#it's mild cel shading but i like it

[twilighttowntormentnexus]

i'm sure this au has been done before, but i wanted to draw smth relating to the concept as well

[maddragon15]

Obscenely late hermitaday day #23 & 25! - Impulse & Tango

Was this meant to be a simple cel shaded drawing on the 30th? Yeah, yeah it was lmao but somehow the power of fire excels at overtaking the rendering capabilities.

But since it's late I'll use this as excuse to ramble below about well, the headcanons and the process down yonder. Also there's variations.

(Also just realized that the compression is high with this one, please click on it to see the details pretty pleasee)

So! Let's talk about that haircut shall we? First off Tango's haircut is basically just me slapping my very neglected oc's haircut onto him lol. There's no function usage or any other lore about it, literally just I wanted to use that haircut more. But Miners and Crafters that's not all! The intensity of the flame actually has meaning believe it or not.

Since Tango in the headcanons is already a nether born blaze hybrid the redstone kinda didn't have an effect on him. This is because blazes produce glowstone which is a power source onto itself. He gets minor effects instead which is a mild (there's literally no other word) high, a intensified hair flame and a brighter eye night shine. Negative effects include mild joint & jaw pain, and a small localized headache behind the left eye.

I like to imagine that other blaze hybrids' hair flame aren't normally that intense, not white-hot heat but rather more red n orange hot similar to the flats. Mainly due to the fact that glowstone is not as powerful as redstone and it's also dependent on how strong a blaze is. Now imagine with me that blazes determine how strong each other are via the color they're emitting. Now remember the blaze boss Minecraft had a vote on to add or not to add? What if Tango is constantly mistaken as a high ranking blaze because of how intense his fire is and he doesn't get attacked a whole lot except for the few that want to challenge him. Meanwhile Tango is just highly infused with redstone like all the other redstoners and he doesn't know what's happening half time as seen by his terrified scream-laughs /hj

He's also semi modified with redstone for the pure purpose of comms just like the other redstoners minus mumbo. I also would've leaned into the steampunk aspect of this season but I figured I'd do a character sheet like etho for all of the redstoners and finalize the aspects on those.

Onto Impulse!

I like to imagine that Impulse was a regular human and over the course of redstone exposure he gained pointed ears and horns. For what reasons? I have no idea but redstone works in mysterious ways and mutates on whatever happens to be in their system. You may see that he has purple lines across his face but then red pupils, why is that? Well since he's cyperpunk themed this season he modified his redstone implants to be rgb. He can change everything else except his pupils because those are deeply affected by redstone and would require surgery to remove the build up of redstone. Will any of the redstoners ever actually get rid of it? No but you can beg all day.

You also might be wondering what's happening in their ears? Well those are the advanced comms that are actually used across all hermits except the ones who've opted out for glowstone variants. They kinda work like bluetooth except more hermit-magic way. I haven't had time to fully think of how it'd work down to the circuitry (that's my usual process for headcanons before I ship them out) but I'll post about it when I think of the full layout. Other design aspects on impulse are derived from his skin and the poster design by applestruda!

Process wise for this piece was kinda a rollercoaster heh. I had started this piece a while ago (can't remember the day on the dot) and then I got insanely busy during the last week of hermitaday. I had done sketch, refined sketch and flats in two days. Then events proceeded forth and we arrive on the 4th which I tried for an entire day to figure out how to render this piece. I then gave up and tried again the day after and pulled up references this round on Pinterest. Tango was surprisingly easy to paint with ref and went rather fast. I will admit the entire time I was rendering him I did say every minute or so "I love you man" because he was turning out so good. Halfway through I then realized I still had to render Impulse. That's when I pretty much ended that night because it was already 5 am working on Tango and demotivation was setting in fast. The next day I was able to continue with hesitancy on Impulse but I managed to keep on keeping on and in the early hours of today I finished up the piece. Where I'm now writing about it close to 2 pm in a restaurant. Man though it was kinda hard to make Impulse and Tango look like cohesive and as if they were painted together.

Enjoy!

(Side note I applied for inprint and if I am to be accepted this will be available along side the three different eefs I've drawn and doc.)

[megadraws24]

✨Commiss Open🌟

If you would like to commission me for art or animation, please get in touch! I'm happy to draw for any fandom or original content.

You can send me a DM here on tumblr or email me at dadeatelm@gmail.com for any enquires

I will draw:

Soft NSFW

Mild blood/violence

Fanart, OCs, ships

Furry

I won't draw:

Hard NSFW

Racist imagery

Political

Gore

Please get in touch If you are unsure or have any questions.

Price List

Art

Simple Line art Sketch- $25 per character

Cel shaded style - $70 per character

Rendered Style - $125 per character

No Background (Any solid colour or 0% Alpha) - No Charge

Plus a Simple Background - $25

Plus a Complex Background - $50

Simple Prop/side character - 50% of a full character price.

Complex Prop/side character - 100% of a full character price.

Animation

Price can vary a lot depending on the complexity and fluidity of the animation. Please get in touch to discuss what you are looking for and I'll be happy to find a way to work within your budget.

Payments Info

All payments are done through PayPal

Full payments upfront

Changes after the sketch stage will incur an additional cost, unless they're very small/easy fixes

Approx. Turnaround times

Simple line art - 1 day

Cel Shaded work - 2 to 4 days

Rendered style - 4 to 7 days

Animation - 7+ days

(Depending on schedule and demand, these times are subject to change.)

One last thing

I own the copyright for all art I make. I do not consent for it to be used in any AI image/animation generation or deep learning applications.

-MD

[aptericia]

Commissions are open!

I'm currently opening 5 commission slots! All prices are in USD

You can DM me here, or through my payment platforms:

ko-fi: https://href.li/?https://ko-fi.com/aptericia19601 artistree: https://artistree.io/aptericia

***15% OFF COMMISSIONS FOR FANDOMS IN MY PINNED POST (Revolutionary Girl Utena, Fire Emblem 9/10 & 16/16W, Thunderbolt Fantasy, and Octopath Traveler)***

I will draw:

fanart

original characters

characters without visual reference (i.e. from a written description)

complex designs

mild blood/gore & body horror

I will not draw:

heavy gore

romantic or sexual acts

anything else that makes me uncomfortable

lineart-only style:

1/2 body: $20 full body: $30

flat color style:

1/2 body: $25 full body: $40

cel-shaded style:

bust: $30 1/2 body: $40 3/4 body: $50 full body: $60

fully-rendered style:

bust: $35 1/2 body: $50 3/4 body: $65 full body: $90

backgrounds:

transparent / flat color / simple graphic: $0 simple background: $5-$20 complex background: $20+

extra characters: +70% of listed price

What to expect:

Message me on tumblr, ko-fi, or Artistree for inquiry! Let me know what you’re looking for and I will confirm if I can draw it. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the details figured out—I’m happy to discuss with you! You do not need to provide references for characters who can easily found on the internet, however for OCs and characters from non-visual media, please provide me with descriptions or examples. Same goes for any specific poses, clothes, backgrounds, etc. you’d like me to include. Once we’ve settled on an idea, I’ll send a rough sketch and confirm the price. After I receive the payment, I’ll continue working and send you updates at various stages of the development (lineart, flat colors, etc). You may request changes at each of the stages (minor ones are free, however large or many changes will require an extra fee). When the last update is approved, I’ll send you the final version in high resolution. The amount of time a commission takes is highly dependent on the specifics, but most take under a week. If I expect your piece to take longer than that, I will let you know. By default, I will post the finished commission to all my socials and may use it to promote my services. If you would NOT like your commission to be used this way, please let me know.

Things you ARE allowed to do with your commissioned artwork:

post the artwork to social media

use the artwork for social media icons, banners, etc.

edit the artwork as you wish; however, if the edits obscure my signature then you must credit me

Things you are NOT allowed to do with your commissioned artwork:

claim the artwork as your own

sell or otherwise make profit off the artwork

input the artwork into generative AI programs

[honestmagpie]

Finally I return to this. Psi-king's sensorium gives Raz the small aesthetic change of having moving swirls in his goggles. This is very cute, a simple change that seems to do a lot, as well as his rather cel-shaded appearance from the lighting engine.

You can see what looks like the wedding under the main stage in Psi King's Sensorium, shown by the figments. Notably, Otto is here, when he's absent in Bob's mind. Lucy is also here, which indicates that she was on good terms with the team and still dating Ford at the time of their wedding. This also supports my theory that the Feel Mobile van was probably a big part of their wedding venue.

I know we love to go with the theory that Helmut WAS in a band with everyone, I think that's unfortunately not true. "The audience just disappeared one day" indicates to me that that was Helmut's falling into the water. Suddenly Helmut can't perceive so his sensory 'audience' disappears. The whole thing is a metaphor for collecting his senses back together and wrangling them into making sense (pun intended).

Raz's license to slow time is signed off by the Psi King, can you imagine Forsythe seeing that like "...Whomst..."

Been meaning to mention, I adore the footsteps sound for glass in this game. Dunno what it is, it just makes me happy.

"And Audie." Psi King's soft recognition that someone felt very important to him is just too sweet.

Note: Dr. Touch and Audi-O are arguing when we find them in Psi-King's Sensorium. I suspect that might be why Otto is suspiciously absent in Bob's mental representation of the wedding, it's possible he intentionally blocked Otto out because they had too many disagreements. I suspect Otto is entirely unaware of this, just conflicting personalities, while Bob blew things out of proportion in his mind.

Audi-O lamenting the loss of Psi-king hits different now. Also I love Dr. Touch's animations. Animating a hand is just neat.

"Audi and I used to sneak up here to talk about our hopes and dreams. So beautiful." The gays are too cute.

Psi-King says "Audi! I'm so glad to see you alive!" At one point as idle dialogue. Audi says "Really? I'm fine. I think. Not sure what happened at the end there." so I think one of Helmut's last thoughts was "I hope Bob is ok." This is reinforced by later on, Helmut saying Maligula drowned bobby, and his memory reminding him that's not what happened. After 20 years and no sensory input, I'm not surprised his memory is scrambled.

Also Audi flirts with Psi-King and it is VERY cute.

Bees use pheromones to communicate, hence Cassie as Sniffles; Otto makes things, hence his casting as Doctor Touch, Compton is a cook, hence Tasty, Ford had the vision for the Psychonauts, hence him as vision. Bob went to musical recitals, he probably regularly played for Helmut, hence Audi-O.

"The tongue is a very sensitive and capable organ." Helmut I am begging you to calm down this boy is ten.

The fact that Otto's representation is the one that says "It's going to make for a better rockumentary some day" suggests to me that Otto may have been the encouraging member of the troupe. A "helping hand" if you will.

