#no shade to fanart it's just not my thing anymore

[keeps-ache]

okay, cool cool cool

[unnaturalceilings]

POV: you tried to insult Lena Luthor and her superpowered girlfriend showed up like this

[energeticpoltergeist]

FE Secret Santa (1/10)

Gilliam for @hmrg

edit: forgot to at @feshippingpolls

[burr-ell]

I'll preface this by saying that I don't by any means begrudge anyone their own personal headcanons or interpretations, but I kinda have to get it off my chest that I'm personally not very comfortable with significant deviations from canon character design on CR, and I really tend to side-eye people who have declared their fanart to be "better".

And sure, some of that is because i'm a cranky old bastard. But some of that is that I also have an animation degree and have studied character design. Creators generally give artists a fair amount of input as to how they want their designs to connote the characters' personalities—not just in terms of clothing or hairstyle, but in the overall shape of the silhouettes and body structures. And in the case of CR in particular, that's coming from a place of much closer familiarity with the characters because the creator is actually going to be embodying them for a fairly long period of time, so when the fan response is heavy deviation from that, I think it can feed into some unhealthy fanon perceptions and projections.

Like, for example, it's not so much that I think fanartists are "disrespecting the creators" or whatever when they keep giving Imogen a sweet little round face and big hips/breasts and cute circular glasses, but I've also studied shape language in art. You're communicating something when you design her this way; if a character's silhouette has a lot of circles, visually that connotes being friendly, sweet, and cute. The person who first suggested drawing her with glasses explicitly said they thought it would look cute—and no shade to them! They can like whatever they want!

But canonically, Imogen is a woman in her 20s who's been dealing with unanswered questions, abandonment, loneliness, and sheer exhaustion from trying to hold back and control powers that she never asked for—and who simultaneously uses those powers even when it isn't necessary if she thinks it'll help her achieve a goal or prove a point. She isn't unfriendly, and she wants to do the right thing, but she's also someone who's consciously chosen to keep to herself for most of her life, and yet simultaneously she's quite adept at persuading and deceiving people. I think we're meant to pick up that sense of world-weariness and cynicism from her angular facial features and thin frame. That's...kind of just how character design works.

I think the trend of disregarding the official art and giving her softer features has had an impact on the perception of Imogen as a character. I see a lot of views of her that really remove a lot of her agency, treating her like she's only ever been a victim of circumstance who's never put a foot wrong. Some fans got pushback for pointing out that it really wasn't cool for Imogen to openly contemplate whether or not the Ruby Vanguard might be right in front of three people who were killed by Otohan, insisting that imogen was just dealing with a lot right then. And yes, she was, but that doesn't mean that the way she was dealing with it doesn't say something about her as a character. I don't know if I'd call it coddling, necessarily (even though perhaps there are some very coddling takes I just haven't seen), but there seems to be some resistance, in some circles, to the idea that Imogen isn't a put-upon martyr. And in those same circles, round friendly-looking glasses-wearing Imogen abounds, to the point of editing the official art itself to "fix it".

Truth be told I'd be willing to bet that the rounder cuter Imogen actually came about because of the initial impression of her, given how much fanon at the start of c3 revolved around poor baby Imogen with her scary nightmares needing the wiser, worldlier Laudna to comfort her and kiss it better, but those visuals also proliferated rather quickly and well beyond past the point where that fanon was feasible anymore, and I think both aspects of that fanon ended up informing each other. It's not lost on me that the rounder and cuter-looking Imogen performs the literal function of sanding down her harder edges.

And like I said, I'm not here to be needlessly negative toward what other people want to do. If you want to draw the characters differently to their official art, I don't think either the cast or the artist are especially offended by it. But I personally dislike it, in part because I think some of these trends are a way for fans to claim a certain amount of ownership over the characters, whether they intend it or not. And the ultimate outcome of that is that when creators inevitably assert their ownership over a deeply personal story in a way that fans don't like, the backlash is much stronger than it reasonably should be, which is something I think the CR fandom has seen often enough not to continue doing as often as it does.

[cielettosa]

Popularity does matter and helps measure a characters worth. If they are written well then they generally will be the most popular. Also you should care about popularity seeing how that keeps a conversation going and keeps that character relevant and keeps the fanarts and fandom works coming.

Levi is no longer popular and that just goes to show that he fell off as a character. He had potential to be something great but just left many disappointed. This is why he's no longer the face of aot or the most popular in his show. (Eren took that shit back!!!) This is why he's losing polls to characters like Gojo. He's just not relevant anymore. You're more likely to see Eren and other characters on anime fan creator pages than Levi now. Levi barely pulls in the interactions and likes on twitter whereas Eren and Mikasa are bringing in the numbers. You see Levi used to be the talk of the town and the anime IT boy. He used to be everywhere and if you spoke against him you'd be swarmed. Now that doesn't happen. People just don't care. If you have a character that was that popular and now they're barely talked about, you know something went wrong. You know they fell off and disappointed people because their writing was lacking. So yes I do actually think popularity measures the worth of a character.

Hey, angry warrior.

Here is the thing about throwing shade from the anonymity – it takes about as much courage as a moldy banana peel challenging a hurricane. If your opinions are so earth-shattering, why hide behind anon messages like a frightened internet ghost?

I find it hilarious that you are saying Levi is the one who "had potential to be something great but just left many disappointed" when in reality it is Gojo who has left many disappointed. (Not hate)

Let's talk popularity. You act like it's some holy grail of character worth, this infallible judge of quality.

Newsflash: popularity is fickle. It's a vapid internet windsock, blowing whichever way the latest meme dictates.

Sure, a well-written character with depth can grab attention, but sometimes pure entertainment value steals the show.

The goofy dumb hero with a tragic backstory might not win a Pulitzer, but they keep the popcorn tubs overflowing, right?

Trends shift faster than Kardashians change their hairstyles.

Characters dominating discussions today are yesterday's news tomorrow.

Guts is one of the most well written character of all times, but we rarely see him dominating popularity polls. Because popularity is a snapshot in time, not a mark of quality.

Are Kaneki and Light still relevant online? Maybe, but probably not the first name that pops into someone's head when they think "hottest anime character." Why? Because Tokyo Ghoul and Death Note are not the shiny new toy everyone's playing with anymore.

That doesn't make them bad characters now, does it? Just means Jujutsu Kaisen is the new kid on the block.

Popularity reflects the current hype, not some objective measure of quality.

Now, about that "Levi isn't popular anymore" claim.

Here's a little fact for you: Levi is declared the most popular anime character of all time. Still riding high on My Anime List at number 2, with Eren trailing behind at 13th and your precious Gojo at a respectable 16th.

Funny how you cherry-picked one popularity poll to fit your narrative (Anime Corner 2023), isn't it?

Bet that pinches a bit in your anonymous little corner.

I don't use Twitter (X) now, because that platform lowers the IQ of the entire internet by several notches. Who cares who's trending there? It's a chaotic mess of fleeting opinions and manufactured outrage.

