#i really like them and would draw them more often

[tucsonhorse]

Her art is absolutely gorgeous and she is impressively skilled.

As someone who knows how to do a wide variety of arts/crafts and regularly puts them together I have thoughts on how she may have come up with this, and it definitely wasn't all at once. Building the idea step by step makes it much easier to come up with, and when you think about it that way it becomes much simpler to conceptualize.

Rambles about that below the cut

I'll preface this by saying that these specific techniques are not ones I work in, I am assuming that the thought process behind growing into a combination of these techniques is similar to the process of combining the techniques I use (primarily a variety of fiber construction techniques often combined with small electronics, clay/sculptural work, painting, and leather).

Based on the way the skills are combined, I suspect that she started with painting/drawing or the bas-relief, possibly both separately around the same time, and combined those two first.

The way the techniques are combined looks to me like the bas-relief is brought in as a way to complement the painting, so to speak. To me it looks like the color work is the primary focus and the other things are there to accentuate and complement it.

I feel like I'm not making sense, so here's a "dramatic" retelling of how it may have gone (abridged)

My flower paintings are great but I want more dimension than I can get with paint. Hey cool, this bas-relief stuff gives great texture, I wonder if I could make it work with my paintings to give them the pop I've been wanting. *Time passes with much practicing* I really like how that worked out, I would love to get more shine in some places though and these metallic paints just don't do enough/don't act how I want them to. I wonder if I could paint it on a mirror or glass? *Experimenting happens, realizes it would work better to put the mirror on the painting* cool, guess I'm gonna learn to cut mirror now!

And voila!

I'm not trying to say it's easy or not impressive, just like, it's not superhuman, it's not something another person couldn't do if they developed the same skills and played a bit. Art is like any skill set, with enough practice and devotion, anyone can do impressive things. You just have to want to.

But maybe that's just me cause I was raised doing art since before I can remember and it was always "play around, figure it out to make it look how you want, there's no rules in art".

[hischiershoe]

ooooo 02. "actually, we're leaving early, we have something to get to." "no we don't- oh, okay fine i'll call you guys later." + clayton keller please 💗

tysm for sending in!! i’m a little nervous for this since i’ve never written for him before but i hope you like it <3

warnings: i changed the prompt up a teeny bit and just a bit of jealousy but that’s it!!

Clayton was trying to not to let it get to him. Really, he was, but the longer he had to watch your new coworker inch closer and closer to you until he couldn’t even see space between you, the more frustrated he got. Of course he trusted you and he knew you would never knowingly put him in the position he’s in now, but he also knew you had a habit of mistaking blatant flirting for friendliness. It was something he never faulted you for, he never would, and he tried to keep his cool when it came up.

However, it was only a matter of time until his resolve had dissolved entirely.

When you walked into the bar with Clayton and a few of his teammates, you hadn’t expected to run into a few of your coworkers. The two of you had gone to the bar a dozen times before and you’d never seen anyone you knew, so of course you jumped at the opportunity to briefly infiltrate their group before you went back to your boyfriend. You had no intention of spending too much time with them because while you did like the ones who were there, you already spent 40 hours a week with them and you would much rather be with Clayton.

“You should come out with us more often,” Cameron, one of your newer coworkers, suggests as he leans against the table and looks down at you with a friendly smile.

“Maybe,” You lightly chuckle, your gaze sliding across the sea of people until you find Clayton.

He’s already looking at you, though you know he probably hasn’t looked away from you since you broke away from him, and he looks… Not mad, necessarily, but he doesn’t look happy, either. The expression etched on his face is something you rarely saw, but it made heat crawl up your spine and to your cheeks all the same. You only break away from his stare when he starts walking towards you, and you shift your focus back the people in front of you.

“At least hang out with us now,” Cameron gleefully calls out, “You’re already here, may as well stay a while.”

“Actually,” Clayton’s voice smothers your own, placing a protective hand on your hip and tugging you into his side, “We’re actually leaving. We’ve got somewhere else to be.”

“What? No we don’t—,” You feel him gently pull on your body and your feet are moving away from your coworkers, “Okay, well, I’ll see you guys at work!”

Clayton’s hand moves from your hip to grasp your hand in his own as he guides you out of the bar, not even sparing a fleeting look in the direction of his teammates. Though you do, and you don’t miss the amused and smug looks a few of them toss in your direction. You wordlessly follow him out to his car, only casting a curious glance at him when he holds the passenger door open for you. He slips into the drivers seat and leans over the center console to place a small kiss to your lips before he’s reversing out of the parking spot.

“So,” You draw out, lip pulled between your teeth and eyes trained on Clayton’s face, “What was that about?”

“What was what about,” He mumbles, though you both know he’s playing dumb.

“We weren’t even there for thirty minutes,” You point out, “Why didn’t we just go back to the guys?”

Clayton takes a deep breath before his focus briefly shifts towards you, “Didn’t want to have to look at whatever-his-name-is all night, or him to look at you.”

“Who,” Your brows furrow in confusion, your hand moving to grasp his that was placed on your thigh, “Cameron? Why would he look at me?”

“He was flirting with you the whole time you were over there,” He groans, like speaking the words make him physically nauseous, “Even Kess said something about it. Didn’t like it.”

You purse your lips as you think about what to say next because you didn’t think he was flirting, but you’d never been the best at picking up on things like that. Even when you had first met Clayton, he had to drop the act of subtly and be upfront with how he liked you because you always mistook him for just being friendly.

“Well,” You start, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze, “Even if he was, it doesn’t matter to me. I’ve already got the guy I want and I don’t intend on getting rid of him anytime soon, even if he gets a little jealous every once in a while.”

“I was not jealous.”

[creatingblackcharacters]

how can i have a black characters fav animal be a monkey or like being called one and it not have anything to do with the racist term? i used to love calling myself a monkey just cause i love the animal, but i only hated it cause racism has ruined it for me.

i'd either be called racist, or "it's clearly just internalized racism" for wanting to like being called a monkey in a cute nickname way myself. and coming from someone who also would wanna draw african animals as humans, i fear being called racist for having their human designs be black. should i just change their favorite animal? give them a different nickname and for the humanoid animals, make them all white instead to avoid the accusations?

I was gonna delete this because I delete asks that don't capitalize Black (yes, even when you write lowercase any other time), but you got a lot going on here 😅 unfortunately, you're never going to be able to detach the two completely. Like, regardless of what you write, yes people might say "it's racist" or "internalized racism". Even I thought that, reading that you used to call yourself one. 😅 So, sorry there.

Really all you can do is write a story where that nickname is special because of a memory or the moment it was given that made monkeys this Black character's favorite animal. That way we're like oh, okay, that's understandable then. Because otherwise it'll be awkward. I'm still not letting nobody call me a monkey otherwise; that's big Frieza energy (maybe y'all would say Geto in this day and age as an example) and I wouldn't be able to unhear it 🤣 Like your personal experience might be more unique, which is okay!

It'd be easier to draw the Black characters as another type of animal, yes. "Making them all white" is not a solution to racism, no. That's like saying you can avoid misogyny by "never having women characters", rather than being thoughtful when writing them. People have drawn the lions from the Lion King as Black often, and it's fine. I'd also look into Black furries! They would know how to balance this!

