#not to completely scrap everything i've done so far but...

[melody-sy]

hold on, what if til countdowns end was a 2d platformer? with action rpg elements, super paper mario style. yeah i think this fits the vision better than 3d hallway levels, actually...

[flightyalrighty]

FIRST | PREVIOUS | NEXT CH 1 PG 36

Infested will return on June 27th. --- Thank you to the following Ascended supporters: @chaogongoozles, @fiiresiidefrfr, @elizard4227, @grogar, Ezzoh, @susivoi, @calculuscacophony, Eros, @ivycorp, @summersdale @borrelia, @mizukiz, @sanicdetails, @combinegrunt-echo-1, Pica, @veeceear, @quackenburt, ItsmeMonarch, @memendoemori, @trans-girl-sonic, & savarsenic

Content Warnings | Store | Ko-Fi (Discord!) | Read On Comic Fury! DISCLAIMER: "Infested" is a horror comic ft. content not suitable for those under the age of 17.

A long-winded looking back on things below the cut:

The first few pages of Infested were uploaded to this blog on March 2nd, 2023 -- Over a whole year ago! I was so busy, too, that I completely missed its birthday (Sorry Infested). Looking even further back than that, the original story was was something I began writing on December 25th, 2022 (Merry Christmas).

It took two years to get to this point.

And hey, not to toot my own horn about it, but completing even one chapter of a webcomic is a big deal. Especially for me. My first webcomic, Fight/Flight, didn't get very far. I completed the prologue, started Chapter 1, and then had to drop it for a number of reasons (I didn't really agree with what baby-me had to say, politically, anymore).

This comic was born from a lot of intense feelings. The story, itself, too. Some good. Some bad.

I had been forced to move away from my hometown, and with that move, I lost the physical connection that I had to all of my friends. I lost the familiarity of a place I'd known for most of my life. I'm now stuck somewhere... Worse. It felt like a cage. Still does. Disconnected from the life I thought I would be living after college. I didn't have health insurance, either -- Got kicked off of it because of the move -- And as a result, I was off my antidepressants.

So there I was, at a pretty low point in my life. I miserable and lonely and every single day dragged on. And on. And on. And I felt so disappointed in myself. That disappointment became self-loathing, and it all kinda spiraled.

Have I mentioned that I'm a huge Sonic fan? I don't think I need to. I'd say it's pretty obvious. But for the sake of this story, I'll say it again: I'm a HUGE Sonic fan. I've been that way since 2003 with Sonic Heroes. The franchise has been in my life for over two decades. I had a monthly mail subscription to Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic the Hedgehog was something that I truly loved more than any other piece of media. It brought me endless joy. Until I didn't.

I had dropped Sonic after Lost World was... Itself. I had already felt pretty irritated with the Meta Era, and Lost World was the final straw. The last bit of hope that the series could recover was snuffed out when Forces was released. It was over. I was done. If Sonic was truly that embarrassed by itself, if they had truly lost touch with what made the series so great, then I wouldn't waste my time any longer. I was so sure that I had to just... Grieve and move on. My beloved childhood game series was dead. Long live the king or whatever. I'd just bitterly read IDW Sonic and think about what could've been. I was lucky to have that comic, at least. Archie had been canceled, too, after all. I was lucky to have my scraps.

Then Sonic Frontiers came out. And it changed everything.

And my god, it was everything. It was everything to me. Flaws be damned, it was everything. To. Me. The spectacle. The serious tone. The vastly improved writing. Kellin Fucking Quinn. It was FUN! It was actually FUN to PLAY. He was back. I was back. Sonic pulled me by my hand out of the ocean of misery I'd fallen into, and he looked me in my eye and he said;

"Hey. You're gonna be alright."

Metaphorically speaking. Sonic The Hedgehog didn't actually literally speak to me -- And sure, okay, maybe it's a little dramatic to describe a game as this great Depression Annihilator but I'm dead serious when I say that, for that time, before I was able to get back on my meds, I was self-medicating with Sonic.

Sonic was all I was thinking about. I reread the Unleashed arc in Archie Sonic, which got me sorta realizing something, and which led to my post where I said something along the lines of "Sonic would hide a zombie bite."

Archie Sonic would, at least. Because he basically did do that in the Unleashed arc of that comic. He let that problem fester until it became an even bigger problem because, ironically, he didn't want to be a problem.

So one thing led to another. I thought more about Sonic becoming a zombie. Bada-bing, bada-boom, Infested was born.

I didn't expect it to get the attention that it did. I felt lucky when the first page I drew Rouge on (Page 6 I think?) blew up. The right people saw it at the right time. I'm extremely grateful for that.

I'm extremely grateful for all of you.

So yeah, one chapter. Woo! Here's to many more.

[amonsteronmaplestreet]

Hi. My name's Seann. I'm writing this plea for myself, for my girlfriend Natalie, and for our guinea pig Edgar (full name Edgar Allen Pig).

Put simply, we are in debt. And at present, we can't get out of it. One these debts is Natalie's car payment, and if something isn't done about it immediately, we will be in serious danger of losing, well, everything.

Our Story

We moved in together about a year and a half ago. It was an exciting time. We love each other, and we were eagerly looking forward to truly starting our lives together. But a run of truly terrible bad luck started darkening our bright future.

First, and perhaps most dramatic, Natalie was trampled by a horse. She recovered, obviously, but the medical bills from her bruised and cracked ribs were a huge financial strain. Then more medical bills piled up less than just two months later: she was in a car accident. This left her car totaled beyond repair, and she ended up having to get a new one.

With her savings wiped out, we needed to work more to make to make up for it, but here's the catch: we both work with dogs. I'm an attendant at a doggie daycare and Natalie a groomer. The thing about grooming is that you need to utilize your upper body strength to lift up dogs and work with them, and with her injuries Natalie had temporarily slow down her work, which meant less money.

Still, we persisted. I ended up begging for money on Ko-Fi to make up the shortfall, but at last we got our apartment and the day of our move arrived. It was at this point, fate crapped all over us once again: when I walked out to my car that morning, it wouldn't start.

In fact, my car had completely broken down. I ended up unable to repair it. In the end, I had to scrap it and rely on the bus to take me to and from work. I have been doing this ever since we moved, and now a commute that should take twenty minutes takes anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half, and requires me to walk a mile every time, leaving me tired and exhausted every day, with little time left over for anything else.

But we have each other. And we have Edgar. And even though it's been a struggle, we've managed to build a life together.

I love her. I love her so damn much. And it kills me that I don't have the money or resources to support her as much as I feel she deserves. No one ever got rich at a doggie daycare. My other source of income is writing, which is even less stable and less lucrative. I've tried. I've tried so hard. But once more I'm here, begging for the generosity of strangers online.

Our Car

My work is directly on the bus route. Natalie's is not. Her job is out in the more wooded part of our area, where public transportation options are few and far between. I may be able to get by without a car, but she absolutely cannot. Her ability to continue working rests on having one.

Like I said, it's been a struggle. But there's been a light at the end of the tunnel. Recently, the owner of Natalie's shop offered her the entire business. She is now, as of just six days ago, the owner of her own dog grooming salon. I'm so proud of her. This is huge!

But just like when we moved in together, some new problem has arisen.

When it comes to dog grooming, right now's the slow season. Natalie's doing her best, but even her most optimistic guesses don't have the business picking up until 2025. We're barely making rent right now, and we've had to take on some extra debt to get by, and in all the chaos and struggling, she fell behind on her car payments.

Now they're threatening to take the car away.

What We Need

So here we are. I'm going to take on more debt, via my Affirm card, to cover what she owes. Or rather, a chunk of what she owes. I'm close to the limit of what's approved for my account. But if Natalie loses that car, then she can't get to work, and her new business will be done for before it ever had a chance.

Which brings us to this. Which brings us to today.

I chose to set the goal for this campaign at $6000. I do not expect to reach it. There are people out there who need the money far more than we do, and I have nothing to offer to anyone who donates. But we'll take what we can get.

We owe $1400 on the car. That's the priority. If by some miracle we can raise that much, I'll be eternally grateful. The remaining $4600 would then go paying off our debts. My pie-in-the-sky is that we can at least get enough to put a dent in what we owe, and lower our monthly payments to something more manageable. By then, hopefully, business will have picked up, and we can devote ourselves to building our future together.

Writing this has not been easy. I feel like an incredible failure. I've failed in providing security to the one I love, and that's always going to weigh on me.

But if any of you reading this can find it in yourselves to ease our burden, then from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

[flanaganfilm]

I’m curious what the challenges are to working with kids- such as in both Haunting series. All the child actors did a fantastic job but I can imagine it can be harder to direct kids vs adults.

The biggest challenge I've had working with kids is just logistical - they are not permitted to work nearly as many hours as their adult co-stars. And they have strictly regimented breaks between work periods that must be used for school. On projects where a younger actor needs to be in the majority of scenes (like Oculus or Before I Wake) it can create an enormous scheduling puzzle. Also, in a lot of markets they cannot work past a certain hour of night. We call it "pumpkining." So we'll need scramble to get all of their scenes done before they "pumpkin" and have to go home, leaving us with nothing to shoot - but with hours left on our day.

When it comes to the actual acting, I have spent my career being pleasantly surprised (if not downright shocked) by how prepared, professional, and precise they are. I've been very lucky, as well - I have worked with some of the absolute best young actors in the entire business. Jacob Tremblay, Lulu Wilson, Kyliegh Curran, McKenna Grace, Julian Hilliard, Violet McGraw, Annalise Basso, Garrett Ryan, Amelie Smith, Ben Ainsworth, Paxton Singleton - I mean these really are the A-team. Jacob Tremblay was 7 years old when we shot Before I Wake and he had to carry almost the whole movie. Not only did Jake show up completely prepared with his scene work every day (and delivered a heartbreaking performance), he also was prepared for his scene partners - I distinctly remember a few times Thomas Jane forgot his lines, and Jake casually reminded him what they were. That can sometimes create friction with actors on set, but because it was little Jake feeding him the lines, Tom just smiled and thanked him. I was very nervous when we were filming episode 6 of Hill House, which consists of several very long, unbroken takes. The second of these shots was a 10 minute take through Hill House that involved all five of my youngest actors. In that episode, if someone forgot a line, missed a mark, or didn't land in precisely the right place at precisely the right moment, we'd have to scrap everything we'd shot so far and start over. It was insanely difficult. I was very nervous that the kids (the youngest of which was 6) would not be up to the challenge. But when we filmed episode 6 of Hill House, the only actor in the entire cast who ever forgot a line during filming was the seasoned, established Oscar winner. The kids were PERFECT.

I've been very lucky in my career. I think I've worked with some of the absolute best young actors in the business. I have had challenges and intense difficulties with actors on my sets, but each and every one of those difficult people were grownups.

