#one day I'll have a stylus so i don't have to use my finger to draw things like this

[54625]

do not be afraid

[crybabyddl]

Black Coffee

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Chapter One

Warning: swearing, meet-cute, awkwardness, modern au, coffee shop au

Author's Note: Hi. it's been a while. I started typing this up on AO3, then accidentally closed the tab and lost it all. But I got so attached that I decided it was worth rewriting. The POV will change between the reader and Eddie. ALSO!! Eddie has parents in this fic. Okay, enjoy!

Next Chapter

----

I had thirty minutes until my lunch break. I decided to do the daily crossword on my phone to pass the time. Winter was the town's "off season", so I basically got paid to just be on my phone for eight hours, making a coffee here and there for the regulars and occasional tourists that managed to stumble upon our secluded café. If there was one thing I could depend on, it's that no matter how slow business was, there'd always be at least one person in need of caffeine, and that was enough for me.

I was on a roll, solving a bunch of the crossword clues when I saw a figure entering the shop out of the corner of my eye. I put my phone in my back pocket before picking up the stylus I used to tap on the register's screen.

I look up to see a tall man wearing black jeans, a leather jacket, and combat boots. His fingers are adorned with several rings and his pinkies are coated in black polish. This guy looks like he came straight off my "dream man" pinterest board. He's got long, curly brown hair that I was honestly jealous of.

"Hello!" I said in the sing-songy voice I use to greet customers. I felt my face heating up, and it only grew warmer once he looked up at me.

Holy shit, he's gorgeous.

"Hey, how's it going?" the man replies with a small, closed-mouth smile.

"Not too bad, what about you?"

"I'll be better once I get some coffee in my system, but other than that I'm doing alright."

"Just a regular coffee?"

"Yup. Small, black coffee."

"You got it," I reply, punching in the order on the register before grabbing a twelve ounce cup and fitting it into a sleeve. I turn to fill the cup and can't help but mouth an "oh my god" to myself at how beautiful this man is.

After filling the cup, I take a lid and press it firmly onto the cup to ensure it's secure. "Here you are." I say as I place the coffee on the counter in front of him.

"Thanks," he pulls out his wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

"Comes out to three dollars."

"Is that how much a black coffee is these days?" His brows furrow, but the look and lopsided grin he gives me tell me his words are lighthearted.

"Don't look at me, I don't make the prices!" I put my hands up in fake surrender. "Cash or card?"

"Card."

"Okay,"

I tap the icon on the screen that authorizes cashless payment and the man taps his card on the chip reader. I grab a pen, clicking it open before taking the receipt from the printer. "I just need you to sign this for me please."

"Alrighty," he reached up to scratch the back of his neck, and I caught a glimpse of his stomach as his shirt rose to reveal his happy trail. Was it weird to be attracted to someone's abdomen?

I place the pen and receipt in front of him, watching his hair cover the sides of his face as he leans over to scrawl his signature. Once he finishes, he unclicks the pen, handing it and the receipt back to me. "There you go, thanks again."

"Thank you, have a good one!"

"You too!" he called over his shoulder.

I feel my own shoulders relax once he's out of sight. I exhale a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. I glance down at the receipt and notice the signature at the bottom. His name is Eddie. I mentally sighed. A cute name for a handsome stranger I'd never see again. My eyes flicked over to the tip. Damn, three dollars. That could mean one or more of the following:

He also works in food service and therefore understands the struggle and knows how to tip well.

He's rich and always tips the amount of the check

He thought I was cute too and tipped me nicely as a form of flattery.

He's just a normal person who gave a nice tip for no specific reason.

I knew option four was the most likely, but I allowed myself to enjoy the idea of option 3.

During my lunch break, I couldn't help but think about Eddie. I knew it was wrong to romanticize a single interaction with a stranger, but I figured it was okay since I'd never see him again. What wasn't okay was me picturing him shirtless. Hey, it wasn't often that a cute guy my age came into the café, since most people went to a different coffee shop that'd been around longer. Plus, I've been single for a few months and my sex drive has been practically nonexistent. I'd be foolish to not take advantage of the eye candy.

----

I wasn't expecting to pay three dollars for a small black coffee, but after taking a sip, I decided it was worth it. To be fair, anything was better than the watered down crap I got yesterday after returning the U-Haul, but this shit was good. I wasn't sure how I'd like my new hometown, but things were off to a good start. I found a place to get coffee, and a cute barista to make it for me.

The next thing on my list for the day was unpacking my stuff in my new apartment. I took another swig of my coffee at that thought, knowing it would be a long road to settling in. After unloading just the essentials in the kitchen and the bathroom, I decided to get serious. If I ever wanted to fully move in, I needed to pick one room to completely unpack. I figured I'd start with the most important room, the bedroom.

Starting with the bedroom turned out to be a mistake, as I ended up crashing as soon as I placed the mattress on the bedframe I'd just spent an hour putting together. To my credit, I drove for six hours straight yesterday and had to toss and turn on my parents' couch before giving up and having a beer while watching youtube shorts until two in the morning.

I reached for my phone and looked at the time. 6pm. I felt a pang of hunger hit my stomach. There was no way in hell I was going to cook right now. I decided to test my luck and see what my options were for takeout. This town wasn't big enough to have DoorDash or Uber Eats, so I'd have to find a restaurant, order takeout, and pick it up. I didn't mind driving honestly, I just needed something other than fast food tonight.

I ended up ordering from this Thai place around the corner, so I decided to get some fresh air and walk to the restaurant. I was able to get my food nice and easy, and thankfully had the keys to my apartment in my pocket so I had no problem getting back and enjoying my chicken massaman curry on the couch as I watched Breaking Bad for the millionth time.

----

[pedanther]

There's a poll going around asking the question, "Do you prefer writing on paper or a device, and if so, which device?"

The best device I ever had for writing was a PDA equipped with an input system called Quikwriting.

If you're not old enough to remember the days before smartphones, back then mobile phones only did the basic phone stuff like calling and text messages, and if you wanted to do other things, playing games and reading ebooks and writing and getting travel directions and so on, you had to carry around a second device to do those on. This device was called a personal digital assistant, or PDA.

And nobody had yet invented a tiny little keyboard that worked well for a majority of people, so there were a variety of other input systems available. Most PDAs came with a stylus that you could use to draw on the screen, so some input systems used that. Some claimed to let you write on the screen in your normal handwriting and it would be converted to text (and they even got it right most of the time); some got you to write in their own adapted alphabet where each letter form was simplified and made more distinct from other similar letters. And some abandoned the alphabet entirely.

My favourite of the input methods I tried was Quikwriting, in which you wrote by making little loops with the stylus in the corner of the screen. Each loop began and ended within a central zone, and the size and direction of the loop indicated the character. If the stylus had left a trail while you were writing, it might have looked something like this:

...except that the words would all be written on top of each other without lifting the stylus. (And of course you'd write the loop that meant a space between each word, and the loop that meant a full stop at the end.) It took a while to memorise what the motion for each character was, but once you had it down you could write whole words, sentences, paragraphs in one long swoop.

It's the only input system I've ever used where I could write long passages as fast as I thought them, without having to keep an eye on the text to make sure that what I'd written was what I meant to write. And maybe, who knows, the fact that the physical motion resembled just doodling in a margin was also part of the appeal.

These days I have an Android smartphone with a tiny little keyboard that's okay for writing short messages and only occasionally tries to change what I've written into what it thinks I meant, but I don't use it to write anything of any significant length. As far as I know, nobody's ever made a proper implementation of Quikwriting for Android, and I suspect it wouldn't be the same using a finger instead of a stylus.

But maybe I'll go and look again, just in case...

