#I'M SO SORRY ABOUT HOW LONG THE ALT TEXT IS. I JUST DON'T WANT TO LEAVE OUT DETAILS I WANNA BE ACCESSIBLEEEEEEE 😭😭

[neechees]

Raisedeyebrowemojii Scamming information post

So as some of you know, it's been revealed that @raisedeyebrowemojii was a scammer, and for those of you that don't know, I'm sorry you had to find out this way. This is going to be an information post on raisedeyebrowemojii's scamming, lies, the evidence, and where they stole from, and the debunking of all their claims as comprehensively as possible to help the people they scammed and manipulated get some closure, and hopefully to provide insight on how you might spot them again.

I carried out an investigation on the now confirmed scammer, and now deactivated user @blktransdyke, who deleted within hours of my callout post. On that post I connected blktransdyke as being the same person behind raisedeyebrowemojii due to the information both of them had posted for alleged fundraisers, which you can see in the post here. For a short recap, both blktransdyke and raisedeyebrowemojii "Jay" both had the exact same story of allegedly being trans/homeless/disabled and posted photos of the exact same brown tabby cat named "Trouble", both claiming that it was their "best friend's cat" and raisedeyebrowemojii created a patreon for Trouble the cat, only for me to find that Trouble the cat is a hyperpopular cat vlogging/fanpage with 42K followers on facebook, and both of these blogs stole from this page and neither of them were affiliated with this famous facebook.

Moving on, with some help, ive also found more evidence that raisedeyebrowemojii was a scammer. I know many people were already convinced by the callout post I already did, but I think it's important to debunk a lot of raisedeyebrowemojii's claims due to the fact that so many people thought they were genuine, that they had died, and due to the fact that they stole pretty much every detail of their alleged life from somewhere else, and I can prove it, so I want to clear things up, and maybe allow some people to gain peace in the knowledge that "Jay" did not die, and was never in danger of dying to begin with.

The rest of this post will be under the cut because again, this is going to get long. I encourage everyone who was approached by or donated to raisedeyebrowemojii to reblog to help get the word out, thank you. Image descriptions will be available in alt text.

For starters, raisedeyebrowemojii went by the name "Jay", and on the donation posts of theirs (scams), they used the paypal name "Jay Baldwin", and Jay claimed to be disabled (allegedly they had tourettes, autism, cerebral palsey, were deaf, in a wheelchair, had a terminal kidney disease, and allegedly other undisclosed disabilities), Canadian, that they lived in the city of Toronto (in Ontario, Canada), and a trans lesbian. Screenshots for that below

Misuse of terminology & racefaking

Let's talk about their bio first. I suspect that the scammer behind this blog is neither Black nor Canadian, due to the fact that, as I mentioned in this post, 1. Black Canadians don't really refer to themselves as "African American" as much here in Canada, partly due to the fact that a lot of Black Canadians actually have roots from the Caribbean & not directly from Africa or America, 2. "Jay" claimed to be Canadian but also said they had an uncle & grandparents still living in South Africa, which means they're implying they're either a first or second generation African Canadian immigrant, so why would they call themselves "African American" if they have no national/ethnic ties to America, and they are Canadian? So, like the blktransdyke blog, who i proved is most likely the same person as raisedeyebrowemojii, both of these blogs are using incorrect/strange terminology for the ethnicities they claim to be, thus indicating racefaking and a falsified Nationality.

Falsified Nationality

Here I also have reason to believe this person is not Canadian, or in the very least, did not live in the city of Toronto, or likely the province of Ontario. Partly due to the evidence ive just given above, but also due to the reasons I'm about to give & the connected next point I'll get to soon. For one example, "Jay" made the donation post in the first screenshot i gave where they claimed they were scared they were going to freeze to death, and that they could hardly even type on their phone due to the absolute insane cold temperatures of Toronto.

However, I took a look at the Toronto weather forecast for the day that raisedeyebrowemojii posted that update (February 12th, 2023) and found that the temperature had gotten up to 6°C (or 42.8°F), with very little wind, and it didn't even get below freezing temperatures that day, and only got two degrees below freezing the night before (which is when they claim they were staying in a shelter). Canadians will know that this type of temperature in FEBRUARY is actually very very warm and pleasant. Like, unseasonably, weirdly warm. Screenshot for that below.

Now, for an actual homeless person, being outside in the cold, even if it's warmer than usual, this is still difficult and harsh conditions to live under. However, this is still a large exaggeration from what Raisedeyebrowemojii claimed it was, and youre not very likely to freeze to death in this kind of weather compared to the usual Canadian temperatures. The way "Jay" described it makes me think that it is not a Canadian who made this post, and is someone who was not in Toronto to actually know what temperature it was that day, but just assumed it would be very cold.

Impersonation of the real Jay Baldwin

Thanks to some help (of people whom I will keep anonymous for their safety & as a precaution of the scammer harassing them), i managed to locate the identity of the REAL Jay Baldwin, and was able to concretely find out that this person is who raisedeyebrowemojii was impersonating. So, who is the real Jay Baldwin you ask?

Jay Baldwin is a Black, disabled (who uses a wheelchair and has Cerebral Palsey) nonbinary Canadian and the founder of the private Facebook support group "Disabled, Queer, and Fabulous" with over 1.1K members, and is a student at Carleton university in Ontario, Canada, and this Jay Baldwin has actually been doing really well for themselves, and has gotten pretty famous in the Ottawa area. And, as you can see, the raisedeyebrowemojii "Jay" apparently has a lot in common with THIS Jay Baldwin, including their names, being Black, a disabled wheelchair user with Cerebral palsey, nonbinary, Canadian living in Ontario, and both use they/them pronouns. But let me show you how I know they've been stealing from this person.

One way I can tell that raisedeyebrowemojii definitely was not THIS Jay Baldwin is their faces. On the screenshot to the left is the icon that raisedeyebrowemojii (of allegedly "themselves") used for their blog, taken from the webarchive screenshot of their blog, and to the right is a cropped portrait photo of the real Jay Baldwin, taken from this information page on the official Carleton University website, which also lists most of the information I just listed about the REAL Jay.

Obviously these two people look absolutely nothing alike. And we can tell that raisedeyebrowemojii meant for their scamsona to look like the person on the left, because they also used a photo of another dark-skinned Black person in ANOTHER donation post. So they stole these selfies from a different person altogether, although I haven't yet been able to locate where they'd stolen them.

One of the reasons that raisedeyebrowemojii's lies were so convincing though is that they were stealing or misconstruing some of Jay Baldwin's life experiences almost in real time, and I believe that raisedeyebrowemojii was keeping tabs on Jay in order to harvest their life details. For example, on a Facebook post, Jay Baldwin mentioned the death of their father a few times, but also on June 26th 2022, made the memorial post below about the death of their uncle

and meanwhile, on August 25th 2022, raisedeyebrowemojii ALSO suddenly started saying that their dad died, which you can see on the screenshot of their tumblr profile, which as webarchive screenshot shows, was not there before. While they changed the dates, raisedeyebrowemojii was clearly pulling from the real Jay's life, so it looks like we can see around the time that the dcammer decided to randomly incorporate this into their scamsona. As far as I can find, raisedeyebrowemojii never made a donation post regarding their "Father" and said that he was abusive, so adding this detail from the real Jay's life shows that it was unnecessary except to look more real and to manipulate people into believing them.

In the ways that raisedeyebrowemojii misconstrued things, they also of course constantly used the story that they were either homeless or on the verge of being homeless. Where Jay would post facebook updates of doing very well and being happy in life and even doing & hosting events for disability rights, raisedeyebrowemojii around the same time would post about needing money due to either allegedly starving, of dying, needing medical attention, or being homeless.

Below are screenshots of, in the order that they appear (so we're going chronologically in time that these were posted by both raisedeyebrowemojii and Jay Baldwin respectively) from left to right, raisedeyebrowemojii asking for money on February 16th 2023 talking about being in allegedly horrific conditions, then Jay Baldwin posting a peppy update on facebook, looking very happy and having a drink with the caption "Cheers to life!" on February 22nd, and then another donation scam post by raisedeyebrowemojii begging for money saying they're "on the streets" and "will die", posted on February 26th 2023.

You'll be happy to know that the real Jay Baldwin is not homeless or food insecure, and seems to have had a good relationship with both of their parents and is in an accepting home, unlike what raisedeyebrowemojii claimed THEY had, and claimed they were being abused. Raisedeyebrowemojii likely falsified all that while still impersonating Jay and keeping tabs on them in order to create a false sense of urgency whenever they wanted money at random.

Normally I wouldn't go into this much detail about the people who were stolen from in scams, but I feel like this case in particular it was important to point out where the scammer was pulling from to debunk their lies, but also because the real Jay Baldwin has become quite an iconic figure in their area, and all this information was taken from multiple publicly available sources, and so I can only assume that Jay is comfortable with this personal information being known.

Little to no life details, interests, or personality outside of the impersonating Jay Baldwin, and manipulation

As I'm sure many of you know by now (as ive mentioned it in previous posts, and that some of you currently reading this were victims of the scammer), but raisedeyebrowemojii contacted multiple, predominantly Black users to attempt to befriend them, and they did this in order to appear more legitimate, and most likely so that they had "friends" to call upon should any of their scams have been questioned. We've also seen this with multiple other scammers where a new blog will appear and suddenly start tagging mostly Black users to ask them to (unknowingly) reblog their scam posts.

And as a more famous example, we've seen this with the famed scammer Laura Deramas where she befriended multiple users to get them to stick up for her.

But to get down to the title's point, outside of the life details they were stealing or misconstruing from the real Jay, Raisedeyebrowemojii didn't have much of their own personality or traits, which is common in scams. Say, for example, a scammer will create a scamsona who is a lesbian and loves cats and is making a fake donation post for a sick cat, and so in order to make their blog look more convincing, they will randomly reblog popular posts from tags about cats or lesbianism.

In Raisedeyebrowemojii's case, we had one user mention that while Raisedeyebrowemojii was trying to "befriend" them, Raisedeyebrowemojii would only answer very generic questions asked of them despite the fact that they sent the messages first appearing to try to get to know that user, like answering "I like reading!" Instead of answering what their favorite books are if asked about their interests. Below is a screenshot of that conversation. This user emphasizes that they never got an answer to the last question they asked.

"Kidney disease" and alleged "death"

I stated on my blog that I believe raisedeyebrowemojii randomly said that they were diagnosed with a "terminal kidney disease" (allegedly chronic kidney disease) specifically with the view that they could leave, deactivate, or abandon their blog and then move onto ANOTHER scam blog (and likely this was the blktransdyke blog) without looking suspicious or weird, because then people would just assume they had died, which is exactly what happened.

