#practice is drawing the fun stuff that is maybe a little out of your comfort zone and maybe it looks a little wonky but you did it

[blueskittlesart]

Question abt drawing: been trying to attempt learning how to draw forever but I always have trouble getting over the obstacle of having to learn/study things like anatomy and shading, which then causes me to stop drawing and have a harder time picking it back up. I know it's important for improving your art and yourself as an artist but I can't help but see it as tedious and overwhelming, especially the anatomy since it's more on the science side of things and science is not my thing lol. Do you have any advice on how to get over it or work thru it?

i think there's a couple facets to this question. firstly i'd recommend you consider what exactly your end goal is in learning how to draw: do you specifically want to be able to produce anatomically accurate figures and true-to-life shading, or do you just want to be able to make something for fun that looks good to you? one of the most helpful things I ever learned at art school was that accuracy doesn't matter if it looks good. 99% of my art isn't strictly anatomically accurate, and part of that is stylization, but even when i'm doing realistic figure drawings i like to lengthen limbs and exaggerate curves in order to make my drawings look better. So if your only real goal with art is to make something that looks good and enjoy the process, my first piece of advice would be to stop worrying so much about stuff like perfect accuracy! if you use references and keep pushing yourself, the skill and understanding you're looking for will come naturally with time. before I was ever classically trained, I got pretty far just by drawing my favorite characters in different poses and situations over and over again, and that experience laid the groundwork for when classical training did become available to me. Just because you're not necessarily doing serious figure studies doesn't mean you're not getting valuable practice--what it means is that you're having FUN while you're practicing, and having fun with your art is the most important thing!!!

Secondly, you mentioned anatomy being on the science side of things, which suggests to me that you may be looking in the wrong places when trying to do more serious anatomical study. if you look up 'anatomy' or anything similar on a web search engine, you're likely going to get a lot of very complex scientific illustrations. and while those aren't necessarily devoid of artistic value (I took a class all about scientific anatomy for artists last semester and it was GREAT) for a beginner who's just trying to learn how to make a body look like a body, they're not what you're looking for. what is going to be much more helpful for you are sites like line of action or quickposes. these sites are basically repositories of figure drawing images, and you can set them to automatically switch to a new image after a certain interval of time. if you really, desperately want to improve your anatomy specifically, what I recommend is going to one of these sites, setting it to the shortest interval possible, and trying to copy the pose as closely as you can before time is up. this might sound crazy, since the shortest interval is usually somewhere between 30-60 seconds, which obviously isn't enough to get much down. but what this will do is force you to look at how these models' bodies are constructed and translate it onto the page quickly and without overthinking it. be warned, your first maybe hundred of these are going to look like shit. but if you do this enough, you're eventually going to gain an intrinsic sense for 1. how a body works and 2. the easiest way for you personally to construct a body when drawing it. even without knowing the scientific names and anatomical rules, you're going to get a FEEL for how things work, which is much more important and useful to you as a character artist.

Finally, i think the most important thing to remember is that no art is bad art, even if you're not satisfied with the end product. when you're first starting out as an artist, you're going to make things that don't look right and you're going to be frustrated with yourself because of it. i vividly remember crying over a sketchbook at maybe age 11 or 12 because I was so upset i couldn't put exactly what was in my head on the page. Skill comes with time and practice and that is a frustrating fact of life, but no time spent doing something you enjoy and are passionate about is wasted. It might look bad now but you are laying the groundwork for your future success, and someday you're probably going to look back on your past work and say "I can't believe I thought this looked bad back then. for my age and my skill level i was doing AMAZING." And as previously mentioned, it's a lot less discouraging when something looks bad if you had fun making it, so try to have FUN with your art. draw things you enjoy and are passionate about and don't worry if it looks bad. focus on the experience, the skill will come in time. you've got this!!

[roseychains]

could you maybe do relationship/nsfw headcanons for gojo and nanami. Please

Relationship and nsfw h/c for Gojo and Nanami ~

A/n: thanks for the request! This was pretty fun writing, I enjoyed it a lot and kinda went crazy ;3

C/w: fluff, sillyness. As for nsfw, written by a minor!

Sfw

Gojo

Major gift giver!! It’s his love language and he certainly has the money to do so. If he sees something that reminds him of you, he’ll buy it for you. If he thinks you’ll like it, he buys it for you. If he thinks it’s a cool thing, he’ll buy it to show you

Sooo touchy. He’s clingy and cuddly. He always has his hands on you. Holding yours, snaked around your waist, hip, around your neck, on your thigh, it doesn’t matter. He needs to hold you. When he gets home from particularly draining missions, he just wants to wrap his arms around you and sleep

Speaking of sleep, he’s really sleepy. And snores loud as fuck, almost monstrously so. That’s only for day naps, at night, he won’t let himself sleep before you are asleep

He sometimes has bad dreams, dreams where something happens to you and will wake up and pull you closer. He’s gentle enough to not wake you up but holding you is a comfort to him

Loves to take you shopping and play dress up with you. He will pick out clothes with you then send you to the changing room, and have you walk out real quick to show him how you look

He loves showering together, and he loves washing your hair for you and vice versa

You play games together, and he rages. Y’all definitely have some shared concels for playing things together, and he will throw a fit when he loses

He likes helping you cook. He will get things out for you, cut veggies and wash the dishes while you run the kitchen

But sometimes he cooks for you, doing it all in an apron that says “kiss the chef” or something cheesy

Buys you the most expensive jewelry, and urges you to wear it anytime you go out

Hugs from behind!! Lots of sneaky teasing touches. Pinches you playfully. Slaps ur ass then runs knowing your about to turn around and get his 10x harder

He acts like he’s smaller than he is. Will definitely ask to be little spoon, but you end up wrapping around him like a backpack. Sits on YOUR lap, etc

Always wants a kiss. Never let’s you leave the house without a kiss, and vise versa

He will pose for you. Pose for you to draw him, pose for pics, etc

Let’s you practice hair, nails, makeup, and anything else traditionally feminine on him. He thinks he looks fabulous

Will attempt to take bites of your food when you aren’t looking

Nanami

Such a gentlemen. He will chauffeur you everywhere, open your door for you, carry you when your feet hurt, pay for 100% of all dates, treats you like a princess

Speaking of princess treatment, he makes you breakfast in bed “just because”

Definition of a male wife. He does all the cleaning and helps with the cooking, always has the bed made and the house tidy by the time you get home

Brushes and does your hair for you, learned how to specifically for you

Such a romantic. I’m talking candle lit dinners, rose petals adorning the bedroom, bubble baths and more

Surprisingly super shy in public. You have to break him out of his shell a little bit

He secretly wears women’s perfume when he can. He thinks it smells so much nicer than cologne

Puts your needs first down to the most minimal details. Not making you sit next to strangers on trains, letting you get the entire hotel bed to yourself, letting you shower first with the hot water, etc

He takes any and all of your injuries seriously. Even a small paper cut he will have you wash and put a bandage on it to prevent infection

He also doesn’t take any risks. He makes sure anytime you guys are outside for an extended period of time that your wearing sunscreen. When you guys are in grass, he’s making sure you have on some kind of bug spray on your ankles

Brews coffee everymorning like clockwork for the both of you. He likes it black but bought a ton of stuff for you, so he makes your coffee Starbucks style the way you like it with cream and stuff

Watches you sleep, not in a creepy way. More in like your so beautiful he can’t keep his eyes off way

He’s super into yoga, will go to yoga classes with you. He’s so stiff he needs it

He reads a lot of books, and will geek out about them to you

Frequently accidently sleeps with his glasses on, you’ll wake up beside him and he will just. Have them on. And when he gets up in the morning to take them off he has red marks around his eyes

Nsfw

Gojo

Such a fucking tease. He LOVES to get you worked up before giving you what you want

Edging and overstim both ways. He loves to get you so close to that edge, then pull out and make you whine or beg for it. He also really enjoys making yoy cum over and over until your crying and pleading with him to stop. As for himself, his main motive for edging himself is to help him last longer. Lord knows he can’t stand more than 10 minutes inside you without cumming. He also loves it when you milk him for all he’s worth, ridding him into tears

Absolutely into sensory deprivation. He gets a kick out of either you, not being able to know his next move keeping you in the dark, or him, being at your mercy

Speaking of sensory stuff, he fucking loves it when you wear his blindfold. Blocking your vision, you can only feel his touches and not see them

He cums so much, everywhere all the time. His favorite place to cum has to be all over your face. Have you sucking him off, but before he cums he pulls out and jerks it a few times before painting your face with his seed. It’s so hot to him, seeing you covered in it

He might even take a picture if you let him. He’s really into picture/video taking, just to have for himself. Whenever your not there, he can pull out his file of lewd photos and videos of you two

He is soooo vocal. He’s loud and his moans are whiny. He doesn’t hold back though, he has no shame. Matter of fact he wants everyone to know what you do to him

Speaking of, he’s a bit of a risk taker. He’s not past sneaking into a changing room for you to help him with the boner he got looking at you in those clothes

While he may cum fast, he can still last several rounds without break. He is the strongest, after all

Loves oral giving and receiving because it’s so messy. He loves it when your drooling all over his cock, or when his chin is covered in your slick

He’s a switch, but when he’s on bottom he’d moan if you step on his cock. Such a slutty submissive, and a brat too. He’d do things to get you angry so you punish him for it later <3

Definitely has considered 3somes with geto, but never brought it up

I can see him being into roleplay

He’s not insanely girthy, but he is LONGG and pretty. Has a cute curve at the end that’s perfect for you

He loves fucking your tits

His fingers are slim and long, and when he fingers you he will make you see stars

Thinks it’s so hot when he gets you to squirt

Somno with consent

If you need to be clean right that moment he will do so, but aftercare with him usually he prefers to cuddle up and sleep then clean up in the morning

Nanami

Such a service dom. He’s a provider, and that nature sticks in the bedroom. He lives to please you, and will make you cum several times before even freeing his cock from his tight pants

He would definitely dabble in bdsm. Specifically, what he enjoys is bondage and brat taming

With bondage, he has it all. It may be a small fluffy pair of handcuffs binding your wrists behind your back, two a sturdy rope tying your ankles and wrists to the corner of the bed, to full on shibari, ropes all over your body

Absolutely uses his tie and/or belt to bind you

Brat taming was something you insisted, and when he tried it he found out he got a kick out of it too. It started with you teasing him all day, and when you begged him to be rough with you and put you in your place who is he to deny you?

Both kinks are done with upmost gentleness and care. Of course. He may also engage in light impact play, small spanks on your ass and even your clit. Nothing enough to hurt, just a little love tap to startle you

His hands drive you insane. His hands are so big, they wrap perfectly around your wrists, neck, hips, waist, etc. they also reach all the parts inside you just the way you like

While he often takes the leading role, he’s not opposed to letting you ride him to get yourself off when he doesn’t have the energy

He’s not very loud, mostly grunts and quite muffled moans come from him

So much praise. He’s constantly reassuring you through the whole ordeal, calling you beautiful, gorgeous, how well your doing, how good you are for him, etc

He would degrade you if you really wanted. Again, you’d have to tell him because he wouldn’t ever say such things to you but when your begging him to say mean things to you, he’s nothing but a pleaser

Cockwarming is a big turn on. He’s a busy man, so when he has work to do but you wanna get off, he will let you sit on his cock

Similarly, he also likes watching you ride his thigh. Your wet pussy grinding up and down on his clothed leg does something to him

Aftercare god. As soon as you guys are done he’s running a bath, carrying you to it, washing you off as you just lay back. After he drys you off, he’s carrying you back to the bed and wrapping you with his arms

[radioroxx]

*slides you $500 in monopoly money* spare deets about the isafrin kids? i love them soooooooo much and would love love love to know even more!!!

like!! how did they get wished into existence? were they just There one day as small kids, or did they come as babies? did aurore come first and then eile? and isafrin!!! they look different!!?!!?! love love love love postcanon designs and would love to hear your thoughts on them (and! their bonding earrings??)

