#I genuinely thought I was going to get stuck doing sketches

[yukinabushido]

Saw a Shadow Milk with a dress and I just drew it.

Also blue version bcs why not.

Original/Inspiration from Magical_Chan in the Cookie Run Kingdom Discord server:

[bao3bei4]

why zines? how zines?

i was on a panel at fanworks con 2023 about zines today. it was a lot of fun! i decided to turn my portion of the talk into a post for my friends who couldn’t make it to the panel. 

this post includes my thoughts on: 

why make a zine

how to generate ideas for zines

how to finish your zines

how to build an audience for your zines

so why zines? what are they? [ZEENS, rhymes with beans], pronounced that way because it’s a shortened form of the word magazine, are basically just that: self published magazines. but why make a zine over, say, a blog post? or any other piece of art. 

i have basically three reasons. the first is that making little books is cool. it’s genuinely awesome to make physical zines and have the product of your labor in your hand. it’s a great feeling to finish a project and feel a concrete reward, and a lot of times we don’t get that in our lives.

the second reason is that zines give you absolute editorial control. you can put anything you want on a page. whatever layout, whatever order, whatever fold, whatever content. you name it, you can do it. this is something other venues rarely give you. for artists, it’s phenomenal. and for the rest of us, it gives us the ability to become artists for a little bit, as we lay things out.

the third reason is that zines can be absolute shit. in fact, the more shit they are, the more diy and punk they are. they have an incredible lineage of stolen copy paper and anarchist politics. all that to say, is that there are no standards. the zine ethos is say what you wanna say. it’s tremendously freeing to go fuck polish and respectability, i’m making my project.

because of these three reasons, i want to encourage you to get started making zines by describing common challenges and worries and giving you several practical tips for each on working past them. so, in order, they’re “i don’t know what to make a zine about,” “i struggle to finish projects,” and “no one will read my zines.” let’s get into it.

first up, “i don’t know what to make a zine about.” i think this one is pretty common, even for experienced zine creators. sometimes you’re in the mood to make things but you have no clue what. a lot of people suggest to just go with random words or whatever pops into your head, but i’m picky! i find that unsatisfying! so here are some tips for people in the same boat. 

ONE: what’s distracting you? work with it. because anything can be a zine, let the things you’ve already done serve as inspiration. photos you’ve taken can be formatted into a zine. is there a game sucking up your attention? make a zine about it. the song stuck in your head can turn into a lyricbook, forgotten works in progress or sketches can be resurrected, cannibalized, or even published as incomplete zines. if you’ve been busy with real life, maybe the recipes you’ve been making—even if, especially if, they’re struggle meals, can turn into zines. interview your most interesting friend. summarize a book you read recently. even if you’ve just been doomscrolling, that’s a zine too! i got a zine last weekend called bay area newsreel which was collecting recent articles about local news from leftist perspectives gathered up into a handy volume. your attention is a gift, so look at what zine fodder it’s accumulated for you naturally. 

SECOND: add a twist. sometimes i have an idea but it isn’t quite right. it just seems too straightforward. so i try to develop along a single axis of content or form. what this means is basically go against your instincts, or rather, your first impulse. that first idea is very hard to walk away from, but doing so often gives you an idea that gets you unstuck. so for content, add a different perspective. for me this is often a theoretical approach. when i was stuck on my scum villain zine, turning it into freud zine let the words start flowing. next, on form: present it differently than your first instinct is to. if my first thought is “essay,” i try to figure out how to chunk out the information into modules or how to add interactivity or what kind of illustrations to add. if my first thought is “this could be a fic or comic,” i try turning it into an essay. saying things a different way often gives you a new perspective on the content as well. 

THIRD: copy! make your take on the same thing as someone else. it’s not stealing—well, ideally it isn’t. make your original take and give credit where credit is due and ask permission if necessary. but engage with the medium!!! making zines without reading zines is the same thing as trying to write a paper without citing sources, or a novel without reading your contemporaries. that is, you can do it, but it’s hard. zines are a genre into themselves so figure out how to situate yourself in their ongoing dialogue. an example of this from my own practice is that i own a zine about queer gods and mythological creatures from chinese history. reading it i was like. why don’t they talk about this. why don’t they talk about that. and that became the basis for my own zine, guaitai the strange and the queer which focused on queer chinese history and literature instead. different zine, same inspiration. 

all of my ideas suppose you have SOMETHING going on. what if you truly have nothing. my advice? adapted from my “how to write an essay” blog post, is to read a book. read an article. read something. and then post about it. and then turn your posts into a zine. don’t start entirely from scratch — give yourself a scaffolding. so first. read something and tell someone about it. i wasn’t lying about calling myself a consummate poster. it’s a big part of my thought process. 

second up, what if “i struggle to finish projects.” i’m no stranger to having a bunch of half finished half started projects lying around. but here are some zine-specific tips i have for addressing that.

FIRST! go smaller; go shittier. reduce the scope of your projects. make one pagers, lists. once when i was feeling stymied, i made a physical zine about movies i’d watched that month, just listing them with a couple bullet points on each film. i eventually turned it into a bigger digital zine where i listed movies i’d watched over the past several months with more thoughts on them, and nicely formatted. but that was something that came out of reducing my scope from “i need to write a manifesto on a movie i’ve watched recently” to “well i can just tell people about it” to “i can say two things about it.” and something actually got finished.

SECOND. your friends are a great tool for accountability. something i like to do is zine jams with my friends. nothing fancy, it’s just we’ll sit down for an hour and go we’re going to make something in this hour. or, for a bigger scope, we might work separately but commit to making a zine that weekend. it’s nice to have community and it’s nice to feel a little bit of a friendly deadline. i recommend this even if you DON’T have problems finishing zines. it’s a good time. 

THIRD. a lot of times if the words aren’t coming easily, it’s because i’m not trying to say the right thing. keep in mind that your zines don’t have to be “content.” this little paper zine i made about movies wasn’t made to share online; in fact, it’s not available online. i didn’t make it according to what other people would see or be interested in. you can and will burn out on making “marketable” content. corollary to this: sometimes what i have to say is something i DON’T want to share online. it might not be that it’s boring, it might be that it’s too personal. and i share a lot online, i write personal essays after all. but some projects i stall on because they’re really just for me, and i’m again, focused on making content. so this piece of advice is about rejecting the tyranny of the imaginary audience. 

and the next challenge is about embracing that audience! what if no one reads your zines, something that’s entirely possible. well there’s plenty you can do about that.

FIRST. cultivate zine community. read other people’s zines! talk to them about their zines! this greatly increases the chance that they will do the same for you. don’t go in expecting reciprocity; do it for its own sake, but it’s a great place to start. try asking people at zine fests if they’d be willing to trade with you, for instance. 

SECOND. write for yourself. it’s cheesy but it’s true. you really have to. if you’re not proud and happy with what you’re making on its own merits, what’s the point. now because this is a cop out tip, i’m not counting it as a tip on its own. 

so SECOND PART TWO. make your zines more accessible. if they’re not free, make them free—yes, you deserve to be compensated for your work, but it’s up to you to decide if you want a bigger audience first. if your zines aren’t short, make them shorter. make them short enough that you can post their entirety on social media or something else easy for your audience to consume. it’s a big ask sometimes to get someone to download your pdf! if they’re physical, hand them out to people you meet. remove all the barriers to entry.

THIRD. related to this, change medium. if you’re not making physical zines, try printing them out. if you’re not making digital zines, try digitizing them. both of these offer access to new audiences and new people who might be more interested in one form than another. 

i hope these thoughts encourage you to make a zine! if you do, please let me see it. i love reading zines. 

[oddfable]

Sketches of my lovely lovely MC for the magnificent @loveandleases's "Love and Leases".

Nothing real serious, just some doodles of my MC Julia and Cam (or, well... my interpretation of him). This boy has me in a chokehold, and I can't believe Julia picked prissy Chris over him T-T

I'm also really looking forward to Gage and Ardent's romances, but I'll need to build the willpower to NOT romance Cam before I can get to them. Same with Markus and Isaac, and mmmaaaaayyybbbeee Kara. I only hesitate going for her because I'd feel bad if MC dates every Clarke sibling BUT Cam. Doubly so because he is, in my humble opinion, the best Clarke.

Anyways, my heads just buzzing with little tidbits about my girl, so here's a bunch of useless knowledge about her down below.

Quick heads up! This is basically just a long rant about her and her relationship with Cam. Read at your own peril, it's unnecessarily long and dumb.

Name: Julia Fontaine

Dog: Koi the shih tzu

Career Path: Modeling for Cam

Summary: If Jade is the "It Girl", cool and collected and desired, Julia is the "Good Girl". The quiet, well-behaved girl. The sweet plain-Jane. The nice but forgettable sister, quickly overshadowed in the blinding brilliance of Jade Fontaine.

