#100 days of sketching 2023

[agentsketchy]

Day 8: Another character for the Dayfall story! This is Axio and they’re some sort of messenger/bird god who is deeply in love with the goddess of death. They love their wife okay!💚

Axio belongs to my good friend @collapsingintojupiter

[fridgefeet]

the msa trio go to a halloween party! 🎃

[acekindaneat]

serizawa week day 1 - New/Observation

wawa week prompts by @marrymeserizawa !!

bonus domestic serirei folding clothes bc i think reigen would make serizawa watch horror movies he'd never seen before or just watch new movies together like that :]

[kinda-daily-warriorcat]

[elijones94]

🐾🐆 I’m still filling this sketchbook with Bagheera and Pumbaa drawings. There are also two rough sketches of Kerchak from “Tarzan” and Colonel Hathi from “Jungle Book”. I’ve been thinking that maybe I’ll include Young Tarzan amongst the animal characters. 🐗🌴

[shirecorn]

Your reindeer designs give me such childish joy I can't wait to see the rest. What's your process (aka any advice) for designing from scratch with something like just a name or concept?

Redbubble (buy reindeer swag) || Patreon (see all early!) || Ko-fi

See more free tutorials!

You can see my process unfold in real time by joining any tier of my patreon discord. Which doesn't even have to go through patreon! If you want, you can just pay me $20 and let you in for a year (and then lose track and probably keep you anyway)

Here's a preview using comet! (nevermind the preview thing I wrote you a whole lecture lol)

initial sketches in 2021:

Revisited in 2022 and 2023

I was constantly asking which design was the weakest, why, and how to fix it. Whenever I tested without the magical comet behind it, people could only guess who comet was by process of elimination.

I didn't want to rely on throwing icons into the design. I wanted each one to communicate through shape and silhouette alone. It would be like drawing a little cherub with a bow and arrow floating along with cupid. If you have to include a nametag to communicate, your design can be improved.

So I tried a few different strategies to say "comet" before I realized I could twist the antlers into any shape I wanted. I was worried I would have to discard the drawing and restart from scratch! Which is what I did for rudolph about 6 times before I had a breakthrough.

Then I gave my patrons a brief lesson in antlers to explain where and why I was placing the tines. When I stray from the caribou structure, I do so knowingly in order to achieve something that cannot be achieved within the caribou shape, like dancer's tutu. Know the rules before you break them. My goal is to make animal nerds (myself chief among them) happy when they see species-specific anatomy instead of cop outs.

I tried a few things before figuring out antlers could become comet

Another thing that often caribou have is an unsymmetrical "spork" that comes forward off only one antler. I figured this out by looking at hundreds of reindeer pictures and saving them to my reference folder. A few of my designs have this, that's what the little spiral is in the final comet antler design.

When I put comet in my lineup, I realized that the antlers I drew were way more stylized, chunky, and "tribal" than the others. I had already changed the proportions on one of my designs to match, so then I had to hack away at the basic comet rack to make it look natural.

I already knew that comet's colors would be easy because a basic reindeer already Has the big comet on the shoulder. But here's a peak at all the reindeer images I posted for my patrons to look at.

As you can see below, I chose reindeer markings for all my designs instead of other deer or animals. Even vixen is tied to actually possible reindeer patterns rather than copy-pasting a fox. Almost all of my designs have light-colored anklets on dark colored legs, which is very common with caribou of any color. This is the sort of thing no one tells you; you have to observe it yourself.

Ft cupid's early design! I was continually testing out my reindeer silhouettes and colors on new people, taking their feedback, and fixing what wasn't clicking.

I know I could have made vixen sexy and curvy to play into a recognizable trope, but I really wanted them to be scary and fox-like. Sometimes you gotta do what you want and not what you think will appeal to audiences. Reindeer Days is a purposeful exercise in audience resonance. Most of my art is 100% me and what I feel like doing with no regards to anyone else. So it was a fun challenge!

My patrons also got to see me making fun of corporate designs for recognizably/cliches at the expense of literally anything good

One of these is going to get a lot more "that must be vixen!" results from people who aren't constantly thinking about animal colors, markings, hunting strategies, and teeth.

And one rocks.

Vixen changed the least from the initial 2021 concept!

A Vixen is a female fox. In english slang, it means a cunning, fierce human woman, and sometimes sexually attractive or promiscuous. Quite often an insult to someone because she won't date you!

But to me, a vixen is an animal. A predator.

When designing to reference something, I like to hit it at multiple angles, referencing obscure trivia about something to delight and educate. This is done by researching a topic deeply, far below surface level and beyond what you think you need to make your design. Or in my case its just knowing a bunch of animal trivia already.

After researching/dredging your knowledge, sit there and Think. Don't draw anything. Come up with several ideas and then throw them all in at once for the ultimate trivia design.

