#sketched up a few concepts but alas

[muzzlemouths]

nvm i psyched myself out lol

screw it. I'm giving the Taken Under Wing designs a major facelift and then they're going up on artfight.

[mangozic]

a couple of environment sketches for class

[crystal-fems]

Current thoughts on the Pearl/Greg situation…

First of all, It’s crazy coming back to this Steven Universe centered blog after all these years since I still hold so much love in my heart for this show that allowed me to discover who I am and live with confidence as well as helping me through many rough periods in my life. And now since we’re suddenly getting a few trickles of new content here and there (and discourse, but it’s SU so that’s always been a part of the fandom lol) I’m getting the feeling we’ll be getting some kind of big announcement sometime soon. Fingers crossed!

But alas, on the GregPearl early drawings that Raven, a former storyboard artist leaked that were drawn by Rebecca that have been resurfacing around the internet, I am able to see both sides. And incoming is a bit of a rant on the latest debacle…

At the end of the day these are Rebecca Sugar’s (Who is bisexual and genderfluid btw) original characters who she poured her heart and soul into, a lot of whom she based characteristics around herself and the people in her life. So first and foremost, what she decides to do with these characters is up to her. Not you. Of course you’re allowed to have your opinion on it, but Rebecca is nowhere in the wrong here and I’m tired of hearing about it because of the lgbtqia+ community’s blatant biphobia. She also fought tooth and nail to have a wlw wedding in her show but people have the audacity to say this is lesbophobic when these concepts and personal sketches were drawn very early on anyway and not even implemented into the fucking show.

Now on the other hand, I also understand where certain people are coming from to an extent. It’s odd for me personally to see Pearl with Greg and really any other man for that instance, as she’s always been lesbian representation to me and many others as well. At the time, she was the representation in cartoons that we so desperately wanted and needed. She was actually the first character that made me realize I was attracted to women in the first place. And because of that, many of us attached so heavily to this part of her identity which was never officially confirmed.

But you know what’s forgotten? Pearl is also nonbinary. All of the gems are nonbinary. But there’s erasure in that too of course because the community only wants to see her as a futch presenting lesbian when in reality, she physically can’t be that. Now don’t twist my words and think I’m for a second implying that you can’t be nonbinary and a lesbian, because that’s just not true either, but she’s supposed to be an alien for fuck’s sake. The whole idea of gender and sexuality is completely abstract to her species. AND ESPECIALLY SO in a world so inclusive and accepting of everyone, no matter what race, ethnicity, physical capability, gender identities and sexualities. You’d think for a show with a plot that’s so integral on being open about embracing who you are and not being afraid to love yourself as well as the people around you no matter the status quo, that people would have a little more open-mindedness and compassion.

[rysingsun-art]

had half an hour to kill before work... which is also why i didn’t have time to finish details on grif (alas, no nostrils for the man to breathe). anyways, a friend in the rvb fandom recently invited me to join a multi artist project, but i wasn’t sure if id be able to hold myself to completing a finished piece right now. still, it did make me miss drawing rvb characters enough to draw them in this edition of “drawing the eyes first and hoping for the best”

The other artwork from the last few months that I haven’t posted— reverse chronological order. Both fanart and OCs. Some of the notes I wrote will make a little more sense chronologically though haha.

Was going to do drawings of blue team over time. might add one of two more if i feel up to it so i can include Tex and Kai. I still want to finish this… so we’ll see.

The first sketches for the priorly mentioned concept. Also some sketches after I heard that animators in the industry who drew the eyes first got both more dynamic and faster character art. If anyone is wondering, both of those cat kiddos were intended to be Jordan (specific) haha. Though the laying on the grass one really gives Shadow vibes.

Some sketches of OCs— with some fun lettering for their names. The “(maybe)” is because I was so focused on drawing Jordan’s body proportioned correctly that I didn’t think ahead of time about which alter I was drawing, and the facial expression doesn’t immediately make me think of anyone in particular. So. idk it’s someone i guess lol

More practice with body types.

Revamped some characters I haven’t done anything with since high school. Premise is basically these people representing concepts that people value (love, fear, nature, etc) have powers and protect the multiverse. The story basically begins that a few of the Guardians were killed, so new chosen ones must be trained in to take their place… But the threat that took those lives is still at large, and these new Guardians in training must figure out how to embody these roles that they don’t feel suit them.

Human version of Niffty from Hazbin Hotel, unfinished.

[maluceh]

That painel was AMAZING, thank you thank you thank you! ❤️

Sorry for missing a few references, could you share a list of all the universes?

damn ok… ummm (from top left to right and so on with every row)

brooklyn nine nine (amy and jake)

morticia and gomez

modern family (claire and phil)

tangled

they’re just drinking chescos in this one

band au

i got lazy so kissy time

dinosaurs

the last of us au

game of thrones au

10 things i hate about you

celebrity au but i tried to do the cinderella concept art cause 50s

old people

slasher

sapphic jily victorian era

mexican folklore dancers

i got lazy again and i just sketched them as spooky cartoons

deleted scene from dead poets society but it’s not them as dps characters, i just wanted a snowy scene

barbie

pirates of the caribbean

anne with an e

legos

elevator love song by BeeDaily (it’s a fic)

cowboy au

how to train your dragon (astrid and hiccup)

percy jackson (them as percabeth)

sapphic jily in the 14th? 15th? century with princess jamie and her loyal guard lily

this is just a kids drawing so you can interpret it as you want (harry drew it or little james or little lily)

vampire au

couple selfie!

sapphic jily with a reference to glee (the cheerleader uniform). so this one is kind of like cheerleader x outcast type of thing

pride and prejudice au (bingley and jane)

set it up (it’s a movie on netflix)

rocks

greys anatomy au (them as mark and lexi)

role swap (quidditch player lily/muggleborn james)

ice skater couple au

juno (reference to the intro credits from the movie where there’s like drawings and stuff, i thought it would be cool idk)

the office (them as jim and pam)

haikyuu (tanaka and kiyoko are literally jily in another font)

patronuses

genderswap jily

romeo and juliet (2013)

before sunrise (1995)

titanic movie

ferris bullers day off (i think they fit sloane and ferris A LOT)

friends (chandler and monica)

maurice (1987)

detectives au (i tried to emulate 1940s drawings but alas i’m only a girl)

mermaid au

mlm jily as Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete I BELIEVE this is Dos tipos de cuidado (1953) i wanted to draw them as homoerotic mexican actors from the golden age of mexican cinema

canon jily

sapphic jily in bly manor (as dani and jamie)

animal crossing jily

big fish (2003)

sapphic jily as pirates who got caught

idk i took it from a pinterest pic

shadowhunters jily

fantasy jily (?

sapphic jily kissing at sunset

worms

idk what movie this is, i wanted to draw them as silent actors from the 1930s i also tried to use the same art style they used in that era but alas i’m just a girl

widow victorian lily and ghost james (this is a direct reference to Anders Zorn the widow 1883 i believe)

how to lose a guy in 10 days au

shadow and bone au (them as nina and matthias)

ballet dancers au

romeo and juliet AGAIN (1996 tho)

anastasia (1997)

the princess diaries 2 (them as Mia and nicholas)

them with a cat (it’s algernon, the cat is algernon by the way)

spiderman (itsv spider-man to be exact)

i got lazy again and i just doodled them listening to music together

ants

genderswaped jily as emma and mr. knightley (2020)

mamma mia (2008) (love that movie, sophie and sky made me the bisexual i am with that one beach scene)

the hunger games mockingjay part 2 (them as katniss and peeta)

hogwarts professors

coworker rivals

mlm jily but at hogwarts

sapphic jily just vibing (heartstopper vibes??? idk i put the leaves)

shelf awarness by GhostofBambi on ao3 (one of my favorite jily fics)

and that’s it

[spiritproductionsart]

"Just a quick sketch, he said..."

