#feel like I'm forgetting something

[the-insomniac-emporium]

everyone's favorite girlfailure

✔ danced with your crush (who is technically your soulmate) ❌ avoided getting punched by your crush's gf (who is technically their soulmate?)

Replies/reblogs are greatly appreciated, I read every comment! :3 Check under the read-more for progress shots (outline, base color, and the version without lighting), as well as a couple notes on details.

The tie is the same color as the MC's shirt

The crown up top has three jewels, two are the same color as the MC's earring, the third is the same as the tie (aka MC's shirt). There is also a point at the top of the crown that has the same yellow I've used to represent Miranda in previous works.

Flowers/Plants and their symbolism is as follows: Amaranth (Immortality), Bog Rosemary (Bound by fate), Aloe leaves (grief, religious superstition), and Adder's Tongue (deceit)

The concept behind this is an alternate version of the final scene in my fic Liminal, where the MC asks Mia to dance (in Bela's route). Instead of there being some stabbing and people thrown off of balconies, Mia gets to dance with the MC, she just gets absolutely decked by Bela (who hits like a truck, as we all know).

Her necklace is supposed to be reminiscent of a crow/raven skull, 50% because I've made jokes about Mia being mortal enemies with Cornelius and 50% because I think she'd wear it to make Miranda mad.

[changingplumbob]

Part of my brain does understand I have chronic fatigue. But there's still that part that doesn't understand why after returning home from 3 hours of being out I'm quickly unable to function...

So yeah nothing productive at home today. Too tired. I hope I'll be up to it tomorrow but I have learned there's no point pushing myself to write if I can't think properly.

[opashoo]

Yongasabi, Slugcat language of the Rain World Undergrowth AU

Yongasabi originally started as an attempt to turn Rain World's glyphs into a functioning writing system for the slugcats, and that eventually inspired me to make a language for the writing system to support. As it grew, it became increasingly intertwined with my own ideas for Rain World worldbuilding, and my own project, the Undergrowth AU.

Now I'm publicly opening my language to the Rain World fandom! Seven months of work from start to the official release, with fully functioning grammar and over 1500 documented words just at the time of writing this post, I'm excited to finally release this language for other people to view, and potentially even use.

Note that Yongasabi is made with the Undergrowth AU (which is an anthro AU) in mind. It presupposes that the slugcats are humanoid, and their technological development is further along than in the game. Despite that, the language should be otherwise applicable to regular slugcats.

While Yongasabi has been developed through the lens of my own projects (Rain World Undergrowth AU and its worldbuilding) and understanding of Rain World's themes and lore, it's something I want to be accessible to the entire community. Consider it something of a gift. Anyone has permission to use Yongasabi in their projects—credit would be appreciated, and I would actually be so excited if you messaged me to let me know what you were doing. If I'm available, I can translate things too, if you need, or explain concepts from the document. Just send it to me and I'll see what I can do! Good luck!

Documentation for the writing system is here:

[sharkylass]

What kind of brushes would you recommend to use when trying to mimic isat's artstyle?

Oooh! Oooh!!

I'd love to answer this one, cause it actually took me a while to get it down!!

The program I use (Medi Bang Paint Pro) is pretty limited in terms of brush functions. If you use something like Clip Studio, I'm sure you can find a brush that suits your needs.

However, through trial and error, I ended up making my own.

The main key is anti-aliasing.

QUICK NOTES I DIDN'T DRAW:

1. NO PEN PRESSURE SENSITIVITY, TURN THAT SHIT OFF, The ISAT artstyle majorly uses round flat brushes (and maybe changes the size for detail accordingly.) 2. The sprites in game experience some corruption (if it's from program corruption or intentional choice on the dev's part is up for debate) 3. There in minor inconsistencies in the style and shapes. You're not gonna get Isa's face shape right, Sif's eye is probably gonna look off, Odile's hair is gonna be too poofy- that's okay. And even if your brush of colors aren't perfect that's okay. 4. The main important thing for ISAT's artstyle is the vibes, and there is no formula to that. Just try to find your own place within those vibes. My last comic, I actually halfway through just stopped trying to imitate the artstyle, as much as I was just trying to express myself within that style's minor guidelines. 5. I also HEAVILY RECOMMEND looking at Tawny's guide on expressions, it's super helpful for GETTING those said vibes