[donvampiro]

hii ! this is my first time making a request>< I've been super fascinated by law recently ( just finished dressrosa arc !) and I thought of a scenario that might be cute ? or super weird depending on how you see it . what if reader/yn has insomnia and listens to asmr to help them sleep, however it's specifically medical/doctor personal attention rps. how would law react to finding out this little detail and realizing that is why reader is always so excited to come to the monthly examination checkups on the ship?

hi Anon! hope you're doing good and congrats for your first request :D i like this idea! listening to asmr to help you sleep is so relatable lmao thanks for your request Anon. hope this lil scenario will meet your expectations! Love <3

MASTERLIST - Welcome

***

'Sweet dreams'

Trafalgar D. Water Law x (insomniac) gn!reader

“Open your mouth.”

– “Sure!! Aah~”

Law slightly tilted his head, his brows furrowed in confusion as he still held the small lamp between his fingers.

“Why do you sound so excited about this.”, he deadpanned. “I’m literally looking at your tonsils.”

Keeping your mouth open, you didn’t answer, but your squinting eyes betrayed a widening smile. Law didn’t ask for more, just sighed and shook his head, silently continuing the routine checkup. After a few seconds of observation, he turned off the lamp and threw the small wooden stick he had used to press your tongue into the trash.

“Do they look hot?”, you asked teasingly, drawing another confused sigh from him.

– “Do you even know what tonsils look like?”

– “Well, if they’re mine, they must look hot anyway.”

– “If they’re hot, that means they’re inflamed”, he simply corrected, unfolding the armband to take your blood pressure. “Which is everything but a good sign.” he gave you a small nod. “Now give me your arm.”

You extended your arm to him without flinching, still with that mischievous smile of yours. For some reason, you were always so enthusiastic about getting examined. Not that Law was complaining — it was always better than terrified or whiny patients — but it was just odd.

You never asked any real questions that might have shown any particular interest in medicine, so he didn’t really understand what you could possibly find amusing. Routine exams like these are important, but boring because they’re repetitive. Law knew that perfectly well. Yeah, really, your attitude was… enigmatic. And it made the consultations surprisingly more personal.

He unclasped the armband from your arm and, when he noticed that you were about to speak again, he immediately raised his index finger to your mouth.

“Don’t”, he commanded. “No more cringey remarks.”

He then began to put away his various things, and you pursed your lips so as to stifle a giggle as you slid off the auscultation table.

“Okay Doc”, you eventually replied.

– “I said— … ugh, whatever.”, he mumbled, without looking at you. “You can go now. Guess you have a month to learn more about tonsils.”

You only hummed in response before leaving the room. The medical examination always went by too quickly for your liking. Yes, how nice it was to have someone give us their full attention, examine us gently, focus on our good health and well-being. These were quiet, restful moments — just what you needed, as rest was often difficult for you due to your insomnia.

So, you seemed to enjoy this kind of situation, but you'd been careful not to mention it to Law until now. It wasn't that you didn't like him, or that you didn't trust him, it was just that... well, you already had an idea of ​​how he'd react. And you could tell it would be an awkward moment, to say the least. The medical check-up was always a pleasant moment for you, as paradoxical as that might seem. So you didn’t want to make it too awkward or come across as weird.

So you kept all of this to yourself as you headed towards the kitchen to grab your plate, before noticing Penguin gesturing wildly for you to come sit next to him. He patted your shoulder energetically as you plopped down on your seat.

“Hey (y/n)”, he greeted as he continued to devour his own food. “Back from the medical checkup already?”

– “Yup”, you simply nodded before starting to eat. “Went good.”

Penguin kept eating greedily for a while before abruptly placing his plate back on the table, making you jump a little.

“Figures”, he grinned. “You’re always smiling from ear to ear when you leave the consulting room. Makes me wonder if it’s really medicine that’s being practiced there.”

– “What— Penguin!”, you instantly replied, turning towards him and punching  him in the arm, but he didn’t budge and just chuckled, proud of his remark.

Not coming across as weird. Not coming across as weird. Not coming across as…

… but, if other crew members besides Penguin already had these kinds of ideas in mind, it wasn’t going to make things easy. What was so bad about not being afraid of the medical examination? About enjoying this moment of attention, this moment when you could finally let go, rest while someone checked that you were okay? You’d like to see them all there if they were in your shoes. Sigh. You looked away, pouting as you absentmindedly twirled your fork in your plate.

“C’mon, (y/n), m’just messing with you”, he smirked. “s’good if you’re not afraid of examinations.” He went back to eating while you also tried to finish your plate without worrying too much about what the crew might or might not think. Once Penguin had swallowed all the food in his mouth, he turned to you again, and his tone was different. “By the way— you look less tired than usual. Have you found anything to help with your insomnia?”

– “Kind of”, you conceded thoughtfully.

Your insomnia was no secret to anyone on the ship. The “cure” you found, though…

Without thinking about it anymore, you continued to twirl your fork around your plate, taking a bite every now and then while Penguin kept staring at you, waiting for you to finish your answer. You didn’t; he therefore allowed himself to ask.

“That’s good to know! ‘Cause it’s often quite hard to get rid of insomnia… So, what’s your magic recipe?” he questioned, his tone progressively becoming more bawdy. “... is it the time spent with the captain?”

– “You’re so annoying,” you sighed heavily. “I just listen to some ASMR. It’s relaxing. Helps me sleep.”

Penguin simply nodded, his lips pursed in a small, approving yet intrigued pout.

“And how does that thing work?”, he asked before a deeper voice answered him.

– “ASMR means ‘autonomous sensory meridian response’. It is a technique based on different sensory stimuli to help you relax naturally.” 

You and your crewmate suddenly shuddered, then abruptly turned to face… Law.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked doubtfully. Faced with you and Penguin’s silence, he shifted his gaze to yours. “I didn’t know you listened to ASMR. It must be for your insomnia, right?” You nodded, and he nodded back. “Mmh. It helps me too.”

With a brief gesture of his hand, Law indicated that he wanted to sit next to you, so you shifted slightly as he took a seat.

“What type of ASMR do you listen to?”, he questioned lazily, his sharp eyes not missing the confusion that ran through your body, your face, your gaze.

– “Nothing special”, you blurted out. “Regular ASMR I guess, you see?”

– “No, I don’t.”, he cut short. “For example, I regularly listen to rain ASMR. What about you?” 

You raised your eyebrows. What was this sudden interest? Law wasn’t one to open up about what he did in his free time, what he might enjoy, or whatever, as far as you were aware. What was he looking for? Had he seen right through you? How? Or was he actually genuinely curious about it? You stared at him for a moment, and he arched an eyebrow at your stunned reaction.

“Oh, and why does it interest you so much? ~” you retaliated in a smirk, your tone playful to mask your inner panic. You didn’t know what kind of reaction Law might have if he found out what type of ASMR you preferred. And it was… disturbing.

– “I’m just curious”, he replied flatly. “What’s so bad about having shared interests?”

This guy…

“Well, I have no reason to indulge your curiosity. It’s my private life.”

— “I see”, he nodded with a smirk that made you frown in frustration. Penguin remained flabbergasted. “Guess you must be listening to strange things.” Your captain shrugged. “I understand why you want to keep this heavy secret to yourself…”

— “Stop it!” you roared, banging your fist on the table and rattling the dishes as you felt your cheeks heat up. His smug smile was unbearable, so you decided to make things happen yourself. It didn’t matter what he thought in the end, as long as he stopped making fun of you. “Alright, I’ll show you, since you’re being so whiny about it. But promise me this will stay between us, okay?”

