Working on getting a patreon pack up and ready right now, but real quick:
I'm a big fan of "Share it! reblog! tell the new style of algorithm internet shit to suck it!", but you might look around and be like "...But you never reblog much of anything?"
I do though lol. This is largely my art blog, and while I'll reblog something here from time to time despite wanting to keep it mostly concise, I have like three other blogs on this same account. One of those blogs in particular I reblog to so much that I finally had to make myself add things to my queue instead of just reblogging on the spot. It was (a lot).
It's like collecting pins, action figures, cards, (or in my case, architectural photography, landscapes and monster art)... I'm tacking them all up on display so that I can look at them, and make anyone else who visits look at them as well.
At the start of this project all I wanted was to 'learn how to draw' using comics as a medium and the MDZS audio drama as inspiration.
I've come *very* far from making simple, 3 panel black and white comics, and I truly do intend to go even further. Thank you to everyone who cheered me on throughout 2023, it has been an incredible year in so many ways I never could have imagined. I look forwards to drawing throughout 2024 B*)
Having been in that place of “so many long distance friends all in one place!!” A couple of times I just can’t help but feel so much second hand happiness for the cc hermits. You could tell the entire weekend that they were all so giddy - from raising $800k for charity over two days, yes - but also from just being in the same space. Getting to hug and play fight and shoot each other with nerf guns and bringing treats from home for everyone to try.
It just makes you think, you know. I mainly deal with the characters they play, and try very hard to separate those characters from their creators, but at the end of the day all of the love that they pour into their characters and the world they make together is all down to how much they also love each other irl. And good for them, good for them. I hope they had just as much, if not more, time off the clock to just hang out together
ok ok ok ok ok ok ok so... the whole thing where JGY has different smiles for different people... And one of them is just for lan xichen, and then he's got one for 'useful people'. And that sounds a whole hell of a lot like su she, su she is the most useful of people and he'd be happy enough with that. I mean, that's definitely the smile he gives him in their first on screen meeting in jinlintai so... makes sense right? I mean... JGY would want to encourage SMS to continue being useful, right?
So uh... How does JGY smile... What smiles does he give Su She... Literally any other time than that first meeting...? I mean lock in ur answers now I guess because I brought pics under the cut.
Oh. He doesn't. He doesn't smile. At Minshan.
Because smiles are performative and he doesn't need to perform? He doesn't need to worry? He doesn't need to wear a mask? Because this is an aspect of his life that has caused him pain at having to hide away and deceive and he can afford to drop with one person who won't in turn drop him? Because he... Doesn't really like Minshan? ...It's probably not that one.
IDK I just think it's neat! Crunchy little analysis tidbits in there. Because yeah it's kinda easy to assume one thing based on what's said, I mean who else does that refer to so well, but... Actual story here seems to be a lot more interesting.
(there are a couple where he's kind of smiling? Maybe? So I can include them here too! The first one is JGY hearing NHS passed out from shock and is telling SMS not to toss him around and stuff, which he follows with a smile to an unconscious NHS...
...The second is an expression JGY has on his face already before shifting his eyes to SMS, which like, instantly changes to one of concern once he takes in the sight of SMS's injuries...
...So. Thought I'd include them for posterity. But well...)
@girlymatsu ive been unable to stop thinking about these three being friends since you mentioned it, so i hope you dont mind that i drew out a few ideas ^^;!!
@ the mag7 fam, I realize I have no way of convincing you this is not a 'and then everyone clapped' fake post, but i LITERALLY MET MANUEL GARCIA RULFO this weekend at a TIFF party, and we LITERALLY SPOKE FOR LIKE 5 MINUTES
Takeaways:
he is really ridiculously handsome, excellent brown eyes, A+
really not as tall as he seems in character, and much slighter, i may have to revisit how 'looming' i've written him in fic lmao
(on that note it is biZARRE meeting someone whose character you've written fic about, that is the first time that has happened to me. i can only be grateful i haven't written too much with him, i'd have withered if it was ethan hawke or LBH lol)
he was extremely friendly! and as it transpired he lived in my hometown for about a year so we just chatted about that. he loves poutine and hates the winter, and he has my full agreement on both counts 👍
he also appears to be dating vincent d'onofrio's daughter which is sO cute, the mag7 fam lives on 🙌 (she is gorgeous btw. and I don't think this is like a 'scoop' or private info or anything lol, I asked if he had anything going on at tiff that day and he was very openly like 'no only next week, today I'm just supporting her!)
