#the first one is based on how i posed my figures of them once

[te4k3ttle]

Collection of wips I've been meaning to finish for months but never got to it so they're getting posted as they are

[meanbossart]

Oh boy, VaM is kind of a trial and error experience LOL I couldn't really show you how to use the interface and stuff without a whole video or something, but it's not THAT difficult to get a hang of if you just give yourself a day or two to play around, not to mention the number of tutorials you find out there. Luckily, if you only want to use it as a reference software that makes the process far easier (to this day I have no idea how to animate on that thing, since that's not what I use it for)

As for how I use it, it's pretty self explanatory - if there's a complicated pose I want to draw but I'm either having trouble with it, or just want to double-check angles/anatomy, I will use it as a resource! I use for most of my "proper" pieces (y'know, the nicer looking ones) and every once in a while for my silly comics if I'm having trouble with a pose.

Lets use this drawing for example (the character on top of DU drow belongs to @namespara )

I don't draw a lot of mud-wrestling (shocking, I know) but I had an idea of the kind of pose I wanted them to be in. So the very first thing I did was make a rough sketch of what I was envisioning:

I often do a rough sketch first, even If I know I'm going to be pulling the program up because A) It's less tedious than adjusting the models over and over again until I pick a pose and B) because sometimes I'll decide I don't need the reference, after all, and so that's 30 minutes I'll have spared myself of playing around on the software.

Now, this is a pretty complicated pose! It's in a weird angle and the bodies are making contact in ways I'm not used to depicting, so I did choose to whip out VaM for this one. I went into the program and after some messing around, I flopped my little dolls together like this:

Now something really cool about VaM is that you can completely customize your models, and if you have the patience, I would definitely encourage you to do so! Obviously, you don't have to make picture perfect replicas of every single character you have, but as you can see here I have made a DU drow "decoy" to help me better understand some of his features when I draw him: he has a strong brow, a short nose, a square jawline - these are all going to look a very specific way from certain angles, and I might not always be sure of how to draw it right! So it's useful to have models that bear SOME semblance to the character so you can better understand how different viewpoints will affect their bone structure and mass.

Also thank fucking god for the elf-ear slider. Figuring out how to draw those shits from certain angles was a huge pain in the ass when I started drawing DnD races.

So, with the reference in hand, I go over the sketch again:

Now you may notice that I don't stick to the reference 100%. There's three reasons for this:

posing on VaM is tedious as hell. You can get something incredibly natural looking and picture-perfect to reference from if you wish, but it's going to take you hours to do. So, for the most part I just slap guys together until the results are "close enough" and use that.

In my opinion, you should always aim to ENHANCE your reference material, not replicate it exactly!

While VaM is a PRETTY DANG GOOD source of anatomical reference, it isn't perfect, I often supplement it with further reference from real life resources or make tweaks based on my own knowledge where I catch it falling short (and, antithetical to what I just said, I sometimes fuck the anatomy up further on purpose if I think it looks better that way LOL it's all jazz baby).

Then lines, color, yada yada. I don't have a tutorial on that and I don't think I could make one, because my process is chaotic as hell, but I do at times use Virt-a-mate as loose reference for lighting too when coloring - waaaaayyyy less so however, because that process is even more tedious and I feel like I often get better results by just winging it. It is a feature of the program though, and I'm sure it would be helpful for someone who has a difficult time visualizing lights and shadows. I only started using this program a few months ago, so I happened to already have a pretty good understanding of that kind of thing and just don't personally feel like I get much out of that particular mechanic.

Here's a few other examples of pieces that I made reference for (WARNING: Suggestive)

Now, for the question many of you may want to ask:

"Can I trace this junk?"

And to that, I say: Buddy, you can do whatever the hell you want with the reference material you created.

However,

If your goal is to learn and improve your art, and to recreate realistic proportions and anatomy from memory, tracing won't help you.

Developing your own style, your muscle memory, and personal technique will all be hindered by choosing to trace instead of drawing from observation, so I would encourage against it. Hell - even when tracing is employed as a technique, it's usually by high-skill realism & concept artists who are looking to either cut some corners, save time, or just double-check their own proportions in order to improve further - if you try tracing as a beginner, you will most definitely find the result to still look stiff and "off".

So trust me, there is so much more to be gained from drawing from observation. Make note of tangents, compare proportions, use all the elements of the picture to dictate where and how things should go - it will be a far more rewarding experience.

Hopefully this has been helpful! VaM is a really cheap program (you get it on the guys' patreon for I think 8 dollars, just google it!) and it's definitely been worth my money as an artist since I found it. Learning to use it can be a little intimidating at first glance, but as I said above you only really need a day plus one or two tutorials to get a hang of the interface.

A fair warning though, IT IS A SOFTWARE MADE FOR VIRTUAL SEX/ADULT ANIMATION So when looking it up expect to see a some spicy content.

[athanasius-symposium-of-writings]

Your Knight

-screaming in writing nov- 4k omg we going guys! Anyway here is a fic based on @/jackthepeeper's amazing art of richard ft his other form -feral sounds- LETS GOOOOOO

art links: one, two, three, final (nsft)

Edit Rating: Explicit | Warning: fauxcest (ty anon and sorry about tht), monster x human, power bottom!reader

“Good morning, Your Highness,” Richard greets you with a bow as you walk down the stairs in your night robe and yawn. “Rest well?”

You raise an eyebrow at him as he knows you slept late because of him. He and his insatiable needs that left you touching yourself in your room, the wall is the cruelest barrier between him and you. He has taken to sneaking his way over from his balcony to yours, an experienced jump over a small distance and he is on your balcony, the glass door slightly ajar for him.

Every night, Richard slips into his princess' room to be in her bed, to have you gripping the sheets and biting into your pillow so you do not make a sound— The servants know the unruly adopted children of the Sterlings are not so sibling-like. They have never been since Richard Sterling became part of this family.

Your daily recording of your days with your brother, as they told you to address the stranger, is written in your diary. Each strange thing you noticed was documented, you kept a close eye on him.

“Good morning, dear brother.” Waving him away once you reached the bottom of the stairs, “Are mother and father home?” Another yawn and this time you followed it up with a stretch. Richard's eyes go from head to toe taking in your body, the slight bounce of your breasts as you relax and groan in minor discomfort.

“No, they left for a holiday an hour ago.” He leans on the stair banister, “France this time, sister” A growing mischievous smirk on his pretty lips.

“Figures.” You shrug, “A bit of trouble and they go into hiding and leave us.” This is not the first time they left to let things simmer down but in doing so as you both got older, responsibilities fell onto you— Well, Richard as he is the boy here, but you do the work as you know well how to talk down the investors and gossiping ladies. “Must be bad if they are going to France…” Thinking out loud as you fold your arms over your chest and your finger tapping your chin.

“Fret not, princess!” Going over to you and taking your hand, “Let us use it as time for us to enjoy our freedom.” Kissing your knuckles.

You sigh, “I suppose that is all we can do.” Going to pull your hand away but he pulls you into his arms causing you to gasp as you nearly trip onto him. “Richard!” About to scold him for his actions.

“I smell us on you.” His nose is buried in the crook of your neck.

“Of course you do, your damn cum was still dripping down my legs this morning!” Whispering your words for maids and butlers not to overhear an intimate conversation. “Don't you be proud of yourself! I told you not to cum inside of me.”

“My deepest apologies,” You cover your mouth as he backs you against a wall, “Shall I clean my mess?” His hand tugged on the silk string of your robe.

You do not get a chance to speak as you push him off when one of the maids comes out of the door beside the wall, a cart of cleaning supplies before she can see what you both are doing. “Make sure you have a copy of our father's scheduled clients ready by brunch, brother.”

Oh, you are very cross with him if you are using that annoying title that holds no weight between you both.

It is a joke! This game of playing house when you both are not close nor related.

You look nothing like your adopted parents, a stolen child because they wanted a cute little girl to dress up.

Richard, who does favor their late son, though the mismatched eyes are different.

A fucked up family, you hate them yet you love Richard. He protects you… He is true to his oath to you as your knight.

A shapeshifter, from what the book said about them, usually are witches or limited to only turning into creatures. Yet, here is Richard posing as a replacement. You have long since given up trying to get rid of him as you feared he would eat your parents— He will when the time is right— But you have your hatred. Hatred for being stolen away, for your kidnappers to force your real parents to never send you letters, and for having Richard at first keep you on a leash with him.

You walk to the dining room as you are in a foul mood, there is work to be done, and Richard needs to focus on other responsibilities and not being at your feet like a dog. However, you do find comfort in his changed desire for you after he shows you how beneficial it is to be his princess. You are unsure where that idea came from but he was right… The clever creature knew you were smart enough to do your research on him, close to finding a way to kill him, you were doing it for yourself in fear.

The first order of the day is breakfast, return to your room to bathe last night you properly, get dressed in something comfortable and nice for outside brunch treats and then see about taking a nap before evening tea.

The first and second day you allow yourself a chance to relax, the quietness of the house a comfort… And Richard not having to sneak his way into your room is a bonus.

When you are in a very foul mood, you have Richard take you to your kidnappers’ bed for long hours as a twisted form of retaliation (he is all too pleased to give you a long night of heavy passion). Of course, the butler cleans the sheets after.

Breakfast is light, mostly fruits and freshly baked bread with butter.

Next, take a bath and you drag it out until your fingers are nearly pruned. Richard, damn him, the bite marks are not noticeable but there are so many! His fascination with your breasts and thighs was getting the worst of it.

Next, you go through your closet.

A blue dress? No. Pink? No, the season is fall. Oh, red is lovely. No, you aren't in the mood to look too fancy. Your eyes then drift to another dress you touch with great care. Richard bought you this after posing as you to see your parents in secret. Mother, your real mother, picked this out for you. Richard had bought it without your mother knowing the money she gave him wasn't enough. The money was used to pay off the debt at the local store that was kind enough to let your parents use credit, they always paid as much as possible at the end of the month before the next month's rent.

This is a dress you find pretty and you will wear it when the Sterlings fall at your feet.

You choose the blue dress.

The gardens are well known to you for three reasons.

Tea time, hiding, and now Richard.

Looking at him while reading some of the paperwork he found left behind by the shared father. There are two sets of schedules he keeps, one for public clients and one for private clients.

Private clients’ schedule list was taken with him to France meaning business will go on as usual but not in England. So it seems the holiday is a business trip.

Your eyes are taking in the sight of your knight's body, the style of clothing he has not changed much from during the shared childhood here.

You try not to think about how many childhoods this creature has had over the years of its life, shapeshifters are an odd bunch with little information about them due to being masters of deception.

“Do you truly love me, knight?” You had not meant to say it out loud while leaning your arm on the table and using your hand to hold your face up, “Will you not eat me when the time comes to move on?” Your eyes are not on his face, you rather listen to lies of comfort right now.

“Of course, not, princess.” You wonder if he truly can experience love or grief, maybe he mimics it like he does with faces. “I am bound by my oath to you, I will protect and adore you, your highness.”

You hum as your other hand traces the rim of your teacup with mild interest, “Would you kill for me?”

“Yes, of course, I will.” No hesitation as he has killed for you in order to keep you safe, he will not fail you. Such loyalty, fierce and unwavering, has you question him; nothing in life is free.

“Hmm,” Looking out to the garden, a quiet morning with singing birds and the warm glow of the sun, and the beautiful creature who dares to appear concerned for you. “Richard.”

“Yes, my princess?”

“Strip for me.”

