Occasionally I use the warp tool on a sketch to help put an interesting line of action before I actually do lineart? I recently started experimenting with drawing in fisheye perspective too, and that definitely shakes things up.

Thank you so much!!

I almost always draw in Procreate (with an iPad + apple pen). I have 2 sets of favorite brushes on there - these are what I usually use:

6B Pencil (found in the "sketching" category). I use this for EVERYTHING from lines to rendering.

Studio Pen ("inking")

Medium Hard Airbrush aka the most generic brush on earth

Inka ("inking")

Spectra ("painting") - annoying because it can alter colors by pressure though

Then I have this set I call 'ink kit' which I use when I want to change things up without actually switching mediums lol

Blackburn ("drawing") - Really thick brush that makes me think a little harder about lines. I also have a duplicate modified to make it a little smoother and smaller & I switch between those two when doing lineart on these pieces

Gesinski Ink ("inking") - one of those pens that's flat so it's really thin or wide depending on the angle

Oil Paint ("painting")

Watercolor ("painting") -- just for coloring stuff in when it doesn't have to be precise

Also these niche uses:

Driven Snow ("elements") for freckles

Nikko Rull ("painting") for skin texture

adamandi

It was just a fairly thick curling iron (curled upwards all over my head) and then a lot of hairspray. If I remember correctly, the first night it was done by our costume designer Hahnji Jang (@/hahnjij on insta!) and then I did it myself the rest of the nights. It was definitely their idea at least - my hair is naturally pretty flat and up til then I assumed Vincent's would be too, lol.

No idea where the bag (or really any of it) is from, sorry. I really liked walking around in his swooshy jacket, and I ended up buying it afterwards. As far as normal people clothes I would actually wear, I really really liked his pants, which I was unfortunately not able to keep.

There actually exists in my mind a completely different "biblically accurate Vincent," which is the Vincent I had been picturing all the way up until the actual performances. I always pictured him with long black hair and freckles, and I considered drawing on freckles for the show because of that.

[attyrocious]

heyyy I'm new to digital art, would you mind sharing some tips regarding programs and tutorials and etc? also on how to turn a real life piece into a beautiful and clean digital piece... really love your art

oh good luck with your art journey! my experience with digital art is pretty dated (as in a decade + levels dated) and i might be too out of touch to give beginner tips but regardless, allow me to attempt

Programs: it would help to know which hardware you have for digital but ill put down some i have experience in 1. Clip Studio Paint Pro - PC/Android/ipad/everywhere i think? unfortunately they betrayed humankind and its now a subscription everywhere but on PC. i bought a one-time license years years years ago on sale and its probably the best available on my end. I also got it on subscription on android so i can sync works between my PC and tablet. its very flexible in a way that you can draw with it in the most basic way single layer sketches or whatever but they have so many features and keep adding more.

2. procreate - ipad only never been an apple user but my friend is, and he's been a procreate user forever. he recently tried CSP on ipad though and he still claims he likes procreate better for ease of use and compatibility with tablet ergonomics and apple pen

3. medibang paint - pc/android/ipad

free forever. and out of all the free programs i recommended my other digital art newbie friend this is what he liked best.

4. adobe photoshop - dont even look at this the only reason i have one is im leeching off company license. its still unfortunately the industry standard tho but CSP is much cheaper and has the same controls and most of the basic functions 5. Paint Tool SAI - my first art program but i haven't tried it again. honestly still think this has the best brush flexibility and pen pressure control ----- As for tutorials, i find digital art has such a steep and high skill ceiling and its a challenge im still tackling and probably will forever tackle haha. I'm trying to osmosis painting techniques from splash art painters from League of Legends who most of them post complete timelapses (my favorite being Bo Chen) where you can study not just their techniques but like, art directions that make their pieces striking. Anyway, I also promised a friend I would make a simple coloring tutorial so maybe after inktober hustle, I would look for a piece there I'd use for the guide.