Basically, she was the boring one.

Years of being overlooked in favor of Jade left Julia vying for attention by being perfect. Perfectly behaved, perfectly smart, perfectly understanding and in her shell and away from the spotlight. And for the longest time, this left her very insecure and even more reserved than she already was. For as much as she loved Jade and held little resentment, there was still a part of Julia that compared herself to Jade negatively. After all, it was natural for everyone to favor Jade. And there had to be a reason everyone liked her better.

The only exception to this was Cam.

Whereas other friends would be lured away by her mesmerizing older sister, Cam stuck to Julia's side like a stubborn stain on white sheets. And in doing so, Julia not only thrived in his presence but grew into herself.

Julia came alive whenever Cam was around. With him she smiled brighter, laughed louder, felt more genuine in each and every of her interactions. She was playful, and teasing, and had a much warmer atmosphere. Unafraid of showing how she truly felt. Embracing all of her emotions, the positive and negative.

He helped her be confident, not only in herself as a person, but in her love for art. An outlet that she happily turned into a hobby, and a skill that she tirelessly worked on and developed over the years. Though she still hesitates doing anything worthwhile with it, Julia is easily skilled enough to try going professional as an artist.

Cam brings out the best and the worst of Julia. And for a while, she thought he was "the one". But when his heart went to someone else, her own was stolen by Chris Clarke.

And what a mistake that was, falling for Chris Clarke.

_____________________________

History

Developed a crush on Cam at a very young age. Realized her growing feelings sometime in middle school. Did her best to ignore them until junior year of high school. Starting junior year, she slowly overcame her fear of destroying the friendship and subtly tried confessing. The problem? Her "confessions" were either too vague, easily misunderstood as admission of feelings for someone else, or she would straight up chicken out last minute. ~*~

In college she said "Fuck it" and was going to confess to Cam as straightforward as possible. She had a whole plan and everything. Found an interesting gallery exhibition she knew he'd love and made reservations at a very popular, slightly high-end restaurant. She worked super hard and saved up for months at her part-time job to afford a whole new (pricey) outfit and makeup set, to fund the entire date herself, and so she could buy him this camera he'd recently mentioned. It was a professional camera, recently released, and very expensive. BUT totally worth it. ~*~

Legit went all out when planning to romance him. ~*~

Was going to ask Cam to "hang out" (aka initiate the date) when she heard he was dating someone. Putting her confession on hold, Julia was in complete denial of this new development. Then she saw him with his new girlfriend. She was heartbroken. Regardless, she pushed her own feelings aside and became the #1 supporter of Cam and his girlfriend. Literally went out of her way to get out of the way for the new girl. ~*~

She repurposed the camera she bought as a Christmas gift for Cam. Claimed it was an investment in his future career, but also a bribe so he'd photograph her future wedding for free. ~*~

Before college, Julia didn't think much of Chris. He was kind of just there. Like, a background prop you didn't really notice. Sure, they'd exchange pleasantries and maybe even chitchat for a bit, but that was it. She had no interest in him. When Cam started dating his now-ex, Chris swooped in and wormed his way center stage of Julia's life. The two formed a very close and tight knit friendship. ~*~

Julia was hesitant to start dating Chris. Even though she'd mostly gotten over him, Julia still had lingering feelings for Cam. She ended up giving Chris a shot so long as he promised he'd have no expectations. Much to her shock, Julia was quickly swept off her feet, all feelings for Cam fading away. Needless to say, Julia was genuinely head-over-heels in love with Chris. ~*~

Despite falling for Chris, Cam remained Julia's "person". Her touch stone, someone she absolutely couldn't live without. Wanting her boyfriend and best friend to get along, she put max effort into mending their relationship. The results were... less than ideal. BUT, she tried. Additionally, she put a lot of effort into getting to know Kara better and rest of the Clarkes. ~*~

After "the incident" and moving in with Cam, Julia is horrified her feelings for the red head have returned with a vengeance.

Trivia

Julia paints and draws both digitally and traditionally. That said, she lowkey prefers traditional medium. She loves oil paint the most and is particularly fond of using splash techniques when she can afford the paint and canvas. She'll strategically splashes paint onto the canvas and forms shapes until she gets the image she wants. When it come to people or animals, she's more precise with her strokes. You could say her style is more on the expressionist side. ~*~

A lot of her older drawing notebooks are filled with doodles of Cam. ~*~

Was a tall kid. Would use her height advantage to affectionately tease Cam. Lowkey wonders if their current height difference is some kinda universal karma, especially when he gently teases her the way she used to teased him. ~*~

They have the same energy as a pair of bonded cats so in sync they're basically joined at the hip. ~*~

Julia and Chris were actually a great pair, and Julia would have remained loyal to him till the end of her days had he stayed faithful. She would do a lot of little things to show how much she appreciated him. Things like bring him a snack if he was still working at home. Pack him a nice lunch if she got up early enough and was in the mood, topped with a little stick-it note of a cute drawing and words of affirmation. Also freely gave shoulder massages and back hugs, and overall was incredibly physically affectionate. ~*~

You could say she was physically affectionate to the point of being clingy. Luckily, for the most part, she was empathetic enough to pick up if she was being too much and back off. If she didn't pick up on it, all you'd need to do was tell her and she'd step back. ~*~

Love languages are physical touch and words of affirmation. ~*~

With anyone else, Julia would want to wait until marriage to be "intimate". With Cam, she's pretty much ready to go any time he is. The reason isn't that deep: Julia is terrified of being tied down to a bad relationship because of amazing sex (has seen it happen plenty of times, does not want the same fate). But with Cam, things are different. She has a level of trust in him that goes beyond reasonable. There is no line in the sand when it comes to him, because she knows, in her heart of hearts, that he'd never do anything to hurt her. And she'd never do anything to hurt him. ~*~

Has thalassophobia. Mostly centered around the ocean and sea, but is also unsettled by huge lakes. Could probably overcome it if Cam is with her. Even then, she's goanna be clinging to him like she's dying and he's a lifeline. ~*~

When dating Cam, she half-jokingly suggests they skip dating and get married at the courthouse. Then they can start saving up for their dream wedding. Claims they've known each other so long that it'd work out fine. Says this as a joke because she wants to test the waters and see if the idea puts him off or not. She would absolutely elope and start saving for the wedding of their dreams if he implied he's down for it. She may or may not already have a few ideas for engagement and wedding rings. ~*~

I like to imagine that, after getting notoriety as Cam's model, Julia gains the confidence to sell some of her paintings. I also like to imagine that she and Cam are extremely successful in the world of art and photography.

[occasionally-victor]

some mer au sketches, this time figuring out some designs for brazilians (does. does Brazil even exist in this au-) (also kinda tweeked Richas' design to look a bit more. for water yknow) ("mer au" doesn't draw any mer)

talking about them under the cut:

!pac is aquafolk (i genuinely don't know how to call just partially fish people), he's, well, partially fish (blue fin tuna as an inspiration). He can transform from "looks human of you dont look too close" (still needs to cover fins and gills) to "40% of body is scales" (can really only happen in water). On a pic is a middle form, for when he's only with family and friends.

!mike is dryad, the three parts (just like that ribcage also has a tree spine basically) are flexible. The green stuff all over the body are not because of him being dryad, it's actually moss. That is a result of "moss disease", when basically moss starts growing on body. Unless you have been born with it or it was completely removed, it can be deadly (because the moss uhh incompatible with the host basically. however, if a person was born with it, that person will be fine, because the body was born already compatible with moss). !Mike was born with it, so it's fine, however he can't really wear clothes on top of it (it's not a requirement, it's more for a comfort of moss). Oh, and also he has a goddess wife, yeah.

!felps is a human sorcerer (or maybe enchanter idk, and he is pretty powerful). His main thing is doing potions (that's like. basically the only thing that he is actually interested in practicing). And he's like, stupidly good at it, both normal use ones and completely ridiculous ones. He carries a lot of ingredients in his ig it can be called a skirt? a 3/4 skirt's pockets. That also makes him pretty good at doing homebrew medicine, so that's neat.

both twins are human (tho for shits and giggles their very distant ancestors are catpeople, but at this point the only things left are just sharp senses) and good news they actually got to reunite again when they were just 19! slightly less trauma for them! what happened in a first place? someone just happened to accidentally dimension hop to a basically hell dimension (im actually thinking about calling it Nether fr, i think it's just a nice name tbh) when he was like 10, right on the eyes of his sister. That also led to both if them acquiring pretty powerful demons (that what basically everyone who lives in Nether called, in the same way that everyone who lives in this dimension are people) as companions.

