#there are already at least four art pieces with MANY MORE TO COME

[ghostalservice]

March 1847

Mary’s gloves are barely keeping her warm in the shack, and her hands are shaking too hard, so she tugs them off, tucking them in her coat pocket. The Arctic wind is frigid on her bare skin, but she has to do this. She has to know.

“And—you saw them?” she asks the man in front of her.

She’s not even sure how Doug found him—his shack is so deep in the wilderness that Mary had nearly turned back a dozen times, but.

But she has to know.

It’s not like she and Stede were ever a love match—honestly, when his expedition hadn’t returned as expected, a part of her had been almost happy, relieved, knowing that the marriage was delayed for a while longer. But then time had stretched further and further and further, until it was six months, a year, more, and.

And yes, she and Stede hadn’t chosen each other—never would have, given their own freedom—but that didn’t mean she wanted him lost in the Arctic!

So she’d appealed to every wealthy man and widow she could think of, tried to raise funds for a mission to find them, or at least to find out what happened to them, and that’s how she’d met Doug, the personal portrait painter of Lord Franklin.

And then she’d ended up here, in Canada, in the hut of an ageless Scot who hasn’t blinked in the entire twenty minutes she’s been inside his strange, empty home.

“Aye,” he says after a long moment. “I saw them, indeed.”

She opens her satchel, finds the portrait of Stede, pulls it out and points. “You saw him? Stede Bonnet, you saw him?”

The man gives the portrait a long look. It’s not the most flattering likeness of Stede ever taken—he’s always been a man who doesn’t quite fit in his skin, who shows it in daguerreotypes in a way he can almost mask in person—but it’s definitely him.

Read more at ao3!

[lazycats-stuff]

Artist toddler batbro! Can't help but draw/ paint at least once a day and at the end of the day batfam is anticipating who will be the lucky family member that'll receive which ever art piece their youngest has created that day (sometimes the art piece is on the walls or floor of the mansion but no one has the heart to be angry when little batbro is just proudly presenting his art)

Toddler batbro *leaves a paint covered tiny handprint on the wall*

Bruce: alfred, frame that

Oh my, that's cute. Oh my God... Aww. Also, I know it's short, but this is all my inspiration is willing to give at this moment. Next time, I'll try to write more.

Summary: (Y/N) is an artist.

Warnings: None, really fluffy

Every child has a talent. Whether that be in sports or arts, every child has a hidden talent for something. Even if some kids are average, there is nothing wrong with it. Bruce, amongst his four older sons, had a toddler. Yes, a toddler.

How did it happen?

A one night stand. The mom couldn't take care of (Y/N) and Bruce took him in and the other 4 accepted (Y/N) as if he was their blood brother and Bruce was grateful that they did it. Of course, they had to change their schedules to accommodate to make sure that (Y/N) was a priority. Of course, no one minded to do that.

And speak of talents? While his four older sons had their own specialties. Damian had his knowledge of blades and martial arts, Tim for his hacking and detective skills, Jason for his accuracy with guns and other firearms and Dick with his acrobatic skills.

(Y/N) was an artistic child. He didn't show it at first, but as he got more comfortable, he started asking for paper and crayons. Crayons slowly evolved into something more and (Y/N) would draw daily. It could be anything. It could be a couch or even Titus. Maybe it would be one of the boys too.

And, at the moment, there was a big honor in the house. What that honor may be? (Y/N) handing you his own artwork. It became a tradition and sort of a competition between everyone. Everyone wanted to see what (Y/N) has created that day.

It was considered the biggest honor in the manor, to get a piece of paper, created by (Y/N). It makes everyone's day when they get an artwork. Dick nearly cried. Damian was close to crying too. Alfred and Bruce got one too and the two grown men, who have seen stuff... Safe to say, they nearly broke down into tears and shambles.

Nearly.

But there was a one problem in this entire story. (Y/N) wouldn't limit himself to drawing on paper. Oh no. Many parents would punish the child if the child drew on the walls or floor. Right? Well... Not if you are (Y/N) Wayne who is clearly artistically talented.

(Y/N) would often draw whenever he could, even if that meant on the wall or the floor. And whoever saw (Y/N) drawing on the floor or the wall, didn't have a heart to even yell or be remotely angry, especially since (Y/N) had that shine in his eyes when he was showing them their art.

Bruce wasn't supposed allow (Y/N) to paint over the walls or the floor. That's what Bruce was supposed to correct. A correct thing to do... Right? Well, Bruce didn't know. Parenting doesn't have a book and a set of rules, but Bruce wished he had some sort of rules so he could solve this.

He can keep on dreaming when it comes to universal rules for a perfect parenting style.

But he has actually decided what he was going to do, without a doubt. (Y/N) was allowed to doddle and draw wherever he wanted. That was something that was relayed to all the other members, whoever, they put certain restrictions.

No drawing in their rooms without supervision. Bruce's study was also off limits if there is no supervision. And only at home is doodling and drawing allowed.

Because Bruce is just ready to frame it all. Alfred already has frames ready to go.

It was always fun.

As of now, (Y/N) was doodling on the wall, just sitting on the floor, without a care in the world. Bruce and Alfred were walking by, stopping when they saw (Y/N) drawing. This time, it was just a simple handprint.

Bruce was smiling and instructed (Y/N) to go wash his hands and then eat. Bruce and Alfred looked at the handprint on the wall.

" Alfred, frame that. " Bruce said and Alfred did just that. Took out a frame and made sure that handprint was framed. And it looked adorable.

" He is growing up too quickly, Master Bruce. " Alfred said said as he looked at the little handprint.

" I agree Alfred. " Bruce said sadly.

[unusualcliches]

My season three thoughts: After numerous failed attempts of watching part two of Bridgerton yesterday, I finally finished the last episode at three in the morning so I decided to sleep on it. Now that I’ve processed it a little I feel like I must get this out of my chest. Like most fans, I have mixed feelings. Overwhelming feelings. Feelings that are like torture – Kidding!

No but really, it has been a long time since a piece of media has made me feel this much, both good and bad. Watching these last four episodes, my heart was in my throat, I was grinning like a maniac and tearing up more often than I care to admit. And isn't that the point of art? I can honestly say that overall the positives far outweigh the negatives, for me, at least. There's something to be said about the choice of releasing the season in two parts, about cramped, eight-episode-seasons and the lack of breathing room, about the ever growing number of characters, about expectations so high they might as well have been setting themselves up for failure (or rather, the fans up for disappointment) but I don't want to linger on any of that. I understand feeling let down and there are many, many reasons for it. But to me, in particular? Well, all of that is overshadowed by this huge wave of affection I feel for the people who put this show together.

Because this is Penelope Featherington's season, and I have loved this character for at least fifteen years. I've been carrying her around in my pocket, hidden from view, because I was ashamed to admit a "silly, little romance novel that teen me read in secret on my computer when my parents weren't looking" could ever have impacted me so much. (Yes, internalized misogyny, I see you, leave me alone.) But it did impact me, so much so that when I needed to, I took Penelope's name as my alias in the hope it would make me brave enough to come out of my shell on the internet, if not in real life. And no, the irony is not lost on me, there is a reason I was so drawn to her character, just as I know so many other people are. She is incredibly relatable.

This last month I've been talking and talking about all the ways this show's popularity is validating and how freeing it feels to be able to discuss this character that is so close to my heart with so many people, and to see the outpour of love she's been getting. Because she's so relatable, there are hundreds of us who see ourselves in her while at the same time admire her growth and her cleverness and wish we could be that brave, even for just one day. To see her stand up for herself the way she did was amazing and I could never resent a show for fleshing out my favorite character like this. If anyone had told teen me that one day I would get to watch Bridgerton come alive in HD, and that Penelope would be played by the most gorgeous, charismatic actress who'd wear all these beautiful costumes and dance to amazing instrumental versions of some of my favorite songs as she found her way to her happily ever after, I would have thought I was dreaming?! There is simply so much to celebrate this season, I couldn't fathom choosing to lean into the frustration or the resentment that some things haven't turned out exactly the way I wished.

That said, I will definitely be using this blog to work out the things that I felt were lacking too in the near future because I am thoroughly invested in Colin and Penelope's love story and that's not changing any time soon. What's this about this ride being over because the season ended??? Kids, please, now is the time we get to finally play with this toy we've been reaching for at the high shelf of the store!!! It's ours now to do as we please and I have ~so many ideas~. I simply crave more of them. I loved (most) of what we got this season, and I plan to roll around in all the good bits, just as I am already craving all the fix-it fics that I know are coming. You know, one of the things about part one was that the show was so good about giving me everything I ever wanted, there was hardly anything I wanted to read/write about. Well, I will say that that's certainly changed! I'm gonna save my detailed feelings about Polin for another post because this is already completely out of hand but I will say this: I am tired of seeing strong female characters having to sacrifice their romantic relationships as they crawl their way to self-acceptance and empowerment. That is realistic, to be sure, but Bridgerton is supposed to be for the dreamers, isn't it? So why not give Penelope her cake and let her eat it too? All in all, though, I feel like I had a delicious piece of cake but I’m left still yearning for the cherry on top. Perhaps in season 4?

[aashiqeddiediaz]

lose me (in the sight of you)

for @andavs for letting me write a fic of their gorgeous art, which you can see here! (please leave them a like and a reblog!)

[AO3 Link]

Word Count: 2710 words

Buck would like to say that it’s the scent of coffee that rouses him awake.

In reality, though, it’s the chill settling through his bones that jerks him out of slumber —  even through a thick hoodie, socks, two blankets, and a duvet. 

It’s the type of chill that comes from absence, and as Buck buries his face further into the pillow that smells all wrong, absently reaching out to the space next to him, he realizes exactly why. 

The sheets are cold, rumpled from Eddie tossing and turning, creased where Buck thinks he might’ve gripped the top sheet too hard last night. He runs his fingers across where the sheet has folded itself up, somehow exactly in the shape of Buck’s hand despite Eddie laying on top of it for the last however many hours. 

The chill of the space seeps through the fingers peeking out from under his hoodie’s oversized sleeve, and grumpily, Buck peeks an eye open to confirm his suspicions.

Eddie’s not here.

There’s no hope of him falling asleep again, not without his own personal space heater, so Buck urges himself out of bed, eyes narrowing at the blinking number on the alarm clock. 

7:30 am

It should be illegal to be up this early on a Saturday, and as he stares at the hated numerals blinking like they’re taunting him, he’s already plotting ways he can draw Eddie back in bed for a couple more hours of sleep. Now that Chris is too cool for everything, well into his prepubescent era, even he hardly gets up before ten in the morning.

Personally, Buck thinks that same logic should apply to them, too, but it’s clear that Eddie has other plans.

It’s been a journey, learning the morning routine not as Eddie’s best friend, but as his boyfriend. Before, he would’ve had no idea that even on days off, Eddie woke up early enough to greet the roosters, or that the bed would feel so cold when he left it or that even four thick layers wouldn’t be able to replace his heat. Before, he would’ve had no idea that their bedroom would seem dimmer without Eddie to light it up, as if the sun is waiting to follow him wherever he goes.

Buck had only known pieces of these things, through secondhand accounts or by observation at the station. Now, he feels integrated into the morning routine, but every day still brings a new piece of information for him to guard with his life, a new piece to squirrel away in his arsenal of all things Diaz.

Buck pads quietly out of their bedroom after a cursory brush, listening for any other signs of activity through the house. If he listens close enough, he can hear Christopher snoring the same way Eddie does, and the image makes him laugh to himself. 

He walks through the house, down to where the rays of sunshine and the scent of coffee lead, to find the man of his desires. 

The early morning light filters through the varying hues in Eddie’s dark hair, sweeping its fingers through the thick strands to reveal reds and browns and burnished coppers before coasting down to dust something golden over his skin. 

