#you can’t design every character to look cool because sometimes they just don’t

[fated-normal-767]

sometimes when im designing a character I need to forget good character design for the sake of “this character chose their own appearance and style and I am not saying they made good choices”.

[box-of-roses]

.⋅ ۵♡۵ ⋅. Tangled Up .⋅ ۵♡۵ ⋅.

♡ Synopsis: There’s a string connecting you to your soulmate that only you two can see; What happens when you see your string is tangled up and Kenma helps you untangle it.

♡ Characters: Kenma, Y/N, Lev, Alice (your bestie)

♡ Warnings: A little angsty

♡ Words: 2k

Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Series Masterlist

Dancing. Some people dance for enjoyment. Others dance for money, some dance around their feelings. Perhaps that’s why your string was so tangled. The string delicately tied to your finger twisted and turned like most did. The difference, at least from the people you had asked, however, was that yours had knots. Pieces rolled over themselves and turned into more and more bows as the years went on. You wished your parents could see your string. Just to know if the bows had always been there. To know if there was something wrong with you.

The years went by and knots tangled not only on the string but in your stomach as well. Fear of what people would think of you, you refused to tell anyone. Anyone except for your dearest friend that is. You don’t know his name and he doesn’t know yours. That didn;t mean that he wasn’t your best friend though. It was better that way. It was better to not know each other’s identities. The things you talked about were too private. Much too private to find out it was someone you knew. You simply knew him as ‘Applepi’ ,you would call him Pi for short though. And he would call you Lucky. It was a funny username because you felt anything but lucky. The string tied around your finger reminding you of just how unlucky you seemed. Sometimes if you needed cheering up you would be his Star. Luckystar.

Your friends teased you mercilessly, they didn’t know the complexities of your relationship but they knew something was going on. The way your eyes would light up when that ever so familiar name would brighten your screen. The way you didn’t hear them talking to you when he talked to you. The way that you would stop everything to respond to him. They kept telling you that you loved him. That couldn’t be right though. Love? How could you love someone you haven’t met yet? How could you love someone you don’t even know the name of? They tried to get you to just tell the poor boy your name. That you loved him. That would ruin everything though, the carefully built level of trust you put into each other. Only because you didn’t have to worry about the repercussions of your conversations. Telling each other your identities could ruin everything you wanted to protect.

The stars are where you would look to wish every night. Wish that your string wasn’t so tangled, that it could loop like everyone else’s. Flow freely instead of wind in your head like a boa constrictor and make it hard to think. Some days you even wished there were scissors sharp enough to cut the damned thing. Your thoughts were interrupted by the vibrations of your phone against your leg.

Applepi

Hey

Luckystar

Hey. I’m in the middle of class Pi 🙄

Applepi

So you don’t want to talk to me?

Cool.

I was going to give you the tea from the day but whatever

Luckystar

Like you’ll resist the temptation to tell me for long

Read

You roll your eyes and place your phone back in your pocket. He usually breaks pretty quick. You know that all he does is play on his phone or gaming system in class. Unlike his friends. You don’t know much about them, by design. Can’t have you two figuring out who the other is just yet now can we? Ahem- ignore that.

The crisp air of the classroom made your hair stand up and your teeth chatter. Your desk happened to be right next to the window. The faulty window. Why they never bothered to fix it you didn’t know. You had forgotten your jacket unfortunately. Truly what a sad experience. You were rushing this morning and barely made it out with your lunch. A buzz against your leg. You knew better though. It would be a few more minutes before he gave in.

Certainly enough time to complete the paper in front of you. You smiled at the silly notion. Timing yourself to get done in order to get just the right text from him? Utterly hilarious. Another buzz. And two more questions to get done. Another. One more to go. And you finished and turned it in just in time to get the next message as you sat down.

Applepi

Hi

Delivered

Applepi

I know what you’re doing

Delivered

Applepi

I won’t fall for it

Delivered

Applepi

Fine 🙄

So this guy I play w/ walked into the cafeteria and went to go get a milk right?

So anyway. He grabs the milk and goes to open it and it just squirts out

Completely ruins his clothes 💀

Luckystar

💀

You’re right that was hilarious

Applepi

Oh

So now you reply

Luckystar

Duh

My plan worked

Like it always does

Applepi

Next time it won’t

Luckystar

Wanna bet?

Applepi

And what exactly would you be betting?

Luckystar

A name.

Applepi

Huh?

Luckystar

We’ve been friends for years

You know things about me not even my closest irl friend knows

I think it’s about time we got each other’s names

Not without a little wager though. Simply for my own selfish gain of victory

Applepi

Fine

I won’t fall for it or you get my name. If I don’t I get yours. Fair?

Luckystar

Glad we could come to this agreement

Maybe we’ll meet each other

Applepi

Keep dreaming

Luckystar

Oh I will

Don’t worry 😉

Applepi

Ew.

Literally never do that again

Goodbye Lucky

Luckystar

Parting is such sweet sorrow </3

Till I can glance upon your name again Pi

And now it was finally your turn for lunch. The red string on your pinky is still bowed and knotted. With a sigh you put your hand back out of your sight. Your lunch table is littered with your friends and people you don’t know. Your friends notice you and wave you over.

“Hey Y/N! You haven’t met our new friends yet.”

“Nope. Sure haven’t.”

“Come on now, don’t look so down. You can’t spend all day everyday texting with that boy of yours.” Your face grows hot as you glare at your friends.

“Not ‘my boy’ he’s just a friend.”

“Maybe he won’t be forever.” You make fake gagging noises.

“Ew.” You all smile. Then you look around at the two new additions to the table. “Y/N, nice to meet you.” You hold your hand up to your mouth like you’re sharing a secret. “Hopefully these weirdos didn’t kidnap you and trap you here. Blink twice if you need help.”

“Rude! They came willingly.” Your friend rolls their eyes. “This is Haiba Lev and R/N. Lev is on the volleyball team. I know we haven’t dragged you to a game yet but maybe one day.”

“Well! Now that Y/N knows me they’ll have to come to a couple.”

“Fine.” You sigh.

“Why are you so against it?” Your friend Alice asks.

“I just don’t like sports.”

“Liar, I know you watch figure skating during the Olympics. You literally made your poor mother pay for streaming so you could watch it.”

“Yeah but that’s like entertaining.” Your phone buzzes.

Applepi

How’s lunch?

Luckystar

Shouldn’t you be in class right now?

Applepi

And?

Your point? I don’t see it

You smile at your phone as you set your fork down. Your friends sigh.

“They always get like that, the minute their mysterious boy texts them they’re gone. They’re not going to reply because they’re off in their own little world.” Alice explains to Lev and R/N.

“One of my friends is like that. He spends all day texting someone and playing games.”

“Maybe your friend is Y/N’s mysterious boy.”

“I can ask. He doesn’t really like me a whole lot though.” Alice nods and the table falls back into comfortable chatter. With one exception. You. You’re still typing away on your phone.

Luckystar

Omg

One of my friends brought these new people to sit with us

It’s not awful I was just really confused for a second 💀

Applepi

My friend does that all the time

He’s literally like “You need to find more friends for when I graduate.”

Blah blah blah

Luckystar

That’s hilarious

Lunch is sadly almost over and unlike you I actually pay attention in class

Applepi

Ouch Lucky

I pay attention

If you don’t want to talk to me just say so 🙄💅🏻

Luckystar

I never said that

I just know if I talk to you I won’t be able to do my work

Applepi

Fine

I’ll accept it

Talk to you after school then

Luckystar

Don’t you literally have practice after school today?

Applepi

And? We have breaks your know

It takes an embarrassingly long time for everyone to get to practice

My last class is just right by the place so I’m there first

Luckystar

Just as long as you’re sure it won’t get you in trouble

Bye Pi! Talk to you soon :)

Applepi

Bye Star :)

You weren’t lying, lunch was pretty short. Lev and Alice wanted to keep talking so they decided to walk you to your class. “So Y/N, are we actually going to get you to a volleyball game?”

“Maybe, I guess you’ll have to see.” You fall into a comfortable silence as you walk in between the two. It was nice to listen to their idle chit chat. When you got to your last class of the day they quickly said goodbye and left you to fend for yourself. This class was your least favorite so Pi was used to you texting him the whole time.

Luckystar

Hi

Applepi

I thought you weren’t going to talk to me?

Luckystar

You know the drill by now.

What’s going on over there

Applepi

Nothing much

Luckystar

I don’t believe you

Something exciting always happens to you

Applepi

Okay 🙄

How’s that new friend of yours?

Luckystar

You jealous or something?

Applepi

?