Some concept art for the Perytons in my [Spectral Wings] book series! They're one of the rarer species in the series, but they have their own lore:

-

A Note on Peryton, by Aesara Windwing:

Peryton are large, omnivorous cervid fauna under a similar classification as centaurs. Unlike their half-shift brethren (ala centaurs, fauns, etc), Peryton are capable of taking both a beast (fera) and humanoid (fauna) form at will, just like other singular species fauna.

Peryton live in two distinct regions, the northern cliffs of the Razorback mountains, and the tropical rainforests of the southern continent. Northern Peryton are often found with earthy-toned palettes, resembling birds of prey. Peryton from northern colonies have diets consisting of fish, grains, and root plants (ala potatoes).

Southern Peryton have brilliant feathers similar to tropical birds, and tend to have a more herbivorous diet consisting of fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

Northern Peryton are archetypally larger, closer in size to equines - meanwhile Southern Peryton are smaller and resemble their cervid counterparts. Both species are covered in coats of feathers, and have bird-like talons on either their front or rear legs.

It is theorized that Peryton were created from a combination of Pegasi and Deer fauna during the war of the gods many years ago. Peryton are notable warriors thanks to their avian features, and make up for their lower numbers via shear ferocity.

Similar to true birds, Peryton are one of the few species that display sexual dimorphism. However, unlike the deer, who have a social hierarchy based on sex characteristics & gender expression - Peryton show no such distinction.

Leadership, military service, courting, and household responsibilities are instead determined on an individual basis - placing Peryton alongside the likes of bears, horses, and kirin in terms of general societal behavior.

Peryton generally keep to themselves, but most will display friendly or at least cordial behavior towards strangers. They allow monitored travel through their territories so as not to risk the accidental disturbance of homes or families. They are most closely allied with the Equine Nation and the Kingdom of Falloway.

[sketchfanda]

A Little Moxxie Love:Hail to the Queen (of OPAR!!)

Static and pixels flash across a screen as a camera became active, showing a sort of studio made to seem like the VIP area of some high class lounge mixed with a talk show set ala Conan O' Brien or Jay Leono. That is if said lounge had decor showing that its owner had a partial fondness for pop and gothpunk culture of course as the host revealed himself to be none other than the author of this certain set of stories, spinning the office chair he parked in around to face the non existent crowd with all the sort of showmanship and flair any host would. Adjusting the tie he was wearing as claps akin to what you'd hear in a sitcom played out with the camera showing he wasn't alone as seated in a couch beside the desk was none other than our fave little gentleman imp hitman Moxxie in his cute little possum boi glory. To say he was a tad confused and concerned was an understatement as something told him things were about to get weirder than Blitzo that one time he was high off a cocaine rush and DON'T ASK!!

??:"Whassup viewers or should I say readers, it's Sketchfan coming to you live from an undisclosed location which for security purposes will remain anonymous!! that's right folks, the writer of whose work you've been enjoying is always aiming to bring you variety not just in the line up of beauts and bombshells he puts his 3 favourite guys in the world with, but such is the spice of life that I just have to try all the different ways to approach ideas!!*The flaming skullheaded madcap author spoke enthusiasm that the imp at least found more tolerable at least compared to his boss. But really could anyone be easier to compare to Blitzo?*"Now in this case I was particularly wanting to try out this concept for a while based on Daitomodachi's Kakyoin: Waifu Connoisseur video series of which I'd highly recommend checking out on Youtube of course..." *That only made the his guest slightly concerned now. He couldn't even look it up since the security staff confiscated his phone for the duration of this pseud talkshow session so he just had to ask.*

Moxxie:"Mr. Sketch, sir pardon my query and all but what exactly are you talking about? Baring in mind up to this point that I've had to endure and put up with a lot of what you put me through. Not complaining mind you but the women you've arranged encounters for me with have been exhausting I mean makes me wonder what you'd even have mind for a solo chapter with Millie or Loona..uhm, hey girls..."*The sweet little possum couldn't help but give a wave to the audience section, the camera turning to where there the bleachers were shown to be occupied solely by what could only be called Moxxie's harem. Millie and Loona among quite the assorted, more than easy on the eyes audience of ladies that have been with the Imp. Including Verosika and Stella of course, a few them holding up signs declaring their affections for the imp, plush toys as well as wearing t-shirts with Millie's reading "Founder and president of the Moxxie fanclub. What can be said, he was a very loveable stud.*

Sketch:"Oh that's a good bit down the road little man, I can assure you.."*The author/host quipped as he checked a secret drawer containing a few select drafts, quickly closing it as he regained focus.*"But to answer the first part of your question, it's quite simple really, on this little show of mine, I arrange for a guest to come over and the two of you, to put it bluntly, fuck away."*The flaming skullheaded madman awaited Moxxie's brain to process this information. The clock ticking away in his head as he put two and two together. He took it about as well as can be expected of course.*

Moxxie:"Excuse me but WHAT?!! You mean to tell me you're bringing some woman in here just for us to give you a live show?!! What is your damage?!!"*the sweet imp boi spat with understandable indignity. Looking about ready to want to throttle the guy as his hands made strangling gestures. To which Sketch was non-chalant as he sipped from a mug before he gestured to stage right. The crowd anticipating who he had lined up.*

Sketch:"So without further ado, let's introduce our guest of honour for this round of getting a dose of vitamin Moxxie. And on that we cue the music!!"*The bizarre eccentric host pressed a button on his ipod docking station, playing atypical hype music you'd hear a house band play when a special guest came on. And oh was she a stunner, a veritable African Dream Queen, rocking a very stylish and stunning all white fashion ensemble that contrasted delightfully with her dark complexion and complimented her mane of flowing platinum blonde hair. The crowd hooting and hollering while Moxxie could only drop his jaw as a set of feline-like jade green eyes locked on him with a predatory and thirsty gaze. Her thick toned sexy body that put pin9-up girls and pornstars to shame moving with a grace akin to a jungle cat stalking its prey.*

Yes indeed it was the one and only underrated but unforgettable villainess of Disney's Tarzan animated series, La, the queen of opar. The dominatrix of leopard men and possible former Atlantean native parking herself on the couch right beside Moxxie, crossing her luscious legs in a sensual way that put Sharon Stone in Basic instinct to shame. The Moxxie fan club crowd, aka the harem looking on with anticipation as they awaited the moment when she would pounce and have that big Imp cock rock her world. All they had to do was wait patient as can be but certainly wasn't stopping the waterfalls forming between their legs.

Moxxie:*Looked at La with absolute scarousal while looking ath the Host Author with absolute livid contempt.*"Are you INSANE?! The yandere megamaniac jungle witch queen?!! How and why for that matter is she even here? Isn't this a tad meta for you? I mean was it that difficult to at least cook up an actual plot for her or something?" *The imp gestured at the Queen of Opar, who eyed him like a meal she was going to savour and relish. Missing the sensual lick and bite of her lips as she idly teased and touched the tip of his cute little tail. It helped he was so distracted calling out the mad man before him.*

Sketch:"Hey give me a break, I was stuck for ideas and this was a concept I wanted to try out for sometime. I'd had thought of saving the Waifu Conoisseur approach for my Krillin story but ya know inspiration struck. And why not La? I mean look at her!!"*He remarked as the camera focused on the immortal, immoral witch queen. Scott Pilgrim style fact boxes popping up as they pointed out and highlighted some of La's finest traits and quirks from the mental to of course the physical. Truly she was a work of art of the particular outfit she had on only highlighted the fact. What guy ir gal wouldn’t get horny for that?*

Moxxie:”In the immortal words of a certain emo, my answer is no, with a side of fuck you.”*The imo emphasised this statement by flipping the host author the bird. Gritting his teeth at the mad man’s continued non-chalant nature as he turned to face La.*”No offence but I really can’t be in your league right? Hell not eben the same ballpark or sport..”*Whatever Moxxie was looking to say next hit the brakes in his brain as La leaned in close to him. Lips inches from his as she trailed and caressed an immaculately nailed finger under his chin.*