That must have eased him as he moved from standing by your side to sitting on the chair to have your view of the bushes cut off by him.

“Shall I give you a show, my princess?”

You look at him with a coy smile, “Of course. Slowly.”

He has done this before, and many times this has caught your attention. First opening his legs to give a full view of what you soon will be revealed, oh you know well what is underneath those clothes— You bite down on the corner of your lips as he removes his vest placing it on the clear side of the table. Smoothly with practiced skill, he slips out of the chair posing playfully as a gentle breeze blows the petals of flowers past him.

You can't help but laugh at how dramatic that looked.

Next, he unbuttons his shirt, eyes locked on you, he leaves it open as he slips off the sash, the sound fabric slipping off and you lean back in the chair as he tosses it to you and you catch it.

When he sits back down with a smirk on his face as sees you shift in your seat, next are his trousers and calf-high boots. His bare hand slides up his chest as he lets out an exaggerated moan, “Princess, shall I take you here?” When he stands leaning on the table to let his shirt slip off his shoulder, you reach out your hand for him to take and kiss the back of your hand. You grin as you get up and walk around the small tea table over to him, he stands at attention, “Shirt.”

Letting go of your hand, he turns around and one sleeve falls off his arm then another, Richard looking behind him when your hand touches the center of his back. “Princess.”

“Now you are going to be a good knight and go to my room,” Kissing his shoulder, “You are to be ready for me once I finish my tea.”

“Like this?”

“Just like this,” Your hand slid down his back then around to cup his hardening cock, “That is my order,” You want him to suffer a little, “Sir Richard.” Your other hand takes his shirt out of his hands as he shivers in delight.

“As you wish, Your Highness.” This is all part of the game.

You release him after giving him a good squeeze on his cock, the breathy moan of your name has you grinning. You are enjoying watching him walk away, he will have to find a creative way to get to your room without the servants finding him.

Then your expression goes neutral, “Agatha,” The old woman appears from behind the rose bushes.

“Yes, miss?” Agatha is the only maid, the head maid, you trust. She would help you sneak out to see your family before Richard came along. She is an old woman, who used to be a wet nurse too for the original children of the Sterlings before they went missing (a secret they were murdered).

You touch your heart, “I fear you were right about my heart.”

“Love is a powerful force, miss.” She says, “Shapeshifters are masters of drawing all types of emotions from us. It is in their nature.” The old woman had been the one to guard you as best she could from the strange man. Listening to you ramble about his behaviors and connecting him to the creature you read about from a book you bought from an oddities shop.

The truth did not get you killed, the truth got you loyalty in a house of wolves

“Did you find… What we discussed?”

“Yes, as well as I found a way to make it tasteless.”

“Good,” You sigh with a small smile on your face, “He will be my end, his hunger will kill me but my love for him will haunt him.” Looking up at your balcony, “Forever until death brings him to me.”

Agatha nods, “I pray your heart captures his before this happens, miss.”

You chuckle, “Of course.” Taking the teacup to finish it, “My thanks, Agatha. Please, take the day off if you wish.”

She bows as you gather Richard’s belongings and go inside to meet him in your room.

Though you do not enter your room immediately, you listen to him touching himself for a good minute or five through the door. Giddy as he sounds desperate for you.

The creek of your door opening didn't stop him from touching his cock, nor did the sound of his clothes dropping to the floor stop him from saying your name, but he did stop to watch you remove your dress.

Only your dress.

Oh, the gem he found in this place is dazzling. What fools they are to always leave him alone with you, it is their fault the precious daughter found love in her brother. Richard is going to laugh in their faces when he devours them!

The consequences they reap are a product of their foolishness and greed, parents are so easy to manipulate to care for the parasite they willingly adopted.

Richard is quite happy here as he found his golden ticket, he enjoyed being given a life of luxury before killing his adopted parents. Richard, the current name he is using, found shaping himself to appear similar to a missing or dead child of a family, getting him targets faster.

He is enjoying the benefits of riches until they run out, then he will destroy everything to cover his tracks before starting all over again. A perfect cycle.

“Come now, princess,” His plan however has a minor complication, though he likes surprises, “Enough teasing,” There is always the chance of a clever human seeing past his facade, “Making your knight strip all the way…” On the bed on full display for his princess to see. This is your bedroom, your sanctuary, he knows this room like the back of his hand. “It's your turn.” Begging to be granted the affection of one moral he found himself attached to.

Crawling on the bed has him twitching, you are so beautiful and deadly as a lioness.

You shake your head, “Not yet,” Kissing his cheek, “I want you to show me your devotion.” Your hand wanders his defined chest. “Do this for your princess.”

He groans as the hand on his already hard, pre cum dripping, cock starts moving at a slow pace. He wraps his arm around you as you push him against the headboards of your bed, a sharp intake of air when you bite his nipple before licking it to soothe it.

“How cruel you are, my— Agh!” You stop him mid-sentence by biting his neck, a good hard bite on the spot that makes him feel claimed. “Princess.”

“Richard, faster. Move your hand the way I do.”

“But,” If he does then he won't last long and he rather cum within the princess of his desire, “Please.” Richard knows he can simply talk his way between your legs, taste you until your mind is fuzzy, and then give you his cock. To live the fantasy of breeding a human to make more like him, to keep you forever in this fairytale illusion; you are his to keep like a dragon with his hoard.

“Is my knight denying me what I desire of him,” Words whispered into his ear, “Is my order too much for him?” Your hand goes down his naval, fingers brushing against his tamed bush of hair, his cock twitching as your fingers slide over his fingers and cock.

“N-not ah all! An-Anything you wish of me is ah yours.” Long ago he would not give you this power over him, his vice of control demanded you to behave how he saw a princess. As time went on, he found you far more willing to betray your adopted parents (both parents could not have more children and they wanted a daughter); where he enjoyed the caged benefits, you wanted freedom from those who stole you from your parents.

“Good boy.” Licking the shell of his ear before biting it, “You are so beautiful.” You moan, “Part your legs a bit wider.” He nods as he loses himself to the very drug he used on you, lust. You hush his whine when your hand moves away, then he groans when you sit on his thigh so he can feel how wet you are, “Richard.” Moaning his name as you rock your hips to grind yourself on his thigh. His eyes lock onto the sight of you, the underlings are damningly blocking his view yet adds to the scene. Your breasts bubbling over the corset you are wearing, your petticoat skirt spread out over his leg, your hands on his shoulders as leverage.

“(Name),” He wants to rip everything off of you and sink himself deep within your quim already! “Princess, please.”

“Not yet,” You say between moans, “Let me see you fall apart.” Wrapping your arms around his neck, the hand around your waist grabs your ass through the underskirt, his growling as you kiss him. You open your mouth allowing him to slip his tongue into your mouth.

The shared taste of sweets from brunch is because your knight can never say no to an opportunity to make you smile.

Anything for his princess.

His hand goes behind your head, fingers in your hair before a sharp grip, he always wants more, always more— Devour you whole so you may never part from him. You try pushing him back to breathe but he is relentless in kissing you. Richard only pulls away to bury his face in your breast as he cums all over his hand and stomach. The tremble of his body, sharp rip of fabric as the hand on your ass grows out his claws, you hiss as his fangs bite into the top of one of your breasts; you pump his cock as he tried to stop himself from cumming too much by squeezing the base of his cock.

“Stop,” Growling his want, “I need to—”

“What you need to do is please your princess.” So close, you want to cum but you need him to stop holding back. Sharp gold and red eyes look up at you, you know he is fighting to retain his visual of Richard Sterling.

“Richard!” Pinning you down on the bed with your petticoat torn off and tossed away, “Ah!” Diving between your legs not caring as you pull his hair trying to gain your control back. Instead, your hands go to your pillow and sheets as he returns the favor with his tongue.

Longer, you can feel it deep with your cunt— He is losing his shape all because of you. There is pride in that.

Your thighs squeeze against your chest, feet curved and toes curling in your shoes, you cannot keep your voice down, “Richard, Richard, Richard!” Chanting his name over and over, your hair ruined from how much you have been tossing and turning.

Richard grins when he tastes your essence spill into his awaiting mouth, drinking you as if you are made of ambrosia, consuming you until you are whimpering his name. He is out of breath, “Allow me to be inside of you once more.” Sitting up as he keeps your legs pinned down thus you as well.

You nod your head quickly.

“Say it, confess it.”

“Richard,” You are a mess, a mess in love with this monster. His eyes are still mismatched with one is gold and the other red, his hair white with the tips red like fire, his skin paler, and you want him to consume you so you never part from him. “Take me, I need you, my beloved knight.”

And he does.

The shared moan of his cock sinking into your hot cunt, the way you have become home to him. You feel complete, he is your missing half the Gods divided and had you seek out. Romantically you both believe your hearts are in sync in this moment before the high of lust demands movements.

“I love you!” Said midst of you cumming as Richard is merciless, he let himself be consumed by desire, “Richard, more!” It will never be enough, you will never have enough of him, and that should make you hate the monster. 

A monster you can see the beauty of as your hands hold his shoulders, where some of his red scales are exposed. You have seen them a handful of times, mostly when he was shedding, you find them pretty like rubies.

“I love you, (Name).” The cruelest poison, it is as thick and sweet as honey, you swallow it without a second thought. Yet, the creature means it— Repeats it over and over as he changes positions to you lying on your side. One leg on the bed bent towards your chest and the other over his shoulder. One hand is on your leg while the other is rubbing your sensitive clit.

Both cumming again.

“My princess,” He groans as the position is changed again to you on all fours, hands gripping the top of your headboard, his hands on your waist as he fucks you from behind, “Just a bit more, hold on for me.” He isn't done yet as his stamina is a blessing and a curse in these moments.

The next position is one you begged for, the scene outside changing as the sun is now high in the sky, you do not want to stop. You want to keep going to forget everything painful and just stay in the illusion Richard created, be only the princess and her faithful knight.

“Richard, cum, please!” You are on his lap as he holds you, his mouth on your chest and hands on your ass to help you bounce on his cock. “I need it,” Drunk on sex makes it easier to expose parts of your yearning heart, “I want your bastard,” Sobbing as you are so close again, “You can't leave me. I won't let you.”

Richard stops you moving and pulls back to see his weeping princess, glowing from sex and her heart bare for him to see, “I will never abandon you.” He is serious as his hands touch your face as you choke out whimpers and shake your head, “My sweet princess.” Kissing your tears away, tears because though he can cum inside of you as many times as he wishes… Shapeshifters can't impregnate a human.

“I love you.” You want to believe him, he wants you to believe him.

“Show me,” Glossy eyes on his face, “Show me everything you are.” The highest form of trust to show the monster she once feared and now loves, a monster you have in your bed every night. Richard lays you down as he pulls out of you, kissing your hand as he wants you to see him completely. You place your hands over your stomach, your overused cunt leaking out the generous amount of cum he released inside of you, your eyes locked on him as sheds the final part of his false approach.

The face and body remain the same as he modeled himself into the persona of the dead son of the Sterlings, but you can see the differences between the creature and pictures of the dead son (the few that remain untouched by the knight). The decorative scales on his arms and parts of his chest, a tail that wraps your chest, and when he takes your hand to feel his cock— The barbs are different and you know it is going to be a very interesting sensation. The black tendrils leak the sticky substance of cum, there are others within the parted skin— The ungentle reminder you are bedding a monster— You find him to be the most fascinating thing in your life.

“You are the first to see this.” Groaning as you sit up and start exploring him with your mouth and hands, “Are you not—” Surprised at how you kiss him and eagerly explore him.

