#getting acquainted with procreate!!!

[bluecapsicum]

[rc-catalog]

It’s that time again—our Creator Of The Month celebration is back, and this month’s spotlight is glowing brighter than ever!

Please join us in welcoming the endlessly talented Lola, @malbontesmrs, to the COTM hall of fame! 💗

From Procreate to her keyboard, Lola is a true architect of imagination—and we’re thrilled to celebrate her work all month long! To help you get to know the magic behind the masterpieces, we’ve put together a short interview where she shares her inspirations, her process, and more! 🌸

💬 1) INTRODUCE YOURSELF! 

Hi, I’m Lola. And to be honest, I’m terribly boring.

💬 2) WHEN AND HOW DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER ROMANCE CLUB! What drew you in, and what made you stay? Were there any particular characters, stories, or moments that left a mark on you?

I discovered RC in April 2021, and played enough that when I re-downloaded the app after deleting it, I still had a profile. I actually more or less forgot about it, HS1 JUST finished fully releasing, and I remember reading up to where Vicky gave Bont the food from the school kitchens at least. I think I may have deleted the app shortly after that because of the CY Alexander scene . It’s also entirely possible that I just got too busy and didn’t put it on my new phone. When I redownloaded it in 2023, it was because an acquaintance suggested it, but even then I barely touched it until HS2 started releasing (though I did love SoS and probably played it like 3-4 times before then). I didn’t remember playing HS1 at all until after I played it again, so when I started HS2, and encountered Malbonte and Lucifer for the first time, all I could think was “omg, how could anyone like these jerks”. …anyway, that’s my husband and my other husband now, so I guess I figured that out. I guess all that is to say Alice’s HS brought me, kept me, and continues to keep me on this app.

💬 3) HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN CREATING? Can be both RC related and in general! What first sparked your passion for it?

I’ve been creating (in general) for a long time. I won’t say how long, but I’m probably older than most of those who know me realize 😂. But for RC, I only started in early 2024. I also only somewhat recently started working with digital painting (late 2023). I’ve been writing since forever, but I only recently started publicly posting my work as well. I’m generally not very social 😅

💬 4) DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST EVER CREATION? Again, can be RC related or in general! What was it, how did it feel to bring it to life, and looking back now, how do you feel about it?

The first creative thing I did for RC was the first three chapters of my long fic, Lux in Tenebris. I’ll talk about it in question 7 though, because I don’t want to get too repetitive. The first piece of art I posted in the RC fandom was a picture of Bont that I posted from an old account. I loved, and still love that piece. It was the first time I moved out of a more cartoony style, and inspired the HS2 portrait series I ended up doing later. link

💬 5) DO YOU HAVE ANY RITUALS OR HABITS WHEN YOU CREATE? A playlist you always put on, a time of day you prefer, snacks or specific tools/software?

I’m still working on my HS long fics, and I have a playlist I use for those (mostly Rok Nardin songs because they feel very applicable and they’re instrumental, so random words I’m hearing don’t end up in my writing). I write on my iPad with the keyboard attachment because I’m more likely to carry it around than a laptop. I use Word (bleh) because I need it for work anyway, but Word isn’t really friendly for HTML markup and that’s how I write my fics, so I have been considering other options (Rok Nardin Spotify playlist for those who might be curious). I also keep my fics in the cloud so I can access them on my phone in case inspiration hits while I’m at the doctor’s office or something. I save each chapter as an individual file, and for these fics I’ve been posting them as I write them. If I ever do another series like this again though, I may consider a different course of action because it does get a little stressful when writers block hits. My fics are long, and I try to post chapters every week or two, so I’m writing a looooot these days. If I have writer’s block (which has been happening more and more lately), I use different strategies. My bestie isn’t a RC fan, but she’s happy to let me run thoughts by her (which has come to some entertaining results from time to time). Sometimes I’ll just put on that same Rok Nardin playlist I use when writing and go for a walk, because it helps keep me in the mind of it so I can brainstorm. If that doesn’t work… I step away. Close my iPad and don’t even think about it for a bit, or move onto a drawing for a while. For art: No rituals, no things I do every time. I draw when the inspiration hits, and draw until I’m bored of drawing 😂. I have surprisingly very few abandoned WIPs despite this though. I use Procreate, iPad and Apple Pencil. Sometimes I listen to audiobooks while drawing. Sometimes I don’t. Drawing is a very, very casual thing I do. Fun fact: most of my art only uses two brushes and a heck-ton of smudging. Any additional brushes are stamps. I wish I could tell you which brushes they are, but “Brush 4” probably doesn’t help 🤷🏼‍♀️

💬 6) IS THERE A PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO YOUR YOUNGER CREATIVE SELF? Or readers in general?

1000% it’s that practice makes perfect. My art feels like a huge testament to that statement because (I think anyway) you can see the major improvements I’ve made in the last year alone. I have one CG that I like to practice new techniques by redrawing it, and I keep them in a row in my procreate folder so I can see the progression and my own improvement. It helps with motivation, but I find it also helps because I can take things I like from different versions to incorporate them into my style. I picked up a lot of technical skills and techniques by doing that. As for writing, I know it’s the most cliché advice ever, but write for yourself. Write what you want to read; chances are there’s someone else who wants to too. The nice thing about doing that, is that you can do whatever you want. And for both, don’t value your work based on its engagement. That was a tough lesson for me to learn, especially with my art, which hasn’t been getting very much engagement at all these days, and my new fic, which isn’t getting nearly as much in the way of comments as Lux in Tenebris did. What I’ve found though, is that every time I start to get bummed about the lack of engagement on BO&BR, someone pops up out of nowhere to tell me they’ve loved my stories and have been reading them for a while. The point is, just because I’m not seeing engagement, doesn’t mean it’s not there; sometimes people just don’t know what to say, sometimes they’re too shy to say anything, sometimes they mean to say something and it slips their minds. Either way, if you work on something you love, it doesn’t matter what other people think.

