#this is what i needed the pointy pictures for. i have more pictures and sayings to use later

[meanbossart]

i just need to take a second to gush about how much i love durge drow and astarion, they feel so fleshed out and perfectly written together in their fucked up wretched ways. They really inspire me to write more for my own tavs, hopefully one day ill be able to say im as happy with my own work as i get when seeing yours. I have to ask though, do you have any tips on drawing head shapes and faces? or maybe about wrinkles? i find i really struggle with that stuff when drawing and i adore how expressive and grungey all your art looks!

First of all thank you so much, I love hearing what people think of the two of them together 😭

Honestly you've hit on something that's quite near and dear to my heart, I love developing and figuring how to draw and stylize different faces to get the most unique, interesting looking results - everything about the details is highly rewarding to me. What does x type of nose look like from this angle? In this style? How can this eyeshape best translate to my art? How different does a face look when its making this expression? What does that MOUTH DO? etc etc.

In fact you kind of inspired me to put a little tutorial/guide together the last hour lmao and what a blessing it is that the two current subjects of this blog serve as great models here, being that their faces are basically polar opposites!

When it comes to heads, you've probably heard it a dozen times before that you want to think of them in terms of geometry and facets; my process to drawing them is pretty conventional so I won't spend too much time on it, but it goes something like this:

Obviously I don't do every single one of these steps most of the time, which is just something that comes from practice/developing muscle memory, but it is helpful to start off this way for two main reasons:

By making these guide lines and splitting a head into pieces like this, you'll have an easier time seeing and understanding it as a multidimensional object, and in turn, facilitate It for you when you venture out into doing wacky angles and lighting.

Making different headshapes starts HERE. notice how Astarion's "face" slate is narrower and longer, how my durge's jaw pieces sit lower on the head, how all of the same pieces came together in the same way but we ended up with one real pointy elf and a real brick of a drow - making characters look different successfully begins very early in the sketching process.

The next thing you want to do branches out into every day life: start noticing yours and other people's facial features. How does an upturned nose look from a high angle? How does the size of someone's cheekbones affect what they look like when they smile? How about when the light hits them a certain way? Does someone's lip shape changes when they pout? When they laugh? How does a person's hairline change the shape of their face? You do NOT need to creepily sketch every stranger you see on the bus, but get into the habit of actually noticing what people look like when you talk to them - when you look at pictures, when you watch movies - make a mental list of interesting ways mouths, noses, and eyes can come together in a variety of different proportions to make completely distinct looking mugs, and how they change depending on how you are looking at them.

Light and shadow play a HUGE role in how faces look, too, basically as crucial as actual bone structure does. As you see up there I tried to rough out how natural, head on, and underhead light would look on these two very different looking guys, and while we can see definite patterns, there are small differences that come to be because of the sizes and shapes of their features.

Here is a very, very basic look at how some of these features come to look the way they do, how they interact with one another, and how they compare between a blocky, rather conventionally "masculine" head and one that's much softer and slimmer.

Note please that it is not one or two characteristics that give a chaarcter their "look"; you can reduce a face to eyes, mouth, and nose through stylization and still have them be recognizable, but if you want to do more than that, you have to consider the whole package! Chin, cheeks, brows, direction of the jaw, slope and size of the forehead, depth of eyes, ridge of the nose, etc - I know this is probably far more than you bargained for, but if you start making note of a FEW of these things now and slowly add on, this will eventually become second nature to you.

Similarly, understanding how these characteristics come together will help you with rendering light and shadow in a realistic way, and predicting what their facial expressions may look like - if no two people are alike, neither are their smiles. :)

Lastly, remember that I'm no expert - I have developed my own methods and semiotics and yours may look slightly (or vastly) different, and that's fine! I hope only that by sharing this it has given you a base to work off of.

Anyways, I HOPE this has been helpful and not just the unsolicited ramblings of a face pervert.

[poetryvampire]

The Song of Rolan

Dingdong! Horny Rolan posting hours again. I started writing head canons for how vocal our lovely wizard can get. It got a bit long so I turned it in a little fic. Also sorry for the name im a lit nerd

Words: 2,705

Rating: Explicit

Rolan x AFAB! Reader

Prompt: Rolan's voice drives you crazy. But he has a terrible habit of stifling all his pretty little noises in bed. You help him fix that.

Tags: teasing, pointy ear play, a touch of edging, dry humping, sloppy oral, p and v sex, bit of overstimulation, creampie, riding that tiefling straight to hell and back

It was an understatement to say you were proud of Rolan. He was an accomplished wizard, loving brother and - in your opinion-the perfect partner. One that you could see yourself spending the rest of your days with. That's not to say he didn't get on your nerves. Not only with his grumpy tendencies but more so with his habit of over working.  You adored his passion and drive to further his studies but it had led to more and more long lonely nights. Either from him traveling with colleagues or the tiefling locking himself in his study to work on a multitude of projects until morning light. 

He had returned home only yesterday having spent almost two full weeks away and yet he still seems dead set to spend all evening pouring over his notes. The Wizard's focus was getting worse by the day. Not that he hadn't been overjoyed to see you. He had practically knocked you off your feet with the intensity of his hug when he came striding through the door. You had spent hours locked in each other's arms in your large shared bed. Steadily he moved between tales of his journey and peppering your skin with feverish kisses.

Rolan had taken you greedily. Frantic, practically tripping over himself trying to touch all of you at once. He couldn't quite find a voice for his needs but you swayed to him happily, matching his clumsy passion. There was plenty of the time to truly savor each other. But still your patience was running thin.

Somehow you had once again found yourself in an empty bedroom starving for your partner. Last night had been a sweet reunion but it did little to quell the fire Rolan lad lit in you while he was away. He had only been gone a few days when a letter arrived that left you breathless. Deciding to skip over the details of his journey he focused instead on his longing for you.

'What little beauty there is to be had here is dwarfed a thousand times by the thought of you. I dream of you always. Of being wrapped in your divine cunt. Of feeling it pulse against my tongue. Gods, I am your slave. Use me only for your pleasure. Let me worship you, my heart.'

His words rang in your head even now, pooling that familiar heat down below. How you wanted him. Wanted to hear such words from his own lips. From the moment you met you’d been in love with the deep rumble of his voice. Nothing gave you such satisfaction as pulling music from Rolan’s lips as you made love. It wasn't easy. Even still he had trouble fully letting himself go. Often he would stifle his words and moans to your great dismay. You recall gazing up at him as you ran your tongue over his length to find his hand clamped tightly over his mouth muffling his cries. A senseless action as you two had been the only people home at the time.  

Swiftly you move to your wardrobe every drop of patience spent. You need him; to wring every moan, grunt and whimper out of that man or it would kill you. He deserves to relish in and express his pleasure freely. Perhaps he just needs a little push.

Much to your relief the tower was empty by this hour. You moved lightly through the halls wearing nothing but a sheer purple dressing gown.

You tap your knuckles against the hard oak door as you enter his study. He was exactly as you had pictured him, four open books across his desk and him writing furiously.

"Beloved!" He half glances at you as he takes a quick slip from his wine glass. "Now don't worry," he continues flipping pages. "I hadn't forgotten about you. This was intended to be a short little report but I just keep finding revisions that seem a shame not to add."

Going above and beyond as always. You can't help but smile as you watch him, those tantalizing eyes darting from paper to paper. Just the sight of him makes the warmth of excitement flare in you. You feel your nipples hardening against the thin fabric you wore. He's dressed down; the lacing on his ruffled white shirt undone to his mid chest and sleeves pushed up past the elbow. Such a small glimpse of extra skin makes your heart race. Hopefully you can rise the same reaction.

"You have such a way with words it would be rude not to." You purr, moving to his side.

"I'll be done soon, truly." He can hear the need in your voice. "Then I'm all yours."

You hum amused as you lift his glass to take a deep drink.

"You sound like you don't believe me." Rolan's hand passes through the space once hosting his glass. "Have I ever let you down in the-"

His eyes finally snap to you and his words catch sharply in his throat, blood rushing to his face. You laugh, finishing the glass.

" What's the matter, my love? You're usually so generous with your words."

"I- I-you," He stammers.

"I seem to remember such generosity in a letter you wrote."

You undo the gown. His eyes fix on you as you let it fall to the floor. As many times as he's seen it the sight of you in your full glory drives him wild. 

"Do you remember that letter?"

"Oh, of course." His voice is barely a whisper, his body tense as if ready to pounce on you.

To his surprise you straddle him and his hands fly to your hips drawing you closer. Both of you groan into a deep kiss as you grind yourself down against the quickly growing tent in his trousers.

"Do you want to please me?" You growl half into his mouth.

"More than anything." He gasps between kisses. 

You pull away, placing a finger over his lips. His beaming cheeks and  pleading eyes stoke your maddening hunger for him.

"Then let me please you. I need to feel it and hear it. Let me drown in you, Rolan."

"Gods above," He groans.

You can see he's already holding back. But you would have to help him along by targeting his weak points. You start with his neck, ghosting your lips over him, letting the tension build. Your hot breath sends a shiver down his spine as he grasps your thighs trying to push you on.

At last you press your lips to his skin earning a soft hiss. You try to go slow but make your need apparent with the ferocity of your mouth. A deep sigh escapes him as you attack his jawline, sucking and teasing as you go. Rolan bucks his hips suddenly, huffing. He's too shy to ask but he's dying for you to touch his ears.

A quick bite to the lobe earns another sharp gasp. You laugh knitting your fingers through his hair- Gods his sounds make your heart flutter.

"Oh? Did you like that, my love?" You coo into his neck. There's words on his lips but they melt away as your tongue slowly traces the shell of his ear right to the tip. "Hhm? What was that? Are you unsure? But you're usually so strong in your convictions."  You repeat the action making him squirm underneath you. You grind down on his bulge creating a delicious friction. "However can I know you're enjoying yourself if you don't tell me?"

"It's good." He chokes out at last, meeting the movements of your eager hips.

"What is? We can't all be scholars you know." You draw away from him slightly. "What do you want?"

He laughs as a devilish grin spreads across his parted lips.

"Everything. You're so, you're so- " his words falter. He still feels your breath on him but the lack of contact makes it clear you're waiting. It's only in times like this when Rolan has difficulty summoning words.

"I've never heard of a wizard so speechless." You goad him and start to move away. "Must want to get back to his dusty old books rather than-"

"No!" He cries, locking his arms around you keeping you in place. "Your mouth- your tongue feels so fucking good I can't stand it."

You lick a strip down his neck while bringing your hands to the sides of his head, making sure to brush your fingers across the points of his ears, pulling a low shudder from him.

"There's the man that wrote me such an inspiring letter. That made me plunge my fingers in myself and dream of his cock."

He swears through his teeth, his eyes sparkling with desire.

"And where do you want my mouth?" You continue practically able to feel the heat flash across his face. Your tongue slides across his clavicle  and then moves lower to lap at the ridges on his chest. "Here, then?"

'No,' he breathes.

You swear you can feel him twitch in his pants. Moving your mouth lower you open his shirt completely and do away with it. You stop at the sharp ridge above his stomach.

"Oh, here?"

He shakes his head, face now blazing hot.  Pained whines fall from him as your mouth climbs back up the path of his chest. It isn't until you graze his Adam's apple that he breaks.

"My cock! Fuck I need your mouth on my cock. I need it now, please." He pleads like his life is at stake.

Instantly you're on the floor in front of him pushing his legs apart. You let out a moan yourself once you've sprung him free. You admire just how heavy he is in your hands and run your fingers over the ridges you wish were currently pounding into you.

With a throaty gasp a few drops of precum spill from his head just as you flick your tongue over it. You don't make him wait long before you take him into your mouth.

His moans ring through the room; the music you've been dying to hear. You waste no time taking him apart. Your mouth runs up and down his full length as you hollow your cheeks.  With a loud pop you release him, a string of saliva still connecting you.

Rolan stairs transfixed, his exquisitely carved chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Like this?"

"Yes! Love, it's perfect. Keep sucking, just like that."

Before the words are past his lips you've swallowed him down again, your eyes never leaving his. Now comes your turn to rid the fears that hold you back. As you bob your head you make no mind of the symphony of wet, lewd noises filling the air.

The obscene display tears a guttural groan from him. Unable to hold off any longer move you press a hand to your wetness as you relish taking him like this. The feel, the sound, the smell. It was quite literally making your mouth water. You switch to running your tongue from base to tip stopping only to tease him with a few quick flicks at his head. Drunk on lust at the sounds of his grunts and murmurs you dip your fingers into your dripping hole. 

"Nine hells." He shakes out, breathing hard. "Tell me, what have I done to deserve such adoration?”

Rolan’s eye then focuses on your hands. One pleasuring yourself and the other roaming your own body. You throw your head back with a soft sigh, his unyielding gaze intensifying your pleasure.

"What a wanton little thing you are." Rolan licks his lips in awe.

You protest for a moment as he snatches your hand away from your sex but hum in approval as he licks them clean.

"You sweet thing.”He coos after slowly releasing your digits. “Let me take care of that."

The swift flourish of magic swirls pass and you scream as you find yourself tumbling back on the plush blankets of your bed. Somehow it still catches you off guard.

Rolan has your legs pushed apart in seconds, taking a moment to breathe you in before going to work. Gently pulling your folds open his expert fingers, his tongue ravished you with the same pace you had set. In moments he had your hips shaking involuntarily. Each painfully sweet lash on your clit making you chant his name.

Yet you still weren't sated in your need to watch your lover twist in ecstasy. Taking him by the horns you pull his mouth to yours, lapping at his lips to savor the taste of your sex.

"How can I be of service?" Rolan purrs, a wicked smile forming.

"Lay back.”

He complies and you straddle his hips once more. You drag your core against his agonizingly hard cock. Now you were free to delight in the bumps and ridges you so adored. Your slick coats you both allowing you to slide over him with ease.

Rolan tries to caress you but you pull his hands away and pin them to the bed making him shudder.

"No, love. Leave them here." You roll your hips slowly bearing down, pushing a sharp whimper from his throat. "You just focus on this." Another roll, another whine. As you move your hands away he digs his claws into the sheets to obey. His eyes rake over you, especially as your speed increases. The sight of your breasts bouncing never failed to make him feral with lust. 

Quickly the last of his composure is slipping away as you grind over him. His hair framing his face wildly, his body trembling with effort not to take control and plunge into you. He howls when his tip catches on your entrance.

