#it has been difficult to draw so many details while also trying to think of interesting poses…

[the-pigeolympics]

btw i have not forgotten about the absolute zero charms, they are just coming along Very Slowly

[omaano]

SW Hades AU May Status Update

I wanted to make a dedicated post about what I’m currently working on for the Star Wars meets Hades AU that looks more consistent than just sharing bits and pieces whenever I’m tagged in a Last Line Challenge. Because what else do I have but the poly sketch requests and this AU for my weekends? (If nothing else I know that the Hades AU has got me XD)

Other updates: June - July - August

For now Obi-Wan and Maul are stuck at the same stage: they are both lined, have their base colours down as well as the two adjustment layers of coloured lighting.

I suspect if I were ever to get through the agonozing few hours of shading Obi-wan’s face it would be mostly smooth sailing from there. The problem is that there are at least 2 - if not 3 - separate stages where the shaded face looks like I have no idea what I’m doing, and you need to get through the whole thing before it really comes together 😅 on the other hand Hades 2 has a lot of the directional shading I might need for his character art so that might help to get me there.

It also needs to be said that Obi-Wan comes with the extra disadvantage that is the entire background behind him. I’m really hyped to line it finally, it is quite a challenge, but at the same time I’m slowly coming to the realization that I have no idea how I will colour it. Hades backgrounds are so so pretty and full of details and gorgeous colours, and while I’m not delusional enough to think I could match that on first try… I still wish I could, you know? At the same time I will have to erase or recolour a lot of my lines, which will hurt quite a bit, I imagine. I’m so bad at killing my darlings 😅 also I hate laying down flat colours. I just find it very difficult to immerse myself in that process, while lining and shading can have their flow.

I had covered up so many lines and details in Maul’s spider parts it’s a miracle I didn’t cry XD However, tips on grouping my shadows and allowing the shape to speak for itself and the details in them are very helpful and on point.

Worrying over writing dialogue for them is also not as far down my to-do list as I wish it were. I have a good enough idea for a quip for Obi-wan, but Maul? He’d need a whole melodramatic rant of his own XD

Aphra has gotten some new lines and I had fixed the satchel I had forgotten the last time I shared the rough sketch for her, thanks to the new character art for Hades 2! Seeing Odysseus and Hermès’s updated looks were great helps here, so I might as well move on to lining her, and finally adding another female character to the roster on top of Ahsoka!

And then there is the biggest update on these little guys below! I will need to clean up the ones I had drawn for Cobb and Boba (and Din) well over a year ago, but with these my version of chtonic companions are done, and thanks to @lesquatrechevrons I have a full list of keepsakes for each character as well. I’m not very good at drawing these little tchotchkes (I say with Rex’s blaster right there LOL) but I hadn’t been very good at lineart or cell shading when I started this project either, so through forced practice I’m determined to change that :D

(It’s not a screwdriver under Boga, it’s one of Cody’s antennas. “It will grow back, don’t worry,” he says as he snaps it off his pauldron and hands it over to Din. Rex backs him up on that one without question. They can't lie for shit but trolling the shiny is their thing.)

Additional fun fact: the reason why I’d picked up the chtonic companions concepts was because I’d been poking at minor details in the background behind Maul (aside from the Chaos doors), and I started adding credits and recoloured nectar to the corner (before I realized that they wouldn’t be visible once the character interaction comes up oops), and I tried to figure out to whose keepsakes Maul would react favorably. I also mixed up companion dolls and keepsakes, so that’s why the Ahsoka doll came to being (I also forgot that that one belongs to Rex, and not Ahsoka herself but uh… they are close enough that they should count by proxy anyway. It’s not Obi-wan’s cup of tea and that should be enough!). Also bless @mapleowl18 for suggesting Lil Soka as companion for Rex ❤️

So this is the current state of this AU project right now. I have my lists and notes, a few scribbled pose ideas in my sketchbook for Sabine (she might be next, unless Bo and her Nite Owls make a comeback), Satine and Omega (with Batcher), as well as some angry scribbles and question marks for Quinlan (who has apparently made his way back into this AU even though he didn’t get a little icon of his own originally orz), and Obi-wan The Second that would stand with Cody post reunion, but I cannot make that one work for now 😅

[quillpokebiology]

Bisharp Body Language, Behaviors, & Culture

Pawniard and Bisharp behaviors are some of my favorite pokemon to analyze due to their unique groups and interesting social cues. Their social cues and behaviors extend to when they have trainers and are born in captivity, and I think it's important for trainers to understand their pokemon. So, here are some Bisharp behaviors and cultures explained!

Body Language & Behaviours

Tapping

Many trainers might have noticed that their Pawniard/Bisharp will tap random surfaces. This behavior is just used to get your atention in order to tell you something. Maybe their hungry, maybe there's danger, and they want to warn you, but they are trying to get your attention for a reason.

Thiddling

(Idea from Eve-of-Halloween on Deviantart)

I think this behavior is very cute. It's a courting act where Pawniard/Bisharp tap their blades together or tap their partner/potential partner's blades in a rhythmic order.

Scraping

Sraping is a behavior where Pawniard/Bisharp scrape their blades together in order to threaten another Pawniard/Bisharp. This behaviour is used as a warning that they're about to attack. If a wild Bisharp does this to you, turn the other way because it most likely means that you are in its territory and doesn't want you there.

Bowing

Pawniard and Bisharp bow for 2 main reasons; bowing to their superiors to to invite someone to a friendly battle. Bowing to their superiors often includes keeping their blades behind their back, while bowing to initiate a friendly battle has their arms extended forward and their hands out.

Scouting

A behavior seen more commonly in Pawniard than Bisharp, and certainly not Kinggambit. This includes a group of Pawniard leaving their camp to go check their territory for any danger. With trainers or with humans, this behaviour includes getting up early and walking around the house or yard to check for any unwanted company.

Marking

Marking is when Pawniard/Bisharp mark their territory by carving their clan's symbol on rocks, trees, or other materials around them. This behaviour is more common in Pawniard than it is Bisharp, and Kingambit don't do it unless they're in captivity and their aren't any other Pawniard or Bisharp to do it for them. This behavior makes a lot of sense in the wild, but it can be annoying when your Pawniard ends up carving things on your walls or driveway.

Courting

Bisharp have a few different courting behaviors. This includes displaying their blades, gift giving, cutting up their partner's food, or sharpening their partner's blades. This behaviour can be a bit difficult when their mate isn't a member of thr Pawniard line, but they do pair very well with Gallade bcuz Gallade court in similar ways.

Clapping

The line claps for similar reasons we do; they like something. I'm just putting this here to explain the next part.

Laughing

Bisharp don't laugh the same reasons we do. We laugh when something is funny, but Bisharp will laugh to show power. It's common for Bisharp to laugh after a fight, and the behavior is seen as mocking. If you recently caught one, you should teach them that you're not mocking them when you're laughing. Or, if you want to accommodate your Bisharp, try clapping when you find something funny because clapping is also their version of laughing.

Clanging

Clanging is when Pawniard line members clang their heads together as a form of greeting. It's used as a way to form deeper bonds amongst their pack.

Culture

I just want to say that each Pawniard/Bisharp pack/clan has different cultures and behaviors, and they're not all the same. I go over it a bit in my Pawniard Facts post, and I'll go over it as well in my Bisharp Fact posts, but I am going itno more detail here!

Writing & Symbols

Each Pawniard pack has their own symbols for their clan, which they use to mark their territory. While they don't write as much as Weavile do, there have been recorded cases of them drawing symbols that aren't their or other clan symbols that they use to communicate with one another.

Naming

The Pawniard line does, in fact, name each other! It's usually vocal sounds coming from the mouth, and they may even have symbols for their names. This extends to their trainers. If your Pawniard/Bisharp/Kingambit always refers to you with a specific soundz that means that they have named you. And while it's hard to translate what these names mean, as scientists aren't fully sure if what their symbols mean, they have figured out some, and many Pawniard/Bisharp/Kingambit are named after things that are around them; like different trees or rocks.

Affection

Because of the blades all over their body, the line isn't much for physical affection. Instead, the line will show affection to one's they are close with by doing acts of service or do something I like to call "Allogrooming but without the grooming bcuz idk what it's called," where clans will have dedicated times to just relaxing and communicating eith each other. For trainers, this behavior can translate as your partner following you around or giving you gifts.

Honor

So many Bisharp clans have such a high focus on honor. The most honorable thing a Bisharp can do is become a strong leader, so evolving into a Kingambit is one of the best things you can do. But since only one clan can have a kingambit, other Pawniard and Bisharp just focus on becoming stronger for their clan and Kingambit.

Mourning

Like humans, the Pawniard line buries their dead. They're often buried with different stones or beloved objects. Researchers understand the beloved objects part, but they're still trying to figure out what the stones mean. They will have funerals foe their dead and different clans have different ways for their funerals. Some clans will have moments of silence, some will have battles, and some will celebrate their fallen friends next chapter into the afterlife.

Integration

The Pawniard line prefers to keep to their own clans, with integration of clans not being a very common thing. BUT, it isn't unheard of. It mostly happens when a Kingambit manages to take control over multiple clans, resulting in larger territories and more clan members. Integration can also happen with outer species as well. Members of the line are known to accept other humanoid pokenon into their clans, like Charcadet or Gallade, but they also get along very well with the Aegislash line. Researchers believe it is because Aegislash is attracted to any pokemon that has organized societies and have power, making it easier for the Aegislash to befriend said pokemon. Works for Bisharp's favor, since now they have something to protect them from fighting types.

Hope this helps! It was very fun researching the structures of their socities and their behaviours. If you use any questions, please ask me!

[jensensitive]

I am obsessed with the way in which you draw Dean. You have his features nailed to perfection - somehow your Dean looks even more Dean than Dean in the show, because you exaggerate everything that makes him HIM. It's truly breathtaking <3 Any advice on how to get those features so flawless?

This is so so nice, thank you so much 😭💕💕💕

Honestly Dean is like my go-to thing to draw basically, and has been for many years, like I have to try to refrain myself from just drawing Dean again sometimes. He's like probably half of how I've learned to draw at all. So there's definitely practice there.

That said, I did not immediately have much of answer to this. It's like, his face is just his perfect, beautiful face, and then I try to draw that. 😅

So I drew some Dean to figure out what it is I do, so thanks for the excuse to draw more Dean lol

Extensive answer under the cut

If you're drawing something realistic from reference, for Dean you kind of have two options, you can either get a screencap that's closer up so you can see details better, but the top of his head is cut off, or you can get one where you can see less details but his whole torso is in frame. It can be weirdly difficult to guess at where the top of his head is sometimes, and you don't need details to capture a likeness, I think it was Sargent that said that the shape of the head is actually the most important aspect in capturing a likeness, so it's something to keep in mind. On the other hand, if you want to look at his pretty eyelashes while you draw him, you might want something closer up. (An understandable impulse).