Attack on Titan season four took a sharp turn, shoving Eren into the villain spotlight. His descent into darkness was undeniably intriguing, and I can see why it grabbed people's attention (and mine too). Let's not forget Eren is the protagonist. The entire story revolves around him. Of course his character development and tragic romance with Mikasa would be a focus!

But here's the thing – Levi's popularity doesn't magically disappear because Eren's on the rise. They're both compelling characters in their own right.

In fact "Bad Boy" manga that is going to be released is revolved around Levi.

So, instead of anonymously whining about a perceived decline, why not ditch the negativity and have a real conversation? What makes a character truly tick for you? Is it the emotional depth, the badassery, the hilarious quirks? Let's dissect what truly makes a character shine, instead of resorting to schoolyard taunts about a fictional character.

In the end, Levi's legacy in Attack on Titan is undeniable. He's a fan favorite, a symbol of unwavering strength, and a character who continues to inspire cosplay, fanart, and endless debates. Maybe the hype has shifted a bit, but his impact and popularity on the anime world remains. So, take your anonymous complaints and channel them into something constructive. The internet could use a little less negativity and a lot more genuine discussion about the characters we love, flaws and all.

[madbalalaika]

Your pirates of the Caribbean fanart is so beautiful! Please, please share tips for how to do that beautiful painting technique you used! <3

Hi, anon! Thank you so much, both for the compliment, and for the question💗✨

Edit: I've reached the 30 pics per post limit and will have to make a part 2, oopsie daisies. But I'm sure it won't be as long as this :"D

In terms of technique, I guess it depends which part exactly you're talking about, because most of it is just oil painting+pencil drawing made digital, where I sort of block my colours first, then blend as I see fit (or in some parts don't blend at all, which is what some classical painters do; it's really just habits and preferences from years of experience) and add details using a pencil brush.

If you're interested, stay tuned as I try and give some tips while showing my whole process using this lovely photo of Commodore as an example:

Part 1. The basics

I usually only use these 2 brushes, just because I like them a lot, rarely more than that; and I've changed the settings on the second one so it rotates in the direction of a stroke instead of being at a fixed angle.

SO, firstly I just make a sketch of course, then make a very rough base colour layer underneath it, not too dark, not too light, and fill in the background with a solid colour.

(don't be fooled, I don't actually name my layers cause I'm way too lazy for that)

Since we're talking about digital painting here, my biggest tip would be to make a habit of picking the right colours manually, like you would an for an actual oil painting, instead of using the eyedropper tool on the source. Colour matching is an insanely useful skill, it's like relative pitch in music, or an accurate eye in architecture; while it's not absolutely necessary to have it, you'll want it if you want less burden on your brain and more freedom of expression. "Learn the rules to learn to break them" kind of thing (and you'll be able to match the colours to the picture in your head as well, how cool is that? Hehe) I've done this so much that at this point I just do it for the hell of it. It's very fun :D And, as you might've guessed, I do it for the entirety of the process, with some rare exceptions. While I used to do so in the past, I don't like to use blending modes (eg. soft light, overlay, multiply, etc.) for shading anymore. I find it takes all the excitement out of the whole process for the sake of cheap dopamine, and it used to hinder my skill development because I wasn't learning to "speak the language" of art, I just "used google translate", so to speak.

Anyways... A sketch, then a rough midtone colour layer underneath + background:

Another great tip: I learned it from a video on good costume design in fantasy, which is so unrelated to painting that you're probably like "wha- what..?", BUT... the tip was "the costumes don't have to be historically accurate, they just have to make sense in the story". Your colours don't have to match your reference perfectly, they just have to make sense inside the painting, and that's what will make your art feel alive (along with other things ofc).

Next I create another layer on top of all that and get to actually paint, and this is where the blocking part comes in.

There is a really good video on this subject if you want to learn this kind of technique, and an Instagram page of a different artist that I've been immensely admiring for some time now. Although now that I think about it, neither of them use midtones as a base... Anyway,

I start with the darkest shadows, moving on towards lighter ones, noting some places where the they reflect more blueish/grayish tones of his uniform on his neck and jawline, and where they reflect the reddish environment on his nose, temple, cheek, ear, and neck.

Another great artist to help improve lighting skills.

I frequently make new layers on top of everything as I go, just so that I have some room for error and can delete them later if I'm not satisfied, and then merge them down if I am, because I hate being indecisive with too many changes, and having unnecessary clutter.

Sometimes if I don't like how a certain colour looks on the painting, I undo the stroke (or paint on top, if it's too late to undo) and just tweak it on the wheel until it looks right to my eye and move on. Eg. on the next screenshot, I didn't like how that blue from the sketch looked one the screenshot before, so I adjusted it a little with Hue/Saturation.

I also like to slightly exaggerate the palette so that it looks a bit more interesting:

The last thing I usually do is light, with tiny highlights being the absolute last, because both are very easy to overdo. I manually pick the colour from the colour wheel, make a few strokes where it's supposed to be the brightest, and then use eyedropper tool to sample different spots from the freshly-painted areas to make it easier to blend.

Now while that colour might look pretty light, it isn't light at all. To be fair, the difference between light and shadow isn't even that big sometimes. I used to overshoot with either of them in the past, picking either too light or too dark, and was frustrated and baffled why my painting was looking as shit as it was.

So I guess another tip: for lights, pick the colour much closer to your midtone than you think you need, and then adjust accordingly. The reason being: your eyes and brain are partners in crime and are constantly lying to you.

The (I guess second) base is done, and at this point, it's just a matter of staring at his face for 2, or however long, hours and adding more and more strokes, sampling different spots between them, until I like how it looks.

Sometimes, if I realize that either the proportions are a bit off or some lines don't look the way they're supposed to, I use some Photoshop tools to my advantage. I merge everything together (cause at this point I really don't plan on changing the sketch itself or the background), and use Liquify to move things around. So now it's a one-layer painting, just like the real deal lol

And then I continue doing the same thing I'd done before with all the other parts.

Liquify on his face:

I only lightly paint over most sketch lines because I'm really not that concerned about some of them peeking out, especially at this stage, nor am I very pedantic.

Don't forget about subsurface scattering in areas where light meets shadow, of course:

If I see a place like this where I need a smooth gradient but don't feel like actually doing it cause it'll ruin the ~vibe~, and really, I just wanna add more a bit more pizzazz, I just take the pencil brush and hatch over it instead, alternating the darker and the lighter tones.

The caravat:

A lot of the time professional artists will advise you to look for simple shapes in things - squares, circles, triangles, rhombuses, etc. I'm no exception. Simple shapes will let you see patterns and some sort of order. It's easier to understand complex shapes that way, whether it be fabric, faces/bodies, or inanimate objects.