Luckystar

He’s nice, he walked me to my class with one of my other friends

I think they like each other 🤭

Applepi

Cool

I know this is your least favorite class

So

What’s going on?

Luckystar

Nothing much

I’m talking to you so there’s that

Applepi

So dismissive

I actually do have tea but I kind of don’t want to tell you

Luckystar

Oh?

Did you not learn from earlier?

I always win this game

Applepi

Yah but now there’s a prize if I win

Luckystar

You want my name that badly?

Applepi

I want to show you that I can win this little game of yours

Luckystar

Your funeral

Delivered

Luckystar

oH

Using my own strategies against me are you

Delivered

Luckystar

Nope

Not gonna work

Delivered

You put your phone away with a frown as you actually decided to pay attention, since Someone. Decided they didn’t want to talk to you. You don’t know why he’s so desperate to win this game. Two can play this though. If he didn’t talk to you then you wouldn’t talk to him. So what if you were upset tomorrow for not getting to talk to your favorite person?

By the time you had gotten home there still wasn’t a response from Pi, you know this is just a little game but you were starting to get worried.

Luckystar

Are you okay?

Delivered

Applepi

I win

Luckystar

Asshole

I was getting worried

We never go this long without talking

Applepi

I won

What’s your name Star?

Luckystar

Y/N

Read

Luckystar

Pi?

Delivered

Your anxiety grew with every minute spent waiting for a reply. The awful delivered message staring you in the face. You knew he did a club after school. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t responded yet. You try to rationalize to yourself. Not wanting to look at the awful message you put your phone down and got up to make yourself dinner. That didn’t help though, it was all you could think about. Maybe tomorrow you will get a response.

I hope you guys enjoyed! Sorry it’s angstier than other parts but I promise it’ll be worth it! <3!!! My asks are open so send in a request if you want! Sorry this was posted so late, my friend that usually beta reads for me got really busy </3 this is an apology for not having time to work on Cover Girl too. Life got super hectic and I’m trying to work on my school stuff and after school activities. Sorry :( the taglist for the series is open though so just comment here or the main post to be added to that <3 feel free to check out my other works if you liked this :)

Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated <3

Taglist:

Masterlist

[glassshard]

Whenever I don’t like a major piece of media I really like to analyze why. Ever since the RLM Star Wars Prequels reviews I’ve found this exercise super helpful. I think it’s even more helpful than analyzing why I love a piece of media, since my heart is a lot more shallow than my head, and will happily latch onto media with all kinds of problems simply because a boy was stabbed in a sexy way or the music was good.

But after ten hours of Baldur’s Gate 3 this weekend, I just had to drop it. I don’t like the game. It charmed me at first with its high production values and its excellent exploration, but my ardour cooled quickly as it began to butt up against my personal predilections. At first it did so in totally subjective ways with its unlovable D&D mechanics. I don’t know D&D and the game did not have any interest in teaching me about it. It just kinda throws you into a system that has no place in a video game in my opinion, full of unnecessary tedium and opaque mechanics. But you know what, that’s just me. Plenty of people love it. I could deal with bad gameplay, I like lots of games that play like crap. Let me sing you a song of the Legacy of Kain series.

But then the story failed to grip me. It’s written like fanfiction, with no explanation for any of the races, proper nouns, or concepts because you’re expected to already know them. I love in media res, but c’mon. Ya know what though? Still just my opinion. Open world games are super popular, lots of people love them. Remember how much you enjoyed Dark Souls? Look at that vampire, keep going. Sure he’s walking around during the day and vampirism in this setting just seems to equate to some Spirit Halloween accessories but it’s fine!

But then! But then! Then that vampire killed my character in a cutscene! And I thought that was GREAT. Unexpected! Finally! The game’s getting good! I’m invested! I’ll need to save scum and reload but-

Wait, I don’t need to? That wasn’t a game over? I can... I can rez my character? My character died in a story cutscene and I can have another character rez them with a scroll? And then... then I can go talk to the vampire because he’s still hanging around? But I can’t even tell the other party members about it? This is... this is not right. This feels objectively not right.

You can’t use a game mechanic to rez a story death. That’s not how this works. That’s like if Cloud had pulled out a phoenix down on Aeris or Corvo just started shoving jellied eels down the dead Empress’ throat. That is deflating the very concept of death in the game. There are no stakes now. Why should I care about anything? Why do people even hate vampires in this world if death can be cleaned up with a square of toilet paper available from any shop?

Still, I pushed on, in a stubborn daze. This was a sixty dollar game, I had to keep trying!

The underwear inventory slots felt juvenile but that’s fine, that’s fine. The character designs are extremely Ren Faire, but no big deal. One of the party members is named after a Care Bear but don’t be superficial, Ashley. I can equip armour I’m not proficient in and the game’s not going to tell me why I shouldn’t, but I’m not going to take it personally. The mind control mechanic is making every interaction feel cheap and silly, and all the parasitized party members feel fake and offputting. It seems very contrived that they’re traveling together, and I don’t understand why my character would remain in the company of ANY of them when he himself knows they have his same mind-control powers and can never be trusted and sometimes the illithid powers are framed as course-altering and sometimes they’re not and nothing is consistent except the cartoonish characterization of the “evil” races but it’s fine, it’s fine, keep going

But then I got to a portion where my character was able to ask a dead Mindflayer questions about the plot. And I realised, sharply: I do not care about the answers. I do not care about this world or this cast or any schemes at play. No immersion will be happening; my suspension of disbelief is irrevocably snapped. This is a Saturday morning cartoon with dicks.

And it all really went back to rezzing that story death. While a lot of my gripes about this game are completely subjective and to do with my own tastes, I think it’s objectively bad design to allow a story death resurrection. It deflated everything for me and I couldn’t recover.

So! I did not like Baldur’s Gate 3, and in my mind my character’s story ended when their trusting nature was exploited by a vampire, and they were killed. But the experience did teach me some interesting things about my own tastes, and what I require to become invested in a video game narrative.

[gen4grl]

top 5 character designs from pkmn!! thematically or aesthetically up to you 💢💢💢

OOOO lemme put my thinking cap on… can’t order these but here are my favourite 5! longer post bc i included pictures!!! sorry 😭

probably my favourite in the franchise … alola red!!!

a pretty simple design and nothing too crazy but simplicity done right is something i actually really struggle with in my own art so i love seeing how other artists approach it. its so cool being able to see the most famous character in the franchise grow from a little 11 year old to now being a grown adult 🥺 this is literally my point of reference when drawing or imagining red … he’s so handsome god damn!!!

lance - i think every design from rby/gsc to lgpe are super solid but ofc his iconic hgss fit is my fave … i think sometimes the superhero look can come off corny but all of his designs are so solid. i also adore how raihan and the hammerlocke uniform incorporated the design!!! you can easily tell his design was the blueprint for all upcoming dragon trainers too… an icon. this piece from the spe artbook is easily my fave ahhhh

adaman!!! no big essay reason just think it’s such a cool design, i love the colours and the incorporation of diamond shapes within the outfit with the bandages! i also love him with his longer hair out as a kid (i would die to see adult him rocking this … wahhh) idk i just wanna marry this man if i’m being honest with you LOL. take is one of my favourite character designers working at gf he literally nails every single design he’s done!!!

ghetsis! particularly his bw design and how colourful it is. his bw2 outfit gives off more evil scientist imo (which i geuss works for what he’s doing in that game lol) but his original bw design definitely gives more cult leader - which perfectly fits him and team plasma imo! i particularly like how the right side of his body is concealed, most obviously his arm and eye - bulbapedia summarises a lot more examples! i don’t think the reasoning for this has ever been explained but i’d love to know if there’s any actual lore behind it or if it’s purely a design choice!

elesa in bw2 specifically! i will forgive this women for being consistently one of the hardest gym leaders in the series because she ate this outfit UP. another one with no particular reason i just really love the headphones and especially the jacket … it looks so comfy!!! … i never vibed with her design in bw so this is such an upgrade to me… its very miku-esq imo!

wahhh this one was hard!!! pokemon and their illustrators are so talented it’s harder to pick a design i don’t like??? ahhh thx u for the ask, lots of love ✨🩷

[all-we-know-is-falling]

I can’t believe I’ve NEVER posted this before. What the flip. Anyway. This is from Agustín’s point of view, since he’s the main character and I find it easiest to write in first person. This is pretty old now and I’m not sure exactly how much of it is true to their story now, but I can tell you for sure that every single bit of Agustín’s confused and timid feelings towards Mateo and the idea of being alone with him are very real. That’s kind of the whole point LOL.

Solo, Juntos

I find myself in Mateo’s living room, with him of course. It’s cozy at his place. There is just stuff everywhere so it always feels more comfortable than it feels at mine.