La:”Darling I’m certainly not being picky and I’ve seen your track record. Besides which it’s only in recent times I’ve finally been getting some attention in fics and art and even that duo and their New Peta project is taking its sweet time getting to my scenes. So let me be frank, cut the bullshit, get naked, take that bitchbreaker known as your cock and fuck, me, hard.” *The sexy British sounding accent of the immortal witch queen spoke, no nonsense as she sensually licked her lips at the levels of scarousal the imp began showing. Biting her lower lip sensually as she put her hand on the back of his head and pushed his face to play it between the valley of her cleavage.*”Now let me put it this way, I like you and I want you. Now we can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way. The choice is yours….” *As she spoke an all too familiar threat for some, Sketch snuck out, hitting play to hit some porn style music playing through the speakers. Leaving Moxxie to his sexy doom as there was no way the imp could say no.*

Indeed Moxxie knew there was no way out of this except to make the beast with two backs with the Queen of Opar as he decided to accept his fate. Getting out of LA’s reach as his harem slash fan club stayed quiet to let the mood set itself as the Imp began to strip. La shuddering with a tingle of ecstasy at the sight of that now exposed length and girth of his as she grasped it in her hand and began vigorously stroking away. The usually domineering megalomaniac looking as undignified as a porn star as she leaned in to begin planting licks and kisses on the shaft with shameless lust, making the imp shudder.

Now La wasn’t a virgin by any means or stretch of the imagination but any men she had been with prior to Moxxie were certainly being out to shame by the imp just from the scent snd taste of his cock alone. Any sense of dignity cast aside by her primal desire as she was soon commencing with fellatio, sucking and blowing on that fuck-rod. Eyes glowing with lust as she felt his quite gifted hips pump and thrust with a hidden urge to want to just fuck her face and make her mouth an oral pussy for his own pleasure. Her primal urges and instincts coming to see this sweet little imp as an absolute alpha male she simply had to have pin her down and destroy her until it was more than assured she’d be having his babies.

But of course once his libido took the helm and ensured his sense of inhibition and hesitation along with his shame were all set aside out of the way, as he soon had La stripped of that lovely ensemble. The naked jungle queen begininng to work up a nice sheen of perspiration as she was rolling her head back, her platinum blonde mane flowing as deep throated moans escaped her luscious pouty lips and with good reason of course. As Moxxie was between her legs, the equally nude crimson possum eating her out and ooh she found he had quite the skilled tongue, proving he was more than meeting, hell he was exceeding expectations. His snow white shock of hair and his zebra striped horns being caressed by one of her well manicured hands as she ensured he was getting good and deep making out with her sloppy mound as things could only escalate from there.

Escalate they certainly did as the heavy petting and foreplay soon lead to the Imp and African Dream rutting like animals in such way that the noise coming from them would ensure that no, the lion wouldn't be sleeping tonight. La currently riding Moxxie cowgirl style, the difference in height and body size a splendid contrast as her luscious bubbly chocolate booty jiggled and clapped with every impact of her bouncing on his shaft. His cute little skilled hands massaging her splendid hips as she hugged and held his sweet little head between her pillowy soft tits. The Queen of Opar rlishing how deep his length and girth reached, the swelling bulge of her washboard toned abs a sight to behold.

But oh how it only got better for her when the charming little imp got a little mora assertive and abrasive, as if the more primal instincts he had as a man began to take more of a hold on him. The Queen of Opar finding herself on her back as the sweet potato of an imp fucked her like a caveman in spread eagle before proceeding right into a mating press. Cock jackhammering away into the ever greedy and welcoming intimate embrace of her pussy, those heavy balls smacking her ass as their tongues danced in a heated kiss. Their grunts and moans echoing through the studio as its walls and ceiling filled with the music and rhythm of the game of adult Twister.

Moxxie's fanclub slash harem enjoying every single position shift as they played with themselves at seeing their man prove himself to be an absolute sexual unit. La's eyes glowing with neon pink hearts of absolute bliss as Moxxie fucked her doggy style, mounting atop her back, arms hugged around her waist as he jackhammered away into her overflowing pussy. The floor stained with puddles of their juices as the mismatched pair showed no signs of stopping. And you can dam well guarantee it was going to breakout into an orgy, that was for damn sure.

Sketch of course was hidden away in a secret Rec room, giving them all the time and privacy they needed as he played some Switch, taking a sip of some Pepsi max from a sixpack he had nearby. Product placement, got to love it. As the flaming skull headed author avatar and host realised he had company and looked towards the camera. Shooting a wink and finger guns at the unseen reader audience.

Sketch:"Hey folks hope you've enjoyed that as well as enjoying this story. Yeah you can tell this is gonna be a while so best we leave them to it of course. Rest assured the Waifu Conoisseur Show isn't going to be a one time deal here, handy to change up the format and formula every once a while, know what I mean? Anyways, later maniacs..." *With that, the camera faded out. Static flickering even as the audio could still pick up Moxxie and La's little erotic acquantanceship goin on with no signs of stopping. Sweet dreams for those visuals eh? 'Til next time, same Helluva time, same Helluva channel.*

(Bonus: Rough example of the author's designated avatar. Handosme fellow isn't he?)

[letters-from-dekarios]

(I'll be writing this from the perspective of my bardlock if you'll indulge me lmao this is such a cute concept, kore!!!)

Greetings from the jewel of the North!

Hello, I hope you found my bottled letter, I tossed it in a river on my walk home (I hope the seal worked). I am a musician and a very talented spell caster (not to reignite the hells of course) it's just turning to winter, so I think I'd like to keep a pen pal to keep me warm. I have a few questions- if you don't mind..

1. What is your favorite tea

2. What is your favorite cake

3. If you could travel to anywhere in ferûn where would it be.

(enclosed is a sketch of a teifling with braided hair chowing down on a cake. Below it is slightly scribbled "my answers on the back!!" )

It is signed

Lia Obbon

House Obbon, Neverwinter

Dearest Lia,

I do hope this letter finds you well. In both good times, and bad, it is always nice to have someone to correspond with. I wish you all the best as you continue in your journeys.

It was much to my surprise that this bottle happened to land near me. Rarely do I indulge myself in catching a cold during this time of season but, alas, here I am.

I do have to add, your craftsmanship with the sealing of this letter left much to the imagination! It was sealed quite tightly, I almost believed I hadn’t been meant to open it.

Perhaps, a day in the long distant future, you will be able to prove your magical skills to me. I’ll have you know I am a fairly talented magic-user myself. Chosen by the Mother of the Weave, Mystra, at a young age, I do fancy myself a spell or two.

Though I’ve not dabbled in the arts, any further than a doodle or two, your rendition of what I can only assume to be yourself is lovely.

Ah, I’m sure I’ve bored you well enough with all my talk. It’s about time I answer your questions.

1. While you can never go wrong with a traditional green or herbal, I pleasure myself in a nice black tea. Somewhere along the lines of the Earl Grey family, I’d say. Quite the pleasure with a bit of milk and honey, if you ask me.

2. I tend to stay away from sweets, but I cannot help myself when placed in the reach of a good chocolate cake. Mundane, I know, but there is something about the richness of it that I must indulge in.

3. I hail from Waterdeep, there’s not too much you can go wrong with here. However, I have always wanted to venture out towards Procampur. The city there is rich with history, to be able to even get a mild glimpse of our past as a civilization would be enough satisfaction for a lifetime.

I hope my answers are suitable to whomever you believed would receive this message. It surely has come a long way since you wrote your first letter. Perhaps the following spell will do you well as winter comes to a head.

Attached is listed the instructions for performing a ‘fireball’ spell.

