#I have very specific animations and scenes in my head

[spotsupstuff]

How do you make your drawings so expressive, especially in the facial expressions? I want to make my character drawings more expressive and I'm not really sure how to do so, so any advice on it, especially with expressions, would be very appreciated!

Great timing, right when I'm having a crisis about my abilities. -face in hands- I will Attempt to explain my processes around expressiveness to my best ability, however.

• What helps expressions quite a bit is asymmetry. I realized this some years ago, before I would be maticulously trying to achieve perfect symmetry.

One eye bigger than the other, adds to dynamicness of the expression, along with line of flow to the eyebrows.

• I'm fairly convinced even the smallest details can affect an expression.

• Lack of information is an expression, too.

Aka, leaving large amount of expression (if not whole) up to interpretation of the audience, but setting the general vibe by other means, OR using it as a set up for a funny reveal because lack of actually seeing the face gives it all an air of seriousness, usually.

• Imperfections and anatomical nonsensibility spawn their own specific feelings.

She has no business having that giant or small eyes, the mouth is too big, she doesn't have shark teeth like in the first picture, she doesn't have a tongue. He's got a mouth outside of the boundaries of his face. Those things help to say something, though.

Good example are also meme emoji drawings. These kinds have hyperspecific expressions, which is what sells them as memes, even if the reposter of the meme doesn't consciously picks up on it

• Posing, angles of camera, details within the anatomy, tiny adjustments within the facial features, add greatly.

To note here: slacked shoulders, different rotation of the torso, different angle of the torso (from below vs. more head on), neck squished by the shoulders vs stretched by the relaxation, mouth placed unrealistic more to the side vs placed more realistically and slightly open, eyes squinted on their bottom (flexing of the cheek muscles) vs relaxation [giving a more ,,In that moment, his expression fell", quite literally thanks to the relaxation], less extreme frown - the eyebrows are more leveled than arched - this gives more "concern" vibe than "anger" vibe.

-- example of posing:

-- example of angle:

In the case of characters with limited facial features (like Iterators, just eyes), one has to rely more on posing, anatomy details and angles. Exaggeration with both their lone facial feature and posing is a good idea, just gotta find the right balance between It and your desired weight of reality in the scene.

Outside aspects like the little anime expression signal thingies help out, too.

• And ofc also looking into animal behaviour to apply them to inhuman features boosts expressiveness.

Anatomical notes: jaw is hinged to the rest of the skull, meaning lowering it, moving it side to side and clenching it helps an expression come more alive.

Lips have their own volume, sticking them out from profile is Good. Shoulders are like another joint in arms- by which I mean the true root/anchor of an arm is more the point where clavicles connect to the sternum than the shoulder itself. They can be moved forwards and backwards. Moving them forwards for example boosts the feeling of curling in on self.

Here's an older compilation of Euros having a shit day for analyzation if you'd like.

[maryloohoo]

Live-action Hiccup as a reflection of neurodivergent childhood: a soliloquy

I really wanted to write this post like an essay, with a thesis supported by points, but every time I tried to do it like that, it came out wrong. This point is better explained as a journey of discovery - observations made, thoughts had, and revelations that made everything click into place. So, that's how we're doing it. Strap in, gang.

(Also, it should be noted, this is largely a cleaned-up and slightly-augmented transcription of a verbal spiel I went on the other day. It's not an exact one-to-one, but if anyone would prefer this in audio format, hit me up. And also this is gonna read like a stream-of-consciousness speech. Because it is. :P )

A bit of context just regarding me and where I'm coming from: The animated movie has been my favorite movie since 2010 when I first saw it. I can recite it almost from memory. I have seen the live-action movie twice (and I plan on seeing it as many more times as I can before it leaves theaters). Also I have ADHD.

ALSO ALSO. This is not about headcanoning either version of Hiccup as neurodivergent. This is about how Hiccup's experiences in the live-action HTTYD greatly resemble things that a lot of undiagnosed neurodivergent kids go through. He does not, himself, have to be neurodivergent for that to be the case (however, I totally believe that he is and I will pop off with the headcanons about it if anyone gives me attention and probably even if they don't :P). Alright. Here we go.

SO, watching the live-action movie, Hiccup felt different, obviously, in a lot of ways. And some of it was, at first, a little bit disappointing, I'm not gonna lie. Hiccup's snarkiness is sort of one of his defining features in a lot of ways, and since there was less of it, I was like, "oh, that's sad", you know? Even knowing that a lot of it was just Jay Baruchel improvising, so it's not like Mason Thames could have done it, 'cause it was somebody else's improv. Like, he got to keep in the "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile" line, 'cause he suggested it, but like the "Excuse me, barmaid, I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring!!!" and all of that stuff, I'm pretty sure that was Jay improvising, so Mason didn't do it in this movie.

But, as I watched, even if it wasn't exactly the same Hiccup that I remembered, there was still a congruity to all of Mason's choices that made me love him just as much, and made me go "Oh, that's still Hiccup. Like, that's very Hiccup." And the point where I was like "Oh yeah, that's Hiccup! Definitely!" was sort of closer to the end. There was a confidence in the way he was speaking, and a charisma, and, you know, a sort of leaderly quality that I recognized from, honestly, not as much the first HTTYD, but from all of the later installments in the franchise, including the TV shows. And I remember the second time I watched the movie, noting a specific point, and going "Oh, wow, look at that! That's where it starts." There's a moment after Romantic Flight when Hiccup and Astrid are on Toothless, and she's like, "Oh, what are you gonna do? you have to kill [a dragon] tomorrow". And he replies something like "Well, you kind of blew our escape plan, so I'm gonna need a minute." And the way he said that, particularly the "I'm gonna need a minute" part, was so much more confident than he really said anything else up to that point (like, to another human being). There was an edge to his voice, not mean, not harsh, just firm, that hadn't been there before. And I was like "Oh, look at this confident boy, where did he come from?" And then I was like, "Oh, it's 'cause, you know, he's the one in control of the situation. He's on a dragon. And he knows that Astrid is now on his side, so he can have that confidence as he's speaking." And then, even later on, when Toothless wasn't there anymore and he was speaking to the rest of the teenagers [the scene as they're all about to head into the arena grab the dragons so they can go save help the adults], the confidence was back, the leaderly quality was back, all of that nonsense. And I was like, "Oh, it's because Astrid's on his side still, so he can carry the confidence off of the dragon." And I remember thinking that that's really weird and interesting. That's what makes this Hiccup different, in this movie, is that you actually see his confidence grow over the course of the movie, whereas animated Hiccup, he's confident [or at least visibly projecting an air of confidence, but I still think that more of it is true than just a projection] right from the beginning. And then I watched an interview with Mason Thames, who plays Hiccup (and Nico Parker who plays Astrid). And they were talking about differences between Jay Baruchel's performance and Mason's, and Mason says this:

"Me and Dean had a lot of time to talk about new things we wanted to explore, like a darker side of Hiccup, and sadder, lonelier side. Because, his whole village despises him. His father is not proud of him. And, you know, the amount of stress, and, kind of, what that would do to a kid, you know?"

