#try to make it a little more varied without drawing the eye too much

[m-aximumjoy]

in celebration of my/our love Angel being introduced this past week I’ve been working on a re-paint of the Handkerchief Moment and not to toot my own horn, but I’m really proud of how the background came out and particularly of these two

Ignore the big ol’ hole it’s for Aki (heh)

[my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction]

Do Us Both A Favour

Anselm Vogelweide x afab!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals Masterlist• ao3• want to be tagged? | request info • Kinktober 2024 Masterlist • Day 21: Smoking

Summary: Anselm doesn't seem to be as intimidating as others perceive him to be, at least when he's talking to you.

A/N: This is mainly fluff, I'm sorry.

Warnings: smoking, flirting, innuendo, not beta read, please let me know if I have missed a warning!

Word Count: 1248

You were part of a team hired to catalogue a collection of antique books. It wasn’t the first time you’d done this job, but this was definitely the largest and most varied collection you’d seen from a single individual. 

There wasn’t one room where there wasn’t books. Including an interesting set of laminated novels in the bathroom that were presumably to stop the bath water from splashing on the pages.

You were currently working on a bookcase in a secluded room on the third floor, taking quick notes in your notebook that you would transfer onto your computer later. 

The room opening made you jump, despite how gentle it was. 

“Oh, my apologies.” 

You recognised him instantly, despite this being the first time you’d actually seen him in person. The head of your team had warned you about him quite thoroughly - everyone was to be on their best behaviour when Mr Vogelweide was around.

“No, erm, no, please, I’m sorry, this is your house.” You give him a small bashful smile that he grins at, chuckling lightly. 

He shakes his head, taking a few steps inside. His brace squeaks with every step. He’s wearing a sharp dark teal suit that compliments him immensely. “I’ll put this out.” He says kindly, gesturing to the cigar in his left hand. 

“Oh, no, it’s fine, really.” You say without thinking, wanting to be polite. 

He quirks an eyebrow at you as he moves to his desk, “You smoke?”

You shake your head. 

“Well, I really should put it out then. Manners, you see.” He opens a side draw and pulls out an ornate and heavy looking glass ashtray. 

“Unless,” he smiles, “would you like to see a trick?” 

“A trick?” You turn fully.

He nods, “A trick.” There’s a little gleam in his eyes as he takes the cigar, the smoke wafting into the air. He presses the cigar against his lips and then, with a rather dramatic sleight of hand, it disappears. 

He shows you his empty hands, revelling in your surprised look, before he makes it reappear from his left ear. 

“How did you do that?” 

Anselm grins, “an old party trick.” He lightly presses the lit end into the ashtray. “I’m afraid it takes a lot more for me to reveal my secrets than a simple request, even if it is from a very beautiful person such as yourself.” 

You wish your words didn’t fail you, that heat wasn't burning under your skin. From everything you’d been told Mr Vogelweide had seemed like some twisted miser ready to snap and scream at anyone at any given notice. Instead, he seemed painfully charming. 

“My second trick, seems to be robbing you of your words.” He smiles cheekily as you shake your head ever so slightly, trying to break out of that hypnotic spell you had willfully fallen under. 

“I’m sorry, I…”

“You say sorry, far too much, my sweet.” He’d given you a cheeky wink before he collected a ledger from his desk and left the room, bidding you good day. 

.

It was Tuesday when you next saw him, he’d brought you a cup of sweet honey and lemon tea as you were working in the drawing room. Smiling as he placed the tray next to you. 

“For you.” 

“I, oh,” you smile, blinking heavily as your mind catches up with reality. “Thank you. You didn’t need to.” 

“Oh, but I wanted to.” He sat down, taking a sip of his own drink. 

“Thank you,” You repeat, shifting a little from your place on the floor, it was easier to look at the bottom shelf that way. 

“How is the work coming along?” He asks and you were sure he already knew the answer. But he listens intently as you explain passionately about his collection, smiling when you ask him small questions. 

On Wednesday he invites you to have lunch with him. Seemingly delighted when you agree and sat down in the day room with your packed lunch. Commenting that it was heartwarming to see someone you had prepared their own food. And then grinning like a madman when you’d playfully teased him about it. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry that we don’t all have personal chefs, Mr Vogelweide.” 

He snorts, “Anselm, please. You are far too lovely to have my last name in your mouth.” 

You were used to his kind words by now, sure that it was just something he did with everyone. 

You laugh, “And what is that supposed to mean?” 

“Exactly what I said, my dear.” 

“I think your surname is lovely.” You nod playfully to punctuate the sentence, knowing by now that he always reacts positively to sincerity mixed with light teasing. 

“Hmm,” the sound grumbles in his chest. “But you like Anselm, more yes? You agree that it is lovelier?” He inches a little closer as he talks, pulling a face to make you laugh. 

Some of your colleagues began to notice your friendliness, started to ask you to ask Anselm if they needed more information on certain volumes. Their perceptions of him being so intimidating weren’t surprising, but you found it a little odd that you couldn’t convince them otherwise. 

“Would you like a scotch?” Anselm asked.

You pause, halfway through your sandwich and glance at the clock. “It’s 12:35.”

“Oh, vodka then?” 

You scan his face, looking for any sign of insincerity and find none. “Are you teasing me?” 

He smiles, “Terribly, I’m afraid. You were away with the fairies.” He waves his hand.

“I was not.” You swallow, you do not want to admit you had been distracted looking at his face. 

“You most certainly were, what was the last thing I said?” 

“Do I want a scotch?” 

He chuckles, “Before that?” 

The small pause you take is enough for him to beam in triumph. 

“Ah ha, see, my dear?” He wags a finger playfully at you. “Am I boring you so?” 

“No.” You answer a little too quickly. 

“No? Well, I’m not sure if I am so convinced by your protest.”

“Anselm, that’s not fair.” You squirm a little under his gaze.

“What is unfair is you using my first name now of all times.” He leans a little closer, obviously amused. “Tell me, what has you so distracted?” 

“I… nothing.” 

“You’d be a terrible poker player, my dear.” He preens a little. 

“I would not.” 

“Then tell me.” He raises his chin ever so slightly, daring you. 

“I… wasn’t…”

“You… weren’t?” He teases, delighting in your discomfort. “Was it dirty is that why you won’t tell me?” 

Again, you take too long to answer.

“Oh, it was.”

“No, no,” you laugh in spite of yourself, “Stop, it wasn’t.” 

“I’m sure it was, it’s always quiet ones like you that end up into the most depraved things.” 

“I, what, no,” your giggles are becoming harder to control. 

“It takes one to know one, after all.” He lightly takes your hand in his, stroking the back with his thumb. 

“I have no interest in whatever depraved things you are into.” 

He chuckles, “I very much doubt that.” “Do you?” You pull a face and he laughs harder. 

“Yes, especially when you’ve been staring at me like you want to jump my bones for the last fifteen minutes.” 

You freeze, unable to even deny it. 

Anselm grins wickedly, pressing closer and whispering in your ear. “How about I do us both a favour, and instead of waiting around, I jump yours?” 

Thank you for reading!

@pleasurebuttonwrites @raven-rk @campingwiththecharmings @alexxavicry @whatthefishh

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[sunsetsands]

Almud Masterpost

Seemed like a good idea to create a place to compile information about the main planet project I have going.

Most of the pictures here are hand-drawn. I have slowly been improving at digital art, so I do intend on gradually replacing them with procreate recreations, but until then, have these messy pencil illustrations.

The planet’s name is Almud (pronounced “awl-MOO-duh” (yes, the D at the end is its own syllable)). It is the second planet from its star, an orange dwarf. Conditionswise, Almud is very similar to Earth, just a lot warmer and wetter, and without a single large moon. Instead, it has a somewhat recently-formed system of rings. These rings are made of the debris from the planet’s former moon, which floated in past the Roche limit a few dozen million years ago and got torn apart. Almud may or may not also have a smaller moon or two somewhere further out. I haven’t decided on that yet.

This is a map of Almud’s entire geography, which is slightly outdated. I’ll probably make an updated version at some point eventually possibly maybe. If you’re curious, those numbers on the continents were so I could keep track of continental drift to make sure everything made sense. I care way too much about tiny details.