💬 7) CHOOSE 3-5 OF YOUR FAVOURITE WORKS AND RAMBLE AWAY! We want all the behind-the-scenes thoughts: What do these pieces mean to you? What inspired them? Were there any struggles you faced while creating them? What emotions or memories are tied to them now?

Lux in Tenebris – Malbonte x MC HS1 (long) fanfiction (Posted on AO3, rated E for occasional smut and canon-typical descriptions of violence / death)

I chose this one first for a reason, because it is by far the most meaningful project I’ve ever done (and to be honest, hopefully the most meaningful I’ll ever do). Lux in Tenebris is my entire 2024; I started it in January, and finished it in December— it’s over 255,000 words (1100 pages). I was (am? but it’s much better managed now) very sick in 2024, and I ended up in the hospital for over a month. Lux was my main project through the year, and it helped me get through the harder times; it is a tangible representation of my struggles that year. I love Lux, and I hope I always will. I know it’s not perfect, there were a lot of chapters I wrote when I was extremely unwell and could definitely use some editing, but I’m not perfect either. It was the first long fic that I ever fully completed, and it was the first project I’ve ever done that I legitimately made for myself and my own enjoyment; other people liking it was a very unexpected, and pleasant, bonus. (Though admittedly, I did at one point think how nice it would be if a non-Malbonte fan read it and became a Malbonte fan 😂. That didn’t happen to my knowledge, but I had a non-HS1 fan read it and enthusiastically love it, so I’m counting that 😄). It also wasn’t the story I planned in the beginning (I completely changed course around chapter 3, then totally committed to that change by chapter 7). I’m happy with the direction it took though. I poured my whole life into that fic, and I’m still working on the sequel. So yeah, it’s pretty important to me. I loved writing it, I love reading it, and I love talking about it. This fic is my baby.

2. The HS2 LI series

Similar to Lux in Tenebris, I worked on these portraits to distract me from being sick, and I wanted to work with a bit more variety of people. HS2 is (probably obviously) my favourite story on the app, and I wanted to honour it somehow, I guess. I actually want to do the series over, because I feel like I’ve learned a lot of new techniques and improved my art since then, but we’ll see. I have to finish the ABH series first. I actually find Dino and Lucifer to be two of the most difficult people I’ve drawn to get “right”, and those two portraits took the longest by quite a bit to do (Luci with his tattoos especially. Tbh, the more I look at it, the more I reeeeeally want to redo War and Astaroth too…) Anyway, yeah, it was a fun project that I did because I love HS2, and it was a lot of fun to work on. Of course with practice, as I’ve improved, I can see a lot more issues with these pictures than I could when I did them, but I’ll always love the project itself because it was a nice distraction from the things going on at the time. Dino / Lucifer / Mimi / Astaroth / War / Hunger / Malbonte

3. Black Obelisks & Blood Roses (Malbonte x MC HS2 fanfiction) – in progress sequel to Lux in Tenebris (Posted on AO3, rated E for occasional smut and canon-typical descriptions of violence / death)

I debated choosing this, but decided I can’t promote Lux without promoting the sequel I’m currently writing, Black Obelisks & Blood Roses. It’s only about 1/3 of the way done, but it’s already over 164,000 words (650 pages). I’m actively updating at least twice a month, but often more than that (and never less). I grieved Lux in Tenebris when it was finished. It literally felt like a piece of me died or something. I had started planning BO&BR very early into writing Lux, so I knew I was going to write a sequel, but I had every intention of taking a month or two between the two. I did not. I started this one earlier than I planned because I was so sad about finishing Lux that I had to. It’s been a lot more of a struggle to write, especially lately. I’ve got a lot going on in my life, and honestly, the subject matter is kind of a bummer sometimes. I’m only JUST coming out of Season 1 now in the fic. BUT, I still love writing it, and going back to my little world with Malbonte and Antigone. I just revealed my first major divergence from canon (and not-so-secret crossover), and I’m simultaneously nervous and excited. I’ve been planning this for months and I’m kind of freaking out that it’s already here. Anyway, my fics take a lot more of my time, so I tend to have a lot more feelings around them. I plot and plan constantly, readjust and rework plans as needed. Even still, I go with the flow while I write, and sometimes things happen that even I didn’t expect but they feel right, so it becomes part of the story. That’s my favourite part to be honest, when I write something and I’m like “damn, that wasn’t supposed to happen yet but it’s SO GOOD here”.

4. Raphael Portrait

I’m two characters (David and 🥰Cassiel🥰) away from finishing the ABH LI portrait series, but Raphael is the latest art piece I’ve completed, and definitely in my top 3 best pieces ever, I think (it could be #1, but I’m biased so clearly my best piece is Malbonte 😂). I’ve started experimenting more with open mouth smiles, which has been fun. I love Raphael’s smile, it’s just… ugh, so cute. I started working on pictures recently where I do the parts I don’t enjoy doing first, so that I don’t just kinda say “eh, it’s done enough”, aaaaand I’m pretty happy with that decision looking at this final piece. I’m really happy with how he turned out (especially his hair, haha and the light fixture in the background 😅). Unfortunately I’ve also been finding him a bit intimidating because I feel like he’s pushed the bar up. I haven’t even started the next portrait in the series (though I probably will the second I put this down because I’m suddenly feeling inspired) (update: I did in fact start it, but I’m still feeling intimidated by Raphael, so it didn’t get done by time of writing 😅).

