#different compositions and poses and expressions

[bemorch]

Tags by @vaguely-concerned

I’ve had a lot of people point out the easter eggs in these (the andraste’s grace, the portraits, the books, etc.), but this is the first time someone actually gets the more abstract messaging 100% right wow

I’ll take this chance to elaborate on the ideas in this a bit because I think the differences between their politics, the ways they view the chant, and their relationships, shape the way (I think) they would choose to depict themselves in a portrait.

Long text under the cut:

Starting with Cassandra, she's a character driven by duty and purpose, which extends to her interpretation of the chant. She views the Chantry as a means to a righteous, just and devoted society (although her interpretation of “justice” might not align with everyone else's). She is more than willing to go against the tide if she sees a violation of what she deems a fair system, even if that turns the world against her. 

These traits are self-evident in the letter Leliana “Nightingale” sends her after the death of Divine Beatrix III:

«“I know that the Most Holy has spoken to you, Cassandra” the letter stated. “She wishes you to be her Right Hand, to serve her as you did the Divine before. What she considers is necessary, yet dangerous. (...) My own agents have watched as you perform your duties. You pursue your own missions for the Seekers with less vigor than you once did. You question more often, show compassion that would get you in trouble if they knew of it, and you rage at injustice that has become more and more obvious to those of us with eyes. I welcome the opportunity for us to work together in what shall surely be our most trying hours”». (The World of Thedas II, p. 223)

This, though, also reveals the differences between the way she and Leliana served as Divine Justinia V’s right and left hand respectively, and most importantly, their relationships to her (which I’ll get to later).

Cassandra is, above all, a soldier. This does not diminish her faithfulness, on the contrary, her belief in the chant is what fuels her morals and principles, and what she sees as her duty as a warrior. This is what made her rise to the position of Right Hand of Divine Beatrix III, it wasn’t only her feats -overthrowing the assassination plot against the Divine, slaying the magically controlled dragons (a feat that she herself insists doesn’t belong exclusively to her) - but her resolve to do so. As she herself puts it in a report to her Seeker superiors: “Yes, I was indeed there when the Grand Cathedral was attacked, and I fought with every ounce of my strength to protect the Divine. (...) I was willing to die to protect Most Holy, it’s true, and I almost did die. But fighting against such evil is my sworn duty.” (World of Thedas II, p. 221) .

This, I believe, would all be reflected in her Official Divine portrait: 

Full armor, of course, not only as an expression of her history as a soldier (which, although lessened, doesn’t end with her appointment as Divine), but also as an extension of her metaphorical armor. Cassandra, although incredibly genuine and honest, is a woman who’s surrounded herself with emotional walls.

A powerful pose, as a way to show authority, strength and discipline, but within eye-level as to not show an arrogant sense of superiority.

Little to no personal decoration. She’s a blunt, no-nonsense person, she doesn’t see the point in displaying her own life in an official portrait where everyone can see it. With the exception of a small portrait of divine Justinia, of course, and “The tale of the Champion” (whether the last one was left "in-frame" on purpose or not, I’ll leave to your interpretation).

Strong Chantry imagery: the drapes, the banner… She does not play the Game or care much for it, so subtle messaging through objects, composition, colors, etc. would not be much of a concern for her (she would probably see the need of a portrait at all as vain). When asked how she’d like to be painted, she’d probably give an exasperated “I do not care, just get this over with” kind of response. By relegating the task to her advisors though, subtle class imagery would sneak in the painting: the orlesian, purple cloth, representing a superior wealth/social status. This would also symbolize how one of her best attributes can be one of her worst: her straightforwardness, and lack of tolerance for nonsense (in this case, noble’s machinations), would make her vulnerable to camouflaged manipulation/influence.

Her portrait heavily contrasts with both Leliana’s and Vivienne’s, because, although each does so from the other side of the political spectrum, both of them skillfully play the Game, even through their portraits. Cassandra’s, on the other hand, has an either boring or refreshing (depending on who you ask) sincerity in her plain depiction of herself.

Continuing with the Left Hand of the Divine; Leliana, despite fulfilling her role next to Cassandra for many years, plays her cards in a completely different way. Shamelessly quoting the Thedas Revolutions wiki: “If the Right Hand of the Divine is her blade in hand, then the Divine’s Left Hand is the one concealed in her sleeve”.

(I’ll be talking exclusively about a softened Leliana here, so as not to overextend this analysis).

Where Cassandra is blunt and inflexible, Leliana is sly and open-minded. While Cassandra does not give nobles the time of day, Leliana, as a former bard, revels in playing their game. Cassandra will rush to the direct and short path, even if more dangerous, while Leliana will take her time finding a roundabout (literally).

Leliana’s devotion to the Maker is, in my opinion, no greater or lesser than Cassandra’s, but it is more unconventional. Even ignoring her “vision” during the events of Origins, her interpretation of the chant of light is not one shared by many. As she explains in Inquisition, when asked about her plans if she were to become Divine: «The Chantry dictated where it should have inspired. It spoke of judgement instead of acceptance. It should encourage the good in everyone, rather than rebuke us for our sins. No one should be turned away from our doors. No one is without worth. Whoever you are, whatever your mistakes, you are loved. Unconditionally. “In your heart shall burn an unquenchable flame.”». She is, to some degree, something of a heretic.  And yet, her devotion to her faith is undeniable.

Her portrait shows these same characteristics:

An approachable look: as @/vaguely-concerned eloquently put it, “I am here with you in this private space, you can tell me everything, I will understand”. From her pose, sitting down in a comfortable chair, looking at the viewer in the eyes, to the space she’s in: a simple, homey room.

Personal decorations: the lute, the portraits, the flower, and the amulet. All to portray vulnerability and connect to the viewer. Even the nug, Schmooples II, is an attempt to seem friendly. I mean, a Divine with such a “dirty” and common animal as a pet? Wow, she's just like me! This, although no less genuine, is a very calculated way to depict herself. She won’t reveal any real secrets or weaknesses of course. If Cassandra’s straightforwardness is both a strength and a fault, Leliana’s scheming can be as well. A person like her, so in love with playing the Game, can get lost in her own machinations even in front of a clear-cut solution.

Even though her priority here is to connect with the viewer -the world-, she is still very much a servant of the Maker -of the Chantry- shown through the Grand Cathedral visible through the window. She serves the people through the Chantry, and the Chantry through the people.

This is a new era for the Chantry, one where everyone’s welcome (“elves, dwarves, even qunari.”), one rid of archaic conventions of what means to be faithful. What better way to show this than with a portrait of the Divine’s elven lover displayed on her official portrait? (I am aware this only applies to a very specific worldstate).

A robe made of beautiful materials and textiles. Elegant and ornamental, but not a vulgar display of wealth. A nod to her love for shoes, fashion, and orlesian customs.

And, of course, a portrait of Divine Justina as well. The position, size and context is different from Cassandra’s as a way to highlight the aforementioned differences between their relationships with Dorothea. In Leliana’s case, the portrait is big, hanged in a high, visible place, just above her, as if watching over her. She was, as she herself says, the one who “saved her”, and who motivated her to dedicate herself to the Chantry. Cassandra, on the other hand, even though devoted to Justinia, had a far more superficial connection with her, more by duty than by affection. She even admits it in a series of banters with Sera:

“Sera: You better yet, Cassandra? Can you tell me what she was like? Cassandra: Who? Oh, the Divine? Yes, I'm sorry. I'm not used to such... unorthodox displays of faith. Most Holy was a visionary. I served as her Right Hand, and would have done so as long as she needed me. Sera: But you didn't know her. Cassandra: I just said, I served as her Right Hand. Sera: Fine, whatever. I'll ask Leliana. You can tell there was something with those two. Family pain, there.” “Cassandra: I... You were right, Sera. I find I did not know Justinia at all. Sera: Shame, right? She was pretty.”

This is why, even though she was an equally influential figure in Cassandra’s life, her portrait is smaller, less visible, looking in the opposite direction as her. They worked together, she would’ve sacrificed herself to save her life, but they didn’t really know each other.

And lastly we have Vivienne, equally subversive as she is conservative. The first mage Divine, but also the most traditional out of the three candidates. A deeply complicated woman.

I find that Vivienne is often misrepresented in fandom spaces, oversimplified as just "the conservative mage". She's not afforded the same complexities as her mage peers, for whatever reason (I think we both know the reason). The thing is, Vivienne loves control, loves power plays, but her politics on mage freedom don't come from that, but from a genuine wish to protect her fellow mages. She is, in my opinion, one of the characters most empathetic to mages, even if her ideas of what's best for them are widely different from most. Even if subtle, her reaction to finding the rebel mages left the tranquil behind (and were subsequently used by the venatori to make the ocularum) is one of absolute outrage. Her worry for mages doesn’t end with the “useful” ones, so it’s not about controlling a potential asset, it extends to those most overlooked by the Templars, the Chantry and the rebels.