---- Traditional to digital is never a satisfactory process to me but if you can, invest on a scanner. I use an epson v39, had it for years.

scanned vs edited. the goal is to at least get the white of the paper as white as possible and the blacks the blackest, without whitewashing/burning the rest of the colors. Level correction function is your best friend here and most art programs have that.

Then i just clean dust and errors and slide the contrasts around until it looks as close to the original piece

If you have a decent phone camera, you can get away just posting instagram aesthetic pics with materials framing it or smth and just edit as usual. natural light tends to be a lot more forgiving than the harsh light of scanners anyway.

Anyway I hope this helps and have fun learning!

[am00eba]

I love your art so so so so so so so sooooo much, it's sooooo 😋😋😋 I wanna eat it.

And I still can't get over the fact that you follow me and we're mutuals (ehehe, you'll never know who am I..(^_^ )

leaving that aside, what app or software do you use to draw?

And a little tutorial on how you paint?

Oh myyy! that's so kind thank you ^^ whoever you are, it's my pleasure to follow you as well ❤️

I use ibis paint for drawing, and doing pretty much everything :-D

Aaand I have two different ways of doing so! Sometimes i simply do everything digitally, so i don't really know how to explain it (I do lineart -> base colors -> shading on an upper layer, playing a bit with the ibis paint blending modes , so the process differs every time!)

And then there's my favorite technique! Mixing traditional and digital work. Here's how to do it + some tips! I got inspiration from older fanarts i found on this site, they had such an unique charm and i wanted to recreate it somehow.

We'll take this drawing as an example :-D vvv

1. Just draw normally with a pencil on a sheet! You can also:

- Use different stuff from a pencil, such as a pen, or draw with ink (i personally use a mechanical pencil, but feel free to experiment around, that's the key to pretty much everything)

- Use specific sheets, exploiting their own texture, choosing your favorite (they can have lines on, be a little crumpled..you decide!) vvv

2. You'll have to take a picture of it, to import it digitally on your software. Make sure the light hits the paper evenly! Or you can use this at your own advantage, if you want your drawings to have darker places.

3. Import the pic on ibis paint; go to adjust color > extract line drawing (image 1). Then..just play with that setting until you like what you see! This will basically "erase" the white parts of the picture and leave you with the lineart only (image 2). After that, just color and shade everything in the same way you'd do with a digital drawing (image 3).

I recommend using this technique if you think your drawings are better traditionally or if you (like me :'-D) perceive proportions better on paper, rather than on a screen. This is also to give the drawing more texture and make it more alive (compare it to the white blank canva and see how it differs!)

Of course this might not be the best media for everyone. It depends a lot on the artstyle..but feel free to try it out!❤️❤️

[joandraws]

Connie Converse

Maybe you've heard of her, maybe you haven't. I'm writing this for those who haven't.

Connie may well be the first American singer-songwriter, though her name remains relatively obscure. I only stumbled upon her music recently and was instantly captivated by it. My fascination with her artistry drove me to delve deeper into her life and the mystery surrounding her disappearance. This exploration took an emotional toll, as I found myself relating to her on a profound level. Her lyrics already resonated with me, but as I delved into her story and read parts of her final letter titled "To Anyone Who Ever Asks," the line, "Let me go, let me be if I can, let me not be if I can't," moved me to tears. I suddenly felt like her disappearance was such a significant loss to the world.

Then a strange thing happened as I was painting this portrait of her. I glanced at my worn-out, old Intuos4 graphic tablet (yes, it still works), its stickers peeling off, and I couldn't help but cry. In a hypothetical scenario (if I also disappeared) where someone as sensitive as me discovered my possessions, viewed my art, and learned about my life, they might feel the same way about me. In that moment, I gained a newfound appreciation for my art, for what I do, and for who I am.

Being proud of my art has always been a challenge for me. Typically, I create and release my work into the world, allowing it to find its own audience. And I have to admit that a lot of the time I even dislike my art. But lately, I've been working on having the same level of appreciation for my own work as I do for others. I'm sharing this because I know there are many artists, like me, who are excessively self-critical. Yes, I struggle with perfectionism, but even more than that, I used to be so self-critical to the extent that I would stop myself from creating at all.