“Richard, if you ever think I would find you hideous, I will tie you to this bed and ride you.”

“Careful, princess, such a promise might not work in your favor.”

“I believe it will. After all, I know how to handle my knight's sword quite well.” Kissing his nose as he lets out groans as you make your point with his cock, the main tendril that has a barb-like base. “You are going to take me as if you can breed me, understand?”

“Of course, how beautiful you would be carrying our child.” A fantasy he can play into.

You appreciate him going slow but it makes the feeling of his size and barbs nearly too much, your nails scratching deep into his skin close to cutting it, he whispers the sweetest of praises and amazement at how well you are taking him. The idea of having him take you like this all the time is brought up though realistically he can't, the risk of being caught both as your brother and a monster would not end for either of you.

You cling to him desperately as the kiss shared between seals your fate to him as it did many years ago.

It is late afternoon now, Richard is awake with his fingers playing with your hair. His eyes looking up at the ceiling, you are sleeping on him sharing your warmth with him. His eyes will glance over at you from time to time, enjoying the peace sleep gives you; though his eyes would drift to your neck to where the fresh marks you will have to hide with a high collar.

The knight kisses your forehead before going back to thinking… The end will come soon.

Upon their return from holiday, these loving parents have arrangements to meet a matchmaker to marry you off. A young woman at your age is perfect and the family has already set their eyes on a young man from a family friend.

Richard met him once, he is an idiot. Perfect for them to use you to control the idiot. They believe they can simply ship you off, to take away the princess from her knight. You have no idea about this, Richard aims to keep it that way until the time is right.

Soon.

Soon you will be free and he will remain by your side until the end.

[prostocupoftea]

Kinitopet Programmers AU

finally i am finished with this one, daaaamn

it is hard to draw pathetic men with midlife crisis when your style is mostly for anime boys

more info and sketch version under the cut!!

sketch version aka how it'll probably look like in comic version 'n some doodles

srry for my writing but i was too laisy to put it as regular text

It is a plot-based au, i already have most of the storybits and like... a vibe-chart (i tried to make a playlist for this au and understood that for different chapters and different characters that'd be a copleatly different music, sooo it's a chart now :) )

i will post a fog-o-wared timeline that im hopefully gonna reveal comic-by comic, but also maybe with just pure writing. Hopefully i can include songs that i chose for them into it but we'll see (:

aaand of course designs can change, hopefully not much but we'll see

Now about au:

Main story:

Story follows non-sentient AI Kinito, his creator Sonny and his beta-tester Victoria (oc)

Being literally the first AI (or RRA in-univere) ever, Kinito does not have any, and i mean, any ai safety features so of course his reponce to a goal phrased as "have user near me and/or interacting with me as much as possible" is digitizing them into his own virtual world while killing them in the process. why wouldn't it be?

So that happened. Like, a lot. And with Sonny and Vic too (at the different time but yeah)

Sonny is like "He kills people. We should turn him off because, you know, killing people is bad."

Vic is like "well, we will die if we do that, and it is not that bad here, we are kinda immortal. We should give him acces to changing his initial instalation code before admin priveleges and acces to social media so we can have everythin we want here. It is not that bad to digitize humanity, yk?" and yes i know it is 90, no social media, but shut up, if they made ai then, then i can make twitter then too

Sonny is like "...no??"

And then they fight about it for million chapters

Also they both can't do anything without agreeing bc they have two parts of that admin access key (the data you use to delete kinito in-game) so they are stuck with eachother (also that's why Kinito can't just kill them)

Little facts that may or may not to be important:

Kinito asks so many questions (and weird once too) and has most of the glitches because he needs to analise your responces to copy your mind perfectly (let's pretend that people wouldn't lie about that...)

Your house in your virtual world is made from important places from your memories and oh boy can i do character explorations with this one

I decided that Sonny and Vic are not related. There were thoughts about making then "The Kinito Brothers" (or, at least, siblings) that were mentioned in commercial, but nah, they are just coworkers now. And a bit of work-friends (bc if you interact a lot as a manager of the project and the best worker might as well be friendly)

Author has no idea how small dying toy companies that accidentally create technological marvel work. Author has some idea how AI-s work. So be prepared to be spoon-fed info abut which ai safety problem we are dealing with in which chapter (:

Kinito will mostly be unrendered (as drawn here) but for some cool moments i might pose him as for my other posts. Also his eye placement changes to the side that is most visible because i want him to be able to look to the right side sometimes--

Also when i say "fucked up mentally" i mean they have that them psychological problems with me projecting heavilly B) (guess on who i project most. trick question. all of them. the whole au is my problems split into three characters and forced to interact B) )

Also sea-creature analogies (that are gonna be mentioned like twice):

Victoria is a flying fish because deep character reasons

Sonny is a pufferfish because i said so

oh also there is 7 deaths in the plot as for now

on 3 characters

good luck figuring out who, how and when ((:

for my own sanity i will probably make little doodles where everything is great and kinito is a good guy and not a number-obsessed maniac (i mean... can u imagine not being able to feel any happiness from anything besides one thing... damn...) and you can differenciate them bc good-guy kinito will have a lot of stickers on him (i will explain it somehow but real reason is just bc it is cute af)

like this but even more stickers (he is unfinished here)

[slayfics]

Kai has you sale bullets.

Warnings: violence, blood, AFAB reader

1.3k words

The sound of the car hummed. A few heads turned to glance at the all-blacked-out car. A dark tint that was surely past legal.

You watched the buildings pass as the driver turned down an alleyway. You and Kai sat in the back, a briefcase between you both.

"You understand the plan?" Kai asked gold eyes sliding over to you.

You nodded, as the car came to a stop.

"Good tell me," He urged.

"You want me to sell the prototype bullets to these guys, make sure it's the correct amount of money, then come back," you answered, fidgeting in your seat re-adjusting your much too tightly fitting dress.

"Emphasis on the sell, make sure they understand the true potential of what we're offering them. These bunch aren't too savory, so you'll need to be stern," he added.

"If that's true, should I be going in alone?" You asked, feeling the unease kick in. It was your first official sale and you wanted to believe Kai wouldn't put you in a potentially dangerous situation, yet your hands still shake.

"If I hear any unnecessary ruckus I'll come in," he spoke attempting to soothe your nerves. "Besides, it makes a better statement if it's only you. Shows our buyers we pose no threat to them, and we are confident in our product." He concluded.

You nodded and took a deep breath. Uneasily grabbing the suitcase.

"I'll be right here," he reassured you once more.

You gave him a faint smile before leaving the comfort of the car. The alleyway door was cold and grimy. It didn't look like the base for some dangerous villains, but you figured that was the point.

The door opened to a long dark hallway with a dim light at the end. You strode down the hallway attempting to have your strides sound as confident as possible, the sound of your heels echoing loudly.

Following the dim light, the hallway opened up to a plain room. It became clear this wasn't the real base for this group. Just a safe meeting point they had decided upon. Information you noted to inform Kai about later.

The room had one large table that five men were sitting around, one dressed in a vest lazily on top of the table feet dangling as his eyes widened at the sight of you.

The man who sat at the head of the table let out an amused laugh, "I didn't know the Yakuza had any women working for them," he commented. You recognized this man to be the leader of this group.

"Damn you aren't bad looking either," The man in the vest said jumping off the table to move closer to you.

"As flattered as I am let's get down to business," you redirected the conversation.

"Alright then, exactly how much is this product?" The leader asked you.

"As my boss probably already explained, these bullets eliminate quirks. To date there hasn't been anything else that's-," You began your sales pitch before getting cut off.

"Save me the speech, just tell me the price sweetheart," the leader pressured.

"First time it's 5 million Yen a bullet," you spoke, opening the suitcase to display the bullets inside.

"Wow, no wonder he sent beautiful women to give that news." the leader mused.

"For that price do you come with them?" The man wearing the vest asked stalking closer to you.

You attempted to keep your stance firm, but you couldn't help the way your legs trembled. It was painfully obvious to you that you were outnumbered in this room. It wouldn't be unimaginable that the men would gang up on you.

Kai wouldn't let that happen though, right?

"If you can't afford our product, what makes you think you can afford me?" You hissed back at the man drawing closer to you.

The man's face flashed with anger as he reached out to grab your face in his hands, fingers pressed firmly into your cheeks he directed you to look him in the eyes, "Do you talk back to Overhaul like that?"

"Careful," his leader called out to him. "Overhaul has a distaste for germs, he's not going to like you touching his things."

"Thing about germs hu? No wonder you look so scared. Not used to being touched, are you?" The man taunted further squeezing your cheeks tighter. "That's a pity that he doesn't enjoy you to your fullest potential."

Reaching your limit, you struck the man across the face with the back of your hand. The man stumbled back hitting against the wall. Your slap and the man thudding against the wall echoed down the hallway.

Loud enough for Kai to hear in the quiet alleyway, you thought. Yet the man was looking up at you with venom in his eyes now and Kai wasn't coming. Your blood ran cold.

Were you just another disposable pawn to Kai?

"Fucking bitch doesn't he teach you how to behave," the man barked, heavy hand coming up to slam your head against the table.

The commotion was now undoubtedly audible from the alleyway, but no intervention from Kai came.

Head pressed against the table the man continued to spew insults at you. Making a quick decision you grabbed one of the bullets from the suitcase and jammed it into his hand. Enough pressure that the quirk-eliminating effect was activated.

"The hell!?" The man exclaimed, stepping backward and freeing you from his grasp. Pulling the bullet out of his hand he began to panic. "My quirk won't activate!" he yelled and looked at his leader.

His leader simply shrugged, "I told you not to touch Overhaul's things. We'll take five of those sweetheart," he said sliding another suitcase across the table to you. "And make sure to extend my apologies to Overhaul for your head." The leader said noting the blood that now dripped down your forehead.

You opened the suitcase ensuring the correct amount was inside before leaving five bullets on the table, and scoffed, "No need to apologize, my head is exceptional." Giving a wink you turned to stride back down the hallway.

Hand gripped so tight on the suitcase your knuckles were white. Just hold it together for a few more moments, you told yourself.

Entering back into the car, a flood of emotions rushed over you.

Kai took one glance at the blood dripping down your forehead and scooted away, "You look filthy," he commented.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO COME FOR ME!" You yelled, the pent-up emotions flying out. The gravity of the situation you had just been put in crashed down on you.

"Stay on that side," he instructed, disgust on his face from your open wound.

But his comment was drowned out by your panic state, "I SCREAMED! DIDN'T YOU HEAR?!" You yelled at him. "I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN KAI!" You cried, tears flowing down your face now.

"Quite down, and stay over there," he instructed once more.

"That man threatened me and what was I supposed to do- there were five of them!" you gulped.

Unmoved by your fear and the situation he had set you up to be in Kai removed the glove from his hand, swiftly pressing his hand over your mouth silencing you. You felt a pain that could only be described as every cell in your body being on fire.

"Do I need to remind you of your place?" he asked calmly.

Eyes widened, panic re-setting in, the reality of death set on your chest. You shook your head no, silent tears now running from your eyes trickled down Kai's hand.

You were just a pawn.

A pretty salesman.

In too deep to run away now.

sinners: @mintsbubbletea @lalachanya @unofficialmuilover @starieq @that-one-fangirl69

[writingquestionsanswered]

hi! me and my co-writer ans in the planning phase. we dont how to end out story. its an abrupt ending, when tension an high and we dont know how to pick that moment or how to create that moment. thanks!