Trivia about red foxes:

They have Long bushy tails

They have teeth that include large sharp canines, flat incisors, triangular premolars, and chunky molars with points on them that slide scissor-like with the molars above to cut meat via chewing

They hunt rodents in burrows under the snow by jumping into the air, arcing, and slamming down with their face through the snow

They are orange

They have a dark vertical stripe on their snout

They have black legs, with the backs and bottoms being orange

Translated into the design:

Pose based on a fox jumping, about to land in the snow

Antlers twisted to resemble teeth

Long (for a reindeer) bushy tail

black mark on snout

Some adjustment to the pose to be at the top of the arc and flow better.

Tinkering with the design to make it recognizable but not 100% copypasta fox

I was finally happy with a design that absolutely showed "fox" while still being creative and plausibly caribou shaped. This would absolutely communicate who it is! I thought!

The most obvious one of the bunch! After all, everyone knows what a vixen is!

Nope! No they do not

Want to be part of the design process, help me with WIPs months before everyone else, see exclusive doodles every day, and join a funky little community?

(you also get to see photos of my dog)

Connect your discord to your patreon and join any tier to automatically get added to the server. Not a fan of patreon or monthly subscriptions? message me here, on ko-fi, or via email (shirecorn.art@ gmail.com) and ask if you can pay $20 to get put in the server for at least a year and longer if we work it out later!

This was supposed to be a preview to get you to pay me but instead I wrote an entire lecture for free because I can't help myself.

Want to thank me for the free info? Tag me when you use what you learned! Comment and give feedback! If I could pay rent with attention I would never need anything else in life.

You can also thank me by tipping my ko-fi! I use it to buy pens since I die if I have caffeine. But could you imagine??

[tempo-takoyaki]

Hiii sorry to bother u! I just wanted to say i love your mxtx art + tgcf comments. I LOVE your Wei Wuxian especially!! His eyes!!!! You are right they make him look like a bit of a red flag to strangers but that makes them PERFECT for him!! And they also make him look so smug when he smiles...again, those eyes are 100% Wei Wuxian. Do you have any other WWX sketch to share?

(Also kinda unrelated, kinda on topic, but what did Lan Wangji think of the eerie eyes when he first met him? I started thinking of this last minute while writing my compliments, but feel free not to answer!)

Goodbye, have a good rest of the holidays and stay safe!!

Ps: congrats on the recent milestone on Instagram!!

Aaaaah thank you so much for your kind words! I'm happy you like my WWX! <3 Well, I had to dig in a bit, but here are some of the WWX sketches I've done while reading MDZS (back in spring 2023)!

To explain some of them, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out a good way to differenciate WWX and MXY, so there's a lot of MXY there too. For the third image, I wasn't sure of Wangxian's height difference back then so I just went with whatever, now I've adjusted it to fit the canon. For the fourth image, one my headcanons was that LSZ had inherited WWX's creepy smile™. So when they're both smiling, it's flagrant he's his son. Fifth image is WWX in the burial mounds, and the sixth was for a modern AU in which MXY is WWX's younger twin brother.

Now! To answer your question "What did LWJ think of his eerie eyes the first time he met him?". Well, my personal thoughts on this was that they weren't too creepy at first, he was still a relatively joyous teen and I imagine he was really expressive too. Maybe it made him look arrogant or something, but that was just a detail, even LWJ could tell he wasn't like that. Maybe others would notice, and mention it to LWJ, but he would just reply something along the lines of "useless". (Translation "That's not what's important, what's important is that he's! breaking! the! rules!"). Maybe there was some jealousy, "no one can read my emotions and this boy has expressive eyes that's not fair I wish I could be as expressive as him". But it was lost to time, pain and love, as WWX lost some of his joy and innocence, as war made him more languid, scared and distant. Yet those eyes at the end of his life still seemed like they were smiling, not matter how many tears ran down his cheeks. And maybe then LWJ thought "Is it really worth it to have eyes like this if it forces you to look alright when really you're in pain?".

Now, in MXY's body, some of his features mixed with MXY's, his eyes feel less locked in a constant smile. And LWJ loves to look at them, no matter if he's smiling or pouting.

Thank you so much for your ask! :D Have a wonderful day!

[renthony]

I haven't enjoyed a Marvel movie since I stopped bothering to keep up with the MCU in 2014. I don't care for most Marvel movies. I think Marvel Studios is a case study in things that are shitty in the entertainment industry. But holy shit, pretentious posts along the lines of "haha, I don't watch Marvel films, I have real taste, go watch another movie!" are so fucking annoying.

Like, go put up your middle finger at some preps or something. People are allowed to watch whatever they want and enjoy whatever movies they want and make whatever fandom stuff they want, and that doesn't say anything about their intelligence or morals or character. It doesn't mean they are somehow bad at watching movies, or are too stupid to realize whatever nugget of wisdom ye high-and-mighty Marvel Haters think you're the only ones to understand.

Again, not personally a Marvel fan, but this whole "haha, I'm better than Marvel fans" relates to something I've been musing on about media analysis as a whole. There is a persistent idea that mass entertainment is inherently lower quality or less artistic because it's made for a wide audience, and that bad art isn't worth analyzing or engaging with just because it's low quality. In this mindset, the only art that has the possibility to be any good at all is 100% independent projects made by amateurs, and anything produced by a studio or with wide appeal is inherently poser art with absolutely nothing meaningful to say. In this mindset, you can't possibly learn anything or take anything from bad art, and if you find meaning in bad art, you're clearly just stupid and uneducated and have bad taste.

