#long post warning i guess

[ninthprime]

list of players who should fall onto the houston spies during fall ball (according to me)

rigby friedrich: i'm very amused by this "sporgias phenomenon" we're seeing, where two of our three falls so far have been former georgias. so i'd like to propose rigby, a player whose primary espionage skill is "oh fuck he's approaching me, oh god, oh fuck"

kaz fiasco: during the late expansion era some of the spies joked that it was inevitable we would someday receive kaz, as his pgr is "spying." perhaps now is the time.

sexton wheeler and/or mcdowell mason: look, i love sad horse man and the sasquatch captain as much as anyone, but can you imagine them learning spy skills? hysterical. i would like to see at least one of them, preferably both, in trenchcoats

phineas wormthrice: i need to see phinny interacting with nanci grackle's muppets. more importantly, it would be funny.

peanut bong: it would be funny.

lowe forbes: this might be even funnier

sutton bishop: also extremely funny

jessica telephone: though somewhat controversial, here's my reasoning: it would be, in the end, pretty funny

niq nyong'o: this one's just inevitable- now that nanci's on the team the sim is obviously going to curse niq with having to put up with hir again. the sporgias phenomenon continues. also, i like her.

mohammed picklestein: this one's cheating because mohammed was already a spies player, but 1. they're one of my favorites and 2. can you imagine noted blaseball safety expert mohammed picklestein on the same team as notoriously unethical nanci grackle?

at least one other blaseball scientist: niq and mo are the scientists i'd like the most, but really i just need at least 3 or 4 scientists/inventors/etc on this team. unfortunately the sim has already taken haruta byrd and mooney doctor from me as options but we've got a lot more. how about zion aliciakeyes? pedro davids? felix garbage? mint shupe? mullen peterson? maybe jomgy rolsenthal moves back to houston? maybe eve mcblase moves back?? whatever makes the vibes a little funky around here.

knight triumphant: last time knight was a spy they saw multiple people die and seemingly got cursed to wander the league. this time, they're going to have to put up with nanci grackle. and frankly: it's what they deserve

harriet gildehaus: i rest my case

isaac johnson: spies unionize! that's my argument. that and we need someone with defense on this team please i'm begging

tad seeth: i believe the spies always need a "spynosaurus" present somewhere on our roster

axel cardenas: imagine you were one of the worst blaseball players ever. and you've been jumping between the shadows of various teams. and you decide the best way to get a fresh start is to get onto the same team as your daughter and your younger siblings. and then you get to houston, and none of them are there, and the stadium is filled with necromanced muppets, and now you gotta learn how to read ciphers. hideous. anyway i love this guy and i'd like to see him

richmond harrison: i think richmond should be on every team, to improve the vibes of the league as a whole

commissioner vapor: this is a spy we just had again but one of the very first things i saw someone say when fall ball was announced was "it's just gonna wimdy us CV again." and frankly? yeah, probably

various other players i don't really have an argument for but it would be fun: ok here's a shortlist: miguel james. wyatt pothos. rafael davids. guy gulp. jaxon buckley. jayden wright. ronan jaylee. gerund pantheocide. mindy salad. coolname galvanic. nagomi nava. beck whitney. thomas dracaena. sandford garner. literally any crab. "crop, are you just listing random players you like now?" look if i keep listing them i'll predict at least one correctly, that's how blaseball works,

[affectionatecorpse]

I'm once again getting overly philosophical over horror movies, so here's a study of the death angels from A Quiet Place as observed by a very enthusiastic animal loving veterinarian.

Every time people talk about death angels, it is, understandably, about how violent they are. These creatures are brutal and merciless, and will tear apart anything that makes too much noise. Hence the title of the movie.

Death angels are frankly terrifying, and show no empathy towards the creatures of the planet they invaded. No living thing is safe from them.

... so here's why they COULD be--

Look. Death angels are simply not suited for our planet. It's a noisy, chaotic place full of noisy, chaotic animals. From humans, to raccoons, to birds, to cats, nearly everything in our world is a potential trigger for a noise sensitive animal such as these.

But that's exactly what they are. Animals. And no one seems to remember that fact. People talk about them as though they themselves are sentient, anthropomorphic monsters, but the way these creatures act mimic many real life animals. Animals that don't belong here, but are trying to survive here. On a noisy planet covered in water, which they despise and cannot swim in.

Death angels are completely blind by nature, as seen in many other creatures such as cavefish, moles, and my personal favourite, the olm. Due to a lack of sight, they very clearly use echolocation in the film, to scan their surroundings and... well, not get dead. But echolocation is far from their only tool, as their ears are the strongest asset they have.

Their ears are INCREDIBLY sensitive. Just the slight ticking of an egg timer when heard from their perspective in the first film, is like a pounding drum in their ear. This is fine in a naturally quiet planet, but if a very subtle tick is that loud, then imagine the rest of the noise. Screaming. Explosions. Crashing. Little toy planes. Holy CRAP, that's gotta hurt.