This year, however, through my personal sketchbook project, I've made a conscious effort to change that. I've been focusing more on savoring the process of simply putting pen to paper.

But enough about me for now; let's shift our attention back to Connie Converse, and I'll just leave this sentence that her brother Philip Converse wrote about her:

"Sis was a genius and a polymath. I do not use the terms lightly. Connie was a poet, a writer of scholarly articles, a cartoonist, a painter, a would-be novelist by her own description, an activist, sculptor, and among other things a songwriter."

She wrote most of her songs between 1950 and 1955 when she was in her late 20s, living in New York City. While they do evoke that period, they are also timeless.

There's another intriguing aspect about her, at least from my perspective. Based on my reading and the accounts of those who knew her, it's my personal belief that she may have been on the asexual spectrum. I don't mean to speculate or offend her family, but this is just my personal opinion. Her music often delved into themes of loneliness and isolation, but it also celebrated her independence and contentment with being on her own. It's evident that she grappled with depression and often felt unheard. If she indeed fell within the asexual spectrum, it's highly plausible that she also carried feelings of being different or "broken," a common experience for asexual individuals, including myself.

There has also been speculation that she might have been a lesbian, though it remains just speculation. Ultimately, we'll never truly know, and her personal life remains her own business. I believe there might be a connection between these aspects. She was undeniably brilliant, and while it might be wishful thinking on my part, the fact that she was never found and her family respected her wishes allows me to imagine that she might still be out there somewhere. I hope she senses how much people cherish her music now and realizes how deeply appreciated she is.

Thank you for reading if you did! If you want to know more about Connie Converse you can listen to Spinning On Air's beautiful podcast episodes about her here, here and here.

[luckywolfsbane]

"theoretical human i might never know about" hihi i keep missing all the tic posts and life has been hectic as fuck so i keep forgetting ANYWAY uhhhhh roman lore? mayhaps??? it's ok if not ofc was just wondering :D

Of course! I haven't dropped any lore recently, but I'm making slow progress on chapter 2. I'm almost done with it, actually. Or I hope. But things have been hectic over here, too. I just started my first trucking job, so I'm fighting my circadian rhythm to get there for training every weekday. 😅

Let me go grab Roman's character file real quick and give you some character facts. Here's some random details I can give you:

Roman is a traveling artist who enjoys painting beautifully terrible phenomena. He prefers acrylics to carry due to their drying rate. At any given point, there's a high chance he'll have paint on his hands, face, and even clothing. Despite this, catching him painting is no easy feat.

Despite carrying and being formidable with a khopesh, Roman does not consider himself much of a swordsman. That doesn't mean he underestimates himself in this regard; rather, he knows he's fully capable but believes he'd only be a swordsman if he were passionate about it.

Roman is a well-rounded individual. Not only is he artistically and athletically inclined, but he's also a talented mage. While his birthright has to remain unsaid for the time being, it should be noted that he has a dual alignment(e.i. he was born with two types of magic.)

Roman's hair is his crowning glory. Being type 4c--easily damaged and as coily as it comes--maintaining his locs matters to him. As a matter of fact, Roman, in particular, has been growing his locs for the last decade, and the length shows.

Roman is 21 and has not seen his only living family in 5 years. Despite his lack of contact, he has continued to keep tabs on them to be sure they're cared for and safe.

Roman grew up in a small town on an isolated island between Keltae and Eldridge. His family still resides there.

He has mild asthma! In certain climates(particularly dry and cold), he gets a persistent dry cough.

Roman is bisexual and a cis-man.

If he can't control a situation, it makes him nervous even when there's nothing to fear. His nervous energy comes out as irritation and snapped words. He's fully aware of this but struggles to mitigate it in the moment.

Roman enjoys chess and other strategic board games. He also enjoys horseback riding, though he rarely has the chance to experience it casually.

What you'll find if you open his pack:

Several smaller sizes of canvases

Two full sets of brushes(in cases)

A pair of small paint pallets.