Raisedeyebrowemojii stopped posting around June 2023, and the blktransdyke blog appeared in early April 2023, which makes me think this is when they started to move to that blog or potentially even another blog we don't yet know about. Funeral scams, or scams where the scammer pretends their persona has "died" in general is not new and is actually pretty common. It's possible that raisedeyebrowemojii was going to (or may still attempt) to return on another blog and pretend to be a family member or "friend" of the raisedeyebrowemojii in order to ask for alleged "funeral money", which we've seen with blogs like the now deleted blog @destrawberry.

But the main reason I think why they stopped posting in specifically June is because that is around the time the real Jay Baldwin was gaining popularity again, doing multiple public events, and was doing very very well, so I think the scammer became aware there was now more of a chance of people discovering their scam. In June, Jay won an award at an LGBT film festival for a documentary they had made ("Supporting Out Selves") and an Academic Hospital wrote a piece on their success, and in August they announced that they teamed up with ASE Community Foundation for Black Canadians with Disabities to host their 3rd student summit in September. You can find evidence of this by googling or by looking at Jay Baldwin's facebook, but of course, please give respect to the real Jay Baldwin & do not pester them.

Conclusion

All in all I hope that this clarifies a lot of things for those of you that were confused by all this, and again, I extend my dearest sympathies to those who donated to raisedeyebrowemojii and were manipulated by them, I know the feeling and I'm so terribly sorry that it's happened to you too. I advise any Black users especially to be very cautious about any new blogs with a donation post up that is new, and this new blog is trying to ask you to reblog their donation post: it's common for scammers to retarget anybody who may have donated to them, talked to them, or even just barely interacted with them before.

I'll put some of raisedeyebrowemojii's old paypals, gfm accounts, etc in either the replies or another reblog, because for now I'm running out of space. If you donated to them at any point, i suggest you report their accounts where you did the donating. And in the mean time, my colleague @kyra45 is taking testimonies on raisedeyebrowemojii, so if you have an experience with this scammer and would like to share that experience with us so we can document this scammer's behavior, please send Kyra an ask.

[oldmemoria]

okay heres the fucking thing about this script controversy that some people don't seem to get.

just gonna say it blatently:

strap in babes this is gonna be a long one!

The way Miguel O'Hara is written in the leaked transcripts is blatantly racist, here's why from a Latino himself!

all wrapped up in a sweet little bow for everyone who doesn't know how to comprehend what they're reading, cheers!

er. i mean.

¡Salud!

Miguel fans are not mad that they depicted him in a bad light and that they made it clear that he is in the wrong

WE FUCKING KNOW. WE'RE NOT STUPID.

Miguel has been depicted as a morally grey asshole since the early 1990s, which is when Spider-Man 2099 was initially debuted. And while yes, the movies are.... inaccurate, to say the least, it still stands.

The issue here is how he is depicted. They directly call Miguel O'Hara, a Latino man, an ANIMAL (he is directly called an animal TWICE. FUCKING TWICE.)

[1st image id: Miguel leaps onto Vulture, Clawing his way in past the renaissance armor. he is an ANIMAL. (keep in mind ANIMAL is literally in all caps.) /end id]

[2nd image id: Miguel SLASHES at the walls of light that surround Miles. Clawing the energy field apart, an animal in the throes of bloodlust -- /end id]

I need you to really soak in the fact that he is called "AN ANIMAL" twice. I'm awful at alts and ids but I feel I must so you can read it in plain text. sorry if they suck.

Our issue is not that the writers seem to have a bias against the character. a lot of writers write characters they dont particularly like and in turn tend to write them from a foggy lense of their own perception. An example would be Kate Cary and how she didn't like Crowfeather, a character she had to write about. I'm sure some of her bias seeped through. but this is different.

writing a Latino man as a bloodthirsty animal, implied to be called a predator because they call one of the people he fights (im not sure if its miles or the vulture, im leaning towards believing the former.) his "prey", THOSE ARE ALL RACIAL STEREOTYPES. ALL OF THEM.

[3rd image id: But Miguel can only see his prey: /end id]

There is no context to be needed here, the context is that this is miguel we're talking about and that they call him an animal. it does not matter if he is a villain or not (which he isnt, factually he fucking isnt im tired of having this conversation, fuck you). it matters that he's depicted in a racially insensitive way.

and this person brought this up pretty well actually, I didn't even think of it:

[4th image id: Tumblr user @/404-505 saying:

i want to be so mean to them

they couldn't write miguel crossing the border and stealing a job so they wrote him crossing into another universe and stealing his own identity

they couldnt write miguel as a drug addict so they gave him spider steroids instead /end id.]

They bring up a really good point about these clear stereotypes being seemingly. . . disguised behind points that are narratively relevant? This could literally just be pure coincidence, but noting how the writers wrote him before... it isn't looking too good for them. Sorry. Not sorry.

It is clear that there is some kind of bias against miguel that led to really disgusting, racist retoric. Whether or not it was intentional or if it was a first draft or whatever, the writers, which may i remind you were white, still wrote this at some point.

it makes me question whether or not they hated him because of his "bullshit utopia", their words not mine, or because of their own racial biases.

We cannot know because miguel is the only mexican character on the cast. I know Miles is Puerto Rican, but there are differences between how they were portrayed. also Puerto Ricans and Mexicans come from competely different cultural backgrounds that share simularities but are still different dont even try i will destroy you.

Using another users words again, but:

[5th image id: Tumblr user @/transmiguelohara says:

Don't talk to me about the Miguel parts in the script. I'm so disappointed in how the writers view him.

The difference between the way Miguel is written (antagonist, not the villain) vs Spot (the villain, whats to kill Miles' dad and everyone he knows) is soooo.....I don't know man it just screams racism in sorry. Describing Miguel as a bloodthirsty animal? Repeatedly? Treating him like he's mindless and has no motivation beyond having a hair trigger temper? It sucks man. /end id]

It also strikes me that now that we finally have a brown-skinned miguel, they write him like, well. this.

I don't really know if this is petty or not, but I want to wrap this back to the way the fandom also sees Movie Miguel.

Because TRUST ME it is not good either.

Miguel O'Hara Vs. FANDOM: Spoilers, it's been troubling since the beginning.

From the beginning (and by beginning in this case I mean since he was announced to be a character in this movie) Miguel has been continuously sexualized, beyond belief. He is repeatedly called "papi cholo" which NEED I REMIND YOU "Cholo" is a derogatory term used to call someone, usually a mexican person, a criminal or a delinquent.

FUCK YOU if you are not Latino OR hispanic and use this to describe people. from the bottom of my heart.

I'm pretty sure the majority of the people who called/ still currently call him "papi cholo" are mixing it up with "papi chulo" (white people moment.) which means something completely different but is still troubling as hell.

"papi chulo", which is slightly different in the way, just directly translates to "big daddy". Which again, Latino men being overly sexual "Latin Lovers" is ALSO A RACIAL STEREOTYPE. also its just blatant fetishization. Point blank fucking period.

Not only that but I notice a lot of art and fanfiction depicts him doing a lot of violence, or being very overbearing and demeaning, or in short terms.

a lot of people write him as physically and sexually aggressive.

fuck do you mean he growls during sex i can and will send you to space with no return.

which

for the millionth time

racial stereotype

halleluiah or however you spell it.

Having him say random spanish phrases you don't know the meaning or connotations of in your fanfiction is icing on the cake at this point.

fucking end me.

it isn't even only sexual depictions, since he's been shown in the movie, a lot of people seem to just see him as this guy who goes off and tries to kill children at a hairs trigger. which uh. fun fact no he fucking doesnt.

you clearly didn't watch the movie as well as you thought you did. hes just sarcastic and generally pretty level headed through the majority of his runtime, whether its implied by how characters around him act, or its just what we see on screen.

He doesn't necessarily have anger issues, the moment we see at the climax of the film is quite literally a mental break. he is not acting in a way that he usually would because he was cracking under the stress of holding the multiverse together with some scotch tape and orange glitter glue.

Also side tangent but he also has a mental break in the comics that's a little more... droopy and sad as compared to the movie, but it still happens. he has shitty mental health is what im saying. he only really lashes out angrily when hes at his wits end because that's how he grew up. he was taught to suppress his feelings and seem smaller when he was upset.

he is the result of abuse and neglect. of course he wouldn't be amazing at emotional regulation.

Which before anyone says it no, this is not an excuse for his actions. just an explaination that isn't "hes an angry animal that has it out for miles UwU" that everyone seems to have in their brain. I'm tired of you all. truly.

the sentiment that hes agressive and angry and his only emotion is anger and upsetness unless he's horny which is when he experiences all these emotions tenfold is. racist. idk how clear i have to be for people to get it through their damn skulls that the way the fandom depicts him is harmful. do i need to slap you in the face with a fish until you understand. do i need to burn your fanfiction. will you get it now that a 15 year old latino boy has to scream it in your face.

and dont even get me STARED on how inaccurately he is written

this is a more light hearted section because idk. feels like i should have it because this part is just comical, pun intended. How can you fuck up this hard guys.

I was gonna give them the benefit of the doubt because "Miguel has fresh trauma!" "He only shows up for like 10 minutes!" "insert 3rd reason!" for his drastic change in demeanor and personality, which, without context, are valid reasons for him to be a little different. trauma fucks you up man. we only see 10 minutes of him. but at this point im chalking it up to complete incompetence

it doesnt take that long to read a comic book guys. you could have done a little research, I know you can do it.

first off:

[6th image id: Miguel's SPIDER-SENSE goes off! He races to the edge if the building and peers into an empty alley -- /end id]

LMFAO WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN "SPIDER-SENSE"

Unless you didn't get the total of TWO jokes that they made in ONE scene (the vulture fight scene), Miguel doesn't have a spider sense. at all. He has elevated senses, but he doesnt have a spider sense.

guys

guys.

you made TWO jokes IN A ROW about it. YOU WHACKED HIM IN THE HEAD TWICE WITH IT. HOW DID YOU FORGET

I cant help but laugh! this is a rookie mistake! these are seasoned writers! They could have done at least a little research, or at least remembered that he doesnt have one, no? is it that hard? or does his lack of a spider sense only matter when you're making fun of your least favorite character? thats what I thought.

this one is less funny. not to sound like a stereotypical comic nerd but this infuriated me a little bit I'm not gonna lie.

[8th image id: tumblr user @/darksidecorner reblogged tumblr user @/spiderxpawz with:

They definitely didn't

a screenshot of the script reads:

AN INDUSTRIAL TANGLE OF HUGE PISTONS -- the literal DARK UNDERBELLY that undergrids Miguel's bullshit Utopia.

Miles doesn't know where to go... but he doesn't need to: SOMEONE YANKS him up into the safety of an alcove.

the user then continues:

This in particular made me PISSED because they quietly canonized that Miguel is CEO of Alchemax while conveniently ignoring that he did everything in his fucking power to BETTER Neuva York. Downtown wasn't built by him. It was built by people WAY before him.

