#I put up a couple illustrations already

[mangozic]

Do you offer prints of your art ? Because I'd love to have some of it on my wall it's so beautiful!!!

I do! Since today actually. I’ve seen some folks asking if I have any prints available, so I decided to finally open up an inprnt store :]

Here’s the link!

[merletka]

Collaborated with amazing writer @alexcors and illustrated her fanfic about Damian Wayne. You can read it bellow! 💚

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

– Concussion, multiple beatings, fracture of the collarbone, two ribs and the radius of the right arm, with multiple fragments. Do you have anything to say to that, Robin?

– This dealer raised his hand himself, covering his worthless face. What?

– You beat the suspect to a pulp! Batman barked at his son. – No patrols until Cantelli is transferred from the intensive care unit to the general ward.

– But…

– That's all.

Damian clenched his teeth, but at the last moment decided not to fight with his father over a small dealer. Cantelli wasn't worth it. And therefore, having drowned himself, the boy just fell asleep.

***

The morning began with the usual five o'clock wake-up, a workout with pruning the squalid park art that Damian disapproved of in his garden. And he was already tired of explaining to Pennyworth that the enemy could be hiding behind large figures! Then a walk with Titus on a leash, Alfred the cat on his shoulder (because the mustachioed one did not want to wake up in any way) and a red-haired squeaking lump in his hands.

The kitten was dragged by a Red Hood a couple of days ago, startling Damian at first by pronouncing his full name without hesitation (few people in the family could pronounce Hafid ibn Ksufash Dami al Ghul even from the third time), and then by an attack of compassion for the animal. However, the boy quickly recovered from the shock, named the red kitten Roy Harper and now did not miss the opportunity to tease brother with the phrase "You gave me your accomplice, Todd."

By eight in the morning, Damian had time to check on the bat cow, comb Goliath, lose the nimble red Harper and find him sleeping peacefully in the cowshed. In general, Batman's heir successfully redid all his affairs, even phoned each Teen Titan individually and gave valuable instructions. On little things like different time zones, young Wayne habitually waved his hand, and everyone also grabbed a moral slap on the back of the head for trying to be indignant:

– Do it, Beast!

– Buzz me here again, Bug!

– The aliens were not given a word.

– Witch!

Damian belatedly realized that arguing with Raven was not worth it, because the importance of portals to any part of the world is difficult to overestimate. Fortunately, he knew about the weakness of every member of his team, and in Raven's case, it was sweets. Especially his sweets, with honey and spicy notes, which the girl fell in love with from the first bite. He will have to share again… She's definitely a witch!

At nine o'clock sharp, Pennyworth served breakfast, with tea in fine china, brown sugar, a slice of lemon and... an envelope?

- You have received an invitation, Master Damian.

- It's not interesting, - the boy muttered, finished with the meal and dryly told him not to disturb him. He was going to decide the fate of the world here, and they came with some kind of invitations!

However, the plan to destroy all (crossed out) almost all people did not come to mind, but the world itself lay perfectly on paper with watercolor paints, fortunately the view from the window was conducive to this. Up to a certain point.

– Todd!

- Hello to you too, Gremlin, - the Red Hood replied, climbing into his brother's bedroom through the window, while unsuccessfully clinging to the tulle with the toe of his boot.

- Pennyworth will bury you for this.

– Yes, yes, and will plant roses from above. Not that I mind much, but that's not the point right now. Get ready to go out.

Damian took a deep breath and unleashed his entire supply of Arabic obscenities on his brother, knowing full well that Jason would understand him. Unfortunately, the pressure of the negativity did not take him back out the window, he had to take up a katana.

– Put the skewer down, shorty, the meat has just been sent to marinate.

– Will you leave on your own or will you be thrown out in parts?!

– Shut up and listen to me, - Todd barked, casually showing off his pistols with the safety off. – In short, Alfie organizes a family get-together, with meat and without a fight. Dad promised to be, I'll bring a replacement, the Gotham crime storm in a thong will come running himself. You got the simplest thing – to lift your little ass off the chair and walk to the place. You can take the menagerie with you.

- I'm not going to any gatherings with my father," Damian muttered, but he put away his saber. – So you can get out and report your failed mission. I'm not leaving my room today, basically!

- No questions,– Jason agreed surprisingly easily. - But if you walk out the door, you're going to hang out with everyone, okay?

– Tt.

–That's settled,– Jason grinned, ducked out the window and disappeared.

Damian managed to exhale with relief, when suddenly something buzzing flew over the windowsill. Titus reacted first, barking loudly at the wasp's nest rolling on the floor!

- You're dead, Todd! - Damian yelled, unceremoniously grabbing the cat and rushing out the door with him and the dog.

***

- No corpses,– Grayson repeated calmly but firmly (for the fifth time!).

- I'll beat him up so that no Lazarus Pit will help, - the boy grumbled into the phone, the call to which stopped him from righteous revenge.

– Alfred said it clearly, without a fight. Let's get together with the whole family, have a nice time, have a delicious meal.

– Tt.

– We have chosen a picturesque place by the lake, you will like it.

–Okay, - the Batman heir finally gave up. – But only because painting was part of my plans today.

– It's wonderful, – judging by the sound, Dick broke into his trademark smile. – You will draw a beautiful landscape.

– I'll paint it! Artists paint with paints, you idiot.

– And I love you, little brother.

– Tt.

Author: @alexcors

[tamberella]

Congratulations on your author debut, I'm so excited for your book!! 😇💕

Would you consider talking about the whole process of becoming a book illustrator /children's book author?

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!! And I'd be happy to share the process!

It all started for me with my 3dTotal artbook. 3dTotal is a small publisher in the UK, and they mainly focus on collections of artists' work. They use Kickstarter to fund each book, and my agent (the amazing Seth Fishman at Gernert) discovered me through the Kickstarter for my artbook Windows to Worlds!

He asked if I had any interest in working on graphic novels or picture books, and I had already been thinking about picture books! He found me my first picture book project with Penguin Workshop, Mother of Sharks, written by the awesome Melissa Cristina Márquez, which came out last year!

While I was working on Mother of Sharks, I was also talking with him about developing The Bakery Dragon, based of course on this painting, which was (and is) one of my proudest artistic moments.

For a little background on the painting, I painted it right after a really challenging couple of months medically - I was dealing with medical complications from my chronic illness for about 6 months, and I wasn't able to finish a single painting the whole time, I was just too exhausted from hospital visits and being in pain. That painting was the first piece I was able to actually complete (both emotionally and literally) in about half a year. So it always held a really special place in my heart, and I really wanted to keep living in that little world. I think there's something in it that is very special to me, about being outside in the cold, seeing warmth and love through a glass barrier, and wanting desperately to reach it.

With Seth's guidance, over a couple months, I developed a pitch for it. The script developed slowly alongside the designs for characters, locations, etc.

(Early version of Ember above! He has changed a bit!)

I thought I had already read a lot of picture books, I've always loved them, but I read hundreds and hundreds during this process. There is something uniquely fun and challenging about telling a complete narrative in 48 pages (which is already a long picture book, many are 32!) My book also pulls some elements from comics, such as speech bubbles, which I found to be incredible assets for humor and character development.

My pitch included designs, some early example spreads, and a rough script with story beats and jokes! My agent took it out into the world, and the publisher we ended up going forward with was Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House! I absolutely love the Knopf team and the beautiful books they put out! My editor, Katherine Harrison, really understood what I wanted to accomplish and has been so incredibly helpful in her guidance!

And from there... through rewrites, dialog adjustments, and lots and lots of drawings, it became a book! I'm happy to answer questions about the process! I'll leave you guys with a little preview from the interior of the book! (And of course you can pre-order it here, gotta learn the author skill of always including that link haha!)

[bakuhatsufallinlove]

Let's talk about Jump GIGA

Jump GIGA covers, 2016-2024. Volumes are published (left to right per row) as Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn releases, with 2018 and 2019 briefly breaking the pattern by having three Winter and three Summer volumes each. 2023 has an Early Spring volume in addition to the standard four.

So, people have pointed out that the 2024 Spring cover is, uh, not like other covers.

But I've only seen comparisons to other MHA GIGA covers and MHA Weekly Shonen Jump covers. Out of curiosity for what GIGA's typical marketing aesthetics might be, I put together a comparison between all of Jump GIGA's covers to date.

And, um. Some things stand out, to say the least.

