#monpian

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Another 30-minute YGO drawing from my Off the Cuff series on YouTube!

Check out my process video here!

Reminder: WE'RE HEADED TO ANIME MATSURI 2023!!

From August 10th thru the 13th, I'll be there to help as videographer as @kaleidraws and Monpian host two panels, "Cinema Aficiona: Anime that Lasts," and "Yu-Gi-Oh!: Kazuki Takahashi's Historically Accurate Fanfiction!"

Hope to see you guys there - this is gonna be a BLAST.

[evalynnmesserli]

A Bit Different Prologue: Stranded

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog

Summary: Sometimes, who you think you are isn’t you. Sometimes, the easiest answer isn’t always the right one. Sometimes, the truth you believe is a lie.

A/N: So a large part of this is self-indulgent and I’m totally and completely *cough*yeahright*cough* sorry about that. I was inspired to write this by @squigglydigglydoo, @spiritsonic, @monpian, and @whatisthisnonsense’s “Sonic is an alien” theory. This first bit is just sorta setting everything up. So yeah. Enjoy. (And yes, the next chapter will actually have Sonic in it)

Extra Notes: Mayim is the Hebrew word for water which is based around the word for chaos which is mem. Seemed fitting for the species name considering Chaos from Sonic Adventure.

——————-

Aviya stared in shock at the control panel of the Bayit. This could not be happening. It should not have happened. It was supposed to be a simple drop off. In and out. The Bayit had done it thousands of times before with former generations so why did this happen now?

“Aviya…” Dikla said, staring in horror at their captain. “What have you done?”

------------

“Thrusters at half power,” Dikla reported, staring at the holographic screen at their fingertips. “They will reach maxim power by the time we are ready to enter the blue planet’s atmosphere.”

“And how long will it take to drop off the Chaos Emeralds?” Captain Aviya asked.

“We will be in and out just as the Gaias begin to awaken.”

“Good,” Aviya said. They stared at the blue planet in front of them. In just a few short moments, they will have completed the mission that every captain before them had done. They would enter the blue planet’s atmosphere and deliver the Seven Chaos Emeralds to the temples to keep the blue planet from splitting apart, thus allowing Gaia of the Light to battle Gaia of the Dark to keep the blue planet in balance. They would then return once the battle was over to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds and use the extra energy they had acquired to enrich the Master Emerald.

It was not a necessary tradition. The Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald were already unlimited in power, but the Master Emerald enjoyed the slightly different energy and at this point, it was seen as a right of passage for the captain of the Bayit to deliver and then retrieve the Chaos Emeralds. Successfully complete this task and they would win the respect and loyalty of the crew. Since the beginning of this tradition, no captain had ever failed and Aviya didn’t plan on being the first.

“Stav!” Aviya commanded. “Make sure we stay one course and alert me when we are entering the blue planet’s atmosphere. I’m going to go check on the little ones and see if any have mutated yet.” When they heard Stav’s agreement, Aviya turned and walked out of the control room and headed for the nursery.

As Aviya passed the other Mayims, they could sense the excitement. This drop off happened only once every generation and everyone could not wait to see it executed. Many even stopped and congratulated Aviya despite the fact that they hadn’t yet succeeded, but no one expected them to fail. How could they? Every captain succeeded. Surely Aviya would as well.

Right before they entered the nursery, Aviya decided to check on the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald. They walked up the long tunnel and entered the top of the Bayit to the altar with the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emeralds. When they approached they felt the Master Emerald humming with excitement. Finally after so long it would get it’s strange and different energy. It could not wait. Aviya grew warm with joy over helping the Master Emerald feel such happiness. They placed their three fingered hand on the Master Emerald and closed their eyes, allowing the Master Emerald’s energy wash into their liquid-like form.

“Thank you,” the Master Emerald hummed.

“Your welcome,” Aviya hummed back before taking their leave and heading back inside the Bayit. It was time to check on the little ones.