This is a rough (and I mean very rough. Not proud of my craftsmanship on the outlines here) approximation of what Almud’s surface looks like. The foliage uses a teal pigment to photosynthesize, and the sky appears pink during the day. Obviously, not all of the planet is wetlands, but there are definitely more wetlands than there are on Earth thanks to the much higher humidity.

I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what Almud’s animal-equivalent life should be like. After several failed attempts, however, I think I have gotten it to a point I am satisfied with. Below is a phylogenetic tree of all of the “animal” phyla present on Almud, and an overview of what each phylum has going on. I tried not to rip off Earth's phylogeny too much, but there are some notable parallels.

Vaxistoma (roughly "vaccine mouth"): Small fishlike creatures that feed through a proboscis with an extendible needle-tooth-thing inside of it. The rest of their body is covered in thick, hard scales. They mainly inhabit deeper waters where aquatic duossei are less common.

Duosseus ("two skeletons"): The closest equivalent to vertebrates. First members were fishlike, with calcified plates covering the outside of their bodies and rod-shaped bones supporting the inside. The outer skeleton atrophied mostly in the terrestrial members, but most classes do still have notable remnants, as shown in the small drawing above.

Limosus ("muddy, slimy things"): Soft, squishy creatures without much in terms of an internal skeleton, but most groups do have some external armor like their relatives listed above. Can be accurately summarized as "molluscs, but more alieny", though a few members are more like worms or sea stars.

Jocomodivirae (very roughly "funny little guys"): Small velvet worm-esque invertebrates with a thick, leathery pad over their back. A very diverse phylum with many, many members. Definitely not just insects with no exoskeletons.

Planagelattae ("flat jellies"): What if flatworms had three eyes?

Xenigmalus ("strange, mysterious things"): I can't think of a good way of describing these, which is pretty fitting for what they are. Body plans vary wildly here, but are almost always some combination of fins, tentacles, and a big translucent sack. Like the vaxistomans, they usually inhabit deeper waters.

Cornivermia ("horned worms"): Pretty self-explanatory. The flat, hard bits at the fronts of their heads help them dig through softer areas of soil. Some groups use these growths instead as something more akin to pincers, fins, hooks, or shells.

Carniherbae ("meat plants"): You know those animal-fern things from the Ediacaran era? These are just those, but not extinct.

Vivitria ("living glass"): Soft, feathery insides protected by a crystalline silicate shell. Many species in this phylum are colonial, which tend to look like colorful, floating geodes. These colonies often have surprisingly complex sensory capabilities, and some have been found to be about as intelligent as Earth cats.

Xylovitria ("wood glass"): Terrestrial relatives of the vivitrians, almost all of which are colonial. The defining feature of this phylum, besides their terrestriality, is their symbiotic relationship with a wide range of plant-equivalent species. The xylovitrian colony forms a protective, glassy wall around the plants' branches, as well as a system of feathery roots beneath the soil which serve to both gather nutrients for their plant partner and exchange gametes with other colonies to create new, empty xylovitrians for the plants' seeds to land in. In return, the plant gives the colony some of the byproducts of its photosynthesis.

Chiforma ("X-shaped"): Four-sided radially symmetrical creatures. Contains such captivatingly creative groups such as "squids, but four", "clams, but four", "eels, but four", and, most creataculiciously of all, "coral, but four". A shining example of the innovation that specbio nerds are capable of.

Nodovellis ("tangled hair"): Formless, sessile filter feeders. Basically a slime mold trying really hard to be a sponge, but the closest it could get was becoming a loofah.

(Feel free to give critiques or advice on the scientific names I made. All I really did here was mess around with google translate. I know there are guidelines and policies for what is and isn't an acceptable phylum title, but I've never been able to understand what any of them mean. If anything immediately makes you go "That's not how that works!", let me know)

For some additional information, I imagine that life on Almud began in freshwater rather than saltwater. This made the transition to land pretty easy for most of the animals, since they could afford to just flop around in muddy wetlands without any risk of drying out. This does mean that their skin is very, very sensitive to salt, however.

There is one sapient species on Almud: These slug things. Their actual species name is Akada, if that's important. Akada are descended from a social burrowing species that learned how to cultivate the many plants and molds that thrived in the dark, wet conditions of their tunnels. They are herbivorous, have a herd animal-like social structure, and currently have a level of technological advancement similar to ours. For more miscellaneous and mostly jokey info on them, please look here.

I will expand on all of this when/if I find the time and motivation.

[jennablackmorebooks]

Maybe most ineffective no-nuance writing advice is susceptible to the problem of trying to find one or a few "problem items" and thinking like eliminating them in all possible circumstances is the objective forever key to objectively good writing.

Like, for a few examples:

Epithet overuse

No-nuance advice: You're saying your character's name too much. Call them by their hair colour or height so your prose doesn't suck bad forever. Cut out names to be good.

What might help people understand their writing better and what they're trying to accomplish: epithets draw attention to the trait you're pointing out, so if you're going to use one, it might be helpful to pick a relevant trait your narrator or protagonist might notice that means something instead of defaulting to their hair colour every time. Also, most people don't think of their friends through epithets all the time once they know their names, so consider what doing this does to the perceived level of familiarity we have with the cast.

"Mary Sues"

No-nuance advice: if your character is powerful and has weird coloured eyes and hair and is good at things and people like them, that's a Mary Sue and bad forever so don't ever give a character colourful design traits or talents. Cut out 'weird' designs and any skills to be good.

What might help: the trouble with "Mary Sues" is often their tendency to bend an established story, or the story they're in, to serve them when it's not realistic (or endearing to the audience, who might have liked the established world, actually!). Consider the worldbuilding you're using and if your new character fits that without having to sacrifice the characterization of every other character or the physical limits of what are possible in the world for this one extra character. There are ways to make a character Cool without also throwing away the foundations of enjoyable storytelling everywhere else, and it probably has very little to do with their eye colour, really.

(obligatory disclaimer that the term as it is used out of its Star Trek fanfiction context is not particularly helpful at also being meaningful 21st century writing advice especially since people's definitions of it range from "a character whose existence in the narrative bends the story in ways that don't make sense" to "a woman in a story that had a role" depending on which end of the sliding scale of credibility or lack thereof you ask :( obligatory disclaimer that I am using the term because you know what I'm trying to get at in general when I put the name in the post, and it's an effective catch-all term for the type of writing advice I'm trying to make fun of here even if it's not effective as general writing advice itself).

Said is dead

No-nuance advice: said is a bad plain boring word for bad plain boring writers. Use fancy synonyms all the time instead to prove your big vocabulary. Cut out 'said' to be good.

What might help: Too much unintended and prolonged repetition can be unpleasant to read for many, and too much 'said' can contribute to this. Use synonyms sometimes to enhance the meaning you're already trying to convey, but also vary your sentence structure so not every sentence is repetitive enough in form to warrant a dialogue tag, said or otherwise. Varied sentences of different lengths and styles can provide different effects, so using the ones that will get the intended point or pacing across better will make for more effective prose. There is no one magical dialogue tag to use or avoid that will fix the actual stylings of the prose.

Kill Your Darlings

No-nuance: everything you think is good is bad and you should take out the scenes you like. Cut out the parts you love for the sake of it.

What might help: Sometimes a scene you wrote that you thought is cool unfortunately, in retrospect, does not fit the tone, theme, worldbuilding, story, or something else of the book you intended to write. Please do not hesitate to edit or remove a piece just because you love it if it harms your vision for the rest of the book. A little utilitarianism might help you put the good of the whole book over the good of the one scene if the two cannot coexist peacefully.

I think a lot of advice that tries to be a 'life hack' for Objectively Good writing is reductive and lacks substance. If a piece of advice is suggesting you to remove something no matter what, and that's all you have to do to write well, it's no better than clickbait to me. The goal should be to try to understand what effect certain elements have on a story, so you can proceed knowing if the way you would like to utilise it is effective for the story you're trying to tell. But this requires nuance on the part of the advice provider, and maybe for them to concede that sometimes things they hate reading can be used effectively, and it requires the author to know what they're trying to do with the story they're telling. So it's a lot easier, perhaps, for a lot of people, to cut all exclamation points forever, cut all adverbs forever, so on and so forth, without learning how to use them effectively.

[damistrolls]

priest time!