The thing is? Liking bad art is not a sin. Having a different opinion about what constitutes "bad art" is not a sin. Finding something entertaining despite its flaws is not a sin. Studying bad art is not a sin. You can learn a lot from bad art, you can learn a lot from interpreting propaganda, you can learn a lot from engaging with things even if you don't think they're very "good."

My vaudeville research keeps turning up author after author who talks about vaudeville as some sort of "point of no return," like the performing arts all turned to shit the second things were intended to be seen by more than a single audience for a single show. Popularity gets equated with lack of skill or quality, because all the performers were "just pandering to the audience" instead of relying on "real skill."

For one, what the fuck does that even mean, but for two, the theatrical quality of vaudeville isn't what makes it interesting and worth engaging with. Every single thing that ever came out of vaudeville could be 100% total utter garbage, but vaudeville would still be worth studying because of how influential it still is on arts and entertainment today. It has significant historical and educational merit. And some of it is still genuinely fun and entertaining, once you pick out all the things that didn't age well or were just plain bigoted. There's artistic merit in those old sketches and songs, and there's meaning to be drawn from plenty of it even here in 2023.

You want to learn about the Hays Code? Well, let's talk about how early films were shown on projectors on vaudeville stages, so vaudeville censorship went on to influence American film censorship. Let's talk about how we still use slang to this day that originated on vaudeville, such as "skit" or "one night stand" or "ad lib" or "the big time." Vaudeville is still in the bones of the modern American entertainment industry and pop culture, and you can't really escape that influence.

People in modern day use Marvel movies as proof that big studio films are singlehandedly responsible for the decline of art, and there is nothing to learn from them or see in them at all, ever. But to me, "Marvel movies are bad" is such a flat, uninteresting observation, because when it comes to media analysis, it doesn't really matter if Marvel films are good or entertaining. If you want to actually dig into the problems with big-budget summer Hollywood blockbusters, and the way they're impacting the industry as a whole, you have to go deeper than "pop culture is all stupid stuff for stupid people, unlike me, who isn't like other girls actually has good taste in media!"

There are so many more factors at play than "mass entertainment = bad art." Let's look at the ways capitalism screws over small creators and forces them to seek funding from the very same studios that fuck them over. Let's talk about how the actual workers in the industry are fighting tooth and fucking nail against the exact same things all the Marvel haters harp on about. Let's talk about studios that accept funding from the United States Government to turn superhero comics into propaganda films, and then threaten the actual workers with never having a career again if they complain or quit. Let's talk about how the actors are regularly abused and treated to hostile work environments.

Let's talk about the people who made the films, because the films were not made by a CEO pressing the "make movie" button. The workers made those films. The workers were exploited by those studios. Let's try giving a shit about them, instead of taking the "haha, Marvel fans are stupid and cringe" route.

There is so much more fucking nuance and detail and conversation about mass media as a topic, and boiling it down to, "art made for a wide audience is inherently shitty and has nothing to say."

You're not a better, more intelligent, more educated person just because you don't like Marvel movies. Making posts about how much better you are than Marvel fans does nothing to either explain or tackle the issues in the entertainment industry.

It just makes you look like a dickhead.

[steamberrystudio]

27/08/2023

So now that Gilded Shadows is wrapping up, I am promoting When Stars Collide from "Spare time project" to "Part time project"

What is the difference? Well, when I work on something in my spare time, that means it is late at night or the weekend. Literally when I am not doing anything else and just feel like tinkering with it. 

As a part time project, this means that I will be spending an hour or two each day during the work week to do things for this project. It will start making more steady progress even if I'm not focusing on it full time.

This is basically taking it from me spending 0 - 4 hours on it a week to 8-10 hours on it a week. 

My goal is to have the draft complete before the end of the year (by 'draft', I mean 'rough draft'). But more on that below.

Summary

Finished all scenes for the new chapter three

Finished Yren chapter 6 scenes

Started catching Kav's route up to the others

Edited Asher's CG to account for the new conference room BG

Small adjustments to Wil's first CG

Ramble

This week my big focus for WSC has been on writing. As I mentioned, I really want to get the rough draft completed by the end of the year. Currently the draft is nearly 70% complete (for those following updates in multiple places, when you see different percentages....it's because I've written more since then. Rofl).

Now, the draft was nearly 70% in the past as well but I added another route since then, so I lost some progress due to the increase in target word count. I'm also calculating things more precisely now as I created a newer and fancier writing spreadsheet to track my progress and keep myself on track.

I went back and wrote in the new chapter 3, reorganising all the existing chapters and scenes to accommodate it. 

I finished Yren chapter 6 (which catches him up to Noel and Raif). 

And now I'm working on catching Kav, the new character, up to Yren, Noel, and Raif. (Remember, Daaz and Asher's routes are already fully drafted).