Law had only been trying to tease you; he hadn’t thought it would bother you so much. But now it had somehow fueled his curiosity about it. He simply nodded, silently.

You shoved your hand into one of your pockets in a scowl, finally pulling out your phone and opening the app. You could feel your cheeks burning as you tentatively passed your phone to your captain.

“If you say anything, you’ll have me to deal with.”, you warned.

He didn’t reply. Law stared at your phone screen for a moment, his expression impassive. He scrolled through the playlists, each with… interesting… names, but always with similar concepts. His silence was deafening, and you just wanted to disappear. A smirk eventually crept across his face, and it was too much for you.

“So, are you done?”, you spat, flustered, before snatching your phone out of his hands.

– “Yes, and I get it now,” he agreed, closing his eyes as he stood up. “Thank you”

Penguin cocked an eyebrow.

“Uh? What are you talking about?” he asked in confusion.

– “Nothing special”, his captain replied playfully, paraphrasing your earlier remarks with sarcasm, before walking away to grab a plate and go back to his consulting room.

You were stunned by Law’s nonchalance facing all this, and it made you boil with frustration. You didn’t know what he would think of you now— so you needed to sort this out. Without further thought, you stood up abruptly and went after your captain, calling out to him determinedly until your eyes met.

Law didn’t seem particularly affected by what he’d just learned. His expression remained the same as he looked at you, and you weren’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. You bit your lower lip.

“What is it, (y/n)?”

“About the type of ASMR I listen to… uhm, you… didn’t you find it too w—”

— “Am I supposed to think anything of this?” he mumbled, cutting you off. His tone was the same as always, somewhat flat and disinterested, but you could tell he was focused on what you were saying by the way he stared at you. “If it helps with your insomnia, that’s all that matters. You can listen to whatever you want.”

Oh.

A wave of relief washed over you, a ghost of a smile playing on your lips as Law resumed his walk to his consulting room.

“Don’t forget to brush up on tonsils for next month,” he said without turning around.

It was quite flattering that you appreciated this kind of attention. And Law wasn’t entirely against giving it to you next time.

[dextivestudios]

A great way to making your own spins from standard fantasy races is by drawing your interpretation of NORSE MYTHOLOGY, not Tolkien.

Dwarves? Elves? Giants? Many of these things come from norse mythology, except Tolkien made them boring and uncreative.

For instance: dwarves are not just little white people living in the mountains for the lolz. Dwarves in Norse mythology are black as coal and would turn to stone if touched by sunlight.

They live in caves because the sun is a death sentence to them. And

if you base it off that and do your own adaptation instead of playing telephone with Tolkien, you could get something leagues more interesting than "they are mountain-dwelling small white people with bushy beards because Tolkien said so."

Basing my version of the oompa loompas based off the first edition of the book (it got revised and used the movie for ideas because the original edition had literal African slavery) is exactly how I got mouse people who stowed themselves in a ship and generally help around with homes and businesses as a way to contribute to their new home, with leaving offerings (most often chocolate) being how people express their gratitude for the help the usually-unseen oompa loompas do. Wonka just has the best deal of offering them raw, unprocessed beans making the ones who did move to the factory completely voluntary. Plus, chocolate is not even their primary source of food. It's important to their culture, but their diet varies a lot more with fruits, nuts, and insects. Chocolate/cacao beans play a more similar role to significant desserts and are largely eaten during birthdays and holidays.

As long as they have access to their main source of nutrition, they can leave and move somewhere else at any time if whoever they're helping displeases them, especially since they don't participate in human economy.

And that is just an example of what someone can do with a fantasy race. If I shaped a version of the oompa loompas that already answered the question of "how can we make them less racist?" then all that really needs to be done is revising the "white savior" aspect and give them more agency in their own backstory, which is more or less what the recent Wonka movie has done for one individual!

So, imagine what you can come up with if you look at what elves were like in Norse Mythology itself and adapting a version with all conceived Tolkien notions of them that hit the mainstream thrown out the window.

Alternatively, if you can't not make a pop culture version, put in something random and entirely out of left field that would make them different.

My version of Loki is black because if I made a white Loki, I would just be drawing Tom Hiddleston. Which is...not helpful if you want to make Norse gods that are not Marvel superheroes.

The backstory for that Loki I have in mind is that he is from a different mythology and he stowed himself away on a ship when the Norse gods were exploring the godly realm, waiting until they make it back to Asgard and claiming some empty land that nobody was using as his own. Odin just shrugged because that land is useless to him. He regrets that decision, but it was already too late by the time Odin realized he made a mistake. (The land was likely bad for farming/development, although Loki is clever enough to find a way to make a thriving village there.)

Basically, turn elves into a steampunk society if all you can imagine for them is "stealthy twink archer hippies."

stolen from that social media site gay millennials and grumpy boomers use

[scribbledghost]

I was struck with an idea and am scampering once again into your asks.

🤍 anon

Phantom of the Opera! Vessel x reader.

Vessel, who lives in an abandoned theatre playing his piano and draws in an unsuspecting reader with his music. (Think room below style.)

That’s really all I have atm but I’d love to see how this plus the inhuman vessel headcanons collide.

Maybe the others could be there, mentioned? Up to you. I leave this random 1am thought up to you.

Thank you for letting me ramble again

Keep up the wonderful work!

-🤍 anon

You are always welcome to ramble, my dear!

This is a really interesting idea, and I love where you went with it! Like, imagine you're wandering around an abandoned ghost town somewhere, and there's a huge theater nearby. Something that's clearly been overtaken by nature, with little to no human interaction for decades now. Everyone swears it's haunted, talking about how they've seen people living in the shadows within. Some even say if you stand very still on a warm night, you can hear music and singing coming from inside, as if former performers never quite left the stage.

As you draw nearer to the building, you pause. You can hear piano music on the wind, faint and light as it winds through the air. It appears the rumors may be right...

You wander in, taking note of all the crumbling and decrepit infrastructure. Paint peeling from the walls, vines and ivy clinging to nearly every surface, small trees poking up through the worn floorboards. You follow the sound of music closer to the center auditorium, against your better judgement - you can't shake the feeling that you're being watched. Every so often, you can swear you hear movement coming from the shadows, as if people are standing just beyond your field of vision, but you can never locate them.

The doors of the auditorium are worn away, and you're able to simply step between them to enter the room. The seats are covered in thinning and faded velvet, and in the center of the room lies the shattered and mangled remains of a once-grand chandelier.

But none of that grabs your attention more than the mysterious figure on the stage.

He's cloaked in black, hands deftly gliding over the piano keys. The instrument itself is in nearly pristine condition, a stark contrast from its surroundings. Once again, you feel the sensation of being watched, though the man at the piano does not turn to you.

No, instead, he stops playing the melody he had been a short time ago, and switches to a new one. This time, he begins to sing with it.

When it rains, you don't take shelter You don't take signs from God And when you can't swallow your demons, you become starving Darling, I'm noticing your flaws...

He continues, his soft, dulcet tones echoing through the auditorium as you find yourself drawn ever nearer to him. The melody continues, and the figure sings of shelter and protection. You wonder if he is speaking from experience...

You're so caught in his web that you don't even register when the song ends. You're standing right next to the stage now, looking up at him in awe, when you notice it:

A brilliant white mask adorns his face, with an unknown sigil across the six eye slits in it.