I have some feelings about Helmut's "Dear universe: Please shut up!" Because I suspect that's something he did before falling in the ice. Sensory overload and shutting down to deal with it?

I love how the thinkerprint system is like "I see you're dead! Welcome in. :)" Because being dead is like. A mild inconvenience for the Psychonauts.

HUH. On the letter in Ford's mind where he mentions that he and his friends are worried about him-- there's a Forever stamp featuring Milla Vodello. Was she part of the Psychonauts when the battle for Grulovia happened? Shit that's gonna affect my fanfiction if true. Jokes aside, I think that might indicate that Milla has tried to help him in the past, or just that Milla is considered a dear friend to Ford (possibly even reminding him of Lucy), as it looks like current-day Milla.

In Ford's correspondences' memory vault 'Lucy's Letters', Ford's returned letter says "Country discontinued", indicating Grulovia is no more. I recall there was some fan discussion about that, but it seems pretty clear to me. In case it's unclear, there's another letter above and to the left of the typewriter that clearly states "NO SUCH COUNTRY".

The way the music is muffled as you get into Ford's brain, I bet that was someone's whole afternoon.

"What did you say in that letter?" "Nothing important, really. Just that I loved her."

When getting out of Mailroom Ford's mind, Raz just drops from the ceiling. Raz what were you doing up there? did FORD put you up there?? I have QUESTIONS.

Huh. In the Motherlobe main hall, there's someone debriefing (presumably) near a whiteboard containing the date "9/12/76". It's possible that's the current date, though I doubt it (as the 80s are probably a more sensible date technology-wise). That said, it's clearly summer, so it's also very possible.

In case you're wondering why some people in the motherlobe see Raz as a thief stealing a plunger: Brianne the janitor bemoans the loss of the plunger, apparently someone has stolen it.

Sasha: "I'm getting nowhere with this-- this--!"

Loboto: "Unlikely friend? :D" I think Loboto wants to join the psychonauts. Or date Sasha. One or the other.

The effect around Milla's meditation seems to react to camera movement?

The posters near the intern wing indicate that there IS in fact a Psychonauts dorm, which I suspected. There's a Movie & Pizza night in the dorm (the movie is "Air Dud") and someone looking for a roommate.

I need y'all to read this poster so I'm gonna write that shit out in another post because it's very funny.

Replaying Psychonauts 2 for the funzies.

In Loboto's Labyrinth, the last time you visit the trap (right before you relearn levitation from Milla) the exit blocked by a painting has a chandelier hanging above it that looks suspiciously like SOMEONE'S intricate headdress.

[jaredr-k]

Commissions Open!

Hello! Starting today I’ll be offering commissions for character illustrations.

There will be 3 slots open at a time for people to contact me and order a commission. I'll notify with status updates regularly when spots are open and filled.

Specs and pricing:

Headshot: $35 per character

Full body: $60 per character Color/render options:

Flat Black & White/No Color: Free

All hues are black and white

Flat color: $15

Basic cel-shaded style; flat layer of color with basic shading on top.

“Painterly”:$45

More detailed shading and material rendering.

Backgrounds: $15 starting fee; further charges based on complexity.

And now for the less exciting part, Terms of Service:

All commissions will be negotiated between artist and client.

Payments will be made at the beginning of production once the direction of the piece has been negotiated

Listed prices are estimated based on the time each piece will take. Should the client wish for extra, unlisted features, additional fees will be negotiated.

In the process of production, clients can request to see sketches and WIPs to ensure the final product will be to their liking.

In the event that the commission is canceled, whether due to personal emergencies or the client changing their mind, a full refund will be issued.

The client has the freedom to post the finished piece on their social media accounts. Though I do not wish for others selling the piece with no due royalties.

I can refuse client requests if I feel the it poses a safety or ideological concern (I.e. hate symbols, art designed for mocking real people, disturbing/triggering imagery)

Will Draw:

Original and licensed characters

Humans and humanoids

Animals

Antrho

Handheld and small props

Blood

Romantic art

Mild nudity

Will Not Draw:

Porn/Fetish art

Hate symbols

Real-life celebrities

Gore/intense violence

NSFW fan art

For any further clarifications, feel free to contact me at any of the links below:

jaredrk.art@gmail.com

@jaredr_k on Instagram

@The_JRockMan on Twitter

And of course you can always DM me here on Tumblr

[normalslimeguy]

hi guys!! i have some vet bills to pay off so i’m opening up icon/portrait/caricature commissions! if you can, please reblog this post! it helps a lot

Styles and Prices

Minimal color: $10

examples:

(psst, it doesn’t have to be in grayscale! i can do any color you like!)

Cel shading: $20

examples:

Painted shading: $40

examples:

Multiple characters/figures: base price + number of extra figures x half of base price, for example with painted shading and one extra figure (two figures total) it would be 40+1x20= $60

example:

Wills and Won’ts

Will Draw: you, your loved ones, fictional characters, original characters, furries/anthro, fantasy races as long as they’re humanoid, artistic nudity, mild blood/gore

Won’t Draw: explicit NSFW, heavy blood/gore, mecha, anything that i deem offensive/bigoted and anything i feel uncomfortable with

Payment

my preferred payment methods are v*nm* and c*sh*pp, but i also accept p*yp*l if that’s your only option (i just prefer not to use it because it still has my deadname). i generally take payment before i start drawing, but if this doesn’t work for you or you want to set up a payment plan, DM me and we can work something out!

That’s it!

if you made it this far, thank you for your interest! if you’re interested in a commission or have any questions, please DM me! again reblogging this post helps a lot. thank you!!!

[commander-diomika]

Pairing: Zolf Smith/Cel Sidebottom Word Count: 2100 Rating: Mature Additional Tags: Spanking, Asexual Character, Non-Sexual Kink, Kink Negotiation, RQG kinktober, Kinktober 2021, Aftercare Prompt: Spanking Summary: Cel has a favourite method of stress relief that they haven't indulged in awhile. Zolf seems like the kind of person who would be able to help. Notes: Trans feminine non binary Cel coz why not? You know they've got the potions to make just about anything work.

Cel has always admired Zolf’s hands. Like a miniature of his stature, they were broad, probably twice the breadth of Cel’s slender ones, and yet there was something so deft and gentle about them. The way that Zolf tied a complex knot, or kneaded dough, held a certain fascination for them.

“I wanted to ask something from you, Zolf. A favour, probably, and I know you like helping people but I don’t want you to feel like you have to say yes but I was just thinking that if y-”

Zolf held up one of those delightful hands and Cel stopped. “I’m listenin’, Cel. What can I do for you?”

“There’s this thing, that I like, it’s sort of a stress relief thing, and I haven’t had a chance to do it in a long time and I know you would be very good at it-”

“Cel. Specifics, please? I can’t say yes ‘r no if you don’t tell me what you’re askin’.”

Cel took a sharp breath in, their eyes bright and guileless, “I’d like you to spank me.”

Zolf looked momentarily poleaxed. Wherever he might have guessed this was going, that was NOT it.

“But I want to say, it’s not a sex thing. It’s honestly just,” they fluttered their hands as if extrapolating, “-nice! And I came to you because I know that you wouldn’t read into that anything that wasn’t there because, well, that’s just the kind of person you are.”

Zolf turned the idea over slowly, not even realising when he started to slightly nod his head. “I reckon I could do that for you.”

…

Cel led Zolf to their room, face glowing with excitement.

“Ok!”

Zolf wasn’t sure what to do with his hands, or how to get started on such a strange request, but he trusted that Cel knew enough about their needs to lead the way.

“Now, first question. Would you be comfortable if I was naked? I know some people make a big thing out of nudity. Honestly, I’d just be more comfortable that way, but! Only if you are also comfortable with that.” For once Cel actually managed to finish their sentence and waited for Zolf’s response, head tilted.

Zolf shrugged. He was on a similar page when it came to nudity. It meant exactly no more or less than what people assigned to it. “Whatever you like. This is your show.”

Cel beamed and started on the buttons of their shirt. Zolf admired the unique aesthetics of their body as they undressed, long limbs, surprisingly square and sinewy shoulders, small peaked breasts and their prick resting soft between their legs.

They left the goggles perched jauntily on the top of their head. Zolf, whilst not completely certain what they did, knew they were magically imbued. He didn’t find it too strange that Cel might prefer to leave them on even in an intimate situation. Or if it was strange, no more than Cel usually was.

“Do you think I’ll be at a workable height if I lean over this desk?” Without waiting for a response, Cel cleared the surface of said desk with a tinkling clatter of metal and mystery components.

Zolf’s mouth twitched in a fond smile. “Should be right.”

With another absolutely winning smile, Cel turned, moved the chair, and leant their long torso over the surface, perching on their elbows. The table was of a height that folded them to a right angle, maybe a bit sharper if they rested their chest all the way down.

Cel looked over their shoulder, stomach giving a little thrill of excitement as Zolf came over. It really had been too long, and they were looking forward to having those lovely hands on their backside.

Zolf rested on hand in the small of Cel’s back, and waited, as if for some kind of starting signal.

Right! Cel realised through their anticipation. For all that Zolf always radiated an air of reassuring competency, there was every chance he’d never done this before. Perhaps Cel had gotten slightly ahead of things by stripping off and presenting their bare arse to him over a desk.

“So, if you just… give me a few whacks and I’ll let you know where things stand? Focus on this rounded part-“ they indicated with a hand “- but I’d like it if you went down my thighs a bit as well.”

“I’m guessin' you’d prefer if I try not to touch b’tween your legs.” Zolf clarified.

“Yes, correct. There’s “nice, neurochemically stimulating pain,” and “ouch no fun” pain and I’d definitely prefer the former and not the latter. If you just keep a nice steady pace, the area will warm as blood comes to the surface in a mild inflammation response, my tolerance will build, and you’ll be able to increase intensity.”

Zolf smiled that fond little smile again as Cel continued. “We can calibrate a nice starting spot together. I don’t think you’ll get too carried away, but if it’s too much I’ll just say “stop” or if I need a moment I’ll say “pause.””

Zolf simply nodded. That was the information he had been seeking, plus the typical Cel extra. “Ready?” was all he said.

Cel nodded, and Zolf wound up and gave their buttock a smack with a tempered amount of force. Their arse was quite lean and firm beneath his hand.

“Oof! Yes! You can go up from there, by about twenty percent to start.”

Zolf wasn’t entirely sure his understanding of his strength could be broken down to a percentile, but he did his best.

Together, they calibrated. He’d give two or three spanks, Cel would offer feedback, and he’d go again. After two or three rounds of this, Cel settled their chest all the way down to the desk, cushioning their head on their forearms.

