#thank you for writing something inspired by my art!!!

[meanbossart]

Ask Compilation: Gorp, Questionable Child Rearing, Progressive elves and some campaign lore!

As always, I apologize if your ask isn't here/ hasn't been replied to, it is unfortunately impossible for me to answer to every question I get to the extend I would like to. Occasionally I also just don't have a very interesting answer to offer 😅 and I try to avoid spamming people's feeds! But thank you so much to everyone who interacts with my stories, characters, art, and is curious about my thought process and writing! The response is frankly just as overwhelming as it is deeply appreciated, and every word of encouragement or message about how I inspired you to draw or write more of your own stories makes my day.

DU drow and Gortash had what I would describe as a "Toxic Friendship". They got along well enough, had little friend dinner-dates, drank together, superficially shared their woes in ways that benefited no one, and DU drow ultimately had a great deal of respect for Gortash - except you would have never known that by the way he treated him.

DU drow belittled, harassed, and even destroyed Gortash's property on whim alone. Every compliment was back-handed and every display of friendship was somehow sarcastic. Gortash let everything slide right off his back for reasons I like leaving obscured. Here's a particularly intense write-up I did about their relationship a long time ago that still stands. I think it serves really well to illustrate how intense DU drow could still be about his friendships.

PFFTT, I don't know why that would be a female-child only thing, but maybe that's just a colloquialism?

DU drow actually talks pretty similarly to children as he does to adults! He just doesn't set the same expectations on them. Children don't ask stupid questions because the world is still new to them, nor do their respond reasonably to everything, they also don't understand some big words or complex ideas depending on how you present it to them - he understands this and adjusts accordingly. But otherwise his tone would be the same, even with his his own child. He's that guy who's good with kids on the basis of treating them as to-be adults rather than.. Well, just a child.

The Astarion assessment is fair, LOL.

[MORE UNDER THE CUT]

(Surface) elven kind strikes me as fairly gender-indifferent overall! And while I enjoy theorizing about how their culture has shifted over the years from exposure to "urban life", for both better and worse, I like to think this is an aspect that has remained mostly unchanged, even for elves who may have had a really mixed-up upbringing from living in a city as diverse as Baldur's Gate.

I believe Astarion (and by extension Shadowheart and DU drow) are fully aware that they read as their respective genders and that for other races, such as humans, that means something; but for them that is a different custom that doesn't really apply outside of pronouns and reproductive expectations. So, I actually believe that Astarion would be pretty indifferent to life as a woman save for occasionally missing having a dick for the obvious reasons (only to then shift back and lament the opposite, probably).

ALL THE TIME!

But I know that you meant to ask if I will ever draw it.

VERY LIKELY THAT I WILL.

As a side note, thank you for showing interest and excitement for male-on-male sex that isn't just anal, LOL.

CW for the obvious, though nothing too descriptive or awful.

I understand if people disagree as a knee-jerk reaction, but I would say that Astarion's character demonstrates a shocking amount of self-control and emotional regulation. I went into this more in detail in an older post, but basically: the guy always brings himself down from his own outbursts, is exceptionally good at reading the room, is extremely forgiving and pragmatic, and knows when to send the jokes outside and respond to vulnerability in kind. I stand by this as more than a headcanon; it's in his actual writing and dialogue.

All that to say, I don't think Astarion would ever lay a violent hand on his own children. I also don't HC him as having endured corporal punishment as a child, hence not really having that instilled in his mind as a possible example to draw from.

I could see DU drow implementing physical punishments that he doesn't consider to be actually painful, like pulling, pinching, or squeezing a child while you reprehend them; things a parent might do because they think it's harmless. Astarion would probably be the one to say he's not really achieving anything - so it would likely be short-lived.

I DO think they would both be okay with setting up their children to pretty arduous physical labor, though, both as punishment and just in general to toughen them up. You could argue there's a way to do this that is reasonable, but they would prooobably push that line into dubious territory.

Buddy, WHO said low fat, what do you think the meat and taters that he's eating is swimming in!

But back to your question, he can enjoy a sweet treat every once in a while! He just far, far prefers savory. Personally, I think the guy would go crazy for a panettone. Or a big sugar-powdered crepe with some berries.

I kind of flew through the Circus in DU drow's playthrough because I was SO excited to get to Baldur's gate. They were only there long enough for DU drow to make Astarion mildly pissed off during the dryad's weird love quiz.

I also somehow missed Lucretious and never got the Dribbles quest - probably for the best.

Becoming a big ol' squid seems like a deal-breaker for his character in-game - so, same thing applies here. He'd let him down gently but potentially want a friendship for as long as DU drow is still himself.