As you can see here, my brain mostly likes to look for triangles, or half-circles. It just feels right 👌

The wig:

I learned to use translucency, with hair and light fabrics fading into background, from watching and doing watercolour. Here's one of my all-time favourite watercolour artists that does that sometimes, and it looks absolutely stunning: 미술부화실 misulbu

The waistcoat and the jacket:

The hat:

Another thing to point out, if you haven't noticed already, I really like my stokes straight unlike myself, with exceptions, of course. It's another habit I picked up from watching other people draw, as well as my years of studying art professionally. Teachers taught me to use straight criss-crossing hatches to indicate form, instead of curved ones (there was a really cool tiktok showing that kind of technique, but I can't find it :(). Not that I follow their advice in its intended way majority of the time lololol but um... yeah...

So anyway, this is the end of part 1, I'll try to finish the second part tomorrow. It will be about smaller details, texture, and an tiiiny bit of 🔥grime🔥

[wickedcoeur]

i think that we, as a community, need to talk about the parallels between the black brothers and tai lung and tigress from kung fu panda. i can (AND WILL) elaborate, but now i'm just lazy

oKAY, NOW I'M READY

so it all started when i went to watch kung fu panda 4 with my niece. first i was inconsolable bc the great lesbian icon tigress wasn't in the movie, but then, when i was out with some friends we started to look up fanarts of her at pinterest and there was this cute fanart of her and tai lung being siblings and playing togheter and IMMEDIATELY i thought about the black brothers

i need you guys to forget about the goodxbad stuff here bc that's not the point, the point is siblings angst. so tai lung, aka sirius, is the first son, the one to carry all the expectations, the one literally beign raised to become the dragon warrior/heir to the black house. and here they diverge a little bc tai lung tries, he gives all of him to achieve this, and all the love and attention from master shifu is conditioned to him beign the next dragon warrior but sirius is a rebel, he hates all that's linked to be a black and hates the person that his parents want him to be, so he do wathever is in his power to not be that person.

BUT THERE IS A BREAKING POINT FOR THE BOTH OF THEM: when their parents realized that they aren't and never will be what they want them to be. so tai lung goes insane bc not only he's beign denied everything that he fought for, the very thing that defines him as a person, but he can see that his father, whom he always though loved him, is starting to resent him bc he didin't get what he wanted from tai lung (this post is not a shade to master shifu, i love him, but i'm here for the drama). now with sirius his parents finally realized that he's not going to be the perfect little heir, so they torture him, and the last piece of hope that he had for his parents to love him is gone, THEIR LOVE AND ATTENTION WAS CONDITIONED JUST AS IT WAS WITH TAI LUNG AND MASTER SHIFU, now that he's to no use, he isn't valuable anymore. so they're both gone (tai lung go insane and ends up in jail and sirius go live with the potters)

meanwhile, we have tigress, aka regulus, the younger one, that is only there to fill the void that their older siblings left. regulus saw sirius with their parents, he (regulus) never received much attention from any of them, but he just knew that if sirius had been a good son they would've loved him, bc they tried, they tried to teach sirius the ways of the black family and there were moments, when they were satisfied with sirius behavior, that almost seemed that they loved him. so when sirius left and their focus turns to regulus he's ready to be the most obedient and well behaved son on this earth. now, tigress had never lived with tai lung, when she came to the temple he was already in jail, but she heard how master shifu adored him, and how broken he was that he was gone. she also knew that what caused them to drift apart was the whole "you're not the dragon warrior" thing, so the only way that she could gain the master's attention was to become the dragon warrior. but it didin't matter how hard they tried, how much they gave away to those people, they just weren't their siblings, they weren't enough.

i also like to think of the fact that tigress always felt like she was doing good, like, i'm not enough, my father doesn't really care about me, but this is my purpose and i'm actually helping people so at some point everything is going to be ok (when i become the dragon warrior), and i think that's kinda what regulus felt too, and i'm NOT excusing any bigotry behavior here, but he genuinely believed that he was doing some good for the wizard world by supporting his parents cause, so it's interesting when we think about "why reggie didn't leave??", because why would tigress leave???

i ALSO like to think about the skittles beign the furious five: tigress as reggie, monkey and crane as barty and evan (just two dorks who are superpowerfull), viper as pandora (i fell that there's no explanation needed) and mants as dorcas (c'mon, that little thing full of rage is very dorcas coded).

anyways, now i'm tired and won't be rereading nothing, so i don't know if it's understandable or if it's even english at this point, if you have any doubs fell free to ask

@morallyundefined

[dr-spectre]

So brainwashed Callie in official content is cringe. Do you feel the same about it in Fanfiction? Have there been any takes on Hypno Callie that you enjoyed?

Honestly? I don't feel the same way about it in fanfiction. There's a lot of information and different takes floating around about certain things in the franchise so I dont necessarily blame people for using the word "brainwashed" for Callie in their fanfiction. The English localisation of Splatoon has said she was brainwashed despite other languages and the original Japanese version not using the word. At least from my own knowledge. So I get why most fans would take that information and immediately believe it's true.

Plus there's more people talking about what actually happened to Callie on twitter and tumblr which is really incredible to see!!! Im so happy to see Callie being treated with more respect!!!!! It is a night and day difference compared to the treatment in 2017 to 2020.

Surprisingly enough I don't actually consume a lot of fanfiction. I can read my own writing easily but I can't read others that well and... I feel really bad about it... but I have read a bit of this one fanfiction that got Hypno Callie 99% right. I fucking forgot the name but i was recommended it by someone in the past, it had "dome" in the name? It was about DJ Octavio and the Octarian domes.

The way they explained the shades was actually really interesting and unique! It's basically shades that play catchy music and that's how Callie got hypnotised. It fits in line with DJ Octavio too as he's well... a DJ. Plus daydreaming and listening to music goes hand in hand so it has some basis in reality too. Everyone at some point has been put into a daydream state when vibing out to music.

Although I say 99% because there's this one line that Callie says, "Are these shades brainwashing me?" And it was so clunky I'm sorry LOL. And there's this implication that its also doing something further to Callie's brain but it's not that explained well, which i really dont like. Other than that, my Hypno Callie content is mainly fanart and 99% of that has been phenomenonal and powerful stuff.

However.... my biggest fucking gripe in "fan content" if you wanna call it that is... timeline videos and people going over plot details and stuff like that.

These people actually do RESEARCH and spend a lot of time analysing the story of Splatoon and trying to put the pieces together. Yet for Callie it feels like they just do a quick read through of Inkipedia and that's it because they dont give a flying fuck about her character. It drives me fucking psychotic and i cant be safe watching Splatoon videos anymore. How hard is it to say hypnotised? HOW HARD IS IT?!?!?! JUST USE THAT WORD!!! THATS ALL YOU HAVE TO DO!!! GOD DAMN!!!! DO YOU EVEN KNOW THE MEANING OF THE WORD BRAINWASHED AT ALL?!?!?!

It's really disappointing to me that this outdated timeline video is the ONLY VIDEO to say Callie was hypnotised and not "brainwashed." And that... makes me kinda pissed off.

YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE CHOSEN ONE!!!!