“That’s perfect, Zolf, thank you! Continue just like that!�� They gave their hips a little inviting wiggle. “Please,” they added as an afterthought, voice slightly muffled into the desk.

Zolf gave a small chuckle and continued.

He settled into a rhythm; It was surprisingly satisfying. By Cel’s metric he was probably using about fifty percent of his strength, alternating cheeks with one hand still resting in the small of Cel’s back. He brought the blows down their thighs and was rewarded with a little squirm and a delighted puff of air from Cel as he did so.

Zolf’s palm grew warm, and Cel’s pale skin reddened beneath the firm blows. He watched their torso melt a little further into the desk, and when they turned their head, he noted that same red flush across their cheekbones. He slowed momentarily when they gave a small moan, but they hadn’t asked for a pause, so he could only take that as a good sign.

A few minutes later Zolf changed hands, coming to stand on the other side of them. He expected the small pause to be filled with Cel’s usual chatter, but they remained silent.

Zolf didn’t think he’d ever been a room with Cel without hearing them speak for this length of time.

When his other hand had grown as warm from impact as the first, Cel spoke. “Pause.” Their voice was breathy in a way that Zolf had never heard before. He paused, and without thinking took both hands and gave both of Cel’s arsecheeks a massaging squeeze. Cel sighed with pleasure.

“My tolerance has definitely gone up. If you could increase the intensity? I can take about twenty to thirty percent more.” They dropped their head back onto their forearms, and again, after a sufficient pause for it to occur to them, they added, “Please.”

Zolf gave what was asked of him. The flesh under his palms was achingly warm now, and on the rounded parts where he had been hitting most frequently, there was a slight raised area, starting to darken from flushed pink to a deeper, purple tinged colour.

When they asked for another pause, this time they sounded drunk. They got their arms underneath them and straightened up.

“Had enough?” Zolf asked, his voice coming out a little rougher than he’d intended.

“No, no it’s just-” They turned blinked somewhat owlishly at him, their cheeks a delightful shade of pink. “My legs are starting to give, a little. Which is good! I am nicely full of the endorphins released by this kind of process.”

They licked their lips, and Zolf couldn’t help but think that Cel looked incredibly cute like this.

“If it alright with you…” For the first time in this whole scenario, they sounded hesitant. “Could I lie down? In your lap, maybe? Only if you’re comfortable with that.”

Zolf swallowed. As they came up off the desk and turned, Zolf couldn’t help but let his eyes dip to their crotch. Well, he didn’t have to dip very far, with their height difference. Cel’s prick was still soft between their legs. Perhaps if they had been hard, he might have felt awkward about taking them into his lap, but it seemed they had been accurate in reporting that this was purely about sensation for them.

He nodded, and went to settle on Cel’s bed. Before Cel joined him, their hands fluttered, reaching toward their head as they considered something. “Hm,” was all they said, again surprising Zolf with their lack of patter.

Cel clambered onto the bed with shy smile. They crawled over him and draped their long body across his thighs, arse perked up over his lap. Zolf could feel a touch of tension in the body where it touched his. Cel turned their head to look at him, thoughtful through their slightly sensation-drunk haze.

“Um,” they said, and brought their hands up, delicately removing the goggles and handing them to Zolf. “Could you put those on the dresser, please?”

Zolf couldn’t help but feel he was being handed something more than a pair of goggles as he obeyed.

Cel closed their eyes, and sighed, unsteady but relieved. “Could you- not hard- but could you hold onto my hair?” Again, Cel was shyer than Zolf had come to expect from them. “Only if your comfortable with it.”

Zolf smiled and his stomach swooped a little at that. There was something warm in his chest, this feeling of being trusted with something rare and precious. “Sure.”

He curled one hand into the short hair at the nape of Cel’s neck, and as he gripped, he felt that last measure of tension go out of the body resting against his.

“Ready?” He asked softly. Cel nodded, slightly pulling their own hair in his grasp.

The shift in energy from the desk to the bed was palpable as Zolf started up his firm blows again. Cel sighed, and whimpered and shifted against him, and this time they didn’t need to speak; Cel had fed Zolf enough data for him to be able to read the request for more, and harder, and faster. He felt his own breath start to quicken from exertion, let his smacks rise and swell and push, seeking more of those little pleasured gasps that Cel now seemed more comfortable releasing.

He wasn’t quite giving them everything he had, but through the nice, dreamy rhythm he had fallen into, he found himself marvelling that this skinny alchemist could take as much as they were. The sweet spots of Cels’ arse was now dark with pre-bruising and their toes curled and rubbed into the coverlet on the bed.

He gave a few hearty spanks and Cel gasped into the covers. Zolf felt them go completely limp. Suddenly there was just a puddle of sweaty half-elf in his lap.

“Cel? Hey now.” He ran his hand up Cel’s spine, suddenly worried. “Is that enough?”

Cel groaned out an assent and rubbed their face against the covers. If they were wiping away tears, Zolf didn’t mention it. “Yes. I- thank you, Zolf.”

He helped Cel off his lap and they laid their long body out flat, their tall hair flattened with sweat against their forehead. They smiled dreamily at him. “That. Was. Perfect.”

Zolf felt any worry drain out of him, and his heart felt full and delighted. There was nothing he liked more than helping people, no matter that this was a new and unconventional method of doing so.

“Is there anythin’,” his voice felt wobbly and he cleared his throat to try again. “Anythin’ you need now? Healin’, water?”

Cel shook their head at both the offers, then smiled, a bit less bright than their usual smile, something hazier and more relaxed. “Actually. I wouldn’t mind a hug. Only if you’re-”

“-comfortable with that,” he finished with Cel and their mouth twisted wryly. “’Course.” He laid down next to them and gathered the loose-limbed half-half elf to his chest.

They stayed like that for a long moment, before Cel piped up, their voice sounding steadier for being held. “Zolf?”

“Mm?”

“I just realised- uhm- should we perhaps have sound proofed the room first?”

[comicteaparty]

Webcomic Recommendations

Check out this plethora of webcomic recommendations archived from Comic Tea Party’s Webcomic Recommendations Channel!

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Children of Shadow: Ashes https://spiderforest.com/comics/children-of-shadow-ashes/ Genre: Anthro/Horror/Urban Fantasy Trigger Warnings: Rated Mature for blood, gore, and intense scenes Reasons: Some of the most lovely pencil work I've ever seen, well-rendered animal art and a compelling world!(edited)

Heirs of the Veil https://spiderforest.com/comics/heirs-of-the-veil/ Genre: Drama/Urban Fantasy Trigger Warnings: Rated PG-16+ for transphobia, dysphoria, mental illness, blood, trauma, body horror Reasons: Absolutely gorgeous artwork, really compelling illustrations of the lgbt experience

Aloe https://spiderforest.com/comics/aloe/ Genre: Adventure/Drama/Sci-Fi Trigger Warnings: Rated Teen for violence and blood Reasons: I'm normally not into sci-fi but this comic is so bright and colorful, I really love it a lot. Also the main character is non-binary!

Millennium https://spiderforest.com/comics/millennium/ Genre: Adventure/Fantasy/Sci-fi Trigger Warnings: Rated PG-13 for Mild Violence and Mild Language Reasons: Lovely art, fun characters, and an engaging space world! I love it so so much.

Sombulus https://spiderforest.com/comics/sombulus/ Genre: Adventure/Comedy/Fantast Trigger Warnings: Rated Young Adult, no warnings Reasons: An absolute blast, super fun story and characters, with a nice long archive too!

Arbalest https://spiderforest.com/comics/arbalest/ Genre: Fantasy/Horror Trigger Warnings: Rated Mature for partial nudity, blood/gore, sex, themes of abuse Reasons: A really compelling story in a non-traditional narrative style, and super spooky to boot.

And finally, to top this off, I'll drop in my own comic as well! Court of Roses https://spiderforest.com/comics/court-of-roses/ Genre: Adventure/Fantasy/Comedy Trigger Warnings: Rated Teen, for Fantasy Violence and Alcohol Use Reasons: Because this is my comic and it's my pride and joy and I love my bards a lot. :3

AntiBunny

Dead Winter http://deadwinter.cc/ Genre: Zombie Apocalypse Trigger Warnings: Violent Reasons: Well it's a straightforward zombie survival comic. What's impressive is how well the artist has studied comics as an art form and put thought and purpose into every panel.

HiddenElephant

http://welcome2earth.webcomic.ws/ Snarky alien crashes onto Earth. Not enough people are reading it in my opinion.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R: http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/ Genre: Action, Comedy Trigger Warnings: Blood, Dismemberment Reasons: A recommendation for @Goobatron . It's my comic. The creator is me. Super Galaxy Knights is a story about Mizuki Sato, who goes on adventures through a strange world, making friends along the way. The dialogue is like... 70% banter, 30% total non-sequiturs. The art style uses 3D models, in like a weird cel-shaded style that's meant to be reminiscent of games like Wind Waker and Dragon Ball FighterZ. And there's also a bunch of animated panels/pages. There's also a ton of really strange characters. Like there's a dude whose power is that he always wins knife fights. There's a wizard who shrinks hot dogs and carries them around in capsules. Etc. One warning - the early pages are a bit rough-looking. Some have been redrawn recently, but others haven't yet, so it can be a bit jarring to go back and forth between styles.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Clockwork http://www.clockwork-comic.com/ Genre: Fantasy / Drama CW: Some language and violence Clockwork is a comic about Cog Kleinshmidt, a moody teenager with an uncanny talent for repairing machinery. He feels he’s a nobody, but is swept into the turbulent world of politics, and is forced to learn magic in a world where magic is strictly forbidden. The art in this comic is incredibly polished and lively, and the characters are all instantly endearing. The writing is also top-notch. The first time I read it, I was completely sucked in after only a few pages. It’s currently on hiatus while the creator prepares the next chapter, but it’s well worth the wait.(edited)

Moral_Gutpunch

Micheal Morbius: Freelance Vampire http://freelancevampire.thecomicseries.com/ Genre: Drama, comedy Trigger: mentions of death and violence, talk of abusive relationships, mention of rape. It's all in dialog. Micheal Morbius, from Marvel comics, struggles to adjust to a as normal a life as a vampire can have. He helps a friend get back on her feet, he goes through therapy, and he's visited by Spider-heroes, this time a new one. Meanwhile, a true monster lurks int he shadows. The art isn't good, but the story and dialog are worth it. It's my comic. I hope after I get a few more pages going people will enjoy the story. It's a story I've been wanting to write for ages and I figured I'm not going to write for Marvel anytime soon (yes, I checked copyright law, Marvel allows this). Dedicated to Stan Lee.