First, let me clarify what Jump GIGA even is: it is a seasonal magazine from Shonen Jump, published separate from Weekly Shonen Jump. SJ is an absolutely massive brand and they have a number of magazines serialized outside of the most well-known weekly magazine.

The content of Jump GIGA is primarily made up of one-shots and spin-offs. From the beginning, a lot of the appeal has been the cool cover illustrations which showcase special merchandise that comes with the purchase of GIGA. Usually the cover also promotes big things going on related to the WSJ series, like movie events, new games, or special figurines for sale.

The marketing aesthetic has been clear from the start: the cover consists of one core illustration and a number of ads surrounding it. Most often you get a cover illustration of a protagonist, and then ads and merch for other series, e.g. Food Wars protagonist cover with One Piece film promotion and Haikyuu!! merch.

The purpose of this marketing direction is pretty obvious. Spin-offs and one-shots are not likely to generate a ton of interest consistently, so they lure people in with the cool covers and tempting limited edition merchandise of the series they already know and love. In this way, highlighting one series with the cover and different series with the merch makes sense, because maybe somebody doesn't care about Food Wars, but they definitely want those Haikyuu!! stickers, stuff like that.

Starting from 2020's Autumn volume, you can see a shift. For the first time, basically all of the merchandise is for the cover series. The Demon Slayer manga had already ended five months earlier in May, but a two-chapter spin-off was scheduled for release in WSJ during October. This GIGA was released exactly one day before the second chapter was published and it capitalizes on the hype.

After this point, only MHA and Jujutsu Kaisen dominate the cover and the merch in quite this way, with Black Clover getting attention last volume as a way to highlight the fact that it actually switched syndication from WSJ to GIGA.

Anyway, most commonly the cover illustration is a solo shot of a core cast member (usually but not always the protagonist), and if it's not a solo, it's a big cast illustration.

Only a few covers focus on two characters, and usually it's a crossover as opposed to characters from same series sharing the limelight.

Here we've got Food Wars' protagonist with the main characters from Dr. Stone and Act-Age.

The two covers most similar to the Izuku & Kacchan cover are 2022 Winter and 2023 Autumn.

Winter depicts the main trio of Blue Box in a seasonally-appropriate aesthetic. Not gonna lie, this one kinda makes me laugh--Blue Box is a romance and sports manga, and even though Christmas has a romantic air to it in Japan, instead of depicting any sort of like, hesitant but hopeful romantic energy between the heterosexual couple that actually get together later in the series, they focus primarily on the two girls being cute with the guy is a wee footnote? I mean, all right.

Meanwhile, Autumn depicts one of the protagonists with the series antagonist with a typical cool action style. I'm not very familiar with JJK, but I hear these two have got Some Drama going on, so, there's that.

The merch itself has also evolved over the years. Stickers and posters were present early on, but they have since expanded to decorative folders and now acrylic stands and coasters. 2021 Summer sees the first time the cover illustration is marketed as merch, with the Jujutsu Kaisen cover included as a decorative folder.

Right after that, the Kacchan cover of 2021 Autumn is included as a poster alongside earlier covers featuring Todoroki and Izuku.

2023 Summer's cover is a huge, wrap-around MHA cast illustration and it was published three days after chapter 396 came out, strategically timed to highlight the big shift in the final battle as Ochako vs Toga ends and All Might vs. AFO begins. Merch includes a decorative folder of the wrap-around cover and character motif stickers.

And then we get this!?

A duo cover illustration where the cover art itself has been merchandised to hell and back!?!?

Acrylic stand and pin set!?

Double-sided coaster showing bkdk greatest hits!? With volume 29's river scene cover!?

There's also a double-sided poster featuring the Spring cover with the ninth popularity poll art and a decorative bag with the anniversary art. The cover art itself is plastered all over the volume, front, back, and spine, apparently a total of 19 times.

I honestly don't know what to say about this. It feels wild that this is actually what the cover is. Obviously it is a huge marketing push in anticipation of season 7, and Izuku and Katsuki are the most popular characters, but. it just feels... unique.

In the course of Jump GIGA's publication, this direction is kind of unprecedented. Genuinely no one could have expected this. This seems to be the first time there's been this much merch for a cover. And it was a solid fucking move, marketing-wise--it's sold out basically everywhere, everyone is talking about it. And even people who don't follow the series or ship these two can't help but comment on how strikingly romantic it looks!?

I don't know how much say Horikoshi had in what the cover was, but damn it sure feels like he drew this with immense affection. I kind of wonder if he personally pushed for it to be these two, rather than the typical solo shot, cast shot, or even a protagonist vs. antagonist shot.

I'm KO'd, man. idek if this post is useful to anybody I'm just on my hands and knees here.

Everybody knows what we're all here for, and it's these cute boys finally getting their happy ending.

[deadandphilgames]

A note from Daniel (new epilogue from You Will Get Through This Night)

Thank you for reading This Night. Writing this book in 2021, while sitting locked down in a lightless basement apartment for months, had a certain self-fulfilling irony that was not lost on me.

In many ways, I wrote this book for not only my past self that I wish could have known these things when I needed them most - but for the guy sitting in an incredibly uncomfortable, hunched, t-rex-esque position typing, that needed it right then. Like many of you, I thought those particularly fun couple of years were a temporary inconvenience, that I wouldn't have to age the book by diving into. And here we are. I hope you enjoyed that new chapter about resilience and whatever the hell a 'polycrisis' is. Turns out certain global events do have an additional effect on our mental health - it's understandable that you may try to power through it and pretend it never happened, but we all deserve to take whatever time we need to honestly process how life makes us feel. I hope you're doing alright. My journey of reflecting honestly on my own life experiences and lifestyle while writing was …like spontaneously punching yourself in the stomach. "Wow. I really live like this? That is apparently not conducive to a healthy mind. Oops. Guess I'll go touch some grass." I'm happy if that made this a more entertaining read occasionally.

Even now, I find myself continually re-reading the book in those small moments of first emotional reaction to situations where I now at least think "Wait - what was I supposed to do here? Right. Not catastrophise." If this is you - that is fine. You are not expected to perfectly memorise this book or retain all knowledge you hear in life. I know I don't. If you're ever sat next to me in the emergency exit aisle of a plane, know that you may be required to physically throw me out of the door in order to inflate the slide because I was busy during the briefing, imagining how my life would have been different if I actually had the nerve to dye my hair black that time in school. I am at peace with that.

It was honestly terrifying for me to try and mine the content of my life to try and actually illustrate advice for people that may really need it …for me to honestly look at the balance between joking about my mental health, and really getting real. Hey - if your attempt at opening up via some humour comes out a bit offensive, you still get points for at least putting it on the table. That's progress.

This is not a book about me. I am here just as an example of terrible behaviour that you have permission to have an inappropriate public transport snort at, and as a writer who has repeatedly not finished traditional 'self-help' or scientific study books for being dry, unrelatable and preachy. I just hope you found this moist, identifiable and accepting of all of your beautiful flaws. So many flaws. I often worried if any of the material was maybe obvious, or something you could stumble across on the second page of Google - then I had a small moment of honesty with myself contemplating my own ignorance, commitment to procrastination, attention span …and the fact that factually just 0.63% of all people searching online, ever bother clicking to the second page of results. If you already knew some of this, good for you. Honestly. You must literally be happy with yourself. I'm just looking in the mirror and trying to do something for the 99.37% of humanity that spend their lives never successfully researching how to not lay awake at night fantasising about their doom. Look forward to the upcoming pocket size book of 'offensively self-destructive jokes' by Dan - or 700-page memoir of my yet un-girthy, mostly unremarkable life so far if that's what you're really looking for.

Perhaps the most terrifying result of releasing this book into the world, has been coming face to face with those of you that have read it. For in these moments, all of my protective self-deprecating persona comes crashing down in an instant when someone says this book made them feel better. Hearing that this book was the first time they finished anything tangentially related to self-improvement, or that just one thing they read was a new perspective on a part of their life they needed, makes me feel my mission in life is already complete. Seeing it be recommended by bookstores amongst all the other choices, hearing that people have shared it with their therapists or had it suggested to them by a professional, is an unbelievable seal of approval that I appreciate. I am so inarticulably grateful to have been given the opportunity to do anything that could make your life easier, more peaceful, more enjoyable. I've met people who annotated this book with post-its, told me they listen to audiobook exercises on their commute - and even a few people that have had illustrations tattooed onto them as a symbolic reminder of a message.

