#i've been thinking about drawing seth for a few days??

[solplease]

Your art is very pretty,,, I love the way you draw the eyes :] Also the faces are very delicate, very kissable. Keep up the good work!

OHMYGOD?? thank you so much!! that's so sweet! i think your art's really pretty too! i'm in love with it honestly,, it's so gorgeous

[not-5-rats]

how do you think Sugarboo would go about asking Seth to be their bf? If they ever did. Obvi they would talk to Al first but after that

No cause I've thought about this, like alot...all the fucking time, it plagues my little mind.

(I like to think this is sort of in a time like Chapter 2, all three of them living peacefully in Sugarboos home)

They would have spoke to Alphonse atleast a week earlier, it came up one night when the three were having a film night. Seth had fallen asleep, like deep DEEP sleep and Al noticed the way SB was looking down at the sleeping boy. He asked how they felt about Seth and the conversation ended with SB admitting that they had romantic feelings for Seth but they wanted him to know that this doesn't effect their love for him (this made him laugh). They agreed that SB should speak to him about it because it was pretty clear (to Al) that Seth had some sort of feelings towards them.

SB had a couple meetings with a few potential clients so hadn't been in all day, it was just Seth and Al. They just kind of hung about for most of the day, they cleaned the living room and sorted a couple things in the kitchen. Al seemed to be both happy and rather nervous all day, one moment he couldn't stop smiling at Seth the next he was silently sweeping the floor a bit lost in thought. At around 5pm SB got home, Seth and SB went into the kitchen to make dinner during which SB asked him if he would maybe on a walk with them later, just up beside the local park. He said sure and that night at around 7:30pm they left the house waving to Al as they went.

They had made their way to the park, talking about their days and how the clients were, finally they got to the park and sat down at a bench just outside of it. The park was rather empty apart from a few kids sat on the swings. They hadn't spoken for a bit, they had both just sat admiring the nature around them but then SB spoke, their voice hushed to avoid drawing the teenagers' attention

"Hey Seth? There was something I wanted to talk to you about"

He seemed a bit panicked by this but he made an attempt to suppress these feelings and responded

"Hm? Is everything alright Sugar?"

"Well it's been great having you here, both me and Al think that. You're a great dude to live with and you do alot more round the house than Al ever has"

They both laughed, Seth noticeably quieter than SB but they quickly kept talking

"But thats not the point, I wanted to tell you...well its more asking something. Seth, what I want to say is-"

"If you want me to go I get it, I've been round for quite a while and I don't mean to take up all your space"

Seth cut them off and leaned back against the back of the bench, SB was very confused and went to comfort him but he spoke again before they got the chance

"I've overstayed my welcome and I totally understand that, I didn't mean to get in the way of your life Sugar. I didn't even intend on coming back to begin with-"

There was a nudge to Seths head which made him look over at SB, surprised by their 'attack'

"Seth, you're a sweetheart but shut up and let me speak"

He did as he was told, he nodded remaining quiet as SB explained

"No, I don't want you to leave. If anything what I'm about to say...will hopefully prove that I want you to stay"

They paused, took a deep breath and finally said what they had been aching to say for so long

"I, well I love you Seth. I've loved you for a while, and before you ask yes I've spoken to Al, yes it's all okay. That's if you feel the same! I understand if you don't though"

He seemed kind of stunned, sat there like a deer in headlights. When he finally came round he smiled at them and gently held their shoulders

"Oh Sugar, my darling Sugar"

With that he kissed them, his hand sliding from their shoulder to the back of their neck. SBs own hands wrapped around his waist and they smiled into the kiss, joy building up in their chest. When they finally split SB giggled

"I'm taking that as you feel the same way?"

He laughed

"Of course I do! Sugar I've wanted to tell you for so long but...the whole things with Al, our first meeting, all those things made it feel like you'd never feel that way for me. But God, Sugar I'm so glad, so so glad you feel the same"

They sat there gently holding each other...which caught the attention of the teens, who began to ooo and make kissy sounds, so they went home. Upon seeing the smile on their face Al instantly knew what had went down, so they all sat on the couch and cuddles. It was beautiful and I love them all

[bluberimufim]

For the ask game!

12. 🎧 HEADPHONES: Share a song that inspired your WIP.

8. 🧢 CLOTHING: What is your MC currently wearing in the most recent scene of your WIP?

6. 🪩 MIRROR: Which OC is most like you?

Hiiii I took a few days to answer this because of the clothes question. I was waiting for them to change clothes in the story and also I wanted to illustrate it. Oops.

Anyway! Let's go!

12. 🎧 HEADPHONES: Share a song that inspired your WIP.