Another thing is just to look for a reference that you really like, contrasty light and shadow are also great to look for. It's difficult to create a great drawing without them, but also it will illustrate the structure of his head best too. Look for shadow shapes you want to draw. If a reference is too dark (as it often is, because it's supernatural), edit it so you can actually see what you're drawing lmao.

I took a bunch of random screencaps of 11x02-- as random as I could, normally I'd just take screencaps of what I already kind of like, but I tried to just get all of it so you can see what I'm not choosing. (also couldn't help taking some cas ones when the lighting was going really hard)

I love a profile, I love a 3/4 view, I love when his eyes are like half open. His face was kinda giving towards the end of this episode.

Hopefully you can see them well enough. The mass ideas are more important for picking at impactful reference, but ofc I'm also trying to avoid any where he's making a dumb face or it's blurry. Sometimes that's only evident when I open it bigger, but that's okay, we have a bunch to pick from.

a. This one is one I picked out because it's an interesting angle, and I'd definitely do a little study of it, but because the lighting is so soft, it probably wouldn't be super interesting.

b. I like this one, the face he's making is hilarious, and I like the rhythm of his hand, but if I were to draw it, I might draw a fourth finger, otherwise it might look strange. So keep that in mind too, if it looks odd in the reference, it will look odd in the drawing, so unless you're confident that you can effectively change it, pick a different reference or find a second reference to help you change it.

c. This lighting's more dynamic, and I like his expression.

d. Would be hard to pick between these. This one's 3/4 and has a nice eyelash shadow, and I love the shape of his eye when it's downturned.

e. Shoutout to the shape of Jensen's brow when he looks down gotta be one of my favorite genders. + subtle Rembrandt lighting. Lovely.

f. This one is so good. Overhead lighting getting a shadow from his ear in a sideview, defining the jaw in an interesting way. Great expression. It's a bit strange, the way he's looking to the side, so it might be hard to draw convincingly, but would be worth it if I could do it. The shadow from the hair defining the shape of the brow. The light on the cheek defining the slight eyebag. The reflected light under the eye, the light landing on the nose. Would probably change the hair a bit because it looks a bit odd at this angle in this lighting, and if drawn like this it would probably look at bit block-like.

g. More rembrandt lighting. Shoutout to the shadow that this upper lip casts on his lower lip. Shoutout to the shadow his lower lip casts on his chin. Shoutout to the line of light defining his neck. Shoutout to the shape of his brow and forehead.

h. The rhythms here are chefs kiss-- the shadow line diagonal from the corner of his hairline to the corner of his brow echoed by the shadow line diagonal of his cheekbone, then that second line following through to the line of light on his neck that curves the other way.

i. This one's kinda boring wrt lighting, but it's an interesting enough angle to do a study of.

I'm going with screencap c because it's gonna work well to effectively illustrate the basic structure of how I construct his features. It's not directly straight-on, so the form isn't lost, but it's straight enough on to properly show our proportions.

For supplies here, I'm just using a soft charcoal pencil, I just use the kinda cheap ones (currently Markart) cause I actually like them better than General's. And it's on smooth newsprint. I just get it in a big thing of 500 sheets. Not archival but it's a cheap thing that's incredibly enjoyable to draw on. Pink Papermate eraser and a kneaded eraser. The pen I use at one point for some reason is a red Pentel RSVP ballpoint I think, although I actually prefer a Bic.

1. So first thing I block in that main shape, in this case, his head and shoulders. I also have to draw in the hairline at the same time, cause I can't figure it out otherwise. He's got kind of pointy ears. The collar of his jacket often comes up pretty high on the back of his neck. He's got a distinctive hairline that I think can go a long way to showing it's Dean, it's worth taking note of. It swoops to our left, and then the corner (I guess?) of his hairline will line up with the corner/arch of his brow. And don't draw the hairline as an unbroken line, but several lines with some room to breathe. His shoulders are pretty straight and broad, but about three heads across which is pretty normal.

2. Next what I think about is the shape of the eyesockets and the line of the brow. This bit will go a ways for conveying Dean's expression, because he has a wide range from light and happy to horribly scowly that's in the brows. You don't have to define the exact line of the brow at this moment, blocking in the general line is fine just to have an idea of where it lands. You can go back later and refine it. I also find where the bottom lid lands. In my brain it makes a shape like what I've drawn. I might not draw it just like this, but even if I don't, this is the shape I'm thinking about. The line from the end of his eyebrow to his bottom lid is a fave, sometimes you can see it on him, especially at an angle, and it's real pretty.

3. Next I find where the bottom of his nose lands, it's about double the length of the eyesocket. And the line under his bottom lip, about halfway between his nose and the bottom of his chin. These measurements are pretty average measurements for a face. I didn't give myself enough room for his chin initially, so I moved it down to fix it. Also adjusted his face very slightly wider on the right side, cause it's looking a bit narrow.

4. I added some of our shadow shapes. This is where finding a reference with well-defined shadows will be very helpful. And I sketched in the clothes cause why not. The clothes don't have to be perfect, who cares, Dean's collar is not our point of interest lol. The shadow on the neck will probably be slightly curved because of the roundness of the neck. If it's not, you might want to make it curve slightly anyway just to help define the form. I blocked in where the eyes are.

eyes: For Jensen's lovely eyes, they have a specific shape that is so nice to draw, especially at certain and angles and with certain expressions. But basically the top lid is more angular and can be almost boxed off at the end, and the line from the corner of the eye to the lashes is an s-curve that's higher in the middle. Again, not unusual features in drawing a face, but such pretty examples. The shadow that his lower lid casts (or his makeup idk?) is often dark enough to look vaguely like eyeliner. Jensen's lower eyelids, an underrated part of Jensen. His eyebrows are thicker in the middle and sparser on the ends.

5. Next I found the corners of the lips. This is an important aspect in the way I draw mouths. Sometimes I just draw them with dots where the corners of the lips are, a curve where the lips part in the middle, a shadow under the bottom lip, and the curve of the cupid's bow. (This is seen below in 6) I think I also adjusted the bottom lip shadow here. Straight-on, the middle of his lips is slightly higher than the corners, but of course, this will change when not straight-on, depending on if we're looking up or down at his mouth. I also sketched in the nose shape. The ridge of his nose has a nice subtle bump, and then the ball of his nose is very slightly squared off I think, from a front-facing perspective, I feel like. And I drew in his slightly drawn brows. Just pay attention to the angles in your reference, because the expression, the perspective and the angle of the head can impact it. But of course generally, drawn down in the middle, furrowed = scowly; drawn up, unfurrowed = happy.

nose: I prefer drawing his nose in profile. And who wouldn't, look at it! The slight curve of the bridge and then the ball of the nose. I will exaggerate this a little sometimes, just because it's fun and I like it. I couldn't find a reference, but from below, you can see the shape of the bottom of his nose, it dips in the middle a bit more than average. Drawing the bottom of the nose is often a delicate balance between shadow and reflected light. I love keeping it light, save for the nostrils, but then the shadow under the nose can be important too. Sometimes it's just a stylistic choice. Note that there's a plane change between the side of the nose and the cheek. (I think I drew his nose too upturned here, but the general idea is still there)

6/mouth: In drawing the mouth, the top line of the upper lip looks more rectangular at the ends, increasingly so as it turns away from us, and much less so as it turns towards us. Of course, he has a full upper lip that you can shade as you like. I try to keep it distinct from the shadow of the line of the mouth, and a reflected light on the top lip can be good here too. For the bottom lip, it's always nice to give is some shine with a hard-edge highlight. For the cupid's bow, I try to leave a light between the upper lip and the shadow in the cupid's bow. For some reason I drew the shadow backwards here, but I think it looks fine.

7/ears: I started to shade it, and then I remembered that he has ears. There's a simplified way I draw ears that I like. It's not entirely accurate, because the two shadows at the top are actually usually connected, but I find it a bit distracting that way sometimes, so this is more subtle I guess. In profile, I don't really have a method of drawing it, I just draw whatever the reference gives me or bs it with a similar version of this, depending.

8/hair: My method for drawing his hair is 1) suffer 2) hope and pray. I like to leave a rim light-type deal between the contour/outliine of the hair and the rest of the hair, I feel like it helps define it a bit more. The direction of his hair, and thus the direction of my lines is something like this.

9. And then I more or less just shaded. When shading, it's always good to follow the direction of the plane, and I also alternatively like to shade in the direction that the light is falling to reinforce that gesture, but when I shade a face, I try to shade in the opposite direction of where wrinkles would go, if that makes sense, mostly up and down I guess. This is of course on a case by case basis, like a lot of times, I'll do the forehead horizontally anyway, but it's especially touchy around where the laugh lines of the mouth would be and the neck. And on soft plane changes (and softish hard plane changes), I often shade at a different angle to the main shadow. Shading direction can also delineate different areas of similar tones, like I did with the jacket and the side of the nose. I like to give Dean his eyelash shadow, because he deserves it. I also drew in the eyes, of course. I think I actually tend to shade them backwards, and the light would fall in the opposite direction, so when lit from the right, the right side would be darker, but I just don't draw it that way idk maybe I should.

And there he is, that's our guy!

Normally when I'm drawing, I'm definitely a bit more all over the place, and don't necessarily do things in perfect order. And it's good to move around. I'm probably not going to be shading things before noting where all the features are going to land, but I often am shading something before I've drawn everything. Or end up drawing one eye and then maybe do part of the other and then move to do part of the nose and then sketch in an ear and then maybe notice something's off somewhere and adjust that, etc. Just go with it, have fun, he's got a fun face to draw! 💗

[iqrachi]

You draw hands so well!! How do you do it?

Hello Seekdusk! Thank you so much <3 The most common thing to say, but has been the longest journey for me, is literally hours and hours of practicing! I'll go more into depth under the cut!

I think it comes from the fact that I am a goddamn stubborn person, and when I set my mind to it, I'll finish it. The time I really became determined to draw hands, was when I was around 14 years old? Now I'm 27, so I've had some years practicing hands now haha What truly inspired me was movies like Disney Tarzan, Atlantis and the older hand drawn movies. The way the many animations drew hands? Utterly poetry to my soul. And the fact that they were able to animate hand moving too?? It was godly to my small human brain at my earlier age. Milt Kahl, a legend when it comes to early Disney animation, (and most conmanly known to animate those head swaggle frames,)

But also a goddamn god when it comes to hand???

