#we didn't ask for any of this

[spectral-cervid]

getting increasingly tired of living in a world like this tbh

[blorbologist]

Y'know, I think I figured out why the Hells still feel like a new low-level party to me, even though they're level 13 and almost 100 episodes in.

I don't quite think it's the lack of conversations, or the fact half the party's plot hooks are big ties to past campaigns - though that definitely plays a part.

... Bell's Hells still primarily rely on quest givers.

Most of their goals are given to them and do not feel organic to the party, and constantly remind us that the Hells are pretty much never the most powerful people in the room. Which is usually something you see with a low-level party.

NPCs offering jobs is not a bad thing; it's a very common plot hook. Matt has been extremely skilled with using NPC quest givers in those two campaigns. Not only do they provide an obvious plot thread, but they can put the party in the path of others (say, the Nein running into the Iron Shepherds while doing a job for the Gentleman and everything that came of that). And the Hells had a solid start with it too - Eshteross was an excellent quest giver!

The problem is that Bell's Hells have never really not had a quest giver.

Maybe it's a byproduct of the more plot-heavy structure of this campaign? But while prior parties have felt like they decided on their course of action and what they prioritized, Bell's Hells feels less like level 13 (13! Level 13!) experienced adventurers and more like an MMO group clicking on the exclamation point over an NPC's head. Where does the plot demand we go next? Who do we report back to?

They're level 13.

At level 13, Vox Machina had just defeated a necromantic city-state to clear their name and Percy's conscience. And, you know, the Conclave just destroyed Emon. No one was explicitly telling the group to gather Vestiges and save the world (though Matt guided them there), and they were usually among the most powerful people in the room. They chose which Vestiges to prioritize, which dragons to tackle when, even if the over-all plot was pretty clear.

At level 13, the Mighty Nein were celebrating Traveler Con (another PC goal, I'll note) after brokering peace between two nations, accidentally becoming pirates and heroes of the Dynasty. The Nein regularly chose what to do based on personal goals, not grand ones. Though definitely smaller fish than Vox Machina at this level, they were very independent and gaining solid political clout.

While we're at it: level 13 is one level lower than the Ring of Brass, who had a huge amount of sway over Avalir. They ended the world, and also saved it, while in the grand scheme of things being only a smidge more powerful than Bell's Hells are now.

Can you really see the Hells wielding that amount of influence, when they're constantly being told what to do next?

The god-eater might be unleashed, so Bell's Hells have no time to do anything but what is asked of them. No time for therapy unless stolen from Feywild time, no travel on foot and late-night watches. They haven't even had time to grieve FCG. Percy was grieved in the middle of the Conclave arc. Molly was grieved when half the party was still in irons.

Matt is in the very unfortunate spot of not being able to give the Hells the same agency as the other two parties. Not only because of the world-ending plot introduced so early on; they are surrounded by characters they know (and the cast knows) are stronger and wiser than them - the familiarity of the past PCs and NPCs is to their disadvantage.

Why would the party reasonably ignore Keyleth's task that will help save the world and go off on a romp? Why would the cast when they know well Keyleth has to be sensible and with the best intentions in mind? The stakes are just too high.

It means that the Hells still feel like they're running errands instead of pursuing their own destiny. Their accomplishments are diminished as just being parts of a to-do list, and any stakes feel padded by several level 20 PCs/NPCs standing 5 steps away ready to catch them.

This isn't Bell's Hell's fault, nor is it Matt's. It could be amended, I think, if the Hells are really left to their own devices for a long period of time without support and shortcuts (like during the party split)... which would be really tricky to pull off at this point in the campaign.

They're level 13. They're big fish, but they're stuck in a pond full of friendly sharks, so they don't feel big at all.

[rottmnt-residuum]

Hi, I've read the Residuum comic, and I think the characterization of the boys is really good. I was wondering if you have any tips on how to write them? Especially Mikey, please.

I'd actually recommend re-watching the show with one character in mind. All my notes on the turtles come from doing separate re-watches for each of them. The key is to ONLY watch the character you are focusing on.