Maybe that’s because there’s never really a quiet moment where I get to be home alone, and Mateo’s parents often have days when they’re both out at work until late, like right now.

Mateo says that when his parents are out, he’ll sometimes take advantage and invite his friends over. Apparently, he’s got a secret ‘stash’ hidden somewhere in his room. I don’t doubt him. “Don’t worry, it’s never too crazy.” He assures me.

Instead of inviting his long-time friend group round, he chose to invite me, I think to myself. We’ve been friends for a while now, but it still makes me feel a little… honoured, if that’s the word. I’m not entirely sure what we are right now, though, and I’m not sure if friends is the right term.

Mateo offers me a glass of water, and I accept it gratefully. The humid heat outside had me sweating on the way here, and my throat is feeling dry.

Bright warm light lights up sections of the tiled floor as the sun is placed high in the sky. It’s the middle of the day which explains why some of my hair is practically plastered to my forehead.

I take a seat on Mateo’s plush couch. It’s the kind that makes you feel like you’re sinking into it, and the quirky looking cushions sport different textures and shapes and colours.

He comes through with two glasses of clear, cool water and sets them down on the coffee table in front of the couch, among the random clutter which covers the surface.

The interior of his house is really busy and there’s a lot to take in, but it isn’t messy. Everything matches up and works together in its own way. Perhaps his parents are secretly insane interior designers…

This is the first time we’ve truly been alone together. Like, absolutely alone, no one else in the building, or anywhere near us. I don’t know how he’s feeling right now, but for me, I feel like I’m floating. Like falling, the kind of butterflies you get on a steep fair ride. Maybe I’m nervous, but I’m not sure what for. I take sips of my water, soothing my throat.

Mateo’s voice interrupts my thoughts, “If you were a stray cat outside, where would you choose to sunbathe?”

My eyes flick up at him and I furrow my brow, confused. He always asks the most random questions.

“Why would you ask that?” I pause for a second. “I’d probably find a flat warm stone… or pavement.”

Mateo grins when I give an answer, then he makes one up too. “I would go to the beach.”

He completely ignored my question.

Whatever.

“I’ve never imagined you to be a cat person.” I tell him.

“Yeah, I like them. They have cute faces and they’re calm, and reserved. They’re kind of the opposite of me!” He explains, then adds, “Minus the cute face, of course.”

I let out a small chuckle and try not to smile too hard, it’s as if I physically can’t straighten out my mouth. It’s no secret that I find Mateo hilarious, he always catches me laughing to myself about something he said way too long ago for it to still be funny. It’s a little embarrassing, but I can’t help it.

His almost-green eyes sparkle as he watches me laugh, which brings back the butterflies from earlier. “Oh yeah?” I say. “Well I like dogs.”

I don’t know why I prefer dogs.

“And I never expected you to be a dog person.” Mateo smiles at me. I break eye contact, my face feels flushed.

“No but seriously, what’s with your weird questions?” I ask him again. Hopefully he will give me the response I want this time.

“Weird questions can tell you a lot about a person, based on how they answer them.” He tells me, his voice authentic. “Even just finding out whether someone will answer them at all can be telling. For example, you. You’re one of the only people who genuinely gives me a real answer, like just now.”

“Right…” I can kind of see where he’s coming from. “Is that a good or bad thing?” He pouts as if he’s thinking.

“Yeah, it’s definitely a good thing. Also your answers are always super cute.”

I’m sure my eyes must have widened at that last part. I hope not but knowing my luck there’ll have been something which completely gave away how I feel about Mateo Ramírez calling something I do ‘cute’.

He’s always so genuine and real in the way he speaks, which is great because then I get to hear him say things like that to me, and I’ll never not get flustered when he does, but that also means that he might not mean it in any significant way, if you know what I mean. He talks like that to everyone, so I can’t ever get my hopes up. Things between us are complicated and I don’t really want to think about it.

Anyway, we continue to chat together, showing each other stuff we find funny on our phones, and listening to music in the back for an hour or two.

It doesn’t take long before we’re both in hysterics at something ridiculous which had been brought up in one of our many conversations. Mateo practically keels over laughing and lands his head on my shoulder as he grabs me, one hand at my arm and one at my chest. He’s the type to laugh with his whole body and it’s so funny.

Once we had both stopped gasping for breath, we settled finally. We were sitting very close to each other now, though. I think my palms started sweating.

*

I don’t know what to do. Everything in me is screaming at me to get up and run away, it’s too much. This is what I’ve wanted, though, isn’t it? Mateo has come too close, his face, his lips, only inches from my own. I’m not sure where to put my hands. Definitely nowhere near him, they’re sweaty and, anyways, I feel as if both of them are glued firmly to the sofa behind my back.

I try not to lean backwards even further, the closer Mateo gets. I don’t want it to look like I don’t want to do this, whatever this is. Do I want to do this? I’m unsure but I don’t have time to wonder, my thoughts are going ten to the dozen and I’m sure Mateo can probably hear my heartbeat racing. Yet my head feels as if it’s full of thick clouds, so I can’t actually decipher anything that I’m thinking. Even my breathing starts to pick up pace, I feel frozen in place, I feel like everything is going to go wrong and I’m going to mess this up somehow, and then-

My breath hitches when I feel Mateo’s mouth pressed softly against my own. Before I can fully react, he’s kissing me. Properly kissing me. He moves his lips and I do the same back, after my initial shock. Neither of us stops to say anything.

I can’t seem to relax, I’m aware of how tense I am, and Mateo seems to be as well. This must be why he pauses to ask me, “Is this alright?”

Now I feel bad because he looks nervous too. Or maybe he was always nervous but I was too caught up in my own head to notice. I don’t think that I can actually comprehend anything that’s going on right now, though.

“Yeah. Sorry.” I’ve never said something more awkwardly in my entire life. I can’t believe I really just responded like that.

I smile and try to relax a little. I also free my hands from behind my back, but this sends me sinking further into the sofa. Oof.

Now I feel like Mateo is above me. He’s looking down and smiling back at me. I simultaneously wish the sofa would swallow me whole, and that this moment would never end. He lets out a little laugh, presumably at me falling into the mass of cushions beneath me.

We don’t say anything else, but there seems to be a shared understanding that we both want this. I take in his gaze for a second before he leans down again to kiss me more. Mateo uses one arm to hold himself up, then I feel his free hand touch my face. The extra contact of his palm against my cheek and his fingers reaching my hair makes my head cloud up again with millions of new, undecipherable thoughts.

Instead, I decide to let it be; I want to live in the moment rather than in my head. I reach my hands to Mateo’s shoulders, broad and firm, then to near his neck. I pull him closer as he uses his supporting arm to lower himself. He hovers over me, the kiss only getting deeper, and runs his fingers through my dark, thick hair. The butterflies that have been living inside of me the whole time, since being invited into his house, evaporate; I’m in the moment now. Everything finally feels right.

[codgod]

ok im silly and obsessed with your art so i wanted to ask you about it!

i really love your shading on art, the layering and different colors is very well done! do you have any feedback on how to do rendering and shading? cause i know nothing about it

im also curious about your anatomy, its accurate but also very unique between characters! do you mind doodling like... how your format it? u know what i mean???

NEXT I WANT TO ASK! ABOUT YOUR OUTFIT IDEAS!! where do you get your inspiration for those beautiful fucking designs?

on the drawing you made of shrimp mariana being held by charlie, im curious about how you did the filtering to make it like. fuzzy but still clear???

last but not least, what application do you use for drawing, and which pens do you use?

sorry for all the questions but your art is a very big inspiration for me and i want to be as talented as u ^^💦

this got really fucking long and i don’t even know if it’s particularly helpful but LETS GO

—

OKAY SO. shading, thing i am apparently accidentally really good at. it’s probably the thing i’ve gotten compliments on the most over the years which is funny because it’s probably the thing i’m Least confident that i can do well. therefore i can’t really give a tutorial but i can give a bunch of disjointed notes