[funishment-time]

🔵 Kodaka BlueSky Q&As: Misc DR & Multiple Characters

⚠️ DISCLAIMER: Please be advised! Translations of all Japanese answers derive from a combination of Google Translate and my manager's three-quarters-remembered Japanese. We've tried our best to work out what he's saying, but there will be mistakes here and there. Do not take this as gospel!

To avoid spreading too much misinfo, where we're completely boggled about an answer, we've decided not to even make an attempt. We'll still list the post, but mark it accordingly.

➡️ AN IMPORTANT NOTE FROM KODAKA BEFORE READING:

First of all, the questions answered here are not official. Everything that is official is what is said within the work. In contrast, this is simply what Kodaka, the creator, thinks, and it is not the correct answer. Use this as a starting point to enjoy the depth of each character, or to say, "That's not right!" and enjoy it with your own interpretation. I think of this as a way of communicating with the characters who live in fiction. This is important, so please spread the word.

💕 FEBRUARY 2024:

Q: Out of all the characters that have appeared so far, who is your favorite visually?

A: As a fan, Haruko from FLCL. Among my own creations...hmmm, Monokubs lol and Enoshima.

/////

Q: Sorry if this has already been said! I saw a tweet saying that Fukawa Toko's novel "Before the Scent of the Sea Disappears" was made into a short film by Kodaka Kazutaka! Is there anywhere I can see it?

A: I don't have it..! I have the data on my PC, but…lol

/////

Q: Are you interested in making games in the world of Ultimate Talent Development Plan? I would like to see all the characters together. (Sorry my Japanese is not very good. I am using a translator.)

A: It's too early to tell. I'll continue to make more and more characters.

/////

Q: I love Ultra Despair Girls, but it's sad that so few people are playing it 😢 Are there plans for a port or remake for the Switch?

A: It's an absolute masterpiece! I'm proud to say that it has the heaviest storyline I've ever written, and the friendship at the end will have you in tears. And it's also pretty fun to take down all the Monokumas in one fell swoop. The controls are a bit rough in some areas, so I'd like to tweak them and re-release it. But maybe that last possibility is impossible in today's world...

/////

Q: What is your favorite chapter in the Danganronpa series?

A: Hmm, Chapters 1 and 6 of 1, and Chapters 5 and 6 of 2. Maybe Chapters 1, 5 and 6 of 3.

/////

Q: I love Danganronpa Zero, and I'd like to ask if there were any particular things that you were thinking about when you were writing it.

A: At the time, it was my first novel in about five years, and although I said "I'll do it" lightly, I wasn't good at writing the narrative, and after pushing myself into scrapping it many times, I finally managed to get it done by writing the narrative from the protagonist's point of view.

/////

Q: I got hooked on the Danganronpa series when I was in elementary school and am now a working adult!! Danganronpa is my favorite work of all time! Of course I played Rain Code too!! I love how Shinigami-chan grows and becomes more human as the story progresses! I wonder if a sequel to Danganronpa is really possible...? I'm also waiting for a sequel to Rain Code I'll keep waiting until I die! I love you!

A: From elementary school to working adult…! Thanks to Danganronpa, you've become a fine adult! Neither sequel is impossible. I'd like to expand more, get results from other new works, and make myself more valuable, and do it when it's best for me.

/////

Q: Are there any characters that have a secret backstory in any of the Danganronpa works?

A: For the most part, there are still stories that we haven't talked about.

/////

Q: This may be a question that can't be answered (it may have been asked already), but in the bad ending of Danganronpa, Togami holds a portrait of Fukawa, and there is a child of Togami? Will the truth about that ever come to light?!

A: With the loss of Kirigiri, and the decision to live together within the school, everyone had a change of heart and decided to join hands. Fukawa stopped belittling herself, and Togami stopped being arrogant, and the two started dating, but the next day Fukawa died in an accident. She died after choking on a dumpling, and Togami was confused, believing it was a curse from Celes. As Asahina comforted the depressed boy, things just sort of happened and Togami's child was born. Asahina loves children, and decided that this was her mission and she would give birth to everyone's children. And since that was all there was to do in the boring school life, everyone did it a lot. After that, she gave birth to more than 10 children, and the school flourished.

NOTE: This is the worst thing I have ever read.

/////

Q: I can't help but wonder about the night that Asahina, Hagakure, Togami, and Fukawa spent in the gym in Chapter 5 of Danganronpa. What were they doing that night?

A: I think they were standing in the dark gymnasium, each at one of the four corners, going around tapping the shoulder of the next person in the corner...

/////

Q: The "motivation video" that appeared in V3 featured someone important to each character, but it wasn't revealed who was in the motivation video for the characters in the main story. Did you have a set idea in mind of "this character is this person", Mr. Kodaka? Some characters talk about family or special people in Free Time scenarios, but there are also some characters who don't talk about such things, so I'm curious.

A: I had it set at the time, but I've forgotten about it...

NOTE: ugh

/////

Q: What's your favorite romantic pairing in danganronpa?

A: Monomi and Monokuma.

/////

Q: I love the scene in Chapter 6 of the original Danganronpa where the mastermind and the scissors girl (I will not reveal her name for now) meet and politely greet each other. Mr. Kodaka, are there any funny or gag scenes from the Danganronpa series or Rain Code that you like?

A: There are heaps of gag scenes and funny scenes, but when I first saw Monokuma and Monomi's comedy routine in 2 with their lines incorporated, I felt something otherworldly that I'd never heard before. We record out of order, so after incorporating it with the game, I was surprised at how otherworldly it was.

/////

Q: I would like you to publish profiles of Danganronpa Zero characters! Please do so!

A: Let's ask Spikechun! Spikechun reserves all rights! Let's all protest and demand that these profiles be made public!

/////

Q: In the summary of the materials for Danganronpa 1, there was a detailed description of the non-killers' punishments, but I wonder if those will ever be made into a movie...? I've been dying to see it 🥲

A: It's not exactly a good idea to capture people dying on film…

/////

Q: Who is the most popular character in Danganronpa? I would be happy if you could tell me one male and one female!

A: My personal opinion is... For guys, it's Shinguji. There are girls who are attracted to weird guys like that. For girls, it's Iruma. There are boys who are attracted to weird girls like that.

NOTE: I believe this is IRL, not in-universe, as Kodaka later answers who has the most friends in-universe, and it's not Miu or Kork.

🍀 MARCH 2024:

Q: Excuse me for asking a question! Who is the strongest drinker among Munakata, Yukizome, and Sakakura? 🥹

A: It's probably Yukizome.

/////

Q: Among the BGM used in the original, 2, and V3, is there any that you particularly like, Mr. Kodaka? I absolutely love New World Order from the original, DANGANRONPA SUPER MIX from 2, and V3 Discussion - SCRUM - from V3!

A: The punishment music was created first, and it created a Danganronpa atmosphere, or rather a playful yet serious atmosphere, so it has a deeply cryptic vibe.

/////

Q: I bought Danganronpa again on Steam and had my ex-girlfriend play the whole series, and she got hooked. This may be mentioned in other media, but are there any characters who weren't meant to die but ended up dying?

A: While I was writing, some roles were switched, but I don't think there were many changes to the plot. I think it was Nidai and Kuzuryu who switched roles...

NOTE: His memory is correct. Beta designs show a Fuyuhiko-like character who was meant to the the team manager, and a mafia guy who was a big Nekomaru-ish dude.

/////

Q: In the Danganronpa series, you get underwear when your bond with a character reaches its maximum, but whose underwear do you like the most, Kodaka?

A: Personally, I'm not interested in underwear. They're dirty.

/////

Q: I know you didn't write or supervise Danganronpa S at all, Kodaka, but have you played it since its release? And if you did, were there any event conversations that you particularly liked?

A: [From @/genoskissors: "エアプ is slang meaning he knows about the games content, but has not played it himself." Thank you for the correction!]

/////

Q: [A longer question, found here, that comes down to: "i'm curious how your writing with your world evolved in ways you may not have had planed..."]

A: The scenario changes a lot when I write it. It is live. Try writing it, move the characters around, and it keeps changing. Because the characters are alive.

/////

Q: Yamada and Celes seem to have been quite close during their school days, but how did they end up like that?

A: "I've gotten better at making royal milk tea."

NOTE: This is probably Hifumi talking.

🥬 APRIL 2024:

Q: Will you ever make a V3 animation? That could be so cool I’d love to see it so much.

A: That is a matter for Spike Chunsoft to decide.

/////

Q: Who is the character with the most friends in each of the Danganronpa games: the original, 2, and V3?

A: I guess Yamada, Koizumi, and Angie. I'm not sure if I can call Angie a friend, though.

/////

Q: Chabashira Tenko and I have the same birthday and blood type, so I'd like to know how a character's birthday and blood type are decided. I'm currently studying Japanese.

A: It's decided by fate.

/////

Q: Tired of answering questions about Danganronpa?

A: I'm not bored. I love Danganronpa. However, I may forget some things, so I don't want to answer carelessly.

🌺 MAY 2024:

Q: I think Harukawa-chan had romantic feelings for Momota-kun, but did Momota-kun see Harukawa-chan as a romantic interest? Or did he just see her as one of his "students," like Saihara-kun?

A: "I didn't realize it at the time, so I wasn't even conscious of it. If I had realized it sooner, things might have been different..."

NOTE: This is probably Kaito talking.

☀️ JUNE 2024:

Q: I feel like there weren't any characters in the original Danganronpa who were definitely able to cook, so who was cooking at breakfast and the like? I'd also like to know if there were any characters who could cook in the original!

A: I think they basically just used pre-cooked food, but I think Fujisaki and Yamada seem like they can cook.

/////

Q: How did you decide the seating order for the class trial?

A: Intentionally in random order so as not to create any patterns.

/////

Q: Are there any characters in 1, 2, and V3 who are not virgins? Sorry for the really vulgar question.

A: A rough estimate is a quarter.

/////

Q: Is it decided how old the characters in works such as Danganronpa and Raincode are? If so, how old are they?

A: Of course, Danganronpa is mostly in their teens. Raincode has a wide range, but even Yakou is in his 30s.

NOTE: This is kind-of hilarious, because I'm pretty sure it's canonically stated Yakou is actually in his late 20s...in something that Kodaka himself wrote. I'll have to go find evidence.

/////

Q: I'd like to know the recommended menu items at Hanamura Diner!

A: Fresh tonkatsu.

NOTE: Tonkatsu is a fried pork cutlet.

/////

Q: Were the Love Hotel scenes also supervised by Kodaka-san? When Ouma says that he doesn't care what Saihara does to him, is that what he says to make it possible for him to have anyone in that space under his control?