"Oh is this what you want now? What a greedy thing you are."  You tease.

"Please, mercy." he rasps out as you lower yourself ever so slightly only to pull away. “Give it to me, please! Love, I need you.” 

“How do you need me?” you wiggle your hips, toying with him. 

“I need to be inside.” He breathes, his frustration palpable as his tail snaps against the mattress. 

With unsteady thighs you sink enough to just take in his tip before slowly drawing back.

“Fuck, I need you.” Rolan cries, his voice breaking “I need to stretch that perfect tight little cunt. To feel it cum all over my cock. Gods, please fuck me!” 

Unable to hold back any longer your body obeys and you take all of him at once. The sudden action rips a howl from you both. The slight pain and overwhelming pleasure of being so full does little to slow you down and you continue your animalistic pace. 

The song spilling from Rolan’s lips has you intoxicated utterly. It’s a lurid rumble of repeating ‘yes’ and ‘please’ and ‘fuck me’ and words in his own native tongue. You ride his cock with all you have drinking in the sight of him. His claws deep in the mattress now, he’s writhing and wailing below you. 

Finally you pull his hands to your hips and his body jumps to match your rhythm. He’s practically sobbing now, eyes swimming with rapture and concentration as he drives himself into you. A spike of heat pulls at your core and with another desperate thrust you come undone, clenching uncontrollably around him. Another wave of unbearable pleasure hits you as your lover pulses and spills his hot load inside of you. He rides it out, ending his flurry of moans with a few deep ragged breaths. 

Rolan catches you in his arms before you even realize you’ve started to fall forward and presses you to his chest. You languish there enjoying the rhythm of his heartbeat. 

“I don’t deserve you.” he says, tangling his fingers in your hair. 

“You’re so dramatic” you sigh “I’ve just missed you. A lot.”   

“Well, with a greeting like that I have half a mind to leave you more often.” he smirks. 

“Don’t you dare,” you warn. 

“Of course not. I wouldn’t dream of it.” Rolan kisses the top of your head, holding you tightly to him until you both fall into slumber. 

Thanks for reading! 

Much love <3

[kinda-super-hot]

I Want More. (2)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Pairing: Harvey Specter x F!Lawyer!Reader - friends to enemies to lovers <3

Part 2 Summary: Well, (Y/n)'s first day doesn't go as she had planned. She learns that she is office neighbors with Harvey Douchebag Specter. Luckily, she makes quite a few gal pals + Louis. Harvey brings her what might be a peace offering, and she learns they will be working closer together than she thought.

Warnings: overthinking - I think that's it but if you noticed something I missed, please let me know.

Word Count: 4038

I wake up from my first night in my new apartment to the sound of busy traffic and honking horns outside. “Blegh...” I mutter and force myself out of bed. Today’s the day- My first day on the job! “Ok, time to get hype.”

I hop to the bathroom and poke at my eyebags for a moment before doing light, office appropriate makeup. I’d picked my outfit out the night before and I had to squeal just at the sight of it laying on the bed. A hot pink dress shirt that I planned to leave more than a few buttons undone towards the top- just enough to not get written up! And a black pencil skirt for the shirt to get tucked into with some pointy, black pumps.

The way I see it, this is my first impression, and I need them to know not only do I mean business but I’m bold.

I take my time curling my hair and even make myself an egg to really soak up my morning. And finally, just as my toast pops up, I snatch it and walk out the door with my thin suitcase.

It’s a short walk towards the firm and I can’t keep the smile off my face. I beam at people walking in the opposite direction and occasionally get a smile back! Nothing could ruin this perfect morning. My optimism was not prepared for me to glance towards the building and catch sight of a familiar face, however.

 Time slowed, but my heart sure didn’t. Across the street and right in front of my new place of work was Harvey Douchebag Specter getting out of a limousine. I stopped in my tracks and let out an audible gasp.

I watch him walk until he disappears into Pearson Hardman. What. The. Fuck.

Ok, ok, don’t panic. He’s probably from another firm and just has a meeting with another lawyer. All I have to do is keep my head held high. Obviously, also actively avoid him if I see him, but otherwise, pretend I never saw him.

I take a deep breath and keep walking. My heart is RACING, but I won’t let him ruin this for me.

I walk through the glass doors and don’t see him. Good, he must have gone up already. I waste no time introducing myself to the lobby ladies, taking my employee picture, and getting my newly printed employee ID.

Ok, everything is going fine. We’re alright. I scan my keycard and make my way to the elevator. “(Y/N) (L/N)!” Shit.

I turn around, but thankfully, it’s a new face. “I thought that was you.” A beautiful, confident black woman glides over to me. She reaches her hand out, and I shake it with a smile, despite not knowing this lady. “Jessica Pearson.”

“Oh!” A real smile takes over my face and I shake her hand more enthusiastically. “It is so good to finally meet you. I must say, my first impression of the firm: very impressive.” I’m saying the absolute truth, but I also want to smooth talk her. “I’m thrilled to be working here, Ms. Pearson.”

She releases my hand and smiles at me, but her eyes say something different. I can tell that she’s a great lawyer just by this first encounter. Her face is warm and inviting but her piercing gaze says mischief in big, bold letters. “I’m glad to hear it. I have a very busy morning ahead of me, so one of our Junior Associates will be giving you the tour.” She looks over my shoulder and I turn to see a mousey, stout looking man. “This is Louis Litt. You will be working closely together on the same floor with both myself and one of our Senior Partners.”

I smile at Louis and reach my hand out, he beams at me, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Litt. I can’t wait to be working with you.” Once again, I try to flatter the person in front of me.

His smile grows wider, and he looks to Jessica behind me before his eyes dart back to mine. “The pleasure’s all mine.” He hesitates to release my hand, and I inwardly laugh at his awkwardness. “We can start the tour right away.”

We all get into the elevator and instead of getting off at each floor and showing me around, Louis pulls out some papers from his pocket. “This is a list telling you exactly what you need to know about each and every floor. What they work on, who manages it, and the phone number for the head receptionist if you ever have any questions.” I take the stack of papers from his hands, and find they are heavier than they look.

“Oof, thank you.” I have to re-straighten my knees from the new weight just placed on them. Jessica raises her brow in Louis’s direction. I flip through some of the pages. Everything he said was on here plus more. Something tells me he wants to show me the type of guy he is by giving me this surplus of paper.

“You’re welcome. Though, you won’t really need to travel to other floors,” He comments, “that’s what the lacky associates are for.” He nudges me with his elbow and lets out a laugh. I do as well, more to keep the cramped space from being uncomfortable than actually finding it funny. Jessica rolls her eyes, and I am obsessed with her refusal to put on an act for him. “No,” he clears his throat, “most of your work will be done…here.”

The elevator doors open, and I’m met with familiar sounds of clicking away at computer keys and phones ringing. I smile and step out onto the floor instantly. It’s everything my old firm was, but better. More advanced, more colleagues, more in general. I let out a pumped-up, “Yes!” and punch the air as discreetly as I can.

Jessica takes over swiftly by saying, “There’s more.” We follow her down a long hallway and pass an office with Louis’s name on it as well as one with Jessica’s name until I see one with my name. There’s a corner office directly to the left of it but I don’t bother looking at the name, I found what I was looking for.

“Oh, wow.” I breathe out to the furnished office that still felt empty. “I can’t wait to put my own flare in here. I can see it now,” I throw my hands out from my sides and walk through the office, I think out loud, “A vintage end table would be so cute here, maybe a fancy vase on top with some fresh carnations...” I ponder.

Jessica hums from the doorway and I turn to see a new person has joined my entourage. “Sounds cute, I can tell we’re gonna be friends.” The new woman is much more relaxed than Jessica and Louis. She has voluptuous, orange hair and a charming smile. “I’m Donna. I work for your grumpy colleague on the other side of this wall.” She knocks on the conjoining wall.

“Nice to meet you, Donna! I’m (Y/N) (L/N).” I look over her outfit. “And by the look of those shoes, we’re going to be the best of friends.” I give her shoes a pointed look and we laugh together.

“Oh, we needed a girly like you in the office.” She squeezes my shoulder. “You let me know if you need anything, and I will get it done. I’ll be your temporary secretary up until you get too many clients and we have to hire someone new. Though, I’m sure it won’t be long with a personality like yours.” She flips her hair and walks out.

“I love her.” I breathe out and turn to Jessica. She smiles before her eyes glance just above my head.

“What great timing!” I turn around, ready to greet whoever else I’ll be working with. “(Y/N), this is our Senior Partner, Harvey Specter.” My smile drops as I look at his face. He’s changed. There are lines on his forehead that weren’t there before. He wasn’t scrawny anymore, either, he’d beefed up. His shoulder width was probably double the size of mine. But when my eyes met his, I knew it was most definitely the same Harvey. “Harvey, this is our new Junior Partner, Ms. (L/N).” We both freeze in shock, looking each other over, analyzing what might have changed.

Tension. Unbelievable tension fills the hall, and I’m sure everyone has stopped what they’re doing to watch our interaction. Harvey’s face, that is usually so great at hiding how he feels, is failing him. His mouth is slightly agape, and his brows are raised the smallest bit. His big, brown eyes widen the more he looks at me. Stunned is the only way to describe him, and that doesn’t even begin to cover it. Though, I’m sure I don’t look much better.

The silence becomes awkward. I clear my throat, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Specter.” I reach my hand out sharply and remove my gaze from him, preferring the wall. What am I doing?!  “I’m sure we’ll work great together.” My tone is curt, and I have the best smile I can muster on my face. I look him in the eyes once more, silently urging him to shake my hand.

He recovers and clears his throat as well before shaking my hand. “I can’t agree more.” Oh god. I roll my eyes and remove my hand from his grasp. “If you’ll excuse me.” His face is back to being unreadable as he turns and walks into the office right next to mine.

No- I read the name on the glass: Harvey Specter. I clench my jaw; I have to get through this. I turn my head back to Jessica. “Well, what’s next?”

_

I received the grand tour of the floor and was then told by Louis to make myself comfortable. The company’s top paralegal would come to speak with me as soon as she was available. I gave him a tight smile before sitting in my office very distressed. “Fuck.”

I want to close my blinds so I can peacefully bang my head into the wall without anyone seeing, but I don’t want to seem closed off. I wonder if I should sit here any longer and wallow in self-pity. “Fuck it.”

I get up from my very comfortable, very expensive chair and leave my office. I can’t help looking over my shoulder as I walk away from it to see if he is still in his office, but all I see is an empty chair. Ok, that means I need to be aware. He’s probably prowling around here somewhere…

“Are… you alright?” I stop surveying my surroundings when a younger man with blonde hair and a skinny necktie talks to me from his cubicle. “You’re, like, scowling at the entire bullpen.”

“Oh, I-I’m sorry.” I fix my face before walking to the man’s cubicle. “I swear I’m not an a-hole, I’m just…” I stop myself as I continue surveying. I need a confidante. I stare right into his soul and bend down so we’re on the same level. “Can I tell you something you will never ever tell anyone else in your entire life?”

He retreats back in his seat a little flabbergasted. “You know, confessing to murder in a law firm probably isn’t the best idea.” I smile at his joke, cool kid.

“Oh, it’s much, much worse.” I stand straight again and lean onto my right leg with my hip jutted out. I smirk as he raises a brow, “So, there’s this guy-”

“You just got here and you’re already talking about guys you’re into?” A tall, tan brunette asks me with sass. Her eyebrows are raised, and her smirk tells me she’s my type of people. “I’m Rachel, top paralegal.” She reaches her hand out.

I shake it, “I’m (Y/N) (L/N), the new Junior Partner.” I smile at her before turning back to the associate I was talking to. “Gosh, sorry! I never asked your name?”

“You were going to confess murder to me, and you didn’t even know my name?” His brows furrow and I roll my eyes jokingly.

“I needed a confidante!” I joke though it’s not really a joke. “Trust me, I’ve had a really odd first day.” I turn to Rachel, “Though, I think I’ve found your replacement.” I return my gaze to the kid. “Sorry it didn’t work out; I’ve just met my match.” I shrug and nod towards my office, Rachel follows behind me as I walk in.

She giggles behind me. “His name is Mike by the way.” I sit in my new, cool chair and let out an exasperated sigh. I motion her to sit across from me. “I’m not a counselor, by the way, but I totally support a girl who needs a quick rant sesh.” She jokingly grabs a writing pad from atop my desk and clicks a pen that was formerly behind her ear. “And, trust me, you are way better off with me than Mike.”

I smile at her thankfully. She says nothing but nods her head, waiting for me to start talking. I groan dramatically and slouch in my chair. “Rachel- you wouldn’t believe what I’ve had to go through today!” She’s already writing on her pad. “My ex who I haven’t seen since law school is my office neighbor-”

Her pen drops from her hand, and she looks deep into my eyes as if making sure what I’m about to say is nothing but the absolute truth. “Harvey?” I nod and hide behind my hands. “Oh. My. God.” She breathes out in shock.

“Well, technically, we were never boyfriend-girlfriend,” she gives me a questioning look, “but we did kiss and go on dates.”

“So, boyfriend girlfriend?” She questioned and I could tell she got it.

“Exactly! But someone doesn’t like labels or commitment or head apparently.” I huff and sink deeper into my chair. When we were together, Harvey and I had the occasional heated make out, but had only just started having sex before we broke it off.

I look back to Rachel and her mouth is still wide open. “W-Well…” Her eyes are everywhere but me. She fidgets with her fingers in her lap, and I feel like I’ve traumatized the poor girl.

“Rachel, I know you’re not a counselor, but I expected more than this.” I can’t help but laugh as she gawks. “Don’t tell me I need to go back to Mike!” I joke and put my hands on my desk to lift myself out of my seat.

“No!” She yells and throws her hands out in front of her, urging me to be seated once again. I freeze before plopping back in my seat. “Mike is Harvey’s personal associate, he’s like his right-hand man.”

My lips create an O. If I told Mike, there’s a good chance he would have told Harvey. “Well, it’s a good thing you saved me when you did.” I smile at her and let out a sad sigh. “I’m really glad you’re here. You and Donna are gonna be my girls, I can tell.”

“Oh, Donna is the best.” She stops and winces before she continues, “She is also Harvey’s right-hand woman.” I let out an exasperated groan. “But! She’s all girl code! You can absolutely trust her so long as you’re not conspiring against Harvey… probably even then too.” I stand from my desk and move to her seat while giving her arm an appreciative squeeze.

