#also there was a tiny experiment with rendering

[sanchensky]

"You’ve met the Fools of Fate"~

@pure-plum Latest Weal and Woe chapter was so sweet I swear my soul melted a bit from reading it :'3 Honestly Eclipse seems so nervous there, I genuinely just want to hug that anxiousness out of him xD

Tho here I made him look a little more malicious. Gotta think twice about that hug hehe :>

And some process under the cut cuz why not x)

[parisoonic]

How the hell do you manage to superimpose the hilariously exagerated proportions of the tf2 mercs into a cohesive 2d style? I always struggle SO much with like, the way the mercs' models have huge hands, the way they have relatively low-poly definition on things like arms, shoulders, and legs... and Especially the way like, the models are kinda janky when you pose them for art purposes- when using movement tools, things like armpits and seams between body parts get all deformed... Which makes the study of form and silhouette rather difficult.

I assume that a lot of your ability to translate the concept of the mercs from their original mediums into your own works of art comes to you quite naturally- through experience you have with drawing and art style stuff, as well as through intuition. I was simply wondering if I could poke at your mind and get some insight into your process, any thoughts you have about the proportions and silhouettes of the mercs, any quirks you've found while drawing the mercs, or simply what you enjoy drawing about them. Like, don't be afraid to infodump about something just because you think people wouldn't find it interesting- I am here, I am sitting, and I am listening- if you so choose to speak.

I am utterly fascinated and enraptured by the more behind-the-scenes aspect of art. The mundane things that come second nature to great artists yet seem so revolutionary to less experienced artists.

I love your work, I look forward to seeing more of it, and I hope you have a nice day :]

Sorry for the late reply! I've been a little…stuck on how to answer this but that's mainly because to me, drawing is composed of SO many different little skills - you have form, anatomy, shape language, silhouette, appeal, rhythm, acting and posing…not to mention everything AFTER your raw draughtmanship like line style, rendering and colour theory. Trying to distill a multiude of small skills into some pithy advice is overwhelming to my brain. So I'll take the invitation to ramble instead :))

I don't think I have any new or revolutionary insight into the tf2 guys specifically - more I'm using them as work horses to excercise general silhouette/posing/shape-language and further my skills when it comes to drawing characters!

I do agree though the proportions are rather silly when you stop and think about them realistically…they can be kinda tricky if you follow their 'actual' proportions. what looks great individually was maybe never meant to be directly compared (ie: Heavy's hand size against Spy's lol). It would've been funny if the TV show exsisted and we had more content to review…would the animators have had rules like Spy and Heavy can never shake hands? Would they cheated the proportions for shots? Or would they have said WHATVER it's gonna look weird and embraced it? (Like Kingpin in Spiderverse lol)

Paul Lasaine for 'Into the Spiderverse' This is AWESOME. But it's also one of the silliest designs I've ever seen comitted to screen. The varied scales of the characters work because of the unifying treatment (lighting, rendering, consistant hand anatomy, consistant clothing fold treatment etc) and because they are sort of proportional within themselves. A common mantra is that hands should be about as large as a characters face....which they all are here!

Human brains are very flexible and forgiving though. It's totally fine for you to put a character with huge hands and head next to a teeny tiny character! Vanellope and Ralph from Wreck-It Ralph look grand next to each other! And in that film you even have varying levels of stylisation sitting against each other (unified by the look dev treatment of the shaders and lighting). I think as long as the chracter is proportional within themselves it sort of works out. IE: a general rule is that a hand should be as large as the face so…you can have some large arse hands as long as their placed on a body with a big arse head. Unifying characters with the same treatment (ie: lineart brush, colouring style will also help them look cohesive next to each other :) )

I don't actually reference the 3D models/animations very much at all and instead draw their proportions based on my tastes for stylisation following their general vibes/silhouette profiles. I don't stick THAT close to their in-game looks and there are artists who do that are so so so much better than me (Creedei and Flapjack come to mind). I'm not amazing at body-type differentation and TBH they're all wearing chunky clothes all the time so I usually draw the guys as one-of-three body shapes: Heavy is the uniquely wide guy; Sniper/Scout/Spy are all tall and slim and Demo/Soldier/Medic/Engie have a little more of the generic 'hero' bodytype with varying tallness and broadness of the shoulders

Something like this! You can vary all these individual elements in terms of size, thickness, taper amount etc to create different characters. If you ARE going to reference the 3d works though you'll need to apply some anatomy knowledge to overcome the weird shoulders, armpits and knees which desperately need blendshapes to correct the 3D volumes and approach it a little more like an animation supervisor. There's a reason why you see in making-ofs and art-ofs character designers, character leads or animation supes doing drawovers of the models. These are character models that have had great effort put into their 'base' silhouette but it still needs to be reinforced in every frame for maximum appeal.

Shiyoon Kim for 'Raya' This sort of thing will occur at multiple stages during the animation process. Shiyoon Kim's notes are post final model but pre-animation. Most likely for internal rig tests, exploring what blend shapes and alt shapes are needed for the rigs etc. If your production has time, this will continue all the way to final anim. IF! But it's interesting to see how he emphasises the shapes and enhances the character acting of the 3d model.

As for 'mundane things' - I wouldn't say they're second nature! (If that makes you feel better!) I have to actively really persue certain advice and try to figure out how to best apply it. This can sometimes involve redrawing and redrawing an element of the drawing until I've grasped the nettle of whatever I'm after or…..until I get frustrated and either delete the drawing or just call it done lol

Here, I'm looking for a really specific flow of the head that sells both the acting and a subtle head tilt. I'm also trying to apply the general mantra regarding faces that converging lines (set by the eyebrows and mouth) are more appealing than parallel. It's tough! I also tend to use a drawing I've already done as a template/reference on the page too. Oh! This page is an amazing example of why I'm not an animator or storyboarder…consistancy? Who is she? 💅

Converging lines (that form tapered shapes) are always more appealing than parallel. Using this logic you can loft the facial features across converging lines to create dynamic appealing espressions. Combining this with anatomy, perspective and rotation is the tough part though. I'm still learning o7

The things I probably think about MOST are always flats vs curves, simple vs complex and general line of action/flow...and then eliminting tangents. Each of these can be a dedicated visual-essay on their own - hence my stumbling as to answer your question. Anyhow, not sure if it's ever come up on this blog but I looove dinosaurs :)) so i'm using a wee piece to demostrate these ideas! (but also to demostrate these concepts apply to everything from humans characters to animals, props and background design)

Okay, I'm getting self-aware that this is getting really long :') I have a wee tutorial tag for my blog if anyone wants to comb through my garbled art-thoughts. Learning, studying, repetition and practice will always be the greatest teachers! I'm glad you like my art- thank you so much for the lovely comments - I feel like such a noob still and not qualified to give people advice but we're in it together learning! High-five! 🙌

[unpretty]

Tiny kink taxonomy woe - I have a thing for like. An actress waking up halfway through. And cnc from that point. But it's so damn hard to find because there isn't really a term I've found for that, it's not somno, and it's not "wake up" because that brings up videos where they're woken up within moments.

(also, I find that Xvideos and Xhamster both have decent selections, if you know how to search - and if you find one video on Xvideos, usually someone has a playlist under it that sometimes leads to more)

lmao that's one of the tags that's been rendered useless by the tumblr porn ban because it was too obscure to get blocked so it's been tacked onto every slightly horny post trying to find an audience even when it has nothing to do with anything. "when he says you're pretty and gives you a kiss #somno #intox #free use #hucow #breeding #coquette #dark academia #lana del ray" remember when words meant things

but even setting that aside finding somno content has always been a fucking nightmare, it's so all over the place, why are you using some of these tags when she wakes up and immediately hops up to reverse cowgirl--

my primary experience with xhamster is that i see an interesting thumbnail so i click through to the website where xhamster tells me it's been deleted and i should look at some milfs :/

[bones4thecats]

Hi maybe the transformers prime megatron, starscream and shockwave having a lute (hazbin hotel) s/o who is their second in command and is always by their side

TFP! Decepticons with a 'Con-Lute! S/O

Characters: Megatron, Starscream, and Shockwave (Transformers Prime) Requester: ❣️Anon A/N: Anons, please add emojis when requesting. I made a whole announcement on this. I don't mean to be rude, but just add an emoji when you do this! Thank you. Also, I'll give you an emoji, you'll be ❣️Anon, and I do hope you like this, it is mainly what they like about the Reader and how they bonded. ⚠️ Spoilers/Trigger Warnings for: Mentions of war and physically harming someone ⚠️

Disclaimer: This includes spoilers for Season One of Hazbin Hotel

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗

╚═════ Megatron ══════════════════════════════╝

👑 As a former Gladiator within the Pits of Kaon and a former member of the Cybertronian Air Force, you were trained to be strict and highly dangerous. And that is always on full-display whenever you went against the Autobots

👑 You would wield your sword against the 'Bots while your sparkmate, the Decepticon-Warlord Megatron, would watch from the Nemesis as you handed your enemies their afts

👑 Whenever you are not out fighting and leading your own part of the Decepticon army, you would be right by Megatron's side. You would be walking alongside him, your arms folded behind your back like your lover

👑 He likes watching you fight and defend the Decepticon cause. Especially whenever it revolves around Starscream attempting to offline Megatron or you. But, whenever he tries attacking you, Megatron would intimidate him into submission again

👑 You're useful to the cause. And your savagery is very useful against your shared enemies, such as when Arcee attacked you and you managed to slice one of her optics in half, rendering her vision half-as-good as it once was

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗

╚═════ Starscream ════════════════════════════╝

💫 Starscream adores you. And I mean that.