I have written about 15000 words since my last update here. I don't expect to write that much every week and my goal is actually a fair bit more modest than that. Gilded Shadows is not 100% complete yet. I still have multiple KS related things to finish and, of course, I will be making corrections and focusing on its beta testing once testers have had a bit more time with it. 

WSC is still a part time project. This was just a particularly good week for it.

I have also worked on a few other things for WSC - mostly UI related and some art related things.

I received a new BG since my last update, and realised that...I have to revamp all the existing CGs. Or at least update them to change the background elements. I've only edited one so far but I don't think it'll be too much effort to fix the others.

And I continue to streamline and adjust the UI to make it look nicer and be more efficient.

So...

Kav. The new character. Kav'isari Tiaine, a Ka'mérian crew member who works in the space labs most of the time and specialises in identifying alien technology (what species it belongs to and what it does).

To explain where Kav came from, he actually popped into my head months ago. And every so often, I would contemplate whether or not I wanted to add him. I would say I first had the idea in January or February of this year. I would repeatedly think about it and dismiss it.

I then mentioned it to a friend sort of off-handedly back at the very beginning of June. A month and a half later, I mentioned him on a voice call on my server knowing full well that if I really talked about him and had a conversation about him, I would probably end up doing enough character brainstorming that he would become "real." And I talked about him anyway.

And that's exactly how he became an actual character. I think I had his sprite sketched out by the end of that day.

But he had existed as a concept long before that. The main reason I was willing to add him instead of ruthlessly telling myself no is just that I felt there was a gap in the cast for a gadfly style character who has a little mystery to him. And I just knew I could manage another route based on the length of Asher and Daaz's routes.

So...yeah. That is how Kav came into being. His introduction into the story has caused a few minor changes to standing lore or things in the prologue (just mentions of him, etc). But the changes to the currently public content of the game are pretty minor.

Kav won't actually appear in the game until Chapter 3. He gets mentioned a few times up to that point. There are some logistical considerations to his route but I have talked about those more on Patreon.

Speaking of Patreon, now that WSC is moved into "part time" status, I will be starting to slowly release some Patreon-exclusive lore posts for this game there. Like most games monetised through Patreon content, the lore posts will not be critical to having a full and complete game experience. Rather, it is going to be comprised of additional and extra lore content.

Some of the lore content released on Patreon will be in the game (such as character back stories) but Patrons will get to see it early and will get it presented in a different format.

Much of the content can be considered "extras" rather than necessary.

I will also be updating on the development progress weekly there (available to all patrons) rather than bi-weekly, and my updates there (going forward) will tend to be more detailed than the ones here.

Once episode releases start, Patrons will be able to access them before they the public releases. But backing on Patreon is not necessary to be able to play the game and get a full and complete game experience. It's just how this particular game will be monetised as I'm looking for more sustainable release styles so I can continue to make games.

That is all for this update. I will see you in a couple of weeks to talk about WSC again!

[agentsketchy]

Day 22: Some abstract scribbles based on a bunch of tattoos I saw on Pinterest. This was honestly very therapeutic. Need to do this more often!🌙🌟✨

[behind-the-screen-of-bangtan]

BTS 2024 Festa

←BTS 2023 Festa

The Festa is the celebration of BTS’ debut on 13 June 2013. It takes place in the first half of June, with something being released almost every day. There are usually dance practices, songs, photo albums, and members’ profiles.

Here’s the timeline for the 2024 Festa:

The Festa logo features an upside down 7 (the S) and the ARMY logo (the A) (src)

0602

"Never Let Go" announcement (see below)

0604

방.방.콘 (BANGBANGCON) poster (see below)

0605

BTS 2013-2023 PHOTO COLLECTION

0607

"Never Let Go"

Announcement

Lyric video

Jung Kook Weverse post (eng trans)

0608

방.방.콘 (BANGBANGCON)

Poster

Three concerts were broadcasted with a few MVs, live performances and exclusive videos in between, that were later released on the BANGTANTV YouTube channel:

[BANGTAN BOMB] Ji. Jin. Jung RADIO Behind the Scenes

[BANGTAN BOMB] Billboard Hot 100 No.1 Skit Recording Sketch

"Anpanman" Stage CAM (BTS focus) @ TODAY Citi Music Series

"Life Goes On" (in the forest ver.)

Messages from the members

Between each video, messages from the members were shown. They were titled "Dear. ARMY, From. BTS" (eng trans)

0612 BTS MV Replay : Timeline (notice)

0613

BTS debut birthday

Poster

Sketch

Episode

Naver blog post

A letter (eng trans) from j-hope was posted on Twitter to celebrate the occasion.

A festival was also held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. It featured a ground event (Notice, Official merch) with several pop-up stands and an in-person event (Notice, #오늘의방탄 tweet) starring a freshly-released-from-the-military Jin.