5. Malbonte Portrait, CG Redraw

Last one! I wasn’t going to add this piece, but I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t because this is my practice CG! I have many, many, versions of this CG in my procreate folder, because I use it to practice, play with brushes, and teach myself new techniques. I keep them in a row at the bottom of my folder so I can see my progress, and refer back to things I like and don’t like about the ones I’ve done. This one is my favourite so far. I love Malbonte, so I’m always happy to complete Malbonte fan art. I think when practicing, especially if you’re going to do the same drawing over and over again like I do, it’s important to draw something that you enjoy doing. This CG is one of my favourites, and it’s a fantastic face-front portrait for practicing faces. I love it.

A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to read Lola's feature and celebrate her incredible work with us! And of course, thank you to all the amazing creators who submitted this month—we’re constantly in awe of your talent and passion.

Here’s to you, Lola—you paint stories we can’t stop reading and write pictures we can’t stop staring at. Congratulations, and thank you for sharing your gift with us! 🩷

[lets-try-some-writing]

Friendship and Intimacy

A slight update to my personal headcanon regarding Cybertronian habits and relationships, at least the physical stuff.

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━

Even before the war, friendships have always had unspoken rules amongst Cybertronians. There are differences depending on city state, function, and caste. But as a general rule, Cybertronians follow the same sets of guidelines when it comes to close connections.

Unlike organics, Cybertronians do not biologically procreate. Yes, they are capable of cold forging and even creating new life from their own spark if they try hard enough. If they truly feel like fighting against the natural order, a Cybertronian can use technology to go through a similar process to create new life. However, as this is not a natural act and considering there is no biological function that allows for reproduction, there is no instinctual need to have close connections. Cybertronians will travel in groups instinctually if certain criteria are met, and they do have pack bonding abilities, to a limited extent. However, there is absolutely no immediate desire to touch one another, not even in the slightest. Touch is a dangerous thing. For a species that is all but functionally immortal, one of the only things that can effectively kill them is another of their kind.

Their coding recognizes this, and thus Cybertronians simply do not touch often. It is not even a high caste or an Iaconian exclusive mindset. All Cybertronians are not fond of being touched unless it is specifically agreed to by both parties. Touching is dangerous, especially with outliers and various frame types having unique abilities that can make touch even more dangerous on any given day. Generally speaking, the only places a mech is allowed to touch if absolutely required are the shoulders. This is due to the fact that the shoulders are one of the most armored locations on the body, and thus touching there can allow both parties to accomplish whatever must be done without invading the other's space more than required.

This makes friendship and interesting subject.

Touch, due to its rarity, has a great deal of symbolism behind it. Co-workers and acquaintances only touch the shoulders and strangers try not to touch at all. Cybertronians, even once they consider each other friends, can still remain at a distance physically for extended periods of time. But eventually, a sign of trust will come into play through touch.

The closer two mechs are, the more touching is allowed. It always starts small, usually with the servos. It is completely normal for two individuals, regardless of weather their relationship is platonic or not, to hold hands. For them it is a show of trust. By limiting themselves to one arm each and allowing the tactile sensors on their digits to touch, they are expressing trust in the other and their belief that their counterpart will do them no harm.

Regardless of relationship type, individuals move from servos to other heavily armored parts of the other's frame when it comes to touch. It is completely normal for close friends to sit close enough to touch shoulders and legs. Rubbing each other's backs is widely accepted as another form of showing trust. Running digits along arm guards and messing with external kibble is all perfectly normal behavior. These things show the closeness of a pair, and usually the type of touches are unique to every single duo. Romantic partners may begin to get a tad more touchy during this phase, but platonic and familial relationships can do the same depending on the situation.

Usually companionships do not progress past this point of general body touching. Even familial relationships can remain in this limbo for vorns upon vorns if neither party feels comfortable making a move. This is largely because the next step is one that most cannot back out of. Protoform is the most sensitive and easily damaged part of a mech. In order to really show absolute trust, a pair must allow each other to have access to said protoform. This is when things can begin looking strange to other races.

Once a pair have moved to this phase of absolute trust, it isn't at all weird to see them behave in ways that would otherwise appear VERY scandalous to species that reproduce organically. Before the war, Megatron regularly stuck his digits into the gaps in Soundwave's hip plating to touch the protoform there. It wasn't romantic at all, merely a way of assuring that they trusted each other. Jazz was very comfortable sticking his servos into the gaps around Orion's vents to prove his loyalty. Ratchet wasn't all that much better and after so many vorns at war, it is totally normal for him and Optimus to be found in a strange cuddle pile with their limbs entangled and digits in places human would see as very much NOT appropriate.

Touching is a sign of trust, and by the Allspark humans simply do not get it. They read everything WRONG when they catch bots interacting in similar ways. Optimus wrapping his arms around Bumblebee and resting his helm on Bee's shoulder is familial. Ratchet randomly sticking his digits into Optimus's hips is just a fact of life. Arcee periodically sticking her little claws into Bulkhead's various kibble is just their way of playing. Wheeljack and Bulkhead are extra open about being touchy. More than once June has ushered the children away when they get a bit too much for the adult humans in the room to be comfortable.