Foldable easel

Acrylic paints

An old photograph of his entire family

Small wallet

Outdated phone with a lightly cracked screen

Undyed, natural hair wax

Grapeseed oil

Honey and coconut leave-in conditioner

Small spray bottle full of an unlabled astringent

Tangle of hair ties

A pencil

3 pens

A half-used miniature noteapd

And a few other small objects, like a dry oil, a wide tooth comb, etc.

I adore Roman. I wish I could give you story relevant specifics, but I don’t want to spoil too much. He's very interesting and I don’t want to give too much away.

[jones-friend]

Gencon Thots

Now that I’ve mostly recovered from the Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour I wanted to post some thots I had regarding games I discovered at gencon!

So I used to collect pokemon cards. Im a longtime mtg player. When I heard Disney was asking Ravensburger to make a tcg I was curious. To do the equivalent of sticking my head around the corner I entered a Lorcana learn to play.

Good god was this game popping off at gencon. Every game was full and every morning the booth sold out. There’s a ton of speculative hype surrounding the game right now.

In Lorcana we are illumineers painting Characters with Ink who will generate Lore. The first player to generate 20 Lore wins. Characters have a power, health, and amount of lore they generate as stats with an Ink cost, whether or not the card can be played as Ink, and any abilities the card may have.

On your turn you may reveal a card with that gold swirl around the cost and play face down as Ink (lands). There is no colors, Ink is Ink, and a deck can contain no more than 2 colors of Ink at a time.

Characters cannot Exert (tap) the turn you play them, “the paint has to dry”. Once the paint dries you can Exert your Character. They can Exert to generate Lore equal to the pen pips on the right of the text box (Tinkerbell here makes 1 lore). You can also Exert a Character to Challenge an Exerted Character (you cannot Challenge an unExerted Character). Challenge is fighting, each Character deals damage equal to their power. Damage does not wear off, meaning you can’t unendingly use one beater to stomp thru your opponent’s deck.

There are also Songs. Songs are special Actions that can be played using our already played Characters. So timing my plays right I could play a Character with a cost of 5. On my next turn I could Exert them to play Let it Go for free, play an Ink, and play a 6 cost Character playing 11 Ink worth of stuff for 6. Its a really neat idea.

I feel Lorcana has a lot of good ideas and takes away a lot of what feels bad about mtg. In doing so I think it also takes away some of what people like.

The ink system is great. Manascrew isnt really a thing in this game. That your cards (and not all of them) can be played as Ink or for its cost is fascinating. I bounced my opponent’s smaller Character and he played it as Ink to play his larger cost Character. You end up making more decisions about who to use as Ink and who to play, and it opens up deckbuilding to more fun options.

Not being able to touch your opponent’s stuff (for the most part) is also a polarizing thing. I like that I know I can use my dudes before they get picked. Some people might hate that they have to wait.

I like that its a race to generate Lore rather than having another slugfest. It makes the game feel unique and Lore generation as a stat adds more dimension to what cards can do.

One of the biggest, most polarizing points of the game for players will be that there are no Instants. There is no play-response system in this game. The only time you interact with your opponent’s turn is if they trigger your ability during their turn. Otherwise you do not interact with your opponent’s turn.

I did not enjoy the starter decks. I steamrolled my opponent every game. My buddy got steamrolled every game. Thats 4 decks with 4 games and 2 were clearly stronger than the other 2. I don’t feel the starter decks did a good job balancing the different colors and showcasing what they do. My opponent had gray and yellow, idk what they do bc I dunked on every dude he tossed out. Then what I played he couldn’t touch. It was a hot mess and I think they did a poor job constructing entry level lists meant to be played against each other in a paid event.

Otherwise I felt the game was fine enough. Unique enough not to just be a mtg clone, has some mechanics that make my brain go brrr, but I feel its a tcg with bumpers on it. Its very safe in the experience it delivers and bc of this you can often forecast the next 2-3 turns and you can tell you’ve lost and just have to wait for the loss to take place. Its not a game I’m interested in buying myself but if my bud wanted to go to an event or play with decks they made I’d def be down as a friend activity.