... Buuuut it would never come to that; DU drow would most likely end his life pretty swiftly if he were to turn into a mindflayer, so Astarion wouldn't have much to worry about 😬

Alas, she pretty much never crosses his mind since he has no recollection of the type of relationship they had prior to DU drow's amnesia.

Or at least she won't as long as nothing weird ever happens that potentially jogs his memory 😇

Hello! I also love the escorts, but due to both DU Drow's and Astarion's respective attitudes towards drow and that kind of activity they didn't really hire his services. I do like to think him and his sister had a lot to gossip about as soon as they turned their backs, though, LOL.

[kiame-sama]

Regarding the gifted dress to the human, I really like your choice of the heart layers on the front of your dress design. I think your dress design is a really interesting take on the queen of hearts dress from the original movie.

When you originally had mentioned that the human and their guards were given custom outfits on their visit to the Queendom I had begun to speculate what kind of clothing the human would receive.

I know you mentioned that you were open to receiving fan art so I wanted to share what I was thinking the dress might have looked like:

*I also included an inspiration mood board.

My thought was that since the Queendom in Twist is based on the UK I thought to pull from some historic British fashion. I selected the regency style dress because not only are they a bit more practical to move around in and are known for their comfort, but they are also easier to make quickly.

I was mainly inspired by the strawberry dress (mood board: right photo of red dress). My intention is that the dress for the human would be similar to the strawberry dress in that it was a sheer layer of red silk over a white underdress (I had some difficulty in trying to depict that sheerness in my drawing, so that’s why I included the mood board). Of course the original strawberry dress is quite old and looks a bit faded so I included a modern reproduction (mood board: top middle photo) to show the sheerness I had in mind for the humans dress; just with my dress using a darker red fabric to avoid it looking too pink.

I noticed that the roses on Riddle’s school uniform in Twist seemed awfully familiar and I realized that they were nearly identical to some of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s roses. Which I chose to include both in the sleeves and a band of gold thread embroidery near the base of the dress. 

Lastly, the top of the dress is the most detailed part. With beading, lace, embroidery, and of course, lots of hearts.

I hope you like it. I just wanted to say that I really enjoy your writing and that I always look forward to reading your work. Thank you so much the amazing content!

10/10 beautiful dress and wonderful thought process put into it! I like that it is not as bombastic or ballroom, but a beautiful number to wear on a lovely day.

I tried using the Queen of Hearts (and a bit of Beauty and the Beast's Belle ballroom dress) to make the design I ultimately settled on. Something similar to the clothes given to this week's guards to show they are the same unit or the same collection of clothes while keeping in mind the morphology of their bodies and the differences in clothing those limbs would need to function properly. The only part that really sets the Human's clothes apart from the guard clothes is the lack of armor (plus Alistair's feather cloak, but that is because Alistair is just a colorful lil guy).

Riddle's roses are painted white to red, like his dorm clothes, but he is also already a citizen of the Queendom of Roses. Rook's roses are red to white, as someone who is being brought into the Queendom but isn't a citizen. The Human's roses are black painted to red, given black and red are the primary colors of the Queendom which cherishes Humans historically.

[holybladeknight]

"If only life could be a little more tender and art a little more robust." ~ Alan Rickman

Today is my birthday, and I want to post something meaningful and inspirational 💖

Let's make life a little more tender and art a little more robust. Let's keep the communities active and create the horizontal linkages. Let's share our thoughts, emotions and opinions.

Even the simplest thing, such as a likes/kudos, matters

Reblog, but don't repost, at least without an author's permissions and credits

Write the comments, even short and simple ones. Be not afraid of sounding silly. If you don't know what to say, describe the emotions what you feel, or point at your favorite moment/detail

Order a commission, if it's affordable for you

Sort your favorite tags by the newest posts and show some love to the beginning creators

Pay a visit to the artists/writers who work slowly, and thus rarely get in the recommendation feed

Thank you, and stay safe 😽

[torchwood-99]

Howdy! I’ve been re-reading a lot in the appendices lately and noticed that the first time Aragorn sees Arwen and falls head over heels immediately, she’s described as wearing a “mantle of silver and blue.” 🤔

When you went back through your recent deep dives on Arwen (forgive me, I think I read them all but sometimes my brain is a sieve!), did you come across that and have thoughts about what ol’ JRR might have been thinking in his use of the silver and blue mantle visual for the (eventual) wives of both Aragorn and Faramir? Or, if not, do you have any such thoughts now? Intentional and meant to convey specific meaning, or he just liked that color palette/image and it popped up again organically?

@from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras

My first thought is that they both wear silver and blue for the same reasons it feels like everyone in Tolkien has grey eyes. It's an aesthetic Tolkien likes.

On a more theological level, blue is a colour strongly associated with the Virgin Mary. Lord of the Rings is filled with biblical imagery and inspirations, and arguments have been made for quite a few of Tolkien's heroines being inspired by the Virgin Mary.