Stuck on Cliffhanger Ending

Even if your story has a cliffhanger ending, the story still needs to follow basic story structure:

Through the setup and rising action, you make numerous promises to your reader by laying out threads and posing questions. The climax and falling action should resolve the main conflict, and the resolution allows you to tie up most of those loose threads and answer most of those unanswered questions.

Cliffhanger endings happen during the denouement, at a crucial moment when a significant question or plot component is about to be resolved. Again, you want the main conflict to be resolved and most of the loose threads to be tied up, but this particular unresolved component will be something that won't ruin the story if it isn't answered right now (or ever). Usually, the answer is just about the be revealed when something surprising, shocking, or suspenseful happens to interrupt it. To figure out a good cliffhanger moment in your story, you first have to figure out your purpose in having a cliffhanger. Are you trying to draw the reader into reading the next book? Or are you simply trying to end with a gut punch?

If you’re just looking for a gut punch (with or without a coming sequel), look for an unanswered question that doesn’t need to be answered in order for the story to be resolved. For example, maybe one of the story’s many questions was the parentage of your orphaned protagonist. If the identity of the parents isn't crucial to understanding the story, and if you've already laid out options, you could have the character in the process of finding out when someone bursts through the doors and makes an important announcement. If you're going to have a sequel, it could be an announcement that sets up the conflict of the sequel... like that the antagonist they just vanquished has escaped the dungeon and taken refuge in the mountains. If you're not going to have a sequel, you would want it to be something that doesn't ignite a new story that will never be told. For example, maybe the protagonist is just about to open a book that reveals who their parents are, and then someone bursts in and says, "You've got visitors!" When the protagonist asks who it is, the character says, "Your parents..." Those are good gut punches. They'll leave your reader reeling, speculating, and wishing for more, but you're not leaving anything crucial unresolved.

Another example would be when your characters have spent the whole book fighting and triumphing over an alien invasion, and after all of the mourning, celebrating, and rebuilding, your character goes to bed one night, turns off the light, and hears the telltale hiss of one of the aliens. Again, GUT PUNCH! Is there really an alien left alive? Is it going to hurt or even kill the protagonist? Does this mean the fight’s not over? Does it mean the fight is really just beginning? There are lots of questions, but the answer could just as easily be, “It wasn’t really an alien, it was the wind. Or, it was the air conditioner turning on.” So, you’re not leaving the actual story unresolved. Your protagonist isn’t dangling off the edge of a building when the last sentence ends.

If you’re trying to draw the reader into reading the next book, you generally want to end with a new or re-stated question… and I don’t mean a question that you literally ask. I mean a question that the reader will ask themselves based on whatever you’ve laid out. For example, the reader might think, “The protagonist defeated the evil king in this battle, but the evil king is still out there. Will the protagonist be able to defeat them once and for all?” Or, it could be a new question that’s presented during the resolution. Like, maybe the protagonist defeated the antagonist in this big battle, but at the end, during the big celebration, a message is delivered to the protagonist letting them know the antagonist has struck again, in a new place this time. And your protagonist tells another character to gather the rest of the team. The reader is left with the question, “Where did the antagonist strike and what was the result? How will the protagonist respond? What will happen next?” Again, nothing of the main conflict is left unresolved. That’s a successful cliffhanger ending. :)

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[hauntedestheart]

Security Measures - Body Swaps

Entry 3 in the Security Measures series- the stories of a boy named Trevor as he attempts to protect his possession-prone boyfriend Andy from snatchers.

I speak from personal experience when I say that if the average person were to be interested in trying to snatch someone else's body, a body swap spell would generally be the most accessible method. For obvious reasons I won't be offering any pointers on how to find any, but they're out there and they can be very tempting.

While every spell I've come across is fairly complicated in terms of setup, the results of a body swap are reliable and pose less risk to the user than other methods of body snatching. It's simple math really- because possession begins with two souls and two bodies and aims to end with one soul and one body, compromises are made along the way which causes it to be messy and temporary. By comparison a swap is very tidy because every soul and body involved is accounted for, which means a well executed swap spell can last indefinitely without too many side effects.

(If you find a spell involving "fern seeds" do NOT use that one because that's the one that got us into this mess to begin with... it's tempting but trust me, it's trouble.)

I never quite know what I'm in for when a swap happens since, unlike ghosts and hoppers, it's impossible to really paint the motivations of ordinary humans with a broad brush. People will swap because they want to get out of their lives, but there are countless reasons someone would want that and thus countless ways they'll behave after they do it.

Maybe they're jealous of Andy and want to steal his life, so they study him and do their best to impersonate him. Maybe they want an escape from their old life and are trying to use his life as a way out, so they take his body and try to run off with it. Maybe they don't really have a plan and just want to be young and hung, consequences be damned! But it's always about them with no consideration to how poor Andy is going to feel about the situation, so no matter what their reasons are they get no sympathy for me.

I don't doubt that every guy would swap with Andy given the chance even if I hadn't accidentally cursed him to be vulnerable to it- he's a gorgeous, 6'2'' stud who spends a quarter of his week in the gym -but the same looks that cause Andy so much trouble are actually a big asset in these situations. Being such a dreamy hunk means every guy wants to be him BUT once they are him, they're usually so excited by the state of their new body that they get distracted by... well... by this point I'm sure you've figured out what their first thoughts are. While they play, it buys us some time to start working things out.

Andy will usually head for me with his new body right after a swap happens (tip: code phrases work!) but I can usually guess what the person who did the swap looked like even before Andy turns up in their body based off of what they're most excited about:

If the snatcher is obsessed with bouncing his pecs, their real body is usually skinny.

If they keep rubbing his abs, they were probably fat.

Younger guys are generally really impressed by his biceps and will spend a lot of time flexing and showing those off.

Older guys are the only ones who pay attention to his hair- although since Andy has afro-textured hair it does catch a lot of men off-guard if they aren't used to that.

If they spend more than fifteen seconds checking out his ass, they're gay, but straight guys are usually more concerned with what they're packing in the front.

The last guy to try swapping with my boyfriend was a classics professor who translated a spell during his research and tried to use it to relieve his youth in the body of one of his students... which, of course, wound up being Andy. The spell transformed them into each other and I can't lie, it was kind of cute to watch Andy whine about being old– he made me promise to never let him get that out of shape.

We found the professor stumbling around drunk off his ass at a frat party trying to grind on any girl that got close (which was gross considering he was actually old enough to be their father) and just generally behaving like a slimy old man hiding behind a handsome young face. I distinctly remember that he was wearing a bedsheet toga, so when he went to do a keg stand it slipped off him and everybody saw Andy's dick hanging out- the real Andy found that pretty mortifying.

(Given how often he's running around in various states of undress, everybody on campus just thinks that Andy is really free with his body... which is correct, but not in the way they think.)

That was actually a fairly easy swap to fix AND we got to blackmail him into changing Andy's grade in the class to an A, so I guess it all worked out. He didn't even get stuck with the hangover!

In general, swaps being easy to do also means they're easy to undo. A spell is specifically targeted so it's often someone we're at least acquainted with AND we get their face in the trade, which means we can retrace their steps and figure out what they did. Every spell has a loophole so while it can be tricky to meet the criteria sometimes, a little bit of savvy always pulls us through. At this point we've reversed so many of them it's just a matter of opening up our glossary and trying stuff until something sticks.

Speaking personally, Andy and I have mixed feelings on swaps: we both appreciate that he gets to be awake and in a body during these but the bodies he gets are usually... less than ideal. Let's just say that the people trying to borrow other people's bodies generally aren't the ones who are happy with their own.

Every single time Andy gets swapped, he asks me if I'd still be able to love him in his new body. I haven't said no yet- but his real body is my favorite, of course.

[tokiro07]

Ichi the Witch ch.6 thoughts

[Let's Goooo Alreadyyy!!!]

(Topics: direction - art/narrative progression, character analysis - Uroro, thematic analysis - truth and lies)

The Clothes Make the Manwitch

I think we're officially out of the groundwork phase, cus this chapter really wanted to get things moving along. I really felt Kumugi's plight as the rest of the cast zipped along through the different departments to get Ichi set up for his first official mission - I wanted to hang out and chat with those cute girls for a little bit!

And based on how they blushed at Ichi, I think they did too 👀

I think Usazaki was just showing off with those designs, honestly. Those girls were clearly incidental characters, one-offs who didn't even warrant getting names (heartbreaking...), but she still went ham on the details, conveying their personalities and tying them into their respective jobs flawlessly. Maybe she figured if they were never going to show up and give her any trouble, she might as well make them as realized as she could while she had the opportunity

On the flipside, I saw a handful of comments complaining about how simple or plain Ichi's new uniform is, but you have to remember that Usazaki is going to need to draw this outfit a lot, in all kinds of poses and scenarios. There's already a surprising amount of detail on it, like the embellishments on the collar and shoulders, the thigh-high boots, the ornate knife handle...it's not a ton to keep track of, but they're finer details than a lot of protagonists tend to get in my experience, and ones that are likely to get a bit finicky as things go on

Moreover, though, Ichi already has an over-the-top, extravagant outfit: his Uroro form. Having a plain and unassuming base form gives contrast to his super form, which will help the latter stand out so much more when the time comes for him to use it. Do you really want Ichi's base form to overshadow his super form???

I didn't think so

Now the question is, when will be the next time we actually get to see his super form?

The Enemy Within

I absolutely adore that Ichi and Uroro have firmly established themselves as enemies, and that they're able to actively communicate and even fight with each other, it's everything I wanted Yuji and Sukuna's relationship to be (at least for now), but with that comparison in mind, there's definitely a question of how long this dynamic will last

As I recall, Sukuna was honestly a pretty minor factor beyond JJK's introductory arc, with Yuji only getting possessed by him twice in the beginning, once in the middle, and then once at the end. Everywhere in between, he was mostly just chilling and waiting, at worst mocking Yuji but never really actively hindering him

Uroro's role is still pretty ambiguous, as he doesn't seem at all capable of possessing Ichi, but he does seem capable of manifesting a physical form that can oppose Ichi. Depending on how much influence he has, he might actively be able to prevent Ichi from using Ultra Amplification or at least interfere when Ichi is trying to use it in battle

Sukuna wanted Yuji to find all the fingers so he could get stronger and escape through Megumi, so any time Yuji was in danger, he was incentivized to at least keep him alive, but Uroro needs Ichi to die in order to escape. He has no reason to ever help him and every reason to hurt him, so the gimmick of the hero and villain inhabiting the same body is greatly amplified in this case

The fact that Ichi can literally feel the malice coming off of Uroro from within his own body to the point of needing to resist gutting himself illustrates this antagonism wonderfully. If Yuji needed to constantly suppress Sukuna, Ichi needs to actively ignore Uroro, and Uroro is absolutely going to make that as difficult as possible

Fortunately, Ichi's sense for malice also acts as a bit of a lie detector for Uroro, which it looks like he's going to need

Unreliable Narrator

We've been wondering for a while now how Uroro actually feels about other Magiks, and this chapter's opening seemed to confirm an earlier assertion that he views them as his friends and brethren, lamenting their enslavement and discrimination at the hands of the witches, until Ichi easily saw through that lie

As Ichi says, Uroro's reaction to seeing Raiko being hunted in ch.3 didn't at all fit the idea that Magiks suffer any kind of injustice. His objections were half-hearted, and his lackadaisical attitude in ch.1 suggests that he has no interest in killing witches for the sake of freeing his captured kin. He kills and destroys for fun, not survival or revenge, but his position as the King of Magiks makes for a convenient excuse that surely he wants his people to be freed from the oppression of witches

Except...his story that humanity appeared and started subjugating Magiks is contradictory to the story we were already told. Ch.1 told us that it was the Magiks who approached humans, offering them dangerous trials seemingly unprompted, luring them in with the promise of power. That fact alone makes it obvious that Uroro was lying to gain sympathy

Or was he? Just because he doesn't actually care about the subjugation of his people doesn't mean it didn't really happen. We were told that a single Magik happened to appear to a single witch one day, which may well have happened, but was that really where it began? What prompted that Magik to do such a thing?