!bagi at first thought that Jorge is her imaginary friend that appeared to help her feel less lonely after her brother was gone. She didn't question the fact that they were a bit too real sometimes (she was just 10, it didn't exactly matter to her at that point). Jorge, who is fresh out of Nether and doesn't really know how to get back anyway (the passage was closed immediately after some boy ran through it) doesn't really want to break it to a kid, so they just. Stick around and eventually become an actual friend. (a bit background for them: Jorge was a spirit, who on a way to a Rest Place (basically dimension for dead) accidentally gets stuck in Nether (it's basically normal occurrence to be stuck in some dimension on a way). Jorge basically uhhh starts consuming other spirits that were not yet found by grim reapers and by that amasses enough power to basically become a demon themselves. They do not remember any of that tho, however Jorge on themselves at this point is rather a conglomerate of spirits with og one in charge basically). When !Bagi started working as investigator (when she was 16 - she was really persistent), Jorge was actually really useful because, well, they are still a spirit, they can go through walls and all that. ig that also makes them working partners.

not going to get into how exactly the 9 years of being basically in hell went for !cellbit, but making a pact with a demon was probably the thing that saved his life the most. Rapaziada (or Chat - affectionate nickname) is a hivemind creature that manifests itself as voices in a head of host or dark evergy. At the cost of 80% of !cells memories, it's main task became to protect the host in any way possible (physical and mental). Unfortunately, surviving in Nether outside of big cities, especially for someone who is not from this dimension, requires kill or be killed mindset so. Let's just say, Chat was really good at it's job, to the point when by the time the host turned 15 the demons help wasn't really required outside of physical protection (the dark energy is pretty flexible in what is could become). When eventually !Cellbit returned to his home dimension and dare i say even got better, Chat kinda became more of a slightly annoying, but usually ignorable roommate (roommates? it is a hivemind). Also it just being there gave !cell ability to see all what considered supernatural in world (like spirits who stuck and can't move on, or demons who for one reason or another is not in Nether and all that basically), so he became a paranormal investigator? (i dont think yall know what im talking about, but he basically becomes Yashiki from Death Mark, just with a bigger field of work). He basically helps spirits move on (or destroys them if needed), help lost demons to get back to Nether (surprisingly easier than to work with spirits!) or repairs the "holes" through which others can accidentally get to another dimension.

(I'm not going to get into details now, just to set a scene: !pac, !mike and !cell first meeting was in Nether and it went as well as you would think it is (a disaster), !cell and !felps became friends a bit after !cell returned from hell and are roommates atm.) So, those 4 happened to be in the same place - a cave, that is basically right by a abandoned house on a small hill (!Tazercraft are there because they were searching for some minerals (they didn't find any). !Cell is there because he had a request from someone living in that area to check the cave because "there were some weird sounds" - the standard stuff. !Felps is there because back then he sometimes joined !cell in investigations, so that what he did that day). However, right before the reunion might have turned violent, all 4 happened to catch some barely noticeable sounds - it was however, undeniably sounds of crying. A child's crying, which kinda made them to "deal with eachother later" and go check on whoever was making the sound. What they found was a small dragon child with left leg being just. gone (now that they think about it, there was some blood on caves floor). That basically how they found Richas (and that how they went from "barely know each other with most of them wanting having nothing to do with eachother" to family)

Richas basically now has three places to live: !Tazercraft's absolutely legal laboratory they pay all taxes for, !Felps' apartment in a city nearby, !Cellbit's house right by that cave (because that cave happened to be just perfect to be somewhat of a personal office for work;) (for reference, they live pretty close to eachother, the longest distance is no more than 2 hrs by motorbike).

!Bagi, well, doesn't live over there - she lives in another city, like 8 hrs on motorbike far away. She rents an apartment with !Tina and as of recent !Mouse.

[hantheheart]

im having Lancelot thoughts so.

Headcanon list for my Purse chihuahua (yes hes stuck with that moniker now)

He's good at styling hair. Won't do shit to his own hair, but if he's left sitting idle for too long, the person nearest to him is going to wind up with a new hair style for the day. He learned from helping do his mom's hair when he was young and Jericho's here and there.

He actually collects knives. not just for using his magic with, but because he likes seeing what cool and wild designs people make. He'd like to try his hand at making one someday, he's got a couple of sketches of designs.

He's fairly good at drawing. It's very sketchy looking, but he only draws landscapes of the places he's been to.

His fox form's fur is actually pretty coarse. This is intentional on his part.

I need this boy to have some not so "cool mature and untouchable" vibes

His parents held on to all his old toys and things from before he and Jericho vanished and when he finally returned home, he buried himself in stuffed animals and toys he genuinely thought he'd never be able to see again.

He has a stuffed rabbit he used to carry with him as a kid that, after it got to worn out to be fixed, he turned into a little bag he keeps on his belt with things he considers precious to him.

He and Tristan made up a secret code so they could write each other letters no one else could understand and they still use it when they're older. They teach Percy and Gawain so it becomes "The Four Knights Secret Code". It mostly gets used for dumb stuff like planning to sneak out in the middle of the night with friends or late night snack runs

he does actually have pretty sharp canines even in human form so he will bite if necessary. He just doesn't cause he knows it makes him look feral.

He's more a cat guy, honestly. Dogs can be a bit too high strung for him and he's more cat like himself anyways. Man can, will, and has napped in weird places just because "the sun hit just right" and will make eye contact before knocking shit over just because. He thinks he's hilarious for this. Tristan and Anne do not.

Jericho used to tell him "little white lie" stories for stuff he'd ask that she either didn't have an actual answer for or didn't want to explain to him and he still believes some of them. This leads to many hilarious moments of Lance vehemently telling people something and the rest of the gang explaining the truth to him.

Donny can and has agreed with Lancelot only because its kind of funny to see everyone look at him like he's lost his shit for saying he also believes an old wives tale or a children's story too.

It's a personal goal of his to be able to beat Meliodas in a fight, not for any particular reason, but just because it feels like a good goal to have since Meliodas is technically the strongest person in Britannia.

[prof-ramses]

Helluva Boss Apology Tour review

In retrospect, it's pretty funny that my expectations for this and The Full Moon ended up being reversed, the episode I expected to by focused on character interaction ended up being more action focused, while the episode I thought would be action focused ended up being mostly character interactions.

For those who just want my thoughts on the plot developments: Once again, I'm pleasantly surprised by how Stolas is handled, with a few moments sticking out for currently neutral reasons (it'll make more sense later).

Now, do get to the details:

I felt the opening sequence was slightly longer than needed, but I feel that was somewhat intentional, evoking a sense of unease.

The montage of the bulk of Blitz's apologies is a lovely tribute to what amounts to the first third of the show, this is easily the most callback heavy episode, but I'd say it feels earned given its place in the story. And I simply can't gloss over the brief acknowledgement of all the people who ship Martha and Mayberry, for someone like me, who has a love of those tongue in cheek fandom gags, it's a real good treat.

Speaking of references, don't think I missed Grandpa's cameo when Blitz gets to Earth, oddly enough, it's not even the characters first interactions with the hellaverse, as Brandon's channel has a sketch of Blitz and Moxxie going after Grandpa.

The song was perfectly serviceable, even if I'm not a fan of Bryce Pinkham's voice in general. I'll also take this opportunity to say I loved both the joke of an actual Blitz plush being burned and the brief shot of the last "party" Stolas attended.

The major point of the episode is obviously the conversation between Blitz and Stolas at the party, and I certainly have some thoughts on it. The first moment that stuck out to me was Stolas saying he wants someone to care about him and want him in their life, only for him to clarify a moment later that he meant it romantically feels like it was done to show that he's, at least on some level, aware that he's neglecting Octavia, which I can't wait to see catch up with him, hopefully by the end of the season. The second is when her doubles down on wanting to be wanted, the exact moment when I came up with this question:"Stolas why do you think no one wants you in their life?" And this is exactly what I hope is built on, Stolas has drowned himself in self pity for so long that there's very little to him as a person to the point that no one sees any real benefit in having any relationship with him, not just romantically, but platonically as well.

This is all building to my point, I'm genuinely starting to think that Blitz and Stolas' relationship will ultimately end on a mutually respectful break up, and if that does turn out to be true then I might genuinely end up somewhat respecting this plotline, despite the major road bumps in the first half of the season.

The last major point I want to hit is Verosika, who manages to be both more extreme and more subdued than before while still feeling completely natural. While I don't have any concrete ideas, I am very curious to see where her character goes in the future.

In conclusion, while I think I prefer The Full Moon, this is still a better episode than roughly half of season. I just hope they can keep it up in the last three episodes as well as the three shorts we'll be getting in July, August and September, which are indeed a thing, in case you weren't aware. That's all for now, feel free to leave any of your own thoughts below.