A: I did supervise it. But I left that to people who are good at that sort of thing and refrained from interfering too much, and I still refrain from doing so now.

/////

Q: Is there any trick to Tanaka Gundham's chuunibyou dialogue? I'm curious to know how you think of the unique expressions used by Saionji Hiyoko and Iruma Miu.

A: The insults come out super easily, but Tanaka's lines were thought out thoroughly, based on the light novels I've read, so it's exhausting.

NOTE: A "chuunibyou" is a kid, generally 12-13, who believes they have secret powers or a grand backstory. Gundham's a bit old to be a chuuni by Kodaka's own admission in the DR2 artbook, but that was apparently part of the charm (and why it was so difficult to write him). It's spiritual Naruto running.

🎇 JULY 2024:

Q: I'd like to know what underwear your favorite Danganronpa character wears, Kodaka-san.

A: Monomi's panties. Diapers.

NOTE: This is how rumors get started, Kaz...

/////

Q: Do Rain Code and Danganronpa take place in the same world? Do any of your games and works have a shared universe with another? Or are they all separate? 🤔 💭 I'm asking because I just had a dream about Rain Code today!

A: I won't make a clear statement. I am not sure what will happen in the future. Anyway, please spread the Rain Code around the world.

/////

Q: If Hope's Peak Academy had regular exams, who would have the best overall grades?

A: It would have to be Togami. Kirigiri has clear strengths and weaknesses and doesn't seem like she'd be good at things like art. However, when it comes to multiple choice questions, Komaeda who relies on luck is the strongest, Ouma steals the answers in advance, and Ki-Bo tries hard and is average, but is bad at calculations.

🌭 AUG 2024:

Q: when i played danganronpa there were times where i wondered about how some characters got along with their family, have you written/thought anything about a character's family background that isn't mentioned in the video games?even if it's something small i feel like it would be interesting to read

A: I think, but the fact that I did not put it in writing means that I left it to the player's imagination.

/////

Q: If Sonia and Fubuki met, who would take the initiative in the conversation?

A: Even though they don't match up at all, they seem like they'd get along really well.

NOTE: Fubuki from Rain Code.

/////

Q: When all the Danganronpa characters are gathered together, who do you think has the most aura?

A: It must be Ogami. I think everyone would look at her first.

/////

Q: Thank you so much for making "Danganronpa"!! 😊💓💓 Many fans have a special feeling for the relationship between Komaeda Nagito and Hinata Hajime. Is there a possibility that the two will become lovers in the future?

A: I have no plans to create anything that takes place after Danganronpa 3.

🍁 SEPT 2024:

Q: Are there many undiscovered super-high school level talents outside of Japan?

A: You could make a Danganronpa World War. 150 students are locked in a school, about 10 incidents occur at the same time, class trials are held here and there, and punishments are handed out one after another.

/////

Q: Are you afraid of bugs, Soda? I'd like to know who among two people can stand bugs and who doesn't like them!

A: Soda is not good with insects that suddenly appear, fly, or move suddenly. Sonia is fine with insects.

/////

Q: I would like to know Ouma's first words and reaction upon seeing an armed Keebo-kun!

A: “This isn’t like you!”

[carniekisses]

Here's a long post that I really hope Tumblr will not flag as NSFW (please don't flag this), I remember back when I showed off the needlefelt Gomer sculpture I had made, someone asked if I had like a work process to show off for it. And I did not, because I had kept it all confined to a private account. I thought it'd be fun to have something to show for it for this one.

So I've been wanting to make a BJD for at least the past 15 years, back when I was a kid with no money to buy supplies with and also with a worry for symmetry, and also also I wasn't very skilled. It's 2024, and I vaguely know how to use Blender now

I've started this project on April 6th, as I've been documenting this on the above mentioned private account.

Of said model I (much) later ended up only being able to salvage the physical sculpts of the chest and torso parts as I messed up somewhat badly, see down below. I also ended up dropping the 'magnets in hands & feet' concept as it was just redundant, one can simply unhook them off the elastic if they are to swap them out.

At any rate, I 3D printed it all and got to sanding, and painting.

So far so good I guess, really not a fan of how the knee and elbow bean slots were just holes (I fixed that later don't worry)

So This was Not looking good lmao. I used acrylic paint, which was not necessarily the problem, the problem was that I'd applied it with a sponge brush which caused the surface to feel really sandpapery once dry. So don't do that I suppose, bad idea

On top of this, I realized that given the thickness of this doll I absolutely needed double joints in the legs, in order to have decent articulation. You can see in the above pics I *had* sculpted those, but I later fused the knee beans with the shins with apoxy resin, for some reason? I think it was because as I posed the legs the knee beans kept falling *into* the hollowed out shins/thighs, and I got tired of it.

The final blows for this model were me applying some 3D finish resin in a last ditch effort to smooth out the horrible texture, which rendered the pieces extremely shiny and smooth (disgusting), WHICH then prompted me to apply matte varnish to fix that bullshit. It absolutely did not work lmfao, and I have no pictures of that disaster because I became pretty discouraged about having to go back to like square two or three.

Some time passed (months really because I kept getting distracted for many a reason [sanding is so fucking boring, Blender was a mistake, I was feeling overwhelmed, I was too sad/tired to work that day, etc.]), I buckled down and finally retooled the pieces that needed it: everything But the chest and torso parts, off of which I managed to sand the varnish and smooth resin. I had fixed all the double joints too to actually be decently functional this time. The head was completely resculpted to better reflect the character's latest design iteration.

bean slots: Fixed

So after sanding (which was the part I was dreading the entire time, because it's so tedious and also it hurts after a while), I caved and got myself an airbrush to, hopefully, lay paint down good this time.

Very glad I did because the difference is kinda crazy. Please ignore my dirty ass desk, it's what happens when you craft. These pictures are from last week btw.

The blue base and the blush were airsprayed, the finer details like the dark shading and the pinker parts were done with both chalk and just acrylic paint. I miiight remake the eyeballs, or at least add more of a smooth finish. The shine to them is really nice

Here's she with lashes, wearing a shitty little scrap of fabric I cut in 10 minutes for fun (please DON'T flag th), and posing to test out the double joints too, they definitely could be better but they work Fine and I'm okay with that.

As of today I'm waiting for the fibres to deliver, for the wig, I already have the cap done. I guess I can update this when it happens, thanks for reading so far, I hope it was interesting, see you next time.......

[stay-mon-army]

Anything For You, Darling

Word Count: 3,410 words

Warnings: depression, anxiety

Pairing: OPLA!Sanji x reader

Note: This is completely self-indulgent but I hope that other people will enjoy this like I enjoyed making it. Also, I am OBSESSED with OPLA so please please interact, give me ideas/requests, suggest me fics, anything. I've found a new hyperfixation with this (specifically Sanji and Zoro) so this might be something I write a lot rn!

Living life on the Going Merry was a content existence to say the least. You didn’t often have to worry about being bored; something was always happening to keep you entertained. You rarely had to worry about food; Sanji was never far away with a new dish he wanted someone to try (you just had to get there before Luffy). You didn’t have to worry about if you were even going in the right direction; somehow Nami knew exactly where to go based on those very confusing scraps of paper she calls maps.

Life was arguably great. You couldn’t ask for more. But no matter how good life was, how many times your stomach hurt from laughing along with the crew, how many times you smiled at the happy family you had collected for yourself, something always felt a little off. You weren’t unhappy, you just felt… disquieted in your bones? Sometimes you felt as pessimistic as Usopp when you thought about your feelings. You couldn’t ever just feel good without something in your brain interrupting and whispering sad thoughts into your mind.

That’s why you liked spending so much time with Sanji – he doesn’t let you stay in your mind for very long. He isn’t quite as chatty as Luffy, who never seems to stop talking if someone is within earshot, but he keeps a good conversation and you can’t lie, the compliments and the food are pretty hard to beat.

You often spent your free hours curled up on a bar stool in the kitchen, watching Sanji chop up vegetables and prepare whatever the next meal is while you talk about everything and nothing at the same time. Even when the conversation lulls and you settle into silence with the chef, you never get that disquieting feeling like you do when you’re alone. Just listening to the bubbling of a boiling pot of water or the soft whish of the knife against the cutting board is enough to sooth your rushing thoughts into a calm river that passes you by.

You enjoyed the playful bantering and flirting with Sanji, the way he sometimes lets you sneak a taste of whatever he’s cooking before it’s completely done, the way you can just enjoy the swaying of the ship and the scents permeating the air.

However, unbeknownst to you, some of the straw hats noticed your connection with the blond chef. One morning, as you stepped from your room and stretched under the beating sun shining onto the deck, Nami slides over, standing beside you with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Good morning, Nami! How did you sleep?” You smile, stretching out the tiredness from your arms. She smiles back at you, beginning to wander slowly to the railing away from the others milling about on the deck.

“Good, thank you. I wanted to talk to you for a minute, if you don’t mind.” She nods her head towards the rail and you follow along, intrigued by the lilt in her tone.

“Of course, what’s up?” You sidle over beside her, leaning against the rail and closing your eyes against the spray that tickles the skin on your nose and cheeks.

She rests her elbows beside yours and looks over at you, her orange hair blowing behind her with the wind.

“I’ve noticed you spend a lot of time with Sanji. What’s going on there?” You furrow your brows, not sure you’re understanding what she’s insinuating.

“We’re really good friends. I like spending time with him. It’s better than being alone, or dealing with Luffy’s rants.” You joke, chuckling to yourself. You love your captain but sometimes he really was a chatter box.

Nami doesn’t seem to accept your dismissal of her question, turning to face you, one arm leaning against the rail while her other hand comes to lay against her jean-clad hip. “Come on, the way you two are always flirting with each other? You know, he’s stopped flirting with me since you’ve started spending so much time in the kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, the pet names never stop, but he hasn’t been so… forward. Not that I’m complaining, it’s about time he got the hint.” She smirks at you as she says this, as though you’re supposed to know what that all means.

“I’m not sure what that has to do with me. I like to joke around with him too; that’s all it is. Jokes. I mean, no way there’s anything actually there, he flirts with everyone. I mean, he still flirts with the women in towns when we dock. That’s just how he is.” Nami doesn’t look convinced but you shrug her off. “Listen, Nami, I just like spending time with him. If something were to happen, that would be between Sanji and I. For now, I would appreciate you taking me for my word. We’re friends, he makes me feel safe, there doesn’t have to be anything else out of it.”

She puts her hands up, smiling at you sadly. “I’m sorry if I overstepped. I would just make sure he was aware of that, if I were you. You wouldn’t want to lead him on and hurt his feelings.”