(also the context for All This is my gentleman friend is a journalist and i joined him at TIFF for the weekend and basically larped as a famous person all weekend lol good times. weekend was crazy but this part felt the most relevant to tumblr)
Regarding your cerebrocrustacean headcanons mentioned in the previous ask: they very well could be somewhat canon given how, when asked if Albedo and Dr. Psychobos would be willing to work together, Derrick J. Wyatt responded with "Psychobos seems like a total team up slut, he'll team up with any villain any time" (his words, not mine).
Which he likely meant in the sense of "Psychobos is so power-hungry he'll team up with anyone in order to get ahead", but with your headcanons and the fact he never talks much about his personal life in mind, you could alternatively interpret it as "Psychobos is so desperately lonely he'll accept anyone he has even the slightest similarity with into his clique, even members of a species he's violently xenophobic towards" (probably to cope with/serve as a rebound for his mancrush Azmuth friendzoning him /lh /hj).
Now all of this is making me realize that it was a massive missed opportunity in Omniverse to not have Psychobos' demeanor do a complete 180 around the people he works with compared to everyone else (whether sincere or a thinly-veiled manipulation tactic) if not solely for a few jokes. Especially him acting like an affectionate father figure towards Malware (whether he likes it or not) solely so he can rub it in Azmuth's face that "I'm a FAR more attentive and caring parental figure towards your creation than YOU ever were, and I use the term loosely".
WHAT DO YOU MEAN DJW SAID 'TEAM UP SLUT' HAHAH WHAT!? dear god it's true it's on the wiki what the fuck what the fuck assdfjhghsdlfkgfkl-!
I mean, look at his already canon group; Khyber, allegedly the greatest huntsman in the galaxy, teaming up with Dr Psychobos to make a little watch that can sample (specifically predatory) animals; and Malware, a technology absorbing mutant mechamorph, working with the cybernetically enhanced (also listed as a mutant???) cerebrocrustacean in order to make said watch- if liking the concept of animals and incorporating machines as part of oneself is enough to get into Dr Psychobos' clique well, he's certainly stretched what that means far enough to at least snag two others into his initial team up. Same can't be said for Attea and the incurseans which seems to be more of a sponsor type relationship, and Maltruant commissioned him to repair his body but violated the trade agreement so whether or not Psychobos would do business with the incurseans again, he's already squarely sequestered Maltruant in the outest of out-groups :P
Hah, the 'Dr Psychobos adopting Malware specifically to stick it to Azmuth' bit reminded me of a signing-the-adoption-papers version of the 'I throw my used car batteries in the ocean' thing- something along the lines of; [psychobos voice] "You are the most calamitous individual I have had the pleasure of meeting, and I use the term loosely." [malware voice, threateningly] "I have devoured and absorbed the specs of the Omnitrix." [psychobos signing adoption papers] [malware, experiencing the affects of cerebrocrustacean in-grouping and having no frame of reference on how to deal with it] "What the fuck is happening-"
gang i have to share this P. G. Wodehouse quote with you all because ever since I found it I can't stop thinking about it. it's from a letter he wrote when he was 78 years old to his friend Guy Bolton (many thanks to P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in Letters)
I have been on the sick list myself, but am better now. Inflamed bladder or chill on the bladder or something, the symptoms being agony when I passed water, as the expression is. It brought back the brave old days when I used to get clap.