I can excuse and defend some comic deviation, but THIS? Holy FUCK /end id]

I honestly cant tell if I find this part funny or pathetic because seriously. he did not do this. why are you blaming him for something he had nothing to do with. i dont think he decided "hey i should build a city for rich people over poor people because reasons" when he was like... not even alive. Alchemax did this before he was even sentient. it had always been this way since he was born. he also actively hated this decision. because he actively hates alchemax.

but right MIGUELS bullshit Utopia yeah HE did this that EVIL LITTLE BABY i cant believe him

kill me.

In conclusion:

I. . . Don't really know, to be honest. I'm still processing all this. I am genuinely disappointed and upset because this isn't okay. It never will be, and if it takes yet another blunt essay with absolutely no filter for people to understand it then so be it. I don't care if this comes off as mean. This is something I feel qualified to talk about and I will express my disappointment and anger if I want to.

All of the posts I reference I have reblogged within the last 24 hours of making this post, they shouldn't be that hard to find, but if you want the links to them here they are:

https://www.tumblr.com/spiderxpawz/735344322114977792/live-mexican-reaction?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/404-505/735289664739606528/they-couldnt-write-miguel-as-a-drug-addict-so?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/transmiguelohara/735289238625648640/cant-believe-the-writers-have-the-same-reading?source=share

if you want your image to be removed or for your link to be removed just ask and I'll do it. but currently im kinda bummed out and tired.

goodbye.

[dairyfreenugget]

New PK gijinka for a new gijinka AU

Alt text + AU info under read more

- 🌷Patreon🌷- 💜Ko-fi💜 -

ID start: A doodle page depicting the Pale King from Hollow Knight as a human. The first doodle in the top left corner labelled "pre-hibernation" depicts him during this time as a king, with a youthful sharp face, long elf ears, he's looking to the side with a scowl. He wears his hair in a low ponytail, with a black, spiked crown atop his head. The next two doodles depict him after the Hallownest's collapse, as an older man with a large X shaped scar on his face that cuts the left side of his lips, exposing his teeth and gums, and a V shaped notch in his left ear. He wears his hair in a messy bun and wears a hood and a shirt underneath with a popped up collar. He looks down and to the side, looking far more tired and guilty than his younger self. The second of the two doodles depicting his older self has his hood up, casting the majority of his face in a shadow. End ID.

PK is alive or reborn for the 3rd time and after the fall of his kingdom he conceals his identity out of shame

He travels the abandoned ruins of his kingdom and meets survivors, and through this he meets Hollow when he arrives in dirtmouth. Shocked to see them alive and speaking and so clearly *not hollow* he pretty much runs away the first time they see each other. He later stumbles onto them again after having some time to sit on this revelation and decides to walk ul to them to apologise for his previous behaviour. They don't seem to recognise him, which he decides is for the best and doesn't reveal himself

He ends up settling down near dirtmouth and so the two continuously stumble on each other and start bonding and getting to know one another through these sporadic meetings. At some point the topic lands on family and Hollow says their parents never loved them, their mother disappeared and their father used them and never thought anything more of them than a tool. Obviously it stings and PK tries to protest, saying that every parent loves their child, which turns into a small argument until Hollow snaps with tears in their eyes that he doesn't known their parents. They're both self-centred cowards who never loved them. Then adds their father is dead anyway and it's probably for the best. PK backs off and apologises quietly for pressing while Hollow quietly sobs. He then sits down next to them and quietly asks if they have any other family, and they mention their sister who visits them occassionaly but not that often now that they've recovered, she's very busy, but it's okay because the people of dirtmouth are nice and help take care of them. PK can see it's *not* okay but doesn't press it, he already made them upset and he doesn't want to do it again. They ask about his family and he gives some vague answer about an ex-wife and children. Still dunno if Ghost is alive here

Months pass by and ironically enough the two develop a very mentor/student and then father/child kind of relationship (which probably eats at PK and will be such a huge shock for Hollow when they find out his identity)

Hollow kind of sucks at keeping their wounds and bandages clean so when PK smells the infection on them he forces them to sit down as he cleans their wounds, reapplies sterile bandaging and gives them medicine, all the while chastising them for not taking care of themself. Hollow sheepishly admits they don't know how and were too nervous to ask for help, but then also jokingly calls PK dad when he keeps fretting. In a sort of "Okay, okay, I get it, DAD" way. Which makes him freeze and for a one terrifying second he thinks *they know* before realising he's just fucking stupid and it was a joke. But Hollow remembered that one discussion they had and how he brought up having children in the past so they think they made a social blunder and just give him that sheepish look.

"Ah...is- is that a sore spot? I'm sorry—"

"No, no, it's- it's okay, kid. I just...wasn't expecting that."

So they continue to bond over the months and PK becomes a parental figure to Hollow, which he feels so damn guilty about and thinks they'd hate him even more if they ever find out the truth

Any time they bring up how he always wears that hood and covers his face he tries to wiggle out of actually answering it, but knows his time is running out

I'm thinking Hollow finds out in some sort of situation where they end up hurt or in danger. Dunno how it happens but I did imagine the scene after that, where Hollow's in shock and denial and PK tries to free them from the ropes they found themself in but they keep thrashing so he finally yells at them to stop moving or they'll hurt themself, clearly very worried for them. So they do and they allow him to free them and take them to his home where he patches them up, all the while they're in complete shellshock

Hours later when the atmosphere cleared up a little PK gets them something to eat, all the while not being able to look them in the face, and says that he understands if they hate him and want nothing to do with him after this, but to just stay and let him take care of them until they recover. Then they can leave and never see him again.

Hollow just eats in silence until they finally get the courage to ask about that conversation from months ago, asking if this is why he was so insistent on their father loving them.

"I...That...It.....my— my feelings...don't really... matter, if I never showed them anyway, if I...when I hurt you despite them."

OH and obviously Hollow starts opening up more and more to him the more they bond and eventually they just cry to him how they don't understand why they still love their parents despite all the hurt they've caused them, how they want to hate them because it'd be so much easier to, and all PK can do is just hold them and let them cry into his shoulder as guilt just eats him up inside

[neopronouns]

[if alt text is not accessible for you, every image in this post is a thin line divider with 4 vertical stripes, which are light seafoam green, golden yellow, bright red-pink, and medium dark purple. end id.]

welcome to my blog!

i'm dexter, and you can find more information about me here. i'm 23 and i mainly use he/him, ey/em, and it/its pronouns, but any other pronouns that are not she or they are good too!

i also run @mogai-headcanons, where i made edits of folks' mogai/liom/etc. headcanons, and @neopornouns, a request blog like this one for 18+ terms, and my main blog is @pierz.

please read my dni before following me and read my general rules and blog rules/open requests before requesting!

if you're interested, you can also read my request whitelist to see what requests i'll be most excited about!

my requests are currently open for comuniterm terms and closed for all others. here is every request currently in my inbox. my queue currently posts 5 times from 10am-2pm cst.

here's a quick list of frequently asked questions — i recommend you look through this before asking me a question, since i get a lot of asks and may ignore yours if it's answered here!

q: what program do you use to make your flags/edits and how? a: i use gimp on desktop! here's a simple flag tutorial i made and a basic flag splicing tutorial for multi-flag icons.

q: what's your header/icon? a: my icon is the bard from 'wandersong' over the lumesimplekind flag and my header is an edit i made inspired by wandersong's cover art and the song 'i wanna be the hero!' from the game!

q: are you alright with requests involving [insert media]? a: if it's not in my general rules linked above, probably yes! if you're concerned for a specific reason (source content, shitty creator, etc.) please let me know in your ask; i don't know what's problematic about every piece of media!

q: i don't see my request in the inbox! can i resend it? a: yes! just resend it and let me know that you sent it previously while requests were open.

q: can i put your terms on [insert wiki] or [insert other social media site]? a: yes, as long as you credit me and do not reword my definitions, add additional definitions, etc.

q: can you tag [insert thing]? a: yes, i'll try my hardest to remember! feel free to remind me if i forget.

q: how long will it take for my request to be posted? how long will it take for you to get to my request? a: i can't definitively say, sorry! i try to make it so the queue has a month's worth or less of posts in it, but as for getting to your request, i don't really know for a number of reasons.

q: [insert post] should be tagged as eyestrain! a: thanks for letting me know! i struggle to determine what is eyestrainy a lot of the time, so i tag things as 'eyestrain' when i'm certain and 'potential eyestrain' when i'm not. if you're photosensitive, i recommend blocking both tags to be safe.

q: can i use one of your edits somewhere? a: yes, and i would strongly prefer if you credit me somewhere if you do.

q: are you alright with spam likes/reblogs? a: yes, and i appreciate your support and enthusiasm!

q: [insert nice thing] a: i cherish you so much and your ask probably will sit in my inbox forever along with all the other incredibly sweet asks i've received over the course of this blog!

q: [discourse] a: please Do Not.

lastly, here's a few resources you may find useful!

my taglist application, for if you want me to tag you in my coining posts/edits

my deviantart for flag templates and symbols

the pride-flags deviantart, which has a ton of high-res flags for mogai terms and more flag templates/symbols

my guide to finding mogai terms by name (and ensuring that you don’t name a new term after a preexisting one)

a guide to how i create names for my terms

an archive of pupyzu’s term suffixes carrd

a list of other mogai blogs i enjoy (hasn't been updated in a while, sorry!)

a beginner’s guide to request etiquette

my redbubble shop, where i’m happy to upload any other flags i’ve personally designed or edits i’ve made

[reactionimagesdaily]

REACTION IMAGES BLOG PATCH NOTES (aka the 10k follower celebrations got out of hand)

Hey everyone!

So it's been a hot minute since I announced that we passed 10,000 followers on here! I'm sure... well, I'm actually sure that most people won't be TOO fussed either way, but I did say I was gonna do some stuff, and I wanna stick to my word if nothing else xD

So! Let the celebrations begin! Firstly, I'm announcing a new QnA (I love those things) that'll last,,,, I'll say 2 weeks and go from there. Feel free to ask me about whatever you want!! If you want to cater to me specifically, my current big interests are Baldur's Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Mass Effect, and uuuuh Halo. (Also Bionicle remains a constant.) (Lots of scifi videogame stuff at the moment...)

[IK there's still some stuff in the inbox I need to answer/respond to you - I promise I'll get to those as well <3 thank you so much for your patience, if you've been waiting]

Secondly, here's a new song cover! IDK how many of you have played the game Divinity: Original Sin 2, but here's me singing Lohse's song; Sing For Me.

Thirdly: here's a new gimmick blog! I Was Not Joking. (Though, for my sanity, it's gonna be weekly instead of daily.) I'll be posting the images I have saved in my folder called 'feral screenshots' - it'll basically be a collection of cursed images/images with strange auras. I wanna say y'all know the ones, but if you don't, then here's an example of what we're dealing with:

[Image ID: a person floating in a rubber ring in a swimming pool. On their head is what looks like a life-size Lego head.]