[shadesofnavy]

Senpai, or how I shall name him, Stephan Lindberg, teen and adult

holy fuck what did i do to him

Anyways

Tagging for toxic fake friendships and manipulation?

He's 17 years old on the left drawing, and 32 on the right. He's 5'8, had an older sister named Stacy (if you recall her then you get a request sketch) who went missing in 2011.

He and Stacy went to the same school as Keith, Cherry, and later Darnell did. Their parents were always busy with work, and the family rarely ever spent time together. Stephan and Stacy at first were good kids, but as they grew older their lack of family bonding led to them spending more time with friends and strangers, and eventually they'd become stuck-up and mischievous. It didn't help that their parents often spoiled them with gifts and money for any sort of occasion either.

At school, Stephan always hated Keith with a passion after the latter started dating his crush Cherry to the point where he went up to fight Keith, who he ultimately lost to. Stephan was outraged, but Keith, out of his goodness, surprised the blonde boy by purposing that he'd prefer they be friends instead of enemies (he heard that Stephan was a well-liked guy by the girls anyways). At first he thought Keith was completely dumb, but Stephan ended up realizing that this guy might have been stupid enough to steer him into relishing trouble as revenge for "taking the girl." Rather than lashing out again, he "accepted" Keith's friendship and later led Keith into believing that they were genuinely good friends.

Much to Stephan's inner irritation, Keith would consider him a close friend as their high school years passed, but this only came in handy for Stephan when he happily manipulated and tricked Keith with challenges and dares, getting him into a lot of trouble and actually getting hurt in some cases. He relished it all for having loss Cherry to the "stupid bloke". Keith never caught on to what was actually going on until much later

Coincidentally, like her brother, Stacy had always had a crush on Keith, and the two siblings both would both argue on what they liked about the other, but eventually came up with ways to help each other in attempt to ruin Keith and Cherry's relationship--which never worked. Similar to her brother's tactics, Stacy befriended Cherry, however for a time she actually considered the brunette to be a good friend. The sentiments didn't last long with her brother's constant complaints though, and she ended up backstabbing Cherry a night before their senior prom, just days after Stephan shows Keith his true mug in the worst way possible. Their glory didn't last long though before Darnell cleared things up in front of the whole school that same prom night, putting both Stephan and Stacy in their places and ruining their social status.

As the years passed afterwards, Stephan and Stacy moved out of town and both went their separate ways traveling across the country with the loads of money their parents continuously gave them to back them up, until the gal went missing out of the blue at 21 years old. Stephan was snapped back into reality, and ended up moving back with his parents, partially distraught by his sister's sudden disappearance. He would stay at home and begin to look back into both his and his sister's life. Eventually, he'd begin to write his own songs and begin to fix himself through lyrics rather than playing with people's lives and relationships.

[gemini526sdumptruck]

And now here's a proper introduction for the Emobjects!

I'm gonna be honest, I only still call them that because I don't have a better name xD.

I made these backgrounds, featuring little character symbols I made for each of them! These actually took longer than I anticipated! I didn't feel like making alternate poses for them after that so I decided to just make their bio post now lol.

Let's meet them!

Heartbreaker (She/Her): Heartbreaker is a dark angel who was sent down to Earth by the leader of the dark angels, Timekiller, to deal with some dark creatures (still deciding what) who planned on invading Earth. Realizing she was probably going to be here long term, she figured she needed somewhere to stay and something to do. So she set up a home for herself and decided to somehow enroll into the local high school, everyone would hopefully think she's just a regular teenager. This is where she would meet the rest of the group, who would slowly but surely consider her one of their bunch. Heartbreaker tends to take things extremely seriously, especially her mission. She was also hesitant to warm up to the others, because making friends was absolutely not her goal. But just how the others grew to like her, she came to like them as well. Hearbreaker can be snippy, is very straight to the point, and doesn't take anything from anyone. Her mallet is her primary weapon. It packs a powerful punch, but it's very heavy. Yet you will never catch her without it. Despite her unapproachableness, she is very loyal to the people she can tolerate.

Shady (She/Her): Shady isn't exactly the social type. Unless if she's around her friends or her sister, Shady's first instinct when it comes to conversations is to try and end it as soon as possible. She's a little deadpan and pretty blunt in her speech, too. However, Shady has a passion for creating and writing. Shady likes to sketch things in her sketchbook, writes short poems, and when she's really feeling it, whole stories. She was the first to meet Heartbreaker, and Shady thought she was the coolest object she's every seen. Like she's not imagining things, that girl actually has wings! Shady still isn't the most talkative, but when you get her going on something she's pretty nice to talk to.

Fang (He/Him): Fang is a half vampire, only half because he was turned rather than born that way. However he fully embraces that. Fang is probably the most social of the group. He talks...a lot. One of his favorite things to do is scare people for fun, whether it be pretending to bite them or just generally freaking them out by describing how he lives his unlife. He hangs from ceilings sometimes, he sleeps in coffins (which is how he prefers to sleep), and he even drinks blood (from frogs but he still counts it as blood, blood isn't easy to come by in the object world).

Deathcap (He/Him): Deathcap is snarky and tough. He's generally closed off from other people, and the rest of the group are really the only other people he interacts with genuinely. He can also get pretty aggressive, especially if someone else is dissing him or the rest of the group. If somebody takes a swing at him, he'll likely swing back with an insult of his own. Deathcap is a bit of a metalhead, and if you see him with earbuds, he's probably listening to metal on full volume.

Pinz (He/Him): Pinz is a bit of a strange one. He was found by Fang one day while he was walking through the graveyard. Pinz is a zombie doll thing who before joining the group was just wandering the graveyard aimlessly every night. After Fang befriended Pinz, Pinz got attached to Fang pretty quickly, and started following him everywhere. Fang decided to just introduce Pinz to the rest of the crew, and Pinz has stuck with them ever since. Pinz doesn't have a lot going on in his head, and he doesn't say much. All he's really able to say is his own name, "Pinz". Despite being a literal zombie, Pinz is harmless. He's actually quite friendly, but not a lot of people wanna be around him because of how scary he looks.

Acute (They/She): Acute was a mutual friend of Shady before joining the group. Acute sticks out in comparison to the others, but that doesn't bother them! They're just happy to be included in the group. Acute is excitable and could also be described as hyper. Acute generally just loves to have fun. They find fun in going online and posting whatever random thought is on their mind, visiting the arcade and maybe getting a burger along with it, and they especially like to dance to music on their playlist. (I also still desperately need to give them their own accessory xD)

Radiax (He/Him): Radiax has a passion for science, he's always had one. He definitely teeters on the line of "mad scientist", and he wears that label like a badge of honor. Debatably the smartest of the bunch, Radiax has his own secret lab in the basement of his house. His parents think he's just playing around, but they have no clue just how serious Radiax is about this science stuff. Weird sludge, probably toxic goop, and slime that seems to move all on its own, Radiax knows it all. Classic monster movies and creature features are some of his favorite media, the freakier the better! Radiax himself is intelligent, eccentric, and at times pretty smug, but often has the most "out there" solutions to things (almost all of them involve some kind of weird liquid he made).

I love these guys so so much. I hope they feel more like actual characters now, that was my primary goal here lol.

[chrzannekk]

1- do you have any plans for Jasper in your ghoul au? Is he a human that’s trying to figure out what happened to his best friend or is he still dead on the island? Is he a human living on the island/ renting Campbell’s summer house basically making it haunted for the ghouls?

2- “nurf , centaur - horse ran him over idk”

HAHAHA omg that’s so fucking funny-

Ok so based on that I assume that you don’t have a full plan for him so imma just put some ideas out there (100% don’t use it if you don’t want to but my brain is working overdriveee so I must shareee)

Consider: either Minotaur or bull centaur Nurf. Goes with the anger and violence issues and also with his more docile thoughtful side because bulls can actually be very sweet and gentle too. He could’ve tried to mess with a bull to either scare a kid or get the teacher upset on like a field trip to a farm and it ends badly.