he really said "yeah the pain from my bladder issue reminds of the days when I used to have so much sex I repeatedly got venereal disease"
@windchaser: the heart ( or is it a bell ? ) in his chest hammers in his ears , setting his teeth on edge , each pearl tremorous and sending vibrations outwards , shaking just beneath the first layer of his skin until that too grows quiet and still , not in peace or any true absence of sound or movement , but in the way that one goes deaf over time , or the way an inexperienced rider's legs grow numb . each breath is effortful , shallow when he tries for deep , more inhales than exhales , and it's silly , all of this comparison : after all , there isn't and hasn't been any life in his chest for a long time , no need to draw breath and risk someone hearing , and despite how real the threat feels , the walls seeming to enclose around both of them like a tomb , his tomb , any actual danger lies just beyond their only exit . it is all in his head .
he knows this . he knows this , and yet —
the edges of his vision begins to dim like the mouth of a tunnel , and with the slightest buckle of his legs , he slumps forward , head pressing into the wall just over talon's shoulder for support as he squeezes his eyes shut . this , however , is as effective as trading one closed space for only a slightly less closed place , but his hand , trembling against the wall , contracts , and it is almost grip-like , almost reaching , and is stopped only by the stone that claws embed themselves in . he will take whatever he can , he thinks , or at least it must be him thinking , for who else would it be thinking this thought , this thought that rises to the top of his mind like the air bubbles of one drowning . there's a something of a sigh , more like a quick puff of air , and he deflates ; his neck gives in to the heavy , weak lean of his head , slipping from the wall and lolling upon talon's shoulder . it is unclear whether or not he fully or at all registers this contact , a touch that would appear intimate if drawn from any other context . the way his claws dig further into the wall could mean anything .
Eyes alight with adrenaline dart about the confined crawlspace the unlikely duo had taken cover in. With the threats lurking just outside of the makeshift cover, not even the shadows seem trustworthy in their cool embrace. A worn boot gets shuffled further away from the band of light that acted as the border between false safety and hellish peril. The slow, even breaths moving their frame did not match the wild rhythm trapped behind their ribs.
It was eventual that their paths would cross with the worst creatures the bowels of Hell could regurgitate into this humble, dusty world. The gunslinger at least was smart enough to know when his match was met, seeing as he went for cover rather than try his luck with the mess of brimstone and bone that was making its way through whatever was left of this unfortunate settlement. And if the situation weren't so dire, Talon could have conjured some words to compare this fact to how not even that sense of his had helped the dead man from not being stuck with this state. Or how he should put the same train of thought toward this doomed quest to stop the Harbingers…
It wasn't the heavenly glow of their blasted feathers desperately trying to be hidden from sight, nor the stink of their brimstone, that worried Talon on the effectiveness of their hiding from the monstrosity that needn't fret over one haunted man and a poor excuse of a demon. When they're certain that there was nothing else creeping just beyond their vision, Talon's hat lifts so that their eyes of embers could next see what their soulful associate made of their situation, only for brows plastered with blonde strands and drenched in salt and grime to crease at his struggle.
But they know what it is; so close stuck between those cobbled walls they can feel the trembling and hear the hitched breathing searching for receding air. They know, because there was only one other time they've ever seen him in such a state. When the wooden beams had collapsed and there was more smoke than sense in the air.
The realisation feels like a veil lifted from their eyes, but it's of no help when Yone lurches forward. Toward them. Locked into place with lungs constricting and veins tensing, Talon waits for the blow that has been threatened all too many times before. The one given to the demons he's hunted down again and again, only waiting for the hellspawn's guard to drop even slightly to be his opening.
Trapped between his face and that reaching hand, they brace for the worst.
Only for the sound of scraping gravel, and a pitiful exhale, to wring them back into the present instead of their fearful, fictional scenarios. Strands of white settle over their shoulder and they dare not move - cannot move - as the gunslingers head finds their shoulder to lean on instead; Their protruding feathers, ruffled from the situation, act as a far softer pillow than their clammy skin or rigid brimstone. Eyes as wide and glistening as coins do not blink as he remains in this resting place. Every follicle of hair and keratin stood on end. Their own hands finding purchase in the wall to their back to help with the added weight upon them. Even as clear as it is, that he is in no state to scheme, there is still hesitance stemming from the demon's unease.