The nursery was not very far from the alter. In fact, it was just below it. The little ones loved to soak up the Master Emerald’s energy and the Master Emerald loved to feel the little ones’ joy and wonder. It only made sense to meet their wishes.

As Aviya entered the nursery, they were pushed aside by one of the caretakers who was cradling a pale blue form in their arms. A little one had mutated. Aviya stared at the small creature. Just a few cycles ago Aviya had been that small but they found it hard to picture. So instead, they stared at the small being.

“Have they been named yet?” they asked the caretaker who nodded.

“Mem,” they told Aviya who reached out their hand to touch the small creature and warmed in joy. Mem followed suit and Aviya could tell that this would be a special one.

“Captain Aviya, we are approaching the blue planet’s atmosphere. Your presence is required,” Stav’s voice hummed at the back of Aviya’s mind. They nodded and removed their hand from Mem’s head, touched the caretaker’s arm and warmed up to say good-bye, and made their way back to the control room, ready to complete their task.

-----------------

They need to leave. They had deposited the Chaos Emeralds so now they had to leave and come back later to retrieve them but for some strange reason, Aviya could not move. They heard their crew in the back of their mind telling them to pilot them out of there before the Gaias fully woke but they could not move. Something held them there and so they watched. They watched as Gaia of Darkness rose to envelope the blue planet in its darkness and as Gaia of Light rose to battle it. They watched the raging battle in fascination. Never had any Mayim ever seen something such as this. Never had they seen something so powerful. Aviya could not look away.

That had been their downfall.

It had been sudden. One moment they were suspended in the air, the next, they had been sent flying by a swipe that Gaia of Darkness had directed towards them. Panicked shrieking rose in Aviya’s mind and they struggled to get the Bayit under control having been snapped out of their stupor, but the Bayt would not listen. All it did was tumble through the air without direction or guidance, taking the Mayims with it. Everyone had gone shapeless, turning into simple blobs of liquid to avoid damaging things further. Time passed as the ship kept spinning and spinning and spinning and spinning, seeming to going on forever before a huge tremor and a loud explosion ran through them all. This was a first for them. It had been a sound from outside their minds.

No one dared speak but they all slowly allowed themselves to take form. They all stared at each other in shock. Had that really just happened? What were they going to do? Finally, a soft voice hummed to them.

“Stranded.” It was the Master Emerald.

“No!” cried Aviya, panicked. They furiously struggled to get the control panel to work. They could not be stranded. It was impossible. The panel did not turn on. It had to be a mistake. Why? Why now of all time? They had to succeed. The Bayit was no longer operational. It had to be.

“Aviya,” Dikla said, “What have you done?”

“I failed.”

[symbio-ratio]

The conversation has gone from NiGHTS and Balan to “Tails is a man in a fursuit” in @squigglydigg‘s streams twice now and I decided to draw it. 

[messy-beaches-iii]

WE'RE IN FOR A WILD RIDE OF WRITERS

1-5: crybaby

6: animator from pt 4

7-10: Go Zappa (moe/idol anime)

11: crybaby

12: final fantasy novella???

13-16: crybaby

monpian: 17

monpian: is by someone

monpian: who fucking has 2 credits

monpian: one is BACKGROUND ART

Tako: :GWfroggyZoomeyes:

monpian: and one is screenplay for one of the shitty conan TV movies that isn't even their story

18: another moe writer

19: sword art online for some reason???

20: SHATNER NISHIDA WHO THE HELL??? STAR TREK FAN???

rest: crybaby

[crowthis]

monpian answered your question “so is there any official explanation for the state of kaz’s eyes by...”