Freaking love these so much, and there is so much more references of his drawing if you search for him. Anyway, my point to all of this was: Find your inspiration! Is there a style you're dying to try out and want to get better at? Do you want to develop your own kind of style and get better at anatomy all in all? I think having a goal really helps you reach for the distance. Mine was to draw like the legends! My grandfather, who is also an artist and was a big inspiration for me as young, told me that one of the hardest things to draw was: Hands and feet. "When an artist can draw the palms of a hand or the sole of a foot in detail, they can truly draw anything." Me, hearing this at 6 years old? You better believe I made that my life's goal to become the greatest little artist there is and draw awesome hands and anatomy!!! Little hopeful 6-years-old me of course didn't know the half of how much time I would spend drawing then. But I think that also helped somehow. Not overthink it in the moment. Draw what inspires you and and have fun while doing it. Anatomy was something that was so fascinating to me too as young, I got to borrow my grandfather's book by Burne Hogarth: Dynamic Figure Drawings.

His style if pretty stylized, but it helped me understanding the proportions of muscles, form and posture. So my other point would be: Use references that helps and inspires you to draw more and improve! Something I've talked to my many artist friends in need of help is that: Using references is NOT CHEATING!!! References has been the very source for art since the freaking stone age. Need help drawing that hand that's stubbornly difficult to draw? Take a picture of your own hand in the pose you want and trace it! Or you can find pictures or 3D figure posers online for free where you can literally pose hands however you like!

And one last point I would like to say too is: It's alright to do mistakes! And when you can't quite do it? Take a break and come back to it later. When I was struggling the most while drawing hands, I would get so frustrated I wanted to throw the tablet out of the window. Solution? Take a coffee/tea break. Go for a walk or something. When you get back to it, you'll start off with a fresh mind and maybe even see what you need to do to fix the drawing too! Anyway I've been rambling for a while now. If you got this far, I hope these will help you on your journey too as it did for me ♥♥♥

[ultramarine-spirit]

Spoon's Q&A, fun facts and more! (NHK Culture Center Class)

As promised, I have translated the contents of Spoon's NHK class. This post includes answers to the Q&A, fun facts and interesting info I noticed from the session.

Disclaimer: Unless stated otherwise, these aren't direct quotes, nor a literal or complete translation of the whole class (it was over an hour long, it would have taken me much longer...), it's a summary. Also, Spoon talked very fast, so while I fact-checked my notes with native speakers and translators, I could have made mistakes.

Many thanks to my friends @carlachen and @ mananokobako on Twitter for sharing their notes with me!

Q&A

Q: The outfits featured on “Who Made Me A Princess” are very beautiful, what’s the process behind their designs? [Note: This was my question!]

A: When designing the outfits, Spoon researches the appropriate aristocratic costumes and dress codes, mainly from the 1870’s and 1880’s. She also uses material collections, books about clothing and web seaches, and used them as reference for details and hairstyles. In fact, this process could get very research-intensive and take many hours, something Spoon hadn’t anticipated, so she thanks the readers for liking them and taking notice of the clothes’ details.

Q: How did you come up with the name "Spoon"?

A: A friend recommended it to me, saying that the pronunciation of the word "spoon" was cute and that it suited my illustrations.

Q: While there are happy times when you draw manga, you must have also experienced many difficult and sad times. Is there anything that gave you the strength to overcome those difficult times?

A: The words of support and feedback from the readers gave Spoon strenght. When she heard that one of them was able to overcome depression after reading "Who Made Me A Princess", she was really moved to tears. Another happy event she remembers was when a foreign reader sent her a letter and a gift through the publisher company. She was so grateful that they would come all the way here [Korea], and also thanks the publisher company.

Q:  What’s the most important thing to focus on while doing art, and is it needed to receive formal education or one could be self-taught? This may be a contradictory question, but what do you do when you lose interesting in drawing or you don't want to draw? Also, what’s your favorite type of ramen? [Yes this is the correct translation lol]

A: Spoon believes that the most important thing while doing art is to complete your work. If you don't complete it first, you can’t find flaws or bad points in your art to improve. Whether you learn by self-study or by attending art school, if you can become a professional or not depends on your effort. Try to be as specific as possible in your goals, and think about what you need to do to become better at painting than you are now. When Spoon is feeling unmotivated, she thinks to myself, "If I take a break now, I will regret it later, won't I?".

Among Korean ramen, a type called of sesame ramen called "Chamke ramen" is Spoon's favorite.

Q: I was always impressed by the beauty of Spoon-sensei's paintings. I wanted to know if there is an artist that influenced your art.

A: Spoon’s style has been influenced by the art of Naoko Takeuchi [Called it] author of Sailor Moon, Ikuko Ito, creator of Princess Tutu and animation director of the original Sailor Moon anime, and Katekyo Hitman Reborn’s author, Akira Amano [In fact, Spoon is a big fan of the series. You can check some of her old fanart here]. Spoon says that she respects them very much.

Q: Do you have any stories, manga, TV dramas or anime that have been greatly influential for you?

A: Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaä and Laputa: Castle in the Sky, and Disney’s Moana, stories where the female protagonist has adventures and overcomes adversity. Spoon thinks those stories of growth are really wonderful.

Q: What’s your favorite anime?

A: Spoon likes all the films directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Q: The person asking this questions comments that, after reading "Who Made Me A Princess" they gradually became interested in family stories in which two characters who were indifferent before become close and come to cherish each other very much. Their question is, since there are many combinations and genre settings, if there's a particular pattern or setting that Spoon personally likes.

A: Spoon likes to see a character change depending on emotions such as love and friendship. Emotions are intangible, but they have the power to change a person's personality and behavior. She thinks that's what is so wonderful about it.

Q: At what stage do you draw the shadows? Do you add them in from the beginning or in the middle [of the process of painting]? Also, when do you start thinking about putting shadows in there? I would like to know if there are any points you are conscious of when drawing.

A: Spoon adds shadows when she is considering the surrounding lighting of the drawing. Even if the object in particular is a flat surface, it's important to paint it as if it were three-dimensional. In order to get better at this, it's absolutely necessary to carefully observe photographs to see the way in which shadows are cast when an object is exposed to light.

Q: When you are drawing, which part do you like the most?

A: Spoon enjoys when she is putting the finishing touches the most. She is filled with a sense of accomplishment after completing it.

Q: In some scenes, Athy does a swirly gesture with her arms when she is embarrassed. The person who asked this question doesn’t quite understand it, as it’s not something you see in Japanese manga, and would like Spoon to explain it a little.

A: [Spoon shows gifs of Korean TV shows where the participants make a sort of “grabby hands” motion] Spoon laughs and explains that this is a common physical way to convey embarrassment, surprise or cringe in Korean culture [If you search “오글거리다” you can find some examples]. The word used literally means that your limbs "shrink", so that's where the gesture comes from, but it can also be used in other situations, such as being horrified, in pain or cold. In Japan, this is usually represented with goosebumps.

Spoon elaborates about how certain cultural differences are fascinating. For example, when someone is talking about a character behind their back or in another place, in Japanese media the character will usually sneeze. On the other hand, in Korea that kind of situation has the character’s ears suddenly itching.

Q: The person asking the question says that the way in which Spoon draws jeweled eyes is very beautiful. They want to know how did Spoon think of that idea, or if she developed a process of creating them.

A: How she would draw the jeweled eyes was one of the things that Spoon worried about the most. What she wanted to convey was the feeling of a “cut gemstone”, and how precious, shining and beautiful the eyes look [Here she explains it while doing “cutting” motions with her hands. Think something similar to a karate chop]. She did her very best and is glad that she got a good response from readers.

Q: Athy and her friends looks so beautiful and cute in the dresses they wear. I would like to know what was the most difficult or honestly troublesome dress to draw in your work.

A: The coronation dress was very difficult and time-consuming to draw. At that time, Spoon had to do a lot of things at the same time, such as revising the physical version of the webtoon, so there wasn't enough time to do everything at the same time, but Spoon was happy that the effort she put into it made it look gorgeous.

Q: Who is your favorite character to draw, or the easiest to draw? And who is the most difficult to draw?

A: It’s Athy, because she’s gorgeous and cute. But Spoon also greatly enjoys drawing Lucas. Drawing him is fun because he is handsome and has many expressions. On the other hand, it's difficult to draw cautious characters because their facial expressions don't change much. However, she says that all of the characters are beautiful and elegant, so there’s no character that Spoon dislikes drawing.

Q: What is the most important thing for Spoon to draw in “Who Made Me A Princess”?

A: Spoon expands on the themes of “Who Made Me A Princess”, about the various relationships within the family that wasn't connected to one another. She thought that even if the characters shared blood, they hadn't been able to communicate, so they could only become a family if they thought about each other. And even if they are not connected by blood, if they care about each other they still can become a family.

Q: The person asking the question goes over how the color of both Jennette and Anastasius’ eyes changed once Lucas removed their mana. Jennette’s eyes became green like Penelope’s, while Anastasius’ turned black. It seems like the jeweled eyes are related to the characters' mana. So, if they didn’t have any magic, would Athy's eyes become a beautiful and mysterious color like Diana's, and Claude's eyes would become almost brown like his mother's?

A: Spoon elaborates about how the way in which a person’s eye color is determined is very complex and tricky, as it has to do with genetics, but in this setting it indeed relates to the royal mana. If Athy didn’t have any magic, her eyes would look like Diana’s.

[Note: This is also shown with Aeternitas’ cloudy jeweled eyes, since his mana was very weak].

Q: The person asking this question asks Spoon why was Diana a dancer, and if she could get a little more into Diana’s character, her past and what type of person she was.

A: Spoon imagined Diana as a minstrel or a wandering artist. Like a ballerina in a famous theater troupe who tours, she travels with her dancing and singing, putting on shows in different countries to earn money for her travels, so Spoon characterized her as a free soul.

Q: Obelia is called “the land of eternal springs and summers” in the last chapter. Does that mean winter doesn’t exist there?

A: Spoon says that indeed, there’s no cold weather in Obelia. That's why the characters don't have winter clothes. However, as there are a lot of cute designs for winter clothes, she would like to draw an illustration of the characters in winter clothes in the future.

Q: What your schedule is like when you are working on the series?

A: Spoon exercises as soon as she wakes up, for about 2 hours, eats dinner when she gets home, and starts working right away all the way until she goes to bed.

Q: It’s very rare to see Claude in uniform or tight clothes. The person asking the question wonders why Claude's clothes are so bare and asks Spoon if she could elaborate a little on his fashion sense.

A: Claude used to be a prince who wore his uniform properly, but after meeting Diana, he came to like the more casual or loose style of clothing. So Claude's fashion sense comes from Diana’s influence on him. Even when he didn’t remember her, he kept wearing such clothes because of that influence, and also because he genuinely likes them.

Q: Who’s Spoon’s favorite guy?

A: [With no hesitation] Claude.

Q: How did you improve your drawing skills before becoming an illustrator?

A: Spoon used to emulate her favorite artists and draw fanart.

Q: Do you have a favorite japanese word?

A: When she was traveling in Japan, Spoon was impressed by the name “Nippori” [Referring to Nippori train station]. She looked up the meaning and thought “Oh, so that’s what it means!” [Note: Nippori means “place where the sun sets”]. In Nippori, she didn’t do anything in particular, Spoon just passed by it on the train.

