#I couldn't decide which version I liked better so here are both drawings

[whump-blog]

Whump Art 9

Whumpee is safe, but terrified of his rescuers, or maybe he's still with Whumper, who is trying to be a better person, but Whumpee can't forget all the things Whumper did to him so easily.

[stagegamer]

Getting caught with op men pt. 2

This was originally a request but that didn't work so I'm going to still try to do it

NSFW 18+

CW: Exhibitionism, nsfw, smut, afab reader, creampie, breeding, riding, forbidden, Corazon is called Cora

Characters: Luffy, Shanks, Koby, Corazon

Luffy

Your back was pinned to the railing on the deck as Luffy rutted into you

The smell of alcohol was prevelent from Luffy's previous rounds of drinking and partying

"You can handle more right?" Luffy looked up at you and as you nodded he bottomed out into you

Luffy loudly moaned before latching his lips onto yours

You could feel him stretch you out as your legs wrapped around him

You had at least wanted to make it inside but Luffy had other plans

"Ah." Your eyes locked with Usopp's who happened to be walking by

"Sorry!" He quickly ran inside

But before you could comprehend what was going on Luffy slammed himself into you, filling you with his cum

"You couldn't have chosen a better place!" You scolded Luffy who didn't know what he had done wrong

Cannon dilf Shanks

Shanks held you against a tree as he started on the third round for that night

"You're still so tight." Shanks grunted, slamming into you once again

His cum was already dripping down your thigh but that wasn't enough

"You're not leaving here until you're carrying my baby." Shanks slammed into you especially hard which caused a sound that echoed around the forest

"Do you mind being quiet some of us are hung over!" Yasopp yelled which caused Shanks to laugh but continue his actions.

Koby

Slowly lowering yourself onto Koby he couldn't help but moan and lean further back in his chair

Not being able to wait anymore Koby gripped onto your hips and buried himself into you

Latching onto his lips you matched his movements perfectly which made him moan into the kiss

Being you caught up in the moment you both neglected to hear the door creak open

"Nice one kid." Garp laughed before closing the door to give you some privacy

Too mortified to continue Koby hid his face against your shoulder

"Next time how about we do it in my bedroom?" He looked up at you with a slight smile as you nodded

Corazon

You leaned over Cora's desk as he couldn't help but slam into you

Not being able to wait any longer for release Cora decided to fuck you then and there

"I'm not using my devil fruit so you have to be quiet" You could feel Cora's breath down your neck as he gripped onto your hands

You couldn't risk getting caught as you weren't exactly permitted to have relations with Cora and you didn't dare even ask your boss about it

"Shit, you're clenching around me." Cora slammed harder into you as you felt your orgasm draw nearer

The blissful moment was ruined as Doflamingo opened the door

In a panic Cora pulled out but fell, still gripping onto your wrists which caused you to fall on him

The impact shoved him inside of you at a deeper than expected angle

Surprised, you let out a louder than necessary moan

"Just don't get her pregnant." Doflamingo left it at that as he walked out of the room

I liked the original version of this better but this one could be worse

[elitadream]

🎆 Sing for Absolution: behind the scenes 🎆

Hello everyone, and welcome to this summary on how the story was visually built! If you happen to come across this post and would like to read (or reread) the collab @drones-of-innocence and I have created together, just click on the title above and it will take you right to it! 🤗

With that said, let's begin! :D

As some of you already know, this was an idea that Drones had for a long time. It was brought up during one of our many conversations a few months ago, in which she briefly described the plot and sent me a condensed version. I- immediately and completely fell in love with the concept, so much so that I couldn't keep still. 😂💘 I practically begged Drones to let me draw a few frames for it, and she happily gave me permission. At first, what I intended to do was make about 3 or 4 thumbnails, like I had done with One Step Closer.

I returned with 22.

And from there, we both decided "Okay. Yeah. Let's make this official. 🙌💯" LOL

What's interesting here is that, as you can see, some frames didn't make it to the final cut! 🤓 And inversely, new frames were eventually added as the collab progressed. Out of all the sketches that were either abandoned or later deemed superfluous, my personal favorite would probably have to be this shot of Kamek. 😈

From the rough thumbnails I had presented, Drones helped me select the best and most eloquent ones, and I also changed a few other things along the way. For example, one panel that was entirely redone was frame 3 (where Mario enters Peach's room), because the initial composition didn't allow for the reader to see the setting very clearly, and I felt that the establishing shot needed to be wider.

Many of the drawings were also ultimately flipped to give the visuals a more coherent direction and better flow, including this one!

I decided pretty early on that the palette should be made of cold hues, seeing as these events happen to take place at night and that a warm overlay wouldn't adequately have conveyed the more ominous and solemn tone of the story in my opinion. 🤔💁‍♀️

Oh! And I almost forgot: using cold colors for the backgrounds and characters was also very convenient because it helped make the magical effects (the fire, the spells, etc- all the bright, warm and/or complementary nuances) really stand out, which resulted in a more interesting and visually striking contrast overall. 😌🎨

As I do with all my illustrations, I started by cleaning the sketches and adding a unifying background filler for all the frames. Then, I selected the colors I wanted to use (a gradient made of a mix of navy blue and purple) and worked on each drawing individually. Even with simple tones, we can observe the sheer difference that shading makes! 👀😉

There's a visual element that appears in the story and which I had borrowed from Drones before, and that would be Peach's healing magic.^^ ✨ I remember I was fascinated by the idea when I first discovered it in Un Fiore Per Te, which had prompted me to ask her if I could feature it in a piece where the Princess is seen using said power while at Mario's bedside in one of my other tangents. 💞

I kept the effect similar on purpose in Sing for Absolution, so that the slight reference would be easier to catch! 😊

And last but not least, there's that cheeky little Fire Flower! 🤭🔥

As mentioned in a previous ask, the flower actually signifies a lot in this case as it somewhat embodies the deeply affectionate bond between Mario and Peach, glowing brighter and closing its eyes in happiness when the two are close. 💖

While admittedly not the first drawing I made in which a Fire Flower appears, the one that actually inspired both Drones and I to include this symbolic power-up in the story was one that I made all the way back in February for Valentine's Day. 🥰 The subtle yet direct reference can be spotted twice in the text, linking this piece to the collab and establishing a bit of a chronology as well. I was very honored that Drones added this small detail, and I very much look forward to working on more ideas with her in the future! 😁🤝

Big thanks once again to all of you dear friends and followers who have commented and given their thoughts on this projects. Drones and I can't thank you guys enough for your interest and enthusiasm!! 😇💗

ALSO ALSO- I have shared here my visual side of the collab's progression, but Drones intends to give her own side of the story's development soon (explaining some of the themes and narrative elements a little more in depth), so make sure to stay tuned and check her blog as well! ^-^ 💫

[currantlee]

Ganondorf in German Tilo Schmitz Appreciation Post

The first cutscene of TotK is defining for Ganondorf as a character. I played the German version of the game, and the dub does a stellar job with this scene! It is very memorable IMO, and it instantly sets Ganondorf up as a somewhat stereotypical antagonist, but a serious threat nonetheless. It's one of my favorite scenes in the game, and that is also because Ganondorf's German VA, Tilo Schmitz, does an absolutely stellar job! It's great that he's getting the recognition he deserves for this performance!