All of this puts that year of typing like some kind of infinite monkey at a typewriter into perspective. I'd do it all again. Mostly. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the guy whose name is printed on this book, and I just hope that reading it helped you, as much as writing it helped me.

Love and good luck.

- Dan

[cowyolks]

FORBIDDEN FRUIT

Chapter Eight. The Hymn of Nectar

Pairing: God!Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley x Female Reader

Prompt: A prophecy written long ago stated of a human that would become the God’s wife and live in his domain for the rest of eternity.

Words: 2.3 K

Warnings: None? As of now ;)

Previous Chapter Masterlist

It was nice to finally receive some freedom once Simon was back. While you weren’t left completely alone for longer than a couple hours, you could finally have some moments of solitude away from prying eyes.

You had slept well the last couple nights, likely from the promise of Simon personally checking on you every couple hours into your slumber. You’d sometimes feel the fluttering touch of his fingertips against your cheeks—never anything more than that fleeting touch before it disappeared behind your shut door.

You’d wake up to petals of daffodils upon your nightstand near your water basin. He’d put them there, that much was obvious when he stiffened lightly as you walked to the kitchens with the flower tucked beyond your ear.

It was quite humorous to reduce such a powerful God to a blushing boy.

Now, as you finished your morning routine, you’d decided to settle against an old Cyprus tree in the courtyard, just a few yards away from Simon and Keegan, who had started their morning sparring match.

Usually, you’d be irritated at the grunts and clang of iron while you attempted to read a book, but the day was just too perfect to stay cooped in the library.

A low hiss broke your concentration away from the thick journal you were reading. Adverting your eyes upwards, settling on the hunched form of Simon. Keegan stood above him, looking on with only a slight hint of worry behind his usually stoic expression.

Your betrothed was obviously straining too hard. You’d warned him earlier this week to take it easy, but it seemed Simon was a stubborn man. Even though his wounds now resembled fading red marks instead of open gashes, he was still sore. He’d spoke earlier of his wounds, how high-beings couldn’t be physically hurt for long, but evil seeped out of the scars and took long to heal. You’d gulped hesitantly at his words, but settled with knowing that you were safest here, under his protection.

“I say we are done for the day.” Keegan’s voice smoothed over like ice, a chilly reprimand to his ever stubborn boss.

Simon pursed his lips, but reluctantly agreed. His hand clasped around Keegan’s forearm as the shorter God pulled him up to his feet. Keegan whispered something low under his breath, and subtly Simon glanced to your sitting frame before his eyes soften reluctantly.

Before he made his way towards you, Keegan shoved a leather canteen into the God’s hand, before he disappeared with a wink and flutter of his wings.

You’d bookmarked your page as Simon approached you, a small limp in his gait.

“May I sit?” He asked. You nearly chortled at his request. He owned this entire kingdom, and you had just recently pledged yourself to him. Still, he asked to acquire your company.

“You may.” You airily spoke, watching his body slide down the smooth bark of the cypress. His shoulder grazed against your own as his feet kicked out in front of him. Dark eyes fluttered shut beyond his mask, illustrating his relaxing exhaustion.

Your eyes settled upon the canteen, a teasing quirk of a smile trailing amongst your lips. “Drinking this early?”

Simon popped one eye open, a soft grunt escaping his lips as he uncapped the canteen and held it out to you. You rose your eyebrows, but took it anyways. Your eye peered carefully down the neck, finding an odd glowing liquid the color of gold. Similar to the golden ichor that had bled from your betrothed’s wounds.

You mistakenly caught a whiff of the drink, eyes nearly bugging out of your head when such an overwhelmingly sweet scent flooded your nostrils. You resisted the urge to gag, already feeling the thick film of sugar coating your teeth without even taking a sip.

“What is that stuff?” You asked in disbelief as you passed it back to Simon with a wrinkled nose. His eyes twinkled with amusement, just as his hand reached up to lift his helm slightly.

“Nectar, is what it is.” His pink lips wrapped around the lid, just as he took a draggingly long swig. You found yourself flicking your tongue over your teeth, already feeling sorry for him gums and molars.

“Nectar?” You hummed in question, watching before your eyes as the God seemed to glow under the sunny rays. Instantly the knots in his muscles lessened but perhaps it was a trick of the light.

“The drink of the Gods. It has healing properties to a limit.” He offered, just before his eyes flickered observingly to the book you had perched upon your lap.

“That is a good one.” He voiced, gesturing to the leather bound spine folded in one of your hands. You perked, a slight dust of heat rising to your face. The text didn’t have an author, but it was heavily romantic and poetic. A strangled noise fell from your lips as you didn’t bother to hide your surprise.

“You’ve read it?”

Simon’s eyelashes fluttered in amusement, as if the whole situation was quite comical. “Read it to me?” He requested, a slight twinge upon his request had your eyes narrowing in suspicion. Regardless, your nimble fingers found the page you marked and flashed over the next text.

“I found myself trapped against my will. Her hands were the prison, a clasp holding my mind in her unnoticed will. I was disgusted, yet enthralled. I’d never seen such painful beauty. Such as a proud bird with broken wings, this feminine creature was caged in what they had called a Garden. Her eyes— stardrops. Her lips— the sweetest petals. I decided there, in the dark shadows that hid me, she would be mine.” You paused with a breath, a soft smile upon your lips as you began again.

“I would vow–” you started, but were surprised by the gentle voice that was so hushed you hardly heard.

“To adore her for Eternity. To take her as a bride, to make her a Queen.” Simon finished. You bit back your shock at his perfected recitation. His hand flickered to the soft flesh of your cheekbone, warm and calloused. “My mind has been clouded since I have written those pages, it’s as if I’m hearing it again.”

You choked a gasp, realizing then, that the handwritten golden text had belonged to Simon, and you were essentially reading his thoughts, his thoughts about you.

You sat yourself back against the bark of the tree, pushing the book away from your hands as if it had scorched you.

“Simon… I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize I was reading your personal thoughts. It was on the shelves in the library.” You stopped your rambling when an amused chuckle musically entered your ears.

“I don’t mind. I’ve made it clear just how much I adore you, darling.”

You opened your mouth to answer, but quickly you shut it again. You didn’t trust yourself to say anything, especially with your short-circuiting brain. Instead you settled on letting out a deep inhale, attempting to subdue your fluttering heart that was entirely Simon’s fault.

He took notice to your flustered body language, instead of ridiculing, he pushed himself off the trunk and stood tall. His large palm extended to you in invitation, it was near embarrassing how quickly your fingers danced across his skin as he heaved you gently off the ground.

The pale lilac of your summer dress fluttered slightly in the calming breeze. Kleo had once mentioned that the weather changed based on Hades’ behavior. It made your heart leap at the brightening of sun and soothing breeze, wondering if perhaps, you helped him cause it. The sundrops danced in his eyes as you looked to him questionably. Crow feet wrinkled, but he gave nothing away, you couldn’t help the soft smile that brushed across your lips as you observed.

Then he maneuvered around you, his form shadowing yours for a moment just so you could vaguely make out the extended muscles of his back and the elegant twist of his abdomen as he sidestepped. The whiff of rich smoke and sweetly scented musk invaded your nostrils, and it took a near Herculean effort not to draw into him like a fish on a hook.

He’d noticed, obviously he had. How could someone so perceptive not? Yet all he did was close his long and calloused fingers upon your wrist and palm tighter, steering you and leading anywhere he wanted. You were far too bewitched to care.

The lack of communication wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything you took more time to focus on the steady patter of his near silent footfalls, the croaking of bullfrogs, and the gentle breeze that brushed against your skin and the Cyprus.

Finally, your ears picked up on a smooth trickling.

While your eyes were settling on unfamiliar territory, Simon had come to an ease. His ever tense shoulders slackening and his body thawing from previous turmoil.

This ground was sacred to him, as personal as his very own skin. While the gardens were not technically forbidden, he was cautious on who entered the space. Only his trusted companions, such as Keegan and the Furies entered there. Here, however—with the soft babbling of a creek and whispering leaves of fig trees, was a secrecy he had not shared.

Until you.

“It’s beautiful…” you’d whispered, almost petrified to use your own voice.

His hand dropped your own, though the warmth of his palm still floated upon your skin. Instead, your head swiveled to follow his movement, just as he reached upon the tips of his toes. Shade settled across his helm, encasing him in more shadow– yet as he plucked the ripest fig he could find, you found him to never look so full of light.