Like this, framed against the window through Buck’s half-awake, blurry vision, Eddie looks like some sort of angel even as he curses very un-angel-like at the coffee maker, the light presenting him forth as some sort of mirage.

Two months ago, Buck would’ve thought that this was still a dream. 

Now, he knows that this is his reality, and it’s more beautiful than anything he could’ve ever imagined.

Eddie is decidedly not a morning person, but years of waking up early have made it impossible for him to stay in bed late, even if it’s just to cuddle. He gets restless and cranky without at least one cup of coffee, and Buck leans against the fridge as he watches Eddie try to get his fix.

Dark gray sweatpants hang low on his hips and a black pajama shirt stretches across his shoulders, falling loosely to his waist. The sleeves have been tugged up haphazardly, and Buck smiles as the mental image of Eddie’s frustration plays at the forefront of his mind, impatiently tugging at his sleeves as if they’re the reason he’s in this predicament.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

Buck doesn’t realize how long he’s been standing here, staring at his boyfriend, but he startles at those words, recovering just enough to scoff good-naturedly at him as Eddie turns to face him.

His smile is quiet, private, something that belongs to Buck alone, and Buck melts like butter on a hot pan for it.

Another thing Buck wouldn’t have known how to recognize before they got together. 

Eddie has always smiled at him like that, but Buck had been illiterate in the language of his love, partially because no one has ever treated Buck like something precious the way Eddie does, and partially because it had been too wishful to hope that Eddie thought him to be different from the rest of their friends.

He hadn’t known how to read his fondness as anything beyond friendship until one night, Eddie’s lips were on his, urging, pleading him to read. 

Buck walks over to Eddie, touching his fingertips to the outer edge of that smile before leaning forward to taste it. Eddie tastes like mint and coffee and Buck’s and home, and Buck smiles into the kiss just before he snags his boyfriend’s coffee mug out of his hands.

Eddie rolls his eyes but lets him take it anyway, knowing that Buck will wince as soon as he tastes the sugarless, creamless concoction that Eddie drinks.

A new tradition, but also somehow not new at all — Buck has always stolen Eddie’s coffee out from under him, has always cringed at the strong, bitter taste of it, and Eddie has always rolled his eyes at Buck just before giving him his own cup, doctored just the way he likes it.

He doesn’t stop drinking it, even if it leaves a gross taste in his mouth. The only difference is now, Buck can chase the bitterness away with the sweetness of Eddie’s tongue, and he does exactly that, giving his boyfriend another deep, indulgent kiss as he passes the too-dark coffee back to him.

The faux-exasperation laced with Eddie’s brand of fondness doesn’t hurt, either.

“If you’d left my old coffee maker alone, you’d get your own mug faster,” Eddie says, his voice rough and low from sleep. His drawl is always a little deeper in the mornings, like his voice has forgotten that they’re not in Texas anymore. It scrapes deliciously over Buck’s skin, and Buck hums non-committedly in response, too focused on the intimate quality of his voice to reply. 

Eddie had refused to touch the smart coffee maker until Buck disabled all Hildy settings, but even without artificial intelligence, the new machine still makes a better cup of coffee. Eddie’s old one used to give off this weird burnt-tasting taste and smell, and one morning, Buck had gotten sick of it and thrown it out without telling him.

They’d compromised, of course.

Somehow, Eddie can’t figure out how to make enough coffee for both of them in the morning, and even though Buck knows exactly how to fix that, he refuses just because he likes these few extra minutes he gets with him — he likes that these mundane tasks are part of their daily routine, likes that Eddie’s grumbling is always counteracted by the bliss on his face as he drinks his coffee, or the quiet joy on his face when Buck drinks a mug he made.

He likes that Eddie, despite pretending to hate the coffee maker, still insists on being the one to make Buck’s coffee in the morning. Even on the days Buck gets up first — which are admittedly rare — Eddie bodily moves him out of the way to make his cup.

True to it, Eddie fiddles with the coffee machine one more time before he finally gets it to work again, a triumphant sound of victory leaving him as a new batch of coffee drips into the pot. 

Buck watches him do all of this as he slides over to the counter, hoisting himself onto the edge between a bottle of olive oil and the cookie jar. There’s not much room for him to scoot back, but he makes it work, keeping Eddie in his sights as he leans back against the cabinets. 

There’s a new sort of intimacy of knowing that he can sit here and watch Eddie make his coffee, even if he’s done it nearly a thousand times before the idea of getting together was even on the table. 

Before, Buck had to look away from him, lest his expression give away the name printed all over his heart and soul. Now, he can just watch without that fear, can indulge himself in his man making him a cup of coffee, just so they can start the day off with something good.

Buck watches as Eddie carefully takes the pot off the warming plate, reaching for a mug matching his own. He watches as Eddie spoons in exactly one teaspoon of sugar, and pulls the creamer that only Buck uses from the fridge to pour a healthy amount into the mug. He watches as the muscles in his forearms flex with all the effort required to make Buck’s cup, watches as he counts the seconds before tilting the creamer up and away. 

He watches as Eddie lifts his head and smiles that smile again before coming towards him.

“Here,” he says as he presses the mug into Buck’s hands.

Even the years where Eddie’s cooking was more of a hazard than a help, his coffee game had been on point. Two weeks after he’d started making Buck’s cup in the mornings at the station, Buck had known that he’d never be able to go back again.

Buck shifts to widen the space between his legs as he takes a sip — perfect, as always. Eddie grins as Buck hums happily, and Buck’s leg shoots out to stop him from walking away. “Where are you going?”

“To get my own coffee,” Eddie says dryly, reaching over for that matching mug and coming back to stand between Buck’s legs. “I was always coming back here.”

Buck softens at the words, keeping his knees on either side of Eddie’s hips as they share the quiet morning together. 

Their relationship feels a little like that — like they were always going to end up here. Every single date Buck went on, pathetically trying to move on, all flopped due to an impossible standard unknowingly set by one Eddie Diaz. After the fifth failed date, Buck had simply resigned himself to an existence of being hopelessly in love with his best friend.

Three weeks after that, Eddie had kissed him, saying that he couldn’t keep watching Buck go on dates like it wasn’t tearing him apart, and there had been so much fear for the confession in his eyes that Buck had teared up in turn.

He’d only barely gotten out that he was going on those dates to try and forget Eddie before they were kissing, every last missing piece of Buck snapping right into place with one press of Eddie’s mouth against his own.

Two months later, here they are, drinking coffee out of their matching mugs — they were part of a decorative set that Pepa had bought Eddie a few Christmases ago, each of them made of white ceramic with the bottom inch of glazed in a beautiful tan color. Eddie had found them a couple weeks ago, and washed them to use instead of leaving the set to collect dust.

Buck looks down at where his legs, clad in checkered pajama pants, wrap around Eddie’s solid thighs, holding him closer and closer. Somehow, the countertop’s white tiles contrast perfectly with his dark pajama pants, crisscrossed with white lines that split the fabric’s print into squares that match the color of Eddie’s sweatpants. His gaze bounces quietly between their matching mugs, part of a set, and their mismatched pajamas, fitting together like a puzzle, and smiles. 

There’s a thought there, something that escapes him in his drowsy state, but as Buck presses his mouth to Eddie’s shoulder and inhales his scent, he thinks it doesn’t really matter. Not when he gets to share the heart of a home with the love of his life, with their son sleeping soundly a few paces away.

This is everything he’s ever wanted, everything he didn’t think he’d ever have.

Eddie pulls Buck closer with a low hum, his arms snaking around Buck’s waist to span his back. Even through his hoodie, Buck can feel the heat radiating off the palm that was just holding the coffee mug, only a little less than the heat emitting from his chest. 

He carefully moves his own steaming mug around Eddie’s body, moving closer until they’re plastered together as close as physically possible. Eddie’s scruffy cheek scratches against Buck’s, warm and so damn close, and the clean scent of him burrows into Buck’s lungs. 

Buck thinks he could crawl under Eddie’s skin and still not be close enough, but this is a nice compromise.

Eddie’s hand trails patterns up and down his spine as they drink their coffee just like this, over each other’s shoulders. Buck tries a few times, but having to pull away from Eddie isn’t worth the caffeine, so he sets the half-drunk mug on the counter, far enough that it won’t spill, and wraps his arms around Eddie’s shoulders instead. His ankles link tighter around Eddie’s thighs, ensuring he won’t slip away.

Little by little, the frost in Buck’s bones melts from Eddie’s proximity.

“Think I can make you come back to bed?” he whispers into the crook of Eddie’s chest and shoulder. It’s where his scar is, tucked beneath his shirt, and Buck absently presses a kiss to it over the fabric as he holds Eddie tighter to him.

The low chuckle his boyfriend lets out rumbles in Buck’s chest. “You could probably make me do anything. Even put up with that stupid smart coffee maker.”

Buck slides his own hands down Eddie’s back, tucking his cold fingers into the back pockets of Eddie’s sweatpants, right over the curve of his ass. Eddie’s laughter vibrates through Buck, making him smile. 

“You have an unhealthy fixation with my ass,” he murmurs as he presses a kiss to Buck’s head. The hollow sound of an empty mug rings out just before Eddie’s grip tightens around him, his cheek pressing further into Buck’s.

“Mhm,” Buck nods against his shoulder, already drifting off despite the caffeine running through his veins. He’s comfortable tucked into his boyfriend’s warmth, content to stay here for the rest of his life if he could. “It’s a nice ass. Twelve out of ten.”

That only makes Eddie laugh more. He shifts his grip so he can press a long kiss to Buck’s forehead, then a softer one to the birthmark dotting his eye. Buck’s heart squeezes at the tender affection, and he tilts further into Eddie’s neck like young sunflowers seeking the sun.

“Can we go to bed now?” he asks

Eddie hums, low in his throat just as he coasts another kiss along Buck’s hairline. “Let’s stay here for a minute. Just…let me hold you like this for a little bit more. Is that okay?”

Buck nods in response, snuggling further into him until he’s practically bent forward, supported only by Eddie from falling flat on his face.

There’s a metaphor there, too, one that Buck knows intrinsically to be like all those times Eddie’s saved him from landing smack dab on his face — whether it’s because he couldn’t get his legs under him, or because he was jumping both feet first.

The thought makes his heart swell ten sizes in his chest, until Buck thinks he’s choking on it.

“I love you,” Buck whispers.

He hears Eddie’s smile in his voice, and feels his affection all around him. “I love you, too.”

[quaddmgd]

So earlier today I finished my Artifact run. It was my 5th playthrough of Signalis and it was the best one yet.

Approaching it after four runs and nearly two years of constantly thinking about it, analyzing lore and enjoying fan content, allowed me to be as thorough as possible. I wanted to catch the tiniest environmental details, take notes of the most important/interesting points from all the documents, cutscenes and dialogues - simply take my time and make it my 'definitive run', not only to enjoy its story even more, but to maybe gather info that could help me further develop my ocs.

And since I got so much better at survival horror over these two years, I actually enjoyed its gameplay even more, this time taking much bigger risks and using my arsenal to the fullest. Normally I'm too thrifty for my own good when it comes to resource management; I'm not sure if I ever equipped an SMG or the flare gun in this game before. Making use of the full arsenal, simultaneously having my health constantly in the lower half, made this run my bloodiest one yet, possibly the most deserving the Promise ending...

...which I managed to get after getting the Artifact ending, for the first time since my initial playthrough. Finishing the game without the fight with Falke and the final walk around Penrose-512, made the experience feel incomplete, so I went back, checked out the new Adler room, kicked Commander's ass and went back to Ariane.

Admittedly not the first time it made me cry, but it's the first time it affected me so much. Maybe it's because of that focus on the tiniest details, maybe it's because I already knew the game and fully understood my feelings about it, or maybe because it's my first time playing it on E, though I prefer to think that's not the only reason. It hit me like a train and left me devastated. I was sitting on that result screen for at least ten minutes just letting it all out and thinking.