I’d divide Vivienne's opinionated dialogue in 3 layers:

Her opinion is backed by rational arguments, she’s sincere about what she's saying.

Despite her arguments being factually true, her opinion is motivated by emotional ones. As in, her real reasoning would be indefensible, so she disguises it with a factual argument. The tried and true method used by real life conservatives. (She *is* nicknamed the iron lady, an alias for a real-life certain someone…)

Although at first glance, it might appear that she's using the strategy from the previous point, she genuinely believes what she's saying. So like layer 1, but with the cadence & condescending language she would use for nº2.

The fun part of her portrait is figuring which parts of it belong to which layer:

The mirror: either a representation or her arrogance/narcissism, or a symbol of watching one's back. She is in fact in a very delicate position. Not to repeat myself too much, but Vivienne's greater strength, her ability to take the bourgeois’ wants and desires and twist them into power for herself, is a double-edged sword; her loyalties are fragile, she has to align herself with their interests lest she lose influence. She has (almost) no truly loyal allies.

Reading the chants of light, a so on the nose depiction of her faithfulness, you wouldn't be wrong to think she's making fun of you. I also wonder to what extent she is religious, this could be a facade just to gain power in a world where religion is at the top of the pyramid. (I strongly doubt that is the case, but I do think she’s not as religious as she would make herself seem). Again, she's in a very very difficult situation as the first mage divine, so she has to do everything perfectly. Any slip, no matter how small, could be fatal.

Three colors: blue, red and green. The blue is a symbol of class, and her life among the orlesian nobility (she does love their decor). The red, a symbol of the chantry, this one's pretty straightforward. And then, almost hidden, the green circle tomes. Both a throwback to her first personal quest, and her dedication to the circle.

Gold everywhere. Fully undisguised ostentatiousness. From the purple stool (class symbol), to the mirror, her wand and her clothes. This one is a vulgar display of wealth, but a very intentional one. If Leliana appeals to the farmer, Vivienne does to the noble.

Anyways, that's about it, I don't really have a big conclusion here beyond the fact that all three Divines are different enough to be interesting on their own, and similar enough to complement each other. This is even further driven home by their canon portraits clothes colors: Cassandra has red and black, Leliana has white and red, and Vivienne has white and black. All of them share one color with each of the other two candidates, with gold as the unifying color.

Thanks for reading if you got this far, and thanks to everyone's tags on this post (and every post I make), I rarely reply, but I read them all :)

The three Divines

Prints available here

[bramblesnbones]

Closer

[wereh0gz]

Anyways look at what I was drawing when the story teaser came out

[imaginariumnexus]

Your 3d models are really cool! Susan and Molly look beautiful :-)

Thank you so much! I can't take all the credit-- the models themselves are purchased from the Daz Studio site and are made by the wonderful artists selling in the marketplace there. I just play around with them until they have the look I want and render them!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hello Miss Raven! I hope you're doing well. I wanted to ask.. About the new Vil's Birthday Grooovy. I'm curious about your thoughts since you make analysis for cards as well 😭

I'm so surprised when I just saw it-

I do write the occasional analysis for card illustration (which you can read here and here)! But I usually mark what is and isn't an analysis with tags. Most posts where I discuss card art + groovies are just opinion pieces! What is going ON at Twst HQ… 😭

On one hand, yeah, if you're going to do a sleepwear themed line, it makes sense to have... feet out. It's not like there weren't other scenarios where it made sense to have exposed feet. Leona has them out in his school uniform outfit all the time, the Scarabia dorm uniforms have sandals, the Beachwear boys and Silk Adorned boys had sandals as well. I think the difference for me is that in most of these cases, the footwear was not visible in their card art. The only exceptions are the initial artwork for Beachwear Floyd and Lilia + Silk Adorned Vil--but even then, they weren't egregious because Floyd's feet are blurred/out of focus, Lilia's are off to the left of the art and not front and center, and Vil's toes were cut off in the shot. Not the case for Relax in Room Floyd and Vil 💦 They're... very much there in full, centered and pretty detailed. It's a new angle for Twst, so it's very jarring.

Vil is a character that has extensive routines, which do involve yoga. So... in-universe, this composition for his groovy makes sense for him. The pose could have been something else for sure, but 💦 I'm sure some people must like this...? (Otherwise why would Twst make multiple of these?) But it's definitely not for me.

Feet aside, I was very shocked by. The Vil boobage 💀 It's not that his physique is different than what I thought it was (he takes care of himself and is clearly fit), I just... I DUNNO, IT'S SO DARING TO HAVE'M OUT LIKE THAT. (<- possessed by the spirit of Rollo) I know it's not the only time; his Luxe Couture outfit was low-cut too (and even his Beans Camo was pretty tight) sbdkhyuasareora I'm not used to it, I guess...

The suddenly detailed teeth, dramatically scattering the (fake) money, fucking expression… IT REAALLY iS THE SAME ENERGY 🫣

SO MANY TIMES… *clenches fist like Arthur*

I checked again and I think the count is closer to 4?? Ace and Trey I can kind of excuse since their feet aren't in the center of their artworks, but Floyd and Vil traumatized me OTL

Yeah, I've seen many Kakegurui jokes around Azul's Clubwear groovy... (One of them is right above this ask!) abhlafbaefiygriygina NOT IDIA ACTING LIKE A FUCKING DEVASTATED ANIME CHARACTER WHEN HE'S LOST AT A CHILDREN'S CARD GAME. I can practically hear his wailing and Azuk's gloating... Guys, calm down 💀 It's MONOPOLY. ... Side note, how the heck is all of Idia's hair fitting into that hood. Does the inside of that hood warp space and time or something???

Aaaahhh 💦 Thank you for checking in on me! I didn't want to make a big deal of it; the announcement was just meant to be a little bit of a blog update + explanation of where I'd be for a while--but I appreciate all the well wishes people have been sending in. Trying to not think too much about the areas they operated on! I think when I do, the discomfort flares www

[purin-gambler]

there was nothing more suna loved than to take photos of his chubby love. with photography as his full time profession, you would be the main subject captured first in his heart, then captured to his lense. his vision of his love for you reflected in the imagery he takes of you.

never once had he pressured you. always understanding whether or not you felt picture ready in the moment. though he wants nothing more than to show the world your beauty, in your most rawest form to your most dolled up. and the times you do agree, his choices of composition, his use of following and breaking all dynamics in the principles of photography, as well as the incredible way he executes your perfection is not just derived from skill, but his wholehearted love for you.

the way hed take time, shifting in all sorts of silly and uncomfortable positions just to find the lighting that best highlights the doughy goodness of your body. shuffling around more to get an angle that doesnt shadow away your supple parts he loves so much. he looks ridiculous, especially in public. but he’ll take the light humiliation if it means you get to shine in return. the results always awed you both, so of course— it was worth it.

though his own guilty pleasure? gifting you outfits hed love for you to do mini photoshoots in, taking perspective pov shots— just to get close to you while posed and dressed up, and making sets for you in his personal studio or just in your shared home. because to his eyes, you are every lovely definition and more. not just as his muse, but as his girlfriend, his most cherished love, and his other half.

he could gush for hours over the way you stole his heart, and how he greedily gate keeps yours. every time he saw your smile as you laughed and chatted his ears off, every time you groggily woke up beside him, every time he saw you in ways you trusted no one else besides him to.

it almost frustrates him that your beautiful expressions cant be fully grasped by the digital pixels created by a photo. no matter how good the camera or his skills are. your smile on film would never live up to the radiant way you shine in person. but hes a greedy man, so he feels a sense of pride knowing he could see your smile youve given him in its truest form. with you right beside him, and its all for himself.

through his eyes alone, he had been entranced since day one. and he feels so damn luckily he can be the one to show you off to the world through his loving gaze.

hence the number of photos of you, the reason a photo of you and him are front and center on his booking website, and why his portfolio is full of his best work— a large percentage of it involving you.

and when it comes back to the individual photos hes taken— each capture, even if accidentally blurred from an unmatched shutter speed, or caught too off guard— still meant so much to him. back to the times youve agreed to take part in his more professional work, suna would always make it a point not to bother with heavily editing the photos. wanting highlight what makes you so one of a kind. with your blemishes and your so called ‘imperfections’ that only made so much more real to him, unlike the images seen in magazines or online.

he treasures you, and has seen you in so many different ways unlike no other. through each moment outside of still imagery, he will always highly regard you as a person he so dearly loves. shined in his work and through his own two orbs— you as a whole became his muse and center of his world.