In Arwen's case, it's been argued she represents Mary the mother figure, and Mary who united the divine and immortal with the mortal, as Arwen does when she marries Aragorn.

In Eowyn's case, her slaying of the Fell Beast is reminiscent of the tradition of Mary being depicted of standing on a serpent's head in art, inspired by this quote, interpreted to be about Mary

I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. (Genesis 3:15)

in reference to Mary giving birth to Jesus, who then died for the sins of humanity. Mary giving birth to Jesus allowed for Satan to be overcome, and she reversed Eve's sin.

It's also been suggested that Eowyn's referring to herself as a shieldmaiden nods towards Mary referring to herself as a handmaiden

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. 

With Mary, the most popular colour combination is usually red and blue, instead of silver and blue (although in both cases it's blue worn over red, so the mantle remains fitting). But Varda/Elbereth, Queen of the Valar and creator of the stars, is the most beloved of the Valar by the elves, just as Mary is traditionally the most beloved saint, so the silver and the stars on Eowyn's mantle is perhaps a reference to Varda, and her own Marian imagery.

Thanks for the ask! It's a really interesting parallel I hadn't considered before.

Writing this post, it's interesting that Eowyn slaying the Fell Beast was an act of disobedience, whereas Mary agreeing to carry Jesus was an act of obedience to God. Some fans I think have really struggled with Eowyn achieving something objectively great through an act of disobedience, yet her great deed was a result of her disobedience.

Eowyn's act was an act of disobedience against Theoden, who doesn't take on a Godlike or Christlike role in the narrative. Eowyn also defied Aragorn's own orders, who told her to stay and that she had no business in the South, and Aragorn does have Christlike imagery, what with his healing abilities. However, Aragorn has to grow into his role as King of Men, and he proves himself as the true King of Gondor when he heals Eowyn and Faramir and Merry in the Houses of Healing. Aragorn says in the Houses of Healing that Eowyn's deeds put her on equal standing with the queens of old, so perhaps Aragorn's blinkeredness towards Eowyn earlier on is a sign that he has yet to reach his place as King of Men.

Gandalf, who is a Maiar or angel, is very empathetic towards Eowyn's circumstances. He's the only other character who speaks of the effect that sexism and being confined to the domestic sphere had on Eowyn. Even Aragorn focusses more on Eowyn's heartbreak over him rejecting her (although he acknowledges that was the straw that broke the camel's back). Gandalf is the one to put into words the cause of Eowyn's suffering.

Whereas Tolkien's personal and fictional writings suggest he had a conservative attitude towards the nature of women, it seems that he believed that most women were inherently domestic, not that they had to be, and if they weren't they were failures of womanhood. He expressed admiration for women who made achievements in science and literature, and described Eowyn as being a "brave woman capable of great military gallantry". So you get the idea that although Tolkien had conservative ideas about the abilities and nature of women in general, he did not oppose women who proved themselves to be the "exception". And in Eowyn's case, her exceptionality was foretold, prophesised by Glorfindel many, many years before she was born, just as Mary's was.

Ironically enough, Tolkien keeping most of the women firmly in the domestic sphere, resulting in them having a very small role the narrative, with only the "exceptional woman" being granted much focus, resulted in Eowyn being the singular female character who receives a on-page, active role in the narrative, the singular female character who joins the heroes and grows and develops. A consequence of this is that she shoulders almost all the female representation within the narrative.

Arwen and Galdriel are significant characters, but most of their actions take place off page, with their on page presence revolving mostly around facilitating the actions of the male heroes (although Galadriel does get up to her own cool stuff away from the main narrative, but that story we don't get to follow.) Arwen and Galadriel are also divine beings, ancient elves, the most beautiful, the fairest, both of them visions of perfection, and mostly static. (At least, in the main narrative. Arwen shows more flaws and nuances in the appendices, and Galadriel we know went on a whole journey before becoming Lady of Lothlorien.)

In contrast, Eowyn, human, mortal, messy Eowyn, is flawed. She has struggles and weaknesses and lessons to learn. This makes her the most "human" woman in the narrative, for reasons that go beyond her race. In being the most complex, flawed and dynamic female character of the book, the "exceptional woman" inadvertently becomes the "every woman".

And I've gone on a bit of a tangent, but I had a lot of fun doing it.

[squeaky-potat]

THIS IS SO CUUUUUTEEEE AND GOOD!!!

AHHHHHHH!!! I LOVE THIS! THANK YOU FOR WRITING SOMETHING INSPIRED BY THIS!! ITS SO PERFECT 😭😭😭🥰🥰🥰

“C’mon Stolas, there’s some cool Earth Shit I wanna show you.”

