newsdaynight

[zalgoid]

Love blink 🫶

[sunlitpearl]

You… are waiting for the train.

It's not a weird occurrence— You have to get to work somehow, after all. (Do you work? Well, of course you do. Why would you be here otherwise?)

The subway is packed at this hour. As the world wakes up and gets ready for the day, many a person needs to be somewhere else; their job, their school, their parent's house. They come into the subway in droves, pushing and pulling each way like a pack of sheep. To the side of the cacophony this comes with, muffled conversations and the of locomotives becoming ambient sounds, you sit on a bench towards the wall.

A kid approaches you. It catches your eye, because even in the mass of rushing people, he manages to make a bee-line for you. He has black hair, tousled messily one way or another on his head, and very big eyes. The light of the subway hits them in a way that you can't help but compare them to a galaxy. You've never been the poetic sort, but his eyes are as dark as void, and that's exactly why they reflect every thing he sets his eyes on with accurate detail. As if they're trying to soak in all aspects of life, so that he may use them later.

He looks like you, a little, though that's dumb because you don't have black hair or eyes, and you weren't that small when you were his age. (Or were you? You feel like you should look at yourself again.)

"You're the one that made this, right?" He says, turning his phone around to show you an image of what is unmistakably your art style. (But you blink, and it's not a drawing anymore— it's a piece of writing, the one you posted the other day on your personal blog. The one with three notes.)

Regardless, what he's showing you is yours. "Yeah."

"I really liked it." He smiles, and for a moment you are alone with him in a sea of people and all that matters is that this child you don't know is happy. "I didn't know other people liked this book. It's my favourite."

Oh, the book. The one your art-writing was about. "It's my favourite too."

Is it? It's a novel you read a few years ago, one that changed your life and impacted more than half of your daily thoughts. Even now, it sticks with you. But… No, no, you haven't even finished it yet. It's a novel you picked up because a friend recommended it to you- you're still trying to see where it goes, but you think you like it so far.

No, but, still. That doesn't sound right. What was the name of it, again?

"Really?" His eyes are sparkling in a way they weren't when he first approached you and you're, again, surprised by how dark they are. You smile.

A new train arrives. It's noisy.

He leans in a little closer so that you can hear him. "Oh, um. That's all I wanted to say. Just, thank you."

The kid turns his head around, searching the crowd until he finds what he needs. "I should… get going, I think. That one over there is mine."

And just like that, you wave him off as his small body disappears amongst the many passengers of the 8:10 train. As the doors close, you think you see him wave back.

Leaning your back against the wall, you let the murmurs of conversations that don't quite reach your ears lull your brain into quietness.

…Do you have a picture of yourself, in your blog?

[choochooboss]

Submas sketchdump! Vol. 1

April-June 2022

Literally dumping all the presentable works as promised, whether I'm proud of them or not! This is where I started, even before the first thing I posted online (That subway station one). Many of these are not on Twitter yet so there's lots to see!

The top piece above the header is my very first digital Submas artwork!! I never finished it bc I didn't know how to pull my vision of as I wanted & started modeling the train and didn't finish that either, whoops! I really want to remake this later and make it super cool!

^^^ My reaction to breaking 500 likes & 100 followers in a single day with my first tweet (the battle subway one) all the way back in May!! I was completely floored by all the attention, oh how it skyrocketed my excitement and anxiety! Crazy times, I was so super nervous to be there with so many amazing artists and doubted if I could ever survive there ahahah!! Many had joined the community much much earlier than me, so I had arrived with a late train to PLA/neo Submas hype!

Next up is a bunch of stuff I haven't posted before:

One of my fav sketches! Been saving this for so long bc I really really want to finish this one day!

One of the first submas sketches with an actual story behind it! The subway bosses are running late for their flight because they didn't pass the safety check! The irony!! This would never happen as bosses are always on schedule. But Emmet hadn't noticed a wild Joltik hiding under his coat, so he set up the alarm and they got examined and interrogated of smuggling! How embarrassing for them! The bosses resolved the situation by catching the Joltik, but will they be able to catch their flight anymore?? Maybe if Elesa can distract the stuerts performing the safety protocol for a minute!

More sketchbook stuff...

In case you can't make any sense of it, Emmet's dreaming of different combinations of pokémon. Meanwhile Ingo snores louder than the train! HONK SHOO!

Top 7 every submas fan draws at some point!

Submas trademark posing

submas sleeping in a train

sad Emmet

Emmet with Joltik

Ingo with a cool solo pose

Emmet being chaotic & Ingo reacting to it

a bunch of mirrored submas poses

I sure have a full bingo card lmao, most of them you can see here XD

Next up is a sad man...

Stay strong our friends!

My typical sketchbook pages, crammed and messy as usual. x)

Post-PLA exploration:

A few examples of how my pencil sketches evolve.

I've done so much art experimenting with submas. I really like this black & white painting but I don't think I'll finish it anytime soon.

Where did you go?

The way I draw the twins' faces has changed a lot. They started with softer features and somewhat neutral emotions, because I wasn't as familiar with them or comfortable drawing them yet. Now there's hundreds of submas sketches, and they still keep evolving! My style is also kinda hard to pull off well, so their features differ from picture to picture.

This one was inspired by some submas music videos, can't recall their names anymore. The glowing eerie eyes and yellow&orange + black&white color schemes were neat!

I keep telling myself I need to draw more butlers, these twinks look so lean and neat and have more color and are posh with their monocles and have fun tailcoats!

(...why eyeglasses are not called binocles??)

I was there for the vinegar chaos. Good times!

That's all for now, I hope you got something fun out of this! Still got loads more art to share but I'll save them for another time. Next round I'll bring in my first submas comic!

[inkprovised]

I thought it would be a good moment for me to post this.^^

Every time I struggle with my art and hate everything... I go back.

Something I recommend doing if you're about to burn everything!

I took some time to search for some OLD art of mine... there is nothing left that shows the absolute beginning. But I can explain a little how it went: (aka recreate some stuff)

You think your art sucks??

This is how my first art looked like. imagnie everything even more off XDD

God knows what was wrong with my kindergarten- brain, but I shit you not. I needed a very long time to get rid of the T-pose! 🫠 wth

no neck, no eyebrows... ya know- the good stuff!

I remember I've drawn all the Sailor Warriors on the street with chalk multiple times, and I remember there must be a photograph of them. Should I ever find it... Maybe I'll post it 🤣🤣🤣

The (probably) oldest drawing I could find.... behold:

Jeeezuz fuck.

'What on earth is anatomy??' Remember everyone starts from zero.🤣

The Pokemon phenomenon. It was my life when I was younger, and I am shocked I did not draw very much of it. 😶 (but I had the plan of redrawing all 151 Pkmn!!! I did about 10 in the end) lol

Who does not have a special book to learn how to draw.🥲

I think this was my first one... well. Burn it! Not sure it helped much on this end to be honest ^^;

I had a lot other books after that XD

Sometimes you just need a guide.

Seeing my old art reminds me how far I've come and it's the proof I'm getting better!

Look at the anatomy! The folding of cloth! Perfection! lol Do I see Detective Conan, Lord of the Rings, Legend of Zelda and Dragonball influence?? XDD

Seeing all of this, I am so happy I never quit.

Redrawing. Observation skills were non-existent

Draw what you see!!! You'll learn shit if you don`t 'recreate'. What do you think where your brain gets all the information it needs?

Both Zoro pictures are from the same year. Don't know about you but sometimes my skills jump like crazy!! There are 10-15yo pics that look better than all what I can do today. Thats weird!

Gawd I hate it now lol But I loved it the time I made this.

I grew up loving to draw. I did not do it to show it to someone in the first place. Since I had no speacial goal I got better very slowly, but that's fine. I never pushed my skills actively forward- so there's nothing to complain about.

"Layer? What's a Layer?!" vs "Oh. Layer."^^ WTF

The digital journey began with ms paint (left) I scanned the lines and used a mouse.

Paint net (right) still no graphic tablet but the program had line- and curve thingys I could draw with and of course.... Layer XD

I don't know exactly- but between this pictures might be 2 or 3 years. This is from my non shipping time. These days this is totally shipping content and you are not allowed to think otherwise XD Platonic love (bromance) seems not to be a thing online anymore. And I miss it.