Sounds that loud would definitely cause extreme hearing problems from pressure over time, and easily result in lifelong illnesses and disabilities such as deafness, infection, and so forth, if not stopped. It's going to be painful. It's literally bursting their ear drums inside their heads, and you can't explain to an animal why it hurts. You cannot rationalise with wildlife about treatment and self care. An injured and scared animal is always going to turn hostile, no matter how docile they may be normally. You can't explain to a lion with a knife in it's belly that you can stop the pain if it just doesn't attack you. You can't explain to a death angel that it needs to go somewhere more isolated instead of just destroying the source of the noise to shut it up.

Going to backtrack here a sec. Remember how I mentioned echolocation being another asset this creature has? Which means the slightest movement, the tiniest breath, can immediately allow you to be seen by it. With ears that good, too? It can see you from ages away. It knows you're there. Which means they DON'T attack for sport.

'Evil' is a concept rarely seen in nature. Yes, a lot of humans can be evil. And yes, many creatures can be too. Animals hunt for sport as well. Cats, for example! Although even then, I wouldn't describe it as evil. Calling the death angels evil implies they're attacking out of malicious intent, which just isn't true. In moments of panic, they'll destroy. But they are fully aware of humans around them.

Humans need to breathe, and can't stay perfectly still very easily. The death angels would be able to see our main cast at several points, even when they're being quiet. They don't attack whenever they locate a sign of life. For example, the scene in the basement. Being that close, whether the water was running or not, that alien absolutely would've heard Evelyn and the baby's sharp breaths. It didn't care. It was clicking at them almost curiously before it heard the bang of the silo, to which it ditched them to stop the sound.

This scene is a great example of why they don't kill for sport. Injured and young animals are especially easy prey for a creature built so strong and nimble. Evelyn is shown to be terrified of the mere presence of this thing, but it never actually does anything in the scene. It moves about. Ignores her movements in the flooding water. Investigates the baby. Clicks curiously at her while she backs away. It moves slowly and on all fours, when we know while aggressive, they will stand up on their hind legs (unless sprinting) and move very fast.

This implies it was in... well, not a submissive position, but a nonthreatening one. It wasn't baring it's teeth (as best it could), it had it's claws tucked up and unused, and was in no way in a primed-to-attack mentality. Until the silo made a loud bang. And even then, it could've quickly sliced up the two in the basement before running off, but it DIDN'T. It just left, without a moment of hesitation.

Let's also acknowledge the anatomy.

This is a carnivore. With sharp teeth for ripping apart prey, sharp claws for defence, and thick armour for protection from it's natural climate, as well as strong, long legs for running, this is absolutely a meat eater. The fact it's so well equipped makes me wonder if their natural prey is just as dangerous as them, which is why they have such tough skin. Or if they themselves have something above them in the food chain.

They seem to be pack animals, as usually others aren't far behind when one is about. Such as the trio by the Abbott house, the few at the docks, the ones by Emet's hideout, and even that group sliding down the building in the Day One clip I keep seeing as a gif. With their knack for running included, I wonder if they function like lions? Blending into their environment back home, clicking to hear prey, then the whole pack going on the chase when their target is vulnerable, in a way.

I got distracted. My point was, in a year, all the bodies from past victims vanished. All those people in the town who were swiped left and right just vanished from the town. They couldn't have decomposed in such short time, which means something moved them when it was safe. Something like a carnivore needing food after it felt comfortable in the silent aftermath. The argument that they do it for sport is one I see all the time, and it's just not true.

Everything needs to eat. Carnivores need to eat. Animals need to protect themselves from suspected danger. They never eat on screen because whenever they're on screen, they're surrounded by noise and are DISTRESSED. Have you ever had a sick pet? Most of the time, it won't eat when it's ill because it's too stressed, uncomfortable or in too much pain. When having their ear drums assaulted, a death angel isn't going to sit down with a cup of tea and a grilled cheese. Also, I won't add it because there's blood, but in the scene with the old man screaming in the woods, after it attacks, you can actually see it go back on all fours and sniff about the aftermath, like a hungry predator catching prey to eat. This was probably the first and currently only on screen proof of my claim.

By all means, not all animals are meant to be tamed. Jordan Peele's Nope said that best. Yet I can't help but wonder about the individual. Every animal is completely unique. Some will tolerate more than others. Due to their realistic nature and the similarities to actual animals, in specific circumstances, could they be befriended?