I WROTE THIS OUT AND REALIZED HOW STUPID LONG IT IS SO. ITS GOING UNDER A CUT. WOWZERS

Ok first- WISH BABIES!!!

uh. uhm. uh

ahah. oops!!

though we did get to discussing a few options after getting this ask (more like. i. asked them. and they provided. im not the thinker in this group. hehe!)

(@chromatasia )

for context on this one- i believe a while ago we also talked about wishing involving sacrificing? the idea of givinf up a piece of yourself (sometimes physically, like hair) to help power a wish! or link yourself to it?

a second option (three whole screenshots…)

(@unregisteredskybox )

carve your own baby!! yay!

general idea for our fankids though is that yes, they were created super young. and as babies. so aurore wouldve been crafted a few years before eilé :)

so yea ur two options <3 pick i guess lol. i dont have a solid idea there.

the second half of your questions- yes!! isafrin! theyre older and different!! wahoo!

the older isafrin designs were moreso. i wanted to have a little fun and made them. lawl. but now i get an excuse to share anyway :) so here!!

numbered the details to make it a lil easier. also dont mind these r quick scribbles,,

1- general outfits and stuff. siffrins i wanted to keep mostly similar to how i usually draw them. sleeveless top, horrible and unnecessary amount of belts,, knowing that hes maybe not as eager to change as some others might be. they are comfortable in their style and thats what matters. for isabeau i wanted to keep a familiar vibe, but still change it up. i think he would still wear clothes that are flowy-er etc etc, buuut yeayeayea. not an outfits guy really so jfkf theyre pretty simple.

2- themb!! they look different! siffrins hair is longer obv obv, and no lightless dye anymore. they tie it back usually, but he still likes it long. also some facial hair. important to me. (you may also notice lack of eyepatch,, personal hc that siffrin gets more comfortable without it after making up with bonnie some more. that he maybe depending on it a lot because he thought it would make them uncomfortable, which theyyy dont have to worry about. anymore! so less eyepatch. sometimes still though). isa on the other hand looks mooostly the same! except. ofc. bigger beard. you guys should know i love my beards by now. lawl. other than that mostly the same,, physical pain in me trying to think of a different hairstyle for him… maybe in the future but for now he gets This.

3- new cloak-thing for sif! his regular cloak is probably much more well suited for the travelling lifestyle, much less the domestic stay-at-home lifestyle, soo they changed it up! (and totally not an excuse for isabeau to try out craft stitching nooo definitely not as practice for the future whaat who said that.) they will still wear the old cloak occasionally, buuut not as often as they used to.

4- finally! bonding earrings!!! yes! the designs themselves are pretty simple. squares and change symbols for the design sif made for isa, and a star with bits that go ding-ding that isa made for sif. more importantly, siffrin carved the earrings himself! it is. hard. to do that. a design that is so small. there were many failed attempts and scraped ideas but they got it done! and isa loves them very much. for isas design, the main star part is glass, and the dangling bits are carved gems (picture isabeau, panicking because this is siffrin hes making these for so it needs to be perfect. and he gets odile to help him, because despite all the teasing she is ofc very fond, and helps him out with that aspect of the design.)

ok thats all - bye bye bye

[luminouslywriting]

As a recent convert to the ladies who Brady crew, I love the idea of Brady wanting to learn more about his girl's interests. She loves Pilates? He's trying a class. She has a favorite author? He's checking out one of their books. She likes plants? Brady's always wanted a cactus! He would just be so cute and eager to share. 😊

Ahh this is darling so I just had to go on a slight rabbit hole for you Nonny! Because you're so right and he's such a supportive guy! Cut for length :) And keep sending me stuff, this is so much fun! Some light spice mentions below the cut!

-John Brady is above all things, a supportive man—and when it comes to you, he just adores you. Worships the ground that you walk on, thinks that you're prettier than starlight and more important to him than the sun is to the life of earth.

-That being said, if you have a hobby or an interest, he is running with it at full-force and attempting to make it a bonding experience.

-You want to get into art? Babe, he is finding some local art classes and trying his hand at it. Now I don't think he's all that great at drawing....but painting? He absolutely is great at it! I imagine he's really into painting landscapes and finds a lot of comfort and peace in it!

-This maybe leads to some more precarious moments between the two of you....paint fights that turn into messy sex is absolutely on the table haha

-You want to get into hiking or rock climbing? GREAT! He loves being outside and in nature and fitness is pretty important to him! So he's gonna be your hiking buddy for sure! -He absolutely would carry your water for you and make sure that HE has the backpack because he wants you to just have a good time and be able to enjoy nature.

-Rock climbing might be a little more worrisome to him but he loves getting to spend time with you and he really enjoys watching the way that you concentrate so fully on something. It's definitely a turn on for him.

-Oh you like photography? He might be a little bashful, but he's absolutely your muse and he's going to get in on the action

-This definitely means there are a few risqué photos of you that only his eyes have ever seen haha

-Yoga? HOT YOGA

-You want to get into sports? Fantastic! He definitely did a few things in high school and he's a decent enough athlete that he can pull off an average performance in some of the sports he's not as well-acquainted with

-Definitely takes advantage of trying to show you how to golf, or how to hold a tennis racket or baseball bat though haha

-Archery? I'M THINKING OF THE SCENE WHERE MIA AND NICHOLAS FROM PRINCESS DIARIES 2 PRACTICE ARCHERY

-I had to include the gif haha

-You want to get into baking or cooking? He's going to have the time of his life making food with you and it's the most wholesome domestic thing

-Definitely gets a little heated in the kitchen if you know what I mean

-You're into gardening? Great! He loves gardens and wants to make sure you have your favorite flowers or your favorite plants!! And he always surprises you with new plants!

-You're into reading or writing? He's going to read whatever books you like after you read them, or he's going to suggest to you some of his favorites.

-And if you're a writer then he's going to read everything you write and hypes you up! He's also going to be honest about his opinions and tell you what he thinks could be better (in the best and most constructive way)

-You like dancing? BABY, he will take you dancing every weekend and has the time of his life when he does!

-Board games is a hobby? He gets so competitive when it comes to Scrabble, it's not even funny

-You play a different instrument than him or you like to sing? AMAZING!! He's going to ask you to teach him about your instrument and that might get a little heated haha.

-Would absolutely harmonize your favorite songs with you because I think he has a great voice!

-You're into collecting things? Be it baseball cards, butterflies, coins, stamps, whatever it is—he's going to get in on it and try to find you the ones you're missing!

-An academic?? He adores that about you and will try to read up and learn about your favorite field of study, be it history, science, or whatever it is!

-Anywho....I could go on forever and ever, but these are just a few general things that I think he'd be like when it comes to your interest and hobbies

[drawingducktalesducks]

You make great art!

Your opinions on Vi’s alternate designs?

I could stare at her all day. Perfection.

Design wise? Her final one is (chef's kiss) SUCH a good balance of showing and contrasting Violet’s personality.

And the alternates show why!

She’s a nerd. Shorthand for that is usually glasses, as seen in almost all her alternative designs. (Think Velma from Scooby Doo.) Not a bad trope.

But at the same time, does her character need a visual short hand for smartness?

Just the way Violet SPEAKS tells you she’s a nerd. She uses big words, and calls people by their full names. When we first meet her it’s in a LIBRARY and her and Webby instantly start switching between various ancient languages.

We don’t need glasses to know she smart and a nerd.

So unless the show is willing to commit to some moments or gags where Violet loses her glasses / takes them off specifically not to see something / cleans them regularly as a character tick (think Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Conservation of Character Design says get rid of them.

Which the show creators did.

(also her introduction scene includes Quackfaster, and I appreciate that, instead of them both wearing glasses- a thing that isn't actually about smartness literally it's just wanting to be able to see- the thing Violet shares with the Terrifying Librarian is... hair tie / hair band, including the color thereof.)

(It's a more personal choice. And it's message is "Practical")

Next is clothing style. Most of her alternates have a more fancy, ‘outfit’ kinda look to them. Like this is something she put together to get a specific Look. Nothing wrong with that. Nerds can be fashionable (Ellie Woods queen thereof).

But… there isn’t anything in Violet’s personality, story, or situation that connects to that idea.

Her things are Books, Learning, Forbidden Magics, Honorable Conduct in Contests and Duels, Adopting Stray Shadow Teens Off The Street As Her New Sister, Brining Pie To A Sleepover, Smacking Invading Moon People With A Spiked Mace, and Using Tibetan Breathing Techniques To Survive Eating Three Bowls Of Deadly Hot Spices In A Row.

The closest she gets to caring about her appearance is when her and Webby (and then her and Lena) put on gruesome costume make up and prosthetics for fun.

So a snazzy outfit, while cool, doesn’t really… jive with the vibe of Violet Sabrewing.

Nerd clothes, like a vest, isn’t needed the same reason glasses aren’t. Also the details would be a pain to draw over and over again. Even Webby’s clothes don’t have that much little bits in them.

High collars again look cool… but Lena’s already got that covered. Stand them next to each other, and where’s the contrast?

Violet wouldn’t “pop” next to Lena if they had that on top of Violet’s dark color scheme and Lena’s dark sweater.

Wearing the same thing (to show characters are connected to each other) works best when either the color or the style DOES contrast sharply

(Huey Louie Dewy and May June wearing basically the same thing as their siblings, but in very different colors)

(side note I’ll make a separate thing for someday: Lena and Webby with button down collar shirts worn under something, but with different style, effect, and colors)

The leggings are seen on two of Violets alternates and I think that got picked for Meta Simplicity and also In-Character Practicality.

They’re athletic, the kind of thing that isn’t at risk of snagging on stuff (befitting an eventual Senior Junior Woodchuck), and the dark color balances out with her hair. And they’re VERY easy to draw. Very good!

Sweater.

Sweater with turtle neck (unless it’s one of those very loose ones) usually gets used as shorthand for “Comfort over Appearance” (Velma again, contrasting Daphne)

And in this case it’s a contrast with Lena who LOOKS like she doesn’t care at first glance but actually has put maybe the most effort into her outfit (sweater stolen from favorite band, dyed her hair, wears bright colored converse in a world where most people go bare foot)

and Webby, who is wearing basically a uniform (picked by her Granny or by herself while daydreaming of experiencing Normal School Things???)

So to balance out Lena’s rebel teen punk look, and Webby’s prim and proper look, Violet has a comfort and practicality look.

BUT!

They kept the eyeshadow.

A VERY GOOD MOVE.

See, eyeshadow on someone who wears an ‘outfit’ (Lena, Daisy) says fashion minded and image conscious.

(this includes Beakly the former spy taking up the role of grandmother).

Eyeshadow on someone who wears a non-snazzy turtle neck and legging with her hair tied away from her face in a simple ponytail says something else completely-

It says, Violet likes eyeshadow, and that is the ONLY reason she wears it.

Either she doesn’t notice that it’s unusual to do this, or she doesn’t care.  

THAT is showing her personality.

If it’s that she doesn’t know it’s unusual, then that fits with her in the Woodchuck Challenge not knowing about smack talk until Lena teaches her, and in Friendship Hates Magic brining a pie to a sleepover, and in The Split Sword of Swanstantine wondering in the middle of a fight if she should change in to more occasion appropriate clothes instead of, you know, running.

Smart yes, savvy to social norms? Not so much.

If it’s that she doesn’t care, then that fits with her direct and blunt way of getting what she wants out of situations, never mind others' objections-

-Instantly running to Webby’s loft so she can see the picture of the demon lord and confirm the crookedness of his fang, repeatedly pressing for using the runes to try contacting the shadow realm despite Webby’s nervous boggle deflections, happily employing smack talk so she can learn it properly without stopping to ask what it’s effect on her competitor might be..

So the clothes of her final design all work really, REALLY well telling new parts of Violet’s personality, without just repeating what we’d instantly know from listening to her talk for half a minute.