“Simon’s Elysium. He often dreamt of this spot as a mortal. A place pleasant and secluded.” Hades spoke up, all while his fingers pulled upon the soft flesh of the fig, splitting it open and offering a half to you.

A different fruit than a pomegranate. With no promise of devotion or servitude. This fruit was offered as courtship. A way to say “here, take my love as sweet as this fruit.”

You took it from his hands as if it was a newborn, this fruit being so delicate and precise that you didn’t want to bite into it. Not only was it an extension of his love, but it was a part of Simon’s safe haven, and while you were invited, it simply felt wrong to trespass.

As if Hades could sense your inner turmoil, he spoke softly, “Simon still voices his thoughts, he wants you to eat it, to share his paradise that he never fully experienced.”

Sadness ripped at your lungs like scorching wildfire. How could you be so selfish? Simon had given everything to protect his family, and here you stand simply running away because you didn’t want to marry a clansman your mother had picked out.

He was a hero. Regardless of his cold appearance, Hades was selfless—You, you were selfish, selfish enough to eat the flesh of the fig and feel the gentle pressure of Simon’s calloused hands upon your flushed cheeks. The seedy ripeness was overpowering, coating your teeth and tongue and soul.

“Simon calls you beautiful in a mantra. Just as I-” amusement crossed over his features as his eyes rolled. “We—hope to hold your devotion without burden.”

His thumb swiped your lips, collecting the juices of the fruit stained to your flesh. You looked down for a moment, knowing desperately that this was what you wanted. What your beating organ needed.

“I am yours.” You muttered, buzzing from the intensity Simon always managed to carry. You swore you heard him purr as fingertips once more caressed your skin, angling your chin upwards so you looked to him doe eyed.

“May I kiss you?” He asked with such confidence you couldn’t help but nod, knowing words would not escape you. He reached upwards to push his helm off of his head to the soft grass below with a gentle clunk.

You were met with his features once again, all the godly details shining through to display just how effortlessly beautiful he was. A hand fluttered to your waist, so soft and gentle it made you feel like glass. He caressed you softly, keeping one hand enclosed while the other soothed. Fingernails fell heavenly against your scalp, palm wide to caress the whole side of your face. A thumb had your lips parted, just as you looked to him through your eyelashes.

He swayed closer, eyes so intense you felt your heart near palpating out of your chest. He leant over you, so tall he nearly encased you like a shield.

Then came a simple brush of his lips against yours, an experiment.

He was warm, yet cold at the same time. Hades was a wild flame that burned frostbite, it should have made you shiver. But—all you felt was scorching fire licking at your heartstrings.

His forearms circled your hips, keeping you locked to him as he kissed more surely, making you lose your breath as his tongue licked softly against your bottom lip. He tasted of sweetness, likely from the leftover Nectar he had drank before.

You decided then, it was the best thing you had ever felt and tasted. Down to your toes you felt the true passion put off from your souls.

He pulled away, leaving you with the biggest smile that spilt radiantly across your face. His own eyes danced with mirth and joy, the expression making him look younger than he was.

“I’ve waited long for this, my bride. Despite my many millennia that I have expirenced, little days will outshine this one.”

You couldn’t help the warm flush that fluttered across your cheeks at such elaborate words. It was the best day of your little years of life as well. With the day full of laughter and joy in Simon’s piece of Elysium— Eating figs, listening to the trickles of water, and soaking in the warmth of your God.

It was a shame the two of you missed the eyes that watched.

A/N: It’s been a while hasn’t it? This was a short chapter because I wanted this sucker out of my drafts. I’ve been holding onto it and chipping away since FEBRUARY!!! Anyways please enjoy and tell me what you think. Next chapter should be getting into the wedding!!

Tags: @soapyghost @queenqu33f @blueoorchid @lethalchiralium @eclipse-darling @galagcica @dead-noodles @agspgrwasb @toobessed @mooniesyubi @cookielovesbook-akie @vile-villain6661 @peachlcve @ghostslittlegf @erintaro @ghost-with-a-teacup @fante-di-denari @sollucifer @embers-of-alluring @icepancakes @queen-ilmaree @msecho19 @the-abyss-of-fandoms @angstyjellybean @multitargaryen @montenegroisr @lilacsourgirl @thisperspective @pasta-m1lk @badpvn @stupendoustyrantstranger @brainstormbby @lilpothoscuttings @lycheedr3ams

[neruro]

VOD 02 - at least give me pity donos!

first time chatter...? | scara x reader smau

He felt something strange at the sight.

Kazuha and Heizou playing with their (namely, Albedo and Kunikuzushi's) Switch on the floor, Albedo at the edge of the couch working on whatever illustration, and Kunikuzushi himself.

'Being next to someone again... I don't mind it.'

Kunikuzushi wasn't going to pretend he was familiar with any type of companionship. It was by sheer luck that he and Kazuha were paired up for a project together, and it was another dose of luck that he met long term friends because of it, (though Heizou and Kazuha agrees its from 'their intuition' and 'fate' respectively.)

Even as Albedo scolded Heizou for yelling at Kazuha about a blue shell, he burned the image in his memory. His companions... Or friends, some would say, they would be fleeting. Nothing lasts forever, after all. Eventually their paths would diverge.

To treasure the time before they abandon him.

Isn't that what his mother taught him?

Yes, if only he listened sooner... Then he wouldn't have been so distraught when he lost 'them.' And perhaps they never would have had to leave.

'I don't blame them,' he thought. 'The best I can do is hope I've grown enough.'

'So when that day comes... I can finally face them with my truest self.'

With a sigh and a last look at his friends, he went on his phone to open Twitch. Tartaglia and Barbatos were streaming, a couple thousand new followers (which were unfortunately, less than usual), but nothing he was particularly interested in.

Though he had a half a mind to...

He heard your voice almost immediately after, still as lively and sweet as last time. You started off with your usual greeting, wishing him a good day and starting off with informing him of what he missed.

"We just found the desert temple!" You said. "I'm glad you're here, actually– Me and Alatus found a mineshaft, and I could use you as a good luck charm!"

Right before he could hear your reaction or see if you got yourself killed again (dummyx5), Heizou punched his shoulder lightly, looking over at his phone. Somehow, they got Albedo away from his work to play with Kazuha, and they were both playing in silence.

"Kuni, partner!" Heizou said, leaning against his shoulder. "Why don't you join us? We got Albedo away from his tablet, that deserves some recognition, don't you think?"

"Doing something else," Kunikuzushi hummed, waving Heizou away. "You guys have fun."

"You're on Twitch," Heizou pointed out. "My guy, you're already living on Twitch every day."

"My streamer is streaming," He responded. "So shoo for a moment."

"I'm offended!" Heizou said, putting a hand to his heart in mock-hurt. "But alright, alright, just know you won't be choosing the game we play next time. Kazuha wants to play animal crossing with me so you'll take my place, partner!"

As Heizou walked back to the others, Kunikuzushi focused his attention back to his phone. Where 'his' streamer was now on the death screen again, from... Trying to swim in lava!

As you went on with how you were going to do better and not die next time (all while preciously trying to defend your honor) he couldn't help but let out a smile.

'It's always the smaller streamers...' He thought. 'Cute.'

first time chatter...?

masterlist || prev || next

✧˚ ·summary - tada! a new streamer (aka: you!) entered the scene! and what's this? your first regular chatter accompanying you to fame? great! and you're both becoming friends? even better! . .. eh? what... what do you mean he has over a million followers? and what does he mean by 'do you remember me!?'

taglist is open (thank you guys, bold means I can’t tag you!) - @maxineshearts @magica-ren @drmyday @haunts-gh0st @featuredtofu @yyyyiijhth @hiraethsdesires @mellowberrie @meigalaxy @idontevenknow129 @beriiov @sakiimeo @karma-gisa @raewrz @grrrhutao @itzblazekun @seternic @imdyeing @siasseltzers @lylovw @boxdisappeared @klanxii @moon4nge1 @layla240 @cante-lope @sketcheeee @hibiscy @saturnsapothecary @1l-ynn @pyrotechnics84 @eleutheriaah

author's note - chanel you are a carrot <3 thank you for reading!! be nice to yourself and others~

[hotwaterandmilk]

My extremely brief review of Sailor Moon Raisonné Art Works 1991~2023 book is as follows: fantastic as something akin to an exhibition catalogue, disappointing as an art book.