Touching is a way to bond. Nothing more, nothing less. Humans look and see things they shouldn't. Cybertronians witness a pair who are close enough to allow one another to come near their vital systems.

[anonymous-spooks]

✨Welcome to my blog!✨

Hi! I am anonymous-spooks, but you may refer to me as Anon or Spooks. After for a while, I figured that I should make a new pinned master post in case anybody new checks this blog out.

Below the “Keep Reading”, there will be some info about what this blog is about, rules to follow, and other stuff.

So this is mainly a Creepypasta blog.

I make tons of fanart of the characters, either as sketches or as digital drawings. These characters are reimagined in my AU, so they probably differ the ones you are acquainted with. What is canon?

During school break, I draw digitally on Procreate. This is an opportunity for anyone if they want to do art trades with me or request drawings. (NOW OPEN DURING SUMMER)

You will mostly see traditional art, which means I’m in school. I will do some drawing requests, and maybe some art trades if possible. Either as sketches or water colored.

I’m open to draw your Creepypasta designs, OCs, and ships/duos for art trades or drawing requests.

Aside from the art, I also write. From headcanons to drafts about my AU, “No Sleep”. Or just random silly things.

There may be some Sonic or MP100 reblog posts that pop up here and there (because I also like them). Also reblog games.

“#creepypasta headcanon”, “#creepypasta ask”, “#creepypasta au” will be the tags that give you the backdrop of my AU.

I am open to criticisms or questions whether it’s about my art or my writing. Just remember to be respectful.

Also! If there’s any lore tidbits about the characters you know about, feel free to comment.

Now let’s set up on some rules:

As usual, proshippers DNI. Which means no p3d0s, no 1nc3st, no dub/noncon, no n3cr0s.

Anyone who is a Trump, Musk, or fascist/terrorist supporter also DNI.

Harassment and bullying of any kind will not be tolerated. This is meant to be a safe space.

There might be some suggestive (mainly my ship art, but nothing extremely graphic) stuff, but I will put a “Keep Reading” bar so nobody has to get jumpscared or be obligated to look. If you do want there to be a clear mature warning, feel free to comment and I’ll set it up.

No AI of any kind. While there is some good in it, I don’t like it when people become too reliant on it.

I hope you guys enjoy yourselves here. Remember to always have fun and show your creative side!

I also have a Pinterest (I update rarely) and a BlueSky (unsure what to do with it).

[my-deer-friend]

Okay. Is this something? Arranged marriage AU.

In our context, the oldest kid needs to get married off for "procreating and securing the bloodline" reasons to someone of the opposite sex – but for the siblings after that, sure, why not let your kid get gay-married if the union would be useful to you?

Henry Laurens wants that sweet sweet west-indian trade business, so Harry (the first) is contracted to marry one of the Manning girls – and no harm in letting second-son John consolidate that with a marriage to the Hamiltons' second son, Alex.

The boys meet up over the years to get acquainted, and as they grow up, love blooms! How thrilling! John and Alex can't wait to get married, it's gonna be so great, they'll have a whole lifetime of--

Then Harry dies.

All of a sudden, John is the eldest. All of a sudden, a gay marriage isn't feasible for him anymore.

What now?

[anonymousao3user]

(This can be found on ao3)

Fic Name: Bad Influence

Summary: Aemond doesn't lose his eye at Laena Velaryon's funeral, he loses it years later for trying to protect his girlfriend-niece.

He had loved Lucera with all his heart, with fibre of his being. He would have moved heaven and Earth for her heart.

And she repaid him by disabling him.

This is all his mother's fault. Her and Rhaenyra are to blame.

Chapter 1

Aemond sits up on the hospital bed, propped up on his pillow and high on morphine, glaring at Alicent with his one eye.

"My son, I am so sorry." She kneels besides his bed, holding onto one his hands. "I promise you, I will not let her get away with-"

Aemond snatches his hand away from her, "She is not just to blame. You are too. And Rhaenyra." He snarls. "I never want to see any of you cunts ever again. Now get out!"

Alicent leaves the room, choking on her tears and thinking back to how this big mess had happened.

‡‡‡

Rhaenyra sits on the sofa, her tea cooling down on the wooden coffee table. She was chewing on her bottom lips, anxious.

Alicent felt the same anxiety as her, but she's not sure why either of them feel awkward. They had worked through their difficulties and forgave each other for the petty actions they played against eachother other.

It shouldn't feel so weird between them.

"You...you said you had something you wanted to talk about?" Alicent interrupts the silence, her the ends of her fingers digging into her nailbeds.

"Oh! Yes, I do..." Rhaenyra paused to stare at Alicent. Even after all these years, those hazel orbs still make her feel butterflies. "It's about my daughter. Lucera." She felt guilty about the way Alicent froze at the mention of her second daughter.

"What of them?" The auburn-haired beauty looked away, breaking the eye contact.

"She's uhm- well, she seems to have fallen into the wrong crowd."

"Hm? I thought Rhaena was a good influence on her."

"She was- she is. But her boyfriend on the other hand... Corwyn Corbray, he seems to be acquainted with someone uncomely people."

"How so?"