YOU TOO!!!!

I can't even watch these videos anymore man. I'm sad. I'm not even trying to send hate over to them, they put in a lot of work... except for a character I really care about....

Imagine you like a particular character and you feel really strongly about them. Now Imagine people saying wrong or yucky things about that character and treating it as fact despite you knowing "Hey something is not right here. I think there's more here than people realise." And all the most popular and well liked content is spreading that kind of information around about your favourite character. It would drive you crazy yeah? I'm sure everyone has that one character in every fanbase.

Anyways, thanks for the ask! Sorry if it was long... I tend to ramble about Hypno Callie LOL! (Autism)

[mechazushi]

TEENAGE METAL HEAD KAFKA

So a couple people had posted some fanart of a sort of Rock band AU starring Reno, Hoshina, and Narumi, right?

Here's the thing... I have had this idea for a while now. I have plans to talk about this in some up and coming fics... This has a severe choke-hold on my brain and I had no intention to express this any other way until I saw the fanart this morning. Apologies while I try to ride the coattails of others success because I NEED other people to be obsessed with this so I can stop feeling alone in this idea

I'm going to go into more detail about my headcanons for this particular idea in the fic this pertains to when it comes out, but I just wanna say that I like to think he had a shit-ton of piercings. He still has his nose ring hole, but he doesn't wear it anymore because he had to lose it to get a job. It freaks the shit out of Iharu and Reno when he cleaned it out at base though. The guitar is supposed to be black with gold streaks running through it kinda like how they do kintsugi, but he was already wearing a lot of black already and I haven't mastered shading that well just yet. And I originally wanted to have him wear the School of Rock Jacketless Leather Sleeves but I chickened out at the last second. The pose with the guitar was originally going to be based off of one I found of Sleep Token, but the pose didn't turn out right. Now instead of looking badass like I wanted, now there's just a corner with him looking cozy.

Honestly, a major part in how I characterize him is him acting like an Elder Badass Mother fucker. Like I get he's supposed to be goofy until shit hits the fan, but I would like to see him be cool in his off time too. He would absolutely be the last one on base anyone would expect to have almost tasted stardom, like he got to sing duet with Five Finger Death Punch or something. Of course he's not the type to brag about it or anything, he's just the type to be casual about having all these moments where he got to rub elbows with a lot of famous musicians. I can just see him getting into a fight with Narumi over a band or something and Kafka pulls out the "Buddy, I was supporting them back when they were the opening act for Black Sabbath. I still have the autographed tour list t-shirt from '86!" (For context, Black Sabbath is 55 years old.)

[alicelufenia]

Just finished Book 5 and holy shit there is so much

Before getting into the spoilers, I feel like this is my favorite book so far, even squeezing out over 2.

This was an absolutely packed installment but let me just start with this: I got into this series for Catherine Foundling (and don't get me wrong I'm still in for her, and she was amazing in this book), but I think I'm finishing for Akua.

Like how did I go from "FUCK YOU AKUA SAHELIAN" to "HOLY SHIT I LOVE AKUA SAHELIAN" in just 2 books? Granted I was already getting on board with book 4, but this sealed it; I anticipate amazing things happening with her character (will it end positive, I honestly don't know, but the fact I could see it going either way and it'd seem right makes me so excited)

The fact she just sorta has a body now for all intents and purposes and has to interact with others already is interesting. And Catherine's change in attitude towards her was a pleasant surprise. Things changed so much between Cat, Akua and Indrani after the Everdark.

I'm still a little unclear, but when Sve Noc took Winter's mantle, Catherine lost that collared control over Akua, but despite the chance to slip free she stayed. And most likely saved Archer's life after the big battle. So like it or not Cat can't help but harbor some fondness for the shade. And thus begins what I'm thinking of as "redemption as long price", where Cat's stopped randomly torturing Akua (if she even can anymore), and instead threatens to teach her to care about other people so there's a sense of loss and regret when she finally kills her some day. WTF that's so messed up Cat and I am SO ON BOARD.

And it doesn't involve like, forcing her to do anything she wasn't already doing (being useful to Cat), but also just treating her with respect and dignity, inviting her to friend gatherings, and it seems to be working cause it's painful in a way she's not used to dealing with. This woman barely made a sound when Black made her stab herself, now she's getting bent out of shape at the fact that people were genuinely welcoming, and didn't give her the cold shoulder at a campfire gathering.

Now I know there are spoilers out there, and you don't compare a character to Zuko Avatar the Last Airbender lightly, so for now all I know for certain is, there's payoff, and people have written essays on her character. So I'll take that for the invitation to plow through the last few books that it is and see for myself. But I think she may be my 2nd favorite now, and may gun for that #1 by the time we're done. Will just have to see. And then the rewrite novels are coming out this year, and there's the webtoon AAAHJHHHDKSH

So if you thought I was obsessed with this series before, oh boy we've got so much more to look forward to. I still need to find the ttrpg someone was working on.

Moving on from Akua, I absolutely LOVE High Priestess of the Everdark Catherine! She's so fuckin cool with the staff and night powers and her strange relationship to her patron sister goddesses. You'd think being beholden to a pair of ritual murder goddesses would be more of a problem then holding Winter's mantle, but if anything the return to mortality was the best thing that ever happened to her. She's so much calmer and collected now, she's doing real diplomacy, actually trying to minimize deaths on both sides (while admittedly riding on her infamy for intimidation), and while she doesn't exactly worship Sve Noc, she does a great job as a religious leader to the drow (even calls them "my people" a few times). I'm just saying finding faith did a lot of good for her, and she still technically doesn't worship Below.

The fanart is also really sick (love how the Cloak of Woe frames this whole piece!)

Anyway, while my opinion of Akua changed dramatically, I have been in Tyrant's corner from the moment he appeared in the book 1 epilogue. And then book 5 catapults him to possibly the best Villain in this entire series! That this Saturday morning goofball who operates on cartoon logic earned that accolade is a testament to the writing in this series, and his eternal friendship with Cat was a treat from start to finish.

Everyone wanted Kairos dead from first meeting, he betrayed everyone and everything constantly, and he STILL got what he wanted in the end, and even managed to leave Cat a gift when one of his generals joins her army afterwards. Everyone may have been his eternal friend, but I think what Kairos had with Catherine was special. She was the only one to really understand him, to the point where she almost misses him despite him being The Worst. It makes my twisted zenoswol heart go pitter patter.

Speaking of romance, Archer and Cat! NOT romantic as they both insist, but, I'm still going to count it for the fact they care deeply for each other. They even have a fight early on that is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for earlier, where a couple has a disagreement that they work through together. Indrani had a brush with mortality in the Everdark, plus with Catherine now nameless and a mortal, she throws a fit at her for risking her life recklessly still, knowing one mistake can lead to a sword through her throat and that's it for her.