He turns to you, a curious tilt to his head.

"You have a beautiful voice," is all you manage to say, still fully entranced.

The man smiles, the gesture almost fond in nature. Then, he extends a hand to you.

"Would you like to hear more?"

[cogneartive]

my baskerville docs ^_^ ive seen alot of other people make their own lady baskerville and i wanted to try and have my own take on her yay. somehow i have settled on calling her liz, but i change my mind quite often so we'll see

more notes and further rambles below (LONG)

unfortunately i seem to be under a curse where i may only give out information through vague references and riddles + also thoughts jumping from one to another. have fun 👍take out a notebook it gets quite long. ive put down some section titles

naming ideas

for her name: i like how its has some phonetic similarities to iris. and i dont believe at all that yujin didnt know her; in japanese, 'l' and 'r' sounds are not distinguished in the same was as english thus: "liz, risu, airisu, iris... (ayame... ayame.) airisu... risu. liz."

but also her fanon - as in the common elements people have in their designs of lady b - designs look just like alot of the fanon designs for minecraft youtuber ldshadowlady. im having a lot of fun thinking about putting them in the life series.... boogieman curse.... the dogs.

this influences me quite a bit i think. primarily, how i characterise klint and liz is influenced by alot of gothic texts (and castlevania...........) as well as other people's interpretations of her. however they are are also lizzie and joel. and you are required to know this

talking about shapes (character design stuffs)

im kinda also working out klint and barok in context of my headcanons/takes. i think, with the design philosophy im carrying rn, i would draw them a little differently to emphasise the certain themes in my head lol. i gotta figure out some kinda shape motif for lady b tbh i dont really have too clear of an idea yet. at first, i thought a heart would be nice (connection with iris - i think a few other people have done so as well) but then The Spiral

ive been thinking of labyrinths quite often lately (house of leaves.) i like the symbolism of her spiraling down into some kind of madness / depravity as is the van zieks way. klint's sword points down to show the same thing. kid barok's hair goes upward. he look up to them. cute. this whole family is literally cursed

writing and truth

ive said this in some earlier posts somewheres but basically my main ideas for her are that

she and klint are trying not to become the sins of their parents. they succeed. but also fail.

barok is motivated by his sense of justice in the pursuit of truth. klint is the sense of justice. thus liz is the pursuit of truth

and ive landed on her being quite into writing. nothing ever published i think, but many volumes of poetry, short fiction and maybe even novels, with her favourite red ink pen. the same color ink that she used to write love letters with.

these works were probably things that she only shows to people close to her. and id think the subject matter would be something close to jane austen's work (critical of the landed gentry; she also published anonymously under the name 'a lady' -> i thought there was something in there about how lady b remains nameless and only a lady)

i think her writing would be a way to channel her frustration, anger, misery, and other such unladylike thoughts. perhaps, in childhood, she would have liked being a newswriter - until she finds out how sensationalized they are (and how would she feel when the news would start calling barok the reaper?)

i havent found a good way to incorporate this into her design yet. i was thinking something about the cape - hiding secret pockets and a notebook and pen? something about gender roles can play in there as well - but it looked too much like stronghart's silhouette imo. replacing barok's father figure while dressing like his mother would be crazy... and there is the swirls. im not too completely against that idea yet. think i gotta keep experimenting

resemblances

but anyways, i really do like the idea that she and klint look like they could be barok's parents. i think its fucked up (good). the gothic is all about how ur repressing somethings and it keeps coming out, and i kind of like themes of finding out the parent that you idolised isnt actually as good as you once thought they were.

you know about klint. and liz hates lying. but she is also just as great as a liar. she despises the social structures of upper class england, but she is just as wiling to maintain a facade, and has so much hatred that she hides. despite hating to hear it, she's really nosey - does she LIKE hearing about all those reprehensible things she claims to abhor? why else would they all appear in those stories she writes? and why else are all her protagonists such unreliable liars?

i think barok would grow up trying to model all the good that liz and klint try to project. hed probably thinks they would hate him after all that. maybe its comforting to know they also fell too. perhaps they would forgive him too.

i think thats all that i wanted to say. you will be hearing from me again, however. yay

[maclediumzeyheri]

How I Draw: PART 2

I’m currently a poor college student battling through final exams — and as if that wasn’t enough, one evil professor is making us undergrads write a full research paper on top of it all. So yes, it’s been a rather painful time... which sadly means I haven’t been able to draw much lately. But! Once June is over, I’ll finally be free! I’m hoping to dive back into drawing a lot more then.

Anyway, thank you so much for all the love on my last art post. It’s honestly been years since I wrote a post like that, so it was a pretty fun experience for me too! Today, I thought I’d continue the series — this time diving into the highlights of my process: coloring and post-editing!

…So, in my last post, I covered everything up to laying down the base colors. Now, it’s time to add some shadows!

When adding shadows, I only use Multiply layers. I usually pick low-saturation colors for this step, pretty much the same way I do when laying down the base colors. If needed, I’ll also use a watercolor edge effect.

To be honest, there’s really nothing too special about my process. After all, I’m not someone who’s formally trained in art. So no fancy, elaborate techniques here when it comes to adding shadows! (As for considering the direction of light… well, I sometimes try to think about it when adjusting the overall colors later on. But most of the time, I don’t bother too much — and this particular piece is one of those cases.) I simply go by instinct and paint the areas where shadows feel right.

Anyway, that’s how I go about coloring the clothes as well.

There was a little something special when it came to coloring the gloves. To give them a slightly transparent look, I added a light layer of green.

Once I’m done adding all the shadows, I move on to adjusting the line colors. Well, anything looks better than plain black lines, after all.

So at this point, this is what the piece looks like. Now, let’s move on and make it even prettier.

Use Ctrl+A and Ctrl+C to copy the entire coloring layer. Then, paste it and apply a blur effect to the copied layer (this is a feature available in SAI 2).

Now, copy the blurred layer as well. Set Blurred Layer 1 to Multiply, and Blurred Layer 2 to Overlay.

Then, adjust the opacity of these layers to your liking. This creates an effect where the image looks slightly soft, yet the colors become more vivid at the same time. It’s a technique often used to give artwork a bit of a retro vibe.

Next, use the Multiply and Overlay layers to adjust the overall color tone. With Multiply, you can create a darker, moodier atmosphere across the whole piece. And with Overlay, you can tweak the color tones to get the look you want.

(That’s right — just changing the color on the Overlay layer can completely change the color tones of the piece.)

For the finer details, keep using Overlay, Multiply, and Screen layers to refine the look.

-If you want to brighten certain areas, use a Screen layer. -If you want to adjust colors or add light and atmosphere, go with an Overlay layer(The image above is an example of this). -And if you want to deepen the shadows, a Multiply layer is your friend.

After that, I do some additional color adjustments in PaintShop Pro(If you have Photoshop, that would actually be an even better tool for this step).

In my case, since I was planning to lower the saturation later on, I intentionally boosted the saturation a bit during this stage. And don’t forget — before moving on to the next step, it’s a good idea to add an overall paper texture to the piece(Of course, this is a built-in feature in SAI).

From here, I use Corel Painter’s Thick Paint feature to add visible brushstrokes. The process of picking colors with the pipette tool and painting over them takes quite a long time.