Introduciiiiing the Weekly Weird Images blog!

And Fourthly! It is my great pleasure to announce that we're adding alt text to all the images on this blog! Sorry it took so long to get round to T_T

And yes - I do mean we! To write out all the alt text for these images, I've on-boarded minion-in-chief/court jester aplomb @tizzytinkertilly! I (the reaction images guy) will still be handling every other part of the blog - she'll just be doing that bit. For the sake of my sanity xD

This is kind of a big change - both the addition of alt text, and the fact that this blog is no longer a single-person operation - so for the foreseeable future, the queue's been tweaked so that we only post 2 images a day instead of 4. (Fun fact! 2 images a day was the original MO of this blog, and then covid happened and I was like "I'll make it 4 a day because it'll be a nice thing to do for everyone while they're miserable in this pandemic :)" and then I never stopped (although you could argue that the pandemic never stopped either).) Maybe if/when we fall into a good routine and feel like we can do more, we can bump the rate of images back up, but right now this is a teething phase and I'm keen to slow things down for a little bit. :P (Tumblr has made some WEIRD mechanical choices for group blogs, I'll be honest.)

And, uh, yeah, that's all! Let the QnA begin- Hope y'all enjoy the song cover- Hope y'all enjoy the additional blog- A big welcome to Tinks and to alt text! Happy 10k followers, everybody!

[officialcreepypastareheated]

What your crush spooky spaghetti says about you. [Reheated Edition]

Yes this is an excuse for me to infodump now shut up and read the post ya simps. (Some of these should not be read at the dinner table. Nothing explicit though.)

Jeff Harrison:

You like trucker types, don't you Squidward? /ref

You don't care if he's got a rotting eye socket, gingavitus, and Zalgo knows what else, you ARE going to kiss that man and DIE HAPPILY.

His hair isn't soft and luscious. The grease and burnt bits would stick to your hand like raw spaghetti covered in olive oil.

BBG he doesn't just bite and let go he'd borderline cannibalize you. You are walking away a skeleton. (He's not a cannibal btw he's just insane.)

You crushed on Bob Velseb. AY DON'T START RUNNING AWAY I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE!!!

Leo Harrison:

Save a horse.

You liked Jeff cause he was Southern but you liked Leo more cause he's SOUTHERN.

That or you're a girlie and respect that Jeff is gay. (thank you for that btw ily /p)

You saw their full bank account, cooking skills, and overall how they can provide and said "Finally, an actual caretaker type who can ACTUALLY TAKE CARE OF ME!!!" sorry to disappoint but he's just as depressed as you are.

As a Texan with friends who simp for southerns, I know y'all. We all know why you like the cowboy. (i still don't understand what the southern charm is though)

EJ:

*Walks onto the stage. Taps the mic. Clears throat.* Tendrils.

Hey so wanna talk about the Predators and your opinions on them?

You are simple minded and EJ knows how to do taxes.

BBG it can help you finance but it cannot cook I hope you like cup ramen.

He's autistic too and that is his safe food. Enjoy the sodium.

LJ:

Clown.

Caretaker clown.

You're probably on the aro spectrum too.

Aroflux/Aroalligned LJ supremacy.

I can't be mean if you like or simp for my LJ y'all probably been through stuff cmere. *hug*

You are loved btw.

SeedEater:

So... wanna talk about the monster thing?

Like when it's EJ or Slenderman that's one thing, they're very much human/humanoid, but... THAT IS A WEIRD BIRDMAN.

Wanna talk about Mothman?

You're not kid oriented.

Slenderman:

Alright folks, let's all say it together on 3!

1, 2, 3! DADDY ISSUES!!! ✨️

Oh and tendrils too.

You like to go on long walks in the deep woods.

You're either pretty mature and understand his struggle, taking care of a bunch of idiots.

Or are an idiot who needs extra love and care preferably in the form of headpats.

Btw, big hands. I know what you are.

B.E.N:

Hon, that is a computer.

That is a laptop with a neural network inside it.

How... How are you...

....

Would you just text through the notes app or smth?

I know what app you prolly have btw.

Jane:

Lesbian. I don't make the rules you just kiss women.

Wanna talk about that one zombie girl from Corpse Bride?

Or Morticia?

Or ghostly goth girlies who love to roam the cemeteries on cloudy afternoons in general?

Perchance with a parasol and singing somberly?

Nina:

Lesbian who was closeted or comp het.

Also neglected and exposed to bad people who got you into bad interests.

In general you'd simp for her because you feel her and want to help fix her.

You also prolly crush on Jane/Clockwork and wanna be a part of their polycule. Three alt girlies in one, I can't blame you.

Clockwork:

*Slides you a cup of hot cocoa.* So should we start with how you were horribly hurt and just want to be protected by the big strong rough n tough lady?

Wait can you even read old fashioned clocks?

Me neither.

I'm gonna be so real I'm still working on her rewrite just give me a few more months.

Buddy:

You're one of my besties. (cause as of posting this only they really know about him)

Either that or you're one of the random folks who saw his ref/the teaser comic on the ask blog and thought he seemed interesting.

You're in *that* VN community to some degree aren't you? :/ (it's fine but i prefer he not be roped in with the yanderes)

You like cottagecore and softboys.

If you simp for him you're sad and want a warm little ray of sunshine caretaker type who would make sure you ate 3 meals a day, or you have a savior complex and want to make him eat 3 meals a day. No inbetween.

[iwillbringyouruin]

Radskier dialogue nuances in different languages

So I have been rewatching The Witcher in French recently and some of the changed lines stuck out to me, in the interactions between Radovid and Jaskier in particular. So i figured I'd compile my favourites from the translated versions I've seen so far here and compare their meaning to the original. I've also included some of the German lines since I'm German and I got curious!

Disclaimer: I'm just a guy who speaks a bunch of languages, don't expect overly technical linguistic wizardry here. Also this is not about the voice actors' skill or how well the lines are matched up to lip movements, strictly about the little changes in meaning when you take the translations literally! All meant to be in good fun.

Since this is about the season 3 dialogue, there are spoilers ahead.

This is going to be a long post so buckle up!

Season 3 in general: The way Jaskier and Radovid address one another

English (original): both use "you" which makes sense of course

French: Jaskier uses "vous" (the formal "you") for Radovid and Radovid uses "tu" (the casual "you") for Jaskier until they have sex in episode 4. When they talk the morning after in episode 6, they're both using "tu".

German: both use "Ihr" and the other formal derivatives for one another throughout (Even Geralt and Jaskier address each other formally the whole time. I'm not a fan)

Episode 1: Jaskier and Radovid meet

The dialogue here is generally very close, just two little things between the original and the German version I want to point out.

English (Jaskier): Fuck, I don’t really know what I’m supposed to… Bow? Or curtsy, or… I’ve been holding your hand a long time, so sorry about that.

German (Jaskier): Shit, I don't know if I'm supposed to bow or be polite... I've been holding your hand for too long, forgive me ("bow or be polite"?? HUH?)

English (Radovid): If your time at court’s been staid, you’ve been doing it wrong

German (Radovid): If your time at court has been too calm/quiet, something went wrong ([gay silence])

Episode 2: specifically Extraordinary Things

I've put the different lyrics as rather direct translations in the pictures below. They're also written out in the alt text. The French ones are a little more pointed compared to the original imo, I like that version a lot. I'm not sure how I feel about the German version but the first line did make me giggle.

Episode 3: Jaskier talks to Vespula about Radovid

I love this scene for many reasons. I have two things to point out about this.

The first thing is that while in the English and French version, Jaskier says that he and Radovid have only met twice, in the German version he says that he and Radovid don't even know each other.

The second thing is that in the English and German version, Jaskier calls Radovid a spoon and he does in the French version as well. However, he specifies Radovid is a "little spoon" here. Need I say more?

Episode 4: the scene in the shed

Ah, the scene of all time. Before the other scene of all time in episode 6. A few things about this one. The first thing is a very small change in the French version:

English (Jaskier, after Radovid admits he's scared): Just saying that makes you braver than you know.

French (Jaskier, after Radovid admits he's scared): The fact you're admitting that proves you are brave

The second thing bothered me more because it isn't really a subtle change. Both in English and French, Jaskier says Radovid has "learned [his] song", but in German he says Radovid "knows [his] song". The German line here isn't saying that Radovid "knows" the song as in he knows how to play it (from hearing and watching Jaskier play it for him once, mind you), the way it's said makes it sound like Radovid has just heard the song before.

The third thing is what they're saying right after the kiss. Unfortunately with the slightly changed lines for Jaskier we don't get the clever connection between Jaskier talking about taking Radovid into the cabin and Radovid asking Jaskier to take him (sexually).

English (Jaskier): I can't take you inside, I'm sorry.

English (Radovid): Then take me here.

French (Jaskier): The cabin is occupied, I'm sorry.

French (Radovid): Then take me here.

German (Jaskier): We can't go inside, I'm sorry.

German (Radovid): Then take me here.

Episode 6: the morning after

The German version is the same as the original here.

English (Jaskier to Radovid): I thought I’d seen through your mask. Turns out there was nothing behind it.

French (Jaskier to Radovid): I thought I had lifted the veil from your soul. But I found nothing but darkness beneath that façade

The subtle differences in the French version on the other hand not only make the pain a little different, it also includes an allusion of sorts to that version of Extraordinary Things with Jaskier talking about Radovid's soul. At least that's how I saw it. Ouch!

Episode 7: the moment where Jaskier finds Radovid at Thanedd

All three versions here make me want to cry. That's all.

English (Radovid): Just let me be there with you. Prove that I’m more than a mask.

English (Jaskier): Maybe.

French (Radovid): Just let me stay with you and show you what is beneath this façade.

French (Jaskier): Why not.

German (Radovid): Just let me be with you and show my true self.

German (Jaskier): Maybe.

[hollow-prior]

3 Criminally Underrated Musicals (And why you should listen to them)

1) The Mad Ones

[Image Description: Kerrigan and Lowdermilk's The Mad Ones. It shows an empty road disappearing into the distance under a starry sky. Full ID in alt text. End ID.]

You know that feeling of driving fast down an empty road with the windows down, the wind whipping through your hair? You know that feeling of being able to do anything you want, like the world is right at your fingertips, just waiting for you? You know that feeling of sitting in the middle of the woods with a good friend and thinking about how incredible it is that you live on the same planet at the same time?

Well, this is that feeling.

The Mad Ones is about Sam, who just graduated high school, and her friend Kelly, who died in a car accident before she could graduate. It's about Sam's journey in remembering Kelly and learning to live in the moment without her. It's also about freedom, and expectations, and living life to its fullest.

Also it has the phrase "kidnapped by aliens with enormous genitalia". What's not to love?

Seriously, this is one of my all time favourites and it has a very special place in my heart. I love to listen to it on those rare days when everything seems to be falling into place and it feels like life is actually going somewhere.