“Thank you, Rachel. I’m super happy I get to work with you.” I pull her into a hug that she’s not prepared for which is evident when she lets out a squeak. She pats my arm awkwardly.

_

I get through the rest of the day, just getting adjusted to the system the company uses and setting up passwords for mandatory accounts. Only when it’s pitch back outside am I interrupted.

I sense someone at my office door, someone I’ve been expecting. “Ms. Pearson.” I smile but don’t look up from my computer. I’m not surprised by her dropping in.

“Ms. (L/N).” She greets back. I wait for her to continue but there is silence. My quick fingers slow their typing, and I look up at her, but she’s already looking at me expectantly. “Spill.”

I’m about to act like I have no idea what she’s talking about, but it’s like she reads my mind. She raises her hand to stop the lies I’m about to spew and squints her eyes. Scary. “I know him.”

“Well that much is obvious.” She glides to my desk before perching on the edge and crossing her arms. “But why were your reactions to each other so… hostile?” Her expression evolves from confusion to intrigue.

“I don’t know if I’d call it hostile…” Her expression doesn’t waver, and I cave. I can’t help but spill every secret I have when she looks at me like that. “…but I swear, when I applied for this job, I had no idea he worked here.” I finished my story out of breath and worried about what she would think of me and my character.

“Hm.” She thinks for a minute before standing. “Hm.” Again, she hums in thought before briskly walking out of the room. My mind is racing but there’s also not a rational thought.

_

I walk into the firm the next day wearing another pink top, this one more pastel. I refuse to cower down, especially to Harvey.

“Good morning!” I say to just about every associate in the bullpen. When I finally reach Mike, my smile grows tenfold. “’ Morning, you.”

He pulls out one of his earbuds. “Still don’t know my name?” He asks playfully but doesn’t look up from his computer.

“Mike,” I speak. He nods but still won’t look at me. If this is Harvey’s right-hand man, I need to be on good terms with him, and maybe get some info, too. “So, you work for Mr. Specter?” I try to be nonchalant while getting information. He stops clicking at his computer and gives me a weird look. “What?”

“Mr. Specter?” He pulls his only earbud from his ear and leans back in his chair. “That’s awfully formal.” I don’t like this. He gives me a quizzical look before he comes to some sort of realization. “That’s why you guys were so weird yesterday…”

“What?” I can feel myself start sweating and my voice is at least two, maybe three pitches higher than before. “We weren’t weird-that’s a weird thing to say- you’re weird.” I huff and can tell he’s not buying it. “Ugh, how obvious was it?”

He ignores my question. “How do you know him? One night stand?” I can’t help but grimace at the thought, “No? Oh, you must be the girl from France.” A pang of unexplainable hurt goes through my chest. He’s not mine, never was actually, it’s pointless for me to feel- “Jealous.” His eyes widen, “You loved him.”

My throat tightens and my mouth runs dry. “You have some nerve.” I fight to keep my voice level. “When you’re done making assumptions about me, and being an overall smartass, see me in my office.” I walk away from him.

I pull out my phone, contacting Louis to tell him I’m in the office so he can come talk to me about what duties would be passed on to me. As I do so, I see a figure out of the corner of my eye right outside my office door. One that’s awfully Harvey shaped.

I stop texting to make sure my eyes aren’t failing me. Sure enough, Harvey is leaned against the glass wall that separates me from the bullpen. In his hand is a drink carrier with what looks to be two hot coffees. He’s wearing a navy-blue suit and a… pastel pink tie that matches my shirt to a T.

He looks at me and pulls his body from the wall. His face is unsure, not very Harvey-like. “’ Morning.” He extends his arm with the coffee in it towards me. I can smell the delectable caramel macchiato that he knows I love. I eye the cup suspiciously, and then I eye him suspiciously.

“’ Morning.” I take the coffee and look at the familiar label. It was no Starbucks, that’s for sure. No, this coffee was from Samson’s Brewery. The same mom-and-pop coffee shop that we would go to during late night study sessions. This coffee place is on the literal whole other side of town, he didn’t go out of his way for this… did he? No, he definitely either door-dashed it or sent a driver.

His eyes don’t leave my face as I inspect the beverage. Once I deduce it’s not poisoned, I look up at him. For the first time since seeing him, I’m not a panicked mess. I just look at him, his gelled hair and puppy dog eyes.  I’m staring. I avert my gaze and mutter a, “Thanks,” before pushing past him into my office.

I stop myself from closing the door behind me. He won’t. He won’t walk in. I sit in my chair and put the coffee on my desk. I stare at it intently, trying not to remember the late nights we spent together. But I also stare at it, so I don’t look at the door, so I don’t look to see if he’s still there.

There are three quick knocks at my door. I look up with hope I can’t mask, only to be disappointed. “Hey, girly.” It’s Louis. I look over his shoulder, but there’s no one.

“G’morning, Louis.” I smile through the pain. “How are you doing?” I side-eye the coffee on my desk like it’ll disappear if I leave it alone too long.

“Same old, same old, I just convinced a major pharmacy company that they needed to break a deal with…” He drones on for a little bit, bragging to me about accomplishments I could do in my sleep. “But, anyway! I came to tell you about the workload you’ll be taking on. Seeing as Harvey is the closest Senior Partner on the floor, you’ll be shadowing him for the next few days. Just until you think you’re ready to fly solo.” He says that like it’s nothing, and I guess it would be for anyone else.

“So, like an associate?” My face scrunches up. “Why can’t I just shadow you, then? Aren’t you in charge of the associates?” I cross my arms.

He chuckles. “I wish, but we’re both Junior Partners, for the time being-” He winks at me. Poor guy, I’m sure he’s been waiting to be Senior Partner for a while. “So, you technically need trained by a Senior Partner.”

“Great.” I have a tight-lipped smile and unconsciously reach for the coffee on my desk. I bring it up to my lips and hum at the nostalgic taste before I even realize I’ve done it. I stop mid-sip and lick my lips guiltily.

“What coffee place is that from?” Louis gets closer and squints at my cup. When he doesn’t recognize it, he pulls away. “The best coffee around is Roaster-Roos right down the way,” He uses his thumb to point over his shoulder. A coy look flashes across his face, “I could go get you one if you want.”

“No. No, this is fine, thank you.” I say a little too quickly. I hold the cup closer to my chest and grip it a little tighter. He shrugs and I clear my throat, “When does this shadowing begin?”

“ASAP.” He snaps and turns his back to me to walk out the door. “Harvey’s in the office right next to yours,” He pivots outside the door to face me again. “He’s kind of cocky, so let me know if you need anything.” He smiles with raised eyebrows. I nod hesitantly in discomfort before he goes to the left and disappears from sight. A long exhale leaves my body. “Why me?”

[gothghostiie]

oh also i got a studded paddle and now im thinking about ghost using it

cw: spanking/impact, more comfort before play, gn!reader

ghost and you often shop for new toys together, its a little date you have every now and then if you will. youre both familiar with BDSM and kinks that often come with it - impact play, bondage, spanking, pain, marks. you love it, he loves it. now this time he actually brings something up, instead of just browsing with you. "y'know.." he hums. "I've been thinkin'.. what do y'think about paddles?" the thought excites you, a bit more than you'd like to admit.

"I like the idea. why?" he takes the laptop and types, showing you a leather paddle with metal studs. you internally wince while your cheeks heat up. he eyes you over, trying to gauge your reaction, keeping quiet. "sure." you say, a bit nervous but more excited. he kisses your head and adds it to the cart, you two continue browsing for a bit.

it takes a few days before the package comes, right when he's out. you take the package, cheeks hot, as if the delivery guy knows what's in the package. you put it on the coffee table, staring at it. its finally here, you've been thinking about nothing but that god forsaken paddle - and hes not here. you send him a picture that makes him chuckle in the middle of the grocery store. 'I'll be home soon love.' he texts back, it makes you groan in frustration. the phone lands on the cushions as you wait, it feels like hours of just staring at the brown box. until the keys jingle in the car door. then your heart rate suddenly picks up and you freeze between wanting to hide from the package and your boyfriend and running to him with the box in hand. he carries in the bags, kissing your head as he walks past you, chuckling at your state. simon takes his sweet time to put the stuff he bought away, before he finally sits down with you.

"you alright?" he asks gently. you nod. "nervous, hm?" you nod again. "we dont have to try it."

"I want to." a short pause. "now."

"now?"

"now."

he hums and stands up, taking the package and your hand, leading you to the bedroom. you two sit on the bed, opening the package and going through everything together, he tries to make you less nervous. then the paddle comes out, you bite your lip. he hands it to you so you get a feel for it, get familiar with it. he watches you quietly, its something between adorable and hot to him, watching you is making his pants tight. it takes a few minutes before you hand it to him and quietly stand up, without a word pulling your pants down and layinh over his lap. he hums in pleasant surprise, grabbing thr handle tightly.

"ready?"

"ready."

he nods and starts with some light swats to your ass, it's more a pat than anything. you get comfortable with the feeling, his hand rubbing your back soothingly. its intimate and calm, the swats slowly getting harder. after a few more they have a sting to it. you can feel the pointy studs when the paddle conntects, making you wince, nails digging into his jeans. your ass starts burning, small indents from the pointy metal as he keeps going gradually harder. you're squirming, moaning, near tears from either pleasure or pain - maybe both, you're not sure at this point. all you know is that you need him inside you. now.

[felassan]

Thoughts on the DA:TV Companion Concept Art:

General

I love that we saw these and I think the art is beautiful!! it's so cool seeing different versions of a character, different ideas for a character, and how things translated from concept arts into the character models in the game. I can't waaait to look through the rest of The Art of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, with a fine-toothed comb!!

each character has iconic color palettes and iconic shapes and stuff :)

I feel like there is a lot to examine in these pictures, even with the spoilery text redacted!! 🔍🔍

I'm so extremely curious about what the redacted text says. 👁️

It looks like the geometric patterns drawn behind the characters are slightly different each time?

In the ones where multiple different outfits are shown for the character, do you suppose that these are only discarded concept ideas, or are some similar to some of the alternate outfits for the companions that we can find or upgrade for them in the game?

in some of the pages, there appears to be additional parts of the page blanked out/redacted rather than just the paragraph of text. I wonder if there are small text captions or even additional small drawings in those spaces that also needed to be redacted for spoiler reasons 👁️

In some of the sections below I just described what part of the art I was referring to, in others I popped in images because I was finding it hard to describe what I meant ^^

Also, the associated tweet mentions the BioWare Gear Store-exclusive variant of the artbook. The link in it just takes you to the general Gear Store website landing page at the moment. At the moment, the BioWare Gear Store variant of the artbook is out of stock (it went out of stock really quickly after release). However, CM Violet mentioned in the Discord that "We are planning on another printing [of the Gear Store variant of the art book], but no date yet! I'm sure we'll announce it when we have more news!" [source: the official BioWare Discord]

Bellara

Bellara's page is the only one I think with no name. did her name have to be redacted too bc of a spoilery reason?

I LOVE Bellara's pages. she's just so 🥺 (clenching my fist). some aspects of the design of Bellara's clothes remind me of butterflies or butterfly wings.

Left: the angle of this one reminds me of her party icon art. Center: this one shows a different design concept for her vallaslin. in this one she also has different earrings. in the full version of this drawing, it looks like she is holding some kind of tool in her hand (makes sense considering her Tinker ability), while in her other hand it's a piece of cloth, reminding me of the way mechanics are sometimes drawn holding rags during their work. her posture in the full version of this drawing is like 'You can fit sooo many triangles inside this bad boy [the giant elf head artifact/sculpture]'. hhh. Right: can anyone make out what the text above her bag says? ^^ btw, this bag design is so cute. edit: thankyou to @squidaped-oyt who mentioned in the replies of this post that this looks like it says "Foldable map"! more on that here.

HELLO??, this ancient elven sculpture/artifact thing is extremely 👀. the scale of it compared to Bellara is massive. there are beams of light coming from its eyes and the triangle set in its forehead. the triangular parts are a now-familiar aspect of ancient elven magic-tech and artifacts. the nose bridge reminds me of the design of elven nose bridges circa Dragon Age II - only he has a pointed part on his in addition. the bald head we're all familiar with from ancient elven statues, in-world murals/wall paintings etc. is it just me, or are the teeth also pointy? I wonder what this thing is.. was it just decorative (a head of a giant statue)? (this kind of thing in this Veil Jumper/Arlathan Forest concept art comes to mind). was it an art piece representative of a particular Evanuris or one of their chosen? or did it have some kind of actual function - maybe it was part of a giant protective automaton kinda thing? what this head really reminds me of is Codex Entry: Vir Dirthara: Signs of Victory -

The pages of this book—memory?—describe a monument made in a single afternoon by a thousand-thousand toiling servants swarming over a lump of fallen stone as large as a collapsed mountain. By the end of the day, the stern figure of Elgar'nan stares down into a valley, carved out from the foothills of the rock. The slaves have disappeared. Light radiates from the eidolon's narrowed eyes and its open, snarling mouth. "Hail Elgar'nan, first among the gods! Mark his victory eternal!"

Could this be [part of] one of those sorts of monuments/eidolons? It sure looks like it's snarling through its open mouth. And it has narrowed eyes and light is radiating from them.

The other things it reminds me of are: 1. the ancient elven sentinels (the magic-bot kind, not the Abelas and crew in Temple of Mythal kind), two. like maybe it's a giant one of these. 2. these big ancient elven hands and the Dead Hand landmark (see Trivia section) in DA:I, which is found in the Dales and contains an elven shrine and is not far from Ghilan'nain’s Grove.

Horace Medford wrote of that landmark,

"The great stone hand was something of a mystery. One assumes it is a piece broken off from a larger whole. If so, judging by the size of that one hand, I imagine the entire sculpture to be... well, large enough to require the use of obscenities to describe it. Thus I have only one question: where is the rest of the statue? It is difficult to imagine how something so large could go missing."

like maybe the head from Bellara's concept is the giant head to a similar kind of pair of giant hands (of either type).