I’d like to think that Stolas has always focused on the stars and never really looked too much at humans and their traditions. Blitz saw some Christmas stuff and figured it would brighten Stolas’ day. But they had to dress up before they went out.

[ralucus]

the whole world in my hands

[caro-loves-kirby]

I redrew something I made last year for the Heart and Soul series anniversary last year :D

From @post-it-notes7

Old one under the cut

[sweet-star-cookie]

if you were to drop cassie + the zodiacs into a human/modern AU (an AU where all the zodiacs and constellations were humanized and there is no magic in the universe), what jobs do you think they would do? what would their new human names be? would their dynamics change as a result of the lack of magic and the trauma that comes along with it? and what do you think flicker's normal animal equivalent would be?

(definitely not related to a christmas special i'm cooking up nooope no frenzied AU writing here)

Oooooooh? 👀 Whatever you've got cooking, I'm very excited :D You know it's funny, now that I think about it I've done a lot more speculating about humanization/AU stuff for this set of characters than even I remembered initially, haha! The upside is that means I actually have some stuff to give you :D Of course I don't consider any of this to be "canon" even in an AU sense, as the ideas here are pretty spur-of-the-moment overall and I would need to develop them more if I were to ever make an actual AU story myself. Some of these I've never thought about prior to now, so it is by no means complete in terms of info, but I hope it helps!

With that in mind, don't feel restricted by what I give you here, if you come up with something different for these characters that you want to write about, go for it! Feel free to play around and have fun ^_^ Alright, on to the (very long) answers!

I'll start with the Flicker question, since that'll have the shortest answer comparatively! When figuring out their size in the main story I have compared them to a small kitten before. Considering they can fit in the palm of Cassie's hand most of the time too, something in the rodent family might be more suitable here. Given their stubby limbs, small paws/feet and round body, a hamster comes to mind for me (though I'm biased because I grew up with pet hamsters, haha).

As for Cassie and the zodiac, it would depend on what setting/context this takes place in to determine how they meet and interact with each other, and what dynamics they'd make or keep from their original counterparts, including what part of the world they/their theoretical ancestors are from. Are they all somehow in Cassie's town, or are they all somewhere else? How Cassie would meet them would obviously be very different too, and depending on their occupations she'd be less likely to meet some than others, but of course you can find ways to bring them together anyway.

Since there are nearly infinite options to answer the question of setting, I'll instead give you some general ideas for their possible occupations and such and you can go from there! Some of the "jobs" the adult zodiacs have on the Astral Plane do translate pretty easily to regular Earth occupations, but again you don't have to stick to those if you don't want to. Same with the names, I only have some that came to mind or that I've had previously so feel free to make some up for yourself!

------ ARIES

Possible Occupation: I could see him as a gym trainer or something, the kind that may yell a lot but that actually works for people who are motivated by that kind of intensity, and he genuinely cares about the health/strength goals of the patrons with great passion as well. Perhaps he's still underestimated for his size/height but is able to prove himself with his strength anyway, and thus everyone at the gym respects him. What's funny is Aries actually used to be half-human in canon! Here's the old concept art from around 2016, if that helps at all:

The only reason I eventually changed him was to balance out the cast a bit more variety wise, as Leo was the only anthropomorphic animal zodiac character at the time. This is the same reason I changed Capricorn to be anthropomorphic as well, though in his case I felt it also strengthened his concept as the "sea goat" a lot more easily that way.

Possible Name: For some reason any variant of Aaron comes to mind, I'm assuming because it matches with the "ar" syllable in Aries (though that may also be me thinking about Aran Ryan, the stereotypical unhinged/angry Irishman character from Punch-Out lol)

Relationship with Zodiac Companion: (If you're including them too) I'd imagine that Perseus would be a rather anxious member at the gym that takes a lot of effort to motivate properly, but Aries sees potential in him and sees it through anyway. Either that or he simply wants to help out with other things around the gym to build up his confidence more. He's young, so maybe it's his very first job or something, and a challenge for Aries to learn how to train someone who doesn't match his own demeanour very much at all.

------ TAURUS

Possible Occupation: I can see her as some kind of animal rescue operator or a park ranger that's focused on areas with protected species. A zookeeper could work well too, she'd definitely be one that would be excited and energetic when giving tours and facts about the animals because she loves them so much.

Possible Name: One that I have in my old "what if" notes is Tori Dellman (I don't remember why lol)

Relationship with Zodiac Companion: Wherever Orion would be in his original character arc could determine their relationship here, like maybe he's still a hunter/poacher that Taurus has to deal with but eventually befriends, or he is a fellow park ranger/animal rescuer/zookeeper.