Ok, you can technically say that "Devourer of Souls" was inspired by the entire Once Upon A Time (In Space) album, but I've talked about that one too much, I feel.

In a way, I'd say that the song "Kimi was dekinai ko" (trans: you are a useless child) by Kikuo helped me flesh out the relationship between Jane and the Goddess of Time. I used to kinda handwave the whole thing like "yeah, she's just another clone, it's fine", but then I realized that the Goddess of Time would probably kinda hate her because she's the only clone who survived. Like, she tried to replicate Theo for decades and the only clone who was strong enough to survive was the one that turned out wrong - and she doesn't even look like the daughter she's trying to replace. And because of the "malfunction" in her soul that gives her violent tendencies, Jane would probably feel like she's worse than all her sisters. And also, despite being the one kicking her out, the Goddess of Time would probably feel sad when she leaves and she's alone again.

Juicy divine family drama.

8. 🧢 CLOTHING: What is your MC currently wearing in the most recent scene of your WIP?

I got this answer in the last ask and I wanted to wait a little because I knew Seth and Theo would be going on a little vacation soon and they'd change clothes then. Also, I just really wanted to draw them in cosy winter clothes. So I did a quick drawing of it.

I offer you: the girls on vacation.

I love drawing them. It's always fun <3

6. 🪩 MIRROR: Which OC is most like you?

Since this is a mainly DoS post, ig I'll try to answer for that WIP. Despite none of the characters really being like me.

I think probably Dora? I mean, her personality is very much not like mine, but I feel like she's a bit of a manifestation of my fears regarding the future. She was really passionate about art when she was younger, but then she got dragged away by the Goddess of Time, who showed up out of nowhere saying she was her mother.

And then she spent the rest of her life unable to actually make the art she wanted and serving someone else against her will. She says that her life felt basically meaningless because she'd been separated from all the things she loved, and she just wanted to die so it could all be over. That's kinda - although unrealistically - what I am scared could happen to me if I let go of my passions.

But I think that's more of a retroactive self-reflection instead of the deliberate writing of a character who is like me. Dora basically wins the race by sharing an interest with me (art), which is more than any of the others can say, really.

Hope you enjoyed this answer!

[nokingsonlyfooles]

Art Week! It's Art Week Now! (just for me, personally) So Here's Mordecai!

More description under the cut, but I almost broke my eyes just producing the image and I'm a little sick of the details, for which I apologize.

I adapted this "simplified style" 'cos my eyes ain't work right, but woah momma, the tarot cards have a lot of detail and symbolism. I went back and added more vs the original-style image with the nice shading.

There's more stuff in the gutter because I realized Mordecai has more people he ought to be responsible for that he has nevertheless lost... but maybe not forever. That's water in the gutter, and I have a fire/water dichotomy of loss going on. Fire is when you're actively involved in the destruction, for good or ill.

(Here's Mordecai's distaff counterpart, for comparison. Hyacinth will kick ya to the curb and burn shit to the ground whether you deserve it or not! But she also might change you and help make something really cool with the pieces.)

Mordecai's situation is more like "all that you love will be carried away," which I first encountered as a line in a Stephen King short story, regarding transients and bus stations. Sometimes it's a matter of acceptance and letting go, and sometimes a matter of abject helplessness. He's happily playing music with his eyes closed, so he hasn't noticed anything missing yet. When he does, some things may be recoverable, and some things lost forever.

Like Hyacinth, Mordecai is willing to rescue and help fix things he didn't even break or throw away - but he will break stuff and throw it away, too. Just depends on the kind of day he's having!

Mordecai's neglected responsibilities are, left to right: Seth and Alba (empty bottle and white rose) whom he knew during the Siege of San Rosille, Milo and Ann (red roses - rendered as black!) who have already adopted him as a father figure, although none of them know it yet, and Erik (fallen toy soldier) who Alba damn well told him to watch, but who is off kickstarting the plot unsupervised even as Mordecai plays.

In broader terms, I'm putting "real things" in black (or black outlines with a colour fill, for after Calliope brings the rainbow in Year 2) and things that are there, but not visible in pure light. He's playing music, so we got notes in bright white, as well as a few glow effects highlighting important stuff. (Mordecai used to play cello for silent films, so that gets a little glow, and Erik is in peril right now, so that's a regular sunburst!)

If you've had this yeeted at you without context, these are not just OCs I'm planning to do something with. I been done a thing! I've just been meaning to illustrate it for a long time and I'm trying to get people to look at it. So if you think they look cool and you wish there was a story with them, there is! It's just not super popular.

