#don't look at the hands i drew in the first two panels don't look at them don't look at them don't look a

[thebad-lydrawn-sanses]

he says he doesn't have one ?! can i give nightmare a "#1 BOSS" cup

Image 1: "oh, no i- earlier i was- joking.."

Image 2: "nevermind. it looks wonderful, thank you"

Image 3: (a shelf with an assortment of cups)

[zarla-s]

once on youtube i saw a girl who had a comic and she redrew her least favorite comic page and used it as like a guide of what and what not do when making comics.

im not asking you to do that but if you did which handplates page would you redo and why?

A few leaped immediately to mind, haha.

Hate how I drew Papyrus's head on this page, hate it!! If I was going to go back and redo any page I'd go back to this one and redraw Papyrus.

Sans is otherwise fine on this page but I don't like his head in this panel, I'd redo that.

I don't like the back of Papyrus's jaw here, I remember struggling with it at the time. I could do a better job of it now I think.

I'd want to make the gutter bigger here to differentiate these two panels more.

Don't really like Sans's head here either, I'd redo that.

The right panel here is too cramped, you can't see the focal point very well (the SOUL in his chest). Would probably restructure the panels to try and give it more breathing room, probably cut the Papyrus one.

I'd make the blue glow around Papyrus's hand more obvious so it'd be more clear what he was trying to do.

The text in this panel is confusing because Sans's speech bubble is near Papyrus, would probably re-stage this to make it more clear who's talking (aside from fonts).

Don't like Asgore's expression in either of these panels, I'd want to redo these.

This one was just me being dumb and forgetting Sans was blind in his right eye, I did a quick fix at the time but nowadays I'd like to go back and shift his head around properly to make it clear he's looking with his left one.

The first two comics look weird to me but those were early, that makes sense. For a lot of pages it'd just be small changes, nothing super major but just smoothing out things. Inconsistencies with Gaster's hands, weird looking Blasters, Asgore's horns, bed too big, couch looks bad, that kind of thing. But the ones above are the ones that just jump immediately to mind as a "man that looks wonky ugh" moment, haha.

On the flipside I've always liked the brothers in these panels. There are always parts in the comic that are going to look wonky to me, but there are parts I still really like too! Important to remember both things.

[index]

[electrozeistyking]

I definitely had a lot more fun behind the scenes with Never Be Alone than I did with She's Gone. So here's the sillies, and some notes.

This is a guide video I made in cause I either forgot how I was rendering it, or I want to make a comic using this style again. I used Panel 3 because it was the original first panel. There is no audio, so you don't need to worry about unmuting it.

I did this with the flats for Panel 2 because it reminded me of a drawing featured in one of my earliest MD posts. This quote has had me in a choke-hold ever since I made it (by the way, I named that drawing I mentioned: "Heyyy Biiitch!").

I wanted to make sure a few panels in this comic looked right, so I drew them with my finger (because I wanted to and I felt like it). N's face looks so derpy here and that's by choice.

I made this because SolverUzi looked like she was accusingly pointing at N. The Solver does seem petty to me, so I feel like It'd do this. Fun fact, that's why It's wearing Uzi's face and why It didn't heal her hand: just so It can rub salt in N's wounds and call him "big brother" like Cyn does to SERIOUSLY fuck with him.

Pre-Gaussian Blur on the dialogue! This is another panel I drew with my finger to ensure it'd look right later on. The "BASICALLY HIGH AS BALLS" note was added because of his face. It's actually sad in context of the comic, seeing as this is one of the few moments where N genuinely smiles.

TESSA FOR THE WIN, BABY! I made this because I said "Whoa, suddenly Tessa!" at one point while working on this panel. As for the "Chekhov's stabby stick" part... I mean, come on. There was a closeup of that blade for approximately two seconds. If that's not a surprise tool they can use for later, I don't know what is.

There is no reason for this one beyond "I thought it was funny." It just exists and there's nothing we can do about it.

Imagine if I actually went with either this quote or "Well, that could've been a whole lot worse." I had to pick between them for a sillier take on this panel, but imagine if Tessa ACTUALLY said "Well, shit" after all that?

Anyway, that's all the sillies and the notes! :D

[parasolemn]

[Image description: Two-panel comic featuring Harry and Jean from Disco Elysium. In the first panel, Jean holds a horse's reins and appears annoyed. Harry has his hand on his shoulder and says, "Don't you think it looks weird for the satellite-officer to be in the front?" In the second panel, both men are on the horse. Harry is sitting in front of Jean, but Jean has his arms around Harry so he can still hold the reins. Jean appears contented; Harry is slouched and appears embarrassed. End ID]

its that. er. art meme i saw like twice. where the woman is on the front of the motorcycle and the man is like "dont u think it looks weird for the woman to be in the front." and then the next panel is the woman on the back but reaching around him to hold the handlebars still and the man is sitting there slouched looking miserable. i drew it in ms paint as a joke but decided to redraw it because i thought it deserved a little better. hi everyone. first post here btw

ms paint version below cut (i think the second panel is funny i like their faces)

[Image description: The same comic as above, but poorly drawn in MS Paint instead. End ID.]

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

Does it mean anything that shanks on ever panel holds buggy with the arm he lost? Is that intentional? Cuz twt looses its mind but I think just an accident? Like Oda just drew it and that’s it

i have talked about this a time or two before on this blog, i think! *digs around* yeah, here, and here (kinda). maybe elsewhere in the *shanks' lost arm tag, idk. but i don't know that i've ever discussed whether it's intentional.

it certainly wasn't oda's plan all along—shanks and buggy are not physically close in the chapter 19 flashback. they only touch when they're fighting, and they only stand side-by-side heading into a fight… standing with buggy at shanks' right.

this makes sense, given that shanks is left-handed. going into a fight with your elbows bumping is not ideal.

but that's hardly the only inconsistency between older flashbacks and oden's, so let's set that aside.

looking at oden's flashback… most of the panels shanks and buggy appear in, they are standing in that specific position, shanks' left next to buggy's right. not every panel, but almost. the below panel is the only one i could find where they're side-by-side and not arranged that way.

and the only time they're touching, it's shanks throwing his left arm over buggy's shoulder.

but… that only happens once. (the volume 96 cover art also has shanks and buggy on it, but that time it's shanks' right arm flung over buggy's shoulder.) i reread the flashback twice to confirm this, i didn't quite believe my eyes at first, but… yeah. it isn't a repeated thing in the manga.

so where does the prominence of this idea come from, then?

well, it turns out the anime adds a number of kid shanks & buggy scenes to oden's flashback, including some party sequences with shanks' arm thrown over buggy's shoulder and the pair of them dancing around like that.

now, it's only natural that the animators would expand the short sequences from oden's time on roger's ship into a more extended montage, but it seems to me that they give a disproportionate amount of screentime to the kids. again, it makes sense—they're the roger pirates we know best, this is a shounen anime so of course boys get the spotlight, the cuter they act now the more tragic their falling out becomes—but it does make me suspect that if anyone was trying to make shanks clinging to buggy all the time a thing, it was the animators.

[queenofthequillandink]

Drawings from Tucker's sketchbook to go with the latest chapter of my DPxDC crossover fic Unearthed, Reborn! Everyone please know that Tucker draws better than I do, but I'm doing my best.

Image IDs and a clearer idea of who's writing what below the cut.

[Begin image ID: A series of nine photos showing two sketchbooks pages with black and white pencil drawings. Page one shows hero costume designs for Jason Todd and Sam Manson, with comments written in varying handwriting. The second page shows a costume design for Danny Fenton.

The first closeup shows Jay with his ghostly wings out, hair color-swapped to be mostly white with a black stripe, and wearing simple, functional armor. He is in an action pose, wings extended and lunging to the side. An arrow points to his wings with "WING ARMOR" written in Tucker's handwriting. Sam responds, "you didn't draw the back because you don't know what it looks like, do you?" Tucker writes, "NO PROOF"

The second closeup shows Jay's armor in greater detail, with more notes. One arm on the basic drawing model is extended to the side. Black-shaded hands are labelled, "GLOVES" by Tucker. Danny responds, "no fingieprints," to which Jay has written, "Blocked." An arrow points to the same arm, labelled by Tucker as, "REINFORCED WEAVE FABRIC (TBD)." Tucker labelled a vest with obvious plates drawn on as, "ARMORED PANELS." The model wears a utility belt, labelled with the exchange, "Tucker: UTILITY BELT. Sam: sometimes the Bats have good ideas. Tucker: BASICALLY." Tucker has labelled the elbow and knee pads, "WEAPONIZED POINTY BITS." Danny responded, "nice." Next to the boots, Jay wrote, "Combat boots?" Tucker responded, "WHAT AM I, A SCRUB? OFC." Jason wrote, "Nice"

Below the model is a bust closeup of Jay's costume. It shows a pointy-fronted hood attached to a "vest" that only extends to just under Jay's armpits. Black face paint covers the area over the eyes and a plain mask covers the model's nose and mouth. Danny drew an arrow to the hood and wrote, "Assassin's Creed mfer." Tucker responded, "SHUT," underlined once. On the other side, Sam drew an arrow to the face paint and wrote, "emo." Tucker responded, "SHUT," underlined twice. Beside that, Jay wrote, "Will the hood stay on?" Sam replied, "only time & copious bobby pins will tell."

The third closeup shows Sam's costume in detail on a plain model, in the same one-arm extended pose. She wears a skin-tight undersuit, gloves, a leaf-pattenered scalemail shirt that reaches her elbows, layered pauldrons, an uneven hem overskirt, and knee-high boots. The vague shape of a weapon hangs on her right hip. Above the head, Jay wrote, "hood buddies!"

Around the model are various labels in Tucker's handwriting, including, "LEAF PATTERNED LIGHT SCALE," "GLOVES," "REINFORCED UNDER LEGGINGS (I'M NOT A MONSTER)," and "REINFORCED FABRIC." This last label points to an outstretched arm. Next to her skirt, Tucker wrote, "NOT A MINI SKIRT =]" and Sam responded, "unfortunately, i can't get mad bc i love it." Beside the boots, Sam asked, "steel toe?" When Tucker responded, "TITANIUM TOE," she replied, "hand in marriage."