Each line of Ganondorf's monologue in this scene is packed with (character) exposition, both textwise and deliverywise, but you don't even notice because you're in too much awe - at least that's my experience with the scene (in German).

Sooo... I wanted to take a closer look at how exactly both the scene and the voiceacting accomplish this.

Translation: That is supposed to be the sacred banishing sword? And my miasma shatters it just like that... A useless blade. English Localization: Was that the sword that seals the darkness? A blade that shatters so easily against my power cannot save you from me.

A few things about this line (and the rest of the scene) under the cut, because I'm gushing. A LOT.

The Master Sword is rarely called Masterschwert (its name in German) in spoken dialogue. I think over the course of the entire game, the Great Deku Tree is the only character to do so, and in Breath of the Wild, only Zelda calls it Masterschwert once. It is, however, called Masterschwert in the inventory, as well as several text-only dialogues. My hypothesis as to why they did that is that Masterschwert, when spoken out loud, sounds involuntarily comical in German since it comes off as way over-the-top, and can thus destroy an entire, serious scene. Personally, I think heiliges Bannschwert (which I would personally translate as Sacred Blade which Banishes Evil if I were to do a less literal translation, like I did above, into English) is a very fitting title, even though it doesn't sound quite as awe-inspiring if translated into English literally.

Secondly, the gloom is called Miasma in German, which is a historic name for mysterious sicknesses. While not common in contemporary German anymore, you can actually find it in the fantasy genre here and there, including in videogames. German localizers REALLY love to use this term. In comtemporary German, it would be übler Dunst (bad / ill haze), Verunreinigung (pollution / contamination), Befleckung (impurity) or Ansteckung (infection), all of which combined I find to be a really great description of what the gloom is and what it does! Especially considering that the entire reason Link and Zelda decided to investigate it in the first place was because the gloom was making the people of Hyrule sick.

I personally like this line much more than the English one, simply because to me, the English line screams "exposition!!". The German line is also exposition of course, but it does it in a much less subtle way.

Last but not least - let's appreciate Tilo Schmitz, Ganondorf's German VA. The way he delivers this line is spectacular! He makes it sound like Ganondorf is almost a little upset that the Master Sword shattered so easily, while sounding both dark and ancient at the same time. Honestly, I could not imagine a better delivery!

Translation: Zelda... And you, wielder of the banishing sword... Link. English Localization: Zelda... You who carries the fragile sword... Are Link.

Ganondorf explicitly draws a connection between Zelda and Link in German (not in the romantical sense), which feels much more natural than this kind of jump he does in English.

On a somewhat unrelated sidenote, I like that the camera shows both Zelda's and Link's reactions to Ganondorf knowing their names (unfortunately, I couldn't capture Link's because the subtitle vanishes just before he reacts, and I don't want to overload this post with pics, so... Go watch the scene again 😆). Love that Link has a very obvious reaction too, I feel like he is generally pretty expressive in TotK, which I very much enjoyed!

Translation: Rauru's grand prophecy... English Localization: Rauru placed his faith in you...

This is an interesting difference to me, because while both lines pretty much mean the same, the connotation (implied meaning) and tone are completely different.

In English, Ganondorf sounds like he is almost blaming Link and Zelda for not fulfilling Rauru's expectations, especially when combined with the next line.

In German meanwhile, this is more of a sarcastic comment, that expresses Ganondorf's disdain of Rauru more than anything else. Tilo Schmitz delivers this line with a very sarcastic undertone as well, making it clear that Ganondorf is, much like in the previous lines, mocking both Link and Zelda, as well as Rauru.

Translation: Two pathetic worms. English Localization: And that was all that you could do?

Now, there is a big difference! Whereas Ganondorf's line sounds almost like a challenge in English, in German, he is ourtight insulting Link and Zelda.

Also, Tilo Schmitz is amazing as Ganondorf in general, but this is probably my favorite line in the entire game from him. It sounds impactful, it sounds arrogant and despising, it has everything this line should have and more. Most of all, it sounds like he actually means this, and he means it as the character Ganondorf, not just as someone playing Ganondorf (from a meta perspective) or just anyone who can't stand Link and Zelda. It is a perfect line in my opinion, both scriptwise and delivery-wise.

Aaaaand that's pretty much it for this scene! Like in the English localisation, Zelda asks how Ganondorf knows their names (and Julia Casper makes her sound more timid than confused, which I also like very much!).

Anyway, thank you so much for reading 😊 Honestly, I was pretty overwhelmed by the response to my first posting about the German localization of TotK, so I wanted to wait a bit for things to calm down a bit 😅 In the 10+ years I've been on the internet, nothing I've made before has gotten this level of attention. It makes me very happy you guys seemed to enjoy it so much though, and I hope you enjoyed this one as well.

Have a great day, night, whatever time it is when you're reading this, and enjoy the game!

[meluisart]

One of these days I will find the strength to finish this, but for now, here's the lines of a drawing with Ruth and Fidget. Couldn't decide which version I liked better, alert Fidget or them snuggled up, so for the time being I'm posting both.

[dunmertwink]

🇵🇸 From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! 🇵🇸

Im not the best painter, but im getting a little better! I couldn't decide which frame i liked better, so im posting both versions.

The first (left) is a red, black, and green tatreez frame on a white background (colors of the Palestinian flag), and the other frame (right) is the same pattern, but in silver-and-gold leaf.

The specific motifs are from different villages across Palestine (found in the link below). They are meant to be read as "from the river (stream) to the (waves of the) sea." The frames were made to look embroidered (done by drawing tons of little x's on a grid)!

Inside the frame is a painting of an olive tree sprout growing from rubble. The sprout already has olives on it. In the backgound is a child who wears a keffiyeh on the beach flying a white kite (Dr. Refaat Alareer's famous poem "If I Must Die"). My goal with this digital painting was to symbolize hope, healing, and freedom for the Palestinian people. I hope I achieved that!

Heres the website Tirazain, an archive of Palestinian tatreez patterns!

[thevoidisvoid]

Concept Idea Porco Rosso (Underfell and Swapfell????"

Okay, so I was watching Porco Rosso and it occured to me that it is literally the perfect movie for Underfell Red? Like smexy Skelton Pilot in a bad-ass red plane? And the dork in me exploded.

I tried to make concept art, because when I picture it, I think of a Insert-Self x Red opportunity. But in two different ways. So I got sidetracked. Didn't put a lot of effort in. I also suck at drawing Skelly-Boys so that didn't help but I decided writing it out may work better???

I hope you enjoy, and possibly get inspired. The art will be at the end.

(Version 1.)

"But the answers no, I have kind of a bet going on here."

You look down at the book in your hands that you were clutching. Smiling fondly at it. 

"I bet myself if a certain man came to visit me in my Garden, we'd fall in love…" 

You can't stop the sigh that escapes your lips.

"But the fool only comes to my restaurant at night. He…he never shows in the daylight."

Black inhaled as he prepared to speak, you froze as a familiar noise came from the distance. Standing up you shoved your book into Black's hands and rushed out of the pavilion to your balcony.

He- he's here.

That red plane you'd both come to love and despise was flying through the air. Coming straight towards you it seemed.