Hair.

One of her alternates has loose floofy hair, which I imagine is what canon her would look like without the hair tie, and it rocks.

But the hair tie is kinda important.

Violet isn’t a book nerd who never leaves the library- She’s active, she gets in the thick of things, she’s happy to jump in a fight, and she’s a Junior Woodchuck. Practicality, again, makes more sense. Keeping her hair out of her face works with her character.

Her little flop of bangs is really fun to me too because… well…. It reminds me of Lena.  

Again, it’s different enough to pop while the two stand together, but it’s there. Lena has flopped bang thing. Violet has a curly bang thing. They are sisters. It’s cute!

Also helps her silhouette stand out more against Webby and Lena, who’s hair is pretty smooth and down in general. Gives her this sharp thing that moves around and makes her extra easy to pick out, even when you just see part of her head. Important for a main side-character.

If you're going to add detail, add it to the silhouette -> very big visual payoff.

Colors! COLORS!!!!

Already mentioned the pants balancing her hair nicely, dark on top, dark below, but then there’s her eyeshadow and sweater!

They ALSO tie her with Lena!!!!

Lena’s shirt, hidden under her sweater, is pale blue- the same color her friendship magic is later- it’s the color of Lena being happy and being connected to people.

And Violet’s eyeshadow, is also blue? And Lena’s eyeshadow is purple! Like Violet!

Eyeshadow! That thing both her and Lena wear, them the Sabrewing Sisters, but Webby doesn’t!

That’s so cool! That’s a way to show a connection between them AND their personal tastes, before they even become family! And once they ARE family it helps them visually LOOK like one!

Also, Violet’s green sweater?

Again we’ve got the color contrast compliment thing (huey red dewy blue louie green) this time with Team Magic: Webby pink, Lena blue, Violet green. It helps them feel… individual in scenes they’re all in frame together, while also making them look good next to each other.

The choice of all of team magic’s colors to be either more pastel or duller than the Primary Colors Trio also lets all six of them work together visually, like in Nightmare on Killmoter Hill.

But again, LENA.

Lena has two other bright colors tucked into her design, aside from her pale blue.  

The pink in her hair (visual cue to Webby) and her lime green shoes. Green. GREEN. It’s enough of an important color for it to ALSO be in her friendship bracelet.

And it’s the main color Violet, her adopted little sister, wears.

Oh my heart….

Finally, it’s looks like they tested out ideas of Violet being some kind of, parrot maybe, or wren, or such.

I love her being a humming bird for one very queer reason.

Female violet sabrewing humming birds are actually green, not purple.

And Violet.

Is purple.

Just like her dads.

(also name puns for the win yeeeeessss)

So on the whole, looking at the designs Violet could have had, I guess I’d say they’d make nice occasional outfits for her...

but if you’re going to make her an important supporting member of the cast and if you have to draw her over and over again, almost always with the same other two characters… and if those characters are Webby and Lena...

Then they picked exactly the right design to go with <3

[gaybananabread]

Congrats on the follower milestone! If you're still taking orders, may I please have switches Gwen and Hobie (Gwen as the original lee) with pears and/or oranges?? They've become somewhat of a comfort duo for me, hehe :)<

Fruit(s): Pears, Oranges

Love these two! Writing for them is always fun, though all the spider scrimblos have a vice grip on my brain. Hobie gives off such asshole switch vibes, I can’t even- Went a little overboard with this one, but I have no regrets. (UvU) Back on topic, thank you for ordering your fruits, and I hope you Enjoy!

Switches: Gwen, Hobie

Summary: Gwen is struggling with her self-image, the negative thoughts creeping in as she stresses out. Hobie has the perfect way to help, and while it cheers her up, things don’t exactly go how he expects them to.

Warnings: poor self-image/esteem topic! This is a tickle fic, so if you don’t like that, scroll away!

Gwen stared up at the ceiling of Hobie’s inner houseboat, letting her thoughts drift. They weren’t going anywhere good.

She had failed so much as-of-late. Her dad discovering her secret identity, the anomalies getting out of control, the Spot’s wave of leftover destruction, everything with Miles… Even though none of those were truly her fault, it really felt that way; her mind took those feelings as grim, guilty facts. Growing tired of his bedroom ceiling, Gwen grabbed a pillow, burying her teary face in it. Maybe smothering herself in her sorrows would help…

Hobie slunk into the room, his cheeky smile falling the moment he saw Gwen’s sulking form. The punk sat on the edge of his bed, the old mattress sinking in with his weight. He poked the pillow, making Gwen huff. “Hey…what’s goin’ on, Gwendy?”

The girl groaned into the soft object, shrugging. “‘M fine…” The muffled lie was barely audible, but Hobie’s keen hearing caught it clear as day. So, so much was running through her mind, but she couldn’t burden her friend with those thoughts. Best to figure it out herself…probably.

Damn it, Gwen… A large, calloused hand rested on her stomach, one finger drawing small circles around the thin fabric of her t-shirt. “Not buyin’ that, sweetheart. You need some cheerin’ up?”

Small giggles slipped past her guarded lips, muffled by the pillow. As much as she wanted to deal with everything herself, some comfort would be nice. Especially the kind Hobie was suggesting… Gwen mumbled an “mm-hm” into the fabric, not pushing him away. That was all the lanky teen needed to get started.

Hobie lightly tickled her stomach, his fingers doing figure-eights against her shirt. The other teen’s feet started to drum on the bed, muffled giggles making their way to his ears. It was adorable, the way she let him cheer her up with the silly touch. It was clear the tickles were helping. “Aww, Gwenny, all ya had to do was ask.”

To anyone outside their inner circle, this might’ve seemed strange. She just let him tickle her like that? Yeah, she did; that girl was practically melting. In the midst of her bleak thoughts, a little fluff and silliness was like heaven. Tickling in general made her happy, but the gentle stuff from someone she cared about to cheer her up? Immediate serotonin release.

As much as he loved her muffled giggles, he was after a bigger reaction. The punk climbed further onto her bed, sitting on her thighs so she couldn’t kick him. Hobie grabbed the pillow, tugging it away from her face. The bright red cheeks and wobbly smile he was greeted with made him snicker. “Hey, girlie. No hidin’ those giggles; they’re too cute for jus’ the pillow ta hear.”

She whined through the adorable sound, half-heartedly batting at his hands. “H-Hohohobie! Quhihit teheasing!” To be honest, she loved the teases, but her cheeks were red enough without the cheeky words. “Sorry, but ya too cute to not tease. ‘M sure you’ll survive.” He slipped a finger under her shirt, scratching at her navel with a smug grin.

Gwen squealed, shooting upwards and shoving at his hand. “H-HOHOhohobiehe! You prihihick! Dohon’t do thahat!” 

So, of course, he kept doing that.

Pushing her shoulder back down to the mattress, Hobie slid her shirt up, scribbling all around her poor belly button. Gwen practically screeched, her feet kicking out behind the anarchist as she frantically shoved at him. “G-KYAAAH! YOUHUHU DIHIHICK! NAHAHAHA!” 

That got a snort out of the older spider, his cool rings sending goosebumps across her skin as he “tormented” her. “Heard of a giggle button, but I never knew ya could have a “lose your damn mind” button. I’ll be sure to remember that one.”

The rougher tickles, while unexpected, were still helping, They helped to drown out the rest of her sour thoughts, replacing the sticky guilt with bright, raucous laughter and giddy glee. Gwen was about at her limit though, his evil fingers pulling squeak after squeal from her wobbly lips. “H-HOBS! IHI CAHAHAN’T- QUIT!”

He huffed, not wanting to go too far. The punk switched from pokes to rubs, patting and massaging her buzzing tum to try and dull the ticklish aftershocks. The girl huffed and giggled, recovering from the brief, yet effective goofiness. “Th-thahanks Hobs. I needed thahat.” 

The punk laid down beside her, grabbing the pillow from earlier and smacking her with it. “Any time, Gwendy. Just gotta ask.” 

Gwen yelped when the fluffy thing smacked her face, her spider sense warning her just a second too late; her subconscious apparently didn’t deem pillows a threat. She was about to hit him back when she realized she had a great opportunity to be a shit. Even though she loved it, payback could be given…heheh. 

Pouncing out of nowhere, she wrestled with her friend, eventually managing to pin him to the bed. While he was a bit stronger, she had caught him by surprise, throwing him off his game. Gwen playfully wiggled her fingers in front of him, smirking. “TIme for a taste of your own medicine, Hobie~”

Before he could protest, five nimble fingers dug into his belly while the other pinned his arms above his head. Hobie didn’t care to hold anything in, just letting the giggles flow as he squirmed. It was apparently the wrong day for him to wear a crop top. “B-buhut yohou liked ihihit!”

She snickered, letting her acrylic nails drag across his midsection. “Maybe. Doesn’t mean I can’t get you back.” Gwen gave his hips a squeeze, giggling as the punk snorted. “Besides, you like it just as much.” 

Hobie took the extra effort to flip her off, making the other teen squawk. She was right, of course; he was barely fighting back, enjoying the turnabout. Scorned and feeling brave, Gwen leaned her head down, blowing a sudden raspberry on his navel. That did it.

“G-GWEHEHEN! WHAHA’ THE FAHAHACK?!” She snorted at his words, sitting back up with a smirk. “You flipped me off, you jerk! Totally deserved.” She went back to his hips, appreciating his low-waisted jeans as she traced little shapes onto his upper hips. “Loving your outfit, by the way. Very ler-friendly.”

He groaned, bucking his hips as more little snorts decorated his laugh. His hips always had him sounding like a piglet. “Sh- snrk shuhuhut uhup! Thaha’ wahahasn’t on puhuhurpose!” 

She was about to tease him again, but a low whirr sounded in the room, a few knick-knacks slowly floating up in the room; one of their friends was visiting Hobie’s dimension.

“Damn it. You’re lucky, Hobs.” She pinched his side one last time before climbing off him, going to greet whoever just arrived. It was probably Pav, coming over for one of their unprompted game nights. 

Hobie giggled off the rest of the adrenaline, rubbing his exposed belly and staring up at the ceiling. He had trained those shits too well…

Taking a deep breath, the punk hauled himself out of the bed, grabbing his guitar from the corner before leaving the bedroom. Hobie hadn’t planned on getting tickled, though he was glad he helped Gwen cheer up. Even if it was a bit unconventional. Then again, what was normal about any of them? He greeted Pav, a smile still on his face as he grabbed out Clue for their game night.

[our-death-means-flag]

izzy hands x reader with enemies to lovers. that’s it. that’s the ask. im so in love w that angy little man

Bonding Under Duress

Ship: Izzy Hands x Reader  Summary: Stede really wants the crew to get along or at the very least tolerate each other. Unfortunately that includes you and Izzy. So the two of you get sent on an errand for the captains with the actual goal of the two of you getting to know each other. A storm has other plans and you and Izzy learn much more than you wanted to about each other… Warnings: minor descriptions of injury, Izzy being very mean to himself, angst, hurt/comfort

“Absolutely fockin’ not!”

“As much as I hate to agree with that asshole, no.”

For once you and Izzy agreed on something, both of you glaring at each other when you realized.

Stede wilted. You immediately felt the urge to comfort him. “Captain, I’m not trying to question your judgment here, but really, no. There’s no need for this.” You reassured.

Izzy scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Fockin’ ridiculous…” He grumbled under his breath. “I don’t take orders from you, you posh twat.” He snapped at Stede.

You immediately shot him a deathly glare. “God, you're predictable. Get some new material or just shut the fuck up.” 

“Hey now, both of you. I’m not asking.” Stede puffed his chest out a tad. “It’s an order from your captain. I’m not expecting you two to become best friends or anything. All you need to do is go on that island and bring back some peaches! Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours and who knows, you may learn something about each other.” Stede seemed very optimistic. 

You sighed, already nodding, well aware of how far Stede was willing to go for an idea like this.