And they have a serious talk about it because it's just as much Indrani afraid for herself too, as she comes from a toxic background where she was taught to rely only on herself, and if her best isn't enough someday then she's a failure. Cat has to show her that it's her mortality that grounds her now, her limp meaning she won't wield a sword and shield anymore so she can't just stab every problem. And they have a real heart to heart over it! Which pays off much later when Indrani gets jibbed by the Dead King, and even though the Grey Pilgrim revives her, she still put her life on the line to save Masego, whatever the risk.

So, to sum up the Woe Polycule:

Cat and Indrani are friends with benefits

Cat Looks Respectfully at Akua while facing the camera and shaking her head to indicate she doesn't approve

Indrani will literally kill for either of them

Cat and Hakram have no physical attraction yet are soulmates to the degree getting married would be an insufficient reflection of what they have

Indrani and Masego have a non physical, non romantic friendship based on mutual curiosity and horizon seeking

I don't really know where Vivienne fits in yet, but she gets along much better with Hakram now that she's accepted the loss of her name

I'd also like to note, while the series has kept well to its YA roots and never gets too descriptive past a fade to black, we do at least get a couple hints from banter between Cat and Archer as to what the former likes in bed. That being she "likes it rough", enjoys having her hands tied, and her hair pulled. Which I mean, nice, and makes sense to me considering how much she needs to maintain control in her life, that giving up a little when intimate is appealing to her.

I'm happy for these beautiful, emotionally broken sweethearts.

Again speaking of, the Grey Pilgrim! This was the book where Cat really starts interacting with heroes in a sense that they're not trying to kill her all the time. Which makes sense cause they need every hero on their side they can get to fight the Dead King, so it's time for that new brand of Foundling diplomacy. By which I mean she keeps making good faith attempts at working together but SO many heroes don't seem to realize you can't treat an ally like a bound enemy and be surprised when they snap at you.

And don't get me wrong, Tariq does get better, but some of these heroes you'd think if a villain told them "You're lucky I was there to save you or you wouldn't be alive" and somehow take that as a threat. And I get it! I've played, watched, and read countless heroic stories, and even when the villain gives heartfelt speeches, the heroes still oppose them because the story makes them right anyway. And if the heroes otherwise would empathize with the villain's plea, it's during their dying scene. It's how these stories work. And then you've got this story, with a villain protagonist who keeps trying to reach out, whom we see all of her inner thoughts, justification, and doubts, and more likely than not gets slapped down out of political necessity, or by a hero who wants to ignore what she says and focus on her evil darkness night magic. Hell I'd be frustrated too! Frankly everyone in Procer ought to be lucky her lakeomancy days are over.

Then who does Cat meet but Hanno the White Knight, the chillest champion of Above ever, and I think the first hero to actually try talking to her first. Granted they met on good terms, but he actually hears her out, and gives a good explanation to how he utilizes Judgement the fairest he can. He even listens to what she has to say about the Liesse Accords, finds a lot to like. And then says he was warned she'd be charming and silver tongued. And she's nervous at first, until he clarifies he likes what she's proposing and understands it's not all her own ideas, he's just holding off committing himself even if that's his impulse. And it makes sense she'd flinch cause she's so used to getting burned by heroes when she's trying so hard.

I was so nervous that Hanno was gonna bite it by the very end, but I think losing Judgement was an interesting development for him. Shoutout to Hierarch for being so crazy about laws of the people and by the people and for the people, that he pulls a "if you can't beat them, join them" on the Choir of Judgement, and becomes the divine obstructionist. We'll never know how Catherine would have been judged with White Knight's coin, but after these two became allies I think I trust Hanno's judgement more than I ever trusted Judgement.

We end on a dire but oddly hopeful point. Neshamah will continue his war, Black is gone, back to the Wasteland to kneel before Malicia (and is back with Hye ugggh I don't like it, but I guess we're learning more about the Lady of the Lake soon), most of the League have dropped out, the Legions-in-exile got brain jacked to return as well, all the highest officers in the Callowan army are suspect (which means poor eternally suffering Abigail now has to cope with being—temporary—Marshal. But the Principate stands, a united front of Procerans, Callowans, and Dominion will face the Dead King, Vivienne is heiress-regeant to Cat's queenship, and, for better or worse, Tariq and Hanno can both feel Cat is on the verge of a Name. That I'm super excited for; I could see her rejecting and remaining nameless, but if she does come into one I can see her gaining a Name reflecting her goals of peace across Calernia, so not Squire or Black Night, but something like an enforcer of international law and rules of engagement. A neutral name similar to Ranger or Archer, that can be heroic or villainous depending on the story, for isn't that how it always seems to go for her.

I guess I'll find out on the last (but not actually the last) book!

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Aita for hating that someone is copying and taking ideas of my own fanart?

I (22) have a decently large following in a fandom with an au about music bands. There is someone who is copying my au too closely. They’ve made a character that is almost a complete one to one of my own take of character (same hairstyle, I use hearts as my motif and theirs have hearts as well, similar clothing). They have also used my characters without my permission in their works and only let me know after they post it (they’ve also used other’s characters without their permission). They put me on spot @/ing me on that post and I felt forced to give them permission because I didn’t feel comfortable getting upset publicly on their post. They also have suspiciously similar story beats like my au (they also have a band au but the band is suits card themed instead of heart themed like mine, like the character the clothing style is very similar to my art, a characters backstory is exactly mine as if they only swapped out my characters names with theirs). I am certain they took story ideas from me because they are also openly a fan of my au. I’m at my wits end when their most recent original character is exactly like my own original character for this fandom (same shade of blue in the color scheme, similar backstory, and most damning a plague doctor mask)

I hate this. This story means so much to me and they’re just stealing my ideas. I understand the saying “imitation is a form of flattery” but this is going too far for me to be comfortable anymore. But I don’t feel like I’m allowed to be upset. After all it’s still fandom and while my au is original the characters are not. Even if they are taking my ideas and making it their own it feels like I’m not allowed to me mad because the characters aren’t mine per se. The other problem is they’re rather young (19) and autistic. Their following isn’t as big as mine either so I’m worried I’ll just be bullying some kid if I confront them about this. I’ve also already confronted them before and they said they would change some things. Still seeing them so blatantly taking all of my ideas from my au to make their own makes me seethe. My friends who I’ve told privately have told me to just block them but I feel bad because as I said before they are openly a fan of my au and they will notice if they can’t see my blog anymore. I don’t know what to do.

What are these acronyms?

[advisinghat56]

okay i spent about 30 hours on this motherfucker i am going to tell you about him now.

This is Christophe.

Everything on him is completely removable (except for his hair/face)(I didn't take off his clothes because then I would have to put them back on).

Any little black button that you see is a completely functional snap. I didn't want to give myself parkinson's doing and undoing tens of tiny buttons, not to mention the fact that i don't even own any buttons small enough for this project.

He’s even got the little details on his face, although they aren’t as noticeable as I thought they were. I made a little dogtag necklace for him to wear, because it's a really strong personal headcannon of mine and you can pry it from my cold dead hands. You can only see it if his shirt is unbuttoned though. He also has a dog toy squeaker. (Yes my dog has already tried to eat him.)