"THAT GUY'S BACK?!"

But as always he never landed, instead performing an aerial loop, and spinning away into the clouds… where he belonged.

Of course…it was too much to hope today was the day he'd actually…

"Stupid…"

Black shot you a quizzical look as you shook your head.

"He left without landing."

You smile.

"I lost the bet again."

"ARE YOU KIDDING? YOUR BET IS ABOUT THAT JERK?"

Your smile was more and more genuine as you spoke with a soft laugh.

"Life is more complicated here, than in your country."

"If you're only looking for a fling that's easy…"

"Go to Hollywood yourself little boy."

With another laugh you left him.

(Version 2.)

"What the HELL are you talking about? You guys don't understand a word I said!"

Red could only watch with interest as they yelled at the group of Sea Pirates. This was definitely not how he expected things to turn out.

"I asked whether you feel ashamed or not. Aren't you ashamed of being helped by Black, an American? If your mother's heard about that, they would cry."

"Also what the hell are you saying, you don't even bathe?!"

He couldn't help but chuckle at the stunned expression of those stupid bastards. 

"Red came back to fight against Black, for the pride and honor of the Pilots of Ebott Sea! 

Wait…what?!

"You guys have no guts or honor. You are the lowest of the low. Fight with dignity!"

You crossed your arms, scowling at Undyne. Red could tell she'd been rather stunned by your push back.

"Well that's why I was opposed to hiring Black in the first place."

Yeah right…

"Coward. Trying to worm your way out of this."

"B-Boss what should we do? They have a convincing argument."

"We'll need to preserve both sides honor…we'll have to ask Black."

"You mean ask him to fight the SKELETON- Again?"

Oh the irony. These idiots seemed to miss the fact Black was also a Skeleton. 

"The contract is already over…I'm so ashamed."

Undyne seemed really distraught. Which was well deserved. And now to wrap things up here-

"MWEHEHEHEH."

Oh great.

"It's Black!"

High above, in a gap carved into the cliffs Black stood (?) His arms and legs pressing against the walls of the cliff. Keeping him held in place.

"I HEARD YOU TALKING. I'M NOT GOING TO RUN AWAY!"

"you morons, you came down through there?"

Black gave a yell before leaping from his position in the cliffs and plummeted before landing firmly on his feet. He almost stumbled, but firmly continued walking as if he was a damn god.

"hey, hold this-"

Red shoved his bag of various items into the arms of one of the pirates and began moving towards Black.

"YOU WANT A REMATCH DON'T YOU. BUT I ALREADY WON ONCE."

He was going to wipe that pathetic smirk off his face.

"I'M NO LONGER A BODY GUARD FOR THESE GUYS."

All the more reason to beat-

"You mean you won't fight for free? What's your proposition?"

Oh no-

You had made your way to the front of the small mob of pirates and were glowering at Black. Who took one look at you before-

"T-THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL."

He clasped your hands, and you gave a small noise of disgusted surprise.

"WILL YOU MARRY ME IF I WIN? I'M SERIOUS."

Ha! As if they'd give in to-

"Okay- but if Red wins you pay these bills!'

You somehow managed to slap Black in the face with that notebook of yours. A small distraction that kept him from completely losing it.

"wait-"

"Back off you!"

Aaron shoved Red backwards and he was immediately surrounded by a mixture of weapons and magic attacks. Something he could've easily escaped. But he didn't.

"You still have time to think about this."

Undyne sounded rather gentle for once, and Red eyed her suspiciously.

"Ask him, not me."

"THESE BILLS ARE A LITTLE EXPENSIVE."

"They're extremely reasonable"

"Are you going to fight or not Black?"

Undyne almost seemed to be trying to prevent this, which was an abrupt change from before.

"I'LL GLADLY FIGHT FOR THE ONE I LOVE."

"Okay everybody listen up!"

Undyne's yell echoed through the island, almost as loud as that insufferable Black's.

"I'm very impressed with the humans determination! My group will back this fight up!"

A chorus of agreements.

"The air pirate alliance will too!"

"Bye Human!!! See you soon!"

"they're full of crap."

"HEY SKELETON, DON'T RUN AWAY."

"shut up, and get off my island!"

"Later!"

As quickly as they'd exploded onto the small island they vanished, Black following on top of the crowd.

[the-other-starry-sky]

Small alien bean in a big alien world.

I'm a little obsessed with @oneeyedleaf 's The Last Dimension atm, so I'm glad I was able to finish this before season 1 ended.

I wanted to try out a few nature brushes I recently downloaded (a list that includes Leaf's brushes) and what better excuse than to finally draw Phil?

I couldn't decide which version I liked the most, so here's both!

[hanako-san]

I finished watching Skip Beat and the anime has what I miss in jshk in terms of characters. I will focus here on daikon, because thanks to Kyoko I have organized my thoughts which I can express without anger. It can also be chaotic.

[I'm sorry for all the mistakes]

The main character Kyoko, a 16-year-old heroine, gave her all to make others happy, to be noticed and loved. As a result, she was used and betrayed. Her naivety disappeared and she decided to take revenge on the guy who told her to her face that she was only there to help him get into show business and that she was boring. Her admiration ended and she decided to take the path of revenge. She felt what a daikon should feel towards minamoto when he behind her back wanted to stop her so she couldn't help Hanako.Anger and pain. Well, daikon doesn't have any romantic feelings for minamoto . She admires him like an idol. This admiration should have ended when minamoto had no problem taking advantage of her, trying to turn her friends against her so she wouldn't disturb when he will kill the person she supposedly loves. But all I see in daikon is just admiration and she still be under his spell , zero anger and zero any neutrality towards him. How pathetic. she can only be angry and aggressive towards Hanako because to her, he is not what she considers a tall and "handsome" guy. Hanako cannot compete with minamoto because he is a 13-year-old junior school ghost. He won't grow up and don't have a body developed as a minamoto. Hanako is unable to meet her expectations, but as she said, "she didn't do anything wrong", so she will continue to trample on his feelings and ignore them, because her "sweet and charming" nature makes up for everything. I understand that the plot is different in jshk, but AidaIro don't change her because they consider her as 'light' as they once wrote. For me, this light is black as darkness, boring and annoying. daikon has nothing to offer, she is shallow, has no depth, and this pathetic and drawn-out admiration for a person who wanted to kill the person she 'loves' shows that she understands nothing at all, everything about her is artificial, her 'I'm sorry' and her admission of 'guilt' when she said that her friend's sacrifice was made because of her wish, she doesn't feel any responsibility. Rescue is something that you should always do to undo your own sins, her words are empty and mean nothing because otherwise. In the end, she made it clear that Hanako was more guilty than her, and she didn't need to feel guilty because he could shouldn't fulfilled this wish. Her pilot version was better than her. She knew what her flaw was and she worked on it, here is a person who doesn't mind weakness while in a relationship.Everything turns out to be a fact that the daikon is very convinced that she is just a victim, and when there is no one left to gulity, Hanako is more guilty because he forces her to work. She didn't apologize to Hanako and Aoi for the confusion. Neither of them, but they both apologized to her. Her apologies are always made when someone draws her attention and they are insincere, they are artificial and untrue, they don't come from sincere regret and sadness, but from the need to apologize to the person who is sad in front of her. Someone needs to tell her that she's doing something wrong because then she understands. she is not able to draw conclusions that she is behaving inappropriately and should not behave this way, but she is sad for the next chapter and then she is the same because she thinks that she did nothing wrong. She can't change anything in herself because she doesn't see it, she doesn't have any self-reflection, because if she had, she wouldn't repeat such mistakes as, for example, wish 1 and would she really regret going home minamoto after the whole situation. Naivety should also have its limits, but she has no problems crossing them.