I lived for the aesthetics!!! Still do XD

Realistic stuff helped me. Everytime I tryed to draw irl people in manga/comic style - you had NO chance to recognise them XDD That got better haha

Redrawings. A great way to see how much better you 've become.^^

A little tip:

Write the date onto your artpiece. (onto the backside if you draw on paper) You'll be thankfull in a couple of years^^

Don't give up Peoples!!

And one other thing: If you desperately try to find your style: How you draw right now IS your style. And you (can) have different styles. It changes all the time! It's not an end point of your drawing journey- because there is none. Keep evolving. Find ways to draw you like. Even then, move on^^

Hope you feel better^^ I hate it when people show you their "first arts" and it's some advanced stuff :(

[olath124]

I can't take a picture of him without him looking like a smug ass.

•Name

Elroy Vincennes

•Nicknames

Usually people call him Mr. Vincennes. His friends call him Elroy. His CLOSEST friends call him Roy. 

•Age

42 in 2077

•Pronouns

He/Him

•Sexuality

He doesn't care about what people have in their pants, but what's in their head. So he's pansexual, but in truth, he isn’t really interested in sex and he definitely doesn't have sex with people he's in a relationship with.

•Hair Color and style

Dark red, usually worn short and combed back.

•Eye Color

Light brown with a hint of gold. It might sound like a surprise, but they are his natural eyes. He has very little chrome and it's just aesthetic.

•Height

178 cm.

•Body Type

Quite average. He's used to creating art with metal, glass, and whatever inspires him, so he's used to some sort of hard work, but he doesn't work out.

•Personality

Clever, extrovert, enthusiastic about the best things in life. Extremely hedonist. Loves to observe people and molds himself on them. So his tone and behavior might change according to who is in front of him. Has a hard time forming romantic relationships and at this point in his life he doesn't care at all about it. 

•Tattoos

A series of paint strokes that from his fingers run through his arms. He designed and tattooed it himself and every stroke represents a close person he lost or drove away.

•Piercings

A golden stud.

•Any definable features such as: Birthmarks, Scars, Freckles, Beauty Marks, Accent when they talk, Lisp, Natural slurring of words, Walk with a subtle limp, etc.

A few scars on his face, gifts from a chaotic youth.

•Hobbies

Everything that's good in life. The thing he loves the most of course is art, but he's also passionate about music (old French classics he sang with his mother and classical music), fine wine, and fine dining. Literature and poetry. Vintage decors, vintage cars, high-end clothing. He truly is an eclectic character who knows and is passionate about many things.

He also consumes a few high-end drugs, as a habit at this point. A hit every morning to keep him balanced and focused.

•Gang/Occupation {Mox, Max Tac, etc}

He's really independent. Everyone who can pay is welcome to do business with him. Since 2070 he has had a close cooperation with Kurt Hansen.

•Do they smoke?

Yes. Rolled-up cigarettes, pipes, or cigars.

•Do they drink? If so, what's their poison of choice?

Yes, of course. Wine, French, and especially red.  Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon. He also likes the Beaujolais Nouveau, especially for the ritualistic party that he has every year with his friend Vlad (and well, the rest of France).

•What do they usually wear on a normal day?

Usually, he wears suits in dark gray, red, or black. Always with fancy fabrics. At home, he usually wears an open shirt and dark pants or a silk robe. If he's working on his artistic projects… well, tank tops and old ripped jeans. But nobody can enter his studio at this point in his life so nobody has seen him in that outfit.

•What do they wear when they "Get dressed up"?

And what would be considered a "special occasion" to them {such as an "Oh they're gonna be there so I have to look my best." Or an "It's our anniversary".}

The suits tend to turn more eccentric and a bit more colorful. He loves brocade and tends to gravitate to autumn colors. Copper, gold, bronze, dark red, and green are colors that he loves and suit him.

A special occasion for him is usually a big party he's hosting. Usually on New Year's Eve. That's the only thing he considers fancy enough to spruce his outfit up at the maximum level. He dresses well anyway, but that's an over-the-top special event.

•What do they smell like? {For example: they smell like cinnamon-flavored liquor, cigarettes, leather, and motor oil.}

He uses a particular perfume his buddy has gifted him. Oud wood with patchouli and musk, with a lavender’s and saffron’s hint. 

Without it probably tobacco and alcohol.

•How do they walk? Do they sway their hips? Do they walk with a sense of determination? Do they bounce as they walk? Etc.

Confident, really relaxed, and often smiling. He doesn't have a fast stride and doesn't need to be intimidating. The pace of someone who truly believes in himself and has nothing to prove.

•Are they more of an early bird or a night owl?

He's a “not sleep at all” guy. He sleeps from 6 to 9 every day and to him, it's already too much.

Not really, but it explains the dark circles around his eyes. 

•If you had to use one word to define them, what word would you use?

Eclectic.

•What words or catchphrases do they say that's unique to that character?

He doesn't have any particular catchphrase. He's used to change easily the way he talks, and even his accent, according to who is in front of him. But when things don't go the way he wants a muttered: "Merde". That's the only thing he says in every dire situation.

•Favorite Season

Autumn. In France. 

•Favorite type of weather {Thunderstorms, sunny, etc}

Foggy mornings that turn into cold sunny days.

•Do they have someone they're with relationship-wise? If so, who?

Not actually. He isn't interested in love at this point in his life. He has friends and likes to observe them live their lives.

•Main Ship/Pairings:

None.

•Side Pairings:

He had a girl when he was young (16-21), Sophie. They were quite close, but she died of an overdose when she was 21 years old. He feels really guilty about it because he was the one procuring her drugs. Later, in his 30s he had a relationship with a young art student named Azure and a seminarist, Lasse. They were his muses and he was their mentor. He loved them in his own way but ended up driving them away because he used to have an obsessive and toxic behavior at the time (he was also way more addicted to drugs than now).

•Favorite/Self-indulgent Pairings

The BrOTP with Vlad. Their relationship is weirdly positive and enriching for both of them. It's cozy.

•How do they show affection to their loved one? 

He spends time with them, sharing the thing he loves the most. Eating together, drinking together, and talking a lot. He loves to show them beautiful things: art in every form, nature, and cities. And he's also quite generous with gifts. There are really few people he cares about, but he likes to share everything he can with them.

•How do they sit in a chair?

Comfortable, calm, leaning on the backrest, legs often crossed. If it's an armchair he'd spread his arms on the armrests, if not he rests them on his lap.

•How do they sit in a chair {uncomfortable version}

The same as before. It's really hard to make him feel uncomfortable… and even if he is, he is really good at masking it.

•What do they wear to bed?

A few drops of Chanel n° 5. Kidding, but he doesn't wear anything. I'm afraid that some of his guests have seen him wearing only an open silk robe when he comes out for breakfast.

•How do they usually sleep? {Side sleeper, back, fetal position, backward, nest sleeper, blanket mountain, etc}

He takes his space. Usually on his back, his arm spread over a lot of cushions.

•How do they sleep in a place they don't know? {Can't due to anxiety, in small bursts of sleep that are short-lived, holding themselves, etc}

He usually doesn't sleep in places he feels uncomfortable (or he feels comfortable everywhere…).

•Do they have to have a form of "white noise" in order to sleep? {The sound of a fan, the sound of rain, the sound of a city, etc}

No, he doesn't need to. If he's in France during the summer he opens the windows and listens to the sounds of nature.

•What's a place they go to feel comfortable, that's their "spot" they always go when they're upset?

France. His family estate is in Saint-Remy-de-Provence. He loves that place, it reminds him of his mother.

•What do they do when they're nervous? {Fidget with jewelry, pick at nails, bite nails/lips, play with knife/zippo lighter, etc}

He's rarely nervous, but when he is he tends to joke and laugh more.

•What is their "tell" for lying?

None. He's used to lying and is extremely good at it. He practically wears a mask in every social interaction, so you could argue that it's hard to differentiate when he's lying because he's always lying. So probably 2-3 people on earth know how he is while he's not wearing a mask.

•What is their favorite color?

Warm and autumn tones. Copper and gold fit him a lot and he likes them.

•Favorite flower/plant

He likes lavender and vine.

•Favorite sweet of choice

Not really a sweet person

•Do they have any pets? If so, tell me about them

He has animals in his estate in Provence, but I wouldn't call them his pets.

•What are their triggers {If they have any}? If so, what calms them down?