With that, she waved and wandered off towards the map room. You sink against the railing, closing your eyes against the sinking feeling filling your gut again. Were you being too nice to Sanji? Nami said he wasn’t flirting with her as often; was it really because of you? You didn’t think that you were giving him the wrong idea; you never crossed any lines, as far as you could tell. Sure, Sanji was clingy – he liked hugs and touching your hands and arms, he would sometimes feed you little scraps of food like fruit as he’s working, you both often flirted with each other, you both called each other pet names, and you always sit next to him at dinner.

But were those necessarily bad things? Was Sanji thinking it meant something more? You thought you both understood you were friends.

Did you want more?

The thought stopped you in your tracks, your eyes snapping open as you stared into the ocean.

No, of course not. You were just friends, that’s all it was. He was nice to you, you got along so well and you didn’t want the relationship to change in any way – you had no intention of turning this into anything more. At least for now…

You run a hand over your face, groaning softly to yourself. You shouldn’t let what Nami said bother you so much. You shake your body out one last time, hoping to rid yourself of both the tightness from your rest and the stress of what Nami mentioned.

You continue with your morning routine, going to the bathroom to relieve yourself and freshen up a little before heading towards the kitchen. Nothing was going to stop you from seeing your favorite blond.

You step through the door and are instantly met with the sweet scent of maple and berries. Sanji turns towards the door when he hears its resounding squeak, a smile instantly lighting up his face as he spots you.

“Good morning, darling! I hope you slept well. I made pancakes for breakfast today, with an assortment of fruit.” He gently pushes forwards a plate, decorated beautifully with an array of colors from the fruits topping the cakes.

“Thank you, Ji. You always know exactly what to cook to make the day a little better.” You smile, sliding into your respective seat. You pull the plate closer to you, lifting the fork and knife he has set out before you. Just as you raise the fork to begin eating, you notice that Sanji is staring at you.

You pause, looking up at the man with a raised eyebrow. He always liked hearing whether you enjoyed the newest dish (he really really loved praise) but he had never been so brazen about watching you eat before. “Can I help you, sweetie?” You ask, smiling at the way his face seems to melt at the pet name, nearly turning him to jelly before your very eyes. He really was just a big softie, at the end of the day.

“You just seem off this morning, my love. I wanted to make sure you were alright. I apologize if I’ve caused any offense.” He says, wiping his hands on a towel before tossing it over his shoulder.

“I seem off?” You chuckle awkwardly, hoping that you don’t radiate the problems running through your head. You didn’t want to worry him – he was always so kind and good to you, the last thing you wanted was to mar him with the darkness in your brain that you spent so much time around him to avoid. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I simply mean that you seem a little more subdued is all. Again, I meant no offense. I just hope your meal will cheer you up from whatever is dampening my sweet (y/n)’s demeanor this morning.” He turns away as he says this, as though it doesn’t really matter either way what happens with you, but you know that’s just how he “keeps his cool”.

Sanji’s entire existence wraps around his ability to put on an air of confidence and poise, as though nothing can truly touch him or hurt him, when you are well aware that he feels much more deeply than he lets on. You don’t think that any of the other straw hats noticed this about the chef, but after spending so much time with him, you knew that he simply wore his heart on his rolled up sleeve – there, but only if you have the attention and the compassion to look that close.

You don’t respond, simply beginning to dig into the food placed before you. Unsurprisingly, it’s everything you could have asked for, and more. Somehow, in record time, Sanji seemed to memorize your palate, knowing exactly what things you liked, what you disliked, what you couldn’t stomach to eat, what ratios of flavors brought you the most joy. You didn’t think he paid that much attention, since he was always working while you talked and he never watched you eat, but without a doubt, Sanji knew exactly what you needed at any moment to satisfy your cravings.

You hum as you eat, vocalizing your enjoyment so that Sanji knows he did well, despite the fact he hasn’t turned back to look at you. When you finally finish your meal, you rise from the bar, collecting your dishes and heading to the sink to wash. You had the unspoken job of cleaning the dishes after Sanji. He hated that you did it, claiming that he could totally clean up after himself. But you felt bad, spending all your time in the kitchen with him but watching him do all the work. So, you resolved to cleaning the dishes to help out.

You quickly wash your dishes, scrubbing away the sticky, sugary mess that the syrup and fruits made on the plate. As you turn to grab something to dry the plate off with, you nearly stumble into Sanji’s outstretched hand holding out a dish towel for you. You take it, smiling up at him gratefully. He winks at you before turning back to whatever he was doing at the stove.

You dry off the plate, put it back in its respective spot, and settle yourself back onto your bar stool. As you rest your arms against the counter, putting your chin against your palms, you watch the way that Sanji flits about the kitchen. He seems to be doing a million things at once, from cutting up food for prep to mixing up what looks like some kind of dipping sauce to stirring a boiling broth. You can’t imagine thinking about all of those things at once without burning or ruining something.

Your mind slowly drifts to the way he looks so calm and serene doing it all. His face stays in a gentle smile, as though there isn’t anywhere he would rather be than here. He practically dances around from place to place, light on his toes and seemingly high in spirits. His hands are graceful as he quickly slides the knife to slice whatever ingredient he needs next; his chest rising and falling so slowly, you wonder if he’s breathing. His effortlessness never seizes to amaze you.

“I know I’m fascinating, but I would love to know what has you so enthralled by my movements today, mon cherie. If there’s something wrong, please don’t let it fester. Spill your heart to me, my love.” He leans his arms against the counter, his head tilted to look at you with softened eyes, as though you might run away at any moment. As if you would ever run away from him.

“I don’t know.” You mumble, not wanting to get into it with him, but the way he looks at you, with those seemingly all-knowing eyes, you can’t help but crumble. “Fine, I just- I talked with Nami this morning, and she mentioned some things that got me thinking. Which isn’t always good for me, because sometimes my brain doesn’t like me and it says mean things to me. So I try not to think, which usually being here with you makes it easier, but because of the conversation today, it makes it worse, but I don’t want to not be with you, because I don’t want you to worry and I do like spending time with you, so I didn’t want to change our routine, but the routine is what’s making me think, so now I’m just in this spiral.”

You sigh at the end, flopping against the table so your head rests against your forearms and you don’t have to look at Sanji, who you know is probably looking at you like a lunatic. After a moment, you hear the sound of his shoes scuffing against the floor and you freeze, for fear that he was leaving, like so many other people you had scared away. Instead, the sound grows closer and you soon feel a gentle hand resting against your side, guiding you up from the counter and towards his body.

You turn yourself into the embrace, surprised at how gently he cradles your body against his, one hand resting against your back, the other coming to cup your head against his chest. He holds you as though he expects you to break, and you nearly rip yourself from his grasp at the thought that he must be pitying you. How horribly morbid and depressing you must have sounded, saying how “mean” your thoughts are, as though it wasn’t your own problem to deal with. Telling him was selfish and would surely make him see you completely differently from how he saw you before.

“You know I’m here for you, whatever you need. Whether that be a place to hide out from your thoughts, or a talking companion to wander through those feelings, or simply a nice meal, I’m always here to help you feel better.” He presses his lips against the top of your head and you pull away softly, not wanted to offend him, but needing to say something more.

“That’s another problem.” You sigh, rubbing a hand over your face as the Frenchman furrows his brows at you. “Nami made it seem like I’m leading you on by treating you like this. That spending time with you and flirting with you and all these things are going to make you think something else about me. And I don’t want that to happen. Too many times have I cared for someone, shared my time and joy with that person, felt that we couldn’t be closer or better friends, and then something goes wrong and somehow it’s always my fault. Sometimes, the person starts to like me more than I like them or more than I’m willing to admit and if I don’t continue to act a certain way or give them a certain experience with our relationship or act a certain way, they leave. Or sometimes, people begin to think I act weird or they begin to get annoyed by certain behaviors and then they distance themselves and they leave. Sometimes I’m mean to them because I hold them to a high standard because I love them so I want to have good times with them and that’s stressful and they leave. Sometimes I try to act how I think they want me to act and that makes them leave. Sometimes I’m too clingy and people become afraid I’m too attached and they leave. There’s always something, but in the end everyone leaves. But you…”

You take a deep breath, looking at the way Sanji is silently crying, tears falling from his eyes, but he doesn’t move or say a word, only watching you, waiting for you to spill your heart to him.

“You make me so damn happy. You are kind and gentle and you listen to me and you notice little things before I have to even mention them to you. You seem to know everything I’m thinking before I have to say it, you can read my body language and you’re willing to do anything for me if I ask or even just think it and I’m so so afraid I’ll mess everything up and I’ll lose you too. Because god damn it, if I lose one more person who means so much to me, I might just burst. I might not come back from it all and I really really need you to understand that the way you quiet my brain and make me feel so normal and calm is something I just can’t lose. You are the one person I think can truly understand me and I love you so much for that, but I’m so afraid that any little step will send you pushing me away.”

Sanji shakes his head, reaching his hands out for you again, and you can’t stop him from pulling you into his embrace. His tears fall against the top of your head and you quickly realize you were crying too because your tears soak into his shirt and stick it against your face. You just stay like that for a while, letting him hold you, his lips resting against your head to give small kisses to your scalp.

Finally he releases you enough to pull you back, looking down at you with sad, sweet eyes.

“I will never leave you. Until the ends of the earth, until the sun dies, until you push me away, I will never leave you. I see you, (y/n), I see what you go through, the pain your brain puts you through, the horrible memories I know plague your every waking movement. I can see through it all because I go through it every day. And I know that you see me, just as well. We are open books to each other, my love, and there’s nothing we can do except cherish each other and protect each other. I know what Nami said to you.”

You take a breath, about to explain everything to him, put he shushes you, placing his hand against your cheek.

“You have nothing to explain, sweetheart. I am here for you, however you need me. And I can only hope that I can get a sliver of the same in return. But until you tell me otherwise, I will be your partner through think and thin. I am at your disposal as friend, confidante, chef, anything, as long as you continue to smile and make me smile. Do you understand?”

You sob again, pulling the blond chef against you this time, arms wrapping around his neck to pull him flush against you. You thank him, repeatedly, over and over, like a mantra, until he pulls away to wipe your tears from your face.

“Anything for you, darling. Now, let me finish cooking lunch.” He steps back around to the other side of the counter, sliding you a small plate of crackers you hadn’t noticed before, winking at you, before turning back to the stove.

You nibble happily on one of the salty crackers, resting your elbows against the counter as you watched his back. He truly was the only one who understood you.

[zombeebunnie]

Trembling Essence:💙Background + poll results💙

Hello hello and welcome new followers! :]

Firstly I just want to say a very big thank you to everyone that participated in the poll I did last week, I was really surprised but happy with the results and responses! This will help me a lot moving forward! :,] If you missed it and would like to say which route you preferred feel free to comment!

Anywho, this week mainly focused on art practicing again but I did work on the game and managed to get my bearings even more!