💫 You are known far and wide for your mastery using your weapons, whether it be a sword or even a bomb, you would put use to everything around you at moment's notice

💫 Starscream initially found you to be helpful with getting his status up and keeping him safe from any who opposed him. But, over time you proved to be quite the loyal 'Con, using your fighting skills against anyone who proved a danger

💫 His feelings finally came to his processor when you stabbed an Autobot fighter from behind when he tried attacking the Seeker from behind during the start of the war

💫 Anyways, he uses his own mental tactics to get what he wants, you on the other hand use physical force more often. But, after spending enough time around the Cybertronian Seeker, you began to pick up some styles of mental manipulation, which made him proud

💫 You're his shield. I have no other way to put it. Like, he doesn't want to seem like he finds you useless, but he's built so tiny while you're like him, but have the strength of Wreckers like Bulkhead because of your training

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗

╚═════ Shockwave ═════════════════════════════╝

🧪 When Shockwave first met you, he was slightly surprised to see just how disciplined you were. He liked silence when working, so you would stand by his lab's door not making a sound while he walked around a worked. After all, Decepticons naturally have no care for other's opinions

🧪 He was also curious on how much you knew on his experiments. Hell, one time you had brought him an energon cube - as he was in dire need of it - and asked if you could question him on an alien species he had encased in a jar

🧪 When he told you their common name, believing you wouldn't know anymore about them, he heard you say their scientific one and begin to speak about how much you knew about their biology

"When I first studied them with one of my siblings back on Cybertron, since they were studying to be a scientist in the Council, I was surprised to see how their spinal system connected to their long Simmons-like tail."

🧪 Shockwave began to ask you to give him some mixtures of CNA and fossils, which began to bring you guys closer together as the days passed. And when the Predacons were created, they saw both you and Shockwave as their 'creators', as you gave them life

[bonelyheartsclub]

♡ Poplar - Valentine's One-Shot ♡

Written by @/duskyskye

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“Splendid, absolutely splendid!”

Poplar gazed at your latest piece, raising it above his head. You’d tried your best to work with the tiny watercolor canvas and brushes he had available for you, but you really thought you could have done better with this one. Especially compared to Poplar’s prowess.

“I don’t know,” you thought aloud, “I don’t think it’s really all that.”

“Nonsense! The way you rendered this flower is lovely! I love the shading you did on the petals.”

“Poplar…you and I both know I was just following a tutorial. I couldn’t do that without help.” Your tone was light as you spoke, though the creeping feeling of inadequacy was still present. Of course, Poplar wasn’t taking that from you.

“Hmm…what I know for certain is that you shouldn’t be nearly this hard on yourself. Everyone begins somewhere, after all! I think you’re off to a lovely start. Now, may I?” Poplar stood, gesturing to the wall. You gave him a shrug and a nod, trying to keep the smile on your face. Without another word, he positioned your piece just above his desk mirror.

“Well, I think that makes for a lovely centerpiece. Done by an even more lovely person.” Poplar smiled, looking at the wall.

You followed his gaze. Yep. That was your piece, alright. Next to the other paintings that he had hanging. They seemed to dwarf yours in quality, the brushwork and delicate detail reflecting Poplar’s talent in his craft. You shuddered a little bit.

Poplar seemed to pick up on your discomfort, his smile faltering as he sat back down next to you.

“Does it really bother you that much? Your painting?”

You gave him a small nod. He sighed, looking downcast for a brief moment before his sockets widened, his smile quickly returning as he turned to you.

“I don’t think I’ve ever shown you my old paintings, now, have I? Oh dear, what a shame. Though surely if you’re so bothered by someone’s early works, you’d have no interest…” Poplar made a point of acting hurt, leaning dramatically against his desk. You giggled at the theatrics. Maybe you were a bit on the theatrical side yourself with how downtrodden you were being.

“Are you acting like that because you think they’re any worse than mine?”

“Darling, I KNOW they are.” Poplar gave you a quick grin before taking his cane and walking to his dresser. With a flourish, he pulled out a well-loved folder from the top drawer.

“I suppose I should clarify before I open this, but I am showing this to you with the express purpose of helping you understand that everyone struggles when beginning in a new medium. I fully expect you to laugh, to judge, and so on. All I ask is that when you reach the life drawing section, you refrain from visibly cringing too hard.” Poplar slid back into the seat beside you, placing the file on the tabletop where you had been working.

“What’s that supposed to mean, anyway?”

“You’ll find out in just a moment.”

You opened the file, which contained a relatively thick bunch of papers. The top started with a few color studies. Each labelled with various brush styles, paint colors, and blending methods. Wet on wet, wet on dry, flat wash, gradients, glazing… all things you had a vague understanding of, but more than you think you would have the patience to complete. You could tell that the strokes and coloring were not nearly as neat as the works that were displayed above your head.

Pages turned from dedicated exercises to a few applications. Circles in various colors were shaded using the previous techniques. He was experimenting with the various colors available to him. You could tell that he had also been following guides with a few of these as he got the hang of the technique. It all seemed fairly rudimentary, but you could tell that he had put a lot of effort in.

At this point it appeared he was branching out his sketching skills as well. Leaves and flowers were a common subject, it seemed. It was at that point that he broke the silence.

“Ash was beginning to garden at around the point I started to commit to bettering myself in the visual arts. It’s interesting, trying to capture the detail in such tiny little things. Though I think you can see that the subtlety is easy to lose.” He finished with a laugh.

Sure enough, the linework was notably shaky. The symmetry he had tried to go for had been lost. The lines clearly lacked confidence, and the veins of the leaves looked more like fur than anything else, somehow. Not that you could do much better if you were going for absolute realism.

“I think you still did a good job.” You said, gesturing to a couple illustrations. “This leaf looks really nice!”

“I’m well aware that they’re wonky, darling. They were my first attempts.” Poplar offered you a smile. “You don’t need to struggle to come up with compliments.”

“No, no, I genuinely think they’re good! Especially for first attempts.”

“Then I suggest you continue onwards. Though while you do, would you mind if I make a sketch of my own while you continue to peruse?”

“Go for it.”

Poplar nodded, pulling his sketchbook and a pencil into his hand. You flipped to the next page.

Poplar had shifted from leaves and flowers to objects that you recognized from around his room. A porcelain plate with floral decoration that he displayed on the other side of the room. A plush that he had carefully mounted on top of his shelves. What you assumed was either an older bed of his, or one of his cousin’s, as it wasn’t the one you were next to currently. Each had what looked like at least an hour of work poured into them. Even if they weren’t the best sketches, you could see he was gaining a better eye for detail as he worked at it.

Then you flipped to the next piece.

You could only ASSUME that what you were looking at was his first attempt at drawing chicken. 

You looked back at Chicken, who had been fast asleep on their pillow for the majority of their visit. You turned in your seat, looking between the sketch and the real thing.

“Ah. You found it.” Poplar broke into a fit of giggles. “It’s absolutely awful, isn’t it? It’s alright to laugh.”

Well, it was…certainly an attempt. Poplar had gone VERY heavy on the wrinkles. One eye was notably misshapen compared to the other, and the muzzle was disproportionately long for a cat. The end product was what you could tell was Chicken from the approximation of feline traits and almost nothing else.

“I don’t know, I think you did ok.”

“No, I absolutely crashed and burned. There are only two reasons that that sketch isn’t in the bin. The first is that when I’m struggling with a piece, it reminds me that I could do so much worse. The second is that when I’m feeling overconfident, it humbles me.”

Hearing him talk…yeah, you knew what you sounded like now.

“Should I continue going through this, or do you think that your point came across just fine?” You asked him, a slight hint of comedy in your tone. The stack that you had left to sort through wasn’t thick.

“Oh, by all means, continue. I’m still working on what I’m doing over here. Though if you’re curious about any of the other pieces within, you only need to ask.” Poplar looked up at you from his paper, gesturing to you to continue.

So, you did.

While none of the pieces invoked the same level of shock in you that Chicken’s portrait did, you could see the purpose of these sketches was very much to learn the ropes of anatomy and shape. It wasn’t like you had much room to speak, of course. It was more of a comparison to his current work than anything else. You could see things improving as you thumbed through each sheet of canvas, each work growing more refined as you went on. By the end, you could see a couple of full pieces that started to look very nice.

“So?” Poplar eagerly piped up as he saw you close the folder. “What are your thoughts? Do be honest about it.”

“It’s your beginner’s folder. I think you showed a lot of promise even back then, even if your pieces weren’t always the best work.” You stated bluntly. Poplar smiled at your tiptoeing.

“Now, tell me: how many folders in do you think I am now?”

“…I have no clue.”

“Fifteen. All as big as this one. Plus at least three sketchbooks. It’s a hobby, but I’m quite dedicated.”

Your eyes widened. Wow, no wonder there was such a jump in quality between then and now.

“No kidding you’re, ‘dedicated.’ I can see that all that work paid off.”