He has a tiny tendency to get obsessed by people he likes… they become his muses and he tends to create a series of art pieces on them. All while being extremely ambivalent in his relationship with them. One moment he's an obsessive presence, the other he can shut himself in his studio and you won't hear from him for a week or more. He is never honest with them, he doesn't show his true feelings and he is quite cold and manipulative. He doesn't deal well with romantic relationships (or well, whatever you like to call what he does with people he loves). It's truly easier to have him as a friend. Friendship doesn't trigger this side of him.

•If they could visit anywhere in the world, where would they go and why?

He's been around a lot. When he travels for pleasure, he goes back home.

•What is their favorite comfort meal?

He likes a lot of different dishes, but the one that speaks to his heart is roasted chicken. His grandma during his family vacations used to make it and he remembers fondly that the chicken was running around the yard at 11 and at 12.30 was on the table. 

He didn't know how she prepared it so quickly, but it had a different flavor from anything he tasted in his life.

•Do they have a food they hate?

Everything industrial-made, or made without care.

•What is their favorite {non-alcoholic} drink?

Nonalcoholic??? Water rusts bridges, you know? But probably sparkling water. Not the type for soft drinks.

•What are their plans for the future {if they have any}?

Keep things as they are now. He's in a good place. Calm, self-content, enjoying friendships and a good life.

•What's a song that "fits" them?

Only one???? Bastlle - The Poet

•Give me 5 facts/random bits of information about them

He loves to sing old French love songs.

Every time he meets with Vlad they come up with some silly thing to do together. I think that the most idiotic one so far has been going around with some vintage scooters, while dressed in the Frenchiest way. Vlad was not amused. Roy had the time of his life.

Every year on New Year's Eve he has a big party. A. BIG. PARTY. Something super lavish and extravagant, in a new location every year, with new different attractions every year. He calls it “La Fête de la fin du Mot” or “World’s End Party”.

He has a vintage Polaroid camera he brings around everywhere. He likes to take pictures of whatever tickles his interest. He rarely lends it: the only people he trusts with it are Vlad, Jago, and barely Violet.

He'd never put it into Kurt's clumsy big pawns.

When he was young his mother pushed him to explore “real life”. So at 14 years old he went to live alone in Night City’s suburbs and joined a gang. That's where he met Kurt and later Violet for the first time. When Kurt left for the army he got stuck with Violet. He wasn't the most protective and secure figure for her, and she ended up resenting him a little for his ambivalent behavior. But when he finally left she understood how much of a safety net he was for her. Things turned to shit pretty quickly after.

•Give me their backstory {can be long, or brief.}

Born in France on the 19th of November 2034. His mother was an eccentric and quite famous actress at the time. His father came from old money and had a good position in Eurobank. He grew up in France and after a probably too sheltered childhood, his mother took him to NC and pushed him to explore real life. He ended up joining a gang at 14 years old. Here he met Kurt for a few years. A quick, deep connection, but at the time he was smarter and more careful and observant than anyone else in the block, so Kurt asked him and a girl of the block, Sophie, to keep an eye on the at the time 3-year-old Violet. He didn't like having a little girl depending on him, but he liked how close she brought him to Sophie. They ended up together. First big love, lots of feelings. Elroy wanted to please her in every way possible, so he leaned into her addictions and was the one with the means and connections to give her drugs whenever she wanted, being addicted himself.

So when she died at 20 years old of an overdose he internalized the blame of having led her to and enabling her ending. He got back to France at 21, leaving a 12-year-old Violet alone, entered rehab, and started his art journey with the support of his mother. He had his first big art show in Paris at 24 years old, where he met Vlad. Elroy’s works about the loss and pain of love made them connect and they turned into real good friends for the rest of their lives. At the same time he adjusted himself and started to intertwine different relationships in the corpo and criminal world, understanding pretty quickly that, even if art was a nice income, he needed something more to maintain the standard of life he wanted for himself. He turned pretty quickly into some kind of high-end fixer. The kind of person to turn to if you wanted something nobody else could find. 

Already quite famous at 32 years old he met Azure and Lasse who were his second true art muses and loves. But at this point, he was already detached from love and deepest connections, so he ended up driving them away pretty quickly. 

Since then he definitely decided to avoid other romantic relationships, limiting himself to focus on work, enjoying friendships, and having an overall good life.

In 2070 he got back in contact with Kurt Hansen, offering his help to establish the new Dogtown empire. A big gamble at the time, but it quickly ended up paying him well for his efforts.

•Free Space! Give me any sort of extra information about them you'd like to share

I think I've exhausted pretty everything about him XD

I thought... But! Even if Roy is super Frenchie when I created him (an embarrassing amount of time ago, he's a long time companion of mine) his name originated from a distortion of "Ellroy", the noir author, and Jack Vincennes, a character in LA Confidential (by guess who, Ellroy!). Oh, blessed my noir era.

~

Template from @vincentmatthews, template here. Have fun !

[maximilliansblog]

Trans people! We need to give ourselves clear transition goals! /nf

Because for the past few years that I've been transitioning, I've just said that i want an androgynous look. But what does that actually look like?

See, i'm genderfluid, and i would like to have a flexible look that can change with my gender representation. I would love to just be Bram from Scooby Doo Music of the Vampire (good job if you remember that movie, much less this guy) when I'm masc. Here I'll find a picture of him.

This guy right here. There were like no pictures of him online lol. But this would be a very unrealistic transition goal for several reasons. One: He is like 6 feet tall and I am 5'3". Two: He is skinnier/more well-toned than me. Three: He has this very gothy vampirey look (If you want to know more, he was basically in some kind of acting troupe that did vampire stuff but then he wanted to become an actual vampire so he became a bad guy and kidnapped Daphne as a sacrifice. It didn't work. Sorry for the infodump I literally pretended to be this character so much when I was a kid lol) that I would not be putting on every day, and even if I did, that would not look normal!

So what would be a reasonable transition goal? We should have a clear picture of what we want. There's tons of pictures of people on the internet, so we'll find one. But you have to consider a few things.

1.) Your height (You can only change this by an inch or two with those things you put in your shoes).

2.) Your weight (You can change this, but it takes a lot of hard work. I would recommend making your transition goal just how you are currently, but if your outwards expression matched your internal gender).

3.) Your face shape

4.) Your hair type (I really wanted to be one of those "fluffy haired" boys/enbies from Pinterest, but my hair falls flat on my head and has no texture! I tried to get that hair for over a year, but in the end, I couldn't change my hair type!)

5.) Your skintone

6.) Your muscle tone (You can also change this but like I said with the weight, you want to make your transition goal as achieveable as possible! You can always tone up once you reach that goal).

7.) Your personal clothing style

8.) Oh yeah most importantly, will your outward appearance be masculine, feminine, or androgynous (this can be genderless or a mix of feminine and masculine traits)? It is perfectly okay if you want to go for a look that is not traditional! Like if you're a trans man who wants to dress more feminine or something. That's totally fine!

All of these things must be considered when you find your references. I'm calling these pictures "references", like what artists use to make their art piece.

So for my references, I have to consider that I am 5'3", overweight but not quite plus-sized, I have a round face shape, a very fine and flat hair type, a cool-toned pale skintone, no muscle tone, a casual clothing style, and I want a masculine-leaning androgynous appearance. It would be very hard to find a reference with every single one of these traits! So collect multiple! Find one for your haircut that you're going to get, one for the clothes you will wear, etc. You can also edit images to look more like you, by darkening the skin tone (I don't recommend doing the opposite ^^) or slightly changing the face shape. It is also good to find pictures of fellow trans people with your traits as inspiration.

Here are the images that I found:

I narrowed it down to hair, body type, and fashion, but you can have as many references as you want!

Now of course, you won't look exactly like your references! In the end, you are you! Every person is unique. But hopefully, having a clear transition goal will help you in your journey :)

Have a lovely day you lovely person!

[observation-no-39]

I'm here to share something that made me "lose my kattobingu spirit" , but don't worry, because I've regained it and it's stronger now than it ever was.

I had found your story a while ago while browsing on Deviantart for Keyshipping stuff.

I was like "o my gosh!!" When I started reading it, so much that I spent hours writing it down so that I could novelise it to read whenever and wherever.

Until page 52.

I read in the comments that most of the people were like "how come you stopped making this comic?" And I realized that there were no more available pages.