Coincidentally, at the time of writing this I am finishing up Part 2 of Orion's updated reference sheet that shows his human form prior to his deer transformation, so stay tuned for that soon :D

------ GEMINI & LEO (Putting these two together since they're the children of the zodiac cast and thus wouldn't have set jobs/aspirations like the adults do)

Possible Names: The Gemini twins could theoretically keep their original names (Solana and Luna) but there are a bunch of other names that mean sun/moon that you could use if you want to keep that duality theme but in a subtler way.

Same with Leo, there are a bunch of names that mean "lion" that you could use (though that already includes Leo itself, of course).

Relationship with Zodiac Companions: I feel like this would also be determined by what dynamic they have with their guardians/parental figures (Sagittarius and Cancer) and if they're adopted as their children or not. This would extend to their companions as well, as I consider Leo Minor to be Leo's little brother in canon and that could be the same here. Auriga could be an older sister to the Gemini twins in turn, though I could also see her as a camp counsellor or some other kind of teenage volunteer on a school trip or something.

------ CANCER

Possible Occupation: Her giant claw cannons that can shoot water and her strong build make me think she could work well as a fire fighter, the kind that isn't weighed down by her gear very much and doesn't mind leaping into danger multiple times if necessary, still keeping that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ kind of attitude when it comes to her own safety.

Possible Name: The only name I have for her in my notes is Maura Kinloch, though this was a relic from a very, very old lore draft where it's implied that her incarnation of her constellation has been around for literal centuries, further implying that she was the only one of the armour clad characters on the Astral Plane who actually lived as a knight during the medieval times on Earth (make of that what you will lmao)

Relationship with Zodiac Companion: This would again depend on how you interpret Hydra/Hydrus and their relationship with her, though you don't necessarily have to humanize every single one of the animal characters either. Considering their constellations are defined as "the water snakes" you could also have them be her pets, either as snakes or some other kind of reptile/amphibian.

------ VIRGO

Possible Occupation: Considering her Lady Justice themeing in canon, she could have a similar job in a courtroom, though which one she has is up to you. A judge or attorney might be most fitting, but she could also be an investigator or detective as well.

Possible Name: Not sure, sorry ^^' Whenever I need to think of AU names I usually either pick a name that has a meaning adjacent to their original concept, or one that phonetically sounds similar/has some of the same syllables as their canon name to tie them together.

Relationship with Zodiac Companion: Given Corvus's status as a former thief/delinquent in canon, you could use that in the AU and whatever job Virgo has could determine what relationship they have. Perhaps Corvus is a part of a case she's working on as a suspect and she needs to prove his guilt/innocence, or he's the classic "help us out now and we'll reduce your sentence" kind of thing, perhaps acting as a sort of double agent.

------ LIBRA

Possible Occupation: I picture her keeping her job as a librarian/archivist, though how high up the "ladder" she is in terms of that occupation is up to you, and whether or not museum experience is included is a possibility as well. If you want to connect her AU part to Virgo's to match canon, she could also be either a fellow attorney/judge, or the stenographer (the person who transcribes what is said in a courtroom). They could always just be friends outside of their respective jobs too, though.

Possible Name: Elise, from my old notes. Not sure if I picked this one because they both have L in their spellings but I like it. :)

Relationship with Zodiac Companion: Lupus would still be some kind of assistant to Libra I think, regardless of what occupation either of them has. Similar to Scutum (see below!) I actually have a drawing of him as a human, though it's not finished yet:

I had fun with this one :D Though he appears a lot younger as a wolf, he's actually a young adult in terms of age. ------ SCORPIO

Possible Occupation: This is one I actually have a slightly more fleshed out AU idea for, believe it or not! I pictured Scorpio as some kind of secret agent/spy or maybe even a trained assassin or bounty hunter depending on whether he actually has a body count in this AU or not. Perhaps he's caught up in a conspiracy or plot where he realizes he's on the wrong side of it all with what he has been assigned, and has to pivot to save the victim(s) despite the extreme danger in doing so.

If you want a more "pedestrian" angle for the AU though, he could just be the type of guy who tries his best to get by with whoever will hire him, but somehow keeps finding trouble or having trouble find him. Maybe he was categorized as a delinquent in his youth because of his suspiciously adept knife skills, rightfully or otherwise, leading to his characteristic brooding pessimism even after he became a young adult.

If Virgo/Libra are still tied to the justice system in this hypothetical, I think it would be funny if Scorpio was truthfully just a regular guy, but one that constantly gets roped into ridiculous situations through no fault of his own. So once they get him on the stand and they look at him like "...again?" he's just like "for the love of god it's not me this time-"

Apparently I cannot give him a break even in an AU, sorry bud xD

Possible Name: To match his occupation, it's likely that his real name is unknown/redacted and he uses Agent Scorpio/Scorpius as a code name or alias instead. Not sure what his name would be in an otherwise normal situation though, maybe he has to keep changing it to avoid whatever trouble keeps finding him.