Q: "Who Made Me A Princess" has great clothes, but I also like the flowers that appear in each scene. I know some of them problably don't exist, but is there a flower that you use as a model?

A: It was a long time ago, so Spoon doesn't remember much, but she tried to draw beautiful flowers with overlapping petals.

Q: Is there anything that Spoon-sensei takes special care of in terms of physical condition?

A: Her wrists. Spoon demonstrates how she does her stretching routine. She also takes supplements when needed.

Q: I love Athy's hair color, it's so soft. Did you have any difficulties or problems deciding on that color?

A: At first her hair was a little darker, but Claude's hair is a dark blond and Athy's is a light blonde. So, in order to make a difference between them, Spoon lightened Athy's hair. She had a hard time fixing it so it wouldn't be too bright.

Q: What do you keep in mind about color schemes when you paint? They are always beautiful and I'm always fascinated by them.

A: Spoon tries not to make the color scheme too dark or complex [This answer was hard to hear, it could mean too dark or complicated/oversaturated].

Q: A question asking for commentary on the characters' expression and they way in which Spoon draws them. The answer focuses on Claude’s expression when Athy collapses in Chapter 18. The comments mention how Claude’s perspective of it in Chapter 102 was very moving and made everyone cry. [Here Spoon showed the panel of Claude’s surprised face].

A: That scene was especially difficult for Spoon. It's a precious scene that shows how Claude had allowed his heart to worry about Athy. It was quite difficult because she had to give the expression a “Claude-like” quality and be careful to not deviate from his personality, but she also had to express how shocked he was. But it was a lot of fun despite the difficulties.

After reading the comments saying that this scene made everyone cry, Spoon adds that this is her favorite scene in the webtoon.

Q: The last question of the class. What will Spoon do in the future?

A: Spoon was thinking of going back to being an illustrator after the serialization of “Who Made Me A Princess” was over, but after the encouragement and happiness she received from readers, she decided to continue as a cartoonist. Look forward to seeing her next work!

Spoon realized that it makes her very happy to see and meet readers who are happy to read the manga she drew. She will continue to create good works as much as she can. She ends the live part of the class thanking us readers.

Q: At what age did you start drawing? [Note: The following questions are direct quotes. Because they were provided in written form, I was able to faithfully translate them].

A: My parents told me that I was very young, ever since I was able to hold a pencil, I was already drawing.

Q: What made you decide to be a cartoonist?

A: I have always dreamed of becoming a cartoonist since I was a child, but I thought it might be difficult, so at first I aimed to become an illustrator. After a while of working as an illustrator, I was asked to make my favorite work into a webtoon and decided to become a cartoonist.

Q: What’s your favorite manga?

A: I really enjoy reading Dungeon Meshi [Delicious in Dungeon] these days.

Q: What’s your favorite Japanese food?

A: I like sushi and ramen / I like cheese and creamy foods. It’s not good for my health… But it’s delicious, isn’t it? ( ;ω;   )

Q: When did your current art style take form?

A: After I started working as an illustrator and studied styles suitable for the genre (mainly romance fantasy), I guess… It’s not completely set in stone, it’s still developing.

Q: I’d like to know what’s your average working time per day.

A: Basically 8 hours, sometimes more than 12 hours when the deadline approaches.

Q: What software do you use for illustration?

A: I use Clip Studio Paint by CELSYS.

Q: Please tell me how to draw jeweled eyes!

A: I posted a tutorial on YouTube. Please watch the SoSpoon channel! [Link to the tutorial]

Q: Please tell us about Athanasia’s daily life!

A: Athy enjoys having tea and cake while performing her duties as princess. She will also play with Lucas, who shows up from time to time.

Q: Did you expect “Who Made Me A Princess” to become so popular in Japan? Did you work with the intention of expanding to overseas from the beginning?

A: At first, I didn’t think about publishing overseas. At that time [when the serialization began, in 2017], it wasn’t a time when overseas expansion was very active [referring to how back then, it wasn’t common for manhwas to get translated into other languages]. I was very happy that Japanese readers enjoyed my work, and I’m looking around for feedback with a lot of gratitude. Thank you so much for all the love.

Q: What does “Who Made Me A Princess” mean for Spoon-sensei?

A: The webtoon “Who Made Me A Princess” is like a benefactor to me. Thanks to this work, I was able to receive a lot of love. Thank you so much.

Q: Have you been asked to make an anime adaptation of “Who Made Me A Princess”?

A: Yes. I heard that it was ranked the 2nd manga that people want to see animated in Japan. Thank you very much.

[This year, “Who Made Me A Princess” has also been nominated to receive an anime adaptation. Read more about it and vote here!]

Fun Facts and Other Info

I'll answer what everyone is probably wondering about first: No, there was no mention of the side stories. But also, no one really asked about it. It seems to be a sort of taboo topic among japanese readers, and since there is some kind of issue with their publication, nobody touched the subject to not ruin the happy mood.

Apparently, Spoon received over 1000 questions for the Q&A.

The NHK translator mentioned that there were students from many countries!

Spoon gave a quick overview of her working tools. They include: a Cintiq 27QHD (tablet), two Dell monitors, and a Streamdeck. She also mentions using a 24-inch pen now, because it's easier to use.

Spoon has volume 9's cover as her PC's wallpaper.

Spoon's voice is very cute! But wow, she talks so fast. Taking notes was very challenging.

She seemed to be shy but was very happy and looked healthy! The first thing she did was thank the readers for all their support and for giving her strength.

There were many comments about how cute the gestures Spoon made were. I agree!

Spoon has a ton of WMMAP merch. A whole bookshelf filled with it, and I believe she had at least one item of... everything. Even the chinese exclusive merch.

She also had a bunch of WMMAP volumes, both normal and limited versions!

Spoon has a special brush for drawing blushed cheeks, and it's in fact not pink but orange and light red, with the contours being lighter.

She had a very cute crab pencil holder. She said it was a gift from her assistant. Spoon likes it because it has a cute shape and she loves cute things. Like this (green one):

Most people already saw, but the results of the popularity poll for the character people wanted Spoon to draw were: Athy in 1st place, Lucas 2nd, Claude 3rd, Ijekiel 4th, and lastly Jennette 5th. The numbers of votes weren't revealed. Spoon drew the following illustration to celebrate:

That's it for now! I've been told that the class will be re-streamed soon (though I don't know if it will be made public or just for those who paid), so I'll try to watch it again and chat with friends that attended the class to see if I can add more interesting information to this post.

(February 4th, 2023 Edit) With the invaluable help of my friend @ mananokobako on Twitter and listening to the class again, I was able to translate new questions and improve on the past translation. I hope everyone can give it another read!

[lifepaint]

I actualy had thought about this concept alongside with my dear friend @artsy-n-smartsy!

..You are probably wondering where this came from HEHE

While playing totk, when the part with the secret stones came up, and how swalowing one will turn you into a dragon.. I couldnt help but draw a comparison to DB Gt, when Goku actualy swallowed one of the dragonballs ABHAHBA

I know GT isnt considred canon (As far as Im aware) but the fact that goku has done that in official dragonball media tells me that he will eat anyhting. Even mystical objects.

...Sooooo what if he found a secret stone and learned that he can eat one?... without hearing the consequence???

This is my inteprtation of that idea 

It felt good to draw more dragonball!!! Even if its a crossover comic lol 

Also.. for those who have been following me, you may have noticed that my artstyle here is very different. Welllllll I always wanted to learn how to draw more manga/anime style stuff, and since there are many panels here, I felt like I could try it here for practise!! 

I dont thik it looks amazing, but... the production was very troubeld to sa ythe least twt I think it looks descent enough, all thigns considered!

Fyi, Im not abondoning by usual style by any means! But as an artist, I feel like its important to expand on my skills and not be afraid to try out something new. So, you can see this as the birth of a new artstyle for me!!! 

..anyway, prodcution rambles here we gooooo-

Awhile back I said that this piece was the hardest thing I ever made, but this one Ill argue was wayyyyyy more difficult Having to focus on so many panels with as many details as possble, plus having to use an unfamiliar style to draw can easily break someone HEHE HEHE

I had to use many refferences to do this right. Goku I feel like looks solid for the most part, zelda was more difficult tho.

Also, le me guys know if the comic sans font is distracting for you. Ive seen many artists put their handwriting to write dialogue, but my handwriitng is shit so, I resorted to this.

Um, since I am mostly new into doing comics this way, and want to post them more often, I would appreciate feedback!!! Let me know if I can improve on anything ówo

So yeah, hope oyu guys like thisas always ^^

[kjmellow]

Let's talk

Magical systems

I have been considering this for some time, because I'm reading, watching and writing things that have magic in them, and I have managed to single out three categories of magics that seem basic:

Intention-based refers to the type of magic where you picture the result and it just happens. No specific rituals or magical words required.

Word-based refers to spells, when a specific spell-word yields specific results.

Sign-based is a somewhat broad category, which includes magical signs and sigils, runes, chalk circles, ingredients required to work a specific spell or a special movement that you have to do to perform magic.

And here are a few examples that came to my mind as I was making this, and I do encourage additions and speculation:

Let's elaborate!

Okay Diana Wynne Jones has probably written every single one of these magical systems, it's just that they're too confusing for me to classify each and every instance, because there are hardly any descriptions. It doesn't help that all her stories are more or less like So they usually do magic this way BUT our protagonist has their own way. But Christopher Chant aka Chrestomanci, for example, is very clearly an intention-based enchanter, because he just makes things go his way. In The Magicians of Caprona they specifically sing spells, and their quality depends on how well they are sung (written spells are still word-based spells, by the way). In House of Many Ways doing a spell is described in detail (which doesn't mean much since Charmain has her way of making magic anyway, but it's there, to show how spells were supposed to work all along), and it has ingredients and special actions and words to say or write. Then, since it's all the same universe as Howl's Moving Castle, I'm just singling out Sophie for intention+words, because what she uses is not necessarily spells, but she just magically talks things into being a certain way, so they also kinda are.

Harry Potter had brave attempts at a straight-forward wagical system, but then some spells require unnecessarily difficult and precise wand movements to move a fricking feather, while you just point at someone to unalive them. Still, sort of falls into this crossover of categories, I GUESS.

Doctor Strange was the only example of sign-based magic that came to my mind, but I think it's a very good example. They literally wave their hands around in a certain way and make glowy things out of thin air. Amazing. Wish I could do that.

The Owl House, in my opinion, is a prime example of intention+sign, because it literally said so in the show. I think it was when Luz was trying to teach Eda and Lilith wild magic, because there are only four basic sigils, and they make so many combinations, yes, but you can ALSO shape the outcome by picturing what shape you want your spell to take. And I think they do pretty much the same thing when they draw those circles and imagine what they want to happen, so here it is.