(^ post which discusses these both here)

Left: the way this bracelet thing is worn gives it the impression of a watch, which is cool and fits her machinist/inventor kinda vibe/aesthetic :) Center: the cloth, a bit dirty from active use (what a thoughtful touch), tucked into her belt :) Right: I love the eyepiece/monocle look!! It's giving Artificer, it's giving gadgets. does anyone else think Bellara and Dagna would get on super well? 💜

These are all super interesting and I love that they were thinking about the different parts of Bellara's kit and belongings like this. in the top row, it looks like the book on the left is the closed version of the book on the right. Bellara's book full of research notes :D what I wouldn't give to browse through it!! I love how she's filled it with different bookmarks, it gives you an insight into her mind and the way it works. on the front is one of those ancient elven golden faces (like on Solas' armor's knees in Trespasser, on the Sentinels in the Temple of Mythal, on the ancient elven Deluxe edition of DA:TV armors, etc). inside, it looks like she has pressed a flower, which is so lovely. on the right-hand page, I'm really curious about the drawings there. what is it of? a map, a diagram? it reminds me a bit of the map of Arlathan Forest in the Veil Jumper issue of Dragon Age: The Missing (and it would make sense for her to have a map, Arlathan Forest is changeable lately). and if you squint, maybe that's an 'X marks the spot'? also extremely curious is the drawing on the left-hand side of the page:

Who is this depicting? the figure's headshape/headpiece/mask reminds me a lot of the Evanuris headshapes. and the general vibe of the drawing reminds me of the ancient elven Evanuris mosaics (example). Sylaise-y? but maybe it's not an Evanuris and it's more like a figure from Bellara's past? the way the flower is pressed on this page makes it look tender, like memory. or if it was an Evanuris, it makes it look like an offering or token. perhaps Bellara's vallaslin correspond to Sylaise or whichever member it is. there was a time before the gods came back the way they did in DA:TV.

It's also really cool to get a look at the fold-out material thing. do you think she usually carries this rolled up at her belt or in her bag? it looks like somewhere where she stores various kinds of ancient elven triangle fragments, or maybe it's even some kind of strange map. A map of a bunch of different reality-fragmented Veil Bubbles or something would look really strange no doubt, not like a normal map.. edit: more on that here.

Davrin

It's neat to see different hairstyle versions of Davrin! the shape of the blue sword reminds me just a lil of Starfang, which is really nice. and we saw Davrin with a griffon-wing shield like there is in these concepts in the character reveal trailer.

Comparisons of the various vallaslin designs he has in his concept arts to the final one in the game. (in some of the concepts, his vallaslin look a bit bluer, which reminds me of his tarot-style art from the party selection screen). though, in the right-most version, it looks more kind of like a circlet, a Samara Mass Effect-type situation instead :)

This on his heel is totally a spur. makes sense, for a Warden that may one day be a griffon-rider like the Grey Wardens of old :') (at least in the sense of visual language, like "spur - riding - horse - griffon").

We see Davrin equipped with an additional dagger/shortsword like this in the warrior gameplay video, albeit not this specific one, if you go by the handles.

He maybe has some stubble here. ^^

In this version of Davrin, it looks like he has a staff. (though, he still has a sword here too). Is it a polearm kinda deal, or was there a time during development when Davrin was a mage? perhaps the elf in this concept art is a version of Davrin? that elf is wielding a staff to fight, and there are some similar aspects in the outfit designs, like the considerable collar.

interestingly, his staff here reminded me of the staff held by the elven figure on the front of the DA Vinyl art. 🤔

^ Looking at that staff-Davrin concept more generally, it's interesting that this version has more overtly Grey Wardenny-parts to his armor compared to his final look, like the griffon symbol on the chestplate and shoulder.

This Davrin holds out his arm, like a falconer. in Dalish culture, the hawk is a sacred animal of the Huntress Andruil.

And this Davrin straight up is a falconer. how cool!! due to image resolution I'm not sure if the darker parts on the raptor are parts of its plumage or accoutrements, but in falconry, the birds sometimes do wear these types of accoutrements. Falconer Davrin Concept reminds me of that one DA:I Dorian concept art where Dorian had a monkey haha. :D the attention to detail in Falconer Davrin is neat too, you can see that on the hawk-perch arm he has a thick extra cover on his arm, due to the sharpness of raptor talons and grip. I really love Falconer Davrin's griffon shoulderplate, and when looking at the more geometric diamond design of his vallaslin here, what struck me was its resemblance to the diamond geometric pattern behind him.

Harding

Harding is the only one on the concept art among the named characters there who is listed as her surname rather than her given name haha. she's just Harding just like Hawke is Hawke, that's just the way it is.

The flower and leaf pattern in the top left is cute, I wonder if it was inspiration for the flower and leaf stitching Harding has on the collar of her casual clothes in the game. In the concept art it looks like the kind of design that you might have on the leatherwork on the front cover of a beautiful leatherbound journal or something. :) In the central picture she's holding and appreciating a blue flower, which is so cute ♡ and which ties to what was said about her loving plants, raising plants, and nature. she has what looks like the Inquisition hairy eyeball symbol on her belt pouch as well as on her knee pads. (;;) the version of her to the left of that shows her with her hair down, in a more pony-tail like sort of style. on that version of her, you can see flower and leaf floral patterns curling up the bottom of her cape. (very pretty).

To the right of the central image, there's a big diagonal blank rectangle of content which has been removed, presumably due to spoiler reasons. Was this also text? It seems like a weird angle to have placed text at. Maybe it's a drawing of an object of some kind being hidden? A different version of her bow perhaps? (this is the case in a few of the companion concept arts btw.)

The tailored coat and pinstripe pants version of her is so cool. :D look at the tails on the back of her coat in that image. dapper. Harding formal wear? :D

of course, the two most !! images from Harding's one are these ones. copying over my thoughts from that post,

Presumably this is to do with Harding’s new magical stoney earthy powers. (In the second image, along with the bow, it looks like half her face, part of her neck and her arm itself is also stone/crystal). The glass-like shiny parts reminds me of quartz or something. :)

I do wonder if (if they are still things in the game) perhaps those two images or the stoney parts of them could also potentially have done with being redacted for spoiler reasons? how I wish the Harding image was higher resolution so we could take a closer look at stone-Harding..! somewhere off in the distance, Varric "haha, you'd be Harding in Hightown" Tethras is like "haha, Harding, you're hard/hardening" hhhh. 💀

In the image with her hood up, the blue veins on the bow remind me of blue lyrium veins. I also wonder, is she holding the stone/crystal bow with her stone/crystal arm, or is the bow simply growing from the arm? does the hard surface of her body when it's like this repel or take less damage owing to its hardness? is this something she might be able to do in gameplay later on as her story (and powers) progress?

it stands to reason that if you can turn other people/things to stone, as she did to some ghouls in the release date reveal trailer, you might also be able to extend this power to yourself. presumably this ability is tied to the Titans, the dwarves as their children, the Stone, maybe a restored (in Harding's case) connection to that, the way dwarves used to be. it also reminds me of how golems are created using live dwarves. Caridin said "It allowed me to forge a man of steel or stone, as flexible and clever as any soldier." 👀

Btw, speaking of Harding's magical powers, I wonder if Harding dreams at night now..?

Lucanis

it looks like there's a spot on Lucanis' page other than the text at the top that is blanked out/redacted. I wonder what it contained.

part of the geometric designs behind him reminds me of his eyes motif.

some of the alternate outfits for him look really like, majestic. in the one with the manbun, he has big poufy shoulder pieces and huge sleeves.

I wonder if any concept art of clean-shaven Lucanis exists anywhere? ^^ I'm really curious about what he looks like clean-shaven, or without a beard as he was in The Wigmaker Job.

I'm losing my mind at all the different concept ideas for Lucanis' hair, especially the one with the curled forelock and LUCANIS MANBUN omg. but I like his feathery mullet that he has in the game the best. :D

The design and coloring of his sword is just so COOL. The oil-like iridescence, purple-black, is like corvid feathers.

What a lovely sketch, lovely pencilwork. ◕‿◕ his eyebrow is slightly raised and you can see here again that his nose is slightly 'crooked' (perhaps he's broken it in the past?). I love this sort of feature sm in every character that has it.

In this one his eyes are doing the glowing purple thing again. again he is not defeating the possessed/dead/abomination/-somethingelserelatedorsimilar-is-going-on with him allegations. this one has a hood in an Assassin's Creed sorta style and the general vibe is like a ninja. the shoulder pieces look feathery, and the cloak/coat looks like feathered wings or tailfeathers. this piece feels the most "The Demon of Vyrantium" in vibe hh 👁️ And are you guys seeing this?? Here it looks like has claws like Wolverine hh!! :D though he could simply also be holding multiple knives in between his fingers (of the sort you can see at his belt in another concept, I've put that one just below here to show them), or have a bladed gauntlet, etc.

This person coming at you in the night, no wonder the evil Venatori magisters are scared of him :)

Coffee, no doubt :) cool mug shape.

Bird design again on this leg-piece.

Left: a take on the now-iconic Antivan Crow bird-masks. really cool design. here it's giving Batman, it's giving masquerade ball. I really hope we see him wearing a Crow bird mask of this sort at some point during the game!! 🧎🕯️🧎 it's a big missed opportunity if not imo hh. Right: Lighthouse casual-wear, or something very close to it. his vibe in this art is also similar to his vibe in the Lighthouse group shot.

Veilguard symbol on his chest? some of the alternate outfits include a more Veilguardy purple to them, and this one reminds me of how the Veilguard symbol looks for Rook here for example.

Lastly, in this main one, his general shape is sooo triangular. :D and his face/expression here really captures this description of him from Tevinter Nights:

Lucanis stared ahead, focused and intense. He was the kind of man you couldn’t look away from—until he looked at you.

In this one I also get the sense of dark circles under his eyes, which is a trait that in fiction reminds me of coffee-drinkers. ^^

Emmrich

Both staffs in Emmrich's concept art are different to the one we see him with here, but the bigger one on the concept art is close to it.

In this concept it looks like Emmrich has a scar on his chin.

Left: without his jacket on, he looks so svelte. the gold parts on his boots/knees remind me of the gold headpieces fixed to walking dead in the Necropolis. they are also hexagonal in shape, which I've become convinced is part of Nevarra's visual design language (and therefore part of Nevarran architecture, fashion/culture etc. :D he has so many bracelets and rings. Center: he looks so happy here and in the one next to it! these versions of Emmrich seem to lean more to the purple side of his color palette. these ones have a sorta futuristic vibe. you can see some of the tools of his trade at his belt, and it's a different version of his staff. here the skull floats at the top of the staff and burns with green fire, rather than being fixed to the pole of the staff. Right: Emmrich with big hair! quiff-like, and it looks like a large part of it is white rather than gray.

in this alternate outfit he's wearing a work apron with tools of his trade on the front. he's holding a glass flask that is filled with green liquid and billowing green smoke. I wonder if Emmrich is skilled at alchemy? do you think he has a lab, or that his room in the Lighthouse might be filled with stuff like alembics?

Looking again at Emmrich's outfit in these arts - from the back, the back of his coat reminds me of depictions in art and tv/film of the blood eagle?? (if you are sensitive or squeamish to gore and things of that nature, please don't google that!). the lines on the back of his shoulders remind me of musculature. The repeating pieces down the center of the bottom part of his coat reminds me of a spine. and the back of his gold belt-piece from behind straight up looks like a pelvis. the skeleton and body imagery here is an amazing art direction/symbolism for him!! what a bigbrain idea. is that sort of detailing why the design of the front of his coat looks like someone's chest has been opened on an operating table?

also, the long coat reminds me of labcoats. :)

I wonder if the bracelets and things are a Nevarran cultural thing/common fashion in Nevarra, or more of just an Emmrich thing? ^^

lastly his expression in the one on the right is so gentle and kind.

Neve

There are two spots on Neve's page other than the text at the top that are blanked out/redacted. I wonder what they contained.

I love that they tried out differing concept/designs for the look of Neve's leg, and what looks like a stand for it as well. they're all really neat and you can see serpentine aspects in all of them. a person could also have more than one.

this image contains another great reference for Neve's wand-cane thing. here the orb in the middle looks like a big pearl, like from inside a mollusk. the ring around it is definitely evoking the body of a snake coiling.

The concept art contains a blond version of Neve. because of her ice powers, it reminds me a bit of Emma Frost (Marvel). look at that Neve's heeled boot, and the size of her hat!!

I prefer the Neve they decided to go with in the end. ♡♡ ^^

Taash

oh my goooood. breathing in and out rapidly into a paper bag. oh my godd. she looks sooo cool!! I'm posting the whole thing again here just bc omggg.

Most versions of Taash have the green crystal horn. her concept arts show versions with different skin colors. her eyes in some of them look green. I love all her different-version Lord of Fortune / Rivaini gold pieces. in the top-left hand version of her, her bigger shoulder-piece is really cool (the right-hand side one); it could at once be a piece of spiky dragon bone or a piece of a big spiky sea-shell (both ideas work perfectly for her character and background). I've said this before when talking about Taash's design, but I love the parrot-break design of one of her weapons. it's very piratey. in this page, we can see several different versions of the parrot-beak weapon. also, I love all her different facial expressions.

in the right-most Taash concept, the dragon tooth-like pointy bits on her gauntlets look like they're made out of gold, not tooth. her big piratey boots are so cool and they even have a gold coin on them! you can see the spike braided into the end of her ponytail, and in that drawing the dragonscale-looking parts of her iconic armor look even more scaley, owing to the way they graduate from a full covering of scales to a partial covering to not present (in a way that reminds of how on some fantasy arts of things like dragons, there can be softer/less protected areas of their hide with no or less scales, like towards their undersides):

The bottom-left most illustration looks like it might be her iconic armor, only seen from the back, which is good to have a reference of. the design of her sword scabbard is cool, it's like the segmented flat of a dragon or sea-serpent's tail. in that image it also looks like the eye of her parrot-weapon is matched by an eye on the scabbard. something about the designs of her sword and scabbard remind me of weapons like daos. from behind, it also looks like her gauntlets might have thicker armor on one-side, better protection for the upper side of her forearms. the fingers of her gauntlets also look taloned, in a way that reminds me of Fenris.

Okay now let's talk about the concept in the center at the top! this version has longer horns and more spikes in her ponytail, in fact the ponytail here looks like a dragon tail as a result. it reminds me of Flemeth's dragony hair from Dragon Age II onwards. this version also looks like she may have blue-ish facial tattoos, or it could be vitaar. it also looks like she may have a second, smaller set of horns. in this version, the red ropes are cyan-blue instead, and she not only has the spikes/teeth on her gauntlets, but also on her boots (knee 'pad' and the heel, like spurs). in this version, her swords are dragon wing-shaped, which is pretty metal. I can't tell if the triangular piece that hangs down in the center is from the front piece of her clothing or the back piece, but it gives the impression of a dragon tail.