If you go with the Texas longhorn specifically then he’d absolutely give kids wedgies off of the horns. He’d need a hella strong neck but sometimes magic works for the funnies lol

(Help me I have so many ideas- I’d make my own monster au but I’m preoccupied with my cc/gf world building and ✨merpeople✨)

If you need someone to bounce ideas off of or get stuck on a design/ world building element feel free to dm or @ me, the creativity demons are working overtime 🫠

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

(Genuinely though tell me to stop and I will)

GRAAH SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO RESPOND !! jasper does play a role in this au yes !! he's a human :) he's staying at his great uncles summer home on regular island ! he was warned not to sail to the land around it , but he still went anyway... he met little davey at camp campbell ! he though davey was a little weird ( because why are you wearing a halloween costume in the middle of june...everyday... ? )

the two quickly became friends , and each year jasper would come to the island to spend time with davey at the camp ! his uncle didn't know he would go there though , he just assumed jasper was a social outcast who liked to lock himself alone in a random house waiting for school to start again. he waaas meant to be supervised by QM , but its QM. he dgaf. the duo grow up together each summer , and jasper even visits at other holidays like halloween or thanks giving ! eventually , davey and QM tell jasper why they're both stuck at camp campbell , and why they don't leave it. jasper is..shocked at first but somehow makes peace with the fact his best friend isn't human anymore he starts so wonder if there's a way to reverse this. when the other kids start appearing in the woods , jasper decides to pay his uncle to rent the summer home so he can live there n help everyone get back to normal. he comes up with a solution , but doesn't know how to bring it up to David yet , or if it'll even work in the first place. also THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE NURF SUGGESTIONS !!! your brain is so massive I'm gonna take some of ur suggestions n roll with them >:3 expect some sketches of the other campers soon

[mdhwrites]

Have you seen the new HSR short, Rondo Across Countless Kapas? Got any thoughts? 👀

From an animation and sapphic perspective? HOLY FUCK! Absolutely gorgeous and I think what it's doing with Acheron is really interesting, even if it's essentially purely through visual storytelling. You could have the sound off and get everything interesting about the short.

Turn the sound on and you get the part I have a problem with: I'm kind of done with the Memokeeper. Not Black Swan, just the memokeeper element of her. I'll get into it soon but for those who haven't seen it, enjoy one of the best dances I've ever seen.

So what is my issue with the dialogue? Well, it's that Penacony has this problem of people getting into kind of grand speeches on a subject, even potentially mundane ones. Aventurine is always going on about power dynamics and hinting at his plan (this leads to the fucking god awful self quoting of like two paragraphs from himself at the end of 2.0), Sparkle is constantly using these big speeches to belittle people or mock them and Black Swan...

Black Swan is talking about memories. I'm not even against these monologues or the like but Black Swan has been in a LOT of marketing materials at this point and they ALL use her memokeeper element and very little of her fortunetelling element, usually only using the latter to emphasize the former in some way. It's just gotten very repetitive to me. Worse yet is that owning Black Swan AMPLIFIED this problem because it's more kind of mysterious, kind of not talk of dreams and the universe and memories and past that a lot of the rest of the big dialogue from her is. I want her to stop being so dramatic and be more personable, at least for a little while.

This isn't even me calling Black Swan a bad character. There is genuinely more to her with how playful she can be or how she is the best manipulator on Penacony so far because she can figuratively be two faced, something Sparkle needs literal shapeshifting powers for and Aventurine can't do to save his life, which the same goes for Himeko. She also sells the best though that she's genuinely a good person who just is willing to get her hands dirty but it is up to interpretation (honestly kind of frustratingly so. I don't like that I can't actually say a ton about each Penacony character so far due to their attempts at duplicity meaning fuck you on concrete characterization besides your flavor of manipulator. No, backstory does not count as characterization either.)

Edit: This could definitely also just be a me thing at this point. I rewatched it and not a lot of it is spent on talking about the past or memories. Black Swan is still playing up the mysteries of Penacony, something that I'm also getting a bit tired of, but she doesn't actually have many lines on memories themselves. It's just somehow kind of stuck in my brain for some reason this element of her being over represented and so it's what my brain ended up focusing on.

Let's end this on a positive though. Star Rail is normally not good at mysteries but the fact that Acheron genuinely seems disconnected from her Emanator state, when she draws the blade, is deeply interesting to me. It even fits within my theory, that we'll find out the truth on soon, that Acheron is an Emanator of Nihility. Speaking of, hi VERY explicitly to Ix within the violence montage. There is no way of getting around the fact that one of those sketches was of them front and center.

And from a dramatic standpoint, I love the presentation. The fact that bringing them up while clearly trying to get extra information out of Acheron, to have her mind have to go there so Black Swan could more easily grab the memories she might lie about, only for her to get fucked up like she does is INCREDIBLE. The fact that Acheron is so sincere in her confusion afterwards only adds to the horror of it all.

I... Am mixed on her knowing who they were. I frankly would love it if because the statement is the Annihilation Gang, not the Everflame Manor, that when she goes "Oh, right, those guys..." She's actually talking about the dumbasses from this destruction cult, since Duke Inferno isn't the only part of it, that got Aha's help to try to kill Ix. It'd be a way for them to have their cake and eat it too that I think fits better than the girl with eternal memory issues to suddenly actually remember killing them all.

Overall, I do like the animated short. If I were to just think of it in a vacuum, I even like Black Swan's dramatic narration. It's a good flourish to the action, explains what's going on well enough and her calm narration provides great contrast from when EVERYTHING gets fucked. My hangups are entirely a weird thing that's just kind of getting to me about Penacony and I'm not entirely sure if I expect it to get better or worse come 2.1.

I just know that thanks to my tax return (I did not spend all of it on Star Rail, don't worry) and knowing the top up refresh was happening, I did spend a good amount and am guaranteed to get Acheron, even if it takes 160 pulls like it took for Black Swan..., and I am looking forward to playing with her.

Just with tempered expectations.

======+++++======

And final note for those maybe hoping for it: I haven't been inspired by this short to write AcheSwan. I frankly wish I knew why I didn't get inspired by Star Rail more for my writing.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[hanako-san]

HanaAoi headcanon p.p arc part 2

-

After hearing that they were going to clean the pool with Kou's class, Aoi was happy and they immediately ran to each other and hugged each other. They started whispering to each other and Aoi shared her doubts and what Hanako confirmed to her. Kou told her that this world is not like that bad like she thinks. Aoi didn't share his opinion because she had the impression that Hanako was forcing himself and pretending for Aoi's good. She wants to live with him, but she doesn't want to pretend, she doesn't want it to be forced and she intends to end it. Aoi hated this. Pretense and lies. Aoi didn't want Hanako to feel like a prisoner of his own feelings and do something he didn't like for her. She knew how it felt and that's why she wanted to end it. Kou convinces her to give this world a chance and tells her that there is no way to get out of it yet. Aoi reluctantly agrees, turns her head and notices Mei sketching a plant. She felt something wet on her. She quickly realized it was the water, she started screaming and quickly drying herself, after some time she saw that there was no scale on her hand, she touched her wet face, the same thing happened. She made a pose of triumph. Amane and Kou looked at her surprised. She looked at Amane who was smiling at her, showing his teeth, blushing and holding a water gun in his hand, telling her "I got you". she puffed out her cheeks and looked angry. She took a bucket with water in it and stood next to her and poured it over Hanako. He covered himself. He looked at her in shock. Aoi closed one eye with a smile and stuck out her tongue at him and said, "I got you too." Amane's eyes lit up and his heart beat faster, he blushed and looked at his friend with a smile. They raced with brooms, had fun pouring water, cleaning the pool and other things. Aoi smiled sincerely at Amane, who also smiled at her during the break as they sat together.

Aoi decided to follow Kou's line of thought and put her doubts aside. She liked this world, but she still thought that what was happening was not right. Aoi ran to her friend and set a new record. When the girls were talking in the background, the boys' voices could be heard saying "Yugi, score a goal" and the others saying "stop him". Both girls saw Amane lifting the ball up in the air, all happy. Aoi looked at him closely, it seemed to her that despite his pretense, he was genuinely happy. He quickly walked up to her and they high-fived. Aoi congratulated him on the goal and said that "his hand is so warm" He smiled at Aoi and showed her a peace sign that everything was fine. n she wanted to be happy with him, but she couldn't because she couldn't leave the thought that he was just pretending. It hurts her

Aoi asks to meet Kou and they meet and sit on a bench talking. Mitsuba appears behind them, teasing them that it's not nice to date in secret. Kou and Aoi immediately denied it. Suddenly Akane and yashiro were cut in half into pieces and fell apart. Aoi hugged Kou in fear, her eyes were black. Kou had exactly the same face and he hugged her too to make Aoi feel safer. Amane, Mitsuba and others appeared and said that it was nothing and that they would get back together.

Kou started shouting at Mitsuba who admitted that this world wasn't real and started running away from them. Amane touched the net and looked at Aoi running. After Mitsuba reveals that this is the world belonging to no.4 and they are in the her picture. They went to her tower. They saw many portraits from the same person. She appeared out of nowhere and, first friendly, then hostile, she tells them that if they want to return to the real world, they must kill Yugi Amane and Sousuke Mitsuba, if they do so, they will be able to escape. Aoi gets a dagger from Mei so she can kill Amane. She didn't accept it and ran away crying, hiding in fear, crouching and clutching her head, crying that she wouldn't do it. Kou hugged her and calmed her down. He calmed her down only when Kou suggested that maybe there was another solution, but she kept it a secret. Kou held out his hand to show that they wouldn't give up and Aoi did the same, she placed her hand on his and they saw a third hand. Amane asked what they were doing and when they got scared of him "You got scared like you saw a ghost" literally dying inside with laughter.