Addition that's not on the graph: Carrionites from that one Doctor Who episode about Shakespeare are word-based. That was the whole plot point.

Anyway, here's my take on a topic which I mostly cleared up into a system for myself, and I would love to see what others think about it. Maybe there's a secret fourth thing I have somehow overlooked... And I would also love to see people add their fandoms to the pile :)

[salty-an-disco]

Man. The character poll got me looking at my designs with new eyes, and I feel like rambling about it, so Imma just do it.

(pretty long artist ramble under the cut)

The thing about me is that a lot of the choices I make when I’m designing something are mostly intuitive/subconscious; just me following a Vibe and seeing what works for the feeling I want to pass on. Not to say I design stuff without thought, I’m just not aware of those thoughts until the design’s done lol

All this to say the character poll got me analyzing my own designs and realizing what my intuitive brain was going for when doing these aissmdmfjdm

this was the first ever concept I drew for these guys, and you can already see some of the building blocks for my final designs here.

The thing that I focus most on, at first, is the overall silhouette and posing. Which is why I wasn’t worried about specific details or polishing up anything in this drawing, I just wanted to get a feel of these characters and see what kinds of shape worked best for them.

Going through each design and my process for them–

Cold was both the easiest and most difficult one for me. While I had a pretty strong idea for his overall shapes from my first drawing and knew what details were important (fluffy collar and head shaped like a water drop), specific details eluded me. I wasn’t sure what to do with its legs or cloak. Eventually tho, I decided I wanted them to be almost completely covered in feathers, leading to their white plumage with dark hands, feet, and face. Something simple, but effective, and I was happy enough with it. I was torn between a diamond or the X for its cloak’s clasp, but eventually decided the X was a more striking detail, and connected her to Spectre more.

Hero is another one that came very easily to me, but whose specific details I struggled with some. I gave him pure white eyes at first, but it limited his expressions, so I ended up giving him those black with white pupils eyes while doodling around. I figured out the helmet shape almost instantly while doing my second ever drawing of him, going for that beak-shaped helm with fiery feathers; tho the rest of his clothes I was really unsure about. Whether to give him a full set or not, if I give him a cape, or metal cladding, etc. The solution came by trial and error, simply giving him different pieces and seeing what fit best, and I eventually arrived on the set he has now!! The secondary clothes just kinda appeared as I doodled him in more casual scenes, and the hair came because I was looking at all the puffy-haired Hero designs and suddenly felt like mine was too bald lol. Overall, I’m really happy with my fluffy and smol son <3 (oh, and yeah, I always pictured him as short in my mind and never thought much about it isjsjdndjndjc)

While it too me a bit to get a doodle of Smitten out, I also figured him out almost instantly. The main thing I wanted for him was to look bright, approachable, and expressive. He’s the only one who has normal-ish eyes because of this, and the side cape was something I gave him to differentiate him from Hero and add to his dramatic flair.

Oppy was definitely the one I struggled with the most, as I had too many ideas in my head for him that all clashed with each other. He didn’t have a set design in my head for a while because of that, which you can see in my early doodles of him where I very clearly didn’t know what to do with his suit lol. His head shape was the first thing I figured out for sure, with those antennae hair strands being present ever since the first doodle I did of him, and for his suit, I just put Reigan Mob Psycho and Larry Pokemon Scarlet in a blender and that car salesman looking ass was the result (centrist politician was another vibe I was going for). I’ve been told he looks deceivingly handsome, tho personally, I just think his face is very punchable.

Broken was prolly the easiest one for me, and one I was satisfied with the first true try (I consider those first sketches up there more of a ‘test run’). I wanted them to look the most similar to Quiet (even more so than Hero), but, well, broken. A reflection of the state Quiet was left in by the Princess in the Tower lead-up. The horn tufts have been ripped off, there are a lot of slashes and cuts across its body, their feathers look unkept and like they have been torn off, and lots of its scales are missing. The sack covering its body is their measly attempt at covering their injuries, and I tried to make all the bandages look old and makeshift.

While the funny corvid face in my first attempt at drawing Contra is very neat, it just wasn’t very fun to draw or allowed them to have many expressions, so I changed it to the face you know now. The curly hair was mostly just me wanting my favorite blorbo to have my favorite kinda hair to draw, and it just so happened that it also fitted with them lol. Them being the only one out of my voices that wear pants instead of some upper body wear is something I always had in mind for them, and the suspenders were more of a little ‘extra’ thing I added to give them more of a clown look alongside with their hat. Something I find funny about my design for Contrarian is that, while it didn’t change much since my first full drawing of them, you can tell something about that first drawing seems off. A little scruffed and odd-looking, and that was mainly because I simply wasn’t used to drawing these humanoid bird things and you can really see me getting the hang of it with how I drew Contrarian, specifically.

(even the colors saturation is something I slowly figure it out by trial and error)

Paranoid was the next one I did, and not to brag but, I think I nailed it that second try aidjkxmddkfkkfc only thing I knew about her design was that I wanted her to have large eyes and a bold spot on her head, and then everything else I just kinda drew around that. And honestly? Really happy with the result!! The bald spot ended up looking a lot like part of her brain was straight-up exposed, so I just rolled with that, and she probably has one of the most fun faces to draw. Her silhouette is also very distinct, with the cloak + fluffy head and horn tufts kinda looking like pigtails giving her a very fun shape. I just love how she turned out, not my personal favorite design, but definitely the one I’m most proud of. She looks like a weird bug and I love that.

While I had very strong images for Cheated’s, Hunted’s, Skeptic’s and Stubborn’s design, it’d still be a while before I actually sat down to figure out their details. But once I did, they all came quite easily.

For Hunted, I just wanted it to look like a Creature. I had the idea of having leaves stuck to its feathers as a sorta camouflage thing, but that’d be to much of a hassle to constantly draw, so I scrapped that and just kept the camouflage marks on its cheeks. I wanted its body shape to look slender and nimble; slightly malnourished. The head shape was mainly me wanting its beak to look the most distinct from the other’s beaked voices, more of a ‘wild’ look, and the cat-like tufts was also added for that more feral look.

For Skeptic, I went back and forth on some details, but the hat, big gloves, and scarf were the things that stuck to the end. Something I find really funny with him is that he wears no clothes besides those accessories and its just the way his feathers are drawn that gives the impression of a suit, or some kinda coat under that scarf lol. His color pallette is the one I find the nicest. It’s mainly monochrome, but I think it works well for him.

Only thing I wanted for Stubborn is Big Soft Kitty. With scars. That was about it tbh, I just wanted him to look big, stronk, and huggable, he’s just a big kitty to me.

Cheated I also knew from the start what I wanted to do with him, as you can see by how similar the first concept and final designs look. Main thing I wanted for her was this sorta ‘uneven’ look, with her clothes seeming like they used to be symmetrical before being sliced and torn up. The slices on an ear tuft and a brow is something that just sorta appeared as I doodled him.

So… yeah! This is about it. It took me a while to reach to this final result, but I’m really glad with how all my designs turned out and seeing that others likes them too makes me incredibly happy!! :D

[luvrodite]

helloooo aurore sweetheart how are you today?? i’m humbly sneaking up for some rosoap crumbs and thoughts tehehe

so earlier i was passing by and saw an interesting show playing on the tv. there was this doctor whose patient was a guy quite annoying who seemed to be a bit too intrusive and comfortable around and one day she just comes and well he left suddenly (thank god). but then while she’s checking his file she discovers that he left a gorgeoussss drawing of her on the back of his diagnosis paper (and she tells herself that he’s a weirdo but she actually keeps the drawing lawl). literally a couple of nights later she spots him at a club while she’s dancing and he’s just watching her and for some reason the next day she decides to visit him (he lives in a tent and the only valuable thing he owns is a motorcycle) and discovers that he’s a traveler that has been kind of everywhere so she asks him to help her translate some books (specifically about her trauma) and the next day he’s over at her house helping her out over some wine. one thing leads to another and now he’s in her swimming pool and she’s screaming at him that they’re not done yet but they just end up fucking in it lmaooo and then scene shifts to her resting after their banter and he’s just laying behind her drawing her naked form (his notebook is full of sketches of her) before he decides to squeeze closer to find out that she’s actually crying and he just holds her close and soothes her with kisses :((( i couldn’t help but think of rosoap and it got me thinking!!! you’ve mentioned before that one thing that makes you realize how serious and deep john’s love for you is is actually how many detailed drawings he has of you, do you think that this passion of his holds a big symbolic significance in your relationship? like do you think it evolves into a subtle way for him to communicate some of his thoughts and feelings to you, almost like a love language? love u mwahhh

ariel, my angel! hi darling, i'm tired today but it's beautiful out so i'm sitting in a sunspot and trying to do some work! (trying = getting my laptop out lol). this show sounds so interesting, and the characters seem so incredibly like ro soap to a tee!!

oh my gosh, i think 100% yes and i hadn't considered that it would have a bigger role in our relationship before but, thinking about it, i would say yes.

i think his art is something that's not inherently really personal to him but still special when shared, if that makes sense? like i don't think he'd go out of his way to hide his sketchbooks and if i found it for the first time and was flipping through it, i think he'd be the type to sneak up to me and act very normal about it. says something while peering over my shoulder like, och that one's no good, dinnae pay it any mind, lass – this one's better. and laughs a little when i jump because i hadn't heard him enter the room.

but i think the more our relationship evolves and the more he draws me in, i imagine there are moments when the both of us are doing our own things in my flat or his and sometimes i'll come and just peer over his shoulder at what he's drawing this time. he grumbles a bit about that, but it doesn't have any real heat to it – 'f ye wanted tae look just say so, woman. and i'll sit with him and flip through the pages of his recent pieces. i think my favourite thing about his drawings is the attention to detail. he's got a sharp eye for that sort of thing, and it always lodges the cupid's arrow in my heart a little deeper every time we share that.

i also think there's a lot that goes unsaid with visual art that it's up to us to parse out. with his drawings of me specifically, it just echoes what he already claims to feel (that i more often than not brush off because it's difficult to believe) but like. quieter? idk if that makes sense but it just reaffirms what's being said and it feels more credible ?

in one of my classes this semester we're learning about the kinds of evidence that are admissible in a court of law and i think the best way i can describe it is like. his words are hearsay (not admissible but with exceptions) but the drawings are real documentary evidence that satisfy the other rules of evidence (would be admissible and would be used to make your argument and carry a LOT of weight). it's the kind of stuff that you can't really argue with - you can resist it but it's quite simply a Fact.

i rambled a lot but it's definitely a love language i think and it's one of those things that bolsters his case that he is serious about me, that it goes beyond wanting what he can't have and surface level, shallow obsession. that there's substance to his feelings. anyway. thank you for asking me this, beloved :( i hope you are so so well <3

[little-red-fool]

Another question for you hehehe How does Jackal feel about his body? Does he care about the scars? And how was his recovery after the explosion going? (Btw, did he meet Ocelot befor or after it?)