Pakky

The Boy Who Fell http://boywhofell.com/ Genre: Drama, Adventure, Action, Comedy TW: Violence, blood, fighting, ptsd, suicide, death Synopsis (from the website): The Boy Who Fell revolves around an innocent, softhearted and almost-spineless boy named Ren who suddenly finds himself in Hell after accidentally falling off a school rooftop. He is then forced to partake in a tournament full of powerful and vicious beings in order to attain his only way of going home: an all-powerful wish from the ruler of Hell himself. As the story progresses, lines between allies and enemies are blurred, dark pasts are revealed, political issues come to light and all the while, Ren slowly realizes that in order to survive this journey, he might have to give up the very things that make him human I love this webcomic and have been following this artist for over 10 years now and recommend their work to anyone who will listen haha! Super long running webcomic with a well developed storyline and world.

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

Broken http://broken.spiderforest.com/ Genre: Horror Trigger Warnings: Military, death, monsters Reasons: Broken offers a very interesting twist on the concepts of fairies, presenting you with a fairy general on the battlefield fighting against corrupted abominations. The concepts and worldbuilding here are very interesting and the battle/action scenes are great. Often makes use of animation and some HTML/CSS for extra effect. Of Magic and Muses https://xiicomic.com/magic-and-muses/ Genre: Magical Girls, mystery Trigger Warnings: There's a big monster at some point? Reasons: It's a magical girl story! Except nobody knows what's happening, the powers the girls get are maybe not of a friendly nature and they wear armor? The escalation of events is suberb. It has a large (and growing) cast, but each character has their own unique personality, making them super easy to follow and love. Ghost Junk Sickness https://www.ghostjunksickness.com/ Genre: action, sci-fi Trigger Warnings: violence, limb loss, death Reasons: There's a lot to be said about this comic! I really like the characters, who are deeply flawed and charming and make a lot of mistakes (the main duo having an especially interesting, yet sorta problematic dynamic). The worldbuilding is interesting and quirky to match. The mysterious bounty The Ghost is a looming presence, and apparently we'll be learning more about them soon. Super exciting and fun action scenes too!

Desnik

https://monsterhead.net/ Genre: LGBT+ American rural occult fantasy Trigger Warnings: Animal death, mild body horror Reasons: The author/artist is an OC-loving member of the LGBT+ community, and her work deals with self-love in the face of weird circumstances. Love the colors, Carter is an appealing and relatable main character, and the worldbuilding is something I've never seen before.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

http://www.phantomarine.com/ Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural Trigger Warnings: Death, Mild Body Horror, Mild Violence, Mild Language Reasons: ...This is my comic! (edited)

Phantomarine is a spooky-but-sweet fantasy webcomic about a ghostly princess and her perilous journey across a haunted sea, hoping to save her soul from a devious, shapeshifting death god known as the Red Tide King. Expect all manner of maritime mysteries – monstrous sea creatures, sacred lighthouses, strange afflictions, accursed marauders, feuding gods, grand sea battles, and a heaping helping of humor in-between.

eliushi [Keyspace]

https://tapas.io/series/KEYSPACE-A-Winged-Tale/ https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/keyspace-a-winged-tale/list?title_no=322364 Genre: YA Science Fantasy, LGBT+ Trigger warnings: Mild body horror/violence/monsters, death Reasons: My comic Blurb: Florence thought her idyllic life living with the winged beings would last forever. However, when her mother disappears from a mysterious expedition, she fears for the worst. Through exploring hidden laboratory tunnels beneath the forest, facing Machines from a century-long war against humans, and seeking guidance from the Lost people from a civilization gone by, Flo and her winged friends must piece together the past in order to save all those they love.

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

O Sarilho https://www.sarilho.net/en Genre: Post-Apocaliptic/Sci-fi Trigger Warnings: War, military, death Reasons: I make it Short description: A small team goes on a mission to enemy territory to find the remains of an ancient satellite and they end up finding a lot more. There are computers and dams and electricity-worshipping future romans (edited)

GGY

Tile: Over 8 Miles https://tapas.io/episode/859067 Genre: Drama, Comedy, Slice of Life Reasons I make it: Cause its fun and I enjoy sharing the existence of my characters and their life outside my brain

Emma (Friends or Lovers?)

Dreamwalker Felix by KT and TK https://tapas.io/series/Dreamwalker-Felix and https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/dreamwalker-felix/list?title_no=182487 Genre: Fantasy/Supernatural Trigger Warnings: There's some body horror in there Reasons: The art is just beautiful, and it has tons of funny moments Friends or Lovers? by yours truly https://tapas.io/series/friendsorlovers and https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/friends-or-lovers/list?title_no=49520 Genre: Romance/school slice of life Trigger Warnings: Mentions and depictions of bullying Reasons: It's my comic, so I'll just quote a reader: "Your comic is more accurate to real teens in love in high school than most. It's really good stuff"

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Earth in a Pocket http://earthinapocket.spiderforest.com/ Genre: Retro Sci-fi, Iyashikei Trigger Warnings: none Reasons: This comic posted its final page very recently! It's a relatively short read; very gentle and hopeful without being cavity-causingly sweet. The creator has put together such a heartwarming story that I've been adoring for a while. One of my faves, now complete!

renieplayerone

O Human Star https://ohumanstar.com/ Genre: Scifi, Robots, Drama TW: Dysphoria, Depression Reasons: The characters are so well written and emotional, plus I love the simplistic color palette. They get across the journey of self-discovery in such an interesting way.(edited)

carcarchu

Arcane Flames https://tapas.io/series/Arcane-Flames Genre: Fantasy Trigger Warnings: death? Reasons: I've been following kutty sark for many years now and I've really been looking forward to this comic which I'm pleased to say even exceeded my expectations. Fantastic art and the tone of the story is just lovely, i adore al'vis

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

https://sfeertheory.com/ The art is incredible. Every character, even the background ones, is full of personality. I love a good underdog story, and Luca's speech in chapter three made me scream into my hands and tear up. I can't recommend it highly enough

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

http://secondcrimeanwar.thecomicseries.com/

The Second Crimean War is a powerful and fun story in an alternate 1990s decade in Ukraine. The art is black and white and improves in leaps and bounces as you move on in the story! The story itself draws you in from page one. There's suspense, there's (black) humor, there's atmosphere and adventure. Highly recommended if you like war/action/suspense.

varethane

Have you ever read Nasty Red Dogs? https://nastyreddogs.com/

oh golly, haha

yeah, it's a fun and twisted and surreal little tale, the early parts especially are like walking through a really bizarre dream that if you describe it, it ought to be called a nightmare, but at the moment you're in it, it doesn't FEEL like one lol

the creator also does a comic called Feast For A King, which I think is more well-known but I haven't read yet (will at some point tho): https://feastforaking.com/comic/

kelly-zine

Title: Zyra Slash Genre: Sci-Fi, Comedy, Slice-Of-Life TW: None (for right now at least, it just started!) Reasons: I love Alex and their characters so much! ZS is a project I’ve been following and chatting with them about for a long time and it’s amazing to see it come to fruition. I think you’ll like it too. (Note that it’s on hiatus at the moment!) https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/zyra-slash/list?title_no=373763

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Title: Ark https://www.arkcomic.com/ Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Anthro TW: violence (nothing heavy yet, but my Spider Senses are tingling) Reasons: A 1920s-inspired, extremely believable fantasy setting. Hints of racial tension and a possible war brewing on the horizon. It's pretty early in the story, so hop in and claim the front row seats for this gorgeously illustrated comic! (edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Tamberlane https://www.tamberlanecomic.com/ Genre: slice of life, heartwarming, Anthro It has a cast of colourful characters. Charming story of a clumsy bat named Belfry who adopts a little human. Various animal neighbors to love

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I found one of the Chinese webcomics I use to follow, is now on Webtoons. They rename the title to: The Emperor's New Body because it's about body swapping and has interesting depth while some silly hijinks https://tapas.io/series/the-emperors-new-body(edited)

trinketfox

May as well rec my first ever favorite webcomic! Warrior U! https://warrior-u-thecomic.tumblr.com/ It's so expressive and funny that I've always wished it would become a show on cartoon network or something. Only the first few pages are still up on this tumblr since the official site is down, but all chapters are on the artist's gumroad!

It's an episodic comedy fantasy that goes from page-long gags to full episodes. Reccomended for it's humor and a really fun art style.

SteffieMusings

Nebula Beings https://tapas.io/series/Nebula-Beings Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror/Thriller Trigger Warnings: Violence, scary imagery (especially in chapter 7), talks/implied past abuse Reasons: It's a fun series and the two main characters learn to overcome challenges during their travels.(edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

http://humoncomics.com/elftaken-1

Very short comic about the fae!

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

For anyone who wants really strong character development/plot/art in general, I’m recommending Heir’s Game https://www.webtoons.com/en/drama/heirs-game/list?title_no=1445 For slapstick humor and characters with strong platonic bonds I give you Waffles and Pancakes https://www.webtoons.com/en/slice-of-life/waffles-and-pancakes/list?title_no=1310 And because why not, and if you like Victorian romance with a cute bickering couple, I give you Miss Abbott and the Doctor https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/miss-abbott-and-the-doctor/list?title_no=707

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Encephalon Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror Trigger Warnings: Blood, Gore, Strong Language A rescue crew sent to an abandoned space station comes face-to-face with a bio-computer experiment gone horribly wrong. A sci-fi webcomic with body-horror elements. Very creepy stuff! It's just getting started, but after seeing the rest of the story in thumbnail form (my IRL friend is the making it), it's going to AWESOME places. Please check it out! https://encephalon-comic.com/

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

This is: Mirror Mirror for 'Brain' short story contest entry. The 1st ep caught my eye and I'm invested in it https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/mirror-mirror-b/list?title_no=427186(edited)

carcarchu

https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/freak Genre: fantasy Trigger Warnings: violence? Reasons: sakon's art is brilliant and incredibly consistent. season 1 is now available to read for free!

sagaholmgaard

Genre: Supernatural, urban fantasy, slice of life Trigger Warnings: Maybe abusive parents? idk i feel like it will be explored in the future Reasons: I love the art style and the latest chapter have some CHAOTIC ENERGY and im living for it!! https://tapas.io/series/bygonesbe

GGY

Just got back from hiatus! If y’all are interested in some slice of life + comedy drama I’d like to share my webcomic Over 8 Miles: https://tapas.io/series/O8M/ep39

carcarchu

Veni Vidi Vici https://vevivi.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-1.html Genre: slice of life, comedy Reasons: reading this comic feels so comfy and it reminds me of being in roman studies class again. you can really see the love and care that Ruby has put into this comic and her passion for ancient rome is really on full display in this work