Here is the new background for the start of the game:

This took a long time to draw up since I sketched out the background instead of looking at references this time. Once I got a basic idea of how I wanted it to look it felt.. too empty and flat. At first I couldn't figure out why until I added more shrubbery and grass. After that I started adding the trees and then added a few more to give it depth and adjusted some of the coloring. So far the immersive symbolism I'm going for is slowly coming together! Since it just finished raining where you're located I tried to give the background the illusion of looking tolerably humid but slowly getting colder over time with a hint of decay in the distance. This is a better look of the dreary foreboding atmosphere compared to the "fairy-forest" from last week. >:,] It took a while but I also added a parallax effect here and optimized the images to save space. I kept getting an error when it came to the middle ground so I had to find and fix the problem which delayed things. I don't have a video to show it in action but maybe next time. I do want it to be known again that these automatically happen and don't follow the cursor. :,,]

Here's a sneak peek of the new choices you can do when you're in this area now. >;]

This part required a lot of brainstorming before I figured out how I wanted the explorative part to go. This was originally going to go a different way completely but a particular day caused me to just scrap it and start everything over. I have a very solid idea on how I want all of this to go better than ever so I can't wait to show some of the new areas! I didn't expect this background to take as long as it did to draw up but hopefully next week I'll have more done!

Progress doodle layout:

Since certain endings are being changed I thought it would be cool to animate a progress layout to visually show how everything is going! It shouldn't take too long to finish this section up since I already have a foundation laid out.

Noah's sprite sheet update:

As far as Noah sprite sheets goes, it's still in sketch mode and I haven't messed with them yet since I've been practicing. :,,]

There are some old drawing prompts I wrote down and sketches that I'm still doodling up behind the scenes so hopefully I can get to them at some point with some attached lore. :,]

Q&A / Ask box is still open:

If you have any questions about Trembling Essence/Noah feel free to ask here please. This makes it easier for me to see and answer accordingly! I would really like to hear from you guys!

Thank you to those who have sent in asks after everything got reset! I'll try to get to them when I can along with the ones that come to mind that got deleted. I just need time to answer since I like to respond with doodles/drawings as practice. :]

Overall that's everything I have to share so far, thank you guys for your continued encouragement and support through all of this, I wholeheartedly appreciate it! :,,]

[bingebuddie]

Here... We... Go...

Hi all,

Well, so far, 2024 has sucked for me... but anyway...

I've been feeling pretty out of sorts mentally, and depending on where my head is at, I've been bouncing back and forth between Fics and my Wes and Cole novel.

I am going on a writing retreat May 4-12th... so... expect some major movement...

I wanted to provide a few updates on where I am with my Fics and other works.

Sideways:

Published updates here have been slower than I wanted or anticipated. This has nothing to do with the story, as I have this outlined for Arcs 6-10... Yes, up to Arc 10.

My personal life has gotten in the way a lot over the last few months and has just eaten up my time to write.

Now, Arc 6 will lead right into Arc 7 and 7 into 8. You will want to throw some stuff at me for some of the wtf moments and having to wait between arcs... but it's all coming. Anyone new to the series has had the benefit of reading five fully finished-out arcs that took me about a year to write. Have some patience with me. It will be worth it.

Arc 6, Into The Unknown, has multiple chapters drafted. I just need to clean up some edits from my beta, and they will be posted. May is going to be a big month for this arc.

This is a pivotal point in the series. It spans Chapters 37-48, making it the longest arc so far. This installment will delve into the Seals' backstory, their connection with Buck and Eddie, and much more. It’s a substantial piece of the puzzle that you won't want to miss.

This one does have some heavy moments...

This does end with a cliffhanger... But I promise, it's not our boys directly you are left wondering about...

Arc 7—Strong—Eddie will need his friends and family like never before. This is a heavy Diaz family arc. The outline is eight Chapters.

This also ends in a cliffhanger and that promise I made above... does not apply here.... insert evil laugh...

Arc 8 Genesis—This is the big one. It all comes together here, and it is the part I am most excited to write. It is also the longest, with an outline of 16 chapters. You will find out more about Genesis in Arc 6.

This arc will change all of their lives and the status quo as we know it. Grab your seats and tissues. The previous title for this was Unleashed...

Arc 9 - Experience/Circles - Tentative Title - No tease, as it will spoil what's to come...

Arc 10 - My All - googles Mariah Carey ...

Sideways isn't going anywhere...

Shifted:

Volume 1: Nevermore

This was originally planned to be 30 chapters. I have 20 published right now. The rest of this is outlined, and chapters 21-25 are written and ready to be published. I haven't posted these because Chapter 25 ends on a massive cliffhanger, and I don't want to leave you all hanging. I will be finishing this... after Arc 6 of Sideways ...

I have a plan for the second arc... but that's all the way behind everything else on my docket...

Impossible:

If you have read this one, I have yet to post the last chapter...

This has an MCD, and while I was writing this, I lost a friend. It was hard to finish. I have finished the outline, and this will be completed soon.

Run:

This is on hold. I have too much else to focus on. Consider this on hiatus until I say otherwise. It might even be scrapped... will see...

Would You Mind:

This one was a lot of fun... The wrap-up/epilogue is done; it's with my beta...

Lap Dancing Eddie will return... in Sideways...

I Don't Want To Be Your Freind:

As of today, 7 of 11 chapters are posted. This is all outlined. I have drafts of chapters 8-11 done. Going to beta and will be posting soon...

I started this leading up to Season 7; it was my mind dealing with all the rumors and leaks... In my mind and my group chat, I was calling this my Anti Tommy and Marisol fic...

This got way out of hand and became a monster of a fic...

Now... on to what else I have brewing...

Future Shock - 3 Part Series - Magic/BAMF/Mayhem/Found Family/Soul Mates/Redux/Ryan Throw's The Timeline Into A Blender and Tada...

As It Is - 2030 and the 118 have been a fractured team since the lawsuit. When members of the team start to be picked off one by one, Hen, Chim, and Bobby, have no one to turn to until friends and family return in their most desperate hour.

As It Was - Details what led to the fracturing of the 118. A retelling of Season 2 and part of season 3...

As It Was Always Meant To Be - Now reunited, will the 118 be able to rally around each other, or will their painful past be too much to overcome.

This has a loose outline and it's very large ...

Depressed, Devasted, and Destroyed aka Something To Hold On To:

I keep calling this Triple D or DDD... This is a pure angst fest... major whump... like I'm mad at myself for the whump here ... seriously...

This has an outline...

Relationship Goals—In an effort to rebuild their friendship after their recent relationships crash and burn, Buck and Eddie join a local hockey team along with some of Buck's old seal friends. This was pure fan service to myself and a way to get Buck, Eddie, Wes, and Cole to play hockey and not have to do it on Sideways. This currently sits around 60 pages.

Stolen - A stolen kiss changes everything between Buck and Eddie... This angst fest is somehow incredibly soft... This is about 35 pages right now...

The Ties That Bind - Buck breakdown fic... This might get scrapped and merged into DDD from above...

All I Want for Christmas - Think Scrooged Vs. It's A Wonderful Life Vs 911... This won't be posted until holiday time...

The Wes and Cole novel is still moving along... it's my refuge when the show does something stupid...

I should probably get to writing... it's not like I have nothing to do....

[starsh0cked]

okay so. two things!! first of all, over the course of january (and the beginning of february) i participated in the kirby oc secret santa, which was wonderfully hosted by @/moonverc3x. i was lucky enough to be the santa for @/starflungwaddledee, and ended up with two of my best pieces so far!!

these were CHALLENGING, though. which is where the second thing comes in!! under the cut, i'll be going over some of the sketches, drafts and phases of either piece! there's also a speedpaint. exciting!!

i'll be starting with my starstruck piece! the theme here was wanderlust - literally one of the most whimsical words i know - and generally anything to do with the stars. i had a few things in mind, but considering how long it sometimes takes to make artwork, i decided to roll with what inspired me the most.

this is the final sketch compared to the final artwork. certainly one of the crazier transformations i've done. i had a mental image of most parts of the artwork, from the material of starstruck's bow to the lighting cast by the stars. everything except for the grass (i hate grass!!) i ended up rendering the grass and background first, anyway.

doing the background before the rest of the artwork helps define the lighting and shadows! if i decided to draw starstruck before the background, i'd have to draw it according to the lighting.

weird explanation, but in summary: background before character helps the character look like a part of the environment! character before background means extra steps need to be taken before the character fits in the environment!

starstruck's bow was also a decent challenge! i'm a fan of bows and satin, so a satin bow sounded like a good idea. it was, but i've never drawn satin before. the workaround was an active satin study! i stared at a satin bow i found on pinterest and tried to understand how light spread over the material. it's quite interesting!!

you might notice that i flipped the direction of the shooting stars. this is for composition reasons!! i wanted to make starstruck the obvious focus, and while the contrast between her warmer palette and the background's cooler palette easily achieve that, i wanted to cement it. i also added little hand drawn sparklies everywhere. because i like it.

of course, i have to talk about the eyes!! if anything, i noticed that in all of starflung's drawings of starstruck, she had really glittery eyes. literally adorable. so i made it my mission to capture her feelings in her eyes!! i had a lot of fun making them super shiny and adding little stars in there. i also needed to pay attention to the subtle gradient, though - they fade from blue to pink if you zoom into starflung's artworks - and decided to keep it vibrant.

okay. thats all for this one!! i'd like to mention that in the original sketch for this specific pose, bandee was in the background. i really regret scrapping that now. oh, well!

time for morpho dee! i'll be starting for with the speedpaint for this one, mainly because it sort of explains some of the process by itself.

i restarted the shading... three or four times at least? so yeah. i was losing it on this piece. i'll be completely honest, i contemplated dropping it for the sake of meeting the deadline. it wasn't stressing me out, but i had studies to worry about too, and i was worried that it wouldn't be of great quality? but after some advice from my beloved older sister, i managed to turn the tide!!

this is a first for me, but everything here was a challenge. if you scroll through my account and the few artworks i've posted, you'll notice that i draw gijinkas far more than orbs. now, you may be wondering why this didn't pose so much of an issue for my starstruck piece! it's mainly because i chose a far simpler pose for her than i did for morpho over here.

for morpho, the artwork needed to be dramatic. i draw cutesy things - while i've always wanted to draw something dramatic, i've never pushed myself to do it. until this artwork! i went for a dynamic pose which would (hopefully) pull the viewer's eye towards morpho dee. that's what's up with the foreshortned spear! i also realised that the plcement of his feet would be quite significant to the artwork. you might not know this, but feet are my greatest enemy. i'm still trying to figure out how best to draw them for people or orbs, but i'm getting there.

after 'lineart' (which really ended up being a cleaned sketch - this was supposed to be linelessly rendered, but i gave up on that) the pose was no longer a problem. because the shading was! hooray!!

nothing has quite bewildered me like metal shading has. i've shaded gold. satin. cotton, fluffy scarves, shiny things, grass. yet metal shading continues to elude me! this was, hands down, the most difficult part of this artwork. i struggled to make sense of how the lighting was supposed to work, even with references. and every time i thought it made sense, i ended up with something i didn't like the look of. the solution? long breaks, more references and pinterest tutorials. i have no clue how i managed this, but we got here anyways. i finished it off by colouring the lineart according to the shading.

i have experience with drawing fire, at least! it was three or four years ago in an old artwork, but i have experience! i simply had to figure out how to work it into the atmosphere. for the glow, i duplicated the layer, gaussian blurred it and used a slight glow layer! i did something similar for the durst particles, but i used motion blur instead.

i also want to talk about the spear a little bit. you might notice that i added a bit of ambient glow around the blue gem. that was with the light intensity in mind, but also for a sense of realism! i also had to keep the pink light in mind, though. so i ended up using an airbrush to create a base for the lighting and i continued from there. i added a few scratches on the handle just to give it a bit more life, too.

and, finally, a one-to-one comparison between the sketch and the final! i have literally no idea how i pulled either of these pieces off, but i'm quite proud of them.

i recommend you drop by @/kirbyoc-secretsanta for other artworks! a total of 75 artists participated, so there are plenty of super cool ocs to adore over there and new artists to find!! this was my first secret santa experience, and @/moonverc3x made an amazing host (thank you for hosting, by the way!!) bye bye!!