Since it would be awfully rude to not ask you a question or two, I’ve come up with a few of my own.

What is your go-to spell in any situation you’re thrown into? Don’t hold back on this one- I’m a man of many studies, you can’t confuse me with my focus in life.

What is your favorite food? Mine happens to be a soup made by my mother. Though a grown adult now, there’s nothing like the love of a home-cooked meal.

Lastly, but certainly not least, why don’t dragons eat paladins?

The answer, written on the back of the paper, reads ‘Because they taste lawful! Good one, isn’t it?’

I do hope that this reaches you before winter’s end. Stay warm, my friend, and don’t let the frost giants bite.

From the desk of,

𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔, 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑

text reads: gale dekarios, waterdeep

[4noki-vns]

Consummation Proof of Concept: Post-mortem

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-

It’s been a little over two weeks since the release of my proof of concept prototype demo for Consummation ~wind above the dragon sea~!

Since I’ve been a little sloppy with the marketing (marketing…?), if you haven’t checked the game out yet, I’d be happy if you’d spend an hour playing through the slice of a chuuni yuri visual novel that I’d been wanting to show the world for about forever (a few years really).

You can play it on itch.io @ https://4noki.itch.io/consummation-prototype

-

Now onto the post-mortem! In this piece, I’ll be discussing how it was like to solo dev a short demo for the Battle Action Fantasy VN Jam (BAF Jam), making most of a game alone for the first time since Draw No More in 2021.

I’ll talk about what was the same, what was new, how the scope had to be managed, and my take on solo dev as well as some clarification on future plans for the game.

I’ll write a separate post about fun facts regarding the story and its history later.

What I usually do

In the games that I direct, I prefer to handle the scenario writing (story), character design, and scripting (stage direction). Although for a solo project, while I would have to cover other areas as well, I’d certainly still be writing, drawing, and scripting.

scenario

Fun fact: there is no outline for this game! (yet)

This has less to do with the fact that I solo-ed the demo but more to do with the fact that it’s a prototype of a story that’s been sitting around in my head for ages. I’ll be filling out that outline a bit more eventually…

The majority of the script was written in May thanks to the relatively loose schedule restrictions given by BAF Jam.

I wanted to have the script written so that I could spend more time on everything else, including tasks that I do infrequently and thus knew would take longer.

As the release is an incomplete story, I didn’t know quite how far the story would go in this demo while writing. I initially envisioned it ending at the end of day one, perhaps cutting off after the prophet’s speech.

However, this is a chuunige—battle action fantasy!

Despite reaching my goal, I realized that day one didn’t have a true fight scene (does beating up a guy and assassinating someone in the prologue count?). Thus, I extended the script to the start of the first fight scene. Really, the start.

By that time, June began, so I unfortunately had to turn my attention to other tasks.

character art

The first item was character art.

For my recent projects like Who is the Red Queen? and Lachesis or Atropos, I drew the character design sheets and left the in-game art to the master artists on my teams.

For the prototype of Consummation, being solo, I decided to forgo the character design sheets for now and get to drawing directly. It helped that many of these characters had been frequent visitors in the corners of my notebooks during high school and so on.

One of the perks of doing sprite art yourself is that you can add expressions as you script!

scripting

I tend to do scripting near the tail end of a project, once most assets are in place.

Given that I was in charge of assets here, I decided to plop the story script in a bit earlier than usual. Alas, actual scripting had to wait until I had art or at least some placeholders!

The last things to go in were the music (thank you, Peritune) and sound effects.

What I don’t often do

Everything I haven’t mentioned yet falls under things I don’t do often.

bgs

God Minikle.

ui

I didn’t have too much time to work on UI, so I followed a little heuristic. If you’re changing anything, do the parts that the player will look at the most:

Textbox (main)

Main menu (lesser)

cgs

The last time I drew a CG was probably for Moon Archer Shooting Stars. Due to time constraints, the CGs in Consummation’s proof of concept can be considered more sketches than fully rendered graphics.

Haha, maybe they’ll be useful as references.

Prioritization

You can probably see a mild tonal difference between talking about my typical work and talking about the work I prefer to delegate.

In the land of solo dev, there is no such thing as delegation unless you mean using asset packs or delegating to future you who will curse past you for watching K-pop survival shows for a whole week. (Kim Seonyou is very impressive…!)

With a team, the schedule of things can’t be broken down linearly because tasks overlap. Ideally, everyone has most of a jam period to work.

Solo, you have to do it all. Hence, you have to make sure you prioritize the right tasks and make sure to start other tasks in time since you don’t quite have the whole jam period for each item.

While I began smoothly, finishing off the script early, collecting background art, and putting down flats in sprites, life hit.

Starting a new job mid-June (future visual novel funds?), I slowed down the dev work. Before I knew it, when I finished the sprites (a nice 6), only a week remained.

Hello, CG grind.

While I could have decided there and then to drop a number of CGs, I ultimately wanted them to exist.

Making visual novels is a balancing of wants.

In exchange, the CGs had to be a bit rougher and I let go of a few other wants such as: a main menu key visual, more cut-ins (Qin… my beloved, your phone calls…), and more polish in general.

Alas, tis solo dev, eh?

(Two days remained in June when I marked the prototype as done. I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to do much more in 2 days, so it was time to chill.)

The “s” in solo is for small!

Most of the other visual novels I made by myself were visually simpler and games of smaller scale (shorter than this prototype demo).

To be a successful solo dev, you have to be a jack of all trades. I prefer to focus on my favorite parts of visual novel development: writing, character design, and directing.

While I find making a game by myself fun once in a while, I think I’m happy to stick with only doing so for small games and prototypes.

Q. Why was this game solo dev-ed?

Most of the visual and audio content in the game will have to be replaced in the case that Consummation becomes an active project. I use the terminology “proof of concept” and “prototype” a lot when talking about Consummation because it is not an active project and may not be one for a long time.

As such, I found it better for me to handle the work that will inevitably be replaced.

Q. Why make a proof of concept prototype?

While I could have left Consummation in the ideas bucket, I really wanted to write it. I really want to write it. At the very least, I wanted to show the world a sneak peek at one of the handful of stories that I’ve wanted to bring to life for a long time.

Unfortunately, I do not have the bandwidth to work on two large (huge even) projects at a time.

That’s right, big yuri visual novel…! To be announced.

shino

-

Twitter | Newsletter | itch.io

[guardianfloofs]

Some weapon concept sketches for Sirius. The first one is for his staff dubbed Moon River, which is mainly based off a shakujo staff, with some inspiration from a few other concepts I've see. It's Sirius' main weapon, and is a rather multi-faceted one at that. Outside of being a very good bonking tool, its crowning feature is that it can be changed into other weapons (namely polearms) through Sirius' water magic. His preferred method is to form ice around the end to make a mallet similar to an otsuchi.

I've been off-and-on considering a redesign for the staff, but for now, it's gonna be like this. The second is very recent, being something that my mate had came up with a while back before I decided to actually give it a shot. Basically, since I had went with the idea of Siri using his tail as a brush (ala Okami), my mate Arc threw around the idea of Siri being able to detach it and make it a weapon of some kinda. I couldn't think of anything to draw one night, and decided to give it a shot.

Alongside the "sumi-e brush" designs, I had gotten suggestions on Twitter about having it be based on a calligraphy pen, since Siri uses the ink to write out symbols for his spells. I've mainly been leaning towards the "brush" look because of the ink wash painting associates I had with Siri's look already. (Such as how his fur is different "washes" of black/gray on top of the white). Plus, I figured that it would match the shape of his fluffy tail.

As for its function, it more of a mobile application tool for his ink for spells than a weapon, though, it can be still be a powerful melee weapon as well. The tip is able to adjust for more stroke control, and I was thinking that it might be able to change size to some degree to make it easier to write on certain surfaces.