In my experience, if you carefully paint with the smallest brush size (1.0), it gives the piece a texture that feels almost like embroidery. On the other hand, if you use a slightly larger brush and paint more loosely, it ends up looking more like an oil painting.

And if you duplicate the layer where you used the Thick Paint brush, you can get some really fun effects during the editing process.

Then, it’s really a matter of lowering the saturation, adding layer effects where needed, and repeating this process until you’re happy with the result. As I always say — I don’t have any strict rules for this part. It’s all based on personal satisfaction. For this particular piece, I went through even more steps (and a lot more second-guessing!) than usual.

And that’s it — the piece is finished! Thank you so much for reading all the way through.

As I was writing this, I realized that a lot of my process is based on instinct, so this post might not have been all that helpful in a step-by-step sense. But if there’s any part you’d like me to explain in more detail, please feel free to ask anytime!

[flightyalrighty]

Archie Comics does show many realistic animal design but can't say I don't blame them since Archie Comics started when Sonic games are still classic and with SATAM around with not much references. Although you can tell how different Archie is from IDW.

Like notice how in Archie that many of NPCS and even most Archie Characters (especially in Preboot) are dull colors and even fit in their animal colors (Like the Lynxs have the same fur color design and squirrels and chipmunks same color design) and same face syndrome or copy designs. Like Sonic's family are too identical and Tails' parents don't share the same color fur to Tails. You can tell that most of them felt out of place if they were in a game universe while the main characters scream 'importance'. Most of them don't even have special abilities/powers like superspeed, superstrength, and so on (which you have to exclude technology like Bunnie, and you see majority of Archie Characters using weapons). Now this is mostly on preboot whereas reboot gives some Reboot Archie characters' design that fits like in the game universe like Cassia and Clove.

While IDW gave the NPCS and IDW Characters look like they all fit in the game universe. Rough and Tumble are both skunks but with different body shapes and color schemes and how everyone has unique abilities like Tangle's tail and Mimic's shape-shifting. Most of them don't have animal colors like Clutch is green despite being an opposum and Claire is a green monkey. You can tell by the background characters that they don't scream 'only main characters get the cool designs' and have colorful looks.

So that's how view the designs of both comics.

Yeah and I prefer Archie's way of doing it is the thing. All those dull colors helped make the important dudes pop on the page. Makes em the focal point. When everyone's bright and colorful, the page can get pretty noisy way easier.

The Family Members thing was a problem but not a problem that was unique to Sonic. Many many many older cartoons often just made relatives copypastes of main characters. It's whatever. I don't think anyone would argue against the idea that every single Knuckles relative looking exactly the same was a silly design decision, but that's not really what I was saying before. What I was saying before was that I think these

Look more visually diverse and thus, more interesting to me than, like

these

Are they more uniform? Do they look like they follow a design guideline? Yes. But I'm not a fan of that. My eyes don't really catch on any of these characters. I don't find anyone here memorable.

That said, I do like the designs of Rough and Tumble. I do think they've got that sauce. I just don't think too many other characters do, and the only thing that draws my eye to them is their bright colors. Which isn't good when the main cast is also bright colors. Where's the contrast. If everyone's super, then no one is, and all that.

[rumitome]

HEYYYYY!! for the s/o ask game 🪽🥂🤍💍 (you can chose 2-3 of them if four is too much but I’m so curious)

HI LOVEEE TYSM FOR THE ASK MWUAH MWAH (ㅅ˙³˙)♡ i've already done the other two in this -> post and i'll probably upload the 🥂 one later because i feel like this has become too long (⁠人⁠⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

🤍 — what are your love languages VS. your s/o’s? How do you show theirs and how do they show yours?

i generally love showing my love towards others through physical touch, but when it comes to scara, on the other hand.. i just feel so uncomfortable with it? like, whenever we would hug or kiss in public, i just feel so exposed—like all eyes are on us so i usually end up pushing him away. it's probably because i just hate pda, but to him it's the opposite, he actually enjoys flaunting the fact that we are in a relationship. but still, he never oversteps his boundaries—whenever he senses that im uncomfortable, he pulls back. instead, he does small and gentle things like linking our pinky fingers or brushing my hair out of my face. he stays patient, doing little gestures like that until i feel ready to do more, like holding hands or other things.

on the other hand, i really value quality time—and it is quite evident with how much i enjoy spending time with my friends rather than doing things alone. it is also clear in how i plan my dates with scara and always make the effort to attend his fashion shows just to support him. or whenever scara feels overwhelmed, we’ll often take quiet walks together, finding comfort in each other's silence. but there are also times where i would stay behind in the fashion design wing of our university until late at night, buried in multiple projects and looming deadlines. and everytime, without fail, i would find him sitting beside me—sometimes silently watching me as i work, other times sketching in his sketchbook or even helping me with my projects. and once im done working, he would always accompany and bring me home. when i ask him if it's because he loves me and he cares about me, he usually brushes it off with a smug, “it’s just because you’re afraid of the dark—and mona might kill me if i don’t walk you home.” (but honestly? he does loves and cares about me <33)

scara is generally terrible at expressing himself with words, so he often shows his love through acts of service. like how he helps me with my sketches, buys fabrics for me, and even fix the things i accidentally broke without asking any questions. he also remembers every little detail about me and pays attention in things i like, dislike and even my habits. and honestly, it makes it more harder to believe that he supposedly hated me for the past six years considering how deeply he knows me. on the other hand, whenever he feels overwhelmed, i would always be there—bringing him his favorite food and drink and staying by his side until he is ready to open up again. during his fashion shows, i’m the one adjusting his outfit, smoothing out every wrinkle, and fixing that eyeliner he loves so much.

on the other hand, he also loves giving me gifts he knows i will love. like popmart blind boxes for example as well as plushies and makeup. and whenever i ask him what the occasion is, he just shrugs and says, "just thought you'd like it". and there was even one time when he gave me two entire sketchbooks that are just filled with drawings of me—sketches of me listening in class, working on my projects and even portraits of me... basically, i’m his muse at this point. he even submitted a painting of me as a project for one of his classes. (love me a good fine arts major). meanwhile i love giving him handmade gifts—crocheted plushies, hand-crafted jewelry—because let’s be real, he can afford to buy anything he wants since he's rich af as a model already. but the things i make? they’re made with love, time, and care. and he knows nothing he can buy will ever compete with the gifts i make just for him.

[kaolin029]

Soma's skin tone throughout Black Butler: A Bengali Perspective

First of all…

I’m totally open to critique! I’d love to chat about this. :]

I’m Bengali (Bangladeshi). I’m specifically Bengali-British, and I’m a similar age to Soma, so Soma represents me in multiple ways.

It’s obviously very important that we discuss Soma’s representation, as with any character or feature of a piece of media, but Soma is from Bengal, is Hindu, and is living in Victorian England. These people are not often represented in media—especially in Japanese anime—so we all know that it’s important to get Soma right. So, a discussion is due.

Please keep in mind that certain areas including Bengal have a very complicated history surrounding ethnicities, religions, and politics, involving genocides and mass rape that I honestly really would have liked to not think about. What I’m saying is that it’s really important to please know what you’re talking about.

Hex codes

First of all, it’s very obvious that the colour used to render Soma’s skin has a lighter value. You don’t have to show hex code values. I don’t think anyone saying that the value of Soma’s skin hasn’t increased has a valid argument. It is the reason for and the social context of the change in value that we should be discussing here, not the fact of the change itself.