"Two words for you, Dalton Greyjoy." Alicent let out a knowing sigh. She has heard much about the Ironborn boy and none of it good. "He has taken quite the interest in Luce." Rhaenyra stares at Alicent's face, searching for any kind of judging and when she found none, she continued. "And Luce...she," Rhaenyra takes a deep breath. "I think she's having unprotected sex with him."

Alicent chokes on her own spit, "What?"

"That's not all. She's coming home late on his motorbike, stinking of weed and in clothes she did not leave the house wearing. She even yelled at Daemon and Harwin the other day and accused them of being happy Laenor's death."

She tensed remembering Rhaenyra's late husband. It was a political marriage, not one out of love. Viserys, Rhaenyra's father and Alicent late husband, needed support from the Velaryons to become mayor and Corlys wanted to crush the rumours about Laenor being a homosexual. So, they formed an alliance.

Laenor struggled with procreating with Rhaenyra, so they did the next best thing. Got an IVF. Having three children sealed the deal that Viserys and Corlys had. After having their children, Laenor and Rhaenyra agreed to have a open marriage. Rhaenyra continued her affections with Harwin Strong, then later Daemon and Laena joined their romance (which was an absolute scandal to the public because Daemon is Rhaenyra's uncle and Laena's her sister-in-law) and when Laenor was ready to move on from his beloved Joffrey Lonmouth, he fell into the loving arms of Qarl Correy.

That was until Laenor and Laena were killed in a drive-by shooting a year ago, it's still unknown whether they were meant to be the victims or not and their killers still not been found.

Alicent felt sorry for her old friend. Rhaenyra didn't raise Luce to behave like this, she remembers when Lucera was a little girl.

She was a handful as child, like most children but she was never like her son, Aegon. Lucera may have been a cheeky girl but she was kind and generous, always offering her sweets to other kids.

"Oh Rhaenyra...words can't say how sorry I am." She found herself staring at Rhaenyra's lips, remembering how they used feel against hers in their teen years. "Is there anything I could do to help?"

She finally gets a glance into those beautiful unique lilac eyes, wishing she could drown herself in them. "Does Aemond still attend Visenya's High For The Elite?" Alicent paused for a moment before nodding. "Me, Harwin and Daemon have been debating on sending Lucera there for her sophomore year and I was hoping maybe he could take her under his wing."

"Of course, he can. I'm sure Aemond would be more than guide Luce, he would take any chance to talk about the school's history."

"Are you sure, Ali? I wouldn't want to burden you or him."

"Nonsense! I am just grateful you can still see me as someone to rely despite the bitterness of the past."

"Of course, you're my oldest and dearest friend."

Friend. Alicent had never hated the word so much.

‡‡‡

Rhaena watches in guilt as Dalton lights Lucera joint for her, one hand holding onto her chin and the other on the lighter.

Corwyn wraps his jackets around her bare shoulders before giving her a small peck on the cheek and whispering into her ear. "You're sure you're comfortable with this? I don't want you to think you have to just because Lucy is."

She rolls her eyes, "I'm not a prude, Cor. I am more than up for this."

Don't get Rhaena wrong, she adores Corwyn's concern but he's acting as if Lucera and Rhaena didn't lose their virginities together, in fact, they even held each others hand whilst they were both being penetrated.

"Last one in the lake has to ride home naked!" Dalton cheered, already removing all his clothing then running off

Lucera shoots a fake offend look, "That's not fair! I've only just sparked my blunt!" Despite yelling this, she takes off her dress, bra and panties and chases after her boyfriend with the spliff still in her mouth..

Even though she's happy, Rhaena's heartbreaks at the sight of her cousin.

She can completely understand Luce's behaviour, she lost a parent too during the shooting. Hence why she goes along with whatever Corwyn does but he always makes sure she's okay with what they're doing. Rhaena feels like Dalton is taking advantage of Lucera, using her grieve as a way to get what he wants from her. Money, sex and drugs.

Dalton doesn't make Lucera happy, he just distracts her from mourning. Which he seems more than content with.

Rhaena prays that Rhaenyra's plan to straighten her out will work and Rhaena will have her sweet and thoughtful Luce back.

[valentine-cafe]

Hello. How are you? I hope I'm not bothering you. Which tablet and program do you use for drawing? Do you have any advice on drawing?

﹙ 🍒. ﹚ ─── Hello dear!!! Here's what Eden and I use for art!

Eden has a samsung tablets and uses Hipaint ( I don't know which tablet version it is specifically - )

I use an Ipad pro and operate on Procreate and Hipaint! My most frequently used brushes are from this lovely artist Nurin ( SUPPORT HER SHE IS SO TALENTED LAWD. )

As for some advice?

Well, brace yourself bbg, imma bout to get ya some.

References:

Never forget to use references. It is so important. Don't listen to all of those artists out there telling you it's cheating and to wing it and learn that way ( reality of it all is you won't learn much because you don't sit down and study the way things work. )

Concept art / general art:

If you are doing concept art, and you have a finish deadline, don't sit and worry on imperfections during the sketch or the midway process. Go with your intuiton and what feels right and then, you can focus on the details and rendering stuff to look the way you want it to when you're getting to the end

STUDYING OTHER ART STYLES !!!

This one has become such a controversial topic over the years and I don't know for what fucking reason, how are we supposed to improve and learn if we can't be inspired by other art styles? Look, in each and every style we come across that we enjoy, utilise some of the things you see! put it all together and make it your own style. It's so important.