Lastly, the concept in the center at the bottom: here her boots remind me a lot of Dragon Age II Isabela, who is of course, also a piratey type of character from Rivain. the giant axe here is cool, the shape of its blade also evokes the shape of a dragon wing and it looks like the handle might be made of bone. the way she's carrying the axe here reminds me a bit of how Iron Bull carries his weapon in this art piece. the teal and gold color scheme of this piece reminds me of the gold and blue/green of some Ancient Egyptian things, and round her neck it looks like she is wearing a torc.

[moonsanoverthinker]

Some more TMA headcanons because I’ve thought of some more. Also apologies if this list is a little more chaotic than the other one x (Here’s the first list I make incase anyone’s interested)

Also if people have their own that they’d want to add feel free to because I love reading other people’s x

There’s probably going to be some spoilers for but I’ve tried to keep it as broad as possible :) x

Tim used to steal Jon’s pens - Not because he needed them he did it to annoy Jon

Tim once hid a plastic spider in Jon’s desk then pinned it on Martin

Gerry liked to make puns, Gertrude didn’t like Gerry’s puns - Or at least she pretended not too

Peters changed the locks multiple times but Elias just keeps finding his was back in

Georgie has that really nice kind of swoopy writing - I kind of feel Sasha did as well

Distortion Micheal likes the animated Alice in Wonderland film - Can’t think why… (If I had any artistic talent I’d draw him as the Cheshire Cat but I sadly I don’t have any)

Melanie used to make loom band bracelets - She never gave them to anyone but she’d use specific colours with specific people in mind

Elias likes to shout peoples names then not answer them when they shouted back asking what he wanted

Jon owns a few packs of some nice playing cards (Like the ones with cool pictures and stuff) but no one’s allowed to use them - He let Tim use them once but after he slightly bent the corner of one they became off limits to them all

Jon drinks black coffee because it seems like the mature thing to do

Tim drinks the super sweet coffees because they taste nicer and look pretty

Elias has one of them big spinning office chairs - He’s definitely done the James Bond villain spin

Daisy once told Martin she knew a great place to hide his body - She then proceeded to leave notes around the archives to remind him - Jon would also take the notes down

Not necessarily a headcanon but I just imagine series 5 Jared Hopworth in the garden with a necklace of various body parts and bones

Occasionally Basira would just look out to the fourth wall - I’m imagining it like fleabag style

During their travelling Gerry brought Gertrude a mug from a tourist shop - She kept saying she didn’t like it but once she was back in the archives she would use it all the time

Just Jon wearing some sparkly green nail polish

On the topic of Jon’s nails imagine him with those pointy acrylics - He’d either be in his element or he’d have the same vibe as a dog trying to walk in shoes

Both Micheal and Helen just pinging rubber bands at the backs of peoples head (I’ve got no real explanation for why they do it but then again neither have they)

Jon appreciates badgers - He got a little desk calendar with different pictures of them every month

When Martin was staying in the institute Jon gave him a blanket. He took the blanket with him when he started living at home again and started using it

Tim kept every card Sasha ever gave him

Sasha has a little pot of fake flowers on her desk

Jon pretends to he surprised every time Martin gives him a present - Especially if it’s an out of the blue ‘I saw this and thought of you’ present

Sasha and Tim went ice skating together one Christmas - They claimed it was as friends but Tim did give her flowers

Also some random side notes - Slight spoilers for series 4/5

Listened to 170 and immediately started crying at the end / The descriptions in 172 made me feel physically ill as someone who really doesn’t like spiders / Also I saw a thing on TikTok where someone took Gerry asking to be called Gerry and paired it with I Bet On Losing Dogs by Mitski and it was more upsetting than I was expecting xx

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

05/04/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys & TheCryptidFactor; Kristian Nairn; Samba Schutte BTS + Samba Schutte May the 4th; Vico Ortiz; Nathan Foad; Alex Sherman; Watch Party Reminders; AdoptOurCrew; Articles; MerMay Bingo / MerMay Daily Prompts; Love Notes; Daily Darby / Today's Taika.

Sorry for being extremely late friends...I had 99% done last night and then I went to bed to get some sleep and then my son woke me up 1 hour later and I didnt sleep at all, so I just woke up from a nap. Weeeeeeeee!

= Rhys Darby =

The Cryptid Factor we got yesterday will soon have a video version on The Cryptid Factor Patreon! Here's a sneak peek from Rhys! (It says its on Patreon but I couldn't find it even though I have the right tier? Could be a delay on Patreon's side).

Source: Rhys Darby's IG stories

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian's been in Stockholm at Comic Con Nordics! Seems to be having a great time!

Source: Kristian Nairn's IG

= Samba Schutte=

As usual, Samba continues to grace us with BTS, this time Fang and Roach themed! And also as usual-- multiple videos means multiple posts, please check out the links below to watch the cut footage!

Pre Spa Day BTS Video

Post Spa Day BTS Video

and then he also included some May 4th themed behind the scenes for Jedi: Fallen Order!

Source: Samba Schutte's Instagram

= Vico Ortiz =

Vico's movie Spark is heading to the Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival!

More info: Spark

Sources: Vico Ortiz' Instagram

= Nathan Foad =

Nathan still going strong in Loves Labour's Lost!

Src: Nathan's IG and Lauren Carse's IG

= Alex Sherman =

Alex added this older picture to his IG Stories, what a blast from the past! May the Fourth Be With you Alex!

Source: Alex Sherman's IG

== Watch Party Reminders ==

Palm Royale WP May 9 via @LCWebsXOXO with the lovely @ dominicburgess approx. 4pm EDT/9pm BST/1pm PST! Available on Apple TV

Wrecked S2 WP May 6-May 10 3:30pm PT / 6:30pm ET / 11:30pm BST! If you need access feel free to dm me here at @gentlebeardsbarngrill or @aspirantabby42 on twitter.

== Adopt Our Crew ==

Our darling crewmates over at @adoptourcrew gave us a brief snyopsis of what's been going on at WBD. Article Link

Source: @adoptourcrew's Twitter

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

Today's cast card is Mother Bonnet, Rosalyn Gentle! Thank you @melvisik for completing the Bonnet parents!

Source: @melvisik's Twitter

= OFMD Colouring Pages =

Today's colouring pages feature some pointy objects! Thank you @patchworkpiratebear for including Jim's family knife <3

== Stede & Ed (Calvin & Hobbes Redraws) ==

Our dear @blakbonnet has even more Stede & Ed (Calvin & Hobbes Redraws to show!

== MerMay Bingo ==

Lots of submissions coming through for @bizarrelittlemew ‘s OFMD Mermay Bingo!

== MerryFinches ==

Please oh please go see Kylie @merryfinches and give her all the love, her work makes the fandom go round <3

Source: @merryfinches Tumblr

== MeanieZucchini ==

Another submission to both Ida's lovely MerMay Bingo prompts as well as the SaveOFMD daily prompts was @meaniezuchinni! You can check them out over at their blog. You can also visit them over at their KO-FI - MeanieZucchini!

== SaveOFMD MerMay Submissions ==

Today's prompt is "Treasure!" and there's new submissions for it! Looking to participate in the daily prompts? Check out @saveofmdcrewmates's prompt list here.

= Blueberreads =

Our friend @blueberreads is at it again, this time with a treasure hunt, pixel Ed and Pixel Stede taking a snake snack break! Be sure to head on over to their blog for more pixel art content!

= Snejpowa =

@Snejpowa has been keeping up everyday with new prompts! Check out their rendition Stede and his petrified orange!

== Love Notes ==

Happy Weekend Lovelies! We're finally at the end of the week-- tomorrow starts a new day, with new chances and new hopes, and new dreams-- maybe this week will be a little better than last week. I hope it is -- even if last week was good for you <3

You know what I really loved about our little gay pirate show (you know, aside from everything)? It showed us that we don't have to be what we are today if we don't want to. That doesn't mean it'll be a quick change, in fact, it'll be a pretty long journey depending on what it is, but it showed us that things CAN change. It gave us just that little bit of hope, that things don't have to stay the way they are, and that little bit of hope is the spark of so much possibility. It's gonna be a journey luvs, and its gonna take a lot of work and healing, but we'll all get to where we want to be <3 Sending love.

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Yeah, idk these two just seemed to go together today. If you can think of the theme please let me know xD Gifs Courtesy of the prodigious @celluloidbroomcloset and the sensational @agaywithcoffee! <3

[cheapsweets]

A Mashup of Miscellaneous Sea Creatures

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

Pencil sketch, then lines in Pentel brush pen. Had a little bit of a chance to sit down with this one and ended up doing it all in one sitting. It definitely helped being able to plan the composition a bit more, though as I've had just over a month off the brush pen, I'm definbitely reminded how tricky it can be to get fine or consistant lines (I am aware that variable lines are kinda the point of the brush pen 😅). Anyway this was a fun one!

Thought process below the cut;

Alrittraes

The nature of this animal is such that when it feeds, it opens its mouth and breathes out from it a kind of sweet-smelling odour, so that when smaller fish scent it, they gather in its mouth. When the Alrittraes feels that its mouth is full, it closes it suddenly and swallows the fish. Alrittraeses are beasts of huge size, so called because of their habit of drawing in and spouting out water; for they make waves higher than other sea creatures [etymology redacted]. … for it is alleged that the females conceive by intercourse.

So we can guess what this is, but I don't want to get deep into the weeds about classification (see a famous book that has some interesting chapters on this very subject) it says its a fish, so we're going with that general body plan, just very large!

This particular Alrittraes is floating on the surface, mouth wide open, breathing out a sweet odor that is attracting all the little fishies, and fountaining water from its nostrils.

Blochmokan

There is a sea monster called the Blochmokan, which has huge wings. When it sees a ship under sail on the sea, it raises its wings over the water and tries to keep pace with the ship for three or four miles; when it fails to keep pace, it lowers its wings and folds them. The waves carry it, exhausted, back to its home in their depths.

Definitely took some sea serpent inspiration here, albeit with wings (which I imagine are covered in scales rather than feathers. It's flying over a cog, which ties in with the next extry...

Kearmoltir

Kearmoltirs are known by that particular name or word because they follow the sound of men’s voices, or gather in schools at the sound of music. There is no swifter creature in the sea. For they often leap through the air over ships; but when they play beforehand in the swell and leap headlong through the mighty waves, they seem to foretell storms.  There is a species of Kearmoltir in the River Nile, with a serrated back, which kills crocodiles by cutting into the soft parts of their bellies.

A very happy, jolly fish here, pictured jumping over the cog and generally having a wonderful time. We also have one a little closer to the viewer for a better view (as its the swiftest creature in the sea, I took a heavy dose of inspiration from tuna, which are really cool looking), and we also have an approaching storm!

Meldilragg

Meldilraggs are commonly called swine, because when they seek food, they dig under the water like swine digging into the ground. For they have what serves as a mouth around their throat, and unless they immerse their snout in the sand, they cannot gather food.

I didn't go too literal with this one, but I did want to give it a prominent snout for digging and snuffling around on the sea floor. As the snout protrudes significantly from the front of this fishes face, the mouth is proportinately further back.

Olnranming

The Olnranming is so called because its snout is pointed; it sinks ships by piercing them with it.

Felt like this fish needed to look fairly fast and streamlined, but it its piercing clinker-built ship hulls (with potentially overlapping planks making it twice as thick) I felt like the pointy bit needed to be pretty sturdy.

Radwahrekh

Radwahrekhs are so called because they have a serrated crest; they swim under ships and saw through their keels.

A mirror to the Olnranming, really.

Shikwaewik

Its wolf-like greed for fish gives the Shikwaewik its name. It is a tricky fish to catch. It is said that when it is finally surrounded by the folds of the net, it ploughs up the sand with its tail and, hidden, swims through the net.

Now this one I did take quite literally - we have a lot of influence here from heraldric depictions of wolves, particularly the head and the pointed scales. Obviously we have a pretty unique behaviour described, so I had to put that in as well!

Gurnwatlea

The Gurnwatlea is so called because it is delicate and very tender; they say that eating it curbs lust; eating Gurnwatlea can also impair your vision; men who often eat it give off a fishy smell. If you soak a dead Gurnwatlea in wine, those who drink the liquor afterwards develop a loathing for wine. Another kind of Gurnwatlea gets its name because it is extremely agile. For when it is aware of the way in which fishermen have set their nets for it, it does not delay, but pulls back, then leaps over the net, so that you can actually see the fish fly.

So, I started thinking about this particular fish in terms of what would go well cooked in wine, and the first result I found was cod - which is fine, because they are actually really aesthetic fish!

Obviously we are also told that this fish can fly... a 'flying fish' if you will? As such, we have enlarged pectoral fins with prominent fin-rays for indulging in such behaviour!

[meanbossart]

DU DROW LORE ASK COMPILATION: COMPANIONS, ASTARION'S READING HABITS, AND HIS LONG-INQUIRED OPINIONS ABOUT BODILY WASTE REVEALED.

I don't think "discussed" is the right word, more so mocked her for her blind faith and got into brief spats. It was precisely Shadowheart's water-off-a-duck's-back attitude towards his remarks that kind ingratiated her to him - DU drow spoke his mind, she took it in stride and remained firm in her beliefs without arguing or trying to push it on him. That, alongside the fact that they are surprisingly similar people is what brought them together as friends.

Even long after the events of the game he's still opposed to her hopping from Shar to Selune, also. Shadowheart's attachment to religion is simply something they agree to disagree about.

Can I answer your question with one of my own?

Am I the only idiot that killed her in their first run LOL

BUT YES, he killed Lae'zel when she tried to murder suicide the camp and I went through the whole game without her. I didn't go to the creche either!

I have since had other runs and she's actually one of my favorite characters, I just haven't had the chance to draw her yet.

ACTUALLY - scratch that. I've drawn her once-

Somewhat! But not really. He genuinely just likes jewelry, and rings are the only kind that suit his life-style (necklaces and earrings are a hazard during fighting) this is a reference to his bhaalist days when he used to be completely covered in the stuff day and night.