Furthermore, you say that Soma’s undertone changes. This is true, but it has little to do with Soma’s skin becoming lighter or darker. Your argument is about the tone (or value), which is the lightness/darkness, of Soma’s skin changing. Undertones refer to hue, and subtle changes, such as those in skin, have little effect on the tone of skin.

Definitions

Secondly, I don’t think that’s what “white knighting” means. From my understanding, “white knighting” is when a person defends another person whose demographic they do not belong to, when doing so is unnecessary and/or unwanted. For example, a man speaking for a woman when the woman would prefer to speak for herself. I don’t think a person defending Square Enix for their choice of drawing Soma’s skin lighter counts as “white knighting.” It doesn’t count as “boot licking” in most cases, either. I think that’s a narrow-minded view that only minimises the perception and value of voices that belong to people who actually want to discuss these topics with you.

Thirdly, I’d like to know your definition of “whitewashing.” To me, to whitewash a person is to portray them as white, whether through their appearance or the portrayal of their culture, when doing so is inappropriate and erases their actual heritage. For example, if someone draws and writes a character who is and looks ethnically Chinese in a way that makes them look like they’re ethnically Polish—e.g. with a pinker skin tone; with different facial features; with a home life more similar to that of a Polish person than a Chinese person, etc. Additionally, if I, a Bangladeshi person, didn’t know what handesh is, my family would probably call me whitewashed, so that’s another definition I know of.

From my understanding, Soma’s skin being drawn lighter isn't whitewashing, because the producers/character designers aren’t trying to make him look more white and less Bengali. They’re Japanese, so if they were trying to make Soma look less Bengali, it would probably be because they want to make him look more Japanese. Therefore, I don’t think “whitewashing” is even the right word to use for your argument in the first place. A more accurate word would be “colourism,” but please correct me if I’m wrong. And even then, I don’t agree with you on colourism being the reason behind the change. Soma has always had a mid-tone skin colour, closer to that of his portrayal in the Public School Arc anime than of his portrayal in previous anime seasons.

Soma’s canon skin tone in the manga

In Yana Toboso’s illustrations—which are the most accurate depictions Soma we have—Soma has a more middling skin tone. See below:

1. Soma on the front cover of Volume 16.

2. Soma in a more recent illustration celebrating 100 manga Chapters. I've included Grell to represent an English woman's skin tone for reference. Please also consider aerial perspective, as Soma and Agni are further away from the point-of-view "camera" than Grell.

3. Soma on a GFantasy magazine cover. I’ve included Ciel, similarly for reference purposes.

Again, I’m Bengali. I consider this a good example of what ONE of the many skin tones our people have could look like.

Soma’s skin tone: early anime vs. recent adaptation

If we compare these to your own chosen images of Soma (and a couple of my own):

4, 5, 6. Screenshots of the scenes from which your three original images of Soma originate.

7, 8. Soma, next to Maurice and Edgar, and Soma and Cheslock. Cheslock's face is in shadow while Soma's faces the light of the fire.

Soma’s skin tone in the Public School Arc anime is very accurate to his canon skin tone. The anime is portraying its source material with accuracy, and thereby respecting the original artform and the artistic will of the author. This is something to celebrate.

If anything, Soma’s skin looks slightly darker in your chosen images of Public School Arc compared to Toboso’s illustrations above. Soma’s skin tone in the Public School Arc anime is also a good portrayal of one possible Bengali skin tone.

So, where is the disparity?

9. Soma from Black Butler Season 1

Compared to his skin tone in Toboso’s illustrations, Soma’s skin was rendered with a much different colour in the first few seasons of the Black Butler anime. His skin tone is noticeably darker than his canon skin tone, and has a slightly more yellow undertone. This is an inaccurate depiction of Soma. From my experiences, I predict it comes from bias surrounding Indian people’s skin tones only ever being very dark. But, as we know, Indian people, including Bengali people, have skin tones ranging from very light to very dark.

This all leads to questions of how much should stay the same from the anime/change to fit the manga. I think this is the real question. And I think a person could argue either way and their opinion would be valid. In my opinion, I hate how the producers of the Kuroshitsuji anime chose to deviate from the manga in the early seasons in terms of plot-important details. e.g. Grell saying that she can tell Sebastian who killed Ciel’s parents when she didn’t say this in the manga. I wish they had stuck more closely to the source material, because what we got simply doesn’t make sense in canon. I also know many people share this view. Contrastingly, some Kuroshitsuji fans would prefer if they had deviated from the manga and stuck to how the anime portrayed Sebastian’s eyes as red-brown, compared to Yana Toboso’s depiction/description of Sebastian with tea-brown eyes and the Public School Arc’s/Emerald Witch Arc’s depiction of him with more amber eyes. These opinions are all valid, and can be argued for. Personally, I’m of the opinion that the anime adaptation of someone’s art should be recreated faithfully. This shows respect for the artist and their art in its original form, and reduced the likelihood of incongruencies causing confusion for fans of the work.

Soma’s skin tone in the early anime adaptation is not a bad portrayal of Bengali people’s skin tones. I know people who have Soma’s darker anime-only skin tone. However, it is a shame that it was changed from its canon counterpart for no reason, or—as is more likely—for reasons of racist ignorance towards Indian skin colours. I can think of no valid reason to change Soma’s skin tone in an anime adaptation to be darker than canon. If there are any reasons at all, then they must be reasons of racist ignorance. I’m sure that you will agree that colourism is a horrible thing when it is directed either way.

Therefore, I believe support or preference of Soma’s non-canon, darker skin tone—intentionally or unintentionally, in good faith or in bad faith—is in support of possible racist stereotypes of Indian people that belonged to Soma’s first character designers for the anime. Thus, I think that supporting this non-canon skin tone of Soma’s is unethical, and the changing of Soma’s skin tone from canon in the first place is even more so.

Pinterest comments

Next, I want to briefly mention the comments on Pinterest that you responded to. I won’t support or refute them, because all of them argue their points poorly. I will say, though, that, yes, contrary to your statement (“yes the anime is brighter - that shouldnt change someones skin colour”), skin colour does change as much in real life people as Soma’s does in the Public School Arc anime. I have about the same skin colour as Soma and I, as well as others, can vouch that exposure to light can make a world of a difference in how your skin is perceived. This is because of sub-surface scattering. Sometimes, I look in my bedroom mirror, and I have dark skin. Then I take a 5-minute nap and look at myself in my bathroom mirror, and all of a sudden, I’m white-passing. In conclusion, yes. Skin tones can change that much depending on lighting, colour relativity, and many other factors. I can’t comment on how your skin behaves, as you’re Black-Irish and I can’t say for sure that your skin behaves in a way representative of how ours does, but this is reality for many Indian people’s skin. I hope you take this in good faith as an opportunity to educate yourself a bit.

Your citations

When you say, “crazy that i feel the need to cite why racism is bad…” you don’t need to, for the majority of people reading. Most people know why racism is bad. Please excuse my conjecture, but I think your argument should be why Soma’s skin tone change is/isn’t racist in the first place. The fact of racism being bad has nothing to do with your argument. If this was a light-hearted, meaningless joke, then I’m sorry for misunderstanding.