Relationship with Zodiac Companion: In sharp contrast to Scorpio, Scutum is a paramedic with a big heart and chipper attitude, the kind that may not follow the rules all the time but is always riding off on his Moped with his medical bag to save a life somewhere. If he arrives on the scene on time, he has a tendency to put himself between a victim and the assailant's weapon to protect them, earning him his nickname. I've actually drawn this version of him too :D

(this is still one of my favourite designs to date, heehee :'D )

Despite their opposing occupations, he and Scorpio end up working together a lot more than either of them expected. As a paramedic, Scutum has the MO of "everyone deserves rescuing", including trained assassins in this case! To him it doesn't matter who they are, a patient is a patient. ------ SAGITTARIUS

Possible Occupation: For some reason I picture him as an outdoorsman, like a hiker or survivalist or something. I think it would be funny if, even when fully human in this AU, he is still mistaken for a bear in the woods from a distance because of his hair and stocky build. Whether he practices archery as a job or simply a hobby is another thing as well, as that could factor into his survival skills or perhaps he competes in tournaments with it.

Possible Name: I have Argus or Darius as a first name here, and considering the Scottish inspiration for his canon design you could give him a Scottish surname as well if you like.

Relationship with Zodiac Companion: If you want to keep Centaurus's insatiable desire to explore, you could have him be a companion on Sagittarius's hikes or a survivalist-in-training. He might want to partake in some spelunking as well if the area in question has caves. Even in canon Centaurus's name is often shortened to Rus, so you could use that here as a short form of Russell.

------ CAPRICORN

Possible Occupation: I think he'd be a well-to-do patron of the arts, likely still an owner or an otherwise staunch financial supporter of a theatre, big or small. Whether he is/was an actor or is simply a performing arts enthusiast is up to you, but I think his refined taste and penchant for the extravagant would still shine through in his demeanour, clothing and possessions. Whether he and Aries are still brothers here is up to you too, though the contrast in their occupations might make for an amusing dynamic, as Capricorn in this AU likely wouldn't lay a finger on a weight even if his life depended on it.

Possible Name: Quentin Armanis, Noctus Finch, or Atticus Strombold (I'm really good at coming up with fancy names I guess lmao)

Relationship with Zodiac Companion: I think Pegasus and her siblings would still be in the performing arts here, though depending on the setting, how they and Capricorn meet might be different. Perhaps Capricorn has a more hidden altruistic side where he supports young and/or indie theatre efforts in addition to the larger ones, but all on the down-low for the sake of whatever reputation he's trying to keep.

------ AQUARIUS

Possible Occupation: I can see her keeping her fashion designer/hair stylist angle here, but how "high profile" she is in this regard could vary in the AU depending on her goals/passions. Regardless of whether her and Pisces are still married in this AU, I could see Pisces becoming at least a muse for Aquarius's designs if nothing else.

Possible Name: Odessa, or some other fancy name that a fashion designer would have.

Relationship with Zodiac Companion: Similar to their initial rivalry in canon, Aquila could be a rival of hers in the fashion world as well, perhaps even "fighting" with similar clothing styles and motifs to see who can do it better. Whether they patch things up or continue the drama would remain to be seen!

------ PISCES

Possible Occupation: For some reason I see her going in a lot of potential directions. She could work at a spa, an aquarium, or maybe she'd be a swimming instructor/competitive swimmer, all options to keep her water/fish theme. Whether or not her and Aquarius are married in this AU may alter one or both of their occupations as well.

Possible Name: Cherise, perhaps to match her predominantly pink/red colours in canon and cheerful personality. Depending on her occupation, I can see others calling her "Miss Cherry" as a nickname (the word cherry derives from cherise, and cerise is French for cherry).

Relationship with Zodiac Companion: This also depends on how you'd approach Austri in this AU, as even if she's still a circus performer like she is/was in canon, how she and Pisces meet would likely be very different regardless. They don't necessarily have to be connected outside of meeting each other at some point though. I could see Pisces simply knowing Austri for being a performer at the aforementioned circus or even as a mute comedian that specializes in physical comedy instead of verbal. Considering Austri's canon connections to Capricorn as well, perhaps they know each other through association that way.

------ OPHIUCHUS

(Including him too because he's sort of the 13th zodiac and it would feel wrong to exclude him considering how important he is to canon lol) Possible Occupation: Considering he's a healer in canon, I'd imagine him being in the medical field would be appropriate, especially since the caduceus (a symbol associated with Ophiuchus and traditionally represents healing) is still used as a medical symbol today. Depending on what you wish to do with Scorpio/Scutum's part of the AU, you could have them be connected (for better or worse!)