I nearly cried that night. Your comic was the inspiration for a (short) novel that I'm working on about all the Yu-Gi-Oh series colliding into one.(I know it sounds wired and unrelated, but it really did!)

i spent the next week or so being mopey and sad.

Then I was laying in bed one night marveling about your comic when I thought to myself,

"maybe it won't be continued, and that's okay. I'll just draw a really good pic of Yuma and astral in memory of it."

And so the next day, I did. It's still one of my favorite pictures that I've ever drawn.

Fast forward about another week and I'm browsing over the old pages of your comic, and I see the link to your Tumblr blog for it. I think to myself,

"oh well ... It's worth a shot "

And I tap on the link.

And BOOM.

A new page.

I was squealing internally, especially seeing that you made it this year.

I wrote that part down too, no longer feeling depressed.

But then, after a while, I saw that it hadn't been updated, so I gave up on checking it every day.

That is, until I come across this other Tumblr user, who has reblogged a picture. I think,

"oh, this person has an art style that looks just like StellaB's--"

And then it hits me.

I go check your fan comic blog and there it is.

A dream come true.

You had posted that picture from a bit ago about 600(I think) followers, saying that you had rough sketches for the following pages and I flipped.

I hopped around the house 'doing kattobingu' and felt so beyond happy that it was crazy.

Then, just a few days ago, you upload a new page.

I was so happy.

And then, as of now, today you have uploaded yet another part to your life-alteringly-good story.

I love your art so much, StellaB. I wish you good luck in the future, both with this comic and anything else you hope to achieve.

Thanks for making life great.

Oh awww, damn... How sweet is that? I never really expected that there could be people who like my story this much and actually do "kattobingu" because of it and call it "life-alteringly-good". ;_; It feels rather surreal, to be honest. Thank you so much for this really heartwarming message. <3 I'm sorry for not updating it on DeviantArt after page 52! I've been wanting to make some changes on my main art accounts on both Tumblr and DA and didn't feel like using them much until then (but of course I never had the time), that's why. Admittedly, I didn't take into account that there were people waiting for pages on DA and that they could get sad. After reading your ask I put the missing ones up there, too, and plan to keep the comic up to date from now on. :3 I assume you started reading it this year? Then you are actually lucky because this year is when I started posting more often again after a much, much longer break. XD I also lost my "kattobingu spirit" for a while. I was desperate to get back into the comic or doing art in general, but it was really difficult. The hyperfixation was gone and I felt no creative drive in me at all. I know one shouldn't try to force such things, but it took some pushing and prodding to remind myself why I love keyshipping and find the joy in it again. And somehow it worked eventually. Suddenly it was like a switch got flipped, the drive is finally coming back now and I couldn't be happier about it. I mostly focus on my mistakes or bad writing in my art or stories that I upload. I'm sure many people can relate. This is especially true when I'm not in full obsession mode. It was actually really hard for me to even start re-reading Observation No. 39 in order to get back into the story, because I think so critically about it and I see all the mistakes and awkward parts etc. (In the end, just reading it was what helped me most though XD) But hearing about happy reactions like yours when I post something makes me realize I shouldn't bash it so much in my mind, because for other people it's also something precious that inspires them. And this makes me so glad. To me, inspiring others and cheering them up is like the best thing that could happen. Saying it's "cringe" isn't just hurting myself, but also the people who love it. So, thank you for reminding me of that. <3 And also thank YOU for making life great, too. Posting my art wouldn't be the same without you all being so cute about it. XD I wish you good luck and all the good things in life, too! (PS: Page 56 is almost done, I'm just stuck deciding on a few silly details.)

[cuephrase]

10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26, 27, and 28 for the comics ask game! (feel free to break up or just the ones you want to)

coming from this ask game

i'm going to skip 26 + 27 because when i tried to do it i realized a) certain art styles have grown on me and b) i was hard-pressed to find a comic that fit bc i don't collect books i don't enjoy, unless i'm getting it purely for the variant cover...at which point i like neither the writing nor the interior art lmao. sorry!!

10. The prettiest cover

from top to bottom, left to right Red Hood: Outlaw (2016) #27, Batman (2016) #150, Tim Drake: Robin #10, Nightwing (2016) #94

-est's are sooooo hard for me, and i'm so indecisive, and there's so many art styles...so i picked these four lmao. i have so many pretty covers okay, i tried.

this picture does not do it justice, but the red hood issue is foiled and i just love it. foil is fun in general, but i feel like it makes the blood more...bloody? wow i'm so eloquent. IT'S COOL IMO OKAY. not that this is shocking to anyone, but i am v obsessed with pink...the batman cover is pink. but also!! bruce is smiling. and the motion of the cape feels so lush. it just makes me happy. um. so. the tim cover. listen. the color palette is pretty, i love the early dawn + his bright colors. also. he's pretty. NEXT. i adore this nightwing cover. it's so soft, like it kinda looks like it was done with, crap idk my art mediums, oil pastels? the texture is so smooth. plus, i love like the scene and all the details, like it's just so satisfying.

i'm realizing i may have defined 'prettiest' strangely. oh well.

11. The ugliest cover

Teen Titans (2011) #18

ngl i probably have uglier covers but like WTF why does his face look like that. (the struggle here was that i either buy covers i like or the cover is completely irrelevant, so then i was neutral about like...pretty much every book i bought for content not cover lmao.)

12. Your favorite comic you have

Robin (1993) #10, 13, 46, 156

just for you, i did the tim drake edition version of this question hehe. hang on, lemme compose myself so i can be mostly normal about these comics. *muffled screaming* alright!!

first!! ROBIN!DICK AN ROBIN!TIM ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! with jason-haunting-the-narrative angst?! to die for. then we have tim being robin to dick's batman, so fun, with a healthy serving of bruce and dick angst and they actually communicate a bit. so frickin good. i've talked before about how much i love love love #46, and that has not changed- i revisted it recently and *oh my godddddd*. tim struggling with robin vs. tim drake, and then utterly failing despite his best efforts when he was already questioning if he even makes a difference? fuck yes. sorry. and then!! super-depressed!timbo talking a would-be jumper into not jumping and then calling dick? words cannot express the sheer !!!!!!!!!!!!!! i feel about these issues. this is me trying to be normal about them, that's how bad it is. as with the previous answer to 12, i have pages of these comics eternally memorized.

13. Your least favorite comic you have (and why you originally grabbed it!)

Red Hood: The Hill

allow me to explain my comic buying method. first of all, i try to buy only comics i've read + liked, unless i like the cover or it's a current release. so this is a little bit recency bias, but also current stuff is pretty much the only thing i'll be buying blind for the story itself.

i picked up this mini bc it was marketed as a jason run. HA. you could completely cut him from the story and like. so little would change. his only relevance was marketing. the story itself was also like, super boring to me, but in the spirit of fairness + acknowledging bias, i was enticed by a jason story and not given one. so. if i'd come to the run expecting an oc + batman i might've had a very different experience.

if this had been out on dcui, i would not have picked this run up. maybe the dan mora covers if i saw them when digging through boxes. but purely for the covers.

17. comic you picked up just for the cover art

Batman (2016) #50, Nightwing #81, Task Force Z #8, Robins #3

have not read the issue yet, bc i have not kicked off my Big Batman Read Through, but i am fairly certain it will upset me when i get to it lmao. i have a soft spot for sketch covers, i think they're so neat. plus this one is so evocative. technically, the nightwing cover may not count bc i'm sort of collecting all of nightwing, but at the time i bought it purely for the cover. the graffiti is fun, dick + tim + milkshakes = cute!! i enjoyed task force z, but not enough to buy the run, however when i saw this cover i had to get it. idk how to express it but the composition tickles my brain in the best way. ugh so cool. MARCUS TO TIM?!?!?! HELLO?! WHAT MORE NEED I SAY?!