“I’d like to think so. Of course, everyone has areas in which they can improve with their artwork. I’ve just been working hard enough and for long enough that things come to me more naturally than they once did. For instance:”

Poplar thumbed through the sketchbook he was holding to an earlier page. On it was a similar picture of Chicken, this time with more precise proportions. A marked improvement from what you had seen before.

“I see. You did an amazing job on that.” You reached out, gently touching the paper.

“I’m glad you think so! Though I find I’m still not the best at rendering skin folds. They look more like the folding you’d find on clothing than the kind you’d find on skin. It doesn’t help that I can’t use myself as reference, what with the bones and all.”

Poplar closed the sketchbook, looking you directly in the eye.

“I never want you to feel bad at where you’re at in your art journey, my love. We all have to start somewhere, and personally, I think yours is much better than mine. What matters is that you’re trying, because if you keep doing that, then you’ll get to where you want to be eventually.”

You looked back at the piece he’d hung up on the wall. Sure, it was more of an attempt than anything, but maybe it wasn’t so bad. You chuckled.

“Yeah, I got you. I appreciate the reassurance, Poplar.”

“Any time, my love. Now, are you curious as to what I was working on while you were distracted with my crimes against art?”

You giggled at his joke.

“Of course.”

Poplar opened the sketchbook back up, turning to a point about midway through.

What greeted you on the page was your reflection, not fully rendered due to the lack of time, but still clearly you, nonetheless. Your hair was perfectly textured, your eyes stood out brightly with a small amount of rendering, and your skin looked as light as the paper it was drawn on.

“Poplar…I’m flattered.”

“Well, you know, I think it has room for improvement. Time to shade and color, for instance. There’s SO much to improve on. After all, it’s hard to compare a pencil sketch to the TRUE work of art that it’s based on…”

“Yeah, yeah!” You shoved him, both of you laughing. “Seriously though, this is gorgeous. Thank you for this.”

“Of course, my love.” Poplar leaned in, planting a gentle kiss on your cheek. “You know that if you ever feel as though you’re lacking confidence, I’m happy to give you any encouragement you need. Even if it means showing you my first attempts at drawing my cat.”

You smiled, not doubting his words for even a second.

“Thank you, Poplar… and you know what?” You pulled a new canvas from the paper stack Poplar had supplied you and confidently took a pencil in your hand. “I’m ready to start on my next piece.”

Poplar’s sockets sparkled; his grin widened from cheek to cheek.

“I’m excited to see what you create, darling.”

[icysnails]

Kissing Their Forehead

Genre: Fluff, a tiny bit of angst

Pairings: Xiao, Welt, Kafka, Wanderer/Scaramouche, Kaveh, Blade x gn!reader (Seperate)

Warnings: Spoilers for both Genshin and HSR, Established relationship, Slightly Suggestive (Kafka), mentions of blood/wounds (Xiao + Blade), Kissing, some have more plot than others (╥﹏╥) - If I missed any, please let me know!

Word count: 400 - 600 words per character

Xiao

Nights like these were common for you and Xiao. The two of you meet up on the roof of Wangshu Inn every night, catching up on whatever you missed in each other’s absence during the day. This is also the time when Xiao listens to his heart, and allows you to get closer to him. Even after you’ve spent so much time together, he still isn’t used to the flurries of affection you throw at him, and tonight was no different.

When you lovingly press your lips to the diamond on Xiao’s forehead mid-conversation, his mind goes entirely blank. Surprise reflects in his amber gaze, and a wave of gut wrenching emotion surges through him. It’s a mix of joy, confusion, and grief- almost as if he’s experiencing both his terrifying past and his peaceful present at the same time. He had been alone for so long, keeping himself away from humanity unless absolutely necessary, to avoid the risk of hurting anyone should he lose control. He knows things aren't like that anymore- not with you around. He loves you and you love him in return, but he can’t help but feel guilty for being able to experience such affection. After what he had done over the course of his past, after he had stained his hands with so much blood, how could he ever deserve love? He views himself as dangerous- as a monster, and deep down, he thinks you deserve so much better than him. He had voiced this to you before, but you just cupped his face in your hands and smiled sadly at him, whispering that you wished he would think better of himself and that you wouldn’t trade him for the world.

Xiao couldn’t begin to understand why you felt this way, but at the same time, he is eternally grateful to have you with him. Your presence soothes him and illuminates the darkness of his heart- even if it feels selfish, he can’t help but melt whenever your lips meet his forehead. Xiao closes his eyes, leaning into your touch, pushing his spiral of insecurity to the side for now. When you pull away and look at him with your shining, lovestruck eyes, he can’t help but flush and move closer to you. His hand comes to rest on your cheek as his forehead comes to rest gently on your own. The world seems to stand still as you make eye contact, your lips only inches away from his. Xiao’s shoulders relax and the intolerable screams of dying demons he usually grapples with fade into serene silence. The Yaksha’s touch is careful and light, and his expression displays how deeply he longs to stay in this moment for as long as possible. However, he knows well that this desire is nothing but an empty fantasy, rendered impossible at the hands of time. Soon, danger and duty would cruelly pierce through the veil of peace, tearing you away from each other. So Xiao holds you and leans further into your warmth, cherishing the moment before it slips away once more.

Welt

Welt is a kind, tired old soul. He’s been through a lot, he’s seen a lot, and he’s lost a lot- two examples being his old friends and his home planet. He knows how quickly a once peaceful life can fade due to the dangers of the universe, and he knows how irreplaceable loved ones are. Unfortunately, he learned that the hard way. So, he wastes no time in showing you how precious you are to him. Luckily, you accept his displays of affection with excitement and return it back tenfold.

The two of you are going about your regular duties on the express when you catch Welt’s eye from across the train car. No one else is around, so you sidle over to him, trying not to be too obvious. Welt gives you a side eye as you do this, not knowing what to expect from the cheeky grin that’s making its way across your face. Only a minute later, Welt feels your presence next to him, and he swears that the smile you have plastered on is contagious. His own lips quirk up into a smile, and before he knows it, your body is pressed up against his, your arms constricting around him like there's no tomorrow. He lets out a sigh of endearment, his own arms gently moving to envelop you. Honestly, what was he going to do with you?

However, his infatuation quickly changes to confusion as you pull away slightly and rest your hands on his shoulders. You raise yourself a bit, attempting to reach his forehead, brows furrowing slightly in frustration due to his height. Soon enough, you manage to reach his forehead and your lips quickly make gentle contact with his skin. Welt chuckles softly, moving his hands to your waist, pulling you against him a second time. A massive grin breaks out on his face, and you swear you’ve never seen him happier in your life. Welt then cups your face and drowns you in a flurry of kisses, his own cheeks flushing profusely as he watches you become more and more flustered. The sounds of lovestruck giggles and playful remarks bounce off the walls of the train car, hours passing before the two of you remember your duties. Undoubtedly, the whole exchange ends with Welt fondly clinging to you with one of his hands carding through your hair, work entirely forgotten, as you wait for the rest of the crew to return.

Kafka

As expected, Kafka loves to tease. Her demeanor is alluring, drawing people to her in both hatred and love. While most disapprove of her title as a Stellaron Hunter, you seem to be an exception. In fact, it’s become very clear to her that she’s got you eternally and willingly caught in her web. She watches your every movement with immense amusement, her gaze dark yet loving as you fall apart from the products of her captivating existence. Often, she was the one initiating affection through words and subtle touches, adoring the way you choke on your words and desperately fumble for a half-decent response. More often than not, these interactions result in bolder acts of physical affection. Whether that’s innocent acts like allowing Kafka to tilt your chin up to kiss you, or you quickly embracing her as a way to hide your hopelessly heated face, or acts that are more… risque, you love every second you get to spend with her. And although Kafka wears a mask of cold, calm deceit, you know that when it comes to you, she doesn’t think twice about showing how genuine her love is.

Even if Kafka was skilled in making you flustered, you had been itching to initiate something on your own for weeks. To watch her get thrown off balance instead of you, all because of something you had said or done- it seemed like an impossible fantasy. Yet you persist in building up your courage, determined to express your love for her and pay her back for all the times she set butterflies off in your stomach. So, you carefully mapped out how you would go about your initiation, knowing that you would have to surprise your beloved in order to elicit any kind of reaction. The next day, you keep your eyes peeled for a moment when she’s idle and unaware of your presence. You manage to catch her while she’s reading, legs crossed casually as she sinks into the cushioning of her chair, eyes glinting with amusement at the book’s contents. Quietly, you enter the room, seemingly ignoring her- that is, until you reach her chair and swoop down to kiss her forehead before she can say anything. Afterward, you turn away and speed walk out of the room, internally reveling in the surprise that overtook Kafka’s features. Her eyes shot open wide, lips slightly parted, eyebrows raised. However, in your absence after the kiss, you didn’t see the fierce blush that spread over Kafka’s cheeks or hear the lovestruck giggle that involuntarily escaped her lips. And you definitely didn’t find out about Silverwolf walking in a few minutes later, only to find the woman folded over in her chair with her face in her hands, giggling like a schoolgirl and entirely refusing to look up. You had caused the most calm Stellaron Hunter to break her collected facade for once, which was incredibly hard to do. After making her feel so lovestruck, there’s no way she could just leave you alone. She would have to get back at you somehow- expect nothing less than to be smothered with her love over the next few days.