(shown above is my Default Shading, further examples of different lighting below)

everything else under the cut or this is gonna be a mile long

i like using blue for shading, yellow/orange for lighting but generally you can just make them opposite/complimentary colours to each other and that’ll work. cool shadows, warm light or warm shadows, cool light. you get it. that’s a general rule there’s probably exceptions. i will say i hate using purple for shadows but that’s a personal preference (as is every colour i use being so saturated lol)

the orange around the edges is supposed to be subsurface scattering on skin but i put it on all the edges because i like how it looks 👍

yes there’s two different bounce lights. idk why i do this. i also just think it looks nice. i guess the one on the shading layer is more for form and the one on the lighting layer is more for the yk. lighting? anyways the first one is just a lighter version of the shading colour the second one is darker and slightly hue shifted (depending on the lighting scenario — it can be brighter if the situation calls for it)

the reason i don’t just shade around the edges is because it can make things look very flat which is the opposite of what you want when shading. sometimes it can just go on the edges in some specific scenarios but i like my shadows Chunky. basically having it go over the form instead of just along it can help show that form more

top left - night time | top right - bisexual? | bottom left - spotlight i guess? | bottom right - default/daylight again, just wanted to show a shape example

something i’ll also do a lot is have a separate multiply layer that’s just one colour and i’ll throw that over the whole thing to get the base colours correct for the lighting scenario. some people do it by eye but i am lazy so i cheat 👍 often it’ll be the same as the more detailed shadow colour but as with the top right example sometimes it’s different

shadows are either on multiply or linear burn, lights are either on add (glow) or glow dodge. depends on what looks best. same with opacity, i don’t have any real rules there

i also LOVE harsh lighting but that’s just a me thing. UMMM i can’t think of anything else to say

—

so next is ANATOMY okay this is also something i’m not super confident with lol but i can give some more disjointed notes by just redlining my own sketches lol

the uuuh “bottom of boobs is 2/3 down the ribs” isn’t technically correct? if ur drawing someone with big boobs and no bra on they’re probably gonna go lower but that’s kinda. where they come out from i guess. i also don’t think the “ribs” i draw are technically accurate but it works for a reference point

arms are a diamond (the shoulder.. muscle.. thing… idk what it’s called) and then some Tapered Tubes idk they’re not super complicated. if you wanna get more into it go google buff people and trace/redline their arms that’s how i learnt orz and uuuh i kinda also have the taking up 2/3 of the ribs but a bit Above. the way i’ve worded that makes no goddamn sense i’m bad at explaining this

ANYWAYS yeah bodies are just shapes if you want ppl to look unique just squash or stretch out the shapes 👍 and also learn actual anatomy stuff that always helps. my final message: learn to draw fat people it is no more difficult than drawing thin people

—

OUTFITS i love outfits. i have a pinterest board where a lot of my inspo comes from and it’s a section within a bigger board so ig i’m just giving you my whole inspo board. here (it’s the one called character fashion) (i do not condone art being reposted on pinterest without artists permission just ignore how much i have saved)

pinterest in general is good for outfit design stuff as long as you know where/how to look. u could also try fashion blogs and stuff

ummm a lot of stuff does just come from my own head tho, like based on clothes i like or vaguely inspired by stuff i’ve seen before. if you look through the board you can also see that like i rarely ever copy stuff directly i kinda just use whatever stuff i find as a base to work from. just find stuff you like and go from there i guess, i sometimes like picking a specific subculture or fashion style for a character and seeing what i can make from that (like missa is emo/scene, slime is like some kinda ravecore thing?? idk)

—

OKAY i’m assuming you mean like the glowy effect? makes everything look Soft?

(idk if u can even see the difference here orz also ignore how many fuckin layers i use i’m a mess) (the top layer is that catboy missa doodle i did ignore that too)

this is something i do on Most drawings to the point i have an auto action set up for it. duplicate the entire drawing (on csp the easiest way is to just merge visible to new layer), gaussian blur to like ? idk i think it’s 40% or something? i don’t remember, set that layer to soft light and lower the opacity

if that’s NOT what you meant feel free to send a follow up question LOL

OH actually if u mean the colour jitter stuff on the . colours. that’s not a filter i was just using a brush with slight hue jitter on i was Experimenting

—

AND FINALLY i use clip studio paint on my ipad and most of the brushes i use on the reg can be found here

favourites are the ones i made (i actually have more of those i need to upload—) and the raz sketch ones 👍 namely raz sketch (thick) with the density turned up a bit from the default, been using that a lot for lineart

[fanfoolishness]

Random spoilery thoughts for The Apostate based on my deliriously watching it way after my bedtime last night, but before rewatching it tonight with the husband:

Was very excited to see Bo-Katan’s helmet in the credits. She’s really going places this season, huh?

Loved seeing glimpses of the helmet ritual. I was worried that the kid was going to be baby Din, even though he looked absolutely nothing like him; I was relieved to see it was present day, but I still would’ve liked another flashback to kid!Din. Also, does Din just not have flashbacks anymore? I kind of miss them.

A little salty we didn’t see any Mando’a in this whole ritual. But, I loved seeing the Armorer more. She’s always an intense, mesmerizing presence and even though I now distrust her (is she Force-sensitive? the way she somehow realized that croc-monster was coming… not to mention some of her other appearances where she seems to know more than people are telling her) I always love seeing her do her thing.

I want to try and write something about Din wishing he was welcome for Grogu’s sake (so he can be around other Mandalorians besides Din and discover the community for himself) but can’t seem to figure it out.

Wish we saw some more non-human Mandalorians though :(

SPACE WHALES! Purrgil, yes? Man I still need to watch Rebels. But I obstinately want to watch all of Clone Wars first (we made it to season 5! We’re so close!)

I love that Grogu was both entranced by them but also a little scared because they were just so vast. Hence the need for a cuddle, which Din did not object to.

HIGH MAGISTRATE GREEF KARGA, please, if we have to spin off more characters from The Mandalorian to get to their own TV shows, we need to see Greef just Carl Weathersing around. Everything with him is just delightful! Let his cloak get longer every episode, please please please.

Not sure at all about this harebrained IG-11 idea, Din, but I loved that we could hear some of the music that used to play for Kuiil in the theme there, and that Din straight-up called IG his friend.

DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN WHAT WAS THAT I did not expect DROID HORROR here!!!

Love to see Nevarro all grown up! Greef may still be a little shady and obviously self-serving but I love that he wants to bring other people along with him too. The more wealth around in general the more for him too, right? So of course Nevarro needs to get respectable and dank farrik, he’s just the man to do it.

I’m glad Cara Dune didn’t die on the way back to her home planet. I’ll miss her presence as a friend and comrade to Din but I won’t miss Gina Carano’s bullshittery. Maybe we can meet a buff female Mando this season to add to the roster if we have to be adding new characters.

Big man in tiny room 😍

GROGU NO omg I love that he is just as awful as real toddlers sometimes 😂

…and yet Din thinks it’s time for him to learn about hyperspace navigation what even is this parenting technique

I still miss the Razor Crest, but I like that the Naboo thing (what is it called again?) makes Din even more menacing as a pilot

Dad Is My Seatbelt ❤️

I enjoy the mossy pirate. He is rather disgusting but I’ve never seen a design quite like that before.

Bo-Katan really has nothing better to do these days than lecture Din, does she? I love how disillusioned she’s become with the Darksaber. “Just wave that thing around and they’ll do whatever you say.” I also love that she calls out Din’s tribe for being superstitious and weird again. Like we all know Din is gonna ride a mythosaur by the end of this season or next and he’ll find the mines and they better be super cool, but I’m still feeling solidarity with Bo-Katan, resident skeptic

I just need Din to really sit down and think, “Do I regret taking my helmet off? It was always to help Grogu. To try and keep him alive, to try and find him, to say goodbye to him. Don’t I owe loyalty to him, too? Do I feel like an apostate?” Figure your shit out, sir!

But in the meantime, keep proudly telling everyone you meet your son’s horrible name. I made myself laugh for a minute straight when I realized Greef is over here thinking Din named Grogu that on purpose

Plotwise, definitely the most scattered premiere of the show, and because of it, not the most effective episode. I’d give it a B - perfectly enjoyable and some really fun, surprising moments, but it’s not asking the big questions that it keeps hinting at just yet. I hope they get there.

[zerodderty]

Undertale Yellow feels like, and I don’t say this lightly, the Advent Children of UT/DR

Looks really cool, *is* really cool in a lot of the ways that count, even hits home sometimes… but also nobody who touched the production ever really “got” the original, so it’s just kinda hollow

That’s not always a bad thing, fanlike reverence leads to new ideas being created usually when people try to replicate the things they like about a work while cutting back on the less important bits. But when you tie it to this worship of the original text you get all these… janky halfhearted copies.

Like, oh, we gotta kinda have a Papyrus. Here’s your robot section. Didn’t you like Undertale’s Neutral Route? There’s some quieter comparison points where you can feel the thought that went into making UTY a fun reflection of the original. But also sometimes things feel needless, like they’re there to fill a quota.

The pacing gets this the worst- the actual main cast is introduced two thirds of the way through the story, so most of the early areas are JUST old Undertale zones without the humor or charm. Pacifist in particular suffers because of how much importance it puts on characters and scenarios that a first time player will have No time to care about.