In the end, you'll probably be happier with your own personal interpretation. As we are with ours lol

TL;DR

Massive post under the cut

To preface: we'll be contrasting (this Mikey) against the fandoms version of Mikey, as our interpretation is very different. Don't worry if you prefer the fandom version, there's nothing… wrong per se with writing him this way. We just find him flat and uninteresting. (Main author: not me, I just hate him, lol).

Every reader or fan comes into a story with their own biases and experiences. A ton of our view of Mikey is based on how our siblings acted. We see Mikey as the young sibling that got preferential treatment from the whole family, simply due to being the youngest, but is now aging out of the privilege. Which all youngest siblings do at some point or another.

The fandoms version of Mikey is empathetic, naive, vulnerable, co-dependent and quite often a door mat who cries at the drop of a hat. And as much as the fandom like to say that people love him… when this particular character archetype is in other media, they seem to attract the most criticism. Mable pines, Bolin from Korra, people rag on Aang all the fucking time, and Steven Universe is a whole other bag. These characters don't deserve it, and yet it happens anyway.

To flatten Mikey to simply 'the baby' is a disservice. We don't see or write Mikey as the fandom “baby” version (cinnamon roll uwu). Part of this comes from having multiple siblings, so we interpret the times when Mikey does the puppy dog eyes as typical younger sibling bullshit, mostly by the way that the other turtles rarely react to it, if at all.

The other turtles traits can also get projected onto Mikey. Mikey being the fandom therapist is in the same category as this. He isn't a therapist, he's a psychology nerd who likes to psychoanalyze people and meddle in their relationships. (Donnie and Shelldons relationship, Splinter and Draxums...) he's not trying to resolve your emotional issues. Of the turtles, the character that cares the most about people's feelings is Raph. And Leo is more of a consoler than Mikey ever is. It flattens all the turtle's characterizations when you start doing this because you are ripping out parts that are integral to another characters' complexity.

Co-author has told me that they've seen people become confused when going into the show after only reading fan fiction or coming from the movie. They see his characterization as inconsistent and become upset when their view of him is contradicted. This also happens when a fandomized version of him becomes the primary characterization that they use. Sometimes when this disconnect happens (or if they just don't like the character), Mikey characterization is swung in the complete opposite direction.

They make him manipulative and abusive, or someone who is hyper violent and avoids being held accountable for anything. This is an uncharitable interpretation of him and can come off as pretty racist depending on the circumstances. (like if someone considers the turtles black or not)

Every version of Mikey is a shithead (affectionate), even this one. Especially this one, really. When Mikey not doing the "baby schtick" hes mean. If you pay attention to what he's saying, and just not his tone of voice, he's consistently saying pretty mean or condescending stuff. (You could take this as simply naïveté, but he still says mean shit pretty often regardless)

The times he does say genuinely nice stuff the turtles don't exactly expect it from him, at least, in the early season. And while he is mean, and seems to find saying mean things to be funny, Mikey isn't cruel. Nor will he ever be.

This shit-headery behavior is found in both 2003 and 18 Mikey. They have a degree of social intelligence that lets them use it to annoy people into doing what they want. 18 just has the advantage of being baby faced and having better tonal control. He's good at using people's perception of him to get what he wants.

Let Mikey have his problematic traits, but don't overexaggerate them. He doesn't revel in fooling people. He loves doing character bits, and the baby faced one just happens to be one of them. However, to infantilize or to deem him incompetent is to piss him off, he wants to be viewed as a competent part of the team and competent as an individual. He's not insecure about being young, he just doesn't want to be treated like he can't do anything.

Mikey above all is an optimistic character, he sees the brighter side quite often and is conscious of the harm his actions have on people. Mostly after the fact, but he consistently attempts to rectify the harm he has personally done to peoples lives. (Todd, Bullhop, Draxum). Food and shelter seems to be a thing that he considers to be a right. He doesn't cross a boundary twice once he learns of it, and he never pushes people too far (if he likes you, that is. if he doesn't know you or doesn't like you, he doesn't give a singular shit. But that is standard to most people.). He doesn't care about people's stuff, though. He breaks things all the time.

Mikey understands boundaries, but he doesn't automatically recognize them. He needs them to verbalized or for there to be a very obvious reaction to the boundary being crossed (unfortunately, for Todd and Donnie). Sometimes people mess up (esp. younger people), and it can take a while for teens to learn where boundary is, but he fully respects the boundaries he does know about. He doesn't act petulant when he's told about boundary, he apologizes, accepts it, and moves on. He doesn't dwell.