Wanderer/Scaramouche

Scaramouche had been going about his day as normal, bored out of his mind, desperately trying to find something interesting to do while vivid thoughts of you plagued his mind. Nahida had attempted to immerse him in different human activities, yet none of them seemed to take- he was either pretty bad at them, or he just gave up on them because he lost interest. Even the few battles he encountered during his day weren’t enough to take his mind off your absence. Needless to say, when you arrive home he’s all over you, trying to hide his longing for you behind a false mask of annoyance. But you can see right through him, adoration reflecting in your eyes as you quickly grab his face and press a firm kiss to his forehead. As you do so, a confused protest escapes his throat, the poor man startled by your sudden loving gesture. Afterward, you take his hand and drag him further into Sumeru to go get some food, but Scaramouche’s mind is entirely elsewhere. His pace is much slower than yours, making it slightly hard to lead him into the city, but he really can’t help it. Even now, even after the two of you have known each other for so long, you still manage to surprise him. He shields his face with one hand to hide his reddening cheeks and uses the other to tether you to him, picking up his pace so that you’re the one who’s being pulled. The giggle that this elicits from you doesn’t help either, as it only causes the butterflies in his stomach to burst even more.

After all, Scara wasn’t used to this. All his life, he’s been alone- always being left behind, always being used. He had become so accustomed to the feeling of anger and resentment that he didn’t realize how lonely he had indeed become. After he had the Electro Gnosis taken from him and his identity erased from Irminsul, his anger morphed into an overwhelming feeling of emptiness. Sure, erasing himself gave him a second chance at life, but his own loss of identity left him feeling void of any purpose or desire. That quickly changed when you were introduced to him though. As time went on, as he got to know you better, the void in his chest slowly became filled with the undying urge to protect you. The puppet didn’t understand what these emotions were or why he felt like this, but that didn’t matter to him. As long as you were safe, as long as he got to see your smile at the end of the day, he would be content. As you both reach your destination, Scara turns back to look at you, his heart immediately starting to hammer in his chest. You were beaming at him, a playful glint in your eyes- it was painfully clear that you were about to start teasing him for getting so flustered. Before you can say anything, Scaramouche gently takes your face in his hands and kisses you, gaze hopelessly soft. His gentle expression then turns into a devious smirk, amused by the way your eyes widen, entirely unsure of what to say. Now he can see the appeal of surprise kisses, and he’ll definitely be using them more often if this is the reaction he’ll get.

Kaveh

Kaveh cares for you more than anyone else. His passion for you is immense, so much so that it makes his passion for architecture pale in comparison- which is saying a lot because he loves architecture. In fact, it was practically his life until he met you, (aside from bickering with Alhaitham), and in his eyes, you're the greatest work of art to ever exist. Even the glistening walls and windows of the Palace of Alcazarzaray couldn’t match your glory. His genuine admiration for you often makes it hard for him to communicate how he feels- only one look is enough to get him red faced and stuttering. He does try though, he tries incredibly hard, but it just doesn’t work. The architect is constantly fighting with his own mind, wanting to spill out every ounce of love he’s feeling but not wanting to say the wrong thing. This internal conflict only intensifies during big projects, when all he can think of is you. He doesn’t get to see you often during these periods of time, which only makes him long for you more. So, when you pass by his desk, leaning over to see what he’s working on, you can imagine how deeply sidetracked he gets. When you ask what he’s doing, he starts explaining the details of the project, but quickly trails off as he sees the gentle smile on your face. Oh archons, you’re stunning, he thinks, fighting to find his words once more.

When he does, he quickly finishes his explanation, clearing his throat to try and cover up how deeply flustered he is. You nod and raise your eyebrows, impressed by his ambition and talent. Needing to get on with your own work, you wish him luck, brushing his bangs back and kissing him delicately on the forehead. Kaveh’s face explodes with red and suddenly he feels like the room is far too hot. He fans himself off with his hands, attempting to focus, but the feeling of your lips on his skin keeps replaying in his head. His thoughts are scattered all over the place, each stream of thought overlapping to become an insufferable cacophony of noise and feelings, to the point where he just can't take it anymore. Throwing his pencil down, Kaveh quickly gets up from his seat and somewhat aggressively hurries into the other room, where he finds you sitting on the couch, peacefully flipping through a book. He takes your hand, pulling you up toward his chest. His arms wrap around you tightly and he buries his face into your neck, your confused exclamations completely unheard by him. The architect’s resolve to continue working shatters as soon as you hug him back, his attitude clearly indicating that he doesn’t plan on letting go of you any time soon- not that you mind, of course.

Blade

Blade doesn’t understand why you like him so much. He doesn’t understand you, and how you keep going despite everything you’ve been through already. Though he doesn’t openly show his admiration for you, it's definitely there, despite the cold expression on his face. If you look just closely enough, you can see the way his gaze softens slightly whenever you enter the same room as him. You take this as permission for you to get near him and a confirmation that you aren’t being a burden by physically displaying your fondness for him. One way you show your infatuation with him is by patching him up after missions or fights, and unsurprisingly, he doesn’t understand why you do this either. He can heal himself for the most part, so why would you go through the trouble? Despite his lack of comprehension, he never fights back. The feeling of your gentle, loving hands on his skin soothes him, even if he has an abundance of painful gashes all over his body. The feeling of your lips on each of his wounds after you’ve tended to them is enough to get his heart beating faster, which is something that he thought was impossible to achieve.

Each time, just before you finish patching him up, you take his face in your hands, so carefully that you may as well be handling porcelain. From there, you guide his head slightly forward to almost meet your lips. Blade closes his eyes, his bandaged hand lifting to rest on top of one of your own, wanting to keep your warmth on his skin for as long as possible. A relaxed exhale slips past his lips as the tension in his shoulders deflates. When you finally press your lips to the soft expanse of Blade’s forehead, you can feel his hand start to shake slightly, his brows furrowing in confusion. You pull away, smiling warmly at him, washing away any confusion or sadness that lingers in his gaze. Your eyes meet and Blade’s mind becomes consumed by your touch. It’s been centuries since he’s felt this way- since he’s felt safe, since he’s felt like he has a home. Blade moves back, pulling you forward and into his lap. His hands carefully support your back, your chest pressing against him tightly while your head falls onto his shoulder. His breathing syncs up with yours as you shift to shyly return his embrace. Blade’s lips upturn into a small smile as you gently chastise him for moving so suddenly, warning that it may reopen his wounds. His chest grows tight in appreciation, his love for you growing with every breath he takes. No matter what tomorrow may bring, no matter how much pain he must endure, he knows it will all be alright as long as you’re safe.

[carelessflower]

Tmi gang and their bags

I might or not make this solely to push my secret agenda

Alec

Alec loves how big bags can carry so much paperwork, and weapons (he’s working late cause he’s the consul). Magnus practically jumped at the chance to replace Alec's tattered old duffle bag with things more durable and better quality. Also, Alec gets a customized birkin, cause he said others are ugly

Magnus

Putting aesthetic over functionality, Magnus doesn’t even bring bags most of the time, just poofing things up from the air with his magic. And other times the ones he chose would be so tiny, whose experimenting design or material render them unable to carry more than an immaculate vibe

Clary

Clary would get simple tote bags and paint/put her charms, decorations, and beads on them, making them extremely pretty and unique. Also, she lowkey stumble in some thrift store in NYC for cool artsy bohemian vintage pieces

Jace

The only bag Jace believes is the weapon bag he tried to sneak babies out for demon hunting. Else, it's Jace, his jacket, condom, and the 100th weapon he carries against the world

Izzy

She's always up to the latest it girl bags. her siblings wonder where she got all of them considering their parents were never around much. Also, those bags can’t carry more than lipstick sometimes, but who cares? Cause how many letters are in Isabelle? She ate

Simon

Even his bag is very your-nerdy-next-door-neighbor-crush-who-of-course-is-in-a-band type. Simple canvas bag that when the mood strikes, Simon decorates them with pins and stickers. He also has a prized leather satchel, courtesy of Izzy

tag list: @magnus-the-maqnificent @literallytypogod @hoezier-than-thou @sociallyineptbibliophile @queenlilith43

@khaleesiofalicante @wandererbyheart @raziyekroos @onetimetwotimesthreetimess @alexandergideonslightwood @andrwminward

@noah-herondale-lightwood @elettralightwood @dustandducks @deliciousdetectivestranger @delightfullyterrible

@letsgofortacos

@kita-no @thelightofthebane @secrettryst @goldendreams3 @cityofdownwardspirals

@stupidfuckindinosaur

@i-have-not-slept @rinadragomir @potato-jem @kasper-tag @cam-ryt

@banesapothecary

[whinlatter]

sorry if you've discussed this before, but do you think ginny's quidditch talent came out of nowhere? it's a common criticism I see about her but I feel like that kind of overstates how much of a quidditch "star" she was at the beginning, like she was consistently described as good but not great until partway into hbp and I also think it makes sense she'd keep it a secret from her teasing brothers. but maybe they're right and I'm just biased towards defending ginny

thank you for the question, anon!

the short answer is - no, i think it's (just about) plausibly rendered in the books. i think the series gets away with it because:

the story is told from the perspective of a teenage boy aka peak obliviousness in corporeal form, so we see what harry sees (and harry notices big fat nothing)

there is an entirely adequate narrative explanation for ginny's sporting skills that most readers not operating in bad faith* can put together, as you suggest: ginny comes from a sporty family who are all good at quidditch; she is of middling-to-good seeking ability when she first joins the team in ootp; she then has a good few months flying several times a week where she would necessarily grow in confidence and experience, leaving her perfectly able to blossom in hbp in a high school sport where she is competing against other children. fine and dandy in my book.

also quidditch is a broadly dumb and pointless plot so ginny being good at it is just a fun extra that we don't need to deep too much because - let's be real - quidditch is a waste of page space.