I don't know her past. AidaIro focuses on love. So what? Without this, AidaIro could have made her an interesting character, showing how an obsessive girl begins to change under the person she is supposed to love and I honestly don't believe in her love for Hanako. This is not how a person in love behaves. Admiring a person who wanted and still wants to kill her boyfriend. Total bs. Yes. Daikon has long since stopped being a 'hopeless romantic' and has become obsessed with love. Total obsession. She even likes to sing songs that curse love. Love, love, love to disgust. She cares about her friends and her best friend, but she can't care about Hanako, whom she supposedly loves.

Where's her anger? and resentment towards mianmoto? There isn't and there won't be. Until she is noticed, but unless she sees her own mistakes, she will not change. She must understand that she is not a victim of her own wishes and decisions, but is GUILTY and hurts those around her with her actions and deeds, instead of seeing herself as a victim and mainly blaming Hanako for what she does for her.

The fact that she saves Hanako from time to time, such as from Akane. It doesn't change anything, because the biggest person that needs to be isolated from Hanako is SHE.

Daikon has a lack of self-reflection, she does not see herself as the culprit, because she sees himself as a victim and blames Hanako mainly for her actions and decisions. I see her character as a self-insertion and she can be in a relationship with anyone, because she is only for this and nothing more. daikon is like a shell. Empty inside. All she needs is a boy of her type to fill her up.

Sure, she has flashes of intelligence and shows that she cares about Hanako, but only verbally, because with her actions she does something different, and in my opinion, actions speak louder than words. Actions don't lie, but words can lie as much as you want. Sure, her character may undergo changes, but I honestly don't care if it's not chapter 59 or another, it's chapter 109. They showed the depth of Aoi and Mei's characters in a short time, but they can't show how their main female character changes.

Her character always focuses on herself and her when things are bad. Like in the chapter where she want to be where Hanako is because Tsukasa took her. She didn't think about him, only about herself, because she feels safe with him and knows that she is in no danger when he is with her. And when she found herself where he was, she had no problem admiring the person he feared most in the world and she didn't care about his presence, feelings or anything else. daikon always focuses on itself. Same thing with Hanako. Another situation was when Tsukasa kissed her, and instead of thinking about Hanako and how he deals with it, she dreamed about her twins fighting for her and she generously rejected Tsukasa, but she has a problem with minamoto. Such situations only made me realize that her feelings of love are non-existent. I didn't expect anything from her from the festival chapter. So… let her stay as she is.

daikon is also very aggressive when someone doesn't want to do what she does, examples include Hanako not wanting to leave school and she got angry and shouted or the newest one she told him to call Hanako, she was pissed that she didn't want to do it. But she didn't do anything wrong, there was nothing in her behavior that could make her hated or disliked, she was supposed to be that 'light', probably in hell.

Even though Koyko wants revenge, she gradually began to change the people she met and the experiences she gained influenced her development and change. Even if she was only doing work, she was honest and cared about the feelings of the person she cared about and liked. The daikon's age doesn't matter either, because experiences and pain should shape her and she should change, but nothing changes in her except for minor and temporary changes that don't really mean anything because the fish princess has nothing to complain about, with this approach. she will stay as she is. Her so-called love is artificial and worthless.. She wanted love so much that she was literally willing to sign a pact with the devil to get him. And when she finally has a boyfriend, she shouldn't have him. She doesn't know how to love and doesn't know what love is.

Her character may be something other than just focusing on love, which she has shown many times. But it is so small and insignificant that if it doesn't go away, well, too bad. For me, she'll stay the way she is and that's fine with me. I don't even care if I do anything for the twins. Not any more. Wasted potential of a character who should be a bridge connecting the twins from what I can see and help them, but is only an unfurled rose and stings when necessary.

And I honestly don't care if I understand her or not. I just read and give my conclusions. And thanks to Kyoko, I couldfinally said more calmly here about it. Daikon is full of flaws and an annoying personality that I hate and will continue to hate. Her character has potential that AidaIro wastes, but that's not my problem anymore. I stopped caring about it. I don't care about her personality or her 'in love' nature or her beauty, it all makes me despise her and hate her more. Her age is also not a pass because she should be changing, but she doesn't, which makes her even worse in my eyes. Her age is no excuse for any of her actions, nor is her appearance or irritating personality traits. Her sweetness and personality don't appeal to everyone. She is a burden and always counts on Hanako and relies on him too much, she cries all the time and have to save her ass. The few actions she has had do not cover up who she really is and she is getting worse and worse. Will she become a bridge between the twins? I don't know. But I don't care anymore.

It can only confirm that if I notice changes, I may become gentler at some point. I'm not that hateful of a person when not tell her when she's right or something I can admit,when she is right in my opinion but right now there's no point in me being kinder to her, I don't even want to. doesn't feel guilty or anything for being an anti fan of hana///daikon and her. Not everyone loves daikon and this ship. I am one of these people. I stopped deceiving myself that she would start to change and respect him. For me, the most important thing is Hanako and his feelings. That's all. She deserves a dose of karma. She and her minamoto prince.

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

El prom dress post

So the El prom dress comes from this post by dis-a-pointment which also has a photo of the inspiration dress so take a look at that and also look at dis-a-pointment 's blog bc it's really cool 😎

Basically red and white are both colored that represent El in different ways unlike blue which represents Mike, so if there's gonna be a Snow Ball parallel, she might wear those colors instead. In the post above she's also gong to prom with Max which is for fun(but would be cool in canon too).I made three versions of the background. One is transparent, one is colorpicked from the photo, and one is a screenshot from the show+ a black gradient.

[ID: three images of a digital drawing of El Hopper from Stranger Things from the waist up at a head-on angle. She is wearing a red dress with a sweetheart neckline and puffy sleeves. A panel on the left of the bodice is a lightly deeper red and a had a vine outlined on it in a curling, almost heart- shaped form. The right/ majority of the bodice is brighter red and gathered slightly at the seam much like the skirt. The triangle waistline has a thin white ribbon and the left side of it has a white bow. She is wearing white silk elbow length gloves and a white pearl choker necklace. Her hair is in short curious reminiscent of season two and she has blotchy red eyeshadow much like in season two, but this time matching her new dress. The leftmost image is set against a transparent backdrop. The second image has a flat maroon backdrop. The rightmost image has a photo background of the gym doors from the Snow Ball scene. : end ID]

Some part of the art I wanted to talk about:

All white elements are filled in with a very light gray. The gloves and pearls have a yellow highlight and blue shadow.