[lotusprotocol]

dreamcatcher devlog: november 2023

(messy concept art sketch for one of the story pages)

it's time for the first proper devlog post on this blog! this is my first time writing something like this, so hopefully i'll do it fine. without further ado, here's what happened in november:

i did some work on music at the start of the month and made some progress on a few tracks; here's the tutorial music:

i also decided to redo the movement mechanics, since i wasn't satisfied with what i had before. i ended up finishing them, and i'm still working on tweaking everything until it feels just right.

on the 12th, i opened up a discord server for dreamcatcher! i'd actually created the server months ago, but was finally ready to share it this month.

if you're interested in joining for more updates, asking questions, or just to hang out, here's the link (also in pinned post): https://discord.gg/umPNp5QTCu

a few days later, i remembered that krita existed and decided to try it out. it's been a good upgrade from the app i used to use (autodesk sketchbook), and i'm still learning as i use it.

to be honest, not much happened for about a week and a half. i was off for thanksgiving break and struggled to find motivation even though i had so much free time.

once i finally felt like making progress again, i finished up the menu animations! once i learned about tweens, they weren't very hard to implement. here's a video showcasing them:

i also downloaded audacity so i could make sound effects, and i've been learning to use that as well.

to finish off the month, i made a github repo for the game and set up github desktop! now i don't have to worry about making backups, and i can also use github's issues and projects features to help with development. also i get so much satisfaction when i commit a new change, so that's been really helping with staying motivated.

that's all for november! i think i've made some good progress this month, and i would like to keep this pace into this month. speaking of which, here's some things i plan on doing in december:

i'll be hosting playtester applications this month! they'll open on the 15th, and close on the 22nd (both are in utc time). you'll be able to find the form in the discord server, but i also might post it here as well.

i want to get as much of the core game mechanics done as possible, such as level transitions, save data, the notebook, etc. i think i'll mainly be focusing on level design for the first few months of next year, and i want to be prepared for that.

i'm buying a stylus and smudgeguard this month, so hopefully that'll improve my drawing process. i've been using my finger to draw for years now, and i'm excited to have those tools to help.

there's plenty more that i'll be doing this month, but this post is getting pretty long, and the rest aren't as significant. if you want to keep up with progress, please consider following this blog, or joining the discord server!

and if you made it this far, thank you so much for reading! it means a lot to me <3

that's all for this month, cya!

[call-me-copycat]

Do you have any tips for drawing?

Tips for drawing? Hmmm..

I'm still learning myself, so forgive me if this list isn't very long or detailed (ㅎ.ㅎ )

Normally I start a drawing with a reference, so I can get the anatomy correct (a real life reference alongside a character reference of the character/s I want to draw)

I normally go into Pinterest for this, there's lots of good photos to choose from

I then go into IBIS Paint and set up a canvas (the size changes depending on the picture)

I then try to mimick that reference as much as I can (since I can't really draw clothes and stuff on my own yet). This first layer is normally in red so I can separate the layers

Extra stuff I put in blue, just to help differentiate between them

I'm messing around with line thickness, and I've realized it makes the picture pop out more if you have the area where light isn't hitting thicker and the lightened up areas thinner. I also do this to the edges, I don't know how to describe it:

After the line art is done (and cleaned up!), then I draw my character on top of this in another layer in another color (typically a shade of orange or purple). I try to keep the lines thick on the outside and thinner on the inside

I start off coloring by doing everything one at at time, and I normally use a bucket for a base color and then add shadows in areas the reference has (if the reference doesn't have any then I try to estimate where the shadows would go)

Same thing goes for the character, and I take colors directly off of a screenshot

Because I keep forgetting to color the whites of the eyes and teeth, I make my entire background a light shade of gray so I can see the white when I do color it in

When coloring the shading on clothes I try to follow the folds

Sorry these pictures are so big, I forgot how to make them smaller.. (⁠;⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠)

I've had some really good drawings, and others that I've thought were really bad. I suppose it depends on my energy and how familiar I am with what/who it is that I'm drawing

I don't draw very much on paper (mainly just for projects and friends), but I do know that if you're drawing something over in marker then moving at a constant pace will keep it from looking odd (and causing it to bleed more in place)

♡ ••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈•• ♡♡ ••┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈•• ♡

Sorry if that wasn't very specific, I'm still trying my best to learn what I can! I hope I can be greater help in the future!

It's also a little different for me because I have only my phone to draw on and I have to use my fingers since I don't have a stylus, so I'd say zooming in a great deal with a large canvas can help if you're in the same predicament ✍️(з_з)

Thank you for the question! I'll let you know if I remember anything else! Please have a lovely day! ٩(｡•ω•｡)و

[arthurhwalker]

Lenovo Yoga Book 9i Review

The hype for this device is warranted. That said, some of the features are incomplete, or "coming soon." There's a lot of really great reviews of the device that talk specifications. In short, the specs are great. This review is going to about how the device fits into my own use case, and the features that mattered to me most.

Yep. I'm going to make it all about me.

Text Entry

Being able to use two screens in landscape, one above the other, or side by side in portrait mode is a show stopper. It's really difficult to have that set up, and have it fit comfortably in your daily carry bag. Being able to set a document window to cascade between both screens in stacked landscape mode is done by tapping five fingers on the screen. It's so good.

Also, it comes with a Mystery Triangle. No idea what it's for, but it is magnetic and has instructions on it for assembly. I found at least one thing it can do, but probably isn't intended for.

Pen holder?

Pictured below: 65w Charger, Lenovo 2-channel quiet Bluetooth mouse, keyboard accessory, stylus, and Mystery Triangle.

The Bluetooth keyboard accessory is excellent. Best of all, the keyboard is included. Literally, the best travel sized/weight Bluetooth Keyboard accessory I've seen is just quietly bundled with the Lenovo 9i.

Key travel, latency (I type very fast if I want to), and feedback are great. I know the device is designed to take pen input, but I love making text with it. They way the keyboard rolls up into the stand to protect the keys from havoc while traveling in my bag is really nice. A lot of thought went into the accessories for the Yoga Book 9i.

The effort paid off.

Pen Entry

You make some sacrifices here, but I'm not convinced it is Lenovo's fault. Being able to draw on the deck display while using the lid display to view your reference material is awesome. Pen input is pretty good, but I'm still wrestling with getting tilt and other functionality to work as I'd prefer. It doesn't seem to matter which application I use, there is a little jitter.

The device will take pen input on both screens simultaneously but that experience is heavily dependent on the applications, and what pen protocol they are using. Overall I'll be doing my finishing work at 300 dpi at home on my Thinkpad with a Wacom Cintiq. Will I do front end digital art, pixel art, and sketching on my Yoga Book 9i?

For sure.

It's an 8.5 stars drawing experience that feels like a 10 because the displays are both OLED, and vary closely matched in both color and brightness. I haven't applied any film to the deck, but the included stylus has pretty good resistance without it. My other favorite stylus works great, too.

User Experience

Microsoft's software products have been in steady decline for over a decade. I didn't think Microsoft had anything left to ruin after Windows 10, but they broke new ground with Windows 11. User experience isn't anywhere on Microsoft's list of priorities these days, and anything Windows 11 does well feels accidental.

Fortunately, Lenovo goes all out to smooth things over wherever they can. They have software running that helps curate the experience for the user. In some cases it does better than put lipstick on the pig that is Windows 11. With screen gestures and touch input particularly, I forget the pig exists.

There are many "coming soon" features that promise to make the experience great, utilizing both displays for function and neat visual aesthetics. If Lenovo does all they've promised with regard to features, the user experience would go from good, to great.

The bad news is that the display scaling is kinda stuck at 200%. You can change it, but you have to change it for each display, every time you log in. When you turn your computer on in the morning to get started working, you'll be changing the scaling, if you don't like it at 200%

For me, the 200% scaling is perfect, and I imagine it will be a for a lot of people. If that is not ideal, it becomes an arduous daily chore to open the display settings, and change the scaling to the desired amount. It is likely that Lenovo will fix this with an update.