*i say this because, most of the time, these takes come from those who don't like hinny as a pairing. which is entirely their right and prerogative! it personally doesn't float my boat to spend my days doing worst faith readings of the text in order to make the case against canon ships i don't like, but as this is a race to the bottom - we are all adults dissecting children's books written by a nasty spiteful woman rotting in her mouldy castle spouting slurs, after all - who am i to judge.

(i also suspect the 'ginny is good at quidditch out of nowhere' takes have enjoyed such a long shelf-life on eg. reddit because the films are still most people's primary reference for HP takes so complaints about them then get cast back on the books - and, in the films, ginny does in fact rock up in film 6 like she's mbappé, if mbappé had the charisma of an extraordinarily soggy bath mat.)

with that said... could it have done with a bit more foreshadowing? yes, probably. people who don't like hinny as a pairing and prefer another are never going to be convinced - that's fine! but here i am, a paid-up hinny supporter, and even i think ginny's character development is sometimes wanting, to a frustrating and problematic extent. good writing (usually) means showing not telling, and it's weird and lazy of jkr to be so slapdash about revealing this and other character details about ginny and other (often female) characters. i think it's particularly striking that jkr underserves characters (again, usually women) who exist to serve the emotional development of characters (usually men), rather than the mystery plot(s) that drive hp as a series. (wanted! tonks' personality! last seen making fake pig noses and being the only auror mad eye moody mentored as his successor, for no plot reason!)

while i'm not a die-hard adherent to the chekhov's gun principle, i think one of the strengths of many novels du jour - especially the nothing really happens postmodern novel that crowds the bookshop shelves these days - is that their conventions allow authors to add colour to characters without each tiny detail being pregnant with meaning and in service of a driving plot that must be marched forward at all times. that can be really nice! as readers, we like to get a sense of characters as well-rounded living breathing people who go for a wee and take the bins out and stick on an album because it slaps every now and then; in these novels, we're also happier with the idea that things can happen to characters beyond the protagonist that don't directly impact the plot or demand the protagonist knows more than their own very limited vantage point. you have more room to play with character as a result.

jkr, ofc, isn't that kind of author. jkr is in fact an author for whom everything about her characters serves the plot. this, after all, is the brain that brought you 'remus lupin' the werewolf, and named the bad-guy-turned-good-guy in a book using a big black dog as a red herring omen of death 'sirius black'. jkr wants her audience to notice clues and remember little details about characters because they might be significant later on. this is entirely her wont and - lupin and sirius aside - she's often very good at it. the hp books are all standalone mysteries, and, when they land, those mysteries slap. ginny being the culprit in CoS is a genuinely satisfying resolution to the whodunit plot: this was reflected in critical reception at the time and was part of the reason why hp was able to be marketed as a children's book adults would also enjoy thereafter. there are also very satisfying foreshadowing and mystery plots that straddle the entire series and that reward the reader with reasonably good pay-off at the series end. (my favourite is the foreshadow within the foreshadow - e.g. regulus black barrelling back from ootp in DH, but then regulus' plot turning out to ultimately exist to foreshadow snape's own double agent status... delicious).

for my part, it's also what i want out of the fiction i read and the stories i try to write. i want everything to mean something. i want the weather, clothing, setting, body language etc to all do heavy lifting. i want character work to do work. it makes it fun for me to write and (i hope) it can it a bit more fun for the reader.

the problem is that while jkr is good setting up some mysteries, she is bad at others, and the romantic plot is one she falls down (a bit) on. she sets herself up for this: she wants to be a plot-centred mystery writer, so she does have an obligation to do better in how she deploys character details. jkr does to try to write the harry/ginny romance like a mystery, with little hints throughout the series up to the reveal of harry's feelings for ginny in HBP. (even ginny's full name is nominative determinism, finally revealed in DH once the reader has been told her place in the plot - ginevra, so guinnevre, the hero's queen). and while i will never not tire of pointing out to all of reddit that harry/ginny didn't come out of nowhere, and there is some satisfying foreshadowing knocking about here and there, i think it's fair to say that the harry/ginny build-up is not as satisfying as it could have been because jkr is basically lazier about the clues that ginny is the character harry will ultimately fall for, while she is much better at dropping clues for the series' central plot. that ginny ends the series with no real resolution of the primary tensions that motivate her other than her love of harry is probably the most acute example of this. but there's lots about her character where jkr phones it in a bit in fleshing her out or taking it to any logical conclusions or interesting plot directions. a smattering of examples:

ginny is the character who spends the entire series demanding to be included and not underestimated ends the series... with no real major role in the battle other than causing harry panic, while all other central characters receive a satisfying narrative arc that speaks to their central motivators across the series as a whole. (for an interesting discussion of what should have happened with ginny and the horcruxes, see here. i didn't even pay @saintsenara to write this!)

there are lots of shades of colour to ginny's character that are introduced pointlessly. i have previously talked about my beef with arnold the pygmy puff. we know ginny is popular but we know nothing of her friends who are all faceless plotless nobodies. we know ginny supports the all-womens quidditch team in a way that implies a nascent feminist politics after a childhood being excluded from playing a sport she loves by her brothers - yet we know nothing of it. we know ginny loves the one wizarding band that seems to exist because she has a poster of them on her wall and it just.... is something we just get told about her. now, all of these suggest ginny is a good time gal and a right laugh at the pub. and that's nice! i too am fun at the pub! but why does it matter? it wouldn't, in another series. but in a series where Everything Matters, it really stands out.

now..... i don't think all of this is an unsolveable problem for those of us writing fanfiction about ginny or harry and ginny as a couple. i don't think this makes ginny an inherently bad character. i hope the amount of life i have wasted thinking about this character is testament to this (...) and i personally find trying to cook up some fleshed-out characterisation and a satisfying arc for ginny, and for female characters more generally, from the crumbs of the original source material to be a very rewarding way to pass the time and a fuck you to a woman who thinks she can gatekeep womanhood while writing some astonishingly antifeminist fiction. i think harry and ginny are a deeply compelling and eminently plausible couple, and i think i return to writing about them as much as i do because i think they have a ton of potential as narrative mirrors and as characters with a rich well of tension but also devotion between them. as i say a lot, i think one of the things the harry/ginny pairing does refreshingly well compared to other romantic lead couples in YA fiction is show a couple that, at heart, genuinely get on very well, have a laugh together and enjoy each other's company in completely mundane lovely day-to-day ways (laundry and taxes u know). i think that's a striking and refreshing dynamic that i like to spend time fleshing out and playing with and writing about. but i can also see that there is an inconsistency in jkr's character work here, particularly her character work writing female characters, of which ginny is among the most acute examples.

[ravewing]

can you do a style tutorial?? dude there's geniunally nobody else who draws like you, your art is so poetic and divine, it's inspiring

WAAA THANK YOU ANON OH MY DAYS ??? genuinely this is one of the nicest compliments ive ever received on my art omga what .

im not very good at explaining things but eem ill try !!

i feel like one of the biggest things is the sort of sketchy/messy vibe .. i use a super tiny brush ('digital brush' on ibis (its a premade lol) on size 1-2) and kind of scribble scrabble sometimes .. i also dont do lineart, i cant be bothered to do allat so i just clean up my sketch using an eraser !

i also stay away from using curves and instead try to use as many straight edges as possible if that makes sense .. also arbitrary lines in the drawing are a must . i think thats one of my fav parts of drawing :)

when it comes to coloring and rendering, i start by adding a darker, slightly more saturated color for shading, then blend it out with a midtone, do thr same for lighting, and then i add details !!

ive also been told that my usage of warmer tones is recognizable, and i achieve that by playing around with the 'color balance' filter on ibis until im happy with the results

for shading, i use a dark color (anywhere between blue and red, depending on the character and environment) for shading and a light yellowy color for lighting on an overlay layer ! then (also on overlay) i use those colors to add more arbitrary lines and scribbles

here i kind of tried to break down my sketching process, idk if it makes sense or not tho😓

my current artstyle is the result of six or so years of constant drawing and growing and experimenting !! experimenting with your artstyle is a huge factor in allowing it to evolve as well as for you to find what works the best .

referencing/figuring out how specific artists that you like achieve their artstyles is super good for experimenting !! in 2021 i was a huge fan of bellasaurus and animatedwings, so i referenced their art a lot, picked out what i liked, and incorporated it into my own style :)

i didnt include humans in this because im not very confident when drawing them and still have to heavily reference things lol .. maybe another day

overall just have fun and go with whatever feels right ! below ill attach some of my art pieces broken down if you want to use them as a reference

[evillemons]

How BTS would feel about thigh riding

Since we are anonymous on Tumblr I will admit I have a small thigh kink and this is not the first time I have wondered how the boys would react to it, and I need to get the thought out of my brain and into writing before it kills me (also please enjoy the photo compilation at the end of the post as they are too big to intersperse throughout). Ranked in order of most into it to least. Masterlist!