And that made something click in my brain. The sadder, lonelier side is definitely visible in the way that Mason plays everything. And it makes sense. This Hiccup is a lot more...beaten down, I suppose, by the circumstances of his existence pre-Toothless. And so, then, watching that journey of him going from being very, very not confident, watching the confidence grow as he goes along in the movie, makes sense, because of how different he is in the beginning. There are other examples that I really, really like in terms of the acting choices that Mason made and other actors made that show it even more, that lonelier, sadder side of Hiccup. You might think, well, how does that even work? It's almost exactly the same script. How do they do that?

Hiccup is less snarky. That's just how it is. He's less snarky when he responds to people; he's less snarky with Gobber, which is very interesting. In the animated movie, Gobber snarks at Hiccup, Hiccup snarks right back. In live-action, Gobber's actually a lot more...gentle with him. He is, like, visibly saddened by a lot of Hiccup's behavioral responses to things. There's the part where Hiccup says "I just wanna be one of you guys" and then goes inside his house, leaving Gobber outside. And after Hiccup's closed the door, Gobber just says, very quietly and sadly to himself, "I know you do". It's very much like he can tell that Hiccup is internally beating himself up for not being like everybody else. The way that Hiccup interacts with people around him is a lot less confident and a lot more like...not nervous, but there's definitely something apologetic, like a "Oh, I'm so sorry. I know I suck, believe me, I know" underpinning his words. There's a part that he has, a new scene where he's talking to Astrid, that animated Hiccup does not have, where he says something like "You're the kid [my dad] always wanted. Instead he got stuck with all this." And it's all very "Yeah, I suck", and it's all played very sincere. And that's...not really an attitude that animated Hiccup ever had? Animated Hiccup knew what he was, knew what he was capable of, and knew how he could use that to be a Viking; to do all of the things that his dad and his village wanted him to do. They just wouldn't let him. Nobody would listen to him, and because it wasn't the way things were done, he couldn't do it.

But in all of that, narratively, that's a problem with society. That's not something wrong with Hiccup, and Hiccup did not act like there was something that wrong with him, you know? [To clarify what I meant by this; there's a difference between thinking that you're a square peg in a round hole, and thinking that you're a stripped screw. One just needs a different environment to flourish, the other is ultimately useless any way you slice it]. He was like, yeah, I know I'm small, but look at all this stuff I can do. I know it's not really a Viking way to do things, but like, it can be used to do Vikingy things. I could kill a dragon with this frickin like ballista or whatever. The bolas launcher.

That's animated Hiccup, and he's very different from live-action Hiccup. And animated Hiccup, as much as I love him, does not really allow for the same sort of reflection of a very neurodivergent experience as live-action Hiccup. Not that he doesn't at all. There is certainly an element of that, as there always is in stories where it's something about somebody being othered. And I mean, you know, you've also got Stoick saying that whole bit about like "from the time he was born, he's been different", "I take him fishing and he goes hunting for trolls", "he has the attention span of a sparrow", etc. and everybody points and goes "ADHD!" and, like...valid of them, but you know. It's different, obviously, saying "Oh, this seems like a character has ADHD" and "Oh, the thing that this character experiences in this movie is very, very reflective of the autistic or ADHD experience".

The thing that made it all click and made me go, "Oohhhhhh; that's why that makes sense", is that the thing that is making Hiccup so ✨different✨ changes from animated to live-action. That was explained in an interview with Dean DeBlois, who was the director of the original animated movie and also this live action one. And he said this:

"Hiccup was designed to be a pipsqueak in his world. And so, production design-wise, in the animated film, we made everything larger than life, you know. The buildings, the trees, the people. Everything just seemed to outsize little Hiccup. But, I think as we were narrowing in on our casting of Hiccup, and we realized, like, Mason, though he's 15, is not a pipsqueak. He's an average kid at 15. That meant we didn't have to lean into, as heavily, this idea that he's a tiny, a tiny kid in an oversized world. We, we leaned more into his otherness, like, he is a misfit. He doesn't follow the Viking creed. He's not- he's just always thinking differently, and therefore is treated as somebody who is very different."

And that is what makes live-action Hiccup representation of a neurodivergent experience in the way that animated Hiccup is not, and [knowing explicitly where the director was coming from] makes it very easy to read it in a lot of Mason's acting, too. Like, animated Hiccup is different because he's small. That's not something he can change; that's just how he is, and it's really, really annoying that his society doesn't like that, but it's also not something that he has any control over. So, naturally, he responds to all of the dislike and the derision and all that stuff with like "Ugh. Come on." Like, when somebody says, "Stop being all of this", and he says, "You just gestured to all of me", he sounds annoyed about it. He's like, "Really? Like, all? There's not one part of my body- Okay, sure. Fine. Whatever." Whereas, with Mason's Hiccup, whatever is wrong with him is not something that you can see, and it's not something that he thinks he can't change. If it's something in the way that he's thinking, and something in the way that he's responding to the world around him that's different than everybody else, then, naturally, the next step would be to think, "Oh, if it's all in my brain, I can fix that. I should be able to fix that". But he can't, and so he beats himself up, and that's, I think, why Gobber treats him the way that he does. He knows that Hiccup is beating himself up, because Hiccup knows that it's something internal, that he should be able to fix, but he can't. And that's why, you know, Hiccup lacks so much confidence in the beginning of the movie where animated Hiccup doesn't, is because he thinks that there's something wrong with him. Because he doesn't think like everybody else, and that's the part that's important to all the Vikings, and that's why they deride him so, is because he doesn't think like them as opposed to him just not looking like them or being as physically capable as them. And that is so, so, so, so much what it's like to be young and neurodivergent and not diagnosed.

And it's summed up really, really well at the end right as Hiccup gets on Toothless and they are about to go up to fight the Red Death and Stoick says "I'm proud to call you my son". Animated Hiccup says "Thanks, Dad", because animated Hiccup has always known who he was and what he was capable of. He just needed someone to hear him. Live-action Hiccup says, "That's all I need". And after taking a minute, too; like he, honestly, Mason's acting, 10 out of 10; he looks like he's about to start crying for a second. He has to, like, take a second so he doesn't cry, so his voice won't crack the second he opens his mouth, and then he says "That's all I need", because live-action Hiccup really needed to know from the people around him that they are proud of him. That he's not...there's not something wrong with him on the inside that means he's never going to be enough. And that is that is the autistic and/or ADHD experience.