[astaroth1357]

A Brutally Honest Description of How Each Brother SHOULD Text Each Other

Lucifer

That bitch who corrects your grammar and typos.

"Is it 'who' or 'whom,' MC? You can do better."

Always formal, full sentences, good punctuation, with little typos.

Only changes when he's solo texting Diavolo where suddenly they're sending each other text spam and multiple emojis like gossiping schoolgirls.

Mammon

I swear, his texts should be basically unreadable. Not because he can't write, but because he never reads over for mistakes before hitting send.

Typos, misspellings, missing words, the whole works. Sending messages through only emojis would arguably be more coherent.

Very big fan of voice chat because his brothers make fun of his illegible texts.

Only person who can reliably decipher whatever he says and never gets on his case about it is, surprisely, Lucifer. But he's had to read it for so many years that he barely even notices the flaws anymore. His mind fills in the gaps.

Levi

VERY BIG FAN OF ALL CAPS but to express excitement.

Could write you a novel but will send you an internet link to what he's talking about instead.

Sends random sentence fragments when too excited because his thumbs get away from him and he'll accidently hit "Send" twelve times in a row.

Texts exactly how he speaks. Included his many Levia-isms which are just keyboard smashes or random ass onomatopoeia like "bluforgal"

Satan

ANOTHER BIG FAN OF ALL CAPS because to express ANGER.

Can write you a novel. Will write you a novel. And will squeeze it all into one or two texts max.

Run-on sentences galore. Man has never met a comma he doesn't immediately take in like a starving Victorian orphan.

Likes taking aesthetic pictures of his books, coffee, rain, and cats. Mostly cats. You would think he has to immediately report each one he sees to MC like an endangered species.

Asmo

The living god of emojis. He has ones downloaded that you've never even imagined before. Incredibly hyper-specific ones like "man bent over stop sign puking on ground."

The kind of person who will ALWAYS answer the questions "How are you" or "Where are you" with an immediate selfie. Even in the tub.

Comes up with brilliant hot-takes while drunk and spams them at you at 3 in the morning.

While send selfies and aesthetic pics to you first for approval before posting them to Devilgram. He expects detailed critique on image quality, filter usage, pose, composition, lighting-

Beel

I feel like Beel just matches whatever energy you give him, sometimes for no reason.

If you text him: WHAT IS THE GROCERY LIST THIS WEEK? You'll get back:

EGGS.

CHEESE.

TOMATO.

The only big difference is Belphie because those two can send each other messages that are just "Uh-huh." "No." "No way!" for an hour and come away with a complete conversation.

Belphie

Abbreviation king. If he can skip out on writing out the whole word, he'll do it by any means necessary.

Sometimes he doesn't even bother finishing people's names and uses initials like he speaks in code.

"M wnt 2 🛒 store"

"Wtch out, Lu is 😡"

Falls asleep texting often so messages can be perfectly fine one minute, then turn into a garble of letters the next.

Voice chats his dreams to MC like an audio-diary. Since he naps often, they may get 5 to 10 of these rambily messes sent to them a day.

[mellosdrawings]

I'm feeling like rambling about AI on main, ignore me if it's not your cup of tea.

So a while ago, I did check out those art prompts AI, because when I pester about something, I like to know what I'm rambling about. I like to do a minimum of research and, if possible, try the thing out before making my opinion. For AI art, my opinion was already pretty solid, but I still wanted to check it out.

I found a free prompt stuff online, asked it a super easy prompt, and asked for a handful of different images. Just to see.

The prompt was [character tripping]. Really. Super easy, right? I wanted the thing to have as much liberty as possible.

It's not just that though. I chose this prompt because it is something I did in art school. Our teacher would give us simple prompts, and we would have to draw doodles in 5 minutes or less. Imagine a class of 15 exhausted art students full of caffeine being told to draw someone tripping.

The 15 art students' results? Little boys tripping over tree roots, teenage girls falling while rollskating, business men tripping on their papers and burning themselves with coffee, old ladies cracking a hip, comical falls backwards with a leg up, realistic falls forward with pained expressions, etc etc.

See, our fast doodles weren't any better than AI anatomically speaking. We were missing hands and our faces were distorted and a foot was bigger than another, things that are also common with AI. But the DIVERSITY. I remember being flabbergasted by it. We all had the same prompt, but none of us drew the same thing. I remember drawing the good old banana peel slip from the old comics I read when I was a kid. My best friend drew a kid falling in mud.

We did several prompts like that as training, and I always loved to see what everybody was doing, because it was always so different.

Now, here was the AI result: 5 anime girls in a running position at an angle, making shocked pikachu faces. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. The angle and the running poses were the only things that changed, and even then just slightly.

The AI only did 5 times the same stuff. Art style changed a bit from one to the other, but always the same vibe, always the same composition, and always that godsdamned shocked pikachu face. It was very underwhelming.

I don't care about perfect anatomy and lighting. But I care about creativity. I love seeing things that I would never have thought to do myself. And the AI didn't provide that at all. Coz AI has no creativity whatsoever. If you don't further your prompt to be very specific, it will just reheat the same bland stuff again and again. It's just boring.

I have a lot of grievances about AI. Art theft, environmental blunder, artists being paid even less than they already were (as if people and companies suggesting to pay us in visibility wasn't bad enough). But even on an emotional level there's nothing. Yes, it's great to see one's character/idea brought to life when one cannot draw. But it'll be the blandest stuff ever. That's just a shame.

[kaijuparfait]

long ramble of me going through the venom trailer because i am insane totally normal about it

this isn't anything professional, just me spouting out random words as i run around in circles like an excited dog-

OK LET'S GO:

firstly... king please change your clothes its been years, why are you still wearing that exact same outfit???

BUT i am a sucker for the light going over and past Eddie as he walks, i just think it's so cool hehe,,

E: "You should probably know that I have a really dark and unpredictable side to me."

hmmm... i'll believe you. at first, it sounds like he's telling this to Venom, but I wouldn't be surprised if Eddie is telling this to someone else and this "dark and unpredictable side" is Venom.... Or he is telling this to Venom and Eddie just really wants to kill now which. I am ok with that, love that for them, they should be allowed to do what they want

cleanly punching off the lock via the ~ Power of Friendship ~ (or something like that)

not the dogs :( i'm assuming this is a place to hold dogs for like. dog fighting?? i think? which is terrible and those guys deserved to get their heads eaten!

E: "I'm giving you a chance, sweetie."

LET. EDDIE. KILL. everyone say thank you Tom Hardy for being Eddie cause WOAH i am. normal.

V: "Just say "when"." E: "...when."

WE'RE SO BACK its just like the "Mask!" "Copy." bit from the first movie omg we're so back, these two make me ill i love them sm

also Eddie not even flinching at the knife, most likely Venom turning off the pain (or something) but I like to think Eddie's just cool like that (these close ups of Eddie's face makes me wanna do a study on him, just draw him a million times for the fun of it, and i will! Tom Hardy is a beautiful man!)

either venom is fully acting as shoes or Eddie is wear the most busted up pair of crocs i have ever seen and both options are so great. either way- KICK! that guy is GONE you even see him slouched against the wall, surrounded by bricks in a later scene, Venom and Eddie are not messing around this movie!

I- hhhhh. ok. I'm ok. Yeah these two are NOT messing around, Eddie could not care less about these dudes, there is no hesitating, no guilt, no fear in this man's expression AND I LOVE IT <333 GET ANGRY! GET SCARY!!!

AND WE HAVE THE BOI. THERE HE IS!!! the roar sounds different too i think, it's very cool tho, feels like a shrill, higher pitch than i expected but i don't dislike it

let the dogs be free! they immediately start attacking those guys and i love it <3 doggy :3

AND EDDIE IS FIGHTING TOO WOOOOO i need to redraw all of these frame cause WHEW! making me blush with these shot compositions, so good. so much trust, Eddie knows Venom will keep him safe and jumps in! literally! i adore how Venom's head is following him too, it's so creepy, the way it just slithers through the air, I wish to send all my love to the teams who work on Venom, there are so many points from the trailer and the first 2 movies that I wanna dissect, just to point out all his little movements, very fun

speaking of his little movements- squinty eyes :3 and the half venom, half eddie face again! always a win, forever iconic <3

tearing apart this venom scene OK! the little tendrils by Eddie's face, the way they move around is so UGH its so weird and i adore it! This "pose" is also fun because we really get to see the inside of Venom's mouth, most importantly his teeeeeth, in a long, pretty still shot that isn't when his mouth is wide open, the artist in me is loving it

also the team always does an amazing job on just making Venom look alien- the thick veins, the shiny black skin, and the tendrils that are holding up the bad guy split apart, instead of being just one tentacle, very gross, but in a good way

E: "We.. are..-" V: "WE ARE VENOM!" E: "We.. are..-" V: "VENOM!!" E: "No.."