All of the red colors are from the photo

I specifically chose to copy that original snow ball photo but with two key changes besides her outfit and makeup

Her hair in my drawing is kind of styled in bangs/fringe to mimic her Season four hairstyle since she seemed to really like it AND because the original photo had her hair swirled in the front- like Superman. The only person who compares El to Superman is Mike, specifically in the context of their relationship, and unlike the Snow Ball, prom is about El (/elmax for the sake of hc). I also changed her expression from a sort of shocked look to a smile since I think he original reaction was partially due to being around so many people and not having to hide.

The reference photo of the red dress has a bodice panel with embossed or embroidered shiny vines and floral patterns, so the way I added that to the dress and changed it to not look out of place in a cartoony style was to have a larger vine which was colored to blend in with the fabric. I mightn't have bothered, but the vines reminded me of the Upside-Down, which I just thought was cool.

I also have the sketch on paper

Where she originally had a bow in her hair, which I only didn't add by accident💀. Besides that, O didn't change anything, but I like the sleeves outline better in pencil. The erased lines were the original sleeve placement until I realized the sleeves only have one point of attachment.

I made some thumbnail sketches of elmax at prom as well

Max has trousers in one and a skirt in the other bc I couldn't decide.. here's her sketch plus a version with a some quick color on it (colorpicked from El), the colored version has a skirt one and a trousers one. I thought she'd wear a suit bc it can be more simple than an elaborate prom dress and still come off as formal, plus she wrote a sweater to Show Ball. I added a little braid in her hair too for fun :)

[bringerofdeathandtheapocolypse]

So I recently figured out the reason why I never liked Rufus's original outfit.

I remember when I first saw him in the anime, something about his appearance just didn't sit right with me but for years I could never figure out why. I originally thought it might just be the design itself (which in hindsight wasn't the case, but I hadn't fully realised my love for the trio of Rufus, Freed and Totomaru yet)

Then I saw his Alveraz outfit and liked that a lot better than he GMG look but still couldn't place it.

Then I started working on drawing him again for some practise with more dynamic facial expressions to improve my art and I figured it out.

It was the coat and the hair. His hair looks almost greasy in some shots (which was fixed in the 2014 studio swap. They at least got someone's hair right *aggressively side eyeing Macbeth*) and god that coat.

That coat is just not it. I hate it. It just does not work, especially when actually moving.

You might be wondering what my big issue with it is. It's the fact that it is one piece and this unfortunately leads to moments in the show where Rufus has had his torso elongated and it makes it feel wrong.

Now that issue isn't as much of a problem in the manga (proof below)

however it does not mean I like the outfit any better.

In fact, I actually found a version of this outfit that I like.

Can you guess why I like this one better? Because the belts. The belts help break up the outfit and give a good indicator on where his waist and hips would be. It's still not perfect. I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a bit up the middle where a zip or buttons would be but it's an improvement and why this was never used baffles me.

Now here is the best outfit Rufus ever wears and you can fight me on this.

Now ignoring the animation error of his feather being the same colour as his hair because I just think it's funny and honestly this scene is so short I don't blame the person who coloured it to make that mistake. Now the reason this is my favourite outfit of Rufus is because it actually has both a belt and the crossing over of his clothes.

This is something shared with Totomaru and Freed, two other characters who have one piece articles of clothing but have some way of making it look good and pleasing and not whatever horrors Rufus' first outfit was.

The mask will forever haunt my dreams because why are the eyeholes so big to where the gold rimming of them touches they told rimming of the lower half? That is the only thing I'd change honestly. Just make the eye holes smaller and that would be perfect.

Don't be surprised when I decide to give Rufus' original design an overhaul for the au because absolutely not. Never in a million years. (Plus I like the idea that Gajeel is actually quite knowledgeable on colours and what looks nice and there is no way he would let his boy wear such an ugly jacket)

[starsartattempts]

Apparently, my last try was in January, so basically a year ago. I would have sworn that it has only been a few months or so since my last draw-attempt, but I guess not. Though, of course, there was a drawing attempt in ~October, I simply did not post it here because it was a thing related to one of my own characters and that of another person, I only shared it with them basically. Maybe I'm gonna upload it some day, maybe not. I don't know. I'm not all that liking of it anyway - as usual. Anyway, here's a new drawing. Again one I'm not happy with, but at least it's one I can post without using many tags because it's an OC of mine.

4 versions, because I couldn't decide whether I liked it more without the sketch-lines in there or not, and because I'm not so certain on using a background or not. The background is taken from one of these various "free vector background" websites.

This is Lightning! She's a speedster-oc of mine (with a lot of inspiration from dc's own, but unrelated to their force bc I don't know a thing about that), and as you can see, she's doing a special job during the holidays! I've had the headcanon for a really long time that speedsters would totally do this during the holidays, to give something to children that might need it most or something, and now that I made this OC of mine "public" in some form, I had to make this an actual picture.

I drew her face twice, actually.

On the left you see the first face I drew. I was so utterly unhappy with it that I decided to try again, which I then did as you can see on the right pic, and while I'm still not happy with that, I did like it more than the first so it ended up being the one I used for the rest of the process.

For comparison, here's a picture of her face I did many many years ago.

I like this old pic a lot more than both of these new tries at her face. (She's wearing a proper speedster-outfit here, basically the outfit of KidFlash from the TT cartoon, which, doesn't really make all that perfect sense, but as explanation I can give that at the point of me drawing this one, she hadn't really been anything more than a female version of that KF. So yeah.) But well, what can I do? Outside of slowly stopping to believe in the whole "practice makes perfect" thing.

I'm just not gonna even start on the things I don't like, it doesn't quite feel like there's a point in doing that outside of talking myself down. And I'm already disappointed enough in myself in regards to drawing, enough so that I'm considering to just stop my tries at getting better with it, so I don't need the down-talk.

The red string you see just below her head? It's not a mistake, it's there on purpose, because her hat absolutely certainly has a around-the-head string to keep it attached when she's running.

Anyway, I hope you're having happy holidays or just a good time!

[faehrnem]

a couple of my guildies’ asuras i drew for fun!

@canach @saplingtrahearne

[gingersnaaps]

making things right

you and iwaizumi just aren't meant to be, and if he has to fuck some sense into your little brain for you to understand, then so be it.

wc: 2.8k

tags/tw's(PLEASE READ): noncon, explicit n*fw, blackmail, emotional manipulation, emotional sadism, dumbification, degradation, fem!reader with inner genitals, has something resembling an actual plot

a/n: i couldn't decide which way i wanted to go with the plot, so i just did both. read a darker version of this here

i don't want minors interacting with my content

Oikawa really doesn’t like how much time Iwaizumi has been spending around you lately.

It’s not that he’s jealous, of course - that kind of pettiness is far beneath him - it just doesn’t seem right. It’s not the natural order of things for someone as pretty as you, all soft skin and glowing smiles, to be practically draped around Iwaizumi all the fucking time.

He’s counted, you know, and today was the thirty-eighth time that you’ve visited their lunch table and somehow ended up on Iwaizumi’s lap.

And doesn’t he also have to think of his team? The Spring Interhigh’s coming up, and it wouldn’t do for one of the most important players on the team to be constantly distracted. He’s seen the way Iwaizumi looks at you: it’s adoration encapsulated in a gaze, the kind of tenderness and admiration that he’s only ever seen Iwaizumi direct at himself.