I love Signalis so much. Not only is it one of the tightest survival horror games I ever played, but a masterpiece in storytelling that resonates with me in so many ways, on levels almost no piece of art was ever able to.

It made me fall in love with the survival horror genre, it made me study fictional politics and technical documents just to create ocs that make sense, it even managed to inspire the direction for storytelling in the game I want to make, and I don't remember when was the last time I cared so much about getting everyone around me to play a game.

I don't know where I'm going with this. I guess I just wanted to share my result screens, maybe talk a bit about what I intended for this run to be, how it made me feel, but I ended up talking about how much Iove this game lmao. idk play signalis

[polyphonical]

Dragon's Head - Back to Square One

Location: Wrestling Gym

Tomoya: Excuse me. Good work today~……

Tetora: One two~, three four~. Two two~, three four~ [1]. Hiiro-kun, make sure to stretch really well, okay?

Hiiro: Umu! I understand, Buchou. If you don’t stretch properly, you can get injured, so I’ll do it well. One two~, three four~. Two two~, three four.

Koga: Hey, Adonis. Let’s spar together ‘kay?

Adonis: Okay, I don’t mind. But Oogami, do we have to go that far when you're not competing in the show?

Koga: Heheh, don’t say things like that. You and I are friends.

C’mon, put on your gear already. I’m gonna beat the shit outta you ♪

Adonis: Hm? You’re going to be the one hitting? Oogami, maybe you just wanted to get your body moving?

Kuro: Aaand thereーー that’s enough punchin’ bags, right? I think we have this many people.

Lil’ miss might be stoppin’ by to check out how things are goin’, so maybe I should get a chair ready for her too.

Tomoya: ……

I don’t understand why I was chosen as a member for this!!

Tetora: Ah, Tomoya-kun. Sup～☆ What’s up? You just came in yellin’ all of a sudden.

Tomoya: No no! This is crazy, right!? The “The Starpro Rhylink Reconciliation Strategy” is a martial arts battle between both sides, right!?

So why was I chosen for this!? I can’t fight at all!?

Eichi: That’s because I recommended you, Tomoya-kun.

Tomoya: Ehhhh!? But why would you do that!? You’re participating too, right Tenshouin-senpai? Then just join by yourselfーー

Ah, is this your way of trying to be considerate to me? Sharing your work? Thanks, but no thanks. Please just compete by yourself.

Eichi: I’m not trying to be considerate. Have you taken a look around you? I have no other choice.

We’re surrounded by people with the strength of gorillas. Ah, maybe it’s more accurate to say they’re like gorillas themselves.

And yet I, someone as frail as a gazelle, got thrown in the middle. There’s no way I could compete in something like this, right?

Eichi: That’s why I recommended Mashiro-kun as a person I could compete with ♪

Tomoya: You’re not being considerate of me at all, are you. I’m more of a sacrifice than anything.

Koga: Haah? Just who are you calling a gorilla, Tenshouin-senpai? [2] Don’t blame me when I bite back after you talk shit behind our backs.

Eichi: Hey now, I never said that. I’d like it if you didn’t put words in my mouth. I said, “people with the strength of gorillas.��

Tomoya: You literally called them gorillas right after though……

Eichi: Did I now?

Ah, it’s my phone.

…Hm? Why are they calling me?

I’m going to step outside for a bit, so you can begin practicing without me. Helloーー

Koga: Aah. That bastard~ He just said his piece and ran away!

Tomoya: Sigh…… Based on how Tenshouin-senpai responded, it doesn’t look like I can get out of this one……

Tetora: Hi~yah!

Hiiro: Guh……!

Kuro: And there it is, technique! With that, Tetsu wins based on points!

Hiiro and Tetora: Thank you very much!

Hiiro: As I expected, you’re great, Buchou. I thought you were going to strike towards the upper half. I totally read that wrong!

Tetora: Yeah, I knew you were being wary of me striking you at the upper half, Hiiro-kun~. Tomoya-kun, you should join us next time ssu!

Tomoya: Absolutely not! That’s definitely impossible! Hell no! We’re at totally different levels! I’d die, y’know!? At the very least, let me fight against Tenshouin-senpaiーー

Wait, huh? Speaking of Tenshouin-senpai, he’s been on the phone for a long time, hasn’t he?

Koga: Maybe he got scared and ran away~.

Kuro: He doesn’t seem like the type of guy to run away like that…… I wonder what happened.

Adonis: Ah, Tenshouin-senpai is coming back.

Kuro: Hey. Ya were gone for quite a while. Any trouble? If ya can’t make it to practice today, it’s fine.

Eichi: Trouble… Yes. You can say I ran into trouble. Big trouble.

―― Everyone, we’re going to have to cancel today’s practice.

Kuro: Ha? The hell’s that mean?

Tetora: Literally ssu. It was really hard to get everyone’s schedules lined up for this…. Why do we have to cancel so suddenly?

Eichi: That call I just took was from the management at ES. They told me that we have to stop this plan.

Tetora: Ehhh!? Stop the plan… But why now!?

Eichi: Well, it’s not like I didn’t consider this possibility.

If two agencies that have been rumored to be on bad terms suddenly appeared on a TV show fighting each other, it might give an even worse impression of both agencies.

If they want to limit the number of risks taken, it’s not hard to imagine why they would be reluctant to go through with a project like this.

In fact, both Anzu and I understood these risks when we came up with the plan.

However, since this kind of project has many risks, it gives a sense of authenticity, even if it’s dramatic.

The more drama there is, the easier people are influenced.

Good grief. I thought the managers understood that. I didn’t think they’d be so spineless…

But since it got rejected, there’s nothing I can do but follow what they say.

Tomoya: So, are you going to come up with another plan?

Eichi: Perhaps. It’s hard to do anything right now. They asked me to come up with an alternative plan, but I haven’t came up with one yet.

At any rate, today’s practice has been cancelled. I will contact you all if there’s any progress made.

────────────────· · · · · ·♡· · · · · · ────────────────

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They're doing that type of counting where you say which set you're on as you count. So like, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (1) 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (2), and so forth. I hope that made sense TOT

Koga's being sarcastic here ofc, but he also said senpai in katakana instead of 先輩, so I italicized it for emphasis.

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo Devlog #2 | 02.28.23

It is time for our second devlog! 💜 🎉 We made it!

Sadly and as we anticipated, February has been a hell of a month, and March is promising to be the same. I'm mostly glad we made it through. We have a lot of work to do as the trimester comes to an end and there's a considerable amount of things due to before March ends in regards to our intensive master. The team and I are a bit on the stressed side, but we'll make it.

Let's see what our overworked and exhausted souls have managed to pull off this month, shall we?

Warning: Seyl is lacking sleep. The amount of typos and oopsies in this devlog may be higher than usual. Apologies in advance!

Raquel started to fix some sprites this month as we had planned, starting with Neela, the second supporting character you'll meet in the demo, who needs a bigger revamp than the rest of LIs. The three characters left without a sprite already have their character sheets and moodboards done, so that's something! We do not want to spoil anything from the character department as we think it's cooler to meet them with their info sheet and with their sprites polished and pretty, so we are hoping we can speed up the process during March!

One of our goals this month was to do some promo art for Valentine's day, and we somehow managed! Special thanks to Raquel who was very excited and invested on this wonderful piece of Xal! 💜

I also worked on the Valentine's cards last minute and just for the funsies, so I really didn't expect them to be as well received as they were! Thank you all so much!

A bit of lore here: Raquel, Astro and I have a class assignment due in March where we have to fully design and render two backgrounds—one interior and one exterior. It's a ton of work, but luckily both Raquel and I have had the chance to orient at least one of those backgrounds to Lost in Limbo.

Raquel is working on Amon's office (and it's looking so great already!) and I'm doing an isometric view of Ara's room. We are always looking for ways to work on the game while doing our master's assignments, but it's not always possible. Hopefuly we can also work on two exterior backgrounds for the demo with this assignment!

A very simple man, Amon is. Can't you tell by how minimalist his office looks already? *cue laugh track*

This is just a sliver of our flowchart's power! You shall tremble!

This month has been more about planning than writing for me. Remember last devlog when I said I wanted to do some tweaks to the demo script? Well, I have at least been able to properly think about it and draft it. The only thing left is writing it down and implement it to the current script to see how it flows. There'll be even more changes (again) because I have some THOUGHTS (again), and I'm really excited about them. It's adding more content of each LI to the demo to balance things a bit.

I have also been doing some cleaning to our lore documents and I have finally sat down to write every little piece of story from Lost in Limbo in 'chronologic order', more or less. It will help me to always have the bigger picture in mind when writing the routes, and I would love to have everything important settled before the demo release. It's a loooooot of information—not only about the characters and their past overall, but about the world, its many systems, its people...It'll be equally fun and stressful!

In the programming department it has been all about adjusting positions, sprites and definitions to make all the characters fit properly in different scenarios as I code more of the script. Solo, with two characters in screen, with three, with four... It has been a ride (and still is, because I have not finished yet) but it's very rewarding to see everything starting to fall into place. I have also tested more things, like the CGs, the animated backgrounds or some cool transitions! I can't wait to implement the GUI when it's done, uuugh!

Just three besties going to the forest in the middle of the night. Nothing to see here.

This month we have an amazing preview of our GUI! It's still cooking, but we hope we can show you the finished version very very soon! We are soooo excited about it, it's looking perfect so far. There's a few changes to make, but we wanted to at least show you a screen so you can have an idea of how the game will look like!

We want to add more options like a dyslexic font, a skip mode that jumps directly to the next choice without having to wait for all the text to be skipped, and more utility / accessibility options!

Lost in Limbo and Ravenstar's color? Not purple, of course. Why do you ask?

This month hasn't been as productive as we would have wanted it to be, but we have managed to still get some progress done. We are begging for March to give us a bit of freedom, specially mental because we honestly need it. It has been difficult to deal with the pressure of our studies and the weight we place on our shoulders wanting to dedicate as much time as we want to LiL. It's frustrating! But we'll get there. Baby steps, as they say!

Exciting things are on the horizon, that is for sure. This devlog has been a bit short and I'm honestly exhausted, so I'll free you! Thank you so much for reading and for your unending support. We are incredibly thankful for all of you! 💜

[whoishotteranimepolls]

The state of my inbox, requests, the queue and four-way poll updates

Please quit spamming my inbox. If you would like to add to the discourse regarding anything on the blog. For instance the one piece art style debate or why does Gojo keep losing? Please comment or reblog don't spam my inbox because at the moment there's so much junk in it relating to the discourse that I struggle to find the request for the polls I'm supposed to make. So while I sort through all the junk. I'm not making the polls so that's just going to delay the request opening back up even longer.

Right now I'm kind of debating on whether or not I need to just shut off ask completely because some people are abusing the privilege. Because at the moment there is more stuff in my inbox than when I originally closed the request. Plus most of it isn't even poll request anymore. It's random questions about are certain cartoons going to be allowed and crap about the one piece and Gojo debates

Again, I do this blog for fun. I run this blog by myself and I have a job and a life outside of it. And I want to get through this batch of requests Because I know next time I open up the request box there will be a lot more variety since I have almost triple the follower count. And that means less one piece for all the people that complain because the queue is about 80% one piece and their requests are about 50% one piece. However, I'm not adding new one piece polls to the queue at the moment so that ratio might change

So the person who suggested character cooldowns that just isn't feasible because I got one piece polls that have been in the queue since January. Because I just hit shuffle on the queue a couple times to make sure there isn't going to be too many one piece polls everyday before the polls start posting. Because depending on how many polls post each day you're going to get at least 2 to 4 one piece poll everyday at least for the foreseeable future I am trying to add more variety But with the state of the queue and the request box this is what we're getting until I can open it up again.