The themes here are…. Incoherent. Copying Undertale’s structure so hard means that unintentionally a lot of the same Determination, Empathy, Content Consumption stuff gets reiterated, while the new stuff about Justice and Consequences feels like its totally shoved to the ends of each route where characters will start talking as if walking around doing random encounters and occasionally stumbling into bits with characters who immediately fall in love with you and proceed to do three bits before leaving means we’ve had some Deep Meaningful Arc together that is climaxing only now.

Which is to say at some point in every route characters will start ranting about Justice and Heroism in a way that just feels really goofy since it always comes out of nowhere. I can see the narrative bones of a fun western romp, but its buried under all this Undertale flavored fluff that makes the early game feel charming but hollow, the midgame feel abrupt and slow, and the endgame feel interesting but wayyyy too fast and undercooked for whats come before it.

And then there’s the Cool parts. The character design is just fifteen levels of weird, everyone is the same sort of lanky furry creature with these big mysterious angsty backstories that mainly serve to funnel people towards the two big endgame superbosses of Pacifist and Genocide. And they certainly are big, taking the form of long, multiphase endeavors with more than a few totally unbalanced attacks that go more for flash and overwhelming density than anything else.

And hey, I can’t say the flash doesn’t work…? I think with Deltarune as a comparison now, the weird reality breaking freaks of Jevil and Spamton feel a lot more interesting of a Sans followup but sure yeah, I can’t say that these anime powerups don’t look sick even if they feel a little disconnected from everything. But it feels like they exist at the expense of everything else as these all encompassing fixation points.

And hell, UTY is probably the *most* restrained Undertale fangame here, because you can tell in the base encounter design that clearly the developers liked the idea that Undertale was a game with encounters in it, even if the bits aren’t always as funny or charming they’re at least there and well executed. I like the random monsters! They’re probably my favorite thing here because they don’t feel exaggerated or cast aside to better focus in on the Cool Stuff

I dunno, I feel weirdly conflicted that a game so technically competent at emulating Undertale and so clearly passionate in its aims feels so uneven and clumsy. I’m glad it exists, I’m glad I played it, I just wish it was more… good. Maybe it’s in part that I got into Undertale from its influences (Homestuck and weird quirked up JRPGs) that it feels so weird to have those influences diminished to better do the Cool Stuff, but I feel if UTY wanted to just do the Cool Stuff it would have been better served not being so tied down to living up to the already lofty task of Undertale 2 without feeling like a direct to dvd and home video sequel.

[leggywillow]

Fic Writer Interview

I was tagged by @feralkwe

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

10 🙈

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

170,541

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

He Thought Her Unsinkable (50)

Never Free (41)

Failed Attempts at Simpler Lives (24)

Ashes (12)

Torture Of Your Own Design (10)

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! I really can’t overstate how much I love and value every comment and how they make my day and really keep me going when I worry that no one’s interested, lol. I want the commenters to know that, even if sometimes all I can say is “thanks!” Because I can’t grab them by the shoulders and just shriek right in their face.

People engaging with my characters and ships and little situations is like… the point for me. It’s the DREAM, for real.

5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Technically it’s the short Ashes, since that ends with Hawke dead and Anders and Justice gone. The one that makes me the saddest, though, is Strange Bedfellows. That fic spends more time getting to know the characters before destroying them.

6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Never Free ends the most hopefully, I feel.

7. Do you write crossovers?

Nah.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, which is the good part of focusing on niche content with OCs, lol. I may not rack up numbers but I also don’t get attention from the meanies.

9. Do you write smut?

Not really, but god I want to. I’ve put a grand total of like 2.3 smut-esque scenes in my stories, because I just chicken the hell out. I get SO self-conscious, and it just feels so bad lmao. No idea how to overcome this.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, and I can’t imagine anyone has. Another benefit of creating niche content.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I’m aware of. That would be pretty cool though.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but it’s something I’d be open to if the right circumstances came up. It seems pretty unlikely at this point in my fandom life, but you never know.

13. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I feel like the Simpsons’ “SAY THE LINE, BART!” meme right now because it’s obviously Carver Hawke/my Surana. You know, the only ship I ever write and talk about.

The only other ship I’ve been both feral and inspired enough to write about is Hawke/Alistair, so that ship gets second place.

Mind you, this is strictly from a “writing fanfic” perspective. I love lots of different ships, including multishipping for the above characters.

14. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I don’t post many things so the only unfinished WIP (besides the one I’m currently working on) is my Hawkistair fic, He Thought Her Unsinkable, that I last updated in 2016. Two years ago I would have said it would stay unfinished forever, but now I DO have intentions of coming back to it. (I got thoroughly stuck with progressing both the plot and the ship and I’ve since thought up solutions for both.)

I’ll probably rewrite the whole thing though. There was a lot of room for improvement, and I cringe looking back.

15. What are your writing strengths?

This is hard for me because I’m so riddled with imposter syndrome and anxiety, but I think I do character dialogue well. I can hear voices very clearly in my head and it’s one of the few things my memory holds onto, so I fiddle with my lines until I can hear the character saying them in their cadence.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with descriptions for sure. Knowing how much or little to include, yes, but I also find myself just blanking out on descriptive words when I need them.

Me, desperately, to my own brain: We’ve seen a house before! I need words to describe a house!

Brain: I have never seen one of those before in my life.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

This is something where I try to stay pretty firmly in my lane, because I know it can be done poorly if you don’t know what you’re doing. And I do not, lol. If a character is speaking in another language, I just say that. I try to keep my usage of other languages to exclamations and terms of endearment if they come up naturally.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

I wrote Animorphs fanfic on an old typewriter at my dad’s office when I had to be there after school as a kid and then later on some little word processor software for kids that looked like you were typing in a little book. (I’ve been desperately trying to figure out what 1990s software this could have been to no avail, for nostalgia’s sake.) I made some kind of human/Hork-Bajir hybrid OC that was basically like Wolverine with the badass retracting blades in her skin.

19. What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I only like writing fic when I have BIG AND SPECIFIC IDEAS that grab me, and that only comes with being incredibly hyperfixated on the source material until I’m comfortable with the setting… so basically I’m very content in my Dragon Age sandbox and don’t have much desire to branch out. That said, I do love my Dark Urge from Baldur’s Gate 3 and am very tempted to write about her someday.

20. What's your favorite fic you've written?

I think I’ll have to go with Never Free. Failed Attempts at Simpler Lives has more character interactions that I deeply enjoyed writing, but I’m really proud of the plot I wove together in Never Free.

Tagging @theluckywizard @rakshadow @inquisimer @nirikeehan and anybody who thinks it looks fun!

[comfortabletogether]

Not super far in BUT

Scott my man /romantic /selfship

My fave girl is definitely Jubilee,she is so mecore

Runner ups are Jean and Rogue,they're genuinely so interesting and pretty!!

Magneto is always right

Logan is dad-shaped,Kitty is so lucky(and cool)

Remy my beloved,,,, /also selfship

Emma my platonic beloved.Also sorry but i hate Sc///emma so bad,she's a lesbian to me

And i regret not reading sooner,these comics are so fucking good

MAGNETO IS RIGHT!! GAH I LOBSTER HIM SO MUCH!! He was one of the first Jewish characters I was every introduced to as a kid so he’s extremely special to me lol. Same thing with Kitty Pryde.

I wish i could articulate my thoughts on characters better but alas i can’t 😭

Jubilee, Jean and Rouge are all fantastic I love them all. I don’t think I hate a single character in this series, except Beast and sometimes Charles pisses me off.

Ugh i love Jean so much and i hate the Emma/Scott/Jean/Logan love mess 😭 Anytime any of that relationship drama happens I kinda just ignore it because it makes me hate all of them. I have such a love-hate relationship with Sc//emma because aesthetically they look good and i like how their designs work but also I hate their relationship and writing. Lowkey though Emma/Jean/Scott can recreate the music video or Taste by Sabrina Carpenter so I like that.

Rémy my beloved, X-Men 97 when I catch you 😡😡

[artzychic27]

More Actor AU commentary?

*Juleka, Luka, Myléne, and Alix are having their hair re-dyed*

Juleka: The stylists have a closet exclusively for our hair dye. I’ve never felt so honored.

Luka: *Squeals* We each got our own shelves!

Alix: Yeah, it’s great, but then the fumes really start to kick in, ya’know?

Myléne: I told you guys to go with the eco-friendly stuff, now I’m sitting here not breathing in toxic fumes.

—

Mireille: Come here, we’re gonna show you the Akuma closet.

*Marinette the door to a massive walk-in closet of Akuma costumes*

Marinette: This is where most of the magic actually happens. The artists like to have their space and this is the quietest room to work on designs. Hey, CeCe.