Oikawa’s going to have to fix this, isn’t he? He’s going to have to make everything the way it should be.

-

He finds that he enjoys the constant planning and brainstorming and especially the fantasizing far more than he’d anticipated.

Oikawa notes down which days you go home immediately after school, which days you stay, and the routes you take home. He writes down all your friends in a little notebook, familiarizes himself with the classes you take, and pays extra attention to your mood swings.

Of course, as he spends more and more time detailing every aspect of your life, it’s only natural for his thoughts to… wander. In class, he catches his own attention drifting away from Japanese literature to thoughts of what you’d look like strung out on his cock, eyes squeezing out tears as he stuffs you full and claims your pussy. He thinks about how slutty your skirt looks when you’re bending over, and about how much he’d like to rip it off of you. He likes to imagine how Iwaizumi would react, too - the way he’d cry and sob and finally understand that you don’t belong with someone like him.

He finds that these thoughts allow him to tolerate Iwaizumi’s presence near you a lot better, even though the two of you have only grown closer as of late. When you start getting particularly obnoxious with your flirting, he just has to picture you screaming in pain as he fucks you dry, or think about the bulge in your throat from his cock shoved deep inside your mouth. And when he sees Iwaizumi finally ask you out on a date to the ramen place nearby, he almost feels sorry for how short-lived, how temporary, your romance is going to be.

As the weeks go by and the Interhigh draws near, Oikawa thinks he’s got a pretty good idea of how to make it happen.

It starts off almost too easy.

Oikawa’s usually the one who stays late after practice, slamming his serves into the opposite end of the court until his vision goes dizzy and his arms turn numb. But Iwaizumi - bless his generosity - had planned on staying after to help a few of the first years out with their serves.

He waits at the school gates, scanning the entrance for any sign of you. You should be finishing up with your little club soon if the notes he’d been keeping were any indication, and sure enough, he spots your bright teal jacket scurrying towards the gates after just a few minutes.

Oikawa plasters on his friendliest smile, waving you towards him. “Hey,” he greets. “Iwa-chan told me to wait for you today. Do you want to come over? He’ll be along in just a minute - he’s just cleaning up the gym a bit.”

“Aren’t you the captain?” you tease. “So much for being responsible.”

He forces out a laugh. Do you realize how insufferable you are? Because you’re really not doing yourself any favors with the way you’re acting. But he pushes down the surge of anger that threatens to spill over, because he knows you’ll change your tune as soon as you arrive at his place.

He can’t wait.

The walk home is filled with empty banter, useless conversation that flits back and forth on the most boring of topics. To be honest, Oikawa appreciates this - it gives him the mental room to think about much more interesting things, like the way your breasts are pushing against the jacket, or the slight sheen of your lip gloss. Or, alternatively, the way your breasts would look spilling out of his hands, and the way your shiny lips would look smeared with spit and cum.

He places a hand on your waist as he guides you inside his house, but you stiffen. “Isn’t Hajime supposed to have caught up to us by now?” you ask.

Hajime.

First name basis, huh?

It’s a small detail, but it’s the kind of change that has him seeing red at the periphery of his vision, the kind that makes him want to ruin your slutty body until it's bruised and leaking cum. He’s been friends with Iwaizumi for twelve years. Twelve years, and all he’s gotten from him is a nickname. You’ve known him for barely a fucking year, and here you are, sauntering away with his first name.

His hand on your waist tightens, gripping and squeezing at your lovely flesh until he can feel you wince in pain. “I’m afraid it might be a while,” he says, voice brittle.

“What do you mean?” you ask, turning around, your eyes widening.

Oikawa shoves you inside and slams the door. “I mean,” he hisses. “That your precious Hajime won’t be coming around anytime soon.”

Panic rises in your throat, but he slaps a hand over your mouth quicker than you can scream. All that escapes is a strangled cry, weak and thin, one that quickly dies out in the entrance hall of his house. It’s much too quiet to reach any neighbors, you realize with a sinking feeling. The last bit of faint hope you harbor in the back of your mind dies when you realize that there’s no concerned housewife coming to check on the commotion, no fumbling child who might stumble in on you and Oikawa. You’re alone. You’re fucked.

He’d made sure of it.

“Bitches like you are so stupid, aren’t you? Making me spell everything out for you.” His voice drips condescension as he yanks you by the hair towards the bedroom. There’s no reason to put up an act anymore, he thinks, so he can be as rough as he wants with his new toy - he just has to make sure he returns you in one piece to Iwaizumi. Oikawa’s sure he won’t mind if you’re a little beat up around the edges, a little used by the end of this.

As he throws you down on the bed, the thought gives him immense satisfaction. You’d been so eager to do things with Iwaizumi - he’d coaxed out embarrassed confessions from his friend over late-night calls - so he’s almost sure that you’re a needy slut during sex.

Of course, you’re not nearly so eager now, not when he’s holding your squirming body down on the bed.

“You do realize that this is what you get, right? It’s your fault for being this fucking easy. Should’ve thought a bit harder about going home with me. Did your mommy and daddy never teach you to not trust men?” he says, face curling into a smile.

You’re unable to get a word out, mouth dry and cottony from the fear that pierces you. He watches your eyes flicker between the bulge in his pants and his face, uncertain and wary, like a deer caught in headlights. Oikawa can’t help the sick pleasure that bubbles up within him at the look on your face.

“Please,” you say hoarsely. “Please.”

“You have to use your words, you know. You could be begging me to stop, but I think you like this. I think you’re begging me to get on with it,” he says.

Maybe he’s taking it a step too far with the dramatics, but he can’t bring himself to tone it down - not when he’s right about to get to the good bit, and certainly not when he sees those pretty tears trickling down your face.

He looks you up and down appraisingly. He’d always thought you were rather pretty, with your soft halo of hair and your glittering smile - but he can’t deny that there’s a special sort of charm in the way you fidget uncomfortably under his gaze.

It makes him hungry.

As he spreads your thighs apart, all he can think about is how much he wants to claim you, to ruin you, because that’s what he imagines fucking you is like: ownership and victory spread on his tongue while your juices drench his cock. All the filthy dreams he’s had, every fantasy he’s gotten off to late at night, and the stifling heat spreading through his core is begging him to fuck you, to ravish your tight hole until the only name you know is his own.

He doesn’t really want to bother with prep. He’s sure that stretching you out on three - no, maybe four fingers until you scream would be fun, but you don’t deserve that kind of special treatment. Aren’t sluts like you supposed to be wet all the time anyway?

You can feel the outline of his dick dragging along your soft thighs, pressing close to your cunt, a breathy moan escaping his lips from the friction of his sweatpants grinding against your body. It’s not long before he pulls his cock out all the way and strokes it a few times. He grabs at your hips, maneuvering you like a rag doll, and fits the tip of his cock at your fluttering entrance. Nudging at your hole, he pushes in just the head of his cock - enough so you can feel the sting of his girth, but not nearly deep enough to offer any real relief.

You whine involuntarily, and a grin lights up his face. “You’re desperate, aren’t you?” he asks, dragging a thumb against your lips. “Is it because Iwa-chan doesn’t fuck you well enough? Is his pathetic dick too small to fill up that hole of yours properly?” he leers. “I’ve seen his cock before… mine’s bigger, you know.”