[cybershock24601]

Still thinking about that haunted houses can get pregnant post and imagining an au where Crypt Baby Rook is an actual literal crypt baby created by the Necropolis because I like to imagine it as having a fucked up, unknowable and incomprehensible eldritch sort of sentience and it wanted to make its own little human so it used some of the leftover blood from all the bodies prepared in the Necropolis with a little bit of grave dirt and tossed in a little wisp that was barely a concept of an idea and boom, Crypt Baby Rook was born.

Now there's a Rook Ingellvar that exists that looks like something right out of the uncanny valley because they were literally created by what is basically a semi sentient mega cemetery. They're too pale, their features too perfect and symmetrical, their proportions just a touch off and have a mouth full of a few too many teeth that are a little too sharp, probably have like no belly button because again they were made of blood and magic and not actually born. Just a Rook that's a little fucked up looking but in a way it's really hard to put your finger on.

Rook always had a hard time fitting in because they unsettle people just by existing and they know there is something off about them and that they are Not Normal but never really knowing what or why they are the way they are.

Then they see Solas' Regret Mural about how the ancient elves were spirits that took a mortal form and suddenly Rook's like hmmm, I'm not sure how I feel about the implications of this revelation on whatever the fuck I have going on.

Also the Necropolis gets so fucking moody after Rook gets kicked out because that's its Crypt Baby, why is the Crypt Baby gone, it wants its Crypt Baby back >:(

[sparrowlucero]

what are your favourite pokemon designs?

though these aren't really my picks for the best or most clever designs, just personal favorites

[doctorsiren]

Moth Psycho 100 AU

Something that I latched onto for mp100 is the moth imagery for Mogami. More than once is a moth shown as symbolism, but it’s also associated with Mogami more than once, whereas with the other bugs he’s shown associated as, it’s just once i’m pretty sure (even if not, moths show up as symbolism the most so uhhh yeah)

So @cupofchemicalchatter and I cooked up an AU idea :)

Mogami Arc happens as normal except for the very end. Instead of Matsuo catching Mogami’s spirit and trapping him, Mogami is able to go and watch Mob from afar like he said he would: “You made your choice, kid. I’ll keep watching from afar to see if you made the right one.”

At the end of the Mogami Arc, Reigen says: “Anyway, history has shown that no good ever comes from drowning in wealth, fame, or power. Think about it: Mogami let his own powers swallow him up too.” Remember this, as this is important for the AU I’m about to explain. 

And this will go into the next arc, the Separation Arc. The part where Reigen is in the alleyway under the streetlight with those moths above him always felt deeper to a level that it probably wasn’t supposed to be and by that I mean I was connecting it to Mogami’s moth thing.

What am I talking about? Okay well, just imagine the Separation Arc happening as usual UNTIL that moment. The moment where Reigen is in the alleyway:

Mogami had been keeping an eye on both Mob and Reigen, figuring that a way to break Mob was to use someone he cared about, that person being his mentor. So in that moment, Mogami had been possessing / using that moth as his vessel to watch Reigen. The moment that the moth drops dead and Reigen looks up is the moment that Mogami transferred his possession from the moth to Reigen, causing his sudden change. Now he is determined to “become somebody”. Of course, just like in canon and like Mogami did, he starts out by helping people out with their problems. He stated in the Mogami arc: “Mogami? Yeah, I modeled part of my work off him when I started this job.” Mogami stated that “at first, I used my abilities for good, giving advice and solving various problems.” Mogami was the “Psychic Star of the 20th Century”, with Reigen being the “Greatest Psychic of the 21st Century”. Mogami basically told Mob the classic villain thing of “we’re not so different, you and I”, but Mogami now sees that with Reigen as well. Despite the man not having powers, he would prove useful.