SO ive been making this new group called the church of the lightbringers, which is centered around hunting evil creatures in order to make alternia a safer place. their war against darkness has been spanning centuries, but the church itself isnt very well known, and most who do know about it would just consider it a strange, but ultimately harmless fringe cult

their main enemies of the church are these strange, shadowy creatures that typically have sadistic or power-hungry tendencies, called umbral entities (or umbras for short). they have all sorts of varied abilities, but typically are all able to turn into and swim through shadows, can absorb a weaker being's essence to make themselves more powerful, and can alter and solidify shadows for various uses. umbras are not their ONLY target though, as they'll hunt any kind of dangerous monster, like zombies, werewolves, and vampires

the current members i have are lucius adagio and xamael akatsu, and theyre often helped out by a non-church member, laeven malady, also known as the shadowsbane

(character info under the cut)

lucius adagio (design by @dirgelwch) is an experienced member of the church, and one of the few priests who were granted powers by the lightbringer himself. these powers are a holy light that can manifest in the form of weapons or spells that heal trolls, and harm umbral entities and other undead

lucius, or as most people call him, father adagio, always has his heart in the right place, and despite his faith in the lightbringer, is not afraid to think for himself. he tends to turn a blind eye to monsters who he believes deserve a second chance, and spends a lot of time healing and helping people as he travels around alternia. he isn't afraid to put himself in harms way in order to protect people, in several cases, even going as far as to defend monsters and umbras from both his overzealous companions and other entities

while there are plenty of church members that agree with his more nuanced take on the war between light and dark, there are more that believe he is sabotaging the church due to his naivety. those above him certainly can punish him for acting against their wishes, but luckily, he cannot be dismissed, due to being one of the lightbringer's chosen

father adagio is friendly with laeven, an umbra that joined the side of light after speaking with him. they often work and travel together. he also sometimes works with xamael, another priest from his church who is a little less concerned with helping people, and more concerned about destroying monsters. though they don't always see eye-to-eye, their relationship isn't too poor, and they can work effectively together under the right circumstances. they really just wouldn't call each other friends

xamael akatsu (design by @norts-trolls) is another priest of the lightbringer church. he isn't chosen like adagio is, but honestly, what would being chosen even do for him? he doesn't need some fancy powers when he's got a pair of talking, enchanted weapons that temporarily take on powers from the blood they draw

naoto and masaya are a pair of, what xamael calls, "magatta ken", or crooked swords, that he inherited from his ancestor, who had also been a part of the church before his untimely death. they each have their own personalities, naoto being the more serious, level-headed weapon, and masaya being the more eager, passionate one. naoto is the weapon adorned with the symbol of the lightbringer, and he speaks with a quiet, even, but definitive tone. masaya is the bare one, and he speaks loudly, and very roughly, without much thought behind it

the two almost act like guides to him, naoto trying to train his patience, diligence, and resourcefulness, and masaya trying to nurture his fervor and trust in his own instincts. they had done the same with the penumbra, his ancestor, who had been a high-ranking member of the church in his time

xamael, in contrast to father adagio, is a little cold to people's individual plights. he believes fighting the darkness is important, and that he's got some kind of sacred obligation here. he WAS raised with the chruch ideals in mind, after all, but his favorite part is simply getting to kill monsters. to him, violence is its own reward, and it's just a bonus that he gets to further the church's goals and continue his ancestor's legacy

laeven malady was one of the umbral entities the church had set out to kill, but father adagio saw some good in the dark spirit, and swayed them to his side. it wasn't without complication however, as laeven's wicked brethren turned on them the moment they expressed remorse over what theyve done in the past, and considered staying out of the war altogether

the other umbras were furious, and father adagio stepped in before they could attack laeven, something no one had ever done for them before. following that fight, laeven did indeed turn their back on the dark, but instead of running from the war, they decided to start fighting on the side of light. or at least, on the side of father adagio

while the church could never know about laeven without their safety being jeopardized, they still work with father adagio on his various missions, and also on their own

in order to lower suspicion over their origins, their appearance has been magically altered to resemble that of a troll. while they can't change their blood color from it's black hue, some clown facepaint makes them into a pretty convincing everyday purple... so long as you don't listen to their nonexistant heartbeat, touch their cold, stringy hands, or look into the black, inky void that makes up their eyes, so deep and abyssal that you feel as though you could fall right into them...

[kirk-goes-to-gallifrey]

I love your art! (I clicked on your art tag and started scrolling.) What is your process for creating a piece? Do you usually look at a single reference photo which you draw from? Do you somehow incorporate photos into your drawings by drawing over them? (I did that once on a tablet.) Or do you use another method? Thanks!

omg hiiiii thanks so much!!!!!!!!

my process is a bit all over the place (I've tried to describe it before with not much success, maybe now I can do a better job hahaha) but yes I always need reference photos, I can't draw anything from my imagination :( sometimes I use more than one picture, but most times I think I use just one photo that I really like and want to reproduce.

when I'm feeling super inspired and I have a lot of free time, I draw from observation only. And then if I get stuck on a particular spot that I feel I can't get right, I overlay the reference picture and make the necessary adjustments. I've been replicating images for such a long time that nowadays I can usually overlay the original over my drawing and 90% of lines match 😅 And when I draw on paper I do the same thing, I place the paper over my screen to check if the lines are where they should be, but always retroactively, first I draw then I check.

I actually started out drawing everything upside down! I learned that technique with another artist (I took a course when I was in high school 15 years ago), cause apparently if you flip your reference upside down, a house stops being a house, eyes stop being eyes, a mouth stops being a mouth, so you can focus on distances between points, lines, areas and proportions only, without thinking "oh a mouth looks like a little cartoon bird on top of a minimalist boat" or whatever, but rather "this shape is about the same size as that one, and is positioned in relation to that other one and that other line..." So that's sort of how I learned to draw/replicate I what I see (if that made any sense). And replicating a photo is much easier than drawing reality cause a picture is already 2D, when I'm drawing something real I have to convert the 3 dimensions to 2 in my head and I often get a headache by the end of the process lmao

Sometimes I don't have the time or energy (it takes a lot of effort from the brain to do the observation thing) and in those cases I do some lines over the reference pic just to get key areas, then I delete the reference layer (of course I keep a copy in another corner of the screen so I can keep looking at it) and paint over the sketched lines till they mostly disappear.

I think painting is the most fun - either in color or b&w - getting the shades to blend and the painting to look realistic is the part that I like most.

I usually paint on photoshop but I recently got a tablet and I've been trying out new software on it. I mostly require a soft brush with opacity varying with pressure. I start out by doing blocks of color and then I blend blend blend.

I often think that my art is not very good (sometimes I question whether it's art in the first place), cause the only thing I'm good at is copying what I see, and because of that I've been trying to play more with colors and textures, trying to make my paintings a bit more different than their reference photos, a bit more "artistic" idk. I wish I could do more stylized stuff. But the realism can be fun too, it relaxes my brain after a whole day of PhDying.

Thank you so much for the ask!!! And for telling me that you like my stuff (ಥ _ ಥ) means a lot <3

[mysteriawrites]

hi 🗣️ may i please request a bg3 matchup?? (i'm p sure i've done matchups for you in the past on my sideblog @frostfall-matches - i'd be happy to make this an exchange if you want!! 💪 you may ignore the fact that my requests are listed as closed lol)

raven / 20s / any pronouns / slight preference for male match but gals are fine too.

personality traits (and notes): introverted (distant, disinterested in getting close to many people, does not get lonely), extremely independent (often refuses to rely on others, hates when people step in to help without me asking for help), confident (arrogant, a bit prideful), straightforward (blunt, sometimes tactless), even-tempered (somewhat apathetic, rarely has strong emotional reactions, but is baseline content almost always), good sense of humor, playful, teasing, mischievous, realist that leans optimistic, curious (nosey, loves gossip), a bit of a troublemaker/rulebreaker, does not shy away from conflict (a bit combative with authority and people who don’t know what they’re doing), not sentimental, does not hold onto regrets, good at self-reflection, cold and a little mean when upset with someone.

hobbies: drawing (digital), painting (watercolor, acrylic), baking, cosplay, reading, taking care of plants, thrill-seeking activities, traveling.