Ehe thank you :3c

Jackal met Ocelot 10 years after the explosion, which happened during his first mission as a merc. He was far enough from the explosion to not be dealt any fatal or serious injuries, however he was still close enough to get hit by a shit ton of flying glass which caused a lot of lacerations and punctures over his body (most of these were on his front and left side of his body, as well as his right forearm, due to how he tried to turn away and shield his face from the explosion—my drawings are slightly inaccurate though because I just tend to put the scars wherever lmao)(the slice in his left ear and cheek is also from the explosion). A lot of the wounds were quite shallow so none of his vital organs were hit but there were some deeper ones especially around his upper arm, side, and thigh that required a lot of stitches so his physical recovery time was probably around a month since some of the larger and deeper wounds took longer to heal.

The mental aspect of his recovery took a bit longer—he’d served in the military for 10 years prior to becoming a merc but even then he’d gotten through it with barely a scratch, maybe a couple scars here and there but they were usually small and easy to cover. Which is quite a big difference to having your body become a mosaic of scars that are difficult to hide, and the pain was probably the worst thing he’d ever felt as well. Even after being physically recovered for some time he didn’t go on any missions for a while due to the fear of something like that happening to him again. He still has nightmares about it but it doesn’t bother him as much and he’ll talk about it a bit if asked but he doesn’t like to go into detail.

As for how he feels about his scars, when they were newer he was very insecure about them—Jackal’s always been a little vain (so as to how he feels about his body in general—👍) and gaining that many scars all over his body pretty much overnight was quite upsetting for him, so he’d try to cover them up the best he could, like always wearing long sleeves and trousers, and it’s also the reason he grew out his hair, so he could hide his ear and cheek better. But yeah the explosion damaged his self-esteem quite a bit. I think him getting shot in the mouth later on actually helped him feel differently about his scars, because that could have killed him, it shattered part of his skull and ripped out one of his teeth, but he still survived with scaring and got a metal plate in his skull with a replacement tooth that could be used as a weapon. After that he started viewing his scars more as ‘well I’m a really tough guy to fucking kill, if I can survive that I can survive anything’. It also got him to feel better about his previously derogatory nickname “jackal” which he got in the army for his cowardice and untrustworthiness, but turns out jackals are notoriously tricky and apparently known to “cheat death” so it’s something else he started to wear with pride too. I’ve mentioned previously in another post but the explosion was how he got the “Glass” part of his nickname “Glass Jackal”. Now he actually quite likes his scars as again they’re proof of how difficult he is to kill, and he’s comfortable with showing them now which is why he can wear tank tops without feeling insecure. He does get a few stares and questions because even for a soldier he’s got quite a lot of scars, and it does annoy him a little but he also thinks it adds some mystery and an intimidation factor which he’s alright with.

[bellarosethefangirl]

PLATONIC REQUEST. Yu-Gi-Oh DM, few years after it finishes. Scenario, or one-shot fic, your choice! Female reader and Kaiba have become great friends after working together for 1-2 years. (Mokuba secretly helped this happen.) Reader calls him Kaiba. Don't make Kaiba too "nice," he's a bit difficult even with his friends. Reader and Kaiba have a bunch of same interests and dramatic personalities, trust each other. But now they're in way over their heads in a dangerous situation, and they know it!

Author Note: Sorry this is so late! Had a bit going on. I hope I fulfilled this request.

Seto Kaiba x Reader Platonic Scenario

Many years would pass for Kaiba since his teens and in his early twenties he found himself working with his best friends. There was his younger brother and then you. You didn’t always start off as Kaiba’s bestie. In the beginning you were nothing more than his employee. It was your friendship with Mokuba that cemented your own relationship with Kaiba. Though platonic it still came with perks. The Kaiba boys would bring you foods and drinks when arriving to Kaiba Corp. For holidays and birthdays you received the most expensive gifts. In turn you were the true friend they always needed in their lives.

You’ve been friends with Kaiba due to your similar interests and hobbies. Today you brought your deck to show off to Kaiba. You’re hoping to duel him after work if he wasn’t too busy. You’re sure his schedule would allow him seeing as he adores dueling.

Upon entering his office you’re faced with his grouchy expression and dark circles underneath his blue eyes. Your mouth is agap knowing why he would have such an expression. He most likely had a double and hasn’t had his morning coffee.

“I know that look. Missing your coffee Kaiba boy?”

Kaiba huffs at the nickname, knowing how much he loathes Pegasus. He also knows you’re trying to get a reaction out of him. He yawns before standing from his desk.

“You have coffee or what?” He finally asked.

“Yeah black like your heart.”

He laughs before grabbing the white mug from your hand. He gives you a rare grin before sipping his steamy beverage. You know it was out of gratitude.

“You being in here means one thing.”

“That’s right, Kaiba! I’m here to challenge you to a duel! I’m sure I can beat your blue eyes this time!”

“Ha! Guess we’ll see. I accept your challenge. After lunch, got it?”

You nod, eager to duel your friend. Many liked witnessing your duels since Kaiba actually respected you. It would be a friendly duel with jokes and joy. A scene not many saw from the infamous duelist. He still takes his dueling career as seriously as he did in his teens. Now he isn’t as much of a hard ass or sore loser about it. Another defining detail of such a duel is your dramatic side.

For you dueling Kaiba is always fun. He’s always amused during duels and genuinely enjoys them. Your jokes always get him chuckling. Many times he’s commending you when the duel ends in a draw. You have yet to beat him but you do hope to one day. Kaiba always mentions how he wouldn’t allow it since you’d receive bragging rights. Something you make fun of him half heartedly for.

You’re sure he wants to duel after lunch since he’s tired and wants a bit of a break from work. He must be busy with his construction for a school he hopes to open. All he has mentioned is it would be a school for dueling. You’re not sure if he’s serious or not since he’s always sounding sarcastic. He said it would be many years before the school would be open. You're unsure what to think of it.

Later on while you both dueled each other, you both ended up at the front of Kaiba corp. While the sun was going down you two got done with your duel. You lost but it was a close duel having even Kaiba on his toes. Afterwards you both noticed a stranger nearby. Behind you to be more precise.

"Who the hell are you?" Kaiba questioned with annoyance.

The stranger said not a word as he brought out a knife from their pocket. The tip was pointed at you. You gasp wondering what the intentions of this person could be. Kaiba ran over to you but the stranger commanded him to stop. He made his intentions clear to Kaiba by demanding his wallet. Kaiba scoffed at such a thought since he carries many of his cards on him. His blue eyes look over to you in worry.

"Fine." He grunts with anger radiating from him.

As Kaiba walks over to the stranger while you're frozen with fear. The knife pointed directly toward your neck keeping you in place. Kaiba was already plotting what he would do to the scum threatening his friends life. He held out his leather wallet while you step towards your friend to safety. When you're far away enough Kaiba puts his plan to motion.

Hi long leg extends tripping the stranger off their feet. While they land on their back Seto takes it upon himself to grab his wallet and throw you over his shoulder to run off. He was very quick and sudden you're sure you'd be screaming if you weren't so surprised.

When back inside Kaiba corp he ordered security to get rid of the hooded stranger. It did look comical with him barking orders while you're over his shoulder with a confused expression. He set you down but rolled his eyes.

"Dork, did you really think I'd let him get away with it?"

"No Kaiba sir!" You jokingly said.

"Pft." He raised his brow in amusement. "Where would you be without your boss?" Kaiba made a smug expression.

"Thanks for saving me back there but don’t get too cocky.” You huffed.

“Amusing, you damsel in distress.”

You cuss under your breath before jumping on his back to put him in a headlock. You know he was joking but it was time for one of your iconic Kaiba headlocks.

“You dweeb!!” He tried getting you off his back to no avail.

[souglias]

I see there's still a slot left for foul legacy: raging tide so I hope I'm not too late to request something 👀

Three things about me:

As I said in my other ask, I love to draw and write and I try to do that as much as I can during my free time between hw and class. Although it's been much harder to find time during college and I am often plagued with art/ writer's block 😔

I'm a bio major and I have no problem with handling bugs and other little critters that most people get queasy about. Once you've dissected sheep brains and whole squids, grabbing a spider isn't such a big deal lol

It generally takes me a while to start seeing someone as a close friend rather than a friendly acquaintance that I sometimes see in class. In the same vein it also takes me a while to begin considering someone as a possible romantic partner bc I only start to feel attraction after I've known them for a while and established an emotional connection

I'm a big fan of the star student/delinquent trope and even though I'm not really the type that only cares about studying, I do generally prioritize that over other things

Thank you in advance!! I can't wait to see the rest of this event unfold :D

The Delinquent [Childe]

c/w: mentions and implications of rumours, implication of bad school culture, Biology dissection (not described in detail)

Note: Hello!! I'm so so sorry this fic took so long! I wasn't particularly inspired for this fic so I was holding it off, then school came in the way for quite a bit. I don't know much about dissections, but I did a quick Google search and I hope I've written it such that it's not too difficult to believe. I hope that you enjoy this!

word count: 1.5k

--

Sun and moon. Both you and Childe live worlds apart. The two of you are only in each other’s orbit, seeing each other from a distance. The closest that you’ll ever get is being a few seats away in biology class. However, even though you only share one class with him, you know him all too well.

Childe is the infamous sporty kid in school. He’s also one who often wins academic competitions for the school. The student body doesn’t necessarily dislike him either. In fact, the girls adore him. They think that he’s hot and charming. But outside of his friend group, everyone is mostly too intimidated by his aura to approach him. 

You can also always count on Childe to constantly talk back to teachers and staff. Now and then, you would catch him breaking school rules by exploiting their loopholes. The school hasn’t expelled him, given that he’s not causing harm or trouble to anyone. On top of that, he largely excels in many areas. Though… There are rumours of him beating other students up. But no one has actually seen him do so.

You, on the other hand, keep to your group of friends. That’s how you decided you were going to spend the rest of your school life. Comfortable with a group of friends that you cherish deeply, out of the spotlight. 

That is until Childe decides to collide into your world for a reason you cannot bring yourself to turn down. Okay, you could have, but you don't dare to.

As a short breather from studying in the library, you doodle a little. Childe walks up to your side while you’re doing so. 

With a volume lower than usual, he greets you. “Hey, [name]- Oh these look pretty cute.”

You dropped your pencil on your notebook, taken aback that the Childe is talking to you. 

“What’s up, Childe?” you ask as your hand subtly shifts above the doodles in your notebook. Honestly, you want nothing to do with him. But, at the same time, you are courteous enough not to shut someone out the first time they speak to you.

He smiles sheepishly as he requests, “Sorry to bother you, but could you give me a demonstration on the dissection of a sheep’s brain?”