“Fuck you,” you mumble. You’re dizzy from the fear and panic that clouds your brain, but anger still seeps into your veins at his crude words.

Maybe if your head was a bit clearer, you would’ve realized that only stupid girls talk back.

Oikawa’s hips snap into yours harshly, his cock tearing at your insides, and you let out a strangled gasp. You’re not prepared for how well his cock stretches you out - it’s curved in all the right places, ramming into your cervix, brushing up against your tender g-spot - and as he ruthlessly pounds your frail body into the mattress, your mind blanks, overloaded with sensation. You can’t remember who you are, or why you’re getting fucked. The only thing on your mind is the raw feeling of being cunt split wide open, of having your insides rearranged until you’re a drooling, dumb mess.

“Fuck who?” he asks, shoving two fingers inside your sloppy mouth,

“F- fuck…” you whisper. His fingers are gripping at your hips so tightly you can feel the skin beginning to bruise, and there’s just too much to handle. He’s everywhere; his fingers probe around your mouth, making you gag, and his cock drags along your tender walls until you’re left quivering around his length.

He leans down to kiss at your forehead, his lips brushing tenderly against your hair. “You can do it, baby,” he encourages, cooing at you. “You can say it.”

“Fuck me,” you whimper quietly, cheeks burning with shame.

“Good girl,” he says, voice sickly sweet. “I knew you could do it for me.”

Fucking you feels so much better once you’re compliant, he thinks. He slows down a bit, savoring the sensation of your cunt twitching uselessly while you writhe on the bed in pleasure. He feels a sharp jolt of arousal as he looks at the marks he’s left all over you, admiring how the angry bruises on your hips and waist are beginning to purple.

You tug at his shirt, sniffling and crying. “Please,” you beg. You’re not sure what you’re asking for anymore, not even sure whether you want Oikawa to stop or continue, but you can’t handle the way he’s slowly fucking you senseless.

He raises an eyebrow. “You want it faster?” he asks cruelly, bouncing you into his cock. There’s no response on your end, but Oikawa thinks he’ll take that as a yes. And if that’s what you want?

Well, that’s what you get.

The hum of pleasure in your core intensifies as he picks up speed again. This time, he angles his cock until it grinds down harshly on your sensitive spot, leaving your legs limp and body helpless as your cunt tightens like a vice. As you shudder from the orgasm that washes over you, he spills into your pussy until your hole is leaking white down your thighs.

You can feel him laughing softly as he pulls out and climbs to rest beside you, leaving you stuck in a pool of your own sweat and cum and. He wipes the remaining cum off of his cock, smearing it on your face, but you barely react. You feel so dirty, so tainted and violated, but you’re not sure you could move even if you tried - his cock has left you boneless and made sure that every square inch of your body is sore and aching.

“Well,” he says, breathless. “Better run home unless you want Iwa-chan to know you’ve been all used up.”

Hajime? Your eyes widen, welling up with tears.

Oikawa unlocks the phone in his hand and presses play.

The sounds that echo through the empty room make you feel like screaming, because there’s no denying the solid, tangible proof that’s being played back. Your breathy moans are clear as day, and it’s unmistakable when you hear yourself begging Oikawa to fuck you harder, faster, to split you apart on his cock.

With a sinking feeling, you know there’s no explanation that would ever satisfy Hajime if he heard this audio. You can already see the pain in his eyes if he were to find out that his best friend for the past twelve years had ruined you, fucked you so thouroughly that you could barely tell the difference between pain and pleasure.

You don’t want that, you realize miserably. You can’t have that.

“I’m not going to send it,” he says. He sees hope creep into your expression, as if you’re almost daring to believe that you could go back to your normal life after this little session, but he doesn’t feel any pity for you when he speaks again.

“Not if you stay away.”

You and Hajime don’t belong together anyway, so why would he be sorry?

Your eyes drop as you inhale shakily. Oikawa watches you fumble around for your clothing, entertained by the way you trip and stumble as your weak legs attempt to hold you upright. It makes for an awkward, ugly image - but he can’t deny the warm thrill of satisfaction that runs up his spine as you slink out of his bedroom.

He’s finally making things right.

-

When you go to school the next day, you’re glad that you don’t have any classes with Hajime for the first time ever. It makes it easier to avoid him, and you purposely choose to sit as far away as possible from their table in the lunchroom. You don’t bother responding to his messages either, every single text of his sending a bitter jolt of pain through you, and you eventually block his number.

Weeks later, you’re not sure he’d believe you even if you were to explain everything. What would you even say? That you’d been ignoring him and ghosting him because his best friend of twelve years had raped and blackmailed you? That someone he knows and trusts was capable of devastating violence? Oikawa and him seem closer than ever, and you start to wonder at your own stupidity. To think that you could ever get in between a bond as close as theirs - maybe Oikawa was right all along.

You’re walking home alone one day, the hazy late-day sun bathing the roads in a shimmering heat, when you hear footsteps and a voice behind you. Your heart hammers unsteadily, getting ready to run, when you hear three words that make your stomach drop.

“I’ve missed you.”

[demonicxfire]

Rainfang Pack Intro

Hi to everyone! I'm Daniel! I come from Italy, and I'm 18! And obviously, as you probably already know, I'm werewolfkin!

Thank you so much for accepting me!

I'm so excited and happy to be part of a pack! Both me and my werewolf side craved to join a pack... so, I'm EXTREMELY happy that I can finally say, that I'm part of a pack!!

So now, I'm part of a big family, my new and true family, the Rainfang Pack...

And because of this, my werewolf side feels a little bit better. ❤️🐺😁

Anyways, I also wanted to tell you that I'm a writer! I only wrote a book and revised 1 chapter of it (and I recently published it), but my mind is full of ideas for an entire saga!

And, one last thing... thank you, again. I really appreciate it. I couldn't ask for a better pack.

Now, I can't wait to know all of you better (I kinda already did lol, as I'm editing this)!

———————————————

Oh by the way, here's my introduction!

Name: Daniel

Pronouns: he/him

Age: 17

Tumblr: @demonicxfire (Demonic Fire is actually a character of my story, and personally, he's my favorite character)

(Sub)species: Werewolf

Appearance: Bipedal, black (and grey? (I'm once again questioning this) fur, not extremely buffed (between strong and agile), mid-long tail, golden eyes, long snout

I have to thank @/litterbrooks for this drawing 🐺😁❤️

______

Another edit: this is me if I had wolf form (which I don't 😅). I just added this for the fur colours. In fact, these are my true fur colours, and same goes for the eyes

-------------------------------------------------------

My Story

I decided to add this second part to advertise my story.

The story is a werewolf anime, multiverse-based, fantasy story

(I REALLY LOVE WEREWOLVES, ANIMES, AND CROSSOVERS AND THE FANTASY GENRE)

(Actually, thanks to that dream shift, I now think there are infinite worlds out there. And I'm sure as hell that in one of them I'm happy, because I'm a werewolf...)

[The story begins just like my experience... with a dream, in which the protagonist, Daniel (who's an ideal version of me), dreamt of becoming a werewolf.

But, you know that he had the dream, a little more than a year before, because he's the one who's telling this.]