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

This is the comic books for Cafe Suada I used to read way back. It's a fun slice of life about a teahouse shop keeper rivals with a coffee shop manager https://tapas.io/series/Cafe-Suada The artist used some traditonal tea staining for the textures. The story inspired me to draw my own slice of life series(edited)

sierrabravo (Hans Vogel is Dead)

The Strange Tale of Oscar Zahn https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/the-strange-tales-of-oscar-zahn/list?title_no=685&page=1 Genre: Paranatural Investigation with just a dash of Cosmic Horror Kinda spooky, some light/fantasy violence From the website: Follow the journey of the world's greatest paranormal investigator - Oscar Zahn. Friend to lost souls, enemy of evil, he may lack a body but that doesn't mean he's missing a heart! The art is INCREDIBLE, the tone is really fun with some neat Hellboy vibes, it's complete and it's a good binge read. I really enjoyed it!

carcarchu

Short story about a cat, make sure you've got tissues ready https://akimiya.tumblr.com/post/129049384624

boogeymadam

just caught up with wychwood and it's such a huge treat!! there's some amazingly fun worldbuilding, a lot of intrigue about how the protagonists came to have the powers they do, and the motives behind the things that made the world the way it is * _ * it's also got soooo many pretty derelict environments, cool creature design and fun training montages! http://wychwood.sevensmith.net/comic/1

Yung Skrimp (Carefree)

I started reading Cloven Hearth, it’s interesting and has a really cool art style

https://twitter.com/ruinationcomics/status/1254126660007399425?s=21(edited)

carcarchu

Hana and Mr. Arrogant https://www.ciayo.com/en/comic/hana-mr-arrogant Genre: romance Reasons: Easy breezy read, with nice art and a super likeable heroine! Nothing we've never seen before, but delivered with genuine heart that makes it stand out

LabsZach

This one esp, with the greenery shifting into dirt, roots, and mushrooms, and how it compliments the figures on it is just aces. https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/cloven-hearth/touch-of-the-divine/viewer?title_no=396780&episode_no=14

boogeymadam

recently binged malverav's comic Love and War and it is sooo satisfying, about 2 competitors in a medieval tournament involving jousting, archery and more! The banter between Svanhildur and Marinelle had me grinning a lot. Also, it's a wlw rivals-to-lovers romance aka a GREAT kinda love story!! (my favorite kind ) it's on tapas https://tapas.io/series/Love-and-War/info

carcarchu

cronaj's sports comment got me thinking about this and how damn good it is https://tapas.io/episode/968762 Genre: Sports, drama Reasons: it's insanely creative and the art is so intense, i found it extremely memorable and powerful to read(edited)

carcarchu

Came across this stunning webtoon today. It was originally published on taiwanese webtoon and the author has decided to tl into english to share with a wider audience https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/intertidal/list?title_no=371176 Really gorgeous traditionally drawn comic and a lovely poetic writing style

carcarchu

the winner of this year's eisners awards for best webcomic. definitely worth checking out! https://friedricecomic.com/

[themakersmovement]

Untitled Goose Game Lets Players Unleash a Beaked Bully In 2009 I played Prototype. It’s a sandbox game starring a knockoff Venom, going on killing sprees and eating people. It was lots of fun, in a way that made me wonder if I was a bad person for enjoying it. Untitled Goose Game is kind of like that. Only instead of a bloodthirsty cannibalistic shape-shifting monster, you’re a goose. The game sticks you in the webbed feet of the un-titular Goose, drops you in a sleepy British village, and invites you to embrace your inner asshole. The controls and layout are simple: Pretty much all you can do is grab stuff, run around, and honk. The challenge comes in using those meager tools to cause as much misery among the village’s population as possible. There’s a charm to all of it, in a very Dennis the Menace sort of way. The simple cel-shaded graphics in muted colors, the basic sound effects, and the soundtrack made up solely of plunky piano music that’s intensely reactionary to your naughty actions. Though it’s not entirely without challenge, Untitled Goose Game is very much a “chill” experience. It’s more about planning and timing, with almost no call on twitch reflexes. You’re loosed upon the village to spread your fowl malice. The game guides you with a gentle hand, suggesting some naughtiness you can enact in checklist form, but otherwise giving you zero direction. In the first area, it’s suggested you steal the gardener’s keys and collect a few items for a “picnic” on the lawn. Most of these are fairly obvious: You’ll need to sneak around the garden and steal stuff to bring it to the picnic area, giving the game a mild Metal Gear Solid feel as you hide things and keep the various humans from messing up your plans. (Later in the game you’ll hide in a cardboard box, because of course you will.) There’s a snake goose in my box! There’s a thrill in causing befuddlement among the supernaturally patient humans of the village. They’ll chase you to retrieve their stuff, but never get so frustrated as to give you a much-deserved kick in the gizzard. Knowing that these humans are there just for you to pour out goosey wrath upon gives you an excuse to be the complete jerk that you (probably) aren’t in real life. You’d never be so juvenile as to tie a kid’s shoelaces together, trip him into a puddle, steal his glasses, and then replace them with silly sunglasses. Would you? The Goose would. While most of the goals are fairly straightforward, a few hidden objectives create some delightful mayhem. My personal favorite was the sequence of events ending in this screenshot (and the answer to this puzzle qualifies as a mild spoiler, so heads up): I beg your pardon. . . Read the remaining 10 paragraphs https://buff.ly/32CxMQY

[starchild-png]

hey it’s Penta and i’m trying to save up! so i’ve decided to start taking commissions

message me or email me at thatabigail@gmail.com to make a deal

if you can’t commission me, then it’d be a big help if you could reblog this post

explanation for some of the deals in this post below

if you want lineless or soft shaded art then that’ll be $5-10 dollars added to the original cost

the multipliers (x.8, x1, x1.25, etc.) scale the price based on how much you want me to draw, and they are applied to the price after any lineless or soft shaded price modifiers.  also that “Additional Characters +50% each” just means take whatever the original price was when it was just 1 character, then add another half that for each extra character

when i say im willing to draw mildly suggestive content, i mean im willing to draw whatever as long as there are no exposed nips or genitals

and i can do some gore, like cutesy pastel gore, mild blood or drippy decapitated limbs, but once you get into the territory of ground up body parts, exposed internal organs, etc. then im gonna have to say no

by gross ships i mean any pedophillic/aged up ships, abusive ships, or ships that invalidate part of a character’s canonical identity (shipping a lesbian with a man)

i’ll do simple backgrounds, like skies, tiled patterns or solid gradients but anything in the territory of specific set design or furniture placement is too much for me

i’m willing to throw in a solid color bg for any standard cel shaded or flat color drawings, just be sure to specify what color you want

if i don’t finish the drawing within 3 weeks you may ask for a refund

thank you!

[olivereliott]

Editor’s Choice: An Alternative Top 10 for 2019

This is tough. Week on week, we strive to curate only the best custom motorcycles for you, our readers. So even though Chris and I don’t always agree on what’s hot (and what’s not), every bike on these pages is, in some way, a favorite.

That makes picking the ten best bikes of the year an impossible task. We get around it by leaning purely on stats to compile our ranked ‘Top 10‘ each year. But once that’s done, I have the thankless task of rounding up my personal favorites—an editor’s choice that ignores web stats and social media buzz.

It starts with a ‘short list’ of about 25 bikes. Once Chris compiles the stats and publishes his list, I eliminate any bikes that made both lists, to level the playing field. This year, those were Brad Peterson’s Yamaha TZ750, Workhorse Speedshop’s Indian Scout drag bike and Andrew Stagg’s jaw-dropping Yamaha MT-07.

Like the stats-based list, my selection is extremely light on café racers—but loaded with flat trackers and street trackers, and bikes that take cues from those styles. There’s been a big push towards performance in the scene this year too, and some of the bikes below would be proper fun to ride. As an added twist, two of the machines that made the cut are electric.

The list below isn’t ranked, it’s simply alphabetical (by builder name). So read on and soak up my ten favorite custom motorcycles of 2019. Then hop into the comments and tell me if you agree with the selection.

Alta Redshift by Blatant Moto When electric manufacturer, Alta, shut their doors, three ex-employees were left with a laundry list of untested ideas. Luckily, those guys also had the skills to execute their ideas, and access to a bundle of prototype and sample drivetrain parts from the company’s promising Redshift model.

The three formed Blatant Moto, and debuted with this radical flat tracker. Ironically dubbed ‘The Death Rattle,’ it’s a refreshing twist on a popular genre, but it’s also a glimpse at the design potential that electric drivetrains offer.

With fewer moving parts, and no need for frivolous things like a fuel tank, Blatant were able to build something truly minimal. The only real bodywork is a custom made tail unit, and a small cover that protects vital electronic components. Since there’s no clutch or front brake, the cockpit is sano to the max (and even the onboard charge port has been removed).

This team’s packing a serious skill set too—the chromoly trellis frame and the swing arm were done in-house, and the overall design and color scheme are inspired. We’re keeping a keen eye on Blatant Moto in 2020. [More]

Honda CR500 by Deus ex Machina USA Deus USA’s in-house bike builder, Michael ‘Woolie’ Woolaway, is as down to earth as he is talented. And as someone that actually races too, he knows what works and what doesn’t. So when Red Bull asked him to collaborate on a custom motorcycle for MotoGP star Dani Pedrosa, it was never going to be mild.

Since Dani’s raced with Honda throughout his entire career, Woolie picked the extremely potent Honda CR500 as a donor. Then he yanked out the motor and stuck it in a custom chromoly frame from master frame builder, Jeff Cole.

The parts list is mouthwatering; a custom carb from Lectron, Öhlins forks in adjustable triples and a Race Tech shock. Everything’s tied together with an array of hand-made bits, that covers everything from the aluminum bodywork to the custom exhaust system. Woolie also tapped the best in the biz to handle things like the motor porting and custom radiators, so nothing was left to chance.

Not only does the bike look absolutely mental, but it’s a wild ride too. Luckily, its owner knows things about riding motorcycles fast… [More]

Ducati Multistrada 1000 DS by 46Works It’s hard to explain 46Work’s signature style—or even why it speaks to me so much. It has a lot to do with builder Shiro Nakajima‘s background. He was the founder of Ritmo Sereno, he lives in big old wooden building in the Japanese countryside, and he races both classic cars and bikes.