This second one was split in two sessions. The first one, “Jin’s Greetings”, was a series of hugs from Jin to a 1000 ARMY. The second one, “Message from Jin : June 13 2024,☀️”, was a performance of Jin's solo songs :

"The Astronaut"

"슈퍼 참치" (Super Tuna) ([BANGTAN BOMB])

"Moon"

"Seven" (this is a cover from Jung Kook's song)

Jin concluded the show with an Eat Jin bit. Later, he posted pictures of the event on Instagram (#1, #2).

All the members shared their feelings with ARMY through letters (eng trans: lyssy, Colin (RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, Jung Kook)).

[kanmom51]

JM Face masterlist

PJM1 is coming soon

Jimin IG story 5 February 2023

JM on TikTok 5 Feb 2023

JM TikTok 11 Feb 2023

JM dance challenge part 2

JM TikTok 18 Feb 2023

JM dance challenge part 3

JM new dance clip 25 Feb 2023

Face mood

JM concept photos - hardware version

JM concept photos - software version

Hard vr. Soft

JM Face emotion of the day

Enjoy it he tells us - Set me free pt. 2

The comparison - Lie and Set me free pt. 2

Hobi’s IG story 17 March 2023

Set me free pt. 2 - the visuals

JK told us

Fuck yeah JM

SMF pt. 2 - practice pic

JM Set me free pt. 2 - dance practice

Stunning

Finally user j.m is promoting his song

What I missed when I was sleeping 20 March 2023

What I missed when I was sleeping 20 March 2023

JM ‘Set Me Free Pt.2’ MV Photo Sketch

Like crazy - teaser

I guess we can start sharing pics from the album, right?

Okey guys, we can now reveal the big secret

JM Like crazy - my crazy thoughts

JM Face photo sketch

JM arriving for his KBS performance recording 24 March 2023

PolyC once again

Spotify with JM behind the scenes

JM  ‘FACE’ Album Cover Shoot Sketch

Jimin after day

Like crazy dance practice

I really love this interpretation

JM IG 25.03.2023 9:09 pm KST

Is letter a song for army?

Bringing this back

JM like crazy - dance challenge

If we didn’t think already that JM was a sweetheart

JM Face playlist

Bighit official IG - JM filters

JM like crazy dance challenge up

JM and Hobi dance challenge up too

Letter - the lyrics that didn’t make it

Serendipity and Letter

JM and the new Like crazy filter

JM at the Inkigayo pre-recording 28 March 2023

JM Like crazy photo sketch

Like crazy MV shoot sketch

JM at M countdown

JM M countdown full performances

JM now fulfilling the dreams of some super lucky fans

Set me free pt. 2 M countdown fan cam

Like crazy M countdown fan cam

Like JM like crazy

JM on Music Bank

What will JM eat for dinner?

JM performances Music Bank

Jimin “FACE” Special Cut for ARMY

Like crazy (English version)

Jimin Inkigayo 2 April 2023

Jimin’s “FACE” Selfie Diary for ARMY

JM Like crazy on Studio Choom

JM no. 1 Billboard 100

Tommy part of the JM fan club

Jimin W-live 4 April 2023

JM Weverse 5 April 2023

Full English subbed JM interview at SBS radio - Like JM Like crazy

JM IG 5 April 2023

JM and Niki (Enhypen) behind the scenes

JM IG 7 April 2023 8:23 pm

JM Choreography practice BTB

A day with JM in NYC - Vogue USA

Face off - what is it all about?

JM and Yoongi on Yoo Jae Suk’s DdeunDdeun

JM-JK 12 April 2023  

JM Spotify 14 April 2023  

Jimin’s ‘FACE’ album activities - behind the scenes  

Letter is for JK.  Period.

Letter again

Serendipity is now the preface and Letter is the forever

Dear.Army

Dear.Army again

JM ‘FACE’ Music Show Promotions Sketch  

Did JK promote other members like he did JM?

JM and the MVs for Face

Lookie what’s coming

Like Crazy new insights

JM Production diary

JM Production diary

Coming soon

So he does know how to use his IG story

JM Production diary keyword interview

JM Production diary trailer

JM Production diary - The truth untold

JM Production diary - JM’s favorite lyrics from Face

Nah I couldn’t wait for my post for you guys to see this

JM Weverse 23 October 2023

Just me or same vibes?

We just lost him at that point

JM production diary documentary and live 23 October 2023

Muscle memory

JM production diary - the commentary

JM fanmeet 30 October

[kinda-daily-warriorcat]

[therk900]

📷 May TC Challenge (Day 1 - 31) 📷

1. Have you ever said something embarrassing to/in front of your TC? Thankfully no. I’m careful what I say and do most of the time

2. When did your TC start teaching you? Does he/she still teach you? B started teaching in 2022 and left at the end of 2023, S started teaching at the start of 2021, M started in 2020, and N started in 2022

3. Do you know anything about your TC’s childhood/youth? B had a cat when he was younger and S used to live in the country. N used to be so shy during school which is a surprise, since he is the complete opposite now!  