On to the topic of four-way polls, I know I've got a bunch of questions about them

For future reference, when it comes to four-way polls, it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission because I don't think this person even bothered to ask. They just sent in the request and I already had all the photos so I was more willing to say yes. But if it's ridiculous and I have to hunt down four photos specifically for one poll because it's super niche characters, I'm probably going to say no. But if I already have all the photos saved because I've done polls for the characters before I'm more likely to say yes. Or maybe you send in the photos. But finding the photos is the hardest part of making the polls. So far there's only been four four-way polls requested so far. Still not done. Going through the request box there could be more.

So if you want to try to get me to do five and six way polls by just sending it in and hoping for the best. Maybe you'll catch me in a good mood but I might say no. As long as everyone understands that anything more than three, no guarantee it will be made you are welcome to try

I hope this made sense. It kind of was a bit of a rant But hopefully this clarifies a lot of the questions and issues that have been brought up the past couple of days

[choices-binglebonkus]

Do you think the theory that TRR and TFS series got so many books and why Pixelberry has been milking the romance/smut books while eschewing other genres is because ATV was supposed to be their next TC&TF, and it bombed? Do you think it has something to do with Nexon? Or do you think Pixelberry would've gone in this direction regardless? Realistically, how much longer do you think Pixelberry/Choices will last as a company w/all the upset fans and backlash they've gotten over the past few years?

Excellent questions, anon. This is going to be a long post, so buckle up.

I do absolutely believe Nexon was at least partly to blame. Before Nexon entered the fray, collectibles were pretty much nonexistent in Choices. Endless Summer was the first collectible-heavy series, and as much as I loved it, it was VERY costly. To collect all the clues, dossiers, idols, and embers, it costs a grand total of 895 diamonds. BUT, since one of the clues in ES book 3 can only be obtained by marrying one of the love interests, the actual cost may be much higher.

But while Nexon was partly to blame, I truly do believe AtV's failure screwed Pixelberry over BIG TIME. Like, more than any of us actually realize.

Using Endless Summer as an example again, Pixelberry took a huge risk with the series. Ultimately, it a was a risk that paid off, because Endless Summer was very well-received and is still lauded as one of the greatest series in the app.

Across the Void, in my opinion, was a bigger risk than Endless Summer. It was (until WtD) the only series in the app that actually took place in the future, and it was also the only space-fantasy story. But more on the risk-factor in a minute, we'll come back to that.

Across the Void was also a very, very long book. It's actually the third-longest in the game tied with TRR book 3 at 22 chapters, only beaten out by Witness: A Bodyguard Romance at 28 chapters, and My Two First Loves at 100 chapters.

In addition to being a long book, it was originally titled Across the Void book one, until it was later changed to just Across the Void. This means Pixelberry had plans for at least one more book in the series but they had to change plans at the last minute due to the book's poor performance.

But when, you may ask, did they make this huge change?

Across the Void's release ran from August 20, 2018 to November 5, 2018, when they announced the book would be on hiatus. The book returned in MARCH. It resumed releasing from March 18, 2019 to May 13, 2019.

In those four months of hiatus (the longest hiatus a book has EVER been on, by the way), they had to hasten to conclude what was once a multi-book series rich with lore and background. And that couldn't have been easy on the writers or the budget.

Back to the risk-factor of the book. We've already established that it was unique, long, and had at least one other book planned, possibly two. But the biggest financial losses in the book came from quite literally everything imaginable.

Every background, every character sprite, every music, every miscellaneous item, all of it was brand spanking new. And believe me. There were a LOT of backgrounds, characters, music pieces, and miscellaneous items. Additionally, the love interests had different sprites and outfits, too, so those were also probably pretty costly in the art department. And there were TEN love interests. Ten!

We also got a brand-new set of MC faces and hairstyles, and you know what else? There were male and female MCs. Eight new faces, eight new hairstyles, and twenty-two new outfits. And the worst part? None of the faces or hairstyles were reused. Ever.

In fact, a LOT of the assets in this book were unusable due to how niche and out there they were. Occasionally one or two of the characters with tamer designs or miscellaneous items or even some of the music gets reused in other books. But a lot of AtV's stuff doesn't, and won't, be reused. The financial losses from the book won't be recouped.

Another costly aspect of the book was definitely the writing, though it definitely wasn't as expensive as the art. You could tell the writers busted ass creating lore. There were over a dozen alien races with their own histories, worlds, traditions, you name it. And there was the Vanguard and the Jura, who were at war with each other, which divided the galaxy far and wide. And, of course, there was the Void, which had its own lore.

Like Endless Summer, the book was very lore and detail-heavy. Unlike Endless Summer, about 90% of it was locked behind paywalls, including the majorly important bits of information. And as we all know, that just doesn't work.

Across the Void had a lot put into it. A lot of money and resources, a lot of writer's investment, a lot of time. And in kind, it had a lot of potential. Like, I don't want to say Across the Void could've been an S-tier book, but it could've definitely been up there. A-tier at lowest.

Unfortunately, it got a rough start, and when things didn't get better, that's when Pixelberry put it on hiatus and scrambled to wrap things up. It's why a shit ton of characters died if you didn't pay diamonds to save them. It's why the four endings we got were rushed, sloppy, abrupt, and unsatisfying. And it's why we were left confused as hell and saddled with more questions about the lore and story than answers.

To put it simply, Across the Void is the perfect example of Great Taste, Awful Execution.

2017-2018 is pretty commonly regarded as the Golden Era of Choices, and 2019 was the year Choices started to steadily decline. It still had some good releases, but we got a lot of really mediocre ones that year, and unfortunately, the dip from the Golden Era to a decline directly coincides with AtV's release and its poor performance. The timeline fits. And the 2020-2022 era was seriously rough. Granted, part of that was a result of the pandemic, but I don't think AtV financially flopping helped. Things are sort of starting to look up again, but I'm not holding my breath.

So yeah, AtV took a lot of financial risks. It was probably the riskiest book they've ever written due to how ungodly expensive it likely was and the sheer amount of effort and resources that went into making it, and because it performed poorly, it was a huge blow to Pixelberry.

And that really sucks, because like I said, AtV had a lot of potential. It truly could have been one of the greats if they had executed it properly, but they didn't, so the story suffered as a result.

Funny thing is, if AtV released now, in 2023, I think it would be received much better than it was in 2018-2019. What was mediocre and disappointing back then would probably be considered half-decent or even good now.

As for The Freshman and The Royal Romance, The Freshman ended at the tail end of 2018, so I don't think PB milked it because AtV screwed them financially. The timeline doesn't fit.

But The Royal Romance? Absolutely. The Royal Romance performed so well Pixelberry has implemented several rewrites and remasters, including the brand-new photo gallery in book one and even new outfits in the rewrites. What blew me away most of all were the two art scenes of the MC. Six different MC faces, eight different hairstyles, three different dresses for both scenes. AND the Liam art scenes had three different Liam faces to account for.

It also performed well enough that Pixelberry felt comfortable enough to budget for extra art for the outfits and cutscenes. One that comes to mind is the cutscene of the MC's spouse holding the baby after she gives birth. Three Liams plus Drake, Hana, Maxwell, plus six variations of the heir. I know that couldn't have been cheap.

So they milked The Royal Romance series and even invested more into it because they knew it performed well and wasn't a financial risk like AtV was. They weren't afraid it was going to fall through and flop on them. AtV was a risk while The Royal Romance was a secure, safe choice. Hence eight books in the TRR series.

I'd say, realistically, PB will last for a long while. I truly can't pinpoint a time where they'll go under. I mean, look at Episode. It's been around since 2014 and it's still going strong.

Pixelberry found that soulless smut attracts them the biggest paying audiences with the least amount of effort. VIP has also evidently worked well enough for them that they're now catering to VIP-only crowds. So while I (and many, many others) hate that Choices has gone in this direction, it's obviously working out for PB, so they're not going to make any changes anytime soon.

The only thing that I could see potentially screwing things up for PB is if Blades of Light and Shadow 2 either doesn't release or flops. This, however, is unlikely, and even if it did happen, it would probably just be a minor bump in the road for PB.

TL;DR: Across the Void's financial risks and poor performance directly led to the decline of the quality of Choices books. Particularly well-received books/series like The Royal Romance were milked to death as cash cows until PB discovered that low-quality smut would keep the app afloat.

[bsd-cherish-official]

BSD: Cherish Second Anniversary Interview

On September 21st, the second anniversary of the fanfic, Bungou Stray Dogs: Cherish, a post was made on this account by myself, its author and first artist, @linklethehistorian, stating that in celebration of the big milestone, I would be running a poll-based interview consisting of 10 polls with five questions each — which fans of the fic could vote on and have the most popular questions in each poll to be answered at the end of the voting period.

This is the result of those polls, and my responses to the winning questions that were determined therein.

Full interview below the cut for minor Cherish spoilers. Proceed on to read.

Q: Why did you choose to have four different artstyles used throughout the fic?

A: Well, in the beginning, you know, for the first…almost a year or so, I didn’t really have a co-artist on the project with me; it was just me, myself and I that was working on Cherish alone, and I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to have artwork for — and included in — the fic, so in that first year-ish that it existed, I basically just had to make do with using my own artstyle that was based on the BSD anime.

So, you already have that going on, and I was pretty happy with that, but the truth is that from the beginning, I’d always really wanted to have at least some of the art — especially the cover art I’d sketched up years and years back — resemble the actual official art from Harukawa-sensei in the BSD  manga and light novels. After about a year of procrastinating and overthinking everything about it, I finally worked up the courage to ask my friend, Asachuu, who was not only a fan of the story but also had a very lovely artstyle and was very good at recreating the look I wanted, if it would be possible for us to collab on a piece, and sent the old sketch for the cover, and from there things kind of just…took off. Pretty soon, one single collab had very happily turned into me suddenly having a dedicated co-artist who could contribute some absolutely beautiful BSD manga-reminiscent artworks for certain chapters.

Then, after the Storm Bringer Stage Play had come out, I ended up extremely inspired by a lot of the very cute and lighthearted official chibi artworks and merch that sprung up from it, and thus, by the end of last year, I ultimately wound up endeavoring to create some chibi artwork of my own for Cherish; originally, this was not intended to be any sort of long-term staple for the story, as I expected it would just be a one-and-done thing to surprise fans with during the holidays, but…as I’m sure most of you have seen, after discovering how fairly quick and easy yet still adorable the end result was, I made the choice to continue with that style of art for all of our little celebrations, events, and milestones. 

Lastly, those little chibi drawings also unintentionally came to invent a brand-new style of coloration in regards to my methods, which resulted in the final type of my artwork that you see involving Cherish — a sort of lighter, softer way of coloring that results in an almost crayon-like effect. This was initially a complete accident, as it was nothing more than me using a random brush for the first colored sketch of the holiday 2022 piece, but after some experimentation with keeping it for the finished work, I found that I really liked it quite a lot and later began using it for more than just the chibi-style artworks, as it brought a certain warmth and light-heartedness to the scenes, and reminded me a tiny bit of this one still image from the first season of the BSD anime:

And so, there you have it! Although the gorgeous manga-reminiscent style of my co-artist may be the well-known face of the fic in a lot of ways given that our collaborations are reserved for and make up the bulk of many of the most intense or important scenes and chapters of the story, every artstyle that is involved with Cherish’s official art has its own special and equally important part to play therein.

Asachuu’s manga-like style lends a certain extra feeling of authenticity to Cherish as having its place among the other BSD light novels, and presents certain scenes and chapters in a uniquely stunning form, and with extra attention to detail that likely wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

The more typical BSD anime artstyle that is my usual signature, with its fuller and more official-looking coloring technique, is used to depict the rest of the darker, more somber-toned scenes that do not receive the previous treatment; this, I feel, not only properly represents the anime artstyle in some form as I had wanted to begin with, but also brings forth a sadder, more down-to-earth aspect than its lighter and fluffier, almost crayon-like colored counterpart, which is conversely used to evoke the happier, more heartwarming moments and emotions within the fic.