Mikey doesn't hold on to distressing emotions. He bounces between emotions quickly, but isn't effected in the long run. One thing Iv'e seen people often conflate is the difference between sensitive and vulnerable. Mikey is sensitive, but I have never seen him vulnerable to others. To be sensitive is to be easily influenced by the current situation. To be vulnerable is to hold that influence for a long time. Characters can have one, both, or neither of these traits. But Mikey is not vulnerable. It is the difference between compressing memory foam and a piece of metal until they deform. One will pop back, the other does not.

Those who are vulnerable but not sensitive will take longer to effect, but once you do, they will hold on to that emotion for a very long time. The vulnerable, are grudge holders. (leo). But like I've said, Mikey bounces back. What a character does has an effect on his emotions, but it doesn't make a lasting impression.

Forgiveness is another thing people like to push on him. It is not that Mikey forgives people easily, it's just that he doesn't hold grudges. He neither forgives nor forgets, but he does not ruminate. He's generally affable, first impressions seem to be a big part of how he views people. He is idealistic, and doesn't assume people are unchanging and/or evil, but he's not a mark.

Mikey isn't so much as naive or overly trusting… it's just that he's inexperienced. He doesn't get fooled by anyone in the series except meat sweats, and that's because Meatsweats is on Todd drugs. Mikey just didn't notice when he started faking. He's not… actually all that aware of people's emotional states, passively. He has to tune in to notice things like that.

Mikey isn't someone who really tries to regulate others emotions, either. The fandom like to make Mikey afraid of his brothers fighting and others being upset, but Mikey doesn't actually care. The most distressed we ever see him in a fight is in the movie, and he's not SCARED, he's just concerned (and then alarmed once it turned physical). If anything, outside extenuating circumstances (like the movie), Mikey actually seems to find their fights annoying.

(Mikey actually seems to have a pretty short fuse, but his bounciness doesn't really let it linger very long, lmao)

(One pet peeve of fandom Mikey is the constant crying, crying at fights, crying at insults, crying for no reason all the time. Sure, he tears up when he gets emotional, but when Mikey is genuinely crying It's when he's desperate, like when he's hungry, or when he's trying to save Leo from certain doom. Same thing, really.)

Mikey respects no one (we love him for this). He admires people, he admires his family: April, the turtles, his dad, Lou Jitsu. He admires Rupert Swaggert, but he respects none of them. No one is sacrosanct to the Mikey.

Above all, the way we write characters is to give them a past that informs how they act now. We view Mikey and the other turtles as teenagers that were kids, and that will be adults. Yes they all have “problematic” traits, but 1) good characters need flaws, and controversial traits are one of the best to use, and 2) they're teenagers, don't expect adult behaviors from them, also don't expect them to be kids. They're minors, not toddlers.

This is getting as long enough as it is, so we'll stop here, but this is a very broad overview of how we characterize him. There's a lot we didn't cover here, but if we even started on hobbies, or the real minutia of his quirks and ticks, or even how he feels about other specific characters... we'd be here all day. So I hope this is good enough lol

If there was something you wanted to know in particular, you'll need to get specific. Feel free to ask again ahahh

[technically-human]

Hi, can you draw a Doom Patrol!Payneland x Good Omens crossover?

I'm a little in love with the fact Ty Tennant is David Tennants kid

Crowley is thinking that little dead boys who travel between dimesions are way above the pay grade he doesn't have

ko-fi

[dawnofiight]

Guess who: Gavin!

This is a sketch btw that I didn't feel like rendering so hahahaha. This is mostly for Asher which I promised to draw a really long time ago. I'm on break still but I thought it'd be funny to post this and then leave for 3 months. (I'm kidding)

Tag list:

@achios

@ashertickler

@astrodude-87

@aurorialwolf

@dukecollinsbf

@infinitelovewiithoutfulfilmentt

@moronkyne

@pandoraroid

@plaqying

@porters-fangs

@professionallyyappinabtangst

@puffin-smoke

@skunkox

@starlogician

@sunsickcrab

@themeridian

@tunacatfishes

@zimix-whispers

If you want to get added lol let me know.