For my few readers who are in search of an update, I'm trying to finish the first four illustrations so I can head over to Tapas and see about re-publishing everything in order - hopefully for a wider audience. We'll see how that goes! First, though, I'm doin' the art! Ann's card is next, I already have Hyacinth, and then I need The General!

I half draw and half cut-and-paste, but everything I use is in the public domain. This stuff is CC-BY-NC-SA (except the nice stuff with the shading, I put some paid stock stuff in there and you might get in trouble for reprinting it) so feel free to remix and share, just give me credit and don't sell it!

And for being so patient and reading this far, here's a bonus pen/paper/scan version of this illustration from the early days!

[artstorieshusbandos]

That Whole Other Side of Theo Part 1(Ikemen Vampire) **Spoilers**

Now I'm completely smitten. How did it get this bad in the space of two parts and a bonus story? That must be some kind of magical Ikemen Otome time frame because I just realize the article I wrote earlier today about Seth was also exactly two parts and a bonus story from the previous piece.

I love watching Theo work. I am seriously impressed by the depth of his knowledge of the paintings he works with.

Of course the painting is quickly revealed to be a fraud because of Theo's keen eye and because there wouldn't be a story if it wasn't. He never misses a detail. He knows the history of the artist and his technique, and even the ingredients of his paints.

Sometimes I can't even remember my own art let alone this much detail about anyone elses. I had one of my science teachers come to me one day in high school to show me a piece of art that was in the school paper and I looked at it and I was like "wow I love this....how did you know I was interested in this kind of art." and she's like "That's yours I got it from your art teacher and put it in the school paper." I had completely forgotten I had drawn it but then I remembered the assignment. It's amazing that Theo keeps up with all of it.

He has a wonderful passion for art and the artists themselves. He talks about Vermeer painting with a precise technique and never making mistakes. MC asks him if that's possible.

In a strange way I feel slightly called out by this. I am an artist but I haven't been drawing. I have maybe done 2 pieces in the past decade. While I am nowhere near on the level of anybody Theo would be selling paintings for, I've always believed that if you have a talent you should share it and at the moment I know I am not living up to that myself. I've got a lot of excuses and I need to have less excuses and more art.

that aside....

So they find the signature of the true artist in the necklace. Theo explained that the artist didn't want to be a counterfeiter so he left his signature somewhere subtle that only he would know about it. He understands artists. They want to be acknowledged for their work.

Theo presents Cedric with the painting he brought. It's a painting of miners digging in a cold mine. Cedric comments that he was born to privilege and has never had to work like that but thinks it would be wonderful to have a nice glass of wine after a hard days work.

Why is this important? Consider this. Theo only brought one painting. He didn't go Hmmm....I'm going to Cedric's today and I have a few things here he might like. No he brought one. One chance to get it right and he knew exactly what his client was going to buy and Cedric bought it.

I love the way Theo smiled when MC told him she couldn't take her eyes of his brother's painting. He just lights up and then he lights up the rest of the room.

Then Shakespeare came along and fucked it up. Theo really doesn't like William and it makes me wonder if William wasn't somehow involved in the story of how Theo got that scar.

This right here ^ makes me afraid for Cedric because I heard about what William draws his inspiration from.

This ^ makes me afraid for me.

At least I have Theo looking out for me.

I didn't like the "Hondje" thing very much before but I'm actually starting to not mind so much. I don't know why that is.

Looks like this is going to be a three parter. As always all parts will be posted at the same time.

I am out of screencap space and I'm not done yet.

[flipflopflying]

CARIBOU DELUXE (EDICIÓN DE LUJO)

This drawing is called Caribou Deluxe. The other images in this post make it the edición de lujo, the deluxe edition; kinda like when a band does a special version of their new album. I wanted to do a drawing that was more than "a" drawing. I wanted to do something that could be explored, something that was more than just a series of close-up details of the main drawing. So the main drawing is kinda like the cover of a magazine, showing you what is inside.

CONTENTS

1. Caribou Deluxe. The actual drawing.

2. The initial quick notebook sketch.

3. Another sketch done a couple of days later, after the digital process had begun and the general idea became clearer in my head.

4. Top view.

5. Three new Minipops and two redrawn Minipops. The new Minipops: No. 1,380 - Beastie Boys (Fight for Your Right). No. 1,381 - Elijah Wood, Seth Rogen, and Danny McBride as the Beastie Boys. No. 1,382 - Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and Jack Black as the Beastie Boys. The redrawn Minipops: No. 38b - Beastie Boys (Intergalactic), originally drawn in 1999. No. 1,383 - Beastie Boys (Ch-Check It Out). The latter was done for a client (MTV Europe) in 2004, and was never given a Minipop number at the time, thus it being No. 1,383. I, as you may well imagine, am slightly irritated by this chronological mess-up.