Izzy seemed to be about to protest when Ed leaned in. “An order from both of your captains actually!” He chimed in.

“Edward…” Izzy all but whined.

“Izzy.” Edward echoed, even mockingly copying Izzy’s whiny tone.

You watched as Izzy’s face flushed every shade of red, though whether it was rage or embarrassment or maybe both, you couldn’t tell. You bit your lip to keep yourself from laughing.  Izzy must have noticed since that seemed to set him off. “Oh fuck off. I’m not going to some stupid fockin’  island to get some stupid fockin’ peaches with this stupid fockin’-

“Bye! See you in a few hours! Have fun, you two!” Ed yelled cheerfully as he was towed away.  

You waved while watching Izzy in your peripheral vision. The bastard looked furious. So much so that he was practically vibrating with rage. Then again he had been thrown over Ed’s shoulder like a bag of potatoes and all but dragged here. 

“So…” You finally asked, drawing the word out, on guard in case he decided to bite you. “Let’s go find some stupid fockin’ peaches, eh?” You couldn’t manage to mimic Izzy’s voice but if you said so yourself, your ‘fock’ was pretty accurate.

Izzy snarled. “Piss off. We’re not working together. I’m going one way and you go the other.” He turned on his heels and stormed closer to the edge of the forested part of the island. You merely waited. He paused, deep in thought, glanced one way, then the other and then seemingly realized what you already knew.

You, of course, decided to rub it in. “I sure won’t stop you if that’s what you want. But I’d recommend against it. Not only is it against captains’ orders but when was the last time you did any navigating on land?” Izzy seethed and you grinned. “Also I have all the stuff, since rather than acting like a feral dog, I actually packed so… again, all your call of course.”

Izzy very obviously considered running off on his own if just to spite you but instead he turned quickly and stormed up to you. “Fine. You’re right.” He said it like the words burned his throat. “But I swear if you get us lost-“

“Yes, yes, I know, you’ll maim me and/or kill me in some creatively brutal and violent fashion.” You waved a hand dismissively. Deciding to go further you added. “Which you and I both know you won’t do since that’d piss off the captains.” You knew you shouldn’t keep teasing but you enjoyed watching Izzy turn red.

With a seething Izzy following you, you started trekking into the forest. Luckily you’d come prepared and had brought along your wide knife to cut through the foliage. The terrain of the island wasn’t quite the same as the ones you’d been on before but it was close enough.

The two of you walked mostly in silence with you occasionally warning about upcoming hazards in your path. You easily navigated the uneven terrain but Izzy had significantly more difficulty. Probably because he was used to a ship. As much as a ship swaying could mess up your balance, it was not comparable to uneven weird terrain like this. 

The first few times you’d chimed in with a “careful” or “watch your step” Izzy had snarled back at you to “Fuck off”. But after nearly falling on his ass a few times, he started to take your warnings more seriously.

(Honestly you deserved sainthood for not laughing until your lungs failed every time he almost fell. Especially since he’d always flail and pinwheel his arms to keep steady.  Something made even funnier by the fact that he was unharmed beside his ego.)

Luckily for both Izzy and your composure, you managed to track down the peach tree quickly enough. As you clambered up the tree and gathered up the requested fruit, Izzy stood around looking woefully out of place. 

You really were trying to work on Stede’s ridiculous bonding plan but you couldn’t resist and pelted Izzy with a peach. You nailed him dead center in the chest. He jumped clearly not having expected the sudden fruit attack but somehow his reaction time was quick enough to catch the peach as it bounced off his chest. He shot you a glare which you returned with a smile. Izzy tossed the peach in his hand, clearly silently considering throwing it back at you. However you simply motioned with the extra bag you’d brought which was currently full of peaches, making it readily apparent that you would in fact, return fire and that you had much more ammo. He backed off.

You climbed down from the tree and just as you were sorting yourself out…

BONK.

A peach contacted the side of your head. You spun to face Izzy and he had the gall to look confused and  innocent despite the fact that he clearly no longer had a peach in hand. You couldn’t help but smirk as you ducked down to pick up the peach and as you were standing up (but before you fully did) you threw it at him.

It just kept going that way as the two of you walked back. The peach being tossed back and forth with varied strength. Whether or not it was possible to break someone’s nose with a peach, Izzy sure as hell was trying to. Hell he’d nearly succeeded throwing the peach so hard you nearly hit yourself in the face with your own hand just from catching it. You on the other hand, had a simpler goal, you wanted to land it on his head. Izzy seemed to assume that you were aiming for his face so his defenses were focused there instead. You were certain you could land it before the two of you made it to the beach but you didn’t get the chance.

You noticed first. Izzy seemed really uncomfortable on land so that’s probably why he missed it. However you’d thought the air felt off all day. But it was only when the first thunder crack pierced the mostly quiet area that you realized that the off-ness you were feeling was the same way you’d feel before a storm.

Izzy had been mid throw when it happened. The peach hit you in the leg and was instantly forgotten as his attention immediately darted towards where you knew the shore was, doubtlessly worrying about Ed. “We have to get to the Revenge.” 

Izzy looked genuinely concerned so you didn’t give a snarky answer. “We can’t. There’s no way they can get a dingy out in what’s about to be a storm.” Your words were immediately emphasized when rain started pouring down. “We can’t make it back now. Let’s find somewhere to hunker down and get back when the storm passes.” Izzy still looked moments away from booking it back to the ship. “Ed, Fang, and Ivan are all on that ship. You don’t have to trust anyone else, just trust that they can handle it. Don’t risk making them worry about us on top of managing the ship.” 

Izzy cursed under his breath as he visibly struggled with the choice but luckily your logic won him over and you didn’t have to drag him. “Fine.” He hissed the word out harsher than any curse word. 

The storm hadn’t been gracious enough to give the two of you any time to talk and the wind and rain was already getting stronger. Despite just having had to talk Izzy out of this exact thing, you couldn’t help but worry about the Revenge. The island was pretty much all tall mountains, you doubted that your crew had gotten much warning. But you had to accept your own logic. They’d handle it. You could trust Ed and Stede to keep the ship safe (admittedly mostly the former).

The wind and rain made traversing the nasty terrain even more difficult than it had been before. The wind knocked you off balance and the rain made the ground slippery. The warm day you’d been having moments ago had vanished, the rain coupled with the wind made you nearly shiver. Despite the cold, you couldn’t run for cover. You had to painstakingly walk carefully to avoid falling.

After you got dangerously close to losing your balance at the edge of a small valley, you decided to reach out a hand to Izzy since you could tell he was struggling. His frantic stumbling was significantly less funny when he was actually in danger. Of course, Izzy didn’t appreciate your offer. You took it as a testament of how much you’d seen Izzy swear that even over the deafening roaring wind, you could tell he was telling you to “Fuck off”.

You could feel the mud under your boots shifting and you were incredibly worried about it giving out in a mudslide so you tried your damndest to move as quickly as possible. You nearly fell when your boot slipped out from under you. If the wind wasn’t so goddamn loud, Izzy might have actually heard your warning. But the sound of your voice was easily overpowered by the wind.  

Then the ground gave out from under both of you. You just barely had the time to launch yourself backwards, slamming none too gently into a tree for your troubles. Izzy wasn’t so lucky. You were immediately back on your feet and spotted him lying at the bottom of the small valley.

“Izzy?” You called out as loudly as you could. No reply. He didn’t so much as stir. Even if he hadn’t heard you, you doubted Izzy would just lay on the ground. “Shit.” You mumbled under your breath and quickly as you could, you made your way down, none too gracefully. You were at his side shockingly fast. Izzy was a little banged up but he was breathing thankfully, though it looked like he’d hit his head. He was out cold. “Well, shit.” You mumbled to yourself.

You ducked down and were able to carefully maneuver Izzy into your arms. For such a small man, he was shockingly heavy. But the universe did give you a bit of mercy when you spotted a small cave, looking to be most protected from the storm. You managed to drag the two of you inside. You put both Izzy and the bag of peaches down and dropped down to the ground, exhausted. Even though you were out of the wind in the rain, you were still soaked and you were still freezing. You forced  yourself to get back up. 

Luckily, the wind blew quite a few sticks further into the cave so you weren’t stuck trying to build a fire with wet tinder. Cold and uncomfortable as you were, it was incredibly difficult to be patient enough to slowly grow the fire but your dedication paid off. Before long You were basking in the warmth of a newly made fine.

You pulled off your overcoat which, while completely soaked, had protected most of your clothes. Izzy had given you shit about it, how a long coat wasn’t practical in the Caribbean (ironic, coming from a man in leather pants and a leather vest). 

Despite what you wanted to do you knew you couldn’t just sit by the fire. You had  to take care of Izzy as well. You dragged yourself up and knelt down by Izzy. He had a small cut on the back of his head but luckily it didn’t seem to be that bad. You didn’t hesitate to tear off one of your sleeves to wrap it up. You pulled Izzy as close to the fire as you dared but he was still shivering a little. You managed to pull him up so you could start the daunting task of getting him out of his vest and shirt. His vest was pretty easy but his shirt was completely soaked and probably responsible for sapping a lot of his body heat. 

As you untied his cravat you noticed the ring around it. You’d spotted the ring before (gotten a pretty close look when Izzy decided he needed to get into your face to yell at you). He always wore it. It was clearly important to him so you didn’t want to just set it aside and risk it getting lost, so instead you slipped it into one of your pockets. At least it would be safe there until Izzy was conscious enough to not lose it.

You had to rest his head on your shoulder so you could wrestle his dead weight out of his shirt. ‘Please don’t wake up right now. Please don’t wake up right now, ‘ you silently begged the universe, because, while you usually followed Stede’s ‘talk it through’ method, that was a conversation that you didn’t want to have. Luckily for once in this dumpster fire of a day, you at least got that and Izzy stayed unconscious. 

You definitely did not glance at his chest, taking in the mix of scars and tattoos that you’d never seen before. And it definitely didn’t look incredibly attractive on him. Not at all.Your jacket was dry at that point so you laid it over Izzy as a makeshift blanket. You considered taking his sword since you didn’t want to get stabbed on instinct when he woke up, but you also figured he’d probably feel better if he had it with him. 

You crumpled against the opposite wall of the cave and basked in the warmth of the fire. Since you were the only one who was conscious, you had watch duty by default. You glanced at Izzy. Hopefully he’d wake up soon. You doubted you could carry him back to the dingy and leaving him behind so you could get someone to help you made you incredibly nervous. 

It was strange to see him so calm. With his face so relaxed and your sleeve wrapped around his head, he looked like a completely different person. You let yourself stare at him for a moment before focusing on something else. Luckily your bag full of peaches was within arm’s reach. Quite a few of them had been crushed or otherwise mangled by the rough journey but you managed to find one that was mostly intact.

At least you had snacks…

---

It wasn’t easy to gauge the passage of time in a cave but you’d have to guess it had been around an hour. You’d had to go grab more twigs and tinder for the fire and the rain seemed to be slowing. That was something at least. Looked like the storm was going to stop soon. Then you’d have to figure out how to get Izzy and yourself back to the Revenge. 

Before you could worry about that a low raspy groan caught your attention. Izzy was waking up… He immediately grabbed at his head, hand going for the injury at the back of his head. 

“Careful!” You said, more on instinct than anything else.

His eyes immediately darted to you and after a brief moment where he seemed to take in his surroundings, he immediately drew his sword and pointed it at you and skittered away as best he could until his back hit the wall. His whole body seemed shaky and uncertain, the hand holding the sword was trembling.

You held your hands up in slight surrender, not wanting to freak him out any more than you already had. “Well, good morning to you too…” you managed, voice shaking slightly with an awkward chuckle. He stared longer. Not knowing what to do, you cracked a joke to ease the tension. “I know, the one sleeve thing looks great on Ed but it sure looks stupid on me eh?” You motioned with your bare arm for emphasis.