Hence why he finds them comforting to have on in some way or another. They change around because he gets bored of/misplaces runs out of fingers to wear the new rings that he loots constantly.

The great link in question

I don't know if it's been made clear enough, but DU drow's love for Astarion is borderline pathological, LOL. He's got a good humor about things and Astarion is definitely no stranger to having little quips and jokes made at his expense (a few references to him being Pointy And Long here and there, for sure), but the guy overwhelmingly adores him and thinks he's always the prettiest girl at the ball, even when he gets in his face and his nose looks huge.

I'll be honest, Astarion strikes me as the kind of guy that has like, 3 really weird books he really enjoys and reads them again and again very slowly over the course of years. Otherwise, not really a reader, but I digress -

DU drow was probably never a big reader himself, I would say he got started on a couple of books back in the day but likely never finished any. He's fairly intelligent, but most of his downtime was spent managing the cult and parsing through relevant documentation.

I definitely don't think he'd have the attention-span for fiction (which I picture as being said books that Astarion enjoys) but he does like to snuggle up with his beau to watch him read - every once in a while he catches a particularly scandalous line or description and they bicker about it. He makes a remark, Astarion feels obligated to explain the context, it devolves into some playful kind of argument that ends with Astarion telling him to go dig a hole and die in it while playing with his hair - The usual LOL.

Oh man I have a few more in-dept descriptions of how that went, both lore-wise and just for me as the player - but in summary, DU drow was pretty mean to everyone earlier on in the game and he did catch onto Astarion's very obvious and obnoxious seduction attempts very clearly. He doesn't like being so desperately pursued and they actually got off on the extremely wrong foot because of it, LOL.

After being unpromptedly rejected at the tiefling party he was a little more enticed by him, basically the "no" was his "go". I like to think of it like Astarion catching onto the fact that his initial strategy wasn't working and that this man in particular needed him to play hard to get - from that point on, DU drow started playing along. DU knew this was still a game, but now they were playing it on even ground so he was fine with it.

First of all - he inexplicably got butt-ass naked for the event.

All in all he liked it a whole lot and it was his re-introduction to the concept of pain being dished out as a form of love and his deep enjoyment of it.

Thank you so much, glad to hear you get some joy out of my work!

Dang it I had a pretty good write-up about his thoughts on Wyll from a long time ago, but I can't find it 😭

In summary, Wyll was a frustrating person for him to be around because of what he viewed to be a deeply ingrained naivete about the world. He shockingly didn't hate him (Wyll is kind of difficult to hate) but he never really saw him as an equal either, and definitely not as a friend. Du drow just desperately wanted him to express something that he would perceive as a genuine emotion; some kind of outburst or show of anger or frustration, but all he ever saw was someone trying to put on an act of performative heroism that he didn't buy at all.

At the same time, Wyll was far too young for him to be too mad. He might have held his father more accountable for making the guy into what he was than Wyll himself, really.

Can a man be scared of being scared? Because if so, it's that.

He also doesn't like shit a normal amount. (piss is fine depending on whose it is.)

[papersnakepress]

I had a message the other day asking (among other things) what kind of tools and equipment I use in making books, and as it's something I like to go into detail on, I realized I couldn't fit everything I had to say in a message so it's getting its own post. With photos!

Disclaimer that I'm not a professional bookbinder, I'm entirely self-taught and probably have habits and practices that would drive a pro nuts. I'm no authority, but these are the things that have worked for me, and maybe you can adapt them to work for you too.

This post will not cover: storage options, materials like board and glue, or equipment specific to one narrower aspect of the hobby like embossing or gilding. It is also not a tutorial on how to make a book, though I am covering things in more-or-less the order I use them in during the book-making process.

This post will cover: What I've found useful, what I've regretted buying, and some things you can co-opt from other, more common hobbies. A lot of it you may already have in your house. Some of it is for beginners, some is nicer equipment you might want as you get further into making books. They are not separated, it's just a list and some description.

Keep reading below the cut; this is gonna be a very long one and there are a lot of photos of everything.

If you want to make books you will need access to a printer. I'm not going to go into detail on this part and I didn't take a photo of my HP (not the best brand, but that's a long discussion in and of itself). Once you've got your pages printed and it's time to fold it into signatures, it helps to have a folding tool like these:

Folding tools can be anything as long as they're smooth and flat. The one on the left here is an actual bone folder from an art supply shop, but the center one is a plastic leatherworking tool that I got at Hobby Lobby, and the one on the right is an agate burnisher that I got from Amazon. None of these cost more than $10, and you can also use the edge of a pen (as long as it has no rubber grip or cap/clip) or the back of a spoon. Or your fingers, but the tools make it faster and the folds are more precise. I once worked a job where I had to fold maps, and all my coworkers were wondering how I did them so much faster and why mine were flatter than everyone else's, and it was because I'd grabbed a sharpie and started using the back end like a bone folder.

Once it's folded, you'll need to poke holes for sewing. I use one of these:

Left is, again, an actual bookbinding awl from an art supply store, while the center one is a paper quilling tool and the right one is a beadwork awl, both of which came from a big chain craft store. The bead one is my favorite; it's a good size and very stable. The quilling thing has too long and thin of a blade and it's wobbly, and I don't like the tapering on the bookbinding awl. It tends to make the holes in the middle page too big, and the outer ones too small. Again, these were cheap, about $10 each, but you can also use a sewing needle stuck in a cork, or a thumbtack or pushpin. If it's pointy and rigid, it'll work.

This isn't a requirement by any means, but I've found I like having a punching cradle for the hole-poking step. I got this 3d printed one from a fellow bookbinder, who was designing their own and made this one as a prototype. There are a lot of tutorials on how to make a punching cradle, or you can buy them online from several different vendors. They don's all look like this, and you can make them from wood or cardboard (though those don't usually have guide holes). If you're just starting out or this doesn't appeal, you can just use a paper template like the one on the far right. The cradle helps get the holes lined up and evenly spaced, and I've never liked this step so anything that makes it faster and less fussy is a win. If you use this kind, check that your hole-poking tool fits in the guide holes--the binding awl pictured above doesn't, but the other two do.

We've made holes, so let's stitch them up. These are just regular sewing needles and beeswax, to make your thread less prone to tangling. You can get both of them in any store that has a sewing department. There are dedicated bookbinding needles, like curved needles, and some binders like them, but I've never gotten the hang of the curved ones and they aren't necessary, especially when you're just starting out. If it fits through the holes you made, it will work.

Once it's sewn, you probably want to squish your new text block so it's flat. I've got a laying press that I bought a couple of years ago when I was first getting started. It was marketed as a book and flower press, and it's honestly not the best. I would probably not have bought it if I had known that it wasn't essential to the process, and I mainly use it now when I'm squishing a text block and still want to use my work space, because once it's tight I can move it somewhere else. You can really use almost anything for squishing as long as it's heavy and flat and rigid on one side, like the stack of books in the right-hand photo. Textbooks, encyclopedias, art and photo books, and comic book omnibuses are all great. I've seen people use all kinds of things, like paper-wrapped bricks and doorstops, and there are tutorials out there to make your own press out of cutting boards if you do want one.

If you like your books to have smooth, flat page edges you're going to have to trim them. This is a book plow from Affordable Binding Equipment, and it was the first piece of actual expensive equipment that I bought. Not all plows look like this; I think the design is unique to ABE, but I've never used the traditional kind. In the interest of full disclosure, you can also trim edges with a sharpened chisel, which is much cheaper and can be bought at any hardware store, and some binders love this method. I do not love this method and have had zero regrets about caving and getting the plow. Very easy to use but does require some grip strength. Not pictured: the setup for sharpening the blade, which isn't hard but requires a bit of space and a small sheet of plate glass that you have to source yourself. Even with that, I still prefer it to the chisel. That said, this is not an essential step and you can leave your books with a "sawtooth" or deckled edge. Most of my early books have them, and some people just like them better than the flat ones and never learn to trim them. As another side note, some tutorials will say that you can trim your edges flat with a knife. You can't. Maybe on a pamphlet you can, but if it's more than 10 or 20 pages you just can't. It will look terrible.

If you're going to use a plow, you've got to have the right kind of press. The one I talked about further up the thread is the wrong kind (full disclosure: I did use it with that press turned on its side, before I bought this one. But it's harder, more time-consuming, less comfortable, and less safe. Don't be like me). So here's a photo of my finishing press (also from Affordable Binding Equipment). I bought it so I could make backed books, but I use it for trimming too. The top part here has a narrow tapered section for backing, but if you flip it over it's totally flat, which is what you need for trimming. Not pictured: the stand that it came with for backing, or the c-clamps that I use to attach it to the desk for trimming. Again, though--this isn't a requirement for bookbinding. This is a later stage that's entirely optional. On the subject of backing, though:

You don't need special equipment to round the spines of your books, but you do for backing. Left image is the set of backing boards I got from, once again, Affordable Binding Equipment, and on the right is a backing hammer from Hollander's. Neither of these are essential. Even if you get the boards (which have to be used in a press with a tapered edge, like the one directly above) you can actually use a regular hammer as long as the front part has no scratches or gouges. This one is a backing hammer, the primary difference being that it has a wider, convex head than a regular household hammer, to make the kind of glancing blows needed for backing a little easier. Honestly, I'm still learning how to use these and I'm not very good with them yet. Comes of being self-taught, probably. I don't think youtube is the best vehicle for learning this part, but it's what I have and I'm making do. Not every book is going to benefit from backing, either; it's primarily for helping mitigate spine swell.

Okay, time for my favorite repurposed equipment hack.

It's bookends. Regular bookends that I've had for ages and that probably came from Ross or some other place that doesn't even sell craft supplies.

Want to keep the text block upright while you glue it? Bookends. Want to sew some custom end bands but your text block keeps falling over? Bookends. They won't provide pressure for squishing, but if you just need to hold something upright while you work on it, bookends are the answer. They hold up books, it's right there in the name. Having said that, you want some with a little weight to them, like these agate slices, so they won't slide around. And you want something with a smooth finished edge like these, so they won't scratch up your text block or leave dents. I have other sets but these are the only ones I use for this purpose, and they're better for it than anything else I've got.

Moving on from making the text block, let's look at what I use to make covers.

It's appeared in the background of most of the other photos, but here's a photo of just the desk surface covered in cutting mats. I really recommend a mat to protect the surface of your furniture and keep your knives from going immediately dull. I've got a big one that covers almost the full surface, and a small one for when I want to be more mobile. I started with just the small one and it was good until I started working with larger sheets of paper. The big one was bought largely for convenience but I have no regrets about it. They're self-healing, non-slip, and you can get them in the sewing section of any big craft store.

I'll be honest, I am not big on knives. I've got a regular box cutter for trimming board, and a razor knife for paper and cloth, and that's it. There are a lot of kinds and really all you need is one sharp blade for board. Paper and cloth can be cut with scissors if you want, though I find I get more consistently straight lines with the knives. Also pictured: Metal rulers and a T-square. You want a metal ruler for this. Plastic will flex and wood won't lay flat. Ideally you want one without a cork backing (my 18" one has this problem) and with the tick marks etched in rather than printed (my 12" one has this problem). For larger sheets of paper and cloth, the 18" one is great, but you can get by with the smaller one. The T-square is for making right angles; mine is plastic and only 12", and I really wish I had a longer one that was metal. These are drafting tools and you'll find them in the section of the craft store that has easels and sketch pads and they're usually pretty cheap.

This is an adjustable compass. You can probably get these at craft stores but I got mine on Amazon. It's for measuring hinge gaps and the width of spines, both essential for making sure your cover fits your text block and your hinges open the way they should. Both of those are incredibly frustrating situations, and this thing makes it so much easier to avoid them.

Things to spread glue with! Any old paintbrush will do, though I like to have a few different sizes and textures on hand to choose from. I like the big one for cover boards and casing in, the mid-size ones for doing turn-ins, and the little fellow for details and touch-ups. I don't care for foam brushes because I find them hard to clean when glue is involved, but if you like you can use those. The metal thing on the left is a micro-spatula, and I did have to special order it from an art supply place but it was cheap and it's very helpful to have on hand for when the brushes are too thick, for doing turn-ins on rounded spines, and for separating pages if you decide to learn edge foiling. Not essential, but recommended.

One thing I neglected to take a photo of is my crepe eraser. Despite the best intentions, no matter how careful you are, you will at some point get glue where you don't want it, where it will be visible on the finished book. This is where the crepe eraser comes in; you can use it to remove dried glue from cloth or (to a lesser extent) paper. Very annoyingly, none of the craft or art supply places I went to had even heard of these and I had to get mine from Amazon. It was cheap (under $10) and I strongly recommend getting one.

Once your cover is made, you have some options. You can leave it blank, hand-letter or draw an image, stamp it with ink or embossing powder, use a stencil, or do what I usually do these days and make a cover graphic from HTV. I've got a cricut for this (though they're not the only kind of cutting machine; it pays to research other brands) and a mini heat press (I want a bigger one, but I got this one cheap because the box is messed up). A lot of libraries have cricuts you can use, and you can use a regular iron to apply the HTV. Getting it to stick is a bit tricky, but that's true no matter which tools you use. Not pictured: a cutting mat, different than the kind shown above, necessary with most materials you can cut (mine came with one, they're about $20 at most craft stores, and they're lightly sticky to keep your materials in place while it's being cut). I don't know if other brands require them, but cricut does unless you're using their Smart Materials (I have never used these). If your library has a cutting machine, they will also have the appropriate cutting mats. Also not pictured: weeding tools. Weeding is when you remove the bits of HTV that you don't want in the final image, usually the spaces between letters and such. The negative space, if you want to get artsy. The special tools cricut sells aren't necessary, you can use an awl or needle and the dull edge of your knife blade, but I have a set of theirs and I like mine.

I didn't take a photo of it, but sometimes I use embossing inks and powder to make cover designs and text. You only need a heat gun for embossing powder, it takes up way less space than the cricut does, and it's cheaper. I got mine free from a family member so I don't know what it cost initially, but cutting machines are a really big expense; the cricut is my third most expensive piece of equipment, after the finishing press and the plow.