And, of course, the chibi artstyle allows me to make much more quick, cute, and mostly much less serious little drawings to share with my friends and fans of the story, easily celebrate special events and milestones, and express my endless gratitude toward Cherish’s continued support. 💖

Q: Who are your least and most favorite characters to write for in the fic?

A: Oh, this is kind of a tough one. I actually wouldn’t say I genuinely dislike writing for any of the characters that have appeared in Cherish thus far, but I guess if I had to pick one that I liked dealing with a little less than the rest, that would have to be Ango; it’s not that he’s a bad character by any means, and I honestly like him in BSD quite a fair bit, it’s simply that he’s the most…I guess you could say “ordinary” or “stiff”…out of the group, in terms of outward personality — at least, under the circumstances in which he was introduced and presented up until now. 

“He was still pleasant to write and there was a moment or two there that was a little fun to do, he just didn’t really have the chance to truly show off the more intricate parts of his soul in that scene”, is I guess how I’d put it.

As for most favorite, that’s a bit harder to pin down. haha I like all of the main cast in different ways. 

Obviously, I’m very, very fond of both Arthurs; not only do I just really love both of their personalities and find them both super interesting, but I also relate to them both in a lot of different ways, and the subjects that often get tackled with their scenes, dialogue, and thoughts are all very important matters to me that I treat with a lot of personal care, respect, and passion, so it would be very hard for me to say that those two aren’t one of the absolute main highlights of writing Cherish to begin with.

At the same time, though, also really into writing for Chuuya and Paul — especially when they’re interacting with each other, because of how perfectly their polar opposite personalities, apparent outlooks, and ways of communicating their feelings play off of each other, though definitely not exclusively there, either. I really just find them fun, well-written, and fascinating to explore in general, too.

And then of course there’s Mori. I guess if we had to talk about pure novelty and entertainment value alone when it comes to writing, then he would have to be the top pick for the most fun and smooth experience overall, since his ability to change from cheerful to chilling on a dime, like the simple flip of a light switch — or even accomplish both at the same time, without even doing anything explicitly threatening at all — is a uniquely cool concept and character trait to play with. 

I don’t know, to be honest, I just think they’re all super neat in their own ways.

Q: Are there any outfits you really want to draw someone in, in a future artwork?

A: Oh God, you have no idea how many, but yes; I have a lot of planned outfits for the future that I want to draw and release some proper Cherish art for, and some that I really already have done and just haven’t been able to share with all of you because it is spoilery.

I think two outfits in particular I’d really like to draw in a full-on chapter artwork, though, are the outfit Arthur was wearing to the restaurant in Chapter 10, and then the cute little casual number Chuuya was wearing in Chapter 11. You can actually see both of those in the Valentine’s and White Day chibi artworks I’ve made for this year, but I consider those to be a little bit different from drawing it in a more properly proportioned piece…

Q: Are there any minor plotholes you’ve had to go back and fix that nobody noticed?

A: Well, technically, yes — if memory serves, at least; I mean, I believe the day that I released Chapter 10, I had left in one instance in which Mori called Paul “Verlaine-kun” right there in front of Arthur, despite that the doctor himself had been the one to insist that he use an alias, and I think I then had to go back and fix that retroactively so that he called him “Marion-kun” instead. 

Granted, they were both speaking Japanese to begin with, so it’s not totally impossible that Arthur wouldn’t have picked up on what Mori was calling him, but…yeah, to be honest, I think that’s one thing that both Mori wouldn’t risk and Arthur wouldn’t so easily overlook or fail to hear.

Other than that…well, this isn’t technically a plothole or anything because it did have a reason from the start — it’s more just a case of something not having been elaborated on as much as I’d like — but there’s currently a scene in Chapter 6 where Rimbaud, in a fit of frustration and emotion, goes off to Paul about how no one back home was worth returning to or would even really miss him if he died or disappeared, and he references his past lover fairly clearly as having been a man.

The possible “problem” that I think there’s potential for someone to take away from this moment is that later on, Arthur acts deeply worried about Paul finding this fact out and being severely discriminatory or cruel to him as most people in his original time were about such things and refusing to continue being there for him or even helping him as a result — thereby possibly making it seem like I’d forgotten that Arthur had had this outburst.

That isn’t really the case, though; moreso, it was originally intended for there to be a scene at some point where Arthur would reflect back on what he had said and inwardly question why Paul had continued to be so kind to him despite knowing that he had been involved with a man, ultimately deciding that it was likely that Verlaine didn’t really pay attention or give enough thought to all of the finer details of all of what he was rambling on about back then, in the heat of the moment, too focused on calming the teen down to be bothered with picking apart every statement he’d made — as Arthur himself simply couldn’t imagine he’d have been lucky enough, on top of all the other ‘highly fortunate’ circumstances he’d landed in, to have also just so happened to find someone who would be that ‘absurdly’ willing to overlook his orientation. (It’s not like he could have imagined that Paul simply wouldn’t think anything of it at all — which was actually the case…)

Unfortunately, I forgot to put that dialogue in, so at present, it kind of just has to be inferred by the reader… I do have plans to go back at some point before the start of the next arc and add this in, in some manner, but thankfully no one so far seems to have cared that this wasn’t explicitly explained, so I’m glad of that, at least.

And if you have wondered…well, I guess you have the answer for now. Sorry it’s not explicitly in the fic at the moment, but hopefully it will be quite soon.

Q: Is there anything you’re afraid you might have been TOO subtle about?

A: Well…yes. I’m going to put up a disclaimer here and now that the response to this question could not only be potentially triggering for some people who have experienced certain types of trauma, but also is kind of NSFW, so…if either of those things might be a problem for you for any reason, you may want to skip over this question.

We alright? Have you decided whether you wanted to keep reading this or not?

Okay. Let’s get into it, then.

So…while I don’t exactly want to say there isn’t plenty of room or time or even plans to perhaps go into it more deeply later, since there definitely is and I most likely will in some manner, given that it is my first time delving into such topics, I do wonder now and again if some of the dark implications made in Chapter 7, Chapter 8, and Chapter 13 — namely, that Arthur had been through multiple cases of extreme sexual trauma, in addition to the other emotional and physical traumas he had endured throughout his life — were altogether too cryptic to have been picked up on by the average reader at present. 

I did intend from the very beginning to be more subtle about the matter in these chapters and only make little references to it in passing where it was immediately relevant and/or was natural to come to mind for Arthur in light of the situation, but I frequently worry if the things that I see as having been decently clear indications towards that end actually were decently clear or not. I suppose it doesn’t matter if they were or not, since that is something that as I said is bound to be more obvious at some point in the future chapters anyway, but it is something I think about nonetheless.

I think that if you were fully familiar with and completely in the current know about the poet Arthur Rimbaud’s life as it unfolded in our world, and especially have kept up with all of the most recent findings, then you might have a slightly better chance at putting two and two together on your own, and in that case I think my words will almost certainly have served their purpose, but for anyone else, I do have some minor concerns that maybe my desire to have been more subtle about it at this stage in the story actually ended up backfiring and making it altogether impossible to assume or even question…

Anyway, that particular heavy subject aside, I often also just in general worry about whether or not I’m coming off clearly enough when it comes to any existing or possible future hints towards anything that is remotely non-traumatically sexual or relating to sexual attraction in nature as a whole, since, as an asexual person who myself doesn’t experience sexual attraction whatsoever, it is a subject matter that on some levels is fairly unnatural to my own personal human experience and sexuality; I don’t think that I’m bad at talking about it by any means, I just don’t know that I’m particularly amazing at it, either.

But yeah, those are…pretty much my only main times when being too subtle might have ever crossed my mind, I think…?

Q: What’s the message you most want people to walk away with after reading Cherish?

A: Good question.

The thing is, I wouldn’t say that I originally created Cherish with any specific message in mind at all; I mean, obviously, there were always going to be heavy themes and topics that I knew it would have to tackle, and there were things that it definitely represented to me on a personal level after it came into being, but back when I first created the headcanons themselves that would eventually become this story, considering that I had absolutely zero plans to share it with anyone at the time, I didn’t really ever consider the idea of it carrying an actual message I wanted to convey.

Even now, I don’t want to define Cherish as this thing that exists solely for the purpose of communicating a particular idea to others, because it isn’t; I’ve known from the very beginning that to some people, this tale is just going to be something they look at and enjoy on a completely surface level — as something that is exactly what it says on the tin and nothing more — and I’m fine with that.

To me, Cherish is both of these things: a story that exists simply for the sake of itself — for the love of its characters, its pairings, and its plot, taken entirely at face value — and something which on a deeper level also represents and carries a great deal of messages and concepts which happen to be very important to me, that I hope other people might see and feel touched by as well.

Given that it does represent more than one thing in my eyes, though, that makes this question a little hard to answer; provided I had the ability to ensure it somehow, I’m really not sure which message I would want everyone to walk away with the most.

I suppose, in the end, if I could only choose one thing, then the message that I would most want my readers to see would depend upon who they themselves are, and what they need to hear most.

As I’ve mentioned in one post before, I would very much like it if some victims of abuse and/or trauma might be able to feel seen and heard by the fic, and maybe even find hope or at least catharsis in reading it. I don’t want to say too much about the matter in this particular interview, as a lot of the commentary I could make beyond that could lead to spoilers for people who would rather not know certain things that will happen or the outcome of them, but I will say that there are many questions and themes in this fic that I would like to believe might strike a comforting note for some people who are going through a lot of uncertainty in their lives, in the aftermath of traumatic and/or abusive experiences.

Likewise, I would hope that for anyone who maybe knows someone who has gone through abuse or trauma but struggles with understanding it, because this story has not only been carefully researched and written about, but also by, someone who has been through certain types of abuse and experienced the lasting effects of trauma, it might be able to help them get a closer look at some of the possible ways those things can present themselves and the things that can potentially go through our heads as a result.

For someone who might be reading this with either a newly budding or already pre-existing interest in the real life Arthur Rimbaud who once lived here in our world, I would like to think that this story — albeit having some minor differences here and there that I will get to in a later question — might show a bit more nuance towards his situation compared to how many other forms of media surrounding the topic (especially, but not limited to, the English ones) tend to present it.

Having spent the many, many years that I have researching his life story in multiple languages and every possible remotely credible source I could find, digging to the bottom to find the absolute truth as best as one can, I have found that in many cases, there is sadly far too much of a focus around sensationalism when it comes to coverage of the individuals and events involved, and far too little of a focus on actually bothering to get all of the facts and the interpersonal dynamics straight in order to present the most accurate and nuanced recounting of history that can humanly be given. 

While I don’t want to get too into it in this little interview, as I’ll probably be making a separate post about it sometime anyway, I will put it out there that it is largely thanks to this failure to share crucial details that for quite a while into my earliest endeavors of research, I myself was led to believe the very much false and yet sadly most widely spread, highly sensationalized narrative that either, at best, both Verlaine and Rimbaud were equally terrible people who were, likewise, equally to blame for what happened between them, or at worst, that Rimbaud was the one to blame almost entirely for Verlaine’s supposed “descent” into a crueler and less respectable person — both of which narratives, by the way, cannot exist without completely ignoring and omitting several key facts that provide much more nuance than most of these various coverages were willing to provide: such as the several extreme power dynamics involved in their relationship coming from Verlaine’s side, the extremely traumatic background that Rimbaud had come from and how that had left him a vulnerable target in numerous ways, and most notably, that Verlaine had a pre-established pattern of alcoholism, extreme abusive tendencies of practically all varieties, homicidal urges, guilt-tripping tactics, and exactly everything else for his entire adult — and to some extent even teenage — life, far prior to meeting Arthur, and also continued on that path for the rest of his life even after their parting, whereas Rimbaud by all accounts prior to their meeting was nothing more than what, by today’s standards, would be considered overall a perfectly normal, if (and understandably so, given his background) troubled, teenager, who would later also go on to be a perfectly normal if somewhat withdrawn, well-adjusted adult once their relationship was over.