[artwithoutblood]

I’m enjoying the headcanons. We’ve seen Eri and now Aeron, now wondering about the rest of the girlies.

I can’t decide if Genesis bleaches his hair or uses henna. (Or it’s natural?) I feel like he takes a multipurpose product on tour to save room in his backpack so he smells like an orange/cinnamon/patchouli 2-in-1 shampoo + body bar or just uses grapefruit scented body wash on his hair and body. Maybe it’s just a bar of bubblegum scented soap from a pack bought for Micah. But then from his flag he’s a PoC and he has such long hair so he might also bring ten kinds of conditioning products with clashing scents.

I feel like he might enjoy chewing gum, like Juicy Fruit. Or Red Hots. He seems like the type to enjoy spicy salty or crunchy food, jiggle his leg or foot and chew on pens or toothpicks. (Or guitar picks.)

I’ve already headcanoned that Dorian reads middle aged mom romances alone in his library and possibly also reads the ones Erebus writes (if Eri doesn’t keep those secret that is - which he well might). While Dori suppresses gestures to seem calm and in control in front of the Fallen, he stims while writing letters by stroking and twiddling the ends of his hair. He drinks fruity tea and uses eucalyptus shampoo as a reprieve from the monotonous smell of dust and ashes. I wonder if he likes Parma violets.

Kayn rolls up an extra fur to slip inside his nest or bedroll beside him, to trap warm air and block the drafts. Or so he claims. He hugs the fur pillow as he hums himself to sleep and the Northern wind howls outside. He likes pemmican.

Apologies, I know very little about Ambrose but maybe he mixes drinks he imagines would taste like or appeal to you. Maybe you’re unknowingly the muse for the weekly special.

[I deleted my headcanons about how Eri can be both ace and bi as per his chart - and people can connect between them in a few ways - because it felt really intrusive to pick that apart. Can elaborate if wanted.]

Between his coffee creamer and the old books Eri possibly smells of vanillin, with a sharp tang that could be cigarettes, ink, venom, rubbing alcohol or formaldehyde. Or due to the oversensitivity to smells he carefully keeps himself not smelling of anything.

[Deleted my speculations on Aeron’s orientation and gender because while I have a strong sense of who I think they are it seems rude/nosy to say. And they seem to prefer not to.]

Aeron craves affection and likes having varied sensual/sensory experiences. Paint is up there but is not the only one. They seek out social and visual stimulation constantly and flirt socially with everyone because they just love to connect. I feel like they may enjoy strong perfume or cologne, going between both and varying the scents depending on the day. They seem like a jasmine sort of person but also mix it up with leather or cedarwood.

genesis packs literally an entire suitcase of hair products. being a demon means his hair color can be whatever, but that doesn't mean the hair just fixes itself. black vanilla shampoo, shea moisture. genesis probably falls into the 2C hair type. genesis braids micah's hair. he loves spicy food (even more than aeron) and can often by found chewing cinnamon or watermelon flavored gum.

i'm sure someone has brought him parma violets. dorian keeps a courtyard to grow fruits and flowers if he can. the smell of dusty books and the outside ash gets to him. he probably wears a flowery cologne as a result. he stims. he taps his pen against paper. he twirls his hair.

kayn does what he can to stay warm. there are pockets of warm air in the caves. his childhood bedroom still has a draft. he lines every piece of clothing with fur and sleeps twofold. he loves his dried berries and meat.

ambrose is a very intimate man. he wants to make you feel special when you first come to his bar (so you recommend him tk friends and come back another day!). he always plays 40s music. ella fitzgerald, frank sinatra. he keeps a vial of blood to drink from or to use in cocktails.

erebus is, as the books say, just a little guy. :)

he smells like alcohol and cigarettes - but in the smoke and sterile way. he tries to cover it with eucalyptus and orange. he stresses out, he turns to cigarettes. he tends to wallow in his own self-pity. aeron tells him he can smoke without damaging an already dying body if he just lets it die. once. erebus refuses. he coughs into his elbow and rolls his eyes.

aeron likes black cherry and jasmine. they smell like tea on some days; it's a preferred drink to coffee. they love social interaction. huge extrovert, but they aren't one to yell. they love whispers and gossip, and when they need to tune out, they thankfully can; it just takes a long stare out the window. give them a good party. give them a good ball.