Focus ticks from features hidden away in cascading locks to the extended hand enclosing them, and finally to over the gunslinger's shoulders into that blinding light beyond their hiding spot. The grumblings of an old nature is cold to his woes of being stuck in such an enclosed space, urging Talon to save themself before he brings them down with his folly. And the thing with a pulse cannot help but wonder why he sought comfort in their presence. If it was even a passing thought...
Thankfully, time is of the essence, and as the rumbling danger quietens, Talon knows that the small, fleeting window of opportunity is an unforgiving one.
Their neck, which had craned away from the other's head, now leans their own toward his ear until the rim of hats meet.
Words as quiet as a blade through the air slither from their tongue, hot breath disturbing the fine hairs shielding the other from sight,
"Stay with me, gunslinger." Gingerly, their own claws find his shoulder and take a hold of his coat. Not to move him - in fact they aren't too sure why at all. This wasn't the time to help gather strength to push through his fear, nor resolve what clutched at his heart. But then, when would it ever be?
Certainly never if they didn't leave this cranny.
Talon holds then, expecting the very walls enclosing them to be torn through at any moment. But when their fears are once again left wanting, they return their focus to Yone with another attempt to rouse him. The bed of feathers beneath him being pushed upward, encouraging that he rises.
"You need to be here in the waking moment. This interstice ain't our grave." Their worn, silvered tongue promises no plan against the doom lingering just out of sight. But despite every dispute and argument against their chances, they were going to need to face it together to have any hope in hell.
Here's Compost! She's my Trubbish bag that I made cuz I love Trubbish. They aren't in the pic but she also has little feet!
Also wanted to show off the pins on the strap. I've got a ton more, but these are the ones I like to go out with. Also, I made the Gear Station icon, bug type icon, and bolt badge pins!
So the lovely @haahka and I were talking about Tay and how it's a bit sad that the fandom only ever seems to send him on shopping tours or focus on his fashion (you guys know that I'm obsessed with the KinnPorsche Fashion myself, but it's just a little...unadventurous, you know).
And then I got waaay to deep into headcanons with the equally lovely @tumsa (I'm not even sorry for the spam 😌❤).
Now, there are two things I want to do: first, I'd love to hear more Tay headcanons - feel free to throw them at me (as an ask, in the tags, added to this post, whatever you prefer). Because I'm really curious. 👀
And second, I'm going to share a few of mine:
Tay is way more capable than anyone thinks. (But no one needs to know that.)
People treat Tay like a princess within the show - I mean, he isn't even allowed to help in the kitchen at Porsche's. But I don't think Tay IS a princess. I think it's a protective façade. Because letting oneself be underestimated is a (survival) strategy in a world of money and constant power struggle, and a smart one at that. Yes, Tay is really good at reading people in general, but I also feel like people tend to let their guard down around him. Because he's kind, and understanding, and compassionate - and he seems harmless, a bit spoiled even. His 'softness' puts people at ease, makes them talk, makes them more honest than they probably should be. He's not a threat after all. I bet he knows a lot of things he shouldn't. I bet he's smart enough to use that knowledge (to help other people, to help himself, if needed). And I bet Tay could be fucking dangerous if he ever chose to (and wouldn't that be exciting 👀).
I also like to think that Tay has a strong survival instinct that goes beyond 'pretending to be incapable'. He and Kinn have been friends for ages, their families know each other, he basically grew up surrounded by mafia. He probably witnessed Tankhun's kidnapping back in the day. The horror and trauma of it. Tay's family is rich. He's close to the Theerapanyakuls. To the future head of the family. But he DOESN'T have an army of bodyguards following him around. And the downside of 'being harmless' is looking like an easy victim. Tay is too smart to be unprepared. So in my headcanon he knows how to handle a crisis, knows how to deal with danger, knows how to survive. Knows how to get out of the country quickly, how to get money without leaving a trail, how to get an unregistered gun. How to land a mean punch even though he hates it, how to apply (good) first aid EVEN THOUGH HE HATES IT. (I do think that he really isn't a fan of physical stuff, so the princess image is not completely off. Or, well, he lets it work in his favour.)
Tay's reaction to being hurt, being really hurt, is to shut his emotions down completely.