“What the fuck…?” He managed to hiss out, he looked genuinely confused.

You furrowed your brow. “Do you remember what happened?” You weren’t a doctor by any means but memory loss could happen with head injuries.

“I…” Izzy managed. He lowered his sword and clutched at his head. “I fell?” He mused, more to himself before a look of clarity passed over him and he hissed out “stupid fockin Stede Bonnet. Stupid fockin peaches.” 

You breathed a sigh of relief, if he was pissed off, then that was back to the status quo for Izzy. “So you definitely remember then. How’s your head?”

“How the hell do you think it is? It fuckin’ hurts.” He snapped at you. He glanced around getting a proper look at your surroundings. “What the fuck happened?”

Glad that he seemed more calm and had stopped pointing a sword at you, you explain what happened: how he’d  fell, how you’d dragged him here. When you reached the part where you’d taken his shirt off, he’d immediately looked down and seemingly realized that he was in fact, not wearing a shirt. He pulled your jacket up to cover himself more, looking almost comically like a blushing lady. 

“Why the fuck?” He immediately snarled at you.

You rolled your eyes. “Because it was soaking wet and you were shivering? You would’ve frozen your damn tits off if I hadn’t.”

He looked like he was moments away from snapping at you when he stopped himself and his hand immediately shot to his throat. Before he could say anything you jumped in, well aware of what he was about to ask. “I have it, don’t worry.” You patted the ring in your pocket. Izzy stared at you almost nervously. You probably would’ve teased him at any other time but you could tell he was genuinely concerned, so you didn’t. 

You stood slowly and walked around the fire, choreographing your movements as not to take him by surprise. “Here,” you said as you gently placed the ring in his hand. He clutched it tightly to his chest, one hand clutching his ring and the other toying with the fabric of your coat. You sat back down and leaned against the wall of the cave.

You expected Izzy to break the silence with an insult or a sarcastic comment, instead you got a soft, shaky, “Why?”

“You wear that ring all the time. It’s clearly important to you and I didn’t want it to roll away or get lost or  something. I-“

“Not the ring.” Izzy interrupted. You raised a brow. “This.” He motioned at himself and the cave around the two of you. “All of this.”

You didn’t expect to somehow get more confused after his explanation. “What do you mean by ‘this’? I mean, sure a cave ain’t all that cozy but it got us out of the storm…. Besides-“

“No!” Izzy snapped, clearly furious. You immediately shut up, not sure what to do. He luckily didn’t raise his sword at you but he leveled a finger pointing at you accusingly. “Why did you do any of this?”

You furrowed your brows, trying to figure out what he meant. “Uh, you know that if I’d left you back there, you could’ve died?”  

He nodded as you thought he might get it then he spoke again. “You hate me.” He said it so matter-of-factly, as if it were just a given, a fact of the world.

You blinked. The pieces clicked together. “I don’t hate you.” You explained softly. Izzy scoffed, disbelief clear on his face. “No, I’m being honest. I don’t hate you. Granted  you can be a fucking asshole. But, I only give you shit because you give my crew shit. I don’t hate you. And even if I did I sure as hell wouldn’t have left you for dead.”

Had he really expected you to just leave him there? 

“Wait…” Though, that did raise a concerning question… “Are you telling me that you would have left me?”

Izzy rolled his eyes. “Of course not. You’re one of few people on that ship that knows what they’re doing. Besides, even if I wanted to, the crew wouldn’t believe me.  Even if it was an accident, they’d all assume I killed you. But they actually like you. Even the captains. You could come back drenched in my blood and they’d still believe whatever you said.” Izzy chuckled humorlessly.

You stared, too stunned to speak. Suddenly, you felt awful about teasing him before. No wonder he was so incredibly hostile if he thought you could murder him and get away with it, that you hated him enough to do it. You buried your face in your hands. “Damn it, I’m so sorry.”

“Why?” You glanced up to see Izzy was staring at you, confusion clear on his face. 

You hesitated, trying to figure out how best to phrase it so it wouldn’t sound patronizing. “I’m so sorry for anything I did that made you feel like you weren’t safe with me. I doubt my words mean much but, I really wasn’t going to do anything more than tease… or hit you with a peach… Sorry about that too.”

His expression only got more confused. You watched as he went from confused to a little scared then immediately to annoyed. “Don’t pretend to care!” He snapped. “If you're planning on lowering my guard for some later attack, it wont work.”

 The ‘it won’t work this time’ was implied. Sure, you hadn’t been a pirate all that long, but you certainly knew how awful people could be. You couldn’t help but wonder about Izzy’s scars. Had he gotten any of them from crew members who hated him? Just waiting for a moment of vulnerability to pounce. 

Izzy Hands was making far too much sense for you all of a sudden. 

“That’s happened before?”

Izzy all but growled at you for that then he actually looked at you. He seemed surprised by whatever he saw. “Of course.” He replied, again his voice matter-of-fact as if that was somehow supposed to make sense. 

 But you were undeterred. “That may be how some people are… But you’ve made it pretty clear how soft and pathetic the Revenge Crew is.” He didn’t seem convinced. “If I really wanted to do something like that, we literally would not be having this conversation right now!” You emphasized. 

“Unless you want something from me.” Izzy snapped immediately.

“Well, I don’t. Not really. You don’t really have to believe me. But I’m not going to hold this over your head. Really, I would've done the exact same thing if anyone else got hurt.” 

Izzy stared at you, eyebrow raised. After a long moment, he huffed and broke eye contact. “I can’t understand you…”

You sighed. It seems like the two of you got completely opposite things from this. You could finally understand at least in part why Izzy was like that, while he was completely baffled by you. You were saved from the uncomfortable silence by noticing that the rain had finally subsided. “Ah, the rain’s gone. Finally, we can get back to the ship.”

---

Izzy watched, pensive, as you stood and stretched, grabbing the bag filled with those stupid fockin peaches, carefully putting out the fire and generally cleaning up. He couldn’t help but notice your bare arm, the one whose sleeve was currently wrapped around his head. 

“Oh, here!” You tossed him his vest, shirt and cravat. They were all in good condition. You’d clearly taken care to take them off without damaging them. Eager to put all this strangeness behind him, Izzy wrestled his shirt and vest on, keeping an eye on you as he did.

None of this made any sense. 

You hated  him. He knew that. You’d made it clear from the moment you’d met. You were Bonnet’s first mate, loyal to your captain and protective over your crew. You’d made it no secret that you didn’t like how he did things. 

Izzy had been hated before. Of course he had. He had a position that people wanted and he was well aware that he wasn’t all that likable. At least before people had a reason to fear him as well. You didn’t. You had an entire crew behind you and with Edward so wrapped up in Bonnet, Izzy didn’t have anyone to protect him. 

Well, except… You, apparently.  You, who’d had every opportunity to get rid of him on this stupid trip even before the storm came in.

 And yet, here he was. Unharmed. Not only had you not tried anything besides the same teasing as usual, but you’d actually saved him. That alone was completely ridiculous. But you’d done more than that. You’d gone out of your way to take care of him. (His ring felt like it was burning in his hand as he put it back in place.) Even if you weren’t going to kill him solely out of respect for your captains, you wouldn’t have needed to do any more than drag him here. Yet, you’d not only torn your shirt to patch him up, you’d given him your jacket and even taken the time to make sure he didn’t lose his ring, just because you knew it was important to him.

He tried to stand but he was quickly overcome with dizziness and nausea so he stumbled. He braced himself to hit the ground but… Instead he found himself leaning against your chest, your arms wrapped around him.

“Shit! Izzy you okay? Ah, fuck dumb question, sorry. Are you feeling dizzy?” Your voice was still so fucking concerned. No mockery. You gently pulled away, seemingly unphased by the fact that he wasn’t responding to you, still supporting him so he didn’t fall. “You… uh… can hang on to my jacket if you like?” Your words made him realize that he was still desperately clutching your jacket.

He hissed out a “Fuck off” on reflex but… Fuck it. He slipped your jacket on. It didn’t really fit all that well but it was warm. 

You smiled. “How about this…” You let him wrap an arm around your shoulder. “I don’t think you should be walking on your own but I sure as hell can’t carry you anymore. For such a tiny man, you’re rather heavy…”

Izzy scoffed. “Not my fucking fault you’re a giant.” He grumbled. There was less bite in his tone than usual but it was absolutely still there.

You smiled at the insult. “I’ll take that as you feeling a bit better. You’re already being a snarky asshole.”

It had been a pain in the ass to clamber back up the hill he’d slipped down. Honestly, Izzy was surprised you managed to clamber down in the middle of the storm and not fall as well. 

The walk back was generally quiet only broken by your occasional comment of “careful” or “watch your step” which, Izzy was realizing, you’d done before. He’d assumed that you were being condescending. But now, considering everything else you’d done you must have been genuinely warning him. The more he thought about it the more he realized how you’d never really been that bad. You teased and occasionally the two of you would get into genuine arguments, but you never did anything particularly malicious. And you clearly cared about your crew. You’d check in on everyone (himself included he realized suddenly) after a raid, make sure everyone ate, and, while you were far too lax about it in Izzy’s opinion, you did make sure chores got done.

Hell, considering how much of non-captain Stede fockin’ Bonnet was, Izzy had little doubt in his mind that you’d been mostly running the ship.

You were still soft. Too soft. But, clearly, it was working to some extent.

You were actually making far too much sense for him all of a sudden. 

Dammit.

Luckily, it didn’t take long for the two of you to find the beach. The Revenge was visible in the water and even from this distance, Izzy could tell that it was undamaged. A dinghy was also already enroute and its passengers all immediately waved at the two of you once they spotted you. 

Edward, impatient as ever, decided he wasn’t going to wait and jumped off the dinghy and waded the last few feet of water before sprinting over to you. “Izzy! Y/N! You two okay? Nasty one that was, huh?” (Any other time, Izzy would have probably chastised him for jumping into the water like that (especially after a storm) but right now, he was just glad to see his captain was safe. )

“Izzy hit his head. Pretty sure it's not that bad but he might have a concussion.” You reported quickly. “Is everyone else all right?”

“Everyone’s fine!” Ed replied.

“The ship?” Izzy asked.

“Fine as well, Iz. No worries.” Edward assured. A pause. “Well… Aside from a few of Stede’s books.” 

Izzy rolled his eyes. Of course.

The dinghy ride back was irritating. Roach seemed determined to check Izzy for a concussion right then and there. Though, it seemed that he agreed with you. Izzy would be fine. He’d definitely feel it tomorrow but he’d live.

The moment the two of you set foot on the Revenge, Stede was there. “Oh thank goodness! We were incredibly worried! I’m very sorry about all this! The storm really surprised us.” 

Luckily, Izzy’s head had calmed enough that he could pull away from you and lean against the railing instead. He quickly glanced around, the deck was messier than usual but didn’t look all that bad. His attention couldn’t help but drift back to you…

You were giving a quick report of everything (far more professional than Stede Bonnet deserved) before presenting him with the bag full of peaches. Bonnet was quick to announce that everyone was getting some kind of peach dessert that Izzy had never heard of as a reward for making it through a storm. Izzy scoffed. The reward for making it through a storm was being alive.

As Bonnet ran to the chef so he could explain this weird dish, you walked back to Izzy, leaning against the railing next to him. “I can handle everything up here. You should probably lie down.” You explained softly.

“Don’t need to lie down.” Izzy grumbled back.

You rolled your eyes. “What’s the point of having two first mates on a ship if you can’t take a break? I’ll get Captain Ed to drag you if I must.”

“Fine.” Izzy spat. A long pause. Izzy glanced around. Everyone seemed not to be focused on the two of you. “Thank you.” He said quickly.

You smiled. “Yeah, of course. Don’t worry about it.”

“...I’m still going to be a dick.” He confessed.

That actually made you laugh and Izzy couldn’t help but think that he liked that sound. “Duh. I’m not expecting anything to change. And I’m still going to give you shit.”