You only blink at him in response. You asked him to repeat, making sure you didn’t mishear him. Assuming you couldn’t hear him, he raises his volume. Only slightly, so as not to disturb other students. 

“I need some help on dissecting a sheep’s brain and I’d like you to show me a demonstration. Would that be okay for you?”

Fumbling over your words a little, you agree to help him with his dissection. “Great! Thank you so much, [name]. Will tomorrow after our biology lesson be good?”

“Yeah, sure…”

With that, he walks off with a slight skip in his steps. But you, on the other hand, are highly preoccupied with your thoughts. You think you got a little too nervous around him. They say you shouldn’t show fear in front of what you are afraid of. Wait, since when were you afraid of him?

On top of that worry, you aren’t sure if you should be proud that Childe thinks highly enough of you to ask you for help, or if you should be concerned that you are now responsible for tutoring the infamous school delinquent instead. 

Do you really know the dissection like the back of your hand? What if he asks you about the details that you've thrown to the back of your mind? As an extra precaution, you start to relook at your notes on the dissection. Before you sleep at night, you give your notes one last read too.

The next day, you realise during lessons that you forgot to check if there was a supervising teacher present after school. For students to use the laboratory after school, there is a rule stating that a teacher has to be present. Childe probably wouldn’t heed that rule in normal circumstances. But since your last lesson is Biology in the laboratory with him, your teacher would definitely know both of you are staying back. If there was no one around, your teacher wouldn’t permit you two to use the room and kick the both of you out. 

So, you pray. You pray that there wouldn’t be any supervising teacher, so you’d get to slip out on Childe. But unfortunately, when class ends, you find out that your teacher is on duty today.

Sighing internally, you resign yourself to helping Childe. As you prepare your workbench, you catch your teacher's eyes darting between the two of you. Likely surprised that both of you speak to each other, you suppose. You'd be surprised too.

When all the preparation is done, you try to hide your disappointment and ask, “So, how do you want me to teach this to you?” 

“You can do a step-by-step demonstration, then I’ll try to follow along.”

After every step, you check on the steps that he executes. While doing so, you notice how slender his hands are and the little faded scars on them. 

“[Name]? We can continue.”

You snap out of your daze and mutter an apology, continuing the dissection. At some point, you stop him. “Hold on, you’re about to cut the wrong part.”

He shifts his gaze over to your scalpel, trying to assess the exact point to cut. Before he does anything, you move over to his side as you always do when you teach your friends. You wrap your hand around his that holds the scalpel and you guide his hand.

Childe becomes momentarily distracted by your touch on his. He tries to ignore the feeling of his skin tingling and regain his focus. 

(But it is for nought because all he can think of is how cool you are for being so good at Biology. Heck, not just Biology, but other subjects too. Words of your consistently stellar grades don’t escape him.)

You only realise the proximity between the two of you after you let go of his hand. Taking a step back, your leg bumps into the stool. You stumble for a bit. Childe’s hand reaches out to your arm and it hovers right above your skin, ready to catch you. But you don’t fall and a few moments pass.

Inside, you beat yourself up a little for almost falling onto the ground in front of someone you’ve barely spoken to before. You straighten yourself and Childe withdraws his hand back to his side. 

You clear your throat in an attempt to dissipate the tension in the air. “There’s only one more step left to go. I can show that to you and if you’re good, we can pack up.”

You note how hot your face feels and hope he doesn’t tell this to his friend circle. You don’t particularly like them, given the amount of drama they attract. 

You try to concentrate, though the incident earlier remains at the front of your mind. Soon, he ends the procedure without a hitch, so you assume that you’ve taught him the right step despite your lack of focus. With that, both of you clean up the workbench. 

Childe finishes cleaning up faster than you. He always packs up quickly after class, and you chalk up his speed to his desire to leave class early. You think he’s about to leave when he comes over to help you. When he does, he thanks you.

“Thanks for the tutoring session, [name].”

A few seconds of silence lapse. You’re not sure if you should thank him for helping you. But before you say anything, he asks, “Say… could I ask you for more help next time? I struggle quite a bit with Biology.”

Immediately, you nod. It'll just be more tutoring sessions that'll benefit you too. Though, you ask, “Don’t you have friends who do Biology?”

Childe’s face sours a little, a smile still plastered on his face. He whispers, “Let’s just say that while I do hang out with them, I don’t like to stay around them more than I need to.”

Your eyes widen slightly. The two of you have more in common than you thought.

As the two of you walk down the hallways to the exit, he exchanges contacts with you. Childe does a tiny fist pump in the air. “Nice! Now, we can easily arrange study sessions!”

He turns to look at you and offers, “If you need anything too, you can always ask me!”

Childe flashes you a smile. He’s really not so bad.

When the two of you part ways at the school gate, you wave to him. He returns one with that annoyingly vibrant smile of his. But, maybe you could get used to this.

Only then do you realise, oh, you are in so much danger. The moon is reaching its orbit closest to the sun now.

--

All likes and reblogs are appreciated! Thank you <3

[crystalelemental]

I've been trying to go over games I've played recently in more detail lately, but the problem with this is that the first up is the first I played: Unicorn Overlord. And it is. Very difficult to give a full like..."review" of the expereince, so I haven't been able to generate anything. To get past this, time to just kinda ramble about general impressions.

This is one of the best games I've played in a while.

It's very different from what I'm used to, but I think that just means I've landed on a new type of game I can attach to. The last time this happened was...I think the Atelier games, back with Rorona. I'm pretty sure that came after Etrian Odyssey. It's a great feeling to pick something up almost on a whim and just get sucked into such a strong experience.

Etrian Odyssey bears mentioning, because much like EO, the draw here is strictly gameplay. Story and characters are all serviceable but unexceptional. I'd say the bulk of my criticisms lie in the general story and gameplay approach, but it's not a game trying to wow you on that front. You're playing the game to play a game, and god do I appreciate something knowing its priorities like that.

The best aspect is something I anticipate coming up a lot today: pace. Unicorn Overlord has a fantastic pace of gameplay. It's the kind of experience where I can sink in like 5 hours and feel like I've been playing maybe one. It just goes. Map timers are registered as like 1-5 minutes, but so much time goes into assessing where your units deploy and how things are set up, and while it sounds very micromanagement focused, it is engaging to set up your tactics in a way that works, and assess how your squad will perform and synergize. While I imagine that comes with a caveat of "You have to like doing this kind of thing," it hits a great sweet spot.

A lot of people compare the tactics system to Final Fantasy XII's gambits. This is because, by and large, it is the same system. Initiate action under X condition. The difference is the scale. Unicorn Overlord permits up to two conditions, and they're a little more broad than some of the specifics. For instance, FF12 will give you options for every 10% marker on HP and MP, whereas UO will give you 25% intervals. FF12 will give you the ability to just know what an enemy's weakness is to sure-cast, while UO will target by more broad class categorization such as Cavalry, Flying, Scout, etc, but lacks certain conditions that would be overpowering. A big one I see people talk about is "Shielded." Like, a condition that applies if the enemy has a shield and thus a good block rate would be nice, because shield includes armor, some types of cav, and some infantry, but being able to get that granular would be exceptionally powerful.

I do think overworld exploration deserves some credit as well. You can just skip quite a few battles to keep progressing, with no actual downsides. This is nice if you're rushing to get certain characters, but I will note that I think at times it gets a bit nutty how far you can go. If you can beat a higher level fight in Elheim, you basically have free reign of the final country of Albion, including its trial area to grind levels.

Some general criticisms: I do think grinding takes away a little bit. It's not the worst, but it does make it very easy to just over-level compared to enemies and snowball from there. In particular, grinding Honor takes away some of the decision-making around when to expand squad size of how many units can promote, and money acquired also makes most decisions free. It's honestly hilarious.

When you get really granular, you find out a lot of named characters are objectively worse than hired mercenaries, because their boons are generally bad. Idealist Handmirror can fix it, but those are both rare and expensive, so it's honestly not my favorite solution. I never had much use for it anyway. I know it can boost performance, but while I didn't keep up with it, I could handle Expert just fine without changing anyone's stats.

I think some weapon-type varieties would be nice. There are very, very few magic-dealing weapons, and competition for those is fierce. Which isn't bad, I like having to make those decisions, but I wish there was a little more variety, especially for the mixed damage elven weapons. Elves use both physical and magical attack, and their weapons require boosts to both, but there are only two options in the entire game: their native elven type, and Spellsteel which is marginally stronger. None of them get access to the fun secondary effects of normal weapons, like additional skills or bonus PP/AP, which allow for more flexibility of play.

Class balance is much stronger than I would've expected, but it still has major hiccups. I'm going to point to Bastorias as the prime culprit of this. Almost none of the Bastorias beast classes are good. Werelion is only marginally better than Berserker who sucks, Werebear is a frontline damage class that is bad at every job it has, Werewolf is hilariously useless, Werefox can be spooky under very specific circumstances but holds all the failings of a Rouge with none of the interesting utility. I do like Wereowl, though even that one has some issues. It's odd, but most of the good classes are frontloaded, while later picks are...shaky.

It's small, but I do think the rite of the maiden is kinda lame. Every male is just your bro, every female is your wife, and it's like...just commit, guys. Come on.

For me, I think the single biggest thing is lack of serious postgame. This one comes up a lot too, and it is ultimately minor, but...some things just don't get enough play time to be fully fun. The angels, and especially Featherstaff, get hit with this worst. Congrats on getting your first Featherstaff! There are now 3 stages left in the entire game to beat! It just hinders things a bit? It's also not my favorite that you can't test out new squads once you've done all of that, because at that point, nothing is left at your level to really struggle against aside from Arena, which plays very differently from a proper map. Reddit's been doing a community tier list, and I haven't participated much because truthfully, I don't think I have a great sense for combinations because once I've beaten the game, I don't feel able to test things out anymore, and this is a LONG game I don't fully feel like playing though again right away. I do have other games to get to sometimes.

That said, when your biggest complaints are "I wish there was more of it" and "some of it's really tricky to use and requires a deft hand to figure out," you're doing something right. Excellent game. I may wind up replaying it again soon already, because it is just that good.

[lindszeppelin]

I’ve been thinking about how A got himself into this mess (I also don’t believe in infantilizing him like he had no choices) and the simple truth is that it’s possible at any age at any point to make a mistake in judgment — especially in times of stress, grief, drastic change, etc.

All of those factors and more were in play when he entered this situationship (absolutely love that term) and it probably made sense at the time or the pitfalls just weren’t so clear.

I myself just made a similar (but much less consequential) mistake in judgment and I’m in my mid-50s and know myself and my needs inside and out.

But I recently agreed to travel with a friend while I was distracted by grief and in deep pain. The idea of getting away and seeing some beautiful scenery was appealing — and smart even. But I wasn’t in a mental place to be involved in planning the details and — as we know — the devil is in the details.