Additionally, “crazy that i feel the need to cite why racism is bad[…]” and the following, “[…]go read a book:” can come off as patronising. I politely ask and advise that you maintain civility and seriousness when talking about topics like colourism, so that people take your view seriously and so that you come off as in good faith. This subject is very important to me. Reading your original post, I feel offended that I am being dismissed as a “bootlicker” who doesn’t understand why racism is bad and doesn’t read (i.e. is wilfully uneducated).

Speaking of reading. May I ask what your cited sources have to do with our subject? Your sources:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0486613419873229 This paper is about the silence of US economists surrounding systemic racism affecting Black people in the US, and widening the racial wealth gap in the US. It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the topic of your discussion. The word “whitewashing” is used in this paper to describe the silence about racism against Black people, and its discreet favouring of white people, in US economics.

https://doi.org/10.11588/xarep.00000349 This article is about the diminishing of Bhutanese culture with the increasing prevalence of American media. The word “whitewashing” is used in this paper to describe the substitution of Bhutanese social behaviours and trends with non-Bhutanese culture. I don’t see what this has to do with anything we are discussing.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2012.692802 This paper is about the racism and privilege of Hungarian and Romanian people immigrating to the UK in recent years. I also don’t see how this is relevant at all.

I think that, next time, it may be useful to explain why each source is significant to your point. I would even recommend in-text citations.

Agni

I don’t see how it’s a problem that Agni and Soma have slightly different skin tones in the Public School Arc anime. In fact, it is a positive thing to see a variation of Indian skin tones through the depiction of Soma and Agni. I think that Agni, here, is also a good portrayal of one of the skin tones Indian people may have.

In fact, if we compare Soma and Agni's depictions throughout the series:

10. Soma on the cover of Volume 16 again, and Agni on the cover of Volume 26.

11. Soma and Agni in the 100 Chapter illustration again.

12. Soma and Agni side-by-side in manga Chapter 66.

13. Agni and Soma side-by-side in manga Chapter 85.

Agni consistently has darker skin than Soma in full colour illustrations and in monochrome manga panels. It appears that this detail was overlooked by production staff for the Season 1 Black Butler anime, but was added back in for the recent adaptation. Agni's skin colour in the Public School Arc anime is proportionally darker than Soma's as is portrayed in the source material. Again, this is something to celebrate. It seems that the new production staff paid attention to the character designs, including subtle variations in skin tones, of these characters, and made changes accordingly. This displays an appreciation of and care for the author's work, and shows that the skin tones of Bengali people can vary. Therefore, Agni being slightly darker than Soma is positive representation, not something to criticise.

Soma becoming “less visually Indian,” and orientalism

Soma’s ethnic features in the manga (facial feature shapes and sizes, skin tone, body type, etc.) stay very consistent beyond stylistic changes which apply equally to every character and are unrelated to ethnicity.

When you say, “less visually Indian,” you seem to specifically refer to his wearing traditional Indian clothes less frequently. Soma is Indian regardless of what clothes he wears. If Soma wears non-traditional clothes, he is still Indian. I wear non-traditional clothes on a daily basis. This does not make me less Indian. Clothes have nothing to do with a person appearing to be their ethnicity. This is a non-problem.

I don't even think that this comes under one of the "whitewashing" definitions that I myself gave above, because although Soma in Blue Cult Arc is wearing clothes from a non-Indian culture, this doesn't erase his heritage in any way.

I'm honestly struggling to understand what point you’re trying to make here, especially with your mentioning orientalism. Orientalism is almost entirely irrelevant to Soma wearing a pop star-inspired outfit. I would call it orientalism if Soma were portrayed as worshipping the Goddess Kali, reading the Qur’an during namaz, wearing a Fez, and having grown up speaking primarily Tamil.

The expectation that Indians always wear traditional clothing is racist. If this was your argument, then I ask you politely to please educate yourself.

"Underrepresented majority"

When you say, “I really dont think its right to toy about with a characters skin tone like this especially for such an (imo) underrepresented group considering how much of a global majority they are,” whether a group of people is a majority or minority has nothing to do with how deserving they are of good representation. Everyone deserves to be represented in media, someplace, somehow.

Furthermore, I think that wanting Soma and Agni’s skin colours to be changed to their non-canon counterparts simply for your own "nostalgic" feelings falls under “toying with characters’ skin tones.”

In your reblog, you also say that you feel it is important for people with dark skin tones to feel represented in the media they watch. I feel the same way, because that is simply indisputably moralistic, and possibly also because I am darker skinned. However, it is unacceptable to imply that we should provide representation to certain people by taking it away from other people. To darken Soma’s skin and to keep it darker than his canon skin tone is taking away representation for people with his canon skin tone, whose representation in media is undoubtedly equally important. Therefore, I think the best option in our case is to keep Soma’s and Agni’s skin tones in congruence with their canon skin tones, which will grant respect to the original work, and bring representation for people who identify with Soma and Agni. Although, it would have been even better if their skin tones were never changed from canon in the first place.

Your skin tone

14. A screenshot of your comment on your skin tone compared to Soma's in Public School Arc.

I hope that, after all of this, it has gotten through to you that I’m taking your argument seriously and in good faith. I respect you and your wish to improve the state of representation for Indian/Bengali people. It means a lot to me that you care about this, so I thank you.

However, I need you to understand the severity of what you have said in the above screenshot of your reblog, so please forgive me if I sound rude, but I am angry with you.

You think that Soma, as a Bengali person, should have darker skin than you, as a Black-Irish person. This comment of yours is the type of comment that the third Pinterest user in your original post was talking about.

Your response to them was: “This one is basically calling the old version of Soma racist? i can barely tell honestly.” You should be able to tell. This is important to our entire discussion. This is important to Indian people. If you don’t understand this much, then you should not be speaking for us.

The belief that Indians must be very dark-skinned is racist. And it is harmful to us. Indian people have a vast range of skin colours. You should know that, especially as an anthropology student, and someone trying to be an ally to us. There is no such thing as being “too light” or “too dark” as an Indian/Bengali person in this context. No Indian is “not dark enough compared to another race/ethnicity.” By saying this, you are invalidating people with Soma’s skin tone. You are invalidating people who “aren’t the right skin colour.” I have Soma’s skin colour. You are invalidating me. This take is honestly shameful and I hope that you don’t truly believe this. Please educate yourself and choose your language more carefully next time.

I can’t believe you said something as dismissive as, “I can barely tell, honestly” to something as real and abhorrent as colourism against Indians. How do you not know of this issue? How do you not understand this issue?

Going forward…

Please use your platform to uplift the voices of people of the minority Soma belongs to, instead of speaking for us. As you say, you’re not an expert on this.

There are many valid opinions on this topic belonging to Bengali people, and it’s important to empower them, otherwise it can come off as a person speaking over us instead of with us.

Thank you for reading to the end my long response. It had a lot of information but I hope it was useful.

If you have any questions, please DM me and I'll try my best to get back to you. It's a very busy time for me and, due to personal circumstances, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to respond. I hope you understand.

Have a nice day.