All in all, just some cool weapons for the fluffmonster. Hoping for the day I can draw him with them in cool ways.

[dashawfrostart]

This Week In “Time & Again” #24: Well… I’m Sometimes Bad At Naming My Blog Posts 🤷‍♀️ [and a tiny wee bit techy again]

It's high time to make yet another one new blog post with the progress report - but alas, I just keep working and working on everything according to my little list pinned to my desktop, and I am not sure what to report. It's just... steadily going forward. That is all.

Within these few days, I've finished an artwork that will be used as an easter egg on several pages of Chapter 6. As per usual, that will be a reference to an old and fairly famous but somewhat forgotten*-ish* franchise. So keep your eyes open once the chapter is released next year 😉

Mostly, aside from preparing (mentally as well as organization-wise) for GPop Fair quite hyperactively, I'm also steadily working on the cover arts right now. Which is odd. I don't remember myself working on the cover arts PRIOR to working on the chapters themselves. Oh boy, things sure change. Usually before, as a general rule of thumb, I worked on the cover arts last. Chapter 5 was a very good fresh example. Although I have the most cover arts sketched in my sketchbook (usually they have multiple versions sketched, and yet everything is still WIP until I decide on something concept-wise for sure), I usually set to work on them later on as I could see the full pictures of the chapters. Suddenly, I came up with excellent ideas for the cover arts for both Chapter 6.1 and 6.2. And both of them will strongly refer to a famous franchise that bears an incredible importance in the history of development of "Time & Again". More on the matter in detail I will probably write a paragraph for either Collector's Edition of "Time & Again" or in the Behind The Scenes book.

Here's a snyak 🐍 sneak peak (the screenshot has been made during the sketching phase; that is supposed to be a fairly complex art piece, so I needed the sketch this time to make everything extra clean):

Can you recognize the reference? 😉

That cover art is what I've been working on for the last few days. And finally now I'm getting to work on the cover art for Chapter 6.2 that most likely will take me less time says I often before something unexpected happens and it takes, like, quadruple amount of time vs what I anticipated, lol.

Ah! There is something little and neat I'd like to share before I wrap it up for today 🙃 I decided to try out Krita's native video recorder for the first time. I've known about that functionality in Krita before, but, regardless, I've always used my desktop recorder instead, virtually for everything, from taking screenshots of the lulz and fails found randomly across the internet to recording clips from my gaming sessions for... well, little to no purpose, because I decided not to spam my YouTube channel with gaming videos 😅. But, since it's been learning time for me in many ways lately, I decided to give it a try. Maybe it's awesome and I will use it all the time now?! The awesomeness about Krita video recorder is that it's automated (and everybody knows by now how much I love automation, yaaaaaay!): it automatically records the progress once you open the artwork no matter how much time passes in between the drawing sessions. You can start working on a picture, drop it, return to it, say, in a month, and the recording will continue. Awesome!

Here's the screenshot of the export video dialogue:

The settings are pretty self-explanatory. For those familiar with the basics of video editing, there's nothing new. I had to install ffmpeg in order to properly execute the conversion of the video. I had to fiddle with it for a bit before it started working: apparently, the latest version of ffmpeg (7.0.2) does not work in Krita for the reason unknown to me. I tried to resolve it by myself reading the log file left after the failed conversion - but then I stumbled across a Reddit post that talked about the exact same error I was getting, and it turned out that the previous version of ffmpeg (6.1.1.) still works in Krita. And then it assembled me a very nice video.

I have recorded near the whole process of drawing that piece: from the clean lineart to full colouring, AND including trying out an alternative background that I decided to discard in the end. Eventually I will post the timelapse video on my YouTube channel to pretend it's not dead lol. I will slightly edit and speed it up even more first.

One note though: the end of the video has weird moments of flashing white frames. I was aware that things like that might happen. But still, that's a bit odd. I will have to figure out how to deal with that issue... Because I don't want to have to slap an epilepsy warning in the beginning of the video 😱😅

Ok, wait, there's one more thing I wanted to ponder on before bidding farewell for a week (or two, or a month, how it often happens to me, lol). And it's kind of a... dreamy thing, with a twist of nostalgia and an off-beat bitter-sweet Traurigkeit involved.

Last year I was very upset about one thing. Sometime in Summer, in 2023, it was an 18-year-old anniversary of my very first set of original characters - Jade, Stu, and Alan. These three people were and still are very important to me. And of course, some of you still remember the abundance of the artworks featuring those individuals that I used to post frequently on my DeviantArt gallery. And of course, those of you who have read Chapter 2 of "Time & Again" remember the tiny and short - and rather questionable 😅 - cameo of the three on the background in one scene. I wanted to draw a celebratory portrait of the trio as a little gift to them, and to myself (for personal happiness). I even had a perfect idea for a little hilarious artwork with a cake. But then something happened (most likely, Chapter 4 of "Time & Again" happened, but I don't remember for sure anymore without my devlog notes, and they're in the living room, and I'm far too lazy to reach out to get them right now 🤣), and I simply forgot about my idea. I only remembered about it long due, sometime in mid Fall or even closer to Winter. I was very upset with myself. 18 years is A LOT, let me tell you. That's for how long I've lived with these characters, polishing them, growing them, nurturing them with numerous traits; they have been undergoing an enormous amount of changes in their personalities, backgrounds, personal history, etc. In short: everything that every single one of us is going through their lifetime, in the real life. In this respect, Stu, Alan and Jade are not much different from any of us. They're even fully "legal", LOL. It might look to some that they're obsolete - but that is far from the truth. I still have grand plans for them. They will take part in my future art endeavours 😉 The story of Alan, Stu and Jade has been rewritten numerous times - but it is most certainly still not complete. Doing an incredibly simple, possibly pre-school level math, we can easily deduce that in 2025 the three are gonna reach their 20-year-old milestone. And that's a long, long time.

Since I screwed up the little celebration big time in 2023 😫, and 20-year-old is a good milestone as well, I really want to put an effort into drawing a lovely artwork of the three next Summer. That is überimportant. That must happen. Yes, as you can see, Lothar and Jeanny are significantly younger than the dorky trio. Lothar and Jeanny probably think the other three are elderly people, LOL. Well... there's surely something entertaining that has to be portrayed on the milestone artwork next year. I'm looking forward to it 😁

[sweet-beezus]

Hiya!

I'm Sham, they/them, and I'm an ✨artist✨

Welcome to my b(l)og, I hope the water's nice :)

I mainly post OCs and reblog fun posts that I can rotate in my brain, fanart is extremely rare 'round these parts unless I'm reblogging some.

I'm on MST, I usually reblog between 10AM-1AM, and queue my own posts for 1PM-2PM (so I have something to look forward to during work), sometimes I'll surprise drop a post if I'm impatient or being silly~

If you want tags to peruse, I have a few that might interest you!

▪︎#sham's art <- my art tag

▪︎#sweet memery <- my meme tag

▪︎#shamsbabs <- tag I use for bunching my OCs together, they are also tagged by fandoms and individual names!

▪︎#trope scope <- writing tropes that really get my brain factory gears grinding

▪︎#sham's favs <- thins it out to the things that make me giggle and live rent free in my brain, mix of both tags like a nice soup, though nowadays I tag anything as a fav... Might need a new tag-

#sham's inbox / #sham's trash posts <- for previous asks and my own silly posts, though these tags gather dust more frequently, since I never have an original thought other than about my OCs...

▪︎#other's art / #friend art <- art appreciation tags :)

I also have sideblogs!

@shams-kiddies <- OC art sideblog, it's better organized than my main in terms of tags

@the-briar-brigade <- AoR sideblog dedicated to an ongoing long form Kingdom Hearts roleplay, periodically mass updates because I'm forgetful!