Anyway keep an eye out for A Quiet Place 4 where someone has a pet one that wears doggy ear protectors and accepts meat in exchange for pets-- /j

[stergeon]

enbarr, sometime in 1186:

ok so @frozenartscapes made this addition to my post about byleth and edelgard writing each other letters all the time, right:

well i kind of lost my mind and now we're here.

i'm sure this meeting is salvageable :0) hubert's sanity, however,

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

👻❄️ &🔥🐉

[darthursfartblog]

Yeehawgust 2024 MasterOmnibuspost It's not as neat as last year because i did not stick to one format.

[natolesims]

Reaper's Rewards | Week 1

Yoru moved to Willow Creek and failed at making friends. At least she hasn't burnt down her kitchen and is starting a small garden of flowers. She also met the... man (?) she's obsessed with.

[cherrirui-official]

Friendlocke Violet Gijinkas (Part 3/7)

PART 3 RAAAAGH!!! SO SORRY THIS ONE TOOK SO LONG AAAH!!!! But it's here now, yippee!!! And just in time for Christmas too, wowie!

I plan on posting them in order by groups of three, so there's gonna be seven parts in total, all of which I'll be linking here when done vvv

(Part One) (Part Two) (Part Four) (Part Five) (Part Six) (Part Seven)

!! These will contain personal headcanons I have for the cast, little fun facts, and also spoilers for Friendlocke Violet (for both the edited vids and the streams) !!

@saltydkart-reblogs

Designs under the cut!

GRACE:

The light scars/ cracks on her body were injuries formed while she was accidentally sent through Turo's time machine. Unlike the paradox pokemon/ miraidon, GrAce's body isn't made of iron or metal, so her body wasn't able to withstand the large amount of tera energy used to power the machine as easily as the paradox pokemon were.

Luckily, she was just barely able to hold out against the time machine's energy until she made it to Turo's lab in the present day. Unfortunately, she can't be sent back because she would literally die if she went through the time machine again. Sooooo she's stuck in the modern era.

Very familiar with Area Zero and the various pokemon that reside down there, but moved out in order to continue producing music as well as familiarize herself with current-day Paldea.

She only vaguely know Clavell back when he was a rebellious teenager, though she didn't know his name. Clavell, on the other hand, was one of her biggest fans back in the 50s-60s.

Funny enough, when she sees "Clive" for the first time, she recognizes him! But not as Director Clavell, she just barely recognizes him as the random teenage fan that would occasionally ask her to sign various GrAce posters he had bought. She is also under the belief that he too, was sent from the past into the present, unaware that he simply just grew up.

Likes doing random poses for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

BRAIDY:

Believes that everything can be solved without violence, but can and will throw hands if need be.

Everyone in Braidy's family greet each other by playfully ramming into one another. So when Peppy and his team were getting chased down by Braidy's family during their journey, they weren't trying to attack them, they just wanted to say hi!

Braidy is really good with kids due to his experience with being the eldest sibling, as he'd often have to take care of his younger siblings.

Mykyie and Braidy shop at the same clothing store.

Speaking of Mykyie, the lighter parts of Braidy's fur appeared only after Mykyie passed...

As of now, he's still an apprentice, but he has great potential to become an all powerful wizard... someday.

CHRISTENE'S:

Artist's note: I couldn't fit their children in the bio sorry girls and gays. I'll probably draw them out later on after I'm finished with everyone else.

Their stomachs are basically voids, so every time they eat the food just disappears, which is why they're ALWAYS hungry.

HIGHLY flammable.

It is speculated that they're poppets, but you don't have any proof of that, do you?

If you listen closely, you can hear soft bell noises every time they walk. It is unknown why this happens, but I believe it is best not to ask.

Aaaaand that's it! I plan on taking a short break from these bc I wanna draw some other stuff. Dw, I'll continue to work on these very soon!

[thevioletcaptain]

So I've been quiet on here a lot longer than planned.

The reasons are many. The reasons are varied.

The reasons are mostly fucking horrible.

Under a cut because it's long. Check tags for content warnings.

First was the expected absence: my parents came to visit me in Los Angeles over my birthday, so I spent the first half of October showing them around whenever I wasn't working a shift at my shitty department store day-job, or in class at UCLA.

Then, almost immediately after they went back to Australia, I got a second job working as a personal assistant for a composer. This was (and is) an extremely fun and rewarding job, but meant having one more thing on my weekly schedule, which was an adjustment.

Given that until halfway through last year, I'd been out of work since I immigrated in 2019, it took a while for me to get used to having so many concurrent responsibilities, and I'd just started to get a handle on things when I got sick right before the holidays. I took many covid tests -- all negative -- and eventually determined that it was just last year's strain of flu, which I hadn't managed to find time to get the shot for due to the aforementioned super busy schedule. I'm almost positive it was thanks to a particular customer at the aforementioned shitty department store job who coughed hard enough in my direction for their germs to get through my n95.