CeCe: *Drawing under a table* Silence!

Mireille: Yes, ma’am. Anyway, the costumes here are all stored here when they’re no longer in use until later episodes when an Akuma returns, or for the design team to come in and make alterations. Like… Oh! Here’s Reverser’s original suit. *Pulls out a black and white Two-Face inspired suit*

Marinette: See, it’s good, but it can always be better. Now, the creators are letting Marc wear it to the red carpet event.

—

Kim: *Doing his makeup* See, unlike most of my co-stars, I do my own makeup for each scene. I’m cool like that.

Marc: *Doing a Smokey eye* We’re cool like that.

—

Reshma: Naturally, we all hate Marc and Kim because they don’t spend three hours in makeup every morning.

Denise: I’d kill for those fine-ass eyes.

—

Nino: To properly look like your typical high school students, we stay up for hours each night to create eye bags instead of using makeup

Marinette: You think students wake up without eye bags? Fuck y’all.

—

Nathaniel: It took all sorts of candy and video games to keep the kids of the original show preoccupied so they don’t tackle me during takes.

Alya: *Laughing* We don’t know why, but kids just love Nath! Ella and Etta are obsessed with him.

Nino: Chris can’t stay off of him. Same for Manon. Whenever they see Nath, they’re clinging to his legs.

Marc: Kiran absolutely ADORES Nath! Sometimes Nath let’s him draw on his arm.

Nathaniel: You won’t believe how thrilled they were when they heard they’d be getting to interact with me more. They’re especially jealous of Manon since she got to do a scene with me first.

—

Aurore: *Opens the door to her dressing room to reveal a wall of parasols* As you can see, I take my character’s love of parasols very serious. You have your holiday-themed parasols, parasols with pointed tip when I need to strike a bitch, and a special one I don’t open. I just walk around with it like a fancy cane.

—

Chloé: Zoé and I are just thrilled to be best friends on the show! Looking at the original script, I’m just like, “God, this dialogue sucks.”

Zoé: Don’t get us wrong, there’s gonna be some ups and downs in my first scene, but we bond over a mutual matred of our mother.

Chloé: Such a wonderful bond!

—

Kim: Behold! The Wig Room! *Opens the door to a room full of wigs* This is where we keep the wigs for Akumas and heroes! Oh! There’s Ikati Black’s! You won’t believe how long it takes the stylists to braid Max’s hair back.

Max: That’s their workout. Because of me, they have amazing biceps.

—

Alya: When filming Lady WiFi, there were like a shit-ton of green screens just everywhere. I’m fact, the characters were forbidden from wearing green during the takes where we had the screens up!

Max: My signature color! Gone!

Tomassian: Uh, how do you I felt? They had to edit in the colors after the shots. I felt so dirty!

—

Sabrina: While everyone else gets some kick ass costume… Mine is literally a green bodysuit. It’s like the one they used for Hagakure in My Hero Academia. And when I’m visible, I look like fucking Silver Surfer! *laughs*

—

Corsette: *Recording on their phone* Observe the blonde gremlins in their natural environment. *Points their phone towards the blonde in the dance studio*

Austin A: And… *Swaying his hips* Sashay. Sashay. *Notices the others aren’t following him* I said SASHAY!

Adrien: What is this even for?

Austin A: Because I felt like forming a blonde dance crew.

Chloé: Dude! Lead with that!

Rose: And you’re working those hips wrong! Watch and learn, Armbruster!

—

Nino/Lila: *Getting their makeup done* Scar Twins, bitches!

—

Ivan: Fun fact, Stoneheart was actually me in a green body suit and everything I threw was made of Styrofoam. Super easy to lift.

Myléne: It was a pretty complicated scene when Stoneheart kidnapped Chloé and I. There were different wires, a mechanical arm, all that jazz.

Chloé: But the thing that wasn’t fake was me getting thrown! It was fucking awesome!

Ivan: Uh! Let’s not forget to add that there was an abundance of airbags below you.

Chloé: Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I had so much fun, I actually went skydiving after the shoot.

—

Denise: So, I’m the cast’s unquestioned fitness guru, meaning I help to keep ‘em in shape. Each character has certain muscles the fandom likes to obsess over. Take Nath’s legs for example.

Nathaniel: *Incoherrent yelling as he crushes a watermelon between his thighs* DIE, YOU WATERMELON! *The watermelon gets crushed* YEAH! GIMME A PUMPKIN NEXT!

Denise: Fans are also pretty obsessed with Marinette’s biceps.

Marinette: *Deadlifting a couch* No one! Stop me!

Denise: And Ismael and Nino like to work out to build muscle and look a bit more masculine.

Nino: *Spotting Ismael* Who’s the manliest man?!

Ismael: I am!

Nino: Who’s gonna punch the transphobes?!

Ismael: I AM!

Denise: We have fun. But remember, it’s important to feel comfortable in your own body.

—

Cosette: I’m sure you can tell that Jean’s excited for the upcoming musical numbers.

Jean: *Running around the studio screaming*

Cosette: *Chuckles* I can tell ya, he’s gonna sleep well tonight… Did I mention I’m getting a girlfriend?

—

Lacey: I’m pretty stoked I’m gonna have a big role in Riposte. In the original show, you see me as one of the students trying out for the team, but of course… No lines.

Nathaniel: Well, I’m nervous as hell. I’ve only been practicing fencing for a short time, but I’m still nowhere good.

Kagami: This is why we practice on weekends, Nath. And you’re getting better, so stop putting yourself down.

Nathaniel: Never!

—

XY: *Spooning with Luka and Adrien* We’re rehearsing.

Rose: But this scene isn’t for like another… Thirty episodes-

Adrien: Hush, demon! This is a private rehearsal! *Kisses XY’s neck while Luka nuzzles against his back*

—

Simon: *Having his makeup done while he sits in Denise’s lap* Here’s a fun little tidbit for you guys. A lot of my Gaeilge is unscripted. Yeah, when I have my little angry moments, I can’t help but curse in my native tongue.

Denise: The only thing I understand is ‘shite.’

Simon: And I don’t understand a lick of Spanish. We’re perfect for each other!

—

Reshma: The design team will be incorporating my character’s interest in magical girl anime and anime in general into my clothing, so Sailor Moon jewelry, My Hero Academia bags, Princess TuTu hair accessories, and my true favorite, a Revolutionary Girl Utena jacket!

Ismael: *While Reshma happy flaps* While she’s excited about that, I’m excited about getting some new cardigans. I mean, who doesn’t love a cardigan?

—

Cosette: *Live streaming Nino and Myléne meditating* They’ve been like this for two hours now. Tell me, guys. Should I call for help?

Nino: … *Snores*

Cosette: Oh, thank God!

—

Marc: I’ve gotta say, it’s nice not having to pretend to be shorter than I actually am. It was messing up my back, I… I don’t know why they didn’t just give other characters platform shoes.

Denise: But on a lighter note, Marc keeps bumping into a bunch of stuff! *Cackles* It’s hilarious!

Marc: I’m so used to slouching! *Storms out of the room and bumps into the doorframe* Damnit! Stupid low doorframe! Who needs a door that small?!

Denise: If you’re wondering, Marc and I are both 206.5 centimeters and the doorways here are like 200 centimeters.

—

Ismael: And we’re back to another screening of “Tall People Problems!”

Cosette: Watch Reshma struggle to sit in that chair. *Points her phone toward Reshma with her legs at an awkward position while she’s sitting*

Reshma: … Ugh! *Tucks in her legs* … Forget it. *Sits on the floor*

Ismael: Tragic, isn’t it? Now let’s see how Denise is faring.

Cosette: *Points phone over to Denise, right as they bump into an exit sign*

Denise: ¡Mierda!

Cosette: *Snickers* And now, our favorite subject. Marc Anciel. A young man who just won’t admit he’s taller than a standard doorframe. *Points phone to Marc*

Marc: *Walking off set and comes across the door* … Not this time. *Ducks under the doorframe* HA! I did it- OW! Why is there another door?!

[ixtaek]

I know I’ll probably get killed for this but I have a theory why LU is the most popular Link Meet AU.

First off, if an AU is drawn instead of written, it’s going to be more popular, because strong visuals give people more stuff to latch onto. Especially if the art is really cool, colored, and distinctive. Each Link in LU has a distinctive design that makes them visually easy to tell apart and a unique skill-set they bring to the table. I know some folks don’t like that Wind and Four are composites of multiple games which are spread over several canonical centuries, but part of why it works is because the games they encompass have very similar looking Links (I’m sorry Spirit sweetie). Every character wears something that naturally exists in their game, but is visually distinct as “them”. Even Four, who looks the most different from his in-game sprites, is still modeled after the stained glass window from Minish Cap. An outsider to Link Meet AUs but a knowledge of Zelda games (like myself) can easily walk into the AU and say “oh ok that’s the Link from Twilight Princess and that’s the one from Skyward Sword” pretty much at a glance.