Add that all up, and you get bikes like this striking Multistrada 1000 DS. Somehow, Nakajima-san has taken a fourteen-year-old motorcycle, shed its awkward lines, and made it look both more retro and more contemporary at the same time. According to him, his original idea was to build a modern interpretation of the classic Ducati 750 GT.

There’s so much to love here, from the custom tank and frame mods, right back to the new swing arm and twin shock conversion. Shiro also fitted 18” wheels, setup a custom braking system and added Öhlins kit at both ends.

Given that the Multistrada motor is peachy enough out the box, and the handling and ergos have been properly seen to, this one should be a good runner. But it’s the details that send it over the top—like that Ducati motif on the back of the seat. [More]

Royal Enfield x Harris Performance Harris has been building high-performance motorcycles since the 70s, but have remarkably never built a flat tracker… until now. Judging by this sharp Enfield-based flat track racer, they’ve come out the gate running.

Harris is owned by Royal Enfield‘s parent company, and actually developed the chassis for the Continental GT and Himalayan. So this bike was built in collaboration with Enfield’s technical center in Leicestershire. That makes it a ‘factory custom’—and it has us praying that it makes it onto showroom floors in some form.

It’s powered by Enfield’s new 650 twin, boosted to 750 cc by S&S Cycle, who also supplied the exhaust and a custom-mapped ECU. Harris built the frame with brazed steel tubing, then matched it to adjustable yokes and Öhlins suspension. And Enfield’s UK design team made the carbon fiber bodywork.

The result is a slick race bike that ticks all the right boxes, but looks fresher than your garden variety flat tracker. Enfield have already been spied running laps on track, but they haven’t given any word about whether they’re actually going to race it. We’re holding thumbs. [More]

S&S Cycle Knucklehead by Hazan Motorworks Max Hazan is a regular feature on our annual top 10 lists, and with good reason. His creations are elegant mechanical beasts that often show just how far he’s able to stretch his imagination.

This masterpiece has shades of Italian sport bikes, but it’s actually powered by a Knucklehead motor. And it’s no run of the mill Knuckle either. Max started with a 74 ci motor from S&S Cycle, and then rebuilt it to run two front heads and two carbs. All because he had spoken to someone that loved both Knuckleheads and old Vincent motors, and figured he’d build something in that vein.

The conversion required extensive (and some pretty unique) mods to work, but there’s just as much work in the rest of the bike. There’s a bespoke chromoly frame, matched up to an aluminum swing arm and a set of Enfield forks. All the polished aluminum bodywork is custom too, as is the stainless steel exhaust system.

A set of 18” Morris mags add a dose of retro track style, while mods like the Indian Scout transmission match-up and home-made clutch actuator have us scratching our heads. See you again next year, Max? [More]

Yamaha MT-07 by Jake Drummond Who is Jake Drummond? Just a twenty-five year old kid from Wisconsin, who knocked our socks off with this utterly ridiculous MT-07.

The story behind the bike is as crazy as the end result. It involves shaping a 1/10th scale model from stainless steel, buying a new MT-07 when a crashed one couldn’t be found, and dropping out of school to finish the project. It all paid off though.

Jake’s design revolves around a hand-built aluminum perimeter frame, flowing straight into an aluminum swing arm. The engine’s mounted onto a forward subframe, with a stainless steel rear subframe to support the seat. Upgraded parts include R6 forks, 21F/18R RSD wheels, and a custom-built stainless steel exhaust.

Nicknamed ‘The Omen,’ this MT-07 is also sporting a custom tank, seat and tail. The stance is flawless, but so is the clever mix of contrasting finishes. [More]

Indian Scout by Luuc Muis When Indian Motorcycles launched a custom design contest in the Benelux region, Luuc Muis jumped in with both feet. He designed a 1910s-era boardtracker with a modern twist, and won. The prize: a brand new Scout and 20 weeks to translate his concept into a finished bike.

Working after-hours (Luuc has a full-time job) out of Outsiders Motorcycles’ shop, Luuc built one of the most extreme examples of a board tracker we’ve seen.

Other than the Scout’s motor and axles, everything else is custom. The frame’s particularly nuts—it was designed digitally, then an engineering firm in Norway milled the 16 aluminum parts that it’s constructed from. The fuel tank forms part of the frame, and has different sections to hold fuel, the electronics and the air intake.

Titanium exhausts from Akrapovič, carbon forks and a rear shock linkage that borrows its design from mountain bikes; there’s truly some crazy stuff happening here. Add to that a classy red paint job and period-correct leather seat, and you have a winner. [More]

Harley-Davidson Street Rod 750 by Noise Cycles Scott ‘T-Bone’ Jones made his name building extremely cool Harley-Davidson customs. And then he took up Hooligan class flat track racing—and since then, an inordinate amount of his focus has been on racing.

That means his personal race bike has constantly evolved. This is the latest iteration, and it’s so far outside the box that it’s borderline genius. When I saw this Noise Cycles bike in the metal at the Mama Tried show earlier this way, it stopped me dead in my tracks.

The biggest drawcard is the dirt-bike bodywork. Scott and his teammate, Brandon ‘Gonz’ Gonzalez, had the crazy idea of using the body kit from a Husqvarna FC450. So they borrowed the plastics for one from a friend, and it turned out to be a close to perfect fit.

Scott trimmed a few bits away, then built a stunning aluminum fuel cell to fill all the available space it could, while holding the bare minimum for racing. Scott had previously flipped the Harley’s heads to run a left side exhaust, but didn’t like it anymore—so he built a new system that exits left and runs through to the right.

As for the rest, it’s just a whole lot of really cool race sh*t, that Scott’s figured out as he’s gone along. [More]

BMW R18 by Revival Cycles BMW Motorrad have spent all year teasing their upcoming big boxer ‘R18,’ and part of that campaign has involved giving the motor to customizers to do awesome things with. Revival Cycles built this, and it is, indeed, awesome.

They’ve called it ‘Birdcage,’ named for its wireframe chassis, constructed from 138 pieces of titanium. It’s sort of freeform, but it’s also very intentional; everything the bike needs to function is bolted to the birdcage frame.

The front suspension mimics BMW’s own telelever system, using a mix of BMW and custom parts. The forks and handlebars were shaped as a homage to the famed Ernst Henne Landspeeder, and the seat is carbon fiber. There are crazy details everywhere, like the right side hand-shifter and the custom valve covers.

Revival built Birdcage to intentionally look like it’s not functional. Except it is—even if it does have a really tiny fuel tank that’s hard to spot. [More]

PACT by Walt Siegl Walt Siegl builds bonafide dream machines. So when we caught wind that he was working on an electric motorcycle, anticipation levels were sky high. He’s partnered with industrial designed Mike Mayberry, and so far the results have been every bit as excellent as we’ve come to expect from Mr Siegl.

Mike and Walt are driven by a simple ideal: to make electric motorcycles that speak to them on an emotional level. And ‘PACT’ sure is loaded with finishes and touches that evoke emotion. Take a look at the marbling on the bodywork; it’s not paint, it’s the natural finish of the ‘forged’ carbon used for the parts.

PACT is powered by an Alta Redshift drivetrain, cradled in a custom chromoly frame. All the brackets that hold critical components were first 3D designed and printed, test fitted, then CNC’d from steel. Even the rims were custom machined specifically for this project.

The bike makes about 50 hp and weighs just 251 pounds, and has been designed specifically with street-focused geometry. It’s also achingly beautiful. [More]

Editor’s Note: I did mention that picking a top ten is tough, and there are always a handful of top-shelf builds that just quite don’t make it onto the list.

This year, those include Hookie Co.’s kooky take on the Yamaha XSR700 [above], Nick Graveley’s Zero FX flat tracker, CW Zon’s Buell S1 Lighting, Rough Crafts’ H-D Street Bob custom and Huge Moto’s cutting edge Zero FXS supermotard [below]. And Ben Giese’s Triumph Scrambler deserves an honorable mention for being a cracking example of a subtle, real-world custom.

As you can tell, it’s been a mega year for us. Thanks for joining us for the ride, and we’ll see you in 2020 for more.

[operationrainfall]

Title Creature in the Well Developer Flight School Studio Publisher Flight School Studio Release Date September 6th, 2019 Genre Action, Pinball, Puzzle Platform PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One Age Rating E for Everyone – Mild Language, Mild Fantasy Violence Official Website

It’s no exaggeration that Creature in the Well was on my radar from the first time I saw it in a Nintendo Direct. I’m easily drawn to unique art, and Creature in the Well had a quasi cel-shaded style that really got my attention. Since then, I’ve demoed it at two separate events, and my interest only grew. So of course I decided to review the game on the site. The question was, could my initial hype live up to the actual experience? Or was I dragged kicking and screaming into a pit of despair?

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Creature in the Well starts in the desert, with blinding sands blanketing a barren land. Suddenly a Bot-C engineer awakens from the sands, the last of his robotic kin. Driven by a hardwired need to fulfill an objective, but lacking recent memories, he heads through the tempest of sand and finds his way to mysterious ruins. You’re pretty much left to discover where to go, and eventually come upon some structures all centered about a gaping hole into a mountain. Years of gaming taught me to keep progressing the narrative, so I went into the hole.

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Though the Bot-C you control never really vocalizes anything, it becomes clear what your goal is. Your goal is to re-power the machine that was supposed to keep the weather in check, which mysteriously stopped working properly. As you navigate your first of several dungeons, you find the cause: the titular Creature. For some reason, the Creature is dead set against the machine working again, and will do whatever it can to stop you. This usually means laying traps to stop you, as well as trying to fight you at certain points. What’s interesting is that your Bot-C is essentially unkillable, so long as you have enough energy. But if that energy is drained by sufficient damage, the Creature will literally drag your lifeless body out of the pit and toss you aside like unwanted garbage. Sure you will survive with a fraction of a spark, but you’ll have to make your way back and try again.

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This is the essential loop to Creature in the Well. Open up a dungeon, investigate it while puzzling your way through rooms, charging your energy meter as you go, then getting defeated and returning. All of the dungeons in the game are accessed from a main HUB room, and once you’ve powered the right node, you can travel wherever you’d like. Just keep in mind that every essential system is protected by the Creature, and each time you face him you will have to survive multiple rounds of combat to progress. Which is both easier and harder than it sounds.

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In a weird way, there’s no actual combat in the game. Instead, you control the Bot-C and use his striking and charging tools to collect and launch energy balls. Striking tools can range from metal pipes to frying pans, while charging tools are a bit more esoteric, such as a magnet or dual blades. This is where the pinball mechanic comes into play, and you’d better get accustomed to it fast, cause it’s everywhere. Each room in every dungeon is a puzzle of sorts, where your goal is to charge all the bumpers sufficiently to unlock a node that will reward you with a huge amount of energy. I should clarify; the energy you gain here is separate from your health meter. You use accumulated energy to unlock gates that bar your way forward. The good thing is, not every room’s puzzle has to be solved to progress. The bad news is, not doing so properly means you get less energy and wind up a bit frustrated. At least if you’re a completionist like I usually am.