From a writing perspective, this is just an incredible masterpiece. The lyrics just stir something in my soul and the friendship between Kelly and Sam is just <33333 (Heart). It deserves so much more love than it gets.

2) The Lightning Thief

[Image Description: The cover of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. It shows a blue brick wall with a yellow glowing lightning bolt symbol against it. Full ID in alt text. End ID.]

Okay, so the books are iconic and the movies sucked and the TV show is looking good but everyone's been sleeping on the musical for far too long. I had my doubts at the beginning too, I'll admit it, but honestly this slaps.

Although it isn't an exact one-to-one with the books, the vibes are spot on which is the most important thing anyways.

Percy is a sarcastic little shit, Annabeth is a total smartass, and Grover is... well, the impossible-to-explain awesomeness that is Grover Underwood. As funny as it is, though, there are some moments that just hit you right in the feels. The Tree on the Hill, anyone? My Grand Plan?

Also the Luke reveal gives me literal chills every time. It's so SO well done, much better than any other depiction in my humble opinion.

The whole thing is just an excellent balance of feels and humour and has some truly iconic lines. Case in point:

Percy: "Grover, you're a good friend." Grover: "Awwww. Dude, I'm your only friend."

Mr. D: "Oh, you're alive. I suppose that's good news for you but it means a lot more paperwork for me, so don't expect me to be happy to see you. Of course, being alive is temporary..."

Luke: "The Hermes cabin takes anyone who hasn't been claimed. You know what that means... we're literally the reject cabin. Welcome to the dysfunctional family!"

[Literally just the entirety of Luke's part in Their Sign]

Grover: "You hurt his feelings. Tell the squirrel you're sorry." Percy: "I am not saying sorry to a squirrel." Annabeth: "He's very sorry. Tell the squirrel you're sorry, Percy."

Alright, anyways! This is the Percy Jackson website, right? It's great, just listen to it.

Moving on!

3) 35MM: A Musical Exhibition

[Image Description: The cover of 35MM: A Musical Exhibition. It's a red background with a black, ink-like camera design from above. Full ID in alt text. End ID.]

God, how do I even begin to explain 35MM?

There's so much going on here in the best way possible. It's not a traditional musical, at least not in the way people immediately think of musicals.

The idea behind 35MM is that there's multiple separate songs, each based on a photograph. That said, there are some theories about the level of connection between the songs and if they're even connected at all. Either way, it's absolutely incredible.

The songs all have different themes including babysitting a murder doll, a homicidal prom queen, a vampire love story, the young love car crash tragedy that lives in my heart forever, and many more! If you're a fan of the strange, unusual, and vaguely unsettling, this is the musical for you.

Although the fandom is small, it's incredibly dedicated and there are some truly wonderful animatics on YouTube to check out as well as some theory threads on Tumblr, Reddit, and basically anywhere else if you look hard enough.

I made the mistake of accidentally introducing my English professor to this musical so now you all can be introduced too!

And now some honourable mentions:

Islander

Islander is an acapella musical done entirely by two women. It tells the story of an island nation that was split in half long ago, with two girls (Each from one of the halves) meeting for the first time. It has a super cool Scottish folk song-style of music to it and just an incredible plot.

Jekyll & Hyde

Jekyll & Hyde is the musical adaptation of the famous gothic story. It's intense and dramatic in all the best ways and I Need to Know always sends shivers through me. The voices are incredible and it's just AHHH!! Wonderful! Also Confrontation is a work of art and nobody can tell me otherwise.

36 Questions

36 Questions is kind of unique in that it's a podcast musical, meaning that there's no stage performance. In the most basic terms, it's about two people trying to fix their marriage with the whole '36 questions to help strangers fall in love' type thing. Part of one of the songs, For the Record, was a popular song on TikTok a few years back so it may be somewhat familiar to folks. Either way, worth a listen!

[time-travel-trio]

(You hear the clacking sound of a keyboard being typed on)

Is this thing working? Oh, wait- AHA, there we go!

About time!

Took it long enough.

Yeah, really. So, let's introduce ourselves! Hello, Rotomblr- Rotumblr? How do you spell it? Girls, you know I have dyslexia-

Oh boy, we're off to a bad start.

Yeah, really.

AHEM. Moving on... I'm Dusk! I'm the one in the middle here, with the red eyes. I specialize in Ghost Types, and I'm kind of our leader? Sorta? I dunno.

I'm Dawn, on the right, with the magenta eyes. I like Poison types. They are verrrrrry fun. Dusk and I are twins, if it wasn't obvious.

I'm Twilight, the odd one out on the left, with the brown and pink hair. I use Psychic Types, and I'm their little sister. Nice to meet you all!

We decided to make a shared blog here for you all to chat with us with. You can ask us just about anything, but if we find an ask too weird, we're just gonna delete it.

Yeah, don't come over here asking REALLY weird shit. You know what we mean, you weird fucks.

Language, Dawn.

Shut up-

Girls, chill. Now, you all may notice we're using different text colors, it's just so you can tell who's talking. Wouldn't want you all getting confused. Now, with all that said, uhhh... you can start asking us stuff now, I guess.

Wow, way to be confident when ending it off.

C'mon, Dusk, you can do better then that.

Girls, don't make me get Thanatos. OH RIGHT, you can ask about our teams, too, and depending on who you ask, the Pokémon spoken about may chip in with something! Okay, now we're good.

Ask away, people!

(OOC under the cut)

I decided to make an ask blog for my three Pokémon OC's, Dusk, Dawn, and Twilight! You may have seen them appear over on other blogs, rest assured, that is me, just my alt lol.

Pelipper Mail is ON! Magic Anon is OFF!

Don't be weird with them, yall. I won't hesitate to block anyone who asks anything obviously inappropriate. None of that shit will be on my blog. This is fuckin' MINE, and it ain't gonna be a circus for your creepy desires, got it?

When I talk OOC, I'll use // as an indicator. You can ask me things as well, if you want! Just specify!

Speaking of that, specify which of them you're talking to when you send in asks, please. I'm not a mind reader. If you do that, I'm gonna end up hitting you with this:

(thanks to @the-boy-and-the-poison-puppeteer for the inspiration for this lol [sorry for the ping], go check out his blog if you didn't come here from his)

Any of them may go unavailable for any reason at any time, so I'll keep a list of who's available and who isn't.

With all that said, have fun!

Available For Asks:

Dusk

Dawn

Twilight

Kieran

Their teams, as they're revealed (Thanatos the Zoroark and Hoshino the Ogerpon so far)

Me, the Mod! (You can call me Kat if you want, she/her pronouns!)

Pokémon Revealed:

Dusk's: Thanatos (Shiny Alpha Hisuian Zoroark), Gengar, Golurk

Dawn's: Bellona (Alpha Sneasler) Pecharunt (nickname unknown)

Twilight's: Ra (Alpha Hisuian Braviary)

Shared: Hoshino (Ogerpon)

Here's reference sheets for the girls if you ever wanna draw them, btw!

[thesweetnessofsalt]

Process Blog #4: How I Make TSOS!

Just in time for Webcomic Day, it's a real actual process blog! We're going to get into the nitty-gritty of how I make pages of The Sweetness of Salt.

Let's go! :D

This blog was originally written for 1$+ TSOS Supporters and can also be read here on Ko-fi - free to everyone!

Chapter 3 Pages 29 - 32 (ALT text for pages here)

Leah's conversation on the balcony with Arlo is a pretty self contained scene in four pages, and will make a good case study for this blog. There is a full video timelapse at the very end, but I will be laying out my process for The Sweetness of Salt in detail here first!

Working From A Script

Since I'm the only person who works on TSOS, I keep my script pretty loose. I have a good idea now of how much of my writing translates into how many pages, and will sometimes mark significant page turns in the script or describe panel layouts if they occur to me while scripting. However, I generally don't know how I'll lay out the panels until I actually sit down with some paper.

My script mostly serves as an outline; dialogue, blocking, or entire segments can change when I put the characters through it on the page. Still, it's important to follow the script in order keep track of pace and continuity.

Here is the original script for this scene:

Script Excerpt - Chapter 3 (ALT text for script image here)

Compare the script to the text on the actual pages, and there are some big differences! That's pretty typical of my workflow for TSOS. There's an ever growing gap between the day I worked on the script and the day I actually make the pages. By the time I sit down and draw, the characters and story have developed even more in my mind, and there's lots of time for me to experiment and be inspired. (This is definitely a luxury particular to a long running webcomic, though.)

In this particular case, I felt like the conversation in the script wasn't familiar enough for their relationship, and I also wanted to start establishing context for Sha's conundrum a bit sooner than originally planned. 

You could apply these to just about all the script changes I make: they're almost always done to re-emphasize character and story beats. And sometimes the changes are so I could add a joke. Or both!

Thumbnailing

You've heard me complaining about it; you've probably heard me express euphoric bliss about it, too. Thumbnailing is when words become comics, and it's hard!! But it's also the most rewarding part for me, and it's when TSOS actually becomes real. 

There are times when I can thumbnail right from my brain, and  times when every single comic I own is out on the floor for inspiration. I need to be in the right headspace to thumbnail - focused enough to take everything I need to into consideration, but loose enough to visualize the story.

Here's a method that's worked for me lately: by setting aside certain number of pages and just writing out what happens per page, I get a good sense of pacing without having to draw anything yet. It's a good way to get the juices flowing!

It's often, though not always, easier to thumbnail on paper, especially for the early stages. I'm much less precious about my drawings on paper, and feel more comfortable trying several iterations of a page than I am with digital drawing. The undo button and zoom button are enemies of thumbnails!

My thumbnails do ultimately get finalized in Clip Studio Paint, though - I have a template for this tailored to my workflow. The page layouts are in the middle, and are paired the same way they are on Webtoon (where pages post in pairs and need to be harmonious). There's also room on each side for the text/notes, though as you can see I don't always write something if I plan to follow the script.

Thumbnails for Pages 28 - 33 (I'm sorry but I'm not ALT texting this chicken scratch)

When I know I need to work on my thumbnails, I try to fill that week with lots of sketching and a healthy reading diet - including my own script and comic! You want a warm hand and a brain full of comics for thumbnailing, but also lots of energy for your own story.

Scott McCloud's books are, as always, indispensable (Understanding Comics for general theory, Making Comics for more specific techniques), but these guides from Hannah Vardit have also been really helpful in getting my brain around thumbnailing.

Page 31 will be our example page moving forward, so here is that thumbnail in full:

Page 31 Thumbnail

LOL - thumbnail Arlo is my favorite Arlo. 

Though not included here on Page 31, I do generally jot down balloons in my thumbnails, too, which you can see in the other thumbnails. It's good to account for your text early!

I keep these drawings super simple - they're just an indication of blocking and expression. I work more on character acting in the pencil stage.