They share one braincell, holy fudge, I love symbrock fjdkslfjsdk

and Eddie just keeps trying! same tone, same level, and Venom is so excited

V: "Oh!"

(I also love these shots because we get a nice close up of how Venom's mouth moves when pronouncing words)

E: "Yeah.. We.." V: "We.." E + V: "are... Venom." E: "...We really need to work on that."

and they get there eventually lmao, the way they say it is so in sync, even the eye movements are the same, how they open wider, and THE VOICES hhhh the voices.,,.. Tom Hardy is such a good. voice actor? in this sense ig.. i am on the ground, pure joy with how Eddie and Venom's voices overlap here

and Venom goes to town! lovely meal <3 getting a meal with the bf <3

I am LOOKING oh my goodness his mouth can open WIDE... normal feelings rn, yup, mhm!

doggy :D dog friends :D also Eddie no shot you stole that guy's shoes lmao??? nice boots tho (as someone who wears cowboy boots often, i would love to see Eddie in a full outfit.. putting that in the drawing idea list...)

V: "DELICIOUS! You take me to all the finest places!"

see! dinner date! :3 I can just hear the smile on Venom, i love when he's happy

and the world's most pathetic wet cat of a man (I say with the upmost affection) is back!

more proof that Eddie is never NOT sweating and that Tom Hardy's Eddie voice has the most confusing accent- i think he's saying

E: "Honey, I don't know."

but he could very well just be stuttering, or maybe he stopped midway and instead said "I need- I don't know." but i'm hoping they're at the point of pet names, go full comic, let Eddie call Venom "love" and "dear" and "my darling"

[Edit- thank you @.bridoesotherjunk for pointing out that he says "I need a Tylenol." i need better listening comprehension i guess??? lol?]

i don't know 100% of the Venom lore, still have tons of comics to read, so i won't talk much about the potential storyline here but- 4 SYMBIOTES!! maybe maybe maybe the Life Foundation Symbiotes... these babies got some funky colors.. they already used the name Riot but these 4 could be Lasher, Phage, Scream and Agony if i pray hard enough, the colors don't match but i can dream!

totally not emotional over this little bit of Venom that was left behind from that one after credits scene trying to bond with a host gently. yup yeah my heart isn't hurting at all!

LET MY BOY GO, HE DID NO WRONG!!!

my favorite local cryptid, what a creature

and he changed! finally! nice shirt tho, buttoned up only part way? the HAIR??? good stuff

fire seems to be a known weakness now, looking at the background, and i can't guess what they're looking up at, Eddie does speed up for it tho. I'm gonna say either a helicopter or something else they're gonna try and jump up to? Venom does go-

V: "OH SHIT"

during this scene so maybe it's one of those Symbiotes from before? Who knows, I could guess a hundred things but idk

THE WATER SCENE!! FROM THAT ONE BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTO TOM HARDY POSTED!!!

Venom in the last bit and Eddie being just himself if the first portion of these clips show that these guys 100% know what they're doing and have some sort of device (shown in the right image) that is capable of doing some crazy damage to Venom! Which! Oh no!!! I enjoy fight scenes underwater tho (Looks at Godzilla), very hyped for this one, I really wanna see how Venom swims. Yeah that sounds a bit weird but like. no way he's swimming like a human, c'mon now

E: "We are living the dream, my friend V: "You mean it?!" E: "NO."

Can't get over Venom's delivery here, he sounds so genuinely, it made me laugh, especially to how exhausted Eddie sounds lmao

LAS VEGAS??? y'all guessed right, they really are gonna get married in vegas,,

Eddie in a suit, HELLO??? my guy is looking snazzy! really tho, he looks so nice a suit, the BLACK AND WHITE suit? perfect. I saw people saying that they hope that Venom is the suit and just. me too..

MRS. CHEN RETURNS omg this cast are all so <333 she is GORGEOUS that dress is beautiful on her AND HER HAIR Mrs. Chen my beloved

Mrs. Chen sounds so happy to see Eddie, and Venom also very excitedly say hi, my heart is going to burst, it is overflowing, this part of the trailer makes me smile so much AND THEN THEY DANCE WITH EACH OTHER!!! I know it's called The Last Dance but I was not expecting a dance with Mrs. Chen??? I am more than ok with this tho, Venom and Mrs. Chen, dancing on the stairs, they look so happy, they're having such a good time i can't, my heart can't take this <3

AND LOOK HOW THEY HOLD HER HANDS.. they... they care about each other so much i'm going to cry in the theaters- no i'm gonna cry NOW.

is that a xenophage i see??? that thing is HUGE HUH??? i fully understand Venom in this (side note, i ADORE how Venom goes "JESUS CHRIST" upon seeing this thing, the line delivery get's better every film, that was so genuine) this design is insane tho, i might spend some time doing a study on it

Toxin is here! YIPPEE!!! love the voice, thought it was Venom for a second the first time i watch this but its pretty good

I have no clue who the people are that are in this tower thing, I've seen a few theories but i ain't embarrassing myself by guessing wrong here lmao

(running out of image spaces sorry!)

in the clip of Venom walking into this lab (?) and then getting violently shot at, is it just me or does Venom seem small? I'm guessing the door is just really big but like. idk maybe i'm just mixing up my Venoms and thinking that he's not as big as I remember

really quick cut of what may be 2 more Symbiotes like the 4 from earlier? maybe they're the same and are just changing colors, maybe they're new, who knows! I love their colors tho, the one on the right (in the clip) looks like it's blue and pink and i think that's cute

Xenophage breaks into this lab, love that for her, she is still terrifying!

E: "We may not make it out of this alive, buddy."

haha what do you mean by that king?

V: "Eddie... the time has come..."

HAHA PAUSE. uhm. he said the same thing last time at the end of Let There Be Carnage and Eddie didn't let him go but, istg, IF THEY DIE AT THE END OF THIS MOVIE. i know its the last of the trilogy BUT THEY DON'T NEED TO DIE, SONY, MARVEL, DON'T DO THIS TO ME. i am going cry violently at the writers... i don't think i will ever stop crying if they die at the end

they're in this busted up helicopter, already intriguing, but when it zooms in on Eddie's face, he's tearing up??? this movie is checking off every emotion, i need to remember to stay hydrated before i go see it, i will cry so much

I don't even think i'll be able to handle just one of them dying, the end of the first movie made me tear up the first time i saw it, and that was before i was as insane about them as i am now, i will be UNWELL in the theater

And last but certainly not least. HORSE VENOM WOOOOOO

the design for this things is insane, i didn't think i'd ever wanna draw a horse in my life but like.. kinda changing my mind ngl (weird detail, Venom horse has hands and feet and not hooves!)

E: "Be honest with me, how fast do you think you can make that thing go, without killing it?" V: "..ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT!"

Venom sounds a bit muffled in this clip which makes it a bit more funny to me, i won't lie. Eddie is hanging on FOR HIS LIFE THOUGH, geez i know he said "how fast" but Eddie gets LAUNCHED OFF VENOM when they go over that cliff. fun reference to the first movie, how Venom grabs onto Eddie as he flies up, like on the motorcycle <3

this horse scene has to be earlier on because Eddie is in The Outfit and is also not wearing shoes??? i refuse to believe he'd put it back on, and in the helicopter-"it is time" clip, Eddie is wearing that white shirt, which looks like the undershirt to the suit (maybe) so the Las Vegas scene happens before them running from the explosion/fire.

oh right, the song that's playing? Space Oddity by David Bowie? yeah it's about an astronaut dying along in space.... which... is not very comforting...

god this trailer makes me so hyped, October cannot come faster i need this movie NOW. please.

man the trailer is kinda confusing, i'm already making guesses on where things happen and what the context could be, but literally anything could happen in this film. there are so many things that just don't make sense yet and it's hurting my brain I JUST WANNA KNOW! are those new Symbiotes or not? What even is the plot? Will Eddie and Venom profess their love to each other? Will Sleeper be real? How many times will this movie make me cry? Only time will tell

...and it's only the first trailer! head so full of thoughts, heart so full of emotions!

[krysmcscience]

Please share/reblog this, I am in a bit of a bind! 😭

Okay, I never actually closed my commissions, but I've adjusted prices and added a bunch of new options, so...here goes nothin'.