Below the model is a closeup of a row of the overlapping, slightly curved leaves that make up the scale. Danny wrote, "dude, how many of these did you make?" Tucker replied, "TOO MANY."

To the right of the model is a bust closeup on Sam's hood, pauldrons, and the top of her scalemail shirt. She has the same eye-covering black streak and plain face mask.

The fourth closeup shows the same bust. It also shows a medieval mace, labelled all over in Danny's handwriting. It says, "extra grip," on the handle, as well as "twist here," with a second arrow pointing to the head, labelled "for spikes here." Spikes emerge from half of the mace's head. Below, there's an exchange that reads:

Jay: why don't I get a cool weapon?

Danny: you're 5

Jay: =(

Danny: ...fine

Sam: can i get grippy gloves too?

Danny: ooooh, good idea

Below is a side profile, full-body shot of Sam in costume, hood up. She's lunging forward on one foot, both arms extended. From beneath her scale mail emerge vines, which twine around her arms before shooting forward.

The fifth closeup shows Danny's outfit on the model. It's a slightly baggy wrist-to-ankle jumpsuit and an armored vest, both in blotchy camo. The jumpsuit is tucked into combat boots and gloves, with a utility belt over top and the collar of an undersuit peeking out at the top. Danny has written, "Camo? In my costume? It's more likely than you think." Underneath, Tucker replied, "PRETEND I CAN DRAW, PLS." He's labelled the torso, "REINFORCED CHEST ARMOR." Sam drew an arrow to the mask, which is shaded black with a small fanged grin detail on it. She wrote, "this looks terrifying." Tucker replied, "IT'S SMALL! IT'S HARD TO DRAW!"

The sixth closeup shows a bust. Danny's hair is floofed upwards, black at the roots and white at the tips. His ears are pointed. His mask shows his fanged grin in greated detail, higher on the right side than the left and with overly large incisors. Sam has written, "still terrifying," with an arrow pointing to it. Tucker responded, "FINE HE'LL JUST BE SCARY."

Below, a low-detail head profile shows the mask and Danny's pointy ears from the side. Tucker has labelled it, "HOOKS OVER EARS" with an arrow pointing to straps around the ears and, "CLIPS IN BACK" with a arrow pointing to the base of the skull.

The final closeup shows Danny in costume. His right leg is emerging from shadows on the ground while he steps forward with his left left, knee bent. His left hand rests above his head on a rectangular prism with no added detail. It reaches from ground height to just above Danny's hair. He's reaching forward towards the viewer with us opposite hand.

An exchange written over the prism reads:

Danny: What's my hand on?

Jay: Dumpster, bc you're a trash man.

Danny: Ouch

Sam: oooh, get his ass

Tucker: DAMN, VISCIOUS

Danny: You're grounded

Jay: =(

Danny: You're ungrounded

Jay: =)

End image ID]

[fairylynnarts]

Funny how I suggest the idea that if I don't draw the Outers in 2024 I'd be a fake fan and within a couple weeks I've drawn the Outers lol. My brain is so weird. Anyway here are the more Mysterious senshi.

My dumbass ranting and comparisons of the rest of my senshi drawings under the cut 👇

Inners

Looking at these its kinda obvious I drew these after barely having the time to get to know the characters. I finished volume 2, the Dark Kingdom arc and was already hooked, so I drew the Senshi as I thought they were. Clearly I'm using 90s as reference which is very obvious looking at details like Mina and Mako's color pallettes, Ami's puffed sleeves and lack of extra studs in her ear. In Rei's case I had the first panel of her from Act 4 in mind. I dunno why but that struck me as her "true personality" after having seen her be so polite and proper in her intro. But then it just ended up looking like 90s Rei LOL.

I keep floating the idea of redrawing these. But I also just want to draw solo art of the girls.

Uranus and Neptune

Most recent art, drawn after getting to know everything there is to know about the series, its characters and even other versions of them. By this point I've read the manga over and over countless times, binged the hell out of Crystal, watched 200 episodes of the classic anime, and even witnessed the infamous "cousins" dynamic from DIC/Cloverway. Oh and I maybe drew them this way out of spite. Also completely ignored any of the anime's interpretations of Michiru's hair and made up my own rules lol.

In this art it definitely feels I know these two on a personal level that I just did not when I drew the inner senshi. But its kinda nice because I think my inner senshi art from 2022 shows how excited I was to get to know them 🤭

Pluto and Saturn

Okie so the reason I didn't go the Setsuna-mama and Hotaru-chan route is- okay 2 reasons- first being they would have been Super Sailor Pluto and Super Sailor Saturn. But the rest of my drawings of the senshi are how they were introduced. Wouldn't fit. Second, as Pluto and Saturn were introduced, there was a separation that there wasn't between all the others. Saturn was almost made out to be the villian and Pluto was gonna let Uranus and Neptune kill Hotaru. So yea maybe this looks angsty but thats because it was that way lol.

Oh and they have their talismans while Uranus and Neptune don't because official art shows the girlfriends without them all the time. But for the mother/daughter duo their staffs are like glued to their hands. (Didn't draw Pluto's staff cuz artistic license)

I really enjoyed finally drawing the outers for the first time! Pluto was actually a lot of fun to draw 👀

[moodymisty]

Couldn't help jumping in the tooka reader train, because a thought struck me and wouldn't leave: but imagine if reader gets the 3am zoomies inside the Marauder for the first time and the batcher on watch goes to check on the noise. Reader looks over and the eyes catch the light in that eerie way cats do sometimes. Do you think any of them would spook?

Author's Note: Catlikespecies!reader continues :3

✦ Hunter ✦

Now I don't know what artist drew it, but I remember a meme post with Hunter having glowing catlike eyes also because of his senses. So I fully think that it would be a case of having a bit of a stare off.

He heard some noises and decided to slide off his bunk and check it out, in case something fell he needed to pick up. Wouldn't be unusual.

Instead however he catches sight of you in the pitch black of the ship, other than the safety lights that glow on the floor and the glow of the control panels.

You can both quite clearly see each other, and it's a bit of a stare off for a moment as you both decide how to go about this.

'Just keep it down?' He ends up whispering to you quietly, and shaking his head.

✦ Echo ✦

Echo gets up a lot when he sleeps, he rarely gets more than about two or three hours of sleep at a time if he's lucky. So it's not uncommon to stumble across him in the night while he's getting himself something to drink, returning from the refresher or just stretching.

But needless to say he isn't at all used to being the one stumbling across someone else.

He almost freezes as he catches sight of you in the dark, before putting a hand to his chest and letting out a breath.

'Nearly scared me half to death...' he breathily jokes. Once you apologize and he gets his water, he lays back down and hums. 'So that's what those weird noises were.'

✦ Crosshair ✦

Crosshair finds it hilarious, and gets not a small amount of amusement from startling you. Him however...

You can't scare him; It's pretty much impossible. At least outwardly, if he gets startled by you he doesn't show it visibly.

'Quit darting around in the dark', he says, watching you stare wide-eyed right at him surprised. His eyebrows are raised as he looks at you, before he goes back to his bunk.

What's amusing is that he never tells any of his brothers that he found you like that, or that you're the source of the random noises at night. He'll make jokes about it, but it stays between you two.

✦ Tech ✦

Tech is actually still awake at the time, which you had totally forgotten about when you decided to slip from your bunk and stretch your legs.

When he first hears some noise he completely ignores it, distracted enough that it doesn't even register for awhile. Though after a bit he becomes curious enough that he gets out of his seat, and leaves the cockpit only to come face to face with you.

You almost yelp with how he came out of nowhere, as your eyes are wide with surprise. Tech however seems largely unphased. It's Tech's dirty little secret that he's done more than a bit of research on your home planet, but he hasn't told you yet. It doesn't mean he still isn't curious, especially as you stand in front of him showing of a myriad of things that interest him.

'Is this usual behavior for your species?' He asks, sucking you into an hour long conversation.

✦ Wrecker ✦

Wrecker is half asleep when he decides to get up and take a drink, since he normally sleeps like the dead and doesn't wake up like this.

Since it's so unusual, you never thought anyone would be around to witness your quick movements to try and get rid of some pent up energy, as the Marauder is sometimes borderline suffocating.

Very much so, as suddenly you ram straight into Wrecker's chest, nearly scaring him and yourself in the process.

He doesn't even notice anything different about you, he's just making sure you're ok.

His hands are on your shoulders and you nod, before he lets you go with a brush and grabs a drink to wet his throat.

He suddenly has a ton of questions once he lays back down, but it's too late to ask any of them now.

[fruitless-vain]

hi!! where do you get yoshi’s vests from?? or do you make them yourself? and if so, literally how? is there a particular pattern you use? they’re honestly gorgeous, and i’ve been looking for something similar for my girl

😭 literally the nicest compliment ever I made it myself!!

I was disappointed with a vest I had purchased from a maker, quickly realized that most makers don't specialize in little dogs and as a result the gear isn't legible/ there's a lot of wasted space which is a big deal when you have limited space to work with on a little dog already! So I made my own to maximize usable space instead.

I'm sure there's patterns you could buy out there but I made mine from scratch (and it's not too complicated to figure out!). What I opted to do was measure her first, get an idea for how large the side panels and centre panel can be. I used a free art program (medibang) and dragged some rulers in there and drew things out to scale relative to the rulers. This way you have an accurate scale to work with to decide what can actually fit in the space. Print out the design (I put each panel in to a word file and printed that way) and check the size on your dog, make adjustments as needed until the paper printout sits how you'd like it to and your designs are legible! Word programs should have a ruler on the top of the page which allow you to see the exact measurement of each of your panels so it's easy to align them/ change the size as needed accurately.

There's lots of ways to make a vest, with or without webbing, multiple panels, one piece of fabric. Take a look at vests online and see what aspects you like and what you don't! I opted for webbing to stiffen the edges to prevent wear but it's not necessary! You can just stick two pieces of fabric together and call it done!