That is pretty much the end of the original spiel. There's other stuff I could get into to further my assertions (a variety of body types present among the live-action Vikings hammering home the idea that Hiccup's biggest differences are all internal ones, Mason delivering the line "I'm really extra sure that I won't [kill dragons]" less like Jay's declaration and more like he's admitting to a personal failing being more evidence for the way live-action Hiccup views himself differently to his animated counterpart, etc.) but it's been about a week since I last saw the live-action movie and I don't want to make points based on faulty recollection.

I do want to add, though, that I know that my experiences as a child/teen with undiagnosed ADHD are in no way universal. There are probably a lot of people who responded completely differently than I did to everything, and people whose experiences look like animated Hiccup's, and in the grand scheme of things, these are variations of the exact same character and any experiences connected to one can very likely be read in the other.

But at the same time....

There's something that live-action Hiccup has that his animated counterpart doesn't, for me. I look at live-action Hiccup - his sadness, his shame & stress, his struggles to connect, his uncertainty, his self-reproach, his need for someone to be proud of him, his slowly-growing confidence as more and more people show that they value him as he is and not as he or they feel that he should be - and there's something that I recognize. I look at him, and I see myself.

Well, myself at his age, anyway. 12 years and one diagnosis later, I'd like to think that I'm a little more confident in myself and the way that I think. Doesn't stop me from tearing up every time someone says that they're proud of me, though. :P And to have an experience that's so familiar & difficult be so visible, and in the character who was already tied for my favorite fictional character of all time to boot. It means a lot.

So yeah. That's about all I've got. If you've made it this far, congratulations on being just as weird about HTTYD as I am. I hope you liked reading this. See you around!

[jessicas-pi]

look i'm not saying that (1) the og idea in my merfolk au of sabine being an amazon and (2) the fact that i've been listening to the Wonder Woman soundtrack on the way home from work (as one does) combined in my head into a kind of crossover AU, but I am saying that in the climax of Wonder Woman (2017), Diana's closest companion who has been fighting by her side makes the choice to sacrifice himself while separated from his team in a ship in the sky taking out the most immediate threat to them all in the process and leaving behind a prized item of his with her while she is trapped on the ground and can do nothing but watch him disappear in a flash of light and yknow who else did that—

[yellllowstar]

slowly I'm recovering the beauty of discovery

(creature by half•alive)

(textless + timelapse below cut)

[owlinks]

skyjacks really got me looking up "how to animate" during exam season

[sskk-manifesto]

Next time we should just skip over ep 3 and do a chapters 84-87 reread

[hide-your-bugs-away]

*Pretends that Eric is singing directly to Alan within some of his "Eric Burdon and the Animals" songs* Boy, I sure do love being delusional!

[kianamaiart]

Growing an audience takes time and getting people to care about your characters can often take more time. I've done a bunch of OCs in the past but none of them really got traction until my IDWTBAMG OCs. I steadily grew my social media following for well over a decade. A lot of checking socialblade, looking at analytics and generally drawing/posting everyday. I have a whole doc available about this type of stuff.

There's no particular shortcut other than happening to go viral or getting really lucky. But I will say "branding" or carving out a niche for yourself over time helps. Although I've been in a number of different fandoms over the past 15 years I've been on the internet, the kind of art I do has been pretty consistent. Lots of shorter, light hearted comics or vignettes highlighting relationships (be them romantic, platonic or familial) and people started enjoying my work for my writing style more so than just what fandom I was creating for.

Finding your community, creating stuff that aligns with those communities and engaging with others is huge. A lot of my work prior to IDWTBAMG centered queer people (specifically sapphics), Black and Asian folks and stylistically is very anime/modern western cartoon inspired. It's what became known for in fandom spaces and what people were following me for. So when I finally did make IDWTBAMG, a concept with anime influences, in a western cartoon style, with two Black, sapphic leads, it just fit right into what I was already doing. Like if you grew your following from doing cute, slice of life stuff, then suddenly dropped a psychological horror comic, chances are it's not gonna grab a large part of your audience. Might bring some new folks in, but you're ultimately kinda starting over and pivoting (that's why rebrands are hard to pull off). This may not be the best example but hopefully you get what I mean. Appeal to the communities you've fostered!

I hate using corporate speak for art but if you ARE trying sell your ideas to people and get your work out there, you do kinda have to learn how to market yourself and your art to some extent. Get in the head of a marketing agent or a brand manager. What's popular right now? How can I use that to my advantage? What times should I be posting my artwork to get the most eyes on this? Who is my target audience and how do I effectively appeal to them while staying true to my own work? Stuff like that. Genuinely, studying how social media managers operate as well as just observing how businesses market their products helped me a lot. "Okay I'm making this animatic, but it won't come out for the next four months. How do I keep people interested and hyped for that amount of time leading up to the pilot's release? I'll keep doing comics here and there so people connect with the characters by the time the pilot comes out. Once I get he VAs recorded, I'll make posts to get people hyped for the casting. I'll upload snippets and behind the scenes stuff to give people a taste of what's to come. I'll release during Black History Month since this is a Black led project with Black characters. I'll have a specific upload time at peak hours to get a good amount of people watching for the premiere and to give the pilot a good running start." This was all stuff I was taking into consideration and planning for.

Then generally, I think people connect to characters more than anything. You can have a cool concept and fun world building ideas but if your execution is bad and your characters aren't compelling, what's the point, y'know? IDWTBAMG isn't a particularly novel concept imo, but I think its strengths lie in the characters and how they interact. The concept is just a tool to give the character dynamics and relationships legs to stand on. So few of the comics I've done with these guys have to do with their lore, it's just small interactions of the girls in class, at a convenience store or just talking to each other in a void. Even though it's simple, that's often the kind of thing people connect with.

Then there's just the technical aspect of having appealing drawing! Getting better at your craft, if nothing else, is good for catching eyes and helping with your execution of your project. While it's not always necessary, I think it helps a lot. I know there's a lot of people who follow me just because they personally like my art style and character design.

Not sure how helpful this actually is LOL. It really does just kinda take time. We all have to start somewhere. I was a "small artist" too at one point. It was years of trial and error, mental breakdowns, finding my own artistic voice and posting artwork almost daily for like 5 years straight. I do think that's why IDWTBAMG ended up being so special to me. It really does feel like a culmination of everything I've learned and all that hard work up to this point and people can kinda feel that.

[erinaeris]

Laios Touden and the Responsibility of Power

First off, let me gush just a bit about how fucking STRONK this man is. Olympic weightlifters are dying of sheer envy and lust over this man. He is a FUCKING POWERHOUSE.