Aoi asks what's inside because she saw Amane carrying the bag. It was the telescope he said happily, showed his teeth and blushed, and for the first time Aoi thought he wasn't pretending. Stars are what he loved very much. When he told her, he moved his hands and sparkled. Aoi listened intently and didn't miss a single movement or word. Aoi said she would take the bag she forgot and was thinking about all this. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Amane looking into the classroom, showing only his head, and underneath it was Tsukasa, "how much longer?" He asked her impatiently. She didn't answer, she just looked at the twins. Tsukasa was pushing him with his ass to tease him, Amane was trying to push him away. Aoi said in her mind that "Tsukasa doesn't seem like the type of person who wants revenge"

When Aoi was thinking about what to do, Tsukasa came up to her and said "you will kill Amane, right?" Aoi replied that "She's not going to kill the boy she loves" and then Tsukasa smiled, spreading the smile across her face, looking with black eyes, grabbing her cheeks, then Aoi felt a strange feeling as if it wasn't the first time "You love him, you will do it"

Amane, Aoi and Tsukasa met up with the others to watch the stars for this special night.Tsukasa rushed into Amane's arms and hugged him tightly. The stars were falling and Tsukasa turned his head slightly so he could see and then hugged him again. When Amane realized that Aoi was next to them and was looking at the two of them, Amane quickly took off Tsukasa

Aoi separated from her friends when Amane went to help Tsukasa assemble his telescope and looked into the telescope at the stars. Amane quickly joined her on the roof, pointing with his finger at what star it was while lying down. At one point, Amane told her that he was "not going anywhere." These words confirmed Aoi that everything he had done so far was just fiction. Then she decided to do it, grabbed Amane's head, looked at him and said, "Let's go back to the real world together." Aoi, grabbing Amane's hand, looked down, sighed, closed her eyes and jumped with Amane from a high roof. She felt Amane grab her and they fell on something stinging, but at the same time it helped them survive. She opened her eyes and saw that they were lying on the bushes. Amane, all pale and scared, shouted at Aoi and asked "What are you doing?"

Aoi, not listening to his complaints, grabbed his hand and dragged him to the school gate. When she managed to leave the gate, she felt that Amane had let go of her. Aoi wasn't going to play his game anymore and when he asked about "Hanako Kun" as a completely different and unrelated person. She spoke directly to him because he is him. "Amane, I got to know you as a ghost, I really want to know real Amane in his life and after life. The real you, with the pain you bear, Amane, with your experiences. You helped me lift my burden and you still help me. Don't reject me, let me get closer to you, the real you. You're very important friend to me, so let me love the real you. You aren't alone anymore"

With these words, Amane gave up and left the gate. Aoi was happy and thanked him sincerely, shining, he scratched his cheek with a smile and said, "Yes, yes."

First, they used the bike to get to the bus stop, when the bus arrived, they got on the stairs, but when Aoi saw Mei as the driver, she ran away, the same with the taxi. Pulling Amane with her, she ran away from Mei to the playground and hid, having no strength, wherever she goes, she is with them. It's like a maze. Amane handed Aoi a drink and said "If only time could stop"

[auranova26]

Mei-Ling Design Notes and Inspiration 1/2

Unlike her younger twin, Mei-Ling actually went through a large degree of changes compared to both versions of her design in the main timeline. Honestly, went through a large degree of some research and thought to get to the current design that I now have for Mei-Ling. I hope you find some of these notes interesting and fun to read.

I say two designs, but technically Mei-Ling has like 3 designs: Vampire Hunter, the Darkstalkers OVA, and Vampire Savior. Really sad the only full body look of her VHunter design is literally her sprite. The illustration of her Hunter design from one of the covers of a Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers comic by Udon is quite the beautiful pin up shot, but makes the mistake of giving her the bracelets she has as part of VSAV design. Oops.

Her design is honestly not that different in the OVA compared to her VHunter design. Only big differences are the color of her clothes under her robes, her pants being a different color, the main color of her robe being a defined orange color, and how her hat is both taller and is both orange and yellow. Actually, sounds like a lot really, but design of the clothes themselves are not that different.

Her VSAV design is a general overhaul of the Hunter design. I can only imagine the reason that was done is because they had to animate her for the 'Detached Souls' Dark Force and it might have been a major pain in the ass to animate her robe and sleeves. It isn't bad, but I hate the hat and prefer her robe being open rather than closed. It is genuinely surprising that despite being a non-playable character, the team gave her a different design. A nice consolation.

OH RIGHT, I need to talk about what my thought process was. Sorry, just needed to note all the interesting design things regarding her different designs. So, I generally have stuck with the design she had in VHunter as I just prefer it more compared to her VSAV design. I might have given a jab to the artist who made that pin up of her for that Udon comic. Let me retract that cause I did basically the same thing when I first started drawing her back in 2020. Tweaked the colors here and there to my liking and made her sleeves not as large, but generally the same idea.

Later on, added a little detail on her clothes that I saw an artist by the name of Murai do with her interpretation. This won't be the last I will bring up this artist, hoo boi.

At one point, I changed the sash around Mei-Ling's waste to be an Obi Sash as to make things easier for me.

Around mid 2021, when I was getting more serious about my Cryas Darkstalkers mythos and even further with my love and obsession with the Shao sisters, I went about the process of giving them a makeover, truly trying to give them distinct enough designs. While Hsien-Ko was not too different as her core design was basically near perfect, there was a lot of room for change for Mei-Ling. I mean hell, she had different official designs anyway, what is stopping me from going ham. I mean hecc, look at this concept sketch when they were considering her design change from VHunter to VSAV. Quite a bit of thought. However, I wanted to go further.

Since I wanted to flesh out the sisters, I went about thinking about their potential heritage, the time period they were alive in during the Qing Dynasty, women's fashion at the time for the potential social status they could have been in at the time, the occupation they were training for, and the fact that…well they are Chinese. Since Mei-Ling gives the vibe of being very into her culture and wanting to maintain it, I wanted her clothing to both show off her heritage and her role as a Xianshushi Mystic. Hsien-Ko is said to be more 'modern' in her mannerisms compared to her older twin, so why not have Mei-Ling be more traditional. The first thing to get us on track is to start at the beginning. Mei-Ling and Hsien-Ko were born in 1730 in China during the Qing Dynasty period. In my research and with corroboration with a friend of mine, I decided that the Shao sisters would be a mix of Han and Manchu, two ethnic groups that were the most prevalent at the time period. Their mother was Manchu while their father was Han. However, since their father was killed before they were born, they were more influenced in the ways of the Manchu people as they grew up. The Shao family in themselves are not among the imperial courts or the elite. However, because they have provided a great service over the centuries, they are given more leniency and not treated like the common folk. Plus, with eventually being trained to become Xiānshù warriors as their mother saw great potential in them, that helped to influence them as well.

To start with, let us begin with the robe. So, to my understanding in the main timeline Mei-Ling was generally based on the idea of Daoist priest attire. Doing some searches, jiangshi films did feature such priest like characters with that general idea, even with the color. However, I wanted to do a bit more looking. In my search, the open robe design that her VHunter and my design go with is something referred to a beizi (褙子).

Some parts of Daoism do have their priest having an open robe design, but also the beizi in general was a form of wear that the Chinese people did wear.

It was around during the time of the Qing Dynasty and according to Wikipedia, it was something that was dominant among the Han women of the time. A nice way to acknowledge her Han roots. Yellow doesn't seem to be really a thing with actual Daoist priests' attire, but it just fits Mei-Ling so well, I stuck with that color. While the beizi is prominent with having long sleeves, I decided to trim it down enough to where it ends past her elbow, kinda like her VSAV robe's sleeve length. Ey, giving some credit to that design. As for the trimming, this card I came across showed it in a neat way where it is actually not just flat but has some dimension to it. I liked that and went with it, along with the idea of the trimming being orange.

The hat is loosely based on a hat known as a guānjīn, shown on the far left of this image.

The main timeline version was certainly not one to one about it. But honestly, I like the stylized, simpler idea, so I used that as a base. I took a lot of observations and notes from the way the OVA hat is drawn. However, I just prefer the hat to be one color, so I stuck with yellow. I liked the yin-yang symbol as well, so kept that too.

Another minor detail about Mei-Ling's beizi are these almost padded looking pieces of cloth that follow her trapezius to around the middle of her shoulder. Honestly, I just made them up. These concept sketches I made show me coming up with the idea as I was thinking of her design. It just looks cool and neat.

On to the garment underneath.