If you're having this issue, head to Lenovo's Forums and hit this post. It has some work arounds, but also reply in line. Bump it up. Thanks.

I'll update this review if I find a silver bullet or if Lenovo issues and update that fixes the issue.

Darkness

During the Pandemic my spouse was ill (not with COVID, something else). Being able to sit next to her in the dark, and continue my work without disturbing her was pretty important. At the time I had an Thinkpad X1 Carbon that I had Lenovo's power management settings on it. With the screen brightness bottomed out, and the machine set to run quiet as I could get it, I was able to continue working.

After my spouse's recent surgery, I found myself in a similar situation. She basically needed to sleep for a month to heal, and I needed to be able to watch over her, and continue my work.

Using the Yoga Book 9i in a dark room to make text is great. With the backlighting turned down to nothing, the software keyboard (Lenovo's, not you Microsoft) is perfect. It can be set to give feedback, and a little noise, or nothing at all. The OLED displays turned all the way down are perfect for viewing text, without adding enough illumination to a room to disturb a sleeper.

It's also really cool looking in the dark. Perfect for writing science fiction.

My ears ring constantly after having COVID, and now I'm pretty sensitive to coil whine from devices. The Yoga Book 9i is almost as quiet as a fanless ARM SOC. Almost.

Sound

The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i can be really quiet, but it can also be really loud. If you were using it to run Dungeons & Dragons at a venue, and needed something to play music and sound effects, this device has the best sound on a portable device I've heard. I have one other Lenovo Yoga with a sound bar hinge from a couple years back. The sound on it is really good, but nothing like the Yoga Book 9i.

You can take the Bluetooth speaker out your bag if you're carrying one.

That said, make sure you fully update all the sound drivers. My Yoga Book 9i came with a lot of crackle pop out of the box. Once I updated all the drivers, the sound was perfect. I didn't need to touch a thing.

You will absolutely annoy other people at the coffee shop while watching cat videos on YouTube.

Mobile Workspace

I've been carrying a Thinkpad X12 Detachable Tablet, a Thinkvision M14 portable display, Lenovo Pen Stylus, and Lenovo Bluetooth Mouse as my standard portable workspace. It sets up nicely on a coffee shop table, and let me do my things while I'm traveling.

It's a really nice set up, fits well in my bag.

The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i does the same thing without all the hunting for accessories. Everything you need comes with it. Also, you aren't stuck with two landscape displays stuck side by side, or with extra stands to make your preferred viewing experience work.

It also takes up less space on the table, and I don't have to bring another keyboard as a sidecar to render digital artwork with the pen.

I haven't run into battery life issues with the Yoga Book 9i. I really expected to find myself searching for an outlet more often, but it hasn't been a thing. I assumed the magnetic stand and keyboard accessories would mess with it my bag, and I'd find the device running fans and being crazy in standby mode. Nope, it's been fine.

If it sounds like my expectations were low in terms of the hardware, it is because they were. I was pretty sure I'd buy one, review it, and return it. I'm keeping mine, and riding out the bumps as Lenovo updates and completes software features. I think it'll be worth the wait.

Accessories

All that's missing is the perfect bag or sleeve for the Yoga Book 9i. I'm using a Waterfield Designs Sutter Tech Sling right now, and it is pretty ideal. I have a number of Lenovo's other two-compartment cases that worth pretty well, but nothing that is "the one."

Other than that, carry an extra big microfiber cloth. With three Thunderbolt 4 ports I haven't found the need for dongles or docks unless I'm at home.

Bundled Software

Lenovo ships this device with a Smart Note and Journal application. You can take a Smart Note on the Lock Screen, save Bookmarks, and there is a Smart Reader app in the works. I usually dismiss bundled software, but Lenovo gave these apps some great features.

I might not use Journal, but I will be using Smart Note.

Branding

I've owned or laid hands on every version of Lenovo's Yoga Book devices over the years. My Yoga Book Gen 1.5 (Ruby Red) and Yoga Book C930 still get used, because they are that good. I've had the Android version of the Gen 1, Windows Version of the Gen 1, and used the LTE (Eurozone) Yoga Book C930.

Is the Yoga Book 9i a "Yoga Book" as Lenovo has defined them? Yes, and no.

The Yoga Book 9i is not a 10" ultraportable that defies the traditional categories of clamshell vs. tablet / detachable device. It is a 13" clamshell laptop that comes with the best wireless keyboard and mouse offerings, and the second best stylus Lenovo offers. The stand accessory that bundles everything up is awesome.

It does not fit in my vertical computer bag designed for 10" - 12" form factor devices. It would be unwieldy to hold like a book, in hand, and read text from the displays.

It does provide a computing experience you can't get anywhere else. Lisa Gade didn't even try to explain this in her review. You'll either look at this device and wonder who it's for, or know instantly that you need one for your use case. Like other Yoga Books of the past, there is nothing to compare the 9i to.

There are other dual-screen devices, but they don't compete with the Yoga Book in my opinion. They are not necessarily better or worse, they just don't provide the same experience.

Have a question?

Find me on most social media platforms, @ArthurHWalker

Pictured Below: One use of the Mystery Triangle?

[artists-wonder-emporium]

York con~

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who came and said hi yesterday! Some of you even remembered me from my previous cons which was so sweet and so nice to see you again! 🌟🥹🌟

I got a few questions and I'll answer them here!

Am I doing any more cons this year?

Yes! I'm doing the hull con 28th of April and the York on the 1st of September~

Do I sell online?

Yes! I have a KoFi shop which admittedly isn't as updated as I would like but link is in my bio. All of my artworks are available as prints and if there is something you would like which isn't yet on my KoFi please just private message me here on Tumblr or on my Instagram under the same username artists_wonder_emporium and I can take a order that way and payment via PayPal 😊

Do I have any other social media's?

I do! I have Instagram and X/Twitter under the same username and profile picture so you can find me easily 😊 Tumblr I post art and photos of my prints, charms, stickers etc. Instagram I post my art and do stories of wips, upcoming merch sneak peaks etc. X/Twitter is just art at the moment, I dont use it too much, just another platform to share my art and for people to contact me on 😂 Also, no, I don't have a tiktok due to video making being far too time consuming 😅

Do I take commissions?

At the moment not officially but I am working on a pricing sheet and hope to open them some point this year! If you are interested just give me a little private message on here or Instagram and I can give you an idea of prices and what I can do~

Do I make my own things?

Some of them! All my art prints and my stickers based on my art prints are made by me 😊 my keyrings, pins and die cut stickers I use a manufacturer for~

How do I make my art?

I've actually got a ask about this so I'll answer this more in depth there but short answer is I use my phone, a free art app called Ibispaintx and (some of you was super surprised to learn this yesterday) no fancy stylus or anything, I just use my fingers to draw 😅

Can I take a photo of you or your stall?

Please do not take photos of me or my stall without permission. I feel really happy you like my art and stall so much to take a photo of it but I would really prefer people ask first. I saw a few people take photos without asking and I know it wasn't your intention at all but it made me very uncomfortable and I know a few other vendors who feel the same way as well. If in doubt, please just ask first before you take a photo of anything at a con! Generally if people ask me first and let me move out of the way I'm happy for people to take photos 😊

Who is the other person on my stall with me?

She is my girlfriend and she always helps me with con prep, she's our driver to any of our cons and helps me a lot with the stall and I couldn't do it without her! She really loves coming to cons with me too and seeing everyone in costume/cosplay and she tends to try and dess up as well for fun! (Side note from her: she was so excited to see Helluva Boss and Hazbin cosplays and Lucifer is her favourite so to that one Lucifer cosplay you made her day!)

I believe they were the main questions from yesterday, if you would like to know more feel free to ask! Thank you so much again for everyone who came to buy, ask questions and chat and just to say hi! I had an absolute pleasure talking to you all! 🌟😊🌟

[starrysharks]

ZENO STARRYSHARKS BIG FAQ. YAY

this is gonna go over all the questions people ask me about my art, OCs, etc etc ^^ starting with -

ART QUESTIONS:

Q: WHAT DO YOU USE TO DRAW?