[my-mt-heart]

Loving all the content this weekend and trying to stay positive. So far only a few things bugged me:

1.Daryl suggesting all three go to America together. We know it doesn’t happen but I don’t like that he says it.

2.I wish the network would stop labeling their relationship and leave it ambiguous. When you make friendship a definitive label for caryl, that makes it hard for the general audience that aren’t shippers to see them with romantic potential.

3. Norman agreeing with someone calling them siblings:( Maybe he was caught off guard I don’t know but it didn’t make me happy

I’ve watched the panel, the trailer, and the opening minutes, which I will talk about in depth sometime in the next couple days when I can muster the energy and that will be it for me. I haven’t read/watched all of the interviews because the first few things just took me completely out of it.

1. At worst, they’re positioning Daryl, Isabelle, and Laurent as a family unit that gets disrupted somehow and Carol swoops in to pick him up off the floor. At best, that shot in the trailer is a huge misdirect, which means AMC is still using unethical marketing to draw attention from the “unhinged” shippers. I’m not okay with that, especially when it’s been made very clear that Carylers don’t want any of the shipbaiting and a huge number of people, not just Carylers, view Daryl’s connections to the French characters as manipulative.

2. That’s exactly the point though. They’re trying extremely hard to erase the romantic potential because they want to appeal to the “dudebros.” They think Caryl fans will just tune in if they throw them a gimmick or two every now and then. I’m done being treated that way. A Daryl and Carol fan shouldn’t have to beg for scraps of Daryl and Carol in a Daryl and Carol show. It’s ridiculous.

3. I did watch that interview, but Norman didn't validate the twin comment. He said "kinda, sorta" which I took to mean that yes, Caryl have a telepathic connection, but not a sibling connection. What bothered me the most from everything I've seen is Norman, Zabel, and Nicotero talking about Daryl’s wholesome bond with Isabelle and Laurent when on the contrary, part of that has been built on lies and manipulation. And for all they talk about Caryl’s bond, they don't adequately establish what it means to Daryl in the trailer or the premiere. Again, misdirect? Maybe, but not one that makes me want to watch to find out.

[ahhhsami]

AO3 Writer 20 Questions

Saw @thatonebirdwrites answer these questions focused on AO3 writers and thought it'd be fun to answer them too!

1) How do you keep getting ideas for your ship/fandom?

Day dreaming, music, and other media (books, movies, TV series).

2) Which authors inspire you in your fandom, and why are they so freakishly good?

This is the main question I wanted to answer because I wanted to just praise people and share their works!

A_M_Nicholson since I really adore their AUs and amazing vibes you get from their settings. The characters are always so interesting and they're able to maintain the characters' personalities and traits even though they are in an AU.

RaeDMagdon since her stories introduced me to omegaverse. She also cranks out solid works consistently and it's extremely impressive and admirable.

Xaibaugrove's writing makes you feel things through her words. Each chapter, paragraph, and even sentence is so well thought out and her story telling is to die for. Plus the depth and details she goes into for the surroundings is beautiful and immersive.

Tabsbee writes for Genshin Impact and I adore her style of writing and the modern AU settings she uses. Everything she posts is a banger. Plus they feed my need for more JeanLisa stories!

AnotherShotofBourbon was one of the first fic writers I ever read in the korrasami fandom. They started a series of soulmate AUs and I adore them so much! Their new works are also just as exciting!

Velvet95 has super unique and fun AUs. They're working on their sequel to a galactic sci-fi story that they had created a while ago and just as the first part, it's super enjoyable and creative!

AsamiOnTop has a behemoth of a fic (I think almost 300k words) and it's such a fun read. I loved seeing her growth from chapter 1 to the ending and it's always so admirable seeing people wrap up long fics like hers!

kittymannequin is another OG korrasami writer that inspired me to write fics myself. Whether her stories are for TLOK or Arcane or another fandom, it's always a delight to read.

tumblr blogs: @raedmagdon @xaibaugrove @tabsbee @abronzeagegod @kittymannequin @asamiontop

3) Aside from the characters of your main ship, who are the characters you love to write?

There's a handful but here are the ones that come to mind; Vi & Caitlyn from Arcane, Jean & Lisa & Beidou & Clorinde from Genshin Impact.

4) Are there pairings or tropes you know for sure you'd never write about? Which ones?

I lean away from tropes that delve into Family dynamics. Mainly pregnancy since I actually don't like babies...

5) What is your writing process and why is it cursed?

Get an idea

Jot down a rough plan

Start writing and stray instantly from the plan

Get a new plot bunny and fight with myself whether to continue what I've written or scrap it for a new shiny story

Obviously the 4th step is where things become truly cursed.

6) What is your favorite part of your writing process?

Since I write so many AUs, the world building aspects are my favorite.

7) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for a fic?

I've had to research a lot of things... but the weirdest usually revolve around bodily injuries or time period research to keep things as accurate as possible when needed. If you need to know how to prepare opium like they did in the 1800s... I got you.

8) Is there a particular writing rule you struggle with (grammar, spelling, tense, reality in general)?

Grammar 100%. But I also think breaking grammar rules are okay for vibes, bruh.

9) What was your hardest scene to write so far and why?

It's one I'm currently working on and have been for years. It's the next chapter of Start Again and I'm struggling to progress the story in a way that I like. I've written and scrapped it so many times that I've lost count at this point.

10) Have your characters ever done something you didn’t expect, changing your plot completely?

All the time...

11) If you could converse with any of the characters, who would it be and why?

It'd have to be Korra. She's got such a special spot in my heart that I don't think I could choose anyone else.

12) What are some of the tropes or themes that you find yourself returning to in your writing?

College AUs just keep coming back even when I think I've had enough of them.

13) What's your most important resource as a writer?

Other books. I don't have a book in particular, but just reading other books and fics is helpful. I've also joined a local writer's guild that has been helpful too!

14) Can you share some of your strategies for editing and revising your work?

I read/mumble my stories aloud to myself to see if things come out clunky. I also have a wonderful partner that betas the majority of my stories and I couldn't be more grateful for her.

15) Which is worse: making the summary, picking the tags, or the anxiety when you post your fic?

SUMMARY. God damn, I will spend more time on a fucking summary than the story. I will also be lazy at times and just copy and paste an excerpt if I'm at a real loss.

16) How do you define success for your fanfic - hits? Kudos? Comments? Bookmarks? Or just if you like it?

A huge factor for me is if I personally like it, BUT hits/kudos/comments are always appreciated. The goal is to share my stories with people and for them to enjoy their time reading, so it's always nice to receive all of those. I don't gauge much off of bookmarks since I often write explicit fics, which tend to be privately bookmarked or not bookmarked at all.

17) Do you have a playlist for your favorite character/ship?

I make playlists for stories/chapters. I don't do them individually for characters. I wouldn't be surprised if I have 50 or so playlists for my writing though.

18) If fan art was going to be made from your work, which fic would you pick and which fan artist would you like to create it?

When it comes to the story, I'd want the artist to do art for one that resonates with them. One that somehow inspires them. And oh man, when it comes to specific artists, I'm not sure since there are so many amazing ones. I've recently been inspired by @seijousai and am writing a story inspired by their Clorivia art. @ppyuuingles art is super wholesome and adorable. I love their JeanLisa stuff. I also have always adored @persnickety-doodles style of drawing when it comes to Korrasami. In the past I had the pleasure to collaborate with @unii-outlawed and later commissioned her. If you don't know her, then definitely check out her stunning artwork! Other amazing artists that deserve a follow are @ttanaart, @kf1n3, and @mimiendos (follow their twitter).

19) How many WIPs do you currently have?

Erm... posted on AO3 there's 20 unfinished stories BUT I also have over 100 completed ones. As for the WIPs that are written and not posted... that's also probably in the 20s. It goes back to all of the plot bunnies that I get and the battles I lose which results in partially written stories.

20) What's your advice to new fanfic writers?

Write what you want. Even if you feel that it may be niche there'll definitely be people out there that will read and enjoy it!

[morningstargirl666]

I just finished reading through The Big Bad Wolf and have loved it. I can’t wait for more!! Any updates or news?

Hi! So happy to hear you loved it! ❤️✨

I'm currently in the process of editing/rewriting TBBW right now! I've also outlined chapter 36 and started writing some of the dialogue, but I'm hesitant to start writing it in its entirety because I feel like I'm going to end up changing a lot of TBBW and want it all up to date before I fully commit my attention to the next chapter. I'm not changing anything plot-line wise, but I am making tweaks to the lore, character development, etc. It's still the same story, but now that the first 35 chapters are written, I find I'm going back and adding bits that you'd normally see in 'filler' episodes. Anything and everything that develops characters, relationships or lore - or even just there simply because I find it fun and enjoyable. I keep reminding myself that writing these first 35 chapters was me stuffing sand into buckets and now, with time to edit, I can finally make the sandcastles: carve turrets and staircases, mount flags and add seashells, adding every scrap of detail that will ultimately make this story come alive.

For example, chapter 5 on its own, has 6.5K of entirely NEW unseen content added to it so far (it's not posted yet, nor are any other edits for TBBW, so don't get too excited). And that's not counting the scene between Sam and Kiera on the phone, which has been re-written completely for the most part. There is also at least one more new scene I still want to write. If the chapter gets too long, it might mean splitting it in two and re-organising the chapters again, like I did for chapter 11 and 12 a while ago when I edited them.