*some NSFW content*

1. V - Sweet kinky Tae is the most likely to have a thigh kink of his own, so he would be more than enthused if his partner asked for it or started grinding on his thigh spontaneously. He's probably the type to nestle his leg in between hers during a steamy makeout session and let her ride it to orgasm.

2. Jungkook - Down for anything. If his girl is getting off, he's into it. Plus, his muscular quads render them a large enough surface area for a good seat. As I mentioned in another post, he is also the most likely to orgasm without touch or just by watching his partner please herself, and if she's naked an enjoying herself while riding his thigh, this could be one of those scenarios.

3. RM - There is no shortage of people who have a thing for Namjoon's juicy-ass thighs, so even those who don't ordinarily have a thigh kink might find themselves wanting to grind on them. And even more so than JK's thighs, they are huge and sturdy enough for a good ride. I think he would actually be quite into it as he loves watching his woman selfishly use him to make herself cum, and he would also think it's super hot to find her juices seeping through his pants afterwards.

4. Jimin - Jimin has shockingly phenomenal, godlike legs, possbly the most superior of the group. I don't think he would be into thigh riding though. He would just find it a little awkward and unnecessary, as he believes there are much more effective ways of pleasing. He wouldn't deny it to his girlfriend if she wanted it though, it just wouldn't do anything for him.

5. j-hope - Hoseok would probably not be into it, like at all. In fact, the act feels a little barbaric and silly to him - why ride his thigh when his face and dick are available? And as one of the thinner members, positioning would be a little more awkward and less satisfying too.

6. Jin - Jin probably doesn't even know that thigh riding is a thing and would probably get confused if his girlfriend tried. He's quite modest both in an outside of bed (we hardly ever see his legs in general) and I don't think he could physically fathom why that would be a sexual thing.

7. SUGA - I desperately wanted to put Yoongi higher on the list because he is so open minded, and while he would never deny his partner their guilty pleasure, this is just one of those things that wouldn't quite work out. As the skinniest of the group, grinding on his tiny thighs wouldn't be very enticing or satisfying, especially because he is so talented with his fingers and tongue. It would be an awkward and unerotic experience all around.

[cherribangevent]

Some FAQs for the event!

Some of you might be wondering how it all works - so here is a helpful little guide that should answer any questions burning away in your mind. Don't see you question? Send an ask!

“Is CherriBang specifically for fics about Cherri Bomb?”

Nope! The name is just a play on the character name and the phrase 'big bang', to make it a bit more Helluva/Hazbin related. Fics can be about everyone!

“On that, since 'Bang' is in the name, are all fics explicit?”

Nope! The fics being written have a range of ratings, from gen to explicit – but for the explicit fics, that isn't the main purpose of them (so no complete porn without plots) – artists who pick a NSFW piece will have other scenes to choose from, and indeed if you pick a NSFW piece you will be encouraged to either do a tumblr-safe version of your art, or two pieces – one that is safe for Tumblr and one that... might not be ;)

“Is there an application process? How will I know if I got in?”

That's the neat part – EVERYONE GETS IN! There is no application process or anything to follow – if you can art, you're in the event!

“What characters are the fics about?”

There is an entire, huge range. There are over 40 works being written, some featuring the Vees, some featuring Alastor, Lucifer, Vox, Rosie, Vaggie, Angel, Blitz, Charlie... it would be impossible to list them all. Keep your eyes on the Bsky page for tiny peeks!

“Is this an event for ships/will there be ships?”

There are ships, yes – but there is also a wide range of non-shippy/gen content. Some of the ships that might catch your interest are RadioApple, RadioStatic, PolyVees, RadioRose, Lucilith, Chaggie, RadioDust, HuskerDust, Stolitz, Blitz/Fizzy – and so many more!

If shipping isn't your thing, we have found family, misadventures, QPRs – so many things you could think of!

“Is it all canon characters?”

For this, yes – OCs do not play a heavy part in any fic. However, there are AUs, so there are still lots of varied interpretations of the characters!

“What is the word limit?”

The minimum word limit for fics is 7k. There is no maximum! Some writers are cooking up absolute novels of content!

“Where can I read the entries?”

All entries will be posted on August third, on AO3. The art made for the fic will be linked within the fic, as well as posted on that artists individual social media.

“Is it too late to sign up?”

As a writer, yes – but artist signups are opening May 1st! And for writers, there will be the inverse of this event happening later in the year, where artists sign up first and writers sign up afterwards to write a fic for their chosen art piece!

“How will artists be assigned to writers?”

As an artist, you will have access to reading a synopsis, relevant tags, and an excerpt from each fic. You won't know who wrote it yet – you will be asked to fill in a google form numbering the fics you want to work on in order of preference, from 1-5 – with 1 being your most preferred, 2 being your second most... you know how numbers work. We will endeavour to give everyone one of their top three preferences, with a little bit of decision making only if multiple people have the same top preferences!

“Can artists draw whatever they want?”

The spirit of the event is collaboration – so making art based on something in your writers fic. Whether that's a scene, a comic – multiple spot art pieces if you feel so inspired (and have incredible time management skills). So long as you make at least one fully rendered piece, you can go wild with any extras you feel like.

“Is anything forbidden?”

Creators have been given creative freedom to make what they want, but for fics with darker themes, all appropriate trigger warnings and tags are noted in the fic synopsis.

“What happens if I need to drop out?”

If you're an artist, please reach out to a mod and let them know. We understand life happens, but we really don't want to experience radiosilence on it – you don't have to tell us details, just a quick “I won't be able to complete my piece because of work/family/etc” will be fine. Your writer will be assigned a pinch hitter if you were their only artist!

If you're an artist and your writer drops out, you will be given the chance to pick a different fic to work on, and you will be given additional time to do so. We hope this won't happen as authors have been working on their fics in the lead up!

“How often do I need to check in with mods?”

There are five check ins after artists join – May 30, to confirm you've spoken to your partner, June 13, to confirm you've got sketch/lines done, June 27 to provide an update, July 18 to provide further update, August 1 to confirm everything is ready to go for posting August 3!

“Who can I ask if I have more questions?”

We have several helpful mods. @dizzlypuzzled, who is the creator of this event – as well as @flywolf33, @phoenix-arising, @bonetrix-arts, and @mothballmilkshake. You can reach out to any of them on bsky or tumblr, or the event page on tumblr as well!

“What do I do if my writer/artist isn't communicating with me?”

Reach out to a mod, and we'll step in. If needed, above steps about dropping out may be taken, but we hope it doesn't come to that!

“I'm a writer and I don't like the approach my artist is taking. Can I switch artists?”

This is a collaborative event, and we encourage everyone to discuss with their partner what they want from the fic/art they are working on. If for any reason you find it impossible to come to an agreement, please reach out to a mod as soon as possible as we will discuss shuffling/pinch hitter availability.

“I'm an artist and I don't like the direction the story I chose is going/I think the synopsis was misleading. Can I change writers?”

If you get matched with your writer after choosing from the synopsis/snippet and find out the story is going in a direction that makes you uncomfortable, please reach out to the mods as soon as possible. If it is early enough, we may be able to shuffle a few people around until we find a better fit. All writers are encouraged to be as up front as possible about the direction of their fic, ships, etc, so we hope this won't happen – but understand if something unexpected comes up.

[sonicenvy]

So this project is continuing to be complex and detailed, but I'm having a good time. If you haven't seen my original post, this is an image that I pulled from the book of Kells on folio 27v. The full page contains four figures: the man, the lion, the ox, and the eagle. The four figures represent the four gospels. This figure is the eagle, and it represents the book of John, St. John the Evangelist and the ascension of Christ into heaven. I am not religious (though I was raised Irish Catholic), so I picked this design because I love the art in medieval manuscripts and in the Book of Kells specifically.

So, how'd I get here? (an extremely detailed step-by-step)

Downloaded the full size image of Folio 27v

Cut St. John out of the image using the pen tool in Photoshop and moved it to a new document with a clear background.

Pasted St. John into a blank high res procreate document.

Did a rough digital tracing of the image in procreate with my iPad and Apple Pencil.

Opened tracing in Illustrator and made it into a vector. Took forever because I fucked up my procreate settings RIP.

Turned Vector into live paint object.

Opened original image in PS, and used eyedropper tool to select colors in original document. Compared those colors to the colors that I had in my stash (wanted to use mostly if not all from my stash rather than buying new floss).

Used threadcolors.com to get the hex codes for the selected threads. Made a spreadsheet of the selected colors for my reference. Printed out spreadsheet.

Colored the image using the paint bucket tool (and recolor artwork options) with the colors corresponding to selected threads. Saved Illustrator document.

Opened illustrator document in PS, gave it a solid white background and exported it as PDF.

Printed out initial copy of PDF image on blank printer paper to see if it was the right size. It wasn’t lol, so I made it bigger (super easy with vector images!) Printed test copy #2 and it was the right size.

Iron chosen fabric and stretch in Phillips head screw tightened hoop.

Printed the PDF image on Sulky Fabri-solvy, cut to size, and adhere to the surface of the stretched fabric.

Stitch, all single stranded….

 

What's new?