Good god I think that's everything. It sounds intimidating, I know. And it sounds like it takes up tons of space in your home, and to be honest it can, but it doesn't have to. The first dozen or so books I made, I made completely to my satisfaction with tools and materials that fit in one 12x16" moving box. If you love the hobby and can make the space, the bulkier items might be worth it down the line, but especially when you're first getting started it's smart to keep things low-cost and compact. Most of the basics are simple and your fellow bookbinders are delighted to share their shortcuts and substitutions if you ask.

The end! I hope it was helpful, @cardassianexpats! I did warn you it would be wordy, lol.

[normansnt]

A book by its cover (Usopp x male!punk!reader)

This picture inspired me BIG time. Also I love that people are finally realizing how nice punks are🦦🧡 It may be a bit long but like not that long its aight I hope you like it

There are no warnings its just fluff🐥

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Black leather jacket with spikes, badges and whatnot. Spiky h/c hair piercings and tattoos all this with black ripped jeans with again different badges and other things on it and black combat boots. Usopp thought this looked quite scary. He looked quite scary. Well ok it looked badass not to mention the guy was handsome... but anyhow he looked like he was from a dark world which Usopp had no intention of entering

The strawhats docked on an island for supplies maybe a little rest and to reset the log pose they had about 1 maybe 1 and a half days. Robin, Nami and Sanji went shopping the girls for clothes Sanji to carry their bags and to buy food. Zoro went to drink beer and take a nap and Luffy went with him claiming he wants to eat (as always). Brook and Jinbe just wanted to look around town. That left Franky, Usopp and Chopper who wanted to go look for supplies for the ship or Usopps bombs and other things.

Thats where they saw him. The guy who sold every kind of parts for ships, to painting supplies, gases and more. He was a tall dude around 6'6 with h/l, h/c hair which was in spikes (or not you decide if it wasn't just ignore it), he had kind e/c eyes and greeted them with a friendly smile. Franky smiled back and got to business right away.

"Hey guys what can I help you with?" Asked the guy in a friendly tone. "We need some supplies for a ship" said Franky cautiously not to mention that they are pirates. "Oh you guys are the Pirates that just docked, ok what kind of parts do you need?" Said the s/c male. Franky, Usopp and Chopper stood there a bit baffled. Even after the guy knew they were pirates the kind smile didn't leave the strangers face.

While Franky was discussing the parts needed Usopp was quiet the whole time something was off with this guy, he looked scary (and handsome but Usopp did not admit that even to himself) but acted very kind and understanding. Not to mention based on what he heard from the conversation he knew what he was talking about. "HAHAHA" Frankies booming laugh got him out of his trance. The guy must have said something awfully funny since he was smiling as well a big smile, a very attractive smile. What? Usopp was very confused at this point. "I could really use someone like you on the ship to help with repairs wouldn't you say Usopp, Chopper?" Asked Franky smiling, the two were just standing there silently. "Sorry how rude of me" said the guy still smiling "I didn't even introduce myself Im Y/N". "Im Franky these two are Usopp and Chopper" smiled Franky while pointing at the two. Usopp and Chopper still didn't say anything. Teddy got down on one knee looked at chopper and reached in his pocket. The too scaredy cats were watching his every move when suddenly he pulled out candy from his pocket. "Do you want one little reindeer?" Asked Y/N with a smile Chopper immediately forgot his fear. Not only because the stranger had candy but because someone finally saw him as a reindeer at the first meeting and not a raccoon. He walked over to Y/N and took some candy. Y/N patted his head. Chopper looked up at him and a bit shyly but asked him: "what are those pointy things on your jacket?". The e/c eyed male laughed and answered: "They are spikes I wear them cuz I think it looks cool" smiled the man than put his tongue out in a rocker way to make the little reindeer laugh. Chopper did laugh and then asked: "Can I touch them?" Y/N smiled and motioned for him to come closer. Chopper liked his spikes very much he thought they are dangerous at first that they hurt, but they didn't. This way Chopper ended up sitting on Y/Ns shoulder. Usopp watched this whole scene with interest. You were THIS nice. Now he feels stupid for thinking you are mean or anything but the way you are dressed deceived him. Usopp was staring at you red faced. It was not only that you were really good looking you had the kindest personality as well and he really couldn't deny it any longer even to himself he liked you, a lot. Y/N looked at him next. "So you're Usopp?" He asked smiling maybe a bit red in the face...? Nah Usopps eyes were lying to him he surely just saw what he wanted to.

"I...uh...YES, I am the great captain Usopp indeed" he said while sweating trying to play it off full of pride. He was kind of embarrassed after a short silence and he was about to apologize when he heard the most pleasant laughter he had ever heard. Y/N laughed at his antics he thought it was hilarious. "Wow alright mighty and powerful captain Usopp" he said whit a mock bow, then they both started laughing Chopper didn't really get it he just sat on Y/Ns shoulder eating the Candy he got while Franky just looked at them with a knowing smile.

After they bought everything they needed (which took nearly the whole day since they had such a great time with Y/N) they had to go back to the ship. Usopp was not happy nor was Chopper and to be fair Franky also took a liking to Y/N so its safe to say none of them wanted to leave him on the island. Y/N was not happy either to see them go he had a great time and enjoyed Usopps funny antics to no end. How ever to recruit a new crew mate was not their job not to mention they had no idea if Y/N was any good in battle.

Usopp was sulking the whole way back. And on the ship as well. They planned to stay on the port of the island for the night then set sail in the morning.

Zoro was on night watch and all of a sudden he saw someone approaching the ship. He stood up to see if the person was actually coming to the ship, but there was no misunderstanding the person was coming to the ship with something on their shoulder and a small bag in their hand. Zoro reacted the moment he saw that that something on the strangers shoulders was an ax.

He jumped off the ship right on the stranger. However, to Zoros utter disbelief, they dodged it. Now that the street light helped him see he saw that it was a guy, wearing a leather jacket with spikes badges and what not. This did not interest him however the thing that bothered him was the ax on his shoulder and the fastness he dodged his attack with it was almost inhuman like.

"What do you want with this ship?" Asked Zoro accusingly. "Listen this is a misunderstanding-" but the stranger did not get to finish their sentence because Zoro attacked. To Zoros disappointed the stranger blocked all of his blows and dodged them with excellence and grace very much like he saw Mihawk do it. The only difference between this guy and Mihawk was that he didn't attack back he just kept defending and of course he used an axe. The rest of the strawhats woke up to this commission outside and watched the fight with shock. Someone holding their own against Zoro with one hand and a small axe without breaking a sweat or attacking back? This was crazy. The moment Usopp stepped on the front of the ship to see whats going on his eyes widened and he looked at Franky. "Isnt that-" "Yes he is" "shouldn't we-" "Yes we should" the two looked at each other then forward at the battle and started yelling "STOP STOP" very loudly Franky jumped off the ship to stop Zoro while Usopp ran over to Y/N to stop him as well.

"Huh?" Asked Zoro after Franky stood in front of him. "Why are you standing in the way?" He asked kind of upset, Franky didn't answer just looked at Y/N and asked "What are you doing here Y/N?".

"Im sorry to disturb your night but after I was going to close the shop I found Usopps bag, and I wanted to return it, so after I left the shop I tried to find your ship based on how you guys described it and well I got kinda lost thats why I only got here this late" explained the s/c male panting lightly due to dodging Zoros attacks. Usopp got red in the face, very red, he left his bag there and didn't even notice since he was busy thinking about Y/N all night. "Thanks Y/N so much somehow I didn't even notice" "Wait you know this punk?" Asked Zoro.

"Wow you're quick" laughed Y/N lightly this made others chuckle a bit as well. "We bought ship supplies from him he was the shop keeper we were telling you about during dinner" yelled Chopper excitedly while running to Y/N to sit on his shoulders. "I don't care what shop you own how did you dodge my attacks this effortlessly?" Asked Zoro still a bit pissed. "Oh thats all thanks to my dad he trained me all my childhood" answered Y/N truthfully. "Your dad? Who is your dad if I may ask the way you move reminds me of someone" asked Sanji. He took a liking to the punk the moment he made fun of Zoro. "Mihawk, Dracule Mihawk" Everyones jaw dropped with their eyes bulging out of their sockets. "MIHAWK HAS A KID???" Yelled Zoro shocked. "Yeah Im kind of used to these reactions however y'all are a bit extreme Im guessing you know him" said Y/N in a usual tone not very phased by their reactions."Join my crew" said Luffy all of a sudden. Nami screamed when she notice Luffy was standing next to her because when everyone came out he was still sleeping. "You look strong and I saw you fight then I heard you are Mihawks son you are joining my crew" said Luffy smiling big. "Oh... eh I really didn't plan on becoming a pirate..." started off Y/N. Then he looked at Usopp who was looking at him with hopeful eyes and then at Chopper who was looking with puppy eyes Franky also tried doing Puppy eyes but it looked rather creepy from a big man like him. It was still hard though Y/N liked this town not to mention his shop. "But you are joining" said Luffy still smiling then headed back to his bed like the discussion was ower "uh..." Y/N stood there confused, then Usopp started laughing, "Yeah Im afraid it isn't your decision " Usopp continued laughing then started to walk towards the ship. With everyone else "Come on Y/N you are our nakama now" smiled Usopp while grabbing his hand and walking to the Thousand sunny. Never judge a book by its cover I guess you could say that for any member of the Straw hat crew Y/N will fit right in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WELP

My second fanfic🥳

I wrote this for an embarrassingly long time even I don't know why lol💀

Anyway I LOVE Usopp he is so goofy and no mf in the world will tell me he isn't gay not yo mention Im a HUGE believer of trans Usopp so😗

SO I hope you liked this fic I will write more with time but I have things to do

Ladies, gentlemen and others I hope you enjoyed your reading, good afternoon good evening and goodnight🧡🦖

[puffins-studio]

Darius Deamonne🪡Eberwolf the huntsman🪲 Hunter 🐺

I been want to post this and where I’m, it’s Father’s Day so I thought why not. I saw people were also doing a dadius week and I really want to join but I don’t have any embroidery/art ideas to do for it. But it one of my favorite things from this fandom as it’s so sweet. Hopefully I can think of something more for them later in the future.

I also love Eber so much along Darius so I need him to be included. Also him joking with Hunter that he his wolf dad or uncle or something. Just him picking a fun name to call himself and Hunter joking along to annoy Darius. Also Eber totally calling hunter cub as it’s so cute

Also costume note as I have to say it but I love how Darius subtly matches Hunter in the last bits, as look hunter has a little bit of purple from his wolf shirt and Darius has a little bit of yellow to match hunter.

[ID: The picture is a felt doll that is the shape of a gingerbread man with a big circle head, they is supposed to be Darius Deamonne He has dark brown felt for skin, different shades of purple felt to make up his ab hair and beard. He has his white gloves and boots. He has on his violet pants, black shir with purple beads around the neck line, and the golden edging. And this purple shoulder cape. Eberwolf is made wirh orange felt and a copper color felt for his hair, he have fluffy cheeks and pointy ears. He in his gery shirt, and brown skirt that have spikes. And brown shoes, and yellow wristbands. And Hunter he have his short blonde hair and the extra stand. And he has this big scars on his face with and scar ear. He is his cosmic frontier cosplay with the top part tied around his waist and his Wolf shirt that has little purple wolfs on it what have little white stitch around it to look like he made it. The first picture it a remake of the reunion scene with Eber wolf on Darius’ shoulder and the 2nd picture Eber is standing next to him.:ID]

[rose-tries-to-write]

My Knight

This can be found on Ao3 under the same username!

There, he thought, eyes locking onto a tall man dressed in a brown cloak standing at one of the merchant stalls. There is his target. He grins slyly behind his mask, eyes tracing the shiny gold the man carelessly flaunts as he counts the correct amount needed to pay the vendor. The man is rich and careless enough that Grian can easily borrow some of that gold without notice.

Now with his hands full of trinkets, the man begins walking down the crowded streets, letting his eyes wander from stall to stall as he slowly approaches Grians hiding spot in the alleyway. Grian stands up straight, brushing off imaginary dirt and taking a deep breath before he emerges from the alleyway, coincidentally knocking into the man just as he begins to pass in front of it. The man gives a sharp gasp of breath, a few things in his overloaded hands tumbling to the ground.

“Oh my! I am so sorry, I didn’t see you there!” Grian excuses, his face twisted into worry as he dips to the ground to pick up a few of the items.

The man joins him, gathering things back into his arms, “No worries, friend! No harm done.” He brushes off, smiling at the smaller man as he stands back up. Grian hands over the things he’s grabbed, smiling back from behind the mask.

“Of course, sorry again!” Grian calls, walking away with a cheshire grin slowly overtaking the fake one.

“Oh, wait a moment, won’t you? I think you’ve forgotten something.” The man calls, voice sickeningly sweet and dripping with something resembling charm. Grian tenses, angling himself to meet the mans eyes. He doesn’t even have to say a word before the man is elaborating, “My pouch, I think you’ve mistaken it as you’re own and forgotten to give it back.” He outstretches his hand, a look in his eyes that screams of a cat catching the canary.

Grian feels his eye twitch before he huffs a disbelieving laugh. “This old thing?” He asks, pulling out a small worn brown pouch of dull clinking coins from his cloak, “Perhaps you’re mistaken. Either way, finders keepers.” He grins slyly, the smile reaching his eyes as he watches the way the man stumbles at the sight of the pouch that is not the one he’s now missing.

“Wh- wait, no.” He panics as Grian starts to walk off, arms crossed behind his head in a picture of perfect calmness and content with his actions. “Wait, Wait! I can offer you much more than just a pouch!” The man calls out and Grian freezes in his steps. It could be a trap, who would offer more money to the person who just robbed you? But Grian has been down on his luck lately, and… well even just a few more coins could make a difference at this point. So, he turns around, suspiciously eyeing the man. “Good. Let’s take this somewhere a bit more… private.”

Grian protests, but the man gives a charming smile as he guides Grian through the markets. Eventually, they end up in an alley, with the man checking the entrance before settling across from Grian on the opposite wall. “Well? What’s the deal?” Grian asks, his nerves starting to get the best of him as he itches to run from this encounter before he gets in over his head.

The man chuckles and pulls his hood slightly to the side to flash Grian a view of long, pointy ears laden with jewels and chains. Grian freezes, his blood running cold as he realizes just exactly the situation he’s in. The man is an elf. Grian just stole from an honest-to-gods royal elf. He’s so going to jail.

Just as his brain starts imploding, the man speaks, “The deal is you become my bodyguard.” and Grian’s brain melts out of his ears.