[thewritetofreespeech]

Could I request Aemond's s/o defending him? S/o's words were so scathing and brutally honest, no one can talk back to her.

Your heels click furiously as you ascend up the stairs of the tower to the room of the King’s Hand. A message had come earlier that morning requesting, no demanding, your presence at once and it infuriated you that just mere moments after his return Lord Hightower thought he could just order you around.

The door opened after you had made your way to the top, and the servant left immediately after that. Clearly having been told to give the two of your privacy. "You summoned me."

"Yes, thank you for coming." Otto replied calmly. Clever enough to pick up on the distain in your voice, but also clever enough to know not to acknowledge it. "I wanted to talk to you for a moment about Aemond."

You arched a brow. There were a lot of things you thought this conversation could be about, Aemond being one of them, but your husband had been very low on your list. "What about him?"

"How is your marriage to my grandson going?"

"...Fine..." Again, this was a very strange conversation. But you were still on your hackles as you were not sure where this line of questioning was going.

"That is good to hear. My grandsons can be a... challenge." That sounded more personal than he may have meant. "Aegon is too concerned with the opinions of others. He is reckless in his pursuit of praise and adoration, to the point of weakness."

"Careful," you caution, "is it not treason to speak ill of your king?"

"Aemond is the opposite." Otto continued. Ignoring your quip. "He is reckless in pursuit of damnation. He thinks he knows better. That books and study make up for lack of experience. And for that he will accept the guidance of no others."

"Maybe he does know better. Have you bothered to ask him?"

Otto huffed through his nose. Coming to realize his grandsons may not be the only challenge with your cheek. "I want you to caution him in my stead."

"You mean reign him in?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." He confessed. "Aemond will not listen to me. He thinks everyone is conspiring against him."

"Aren't you?" You counter back. "You are literally conspiring with his wife to spy on and manipulate him to your own ideas."

"Encouraging him to see reason."

"You can spin this however you would like, Lord Hand, but that is what you are doing and I shall play no part in it."

"You would see your husband break under the weight of his own ambition."

You shrug. "Maybe he will. Or maybe he'll fly. But I do know this, I will not break his trust."

Otto huffed again. Crossing his arms now as he seemed to debate on a new strategy to overcome your objection. “I thought you were clever, and therefore more reasonable.”

Flattery.

“No, you thought I would be more pliable. Because I am the fairer sex? Or because you’re too scared to confront Aemond about your concerns?”

“You know, when the contracts came for who my grandson would marry, it was I who put your House name up for consideration.”

Indebtedness.

“Then I owe you for my eternal happiness. We shall name our 4th child after you.”

Otto sneered. Frustrated at your flippant tone now, but also the slight. “Your husband will die if he continues this path. And the wives to traitors, should Rhaenyra win, do not end well.”

Fear.

You have to admit. That one almost got you.

“Then let us see to it that we do not lose, and my husband will be safe, the realm secure, and all shall live happily ever after under the true Targaryen rule.” You intentionally leave it blank on who would be ruling, Aegon or Aemond, but sure as the sun rose a Targaryen would sit the throne at the end of the day. “Now, if you excuse me, I must return to my duties and my husband.” The tone in your voice letting Otto know that your loyalties had been chosen, and this conversation would not happen again.

Your curtsy like a lady for the Lord Hand and see yourself out. Half way down the stairs you change your mind from telling Aemond about the incident to keeping it to yourself. You do not wish to lie to your husband, ever. But if he heard that his grandsire had conspired with you to keep him on a leash, there was a good chance he would throw the man from his tower. Otto had been right about one thing, Aemond was getting more reckless in his frustrations on the war. Perhaps he had been right to try to help steer him towards more caution, if you could, but it would be for no benefit other than Aemond’s and your future together. You would not be another knife in Aemond’s back for him, nor would you be another pretty pawn for the Hand to manipulate his King, or Regent, with. Otto Hightower was on his own.

[generichoneydew]

could you draw yukichie p4...

(also i do agree with you on the slightly homophobic Yu)

YEAHHHHH YUKICHIE NATION RISE FOR THE BEST GIRLS

47/52

Thank you for sharing my homophobic Yu delusion. I need double gay panic in my souyo or else I WILL complain to the manager.