Since the last time I posted, I've mostly completed the head. It's comprised of a mixture of satin stitches, long and short stitches, chain stitches, and some other stitch I can't remember the name of. The other new feature is very, very, tiny orange and red glass beads.

When I was considering how I wanted to render the dots in the circle behind the head and the three tears of blood, I initially considered doing french knots for the dots and bullion knots for the blood tears. To make a decision about this, I did some tests on scrap fabric. At the end of the test stitching I found that I was not completely satisfied with what I had come up with. As I stared at it, I was hit with the sudden vision of using seed beads of some kind for these two areas. This idea completely possessed me (lol), and I made a trip to my delightful local beading store the next day, hoop in hand.

The old ladies who run the bead store helpfully showed me to a bunch of interesting beads and got me all set up with them. I also purchased some size 11 beading needles, which are barely large enough to stick a single strand of embroidery floss through. At the time, I didn't know whether or not the embroidery floss would even go through the needle or the beads, so I purchased some tiny beading thread, but ended up not needing it. The eyes of those needles are SO tiny that they were extremely difficult to thread, but I managed it eventually. They were also, interesting very, very bendy. I ended up liking the stitching experience with them so much I continued using them to stitch other, non-beaded sections of the piece.

The other consideration that I had to make while putting this section together was whether or not I wanted to render that yellow ring around the head in golden yellow thread or gold, gold metallic thread, as in the original image that section appears to potentially be illuminated with gold leaf. However, my hatred of metallic thread (Satan's embroidery supply) won in the end so I went with the gold yellow thread, leaving the crosses as the only metallic gold element. I don't know that I'll end up using any other metallic gold, but I obviously can't rule it out.

Anyhow, looking forward to continuing this project and to what new challenges I'll end up having to figure out as it goes along.

[brotherhood-appreciation]

Living on borrowed time AU: About Bill

Most Bills tends to be pretty chatty and talkative, and for the most part this Bill is.

However, when dealing with this Stanley, its like a switch is flicked, and his mind is flooded with rage. It didn't used to be as bad as its gotten, his temper has always been pretty bad, but at this point its reached beyond critical levels. And this incomprehensible fury brings with it a side effect, of sorts

You ever seen someone get so mad they can't talk? Can't scream? Well that is now something Bill is unfortunately regularly afflicted with when dealing with this Stanley. He positively hates it. He hates how worked up this tiny little insignificant speck causes him to get, hates how it tunnels his vision, how it blinds him.

He gets so consumed in his own fury that sometimes he can't even remember what happens, a Blackout Rage. He finds compared to getting blackout drunk, it is not an experience he enjoys nearly as much.

He also finds he does not like how sloppy it makes him (he will not admit that when dealing with this human he cannot afford to be sloppy).

How it controls affects him(how he reacts to the mere thought of this human in a near Pavlov response of uncontrollable wrath)

He can't even let off some steam via murder, maiming, and mayhem anymore! It's not satisfying, doesn't scratch that itch anymore (they're not the ones he needs wants to hurt, to kill. It doesn't mean anything).

It's. Driving. Him. Mad.

Madder, that is. He was already insane, but you knew that already

Unfortunately for Stanley this lead to Bill having a bit of a self-awareness in that he realized, as mentioned in the first post, that he might accidentally-on-purpose immediately kill him once he has him. Resulting in a quick and (relatively)painless death. A merciful end. That is not on the table, Bill absolutely refuses that as an option. He wants to take his time, it will be a slow and merciless death or none at all.

So Bill has taken measures(or will take measures, depending on where/when we're at) to keep himself in check. This was(potentially) before he committed to putting in wasting the effort of altering Stan to insure he wouldn't critically break him . Yet.

Of course Bills pride won't let him have Stanley, of all things, influence his ability to think and speak (He will not show He does not have any weakness caused by this pathetic excuse of a lifeform), so he trys to get his temper under control.

Eventually he'll get some results, mixed results, but results nonetheless. No longer immediately going for the kill at least

(Debating on the idea of having him put himself on a leash, and tying/tangling himself in his own mental strings, to forcefully keep him from doing certain rash things when furious, or to force himself to speak when his wrath has rendered him mute)

(Possibly something like a freeze response? Like he'll lunge for the kill and he's forcibly stopped, hand shaking as it tries to reach him, only a foot away from being able to rip him apart. Possibly can speak but it's like trying to speak through a clenched jaw, like pulling teeth (which he'd usually enjoy), to get so much as an individual word, let alone a single sentence, out)

~

Sorry if this is a bit incoherent, Its early morning and i have to get up in about 2 hours and I haven't gone to sleep yet oops

Also please let me know what you think! Comments are appreciated!

[mysticstronomy]

HOW MANY DIMENSIONS EXIST??

Blog#347

Wednesday, November 8th, 2023

Welcome back,

The world as we know it has three dimensions of space—length, width and depth—and one dimension of time. But there’s the mind-bending possibility that many more dimensions exist out there. According to string theory, one of the leading physics model of the last half century, the universe operates with 10 dimensions.

But that raises a big question: If there are 10 dimensions, then why don’t we experience all of them or haven’t detected them? Lisa Grossman at ScienceNews reports that a new paper suggests an answer, showing that those dimensions are so tiny and so fleeting that we currently can’t detect them.

It’s difficult to completely explain the mathematics behind string theory without putting on a graduate seminar or two, but in essence dimensions five through ten have to do with possibility and include all possible futures and all possible pasts including realities with a totally different physics than those in our universe.

If two protons smash together at high enough speeds, they have the ability to create a tiny black hole that would exist for just a fraction of a second before disappearing, according to a new study, which hasn't been peer-reviewed, on the preprint server arXiv.org. The collision would open up a little bubble of interdimensional space where the laws of physics are different than ours, leading to an event known as vacuum decay. In quantum physics, vacuum decay implies that if the interdimensional space was large enough, we’d be toast.

With enough gravity to interact with our world, the newly formed “Cosmic Death Bubble” would grow at the speed of light, rapidly change the physics of our universe, render it uninhabitable and effectively zap us out of existence.

“If you’re standing nearby when the bubble starts to expand, you don’t see it coming,” the study’s co-author, physicist Katie Mack of North Carolina State University, tells Grossman. “If it’s coming at you from below, your feet stop existing before your mind realizes that.”

Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays are bashing into each other all the time with enough energy to start this process. If extra dimensions were large enough to allow the death bubble to form, the researchers found, it would have happened thousands of times already. The fact that we still exist is one circumstantial piece of evidence that other dimensions are ultra-tiny. The team calculated that they must be smaller than 16 nanometers, too small for their gravity to influence much in our world and hundreds of times smaller than previous calculations, Grossman reports.

The new study comes on the tail of another study about extra dimensions published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics published in July. Mara Johnson-Groh at LiveScience reports that one of the big questions in physics is why the expansion of the universe is accelerating. One theory is that gravity is leaking out of our universe into other dimensions. To test this idea, researchers looked at data from recently discovered gravitational waves.

our universe was leaking gravity through these other dimensions, the researchers reasoned, then the gravitational waves would be weaker than expected after traveling across the universe.

But the researchers found they didn’t lose any energy on their long journey, meaning other dimensions either don’t exist or are so tiny they don’t affect gravity very much, if at all.

“General relativity says gravity should be working in three dimensions, and [the results] show that that’s what we see,” physicist Kris Pardo of Princeton, lead author of the July study, tells Johnson-Groh. The latest study also concludes that the size of extra dimensions is so small that it precludes many theories about gravity leaking out of our universe.

Originally published on www.smithsonianmag.com

COMING UP!!

(Saturday, November 11th, 2023)

"WHAT IS THE FURTHEST THING WE CAN SEE IN SPACE??"

[wings-of-ink]

How would the Ro's and Dad's react to Mc telling them they are pregnant? Also, with twins 😋

Oh goodness, I've never done one of these asks before. I had to think on it a bit. I also have no aspirations or nature for parenthood so forgive me if I'm a little off the mark, lol.

Let's see...MC's parents are easier for me...

Papa would cry, for sure. He would be overjoyed and overwhelmed with emotion. *weep - look at MC - smile - weep again* Guaranteed, MC will not want for furniture. He'll make cribs, baby sized chairs, tiny spoons, a house, whatever MC needs. (can you imagine his huge hands carving tiny baby spoons? lol)

I imagine Da would be in shock for a moment - just frozen, staring at MC. After that he may just run - bolt out the door, run down the road through town and yell at everyone. He would return later with gifts for MC, and extra smile lines around his eyes. (also, he'll be digging out MC's old baby things he has safely tucked away in a cedar chest)

Now, for the RO's...

Oswin would have so many conflicting emotions. He'd be ecstatic, but scared. I imagine the shock would render him to his knees, and I think he'd tear up and want to hold MC close. He'll have trouble sleeping for a while, I think. Between nerves and excitement, expect him to be pacing at night, maybe while cradling a wrapped bundle of blankets to practice...(MC is also getting pampered, for sure - twins run in the family and they can be hard on the body)

Zahn would lose themselves to excitement. They're already planning toys, games, tiny bows and arrows. They're also asking MC a million questions wanting to know what it's like, how they feel, if they can do anything. Above all, they're cheering MC on and not leaving their side for anything, completely smitten with how strong and wonderful they are. Their mind is going a mile a minute thinking of all the things a kid needs for a perfect childhood.