25. The comic with the coolest variant cover

Nightwing (2016) #107, Red Hood: Outlaw #35, Batman and Robin (2023) #1, Tim Drake: Robin #2

i do not yet have the comic(s) with the coolest variant covers i want, so i decided to do a cover for each robin! dammit tim and damian are in the wrong order. dick through the ages by dan mora? amazing. just. so cool. so fun. enjoy the atmosphere on the red hood one + his reflection being in a puddle of blood, very classy. dami and bruce just look so 🥹🥹🥹. love the lighting/composition. and now is when i joke that i almost just did all the dan mora tribute covers lmao. very much love them all, but the dick and tim cover is my fave. like. it's just so sweet. the brothers. the homage. the !!!!!!!!!! of it all. gah i love them sm fr

28. A run you have completely collected (trades, singles, or mix!)

Red Robin (2009)

it has literally just occured to me that i could have also done TT's nightwing run but...eh. much prouder of this!! this is the first run/title that i decided to collect completely and it was so much fun hunting the issues down. man, i felt so accomplished when i brought #25 home. and i got it for a steal too, so like bonus happy points 💅🏼

brief story time, so i picked this up fairly early on into my comics collecting when i was really trying to be very, very selective. i think i maybe was looking specifically for #17, where bruce is back and tim gets a hug, and the vendor had that one + a bunch of others and i was geeking out a little bit showing diff panels to my spouse and they were like, "so we're getting them all, cool." "no, it's fine-" "dude. your whole face is so lit up right now." i lost (won?) that argument. it is still so mind-blowing to me how supportive they are of the things that bring me joy. completely antithetical to my upbringing. anyways!! so yeah, this is also the run that spurred me to collect the way i do today. i tried to be more restrained. i was ✨enabled✨

tysm for the ask!! i had such a blast answering, i hope you enjoy the answers!!

[astrobolical]

A (Hopefully) Helpful Guide to What in "Hell" is Bad?

Part 1 - General Overview, Achievements and Contracts

Last Updated: Oct 31, 2023

I have a mild love of documentation (okay, it’s a problem) and I find it fun— so here we go! I’ve hopefully written out most of the options you’ll encounter while playing, as I know it’s been a confusing start with the game coming out in the state that it did.

And let’s be real here, most gacha-style games can feel overwhelming at first, especially if you’re new to them overall. It happens, and with all the questions I’ve seen floating about, I wanted to maybe help someone out, as well as have some fun. Or this’ll flop, either way, still fun.

There will absolutely be things I’ve missed, or glossed over— or even gotten wrong— so feel free to ask about anything, tell me things, or correct me.

For full transparency— I have spent money on this game, but I have not “whaled” whatsoever. I wanted to test certain things, and I have a strong sense of curiousity.

Looking for another part of the game? Check out the other parts:

Part 1 - You Are Here!

Part 2 - My Devils, Levelling, Skills and Artifacts

Part 3 - Chapters, Levels and Dark Sanctuary

Part 4 - Unit Types, Elements, Battle Boards & Battle Tips

Part 5 - Shop, Secret Shop, Inventory and Management

Part 6 - Secret Club (Adore), Secret Club (Unholy Board), Hell-Oh! Talk

Now, let's get started!

General - Home Screen

We aren’t talking about the options you’ll see along the bottom of your Home Screen (where most of the gameplay is) here— that’s further down— but here we’ll talk about the other options you have available to you.

Profile Icon & Profile Options

The circular image in the top-left corner is your profile icon (mine is Belial)

It displays your character’s name (in my case, Aqua), and your accounts current level (19) as well as your chosen devil as your icon itself

This devil, as displayed above, can be different from the devil you display on the Home Screen as your companion

If you want to change your icon, click on the profile picture, and it will take you to a new screen, with a few more options

What can you do on this new screen?

Note: the edit icons are very small, as you can see above. The little grey text boxes with the teeny pencils. Each of them corresponds to what they’re closest to, each of the following options is prefaced by clicking the corresponding edit icon.

Change which devil is your profile icon (Belial, in my case)

Change your character’s name and gender

View your current exp progress, and how far it is until your next level

Edit your personal message

Display your favourite devils in your showcase

Find and copy your UID (User ID)

Home Screen Devil

This is referring to the devil you see each time you sign in— in my case, Leraye, as seen above.

You can display your favourite devil on your Home Screen by clicking the small circular icon with a tiny Ppyong within it that is beside your profile picture, just beneath the time

You can only display devils that you’ve acquired

Tapping on your chosen devil will have them talk to you— silently, through chat bubbles for most, but L-Grade devils are voiced

L-Rank devils display with their full art, and can be moved around (so yes, you can display anywhere on them, up close and personal if you really want), but S-Rank and below just use their standard avatar

Action Power

A very necessary resource, and a staple you’ll find across most mobile games.

Action power (AP) is what allows you to challenge levels or bosses in Go to Hell Chapters or within Dark Sanctuary

The cost of each level typically increases with their difficulty— but that’s okay!

AP replenishes over real-time, with 1AP returning every 3 minutes

Additionally, the amount of AP you can hold at once before becoming maxed out will increase as your account levels (i.e. at level 19, I can have a max of 181AP)

Guilty Gems

Guilty Gems (the little red ones) are a fairly limited resource in WHB

They are used to buy items from the shop— however it’s best to save them for things like Lesser Keys of Solomon than anything else (1,980 Guilty Gems = 30 Lesser Keys)— but we’ll go over the shop more later

These are received from clearing story levels (additional given for perfecting them), Daily/Weekly/Overall Achievements, and a very minute amount from Hell-Oh! Chats

Announcements

This is essentially a link to a site from PrettyBusy, where they post information

It usually has to do with upcoming changes or warnings of maintenance— it’s good to take a look now and then!

Mail

Any items sent out by PrettyBusy will be sent here — such as maintenance apology items, etc

Items received from raising your affections with your devils will also show up here (we’ll touch on this more further down)

Top-Right Menu Button

Always available as long as you’re not in a level, and sometimes can save you from needing to go back to the Home Screen first! Let’s take a look at the options you’ll find, and where they take you.

“Character” Section

Lobby - Takes you back to your Home Screen

Story - Goes to the chapter select screen (the same as “Go to Hell”)

Dark Sanctuary - Go to the Dark Sanctuary and take on some boss battles for materials

Character - Takes you to where you can manage, upgrade and learn about the devils you’ve acquired (same as “My Devil”)

Album - Takes you to an album that will hold all the CGs that you’ve unlocked throughout the story, allowing you to see them without any text in the way and view them anytime (yes, including the H-Scenes)

Inventory - This is where all of your items will go to— and we’ll touch more on inventory further down

Collect - Takes you to a book that keeps track of all the devils you’ve gotten so far, and how many are currently available— there’s also rewards to be had here! When there’s a notification, be sure to go look

“Community” Section

SHOP - No, I don’t know why this is the only one in all caps, but regardless, this will take you to the shop (NOT the hidden one!)

Achievement - A screen you’ll be visiting quite often, and is talked about further down in more detail

Contract - Head on over and start making some contracts with devils to join your team

“Settings” Section

System - As in almost all games, brings you to a menu in which you see all the options you have available towards the settings of the app and your account

Volume control, notification controls, and account settings are all found here

Under your account you are able to logout, delete your account, etc

This is also where you’ll find a link to contact PrettyBusy, called ‘Inquire’ under your account settings

Achievements

You’ll be getting lots of these as you play, and are the various sub goals within the game that give varying rewards. Also, yes, I’m cursing myself for forgetting to take a screenshot before finishing my dailies!

Types of Achievments

Daily - Achievements that refresh daily, and are the same each day, and it is heavily encouraged to at least sign in to do these (they don’t take long!)

Weekly - Goals that reset once per week (these do require regular sign in and completion of dailies)

Overall - Rewards given for various tasks throughout the game, such as satisfying your devils, levelling, level completion, upgrading artifacts, etc

What’s the Biggest Incentive?

The rewards given are quite small, but they add up as you continue to do them

It’s honestly just a staple of mobile games, to encourage you to come on regularly (like the daily sign-in reward, too)

However with the current state of WHB, this also gives you regular access to at least some Tears of Solomon (Hopefully this situation will become better after the next update)

You can get 1 Tears of Solomon per day by completing one of the daily goals, and another once per week— so that’s 8 Tears per week if you’re diligent, which means stronger devils on your team

Note: If you’re actively playing when the day rolls over (3pm UTC), you’ll receive your daily sign-in reward, but you’ll need to restart the app for the daily achievements to reset properly!

That’s about it for these simple goals— when you’re notified you’ve gotten one, be sure to go claim it! There’s some other reward systems we’ll get into later.

Contract - Let’s get some devils!

This is where you obtain your devils, as well as your artifacts, all wrapped up into one. This is the most central part of the gacha experience— the gacha itself!