No but he got tortured by soviets, they go for the eyes (like Volgin went for BB's eyes) Looks like a chemical burn but most likely sun/light burn from "bright" comment. Either way cornea damage still allows for visibility and heals over time

the only reason i can’t get behind these scenarios is that he explicitly states that his eyes were not damaged during his vacation with the soviets [’did they do something to your eyes?’ ‘no, it’s just bright’] point blank question, point blank response. eyes which were, aside from that cozy shiner and as far as i could tell, clear at the time. Idk man I’m feeling like, bar an official explanation the options are 1] a dropped plot thread involving parasitism, 2] degenerative damage & trauma {eh} or 3] visual cue indicating someone who has lost the ability to ‘see clearly’ i.e his fixation with and determination to recreate a past that is unrecoverable and his descent into shadow boxing paranoia as the story progresses

liking this diy narrative tho

[keyblack]

Here's another 30-minute YGO drawing from my Off the Cuff series on YouTube... I really liked the shadow game between Shadi and Dark Yugi.

Check out my process video here!

We're at ANIME MATSURI 2023!!

From August 10th thru the 13th, I'll be there to help as videographer as @kaleidraws and Monpian host two panels, "Cinema Aficiona: Anime that Lasts," and "Yu-Gi-Oh!: Kazuki Takahashi's Historically Accurate Fanfiction!"

We're also at table D-47 in the Artist Alley!! Come by and say hi!!

[evalynnmesserli]

A Bit Different Chapter One: The Meeting

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog

Summary: Sometimes, who you think you are isn’t you. Sometimes, the easiest answer isn’t always the right one. Sometimes, the truth you believe is a lie.

A/N: Two chapters posted so close together? Don’t get used to it. I’m sick and stuck at home and somehow managed to write this through the medication. Sonic’s in this chapter! Whoo! Also depending on if I manage to not pass out in the next ten minutes, there might be another chapter posted today. I was inspired to write this by @squigglydigglydoo, @spiritsonic, @monpian , and @whatisthisnonsense’s “Sonic is an alien” theory. So yeah.

Extra Notes: I spelt Robotnik as Robootnid the entire time I was writing this due to meds but I think I caught them all. If you see that I didn’t then now you know why.

————————

Doctor Robotnik was, in his (delusional) opinion, the greatest genius the world had ever known, in both his own world and in this one that he’d found himself trapped in over twelve years ago after wandering onto that blasted floating island that had disappeared into thin air and was nowhere to be found even though he had searched everywhere and--!

He really needed to learn to stay on track.

Ignoring disappearing floating islands (that leave him stranded as the only human on the entire planet--!), Dr. Robotnik felt that he could solve any problem that came his way. Any question or oddity, he could easily figure it out. Except for this. Except for the fact that on his screen showed him someone that should be dead being perfectly alive and healthy.

Sure, he looked older, it had been six years after all and he’d just been a small child when the incident had happened, but that didn’t matter because he still should be dead. Dr. Robotnik had seen his body himself. There was no way.

Yet there he was, on the cover of South Island’s newspaper. “Local Hero Sonic the Hedgehog Saves the Day Yet Again” the headline read. Dr. Robotnik thought for a moment then turned to the egg-robo at his side.

“This might actually be him,” he said to the robot. “All the facial recognition scans match up perfectly, but I know I saw him dead.”

The robot was silent.

“I know! It’s impossible, but here he is! Perfectly fine and healthy!”

The robot beeped quietly.

“Don’t use that kind of tone with me!”

The robot went silent again.

“The question is how? How did he survive? And why is he using a stupid name like Sonic? Seriously? What kind of a name is that? Does he think he can hide from me?”

The robot remained silent.

“You’re right. It might not actually be him. Hmmmmm, how about this, I put my Life Data plan into action. If he’s the real deal then I can capture him and harness the Chaos Emeralds to power Robotnikland. I’ve improved since the last time so it will succeed.”

The robot beeped.

“I was getting to that! If he’s not who I think he is then it’s simple: he’ll die and I’ll have already started my conquest so there would be no point in stopping then. If I really need to I’ll just find some Chao to use.”

The robot beeped twice.

“Good talk! Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time I had a bit of a reunion.”