Duri is freaking out a bit. It will take them a little longer to be excited, but it will happen. They're mostly scared about what sort of parent they can be. This is a lot of responsibility. Are they good enough for a child, let alone 2? Are they good enough for MC? Will MC be okay? Before you know it, MC is getting offers for every manner of massage that Duri can think of, and they're off asking MC's parents for advice.

Rune takes the news stoically - well, it at least looks that way. Like Oswin, there are a lot of conflicts happening. There's pride and hope, but fear too. Above all, they will be a better parent than what they had. MC can expect them to begin researching anything and everything pregnancy and baby. Nearly every day, Rune's finding things MC might need for themselves or for the little ones. They may secretly take up knitting.

??? is frozen. He's in shock. Him? A dad? Wait, did MC say TWINS!? He gets very happy-scared, and is just plain shocked that this has even happened. It doesn't feel real. He's going to need a long snuggle with MC to absorb all of this.

Thank you for the question, Anon! It was neat to think on how their personalities and experiences would factor into something big like this. There's a couple things on Zahn and Duri especially that I can't totally reveal, since it may spoil their backstories a bit, but you may be able to infer a good deal from them.

[jupiterswasphouse]

WASP REVIEW - WASPMON, FUNBEEMON, AND CANNONBEEMON (DIGIMON)

[Image IDs: Three official renders of the listed Digimon, those being Waspmon, FunBeemon, and CannonBeemon /End IDs.]

Well, this will be interesting as someone whose only experience with the Digimon franchise is whatever Karina from Drawfee has explained about the franchise. But I'm gonna try my best to understand what we've got going on here, which shouldn't be too difficult! Let's just hop into the deep end here! (Apologies in advance to the Digimon enjoyers)

Starting with Waspmon, this Digimon is very clearly at least mostly mechanical, which I suppose makes my job here a little bit easier, as it's clear they were not going for accuracy. Even still, I do have to point out some things. It seemingly only has one pair of improperly segmented legs (unless those rib-like parts around its mesosoma are legs too), with more human-like hands, and these big armored shoulder plates (supposedly propellers?) that are perhaps only comparable to the large tibiae of shield-handed wasps. They also seem to have only one set of wings but I can't say for sure. The head seems accurate enough, with even the right number of eyes, in the right positions! That's pretty rare! The antennae are a bit too straight, not segmented enough, with feathered ends I've never really seen in a wasp, although they do remind me of some notably different featherings on certain species, such as a number of members of the genus Dendrocerus. There are other things I could point out, like the abdominal spines and laser stinger, but given its mechanical nature, I'll leave it at the fact that the abdomen is too big, with perhaps the closest example I can give in relation to the roundness of the gaster being that of gall wasps!

[Image Sources: bugguide.net, Jim Moore, Wikimedia Commons, S.E. Thorpe, and Flickr, Judy Gallagher | Image IDs: Three photos, one of a black and yellow shield-handed wasp on a white surface, the next of a black specimen of the genus Dendrocerus in front of a white background, the last one of a black and red Cynipid gall wasp on a brown wooden surface /End IDs.]

As for FunBeemon, this one seems a lot more natural on nature, with a very clear inspiration too. Body's properly segmented, the color could stand to be a tiny bit darker though. The correct number of wings, legs, and eyes. But the eyes that are supposed to be compound are these glassy, mammalian eyes, and the legs aren't quite colored or segmented right, with too few claws on most legs as well. The antennae seem to be segmented properly though! Even with little lines that seem to imply the presence of the flagellomeres, not quite clear on that though. The mandibles shouldn't be grey like that, and the head in general is a bit too wide and round. It has the same strange abdominal spines as Waspmon, which shouldn't be there, as I don't believe any species of bee has those. But they did get the "serrated" (barbed) stinger right, even if it is far too thick!

[Image Sources: Jupiter's Wasp House, ie Myself, and Cambridge University | Image IDs: A photo of a black and yellow honey bee on a human hand, followed by four images of a honey bee's stinger viewed on an extremely close up scale /End IDs.]

Finally, when it comes to CannonBeemon... What's going on here? Don't get me wrong here, it's awesome, but it does also look like Polistes dominula got freaky with a FusionFall Shattergun. All bits aside, this Digimon does fall into essentially the same category as Waspmon, it's too mechanical to really bother with the details, this one even moreso. Everything I said about Waspmon's general head area still applies. It has the right wing count, though they are thin for something as heavy as this thing has to be (the Wiki says 38g but I'm not sure about that for something so big and metallic, not gonna lie). It has only four, very short legs, with little grabby hands at the end, which while incorrect is actually pretty cute. The shape is too abnormal to compare to any real wasp, though I do quite like the use of hexagonal cell shapes here in reference to real social bees' and wasps' hive structures. That's about it for that, though.

Now, what about their behaviors? Well, as one might expect, Waspmon is the defensive soldier type, patrolling the viscinity of the hive, being aggressive enough to divebomb Digimon that get too close. Now, I won't deny that wasps do divebomb as an offensive move against potential hive invaders, but they act on far more than distance to the hive, their reaction to an individual's presence is based on a multitude of factors, such as movement/body language, their level of familiarity with the threat, and of course, actual actions taken by the potential threat to harm the hive, among other things. That said, these Digimon do seem to be quite intelligent, as the wiki states "The antenna-parts on its head have high reconnaissance ability", IE they are able to gather information essentially at the level of a special operative. A real wasp can remember quite a lot, though it definitely takes in more than just what it can detect through smell.

CannonBeemon is also a line of defense for the hive, though being much more powerful, both of these Digimon use lasers instead of venom, as you could've probably guessed from their mechanical structures, which is, of course, not true for actual wasps. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that wasps don't fire lasers though. Whether or not these two soldiers hunt for or feed on anything is unclear.

As for FunBeemon, it also doesn't seem to be out gathering food either, but it does gather some materials, those being bits of "home data", to build up the hive the same way many social Hymenopterans would gather wood, dirt, or the material needed to make wax. This Digimon gets along well with plant Digimon, which should probably be the case for all the rest of them too but whatever. These ones, too, also attack... With projectiles, they fire off their stingers like arrows. This is a surprisingly common thing amongst representations of stinging Hymenopterans in media? strange... They also have a second ability to summon allies, which is unfortunately, for whatever reason, referred to as "88 Call". Apparently this is because 8 in Japanese can be read as "Hachi", which is also a word that refers to eusocial Hymenopterans, like honey bees, but of course, two eights can also be read in a far, far worse way. Different potential connotations aside, the description of this move says that FunBeemon summons allies with its antennae, which, as far as I know, the alarm pheromones of bees are not produced in or near the antennae.

Back to the material gathering and building of the hive though! It turns out that FunBeemon isn't the only one who helps to build the hive, as it's aided by-

HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER! - FORGEBEEMON

[Image ID: The official render of ForgeBeemon /End IDs.]

This guy! Not much to say here in terms of accuracy, as I don't think they're really trying for that here. But I do really love that they accounted for its ocelli in the mask design! Coulda used a bit more space around the compound eyes though. It's got antennae, which aren't segmented right, but they're present, and bend in the right place. It also has wings that are even tinier than CannonBeemon! Its two moves are also defense by way of offense, with a saw-like stinger, and two extra robotic arms that can produce a powerful electric discharge.

It's not called a "Forge" for nothing, either, as these bees are the ones that take materials and bond them together with an adhesive called "Honey Glue" (Don't think that's how that works, but oh well) that's produced in its abdomen, much like how honey bees produce wax!

[Image Source: Hive And Honey Apiary | Image ID: A photo of a black and yellow honey bee producing wax from its abdominal glands /End IDs.]

But, if they have a hive, and live in the same eusocial manner as some real honey bees and vespid wasps, then they must have a Queen! I wonder what it looks like-

HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER! - QUEENBEEMON

[Image ID: The official render of QueenBeemon /End IDs.]

... That's just a human woman in a costume... Are y'all sure this is a Digimon?... Well, I mean, it still has absolute power over the hive, so I guess yeah, that's their queen, but... Huh.

Well QueenBeemon gets a badass army and a badass mech chair with venom shot arms and laser turrets at least. Surely that's the end of them and that's all that needs to be s-

HERE COMES A- OK JUST GET IT OVER WITH - VESPAMON AND TIGER VESPAMON

[Image IDs: The official renders of Vespamon and Tiger Vespamon /End IDs.]

Alright, more guys in suits. Human status is less clear given the fact they have no skin showing, but they're definitely humanoid... I can at least comment on the fact they seem to be designed to be male, which, if they're meant to be soldiers/workers too (Where are the drones??) that wouldn't be the case, as the vast majority of male social wasps (including bees) do not have defensive capabilities and don't leave the hive nearly as often as the females.

But that HAS to be it? Right? RIGH-

OH COME ON - HONEYBEEMON, FLYBEEMON, JEWELBEEMON, AND DINOBEEMON

[Image IDs: The official renders of HoneyBeemon, FlyBeemon, JewelBeemon, and DinoBeemon /End IDs.]

... I'm not even gonna bother.

-

WaspBeemon and FunBeemon (Ranked on accuracy): 6.5/10

CannonBeemon and ForgeBeemon (Accuracy not considered, ranked on design): 5/10 - 6/10

Everyone Else: [DISQUALIFIED]

-

Leave your wasp review suggestion in the replies, tags, or askbox!