As stated, I am in a bit of a bind - existing costs too much, so on top of launching a GoFundMe explaining why, I'm offering 10% off my (already tentative) commission prices on Ko-Fi until May. And, until at least June, I will be doubling the time I spend on a drawing (from two minutes up to four) for every dollar donated via the timed donation commission option!

Kindly note that if you copy-pasta the discount link anywhere else, that discount will still apply for anyone else who clicks it. (Please copy-pasta it somewhere else. I will be so grateful to you for the help in spreading this around.)

QUICK N' DIRTY PRICE BREAKDOWN, FROM SIMPLE N CHEAP TO DETAILED N PRICEY:

Silly lil sprites: $2 sketch > $4 ink > $5 colored > $8 color lineart. You can get 'em BIG for $5 more. (Allows for more and cleaner detail.) ~350px -> ~1000px

Cute n tiny: $3 sketch > $5 ink > $6 color > $10 color lineart. BIG = +$10 ~600px -> ~2000px BIGGER = +$15 ~600px -> ~2500px

Avatars/PFPs: $8 sketch > $13 ink > $15 color > $25 color lineart. BIG = +$10 400px -> 1500px

Framed Busts: $8 sketch > $13 ink > $15 color > $25 color lineart. BIG = +$10 400px -> 1500px

Half-body: $10 sketch > $17 ink > $20 color > $30 color lineart. BIG = +$15 ~1000px -> ~2500px

Full Chibi: $15 sketch > $25 ink > $30 color > $40 color lineart. BIG = +$10 ~800px -> ~2000px

Basic Full-Body: $20 sketch > $30 ink > $35 color > $45 color lineart. BIG = +$20 ~900px -> 3000px +Matching Bust: $6 sketch > $10 ink > $12 color > $20 color lineart. [Discounted from standard rate by ~25%!] BIG = +$10 ~400px -> ~1500px

Full-body: $25 sketch > $35 ink > $40 color > $50 color lineart. BIG = +$30 ~1500px -> 5000px

And if you just wanna help out but still wanna get a fun little something in return, there are the ~Timed Donation Drawings~

For every dollar you send my way with a prompt or character or what have you, I will draw exactly that as fast as I can for four minutes straight (two, after May). And, as you can see from the examples above, I can do quite a lot with that time when I'm not super concerned about pesky things like anatomy and composition! Also I might go crazy overboard and completely forget about time constraints altogether if I like your prompt enough~

And now, potential questions that might come up under the readmore, and my very serious answers to each one:

Q: Why is inking so expensive compared to sketching and coloring? A: Because it takes forever and I hate doing it. :)

Q: Why is colored lineart so expensive? A: Because it's a pain in the ass no matter which way I do it. :) [I either have to have the inking separated into multiple different layers, which slows down the inking process I already hate but makes the coloring process faster, or I have to apply the color to a single inking layer bit by tedious bit and then redo a bunch of sections over and over when I inevitably can't color it in perfectly every time.]

Q: Why are the busts the same price as the avatars when you're drawing slightly more of the character? A: Because I don't have to pay attention to making them fit nice and neat and cohesive into a 400x400 square. Also, you don't get to pick the pose for the busts - aside from the expression, I draw them all in the exact same pose. So there's a little discount built in for the reduction of buyer choice. :)

Q: Why only two dollars more to upgrade from avatars/busts to half-body drawings? A: Because they don't involve drawing legs. Most of what you're paying for in a full-body commission is the Krys Has To Draw Legs Tax. :)

Q: Is there that much of a difference between the different full-body options? A: If there wasn't, I wouldn't be charging less for the one that's easier and faster for me to draw. :) [The actual difference is that I don't have to draw proper eyes and also the anatomy is still kinda chibi-adjacent.]

Q: Why charge so little to add color? A: Because it doesn't take me very long and it's a process I actually enjoy doing. :3c

Q: Why is there no price listed for fully-rendered color with shading and lighting? A: You couldn't pay me to fully render most of my own characters, let alone someone else's. >.>;

Q: How much do backgrounds cost? A: They don't, because I don't offer them. I hate doing those, too. {:)

Q: Why have an example that features a background, then? A: Because I forgot to take it out and then didn't feel like fixing it, leave me alone... 🥲

Q: Do you offer a discount for multiple characters? A: I do, in fact! You'll be able to see the reduced price for them in the add-ons section of any commission listing. For the really cheap listings, though, the discount only applies for the fourth character onward. Because otherwise I'm drawing a lot of stuff for very little money, and that sucks for me, my free time, and my wallet. {:(

Q: What's the maximum number of characters I can get in one commission? A: Six total, otherwise I get overwhelmed and want to run into the ocean screaming. {:)

Q: What difference does the big sizing really make? A: For whatever I might draw for you, at a size of 350x350px at 300dpi, you could get a cute little sticker printed on a site like Redbubble. At around 600x600px, you could get that same image printed as a nice pin or button. At something closer to 2000x2000px, meanwhile, you could get it printed on a t-shirt or journal cover, instead, without having to blow it up and leave it looking pixelated. And the largest size I offer at around 5000x5000? That can print nice and neat on a whole-ass shower curtain. That's the difference the big sizing really makes. >:3c

Q: What are you willing to draw? A: Original characters (i.e. D&D parties, novel casts, fursonas, etc.), fan characters (i.e. Pokemon trainers, Homestuck trolls, Among Us beans crewmates/impostors, etc.), official characters (from cartoons, anime, comics, etc.), animals (I cannot guarantee quality here, though), and robots (I definitely cannot guarantee quality here). Suggestive/revealing outfits are fine, as is mild body horror (though I am still learning how to draw that, so keep that in mind if you want it). Queer and queer-coded characters are especially welcome! >w<

Q: What are you not willing to draw? A: Anything supporting extremism, fascism, bigotry, and so on. Basically, if it's right wing, I ain't drawing it; even satire against right wing trash is pushing it unless it's hyper-obvious. Also, no outright nudity and certainly no smut - I'm too ace for NSFW art, so if you want obvious kink/fetish stuff, no judgments from me whatsoever, but my commissions will not be a good option for you. {:) And while I'll happily draw a bit of body horror here or there, I will not draw actual gore. ........Oh, right, I also won't draw backgrounds. Fuck that shit. :)

Q: What about religious themes? A: I will consider those on a case by case basis. As long as whatever you're wanting me to draw isn't hateful towards any particular group of people, though (i.e. queer folks or other minorities), it should be fine. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Q: Can you go into better detail as to what you will or won't draw? A: If you're worried I won't draw something for you, you can just ask me directly. I don't bite. ...Usually. >:3c

Q: Can you give me a bigger discount if I tell you it's my birthday or my family member is sick or- A: No, next question. :)

Q: What if I have proof that it's my birthday or that my family member is sick or- A: You will get the appropriate congrats or condolences from me! ...And also my standard commission prices. :)

Q: Can I get a drawing from you in exchange for me sharing your work with my audience instead of- A: Pay me or eat shit. Exposure won't pay my bills. :)

Q: Hello, are you available for commissions? Please DM me and- A: Hi, yeah, and I know what an advance fee scam is already, so thanks but no thanks. If you're going to order a commission from me, then you get to do it directly through Ko-Fi using an actual payment method that's confirmed to exist. :)

Q: Could you please please please do a commission with full-rendering and a background for me? A: I would honestly rather eat glass. :)

Q: Why even offer inking and colored lineart if you don't like doing it when you could just offer colored sketches? A: Because attempting to show anyone what my brain interprets as an unfinished piece of art will immediately induce a perfectionism-induced hernia in me, and I would hope we'd all rather avoid that. {:)

Q: Can you draw something for me in a different art style? A: Can I? Yes. Will I? No. :)

Q: Why are your prices so high? A: Well, first of all, they're not - everyone is just so used to undervaluing artists and their work that it seems like the prices are high. And second of all, I'm basing said prices off of minimum hourly wage and the amount of time I expect any given drawing to take, so if you expect me to make less than minimum wage for a skill that took literal decades of time and effort for me to cultivate, you can go sit in a corner and think about how fucked up that is for a while. >:\

(That aside, the current commission prices aren't even fully accurate to the time it takes for me to draw, so they will be changing in May. Whether they go up or down is yet to be determined.)

Q: I'm too poor to get a commission from you, what do I do? A: Cry with me in the No Money Zone, I guess? And, I dunno...reblog this to help me out? That'd be nice. <:)

Q: Do you even like most of the artistic process??? A: My artistic process is 'have fun sketching, suffer through inking, and then continue to have fun coloring, before I typically end the process there so I don't have to suffer through rendering and backgrounds'. So...yes, actually! :D

Q: I feel like you're just making up random questions for shits and giggles at this point. A: That's not a question, but you might be right. ;)

Q: Is this stupid FAQ over yet? A: No, you're stuck in it with me for forever. >:]

Q: You're joking, right? A: Yes.