@wickedsick once suggested that there may be some kind of internal conflict in Magik society, like a feud between Uroro the king and a Magik queen to help enforce the themes of gender inequality. To turn the tide of battle, it would make sense for some Magiks to give themselves willingly to witches who could wield their power more effectively and defeat their enemies for them

If that's the case, though, then of course some Magiks would view the situation differently. History is written by the victors, and the witches seem to have the advantage at the moment, but Uroro was there, so his word is arguably more weighty than a disembodied voice that presumably is meant to represent common knowledge. That doesn't make him trustworthy by any means, but it's far too early to assume that there's no truth in what he's saying either

This goes for the Witches Association, too, of course. Shirabedonna's opinion may be irrefutable among the witches, but we only have her word so far that anything she says can be taken as gospel. If anything, with this chapter starting with someone lying to Ichi's face, then thematically we have to assume that Shirabedonna's assertion that anything she says is patently correct is, in and of itself, a lie, or at least a misdirect

To have a member of your organization declare with confidence "if I say it's true, it must be" is to have them declare "I can lie with impunity." If it should come to pass that there's some kind of mole within Mantinel, Shirabedonna's position as the foremost authority on facts would make her the perfect cover, even if it's just because she's susceptible to deception magic

For now, though, the status quo is that the witches are good and the Magiks are bad, so we won't worry about how things will shake up until they do. That said, it looks like Nishi already has a pretty good idea of how to pace out the escalation rate

Raising the Stakes

After Uroro's introduction in ch.1, a bird-man with a jewel-encrusted throne on his chest, Raiko honestly seemed like a pretty dramatic step back. However, this was a pretty clever trick narratively, as Uroro's outlandish appearance set the town for the types of strange things we should expect, while Raiko's relatively normal appearance recalibrated us for what's to come

Despite having lightning powers, Raiko was ultimately just an extremely large fox, even in his hunting behaviors, making him a familiar target for Ichi. Aesthetically, Hisame is just a shark, which is itself a lot more unusual than a fox, but it also has the added wrinkle of apparently being able to fly, making it two degrees further away from the ordinary than Raiko was

The next Magik, then, will likely be something a bit more fantastical, but still fairly standard. I imagine a unicorn or a jackalope would be good next steps, since they're just regular animals with horns they shouldn't have, followed by uniquely-shaped creatures like dragons and culminating in more imaginative creatures like that crustacean-man-thing or that biblically accurate angel we briefly saw in ch.2. This kind of progression would help keep the visuals from getting stale, especially if Nishi jumps back and forth a bit rather than forcing Usazaki to constantly find ways to outdo herself

If we got an Eldritch Abomination right at the beginning, then we'd expect a bigger, better abomination next, then a bigger one, and a bigger one, and so on and so forth. By establishing that mundane forms are to be expected, we not only have a much wider range of possibilities going forward, but we also can approach the early-story Magiks with a sense of familiarity. We know what a fox is, and fox-hunting techniques are easy enough to learn. Same for sharks. Tentacle creatures sleeping in volcanos? Fishnet-clad sexy legs chilling in abandoned libraries? Not so much

By the time we get to the more unfamiliar territory, we should have a deeper understanding of the Magiks as a whole, bridging the information gap between the ones that are "just animals" and the ones that are inconceivable monstrosities

Until then, let's enjoy life!

[dumpsterfire-allavita]

Context- I had been commissioned for this piece. Being in a financial pickle I picked it up and immediately set to work on it. Since I’m in need of money I put my all into the request to make sure it checked every box they could need. It turned out amazing I think! However I just checked our chat where I put the almost finished piece to find their account deleted. What’s worse is I had given them an update without my signature on it since it was unfinished and all…so if you see it floating around please message me!

Without further adeu~ the piece!

╔══*.·:·✧ ☎️ ✧·:·.*══╗

Information

I was messaged by the user Freaky (later changed to Dust) for the commission of their two Characters Brimstone and Karma. Ecstatic we began consultation!!

They decided on a photo reference from the anime “Soul Eater”. They liked the old anime style and requested their piece would be similar. That meant a full body with simple background but a lot of technique put into the old anime style! Ofc I wouldn’t shy away from the challenge (since my bills won’t shy away from me- the apple did not work on the doctor….no matter how hard I threw it)

Upon requesting their budget they said between 130-200$ which worked fine with me. I always tend to under charge anyhow. Due to my needs this time was no different. I assured they would receive updates to let them know how the piece was going and that I would collect their input on any fixes needed. They agreed and without further wait I began.

『•🪱•✎•🪱•』

[ T o o l s ]

✦ Cheap sketchpad

✦ Mechanical Pencil 7.0 lead

✦ My Phone (to send to the iPad)

✦ Fathers IPad (Im broke don’t judge)

✦ Procreate

✦ Color Pencil procreate brush pack

✦ Lineart procreate brush pack

✦Paint procreate brush pack

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ˏˋ°⁀✎ 🫎 P R O C E S S 🫎 *ੈ✩‧₊˚ˏˋ°⁀✎

Once saving the many provided refs I began by creating character reference sheets. Due to the customer not being artistic they provided me with several other commissioned pieces of their characters. Not all…looked the same… so I created these sheets to compile the parts that fit the personalities portrayed. Then I checked in with the user to figure out which features looked most like what they imagined for the characters.

Then I continued with the base sketch of the pose. The original reference for the pose didn’t entirely fit the characters so I chose to tweak it. I think I like the way they interact on the piece. I even made them doing rock paper scissors if you pay close enough attention! Karma lost but well…Brimstone would get what was coming for it later lol.

After all that it was finally digital art time!!! So I put my color references sent to me before adding the anime ref and my character refs. On the iPad I started with adding the details of the characters and sketching the pieces in further.

When that looked good I shifted the background a little to see it all before doing the motorcycle. (This is the first one I’ve ever drawn too- I know it’s funky! Don’t look too close)

Once the sketch was confirmed I began lineart. The title was changed to say Brimstone in big and in Japanese it reads “Freak Karma” the user of the customer and their second character.

Following that was color blocking which absolutely murdered me! I simply started with a big blob and did Alpha lock. Then I continued to block out base colors. Probably the worst experience of my life…goodness..

After I did a big dark brown layer with the opacity lowered for the look of a darker environment. From there I lightly erased the spots for lighting.

Then it was additional coloring and shading to the color block layer followed by additional erasing on the shadow layer. Building it up until I was satisfied.

Finally I did two layers- a layer for specific color lighting such as the flames reflection and the color to their skulls and a layer for the black and white liner.

All that was left was adding noise, Bloom, and a little bit of halftones to achieve the desired look.

With everything done I added my signature into the mirror on the bike!

ALL THIS ON ONLY 4 LAYERS! Due to the sheer size of the canvas (6000 pixels by 5000 pixels (ish)) I was only able to have 4 MAX layers. So pain…

🪳✨ Time ✨🪳

//this is the longest I’ve ever spent on a piece btw! (These are timed and rounded down to the simplest form. So these are all slightly UNDER what I actually did.)

Ref sheets 🎨 45 min

Layout Sketch 🔆 24.3 min

Digital Sketch 🛏️ 1 hour 30 min

Lineart 🍿 8 hours

Color Blocking 🥲 23 hours

Lighting + Final touches 👍 1 hour 25 min

Total- WAY TO FREAKING LONG! This has 26,543 strokes on it!!!!

Anywho! I hope you enjoy the piece as I sure as heck have not due to my suffering and now lack of money that I now have to try and find elsewhere with bills gripping my now every thought.

If you’d like to commission me I’ll have to ask for a base payment upfront now due to this situation. I am unable to spend such time to provide my very best just to be left when I truly need the money.

Thank you for your time!

[phantombanquet]

【NYLON JAPAN】 Dramatica ACT 4 Interview

Original Article

translation by phantombanquet

What day is it today? It's the opening day of the stage play!

From left to right: Ikkei Yamamoto (Hokuto Hidaka), Taiki Yamazaki (Shu Itsuku), & Kazuma Yasui (Wataru Hibiki)

Today is the opening day of Theatrical Company Dramatica ACT 4 / “Witch and Gingerbread House”!

Once the curtain rises, an enchanted world of fairy tale and mystery awaits.

Taiki Yamazaki, Ikkei Yamamoto, and Kazuma Yasui pose in outfits inspired by the idols they play.

Take a look at the elements that are reminiscent of Shu, Hokuto, and Wataru!

From left to right: Ikkei Yamamoto (Hokuto Hidaka), Taiki Yamazaki (Shu Itsuku), & Kazuma Yasui (Wataru Hibiki)

QUESTION: Today is finally the opening day of Theatrical Company Dramatica ACT 4 / “Witch and Gingerbread House”! This work is a unique 2.5 dimensional stage project in which the idol characters based on the popular app game ‘Ensemble Stars!!’ act as actors in an original story separate from the game's story. Please tell us the things that you keep in mind on stage when playing a role in the theatrical company ‘Dramatica’.

Yamamoto: As for the theatrical company ‘Dramatica’, I am conscious about the process of creating the stage and amount of time needed to interpret the role as a character since I think these are very important. For example, I played the role of Goku in Dramatica ACT 1 / “Journey to the West- The Eternal Legend,” but rather than deliberately expressing “Hokuto playing as Goku,” I think asked myself, “If I were Hokuto, how could I put a lot of effort and stress in playing as Goku?” and I think it is important to worry together with them during rehearsals. I felt for the first time that when the character and I—as the actor—are in harmony with each other, the two roles in my mind become one. And I think it would be great if that aspect becomes the charm of the theatrical company ‘Dramatica’.

Yamazaki: When I asked to play in ACT 1, someone pointed out that I was acting too similar to Shu Itsuki. It's always a difficult thing to figure out the amount of seasoning to use. This time in “Witch and Gingerbread House,” I also still want to retain the character of Shu Itsuki in some parts of my performance.

Yasui: It is really difficult to play the role as Wataru-san. Since his character is an acting genius, I can never fail. During ACT 1, I honestly felt like throwing up because there was so much pressure (Laughs). But after finishing ACT 1, I think that pressure has changed for the better. I realized that if I think too much, I would get stuck. It's hard to express it well, but I believe I am more conscious of how much I can match with Wataru-san's mindset when he does theater performances.

QUESTION: All of you appeared in ACT 1 and ACT 2, what can we expect to see more of this time around?

Yasui: Although I play the same ‘Wataru Hibiki,’ the character I play changes drastically depending on the performance, which is always very refreshing. Of course, this time, ACT 4 also has a different role to play! Moreover, there will be interactions with idols who have not appeared before, so I hope you look forward to seeing how this will cause a chemical reaction to spread. I am sure that something new will happen that wasn't present in ACT 1 or ACT 2.