My hope, then, in that vein, is to tell this story without shying away from or missing those facts, and in doing so, to hopefully present his life story from an angle that is rarely seen or covered by many of the most popular sources of information out there, allowing people to perhaps step away from the great echo chamber of omissions, sensationalism, and misinformation for a moment and view and understand Arthur from a much more real and human perspective — to see him as a real, feeling, troubled human being who once lived, breathed, loved, struggled, and suffered just like nearly anyone else, rather than some dehumanized, over-exaggerated spectacle spoken of purely to be gawked at and made into a shocking and scandalizing caricature into which only the most extreme of rumors and actions are projected, as is so often sadly the case.

So, uh…yeah, those are my main messages I’d like to get across, I guess. I’d like to return to talking about this more in the future when the fic is complete, since by then I can truly get into the topics more, but for now, there you have it.

…I think at the end of the day, though, what’s most important is that people who need it get from Cherish whatever it is they came for; if there’s a message they really need to hear right then, then I hope they hear it. Sometimes as writers, we see a certain message in our stories and we intend to have that come through, but someone finds an entirely different and equally beautiful one inside it instead — one that we didn’t even intend to be there — and it helps them. I think that’s pretty awesome. 

Q: What chapter are you most/least looking forward to recording for?

A: Well, to be honest with you, despite that by the time of answering this, I’ve already finished what I think will be the final recording for it, Chapter 2 has been a massive bitch to work with from beginning to end — nothing like Chapter 1 — so…yes, that would be the one I was least looking forward to recording out of the thirteen chapters that already exist; I’m honestly relieved it’s over.

I don’t really know how to explain what the problem even was with that one; it’s not a bad chapter by any means, but the first time I recorded it — an impossibly perfect take all the way up to the last third of the fic, by the way — I sadly found out that the audio ended up somehow distorted beyond any repair or salvaging, and ever since then the lines for some reason have just refused to be spoken out loud the same way that they do when I read it in my head. 

As of this moment, I still haven’t listened to that recording more than the few seconds that were necessary to make sure that it took this time, so I don’t even know whether or not I’ll end up completely unsatisfied with the result, but it was really the best that I could do, so whatever the case, I’m stuck with it the way that it is. Let’s just hope it doesn’t totally suck.

There are way too many chapters that I think will be a cool experience to record for me to narrow it down to just one right now, but the closest one that I’m really anticipating is actually Chapter 3; I’ve always been really fond of the whole exchange that happened between Paul and Chuuya there, and I think getting to narrate those lines would be really exciting, since up until now, I haven’t had a great opportunity to get into the more emotionally intense lines. I hope that when the time comes, I’m able to do them justice.

Some other chapters I’m really looking forward to recording, I think, are 6, certain parts of 7, 10, and 12.

Q: Is there anything you wish you had been able to keep in the fic, but couldn’t?

A: Well, I definitely think there are some things that would have been more intense and exciting for people who were maybe expecting a more canon-typical plot to what we’ve gotten so far, but I don’t really know that I have regrets about not being able to use them in the fic.

For example, because the very first iteration of the original headcanons that make up what would eventually become Cherish were, well, headcanons, and tied to a much longer overarching storyline with no clear-cut beginning or end, both the way that the story started and, in some aspects, how it will wrap up is somewhat different from how it was back then.

I’m not going to elaborate on that at this time, because there are some aspects of those things that I had to change which I intend to still try to potentially incorporate at a different point in the fic, and thus I don’t want to spoil any of what might happen in the future, but there were definitely things and characters that had to be cut from the final version of Cherish that I do wonder what it would have been like for my readers if I had kept it; I wouldn’t say it’s a regret, though, as I’m quite proud of the fic I have now, and I think it’s probably best as it is currently.

Other than that, I guess my only potential regrets about things I couldn’t keep would have to be some of the deleted scenes and lines delving into certain characters’ mindsets, but I talk about those in the development notes already, so I won’t delve into that here, either. 

Q: Do you plan to find a way to reuse all of the scrapped content for Cherish?

A: As much as I reasonably can without impacting the story in a negative way, at least, yes; it would be utterly impossible for me to keep literally everything in the fic that was ever discarded, but within the margins of good sense, I will try to re-incorporate whatever I feel is important, insightful, cool, or interesting and works with the plot.

Almost anything worth talking about that is left over after that is likely to end up in my Cherish Development Notes, so maybe keep an eye on those if scrapped content tends to pique your fancy.

Q: Do you think Cherish would’ve been as successful if it kept its original title?

A: Honestly? In some ways, I think it probably would’ve been a lot more successful – at least, in terms of marketing. 

The thing about Cherish as a title is that although it’s very fitting for the story, and I do love it a lot, it’s very definitely not even half as marketable as a name like Storm Chaser would’ve been; there’s simply no getting around that fact.

Yes, for a fic, something short, sweet, and romantic like ‘Cherish’ does just fine – it’s expected, even; searching it up as a fic title right now, in fact, there are a total of 764 results, 3 of which by the exact same title are in the BSD fandom – obviously including mine. That’s just the issue, though; sure, it’s a perfectly normal and acceptable title, but that just means that when it comes to marketing, it doesn’t help it to stand out at all from the others.

If we’re talking in terms of more conventional ideas of success and popularity, then for a fic that is meant to be a fully-fledged light novel of the same quality and effort as its official canon kin – and which has been made into such a massive project stretched out across so many forms of media – having a title that sounds like what one would usually expect to be some little oneshot drabble of the most common kind is absolutely a bad move.

Storm Chaser as a title for a fic, on the other hand, has only 29 total entries on AO3, none of which are in the BSD fandom, and it sounds like an actually plausible name for an official sequel to Storm Bringer; there is no doubt that at the very least, something like that would absolutely generate more clicks and hits out of pure curiosity alone than Cherish ever could. 

That being said, though, generating more curiosity clicks doesn’t necessarily mean generating more genuine love and interest, and I’d rather have people clicking out of interest in the summary and description and tags than over something as petty as the title to begin with – not to mention that I decided a long time ago I’d rather make Cherish from the depth of my heart in every way, in accordance with what I want it to be, than to worry about its popularity levels.

Q: How historically accurate do you feel that this fic is in its representations?

A: Well, at least more accurate than a great deal of the more popular sources of information out there, when it comes to irl Rimbaud and Verlaine’s life stories and situations, unfortunately — as I said further up above.

Granted, there are going to be some small differences and creative liberties taken here and there, given that the versions of them presented in Cherish come from a slightly alternate universe to ours, but that’s mostly just to do with the fact that in this alt-world, Paul actually succeeded at making a second attempt on Arthur’s life at the train station where the teen intended to have their final parting; apart from that and the obvious connecting of dots and filling in of blanks wherever information simply didn’t fully exist about the more intimate and intricate details of their lives, great care was taken to ensure that everything was presented as realistically and accurately as possible, according to all of the intensive research I have done about them over the years.

As for the general historical representation of the time period they come from itself, I’d like to think that I’m doing well with it, as I try to do my research on every aspect the very best that I can, but aside from certain highly specific subjects, I don’t claim to be half so much of an expert of the general late Victorian era itself as much as I am an expert on them and their life stories, relationship, and circumstances specifically; if there’s a minor slip-up or two in regards to facts about the era that I somehow managed to overlook or misunderstand, I’m truly sorry about that. haha

Q: What is your favorite fan interaction you’ve had to this day?

A: I’m going to guess that my interactions with my dear co-artist don’t count here, right? In that case, it would definitely be finding out that my new pal, @dazaisshippingcontainer, is making fanart of my fic; that was such a touching moment for me — the thought that someone out there (especially someone that at the time I wasn’t close to) had been reading my fic and loving it enough to actually make fanart for it. 😭 Moments like this are moments I truly treasure beyond compare. Ily Clover, buddy. 💖

Let’s be honest, though; I love and live for every single fan interaction I’ve had to date. 🥺💖 They all mean the world to me.

And of course there’s Art — my dear, dear friend and co-artist, whom I appreciate so, so much… I truly feel blessed by it all.

Q: Do you ever read your own fic?

A: Oh, you have no idea... lol Yes, yes, and a thousand times more: yes. I adore Cherish; it’s not just something I wrote for you all to enjoy — it’s something I wrote for me, too, something precious that I adore with all of my heart, and something that I’m immensely proud of.

Every time I release a chapter, I read it together with my partner, and besides that, I probably re-read a chapter from my fic —if not multiple or all of them — just by myself at least once a week.

Needless to say, I really love Cherish.

Q: How many animatics do you plan to have for Cherish?

A: Ideally, I’d like to have at least one for every arc in the fic, plus one last animatic at the very end as a final look back on the story and a great celebration — which would make for six — but I don’t know how that will actually work out, in the end, given how massive of a project making even just one can be; I may end up making more than that or less — we’ll just have to wait and see, I suppose.

—

And, that would be all. Thank you for your questions, everyone, and I look forward to the next time we hold an interview like this together!

[esta-elavaris]

22, 24, 28 please <3

22. do you ever worry about public reaction to what you’re writing? how do you get past that?

Oh, all of the time. I used to have panic attacks over CTW, and even now I still think every time I post a chapter that this will be the one that exposes me as an absolute hack and everybody will unfollow and unsub 💀 I don't think it goes away, I think it just get easier to act in spite of. I remember when I was at uni, I gave my novel writing teacher the first chapter of my novel (the one I'm still working on now lmao) and when I had a meeting with him a week later to get my feedback, I walked in already apologising for how bad it was.

He had to stop me, be like "Lucy please just read the feedback, here" as he handed me his notes, and the feedback was literally 99% praise, paired with one minor piece of criticism over a paragraph that I already knew wasn't great. It's just how I am. CTW was written years after that, and there are still times when I'm furiously justifying plot decisions because I was certain they'd be hated and I was defending myself against hate that didn't even end up sprouting up (the captaincy of the Dutchman was a big instance of that), we really are our own worst enemies a lot of the time.

I would highly recommend reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. But also, just get used to doing the thing in spite of that fear. It's definitely disproportionate considering I don't really write anything too controversial, but this is the internet and you do occasionally get people just looking for problems. The funny part being that when they sprout up, I usually just laugh at them - the thought of them cropping up is worse than when they actually do. I just struggle to respect the opinions of people who spend their time being shitty to artists online, not least because they NEVER have any of their own stuff posted.

The only way I'd be able to take non-constructive criticism seriously would be if it came from a respected mutual because I'd know it was coming from a well-meaning place, but my lovely mutuals would never be non-constructive in their criticism, so the point is moot.

24. how do you recharge when you’re not feeling creative?

So I write daily as a rule, and after around four months of that (which were challenging, I won't lie, back when I started in 2020), whether or not I "felt" creative stopped being a factor in that equation. The more you show up, the more your creativity does, it really is like a muscle. Some days are still better than others -- I did find this year that having other creative outlets helps a lot. I think about writing and plot decisions etc. so often while I'm crocheting, because it gets me into that same zone but without the added stress of staring at an empty word document, which can be very intimidating at times.

Reading also helps! Fic is great, ofc, but I really can't emphasise enough how good it is to read books, and cast a wide net for that reading material. Rn I'm doing three reading challenges, one that revolves around classics, another where you read a book from every single country in the world, and a third where it's all book recs from mutuals, on top of whatever I'm mood reading, and I always have at least one non-fiction book on the go, too. Some of those reads end up being absolute stinkers, but it's a necessary process.

28. your least favorite part of the writing process

Descriptions! Dialogue comes so quickly and so easily to me - so many of my drafts start out just looking like a script because I'll get all of the dialogue down and then I have to fill in the bits in the middle. I'm not great with metaphor, and I struggle to wedge in my descriptions in a way that feels natural and not shoehorned in.