[nabs-draws]

Whenever people ask me why I draw, I have an hard time answering it. While the impact of my life experiences and the result of it being a declining mental health sure plays a big role in why I draw the things I do, the reason of me drawing is not that deep at all. In fact...if I had to describe it with one word it is fun. Passion even.

I never really cared for likes and how many people look at my art. Likes and Follows are just metrics that cause stress for myself and also might lead into me playing a role, slowly loosing the focus of who I am and what I stand for. But who is my art for?

First and for-most I make the art for me. For the pure joy of creating. It is a satisfying feeling to move your pencil or digital pen across a canvas, slowly creating a world that you imagined or dreamed of. To use Symbolism to tell stories. To capture feelings that are difficult to express with words. And secondary. My Art is made for people who stop by and take time to look at my work. Maybe getting inspired by them to pick up a paintbrush and draw themselves. But also for the people who want to sit down and feel stuff from time to time. People who either want a good laugh, a good cry or something inbetween. People who like to dream. Or people that are openly willing to talk about mental health cause this topic ties like a red line across my work. (if it's not leaning towards the dreamy, playful side of course)

The image you see here is a visual representation of the image above. I called it "Passion". The Drawing process was quite interesting, as it originally started to be an artwork which should capture my view of "AI" . How AI could be a good thing but unfortunately that technology fell into the hands of some greedy people which only cause harm with it. But I think I should keep that topic for another day. As an Artist, I must admit that I'm a bit tired of this whole AI talk.

Anyway...

The more I worked on it, the further away it went from it's core idea to a point where I had no idea what I was doing. This was one of the reasons why I was a bit unsure of posting it on social Media but a friend encouraged me to do so, as she said "This Artwork really made her feel something that she cannot describe. And that more people should see it" so here we are. Trying not to be shy about it.

The Program i used to paint this was Photoshop. And in case anyone want to know which brushes I used: I mainly used the Ahmed Aldoori Brushset , some brushes by Jeremy Fenske as well as the Kyle Webster Brushes for the effects)

You also find my work here:

Cara

Instagram

TikTok

[99lostsouls]

To my new pen pal;

Hi there! Season’s greetings has come around and given me your name to write to. I don’t normally write letters, so this might look a bit messy. Sorry.

How’s living in the haunted house? The ghosts are friendly enough if they’re not trying to mess with you. Kinda wish they fixed this place up before forcing all of us in here… but I guess we can make do with what we’ve got, right?

I guess if I’m gonna be writing letters to you, I might as well tell you a little about myself. That’s what pen pals do, apparently. For starters, I get cold very easily. I promise this isn’t just me complaining about the cold, it’s quite well-known about me. I only really eat snacks, so I never really have to worry about cooking anything here. That looks like a nightmare with the kitchen as it is. But I really like homecooked meals too. Hopefully the upcoming holiday will actually let us all sit down together for something like that. Fingers crossed.

You don’t have to write back with facts about yourself if you don’t want to. But, I am gonna ask you to write back an answer for this one question; any ideas what you would like for the holidays? Pen pals normally send gifts and stuff, but since I don’t know much about you, I’m not quite sure what to give you… so, why not tell me yourself and I’ll see what I can do when the time comes? Hope to hear back from you soon!

From your mystery pen pal

Dear mystery pen pal,

Hello! there's absolutely no need to apologize, I rarely write either. It's an unfamiliar experience, I find it exciting! I hope you do enjoy the process as well.

Ramshackle life is quite interesting. It's a big departure from the grand dormitories we're all used to living in. I believe in a way it may humble our student body after being brought down a few notches. like you said, you wished things were cleaner or in better shape but all of this has truly been left to the prefect themselves! when you realize that it puts how much you may be asking of them in perspective.

You'll have to work a little harder to have everything you want in a day while you're down here.