I don't enjoy how Tay's often written as dramatic and over-emotional in his confrontations with Time after what happened at Hum Bar. He isn't sober when he catches his boyfriend shoving his tongue down another man's throat, and well, his boyfriend is shoving his tongue down another man's throat. So of course he's fucking angry. And emotional. Right then and there. But the thing is, Tay had time to think, time to cool off in those other confrontations. And that's just the way to describe Tay's demeanor then: cool, cold, like ice. I like to think that he just freezes over. Turns into a statue of neutral disinterest. Just imagine: someone like Tay, always so kind and compassionate, staring you down with an expressionless face, not reacting to anything you say, looking close to fucking bored. Imagine what that would do to Time, always so full of himself, always so used to getting reactions out of Tay. Walking straight into a wall of ice. Completely out of his element. Really forced to put the work in for once. And it truly is hard work to break through to Tay once he closes his feelings off from you. A little bit of grovelling might be necessary. (That said, dealing with his emotions like that isn't good for Tay either. Of course not.)
There's...'something' between Tay and Vegas, some kind of understanding
I never got over TAY asking after Vegas in the final episode. Or the way Tay watches Vegas as he passes him during the auction. So I'm having a lot of fun wondering about the 'relationship' between Tay and Vegas, or how potential interactions could have gone down.
I mean, Tay 'belongs' to Kinn. We know that Vegas wants everything that belongs to Kinn (I bet he thinks Kinn must have fucked a pretty boy like that at least once. Even though it's not his usual type. Why else would he stick around?). Tay's caring and understanding. We know how Vegas can react...to something like that. (Not him falling in love after one free therapy session or something like that.) Tay is really good at reading people, he is really good at reading Kinn. And we know Vegas is not so different from Kinn (in some ways), even though he would murder anyone suggesting something like that to his face. Or maybe that's exactly what Tay does. Telling that to his face. As Vegas tries to seduce him, in the earlier days. But Tay doesn't try to wound him with that, to be cruel or mean, it's just an observation, spoken in that calm and understanding tone of his. And a younger Vegas is so shocked by that statement that he just...stops? And stares at Tay who just keeps going with that warm look in his eyes and those observations that hit a little too close to home until he can't take it anymore and turns on his heel to...definitely NOT run away like a dog with his tail between his legs.
Vegas keeps his distance after that. That princess isn't worth the effort, he tells himself. Or maybe he doesn't. Maybe he stops trying to seduce Tay, yes. But they end up talking again. And again. Because Vegas desperately needs to know what Tay meant with those things he said. And there's just... something about their conversations that keeps Vegas coming back. Until (stealing some thoughts from @tumsa here <3) Tay tries to convince Vegas that the competition between him and Kinn is dumb. Vegas does keep his distance, then.
And Tay gives up trying to help, trying to make him see how futile all of this is because it's clear Vegas won't listen to anyone but his father. But he still cares about Vegas, and seeing all the things Vegas does to himself without realising, seeing that ever-growing self-destructive obsession with Kinn sits like a leaden ball in Tay's stomach. The knowledge that he can't do anything to help is a bit like its own form of torture.
Anyways, (stealing again from @tumsa) Tay definitely ends up going to the hospital to visit Vegas. In secret, of course. And seeing Vegas and Pete together, seeing Vegas being changed by love, seeing him try to be a better person for Pete, putting all this effort in to make it work - maybe all of this forces Tay to reflect on his own love life for once. To reflect on the things he wants. The things he deserves, after all.
Nearly everyone had a crush on Tay, one time or another
You guys know the thing we do with Vegas? Like how VegasPete is the holy grail of endgame ships but it's so much fucking fun to ship Vegas with everyone and to imagine all his possible encounters and escapades? Because he's manipulation, seduction and psychological issues stacked on top of each other and wrapped in a velvet shirt?
Well. I like to do the same thing with Tay. For more or less opposite reasons. Because he's understanding and warm and compassionate and smart (and really pretty). In a world full of violence and trauma and repressed emotions, only sharp edges. I mean, who wouldn't crave the warmth, who wouldn't want to bathe in the sunlight for a while? I'm pretty sure people are falling en masse for Tay. And I think Tay doesn't always know how to handle it. Or genuinely doesn't realise what kind of effect he has on those poor bastards for doing nothing more than showing them a bit of kindness. Or maybe he's simply choosing to ignore it because he only has eyes for one person and one person alone.