---------------

“Thank you so much, Sonic!” the cat said, taking her books from the young hedgehog. “I really need to watch where I’m going huh?” She laughed loudly.

Sonic nodded, internally wishing she would actually follow through on her comment. This was the third time today that Garnet had tripped over something and nearly gotten one of her books trampled or destroyed. One more time and he was just going to leave it.

“--not thank you enough,” Garnet continued even as Sonic grew impatient. She finally seemed to get the hint though because she smiled and said, “Anyhow, I’ll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing. Bye!” With that she ran off...and bumped into at least six people on her way to round the corner. Sonic shook his head in exasperation. When would she learn? He decided not to dwell on it and leave before she called for his help again. He had no problem with occasionally helping the villagers, but he really didn’t want the them to start depending on him too much.

So, he turned around and ran.

A normal Mobian can run rather quickly when needed or even just casually a with a lot of training, but Sonic was no normal Mobian. He didn’t know how and he didn’t know why, but he could run much faster than anything else on the island. Trains, cars, planes, whatever it was, he easily beat it. Some found it strange but it was normal for him. He’d been able to do it as long as he could remember and even before that. He never questioned it.

As such, he ran and ran and ran. Out of the village and all the way to a small shack that he called a home. Most wouldn’t be alright with a random twelve-year-old living on his own in a worn down hunk of wood that looked like it would collapse under its own weight with the slightest disturbance, but those who lived on the island had grown used to it. Sonic was strange and they had learned to live with it.

When he made it to the shack, Sonic immediately went around back to the banged up red plane which sat, rusty and unoperational, just a few feet away from the hunk of wood Sonic called home, where it had been for six years.

Sonic put his backpack down as he walked around it. He’d named it the Tornado when he first learned that most people named their planes. It had no special meaning to him, he’d just thought it sounded cool. The words written on the plane however, meant something.

Sonic ran his hand along the blocky white letters on the side of the plane. His name sat there, startling against the red and gray. Noticeable. Demanding attention. Sonic had taken it as his name when it was discovered that he couldn’t remember his. In fact, he couldn’t remember anything before waking up in the village infirmary years ago.

There had been an explosion on the opposite side of the island and when a search group had gone to investigate, they found Sonic lying unconscious surrounded by rubble from a house that no one had even known was there. They tried to question him when he woke up, but found that he could neither speak nor remember anything. Not even his own name. Nothing from the rubble was salvageable enough to figure out who Sonic was, but they had found an old plane that had managed to survive somehow, though it was completely broken and useless. Still, Sonic took it and the name painted on as his own.

Six years later and he was trying to get the Tornado working again so he could leave the island. Don’t get him wrong, Sonic liked the island and the villagers well enough, but he wanted to explore the world. He wanted to find what else was out there and go on adventures and face off against dangerous foes like Fang the Sniper or even find someone who could keep up with him to race. He didn’t want to be stuck on this island where he was already an outsider his whole life. He was going to get out. He was going to fix the Tornado and find somewhere new. Even if he had no idea how to fix a plane. He’d figure it out. It was only a matter of time.

Sonic was so deep in his thoughts (at least for him anyway) that he didn’t see the flicky flying straight towards him until it landed smack in his face, surprising him to the point where he fell backwards onto his butt.

The flicky flapped desperately around Sonic’s head, panicked chirps escaping its beak. Sonic stared at it a moment after he stood up, trying to figure out what was wrong when suddenly a robotic blue wasp came flying at them and snatched up the little creature. It looked at Sonic for a moment before quickly flying off back in the direction where it had come from.

For a moment Sonic just stood there, unable to process what exactly had just happened. Then he realized that whatever that robot was must have been what the flicky had been afraid of. Without a second thought, Sonic raced after the robot and flicky, easily closing the distance between them. He was about to jump up and grab the helpless animal when he was thrown into a tree by a beetle-like robot.