likes: cats, sweets, good food, lattes, aromatic candles, cool weather, traveling, piercings, tattoos, puns (!), lazy days, learning foreign languages, cleaning, new experiences, people with a good sense of humor (quite subjective), when people banter back with me, people who develop their own opinions but are still willing to listen to other perspectives.

dislikes: bitter foods, strong scents, pessimism, hot weather, feeling restricted, possessiveness, conformity, having to be responsible for others, when people don’t stand up for themselves, overly anxious people, people-pleasers, when people act condescending towards me, people who try to force conversation with me.

types: intj-a ; 7w8 ; love languages: physical touch, quality time.

misc.: clumsy ; accidentally misuses slang or phrases bc i can never remember how they go ; able to pick up new skills relatively quickly ; studied french, korean, and latin in uni (also studied abroad) ; majors in international cultures/languages + minors in psychology and medieval history ; prone to being a bit directionless in life ; prone to bad luck but tries to find the humor in most situations ; life approach: to live a life of varied experiences, to not take life too seriously, to not dwell too much on the past.

physical description: 155cm, green eyes, round youthful face, curvy, dimple on one cheek, pale skin (sunburns so easily...), 5 piercings in one ear, 4+an industrial in the other, navel piercing. changes hair color/style/length frequently but it's currently mid back length and toned silver, almost always has straight bangs, hair is wavy.

in bg3 persona: wood elf ; main class ranger (gloomstalker) w/ rogue-like tendencies ; the child of merchant parents and did a lot of traveling with them when she was young but has decided to explore and adventure by herself in adulthood ; not really the academic type but is pretty book smart and willing to learn new things ; equal parts strategic and careless, depending on the situation.

Omg hi and thx for the request! Sure I’d love to turn this into a trade and thank you for all the matchups you’ve done for me in the past!

Astarion!!!

Lowkey this was an easy decision. I feel like you couldn’t be a better match for anyone else, but him. You guys have similar personalities with just enough differences to bring the necessary variety to the relationship.

I feel like you guys would definitely bump heads when first meeting due to similar traits (prideful, apathetic, loner), but once you both begin to care more for your party members including each other than sparks start to fly!

You get close very quickly because it’s so easy to banter and bounce off each other.

At first he finds you optimistic and care free nature a bit annoying at first, but then begins to find is refreshing when times are bleak.

I feel like when Astarion’s trying to seduce you for your own goals and you aren’t falling for it, it’ll be the classic troupe of where person A gets every person to swoon over them except person B which makes them want person B even more.

However when he actually starts falling for you he does get nervous and start to back off a bit, but oh no you’re not letting him get away from you that easily.

Due to your knowledge in psychology you’re able to notice his self destructive behaviors and talk him out of it, but ultimately let him take the lead in figuring out what he wants in life.

Also because of your blunt nature you’re able to deliver the hard truths that he needs to hear without sugur coating things.

Even after your mindflayer worm adventures, you two continue to adventure for awhile. Sharing lots if experiences and fun on the road.

If you get yourself into a tough altercation with some people on the road, Astarion’s charisma helps defuse the situation.

Astarion is still working on his trauma so you’ll have to work up to physical touch with him, but once you do he really likes being held and playing with your hair. He also likes to trace your tattoos.

Astarion is also an introvert so he understands how you need to have alone time as much as he himself does. Although sometimes you guys will be in the same room doing your own things and count it as quality time. (Yknow like comfortable silence)

When you’re having a chill day on the road or once your adventuring days are over, you guys have lazy days together. You’ll cuddle and he’ll read to you. You guys may get a bit intimate but don’t necessarily have sex (not saying it never happens though).

You guys exchange elvish traditions (or what astarion can remember of them) and talk about the history of faerun together.

He gets you a lot of souvenirs on the road usually different snacks and foods for you to try with the occasional scented candle or new set of paints. He even gets you seeds of the local plant life for you to grow.

You guys would get a cat. So many people say astarion is a cat person and I whole heartedly agree.

He (loves) hates your puns. He cringes so hard every time you make one (but he finds your smug face very adorable).

Yknow that popular headcanon about how Astarion’s lover would paint a picture of him so he can finally see what he looks like. Well if you would do that as like a birthday or anniversary present and man would full on cry from happiness at the gesture.

He just loves you so much and is so grateful to finally have someone in his life to bring him joy again.

Sorry id this kind of sucks im writing this early in the morning cause I was inspired.

Runners Up: Lae’zel, Karlach

[puffywiz]

Hi! I am absolutely obsessed with your art; it's vibrant and expressive and just all around stunning. I have always wanted to be able to draw and make fanart, but every time I try it ends up a hot mess express. Do you have any tips/resources for learning? Do you think it's something that you can get good at, even if you don't have any real natural ability?

Aaaa thank you for your kind words! I'll do my best to offer some tips that have helped me over the years:

Create some mood boards

This is one of my fav things to do. It's different from gathering reference images, which you use to draw from specifically like when you want to get a certain pose right. Mood boards are more about finding images that invoke a certain feeling you're trying to express. Here's an example from a project I did a while back:

These are essentially ways to gather inspiration. You can look at the similarities between each of the images you chose and see if there are any connections you can draw. This gives your work a good starting line to come back to if you start to feel lost.

This can also be a great way to determine what types of art styles speak to you, and how you might like to emulate certain features in your own work. I grew up watching anime and would try to emulate the styles of Rumiko Takahashi and Hiromu Arakawa for example. Don't worry about being derivative at first. You'll eventually find your own voice through a variety of influences.

Start by working on understanding shapes

Drawing gets much less overwhelming as you learn to break things down into basic shapes. My one friend suggests drawing Pokemon as an exercise in determining how simple shapes build form. When you try to go right into drawing lineart first you start focusing on the details way too early and you can get into a stop-and-start that seems to go nowhere. People will also talk about the importance of silhouette. This essentially means you want your character to be recognizable by their shape alone. Cartoon styles particularly excel at this (Steven Universe is a really good example) but different art styles will adapt to this with varying success. This is still something I've been working on even after all these years and it's tricky, but it helps you think about diversity when you're drawing.

(These are some old examples from art school I did. They aren't great but they give you the idea lmao)

Keep a sketchbook and draw big

Keeping a sketchbook is the best. Put everything in your sketchbook and absolutely don't be precious about it. Blank pages are intimidating I know, so if that's stopping you one thing I do sometimes is start by drawing on sticky notes and pasting them in. Add anything you think is interesting - quotes, cutouts from magazines or fliers, cute snack packaging, etc. Anything that you like!

My friend also suggests taking up space in your sketchbook by drawing big. A lot of artists start small little sketches and get caught up in details. They start pages they don't like and move on without adding anything else in because they feel insecure. Don't worry about that, details can come later. And you can always draw over stuff you really don't like. You can paste stuff over it and draw on it again. You can use tracing paper to draw over something 5 times. There's lots of options to try before discarding a page all together. I find this helps combat feelings of discouragement when you're paging through your book. If all you see are abandoned sketches it can get you down. So don't give up!

Don't allow yourself to get precious about your sketchbook, no matter how many aesthetic sketchbook tiktoks you're forced to endure lmao. Sketchbooks are places for failure and experimentation. Let it be ugly. There's value in that too.

Draw both eyes at the same time

I still forget to do this but it really helps cut down on fucked-up-other-eye syndrome. Try not to fully draw one eye before you start the other one. Determine in your sketch phase where the character is looking and try to build on that, going back and forth between each eye until you're satisfied with them both.

Here is a comprehensive list of tips and tutorials my friend found here on tumblr too. I took a look through them and I think there's a ton of great stuff here.

Anyone can start to draw at any age for any reason. I think some people develop a knack for things not out of some inherent skill, but by taking an interest in the subject. I started drawing very young but I just stuck with it over the years because I liked it. There's no reason why starting later in life has to mean you can't get good at it. In fact, since your brain is more developed you might pick it up much quicker than you'd expect. Lord knows I've had to un-learn a ton of garbage over the years lmao. Habits die hard right?

I believe in you! Keep drawing! Have fun!

[redjaybird]

JAY’S RP PLOTTING CHEAT-SHEET

Want new-and-exciting plots for your character? Long to reach out to more of your followers, but don’t know where to start? Fear not! Fill out this form and give your RP partners both present and future all the of juicy jumping off points they need to help you get your characters acquainted.Be sure to tag the players whose characters YOU want more cues to interact with, and repost, don’t reblog! Feel free to add or remove sections as you see fit. Template here.