A: ibispaint x on shitty samsung. no stylus just my fingers. very occasionally (and not in several months now) i will use MS paint with a wacom tablet and pen!

Q: WHAT BRUSHES DO YOU USE?

A: main lineart pens are love pen and dip pen (hard) on a 60-80% opacity. when i do my pencil style i use hard mapping pen (bleed).

Q: HOW DO YOU DO THAT SCREENTONE THING?

A: this PNG.

you're gonna place the png over where you want to add a halftone, and then lasso that area. then, click "invert selection area", and erase over the halftone layer. it should only be left on the area you wanted it to be on. you can change the color with alpha lock.

Q: HOW DO YOU COLOR SO WELL?

A:

Q: HOW DO YOU DRAW DIFFERENT BODY TYPES?

A: it's kinda complicated because i myself believe that i have poor body diversity when it comes to my original characters, but i'll try to explain myself. by a general rule, contrast is most important. top-heavy, bottom-heavy, larger lower limbs, smaller lower limbs, etc etc etc it's all in the contrast baybe. let's use nova (a skinny character), pins (a top-heavy character), and novocaine (a fat character) as examples. please ask me directly if you want any advice on other body types.

firstly, nova. she is very thin with a more scrawny build rather than athletic. to draw her, there are three parts (excluding arms) -

head, body and legs.

these are parts that almost every character has and the most important thing about them is their size. different characters will have different sized heads and bodies and legs as we'll see later, based on age, body type, etc... nova is only a teen, so she'll have a big head with big eyes to up the childish moe-factor of her design! other than that, she's pretty proportionate by anime standards with a regular sized body and long legs.

however for a character like pins a lot changes. pins is extremely top heavy, and larger than nova. he has a muscular build that's heavily unrealistic - while there's probably someone out there with a similar build to nova absolutely nobody can achieve the elusive pins build. because his body is so exaggerated, it must be the forefront, and he has small legs and a small head to compensate.

because i have few muscles in my oc roster, i tend to exaggerate the buffest characters. i would give another example but his existence is spoilers for the project he belongs to. ;;

when it comes to fat characters, i have little to say for dudes because i don't draw them often (sorry fat guy enthusiasts 💔). but novocaine is an example of how i go about drawing fat girls. namely it all comes back to contrast - rather than drawing her ankles and lower arms larger, i draw them smaller to emphasise the size of her thighs, hips and upper arms as when it comes to irl fat people, those parts are usually larger. i also added more examples from my dangan art.

otherwise the proportions are similar to the skinny teen model, just with shorter legs.

more on body types here:

Q: WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

A: western cartoons, like invader zim and mlaatr. 2000s moe anime like lucky star. my mutuals <3. robert valley. jamie hewlett. alex ahad. splatoon. stuff i find on pinterest. and you guys who say that my art inspires you!

OC QUESTIONS

Q: WHAT ARE YOUR OC PROJECTS? WHAT ARE THEY ABOUT?

A: as follows:

MAIN THREE:

(AKA these are the ones i'm dead-set on making, and will probably actually become fully realised one day.)

ULTIMATE X-CALIBUR - sci-fi adventure comic about a girl called nova who travels across the galaxy with her friends to find the shards of a broken star called the ultimate x-calibur. like one piece but with cute kemonomimis in space.

REASSASSINATION - horror comedy comic about a dead girl who loses her memories after being resurrected by a manic scientist. she becomes his personal assassin in order to get shots of medicine that will bring back her memories, and has to deal with school life and a mysterious group of catholics coming to kill her on top of that. it's currently being written and will come out eventually.

STARSAINTS CARNIVAL - psychorror (kinda) fantasy RPG game about a group of children who are transported to an wonderland-esque paracosm where they have to make their own wishes come true before their 13th birthdays with the help of ghosts named starsaints, or risk having their heads chopped off. it's one of my largest-scale pet projects so will probably take a while to wrangle.

LESSER/EARLY DEV PROJECTS:

(AKA the ones that are either too early in development to confirm anything, or will probably not be fully realised any time soon, but it's still fun to rotate the characters around in my mind.)

MAGICAL GIRL WARD - another psychorror magical girl comic about a group of girls who who plan a group suicide online, but are turned into magical girls on accident and have to fight "viruses" to help other girls. very messy in terms of development right now and will take a while.

METALLIC MIRACLE - sci-fi about a child solider cyborg who is sent back to earth after being in a deep sleep for some 50 years after a war she was forced to fight in. i actually really wanna do this one.

SINSTRING MANOR - survival horror RPG game about a doll who finds out she's a doll attempts to escape her family home and gain autonomy with the help of a fly and a servant boy.

PLANET☆PIGTAIL - magical girl comic about girls who channel magic through their pigtails to defeat evil monsters while dealing with middle school problems.

+ a billion more that i can't even remember lololol

Q: CAN WE ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR OCS + STORIES?

A: PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLE

Q: CAN WE DRAW YOUR OCS?

A: PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLE

OTHER QUESTIONS

Q: WHEN ARE YOU GONNA BE OFF HIATUS?

A: when my exams are over i'll start posting personal finished illustrations again. so, like, mid-june!

Q: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DRAWING FOR?

A: i came out of the womb with an anime girl drawing in my hand

Q: DO YOU TRACE?

A: nooooooooooooo

more answers down below:

[mxstball]

"Well, actually the thought didn't come from him--" Time for an explanation while she gets some punch. "My father -- Jörmungandr -- is also a Rayquaza. He also consumes meteorites to process and turn into Mega Evolution energy. I'll save you the weird science about this but I was born with the same capability, though it's processed differently for me. Back during my days as a battle scout during the Weather Wars in my world, I was captured and forcibly fed what we now know was a Latiasite. It was intended to torture and kill me, but instead, my body absorbed the energy within and started pumping Mega Evolution energy on its own. That's why I can Mega Evolve without a Mega Stone, even now. So, when I was traveling, I decided that maybe I could do the same with a Key Stone."

She shook her head. "...but the reason why it took so long for me to do so is exactly because they're so rare. Like, maybe I could have gone back to my home world and extracted one, but I wanted to make sure I do things right. So, I went back to the Draconid Village in Hoenn with Zinnia and asked for their permission. I was tested and my trainer skills were pushed to a limit, but they gave me the blessing and I did so. So, that's why I can Mega Evolve Absol without a Mega Ring. Though uh... definitely won't try mu luck with Z-Crystals or Wishing Stars. Don't want a Necrozma on my ass, and my girlfriend would be very upset with me if I ate one of her species's cores."

Though, as long as it wasn't one of hers, Nergal would likely get over it.

As for the stylus thing...

"Oh, the stylus? No you can use your finger. Look." She tapped the glass with her finger and it made a similar noise. "It's just so much satisfying with the stylus though! Like--" She tapped the different badges with the stylus a few more times before giggling. "See?"

Okay, that's enough of that now before she taps more and giggles more. Heidi put the case away.

"Uh... anyway, the talk about Mega Evolution just reminded me: have I introduced you to my parents yet? I managed to get my mama back and also revive her, so both my mama and papa live together in Celadon City in Kanto. They're really nice and love meeting my friends and new family, even though papa doesn't seem like it. He's a big shut-in and a little rough around the edges, but he's a softie at heart."

"[(Like father like daughter, I guess.)]"

"Fuck off, Absol! I don't want to hear it from you when you were fucking purring on his lap last time we visited--"

Sounds like George passed the vibe check at least.

She was a shut-in? Well, you learn a new thing every day. Especially since now, she's the ruler of all. It must be hard to ruin a place when all you want to do is stay in your room all day.

"You ate the Key Stone? I know that Ray was your ex, but did you really have to pick up his habit of eating stones? Those Key Stones are rare too, aren't they?"