My favorite panels ever, and judging by the cropping of the second photo, Tumblr agrees.

AHEM, where was I?

Ah yes. He's not just strong and incredibly hot, my man is literally an invasive species in this dungeon. He knows every single weak spot of every monster Thistle tried to throw at him and when he finds it he just fucking RAMS HIMSELF AT THEM AND TAKES THEM DOWN.

And when he's a dwarf HE LITERALLY BENDS STEEL.

"Beat Namari at arm wrestling"? My boy, she wouldn't let you anywhere near because you'd FUCKING BREAK HER HER HAND ALONG WITH THE TABLE. (It's such a fucking shame we didn't see Senshi at least raising an (perfectly plucked except it just grows that way naturally) eyebrow in the background when he sees this. Alas, he was too distracted by his hair.)

But I mentioned responsibility, didn't I? Strength is power in the dungeon, and we all knows what comes with great power. And Laios is, in fact, very responsible with that power!

(Futther examples under the cut, wee bit spoilers for anime watchers)

This scene lives rent-free in my head forever, because of two things: Thistle suddenly realizing just what the hell he's up against,

And Laios breaking Thistle's arm.

Now, I think Laios didn't mean to actually break his arm here, he's just half-blind and dizzy and knows he has to restrain Thistle or it will all go to shit. So that's what he does. The move you see above is a restraining hold. The point is that the person pinned down can't struggle much because the position of the arm presses the suprascapular nerve, so it hurts a lot, but unless they're held that way for too long they'll be fine.

But Thistle is TINY and elves are generally fine-boned. I think Laios really did just underestimate his strength.

And the moment the dragons aren't an IMMEDIATE THREAT anymore?

Laios heals him. Thistle's a better mage than him by miles, he could have done it himself. But no. Laios does it. He was too rough, too careless with his strength, and he immediately backtracked, fixed what he broke, and continued with more mindfullness.

And these are just the examples that stuck in my mind the most. And it happens often enough that the team isn't even fucking surprised! Laios' strength would 100% scare people who only saw him in a barfight and didn't know anything else about him. Hell, the other adventurers they meet fucking quiver before this guy who just took down a monster they had nightmares about in one blow, up until he opens his mouth and they relax. You put more malevolent software in that sort of hardware and he'd be the next Shadow Governor.

But Laios is Laios. He's a gentle soul at heart (a Great Pyrenese, specifically, the gentlest souls ever unless you're out for their flock) and he is VERY CAREFUL with his strength, ESPECIALLY around his team. Chilchuck, who is literally half his size and underfed to boot, can smack Laios as much as he wants with ZERO fear because Laios is aware he can hurt Chilchuck by literally tripping over him, so he just stays still and lets Chilchuck smack at him. I'd be surprised if he ever managed to leave a bruise. Chilchuck has to aim at Laios' weak spot (back of the knee here) just to get Laios to notice him!

But because I have some experience with marital arts and close combat, I think the fight with Shuro exemplifies my point so fucking well! Laios is HURT here, he's living every autistic person's worst nightmare.

And he HOLDS BACK. His restraint is fucking IMMACULATE.

Shuro is fucking lucky Laios still liked him when he started talking shit, because he would have broken his spine otherwise. Laios doesn't even take the fight seriously! He starts with a fucking SLAP.

Shuro retaliates with an actual punch (that does nothing but piss him off)

Laios wobbles. Shuro HITS THE DIRT.

And this is the part where he realizes just how outside his weight category he is. Shuro definitely has technique on his side, but that means jackshit when you need ten blows to to even bruise your opponent, but one hit from them will leave you drinking through a straw for a week. For a second there, Shuro thought he was in ACTUAL DANGER.

But instead of finishing the job, Laios tries to talk him down, which just sets him off again. Man was at his fucking LIMIT, and it snapped. Self-preservation who?

And the best part is? Shuro is throwing all his strength behind his punches and Laios just takes them, but Laios? He mostly pushed Shuro around!

They're mostly grappling here, precisely because Laios is very conscious his friend is pretty fragile right now.

And when he does have enough?

Shuro is flat on the ground again, and Laios has a black eye and a bloody nose. He sits down and five minutes later he's ready to go! Like yes, Shuro was at a low point here, but he's been mowing through monsters at only a bit slower pace than Laios' party. He's no weakling regardless. And Laios had to HOLD BACK SO HE WOULDN'T HURT HIM. And it's so obvious that Maizuru takes one look at the two of them and leaves them to their toussling.

When I saw her reaction I had to scroll back and take another look, because I was sure she would intervene! But she doesn't! She is aware of Laios' strength, she has to be, and she doesn't lift a finger to help her precious charge. She knows the big dog he's wrestling with knows to watch his strength.

And that's my whole point: my boi is STRONK AF! And he is very aware of his strength, and how he could hurt the people around him is he wasn't careful, so he is ALWAYS CAREFUL. He has deeply internalized the fact that to have strength is to be careful with it, to use it in service of people rather than to hurt them (possibly from his dad). He is going to SUCH a good king! He's not going to like the job but by GOD he will do it really well.

And I will give my right arm to see a fic about the first corrupt lord/governor/courtier who attempts to misuse their authority for their own gain. Kabru's gonna have to talk Laios out of an execution.

[rainyfey]

I loved your momokarun fic art! Do you have any other fic recommendations?

Hello anon!! Sorry to make you wait so long and thank you for the ask!! 💖 I have read several fics that I really, really loved and want to draw fanart for :3 but time and inspiration were not on my side until now!

Here is some Fanart of Chapter 3 of Mitsu Boshi! I will never get tired of fanfics where we get a whole scene of Okarun infodumping about aliens and conspiracies to a Momo who has just met him and is quickly becoming convinced that he's crazy XD

I ramble and recommend another fic under the cut as well:

The one living rent free in my head right now is Mitsu Boshi, which I recommended recently in this reblog. Friendly to Anime-Onlys at the moment due to it being an AU and not set in a specific place in canon :3 it's soooosososo well done and an absolute joy to read (and reread lol). Def give it a look if you have time! Also listen to the spotify playlist the author linked in Ch.6 (I've had it on on repeat while I draw, it's awesome and every song is such a great fit for the fic!!)

Another very fun one that I am determined to draw for in the future (for one of the action-oriented scenes that is verrryyy beyond my current skillset so it's taking...time lol) is Chapter One of a fic called "Momo Ayase vs the World" by GoodEveningClarice and is a part of a series called "What's inside Turbo Okarun's Mouth?" (Can y'all guess why it caught my attention?? LOL) Chapter 1 is very cool and feels like a chapter right out of the Manga!! Chapter 2 is more fluffy and just as fun to read 💕 Be warned, though, it's written at a point in canon not covered by the anime. So i suggest catching up on the manga first to avoid spoilers and to get some context for what's going on~

Thank you again, I'm so honored you guys are enjoying the art I post and sending me asks 💖 it's been so much fun getting to love on the DanDaDan series with all the other fans here!!