Chapter 5, I hope, is an outlier and most chapters won't have as much done to them. Chapter 1 is edited and finished, yet its mostly the same except for grammar corrections. Though Chapter 2 has a deeper insight into Klaus' mindset - particularly his pure dislike for doppelgangers - purely because it's fun for me, as well as highlighting the development of his character between The Little Wolf and the start of TBBW. There's also going to be an extra canon forwood scene at the end of that chapter, as I want to develop them more, in preparation for when I destroy the relationship in the future chapters after 35. But who nows - all the chapters centered around the Mikaelson Ball I'm eyeing hungrily, my mind whizzing with a few ideas on how I might expand on them a little bit. I also want to focus more on the hybrids, which until now I've kinda ignored.

I know it may be a little disappointing, to hear the next chapter update is a long way off yet. But I don't want to rush this. I want to savour it, every single second. And who knows, by the time you get chapter 36, you won't just be getting a 20k chapter - you'll be getting a 50k bonus update of brand new content as well, sprinkled throughout the first 35 chapters. The word count is going to be over 400k by the time I update the next chapter, probably closer to 450k, I'm almost sure of it.

I can't promise when the next chapter will arrive, but I can promise this:

It will be worth the wait.

[poke-me-with-a-stick]

Chapter 25 of 'Artificial Wingman'!

For the full Story on AO3, click Here!

Enjoy!

---

The living room wasn't much better than the rest of the building that Danny had seen, exposed beams and patchy drywall making up the walls, the only window shattered and replaced by a cloudy plastic sheet. The only furniture in the room was a moth-bitten couch, a ripped up blue arm chair, and a beat up looking coffee table. All in all though, it wasn't the worst place Danny had ever been.

Danny sat his tool kit down on the table before plopping himself down on the couch. "So," The teen looked up as Red Hood, now only donning his domino, walked into the room from a hall he hadn't seen when he walked in. "You got everything you need?"

Danny looked over the scraps and parts he had gathered, the glass tubes of ectoplasm tucked safely away in the pocket of his hoodie. Once again, he was kinda glad that most of the damage done was wires and cosmetic. If the trigger or the circuit boards had been injured, he wasn't completely sure that he would have been able to fix it as easily. "Yeah, this should be it. Its pretty amazing luck that more wasn't damaged." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he fiddled with one of the old, broken blasters, pulling it's wiring out.

"About how long do you think it'll take?" He asked, leaning over the back of the couch to look at the array of broken weaponry and spare parts. He reached over and picked up one of the pistol-looking blasters, making a vague noise of interest.

"Ah, I'm not quite sure..." Finally pulling the wires loose, the teen discarded the metallic shell of the blaster on the cushion beside him. "If I were to guess, though... I'd say anywhere between a few hours and two days?" Letting the wire drop into his lap, Danny turned to look at Jason. "It really depends on if I missed anything in my first look-over." He reached up and pulled the gun from him, smacking his hand lightly as he did. The man grumbled, but held his hands up in surrender as he straightened up, walking around the couch to perch on the edge of the arm chair.

"Hmm." Jason looked around, noticing for the first time that they were alone in the room. "Where did Jazz and the brat go?" He asked, turning around to eye the hall, like they would suddenly walk in when mentioned.

"Oh! They went back down to the Speeder to grab a few more things. I don't think I'll need anything else, but Jazz insisted." A small smile tipped the Halfa's lips upward. "I think Jazz just wanted an excuse to talk to him alone," he stage whispered, making Jason snort at his antics.

"Ah, so she's giving him the shovel talk?" Danny laughed outright at the mental image, sort of going off what he did when he tried to shovel talk Johnny. The image of Jazz glaring at a teen shorter than her, holding the Fenton Creep Stick(tm). When his laughter faded to giggles, Jason made a contemplative noise, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Y'know, this would probably be the perfect time to give you the shovel talk, wouldn't it?" Danny's giggles abruptly cut off as he choked on air, replaced by surprised coughing. "I mean, I am the only older brother present at the moment. It's technically my duty, isn't it?"

"I-it isn't like that!" Danny stuttered, struggling to get his breath back. "He's under a love potion!" Despite the teen's words, his face turned bright red. He ignored the way his core buzzed sadly at his own words.

Jason eyed him for a long moment. "...And how do you feel about that?" He asked carefully. "From what I've seen and heard so far, your always so quick to say that. To excuse D- Robin, but you never say anything about how you feel on the matter." Danny didn't know what to say to that, so he stayed quiet. They both let the silence between them stretch for a few minutes, but eventually Jason broke it. "Hey, I'm not usually the person who prompts 'emotional descusion', our family is held together by the fact that no one ever talks things out until they blowup in our face."

He stood and moved to sit down on the couch beside the teen, pushing the mess of mechanical parts to the side. Resting a hand on the teen's shoulder, Danny couldn't help but to look up at him. "You don't have to answer me, but think about yourself a bit. This family has enough miscommunication issues. I don't want you, or him, to get hurt because you don't know how you feel about this." They intense look faded, replaced by something vaguely amused. "But don't take my word for it. I'm just a guy that likes tasteful romance novels." With that, he stood up again. "Think about it, yeah? I'm gonna go find those two. Hopefully before The demon brat pulls a sword out of his ass or something." And he was gone, leaving Danny alone in the room again.

The Halfa chuckled at that, knowing it was meant to relieve the tension that had formed in the room, but he couldn't help the rock that had formed in his gut. 'How I feel about it...? How do I feel about this?' He had a lot to think about. And, with his project in hand and no one else around for the moment, he had plenty of time to dwell on it, too.

---

"You seem rather infatuated with my brother." Jazz was trying to be casual as she said this, leaning against the side of the Speeder as Robin rummaged around, looking for anything Danny might find useful.

The teen poked his head out of the back seat, giving her what was probably a scathing look, but she couldn't really tell with the domino mask covering half his face. "...I would not call it an infatuation. I believe that I am genuinely 'in love' with him. Despite how much he objects that I am." He shook his head, ducking back in after a moment.

Jazz blinked. 'Okay. Danny really knows how to pick 'em, doesn't he?' Sighing, she runs a hand through her hair, wincing as she catches on a knot. Pulling her hand free from the auburn strands, she moves to sit on the door frame. "So, you don't think it's just the potion effects, then?" She asks, watching the teen pause where he was digging through one of the boxes. He shot her a look over his shoulder before he went back to digging.

He scoffed. "I am quite certain that my affections are my own. I know what it feels like for my emotions to be tampered with, and this truly isn't the same." He sat up and twisted to face her, scowl firmly in place.

"Okay," Jazz blinked, part of her slightly concerned about that fact. "So, you think the potion will have no effect on you, when you take it?" She noted the way he froze, just for a second, before he continued on like nothing had happened. She also noted that he didn't answer her at all. "You do have doubts, don't you?" She asked, not unkindly.

Air hissed through the teen's teeth in a "Tt" sound, his shoulders tensing as he roughly pushed the meticulously organized box away, grabbing another and jerking it towards him. "...Of course I have doubts." He said finally, his voice so low she wouldn't have heard it, if she wasn't liminal. "But they are just that, doubts. Errant thoughts of 'what if' that do nothing for me in the end." He sighed, the tension dropping from his shoulders slightly, and turned to face her. Crossing his legs, he met her gaze with a steady look.

"I admit that there may be a chance the potion will work the way it is intended, and that my adoration for your brother will disappear, as if it never existed." He took a deep breath, and Jazz could see him struggle with the thought. "At the same time, there is a very likely chance that nothing will change, and that my feelings will remain. I have given it a lot of thought, and at this time, I know which outcome I want to happen. So yes, of course I have doubts, but at the same time. What are doubts without hope? Without conviction?" Despite posing it as a question, he didn't give her a chance to respond before continuing. "I believe that nothing will change when I take that antidote, and I will continue to believe that until something does change."

The way he said his piece, with such certainty, had Jazz smiling at him. When she asked him to come down here and help her search for more spare parts, she had been expecting him to be stuck in a love-struck haze. She had been worried that he wouldn't be able to think about the logistics, to see it from a different standpoint. Or at worse, that he would be ignorant to everything but the love he felt towards her brother. But now, sitting here with him staring at her like he was awaiting her final judgment, she knew her fears were unfounded.

"Your a good kid." She told him, her smile growing wider as his stony indifference morphed into a half indignant, half proud expression. When he noticed her amusement, his scowl came back. Grumbling something about "Not being a child," he turned back to the boxes, going through them more gently, now that the tension was gone. Sighing, she let her smile drop as the second thing that had been on her mind popped up. "For your sake and Danny's, that your feelings don't change. It might be had to notice, 'cause he's a huge dork and he's always the last to realize that he had feelings for someone, but he really, really cares for you." A bittersweet feeling filled her, and she couldn't help the wistful smile. "I love my brother, and I don't want him to have to go through that heartbreak." She stood, heading for the stairwell.

"Oh, and by the way," She called over her shoulder, "I don't think there's anything else in there that Danny'll need!" She giggled as she heard his cry of outrage, hurrying up the stairs. Giggling, she was completely surprised when she ran into something solid halfway up the staircase. Gasping, she flung her arms out in an attempt to catch herself. At the same time, something wrapped around her waist, pulling her back up against the solid thing. Her arms wrapped around the mass, clutching tightly.

It took her a minute to realize that she wasn't falling. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. Then blinked in confusion. Her vision was taken up by a mixture of black and red, the solid thing warm where she was pressed up against it. The redhead let her eyes drift upwards, trailing from the red, to black, to tan, and eventually to the narrowed eyes of a domino mask. She couldn't help but to stare, dumbfounded, up at Jason.

He looked as startled as she was for a minute. Then he laughed, the action shaking her as his chest vibrated with the sound. "Hey there." He greeted her, "I didn't expect you to fall for me so soon." It took a second for both of them to register what he had said. Jazz let out a small giggle of her own at the cheesy line, her head still light from her near fall down the stairs. On the other hand, Jason was now blushing a bright red, the color so close to matching the red on his bat insignia.

"That w-was te-terrible." Jazz managed between her giggles. Still blushing, Jason joined her in laughing again.

"Yeah, it was. Not exactly my best line." He agreed, helping her stand up-right again. When their laughter had finally calmed down, he sighed. Leaning against the grime-covered wall of the stairwell, he cocked his head to the side. "So, what did you and the Brat talk about?" He asked.

Jazz sighed as well, brushing imaginary dust off her blouse. "We came to an understanding." She replied simply.

"An understanding, huh?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I wasn't sure that he was viewing the whole picture, but I was wrong." She smiled softly. "He has a much better grip on the situation than I thought he did." Sighing, she looked back to the man. "And you?"

