#Onward & Upward

[sensitiveheartless]

After drawing that pose study, I had this nagging feeling that I’d tried to draw something similar to it before — specifically, a purple/pink scene with one character leaning over another on a bed (and I distinctly remembered struggling so much that I abandoned the drawing partway through)

So I went looking through my files, and yup! It was from back in 2021, a little before I started posting on here. Comparison between then and now:

But yeh :D It’s cool what three years of practice and (very importantly) using reference can do — sometimes I can get impatient with myself when it comes to improving, so it’s fun to remind myself every now and then that I have been making progress, slowly but surely! Never give up never surrenderrr

[charminglyantiquated]

✨birthday playlist!✨

it's october! if you're so inclined, please tell me one song you love - every year I make a playlist of all of them and it gets me through the winter. there's always something really special to me about knowing each song on there is important to someone else, and I've found some of my favorite artists through it. thank you thank you thank you!!

(like previous years, I'll make the playlist available on youtube and spotify when it's done!)

[skycowboys]

I wanted to thank you all for being a fantastic community.

One night in Burbank, California, a friend of mine and I were sitting around a heat lamp at an artist expo when she suddenly went, "You know what'd be cool? Cowboys that rode on pegasi." At the time we laughed about it and brainstormed ideas until finally everyone went to bed. But on the plane back home to the Midwest I started drawing the very first pegasi... and I never really stopped. That was 6ish years ago. Today the Sky Cowboys artbook is funded at 368%!

But what's important here is that I couldn't have done it without all of you - from the likers, rebloggers, askers, and lurkers here on Tumblr, to the SC Discord crowd, to my loyal patrons. All of you banded together and made this project a reality - and not just the book. The whole SC world is alive and well in large part due to all of you <3

So even after the book is printed, signed, and shipped I'll keep Sky Cowboys going. I'm thinkin' a web comic next!

I also wanted to give special thanks to @evergreena, @inkfire-scribe, Starsilver, W0lfPupper, and Britny (the aforementioned friend). May your scarves stay true, sky blue!

[piratewinzer]

The WGA strike has ended with a positive outcome for writers. Neil Gaiman is taking out his Good Omens season 3 post it notes. 8 Days until the gay pirates destroy any remaining braincells that Crowley and Aziraphale have left behind. Today is a good day.

[bloodmoonlich]

Staring at the ceiling with you, oh, you don't ever say too much. And you don't really read into my melancholia.

[foibles-fables]

hey, I’m published. 😳😳😳 what an unbelievable and humbling way to end to 2023.

[ithinkthiswasabadidea]

"A book of fairytales and fables? A warm gift from our sun-walking friend, no doubt..." ✨️

[touteytout]

love drawing her in some specific ass situations

[waterwindow]

Men, these are the six jump tiers as I understand them.

[intermundia]

so!! i am thrilled to be able to shared the next chapter of war drums! thank you so much to everyone who has supported me over the past few difficult years and expressed enthusiasm for the story. it means the world to me. please enjoy!!

[visenyaism]

half my favourite characters died, very nice or whatever. thanks for the book recommendation tumblr user visenyaism, gideon the ninth is a perfectly heartwarming tale that dealt me absolutely no damage👍🏼

sad! well theres other protagonists

[gallawitchxx]

a final 2023 offering for the @galladrabbles prompt room for more by @dynamic-power 🖤

- - - - -

It’d been a hard year, but a good year for business. Maybe their best yet. So Ian had grabbed a case of champagne from the liquor store, and he and Mickey threw a party on New Year’s Eve. Toasted to future fortune like kings, in their Westside apartment with their Southside family.

When the bottles had run dry, and everyone had gone home, Mickey snuck downstairs for his first smoke of the new year.

Christ, they’d gotten fucking bougie.

As if reading his mind, Ian appears, holding two cans of Old Style and a pocket knife.

“Got room for more?”

[sonicchaoscontrol]

[Ch. 1, Page 2]

[FIRST] [PREVIOUS] [NEXT]

Hey, it’s Captain Buttcopter and Captain Buttcopter Accessories!

(Image formatted for mobile or fullscreen - view in new tab if you experience fuzzy resolution on desktop!)

[anotherwellkeptsecret]

For $1 a month on my Patreon, you can have access to my current (and past) comics in easy-to-read collections! That includes downloadable attachments of all comic pages for you to keep on your device if you'd like, as well as PDFs of some of my comics!