Anyways, a lot of fun directions to go with this last headcanon for now. (And I'm keeping it intentionally vague and without examples because otherwise, this would turn into a multichapter fanfic I don't have time to write just now. 🤡)
hello! first of all, i love the concept of an illustration tournament! all of the illustrations add a more in depth feeling to doyle's stories, and there's something about those crisp lines. it's wonderful good to see there's someone engaging with them and taking the time for this poll! i myself have been looking for different illustrations of hutchinson's and paget's but i haven't found any good scans like the ones you post on your page. i was wondering if they were your scans or perhaps you had found them somewhere? i would love to know where to find them! cheers!
hi! thank you so much!! i really do think the illustrations are such an important element of the stories and it has been so cool to see how much fun people are having with the tournament <3
i definitely dont have any original scans unfortunately (i do have a 1912 strand annual at home but alas, no holmes stories that year 😔) but i have a few sources i got illustrations for the bracket from, plus just editing/cleaning up what i could of the ones that i couldnt find in better quality. i'v said a bit of this before but i havent actually gone through with links/explanations so:
Sources for Holmes Illustrations
Wikisource-UK Strand Holmes Portal - missing most of the Return collection for some reason, but a great source for Adventures, Memoirs, and Casebook, plus HOUN. generally good quality resolution but a bunch are edited to have transparent backgrounds which can be annoying depending on how you're trying to use it. (probably your best bet if you love those crisp-lined paget ones from Memoirs, which are also a lot of my favourites dskfdk)
And then more generally you can find a lot of stuff just clicking around the individual stories' pages on wikisource and wikimedia commons, im not gonna link to all those for the sake of brevity but theyre easy to find
ACD Encyclopedia - im linking directly to STUD so you can see the page format but at the bottom of each story's page is a more or less full list of known illustrations, these are not always great quality but its a good place for reference and there are a few where this was the only source i could find at all (the Steele piece for DYIN comes to mind)
Archive.org: Strand // Collier's // Hearst's Intl etc .
The strand scans are pretty comprehensive but vary wildly in quality from some of the best ive found to ones so covered in moiree artifacts that they were not even salvagable. But especially for the later stories with Wiles and Elcock, it was often the only reliable source. Collier's is missing a lot of issues but you can sometimes find things and at least the covers are usually good. Hearst's i can only find for 1923 but its a rly good scan so if anyone can find the 21, 22, and 24 from the same source im 👀.
and I have had no luck at all locating online resources for the other magazines but i love seeing the pages in their original context so im kind of passively looking all the time lmao
I thinkk that covers where i got everything, obviously its been a while since i was doing all this so i might have missed something and there may be other places i never found, but these were the major sources i used at the time. Im not sure if this will help with Hutchinson since i was focusing on first publications only and im pretty sure he was only on book collections iirc? But i think his are on wikimedia at least.
On one hand, I want a final fantasy 6 remake, because the game is criminally underrated and the amount of fan content (which is all absolutely fantastic btw) is Not Enough for my neurodivergent, hyperfixating brain.
On the other hand, that would inevitably encourage more people to join the fandom, which would be great, except it seems these days the bigger a fandom gets the more toxic it becomes, and I really like what we have going on over here in our little corner. We all just love the game and its characters and nobody fights about who should and shouldn't date who or who you shouldn't like because they're ~problematique~. Nobody's trying to make one ship morally better than another, nobody's calling anyone names or threatening to doxx people who don't agree with their opinions. It's so peaceful and I love that for us. We're just vibing. Moisturized. Unbothered. In our lane. Flourishing.
literally going to cry on the floor about how much i love schmidty i am completely Fine watching cloverfield again was FINE i am NORMAL and reasonable about this character
look at him he is MISERABLE and looks like hes going to throw up and GORGEOUS!!!
i am not at all stuffing him inside my ribcage to protect him forever and ever