4. Describe your TC’s eyes. Gentle

5. What’s your favourite outfit on him/her? B had this blue jumper that he wore most of the time over his formal clothes. S wears formal clothes with these boots and he has 3 jumpers that I love. N’s one is a green jumper and formal pants and a white button up shirt with this brown jacket he has! A had this nice jumper that I LOVE! It’s a navy blue jumper with some white writing on it. My favourite one for M would be a dark navy blue button up shirt, and dark formal pants! 

6. How do you try to impress your tc? I try anything and everything really

7. Describe what you think your wedding would look like. What are you both wearing? Who’s invited? What’s for dinner? Hopefully in some sort of lovely garden with a modern feel to it. I feel like we would invite our friends and family to the occasion. For dinner, salad with some fish maybe. 

8. Have you ever caught her staring at you? How did you react? Yes Yes YES! Multiple times with B! One time earlier last year, B was taking a class of mine, and when I looked up, I saw him completely staring at me. I looked down in an instant. When I looked up 30 secs later to see if he was still looking, and he was!!!! I was just doing some sketching and he was sitting at the table diagonal to me. I looked up a few more times since and he wasn’t looking for some but for most of them, he was!

9. would you run away from home and leave your entire life (friends, family etc.) behind just to be with your TC? Maybe

10. what does your tc teach? B: English S & M: Science G: Media

11. If you lived together, would you rather have kids or pets with him/her? KIDS! And maybe one pet

12. are you in love with your tc or is it just a crush? I think it’s just a crush. Not 100% sure

13. do you think your tc could you like you back? Well, for M and N, they both have a wife, so no. But who knows for the others.

14. have you ever dreamt about your tc? The amount of times I have dreamt about them is concerning

15. imagine that someone wanted to make a movie about your life with your tc - what actor/actress would play you and your tc? For A, maybe Alex Wolff With B, maybe Seth rogan I’m not sure about myself, S, M or G

16. have you ever had an argument with your tc? Nope

17. how did you find the tcc? I was just searching up “teacher crush” on tumblr and found it! I was a viewer of the Community and didn’t have the courage to post anything until the start of last year

18. can you remember the moment you fell for your tc? Kind of. It was an end of one of B’s classes, and I was listening to a song called "Get into it (yuh)" by Doja Cat, and all i could think about was B. With S, it was just a realisation when I was speaking to him one time. I found out with A via a dream. And with M, I was just in class. i forgot how with G and N

19. Think of a song that reminds you of your TC and tell us your favourite line from it.  B: Here with me - d4vd “As long as I'm with you I've got a smile on my face” A: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John "So goodbye yellow brick road Where the dogs of society howl" S: Enchanted - Taylor Swift “This night is sparkling, don't you let it go I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home I'll spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you” N: Just Like That - THAT BAND HONEY "Baby that's just why we can't commit, maybe And our back and forth makes me want it more" M: Guys My Age - Hey Violet "Guys my age don't know how to treat me... Guys my age don't know how to touch me Don't know how to love me good Guys my age don't know how to keep me" G: Love In The Dark - Adele "We're not the only ones, I don't regret a thing Every word I've said, you know I'll always mean It is the world to me that you are in my life But I want to live and not just survive"

20. does anyone else know about your TC? Only one of my friends know

21. Have you ever stalked your TC online? If yes, what did you find? If no: do it and tell us what you find, it’s fun! I haven’t stalked them online.  Edit: I just found S and B's accounts. They are both private. 

22. what outfit would you most like to see your TC in? A SUIT! I wonder how they look in a suit

23. what is the best outfit they’ve ever worn?  B used to wear these brown formal pants with a nice formal shirt and also a dark blue jumper that I loved For S, he had these nice jumpers, and when he wore that with his formal outfit, it looked so good on him For A, jeans and a navy blue jumper that he owns With N, and G, anything formal For M, he has this green jumper, and he wears it all the time, and it really suits him

24. your best friend tells you that they have a crush on your tc - how do you react? I wouldn’t be surprised!

25. has your tc ever helped you with something that’s not school related? Yes. B has helped me with my drawings since he knows how much I love drawing

26. do you want to get over your tc or are you happy with it for now? I am very happy with it for now! it has made me know them better 

27. If your life was a book series/tv series/movie and you had a fan base, would your fans realistically ship you and your tc?  Depends really

28. What’s something that always makes you think of them?  A: Have no idea yet!  S: Anything to do with science for some reason G: A movie called “Alien” N: Have no idea yet!  M: DILF (because he is one)

29. Let’s chat for a sec! What’s something you’ve been dying to talk about regarding your tc?  How nice they are

30. How often do you think about them?  I think about them here and there

31. What’s something you’re manifesting happening between you two? (If you don’t manifest, what’s something you hope happens?)  That I get to see them outside of school, like in a cafe or something.

[wishingicouldfly]

Favorite Fics 2023

Happy 2024! I always have a hard time narrowing down my favorites. A few stats this year, I read 155 fics (according to my admittedly not 100% correct database), and it's low because I've been watching LGBTQ+ media and reading less. I had 50+ fics that I rated 5/5, so narrowing down to 14 was me cutting out shorts, holiday fics, and rereads. These are in no particular order.