Please consider joining if this interests you. It helps me keep making fandom comics! I'm currently almost-ish done with Closeted and a little over halfway through with One Night in Bangor.

Thank you all for your support. It means so much that anyone is even interesting in following along, which has really helped me recover from back to back heartbreaks.

Thanks again. ^^

[cryptocism]

Chapter 17: Ones and Zeros

A non-universal semi-detailed and unorthodox account of how to make a baby.

[whumpbug]

you know what i need more gene and cassidy physical contact rn actually…..don’t care they can be at each other’s throats i just need it (shaking them in a little jar that is my mind)

HI MELLO i wanted to make this into a fic so. here you go. it was originally going to be a silly fluff fic but then the Voices (lem) gave me an idea and i ran with it.

i was literally Sad writing this. gene is in the trenches, the TRENCHES i say. its so bad. you get small, but meaningful physical touches and Angst.

DISCLAIMER: this is set like. a little earlier in their relationship. this is meant to be The moment that gene started realizing he perhaps Wanted this man. i'll make a timeline at some point bc the stuff i've written is not in order IM SORRY GUYS

cw: drunkenness, period-typical homphobia, internalized homphobia

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“No. No. Y’get away from me, Deputy Dipshit. Not today.” Cassidy slurred. “You ain't takin’ me away.”

He nearly fell off of the barstool when he turned to shoved an indignant finger in Gene’s direction, catching himself on the side of the counter with a small “woah!”

Gene narrowed his eyes. “Did you just call me Deputy Dipshit?”

Cassidy suddenly let out a loud snort and, this time, really did fall off the barstool with a solid thump. He only kept cackling and clutching his sides.

“Deputy Dipshit!” He cried, breaking out into another round of laughter.

“I really am sorry to bother you Delaney,” Mr. Stetson, the bartender, began. “But he was causin’ some problems and pickin’ fights. Can’t have that in my saloon.”

“Of course, sir. I understand. I’ll take care of it.”

Gene sighed.

“No! Don’t you take one step closer Delaney, I ain’t going with’ya!”

Gene took a step closer. “I ain’t gonna arrest you, Silver. Just gonna sober you up.”

“Hmm.” Cassidy squinted up at Gene, and now Gene could really see how drunk the idiot was. 

His cheeks were flushed. His hair was mussed and his eyes were half lidded and glazed over, but he had this dopey, infuriating smile plastered across his face. He was slowly getting himself to his feet, but his foot caught on a crooked plank in the floor and it sent him listing forward, and Gene rushed to meet him, catching him by the arm.

“Woah.. s’all spinny..”

“Yeah, well, moonshine’ll do that to you. Can you walk?”

“Yep.”

Only Cassidy made no move to take even a single step. Even with Gene’s large hand around his bicep, he was swaying in place, like he was rocking on a ship. 

“Jesus, Silver,” Gene breathed, pressing himself flush against Cassidy’s side and wrapping his arm around his waist. “Come on.”

Cassidy simply hummed softly and put practically all his weight on Gene. The pair staggered their way out of the saloon and into the empty street.

“Where’re we goin’?” He slurred, letting his head loll towards Gene’s shoulder.

“We’re gonna book you a room at the inn so you can sleep this off. Ain’t no point in trying to get you on your horse.”

“Mmh.. yeah.. Scotch don’t like me ridin’ drunk..”

“I’ll bet.”

The two arrived at the small inn down the street with relatively no issue, until they reached the steps. Cassidy's boots must have been made of lead, because the man simply refused to lift his feet.

Eventually Gene sighed, and lifted the man by the armpits and set him on the porch.

Gene adjusted his grip around the man’s middle and stepped up to the front desk. The woman looked up at him, unamused.

“How can I help you, Delaney?”

“Just bookin’ a room for my friend here. He had too much to drink. Anything available?”

The woman flipped through the log book before turning her deadpan gaze back to Gene.

“Third room to the right. Don’t leave a mess.”

“Yes ma’am,” Gene replied, pulling out a few bills from his wallet and depositing them on the counter. The outlaw was going to owe him.

Cassidy let out a soft groan as Gene led him down the hall. He thanked the stars that they didn’t have to climb any stairs, or else he might have had to throw the man over his shoulder like a damn sack of potatoes. 