Tools of the Trade

Alright, now we're getting into the nitty gritty!

One note before we proceed: TSOS is NOT print ready, and nothing about my process should be considered print ready or as advice for print readiness. This is just what's worked well for my webcomic, for the sake of consistency and mobile/web versatility. 

Program: Clip Studio Paint EX

Working Canvas Properties: 2407 x 3675px 350 dpi (Sized down to 940px wide for web, Margins approximately 100 px)

Dialogue Font: Soapy Hands by Sara Linsley (15 pt with few exceptions)

Favorite Pencil: Gritty's Pencil from Frenden's mega pack

Favorite Inker: Real G-Pen (CSP Default)

Character Modeler: MagicPoser for iPad

Cottage Model: floorplancreator.net (Browser app - even works on iPad! Free + simple to use)

I also use Windows Sticky Notes keep track of things like line weights, layer properties, or methods for things that get rendered frequently, such as Sha's sweater. 

"Chapter 3 Style Guide" (ALT text here)

Roughing + Penciling

Before I start drawing, I make the panel borders and place all of the text.

I tend to fuss with my text for a long time, getting the line breaks exactly where I want them, and reading it out loud to make sure the page flow works. Balloons usually come later, once the art is done or mostly done and I can place the tails correctly. For now, the text is enough of a placeholder!

Everyone has their own rules when it comes to lettering, but I look to The Essential Guide to Comic Book Lettering as much as possible for general lettering conventions. It's the best resource out there for a reason, and I'm glad I have a physical copy to reference while I work.

Page 31 Rough Blocking + Lettering

If I need to, I will take references from my model of the cottage or MagicPoser. For this scene, the balcony was simple enough to draw from imagination. Still, I studied its one and only appearance here in Chapter 2 Page 29 -

- as well as my model. I use floorplancreator.net - here is the floor plan for the second floor of the cottage:

And here is a 3D view. Neat, right? It took some time to set up, but it was time well spent. Even if I don't screenshot a reference, I'm using it to help visualize backgrounds and blocking.

I also use my own character assets - essentially just a file with various lineart of character faces saved from previous pages.  I like to pencil from scratch if I have the time, but sometimes I just need to get a page out quickly. I'll drop these in and use them as an undersketch to speed things along.

My collection of 3/4 Facial Assets for Leah and Sha

For Arlo, I almost always sketch on top of a reference, and will reuse his lineart, too. I love him, but I'm not an expert frog illustrator.

With my references assembled, I can start sketching and get everything locked in. This was a page I needed to complete quickly, so I structured shots that could use the same background angle and made sure Leah + Arlo's positioning was consistent and easy to follow. 

Big differences between my thumbnails and final layout are often due to continuity adjustments like that. Important stuff!

Page 31 Pencils

I'm afraid I don't have much else to say about this part - if the thumbnails are where the story becomes a comic, this is where the comic becomes art. I get to be my most expressive and make these characters and places come alive. It's the drawing part, you know? Well, except for that other drawing part.

Inking

I tend to be a rough penciller, letting my inks do the heavy lifting drawing-wise. I suppose 'linearting' might be a better descriptor, because I don't ink with a great deal of toning, black shadows, or even line weights. TSOS is fully colored and rendered, so I tend to keep the inks simple. That's kind of just the style I've built for this comic. 

Background inks always come first, though. It's far easier to resize a character to the background than vice versa. This also encourages me to draw the entire background behind the character, so that art can be reused later. (You should also be finishing the art behind your balloons, by the way!)

Page 31 Lineart

Color + Rendering

Backgrounds come first again! I really do try to keep these as simple as possible, so they're easily replicated and don't suck up all my time. UNLESS: the backgrounds are especially important to the page, like an establishing shot. The overhead balcony shot on Page 30 took a lot longer than these, but with the new location established, I could let these pages be more about Leah's conversation and gestures.

This balancing act dictates my entire comic page process. Whichever element is most important to this page - the character acting, the environment, the action, etc - is the element that gets the most of my time, and I'll actively reduce effort in less important areas. It's good for time management, yes, but it also keeps the story focused!

Page 31 Flat Character Color > Rendered Character > Full Color Page

Each character gets filled in with white so their colors can be clipped to the layers above. Again, colors are pretty simple - it's more about the mood lighting here. MagicPoser lets you manipulate lighting, so sometimes I like to go a little ham with the rendering. It's one of my favorite ways to give a scene some 'oomf'.

Typical Layer Hierarchy for Characters (These are normally never labeled. I did that because I love you)

The MVP in all of this is the Erase Along Edge tool. It makes coloring so fast, and when I first adopted it, it cut my process time in half. 

The link will take you to its listing on the CSP asset store, which has detailed instructions for how to use it. Once you figure it out, you can set other brushes to erase along the edge, or even to color within an edge! Neat stuff. I especially like it when I need to color many small background elements.

Finishing and Lettering

A long time ago, TSOS's balloons were very fussy, tedious, hand-drawn squovals. When I made revisions to Chapter 1+2, the bulk of it was just re-lettering it all to something simple and consistent.

I've only just recently started experimenting with the joined balloons you see on this page, so I've got a lot to learn and a lot to try out. There are a couple of things I keep in mind for legibility, like giving the letters lots of room inside the balloon's edge. Clarity is way more important than being fancy.

Curve Balloon tool > place four points only

Manipulate points for symmetry, fit

Add tail

Done!

Since I placed my text early and kept adjusting it along the way, I don't have to worry about my balloons having enough room or looking nice with the art. I can just click my lil points and be on my way!

Page 31 Finished Page

Still a few finishing touches left: the whooshes, the eye shines, and of course, the sparkles. What's left to say? This is objectively the best part.

Wrapping It Up

Whoo, another comic page down! Excluding the time spent thumbnailing, pages take me about 8-10 hours to make. Ideally, I do this across two days, with inking one and coloring the next. 

Here is the full video timelapse of the page! Click through the video to check out the description, where I've timestamped the whole process.

The timestamps on this one definitely made me laugh - I jump around a lot more than the ideal, linear process described in this blog. You can tell I struggled with the lineart on this one, because I keep having to come back to it. But there's always something else to work on - I try not to let myself get stuck in one spot for too long.

There you have it! Those are all my trade secrets. Just over 2k words, and I don't think I can add anything more. But if you want to know anything else or have any questions, you can leave them here and I'll add them to the next blog!

Thanks for reading!

This blog was originally written for 1$+ TSOS Supporters and can also be read here on Ko-fi - free to everyone. Become a 1$+ supporter and you get early access to all of my comic pages and process blogs!

[rypory]

Adjagender

Ok so I've been digging and I haven't found a gender identity that exactly describes how I feel, so I decided to coin one. I'm not super familiar with the culture of MOGAI so if I commit a major faux pas just let me know and I'll try my best to fix it.

Adjagender is a descriptive umbrella term to describe the feeling of being adjacent to a gender in a way that is neither wholly binary nor non-binary.

[More flags/descriptions under the break. Image IDs in alt text]

While this term may overlap with demigender, paragender, perigender, offgender, sortagender, and similar terms for some, adjagender describes the grey area in between identifying entirely as a binary or nonbinary version of that gender.

The following terms are examples of how this can be used:

adjabinary- being neither wholly binary nor nonbinary

[the general adjagender flag at the top of the post can be used as an adjabinary flag too!]

adjaboy/adjaman- having a miaspec gender that is neither wholly binary nor nonbinary

[left: adjaboy flag. right: adjaman flag]

adjagirl/adjawoman- having a fiaspec gender that is neither wholly binary nor nonbinary

[left: adjagirl flag. right: adjawoman flag]

The colors of the main part of the flag represent the wide range of genders that can feel binary-adjacent, the black bar represents a feeling of separation, and the rightmost bar represents a binary gender.

You can append the adja- prefix to any gender identity to show that your identity is adjacent to the binary understanding of that gender. You can also add the black stripe/color stripe to any flag to denote that it's an adjagender (assuming there isn't anything important over there).

As an example, here's what an adjacatboygender flag would look like:

[flag source here.]

The color of the stripe on the right can be anything that you think represents the most binary version of that gender.

(Sorry, but I can't help you figure out if you're adjagender. If you vibe with the term, use it. I'm also not accepting requests to make adjagender versions of preexisting flags. If you want to make your own, the rightmost stripe should be the same width as the main stripes and the black stripe should be half that width. In flags with vertical stripes, feel free to make the two added stripes horizontal)

Alright thanks for reading, I hope this is helpful for somebody out there :)

-DNI-

TERFs/gender critical DNI: I am a grown adult reflecting on my own gender. I'm thinking critically about my own identity.

Anti-MOGAI/anti-neos/anti-xenos DNI: See above.

"Men DNI"/"mspec gays DNI" DNI: I'm a dude. I'm in a gay relationship, and I'm usually attracted to other dudes. Even though I can be attracted to any gender, gay is a pretty good descriptive term for me (in my book at least).

Otherwise, go ham :) You're allowed to make color edits or different versions of the flag (as long as they're not mean towards a group of people). Just don't sell it as merch or anything without asking me first :)

[copper-dragon-in-disguise]

Could you do me a favor and tell me literally every piece of info abt dnd you can? Asking for an aster

@amethyst-aster (just so you see it)

hello!

so. this is long which is why there is a cut. i feel i ought to foreworn you that i read the entire players handbook cover to cover the summer i turned 11 because i was lonely and autistic. i memorized it (mostly. little rusty on some of the magic rules but whatever). /not sarcastic so! this is EXTREMELY LONG.

first up! your basics:

dungeons and dragons is a tabletop roleplaying game first created in 1974 by gary gygax. that's not so important. what is important is this: it is currently in its fifth edition (shorthanded as 5e). that is the one i know the most about and it is personally the one i think is the easiest to play, but thats my own preference. my biology teacher thinks 5e is bloody stupid and he plays the second edition (2e), which i find much harder and more limiting.

There are three core rulebooks, and a number of supplementary books.

The most important of those three (and the only one you need to know, really, unless you're the one running the game) is called The Player's Handbook (PHB). It contains the rules for building a character and playing them.

Because it will run you upwards of $50USD per copy, here is a pdf of it on archive dot org.

The other two is the Monster Manuel (MM) (a book of all the monsters in the game) and the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG) (a book of how to run a game, but you don't need it as a player). They are here and here.

There are a number of d&d youtubers who have tutorial videos on this type of thing. my favorite is Ginny Di, but there are literally dozens out there.

BASIC TERMS

A Character sheet is the thing you have all the information about your character recorded on. It comes in several variations, but this is a free form fillable pdf version, and this is a free printable (both from the wizards of the coast (wotc) website, but the second is hosted on archive.org) (wotc are the company that owns the copyright to the game).

A class is the vocation of the character. its what they do with themselves, but its not necessarily a job.

A race is the character's species. this is also called their species, but in offical material you'll see it called their race.

A background is how their past shaped the character.