Mun name(s): Yams Mun pronouns: She/her/they/them, but also don't mind whatever OOC Contact: DMs or D.isco (mutuals/people I vibe with only ask for my d.isco)

Who the heck are my muses anyway:

He's a little shit that causes problems and pisses people off for the heck of it. A bit of an edgelord (is that an understatement?), rude, vulgar, and extremely tough to crack if you want him in friendlier stages. Good luck. He's not going to make it easy for you.

Points of interest:

He has various verses, some things may change depending on what verse things are in. Details in his design are important and have stories behind them. In his main verses, he has extra strengthened abilities and a little extra chaotic surprise, sometimes. He has a lot of anger issues and is really shit at dealing with other emotions, often turning them into anger, too, because he doesn't know how else to handle things. He likes to think of himself as a villain, but really he's more like an anti-hero. And he's got a whole revenge case he's trying to deal out. He's got some emotional issues that he refuses to talk about, and others he will just spill because he likes to talk about himself. And he's got trust issues.

What they’ve been up to recently:

Well, this varies for people and verses. Things won't be following the same paths for everyone he interacts with. In in his main f.c5 verse, he somehow got himself in a position where he's gotta help protect the Seeds, because of the relationship he ended up in with Jacob. Everything in the B.L verses kinda got put on hold, but these days its after his Arena fell. A vampire verse, in the f.c5 land, has been distressing him. Bloody City (original) verse is getting more developments lately (yeehaw). Depends on what version you wanna deal with, really.

Where to find them:

In general modern times, usually Chicago. In the borderlands, usually Pandora. In F.C3, on Rook Islands, hanging with the pirates. In F.C5, Hope County, usually in Jacob's region. Frontier, the pirate is in Montreal in the company of Mr. Grant and Mr. Pond.

Current plans:

Plans? What are plans? We'll have to see what unfolds. Anything could happen.

Desired interactions:

Enemies to awkward found family member, enemies/rivals, slow burns of any kind of relationship (because its almost always a slow burn with him), helping him learn to cook maybe? (his whole fear of stoves and fire issue man), dad bird dad bird dad bird dad bird (has an accidentally adopted daughter in some verses btw), etc.

Offered interactions:

Uh, do you like problematic little shits? Do you like conflict? Stories are boring without conflict, after all. And it makes the good times so much more worth it, you know? If you for some reason want him to work with you, however, the price is gonna be a little different. Because he doesn't care about money.

Current open post/s:

Keep an eye out for random IC posts, they happen a lot, and are generally open to anyone if they don't have a tag. (I don't always tag ic posts but I do always tag any trigger warnings when I think they need it.) Some will have specific verse tags, sometimes, just so you know where things will be focused on but yeah, generally most things are open unless someone specifically gets @'d on.

Anything else?:

[I'm not super great at writing, and am especially bad at describing things in words, but Jay will make up for a lot in dialogue because he loves talking. Interactions can inspire art, lots of drawing going on here. Also things never stop developing. I've been running this character for 12+ years now and I'm still developing him.]

Tagging: whoev's wants to do this thing go for it, i tried

[thatmooncake]

Late but for the artist ask game, perhaps 7? I love your art sm! 🩷

Oh man thanks so much <3

7. Any funky lil art tips?

Well different things work for different people but here are a few things I’ve found helpful:

1. If your poses look too stiff in pen or you just wanna fight perfectionism, try a pencil brush or a softer brush (especially on the sketch layer if you do one, ngl I use pencil brush for most of my finished lines too) - when you do little experimental brush strokes in pencil it blends in more than using a solid pen brush I find so you can play around more easily with the way the picture looks early on

2. Lineart looking “soulless”? Vary the line weights (basically the lineart should be thinner where there would be no shadows and thicker where there would be darker shadows) and add some smaller lines under details you want to emphasise (like around the eyes). Be careful not to overdo these things but different things work well for different styles. If you’re afraid of messing up how it will look by making changes, first make another layer and then use your brush to thicken up the lines in certain areas etc on that layer, then if you don’t like it you can edit it more or delete it easily without affecting your base lineart layer.

3. If you have an art idea that you know will probably take aaaages to draw, draw the roughest possible version (stick men will totally do) and just slap it on a canvas somewhere so it’s staring you in the face when you open your art app or sketchbook and that way you don’t ever have to forget it. So many of my comics spend a while just being stick men (at least three since December but I’m working on it). For some people it also helps them to write an image ID for an image they want to draw if they don’t have a tablet or paper handy to sketch it out. There are a lot of ways to make it easier to remember the thing even if it’s lengthy or detailed!

[critterchitters-closedcaptions]

Hi, this is gona be a long ass post and im on mobile, so hang with me.

first, ill cut right to the chase

Im currently unemployed and need money to exist in this capitalist hellscape.

so, since thats my current predicament, ill be taking commissions!

here are some examples of things ive done and my prices

ill take payment through paypal, though im willing to work with other payment options as well!

The body prices are per-character, the other prices are per-piece (example: a flat colored sketch of two headshots would be 12$, 5 per character head, and 2 for the color), and im able to do lineart or lineless - though i dont have any good examples at the moment with lineart - and the prices will only vary if the design is super complex or hard to do, and theyre able to be changed a bit to work with your budget

I will draw

anything for your blog! (example: the pokemon images above, a header, an icon, etc!)

gore! (dm me if you want to see examples)

full scenes (with backgrounds and all!)

characters from pre-existing media (scp, homestuck, pokemon, etc!)

ocs, adopts, ideas, you name it! human, furry, and any other is alright with me.

plain background scenes with no characters in them are things i can do too!

minor nudity

things i Wont draw

hate speech

sexually explicit scenes (due to a lack of practice)

transphobia/racism/n*zi imagery, general nastiness like that

im also willing to design characters for you, and i can provide prices and examples of designs ive made upon request.

please dm me here or on discord @ [CC&CC]#8992 to contact me about any of this!

thank you for reading this far! ill also be reblogging this to my side accounts to try and get a few more eyes on this.

below is a little bit of info about me so you can decide if you want to Give Me Your Money or not ^^

im a genderqueer and overall queer trans man whose just moved out from my parents home and am living with my best friend of nearly 10 years. ive got a snake, salamander, and two bug colonies, i love pretty much all animals, and am an amateur songwriter/musician! im disabled in multiple ways (but that just makes me cooler 😎) and i deal with some pretty prominent mental issues which make being regular to a job without my health getting in the way pretty difficult. also part of a did system, which is. So Cool and Epic

im looking for a proper job, but its not been going too well for me thusfar, largely because places ive applied have found more fitting people to fill the roles. and thats ok! i just need some way to make money in order to buy groceries and Supplies for My Boys and generally. live, lol! i also want to take some burden off of my roomates shoulders, considering hes been doing wonders to help support me, but im not really able to provide much in return. job places are also a bit hesitant to hire me considering my aforementioned health issues.

anyway, sorry for the rambling and thank you for reading this far! i hope you can consider supporting me, but if not maybe a quick reblog to spread this around would be great! thank you so very much and have a wonderful day!!

[mitziholder]

I was catching the perfectionism vibes, it's shame if it hinders your progress. Your characters and style seem so cool so I wanted to probe. Comics really are a marathon to create. Losing steam is natural and maybe switching up your conception of your project can help. Not trying to pressure you in any way, just hoping to provide some food for thought.

How do you feel about comics as a medium? You mentioned you mostly "skim" comics for inspiration and love Wimmen's Comix but is it a medium you feel very connected to in general and for your story idea?

I've seen multiple webcomic artists unfortunately struggle with the labor needed for drawing panels and incorporating prose along with art and regular comic panels to maintain progress. If you are more into writing than drawing, maybe incorporating prose along with comics/art is an option you'd be interested in. Don't have the best examples but thinking of Homestuck's long script-format convos that follow panels. And for a comic that later incorporated prose, the webcomic Paranatural went from all comic panels to mixing prose and art. I'll be honest that I stopped reading Paranatural as a teen before the shift so I can't speak to its writing/art quality.