Note: From what I can see there is no existing pity system on the standard banners, at least not that’s publicly listed (i.e. if you pull x amount of times without pulling an L-Grade devil, you’re guaranteed to get one)

Costs of Summoning

To make a contract, you’ll need two particular items.

Greater Keys of Solomon (Lemegeton)

Though labeled “Greater” these golden keys are actually the common ones

However, despite being the more common and cheaper option— event pulls rely on these, making them quite important!

This ‘banner’ allows you one free summon daily

You will, however, need 50 of the Greater Keys per 10-pull, and 5 Keys per single pull

Lesser Keys of Solomon (Goetia)

These red keys are the rarer of the two, and ones you’ll want the most

At the beginning, I’d say don’t worry about being too stingy with using them, as getting some units will be beneficial to you— but you don’t need to worry about getting everyone

You will need 30 Lesser Keys per 10-pull, and 3 Keys per single pull

Okay, so what’s the difference, right? Why’s one rarer than the other— and why is there two at all?

The probabilities!

Each Devil and Artifact is labeled with a rarity, with the lowest being B-Grade. These ranks are, in order: B, A, A+, S and L.

Here’s the probabilities while using Greater Keys:

And here are the probabilities while using Lesser Keys:

While you have the same likelihood on each to pull a devil vs an artifact (51.50% to 48.50% respectively), there’s some big differences elsewhere.

The Benefits of Lesser Keys

As you can see, the pool itself is significantly smaller; you will not see B or A-Grade at all. This significantly raises the chances to see the rarer ones you may be looking for

L-Grade changes from 0.30% to 2.50% chance— that’s a pretty big jump

That said, you can absolutely still get rarer grades using Greater Keys! (I have pulled L-Grade devils from it!)

How Do I Know What I Got?

Outside of simply waiting to see, like most gachas there’s ways to tell if you may have gotten what you’re looking for before you even see the results!

The spotlights that occur when you pull will light up the king who’s legion you’re pulling from (i.e. if Satan lights up, you have a chance to get him or any devils/artifacts that relate to him, like Leraye, etc)

Additionally, the king(s) will sparkle once the light settles, and each colour can give you an indication of rarity!

Colour Indicators (Subject to Change):

Red Sparkle - B or A-Grade

Purple Sparkle - A+ or S-Grade

Gold Sparkle - L-Grade

Note: The straw dolls represent unrevealed kings!

Also, if you get duplicates of your devils and artifacts— don’t worry, they aren’t going to waste! We’ll get to that soon.

Event Banners

These are temporary banners that are available only for the duration of their applicable events.

These banners (at least so far) have a pity system, though it’s a somewhat demanding one— 150 pulls guarantees you who you’re looking for. Their chances overall are upped though!

Now that we have some new companions and artifacts, we’ll go look at the “My Devil” or “Character” screen, and what options you have there-- see you in Part 2!

[detectivedrewshouldgetaclue]

G’day, Clue Crew! Dropping in, to talk about one of my favorite artists: Alphonse Mucha. His work can be seen in several Nancy Drew games.

Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, best known for his distinctly stylized and decorative theatrical posters, particularly those of Sarah Bernhardt. He produced illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels, as well as designs, which became among the best-known images of the period.

The slider puzzle box, as seen above, was featured in The Final Scene. The tiles have Mucha’s Zodiac decorating them. But this was not Zodiac’s debut in a Nancy Drew game—oh, no, no, no. She can first be seen in Abby Sideris’ bedroom, in Message in a Haunted Mansion.

Zodiac is again seen in the gift shop of Castle Finster in The Captive Curse.

However, Zodiac isn’t the only piece of Alphonse Mucha’s work to be displayed in a Nancy Drew game. Emily Crandall, from Secret of the Old Clock, has no less than 5 Mucha pieces, in her bedroom. She displays every print from The Seasons series, on her walls.

This was Mucha's first set of decorative panels and it became one of his most popular series. It was so popular that Mucha was asked by Champenois to produce at least two more sets based on the same theme in 1897 and 1900. Designs for a further two sets also exist.

The idea of personifying the seasons was nothing new - examples could be found in the works of the Old Masters' as well as in Champenois's other publications. However, Mucha's nymph-like women set against the seasonal views of the countryside breathed new life into the classic theme. In the four panels shown here, Mucha captures the moods of the seasons - innocent Spring, sultry Summer, fruitful Autumn and frosty Winter, and together they represent the harmonious cycle of Nature.

You’ll notice that the picture that “mysteriously keeps moving,” is not part of aforementioned polyptych. This Mucha piece is called Friendship. It was featured in the New York Daily News on April 3rd, 1904.

The New York Daily News referred to him as "the world's greatest decorative artist," and dedicated its Sunday Art Section to Mucha on April 3, 1904. For the illustration on the cover of that section, Mucha created a wonderful allegorical image entitled Friendship, in which America and France are each depicted as women. America, with stars on both her tiara and gown and red and white ribbons cascading from her hair, appears as the young protégé of France, who watches over her, protectively adorned with lilies in her hair and fleur-de-lys patterns on her dress. As Jirí Mucha points out, the two women are jointly "holding a wreath of lime leaves, [a] national symbol of Czechoslovakia.”

I personally adore Mucha’s allegorical style and really appreciate that he’s featured in the Nancy Drew PC games. One might even argue that Art Nouveau influences us, to this day. Perhaps it even played a part in the design and illustrations of some aspects of the games. Art is always changing—artists grow upon the backs of their predecessors. Mucha is still highly influential and relevant.

His work and the style he developed during the period of 1893 to 1903 came to define an era and forever serve as an influence to future illustrators

I loved the Alphonse Mucha pieces from the PC games, long before I went to university and wrote papers, on his work. I’d like to think I, in part, owe my love of Art Nouveau, to Nancy Drew. 🔎🖼

That is all. Happy scrolling.

[lukael]

It's that time again

Man I always feel bad when posting long ass rants on tumblr, but this place is basically the last one where I feel I can actually speak my mind because nobody really gives a shit on here, and I mean that in the best way lol sometimes I just have this jumbled mess of thoughts in my brain and I just need to let it all out, yknow?

Anyways.... I feel like over the last 1-2 years I'd been in a pretty nice groove with drawing multiple images per months (almost exclusively commissions, but still that's something) but things have died down so much to the point where I'm not getting more than like... maybe 1 or TWO commissions per month if I'm lucky. Social medias have just all gone to shit, and maybe because the general mood is down, or because the economy is bad, or because I haven't been posting enough? like who knows the fucking reason at this point, I don't even really wanna know. It means I've been making basically no money but that's not what I wanna talk about

So the whole time I was busy with comms, I was like "oh man I sure hope I get some time to draw my own stuff soon" and I was in this mode for soooo fucking long, and now that I finally have the time, I just.... I got nothing. I haven't been drawing anything for like 2-3 months, I have no inspiration, no motivation.... Like 70% of my time has been going to making videos for my channel, and that's been fulfilling in its own way?? kinda? I've just kinda been doing it on autopilot tbh, because I don't think I'm good at it, and because 99% of the viewership doesn't interact with videos it feels like they don't exist yknow? So like I get these hundreds of regular viewers every week but it doesn't feel like it, I still don't feel like an actual "Let's Player" and not sure what I'd even need to feel that way at this point, but anyways

So I haven't been drawing, and it's really weighing on me. I've talked about it many times before, but my sense of self and my identity is so tied to my being an artist, it's something I've always wrestled with, so whenever I'm not making art, I feel like I'm failing at being me, if that makes sense. The desire is there, I still "want to be an artist", whatever that even means when you're just not drawing?? I just feel lost man. After years and years and years of consuming so much art online, I'm stuck in this constant loop of wanting my art to look like other people's and of not knowing who I even am as an artist. Am I just envy? jealousy? Do I have anything artistic to even offer to the world other than attempting to replicate artists that I like?

When I was a little kid, I started drawing my trying to replicate the art in like instruction booklets of games I owned, doing Marios and Megamans, and then moved on to trying to draw like Toriyama and Dragon Ball.... it's what gets you started as a kid, but I realize it just hasn't changed after all this time, I'm still just trying to copy what others are doing. I get enamored and impressed by the amazing artists I find online, but maybe it's also the worst thing that could happen to my art.