Izzy chuckled himself and nodded. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

You pushed off of the railing and waved goodbye. “Well, I’m off to ask Stede if I can borrow one of his shirts for a bit. See you around!”

“Good luck.” Izzy replied, both of you well aware that you were going to be dragged into Stede’s wardrobe and not return for hours. You chuckled. 

Just as expected, the moment you asked, Stede’s face lit up and you were immediately dragged off into his pastel colored hell.

Before Izzy could even take a breather, Ed was all but leaning on his shoulder. “Hi. You’re going to lie down.” His voice held the same force as an order. Izzy sighed, well aware that resistance was futile.

As Izzy was all but dragged back to his cabin, with a promise that someone would go check on him later, Ed decided to talk. “So,” His captain began with a grin that heralded problems. “Nice jacket.” Izzy’s eyes widened as he realized he was still wearing your jacket. “Guess you guys really got to know each other huh?”

“Piss off.” Izzy grumbled but made no move to take your jacket off. “My clothes were wet.”

“Ooh! So they saw you naked too?” Ed teased and Izzy all but short circuited.

“I- Ah… My shirt and vest were wet.” Izzy clarified, somewhat shakily.

Ed merely hummed. Izzy knew him well enough to know he wasn’t done. “So… when's the wedding?”

“Edward.”

A/N: Izzy’s one of my favorite characters so I have to be mean to him. Also, I've gotten a few requests for enemies to lovers with Izzy, so, there will be more coming soon. (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑

[stephofromcabin12]

Any art tips for artists just starting out? I’m struggling big time to find my style 😀

Sure.

It got kinda long. Bc when have I ever been a person of few words?

There is no trick to finding your style other than drawing a lot, and setting a, more or less, loose goal. When I was young it was old school Disney and Don Bluth. That was my holy grail, ideal style. But it evolved to be something else, because that's how style works. You'll put your own twist on things, in time. But first focus on practicing and don't narrow yourself down to just one thing. You'll also probably develop multiple styles out of convenience. Sometimes I prefer the cartoony, simpified stuff. Sometimes I'm more into fully rendered pieces.

Experiment. Make bad art a lot. The more you expose yourself to the inherent let-down of sucking at something, the less it stings. The key is asking yourself why something didn't turn out right.

You can't get good at All Art at once. Start with something you're most interested in learning. Maybe it's anatomy, or gestures, or expressions, or colors. Start with that one thing and practice is with a specific goal in mind. Fx: "I want to get better at drawing faces and expressions, so I'm going to do an expression sheet of a character once a week, and do a little practice every day if I can" – That sorta thing. Everyone is different, though. My old music teacher used to say 30 minutes a day. If we couldn't do 30; 15 mins. So on. As long as you do a lil doodling every day that's still progress.

Learning art is sometimes frustratingly non-linear. Somedays I still 'forget' how to draw a certain thing I've had down since I was 14. Other days I bang out something I've always struggled with on the first try, then fail the next day. It's not a linear progression, it's a damn roller coaster. Best you can do is throw your hands up and try to enjoy the ride. The pipe line for me is usually: First attempt (sucks ass but I've learned to laugh at this stage, just throw ideas at the wall) -> getting comfortable (this is where you think to yourself you have a concept down but you really don't) -> Getting good (you start to draw with more ease, you're not having to 'remember' how you wanted something to look, it's just muscle memory by now) -> Actually having it down (and still having more growth to go. But this is where you get to look back on the comfortable phase and go: 'wow I really had a long way to go')

In fact, having fun is by far the thing that's made me progress. More than tutorials, more than fancy equipment. If I'm not having fun, I have no motivation to keep going. If it's not fun, try and make it so.

Get into the habit of stepping back (whether physically or more metaphorically) and really looking at your art often while you draw. When you add a line, or color, or background element etc. Ask yourself "Does this work?" And adjust accordingly. It seems like a lot of work at first, but eventually it becomes a natural part of the process. I don't really realise I'm doing it but most of the patreon screen recordings I have show the way I zoom in and out of the canvas constantly lol.

Make the things you want to make. Even the most self-indulgent stuff. We have a million artists already doing their thing, but we don't have you yet. Show us what you got! There's room for everything.

Get used to people expressing mild envy/annoyance when you're drawing near them. I've gotten the 'wow I wish I could draw, I can't even do a stick figure!' comment from waitresses, cabin crews, classmates I'd previously never spoken to, teachers, strangers on trainstations, etc etc etc. But! Learn to say 'Thank you' when people compliment your art.

Don't ask for critique if you don't really want it. Don't let people critique you if you didn't ask for it.

You! Don't! Need! Fancy! Equipment! Save your money and get the version of a medium that's affordable and comfortable for you. Look at Stardew Valley's creator's old setup. It's really not about how the tools are set up or the price of them. It's how you make use of them. Didn't FNAF's creator build the models in a moving car on a laptop?

Art takes time. There is no short cut to make it take less time. But the more fun you have the more it'll feel like it's faster. If you're miserable the time will drag on and on and on.

Look at a lot of art. Take in and analyse. I wish I could go back a few years and tell myself to analyse paintings I liked, rather than just going "Oh I like that! Nice!" and then moving on. Why is it good? Why does it move you? What captured your attention? Be the person at a museum leaning forwards to see the paintstrokes, you learn more that way.

Don't feel ashamed if you want to take inspiration from others. Everyone takes inspiration from somewhere. If you see something cool another artist is doing with their rendering or lighting or whatever, try and do a drawing or two emulating it! Maybe you'll discover a new favorite technique, or you'll not really jam with it. Either is good. Both teach you something.

You'll go through more eras than Taylor Swift. Sometimes you gotta do a lil Eras Tour of your own and go back through the catalogue. I'm currently working on reviving several projects I made when I was 13-14. Keep everything. Don't delete; archive.

Get good storage. Like, seriously, wish for a harddrive your next birthday or christmas or whatever. If you're working traditionally wish for some good ringbinders and the good plastic sleeves. Much nicer than running out of storage and having to delete things. Never delete!

You are already an artist. You became one the second you picked up a pen and put it to paper, and then decided to keep going with that. So don't compare yourself. When you find yourself jealous of someone, it's because they have something you want. Figure out what it is, and make it for yourself.

Deadass? Tracing helps so much with learning forms. But it's only helpful when you also practice drawing the same things freehand.

The trick to coloring is just that everything looks good shaded with purple set to multiply, and that if you're ever in doubt go in an L shape on color wheel. Down in brightness, inwards in saturation.

People who say you can never use white or black in drawings are jerks and you should not listen to them. You can do literally everything you want. Sure, experiment with other ways of using white and black. But art advice is just that: It's an option, not gospel. As a wise prophet of our time, Justin Bieber, once said: Never say never.

People will say you should be your own biggest critic. But fuck that. Be your own biggest cheerleader. Love what you make, even when you hate it, find something that works. That stepping back I mentioned in point 6? Sometimes that's zooming out and saying "Damn! That looks really good!" – People will often make art out to be something that should be suffering and painstaking. It's not though. In my honest experience, I've made just as much good art when I was happy and content, as I did when I had severe depression and anxiety and burnout. You're not an artist because you suffer. You're an artist because you can't just sit in that suffering all the time. You know there's beauty besides your pain, and so you'll remind yourself in the act of creation that there is always something more.

Once you realise you have the power to draw truly anything, you'll start having a lot more fun. "Oh but I've never done it before" or "Oh I tried and it just didn't work" Okay. So?

In case of frustration to the point of throwing your art supplies out the window: Take a breath. Go for a walk. Sometimes it's just not your day. Sometimes the rollercoaster gets stuck in the middle of a loop or right at the top of a hill. Wait it out. Try again.

You have absolutely got this. Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

[isadollie]

Heya! I’d be curious to get a matchup? If you’ve got time! Many thanks in advance! 💜

Fandom: Obey Me

Name: Walker

Pronouns: he/they

Sexuality/preference: demisexual, boy please

Likes: coffee, cats, Halloween, metal music, documentaries, scary movies, cryptids

Dislikes: crowded places, early mornings, sour foods/drinks, loud noises (except music)

Free time: video games, baking, drawing, working out, journaling

Aesthetic: dreamcore/liminalcore and Halloweencore are my favorites! (Warning: if you look them up, liminalcore and dreamcore can make people with dissociative issues feel weird, so be careful if that’s something you deal with!)

Appearance: averagely built trans guy, sorta messy brown hair, green eyes, the sun is not my friend (ie: pale!), a few black-ink tattoos on my arms/chest, small ear gauges, glasses

Personality: Quiet and maybe a little shy at first, but chill and easygoing once I’m used to someone. Kind of protective ‘older brother’ vibes, very responsible but not overbearing - I am there for support but won’t be pushy about it. I laugh easily and love jokes/puns, can be very playful once super comfortable with someone. Love casual touch but unlikely to initiate it, not a fan of clinging, but happy to be used as a pillow.

MBTI: INFJ

Dream bday present: probably some mix of practical and fun. Something I need at the time (small appliance, clothing, whatever I’m needing to more efficiently exist) along with something ultimately useless but enjoyable (cryptid stuff, plushies, stickers, etc)

Love Language: I show love by gift giving and acts of service. I like receiving acts of service and words of affirmation.

Zodiac: Libra!

Songs: “Be Gay, Do Drugs, Hail Satan” by Super Cassette || “Antipop” by gürl/Onlyfriend || “Barbie & Ken” by Scene Queen/Set It Off || “Father” by The Front Bottoms

Again, thank you so much! Have a wonderful day!

— matchup —

if you'd want a matchup too, make sure to check out this! link

also, a quick reminder that requests for headcannons and/or scenarios are open!! please go check it out!!

i match you with...

Mammon!

★ i have a feeling that Mammon would be the absolute king of halloween. he'd love to scare people, dress up, go trick or treating (even though beel would end up eating all the candy anyway)

★ oh he'd love your tattoos, 100%. would love to look at them, ask their meanings and details, trace them with his fingers

★ Mammon is super scared of all kinds of horror movies (which is funny cause he's a literal demon), but he will act like he's not. "The Great Mammon scared of some movie? Don't make me laugh!" but then he'll cover his eyes throughout the whole movie. will still agree whenever you ask him to watch it with you lol

★ your love language is gift giving? say no more. he's into that lmao

we all know him as an avatar of greed, who only ever wants to sell whatever will bring the most money. he could sell literally anything, but not a present you gave to him. he cherishes those way too much

★ he'd love to watch you getting more comfortable with him, especially if he sees that you get along with him better than with his brothers. such an ego boost lol

★ will laugh at all your jokes, sending a glare to anyone who, in his opinion, isn't showing enough interest. will definitely complain about them later. Levi only smiled instead of laughing out loud? "When i tell you, this man has NO sense of humor-"

★ he loves to see you being an "older brother" who's protective towards others. mostly because he think he's like this too.. or at least he also wants to be seen this way. my man just wants his demon brothers to appreciate him for once:(

★ one of the reasons why i chose Mams for you, is because of your dream bday present! i imagine he'll make a list of things that he knows you might need, and another list of things you two could do together. so in the end, your birthday becomes a whole day of receiving different things you needed, with doing a lot of fun things in between

your second match was levi btw! hope you like it:)

[broken-clover]

SolAxl Week(ish)- Day 7

Okay I am learning a lesson about doing these week-type challenges. They are fun! But I feel bad for the organizers for having to put up with my shitty pace. Promise I never mean to, it just...sorta happens...

Free Day time! I like open-ended options, fun to stretch the creative legs. I decided to whip out something I haven't really used before, the pantheon/god AU. I sorta used it for another prompt fill a while back, and in general the au is sorta unfinished and half-baked, it's fun trying to assign domains to characters and forming a little ramshackle structure of deities. For what unfinished and undecided stuff I have, I am very attached to Axl being a death god, as a jovial reaper who does his best to make the passage comfortable, and Sol being the god of war (among other things), so their work often overlaps and they spend a lot of time around one another.