@the-mighty-phoenix <- Iliana centric sideblog, I thought about using it as an RP blog but it's now just another art archive

I have other sideblogs, but I'm not quite ready to share them yet, so stay tuned I guess-

☆My ask box and DMs are closed for now, since I am getting a bit overwhelmed by donation asks and messages! I can't donate at this time, nor do I have a large enough platform to spread awareness or enough time in my day to fact check each ask or account sent my way, I hope you understand ♥

Currently, I am not accepting commissions, since I have a busy work life and chronic pain (plus I don't even have a commission sheet set up, alas-), however I'm open to art trades and conditional requests if my burnout allows!

For a more competitive art trade experience during the month of July, you can find me on Artfight as ShamSpam!

That's all for surface level stuff, I'll leave some more in depth looks about me and my work under the cut :)

I have no concept of a consistent social life or media presence, so I just post whatever and whenever I want to, usually mid afternoon for me because that's my time to Survive™ my day to day stressors. Whatever hits my dopamine reserves just right will probably end up here!

I am a self taught artist who only really picked up on certain techniques and styles in recent years, I have quite a few inspirations for the directions my art is going in and I actually adore how my style(s) look right now! Which is good because it's a lot of work maintaining and improving all the time-

I mostly indulge in art and writing of my OCs, and the occasional fan art here and there when I'm in a particular mood, and everything (I would hope) is made with the love in my heart for my creations, from the 6+ hours of work on a digital piece to maybe a 10 min sketch of my OCs smooching from the confines of my canvasses.

We can ignore the musician part for now, at this time I haven't really delved too deep into making my own tunes aside from some really rough drafts, but eventually I will! I am a sucker for orchestral pieces, but I need to relearn music theory-

I have a few fandoms and things I like to participate or indulge in from time to time, so if you're curious here's a list!

Music Artists:

▪︎Josh Groban

▪︎Thomas Bergersen

▪︎Marcus Warner

▪︎Celine Dion

▪︎Phil Collins

▪︎Ricky Montgomery

▪︎Citizen Soldier

▪︎Other varieties of orchestrals, whenever they crop up

▪︎The classics from an edgy teen's childhood (Linkin Park, Evanescence, Disturbed, etc. also including Christian rock, it was unavoidable you could say-)

▪︎Also classic artists from before my time (Journey, Michael Jackson, The Bee Gees, ABBA, etc.)

▪︎Folk-y music, nothing specific in terms of bands so far, just whatever hits my brain just right

▪︎Very weird pickings from a variety of places, I'm honestly too tired to list most of them because I'm in and out of listening fixations like a pendulum- Usually it's a select handful of songs that don't have a tremendous impact on my liking for the artist, y'know? Aside from vibes-

Current Brainworms (fictional media):

▪︎The machinations of my own mind (my OCs <3)

▪︎Kingdom Hearts (KHUx era mostly and, again, my OCs)

▪︎Ghostbusters

▪︎ARGs/Analog Horror

▪︎Wizard101

Things I Revisit Periodically:

▪︎Okami

▪︎Persona 5

▪︎Sonic the Hedgehog

▪︎Splatoon

▪︎Ace Attorney

▪︎Doctor Who

▪︎ABZÛ/The Pathless (later Sword of the Sea and Journey, potentially)

▪︎FNaF

▪︎The Dark Crystal

▪︎Various musicals (feel free to ask which ones! This includes concept ones too, there's way too many for me to list tbh)

▪︎Lego games (my childhood <3)

▪︎Celtic mythology (or mythology in general, I'm just obsessed with the Celts for some reason)

Misc. Items That Are Ever Present But Not Constant:

▪︎Sea creatures

▪︎Dungeons and Dragons

▪︎Frogs and turtles

▪︎Tragic love stories

▪︎The concepts of loss and love in general

▪︎Emotional catharsis as a whole tbh

▪︎Phoenixes (for some reason)

▪︎Red pandas

▪︎Moss (especially in ball form)

▪︎Religious imagery/history

▪︎Tarot cards

▪︎Vincent Van Gogh

▪︎Ravens

I have SO MANY OCs I could talk about for hours, so if you ever see one that interests you don't hesitate to send me an ask about them!!

And I think that's all for now, I'll probably add stuff on if I ever remember anything I need to add-

Anyway happy browsing!!

[sunilification]

Michael Corleone as Ubermensch?

Another one overdue, settling all old scores--

An entire century was a single seed of thought for Nietzsche. Sigmund Freud , Karl Jaspers, Martin Heidegger, Oswald Spengler, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Rainer Maria Rilke, André Gide, Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, George Bernhard Shaw, WB Yeats, one cursory glance through the streets of 20th century intellect and the influence of Nietzsche is undeniable. Some men indeed are born posthumously.

With all due respect for his gifted ability for original and innate insights, it would be unjust to credit Nietzsche alone for such remarkably widespread influence. For, he had the privilege and the premise to take his aim standing on the shoulders of giants: From Plato to Dostoevsky, he had systematically drawn from and dissected all schools and thoughts before him. What he came up with the confluence of such a comprehension was an abstract and fragmented ideology that would go on to define the direction of the 20th century starting from Freud in the early part to the deconstructive post-modern movement during its later quarter.

Anyone who is acquainted with the works of Nietzsche would know that there is no single defining principle in his thought unlike most of the schools that preceded him. In Nietzsche, one encounters abstract planks which are hard to be understood and thereby are only open to interpretations. Yet they are recognised as a salient signposts in the journey of human thought. One such major plank is that of Ubermensch.

Nietzsche alludes to the Ubermensch in the opening segment of Thus spake zarathustra and only vaguely without much elaboration . This unfortunately has lead to the often misconceived notion that Ubermensch is an ideal man superior to any other average human. A mistake even balanced thinkers like Santayana couldn’t escape. I think an easier, although agreeably a tedious attempt to understand Nietzsche’s Ubermensch is to follow his thought process through his complete works beginning from The birth of Tragedy to Ecce Homo as one single entity. But alas! Even then, just like life, all one gets is to make only an interpretation. I have, since being introduced to Ubermensch tried to peel layer after abstract layer to understand this concept at different times and from different perspectives. I saw that such efforts led me to form a core of a concept often wrapped by other changing satellite-ideas. Naturally the next step was to find the match for the concept amongst famous people known. I found weirder and obscure matches but a popular and a compelling one would come from a fiction. And the more I ponder I about him(character) and his life the more I’m convinced he has come to be the valueless nihilistic icon that Nietzsche had written nearly hundred years back. He is Michael Corleone , conceived by Mario Puzo but imprinted in our memories by the genius of Coppola in the form of the talented Al Pacino. Yes, very few men in the history of humanity for what it is now and what is to be written, would supersede Michael Corleone as an example for Ubermensch.

I initially had thought of writing this post by alternatively comparing Nietzsche’s writings with the character of Michael corleone and sketch out the similarities/differences. But it made me realise that it is too intricate and also perhaps quite demanding on the reader if s/he is not well acquainted with either or both. Hence to avoid the risk of that free floatingness I have decided in favour of just presenting a summary of Michael Corleone’s character. Hopefully this would encourage the readers to find out more on Nietzsche ‘s idea of Ubermensch and make their own judgement.I have restricted only to film and not the charecter in the book on which it was based. Again, such a task being a product of individual taste and perception naturally it precludes any logical consistency and objectivity. Therefore dear reader, proceed with utmost prejudice.