Look at professional artists and hear their advice:

One thing I ( howl ) learnt as a self-taught artist, is that you're gonna have to get out of your shell of learning all by yourself and get advice and help from other professional artists, whether it's someone you know in your daily life or it is video lessons you sit down and watch, free or not.

I highly recommend looking at artists like: TB choi, Sinix, Samdoesart, Coleshairlesscat, Nirami, and there are probably many more ( I am forgetful baby ).

Allow yourself to take in the advice given and you will see improvements q u i c k.

keep sketchin:

This is also such an annoying thing to hear as an artist. New or not. Especially if you've struggled with sketching in the past or now. It is vital to sketch. Whether that becomes a full illustration or not, that's okay. What is important is that you keep your hands busy and acquaint them with the memory of the flow you are most comfortable with artstyle considered.

Don't. Force. Yourself:

Now with the topic up above, if you feel as though you aren't drawing enough and you need to draw more and you have to and- woah. man. calm down. That becomes very stressing, doesn't it?

You have to allow yourself to take breaks in art, and stop fearing whether or not you will lose all the knowledge you know. Because the truth is, if you force yourself to do art that doesn't come with natural inspiration, you propably still won't be satisfied with it ( if you end up being and it helps you, great, proud of you! )

there are times in the work of a fulltime artist where this will be necessary to force yourself a little, but don't do it to the extent that you burn out.

You give yourself a little nudge and say: lets go. Rather than push yourself into waters you currently can't swim in.

Stop telling yourself you have art blockage:

I learnt this one from Cole !!! The more you start telling yourself you can't draw because "something is in the way" the more you create a placebo effect of you actually not being able to draw. You will always be able to draw! You will always be able to make art. Whether you think it's good or not. It's still art that you have made, and it's still beautiful. Stop telling yourself you have a block for inspiration and will to do art, because you don't. You can and will always be able to create art.

Some advice from Eden and I:

don't stress yourself with the process of art, it is something you are supposed to enjoy. Yes. When you feel the frustration creep up ( because all artists do in their life at one point ) walk away from it.

Take a breather. a 15 minute or more breather, for your eyes to adjust to how everything looks on your canvas. And then you can decide whether you like it or not. But don't get disappointed, or mad at yourself for not doing so, instead, be inspired, try to be inspired by this and then say: "okay, then we try again." And the more you keep going, the further you'll come and at the end, you'll be satisfied.

Also important!!! Don't be ashamed of not having as many illustrations as big pieces done as sketches guys ( fluttering eyelashes ) you should see my folders and the average folder of bigger artists as well KEKW

I truly hoped that this helped darlin'!

Have a good one, and to all of you, always remember to support your fellow artists!!

[skaruresonic]

Honestly, as fun as it was to go "Jesse what the fuck are you talking about" at the absurdity of fandom tourists who refused to engage with canon in good faith, it still felt like people explaining the nitty-gritty of how and why Freemance "didn't count" as pedophilia were giving the antis too much ground. Like they were implying there was a point that any given HL ship could be considered too problematic to defend.

As someone who ships Valhoun, which could arguably be considered more problematic than Freemance in this system of moral checks and balances by mere virtue of Barney actually being in his forties or so (although even that is debatable tbh), as opposed to Gordon's Schroedinger's Creepy Old Man Status, needless to say, I found the whole thing ridiculous.

To me it doesn't really matter even if Gordon was 47, because Half-Life exists in a context where real-life social mores don't apply as stringently. Humanity is on its last legs and Eli wants grandkids, yo. I have argued in the past that age gap squicks would likely lessen out of necessity following the Combine's breeding suppression. People need to procreate in order to repopulate the species, after all, and beggars can't be choosers. Kleiner said "get busy fuckin' or get busy dyin'" for a reason.

However, I'm not terribly keen on Freemance because Gordon's blank-slate status means I'd have to make up his characterization in my head, and it just doesn't seem worth the effort. I always feel like I'm shipping a dozen different versions of Gordon rather than Gordon himself. He also... just doesn't react to Alyx, making their chemistry incredibly lopsided. At least Barney goes "Eugh" when Alyx teases him about "not being an animal person"; Gordon just presumably stands there like :I when she cracks her Zombine joke.

Despite lifting somewhat in recent years, fandom has an ironclad "Barney is Alyx's uncle/big bro" fanon, which is just as annoying as "Shadria is incest" because it basically sprang out of nowhere. Canon seems to imply that Barney and Alyx are acquaintances at best, not terribly familiar with each other outside of their faintly overlapping social circles. Kleiner is honestly their only link. Barney, in fact, has less reason than most other older male characters to be considered one of Alyx's honorary uncles. At the very least Alyx suggests the possibility Gordon may have seen her once as a child; no such equivalent exists for Barney. The idea he babysat her is also hilarious considering he never even directly addresses Eli in HL2. On top of that, there's the issue of infantilizing Alyx, which I could rant about for hours. Yes, Valhoun may be just as "fanon" as Uncle Barney headcanons, but that doesn't mean I'm not thinking in terms of the series' overarching context. I view Valhoun as a sort of push-pull dynamic between Barney and Alyx, duty stifling love and placed inside a pressure-cooker of sexual repression. Hot. Plus, there's that forbidden fruit aspect of rebel/Metrocop lol. And while I would in a perfect world like to see the two be together, given HL's bleak world, realistically, I don't see it working out. Not even in an "Alyx dumps his ass for Gordon" kind of way, necessarily, but in a "they break up out of fear for each other's safety but there are still lingering feelings if they gaze in the other's wake for too long" kind of way. I have also argued that all three major HL ships bear imbalances. Valhoun does not suffer the experience gap that Freemance and Freehoun would; Barney and Alyx would have shared roughly the same life experiences under Combine rule that Gordon lacks.