I've also tried helping the ramshackle prefect around with the dorm, whether that be sweeping, or decorating for the holidays, I have much more time to do so since I have no classes to attend. I think we should all at least put in a bit of work together. afterall, teamwork makes the dream work!

Thank you for the facts, I quite like them actually! learning about other people is just another hobby of mine. now I have a whole new person to learn about, and to try guessing who it is! again, I'm very excited. I hope after we met we can possibly be friends.

I thank you for the consideration! It's not often I get any type of gifts from anyone but my brother. but, I do think I may be a bit hard to gift for. I don't hold it against anyone.

For these holidays I believe I'd like to have a some art supplies. such as a sketch book and colored pencils. It's curious, drawing is something I didn't come out knowing how to do perfectly just yet. so it's something I'm deeply interested in pursuing.

do you like any forms of art? and I mean any forms, such as music or painting. be sure to tell me why as well!

That's all I wished to cover in my response. thank you again, write to you soon!

Sincerely,

Your Pen Pal!

[mr-sheridan]

Gifts Ideas! (MASTER LIST):

Okay so I went through most of the reblogs (as of nov 18, 2022) and made a summarized master list of all the good ideas ppl have piled up!

usernames are in blue my notes are in yellow!

(FRANCESDERWENT)

Nice new sheets

kitchen knives

new curtains (blackout!!)

Fleece-lined anything (sweats, hoodies)

insulated cookie sheets (didn't even know these exist)

kitchen scale

coffee bean grinder (for the coffee enthusiasts)

CDs??? apparently its nice to have physical copies

(MOTLEYSAINT)

good luggage (think suitcases, dufflebags, packing cubes, etc)

nice home decor (paintings, sculptures, "bless your home" kinda things, etc)

nice new pillows and blankets!!!

office supplies (pens, markers, sharpies!!)

coffee travel mugs? or whatever their favourite kind of drink is!

(MARZIPANANDMINUTIAE)

better replacements for old things from college

good shoes

hobby supplies!! (big one! whatever your reciever likes doing, get more supplies for them!)

nice gloves, hats, scarves!

(FUTURISTICBALLOONDREAM)

lamps

bookends

storage solutions/organizers (shoe racks, magazine racks, nice shoe organizers, etc)

photo album (its nice to have physical things :) )

"non-essential" kitchenware (glasses, mugs, different sized plates, roasting tins, etc)

big box of non-date/event specific cards + wrapping paper (for the ppl who forget dates and get last minute gifts. also good for yourself!)

EXPERIENCES!!!! (TALLFORAHOBBIT)

Tickets: to a museum, aquarium, concert, theme park, escape room, Vineyard tour/tasting, Renaissance Festival, Silent disco/club

Sessions: Recording session in a studio,VR, Axe throwing, laser tag, paintball, horseback riding, indoor skydiving, photoshoot for their pet

Giftcards: AirB&B, Lyft, Spa/sauna, video game bar or arcade

Classes or 1 time lessons: Glassblowing, Ice skating, diving, horseback riding, fencing, rock climbing, circus acrobatics, Bartending

(ELENTARY)

swiss army knives/multi tool

really nice coffee/tea and accessories

plants for the green thumb and plant parents! (or people who dont have plants in general, they need one.)

scarves or pashmina. (i'd also say gloves and hats as well!)

towels!! fluffier the better!

again, blankets

tools and materials for hobbies

boxes

(MANICPIXIEHORSEGIRL)

General cleaning supplies count too!

laundry detergent

shampoo

conditioner

soap

toothpaste

spices

sugar

rice

flour

toilet paper

(MISTYDAYJUDGE)

good iron/clothes steamer

more kitchen gadgets like crock pot, waffle maker, electric can openers, etc.

a nice vacuum, mop, and other cleaning supplies

business casual clothes! (i would be careful about this because some people have peculiar tastes)

gift cards!! from their favourite shops or cool local shops!