“skimming” was a little disingenuous. I have read a lot of comics, but very rarely have I felt that they fully utilized the affordances of the medium. the reasons for this vary; comics are plagued by many issues deriving from the fact that they were, at one point, both extremely popular and cheap (low-brow) - kneecapped by the CCA and warped into something stupid and trivial for children. even today, that perception remains. I would say the majority of people aren’t capable of recognizing comics as a mature medium. lots of comic writers have a chip on their shoulder about this… particularly Alan Moore.

I bring him up because Watchmen was one of the first pieces of media that really opened my eyes as to what comics were capable of as a graphic medium; people regularly recognize the visual artistry of film, the (often) invisible work done in blocking, cinematography, effects, and editing that makes movies feel like art. comics should be art. every frame should be a painting. panels should fit together into a larger picture composed with thought and care. Dan Gibbons did so - with regard not only for how panels fit next to each other but also for how they fit within the page and the page within the chapter and so on… rich with detail, of equal weight to the dialogue in conveying narrative and thematic meaning. it amazed me because of how little the art actually matters in so many comics, only there by obligation (because without art it would no longer be a comic). why is this? I don’t know. profit? but you see it in indie comics, too. that part confuses me. why would you make something if you don’t want it to be good? what’s the point?

anyway, I found that the story I wanted to tell would not fit within the bounds of a stage play. it has continually resisted (with some notoriety on this blog) my attempts to fit it into prose. the dialogue is what moves it, and with my sort of shaky aptitude for art and love of the medium’s potential, I felt that making it a comic was the natural choice. I don’t particularly enjoy the process of drawing, but without art I felt something was missing - a void that couldn’t be filled by anything else. I never wanted it to give the impression that the art was done by rote, incidental/inconsequential, a pure and thoughtless representation of the dialogue… but that is sort of what it has to be at this point. I wish that integrating the visual half came more naturally to me, but I’ve accepted that it’s a skill I’m going to have to hone with much practice. it’s something I’ve struggled with quite a bit as someone who is borderline aphantasic. very little of the art that I make comes directly from my brain. it is not intuitive to me at all. I am so reliant on references, have no imagination, am very rarely struck with the idea for a bit of visual humor or detail that adds meaning rather than merely visualizing the existing script - the words. I am obsessed with words, clearly. meaning and rhythm and punctuation. I’m a word person. I want to be an art person. I want so baaaadly for my work to be good. I try so hard.

I’m often tempted to throw in the towel and admit that my brain doesn’t work that way - that I’m aiming too high, stubbornly set on something I can never really have - not to an extent that I’m satisfied with. but if I gave in to that feeling, I would never finish anything. I feel like once I am done with my classes and my living situation is more stable, I’ll be sort of okay - or at least more consistent - when it comes to the art stuff... worst-case scenario, I cave and go the homestuck route (which is not something I thought I’d ever say). I don’t know. we’ll have to see. once this semester is over...😮‍💨

[sleepimali]

Hi ☀️

Do you have any suggestions/tips and tricks for small artists? like how and where to include links, how often to post etc. most of my art just goes under the radar :/ especially when it has links attached. Thank you and have a wonderful week 🍄

Hi! I'm still not a very big artist myself, and I'm probably not the best person to ask for things like these as I'm still learning, to be entirely honest. But if I can help a little, I'm happy to! It's hard to give you any truly helpful advice without knowing your actual situation, but there are some general things you can do. (Long post ahead! It probably even contains some things you didn't ask for, but that I think are important because social media can be such a mental health hazard, and because I have no chill when it comes to things like this.)

In terms of technicalities with posting:

Try to post at the time people are most likely to see it. If you need some help with that, you can usually search online for information.

How often you should post depends on you as a person and what you want to do. I know a lot of people say to post daily, but as an artist that usually becomes unsustainable quickly. So I would say post on a schedule that works for you, not on the supposed "ideal" schedule. Good art usually takes time and energy to make, so don't stress too much about how often you should post. Posting on a regular schedule can help, especially in the beginning, because that means people will know when you post new work and may even have an incentive to seek it out once your post time rolls around. But make sure it's one that works for you and gives you the time to make your best work! Remember that having quality posts is better than having a large quantity of posts.

Related to the point above: Don't just constantly try to make new things to feed the algorithm, although making new work is also important. Bump your posts so that they're seen more, especially if it's something your proud of. The way to do this vary from platform to platform, but for Tumblr the reblog button is your friend. On Twitter you can retweet, but it's usually better to add a comment in a thread or quote retweeting. Sometimes even reposting. On Insta…. Insta is a pain, ngl. You can post and then share the post to your story later or something. For how often to bump, I guess I'd say a morning bump and evening bump are good for Twitter at least, and similar for Tumblr. And then bump every now and then whether it's a few weeks or a few months later. Insta is a bit different though. At any rate, you know the saying "work smarter, not harder"? This is that. Make use of your full body of work, at least all the pieces you still enjoy.

Try to get people to engage with your post: Ask questions that would be fun answering, ask for feedback, meme, etc.

Think about what people like when you make your art. This one is a bit tricky though, because you want to be seen for what you personally do and like, right? But sometimes it can be helpful to think about what "sells". For an instance, a lot of people got their start doing fanart. In my case I only started getting more attention once I started drawing animals. People also like things they can personally relate to. Here's the thing though: Make sure it's something you also like! And try not to get trapped in it for the sake of your social media presence, because it might be a slippery slope to finding yourself unhappy later on if you feel trapped drawing one thing only.

On a similar note, it helps to participate in trending hashtags if you want to get more eyes on your work. (I've mostly done this on Twitter, so I don't know if that would work for Tumblr and Insta though.) For an instance, if you know that Portfolio Day is coming up and you're seeking work, that's a great one to start with! Some people have started making calendars for planned hashtags, so that's a good thing to look up.

For how to attach links: Again, this varies depending on the platform. For an instance, the Twitter algorithm HATES links, and people are more reluctant to retweet them unless they like and want to support the artist first. It's usually more helpful to make an engaging post and then put the link in a reply threaded with the original post. On Tumblr, I just try to make links visible but non-intrusive. But to be honest, I'm still re-learning the ropes here, especially as an artist with a business. On Insta, well… You can probably tell I don't like this platform huh :') But yeah, it's helpful to have a linktree or website to gather your links in one place that you can link to in your bio, and as far as I know you'll have to put your links in your stories because URLs in regular posts are for paid posts only. :')

While we're on the topic of links: Try to make sure you have pinned posts for your social medias so that all your links are easily accessible if people want them. (This is something I need to get better at myself lmao)

Still on the topic of links: You can always attach a link to your art posts if you have prints, stickers, commissions, a Patreon, etc , but don't expect too much from links on posts that are meant to be focused on art, especially when you're still a small artist. They're more there in case anyone's interested, but I think it's also pretty important to have them there if you have anything to promote. Bigger self promo posts probably will not gain as much traction unless you have something to promote that people REALLY want, but those are also usually where my sales come from personally. Also keep in mind that what's important is that your actual following that cares about what you do see those self promo focused posts - not necessarily the the word being spread, although that is great too. I'm still personally looking for a good balance between these types of posts, but I think it's something you eventually figure out as you go.

But with all of thos said, here are some even more important things:

Make friends. And I don't mean network for clout. I mean network with people because you want to know them, like their work and because you find them fun and respect them. Make genuine friends and meet people who you are happy to support and who will support you in return. We're all much, much stronger together!

Don't stress too much about social media. I know it's easier said than done, but as someone (I can't remember who) once said: The only way to win the social media game is to not play it. If you put too much of your sense of self worth or expectations into it, you're going to have a BAD time. So step away when you need it, and celebrate all your wins no matter how small. (And on that note, take people's advice with a grain of salt. For an instance if you hear anyone say you should consistently meet a certain target with your engagements to be considered successful, run. Do not listen. Trying to keep up with those is only going to get more and more unmanageable as you grow, so it's like setting yourself up for a constant sense of failure.) Also know that social media is not the end all be all for your work. There are other ways to make yourself known too, if that's what your goal is. There are tons of successful artists who don't have a huge social media presence!

Let things take time and manage your expectations. Of course it hurts when your art isn't seen, or when a piece you put your whole heart into doesn't do well, and that's valid. But don't let that hurt consume you. Keep at it and focus on making the best work you possibly can, in the most joyful way you can. Cultivate your passion for your art by making it as enjoyable as possible, even during those days when it just isn't. After all, you're making art for you, right? Make art for yourself first, and your audience second. That way it's much easier to manage your emotions surrounding it all, if you know at heart that you like what you make, or that you're at least getting there.