Wouldn't that power also eventually pass when she eventually... Actually, nevermind, let's not think about that. Still, she could have used a mega or z-ring like a normal person, but was that too much to ask when she certainly was not normal.

Anyway, Koko took a glass of punch before continuing their talk.

"Oh, that's cool. Must have been a byproduct of how the badges are manufactured and they just rolled with. Though do you really need a stylus? That seems very specific..."

[hazel-writes]

Pairing: Din Djarin x Female OC

Summary: Aristeia, an ambitious and self-reliant journalist on Tatooine, crosses paths with a Mandalorian after a harrowing encounter with Imperial remnants.

Word Count: 5,000

Warnings: canon-typical violence, death

A/N: Oh my gosh, I finally did it. After months of reading some absolutely incredible Mando fanfics, I took the plunge and started writing my own. I'm so excited to share this with all of you!

This fic starts during episode 1x5 and will loosely follow the show's timeline (I will be taking many creative liberties). The first chapter is from Aristeia's point of view, but I'll be going back and forth between her POV and Din's afterwards. I jump straight into the action in this fic, so if things seem a little crazy at first, don't worry, all will be explained soon :)

This is my first time writing for our favorite space cowboy, so any and all feedback is welcomed! If you want to keep updated on this fic between updates, check my bio for other places you can find me. Also, a Spotify playlist to accompany this fic is coming soon!

Without further ado, please enjoy this chaotic mess of a chapter! ♥︎

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

Aristeia sighed as she weaved her way through the busy streets of Mos Eisley, Tatooine. It was almost sunset and most people were heading home after long days at work. A layer of dust rose around the feet of those attending to last-minute errands. She watched as a woman bought a large red fruit from one of the street-side vendors. A soot-covered teenaged boy stood by the neighboring building, stocking up on mechanical supplies. Near his feet, two sunburnt children fought over a small toy. The scene was normal to her: ever since settling on Tatooine years ago, Aristeia had slowly grown accustomed to the slow and gritty flow of the planet.

As she continued walking, she kept her head down, eyes always focused a few steps ahead of her feet. However, whenever someone neared, she would look up briefly to offer them a small smile. Most of the time they ignored her, scowled, or rolled their eyes, but every now and then, someone would return her gesture. Those moments made the effort worth it.

Unlike the people who meandered around her, Aristeia was just starting her work for the day. She kicked up clouds of dirt as she made her way to the recently-abandoned mechanic’s shop. She used to frequent it back when she had a speeder, but after the owners passed away, it had unfortunately turned into a popular site of criminal activity. A few days back, she had intercepted a transmission that mentioned a meeting at the location, and as a journalist, she had to be there to see what was going on. Armed with a small notebook and stylus, she was prepared to document the whole thing.

Turning the corner of a dusty alley, which was littered with miscellaneous tools and sheets of scrap metal, the old mechanic’s place finally came into view. Its exterior architecture was similar to that of the rest of Tatooine, however its dark and doorless entrance led to an underground network of small rooms. With every step Aristeia took towards the building, her anxiety grew. Unlike her other investigative stakeouts, she was going into the mechanic’s blind. The transmission didn’t reveal a whole lot about the nature of the meeting, which she knew meant it was of special importance. These were the kind of meetings that could provide her with a groundbreaking story. They were also the kind of meetings where someone could get hurt.

Aristeia had never been good at fighting – physically, at least – but she did give herself credit for not having died so far, especially in her line of work. Put a blaster in her hand and she’d probably shoot her own foot off. However, put a pen in her hand, and she was a force to be reckoned with.

Aristeia had been writing ever since she was young. It started with little stories: she would go into a crowd of people, find a quiet place to sit, and observe each person that passed by. She would notice what they were wearing, how they carried themselves, who they were with, where they were going, and then she would make up the ‘why’: Why were they dressed like that? Why did they walk like that? Why were they with this person or that person? Her imagination would stitch together the missing pieces of their backstories, creating life narratives of people she had never even met. She did the same thing now from time to time. In fact, people watching was imperative to her role as a journalist.

As Aristeia grew older, she and a few friends decided to start a local newsletter that got sent out to residents of Mos Eisley every month. It was by no means a ‘professional’ establishment. The writers were all residents, many of them barely adults, who wanted to keep their friends and family informed about any activity that could threaten the freedom they had fought so hard to gain after the fall of the Empire.

A group of giggling children ran around the corner, pulling Aristeia out of her thoughts. She watched as they kicked around a near-deflated ball with bare, dust-covered feet. Sighing, she turned back around to peer down the steps of the abandoned mechanic’s. It was just beginning to get dark and the suns had nearly reached the edge of the horizon, casting eerie shadows on the stairwell walls. She looked for any sign of movement in the space below and when nothing seemed to be stirring, she made her way down the packed-dirt stairs and entered into the main room.

The area was small with not very many places to hide, immediately making her anxious. She had never been a fan of tiny spaces. But this was too important of a mission for her to give up now. She looked to her left and spotted a large plant, which obviously hadn’t seen any light or water for quite some time. However, its pot and leaves could be big enough to hide her if she was able to fit behind it. It’s not like she had very many options to choose from.

A noise from above forced her into action. She darted behind the plant as fast as she could, curling herself up against the corner of the wall. The sounds of heavy footfalls met her ears. There were at least five people making their way into the room she was in. From between the leaves of the plant, she could make out the forms of two stormtroopers and a tall, lanky man in a gray uniform. Imperials.

After the fall of the Empire, most people on Tatooine had celebrated immensely. They believed they had finally achieved freedom. It was hard for Aristeia to share their excitement, knowing how many lives had been lost on both sides. She also had always been a realist, never letting herself get too comfortable when everything seemed to be coming up roses. She had been tracking the movements of rogue troopers around the city for a while, trying to figure out who they took orders from and where they were located. In recent weeks, she had intercepted a few transmissions referencing what the Imps called ‘the asset’. Just one day before, she had caught word of a meeting scheduled to take place in the room where she was now hiding. She knew she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get more intel. Once she had enough information, she planned on writing a massive expose, informing all of Mos Eisley to her discoveries.

A raspy voice broke her train of thought: “Have you found the asset?” Peering around the plant’s leaves, she saw that it was the man in gray who had spoken.

“No, not yet,” a Klatoonian replied gruffly. “We tracked the ship to this city. As far as we know, the Mandalorian still has it.”

A Mandalorian… Aristeia shuddered. There wasn’t much in the galaxy that she was terrified of anymore. Sure, she often felt scared. In fact, she was scared most of the time; it’s part of what kept her alive for so long. But there was very little that truly terrified her. Mandalorians were one of those things.

She shook her head, forcing herself out of her spiraling panic. Focus on the facts, she thought – it was a phrase she repeated often when overwhelmed with her work. Focus on the Facts. The Imperial man’s mention of the Mandalorian was new info to her. All she knew from previous transmissions was that the Imps needed the asset for some sort of experiment. She didn’t understand it too much – she was never very good at science.

Aristeia reached into her bag, pulling out her notebook and stylus so she could document her new discovery. As quietly as she could, she opened the front cover of the journal, flipping to the next blank page.

As she did so, her finger caught on one of the pages, slicing a thin cut across the pad of her pointer finger. Kriff, she whispered, accidentally dropping her stylus as she moved to nurse her injured finger. She realized her fatal mistake too late.

“What do we have here?” she heard a voice drawl from above her. The Klatooinian, who had taken a few steps toward Aristeia, peered around the edge of the plant before looking back at the Rodian. “Is this one yours?”

Aristeia scowled at the suggestion. “No, I most certainly am not.”

The two men chuckled, infuriating her even more. “Why don’t you come out so we can take a better look at you?” the Rodian suggested with a devilish smirk.

“Yeah, cause that sounds like it would end well for me…” she mumbled, trying to think of a way to escape the predicament she had gotten herself into.