Possible Name: No idea, sorry ^^' It could be similarly long/complicated as his constellation name, and maybe has a degree of unintentional intimidation to it. For me at least, the name Ophiuchus always felt very grandiose even if my character with that name is of a more humble nature comparatively, so you could play around with that depending on what angle you wish to take with his character's personality/goals in this AU. Is he still considered an antagonist here, or something else entirely?

Relationship with Zodiac Companion: A similar situation to Cancer where you don't necessarily have to humanize Serpens and Cetus and could make them pet snakes, though having them be Ophiuchus's assistants at his medical practice could also work well too, since that's basically what they do in canon (and the caduceus imagery often includes two snakes already).

[pokimoko]

Alright, I don't want to be a dick (and that's half the reason why I'm not answering this ask properly and censoring the user's name; I don't want to throw them to the wolves over poor wording), but I just have to say this: if you're going to send in an art request to me, please at least do me the basic decency of being polite about it. I am doing them for free and out of my own spare time, so I am under no obligation to make them if I don't want to.

The way this particular request is written feels like the equivalent of a 'please update' on a fic or like I'm some sort of AI art generator you're putting a prompt into, and it absolutely turns me off wanting to make art for you, which I won't be doing for this one. I'm sorry to be pedantic over phrasing, but I have to set some boundaries when it comes to requests, and this is one of them.

[treemintart]

I've been thinking of that one piece you did with Faux putting on the Cyberhead esp what u put in the tags abt the idea that Faux comes back as Red postgame. I usually go with the theory/HC that an ai was made for red but your idea is super interesting.

like it would make sense for Faux to go by Red now bc outside of the law/police force the BRC, DJ Cyber/Futurism and the other rival crews most likely hate his guts now ( along with like the civilians that had to witness the events of the storymode ) i'd love to learn more abt this au/headcanon btw!

eyyy! i also share the hc that red comes back with an ai, its pretty neat! i kinda swap between the red ai hc and the red!faux one to be honest

i started thinking more about faux and just his overall situation and read waaay too deep into his character/actions so i became this while thinking about the hc/au

ill slap it under a readmore, unsure if its considered spoilers but it is post-game

so the idea is that after the game escher finds faux's head/body and put him back together. the two talk it out, and he gives faux the option to start new, much like how he did with red earlier in the game. knowing this is his last chance to finally get rid of his roots; to finally get away from the police, he takes it.

knowing that everyone hates him or is after him he dons a fake cyberhead from escher and starts a new identity. he hides away from everyone and never talks, not wanting to get close to anyone and be betrayed again (or to get involved with others, he doesnt need another target on his back). he slowly changes into a person who enjoys being a writer for the sake of it again like he used to, the chains of his past slowly coming off of him.

does he end up running into BRC or the other gangs later on? possibly, im unsure on how that would play out, although he might be given a chance if he seemed genuine in wanting to/has changed. (thats assuming they figure out its faux in the first place)

[chitinleg]

so if someone was theoretically going to write a fic based off of the tags on that one very excellent garashir artwork you did... what would be a suitable villain role and/or scheme for garak to play? i know basically nothing about spy media and even less about james bond. i googled "most homoerotic james bond villain" and that was interesting but not helpful for this scenario... idk i want to really do this justice so i figured i could ask, since you came up with the idea in the first place and i guess that means this is a gift for you? and everyone else who liked that piece? thank you for your time :)

this is SUCH a charming question to receive!!! it's an honor that my art might inspire others to create! that said, here is my advice: i think you should follow your heart, mainly! i say this to everyone about everything but its very true, with writing especially, i think, you might want to write things that are especially interesting to you so that its exciting to keep going with them

personally, i don't watch a lot of spy media, i disliked james bond as a kid and i still dislike him now, so the character archetypes and plots from that wouldn't interest me enough to write a fanfic off of—i could read ds9 fic based off of them easily bc i love the ds9 characters!!! but. i couldn't write like that. therefore, i can't give you useful answers from that canon. i can give you this, but i don't know if it will be helpful: i think i would first start with the question—what about garak excites you? what puts you on the edge of your seat with him? what about julian—what actions do you like to see him take? what decisions of his make you giddy? how do you like to dig into his character? how do you like to dig into garak's? if you write down the answers to your question, it becomes the puzzle of how you can get everything you want out of the fic. the beautiful thing about the holosuite is that anything can happen at all, and while you're telling a spy story, it doesn't have to all be spy tropes. you could, if you wanted, play out a shakespeare play (your favorite shakespeare play, assuming you don't hate them all) as if it were a spy thriller! Sure, what's Twelfth Night as a spy thriller? We already have many characters playing with the fluidity of identity, going by different names, taking on different roles, gaining trust and acting on their own best interests. Just raise the stakes a little. is this insane? i feel insane. is it worth anything? i hope so. my ending point is: i am not so good at writing advice! i'm a much better drawer than a worder, but it's a gift already that you've said my art has motivated your desire to create!!!!!!!!! from there on—don't worry about what i want at all, don't worry about doing my work justice!!! take what excites you about the idea, take what excites you from your own ideas, and build it into something that makes you giddy to work on!!! i believe in you, and you have the world at your fingertips!!!!!!