All is now Harmed by Fondleeds

It's still that dreamy kind of dark, nothing seeming real, but he knows that it's time to go, to whistle for Pippa and eat whatever he's got left in the fridge and start the drive down to Molly's. He can't seem to open the door. Maybe he doesn't want to face it, this new thing. Having Louis here feels like a betrayal. Harry tries not to think about what his Dad would have to say if he saw the journo sleeping on their pull-out, here to shake a settled sheet and watch the dust fly again. - AU. Harry's a farmer, Louis writes for The Age, and it hasn't rained in the Bourke Shire for six years.

Why I Like It: This is Excellent, but after 123K words, it's a WIP. Unfinished since May 2022, but that said, the writing is gorgeous, and I think that alone makes it worth the read.

2. Angels Fly by LilyBlue28

Harry is a lonely omega in the North Western White River Pack who is uncharacteristically drawn to nature and his now outdated primal instincts. He fills his days with going through the motions and clinging to the one actual friendship he has in the omega Zayn, and when he gets a chance he sneaks away to the edge of their territory to sit with the trees and the wildlife and sketch his favorite part of the river. But what happens when one day he spots the pack alpha, Louis, having an intimate moment with something, or someone, unexpected? Suddenly his quiet, nearly invisible existence gets upended, and secrets he never wanted to know quite literally won't leave him alone, and even when he tries to stay away, he keeps being pulled back into Louis' turbulent orbit. A magical love story featuring a generations long grudge, a menacing curse, and secrets that keep pulling them apart. Will they be able to find a way back to one another through the dark?

Why I Like It: Really integrated plot, soul mates/wolf story. ABO, but more wolf than human. Very involved plot. Well done.

3. Be There by mission2feelike

Niall sits down dramatically, arms flopping to his side before he leans forward and looks right into Harry's eyes. "So, your ex-boyfriend, who broke your heart four years ago, is coming to stay at your house for six weeks? And his daughter, your daughter, is coming to stay tonight?"

Harry nods, worried if he speaks, he'll be yelled at again, but then Niall's face softens, his ever-present smile is back and Harry hears him breathe out a small chuckle. "Okay, for the record, I think this is the worst idea you've ever had, but how can we help?" or The one where their family has been torn apart and their hearts broken, but an accident, a snowstorm, cinnamon rolls, and the adorable Josie force Louis and Harry to finally face the truth, and each other.

Why I Like It: Harry and Louis take custody of Lottie's baby, but Louis breaks H's heart by sending him away. pining. kid fic. Harry is famous. Had some very lovely domestic moments, and some tear jerkers. Louis was a bit of a jerk at the beginning. Side of Ziam.

4. Butterfly Gun by Eravain - no link, this is off AO3, but DM me if you want me to share it with you, as I have a PDF.

Harry has never been much of a fighter, but—as always—where Louis Tomlinson is concerned, a lot of things stop being true. 1940's AU. Even after six years apart, they can't forget their shared wartime childhood.

Why I Like It: I loved this gem--childhood friends to lovers. Historical Fiction. Really well written.

5. Counterbalance by YesIsAWord

Harry Styles loves two things: teaching ballet and racing motorcycles. Those two worlds collide when his greatest rival on the track, Louis "Tommo" Tomlinson brings his tiny siblings to Harry's class.

Why I Like It: Pretty short but very effectively written story. Pacing was good. Loved the dichotomy of Harry as a ballerina and as a motorcycle driver. 

6. Danger I Can't Hide by CelticSky

"Don't," Tomlinson's voice was low, gravelled, hiding out in the night where only Styles could hear it. "Stop it. Calm down. You can't do anything." Styles' chest heaved. Tomlinson had him pinned against the wall, his forearm strong against his ribs. The night air crackled around them and all he could hear was the overlap of their breath, desperation, exquisite need and pain and desire and longing and lingering resistance. He couldn't take his eyes from Tomlinson's lips. The way they fell open to expel air against Harry's jaw. His tongue darting out to wet them between desperate words, making them glisten in what little light there was. His eyes were lidded and unseeing as he himself looked down to stare at Styles' mouth. ~~~ Flying Officer Styles and Sergeant Tomlinson would have likely never crossed paths in a time of peace, their ordinary lives laid out neatly, predictably before them. But then the world became unrecognisable. All too soon they grew accustomed to fear, surrounded by death and destruction, not even their very freedom a certainty anymore. Until they found each other. Comfort. Companionship. Understanding. Another person to lose.

Why I Like It: Amazing. Research into WW2 and what it was like to be queer and hiding a relationship. loved the love story, but also the human side of the war. Very well told.

7. Have Love, Will Travel by Kingsofeverything

Rather than spend the summer working at their desks, Louis and Harry are given the opportunity to crisscross the country together in a tiny camper, filming their adventures for a YouTube series. It soon becomes obvious to their viewers that there's something more than friendship between them. Eventually, they figure it out.

Why I Like It: super cute. Road Trip Larry. Lots of state parks, travel. Louis has a crush and of course they end up together.