Sonic groaned silently as he stood up only to come face to face with a strange creature he had never seen before. It was almost egg shaped and had a pale and shiny peach head and giant orange mustache. It also wore a bright red shirt, black pants that looked like they were also its shoes, and a tiny yellow cape. The creature grinned at him before turning to the robot that still held the flicky.

“Do it,” the Egg Thing commanded and the robot shoved the flicky into another beetle looking robot. Sonic watched in shock as the robot trembled for a moment before opening its eyes and rolling away, the flicky still trapped inside. The Egg Thing turned back to Sonic and grinned wider.

Today was the weirdest day in Sonic’s life.

“Hello, ‘Sonic’” the Egg Thing said. “Long time no see, huh?”

Yup. Weirdest day ever.

[keyblack]

D E A T H T

(Available for prints and merch on RedBubble!)

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"It's not Atem, I've changed my name. It's Yami now."

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Seto & Atem version of that one Vegeta & Goku gif

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I'M RE-READING THE YGO MANGA. And it's even better this time around.

Here's some 30-minute drawings from my Off the Cuff series as I return to one of the best comics I've ever read! Listening to @kaleidraws and Monpian talking about the series - and, in particular, hearing Monpian's brilliant analyses of the characters and the plot - has inspired me to try experiencing the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga from the beginning with a fresh perspective. (I never actually finished it the first time, so I'm excited.)

[keyblack]

Some recent Off the Cuff drawings (and one mini-animation) inspired by watching Yu-Gi-Oh!: Dark Side of Dimensions with @kaleidraws and Monpian at Anime Matsuri!

I am far from done with Yu-Gi-Oh!, so expect a lot more of it in the coming weeks, heh heh heh.

[keyblack]

Quick 30-minute drawing of one of my favorite scenes in YGO: Dark Yugi vs. Seto Kaiba in the early manga!

Check out my process video here!

Also: WE'RE HEADED TO ANIME MATSURI 2023!!

From August 10th thru the 13th, I'll be there to help as videographer as @kaleidraws and Monpian host two panels, "Cinema Aficiona: Anime that Lasts," and "Yu-Gi-Oh!: Kazuki Takahashi's Historically Accurate Fanfiction!"

Hope to see you guys there - this is gonna be a BLAST.

[evalynnmesserli]

A Bit Different Chapter One B: Encounter

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog

Summary: Sometimes, who you think you are isn’t you. Sometimes, the easiest answer isn’t always the right one. Sometimes, the truth you believe is a lie.

A/N: Remember when I said don’t get used to this and then I did it again? Well this time I mean it. Anyhow, another chapter! Whoo! No Snart the Hartfart in this one but maybe the next. This fic was inspired by @squigglydigglydoo, @spiritsonic, @monpian, and @whatisthisnonsense’s “sonic is an alien” theory. So yeah. Enjoy.

Extra Notes: I don’t remember writing any of this so any horrible mistakes are being put on my sick self. Also apparently Chaos from SA has hydrokinesis. Cool huh?

——————-

How long had they been stranded? Many cycles of light and dark had passed since the Bayit had been struck and had become nearly unoperational. It was still able to float and travel between dimensions to some degree, but not as it used to.

It used to be able to be able to travel through space and time in seconds, hopping from dimension to dimension with ease, but now it could only go back and forth between two. Between the planet inhabited by strange, fleshy creatures with patches of hair covering only parts of them that would attack the Mayims without a second thought and the Other World. No Mayim had ever been to the Other World before and they had only sent out a few scouts who reported it was similar to the blue planet but there were no signs of life. That fact alone scared them all.

Dikla stared up at the blue sky above them. White fluffy things floated across it. When the fluffy things became gray and much larger, liquid would pour down on both worlds. They had discovered that this liquid was everywhere. The creatures of the blue planet were dependant on it for survival. They were all so weak and fragile, it was a wonder they had survived at all.

“Dikla!” someone called out. Dikla turned to face the approaching Mayim. They stopped a few feet away out of respect.