In all, I am very happy with him, even though I need to finish and fix some things, (notably the shirt, with its missing pockets and unfinished edges. (Side note- Christophe’s shirt doesn't actually have any buttons or even an opening along the front, but i decided that it would function better if I added those.)) I'll add the pockets later. I think the fleece is thin enough that I can get away with it.

If you look hard enough, you might be able to tell that one arm is a slightly different shade of tan because I didn't realize that the fleece that I had and the fleece that I bought was TWO SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT COLORS.

I actually had a really hard time with the sash because I couldn't find a good reference. I admit I didn't look very hard (but i DID look at an unhealthy amount of fanart), but I still couldn't find much. The fandom page only had front views, and searching google images didn't help much either. The front was fine, but the back was barely shown. I noted ONE scene (where at the very end) it was on screen for maybe half a second, so I had a vague idea of what it looked like.

I could’ve just left it there. I didn't need to double check. Nobody sees the back anyways. It doesn't matter. There is no point.

But i am nothing if not stubborn.

I don't actually have HBO max. So I went for the second best thing- Ze mole all scenes compilations on youtube. However, the only one I found was from 12 years ago. It's mirrored. The quality is shit. There's a fade transition between every scene. But I got it. I got the back shot I'd wanted. Here it is, in all its pixely glory.

I'd gotten it.

And I had absolutely no clue what I was looking at. (still don't)

But I didn’t want to wait anymore, I was almost done.

So I made a guess.

And all went well.

Until I saw a post.

No. It can't be.

The truth is right in front of me, all i have to do is slow it down.

goddamnit.

[ultramarine-spirit]

In the novel, Athy's debut dress is described as white with long sleeves and the skirts made it look like a rose (? I think she was also wearing rubies but I don't remember very well anymore

Don't you have reference photos of what the dress was like? The translation I read is very strange lol

Athy's debutante dress is described to be pretty different in the novel! It was a pure white dress, that seemed to bloom like a flower at the bottom. It also had embedded jewelry and a tulle ribbon tied around the waist, and it had sleeves, it wasn’t sleeveless like the manhwa's. So the translation you read looks accurate. Here is @lithi 's complete translation of how the dress looked like!

I don't have any reference pictures of that dress specifically, sorry. And as far as I know, there's no novel-accurate fanart of the debutante. We'll have to use our imagination.

The thing about debutante balls that... no manhwa seems to get right is that, they weren't just fancy balls to introduce noble girls to high society. They were that in part, yes, but most importantly, they had the purpose of serve as the occasion for young girls of marriageable age (for the time period) to find a husband.

So the balls had a pretty strict dress-code. All debutantes had to wear white (though shades of ivory and pink were acceptable), the dresses were strictly floor-length and with a long train, though the sleeves were short. Long white gloves were also very common. The hair had to be done in an up-do with a veil attached to it, decorated with three ostrich feathers. As for jewelry, pearls were the more common option.

Some details could change depending on the time period, but those were the basics. So no colorful gowns, loose hair, short dresses or stuff like that.

Totally different vibes, even though that debutante dress is pretty modern. But it looks... like a wedding dress.

I was surprised to see that the novel's debutante was actually pretty historically accurate. My guess is that Spoon felt the novel's dress was too bridal, so she changed it to the iconic dress we all know (I've seen people say it feels too "homecoming", teenager ball, but debutantes were kind of just that lol). The part about the dress resembling a blooming rose was kept, but Spoon added the pink details, flowers and patterns, shortened the length and made the dress sleeveless (and gave Athy a tiara! Apparently only married women could wore those at debutantes in real life).

I quite like it. I think the choice was also to better reflect Athy's fashion sense and make her stand out compared to the other debutantes. Athy's dresses are always lovely and elegant, but she uses way more colors, patterns, short sleeves and hems compared to the rest of the girls. I think it suits her free spirit!

And yeah, it would have been kind of weird to see all the girls dressed as brides in the debutante lmfao...

[possum-quesadilla]

Chapter two of Time’s Arrow is out! I’m so tired. Please read the warnings carefully! As always, here are the fun extras!

Chapter two:

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title are from “Mt. Washington” by Local Natives. Both literally relevant and thematically relevant! I am too tired to dive in here. I plan on maybe doing a deepdive on a bunch of the songs for LoopJuice at a later date, if anyone is interested.

- “It was only when she told him that secret phrase that he finally seemed to accept it all. During one of their many repeats of the same discussion during that year they were in the loop, Lydia had asked him for a code, for something she could say that would convince him without question.” - PRO TIP; always have a time loop code! It’ll save you a lot of trouble. Me and my coworkers have one.

- “Of all of the business majors I’ve met in my time, you have to be, by far, the least fashionable. But you’re also the cutest.” - She was a goth English major. He was a business major. Can I make it anymore obvious? /ref. My own little version for how Emily and Charles met! There may be more on it later.

- “Explaining over and over about the time loop, the Netherworld, Juno, Beetlejuice. What he was, what happened, what it all meant.” - To clarify, they did not spill all of Beetlejuice’s beans! They left quite a few things up to him to decide if he wanted to share.

- “Something tugged deep inside her in a particular direction. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she trusted it. She had to.” … “(Somehow, some way, deep down inside, a voice whispered in her ear. An invisible thread tugged in a particular direction. She would pull at that thread later. More important matters were at hand.)” - Hmmmm! I wonder if this will come back and/or be important.

- “Of course, the moment he’d woken up, he’d jumped out a window and gone God/Satan knows where.” - Like with Beetlejuice, Lydia is having her BFFF’s lingo rub off on her as well!

- “Careful when you lift your eyes, for you may just be met with the edge of the blade that swings over your head.” - TO CLARIFY: the bold is Beetlejuice’s thoughts. He’s still kinda fuzzy from his long sleep, so he’s still being weirdly poetic. He is referencing the sword of Damocles here.

- “Her suspicions were further confirmed when she could hear the demon’s absentminded humming as she drew closer. (What was it now? It had been some pop song Barbara had sung while they cooked together for months now. It was a different melody.)” - Barbara was singing “California Girls” by Katy Perry while cooking with Beetlejuice one time, and it got stuck in his head. One of his stims is repeatedly humming certain tunes to himself! It won’t be mentioned, but here he is humming “You Always Hurt The One You Love” like Ruby Lane in the “Fear Street” trilogy.

- “The demon let out a loud ‘mrrrp’” - Yes, once again, Beetlejuice makes a cat activation noise on occasion!

- “(His fingertips and ears still had that horrible dull purple-blue shading to them. Would that ever go away? She was worried it wouldn’t.)” - Yes, this piece of fanart called it! Some of the coloration from the Frost is permanent. I’m still impressed! <3

- “Oh, how horrendous it would’ve been to lose you. How much joy and light the world would’ve lost. It would’ve been a tragedy unlike any other.” - This is from both Beej and Lydia at once, since they both almost lost the other to suicide.