So, that was a lot, but the final thing that's super important in this is to have some distance to what you do. Trying to keep up with all these things at the same time can and will exhaust you if you don't take care of yourself. So please start with the steps you feel you can personally take and don't worry about the rest until you feel like you can incorporate more into your routine. I hope this is helpful. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead too, Anon! 😊

[blorbologist]

Which version (i.e the comics, cartoon, original campaign art, other fanart, etc.) of Percy and Vex do you typically visualize when you write your stories? Is that version of them your favorite?

Hi!! sorry this took so long - I wanted to compile the official art and really think through my answer.

A disclaimer that I usually default to drawing them fairly close to TLOVM's style, because it's simple and very visually distinct and I'm still learning to draw people. I think it's a very well done simplification of the characters that translates well to animation (though I do have my little quibbles with it)

Percy is pretty straightforward and doesn't vary much in my mind's eye; I love Vox Machina Origins and the new official art Percy, however I think both make him look a little too old and sexy for 'mid-early 20s' (I say, in my mid-early 20s tkrggkrtn). I also don't really like any red on him, though the new art is dark enough to still look nice. The stupid nerdy glasses are a must. He needs good boots - either his Spider Climb boots or just... good walking boots. IDK what TLOVM Percy is wearing but he won't get nowhere without being caked in mud. VM Origins Percy's host of belts and holsters is great (THIGH HOLSTER??? HI) and the pale coat lining + pants accent the hair nicely, though I also like new art/TLOVM Percy's dark look with the pale ascot.

My hot take is that I actually adore the TLOVM hair; it makes him look young and concerned with his appearance and really helps keep him from looking too Old. I dislike the green eyes though, had hopped so bad that they'd turn blue once Orthax was evicted or would be blue in flashbacks, but! Nope! Green for no clear reason! That's not a Whitestone color bby boy :C

EDIT: also the Orthax eyes and smoke are So Fucking Good absolutely insane of them to do that. very hot. very good. yes.

(also I'm sorry but I... really, really do not like the og art. It's just not my style. I'm not going to critique it, because I'm not a dick, but I can't imagine Vex falling for a Percy who looks like this guy?)

Vex, though, I have less solid ideas about! I see her as being a lot more adaptable in her manner of dress - what needs repairs, what's too worn and needs to be tossed out, etc. vs Percy trying to cling to a singular Look more. I know she's the ~sexy~ one, but showing too much skin just isn't practical when out adventuring, and I'm happy much of her official art reflects that. She stays pretty well covered with some padding and leathers. And when not adventuring I think she has more fun with her day to day and fancy clothes, whereas Percy usually has that coat (He Coat) or something similar keeping his look somewhat constant.

Some things I am sure about: she's not fucking white good god. I personally darken Vex from her TLOVM colors a bit when I draw her. I understand a lot of white Vex art is from before she and Vax started getting darker official art, but I still cringe looking at it. Percy is the pasty whiteboy, Vex is mixed. Otherwise, hmm... I'm very attached to the blue feathers in her hair and some white fur thrown over one shoulder, as well as a host of belts and a thigh quiver + the braid being thrown over her shoulder. She Must have a flowy bit to her look (cape or that half-dress-thing in the post-timeskip art or whathaveyou) for maximum drama. Vex seems pretty willing to incorporate patterns and interesting fabrics into her look (poofy shoulders, stripes, that sheer thing) which I think is fun. I like her with black or hazel eyes, which I flipflop between liberally and depending on the fic rkgjnkrnkghn

The white dragon armor is a little difficult to design admittedly, but neither canon-ish look for it really Hit for me yknow.

Also I hate the TLOVM style of lips for women. It limits their expressiveness SO MUCH compared to the men which is such a robbery. I want more aghast and livid and screaming Vex. I would get it if she, specifically, had these, because she's The Hot One, but Keyleth??? Pike??? Come on.

Again, this is all personal opinion as an artist with too few spoons to draw often + someone who finds both these characters incredibly hot and bisexual goals in their own way. I'm not gonna pick a fight with anyone over their interpretations (except whitewashing Vex. I'll fucking bite you)

[sea-owl]

So Gregory, Lucy, and Felicity won the poll with Portia and Violet coming in second and Edwina and Penelope coming in third. I have started watching Harlots and am also in an omegaverse mood soooo. . .

-

Gregory was trying so hard not to blush. He needed to say something, anything. But what does one say to their family member who had basically dragged you off to a heat house?

Edwina Bagwell rolled her eyes at the young alpha. "It is not that embarrassing Gregory. You are not the first nor the last lord's child who has used a heat house to help you through a rut. It could be worse, I could be Kate or Anthony."

Now Gregory wasn't sure if he wanted to be sick or crawl in a hole somewhere at the thought. Kate and Anthony are basically his second parents, he would die of mortification if they ever took him to a heat house.

"And besides if you didn't know this place was a heat house then you would never think it one passing by. Very discreet and only serves those of the ton."

Gregory finally got his damn mouth to work. "Does your husband know you go to these?"

Edwina smiled. "Of course, he does. My husband and I do not mind sharing one another, especially when one of us is away. He much prefers I don't spend my heats alone."

She links one arm through Gregory's and starts marching him into the building. "Now come. Let us find you a rut partner before it hits."

Gregory wanted to argue that he had a week before his rut hit, not that it would make a difference as Edwina had already dragged him to the door.

He had to admit this was a very discreet place. If he didn't know any better, he would have assumed it was just another home of some gentry member. They even had a butler answering the door and taking calling cards.

On the inside though was a different story. The house was darkened, with the only light being soft candlelight. It was very open too, all the drawing rooms had the doors wide open, some without doors at all. Men, women, alpha, beta, and omega all sat in these different rooms, some in groups, others by themselves. Some wore feathers of varying colors in their hair.

Gregory could do without all the smells. So many in one place was not helping keep his alpha calm. Damn rut making his nose more sensitive. Most of these scents were okay, there were a few putrid ones though. Like that overly sweet one that honestly came off as fake.

Edwina and Gregory were led to an upper floor office, where they were greeted by an older omega woman.

Gregory would put her around his mother's age. Her red curls piled on top of her head into a bun with a gold feather sticking out. The choker around her neck was black with gold stitching in the shape of a feather. Her scent is a comforting one, a mixture of lemongrass and lavender.

"Mrs. Bagwell, tired of your husband already?" The woman teased.

Edwina giggled. "Madam Portia. He's away for business at the moment and sadly won't be here for my heat."

The woman turned her brown eyes on him. "I see you brought fresh meat for my girls. A Bridgerton no less."

Gregory shouldn't be surprised Madam Portia recognized him, one of his older brothers probably use to frequent this place. Since Edwina knows of this place it was probably Anthony-

"Your mother has always been one of my favorite partners."

Gregory blinked. "I'm sorry what?"

Madam Portia just carried on like this was normal to learn your mother frequents heat houses. "Honestly felt sorry for the poor thing when Lady Danbury dragged her here the first time. The first heat or rut after the year of mourning always seems to hit the hardest. You almost always need someone there to help."

Madam Portia started digging through her paperwork. "So what brings you to my den of sin little Bridgerton?"

Before Gregory could respond that he in fact was dragged here Edwina spoke up.

"He's getting too aggressive during his ruts. He needs a rut partner."

Not true, so what if he shattered a mirror and a dresser during his last rut? He does not need a rut partner. If anything Gregory should be working on finding his mate, a guaranteed way to help calm him down.

Madam Portia nodded. "Most young ones do. Lucky for you plenty of my girls know how to handle young alphas." Madam Portia turned towards Gregory. "Now how long before your rut hits?"

Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush. "A week."

Madam Portia smiled. "Perfect. We normally suggest a week in advance anyway so that way you can find the right partner for you and you both can work out how to spend your rut and payment."

Portia pulled out two contracts and two black feathers with red tips. "As Mrs. Bagwell already knows this is your contract Mr Bridgerton. In it states that we will help you with your rut so long as no harm comes to our girls and we receive payment. You are to come as often as you can a week before your rut so that you can relax your alpha with scenting. Whether that partner be an omega, beta, or another alpha is your choice. My available girls will have a yellow feather in their hair. Those who are currently with partners will have this same color feather in their hair. Those with a white feather though are off limits."