Longer version:

Takeuchi is a great artist, Sailor Moon has some extremely memorable illustrations, there hasn't been a new art book in decades... this should have been a slam dunk in terms of meeting fan expectations. Unfortunately I think the portrayal of this as a preserved "art collection" is a bit disingenous given the format of the book, the number of art revisions, and its overall quality are pretty standard for exhibition catalogues rather than actual art books.

In saying this I absolutely love art work catalogues, particularly when they provide context on how the illustrations were originally used. "Raisonné" shines in this regard, it gives revision notes and context to the original uses of all images from Nakayoshi colour pages through to furoku. Loooooove this:

It even features a comprehensive account of furoku and zen'in for the manga, which is another thing I appreciate in these types of publications.

The main problem, as countless people have pointed out, is that the actual art work in this book is extremely tiny. Many of the rarer images fans were excited to see in decent resoluton (like the colour art from Codename wa Sailor V) are a few cms across here, piled up crammed from a couple to a dozen a page.

The character designs presented exquisitely in full in the "Materials Collection" art book are condensed to a handful of pages rendering Takeuchi's chracter notes unreadable and the gorgeous sketches lacklustre at best. Why are they included at all when some designs are barely visible here? The paper quality too is fine for a catalogue but there's just no comparison to the paper and print quality found in the original Sailor Moon art books.

I think it also has some very standard art collection flaws on top of this, including baffling choices when it comes to putting artworks partially across two pages (will never not hate this in any art book, it's particularly egregious here where the cover illustrations from THE BOOK ITSELF are about the third of a page in size and placed across a page spread).

There's already been plenty of dissatisfaction expressed about this book and I'm not here to give it an additional kick around because I do feel it has value as an art work catalogue. I just think there was a definite divide in what Kodansha produced vs. fan expectations and if you purchase the book knowing this then at least you'll be aware of what you're getting.

[fryingtoilet]

Hello Everyone! I'm super excited to announce my new sketch collection Artbook: ✿Halcyon Days✿

I decided to go the pre-order route this time to make the process smoother, since I've got a great system for fulfilling orders through my own shop, and I have some funds to start the production right away!

In order to secure the rest of the production funding, and to allow myself more time to work on Gloamingvale's Chapter 1, I am hoping to get as many preorders as possible quickly, and offering a big early-bird discount for the new book, as well as a big spring sale on the rest of my shop items! There will also be a couple of bundle-options available, with a big discount as well.

Let me tell you more about the book: I've been putting it together for the past couple of months, and ended up with a lot more pages than I anticipated. It's brimming with a huge variety of sketches! I included a ton of sketchbook scans, digital doodles, and all the fanarts that didn't make it into my previous artbooks. Here are the book details:

7' x 10' Inches - Softcover perfect bound, with Gold Foiling and soft touch Matte lamination - 104 Pages full Colour on premium munken paper with a matte finish

I have already begun production and the estimated preorder ship-out date is: Early-Mid AUGUST 2024

So only a few months of wait-time, much quicker than most Kickstarters!

I hope you will help me make the production of this book go smoothly by getting a copy early on and taking advantage of the reduced pricing! There will also be a brand new bookplate sticker design for this release, and an art print of the full cover illustration.

Your support is, as always, SO appreciated!

[lurkingshan]

Jazz For Two

What an absolute mess of a show. What a muddled message about family and intimate partner violence and abuse. What a nonsensical progression of scenes masquerading as a story.

I have been scratching my head about this one all the way through, but today's final episodes really took the cake. There are so many problems with this show that I could break down in great detail, but the biggest problem as a piece of storytelling is that nothing the characters do makes any sense. Let me illustrate this by describing the progression of Seheon and Taeyi's arc in episode 7 in four scenes:

Taeyi reacts to Seheon's kiss with violent homophobia, calling him slurs and sexually harassing him as a form of mockery

Taeyi feels bad, goes to the piano room, plays a tune, says he's sorry and kisses him, all while Seheon passively lets it happen

Taeyi puts his arm around Seheon, flirts, and struts around the school hallway with him, looking very much like a couple

Taeyi jokes around and tries to kiss Seheon in the piano room

All of this happened within 15 minutes of screen time, with no connective tissue between these scenes to explain the huge change in Taeyi that occurred overnight, or give any agency to Seheon as this boy alternately abuses and hits on him. Homophobia has been a huge and looming threat throughout this show, but suddenly Taeyi is just fine openly flirting with him and Seheon is fine with being attacked one day and kissed the next.

And don't even get me started on the side couple, where we have a character who inexplicably loves someone who has been violently homophobic toward him, as well as assaulting others both physically and sexually in front of him. In episode 8 we learn that Taeyi's brother also loved a boy (Seheon's brother) who rejected him cruelly due to internalized homophobia. Every single pairing in this show is a dynamic of the abused party inexplicably desiring someone who has abused them. I don't understand why any of them like each other, and I straight up don't believe most of these scenes. There is no consistency either internally to the scenes or as part of a narrative through line, and the characters just do whatever the story decides it's time for them to do regardless of whether it makes any emotional sense. And all of this is playing out alongside a story of familial abuse with no apparent idea of what the story is trying to communicate by putting these plots next to each other. The show doesn't even bother to interrogate this before jumping to a bizarrely shoehorned in noble idiocy/romcom run resolution for the main romance that doesn't fit with anything that came before it, and then jumping to a music festival and montages of the two couples hanging out and making music together as if this has been a show about a nice group of friends in a jazz band all along.

And let me tell you, I wish that had been the show we got. I know this was adapted from a webtoon, but it seems it's quite a mess of an adaptation that took an already dark and dicey story and rendered it nonsensical by messing with the pacing and sequencing of events. I very much do not recommend watching, and between this and the strange mess that became of A Shoulder To Cry On, I will be giving this production company extreme side eye going forward.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

everybody stay with me im shifting back into speculation & analyzing mode, this time about everybody's favorite pair of besties. ill put this under the cut for everyone's sakes

and please, take all of this with a Hefty grain of salt.

so ive been... thinking about a thing. a maybe-possibility. which if this has some merit, the part of me that loves characters having a good time and feeling good feels is screaming in fear. but the louder part of me that loves angst and hurting characters is rubbing its little fly hands together.

short version: i think Barnaby is going to emotionally distance from Wally, if not outright grow to resent him. maybe temporarily, maybe not.

full version: *cracks knuckles* strap in folks. so.

first of all, an entire chunk of Barnaby's bio is dedicated to his character relation to Wally. everyone else only has one-off lines dedicated to their relationships to other neighbors - even Frank & Julie just have single sentences about each other (note that they're described as "partnered with" and "depicted with" respectively. more on that soon). even Wally's bio has his Barnaby mention tacked onto the end of his first paragraph instead of being its own dedicated section

and then there's their character designs - their bios explicitly point out that they share characteristics; color schemes, hearts on their soles, similar outfits.

they were made to be best friends. literally. this quote is what made me start turning this theory over in my mind (sourced from @ /theneighborhoodwatch's collected & absolutely fascinating livestream trivia)

it appears that Barnaby literally did not have a say in whether or not he and Wally are friends. their bios even say "illustrated pages note that they were best friends multiple times." they have to be best friends.

which brings us back to Frank & Julie. they briefly reference each other in their bios, but they aren't described as best friends. it's incredibly likely that they were meant to be a romantic couple - i briefly covered that theory in this post (dont read the first one i was going insane) but they managed to avoid that. Frank and Julie defied the script and chose to be best friends instead.

and then in the trivia document a few more character relationships are briefly touched on, like how Howdy considers Barnaby a close friend, and Sally considers either Barnaby or Poppy as her closest friend, etc.

everyone else seems to be choosing who they're close with. they're forming their own opinions and dynamics and relationships. & its interesting that Barnaby is stated for both of these - as if implying that he may return the friendship feelings, or at the very least he's developed enough of a relationship with them to earn their affection

Barnaby and Wally... i doubt they ever got that. they were best friends from the start, no development, no choice. it's written into them.

and then there's how their relationship has been portrayed so far. i believe i saw an ask where Clown stated that Barnaby is very polite to Wally, which struck me as odd. have you ever had a polite relationship to your best friend? have you ever seen best friends be polite? i'd be surprised!

best friends mess with each other! they tease and rib and roast! what is a best friend for if not mutual tomfuckery?! jesting around? playfully pushing boundaries? a Polite best friendship... that's a straight up oxymoron. no such thing. that sounds boring and exhausting.