Reigen began “developing” psychic abilities. He thought at first that it might have been something residual still left over from when Mob gave him his powers while fighting the Scars, but he soon began to believe that he had dormant abilities that became awoken once he set out on “becoming somebody”. However, it’s actually just the possession from Mogami. He begins to realize that he doesn’t need Mob anymore. He can do exorcisms on his own now! So, he starts pushing everyone away…the people who would be able to actually help him out of this.

Reigen starts to hear a voice in his head. It’s Mogami speaking to him like he did with Mob, but he disguises it as Reigen’s own voice, allowing the conman to think that it’s his own thoughts. Reigen begins to separate himself from this “new” version of himself (which is just Mogami), but not in a way of “oh, these are bad thoughts” but in the way of “this version of me is my only true friend.” Since he’s being possessed, he’s not really thinking rationally. 

His reflection becomes a way that Mogami can communicate visually, while disguised as Reigen, of course. He speaks to Reigen, convincing him further that he doesn’t need anybody. Only himself.

His shadow also becomes a visual way for “Reigen” to communicate (because I thought that would be cool, kind of like Morgana in Ducktales 2017, or in The Princess and the Frog). 

The turning point for where things actually go south is the Supernatural Detective TV spot. When Jodo suggests that Reigen be the one to do the exorcism, instead of letting Jodo trick him, Reigen insists that Jodo go ahead with how the program was planned. In this world, the event is reversed. Jodo actually does the fake exorcism, since it was scripted, but then Reigen steps in and explains there was no evil spirit to exorcise, hence making Jodo the fool rather than Reigen. The host praises Reigen and the child reveals that he was acting the whole time. 

And then begins his true metamorphosis. 

Usually, butterflies are used to represent change, however moths go through that same transformation, but to most, they are held typically in a lesser regard than their daytime counterparts. Not really important, but I just thought it was interesting.

Reigen starts to spiral, becoming more and more of a corrupted conman. He isn’t assassinating people for money like Mogami had done, but he is lying more and more and more. The more he becomes corrupted with power, the more his psychic abilities grow (think Ritsu with Dimple and the student council stuff)/ The idea actually started out by me suggesting that as he gets more corrupted, he starts to cough out moths (sorta like an odd moth-based hanahaki, but having literally nothing to do with unrequited love and he won’t die from the moths. He just coughs them out because we thought that went kinda hard), but of course, he keeps telling himself (as well as Mogami telling him) that he’s fine. 

His powers (Mogami’s powers) are getting stronger and he’s taking out bigger spirits, taking on bigger clients, and becoming a bigger star. He finds himself losing consciousness / disassociating at times, only to wake up and find that he is stronger. It has become a little of a Jekyll and Hyde situation, but while Mogami has control of Reigen’s body, he uses it to consume evil spirits to try and regain the power he lost from fighting Mob. How we’re visually showing the possession is through a scar (like how Dimple has the red cheek spots). He got the scar under his right eye when Mogami exploded that one-way mirror in the Mogami Arc, and since Reigen’s technically being possessed during the duration of the AU (once that moth dies), the scar is visible the whole time.

In the end (we haven’t figured out when but we just know), Mob has to confront Mogami inside Reigen’s head, like he did with Minori. Inside Reigen’s head, it becomes blatant that Reigen isn’t psychic, although Mob’s sorta known that for a while (as it is alluded to at the end of the Separation Arc). But, Mob himself doesn’t want to acknowledge that fact. Reigen always said he had powers! Why would he lie? So although Shigeo knows the truth, Mob doesn’t see it. He pretends that it’s not true. He believes in Reigen’s lies. The student has become the master, in it that Mob is now lying to himself because he can’t bring himself to believe that Reigen lied to him.