A backstory is that past.

Ability scores are the abilities of the character, they are determined with dice rolls. There are six of them, and many years ago someone explained them with tomatoes and that's still the easiest way to explain them in my opinion. You figure them out by rolling 4d6 and adding up the three highest numbers, for a total of 6 times.

ID in alt text. [I cannot find the original source, I am sorry, nor the graphic's source]

There are various types of dice, conveniently labeled with this image below:

ID in alt. [Source]

The d20 is the most important; its what you'll use to roll ability checks and saving throws and etc.

If you don't have your own physical dice (they are advalible online, at barnes & nobles, and at your local gaming store, but many people don't have a local gaming store (me)), you can roll them on many websites. My preferred one is this one, but any work. Google has its own built in, too.

MAKING A CHARACTER

So. You have your dice, now what?

Now you make a character sheet! there are many videos online explaining how to do this (there is a lovely one here and here), but i'm going to explain it here how I generally do it.

Step 0- OPTIONAL:

Take your character sheet, and come up with an idea. Who do you want to play? A gay disaster who can shapeshift? a hobbit? a chaotic ginger with too many cats and a habit of making deals with eldritch powers? You can be whatever the hell you want. alternatively, you can look at the options in the PHB first, and go from there.

Step 1- Pick a race/species.

There are well over 30 of these, and I'm not listing them all. But the ones advaliable in the player's handbook are as follows:

Dwarf. Your sterotypical mining, axe wielding, beared fantasy dwarf. ex: Gimli, in Lord of the Rings

ID in alt. [Source]

Elf. Traditionally depicted as tall, graceful, and living in the woods. Generally have pointed ears. ex. Legolas in Lord of the Rings.

ID in alt text. [Source]

Halfling. Literally just renamed hobbits, so they don't get sued. Known for being short and excellent cooks. ex. Frodo, Sam, Merry, & Pippin from Lord of the Rings. (I can't seperate them, it feels wrong)

ID in alt. [Source]

Human. We all know what humans are. Generally viewed as very adaptable species in d&d! also in real life. ex. Bill Nye the Science Guy.

ID in alt. [Source]

Dragonborn. A bipedal species descended from dragons. They're cool as shit. ex. I literally cannot think of one i'm sorry.

ID in alt. [Source]

Gnome. Known for being very tinkery, small, and causing mischief. Also, for some reason, for being in gardens. ex. Pike Trickfoot from Critical Role.

ID in alt text. [Source]

Half-elf. Half elf, half something else! They generally have a lot of angst, but not always. Sometimes people say they combine the best of both worlds (elf and human), and sometimes people say they have it really shitty. ex. Keyleth from critical role.

ID in alt. [Source]

Half-Orc. half orc, half something else! I dunno really how to describe them. ex. Fjord Lavorre from Critical Role

ID in alt. [Source]

Tiefling. A humanoid species with horns and a tail, and often brightly colored skin. Extremely Gender in my opinion.

Step 2- Pick a class.

There are 12 core classes, and one more added in a later book. I'll go over all 13!

ARTIFICER. A magical tinkerer. A bit like leo valdez in pjo? Their core stat is intelligence. In my opinion they're very complicated for a first character ever, but do what you want its your game i do not care.

BARBARIAN. If you want to wear no armor, have an axe (or other weapon), and charge into battle shouting, this is the class for you! its fun and decently simple for first time players, in my opinion. Core stat is Strength (and constitution).

BARD. Someoe who uses the magic of creation to do shit. Also known for seducing anything that moves, but that's optional. Core stat is charisma. Seems simple at first, but they have a lot of spells to manage at later levels, but they're not too hard. The main guy in the d&d movie is one.

CLERIC. They're healers and warriors. Generally have got some sort of divine magic, but don't necessarily have to. Semi-difficult? I haven't ever played one, so I don't know how easy it would be for a first character ever. Main stat is wisdom.

DRUID. Person who turns into animals and respects the enviroment. Basically, the lorax, but less orange and with more turning into animals (druid lovers out there i am sorry for saying y'all are the lorax please don't come after me with pitchforks). they're okay for a first character but they can be a little confusing. Main stats are wisdom (and constitution).

FIGHTER. Someone who fights things. The most basic of the d&d classes, and one of the simplest for first time players, probably, but I haven't ever played one so who knows. Main stats are strength or dexterity.

MONK. Person who punches people a lot. Like Aang from avatar: the last airbender. Main stats are dexterity and wisdom. They seem simple, but one of the mechanics is slightly confusing, but they're still really simple.

PALADIN. Your tradition knight. A guy (gender neutral) in plate armor with a horse and loyalty issues. I love playing paladins so much, they're great. Personally I think they're a little confusing. Main stats are Strength & Charisma.

RANGER. Someone who wanders through the forest and fights things, like strider (but not like aragorn) from lotr. Core stats are wisdom and strength. My first ever character was an elf ranger named Thia Nailo. She was awesome. Rangers can also have pet panthers and shit, and sometimes small dragons (not tiny dragons, though. Like horse sized dragons).

ROGUE. A thief. My second ever character, and the first one who I played for any significant length of time (thia's campaign died out) was a half-elf rogue named Enna Helder-Kromlin. Rogues are a really good class for first time players, I feel like. Core stat is dexterity.

SORCERER. Someone born with magic. Main stat is charisma. They can be a little complicated.

WARLOCK. Someone who made a deal with some sort of higher power (eldritch being, god(s), etc) for magic. they make bad decisions for a living and its awesome. my favorite ever character was an elf warlock named Mara. Her patron lived in a shield and she had a wisdom of 5 but a charisma of 20. Core stat is charisma.

WIZARD. Gandalf. Someone who studied magic and learned it that way. Main stat is intelligence. They can get really complicated, really fast, but they're still a viable option for your first time.

Step 3- Backstory

There are other things to do, but its late and i'm tired. What you need to do from here is figure out what your character's life was like before now. Or, if you dont want to, then get a vibe for their personality or something.

NOW WHAT?

When you have a character, your DM (Dungeon master, the person running the game, the ''narrator'') will give you scenario, and you roleplay your way through it.

Literally anything can happen. It's d&d. the rules are suggestions, not actual rules. Make it what you want it to be!!!!

If you have other questions please contact me I love them even if it takes me forever to answer them sometimes.

[guilibagelz]

Hi Dez! School's started for me, so I'm really busy and I can't really keep up with any social media... plus, I'm taking recovery really seriously now, and staying away from social media is part of that for me :) I probably won't be able to keep up with your Tumblr or interact much, I'll try to if I can?? but honestly I can't see myself using this website much. I do love seeing your posts, just knowing you're alive and doing things like making food and going to school makes my heart flutter, I love knowing that you're actually a beautiful and unique person and not just a faceless twitter account. I'm so, so proud of you every day and I can see you've come a long way since I met you on edtwt, the way you talk and post shows me that you're progressing!! in all honesty, I'm jealous, but I'll always continue to cheer you on and support you.

I don't really know what I want with this relationship, it's so long distance with me being in New Jersey, I think about you a lot but I really do make an effort to stay away from Tumblr and in turn I never see your posts, I stopped looking at your yumetwt page a long time ago because I deleted Twitter, even my alt account that I don't post from. It's nothing personal, again I love love love seeing your posts, but there are just too many conflicts.

I don't want to ask to "break up", I feel like there would honestly be no point, I might look back at this Tumblr page a few times in the future, who knows! I MIGHT go back to twitter when I'm "fully" recovered, idek if that's a thing, but going back is a risk I'm willing to take because twitter has given me many good things, a great, supportive community, hundreds of friends and followers, and most importantly, you. But we both know interaction is low, we don't text or ever call, we're just not very close anymore, in my opinion.

I guess this message is just to tell you that I'll probably not interact anymore, and I won't be active on any sort of social media platform? I don't exactly know how to explain anything here. I love you, dez, I care about you a lot, but I think things just have to come to a natural stop at one point, and we should let that happen if I never come back to Tumblr.

I feel like this whole letter is a mess, it's disorganized, but so are my thoughts thinking about this, sorry if it was cringe, sorry if it's a long read, sorry that this is happening, sorry I won't interact, sorry if I ever did anything you didn't like, sorry if I ever hurt you, and I love you so so much and genuinely only want the best for you. I hope you recover fully, I hope you can enjoy all the foods in the world you want, I hope you never ever feel like you want to cut or hurt yourself again, I hope you never feel like you don't deserve something, you deserve the world. I hope you're eternally happy.

goodbye, for now at least. maybe i'll come back to social media in a few years and find you! I know you'll be the first thing I search for. don't change your username!! ;)

I LOVE YOU,

Liselotte AKA lottebones

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

BYE LISE I LOVE YOU TOO 🧡🧡🧡🧡 ^_^

[poniesart]

hiii!! your artstyle is SO COOL to me- as in sometimes i'll just stare at some of your pieces because theyre all so great. i was wondering if you were comfortable sharing your process when it comes to art?? i'd love to see how you do things!

Hi!! I'm sorry this took so long to answer, I hope you still find it useful. It means a ton to me that you enjoy my art so much! <3 It's easy to feel discouraged by the Invisible Hand of Internet Engagement, so I really appreciate your ask.

General thoughts (NOT rules, just things I consider or do a lot):

Things that appear one solid color irl can be broken down into multiple colors through artistic interpretation. I see a lot of beginner artists paint trees as solid green, when there's a lot of yellows, blues, and browns in there! A FANTASTIC example of this is jadenvargen, whose color use is masterful and I can only aspire to emulate one day.

Base colors are not saturated; saturation is reserved for pops of color and details

Shadows are purples, blues, and greens

Reference is your best friend!!!

So the nitty gritty for those who want to see: with digital art there's two main avenues I take. The first one is lineart, and the second is painterly. All IDs are in alt text.

My process for lineart pieces:

I always start off with a sketch; for this example I'm using one of my pieces from @/mylittlefusions (that isn't actually posted yet but will be later today) - a Grogar and Trixie MLP G4 fusion. I like to fiddle with brush selections until I get the effect I want, and then go slow on the lineart to make sure it's how I want it, so this can be time consuming!

I've been trying for distinct shapes; I hate when my art gets muddled, I feel like the end piece is less impactful when I don't put in the right amount of contrast and distinctive silhouettes. Just something I've been thinking about and trying to improve.

Then I add base colors, going for slightly desaturated colors. I like to use saturated/bright tones to contrast or draw attention to something. I put the base-base colors down in one layer and then add details as a mask layer:

Then comes shading!! I'm a big fan of a multiply layer set to cool tones like blue, so I usually start there. If I think it needs to be different I can change it later. In this instance, I filled the whole canvas in the shading color as a mask over the base colors, and then erased where needed. Now that the shading is done, I often go back and color the lineart :)

Last but not least is my favorite part, painting on top! The extent to which I do this depends on what I think is needed, but I usually at least paint on top of the multiply shading to add some nuance, i.e. the greener bits on the background limbs. Here I added bright magic outlines to pop from the more desaturated character.