I colourized it on the computer first so I could ensure that the scheme would work and that all the fonts would be legible at their smaller size/ contrast well.

Embroidery will be the first thing you do once you're set on your design and it takes the most time. You CAN do it by hand! but it takes a long time and if you use a thick fabric it'll hurt! If you have a standard sewing machine you can embroider with that as well (which is what I did!). I literally bought my first personal sewing machine for this project, I used machines in middle school and to make a couple plushies like 7 years ago but that's it for my experience. You can absolutely do it if you're limited on experience! It's often referred to as 'free motion embroidery' which there's tutorials online for!

The basics of embroidery are to print out your design, you can sew right over the paper and follow it like tracing but paper will be stuck under the embroidery so if the set gets wet soggy paper will happen eventually! The better alternative is to get 'soluble embroidery stabilizer' which is a see through material that washes away with warm water! You can trace your design on to it with a pen, pin the stabilizer to your fabric, then simply trace the design with your thread!

I used a zigzag stitch (#4 on my machine), think of it like drawing with a thick marker, you want the stitch to be wide enough to fill in the whole shape if possible. your machine will have two settings you can change, the width of your zig zag (thickness of your marker) and the amount of space between each stitch (opacity), so you want the zig zag to be as wide as the shape and the space between stitches to be as small as your machine will go without getting tangled ( I sit at 0.2)

Freemotion embroidery tutorials will tell you to drop the feed dogs down, don't do that. You'll break a lot of needles. Letters are just straight lines so you can leave them up, let the machine help guide the straight line, it'll be a LOT easier for you! Curvy letters like C and S will be hard the first few times but it gets easier, it's helpful to take it as a bunch of short straight lines instead of trying to turn with it. Fills in the shape better.

You'll end up tracing each letter 2-3 times at minimum to ensure it's nicely filled in and the fabric underneath doesn't show through. Don't forget to sew back over your ends to keep them locked in place otherwise it'll just unravel!

Once that's done the rest is EASY in comparison! 😂

When you're happy with your embroidery you can cut out each of your panels, be sure to leave a minimum 1/4 inch gap around the edge for the seam, you can leave more space if you want! if you think you'll be a bit wavy/ struggle to keep the needle near the edge then more seam allowance is better!

Attach the panels together (lay them together with the 'nice sides' together and sew along the edge)

You'll want a second fabric piece to be your underside, this makes the vest more sturdy, protects the embroidery, and makes a soft smooth surface for your dog! Once the top panels are all attached to each other you can cut out one big piece for the underside, a mirror copy of the shape of your top panels all sewn together!

The "best looking" way to leave a seam I would say is by folding the edges in and sewing around the outside, keeps the edges crisp and compressed. I would do it this way if I was leaving the edges of the vest panels exposed.

If you're going to put webbing along the edges anyways then you can do it a quicker way, just lay the two pieces (your top panels and your underside) together with the nice sides facing in and just sew quickly around the edge. Be sure to leave a space unsewn so you can flip it inside out again. This will be easier to do but leaves the piece looking a bit more bubbly and the corners will be a bit puffy/ not as crisp

You can opt to put your buckles/ attachment points in now while you're sewing the top and bottom together or you can wait and attach it with the webbing. If you do it now you'll have to do the webbing as two separate pieces, if you do it later you can fold the webbing over the edge instead. I found two separate pieces (top and underside) to be cleaner and easier to work with on this tiny scale

From there you can seal up the little gap you left to flip it rightside out by hand stitching a 'invisible stitch' and attach your webbing to the edges. I learned the hard way that you should do the side panels first (the outer edges) and the centre panel last. You want the edge webbing to go underneath your centre panel's webbing so that it's a smooth transition when it flops down and bends at that joint! Otherwise the fabric ends up visible underneath when it bends there. So side panels first, centre panel last.

And that's it I think. it's a lot of trial and error as you gradually realize what order to do things in, what works and what doesn't.

If you do try it keep in mind that it's just thread! if you make a mistake it CAN be undone! cutting the threads is tiresome and redoing stuff sucks but it's nice to know that mistakes aren't permanent. If you're really happy with a panel and screw up an icon at the end it can be saved and you can try again without having to redo the whole thing!

Last note is that large fonts are easier than small ones. tiny font showcases every waver in your pathing, making shaky wonky letters: exhibit A my first try vs a few days later

So to avoid frustration I would stick to larger fonts at first. To go along with that try to allow the machine to go quickly, if you move really slow on a straight line it'll show every time you moved and turned it, letting it move fast on straights keeps them smoother and straighter!

For small fonts to limit frustration I would design your vest so they can be detached and you can work on them without having to change the whole panel while you work on your skill. You can make patches!

Same scrap fabric, do your design, and then cut it out right close to the shape and just do that exact same zig zag stitch around the edge. it'll be lined up so that the left of the zig hits the fabric (at whatever thickness you want your outline to be) and the right side of the zag is not hitting the fabric at all. this will cause the thread to wrap around the edge and give a clean look! the more passes you do the cleaner it'll be (above is just two or three quick passes, if I tried harder it could be way smoother). Then you have a patch you can tack on with thread, stick heat n bond on the back for iron-on, or secure velcro or make a little hanger. dealers choice really on that one.

Anyways this is a bit of a mess of information but I hope it gives you somewhere to start. If you want me to demo anything let me know I'm more than happy to help!

oh and feel free to take my pattern up there if you need somewhere to start! I just ask that you change the design up a bit so it's not a carbon copy

[genericpuff]

This isn't meant to be a hateful ask, but you should probably stop saying you've 'fixed' Rachel's art whenever you redraw comic frames. At first, I could see why your posts were titled that, considering they were just edits made onto a frame, trying to keep in mind the style of the comic alongside it (and let me say, you absolutely nail colors when it comes to your gLOw series, I use your notes for my own art all the time). But it seems like for your more recent posts, you're redrawing panels in your own style and saying that you've 'fixed' the frames. I'm not saying that you can't do that, redraws are a core part of the LO community. But it feels as if you're putting Rachel's art style down in favor of your own. For example, your recent post. Smaller necks and 'googly eyes' (big eyes with small pupils) are usually apart of LOs more cartooney style, they aren't something as bad as LOs men's shoulder to head width, or awkward hand and feet positions, etc. The point I'm trying to make is that you should probably start titling frames you redraw in your own style as that, a redraw, not 'fixing' someone else's art style

EDIT: oh god I totally went off with this, BIG apologies for the essay dump in response to a very simple ask, it's just a topic I'm very passionate about and am willing to talk about at really extreme lengths. I appreciate your takes on this even if I do disagree with them, I just don't make shit easy and I apologize for that 😖 😂

Oookay, so I'm gonna try and answer this as best I can, with as little curtness as possible, because I know you're asking it genuinely, but please understand that this is a topic that comes up a LOT in artist/LO spaces and I'm sorta exhausted with having to talk about it. Often times because it's approaching the argument with a very misconstrued idea of what 'style' is.

Ironically enough, before I get into this, I actually do have a post queued up for tomorrow already that's called a 'redraw' because unlike the panels I'm assuming you're calling out, I actually painted the upcoming ones for tomorrow entirely from scratch. I'm still trying to replicate the LO style, of course, but it's not trying to remain quite as faithful as my edits tend to be because it's meant to be a redraw in the true sense of the word like you're referencing. My edits are often just a normal layer on top of the original that I paint over, which is what the last few posts have been. My redraws are drawn from the ground up, backgrounds, faces, poses, etc. often times with the goal of re-compositing the scene entirely. The ones from the last couple days were not drawn from the ground up, simply altered over the originals - but the unfortunate reality is that some of them simply can't be accurately edited entirely due to the original composition being such a visual mess. That includes this one which was a struggle to edit faithfully without my own anatomical stylizations bleeding into it due to how janky the original was (IMO). Like, the original panel didn't even "look like LO", it's godawful, and it's a stretch to say I'm dissing Rachel's "style" when I'm fairly certain Rachel didn't even draw any part of that original panel, it's INCREDIBLY obvious two different people from her team drew it and there's no way of knowing whether or not Rachel was one of them. I did not touch Hades because he's not the problem with the panel. Hades as you see him in that panel is exactly how he was in the original, I merely tried my best to edit Persephone to look more consistent with Hades and less creepy.

Disclaimers over, let's get on with this.

So here's the thing - if it were a simple matter of "style", I'd agree wholeheartedly with you. I'm not about pitting artists against one another, we're all different people with different takes and inspirations making our own thing.

However, there's a difference between style and execution.

With full disclosure, I do not accept the argument that because LO has a more "cartoony style", then it's "fine" for it to very blatantly lower its quality in technical execution or turn into a cheap copy of what it once was. LO was never 'cartoony', it was more akin to storybook art, like something you'd find in old Disney concept art pieces or in children's illustration books. 'Cartoony' as in 'not realistic', sure, but definitely not cartoony in the way most people envision it or market it (like what you'd see in legitimate cartoon shows). The use of color was vibrant and had thought put into it, compositions were dynamic, lineart was only used where needed to create depth, and overall, there was a vibe to it that many of you can still recognize, it's what a lot of my blog talks about.

When I do these panel "fixes", my goal isn't to go "hey, my style is superior to Rachel's! Fuck Rachel!" Far from it. My goal is to analyze what made the original LO art so special and unique, and help preserve those elements in newer panels through key elements such as color choice, glow layers, composition, texturing, etc. many of which are elements that are outright missing from S2 of LO onwards.

Because, full bluntness, LO has zero effort being put into it anymore.

LO never had perfect anatomy and it's always struggled with creating a cohesive visual narrative, but it hid its issues well with a good balance of color choice, mood/tone, and lineart-less rendering. It wasn't meant to be some hyper-realistic comic, what set it apart were the colorful panels and vignettes and use of 'cutout' style backgrounds and foreground elements.