A (not so) breif rant on Prince Somas skin tone

Im tired of seeing people in the comments of pinterest white nighting square enix and boot licking because theyre just grateful we got more seasons

They have actively chosen to white wash the main character of colour in kuroshitsuji for literally no good reason

dont believe that hes actually been made lighter?

have some hex codes

old seasons:

new seasons:

(i took these from the cheek of the above image to avoid shading, i used the top ones which i thought were actually the most generous)

i feel like were all smart enough to agree that those are not the same colour, and that while your skin can get lighter and darker from sun exposure or lack there of(aka being in the uk for a few years) the undertone of your skin cannot change that drastically (see the blue value in the hex codes, naturally, i am assuming Soma isnt using self tanner because that is ridiculous)

dont believe me that people are saying this?

lemme respond to them

Excuse me what does VA have to do with the fact that he’s objectively paler? yes the anime is brighter - that shouldnt change someones skin colour

isnt your “prob” because youre not impacted by racism bro. were complaining about something important bootlicker. im sorry that your favourite anime can be impacted by racism, welcome to the world sweet summer child.

This one is basically calling the old version of Soma racist? i can barely tell honestly. but it raises an interesting point. Soma is of a higher caste -

Obviously, he is a prince. Im not about to whitesplain the victorian contemporary Indian caste system to you- if youre reading this you have access to the internet do your own research and listen to Indian voices. but the implication of him being made too dark originally is an interesting point. im not sure i agree but its atleast not completely senseless

either way no one should straight up change a characters skin tone like that for no narritive or good reason idc.

and too these two

i took the liberty of checking O!ciels skin tones using hex:

skin (especially paler skin) reflects light, which is why i look super pale outside when i wear black in the bright sun versus when im in the stark light of my all white bathroom and i genuinely look a different race -im not denying skin tone can be flexible (see grid 2 of the hex image, hes in quite dark lighting)

but just look at how consistent it is

im sure you could find screen grabs that make o!ciel look red/green/not consistently white but across seasons he is consistently a pale little victorian boy

i didnt cherry pick these images either, i stole them of pinterest (i am not taking credit but im not giving it either for anonymity sake)

its not just lighting, its not just a new animation style, and the funny thing about micro aggressions is that they dont change if we dont address them and say its wrong.

crazy that i feel the need to cite why racism is bad but fuck it here we are go read a book:

Whitewashing Capitalism: Mainstream Economics’ Resounding Silence on Race and Racism. http://doi.org/10.1177/0486613419873229

Media and Public Culture: Media Whitewashing https://doi.org/10.11588/xarep.00000349

The uses of racism: whitewashing new Europeans in the UK https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2012.692802

(and theyre all free access, no excuses for racists)

i promise you it is this deep, and yes i refuse to spell check

i had more i wanted to share cause im aware im not the first to discuss this, but tumblr has a ten image limit so alas i might have to make another post

[lunarin64art]

That feeling when he can't stand to see you that way, no matter what you do, no matter what you say😩😭💔

[ricky-mortis]

Hatchetfield @femslashfortnight Day 2: Retro

[lunarharp]

more phoenix wright situations

[h3x-ed]

thanks gracie, i waited until I was sober to do this x

what’s one (or more, if you want) song(s) you stop everything you’re doing to listen to?

hourglass by catfish and the bottlemen is genuinely one of my fav songs.. and they have a ewan mcgregor cover.. also layla by derek and the dominos

what's your FAVORITE number?

11! my lucky number has been 11 for as long as i can remember. legit just because it's the day i was born

how do you feel about coke/pepsi and adjacent sodas?

i'm a big fizzy drink person, i can't lie. i've always preferred pepsi over coke but it has to be pepsi max. i'll drink diet coke or coke zero cause the full fat version of either drink makes me feel sick. big dr pepper fan but also cause i'm scottish, got to mention irn bru. #girderjuice

do you collect anything? if so, what?

i used to collect drink tabs. i like to collect those special 50ps. i don't really collect anything anymore but i do have a weird obsession with cherries so often buy stuff if it has cherries on it, if that counts.. i do have an insane amount of cds and dvds but i just sort of have them..

hardcover, paperback, e-reader, or audio books?

i personally find audio books very hard to use unless i have a physical copy of whatever it is i'm reading infront of me. ask me now, i'd say paperbacks just as they are easier for me to carry but if I had an e-reader.. then maybe my answer would be that..

what's a piece of art that you've seen/heard in person (or for a movie, seen in theaters) that you still think about/are glad to have seen?

i saw the revenge of the sith re-release (uh oh, watch out.. star wars fan coming through) and that was BEAUTIFUL. i'm actually a big art fan and have been lucky enough to see quite a few artworks in person but what takes the cake is Christ of Saint John on The Cross by Dali. Truly incredible to see up close.

you can go one place in the world, totally free. where are you going?

i have never had a straightforward answer for this question. i'd love to explore italy but also i'd love to go to america and canada and meet all my friends <3

what's your favorite pasta shape?

i'm basic. i love a classic penne.

what are you working on right now? (skill, art piece, goal, task, etc.)

if you had asked me this a couple days ago, i would've said graduating but i just did that (hence why gracie called me out for being shitfaced). i'm trying to get back into drawing and reading but my jobs consume my life so.. i also have so many shows and films to catch up on. i'm trying to get back into the gym but laziness is proving superior :(

this is open to anyone because i literally only have this app because of gracie lol x

m making their own tag game??? it's more likely than you think....

answer some super specific questions and get to know your moots better!! (i just thought this would be fun, summer is starting for me and it feels appropriate to do something to commemorate my newfound free time)

what's one (or more, if you want) song(s) you stop everything you're doing to listen to?

after the bombs by the decemberists, and also first day of my life by the bright eyes

what's your FAVORITE number?

three!!!!! 3 <<< look at it it's such a good number

how do you feel about coke/pepsi and adjacent sodas?

used to be vehemently opposed to drinking soda, i fear i'm starting to like it? pepsi over coke, but i will never drink either over a glass of sweet tea

do you collect anything? if so, what?

my biggest collection is quarters! my newest is dvds which is very very fun to go to secondhand stores to shop for

what's a piece of art that you've seen/heard in person (or for a movie, seen in theaters) that you still think about/are glad to have seen?

lucian freud's painting "girl in bed" (look here!) which i'm just. obsessed with. getting to see it was totally by chance but maybe also a little bit fate or something like that? i don't know, but it was a beautiful experience

hardcover, paperback, e-reader, or audio books?

harcoverrrrrr

you can go one place in the world, totally free. where are you going?

right now, i'd really like to go back to the shenandoah valley in virginia. it's such a beautiful area and i've only been once but i. miss it tbh

what's your favorite pasta shape?

linguine! and not just because of the rattatouille character

what are you working on right now? (skill, art piece, goal, task, etc.)

getting back into reading more! been really busy and tired lately but trying to remind myself that if i have an hour for tumblr, i have an hour for a book

literally zero pressure tags: @glitteredbubbles @good--merits-accumulated @damnitneilthenamesnuwanda @scriptscraps @littleprincefan @autumnbookworm81 @chameleon3 @abs-blabs @charlie-why-do-they-swoon @sadiesinkobsessedsstuff @theduckwithafroghat @prophecyhaunted and open!!!!!!!

side note that i stopped doing tag games for like a month because i don't even know but. i'm so back i just needed to stop guilting myself/making myself stressed over being busy. lol.

[synthetic-rust]

Doing some thinking about how I want to draw Skarloey n Rheneas

Rheneas… he’s so goddamn difficult to get right for me but I will figure it out

I want them both to look similar but still distinct (I am thinking too hard about this probably)

The culprit of all this (ignore the guy to the left he’s for perspective reference)

the above image is still a wip