The uniformed man and his two stormtroopers stayed quiet throughout the ordeal, seemingly bored by the other mens’ interaction.

“She must be terminated. She has heard too much,” the man in gray finally chimed in.

At this, Aristeia started to panic. She was in deep bantha munk this time. Sure, she had been in tricky positions before – it was kind of a requirement of living on Tatooine – but this was bad.

“I didn’t hear anything, I swear! I was just…” She stood up slowly and looked around the room, trying to find an alibi. “...admiring the plants?”

She mentally facepalmed at her attempt of a lie, something she was never very good at. It helped her in a journalistic sense, as she always did her best to remain objective in her articles. She recognised the power that came with telling the truth, especially now, in the wake of an empire founded largely on lies. However, in this case, she could’ve used a good fib. Admiring the plants, really? she scolded herself. After a moment of silence, the uniformed man directed a curt nod at the stormtroopers, who then advanced on her quickly.

Springing into action, she attempted to kick the chestplate of the trooper closest to her, but missed, only managing to clip his knee. Nonetheless, it threw him off-balance, sending him stumbling into his fellow trooper. She took the brief opening to run as fast as she could towards the stairs that led back up to the main street. She got halfway up, mere feet away from freedom, before a large hand yanked her back down the steps harshly. She fell backwards, scraping her elbows and knees on the hard dirt before hitting her head on the floor, hard.

She couldn’t see anything but blurry spots of white and orange as strong and grimy hands pulled her across the floor, back to the troopers. The one she kicked earlier returned the favor, sending sparks of pain through her abdomen. Footsteps approached and a heavy boot landed between her shoulder blades, forcing her against the floor. Another second passed before she heard the charging up of a blaster from above her head.

Aristeia closed her eyes, cheek pressed to the dirt, accepting her fate. She forced warm memories into her mind, not wanting her last thoughts to be of the man whose heavy boot currently pinned her to the ground. Her mind danced from memory to memory, finding it hard to focus on any one image for too long: a familiar, tender hand ran its fingers along the curves of her face; trees towered over her like arrows aimed for the stars; a single candle cast a warm glow over pieces of parchment; a sweet smile, one she probably would never see again, beamed through the darkness...

A burst of blaster fire sounded from above her head. As if shooting her once wasn’t enough, she thought, before realizing that it wasn’t possible for her to make sarcastic quips if she was dead. She opened one eye, then the other, only to stare right into the lifeless face of the man in the gray uniform. It was a sight she was sure would stay with her forever.

“I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.”

She finally looked up, not recognising the deep modulated voice that sounded from above her.

A shining wall of silver met her eyes, his blaster pointed at the Klatoonian. A Mandalorian, she thought. Waves of terror flooded Aristeia’s body. It was almost as if the universe had plucked him straight out of one of her nightmares and dumped him deliberately at her feet. She was familiar with the Mandalorians, more than most, but seeing one after so many years still managed to send shivers down her spine.

Focus on the facts. Focus on the facts. she repeated to herself.

Something about the way the armored man carried himself made her realize that this wasn’t just any Mandalorian: this was the Mandalorian, the one her attackers had been discussing moments earlier.

His presence seemed to fill the whole room. She found her eyes involuntarily moving up his figure, taking in the pure power that emanated from his armored form. Her gaze landed on his face, or where his face should’ve been. Instead, all she could see was her own terrified reflection in his dark, deadly visor.

When the Klatoonian didn’t make any effort to move, the shiny man looked down and gave her a barely perceptible nod to the side. She knew exactly what he was telling her to do.

As fast as she could, she rolled to her right, hearing blaster shots fire above her as she did so. She scrambled back towards the plant she was hiding behind earlier and watched as the armored man fought the others. While the Mandalorian was distracted with the Rodian, the Klatoonian aimed his blaster towards his silver chestplate. Aristeia considered shouting to the metal-clad man in warning, but didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself. To her horror, she watched as the Klatoonian pulled the trigger.

The Mandalorian, however, sensed what was coming and ducked. The blaster beam rebounded off of a large metal sheet that stood propped up against the wall behind him and hit the Klatoonian square in the chest. He fell to the floor, lifeless. To Aristeia’s surprise, she heard the Mandalorian curse, seemingly frustrated by the death of his attacker. The stormtroopers took his moment of annoyed distraction as a sign to run, bolting back up the stairs before the Mandalorian could stop them.

Aristeia’s senses slowly started to come back to her, as did the pain in her stomach, hands and knees. Unsure of the Mandalorian’s intentions, she scrambled on the packed dirt, trying to find the notebook she had brought with her. She finally found it tucked between the wall and the nearby plant pot.

She turned to see the armored man, having knocked the Rodian unconscious, finally focus his attention on her. She grabbed the stylus that she always kept clipped to the side of her notebook, the one that had caused all this trouble to begin with, and held it out in front of her as threateningly as possible.

The Mandalorian casually put a hand on his hip and popped one of his legs out slightly. His helmet tilted to the side incredulously. If she wasn’t so scared, she might have laughed at his almost-lazy posture.

“Hey, they say the pen is mightier than the sword, right?” Aristeia shrugged nervously, still directing the stylus towards the silver mass in front of her.

He ignored her comment and dipped his helmet towards the bodies on the floor. “What were you doing with them?”

She debated whether or not to tell him. His low, warning tone made it seem like she didn’t have much of a choice. So far, he hadn’t made any move to hurt her, despite the fact that he had every opportunity to. Even now he kept his distance, almost like he was trying not to startle her any further. That, or the stylus really had scared him.

“I’m a journalist,” Aristeia responded. “I was trying to get some information for my next story when they found me.”

She shifted on her feet when he didn’t respond right away.

“Story?” he finally repeated, almost like he was skeptical of the word.

“Yeah.”

She knew it must sound silly. Her stories, and journalism as a whole, probably weren’t on this man’s radar. A lot of people thought that her profession was impractical and meddling, but obviously the work she did was important enough to gain the attention of the Imps.

Whatever the Mandalorian was thinking prompted him to mumble something, turn on his heel, and start back up the stairs. Aristeia was left speechless, her hair settling back into place after being disheveled by the sudden billowing of the Mandalorian’s cape.

She looked around the room at the bodies littering the floor, remembering briefly that the troopers had escaped. That alone almost ensured her certain death. They had seen her face – it was only a matter of time before they would find her. Already regretting her decision, she heard herself calling out to the Mandalorian who had reached the top of the stairs: “Wait!”

He stopped his movement, pausing briefly before slowly turning to face Aristeia, who now stood at the bottom of the stairs. She looked up at his figure, which from her angle looked more commanding than ever, his silver armor backlit by the setting suns.

Finally finding her words, she spoke. “Please, I… I need to get off this planet. You have a ship, right? The troopers who ran, they’ll tell the others, they’ll come after me.”

She hated how desperate she sounded, but she didn’t know what else to do. Her friends barely had enough money for speeders. Most of them had never even been off the planet. All she knew was that she needed to leave, and soon.

“Why would they waste your time on you?” the Mandalorian asked, probably unsure how a girl armed with a stylus could possibly pose a threat to the Imps.

She ignored his underestimating tone before replying. “Because I overheard what they were talking about. Once they find out who I am, they’ll kill me.”

“And who exactly are you?”

Kriff, she thought. If the Mandalorian found out just how invested she was in her recent investigations, he could use that against her. “Well… I’m Aristeia.”

The Mandalorian voiced a frustrated sigh. “And?”

“And…”

She was about to answer when she spotted a blinking red light out of the corner of her eye. Upon further inspection, she found its source: a tracking fob held in the Mandalorian’s left hand. Of course, she thought. He’s a bounty hunter. The Klatoonian must have been his bounty – that’s why he was upset when he was accidentally killed in the crossfire.

Aristeia felt her heart rate spike as she devised the best way to backtrack on her previous request for help.