Madam Portia narrowed her eyes. "Do we understand that Mr. Bridgerton?"

Gregory nodded, hesitantly taking the feather and signing the contract. He still didn't believe he needed to be here, but Edwina still has a vice like grip on him. He'll just not give the feather to any of the girls, wait until Edwina is done, and be on his way.

"Is Pen available?" Edwina asked as she took her feather.

Madam Portia looked over a book. "She should be. She'll be in the emerald room today."

"Thank you," Edwina said and started to drag Gregory off.

Gregory wrinkled his nose the further they walked away from the office. "Edwina I truly think this will not work."

"You'll never know if you don't try Gregory." Edwina began to pull him towards a drawing room in the back of the house. "Now come, we'll start in the Emerald room."

The Emerald room was well emerald. It was also less crowded than other rooms with a total of maybe ten people, including Edwina and himself.

Edwina looked around the room before dragging Gregory over to a window seat where a plump, red-haired omega sat reading a book. He would put her around Edwina's age. She wore a soft green dress with no petticoats, so the fabric clung to her like those of ancient greek statues. Around her neck is the same black choker with gold thread that Madam Portia wore. She smelled of pomegranate and lotus.

"Pen!" Edwina greeted her.

The omega, Pen, sat down her book (was that greek?) and smiled. "Edwina, it's been a while. Did Mr. Bagwell, leave you alone for me?" She said, practically a purr.

Edwina dropped a kiss on Pen's lips and the feather in her hand.

Pen turned towards Gregory. "And who might this strapping alpha be?" Her brown eyes looked him over but it felt like she was looking through him.

Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush.

"I'm Gregory."

Pen's eyes lit up in recognition. "The youngest Bridgerton boy."

Don't blush. "It appears my family's reputation reaches farther than I thought."

Pen giggled. "Edwina and I are close friends and sometimes lovers. My friend Gen also spent quite a bit of alone time with your brother Benedict before he decided to tie the knot."

"What a small world. "

Pen nodded. "Indeed."

"Pen!" Another red head omega shot across the room. She was taller than Pen but younger. Gregory would put her a few years younger than himself, 21 maybe? She wore the same style of dress as Pen but her's were in blue. Almost the same shade as the Bridgerton blue. The same style of chocker was around her neck but there was something peaking out from underneath on the side of her neck.

A wave of orange blossoms with a hint of honey hit Gregory and he felt himself relax, and he cheeks start to heat up.

Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush.

"Litty, Edwina was kind enough to bring us a new guest, why don't you say hello to Gregory?" Pen suggested, as she darted her eyes towards Gregory.

Litty looked up, her breasts almost brushing against Gregory's chest. When did she get so close, or did he get closer?

"Edwina you brought a little cutie alpha!" Litty exclaimed as her hands cupped Gregory's face. "The girls are gonna eat him up."

Gregory's alpha purred at her touch, and wanted more.

Gregory turned his just so so he could rub against one of Litty's scent marks against her wrist. Her scent, it was almost perfect. If only the honey scent was just a little bit stronger. He glanced up at her hair.

She had a yellow feather in her hair.

"Litty let him go!" Pen ordered. "He's getting scent drunk."

"Oops, my bad!" Litty let go, her hands moving faster than Gregory's so he could put them back. She thankfully didn't completely let him go though, instead grabbing his hand and leading him to another window seat. "Come on I'll help you find your rut partner while Pen and Edwina work on payment."

Litty sat down. "So, your name is Gregory correct?"

Gregory nodded. "And you are Litty?"

Litty smiled. "That's me. So, what's your preference? Omega? Beta? Maybe another alpha?"

Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush.

"Um," Gregory stuttered. "Omega would be preferred."

Litty nodded. "That's probably for the best. You're new to rut partners aren't you?"

Gregory chuckled. "You can tell?"

Litty shrugged. "You all have the same look when you come in for the first time. You can start to tell, you can also tell who's families throw them in here."

Gregory sighed. "You can tell that too?"

"Your scent has been sour since you walked in. It's not uncommon."

Gregory and Litty looked over at the voice. It was another omega, this one with honey blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was dressed more like a maid, though the fabric of her dress still hugged tighter than any maid Gregory has seen in the past. She also wore the same choker, and like Litty there was something peaking out on the side of her neck.

She smelled of honey, with a hint of orange blossom, and in her hair was a white feather.

"Lulu!" Litty smiled, stretching her hand out for the other omega to take. Lulu curled into Litty's side, her head laid against Litty's shoulder. "Gregory this is Lulu."

Their two scents mixed, that missing piece to Litty's scent now there.

"A pleasure to meet you," Gregory said. His alpha purred in agreement.

Both omegas smiled at him.

Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush.

Damn it he was blushing.

[hikapoi]

This is from the Artists Asks List. You can just pick the ones you're interested in answering if this is too much lol.

1, 9, 12, 15, and 25

I've answered #25 over here! (= 1. Do you prefer traditional drawing, or digital?

AHHHHH this is such a good question.. I always want to say a real pencil in my hand is the way to go even after all these years doing digital art but last year I don't think I did any traditional art at all... It honestly makes me so sad that the only time I do any traditional work is during Inktober or Sketchvember.. when the months roll by I just think, "ah darnit another year goes where I only do traditional work as part of a game." Man I just think traditional is when I'm at ease and most relaxed bc I can just feel fluid if I'm drawing for fun, but with digital you can really clean things up to look really good. A part of the reason I enjoy doing the yearly holiday cards when I ACTUALLY SEND ANY is that it's a time I can do special traditional art for my friends to make them really happy. I think I'm good at digital art but am even better with traditional, but I don't think I can say that anymore if I haven't really touched a pencil in recent years. It might be the opposite now, my traditional work lacks the precision and finesse of my digital work but since I have art supplies I PAID for and HAVE TO USE I have a tendency to experiment with traditional media more. I am STILL buying loads of art supplies to this date..

9. How much time do you spend drawing on an average day?

HNGNGHGH it really depends.. Ah, average day? Hmmm when I'm on fire I might say at least 2 hours a day, whether it's to work on a quick doodle or to continue a more time-consuming piece. There are days where I might spend 4-6 hours. The craziest for me for one day might be 8 hours-- with or without breaks in between.

12. Is it okay for people to ask you about your process?

YEAH ABSOLUTELY ALWAYS it's no secret. I always did the circle/stick man base but when I really got into One Punch Man in 2012 or so when Murata-sensei was streaming, I noticed he skipped that step and went straight to defining muscles, limbs, faces, etc. I thought DANG if I could do that I could draw SO MUCH FASTER and SO MUCH MORE!! It was horrible at first and I hated a lot of my art while I was trying out this new thing but now I'd say I'm fairly decent and it does get me to do more art faster.

Anyway! My process is to start with a pose idea. The timing on this varies, but I usually thumbnail with little stick figures until something sticks. If there is one I like I might blow it up or redraw it on a larger scale. I always start with the face shape and eyes first. It helps me get a good idea on how to frame the hair. I cannot feel I am drawing the character until I get this right. I'll then detail until I color. I skip a line art step most of the time because I clean my sketches along the way ((I KNOW, RISA)). If it's a piece I'm serious about being a "best" I might seriously do a line art layer but I usually have trouble because I can never find a comfortable inking pen AND I feel line art makes my art suddenly stiff. I used to never color but I try to do it as much as I can because I have always admired my friends for their bold colors and I told myself that that's my own personal goal to have more colored work.

15. How long does an average piece take you to complete?

If it's a fairly simple/rushed drawing that is semi-refined that can take me about 2-4 hours? I can get a lot done in just 1 hour as well thanks to all those Mob Psycho 100 60 min challenges. But if I just take my time drawing something that I don't particularly hate I'd say 2 hours is a good average. For a more detailed one with backgrounds or groups or lots of detail, that could take me at least 8 hours of actually drawing. The hours spent into references/getting ideas/thinking of a background add to an illustration's turnaround time even if I am not actually moving a pen.

Thank you for your interest in me! I hope maybe I've said something interesting!

These questions are from this art meme if you want to do it too: https://hikapoi.tumblr.com/post/708522112589119488/artist-asks