6. Beastie Dots: No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Data visualisation of who raps what on the song.

7. Beastie Boys album timeline.

8. One pixel Beastie Boys sleeves. Plus previous one pixel sleeves by the Beatles and Depeche Mode.

9. A full version of the Berliner Fernsehturm that is reflected in copper-coloured mirror glass windows at the top of the octagon "head."

10. All the graffiti on the pyramid.

ABOUT CARIBOU DELUXE

A brief explanation: I wanted to draw something that relates to where my brain is at right now, in January 2019.

The Fernsehturm reflected in the brown windows (inspired by the old Palast der Republik) is there because Berlin will always be in my head. It's the place where I've spent the most time in my adult life, and the place that feels closest to a home town (even though I wasn't born here).

The pyramid base is a Mesoamerican thing, and that—combined with the food stalls and the rooftop laundry cages—is for Mexico, the other place that feels like home, the place where my heart is.

I'm trying to be a better person as I get older, and trying to get rid of elements of grumpiness, bad moods, etc. Trying not to be a person that automatically assumes young people aren't doing life the right way. That's where the graffiti comes in. For quite a while I thought of it purely as vandalism, but something clicked in my brain recently: it is a part of every city—specifically the cities I love—and it's not gonna ever go away. I covered the pyramid in graffiti to remind myself of that. (The graffiti names, btw, are either random words that came into my head, or are related to things or people in my life. I also wanted to show the range of graffiti styles I see around Berlin every day. If I have used a real graffiti artist's name here, it is purely a coincidence. Indeed, after finishing the pixel graffiti, I saw some graffiti in my neighbourhood that said "Queso." Apologies to the real-life Queso for borrowing his/her name.)

I've been listening to the Beastie Boys quite a bit recently and thinking about how they are only a few years older than me. I was a teenager when the tabloids were getting the vapours about their behaviour when they were touring in the UK for the first time. I remember every Volkswagen car in my (actual) home town suddenly missing its badge. A band getting older, changing as people and artistically, seemed to fit with the whole idea of examining my own life. Plus, y'know, people (friends, artists, musicians...) can do wonderful things, but life isn't always wonderful. Sometimes people you love die.

There are four separate parts to the Beastie Boys stuff here. The coloured dots in the centre of the top and bottom thirds of the octagonal head represent the lyrics of No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Each dot is a word. The colours of the dots show who rapped the words: red dots are Ad-Rock, blue dots are Mike D, green dots are MCA. Above the eyes there's a timeline of their studio albums, showing the year of release, and the height shows the US chart peak positions. The eight little squares beneath the blue eye (each of the eyes are the colour of the members of the band, and the ring around the eyes acts as a key to aforementioned No Sleep Till Brooklyn dots) are the colours one gets when the sleeves of the albums are resized to be one pixel in size.

You may be wondering why I've drawn Minipops of the Fight for Your Right version of the Beastie Boys and the coloured dots are for No Sleep Till Brooklyn. The drawing is because I wanted to draw the other two versions of the band played by actors in Fight for Your Right Revisited. I liked the idea of drawing them three times, as I'd already included three versions of me in the drawing (a younger version of me on the left balcony at the top, a version from a couple of years ago on the roof, and the current me spraying graffiti on the pyramid which, it should be noted, is the closest I will ever get to actually doing any graffiti). Plus, I already did a graphic for Fight for Your Right in 2012 (look for "Beastie Dots" on flipflopflyin.com), and wanted to do something new for this piece.

Another thing that I should probably note is the unrealistic-ness of certain parts. The sky hints at the sun setting behind the structure, yet the reflection of the Fernsehturm (and the way shadows fall on other things) mean that the sun would be over the left shoulder of you, the viewer. Similarly, there's no reflection of the structure and bushes on the water. I have done 14 drawings in this vein over the last year, with pyramid-y or octagonal structures on the shore of a lagoon, and have yet to do a proper reflection in the water. I always think I should try it, and I did try it with this drawing, but it didn't look "right". I'm okay with this unrealistic element contributing to the fantasy of the landscapes. I'm similarly okay with drawing things that aren't correct while striving for getting other parts, other details as accurate as possible. I kinda like that it reenforces that this is MY landscape, not a drawing of a specific place.

As a whole, I had a desire to do something cool with pixels, to draw things that are a challenge, fun, and packed full of details. And to represent all of the shit that floats around my brain. To bring together different things I like doing: putting Minipops in non-Minipop-themed pixel drawings, and making the organisation of information (that would normally only occur as infographics) a part of something bigger. I hope you enjoy it x