[permanentmess]

bob reynolds headcanons (including romantic x reader !)

GIF NOT MINE

a/n: i have completely let this hyperfixation consume me to the point where i quite literally think of bob or the thunderbolts most of the day. it's debilitating, but that means you will get some very passionate fics from me (literally have been in the middle of writing one thats why this took so long)

this is written with a female reader in mind, although could be easily read as otherwise :)

also let me address a common worry: absolutely NONE of this is meant to infantilize or baby this character in any way. anything i wrote was with a lot of consideration and i was using my logical thought processes to develop these. i recognize that this is a major issue already and i am not attempting to contribute to it

warnings: mentions of sex/sex life and activities so MINORS DNI 18+ ONLY, mental illness (obviously), food/lack of eating, SPOILERS FOR THE THUNDERBOLTS* FILM INCLUDING POST CREDIT SCENE

like i said in the thunderbolts one, its practically canon/accepted fanon that bob loves to read

i also feel like he might just...forget to eat (this basically comes from the bag of food and full shake he had in the post credit scene too lmao)

is trying to learn to cook but can really only cook like mac and cheese or scrambled eggs

but since he has a lot more free time, i can imagine after a bit he'd get pretty good at it (can you imagine ben grimm teaching him how to cook oml)

relationship wise, i think he's not exactly inexperienced, but he doesn't really remember anything

it says in his file his drug addiction and juvenile record started in middle school

so any romantic relationship or anything in that realm is just like...not familiar to him at all. or he just simply doesn't remember, like i said

i feel like he really likes physical touch but due to his past + the void, he's just a bit scared to touch anyone at first

but once he trusts himself and others more its easier (like towards the end of the movie/with yelena)

i think he likes the comfort of the baggy clothes that cover most of him, and thats why he wears them even though he "runs hot" (totally not projecting here) ((also its like teenagers w their hoodies -- weighted blanket style))

something tells me he likes arcades, specifically claw machines. idk why

also stuffed animals. yelena and ava definitely bought him one of those weighted ones

he seems like he would want to sleep with a nightlight at least, if not one of those aurora borealis light thingys (i have one 10/10 very calming)

i know everyone writes him as stuttering a lot, but i think he really only does it when he's anxious (i think im an expert, ive seen this movie 5 times don't come for me 🤚🏼)

like he can get really confident, especially on his better days

other than reading, i feel like he'd get into drawing or photography. something creative that can distract him but provide an outlet

(also this is actually canon but) he does the chores and dishes because he wants to feel like he's contributing to the team since he can't control his powers :(

this is maybe me projecting a little, but i feel like he ends up finding a lot of solace in nature. he went to malaysia to try and figure stuff out, so i have no doubts that he likes to get out of the city

more x reader based [romantic, some could be platonic]:

he loves his hair being played with. like you want him to pass out easy? let him stick his head in your lap, run your hands through it, massage his scalp. he'll be OUT in like 5 minutes

washing his hair? oh my god he is literally in heaven

your relationship is very slow but honestly both of you are okay with that

you two are also that couple that doesn't argue. you may disagree or want to talk to each other about stuff, but you never raise your voices [think: holt and kevin in B99 "arguing"]

he kinda does seem like the jealous type to me, but not in the toxic way. he'll just squeeze your hand extra tight or do that behind hug where he puts his head on yours or your shoulder and you immediately know

(its very hot when he gets possessive)

other than physical touch, i think he's an acts of service man. anything he can do to share his love, he wants to. and he likes little things you do for him

when i think of being with bob i just think of that quiet relationship where you're really in sync, soft mornings with the sun streaming in through the window, cute candid photos on each others phones

but i could also see one with like a slightly more talkative/expressive reader who really brings out bob's confidence. i don't doubt that he loves to yap too (some/most days at least)

he will try to cook for you but it might not turn out well (he's banned from the kitchen one week for burning water. he got distracted cause you were so pretty)

on a bit more of the sexual side, i feel like he has a praise kink. like he likes being told how he's doing, if he's treating you well, etc.

i feel like your guys' sex life starts really slow. just kissing, then moving up, until one day something in you both just kinda snaps and you can't keep your hands off each other

and maybe when its like very passionate or maybe he's a bit jealous that day, sentry comes out a little 🤭

despite being a god, sentry will straight worship you, idc, its canon

not that bob wouldn't

but sentry does on another level

at the end of the day, bob wants what you want, and you want what he wants, so it all works out well

bob is the type to have a note on his notes app of just your favorite things (all your typical orders, favorite books/movies/music, etc.). like its not that he doesn't remember (he has it memorized) but you know just in case Void takes a lot more of his memory

he'll bring a jacket with just in case you forget, he'll open doors for you, pull out your chair, he just gives off pure sweetheart and gentleman energy (not in the infantilization way)

just imagine a really peaceful relationship all around with such a genuine, sweet guy (i need him so bad)

as with the thunderbolts one, let me know about your own! kinda short but i hope they are enjoyable

[parisoonic]

How the hell do you manage to superimpose the hilariously exagerated proportions of the tf2 mercs into a cohesive 2d style? I always struggle SO much with like, the way the mercs' models have huge hands, the way they have relatively low-poly definition on things like arms, shoulders, and legs... and Especially the way like, the models are kinda janky when you pose them for art purposes- when using movement tools, things like armpits and seams between body parts get all deformed... Which makes the study of form and silhouette rather difficult.

I assume that a lot of your ability to translate the concept of the mercs from their original mediums into your own works of art comes to you quite naturally- through experience you have with drawing and art style stuff, as well as through intuition. I was simply wondering if I could poke at your mind and get some insight into your process, any thoughts you have about the proportions and silhouettes of the mercs, any quirks you've found while drawing the mercs, or simply what you enjoy drawing about them. Like, don't be afraid to infodump about something just because you think people wouldn't find it interesting- I am here, I am sitting, and I am listening- if you so choose to speak.

I am utterly fascinated and enraptured by the more behind-the-scenes aspect of art. The mundane things that come second nature to great artists yet seem so revolutionary to less experienced artists.

I love your work, I look forward to seeing more of it, and I hope you have a nice day :]

Sorry for the late reply! I've been a little…stuck on how to answer this but that's mainly because to me, drawing is composed of SO many different little skills - you have form, anatomy, shape language, silhouette, appeal, rhythm, acting and posing…not to mention everything AFTER your raw draughtmanship like line style, rendering and colour theory. Trying to distill a multiude of small skills into some pithy advice is overwhelming to my brain. So I'll take the invitation to ramble instead :))

I don't think I have any new or revolutionary insight into the tf2 guys specifically - more I'm using them as work horses to excercise general silhouette/posing/shape-language and further my skills when it comes to drawing characters!