Stuff like this:

I have spent literally hours dissecting LO's art style, researching and hunting down its brushes, crawling the best and most recognizable color palettes, drawing and redrawing old panels in attempts to replicate Rachel's style and techniques as best I can. I'm not doing all that just to try and be like "I can do it better", more so to preserve what once was and could have been. Because I genuinely miss how old LO looked and so do many others. It's my own way of participating in a fandom that's being torn apart each week by the new episodes that only seem to further degrade the comic's original presentation and why people liked it.

Trust me, if I wanted to just draw LO in 'my style' as some sort of self-gratifying flex (because everyone in the art world nowadays thinks the only point in creating art is to have a "style" that they can pit against other "styles" as if styles are collectables like fucking Pokemon lmao), you wouldn't even recognize it.

THIS is my "style", y'all. The only elements that I've purely taken from LO is the background and how I did the lighting effects along the side but everything else is my standard 'style' when I draw anything that's NOT LO, especially with my own comics and my day job.

"Style" is not a tangible thing, at least not in the way people nowadays tend to define it. Style is an accumulation of everything that's influenced an artist over years of practice, learning, refinement, and mastery. It is not something any one person can 'own' nor is it something that can or should be 'fixed' in and of itself. Just like how Rachel has adopted elements of her style from inspirations such as Glen Keane and Mary Blair, I've gotten my stylistic inspirations from anime, manga, video games, and other webcomics. Our styles and why we create art and who we create art for are completely different.

I have zero issue with Rachel's 'style'. At its core it's actually freaking gorgeous, when she puts in the effort. Not even just LO, take a look at her even OLDER art that's still available to sift through on her DA:

The issues I'm bringing up have to do with the execution of said style, how it's blatantly obvious Rachel doesn't put any effort into the art anymore and often has her assistants picking up the slack in a very disorganized manner that leads to disjointed, bland, weird ass art that often can't even maintain consistency between SINGLE PANELS, like this:

The magic is gone. These are not reflections of Rachel's capabilities in the slightest. She is far capable of so much more, this is beyond being a 'stylistic choice' and falls more under the implication of laziness or lack of care.

What's wild is that she's outright stated that she's "streamlined" the LO creation process to make it easier for new assistants to acclimate - which would be fine, if it weren't for the fact that 'streamlining' shouldn't mean 'downgrade'. There are plenty of ways to streamline the LO art style that can still retain the original charm of LO that drew people to it in the first place without cheapening it. It's not like LO is the only webtoon under strict deadlines, Rachel has more assistants than most working for WT and yet everyone else on the platform seems to only improve in their comic's production workflow and its presentation whereas LO has only declined.

(The Kiss Bet, 2019-Present)

(Tower of God, 2014-Present)

Not every comic needs to make improvements this drastically, and technically LO didn't even have to make improvements in its original execution - but it's so far gone in the other direction that it begs the question, "Why do other creators and comics with less prestige and as many or less assistants compared to LO seem to make such bigger strides in the technical execution of their work?" Regardless of whether the style is erring more towards anime or cartoon or realism, 'style' doesn't make up for poor technical execution and lack of consistency. That's the same energy we get all the time from newcomers to the craft who reject any form of criticism towards their technique and understanding of the fundamentals with "THAT'S JUST MY STYYYYLE". Even many animators who predominantly work on cartoon productions still understand their fundamentals and utilize them in the creation of stylized pieces of work. This isn't even me questioning how much of the fundamentals Rachel knows because, again, she clearly has understanding of it in her older work, she just seems to have stopped caring or isn't doing a proper job directing her team.

I criticize the stick necks and googly eyes the same way I do the inconsistent body types, refrigerator shoulders and same-face syndrome because they're all things that are detracting from and lowering the quality of LO's art as a whole. They didn't always shade whites in the old episodes of LO, but they did often tint them to make them less jarring against the more vibrant colors. They didn't always color in the irises back in 2018/2019, but at least when they were just solid black pupils, they were actually drawn EQUALLY, vs. the solid pupils nowadays which feel like they're each on their own schedule and are never the same size or facing the same direction. They didn't always draw perfect necks and faces, but nowadays it feels like the heads are being stuck on sticks and attached to separate bodies that aren't even consistent with the characters' body types. All of these things are issues, there's no 'hierarchy' of problems, they're each a part of a much bigger lackluster whole.

When it comes to my own panel fixes/redraws/whatever you wanna call them, if they don't look enough like Rachel's 'style', that's either because we're failing to recognize what makes Rachel's art unique due to it being so watered down over the years, or because I'm just not doing a good enough job replicating it. Undoubtedly a little bit of both. I'm still 'adjusting' to a workflow that accommodates the LO style and how it looks. It's not exactly easy to just jump from one style (my style) to another without my own usual biases bleeding in (trust me, I'm not happy that there are people who know my usual art style who can still 'see' it in my LO art, because that completely defeats the purpose of what I'm trying to do lmao)

All that aside, we can't pretend that S1 LO's signature style is still being executed to its fullest potential in S3.

If I can be really brash here, there are WAY more egregious panel 'editors' out there who straight up are drawing stuff legitimately just in their own style. And they're still all great in their own right and get to the point of what they're trying to say even if they don't fit what you would define as a "fix". Don't bug me about mine.

Rachel's style in and of itself is gorgeous and unique. It's the lack of effort in the execution as time goes on that is the topic here. I can never hope to fully achieve that 'vibe' that so many people miss about 'old' LO because that was all Rachel and I can never fully capture the spirit of her work because it's hers, it's the accumulation of everything that's inspired and influenced her in her artistic journey.

What I can do is point out and design alternatives to the many errors, inconsistencies, and technical issues that tries to get it closer to that original look and feel of S1 LO that better reflected Rachel's original efforts. It's what it could potentially look like if modern LO art wasn't so disjointed among its scattered assistants and rushed with as little visible effort possible. It's what could have been if it didn't feel like Rachel has essentially given up.

Does it really matter how I specifically word my posts between 'edit' and 'redraw' in this context when both things are attempting to accomplish the same goal?

[sweatandwoe]

Love Love LOVE your writing!!! If you have the time, could I request a drabble about impulsive love-confession? Doesnt matter who, I just really like the idea of high-adrenaline confessions out of nowhere, and would love to see your take on it when you have the chance <3

OH I LOVE THIS PROMPT!

How about some more Viktor? Two days of Viktor! This one takes place between Act 1 and Act 2.

Viktor x GN!Reader Drabble

-

"Okay. Three steps back."

"Viktor, are you sure-"

"It's safe." He assured, glancing over his shoulder. The goggles obstructed his eyes, but his lips were twitching. Once you took the three steps back, it turned into a full smirk, while his head moved back to face the floating panels. "In theory."

"Viktor."

"It's almost done, just a moment."

You watched, eyeing the experiment. This would be the first test of the newest hexcore model. It wasn't a final version, nowhere close, but if it was a success - it would mean a change for the future. The change of hextech, it would mean Jayce could go forward with the plans to the Council. That things would start to change.

Holding your breath, you didn't take your eyes away as Viktor began to put in the last symbols. Twisting the gears, before he got to the last one, pausing. Another glance back at you, his eyes unreadable behind the shaded glass.

He turned back after a moment and turned the handles once more.

At once, the panels around the core tightened to it. Blue sparks emerging from it, and it seemed to draw everything close, as you watched bits and pieces start flying off desks, and had to plant your feet into the ground.

Viktor managed to keep himself planted, holding himself until finally there was a large spark, and he twisted the handles once more with a shout.

A flash of light and everything dropped. You nearly lost your balance, as Viktor slumped forward against the desk.

But the core was floating, with the metal panels still pressed close. Like the early hextech crystals, but larger.

Viktor removed the eyewear, letting it fall to the ground as he took it in. And soon you were moving in close, standing at his side.

The weight seemed to crash off your shoulders, as you took in a breath. "It worked."

"It worked." Viktor confirmed, and turned to look at you. Both of you holding the other's gaze before you crashed together. Arms around each other, as you both laughed and shouted.

"It worked!" Your arms were around his neck, half thrown around him. "It worked."

His hands drew over your back, his shoulders falling. "I couldn't have done this without you."

You pulled back, only back far enough to look at his face, more because of the way his fingers had dug into your back. "You could've. Remember, the original plan was to do this with Jayce."

"I couldn't have done this. I needed you-"

"Viktor, you don't need me-"

"I do." Amber eyes staring down at you, searching your face like he had never seen you before. Like it was the first time he was truly seeing you. "I need you. I want you." There was a pause, his cheeks growing in color. "I love you."

You froze. Gaze flickering over his face, as the adrenaline from the success of the experiment died down, only for a new, far more panicked adrenaline to take its place. "You do?"

That got a chuckle, one hand removing from your back to cup your cheek. "How could I not? You're wonderful. Beautiful. Intelligent. Kind." And he was leaning in, but frowning. You weren't pulling from him, even as he drew your face closer. "Do you think you could feel the same? One day?"

And now you felt your lips twitch, eyes stinging with nothing but joy. "Viktor, I already feel the same." You leaned in, and he met you halfway. "I love you too."

The kiss is soft and sweet, with the promise for more. And with the way Viktor was gripping you, you had a feeling more would be coming soon.

[sjsmith56]

Heavens Above - Chapter 17, Lord Buchanan

Summary: A viewing party on the palace rooftop confirms Lord Buchanan’s discovery of satellites in orbit. On the journey back to his lands the discovery of a friendly wolf pup seems to be a good omen.

Length: 5.1 K

Characters: Lord and Lady Buchanan, King Stephen and Queen Peg, King Thorn, Jane Foster, Sky.

Warning: Minors DNI - contains sexual content which may be unsuitable for readers under the age of 18. Buchanan catches and cleans some fish for their meal.

Author notes: Basically, a feel good chapter.

<<Chapter 16

🔭 🛰️ 🐺

There were several people atop the palace rooftop shortly before sunset. Both King Stephen and Thorn, Queen Peg were King Stephen, Lord and Lady Buchanan, Dr. Jane Foster and the Queen's doctor, Dr. Lisa Madison. Thorn and Foster had arrived shortly before the evening meal.   When the Queen shared the news of Buchanan's discovery Foster had looked at Peg with a knowing smile.