“What?!” He shouts, to the man’s immediate frantic silencing. Grian lowers his voice slightly, but the agitated hiss of disapproval seeps through. “What the hell are you saying? Making a thief your bodyguard; are you insane?” Grian demands, eyes searching the face of the man before him for any sign of a joke or trick.

The man smiles sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders as he brushes off Grian’s worries, “You make it sound like such a big deal!”

“Oh my gods, you’re serious.” He realizes, and the man smiles a sweet, charming look that makes Grian want to stab him for all the trouble.

Part 2 Here

[kewpidity]

kewpie's slapdash tips and tricks for making moodboards

ive been asked a few times about how i make my moodboards and my MethodTM so here it is!

this is an image heavy post and as detailed and comprehensive as i can possible make it, if you have any questions let me know and i'll help if i can!

also, this is made with sites and apps for desktop- i have no experience editing on mobile so if that's what you're looking for im afraid i cant help you, sorry! ↷↷↷

Choose Your Fighter

let's get right into it- first thing first choose a character, or a ship or a series or whatever! i'll be doing a ship because it's a teeny bit more involved than just a single character or series

the ship will be grim x mandy from the one show

Picking Pictures

obviously the most important part of a moodboard is the Pictures

i use pinterest personally, and finding them on there is usually pretty easy, especially if i have an idea of things i want to include. a lot of people already have boards made up for characters as well, so just searching the character names under the 'board' option will usually get you where you need to go!

but i know some people prefer sources with free to use, royalty free type images, so i included those as well:

pixabay unsplash

you can have as many or as little as you'd like, but personally i prefer the classic 9x9 grid style moodboards, so im obviously gathering 9 photos

as for what pictures to choose, here are some things to ask yourself:

do you have a color scheme you associate with this character/ship? are there any themes that are relevant?

these are the pics i choose for my board- they're raw, unedited, and uncropped, which we'll be changing here in a bit

notice that ive chosen the color scheme of pink, black, and white because that suits them and is also the colors in their actual character palettes

ive also picked some things that feel relevant to the ship and its vibes- mandy is associated with daisies, so i got a picture with a girl with a daisy in her eye, which i also paired with a skull with a flower in its eye socket, bringing them together with a common theme. there are also little black shoes and a bloody knee for mandy, a psythe and what could work for cerberus for grim, and since their ship is kind of gruesome and mean spirited (affectionate) as well as the show having pulpy vibes, i got a heart shaped steak, a pulpy romance/horror cover, and an old horror movie card with their VibesTM

Formatting

now that we have our pictures, its time to figure out the formatting! i went ahead and already did that with the pictures above using a site ipiccy, specifically the 'collage' options

ipiccy

once you press 'collage', you'll open up to this menue, where im choosing the 9x9 grid, but as you can see there are other options there if you wanna use them! then you're gonna press 'add images'

then you add images here (mine are already loaded in):

afterwards, you play around with the placement of the images- its okay if they clip or dont properly fit in the box, this is Only figuring out where you want the pictures to go, we'll place them properly later in a different program

when im placing them i like to consider patterns and shapes- top left square is a 'mandy' square, so bottom right should be a 'grim square', as well as echo each other- in this case the flowers in the eyes thing, and so on, even down to the pointy little shoes and the pointy little sythe this part can be v subjective, so i encourage you to play around until it clicks for you

i hope my scribbles kinda help explain visually what i mean:

also as a small personal tip: when i make moodboards i want to capture the feeling of a character/ship/what have you Without just Saying it. because of that i lean more heavily on the pictures themselves and Only ever use One that has text on it. again this is subjective, but to me its a 'telling vs showing' thing and too many words makes the whole thing feel v cluttered with little room for the actual characters involved

once you're satisfied with your placement, take a screenshot to reference your placement, and then we move on to

PS/Photopea, Templates, Adjustments, and PSDs

this is where we get really into it

firstly, i know most people either dont have PS or are nervous about downloading a cracked version (def do not click this because it is def not a link to older ps files you can dl for free) but luckily there's an extremely comprehensive in-browser option that is totally free called Photopea, which can be found HERE

its basically a 1 to 1 rebuild of the real thing, and since its more accessible i'll be using that to finish up my board!

first, you'll wanna throw your template in there, here's the one im using

once you open it, you also need to open the pics you chose to use- i suggest doing this one at a time to not overcrowd the program

once the pic is open, copy it and paste it over onto the moodboard, and then right click the layer and set it to 'clipping mask' which will keep the pic within the bounds of just the template:

then go over the toolbar on the right, press the 'rectangle select', then right click the board and select 'free transform' to move the picture around freely:

now is where you look at the screenshot you took of the ipiccy placement, and then you simply move the picture in the proper place in the moodboard! you might need to select and cut off the part that doesnt fit neatly into the square

continue doing this until you have it all filled out, and take some time to properly fit the pics (for example, the pic with the text needed to be (to does this is photopea drag around the corners while in 'free transform, and if you dont want it to scale at the same dimensions press 'shift' on the keyboard while you drag, which is what i had to do with the text or the flower-in-the-skull to make it fit properly))

its important that All your layers are properly set to clipping mask, otherwise it'll be all messed up! so it should look like like this when you're done, and hopefully everything will be layered on the board properly, and we end up with this:

you could stop here and be done with it, the entire moodboard can be finished now, but i like to tweak things like contrast and value and levels, which are found here in the 'image' section at the top- ive been as tutorial-esque as i can be so far, but this one really comes down to playing around with it and making adjustments until you like the outcome (each layer can be changed individually)

i try to make it so everything feels even- the blacks match and the whites match and none of them feel particularly lighter or darker or more saturated than the others

so we go from this:

to this (if you cant tell the difference i didnt do it well ljksdf, its helped further along and made more obvious by the next step) :

and Finally the secret sauce: PSDs!

these are premade colors/effects that you drop on top of board to help even things out, maybe make some colors Pop

there are a Ton of them free to use on tumblr and deviantart, and Here is a tutorial on how to use them! (its done on mobile but works functionally the same as on desktop)

feel free to make adjustments to the photos more under the psd until it looks right to you

once ive selected and used the psd i wanted, i export it as a png, and this is the result!

i hope this is helpful and not Too confusing, if anybody has any questions let me know and i'll try to help!

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: A Thought on Catgirls

First question: what kind of cats?

This is important because the vast majority of cat species are solitary predators. A mother teaches her kittens or cubs to hunt, and then they disperse. There are exceptions - lions living in prides, groups of cheetah males banding together to hold a territory so they can successfully chase down a female, individual cats of various species who form friendships with another of their kind, or even a different species altogether - but almost all cat species follow this template.

Housecats are the major exception to this rule. Domesticated or feral, housecats will live in large colonies wherever prey permits it, with even most toms being relatively social and not a danger to unrelated kittens.

(Most. Not all.)

So if your catgirl has any real cat instincts or behavior patterns, you need to know what kind of cat. The overly friendly and living-in-groups catgirl so stereotypical of harem setups would almost have to be lioness or housecat based. Maybe cheetah. Maybe. They can live a sort-of domesticated life as hunting animals, and have in centuries past. But they also tend to be verrrrrry nervous, as befits a relatively small predator trying to make a living where every lion, hyena, and leopard will not only steal their kill but kill and eat them in the bargain.

I invite you to picture the havoc wreaked by a perpetually nervous catgirl on everyone and everything in the vicinity. No, seriously, think about it. Unless your hero who befriends her has the absolute upbeat chill of the average golden retriever, she’d fret herself into nervous exhaustion and death.

Most harem heroes are not chill.

So. Housecat, likely your best bet. Although then you get to deal with the fact that the average housecat is, pound for pound, one of the most heavily armed mammals on the planet. As vets say, six ends, and five of them are pointy. A housecat scaled up to human size is essentially cougar-sized; a large cougar. Meaning their preferred prey size should be much the same... and cougars will take down moose.

You may be getting the idea that this should not be as fluffy and friendly a critter as anime would lead you to believe. And that doesn’t even get into the possibilities of opposable thumbs, magic, or modern weaponry.

Not to say that a more realistic catgirl couldn’t be good company! Of course she could. As long as there was good food, a warm place to cuddle in a sunbeam, and plenty of prey to chase, she’d probably be great company. She’d just also have a habit of borrowing your broadsword (or AK-47, or laser rifle) and leaving you alien-rhino-sized headless gifts to show you how loved you are. Or maybe even bringing them back partly alive; after all, you’ve got to keep your hunting skills sharp! It’s fun!

...I may be too Amused by this image. Thoughts?

[enteroctopusdarkysilis]

✨Tragon !✨

Trans...dragon..It's funny, right ?- Also, I know it's a wyvern...Dragon sounds better...

It's pride month, so it was the perfect occasion to finally make a dragon, yay ! It's also my first time making something akin to a dragon (technically the second time,, but the first one is truly horrible), and even if the proportion are still a bit out of place, it could have been worse. It's also my first time doing custom wings, but I'll talk about that in more details beneath :}

Also, it needs a name ! I’m really bad with names, but I would gladly take suggestions ! (And here is an alt picture, in its natural habitat-)

Anyways, details/closeups under the cut !

None of these picture below are edited, because it's exam period- Enjoy the green backgrounds :}

I have to say, before any other comment, that I made the body way to heavy for the two poor sockets of the legs. The position above is the only one where it's actually standing upright. Also, my stock of pink and rightly-shaded blue was much smaller than originally anticipated, so I would have done a bunch of tings differently, if it wasn't for that. Still, I was lucky to have that many curved blue pieces for the top part. Well, all of the ones with purple diamonds on them have been forcefully taken from a small Elves dragon, but it was worth it (I also really enjoy the purple here, it contrasts nicely).

All of the joints are mixel socket joints, except for the knees, which are just hinges. It gives a lot of movements, from the tail to the jaw. Even if these are limited, it gives it a wide range of positions (even if, realistically, it won’t change it much from the one I gave it). Still, it can sit ! (Including small trans flag)

The pointy scales on the back are some of the only elements which aren’t directly attacked to the body : one 2*2 plate holds them down, and a modified 2*1 under the plates keeps it from sliding in any other direction, so even with little connections, it doesn’t budge. I really liked these angular pieces. To keep them from being too repetitive, they are only connected to each other by one stud, with a small angle, which gives them a slightly "round" effect.

The tail here is not really complicated, it's just a bunch of socket joints linked together with curved tiles on top (one of the sticker is backward, and it's unnerving, but it's not my fault and I can't risk changing it...), with white arch pieces underneath. Not sure of why I added these in the first place, but it looks cool. And of course, the end of the tail is a big heart, because it simply fits the vibe, doesn't it?

Of course, I can't forget what is the most important, and what makes this creature as cute as it is ! (It is cute, and if that is the hill I have to die on, I will.)

The green background doesn't show it well, but the flame offers a good contrats with the rest of the head, and brings the eyes there first (instead of all the mistakes present). Because there are a bunch of these.

I spent nearly as long on the head as all the other body parts cumulated (except for the wings), because making something detailed yet small enough to be a good head is tough. I actually started from the top (for the piece with the sticker, more exactly), instead of the bottom, like I usually do, in order to get an idea of scale (because I already knew I wanted the jaw to move, and for that I needed to see how big it would be). Then, I did the back to quickly have a neck connection point, to see if it would fit. Because the neck is larger under the connection sockets, the socket of the head is actually pretty high up, but the colours are practically aligned so it works well.

Then, the next thing was the eyes and the spikes. The spikes took me a hile to figure out, because without the rest of the head, they looked kinda dumb, but it does bring the head together when everything is in place. Then the eyes : on the small dragon I took apart, there were these blue tooth pieces which I used to get some texture above them, so that they don't look flat, and then, I connected them to the center connectors of a 2*4 plates. That works well in placement, but I ran into the issue of what would be around. If I didn't do anything, there would be two gaps, which would look terrible. Instead, I stuck two 1*4 tiles in these gaps, and since the tooth pieces are around either side, they don't move - well, not much, they still produce a shaking sound when I'm moving the head.

Then under these plates, I directly have 1*4 pink bricks, which stick out behind the head. At first, it was a problem, and I had nothing else to replace them; but they actually restrict and hold the neck, so that even if the head is technically a bit too heavy, it remains in place.

The actual teeth are modified 2*1 plates, four at the top and four at the bottom. To keep them with such a small gap (and to attach them to either sides of the jaw) I have use modified 1*1 plates with a ring. There is a single one at the bottom, and then underneath a few cut 2*1 and 2*2 curved tiles to make the jaw triangular; and two on top, one which connects it to the head and one with holds the snout (which is using a cheese piece and another one of the blue tooth).

So, custom wings ! It isn't actually complicated, if only a bit tedious. Here below is all that I needed to make them :

As you can see, it's not much. Most important, of course, is a good, solid sheet of paper, and a cutter (precision cutter is better, in my opinion, but anything works). To make things easy (or if, like me, you don't know how to draw properly), you can take a basic lego wing, and trace the outline and where the holes go. I would advise only doing a single, blank one, at first. Once you have your proto-wing, you can start to make the actual frame it will be attached on. I chose to use bricks above it to act as claws, but you can use socket joints, like in most sets. The advantage of using plates is that the overall look is better, but if you want overhangs like I did, you have to get the holes really close to the edge of the wing.

Once you have your frame, trace where the holes would go on it ! (if you used a wing model, it might be easier, but it could also not fit, which is why you make a prototype first). To make holes just the right size, I would advise first cutting squares (easier than circles) at just the right size, then scratching the edges with the blade of the cutter. Once it looks good, try to fit an axle inside. If it just about fits, and can rotate, it's good ! Otherwise, just remove it and scratch again.

When that's done, test if it can correctly fit on your frame. Once that's done, you can either make two wings with that pattern, or simply make another copy. I personally made two new from my first prototype because it took me a while to figure out exactly how to place the holes.

Finally, once you got two wings, you can finally add whatever you want on them (easier when they're not actually on the frame, although that should've been obvious), and you're done :}

I went for a really basic thing, but technically, any shape is possible. I'll likely use it again someday, because it's quite fun !

And of course, the bonus picture, since you’re here ! I like the symbolic of this (also don’t pay attention to the tentacles).

I actually really wanted to get rid of this castle (which was gifted, not exactly desired, although I must admit it’s really well designed), and well. Now, it’s gone, and in its place lies the dragon…and my horrendous crab, too.