When I read back old stuff, though, I don't think that struggle shows too much, which is nice.

I also hate edits, because if I spend too long doing that I'll end up not wanting to post the chapter, so I have to find a nice balance between proofreading and not giving myself a chance to freak myself out...which is how an embarrassing number of typos and mistakes slip through.

Thank you!! 💜

Ask game ✨

[wouldntyou-liketoknow]

Day 2: Self-Mutilation

(Disclaimer: the character in this story does not belong to me. Phantom is the property of Nathan Sharp and Give heart Records. Also, please note that this scenario happened sometime before the events of the Phantom music video.)

(Trigger Warnings: body horror, knives/blades, gore, blood, exposed bones, ritual, implications of illegal business, drinking, strong language. Please let me know if I missed anything.)

Day 1  Day 3   Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Day 11 Day 12 Day 13

The cane didn’t seem like anything special at first. Oh sure, its wood was a glossy shade of black, and its hilt had been crafted to resemble a set of three curving, silvery talons.

And while that did set it apart from more standard walking-sticks, it still looked. . .cheap. Fragile. Like something you’d find in either a gas station or a sidewalk vendor’s booth, alongside bootleg toys and the like. (The claws weren’t even grasping anything! They were just clutching empty air! What was the user supposed to do, intertwine their fingers with it? Because if that was the case, then that was just sad.) 

Even so, Phantom had wanted it. He knew he hadn’t been drawn to it like some fantasy B-movie might suggest. He just so happened to be in the market for a personal talisman. No magic-user could fully conduct their power without a talisman. Not even one with an eldritch-level status like him.

He’d visited numerous antique stores and curiosity shops and what have you. He’d already come across a few interesting candidates (a rainbow-steel switchblade, a fountain pen with an abalone-esque pattern, too many rings and necklaces to count, etc.) but none of them stood out to him quite like the cane did. 

It didn’t matter how the cane had probably been slapped together, how the metal of its claws would potentially turn pink wherever it was most often touched, how it’d likely been sheer dumb luck on the manufacturer’s part to include quality wood. 

None of those things mattered, because Phantom took pride in being a creative bastard. 

He’d transformed a handful of condemned buildings into places anyone would like to visit on their nights off, hadn’t he?

He’d managed to keep his underground empire safely under the radar centuries now, hadn’t he?

He’d earned a reputation for having one of the largest soul collections on earth, hadn’t he?

Shaping this cane into something stronger, something better, something real. . .how hard could that possibly be?

___

As it turned out, improving his new talisman might be just a wee-bit harder than Phantom had thought. 

Not like that was going to stop him, mind you. He’d already paid a sum that was more than this cane was actually worth. (For now, at least. Once he was done with it, the price tag would be much, much higher than any measly amount of dollars. . .)

Phantom murmured a song in his monstrous native tongue as he paced, carefully pouring a jar of white powder on the floor at the center of his personal den. The powder in question was a mixture of ashes and ground-up bones, courtesy of the last idiot who’d tried to steal something from him. 

The shape he was creating almost resembled a mandala, if not just a piece of abstract art. With how he had to constantly shift his hand in order to get each part right, his wrist honestly might’ve snapped if he was human. 

Even with whatever was festering in his gut right now, Phantom still appreciated the irony of that thought. 

Once the symbol was finally complete, Phantom set the now empty jar aside and surveyed the purple-stained shelves that made up one of the four walls here. His eyes settled on two glass bottles. 

The first was a wine decanter that he’d cleaned out a few weeks prior. (Just because he was a horrific abomination didn’t mean he was ignorant about reusing and recycling, Karen.) The liquid now residing inside of it was the same color as a bruise, churning of its own accord. Phantom had brewed it and poured it into the bottle to cool about an hour ago. 

The second was a much smaller vial that had been molded into the shape of a human skull. This one contained an emerald-green oil; the way it glowed looked radioactive and appealing at the same time.

Phantom took both of them into his hands and strolled back across the room. He sat down in the center of the bone-powder symbol, setting the bottles down beside him, then peered at the table in the corner. He bared his teeth in a sharp whistle, and the cane came soaring like an over-eager dog. It stopped to hover before its owner at a horizontal angle, waiting silently for his next move. 

Phantom had already popped one of his spare orbs into the space between cane’s three silver claws. (Not only had it been such a perfect, satisfying fit, but it could also give him an excuse to cause some hell-raising if his rivals ever tried asking him about how he pondered it.)

But, of course, that wasn’t enough. 

Making a talisman required a lot more sacrifice. 

With that in mind, Phantom decided to stop with the dramatic effect and just get this over with. 

He glanced back and forth between his legs. He wasn’t sure why he couldn’t decide which one to use for this ritual; they were just part of his disguise, after all. Whatever damage was done would be minimal. Still, as he leaned forward, he specifically rolled the right pant-leg up to his knee. (Humans always made a big deal about things being on the left.)

He then uncorked the skull-vial, pouring some of its contents into his cupped free hand. Once he decided there was enough, he reached up and slathered it all along the cane’s stem, leaving no square-inch untouched. After that, he drained a little more of the green liquid out and applied it to his partially-uncovered leg. He had to be more careful with it this time, tracing a network of jagged, spiraling lines onto his false skin. 

By the time he was done, there wasn’t much of the potion left. Then again, that wouldn’t be much of a problem: it was a simple concoction of ink, tears, and blood. He’d have a fresh batch ready in no time.

The stuff in the wine decanter, on the other hand. . .it was one of the few things that beings like Phantom struggled with. He cringed as he raised the bottle closer to his face. The odor leaking out was almost similar to the fresh, distinct scent that always followed a good rainstorm—geosmin, if Phantom remembered correctly. Except if geosmin had an oily bite to it, as though some idiot thought it’d be a good idea to mix sweat with Pure Evil 13 Million hot sauce for a YouTube video.

Phantom stared down the elixir for a few long seconds, then screwed his eyes shut and took a swig. He had to really commit to the whole Bottoms Up thing, craning his neck all the way back in order to force himself to not immediately spit the fluid out. Worcestershire sauce was already the bane of any eldritch’s existence, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that adding spleen milk and apple cider vinegar to it made it even worse. 

It tasted like it was insulting him. 

How the fuck did that even work?!

But that didn’t change the fact that this particular mixture proved so effective for most self-involved rituals.

So, Phantom drank about half of the decanter. Once he knew he’d consumed enough for his plan, he set it down beside the skull vial (it took some effort not to instinctually chuck the decanter across the room). 

He could already feel the emerald oil tingling on his skin, as well as the Fuck You Juice starting to boil in his stomach. However, he knew from experience that potions were a bit similar to computers: they almost always seemed to need at least three and a half days to start working.  

Phantom shifted to lie down on his back, stretching his arms and folding his hands behind his neck. It was his turn to wait as he stared up at the cane. 

Sooner or later, something manifested inside the orb it was holding. That something flickered at first, like indigo embers at the bottom of a firepit. But as he watched, it grew larger and brighter. It transitioned from energy to a solid mass, and it writhed similarly to an octopus in a cramped aquarium. 

There was still barely anything to prepare Phantom for what came next. 

The muscles inside Phantom’s right calf began twitching, much more violently than the occasional spasms humans typically experienced. The ensuing sNaAaP was as sickening as it was muffled. The lower half of Phantom’s leg buckled, most definitely not bending the correct way. The involuntary movement suggested that he’d just been hit with a reflex hammer that was somehow on steroids.

Phantom’s dark, toxic blood sprayed out as a glistening shape tore its way through his flesh. Considering how hard it really was to break bones (especially with how resilient Phantom’s disguise was), it was no surprise that both the tibia and fibula looked a little worse for wear. The ends that had formerly been connected to the patella were now jagged and splintery, tangled with strands of skin. 

Phantom’s ankle effectively dislocated, which sort of felt like all the times it’d just randomly rolled when he walked for no reason. Except this was worse, because the talus didn’t seem ready to be snapped like a gory KitKat bar. 

The partially-exposed bones bucked and shook like an animal in a trap. In response, whatever amount of Phantom’s blood that hadn’t spilled yet decided to grow claws. The layers of Phantom’s skin shredded themselves apart. A few pieces were sent flying as the gash grew wider and wider.

Finally, with an awful Strrr-cRaCk, Phantom’s lower leg bones rose into the air. They twisted around the cane to a chorus of popping and clicking, like a strangler vine growing around a thin tree. 

A sharp, sizzling hiss buzzed through Phantom’s ears as the bones started steaming, starting melting. But they refused to drip down onto the floor below. No, instead, they just kept sliding all over the cane, slowly but surely soaking into its material.

Phantom wasn’t sure how long it took for the absorption phase to be complete. His pain receptors weren’t active, of course, but something about watching your own body parts be mauled and repurposed by unseen hands just seemed to make time slow down. 

Eventually, the cane appeared clean once again. Aside from the remains of Phantom’s leg, there was no evidence that anything had happened to the cane at all. 

Phantom raised one of his arms, holding his hand open to the air above. The cane faithfully drifted toward him. The wood felt like snakeskin as Phantom closed his fingers around it. After a few seconds passed, he sat up on his haunches, holding the cane a bit closer for examination. 

The metal hilt was hot to the touch. Its trio of claws were sharper than before. 

The orb now appeared empty, but Phantom knew better.

A satisfied grin etched its way across his features—way more satisfied than it probably should’ve been for a guy whose leg looked like it’d been shoved into a garbage disposal.

But that wasn’t a problem. His disguise’s bones had grown back before, so they’d grow back again. In fact, the healing process would probably be even faster than usual.

Phantom’s new talisman was ready for service, after all. . .

@that-bat @sammys-magical-au. @captainrose35 @th3w00ds @thelittleautisticgirl @ineedallofthehugs

[thewatercolours]

King's Quest Ficlet: "The Brave"

I didn't even polish this, because the creative juices are turning so slowly these days, and if I slowed down for an edit I'm not sure I'd post it. But I want to. Based on this lovely piece of art by @gerbiloftriumph.

Back to back with bars between them. Fingers linked through a gap in the grille. Breaths gradually matching. How is it that Graham can’t bear to look her in the eye after all his poor choices, and yet he dares hold her hand? She’s weakening, all because of him. He should be working himself to the bone to get her out before it’s too late. Or if he’s going to be a sniveling sop who can’t, how has he got the gall to come here?

“I should go,” he whispers, but can’t move.

“And do what?” Amaya says under her breath, too low for goblin eavesdroppers.

“Save you all.”

She snorts. “What, in the next five minutes? You stay where you are.” He can hear her trying to bully some gusto into her voice, but the shivering and exhaustion come out on top.

Graham tries to pull his hand free. “I can’t stay here forever.” If only he could. If only time would pause if he didn’t move, and starvation would pause along with it.

Amaya snags his fingers before they can pull loose, tightening her own grip. “Sure, not forever. But you can take five.” From his periphery he can see her turn to glance over her shoulder at him. “I think you need it, kid. You been getting enough sleep?”

“Oh yes,” he chuckles bitterly. “I get my full eight hours every time.” “And food?”

She doesn’t need to worry about that.

She presses on. “Those chicken legs, or whatever they are. Where are they coming from? When I’m eating, who’s not?”

Graham tries to brush it off with a sternness he can tell she’ll see through before he’s said a word. “I’ve told you. I’ve got a rotation going between you, the Feys, and the Hobblepots. I wish there was more, but –“

“And where do you fit in that rotation, Your Majesty? How many days since you ate?”

“I eat when I need to.”

“How many?” she insists. Even with all the vigour drained from her, her questions are commands.

“A day or two.”

“Or three? Or four?”

He sighs, and even with the bars between them his shoulder blade heaves against hers. “Can you stop now, Amaya?” he says very quietly – perhaps too quietly for her to even hear him properly. “I’ll stay. But can we just sit?”