not only that, but the fact that Barnaby is often used for Wally's painting segments, and is the go-to guy for teaching Wally something new, is kind of concerning. it gives me the vibe that a big part of Barnaby's literal reason for existing is to be Wally's friend & guide.

which would make the fact of him being described as polite to Wally make sense. of course he's not going to push their relationship or try to deepen it - he's forming his own dynamics with the other neighbors. with Wally... it's already established. that is how they are with each other. that is what they are to each other.

and it's not like Wally can be the one to introduce nuances. i don't mean that as a slight or anything - he's just the way he's been described and the things stated about him that make me think that he wouldn't really... know how to? it just wouldn't occur to him. he probably thinks his and Barnaby's relationship is what a best friendship is and is how it should be.

but they have to hang out. they have to refer to each other as best friends. and while i believe that Wally does wholeheartedly think that they're best friends, close as can be... i doubt Barnaby feels the same. like - yes, he probably does care about Wally. everybody likes Wally.

but it's gotta be frustrating for Barnaby, especially as time goes on and he becomes more himself as a person over just being a character playing a part. it probably stunts his relationship growth with others, since his ~best friend spot~ is already taken and who would want to encroach on that? especially since its taken by Wally mcfuckin Darling?

their friendship might become less of a role and more of a responsibility. Barnaby might grow to feel obligated to stick with Wally as his "best friend". someone invites Barnaby to hang out and/or help with something? sorry, he has to pose for Wally's painting. Barnaby is trying to do his own thing? sorry, Wally is knocking on the door and asking for help with something.

i wonder if Barnaby ever hopes that Wally will go to someone else, or feels relief when he does. and then does he feel irritation/guilt over that denied hope or that granted relief? then does he get angry at himself for those emotions?

how would this effect how he treats Wally and acts around him? this confusing muddle of emotions and this strange growing resentment for his painfully earnest friend who only ever means well, if he means at all.

it makes me curious whether or not this theory has merit. and how this could come to a head. what would Barnaby, in this situation, do if/when he discovers that they're puppets on a set, and he's literally written to be Wally's bestie while everyone else changed their scripts and chose their own relationships.

personally, i don't think he'd be happy, and i doubt he'd handle it well.

[ghostgirl101]

Dating Wednesday Addams Would Be Like This:

A/N: I've been wanting to write something for her for a while, and I feel like this is long overdue 🙃 requests are still open if you have anything in mind you'd like to see for Wednesday or the other characters included on my pinned post. Enjoy reading.

☠️• How did you manage to capture the attention of a certain eccentric, gothic young lady? Maybe you're just quieter than the rest, and unlike everyone else, there's something about you that she can't quite place. Whatever it is, it infuriates Wednesday to no end that her mind keeps wandering to you whenever she's trying to write, trying to distract herself by playing the cello to no avail... you really are an interrupting nuisance.

☠️• But one she doesn't mind being around. After she's gotten over her unwanted reactions and thoughts towards you when you first met - probably through Enid - you'll find that Wednesday suddenly pops up in all the places you go to, at and around Nevermore. Ask her why? You're the only 'tolerable' one, and then she's off again, a slight flush to her cheeks that she needs to go and deal with.

☠️• Speaking of Enid, you'll make fast friends with her. She's definitely more observant than she seems, and so she'll catch on after a week or two how Wednesday seems to lighten up ever so slightly when you're around. She'll invite you for slumber parties and to join her team in any group project, which only encourages Wednesday herself to reluctantly agree to become a part of it too.

☠️• "Come on, Wednesday, join in! It'll be fun!" "No." "That's a shame... you know who's joining us. But if you're not interested-" "...I suppose I could make a few adjustments to my schedule. This once. Don't look so pleased, Enid."

☠️• You're the only one she'll make exceptions for, and doesn't seem at all as put out as she voiced a couple of minutes ago. Even if it's not really her scene, she'll sit by you and watch, or listen to what you have to say. Someone interrupts you?

☠️• "Quiet. Well, go on."

☠️• Wednesday tends to get quite jealous - in her own way - when people she disapproves of steal your attention when you're hanging out. And she disapproves of pretty much anyone, minus Enid and her few closer friends. Usually, her glaring at them encourages them to leave a bit quicker, but if that doesn't work, she has no problem speaking up.

☠️• "Do you mind? We're working. Go and share your trivial attempts of small talk with someone else."

☠️• Being Wednesday's 'friend' also includes her being very protective of you, especially if you're more on the shy side and find it hard to stand up for yourself. Did you see what she did for her brother? You get the same treatment. If someone makes you self-doubt for a minute, she'll deal with the person in a way that most likely includes blood and a trip to the head's office, and a sweet but... well, a Wednesday-like attempt at shutting down those negative thoughts to make you feel better.

☠️• "Don't be ridiculous. Your facial features are... well, significantly prettier than any others I've seen here at Nevermore. And back at home, for that matter." "If you weren't clever, I'd have no interest in spending my time with you. And here we are."

☠️• She likes being with you and Enid doing whatever, usually, but at the times when it's just you and her unwinding after a chaotic day at school, Wednesday prefers getting on with her writing while you do whatever creative work you like doing. Interested in art? Here's a very flattering offer to illustrate a few things for her characters from her books. Like writing yourself? Alright, write a few hundred words of descriptive writing so she can see what your style's like. Writing together and sharing ideas is an example of a perfect evening for Wednesday.

☠️• Another way to bond is her teaching you how to play the cello. You're a 'passable student' that she's comfortable with teaching, and if you already play a different instrument, you can harmonise with each other. Even you can't miss the way her breath catches as the closeness of it all, and Wednesday gives Thing a knowing glare as you bite your tongue and hide a smile.

☠️• Eventually, when Wednesday has to come to terms with her feelings - or rather, Enid begs with her to do something and tell you how she feels, because 'you guys as a couple is so cuuuute!!' - you'll get a slightly overwhelmed-looking Wednesday Addams at your door, and a blunt invitation to go on an odd trip with her to the cafe. A date, you ask? "'Call it what you will." And then, before she rushes off again, "yes, a date. Obviously."

☠️• She can't help but take you to a more interesting location like the cemetery afterwards though, because that's Wednesday for you. If it's clear you're enjoying yourself, she'll give the smallest of half-smiles and state that she knew you'd like it, you two are similar, in a non-nauseating way. Whatever that means. It's a good thing.

☠️• After that point, it's clear that you're a couple. She refers to you by your name or as her significant other or partner when you're mentioned, and if she hears you call her your girlfriend, she'll get a feeling that isn't half as disgusting as she thought it'd be, after seeing how her parents are with each other. Her parents will be desperate to meet you, something which Wednesday has to give them a firm lecture on what not to do or say before she lets them. Still, it's nice to see you get on with the family. After all, you're a part of her family too.

☠️• I know a lot of people think that Wednesday isn't very affectionate at all, and that's something I half agree with. It's hard for her to initiate anything physical, and the thought of being all sappy like her mum and dad makes her feel nauseated... but if you move closer to her for a hug, she won't pull away. She'll shift closer when she thinks you don't notice, and only tenses and goes back to her indifferent, annoyed self again when Enid squeals in delight when she comes across the two of you. Any display of affection from you is welcome, and in public, you're either walking impossibly close to each other, or are hand in hand. If anyone comments, she'll make a remark on their embarrassing love life, or even decide to ignore them. You're more important. She'll deal with the idiots later.

☠️• I've mentioned it earlier, but again, highly protective. Honestly, once you get to that level of trust where she tells you everything - about her books, her visions, her private thoughts and feelings, her plans before she goes ahead with them - this girl would take a bullet for you. It's another way she shows she cares.

☠️• She comes off as indifferent and dark and sadistic, and Wednesday is all of those things. But with you, she finds herself softening a little, and maybe, just maybe, starting to rethink the things her mother told her before about love. And when she thinks you're fast asleep and not paying any attention, those very words are whispered vulnerably into the darkness of your room.