"You're thinking we might be able to see the International Space Station, if it is still orbiting," she said. "I used to know it's orbit but I don't remember how often they had to do course corrections to keep it there. Even if it's not there the fact there are still satellites is a good indicator they had the technology once."

"I had the thought there might still be military missiles in silos," said Ileana. "Couldn't they be reprogrammed to go into space?"

"Theoretically, yes," said Jane. "But their fuel might not be enough to get them there." She made a sound of frustration. "I need first hand observations of that asteroid. There has to be the remains of an observatory nearby. Have either of you ever tried to figure out where on Earth we are? Where were you when you were brought here? I was in Arizona."

"New Orleans," said Ileana.

"London," said Peg.

"Well, there goes that theory," said Jane. "We were all brought to the same place from different places.  I wish I knew what this place used to be."

"I think we should be canvassing the population to find everyone who was brought here from a modern world," said Dr. Madison. "Surely, there must be someone with the knowledge we need."

"The King has requested all Lords gather here in a month to discuss the asteroid and what can be done about it," said Peg. "Perhaps if we get them to explore their own lands and look for the remains of an observatory or a missile silo, anything that looks out of place for these times."

There were sudden exclamations from the men and the women looked to see Buchanan pointing out a travelling point of light across the sky. The women looked up, watching it travel across the sky then disappear in the east. Jane looked at the assembled group.

"That was definitely a satellite," she confirmed. "Your world did have the knowledge at one time. If we could see the largest one of them it would give me an indication of how advanced your civilization was."

There were several other sightings of other satellites but it was almost two hours before the one that they were waiting for appeared in the western sky. Jane Foster trained the small telescope that had been brought out on it and cried out in triumph – quickly passing it to the others for a brief look. When it passed out of sight, the group, especially the men, were ecstatic.

"That was truly a place where people lived and worked?" asked Buchanan. "Why was it shaped the way it is and not like a house or a ship?"

"We have some time before it makes another pass," said Jane. "Come into the warmth of the castle so I can draw you a quick picture of it."

Quickly she drew a picture from memory and explained the different components of it, including the solar panels that powered the station in space. As they questioned her about how they would grow crops she explained how space is a vacuum, no air, no way to breathe without technology. Food was shipped to the station via rockets as were the people, although theoretically they could grow some things using hydroponics, which was another explanation in itself.

"So the probability of anyone being alive up there are non-existent," stated Buchanan, feeling a little deflated.

"Yes, it's not likely," replied Jane.  "Still, the fact that your world had one of these means that before the calamity your ancestors had the capability of going to space."

The clock chimed, indicating it was time to go back up to the roof to wait for the second pass. When it passed over everyone took another look for several seconds each until it was lost to sight. Jane explained how it likely wouldn't be visible again that night as its orbit would take it further south and they all retired back into the palace.

"Jane, I will build you the biggest observatory for you to search the heavens," said King Thorn. "I'm sure there are craftsmen who can duplicate that small telescope into something larger."

"Actually, there is a different type of telescope that would be better suited for that purpose but that is a conversation for the day," said Jane. "I am tired and I'm sure everyone here is also. Lord Buchanan, you have a quick mind to have realized those travelling lights were orbiting this world and were not stars. You have given me hope that somewhere that lost technology may still exist. We will need it to take action against the asteroid."

"You honour me, Lady Jane," he said. "I am intrigued by the whole notion of a craft floating around in the heavens, with people living and working on it. My lady wife has more familiarity with what that technology looks like but at least now I can easily envision it. I will direct my tenants to search out their lands for hidden treasures. My wife and I will also retire now for we leave early on the morrow for our lands. Good eve to you all."

He offered Ileana his arm and they retired to his quarters. His excitement was evident and Ileana had a funny thought that made her chuckle. When he asked why she was so amused she took a breath.

"I just realized you are a science nerd," she said. "In my time, to call someone a nerd was seen as an insult. At its worst, it meant you had little social graces which doesn't apply to you at all but when you put the term science in front of it the whole meaning changes. It means you are interested and accomplished in scientific endeavours. In my job I was considered a computer nerd. You being a science nerd is perfect because it means we both are interested in science and technology."

"And each other," he said, laughing as he placed himself on top of her. "Are you too tired for us to couple? I find myself eager even though I know we must leave early in the morn."

Her laughter was answer enough and their joyful coupling was heard by several as they passed the quarters. It was late when they finally slept. When Gerard and Alice opened their dressing room doors in the morning they had to call out to the pair to awaken them. After being assisted by the two servants to dress, both Ileana and Buchanan expressed their thanks to Alice and Gerard for all their help. Alice promised to continue her training to become a midwife. Packing travelling clothes for them both the good servants promised to have those saddlebags mounted on their horses when they were ready to leave. The King was already in his private dining hall and they joined him as a servant poured a drink for them. Ileana took a sip and cried out in excitement.

"It's coffee!" she said. "Where did you get coffee?"

"A pedlar from the outlands who came with Loki's allies decided he didn't want to take his wares back with him so he has been going through the land, with my permission," said King Stephen. "Your reaction was the same as Peg's. He promised to bring us more for it seems everyone is enjoying the taste as much as you are."

"I have some at our estate," said Buchanan. "Cook said the pedlar was there before they were besieged. I took some as did Lord Stark. It is a strong drink but tasty."

As the others came in the modern women all had the same reaction causing laughter. "If I had known this was so missed by the modern women I might have searched this drink out sooner," said the King. "Perhaps Peg would have married me sooner if I had offered her a pound or two of coffee as a bride price."

Their food was brought out and Ileana bent over her plate. The smell that was once tantalizing suddenly smelled foul to her and she ran for the nearest privy to empty her stomach. She came back to Peg's sympathetic eyes and Buchanan's unspoken question to which she nodded.

"My good wife is with child," said Buchanan. "She told me yesterday. The Sorceress has confirmed it."

"Stick to plain toast for now," said Peg. "It won't be long until you can have a hearty breakfast again."

"Wonderful news," said the King. "Congratulations my dear friends. What an exciting time for us both."

Ileana ate a slice of plain toast, managing to keep it down. Buchanan ate heartily, still happy with the news of their child. Once he had finished as had everyone else he stood up, expressing his desire to start on their journey. The others walked out to the courtyard with them where their horses were waiting. Ileana didn't see the white mare at first but Buchanan took her by the hand and walked her over to the mare.

"Ileana, I bought this mare for you," he said. "She is battle trained and sure footed. One of the women we escorted had no horse and I allowed her to ride it. In her mind it was one of the best rides she ever had."

"She's beautiful," said Ileana, stroking the horse's gleaming white neck. "What's her name?"

"She has none," said Buchanan. "You must name her."

"Well, she is as bright as the full moon," said Ileana. "Luna. Thank you My Lord."

"Luna it is," he said, then offered his hand to help her up.

The mare was easier to mount compared to Magnus who stood patiently waiting for Lord Buchanan. Once his master had mounted he became impatient and began lifting one front leg, then another, eager to begin their journey. Buchanan saluted the King and Queen then bade Ileana to ride beside him. They trotted out the gate and kept up the pace for some time until Buchanan called for them to slow down and give the horses a break.

"Are we staying in the mountain hut tonight, James?" asked Ileana.

"It is an option," he said. "We have bed rolls with us so it will be more comfortable than our previous stay. I have another place in mind that is a bit further but it will allow us to keep the horses with us overnight. It is dry, covered, and with a fire is quite comfortable."

They travelled for some time until they came to a stream that was fed by a small waterfall. Buchanan took his scabbard, boots and socks off and strode into the stream nearest the waterfall looking intently into the water. He found what he was looking for and asked Ileana for his longest knife. Then he stood quite still but bent over and suddenly stabbed at something in the water, lifting out a fish. Pulling the knife out he tossed the fish onto the grass and bade Ileana to make sure it didn't escape. Twice more he caught a fish, then came out of the water and started a fire with deadfall. He asked Ileana to look for strong green wood that could be stripped of its bark to thread the fish onto. As she did so he scaled and cleaned the fish, picking up the guts and throwing it at the base of a tree nearby.

"It's good food for the forest," he said and Ileana smiled.

Then Buchanan threaded the fish onto the stripped green wood and bent it over the fire so it was out of the flame but could cook in the heat from the coals. Laying where he could watch the fish he beckoned to Ileana to lay with him while the food cooked. They kissed and caressed, stopping every so often to adjust the fish to keep it from burning. He undid the ties of her bodice so he could kiss and touch her breasts but went no further as they still had a long way to travel after their meal. When he was satisfied with the cooked texture of the fish he searched the river bank for large flat stones, finally finding one that was more platter sized. He washed it in the stream and came back with it to the fire sliding the fish from the sticks onto it, then placing it on the grass in between them. Gently he pulled pieces of it off and fed Ileana, kissing her after every morsel. She did the same. After they ate they kissed again but this time Buchanan undid his breeches, lifting his hard cock out.

"Watching you eat from my fingers and then you feeding me has made me desire you," he said. "I can't ride with this so we have to take care of it. Don't undress. I will just lift your skirts up."

Carefully he pulled her skirts up and smiled when he saw she wasn't wearing her undergarment that she normally wore under her breeches. Burying his face under Ileana's skirts he searched for her warmth and found her already receptive to him.

"I was aroused by you feeding me as well," she said, smiling.

Pulling her skirts higher while Buchanan guided himself into her they both murmured at the pleasure this joining was giving them. Her bodice was still undone and Buchanan buried his face into her bosom as he thrust himself hard into her. Running her hands through his hair, Ileana lifted herself into his thrusts and soon felt the beginnings of the intensity that would build to her release. Suddenly he grasped her hands and raised them above her head. He made a low sound that was almost a growl and looked at her with a ferocity she had only seen once or twice.

"I would have you scream for me," he whispered. "What will bring one to your lips?"

He pulled almost all the way out then slammed hard back into her, filling her with his full length and girth. She gasped loudly but he wasn't satisfied and hungrily eyed her neck, burying his face in the part where her pulse could be seen. Roughly mouthing the soft skin he lightly bit her ear lobe pulling it with his teeth then mouthing the spot. She moaned and it emboldened him. Holding her hands down with one hand he put his thumb on the spot just above her entry that he knew would bring the scream he desired.