She slowly made her way towards the Mandalorian, subtly attempting to get back up to street level. “...and I really should be getting back to work, so if you don’t mind, I think I’ll just head back up those stairs now.”

The Mandalorian, unfortunately, noticed the unusual change in her disposition.

“What’s the sudden rush?” he asked as the arm carrying the fob shot out to stop her escape.

“No, no, it’s nothing! I really should go. My… husband is waiting for me,” Aristeia lied. The Mandalorian just stared, his arm remaining in place. “He gets upset when I’m late.” She offered with a fake smile, trying desperately to alleviate the tension. When he still didn’t move, she continued. “He’s very big. And uhh… He’s a sheriff!” she added, for good measure. The Mandalorian cocked his head slightly to the left in response, as if seeing how far she would take her lie. “And he has lots and lots of weapons. A whole armory with guns and knives and other… spiky things.”

“Spiky things?” he asked, almost amused.

“Well, yeah.” she replied, but it came out as more of a question.

“Well, you know what I think?” he said, taking a few sauntering steps forward. His posture oozed confidence – one hand was hooked on his belt, just in front of his blaster, while the other hung casually at his side.

Aristeia took a small step backwards. “W-what?”

“I think you have a bounty on your head.”

Kriff, she thought. He’s good.

Aristeia took another step back, but the Mandalorian closed the distance quickly. She held up her hands placatedly.

“Look, I don’t… know if there’s a price on my head. I’ve always just assumed . Over the past few years, my friends, the other journalists here, they’ve been going missing. It was pretty obvious that the Imps didn’t want us sharing their activities with the whole planet. Recently, things had been pretty quiet, at least until they started freaking out about this whole ‘asset’ thing.”

The Mandalorian’s posture straightened and his towering body leaned towards hers menacingly. When he spoke, his voice lacked all the nonchalance it had earlier and instead radiated a seriousness that chilled her to the core. “What do you know about the ki- the asset?”

Aristeia, regarding his sudden change in demeanor, stuttered in response: “N-nothing really – Shouldn’t you know?”

“Nothing really?” he repeated, completely ignoring her question.

“Just what I’ve heard over the coms.” Shoot, she thought. Shouldn’t have said that.

“You have access to their coms?” he asked, a sliver of surprise peeking through his gruffness.

She did. It was one of her biggest accomplishments since arriving on Tatooine. One evening, she had been at her desk, listening to random transmissions on an old faulty comlink her mother gave her years ago. She would do this every night, never once picking up on the voice she was desperately waiting to hear. Instead, she usually caught onto feeds from people nearby: small business dealings, calls to family working out in the dunes, even the occasional secret teenage correspondence. Aristeia enjoyed listening to the small snippets of the others’ lives; it gave her hope in a world that she seemed more and more disconnected to with each new day.

But on this night, she had intercepted a transmission that was far more concerning than her typical listening content. Two voices, one that she now knew was the man in the gray suit and another who she assumed was a stormtrooper, crackled over the comlink. Within a few minutes, she not only knew that the Empire wasn’t dead, but that they were also situated right on her doorstep . After making this discovery, she made sure to keep her com set to that specific feed, which is how she ended up finding out about the meeting that led to her current encounter with the Mandalorian.

“Sometimes I have access,” she responded to the Mandalorian’s question with a nonchalant shrug. She basked in the power that this information seemed to give her over him. ���It depends on how close they are, the wind levels, and if my tech is even working that day-”

“Where do you live?” he interrupted hurriedly.

Aristeia suppressed a laugh. “Excuse me?”

“Where do you live?” he repeated slowly, though this time it came out as a more of a modulated growl.

She laughed nervously. “No way, you seriously think I’d tell a bounty hunter where I lived? That’s like breaking every single rule of common sense. I mean, come on, think of this from my perspective.”

His posture relaxed minutely and he released another sigh, this one less frustrated than the previous. “If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve done it by now.”

She recognised the truth in his statement, but that didn’t mean she was willing to go out of her way to help him. For all she knew, he could take the coms and turn her in afterwards. Aristeia tried to get a better read of him, but unlike most people she met, she couldn’t. She didn’t have any guesses as to who he was, what his intentions were, or why the ‘asset’ was so important to him. In a universe of starry galaxies, he was a black hole.

“What do I get out of it?” she asked, trying her best to sound confident. She countered the slight relaxation of his own stance with the newfound boldness of her own. “Helping you, I mean.”

The Mandalorian scoffed beneath his helmet. “I saved your life, I think that’s qualifying enough.”

“You were just going after the Klatooinian.”

“And if I hadn’t, you’d be dead.”

“Wow, consider me comforted.”

He sighed, clearly agitated by her retorts. “If you show me the coms, then I won’t tell the Guild about the little notebook operation you’ve got going on down here,” he said, waving a gloved hand towards the bag that carried her journal.

“And now I’m being blackmailed. Fantastic.” she muttered, running a hand through her hair.

Aristeia stilled, evaluating her options. She could either ignore the Mandalorian and risk having him reveal her, and her work, to the Guild, or help him and hope he returned the favor. Neither option was ideal.

“Fine ,” she relented. “Just give me a second.”

Aristeia took the Mandalorian’s lack of response as a signal to go ahead, and made her way back into the darkness of the room that now reeked of death. She tried to think back to the days when she would come to the mechanic’s to repair the many malfunctions her speeder frequently sustained. She always enjoyed the loud and hectic bustle of the establishment. Its owners were kind and would always let the neighborhood kids hang out and watch them work on one project or another, occasionally even letting them help out. Those times seemed distant as Aristeia approached the body of the fallen Imp.

“Hey, you wanna hurry it up down there?” a gruff voice sounded from above.

“Really?” Aristeia replied, astonished at the Mandalorian’s near-childlike impatience.

“I thought you had some husband with a large collection of spiky things who doesn’t like it when you’re late?”

Hearing him repeat her previous lie out loud made it seem even more ridiculous, but she ignored him and continued to move towards the gray-suited man.

“What are you doing?” he called from above, seemingly untrusting of her retreat back to the main room.

Oh my stars, she thought, surprised by her own annoyance at the Mandalorian. Her initial fear had evolved into irritation at his constant attempts at intimidation and control. She couldn’t let her guard down though – she could lose her leverage at any moment and then who knows what he’d do with her.

Aristeia reigned in the sarcastic comment she was about to make and instead answered his question with a restrained sigh. “Seeing if they have any information.”

“In case you didn’t notice, they’re dead. They can’t help you.”

Obviously, she thought with a roll of her eyes, but didn’t say so out loud.

“Yeah, but their pockets can.”

Aristeia stared at the man in gray. Even though the blaster bolt to his chest all but guaranteed his death, she still approached his body warily, as if it could come back to life at any moment. Avoiding his hollow gaze, she dug through his pockets, searching for any more information that could prove useful to her future articles. All she found was a handwritten note containing some sort of coded language she didn’t recognise. She folded it carefully and put it in her own pocket for safekeeping before heading back towards the Mandalorian.

By the time she joined him at street level, the suns had already set. He took a few steps forward but paused when he felt her hesitate behind him. She felt weird leaving behind the mangled bodies of the men in the darkness below.

“We should move the bodies,” she said cautiously, her eyebrows furrowed in confliction.

“No time,” the Mandalorian replied simply, turning back towards the street.

“Please,” she pleaded, looking to her left where a group of children played in the distance. “I- I don’t want any kids finding that.”

He silently followed her gaze and stood completely still for a moment, as if debating his own response. Aristeia tried, and once again failed, to get a good read of what was going through his head.

“Fine,” he finally said. “I’ll get them in the morning.”

She would’ve liked them taken care of sooner, but it seemed that there was no room for negotiation. To be honest, she was surprised he agreed to her request at all. Something was different about this Mandalorian, and she couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing.

“Which way?” he asked, referencing her house. The one she stupidly agreed to take him to, Aristeia thought.