My more painterly style is a different story though! I use the same thoughts about color and shading, but I usually forgo multiply layers entirely and just do colors by eye. I still do a sketch, usually. Here is an example using my Lae'zel / Shadowheart piece.

The sketch is a disaster zone lol - but I painted below it using base tones, again desaturated. Once I feel I don't need the sketch anymore, I keep painting, making a new layer when I feel like being cautious about a change I'm making.

After I feel that I've got base colors down, it's time to get more contrast in using darker and/or more saturated colors! Then, like with my lineart process, I paint more details on top of everything else - reflections, jewelry, body hair, etc. I try to communicate shadow and distance with purples and blues, but I'm still working on it.

Another example real quick, where i did my typical lineart process base work and then painted on top of the shadow layer and the entire piece as a whole:

Thanks for reading if you stuck around, and thank you for the ask, friend! ^^

[faofinn]

24. "I'm so sorry" (Alt 5)

Harrison hadn't long been home from uni. He loved it, he really did but he missed Steve too. He loved coming home for the holidays, especially Christmas. They always made a big deal about it, making up for the years they'd missed. As much as Harrison tried to help Steve cook, it was usually for the best he didn't. 

Steve picked him up a week before Christmas, and Harrison was grateful for the rest before the celebration. It gave him a chance to recover from the late nights and no long days, a chance to shake the illness that had been threatening to overwhelm him.

He crashed as soon as he got in, unusual for him, but Steve had expected it. The texts over the week had complained about the tsunami of exams that threatened to drown him. He looked exhausted, too, so Steve offered to take some food up for him later. He left it on the bedside table Harrison all wrapped up and fast asleep in his duvet.

It was early afternoon when Harrison emerged, stumbling downstairs in his pyjamas and oversized hoodie Steve glanced up from his book, frowning at the state of him. He looked terrible, pale, and tired, even after his nap.

"Morning. How are you feeling?"

Harrison gave him a smile. "Morning. I don't feel great." He admitted. 

"You don't look great." Steve said softly. "Headache? Feeling sick? Pain?" 

He settled on the sofa, snuggling up. "My stomach hurts and I feel sick, I thought it was just the stress from exams." 

Steve made a soft noise. 'Oh, bless you. Want some meds?"

Harrison nodded. "Yes,please."

"Ill be a minute. "Steve said to him, standing to go to the kitchen. "Anything else you want?"

"No thanks." He called to his dad over the rummaging in the kitchen. 

Steve wasn't long, returning with medication and a glass of juice. "Here." 

"Thank you." He said, gratefully taking them. "Hopefully helps." 

"Yeah, hopefully it does. Steve smiled. "We've got the tree to decorate."

"Yeah. Can't wait."

“I was thinking after we’ve decorated the tree we can put on a shitty Christmas film?”

Harrison stretched out with a whine. "Uh, yeah. Sure."

“Hopefully those meds kick in soon.”

"I hope so. I feel shit."

Steve settled on the sofa with him, wrapping an arm around him gently. “It’s good to have you back.”

He leaned into him. "I'm glad to be home."

“The house is always quiet without you.”

"You're being a right sap, Steve." He laughed softly, the furthest thing from mad.

“Piss off, I’m allowed to be a sap.”

"Mm. I don't mind."

“Good, because I’m not stopping.”

Harrison gave a quiet hum in response. As much as he played the part of the grumpy young adult, he loved when Steve showed affection, when he got to make up for family life he'd missed out on. He was quite content just leaning against Steve, enjoying the contact from his dad.

Steve turned to press a kiss to the top of his head. “Proud of you.”

He found himself choked up. "You are?"

“Of course I am.”

"You shouldn't be."

“Why not?”

"Because."

“Don’t be daft.”

"I'm not. I just do daft shit, you know that."

“I’m proud of you because I’m your Dad.”

He smiled. "I'm glad you're my dad."

“Me too.” He said. “Feeling any better?”

"Not really. But I want to get the tree done."

“Do you want to try?”

"Yeah."

Steve stood, offering Harrison his hands to help him up. “Let’s do it, then.”

He took his hands, grinning. "Let's do it."

Steve put some Christmas music on the speaker, filling the living room with old, nostalgic music. Christmas was difficult for him, since he’d lost the kids, but Harrison helped him infinitely. He could give him the memories he’d not had as a kid, what he deserved. 

Harrison managed to ignore the pain while they decorated, and, for a while, it worked. He loved Christmases with Steve, and as much as he knew Santa wasn't real, it still felt magical. 

Of course, he knew Steve struggled with big events, but he'd been working on it for a little while. They talked about his kids, his late wife, it wasn’t something that Harrison wasn't aware of. It was bittersweet at times, and he knew the only reason he had a family was because Steve had lost his. He disappeared to his room, returning with a few delicate glass baubles. 

"Steve?"

Steve looked up from where he was knelt on the floor, trying to program the lights. “Yeah?”

Harrison hesitated, suddenly aware of how he'd probably overstepped and Steve was going to hate him. He took a breath before kneeling by him, hands outstretched. "I got these, for Jon and Amy and Bella."

Steve stopped, looking up at his son. “Oh, Hars.” He breathed, suddenly choked up. “Thank you.”

He held them out for Steve to take. "Here."

“Let me get up, I don’t want to break them.” He said, getting to his feet before he took them from him. “They’re beautiful.”

"I was terrified they'd break on the way home." He admitted. 

“They look okay.”

"I'm glad."

“Here, help me put them on the tree.”

"Are you sure?"

“Of course I’m sure.”

Harrison found himself choked up again, and he gave Steve a watery smile. "Thank you."

“I’d hug you but I don’t want to break them. There’s a spot here? Seem good?”

Harrison nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He carefully helped Steve hang them on the tree before turning to hug him. 

"I wish I could have met them."

Steve held him tight. “I wish you could have too. They’d love you.”

"They would?" His voice wavered. "I'd have loved proper siblings."

“They would. Bella would’ve been head over heels, too.”

Harrison sniffed. "I'm sorry."

“No, don’t apologise. Are you feeling any better?”

He hesitated, not wanting to admit that he still felt like shit. "A bit."

“You still feel all feverish.” Steve murmured. “Are you sure?”

So much for that. "No."

He frowned. “Let’s sit, then. You don’t look great. Pain still bad?”

He nodded. "And I feel sick."

“Shivery and feverish too?”

"It's just a bug."

“That’s a yes, then.” Steve said, steering him to the sofa. “Where’s the pain?”

"Stomach." He admitted. 

“All over?”

"The bottom."

Steve sighed. “Think we should probably get you checked out.”

"I don't want to, can't we just stay here?"

“I know, but I think it’s best.”

"Please? I'll say if I feel worse."

“Sooner we go, sooner we can come back.” 

"I've ruined Christmas."

“You’ve not ruined anything.”

"I have." He already felt so miserable, so the tears were quick to fall. "I have."

“You’ve not, it’s okay.” Steve soothed, pulling him in for a hug. 

Harrison broke, curling into Steve's side. Sure, he was an adult now, but he felt so rubbish that he could have been a child again. The pain really was bad, and each sob only made it worse. The paracetamol hadn't touched it, the juice he'd taken with it only added to the nausea, and it was almost too late when he realised. He shoved Steve away from him, struggling to his feet and rushing to the bathroom. He dropped to his knees, head in the toilet as he vomited. 

Steve sighed as Harrison was sick, though it stopped his initial confusion as to why he’d pulled away so quickly, He followed him into the bathroom, kneeling next to him. “Bless you. That’s it, get it up, you’ll feel better for it.”

After a few more episodes of vomiting, he rocked back on his heels, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He leaned against Steve’s side, closing his eyes and taking a moment to try and catch his breath. The pain seemed to have shifted too, with all the vomiting, and he somehow felt even worse.

"I think I need to go to hospital."

Steve rubbed his back again, holding him close. “I think so too. You stay here, I’ll grab you a few bits, and then we can go.”

"I'm so sorry for ruining everything."

“You’ve not ruined anything.” Steve reassured. “Are you okay for a couple of minutes whilst I go and sort some bits?”

"Yeah." He nodded. "But don't be too long?"

“I won’t be.” He said gently. “We’ll get you sorted out, and no need to apologise. Nothing is ruined. You’ve made my Christmas with those ornaments.”

Harrison whined as he moved, a hand across his stomach. "Thank you."

[fazafras-pizza]

Semi Long (but not super serious) Update Post

((OP: Hi! Sorry for the sporadic posting. I know May was kind of light on content -- I think I've mentioned it before, but I have a comic outside of this that I work on and was trying to dedicate myself to it for the entirety of May and it's got a bit to it (I only got a page and a half done lol, but that's still some! So I'll take it.) Plus I've obviously got other life stuff, but that's my main art focus that would eat up my time.

I would've probably had another post today since I was feeling artsy (it's all I did this afternoon tbh), but I kind of ran out of asks again and couldn't think of anymore mini comics besides the one that's going to transition us to the next Night Shift that I haven't scripted out. (It's so annoying having so much motivation but no creativity 😅)

But the good news from that I guess is that, if you were ever worried about if your ask would get buried if you sent it in, don't be! I've answered nearly every single one that's come in since we came back last August (btw: oh my gosh it's nearly been a year since we've been back that's wild), so I will definitely get to it, like, immediately lol. Y'all send in such good and fun asks and I love making responses for them, you guys genuinely make this such a good time and I appreciate you so much, I can't express that enough. I wouldn't still be doing this if it wasn't for you guys and it makes me so excited to show you what else I've got planned for the blog because ohhhh buddy :))))))

(Like, there is no joke a completed story start to finish planned for this blog and all it's characters. That's how much I love it and everything for it.)

BUT! On another totally different topic -- I wanna talk about accessibility stuff! This pops up in my mind every once in a while and I wanted to posit it here:

Obviously this blog operates with a lot of images containing text and I know a lot of people find it helpful to have image descriptions as part of their experience here on Tumblr. I think the way I would do it is probably going back through and updating all the alt image description things where I can, but I know some posts are so old (since I started this blog in 2017) that that might not be possible. With how there's often continuing text dialogue under those images, do you think that written out image descriptions would interrupt that? And if so, should I post the image descriptions under the text dialogue?

This might be something I have to contemplate for a while, but I think moving forward I'll just start including it in the images because I don't think it'd be too difficult, it's just something I know I'm overlooking.

Likewise, should I make a tab on the blog that has a summary of the "plot" of the blog? That way new followers can catch up without it seeming daunting and old followers can get a refresher if they need to.

Let me know your thoughts and if there's anything else I could do to make it more accessible that I might have not considered! Again, thank you all for following this silly little blog and making it such a joy to run, it's been wonderful, and I'm looking forward to running it for so much longer! 🥰))