- “But oh, the words were so hard. Especially as they chewed their lip and stared into his confused, glowing yellow eyes. Why was it so hard?” - TALKING ABOUT FEELINGS IS HARD… Lydia is no expert and neither am I!

- “… it’s… y’know. Moss!” - Moss! Yeah, he was avoiding confronting emotions and his loved ones, but also… moss!

- “Pluto. Her name is Pluto.” …“… really? That’s a little on the nose.” - This is a bit of a callout on myself. It is a bit too on the nose.

- “Pluto’s purr is nice and smooth, like a car engine. Yours sounds like a fifty-year old lawn mower that’s fueled by sugar water as it’s driving over the wettest, muddiest lawn in the world.” - Beetlejuice’s purr is all fucked up like his voice, of course.

- “(She already had a list of name ideas. Gomez, Lisa, Wybie, Lenore, etc.)” - of course, these are all ideas from some of Lydia’s favorite stories. Gomez from “The Addams Family”, Lisa from “Lisa Frankenstein”, Wybie from “Coraline”, and Lenore from Edgar Allen Poe’s “Lenore”.

- “Idiots.” - Yeah, Lyds. That’s how we all feel, bestie.

- “(Lydia could swear she felt her arm burning under the bandages, under her sleeve.)” - I WONDER IF THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER

- “ “Teeth grow back. (Lydia caught sight of a doubtful look on Adam’s face.) …” - While, yes, human teeth does not come back, Beetlejuice’s teeth do!

- “Lydia tightened her grip on Pluto, staring at the ghost intensely in a way she hoped was encouraging.” - Autism to autism communication… I will simply stare at you and hope you feel the good vibes I am attempting to send

- “ “I’m serious. You stood up to your abuser for us, Beetlejuice. That must’ve been very hard.” The demon sat very still, aside from his eyes gently flicking between Barbara’s own. Slowly, the pink washed away to a navy blue. ” - This is the first time someone has ever acknowledged to Beetlejuice, out loud, that his mother is an abuser. It causes a lot of emotions, of course.

- “It’s real late, and I know you three are probably bushed, so I’ll just head down to-” - Beetlejuice wanted to back down to the basement to hide from all of the humans.

- “I… don’t know. I guess I… thought she might have meant well, at some point.” - this is a sentiment a lot of people abused by their parents express, me included. It’s hard to let go of all of the things they have said to you, because they must have meant well, right? They’re your parent. Unfortunately, that often isn’t true.

- “ “It doesn’t change the fact that she does and says things that hurt you, and continues to hurt you. That… discredits most things she says.” The demon bit their lip with a light nod, their eyes darting about. “Y-yeah,” they eventually mumbled. “Th-… that’s… true, I guess.” ” - I HAVE THIS REACTION TO PEOPLE ACKNOWLEDGING MY PAIN. What the heck. Why are brains so awkward?? ‘Okay i guess that’s true thanks’ is a real sentence I’ve said to my therapist so many times. Ugh.

- “Sucks to suck, buddy.” - this is a phrase I say often. I’ve had people be confused about it, so I suppose it’s not that common?

- Beetlejuice and food - this is a bit of a warning now, BJ’s relationship with food is not very healthy and it will continue to decline from here. Food aversion is an unfortunate possible side effect of burnout, stress, overstimulation, etc.

- Barbara’s explanation - If you look back, you can see how suspicious Barbara was of Beetlejuice’s plan from the moment they brought it up. She was doing some plotting of her own!

- Call of the void - this is a genuine phenomenon some people experience, although this is obviously not the only cause of Lydia’s attempt. Just a fitting name for it.

- “Lydia could tell, then, that she certainly had a heart.” - this is a reference to Penelope Scott’s “Feel Better”, which is a song that fits both Lydia and Beetlejuice imo!

- Oop the poem

- This poem is sort of… non-diegetic. Like stated before, the bold is Beetlejuice, the italics is Lydia. It is meant to reflect their thoughts in this scene and chapter in general, it is meant to be read both as a conversation and as disconnected thoughts they are separately having. Do you ever have such good emotional development that you psychically write a poem with your bestie?

- “Just for a moment, your life could be just what you wanted.” … “Just for once, just for a moment.” - this is a reference to the song “Just for Once” from “Nerdy Prudes Must Die”, because that song goes SO HARD and is very thematically relevant here.

- “You give your all, and you get so much given back.” - this is a reference to “When He Sees Me” from “Waitress”, because, again, it goes so hard and is so relevant.

- “At the end of everything, hold on to anything.” - This is a reference to “Night in the Woods”. I’ve said it before, Beetlejuice and Mae Borowski have a lot in common.

- “The things you do for love come back to you one by one.” - this is a reference to “Love Love Love” by The Mountain Goats. It is one of the gentler songs on the LoopJuice playlists, and reflects more feelings of acceptance and uneasy peace.

- “… it burns out bright and blinding like a dying star.” - Hmm. Perhaps this is foreshadowing? Nah, that’d be crazy.

- “No one is gone, the love they felt and received does not fade. It is simply held in those they loved, or redistributed once more.” - Lydia is, of course, talking about her mother. I know it’s obvious, I just wanted to make sure it is highlighted. Since this story is mostly from Beetlejuice’s POV, we don’t get to really see the other characters’ emotional developments clearly, so I try to highlight them as often as I can.

- “She.. understood? I know less about Barbara than I thought.” - Barbara lore hints! Put a pin in this.

- All the little reasons for Beetlejuice to stick around - it’s one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received. Make it to your next sunset, make it to this new movie premiere. You have to taste this new food, see this sight. Start with little things, little reasons to stick around and enjoy life.

- “(Lydia felt like perhaps she shouldn’t be seeing this.)” … “I definitely feel like I shouldn’t be here for this.” - you ever witness your ghost parents and your demon brother having a romantically charged moment? Lydia certainly wishes she didn’t.

- “Oh! Don’t forget all the skirts and dresses I wanted to go through with you in the basement!” - I PROMISE WE WILL GET SKIRT AND DRESS FITS FOR BEEJ LATER

- “… will you?” ... “Will I what?” … “Give yourself a chance. Stick around.” - this is another reference to Stephen King’s “Laurie”. I love it to bits.

- “Well, except for his tail. It was quivering. (Lydia had only seen it do that a handful of times, when Beetlejuice was really excited, like when he was waiting to leap out at an unsuspecting Mormon knocking at the door.)” - sometimes, when cats are very excited, their tails quiver like this! It happens when they’re playful, like about to chomp on the arm of a door-to-door solicitor, or when they’re very happy, like when they receive a little forehead kiss.

- “Barbara and Adam exchanged a look then. They seemed… amused, excited, and - eugh. Those three better sort that shit out soon. It’s basically torture to have to witness it.” - Lydia is with y’all. Do not worry.