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So if you only solve puzzles by hitting balls against bumpers in the game, how do you get hurt? Easy. There are more than just bumpers, and tons of traps. Some examples are laser beams that you have to hit right before they unleash a full blast, or guns that pop up and fire at you if you hit the wrong device. My least favorite are tall pylons that, when hit, explode in a large radius, forcing you to run quick or you’ll lose a huge chunk of your health. While I’m glad these many devices are all in the game, since it would be too simple without them, they can also be frustrating. The primary reason for this is something I hate talking about: math.

Since Creature in the Well is all about pinball, it stands to reason geometry is a big factor. Depending on how you aim before you strike the balls, they may fly at wild angles. In my experience, sometimes they bounced in a way that made sense, and other times they didn’t. A good example is one of the boss fights against the Creature. When I hit one vertical bumper, my energy balls would ricochet at 45 degree angles, yet when I hit another, they would bounce back and forth horizontally. I don’t know if this was my own fault, but it made things very frustrating, especially when it happened while fighting against the Creature.

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Speaking of frustration, here’s another. You can only heal at set areas in the game, usually spaced pretty far apart. You heal by walking into a pool and letting your health meter fill up slowly. That’s fine, but why can’t I heal anywhere else? I wish there was some incremental healing that could occur, especially during boss fights, which started to wear me down about halfway through the game. It wouldn’t be an issue if the fights against the Creature weren’t multi phase, but they all are. And suffice to say, the arenas you face him in are all pretty cramped. Also, like any monster, he’s a jerk, and will do his darndest to use his many traps to wipe you out ruthlessly and quickly.

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Now to be fair, you do have a few things at your disposal to even the odds. First, you’ll come across the discarded corpses of your Bot-C brethren as you wander, and you can pillage their Cores. You can trade these in (a fact that took me several hours to discover) to get improved capability to gather more balls at once. That helps, though I personally would have preferred if my energy balls just charged things faster when upgraded. You’ll also come across a wide variety of tools to aid you, many with different characteristics. Take the dual blades I mentioned earlier. While using them to charge, you can actually see a line which indicates approximately where your balls will travel when you strike them. That’s helpful, but you still need to figure out the right time to use each tool. I loved my magnet, for example, until I realized its ability to gather balls towards me sometimes would trigger traps nearby, as well as warping the path of their movement. It’s also annoying that most of the striking tools don’t indicate what they do differently, so I had to figure it out as I went.

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Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot I liked about Creature in the Well. The atmosphere is unique, as is the combat. Not many games grab me this quickly. The puzzles are also very clever, when I could figure them out. But for every smart decision made in the game, there seemed to be another to counter it. While I’m all for smart puzzles, I’m not a fan of time limits. Many puzzles need to be solved in a certain amount of time, and if you don’t, they reset. And I’m talking about a few seconds here. Also, while I love the whole charging balls to draw them in then striking them aspect, it was hurt by the random angles. This mechanic was also affected by something very simple: the color of the energy balls. In tense situations, I would completely lose track of some of my white energy balls, and usually that would result in them hitting the wrong thing and punishing me. Or take your dash move. It’s technically there to help you avoid damage, but I found it rarely did its job. That’s in part probably cause it has no invincibility frame, and also because your boost of speed is minor. More than once I would try to dash out of harm’s way only to get hit. But perhaps my biggest complaint is how grindy the game gets. The pattern of the game is fine, but it needs more variety. Things got very samey the longer I played, just finding ways to be harder without necessarily being more creative.

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On the visual and sound side of things, I really have no complaints. The aesthetic style of Creature in the Well is stunning and attention grabbing. It made me want to learn all the secrets of this world, often found in terminals throughout the dungeons. The Creature was equal parts mysterious and menacing, never completely showing its face, appearing like some sort of mechanical, skeletal cat with fierce intelligence. Even though many of the dungeons looked very similar, clever use of shade and color kept things different. Though the music isn’t some compelling ballad, it does a good job of grounding the unique flavor of the game, and the sound effects were punchy and dynamic. This is a world where each secret is just waiting to be unearthed, and tragedy and heartbreak are constant companions.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to completely beat Creature in the Well. I gave it an old college try, clocking in 5+ hours, but when I got stuck in two separate dungeons due to incredibly difficult Creature fights, I eventually gave up. Which is unfortunate, because there’s a lot of things I really admire about Creature in the Well, especially considering it only costs $14.99. I’d say as a first effort from Flight School, this is a great success. If they can just improve on the flow of their next game while tweaking the difficulty to better accommodate players, then I’ll be very happy. As it is, I hope I can eventually beat the Creature and discover the secrets of this fascinating world.

[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”3″]

Review Copy Provided by Publisher

REVIEW: Creature in the Well Title Creature in the Well

[spacecharr]

Black Rose Sesh Report V

i think it’s number five at least.

Here we go again:

fuck having a bum shoulder. again. seriously, fuck it. right in the asshole.

ok

the trip back wasn’t an odyssey so much as it was a revelation-filled romp.

also chillhop music makes me seriously so lyrical. it’s... it’s like I’m helpless, but I’m also scared that people might see me as a pretentious bitch or something, but I also recognize that maybe this is just my anxiety or some shit? 

thought looops, like frooot loops

oh yeah!

revalations

one: holy fuck I am so fucking bi.

there was this couple heading back -- WAITTTTT

how could I almost forget Oliver?!

ok

People I met on the romp back:

(wait tags)

(ok, back to here - but ow, fuck)

Eric, Lisa, and Oliver the Dog.

amazing neighbors who’ve lived in the area for a long ass time. also Oliver is cleverly named due to the location.

the black cat that I thought was a little girl twin of my handsome boy? nope! He’s an adorable little psychopath named Merlin! he loves people, is adorable, vocal, cuddly, his owners are this amazingly punk rock lady and this guy who could be like a secret badass punk nerd from accounting or something. And he’s a bit psycho ‘cause he does the whole “snuggle up to your leg to purr and cuddle you, ask for belly rubs, then will attack your hand”. My Zi doesn’t do that at all. He will give you maaaaaany warning bops with his back legs, no claws, before he begins to lazily warning bite you.

Alright, ok. 

Revelations.

one: I am so fucking bi.

there was this couple heading home from a run. both of them were HELLA FINE. I mean, of the two I’d prefer the dude, but if I could have both of ‘em, then hell yes I would.

I have the preference namely because the lady was wearing matching pink shirt and scrunchie - and that get up on a wavy blonde made me think of that character from the Arnold the Armadillo show and I don’t like her as much.

they were wearing matching running tights, the girl was wearing pink and the guy was wearing orange (my favourite colour).

Both probably within my age range, maybe in their 30s.

The guy was super in shape, bony, broad, muscled shoulders and a runner’s taper. 

Gal was thicc and had a face that looked like Denaerys Targarean (idk how the fuck to spell that name rn)

two: I’m living in my dream neighborhood, basically, and living my dream.

where I’m at, I just went out for a walk to a park - it felt like I was at a lake. 

there’s dogs everywhere, and friendly people who own those dogs. people with stories to tell, who are happy to sit down and chat.

there’s beautiful people where I live. All sorts of beautiful people. (see revelation one: I am hella bi - and for any biphobes out there, remember that bi means i find more than one gender attractive. think about that for a sec, I’ll wait.)

there are couples in their 30s with no kids, so this place is fairly childfree.

there are people leading alternative lifestyles all around me, mixed in and living side by side harmoniously with neighbors who are more traditional. including couples even who are made up of a “normal” looking person and someone visibly living that alternative lifestyle.

today has been filled with so many LGBTQ encounters of other LGBTQ people living visibly out - whether they’re living out to prove a point, living out because it’s right for them, living out despite the fear, living out because it’s fun to, etc, etc. - that it makes me so happy to see.

there was a dude in this really fancy sports car - likewise somewhere in this 30s - which almost everyone at the intersection had to turn their heads to appreciate

there was this guy with a beard (beards are so attractive) balancing on this fancy looking road bike (god, I love bikes) - makin’ that choice for whatever his reason is, but it’s one I love because we need more bikes and less cars

on my way home, and this ties into the point below, I passed under a balcony where several ladies where having a girl’s night and discussing things.

and it turned into this awesome look on feminism in a way because they were talking about I think female genital mutilation (these are all ladies in their late 30s or older - lots of talk of husbands, etc) and how there’s so many women still having it done to them.

one of the ladies mentioned how some man in her life somewhere (she mentioned how she knew, but there was a dog I was distracted by when she explained, so I didn’t really catch it) was talking about how less girls get mutilated than boys or something. And she was like “well i don’t know the numbers for boys, but even if it is higher, that’s still six--(some ridiculously large number like 600 million or something, or 600 thousand...) and then that means there’s even more children being mutilated than that because the boys get mutilated more often.” 

like, holy shit, a man engaging in “oppression olympics” when a woman was just trying to express her shock that any children are being mutilated - and that he was being excited for winning a gender competition for “whose gender is mutilated the most as young, helpless babies?!”!

anyways, that little aside aside

holy fuck my shoulder hurts

I was thinking I could do this part as part of the stream of conscience further down, but I don’t think I can hold out that long.

So ok, I separated the AC joint (or something like that) in my right shoulder from some bungled board breaking I did during a parade with my karate club. Boards got rained on and my student and I still broke them.

I bungled this break only in that the first two elbow attempts didn’t work - the board was way too wet and it bounced both the elbows back. So I resorted to  hammer fist to break it and boooooo. I wanted to elbow it.

But yeah, turns out I’m hurting.

But I’m not sure if I am or not. Again, this is probably anxiety? or maybe another revelation.

But like, I’m confused. Would a separated shoulder take 48hrs to fully onset in terms of the pain and symptoms? Cause I felt like I was sore, but still able to do thinsg. Then when I went in yesterday to see my chiro for a scheduled appt from way before the parade, I mentioned my shoulder pain.

he ran two quick assessments on me and diagnosed me with a separated AC joint. it’s on the mild side, but it’s still a separated shoulder he said. and since them I’ve been way more conscious of it and I wonder - is it because he told me something’s wrong and I’m “pretending” because I’m hyper-aware of any sensation in the area? Or did it really just take until now for it to start being so bothersome?