THE END!

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Analyzing Photographs

Description, reflection, and formal analysis are methods of visual analysis. These methods provide a structure for viewing, analyzing, and writing about photographs.

1. Description

The first step in visual analysis is description.

Describing an image is a useful technique for looking closely at an image and absorbing its details.

Descriptions should remain objective, discussing what can be seen without drawing conclusions about a photograph's meaning.

For Example: when looking at Lincoln on Battlefield of Antietam, Maryland, it would be appropriate to say, "The tall man in the middle is wearing a black suit," but it would be inappropriate to say "The tall man in the middle is dressed as if going to a funeral." This sort of subjective comment should be reserved for the reflection section.

A description can begin anywhere, but generally it is easiest to begin by discussing the subject matter.

Example: a description of this image might begin with the basic statement, "In this image, three men stand in front of a tent."

Once you have stated the subject matter, simply elaborate on what you can see: "The man in the middle is the tallest and is posed with his hands down at his sides, wearing a formal black suit with a bowtie and a tall stovepipe hat. The man to the left is wearing a worn dark suit and a bowler hat. The man to the right is dressed in a military uniform with bright buttons and epaulets. The tent is pitched on a grassy clearing with trees in the background."

2. Reflection

This section should focus on the emotions and interpretations that an image evokes for the viewer.

Different viewers will react to the same image in different ways, so there are no wrong responses.

Knowing the historical context for an image can be very important for constructing reflective responses.

For this image, it is important to know that the Battle of Antietam was one of the most bloody and brutal battles of the Civil War.

Appropriate comments for this type of analysis include the following: "The tone of Lincoln on Battlefield of Antietam, Maryland seems very bleak. The somber facial expressions of the men, coupled with the barren grass and sparse trees give an overall impression of death and dying. There is also a sense of loneliness about the figure of President Lincoln. Although standing next to two men, he seems totally isolated. He is unresponsive to the camera; rather than making eye contact, he stares distantly off into space, increasing the sense of isolation."

3. Formal Analysis

After looking carefully at an image and considering its emotional and interpretive properties, formal analysis is the next step.

Be familiar with the elements and principles of art, which can be used as a guide in your formal analysis.

The "elements of art" are the building blocks for achieving the "principles of art."

A very good place to start formal analysis is by deciding which elements are most strongly represented.

Example: In the Lincoln picture, the very distinct lines and geometric shapes are immediately apparent.

Upon closer inspection, it is clear that these lines and shapes function to frame and to move the viewer's eye towards the central subject, President Lincoln.

For Example, note the way that all of the lines in the image draw the eye toward the figure of the president. The tent forms an inverted "V" shape directly behind Lincoln, while the vertical tent post and tree trunk in the background further elongate Lincoln's already tall figure, clearly emphasizing Lincoln's figure in the composition.

There are other strongly represented elements as well.

Consider the use of contrast in this image: there is a stark contrast between the white of Lincoln's shirt and his black suit, which further draws our attention towards the president's face.

There is also a sense of balance, with the figures standing to either side of the president in similar poses, like mirror images.

Writing Notes & References

[wizard-loving-wizard]

taako on the new cover is such an amazing choice for so many reasons. comparing it to the previous covers, the boys' expressions are usually pretty similar, using the shocked adventurer face or looking smug and confident. and for the suffering game, even magnus and merle still follow this — but taako is brand new. he has a look of pure rage and determination, pointed right at (almost at?) the audience. no more aloof, silly, goofy taako. he is hurt and broken and pissed all the way off!!!

beyond that, the composition of his whole body is so dynamic and different. taako is usually so poised, put-together, haughty and graceful. but NOW he's crouched on the ground, aggressive and feral. he's touching and acting on the environment and the d20, instead of just posing or being influenced by the environment (running from the train, falling into the time loop)

it all fits sooo well for this arc. eleventh hour is a great transition into the darker more serious elements of the story, and the suffering game is where reality sets in. shit gets bad. the whole thing feels so heavy and tragic and dismal. and taako's anger and despair is such an iconic part of that! this cover serves that very well. it shows how the boys will sacrifice a lot, and really grapple with their decisions and actions, and have to fight hard to save themselves.

if you didn't know the story and looked at all the gn covers, the tonal shift and story progression would be so obvious based on taako's appearance on the cover alone. it's smart. it's thematic. it's beautiful. and also, he's really hot

[luvismenu]

Promise You - JJK ,,

✎ 12 mistakes — series index 〃

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As Jungkook adjusts the lighting, ensuring every detail is just right for the perfect shot. The camera clicks, capturing the model in front of him, her pose and expression flawless. But his mind isn’t fully present. Instead of focusing on the scene before him, his thoughts begin to drift to you.

He tries to shake it off, focusing on the angles, the composition, the subtle play of light and shadow—but you’re still there, in the back of his mind, refusing to be ignored.

Questions begin to swirl. Why do you always come to mind at the most random times? Is this normal? Is this what friendship is supposed to feel like, or is there something more?

Jungkook frowns slightly, adjusting the camera lens, trying to push the thoughts away. But it’s no use. He thinks about how much you mean to him— how he would do anything for you, give you everything. That’s what friends do, right?

But then why does it feel different with you? What is it that his friends see that he doesn’t? How come they seem so sure?

As he captures another shot of the model, the questions only grow louder, echoing in his mind. What if this friendship means something more? And why is he so afraid to admit it, even to himself?

It’s confusing, and the more he thinks about it, the less certain he feels.

Jungkook sighs, feeling the weight of his wandering thoughts pulling him away from the task at hand. The model poses gracefully, but he knows he isn’t capturing her the way he should be. With a slight frown, he lowers his camera and says, “Let’s take a break.”

The model nods with a polite smile. She gathers her things and exits the studio, leaving Jungkook alone with his thoughts. He leans against the nearest wall, rubbing his temple in frustration.

Despite the quiet of the now-empty studio, his mind is anything but peaceful. He tries to focus on the work ahead, on the edits he needs to make and the shots he still needs to capture, but you keep intruding, pushing everything else to the background. It’s like you’re always there, in the back of his mind, no matter how hard he tries to concentrate on something else.

He sighs again, deeper this time, realizing he won’t get anything done with his head in this state. You’ve become a distraction he can’t quite shake off.

“Jungkook?” A soft voice pulls him out of his thoughts. He looks to the side to see Sora, smiling at him, holding a file—probably the photos he had requested earlier this morning.

“Ah, yes. Thank you, Sora,” he says, reaching out to take the file, his eyes quickly scanning its contents. But Sora doesn’t walk away; she stands there, and he notices.

His mind flashes back to the night before, their second date.

It wasn’t bad—Sora is a nice woman. She’s pretty, honest, and hardworking. Despite being new, she learned quickly, and he admires that.

“About our date—” Jungkook begins, but Sora gently cuts him off.

“I liked our date, Jungkook. Both dates. It was fun, but...” she pauses, sighs softly, and then continues with a small smile, “You like someone else, don’t you?”

Jungkook’s eyes widen slightly, a wave of uncertainty washing over him. “Y-you can tell?” he stammers, caught off guard by Sora’s perceptiveness.

Sora smiles softly, her gaze understanding. “You've been kind and respectful towards me, Jungkook. But I’ve noticed that you’re not entirely comfortable. The only time I’ve seen you truly relaxed is when you’re on the phone with someone—probably them—or when you rush out with that excited look on your face, like you can't wait to meet someone. I just put two and two together.”

Jungkook feels a lump forming in his throat. He tries to process what Sora’s saying, but it only adds to the confusion swirling in his mind. The truth she’s uncovered is something even he hasn’t fully admitted to himself.

“I…” Jungkook begins, but the words falter on his tongue. He doesn’t know what to say, how to explain the mess of emotions inside him. Sora lets out a small chuckle, breaking the silence.

“It’s okay, Jungkook,” she reassures him, her voice gentle. “I should’ve waited. Things moved too fast, and that’s on me. I just didn’t want to wait, you know? When I realized I liked you, I didn’t see the point in holding back.” Her voice drops slightly, tinged with a hint of regret, before she quickly tries to lighten the mood. “But hey, we learn from our mistakes, right?” She attempts a joke, her smile warm but tinged with sadness.

Jungkook looks at her, guilt gnawing at him. He knows she deserves better— someone who can give her their whole heart, not just a fraction of attention divided by uncertainty.