Anyway, last year's flu was a monster, and I spent a week in bed with a fever, then several more weeks being utterly drained and with a horrendous cough to match. It took a full month for me to recover, and then in mid-January, almost as soon as I started to catch up on all the things that had fallen behind while I was sick, things got bad, then good, then worse, then better, then much, much, much worse.

Basically, it starts with my dad being diagnosed with prostate cancer. He'd told me in October when they came to see me, but the surgery was scheduled for the tail end of January.

The surgery happened on a Monday, and it was a complete success. They got it all in one go. No chemo or radiation or further treatment needed at all. I spoke to him on the phone after he woke up, and he was in good spirits. Happy to have been given the all clear by his doctors.

I told him to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds & Evil while he rested up at home, because I'm writing specs for both this year and wanted him to be able to read them and know what was going on. He's the one who got me into sci-fi and horror, after all.

He went home.

He was home for two days.

He started feeling a bit rough on the Thursday. Short of breath. No appetite. Mum took him back to the hospital, just to be safe.

Turns out he'd had a mild heart attack. They couldn't figure out why. The echocardiogram didn't show any issues with his heart.

Then over the next couple of days, his breathing got worse. They took a scan of his lungs, and found that they were extremely inflamed. They'd given him covid tests but they came back negative. We told them about a work accident he had about 20 years ago, where a switchboard he'd been working on exploded in his face, and he'd suffered from inhalation burns among other things.

They thought that maybe something during the prostate surgery had caused irritation in his already damaged lungs, which put stress on his heart and caused the mild heart attack. He's never had any issues with his lungs since that accident, but they thought that maybe he'd just adapted to the damage over the years without realizing.

They kept trying different treatments to help his lungs heal. Nothing seemed to work. His breathing kept getting worse. They had him on as much oxygen as possible without intubating him, but it wasn't enough, so over that weekend they decided that they'd need to move him to another hospital with a more specialized lung unit.

When they were preparing to do that on the Monday night, he crashed. Another heart attack. Bigger, this time. They intubated him. Sedated him. Called my mum and told her to come in right away because things looked so bad.

But then he rallied. By the morning, though he was still sedated and intubated, the doctors were confident that with the right treatment at the specialized lung unit at the other hospital, he'd be okay. He was still in a rough condition, but stable. They transferred him to the other hospital.

He was given another covid test. This one came back positive.

My mum and brother called me once it was a reasonable time in Los Angeles to let me know what was going on, and the next day my brother booked me a flight back to Australia. I had to leave for the airport about five hours after my ticket was booked.

I got to Melbourne on February 1st.

For the next two weeks, dad was intubated, sedated, and in an isolation room. Every few days, they scanned his lungs again, and they were slowly improving.

Finally, he stopped testing positive, and was moved to a regular room in the ICU. Then he healed enough for them to extubate him and wake him up.

On February 13th, he was conscious enough to squeeze my hand when we went in to see him. On February 14th, he was conscious and capable of talking enough to ask a nurse in his ward to bring him his phone, and called mum first thing in the morning to wish her a happy Valentines Day.

Two days later, on Friday 16th, his lungs looked good enough on scans that they felt it was safe to do an angiogram, which they wanted to do just to double check that there weren't any issues with his heart that they missed with the echo.

They did the test. They found massive blockages. 90% blockage in one artery; significant blockages in two others.

Even though he'd barely recovered from covid, the blockages were bad enough that they scheduled him for open heart surgery on Monday 19th. They said without surgery there was a 100% chance that the blockages would cause another massive heart attack that he would not survive. They said there was about a 20% chance that he'd have complications, but only about 4% that they'd be serious/life threatening.

Like before, the surgery went well. Triple bypass, in the end. We got a call late on Monday afternoon to say that he was in recovery and looking good. His heart was functioning perfectly. They'd bring him out of sedation that night. Keep him in the ICU one or two days just as the standard post-op procedure. He'd spend a week or so in a cardiac ward after that, then head to a physical rehab ward for a couple of weeks until he could build back the muscle mass he'd lost while sedated.

We went in to see him the next day. Tuesday 20th. His 66th birthday.

He was tired, but looked good. Color in his cheeks. He made a couple of jokes. We left after about 45 minutes because he was pretty worn out, and we wanted to let him get some rest.

But then after, that his breathing started to get bad again. By Wednesday morning, they'd switched out the oxygen prongs in his nose for a big, high-pressure mask again. They called to let us know they were going to intubate him again so he could rest while his lungs recovered a bit more.

They struggled to get the tube in.

His lungs were deteriorating badly. He kept getting worse. We couldn't go in to see him because they were working on him all day.

At 9pm we got a call to say that he was just getting worse. They had him on 100% oxygen. He just wasn't absorbing it. His entire body was under massive strain. They were doing everything they could, but he just wasn't improving.

They said we should go in right away.