“Tovia,” Dikla acknowledged them. They hummed as to give the young Mayim permission to speak.

“We’ve tried to contact the Babylonians but we are unable to,” Tovia reported. “It seems our long range communicators have been cut off. However, if they come closer to this planet or the Other World then we may be able to make contact.”

Dikla hummed again. They were trapped for now, but they would get off this strange place soon. They just had to be patient.

“And the Chaos Emeralds?” they asked.

“We are sending out scouts as soon as we can get back to the blue planet to retrieve them. Stav said we would be able to move at the beginning of the next light cycle.”

“Good,” Dikla said. “Have any more of the little ones mutated yet?”

“I’m afraid not,” Tovia replied.

“Perhaps it is for the best,” Dikla mused. “We do not want them to mutate into one of those ferals of the blue planet.”

“Of course.”

“What of Aviya?”

“They are staying at the edge of the Bayit, away from the others,” Tovia reported. “The Master Emerald still forbids us from casting them out or using them as fuel as punishment for their failure. No one except for Mem will even look at them.”

“Mem, huh?” Dikla went cold with sorrow. A foreign feeling to them. “They are young still. Soon they will learn to shun the failure as the others do.” They turned to Tovia. “Thank you for stepping up and helping with keeping everyone calm despite being so young. You are dismissed.”

Tovia hummed and walked off, warm after the praise. Dikla would have been more joyful over such a young and eager one of them being so useful except their mind was on other things. Things involving the liquid on this world.

The Mayims could easily adapt to any environment they found themselves in. The little ones would see what kind of creatures surrounded them and mutate into a similar form when they were ready. They would often change in the past but after the Bayit was created, there was no need for it. They had kept their current form for generations and as such they had forgotten what world their ancestors had lived in that called for a body made entirely of liquid, save for their minds which were connected to easily allow communication from without having to use outside sounds and to contact each other from far away. They’d forgotten what powers they had. One of which could prove useful.

Dikla thought for a moment then sent out a call.

“Stav, Yuual, Moran, Almy, I am in need of your assistance.

-----------

The group of Mayims stared at the pool of liquid in front of them. They’d ventured out to a nearby body of liquid that had been discovered by a scout. The scout had also discovered something that Dikla found interesting and that they wanted to test out.

“Focus and try and move the liquid,” they told the others. Everyone hummed in agreement and did as they were asked. For a while, nothing happened. The liquid simply sat there in its pool unmoving, but then ripples appeared. The five little ones who had accompanied the group watched, fascinated by the sight in front of them.

The liquid slowly began to rise out of the pool and collect into the air in a giant sphere. Dikla stared in shock at the sight. So the scout had been telling the truth. They could control the liquid of this world.

“New,” the Master Emerald faintly hummed at the back of the group’s mind, quieted by the distance. “Want. Bring.”

“Yes,” the Mayims hummed in response. They all felt sorrow for the Master Emerald as they had not gotten the it the energy the Master Emerald had wished for. They would do what they could to bring joy to it again.

Dikla thought for a moment to come up with a plan but Stav beat them to it.

“We should-” they began but was cut off by an outside sound behind them. As the group turned to look, the sphere of liquid fell back into the pool with a loud splash and more liquid tumbled onto the side, drenching the little ones, but none noticed as before them was something they had never seen before

Two spikey creatures stood in front of them with large white and black eyes. The taller of the two creatures was a dark brown with black tips on its spikes and more spikes on its back while its companion was a pale green and had none other than on its head. The two had long sticks with sharp rocks attached to the end that they had pointed at the Mayims. They glared angrily and snarled their outside sounds.

For a moment, Dikla was confused. What were these strange things? They had never seen these things here before. Only the ferals. Then they remembered. This was not the blue planet. This was the Other World and the group had found its inhabitants. Dikla went cold with fear for the little ones.

If they were anything like the ferals on the blue planet, the Mayims had much to worry about.

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tfw you realize Balan is literally just Willy Wonka