After everything, Mob is able to separate Mogami from Reigen (but of course, not without everyone getting their fair share of trauma). The scar goes away, as he is no longer possessed. He’s back to being powerless, and now he knows that it was Mogami the whole time. However, Mob says that line. He says how he’s known that his master is genuinely a good guy, because it wasn’t on his own that he did all that conning and evil spirit stuff. It was because of Mogami’s corruption and influence. I think Matsuo would still somehow come across Mogami’s spirit and capture him, just so that it can come in handy later when he’s used in the World Domination Arc bc I don’t wanna mess that up lmao

Anyways yeah that was my attempt at compiling some frantic and excited discord DMs about this AU into something somewhat cohesive! Now here’s art for the AU, because I wanted to share them, but I needed to explain what was going on first!

This was the first one I did for the AU, when I knew I needed to draw something up for the concept of him getting corrupted and coughing moths 😄

And then the shadow and mirror thing (I LOVE the one of “Reigen” in the reflection oughhhh)

If you remember that post where I said I woke up and found I had written “twink controlling a twink” the night prior, this is what it was in relation to 😭 why did I call Mogami a twink very very late at night? Who knows. The important thing is that doing so altered everything and now he is one in my mind, so I can’t do anything about it. Don't ask why this page seems really fruity, it was like 3 AM and over a week ago so I don't know (/silly)

These were from when I was rewatching the Mogami Arc to pick up details for the AU

Moths have the patterns on their wings to mimic eyes, so there’s that inherent aspect of deception and lying. It makes the moths seem like a bigger threat than they actually are. (also I have him wearing Mogami's blazer and shirt)

And then just the moths and such with Mogami’s spirit

And me pulling a quote from when Dimple was explaining who Mogami was.

YEAH I just really love drawing stuff for this AU bc of the fun moth symbolism.If none of any of this makes sense, I’m so sorry. I just needed to finally post about this AU bc it’s given me brainmoths (like brainworms, but y’know)

We kinda came up with the AU backwards and filled in random spots here and there after the fact of our original conjuration of it, so I had to try and piece it together HAHA 

[front-facing-pokemon]

[moongothic]

You know I'll be first to point out if/when Crocodile does a little Luffyism, so let's take a moment to appreciate it when Luffy does a little Crocodile-ism;

Like Luffy may be a silly lil goofball, but as he's said many times himself, he's always serious (in combat). And so Fujitora laughing at Luffy right in his face, when they're in battle and Luffy is completely dead serious... Yeah, the way he takes it like an insult gives Crocodile

[machabre]

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

Foul legacy weeklies but melusine y/n is just cheering him on. Paimon next to them. (They’re sharing snacks.)

you start coordinating who brings what after a few weeks, too!!

honestly, you're not sure why Foul Legacy and the Traveler feel the need to fight every week. sparring, perhaps? maybe a way to get rid of any pent-up irritation? either way, it happens exactly once every week, not quite like clockwork. the day varies depending on when the two contenders are free. why they both must go all the way to Liyue as well, you might never know- but at least Legacy brings you with him through the wilderness, over woods and mountains and through any caves you desire- the creatures would never harm you, after all. all the way to the Golden House, where the Traveler is waiting. Paimon greets you happily, as always- the celestial pair never had an issue with you. they too have been thrown into a new world, unable to return home, wherever home might be. Paimon floats by your side as you make yourself comfortable, her chattering almost entirely concealing the sounds of battle

Paimon is the one who started the snack tradition, whipping out one of her many provisions to share with you. she is the sole reason you expand your palette in Teyvat, bringing you dish after dish, usually things she's been craving lately. you munch on them together, curiously, occasionally waving to Childe and the Traveler as they spar. you clap for both your Harbinger and your Abyssal monster, tail wagging happily whenever they turn to look at you. and you keep a tally of who won and who lost!! currently the Traveler is in the lead, much to their smug satisfaction, but you still delight in showing Foul Legacy whenever you get to add a point to his chart, earning you some very enthusiastic chitters and trills

[sanjarka]

sometimes a take i disagree with is so removed from the source material that instead of being annoyed i get properly confused as to how it is even possible that the person read the same book as me.