- “… I’m not.. the most graceful with exits, you guys know this-” - this is another reference to the failed smoke bomb trick he does in the show!

- “Thank you, love you too, kiddo.” - Adam sounds a little dismissive here because he is concentrating, but Lydia knows that!

- “Adam is switching on the “electric blanket”, Barbara is making some sort of joke as she once more plants a kiss on his forehead. He thinks he hears the word ‘hot’.” - Beetlejuice has no idea what some things are, including electric blankets. He is so lost in the sauce he didn’t hear Barbara call him hot.

- “Who could ever really want you? You wear out your purpose eventually. You overstay your welcome. Sharp, sudden pain washes over him from the old scar in his side. Honestly, Betelgeuse, I don’t know why I’m disappointed. Everyone knows how pathetic you are.” - Callback! And more dialogue/context to this hinted scene. Maybe we will see more of it later!

- “His heart, his own personal heart is broken over and over and over again.” - yet another “Asteroid City” reference! Also reflects a bit how I feel writing at times.

- “He has been emptied out. He is so tired, so drained. His whole body aches, and his mind still thrums.” - All my burnt out besties say… eughhhhh…. Emotional conversations are super draining!

- “It isn’t the start of something. Isn’t it? It isn’t. It isn’t.” - What’s that? By god, it’s “Asteroid City” once again! The context of this scene is two characters discussing whether or not they’re at the start of a new relationship, like how Beej is arguing about the same thing with himself.

- “You are a fox being allowed to stay in the henhouse.” - in a way, he still views himself as an intruder, as something harmful. It takes a while to get rid of harmful thinking, even after coming to the realization that it’s wrong.

- “The sword still swings. The thread is thin.” - another sword of Damocles shout out!

- “The perfect visage of a reformed villain, of a tamed demon.” - He feels a pressure to be good right away, to fit the stereotype of a reformed villain. A lot of those characters are depicted in unrealistic ways! Except Zuko. Zuko is perfect.

- “Don’t be too much. Heavy is the cost.” - this is a partial reference to “Personal” by Stars!

- “Parts of you are already gone.” - This is a partial reference to “Please Eat” by Nichole Dollanganger.

- “If you are not a jester, you are The Fool. Wear the bells well.” - The Fool is capitalized because he is specifically thinking of the tarot card. Also, Fizzaroli reference! That little guy is a strong contender for favorite Alex Brightman character.

- “It’s like they said; don’t stop dancing until the curtain’s down.” - Yet another “BoJack Horseman” reference, and a very poignant one! Beej is, in his mind, a performer on a stage, and he cannot let the audience see him falter.

[yayforocs]

OLD ART PART 2!!!

picking back up in october 2013!!!

random headphone girl? random headphone girl

ok i can't find this one (or its later successor) anywhere so i'm. assuming i never posted it? even tho i could've sworn i did.

it's the noxcrew gameshow hosts, johnny smooth and scotty love :VVV

kinda wanna redraw them again tbh tbh

a link :V

WOW OK i was going to send martyn inthelittlewood a fan letter ages ago when he was doing the uhh!! the um!!! the videos where he opened stuff from fans!!! he had a po box u could send stuff to and i drew some fanart of him and characters he liked and wrote out a letter!! but i! never sent it OTL i think i just was never satisfied with what i wrote bc i remember trying to write it multiple times dslkfj

also i found teen ib au doodles! :V i did draw something after all

doodle of homestuck troll oc, terian oneira :V (the name did actually like. mean something. but i don't remember what)

a redraw of like the second aqua pic i drew ever bc Actual Player AquaUmbreon had changed his minecraft skin :V (so i'm not gonna tag this as the character sdlkj)

speakin of the CM server crew, tis me and razor :V

there's also a vaughn from harvest moon island of happiness!! this was also a july doodle, hm.

there's also some crystal chronicles crew doodles :VVV from when mogi and i were planning out the caravan!!

november 2013 :VV

oh man oh man oh man ok i never posted this one bc i started coloring it w colored pencils n then i never finished so it was just unfinished to me bUT i played fire emblem awakening and was wrecked by a nuzlocke playthrough where i got gaius and maribelle s supported and then maribelle. died. so i drew a lyric comic thing (but i was going to add in the lyrics digitally, so. rip.) set to.... a song that i cannot find???? i have the recording on my ipod of it but it's a rip from youtube that. i guess isn't there anymore. here's the poem based on it though: (and straight googling the entirety of the poem led me nowhere also so i'm just. where is this from who originally wrote it what.)

Sun sets low beneath the sky Leaves all in golden state Stars glow at edge of twilight And here I stay, your words await Goodnight, Goodnight

Sky a shade of midnight blue Moon in its glowing fate The world at peace is a calming view And here I stay, your words await Goodnight, Goodnight

Distance leaves us far apart So at midnight if I may Wish upon the brightest star And hear your voice so softly say Goodnight, Goodnight

also ib oc, adam! :V he's from a fic i wrote abt garry getting stuck in the gallery and inadvertently getting out with the help of another kid pulled in years later

skip to april 2014!

it's a redraw of my first post on yayforstuffs, the CM crew! :V man look at how tiny i drew sdlkfj

moving to february 2015 :V

i have the ENTIRETY of the original original ib sprites i made!!!!!

this is so many why did i do All Of Those sdklfjs

-ah heck ran out of images again, holdon

[blazesartbloglmao]

call them brothers

okay so prefacing this by saying i really have no interest in dsmp stuff anymore, ive moved on to other stuff. like, i still keep track of some of the stuff going on in mcyt but beyond that, im working on my own projects. that being said, this particular piece has been a bit of a sore spot with me.

i started working on this back when doomsday happened on january 6th of 2021, with every intention of finishing it. at the time though, it felt like nothing looked right. not the shading, not the characters...everything felt clunky and wrong and i just couldnt force myself to finish it. so there it languished in my WIPs folder, collecting dust as i worked on other stuff and eventually moved on.

then of course, as we all know, technoblade died and i felt like id been punched in the gut even harder. id only gotten into his videos because of dsmp but i loved everything he put out. listening to his streams was of great comfort to me while working on other things and i used to put him on when i was upset about something. i knew he liked to look through fanart the community made, and id originally started this thinking "maybe techno will see it!" of course, as we all know, he never did.

i still finished it though, back in november of last year. i had better designs for the characters, a better understanding of how csp worked and felt it was more up to the task of finishing this than medibang had ever been. this thing actually almost killed my laptop! it was insane lmao it didnt even have that many layers at the end.

and im proud to see it done. im glad to see it finished because even if technoblade cannot enjoy it, you all can and i can, and that's worth it in the end, i think.

sorry for the long tirade. i normally try not to get so personal on this blog (or any blog really) because this is the internet and beyond sharing what i make, i dont really like sharing things about me. but this little story felt too important not to share alongside the art. theyre intrinsically linked to each other and to only share one would feel disingenuous to me.

hopefully, you all enjoy :) blood for the blood god, always