But there are lots of really cool well drawn distinctive Link Meet AUs out there, so why is this one doing numbers? I think it’s also because there’s very little extra headcanon attached to the LU boys in the comic itself. Everything about them is pretty closely tailored to their games, from appearance to skills to personalities. The only completely canon relationship in LU iirc is Malon and Time are married and Sky and Sun are dating. Most AUs I see add in some of the artists own flair or ships or identities into the Links, which is great, but it can create a more limited sandbox for others to play in. Like if an AU has RavioLi as canon or it’s definite that Link and his Zelda are related, then people who ship ZeLink can’t put their own spin on things. If you’re adding a gender identity or disability or something to your AU, then people feel uncomfortable trying to change that in fanworks, and may not engage as much because of it. And especially if you have like, a big extra non-game mechanic going on that runs how the Links are meeting that people may be intimidated by. Fandom lives in the ability to adapt and project a little. The more you make “canon” to your AU, the fewer wild ideas people will run off with linked to it.

Another reason, and I say this with all the love in my heart, is that because LU has become so intrinsically linked with the hero titles (ie the game names), some people wanna differentiate by giving their Links different names than Time/Twilight/Wind/etc. Which is totally fine and honestly really fun, but it’s not as immediately identifiable for some as the game names, which can be a barrier. And sure, if you know the lore well enough some are obvious—the one with pink hair is the one from ALttP, the one with a fairy name is probably the OG Link, the one with any sort of body of water referenced is probably Wind Waker—sometimes there are overlaps. Like OoT Link and OG Link could both be called fairy boy. Wind Waker and Link’s Awakening could both be island names. This isn’t insurmountable, but it’s a barrier that LU doesn’t really have.

This ain’t to say other Link Meets AUs aren’t great, cuz they are! I follow a few of them and enjoy them immensely, and several get a lot of engagement! This is just my theory as to why LU has become kinda the Ur example of the Link Meet AU, and why the fandom is so big compared to other options.

I’m not tagging this because I honestly don’t want to discourse. I just want to ramble.

[lalaurelia]

2022 Fic in Review

So I do this every year, and it’s kinda fun? So I’m doing this again for the stories I’ve written this year. I won’t be counting a collab though, since I never do, and my stats are a mess because I’ve transferred my Russian-language works to AO3 this year, but I will be counting them. I think. We’ll see if it takes xD

total number of completed stories: 9 total, +1 collab. It wasn’t a good year for writing, I’m afraid. Hopefully I’ll be able to make 2023 a better one.

total word count: 16266 words. I’ve added a lot of words to WIPs though, I think about 17K extra. The focus this year was what game designers call MVP, minimum viable product. I just wanted to get the stories finished - so they were mostly uncomplicated and short. Wow. I haven’t been writing short things for a very long time.

fandoms written in: Gotham and Gobblepot, baby, these things don’t change XD

looking back, did you expect to write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? I always, always expect to write more. But considering all the shit that’s been happening this year, I think I wrote more than I expected to do. I feared I wouldn’t be able to write a single fic.

what’s your own favorite story of the year? This is unexpectedly hard? I like practically all of them this year? I guess I’ll choose the one I finished the year with, In the dark. It was a lot of experiments, and it was really exciting to try all those things.

did you take any writing risks this year? Yeah, I’ve been trying to get used to experimenting with my writing styles and options more, because I desperately wanted to see progress somewhere. And this was my progress. The first experiment was The Crown and the Shield, my first-ever second person story, and the other one was In the dark, mentioned above. I feel that trying to write in the way that’s unfamiliar to me helps me get rid of a number of my usual hangups I stumble over when writing.

do you have any fanfic or profit goals for the new year? Finish at least one WIP. Write a fic for each month. I hope I’ll manage at least some of that XD

best story of the year? In the dark XD Okay, okay. I do think it’s Mango Daiquiri this time around. It’s both subtle and not, which I find enjoyable.

most popular story of the year? AO3 stats to the rescue! Apparently, it’s Drunk on You, which is cool, I loved writing it. It also helps that it was written in the beginning of the year.

story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: The Crown and the Shield could use a little more love, but I know that readers will always read what they want to read. If it’s not a story I’ve written, or not the one I want them to love, well. It’s okay. I love my fics regardless XD

most fun story to write: You know, I’ll name Trick, or... because I didn’t really expect to whip up a Halloween-themed story on short notice, but then I hit a stride and it turned out pretty fun.

story with the single sexiest moment: In the dark, hands down. I haven’t been writing many explicit stories this year though. But I still think it’s the sexiest one for all the stuff that’s going on in Jim’s head and then out of it~

sweetest story: I have trouble writing fluff, so I just want to give Sweet Morning an honourable mention.

“holy crap, thats wrong, even for you!” story: I just don’t think this way when it comes to stories. In fiction, anything goes. The only thing I got hang up on this year is ‘maybe there are too many kinks per paragraph in this one’, but then again, why the hell not have as many kinks as you want XD

story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters & most unintentionally telling story: Can’t go into details, it’s a WIP. Yes, there are still depths to find out about my fave boys. Sometimes they’re not quite what you expect them to be.

hardest story to write: Another WIP. I struggled with it a lot, some parts of it flowed, some were set on stalling. I’ve hit yet another snag in it recently. Ugh. I’ll get through it, but I have the urge to whine about it too lol

biggest disappointment: I don’t think I have disappointments this year when it comes to my stories. That’s a nice thought. Writing was a solace for me this year, so... yeah. The disappointments are all external.

biggest surprise: How deeply satisfying the writing experiments are. It’s like opening a window that’s been closed for months and getting some more light and air into your space. That’s why I want to try doing more experiments from time to time.

Tagging, if you want to do a fic review of your own: @birdwatching-goesbothways, @killerrabbitofcaerbannog, @whatwould-misha-do, @stardustloki and anyone else who wants to try this~

[razorblade180]

Played and beat Arrowfell

Let me get the two extremely petty part out of the way. I’m very surprised this entire thing isn’t voiced acted. Like even if a person may have been busy, voice matching would totally be fine with how few lines a majority of the characters have.

Second petty thing. All these cool and unique weapons/semblances that fit a narrative and yet no one thought of a decent idea for ironwood ever.

Anyways, I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect going into this but the best way I can describe this game is this: If RWBY had 24 episodes a season, then Arrowfell would be the canon filler arc. And I don’t mean that in a bad way.

It’s no secret RWBY has no real fluff and sometimes goes a little too quickly for it’s own good. This entire game is their first big mission as licensed Huntresses and that means exploring the kingdom, meeting different cultures, casual dialogue with Ace Ops, and instances of someone teaching them ways to use their skills better. Ya know…all the things that build a world and character relationships. Like I’m not gonna say everything in here is perfectly done but having all of this before the apocalypse hit in V7 and V8 would’ve made them hit harder in my opinion.

I don’t know if I missed a piece of dialogue or something but JNPR isn’t in this game at all and don’t know if they had an excuse. There’s plenty of NPCs asking for help or trying to give you something so I don’t really know why 4 of them can’t be the team. Not mad about it, just confused.

The game itself is pretty engaging for the most part. Levels have areas you’ll eventually go back to with better upgrades and for the most part the map design is pretty easy to understand where you are especially when what kind of enemies are located in them. Game took me 5 1/2 hours and that’s me getting 97% of everything so it can definitely be faster but at the price of missing out on level up points you really want to make things not take forever.

I am going to be brutally honest and hopefully someone can answer this for me. There was never a time a I thought “I should use Yang” outside of puzzles. There are so many situations where it makes sense to use or combine abilities between the other three. Never Yang💀

The best characters literally go in name order. Everyone exists to support Ruby and it shows she’s the only one who can dodge, highest normal attack damage and has the best reach. I leveled everything on her before anyone else because of this. Weiss is really good for crowd control and Blake had great uses for stationary targets and bosses because her clones attack/distract with the rest of the team. They should’ve given Yang a counter but they didn’t. Just a heavy ground pound that isn’t even the strongest attack in the game. Weiss has the strongest single hit but it costs the most aura but ya know, things die.

Last part is the music. Maybe I miss RWBY music, but this soundtrack is pretty good in my opinion. This might be a testament to how much the show is influenced by video games because every track felt like the show, but completely at home in the level it was in at the same time. Even when certain game mechanics are at play to make this a competent game, my brain went “this could exist or happen in the show.” And the more outlandish parts of Arrowfell that exist for game design has the characters go “well this doesn’t feel normal” which I thought was funny.