My main sources of inspiration are epic music (going from rock to emotional, but also anime osts, game osts, movie osts, etc.), Minecraft, Soulsborne games (DS3, Bloodborne, Elden Ring)

And as I said, I visualize it as an anime.

It's full of emotions, going from sadness, despair, hopelessness, arriving to epicness, badass-ness (? I don't know if this word exist lol), etc.

Now, I don't want to say anything else, so here's the link

In the moment I'm editing this, I only published one chapter, but I'm already writing the second one.

I hope you'll like it!

-------------------------------------------------------

Important Posts

- Relaxing Playlist for Werewolves:

- Epic Playlist for Werewolves:

[introvertguide]

The Road Movie

Most movies follow a general script type depending on genre, and this is used to tell a story that has a satisfying ending. It is interesting when a movie mixes up type and tone and goes against genre type. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it is terrible. Great directing and acting can make the subversion of expectations less jarring (or more depending on the end goal), but the end goal and tone allows us to attach a film to a genre. But what about films that aren't about the end goal? There are many films that are in a sub-genre that focus on the journey with little regard to the end goal. These are what are called "road movies" and can fall under many different genres since the end goal doesn't really matter. Let's address some famous road movies through the years that are also classified in a variety of other genres:

Huckleberry Finn (1931)

The OG of travel films, this was the sequel to Tom Sawyer (1930) and had the same child actors. This wasn't what you would call financially successful, but this was largely due to the Great Depression. The 1939 version of the movie did a lot better and was one of the well known films of child actor Mickey Rooney. This story of travel was an early role for many actors including Rooney, Ron Howard, and Elijah Wood. Although there were threats of death and portrayals of slavery, this film was considered a family adventure in the pre-code film era. I guess a boy escaping his abusive father in the company of an adult escaped slave where people are actively attempting to rob and kill them was considered a fun family romp in the early 30s. This was the same story that came from a book that was banned in schools during the 1980s. It is a great story and I love the works of Mark Twain; I am just surprised at the genre.

Stagecoach (1939)

This is a great movie that transcends the Western genre of which it is categorized. A group of people all have different reasons for traveling from an Arizona territory over to New Mexico. There is word of vengeful thieves and angry Apaches that threaten the small band of travelers. It is actually very intense because the threat feels very real throughout the film. The entire film focuses on the journey and the relationships forged (and broken) on the way. This was the breakout role for John Wayne and was part of an amazing string of films directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne.

Easy Rider (1969)

This is a film that really spoke to the hippie movement during the Vietnam Era. It is statement on how difficult it is to truly be free and how society fears that freedom and tries to destroy it. The film might very well have the worst dialogue of any movie I have ever seen. Actors Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper were actively using drugs throughout film production, so the real draw was the sweet rides and the moving soundtrack. This is a movie where I actually want more driving montages and less character development because I don't identify with the characters at all. Maybe it is a generational gap.

Paper Moon (1973)

This film is amazing. It is the story of a traveling grifter who takes a little girl on the road with him after her mother dies. He teaches her how to make a living cheating people and they form a father-daughter type of relationship. It is a comedy drama that won the girl an Oscar for best supporting actress when she was only 10. Some nice back story, the girl is Tatum O'Neal and is the actual daughter of the grifter, played by Ryan O'Neal. It is kind of strange, but this is a "coming of age" film on the road.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Now this is what I am talking about. Two brothers go on a trip after being released from jail because they got a message from God. I am pretty sure that this film still holds the record for most crashed vehicles in a single movie. It is also interesting that the film is technically a musical. The brothers stop at different locations and songs break out. In between stops, they are chased by the police in an almost demolition derby style chase. I really enjoy this movie and believe that it really keeps a fast pace (literally and figuratively), but, like many road films, I can't say it is good because it is more of an experience than a story.

Thelma and Louise (1991)

This was an interesting twist on the "run from the law" type of film. Two women are friends and decide go on a weekend retreat. They get in trouble after killing a man who tries to assault them and have to run from the authorities. It has a reputation for being very feminist (despite being directed by accused mesogenist Ridley Scott) because of the negative portrayal of men. It obviously wasn't that bad since it was nominated for 6 Oscars including both leads for best actress. In fact, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon were both nominated for best actress at the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs, and the Golden Globes. It is the quintessential road film since the end goal is constantly changing and best defined as "away from here."

Natural Bork Killers (1994)

This was kind of a strange film. It is a crime drama where the audience follows two killers with traumatic childhoods as they meet and go on a murder spree. Similar to Bonnie and Clyde, but with gory murders as the focus over bank robberies. It is directed by Oliver Stone, and criticizes the glorification of violence by the media. It is most definitely a road movie because the end goal for the two is simply to be together and enjoy the rush of breaking the law. Hm. It is actually quite a bit like Bonnie and Clyde. Interesting. I would like to make a note that my mom hates this film because of the shaky cam and Dutch angles. It made her feel sick at the theater.

Road Trip (2000)

OK. This is far and away my least favorite film on this list, but it is the most famous "boner road comedy" that I am familiar with. It is a high school/college coming-of-age film that focus on the sexual pursuits of a group of young men. These types of films are marked with gross out humor, gratuitous nudity, and boys trying to have sex. There was a bunch of films like this that came out around the early 2000s and they all had to do with boys traveling some place in search of idealized sex (the plot on this one is a little different, something to do with a sex tape) and generally they find that the best girl for them was there by them all along. It takes a nice idea of character development and throws raunchy jokes and boobs at it. I was not a fan, but it was definitely a thing.

Death Proof (2007)

This is much better shlock. It is the Tarantino version of exploitation grindhouse films of the seventies, but updated to be a women empowerment film. It was part of a double feature that was paired with a horrific zombie outbreak film directed by Rod Rodriguez, but this one is much better on its own. It is the story of an old stunt man who travels around looking for unsuspecting victims whom he can run down in his indestructible car. This is a great example of what a road movie can be because Tarantino took the concept of a slasher and put it completely on the road.

Mad Max Fury Road (2015)

Here is an action revenge film in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where most of the film is driving. The producers couldn't find a director who they trusted with remaking George Miller's Mad Max franchise so the 70 year old Miller said "hold my beer" and made this masterpiece that is arguably better than any of the first three (edit: I guess Miller always intended to direct but it took so long to go into production that he joked in interviews about giving up on it). The original trilogy with Mel Gibson presents an amazing world where most people are nomadic and traveling can be a life or death proposition. Fury Road is the further adventures of the character and his interaction with one Furiosa. The use of many practical effects on moving vehicles that was garnished with CG effects made for one of the best action films in the last decade. It was more than a simple movie about traveling; it was a land were the road was life and everything surrounded the ability to be mobile enough to get supplies in a dead world.

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This is by no means all of the road movies. The Wizard of Oz is technically a road movie. The Grapes of Wrath is a critically acclaimed road movie from around the same time. Comedies like The Cannonball Run, Smokey and the Bandit, and National Lampoon's Vacation can all be classified in the genre. Rain Man is one of the best films of all time and it can be classified as a road movie. What it comes down to is that, when considering characters, a writer should think about the journey itself and think of how the leads interact with this entity. The road might be the best character in the whole story.