I do agree though the proportions are rather silly when you stop and think about them realistically…they can be kinda tricky if you follow their 'actual' proportions. what looks great individually was maybe never meant to be directly compared (ie: Heavy's hand size against Spy's lol). It would've been funny if the TV show exsisted and we had more content to review…would the animators have had rules like Spy and Heavy can never shake hands? Would they cheated the proportions for shots? Or would they have said WHATVER it's gonna look weird and embraced it? (Like Kingpin in Spiderverse lol)

Paul Lasaine for 'Into the Spiderverse' This is AWESOME. But it's also one of the silliest designs I've ever seen comitted to screen. The varied scales of the characters work because of the unifying treatment (lighting, rendering, consistant hand anatomy, consistant clothing fold treatment etc) and because they are sort of proportional within themselves. A common mantra is that hands should be about as large as a characters face....which they all are here!

Human brains are very flexible and forgiving though. It's totally fine for you to put a character with huge hands and head next to a teeny tiny character! Vanellope and Ralph from Wreck-It Ralph look grand next to each other! And in that film you even have varying levels of stylisation sitting against each other (unified by the look dev treatment of the shaders and lighting). I think as long as the chracter is proportional within themselves it sort of works out. IE: a general rule is that a hand should be as large as the face so…you can have some large arse hands as long as their placed on a body with a big arse head. Unifying characters with the same treatment (ie: lineart brush, colouring style will also help them look cohesive next to each other :) )

I don't actually reference the 3D models/animations very much at all and instead draw their proportions based on my tastes for stylisation following their general vibes/silhouette profiles. I don't stick THAT close to their in-game looks and there are artists who do that are so so so much better than me (Creedei and Flapjack come to mind). I'm not amazing at body-type differentation and TBH they're all wearing chunky clothes all the time so I usually draw the guys as one-of-three body shapes: Heavy is the uniquely wide guy; Sniper/Scout/Spy are all tall and slim and Demo/Soldier/Medic/Engie have a little more of the generic 'hero' bodytype with varying tallness and broadness of the shoulders

Something like this! You can vary all these individual elements in terms of size, thickness, taper amount etc to create different characters. If you ARE going to reference the 3d works though you'll need to apply some anatomy knowledge to overcome the weird shoulders, armpits and knees which desperately need blendshapes to correct the 3D volumes and approach it a little more like an animation supervisor. There's a reason why you see in making-ofs and art-ofs character designers, character leads or animation supes doing drawovers of the models. These are character models that have had great effort put into their 'base' silhouette but it still needs to be reinforced in every frame for maximum appeal.

Shiyoon Kim for 'Raya' This sort of thing will occur at multiple stages during the animation process. Shiyoon Kim's notes are post final model but pre-animation. Most likely for internal rig tests, exploring what blend shapes and alt shapes are needed for the rigs etc. If your production has time, this will continue all the way to final anim. IF! But it's interesting to see how he emphasises the shapes and enhances the character acting of the 3d model.

As for 'mundane things' - I wouldn't say they're second nature! (If that makes you feel better!) I have to actively really persue certain advice and try to figure out how to best apply it. This can sometimes involve redrawing and redrawing an element of the drawing until I've grasped the nettle of whatever I'm after or…..until I get frustrated and either delete the drawing or just call it done lol

Here, I'm looking for a really specific flow of the head that sells both the acting and a subtle head tilt. I'm also trying to apply the general mantra regarding faces that converging lines (set by the eyebrows and mouth) are more appealing than parallel. It's tough! I also tend to use a drawing I've already done as a template/reference on the page too. Oh! This page is an amazing example of why I'm not an animator or storyboarder…consistancy? Who is she? 💅

Converging lines (that form tapered shapes) are always more appealing than parallel. Using this logic you can loft the facial features across converging lines to create dynamic appealing espressions. Combining this with anatomy, perspective and rotation is the tough part though. I'm still learning o7

The things I probably think about MOST are always flats vs curves, simple vs complex and general line of action/flow...and then eliminting tangents. Each of these can be a dedicated visual-essay on their own - hence my stumbling as to answer your question. Anyhow, not sure if it's ever come up on this blog but I looove dinosaurs :)) so i'm using a wee piece to demostrate these ideas! (but also to demostrate these concepts apply to everything from humans characters to animals, props and background design)

Okay, I'm getting self-aware that this is getting really long :') I have a wee tutorial tag for my blog if anyone wants to comb through my garbled art-thoughts. Learning, studying, repetition and practice will always be the greatest teachers! I'm glad you like my art- thank you so much for the lovely comments - I feel like such a noob still and not qualified to give people advice but we're in it together learning! High-five! 🙌

[random-cockroach]

I am a calm person, I am very collected, this blog will be only transformers content, no self expression, no screaming and laughing because I am a normal fully capable of being calm person and I can keep up with dialogues and discuss plots, events, characters and facts from transformers franchise all while not using caps and not scream to not burn out because I probably beat on people's nerves with my sh*t I AM ABOUT TO EXPLODE, IMAGINE HELL TO YOUR DOORSTEP FULLY ANIMATED, CAN YOU SEE HOW MANY EXPLODED HEADS THERE WILL BE FROM EPICNESS AND DYNAMICNESS OF THE FLY UP TO AND CLOSE UP TO THE SKY OOOOH IMAGINE A TEARSHREDDING ANIMATION WITH SENATOR SHOCKWAVE THAT SHOWS HIS SOUL SHATTERING WITH EVERY FLASHBACK CONNECTING TO HIS PRESENT EPIC SHOTS OF JAZZ IN THE FIGHTS FROM MOMU WITH HIS DEVIL JUMPS THE BATTLE SCENE WITH A LOT OF CHARACTERS IN IT WHERE EVERY ONE OF THEM IS WITH THEIR SPECIFIC POWER LET'S SAY LIKE BLURR'S SPEED JAZZ' SOUND BURSTS SOUNDWAVE'S CRAZY KIDS SKYWARP AND SO ON HOW STUPID IT WILL BE TO JUST ANIMATE A CAR INSTEAD OF ROOT FORM FOR A CHASING SCENE BUT OH I FORGOT IT WILL TAKE FOREVER ANY SWEET MOMENT OF "KNOCKED OUT" WITH KNOCKOUT AND BREAKDOWN WOULD HAVE BEEN SO FLUSTERING FOR HUMANKIND SIDESWIPE AND SUNSTREACKER DUO CRAZY COMBINATIONS WHILE POOR BLUESTREAK TRIES TO KEEP UP IN MECHA HOW TO MAKE THEIR DESIGNS MORE BEARABLE AND MORE EXPRESSIVE FOR THE ANIMATION PURPOSES SO THAT LINES OF MOTIONS WOULD LOOK OKAY WHY I SACK AT SIMPLIFICATION PEOPLE WHO ANIMATE ROBOTS ARE BEAAASSTTTTSSSS I LOVE YOU ALL

[humanradiojmp]

First impressions with The Gaslight District trailer

Really enjoy how the animation is done. Almost seems like some of it was done maybe on twos instead of ones (24 fps is average and considered animating on ones, so twos would be half at 12 fps) giving it a slightly choppier feel in some instances. Could be wrong on that part, but do know going back that there’s moments where the point of impact is delayed to give an extra punch to whatever is happening. With the editing, gives an impression those are some serious moments.