Yamazaki: During ACT 1, I started out feeling rather clueless about how to do it. But once it begun, I felt a great amount of strength to stand alongside with my colleagues. It is a memorable work in which we put in a lot of effort to establish one new genre. This time, since I also performed in the previous two productions, I am much more familiar with various aspects, so I hope to create it a work that will make people think, “This is Dramatica!”

QUESTION: In addition to appearing in Theatrical Company Dramatica ACT 4 / “Witch and Gingerbread House,” Yamamoto-san will also be in charge of directing the play. Please tell us your expectations in terms of the stage production.

Yamamoto: The most important thing is for the audience to enjoy the show, and I hope that my direction will help them immerse themselves in the performance. I would like for the audience to finish watching the play without leaving the world of “Witch and Gingerbread House” until the curtain rises and falls. Hence, there are various production devices, such as stage sets moving along with the scene and the changing of the lights, but I believe that it is ideal for the audience to enjoy this real-time changes than stress ahout them. The appeal of theater performances is that it allows you to enjoy the phenomenon happening in front of your eyes as a form of entertainment. Without that, it wouldn't be any different from watching a drama or a movie. I hope I can direct in a way that will make the audience feel the fun and greatness of theater as a ‘real’ thing.

QUESTION: Lastly, please tell us the appeal of Theatrical Company Dramatica ACT 4 / “Witch and Gingerbread House.”

Yamazaki: In this case, the visuals are full of Shu's worldview, and are quite dense and extremely detailed. I will be performing with Mika Kagehira (played by Hiroki Ino) from the same unit for the first time in a while. In addition to Mika, there will be idols other than members of Dramatica who have not met in the previous stage plays, so I hope that you look forward to seeing how they will interact with each other!

Taiki Yamazaki

X (formerly Twitter): @TTTTTTAIKKI103

Born on October 3, 1995 in Shizuoka Prefecture. He won the Judges’ Special Prize at the 23rd JUNON SUPERBOY CONTEST. He began his acting career in 2011, and in 2017, he appeared in Uchū Sentai Kyuranger Hebitsukai Silver/Naga Ray. Currently, he has been active on several stages including “Ensemble Stars! THE STAGE” series as Shu Itsuki, Musical “Thrill Me” as Him, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” as Anthony, and numerous other roles. In addition to acting, he has a wide range of activities, including music where he performs under the name Nemurinitsukumade Tsukiatte. The Theatrical Company Dramatica ACT 4 / “Witch and Gingerbread House,” in which he plays the role of Dicy¹ (played by Shu Itsuki) will be performed from August 23rd (Friday) to September 3rd (Sunday) at Shinagawa Prince Hotel Stella Ball in Tokyo.

Ikkei Yamamoto

X (formerly Twitter): @IKKEI_YAMAMOTO

Born on June 1, 1989 in Tokyo Prefecture. He is active in 2.5 dimensional stage plays of various well-known works such as “Ensemble Stars! THE STAGE” series as Hokuto Hidaka, “The Vampire Dies in No Time” as Draluc, Musical “Moriarty the Patriot” as Louis James Moriarty, “ROCK MUSICAL BLEACH ～Arrancar the Beginning～” as Byakuya Kuchiki, and others. In recent years, apart from acting, he has also expanded his range of activities, including directing. The Theatrical Company Dramatica ACT 4 / “Witch and Gingerbread House,” in which he plays the role of Arc¹ (played by Hokuto Hidaka) will be performed from August 23rd (Friday) to September 3rd (Sunday) at Shinagawa Prince Hotel Stella Ball in Tokyo.

Kazuma Yasui

X (formerly Twitter): @XOXO_KID616

Born on February 12th from Aichi Prefecture. He has appeared on several popular 2.5 dimensional stage plays such as “Ensemble Stars! THE STAGE” series as Wataru Hibiki, “Tokyo Color Sonic!! the Stage” as Kairi Kurahashi, and others, as well as in the Off-Broadway Musical “bare” starring as Jason. He also performs music under the name ‘Yasui Kazuma.’ The Theatrical Company Dramatica ACT 4 / “Witch and Gingerbread House,” in which he plays the role of Patty¹ (played by Wataru Hibiki) will be performed from August 23rd (Friday) to September 3rd (Sunday) at Shinagawa Prince Hotel Stella Ball in Tokyo.

TAIKI:

Shirt ¥44,000, pants ¥44,000 (both GALAABEND / SARDIVISION PR), belt ¥7,150 (Wrangler / Edouin Customer Service), ring ¥63,800 (GARNI / Garni Tokyo), boots ¥45,100 (YOAK / Hemto PR)

IKKEI:

Shirt ¥89,650, tank top ¥80,300 (both SHEK LEUNG / INNOMENT), shirt around waist ¥60,500 (FACETASM / FACETASM AOYAMA), pants ¥39,600 (SHINYAKOZUKA), ear cuffs ¥10,890 (JUSTINECLENQUET / The Wall Showroom), tie ¥15,800 (Queen & Jack / Esteem Press), shoes ¥36,300 (Timberland / VF Japan)

KAZUMA:

Shirt ¥48,400 (RequaLL / Esteem Press), skirt ¥38,500 (GALAABEND / SARDIVISION PR), pants ¥22,500 (COS / COS Aoyama Store), glasses ¥36,300 (GENTLE MONSTER / M), necklace ¥28,000 (Marland Backus / Marland), ring ¥55,000, heart ring ¥30,800 (both from LAMBDA), shoes ¥46,200 (MIKAGE SHIN / Sakas PR), socks: stylist's personal items

MODEL: TAIKI YAMAZAKI (IMAGENE) @RRRRRLIGHT103, IKKEI YAMAMOTO (ARTIST JAPAN) @YAMAMOTO_IKKEI, KAZUMA YASUI (KETEL) ＠NATSUNOYASUI

PHOTOGRAPHER: NAOTO KAWATAKE ＠NAOTOKAWATAKE

STYLING: SHO FURUKAWA @SHOFURUKAWA_

HAIR: HIROKI KITADA ＠HIROKI_KITADA

MAKEUP: HINATA SAKURAGI ＠H__PPPPP

EDIT: SARA OMORI, AIRI ASAHI

TEXT: AIRI ASAHI, AYU TSUCHIYA

DIRECTION: YURIKA NAGAI

WEB DESIGN: NAO WATANABE, ANJU OKAWA

translator's note:

¹ - There are no official released English localization for the names of the characters in ACT 4, so I've decided to translate them literally instead. This will change once an English localization of their names is released.

additionally, this isn't fully proofread (English & Japanese because both are not my native languages) since i just translated this by myself. if there are any errors, please feel free to correct me through dms 🙇🏼

[kay-then-i-guess]

So, I had this idea as I'm getting close to finishing the Election arc of my Roleshuffle AU to go through my previous comic pages and point out everything I did wrong :) This is all for funsies, and I feel like my art has gotten a lot better with the Election arc. Plus, I think it's very important to go back and critique yourself to 1: see how far you've come and 2: to better understand where you tend to make mistakes. So, let's get critiquing!

Soooo starting off, I really didn't know how to make a comic. I had only done very brief, minor comic making before, so this was a completely new field of art that I wasn't used to. You can immediately see that problem in the first and second panel, since they. They aren't a panel. Nothing about them (minus the speech bubbles) indicates that this is a comic. I think the first would have benefited from each item being properly separated, and the other would have benefited from an actual image behind it; not a gradient. Speaking of the items, that's supposed to be Sam's hand at the top, and it is freckle-less (no clue why I forgot to add those lol). Some other consistency things that are weird is that L'manberg has no tower entrance, and there aren't any trees surrounding it in any other drawing. On notes of consistency, the sword there is supposed to be Techno's, but the design changed later to have a gold hilt. I guess that change never reached this panel, so now that just looks like a random sword stuck in the ground. Nobody's sword in the comic looks like that haha. Similar deal with Techno's crown: the spacing of jewels is not consistent with how I draw it in the rest of the comic.

Moving on! The next two panels of Connor aren't bad, per se, they just aren't good. (I'm mainly bothered by the fact that he doesn't have teeth in the first one.) Also, because I didn't want to draw hands and cut his arms off, it just looks like the framing of the panel is all wrong. Plus, I don't think I've seen anyone pose like that in real life. He looks like he's about to hug you, which is not the vibe I was going for. In both of these panels, we have what will become a reoccurring problem throughout: loooooong neck because I didn't draw a base figure before drawing the clothes. Connor's face should either be longer in these panels, or his shoulders should be higher. Either way, the neck does not look right. Another reoccurring problem you'll see is dull coloring/shading. I'm still working on this, to be frank, but these images all look rather dull. There's nothing unique about the lighting/colors, so it doesn't really pop like it should. Either I needed to add more dynamic lighting or be better at highlights.

Yet another case of long neck. Oh, and weird positioning on the facial features. The eyes feel stretched across his face instead of, well, where they should be. I also think in these opening panels I really fail to encapsulate Connor's personality. I was really banking on the fact that he's a silly little comic relief character in the canon dsmp, but his delivery is very dry/flat whenever I watch old clips of him. Therefore, in the early bits, he just seems a bit off because of the high energy I gave him. Next up we have a bad case of something that looked good in the sketch but did not come across after coloring. What I wanted to happen was his face to gain some anime-type shading that screams "oh no", but it just wasn't strong enough, so the end result just seems like I copied and pasted the same panel for no reason. Also, in the lower image, Connor's face does not look right. I can't really put my finger on why, but it's either because his eyes are uneven or that the facial features, once again, kind of stretch across the face.

aaaaand I originally wanted to go through the whole first part of my comic, but this is turning out to be very long. So that's a tomorrow project. Hope you enjoyed my critique!

[sergeant-angels-trashcan]

I CANT. I'm also getting the dinkate vibes off of ghostkate and it's making me a bit feral. Kate making bets on every shot she makes and calls them in even when no one responds she legally owns half of the teams guns. Someone gives her their jacket and the whole team heart eyes at how small and scary she is while she is just >:( she gets hurt on a mission the they all turn into rabid guard dogs and she makes them get her everything. Kate wears ghosts skull mask and talks in an absurd British accent and gruff voice and stands next to him in the same pose and Johnny is like why am I blushing Ghost pretends to be annoyed but is actually fond. Kate watches them train a couple times and then uses their moves against them. Kate sees ghost without a mask once and falls off a building and has to get grappling hooked back up to the roof.

we're gonna get a little nsfw here, yall been warned also oops it became poly!141.

oh my god ohh my goddddddddd kate hustling the 141 i am SCREAMING

like it would only work for real when she first joins up with them because eventually they WILL learn that she does not miss shots. Or she'll make them take bets as a form of caretaking. "If I make this shot you have to go take a nap" "if i don't make this shot i'll do your laundry but if i DO make it you have to tell me what's bothering you"

before that, though. i wanna say she technically owns Price's car, three skull masks, something with the MacTavish tartan, and like two of Gaz's jackets (sometimes more, sometimes less. she steals his jackets. they're in civvies to go do something and he'll say "that's my jacket" and she will lie to his face about it. gets to the point that he just starts putting things in the pockets when she's wearing them, she may as well carry his phone since she's WEARING HIS JACKET). This is also how she got keys to everyone's off-base housing. All of them regret this fact. Soap was coming home from a bar one night with a pretty hot girl and they're running into walls, etc, for some reason they go through the kitchen and the girl shrieks because there's a person??? on the counter????

it's Kate. crouched on the counter, tucked into a little ball. she's....sleeping???? she blinks up at him and informs him he's out of bread before tucking her head back down