Like I'll do these pictures where I emulate someone's style and it'll look halfway decent, but that's not me... I don't know what my own style is supposed to be. And this has been going on for years, Audrey could attest to it, it just feels worse now because I really just..... don't even draw much anymore. The whole time I was working on commissions I'd say "i really need some time off so I can do some exploration and figure out who I am as an artist and what style I wanna do moving forward". Well, now I've got the time, but I still don't know, and I have no motivation to figure it out, nor do I even know where I'd start. And it's got me feeling like shit because again........ I'm supposed to be "an artist".... yknow?

And there's other factors playing into it, just the general apathy we've all kinda been feeling due to GenAI obviously, and the death of social media platforms for art, and just........ a lot of this negative shit is definitely affecting me and my motivation to create.... it's not that I've ever made art just to show it online, but if nobody is gonna see it, why even create yknow?

Anyways the solution would be to finally go get some therapy but again I'm fucking broke so obviously that's not happening, I'll have to settle for ranting on here instead

[aidenlyons]

Jake had to leave fairly early, and that afternoon Aiden invites Tony over. After she gets there, he immediately flops down on the couch again.

A: You didn't miss much at Prom. It was pretty lame. Somehow I got Prom King though. I'm so confused by that.

T: Soo... If it was lame, why are you acting like you danced all night?

Aiden blushes and clears his throat a little.

A: Jake and I, uh.. had our own party.

T: Hang on. Wait. Back up. So you and he..?

A: Yep. Not to kiss and tell, but we were up LATE.

T: Daaaamn. How're you feeling about that?

A: Mmm. I am sore in ways I didn't know I could be sore. I still want Jake to come back so I can climb him like a tree.

T: Hah! Well I guess now you have a lot more inspiration for your sketches.

A: Tony, you don't even know. Jake's always been hot. Like, WAY out of my league hot. But last night, he was.. something else. Sexy doesn't even cover it.

T: Damn. Who knew, he seems so wholesome. Because we're besties, I'm gonna ask. Were you safe?

A: Yes. Every time.

A: Subject change, before I embarrass myself. How was your night?

T: Ugh, lame. I did find this hot guy's Simstagram account. He posts pictures of him and his boyfriend. Why are gay guys so hot?

A: I have no answer for you. Most hot guys I know of are straight. I wanna see.

T: uhh.. look, see? They're both total beefcakes!

A: Uh. Wow. They just.. put that out there. If this is your type, I get why Jake's not your type.

T: What can I say? I like big and hairy. Give me a big ol' teddybear any day. And here, this guy!

Aiden only blushes. Damn.

T: So... I gotta ask. You and Jake are pretty serious. Are you both going to college?

A: Jake is. He's trying to get a football scholarship. Eh, but not me. I don't think it's my thing.

T: What are you two gonna do?

A: I don't know!

A: Jake is more of an in-the-moment kinda guy. I'm trying not to look too far ahead because I WILL freak out. I feel like I just found him though, I don't want to lose him. Maybe I'll try and find a place in Britechester?

T: Didn't you just move in here? You'd move again?

A: Yes! This place is nice, but it's... it's too much for me, I think. Too big, too fancy. I miss Jake's house. It was.. cozy. It felt like home.

T: But then you have his parents to deal with. You know, you could just take some art classes. You're good. You could.. branch out.

A: I don't know, I don't think I'm that good. I might die if my stuff was ever put on display.

Tony can think of quite a few people who would like Aiden's work. The internet exists afterall.

T: That's why you take classes! Maybe you'll find another style you like.

A: Maybe.

A: Oh! Btw, what are you doing for Winterfest? I have something for you, should I just bring it to school?

T: You.. you got me a present?

A: Well. Yeah. We're best friends, right?

T: Oh.. yes! I didn't get you anything.

A: You're my friend and you listen. That's all I need.

Tony is not always good with the touchy feeling and she half pouts, half grumbles at him.

T: You're such a sap, Aiden.

Aiden shrug, he knows that already. He steps in to hug Tony.

A: Yeah. Maybe. I've just been alone most of my life, Tony. I know how to appreciate friendship.

[densi-mber]

Meant to Be

A/N: I’m taking advantage of this prompt to continue yesterday’s story. Once again, suggested by @mashmaiden.

***

“What’s next on the agenda?” Kensi asked, peeling down the paper wrapping on her burrito. She sat beside Deeks, Rosa on his other side as they peered at the very thorough plan he’d arranged for today’s college visit.

They’d set up a little picnic outside the same fountain she’d stopped by during her own visit so many years ago. A lot had changed since then, but the park and fountain remained the same.

“After we finish eating, I want to show Rosa the pre-law department and introduce her to a few faculty,” Deeks replied. He was practically radiating excitement, which seemed to be transferring to Rosa. Over the course of the morning, she’d become more enthusiastic, and even opened up more about her career preferences.

“Not the one who called you a worthless hippy, right?” Rosa checked, a little apprehensively.

“Definitively not. He retired years ago, thank god.”

“Oh good.” Rosa sighed in relief. “That sounds fine. Then maybe we can visit the art department.”

“We can definitely do that. Ooh, and we have to stop off for ice cream before we leave,” Deeks said. “So what do you think, you want to come here, right?”

“Babe, don’t pressure her,” Kensi protested, lightly smacking his shoulder with the back of her hand.

“It’s ok,” Rosa assured her with a smile. “I’m making a list of pros and cons for every college we visit. I promise I won’t make any hasty decisions.”

“Well in that case, my alma mater is pretty good too. I bet I could get you a private interview with the president.” Kensi gave Rosa a pointed look.

“True, but I’d argue the law program isn’t quite as good,” he argued.

“You know, I actually thought about coming here,” Kensi shared. “I got as far as writing my acceptance letter.”

“What made you change your mind?” Rosa asked curiously.

“I received a full-ride scholarship to Cornell.” She shrugged. “I couldn’t really afford to turn it down.”

“Miss Fancy Pants,” Deeks teased with a fond wink. “I only got tuition covered. Which I’m of course very grateful for.” He shot Kensi a warning look, probably just in case she felt compelled to mention how he closed the financial gap.

They were quiet for a few minutes while they dug into their food, and Kensi continued to look around the campus. It felt strange to think that she had ever been as young as Rosa, or the students scurrying around, making decisions that would impact the rest of her life.

“The day I came here, I got really lost,” she reminisced.

“Kensi Marie Blye admitting a weakness? Shocking.”

“Shut up. I was 17 and the map they gave me was awful.” Turning to face Deeks, she continued. “I bet you got lost your first day too.”

“Maybe,” Deeks allowed. “But by my second semester, I was a tour guide and I learned all the secrets. I was like a muggle Fred and George Weasley.”

“It’s funny you should mention that, because a tour guide helped me out.”

Deeks frowned, a look of dawning realization crossing his face. “Wait, what did this guy look like?”

Kensi had to force her mind back twenty or so years. “Uh, tall with long blonde hair, blue…no.” Kensi dropped to a shocked whisper, staring at Deeks in disbelief. “You were the guy.”

“And you were the girl who almost hit me,” Deeks finished.

“Why did you try to hit him?” Rosa cut in, sounding intrigued.

“I did not almost hit him, and if I did, it was because he surprised me.”

“You also flirted with me.”

“That was just me being friendly,” Kensi insisted.

“Uh-huh.”

“You know what, I think we should talk about that hair.” She turned to Rosa. “It was shoulder length.”

“Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration and long hair was in style.”

“Do you have any pictures?” Rosa asked eagerly.

“No, not from around then,” Kensi said with a hint of regret. “But I’m sure Roberta does.”

“That is absolutely not necessary,” Deeks said, taking a long drink from his cup. He shook his head. “I can’t believe I forgot I met you before.”

“Well, it was only for a few minutes, and we never exchanged names.” She leaned over and smoothed a tiny speck of hot sauce off his cheek, kissing the corner of his mouth. “The fact that you took the time to help out a lost teenager just further proves what a good guy you’ve always been.”

“It’s almost like it was meant to be,” Rosa mused with a dreamy smile. “Fate.”

“I can work with that,” Deeks said, tipping Kensi’s chin to kiss her in earnest.

[wolame-o-ccx]

I’ve had this random thought on my mind for a while now sooo I might as well finally ask ya…

Who’s the character in your profile picture? They look adorable and every time I see them pop up whenever you post something it bothers my brain that I don’t know anything about them!