"It wasn’t your fault," Jungkook begins softly, his voice laced with sincerity. Sora’s eyes widen slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing her face as he continues, "Thank you for not holding back. I hold back a lot, and it never works out for me. I’m glad to know that you don’t."

He pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts, his gaze steady as he meets hers. "I respect you, Sora. But that’s where it ends. I can’t see you as more than a.. friend. I am… sorry."

Sora nods slowly, her expression softening as she absorbs the truth. There’s a moment of silence, an unspoken understanding passing between them, as if they both recognize that this is the right decision.

Sora’s lips curve into a small, bittersweet smile. "I appreciate your honesty, Jungkook. It’s better to know now, rather than later," she says, her voice calm but tinged with a hint of sadness.

Jungkook nods, feeling a mixture of relief and regret. "I just… didn’t want to lead you on, or make you think there could be something more. You deserve someone who can give you their whole heart, and I… I’m not that person."

Sora takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I understand,” she says quietly. “And you’re right, it’s better this way.”

“It is,” Jungkook agrees, his voice barely above a whisper. “But I know you’ll find someone who’s just right for you. Someone who won’t hesitate. Someone who likes you back..”

Sora looks at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I hope you find that for yourself too, Jungkook,” she says, her voice gentle. “And when you do… don’t let it slip away.”

“I won’t,” he promises, though he’s not entirely sure if he’s convincing himself or her.

His phone dings, breaking the silence that settled in the room. Jungkook reaches for it, glancing at the screen. A small smile tugs at his lips as he reads your message.

Sora gives him one last lingering look before she turns to leave, her footsteps echoing softly in the quiet room. As the door closes behind her, Jungkook feels a strange mix of relief and sadness.

Whatever he might feel about you, he'll figure it out. He has to. This time, he’s determined to sort through the confusion that’s been clouding his heart. It might take him days, weeks, or even months, but one thing is certain: he’ll tell you how he truly feels, no matter how difficult it might be to put into words.

Because the truth is, he loves you— whether as his best friend or something more, that love is undeniable. It’s woven into every memory you’ve shared, every laugh, every quiet moment when just being near you was enough. He realizes that this love, in whatever form it takes, is something he can’t afford to lose.

You're his promise, the one he holds close to his heart.

He promised you. He will keep his word, even if it means risking everything, because you mean that much to him. He’s not going to hold back this time. He’ll make sure you know how much you matter to him, that you’re not just someone in his life—you’re the person he wants to keep close, always.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

About Malleus new years card, given how heavily Japanese culture it goes into. It might be a hagoromo, a white cloth/scarf that floats in the air around a goddess. Given that Malleus is the strongest mage, it might be a symbolism of that. Even so it's used for goddess, Vil and a few others worn clothing meant for women. It wouldn't be unusual to be used for Malleus.

[Referencing this post!]

These asks are all about the fashion of the New Year’s Attire cards and how they relate to Japanese culture, so I thought to combine them ^^

Since I’m responding to three asks in one post and it takes a while to explain things, I’ve placed everything under the cut :> There’s a lot of discussion of Japanese clothing, culture. and folklore in this, so if you’re interested in those topics then you’re in for a treat!!

To the first ask: Though Twst is fairly gender fluid when it comes to dressing its characters, I'm certain that's not a 羽衣 (hagoromo/"feather garment/cloak"; typically worn by celestial women in Japanese mythos). Hagoromo are thinner, longer, and more scarf-like than what is depicted in Malleus's initial card art. You can tell that he's clearly got a sheet that covers his entire body there. The fabric also doesn't appear to be floating like a hagoromo would.

The first two images depict 被衣 (kazuki/katsugi); the latter two images depict 羽衣 (hagoromo); you can see there is a notable visual distinction between them.

To the second ask: It’s possible that the artists looked at kabuki fashion for inspiration, but they most likely did not base the entirety of the New Year’s Attire outfits on that alone. As Yana states in one March 2023 interview, she and her team try to avoid creating outfits that too closely resemble a single real-world culture or brand. To that end, they seem to pull their inspiration from many different cultures and time periods, which is why you'll see a mixture of traditional and modern Japanese elements in the New Year’s Attire.

歌舞伎 or Kabuki, for those who don't know, is classical form of Japanese theatre which mixes dramatic performances with traditional music and dance. I consulted with a few friends who are familiar with Japanese culture (hereby referred to as A-ko, B-ko, C-ko, and D-ko) about the topic and they had some enlightening information to share. Because I am not familiar with the art form or how to gauge it myself, I will be relaying the information provided by those friends in addition to my own research. A-ko informed me that kabuki used to be co-ed (or at least did feature women; the first kabuki troupe formed was all-women) and modern kabuki is all-men. As for the poses, B-ko remarked that they can be considered common "festival dance poses", not strictly kabuki poses. C-ko added, "[...] There is very little, if anything, kabuki-like about the New Year’s cards apart from possibly SOME of the poses [...] Jack is probably the most kabuki we’re going to get because of the dynamic palm thrust and gaudy composition of his attire." The eye makeup being red and of that design also invokes the image of kabuki makeup without it fully committing to its extravagance!

Overall, the group seemed to agree that the New Year’s Attires lack the over-the-top expressions and elaborate costumes of kabuki. There’s also the more obvious lack of full-face stage makeup, but it’s kind of a given that Twst is wouldn’t go this route, especially since the context of these cards is helping out in a store and not putting on a dramatic performance.

On the topic of Malleus and oni (Japanese yōkai, demon, orc, ogre, or troll), I don't think he's intended to look like one??? Sure, he has the horns, but as B-ko said, "[Malleus] always has those horns." Very little in his actual outfit resembles the costume a kabuki actor playing the part of an oni would wear--unless you count the excessive black, as that's a color typically used for oni, but that black is usually paired with red. As for the hair styling, D-ko explained, "Oni usually don't have hair [...]". I find it interesting that some oni masks I found do seem to have hair, but it's usually very sparse omg balding!Malleus real???? and/or a middle part and not the sideways part that Malleus is sporting. Additionally, while oni do have horns, the shape of them is nothing like Malleus’s.

It's true that fur is rarely seen in historical Japanese clothes, but they don't seem to be that common in kabuki either?? According to C-ko, "fur and pelts [...] were a luxury few could afford. Thus, only those people decorated with furs would be royalty or individuals vying for power.

B-ko suggested that the reason why Jack wears fur in his New Year’s Attire isn’t to emulate Kabuki—which tends to feature fluffy wigs, like the one pictured below—but to emphasize his “wolf”-ness and to keep him warm from the cold. C-ko pointed out, however, that “[…] fur accents (like what Jack has) became the trademark for popular and celebrated figures [...] towards the end of the warring states period; when kabuki came into vogue, many plays were inspired by the lives of such personae as well as the legends surrounding them. This is why much of kabuki is characterized by the term basara—of grandeur and ostentatious eccentricity. The actors themselves would not have had access to furs, so they focused instead upon conveying that same sort of energy through their theatrics and outlandish couture. They still used substitutes, of course.” C-ko also added, “The most memorable kabuki roles feature things like fur—which many associate with kabuki.”

Finally, the group altogether said that, “Vil isn’t [dressed like] a geisha. His outfit bears no resemblance to what geisha wears.” 芸者 or Geisha are highly trained Japanese hostesses who entertain guests with song, dance, and conversation—furthermore, there’s a rigorous training process and a very specific appearance they take on. Makeup aside (if Twst is not doing kabuki makeup, why would they do geisha makeup?), a feminine figure and long, flowing kimono is not enough to get the “the look”. B-ko commented, “[…] Calling Vil [dressing like] a geisha just because he wore a feminine kimono […] Like, damn. Does that mean every woman who wears that style [of a] kimono is a geisha now?” It takes considerable time and dedication to achieve this to earn the title; it’s not meant to be taken lightly!

From D-ko, “Overall Vil’s outfit is kinda westernized.” This is due to the hat, gloves, bows, fishnets, and laced collar. A traditional geisha’s outfit lacks the bells and whistles that Vil’s design boasts. The silhouette also seems to be wrong. Why? “Because technically you try to make your silhouette as not curvy as possible when wearing a kimono,” but Vil’s silhouette appears more hourglass-like. The devil is in the details!!

Lastly, to the third ask: Going to skip over talking about Jack's umbrella pose and the kabuki inspiration, since I already addressed that earlier in this post! I'll briefly add that it's not for sure that Malleus is meant to be a certain thing unless Yana and/or her team come out and say it. B-ko agreed, saying "I don't think you can say Malleus is definitely [Ushiwakamaru], since I literally gave [other examples of what] he's dressed like [...] I can understand 'taking inspirations from', though..."