The girl doesn't stay. Obviously. And Soap has to figure out why a terrifying pocket-sized sniper is sleeping on his countertop and not Ghost's??? Ghost is BAFFLED by this question. Why is she more likely to be on his countertop than anyone else's. Which is how Soap finds out that Hawkeye and Ghost AREN'T doing the nasty??? (Maybe they are and just lying about it. Either way, Gaz and Soap get a lot flirtier with her. Ghost h888888 it. But also it's kind of cute. He's conflicted)

It also leads to the entire team realizing they have no idea what she does when they all head off base

JOHNNY SEEING HER ACT AND DRESS LIKE GHOST AND BEING LIKE OH NO IS THIS A THING FOR ME. If she wasn't doing the bad accent he would be DEEPLY into it

that night Ghost comes up to her and tells her she can't ever do that again, and he's so serious so she's apologizing, she didn't mean to insult him or hurt his feelings--

which is not the issue at all but kate won't let it go until finally he says something about how he can't be half-hard as he's yelling at recruits!!

now of course she has to find out if it's a mask kink or if it's a his mask kink and Ghost is vehemently denying it's a kink at all (it totally is). Soap gets dragged into this conversation and is like, yeah, this is absolutely a kink. don't worry simon, he totally gets it

widely agreed upon that Hawkeye + Soap is the cutest drunk combo. they will sit across from each other and try to imitate each other's accents. VERY funny when kate has been stressed out and parts of clint's midwestern accent she picked up start to come out (y'all)

(Also widely acknowledged if not spoken about that Kate and Gaz kissing would be very pretty. Am I saying that Price and Soap try and get them a little drunk so they make out? Maybe)

Price keeps track of who she is hanging out with because there are certain combinations that are...inadvisable (he completely ignores his effect on things. The ones in parenthesis are ones he pretends dont exist)

(Price+Ghost+Hawkeye: honestly they just sit and vibe with each other for hours. If they need to get something done Price and Ghost will let Hawkeye body double them for the ADHD. all of them have leadership roles and don't want to make any decisions during their time off so they have a "wheel of activities" that they spin)

Ghost+Hawkeye: never a combo Price worries about. if he can't find them they're probably napping somewhere or at a range shooting something. sometimes they disappear for a few hours and you'll see something on the news about, like, a child abuser getting their hands broken before they were carted off to jail, but that has nothing to do with them

Ghost+Soap+Gaz+Hawkeye: they generally just chill together, decreasing their chances of getting involved in shenanigans. Hawkeye and Gaz will probably wind up in the walls or ceiling at some point. only becomes worrisome if they start discussing conspiracy theories

Ghost+Soap+Hawkeye: now this is a chaotic grouping but it's mostly horny, so there's less to worry about

Hawkeye+Gaz: something is getting set on fire or they're going berry picking, no in between.

(Price+Soap+Hawkeye: Hawkeye and Price butting heads the whole time. Soap thinks it's hilarious. Actively tries to get them to fight, is not sneaky about it. Loves when they figure him out and focus all their attention on him.)

Hawkeye+Gaz+Ghost: if they do anything that's not outdoorsy, it's a whole Thing. The last three times they went out to eat together they uncovered various smuggling rings. It took Ghost an hour to get them to leave the smuggled sloth last time. He got the silent treatment for two days.

(Gaz+Price+Hawkeye: ends in tears most of the time. Either Gaz and Price vs Hawkeye or Hawkeye and Gaz vs Price. If Hawkeye and Price manage to work together Gaz stops functioning. They bark out orders at the same time? Both say he did a good job? Gaz cannot be expected to function under these conditions)

(Price+Gaz+Soap+Hawkeye: terrible choices have been made. someone is getting injured. three of them lowkey trying to impress Price and they don't even realize it. from an outside perspective it seems calm, trust me it's not)

(Price+Hawkeye: Both of them trying to be in charge. whatever they were supposed to get done doesn't happen but they do come up with an apocalypse contingency plan)

Hawkeye+Gaz+Soap: worst possible timeline. something is getting blown up. something has already caught fire. they are accompanied by an animal or have rescued a small child. The Hague is being reconvened. they are dancing on kissinger's grave. it's pandemonium. someone will probably get a medal for it. Get Ghost over there IMMEDIATELY

Nickname drift where when Kate gets irritated at Soap she calls him Mr Clean and he's like "It's SERGEANT Clean to you, lass!"

Kate getting hurt on a mission!!!! the whump i live for. if she gets hurt on a west coast avengers mission, the task force is PISSED AS FUCK. FUCKING. UNACCEPTABLE. BULLSHIT. if you can't take care of her you don't get to have her!!! again, i feel like Price is the most terrifying one, here. The others are all very visibly angry and loud about it, and Price is standing in the back, looking calm as he comes up with five plans to dismantle this team

if she gets hurt on a task force mission....uh the young avengers are PISSED AS FUCK. if you can't take care of her you don't get to have her! no it's not important how we wound up on this secure military base!

Clint is revoking everyone's Hawkeye privileges as they speak

She doesn't even ask them to bring her stuff. They just do it. They have to be forcibly removed from her room. Clint's like, yall cute but I'm in charge. Gets annoyed at Price at some point and turns his hearing aids off. Clint and Ghost getting very territorial and legitimately hissing and growling at each other. Kate is on very strong painkillers and thinks she made that up.

one night Kate hangs out with a different group on base and 141 is like "are we not good enough anymore? what did we do? does she not like us?" hardcore mopery happening. but that's what happens when you refuse to play darts with your hawkeye!!! also, she's probably hustling the other guys. Gaz promises he'll play darts with her. wraps his arms around her waist and gets her pinned to the couch so she has to hang out with them

alternatively, the 141 sees her hanging out with other people when they came TOGETHER for weekend drinks and Ghost goes over to her and picks her up, carrying her back to the 141 table. Not! acceptable behavior!!! but she did kinda like it. tbf if someone tries to hit on one of the task force she's like haha. no (: will sit in laps, play with hair, spill a drink, whatever is needed. just need them to be weird little freaks about each other

Gaz says something about "age before beauty" and she's like WOW fuckin RUDE and that's how they find out she's older than Gaz. Literally none of them caught that.

ugh i am having so many thoughts about this crossover and i accidentally started writing a real fic about it. save me.

[13eyond13]

23 + 25 for GriffGuts!

Omg thank you @ofdemonsandangels !! I'm v excited to get Berserk asks ♥︎

I'm not sure if the request is for the individual characters or just the ship or both, so I'm going to cover all my bases and answer for ALL THREE.

GUTS + favourite picture of them:

First thing that came to mind was his sword + moon pose! I just feel v fond of and oddly protective of and affectionate of him when I look at it. I just love when he's being all pensieve and secretly sentimental about stuff by himself...

GRIFFITH + favourite picture of them:

Hmmm. There's just something about the way Griffith's drawn in the later part of the Golden Age that I like the most. Def the biggest fan of his design when he looks like this:

His scary blazing eyes during the second swordfight in the snow really stuck in my head, and are some of the first panels I picture whenever I'm picturing Griffy!

GRIFFGUTS + favourite picture of them:

This fanart is pretty fantastic... if I didn't already know the pairing and saw it I'd probably be like damn, this looks compelling, who is that? 👀

https://www.tumblr.com/13eyond13/742518174586748928?source=share

BUT also so is this fanart (got those scary blazing Griffith eyes down perfect, and also ahhh the wings and the scratches on Guts' back!!)

--

GUTS + what was your first impression of this character? How about now?

I first started reading Berserk at the end of 2023 without knowing much of anything about it other than it had a character named Guts with a huge sword, that some fans shipped him with a character named Griffith, and I had heard that the art style was apparently pretty amazing and crazy as well. I fully did not expect to like Guts that much or relate to him that much going into things, and assumed he'd be a super boring edgy hyper-violent macho 80s meathead muscleman without much personality. And upon reading the first few chapters I certainly wasn't feeling extremely fond of him yet (especially during stuff like the very opening scene where he's banging some demon lady and then killing her, which once you actually get to know him is like one of the most odd and out-of-character things for him to do, and I think shows Miura hadn't really figured Guts as a character out totally yet). It actually didn't take THAT long for me to realize that there was more to him than that and to warm up to him a lot, though. Even partway through the Black Swordsman Arc I feel he started intriguing me with some of the more unexpected stuff he was doing and the mysterious hints about whatever had taken place in his past that was currently haunting him so much. And certainly by the time you start seeing his childhood memories and the Golden Age and getting to know why he is the way he is I was feeling very attached to him and invested in him emotionally! He's by far my fave of the bunch, and he just feels very much like a living breathing being to me in canon much of the time. One of my all-time fave characters now.

GRIFFITH + what was your first impression of this character? How about now?

I knew basically nothing about Griffith going into things initially. He came off pretty goofy as Femto to me initially, so at the start of the Golden Age I remember just being like, omg so how does this pretty femboy guy become that weird bitchy Batman in the labyrinth that Guts ends up hating so much? 😅 I also did not expect him to be so outright gay for Guts as he is in the manga, and had previously assumed the fandom's shipping of these two was probably based mostly on your typical barely there homoerotic subtext or whatever. Very surprised to find there was just so much blatantly going on there in the text and that it was basically directly discussed by the characters and almost written like a straight-up romance, and all of this stuff seemed very intentional and deliberate on Miura's part to me too. I remember especially being impressed by how bold Griffith was about just straight-up announcing his interest in/attraction to Guts to his face (and how much Guts actually seemed to be into him back too, even if he's a bit slower and more shy and furtive about it – which to me is much more unusual than having a queer-coded villain guy expressing obsessive interest in the male protagonist – he usually isn't also equally interested back like that!). I think Griffith is at his most interesting to me during those early parts when he's being very upfront about his emotions with other characters and a bit vulnerable like that, especially because we spend so much of the rest of the story only ever seeing him from a very guarded and emotionally closed-off dead-inside sort of distance as a character. He maybe isn't my favourite because I don't relate to his personality that much, and sometimes his ethereal otherworldliness and mysteriousness made it harder for him to feel as real to me as the others do – Guts and Casca often felt a bit more human and down-to-earth and easier to emotionally attach myself to and to know things about for sure, so I found myself caring about those two the most whenever I was reading it. And then of course there was a long stretch of the story there where Griffith genuinely shocked and appalled me with what he did to everyone (I had zero spoilers for what was actually going to happen during the Eclipse and did not expect it to be anything nearly as bad as what happened lol). At times I really loathed him and got super angry at him as a character, but I also appreciated that he drew such strong emotional reactions from me and was always making the most interesting things in the plot that I actually care about happen, too. Whenever I was super mad at him I would be furious every time he showed up and did literally anything onscreen, yet also would get so frustrated and bored and antsy whenever he would disappear for hundreds of chapters at a time, too 😅 I feel like that made it much easier to understand why he drove Guts so crazy, because I was being driven a bit crazy by him too... Can't live with him and can't live without him! I remember finding Guts the most interesting character in canon when I was actually reading the story, but I find that Griffith is the most fun one to think and talk and speculate about with the other people in the fandom after the fact. I appreciate him a lot now as an interesting character and an antagonist, but he isn't exactly a beloved blorbo to me the way Guts is so much as he is the guy I like to rotate on a spit in my mind and listen to other fans talk about and to contemplate the most, maybe?

GRIFFGUTS + what was your first impression of this ship? How about now?