We got there by 10pm. My brother and his wife arrived about the same time. We went in to see him. He didn't look good. He looked pale. But he was warm, and he'd come back from the brink before, and we were sure he could do it again. We stayed with him for about an hour, and left not long after 11pm. Went back to my brother's place because they live closer to the hospital.

We were there about half an hour before they called us again. Just after midnight. He was gone.

That was about a week and a half ago, now. It still doesn't feel real. He was only 66. He hadn't even retired yet. He was working full time up until the week before Christmas, and had planned on going back to work a few days a week after he'd recovered from surgery. He never had any heart trouble, or lung trouble. He was active. He was fine.

My wife Zel and her mom flew in a couple of days after it happened. I barely remember anything from the past two weeks. Everything just feels fake.

I've been trying to write something to say at the funeral, which we've finally been able to arrange for next week -- it was delayed because we had to wait for dad to be released by the coroner. I don't think I'll be able to do it.

Anyway. That's where I've been.

It'll probably be a little while longer before I'm around here much, let alone posting with any regularity, because I'll be in Australia helping my mum & and my brother sort everything out. I have no idea how long I'll be dealing with stuff, or when I'll be able to make words cooperate enough to post anything, but I'll be back eventually.

I'm trying to keep an eye on Discord (I'm violetmatter over there) so you can find me there if you want. But yeah, I just wanted to let you guys know why I've been so quiet.

[itissadbutitsmy-artblog]

i wanted this comic digitalized so bad that i used max's birthday as an excuse. :)

this is the true ending. if im insane enough ill show you the alternate ending though

bonus because i just. it just kinda peters out. longggg post yayyye

[dawnthefluffyduck]

New game interest unlocked

(crow in bottom right belongs to @patchwork-crow-writes)

[leopardom]

Bojan doing a finger heart 🫰 for good luck

22/09/23 - Tampere, FI (mine)

[meanferalbutch]

I can’t stop thinking about a pretty little femme who tries to tame a butch werewolf in both of her forms.

She comes across this giant dog stalking by the edge of the woods one day after work, and she watches it closely. It clearly distrusts humans, as it won’t take the hamburger she had left over from lunch, even after she leaves it 30 feet away. She’s not sure what type of breed the dog is, maybe a husky? What’s that big one, a malamute? (Listen, she’s never met a wolf before!) With a coat so soft and shiny looking she doubts it’s a stray, but the skittish behavior towards humans and the goosebumps that raise on her neck to warn her of danger whenever this dog meets her eyes makes her doubt this could ever be someone’s domesticated pet.

So she starts to come by every day with a hamburger to try and catch it. She learns the dog is very standoffish, and picky. She didn’t know this was possible for a dog, but it somehow knows when she hasn’t taken the pickles off. It also seems to eat much quicker, come much closer when she puts an effort into the presentation of the meal.

She talks for hours to her butch coworker about how she started with plain Tupperware, now the spoiled thing requires her to plate the dish and take the pickles off. Her coworker just shakes her head and asks why she keeps making hamburgers alongside her regular lunch if it’s so much effort. She replies that it’s not really about the effort, it’s about teaching this wild thing that not all people are bad. That there’s kindness in the world, too. The femme explains that she’s actually not a big fan of hamburgers, but she is great at making them, in fact, would she like for her to bring an extra one for the butch to eat tomorrow? Her coworker nods very enthusiastically, so enthusiastic she could have sworn she saw her start to salivate.

“No pickles, please”, the butch says.

“Just like the dog!”

“Just like the dog.” The butch smirks back.

She can tell they are both opening up, even if it is slowly. To be honest, it seems like neither of them have really been shown much kindness. That’s a real shame, the femme decides, so she starts religiously packing her coworker a pickle-free hamburger every day, with one kind note in the bag of each one. The dog also gets its own hamburger, of course. So they carry on like this, one hamburger for the butch, one for the dog after work.

Until one day the dog doesn’t show up. The coworker is also out sick that day, so the femme asks around for her address to bring her some chicken noodle soup (but she also packs a hamburger, just in case). When the butch opens the door for her she’s clearly been hurt.

She’s got her right leg bundled up and she keeps dismissing questions about it. “Hunting accident.” Is about the only details the femme gets out of her. Says she will be back tomorrow, not to worry about her. Thanks her kindly for the soup and hamburger and when they get to the door to say goodbye she hugs her, even though she winces a bit when her leg shifts.

The femme tries to find the wolf that same day with no luck. At least, she thinks it’s a wolf. she’s done some research by now and is pretty certain that her “husky” isn’t some house pet. It might be dangerous and stupid to feed a wolf, but she can’t stop herself, she has to pet it, she has to show it how soft the world can be.