Michael is almost like any man, brought up in a protected culture, loving and loved by his family, starry eyed at the ideals , proud of his nation and privileged to make his conscientious choices. He aspires to lead himself and his wife to be into a civil domestic life. One, that promises respect and comfort that any man seeks. Yet Michael appears like a man who hasn’t made his peace. Underneath all , there is a mild air of chastened sadness around him that is presumably imagined to have come from an underlying conflict. On one hand, as an intelligent being he feels strongly for his values that define him, on the other he understands that the family he loves so much and is a part of is not legitimate and is contrary to the very values he cherishes. In this sense of understanding he departs from any average hero. He is not a Christ, Gandhi or Spartacus who symbolise a moral struggle in a value conflict with the extant inimical premises. On the contrary, Michael, born into a paradox, is in conflict with himself. He starts out as the militant attacking himself under peaceful conditions. His yearning to pull himself away from the family shall always be overcome by the fact that he is born into it. As perhaps you would expect Michael to have done all his growing years- the more he reflects about himself and the family, the more he is wants to pull away. Yet is convinced that a respite eludes him , a sad realisation which perhaps renders him so cold, mean and calculative. Unlike a few other protagonists known, it must be noted that Michael chooses to be dedicated to the family out of his own volition. He is not prodded into it. Or there is no personal identification with the pathos that he chooses to lead. Nothing he does is impetuous or precedent. Doesn’t a man hurt worst when punished for his virtues?

Soon, this split devotion to his family is moulded and given form leading him to make desperate choices and share the repercussions of the sins he isn’t personally responsible for but the ones he fully understands and vows his allegiance to. He lets go of his cherished values just like how Ulysses departed from Nausicaa, blessing it rather than loving it. As he says, it is all business. Nothing personal!! So all of this is done with disturbing ease. Thereby, he ensures the personal suffering ensuing from the change in his value system is smooth and well concealed. From his individual aspirations to his family and love, he renews himself in newer values every time he fails himself. And since each of the value is further apart from his real wish he copes by making himself emotionally inaccessible to others and more harrowingly to himself. His anger is the smoke arising off the cold ice. He never grieves in spite of one bereavement after another befalling upon him. As a being, he erases himself. One can only speculate what were his own thoughts about deserting his girl friend and marrying another woman elsewhere, losing her and then after return resuming the old relationship blithely. And in this whole process of alienation that is coupled with personal expectation to fulfil his responsibilities, he departs further away. And away.[1] From everything. Slowly he loses personal desire, value, identity. He will because he ought to. His life is slowly ushered into decadence.

But it must be noted this is only in principle but not in phenomenon. He successfully manages to evade any affective identification towards him and also he is totally in control of his acts and hence is prepared to be accountable for the consequences.

An illustration would help- in the last scene, when Kay questions Michael if he really killed Carlo (Brother in law)? He lividly raises his voice warning her not to question him about his business. This scene evokes two type of principal responses from the audience-- 1.To worship Michael as a symbol of power(and dominance) 2. To sympathise with Kay. But, mostly it is forgotten that he was the same young man dressed in an Marines? uniform who had sat and conversed softly with her at the marriage in the first scene.

Far more importantly, no one would hate him or feel for him. Although it is known that he himself who has consciously willed his destiny (or decadence) he successfully evades hatred and sympathy. That is the elegance of the whole mechanism. Within Michael, a man dies and other is born every time. With this being sustained as a means of preserving himself , his worth as a value(self) ceases and a process begins[1].

If the first part was alienation and initiation of the process, second would be the inevitable direction it had to take. Of power, will and its callousness. He has now learnt very well that the greatest juncture of life is when we gain courage to rebaptise our badness as the best in us. There is no such thing as a moral phenomenon. There is only desire and will. And the rest lies in the great ocean of contempt to be concealed in the heart. In this duties that he has reached out for himself, we see that his fears are validated again - that even a slightest carelessness on his part would mean doom to his successful efforts so far. Similar to the making of Plato’s philosopher king, he battles against everything in the world. Against unidentified enemies, against the state, against his wife (who seems be growing distant), disloyal friends, family, and most notably against himself.

This is symbolised in what I regard as one of the greatest scenes ever captured for the motion picture[2]. I think it runs for about a full minute and a half or two at the beginning of the second DVD. Michael in the heart of the senate enquiry with a failed attempt on his life behind him returns in a car to his Brooklyn mansion. It is winter in New York and one can notice the sullen skies and the overnight snow trodden all around. His car is let in and a solemn looking Michael dressed in a dark suit, a long overcoat and a bowler hat carrying a briefcase gets down and walks slowly towards the door dragging himself in heavy steps. He pauses to look at a small toy car of his child. He comes into the house moving about the study and the dining room, glancing intently at the belongings before he rests his suitcase and takes off the hat. Finally he stands before one of the rooms and finds Kay absorbed in tailoring. The background music is aptly kept minimal. Not a single word is uttered.

It is the pain and the possibilities that adds depth to the character of this scene. Bound to his family, he realises the ultimate of all the truths that in spite of everything, he is alone and doomed to be prepossessed in fundamental doubts. The ones he cant share with others or make peace within himself. At this juncture, he supersedes his desires as responsibility/duty into an abstract attribute, beyond good and evil that takes control and care of him passively into the future. It all comes naturally now, with no emotion or thought underneath. There is no family now, it is him and a world that wants to be without him. And the consequences.

Not everyone, I just want to wipe off my enemies, that is all. Even if the enemy is supposedly his own brother he is pushed aside, mercilessly. A demonstration of exercise of will naked without any form of draped morality. Or even pretension of. He survives. His family survives. But in his efforts to survive he has created a world of its own new values, successful and productive to many lives but built on personal losses, including his own -- his children and family as his wife separates from him. Now,expectedly, The apollonian is slowly parted with to make way of growing Dionysian.

The criminally underrated third part is completion of the harmony[3] . With age and failing health Michael has grown soft. The powers are distributed and fragmented throughout in return for much sought legitamacy. He is shown to be socially humorous, something he wasn’t before( I was listening to Tony Bennett songs). It is all about reminiscing and a Dionysian accounting himself for the past within. He understands his acts- the inevitability and responsibility of it all. (remember the Pope’s words it is only just for him to suffer) But still he is neck deep in the consequences of his own making. He continues in another conflict to complete the promise he made to his father and also unable to restrain his own need for security and power. As he remorses (not repent) for his deeds, he tries to-- cut off his children from his business , mend his relationship with his wife and for the last time he takes one final half hearted plunge at more power -all small steps to pave way for his descent as he himself understands very well.(The more I want to get out, the more they pull me in) And consequently, he ends up paying a heavy ransom for his life, the one he never owned in a full sense anytime. He fails to protect his daughter and his son does not share the lineage of his dreams.

Understandably, for Michael life has come full circle. It is here one might start identifying with his futility and take him for a version of a tragic hero.I think casting him into the mould of tragic hero would be imposing a self presumptous role on his life, a life that has not been open to us in the first place.Although his life has been tragic in a sense there are huge issues that separates him from a conventional tragic hero.

One could easily as well imagine Michael to be taking his son to a baseball game on a Saturday noon or retiring as a senator too dignified to use a walking stick in public. But then, knowing Michael, he would have known well at the bottom that he had more to offer and effect world better. And still, the irony of it all is that if given the choice he still would have been compelled himself to choose the life he did.

Again and again. Eternally. because that is what makes his pain, glory, legacy, himself.

The concluding shot is a deserving tribute-a frail, dust-beaten image of the old Michael Corleone stooped in a chair, open to the sun, slowly falls unto the earth lifeless; him a moral idealist, son, brother, lover, father, and above all Don corleone, breathes his last - lonely and alone, resigned and trodden like a common man. He has lost his father, brothers, wives, friends, mother , daughter and the grand empire he constructed, in fact everything that he ever valued. He has no more to offer, accept, refuse or bargain. His entire life has amounted to neither individual glory nor personal love that could be cherished. He is not a successful hero , not even a failed martyr. Yet he has changed the world around him irrevocably as such and given every possible chance he would continue to do the same. And In that-- he has transcended himself, history, and humanity thus transforming himself into an idea, into an abstraction , into Ubermensch.

At the end, despite everything , what he represents beside a caution is hope and power of will and a constant attempt to be better eternally against everything, however futile that such a venture is in itself, that being the nature and the inclination of us all as humans , in different shades of desires and varying resources at disposal he becomes the essence and embodiment of humanity.