(FOXYATLAS)

Gift giving is a great time to get people you care about frivolous luxurious. Some notes:

for college people: things that'll bring comfort or fun (concert tickets, salon certificates, pre-paid yoga, dance classes. cozy clothes, warm blankets) stuff they might have at home but not at school, or stuff they maybe used to have but grew out of

recent graduates/ppl with big life changes: they probably need necessities (see above: sheets, kitchen knives, coffee grinder

ppl who are already settled down: want single-use luxuries. Things that they've bought before, but don't want to keep buying. Think fancy lotions (get stuff from lush), exotic foods (like fancy salsas)

A scratch off map of the world for someone who loves to travel

A map to place pins in for a grandma who wants to keep track of her grandchildrens journals across the country

A Spiderman poster for a teenage guy still excited about the movie

Gift card to a movie theater to allow a teenager to go out more

Very cozy onesie

Pride flags/clothes

Also!!!! Gift giving for neurodivergent people seems hard, but I promise you is actually way easier than you think. Find out their special interest. Buy them things based on it. You CANNOT GO WRONG.

Christmas is also a great time to buy fanart / fan-made goods.

(LUDE-N-LASCIVIOUS)

a lot of different batteries

expensive toiletries

OTC meds

first aid kits

gas cards

light bulbs

house air filters

(SCHOLARLYHOBBIT)

nicer/higher quality things you already own

a nice fountain pen for writers and note takers, or just a lot of pens for ppl who lose them a lot

refillable leather journal

cast iron pan

enamel dutch oven

nice leather bag

nice leather shoes

cashmere jumpers

real gold or silver jewellery

a nice rug

tell people, "I'm trying to use more durable things and own less, it's better for the environment, so if you want to give me something, please give me something I'll use all the time so I can think of you when I do so

OTHERS:

baked thingies :)

"art of" books for your art friends, physical copies of online things they like

subscriptions to things

good cookware, stainless steel pans and pots with copper bottoms, BPA free cookie utensils

knife sharpening block!

good quality socksss

mugs :)

hand blender

food processor

books!!!!!!!! that they like/have wanted

cool snacks

spices

a donation in your name

a nice veggie peeler

loofa

adjustable shower head

scented candles

a really good backpack or travel bag

EARBUDS/HEADPHONES (i always loose mine :'( )

tips:

make a "things I’d like but don’t want to buy for myself frivolously" list for gifts! - (MADEMOISELLESARCASME)

ASK PEOPLE WHAT THEIR FAVOURITE COLOUR IS!! I always ask this to people I meet for two reasons: 1. Great ice breaker! neutral and easy question to ask! 2. Great information for getting gifts? what better to receive anything in your favourite colour? :)

i find that gifts that get a laugh are also really good too, like i got my friend a sexy pepe body pillow and he really enjoyed it (pictured below, being braced by my sloth stuffie)

Barbara and my sloth embracing

wish list for people who don’t want anything

aka possessions which are just possessions, but which have noticeably improved my quality of life: for when people ask you “what do you want for your birthday/Christmas/graduation” and you instantly transform into St Francis and pledge fealty to Lady Poverty because your mind went blank

nice. new. sheets. I cannot emphasize this one enough. if you’re still using the same sheets you had in college, you should probably get new ones. get yourself some 100% bamboo rayon sheets—they’re silky and perfect for summer and great for sensitive skin! or, if you’re cold all the time, flannel sheets!

kitchen knives. or even just one really good kitchen knife.

new curtains—blackout if you are a creature of the night like I am

fleece lined anything, but especially sweatpants and hoodies. wool lined socks are also good. if you don’t have the option of coming home after work and putting on an entire outfit that is loose and fuzzy, you should change that, because you deserve that option.

cookie sheets with a layer of air between the top and the bottom. the bottoms of your cookies will never burn again.

kitchen scale!!! no more leveling off flour with a knife and getting it all over the table!! now all your measuring is just shoveling stuff in and out of bowls like you’re at the beach. baking is both more accurate and also way more fun.

coffee bean grinder. if you want to upgrade your coffee experience, this is a great one-time purchase. just-ground beans have a much better flavor than pre-ground.

CDs!! ask for a gift card and expand your physical music collection! or a collection of the DVDs for your favorite show!