[abimee]

For what it's worth, I've been following you for a few years and I do think your skills as an artist have grown. You've seem to get more confident in the way you build the human body and face, your coloring has gotten more complex, and in general I feel like I've watched you settle more and more into a defined and unique art style.

I know it can be frustrating to not see the growth or changes you want but it does break my heart to see you be so harsh on yourself. I think you're genuinely extremely skilled and I always looked up to you as an artist, even when I was going through art school myself. I feel like you have a way of capturing people that's just so emotional and lovely and I want to see more of it in my own art, though I've been struggling to capture the same vibes too...

It's also never too late to pick up or try out something new, to find new skills or return to old ones. I loved the fics you posted, your prose is wonderful, and the way you speak about your characters is so thoughtful. It does hurt to feel like you've lost out on the time to do something, but please don't give up completely. I think you have a lot of genuine skill and talent and it'd be lovely to see you take it in any direction. Regardless of where the future takes you, I hope you have a nice day.

THANK YOU.... THAT MEANS A LOT TO ME TO HEAR.....

ive been like, trying to mull it over in my head because sometimes what i think is one way might sometimes morph into another and idk i dont think its its a dislike for my own art but like a sort of external critic ive decided to consume thats trying to sway me one way. i hate to be like ''the support i got on my art when i was younger was sort of really bad for me'' but maybe the years of being pushed To be an artist by adults and people around me saying they like my art only when its X or Y thing has like made me prey to feeling like im drawing not for myself. like i failed the expectations put on me and i dont have the chance to ''re-do''

maybe i just need to like reconsider what i like drawing or try smthn new that isnt like. hinged on this idea in my head that i need to keep peoples attention or what support i have because like. thats another fear is always like ''what if all these people who say they like my art one day just stop and im left alone'' but thats a different plate of cookies for a different glass of milk. i think i just need to figure out what I personally want out of my art and stop hinging everything on years-old circumstances

but then at the same time i dont really have any idea what i would want to do differently, i really like what i draw now but idk maybe theres something else for me in some way. i think im worried of just alienating people so used to one thing from me that changing that will just feel wrong. not really in like art style or anything but just like What i draw. i feel like ive always kept to the same concepts and ideas and imagrey that changing it will be strange or worse. but maybe i do just have to make that chance and not be so scared 😞

[autumnblooms]

would you ever write fics to accompany your art?

I don’t know if I’d ever write full fics, maybe some drabbles, but I’m not much of a writer. I get vague ideas or scenes in my head and that’s what I draw, but I haven’t had the brain power lately for long pieces of writing.

However, the wonderful @mac-and-thefox and I have been working on a Mountain/Dew angst fic called “Strong for Somebody Else” and if you go through the Midwest emo ghouls au tag on my blog there’s like one or two drabbles I added there along with some art I did. That amazing au belongs to @herbal-quintessence though, so check out what they’ve been writing!

[emily-mooon]

POV: You ship Stacey and Young Neil together and want to read a fic for them

AO3:

One fic, they are also a side pairing (that hasn’t even shown up yet!)

FF.Net:

Around seven or more fics for them. All are from the early 2010s, haven’t updated in years, and all vary in quality

Wattpad:

You went here to see if there was something for them that’s recent and you found nothing. Low key a waste of your time, but it was worth a shot

You immediately run back to the one palatable fic on FF.Net cause it’s better than nothing, and checking each of their character tags on AO3 to see if someone posted something for them (spoiler no one has)

[rosicheeks]

i do not know if i ever sent this to you. i have posted it. i hope you like it Princess.

[ni-kol-koru]

this is transmasckagami - I was definitely talking about you :)))) I love how shiny and polished your art looks. The colors are fantastic and the care and attention you put into everyone’s eyes is something I really enjoy and try to incorporate in my own art :)))))))

This is genuinely the sweetest and best thing I have ever heard, you actually made me tear up ahhh!! 🧡🌟 I am kind of at a loss of words! Thank you so so so much, it means so much to hear something like this! I am reading your message over and over again, I don't know how to explain how grateful and happy and proud I am feeling right now! 🥲

I am just so happy that my art inspired you so much that you want to incorporate some of its elements into your own art,, like, that is literally the best compliment that an artist can ever get!? You just made my day so much better ahhh! Thank you so much for this message, thank you thank you thank you 🧡🌟