"And me, what?" He asked, standing up again as she started to ascend the stairs once more.

"What did you and Danny talk about?" She couldn't help but giggle again, when she looked at him over her shoulder. The fact that he didn't think she would know... "It was a bit obvious that you wanted to talk to him. I figured you'd take the opportunity while both me and Robin were out of the room." She smirked at his shocked look. "Hey, don't forget that I'm an older sibling too." The redhead couldn't help but tease him a bit.

Jason was quiet for a moment. "Fair enough," he chuckled, nodding to her when she glanced back again. "I did talk to Danny," the man admitted. "I had my own concerns. Decided to pull his head outta his ass, and gave him something to think about." Before she could ask what he meant by that, the door at the bottom of the stairwell was flung open, hitting the wall with a loud thud. Jazz shrieked, dashing up the remaining stairs as Robin chased after her, giggling the whole way. Behind her, Jason laughed, the sound echoing loudly through the stairwell. "Better run!" He called after them, making the redhead laugh harder as she reached the door.

Skittering into the living room, Jazz practically flung herself behind the couch. Danny made a noise of surprise and confusion as Robin bounded after her. "What's going on?" Her sweet baby brother asked, his head whipping between her and the other teen. She giggled again, popping up from her hiding spot to rest her hands on his shoulders.

"Nothing's going on. Right, Robin?" She asked pointedly, grinning at the vigilante as he stood up straight. He glared at her, but didn't try to approach.

"...Right. There is nothing happening." Sending her one last scathing look, he took a seat in the arm chair. Danny didn't look convinced in the least, but he let it drop. Going back to his project, the two watched as he began soldering a wire into the gun's circuit.

"So," the teen started, not looking up as he reached for another wire, "did you find something we missed in the speeder?"

Jazz choked on a laugh, trying her best not to acknowledge the 'if looks could kill' glare that the teen vigilante was giving her. "It was as I had assumed," Robin answered, apparently opting to ignore Jazz for the time being. "We gathered everything you could possibly need, and left the rest. Now your sister is as assured of that fact as we are." Okay, maybe not ignoring her existence.

Jazz fought to keep a smile off her face. 'Danny really did know how to pick 'em.'

---

(I know that there are probably some grammar and/or spelling mistakes, but it's okay because I tried my best!)

For the amazing person who made the prompt for this story, as well as the amazing people who follow along!;

@halfblackwolfdemon @manapeer @xxwintrynightzxx @im-totally-not-an-alien-2 @blu-lilac @academicpurposes @secretdestinywerewolf @passivedecept @naluforever3 @postit-nope @spiteismymiddlename @2t-productions @plague-daisy @feet-achy @bubblecookies16 @thesapphiredragon13 @justwannabecat @magicalcollecter @adeniumdream @amuseofminds @lupagrim @readerkayden @dr-syko-pharm-4 @ladythugs @angelheartgamer @markthespot68 @kyrianclawraith @michikoy-yuki @servasvictoria02 @your-emo-nightmare @vala-dreams @scarlett-green-rose @t1dwarrior-of-earth @charlie-the-frogie @akikoyuii @mysticalcomputerdetective @roseuniverse999 @im-totally-not-an-alien @thefearfullone @weird-droplet-309 @jaytriesstuff @raventao @jacquelynwinchester @dragongoblet @tlise21 @longlivethefallen @the-archer-goddess @temple-of-jalebi @adepresseddwightsblogofjunk @plainly-colorful @the-legalHe-shipper @49saltpeppershakers @igotafewbadideas @tumbling-darkling @sparklygardenbouquet @sarcastic-yami @blueneko9314 @starscreamlover @liedboutmurder @do3y @roze-realm @some-mildly-happy-human @yinari-uchiha @azuera @chaoticmistake @altairsarts @kawaiikenna @heartsong18 @thetoyboxs @tricksovertreats @mnemovoid @lim4b3ans @horribly-lost-and-gay @keimiwolf @dryeraseslime @joey394

[superkirbylover]

hi. i really admire all the work you do and how much you've done over the course of your lifetime. it's really inspiring how many hats you wear and encourages me to try my best to do the same. i find learning new tasks really frustrating especially now that i have an injured wrist, but i look at you and i get the motivation to try and do my best, even if i feel like crying because i'm not immediately good at it. i really look up to you. i won't get super parasocial and act like you're perfect, that'd feel insulting, i've never talked to you, but just as a creative, you make me feel so much better about myself. i hope this doesn't put pressure on you, i'm not expecting you to make masterpieces, i just really envy how much you've done and how you haven't completely given up on the internet. i hope i get to see more from you.

thanks.

this doesn't put pressure on me at all. in fact, i'm really glad i serve as an inspiration for you. i'm glad i'm one of the reasons you keep going. it's an amazing feeling that just by being myself, i push others to do that.

in truth, i wasn't always good at the things i do. typical "yeah every creative says this" kind of thing, but it's true. it took me roughly a decade to get to my current level of understanding about programming, and that's only in LUA. i stared at pages of documentation coming out understanding none of it, watching just as many tutorials and still learning nothing. the same thing happened with 3d modeling, because while i had the vision in my head and the experience of putting things together to model on ROBLOX, i often got frustrated at blender. i can't tell you how many scrapped 3d models i have sitting on my sd card (that's a lie, i can, it's ~10, going as far back as 2018). only recently by doing the mario 64 models for my COOPDX mods have i recently gotten confident in my modeling skills, but even then. i constantly bump into invisible walls and don't understand why. it's likely where my autism comes into play, making it harder to learn things. there's been so many times i wanted to bash my head into the wall because it felt like no matter what i did, i wasn't getting it. i'd quit, but... i'd always come back. i didn't know why, but despite how upset i'd get, i'd have that desire to try again. i think it's because my desire to get the hang of it and learn to do it was stronger than my desire to give it up. it was annoying, but... hey, because of that, i've managed to get so many hats into the ring.

it's easy to look at everything that's happened to me negatively online and want to give up. i've been doxxed for 4 years (and counting, if that last ask is anything to go by), i've been harassed, dragged into ship discourse, stalked, lied about, lost friends, you name it. some days, i think about abandoning everything online, and occasionally even my life as a question pops in my head: is it worth it?

and every time, i land on the answer: yes. it is.

i've met my best friends online. i've found myself online. best of all, i don't feel alone. i've made it this far, and if i quit now, not only would i be doing all of my friends a disservice, but myself. because there's more to the internet outside of all of the bullshit that happens.

i happen. you happen.

this ask happened.

roundabout way to say... thank you. i really appreciate it.

[sheliesshattered]

I did a lot of sewing in 2023, and spent more time on my sewing projects than on any of my other hobbies, even though I ended up with relatively few finished products. I drafted patterns, fitted mock-ups, and worked with specialty fabrics, several of them new to me. I'm pleased with how all of them came out, and feel like I improved my skills in both sewing and drafting. And most importantly, I had a ton of fun wearing each one of these projects!

The majority of the year was spent on my Rhaenyra Targaryen cosplay, starting last January with drafting a pattern from my measurements, sewing a mock-up, fitting the mock-up to achieve a more screen-accurate look, and adjusting the pattern accordingly. I worked with silk for the very first time, black silk organza for the underdress and red silk jacquard (woven by a small maker in India) for the main dress. I dyed lacing cords to match, hand-sewed several yards of trim, set a couple dozen grommets by hand, sewed on several different types of beads, and did a lot of handsewing to complete the whole thing. I worked on it continuously for just over seven months, in between work and alongside other sewing projects in the last month or so.

The other major sewing project last summer was the sequin shorts for my Harley Quinn/Taylor Swift mashup cosplay. I based them on the sequin shorts in the first Suicide Squad movie, but made them red and black to match both Harley's more typical color scheme and Taylor Swift's Red color scheme. I drafted a pattern by altering a swimsuit pattern I drafted in 2020, and made a lining out of swimsuit fabric to check the fit, then cut out the exterior sequin fabric. I'd worked with sequin fabric before, but never one with sequins attached in one continuous chain of stitches, which took a little while to figure out how to best handle to keep from unraveling when cut. I ended up handsewing extra sequins onto places of the shorts where the sequins had fallen off.

I purchased the Taylor Swift tshirt but added quite a lot of hand-sewn details, to make it look more like the Suicide Squad tshirt. In July and August I also finished a bunch of other small cosplay crafting items, everything from wig styling and jewelry making, to gluing rhinestones to a pair of bunny ears, repairing the beading on a purchased dress, and adding a hidden pocket to a purchased skirt, all in preparation for Dragon Con at the end of August.

After Dragon Con I needed a couple of months to recover, and while I did start (but not yet finish) a simple knitting project, I didn't do any sewing or pattern drafting again until late November. At that point I knew I wanted to make a cozy stay-at-home winter dress and get it finished just as soon as possible, so I could start wearing it as the weather turned colder.

I drafted a new dress pattern based on the pattern I drafted for Rhaenyra's dress, and a pair of funky wide legged pants from a pajama pant pattern I'd drafted in 2022. The whole project, from drafting the pattern and ordering a sample of the heavy fleece fabric I wanted to use, to the final hand stitching on the hem, took just under a month -- much faster than the Rhaenyra project, with much less fussy fabric and far fewer details. Now that I've gotten to wear it around the house over the last week and a half, there are a few small changes I may make to it in the future, but generally I'm very happy with it.

Currently I actually have two other sewing projects in process, too: hand-sewing/quilting the print from an old tshirt onto the back of a hoodie for Jack (slow going but getting close to done), and a surprise birthday gift for a family member. I'll post pictures of each once they're done, but probably won't post about the surprise project until the gift has been given.

After that, I have plans to start making some layering pieces to put over (and under) the fleece dress. I have some scrap fabric from older projects I'd like to turn into wearable things, and that bolt of cotton herringbone fabric I got a good deal on on Ebay arrived the other day, and needs to be washed and ironed and such before I start figuring out what I want to do with it.

I'm hoping to continue my streak of 2023 sewing into 2024, with that focus on more practical, everyday wearable items, rather than on cosplay. I don't know yet if I'm going to have any cosplay events to attend this year, and even if I do, I'd be quite happy bringing older projects, including those I finished in 2023, out to play again. As much as I love making those big show pieces for conventions, and pushing myself with new-to-me fabric types like silk and sequins, I'll get a lot more use out of everyday pieces, and feel better about my day to day wardrobe at the same time.

Thank you to everyone who liked and commented on my sewing posts throughout the year! I mostly post about my projects here as a way to document them for myself, but it's always so wonderful to hear that other people like my work, too. I hope 2024 treats all of us well, and to any of you out there with sewing projects you're working on, may your thread stay untangled and your scissors sharp!