Stylization very unique and different than the previous two shows. I remember in GlitchX 2023 it was mentioned they were pushing themselves with the stylization and their attempts at getting it right, and it shows. It almost makes me think of a video game with how the graphics are, and I mean that in a good way. Lots of clean but dramatic lighting and solid models for the characters. some of the camera angles also gives this idea, like when it pans from the side to the front of the house (shop?) makes me think the beginning of a cut scene. Plus, some of the details on skin and hair make me think of almost cell shading for comics where there’s a slight line to indicate muscle or hair strands.

Speaking of that particular moment, I’m almost getting earlier 3D animation, like from the 90s-2000s, specifically Monster House. Something about it gives me that same vibe. Also kind of resembles Claymation with the texturing and such, but clearly computer animated.

Honestly just going over the trailer a few times the animation is soooo good. the studio really is getting better and better every episode of their series. Like thinking how Murder Drones started verses how it ended in graphics alone shows how they improved. There’s even signs of better quality between episode one and four of Digital Circus. and it just looks so professional. Big round of applause for everyone who works there/for them for their efforts.

Both from the synopsis of the video and a few things in the video itself indicates the series is going to be quite a doozy. Undead gangsters in a (potentially) gothic punk environment. Whole bunch of conflict from that alone I’m sure, plus what’s going on with our main lead (trying making out her name but just can’t quite get it; if someone could tell me what it is, that’d be great). The main character seems to be loyal to the family she’s part of, but also curious as to where she came from. One scene shows a part of a conspiracy string board with a photo of her and what I’m assuming is her father figure, a torn paper reading “where do I come from?” and a newspaper clipping about humans and how they’re tied to a prophecy involving the destruction of the Gaslight District. Probably suspects she’s not actually undead, or was a human that was killed and revived but with her memories fuzzy at best (We got quite a few characters with memory problems in the Glitch verse. First Tari in Meta Runners, then N in Murder Drones, Pomni and the rest of the humans in Digital Circus and now our main girl here. Is having some form of amnesia a required trope for Glitch? /j)

I swear I know the voice of the main girl, but I can’t put my finger on it. Big butcher bug looking guy kind of sounds like Pete from all the Mickey Mouse stuff (grew up watching a lot of Disney stuff don’t come at me for the first idea I got) but a lot more gravely.

I feel like I’m going to say this a lot, but very unique designs for the cast. With things like animation what makes them stand out from one another is the designs of the cast and world as a whole. There’s some gangly boney like characters in the background and then the main cast. There’s the bug butcher that also almost makes me think of the Kraang from TMNT 2K12, a guy with a loaf of bread for a head, skin degrading skeleton guy, and our main girl that looks mostly mummified if the wrappings around her body are any indication. Not to mention that giant thing with the eye both in the thumbnail and family photo. I feel like @endomentendo is really going to get a kick out of the designs here because a lot of reminds me of their art, at least with some of their OCs. I want to push my capabilities of drawing characters that aren’t quite perfectly human so I might try my hand at drawing one of these guys for practice. (anyone else notice one guy eating cars that has a head that I think is supposed to be a luggage bag but looks a lot like Caine?)

Intrigued by the soundtrack. Like the hollow-ish bell sounds in the first half and then the more hopeful, light track of the second half that’s paired with the violence. Bright happy music with sad or violent things has got to be one of my favorite tropes. And sound design in general is really good. with the whispers and the different sound effects like the gun shots and punches and drowning, all well done.

Overall, a testament to the team’s work and skill, and showing another example of someone’s creativity being highlighted in a way they may not have had the chance before. I vaguely remember how Part Time Seagull (the creator of The Gaslight District) was working/planning to make this a series, but 2D and had some concept art, which is how he was found by Glitch. It really is great that the studio is trying to help people have their dreams realized and helping others showcase their works and ideas (thinking how GlitchX 2024 was more of a showcase of others’ works then their own). Truly a powerhouse of indie animation.

Watch the trailer here:

[yakichoufd]

Is it weird that I don't feel excited for the Deadpool and Wolverine movie?

I feel like X-Men 97 already scratched that X-Men itch and obsession in my head. Plus I feel satisfied with artists like you making Wolverine polycule fanart and fancomics.

Is something wrong with my head???

I think your feelings are valid cause you don't need to watch something else if you already feel satisfied. I am hype for that movie because I enjoyed the first two Deadpool movies. I am not expecting to fall in love of Logan there, or the other x-men we might see. I am expecting to watch a ridiculous movie with silly jokes and funny action scenes. I am hoping Scott will have a cameo but I think it won't happen. I've never been a super fan of Logan movies. He is fun and interesting (plus the actor is very handsome so my eyes are always happy when he is on screen), but his big lone wolf energy was a bit too much for me. Maybe he is too handsome and awesome and in the animated serie, he is a grumpy short king who has a lot to say and his lone wolf personnality seems more understandable to me. I really enjoy how unhinged he is in the 92 show and how he was in 97. It satisfies me a lot. I think you can take whatever please you in any adaptation and play around that. You don't need to enjoy every new adaptation from a franchise you like. There are some X-men comics where I find Scott really boring and not interesting at all. I enjoy very specifics things about him and therefore it makes me very picky about how he is portrayed. I still think I am a fan. I am a picky fan, but a fan regardless. Even if I mostly know the animated shows. I am tired of that childish fight "Oh I am a better fan cause I read the comics!" it is not a competition lmao! Enjoy whatever you want!! I personnaly read the comics cause I want more Scott content. That's my personnal reason. I want to know everything about him haha! I think we are many to be tired of the Jean/Scott/Logan drama ( where they are rivals instead of lovers) cause that rivality, usually, has a layer of misogyny and sexism. Jean is the prize and the 2 males love interests can't think straight and have to claim her. As if Jean has no choice but to accept the one who fight the hardest. I'm sorry but that is really stupid, and not how feelings work imo. That kind of relationship is based on something so weak, it will break at the first issue they would meet . I personnaly find that kind of writting insulting for every character involved, and it breaks the sincerity and depth of the romance. It removes all kind of feelings, character development and personnalities. It makes them so immature too. The polycule road on the other hand shows they could build something different. They could break the rules and be free to make their own. And as mutants, they don't care about humans society stupid rules. The can write what works for them and gain maturity over their relationship and sexuality. I am not saying every couples have to become a polycule to be mature. But for Scott, Jean and Logan it seems like a better fit for them. They can still act silly and fight over randoms things, but removing that very unhealthy incomplete love triangle and make it an actual love triangle, where each individual have romantic feelings for each other is better for them imo.