[lyworth]

MC telling Ominis of her adventures (side quests)

A light sketch to kick off the week and get me acquainted with Procreate ✨

[annaittheriot]

A Work in Progress

Me and procreate need to get re-acquainted while i procrastinate writing another book.

[lunevei]

helloo! volt here again to send u some emojis from the misceverse ask game & ask u some more misceverse questions if u don't mind :33

first; 💕, 👾, 😶‍🌫️, 🎆, 🍼, 🦋 (that much cuz i'd love to hear u yap abt urself !!)

second; u were talking about your heat, but i was thinking like "humans don't have the hormones to do that... right?" and now i'm a little confused, are you pretending to have a heat? or do yo u do some specific things or what do you ... do ? sorry if this seem ignorant or hard to understand or something, i just really wanna understand bc i idon't get it but idk how to convey my question.

(man- english can be hard sometimes)

— @r4inbowv0lt

hellooo! please don’t worry at all, i know it can be confusing bc it’s different for everyone— like, my way of being an omega might not look the same as someone else’s and that’s okay! i’ll answer the game questions first and then get into the biology/personal idenity section ;3

💕 ; do you have a mate(s)? if so, what’s your mate’s dynamic and scent? yes, i do have a mate! we’ve been together for three years, and bonded for probably two and a half of them. (if you want me to go into bonding i can!!) he’s a beta and his scent is mint and chocolate (sooo yummy hehe)

👾 ; do you have any friends who are misce? i mean, not really? nobody i’d really call friend rn (more like acquaintance!!) online, and defo nobody irl ;( hoping to make some here tho!! :33

be warned, u said i could yap so i have hehe!! but i put it under the cut to keep it short for everyone else <3

😶‍🌫️ ; are you open to being misce in real life? or do you prefer to keep your misce identity online? as of rn, definitely online. i don’t really act much differently online as i do irl, like i think that as a person i have (as cringe as this sounds) a very ‘stereotypical omega’ personality in that i’m pretty submissive and have people pleasing tendencies. but i don’t use misce terminology outside of the internet and my house :,)

🎆 ; what would you like to see more of in the misce community? weeeell i haven’t really been in it for very long, but i would love to just see more of everyone! like this has been such a great experience for me so far and i want to share that with ppl who are similar :33

🍼 ; do you regress? does being misce influence your regression? um i’m not sure! i’m still exploring regression, but i think i’m mostly just a very needy submissive rather than a regressor. like, my mate does take on a caregiving role and i am kinda helpless when i’m subbed out, but i’m not really sure you’d count that as regression as i know it’s not sexual for most people!! i tend to think of it more as being really in my omega (if that makes literally any sense??) rather than regressing!

🦋 ; do you have any misce needs/urges? hehehe yes absolutely! i love to nest, and my whole apartment is cozy to the max bc it’s basically one big nest. i love my friends and my mate, and i love to nurture the bonds between us (although i wouldn’t say we’re a pack, i still love them all). i think that a lot of my mannerisms are pretty misce omega, and as i’m about to go into in a lot more details, i have a fairly regular heat cycle. tbh i feel like there’s so much more to that answer that i’m not saying (bc u’re right, english is hard), but that’s all i can think of off the top of my head! :33

okay!! now onto my personal misceverse (this might all be so tmi but i have no fear and unlimited characters)

so i’m afab, and i have a pretty regular human horomone/menstruale cycle. in the human horomone cycle, similar to cycles in misceverse/omegaverse, there’s a phase called ‘ovulation’ that lasts about a week and is when a person is most fertile. irl the person would get kinda horny (usually, it’s different for everyone) bc their body is prepping them for, ya know, procreation.

in omegaverse, this is turned up to the max. if u look at literally any omegaverse content you’ll see right away that it’s hornier than horny. like, week long sex fest horny. debilitatingly insatiable sex drive that leaves u house bound for days horny.

soooo, that’s kinda what it’s like for me. i’ve always been a very hormonal person anyway, and i’m also neurodivergent and i think (can’t confirm) that it makes me extra sensitive to, like, everything, including my horomones. heats for me are just (kinda painful) super horny times where i’m very easily overwhelmed and need the isolation of my home, my nest, until it ends and my horomones settle again. this is defo tmi but sometimes my mate (who is the love of my life and also a beta) can’t keep up with the omega-in-heat energy and has to tap out, and we’ve jokingly talked about opening up our relationship just for heats :,)

in terms of horomones/pheromones (which are a huge part of misce/omegaverse), humans irl actually do have pheromones that attract potential partners, and they are stronger during ovulation. in omegaverse, this is much much more obvious, given that everyone has a signiture scent in a way that humans outside of misceverse/omegaverse don’t! but yeah they are a real thing, and i use a lot of perfume/scented moistures/oils daily to enchance mine. my mate always say i sell delicous so i must be doing smth right hehehe ;3

OMG okay i have no idea if u’re still reading (i don’t blame u if u arent!!), but i hope that all makes sense ! truly, my yapping abilities know no bounds. anyway, i hope that was at least a little bit interesting and if u have any more questions pls ask!! <33

[butterflyscribbles]

Hi! Just came to say, I LOVE your art. It's such a joy to look at, and it's made me use more textured brushes! Speaking of which, (If you've answered this question before sorry) What kind of program and brushes do you use?