8. Heading for Limbo by KingsofEverything

Childhood best friends who've fallen in and out of touch with each other since Louis' family moved away when they were thirteen, Harry and Louis find their paths crossing again and again. Each time, no matter how many miles apart or how many years it's been, it's as if no time has passed. They fall back into their easy friendship, until life intervenes and sends them on their separate ways once more. When Harry discovers some life-changing things about himself, Louis is there for him, however he needs. But it's all temporary because Louis has plans that will move his life from New York all the way to L.A. and the distance isn't the only thing between them. The pieces of their twice broken hearts are scattered from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Why I Like It: I really liked this one. Slow burn, friends to not-friends, to lovers, to exes, to lovers. Word of caution, H has a gf for part of it, but it's a really nice slow awakening of his sexuality. TW for some angst/pining.

9. Glass Closets and Greenhouses by TiredTiredTz

Charlton Athletic defender Louis Tomlinson and worldwide sex symbol Harry Styles are rumoured to be hooking up after a viral video filmed at Harry’s Wembley show was posted online by Tommo’s twin sisters. Sources close to the pair tell us the couple have been dating for a while, with rumours of house hunting, marriage and even kids on the cards! Styles, 29, is as well known for his whirlwind love life as his chart-topping music. Most recently linked to British fashion designer Alex Millet-Sloan, Harry has stayed tight-lipped on rumours of any romantic rendezvous between himself and footballer Tomlinson, 31, yet fans online are convinced that all evidence points to #Tomlinstyles being the real deal.

Why I Like It: Could have been longer. A bit over the top meet cute w/ the twins setting them up, but over all well done. 

10. It's Fine to Fake it 'Til You Make ('Til It's True) by Sunflouwerhabit

Harry dreads an impending visit to his hometown, where he’ll be forced to reunite with a newly engaged ex-boyfriend, a childhood best friend turned near stranger, and a family who never understood just how desperately he needed to leave. In the midst of it all, a ludicrous Twitter proposition brings him to Louis.

Why I Like It: I loved this one. Super cute characters, a little bit of miscommunication, lovely, lovely boys. 

11. Like an Endless Summer by objectlesson - no link, I have this as an epub

Louis is an riding instructor at a summer camp, and Harry is a fellow counselor wh he’s been successfully managing his crush on for the last two years. That is, until Harry shows up this year leveled up and lethal, and all Louis’ formerly perfected veneer of nonchalance melts like a popsicle in the sun.

Why I Like It: absolutely lovely. GREAT depiction of the uncertainty of a crush liking you. slow burn, but you see it coming the whole way. 

12. The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by KingsofEverything

Louis' life is steady and calm, moored by his marriage, and tied to his hometown, but after a chance encounter with another man, it'll never be the same.

Why I Like It: really liked this one. TW for cheating. Middle aged man in a loveless marriage realizes he's gay and falls in love with a co-worker. Could totally be a Hallmark movie.

13. Until the Pearls get Lost by LadyLondonderry

London, 1933. Harry Styles, alpha, elusive bachelor and happy third wheel to his coupled friends, receives a visit from one Liam Payne, begging for his help. Liam’s childhood friend Louis is about to become the talk of the city; left at the altar because the mating bond was rejected, Louis will spend the rest of his life in an institution unless Liam can find someone to take him in and care for him as he recovers. Most omegas with failed bonds are never the same again. With rumours swirling around about the reason for the rejected bond, Harry gives in to Liam’s pleas. He hasn’t the slightest idea how that decision will shape the rest of his life.

Why I Like It: This felt like a fairy tale. Great writing. A bit left to the imagination. Almost werewolf-y. 

14. Write This Down by Sunflouwerhabit

"And Louis responds by kissing him. He closes his eyes and presses their lips together and hopes it’s enough to distract from how those words cut and extracted critical pieces of his heart, his soul. Louis kisses Harry to avoid sobbing, yelling, pleading, begging him to never, ever use words like always or never or I promise, because they can’t. They don’t have an always. Nevers will forever remain a mere dream. Time has run out for commitments or oaths or pledges and if Louis is going to be okay- if he’s going to enjoy this time with Harry and then let him go and still feel whole- he can’t let himself start thinking long term. He can’t let this become emotional; something more than silliness and fun and sex. He can’t hear Harry say he’s proud of him when he doesn’t know if he’ll ever see him again after this week. 'I miss you,' Harry murmurs, his breaths warm and equally shaky. 'All the time.' Louis kisses him harder."

Why I Like It: I really loved this contemporary romance. Lots of angst, boys being stupid thinking they are protecting each other by not communicating. But ultimately a lovely story. New favorite.

[durotoswrites]

April Drabble Prompts 2023

By @friendofbats and @durotoswrites! We wanted to do a little writing every day, so we're challenging ourselves to write a drabble (250 words or fewer) each day. Feel free to join in! Fanfiction? Journaling? Fiction? Wanna do sketches or drawings? Wanna just do 100 words? Go for it! Have fun with it! Feel free to share - I'd love to see what everyone comes up with! 💖