[egginfroggin]

Shooting Star

(Frantically telling myself that I'm not going to do this with every member of the zodiac, I'm not gonna do a monochrome portrait of each of them with their symbol in gold haloing their head, I'm not gonna do that I'm not I'm not gonna - *thinks about how to pose Dipper and the grunkles* frickign dang it)

[fan-kingdoms]

going just a little insane about the don't forget theme being revealed as part of a hymn… its heavy presence in the church dark world after being mostly absent from chapters 2 and 3… the way the 'guiding light' leitmotif that ties chapter 1 together ends up being a worship song… the way kris used to play the piano at church… the way they take back control of their body to play on the organ… noelle and her Angel symbolism…

'don't forget' is more than just a source of comfort and a 'you can always come home when things get bad,' it's the manifestation of god's love and glory protecting you from the darkness, it's being told you can come back to god's light and trust you will be safe

[hotwaterandmilk]

A year ago I was thinking maybe I'd try to create more original content in a vain attempt to help pay for the various health supports I'm slowly starting to need.

I didn't really get too far into planning what I'd do exactly before a bunch of crap happened and I ended up doing nothing.

But I did create a mascot character for my "brand" (I guess you'd call it) before things fell apart. I had a few cool artists work on a few different versions of my original design before I ran out of cash, but out of the blue the other day I remembered she existed and that I'd never shared her with the blog.

She doesn't have a name (feel free to come up with one) but she's kind of a mix of everything I love about the magical girl visuals from Iczer Girl Iczelion, Ginga Ojousama Densetsu Yuna, Chou Kousoku GranDoll & Akihabara Dennou Gumi. Y'know, with an even more obnoxious faux retro colour scheme because of who I am as a person.

I've thought about using her as my icon here and completing the "rebrand" I suppose you'd call it, but I can't seem to bring myself to change my Hiwatari Saki illustration icon for now.

In saying that though, I didn't want my magical robo girl to go completely unseen after I spent all that time creating her so here she is, hope you like her.

[neobastard]

alright this is gonna be a rough one.

this year's altador cup has been changed (not cancelled) to a 19 day advent calendar style event named Altador Cup: The Grey Year

according to the new features page:

"We want to acknowledge that the Altador Cup has room for improvement, and we’re working hard to address those areas so that players can enjoy the event even more. This involves a lot of behind-the-scenes work from our team, including our devs, artists, designers, and QA, to make that a reality."

the altador cup has kinda sucked, needing a lot of grinding to achieve higher ranked prizes and having inconsistent scoring. the mini event this year is likely to leave room for improvements in both running the event and its scoring system, especially because of the mentioned plot.

"In response to player feedback and with the plot just around the corner, we’ve decided to scale the Altador Cup for 2025 down to a mini-event to ensure that your time playing feels engaging and fun."

there is an FAQ available with further information about what this event will look like, but i'll summarize the out of universe contents under the cut:

Q: how long will it last?

A: june 3-30, with prizes and plot elements from june 3-21, the elements will be interactive until the next altador cup but the trophy, avatar, and any prizes will only be obtainable until the 30th

Q: why is there a mini event happening?

A: tnt needs time to make improvements to the altador cup, prepare for the plot's return, and work on other site features

Q: is the mini event just for this year?

A: yes, next year will have a new and improved altador cup

Q: what will happen to my sign up prize?

A: participation in the mini event will not count towards sign up prizes (and they won't be granted this year), but the participation streak WILL NOT be affected and you'll be able to pick up where you left off

Q: will there be a staff tournament this year?

A: no

Q: will there be a NC event this year?

A: yes

Q: how do the premium prizes work?

A: similar to the advent calendar, there are two prizes daily: one for all players and one for premium members only. you can claim all previous premium prizes at any time before june 30

Q: can i go back and get the prizes i missed?

A: yes, all regular prizes will be available until next year's altador cup, but all premium prizes are only available until june 30

there's a lot of in universe filler to the FAQ, and i get that they wanted to be charming to "soften the blow", but the short version is that this event exists to bridge the gap instead of pushing the plot further back or having no altador cup at all while they work out the kinks.

it's disappointing for sure, but it's an improvement i feel is necessary for the health of the site. we'll just have to see what the grey year has in store and if it'll be worth it.