A few days later, after her coworker had returned to work, the wolf comes back. It slinks out of the tree line, and for a second she thinks that it can’t possibly be, but she can see the wolf is also limping on her right leg. It looks slightly healed up, but clearly the poor thing stepped in a trap at some point. She disappears for a few moments to her car, and comes back with some minor first aid supplies. She didn’t have vet wrap, but maybe if she moved very slowly and carefully she could at least try to clean it and put some gauze over it.

The wolf is shockingly calm and peaceable about the process. Of course, she starts slow, placing her hands ever so gently around the back paw. She pours some alcohol over the wound, which the wolf winces at but astonishingly does not bare her teeth or show any aggression. When she gets to the end, she struggles with how to wrap and secure the wound. The bandaids won’t stick to fur, and her gauze isn’t self adhesive. She tries in vain for a few moments before the wolf stills her hand, licking her palm and then her forearm to get her to stop.

“I’m so sorry baby, I know it hurts, I’m trying to take care of it for you” the femme explains gently

Then suddenly, she no longer is holding a big burly wolf in her lap. In a bright flash, she is now instead holding her big burly butch coworker in her lap. While her brain struggles to catch up, the butch reaches up to hold her cheek.

“It feels alright, but i figured you might find this process easier with some skin to work with” the butch smirks, like all of this is completely obvious and a giant wolf didn’t just turn into a woman in her arms. The butch giggles at her expression and gives her a big, wet kiss only slightly reminiscent of the licks she got on her hand earlier.

“Sorry to surprise you, but thanks for all of the hamburgers!”

The femme takes a beat before replying

“…Have you been tricking me so you can get two hamburgers this whole time?!”

And they both collapse onto the cool forest ground to laugh in each others arms.

This is about lesbians and my blog is nsft so men minors and terfs dni

[ombrathefurry]

how do you generally design characters/choose color pallets?

whenever I try and create a good color pallet they always end up clashing and looking absolutely awful

i've tried using websites but they always end up being very bland, so i'm turning to the expert lol

the only character i've created that I actually. like. is the one that's just a black freaking tiger with rainbow glowing stripes, but that's because monochrome with color pops just always is flawless </3

Expert what expert

I'm by no means any expert, but I'm really happy you think my designs are appealing enough for you to ask me this!!

I ALWAYS try to come up with a character concept or idea for who they are before I start designing. Because of this, you see a lot of my designs turning out to be designed very strategically, with their features actually having proper functions and reasons to be there

This is why I have such a hard time with gifted designs. I don't know how to make them work without a background or concept I can really connect to properly.

For specific character designs, I usually think of and flesh out a basic idea in my head. Depending on how lucky I end up being, I can imagine every detail right off the bat. Other times, I have to put some work into it and experiment a little.

Here's an example of me working out a character design WIP right now

Development of Mr. V

Some characters just pop into my head exactly the way they are, like how Samuel did

Cogsworth too

Some of my characters come from dreams, too, and I just immediately sketch out my interpretation of the idea I'd had

Peter came from a dream about a white rabbit with a weird face killing a nuclear family's father leaving the mother and child alone with no idea what happened (it was disturbing, (there are more disturbing details,) which is why I made peter very unsettling)

Butch came from a dream that had something to do with fake peppino from pizza tower running around the It Steals maze area throwing cleavers at whoever he ran into

Dreams are a GREAT place to come up with character concepts

They give you a very solid ground before you start designing

One of my guidelines for creating characters is that they should be instantly recognizable as their own character. What are their special features? What defines them? What features would I keep if I were to draw them at the bare minimum detail? What parts of the design would make the character unrecognizable without them?

For example, Reena without her yellow.

Queen without her shadows.

You see this rule pop up a lot online, though mostly focusing on the idea of the silhouette of a character standing out from the others.

While I think it's a good option for when it comes to developing designs, I don't like worrying about it too much. I try to create the individual features of the character rather than immediately think about the silhouette.

All things considered, you're also totally allowed to break the rules to achieve something else. For example, Saleem and Minnow have identical silhouettes because I wanted them to give an uncannily similar vibe. Some characters who were derived off of others through dreams I might have had have very similar silhouettes as a nod to their origins, though have very differentiated individual features.

I look to various other artists and designers I like for feature ideas when I'm super stuck (usually when my ideas are more abstract)

for example, scrawl came from a very abstract dream and literally didn't have a face (they were just a bunch of hands and looked a little bit like a black void worm from Rainworld)

I took inspiration from Fooffle's Space AU Warren for his face, Sir Needle's sona's ears for his hair, and gave him this sweater from a random thing I found on Pinterest that I liked

Bennet (and the rest of the caravan gang) came from a dream about various different individuals riding on a wagon - Bennet specifically in the dream was Uncle Ben who runs The Urban Rescue Ranch. I ended up giving him the name Bennet in reference to this, as well as Uncle Ben's broad shoulders, muscular build and curly hair.