Cassidy mumbled something unintelligible.

“What was that?”

“I said,” He lifted his head from where it was lazily slouched over. “M’glad you’re here.”

“Weren’t you just telling me not to come near you--”

“Shaddup. I just.. Montana’s not gonna let me back in’ta camp tonight. I pissed him off.” Cassidy hiccuped lightly, letting his head fall toward Gene once again. “Would’ve slept in the woods tonight.”

Gene didn’t know what to say. Part of him felt like he wasn’t supposed to hear that in the first place.

Gene had his fair share of run-ins with Montana. The man was mean and cold. In all honesty, he sort of scared Gene. He certainly couldn't imagine being raised by the man. He was ruthless.

With Cassidy, at least Gene had a certain sense of security that he wouldn’t be shot dead at the drop of a hat. Their relationship had progressed as of late. Gene saw him less as a criminal that needed to be locked away, and more as the complicated man he was. He couldn’t quite explain it.

Maybe it was more akin to companionship that Gene would have liked to admit.

So he said nothing. He simply half-dragged Cassidy into the small room and deposited him on the bed. 

Cassidy groaned and let himself fall onto his back, blinking blearily at the ceiling.

“Why’re you helpin’ me.. in the first place,” He slurred. He didn't look away from the ceiling.

Gene began to work on removing Cassidy’s boots for him. “‘Cause we can’t have a crook out on the streets, now can we?” 

“Mmmh.. then why didn’t’ya put me away.” Cassidy hiccuped quietly.

“In jail? Guess I didn’t feel like walkin’ that far, is all,” Gene huffed. “Sit up.”

Cassidy obliged, squeezing his eyes shut at the wave of vertigo that overtook him. He swayed where he sat. Gene stepped closer, leaned closer, and began to methodically unbutton his coat for him. He could smell the liquor on his breath.

For a brief, fleeting moment, he thought that perhaps this was not something that two men should be doing together. It was intimate. Too intimate, especially for a deputy and an outlaw. 

Suddenly, Cassidy reached a clumsy hand up and found Gene’s large, calloused one. He gripped it firmly and lifted his flushed face.

“D’laney.. You.. you’re a real good guy..” He hiccuped. “Wan’ you t’know that.”

Gene felt the blush creep up his ears.

He averted his eyes. “Stop talking. You’re drunk.”

“Hah. Yeah.”

Gene worked Cassidy’s arms out of his coat and with that, the latter flopped unceremoniously onto the bed. He let out a slow, sleepy groan.

Gene huffed a small laugh and hooked the coat on the bed post. He watched Cassidy blink dazedly for a few moments.

“Turn on your side, Silver.”

Cassidy simply grunted, but didn't move.

“Christ.” Gene leaned over the bed and pulled Cassidy to lay on his right. Some hair fell over his eyes, and Gene reached up to brush it away, but--

He did not expect such a visceral pit to form in his stomach when Cassidy leaned into his hand.

The man relaxed, burying his nose into Gene’s fingers and sighing contentedly. His eyelashes fluttered against Gene's palm.

Gene's heart stopped.

Before he thought better of it, Gene gently, tenderly cupped Cassidy's cheek and ran a thumb along his cheekbone. In the dim candlelight of the room, Cassidy looked something out of a grecian myth.

Never had he seen something so beautiful. Gene thought he was going to be sick.

He snatched his hand away as if it had been burned.  

“I’ll get goin’ now,” He said hurriedly, crossing the room to the doorway in a few strides. He needed distance. He couldn’t be near that damn outlaw, not when it felt like his heart was going to beat out of goddamn chest.

Cassidy was already snoring, curled in on himself and pulling the pillows tight to his chest. He looked peaceful.

Gene felt anything but.

He shut the door behind him and bid the woman at the front desk goodnight before all but racing out of the inn. His head was spinning so much, he started to wonder if he was the drunk one.

A drink didn't sound too bad, either way.

He found a small space between buildings and sank down the wall, lowering his head. He clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to quell the fire that burned in his chest.

Why did he feel like this? What was wrong with him? Cassidy was a man. Cassidy was a criminal.

And yet all Gene wanted to do was march back into that room and pull Cassidy into his arms and let the world fall away. He wanted to be near him, to be with him, and that thought terrified him.

Gene’s hands flitted to the ring on his necklace. He shut his eyes.

Christ, help him.

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