Content warnings for discussions of death and one (1) sex mention

-

Historically, during the American Civil War, particularly during the 1861 Battle of Bull Run, onlookers set up picnics overlooking the battlefield. At first, civilians had assumed the ‘war’ would be a short one, a casual affair, easily dealt with. They thought so little of it that they chose to treat it as a spectacle, an amusement. Families brought their baskets and blankets to watch death unfold in front of their eyes.

Now, over 200 years ago, a duo was re-enacting that twisted tradition. A pair of men sat on the grass as they overlooked a field. Below, little had changed in the decades passed. Two factions throwing themselves at one another, swords and guns ablaze, frothing at the mouth to draw blood. In their frantic violence, bodies, dirt, and munitions were thrown every which way, even up the hillside. A few bits of debris came close to the onlookers, but neither paid it much mind. They didn’t even bother moving their feet. It was easier not to care when they had no fear of dying.

“They’re still on it down there?” Asked one to the other. Of the two, he would most easily pass for a normal man. His attire was simple, casual, the sort you’d see on some random pedestrian you passed along the sidewalk. His eyes shimmered like galaxies, and a handheld sickle dangled from a chain on his belt, but unless someone was looking for them, those oddities went unnoticed by most.

“Of course. Practically what humans do best.” His companion, in contrast, was more readily odd. As he opened his mouth to speak, smoke poured freely from a glowing throat. His taloned feet made him stand taller than any mortal man, instilling unease even in some of his fellow deathless. His stature and presence commanded attention. His slitted eyes commanded submission.

Despite it, the being at his side regarded him with the offbeat calm of an old drinking companion. “Does it make you happy?” He asked, folding his arms behind his head.

“What makes you ask?”

“I mean, this is your domain, after all.” He shrugged.

The smoke-spitting oddity shook his head, an air of solemnity in his stance. “Doesn’t mean I gotta like it. More deaths mean more work for all of us. You should know by now how much I hate workin’ hard.”

“Mmm. Maybe not all of us. Milly’s been starved for work lately, y’know. Not much merciful death to be had ‘round here. And sure as hell no beauty or solace, neither.” The other replied.

As they conversed, neither faction noticed the two’s presence. Even if they weren’t embroiled in life-or-death conflict, the strangers’ existence would go entirely unacknowledged.

“Maybe we can whip up one of those virgin orgies? I know she ain’t as freaky as she used to be back in the day, but…”

“Tch.” The dragon-man scoffed, sparks flying from his lips like struck flint. “She’ll be pissed if you say that. ‘N then if we did, we’d gotta be sure Johnny won’t show up and screw everything up again."

“Or screw everything again.”

“Yeah. Exactly. He doesn’t need any damn encouragement.”

A mortal shell was lobbed across the field, exploding in a burning ball. Several bodies, some alive and others already gone, flew back under the force. It served as a brief punctuation for the fight, as both parties quickly fell back into gunfire.

”You glad about it? You’re always talkin’ about those reunion ragers.”

“Mmm.” The cosmos in the man’s eyes were dull. “Y’think I don’t know how much humans hate it? I’ve seen it firsthand for millennia. I just try ‘n make it as fun as I can. ‘m not content to be miserable. It’s good when I lose. They all come to me eventually, I’m fine with them takin’ their time.”

“...I doubt they’re going to ‘take their time’ down there.”

He sighed. “Nah. Always in a rush to die, humans. Never made any sense to me. Might sound strange comin’ from me of all people, but…”

“Eh. God of War thinks most wars are idiotic, you can do the same about your own job. We do a lotta work for those flimsy little flesh bags, don’t mean we gotta forget who’s the omnipotent ones here.”

“Fair enough, chief! Fair enough.” Smiling death stretched his arms to the sky. He clicked his tongue, the way a spirit he’d reaped four centuries ago taught him. “Prolly should get to work soon. Gonna sit and watch?”

“I’ll come.”

“Huh? Y’ sure?”

“Beats sitting and waiting.” The joints of his talons cracked as they bent. “Besides. War and death walk hand-in-hand, I heard someone say.”

His companion snickered. “I’ve heard someone say something like ‘they sleep in the same bed.’ Depends on the night though, eh?”

“Don’t push it.” His fellow god elbowed him in the ribs.

He took the weapon from his belt and twirled it. “Hopefully they come easy. Try not to scare ‘em too much, okay, chief?”

“Fine, as long as you can get them all before dinner.”

“Deal. Say, what’s Jam making tonight, anyway?”

“Oh, everything, same as always. Some of Dizzy’s temples out west left some good offerings for the harvest she gave them. Those’ll probably get served, too.”

The light came back to his glittering eyes. “Mortals might do some dumb stuff, but they know how to make damn good food.”

[artzychic27]

I just feel like blurting stuff

So, another au by yours truly. Nath used to compete in pageants and won many of them

He first started competing when he was six, just for fun

He got his hair styled a bit, his mom found a few nice outfits, and they didn’t expect too much… But then Nath ended up winning, so his mom signed him up a second time since it seemed like he enjoyed himself. Plus, she’s putting that money towards school, so… Yeah

Alix is the only non family member who knows about the pageants and refuses to let him live it down. But in private since he doesn’t want everyone at school knowing

He keeps his life as a Pageant King under wraps by going about his school life as his “shy artist” self and then wowing the judges with his amazing talent on the piano, cello, violin, harp, flute, and acoustic guitar (Evillustrator confirmed Nathaniel is good at music)

By the time he turned ten, he’s already won forty five pageants

With his victories comes a few people under the guise of managers trying to mooch off of his success, but Aya keeps them at an arm’s length. The pageants are quite enough and she doesn’t want her son’s face plastered on every ad

There are a few photos in a couple of magazines, but that’s just to recap the pageant, any celebrities who attended, and announce the winner

To balance school work and practice, Aya’s sister, Laney, home schools him when it’s pageant season, and her brother, Lance, helps him practice for the talent portion

The teachers know about him competing in pageants and slip him a few high fives when he returns to school after winning

His secret nearly gets out a couple of times when the class questions him about his hairstyle and why he’s gone for a few days during the school year, but he’s got a few excuses prepared thanks to Alix

Marinette: Why does your hair look so nice?

Nathaniel: Oh, so the class introvert isn’t allowed to look presentable once in a while?

—

Nino: Since when are you so good at the piano?

Nathaniel: Well, maybe if you paid attention, you’d know I have skills besides drawing.

Now he’s fifteen, won 97 pageants, and is ready for number 98

Also, his classmates have had enough. They went to know what he’s been up to for the past few years, becuase he’s definitely not telling them any time soon

They’ve tried going to Alix, but she’s remained tight lipped and won’t give into bribery

Everything eventually comes to light when Adrien’s been selected as a celebrity judge for the Adolescent M. Paris Pageant

Adrien invites the class along, barring Alix since she’s out of town visiting family and had no idea what they’re doing. They’re just walking around and venue, meeting some of the competitors who all look nervous for some reason because of who’s here

Alya: Wait, who?

Competitor 1: Only the actual threat here! Have you all been living under a rock?!

Competitor 2: I hear he’s playing the cello for this one, and he got his suit custom made from Milan. There’s real diamonds on it!

Competitor 1: That’s nothing. I heard he went to a private dentist to have his teeth whitened so much that the shade of white can’t be found on any color swatches.

Competitor 3: And he got his lips tinted.

Kim: Can we have a name, or-

Competitor 3: No! We do not summon him! I’ll be damned if that little weasel steals my crown again! Where the hell is my bronzer?!

Now the Akuma Class is intrigued, just who is this threat that has every guy on edge? Before they can ask around for a name, the competitors are all called to the stage, so they take their seats

And there on the stage, they find Nathaniel in the lineup

At first, they think, “Oh, he wants to come out of his shell and compete. He couldn’t have picked a worse time. He won’t stand a chance against whoever everyone is so threatened by. We should comfort him when this is over.”

To their surprise, Nathaniel acts as if he’s been doing this for years, walking with perfect posture and speaking clearly during the Q&A portion

During the intermission, they head backstage to get some answers

Nathaniel: I don’t know, because it’s kind of embarrassing. I just do it so my mom can put the prize money toward school. And did it really take you guys ten years to figure it out?

Akuma Class: …

Nathaniel: Right. Now if you’ll excuse me, I gotta get my cello.

Chloé: Wait! You’re the threat?!

Nathaniel: If that’s what everyone’s been calling me, then yeah. Look, I’m on about ten minutes, so I suggest heading back to your seats.

He only amazes them even more when he plays Paint It Black on his beautiful red cello

They’re not even shocked when he wins. Of course, one or two people take pictures to send to a mass group text, so Nathaniel had something to look forward to at school

He’s mobbed by guys asking for his number, popular kids inviting him to sit with them at lunch, and girls asking who does his hair, but he’s having none of that

They wanted nothing to do with him until it turned out he’s been in magazines and looks attractive without his dark clothes, so he wants nothing to do with them

He gives a few practiced responses to his friends congratulating him on winning and turns down Adrien’s Gabriel’s offer to model for the brand, and Marinette’s offer to model some of her clothes for her website

In his words, “My body’s not for sale.”

That doesn’t stop a familiar limo from pulling up to him

Gabriel: M. Kurtzberg-

Nathaniel: I NEED AN ADULT!

Gabriel saw the pageant from the comfort of home as a scout for the winner, and is now trying to get Nathaniel to model for his brand. He’s got a better chance than Bob Roth, that’s for sure. At least Nathaniel makes eye contact with him

Anyway, guys are still trying to pick Nathaniel up, and it’s getting really annoying, so he hides out in the basement during lunch hour where he meets Marc Anciel and prepares for shallow compliments

He just offers him an apple

Nathaniel: You’re not gonna try to flirt with me?

Marc: Well, someone’s full of himself.

Nathaniel: What? No, it’s just, every time I turn a corner, some guy is asking me out with roses and talking about how hot I look just because I won a pageant.

Marc: That was you? Wow, you are… Not what I was expecting. I was expecting a better haircut and designer clothes.

Nathaniel: Hey!… Thanks for treating me like a human.

Marc: No problem. Congrats, I guess? What is this, your fifth win?

Nathaniel: Ninety-eighth.

Marc: … You like AO3?

Marc and Nathaniel start spending a lot of time together, which gets some people’s attention, and they suspect he’s a gold digger, but Nathaniel shuts that down quickly and calls certain people hypocrites

Marc even introduces him to his classmates who aren’t completely starstruck by a 98-time pageant winner. They ask a few questions, but he doesn’t mind answering

One time, Juleka invites Nathaniel to the Liberty, because according to her, Luka wants to see up close how good he is at the violin. It leads to a competition where Juleka swears she saw smoke rising because of how fast they were playing

Anyway, it’s not long before Marc and Nathaniel start dating after Marc gets him to safety from some guy who refused to take a hint when Nathaniel said no to a date with him

That’s it

[ofmermaidstories]

Hey, Merms! 👋

You always do such a good job avoiding physical descriptions when writing the Y/N's, but lately I've been wondering: what kinds of clothes do you personally imagine them wearing? You once mentioned your "headcanons" for the kinds of perfume they might wear, and I thought that was super fun. Also, you always describe clothes so beautifully! The parts in something where Kenzo, Kihara, and Scribbles are going over the Hero Gala outfits are some of my favorites.

On that note, I'm especially curious about Scribbles' wardrobe, since Deku's poor fashion choices are always a point of major contention lol.

I love getting to play with clothing, in writing, because beyond just liking clothes, personally, narratively they serve such an important function in world/character-building. Clothes are so telling of a person! Which is why I find it so necessary to avoid it as much as humanly possible with a Y/N, unless there’s a narrative/meta reasoning for it (getting a new coat, scarf; being kitted out for a formal event. Indulging in high-end lingerie to showcase you do think about what you’re wearing, at least intimately, and thus giving you a reason to be judgemental of someone else’s poor tastes in fucking cargo pants). But okay, I’ll play. 👀 Putting everything under a cut, so those of our friends who don’t want the fun/fantasy of the Y/N they imagine ruined don’t have to see my subjective taste in fashion, LOL.