Queen's entire existence is inspired off of the protagonist from Bendy and the Dark Revival. As a nod to this, I gave her a partially monochrome color scheme with some accents. Queen's shadow face was inspired off of this specific fanart of Caesar from The Mandela catalogues.

(I can't find the source for the life of me sobs)

Mr. V was inspired off of Itward from Fran Bow, as well as Pastra's sona Clyde the veldigun. I gave him Itward's large hat and formal attire, and Clyde's long limbs and striped patterns. I also gave him deep halloween colors as a nod to both inspiration's aesthetics.

My biggest thing about features is there has to be a REASON why they have these features, but that's just personal preference (and there doesn't have to be a good reason, or even a reason at all every single time)

okay now for the main part of the ask (I've been stalling)

Sorry if this is disappointing, I don't have a process for picking colors that work together

It's a lot of trial and error, and some characters I've even stalled making profile pictures for because I don't know what to color them as.

to me, you can pick any color you want. It's actually very impressive to think about how many colors you could use.

I'll try to explain what I do know about the placement of colors, though. It doesn't matter what colors you use, but in my opinion, the placement of these colors is what really matters in designs.

Depending on how many colors I'm planning on giving the design, I like to split them up into parts. Primary coloration (1,) which takes up most of the design, secondary coloration (2,) which takes up less of the design but still a good amount, (Sometimes I have more, tertiary, quaternary, whatever, that take up about an equivalent ratio of the design as secondary,) and accent colors (3.)

Similar colors can also be grouped together in these sectors. For example, all the purple in this character would be primary, the greys secondary, and the oranges the accents.

For Chakra, his purples would be primary, all the bright colors of the wounds secondary, and his outstanding eyes accents.

Each sector should be different and differentiable from one another!

Divide your character up into sectors for coloration. Decide what colors go where. Sometimes it takes a bit of shuffling to find what works for you. Adding inbetween colors to branch the gaps between your selected colors can help tie things together, too.

To me, instead of WHAT colors you use, it all comes down to how you USE those colors.

Cordis is mainly dark colored, primary, with their secondary rainbow colors and their accented white features. Even with rather bright colors in their palette, they still come off as a dark gloomy character because of the placement/ratio of those colors.

Monarch has very clashing colors, though when separated and balanced out, they appear harmonious and work together.

Anyways that turned further into a rant about character design than anything else

I hope this helped :D

[radioactivepeasant]

Fic Prompts: Free Day Thursday

(Picks up where Viper left off)

"You know you've got like a whole bucket of cactus paddles down there?"

Jak sauntered back into the throne room from the hidden door and tossed Damas a sealed bag of roasted crickets.

"I should hope it's a full bucket, considering I picked those this morning."

Damas pulled out one of the cooked insects, plucked off the legs, and popped the rest into his mouth.

"You don't eat the legs?"

Jak draped himself over the edge of the throne to snatch a handful of crickets from the bag.

"They get stuck in my teeth," Damas complained, "I save them for my birds."

Daxter snickered. "Even Pecker?"

"If Pecker doesn't like the food, he's free to fly back to Onin," replied the king with an almost mischievous look.

"Oye, you didn't mess with anything in the kitchens, did you? The head cook is...tetchy."

"She's a miserable old cuss and she threw a knife at me," Jak said indignantly.

"She throws knives at everyone. You're lucky it was only a knife."

Around another mouthful of crickets, Jak made an appalled expression. "What else does she throw?!"

Damas grimaced and rubbed his forehead as if remembering an old injury. "Whatever is closest. Pans. Porridge. Whole onions. Cactus paddles with the spines still on."

Daxter started to come closer, but glanced at the dead snake still decorating the dais and thought better of it. "Hey, Jak doesn't need to go to the kitchens to experience that! All he has to do is get distracted while on the Leaper again and he'll have a mouth full of prickly-pear!"

"That wasn't my fault!" Jak protested hotly.

Damas raised a brow. "Oh? I hadn't heard about this one."

Hoping to avoid retelling the story, Jak quickly changed the subject.

"Wait, can you actually eat cactus?" he demanded.

He moved to sit cross-legged directly in front of the throne, and began examining the viper's mouth to get an idea of how to harvest the fangs later. Absentmindedly, he reached a hand back behind him, and was too deep in focus mode to register that this wasn't Daxter or Keira he was non-verbally bumming snacks off of. Nonetheless, Damas made a goodnatured scoff and placed several more crickets in his hand.

"You can eat specific kinds of cactus," Damas clarified. By the emphasis he placed on "specific", it was fairly obvious he was anticipating Jak trying to eat random cacti in town.

"Only the ones with the paddles like you saw, understand?"

"Sure, sure." Jak brushed this off. "But what do you make with them, though?"