[queer-ragnelle]

i’m new to arthuriana but love your posts nonetheless

i am just curious about the many references to gawain sleeping with so many people when, to my understanding, in sir gawain and the green knight he specifically breaks this promiscuous behaviour and makes sure he doesn’t sleep with the wife of the duke

(i apologize if this is a stupid question!)

hello anon!

welcome to arthuriana and thank you so much for the kind words. this is not a stupid question at all! the truth is gawain is nothing if not inconsistent between texts haha. he's different from other knights such as lancelot who pines solely for guinevere across text after text, in that it seems every author wanted to create their own special gal for gawain. he therefore has numerous women attached to him, and when readers try to reconcile those many texts into a single story thread, it gives the impression our mans gawain gets around! (and he does!) i have several examples here to illustrate this so i'll put it below a cut.

for all the textual variance, sir gawain and the green knight is the exception that proves the rule—meaning that it's perhaps the only text in which gawain is abstinent. we know this because one of the five virtues attributed to the five points of his pentacle crest on his shield is chastity.

furthermore, on the wife's second seduction attempt, gawain pleas his own inexperience with "love" (ie: women).

whether or not that's true is up for debate, but it's worth mentioning, as it's a departure from other texts where his virile prowess is well-known, and in the knight of the two swords, he openly boasts about his own attractiveness and popularity. (humble guy, that gawain!)

there are several examples of gawain's reputation with the ladies preceding him and actually benefitting his odds of getting laid. one of my favorites is from lancelot part II in the vulgate. gawain had just cured his brother agravaine of an illness and agravaine's amie basically wingwoman's her sister.

goated of her. so gawain pencils it in on his calendar. later, he locates the castle, sneaks in, and succeeds in bedding the maiden. she's not named here, although malory later refers to her as "the lady of lys," and accredits her as the mother of gawain's three sons, (although the couple never formally wed).

among the strangest of examples is the middle english text the carle of carlisle, in which the carle brings gawain to the bedchamber and orders him to make out with his wife. but things quickly heat up...

so the carle stops gawain from outright cuckholding him, then leads gawain to his daughter's chambers, gives them his blessing, and locks them inside. at the end of the text, gawain marries her.

now i would be remiss not to mention my beloved the wedding of sir gawain and dame ragnelle. i think it's notable that ragnelle specifically asks for gawain by name, much like the lady of lys did (according to her sister and her warm reception of him).

now the conclusion of this poem brings us to another theme of gawain's which ties into his many partners, and that is his consistent subservience to ladies. he breaks the curse on ragnelle by granting her "sovereignty" in the relationship. this seems to be another aspect of character which sets gawain apart from other knights, as this is not a chaste expression of courtly love, but a precursor to fornication, and draws the attention of strong-willed ladies, such as ragnelle, with whom he is "a coward," or according to the translation notes, "submissive."

then again in roman van walewein, he's already famous by the time he meets his ladylove, ysabele, and whilst tied up in her father's prison, he leaves the decision of his own life in her hands.

which then results in their coming together because this is a gawain story and he always gets the girl.

even in the post vulgate, which we can all agree portrays every single character at their absolute worst (and is therefore invalid<3), gawain's choice of words consistently upholds the lady's desires above his own. at first, gawain intended wingman for pelleas by pretending he, pelleas, was dead to begrieve arcade. he discovers instead that she's elated by pelleas's supposed passing, so she and gawain fall in love. but even after admitting his feelings, he still takes great pains to frame the final crossing of that line as her choice, and only relents when she makes her intentions plain.

he might also just like it when women boss him around if his treatment from orgeluse in parzival by wolfram von eschenbach is any indication.

similarly to the knight of two swords, in parzival, gawain is aware of his fame, fosters it, and then employs his orgeluse brain worms as a motivation for sparing lives instead of like...morality.

i think what's particularly interesting about gawain's relationship history is that many of his partners are named, whereas it's pretty common for damsels and maidens in medieval texts to exist without identities of their own. there are so, so many named, interesting, fully developed women linked to gawain, it's actually pretty awesome! here are a few more:

lunette in yvain: knight of the lion by chrétien de troyes...

amurfina in the crown by heinrich von dem türlin...

bloiesine in the 4th perceval continuation by gerbert de montreuil...

marjorie in gawain and marjorie by oscar fay adams (if we extend our search through the 20th century!)...

and on and on forever! so in conclusion, gawain has been pulling bitches for many hundreds of slutty, slutty years, and from what modern retellings i've read, authors have no intention of interrupting this trend. i hope that helps clear things up somewhat. thanks for the ask!

[theflyindutchwoman]

We only have two real options. Break up or one of us leaves Mid-Wilshire. It should be me. No. No, you love it here. No, I do, but there isn't an open sergeant supervisor job anywhere else in the division. I checked. Which means you would have to take a demotion. And that's not happening.

| ANATOMY OF A SCENE - CHENFORD EDITION 5.12 - Death Notice

There is something deeply symbolic in how Lucy and Tim are trying to figure out a way to stay in this new relationship while dealing with the issue of the chain of command - in the shop, of all places. With the cameras recording everything. And yet, there is no better place : this has been their sanctuary for a while, a confessional at times, despite Tim claiming the shop as a 'personal-life-free zone'. This scene also feels like a continuation of their conversation in The Collar, when they were discussing Lucy's relationship. Back then, it was about Chris and now, this is about the last remaining obstacle : the chain of command. Only, Lucy is the one with open eyes here.

I just love how neither of them even entertains breaking up… which is, honestly, kind of refreshing. Sensible too, since it is something they both knew would be coming up sooner rather than later. Anything else would have cheapened their words : they are worth taking the risk and they sincerely meant it. Still, seeing them simply dismissing this idea right away is amazing. As much as Lucy being the one to come up with the solution. The fact that she instantly suggests that she should be leaving Mid-Wilshire, shows how she has been thinking about this the moment they were assigned together again. Something that is further illustrated by how she even checked if there was any position available for Tim. She has been working on this while he was struggling with denial. And in some ways, still is, judging by his surprise at her idea, even though he knows that they can't continue like this. That was the point of the Lucy Lesson… But if he could have pretended for a little while longer, he would have. He did tell her once that he would miss riding with her and this has never been truer : he's absolutely not ready to end this chapter. But all the while, you can see the wheels turning in his head...

The thing is, he absolutely understands the sacrifice Lucy is making. Like he said, she loves it there at Mid-Wilshire. But more than that, it's where she has a family, where she feels safe. There's no guarantee she would find this in another station. And I'm not sure he wants to be separated like this either, not even getting to hear her voice on the radio. Her hesitation, the way she is trying to convince herself that this is the right call makes it clear that she doesn't like this any more than him. It's just the most convenient solution in her eyes. Tim is deflecting a bit at the end, telling her that they don't have to make a decision just yet… But that last look says otherwise. He has already made his choice. This is the same man who already rejected a promotion when she was a rookie, just so he could stay training her after all...

And how overwhelming it must have felt for him! So far he has been the one who was expected to make the sacrifices. And here is Lucy, showing him exactly that she meant it when she said he was the most important relationship in her life. But it's even more than being put first : it's about being finally included in the decision process. Something that neither Rachel, nor Ashley truly did. In many ways, he was treated as a mere afterthought. In Rachel's case, she never talked to him about searching for a job on the other side of the country until she was offered the position. Her choice was already made, it was pretty much a done deal. The only thing left to discuss was whether he would join her or not. But at no point did they discuss what would be best for them as a couple. He didn't really factor in - which is her right, of course. With Ashley, she was so gung-ho on him retiring because she got uncomfortable with the danger of the job that she sprung this idea of retirement on him. She was scared, between her father having heart issues just as he was finally retired and Tim being at risk of being paralysed due to an old bullet she didn't even know about. And that is perfectly understandable. She saw her dad wait for a decade before retiring and he might not get to enjoy it for too long… So I can see why she would want Tim to leave the force while he still could. But instead of having a conversation, of sharing these fears, she focused on herself and ultimately made him choose while he was just waking up from surgery.

And on the other hand, you have Lucy… Who not only never asked him to sacrifice his career for her, but was ready to make the change herself so he didn't have to. Who dismissed the idea of him taking a demotion. Just like she was there to help him study and get that promotion. She has been his biggest supporter, right from the beginning, protecting him from himself at times, reminding him of who he was when he was close to cross a line he wouldn't have been able to come back from. This is no different here : she makes sure to include him in the decision process. It is very much a conversation on how THEY should proceed. Because she knows firsthand what it's like to be asked by your loved ones to quit something you love… This is also such a powerful moment for her. For years, she has been hesitant and downright reluctant to commit to any of her relationships. And dating Tim for a few weeks was enough for her to be ready to take this huge step.

This time, it's not one-sided : this is an equal relationship. And Tim is not going to hesitate. Because Lucy is worth the effort. They both are. And so is their relationship.