In the final ask, Anon remarks that Jack and Malleus's looks may be inspired by that of 弁慶 (Benkei) and 牛若丸 (Ushiwakamaru), two characters from Japanese folklore. Ushiwakamaru is the nickname of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who, according to C-ko, "[...] fought and recruited his loyal vassal Benkei in a fabled confrontation on a bridge." While some elements of Jack and Malleus's New Year's Attires resemble what Ushiwakamaru and Benkei are usually depicted wearing--especially Malleus's veil--not all of it matches up. For example, as B-ko notes, "[...] what Malleus is wearing under the veil isn't what Ushiwakamaru is wearing, but looks [like] more of a kannushi (神主/"divine master (of ceremonies; often Shinto clergy)")." B-ko linked this site and recommended checking it out to make clothing comparisons; the kannushi garb was just an item they picked out for similarities on a cursory glance. This brings me back to a point I mentioned in the second ask: Twst's fashion takes inspiration from many sources and blends them.

"I think it really boils down to [Malleus and Jack] evoking the atmosphere of that famous [Ushiwakamaru and Benkei] print," C-ko continues. They drew comparisons between Malleus, a character twisted from Maleficent (commonly depicted with her raven Diablo), and Usiwakamaru, who is the disciple of a tengu {crow/raven yokai). They also compared Jack, a steadfast and virtuous individual, with Benkei, who is a monk with similar traits. Furthermore, in the famous folklore story, Benkei is depicted as having felled 999 men before facing off against Usiwakamaru, a supernatural force. So, like Jack, Benkei is a powerful combatant up against an even more powerful supernatural force, Usiwakamaru/Malleus.

jxxbisbsjJvsjsb I didn’t think we’d be talking about Japanese fashion, history, and folklore to this extent, but here we are 🤩 I hope that, if you’re reading this, maybe you learned something new and interesting from the post!! I know I certainly did while chatting up my friends.

P.S. Thank you to A-ko, B-ko, C-ko, and D-ko for their knowledge and perspectives! Couldn’t have written this without you.

[twomiddlefingersforthehaters]

Masashi Kishimoto Naruto Art Book (part-6)

This is a piece where I was able to really show Naruto's personality in his pose and expression. I'm super pleased that I managed to draw something truly Narutoesque. The tension in the arrangement of Kakashi and Obito is also great. It isn't often that the entire composition works this well, so it's my favorite.

It was fun drawing all of them as kids. I really like the contrast of adult Obito and child Obito facing different directions, indicating that his path and focus changed.

I like this one a lot, because you can really feel Nine Tails' immense size and Naruto's mischievousness. I had fun drawing it because of the visual gimmick. I had forgotten that if you look closely, you can see Kakashi, Sakura and Sai.

Enough people told me this was good that I started thinking so myself... Yeah. (LOL) But it was nice to illustrate a scene of family life, particularly because I didn't have many opportunities to draw something like that.

I thought that Naruto was still too young to wear banana hammocks, so I ended up with this. When I actually tried to draw it, it creeped me out. Making Sakura wear a bikini was kind of embarrassing, so I opted for the shorts for her too.

I drew this picture of Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura lined up to show how much each of them have grown

This picture of Sasuke appeared as part of a composition for a Shonen Jump front cover alongside images of Naruto and Gaara. Due to space considerations, I ended up drawing Sasuke in a long, vertical pose. One problem here was whether or not the sword Sasuke's holding would fit in the scabbard--- I remember I had to carefully measure the length of both the sword and the scabbard. Also, the picture appeared somewhat plain alter coloring it, so I made Sasuke's sash red. Because of that detail, this may be a pretty rare picture of Sasuke.

Cherry blossoms in full bloom...it's springtime in Kanohagakure. My concept for this picture was the characters having a cherry blossom viewing party, so I gave them some objects to suggest that. Naruto has a drinking cup, Sasuke has a Japanese musical instrument, and Sakura has a bento box containing rice dumplings and other foods. Fun, lots of fun. Kakashi was...actually kind of a distraction in this one. But I felt bad for him and decided to leave him in (laugh). And I showed that there's a breeze by drawing the cherry blossom petals as if they are being blown. It feels good when I can make the wind blow in a picture.

I wanted to keep this picture looking like a pencil sketch. I lightly colored in the already fully shaded pencil drawing, I tested out a method of using two similar colors for each character's hair, skin and clothes, and another similar-toned pair of colors for the background. I tried to make the picture look three-dimensional by changing the level of contrast in these colors. I made one large mistake though I forgot to draw Ino's earrings (laugh).

Team Asuma was the main focus in this volume. It makes Naruto look like a side character...

[doiliedaze]

Muse of Mine

Warnings: insecure reader, mentions of reader being demisexual and romantic, reader is insecure of her body hair, childhood friends to lovers, and they were roommates, artist x artist, Ellie is a sculptor & reader is a painter, smau, college au

Genre: fluff and angst

A/n: champagne coast, nights and useless have been repeating in my head for inspo so take that as you may! I’ve had well I’m having a complex relationship with my demi identity so I wanted to add that. I was gonna make this a series but it ended up making more sense as a one-shot to me however I might expand on this universe.

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Ellie Williams has been your best friend since before you could remember. Your family moved to Jackson and you hated it, it was so different from what you were use to.

One day a small rock hit your window catching your attention and you saw a freckled faced, brown hair girl in a wonky ponytail. You thought she was the cutest thing ever but you didn’t know how to express that. So you held it inside.

After a girl in sixth grade called you an “ugly dyke” and Ellie punched her in the face, the two of you were glued by the hip. This grew your crush but you pushed it down to just being friends. She took you on nature walks and you would get distracted when you were supposed to be listening to her facts. You would make her share earphones with you and yap about how amazing Billie Holiday is even though she could give a rats ass about jazz.

None of that mattered because it was for each other.

You’ve always had a complicated relationship with expressing your romantic and sexual desires. They are there but it feels selective? You’ve always had a hard time explaining it but Ellie always seemed to understand.

Everything made sense around her. She felt the same about you. She would make jokes about how being around you, staring at you, sculpting you was how she realized she likes girls and the type of girls she likes at that.

How sometimes she feels like it’s you two against the world.

All these events and hints drive you crazy. Now that Ellie the girl you’re not so secretly in love with is asking you to model naked for her sculpturing class.

It felt like she begged for hours but here you are, stripping and her eyes are unrelenting. “I’m not even posing yet so you don’t have to stare.” You mutter, “sorry thinking about uh composition!”

She scrambles to finish her set-up. “Els I didn’t trim so I’m mentally preparing myself…” you whisper finding any excuse to not be vulnerable in front of her. When she turned around she muttered “like some hair is going to bother me” and you laugh at her.

The transparent sheet does nothing to cover you no matter how much you try. “This isn’t funny! I’ve never like stood around naked without some mental prep.”

Ellie moves behind you, still giving you space but her hand reaches out to touch your back. “Let me show you how beautiful I think you are please.” The project is about desire and beauty so obviously she chose you. “You know you can trust me and if you really don’t want to do it then we don’t have to.”

You take a second to compose your thoughts. “It’ll be faceless right?”

“Yes absolutely, I wouldn’t do that to you.”

You felt your heart flutter as you drop the sheet. Ellie clears her throat, falling silent for a while as she started molding the clay.

Hours pass and it was more relaxing than you thought it be. She would get up to fix your pose or the two of you would take little breaks.

“Els my back hurts” You whine, “I know sweet pea just a little longer.” She says below a whisper.

Her glare when she would shift it from the clay would go between love and carnal.

Eventually she stands up and cracks her back. “Alright I’m done for the day, thank you for being my muse.” She laughs softly and helps you get dressed.

“Y’know I don’t need your help right?”

Your voice swells into the silence of the room as her hands roam a little as she “helps.”

Ellie’s eyes never leave yours as her freckled fingers graze over your rolls, lingering against your plush skin. Not breaking eye contact she kneels down to put your underwear on.

“Thank you” you say in a voice so soft you barely hear it. She gives you a curt nod as she stands. With a shake she moves from you, “I gotta move this to my room so goodnight!” She hurries as she almost drops the clay but she closes the door swiftly with her foot.

Bewitched and bewildered you sit on your bed wondering what is this relationship?

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A/n: this one was hard for me to write! I took a little break and I have a lot going on at the moment, and a lot of the next fics have vulnerable topics so I’m trying so I’m sorry if this feels choppy as I’m trying to get back to my flow 🫶🏿

Dividers- @thecutestgrotto

Taglist: @manfuckthisimout @bambishaven @femme-historian @furrytaesss @milanyas @highnfemme @5seos