Also your art has no business being so freaking good!! You have a very recognizable style and I love it so don’t ever apologize for doing something that you enjoy 😆

AAUGRH THANK YOUU YOURE SO SWEET ☹️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The character in my pfp is just me! (My persona :3) the drawing itself was actually from ages ago but I haven't changed my pfp in a while so I just kept it!

And I'm sorry for apologising so much 😭 (oops did it again but oh well) moving fandoms is scary and especially because I post a lot of very niche things but I'm trying not to overthink when I do 😞🙏

[sunniedesi]

Changes to the Future Diary Manga

Something that was recently brought to my attention by @yunoteru4ever in my post about “the special edition of chapter 59” (https://www.tumblr.com/yunoteru4ever/711169742119092224/this-is-a-huge-taste-of?source=share) is that the Future Diary manga received plenty of revisions for its collected release. Despite my extensive knowledge, and quite frankly, strange fixation with this series, that’s something I never noticed. I was under the impression that “the special edition of chapter 59” was just a singular addition to one of the manga releases, but oh boy was I wrong, or rather missing a lot of context. To clarify, here’s a summary of why there are different versions of the manga:

The series was first serialized in the magazine Shonen Ace while it was still ongoing (from 2006 until 2010).

Once the manga ended, it was compiled by Kadokawa Shoten into 12 volumes, which we could say it’s the “official” or rather final cut of the manga, since Esuno made the revisions/ edits for this final release.

The official English translation used this final cut of the manga, so volumes 1 -10 have their revised versions translated to English… volumes 11 and 12, well, as we know those ended in licensing hell.

As @yunoteru4ever​ said, the unofficial English translations that we can find online are from the original Shonen Ace release, at least from volumes 4 - 12. After comparing both the unofficial translations and the final release, I’m actually quite certain that the unofficial translations of volumes 1 - 3 used the final release. Meaning that we’re probably missing the Shonen Ace releases of those volumes, which is a real let-down.

Continuing off of this last point, I wanted to add that this is the reason why the translations for volumes 4 - 12 in those pirate manga sites had such a downgrade in quality. I still remember being bummed and confused about the sudden shift in scan quality between volumes 3 and 4 when I was a kid using those sites, so it feels good to finally know why.

Now, as I mentioned in the second-to-last point, I went through every volume comparing its Shonen Ace release to its final version. Since I did find many changes, I took screenshots of the images and put them side by side, for the sake of keeping a record on them. I uploaded them over on Imgur in case anyone’s interested to see, though they’re mainly changes to the art. (Left is the final release, right is the Shonen Ace release).

Volume 4: https://imgur.com/a/RIuyO2g

Volume 5: https://imgur.com/a/0B6EyDm

Volume 6: https://imgur.com/a/3yRJMsz

Volume 7: https://imgur.com/a/3dYHWJS

Volume 8: https://imgur.com/a/w8E9NeI

Volume 9: https://imgur.com/a/jZemL7g

Volume 11: https://imgur.com/a/lQoGQU0

Many of the art style changes were quite subtle (like a mouth having a slightly different curve, the pupil being a little smaller/ different color or an eye having a new crease), so I did skip a few of these minor revisions. I noticed Esuno had redrawn Marco a lot, and many of his changes in general had to do with making the faces look more polished, which makes sense since one of the main criticisms against Esuno's style was the way that he drew people being too "alien-like" (and if you’ve seen Tantei Akechi you know he’s improved a lot in that regard).

Anyway, regarding the pictures on Imgur, you may notice that the images from each volume are all in English except for volume 11, and that’s because I used the official English translation for the comparisons, which volume 11 doesn’t have. Though that isn’t really an issue since the revisions on that one were just changes to the art.

Also, I didn’t upload any photos for volumes 10 and 12, because volume 10 didn’t really get any changes, and volume 12, well… I can’t just do side-by-side comparisons with that one.

The last volume had some pretty major changes, heck the entire ending of chapter 56 was redone. I thought the best way to tackle that would be giving it a new translation… but I wasn't sure if I'd have the time to do that. That is until I unexpectedly got sick last week and had nothing to do while curled up in bed all day. Needless to say, I managed to finish the translations for volume 12, so hopefully they'll be uploaded soon (I'll make sure to post about that when it happens).

I will leave you with one translation, though: MurMur’s Special Future Diary Corner Part 10. I’m not entirely sure if the MurMur corner bits were part of the Shonen Ace release of the manga, but they don’t appear in the pirate manga sites, and since volume 10 was never released in English as a digital book, there’s no online digital translation of it, so I figured I might as well post this bit. This is actually the second-to-last MurMur Special, as volume 11 didn’t have any and the one in volume 12 is on my post about chapter 59.

[duckprintspress]

“Aim For The Heart”: Campaign Updates and Spotlights on Artist Jennifer Smith and Author R. L. Houck

The campaign to fund Aim For The Heart: Queer Fanworks Inspired by Alexandre Dumas’s “The Three Musketeers” is now halfway done and going strong! For those not super familiar with how campaigns go, usually the bulk of funding comes in during the first 48 hours and the last 48 hours of the campaign. I personally usually look to see us at 50% funded by the end of the first 48 hours; if we hit that metric then I can say with a fair degree of confidence that we’ll reach our goal. This campaign did hit that, handily, and now with 15 days left, we’re only $750 shy of our goal! While I’m not hosting any parades yet, as I check in midway through our campaign…we’re doing great.

A huge, HUGE thank you to everyone who has backed so far, and also to everyone who has helped spread the word about the campaign. Word of mouth is 10000% the most effective way to help people find out this project exists and get them interested in buying the anthology; we’d never get to the goal without our supporters, and we’d never get there without every person who says, “hey, have you seen this?” Y’all rock. We love that we get to bring you awesome books.

Anyway, on to today’s contributor spotlights!

Knight and Squire by Jennifer Smith

About the Artist: Smith has been drawing since a young age. With a focus in traditional drawing techniques, she has recently started using digital mediums to imitate traditional styles. Her focus is in portraiture and landscapes, especially with watercolor. You can find more of her art on her Tumblr.

Link: Tumblr

Allergy Girl and the Hate Arrangement by R. L. Houck

About the Author: R. L. Houck (she/her) still has one of the first stories she ever wrote, all the way back from elementary school. It was about flightless penguins reaching the sun and was a good indication of her boundless imagination and her love of animals. The latter became a full-time veterinary career; the former keeps her occupied with fanfiction and original fiction in her downtime.

She’s sometimes found wandering the woods around her house in Virginia with her dog. If not there, she’s sitting on the couch, catching up on a Netflix series, and smothered by her five cats. Sometimes, there’s even space for her wife.

Links: TikTok

Story Teaser:

“Oh, no! Mom’s been very supportive of me being trans. I just meant the name change. For an English lit professor, she has a real hard-on against Shakespeare,” Portia said. “It was one of the main reasons I chose the name.”

Christa didn’t want to bring the conversation down by discussing unsupportive parents of LGBTQA+ kids. Instead, she jumped on the mention of Shakespeare. “Well, Portia was a kick-ass character too,” Christa said.

“Right? Thank you!”

“You’re quite welcome. Oh! Phoenix! Is that why you chose the tattoo? Never mind, you don’t have to answer that. I apologize—I’m being super nosy,” Christa said, immediately backtracking.

Portia laughed. “You’re fine. That is exactly why I chose the phoenix: rebirth. And those pictures are sent; tell me what you think.”

A few seconds later, Christa got a text message from an unknown number. She opened it to see a gorgeous flower arrangement shown in several pictures taken from multiple angles.

“Wow. This is beautiful,” Christa said, voice faint from awe. “Are you sure this says, ‘I hate your guts and wish abstract misery upon you for the rest of your natural existence’ in flower language?”

“…in so many words, yes,” Portia said, sounding amused.

Tags: allergies, attraction at first sight, character has a different gender than in the source material, customer service representative, deadnaming (accidental), f/f, florist, getting together, the language of flowers, meet awkward, modern, past tense, pining, pov third person limited, siblings, tattoo, triplets, trans

We’ve already raised $7,250 to fund this anthology, and we’re 90% of the way to our goal. Come see what all the fuss is about, and help us spread the word by sharing today’s awesome teasers or any of our past posts!