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Glugreng

My apologies for posting a bit later than usual -- I was on the road most of the day for eclipse-viewing purposes, so it's already nighttime as I start this. (Update: and also Firefox crashed multiple time over the process of writing this post.) Anyway, we've got another vaguely-described bird, but one that I think has some interesting details.

If anyone isn't sure what this post is about, you can find an explanation at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting. If you want to see the entry from which the artists are working, here is the link:

And in general you can see all of this stuff as it posts at the tag "maniculum bestiaryposting", assuming Tumblr's search function wants to show it to you.

Art below the cut:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) continues to post very impressively-rendered beasts. Here, since the only physical detail we have about this bird is "white", they've decided to take inspiration from the fact that it is kept by royal households. Medieval nobility did keep birds, usually for falconry, so here we have a raptorial design. And look, it's caught a fish! Good work, bird.

@pomrania (link to post here) observes that cataract-curing excrement is probably pretty valuable and worth collecting, so here we see a bowl with a dollar sign placed under the bird's perch. Honestly my favorite part of this is the very intense, extremely-close-up eye contact depicted in the middle there. Something about the bird needing (or just choosing) to get really up in one's personal space in order to do the curative "looking in the face" thing is charming to me.

@kaerran (link to post here) also went in the direction of "what kind of bird would be hanging around royal households" and landed on peafowl. There are a couple really clever design decisions here: it intentionally has very visible eyes so it's extra clear whether it's looking at you, and the "burning off the sickness" thing is represented as the feathers from its train being shed. (And thank you for including alt text.)

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) went in an interesting artistic direction, I think: since the entry was very clear that the Glugreng is "white all over", she rendered it entirely in thick white paint -- I think the texture is quite cool. Also I love the crown-collar-thing; SweetlyFez notes that she's only seen that in heraldry, and I think that is the only place it really appears. (I've seen at least one piece of marginalia that had an animal wearing a crown as a collar, but I'm like 80% sure that's someone's heraldic device being put in the illustrations for whatever reason.)

@cheapsweets (link to post here) jumpscared me a bit with this one. More very intense eye contact, but this time directed at the viewer. They also made the connection royalty -> falconry, and drew a bird of prey. For more details on their thought process, please see the linked post. I like the very intense eye contact conceptually, but also I keep scrolling down so it stops Looking At Me.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has again drawn something that makes me smile -- the art style is of course amazing, and the straight-on view of the pelican just looks so charmingly goofy. They note that pelicans have "so much convenient space to store all your pesky illnesses," and now all I can think of is a medical version of that "Put Baby In Pelican Mouth" post. (And thank you for including alt text.)

@strixcattus (link to post here) was inspired by the bestiary's decision to state that the bird is "white all over" and "has no black parts" in the same sentence. Weirdly specific, right? So they decided to explore in their post why this repetition might be necessary -- regular readers of these posts may recall that Strixcattus writes modern-naturalist-style reinterpretations of these animals. I'm not going to tell you what they came up with. Go read the linked post. Do it.

In fact, you should read all the linked posts, and consider following any or all of the wonderful artists who choose to participate in this weird little exercise.

All right, Aberdeen Bestiary time. A couple people said in their entry that they think they know what this one is, and I am excited to learn what their guesses were.

Now, since this artist tends to draw raptors in a very standardized way -- this just looks like their eagle but all white -- it's probably not possible to recognize the bird in question from this illustration. However, of course, there's a much larger problem in the way of recognizing this species:

This entry is the caladrius, which does not exist. It's another one of those mythical critters that didn't really catch on in the modern era -- or a strange misunderstanding of a real animal, like the salamander was, but honestly those aren't so much distinct categories as far as I'm concerned.

On the other hand, if you have similar Internet Experiences to me, you might have recognized it just now -- as soon as I saw the Aberdeen Bestiary illustration, I had a moment of "hang on, is that..."

The above is from the 2015 article "Two Medieval Monks Invent Bestiaries" on The Toast. You can check it out here:

(The author is now Daniel M. Lavery, but the byline on the linked article still says "Daniel Mallory Ortberg", probably because The Toast has been defunct for several years so nobody is updating these things.)

Anyway, the "bedbird" is indeed the caladrius. I was able to find the image from the Two Monks article by looking through the gallery attached to the "caladrius" entry on bestiary.ca (which has 94 examples, so it's clearly reasonably widespread). The bedbird comes from British Library MS Sloane 3544. And... I'm going to leave it up to y'all whether you think this should end with the "i've connected the two dots" gif or that quotation about the mystery no one thought was a mystery. It's late, goodnight.

[telekitnetic-art]

Hi!! Your art is so fucking cool! Can I ask what the process looks like for form line? Ex. What do your sketches look like when they are really rough? How do you go from idea -> final product. 💕

Hadih, thanks so much for your question!

Honestly, it's sort of hard to explain? I do have some sketches to sort of give an idea though.

This sketch I posted a couple days ago is a pretty good example of what my initial concept sketches sometimes look like.. As you can see, they're pretty chaotic and very rough, and usually these sketches are more about getting the idea down then actually making the formline itself. There aren't formline shapes just yet, although I do sometimes sketch out elements or shapes like eyes or bodies or paws/hands that will usually have an ovoid in it, because those elements tend to be a focus or centerpiece. The sketch is obviously not final, and things can change along the way to account for space and balance as well as what I'm trying to convey. (These sketches aren't entirely accurate of course because they're for pieces that are meant to be fusions of character illustrations and formline art, but they're the best thing I can find on my pc at the moment)

The rough sketch helps me figure out the flow of the piece, and once I'm satisfied with it I try and get to putting down the shapes and silhouette, and it's here where I try to find the balance with my rough sketch and how the shapes can fit and behave in the piece to the best of their limits while also still conveying the message I want to send. The most common shape I start with is the focus shapes, which are usually ovoids.

This rough of my harbor seal formline which I sent to my aunt for review sort of gives a better Idea of what I mean when I say I try and focus on where the centerpoints will be. Ovoids are usually a focus, so you can see them pop up a lot; in the body, the head, the eyes, the tail, etc. Ovoids are so important and probably the most common shape in formline art, and one of the most common feedback I get from my aunt is to adjust how the ovoid looks in any one of my pieces; she often compared them to a loaf of bread! You don't want your ovoids to look like a loaf of bread! (Her words, not mine). I feel like I've gotten better at drawing ovoids though, because she gives it as feedback less and less nowadays. Ovoids usually also have to have a bit of weight/perspective to them; it's hard to describe but essentially the top of the ovoid should usually be bigger/thicker/have more weight then the bottom.

From ovoids, the next shapes are usually circles, u-shapes and crescents, then usually y-shapes/trigons. It can be difficult, because the key is to make sure the shapes flow together and feel cohesive, as well as to make sure the negative/positive space balance feels right. Also a fun tidbit, trigons are most typically used to essentially fill space; it's always important to make sure that they are binding bigger shapes like u-shapes and ovoids and not stealing all the space and attention.

The lines in this stage tend to be very rough and messy, and I always try to go over the next rough draft with a smoother and cleaner pen.

Once the initial shapes are done, I'll usually send the piece to my aunt (sometimes I send them earlier on, when I'm in the middle of working out the shapes) for feedback! I am still a student in formline work after all; basically all of my teachings come from my aunt, who has a lot more years of work in formline art then me. She'll give me feedback and tips of what she thinks I should fix or experiment with. I adjust and fix and sometimes even completely delete and redo parts of the piece with her guidance. The list of things she tells me to change decreases with each piece, so I like to take that as a sign that I'm improving!

Once the black and white version of the design is done, I move onto coloring. Usually I already have a color scheme in mind when I go into a piece, so I'll mess around and put down colors and see how well they contrast before I color it. Typically, a piece will have about 3 colors; one for the background, one primary color, and one secondary color. I use a clipping layer to color the entire formline piece with the primary color, and then go in with the pen tool and bucket tool to use the secondary color. Adding in the secondary color is tricky but important because it once again falls into balancing positive and negative space/colors and the transitions between the two.

Once coloring is done, the project is basically finished! Unless there are some other plans I have for it, ie using it for an overlay in a bigger piece, colouring is usually the final stage.

And that's about it! I hope this helps you understand a bit; this isn't a perfect explanation as this is just from my own artistic POV and other nations and artists have their own process, but I hope it helps nonetheless!!

Edit: I forgot I posted other WIP formlines here before 😭 here and here!! You can sort of see me figure out the flow and balance of the designs in between the WIP and the finished piece!