Also because this thought possessed me, based on your newest post about the boys and April and the astral plane shenanigans, when Donnie gets better at channeling his ninpo, does he hear Shelldon's voice? Or like glimpses of him? Does Terra ever help Don with his projection since a part of his ninpo is with her? Can SHE hear Shelldon sometimes??? I'm so sorry I love this idea so much and I need them all to be reunited and happy-

I never know how do asks normally I always sound like I'm writing a formal letter sorry-

I just realized someone else did ask about the program I use but it’s been sitting in my drafts for ages I’m so sorry to that one person who asked forever ago😭

However, I actually got the main custom brush that I use from an acquaintance and have been using it since! Outside of that, I use Procreate so I use the default ink brushes and eagle hawk for occasional linework and l use spectra + most of the painting brushes for color and shading.

Also in regards to Shelldon’s soul being in the astral plane and just waiting for Donnie to get there….you’re right on the money. Remember how I said he was struggling because he couldn’t find a “target”😏

Terra is actually the one to tell him Shelldon’s there waiting for him. She sees him in a dream first;w;💜

After Terra is created, he’s able to communicate with her using his ninpo, and he realizes that her energy is a part of his…he starts to wonder if he could do the same with Shelldon….might just be the key he needs to cross over.

(The only reason April didn’t tell him is because she didn’t want him to feel worse that he couldn’t make it…)

[bluhtack]

Hi! I am just taken away by your art, especially your last piece of Crowley and the unicorn during the flood. How do you choose your color palettes? Do you use Procreate? Do you use certain brushes? Is there a specific way you execute your line art? I am getting acquainted with my new iPad and I want to learn at your feet! If this is overwhelming, ignore, but any advice would be appreciated 🥰

-Tickety

hi! thank you very much, but i'm the last person to be asking about ipad drawing as im using clip studio paint on a pretty old wacom tablet 😅 i also do most of my drawings in paper and then trace over that in digital so it never feels quite as intuitive as it could be haha

for colour palettes if i can find a reference for what i have in mind i'd use that, otherwise the overlay effect is an easy way to bring your colours together, you can just play around with that until you're happy with the results. i think procreate has some pretty nice brushes so just try them out and see what works for you? oh and i guess don't zoom too close all the time when you draw so you know how your lineart is working overall and not just in one concentrated spot. hope that helps!

[jeso-sos]

POV : Trying to get acquainted with procreate

[sarutatts]

Long time no see…. Tumblr..

I was wanting to start a blog to try and organise my thoughts, and to try and document my art journey to hold myself accountable. After downloading blogspot, and then being asked to pay a fee for trying to upload an image onto my post.. I decided to look around at what other blog sites I could use. And that’s when I saw it, almost like an old friend… Tumblr.. Now I used to use tumblr before I was even old enough to make an account , and would always cringe at the ‘old people’ (over 20’s) using the site to blurt out their emotions, and that I was the coolest with my anime blog. And now, I am one of the old people I used to cringe at. This all primarily be used to shout into an endless void, however if anyone happens to stumble upon this, I hope you can cheer me on, or even offer critique!

It has been a dream for a while to become a tattoo artist, I have always loved to draw I mean dang- I got a masters degree in art. But life throws curve balls sometimes and things don’t always go to plan. After returning to the UK and finding my feet again, I am ready to jump back into art. I soon plan to quit my miserable job at the gas station and find my self a tattoo apprenticeship! Drawing Is my life line and the past year since my return II have been swept off my feet and carried so far away from art drawing feels so much more rewarding then it ever has.

To be able to get an apprenticeship I know I need to understand and to practice a range of tattoo styles, at the moment I am currently studying the book “how to draw tattoos”. This way of learning art is so far removed from my training in concept art where I first learnt fundamentals that I almost feel awkward. It is almost reminiscent of using drago art when I was 11. However it does feel refreshing to draw like this again. I am, still, studying the fundamentals and practicing traditional techniques on the side. But this is, my first attempt at traditional style. I am starting to understand the foundations on which this style has came to be. There is such a nice balance of straight lines and smooth, curved lines, which builds such a beautiful gesture despite this style having a lot of symmetry. I think going forward I need to be more straight with my line weights. I am not used to using procreate and feel like it is a big learning curve just getting used to this program. I am much more acquainted with programs such as photoshop and clip studio paint and use a screen tablet, however I am trying to be as portable as possible so while I am still working my miserable gas station job I can at least study and practice in quiet times and my breaks.

[silly-milo]

CAS mini-project idea/concept - 9/11

for my mini-project i've decided to create a small, simply drawn character and animate them against a real life background. i plan to do a similar thing for my CAS thesis project, and i'm using this to test the waters and troubleshoot the concept/figure out the best method of animating over a live background, as well as to get more acquainted with prolonged character animation.

here are some videos i think will be useful for this process, although i'm not yet sure if i want to use procreate or adobe applications.

here's a rough perspective timeline for the work i'll do, although it's a little more flexible bc i tend to do a lot of my work at home:

week 1: decide on character to animate, outline content, start filming background footage

week 2: finish filming background footage, sketch out some rough boards

week 3: start animating for real

week 4: animate

week 5: animate

week 6: finish up animating, do sound and editing and last minute stuff

i've never done this kind of thing before (animating on a pre-established, live background) so we'll see how this goes!