With the Shao sisters also being Manchu, this is where some of the influence kicks in. The Manchu wore a set of clothing known as 旗裝 (qízhuāng). The specific kind that the sisters wear falls under something known as Bianfu (便服). Mei-Ling's bianfu is stylized to be a robe that is the length of a magua.

The sleeves are loose and long enough to reach her wrists. The main part of the robe is rich red color while having trimmings and a collar of a lavender color. Contrasts nicely against her beizi.

You may be curious what is going on with the cloth around her waist. Honestly, it was only put there mostly to help solve an issue I had with Mei-Ling's design: the bagua mirror. So, in this shot from the OVA, it is held up by a set of straps.

Ok, fair enough. But the issue is that nothing from the front suggest that those straps even exist. The mirror may as well just be magnetically attached to her a la video game style. In my concept phase, I was wondering what to do. One thing I did notice that was really cool was from the story 'Monsters and the Secret of Immortality'.

Granted, the design of Mei-Ling in that story is wildly different from any incarnation of Mei-Ling, but it presented a neat idea: her mirror was holstered at her waist. Not only that, but it did also look a lot more like a bagua mirror in its design. The mirror's design in this story set the base for how I design the mirror, though I only have two rows rather than the typical three. However, she is wearing attire that doesn't really fit with either her Han or Manchu roots, so I needed to come up with something more fitting to her culture. In my research, I did stumble on something that fascinated me.

What you see is not the original image that inspired me, but still illustrates the idea. Cloth at the waist held in place by a ribbon. I honestly don't know if that idea of garment has a name, but it struck a chord: Have the mirror hang around her waist.

Unlike any official design of Mei-Ling and to differentiate herself from Hsien-Ko, I decided to switch from the baggy trousers to a more straight cut pair. Looks nice and smooth and still goes along with the kind of trousers they wore in that time era. The color I chose just honestly meshed well with her bianfu, plus is warm compared the cool colors of the trim of her bianfu.

While the wristbands she has for her VSAV design are cool looking, something about them just doesn't mesh well with what Mei-Ling is supposed to be. While yes, she is a weapon master (and likely taught Hsien-Ko all she knew about weapons), she is presented more as the mystic of the duo. They look rough and tough. Honestly, would look better on Hsien-Ko in all honestly since she is in the thick of battle. However, I still wanted her to have something at her wrist. I chose to go with a simple orange jewel bead wristband. Simple and elegant for her.

So, if the mirror was moved to hanging around her waist, is there nothing at her back? For a while, there wasn't anything. But eventually, the idea of putting some kind of design back there did come to mind. Eventually, I landed on this design.

Her ref sheet goes into to detail about it, but to put it simply dragons have a big thing with their family considering their mother upon using the Art of Unusual Transformation turned into one. According to what I found via searching Japanese sources, primarily the Japanese Wikipedia entry for Hsien-Ko, there is mention of their mother transforming into a golden dragon. That is very cool since the OVA and a few anthology stories show this.

Mei-Ling's official hairstyle is best described as a bob cut. I went with the OVA as a general base, but slowly overtime adjusted it.

On both sides of her hair and near her hairline, there are these basically fangs. Despite her being more human in appearance, I thought it was still a nice idea to subtlety add some mildly wild elements to her since she is non-human. A bit crazier are these two pincer locks of hair. Honestly, I just took what was already part of her official design and exaggerated it into something cool. For some asymmetry, one is larger than the other. As for the general shape of her hair, I did fan it out more for volume as to make her hair different from her human form.

Mei-Ling's general body shape. Honestly, besides making her distinct from Hsien-Ko as they are both fraternal twins, I just wanted to really make her unbelievably beautiful. In a way, considering hardly anyone gives her the time of day because she is non playable, I just like the idea that she is actually very voluptuous and gorgeous. So that is why she has the general proportions she has. I wouldn't say she is skinny or the typical anime proportions: She is just fit, well endowed, and curvy. Among the Cryas DS cast, the only character that is around her breast and butt size is Felicia. As for why she also has tone to some parts of her body, the fact is she was conceptualized with that as you can see with this concept sketch of her official design. Mei-Ling has just about everything going for her in terms of looks.

Whenever she has appeared in games or media, Mei-Ling has had a multitude of different eye colors. I personally just stuck with green, like the OVA did. Green just looks nice on her, really makes her face mesmerizing. Specifically, I wanted the shades of her eyes to be more of like jade.

For now, will need to end things here for the first part of this design blog as I have used the permitted 30 images for a blog and the last bits require more images to explain things. So be sure to head to part 2, the final part right here:

[pinkoptics]

Artist’s Muse AU

McShep | 914 words | M | AU-gust 2022

Fluff | John is a little shit

on AO3

John discovers Rodney has a secret hobby.

“Whatcha got there?”

John reaches for the small notebook Rodney has been scribbling in intently, oblivious to John’s entrance to the lab. He jolts just before John can grasp it, his face a picture of comical horror. He clutches the notebook tightly enough to his chest to crush it and pushes his rolly chair with enough force that it flies back until it smacks another console.

John grins. Whatever it is, it must be good , but even if it isn’t, he’s always up for a game of keep-away.

“Working on a new theory you don’t want anyone to see yet?”

John takes a slow, deliberate step forward. Rodney re-angles his chair and pushes it again, slamming into another console.

“Or maybe it’s a ‘Dear Diary, Radek is more brilliant than I will ever let on.‘“

Rodney’s face gets all cute (ie. annoyed and pinched). “Sure Sheppard, right beside my Rodney+John heart doodles.”

John takes another few unhurried steps and puts a hand over his heart. “Aww, Rodney, I didn’t know you cared.”

He’s out of his chair now, trying to side-step John (he’s run out of room to retreat) in a maneuver that might have worked, if John hadn’t been the one who’d taught it to him. He catches Rodney’s wrist and with a precise squeeze, Rodney yelps and drops the notebook, right into John’s waiting hands.

“Entirely unfair!” Rodney bites off, ‘annoyed and pinched’ is now turning into a glower (also cute and, yes, John is entirely aware of how far gone this makes him in the Rodney-crush department). “You’re using your military ninja powers on me. Does privacy mean nothing to you?!”

They do a little dance, of sorts, with Rodney trying to grab his journal back and John deftly keeping it just out of reach. “C’mon buddy, if it’s not a diary or a top-secret Nobel winning theory…?”

He vaults over a console, temporarily stymieing Rodney’s progress, and flips it open. Whatever John was expecting, it wasn’t this.

“Huh.”

“Huh? That’s it? Sheppard, we are too old to be doing this. It’s ridiculous. Undignified. Give it back.”

Rodney’s rounding the console, but John has vaulted neatly over another, eyes never leaving the page.

“Damn. You’re really good. Why would you hide this?”

“Give. It. Back.”

Something in Rodney’s tone makes him look up. Glowery has been replaced by a mix of genuine anger, distress and… embarrassment? He can’t see why. Sketches of slender fingers, studies of eyes, a sort of imperfect bumpy nose, full lips, ears that look elven… oh.

Shit.

Rodney uses his stunned realization to snatch it back, stuffing it under his jacket and out of reach unless John really wants to work for it. He doesn’t. He’s seen enough and Rodney’s twisted red face is twisting guilt in his gut.

“It helps me think, okay? When I’m stuck. And I’m really stuck on this stupid transporter issue and everyone is down my god damned back about it because they have to walk everywhere. Like I want to walk everywhere? Are they fucking kidding me? I’m the poster child for not wanting to walk. My sciatic nerve is telling me every day just now not happy it is about it. So I sketch. I do things with my hands. I used to play piano but we don’t have one here, so I sketch and it clears my mind and so what if I sketch you. I’m with you all the fucking time, so your features are just familiar. But no, you’ve got to make it weird. Do you know what a challenge it is to sketch your stupid hair? Have you ever—”

“Rod-ney!”

“What?!”

John waits. A solid beat. Just to be sure the ramble isn’t going to forge on.

“Do you sketch Ronon and Teyla?”

Rodney doesn’t need to answer aloud. It’s written on his face from the moment the question leaves John’s lips. Rodney’s so truthfully blunt he’s never learned how to be a good liar. He starts trying to answer, to deny, but he’s stammering now and John grins, putting a shushing finger over Rodney’s lips. He hadn’t thought Rodney could blanch harder but he has.

John steps back and cocks a hip. Rodney’s gaze snaps there, then snaps back.

“How would you like a live subject?”

“Wait— what?”

“Because your sketchbook seems to be missing some things.”

“Missing…”

“Things you aren’t so familiar with…”

John places his thumbs in his front pockets and angles his hands just so. Rodney’s eyes dart helplessly again. His face is still very red, but it’s not anger anymore.

“Right. Things…”

“Yes.” John grins. “I’d be happy to help you with those… things.”