--- another aside within aside within aside: I’m starting to feel suuuuper sleepy.

but then also, I’m high. I’m high on 50mg edible THC and 1/2 a 210mg joint. I should be pretty medicated by now, we can all agree. And I do feel a familiar stoner feel from the indica. Nice heavy body feel. But through it all, my neck, shoulder and lat are just screaming at me occasionally.

Especially my neck. 

And my shoulder when I go to use my right arm - reaching, etc. OHHHHHH!!!! It hurts more today than yesterday because I did karate this morning!!!!! And I pushed (but didn’t hurt) myself a bit because I wanted to train with our guests.

ok.

I get it now.

I’m not crazy, it legit hurts. I’m not being a wuss, I’m being realistic. Okay.

SEE!?! WEED! REVELATIONS!

Dammit, guys, weed really is a therapist. 

Have I even told you guys I’m a relatively new stoner? Like, just since it got legalized in Canada, and like, in November? So a lot of those like random “crazy-ass” stoner stereotypical phrases that I used to make fun of and think were like “oh, hurr durr, only stupid stoners who can’t think straight think like that” - they’re TRUE!!!! holy fuck, guys.

Hm, also, I think I am definitely going to be able to ride along and let the shrooms take me where they will next weekend. I’m ready for it. I’m excited for it. I feel like there will be so many more breakthroughs.

OH! yes, returning.

So, those ladies and talking about not even feminism, but just out in the open, within earshot of people on the street (fair, they’re just having an open air convo on their own personal balcony - everyone else is on the public sidewalk, the acoustics in this area are just very conducive), talking about statistics about women.

It’s so awesome that I live ina  place where that can happen.

That I live in a place where a trans woman and her lesbian girlfriend can walk through the park. Where an openly lesbian couple, an openly gay couple, two best dude friends (and or maybe another gay couple, it’s not like they were dressed in rainbows or held hands or anything), a single dad with two kids, a single stoner, and all sorts of straight couples can just all exist alongside each other without anyone feeling pressured or attacked or anything.

It’s awesome.

Ok. My shoulder is really hurting. I know I’m not being a wuss with this now.

Though I have to say, as much as this fucking sucks, I still wouldn’t trade it for my experience as a martial artist. Now I know for next year, and I can protect my younger students now since I know that wet boards are so harsh on even my body - it’d tear out the shoulder of some of our younger kids. And I can experiment with drying the boards a bit more so they’re more brittle and won’t bounce back. 

I think if I had been doing a single break in a controlled setting like a dojo instead of needing to set up in as few steps as possible and break and move on quick so you don’t hold up the route, I could have broken it. But as it was, it’s not possible for me to courteously summon up the concentration for a break like that on a parade route.

I’m gonna just relax for a while. Probably find some anime to watch. I wanted to draw, but I don’t think my shoulder’s up for it. I’ll have to try to remember the imagery.

It’s like, space-sci-fi dystopia future-wave sort of thing but with lower tech and more slum-like. cartoony. cel shaded. primariy colours: orange-brown, blue/purple like vaporwave, red, orange-orange, maybe some yellow/yellow-white.

guys, weed is magical. I love weed. I mean, I’m a highly functioning member of society. I live a frugal lifestyle, but I kill it at work, I’m becoming highly involved in my community, etc. 

it’s crazy how there’s that stoner stereotype, but honestly I’d say that’s just the entertaining minority. the minority we all like to smoke along with. XD

ok, that’s a wrap on this part. maybe more, maybe not. dunno.

in anycase, fuck bum shoulders, stay chill, and see ya in space.

...srsly should I do audios?

[teratomart]

2018 Commission Prices

My commissions are OPEN, and here's what you need to know:

Read the Commissions Terms of Service BEFORE commissioning me.

Pricing

Traditional Media:

Traditional Sketch

waist up: $20

full body: $35

sketch page: flat $50

Traditional Ink

waist up: $35

full body: $45

Digital Media

All of my digital media is now priced by the hour! My rate is $15 to open, and $12 an hour, rounded up to the nearest dollar. Please see my Terms and Conditions for pricing specifics. Digital media comes in:

(New!) Icons ($25 flat)

Chibis ($25 flat)

Sketches (1-2 hrs)

Inks (2-5 hrs)

Flat color (5-6 hrs)

(New!) Lineless (2-4 hrs)

Shading (6-8+ hrs)

(New!) Full rendering (10+ hours)

Sketch pages (2-4 hrs)

Shipping: Shipping prices will vary by size! I am available to ship internationally (as long as you’re willing to pay for the shipping!).

Additional characters are available! Pricing does NOT change when characters are added to a single project, but if you plan on dedicating each character to a separate project, the initial $15 fee will apply to each.

Prices are based off of character complexity, estimated finish time, and detail put into the work. Prices usually fall in the mid-to-low range unless your character is particularly complex or a lot of concept design has to go into the work. However, I, the artist, reserve the right to price my commissions as I see fit. I'd be happy to review your character references for consideration, please feel free to ask me questions about my pricing!

New! - Returning customers no longer have to pay the initial starting fee! All repeat customers will only be charged $12/hr for single projects!

New! - Late fees will now be applied for overdue invoices. See below.

Breakdown

My commission types and what you’ll get with each commission, in order:

Traditional sketches: Variable size, quick, detailed pencil sketches of your character(s). When ordering a sketch page, pages typically include a handful of headshots, a couple waist-up pieces, a full body or two, and possibly a handful of chibis. Regardless, you’re definitely getting your money’s worth. Sketch pages are available to be mailed at your request!

Traditional ink: These pieces are large, high-detail, black or sepia ink graphics of your character. You may also include a single color to be used with the ink that will be added in copic marker or colored pencil. Ink pieces can be mailed at the your request!

(New!) Icons: Simple, small icons. Headshots of your character done in a graphic style to show them off. Can be done in a circle or a square!

Chibis: Small, cutesy, expressive representations of your characters.

Digital sketches: Just about the same as traditional ones, but digital. Smallish, messy, sketchy pieces of your character(s). I have a few sketching styles you can select from! A sketch sheet contains what a traditional sketch sheet usually does: 1 full body, a couple waist-up sketches, and a handful of headshots/busts!

Digital ink: These pieces are large and incredibly detailed black or colored ink. I am very passionate about my ink work and have multiple styles for you to choose from! These are my favorite to do :3c

Flat color: Simple, flat, with a fair amount of detail and no shading, and few additional effects. Typically ink work with color, but this can be changed to be a colored sketch.

(New!) Lineless: A messy, free-flowing, lineless style. Quick and easy, though detailed and tons of fun.

Shading: A shaded commission will vary in appearance, contain cel shading, and have more in-depth color than a flat color or colored sketch.

(New!) Fully rendered: Fully rendered pieces are my most extensive commission type. These commissions take hours upon hours, and play will numerous complex shading techniques, but are painstakingly crafted to be just right. These commissions are HIGHLY experimental, but the result will be worth it.

Media

As you see above, my commissions are broken into traditional and digital media. I am available to mail traditional commissions! Please contact me about shipping prices if you wish to receive your commission in the mail.

Digital commissions will be sent to the client in full resolution and size, and I will also send PNG flat files of the individual layers at your request. I will NOT provide the .psd/.sai/.mmd file for your use (with very limited exceptions). Digital commissions will be sent in the form of a .zip/.rar file at the client's request, to avoid the compression of images.

How do I get one?

Instructions:

Request a hold* on a slot purchase if necessary/available. The preferred/default hold time is seven days (1 week), and the maximum hold time is fourteen days (2 weeks).

Establish a payment plan, if applicable. Purchases $50 and over are available for a payment plan. Purchases under $50 must be paid up front before commission materials will be delivered.

Send me a thorough visual reference of your character, or VERY well-written description. Either format requires: Height, body type, color palette, and a brief description of their personality and behavior. I reserve the right to properly judge my ability to illustrate your character in the format requested, and the to decline a commission request based on my current skills. Creating concept art of characters without a previously established visual will take a LOT of extra time. Be mindful of this when providing characters without a clear reference.

Inquire through email by contacting me at teratoma.art@gmail.com, or private message me a valid email address via your preferred social media site. My available platforms are: DeviantArt, Tumblr, Twitter, Toyhouse, and Instagram.

Pay the invoice you receive from PayPal in your inbox. Credit, Debit, and PayPal payments are accepted. While payment is pending, the commission process and your commission slot (if applicable) will be put on hold. You are given ten days to pay your invoice after the completion of your project. Afterwards, late fees will be applied.

If you do not pay your invoice on time, you will be subject to an additional $5/day late fee. These fees are non-negotiable and will be sent with reminders for each late day.

Yes... You may purchase a commission from me with DeviantArt points. However, I greatly favor USD over points due to the high percentage that DeviantArt takes from me when converting points into cash through the commission widget, and the fact that points given to me personally cannot be exchanged for money. Clients who offer USD WILL take priority over those who offer points. Sorry, a zombie's gotta eat.

* - Holds are a temporary pause of the payment and commission process to allow for payment. Want a commission before the queue fills up, but you don’t get your paycheck until next weekend? Request a hold!

What I won't draw:.

Reference pages. Honestly, I’ve barely made ref pages for my own OC’s.

Comic pages.

Pixel art. I’m still figuring out my style!

Animations. Still learning!

Vehicles/mechs.

Complex scenery/nature.

Complex architecture.

Political statements.

Fetishes.

NSFW work. Nudity is acceptable when it’s tasteful, but I won’t do sex scenes.

Anything that includes hate symbols or has association with racism or hate. This includes any racism/discrimination-related symbols or slang, or hate directed towards any people in particular. Hateful content includes: abrasive commentary concerning race, orientation, kin or specific person/organization, hateful commentary concerning race, orientation, kin or specific person/organization, or slanderous political ideals.

Scenes self harm. This includes anything drug related, characters actively harming or attempting to harm themselves, or other requests along those lines. Mild gore is acceptable, such as bloodied hands, blood spatter, or bleeding eyes/blood tears, but I reserve the right to refuse a commission if I deem it too extreme. Please inquire if necessary.

Scenes of potentially triggering, sensitive, or disturbing material. Self-explanatory. I’d like to keep my work as much of a safe place as possible.

Transformation scenes.

Hypermuscular/obese scenes.

Current Queue:

Srirachaflash - Abigail + Calvin and Hobbes <3 (complete)

TrustyArts - 3 icons (complete) and 1 gem mural

Qh0sties - 1 shaded fullbody

NN7 - 1 icon

FULL! Check back later for more openings!

Additional Notes:  Feel free to ask me for samples of a certain commission type! There are many present across a small handful of sites. I'd be happy to show you what you're getting!

~ Charlie

(see the original, alternate post HERE)