[it-one-line-at-a-time]

[Stan] "...And if you find someone worth holding on to... never, ever, let them go. Follow your own path.

"Think of this letter as a promise."

[Eddie] "A promise I'm asking you to make."

[Mike] "To me."

[Ben] "To each other."

[Bev] "An oath."

[Stanley] "See, the thing about being a Loser is... you don't have anything to lose. So..."

[Young Richie] "Be true."

[Young Eddie] "Be brave."

[Young Mike] "Stand."

[Young Bev] "Believe."

[Young Bill] "And don't ever forget..."

[Young Stan] "We're Losers... and we always will be."

[nunyabznsbabes]

Sitting in my actual college class as an actual legal adult thinking about Percy Jackson. We are SO back

[forcedhesitation]

astarion origin playthrough worth it just for all the extra moments where he does the "sad wet cat" face

[bunnygirllover45]

Why can’t all your characters just be pathetic yearners 😩 you draw some FINE ass fictional men but they are all so AUGHHH. I want to collar them 😒 Of you cared about truly magical girls you would let more of them collar your characters.

Because that's not what I personally like, sorry.

I'm sure there's plenty other artists that do that even better that I could. I just draw stuff I personally find attractive or vibe with me, if I force myself to draw stuff I don't I'll end up looking wrong or out of out of place, so I just accommodate to my personal preferences. Sorry to disappoint u anon.

[butchcarmy]

Omg Carmy teaching you how to cook your favorite food😭 I imagine he’d be so patient with you walking you through every step, showing how to properly prep and slice.

I wanna kiss his face 😭😭

WEH YEAH I think he would be so sweet!! I'm imagining the two of you set at your kitchen counter, a cutting board and knife for each. In my head, he's teaching you how to make spaghetti, because I think that would be a funny situation to put Carmy in (man who is trying so hard to not make spaghetti).

"You hold the knife like this. Your fingers should be at the base of the blade." He shows the grip on one of his own knives he brought to use. Your knives are way too dull, he had scolded when he came over earlier. Most people's knives are. He watches you copy his form. "Yeah, just like that. Good."

It's kind of intense, the way he watches you. You can't help but feel a bit self conscious, and I think he notices.

"Sorry, I don't think I know how to take this less seriously," he realizes, a bit embarrassed, but you just shake your head. It's fine, you tell him. "I think you're doing great. You've got the form down well, and your slices are pretty even." He nudges through the finely diced onions on your cutting board. They're more choppier than the ones on his side, but of course they are.

"Y'think so? It's weird getting used to the new grip, but it feels better," you say, and he lights up.

"It does, doesn't it? People have no idea how to hold knives. They think all of it should be on the handle, but it's more dangerous that way. And the handles on some of these knives--" He stops. "We can talk about that another time. Let me show you what we're gonna do with the sauce. You ready?"

"Yes, chef!" You chirp back, and your energy makes him laugh.

Okay if I keep going I'm gonna end up writing a whole in depth piece about every step of making spaghetti. I'll spare you the pain and leave you this gdfhgdjf

[hyakunana]

"Anyone can find happiness. That's the world we're striving for!"

[vellichorom]

actually, i'm gonna say it;

i'll never forgive the TSP fandom for taking the valid critique of " hey isn't it just a little weird that this character without a form is most often depicted as a conventionally attractive skinny guy "

& turned it into " guys let's not police anybody's designs here that's not cool, everyone's design is valid "

nobody ( competent ) said you HAD to change your designs or that they were bad, they just asked you to consider a very glaringly obvious trope IN the pool of designs, but you had almost everyone bastardizing that message as " policing "

guys, all that was being pointed out was that " conventional attractiveness " seemed / seems to be the norm for a character that doesn't even have a physical description, much less anything that alludes TO him being attractive beyond personal tastes.

we were just asking you to think about that.

[barschter000]

broke: Due to his attractiveness, Barok has slept with countless (wo)men.

woke: Despite his attractiveness, Barok is a virgin.

Bespoke: Because of entirely different factors, Barok does not know what sex is.

[fauvester]

THE PRINCES OF THE NORTH!

i thought my little moshang kid could benefit from a baby brother