"You spot is hard like my cock," he said, "and it wants to be set free to fill you with the screams of pleasure. Raise yourself into me and press yourself into my thumb while I circle your spot."

Ileana did as he asked and raised her hips searching for the spot that would release her orgasm. She pulled on her hands, wanting to touch herself but he wouldn't let go. Then he buried his face in her breasts again.

"James, I need to touch...," she gasped and this time he released her hands.

Immediately she caressed her own breasts then pulled one out and brought it to his lips. He groaned and she felt him grow inside her as he fought his own release. Grasping his face in her hands she joined their mouths and pressed her tongue deeply into his mouth. He did the same to her and it was as if a switch had been flipped as she screamed in her throat. Her scream was felt on his tongue and he came at almost the exact same moment. Both pressed into the other, lengthening the effects of their climax. Buchanan collapsed on top of her and buried his face into her bosom once again breathing heavily into it, taking in the lusty smells of their coupling. They lay there for several minutes until he started laughing. Then he raised himself on his arms and looked lovingly on her.

"This interlude has ruined my plans to stay in my original destination," he said. "We will have to stay in the mountain hut tonight and bring the horses in with us. It is the time of the year when some animals prepare for their winter sleep. Even Magnus might not survive an encounter with a hungry bear. Stay here, while I clean you up."

He reached inside his shirt and brought out the piece of Ileana's black lace skirt. She looked at it, recognizing it.

"You still have it," she said, smiling.

"Aye," he replied. "It is my talisman but it will have to be a cleaning cloth for now."

He wiped himself and fastened his breeches up then went to the stream and wet the cloth well before wringing it out. Gently he wiped her clean and pulled her skirts back into place before helping her up. Returning to the stream he cleaned it well, wringing it again and fastening it to his scabbard so it could dry. Then he pulled his socks and boots back on before putting his scabbard on. He cleaned up the bits of bone and fish placing them on the tree where he had left the insides of the fish. He noticed they were gone and not just scattered by small rodents but fully gone.

"Ileana, get on your horse," he said, suddenly alert. "It appears we had a visitor during our pleasures. I'm not sure what but it is now well fed, at least for now. Magnus didn't react to its presence so it mustn't have been a threat."

Easily she mounted Luna while he went back to the fire and kicked the larger pieces into the water to kill it.  Dirt was kicked on the remaining coals to suffocate the flame. Then he mounted Magnus. The two horses trotted again for some time and eventually came to the path for the mountain hut. Buchanan studied the sky and shook his head with concern.

"There is weather coming," he said. "Make haste, we need to be under shelter before it rains or we will be cold all night."

They rode as quickly as they could given the rocky path but were not fast enough to out run the weather and it started to rain before they made it to the hut. Without stopping he pulled both horses into the shelter, then went back out to gather what dry wood he could, bringing it back by the armfuls. He stripped off his leathers and started the fire, building it up to a roar.

"Take your wet clothes off," he ordered Ileana.

Ileana took her jacket, skirts and bodice off. Her chemise was still quite dry so he directed her to sit near the fire while he arranged her clothing so it would dry. Then he unsaddled both horses and laid their blankets on the floor in front of the fire. Their bodies steamed in the warmth of the hut but he smoothed his hands over their backs, satisfied they were not chilled. Their bedrolls were damp so he laid them out near the fire as well to dry them out. In the heat generated by the fire it didn't take long for everything to become dry and he transferred the saddle blankets onto the rough wooden bed which they had shared about 6 weeks previous. Magnus nickered then flicked his ears, immediately alerting Buchanan that something was amiss. He pulled his sword out of his scabbard and listened carefully at the door. Hearing a whimpering noise, he opened the door a crack, preparing to slash at whatever beast might be out there. A wet ball of black fur scurried in, causing him to jump back in surprise. Closing the door he looked closely at the creature which hid under the bed, only its bright eyes visible to him.

"What is it?" asked Ileana. "I just saw a ball of fur go there."

"I'm not sure," replied Buchanan. "Let me see if I can coax it out."

Reaching into his saddlebag he pulled out some rations. He gave some to Ileana and she bit into it.

"Beef jerky," she said with a smile, then ate more.

Buchanan ate some then tossed a piece near the bed and waited. A small black nose appeared sniffing, followed by thick black fur. It's curiosity and hunger won out over its fear and it came forward grasped the jerky and chewed it with pleasure, giving grunts and small growls as it chewed. Buchanan looked at Ileana and grinned.

"It's a wolf pup," he said. "Somehow it's been separated from its pack. I wonder if it is the creature that ate the fish guts. It's followed us a long way.  I am surprised it was able to keep up."

He tossed another piece at it then gave one to Ileana again while he chewed on his. Buchanan looked at Magnus who seemed to watch the pup with indifference and sat back thinking. He pulled another piece off and instead of throwing it held it out to the pup, waiting to see what it would do. It sat and looked at him for a short time, then at the food before it slowly approached Buchanan's hand. He moved the jerky closer towards himself and the pup followed it, its hunger guiding its actions. Finally, it took the piece gently from Buchanan's fingers and he tentatively scratched it behind its ears. Withdrawing his hand the pup stepped forward, raising one paw to Buchanan then another and sat waiting patiently for a piece of jerky. Ileana offered it a piece, smiling as it took it gently from her then stepped closer, sniffing her before it climbed into her lap, curling up and closing its eyes.

"I've heard of this happening," said Buchanan, sounding pleased. "Usually to someone who lives near the frontiers, away from others. This is the first I have actually seen it. We are now its pack."

Ileana beamed and automatically began stroking the young pup as it lay sleeping in her lap.

"It must be so tired after following us so far," she said. "We are keeping it, aren't we?"

"Aye," said Buchanan. "But it will need to be trained to rein in its natural tendencies. Can't have it hunting down the livestock. Those that succeeded in taming a wolf say it is worth the hard work as they are loyal loving creatures with their pack."

Buchanan laid their bed rolls on the raised wooden bed and lifted the small creature from its sleeping position on Ileana's lap. It never stirred as he placed it at the bottom of the bed. He took his shirt off, replacing it with his nightshirt from the saddlebag. Together they got into the rough bed where Ileana curled herself into him.

"This is much more comfortable than it was that first night," he said softly to her. "After you fell asleep I could smell your hair and feel its softness on my arm. It made it difficult to honour my pledge to you."

"But you did," she replied. "You were and still are a man of your word. That is one of the things that I love about you. In both our worlds you are a man of honour."

They kissed lovingly and easily fell asleep in each other's arms. During the night the wolf pup whimpered in its sleep and Ileana woke enough to pick it up from the bottom of the bed then bring it into the bed roll with her. As Buchanan spooned behind her she placed the pup in front of her. It licked her face then burrowed into her midsection and fell asleep. It's warmth was comforting and she stroked it until she slept again.

The sound of whining woke them both. When they searched for the sound they saw it was the wolf pup at the door. Buchanan went to the door, opened it and the creature ran outside barking at something. Grabbing his sword Buchanan stepped outside in the dawn, looking for the source of the pup's warning. The young wolf was at the base of a tree where it appeared to have frightened something enough for it to climb into the gnarled branches. Gingerly stepping over the rocky ground in his bare feet Buchanan peered up into the branches and saw the distinct face of a raccoon.

"Pup," he called to the little wolf, "come here."

He gestured at the pup and it looked back at him with a puzzled expression on its face.

"You want a name?" he asked the little ball of fur. "Very well, Shadow, come here."

It didn't move. He tried several names and it still gave him the same quizzical look. A beam of sunlight came through the trees and lit up the cub's face, making its eyes visible.

"Sky," said Buchanan. "Your eyes are like mine, the colour of the sky. Is that your name? Come Sky."

The dog bounded to him and sat at his feet, it's tail wagging. Buchanan scooped it up, checked its sex, and brought it back into the hut, chuckling. Ileana sat on the rough bed.

"What was out there?" she asked.

"A raccoon," he replied. "A deadly beast to protect us from. The pup has a name. Sky. His eyes are sky blue like mine. When I called him by that name he came to me."

"So the white wolf has a black wolf cub," said Ileana. "You know there will be stories about it."

"Perhaps there should be," he replied with a smile. "A wolf pack is a formidable thing."

They dressed, then led the horses outside where Buchanan saddled them and loaded the saddle bags. Sky had occupied himself with exploring everywhere but when it was time to go and he was called by name he came running. Buchanan picked the wolf cub up and placed him inside his shirt. At first Sky tried to get out but his new master looked sternly at him.

"Stay there," he said. "We're going to ride and I want you where I can see you."

The cub sighed and curled up inside his shirt. Once they started Ileana could see him looking out on occasion, seeming to enjoy the ride. A few hours later they were at the ravine and went carefully down the rocky path then up again on the other side. For a moment Buchanan looked at the path to Bruce the Giant's hut wondering if it was prudent to make a quick detour but decided it was more important to bring Ileana to their home. An hour later they entered the courtyard and both dismounted their horses which were taken by grooms immediately. Ileana looked up at the castle, her new home and turned to see Buchanan watching her reaction.

"Are you pleased?" he asked. "It is an older castle and I do have plans to modernize it. My quarters...our quarters were to be improved after I was here last. I will take you there but I wish you to meet my father first."

"I would like that," she replied, putting her hand out to him. "From the outside the castle looks large. I'm a little overwhelmed by the size, to be honest."

He smiled. "Mary, the housekeeper, will handle all the day to day running of the household," he said. "I have known her since I was a boy and she is good with my father. We will see her after we visit him."

Eagerly he led her to his father's quarters where the older man sat looking out the window. Buchanan led Ileana in and bade her wait at the door while he prepared his father to meet her. She watched as he knelt at his father's knee, gently taking his hand. At first the old man didn't react then he recognized his son and a big smile came to his face.

"Bucky, my boy," he kissed his son, affectionately. "You've come home. The war is done? You helped restore Steven to his throne?"