Damas inspected the bag of crickets and sealed it back up to ensure that they would have some snacks during the coming meetings. "You use them for just about anything you need a vegetable for, honestly. I tend to grill them with lemon. Some people boil them for salads. Sig's mother is known in the East Quarter for frying it in batter and selling it in little cups."

"Ooh! We still haven't met Sig's ma!" Daxter chirped. He grinned wickedly. "We should ask her about Sig's embarrassing baby stories."

"She has no shortage of them," Damas agreed.

Daxter glanced back at Jak, happily munching crickets, and shuddered.

"On a scale of one to "Jak eats things raw if he can't figure out how to cook them", how hard is it to cook?"

Jak looked insulted. Damas snorted.

"After the afternoon appointments, I'll teach you one of the simpler methods. You won't need much- Jak, don't touch the fangs. We still need the evidence intact."

"I was just looking!" Jak defended.

"With your hands?"

With a gusty sigh, the teenager scooted back to the right of Damas’s seat. He looked a little cross, but it faded soon enough.

"What appointments do you have, anyway?"

Damas stood up to stretch. Precursors knew he wouldn't get a chance in the next few hours.

"Third bell after noon through fifth bell is reserved for Arbitration Court," he said. "Which is why I do not usually call you during those hours. My job as king is to uphold the safety of my people, ensure the continued functioning of the Beacon and the water filtration system, mediate disputes not serious enough for the Arena, and enforce laws agreed upon by myself and my council."

Jak made a face. "That sounds like a lot of being stuck inside."

Dryly, Damas asked, "Why do you think I planted an entire grove of date palms in here? I would have died of boredom years ago if I did not."

He turned to fix both boys with a stern look.

"Out of respect for your fellow Spargans, try not to fidget during Arbitration Court unless you notice something suspicious. After five is a monthly meeting with the northern clifftop farmers to discuss rent payments."

"You rent farmland?"

"They rent from me," corrected Damas. "I didn't clear boulders until my hands bled just to abandon my land when I became king."

Jak blinked. "Fair enough. Man, we should've charged Sandover rent, Dax."

"Pal, they thought we owed them compensation for being allowed to sleep on their porches and eat a bare minimum of their food," Daxter pointed out sourly.

He caught a troubled frown on Damas’s face after the statement.

"Hm. I would like your attention to be on the visitors most during the rent meeting and the council meeting after evening meal. If anyone has a problem with me, specifically, that's likely where they'll turn up."

Jak eyed the snake again. "And if they blow their cover, I get to take 'em out, right?"

"No." Damas narrowed his eyes and pointed at Jak as he sat down again. "I need to determine how far the plot goes. No killing the assassin or accomplices."

"What about after?" Jak pressed.

"I'm the aggrieved party, I'm the one who deals with them," Damas said in mild reproof.

Jak folded his arms. "I dunno, we're feeling pretty aggrieved, right Daxter?"

"Positively outraged," Daxter added, sounding more bored than offended. "More Jak than me, but he's the sensitive type. You know him."

"Yes," Damas said, shaking his head with a small smile, "Yes I do. The answer is still "no", Jak."

Jak huffed and settled more comfortably against the throne. "You never let me do anything fun," he joked.

"I don't, I really don't." Damas reached over to prod the back of Jak's head affectionately.

"I'm a horrible, mean, adult who only lets you risk life and limb four days out of the week instead of every three hours."

"The folks in Haven would think that was the worst kind of tyranny, not being able to make us do all their work for them," Daxter scoffed.

The lift began to rattle, and Damas cleared his throat.

"Well, back to work. Eyes open, my boys. Let us see if we can't catch a would-be assassin. Jak, don't touch the fangs."

"I wasn't!" Jak protested.

Neither of his companions looked convinced.

[leafwateraddict]

Huge trigger warning for openly talking about wanting to commit suicide

Pretty much summed up some old feelings I used to have towards sans and Undertale as a whole? I’ve gotten better since, but it definitely feels nice to get them out.

Transcript in case you cant read my handwriting:

I’m going to do it. I will. I cant stand to live anymore.

Do you even have any idea how?

No clue. But it has to be done.

What do you think waits for us..?

Fire. We deserve it.

Fair.

There are things we will lose.

Of course.

These little characters… this little world this mind cannot seem to let go of…

You Must Purge It.

We Must Purge it.

In Order To Die

We Must Detach Ourse-

whoa-! calm down kid… not gonna hurt ya…

You.

the one and only.

I am too attached to you.

If I can finally remove you…

kid-

You stupid stupid anchor-

kid stop- you know you dont want that.

i do! More than anything! If I think about one thing more than you, it’s death! I… I need this to end sans. This game is the only thing that makes me get out of bed. I’m too dependent on this.

It doesn’t even matter does it? I’m too much of a coward to go through with it…

you’re not a coward for being scared of ending your life kiddo.

I can’t do this anymore.

…i know

[unexpectedbrickattack]

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