Let’s start off with my baby, Weedsy-woo.

Weeds would wear a lot of natural fibres, like 100% linen pants or dresses, woollen tops for the cooler months. Weeds was raised by Granddad, so Weed’s style would be unconsciously conservative, (high necklines, for example) especially on days when Weeds is working in the shop (which is most days lmao). Granddad was a practical man, though! So even though there’d be a unintentional romanticism in Weed’s choices (a lot of flowy cuts in the dresses and skirts), they’re made knowing that Weeds has to stand or work in them, and that they need to be comfortable and be able to handle, idk, getting wet from dripping flower ends, be about to get dirty and easily washable. There’d be a lot of soft colours (beiges and pale rosy pinks, sage greens) with the occasional vibrant pop of colour (a fun print of fluro pink and yellow and orange, for example, on a top maybe; or the red coat Akane gifts Weeds for Christmas, the yellow scarf from Katsuki). Once Katsuki comes into the picture and has carved out his own permanent space, some of his jackets would start appearing slung over a shop chair, or wrapped around Weeds in the early morning hours of the freezing warehouses of the flower markets.

Okay though, let’s talk my troublemarker Scribbles.

Scribbles is sloppy. Wide-leg men’s pants, fished out from a 200-yen bin at an op-shop. Old, well-worn band t-shirts that have given so much in slack they slip over the shoulder. A sarong from a little Bali-import store that Scribbles finds in Mum’s stuff, when Mum moves to New Zealand. Oversized mens shirts, fished out from that same op-shop, layered over crop tops and silky singlets. Scribbles would like cuts that show cleavage, because why spend good money on lingerie if you’re not going to show it off somehow?

But mostly, I don’t think Scribbles would really overthink things. Because Scribbles spends like, idk, 17 hours or something bent over a tablet/lightboard, trying to draw, the pieces Scribs wears have to be comfortable (cue the wide pants, the oversized shirts). Scribbles crawls out of bed at 8 am (after coming home at 4am), crawls into the first pair of pants that smell clean and then idk, a random top pulled from a basket, before throwing on on old painter’s overcoat, because the aircon can get kind of chilly. But because Scribbles is an artist (an artist raised by a model mother who adored fashion), Scribs has an unwitting eye for it—every piece in Scribble’s wardrobe can be mixed and matched. I’ve always, always, from day one imagined Scribbles to be the kind of Cool Girl that can make anything work, from sheer attitude alone, but I think the deck was stacked from the beginning for Scribs, too. I think it makes it doubly unfair that Scribbles is so mean about Deku’s choices LOL, because Scribbles just takes it for granted that of course people can dress well, so wtf is he doing with all those cheesy t-shirts? That kindergarten colour-blocking he has going on with the hero merch? Disgusting, pull yourself together, Deku.

[puhpandas]

YOOOOOOO I LOVE YOUR ART DJDLM BE LDLDKALCZKSFCJWL

Ahem, sorry. Do you have any tips for drawing for us unfortunately unskilled folks?

LOL thank you so much!!!

and really my only advice is to not get caught up in artstyle crisis and stuff like that. just by drawing you're making art that's yours and no matter how much you want that other person's artstyle you shouldn't try to recreate it. adopting parts of peoples art you like is natural and literally recommended so that's fine. I do it too. but like especially when you're unsure of your art youll look at art you love and wish it was how yours looked and try to copy it. that never ends well and you might as well not do it in the first place

having inspiration is such a huge deal for motivation. not only so you can pump drawings out quicker or something but it just helps you draw and WANT to. you'll have more fun if you have a little collection of drawings you like that just make you feel ready to tackle another drawing

colors can do so much for art. studying other peoples colors or learning RGB (red green blue) can help you out. something I've noticed is that art can look better if you have two main colors and all the other colors compliment one of the hues somehow

this is how I learned but maybe try studying other peoples art. doing that has helped me improve so much as an artist (and also in every other art medium I've tried) and it really can make your progress skyrocket. it might just be the way I learn though so take this with a grain of salt

practice really does matter. just doing a few studies of anatomy or hands or whatever can really really help you out. trying new poses you haven't done before or just polishing the poses you do know can help you get a better understanding of drawing bodies

try to be looser with drawing. this will come when you become more comfortable and have more muscle memory with art but drawing looser can make your art look like it has more movement. messy can sometimes be better

finding your dream brush if you're drawing digitally can really change things immensely. seriously. finding a brush you enjoy using can make or break a drawing session and i mean it. like I use trying a new brush as a way to fix things if I'm drawing and having trouble and it always works. just mess around and find one you like and it can help you a ton

just keep trying and dont give up. I know its corny but this is some real advice I'm about to say. there isnt really a day where art will just click for you and make sense but someday you'll get to a point where you're happy and content with where you are and truly it's only up from there. when you're an artist a lot of artists will mention a 'zone' they enter when they draw/write/etc. this zone is a result of everything you've learned and all the experience you have coming together subconsciously at once while you draw. when you arent in that zone everything will seem more intimidating. but what I mean is that zone will only exist if you keep trying and practicing and experimenting.

final piece of advice is dont stress. if you enjoy art no matter what it looks like it's more important that you're having fun. have fun WHILE you improve. dont be miserable and only think "oh once I get good I'll be having fun". there truly is great experience from when you're in the learning stage and it's great to love it as it's happening and love it when you improve later too

and for the internet posting artists: dont let likes or comments or whatever determine how valuable you see your art as. even if you dont get the attention or love you want keep in mind theres ALWAYS someone out there who will appreciate it. and I'm not just saying that either

[corpsoir]

hi corp you asked for asks and i'm here to deliver!!!!

i wanna know more about solvei.. i don't have any like- specific questions, but yell abt her! i'm still trying to draw up the bugscarybusoc collab thing and i'm working on your little guys and such. side note- what kinda stuff do you think they'd all wear on vacation?

EHEHEHE HIII

ough solvei shes so special to me. girl who wouldnt hesitate to throw her friends in the water for fun. when i first started posting about her i said that she has a gecko named glenn btw, tiny piece of lore that is barely relevant but its fun and cute :]

shes the girl who goes EXCUSE ME HE ASKED FOR NO PICKLES and while shes not nearly as impulsive as skagen she likes to threaten people to get what she wants, even if its (mostly) just empty threats

IM VERY EXCITED TO SEE THE OC THING YOURE DOING.... AUGH.

and on vacation oh...... i think solvei and lovart like to go all out with cool outfits while skagen is all like "it needs to be practical. if we're going out for a walk i need comfortable shoes. i need pockets for things because my good for nothing sister and boyfriend suck and wont wear things with pockets ever so i need to carry their shit." ough solvei in a cute summer dress maybe..... with a pretty floral pattern :] lovart just wears a tank top that barely covers anything and short shorts lol. skagen and his silly t-shirts and his cargo trousers with a billion pockets and also a bag to carry things for everyone

[vostok3-ka]

Hi there!

For the ask game: C, F, and K

Hope you’re doing well!

Hiii!!! I'm doing well, thank you I hope you are well too. Thank you so much for the ask :)

C: What character do you identify with most?

Ooh, this is a hard one to answer. I identify with traits of a lot of different characters, but I always find myself coming back to Matt Fraction's Clint Barton.

He's an archer, and I'm an archer, and I sometimes I like to whisper, "go, Hawkeye," to myself when shooting, just for fun. He's a walking disaster, and so am I. I will literally break anything my hands come in contact with, it's a problem. He's deaf, and while I'm not deaf, I do have my own stuff to deal with and work around, and he's a sort of inspiration to me, a sort of reminder that although a person might've got either a mental or physical issue, you can always achieve your dreams and live to your full potential. I don't know, he's super inspiring to me, and I identify with him a lot!

F: Share a snippet from one of your favourite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

I actually rarely write a lot of dialogue, and it is something I've been trying to practice writing, as I really admire people who can write gripping dialogue that draws you in and leaves you feeling all breathless with their intensity. I had to scour my documents to find a bit of dialogue, but here is one I wrote fairly recently and what I think might be my favourite dialogue scene. I don't know, maybe I will write it into a story someday!

"Tell me James," Zemo starts again, after a little while, breaking the uneasy quiet. Bucky takes a deep breath in through his nose, raising his eyes to look at the dark, stained ceiling. "At night, when you go to bed, do you ever just- wait?" he asks, tilting his head slightly. "You do not know what it is you are waiting for, but you wait nevertheless?"

"No." The answer is clipped, but Zemo isn't deterred, eyes sharp, like that of a predator.

"You wait, don't you? For somebody to tell you to go to sleep, to tell your mind to go silent. For an order." he enunciates the last word with precision, letting it slither out and around Bucky’s neck. 

It happens in an instant, and Bucky slams the man up against the windows, eyes blazing with fiery emotion. Zemo almost laughs at the sight. It is quite different from the cold, blank-eyed stare of the Soldier, and yet in some ways, the intensity of it is very much the same.

"Do you not know when to shut up?" the ex-soldier snarls, and Zemo shrugs, the movement somewhat hindered by the vibranium arm across his chest. 

"I have been told it is a flaw of mine."

"Fix it." 

Lightning flashes, and the light pours itself across Bucky’s face and Zemo's hair, lighting them up in an almost ethereal glow.

I'm proud of this scene because I managed to intertwine dialogue, which I find difficult to write, with description, which I find much easier to write. I like the writing Bucky and Zemo's dynamic, and this might be one of my only dialogue scenes where I enjoy reading it over again!

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

Oh most certainly my ongoing story, Noch', Ulitsa, Fonar', Apteka. It's angsty straight from the get-go, and the way I've planned for the course of events to play out, and the way I want to story to end, really doesn't leave much room for any comfort for Bucky. He's falling into addiction, struggling with depression, and has a murderer to catch that may or may not be linked to his past before the war. It's a full on pew pew from the angst machine.

Thank you so much for the asks, they were super fun to do!!! All the best <3

[hamspamandjamsandwich]

So I love your work and don’t think you need to “fix” anything! However it’s your choice and experimenting with art styles can be really fun so I’ll try to offer some useful advice.

I think drawing from life/trying to draw realism is helpful for this. You can get a feel for what the different features of the face or body look like and then proceed to exaggerate or play with them.

Personal example: I used to not really draw an actual nose. Not quite in the “anime” way but similar enough. But I practiced drawing my faces with more pronounced noses and sorta decided on how I wanted to do them. You kinda have to be comfortable with it looking “worse” until eventually you get comfortable and it’s better.

Maybe start with a single feature, like the eyes, and play around with how you do them. Making them bigger or smaller, how the irises and lashes are drawn, how detailed (do you include the inner corner? The waterline? The small fold under the eye? etc) they are and so on.

I think the elements here that “look like anime” would be the eyes and nose. The shadow of the nose to imply the rest of the shape is such a common look in anime. And eyes are hard I think, because removed from the rest of a face, so many different eyes look like “anime.”

Side note: people make shit that looks like common western animation all the time and nobody shits on them for it. If the art is really good who cares if it sorta looks like common Japanese animation? Where is the crime

That’s my basic advice I guess. Just try out different stuff but start small. See what things you do and don’t like. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look that great yet while you get used to it. And tbh tell em to kick rocks next time they make it sound like an inherently bad thing for your art to look a little anime-esque. 💕

Help a professional told me my artstyle looks like anime 😭😭

So now I'm doing style studies! Be ready for my artstyle to change a lot!! <3

. . .

HGHDFVFRV IT STILL LOOKS LIKE ANIME THO?? HOW DO I UNANIME IT

. . .

Wait hold on- calling all art moots!! 📞📞ring ring !!

Tips on artstyle? Specifically how to not draw anime? :3