That is the tragedy and the beauty of it all.

Where you see ideal things, I see what is --

human, alas, all-too-human. I know man better.

~Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo

[1] It is this process that Coppola has beautifully captured on the film. Notice the lack of subtitles in the restaurant shooting scene for Italian but when Michael is in Italy subtitles are used while he speaks to Apollonia’s father . It is this smooth flow in transformation in values that Nietzsche alluded to so abstractly.

[2]That scene is unbearably haunting. The first time I watched it I was too occupied with the story and missed it under my nose, but the second time around I was almost choked. Every drop of ink spilled from Freud , Mann, Sartre, to Camus, et al has been so gracefully captured in one cinematic moment. Beside its conceptual bearings it not only shows how coppola has understood the character of Michael but also is a stamp on Al Pacino’s talent. In my view only two actors could have pulled it off as convincingly Al Pacino did- Herr Humphrey Bogart and that cute Cossack named Sean Penn. The latter perhaps would have needed a tighter director. The scene also is an excellent reference for film techniques, for e.g. lighting and sound , music. Et al. Pure mad genius.

Trivia -Coppola suffers from Bipolar affective disorder which my friend considers as a role of living a playful god and pained human in one life.

[3] Although not widely agreed, I’ve never felt the series would have been complete without part 3. The scenes in the third part are in a unique way mirrored with the first-The function, hospital scene, the conversations(with Kay, Mancini, his son Anthony with his own in part1 ) the assassinations. Etc.

PS- Having not said all and with the length of the post, I am not quite happy but the Glasgow London train doesn’t run indefinitely.

[lunarblazes]

so! um, today is the one year anniversary of give me back my heart, you wingless thing, aka the first fic i ever wrote for the kaleidoscope au, aka that one fic where luna actually wrote people other than grian and pearl (a novel concept, i know). which… i’m having a few emotions about that! i think it might be one of my most popular fics, and it’s certainly the one that people have approached me the most about. i keep running into people who’ve read and loved it. and that’s really cool to me, even if i think some parts of it are awkward or disjointed or cringey. you all liked it, and that made and continues to make me happy. i’m proud of it because you all liked it. and that’s good enough for me.

i wish i had something prepared for the occasion, but alas, i completely lost track of time (very wrapped up in other projects right now) and so i’ve shown up empty-handed. i do have a really old sketch, the first thing i ever made for the fic back when i was still conceptualizing it! it’s a rough visualization of a scene from chapter one. i hope you guys enjoy it, even if it’s pretty bad, and thank you for sticking around <3

[digitalgate02]

Hey, remember the concept I mentioned about the 02 trio getting weapons based on their secondary Digimentals for the half-dropped Hinode arc from Lady of the Castle project? (If I never mentioned it before, well now you know)

Well... I’m trying to work on it right now. Especially how each of them have an ability based on their Armor-mons. This idea came out a few years after my initial plan of upgraded forms for the Armor digimon in the same fashion of BurningFladramon and (the non-used) RapidLighdramon.

I had done Horusmon (Fauermon) and Shurimon (i can’t remember his name) first, but when i went to do Digmon and Submarimon... My ideas only were successful with one (which ended up being DrillDigmon). Submarimon’s upgraded form would’ve been the most drastic of them -- he would become a big submarine-or-ship and the kids would use it to travel through the Digital World in this adventure. But my chara design abilities from that time NEVER got a finished or even a rough sketch to work with. I also assume I had designed an upgraded form for Nefertimon and Pegasusmon, but I probably lost them... Or I’m misremembering having done Pegasusmon’s form. All I remember is doodling Nefertimon and she had a bipedal style this time, and had no actual name either. I also lost the scans from that time alas and idk where’s the sketches are.

ANYWAY, 

Since I failed on designing a big ship-like Submarimon, I later had the idea of turning the secondary Digimentals into... Weapons based on their mons. You will be surprised when I say the Lighdra-Glaive -- Daisuke’s Digimental Weapon -- was only made in 2017, while Submarimon and Shurimon-based’s  weapons ideas came in 2014!! Also, the idea wasn’t just for the 02 group (minus Daisuke, more details later) but also to the older six. I only managed to draw one for Yamato -- a gun which could shoot ice bullets and lasers based on MetalGarurumon -- but the rest was... undecided or sketched. Taichi would’ve gotten a sword based on WarGreymon, just saying.

Now, as for Daisuke... The original Hinode Version 1 & Version 2 had him become a half-human half-digimon creature, so he basically “armor evolved” with the Digimental, though during the process his color palette turned into a cold color scheme (the Yellow and Red details turned into a Greyish-Blue and Indigo/Purple) to indicate this was a supposed “Virus attribute Lighdramon” armor. (more details about Lightnimon concept here.) As I said, the Lighdra-Glaive came in June 2017 while Hinode arc was still on its hiatus. The idea of him gaining one would be featured in the EN re-written version of the arc, but Kizuna satisfied me and I decided the best was not keep working on it. The recent drabbles are indeed little pieces I re-wrote from V1 and V2, or things i really wanted to write down and hadn’t reached it in the V2. In those drabbles, Daisuke is fully human and uses this weapon to assist BurningFladramon in battles, as a combo.

After chatting this much for an intro, let’s get some old sketches on table!

March 2014 - Shurimon-based weapon which... is just Shurimon’s back shuriken. It got the Crest of Innocence/Purity/Sincerity on it, as depicted in the sketch.

March 2014 - Submarimon-based weapon, which is a kendo stick made with Submarimon’s “harpoon-nose” -- the spikes can be turn off! As illustrated in this other doodle here. It also contains the Crest of Reliability/Faith/Faithfulness/Honesty/Sincerity/whichever-translation-you-use on it, but not depicted on the concepr art.

June 2017 - Lighdramon-based weapon. It’s a Glaive! Also, this used to be its original size, I’m working on a new take on it which I will be posting soon.

Those are used in the Hinode Drabbles, by the way. Now, some unused concept art!!

Feb 2018 - (Metal)Garurumon-based weapon. While there’s just one rough sketch and color test, this was supposed to be a pair. As explained before, it only shoots Ice bullets and lasers to freeze the enemy and assist in the battles or to a successful escape.

[oceanspirit9]

Tell me about your Halloween!

Samhain! (How do you celebrate!)

Ghost (do you have any paranormal experiences)

Hey friend! Thank you for prompting me to talk Halloween!🎃🍂

☠︎︎ spooky season asks ☠︎︎

^ Here is the original post ;)

Samhain (How do you celebrate)

First off, Halloween is not really celebrated where I come from, though me and my group of friends have always dressed up, just for funsies. My earliest Halloween I was probably 8 or 9, very excited for it. Since we couldn't do the whole going from house to house (because no one knew what that was) we just did that with our parents, like, we would just dress up, create a little sketch to perform and wow them. Then they'd give us the candy we had made them buy lol. Shitty thing was they didn't quite get the concept so they bought us these huge bars of chocolate when all we wanted was the handful of tiny bonbons, ya know? But alas, it was so much fun, esp with my friend's Mummy wardrobe malfunction halfway through the night...

The past few years we usually just gather with some impromptu costumes, take a bunch of weird pictures and then proceed with pizza and a horror movie. Simple, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Ghost (Do you have any paranormal experiences?)

That first Halloween, we were sitting outside this villa our parents had rented. We were counting our sweets, talking cartoons, when we noticed these lights. They were just hovering, and a bunch of them, horizontal lines from what I remember. 9-year-old us immediately became believers and swiftly just walked inside. Next morning, we went to the exact spot where the lights had been to see nothing but rooftops, so, I don't know. Otherwise I get the occasional uneasy feeling, a slammed door, random objects dropping to the floor, TV turning itself on, but nothing too major.

Yet.