Amaya goes quiet. Without turning round, he can’t know whether he’s only frustrated her, or if she’s nodded understandingly and just wants to give him the silence he needs. Or if she’s finally realized just how grim it really is and the same silence eating him has taken its first true bite out of her heart. Time doesn’t truly exist down here, except in it’s more terrifying aspects, but he knows at least that he sits there a lot longer than five minutes.

It's Graham who breaks the silence after all. “Amaya --” he says, aloud this time, and there’s a choke in his voice, “—I don’t know if I’m brave enough.”

Her voice sounds monotone, faraway, but real. “Sometimes, admitting that is bravery.” She shifts to look at him again, and he finds himself turning to look too. Gauntness has begun etching her face, and her eyelids are heavy, but the eyes beneath them still have their brightness. She swallows. “Sometimes rest is bravery.” She squeezes his hand, and lets it go at last. “I’m not going to die this time, Graham. I’ve already promised. You can try whatever you need to try to get us out of here – run any risk – and I won’t die on you. I’m not that pathetic.”

He turns round to face her full on, sitting on his ankles. “What if it’s a promise you can’t keep?”

Amaya nods slowly. “Oh, I can. Believe me. It’s not a promise to you. I made it to myself, quite a while ago, and I’ve proved to myself I can keep it.” She rushes into her next sentence, even though he hasn’t tried to interrupt, as though she fears her might. “Listen. You’ve done incredible keeping us alive. Now I need a promise out of you, kid. Will you let us help you keep alive too?”

What can he do but say yes in a moment like that? Even if he can’t quite believe the words he’s saying, he can mean them. “Yes. Yes.”

“Good. So here’s what I want you to do. Don’t go back to that third floor, or try to shift those levers, or whatever it is you’re going to try for the umpteenth time tonight. Just sleep, and wherever you get the food from, next piece is yours. Do you understand me? No more tonight.”

Will arguing do any good? “But –”

She turns away and crosses her arms. “Good night.”

“I –“

“Good night, Graham.”

“Amaya, this isn’t –“

He can only see the back of her head, but he can feel the glare. “Rest. Is. Bravery. Good night.”

Graham rises to his feet, and musters a smile. He doesn’t feel any more hopeful, but something else, something heaver, seems to be dispersing just a little. “Good night.”

[agentnico]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) Review

Why would they release this only a month after Across the Spider-Verse?? It’s as if they WANT to live in the shadows!

Plot: After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers. Their new friend, April O'Neil, helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of course are close to the hearts of many people’s childhoods, however I do not share that element of nostalgia. I am aware of the turtles and their pizza obsession, and I have unfortunately seen both of the Michael Bay produced ones, but nonetheless I walked into Mutant Mayhem with a very open mind. I am a fan of Seth Rogen and have also been enjoying this new style of animation that spawned from 2018′s Into the Spider-Verse, that steps away from the Disney/Pixar dominated oversaturated 3D computer animation and instead incorporates 2D and various interesting art styles from watercolours to comic-book sketches. Again, Spider-Verse started this and is still probably the most well executed one, however I personally also believe Klaus and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish have managed to take this new artwork animation style and make it their own. Mutant Mayhem again looks very good visually, and even though this one doesn’t really add much more to this animation style that Spider-Verse already did, there were still some creative choices made, like in many shots parts of the character drawings and the background sketches looking unfinished, as if a kid drew them, which I found to be a nice touch, especially with the movie’s youthful nature. But yes, the artwork is very close to Spider-Verse, and that is not the only comparison. Strangely enough the energetic music score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross hits near all the same notes and drum beats of Daniel Pemberton’s excellent Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack. Both are very similar, and again reiterated that TMNT: Mutant Mayhem gladly embraces that it exists solely due to the trend that Spider-Verse started.

What really works for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is that it actually accepts the fact that its titular turtles are teenagers. Voiced entirely by a youthful cast, the four central turtles have amazing banter and share that coming-of-age feel, making their friendship believable and entertaining to watch. At times it feels like you’re just hanging out with a bunch of friends who are being goofs. The supporting cast all do their part and are evidently having fun themselves. Ice Cube makes for a formidable villain who at first comes off really cool and charming, but then turns into an intimidating presence that manages to proudly proclaim rap lyrics. Jackie Chan is an inspired casting choice, as he brings an endearing warmth as the overprotective father-figure to the turtles, and his vocal performance felt genuine. There’s many famous actors that provide vocal additions to the shedload of characters in this movie, but I’d say Paul Rudd stood out the most as a crazy skater-bro who was foolishly funny.

Jeff Rowe (known for The Mitchells vs. The Machines) balances the themes of coming-of-age and acceptance really well with the fast-paced action-packed energy of Seth Rogen’s and Evan Goldberg’s script, and there’s plenty of laughs and colourful set pieces to keep kids entertained at the cinema this month. This is definitely a more younger audience aimed affair, but I enjoyed it nonetheless and at the very least is the best version of TMNT I have seen so far. Naturally my main comparisons are those Michael Bay movies and, well, that’s not a very high bar. But don’t worry, Mutant Mayhem provides plenty of entertainment value, popping imagery and mountains of ninja skills. And pizza, of course.

Overall score: 7/10

[heckosart]

Heya

Fellow (albeit novice) fantasy cartographer here

How'd you get into making maps for people?

Hi!

I've liked drawing and making maps for a long time, and I used to make up maps for fun as a kid. The things that inspired me originally were mostly books, I read fantasy extensively and I've always loved following the characters around by referring to the map as I read. From that I started to draw maps of places in books as well ones I made up. I drew a lot of magical islands for a while.

I also got really inspired by the natural forces of geology/plate tectonics/weather/etc and how they impact the land. I use all of that interest to try and create fantasy maps that have a sense of grounded believability to them. I'm by no means an expert, but I'm always learning and trying to improve.

Obviously for most maps I do professionally there's already a general shape and layout my clients have in mind, but even then I often include small additional islands, give borders and coastlines extra wiggle and variation, and look for ways to incorporate natural and geographic barriers that would help inform political ones.

As art of my thesis at art school, I made a map for a personal fantasy project. I also made a simpler map for a friend, and with those examples I put maps into my commission info. Since that time (2020) I've probably only done about five maps for clients, so I don't usually get as many as these last two jobs back to back might imply. It is always fun to work on though, and I'm thinking about doing some new personal pieces soon since it's been almost four years from the last time I did one for me.

My best recommendation for getting into map commissions would be to get a couple nice samples completed (at least one of a budget option and one big fancy one) and to decide on a clear plan for base pricing. Currently, I have maps broken down into two categories of price.

Simple: $90 - Includes lines, one flat color for land and one for water, mountains and rivers, and typed labels.

Complex: $180 - Includes lines, terrain color variation, symbols/terrain textures/landmark drawings/mountains/rivers, and handwritten labels.

I can also add on sea creatures and monsters and custom compass roses for an extra charge.

My pricing is based on knowing how long it takes me to do the work, how much effort it takes, and the expectation that short deadlines not be imposed. Extra complex requests and tight deadlines (for maps I'd consider anything less than three weeks to be tight) are fully welcome, but will come with an added price to account for those requirements. I would also charge far more for a commercial client, all of my prices here and in my commission info are for personal use jobs only.

You probably know this already, but I always have to say it! Make sure, whatever you're charging, you're making above minimum wage. Ideally, you should make more than minimum because custom art is luxury service. Your skills are valuable, so treat them like it!

I also can't recommend making a TOS to protect both you and your clients' safety enough. Mine are very much not perfect, but I'm always happy to offer them as something for other artists to reference or even just copy when making their own.

Personal Use | Commercial Use

On top of all of that, I'm very persistent with my self-promotion. I used to only use Twitter for art, but post-Elon I've branched back out to Tumblr and made a Bluesky because suddenly it was really scary to notice that all my eggs (clients and followers) were in that one volatile basket. I'm not famous or wildly successful, but my followings on here and Bluesky are still a tiny fraction of on Twitter and that's scary. I try to reblog/retweet/etc my promotional posts once a day to keep eyes on them (but I forget pretty often too lol) and whenever I have a little drawing or something I post it. I'm not the most prolific artist, but I try not to worry about that too much.

Hopefully this isn't too much stuff you already know and hopefully some of it was helpful!

[miqojak]

I had not notices the scarring and tattoos on screenshots until reading that ask. How many tattoos does Jak have?

She now has four! I'll see about linking some refs, though funnily enough... despite how large her biggest one is, even, she's shockingly good at hiding her tattoos, despite how little clothing she seems to wear at times. In this old art piece you can see the dragon tattoo that wraps around her right thigh, almost down to her knee, and goes all the way up her back and torso, and wraps around from the back to have its head over her shoulder, to rest right at the top of her breast. (That's one of my first pieces, she was whitewashed in it, and the jackal tattoo on her forearm isn't accurate.) Here's a screenshot set in which you can kind of make out most of her tattoos, as well - though I'll say that even the jackal tattoo I have here isn't quite right, still. Tattoo commissioning is hard even for fake people, lol!

Then there are the two on her forearms - she has a line art jackal on her left inner forearm, and a set of three falling phoenix down feathers on her inner right inner wrist/forearm. All of these are black-inked tattoos. Her most recent one is a watercolor robin that's inked under her left breast, along her ribcage - and is the only one with any color! This is on purpose. All of her tattoos are representative of her. As much as she pierces and tattoos herself so she'll look less like the Girl Who Came Before™... each tattoo is pretty representative of a facet of her.

The Dragon - she has a fiery personality, she's greedy, egotistical, and looks down on most others. She considers herself above most, powerful, and more than willing to spit fire to cut someone down to size. (Not to mention hoarding shiny things. :P) Plus, she's pretty damn clever - she'll talk you in circles, if you're not careful.

The Jackal tattoo is pretty self-explanatory: she's the only member left alive from the J tribe, and the Jackal is representative of her culture, and who she is. The Jackal survives at all costs - what the Jackal wants/needs comes first.

The phoenix down feathers on her wrist is a matching tattoo she got with her twin brother... who has since abandoned her. It was (and remains), however, a reminder that she always gets back up. No matter how bad it is, she always rises from the ashes. I've also considered tying certain 'rebirth-esque' moments to each of the three feathers in her mind, but I'm not sure. It's undoubtedly a statement about survival - once again at all costs. She will always get back up from the fire.

And last but most certainly not least - the robin tattoo! This one took a lot of thought, and is the only one impacted by someone not herself. 'Little Robin' is what Ketsuchi, her lover, calls her. It began as a sort of tease - something to get under her skin, and it worked! But these days, it means a lot more to her. Little Robin or no, she works hard and gets what she wants, and survives despite being a 'little bird.' And much like how she sees Ketsuchi as someone who has brought color into an otherwise colorless, unremarkable, unbearable existence... this is the only tattoo with color (much like how in her sketch book, sketches of him are the only ones with color, as well). Getting a permanent mark on her body that is a testament to how much someone else means to her is...huge. No one was ever supposed to mean anything to her - and he has so impacted her, that the Little Robin has become just one more facet of who she is: Jackal, Robin, Dragon...survivor.

(Notably, she has permanent scarring on her arms from Ketsuchi that she has come to like - so theoretically she already had a permanent mark to show his impact on her...but that's not the same as choosing to mark yourself to show how important that person has become.)

I didn't initially intend for her to care much about hiding her tattoos, but I discovered that no matter the outfit, I ended up making Jak accidentally sort of cover body parts that had the tattoos...so it ended up being kind of canon: she's covered in illustrations that tell you exactly who she is, if you know how to interpret them. However, half the time... you can't even see them. The one most easily seen is often the lower half of the dragon's tail along her thigh, and its head that peeks out of many shirts/tops... which should be more than enough to warn people, though it rarely (if ever) dissuades anyone from testing the Dragon's ire.