"Yes Father, the war is done, and Steven is king once more," said Buchanan patiently. "There is someone else I brought with me. I have taken a wife. Her name is Ileana."

He motioned for her to come forward and she knelt in front of the old man.

"Hello Father," she said softly. "James has told me about you."

The older Barnes looked at Ileana with a soft and loving face. Gently he touched her hair and then her cheek.

"You are very pretty," he said with a smile. "My Bucky, is he good to you?"

"He is, sir," she replied. "I love him deeply."

"Good," he said. "He was so sad when Elena died. He needed a good woman to help heal his heart. You have the look of love on you."

"Father, Ileana carries our child," said Buchanan. "A grandchild for you to have on your knee."

"A child?" exclaimed the older Barnes. "That is wonderful. You will be a good father. Now, what is it that you carry inside your shirt? I just saw some black fur."

Buchanan reached inside his shirt and pulled out the wolf cub. "He followed us for many miles by himself. Somehow he became lost from his pack. He ate from our fingers and slept with us last night so I think he chose us as his new pack. His name is Sky."

The old man laughed and held the pup in his arms. Sky licked the older Barnes' face, then curled up in his lap. Ileana and Buchanan watched happily as the black wolf cub endeared himself to the old man. Buchanan hadn't seen his father this animated in years and it pleased him that the pup had taken a liking to his father. His father fed the pup the remains of his meal from the table beside him which cemented their relationship. Several times he looked up at his son and daughter-in-law and his eyes were clear, his manner direct and his voice strong. It was as good an introduction as any they could have expected.

Chapter 18>>

Series masterlist

Please reblog if you liked this chapter.

[bullet-prooflove]

Monster In The Closet: Will Halstead x Reader

Trigger Warning: Mentions of sexual assault

Part 1: Survivors

Part 2: Where You Go I Go

Will found you sitting on the edge of the bed. Your hands were grasping at the sheets, clutching at the mattress. Your back was rigid, your shoulders taunt, and your eyes fixed on the closet across from you.

"Baby?" he didn't know what to say. Instead, he sat down on the bed beside of you.

Their shoulders brushed lightly; he heard the rustle of your clothing as his hand came to rest over yours. You swallowed hard as you twisted your head towards him. He could see the terror in your eyes and Jesus it killed him.

"I need you to check the closet." you said quietly.

Will was suddenly filled with a wealth of understanding. The closet was where that bastard had watched you in your old apartment. It had been where everything had started to unravel. The place that the monster had literally hidden. He felt such guilt about that, about not believing you that night you had told him your suspicions. It made him flinch every time the thought crossed his mind. Checking the closet was the least he could do for you.

"No problem." he said, rising to his feet.

The truth was the closet even freaked him up just a little, knowing that the man who had hurt you had probably seen the two of you at your most intimate. He knew it was irrational to think there was another monster in this closet. If it gave you both a peace of mind, then he would check it and the whole entire apartment for the rest of his life. Your heart banged against your ribcage as Will yanked open the wardrobe door, revealing nothing but a few of his shirts.

Will put his arm into the closet and drew back the clothes revealing the beech-coloured back panel. The two of you let out breaths you hadn't realized you were holding as you fixated on the blank space.

"I knew he wasn't there..." you murmured, bowing your head with shame as you pressed your hands between your knees.

"I had to check." Will responded, shutting the closet door.

There was silence between the two of you as Will turned to face you. You could see the toll this was taking on him from the dark circles under his eyes and stubble that lined his jaw. He rubbed his hand over his weary features, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You're tired." You said quietly, tilting your head up towards him.

"A little." he admitted, his shoulders sagging a little with fatigue.

"Do you want to go to bed?" You asked him.

"I can take the couch." He told you.

He had already resigned himself to that fate. He was willing to do anything to make you feel comfortable and safe, if he had to sleep on the couch for eternity then he would.

"Will." you whispered, catching his hand in her own.

Will hesitated, this was the first time you had reached out for him, and he treasured the moment. The moment where it seemed everything was starting to click back into place.

"Please... I don't want to be alone." you confessed.

He saw how much it hurt you to admit that, to admit that you were scared right now. The woman that he had known before the attack was all about pride, but now he could see that you were raw and open.

"What do you want?" he asked you quietly.

Jesus, he wanted to reach out and touch you the way he used to, to not have to worry or remember about what that bastard had done to you, but he didn't want to frighten or coerce you into doing something that you weren’t ready for.

"I want you to undress me." you uttered, your eyes on Will's intently.

Will rubbed his palm across his mouth as his eyes fixed on you. He wanted to do as you asked, he wanted to remove your clothes piece by piece until you were gloriously naked, but it wasn't the right thing to do. He didn't want to take advantage of you, although he wanted to hold you in his arms, feel the press of your skin against his as he sank into you. He wanted to show you how he felt, to say the words that were on his lips every time he looked at you.

You have no idea how God damn sorry I am that I didn't believe you.

"I don't think that's a good idea." he told you as gently as he could.

"Will..." you said his name in the same breathless voice he was used to hearing from the time you spent in bed.

You stepped into his personal space. The air crackled between you as you lingered in his proximity. Your fingers enclosed around the hem of his T-shirt, lightly drawing it up to reveal his firm abdominal muscles and the dusting of red hair across his chest.

"I just want to feel normal again." You pleaded, causing Will to shiver as your fingertip trailed over his treasure trail and down to the button of his jeans.

He could feel himself stiffening, his body was reacting to your caress, and he was powerless to stop it.

"Darling." he drawled, feeling his resolve slipping away as your fingertips traced the outline of his ribs.

His T-shirt was on the floor, your hands smoothing up and down the plains of his chest setting his nerves alight with your touch. He clasped your hands underneath his, flattening your delicate palms against his chest.

"We need to stop." he murmured, exhaling deeply as the fabric of your clothes brushed against his bare skin. "Baby, I won't be able to stop if we keep doing this and you're not ready yet."

"I want..." You hesitated as you tried to formulate the words. "I want the intimacy back. I want you to not be afraid to touch me."

"That will take time." Will whispered, placing your palm in the space above his heart. "I love you and that won't ever change. You can't rush this; I don't expect you to."

You placed your forehead against his broad chest. Will was home, he was your support, your crutch as it were. Even then he couldn't help you fight against the despair that welled up inside you, against the darkness that was creeping up inside your bones.

"Jesus Will, I don't know how we're going to get through this." You said honestly. "I don't know how I'm supposed to survive."

"Together." Will told you, his cheek coming to rest upon the top of your head as his fingers combed through your hair. "That's the only way to do this."

You withdrew, your hands coming to rest upon Will's hips as the two of you looked at each other. Something had died within you; you weren’t sure what but there was a absence residing inside of you.

"Undress me?" you requested again, holding up her arms. "I want to feel close to you again, we don't have to have sex... but I want you to hold me. I need to go to sleep feeling safe."

Will's fingers curled around the bottom of your shirt, brushing your vulnerable skin. It brought him pleasure to see your teeth graze your bottom lip by just the softness of his touch.

"No funny business." he teased you, raising his eyebrows.

A tiny smile broke across your lips, and he was happy that he could still do that for her.

"No funny business, I promise." You returned as Will peeled the shirt from your body leaving you standing there in black sports bra and jeans.

Will's eyes stayed firmly on yours, never straying as his large warm hands enclosed upon your shoulders. You pressed your flesh against his, feeling yourself come alive as the warmth of his body heat rolled over you.

"I think it's best if you do the jeans." he informed you pointedly, jerking his body away because he didn't trust his heightening libido.

You watched each other undress. Will's eyes were on you the entire time as you stripped off each layer of clothing until you were standing in those black boy boxers he loved so much. He handed you a sky-blue t-shirt of his. You slipped it on as he took off his own jeans, leaving his underwear on. Your hand enclosed upon his wrist as he reached for his pyjama bottoms.

"I like you like this." You told him, nodding at his navy-blue boxers.

"That's because of what you can see." he commented, the edges of his mouth twitching.

You rolled her eyes, before drawing back the duvet and climbing inside. Will followed suit shuffling into bed alongside you. His body curled around yours, moulding to your shape. The contact of his skin against yours was soothing. You could already feel your eyelids fluttering closed as his hands began to stroke and caress your bare skin, his fingertips tracing the healing cuts from the glass. His touch always brought you peace and for the first time since the attack you felt yourself slipping into sleep.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[dethkomic]

Writin’ Comics and Junk: Part 4 - Comic Compositionin’ (Part 2)

It sure looks like things have finally begun to pick up in our ongoing saga of heavy metal people and their friends! Things just get more interesting from here, so don't miss the next one!

The next Dethkomic update will be Tuesday, April 25th, 2023!

At this time, I'd like to give a special shout-out to all of you who have offered up your OCs to the Dethkomic overlords! I'm working on getting everyone's cameo appearance into the book for issue #7!

Right now, though, we have another comic book tutorial to share. It'll be a briefer one than usual, today, but covering a very important part of comic book composition, regardless!

The Art of Sequential Direction

Last week, we covered the general aspects of comic book layout, so I thought this week would be a good place to go over the more detailed bits that make up the panels in a page. Check it out below the cut!

Take a look at the two page layouts, below. Which is more interesting to your eye, at first glance?

The first page doesn't offer much in the way of variety, while the second page is chalk full of it -- it's not hard to understand why the second example looks and feels more exciting to read.

One of the things I tell creatives who are starting out in comics, who usually are coming from a background that's full of one-off pieces of art and very little sequential work, is that comic books -- especially action/adventure comic books, work best if you look at them through a director's eye.

This was one of the first things that was told to me as a young comic book artist and fan, and it's something of a never-ending journey. I love to watch movies and shows while my mind picks apart what the director was trying to convey in the way the camera was set, how the scene pans or stays still, what music was playing, how the dialogue carries -- all of it! Comics may not have as many moving parts as a movie, but you can probably guess that when it comes to conveying emotion through scene-setting, they are basically the same.

Just like the movies, comics have some ground rules that can help you make them more inviting and simultaneously exciting for your readers. Each one of these isn't terribly hard to do, but you'll be amazed at the impact they can have on your comic. I have three very, very simple ones that you can do, immediately:

Change the Size of Your Characters.