So I am currently on this trip and I’m really enjoying so much of it — but my friend is driving me kind of insane. I really love her and we are quite close for many, many years but have never traveled together. And I am profoundly regretting certain aspects of this but I genuinely can’t leave because I’m dependent upon a flight home on Monday! She thinks we’re the perfect travel companions and I feel totally different.

Now… I’m really perfectly fine… I’m even having fun… but I wish I had done this differently. And this is just a week with a person I have known and trusted for years who means well and it’s really just some mild incompatibility.

Anyway, my point is, I chose this and I made a mistake in HOW I chose it because I wasn’t mentally present to truly evaluate the potential downsides. Had I been I could have negotiated the trip differently and I wouldn’t be so uncomfortable or irritated.

Perhaps you can appreciate the parallel Im drawing here. 😉

My darling MJ this is one of the many reasons why I love you.

December 2021 was when according to the story was when K and A first met. He had just finished Elvis - a movie that when finished sent him to the hospital and gave him an identity crisis for a long time, he was still kind of freshly off of the breakup train with V and hadn't had too much downtime to process all of his feelings and what it would be like when he went back home to the states, he was in London filming a MOTA, he hadn't spoken to his family in 3 years. The man was by all accounts a wreck mentally. He was trying to figure himself out after this whirlwind. His career was about to take off in a way it hadn't before, and that means newfound fame he never experienced before. And then boom, he get's paired with Kaia. No need for Austin to talk about his breakup with V when he has K on the red carpets and doing pap walks together all over the globe.

Austin is ever evolving and ever changing. It is a myth that when you reach 30 you have your life figured out - or according to society you should. Nobody gives us a rulebook for how to live life. We do the best we can at the current time, with the tools we have current at our disposal. And Austin made the choice to be in this situationship at the time with all of these stipulations. Now that time has passed, the tides are turning.

But he had a poor lapse in judgement. And I do not blame him whatsoever. We all make mistakes when we aren't normally in our right frame of mind. And your story is a perfect example of such a situation. And i'm so sorry btw that you're experiencing a difficult time. I send you my love <3 and thank you for being candid and sharing as always.

[bunnyandcomet]

Arthur SSR: A Breeze of Light Turning the Pages of the Past (Central Fantasia)

✧ Characters: Arthur, Riquet, Akira

✧ Voice Line:

I was raised in Northern Country, and then came back to Central Country. Had I not returned to Central Country at that time......I can't say that I've never once thought about it. However, I am proud to be able to stand by your side now as a Central wizard.

Card Story: Your Voice Pushes Me Forward

Chapter 1

Just a short while ago, due to the effects of the <Great Catastrophe>, a number of books escaped a bookstore specialising in wizards. Everyone split up to find them, and after searching for a while, Arthur, Riquet, and I decided to take a short break at a café.

Arthur: We received some eyewitness reports from the townspeople, but it seems that our search is still going to take some time.

Akira: Hugo said there were a hundred books in total, so of course it'll take a long time if they're all flying around like birds......

Riquet: It was my first time seeing such strange books. ......Speaking of which, Prince Arthur's magic tool is also a book, isn't it.

Arthur: Yes.

Riquet: If it's alright with you, may I take a look at it? In truth, I've always been curious about it.

Arthur: Of course, I don't mind.

Arthur raised his right hand, and out of nowhere, an old, large, grimoire appeared.

Arthur: Would you like to see the inside too?

(Page flipping)

Akira: ......I can't understand any of it, but there sure is a lot of writing......

Riquet: It seems kind of complex...... What does it say?

(Page flipping)

Arthur: For example, this page shows you how to draw a magic circle. I've actually used several of these before.

Riquet: So that's what it's about. This book is still too difficult for me...... Prince Arthur, you're amazing!

Arthur: Ahaha, I'm still learning myself. I haven't read everything in this book, and there are things I don't understand.

Riquet: There are things even you don’t understand?

Arthur: Of course. There are things I don't know, and the knowledge I have now is not something I've had from the start, but what I’ve gained through study.

Akira: As I recall, your grimoire also contains information on things other than magic circles, such as how to perform rituals and the history of magic.

Arthur: That’s right. It describes the nature of the spirits in various places as well.

Riquet: Magic involves so many different things...... Could you give me more examples?

Arthur: Well, there's basic magic and difficult magic, and numerous types of magic that are useful in daily life. The beginning of this book has a lot of basic magic.

Riquet: I see. Is the magic circle that Oz taught me the other day also in there? When I try to draw it, it's hard to get the balance and fine details right, and it doesn't come out well......

Arthur: What kind of magic circle is it?

Riquet: When you draw it, an invisible dome-shaped wall is put up. Any item put inside will be shut away.

Akira: So it's like building a barrier to protect something......?

Riquet: Yes. Cain and Bradley have eaten my sweets without permission before, so I want to quickly learn how to draw it.

Arthur: In that case, this grimoire also contains things that Sir Oz has taught me. The magic circle you're thinking of must be......this one.

Chapter 2

On the page that Arthur had turned to, there were many words and a picture of a magic circle.

Riquet: Yes! This looks like the one. ............

Akira: Riquet?

Riquet: It's on the first page, so I guess this must be easy magic......

Arthur: Of course it's less difficult than magic used to, say, change the weather. But the fundamentals are important. If you can't ride your broom on a windless day, how can you fly through a storm? It's because one has a good grasp of the basics that the range of things they can do expands.

Riquet: Prince Arthur......

Arthur: So, let's practise so we can do it together. First, draw the magic circle on this piece of paper.

Arthur magically produced a pen and paper, and Riquet took them with an excited expression.

Akira: It's like an exercise in drawing.

Arthur: Exactly. It's not easy for anyone to draw neatly until they get used to it.

✦✧☾✧✦

Riquet: I feel like it came out quite nicely. What do you think?

Arthur: Yes, the lines in this area are particularly neat. I can tell that all your practice is paying off.

Riquet: Ehehe. I'm going to work even harder!

Akira: (How heartwarming......wait, that's......)

Arthur: Madam Sage? Is something wrong?

Akira: Outside the window, there's one of the books we've been looking for!

Riquet: It's true! Was that book also taking a rest?

Arthur: We'd better hurry and catch it!

(Footsteps)

Riquet: Ah! It flew off!

As we approached the book to capture it, it noticed us and fluttered away.

Arthur: Let's chase it by broom! << Pernoctant Nixzo >>

Riquet: <<Sunrotea Edif >> Madam Sage, please ride on my broom.

Akira: Excuse me, and thank you!

(Whoosh)

On the broom, we followed behind Arthur and hurriedly chased after the book.

Riquet: What a nimble book. Are we really going to be able to catch it......

Arthur: ......I know. This is a good opportunity, so how about we catch it using the magic circle that Riquet was practising earlier?

Riquet: But isn't that magic circle meant for stopping people from touching what's inside?

Arthur: It can be used for more than one purpose. If you can use it to enclose things, then you might be able to catch that book by leading it into the magic circle.

Akira: I see......That's certainly a promising idea.

Riquet: But can I even do it? I practised it so many times earlier, but I was only just able to draw it nicely......

Arthur: That "just" is a testament to your repeated efforts, Riquet. Next time, it'll surely be even better. I'll help you, so let's give it a try!

Riquet: Prince Arthur......Understood. I'll give it a go!

Arthur: First, a place with few passerby and no escape routes......let's do it in that alleyway. I'll lead it there, so Riquet, Madam Sage, please get the preparations ready.

Riquet, Akira: Understood!

Chapter 3

Riquet: I think it looks neat enough, but is this really going to be okay......?

Riquet told me this worriedly as a magic circle drawn with lines of light lay at his feet.

Akira: I think you've drawn it wonderfully! Please have some faith in yourself.

Riquet: Madam Sage......

(Whoosh)

Arthur: Riquet! Madam Sage!

After a few moments, we could see Arthur on his broom, signalling to us as he drove the book in our direction. Just as the book was about to pass through the magic circle, Arthur shouted in an even louder voice.

Arthur: Now, Riquet! Cast your spell!

Riquet: << Sunrotea Edif >>

Riquet cast his spell, and for an instant, a pillar of light that touched the sky towered over us. Within the magic circle's invisible barrier, the book flew around with a flutter.

Riquet: Wow......!

Arthur, Riquet, Akira: We did it!

Arthur got off his broom, and there was high-fiving and rejoicing all around. Then, Riquet quietly picked up the book that was floating on top of the magic circle.

Riquet: Thank you very much, Prince Arthur. It's thanks to you teaching me that I was able to achieve this.

Arthur: It wasn't thanks to me. It was the result of your efforts and strong desire to succeed, Riquet. You should stand proud.

Riquet: Prince Arthur......

Arthur: Besides, basic magic can be used practically, and it's essential for when you use other magic. Let's continue to study together so we can use it properly.

Riquet: Yes!

I could feel Arthur's thoughtfulness as I watched Riquet cheerfully reply, and a peaceful feeling washed over me.

Akira: (Arthur may have been able to catch the book without using the magic circle...... But I guess he chose the more time-consuming method in order to improve Riquet's confidence.)

Riquet: Prince Arthur, please join me in practising magic again. I had a lot of fun with you, and I'm sure that's why I was able to use that magic today.

Arthur: Of course. I also like training with you, because I can tell that both you and I are improving.

Arthur smiled as he gently stroked Riquet's head.

Akira: (It kind of feels like they're brothers......)

Arthur: Alright, we should review what we just did. Let's go search for more books together and capture them in the magic circle!

Card Episode: The Prince and the Knight

Arthur: Madam Sage, are you looking for a book?

Akira: Yes, I was wondering if there were any books that I could understand just through the pictures, even if I can't understand the words...... Arthur, are there any books you've been interested in lately? If you'd like, I can help you find it.

Arthur: Books I've been interested in......Now that I think about it, when I snuck into town, I found a book titled "The Prince and the Knight" at a bookstore. I still haven't read it, but it seems it's been popular in Central Country recently.

Akira: Oh......! What a nice title. It kind of reminds me of you and Cain......

Arthur: Fufu, you think so? When I found the book, I also thought the same thing.

Akira: If only I could read the script of this world, I'd love to try reading it......I wonder what it's about.

Arthur: It seems that the impressions of those who have read it are rather scattered.

Akira: Scattered?

Arthur: Indeed. Some say they laughed, some say they cried, some found it scary, and so on. Because of that, I wonder what I'll think after I've read it......I'm quite curious.

Akira: That definitely sounds interesting......Now I want to read it even more.

Arthur: Well then, after I'm finished reading, I can tell you all about it.

Akira: Wow, I'll look forward to it!

Arthur: In that case, if you'd like, how about we hold a book review party? How did it sound to you, what are your feelings on it......Please allow me to hear your thoughts as they are.