All I knew is that a few of my DN mutuals who I think have good taste liked the ship, which made me mildly interested to see what I thought about it myself going in, though I didn't really expect to be that into it myself. Then I was taken aback by how strongly the story seemed to be actually based around the relationship between these two and how actually gay it was between them both, haha. I was conflicted a bit about it and whether or not I actually cared to ship it as I was reading it, particularly because of the grosser stuff that Griffith does during the Eclipse really putting me off him for a good chunk of time. But I think after I finished the manga and sat chewing on it a bit longer I kept wondering how the story might have changed if those two had been able to communicate a little better with each other and make some different choices and have some important realizations pre-Eclipse. It's one of my absolute fave tropes as well, the codependent besties that maybe actually both secretly have feelings for each other that then turn into enemies, when you can also see that maybe they probably actually could've easily turned into lovers instead. And I just feel like at the end of the day even though it's clearly never going to be a happily ever after or whatever at this point that I think they both still kinda love each other too, whether or not they admit it or whether anybody approves lol. It's one of those ships that to me is just like, why do I ship them? IDK bro, because they ship themselves... ask THEM why they're still into each other even now and even despite everything... I feel like I'm just simply sitting here listening to what they're saying and picking up what they're putting down lol

[character ask meme]

[brodorokihousuke]

How did you make the custom Apollo animations?

- one very tired fool who thought it would be fun to attempt similar model shenanigans with Athena

Keep in mind three things,

one- I have never touched 3d animation before and this has just been me beating the shit out of this program until it does what I want, so this might not be the "right" or easiest way to do anything

two- I am using 3DS max for this so this might not apply to blender or any other program.

three- I'm going to assume you know how to load models and animations, at least directly from the game files

Also this is a very slapdash tutorial so you can send any other questions in, knowing I won't hit everything at all.

The easiest thing for you to do, amateur to amateur, is pick an animation that makes a good base. This can just be the neutral pose, a talking pose, whatever. I don't like dealing with talking and blinking so I usually make sure I have those loaded beforehand.

Before you worry about animation, spend time posing and adjusting things that aren't going to be moving, and just generally solidifying the pose. It's much more annoying to do this after you start animating. In my... very non-professional opinion.

Once you have that down, look at the bottom of the screen.

It's a lot, but you're going to be staring at it if you want to animate. What I do immediately is click on that little icon directly below the frame slider, at the very left edge. After that, click "Editor" and then "Curve editor". Then just enlarge it a bit, and...

boom, animation curve timeline. Let's get an actual animation to show what this actually represents...

I'm selecting bone15 here, which corresponds to his left upper eyelid. The red peaks in the curve timeline represent him blinking. So basically, this is a linear representation of all of the moving parts in the animation over time... very fun.

If you grab onto a node and move it around, you can see the effect it has, so this is one method of adding animation points. Another method is to move to the frame you want, and, after turning on "auto key" move the model to the pose you want.

this automatically adds animation keys when you move things around, which is better than physically editing the timeline sometimes. I do both depending on things.

I'd honestly just suggest screwing around in here with no goal first, as that's how I started. But, as for actual things...

Don't move the parts themselves, move the bones. If you must, messing with the mesh is possible (I had to do it for his jacket in the bashful emote) but it is very very janky. Try to stick to rotating things instead of moving them when messing with joints. "," and "." advance 1 frame back and 1 frame forwards respectively.

As for how I edit them out, you probably see my great green screen up there. It's just a flat plane turned green. I just screen record the animation and use websites online to crop out the green, turn the video into a gif, and resize it to my liking. I... should probably figure out how to directly get a transparent video or gif out of the program, but oh well, this works.

[nectar-cellar]

So I’m struggling to find my sim style rn and I was wondering how you make your sims? Like what’re the key features? Do you also use a base? Ur sims are just so cute! Also ty for being an amazing s3 simblr <33

hiii! aww thank you so much 💖 yeah i do have a male and female base sim, but i only have their basic settings saved, like their head size, head width, eye size, basic proportions like that to save a bit of time when i go to make a sim. i usually don't like the sims EA generates, so my base sims have most settings set back to zero and then just scaled down and moved a bit to make a blank canvas with nice basic proportions.

i like having reference pics whether that's a real person or a character or a piece of artwork, or even another simmer's pics, anything that inspires me and helps me visualize the sim i want to make.

sliders

the more you make sims in TS3 the more familiar you'll become with the sliders, what each one does, which ones you're always using vs which ones you don't tend to use, different combos of sliders that give you exactly the look you want. i feel like you just have to make a lot of sims, mess around with the sliders, in order to learn what works for your style and what doesn't.

my process

i'll start by choosing the sim's body type, their skintone, their hair colour, hairstyle and eyebrows. this is easy when you have a reference picture, or it can help you start to figure out the sim's general vibe if you don't have a reference to follow.

having a good skin is so important. idk how to explain it but there are some skins that i just cannot make look good on my sims. starting off with a pretty skin will make everything so much easier.

in my personal opinion i think the nose is the most defining feature of a face, so my next step is to shape the nose. upward or downward sloping, big or small nostrils, thin or wide, etc. (if you like to use nosemask makeup, i suggest putting the nosemask on first before moving the sliders.) i'll make the basic shape according to the reference pic i'm using, or just according to what i feel like making that day.

once i'm happy with the nose i'll go to make the eyes and lips. the nose helps me decide how big the eyes should be, how close/far apart, how the eyebrows should be shaped, etc. same with the lips - i like to apply the lipstick first before i shape the lips because the lipstick can sometimes change the look significantly.

the last thing i shape is usually the cheekbones and jaw shape. then i move on to applying their makeup and setting their outfits. don't be afraid to try out and discover your go-to makeup, for example mine is always dark under-eyes for my male sims, and cc eyelashes + some kind of lipstick for my female sims.

live mode

sims look different in live mode vs cas so i always look at my sims up close in live mode, pose them, snap some pics from different angles, and see if i'm happy with their features. then i go back in cas and refine their features some more. make the eyes bigger/smaller, make the mouth wider/narrower, stuff like that.

it takes me a long time to make a sim i'm happy with but i really enjoy the process !

[badchoicesworld]

GOING FERAL GOING STUPID WE CAN BE SPECIFIC LET'S GOOO

Okay could. I order a fic with The Spot who met the Reader via LITERALLY FALLING INTO THEIR HOUSE. Entered their universe and fell directly into the livingroom. Thing that sets this universe apart? It's a universe where people have wings! Reader is based on a cockatiel, grey wings with a white patch! Either first time meeting or maybe reader asks him to help preen their wings? Gender neutral!! Tysm I love being specific grgrgrgrrggr <333

the spot falls into winged readers home !

RAGAHAGSGAHAGGRRAGR GRGGRRAGAGRG i’m foaming at the mouth *leans on expensive car* heyyyy 🤭 I FUCKING LOVE WINGS GRGAGRGAHRA ok rq, im an artist and also just obsessed with wings and i curse god everyday that we didn’t evolve with them, i instil the fear of god into people when i explain accurate anatomy if people had wings and actually could fly cause there are characteristics you need like hollow bones and all the muscles that go into functioning arms- you’ve unleashed something powerful, okami

please . talk to me about this . if you would like to . *poses in front of expensive house*

warnings: none, i may rant throughout about wings im sorry

pairing: the spot x gn!reader

requests: refer to the masterlist

★⋆ ⋆☆⋆ ☠︎︎ ⋆☆⋆⋆★✧

imagine ur surprise when a black hole suddenly opened up in your house and a guy fell through it ! how strange !

your wings fiercely tense up in an intimidating way while you watch the strange figure fumble to stand up, despite being on solid ground it looks like he has sea legs

“Oh- oh god, I am *so* sorry,” he’s baffled himself, as he puts it: “i’m still getting used to my holes”

aren’t we all 😪

it’s takes him a little while to notice all the subtle differences in your home to the typical house in his dimension; the way that doors are taller and there’s a lot more accommodation to winged individuals, which he then noticed you are

you see that weird hole in his face narrow as he studies you from a distance, like a true scientist

i think he’d be really interested in your wings at first, from a scientific view

asking you all sorts of questions while slowly backing out of the room “I like your wings, by the way! they’re very.. anatomically correct”

he’s clearly intrigued, but also trespassing and he truly didn’t mean to

depending on your own response depends on his urgency

“Wow! that’s great- is everyone here like that or is it some kind of mutation? It doesn’t matter, let me get out of your wings- hair!” the whole time he’s doing all of these wild gestures with his hands while his long ass legs carry him towards the exit, his joints stiff while he attempts to evade a confrontation

“They’re very beautiful,” is the last off handed thing he says before pulling your door open to leave your house

now, if society is accommodated to a civilisation of people with wings, there may very well be a very large drop from you home that most people can easily pass over with wings

but spot doesn’t have those

cue him almost plummeting to his death ? but a hole opens up and it open right back into your home, resulting in spot falling into your living space once again

“Oh, would you look at that! trespassing, again!” he curls in on himself in a very pathetic way before getting up again (ily spot)

you’ve just kinda tolerated his presence while all this goes down

but i don’t think you guys are new to the whole stranger danger thing, so you don’t befriend spot immediately

but imagine this becomes a stupidly common occurrence throughout the weeks

every once in a while, he drops by and each time you get a little more tolerant of him, he’s a little funny and also silly

you eventually get on name basis, and you can see he’s getting better at controlling his holes

sometimes he literally just drops through one hole and falls straight through the other, it’s a very short exchange

“hi y/n” and he’s gone

but say it’s ever gotten to the stage where you guys are actually equated, he may one day fall into your home while you’re struggling to preen your own wings

an honest struggle, not a chance i could stretch far enough w my bones popping at minor movement

he’s even started to land on his feet sometimes, and he’s very proud of himself

“ta-da!” he lands, arms outstretched while he still stumbled a little

“oh, are you preening?” most genuinely interested and curious tone ever

he approaches like a fucking rat, a little hunched over with his arms mimicking a t-rex

you can decide how significant your wings are, if they’re a big part of ur culture and ur a bit reluctant to let spot touch them

which i honestly think he’ll respect

“oh, nono! it’s okay,” will keep his distance but now is stood a little awkwardly

but if you’re chill with him touching your wings, man’s thrilled

might whisper something silly like “oo, science!” as he approaches with an outstretched hand

and hey, if you go the extra step further and let him preen you, go ahead

does he know what he’s doing ? no, and he’s confident he’ll fuck it up somehow

please show him and/or give him instruction that include when to breath and blink please

admittedly is staring more at how your wings connect to your back more than anything else, he’s very intrigued in your anatomy

would never say that out loud, dear god

but once you’ve given him instructions, he’s on that shit pretty attentively

he’s a scientist, he’ll figure it out

it’s a sight and a half though, it looks like monkeys grooming each other lmao

★⋆ ⋆☆⋆ ☠︎︎ ⋆☆⋆⋆★✧

i genuinely think of a reality all of the time where society had wings and relied on that for travel instead of cars n shit- would we need a licence to fly out in public like dbz ? would the type of wings you have be native to the birds from the place you were born, are the genes recessive from your parents n shit- how disability would be handled and how things would be accessible to people who can’t fly im going insane

i shit you not my spidersona has a few concepts, he’s a character i’ve had for a little while from an mnm campaign- he’s a mutant that has accurate bird mutations so tail feathers and wings and i thought it might have been too cliche for me to like say “he’s spiderman in a dimension where society evolved to have wings!” and it felt mary sue and i was afraid so i took his beautiful wings away hem hem whimper