The above advice was handed to me in the same era, if not the same week, if not the same sentence as the advice about looking at your story as a director. One of the easiest things you can do and indeed, one of the most important things you can do -- before you even start to get a grasp on what types of scenes evoke what type of mood (we'll get to that...) --is to change how big or how small your characters appear, panel to panel. Basically -- pan the camera out, or in. Your readers' eyes will be far more likely to stay focused on what's being said and what's happening, if the scene changes just a little bit in this way.

Change the Camera Angle.

That horizon line that tells us where the end of the world is? The one that separates the ground from the sky? Move it up or down, chief. That's it. That's all there is to this one. Sure sets the scene differently, doesn't it? Notice how your characters, no matter what size you drew them, now look either really big (if your horizon line is low) or really small (if the line is up high) in the panel. That's what we wanna see -- make those guys change size!

Change the Panel's Tilt.

Okay, so now some of your characters are really big on the panel while others are small, and your horizon is way up, way down, or completely off the panel! Good work. Now pick one or two panels and turn them at a 45 degree angle. Or a 90 degree angle. Or if you're really bold and are making some kind of statement, turn them upside-down. Especially the panels where you're going to have trouble fitting the necessary dialogue balloons in -- this is a great trick to find yourself some more space.

Now that you have those down, you have a go-to for when you are just dragging it on finishing a page. Especially the pages that don't offer any particular points of interest and are just there to move the story to its next, more interesting part (shoeleather, as they're sometimes called). Even boring pages can be made way more interesting with the use of those three easy tricks.

Getting into the nitty-gritty, comic book professionals have a wide variety of shots that we typically fall back on when it comes to directing our stories. Each one can be used for different purposes, and to convey a different message. Another piece of advice given to me early on, was to treat my comic pages as if I had to tell the same story that was written out, but without the dialogue. If I could do that -- if I could look at what I'd drawn and get a good impression of what has happened without the characters saying a single word -- that was a good indication of a successful page.

So what are these types of shots and how do we use them? While this is by no means a complete list (Just google "types of comic book shots" or similar), I'll do my best to examine some of the more common ones, and give examples:

The Establishing Shot:

In the above example, we can see that Nathan is head of the table, in Charles' usual spot. Dethklok is on one side, Baen-Shee is on the other, and Toki isn't shown, but that's the joke -- he's so far away his speech balloon is coming from off-panel. Murderface is conspicuously absent. Establishing shots are important because they show the reader, at a glance, where everyone is and where they are in relation to one another and their environment. You should strive to have one establishing shot per-scene. Some people say per-page, and I think that's also good advice, if not a little extra work.

The Long Shot:

Oftentimes, long shots are establishing shots. The camera is far enough away from the subject that it gets most of/all of their whole body in the panel, as well as a good chunk of the environment. This gives both entities equal "weight" in the storytelling. What's that? Did I just call the background an entity? I sure did! Remember that.

The Medium Shot:

A pretty standard shot. Here's a guy. He's talking now. Maybe he's saying something important, and maybe he isn't. Whatever is happening, it's not doing it with great impact, and that's the point. Use these basic halfway-up-the-body angles when you're just establishing that something is being said or done, and by whom.

The Close Up:

Now it's getting interesting. We're zeroed in on one or two characters' faces to the point that we're forced to consider their facial expressions above all else. Must be some real tension going down, here.

The Extreme Long Shot:

Hey! Where'd my freaking house go??? Sometimes the environment is more important than the characters in it.

As I said, these are but a small sampling of all that's available to you as a comic book creator, when setting the scenes in your story. Next we meet, I'll go into some of my thought process when it comes to putting a page together and how I'm making decisions regarding the flow of the story, transitioning, layout, and more.

See you then!

[asnowperson]

Hagio Moto's Onshitsu (1975)

As the crappiest translator of all times, even I want to do something to bring 1970s manga to a wider audience. I'm too scared to get into those long-ass shoujo epics, I'm not sure if I can last through not so long-ass shoujo manga, and some manga simply terrify me because I'm afraid I can't translate them with my language skills and lack of culture. For the time being, I tried my hand at translating this Hagio Moto one shot from 1975, and my lovely group, Decadence Scans, helped me get this out into the world <3 Click here or here to read it. I'd like to thank Kanedian, Roze and Attolia again for indulging me and working on this story. But I still need to gush over this manga a little bit more.

Hug the otouto. This is so beautiful that I can look at these panels for hours.

I've liked Hagio Moto ever since I read Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai Suru, and been meaning to read more of her. The problem is, I'm very lazy and have read so little so far. I'm basic and as I was looking through MU to choose a Hagio title to read, and Onshitsu piqued my interest. Because it checks two boxes: It's by Hagio, and it's BL. I've always read about the bishounen culture of the 70s, but I know so little about the actual BL works from that period. I checked Hagio-sensei's fan site, and this site in English that is full of old shoujo we'll never see, and bought the relevant one shot collection. (By the way, buying JP e-books is easy. Do it even if you don't speak Japanese and support the mangaka. How can you say you love them if you don't even buy their books?)

Onshitsu is basically about MC's cute step-otouto getting mindfucked by some weird-ass rose-spirit-thing. Onshitsu hits all those sweet 70s shoujo spots: European setting, blond bishounen, /fa/ bishounen, onii-san, bishounen tears, innocent kisses, creating drama while things could be solved through communication just so they can do dramatic poses, gratiutious references to Greek mythology, rich people, smart people, mystery,suffering, a shit ton of roses and other floral arrangements, bad ends, emotional conclusions... Couple that with Hagio-sensei's magnificent page layouts, and you get a very enjoyable read. This is not the best manga or anything, but I think it reflects pretty well the tastes of that time period. I mean, this is the kind of stuff I wanted to read to understand how BL tones became a thing in shoujo manga during the 1970s.

Later, I got Alois, the one shot compilation it was first published in too! I can't wait to read it. Here's the first page of Onshitsu with the dustjacket of the volume.

I can talk about every panel in this manga, but allow me talk about a couple panels/pages I really, really liked:

I had to stop and say "WOW!" on this page when I first read this manga. The way she drew Lange and the spirit's hair and bodies all entwined like that is very aesthetic and sensual. You can feel the intimacy, but no vulgarity. I particularly like those very thicc lines on the middle left part of the page. I feel so doki doki when I can see how the artist must have drawn something through the lines.

I think it's about José's straight, long hair and the way he holds Lange's head, but the kiss above is very cute. And the flare pants.

I like the despair-ridden José here very much. And these lines sound 2000% better in Japanese than I could do them justice. Seriously, I hope I didn't screw this up too much while translating, but no one ever touches this stuff. I felt like I had to do something.

My pilgrimage to the 1970s for more BL-flavored shoujo will be long and arduous, but I will continue. I hope this little contribution makes someone happy.

[zeldaelmo]

I have a Drabble idea if you want to use it! BotW Link has definitely messed up the champion tunic before, why don’t we see Zelda’s reaction the first time he tries to mend it without her noticing? Bad color match and all! Pre-Calamity and maybe post-calamity mention.

I'm so late for this one. @shiny-huntress sent it already for the 400 followers milestone. Wow! 🙈 Better late than never, and now you get 500 words. 😆

A thin thread

Click — The door closed behind Zelda. She pressed herself against the wood, taking up as little space in the room as possible.

"Hi," she muttered, sweaty palms sliding over the panels.

"Your Highness!" Link jumped from his bed, tossing something away, and kneeled so deep that his forehead touched his thigh.

She flinched. Screw these stupid manners! "At ease. And keep your voice down!"

Piercing blue eyes flashed up to her and reluctantly, he rose. 

"I was worried." She peeled herself from the door, approaching him.

A thumb pointed to his chest. "A-about me? Really?"

"You weren't on duty."

"Ohhh." He laughed so strainedly that her scalp tingled. "It's nothing." A step backward.

"You've never missed a day before."

"Huh? I skip duty all the time."

She rolled her eyes. "Tell me what's up."

Two steps backward.

"I, uh, just didn't feel like it. I—I swapped with the gate guards."

"The gate guards?" Zelda deflated, gaze dropping and hands lacing at her stomach. "It's about me, right? The frog, it was too much. Or—or my ramblings…" Quietly she added, "Please don't quit, Link."

His hand ruffled hair. "That's not it. I had—  I had a day off to visit my family."

"... Link, your father replaced you yesterday."

His mouth hung agape, then he breathed, "Shit."

Zelda drew nearer to him, Link mirroring the motion backward until he hit the bed. Then, he sidestepped.

Oh, he thought he was sneaky. Or he thought she was dumb. Both alternatives were very wrong.

Zelda narrowed her eyes and darted forward, snatching the item he was hiding. A spool rolled from the bed, stopping right between their feet. The green thread went up to the fabric in her hand.

"What's this?" she asked.

His ears reddened and his gaze dropped. "The Champion's Tunic."

"Obviously. I mean, what happened?"

"Noth—"

She gave him the look. "Try again."

"There was a tiny cut and…"

"Tiny cut???" Zelda twisted the tunic. There, green thread poorly holding blue fabric together. "That's a slash!"

She lifted the tunic, shaking her head. "I can mend that for you. I have everything in my room."

His tight smile made her stomach plummet. Why was he lying? Now? After everything? She ran her fingers over the seam and kept her gaze down. He didn't need to see her tears. 

His feet shifted again and the pieces clicked together.

"The slash... It's on the backside of the tunic!" Grabbing him by the shoulders, she twisted him around. "You're hiding an injury!" She really shouldn't be relieved, but she sighed anyway.

He sighed, too. With ginger fingers, he pulled his shirt up, revealing a terrible bruise on his side. A sword's blow, dampened by chainmail. "Lynel," he breathed. "Came too close to the castle and your father called me."

"Oh, Link. You should've told me!" She ushered him to the bed, inspecting the bruise. "I have an elixir for this."

He turned his head, lips twitching. "That," he said half-grinning, "is what I feared."