Rodney’s eyes are meeting his again, a little frantic. “O-okay. I-I can’t believe I’m going to say this out loud, but this is so far out from where I thought my day was going, and sometimes I really misread hints. Even hints this—” His hand flaps in John’s general direction.

John laughs. The frantic babbling is cute too. Yes, very far gone.

“My cock, Rodney. Things is my cock.”

“Oh thank god.”

John tilts his head to the side, angling toward the door.

“Now?” Rodney’s voice is a little strangled and damned if that isn’t cute too.

“Yes, Rodney, now.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice. They end up in his quarters, where John models, naked, as promised. The sketch, however, day after day, remains mysteriously incomplete— no matter how many times they try.

[im-a-chunky-potato]

I think you're

A kid

chuuya coded /j. you're very sigma + atsushi coded. plus a little dab of chemical X (nikolai humor as per your own words)

very nice. I saw you reblogging someone's post and leaving rlly kind/encouraging words in the tags.

fun to talk to, funny, kind, genuine potato 🥔

I think you really like mashed potatoes 🤭

You remind me of my other friend named Julienne 😭 (I swear if it turns out you're her, im gonna kms /j)

You've got artistic potential ✨

Kinda scared that you're the type to keep it to yourself if something bothers you (its cause of my other friend, sorry 😭) <<< if something bothers you, let them know, ayt? Your feelings matter lmao. Your feelings COME FIRST.

I hope you have fun and good friends at school/work cause you deserve it 💅💖

you've carry the group projects 💅 (usually the vice leader if not the actual leader. That OR you're a really helpful member who makes sure to contribute)

go finish that sigma rabbit analysis lmao. 🐰🐰🐰 /j

I think you're very rabbit coded too (in a way. Not going to elaborate lol.)

I'll never get over the fact that you compared yourself to a kid with a leash 😭😭

xoxo,

your secret admirer 😏

(̶J̶K̶ P̶L̶S̶ D̶O̶N̶T̶ C̶A̶L̶L̶ T̶H̶E̶ C̶O̶P̶S̶)̶

...WHY ON EARTH DID YOU WRITE AN ENTIRE ESSAY'S WORTH OF THINGS ABOUT ME. Actually, I'm flattered but also confused about the amount of effort you put into this.

Technically you are correct, but I will still fight you on this >:(

Htgsgs how dare you say that🐕.Yeah, I'm the Atsushi type heh!

You'd be right! To quote the wonderful Vash the Stampede- love and peace ✌️! I just like knowing I made someone smile or a bit happier<3

...I swear you're trying to kill me. But thank you! I'm surprised this name has stuck and just became my thing but it's kind of cool🥔 I hope all of my mutuals can never see potatoes the same again.

Htgsgs mashed potatoes are really good. But in all actuality my favorite food is Alfredo or any sort of pasta!

Your friend sounds awesome then. I hope she torments you irl as much as I do online! (Ooh hold on is that the same friend who thought you were texting a crush and you had to explain tumblr to?)

Aw ty! That was the first sketch I've done since forever. Hair is hard. And eyes. And faces. And... you get the point. I do want to improve though, so I'll keep trying.

I'll keep that in mind! And no worries, honestly the fact that you care about me enough to say that is really comforting. (Hah I'm attached to you now, it's all going downhill from here)

Thanks! I hope the same for you. My friends are awesome! They're the ones who also get to see my Nikolai side so it's fortunate they stay/j. Fun fact: I'm one of the giggliest people alive, so it's way to easy for them to make me laugh.

I could never be the leader lol, I don't have the confidence to tell other people what to do. But I'd say I'm the vice leader.

But that involves work... and effort... Actually I plan to get to it at some point. I'm impressed people are actually curious (aka I didn't plan for people to actually want to see my reasons, woops)

...Yeah I can see it.

THAT WAS ONE JOKE! Hstgs actually I'm glad you liked it. But if that's how you envision me now I will be sure to invoke all sorts of pain upon you🥰

I'll see you in court wakanai🫵 (I'm joking I would never do that to my fedya. If we go to jail we're doing it together!❤️ )

Xoxo, you're favorite potato<3

Sorry this took so long to write! And thanks a lot for all of the kind words, you have no clue how much I was smiling while making this.

[aching0623]

Here’s an illustration idea I had last year that was born out of my chronic overthinking. There’s so many big and grandiose things I want to accomplish in this lifetime, but almost everyday, I get stuck in my head about if I’m on the right track. Am I doing enough? I should’ve started sooner. How am I going to do all of this? Why can’t I just focus and make smaller steps? It needs to be perfect! But nothing’s perfect. On and on and on these thoughts cycle through my mind, and I can’t remember the last time I felt genuinely content with my present way of life, not yearning for more. I think this illustration concept demonstrates how my attention wants to go in so many different directions, but still feels chained down by paralysis, immobile. It feels like a void, but there’s still a light in the dark, my soul’s determination and inability to settle for less than what I desire. As an extra, in the back there’s an infinity symbol, as it has a lot of significance for me, adding the fact that I was born on May 8th, and my life path number in numerology is 8, it’s only natural. It’s a constant cycle.♾️🌌🧿 #keepmovingforward #lifejourney #selfdiscovery #myart #illustration #infinity #8 #lifepath #spirituality #spiritualgrowth #catharsis #soul #art #sketch #drawing #artwork #artistsoninstagram #artofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CpDsxyfOvII/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[beans-and-shet]

Tell me more about the selkie au 👀

Lol all you had to do was ask anon. So in those sketches I just posted, the first pic is their first official meeting. Ichigo finds Masaya in his seal form washed up on the shore, wrapped tightly in a fisherman’s net and unable to free himself. He also has something stuck around his neck so he’s struggling to breathe. He got separated from his mom while evading a predator and didn’t watch where he was going closely enough, so he managed to get himself stuck in that mess.

For that scene, I made it so that Ichigo is up in Hokkaido for a week during her spring break with her parents to visit her grandma because her grandfather recently passed away. Masaya and Ichigo are both about 7 years old. Her mom takes her by a beach so she can burn off some energy, and Ichigo wanders off, bored with waiting while her mom gets distracted talking to one of the locals. She finds Masaya while exploring and no one else is nearby. Initially, she’s excited to see a seal pup in the open but it quickly hits her how much he’s struggling and she’s overcome with sadness and worry.

Ichigo has always had a big heart and she can’t stand to see such a cute animal in trouble. She steels herself and gets to work trying to untangle the net from the seal. Masaya struggles half-heartedly at first but gives in since he’s too exhausted. He still watches her, waiting for a moment to flee if it arises, but when he sees the genuine look of innocent concern on Ichigo’s face, it makes him pause. He was always taught by his mom that humans are dangerous/can’t be trusted and to stay far away. However, as he studies her while she works, a teary but determined expression on her face, he’s confused since this human doesn’t seem so bad.

Ichigo finally succeeds in untangling Masaya from the net. Masaya braces himself, his pessimistic side thinking she’ll do something awful like try to carry him away, but Ichigo just watches him with a giddy smile, telling him he needs to find his mom now. Ichigo realizes that her mom is probably looking for her too so they’re basically in the same boat, and it makes her giggle. Masaya can’t quite understand her, but he’s moved by her selflessness. He returns to the sea and reunites with his mom.

Some other small details, that pic with kid Masaya with long hair is from a few days later. He watches from the water every day to see if Ichigo will come back because he wants to repay her for her kindness. She does come back and he sneaks closer to her and places a shell bracelet he made by her as thanks without her noticing him. She excitedly finds it and takes it home to Tokyo with her.

A year after those events, Masaya’s mother is killed by some fishermen illegally hunting seals. Masaya gets injured as well, but his mother is able to create an opportunity for him to swim away. He washes up badly injured on the shore, taking on his human form and passing out. When he wakes up, he’s in a hospital bed and doesn’t remember anything about himself.

The next events in the au involve Masaya being sent to an orphanage, learning to integrate with human society, and grappling with mysterious feelings of alienation/other-ness that he can’t explain. There’s also an underlying distrust and disgust with humans in general that he keeps under a carefully constructed mask of perfection. He feels an inexplicable pull to the sea and has dreams of being underwater, but he can’t make sense of it.

He’ll learn of a wealthy couple who lives near the ocean that are looking to adopt an heir and mold himself to their expectations to escape the orphanage he hates so much and to be closer to the sea. Once he gets adopted, he’ll go to the beach frequently to be alone with his thoughts. This is where he meets Ichigo again in the summer (she visits her grandma every year during her summer break) and thus their friendship will begin. Masaya will realize he feels differently around her compared to other humans, but he won’t know the reason why for a long time.

There’s a lot more, but this is all I’ll say for now. I mentioned in the tags of one of my posts that this au is slow burn. You basically get to see them grow up together and fall in love.

Thanks so much for the ask!