“Uh…” She paused briefly, but it was a moment too long for the Mandalorian’s liking. “This way,” she finished, pointing down an alley to her left. She hiked the bag she carried higher up on her shoulder and took a few steps forward before feeling a hard tug on her arm.

“Hey, I wouldn’t recommend trying anything. It wouldn’t end well for you,” the Mandalorian said threateningly. His visor stared down at her coldly and she suddenly grew extremely frustrated by the fact that she couldn’t see his eyes. She felt vulnerable under his gaze and didn’t like it one bit.

“Let go of my arm,” Aristeia replied, her voice low and serious. His grip remained strong. She stared daggers up at his helmet and it was the first time since meeting him that she was truly angry. “I said, let go.”

To her surprise, she felt his grip loosen and she promptly tugged her arm away from him. Her posture radiated confidence, but the fear in her eyes betrayed her. Without a word, she spun around and continued heading in the direction of her small house, not sparing another look behind her to see if the Mandalorian was following.

He was.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

Masterlist || Next (coming soon!)

[this-is-where-i-hide-my-bullshit]

Hey there!! I don't think we're mutuals but the only thing that holds me back from reblogging your art is that I'm no longer a MCR oriented blog lol. I also prefer super anime styles or otherwise stylized similar. I hope you have a good rest of the night/day, please take care of yourself.

I've done anime, Frank was pretty fun to draw with shojo eyes. I've thought about animating a gif of him opening his eyes like in the manga comic I drew months ago, but animation, even small ones, take a LONG time to finish. And I don't think I'll have the motivation to do that anytime soon. But I still want to. It would be easier if I had a stylus so I could actually draw normally instead of using my finger which makes lines a pain in the ass because they aren't as smooth. But if that sounds good or cool I could at least try.

I have a sketch of the guys (minus Mikey because he just wouldn't work in the style for me) drawn like Bee and PuppyCat, which is inspired by the older more simple anime styles, because I like the shows colors. But I never finished it because Ray still looks a little off and the thin lines were taking forever to get right and I wasn't sure if anybody would've been interested in that crossover anyway.

Is this something I should try more of?

[frogsandfries]

Out for a walk, partner's at work, let's talk!

Sooooo

I don't know if you guys saw, but a couple weeks ago, I had my partner buy me some puffy paint and of course, the first thing I did was make a rainbow. The parchment paper I was working on warped the paint, but otherwise it was a good window cling; it laid flat and adhered to the window almost perfectly.

But then--disaster struck! It got stuck to itself!!! I tried freezing it, but it had chemically bonded to itself!!! 😭😭😭

But by this point, I was quite attached to the idea of having a pretty rainbow with textured and glittery clouds in my windows.

Ohhhhhh oh no, I forgot to share my progress on my gumball machine!!!! That's almost done, I just have to really puff up some of my gumballs, and I'm currently running out of red paint until I don't know when. I want to finish the rainbow and strawberry first. That gumball machine is badass lol absolutely wonderful. It's going to make a really awesome window cling.

So I think one of the keys to eliminating at least some of the self-sticking issue is baby powder, which is the easiest release that I could think of and acquire. Mickey is pretty much done, so I'm going to leave him for a couple days before I try to peel him off the plastic. Then I'll dust him really quick and stick him in the window. I'm really excited. Mickey was a fun, silly little experiment to see how close I could get, freehand, to the original.

I have plenty more fun little things planned. A New Mexico themed hot air balloon. A cassette tape, a boombox, some retro, geometric, monochromatic shapes. Gotta get some neons for that.

The hot air balloons--and the pumpkins and Jack-o-lanterns--are all going to have that ridge-y texture. I'm so excited, it's gonna be so cool!!

Other art news, I don't know if I mentioned--I meant to. I'm re-re-re illustrating the first few panels of my graphic novel. I wanted to be extra extra certain that even if they didn't look the absolute best they could because I just don't have the tools, that they'd at least be a decent size printed. If they ever go to print 🙄 Which they won't if I keep picking at the same few panels.

I wonder if getting a bigger screen is going to help, and how using a different program is going to impact my style and skills. I want to improve my style AND technique, but my current tablet has me feeling like I'm finger-painting. I can't wait to be back in a tablet with a pressure-sensitive stylus!

[lotusprotocol]

dreamcatcher devlog: past 3 months (oops)

(screenshot from current wip level, out of orbit)

full devlog below the cut!

long time no see! really sorry for missing the past two months; i never ended up getting started and by then it was too late to post. i'll try my best not to let this happen again, though i can't make any promises.

anyways, there's been a lot in the past couple months! without further ado, here's everything(?) that's happened since the last devlog:

i started off in december by getting some of the core mechanics working, such as the camera, level transitions, etc. the visuals aren't completely done yet, but my main priority is getting the mechanics to actually work, and i'll make them look good later.

i did a lot of work on optimizing the performance and build size of my game, which i made a few posts about (big one about build size here)

i made another track for one of the levels, and i think i've been improving at music! here's the audio:

(i also tried making album art later in december but it didn't turn out good so i'll redo it at some point)

one of the most important things i did in december was get playtesters! i made applications open from the 15th to the 22nd, and chose 6 people who submitted. it was hard for me to leave people out though, but applications may be open again sometime in the future.

i set up a daily goals list to put 5 things on every day, and hopefully stay focused. admittedly, it's been a while since i used this list, and i lowkey forgot about it until i looked through my post history before making this devlog, but i think i'll get back into it this month.

i also set up a twitch channel! i'll be streaming over at https://www.twitch.tv/lotus_protocol if you want to check it out!

i was on break for the last week of december, so i was able to get a lot more done in that time. i also got a stylus, which is a really nice upgrade from drawing with my finger before, and did a lot of practice with it.

january didn't start off great, and i barely got anything done over the first couple weeks. i was eventually able to get back in the groove, but i had a sucky feeling during that time since this game's a big part of my life and my mood depends quite a bit on it (in a healthy way though, it's not out of control)

when i came back to working on the game, i polished some stuff up before pushing the first playtester build! i got some valuable advice, and it went pretty good.

i wrote down the outline for the entire story! there's still some wiggle room if i want to go back and change anything, but it's nice to have it down instead of only in my head, and i've wrote the dialogue for a few scenes already.

i've been improving my art a considerable amount over january and february! i've gotten a lot more confident in my art as well, which motivates me more to make it!

(pencil sketch from mid february; there's quite a few mistakes here and there but i still really like it)

i continued working on one of the levels, which was what i did for the rest of the month. not much i can say here, but it's been shaping up pretty good so far!

to be honest, february wasn't a good month for development. i had a lack of motivation and a lot of work to do for other things in my life, and there was barely anything new from last month.

the main thing i did in february was work on the tas tools for the game more, which are coming along nicely. i've been having an issue with consistency and don't know exactly what's causing it, but i'll figure it out eventually.

(unrelated to dreamcatcher but) during february, i took some time to make a side project i had been wanting to do for a long time: an upgraded level editor for red ball, a flash game that i enjoy. there's still plenty of work to do on it, but so far it's pretty nice, and it's not my main focus right now.

(screenshot of the tool, you can find it here it you're interested)

i've also been delaying the next playtester build for a long time, and it was originally supposed to come out at the start of last month; if there's any playtesters reading this, sorry again! i'll hopefully have it done this month.

i finished off february by making some more music! here's a wip from a few days ago:

and that's it for the past 3 months! with all that being said, here's what i plan on doing next month:

get the current wip level done, and hopefully do another full one

finish all story scenes for the demo

push at least two new playtester builds

do some story art if i have time

enjoy the process :]

that's all for this devlog, and if you made it this far, thanks for reading! right now, i'm trying to get the demo out by august this year, so expect to see something done by then. also feel free to join the discord server, where you can get more regular updates, ask me questions, or chat with the community! anyways, signing off now, have a great day!