[polar534]

Was anyone going to tell me that Rook and Neve mirror each other's phrases depending on who you choose to dismantle the ward? Or was I just supposed to find that out myself after my 2nd full playthrough?!

First of all, I'm ill. Thank you writers. You deserve so much better than you get. To make up for that, I'm going to gush about the writing and more importantly the performance of the actors I got to experience said writing through. I think this post I want to specifically focus on Rook, since so many people have taken apart the Category 5 event that is Neve's full romance plot. But trust me, at the end of this analysis I plan on touching on something I haven't yet seen from the Neve romance takes. And if it is out there, it's not getting nearly the attention it deserves.

I think it's absolutely fascinating the character development that happens for Rook specifically if you choose Neve and subsequently she gets blighted. Despite all the personality choices you can make in regards to the romantic scenes. (Shout out to the Stoic option breaking my heart every time during the Eclipse scene.) One thing Rook is for Neve, always, is there. Rook makes sure to let Neve know, out loud and through their actions, that they are there. They'll always try to be there, even when they might not be fast enough, when the tables turn or when gods break promises. Now I'm not sure about the other VA's performance because I've just been running through this romance as one character, but Bryony Corrigan does an absolutely phenomenal job of breaking my heart in the aftermath of Tearstone Island. Through her performance you can really begin to see the flipside of this coin. The other reflection in the mirror.

If any companion speaks to you about Neve, Bryony does a fantastic job of letting the emotion come through her small lines just enough that it sounds like Rook is really on the edge of tears. Ask Rook about their plans, or what they have to do next? Fine. Can handle that. She will get the job done. But ask her about Neve? Reassure her that they'll find her? Suddenly Rook is the smallest person in the world. Her voice cracks, she's hardly even able to thank Davrin or Bellara for their support because she is actively choking back what sounds like tears.

Don't even get me started on the animation rigging for Rook when you DO find Neve and she reveals just what happened while Rook wasn't there.

Look at that devastation! I can tell they turned up the rigging specifically to make sure that no matter what your Rook looks like, you will KNOW just how broken they must feel in that moment. (Regret Prison could never.) Rook wasn't there and Neve had someone in her head. Someone who used her to break her own city.

(Important note that this animation will NOT play for just a normal companion rescue. Rook is only going to be this devastated when it's someone they love. In a normal run you'll get more of relieved and happy grin rather than whatever pathetic, wet beast looking thing this is.)

Moving forward, the very next time you can choose the 'Romantic' option, Rook will reflect in some way that they 'lost' Neve. That is not something you can change. You, as a player, CANNOT change the fact that a romantically involved Rook will see the time spent apart as an overwhelming loss. They lost Neve. Once you do click the 'Romantic' option however, the dialogue will change to some variation of 'found'. Which reflects exactly what Rook has dedicated themselves to proving to Neve. That they will be there. That they will always try.

That spoken dialogue doesn't stop the choices from showing what Rook is really feeling however. In their mind, they lost her. Neve is desperate to remind Rook that they can't even consider her being there as a win. Not while they still have so much left to do. And yet? It doesn't stop Rook from believing it anyways. That is the win in their eyes, no matter what comes next.

The only thing that can come close to getting that final win now is killing Elgar'nan, and I'm feral for the fact that Rook's view of killing the last blighted god can, canonically, become revenge for what he did to Neve. (On top of saving the world of course)

You'll get further 'lost and found' references in the dialogue after. Again, I feel like it's really important to see that it is Rook saying all of this. It has nothing to do with your choices beforehand. If you choose the romantic option, this is what Rook is truly feeling. It becomes canon to whatever kind of Rook you're playing. They wouldn't know what to do if they hadn't found Neve.

(Bryony Corrigan you have me on the floor with this entire sequence. From the line above to: "Every moment." To "I'm right here. I promise." It knocks me to the floor. Every time. Insanely heart-wrenching delivery.)

Lastly in the post credit scene of the Blighted Neve storyline, 2 of your 3 options can include one final instance of the 'lost and found' wording that is so prevalently a theme for Rook in this version of events.

(Fun fact, the non-blighted version of the same scene will of course, also throw a nod to the theme of 'lost and found'. "Finding you was a lost cause.", As well as an option to tap into Rook's own feelings in regards to that theme: "That place, I was so lost...")

So why is this so interesting to me? Why does the mirrored dialogue from the very moment that scene starts mean so much to me? It's pretty simple.

In Neve's experience, lost things don't just come back. I think it's absolutely fascinating that her storyline, romance or not, has a nebulous theme around the idea that lost things don't just come back. In Neve's experience, once something goes missing, it's gone. The city will move on without a spare thought. That's why she tries to be the difference. To be the one that finds things. If you're hunting for people who are taken she will always make sure to slip in a line about the fact that even if you're too late, she intends to find them anyways. She will provide closure, a follow-up to whoever might need it. It's about the small temporary wins. It's the cynic with a heart of gold that's so deeply imbedded in her character.

You're supposed to play as the one that helps slowly change that idea. Rook is meant to be the exception to the rule Neve has held tight in an attempt at survival for so long. (Along with all of the other companions of course.) Rook is the 'found' part of lost and found. They're going to find a way through any situation. Whatever it takes.

So yeah, when Neve comes in to Rook's room during the non-blighted storyline, of course she's completely shaken by the fact that Rook is actually there. That they came back. That they found a way to come back. 

But on the flipside, what you can discover through the writing and through the incredible work by the VA, is the fact that without Neve? Rook can also become lost. The fact that the other came back at all means the world to them BOTH. The fact that they will mirror each other's thoughts, the very idea of coming back at all being a parallel to being lost and found, it's a payoff to something that gets set up at the very start of the game.

When they needed to find someone, Varric went to the best damn detective he had ever met. Neve Gallus, the local expert, the one person in Minrathous that people turn to when things or people go missing. In the same breath he'll introduce Rook as their expert on trouble. The very same kind of trouble that Neve knows to avoid and yet always finds her anyways.

Because lost things are always meant to be found. And Trouble isn't always a bad thing.