I payed 30$ for this and honestly I had a very good time with it. I think the price is pretty reasonable considering how this looks and the few regular animation scenes. Some new characters have semblances and others have weapons that will make OC creators go “go damnit I did that.” (Myself included) but it’s alright. This game will completely break your legs if you’re not paying attention but feels pretty rewarding when you’re handling ambushes easily.

I say there’s only 3 parts about this game is one specific jump that thankfully only has to be made once. Rooster Teeth continues to do the same thing when it comes to their women antagonist any time they introduce a man. Also the fact everything happening here and everyone you meet do not matter at all because Atlas doesn’t exist anymore. Who the hell knows if any of those people are alive.

8/10

[passionesolja]

SMT 5 first impressions

I’ve put around 20 hours into this game. So I’m not super far but I get the premise and the gameplay.

Let me say this the most beautiful SMT game ever made like they put their whole soul into these enemy designs and animations. It’s not even a chore to be fighting all these enemies because I’m like “damn they look good”

Also, it returns to a modernized version of the classic SMT art design and that just has so much swag like yall don’t understand how iconic that art style is lmao

Is SMT 5 easy? No. Keep in mind, I’m playing this on “normal” difficulty

Oh my god this game has bodied me more than nocturne or SMT 4 did. One wrong move and an enemy can crit you to death. You have a special move thing that gives you every hit is a crit abilities and so do they and mf believe me they will body you with this. It’s brutal but I like that about SMT. I was worried about this game’s difficulty because Persona 5 was so easy you could beat every encounter with your eyes closed.

you can’t do that in SMT 5. If you mess around, an enemy two levels or more below you can wipe you out.

Like most SMT games, the story isn’t really laid out at this point, like you understand that the Angels are with Japan and fighting the demons but that’s all you really know. The characters are all cool but it’s really too early to tell how it all goes, like I have assumptions about what characters will represent what mentality and ideology but i can’t tell you for certain what’s what.

The exploration and lack of random enemy encounters is wonderful. You will still have to grind, like I think you gon have a hard time if you don’t but the fact that you won’t be taking two steps only to get jumped is fun. The maps thus far have been fun and you can literally run and then jump up in the air and imo that’s revolutionary SMT gameplay.

The demon negations are also still pretty difficult like sometimes, but they’re not nocturne levels of unfair and rng. you fail the negotiation and die, that’s common (because if they fall through, you lose your team’s turn and the enemy gets theirs so that can go left super quick). You give the demons money and they leave, that’s common. You give them one right answer to their questions and they join you, that happens. It’s a lot like SMT 4

Could I recommend this game to someone? Yes. Like most other SMT games, you don’t have to play previous titles to understand this one. HOWEVER, this one takes a lot of motifs and premises from Nocturne but you don’t have to play nocturne to understand it.

Would a persona stan like it? Meh I don’t know because speaking as a SMT fan I can’t get into persona because they’re night and day different. If you want Persona, do not play SMT thinking it’ll be anything like Persona, same goes for trying Persona as a SMT fan.

I do think this game is a good start because it’s one of those rare games that combines the best aspects of the two prior games while adding new great gameplay aspects, and making quality of life changes while not making the fundamental gameplay easier. SMT is a series that is unforgiving if you act a fool but rewards you for using your brain and learning new things.

It’s on sale a lot and on the eshop, it typically lowers from 60 to 35, I think it’s worth it (I rarely buy games full price bc I’m a cheapskate). It runs really good on my Nintendo switch lite. No blur and little to no choppy moments

[roebeanstalk]

a note to me and whoever

I need to be honest. With you, with those around me, and with myself.

I have a heavy habit of avoiding the things that scare me. The problem is, everything scares me, except a thing or two at a time, and those things change very regularly. Some days, art doesn’t scare me. Sometimes personal art does and commissions don’t, and sometimes it’s the other way around. Sometimes games don’t scare me. Sometimes food doesn’t scare me. Sometimes friends don’t scare me. Most of the time, TV shows and movies don’t scare me.

I am especially afraid of all of the things that are actually, genuinely good for me. I’m afraid to work out, to eat right, to look at the things I need to do, to confront myself, to work, to make money, to text my mom or my landlord, to clean the bathroom, to shower, to cook my own food.

Every time that I’ve pushed through it, I’ve been happy that I did.

But that is so, so rare. I have about a 5% success rate on pushing through the fear and doing the thing.

This week, it was hanging out with friends on Saturday and then getting a haircut on Monday. I also leave for my family for holidays on Thursday, and that is going to take a lot of pushing. I’m already coming up with all the reasons not to go, even though I know that I absolutely want to.

When I’m up against something that scares me is good for me - I should start making this distinction, but that’s scary too - My head starts to work overtime. Suddenly, I’m telling myself (and instantly believing myself with such conviction) that I don’t want to do it, that I can’t do it, that it’s going to hurt, that it’s going to kill me. It’s not in those actual words, and I guess I don’t feel an actual physical threat to my livelihood… But instead, an ethereal one? I feel everything close around me, I think of all of the things that I’ll have to confront, I’ll think of how much it’s going to hurt - emotionally. Just thinking about it, I get battered down to the point that I’m exhausted and just want to go to sleep. A lot of the time, I do.

Right now, it’s been three weeks or so since I even opened a commission file, although I go to do it every day. I owe a lot of pieces right now. As I write this, my brain is trying to remind me of all of the reasons why, and how hard I’ve failed at weathering the storm and keeping everything on track. I know I have emails waiting for me, including some with some rude words. And honestly, that should be okay. I get into my avoidant hidey hole because I’m scared, and I don’t come out until I feel that everything has burned down around me. Maybe I feel more comfortable that way. Maybe I’d rather be seen sweeping up and making the best of a terrible situation, rather than being in the middle of a misstep.

Right now, in terms of art and commissions, I’m terrified. When I sit down to work, it’s like a giant swarm of shadows and more are swirling around the folder I need to open, the file I need to double click, the website I need to go to. More often than not, I have no idea how to handle them and I run. I get as far away from them as I can, so I can forget about them. At the end of the day, though, the things I need to do are still inside. I carry their weight with me throughout every second of every single day, except for that brief moment after I run away.

My intention is always, always, always to come back. It has been for years. This is not a new problem for me, and it’s definitely not only something that happens with art commissions.

Something I love to do when I’m having a hard time with something, is come up with some kind of scenario where I can handle it. It’s usually something fantasy. When I was in college and in a sound design class that I hated, I came up with this cool idea of a character who can collect sounds in jars, to be stored until you opened them and the sound would play. I was hoping that jazzing up the idea of me walking around Columbus would make me want to record audio bits more, but it never did.

In this moment, I’m wishing I had a weapon of some sort to fight these swarms of shadows that are chaining up and blocking the door. Maybe a baseball bat anointed in an oil, that I can swing around and diminish the shadows. A baseball uniform stitched up with special thread that has shadow dispelling properties, a cap that eases the effect on your brain you get from being around the shadows. Damn, that’d be cool.

I love coming up with these metaphors, and often get wrapped into trying to make big stories about them. In that, I wind up doing exactly what I always do: avoiding the thing that scares me.

Just do it. Brute force it. Fake it till you make it. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

I want to be able to use those mindsets, I really do. I’m terrified and feel so fragile, and I just want to prove to myself over and over and over and over again that I’m not. I want to believe that I can do these things. I know I have the skills to do most of the things I want to do, and that I’m an incredible student when I want to be.

I have absolutely zero confidence that I can do anything that frightens me, or isn’t comfortable. I absolutely do not want to end this on that note. I’m trying to come up with a lovely way to turn it around, wrapping this up with a positive mindset. I don’t have one right now, and maybe that’s okay. I don’t feel negative. I’m glad that I’ve written all of this, and that I’m even thinking about posting it (don’t know if I will). I think I should let that be enough. Confronting myself on this, owning up to it, is enough for tonight.

So… In short:

I have been really scared and avoiding a lot of discomfort. I have not been doing the things that will help me in the long term, and by doing so, I have been very unkind to myself. I’m really wrapped up in the shadows of it all, and I don’t want to be here anymore. Tonight, I’m acknowledging all of these things.

edit: little update i kept writing after this, 'cause i still had time to fill. i'm trying to do 30 minute journal sessions a few times a week. i decided to think about what i would do if i had the energy for it, and then i did some of it. i feel lighter. i wrote some notes to myself and i'm setting a reminder to read through what i posted here and the rest of it, including my notes to myself... i can do this